Many years ago, as a young bride, Elizabeth Spence Watson began to write her ‘Family Chronicles’ and continued throughout most of her life time. She told about the highs and lows of family life at Bensham Grove, the happy times and the sorrows, family holidays, maids, the garden and the many visitors who frequently made a bee-line to the house to enjoy true Northern hospitality.
As we still consider ourselves a family of sorts, albeit a much larger one, we thought it would be nice to produce our own Chronicles to record a few of the highs and sometimes occasionally our lows. This is therefore the very first edition of ‘The Bensham Grove Chronicles.’
We are, at this particular time, riding on a very mixed wave of exultation and sheer exhaustion after spending ten long years buried in paper-work, fund-raising, arguments, meetings and soul-searching to finally get to the point of almost completing the restoration of the downstairs rooms of our much loved Grade 11 listed house.
The question now is where do we go from here? Community Centres are not now receiving the monetary help from the hard pushed councils as in the days gone by. We need to toughen up and become more self-sufficient. We also need to climb back on the band-wagon and start to raise more funding for the restoration of the upper stories of the house and we want to keep the long tradition of welcoming friendliness to any one who enters our doors.
We have come to realise that the Groups here, almost totally manned by volunteers, are the mainstay of everything we do. Their fund-raising was wonderful, from ideas as diverse as sponsored slims to sponsored swims, knitting, sewing, and tomato growing, to beautiful art and craft work, digging the garden and forming new groups with new ideas.
Here however I detect the stirrings of something we need to be cautious about. This is the curious way that one new group seems to spawn another and often another. The original Fund-Raising Group has suddenly become surrounded by smaller groups. In planning forward events to be held next year it is fast becoming clear that a catering group is need manned by ladies (or gentlemen if we are lucky) who are happy ‘to do’. Who don’t mind washing, scrubbing and serving endless scones and cups of tea.
Every successful event requires someone to collect entrance fees, sell raffle tickets and make a note of the proceeds and the banking. A new little group begins to rear its head, a few responsible finance people. The Fund-Raising Group itself is becoming very vibrant again but it too seems to be splitting into multiple occupancy. The jam makers and tea cosy knitters are happy with their lot but want nothing to do with high finance. Those who want to be more ambitious are sometimes downcast at the realisation of just how long a largish amount of money takes to raise and how much red tape needs to be waded through. Visions of beautiful iron railings and gates, or the creation of a history trail through our attics suddenly takes on a different dimension and yet again a new group almost emerges by itself! Tough and pushy we need to be, but also paragons of patience. When the same piece of funding appears time after time on our agenda with no visible forward movement we need to be stoic and congratulate ourselves on at least getting another quote or drawing up another plan. A word of warning however to ourselves. We need to make absolutely sure that we don’t start another group with the title ‘The New Group Starters Committee’!!
It will soon become apparent to readers of ‘The Bensham Grove Chronicle’ that nothing is simple here. The very best of plans often go awry. Humorous things happen and sometimes, sad. A Centre full of well intentioned volunteers is often a recipe for success or disaster in equal measure. Sometimes even the most meticulous and hard working planning is met by outside forces hell-bent on destruction.
Take our Christmas Fayre for example, the first real event after the restoration. The house looked beautiful on Friday evening. New chandeliers sparkled, wall-papers glowed, the Christmas decorations, co-ordinated by the Flower Arranging Group were an absolute delight. Our stained glass, both old and new, gleamed and old wood warmed with its depth of colour. Everything was ready and the stall-holders who were expected early the next morning would be thrilled we told ourselves smugly.
Not So!!! The early morning team arrived to find that half of the house had been plunged into darkness. The entrance hall, our lovely dining room and our cosy library were shrouded in grey winter gloom. The first impression was as if one was stepping into the Black Hole of Calcutter. The sitting room, conservatory and Activity Hall on the top path were basking in both warmth and light. What was to be done?
I am filled with admiration when I tell you that the team sprang into action. Little individual lights normally used by the needle workers were dragged out of cupboards and set up. Fairy lights twinkled around the stalls creating a rather magic-like atmosphere. The poor bemused stall-holders tried to convince themselves that this was part of the plan, to try and sell their goods in the gloom of an underground cavern . Well done to them all for their forbearance and good humour. Thank you all!
Huge thanks go also to all our volunteers who still managed to create a wonderful, friendly atmosphere for all our visitors, and ‘hello’ to the emergency electrician who might now still be wandering the streets of Bensham looking fruitlessly for a building in need of help. Where did you go?? A big thank- you however for trying and never mind, it’s all in a day of the life of Bensham Grove!
SEASON’S GREETINGS TO YOU ALL.