Penmere Station Happenings

So far it has been a very industrious year for the "Friends"!. Earlier in 2019 we were very pleased to be awarded a grant of £500 by local Councillor, Matthew McCarthy, taken from his "Community Chest" grant scheme for the purchase of new equipment. We thanked him for this. Amongst the items purchased was a new compost bin, wooden hexagonal planters and a brand new shredder, which will prove very useful. Our big new project for this year has been the installation of a insect and wild life friendly cornish stone rockery on the car park bank. Again supported by funding, from the Community Rail Development Fund which is a joint initiative of the Department of Transport and the Association of Community Rail Partnerships. The rockery has been designed and built by Daniel, a Member and professional gardener, over a three day period, assisted by the "Friends". We are very grateful to Richard Burningham, Manager of The Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership who facilitated the grant on our behalf. GWR kindly have, as usual, supplied many plants for the tubs which are looking incredibly colourful this year. Cormac also donated many plants for the rockery and flowerbeds. Our Member, Josh, has put up numerous bird and bat boxes in and around the station and bug hotels have been placed on station fencing. Dave Peacock has done a tremendous job on overhauling and restoring and painting the original big BR(W) bench that sits on the platform. Our other benches, courtesy of Phyllis, have also received a lick of cream paint. Dave Bishop also has given the wheel seat in the car park, a good makeover. With all the "Friends" working hard together, the station and gardens looked tip top when the RHS judges were shown around by Steve on Friday 12th July, the station entering the "It's Your Neighbourhood" category.

WHAT A YEAR! The 25th Anniversary "Party on the Platform" held in August topped a very special year for us, culminating in us also being awarded an "Outstanding" in this years RHS Britain in Bloom "It's Your Neighbourhood" category. It has been a year of great achievement by our little group, that also welcomed two new active members, Daniel and Dave. We have big plans for 2019 including planting a rockery on the embankment in the station car park. Happy Christmas to you all and a Very Happy New year.

June 2018. The "Friends" were very pleased to welcome Julia Foyle, granddaughter of Leonard Grose, one of two British railways employees who manned the small halt from 1945 to 1968. Julia, who is on holiday in Falmouth was invited along to plant up a rose bed with various colourful flowers, with a plaque affixed, dedicated to Mr. Grose. As well as station duties Leonard involved himself in creating a British Railway award winning gardens. This has been carried on by the "Friends" for the past 25 years. To celebrate the milestone we are holding a "PARTY ON THE PLATFORM" on Saturday 25th AUGUST 10:00am to 5pm. This is as well as celebrating and achieving multi award winning success over the years, a way of thanking the local community for their valued support. There will be various stalls including a railwayana display, a Mission to Seafarers table, refreshments and also a mini steam traction engine in the car park. All are welcome!

A large group of "the friend's" came together on Wednesday 9th May to carry out the annual Spring cutback at the station. Courtesy of great Western Railway, a large skip was provided for the group to fill with lots and lots of greenery. A good start was made on the day with the skip being half full with a lot of hard work. All this is taking place to ensure that the station looks tiptop for the visit of the RHS judges in the annual "It's your neighbourhood" competition. Judges will also be touring Falmouth during the judging day. Also was planted a fragrant bush rose called "Summer Song", at the behest of the daughter of the late Station Booking Clerk, Len Grose who worked at the station from 1945 to 1968. Len was the creator of the original award-winning station garden in days gone by. A suitable inscribed plaque will be affixed to the stonework surrounding the rose some time in the future. The group are now firming up plans for the big celebration day of Saturday August 25th to mark 25 years of activity at the station. A truly remarkable landmark. All are welcome on the day and watch this space for further information!

After what seems like a never ending winter of rain, tempest, snow and more rain, the plants and flowers are starting to bloom. Time to get the garden tools out of the shed and plan for 2018! We are entering the RHS annual ' Its Your Neighbourhood ' 2018 competition again. Judging is in July. We are very pleased to welcome to a new working member called Daniel, who is a part time professional gardener, which is great news! An extra pair of hands goes a long way. Talking about news, the big event of this year will be our 25th anniversary ' Party on the Platform ' on Saturday 25th of August , from 10.00am until 5pm. This will be celebrating a quarter of a century as custodians of the station. There will be various stalls and attractions on the station platform and steam in the car park in the form of 2 mini traction engines plus much more! It should be a great day and celebration of much change, achievement, and camaraderie since 1993. So please tell you friends and family to come along and say hello to help us celebrate a considerable milestone! Watch this space for updates!