Author Archives: alancolemansmith

Closed from 3rd March until June 2025

The Reading Room will be closed while the rebuilding inside the stage end is completed.

During this time some of the events that have been booked into the hall will take place in the church, for which we thank the Parochial Church Council of St James the Less.

Offers of help to carry out the work, which will be done by volunteers, should contact Phil Anderson who will be managing this project on behalf of the Reading Room Management Committee.

Kitchen layout consultation

Proposed kitchen layout

26 people came and looked at the plans and a mock-up of the proposed kitchen layout.

The options

Three options for the kitchen layout were shown with option 1 being the favourite. In fact the other options didn’t get one vote.

All votes were for option 1!

Possible kitchen layouts

Here are some possible layouts that Phil has drawn up using the existing cabinets and equipment. Please do let us have your comments.

Click on a plan to see it larger.

Kitchen option 1
Kitchen option 1 – view of window wall and cupboards
Plan of kitchen option 2
Kitchen option 2 – view of window wall and cupboards
Plan of kitchen option 3
Kitchen option 3 – view of window wall and cupboards

3rd and 4th January consultation. Creating better storage

The current plan

The proposal

A new, scaled-down plan project has been proposed which will allow for:

  • Better storage space for the anticipated purchase of 90 new chairs
  • More storage for the pantomime staging and other “stuff” which is regularly used in the Reading Room

Whilst we are undertaking these improvements we will also take the opportunity to freshen up the Reading Room.
To allow for this improved storage we are going to have to remodel the kitchen and the disabled toilet.
Plans for all these changes will be available at the meeting.
Phil Anderson has kindly undertaken all the work so far on this project, drawing up plans and costings for us and he will be available at the meeting to answer any questions you may have.

Funding

The funding for this project is being obtained from a number of sources:

  • The Reading Room will be funding some of this itself
  • We will be applying for a couple of small grants
  • We are organising an Auction of Promises – details of which will be available in the next newsletter. If you have anything you would like to donate to this, please don’t hesitate to contact Jenny Kinder or Juliet Manners who are organising this auction.

As a village we are incredibly generous when it comes to donating to Charities. If you have any funds, however large or small which you would like to consider donating towards the works at the Reading Room please contact our Treasurer, Alan Coleman-Smith. These donations can be made anonymously or can be recognised in the Reading Room by way of a small plaque or a board of thanks.

How can I help?

In addition, we will be looking for volunteers to help carry out the works. If you have any of the following skills that can be utilised and you are happy to volunteer, please contact Phil and he will add you to the team. He may have already been in touch with you!

  • Carpentry
  • Electrician
  • Plasterer
  • Floor layers
  • Decorators
  • plus any willing and able to push a broom, load a skip or just to give moral support to help us with this work. All would be welcome

Thank you.

We look forward to seeing you on Friday 3rd
or Saturday 4th January at 4-6 pm in the Reading Room.
Refreshments provided.

Contact details :
Building works & volunteering : Phil Anderson : phil.a46@yahoo.com
Donations : Alan Coleman- Smith : kingstonrrtreasurer@gmail.com
Auction of Promises : Jenny Kinder : jmkinder47@googlemail.com
Auction of Promises : Juliet Manners : kingstonrrsecretary@gmail.com