Wednesday Report - turning point

We now have a first coat of magnolia all around the main hall walls and metal work in the roof has been glossed. The ceiling is painted white.

The room and hall has visibly turned a massive corner, as we now have a major positive impact on the room.

The wind and rain are at work outside, so today (Thurs) will be internal work; additional coats of magnolia and white gloss on windows and wood work. The room is starting to look like we care.

I have invited the decorating team to be our guests when we have our opening event (I will buy the beer for them).

Tuesday Decoration report

The ceiling now has a full coat of white matt paint. At least one more coat will be required. Externally, the grey undercoat has been largely replaced by a first coat of green gloss. It really looks nice and is all the better for not having masking tape left on the windows... The paint was chosen by ladies on the Scout executive and was heavily influenced by village green having been used on the hall in the past.

We expect the decoration team to be with us until close of play on Thursday of this week. Tomorrows tasks are subject to weather, but are; second coat ceiling, first coat magnolia on the walls, complete external painting.

For me, I am going to have to take a flyer and order the electrical supply, as the lead time is six weeks. The backdrop to this is; if the Scout Group has property on a lease, we have to move to Registered Charity status. Enquiries are outstanding with the Scout association. Trouble is the club solicitor thinks this has to happen before the lease is signed and this isnt the case (in law or in Scout rules). I ideally need a lease to be in play prior to committing to the electric supply. Scout rules say we shouldnt commit large sums prior to having a lease. Since all this is chicken and egg, I will go on personal risk and order the supply anyway.

Akela

Decoration team - Monday report

Both 'sides' of the ceiling have had a first coat of white. The centre of the ceiling is next. Out side, jet washing the side of the hall took place, as did some very visible grey primer and first sight of green gloss colour sheme on woodwork. Here are pictures from earlier today.

In many of the pictures you can still see the masking tape on the windows. Grey primer was recommended by the paint manufacturer. Skip spent some of Sunday jet washing the remainder of the front of the building. Its looking pretty good now.

Electricity Supply

We have a quote for an electric supply to be established to the hall. I thought this would be an expensive one... The quote is to install a meter and provide a supply: £232.50 plus VAT and any charges the local authority want to sting us under the 'traffic management act' for a street works permit. I'm really pleased I was wrong about the price.

The gas people have confirmed they are on the case, but I dont have a price yet.

We wont be in the hall in the morning. We usually work from 10:30, but since its mothers day, many of us will be in church with our Scouts, Beavers and Cubs...

Andrew has made up a sign for the hall window. Basically we will invite others to join our working sessions and either have a look round or (better still) grab a paint brush.

Tame builder estimate - Guttering / disabled loo

Just back from an interaction with my favourite builder, - Mick Jones. Mick built our conservatory, converted our sauna and has modernised at least three of our toilets / bathrooms.

Mick pitched up and looked at the guttering job. He will supply a written quote and the ball park figure is circa £600 (I cant hold him to this). This is with materials at cost and re-using where appropriate. The older guttering will need to be bagged and disposed of prooperly, so he will bag it and I will dispose (£7 a bundle at the licenced site). This isnt a complete replacement job and we will need to treat the existing boards (once he has repaired them). Mick thinks the unside down V on the front can be recreated, but it wont be exactly as it was.

Mick also looked at the disabled toilet area (we want to use an area in the gents toilet) and made some suggestions regarding reducing costs and making the best use of the space. Mick will be back next week with his plumber to develop the proposal.

Sunshine and pressure wash (Sunday report)

Skip spent most of Sunday using a pressure washer on the front brickwork. This had an impressive effect. There are some great geocache locations (big round holes) on the front of the building we can use for a microcache...

Akela sealed several windows (operating under the false understanding that rain had got in through repairs). In fact, the pressure washer was the source of the water...

Push bars were refitted to the rear double doors. This will no longer be a fire door, but its good to have an easy exit.

Two chairs (source Ebay) and a white board (all for the office) were placed in the hall.

Sunshine allowed us to see the new white paint on the ceiling and to review the excellent plastering by the Veveri.

We can now expect another visit from the decorating team next week. Subject to weather, they will focus on external woodwork (front) and internal ceilings and walls.

This evening (Monday) we have a (trusted) builder pitching up to quote for the gutter and board work.

This morning, I spoke with our insurers. They confirmed that we have public liability in play and that this will cover us when others hire the hall from us. The land lords will cover the building and we will cover the contents and public liability. Discussions with the club will nail this down and be documented to ensure we dont end up with confusion at a later date...

Ridgeway Bell article

Our decoration team made it into the hall again - just for this morning. Two areas of the ceiling are now white and window frames now have primer on them. The burgundy chair rail also received another coat of silk paint.

Below is the text of a short article for the next Ridgeway Bell:

Chiseldon Air Scouts - News

In preparation for Red Nose day, 1st Chiseldon Beaver Scouts dressed up in their pajamas and brought in their pennies and tuppence's to make a penny trail around the community hall in aid of Comic relief. The trail was a success, Beaver section (age 6 to 8 years) has 12 members at present and we are pleased to say they made a trail worth £17.07, which was all donated to comic relief. Well done Beavers.

It's a Scout troop tradition to invest new members in novel and different places. On Red Nose Day itself, our Scout troop (led by Skip aka Mark Matthews) met in the Calley Memorial Hall for the first time. Graham Crawshaw was invested as a Scout Leader. The hall is currently undergoing repair and redecoration, so paint pots and staging was moved out of the way and space made to form a horse shoe of Scouts around the Union flag. Graham was invested by our new Group Scout Leader (a volunteer manager and leader for the Group) Pete Snipe. Pete took over as GSL in January.

Its frustrating not to be able to say a public thank you, but a local company has been supporting our work in the hall by supplying manpower. So far we have used circa twelve man weeks of effort at no cost. This has helped us strip woodwork back to bare wood and decorate 'properly'. Whilst I cant say which company, I can say thank you (you know who you are)!

As we move through the Summer, the Calley Memorial Hall will come visibly to life. Externally, we already have brickwork being cleaned and wood work being repaired / decorated. Inside the hall, we have been tackling cleanup, decoration and minor repairs. Surveys are being carried out for new gas and electrical supplies. Parents and adult leaders in the Scout Group have already been working weekends to get the hall into shape. We welcome help on Sunday mornings from 10:30. Come prepared to get dirty.

Some local tradesmen Rob Hall (plumbing) and Jim Leckie (kitchen fitting) have given their time and expertise for free. We thank them for supporting this community project. If you can help this project, even in a small way, please call Pete Snipe on 741164. We don't want to spend massive amounts on this project, so help is very much welcomed. Our aim is still to bring the Calley Memorial hall back into use, for Scouts, for the village and our community - on a not for profit basis.

You can keep up to date with progress on the hall by looking at http://www.chiseldonhall.blogspot.com/

Finally, later than planned we have passed a signed copy of the lease agreement to our supportive landlords - Chiseldon Sports & Social Club. The CS&S Club and its committee have been brilliant in supporting the Scouts bringing the hall back into use.

Akela

Weekend update

We now expect the decoration team to be with us on Thursday - their last job over-ran.

Skip pressure washed the front of the building (just the right wing of the front to do now). He also cut and sanded the coat hook wooden strips that will sit on the walls in the hall way.

Andy skimmed the ceiling repair in the main hall - it looked fantastic when I last saw it. He also plastered in the ladies loos (ceiling and areas of the walls). Much respect to the Ververi!

Scout training meant that we didnt get much traction on the hall this weekend. That said, Leo and I sourced and then placed five, 37 pence toilet brushes in the office cupboard. Our trip to IKEA for wood for the kitchen shelves was a waste of time. There was hardly anything there to pick through...

W/c 9th March - Dec' team are back!

I got a call earlier today (3rd March 09). The decoration team are to come back on site one week early and will be working in the hall in w/c 9th March (for one week). I have asked them to focus on painting the ceiling and walls (in that order).

They should also be with us for another week in late March / early April... Lets hope that they can attack the outside woodwork at some point!

Preparing to operate the hall (memo)

We are working with the club to agree practical working arrangements. Below is a first draft of topics that have already been discussed, but now need to be documented and agreed to operate the hall. Note that the lease speaks to Insurance, but we do have flexibility...

Items for discussion / agreement between Scouts and CS&SC in relation to operation of the Calley Memorial hall:

Memorandum of Understanding
This Memorandum of Understanding clarifies specific points and documents agreed positions and is in addition to the formal lease agreement between Chiseldon Sports & Social Club (CS&SC) and 1st Chiseldon Air Scout Group (Scouts).

Guiding Principles of this relationship

• A partnership between CS&SC and 1st Chiseldon Air Scouts to enable the Calley Memorial Hall to be operated by Scouts, for Scouts (as a Scout Hall) and the community (as a village hall) on a low cost, not for profit basis
• Share costs of any joint services, where possible and where cost effective
• Ongoing liaison and communication between the Club and the Scouts, to manage and deal with issues before they become significant
• Club and Hall are to be operated separately
• This memorandum of understanding is intended to be managed over time to document agreed positions and agreements

Liaison meetings between Club and Scouts

• Scouts and CS&SC will each nominate a point of contact
• Regular meetings will take place between points of contact at least once per quarter and on an as-required basis when issues, questions or proposals require
• Quarterly meetings will be minuted

Alcohol sales - arrangements and licensees

• Scout events will have the option to operate their own bar and make its own arrangements to supply alcohol
• Non Scout hall users and events will offer CS&SC the first option to operate a bar and supply alcohol
• Where CS&SC provides a bar, the CS&SC will provide the alcohol licence, otherwise the event organiser will organise its own licence

Gambling, dancing, singing

• Event organisers will be responsible for arranging appropriate licences (on an as required basis)

Insurance

• Buildings insurance will be XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (yet to be agreed. Ideal is piggy back on the Club, but it may be cheaper for Scouts to cover this)
• Hall contents insurance and third party liability within the hall will be managed by the Scouts

Maintenance of the hall

• Maintenance of the hall (inside and out) will be the responsibility of the Scouts
• Maintenance of the Club will remain with CS&SC

Doors linking Hall to Club

• Whilst the Club and Scouts aspire to introduce lockable doors between the club and the hall, current (March 2009) advice is that costs are prohibitive. This item may be reviewed at a point in the future

Refuse disposal

• The minimal refuse produced in the hall will use CS&SC bins and will be reviewed after six months. Initial period to be at no cost to Scouts. Later arrangements and costs (if any) to be negotiated annually thereafter

Services:

• Services mean gas, electric, water, telecoms etc.
• Club and hall will use separate supplies for all services will be used, to ensure accountability for costs
• Scouts and CS&SC will pay for the services they use

Ladies sanitary disposal

• Points of contact to discuss possibility / practicality of sharing these services

Parking Arrangements / Car park use

• Scouts and CS&SC points of contact will discuss parking issues
• When a large event is planned, points of contact will liaise to ensure both organisations are aware and that active management of vehicle parking is applied
• Scouts will make every effort to keep the loading area clear on Tuesday mornings, when deliveries are made
• Key principle is: first come, first served, with no priority for Scout or CS&SC vehicles unless loading or unloading
• Where Scouts request use of the rear car park for non vehicle use, Scouts will make an informal request to the point of contact or the steward

Issues and disputes

• Issues and disputes will be routed via points of contact for resolution
• Objective is to arrive at a mutually beneficial outcome

Fire Safety

• Scouts 'responsible person', - normally the Group Scout Leader, will develop and maintain a risk assessment and evacuation plan for the hall
• Hall and Club will be treated as entirely separate entities for fire protection and prevention purposes
• Hall and Club emergency lights, alarms and detection systems will remain separate, - to be reviewed if a joint decision is made to open the connecting corridor up between hall and club
  

Gas Storage

• Scouts to have gas storage cage stored & bolted to floor in rear car park
• No cost to Scouts for placing cage in rear car park area
  

Sunday morning shines

A 9am Cub route walk by Baggy and Akela saw time for a cuppa and then into the hall for 10:30. Skip, Heather, Jon WM and Kev G pitched up (thanks all). We tacked the following jobs:

• Rough plaster applied in ladies toilets (wall and window) - Andrew
• Inner wings of the stage - second coat applied - Heather
• Chair rail sanded - all around the room -Dan
• Chair rail painted first coat of burgundy - 5 metres Dan, the rest done by Kev G.
• Outside wall pressure washed, more to do, but good progress - Skip
• Window outer sill replaced - rotten wood removed and new tanilised wood used - Pete
• Tape and plaster applied to ceiling repair - Andrew
• Wall in hall - first coat of paint applied to west wall - Jon & Matthew

We stopped about quarter past one. A good Sunday session. During our efforts, it dawned on me that we were missing a significant bunch of help: parents and villagers! During this week, we will start communcating with these groups - and explicitly asking for help at our Sunday morning sessions.