Dear all, You may have wondered what has been happening with Camden Town's The Black Cap Pub as we've been apparently silent of date. Well, we most certainly haven't, and events on the ground have been moving almost too quickly for us to keep you up to date on. We have set aside the labyrinthian financial investigations for the moment, though there has been substantial developments there, and we are instead going to concentrate on the campaign activities and where we are today. The first big development is that the very strong campaigning has caused a substantial mood swing after we issued an updated Business Plan in March this year, and a further update a few days ago (downloadable at http://bit.ly/BLACK_CAP_BUSINESS_PLAN_MARCH2017 though it is actually June 2017). This has had over 130 viewings to date. After two meetings with Kicking Horse 3 Ltd (Jersey) (note subtle name difference between that and Kicking Horse Ltd (Jersey) ), all parties, Camden Council, Greater London Assembly participants, Kicking Horse, and ourselves concluded that in principle it was time to switch to a position of finding ways to re-open the pub. This was quite a change, and we wish to say we acknowledge and applaud Stephen Cox making this move. He also considered our Business Plan was generally well thought through, though differences remain. The general shape of the new thinking is to look for a fresh leaseholder or freeholder who sees our business approach as an exciting opportunity, unencumbered by any background who will work easily with the Black Cap Community. We have identified the right sort of leaseholder/freeholder in a new section of the Business Plan under 'Covenant' who would find this a great opportunity. So do look at the latest business plan, and ask the question 'Who do I know who might want to run a profitable gay classic EXCITING and FUN pub?' There are rocks on the road to resolve, but parties are determined they won't be obstacles. We are meeting all parties again on 29th June to clear remaining rocks and press on with a co-marketing approach. So - very good news but a way to go yet. And there's more. The next exciting news is that Black Cap Foundation Director Nigel Harris of Camden LGBT Forum has been awarded an MBE for his efforts! We don't know who nominated him for his exemplary work, but we are aware that his work supporting The Black Cap was an ingredient in the successful application. Well Done Nigel! And more. Those of you who have been following us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/weareblackcap/) might have noticed that the ever-popular vigils have been getting more 'arty' of late. We have been investing in sound gear, signage and accessories (Hope's Hats!) to improve the weekly vigils, and have had an assortment of performers doing magical sets. The campaign has spring boarded vigilers into new directions, and encouraged the shyest folk to step up to the microphone to do a number, or find wildly coloured garments and paint themselves up - it was horse heads last weekend. We've had pop-up theatre, a trash glam comedian, themed events, visits by key politicians and celebs, and huge amounts of fun. Facebook membership continues to rise and our Change.org petition supporters is running up at around 300 per month and should go through 10,000 by the end of August. So as this campaign proceeds to what we expect will be a constructive and much wanted result, it has touched so many people in so many different ways, and also helped campaigners realise what they might achieve in life in the future. So let us continue the pressure - it is working. And remember, the question today and every day going forward now is 'Who do I know who might want to run a profitable LGBTQ classic FUN pub?' Thank you as ever for your support. Your voices and involvement are making the difference. And if you haven’t been to the Vigil yet, come on down, every Saturday between 2pm and 4pm. With kind regards Chris Clark Program Director Black Cap Foundation