Badminton at the Village Hall

Badminton at the Village Hall

In the 1970s the people of West Monkton Parish decided to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee by building a new Village Hall. At that time there was just a small wooden hall on the site where the current hall now stands. The old hall, know as The Victory Village Hall and opened in 1954, was built in memory of those from the village who had lost their lives in the 2 World Wars. Funds to build the new hall were raised in many ways. They included running a cafe in the old hall on summer weekends to provide welcome breaks for many people ‘caught’ in the heavy holiday traffic passing through the village – which was the norm in those days before the motorway and the North Devon Link Road.

The new West Monkton Village Hall was opened in 1979. The hall was designed with a roof high enough to include a badminton court and throughout the past 40+ years it has been in continuous use with many people regularly participating and enjoying the game.

Nowadays there are still regular sessions – a ladies group on Tuesday afternoons from 2 to 3pm and a mixed group on Wednesdays from 8 to 9pm (or 8 to 10pm depending on numbers attending). The ladies group is flourishing but the mixed group is a little low on numbers having sadly lost some long standing players for various reasons.

New players are always welcome. If you are interested please feel free to pop in at the Village Hall at any time when sessions are on. Alternatively, you can ring Mrs Sandy Thomas on 01823 412529 re Tuesdays or Mr Bjarne Nielsen on 01823 412201 (or email dawnwattsdk@yahoo.co.uk) re Wednesdays. New players are desperately wanted on Wednesdays as there is a real danger that these sessions may have to close after more than 40 years. This would be a sad loss at a time when the village is growing so much and when the need for exercise, community infrastructure and well-being has never been greater.
Sessions are really inexpensive and you don’t need to worry about not being good enough or having full kit! The standard is friendly rather than high but you do get some good exercise along with enjoyable socialising between games.