New class venue and a new era!

On Monday my Monday night classes moved from the Holiday Inn in the centre of Leicester to Birstall Golf Club, on the outskirts of the city. This may not be headline news but it was significant for my class members and very significant for me.

I have held classes at the Holiday Inn for almost 24 years. To put this into perspective, I have known my husband for 26 years and been married to Mike for 23 of them. Running my classes in the same venue for 24 years is a very long time.

In January 1986 I closed down a business that I had lovingly created and developed. This had not been my choice but in 1981 I had sold my business to a national magazine publisher who had retained me to carry on running the company. It proved to be a nightmare. The whole experience had been painful and exhausting and I learned from that situation that I never wanted to be employed by anyone else ever again. And I haven’t. I had been naive and inexperienced. I had bitten off more than I could chew and no matter how hard or fast I chewed, somehow this ‘business marriage’ just hadn’t worked. Four and a half years later, they ditched the enterprise and I was left bruised, battered and disillusioned.

The only saving grace was that I transferred my own personal diet and exercise classes across the road to the Holiday Inn. I was running 8 classes each week, including aqua-aerobics, and this was my new job. All the income I had came from those classes – and I was happy.

Around 20 of those original members who crossed the road with me are still attending my classes today. They are friends and we meet every Monday evening for a good time - keeping fit, chatting, laughing, and having fun. So when I announced to them six weeks ago that I was thinking of moving the venue, this was significant. Going to the Holiday Inn on a Monday evening had become part of our lives. It’s just what we did on Monday evenings.

So, when I woke up on Monday morning and thought – ‘ Tonight’s a new venue. What if nobody comes?’ I felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation. I even spring-cleaned my kit box ready for the big occasion. I visited some of the local business to offer a poster in case any staff members wanted to come along – something I hadn’t done since I started my business 38 years ago!

So when I turned up at the Golf Club early to set up my equipment, I was so thrilled to find a new member awaiting my arrival. She helped me carry my kit up the stairs and into the room. Within 30 minutes all my ‘old’ members had arrived. They were as excited as I was. This was a new beginning. I loved teaching my class and remembered my routine for once! It was an exciting change for all of us and we had embraced the challenge with optimism and I thanked them for their positive attitude and support.

For someone who has reached a time in her life when change is often resisted, this was definitely a change worth making. I’m looking forward to next Monday – and hopefully - so are my members.