The Village Halls Podcast

There are few places better than your local village hall for exercising, especially if you're not getting any younger! Nesta Shephard, despite being in her seventies, still takes 6 fitness and pilates classes a week and and is passionate about exercise for all kinds of reasons. 'Pilates Nesta' talks to us about how she battled back from debilitating health, the era of leg-warmers &a...

So how would you like not one, not two, but FIVE opportunities to receive £1,000 for your village, church or community hall? Well, here’s your chance! Today we've launched an Awards programme for village halls and other rural community buildings, to recognise the incredible contribution you all make across a variety of categories. And for this episode we take you through the five categories o...

Many village halls host cafes, shops, markets, post offices and all kinds of other community businesses. Some have even taken over their local pubs! So this got us thinking… Just how easy is it to start a community business? And what support is out there to help village halls, or anyone else for that matter, get one up and running? Our latest guest Hannah Barrett, Senior Project Manager with the P...

Love it or hate it, we all now very much depend on being online. But are our village, church and community halls making enough of their websites? Our guest for this episode, Mark Harris, Chair of Bowerhill Village Hall, explains how being online has attracted those in their community and beyond, and talks about a recent website makeover that’s taking them to the next level.

Village, church and community halls often rely heavily on rental income from those using their buildings to provide services and activities to the community. So if, for some reason, those services or activities suddenly stop, halls can find themselves in a bit of a financial pickle. Finbar Murphy is Chair of Cookham Dean Village Hall in Berkshire, which lost a key tenant just over two years ago. T...

Welcome to Season 2 of our podcast. For our first episode of 2022 we announce the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th prize winners of our Wonderful Villages Photo Competition and reveal some of our plans for this year, including a brand new and exciting opportunity to receive recognition and support for you and your village, church or community hall.

Since we launched our podcast in January 2021 we've had all kinds of guests on the show who have surprised us, enlightened us and inspired us. So, for our last episode of the year, we thought we'd look back at some of the highlights of Season One, reliving a few special moments. It's almost Christmas, so put your feet up, grab a cuppa and relax while listening in to some of our best...

It’s time to announce the village hall and photographer that won first prize in our Allied Westminster sponsored 2021 ‘Wonderful Villages’ photo competition. The winning image captures everything about community spirit and togetherness and the incredible service that village, church and community halls provide. This episode features the winning hall and photographer and also explains what’s happen...

There's few things more important than food! But have we lost this idea of people coming together to grow and provide food for themselves and others around them? Well, certainly not in South Milford in North Yorkshire, where my guest Nadia Lindsay and other villagers have developed what's known as an 'Incredible Edible' group - an 'off-the-shelf' project with online s...

Knocking down your village hall and starting again is a bold move. However, the community in Aberforth in West Wales has spoken and it would like a brand new £1m plus 'hub' that's fit for the 21st century. Trustee and project officer Sue Lewis tells us about their plans, the challenges they're facing and covers some of the key lessons-learned so far. Essential listening, if you...

Behind every village there are often intriguing stories to uncover. Peter Power, a trustee of Emery Down and Bank Village Hall, joins us to talk about all kinds of local connections from Alice in Wonderland to a notorious snake-catcher! He also paints an inspiring picture of contrast between village life, past and present and major historical events. His fascinating tales demonstrate how life goes...

Volunteering within your community can be hugely rewarding. But let's be honest, it can also mean there's sometimes a little too much to cope with. And with lockdowns and opening-up and everything else we've all been through recently, it can even become overwhelming at times. Our guest, stress and well-being expert Dave Algeo, offers useful self-help and advice that can be passed on...

Village hall trustee Steve Barnes recalls the incredible community spirit that kept the villagers of Downe going during the worst moments of the pandemic. His heart-warming tales of care and contribution, in an unusual rural location, are a strong reminder that communities everywhere matter. Listen in and feel a little bit better about the world!

Fiona Sinnott is a former TV and theatre actor who starred in shows such as Jupiter Moon, The Tudors and Les Miserables. Fiona recently moved to the beautiful village of Bennington in Hertfordshire and immersed herself in village hall activity, soon becoming part of the committee. She talks to us about what it's like being the 'newbie' in the village and how this post-lockdown perio...

When it works, insurance helps communities build back their village, community and church halls if something bad happens. However, as our guest Will Molland reveals, there is a big problem affecting 4 out of every 5 community buildings which can mean your insurance won't payout anything like the amount to cover a claim. Find out more, including how to fix this problem, by listening in today.

Some people make health and safety sound complicated. However, our guest Teresa Budworth explains how it doesn't have to be the burdensome and bureaucratic thing it's often made out to be. Teresa also reveals why dressing up as a sugar-cube in a village hall can be a dangerous thing! Listen in and find out more!

Our guest for this episode is TV and radio presenter Pam Rhodes, best known for the BBC’s Songs of Praise and for her many interviews with celebrities such as Sir Ian McKellen, Dolly Parton and Marcel Marceau. Pam talks about her career and a trilogy of books she's written about Hope Hall, the centre of a fictional community packed with all kinds of intriguing and hilarious characters. Pam ex...

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 h...

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 mor...