Arundel & South Downs MP Nick Herbert visited the first Pulborough Hub drop-in morning held in the village library on Monday (9 February).

The new community drop-in mornings are supported by Pulborough volunteers to provide a meeting ‘hub’ for local residents where they can chat over tea and biscuits, make new friends, and share conversations about village life and local news.

Mr Herbert was invited to visit the launch event by project leader Rob Aylott, a past organiser of the annual Pulborough Harvest Fair. The MP spent time chatting to the visitors and volunteers before thanking Rob and the volunteers for their work.

The weekly drop-ins are to be held every Monday morning between 10am and midday and are provided by the Pulborough Hub and supported by the Library Service and Pulborough Community Partnership. It is one of the initiatives that has been made possible by using some of the profits from the Harvest Fair.

The ‘hub’ provides tea and coffee with biscuits for just 50 pence a cup and a selection of local newspapers, making it affordable and open to all. Future drop-in plans include special guests who will be invited to speak during the gatherings.

Rob Aylott said: “The library provides a great place to meet and chat with a cuppa which is what many people want after the weekend. The launch was wonderful with about forty people dropping in, chatting about what was going on in the village and, for newcomers to the village, finding out from the hosts and other visitors more about the village. People also really enjoyed chatting to Nick Herbert and we will have other interesting people visiting on a regular basis. Overall a great success."

Nick Herbert said: “I think this is a great idea and I was very pleased to join the first drop-in morning. It was encouraging to see how well attended it was, and very good to see the library being utilised in a new way.

"I would like to extend my thanks to all of the volunteers who are giving their time to host the drop-ins and wish them sucess for future events."

ENDS

Notes for Editors

1. Photograph 1: Left to Right – Rob Aylott of Pulborough Community Partnership and Nick Herbert MP

2. For more information about the Pulborough Community Partnership see http://www.pulborough.org/.

MP joins Pulborough residents at new drop-in morning