| Between 1985 and 1990 the village of Froyle lost its vicarage, its school and both the village shops. To try and fill the hole left in the community by these major changes in a short time, I started what was originally just a place for villagers to get together once a week, have a chat and exchange news, all aided by a cup of coffee and a piece of cake. Its title, The Meeting Place, is therefore self explanatory. We began on October 5th 1990 and, since then, have been open in Froyle Village Hall every Friday, from 9.30am until 12 noon. Every week, as well as myself, there is a volunteer in the kitchen and three ladies bake cakes for me. In all I have around 25 bakers and 25 kitchen helpers. In our first year we won our class in the Hampshire Magazine Village Ventures Competition and this year we will be celebrating our 18th Birthday on Friday, October 10th, but if it weren’t for the support of all these ladies in the village, we simply could not keep going. We serve fresh and instant coffee, tea, squashes, and home made cakes, all at very reasonable prices. This is because we are not a profit making organisation, but are simply there to offer a service to the village of Froyle, literally a Meeting Place for everyone. Also on sale are local papers, birthday cards and stamps, a selection of booklets by local authors, and copies of the Froyle Archive’s publications. We also have, free of charge, a book lending library, magazines, and an East Hants District Council information stand. There’s a corner for the kiddies and a collection of videos and audio tapes to borrow. The Meeting Place is a focal point in the village - a place where we inevitably put the world to right! It’s also the place where tickets can be purchased for village events, like Harvest Suppers and Pantomimes, and where Raffle Tickets can be bought at Fête time etc. We also make a point of celebrating special events. If someone has a Golden Wedding anniversary or a special birthday on a Meeting Place day, we have a cake and a balloon or two. Besides these special days we will willingly support any venture that villagers ask us to. We have had Meeting Places in aid of the RNLI, Cancer Research, Macmillan Nurses and we also support Red Nose Day and Children in Need. Two very special dates in the Meeting Place calendar are The Easter Meeting Place on Good Friday, when hot cross buns are the order of the day and we have a very popular Decorated Egg Competition, but perhaps our most popular Friday morning is the Christmas Meeting Place, held on the Friday nearest Christmas, when mulled wine is on the menu, along with nibbles and mince pies, music and carol singing, and a visit from Father Christmas, Meeting Place funds provide a small gift for each child. Some 80 or so villagers join us on both these occasions. I am amazed at the fact that The Meeting Place continues to receive excellent support year on year. When I started it in 1990, my husband and I both expected interest to fizzle out after the first six months, but, eighteen years later, we are still here. All this does, however, require quite a bit of work. Every October I prepare the rotas for the next year - we have a Meeting Place every Friday except for a one week break at the end of July and if there are any unforeseen circumstances - major village events or funerals. In the latter case The Meeting Place organisation usually provides the refreshments in the Village Hall after the service. So far I have not had any problem finding willing volunteers, but, it is a major commitment to bake about six cakes a year or to turn out on a Friday morning and help. I am lucky in that a few of the younger generation are now taking an interest as the main ‘core’ of helpers aren’t getting any younger! When we started in 1990 we paid rent to the Village Hall Committee and, while we were self financing, the need to ‘pay our way’ was a worry in view of the intent of providing a venue for villagers to meet regularly without feeling that they were being taken advantage of in order to make a profit. This concern was addressed by the Village Hall Committee who agreed to host The Meeting Place rent free - in exchange I agreed to direct any profit we made to benefit the Village Hall, and, over the years, we have bought for them trolleys for tables, chair handling trolleys, a new cooker, microwave and a warming cabinet. So as well as being self financing, The Meeting Place also benefits the Village Hall. A ‘standard’ Friday (this excludes our Easter and Christmas events) begins at 8am when my husband sets out the tables, chairs and all our paraphernalia (books, magazine, table cloths, teapots etc), turns on the tea urn (most important!!) and gets everything ready. The cake makers will have delivered their cakes to me the previous day and our local newspaper man (Holybourne Stores) delivers us twelve copies of the local paper at the crack of dawn. I arrive at the hall just before 9am complete with fresh milk and the cakes, and I am usually met by two other local ladies who help me lay out the table cloths etc and get the kitchen cleared for action. A steady stream of customers begin arriving from 9.30, with the ‘young mums’ and children coming nearer 11. We get regular visits from a whole variety of people who find it a handy place to do business. Our Parish Clerk, M.P., local Policeman and Vicar are ‘regulars’ throughout the year. We begin to clear up just before 12 noon and finally get away just before 1pm. This includes packing away all the kitchen bits, tables and chairs, leaving the hall ready for the next hirer. Christmas and Easter take a little longer to ‘put away’ as we have about three to four times our normal number of customers! It may sound like hard work and a regular commitment, but there is a great pleasure to be derived from providing what is so obviously a very valuable facility to our small community. If anyone would like to find out more about the pitfalls of planning and running such a thing as The Meeting Place, you are welcome to contact me, Annette Booth, either by e-mail; annettebooth@froyle.com, by phone on 01420 22364 or, drop into Froyle Village Hall any Friday morning and see it for yourself. Annette Booth M.B.E. |
For an idea of special events at The Meeting Place click on Pictures. |
