2022

The most exciting event of the year was our first opening in over two and  half years on 31st March, a very much delayed re-opening post covid as a result of various events.

2021

The library was invited to be involved in the planning of the "Treasures of Chingford Mount", an interactive trail around the places of interest in the Chingford Mount Area. We agreed with others that the little Art Deco architecture still remaining should be the basis for the logo of the event.

Macmillan Coffee Morning

Despite the closure, we are pleased to report that we ran an impromptu Macmillan Big Coffee Morning on 30th September. Thanks to Marilyn and her team for raising and impressive £133 for this very worthy cause.

The Annual General Meeting was held on 16th July 2021 in unusual circumstances as the library had been closed for the entirety of the last year.

2019

Twixmas 30th December 2019

Our Annual Twixmas event is on Monday 30th December from 11 am to 3 pm in the library, with music, refreshments, entertainment, and friendly conversation. All Welcome!

The event was considered a great success, with approaching 100 guests attending the drop-in event. 

     Guests enjoying refreshments at the SCCL 2019 Twixmas event

Steps into Work

The WF council's "Steps into Work" team has again been operating in the library on Fridays throughout the year, assisting people from the borough with getting back into paid employment. A small event was held on 20th December, when volunteers came to enjoy refreshments during the session:

The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal

As usual, our volunteers were collecting outside the library, The final total raised was £1081.20. A big thank-you is due to all who purchased a poppy to contribute to this worthy cause!

The Black History Trail has started at Chingford Mount

The trail is running for the second year, celebrating the contribution of black people to society. This year's theme is "Young, Gifted, and Black". To participate, pick up a leaflet from the library entrance, which details the shops and businesses around Chingford Mount, including the library, which are participating. Each shop or business shows a picture of a young black person, together with a letter. Collect all the letters and solve the puzzle, then drop your solution into the library for a chance to win a prize.

Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, MBE features in the library. She was raised in Walthamstow, a maths prodigy, being the youngest person to be awarded a masters degree (at 19) in Maths and Computer Science, at Oxford. She was awarded the MBE in 2017 for her work with her social enterprise STEMettes, inspiring young women into careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM). 

Anne-Marie appeared on the final episode of "The Apprentice" on 18th December, advising the losing finalist Scarlett Allen-Horton on her plan to run an employment agency for executives in the engineering industry, specialising in female recruitment.

Others featured on the trail include actors Michaela Coel and Daniel Kaluuya, celebrated cellist Sheku Kanney-Mason, beauty blogger/vlogger Patricia Bright, rappers Akala and Dave, and from the world of sport Eniola Aluko, Raheem Stirling, Jofra Archer, and Dina Asher-Smith.

The trail runs until November 3rd.

The Singing Room choir gave a most enjoyable performance in the library on Saturday 28th September as part of the Waltham Forest London Borough of Culture ChoirFest events:

At the Trustees' Meeting on 5th August, some retirements were confirmed. The board of Trustees is now as follows:

Barbara Peck (chair)

Greg Pope (secretary)

Stuart Manning (treasurer)

Narinder Matharoo

Richard Ashen (shadow to chair, to deputise for Barbara in her absence)

An Explore Learning Free Workshop is coming to SCCL on Wednesday 31st July.

The first workshop, entitled "Fun with Phonics" for  4-6 year olds, is scheduled from 1-30pm - 2-30pm. 

The second, entitled "Telling the Time" for 5-7 year olds is scheduled from 2-45pm - 3-45pm. 

Agenda for AGM 22nd May 2019 

At the AGM, the accounts were approved, and Mike Murphy was confirmed as a trustee, and Richard Ashen was re-elected. So the board of Trustees is effectively unchanged as follows:

Barbara Peck (chair)

Greg Pope (secretary)

Stuart Manning (treasurer)

Narinder Matharoo

Marilyn Reynolds

Mike Murphy

Richard Ashen (shadow to chair, to deputise for Barbara in her absence)

The shadow chair's report can be downloaded here, and the annual accounts are available here.

The Human Library is coming to SCCL on Saturday 4th May. For further details, see the WF Borough of Culture website

Eileen Lyttle

We are very sad to have to report the passing of a popular long-serving volunteer Eileen, who worked on reception on our Thursday afternoon shifts. The library will be closing at 12:30 pm on Thursday 28th March to allow her colleagues to attend the funeral.

Marie Curie Cancer Care

Volunteers are collecting outside the library once more this year. Please give generously to support this very worthy organisation and wear your daffodil with pride.

On 26th February, some 20 delegates attended an evening meeting to discuss community ward funding. This is now called "Make it Local" funding in recognition of Waltham Forest's being the first London Borough of culture in 2019.  Applications for funding must now be made online, with a deadline for submissions of March 4th. 

On 29th January we welcomed the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation to the library with the aim of helping young people with gaining employment.

                                The Ladies from the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation await their first client 

                                                                      decorating jars on 28th January

Acknowledgement

The library gratefully acknowledges a grant of £1000 awarded in 2018 from United Way, as a contribution towards the running costs of the organisation.

Chingford Network Group

There will be a meeting of the Community Waltham Forest Chingford Network Group on Tuesday 26th February, commencing at 6-30 pm in the library. For further information on the group, read more here, or alternatively email any questions to the connecting communities team.

2018

Twixmas

The following images from the popular event were provided courtesy of Wendy Smith, Chair of Waltham Forest Faith Communities Forum. A total of 66 people attended. 

"Steps to Work"

The Waltham Forest Council's "Steps to Work" initiative continues to run successfully on Friday's in the library, when it is otherwise closed for normal business. The team assist unemployed Waltham Forest residents to find new jobs. A small celebration was held at the end of the year.

                             Rebecca, Khalid, and Emma from "steps to Work" with one of their clients

Chingford Network Event

Around lunchtime on Wednesday 5th December, some 40 delegates packed into the library to discuss the continued regeneration of the South Chingford area. Many local organisations were represented, including the library itself. 

The December 1st Chrismas Tree lights switch-on in Albert Crescent

Following the poppy appeal, we were delighted when our own Maurice Matthews was invited to perform the ceremony of formally switching on the Christmas tree lights in Albert Crescent. A large crowd, including many volunteers and members of the knitting groups, was present to witness the event. Pictures appear below, courtesy of Alan and Jean Cobb:

                                   Maurice sharing a drink with MC Councillor Jemma Hemsted before the switch on 

                                                  with leader of the knitting groups Jean in front of unlit tree 

                                          the lights are on, and HarmonyE4 sing "winter Wonderland"

December Arts and Crafts Sessions

November Artwork Sale 

Chingford Academies Trust Arts Award Evenings

We are pleased that our long association with the Chingford Foundation schools is continuing, with two Arts Award Evenings taking place in the library towards the end of the year. The first, on Friday 9th November, marked the centenary if the WW1 Armistice. Details from the programme appear below:

The second event took place on Thursday 6th December. Some images from this event (courtesy of Chris Cratchley) appear below: 

                                               The Event was hosted by Yolanda Guns and John Hunter 

                                                              The students are put to work!

Some of the students' work from the evening appears below:

Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal and the Diorama

As with every year at this time, volunteers from the library are selling poppies outside the building on most occasions when the library is open. Please support them in the customary way.

However, this year is the centenary of the Armistice, and we have something extra inside the library, It is a diorama in the foyer, depicting an appropriate scene. This was produced by a recent volunteer Brad Miller. We are most grateful to him for this piece of artwork.

Maurice, ably assisted principally by Marilyn Reynolds, Alan Cobb, and Steve Winn, was able to raise around £1300 during the poppy appeal. well done Maurice and team!

Black History Month October 2018

We were very priviledged to have Mary Seacole, the famous author and nurse from the Crimean war, as our celebrated black Briton in the library: 

Thank you to Jean and friends for raising £175 for library funds at the quiz night on Saturday 6th October. 

The library raised £303.05 for this very worth cause. Congratulations to Marilyn and her team!

Summer Reading Challenge 2018

We are again hosting the Summer Reading Challenge to encourage children to read more books. This year, the title is "Mischief Makers",  The challenge is to follow a set of clues,navigating through Beanotown, to eventually find the treasure. Please visit the library to register, or read more here.

Marie Curie Great Daffodil Appeal 2018

We will again be collecting for this very worthy cause outside the library. Please give generously!

2017

A free Twixmas Drop-In was held once again on the Thursday between Christmas and New Year, this time with entertainment supplied by  Annie Riley, the "Sixties Songbird":

On 28th November, the ESOL Conversation Groups, led by Jo Lingard, invited library users to sample a range of traditional homemade foods from around the world. Children's toys and other second-hand items were also available for sale, and all proceeds were given to Haven House Children's Hospice, which is a charity caring for very ill children (https://www.havenhouse.org.uk/). A collage of images from the day appears below: 

We are all delighted that children from Chase Lane School continue to make regular use of the library during term time. They charm us all with their enthusiasm and good behaviour when they are with us: 

Spanish Evening

On 27th July, Eva held an evening for the parents and friends of the children in her Spanish classes, where the children presented a play, and later lead interactive entertainment with the audience.

For the third successive year, the library participated in events for the National Citizen Service Challenge, where groups of young people undertake useful projects in the library during the late Summer. We were pleased to have been awarded the following certificate this year, in recognition of our taking part: 

Alison Gordon, the newly appointed Local Area Coordinator for Larkswood Ward, now assists people in need, and uses the library as a base for two days each week, on a drop-in or appointment basis.

Thanks to everyone who assisted with and contributed to the Macmillan coffee morning in the library. The final total raised was £312.32.

Well done Marilyn and team!

Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal

As usual, SCCL volunteers will be selling poppies outside  the library.

Please give generously in support of this very worthy cause. 

                                                    
                                                  2016 

Post Christmas Drop-In Day

The post Christmas drop-in on Thursday 29th December was a great success with more than 65 attendees. There was a wide range of ages, from babies to the elderly, with refreshments served throughout the day. Everyone who provided their details was issued with a free raffle ticket, resulting in very many happy winners.

During the day there was bingo and music and many new friendships were made. Everyone enjoyed themselves and all thanked the organisers when they left.

Thanks are due to the Thursday volunteers who organised the event, especially Jean, and husband Alan, Marilyn, and David, and their assorted helpers. 

Macmillan Coffee Morning

The Macmillan coffee morning raised the grand total of £278.10. Thank you to all who worked, and donated, to make the day such a success! 

New Classes on offer

Latest New Classes - by arrangement, guitar classes on Tuesday evenings from 4PM to 7PM, and, by arrangement, computer lessons for beginners on Wednesday evenings from 4PM to 7PM

Community Evening for Spanish Class Students Friday 9th December

Eva, with a small group of children from her Spanish classes, put on an evening for 50 members of family and friends, to celebrate their achievements.

The evening was very successful and well-organised, and we are most grateful to Eva for all her efforts in staging this fabulous evening. 

Here are some comments from the people present:

"It was a fantastic play. The children and parents enjoyed it a lot. I look forward to seeing more of it."

"Great evening - educational and fun - good to see the progress of the children"

"The children and the night were interactive and would recommend lessons here"

"Great to meet people from the neighbourhood - very creative evening - the library is a place of encounter"

"A very entertaining evening - children were well-prepared - they enjoyed themselves and so did we - fantastic job - loved it !!!"

Well done Eva!

From 15th July 2016 Edition of the "Chingford Times"

NCS Challenge Project for Young People - two projects in the library this year

NCS (National Citizen Service) is an opportunity for young people to develop new skills by volunteering. The library successfully took part in this last year for the first time (read the report). This year, we have two projects; the first principally concerned with book management within the library, and the second, with organising events for children, to run in the library on Monday August 1st.

The dates are:

Induction for Project 1:   Saturday 9th July   1-30PM - 3PM

Project 1 Action Day:       Sunday 17th July   11AM - 4PM

Induction for Project 2:   Monday 25th July

Project 2 Action Day:       Monday 1st August  11 AM - 4PM

The members from Project 1 will also be having a Social Action day on Monday 18th July,when they will be in and around the library, distributing fliers that they have produced, as well as cup-cakes, and also promoting the sale of children's books. So please come along and give them your support!

As part of the challenge projects in Waltham Forest, the volunteers also entered a Dragons Den on Saturday 16th July at Waltham Forest College. Copy kindly supplied by Roy appears below:

"Sue Brown and Roy Sutcliffe are dragons, at least in the context of being in a Dragons’ Den for the National Citizens’ Service Challenge programme.  They sat as a panel of four dragons, which also included Councillor John Moss, to hear presentations from five of the teams participating in this year’s challenge in Waltham Forest.  Each team was presenting its project and pitching for £50 to help them complete it.  As dragons they were able to question the teams about their projects, prepare feedback on the presentations for the programme management and decide how much of the funds available should be awarded to each team.  The presentations as a whole and the young people were impressive, and some teams were particularly outstanding in the level of professionalism they projected."

Red Balloon Family Workshops for Children now extended

Following the success of the first workshops in May, the run has now been further extended to the end of 2016 during term times. Please see details below:

Here are three views from the Red Balloon Family activities towards the end of the year: 

Slide Presentation from the first Queen's 90'th Birthday Celebration in April 

Annual General Meeting

The AGM will be held in the library on Thursday 9th June, beginning at 7-30PM. We hope as many members as possible will attend. Questions will be welcome; this is your chance to have a say on how your library is run. Refreshments will be available. The statement of accounts appears below. Further details will be posted here as and when they become available.

Bingo Quiz - Saturday 19th March

The quiz was a major success, enjoyed by all, and there are requests for another one. We are indebted to Barbara and Marilyn and their supporters and all who attended.

The total raised for library funds was £260.

Thank You!

ARTS AND CRAFTS AT HALF TERM

The Galaxy bid to fund further events for children in the library

We wish to host more children's events in the library along the lines of the very popular and successful series of half term activities held at the end of October last year. 

We require funds to finance these events, and have therefore applied for £300 from the Galaxy Hot Chocolate Fund. Five cash awards of £300 are awarded each week until 28th February 2016. Each week, one of these awards is a people's choice award, given to the bid which receives the most votes for that week. Please support the SCCL bid for the people's choice award by voting for us online.

To do this, please click on the link: 

http://www.galaxyhotchocolate.com/fund/profiles/south-chingford-community-library 

You will be asked for your date of birth, after which you will be able to read the library's mission statement, together with details of the bid. You can then vote for us if you wish. Each week there is a new people's choice, so please vote each week until the end of February, but one vote only each week please.

Dementia Friends Session, 1PM to 2PM Wednesday 3rd February

If you are interested in attending the Dementia Friends session run by the Alzheimer's Society in the library  for up to 20 delegates, we recommend first viewing the following three videos:

Dementia Friends introductory video (4.32min)

Personal Experience video Barbara’s Story (13.22 min)

Personal Experience video Gerry's Story The Waiting Room (8.30 min)

For further details, and to sign up, please click here.

                                                  2015

Twixmas Dinner - Wednesday 30th December

Christmas Raffle - Monday 14th December

We are holding a one day raffle with prizes of mainly children's items to raise money for the community library. Full details appear below. Please come along to support the cause.

"Knit and Natter's" Third Birthday

The Thursday knitting group, now with the streetname KANG, celebrated its third birthday in November with a cake. Congratulations to Jean and her knitters. They contribute greatly to the library funds, and are now also contributing to the Age UK annual Big Knit campaign to knit miniature woolly hats to raise money for winter warmth packs for the elderly. 

Two pictures from the celebrations appear below:

                                                                                    The Birthday Cake 

                                                 Knitters with the cake to celebrate their Third Birthday 

Free Half Term Activities for Children - October 2015

We have a special programme of events for children on Monday 26th, Wednesday 28th, and including also a special Friday afternoon opening on the 30th when the prizegiving for the bookmark competition will also take place. Note that the Theatrebugs Halloween workshop (suitable for 3 to 7 year olds), is by pre-booking only and limited to 15 people. The booking form is at reception in the library. 

The interactive story telling sessions on the Monday afternoon are with Phil Keating of Wizard Stories.  Based in Leyton, Wizard Stories is a national touring story theatre company, founded in 2000. For further information about Wizard Stories, please visit the Wizard Stories website.

Macmillan Coffee Morning Thursday 24th September

We express a big thank you to Marilyn, Barbara, and all their cake makers and other helpers for contributing to another successful coffee morning. 

The following piece appeared in the 2nd October edition of the "Chingford Times" :

 The final total collected and paid to Macmillan was actually £264-10p

The  Challenge 2015

The National Citizen Service (NCS) "Challenge" is a project for young people to partake in events in the community. In 2015, such a project took place in the library, where a team of 12 motivated young people undertook a series of tasks to assist us. The team first visited during the day on Monday August 17th, to get an idea of what was required, and to meet volunteer staff from the library. The actual working day was Sunday 20th September, and three tasks were set. One sub-team was assigned to sorting out the books in the children's section, deciding which should be retained, and which to be disposed of, by means of sale to the public, A second sub-team was given the task of painting the front room above the library entrance, and the third sub-team sorted the upstairs book storage area, again deciding which books should be retained, and which should be disposed of. 

The young volunteers, were very polite, friendly, and extremely hard-working, and the day was most enjoyable for the library volunteers who attended. Some of us had difficulty understanding their conversations, coming from rather different generations. Two of us were rather fortunate to be treated to an impromptu performance of "Wonderwall", on acoustic guitar with vocals, which was an unexpected and very welcome bonus.

Amanda Sapio, Delivery Assistant Programme Manager from the NCS Kentish Town Office, who arranged the SCCL Challenge commented:

"NCS is an intensive, part residential programme for young people that takes place in the summer holidays as well as the February and Autumn half terms. Following an action-packed stay at an outdoor centre and a week spent learning a new skill in a tented village, participants develop a social action project to deal with an issue they care about and spend 30 hours putting their plan into action within their community. All 15 to 17 year olds across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are eligible to participate. Doing so costs £35-£50, and bursaries are available for low income families.

This year, The Challenge will work with over 650 schools and 2,000 business and community partners, employing over 2,500 staff to deliver NCS to 30,000 young people. Over 350 young people have taken part from Waltham Forest this summer. A team of twelve young people are working with South Chingford Community Library to help refurbish one of the upstairs rooms, along with sorting and cataloguing books as part of a volunteer day. The team are also running a campaign trying to engage young people using SCCL and are hoping to achieve £200 through fundraising. All our young people in Waltham Forest are working with community groups and charities based across the borough, all will complete a volunteer day along with campaigning on their partner’s behalf. 

NCS helps young people to develop important life skills, with participants reporting that the programme significantly boosts their confidence, leadership and team-working skills. It also benefits Waltham Forest by catalysing social action, creating jobs and building trust between young people from different backgrounds. One young person, Imaani described her visit with SCCL “The hospitality, consideration and utter love we experienced, truly opened my eyes to how important it is for young people to get involved in their community. If you want a positive change in your community, be that change”. "

For more information on the National Citizen Service Challenge, please visit www.ncsthechallenge.org

The Bingo Quiz

The bingo quiz was a great success, enjoyed by all, and raised £310 for library funds. Many thanks to Barbara, Marilyn, and their assistants, for organising and running the event.

The Bookmark Competition Results and Display

Following the judging and choice of winners by the judges, the bookmarks are now on display in the library.

We express our thanks to all the young people who entered the competition, the judges Mika Sembongi and Kate Wyatt for deciding the winners, and lastly (but certainly not least) to Zara, who organised the whole event.

Valley Ward Councillor Surgeries

From Saturday 4th July, Councillors Jemma Hemsted and Alan Siggers will be holding monthly surgeries in the library, on the first Saturday of each month, from 10-30 am until noon. Councillor Aktar Beg holds monthly surgeries on the third Saturday of each month, from 11 am until noon. So, if you live in Valley Ward and have local issues that you wish to discuss, then please come along.

The Bookmark Design Competition (this is now closed)

We have a bookmark design competition for children of all ages between 3 and 14. Entry forms may be picked up from reception in the library, or alternatively, you may download the form here. The bookmark may be designed using traditional hand-drawn techniques, or alternatively may be crafted digitally. In the latter case, you may wish to download a bookmark template. You can design using any theme you wish, but if you need a suggestion, then favourite books or characters is one idea.

The prize for the winner in each of the three age groups is an arts and craft set, and the competition closes at 4PM on Monday 13th July 2015.

marker

Kate Wyatt

Kate grew up in Dorset and went to school in Somerset, during this time she fell in love with the countryside. With a BA Hons in Fine Art, she has become known as one of the UK's leading wildlife painters with her work in many private collections and a number of leading art galleries such at the Royal Academy. 

The most important aspect of her work is to help contribute towards the preservation of British Wildlife, to depict the beauty of many different creatures and their tremendous characters, their courage and their need for survival through her drawings and paintings. She has enjoyed endorsements from the Dorset Wildlife Trust.

Kate Wyatt© Hare’s Breath Ltd

view Kate Wyatt's website

Mika Sembongi

Mika Sembongi is a Japanese artist/maker based in Walthamstow, London. Trained in Fine Art, Mika exhibited her work nationally before she started her Mika Bon Bon brand in 2014. Specialising in unique bags and gifts using her own screen prints with a sense of fun and a sprinkling of Manga inspired strangeness, she produces her works all handmade with a scrupulous attention to detail in her East London home studio.

view Mika Sembongi's website

Open Day - Saturday 11th April

The library celebrated its third anniversary with an open day on Saturday 11th April. Friends, members, volunteers, and representatives of associated organisations and regular users were present to add to the celebrations. These included Valley Ward Community police staff (together with mascot!), St. Edmunds Church, Age UK Waltham Forest, and Chingford Foundation Academies Trust, who also entertained us with singing in the afternoon. Regular groups including the Job Club , knitting groups, and the Spanish teacher, and a face painter were also in attendance, and the visitor numbers were approaching 200. Local councillors, and our MP, Iain Duncan Smith, who was also present on the opening day of the library on April 14th 2012, also attended. Thanks are due to Barbara and Marilyn, the principal organisers of the event, and all the volunteers who assisted, as well as the representatives of the organisations mentioned above, who all contributed to a very successful day. The slide show below gives a flavour of events on the day.

Annual General Meeting 2015

The 2015 AGM will be held in the library on Wednesday 13th May, beginning at 7pm. All members of the library are entitled to attend.

From the 21st February 2015 Edition of the "Chingford Times" 

Details of half term events in February 2015: 

Lead piece from 9th January issue of the "Chingford Times" 

2014

Note: news and reports on Chingford Foundation Academies Trust and Harrow Green Community Library appear on their own pages alongside.

James Atherton's jumper

This story is especially for all fans of James Atherton, former star of "Hollyoaks", whose character Will Savage had a dramatic exit from the soap at the end of 2013. This year, James has been performing in a new award-winning play "Crocodiles", alongside Melanie Hill of "Waterloo Road" fame, at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre, during the first half of October.

This is all very interesting, I sense you are thinking, but what has this got to do with SCCL?

Well, when theatre designer for the set of "Crocodiles", Sarah Beaton , needed a jumper knitted for James, she contacted Jean, who as you know runs the two knitting groups "Knit and Natter" on Thursdays and "Sit and Knit" on Saturdays. Jean accepted the commission, and the library benefitted to the tune of £20.

Here is James, playing the part of the son Vincent, wearing the jumper knitted by Jean (picture courtesy of Sarah Beaton).

The next James Bond film is scheduled for release towards the end of 2015. With luck, Daniel Craig may need a nice new knitted cardie.

The bingo quiz was a lot of fun and enjoyed by all. Enormous thanks go to volunteers Barbara, Marilyn, and Maurice for all their work in organising the event, which raised £500 in aid of library funds.

Thank you all for your support at the MacMillan coffee morning on Thursday 25th September. The final total raised was £206-12p. Especial thanks are due to Jean and her excellent team of cakemakers. 

Engaging with the community

On the 24th July, Sue, Jean, and Alan represented the library at a "Step into Your Community" event, organised by North East London NHS Foundation Trust (Waltham Forest).  The event targetted residents of the borough who have either direct or indirect experience of the effects of mental health. The aim was to increase their engagement with the local community, as experience suggests that increased social engagement is an important contributor to improving mental health.  

The event proved a great success for SCCL. Many visitors took information, and there were enquiries from potential new volunteers. The team also took the opportunity to meet other stakeholders and organisations represented there, with a view to setting up new partnerships and starting new initiatives to help the library develop further. 

Subsequently, on the 29th July, Sue attended a Job Fair with some regular members of the weekly job club from the library. This proved a useful opportunity for an update on the local job market, and the members returned with a list of vacancies to work on. 

Annual General Meeting

Approaching 30 members attended the 2014 Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 7th May at South Chingford Methodist church hall. The meeting was chaired by Susan Brown, in this new post, with new treasurer Stuart Manning, and secretary Narinder Matharoo, alongside.

Susan welcomed the attending members, and Narinder took the meeting through the minutes of the previous (first) AGM, with no matters arising. 

Susan then summarised the current healthy current position for the library, and recorded thanks to volunteers and the membership for making this possible. She then advised the need for major funding to cover the years ahead, and outlined the approach to generate this, via seeking partnerships and stakeholders, and approaching local businesses for sponsorship. She stressed that we can only seek funding for projects with clearly defined aims and objectives, with recorded outcomes, as opposed to just asking for money to cover expenses, and mentioned the official opening of the new IT facilities as a typical example of such a project (report appears below). 

                                                  Susan, Stuart, and Narinder at the top table 

Narinder confirmed to the meeting that we achieved charitable status on 11 September 2013, and displayed our certificate to the meeting.  He explained that our final constitution followed a format suggested by the charities commission, and differs significantly from the first one proposed. He pointed out that the constitution can be viewed in the library, and that a copy may also be downloaded from the website. He explained the role of the trustees, and their limited liability in the event that the charity is wound up.

The final constitution was approved unapposed.

Stuart stated that we have agreed funding of £14K which we can consider almost rubber-stamped, of which £11K is definite in the short term. This represents funds to run the library for two years. He reinforced the need for new projects to generate revenue. Very significant revenue this year has come from Jean's knitting groups (£1K), and also from book sales at £500. Stuart reported that the book revenue was generated before the price was reduced to 20p/book, and much higher book sale revenue is expected next year. A point to note is that once the lease is agreed and signed (covering the remaining seven years), the library becomes liable for paying utility bills (jn addition to the phone bill, at present). In response to a question from the floor, Stuart stated that current active membership is around 450 to 500, from a total value of about 700 if the lapsed members are included.

Stuart then went through the election of Trustees, covering proxy votes already received, plus votes from the membership in the hall. The following were elected:

Greg Pope
Susan Brown
Narinder Matharoo
Stuart Manning
Richard Ashen
Debbie Baldwin
Earnest Afriyie
Jean Cobb
Peter Illes 

Because of our small size, there is no compulsion to appoint auditors, and it has been decided that we will audit the accounts ourselves.

With no further business to discuss, the meeting ended in a little over an hour.

Extending the range of newspapers and periodicals available in the library

A selection of recent periodicals and foreign language newspapers is now available for reading in the library, courtesy of Waltham Forest  Council Library Management, and the staff from Walthamstow and Hale End Libraries. These are updated on a regular basis.

Do come in to see what we have on offer. 

South Chingford Community Library needs your support

Over the past two years, SCCL has successfully provided library and community services that are used by members from all areas of Chingford, and beyond. We have over 700 members and about 60 active volunteers who give their services for free. We have received Waltham Forest Ward funding, but due to our success, the expansion of our opening hours, and increase in community activities, we now require more substantial funding to enable us to sustain the library and its services beyond 2014.

We have applied for Big Lottery and Comic Relief funding, but were not successful due to the nature of the library's business. We are now looking for a local sponsor or business who can either assist us financially or with advice on seeking funding.

If you can assist, then please contact us via social media or you can email us.

Thank You

An associated piece appeared in the 20th March edition of the Chingford Guardian:

Then the following appeared in the 4th April edition of the Chingford Times: 

Councillor Jemma Hemsted opens  the new ward-funded IT facilities at SCCL 

On Thursday 27th March, Councillor Jemma Hemsted of Valley Ward officially opened the upgraded IT suite in the library, which was financed by Valley Ward funding. The upgrade has enabled SCCL to increase the IT training sessions with Age UK. In attendance were Emma Tozer, Active Ageing and Volunteering Manager, Age UK Waltham Forest, Marilyn and Barbara : Team Leaders for Thursday sessions and lead contacts for Age UK silver surfers sessions, Peter, volunteer IT trainer for Age UK, Sue, SCCL Treasurer and Chair Elect, and seven people attending the silver surfer sessions.

Jemma commented “It was a pleasure to be asked to officially open the new IT facilities at the SCCL. It was great to see it being put to good use for the Silver Surfers Club.  All of the volunteers are doing a fantastic job in providing a much valued and needed community facility and, I am always more than happy to help whenever and wherever I can.“ 

                                              Marilyn, Peter, Barbara, and Emma with Jemma at the opening                  

 Emma said “Age UK Waltham Forest is pleased to work in partnership with South Chingford Library to provide beginners computer classes to Older Adults. The introduction of the new equipment means students who take part in the course are able to access the most up to date software. We are also working to expand our range of courses on offer to ensure older members of our community have access to a range of subjects and to different types of technology.”

report by Susan Brown         

                                                      2013

Running for the Library!

On 6th June, our volunteer Keith Winch, together with sons Jeff and Dale, took part in a 10km charity run, to raise money for the Zoological Society of London (London Zoo) and also for the library. All three completed the run in 1 hour 2 minutes, and afterwards, Keith presented a cheque for about £40 to put towards library funds.

                                                        Well done Keith, Jeff, and Dale, and thank you!

The following piece appeared in the 8th February edition of the "Chingford Times"

CHINGFORD FOUNDATION SCHOOL/RUSHCROFT FOUNDATION SCHOOL EVENTS

27th April - Arts Award and  SEQ Award Events

Two events took place in the library.

For his Arts Award gold level, Kai Ponde displayed photographs of the USA boxing team from the 2012 Olympics, and  took portrait photos for people on the day.

                                                    Kai Pond's pictures from the London 2012 Olympics

Andrew Baldwin presented a web design service aimed at small local businesses as his entry for the Social Enterprise Qualification bronze level.

                                                  flier for Andrew Baldwin's web design service for small local businesses

Saturday morning College

Chingford Foundation School is running a Saturday morning  College covering varous arts and crafts subjects, and public speaking, for adults and students of various ages. The details are below:

Community library hosts an afternoon of fun and magic

South Chingford Community Library was again the venue for a Chingford Foundation School event on Saturday 16th March. Following a poetry evening just days earlier, Arts Award students doing their Social Enterprise Qualification staged an “Easter Egg-Stravaganza”. The students entertained a group of primary school children with a program which included card tricks, face-painting, portrait painting, card making, and cake decorating. The highlight was an Easter-egg hunt, which took the students to all corners of the library.

                   card tricks for the children                                                                                      face painting 

     announcing clue 1 for the Easter egg hunt                                                           cake decorating 

                 portrait painting                                                                                       organising the raffle

Proceeds from admission fees, sale of goods, and a raffle, were £45. All profits will be put towards the next Social Enterprise Qualification event which must also benefit the community.

Chingford Foundation School Arts Award fifth annual poetry evening

Tuesday 5th March saw the South Chingford Community library as the venue for its first public event; the Chingford Foundation School Arts Award fifth annual community poetry evening. Theme of the evening was “I have a dream”, to celebrate fifty years since the famous speech by Martin Luther King.

MC for the evening was local performance poet Neal Zetter, who entertained the packed library with a selection from his comic poems.

                               Neal Zetter performing to a packed audience in the South Chingford Community Library

The audience was principally made up of parents and children from local schools. These included Parkside Primary School (year 4 with their class teacher Mrs Pearce), Larkswood Primary School (year 6), Oak Hill Primary School, Chingford Foundation School, and Rushcroft Sports College. Via Chingford Foundation School's Arts Award supporter status, students from two schools from further afield were also present; Heathcote School and Havering Sixth Form College. A ladies writing group from Loughton was also represented.

Children and adults presented a variety of their own poems to an appreciative audience, and each received a signed certificate to commemorate the event. Not to be outdone, Alison Griffiths, job club coordinator from the community library, gave an impromptu performance of “The Owl and the Pussycat”.

Yolanda Guns, Arts Coordinator from Chingford Foundation School, who organised the event, also presented several poems.

                                                        Yolanda Guns presenting a poem at the poetry evening

After the event, Yolanda said “I'm really pleased that you were able to let us use the library for the Poetry Evening. I knew it would be the perfect venue and it was!”

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - Friday 30th May 2013

The first AGM was held on Friday 31st May 2013 in South Chingford Methodist Church Hall. The meeting heard addresses from Chairman, Greg Pope, Secretary, Narinder Matharoo, and Treasurer Sue Brown.

Greg summarised the history and development of SCCL, and explained the concept of SCCL being more than just a book lending facility, but rather a hub for activities for the local community. He explained the continuing need to raise money, in particular to enable the upper floor to be refurbished, which will greatly increase the possible uses of the building. He reminded the meeting that our volunteer Keith Winch is running on Sunday 9th June to raise money for SCCL, and urged members to come into the library to pledge money for this. Further ideas for raising money were invited. He also emphasised the need for further volunteers so that opening hours can be extended to include Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, and also pointed out that we have a vacancy for a Health & Safety Officer.

Narinder explained the process we are engaged in to move towards charitable status, and explained that extra documents were requested during the application process. He estimated that maybe six weeks will elapse before the procedure is concluded. He summarised the contents of the SCCL constitution for the meeting. He also pointed out the need for a lease longer than 5 years being required when funding is being requested from external organisations.

The meeting voted to adopt the constitution.

Sue presented a verbal summary of the accounts, and explained that full details were available for inspection. She informed the meeting that the basic annual running cost for SCCL is about £17K.

                                                            Narinder, Greg, and Sue address the SCCL AGM

                                                 2012

 The following piece appeared in the 1st November 2012 edition of the "Chingford Guardian"

Diamond Jubilee Christmas Parties 2012

The library held two Christmas Parties, in celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. We are grateful to the many people and volunteers who assisted in making these events a success, including:

Arts Award Group from Chingford Foundation School

George James

Helen the face painter

Jean Cobb and HobbyCraft

Purple Praise

Weinachtsmann Rainer

A selection from the photographs taken at the two parties is included in the presentations below:

Party 1 - Saturday 1st December

Party 2 - Wednesday 19th December