Colyford has many remarkable features to its credit including Colyford Common, Colyford Goose Fayre & St. Michael's Chapel, but one that is no less remarkable, but perhaps does not spring to everyone's mind is Colyford Memorial Hall. In recent years there has been much refurbishment of the Village Hall resulting in a new kitchen and toilet facilities,& overall enhancing of the interior. Thank you to all of you who supported this great effort.

The Next Phase... The next phase of refurbishing the Colyford Memorial Hall is the roof. It has already started to leak & has been given a life expectancy of a maximum of 10 years. This is not good news, but...the character Pollyanna would look on the bright side & gladly say that that gives us time to raise the sum of £100,000 needed to replace it.

Before anyone turns away on hearing this, the money will partly come from income generated from present bookings, & grants from The Community Council of Devon, East Devon District Council and the Goose Fayre. Some of these will match what we raise. We also start with £10,000 in the pot thanks to recent fundraising efforts, so we are not starting from zero!

We have done it before & with your help we can do it again.The Hall Trustees have spent over £80,000 on hall refurbishment in the last five years. These funds were raised as described above & in many cases match funding resulted in the value of our own funds being effectively trebled.

Why worry about the hall?... Some villagers may ask why should we worry about raising money for the Hall? Well... Colyford is lucky to have a village hall, where gatherings & meetings of numerous societies and clubs take place. The Hall also plays a big part in village events such as the annual Goose Fayre, Spring Fair, jumble sales & the Christmas Bazaar. The Hall is also the venue for weekly bingo sessions raising substantial financial support for Devon Hospicecare. The Hall is often hired out for wedding receptions & birthday/anniversary celebrations etc. as it offers a well equipped facility right at the heart of the village.

Many villages are not so lucky as Colyford, & have lost their halls to developers & in so doing a vital hub of their community has disappeared.

A little bit of history... It was recognising there was a need for a meeting place, back in the 1940s, that villagers from Colyford began thinking about having a hall of their own. Their foresight & hard work, by some who did not live to see the Hall finally completed in 1956, meant we have this wonderful facility today that lends itself to so many uses.

It is also worth mentioning here the name of our Hall, Colyford Memorial Hall. It is poignant to remember that the land was purchased & given to the village by the father of Thomas Morton who was killed in the Second World War. The Hall commemorates his life & three other local servicemen Arthur Newton, Ralph Anning & Thomas Hawkins. The Hall, therefore, stands as a village memorial that we can all feel proud of.

The task starts with all of us... So we have a task ahead of us and we need to look within our community, to ask each resident to support the effort needed to replace the roof. In doing so we can all carry on enjoying what others worked so hard for back in the 1940's/50's, & equally important that we have something to pass on to the next generation of Colyford. Even if some of us are not planning to live out our lives in Colyford, we hope someone somewhere will be campaigning to keep similar facilities going wherever we end up. And with uncertainties in an ever changing world, a village with a hall like ours, where people can gather & enjoy numerous activities without getting the car out, or catching a bus, will be a great asset for its people... Now Pollyanna would be glad about that!

Here some ways in which we can all support the roof fundraising campaign.

1. Come & support events...

Look out for village events on the village notice boards, or in the “Colyford Village Newsletter” /local newspapers / Colyford village website: www.colyfordvillage.co.uk

Even if you can't attend an event please consider donating a raffle/tombola prize (prizes can be donated all year round & stored ready for the next event), or help set up before an event...

2. Organise events...

If you have any thoughts about organising an event please let us know, & we can help you make it happen.

3. Tile campaign...

Pledge money towards the roof tile campaign & have your name recorded in the Hall. A minimum of £5 can secure you a tile! See contacts below.

4. Make a donation...

Either by using the yellow envelopes found inside the Hall, & posting them in the letter box, or contacting one of the Colyford Memorial Hall Trustees see details below.

5. Consider bequeathing a donation in your will.

Contacts If you have any ideas/ queries/ suggestions please contact Paula Collingwood:Tel 01297 553211, Howard West: Tel 01297 551375, or John Bennett: Tel 01297 551148.

Also please consider helping by contacting us at Colyford Memorial Hall. If helper numbers fall short after general appeals for help at events, via the village website/ Newsletter, then residents who have indicated where they are willing to help will be approached to assist in the area of their preference. We hope to update this list annually so residents can opt out if they wish and new ones join in.

Finally look out for progress reports of the roof campaign through the various village communications mentioned above, & come and see the Colyford Memorial Hall display in the hall at future fundraising events.