Chapter 16 #2
She discovered some of the toilets were still the tiny ones for the schoolchildren.
That’d be interesting when the oldies sat down; they might never get up again.
Actually, with her own post-gardening/cleaning creaky knees, she might not either.
She wasn’t yet sure if the Pilates was helping.
Everything seemed to ache for days afterwards, but hey, perhaps she just needed to give it time.
Here in the hall, if it all went off as planned, some notices on the doors might be helpful with ‘Child’ and ‘Adult’ loos clearly marked.
‘Hell-loo!’ As she had her head down a pan, squirting toilet cleaner around the rim, in came Andreas. ‘Did you like that? Hell-loo.’ He re-emphasised the ‘loo’, and she had to grin.
‘Now you decide to turn up, when all the work is nigh on done.’ Cath straightened up, somewhat stiffly, and gave her neck and back a jiggle.
‘We’ve been working hard at the shop; we’ll have you know.
And, I’ve had to deal with Veronica Manners, quizzing us about our project.
But the good news is, I’ve twisted her arm, and we’ve got a chunk of money coming our way from the village hall funds, to help cover the boiler and heating repair costs.
A jazzy three hundred pounds, no less.’ He seemed very pleased with himself.
‘Ah, well, thank you – that’s great news. The engineer’s not finished as yet, though. Been away on another job he had booked in, and is now back with extra parts, so I hope that donation doesn’t prove to be a drop in the ocean.’
‘Oh, I see.’ His shoulders sagged.
‘But that is brilliant. It’ll make a big difference to the budget and everything helps.
And hey, we’ve got lots of time to get going with the fundraising.
’ Whilst being realistic, and knowing just how much those big school-sized boiler repairs might cost, she didn’t want to dampen everyone’s spirits.
‘Well then, we are here, present and correct. What’s left to do?’ Andreas perked up.
Will came out of the gents’ toilets at that point, rubber-gloved and looking relieved to have finished that particular cleaning task. They met, along with Dan, in the corridor. ‘Blimey, the things we get roped in to,’ Will said. ‘I don’t remember signing up for that job. Hi, guys.’
‘Hi, Will. Oh, Lycra, now rubber … heavens above.’ Andreas chuckled.
Cath shook her head. ‘Right, well the girls are wiping down the plastic chairs in the hall.’ Cath called them to action. They’d shifted the lot down from the stage in order to give it a good sweep. ‘And there’s rather a lot of them, so that seems a good place to start.’
‘Disinfectant spray at the ready, Daniel,’ said Andreas, fishing a spray bottle out of his hessian shopper.
‘Seems you’ve got off lightly,’ commented Will wryly, whilst doing jazz hands with the rubber gloves.
*
‘That’s it. I’m jiggered. We can leave the kitchen for another day,’ announced Nikki.
‘Agreed. That was a busy afternoon, but we achieved so much! Thanks, all,’ said Cath as she squeezed out her mop for the last time today.
They’d regrouped back in the hall, where the parquet flooring and stage area were now thoroughly cleaned, with every chair having been wiped down.
Nikki had mentioned giving the wooden floor a polish to bring up the shine, but again that could wait.
Cath was about to check off her event to-do list, and then of course add some more.
‘I’m dead,’ added Lily dramatically, giving a yawn and a stretch. ‘How do you do this all week, Auntie Niks?’
‘Well, I’m not just mopping and scrubbing. Ahm, well, that is a lot of what I do, actually.’ She managed to smile.
‘Anyone fancy a coffee before we go?’ offered Cath, thinking it’d be a nice way to wrap up the day’s work.
‘Absolutely.’
‘Sounds great.’
‘Oh, and I have shortbread from the shop,’ said Andreas. His holdall was seemingly a Pandora’s box.
‘Delish, yes please.’ Cath’d worked off more than enough calories this afternoon.
‘Well, if you wouldn’t mind restacking the chairs in here,’ she added, ‘I’ll go pop the kettle on, and then see how Colin’s getting on in the boiler room.
’ Fingers crossed he’d had a breakthrough.
She had, in fact, heard all sorts of promising creaks and groans emitting from the hall’s pipework a short while before.
And was that a hot flush coming on, or was there indeed some warmth coming from the radiators? Hope springs eternal …
A few minutes later, and Cath was spooning instant coffee into decades-old WI mugs. ‘Hellooo!’ She heard a booming voice calling out from the corridor.
A head of stylishly cropped grey hair popped around the kitchen door. ‘Afternoon. How are we doing?’ The woman’s tone was confident if slightly abrasive. ‘Veronica Manners, Chair of the Village Hall Committee,’ she introduced herself.
‘Hello, I’m Cath. Lovely to meet you.’ Cath held out a hand ready to shake, somewhat formally.
‘Saw the door was open so I thought I’d pop in. Well, we’re delighted you’re taking such an interest in the old place.’
‘Well, if we can get it up and running in time, it’ll make a lovely local venue for the festive lunch we’re planning.’ Cath gave a hopeful smile, adding, ‘We’re just making coffee. Would you like one?’
‘No thanks. But I’ll help take them through. I’m guessing the others are in the hall?’
‘They are indeed.’
The pair made their way through with the tray of coffee and biscuits.
‘Now I’m here, is there anything I can do to help?’ Veronica addressed the group. ‘Practically today, or in any other way?’
‘Well, that’s great, but we’re ready to finish up for the day now.’ It was already past six p.m., and had been dark outside for over an hour already.
Nikki piped up, ‘Ooh, I tell you what, you don’t happen to have access to one of those old-style floor buffer machines, do you? Like the caretakers used to use back in the day at school? That’d really help bring the parquet flooring back to life.’
‘Well then, I may have one or two contacts. Leave it with me,’ said Veronica in an efficient tone.
‘That’d be brilliant,’ said Nikki.
‘And,’ added Dan. ‘Thanks so much for that generous donation from the hall funds. I’ve also started looking into some rural grants that are available.
There might be a way we can get some extra cash.
The costs are adding up, especially for the hall repairs, and whilst we’re fundraising and happy to chip in ourselves initially, well, we have to be realistic; we’re not made of money.
We’d need to go through the proper channels, of course.
So, it’s likely the hall committee would need to sign off any relevant paperwork.
But it’s exactly what these grants are here for, to help support local communities and causes. ’
‘Sounds a great idea, Dan,’ agreed Cath, knowing full well the costs were mounting.
‘Certainly,’ was Veronica’s response. ‘If I can do anything to help get the hall back to its former glory, I’m all for it.
I have to confess it’s been a worry these past few years.
But myself and the committee just don’t have the energy, or time, to put into it like we used to.
And well, to be honest, no one seemed particularly interested in using it either, so it felt a little like a lost cause. ’
And with that Colin came in, his mug raised in a ‘cheers’ gesture. ‘We’re back in business, folks. The heating and hot water are fixed.’
The small group cheered, clapping their hands.
What great news. There was still a heck of a lot to do, of course, and November was disappearing fast. They had to get things moving if they wanted to send out invites in time.
But with that warming development, Cath’s hopes of turning this lost cause into a great cause were at last looking up!