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Portsmouth Road
Hearing that Ravens Ait has gone into administration with immediate effect.
Does anyone have any further info as many bookings made for Xmas and weddings etc.
Ravens Ait
poppy
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Comments
Well I got married there in April this year and it was brilliant.
They had done loads of renovation ( eg new carpets decor etc ) and had recently put a huge marquee in the gardens so not sure where your getting your facts from!!
Anon - you obviously do not know what you are talking about. The venue is nothing like what was there in the 70's. The facilities and staff are/were top notch for our wedding in 2005. These really are sad times if this great venue is lost in it's current form. What do you suggest? More flats that are too expensive for anyone normal to be able to afford?
Sorry, what I mean't was that it appears not to have changed since the 1970's - I have no idea what was actually there at the time.
What is there now is a very unattractive building in a very attractive location. I just think that they could do better. It is good to hear that the staff and facilities were good, though.
I certainly don't suggest they build flats on the Ait (just imagine how much they would cost!), but it might be useful to have a bar/restaurant enabling people to go across there when there is no specific function taking place.
I think part of the magic of having a wedding there is the fact that 'regular' people can't use it on a daily basis. Something that would be lost if it was turned over for public use as a restaurant or bar. However, I guess the current use is not now a viable business. Crying shame, especially for a venue that has won numerous regional awards for its weddings.
'regular people'..... 'the island and its surroundings will still be as beautiful and if it's a community centre then im sure it will be possible to have all kinds of events there, including weddings, and it might just help people meet on common ground, the 'great ones' and the 'regular'.. never know... might get on..
I suppose you are right. I have lived opposite the Ait for years, and have never had the opportunity to go over there. It would definitely make a wedding a bit more special.
The problem is that it remains out of use for a lot of the time (especially in the winter), and the upkeep costs must be substantial.
I actually agree with Anonymous. Although it's an exclusive place for weddings (which only really take place on Saturdays - just when joe public is looking for a decent pub and restaurant), the area could be more profitable if it was run as a riverside restaurant and pub. Try going to Carluccio's (Kingston) on a Saturday/Sunday morning, the queue is out the door. If it was similar to Ye Old Swan (Thames Ditton), it could be a top class gastropub. Hart's Boatyard is a great example, pity it is already close to the Ait. Maybe we can build a theme park like Brighton pier... not! ;)
As a councillor I suggest we convert it into a hostel for the homeless, immigrant families and asylum seekers. Lets use it in a positive way.
Angus
You could well be on to something there. Move them all out of the YMCA, and then remove the boats. Only the most desperate amongst them would bother swimming over to terrorise the residents of Surbiton.
[quote=Anonymous]You could well be on to something there. Move them all out of the YMCA, and then remove the boats. Only the most desperate amongst them would bother swimming over to terrorise the residents of Surbiton.[/quote]
There are some utter clowns on this forum. Surbiton is an astonishingly genteel place, this sort of opinion is both reprehensible and misinformed.
That remarkis offensively Clownist
Well said. Would you be interested in sharing your house with an asylum seeker over Christmas? Lets show these clowns that Surbiton is full of decent folk.
Angus
Correction, Surbiton SHOULD be an astonishingly genteel place.
In general it is, but surely you must have been hassled for a used travelcard/shouted at outside the YMCA/asked for £2 to fill up an imaginary car at least once since you have lived in Surbiton?
Don't get me wrong, Surbiton is a great place to live, and it has less of this sort of problem than most other places, but it doesn't mean it could not be better still.
I've been asked for my used travelcard. I don't give them out; In fact, I've never seen anyone hand one over and recently the two chaps appear to have stopped loitering at the foot of the stairs. Actions speak louder than words on a forum and consequently without supply of the cards the problem begins to disappear.
I've never been asked for petrol money and I've never been shouted-at from the YMCA.
I've lived in Surbiton for three years and between the river and the High Street, commuting daily. A few people with social and personal difficulties does not mean the place is overrun or, to quote the previous melodramatic respondent, 'terrorised'.
Anyway, let's get back to discussing Raven's Ait...
I don't think it is too close to Harts.
Harts is the only pub that is actually on the river as far as Ye Olde Swan in one direction and Kingston in the other. One more pub on the river would not go amiss in such a densely populated area.
Also, it would be cool getting a boat to the pub!