A little help from our ‘Friends’
Sam Simpson is a trustee and founding member of the Woodbridge Riverside Trust, although her connection to The Longshed extends further back. Her father was a boat builder at Whisstocks, the boatyard where The Longshed now sits. It’s a connection that continues to cross generations as Sam’s children, Freddie and Clara, pictured here with husband and father, Rob Simpson, are also involved in the trust, appearing in the 2017 production of The King’s River. For those who missed it, this was an ambitious production to celebrate the regeneration of the Whisstock’s Boatyard into The Longshed. It involved local school children, a choir, dancers, musicians and actors coming together to tell the story of the Anglo-Saxon ship buried at Sutton Hoo.
“Every penny counts.”
The Kings River was part-funded by the National Lottery and Suffolk Coastal District Council Enabling Communities Programme, with the remainder made up of local businesses and individuals. Out of this initiative, the ‘Friends’ of The Longshed was born, allowing people to give whatever they wish to help support and maintain The Longshed to ensure it continues to serve the Woodbridge community. Known simply as ‘Friends’ Sam says the Longshed could not continue without them, adding “Every penny counts.”
Sam and Rob continue to support The Longshed as a corporate Friend with their Woodbridge business, Drain Doctor. Although Freddie and Clara’s inclusion in The Kings River didn’t excite any desires to act, they are very much looking forward to following the ship build by the Ship’s Company to create an interpretation of the Anglo-Saxon ship found at Sutton Hoo. With lockdown easing, it means work has recommenced on the project.
If you would like to support The Longshed like Sam and her family, then please click on the button below.
