Harmans Cross Resident's Club
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HISTORY OF THE RESIDENTS’ CLUB
Chairman and Licensee, Nigel Edmonds writes:
When Jo and I first bought our property in Harmans Cross in 2002, our only regret about the village was that there was no pub. When we took early retirement and moved down permanently in 2006, we got more involved in the local community and met a number of residents who shared our views: yes, there was a railway station, a village hall and a small local shop, but no pub!
I joined the Village Hall Management Committee later in 2006 and was soon asked to take on a brief to ensure that we had a fund-raising evening event at the hall every month. I had been tentatively talking to residents all this time about their views on obtaining a licence to sell alcohol at the village hall and received a virtually unanimously positive response. We organised two Pub Games Evenings which were highly successful and well supported. We were also involved in devising the Parish Plan which covered Harmans Cross. Our questionnaire, completed by the majority of residents, highlighted the need for somewhere in the village that people could meet outside their own homes.
What brought matters to a head for me was when I ruptured my Achilles tendon playing racketball in July 2007, followed by a complete severing of the tendon in the November which resulted in an operation. For about 6 months I was confined to walking with crutches and sitting down a lot! As it was my left leg, and I drive an automatic car, I was still fairly mobile. I decided to do some research and subsequently asked the Management Committee whether they would support and finance me in obtaining a Personal Licence, and amend the hall’s own licence to include the sale of alcohol. I received their support and, by the end of 2007 I had attended my course in Bournemouth, passed the appropriate examinations and had the changes to our premises licence approved by Purbeck District Council. I acknowledge here the considerable assistance with the form-filling provided by Mike Perry, landlord of the Bankes’s Arms in Corfe Castle, who is Chairman of the Wareham and Swanage LVA.
I invited 6 others to join me on a sub-committee of the Management Committee and together we formed the Residents’ Club Committee. We are indebted to Roger Free, our first secretary, who helped us to formulate our Rules and Constitution. We only wanted residents in the area to join and would not allow casual visitors to use the Club, although members were encouraged to bring and sign in guests. We planned to open the Residents’ Club bar for the first time on Leap Year Day, Friday 29 February 2008 and to meet each Friday that the hall was not hired out to others. Sometimes, when we could not have the hall for a few weeks, we tried the occasional Thursday and Saturday, but these were not successful. On our first night 39 people attended. Although many of them played darts, cards and other pub games, this turned out to be not to be why people wanted to come along. After the first few weeks, we stopped putting out our games and people just came along for a drink and a chat with neighbours and friends.
To get more people along, we tried a pub-style quiz and a variation on the well known quiz entitled ‘Call Your Own Bluff’. These have proved very successful and are being repeated. To support the Management Committee and the Village Club, we can run a bar on request at any of their fund-raising or social events.
We chose a basic selection of items to sell including canned bitter, lager and cider, red and white wine and a selection of soft drinks. We also bought a box each of measured pint, half-pint and wine glasses. Members donated a large rug for the area in front of the bar and two bar stools. Cupboards were provided for all our stock to be locked away out of sight.
In time, we added a very successful and wide range of guest bottled beers, which varies from week to week according to availability at the right price. We changed to 250ml bottles of wine and tried to respond to members’ suggestions for soft drinks as well and have since added the occasional canned mixed drinks, e.g. gin & tonic. A grant from the Community Foundation for Bournemouth, Dorset & Poole enabled us to buy 8 round bistro tables and 28 comfortable stackable chairs for use on Club nights and at other village hall events.
In order to set up the licences and buy the necessary equipment and stock to sell, the Management Committee invested £500. We were able to repay this amount by the end of July 2008. Two years later we had passed over £2,000 in profits to the Village Hall Fund.
The Residents Club Committee meets every two months and comprises: Nigel Edmonds* (Chairman and Licensee), Keith Fisher* (Vice Chairman), David Hollister* (Treasurer), Marie Evans (Secretary), Jo Edmonds (Membership Secretary), Martin Howell* and Richard Bullock*. [Peggie Lees and Lerida Arnold can attend by invitation]
*also member of Village Hall Management Committee
The following couples are authorised to sell alcohol from the bar:
Nigel & Jo Edmonds
Richard & Midge Bullock
Bob & Marie Evans
Keith & Mary Fisher
David & Tina Hollister
Martin & Liz Howell
Ken & Peggie Lees
Brian and Lerida Arnold