The Trelawnyd Community Association of which I am now a trustee has recently taken over responsibility for our village hall, which is at risk of closing
The Memorial Hall is an impressively large building for such a small village and was commissioned at the turn of the century by the deliciously handsome Michael Antonio Ralli.
Ralli, a Russian from Odessa who was the Greek Consul in Liverpool, strangely made his home in Trelawnyd with his wife Mia and knowing that many of the local men were in need of work , he commissioned a large hall, so that more men would be employed.
Ralli
With fuel prices high, the Hall being a listed building and overheads as they are, the association has volunteered to take on a rather big job, but with a new committee of volunteers, we will hit the road running so to speak
One of the first events was my idea, a large noisy, good natured, alcohol fuelled Village Céilidh, a celebration of a new hall management team and a new era
Yes, Michael Antonio Ralli! A beautiful photo of the village hall, too. Wishing you all success.
ReplyDeleteWishing you all the best!
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ReplyDeletedisregard, I looked it up, was a history question.
DeleteYour plan sounds excellent, so much fun!
ReplyDeletelizzy
I've seen here that volunteers have become fewer as a larger proportion are mainly retired and now aging - Hope you have young people too wanting to be part of a thriving community x
ReplyDeleteI do like that building. It certainly stands out as you drive through the village. The road junction there is a bit hit and miss (no hit yet!) as you turn out onto the main road. I've not actually been in there and must have walked past it many times on my trips to Trelawnyd - I hope to visit again very soon (should have happened pre-Christmas) after some domestic shenanigans out of the way. Must take a peek inside.
ReplyDeleteHere's to many more ceilidhs and other village gatherings to keep such a lovely building and community alive. xx
ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent idea you had for the first event in the Hall! Hope ideas abound so good use is made of the Hall for decades to come.
ReplyDeleteHugs!
Happy they will be with you on board!
ReplyDeleteAll power to your combined elbows!!
ReplyDeleteA village needs a hall
Keeping the Hall going is a great community effort.
ReplyDeleteEngaging the community and soliciting people for ideas on how to make the Hall self-sustaining will be key.
Good luck with events and fundraising! A village ceilidh at the hall is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteHurray for Michael Antonio for providing jobs for the local men long ago and creating your hall, and hurray for you and your association for the dedication to maintain it.
ReplyDeleteDo Welshmen wear kilts?
ReplyDeleteWe need to jump start social events again everywhere!
ReplyDeleteWell done Ralli. When I was conned into the Chairmanship of my village Youth Club in Shropshire, me and my vice-Chairman decided to show them a thing or two (we were both outsiders). I raised plenty of money, which was surprisingly easy, and sent a bunch of the children off to Bavaria on a two week adventure holiday. When you have a new bunch of people at the helm, it's a great opportunity to punch above your weight.
ReplyDeleteThe hall is a fine building and Ralli is a very handsome man! Hope all goes well with the efforts to raise money towards the upkeep.
ReplyDeleteSome of the churches near me have big halls that weren't getting used and with dwindling congregations have gone through some renovations.
ReplyDeleteI know of 2 that have taken out the pews and replaced them with chairs and put in sliding doors to divide up the rooms. This enables more rentable space for smaller groups. The churches have raised a lit of money themselves but also managed to get different grants too.
Good luck in keeping your community hall open
A ceilidh is a great season opener for the village hall! I'm sure you and your new slate of volunteers will come up with all kinds of engaging ideas.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth