We don’t *do* guest blogs here at Moregeous as a rule, but today’s an exception! The fabulous Didsbury Life team have blogged our Summer Banquet from a couple of weeks ago at the Edwardian Baths we’re all busy trying to save up in Manchester. It was an amazing day, all the hard work was worth it and Helen has captured it wonderfully:
That’s right. A banquet. In a baths. Withington Swimming Baths & Leisure Centre, or, to be more precise, the Zumba Room. It all sounds a bit bonkers, and to be honest, as we were arranging it, we did question our sanity. So, what was it all about?
It was about showcasing that one day, hopefully in the not too distant future, the tired-around-the-edges but beautiful Edwardian building on Burton Road, can be an amazing community venue. The Love Withington Baths group is currently finalising the business plan and architects plans are being drawn up as we’re aiming for a successful Community Asset Transfer, meaning that when the City Council relinquishes control in Spring 2015, we’ll take it over as a community concern.
So, big visions need big ideas and this was why we roped in The Drunken Butcher, to host a Summer Banquet Extravaganza. If we’d sold 20 tickets (at £20 per head) for our 5 course event, we’d have been delighted. However, on the day, it was a sell-out (40 tickets) and we could probably have sold more – lesson learned for next time. Aim higher 🙂
It was an amazing event, with generous spirited community supporters. There was NO guest list – everyone, including the organisers & the invited *VIPs* – paid. We wanted to start out as we mean to go on & that meant everyone was equal. No freebies on our watch! And, if you couldn’t make it, here’s what you missed…
The Love Withington Baths website is due to be launched and you can see the professional shots, by Ayesha Rahman, who gave up her time to pop along and shoot the event. Thanks also to Ian Devine (The Drunken Butcher), Heli, Cat, Kate at Reserve Wines, Sarah at Cocoa-Cabana and Sian at The Flower Lounge. We couldn’t have done it without you!
Follow Love Withington Baths on Twitter for very exciting news, which we hope to release very soon…
If you’d like to become a FRIEND of Withington Baths, we’d literally love you forever, as just £5 will go a long way to enabling us to realise the community vision. Surveys, architects plans, feasibility studies need to be funded, so if you can help, that would be AMAZING! Just pop over to the website & click on the “Fiver Fever” link, then the “Donate” button on our BT charity page.
