Wedding venue and Findus job lost on same day

Jan 17 2009 by Sam Wood, The Journal

A NEWCASTLE woman suffered a credit crunch double whammy when she lost her job and the venue for her daughter’s wedding on the same day.

Doris Anderson, 53, of Cheviot Mount, Byker, suffered her own ‘black Monday’ last week.

Mrs Anderson had a job at the North Tyneside plant that made Findus Foods products, but went into administration. Then, on the same day, the Legacy Springfield Hotel in Gateshead, the venue for her daughter’s wedding reception this summer, also announced that it was calling in the receivers.

Yesterday, it was announced all 400 workers at the North Tyneside plant would be made redundant.

Mrs Anderson and her 57-year-old husband, Phil, who retired after an accident at work, spent £700 booking the hotel. Now the whole ceremony is under threat if the deposit is lost.

The wedding was planned for August this year at Hallgarth Manor, Durham. Mrs Anderson intended it to be the wedding of her dreams for her daughter, Lorraine, 34.

But they have been left up in the air as they do not know if they will get any money back or if the hotel will be taken over.

And Doris said if they had to cancel the wedding they would be around £2,000 out of pocket.

She said: “I’m gutted, my daughter is gutted, we are all gutted by this. We don’t have any money spare for a deposit on another place. We have been left up in the air, not knowing if we will get any money back.

“Our only hope is that someone will come in to take over the hotel, which we have been told is still a possibility.

“It is too late to book anywhere else now at this late stage. My daughter is considering cancelling her wedding.

“Everything has been planned, we have ordered balloons and everything else all with the dates. If we have to cancel we will just have to start again. It could end up costing us over £2,000.

“I found out about the hotel falling into administration on Monday and then later Findus went under as well.

“It was a real black Monday for me.”

Doris has worked in the crispy pancake department of the Findus factory, which was gutted in a blaze earlier this month, for 23 years.

The fire caused over £20m of damage.

She said: “I don’t want to think about what will happen with my job now.”

No one from GVA Grimley, which is handling the Springfield Hotel administration, was available for comment.