AN early 19th century village hall at the heart of a Peeblesshire community has re-opened after a 21st century make-over – thanks to an early Christmas gift of £50,000.

It’s been a long time coming for residents of Stobo who feared for the future viability of their community hub built in 1906.

Running events from the village hall had become what organisers describe as a “logistical nightmare”.

Due to the lack of kitchen facilities, food would have to be cooked in homes and brought to the hall in a hurry for people to have a warm meal. And organisers would have to take dirty dishes home to wash up at the end of functions.

But residents in this close-knit community refused to give up hope of refurbishing their hall and, after 12 months of hard work, it has been brought back to life.

More than 30 locals attended the opening of the new-look hall, which now boasts a modern, fully-equipped kitchen and a disabled toilet.

Harry Griffin thanked everyone who had contributed to the creation of the new facilities and encouraged the community to make full use of what was now a "splendid local resource". The evening continued with a quiz organised by Andrew Campbell.

But the revamp hasn’t come easy – plans were originally drawn up by Suzanne Brown and Lucinda Bannister several years ago, but there seemed little hope of funding.

However, the wind of change came this year and, thanks to successful grant applications, the refurbished hall was opened to locals who kicked off December with the best gift their community could receive.

The cash windfall from the Ventient Energy Glenkerie Community Fund, the Fallago Environment Fund (a joint initiative by the Dryburgh Estates and EDF Energy) and the Robertson Trust, ensured the future of this much-loved community facility.

A spokesperson for Stobo Village Hall Committee told us: “The hall has suffered from a chronic lack of investment in recent years. Twelve months ago the kitchen had a few elderly units, a sink, but no cooker and we could not prepare hot or cold meals safely there.”

Keeping the haggis ‘warm-reekin rich’ at Stobo’s Annual Burn’s Supper was no mean feat.

“The supper itself has to be cooked in the organisers’ homes and brought to the hall by fast car. By the end of the evening the water supply at the hall would run dry and all the dishes and cutlery had to be taken home to be washed.

“The hall is the only place we have for activities, there is no pub, no school. It really is all we have.

"This has allowed us to advertise the hall again, and we already have a booking for an anniversary party and wedding reception. We also welcome cycling and walking groups.

“Before the upgrade we had serious concerns about the long-term viability of the hall. Now we have a hall that is again a community asset fit for purpose and we thank everyone who helped make the upgrade happen.”

The popular Burn’s Supper will be celebrated in style next year at Stobo Village Hall, who now ‘Hae a new hall tae gie you a Haggis’!

• Stobo Burns Supper is on Saturday, February 2. Tickets at £15 a head will be on sale early in the New Year and are expected to sell quickly. The hall also plays host to regular table tennis sessions on Tuesday evenings and carpets bowls on Wednesdays, both starting at 7.30. New players will be very welcome. Stobo Village Hall and its new facilities are also available for hire. Contact ambain4@hotmail.co.uk or go to our Facebook site for more information.