Full kitchen refit for St. Mary Magdalene Parish Hall

Prudhoe Parish Hall is generally a hive of activity throughout the week and at weekends.  Current restrictions have halted the usual gathering of brownies, guides, weightwatchers, U3A, Over 50’s Forum and regulars to the twice weekly coffee morning.  On the positive side, this has allowed the much needed and remarkable refurbishment of the 25-year old kitchen.

A socially distanced sneak-peak was arranged in October, once work was completed.  Mayor, Cllr Tracy Gilmore felt right at home loading the dishwasher that was purchased by the Town Council via our Grant Aid funding and was given a guided tour by Rev. Dan Freyhan.

County Cllrs Ken Stow and Gordon Stewart also contributed to the new kitchen project with funding from their Member’s Local Improvement Scheme and recounted how important the Parish Hall is to the community and to the local groups who use it.

Cllr Tracy Gilmore agreed that the refurbishment was a transformation, and everyone would be thrilled once they were allowed back to use the facilities.

Members of the ‘Kitchen Committee’ (Ann Bolam, John Gaut and Lilian Maxwell) were delighted with the finished result and were keen to arrange the cupboards, of which there are many.  Joan Russell (Church Warden) described that the new appliances would take some mastering, but that would all come with time.  The Kitchen Committee commended the work of the contractors involved and were eager to thank them for their hard work and dedication to the project, alongside the funders and the church family, who had also contributed.

Although the counter was missing the usual home baking delights and pots of tea and coffee, a first for a Saturday morning with guests, it was quite clear how important the new kitchen would be to the future functioning of the hall.

Rev. Dan Freyhan expressed disappointment that there could not be a morning of celebration, thanks, and praise in aid of the new kitchen, but that when the time was right, he was sure there would be.  As well as looking forward to welcoming back regulars, Rev. Dan was sure that the new kitchen would attract additional groups to the town centre and the Parish Hall and they would be ‘baking bread’ as well as ‘breaking bread’.