The Village Halls Podcast

Has your village, church or community hall delivered or achieved something that could inspire others around the country? If so, you could receive £1,000, £1,500 or even £2,500 in this year's Village Halls Inspiration Awards. Find out more...

There are many unsung heroes in villages across the UK and for this episode we celebrate with one of them, Joan Maxfield, our very first Unsung Hero Award winner. We also hear from Daphne Gwilliam, who nominated Joan for her award, and Simon Bland who led the judging...

How can you encourage young people to get involved at your Village hall? For this episode, Johnny is joined by Sue Lees and Netty Firman from the Stafforshire village of Grindon, who nominated 26 year-old Hannah Blissett for our Young Person’s Award last year. Hannah explains why she's so passionate about her village hall and community. Could someone like Hannah help your hall?

Internet connections in outlying villages are not often the best, but is having a super-fast network always a good thing? Our latest guest is Marc Smith, who is majorly responsible for an unbelievably fast connection being available in his remote village and elsewhere on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. Marc tells us how he and the community achieved this, and how there's also a bit of a downside.

Sharing old stories can often create a sense of belonging for those who live in small rural villages. Stuart Plant, Chairman of Middleton & Aislaby Village Hall joins us to talk about a book and a digital memory bank designed to preserve the past for future generations... 

We look back at a few of our episodes from Season 2 and 2022, covering everything from community businesses to fancy-dress frivolity. Enjoy our round up of the year. Thanks to all of our guests who joined us in 2022 and special thanks to all of you who listened in. Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year everyone and see you in '23. 

It's the one you've all been waiting for! Who are the winners of this year's Wonderful Villages Awards? Our judges have reached their decisions and Johnny is joined by two of the panel, Simon Bland from Rauceby Village Hall and Gavin Mitchell from Allied Westminster, to announce which five halls are to receive £1,000 in funding... 

Almost a quarter of adults in the UK say they’ll be keeping their heating turned off this winter because of rising energy prices. So what can halls do to help? Lizzie Kingston from Framlingham Unitarian Meeting House tells us how they, together with a group of halls in Suffolk, are providing a warm welcome to those in need this winter...

Entries have now closed for our Wonderful Villages Awards, so what happens next? Johnny is joined by Gavin from Allied Westminster and Finn the dog, to keep village halls up and down the country up-to-speed with when and how our five winners of £1,000 each will be announced...

Energy costs have gone through the roof recently and this has presented a big challenge to community buildings up and down the country. However, one village hall has thought of a great idea that not only improves the efficiency of their heating system, but also makes it easier and more comfortable for anyone organising events there. Nick Cole from Shustoke explains how it all works...