Updated on 30th July 2017:
Coffee Room at the Methodist Church
The Coffee Room will operate from the Purple Room from Monday 31st July until Tuesday 15th August 2017 while the Dovetail Centre is being refurbished.
The usual range of teas and coffee and biscuits will be available from 9.30 am to 12 noon Monday to Saturday. Access to the Purple Room is from the car park.
Follow the signs.
Below is the original post dated 28th Oct 2014.
My son and I visited the Coffee Room in the Dovetail Centre of the Methodist Church on Winchester Road yesterday.
I went there to buy some tickets for MDG Players’ upcoming comedy: Ladies of Iniquity.
Three things at the Coffee Room surprised me.
Free WiFi at the Dovetail Centre Coffee Room
First, I was surprised there is now free WiFi at the Coffee Room. You only need to enter a password to access WiFi at the Coffee Room.
Read Coffee And Free WiFi In Chandler’s Ford to find out where you can get free WiFi in Chandler’s Ford.
Free public Internet access and desktop computer
I was even more surprised when I saw a comfortable computer area to the right of the Dovetail Centre – with free public Internet access, and printing facility. Printing is charged at 10p per sheet.
The computer and printer can be locked away neatly in the cupboard.
The Dovetail Centre Coffee Room is open for the general public. Some of you may think that a coffee room in the church is only open for people who belong to the Methodist Church, however it is not true.
The Coffee Room is open to everyone. The Methodist Church’s Coffee Room opens from 9.30am to 12pm from Monday to Saturday.
The Coffee Room is spacious. Tables are neatly presented with lovely fresh flowers; tea and coffee are freshly brewed; seats are comfortable with comfy cushions. There is also a comfy sofa area, which is also a mini library.
Religious books and gossip magazines
There are religious books in the library for you to browse. There is an information desk next to the kitchen. You’ll often find church magazines, leaflets, newspapers, magazines of all sorts, including some gossip magazines. There is also often a box full of books and magazines for toddlers.
In this visit, I found a good collection of magazines amongst the church’s monthly magazines, The Link. (You can download or read The Link magazine online.)
The magazines at the Methodist Church’s Dovetail Centre today include: OK!, Hello!, Yours, Knitting, Camping & Caravanning, Royal Life, New Scientist.
The range of books and magazines in the Dovetail Centre reflects how open the Coffee Room is to meet people with different tastes.
(I understand that the church doesn’t buy these magazines; these are supplied by friends and users of the Coffee Room.)
Pleasant Coffee Room at the heart of Chandler’s Ford
My Fairtrade tea in a small pot cost 50p, and my son’s KitKat biscuit cost 25p.
The Coffee Room carries such a friendly, homely ambiance. It is a wonderful place to socialise with friends, as the space and calm atmosphere allows conversations to take place, without intrusion of loud music as in some coffee shops.
Why would the Methodist Church provide free WiFi for visitors to their Coffee Room and Centre users? Why would they let you use computer and Internet for free?
Providing modern facilities certainly helps attract visitors, improve communication, and connect people in the community.
In Chandler’s Ford, how many other institutions are as open and generous as the Dovetail Centre?
Asante Coffee Shop in Chandler’s Ford has now closed. Costa Coffee at the Fryern Arcade seems prosperous, yet to use the WiFi at Costa, you have to sign up.
The Coffee Room at the Dovetail Centre at the Methodist Church is a gem in Chandler’s Ford. I’m grateful for its services to the community. I hope to meet you there one day.
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When I go up to book my ticket I will stop for a coffee and browse the New Scientist! Even the library does not have it. Will have to see if they sell herbal tea.
Hi Hazel,
Yes I’m sure the Coffee Room sells herbal tea – 25p.
Those magazines – I’m not sure how regular they are there for, however I remember seeing the OK! magazine there very often. Perhaps these are donated by the public?
Let’s meet up there one morning.
You’ll not be disappointed by MDG’s Players.
I wholeheartedly agree with the above comments about ‘The Dovetail Coffee Room’. Our coffee and Italian conversation group meets there regularly every Wednesday morning and we appreciate the pleasant surroundings, friendly volunteers at the counter and the excellent range of drinks and snacks. Free Wi-Fi is very useful as I can use an online dictionary on my I Pad! I think that French and Spanish conversation groups meet there too, so it is proving a very popular venue.
Hi Juliana,
Thank you for your comment. Like you, I appreciate the openness, friendliness, and the brilliant service of The Dovetail Coffee Room. I first visited the Coffee Room nearly 14 years ago with a group of new mothers. We met there weekly with our babies and we were made very welcome. The volunteers there all thought our babies were beautiful.
I tried my iPad at The Coffee Room yesterday and the connection was great.
I hope your Italian conversation group goes well.
Sounds like a much better coffee shop than Costa! Maybe I will pop down there next time I am visiting the butcher.
Ruby,
Last week, my friend bought me coffee at Costa Coffee. On entering the shop, the conversations around us were overwhelming, with music in the background.
Costa Coffee was so noisy that we couldn’t form a conversation, as some young people from a local school next to us were quite hyper in their conversations, while playing with their mobile phones and screaming at the same time.
Later we saw a table by the window and quickly moved over. This helped a bit.
The Dovetail Coffee Room creates a different, calmer (and more civilised) environment. We need more places like this in Chandler’s Ford, where people can relax, make friends, engage in interesting activities (like Juliana having her Italian conversation group there) and recharge. A church that opens up its door to everyone is altruistic.