Multi-generational fundraising effort sees donations to Read and Simonstone hit £2,700

As well as the regular Coffee and Cake mornings held on a Friday at the Con Club (10am to noon), which are often attended by more than 50 people, plenty of other supplementary fundraising endeavours, including other special events such as the canal cruise from Foulridge, have seen almost £2,700 raised to meet the hall's running costs since last October.

The hall's youngest patron, Owen Watson, has been attending the hall's cafe since he was just two weeks old, and was on hand alongside his mother Helen Watson and grandmother Sian Greenough, herself an active volunteer at the hall, to make the donation of £150.

In other news, work at the hall has gathered pace. Last month, the exterior was sandblasted, following which the allotments were cleared to make way for the new Green Eco car park. Inside, work has continued to ready it for the villagers to come and use it in September, with an announcement to be made in due course.