Of eggs and omelettes . . .

We all know the saying, 'you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs'. That saying comes to mind looking at the 'apparent' chaos in some of these photos.  It may look a bit of a mess now, if we're being honest, but there is no doubt that it will produce a great finished product.

And here's a prime example . . .

The men here are preparing the footings for the retaining wall in front of the new entrance to the Annexe.

Actually, our hard-working contractors are a tidy bunch!  Considering this is a construction site, things are looking pretty organised.

They are also excellent at clearing up after themselves.  This was the scene in the foyer of the hall yesterday as the electricians have been busy all week installing new wiring.  Those parishioners who went into the hall for coffee after the 10am Mass today would have had no idea about this as the area had been tidied up beautifully and the floor swept and washed. Well done ITC!

Getting closer . . .

Here's a view from the Annexe looking through the entrance into the hall via the space which was the old disabled WC.

Some more photos of the Annexe interior . . .

Despite the rain, our contractors have been continuing apace with the Annexe building.  I'm sure they are very grateful that they have a roof to work under at the moment!

The horizontal casing on the ceiling is the line of the partition between the two meeting rooms.

Here you can see the corridor between the meeting rooms on the right-hand side and the cloakrooms and kitchenette on the left-hand side.

"Yoohooo! Anybody there?"  I certainly hope not. This is a view that not many of us will recognise as it is looking from the new Annexe into the old disabled access WC in the hall.  This is the 'breakthrough' point from the existing hall to the annexe. Of course a new  WC with better disabled access will be installed elsewhere to replace the old one.

And finally, here is a shot of what will be the main outside entrance to the Annexe.

That's the end of today's tour around the site . . .  

A different perspective . . .

Today we have some new photos of the Annexe build taken from within the perimeter fence so be ready for some new, interesting views . . . 

(Please remember to click on the photo if you'd like to see an enlargement.)

The roof from inside . . . 

A bit gloomy this one but is it any wonder given the awful weather we're experiencing.  This gives  a good idea of the size of the Annexe.  Our two workers seem a little camera shy!

Here you see the space in between the meeting rooms and the existing hall kitchen. The blocked-up doorway you can see is what used to be door from the hall kitchen to the grounds in between the hall and the old Scout Hut. 

Windows on the end wall.

A lovely birds-eye view of our Garden of Remembrance.

Wonderful straight lines on the roof.  It looks as if they used a ruler!

It's a good job someone has a head for heights!

That's it for now.  I hope you've enjoyed the little tour around the building site.

A Head for Heights . . . ?

(Click on this, and any other photos, to see an enlarged version)

It's amazing how quickly the hall annexe building is progressing.  Just a few days ago, windows were arriving on site and now they are installed. It makes such a difference to the appearance of the building.

At the moment the roofers are working hard trying to make the roof watertight before the next band of rain comes along.

All those involved in the annexe building project have been doing a grand job.  Our thanks our due to the site manager, Stuart, for making sure that disruption both to the parish in general and to other hall users is kept to a minimum and that only when absolutely necessary.  Noise is kept down, especially during Mass times, and in fact noise has not been a problem in general.

I'm sure we're all looking forward to the day when the annexe is complete and those small group meetings which have been held in St Ann's Room can take place in the new annexe, and other small  parish meetings can benefit from this much needed facility.

Hopefully we'll be able to post a few interior shots of the annexe soon.  Meanwhile here's a photo taken from a different angle . . . 

A roof . . . !

What with the dreadful weather, the busy-ness of Christmas and so forth, I must admit I haven't really paid quite so much attention to our building project of late.

My goodness, you couldn't miss this though . . .

Seemingly out of nowhere we suddenly have a roof; well, the bare bones of one, at least.  Because most of the work hitherto has not been easily visible behind the site hoarding unless one made a point of walking around the back to see what was going on, it came as quite a surprise to suddenly see the roof appearing, seemingly out of nowhere and very visible from the presbytery.

We tend to forget, I think, that whilst we've been muttering about the dreadful weather recently, and there's no doubt about it, it has been dreadful, the contractors have been quietly and efficiently carrying on with their work as far as possible.

Stuart and the team at ITC are doing a grand job!

Progress indoors and out . . .

If you have been in the parish hall recently you will have noticed some changes in the foyer.

You can see the beginning of the construction of the WC facilities for disabled users. 

Outside too things are moving quickly . . . 

The walls are going up fast. At this rate it won't be long before they reach roof height.

Some 'Concrete' signs of progress . . . *groan*

It's really good to see some concrete signs of progress with the Hall Annexe building this week. Sorry, that pun was just too irresistible! 

 Here you can see the concrete beams which will provide the floor.

Here you can see the floor going in and the first lot of brickwork.

And from another angle . . . 

Meditation on a bag of sand . . . ?

One thing is for sure, the children in the hall are enjoying seeing the big diggers and watching cranes offloading materials, all from the safety of the parish hall.

Health and Safety . . .

We know it has become a bit of a cliché but we take Health and Safety very seriously, as do our contractors, and quite rightly so.

One of the reasons for this little blog is to keep everyone informed as to progress on the construction of the new hall annexe.  Naturally we are all curious  and we certainly wouldn't like to see people trying to enter the site and see for themselves.

At last there is something to see above ground . . .

The blockwork has been started and you can see the outline and extent of the annexe.

Thank you for all your donations so far.  This is all thanks to your generosity.

Views . . . and views . . .

Well, there are views . . .

Such as this one looking out over Chipstead . . .

And,then again, there are views . . .

Such as this one from the presbytery kitchen window . . .  

This will be the view for the next four months or so. Not particularly inspiring, I must admit but it is good to see things happening and we can all put up with minor inconveniences knowing that the end result will be worth waiting for.

Also, looking at the site office from the presbytery kitchen, it appears as if they have no window all, let alone any sort of view.

Update - 10th November 2013

Update!

10th November 2013

Thank you to all for your prompt response to the request that pledges for financial support for the Annexe project  now be honoured when you able to do so.

Letters giving details of your pledges have now been issued and it is good to see that so many of the letters have been collected and indeed that quite a lot of money has already been received by the parish.

The picture above gives a graphical representation of the situation to date. 

 Our target is to reduce the height of that  green column!

It is already a marvellous achievement but we expect to be able to see a decrease fairly soon in the £120,000 still needed. All those small amounts; contributions for coffee after Mass, Offerings from Baptisms, profits from social events etc. etc.  They all add up!

Soon we will be having regular retiring collections, possibly once a month. This will also gradually reduce the amount outstanding.

And we're off . . . .!

Now you see it

And now you don't!

Do you remember the old Scout Hut?  Believe it or not it's now just over four years since the building was demolished.

After much deliberation and countless meetings, surveys, pulpit talks, flyers etc. etc. today saw the first concrete signs of the beginning of our Hall Annexe building project.

On a miserable, wet day, workmen were on site from 6am erecting hoarding to enclose the building site ensuring that the site is safe and complies with health and safety regulations.

It may not look very pretty but it is good to see something positive happening at last.

As they  say, in this case quite literally, 'watch this space'!

Update - 11th August 2013

Well, it's been six weeks since we launched our Hall Annexe Appeal so it seems like a good idea to give an update on how things are progressing.

There has been a very encouraging response to the appeal for pledges of financial support.

A target of £70,000 was set to reach before a decision can be made whether or not to proceed with the project.

The latest figures show that a marvellous total of £63,000 has been pledged so far by parishioners.

Thank you all very much for your generosity.

As you can see, we need just another £7,000 to reach our target.  The only problem is that this needs to be achieved fairly quickly.  A decision on whether or not to proceed with the project must be reached very soon.

Today we launched our 'Buy a Brick' appeal.

We are hoping that this will encourage even more parishioners to support the Hall Annexe project.

Watch this space . . . !