'We have battened down the hatches'

How the Hallé is slowly coming back to life.

Good morning Millers - this is a members-only story about the Hallé. I spoke to David Butcher, its new chief executive, about how the world famous orchestra and concert society is doing, and what the pandemic has done to its finances.

Before we get to that - an exciting announcement! We are going to hold our first members’ community thread today. If you want to take part, keep yourself free at 6pm. You will get an email inviting you to come to the site and post in what is basically a members-only forum. Here’s an example of how it looks - from a newsletter that uses the same technology as The Mill but is about China.

The theme is going to be: “What are you most hopeful about in Greater Manchester in the next few months? And what are you most fearful about?” It will be interesting to hear people talk about the plans/projects/causes/developments in the city and region that they feel energised and positive about, so ideas can spread. And to know what concerns and questions people have, n…