ChristmasSwitch-On!

Don’t miss the Christmas LightsSwitch-On! Details on page three.

Everyone welcome, bring all the family!

GroupNeedsHelp!The Ballinderry Badminton Club needsmembers especially ladies.

Get involved in the fastest racquetsport in the world! Come along to theVillage Hall on a Monday evening andjoin in some serious, and some not soserious, play! Ballinderry BadmintonClub welcomes those new tobadminton and those who might haveplayed in the past and fancy taking itup again – it is great exercise andgreat ‘craic’.

Please telephone Cathleen Gleave:02892651122 for further details.

It was a sunny day! With lots offun, food, song and dance.Read the story and see thepictures inside on page 4 and 5.

Fun Day,BBQ &Aghalee’sGot TalentShow -Success!

1

ISSUE 10 • Nov. 2011

This edition published with the help of the ADDA funds.

Thursday8th Dec.7.15pm.

The scheme is currently runningacross the Down & Lisburn Trust andis designed to support sociallyisolated older people to become moreincluded in their local community andremain living independently in theirown homes for as long as possible.

The programme provides a variety ofsign posting opportunities to a goodrange of services but in particular iskeen to promote the referral uptakeof the First Step Support Service,which provides a dedicated worker

for 3 hours per week for 12 weeksfrom their partners Extra Care.The patient's GP/Nurse can referthem to this programme althoughit should be noted that the FirstStep Support Service does notprovide assistance with personalcare, medication cleaning tasksor support activities that requiremanual handling.This is a service that folk mightnot be aware of and could bemissing opportunities.

Aghalee Village Hall News - Winter 2011

32

Lisburn in Focus is a five year project,supported by the Big Lottery Fund Safeand Well Programme. Our overall aim isto make Lisburn a centre of excellencefor blind and partially sighted residentsand visitors. We aim to achieve this in anumber of ways, one of which is todeliver Visual Awareness Training topeople from all walks of life who live orwork in the Lisburn Council area.Blind and partially sighted people wish to participatein a wide range of activities; from doing their shoppingor eating out to going to the gym or theatre, fromparticipating in social groups and educational coursesto buying a house or writing a will. All these activitiesare taken for granted by somebody who is not livingwith severe sight loss. But for somebody who is, theexperience can be made so much easier if the peoplethey are talking to have the confidence to assist them.This is where our Visual Awareness Training can help.

Our two and a half hour session will give you theconfidence to guide somebody who is blind orpartially sighted, to try some everyday tasks wearingour simulation spectacles, discuss some of themyths around blindness and as the session is alwaysco-delivered by a blind or partially sighted personyou will have the opportunity to ask questions. TheVisual Awareness Training is accredited throughOpen College Network at level 1. We can also

deliver a shorter more tailored session but it willnot carry accreditation.

Lisburn in Focus is also promoting the informationthat is available in alternative formats - Braille,large print and audio - in the Lisburn Council area.Lisburn in Focus can give advice on making theinformation you produce more available to blindand partially sighted people. Some things you cando to help don’t even cost anything other than alittle bit of time and thought.

If you know or are related to somebody with severesight loss our free Home Security Checks may be ofinterest. Carried out in conjunction with the PSNI’scrime prevention officer, this includes installing anyof the recommendations such as window locks orintercom systems.

We have just launched the first phase of the“React” navigation system, which gives audioannouncements to anybody carrying a key ring sizedfob. Currently at thirteen points betweenLisburn Bus Centre and theHousing Executive.Later phases will also coverareas in Moira and Dunmurry.

For our bi-monthlynewsletter or moreinformation pleasephone 028 9260 0388 oremail: lisburninfocus@rnib.org.uk

Starting at theVillage Hall atabout 7.15pm wewill walk to theMillennium Gardenswhere the choirsof RowandaleIntegrated andLower BallinderryPrimary Schoolswill sing for us.The Mayor will startthe count-down toswitching on theChristmas TreeLights at 7.45pm.Then the crowd will call forSanta and when he arrives,parents can take small childrento visit Santa to tell him whatthey want for Christmas.There will be circus performers andrefreshments available. This event is FREE butany donations will be gratefully receivedand buckets for this will be passed around.

The event is supported by Lisburn CityCouncil for which we are very grateful, butthe grant will not cover all costs and theamount required to replace and repair thestreet lights and pay for theelectricity used grows largereach year. One new streetlight can cost over £300 and ifthese are damaged or fail, wehave to bear the cost of repairor replacement.

Lisburn in Focus Aghalee ChristmasLights Switch-On.Thursday 8th Dec. at 7.15pm

Event supported by

Safe and Well Scheme

It was generally felt that theentire day was a huge success.What a fantastic difference thesun made to the day andbarbeque, but more importantly,the contributions made by ourlocal traders in respect of ballotprizes and food for the barbecuereally helped make the day thesuccess it was.More members of the local communityattended than ever before and the hall wasalmost full for the Talent Show. We broke newground this year with the Talent Show, the starevent of the day and we have already beenasked if it will be included next year.

Thanks must also be given to all the volunteerswho gave freely of their time to help make theday as safe and enjoyable as possible.The committee would like to expressgratitude and appreciation to CarolRedpath and her husband, William forthe considerable effort that went intoorganising what we consider to be avery successful Aghalee’s Got Talentevent. A few comments have beenmade regarding timings of the variousaspects of the day and whether wecould re-work better fornext year. It was felt bysome that perhaps the“dancing” aspect wasencroached upon by thetalent show. There hasbeen a lot of discussion onthe feedback from thewider Aghalee communityon the event. It was feltthat it would probably bebetter to have a separatemeeting to discuss this andgive the subject proper

debate in order to improve the event ifpossible and this will take place early in theNew Year, to discuss and make some concretedecisions regarding the date/ timing/ format ofthe entire event. If anyone would like tocomment before this meeting please feel freeusing the contact details in this publication.

Financially this year, including grant aid, wehave been able to record a profit of just over£1,400, which is a wonderful boost to hallfunds. Once again, thankyou for your part in thesuccess of the events.

And the winner? Well doneto Chloe Greer and RunnersUp Amy Uprichard andGrace Mulholland.

Our thanks to the followingpeople and businesses whosupplied food, prizes ordonations towards thesuccess of the Family Fun Dayand BBQ:-Avondale Foods, Browns Stores, BushesBakery, Captain Cook Lisburn, Charlie MallonMeats, Coca Cola HBC, Country Meats, FreezaMeats, G & J Byrne, Glenavy Road Spar, GreatNorthern Soft Drinks, Island Foods, Moy Park,Paul Hannon, Robert Roberts, SparLoughview, The Meat Centre Moira,Clenaghan‘s, Denis Wilson, Murloc Fishing,Edenmore Golf and Country Club, GeorgeForsythe, Hugh Kirk, John Campbell & Sons,

Loughview Garden Centre, Mace Aghalee,Northern Snack Foods, Ronnie Lewis,Seymour Dugan, Stephen International,The Tannery, Tesco Stores, Fergusons IrishLinen, J C Patterson Ltd, Jeanne Cree Ballet,Jim Sherry, William Redpath, Fiona Cromie,Seamus Agnew and Tim Woods –and of course all of Aghalee Village HallCommittee and Staff.

If anyone has been accidently omitted, pleaseaccept our apologies and our thanks for thepart you played in the success on the day.

Anyone interested in helping or if you haveany comments on the event, good or bad,please contact in the usual way – details atthe end of the Newsletter

Photography by Fiona Maree

Aghalee Village Hall News - Winter 2011

54

Fun Day, BBQ & Aghalee’s Talent Show-Success!

BIG Lottery – Energy Efficient Venues -£2,306 Awarded, which along with£1,000 already awarded by The EnkalonFoundation have enabled us to zone theheating for the upstairs rooms.

Awards for All – Kitchen + BackCommittee Room refurbishment - £9,030Awarded, which has been put towardscompletely revamping both areas.

Lisburn City Council - Maintenance grant£3,075 Awarded, which goes towardsrunning and programming costs.

Lisburn City Council - Christmas grant£1,500 Awarded out of which theChristmas tree cost and Insuranceare taken at source.

Truemark Trust – Summer Family Fun Day +Upholstery Classes + IT Classes for Older People -£3,000 Awarded – All courses now started.

We continue to search for further grants toenable us to continue our work. We areseeking funding for Youth work,Programming and Courses and also to helpwith work with car park drainage and re-surfacing and other items for the hall.

Alpha Grant for Various WorksThis grant aided work is now allcomplete. Many thanks to Alpha for thegrant which enabled us to do so much.

A view of the new kitchen:

Aghalee Village Hall News - Winter 2011

76

PSNIPSNI – Lurgan – Neighbourhood – Aghagallon, Aghalee(Craigavon Council Area) and Gawleys GateContact NumbersCons J Doherty 07825 156336Cons M Grimason 07826 846899Cons E Quaile 07825 179009

PSNI – Lisburn – Neighbourhood –Aghalee (Lisburn Council Area) and DistrictContact NumberCons D GenneyCons Willie Johnston 0845 600 8000 Extn 25824

Crime stoppers Telephone Number 0800 555 111Emergency Telephone Number 999Non-emergency Telephone Number 0845 600 8000

BurglaryProperty in the Helens Park area of Aghalee wasbroken into during the early hours of the 1stNovember. A number of expensive electricalappliances was stolen, 46” Flatscreen TV, Laptopsand Camcorder. Residents must be extra vigilant onthe run up to Christmas such items will be indemand for the criminal to have a prosperousChristmas. In addition be wary of being offeredexpensive items at cheap prices!

Grants awardedover the past few months:

Future Plans CoursesHobby Art - Southern Regional CollegeClasses started Thursday 22nd September, Thursday1st September in the Paul Green Hall, 10.00 – 12.00until end June 2012. Some places still available.

IT for seniors (Absolute Beginners) –Atlas Women’s CentreClasses started Monday 3rd October for 10 weeks inthe back committee room.

Course is 10 weeks 10.00 – 12.00. It is hoped to runa second series of classes.

Upholstery – Tutor from Aghalee Village HallClasses started on Thursday 6th October @ 10.00 inthe Main Hall.

Course is 15 weeks 10.00 – 12.00. It is hoped to runa second series of classes.

Both IT and Upholstery classes have been funded bya grant of £3,000 awarded by The Truemark Trust,and we are very grateful for this award. Some ofthis money also went towards activities on the FunDay in the summer.

Anyone interested in these or any other classes orideas for classes – please contact in the usual way –details at the end of the Newsletter.

RSPB Portmore News

Christmas ShopSaturday 26th November and Sunday 27thNovemberDrop in for a cup of tea or coffee at our Christmasshop on the Reserve. Exclusive RSPB cards andcalendars not to mention birdy gifts, feeders andseed will be on sale. Why not buy someone a gift ofRSPB membership with one of our special gift packs.Open from 10.30am to 4.30pm.

Winter Talks SeriesThree winter talks will be held in the PortmoreCommunity Room on the RSPB Portmore LoughReserve.

Starting at 7.30. Questions, contributions anddiscussions are welcome. Refreshments will beprovided. Entrance £3 or £1 to RSPB members withmembership card.

Whooper Swans from Iceland.Talk by Dr. Kendrew Colhoun17th January 2012.These majestic yellow-billed swans are a familiarsight on the fields around Portmore. Kendrew tracesthe story of the swan’s annual migration fromIceland, and why this part of Northern Ireland is soimportant to them.

Red Kites in Northern Ireland.Talk by Adam McClure31st January 2012.Adam is responsible for monitoring the seventy redkites that have been reintroduced to NorthernIreland in the past 3 years by RSPB. A fascinatingbehind the scenes story about these iconic birds ofprey and how they fit into our local ecology

The History and Developmentof Portmore Lough.Talk by John Scovell21st February 2012.Did you know that Portmore Lough has been herefor only 1500years?John Scovell the RSPB Portmore Warden will take alook at the wildlife and history of the Portmore areaand how it is still special.

We would love to hear of your stories or connectionswith the Wee Lough too.

Article from a Local Resident -A Summer holiday with a difference.

Peace Camp in NorwayDuring the summer I went to a peace camp in Norway aspart of an IVS (International Voluntary Service) projectwith Steve Uprichard and Mark Campbell. The project wasto help repair a train station and rebuild theinfrastructure in the surrounding area. From buildingfences and benches to creating new paths around the trainstation to make it more accessible in the winter.The station was in Sandermosen - about a 40 min trainjourney from Oslo. There was a wide range of nationalitiesin the camp, including young people from Russia, Spain,Poland, Italy, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Serbia and Spain.Most of the young people had done some form ofvolunteering before but this was our first time and wedidn’t know what to expect. But everyone was reallyfriendly and made us feel very welcome. The setting was aview to behold as the station was situated in a valley withforest on either side. The weather wasn’t bad withtemperatures reaching 30 degrees on most days.It was an experience that none of us will ever forgetincluding sleeping in an old bus for the first few nightswith trains going past at about 3 o’clock in the morning.The opportunities to meet other people and learn aboutother cultures was a tremendous experience.We would recommend IVS to anyone wanting to dosomething different during their summer holidays.

Jack Redpath

While we have achieved much over the past18 months with funding being obtained for thefollowing items:- Disabled, Elderly, Upstairs Room,Toilet Block, Equipment, Kitchen and CommitteeRoom Refurbishment and Energy Efficiency Auditand improvements – Phase 1, we now have to focuson the remaining things that we set out to achievein our 6 year plan, Beyond the Centre.

Work will continue over the winter to finish theupstairs room and have it ready for use again as soonas possible. The next phase is painting andreplacement of the carpeting and furniture.

The remaining works for which we are seekingfunding are:- an Arts programme, continued fundingsupport for the Newsletter, car park drains and re-surfacing, improved fencing, soundproofing, energyefficiency and improvement works – Phase 2, moreequipment – mainly replacements for the oldwooden chairs used since about 1960, re-paintingand decoration, Programme/Outreach development,general minor works to tidy up inside and outsideand most importantly to enable all of thedevelopment and programming funding for a salaryfor a part-time worker.

We also need to obtain funding to help keep the annualSummer Event and Christmas Events going. So as yousee, there is still much vital work for the Committee toconcentrate on in the next number of months.

CommitteeDavid Twigg (Chair) Matt Hull (Vice Chair)Clare Ward (H Secretary) Chris Buller (Treasurer)Ruth Macauley (Book Sec) Margaret Agnew,Stephen Bann (Youth), Pauline Buller (Grants),Jeanne Cree,Catherine Gleave,and Kenneth Greer (Maintenence),Andrea Huff, Mark Kirkpatrick (H&S),Fiona Maree (Marketing),David Moore, Caroline Redpath (Child Protection),Walter Robertson, Norman Scandrett (Equipment)and Lorna Wilson.

The Chairman wishes to step down at AGM in 2012,having carried out this office for the past 8 years,since early 2004, but having been a Committeemember for many more years than that. TheCommittee will be very sorry indeed to see Davidstep down as he has been a great Chairman and awonderful advocate and promoter of the VillageHall and its works. It is hoped that David will remainon the Committee for some years to come.

Mrs Pauline Buller is stepping down asHon. Secretary, having carried out this officefor the past 15+ years, since 1995 (with a shortbreak in the middle), but will be staying on as aFundraising/Grants advisor.

Ms Clare Ward has agreed to take on the post ofHon. Secretary and the Committee extends a warmwelcome to her. Clare will be working with Paulineover the next few months in order to get to gripswith all that is involved in the very busy post ofHon. Secretary.

The Committee still needs more local people whohave an interest in their community and who mayalso have some skills they can offer to the group.We especially need people who care aboutdeveloping ideas and events at the hall and whomight like to take on some of the offices if asked.If you would like to help out, please feel free tocontact us via the methods below.

Age (NI) - Meet Wednesday.To join please contact Lorna Wilson 07841 499311Aghalee Junior Badminton -Tuesday evenings - Main hall - Juniors 6-8pmSeniors 8-10pm. Contact Ken Greer 02892 651497Art - Thursday mornings - Paul Green Hall - 9-12.30Classes re-starting Thursday 22nd September,enrolment essential before attending.Contact to enrol - Sandra Murphy 028 3839 7777Ballinderry Senior Badminton -Monday evenings and Thursday evenings - Main Hall8 to late. Contact Cathleen Gleave 02892 651122 orDavid Moore 02892 652743 or just call in on MondaysCarers Group - By session - contact Sharon Dicksonon mobile number 07889 057718 or 02892 670918.Citizens Advice - From July 2010 by appointmentonly now due to cut backs -contact Siobhan Edgar 02838 353260 orcraigavondistrictcab@citizensadvice.co.ukJeanne Cree Ballet - ThursdayContact Jeanne Cree 02892 652447.Junior Sports - Temporarily closed - if interested inre-opening contact Pauline Buller 02892 651825.Playgroup - Temporarily closed - if interested in re-opening contact Ruth Macauley 02892 651037.Wag and Bone Club Dog Training -Wednesday and Friday evenings.Contact Margaret Agnew 02892 651107.Zumba Classes – Monday evenings 7-8pm. Call alongor contact Marina Karlyuha – 07794 572359.

Contact DetailsPlease email comment and opinion to:aghalee.vhall@btinternet.comor write to AVHMC, 6 Lurgan Road, Aghalee,Craigavon, BT67 0EQ

Newsletter CopiesFor an electronic copy of the Newsletterplease email aghalee.vhall@btinternet.comor Find us on FACEBOOK under ‘Aghalee Village Hall’and soon at www.aghaleevillagehall.org.uk

Aghalee Village Hall News - Winter 2011

8

ContactNum

bersandSessionDetails

Deaths in the Community In October 2011Mr Laurence Rogers, a local businessman with manylocal connections and a well known and respectedfamily in the area.

Mrs Daphne Reid, wife of the late Kenneth Reid,who also passed away just over a year ago. The Reidfamily has had many strong links to the Village Hallover a long number of years and is very well knownand respected in the area.

Deepest sympathy is extended to both families.