Volunteers in Hope Mansell have finished all of the National Lottery funded work at the Village Hall, which the Ross Gazette visited last summer just before the work began. Those who use the Village Hall and the volunteers who work there held their first event just before Christmas and have since enjoyed many other get togethers, including a Burns Night supper and many celebration parties.

Once a dark orange colour, the main room and the newly installed kitchen are painted in a relaxing pale grey, chosen by Deputy Chairperson, Catherine Lewis, who with her husband, Brian, was instrumental in installing the kitchen. Delicate decorations have been hung from the ceiling and a new sign has also been fitted outside.

Around 20 people donated their DIY skills over a 15 week period to transform the Village Hall.

The local community was consulted before work started and there were two priorities. Firstly, to maintain the spirit of the old school room and the memories of the many people who had attended the Hope Mansell School. Secondly, the aim was to provide a modern meeting and event facility in the community which, like several local villages, has no public transport, village shop or pub.

A monthly village dog walk concludes with coffee at the refurbished hall, and the organisers hold a well attended pub night each quarter, the next of which is June 21st. The traditional July village fete will be hosted in the newly refurbished hall too, this year. There are also coffee mornings, book sales and craft events organised throughout the year.

Village Hall Treasurer, David Weber, told the Ross Gazette: “The Village Hall was in need of an urgent upgrade but we could not have contemplated a project of this size without the grant.”

The four-legged friend in the photograph is 13-year-old Ben, the Collie, who is well known to most of the villagers and a keen attendee of all the events that take place at the Village Hall.

Jan Powell, who completed the application for the grant from the Big Lottery Fund, said: “The National Lottery Community Fund was perfect for what we wanted to do and we were delighted with the help we received from the organisation and with the speed of the decision to award us the funds. It meant that we could keep the momentum going on our project.

“We have gone from a much-loved but tired old hall to a lovely facility in less than a year.”

With a fresh kitchen installed, the volunteers are excited to enjoy community meals there, including an Italian night which will be taking place on May 17th.See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now.