Last Wednesday was one of those days in the office where the staff come together in an impressive show of unity, taking valuable time away from their busy schedules to work towards the common good of the venue.
Having said that, the task in hand wasn't one of the more arduous ones. On this occasion we all came together in the Level 2 foyer to eat cake. That's Lucy, our Press Officer, leading the way on the left.
And the reason for this unusual treat? Simply that on 31 October we're hosting our first Sunday Morning Piano Concert and one of the vital parts of the package is the cake that gets served with the tea and coffee after the event. Some sampling was therefore essential.
And what were we looking for? Firstly, the cake needed to have a home-made feel. Concert-goers would rightly feel a bit let down if they were served with something that came cellophane-wrapped (even if they were exceedingly good). Our feeling was that something homemade, not unlike the tempting treats on offer when the WI have their annual conference here, would be right for the occasion.
The cake also needed to be practical. Given that we might be serving 500 people or more, and that there wouldn't be room for everyone to sit down with a separate plate and fork, it needed to have a certain amount of internal strength to be picked up with fingers and to rest, when halved, on a saucer next to the cup.
Very gooey cakes were, reluctantly, ruled out. But moist, flavoursome, loaf-style cakes were definitely in and I have to say that Stuart, our new catering manager, really delivered for us. Believe it or not, he managed to find a solicitor who, as a side line, ran a business making home made cakes. And very good they were, too - we've chosen three types for the opening concert on 31 October and we hope that, if you're going to hear Cordelia Williams on 31 October, then you'll enjoy them as much as we did.
And on that subject, within the next month we'll have heard our first two solo piano concerts, with none other than Lars Vogt performing on Monday 8 November. Launching a new series like this is always a nerve-wracking business. Will our hunch that there's an audience for a programme like this be correct? Will the pianist like the venue...and the piano? Lots to ponder and we'll know more by the end of this year. But at least we know that when you have your cake on 31 October you'll definitely want to eat it.
Bye for now,
Neil
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2 comments:
An excellent innovation - on all fronts; musical and the cake! (Even if it did surprise us by being at lunch time rather than before the concert at "coffee time" - the earliest I've ever turned up for a concert!!)
Really hope your excellent promotion of giving full subscribers tickets will encourage as many to attend future recitals!
Thanks for the feedback. We're working on the timing of coffee and cake so that you can choose to have it before or after. Watch this space!
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