Many people who are struggling to keep alive the flame of artistic endeavours do not know that it is the law of the land that local Councils are empowered to levy up to a sixpenny rate for 'cultural development within the borough'. Some Councils do not want their ratepayers to know this. Thank God some Stretford people do realise the arts are necessary for the full development of the human spirit. This help, for which we are most grateful, has enabled us to continue our work with benefit to our members, and pleasure to thousands of our patrons. In nineteen sixty-six our coming of age year, we inaugurated our patron scheme.
Every patron subscribing a guinea receives a booklet containing six vouchers.
Each voucher can be exchanged for an adult ticket for any show during the season. Some years ago, I inaugurated a scheme to collect one million halfpennies. We collected a few thousand, and then, because of my multifarious duties, I could not continue with it and it has ceased to function. Some energetic person could resurrect this plan. At different crises in our history we have had some exceptional benefactors, notably our Chairman Alderman Harry Lord and the late Mrs Lord when we were faced with an enormous repair bill, he guaranteed us an overdraft of five hundred pounds.