The Fat Duck Gastro Pub is Guelph is about all things British – the food, the drink, the football. In recent days, it has been about British grief.
Brit Mark Thornber, originally from Blackpool, is one of four owners of the restaurant and pub at 210 Kortright Rd. W. Earlier this week, Mark learned that the 12-year-old goddaughter of a good friend was killed in the bombing attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on Monday. The child’s mother was injured and remains in hospital.
The blast killed 22 people, seven adults and 15 children and youth, including the goddaughter of Thornber’s friend Elliestar Smith.
Thornber said on Wednesday that the restaurant has placed a simple hand-written notice near the bar, along with a donation envelop with pictures of the mother and her children affixed to it. The notice asks customers to donate money to help the single mother in this time of immense tragedy.
“Elliestar started a Facebook campaign to raise money for her goddaughter's mother, who obviously can’t work and is going to be struggling for awhile,” Thornber said. “I’m not quite sure what her injuries are.”
In just two days, Elliestar Smith has raised 10,000 pounds, the equivalent of about $17,500 Canadian, through her campaign in Britain. As soon as he heard about his friend’s fundraising effort, Thornber immediately volunteered to raise money in Guelph.
“When I heard about the bombing, I was just devastated,” Thornber said. Blackpool is about an hour from Manchester. “Just being so far away, you don’t know if you’ve got any family or friends involved. My cousin’s daughter’s best friend was injured in it as well. So, I'm just devastated really, like anybody else would be.”
Thornber said his own grief is eased by knowing that he is doing something to help the victims back home.
“There are a lot of people that come into the pub from Manchester and that area, and from all over Britain,” he added. “That is their homeland. A lot of them come in here, and they really feel for the people back home. I just thought I would try to do my bit.”
