March 21st 2019

Every day there is something new appearing - and today it is our ' Mary Poppins' bread stand ( as christened by Gail)  made for us so that we can display the fresh food we get given without takin gup too much space in the archway

And also

The cross was donated to us by the Give Way to Jesus Cross Walk a while ago and we have been waiting for the garden area to be cleared so that we could put it up in pride of place, as a reminder to us all of what is, and has always been, at the very centre of Via Wings work.    The bench is dedicated to the memory of Mary Verhoeven, an inspirational lady who is missed every day and who would have loved what we are doing here at Wellington House.

Update

It has been a while since we updated the blog because things have been busy here at Via Wings as we do what we do best - work with people to help them out of poverty and isolation and difficulty.   But the work on the building has not stopped.  There has be a lot going on.

We have turned what used to be an outside storage space into a wee shop where we can put our bread and cakes and fresh fruit and veg to keep it tidy and secure and give people a bit of privacy when they are deciding what to take home.   We have also been able to put a chiller cabinet there to display the chilled goods.  It is looking great. 

Then this week we have had the digger in to level the garden and sort out a damp problem which had been caused by too much soil against the wall of the Dare2Care center.   It is now looking a little bit more like the garden we envisage.  We are going to be creating a work of art on the bare back wall and then hope to have a sensory, child friendly garden where customers from the coffee shop will be able to relax in the tropical Northern Irish summer  😎

Monday Jan 7th 2019

A New Year a New Space Coming To Life

Today the painters have been in to the room which used to be the bar of the pub and is very very soon going to be our new shop!  It's amazing what a coat of white paint can do  ( although it is also amazing just how much hard work it takes to get a coat of white paint onto bare breeze blocks).  The ceiling has had a coat of grey, as has the back wall.  A bit more work to do yet, but we are making good progress.  Watch this space - we are hoping that the shop will be open again by the end of the month  😃👍

Friday December 14th - doors!

All the doors are on,  all the handles are on, all the locks are working.  We are so happy.

 


In other news we had to have a new roof on the kitchen of what is going to be the cafe - because we had sprung a leak.   So we now have the remains of a roof sitting in the garden.  Anyone have a big trailer they could lend us for a couple of hours??

Friday 7th December

After weeks of waiting ( we won't mention the wrong measurements holding up the process !) we at last have some door actually attached to doorframes in our offices.   The first ones to go on have been in the counselling room which means we can now have some privacy to talk to people about sensitive matters.  You really notice how easily sound travels when you have no doors on anywhere.

Im happy to report that no mess was made in this process.  None at all.  Not even a shaving or a mite of sawdust  😉

Thursday 29th November

Most of what we have been doing in the building this week is top secret Santa stuff.  But the thing we can show you today is that our staff kitchen now has lovely cupboards.  And the pipes are getting boxed in in the staff loo.   But you probably don,t need to see those pics  LOL

We really do hope you manage to pop down and visit us on Saturday evening so that we can show off our handiwork and celebrate with the whole town what we have achieved here over the past three months.  It is a miracle.

Thursday 22nd Nov

Fire alarms and smoke detectors - not the most glamorous or exciting of installations - and certainly the noisiest by FAR - but necessary and therefore we grin and bear it through the interminable drilling and look forward to being safe from even a whiff of smoke or a birthday cake candle flame!!  We also now have emergency lighting and exit signs.  And the conference room has new lights too! 

                                                           

Our other work this week is highly top secret and cannot be revealed just now.  Suffice it to say that the elves are very busy preparing for our Christmas Fair on 1st Dec!!

Monday 19th November

So exciting!  Work has started on the shop !
On Friday the electricians finished making the electrics in the downstairs of Wellington House all safe and good to go.  So on Saturday Donna was in with the wallpaper stripper and today Harrison and Karl are hard at work prepping the ancient walls ready for a coat of paint.  We are going for the 'industrial chic' look in the shop so watch this space as it unfurls before our eyes as a work of modern stylishness  :) 

Meanwhile, Marianne and her hubby and friends were in clearing the garden area - I know it doesnt look like much of an improvement but at least now we can see what we are up against!! 

And you know how we are always telling you that we believe in miracles??   Well, in ten days time this space is going to be Santas Grotto!   The elves have got their work cut out so if anyone has a spare hour or two they could offer to help out they would be most welcome.   And if anyone has spare Christmas lights ( indoor or outdoor) they could donate to us....... or a very large Christmas tree for the garden...... or anything else that you think would make our grotto more magical for the families of Dromore to visit, then please do let us know.

Friday 16th November

Today wellington House is buzzing.  Literally!  The electricians are drilling, the window man is out on the flat roof trimming new windows and meanwhile our trusty shop volunteers are having lunch together to keep the team spirits up whilst the shop and cafe are closed.

In the meantime we are unable to use these internal doors - so if anyone would like to buy them from us....?   They should come out easily with their frames intact.   Make us an offer  ( but make it a kind one as we are pouring our pennies into this build like crazy!! )

Thursday 15th November - windows!

Yay!  The new windows are going in.   The new fire door is very smart and will keep us safe in emergencies - not that we are going to have any emergencies!

Gail and Donnas office and the shop have also got new windows and the electricians have worked wonders and after a couple of days of drilling and banging we now have power downstairs in Wellington House.

All of this is costing a lot of money but we are trying to be super wise with every penny.   If you have any you dont need at the moment......   :)
                                             https://www.justgiving.com/viawings

Monday 12th November

Whoop whoop!   The electricians have made a start on sorting out the shop electrics.  And the new windows have arrived!!

Friday 2nd November - Charlie Dimmock where are you?

We have a lovely garden at Wellington House.   The only trouble is that it is under twelve feet of undergrowth!! 
Last weekend Warren and Sam made a good start at chopping back the jungle but as you can see there is a way to go before we end up with a beautiful child friendly ( possibly sensory?) garden.

Do any of you lovely readers have gardening skills you could help us with?  I know it is hardly the right time of year, but even to have some ideas about what we could do with this space and how it could be planted and landscaped to best advantage would be wonderful.  😊

Thursday 1st November

On Monday our whole staff team  ( minus Caroline who wasnt very well) went out on a fact finding mission to the Causeway coast to visit a big project which is similar to ours.  We saw round a massive food store project,  clothing giveaway and log chopping social enterprise.  It was really interesting to see how it all worked and to learn from people who have been doing what we are doing for longer than we have.

We came back to a week of full on clearing out of the Market Street premises.  The shop is running down its stock and will close on Friday.  Upstairs the equipment has now all gone from the cafe and we are scrubbing and cleaning ready to hand the whole place back to the owners.

We have a Hotpoint oven for sale.  In great condition.  Open to offers.

Friday 26th October

First proper day in our new offices and despite not quite having the phone or internet connection up and running we are all managing to get ourselves sorted and get through the backlog of paperwork which has been mounting up over the past ten days.   SO MUCH SPACE!!!   Happy days :)

Thursday 25th October - Much done but much left to do

Just in case you think we are nearly done on our amazing renovation of Wellington House.........  we still have lots to do.   This is currently what the coffee shop looks like!   Use your imaginations and you might just be able to envisage it as a light, bright, comfortable space with art on the walls and lovely new furniture.

This area is where we are hoping to have our wood burning stove and a lovely comfy snug leading out into the conservatory

And this.......  is what the shop looks like at the moment!!    Just a bit of work to be done in here!!

 So whilst we have made astonishing progress in a large part of the building there is still an awful long way to go before we are up and running as we intend to be.    We still need volunteers to help out - our stalwarts who have been working like crazy for the past six or eight weeks are starting to get tired now.   So if you can help us in any way please do let us know.   And if you aren't able to help us physically but would love to be involved with this great project you can always make a donation here. https://www.justgiving.com/viawings

Happy to report that Gail and Donna have finally got their office sorted out.  True leaders always ensure their workers are sorted out before they look to their own needs - but we are delighted to see that after years in a tiny cramped office the bosses will now have a lovely place in which to work.

Monday 22nd October

We closed the Olive Branch on Friday and today we started packing up and moving all the gear over the road ready for our new cafe when it happens.   It is going to take us a wee while to complete the renovations because our new cafe is going to be big, wonderful and perfect in every possible way 😊

Caroline, Rachel, Roy, Harrison and Mark have been working so hard today.

Meanwhile over in Wellington House......

the stair carpet has gone down!  

Saturday 20th October

Another weekend another work party. 

The outside loo is going to be turned into a prayer room - some imagination required at this point in time, but over the weekend the space was cleared of all the rubbish that had been stashed in there.

 The office store cupboard is now full of files and paper and paperclips

The stockroom for the shop has been moved across and Laura has got everything shop shape.  A lot of hard work has gone into this.  Well done Laura

 The outside store which was looking a bit disorganised has had a good tidy and sweep out

 And there is the beginnings of a staff kitchen in what used to be the bathroom.  It might be a while before we can get a cup of tea whilst we work  :( 

Thursday 18th Brilliant people doing excellent work

These two terrific young men have worked themselves into the ground this week.  Meet Zack and Ryan, two students from Dromore High School who picked this week of all weeks to volunteer to do their school work experience placement with us!!    They have cheerfully and uncomplainingly lifted and shifted and swept and cleared and been such a HUGE help.  Thank you lads.  You have been brilliant.  



Meanwhile the sun has been shining as the painting and papering fairies have been in again putting the finishing touches to various bits and pieces in the Hope for Life Center.

Donna the paint fairy

Carly the papering fairy

                                     Do you like our funky new armchairs?   😊

Meanwhile we are taking advantage of the glorious sunshine to get the archway painted.  Doesn't that look so much better?



AND FINALLY.......................   ( drum roll please)

Our new Administrator Audrey Knowles had the honour of awarding Volunteer of the Month for October to Carly Martin ( on the left of the picture)    My goodness does this woman know how to work!   She has given us hours and hours of her time and expertise in decorating to strip and sand and fill and paint and wallpaper and everything she has touched has been done to perfection.   We didn't really know you a month ago Carly and now you are well and truly one of the family.  Thank you so much for all your help on Wellington House.

                                                             

Friday 12th October

Everything is coming up roses :)

Office chairs arrived late yesterday along with some filing cabinets.   Pictures have been put up in the mentoring room.   Now all we need are some doors!!