Chew Stoke residents flocked to The Stoke Inn for the first session of the “Hub in the Pub”, a joint initiative between the pub, Bath & North East Somerset Council, Age UKB&NES and City of Bath College Community Learning Team.
The event, which was opened by Councillor David Dixon, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, and Janet Dabbs, Chief Executive for Age UK, is a forerunner of planned regular themed social events for the over 50s.
Twenty-three people attended the event on 10 April and were introduced to courses in creative writing, poetry, local history and family history, as well finding out about other events including computer skills, digital photography and outings. At the same time, they were introduced to the new Community Library within the pub which has evolved from an existing book exchange.
Councillor David Dixon (Lib Dem, Oldfield), Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: “We’re delighted to see there is so much interest in this initiative as Bath & North East Somerset Council continues to work with partners on developing Community Libraries in local venues and offering activities to enhance and support them.”
The first workshops to take place as a result of this initiative will be:
- Introduction to Local History – Thursday 16 May; 10am-12noon
- Introduction to Family History – Thursday 23 May; 10am-12noon
- Introduction to Creative Writing – Thursday 6 June; 10am-12noon
These courses were selected after being expressed as popular choices by those attending the first “Hub in the Pub” event.
Janet Dabbs, Chief Executive of Age UK B&NES, said: “We had a really good turnout, and lots of good ideas from local people about the types of things they would like to see us organise at the hub. It is so good to see this idea come to fruition. It just goes to show what we can do in our communities when people pull together. I’d like to thank Lee, the landlord of the pub for his commitment to working with us. We have lots of ideas for the future and will be keeping local people up-to-date with our plans.”
If you are interested in attending one or all of the above workshops, please contact Iona Gibbons at the City of Bath College Community Learning Team on 01225 328831.
