TOGETHER FOR CINEMA

REUBEN’S RETREAT MOVES FOR WARD WITH NEW CINEMA

For February’s coverage of industry initiative Together For Cinema, a special focus on Reuben’s Retreat, Glossop, Derbyshire.

Reuben’s Retreat is located in Glossop, Derbyshire. Glossop is the north-western gateway to the Peak District and Derbyshire - close to the rugged moorland and wide-open spaces of the Dark Peak.

Their service focuses on support for the families of child loss and support for families of complexly poorly children. Their message is, “Think of us as a hand to hold. An understanding, accompanied by a friendly smile and warm voice. We are a safe space that says, ‘We understand’, ‘You are not alone’ and ‘We are here’.”

The Reuben’s Retreat journey began in 2012 when Nicola Graham very sadly lost her son Reuben whilst on a family holiday. His mummy promised him that his life would not be in vain and she would build a legacy in his name. By the end of 2013, money had been raised, and work had begun with their first beneficiary family. The following year their forever home was purchased in Glossop and since then step after step has been taken to progress Reuben’s Retreat and the care and nurturing they can give to families dealing with very challenging times. Nine years on, there is no doubt that Reuben would be incredibly proud of his Mummy and pleased to know that a great good has been set up in his memory. What Nicola has achieved is nothing short of incredible.

As Reuben’s Retreat comes under the Together For Short Lives umbrella, Together For Cinema (TFC) was aware of them, but had not made any direct contact until the end of April of 2021. This introduction was initiated by A TFC contact at the Sebastian’s Action Trust in Berkshire. Having heard more about Reuben’s Retreat and Nicola’s journey, TFC desperately wanted to help.

Reuben’s Retreat is an old hospital with three different buildings, with two of them being linked together. The first building is pretty well developed, the second was in mid development and the third was, (as of December 2021), still pretty derelict. Having seen all the areas and discussed all the options, it was clear that the second building, that was in mid development, was the best place to plan the cinema room facility.

The area was a large room, about 8m x 5m, that already had a sensory area at one end with various pieces of equipment and a hoist. The other end of this room, about 5m square, was what was available. There were challenges as the ceiling could not be altered in any way so in-ceiling speakers were not going to be part of the installation. It also transpired that a projector and screen were not going to be feasible so a large TV screen was needed.

There was some work planned for the room which had to be finished so there was no immediate rush, but the plan was always to complete the installation in time for Christmas 2021.

Stepping - in to complete the third installation for TFC by the company, Glo AV led by director Greg Howarth.

Greg arranged to visit Reuben’s Retreat and bearing in mind some of the limitations, created a design that really suited the space and didn’t interfere with the sensory area.

Looking at the preferred equipment list, TFC was confident the equipment needed could be secured, though it was felt the 85in TV screen might pose a problem. However, Greg was looking to upgrade his TV at home, which happened to be an 85in Sony screen. A plan was devised and with the help of both distributor AWE and Sony, the screen was sorted with Greg’s two-year old screen moving over to the retreat. TFC also wants to thank HDAnywhere, Legrand (Sanus and Middle Atlantic), Lutron, Monitor Audio, RGB Communications (Savant), Sony and Sounds United (Denon) who all got involved.

Glo AV director Greg Howarth Reuben’s Retreat - Stacey Kirkpatrick, Ian Morrish and Nicola Graham

Reuben’s Retreat - Opening Event, Ian Morrish and Julie Hesmondhalgh

COMPLETION

The project was completed and signed off by December 9, 2021, with an opening reception taking place the day before. On the day, Multi award winning actress Julie Hesmondhalgh joined the event. Julie, known for her roles as Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street as well as appearances in Cucumber, Happy Valley, Broadchurch and The Pact, is a patron of Reuben’s Retreat along with her husband Ian Kershaw.

Nicola Graham, CEO of Reuben’s Retreat, and Ian Morrish founder of TFC, said a few words. There was a lovely atmosphere and there was such positivity about the difference this new facility will make to the children, their families, the staff and in fact anyone who is able to take the time to enjoy it. Greg gave the team a quick tutorial which was much appreciated.

Greg says, “This was our third installation in conjunction with Together for Cinema. It is always a privilege to be asked to provide a system for such a great cause. With the Reuben’s Retreat system, we wanted to turn it around in time for Christmas. We choose to keep it clean and simple with a large panel and a discreet 5.1 audio system. We mixed this in with automation, lighting control and window treatment to give it the full media room experience.

“It is amazing how generous our industry is when providing equipment to these installations. We really get to create high quality systems for these facilities, and they have such a huge impact. We would highly recommend any other installers out there to get involved with Together for Cinema as it makes a huge difference and is very rewarding. From all of the Glo team we would like to thank Together For Cinema and Reuben’s Retreat for allowing us to get involved.”

Nicola Graham, Reuben’s Mummy and Founder CEO of Reuben’s Retreat, says, “When we embarked upon our latest phase of the Retreat with a bespoke entertainment room in mind we never imagined having the absolute good fortune of being the beneficiary of a Together For Cinema installation. It’s hard to put into words the difference it will make to the families we support and we can’t thank Ian and his team enough for choosing us as part of his mission to help supported children experience the joy of cinema. Together For Cinema are about to bring many smiles to many little faces, thank you for being part of #reubensjourney.

“We are also extremely thankful to Greg Howarth and the team at GLO AV who took the call from Together for Cinema and didn’t hesitate in getting involved to provide us with and install a mind-boggling array of products to complete the Moo-Vie Room. You are a very special team and WE thank you for choosing to support us, we WON’T ever forget your kindness.”

Julie Hesmondhalgh, added, “It was a joy to meet Ian from Together For Cinema at Reuben’s Retreat. What a fantastic organisation creating cinema rooms for children’s charities around the country. The movie/games room at the Retreat will be an amazing asset and will enable so many families to make memories as they cosy up to watch a classic or play together with the specially adapted equipment. It would have taken many, many months of fundraising to be able to purchase this top of the range equipment, and we’re so grateful to the team who made it all possible.”

Together For Cinema togetherforcinema.co.uk