South Oxfordshire
Advance tickets – £10.00 Adult, £5.00 5-15s and Under 5s free
On the Day – Adult £12.00, Child £6.00
On sale from 1st July from
Celia Davies 850684, Maggie Mayham 850126
Clare Lightfoot 850486, Jessie West 851206
Book your table now, ticket includes the first glass of Pimms, soft drinks also available.
All proceeds to UVHAT
As mentioned in a previous newsletter, the travelling theatre that has brought so many lively performances to our village hall, has lost a considerable subsidy from the Vale. It costs the company £1,200 to take their show to each of the venues they visit. The cost to us has been £314. As you can imagine, they are looking at other ways to "keep the show on the road"
UVHAT have agreed to accept the next family show "Alice in Wonderland" for November. The cost to us will be £600. We hope ticket sales £8 for adults £6 for children plus sale of refreshments will generate sufficient to cover the cost. We certainly have the potential to do so with the extended hall, and still enjoy the more comfort in seating that the extra space has given us. However for this one show UVHAT is prepared to subsidize it if necessary.
So we look forward to your continued support, and welcome anyone coming for the first time, for a thoroughly enjoyable inexpensive evening out.
Meanwhile you are invited to a meeting at the village hall, Monday June 14th at 7.30pm to share ideas on how to proceed for hosting future shows.
Jessie West
Joan Durbin is very kindly donating some of her framed paintings for sale with all, or half of the proceeds going towards the work still to be done on improving the Village Hall. 10 paintings will be available where all the proceeds are for the hall and a further 10 where half the proceeds will go to the hall.
The paintings will be available for viewing at Joan’s house on Sat. 26th June & Sun. 27th. 2pm to 6pm. Anyone wishing to view/buy beforehand can view from Friday 19th June until 30th June by telephone appointment Tel. 01235 850035.
Our thanks to Joan for this very generous gesture – Mike Brown
The Oxfordshire Theatre Company is coming to Upton Village Hall again on Saturday March 27th at 7.30 pm
Ticket price £8 and £6 from Jessie on 851206
Adapted by Giles Croft from the novel by Melvin Burgess
A moving story of love and intolerance
The touring theatre has been coming to our village hall for many years. Audiences have enjoyed, and appreciated the level of expertise, colour and exuberance they have brought with them.
The cost to our venue is £314 and the only reason they have been able to sustain this price is because of the subsidy they have received. Unfortunately, a large percentage of that subsidy is to be withdrawn. Sadly, this may be their last tour.
The project is still well ahead of schedule but it will not be complete until near to the end of February as time will be needed to dry out the building before some of the finishing work can be completed.
Meanwhile here are a couple of photos so that you can see the progress to date.
The managing architect has just reported that “works are proceeding well and currently on programme. Workmanship is good.”
Now we have to start paying the bills. In the last few weeks over 40 local residents have responded to requests for the money they promised last year. Over £6,600 has been contributed so far. A few more donations are expected.
Other promises include:
£50,000 from the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment and the Waste Recycling Group through the Landfill Communities Fund. (This includes £5,500 contributed towards TOE’s expenses by the District Council).
£27,000 through Southern Oxfordshire LEADER, half from the European Union and half from DEFRA.
£8,750 from the County Council
.
£9,020 from the Parish Council.
B R Simpson.
More good news! The South East England Development Agency has just awarded
the Parish Council £27,000 towards the cost of extending the hall. The Council’s application was successful largely because of the efforts made by so many people in the village, including those responsible for the preparation and execution of the Parish Plan, the provision of the wide range of organised social activities, and the many local fund raising events. The most recent event, the "Open Gardens" on 6th September, raised £298.
All of this means that the Village Hall Amenities Trust and the Parish Council will soon be able to let contracts for the work to commence. The Trust still needs to raise a few thousand pounds, but the end is in sight.
Brian Simpson
A Jumble Sale in aid of Village Hall funds is being held in the Methodist Church Hall
on March 14th at 2pm
Please let Jessie or Clare have any items for sale,or bring to the Methodist Hall between
10am and 12noon on the day.
Promises amounting to £67,770 have now been received from various official bodies and £5,595 from people living in the village. A further £3,900 has been raised at events held in the village during the past twelve months and the Trust itself has built up some financial reserves in recent years.
The Trustees think, therefore, that they may soon be in a position to go ahead with the scheme to extend the hall – providing the building of the patio and the extension to the car park is deferred. Providing also, of course, that an affordable tender is forthcoming from a reputable building firm.
The Government has reduced the VAT payable in 2009 to 15%, and so completion of the work by the end of the year would save about £2,000.
Accordingly, the Trust has appointed a Managing Architect to oversee the invitation of tenders, the letting of the contract and the execution of the work.
It should be stressed that the work will only go ahead in the next few months if an affordable tender is received.
It is important that the fundraising should continue. Any money received that is not needed for the extension itself can be used for the patio and car park.
Brian Simpson
Unfortunately, we have learnt this month that applications for assistance from the Big Lottery Fund and WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental) have been rejected. The good news is that the Board of Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment Ltd have agreed to commit £50,000 to the project. This is a major step forward.
In addition we received two donations which were very much appreciated.
The 2nd Upton and Blewbury Brownies (“The Tuesday Night Brownies) gave £145 which they had raised by holding a sponsored skip.
The 1st Upton and Blewbury Girl Guides gave £150. The girls themselves organised a fund raising evening, inviting Brownies and parents. Amongst other things they served tea and cakes, arranged games, and ran stalls selling toiletries, etc.
We still have some way to go before we will have enough money to complete the scheme, but we are getting there!
Brian Simpson