Rye Community Centre on Conduit Hill has re-opened, but really just for group users who need the space that the hall can give. I spoke with Nicky Lockett, the hall administrator, who told me:
“We can accommodate up to 24 people in the main hall. That allows groups like Slimming World, the Marsh Choir, drummers, badminton and Tamboogie (exercises to music) to gather socially distanced. The Dance Centre too can use the upstairs hall when they need more space.
“They can organise themselves, but apart from that, there’s not a lot going on; there are no bridal bookings and we’re not taking individual bookings at the moment. There would be safety issues like cleaning of toilets and surfaces and we have to be careful that we don’t put ourselves in a situation where the cleaning costs outweigh the income from hiring out rooms.
“So, we’re just jogging along with reduced hours staffing. We were fortunate to get the £10,000 government grant to keep us solvent and we are applying to the Rye Fund for help with making the side door more serviceable.
“We are waiting to hear from Christmas Cards for Good Causes, and the Rye Players are hoping to do something, but there’s no way that we’ll have a pantomime this year.
“It’s just a shame that we can’t cater for elderly people in Rye, like at the Country Market, where social distancing would preclude the sort of community gathering that is so valuable.”
Image Credits: Rye Players .