This Club Dinner has been postponed in response to the Coronavirus pandemic until further notice.
The guest of honour at our next Club Dinner will be John Lennon’s sister, Julia Baird, who will be speaking in her capacity as President of the Salvation Army’s ‘Strawberry Fields’ project. The building in the grounds of Strawberry Fields – originally built as the home of wealthy Merseyside merchant – was later a Sally Army home for underprivileged children, but then became abandoned and the world-famous Gates fell into disrepair.
The Salvation Army has now redeveloped the whole site as a visitor/tourist attraction, telling the Lennon/Beatles story, and the Gates themselves have been fully restored.
As a child, John Lennon (who himself had a tough childhood) famously used to jump over the wall into the grounds to play with the children who lived there and listen to the Salvation Army band. And, of course, he immortalised the place with his ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, a much-loved number in the Beatle’s catalogue.
**This dinner will be in support the Salvation Army’s ‘Steps to Work’ initiative, a vocational training and work placement hub for young people with learning disabilities unique and innovative projects in one ground breaking venture that aligns community, business and tourism in the region.