Yesterday evening we had a brilliant outdoor meeting of lease-signing and socially distanced intimacy. We have a great group of artists and creative people taking studios most of whom were able to come along; two designers have started in their spaces and the rest are coming in for 1st September. The flat is also once again being lived in. It is thrilling to have reached this point.

Progress on the Common Room cafe is also on track for a 1st September opening, and FAYAP hope also to be starting with their room round about the same time. Both have fantastic rooms taking shape.

The first art exhibition has just been hung and we previewed it to our new resident community last night. It features work produced in solitary confinement during lockdown by Pinkie the Gnome – details on our Instagram @exconclub – We haven’t yet worked out how we will be opening the exhibition for public viewing, but there will be opportunities once everything else is up and running, in line with Covid guidelines. Mask wearing probably required….

We don’t yet know how we are going to make the intended rooms for short hire available given the Covid restrictions and our need to take sensible precautions, but we will look at this once we have the core community happily settled.

For most people wanting to have a look round, the opening of the cafe will be the first proper opportunity – and we hope you will love it.

Thank you to everyone who has helped us over the last year and a bit. There has been so much interest and goodwill from the Fram community and further afield – and we have needed this and been greatly buoyed by it.

A ‘phase 2’ has emerged – this being the former Assembly Hall and Theatre next door: more news of that to follow…