Let’s fool the robbas (again!)

Well, there is never a dull moment at The Art House, that’s for certain.

As you may know, we had a break-in on 8 March with a great deal of damage done by the two men who broke in and were looking for things to steal – they managed to steal very little indeed, but caused a lot of mess including a hole in the wall which we have been having fun with ever since, because silliness and creativity are always the best response to adversity!

On Monday 17 April, we had another break-in (which may well be linked to the first but
appeared to be a different person).

The good news is that the person who broke in this time was caught (hiding behind a manikin in our attic!) due to very rapid police response. He has pleaded guilty and will be sentenced later this week.

Here is the policeman who caught the robba! Of course, we had to get him to pose thru the hole to add to our collection.

As you can imagine, all of the police who arrived here that night (there were a lot of them, and a helicopter – most dramatic!) were grinning ear to ear at having made an arrest, as they seldom manage to get somebody red-handed.

We hope that, having been caught, the robba chooses a better future ahead of him than whatever happened in his past to lead him to carry out such a nasty act.

Although one person who attempted to steal from us has now been caught, the sad truth is that our building needs extra security to keep us safer in future, as all small businesses are very vulnerable to crime and we are no exception.

Insurance covers the basic repairs, but it won’t cover the upgrades we need. It also does not cover the disruption, extra work arranging repairs and claims, stress and the focus it takes to recover from an event like this.

We are already feeling a major financial impact from these events and, with summer coming up and in these uncertain times, this puts the future of The Art House at very real risk.

There are a few ways you can help us, if you want to!

Donate via PayPal, either as a one-off or, by checking the ‘make this a recurring donation’ box, give us a small amount regularly (so helpful!)

We also urgently need volunteers at the moment! Easter is a time we lose a lot of our regular student crew and we are short handed on all shifts at the moment.

If you are able to volunteer at least twice a month, either a regular time or ad hoc to fit around your other commitments, in the cafe or kitchen, we would love to hear from you….. and of course, the best thing you can always do is to come in and enjoy lunch, a snack, a drink, supper or some of our famous cake! We are open 10.30am – 10pm Tuesday – Saturday and 12 – 5pm on Sundays. Enjoy one of our many events

We also urgently need volunteers at the moment! Easter is a time we lose a lot of our regular student crew and we are short handed on all shifts at the moment. Find out more here

If you are able to volunteer at least twice a month, either a regular time or ad hoc to fit around your other commitments, in the cafe or kitchen, we would love to hear from you.

…. and of course, the best thing you can always do is to come in and enjoy lunch, a snack, a drink, supper or some of our famous cake! We are open 10.30am – 10pm Tuesday – Saturday and 12 – 5pm on Sundays. Enjoy one of our many events

As always, we rely on the support of our customers, our patrons, our supporters, our volunteers and our community to keep us going. As long as you are there, we will be here for you to enjoy – and we thank you so much.