Youth Club Update

Things are looking good down at Annexe Towers. We might not be in there just yet but we started back with some strong support from what would appear to be 30ish members coming along for the past couple of weeks.

I say 'appears to be' because we have a DIY signing in system where we leave the book on the counter and folks sign themselves in and put their £1 subs either in the tub, or hand it over to one of us and we put it in the tub. We count up the names and we count up the coins...the general idea being that the two match. So recently when there were 27 names and £31 it was hard to say the precise cause. Still, on that basis we're four heads in credit every week, which strikes me as the right way round at any rate.

A lot can happen in two weeks and we have had two very good ones, thank you very much. Whilst moving my eldest up to Edinburgh Uni for the first time I took a lovely call from an Audlem resident who had seen the 'Viewpoint' article, published here back in August, and which had proved to be the catalyst for my caller to make an extremely generous personal donation to Youth Club. The donor remains anonymous at their request but I have permission to mention the gesture here. I may be guilty of the odd 'gush' when acknowledging the kindness and support of the community to which we belong, but what the hell, I say, it's always more than justified. It is acts such as these that enable us not only to continue but also to raise the standards of what we can offer the young people who come to Youth Club.

The past two and a bit years have just been the start of the process of trying to build something that has longevity and that has a strong identity so that its future survival is not dependent upon any one individual or group. The move into the annex space is the last foundation block in that process. From that point onward we have a permanent base, we can acquire and store proper kit and we can run more varied activities. We will not look or feel transient anymore, we will have walls to adorn with our stuff, we will be a better place to be. The journey to becoming established starts then.

The other very good thing that happened came via another phone call recently. The Dodcott and Wilkesley Parish Council came to us and asked if we would like to put in a request to them for help with buying some bits and pieces for our new room at the annex. It is delightful to be the recipients of such goodwill and we are busy speaking to our young members to identify the most appropriate items so that we can go gratefully back to them in time for their November meeting. We understand the need to spend judiciously and would rather have fewer, well used items of kit than lots of stuff sitting unused in cupboards.

On that note, there is a lot of love for a sandwich toaster at the moment, but I think that's mostly me!

On the activity front there were worm races in sleeping bags last week (of course there were). The week before was baking pastry twists with chocolate and toffee, dusted with icing sugar. In the end the volunteers did the baking, the young people did the eating and the smell of freshly baked croissant pastry was divine. So much so that I might just start pumping the aroma out across the playing fields on a Wednesday night to lure more unsuspecting youths through our doors.

This week we are reviving an old favourite – BINGO! A couple of rounds of this with the chance to be a chocolate high roller and your good to go and romp around in the twilight and the dog poo. Yes, there are still people who let their dogs do that on the playing fields. Hard to resist us I know when there is all this to look forward to but we'd love to see you this Wednesday at 7.15pm in the Public Hall.

Any queries, complaints, weight loss solutions for middle aged spread (stop eating croissant pastry?), do contact me, Kate, on 07789 915940.

This article is from our news archive. As a result pictures or videos originally associated with it may have been removed and some of the content may no longer be accurate or relevant.