| Hello, Jane Fairbanks speaking. |
| Oh, good morning. |
| My name's Frank Pritchard. |
| I've just retired and moved to Southoe. |
| I'd like to become a volunteer, |
| and I gather you co-ordinate voluntary work in the village. |
| That's right. |
| What sort of thing could I do? |
| Well, we need help with the village library. |
| We borrow books from the town library, |
| and individuals also donate them. |
| So, one thing you could do is get involved in collecting them, |
| if you've got a car, that is. |
| Yes, that's no problem. |
| The times are pretty flexible so we can arrange it to suit you. |
| Oh, another thing is the records that we keep of the books we're given, |
| and those we borrow and need to return to the town library. |
| It would be very useful to have another person to help keep them up to date. |
| Right. |
| I'm used to working on a computer. |
| I presume they're computerised? |
| Oh yes. |
| Is the library purpose-built? |
| I haven't noticed it when I've walked round the village. |
| No, we simply have the use of a room in the village hall, |
| the West Room. |
| It's on the left as you go in. |
| I must go and have a look inside the hall. |
| Yes, it's a nice building. |
| Do you run a lunch club in the village for elderly people? |
| I know a lot of places do. |
| Yes, we have a very successful club. |
| I could help with transport, if that's of any use. |
| Oh definitely! |
| People come to the club from neighbouring villages, |
| and we're always in need of more drivers. |
| And does the club have groups that focus on a particular hobby, too? |
| I could get involved in one or two, |
| particularly if there are any art groups. |
| Excellent. |
| I'll find out where we need help and get back to you. |
| Fine. |
| What about help for individual residents. |
| Do you arrange that at all? |
| Yes, we do it as a one-off. |
| In fact, there's Mrs Carroll. |
| She needs a lift to the hospital next week, |
| and we're struggling to find someone. |
| When's her appointment? |
| On Tuesday. It would take the whole morning. |
| I could do that. |
| Oh, that would be great. Thank you. |
| And also, next week, |
| we're arranging to have some work done to Mr Selsbury's house before he moves, |
| as he isn't healthy enough to do it himself. |
| We've got some people to decorate his kitchen, |
| but if you could do some weeding in his garden, |
| that would be wonderful. |
| OK. I'd enjoy that. |
| And presumably the day and time are flexible. |
| Oh yes. Just say when would suit you best, and we'll let Mr Selsbury know. |
| Good. |
| The volunteers group also organises monthly social events, |
| which is a great way to meet other people, of course. |
| So next month, on the 19th of October, |
| we're holding a quiz, |
| a couple of residents are great at planning unusual ones, |
| and we always fill the village hall. |
| That sounds like fun. |
| Can I do anything to help? |
| Well, because of the number of people, |
| we need plenty of refreshments for halfway through. |
| So, if you could provide any, we'd be grateful. |
| I'm sure I could. |
| I'll think about what to make, and let you know. |
| Thank you. |
| Then on November the 18th, |
| we're holding a dance, also in the village hall. |
| We've booked a band that specialises in music of the 1930s, |
| they've been before, and we've had a lot of requests to bring them back. |
| I'm not really a dancer, but I'd like to do something to help. |
| Well, we sell tickets in advance, |
| and having an extra person to check them at the door, as people arrive, would be good, |
| it can be quite a bottleneck if everyone arrives at once! |
| OK, I'm happy with that. |
| Oh, we're also arranging a New Year's Eve party. |
| We're expecting that to be a really big event, |
| so instead of the village hall, it'll be held in the Mountfort Hotel. |
| The...? |
| Mountfort. |
| Mountfort Hotel. |
| It isn't in Southoe itself, but it's only a couple of miles away. |
| The hotel will be providing dinner and we've booked a band. |
| The one thing we haven't got yet is a poster. |
| That isn't something you could do, by any chance, is it? |
| Well actually, yes. |
| Before I retired I was a graphic designer, so that's right up my street. |
| Oh perfect! |
| I'll give you the details, |
| and then perhaps you could send me a draft... |
| Of course. |