PICTURES: Barnham Community Coffee Morning celebrates

The Barnham Community Coffee Morning, which was started as a place for people to get-together, celebrated its fifth birthday yesterday.

Kate Whitby was delighted to report that her simple idea had become a real feature on the calendar, with meetings at Barnham Community Hall every Wednesday from 10.15am to midday.

There are always at least 12 to 15 people, often more, with some coming regularly and others dropping in as and when they are available.

“People say it means so much to them,” said Kate.

“There is one lady who had lost her husband and having come along, says it is the best thing she could have done.”

Kate launched the group at the former Barnham Inn on February 1, 2012.

“There didn’t seem to be anywhere for people to meet in Barnham,” she said.

“I lived in Yapton before and they did have a coffee morning every week. I was quite a bit younger when I went there and working only part-time. They were all elderly but it was so nice.

“We used to have an old tin shack in Barnham but the pre-school was there and there wasn’t anywhere else to meet, so I asked the Barnham Inn and they agreed.”

When the inn closed, the group moved to The Murrell Arms for three months, then once the community hall was built, Kate managed to move the group there.

Kate explained: “The people here bit my arm off because they wanted community things going on. That was four years ago.”

It is a very friendly group and all you can hear is chatter as people enjoy the morning. Often the men will sit at one table and the women at another but there is a lot of interaction between the two, since some couples go along.

Diana Trant said: “We do what women do best, nattering and gossiping.”

Pat Frost added: “I have been coming from the beginning. I’m very lucky as my friend collects me from Eastergate every week.”