Workshop began in 1988, meeting in an upstairs attic room of one of the founder players, in Wallis Road Waterlooville.
Our first meeting, on 20th April 1988 saw us marching up a large flight of stairs to be greeted by a tiny flight of steps to the top floor - a room set into the roof.
And so Workshop was born, with 6 handwritten sheets of music and 3 chord sheets. How times have changed!
When more players joined from Derek's Adult Education classes, on 16th February 1989, it became apparent that a larger and more accessible room would be essential, and we moved to St John's Church Hall Purbrook, where we stayed until 2006.
At first, we were able to rent half the Hall, which was divided by a partition, but as Workshop grew in size we booked the whole Hall. Originally, the entrance to the car park was down the alleyway at the side of the Hall, but a new road and a new vicarage at the rear of the Church meant that the parking was much improved and access easier and safer.
A disastrous redecoration that over-ran spectacularly in 2005 saw us decamping to PGS Junior School in the autumn term, courtesy of Richard and Mike who taught there.
Not long after we returned to Purbrook, the Hall Hire charges shot up and the car-park became closed for a long period.
And so over the Summer of 2006 we bade farewell to St John's Church Hall.
Our new home is St Andrew's Church Hall Farlington - convenient for the A27 from the East, the A3M from the North, the M27 from the West and, via Eastern Road, for Portsea Island too.
For directions and maps click here
Currently closed because of Government Coronavirus restrictions