Wot we did on are Christmas Holidays

This is the space just after we moved in, all our stuff, ten years of theatre in boxes and bags moved into the temple of the goddess.  The stage has been hers and hers alone for many years.  We will always remain worshipful and respectful to her, but the Tea House Theatre is coming... 

That was a lot of stuff and a dog. It all needed to be cleared out, so we called in some men with big hammers and strange accents.

Look what they found behind the mirrors, original baby!

Plenty more still to go...

But once it was cleared out, the space is huge.  1200 square feet!  With an excellent selection of wallpapers from its previous incarnations, original tongue and groove wainscotting and under the floorboards the original deeds, this baby is Victorian, not Edwardian as everyone seems to think, she was built in 1888.  This old lady is going to be reborn.

Amazing original fireplaces.  These are going to be opened up for a well deserved evening by the fire

 A high backed chair gives a little privacy and a cup of lapsang suchong warms your hand, a smoking jacket is prefered but not necessary though the opium pipe is obligatory. You warm your feet as they rest on the Ottoman, crockadile boots drying by the fire with a pistol between your knees.

You smile, a lucrative days toil has yielded a pocket full of diamonds, smuggled up the Thames. Slowly, with each sip, your aches and pains melt away.  A petite girl arrives with your paper, a gentle shoulder rub and a plate of roasted meat sandwiches. The rains come and you can finally relax, with one eye on the door.

The empty space.

Praise be the goddess.

Happy New Year