The Village Halls Podcast

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...

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, Nottinghamsh...

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 switch...

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.

Several village halls have been playing a part in Britain’s unprecedented vaccination programme. For this episode, Teresa Killeen who heads up a fantastic group of volunteers connected to Ticehurst Hall in East Sussex, gives us a ‘behind the scenes’ on how 1,000 elderly and vulnerable people have been receiving their jab each week. She describes the challenges they’ve all faced and discusses how t...

Our guest for this episode is Simon Bland, who has worked for many years in the voluntary and charitable sectors and is Chairman of his local Village Hall. We talk about the challenges his Hall has faced throughout the Covid-19 crisis and how he and his fellow trustees have coped, both practically and emotionally in such difficult times. And on a positive note, Simon offers advice and a strong sen...

For this special episode to mark Village Halls Week 2021, our guest Louise Beaton OBE talks about the history behind village and community halls. She also covers some of the important events through time that halls have played a key part in, including more recently, as well as what the future might hold. Please subscribe and join our listening community today.

This episode is your introduction to The Village Halls Podcast, featuring your host Johnny Thomson. Johnny explains what this new podcast is about and who it's for. Listen in and discover what we've got coming soon and ways you can subscribe. Join our listening community today.