Saturday 9 August 2014

Renovating your church?

For our yearly Guitar Festival we utilize since 2012 the church of Chazelle.

De floor around the altar - Chazelle
That is a very nice Romanesque church, however, as is the case with a lot of old churches around here, the floor is rather uneven. And because the Theatre Festival “Les Rendez-Vous de Cormatin” became defunct, and the boards and beams used to build temporary stages were still somewhere in storage, it seemed a good idea to use that material to build a stage in front of the altar. That should make playing more comfortable for the musicians; no more sitting on a wobbly chair!

Nixon & Co - for all your transport problems
However, the material was stored in a barn in Cormatin, and had to be transported to Chazelle. Fortunately we are the proud owners of a trailer big enough to transport the pieces of board, and since we are heavily involved in the organisation of the Festival it seemed logical to offer our services in the form of our trailer. There was no lack of manpower. The commune can mobilize at will a group of volunteers, who if necessary will fix street signs and house numbers to the walls, set up the Christmas decorations, refresh the village’s plant pots and plant flowers in them, give the village hall a lick of paint, in a word, they could also built a platform or stage for a concert.

Nixon & Co - for all your church renovations
The whole installation did not cost more than one day. Inside the church, in front and partially next to the altar, there is now a nice flat and even stage. However, when the mayor in a meeting offered to cover the stage with carpet, the artistic director of the festival almost suffered a heart attack. Because carpet would ruin the (indeed excellent) acoustics of the church! As a compromise the platform is now covered with linoleum in a neutral grey colour. The stage stays in the church, that is if the parish counsel agrees. That way a future female priest would not ruin her stilettoes getting caught in the joint between the uneven floor tiles….

The new floor around the altar - Chazelle
La Tuilerie de Chazelle : for all your transport problems, and for small renovations!

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