Merry Christmas one & all!

Blimey. There are JUST 8 days left of 2020! What a completely bonkers year it’s been. We’re closing our doors today until January 4th to give the Gather Round team a much-needed rest. Although 2020 has been a hugely challenging year, we’re reflecting on some of the positives and looking forward with a sense of hope and optimism.

There’s no doubt that it’s a truly difficult year for many (and we realise many of us are luckier than others), but we have certainly learned a lot about ourselves and life in general. The whole lockdown experience has highlighted the power of community and a wartime spirit that none of us have experienced before. As well as our own neighbours at home, our growing community at Gather Round has been invaluable, offering support and solidarity when we’ve needed it most.

We’ve also loved watching some of the local independent success stories that have thrived despite the pandemic. Sonny’s, our local lockdown pizza supplier turned restaurant and Kask, North Street’s brilliant entrepreneurial wine bar and shop, who have both made the past year work for them in amazing ways.

As difficult as it’s been at times, many of us have had a chance to stop and think about what matters and to recognise that perhaps in some ways, life pre-Covid, wasn’t necessarily working. Let’s hope we take some of these learnings with us into our new ‘normal’, whatever and whenever that is.

This is our final blog of 2020, so we thought it would be a great opportunity to thank our lovely members for their continued support this year – we wouldn’t still be here without all you all.
It’s genuinely a real joy to come into work and feel part of a place where creativity flourishes and real connections are made – we feel very lucky!

Although this festive season is looking very different to what many of us know and love, we hope that everyone can have a good rest and make a fresh start in 2021. Let’s hope with a vaccine insight, we have some semblance of normality to look forward to in the year ahead.

We are very much looking forward to welcoming our members back in January 2021. There are lots of exciting things in the pipeline, so make sure you’re following us on our social channels to stay in the loop:  Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Wishing our readers and members a happy and peaceful holiday. See you on the other side…