Transcription of comments on 7VT Futures questionnaires

- Anon + Ann Forsyth - - + All improvements possible have been carried out. However +its location and size are difficult for some. Very well managed. + + + I am aware the its use as a festival & generalhire +venue has provided valuable revenue. One may ask whether the needs for +adequate staffing & caretaking have meant, in more recent times, that the +revenue produced by the hiring pays for staffing and other costs associated +with hiring; and whether this activity, and its many call on Quaker time, is +best spent. + I am also questioning whether running a café over the +Festival period is best—or whether we should be allowing other +cafés to provide food; and restrict what we offer to drinks, homebakes, +and maybe a daily meal for staff, participatnts & others who would be +content with a restricted menu. Again, it comes down to the question of +whether all this iffort is best spent, or whetehr others could do better, +allowing us to focus our energy on more "Quakerly" activities. + +

+ Anon + + [Adequately] Library gets too crowded at coffee time + {Update toilets; Update kitchen} essential if we are to +continue letting rooms at commercial rates + Do we need to think about how the MH is used? Could it be +used in a different way? Could finance be generated in different ways? e.g. +Cafe downstairs where the foyer is. + +

+ Anon + + [Don't know] Probably yes. + The Meeting Room is a wonderful and light space with a good +atmosphere. But the acoustics are dreadful—a lot of echo, and the loop +system picks up the sound from the street which masks the speaker's words. + TH elocation is very good, and probably outweighs the +awkwardness of its internal structure. The committee has done a very good job +in making the most of its potential, and the welcoming wardens and staff are +excellent—the human element is most important. The window +displays are attractive & informative. + +

+ Anon +

I don't feel qualified to answer these questions. I don't know enough. +I love this building, what it offersQuakers & otehr communities & esp. +the quality of air & light in the meeting room. But I don't think we +should spend most of our money on a building. There are much more important +things than buildings. We could do what some churches do and hire space weekly +for meeting.

+ Elisabeth Carnall + + [Very important] Good public transport vital, +especially when Terrace is open again + [Good] Loos up and down stairs. + [Hall: very well; Library: well] Library can't be quiet place. + I would like to be less conscious of rules and regulations. + The MH has felt less like home under the new Health & Safety requirements. + I don't feel the need to enhance the display of Quaker materials. I am happy +to see evidence of other users of the building. + + + I have felt cut off from the Meetig House whie the Terrace has been +closed as going up & along & down to my bust stop has been +tedious for a slow walker. Sometimes I have walked to Bridges buses. Or to +Princes Street ones. I miss the 35 (& 1) which used to stop in the +Lawnmarket. But> I would deplore the idea of a suburban location, +'convenient for parking. + Before we chose this building, when we were looking, we said we +wanted a building wthat "wouldn't just be a Sunday building." It has been +gratifying that our MH has been well used by a very wide variety of groups. I +hope this will pick up again when the Terrace re-opens. + I have been very sorry to hear that a very long-standing tenant, +using the building several days in the week [?has left?]. This is unfortunate +both for us and for her. I can't imagine going to art classes in the Central +Halls. + I think that as a city much visited it is valuable to have a meeting +house at the centre, highly visible. Making the MH part of the Festival has +made us part of the community & superb outreach. + + +

+ Geoffrey Carnall + + On the whole the Wardening is friendly & welcoming, and +it's very important to remember that this needs to be a primary concern. + I do think the meeting house is superb for +outreach. Tommy Sheridan kneeling in from of a window to read Quaker +News. The work of Venue 40 in the Festival is magnificent. I always +feel guiltin that for me the Peace & Justice Centre has to take priority. +Sed non omnia possumus omnes. + +

+ Anon + + Sometimes the room booking procedure is inflexible & +not user friendly. Also "welcome" is not always friendly on days other than +Sunday. The loop in the Meeting Room is not effective and many people can't hear. + I think it is very important that V.T. is used as a +community resource for 3rd sector and campaigning groups. It is also essential +that the Quaker Meeting is centrally located and visible to the wider +communities in Edinburgh and visitors. + +