The story that then unfolds is truly delightful, as a rag-tag group of players launch ‘Coronation Tours’, overhauling an old bus from their workplace and... ahem “redirecting” some cash donations meant for charity to the enterprise- much to their boss’ dismay! From there, we are taken on a journey to sunny Blackpool, along with a family unit straight out of a ‘Carry On’ film and no shortage of cries of “Are we there yet- no!” that echoes the call and response of pantomime theatre and proved just as entertaining!  

In a case of mistaken identities rivalled only by a Shakespearean comedy, one of our protagonists- Queenie- reveals herself, confessing that she has run away with Coronation Tours and was masquerading as a man the whole time- shock! This confession is overheard by our nosey landlady- a true entertainer throughout the performance- and the newspapers, now under the impression that the newly crowned Queen has come to Blackpool, are on their way- horror! The confusion and silliness only intensify when, between further hijinks and a particularly eventful ride on the ghost train, it is revealed that Queen Elizabeth herself was in fact in Blackpool all along (stop I can’t take anymore!) 

​As the show played out to a captivated audience of friends, family and (no doubt after this performance) newfound fans, it was interesting to reflect not just on the talent of the actors but on the message of the performance, which was one of friendship, love and acceptance. It is always nice to be reminded that, regardless of who we are or whatever our situation might be, kindness and tolerance will bond us, and we are all Queens at heart. ​

The Booth Centre has been working with community artists interference-art in our art sessions over the last few months. Interference-art have brought together participants’ artwork and words into four collaborative art prints and ‘The Breath Book’ - a mini book. Together they feature our favourite ways to make ‘room to breathe’ every day, outside of the art gallery.  

The collaborative art prints will be on display for a few months in a new community space off the Room to Breathe gallery room. A limited run of free printed copies of ‘The Breath Book’ will be available for visitors to take away and be inspired by the Booth Centre community long after the display finishes. When the temporary display finishes, the art prints will come home to the Booth Centre. 
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For more information about Room To Breathe at Manchester Art Gallery:

A message from Elena Fowler, Chair of Booth Centre's Board of Trustees:

'I am delighted to announce that following a detailed and demanding recruitment process through partnership working with people accessing the Booth Centre, Paul Newcombe will be joining the team as our new CEO. Paul has a wealth of experience in the sector, and I am confident he will lead the Centre in exciting new ways during this next phase of our development. 

I'd like to thank Kate McSweeney, our current Acting CEO and the Leadership Team for their commitment and success during the interim, and I know they will work closely with Paul once he has started.'

Elena Fowler
Chair of Trustees

Kate McSweeney, Acting CEO, added:
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'I look forward to welcoming Paul to the Centre and to working with him to further develop the great work and the direction of the Booth Centre going forward.'

Paul, currently ABEN Coordinator in the Homelessness Directorate at Manchester City Council, will join the Booth Centre team in March, and added:

'I'm thrilled to be taking on this leadership role with a fantastic organisation. I want to use my skills and experience to support staff to do the best job they can and make a real difference for those who visit the centre. My focus will be to build on the great work and outcomes currently delivered at the centre and further enhance its strong reputation in the sector.'

The winter of 1990-91 was very severe and, with an estimated 150 people sleeping rough in Manchester, volunteers from Lifeshare responded and opened two night shelters at the Methodist Central Hall and the Church of the Ascension in Hulme. Again, very quickly it became obvious that this also wasn’t what people wanted or needed. They were glad to have the opportunity to come off the streets but people wanted their own homes and support to address their problems, rather than a mattress on a church floor. 

By 1994 people were telling us that they wanted much more than soup runs. They wanted to take more control over their lives.  We took a group of people to London to visit the Big Issue, which had just started, and came back and wrote a Manchester supplement and the Big Issue in the North was born. People were requesting a place where they could get support during the day and more activities to get involved with. Lifeshare wrote to the City Council and to the Church of England to request some land to put a portacabin on. The Council never replied but Ken Riley, the Dean of Manchester Cathedral offered their brass rubbing room. Within 6 months an application was made to English Heritage to put a new door into the Cathedral from Victoria Street, a grant was obtained from the Booth Charities (set up by Humphrey Booth in the 17th century to help poor people of Salford), giving the Booth Centre its name, and the room was converted to include an office, toilet and tea bar, and the Centre opened with a co-ordinator and 6 volunteers on 1st May 1995. 

The official opening of the Centre dedicated it to the memory of Mick Leddy and Peter Ryan who had lived on the streets for many years and had died prematurely. The vision was that everyone should have the opportunity to have their own home and good quality of life. The Centre was based on several key principles; firstly, that everyone should have access to good quality advice, so that they can make decisions and take control of their lives, secondly that the Centre should be shaped and delivered with people who use the service and thirdly that everyone needs a purpose in life and that people who are homeless should have the opportunity to take part in activities that are creative, fun and interesting. So, our strapline in 1995 was “drop-in for advice, activities and support”, our logo was a person parachuting and we offered sandwiches and an advice service each morning and ran drama, singing, creative writing, art and circus skills sessions each afternoon. Billy Kennedy, who lived at Mary and Joseph House, arrived the day before we opened and told us he would sweep the floor. He was the first of hundreds of people who came to the Booth Centre for support and ended up helping to run the Centre.    

In 1997 the Booth Centre’s registration with the Charity Commission was approved and it became an independent charity with a board of trustees, chaired by Philip Knowles and including the Dean of the Cathedral. It was also the year the Centre employed its second worker and developed more activities including regular outdoor pursuit residentials, giving people the opportunity to try new things outside the city. Later this developed into conservation work, an allotment project and a gardening social enterprise which we ran for a few years before it was taken over by our trainees as an independent concern. 

Over the last 26 years, the Booth Centre’s arts programme has opened up new interests and experiences to more than a thousand people. It has enabled people at the Centre to, amongst many other things, perform at the Royal Exchange Theatre, The Bridgewater Hall, and The Royal Opera House in London and to stage exhibitions at the Whitworth Art Gallery and the People’s History Museum. We have also taken people to Brazil and Lithuania to exhibit their work and make international links. We have worked with fantastic partners in the arts sector including The Edge Theatre, Streetwise Opera and arthur + martha and have won a number of arts awards. It is one of the many things that makes the Booth Centre a very special and creative place.
  
The pioneering work of the Centre and the dedication of volunteers, most of whom have experienced homelessness, was recognised in 2015 when we won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service and in 2018 when we won the Homeless Link National Excellence award for Co-production. 

In 2020 as COVID-19 was emerging we met with people at the Centre to redesign our service to ensure that we could stay open throughout the pandemic and that people were able to get off the streets and look after their mental health by having access to a range of activities which helped them to stay safe and accommodated. We also achieved our aim of delivering Emergency Accommodation Standards in Manchester, through our work with the City Council and all our other partners, which ensures people no longer have to stay in night shelters but have single room accommodation with support.   

We have not yet eradicated rough sleeping but the services that exist in 2021 are significantly better than they were in 1991. The launch of the Manchester Homeless Partnership in 2017, which the Booth Centre played a leading role in, has brought together the voluntary and statutory services with the faith-based sector, businesses and people who are homeless to ensure that we have a joined-up approach to ending homelessness in Manchester.  

People know that the Booth Centre never gives up on anyone and won’t give up on them - quite uniquely people aren’t barred from the Centre but we work with people to ensure that they can attend safely. 

Fundamentally the Booth Centre is a family and is described by most people who visit as a safe place where they feel welcomed and where they matter as an individual. This is shown very strongly each year when we hold a memorial service and come together as a community to remember friends from the Centre who have passed away. It’s a Booth Centre family event, people write and perform songs and poetry and we ensure that people who have attended the Centre are important and won’t be forgotten. 

Tomorrow, I’ll be leaving the Booth Centre and a new CEO will be recruited to help guide the Booth Centre on the next stage of its journey. I do not doubt that it will continue to develop new and innovative ways to try and achieve its mission of ensuring that everyone has a secure home and a good quality of life. I’m sure that the new CEO will find it a life-changing experience, just as I and most of the people who visit, volunteer or work at the Centre have done. 
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Thank you to everyone who has been a part of the Centre over the last quarter-century - you’ve helped to create a very unique and special place.   ​