Thursday 10th July 9.30am

Wallington Community Coffee Morning for Take Part Take Pride Week

Cllr. Richard Bailey & I spent the first hour putting up gazebos in front of the Old Town Hall whilst staff from Scola humped out chairs and tables for us. Richard’s wife Susan was enormously helpful too: she had brought along biscuits she had made, and had also brought all the supplies of tea, coffee and squash. She then stayed throughout the event helping to serve refreshments so a huge thank you to Susan for giving up her time for us. Students from Orchard Hill College came out both to sample our refreshments and help serve them. Colin Hall also joined us to serve cakes & talk to the locals.

 

Our custom ebbed & flowed. At one stage all the tables were all full of folk happily chatting to each other. We were very lucky with the weather as it was the one day of the week that it didn’t rain.

 

I was pleased that my own cakes went down quite well, having fully satiated my ‘domestic goddess’ baking all the previous day. Now I don’t need to go back in the kitchen for another year! My chocolate brownies soon disappeared and the chocolate beetroot cake proved a novelty – particularly with the staff from the Your Move Estate Agents over the road.

 

The scepticism from passers by when told that refreshments were free was quite amusing. I think they suspected us of recruiting them into some religious cult, or worse still – trying to sell them double glazing. Of those who did stop for a drink all said that they thought it was a great idea to try to get people talking to each other again – it’s what makes a place feel like a community.

 

I certainly enjoyed chatting to different people during the event. Graham Willins, the Council’s Economic & Regeneration Manager, happened to be visiting Scola at that time so we took the opportunity to talk shop on the lawn – much more pleasant than a stuffy office, and very continental.