In 2009, ECC will return to Hebden House at The Birchcliffe Centre for the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.
The Location
Hebden Bridge, in the Yorkshire Pennines, has many attractions for us, famous as it is for its alternative, very gay-friendly folk. Add to that a host of cosy bars and eclectic shops, whilst Hebden’s dramatic geography means that its hills and valleys provide lots of good walking. Plus, there's an additional Easter attraction. ’Pace Egg’ plays, once part of traditional village life all over the country, were revived in this area in the 1930s and we plan to hunt a performance out on Good Friday. So come and meet ‘The Bold Slasher’, ’The Toss Pot’, and ‘The Doctor’ why don’t you?!
www.hebdenbridge.co.uk/features/pace-egg.html
Hebden Bridge is easy to get to, with frequent trains from Manchester and Leeds. We’d really like to make the event as friendly and accessible as possible, from all aspects, and to especially welcome newcomers to ECC as well as familiar faces. So, with the weekend format, we hope to make it possible for some guys to come who are unable to commit to – or who perhaps feel a bit daunted by a full week.
The Event
Familiar ECC elements will be there, such as Base Groups, the Heart Circle and the cabaret, together with creative ideas for workshops and activities, plus time and space for getting outdoors, friendship, chats, hugs and warmth.
A key theme we’d like to develop is ‘Trying Something New’. We’ll create the safe space, you provide the idea and desire, and if it is legal, reasonably feasible and won’t scare the horses, then let’s give it a go!
So come on Men, be open-minded and adventurous – and let Spring 2009 herald the start of ‘The Time of Our Lives’…
The Organisers
Your organising team features two Johns, two Rodgers's, a counsellor and a councillor. Plus one ex-professional event manager who’d rather keep that quiet! We are, though, all regulars at the Manchester Heart Circle and have worked together before on organising ECC events. In brief we are:
|
|
John Casson, who is not the only gay in the hilly village of Greenfield, near Oldham. He has organised two successful Creative Arts weekends in Hebden in past years. |
|
|
Adrian Rodgers lives in Manchester, has been involved with ECC for 5 years now, and is a counsellor at the Lesbian & Gay Foundation in the city. |
|
|
John Rodgers lives just up the valley from Hebden Bridge - in Todmorden, where he's an (openly gay) town councillor. He's been in the area for nearly 30 years, so is our local expert (allegedly…!) |
The Venue
Hebden House itself offers an intimate residential space, in a Scandinavian style, for our exclusive use. We’ll have all en-suite rooms, shared between 2 – 4 people, some of which are ‘duplex style’, (oo-er, get us!), together with delicious award-winning vegetarian food, fully catered, and with no chores whatsoever to do! Disabled access facilities are available – but please check your requirements with Adrian before booking.
We’d like to aim for around 30 attendees, though the venue can manage a few more if necessary, and we really don’t want anyone to feel unable to attend on grounds of cost. We will try to be as flexible as possible on this.
Costs and booking
The breakeven cost per head is £135, with a sliding scale of charges based on annual income shown below. Please, if you would like to come, but feel that the lower charge scale will be difficult for you, then do not hesitate to contact Adrian, in confidence (details below), to discuss the availability of reduced bursary rates.
Scale of charges
|
Concessionary rate (for people living at benefit levels) |
£95 |
|
Low income – Up to £14,999 annually |
£135 |
|
Average income - £15,000 - £24,999 annually |
£155 |
|
High income - £25,000+ annually |
£175 |
To book, please send your completed booking form (available from website
http://www.edwardcarpentercommunity.org.uk/Resources/Booking%20Form%202008a.pdf )
together with your 25% deposit cheque (payable to ‘Edward Carpenter Community Ltd’) to:
Adrian Rodgers, 637A Burnage Lane, Manchester M19 1TF
If you have any questions at all about the event, the venue or bursaries etc, prior to booking, please contact Adrian at either 
or on 0161 442 6064
Offline 
Send Email