Raising funds for Sudbury's Hive Community Hub

Among a number of events to raise funds for the Hive Community Hub in Sudbury, Andy Welsh (one of the Hive Trustees) and his wife Janet have taken on the challenge of walking the 190-mile Coast to Coast path from St. Bees in Cumbria to Robin's Hood Bay in Yorkshire, so they thought they would invite sponsorship for their ambitious hike to support the Hive Hub.

Andy and Janet began this adventure on May 6th and opted for 17 days continuous walking, averaging at about 12 miles per day. The longest day was 14.5 miles and the toughest probably the 13 miles from Patterdale to Burnbanks, which included the ascent of the highest point, Kidsty Pike (2,560 ft). However, the first five days in the Lakes involved at least 2000 ft of ascent each day, which was the hardest part of the route. The walk was designed by Alfred Wainwright as an alternative to the Pennine Way, which he regarded as a bit of a slog. Although currently an unofficial and mostly unsignposted trail, it will become an official National Trail in 2025.

Andy and Janet are 63 years old and this is their first long-distance trail. They opted for the relative luxury of pre-booked accommodation and transport for their baggage, but walked each day with just day packs containing extra clothing, food, water and essentials for mountain and moorland walking.

They have walked west to east, and followed the tradition of dipping their feet in the water of the Atlantic and taking a pebble from the beach in St Bees and transporting it to Robin Hood's Bay, where they will deposit the pebble in its new home and dip their toes in the North Sea.

Andy and Janet's progress could be followed on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Every donation (small, medium or large!), could help the Hive Community Hub reach their fundraising goal. Donations can still be made via GoFundMe, https://gofund.me/efcd193d.

A number of other Hive events are planned during June, with presentation of the Volunteer Awards taking place on Saturday 3 June, followed by an organ recital at 6 p.m. from Christopher Moore, a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and a talented musician. He will offer an hour-long programme, including The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Bach's Fugue in G major as well as Dubois' Toccata. The organ recital is free and offers a glass of wine at the close. However, donations will be invited to help raise funds to maintain the organ and also contribute towards funding for Hive.

Tuesday Lunch-time concerts resume on 13 June, with ShantyFolk, a landlocked acapella shanty crew who love singing shanties but also like to weave in the occasional folk song, followed on 20 June by Pauline O'Brien and Mike Thomas, brother and sister who have sung together at folk events for many years, and have a varied repertoire, as well as playing a variety of different instruments, and on 27 June Voices from Sudbury Choral Society presenting an eclectic and varied programme from their repertoire. Each of these concerts is free of charge, but donations will be invited as audience members leave!

The former United Reformed Church was bought by Hive in October 2021 and provides facilities for local voluntary and charitable groups, who undertake a host of activities, including support for some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

Major renovation of this historic building is required to create a much more versatile space for use by local people. Almost £500,000 will be needed to take forward all the work planned. However, the next phase, costing around £70,000, includes remodelling of the kitchen to create an office, as well as completely gutting the existing kitchen so that modern units and equipment can be installed, adding insulation to the roof space above Friars Hall and redecorating.

If you wish to help with funding this work please contact the administrator on sudburyhive@outlook.com.

Lesley Ford-Platt