News

Dear friends,

When I wrote to you in March, Insole Court was closing its doors, and we were not sure when or even if, we would ever reopen them. This was before the furlough scheme and before any significant COVID support was announced. We were in trouble, but then the first donations came in from our community, followed by many more. New members joined, old friends gave generously, and things began to look up. We spent the summer building on this, with significant support secured from the National Lottery, Arts Council and the Welsh Council for Voluntary Action. We reopened our café, our gift shop, and then the mansion with a new pop-up tea room and a second-hand bookshop. It’s been hard, but we kept going. Insole Court remains bruised, but not beaten.

As we prepare to close again for the two week ‘fire break’, I should note that we are not in the situation we were in March. Rather than appeal for your donations once more, I would like to share some suggestions for other organisations and causes you may wish to help, in the way you helped us in the Spring.

If you want to help heritage:
Take a look at this list from the Welsh Museum Federation. Many small museums have yet to reopen, and this has a huge impact on the communities they serve. (My pick, Cynon Valley Museum in Aberdare, is a wonderful resource, run by passionate staff and volunteers-you can find them here)

If you want to help the arts:
Most of Cardiff’s venues remain closed. Many will have membership schemes similar to our own, and I’d encourage you to join, even if you can’t visit yet. You may also be able to buy vouchers to use when they reopen. Take a look at how you can help Chapter, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Sherman Theatre and Bay Art.

If you want to help nature:
We’ve partnered with some great garden charities recently. Check out Plant Life Cymru and National Botanic Garden of Wales for details on how you can support their outreach programmes.

If you want to help your community:
Vision 21 helps people with learning difficulties and are just down the road from us in Fairwater. We regularly feature some of their craft in our Gift Shop.

Age Cymru has recently launched a new Coronavirus Emergency Appeal. They are also looking for volunteers to help reach older people by phone. More info here.

If you live in Llandaff and would like to help people locally, take a look at the Llandaff Covid-19 Assistance Facebook Group.

Finally, if you want to more information on how to donate to your local food bank, visit Trussell Trust

Insole Court will reopen on Monday 9^th November. For the latest information on our reopening, visit insolecourt.org, our Facebook page or on Twitter, @insolecourt

Until then, stay safe,

Gray