In the first of an occasional series about Lighthouse and what it means to members of our community, we meet Andy Walker, whose connection to our building and what happens here geos back to his childhood.
I’m Andy Walker, a 54-year-old single dad, and unpaid carer to Theo, a 13-year-old autistic lad. My association with Lighthouse goes back to my childhood, when Poole Arts Centre first opened. Over the years I have seen a vast variety of shows, including the famous last minute Jacksons concert in 1979.
Back in the 1980s I used to attend the Diane Gulliford School Of Dance and performed in the bi-annual show at the Arts Centre. Each show raised money for Poole Hospital children’s ward, and funded the Gully’s Place area for families within the ward. Over 100 local kids would perform for the week in a variety of dance styles.
As well as these shows, I also performed on the Towngate Theatre stage as a juvenile extra with various touring companies.
More recently, it has been my children that have drawn me back to Lighthouse, taking them to the relaxed performance of the annual pantomime became a trip they looked forward to.
Being a parent carer, I ran a group for other parent carers, and through this we were asked by Lighthouse how it could improve the experience for SEN kids and families. The team left with a lot more than they expected, but also offered to treat a group of carers to night at Lighthouse paid for by the annual Christmas Appeal. This offered was very gladly accepted and I arranged a group of 30 parent carers to see Rock Of Ages. For many of them it was the first night out at the theatre in years. We repeated the night out the following year with a trip to see SIX!
But even with all this, it is the Cinema that keeps pulling us back to Lighthouse. As I’ve said my son Theo is autistic and one of his favourite things is films, so we started going to see films. He has never minded waiting a few weeks longer to see a film as the Lighthouse cinema is more relaxed and compact than alternatives in the area. His love of films has just grown and grown, and we would eagerly watch listings and book the same two seats for the Friday evening performance.
I was looking for something to reward Theo with and saw the Name a Seat scheme. I looked into it and decided to sponsor two seats in the Cinema. Our usual seats were already sponsored, but a couple along on the same row were available. I arranged this and got the plagues agreed. Theo’s seat says: ‘Theo’s seat of pure imagination’ as it’s the place where he can sit, watch a film and be normal, not a care in the world. Mine, well it simply says ‘Daddy’s seat’!
Lighthouse arranged a special VIP opening of his seats and we treated a group of his friends to share this with him. To me, the reason behind sponsoring was twofold, as a single parent carer I don’t have a lot of extra finance, but the seat was my way of giving back to Lighthouse and also putting a smile on Theo’s face.
The whole experience was a magical evening for Theo. To me, it was priceless, something we have in place for the next ten years, and, yes, we have sat in ‘our seats’ many times since we started the sponsorship.
Having worked in the arts for decades I have seen venues come and go, but also seen Lighthouse change, grow, and flourish. I know that even the small donations people make will be put to good use, helping it grow further within the local community. All I can say is, don’t think about it, do it, whether it’s for a loved one, in memory of a theatre-loving friend, or family member, not only will you be giving a unique gift, you will also be supporting an amazing local independent arts centre.
:: To find out how you can support Lighthouse and its work, please visit Support Us – Lighthouse.