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 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, ‘I 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 vein and she would be a legacy in his name. By the end of 2013, monies 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 some very challenging times. Now, 9 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 Mummy Nicola has achieved is nothing short of incredible…
There is an amazing team working at Reuben’s, and all are totally committed to making a difference to those who might otherwise struggle to get by from day to day. It is only a team of 10 and it is amazing how look after almost 600 children in and around Derbyshire.
HOW INITIAL CONTACT WAS MADE:
As Reuben’s Retreat comes under the Together For Short Lives umbrella, we were aware of them, but had not made any direct contact until the end of April of 2021. This introduction was initiated by one of our contacts at the Sebastian’s Action Trust in Berkshire whom we had previously worked with on two separate cinema room installations.
Soon after this introduction, and a series of emails and calls, we set a time for us to visit the venue in Glossop to see exactly how we could help.
INITIAL MEETING AND SPECIFICATION:
This meeting was on June 8th and having heard more about Reuben’s Retreat and Nicola’s journey, we desperately wanted to help, and it was clear that we could help.
Reuben’s Retreat is an old hospital with three different buildings, with two of them been linked together. The first building you come to was pretty well developed, the second was in mid development and the third was, and as of December 2021, is still pretty derelict, though there are exciting ongoing plans to expedite it’s development.
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 for us to plan the cinema room facility.
The area available to us 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 the area that we had to work with. There were challenges as we were unable to compromise the ceiling 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 we needed a large TV screen, and preferably an 85 inch one.
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.
HOW THE INSTALLER / PROJECT MANAGER WAS FOUND:
With Glossop being quite remotely located it was a challenge to find an installer. We had various conversations and almost secured two different installers but sadly for different reason neither of them were able to commit to the installation.
Fate came into play and there was a delay to the cinema room installation at the Clare House Children’s Hospice in Liverpool. As it turns out this may well be a 2 year delay, and we will still look to help them in the future. This delay did however release Glo AV to potentially take on the Reuben’s Retreat installation. Once I explained the situation to their director, Greg Howarth, he was on board and fully committed to complete his third Together For Cinema installation. He had previously installed in 2014 and 2019, so his commitment to ‘give back’ was unquestioned and we were all delighted to have him on board. Thank you fate for playing your part…
Greg arranged to visit Reuben’s Retreat and bearing in mind some of the limitations we had, he created a design that really suited the space we had to work with, and didn’t interfere with the sensory area. Once this design was approved, we met and defined what equipment we were looking to secure. This is always a fun process, but it’s always quite daunting when you look at the amount of equipment we were going to try to secure from our industry…
SOURCING OF PRODUCTS:
Looking at the preferred equipment list, we were fairly confident we could secure what we needed, though we felt the 85 inch TV screen might pose a problem.
However, as luck would have it, Greg was looking to upgrade his TV at home, which happened to be an 85 inch Sony screen. A cunning plan was devised and with the help of both AWE and Sony we were able to make this happen. Greg upgraded his home screen and donated his 2 year old 85 inch Sony screen to Reuben’s Retreat. Having now seen it in operation, it really is magnificent, and I’m keen to get one myself, but I’m just not sure I can justify buying one – or more to the point, find a wall big enough to hang it on!
Beyond the screen we were confident that we would be able to secure what we had specified and I’m delighted to say that some old favourites stepped up again to help. With this in mind a big thank you must go to HDAnywhere, Legrand (Sanus and Middle Atlantic), Lutron, Monitor Audio, RGB Communications (Savant), Sony and Sounds United (Denon). Thank you all…
We’re also grateful to Jeff Hayward at Wildwood PR who kindly put together the post install video that can be seen on our Blogs page at https://youtu.be/1RnV9Rs3Qf4.
INSTALL STARTED:
Monday 29th November, 2021.
INSTALL COMPLETED AND FINAL SIGN OFF:
Completed: Tuesday 30th November, 2021.
Final Sign Off: Thursday 9th December, 2021.
OPENING RECEPTION:
This was held on the afternoon of Wednesday 8th December and we were lucky enough to have the multi award winning actress Julie Hesmondhalgh join us. Julie is known primarily for her role as Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street. However, since she left the show in 2014 she has appeared in Cucumber, Happy Valley, Broadchurch and the excellent drama, The Pact. Both Julie and her husband are patrons of Reuben’s Retreat and are committed to help as best they can.
Julie, along with the Reuben’s Retreat team, Greg, his wife Ali, and myself, were treated to a demo of the new room. It really is a fabulous end result, and will get so much use.
Sadly none of the companies that donated were able to join us at the opening. However, with it being a very busy time of year and a tricky journey this was unsurprising…
After the viewing we were all treated to drinks and snacks, and then Nicola Graham, CEO of Reuben’s Retreat, and myself said a few words. It 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 kindly gave the team a quick tutorial which was much appreciated, and I reckon much needed! We then discussed maybe helping out again in a couple of years, had a quick mince pie and I was back on the train back down to Great Bookham!
INSTALLER COMMENTS:
“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.”
Greg Howarth, Director, Glo A/V.
VENUE COMMENTS:
”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. X.”
Nicola Graham, Reuben’s Mummy and Founder CEO of Reuben’s Retreat.
GUEST COMMENTS:
"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."
Julie Hesmondhalgh, English Actress and valued patron of Reuben’s Retreat.
KIT LIST THAT WAS DONATED:
On top of the list above many other products and accessories were generously donated by Greg Howarth of Glo AV.
PEOPLE INVOLVED IN MAKING IT HAPPEN:
THANK YOU…, you have helped make a real difference at Reuben’s Retreat, and in turn, have made a real difference to so many people’s lives.
FINANCIALS:
Unsurprisingly Reuben’s Retreat doesn’t have the budget to purchase and install a luxury cinema room facility. Therefore, and with all products donated and the installation services provided free of any charge, this gift from the AV industry really has a huge impact.
Had this been a normal paid for installation the total cost, including consultation, design, installation, products and any other associated costs would normally have been in the region of £35,000.
SUMMARY:
28 down, and 22 to go for Together For Cinema to hit its ambitious target of installing a total of 50 cinema rooms by the end of 2026, at a total normal cost in excess of £1m.
There’s so much that can be done so once we hit this target we’ll look at the next one!
The Reuben’s Retreat cinema room is our 28th installation, and the end result is everything that Nicola and her team could have wished for, and more. It’s a fabulous gift from our industry to a very special place that helps cradle a difficult journey and helps make some beautiful memories.
As an industry united we should be proud to be continually making a difference to the lives of so many children, young adults and their families.
I would like to close by making a special mention about Greg Howarth of Glo AV who has now installed 3 of the 28 Together For Cinema cinema rooms. They are also one of our valued sponsors who are helping to secure the future of Together For Cinema. A huge commitment and his efforts have been appreciated and enjoyed by so many. Thank you Greg…
“Together For Cinema – together for better”
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For further details please contact Ian Morrish at:-
Work: 01372 454366 ♦ Mobile: 07768 398007 ♦ Email: ian@ad-con.uk
www.togetherforcinema.co.uk
Report Created by Ian Morrish. All quotes to be from Ian Morrish, unless otherwise stated.
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