Chair's update, October 2024

Tom Walker, Chair

I could write the same of all seasons, but Abney is beautiful in autumn and some of our forthcoming events are listed out below.  We had a good summer with a successful run of outdoor theatre - the first time since 2019.  It was great fun with very good feedback and we learned a few lessons about how to refine it next year in terms of dates and timing.  This is all part of our first year of running events post restoration with the new premises.

We also had a very successful Open House day on Sunday 22 September.  A real team effort with Hackney Council, the architects, the cafe and everyone else on site to showcase the chapel and promote the wider opportunities in the park.  The chapel is of course a beautiful building but it was a chance to share more of the detail about the building as well as other site features like the ground source heat pump.  All of this is arranged by our part time staff and then supported by a wide range of volunteer Trustees.

Behind the scenes we are finalising the annual report and accounts.  It gets signed off by our Board on 9 October and then presented to the AGM in late November.  This is an important part of our governance as an independent registered charity.  It is our licence to operate.  The other date for the diary is our Remembrance Sunday event which will be on Sunday 10 November.  Last year's got a mention in this Guardian column by Stewart Lee.