EDGWORTH at CHRISTMAS UPDATE

12 Nov, 2020

Good morning all,

As you know we had an idea that we might move the village Christmas Tree to the side of the Barlow this year only, for safety reasons both COVID social distancing and to take gatherings of children away from being in close proximity to the main road through the village. I must say a big thank you to all of your well wishes and positive messages of support, over 300 of them with only one in the negative.

However, it proved far too difficult to speak to anybody with authority in moving the tree and so it has now been installed and I’m sure it will look wonderful as usual………..HOWEVER…….. we are still planning to put a Christmas Tree at the side of the Barlow, close to the new walkway and as part of those workings Rory from the Cricket Club agreed to put in electrics for the lights, so a 15 foot Christmas Tree will be installed there in due course and will be joined by 4 x 5 foot trees for children of the village to pin their Christmas Wishes to…..

I think this will be a wonderful focal point where people can gather safely, sing carols, or simply contemplate.

There will also be a real tree in the Reading Room this year (I have been told that I will have to sweep up the needles at the end!) which I think will give a whole new atmosphere for Christmas in our cafe/bar (restrictions permitting of course).

This is, of course, an extra cost that isn’t budgeted for and so we will have a donations bucket for anybody who would like to help out, but donations are very much a second thought.

We are also intending to light the huge pine at the back of the car park in some way as it is such a magnificent tree but unfortunately in the wrong place! ……….. Currently, the big problem that we have is that we don’t have any lights and so we would like to ask if anybody has any large strings of lights that they may be used in Summer that they could lend us for the Festive Season as we don’t particularly want to buy all new before we know if the venture will be a success or not.

The success of the Remembrance Day events centred on the new scoreboard is also inspiring imaginations regarding how we can use it to support Edgworth at Christmas.

Sara is busy organising various specialist food evenings during December and we are looking to have Christmas Market-style activity each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday throughout December.

We are in discussion with St Anne’s regarding an outside Christingle service for all of the village children at some point if a single service cannot be performed in the church….. More details to follow after we know what the restrictions will be on the 2nd of December.

So lots going on, but pretty much everything other than the trees are of course subject to any COVID restrictions we find ourselves under post-December 2nd.

Regards,

Mike

FRIENDS OF THE BARLOW

Blackburn with Darwen Council handed over the running and upkeep of The Barlow to the community in 2013. Since then The Barlow Charity has relied upon the generosity of benefactors and income from users of the facilities, plus the efforts of volunteers to sustain this much valued community facility. Significant improvements have been carried out to help ensure a long-term future, including a new roof, replacement windows, new hygienic worktops in the coffee shop kitchen and a new hot water & heating system. Most recently (summer 2022) the renovation of the outdoor veranda has been completed and a new adjacent decking area has been installed. In addition the snooker room has been restored to its former splendour by a small group of volunteers.

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An important source of funding that has contributed to the above mentioned improvements is The Friends of the Barlow scheme.  By becoming a Friend you can contribute to a fund that is used for repairs and renovations to the structural fabric of the building and pathways etc, and to upgrade, refresh and improve facilities e.g. now that the building is once again weathertight there are plans being drawn up for the main hall can be deep-cleaned, re-decorated and refurbished and other water-damaged areas such as the main stairway & its beautiful large, stained glass window to also be restored to their former glory.

As a Friend of The Barlow, your regular donations provide a much appreciated, steady income stream that to date (summer 2022) has raised in the region of over £40,000, which has been mostly used contributing towards paying for the roof, windows and heating system.
We intend to soon publish the overall list of improvements/tasks and from that you will see that there is a significant amount of expenditure still needed to achieve all of the identified tasks and improvements. We would welcome donations/sponsorship for specific items that may be of particular interest to individuals or families or groups, but the regular donations by Friends of The Barlow are also crucial. Therefore, we welcome any and all new donors and are grateful for whatever amount you choose to donate.

We are of course also very grateful to all of our existing Friends of The Barlow and if you are able to increase your monthly donation by any amount, that would be hugely appreciated – you can either make the increase to your standing order directly with your bank or you can complete a new form and send it to your bank or give it to us to process.

Please also consider increasing the value of your donation at no extra cost to you by using Gift Aid – as an example, an £8 donation from you becomes £10 with the Gift Aid add-on!

If you wish to donate please click on the link below, complete the form and either send it to your bank with an email copy to our email address fotb@thebarlow.co.uk  or return the completed form to the Barlow’s office in a sealed envelope addressed to Friends of The Barlow.  Paper copies of the form are available from The Barlow.

For any further information please email fotb@thebarlow.co.uk or contact the office via info@thebarlow.co.uk or 01204 852216.

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