Reading Room news archive
The Reading Room improvement project
The MEHM Trust has an ongoing project to modernise and improve Stanhoe’s Reading Room (the village hall).
Planned improvements include central heating, new flooring, a kitchen refit, better lighting, a partition to separate the old Reading Room from the extension, and redecoration. The end result will be a welcoming multi-purpose hall that will attract users from outside as well as within Stanhoe.
The Trustees are working hard to fix the project scope, get tenders and raise the necessary grant money. Among the news items below are records of the project’s progress since autumn 2010.
Key to the long-term future of the Reading Room — and to our grant applications — is our ability to show that this historic building is still an important meeting place for the community.
The Friends of the Reading Room is an informal group of people who are willing to help with activities of all kinds. If you’d like to join the Friends, become a Trustee, or just find out more about the modernisation project, contact MEHM Trust chairman (tel 518324).
14 May 2012
May film
The Help is screening in Stanhoe on 23 May.
The film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s best-selling 2009 book about American attitudes to race in the 1960s gained an Oscar for supporting actress Octavia Spencer.
The Help tells of the relationship between a young white woman, Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan (Emma Stone) and two black maids (played by Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer) in Jackson, Mississippi, during the Civil Rights era.
Tickets: £5 on the door to include a complimentary drink.
Date: Wednesday 23 May
Time: 7.30pm
Next film: The Artist, 22 June.
More info: Jane and Peter Coates (tel 01485 518191).
Posted by: Charles
Posted on: 14 May 2012
21 April 2012
Golden glow
Rainbow marks the magic of last night’s film show.
photo: Mary-Anne Hallinan
Last evening’s cinema event in the Reading Room brought a good crowd and a wonderful atmosphere. 38 people braved the miserable weather to see Mao’s Last Dancer, according to organisers Jane and Peter Coates, but the buzz they created made it seem like many more.
Perhaps, as our photographer Mary-Anne Hallinan suggests, Stanhoe Village Screen is the gold at the end of the rainbow as far as the Reading Room is concerned. Thanks to everyone who helped, and everyone who attended, for making it such a great evening. See you again on 23 May.
Posted by: Charles
Posted on: 21 April 2012
5 April 2012
April’s film
Mao’s Last Dancer comes to Stanhoe on 20 April.
Mao’s Last Dancer is Australian film director Bruce Beresford’s film about a brilliant Chinese dancer who defects to the USA at the height of the Cold War.
A terrific dance film with a great story. Audiences everywhere have literally cheered this fantastic film.
Tickets: £5 on the door to include a complimentary drink.
Date: Friday 20 April
Time: 7.30pm
Next film: The Help, 23 May.
More info: Jane and Peter Coates (tel 01485 518191).
A lot to live up to
The first Stanhoe Village Screen on 22 March was a huge success, writes organiser Jane Coates:
58 people attended our first village screening of My Week with Marilyn. Hilary Spinn welcomed them with music from that era which she played on her Dansette record player. Many of us remember having similar record players! Once everyone was seated with their chosen drink, Hilary gave a 10-minute talk about the politics, the fashions, and key events of that era. She entertained us brilliantly and set the scene for the film. The film was very entertaining and well received. There was a real buzz in the hall and everyone said that they had really enjoyed it!
So let’s make sure Mao’s Last Dancer draws an even bigger crowd!
Posted by: Charles
Posted on: 5 April 2012
29 February 2012
Barwick story
Gillian Beckett’s next local history talk is on 11 March.
Sarah, Doreen and
Percy Bloy, Barwick Hall
Farm, 1930
Learn about Barwick and the Bircham Road on Sunday 11 March at the next in Gillian Beckett’s series of local history talks.
The event starts at 2.30 pm in the Reading Room.
Gillian will use slides and sound recordings to bring her story to life.
Entrance fee of £2 includes tea and biscuits.
Posted by: Pamela
Posted on: 29 February 2012
17 February 2012
Wine tasting
Just three weeks to go till the Stanhoe Spring Spritz.
Spring is definitely on its way, and there’s only two weeks left to book your places at a wine tasting to welcome the new season.
Stanhoe’s Spring Spritz takes place in the Reading Room on Saturday 10 March. Doors open at 7:15 pm for a 7:30 start.
Spritz: a refreshing wake-up spray. A pick-me-up for plants and people. Usually associated with sparkling drinks and tangy flavours.
“Come and join friends and neighbours in our community and enjoy a professionally led wine tasting,” say organisers Nic Hopkins and Kate Jewell.
“It’s a chance to learn a little bit more about wine, and though it’s not at all serious, the wines will be top quality and give you the chance to enjoy some seasonal flavours. There will be seven wines to taste, each one introduced by our entertaining and passionate wine guide for the evening, Brian Sullivan.”
Click on the poster to
download a PDF version
“We’ll start with a sparking wine for openers, then compare two different white wines of the same grape variety but with very different character. There will be a rosé, and then three reds made with different grapes and different styles.”
“Tickets — on a first come first served basis — are £15. The ticket price covers all the high quality wines to be tasted, nibbles to go with the tasting, and a simple but plentiful and tasty buffet prepared by volunteers from our community. And hopefully the event will make a contribution to MEHM funds.”
“Brian Sullivan, our professional wine guide for the evening, hails from the Californian land of sun and wine, and has lived and worked in England (‘94 vintage) mostly in the wine trade as sommelier and wine merchant for 14 years.”
“Some of you may remember him as manager of Adnams Cellar & Kitchen at Holt and Holkham, but he has been headhunted by HarperWells, whose high quality wines we will taste. HarperWells are a local company near Norwich that have been trading for over six years, with a small team of professional, experienced wine people, who are not only passionate about the products they sell, but provide excellent customer service, too. They were highlighted last years’ EDP Future 50s category as an up and coming business to look out for.”
For tickets, please contact Nic Hopkins or Kate Jewell, Lavender Cottage, Cross Lane, 07785 387683 or . Alternatively please contact Mark Roche on 01485 518324. As we need to agree numbers in advance with our wine guide, make sure you let us know by 2 March if you want to come.
“This is a great opportunity for everyone to come together and help our programme to develop the Reading Room for the future in a sociable and fun way,” said MEHM chair Mark Roche.
Posted by: Charles
Posted on: 17 February 2012
15 February 2012
Film premiere
Don’t miss Stanhoe’s first village cinema show on 22 March.
Get in the 50s
mood with
Hilary Spinn
Hit film My Week With Marilyn and a real 1950s DJ will kick off Stanhoe’s first village cinema show on Thursday 22 March.
To mark the opening night of Stanhoe Village Screen, DJ Hilary Spinn will set the mood for the film by playing some fabulous sounds from the 50s.
My Week With Marilyn is the story of the extraordinary encounter between Laurence Olivier and Marilyn Monroe in 1956 for the making of the Prince and the Showgirl.
With a star cast including Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench, wonderful costumes and a beautiful score, this is the best portrayal of Marilyn ever to hit the silver screen — watch the trailer below.
The Reading Room doors will open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start. Tickets are £5 on the door, including a complimentary drink.
Download the poster and
display it in your window
A year in the making
This special event in conjunction with Creative Arts East marks over a year of planning to bring cinema to Stanhoe.
Back in December 2010 the Reading Room survey showed that film shows would be one of the most popular choices for village events. Full of enthusiasm, Terry Austin and Charles Butcher went to a Village Screen training session run by Creative Arts East, the organisation behind most of our local village cinemas. They found — predictably — that running regular cinema events would be hard work, and with other commitments to meet, they put the topic on hold until other volunteers could be found.
Jane and Peter Coates have now stepped forward to run the cinema, so you can expect Stanhoe Village Screen to be a regular calendar feature from now on. It’s still going to be a lot of work, so if you feel like volunteering, give Jane or Peter a call on 518 191.
photo: Jane Coates
Peter Coates at a Village Screen
training session in January
Posted by: Charles
Posted on: 15 February 2012
12 January 2012
Spring Spritz
Wine tasting event on 10 March.
photo: cliff1066™
Take your tasting
seriously or just
come along for a
bit of fun – either
way, don’t miss
the Spring Spritz
With colder weather forecast for the next few days, now is the time to put Stanhoe’s Spring Spritz wine tasting in your diary.
Organised by the Friends of the Reading Room, the event will take place on Saturday 10 March at 7:30 pm in the Reading Room.
The tasting will be led by Brian Sullivan of Norfolk wine merchant HarperWells. Brian will introduce around seven wines, and there will also be a buffet supper.
“We’ll be raising a little money for the Reading Room improvement project, but most importantly it will be a chance to do something different in Stanhoe,” said Nic Hopkins and Kate Jewell, the guiding spirits behind the event.
“So please come along to have fun, see friends and meet new folk.”
Watch this space for ticket prices and booking information.
Links
Brian Sullivan discusses one of his favourite wines:
Posted by: Charles
Posted on: 12 January 2012
4 November 2011
Help for the hall
The MEHM Trustees believe they have at last found professional help for the technical side of the Reading Room modernisation project.
Mark Roche, chairman of the Trustees, has been talking to architect Mark Nolan of Chaplin Farrant, a Norwich firm which offers free professional services through an organisation called Norfolk ProHelp.
The deal has taken several months to set up and is not yet complete. However, the Trustees believe it will be key to creating a project plan and budget that will satisfy the demanding requirements of funding organisations such as the National Lottery.
With half a dozen major project items to consider and a budget currently estimated at £100,000, the Trustees say they need expert help in putting together a solid case with all the necessary cost figures.
For the central heating system alone, for instance, they need to show funders that they have considered and costed a variety of different technologies and fuel types. “I'm confident that with guidance from Chaplin Farrant we can put together a strong project plan,” Mark said.
Grant application progress
In the meantime the Trustees have been working on the formidably complex application form for a Lottery grant. Three members recently attended a training course on how to win Lottery funding, and say they learned a lot about the need to present the project in terms of what it will do for the community, rather than just as a building.
At their meeting on 25 October the Trustees also discussed ideas for future events in the Reading Room, including a wine tasting, film shows and a reading club. A window cleaner has been appointed.
In due course the Trustees will install a computer — though at the moment without an Internet connection — to replace the CIP computer, which has now gone back to the Council following the closure of the CIP.
Posted by: Charles
Posted on: 4 November 2011
12 October 2011
The living past
Don’t miss Gillian Beckett’s village history talk on Sunday 23 October.
Who was this redoubtable
lady? Find out at the
village history talk
a week on Sunday
In the latest of her series of talks on Stanhoe’s history Gillian will cover All Saints’ church, the Rectory, Stanhoe Hall, Parson’s Lane, the Grange and its barns, and Docking Road as far as Cross Lane.
Gillian will be showing slides and playing recordings featuring the memories of Stanhoe residents.
The event is organised by Stanhoe Archive. It starts at 2.30 in the Reading Room. There will be a £2 entrance fee, and refreshments will be available.
Posted by: Charles
Posted on: 12 October 2011
8 October 2011
Table-top trade
Table-top sale brings the Reading Room to life.
The Reading Room was bustling on Saturday as a table-top sale organised by the WI brought in buyers and sellers from Stanhoe and around.
Visitor numbers were modest, despite advertisements in all the nearby villages. Nevertheless, the dozen or so stallholders still managed to shift a fair amount of stock — even if (as with all the best antique fairs) much of it seemed to be bought by other sellers.
With tea and scones provided by WI volunteers, it was an enjoyable social occasion that could pave the way for bigger car boot sales on the playing field next year.
The money from sales of refreshments and the £5 fee to rent a table will be split equally between the WI and local domestic abuse charity Leeway.
photo: Charles Butcher
Posted by: Charles
Posted on: 8 October 2011