We're nearly there! Full re-opening soon (but open for some events now!)
12.04.21

That time that we have all been waiting for, a return to the "new normal", will soon be upon us but did you realise that there are some events that we can host now?

We are open for children's parties as long as they are either "Out of School activities" or are being run by a professional entertainer?

Also, because we are a Covid Secure venue, we are a bit like a pub/restaurant. We can have 50% of the normal capacity to ensure social distancing as long as we don’t sit more than 6 people closer than 2 metres from another group of 6. Each group of six can consist of 6 individuals from 6 different households. However, once a group of 6 has been formed they can’t socially interact with any other group of 6 at that meeting of event.

We appreciate that this is all a bit complicated but if you would like to hold a meeting at the Hall why not contact Robin, the Bookings Secretary, either on 01959 525181 or e-mail him (better idea!) at ovmh.bookings@otford.net. He'll be happy to explain the current rules to you.

Many of you may not have seen the Players' Hall and kitchen since we undertook the refurbishment recently. Well, we haven't been sitting on our laurels and much more work has been going on during the period when we have been closed. Come along and see what a brilliant facility we now have in the village.

Live drama returns to the Memorial Hall
27.10.20

Otford Village Memorial Hall are delighted to welcome back The Sevenoaks Players ‘Back on The Boards’ and bringing Drama to Otford on the following dates:
27th & 28th Nov and 4th & 5th of Dec
Four one-act plays over seven nights to welcome you back again with caution and delight. 
Two performances per evening; with side-splitting comedies, gripping thrillers and a thought-provoking societal explorer.
This of course will be a Covid safe and socially distanced event. Seating will be available in bubbles of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 seats. 
Tickets are £12 and are available here: 
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/7oaksplayers 
Please do not hesitate to get in touch for more information!
Current schedule (subject to change): 
Lockdown in Little Grimley - 27th Nov & 5th Dec
Deadline Dawn - 27th Nov & 5th Dec
The Mistress of Wholesome - 28th Nov & 4th Dec
Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons - 28th Nov & 4th December

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Village Hall AGM

At 8:00pm on Thursday 22nd October we will be holding the Annual General Meeting of the Committee of Management of Otford Village Memorial Hall. The meeting will be in the Players Hall (the largest of our halls) to allow for social distancing.

We try to make these meetings really interesting and we will be talking about the recent refurbishment of the Player's Hall, our plans for the continuing refurbishment of the complex and the issues that the Covid-19 outbreak has generated for the Hall. If you haven't seen the changes that we have made to the Player's Hall it's worth coming along if only to have a look!

Although the Trustees look after the day-to-day running of the Hall, ultimately, it belongs to you, the hirers and residents. If you would like a copy of the Agenda for the meeting or a copy of the Minutes of the 2019 AGM please e-mail ovmh.secretary@otford.net or phone the Hall Manager on 07887 780 576.

We hope to see you there.

The Importance of Being Earnest
Sunday 14th October @19:30
13.09.18

This is Oscar Wilde's classic, very witty and laugh out loud comedy of mistaken identities, confusion and cucumber sandwiches. On the surface it's a light, fluffy jibe at the nonsensical-ness of the English upper class at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century. At a deeper level. it is also a profound plea for substance, commitment and compassion in the way we treat each other and in the way that we confront adversity. It is this second, deeper level that Two Gents examine from the very contemporary perspective of the migrant and the outsider. Told with wit and deft humour, two actors with only the barest minimum of props and costume will draw you into their performance and unfurl a riot of love, confusion and high jinks to share with you in Oscar Wilde's oh so current insistence on the importance of being EARNEST.

Tickets are £10 for adults and £5 for 12-16-year-olds. Age suitability is 12+. Under 16's must be accompanied by an adult. Available from Yvonne's Stores in Telston Lane, Denise Thompson's Florist in the High Street or the Parish Council Offices also in the High Street. Alternatively from www.wegottickets.com.
Under 16's must be accommpanied by an adult.

Cash bar opens at 19:00 and the performance is roughly 90 minutes plus an interval. Approx. end time is around 21:15.

Main Hall
re-launch
14.08.18

The major refurbishment of the Main Hall is now scheduled for end July/August 2019 and we are already planning a re-launch party. We are thinking about booking these guys to start it all off. Let us know what you think. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfXW6qXuwEw
Thoughts please to ovmh.manager@otford.net

Macmillan Coffee Morning Saturday 29th September
03.07.18

A date for your diary! Once again, the Village Hall will be hosting a Coffee Morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Care on Saturday 29th September from 10:30 until 12:30 in the Club Room.

This was a great success last year and raised a substantial sum for Macmillan and we hope to do even better this year.

All offers of help and cakes please to the Hall Manager on 07887 780 576.

Village Memorial Hall Open Day
Sat 11 August '18
03.07.18

Why not come along to our Village Memorial Hall, enjoy free tea, coffee and cake, see the improvements that we have made to date and give us your views on how we can continue to refurbish and develop this valuable resource so that it remains relevant to future generations. Doors will open at 11:00 and close at 16:00. During this time, Trustees will be on-hand to explain our approach and seek your views on how we can best develop the Hall further. This is not a meeting and there will be NO SPEECHES but an opportunity for you to express your ideas. Representatives from some of the local organisations and societies who use our facilities will be available to provide information on what they do and to talk about how they use the Hall.

When we say Hall, we actually mean your Hall. Otford Parish Council, although supportive of the Hall, are not its owners. We, the residents of Otford, own the Hall which is held in trust for us by the Charity Commissioners. A Committee of Management (generally called the Trustees) manage the Hall and this is made up of some of the regular users of the Hall and representatives of the village.

So, please spare a few minutes of your time, come along and support us to ensure that our Hall, which is also very much our community centre, remains a valuable vilage asset!

We look forward to seeing you there.

Macmillan Coffee Morning
10.10.17

A big thank you to everyone that attended the Coffee Morning on 30 September in aid of Macmillan Cancer Research. In total we raised £175.25 which has gone off to help Macmillan in their valuable work. Particular thanks must go to Debbie Callway and her Mum for their superb cakes that we decided were too good to eat so were raffled off and raised even more money! Keep an eye open for the date for next year. We hope to see even more people then!

The Three Musketeers are seen in Otford! (Or, at least, they will be on Saturday 18th November at 2:00.)
01.09.2017

After the outstanding success of Gloriator, the Trustees are delighted to announce our latest presentation. Chaos, mayhem and slapstick stupidity reign supreme as The Three Half Pints swish their swords, buff their boots and flourish their feathers in their most ridiculous adventure yet.
Will they defeat the dastardly evildoers? Will they save the damsel in distress? Will they read the book before writing this show?
Nobody knows.......but you can bet that the CBeebies favourites will provide a hilarious slapstick adventure of chivalry, swordplay and suddenly falling over.
The seventeenth century has never been so silly!
Ticket prices are £10 for adults and £5 for children 5 - 16 years old. Under 5's are free.
Tickets can be purchased from Yvonne's (in Telston Lane), The Otford Emporium, Otford Parish Council's offices or www.wegottickets.com (the only place that you can pay by credit card but subject to a 10% booking fee).
Entry is by ticket only and these are limited. Doors open at 2:00 and the show starts at 2:30. The performance lasts for about 2 hours and includes an interval. A cash bar with a limited range will be available.
The show is suitable for families and adults with a silly sense of humour.
All profits will go to the Otford Village Memorial Hall Refurbishment Fund.

Handy with a paint brush? Looking to earn a little extra cash?
17.05.2017

The Trustees are looking for someone, who preferably lives in the village, who can do a few odd jobs and a bit of painting for us. Nothing terribly taxing - largely emulsion - and would ideally suit someone who is retired or semi-retired. We'll discuss a rate of pay later but we are not unreasonable! Hours will be pretty much to suit you (and fit in with our hirers). If you are interested either ring the Hall Manager on 07887 780 576 or e-mail ovmh.manager@otford.net.

Annual General Meeting on 15.06.2017

The Annual General Meeting of the Committee of Management of Otford Village Memorial Hall will take place in the Hope Room at 8:00pm on Thursday 15th June 2017.
There has been a lot happening at the Hall over the last year and we plan to make a start on the refurbishment of the Main Hall as soon as possible. If you'd like to know more come along.
If you would like an Agenda or a copy of the Minutes of the 2016 AGM please contact Ron Dullage, Secretary to the Trustees on e-mail: ovmh.manager@otford.net or call 07887 780 576.

The Three Musketeers are coming to Otford
17.05.2017

After the outstanding success of the recent Gloriator production, the Trustees are delighted to announce that The Three Half Pints will be performing their show for all of the family at the Village Memorial Hall at 7:30 on Saturday 19th November 2017.
Chaos, mayhem and slapstick stupidity reign supreme as the Three Half Pints swish their swords, buff their boots and flourish their feathers in their most ridiculous adventure yet.
Will they defeat the dastardly evil-doers? Will they save the damsel in distress? Will they read the book before writing this show?

"The funniest thing I have ever seen." Mumsnet

Tickets are not available yet but will again be on sale at the Parish Council offices, Otford Emporium and Yvonne's. They will also be available online from www.wegottickets.com (subject to small booking fee). Keep watching out! All profits, as always, to the Village Hall Refurbishment Fund.

Superfast broadband now installed
24.02.16

To improve the service that we provide for hirers the Trustees have now upgraded our broadband connection to fibre. When it was checked last it was providing 82 Mbs (for those that don't know, that's fast!). The facility is available to everyone using the Hall. It is an open network and does not require a password. The network name is "OVMH". We hope that you find this beneficial.

Phase 1 refurbishment complete
18.02.16

Phase 1 of the on-going refurbishment of the Village Memorial Hall is now complete and all of the toilets have been brought up to a much higher specification and, in the case of the disabled toilet, to comply with current legislation. The showers in the South changing room have also been replaced. Our thanks go to Chris Adams and Nigel Bailey for their splendid efforts during what was, at times, a challenging task. Additionally, the old boiler that covers the Main Hall has been replaced with two new, eco-friendly, efficient boilers. We have now started applying for grants to raise the money for phase 2 of the refurbishment which involves a major modernisation of the Hope Room and the re-fitting of the Club Room kitchen.However, we still need to raise an additional £12,000 from our own funds and if any villagers would like to contribute to this fund please contact the Treasurer, Derek Buck, at ovmh.treasurer@otford.net or phone the bookings line on 01959 525181 and leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Good news, Bad news
21.08.15

First the bad news. Sainsbury's have stopped hiring out glasses for parties, weddings, etc.

The good news is that they have given most of their glasses to the Village Hall! So if you're planning a party, wedding reception or just an event when you are going to give your guests a glass of wine or whatever we can supply the glasses for you. We actually have 70 champagne flutes, 70 wine glasses, around 50 pint glasses and over 150 hi-ball tumblers. We do ask for a small contribution to cover the cost of breakages, etc because we're a charity and Sainsbury's aren't!

Please be aware that these glasses are only available for use in the Hall and will not be hired for outside functions.

Please talk to the Bookings Secretary if you are interested in using them.

NEW TRUSTEE
01.05.15

The Trustees are pleased to announce that Margaret Nicholson has joined them as the representative of Otford Lunch Club. Margaret will be taking over this role from Diana Arnaud who has given many years of loyal and valuable service to the Trustees but now feels it is time to hand over to someone else.

REFURBISHMENT FUND UPDATE
15.04.15

The Refurbishment Fund received a major boost recently with Kent County Council approving our grant application for £22,200.00 IN FULL! With this sum being matched from our own reserves we are now in a position to start undertaking some of the tasks that have been planned. Some of these works are going to result in the closure of certain parts of the building but we will be working in conjunction with affected hirers to ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum. Although some of the works, e.g. refurbishment of the disabled toilets, will start very soon, the majority of the tasks will take place during August when bookings are at a lower level than usual. Our thanks again to KCC!

TRUSTEE HONOURED IN NEW YEAR'S HONOURS LIST
10.01.15

The Trustees are delighted to announce that Ros Ward has been honoured with the British Empire Medal for services to people with disabilities in Sevenoaks and to charity in Romania. Ros is leader of the Sevenoaks PHAB Club, which offers opportunities for people with learning disabilities and physical disabilities to meet socially each week, and she is the founder of Care and Comfort, Romania, which began to fundraise in 1998.

Ros has only recently joined the Trustees of the Village Memorial Hall and is looking after fundraising. The Trustees would like to offer their sincerest congratulations to Ros. It was well deserved.

CAR PARK CHARGES BEING INTRODUCED
18.09.14

We have now been advised that the Pay and Display scheme for the village car park will go live on Tuesday 14th October. The contractors have allowed one week's grace should you forget to collect a ticket. If you over-run your ticket you will be liable for an £85.00 fine (reduced by 40% if paid within a week). Disabled badge holders will be allowed three hours free parking anywhere in the car park! Fines will be issued to anyone parking outside of marked bays, on yellow lines, on the hatched area outside of the Hall (except for loading and unloading) or in disabled bays unless you are displaying a blue badge. Any queries about how the scheme will operate please contact the Parish Council on 01959 524808.

Car park charges and introduction date
11.11.13

Well, it looks as though the proposed "Pay & Display" is going ahead (eventually). Originally the Parish Council planned to introduce it in October but there have been a few (as yet unresolved) legal issues to sort out and so, at the time of writing, there is no final date set.

The proposed charges are - Monday to Friday - first hour free; next two hours 50p per hour and then £1.00 per hour thereafter. Saturdays - first hour free; next two hours 50p per hour and then £2.00 for the whole day. Sundays and Bank Holidays are free all day but the Parish Council reserve the right to amend this if they feel it is necessary. This also applies to all of the other rates. Charging times are from 07:00 until 18:00.

We're up with the technology!
25.04.12

Two more ways of keeping in touch with what's happening at the Hall - you can either follow us on Twitter @Otford_Hall or you can like us on Facebook. We're always pleased to hear from anyone, be it by letter, e-mail, text, Twitter, FaceBook or even racing pigeon!

Disabled ramp now available
02.07.11

The Trustees are pleased to announce that we have now had a new ramp built to enable wheelchair users to access the patio from the Main Hall. This ramp is stored away when not in use so if you would like it to be available for your event please contact the Hall Manager on 07887 780576.

Handy with a paint brush? Looking to earn a little extra cash?
09 Sept 2010

The Trustees are looking for someone, who preferably lives in the village, who can do a bit of painting for us. Nothing terribly taxing - largely emulsion - and would ideally suit someone who is retired or semi-retired. We'll discuss a rate of pay later but we are not unreasonable! Hours will be pretty much to suit you (and fit in with our hirers). If you are interested either ring the Hall Manager on 01959 525181 or e-mail ovmh.manager@otford.net.