Media Isle of Man met up with Neal Mellon to discuss a roof issue that has suspended the warm and cozy club being held at the Columba Club.
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00:00Hello, my name is Neil Mellon. I'm probably better known by most people on the island as
00:07one of the co-founders and director of the food bank and commissioner in Braddon. Today I'm just
00:16talking with Sadie about the Columba Catholic Club which is a local community social club which
00:26is here to help and assist members on the island. I've been a member of the organisation for the
00:34last eight years at least, if not longer. The club's been established for around 50 years.
00:40The warm and cosy club was set up to help people living locally who were struggling with fuel
00:49poverty. I already had experience with clubs like this through the food bank and other charities on
00:56the island and we had the space, the facility and the time to offer this to local residents.
01:04So this is our third season. We got the the meetings off to a good start and then sadly
01:14on the lead up to Christmas we had a significant problem with our roof. We had got quotes in for
01:23what appeared to be a fairly minor leak which was manageable and affordable and then in the last
01:32several weeks this problem intensified with the storms and we have a significant problem now
01:42in looking at replacing the roof of the club. Because of the problems with the club
01:50we have had to suspend the warm and cosy meetings. Effectively on that lead up to Christmas
01:59we had to tell our clients sorry but there's no room at the inn for you. Since Christmas
02:06St Mary's Church and Cathedral has opened its doors to the warm and cosy club
02:13they'll be able to have a sanctuary there. Unfortunately the problem also includes a
02:19rusty beam that needs some attention so we're concerned about how we manage to fund this in
02:28the future. We've always maintained the building in good order. We're looking at the different
02:33routes that are available to us if any.
02:36It's a challenge but it's not impossible. We'd like to get the club up and running.