The Village Halls Podcast

In Northumberland, more than 75 different village halls have come together, sharing ideas, resources and benefiting both practically and financially from an innovative and collective approach. Our guest George Courtice, a trustee of Middleton & Todridge Village Hall in Northumberland, tells us how it all works and discusses some of the big issues that rural communities are currently facing.

In 2014, Joseph Rogers stumbled across a special kind of medieval building that awakened an enduring passion and literally changed his life. Now an author of several books, Joe's research into 'Tithe Barns' has revealed all kinds of modern day uses for these fascinating structures, including village and community halls. Could you help him find more of these hidden gems?

"It takes a whole village to raise a child." For this episode we're joined by NSPCC senior consultant Shirley Maginley who explains responsibilities around child protection and safeguarding, including DBS checks and other aspects of good practice. Tune in and discover more about how to provide a safe place for children in and around your community building.

As many as 3.7 million adults in the UK say they feel lonely or isolated. For this episode, we're joined by Amy Chambers of Leicestershire and Rutland RCC, who dispels a few of the myths around loneliness and explains some of the innovative ways they've been tackling the issue and getting village halls involved.

How would you like to win up to £1,000 for your village hall and £500 for yourself? Listen in to this special podcast episode for details of our 2021 Wonderful Villages Photo Competition. Our guest is Gavin Mitchell, Managing Director of competition sponsors Allied Westminster, who helps to explain the kind of photos we're looking for and some of the rules around the competition, as well as how to enter. So tune in, get snapping and win some vital funds for your local community, and for you too! #wonderfulvillages2021

There's been a huge digital revolution over the past 20 to 30 years and while many are comfortable with that, others can find it confusing and even terrifying. Digital advocate Bernard Hammick of Hallmaster, joins us to talk about how village halls have been adapting to the digital world and what kind of benefits this can bring.

As well as bringing communities together, village halls can help improve people’s health and wellbeing. Our guest Sian Highnam, talks about a new friendship garden in Fontmell Magna in North Dorset, which the village hall has developed in partnership with the local medical practice. It’s all part of a broader drive within the NHS to rollout something called ‘social prescribing’, which offers a more holistic approach to health. Could your village hall become a social prescribing partner too?

Renovating a heritage property is a major task at the best of times. But when that property is also the centre of an English village community and you're trying to manage the project from over 600 miles away in Germany... well that seems impossible. Our guest, Jane Crofts describes how she and her sister Joanne have worked together for 8 years to bring the village hall in Wellow, Nottinghamshire back to life from afar. And now she can't even get home!

Food is every community's most basic need and when your nearest supplies are around 15 miles 'down a twisty single-track road,' stocking up can be tricky at the best of times. Hermione Lamond, who helps run a village hall and its small shop on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, tells an inspiring story of how she's kept the villagers of Elgol supplied through the pandemic, by switching to a whole new way of feeding the locals.

Our guest Alan Roe tells a fascinating story about the village of Bubbenhall, where in the 1980s a former Japanese prisoner of war led an unlikely coup, took over leadership of a neglected village hall and built a brand new one for the community. With his tale of fortitude, sadness and lasting legacy, Alan provides an intriguing insight into British village life and history.