We were advised earlier last week that the Post Office will have a shortened service tomorrow.

It will be open from 2.45pm until 4.45 pm.

Bhangra Blaze returns for another taster session at the hall on Friday 6th April from 7.30pm.

Cost is £5 each and there is no need to book.

Plenty of fun and get fit at the same time.

Contact Janine on 07769565012 for more details.

Some will have read the post on the halls Facebook page the other week asking about the proceeds from the sale of the youth club. The same question was asked in a letter to the ‘Stunner’ last week.

Whilst the matter is nothing to do with the village hall it is a matter that is causing some concern clearly to the community.

The following is a statement and comment that will hopefully provide the reassurance everyone has been seeking :

Support Staffordshire has helped with the wind-down and closure of the charity (Kingsley Parish Youth Club) through Knights solicitors of Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The remaining funds were transferred to the Staffordshire Community Foundation in accordance with charity law.

It will form the basis of a new grant pot focusing on the Kingsley area which will be advertised in the spring.

Support Staffordshire will be alerted as soon as applications are open and we will be publicising it in the local press and to all on our database.

(to subscribe click  https://www.supportstaffordshire.org.uk/ and complete the keep in touch section)

The following is a quote from the Staffordshire Community Foundation :

‘The Kingsley Community Fund is a fund that is held by The Community Foundation for Staffordshire and forms part of our portfolio of funds for the Staffordshire Moorlands, which bring benefit to local communities.  The application process for all funds will be open and transparent and will be publicised widely.  It is expected that the fund will open for applications in late spring/early summer 2018’

10am to 5pm 

FREE ENTRY

Come along to experience a range of complementary treatments, readings, and stalls, including:

Reiki,
Celtic Reiki
Crystal Healing,
Indian Head Massage,
Reflexology,
Darshan with Dhyan Ji between 10.30 and 12

Angel Card readings by Silka
Tarot, Crystal Ball and Palmistry by Rosemarie

Mel Stanton will be there selling her wonderful crystals and gemstone jewellery, 

Tropic Cheadle (Gemma) will be there with Tropic Natural Skincare and Cosmetics, certified vegan and cruelty free products. 

The Witches Coven with magickal and mystical gifts.

Magick Touch Natural Healing – vegan soaps and cosmetics.

Bless Your Arts by Kerry Broad – Angelic and mystical art.

Debbi Silcock – Wire art angels, mermaids, books and lots more…

REFRESHMENTS

Charity Raffle
We are delighted to support ‘The Extra Guest’ and ‘Help for the Homeless’ as our chosen charities.

Hopefully, this first Village Halls Week has given everyone an idea as to whats on at the hall and a bit of an idea as to what goes on in terms of running the building?

In numbers, it has been a great week in terms of people engaging with the hall. We have had 6 new Facebook page likes almost 150 visits to the page as well as over 1300 people reached in total.

The website has seen over 150-page visits and our tweets have been liked and retweeted quite widely and we have gained 3 new followers on Twitter.

Therefore our online community looks in fine shape, but remember this is not just an online world, the hall is an actual building run by real people in a real community.

So much of our lives are ruled by our online presence (said as this is being written for our online community ?) that we can be in danger of actually not getting out and mixing in the community we live in. We are on the edge of an area of outstanding natural beauty as well as one that has a rich industrial heritage and we should do as much as we can to enjoy it and that includes the hall.

So, what happens at the hall at a weekend? Well just like Night at the Museum it can come alive, but with the shouts and laughter of young children who attend birthday parties held at the hall. We have one on Sunday, the third this month.

Our rates are some of the most competitive around and the hall is just right for such events, but also suits big people as well as any community gathering.

Please do consider the hall as a venue for your event and also do support events we hold at the hall. Yes, they are often fundraisers but they are also moral raisers in the community and we are keen to keep on building a stronger community.

During the next few months, we aim to hold an Easter Breakfast, a summers evening concert, as well as hosting the Scarecrow festival among a series of events. As we have said before the size of our committee dictates what we can do, so if you are tempted to get involved please do get in touch.

There is a ‘contact us’ on the website, you can message us on Facebook or call Martyn Hordern on 01538 750657.

You never know, you might just like it!

It would be very much amiss of us not to draw attention to the sad passing of a village stalwart, Cedric Woodward who died a few days ago at the age of 86.

At the time of his death, Cedric was Treasurer for the Britsh Legion branch in the village, the Gardeners Association and previously for the Village Luncheon Club. He was also Chair of the Pensioners Association and an active member of St. Werburgh’s Church and the Choir.

Without his efforts these groups would have struggled but its also an example of how organisations rely on the same people to keep them going.

He was a testament to those people who volunteer in our communities and we should count ourselves lucky that he was prepared to commit his time in the way he did.

We hope everyone has enjoyed reading what events go on at the hall on a weekly basis as well as what the trustees do each and every week to keep things going.

Tomorrow we will showcase what happens on a weekend and the various events we put on or host during the year.

Friday has always been a difficult day to secure a regular let but since the autumn, we have been hosting Kingsley Brownies which were set up due to the Kingsley Holt group being oversubscribed.

The group is keen to recruit new members and is run by three dedicated volunteers in Nicola, Lisa, and Jane (who ran the local Guides for many years)

They meet from 4.30 pm to 6 pm in term time.

If anyone wants further information please contact Nicola on 07887 494098.

#villagehallsweek

Thursday’s see’s the satellite Post Office service at the hall from 2.45pm to 4.45pm.

Services are as per Monday’s post.

However, this week, 25th January, there is no service due to holidays.

Thursday evening the hall is the venue for Kingsley Holt Guides who have met at the hall for some 10 years or so.

They meet from 7.30pm to 9pm and welcome new members  – for more details contact Staffordshire Girl Guiding via this link Girl Guiding

#villagehallsweek

Welcome to our third installment of what the hall has to offer.

Wednesday’s see’s Karen Landon from Churnet Valley Dog Training providing classes for all ages of dogs from 6pm to 8pm.

In the summer the car park is utilised for additional training.

From Wednesday 31st January for 6 weeks, there is a special daytime class from 11am to 12 noon.

More details via their web page Churnet Valley Dog Training

#villagehallsweek

Tuesdays is for Toddlers as in Mothers and Toddlers which is run in term time by St Werburghs Church.

The group is open to mothers (and fathers) and preschool children and runs from 2pm until 3pm each Tuesday at the hall.

There is no need to book in advance and it is at this time free.

Tuesday evenings have for many years on the second Tuesday of each month seen the sitting of the Parish Council at the hall. However, following a suggestion by the hall’s chair and current councilor that the council sits in each of the three villages in the parish the council sits at Kingsley on around 7 times each year.

A schedule of where the council sits can be found HERE – each meeting starts at 7.15pm other than the AGM which starts at 7am.

The hall is delighted to announce that today (23rd January) there is a new class starting on Tuesday’s at the hall (other than when the Parish Council sits)

Pete Ruscoes Zumba Fitness class starts at 7pm until 8pm and costs just £4.

There is no need to book. Over 16’s only, please.

This class means that there is in term time an event on at the hall on every single evening during the week which is great news in terms of the provision of community-based activities and also sustaining the hall.

#villagehallsweek

Welcome to this our first article as we start Village Hall’s Week.

As the song says ‘nobody likes Mondays’ but the hall has something to offer each and every day of the week.

From 12.30pm to 430pm each Monday the hall hosts a satellite Post Office where the Post Master from Ashbourne Road Post Office, Cheadle provides a full postal service at the hall.

Since the closure of the villages Post Office in around 2006 (Yes it was that long ago) we have worked very closely with the Post Master to provide a service to the community.

The loss of HSBC, Nationwide and the Nat West Bank’s in Cheadle will have caused issues for many people (we bank with the Nat West) but did you know that you can bank at the Post Office including cash withdrawals and deposits?

There is, of course, the usual Post Office Services including foreign currency, stamps, and parcels.

On Monday’s there is a small shop selling gifts and sweets.

Supporting the Post Office makes sure the service stays in the village but also supports the hall.

(Ironically this week sees a truncated service due to holidays so its 2.45pm to 4.45pm)

From 7.30pm each Monday during term time, as a rule, there is an excellent and long-running yoga and relaxation class run by Lynne Brunt.

Classes are very well attended and at times its standing room only!

Price is £6 a head and whilst its mainly ladies only men are more than welcome.

This terms classes actually start today (22nd January) – there’s no need to book in advance.

#villagehallsweek