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Lunch was served!

We were pleased to have Lisa and Toby back in the cafe last week for the first time since lock down. The smells and sounds of food preparation – locally sourced lamb and apples were on the menu- and the appreciative chat from familiar Beechtree faces filled the centre and gave us hope for the future.

However we were all so busy we didn’t get any photos but Debbie had her first flat white coffee and was so delighted with it she took a photo! We are planning another lunch on 23 September and rumour has it there will be fish and chips, so do call us to book. We ask for a £5 deposit per head and numbers are limited due to the social distancing guidelines but we would love to have you here.

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Walking for health after lockdown

Nigel led our first socially distanced walk on Wednesday 19 August with a 3-mile walk out to Belton and back via Alkington Road. There was some rain but there were no dramas and it was all very manageable. Peter was the back marker and everyone was glad to be out in the Shropshire countryside again. We hope that the short walks will be back soon. Please note that the new meeting point is at the back of the Civic Centre in the car park and that the centre toilets are now open.

Meeting point in Civic Centre car park
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Youth Work now online

Digital Youth Club Zoom session

Tom has been updating Facebook with how this vital service was able to continue during lock down by setting up an online youth club.

“Working from home during lock down brought up a lot of challenges for myself, Jan, Nic and our Young Leader Sophia but we persevered and set up our very own Digital Youth Club using Zoom (which I think everyone is familier with by now!) Youth work is an essential service for many young people and we felt the need to carefully balance the needs of the public health crisis against the need to provide essential
support to young people at a time of heightened challenge.

Being back in the Centre has made me reflect on everything the Beechtree Youth Club has achieved in this time. Since the first week of lockdown we have been delivering 4 to 5 Digital Youth Club sessions a week. That’s around 20 sessions a month and to date 107 Youth Club Sessions in total during the pandemic.

The young people have enjoyed Q and A sessions, guided learning sessions with origami, experiments making slime (led by the young people) live tours of where members are, a Netflix Party, contests, quizzes and much much more!”

Tom is planning to start some small group activities soon using our community garden and following social distancing guidelines. There is plenty to be done in the garden and it is a safe place to meet and have fun together.

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Deputy Mayor and Cllr Terry O’Neill. “A true friend and we count it an honour to have known him.”

Chair of the Beechtree Centre trustees and a good friend to us all, we are sad to report the death of Cllr Terry O’Neill on 24 June 2020. He moved to Whitchurch in 2000 and became a town councillor in 2012, heading up the Parks and Public Realm committee where he was responsible for developments in our town parks such as memorial benches and the extension to the children’s play area. He was often seen around town or in his “office” at Trevor Fowles butchers where he went for a cuppa and always at events such as Party in the Park and the Blackberry Fair where he joined in with the fun.

Penny, our Chief Officer, said he was a “calming voice at the end of the phone or a friendly face over a cup of coffee”.

Terry worked tirelessly to raise the profile of the centre and his working relationship with staff and trustees was full of respect, kindness and humour,” said Penny. He always made time for the giving of advice and was counted as a true friend not only by the Beechtree but also to its wider family. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.

We are looking at ways to honour his long involvement with us and and will be in touch later when we have information to share.

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Coronavirus Pandemic

Good Morning from the Beechtree Community Centre, I hope you are all keeping safe and well during this difficult time. The centre will remain closed for the foreseeable future to ensure the safety of our service users and staff, as per the government guidelines.