The Railway is a multi disciplinary Music and Arts Venue located in Winchester, Hampshire. Below is a statement regarding the current situation.
UPDATE 20/3/20 Find our story below this lastest update. Please keep donating.
Good news. Now that we have been forced to close our venue, we can focus our day to day efforts on our outdoor community food bank and neighboorhood outreach programme. Yesterday, we took delivery of basic items and some luxuries donated by TK Maxx Andover! So, we're still here, and we've got big plans. Call our phone at 01962 867795 or email us at [email protected] if you have questions or food/essentials donations.
Stay safe, stay well ❤️
The Railway Inn
Given the new advice relayed by Boris Johnson at his press conference concerning COVID 19 this afternoon, the doors are open for now. (please do not visit if you are sick) We are currently stuck between a rock and a hard place. Morally we would love to close but financially, we can't. We already have advised all staff to wear gloves and wash their hands regularly behind the bar, we currently use single-use plastic disposable glasses and we now only accept card at the bar to prevent contamination from cash transactions.
Because of this government's lack of preparedness and refusal to actually enforce closures of pubs/clubs/music venues, as it stands we will not receive our business interruption insurance. As a direct result of that, this could be it for us. We cannot survive a multi-week to month(s) closure. It would be a travesty for this community music/arts/poetry and theatre venue to close due to circumstances outside our control. Once again, we cannot thank our community and patrons enough for your support over the years. You are the reason we are still here.
Our current liabilities are around £3,000 a week.
If you can donate, please do. If you are unable, please share this crowdfunder with your friends and family. Suggested donation is the price of a round you might have bought here, or a ticket to a gig you might have bought, had this not come crashing down around all of us.
We really don't want to ask, but we are forced to. If our business interruption insurance is granted in the coming weeks and months then we will cease all fundraising initiatives immediately and update you all with details of how your money has helped us to weather the storm.
You are the best, we hope to see you on the other side.
Stay safe, stay well
All the team at The Railway