After weeks of preparation, our 10th anniversary unravelled on the 30th of Nov, 2018. We were grateful for the presence of the Mayor and Mayoress, Councillor John Beesley, Kevin the general manager from Hope FM, Mike from Bournemouth video club and all our friends and customers who came along. Our 10th anniversary also coincided with Bournemouth Coastal Bid’s Victorian Christmas late night shopping. Thanks to the hard work of every one in our team, it was a very busy day and everything went smoothly, despite one small incident due to my mistake of overdosing the mulled wine with a bit too much sugar 🙂
After days of heavy rain, the day started with bright sunshine, dissipating our fears of a leaky glass roof in the arcade. We managed to prepare all the canapes, drinks and decoration in time before the crowds arrived. As the snow machine pumped out snow flakes right next to our shop, children were dancing around in the snow and the choir singing carols holding the candlelight. Their voices were echoing in the lovely 100-year old Westbourne arcade. Meanwhile, lots of customers wrote down their best wishes on the blank canvas outside our shop. It was a lovely festive atmosphere and every one seemed to be enjoying himself/ herself.
Halfway through the event, our very own Justin made an emotional speech in front of every one, recalling our 10-year journey as an independent retailer and giving his heartfelt thanks for everyone’s support. It was an uphill battle being an indepedent retailer in the current turbulent economical and politcal times. Over the years, we had seen so many shops coming and going in Westbourne and we reached this 10-year mile stone with our heads held high.
In addition, we raised £100 for our local community radio station Hope FM from raffle ticket sales. The prize of the raffle, a hamper basket filled up with all our handpicked gifts from around the world, went to a very proud Mike. He said he had never won anything all his life; well, it is never too late to win 🙂
All in all, it was a great night, the laughters and memories would stick with us for a long, long time. We have created a short video capturing the best moments here.
Last not the least, I would like to give our special thanks to all those who worked with us at Scape during the last 10 years, you have all helped to shape Scape the way we are. Without you, we wouldn’t have made it so far.
Love Scape xxx