Wednesday 24 March 2021 was a big day in the village of Combwich. It saw the start of the biggest refurb that the Village Hall has seen for decades. The sun shone down on village volunteers who joined forces and began to clear the hall ready for the trades to move in next week and transform our community hub into a safer and more inviting place to be.
We soon filled a huge skip as we emptied cupboards, drawers, the bar, cellar, kitchen, stage, bowling room and upstairs rooms and actually had to order a second skip to take it all away. We discovered decades of clutter but did manage to gave away toys, plates, glasses, paint and various items to local residents.
Then, just when we thought we were nearing the end of finding rubbish we found more in the roof void areas we didn’t know existed. Stuff had not been touched for years. Finds included 40 year old till rolls, a fridge, carpet, toys, an empty vanity case and a picture of the Queen circa 1960!
It’s now day 3 of clearance and its raining! Joy! But the volunteers will brave the elements to get the THIRD skip filled! Saturday will see a truck being loaded of the items to be stored in Bridgwater so the Hall will be completely empty for the refurbishment.
Thanks to nine sponsors we have now secured a fantastic total of £282,400 for the refurbishment of the hall which will allow us to do most of the things detailed in our wish list.
The road ahead will no doubt be long and messy but hopefully by early July we will be ready to re-open and welcome the residents of Otterhampton back to our much missed hall.
Many thanks to volunteers, Carolyn, Mike, Sue, Bruce, Ian, Richard, Bev, Steve, Jan, Pete, Audrey and Geoff for giving up their time today and doing such a great job.
You can see pictures of progress in the Gallery and keep an eye on our blog and our Facebook page for the next instalment.