July 2010
Craig and Ruth held their wedding in the hall at the beginning of July and it was a very special day. They erected marquees at the front and spent a great deal of time decorating the whole building with flowers and special lighting effects. It was wonderful and we wish them all the best!
North Highland Connections will stage a concert on Friday 6 August 2010 at 7.30. Tiller’s Folly, a Canadian Celtic roots band will perform and it’s sure to be a good night.
Over recent weeks we have been working with the Dunnet and Canisbay Day Care group looking at the possibility of building an extension to the hall to cater for the older and less able residents of North East Caithness. We continue to investigate the installation of a wind turbine and have made some approaches to funding bodies.
June 2010
The committee raised £444.50 at the Vintage Car Rally in John O Groats by selling hot topped pancakes and teas. It was a good day out and the stall was very busy. We received an unexpected donation this month from the Scarfskerry Pier £270. The association has been wound up and kindly gave half of its remaining funds to the hall.
Suzie and George held their wedding reception in the hall on the 11th and had a great time by all accounts. The bride’s father spent rather longer in the hall than expected. When the key broke in the lock he decided to sleep there all night to keep the building secure!
April 2010
It was a great privilege to have Professor Phil Cunningham visit and perform in the hall earlier in the month. North Highland Connections staged another great event - a concert with Phil Cunning, his students from the RSAMD and a host of local children who attended a week long music workshop. The music was inspiring and the hall was filled to capacity.
March 2010
It’s a year since the hall opened and the committee has reviewed the letting fees). They were initially set low to encourage new users and although a small increase is needed they will still be very reasonable with no additional charge for electricity.
The Ground Source Heat Pump has performed very well and the building is always heated. Electricity remains our biggest overhead and the committee has decided to investigate the installation of a wind turbine. This would mean the building would be heated and powered entirely on renewable energy and our costs would be greatly reduced. We have produced a brief detailing our needs and hope to apply to Community Energy Scotland for funding.
January 2010
The committee meets on a monthly basis, usually on the last Tuesday. This month we also held our AGM and we have fifteen members at present. Fundraising over the year totalled £3,700 so thanks once again for your generous support.
Eden Court Theatre has just started its Body Currents series of dance classes with the first one on Saturday 23rd. Badminton began on Monday 25th and will meet weekly 6.30pm for juniors 7.30 for seniors. It can be difficult for clubs to get the initial start up funding needed to buy equipment so if you are thinking of trying something new in the hall the committee may be able to offer advice and assistance with funding.
December 2009
It’s been a long time since Crossroads Primary School was able to hold it Christmas Play in the hall. For many years the building had been too dilapidated so we were delighted to welcome them back. The whole community enjoyed a wonderful adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The singing, costumes and scenery were all first class.
We plan to hold a Hogmanay Party this year. It will be an informal affair so bring your own food and refreshments please. The hall will be open from 10.30pm.
November 2009
Our Halloween party was a great success. The hall looked great with spooky decorations, scary lanterns and some very creepy costumes. The committee also held a Body Shop party at the end of November to boost funds.
October 2009
The Scottish Government Rural Affairs Committee held a two day conference in the hall this month. Twenty three delegates from all over Scotland attended the event which was chaired by Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment. They were interested in all aspects of the new hall particularly the ground source heating system. They enjoyed their lunches and afternoon teas and were impressed buy the new hall and its facilities.
Crossroads School held a party in the hall to celebrate its 40th Anniversary.
September 2009
We decided to hold a car boot sale on Sunday 13 September and raised £400. We sold teas and hot pancakes and there were eleven car boots on the day. We also raffled a celebration cake baked and donated by June Webster.
A few enthusiastic individuals have started a craft class on Thursday nights at 7.00. It will run throughout the winter months so please go along if you are interested in joining.
The stage curtains made by J and C Joel Ltd are now complete and hung. They really look the part!
August 2009
An Comunn Gaeltachd held a Gaelic concert in the hall to raise funds for MOD 2010. The acoustics gave a crisp clear sound and there was a great variety of music singing and verse. The hall committee ran a bar with the takings going to hall funds.
An indoor bowling ‘Come and Try’ night was held recently and there was a very good turnout. Coaches from the St Fergus club in Wick came along to give some advice and the group will continue to meet weekly on Wednesdays at 7.00pm. All ages and abilities are welcome.
Construction work is continuing on site and there is something new to see every day. The roof tiles and fascias are going on and the first windows are in place. Last week Scottish and Southern Energy installed the new upgraded electricity supply.
Now that work is progressing well on the building we are looking at promoting the facilities. We are working with the organisers of the Royal National MOD 2009 to hopefully bring some fundraising and fringe activities to our community. We have also been liaising with the North Highland College and they plan to run a series of Community Empowerment Training events in the spring.
