Hiring a public room

OFFICIAL:            Hello?

WOMAN:             Oh, hello. I wanted to enquire about hiring a room in the Village Hall, for the evening of September the first.

OFFICIAL:            Let me just see … Yes, we have both rooms available that evening. There’s our Main Hall – that’s got seating for 200 (Example) people. Or there’s the Charlton Room …

WOMAN:             Sorry?

OFFICIAL:            The Charlton (Q1) Room – C-H-A-R-L-T-O-N. That’s got seating for up to one hundred.

WOMAN:             Well, we’re organising a dinner to raise money for a charity, and we’re hoping for at least 150 people, so I think we’ll go for the Main Hall. How much would that cost?

OFFICIAL:            Let’s see. You wanted it for the evening of September 1st?

WOMAN:             Yes, that’s a Saturday.

OFFICIAL:            So from six pm to midnight that’d be £115 (Q2) – that’s the weekend price, it’s £75 on weekdays.

WOMAN:             That’s all right.

OFFICIAL:            And I have to tell you there’s also a deposit of £250, which is returnable of course as long as there’s no damage. But we do insist that this is paid in cash (Q3), we don’t take cards for that. You can pay the actual rent of the room however you like though – cash, credit card, cheque …

WOMAN:             Oh, well I suppose that’s OK. So does the charge include use of tables and chairs and so on?

OFFICIAL:            Oh, yes.

WOMAN:             And what about parking? (Q4)

OFFICIAL:            Yeah, that’s all included. The only thing that isn’t includes is … you said you were organising a dinner?

WOMAN:             Yeah.

OFFICIAL:            Well, you’ll have to pay extra for the kitchen if you want to use that. It’s £25. It’s got very good facilities – good quality cookers and fridges and so on.

WOMAN:             OK, well I suppose that’s all right. We can cover the cost in our entry charges.

OFFICIAL:            Right. So I’ll make a note of that. Now there are just one or two things you need to think about before the event. For example, you’ll have to see about getting a licence if you’re planning to have any music during the meal. (Q5)

WOMAN:             Oh, really?

OFFICIAL:            It’s quite straightforward, I’ll give you the details later on. And about a week or ten days before your event you’ll need to contact the caretaker, that’s Mr Evans, to make the arrangements for entry (Q6) – he’ll sort that out with you.

WOMAN:             And do I give him the payment as well?

OFFICIAL:            No, you do that directly with me.

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WOMAN:             Right. Now is there anything I need to know about what happens during the event?

OFFICIAL:            Well, as you’ll be aware, of course the building is no smoking throughout.

WOMAN:             Of course.

OFFICIAL:            Now, are you having a band?

WOMAN:             Yes.

OFFICIAL:            Well, they’ll have a lot of equipment, so rather than using the front door they should park their van round the back and use the stage door there (Q7). You can open that from inside but don’t forget to lock it at the end.

WOMAN:             OK.

OFFICIAL:            And talking of bands, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this, but you must make sure that no one fiddles about with the black box by the fire door – that’s a system that cuts in when the volume reaches a certain level. It’s a legal requirement.

WOMAN:             Sure. Anyway, we want people to be able to talk to one another so we don’t want anything too loud. Oh, that reminds me, we’ll be having speeches – are there any microphones available?

OFFICIAL:            Yeah. Just let the caretaker know, he’ll get those for you. Right, now when the event is over we do ask that the premises are left in good condition. So there’s a locked cupboard and you’ll be informed of the code you need to open that (Q8). It’s got all the cleaning equipment, brushes and detergent and so on.

WOMAN:             Right. So what do we need to do after everyone’s gone? Sweep the floors I suppose?

OFFICIAL:            Well, actually they have to be washed, not just swept (Q9). Then you’ll be provided with black plastic bags, so all the rubbish must be collected up and left outside the door.

WOMAN:             Of course. We’ll make sure everything’s left tidy. Oh, and I forgot to ask, I presume we can have decorations in the room?

OFFICIAL:            Yes, but you must take them down afterwards. (Q10)

WOMAN:             Sure.

OFFICIAL:            And the chairs and tables should be stacked up neatly at the back of the room

WOMAN:             I’ll make sure I’ve got a few people to help me.