Autumn is here and the Virginia Creeper on the outside wall of the Centre is turning its beautiful red colour again.
Also colourful are the 10,000 colourful soft play balls that we have now put inside one of our Tunnel chambers. This has created a ball pit 'sump'.
The Ball Pit Sump is proving to be a very popular challenge. Click on the video above to see a short video of what it involves
We have also been busy creating a few more bed spaces for the occasions we have some extra large groups staying. There are now a few rooms which now include a triple bunk that can be used when the house is full with up to 95 people residential. NB Our normal maximum group size is 72 which allows one sitting for meal times instead of two.
Since our last post we've welcomed many more groups of young people to the Centre
We now have a new sign up in the backyard and it is proving popular as a good place to take a photo of the whole group underneath it. The wild flower roof above is at it's best at the moment!
Also looking good is the wild flower meadow roof on the Garden Room across the road.
The garden itself has had some work done including a new BBQ area and 'Altar' fire pit, that are being regularly enjoyed by groups.
The new fire was used at a recent wedding reception held here
Behind the wedding party you can just make out a new willow hedge and archway in the photo below
we have added a few new videos to our You Tube Channel like the one above showing a group doing a stream study
We have also added our first video tour of part of the Centre. The one above showing the lounge, visiting staff kitchen and tuck shop. We hope to add further orientation videos over time.
We've been very busy over the last few weeks with building work at the Centre. It's all now finished and ready for our residential groups to enjoy.
We have 3 very able caretakers / maintenance workers who can turn their hand to many jobs including building work. We now have two very well appointed showers in an area of the Centre known as the Flat. Pete's 'block-work style' tiling is second to non as users will appreciate in these modern and functional showers rooms. They even have a heated towel rail, a folding seat and a sink to brush your teeth! Mirror also installed since photo.
The other big project completed by our in-house maintenance team is a refurbishment of the visiting staff kitchen off the lounge. It now features a water boiler for making hot chocolate drinks for groups before bedtime along with a dishwasher to put the mugs in afterwards.
Cupboards are well stocked with drinks and biscuits and there are also ample spare cupboards to store personal items in. Notice boards provide easy reference for information about the centre and there are plenty of power sockets to charge up electrical equipment.
In the Winter Blog post we included a cryptic photo of a £100k refurbishment project underway. We can now reveal the completed project. Our ground floor shower room has been completely gutted (new walls, ceiling and floor) and fitted out with toilets & 10 shower and changing cubicles. Photo's do not really do it justice as they can't show it's entirety.
We now have 10 new showers and integral changing cubicles plus two toilets. With two entrance doors and a lockable partition door these can be used by mixed genders and different schools at the same time on appropriate occasions.
Now that the shower room is finished and the cubicles are all up it's difficult to photograph this and appreciate what a dramatic change it makes to our showering facilities.
Meanwhile we have of course been running some excellent outdoor learning courses as usual!
The group above enjoyed following the new Gruffalo Trail at Beechenhurst and getting their augmented reality photos taken with the Gruffalo & friends.
A group of 6th Form students enjoyed a journey of a more adventurous kind down the River Wye from Kerne Bridge to Bibblins, including the famous Symmond Yat rapids, in fairly high water. Just one boat capsized. Unfortunately it was not caught in the video above as we were too busy rescuing them and getting them into dry clothing before getting them back in their boat to finish the trip!
Do you remember "Cracker" from the Winter Update? well Mike's Bengal Eagle Owl is now full grown and also has some companions. Talking of birds we should also mention that we have bluetits once again nesting in one of our nestboxes with the live camera feed. Presently 8 eggs being sat on.
As mentioned in the last update we have now had a couple of weddings in the Garden Room and have another two booked in. People are appreciating the benefit of a comfortable building and beautiful outdoor surroundings for this type of celebration. Our work on landscaping and outdoor lighting etc. over the last couple of years (see previous posts) has really enhanced this provision.
Meanwhile inside the Garden Room the warm comfortable environment has recently proved popular for a course of baby massage lessons. We also still host the NTC Parent and Toddler mornings every Monday.
We have also added some further disco lighting including a rotating glitter ball for student discos and evening dances in the Garden Room
The Common Room (Games Room) has recently had the addition of a second new arcade quality air hockey machine. The bowling machine which we've now had for a while but hasn't previously been mentioned is also proving very popular. All are for use free of charge.
Meet "Cracker" a baby Bengal Eagle Owl! His owner, Mike, is one of our caretakers and is also a Falconer.
In the main house we have a lot of building work that is nearing completion. E.g. above a refurb' of our visiting staff kitchenette. We look forward to showing you photos of the finished room which will include Hot water boiler for making Hot Chocolate drinks etc. in the evening + a dishwasher and sink etc.
The photo above is a cryptic view of the present state of a £100K refurbishment project we presently have going on! Our largest capital works for sometime. We look forward to 'unveiling' the finished result in a few weeks time when it is completed.
Meanwhile spring is just around the corner and the spring bulbs are about to bloom. We look forward to giving you a Spring update soon.
