Music Brings the World to Westgate Hall

When a home crowd of over 200 joined local folk heroes, Brendan Power and Tim Edey, last Saturday at the Westgate Hall in celebrating their national success at the BBC Radio Two Folk Awards, the toe-tapping, clapping and all round good humour justified every moment of the Trust’s two-year effort to save the 100-year-old building for the community.   It was one of those moments when words just don’t cut it.

Brendan and Tim decided to share their joy with their East Kent base.  And Brendan as a Canterbury resident and Trust member believed the Westgate Hall would be the perfect venue.  This vote of confidence, combined with the duo’s significant efforts in publicizing the evening, brought folk not only from Canterbury, but Margate, Faversham and London.  They couldn’t believe the size or the flexibility of the space.  Candlelit tables decorated with sprigs of rosemary, fresh inventive flavours served by The Farmhouse pop up restaurant, the magic of world class performers all combined in a unique setting resulted in cries for ‘More!’

Local guitar builder, player and singer, Alister Atkin, set the theme of local goes global when he opened the evening with fellow musicians Russell Grooms on keys and Lee Cornwall on cajón.

Brendan and Tim played off their local colour and fun.  With Brendan on harmonica, his sound switching between gravelly, soaring, lamenting, and Tim on guitar or melodeon/accordion, their bodies leaning and swaying towards each other with the rhythms and harmonies, instruments conversing, we travelled on winds and tides from Whitstable’s Old Neptune and lobsters, to the Celtic heritage of Ireland, across heather fields to a love affair with Sat Nav, Bulgaria, the Baltic, Duke Ellington and swing.  Almost 100 years ago, the Hall had sent soldiers over the seas to war.  Now, Brendan and Tim went over the seas with music, except they came back and created something new.

What a joy the evening will be immortalised in a DVD available on Tim and Brendan’s website.  Not only will it bring back happy memories to all who took part, it will vindicate the Council’s decision to grant the Westgate Community Trust a 99-year lease for the Westgate Hall.

The three-way negotiations – Council, Trust, Curzon Cinemas – are drawing to a close.  Caution has been the guide and resulted in rather slower progress than hoped for, however, given the economic climate, slow and steady is maybe the preferred way to work.

Funds raised during the evening have been dedicated to the Hall Refurbishment Fund.

PS:  We have some wonderful photos and will be uploading them as soon as possible!

Indoor Boot Fair — recycling wins the day!

Come and join us this Sunday, 25^th March, for our second indoor boot fair at the Westgate Hall from 11 am to 3 pm.

The response to our first fair at the end of January was so supportive, and there were so many requests for a repeat, that here we are.

Just like last time, over 60 tables are booked ready for bargain hunters.  Trust children were so excited by their finds last time, that they have been saving their pocket money in anticipation.  Maybe there’ll be another beautiful Lego boat?

Maurice Mason, the doyen of our volunteers who will be celebrating his 97^th birthday on 31^st March, will once again be running his plant stall and donating all the profits to the Trust.   At our last fair, his wonderful colourful table raised £50.

Catching Lives, our local independent charity that aims to catch the lives of homeless vulnerably housed people in our city, will also have an information stall about the work it does to help end the harm and damage caused to individuals, families and the community by homeless rough sleeping and insecure housing.  Maybe you’d be interested in volunteering, donating or spreading the word.

And then as part of the Trust’s support of independent local business people, Emily from Felted Thoughts will have a stall selling quirky needle felted gifts and accessories while High Waisted Hotpants and Bell Bottom Jeans will be selling their vintage clothing and classic retro goods.

Even if you don’t find anything to buy, come and meet up with your friends and neighbours while drinking a cup of Trust tea or coffee, and maybe eating a slice of cake?  Or maybe you’d like to have some fun volunteering with us?   If so, do contact us via the Trust’s email.

Here are some of the tasks you could help us with: moving tables, setting up the tea and coffee stall, helping clear out between 3 and 4pm, reading stories to children, running the Trust’s table, and any general assistance.

If you have any good quality items that could be sold to raise funds for the Trust please do bring them to the Trust table.  The only condition: if your item doesn’t sell, please take it home and save it for next time!  Many thanks!

Last time we raised £500 for our Hall Refurbishment Fund which was wonderful! Let’s see if we can do as well, if not better this Sunday.  Every penny and pound helps and is the community’s contribution to creating our village hall.

The next fair is already booked for Sunday, 22^nd April, the last before the Hall’s refurbishment.  It looks like this will become a regular Trust event.

Cheese, Charcuterie and Hop Adventure

Do join us on Sunday, 11^th March, from 7 to 9pm, at the Goods Shed on an adventure that will bring together the best cheeses, hams and beer Canterbury has to offer while also supporting the Refurbishment Fund for the Westgate Hall.

Cheesemakers of Canterbury will present us handmade British cheeses, many of them produced locally, almost all of them unpasteurised.  (There can be up to 40 cheeses on offer on any day at the Goods Shed!)  And Patriana Charcuterie will complement these with samplings of hams and sausage supplied directly from independent French and Spanish producers.

And then there is the beer.

“There’s so much more to beer than what’s available in the average pub. Beers that can be shared by couples, beers for the connoisseur and a fantastic range of artisan lagers that will befriend the most loyal fizzy-beer drinker,” is how beer enthusiast, Andrew Morgan, describes what The Bottle Shop has to offer.  He believes it’s time for us to have access to a comprehensive range of award winning beers and experimental brews from around the world.  His Bottle Shop in fact offers the largest number of British bottled beers in the South East of England – including London.

So, have fun stimulating your palette with these delicious cheeses, charcuterie and hop blends.

Huge thanks to Cheesemakers of Canterbury, Patriana Charcuterie and The Bottle Shop for their support for the Westgate Hall and its future as Canterbury’s community centre.

Tickets are £15 and can be purchased through this website: http://westgate-beer-night.eventbrite.co.uk/?ebtv=C

Bring and Fix — Can help really be free?

The Trust’s first Bring and Fix event last Sunday at the Westgate Hall showed Canterbury is full of people who want to be active in our community.

Our volunteers, with ages ranging from eight to 96, were willing to try a new concept: helping others by sharing skills and knowledge for free.

It was also a voyage of discovery for all who brought things ‘to be fixed.’  Several people who came to explore couldn’t quite believe anyone would repair something for free.  When they saw what was happening, several wished they had brought their guitar, while another went home to fetch trousers which needed buttons sewn on and hemming.

Here’s some of what was fixed: a clarinet, clocks, teddies, jumpers, shirts, satchels, guitars, bike punctures, fuses in plugs replaced.

And knowledge shared:  how to print emails, use baby slings, questions surrounding giving birth, bubble writing, how to generate electricity by cycling, allotment organisation and cultivation, financial planning, what it is to be an Odd Fellow, architectural and building advice, energy saving and green building, how to circle drum, career advice, how to jazz up and improve a CV, curry making, how to play chess.

We were particularly pleased that students from our local universities could join us in this adventure.  A pop-up gallery organised by students from the University for the Creative Arts to teach how to make wood burning pictures was so successful that they ran out of wood.  And students from the University of Kent inspired children to learn circus skills using balls and hoops.

Everyone in the Hall also had the opportunity to be inspired by the work of Professor Genville Hancox, director of music at Christ Church University, and his Monday Music singers.  Fixers and visitors joined the choir in lusty renditions of traditional folk songs and the joy, evident to all, of making music together.  With this, a seed was sown for one of the Trust’s programmes: developing a choir for dementia sufferers and their carers.  We will keep you updated about this project as it evolves.

Above all, the theme of the day, according to both fixers and visitors, was how nice it was for strangers to be chatting and helping each other and that no one was selling anything.  An added bonus was the informality, that people had the freedom to just talk, share ideas and information. We all made new connections, shared ideas and skills and met people we perhaps otherwise wouldn’t have.

‘Fixing’ also highlighted how everyone has equal amounts to offer regardless of age, ability, financial means or mobility.  This is the essence of a Timebank.  Establishing one is a Trust project.

Philippe Granger and colleagues from the Rushey Green Timebank who developed Bring and Fix, were on site fixing with us as well as answering questions about time banking.

Huge thanks to Rafa Lopez of The Goods Shed restaurant for donating his delicious Spanish tortilla to keep us going.

And, of course, thanks to the Hall we had the space to hold this event!

Given the community’s encouragement, Bring and Fix will be a regular Trust feature in the refurbished Westgate Hall.

All ready for Bring and Fix, 26 February 2012

This Bring and Fix event proves (if proof was needed!) that Canterbury is full of people who want to play an active role in their community. This is made much easier by having community buildings like the Westgate Hall.  The call for people who wanted to help fix things and share skills has resulted in the very impressive and varied list of skills on offer (see below), provided by volunteer “fixers” ranging from age 8 to 96 and including people from all walks of life.

• IT- social media, the internet and general computer problems
• Cooking – curry and spices
• Sewing , mending and knitting
• Gardening and Growing produce – and making a bike powered generator!
• Bubble writing
• Architectural and planning advice
• Building – reducing your ecological footprint
• Home improvement and property maintenance
• Music – repairs, making instruments, tuning
• Bikes- basic repairs
• Translation
• Clock mending and art valuations
• General fixing
• Financial advice (FSA registered)
• Pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, “baby wearing” and more
• Art and craft of Wood burning
• Bowen therapy
• CV (including presentation/formatting) and job application advice
• Circus skills
• Circle Drumming (if you have your own drum please bring it to boost numbers!)
  
• Facepainting

 At 12: performance by the Monday Music Choir (conducted by Grenville Hancox

This Sunday 26th of February, from 12 to 4, the Hall will be open for fixing and sharing. You can learn new skills and get help with things like IT, mending clocks, sewing, get advice on house maintenance, energy efficiency, gardening, cooking, finances, babies and so much more.

It is a free event and everyone is welcome!