Month: December 2022

After a frosty start, today’s Advent Calendar window opens for St Mark’s Church on Queensway and their Warm Wednesdays. This and every Wednesday in Winter they are offering Warm Wednesdays, 10-3pm, in the Choir Vestry, Church End of the building, for friendship, fellowship, films, games, advice, support, signposting, warm food and drinks, in a cosy room. Don’t be cold, bored or lonely and come along and say hi! Everyone is very welcome.

Today Weavers Academy choir students helped warm up some of our local community at St Mark’s Warm Wednesdays, with some carol singing, turkey & stuffing rolls and mince pies. Here is Father Ben telling you all about their Warm Wednesdays and all the other activities at the church:

St Mark’s is always a welcoming church with a family atmosphere, in which all who come are valued and cared for. They pride themselves in being flexible and friendly, offering a varied range of worship, traditional and modern, reflective and interactive. Here are their weekly services:

Sunday	9:30am Sung Holy Communion Service in Church This service is broadcast live on Facebook. Click Here for the link
	Mini-Marks takes place in the vestry for children (except 1st Sunday)
Tuesday	7:15pm Evening Prayers in church
Thursday	9:30am Said Holy Communion service in church
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday	9:00am Said Morning Prayer in church

They also hold many other social and fundraising events for all children and adults:

Weekdays	From 8:45am Happy Dayz Nursery (in term time) – Michelle 07886 450069
Mondays	7pm Alcoholic Anonymous – Fr Ben 07977 243197
Tuesdays	2pm-4pm Tuesday Friendship Group (fortnightly) – Frances 07548 729095
	7:30pm:Keep Fit Group
Wednesdays	10am-3pm Warm Wednesday Support Drop-in : Fr Ben 07977 243197
	6pm Young Peoples Music Club
	7:30pm Bingo Wednesday Group (1st of Month) – George 07939 321692
Thursdays	6pm Beavers, Cubs and Scouts
Fridays	UP2U Youth Club (fortnightly) – Contact: https://www.facebook.com/up2uyouthclub
	6pm – 8yrs old to Year 6
	7:30pm – Year 7 and above
Saturdays	10am – 12pm Well-being Coffee Shop – Fr Ben 07977 243197 (with local councillors, parish nurse, support, friendship and prayer.)

Feel free to pop over at St Mark’s today from 10am until 3pm. It’s free and a great opportunity to come and meet new friends and enjoy a chat. Warm Wednesdays are every Wednesday until February. They look forward to seeing you soon.

Click here for directions to St Mark’s Church, 142 Queensway, Wellingborough, NN8 3SD

Today’s Advent Calendar window opens for Glamis Hall for All, because it’s their Christmas Festival on Saturday! Entry to the festival is free, the fun starts at 9:30 and finishes at 4:00. You can meet Santa for just £5 and have your face painted for £3, plus there’s lots of other stalls, a café, a raffle, a tombola, and Wellingborough Eco Group has a pocket money games stall and teddy tombola too!

Places are now on sale to meet the main man himself; Glamis Hall are requesting that you book Santa and face painting in advance via Ticket Source to avoid disappointment. Children visiting Santa receive a Christmas stocking containing Christmas-themed activity sheets, treats and a stationary set. Reindeer food and hot chocolate cones are available to purchase on the day.

The festival includes a Christmas market for the grown-ups with food & drink stalls, handmade and specialist gift stalls include candles and crackers, pickles and jams, handmade items, and sweets. Don’t forget to visit the tombola and raffle stalls to try for a prize.

About Glamis Hall

Glamis Hall is a community centre on the Queensway Estate in Wellingborough. Run for the community, by the community, their motto is Glamis Hall for all. Home to a day centre for older people, a youth club, football and GLJ Theatre. Hall & rooms for hire. There plenty of free parking or take the W1 bus from Church Street in the town centre.

It consists of a wellbeing centre for the over 50s, a large sports hall with a kitchen and servery, a community meeting room, and sports changing rooms. After being closed by Wellingborough Borough Council in 2014, Glamis Hall reopened as a charity run by volunteers and relatives of clients in January 2015. The Hall’s many daily visitors, who range in age from 51 to 103, help to decide the programming.

Regular activities include a Monday to Friday lunch club, yoga, raffles, and bingo. They have a shop on site and host visits from hairdressers, optometrists and district nurses– making it easy for their clients to access the services they need with minimal travel. Glamis Hall’s mission is to provide an affordable community hub for the residents of Wellingborough and the surrounding area.

See you on Saturday!

Wellingborough Eco Group’s ECO HUB is also at Glamis Hall which also has a Repair Cafe on the same day 9-12. So, if you want something fixed pop along for the Repair Cafe and then stay for the Christmas Festival. See you on Saturday at Glamis Hall, 9:30-4, for some festive fun for all!

Today’s Advent Calendar Window opens for Made with Many to celebrate the 6th Kwanzaa principle – Kuumba Creativity! Here Myrle tells you on video* why you should join in at Wellingborough Library on Saturday 10th December:

Made With Many is a community-led arts programme which produces events and activities designed to surprise, delight and inspire. The programme aims to encourage more people than ever before to take the lead in experiencing, creating and taking part in high-quality arts and cultural activities.

Join in to create an amazing banner with Cinnamon Arts or enjoy some storytelling and children’s activities. Everyone is welcome, come and learn all about Kwanzaa!

In partnership with the Black Community Forum of Made With Many through Arts Council England funding.

Date: Saturday 10th December 2022

Time: 11am – 1pm

Venue: Wellingborough Library, 7 Pebble Lane, Wellingbrough NN8 1AS

Who is it for: Everyone is welcome!

Cost: FREE activities

Parking: Free North Northants Council car parks nearby at Jackson’s Lane or Commercial Way

Contact: myrle@madewithmany.org 07936958997 (Tue – Fri)

*This video is part of the recording of November’s Warm and Well Community Resilience Forum, a forum of local people and organisations to help Wellingborough cope with the cost-of-living crisis and to support each other. It is hosted by Wellingborough Organisations and presented by our secretary Jonathan in his other role as Co-op Member Pioneer Wellingborough. You can watch the whole forum at https://youtu.be/wm8J_JKdVYs

Today’s Advent Calendar Window opens for a local community centre and charity that is working at the heart of their community. The Hemmingwell Skills and Community Centre are doing so many things to support local people; today, 12-4pm, they are hosting a Christmas Tabletop Sale that includes loads of festive fun, cake, a raffle and craft and gift stalls, all to raise funds for their vital community work.

Paula Elmore and Marion Lamont have recently taken over the management of the Hemmingwell Community and Skills Centre CIO last year with two general assistants. Paula and Marion are both trustees who give their time freely and are supported by their wonderful volunteers and other trustees, who all help to keep the centre open and running smoothly.

Here Kate and Paula tell our Jonathan all about the upcoming events at the Hemmingwell Skills and Community Centre, including this Sunday’s Christmas Tabletop Sale. As you can see their spirits are high and Christmas has well and truly arrived in Hemmingwell!

The Hemmingwell Community & Skills Centre also hosts a popular food bank every Thursday from 2pm to 3.30pm. Bring your own bags, the donation is £7 per family, and you can stay for a coffee, cake and a chat. They also have Northamptonshire LIVE Team’s children’s coat rail there to keep little ones warm this winter, just bring along their last year’s coat and swap for a donated coat from their rail.

The centre’s wonderful hall and separate meeting room are also available to hire for community events, parties, functions and meetings, both during the week and at weekends. This is at a discounted rate for local residents. The centre also hosts parties for the community, including a Christmas party for local residents!

Open 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday, visit Hemmingwell Community and Skills Centre CIO at 119 Nest Farm Crescent, Hemmingwell NN8 4TU Wellingborough, there is car parking at the rear of the building, or call 01933 405595.

Today’s Advent Calendar window opens for Wellingborough Town Council and all of the festive activities they and others are hosting in the Town Centre today! The festivities start at 10am at their Christmas Market. Head down to Market Square between 10:00 – 16:00 on Saturday for an array of market stalls, plus there loads more on…

In addition to the Christmas Market there will also be a visit from some Real Reindeer from 10am – 2pm and a Giant Snow Globe from 11am – 3pm which is FREE for people to get a festive photo. A Christmas Wreath making workshop is taking place 10:30am – 12:30pm in the Hatton room at the Hind Hotel, but all tickets have sold out. There is also a Carol Service at All Hallows Church at 3pm so the day is full of festive fun!!

Visit the Swansgate Centre to meet someone very special! Santa and his little helpers are there 10am – 4pm. See them to receive a free Christmas gift. Wellingborough Library also have an affordable fun day with its Christmas fair, they have games starting from 20p and free crafts, like making an air-dry clay tree decoration! Stall holders are waiting for you to grab some beautiful gifts.

Do visit the Christmas Tree Festival, 10:00am-4:00pm, at the High Street Church too, as featured on yesterday’s Advent Calendar. The town is full of festive fun all day, with the Christmas Market, Reindeer, Snow Globe, wreaths, Santa, Christmas Fair and Christmas Tree Festival, so why not make a day of it?!

Today’s Advent Calendar window opens for the United Reformed Church on the High Street, who are hosting their second Christmas Tree Festival, which starts today! There are 40 trees on show, decorated by schools, businesses, groups and individuals from the town. Come and see them 5:00-8:00pm today, 10:00-4:00pm tomorrow and 1:00-4:00pm on Sunday. Admission is £2, accompanied children are free.

The Project

After many years of planning, High Street United Reformed Church are embarking on their largest project since the current Church building was opened in 1875. The aim is to make the Church more welcoming and amenable to all the people of the town and beyond. The project received Planning Approval in April 2017 and is fund-raising to make the dream a reality. The Project, with estimated costs of £600,000 consists of four stages:

1. New external ramp to the front of the Church to allow for an easier, more dignified and inclusive access to those with disabilities and for coffin bearers at funerals.
2. New glazed door providing an elegant and secure enclosure to the external lobby.
3. The foyer, under the balcony, will be enclosed by a glazed partition through which you can enter the worship area of the Church. The foyer, which will become the High Street HUB, will be a multi-functional area, separately heated and encasing a servery and a meeting room.
4. The existing main worship area of the Church will be redecorated.

The most exciting change is to the foyer, creating The High Street HUB. They already hold Coffee mornings daily in the Church, which attract a number of regulars, some of whom are out of work and some are homeless and in need of a safe place for refreshment and a friendly chat, but this could be better.

Creating The HUB will enable the United Reformed Church to offer better services to the local community. With easily heated and adaptable spaces for use by the whole community that are easily accessible by all and right on the High Street!

The HUB will give the church the opportunity to do what they currently do and more, with a purpose-built servery, offering quality light refreshments; and a meeting room that’s able to seat 40 persons, for small gatherings, for those seeking counsel and for further outreach work.

The church will be moving services into Salem Hall during January, February and March because of heating costs and to start work on their new hub.

The Trees

With 40 trees on display, you would expect variety, but at Wellingborough Christmas Tree Festival, there are some really unusual takes on the traditional festive focal point. Most are pretty, some are large, and others make a point. Victoria Centre, Wellingborough Library, Glamis Hall, Weavers Academy and Wellingborough Lions are just some of the organisations that have displayed a tree.

Look out for our ECO HUB Tree, it’s been growing at our Community Allotment for three years after being saved from the bin, and it’s been decorated with a recycling fairy and painted milk bottle tops by our Eco-Crafters group. Wellie Wombles have one too made out of cardboard and decorated with litter.

Please note that the picture at the top and video are from last year’s festival, you’ll have to go to see this year’s trees! Come and see them this evening 5:00-8:00pm, 10:00-4:00pm tomorrow and 1:00-4:00pm on Sunday. Admission is £2, accompanied children are free.

Welcome to the first day of our Advent Calendar! Today we open a window for our new Winter Warm Space that starts today! Glamis Hall and Wellingborough Eco Group are hosting Winter Warm Space at ECO HUB on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, during December, January, February and March. We will also offer various themed Winter Warmers at weekends. Find them at ECO HUB, Glamis Hall, Goldsmith Road, Wellingborough, NN8 3RU.

Every Winter Warm Space will have activities, hot food and hot drinks. Mondays are mutual support sessions, with people on hand to give you a hand. Tuesdays are all about food, making it and sharing it. Thursdays are Happy Cafes, with games and an open Zoom so you can either join in on your computer or invite your friends and relatives to join you online. There is no need to book just come in, grab a coffee or tea, and keep warm with us and others.

Winter Warm Spaces are for anyone in need of warmth & community, they are a free warm space to share with others. We are a mutual support service from Glamis Hall, funded by the Community Matters Fund, facilitated by Wellingborough Eco Group in partnership with Redeem Funds, Co-op, Wellingborough Climate Action Project and other Wellingborough Organisations.

For more information email or call Jonathan on 07311 705705. For other warm spaces in Wellingborough see Warm Spaces – Wellingborough. Join us at ECO HUB, Glamis Hall every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 10-2, for fun activities, hot food and hot drinks at our Winter Warm Space. See you there!