Rhône Valley Wine Tasting

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The latest gathering of Welland Valley Wine Tasters took place in the village hall on Saturday 8 February, taking of a tour of wines from the Rhône Valley, Southeastern France. With fun and informative guidance from village resident, Brian, attendees enjoyed 6 wines and a plate of French cheeses. A full house, full of laughter. Profits from ticket sales and a raffle totalled £816.85 for the benefit of The Mill community projects. Thanks to the Falcon Hotel, Uppingham, Lidl and Aldi and those local residents who kindly contributed to the raffle table.

This was the 11th tasting since they started in November 2021 and a total of £8,812.71 has been raised to date. These events continue to be a significant contributor to project funding for our community.

What’s next: Saturday 17th May – ‘Top of the Boot – a tour of Northern Italy’. Details to be finalised. If you would like to be included on the mailing list to hear directly about this and future events, please contact Jan Robertson at janathome246@gmail.com

Insight Project- Update

We hear you!

The Mill Board of Trustees recently undertook an Insight survey to find out exactly how the residents of Middleton and Cottingham feel about our current Village Hall facility and what they would like to see in the future.

Over the last few months we have conducted desk top research, in depth interviews, held focus groups, and sent out an online survey to everyone in the Villages and we would personally like to thank everyone that spent time feeding back their thoughts and opinions.  This invaluable information has greatly improved our understanding of the tasks ahead.

So what does this now mean for you?  In a nutshell our current Village Hall facility is highly valued, but very underutilised.  We also know that if we had all the money in the world, we would completely reconfigure the current Village Hall or possibly look at building a completely new facility.  However, with the funds as they currently stand and with what you have told us we now need to prioritise the following improvements:

  • Toilets 
  • Parking
  • Kitchen Expansion

Other improvements we also need to work on include:

  • Layout
  • Acoustics
  • Comfort/furniture
  • Décor/Lighting/Appearance
  • Access to outside/patio
  • Storage
  • Entrance/Front space
  • Online booking system
  • Wi-Fi / Screen

We have already started work on some areas which include a better bar, improved décor and making the hall watertight with new roofing.  We will also continue to work at a pace to get the new car park in place.

Our fundraising activities, including the Village Fete, Wine Tasting/Food nights, Race Nights and Pop Up Bar evenings to date have raised over £50,000.  Thank you to all the volunteers who have worked tirelessly to help with these events!   

As well as continuing with our fundraising events, we also now plan to investigate how we can apply for further grants to raise more funds so that we can start to make the improvements you have asked for.  

Thank you again for feeding into our survey.  It is your Village Hall and ultimately it is our goal to make it a much busier, more desirable place that you will want to use now and in the future.

If you would like further information or would like to become a Mill Board Trustee and/or have the capacity to help us with our vision please get in touch via mail@themillhub.co.uk

English Fizz and Wine Tasting…. Roaring success!

The latest wine tasting took place 1 June in the village hall, with a focus on English sparkling and still wines from 6 counties including one from nearby Welland Valley Vineyards. A great time was had by all and a profit of £702.53 raised in support of Mill Hub projects. A total of just over £6,700.00 has now been raised by these events. The next tasting is Saturday 21 September.  If you’re not already on the mailing list and would like to hear directly about future wine tastings, please contact Jan Robertson at janathome246@gmail.com.,

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The Show Must Go On!

Title: The Show Must Go On – An evening of comedy and music

When: Saturday 11th May 2024 – 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Where: Cottingham School Hall, Berry Field Rd, Cottingham, LE16 8XY

Tickets: £7 Adults.  £3 children under 12

Available from: George West-Robinson; Tel: 07891 159155 or Email: grwrconsultingltd@gmail.com

Refreshments: The Mill Bar will open 6:00pm – 7:00pm; 9:00pm – 10:00 pm and during the 20 minute interval

Donations from ticket sales will be made to The Warm Space (who meet on Wednesdays in the Village Hall) and to FroGS (‘Friends of Green Spaces’ group).  Net proceeds from the Mill Bar sales will be donated to The Mill Community Hub, Cottingham and Middleton charity 

Wine Tasting 23rd March 2024

Last night friends of The Mill hosted the first Wine Tasting of 2024. This SOLD OUT event was once again a roaring success!!

A huge thank you to all who attended and who continue to support The Mill Community Hub.

We rely hugely on our fantastic volunteers who put on these impressive events and we can’t thank you all enough for all that you do….

As special mention to Pinky’s Pastries & Tearoom, Rodney Davis Optometrist, Savoy Cinema Corby, Marks and Spencer Foodhall Corby, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl. 

If you would like to attend any of the future Wine Tastings get yourself on the mailing list by contacting Jan janathome246@gmail.com

Have your say on the future of the Cottingham & Middleton Village Hall Annex

As a local resident we would like to invite you to participate in a guided discussion/focus group session, about the future of the Village Hall Annex. Your contribution will help shape the future of our community facility and your input will be greatly appreciated.

If you’re interested in attending and to ensure your opinions are heard, please see details below: 

What:                    6 x Focus Groups (max. 8 people per group)

When:                   Mid-February 2024, late PM / early evenings – various dates

Where:                 Village Hall Annex

Eligibility:             Over 18’s, local resident

To confirm your interest in attending please email Jo Beattie – jo.beattie@hotmail.co.uk or contact via message on 07584 070598.  

We look forward to including you in these important conversations and thank you in advance for your participation. 

Finally, please do help us spread the word to invite as many residents as possible.

Australian Wine Tasting

The latest wine tasting, raising funds for the Cottingham and Middleton community hub projects, took place Saturday 18 November in the village hall. 

Brian, our resident wine expert, with support from Jan, Del, Glynn, Jo and Richard, took us down under to Oz and the vineyards of Southern Australia and Victoria. Our biggest event yet with all 50 seats taken it was great to have lots of returners and first timers come along, with lots of laughter and opportunity to chat and enjoy the 6 wines poured. 

Across ticket sales, a raffle and the bottle in a bag draw, the evening raised a total of £944.67

Thanks to Majestic Wines, M&S, The Savoy Cinema and Rodney Davis Optomotrists for their great donations and thanks also to all others who donated prizes. 

Since the tastings began, a total of £5,053.41 has been raised by these events.

Plans are coming together for next year’s events and if you would like to be added to the mailing list for future wine tastings please email Jan Robertson at janathome246@gmail.com

The Mill Community Hub Premises License

We are please to announce that The Mill Community Hub has been granted a premises licence to carry out licence activities.

North Northants Council licensing department granted the licence on 27th July 2023. You can find out what the licence covers here.

This is one of the short term goals completed and there will be more information on upcoming events soon.