Annual report Spring 2016

1. Friends of St Nicholas
Reg charity no: SCO 44541
Chairman: Treasurer: Athole Thomson Secretary: Marlene Mainland
Annual Report Spring 2016
After the Annual general meeting in March last year, St Nicholas Vestry opened for
visitors. The opening and closing was carried out by a good number of our volunteers
on a rota basis, and we are grateful to you all for your help. Visitors came from near
and far, from Holm to Australia, and many appreciative comments were recorded in
our visitors’ book. This year we even recruited a new member, Peter Sinclair, who
had travelled from Sydney to visit his ancestors’ graves. Several hundred local
visitors added their names during the year, all of whom had positive and informative
experiences during their visits.
We now have £12 744 in the bank, which is a good increase from last
year. This has been achieved by several fundraising events held in the
building, with the Arts and Crafts sale and exhibition being particularly
successful. We are very grateful to everyone who participated in these,
and as a result guaranteed funds for the renovation of more windows. We
have benefited from donations from the Flett and Budge families and we
are grateful to them for their support. Our Blue Door week will be in early 2017, as
there is a two year waiting list now! There is ample space in St Nicholas for storage of
all your unwanted items, and we’ll be glad to receive these any time.
Annual subscriptions of £10 from our supporters covered our costs for the year, which
were the insurance premium, fee to Voluntary Action Orkney, fee for website on
Orkney Communities and the hire of the meeting room in the Holm Hall. No expenses
were paid to volunteers or trustees, and again we are grateful for all support.
The trustees were again invited to make presentations to local groups, this time the
Friends of St Magnus and The University of the 3rd Age (U3A). Our archive of
materials relating to Holm’s heritage is expanding, with recent donations from the
family of the late Molly King, and the School Dux medal from the Firth family. A
grant of £800 from OIC’s culture fund will obtain boards and cabinets to protect items
on display. The files from Cyril Parkes lifetime of research have been put for
safekeeping in the Orkney Archives.
Our year ended on a sad note, with the passing of our co- founder and chairman, Alfie
Flett. Alfie was an integral part of the Holm Community and had supported so many
aspects of it through his life, in an unassuming and modest manner. We will miss his
wise guidance and positive encouragement, and we remember him with gratitude and
affection.
It is now more important than ever that we work together to preserve St Nicholas, to
continue what Alfie started.