Welcome to Buckland Village Hall

A SIGN FOR OUR TIMES

Plans to raise the profile of Buckland Village Hall took a further step with the installation of a prominent new sign.

The wooden sign is set adjacent to the noticeboards just above the low brick wall at the front of the property. It features the recently adopted logo and the tagline 'A hall for us all' , along with the website address.

Richard Peel, Chair of the Buckland Old School Trust, who manage the hall, said:" There have been many occasions when villagers have been asked where the hall is by visitors, because there has been no clear signage. The Trustees thought that in our 25th year we should put that right."

Updated signs with the hall's branding have also been placed in the grounds of the hall. 

More plans for future use of the hall will be announced soon.

Soulfools, a London based band playing Motown and Stax classics, rounded off a day which brought together all ages at 'Buckland Blast' - the event held at Buckland Village Hall to celebrate it's 25th year.

The highly proficient musicians with a charismatic lead singer in Newton Brown, who joined in the dancing, created a joyful, fun filled atmosphere and barely a seat was occupied as they roared through a wonderful set of upbeat soulful songs. 

They were preceded by The Jokers, an energetic teenage Tring band who played covers ranging from Pink Floyd to Dire Straits, demonstrating musicianship way beyond their years and Little Edge, a local band showcasing their own material as well as blues standards.

The day began with a magic show where Simon Says, enthralled and surprised both children and adults with his amazing tricks and that was followed by a senior citizen's lunch attended by more than 30 villagers who were able to revive memories and look through a storyboard which records the history of the Hall.

"It was great to see young and old enjoying the garden and the Village Hall. We want to encourage local people to use the facility more and this celebration was a way to raise its profile, as well as being a community party." said Richard Peel, Chair of the organisers, the Buckland Old School Trust.      

Other activities  included a Dog Show and a Ceilidh, which brought families on to the dance floor, before an open mic featuring a mix of folk, rock and ballads from Norman Mandry and Steve Porter; Ben Hamilton, Steve and Trish Porter and Peter Callow. 

Buckland Blast was held on Saturday, September 13 and thanks go to sponsors and supporters: Cesare and Co, Dayla, Your Cafe in the Park, Ross Holkham photography, ARLA, Olleco, Chiltern Archery, Animal Support Angels and  Buckinghamshire Council's Community Board for Wendover and Villages.

Award winning entertainer and magician 'Simon Says' with his magical illusions, story telling, and comedy, will be at Buckland Village Hall for the 'Buckland Blast' on Saturday, September 13, and tickets are on sale for the all day family event.
Opening at 10am, the family fiesta will feature Simon, who will be enthralling 3–8-year-olds from 11.30am to 12.30pm, at which point seniors will gather for an hour long lunch, kindly provided by 'Your Cafe in the Park', in the marquee displaying a 'village hall through the years' exhibition.   
There'll be a short prize presentation and then dog lovers can bring their canine companions to a Show which begins at 2pm.  There'll be four classes - Best Child Dog Handler, Prettiest Bitch, Handsomest Dog and the Dog the Judges would most like to take home. There'll be prizes for the top three in each class donated by Animal Support Angels. A £2 entry fee for each class will enable us to donate back to the charity.
After the dog show there'll be an afternoon of music and dancing with a Ceilidh at 3pm followed by an open mic and two local bands, the Jokers and Little Edge. Two sets from North London soul band Soulfools will round the evening off. There'll be food vans on site with Penny's Vintage Coffee Shop selling refreshments and Souvlaki House, with a range of appetising Greek food and there'll be a bar in the Village Hall, thanks to Dayla, which will be open from 1pm to 9.30pm. 
To make 'Buckland Blast'  as inclusive as possible, children aged 5 to 11 years old are invited to tell a story about their favourite holiday in words with colourful pictures and paintings. The first prize is a visit for a family of four to the Roald Dahl museum. Also, for the family, the Buckland Quiz has been launched on the village hall website. There are 18 questions to test your knowledge about your village and the winner will be presented with their prize at the 'Buckland Blast' . 
Please send your answers to the quiz and entries for the story to hallandbookingsmanager@bucklandvillagehall.com and include your name, address and telephone number.  Entries for the quiz and the story close on Thursday, September 11. The photo competition will now run until Friday, November 14 and, as well as pictures of your favourite Buckland scene or view, shots taken at the Buckland Blast event will be included and judged by Ross Holkham of Ross Holkham Photography, who has donated a family shoot worth £350 as the first prize. The second prize is £100 donated by Olleco and the third, £50, contributed by the Buckland Old School Trust (BOST).  Jpegs with email and phone details should be sent to the email address above.  
You can find the quiz and tickets for the event here:  25th Anniversary Event | Buckland Village Hall

           We are grateful to our sponsors and supporters, Cesare Estate Agents, Dayla,  ARLA, Olleco, Chiltern Archery, Ross Holkham Photography, Buckinghamshire Council's Community Board for Wendover and Villages, Your Cafe in the Park and Animal Support Angels. 

Soul Fools, a North London based band with a seven-piece line up, will be headlining the evening at ‘Buckland Blast’, the Buckland Village Hall 25th anniversary celebration.

At the event on Saturday, September 13, local musicians will be able to demonstrate their talent during an open mic session and there’ll be local bands as support acts to Soul Fools too. 

With lead singer Newton Brown at the forefront of the soul and funk band you can expect sweet soul music, funk and upbeat instrumentals, that should get everyone dancing, as well as modern classics 

Says Peter Walker, saxophonist and trumpeter: “We celebrate the music from the legendary record labels Motown, Atlantic and Stax, which dominated the Soul and R&B charts late last century.

“We find that songs performed by artists, like Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder and Wilson Pickett alongside groups like the Drifters, the Four Tops and the Temptations continue to enthral audiences today”.

Soul Fools will do two 45-minute sets to round off Buckland’s family fiesta, a community event aimed at bringing villagers of all ages together. 

www.bucklandvillagehall.com

Further information from Richard Peel

Email: rppr@hotmail.co.uk

Tel: 078 0508 3595 

We're looking for local business support for our family fiesta at Buckland Village Hall on Saturday, September 13. 

A community event to celebrate the village hall's 25th anniversary - dubbed 'Buckland Blast' - the day will have something for everyone and we've already had sponsorship from the Chiltern Archery, ARLA, Olleco, Ross Holkham Photography and Dayla, who have agreed to set up a bar.   

Our latest sponsor is 'Your Cafe in Park', located in the heart of Aston Clinton and a family run business since 2015. 

Owner Nick Lincoln said he was delighted to sponsor our senior citizen's lunch - a get together for Buckland's over seventies.

Said Nick: "We serve the local community great coffee, breakfasts, lunch, cakes and snacks with a smile. We also have kids soft play for the under 5's and meeting rooms available to hire for businesses and private functions, with catering options available."

Those who want to book a place for a free lunch - first come first served - at 12.30pm on Saturday, September 13 should email: hallandbookingsmanager@bucklandvillagehall.com for information and any budding sponsors should so the same!

A community get together is planned at Buckland Village Hall to celebrate its 25th anniversary and a photo competition is being launched today, Wednesday, April 16 with winners to be announced at the event.

To be held on Saturday, September 13 from 10am to 9.30pm the celebration will include the presentation of prizes for the best photograph of the village, the best essay written about the village and to the winners of our 20-question quiz about Buckland, which will be posted on the website in June.

The day will include an exhibition with photographs of activity and events through the years, a children’s entertainer, lunch for senior citizens and an afternoon and evening of music and entertainment.

All ages are welcome to submit photos of their favourite view or scene in Buckland. The deadline for submissions is Friday, August 1and they should be sent by email as a jpeg to Hallandbookingsmanager@bucklandvillagehall.com. Please include your name, address and phone number. 

Ross Holkham of Ross Holkham Photography ( Wedding Photographer Based in Aylesbury | Buckinghamshire) will judge the pictures and has generously donated a free family photoshoot worth £350 as the first prize. The second prize is £100, donated by Olleco, and the third prize, £50, donated by the Buckland Old School Trust. 

Said Richard Peel, Chair of the Trust, who are organising the event: “We want to bring the villagers of Buckland together, which happens too infrequently, to celebrate 25 years of the hall but also to raise its profile. 

Several local businesses have pledged their support, and the details will be announced in the upcoming months. If any other Buckland businesses or other local organisations would like to support the event through sponsorship or a prize, then please get in touch.”

The hire of the hall is now £12 an hour for villagers on a weekday and £15 an hour at weekends. There is a new marquee funded through a Community Development grant from Buckinghamshire Council’s Wendover Community Board, and signage for the hall will be improved because of this grant too.  

 

The event will be free for residents of Buckland, although there will be an opportunity to make a voluntary donation, and £10 for non-villagers.

www.bucklandvillagehall.com

Further information from Richard Peel Email: rppr@hotmail.co.uk  Tel: 078 0508 3595 

 A campaign has been launched to revitalise Buckland Village Hall with the introduction of a new website and the appointment of two new trustees.

An online booking system, making it easier for hirers to choose dates and times, has been set up as part of an accessible website – www.bucklandvillagehall.com – with all the relevant information online.

Those wishing to hire the hall will be invoiced via the system and will be able to make their payments to the charity through the website. The website features a brief survey, also available on the hall’s Facebook page and Everything Buckland.  

The survey has been designed to get some basic answers from the local community on how they have used the hall in the past and what it might be used for in the future. All Buckland residents are encouraged to participate.

The two new trustees are Linda Oatley and Richard Peel, who has been appointed the Chair of the Charity. 

Said Richard: “We all want to reinvigorate the charity by holding more activities and events and creating a genuine hub for the community. We’ll do this by consulting more widely, locally; by promoting events and activities more vigorously and by being transparent in all we do. 

“We want to make this a ‘hall for us all’ and that means encouraging, in particular, more activities for young people, greater use of the hall for arts and educational purposes and the scheduling of a few bigger events to bring the community together.”

The website also features profiles of all the trustees, a history of the hall and a picture gallery. There is also an option for people to send in suggestions or make complaints via email and summaries of minutes of meetings will be posted for information.

The Village Hall is run by the Buckland Old School Trust, a registered charity, with a mission to fulfil its charitable purpose by making the village hall an all-inclusive place of recreation for the community of Buckland Parish by continuously consulting the public on its use and being transparent about its management and finances.