Hanging, swingy egg chair

I can't help but feel this morning that I have missed the boat. I hope I haven't, and the thought that i have seems to have made me even more passionate about my big dream!

Today I have been to Maidstone, shopping and two things have further inspired me. The first was lunch. We went to a cafe that we often go to, lunch was pleasant enough but it was pretty ordinary and really expensive. How hard can it be to serve good food at a reasonable price?? The second was B&Q! They had on display a hanging, swingy egg chair. I sat in it (of course) and wondered why there were not more fun, free social seating areas in the world. We have recently been trying to arrange our daughters birthday party, and looking for a free venue has left us with the options of either our house, too small, or a green space. We have opted for a green space (The Friars in Aylesford) but a space in Eccles would have been much more convenient, in steps The Walnut Tree with it's bookable but free indoor and outdoor (with hanging, swingy egg chair) space.




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Is it over?

It seems that the dream may be over already! I'm told The Walnut Tree is under offer (sad face). Will the new owner want to knock it down and build flats... probably, does the village of Eccles want more flats... doubtful, or maybe that's just me.

So the question is, do I admit defeat before I have had a chance to do anything, or do I keep my ear to the ground for local planning applications and put all my efforts into objecting against more flats or houses. I guess the answer is wait, wait and see.


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Money?

I've only been in The Walnut Tree once, it was for a party and while the party was nice the inside of the building was not so. I may have only been in it once, but I have gazed and wondered about it many times and today my gazing and wondering turned to exploring. As i wandered about the 'plot' i discovered that The Walnut Tree is in fact a few buildings, one without a roof, one which looked like it might have been a garage and the main pub. Added to that there is the garden with walnut tree (of course), the car park and some quite nice views.

The size of the unused space presents somewhat of a concern in relation to how would I ever finance such a project, this has led my daydreaming to be a bit creative. So far this is what I have come up with; seeing if local Community Service/Unpaid Work groups could come and paint the front of the building and maybe clear some of the rubbish, and contact local vocational qualification providers to see if they would like to tile the roof (as part of their course) as all the tiles looked like they were there, they just weren't covering the roof!

That is pretty much as far as I have got for now.

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Kent sunshine

It's easy to be enthusiastic when it's sunny and to write more than one blog entry in a day!

So I have lots of ideas and I thought I would 'write them down' so to speak.

I guess my ideas are all a bit over the place at the moment, but if I were to sum them up it would be as an attempt at some Eccles community cohesion or to use some less politically buzzy words to create a village where people talk to each other and enjoy each others company and can access some normal services within their own community.

It's also in spring when I get quite passionate about flowers and bulbs and the way things look. I love the idea of making Eccles, and particularly The Walnut Tree (to start with) more beautiful, to paint it and put some flowers out the front of it would be where I would start, and then my imagination gets carried away with itself and I think of all the other things I, we as a community, could do. I have grand ideas of having a community bulb planting day where people could come and plant bulbs or flowers to make the fronts of their houses more attractive and inviting. Using the recreational ground for more than just football or the occasional fair. Arranging some social events for new mums (like me) because the buses don't make it easy to take babies and prams out of the village. Arranging ways of helping people to paint the fronts of their houses if they don't have the means or ability to do it themselves (so the bulbs and flowers look good outside a freshly painted house, and we are nearer to winning an award - see previous post). Providing a space for young people in Eccles and listening to what they would like to see in the village. A venue for birthday parties or occasions. A place that is open all the time for all ages of society.

So that is a little bit of insight into me and my 'idea'. I would love any ideas or messages of support or if you think the idea has no legs at all.


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I've had an idea....

....It involves a building, a village and a tree, oh and quite a big dream!

So, The Walnut Tree is a pub in Eccles, only it shut down and they bricked it up. I am convinced that it could be the most amazing community based project for a little village which has loads of potential but nothing really happening. That and I think that a bricked up pub is doing nothing for house prices in our little 'semi rural' haven.

So the dream is to rent it, paint it, open it and provide all the missing services for Eccles, that and a little extra personal dream of mine... to win the best or prettiest or nicest village award (or whatever it is) that if Burham can win, then we can too!!

So that's the basics, sound good?? then read my wafflings and let me know you're interested.




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