Until very recently, with very little working capital available, re-opening the Rye Heritage Centre has proved to be quite a challenge. Changes need to be made to make it a safe environment for visitors, staff and volunteers, the interior is being reorganised and brought up to date, and the goal is to open before Christmas.
The old reception desk has gone and the recently donated replacement is now complete and ready to fix in its final position once the leaking roof has been repaired. Rebranding and merchandising is underway, and the recently commissioned picture by Richard Adams, aptly entitled “Rye’s Heritage” is ready to take centre stage in the main reception area. However, we have a problem and we need your help.
When the Heritage Centre does re-open it will be in a different format from before as utilising the upstairs, given the current government health guidelines, is virtually impossible, so all activity will be focused on the ground floor and, once again the Rye town model and sound show will be the centre of attraction, which will be run until further notice with limited numbers.
Keeping the visitors safe and socially distanced is the priority but, to do that effectively we need safety barriers, either the rope and post style which you often see in theatres, and/or the retractable tape and post style of barriers which you see at airports and hotels.
If you feel able to help and have any of these barriers tucked away, or know where we might be able to legitimately acquire some, we would be delighted to hear from you. Any donated barriers would be very gratefully received and will go a long way to helping to get the centre open in time for Christmas. Alternatively, if you prefer, a donation of £300 should cover the cost of what we need initially.
You can contact me direct on nick.forman@hotmail.co.uk or via Rye News on info@ryenews.org.uk. Thank you for your continued support.
Image Credits: Nick Forman .