Sunday, October 30, 2005

Annual Bonfire and Firework Display

Will be held on Sunday 6th November
Bonfire 6:45
Fireworks 7:15

Please encourage visiting family and friends to use the FREE Park and Ride scheme to and from the Gold Centre, New Portreath Road.

Please give realistic donations to this unique seafront event. Insurance premiums rise every year and monies collected on the night have to cover all costs. The more the donations, the better the next years display.

Offers of timber and combustibles are NOT required this year.

Incline Project

The Incline Church Community Project goes from strength to strength! Our 6 weekly meetings provide a forum for discussion and debate as we work together to strengthen community resources. Recently we had workers from Drednought and On Track join us, and In the New Year, hope to develop further work with the 16 plus age group and with Parents.

Here is an update regarding some of the groups supported through Incline:
Having recently enjoyed Drumming and Swimming, The Carers Group have an array of exciting activities planned including a trip to France to enjoy the Markets and more locally, a Christmas Musical. This friendly and supportive group would like to hear from local carers, contact Janet 842658 or Cath 842797.

Mish Mash continues to meet on the first Saturday and a joint Christmas Party with GroundBreakers (Sunday School) is planned for Christmas. A new Mish Mash is starting in Camborne and some of the local children have been involved in setting this up.

Table Tennis meet on Wednesday evenings in the new church hall, 7.00 until 9.30. and Belly dancing also runs from the hall on Thursday evenings 7.30 until 9.00. Do come along!

CHIC can be found in the church hall on Wednesday mornings, call in for a cuppa, to order or pick up a Veg Box or to browse through an assortment of resources where you might just find the answer to something important!

St Mary’s Church Hall

As Chairman of Portreath Parish Council I was delighted to accept an invitation to attend the official opening of the new hall at St Mary’s Church. The event was extremely well attended with hardly a pew to spare.
Jim Dennis the Church Warden who has done a great deal of work on the project started the evening off with an introduction to the scale of the project. He handed on to Brian Phaby who was Project Manager. Brian gave a very informative pictorial presentation showing the progression of the building works from the demolition of the old Church hall to the completion of the new. The high quality of the complete build undertaken by Mark Bryant was apparent at the buffet after the service.
After an introduction by the Ground Breaker Puppet team with Ben, Claire and David the Rev Jim Foley, who was curate in our Parish and had the original vision of the new church hall, gave an entertaining talk on how the project came about and how the local congregation carried it through.
We were all treated to a great musical accompaniment by Mixed Spice, enhanced by the new sound system and visual aids installed by Kevin Stevens. The Church certainly rocked!

Before the buffet organised by Lesley Stevens and helpers there were presentations made to Jim Dennis, Brian Phaby and Kevin Stevens for all the work they did throughout the whole project. Thanks also went to Joyce Holdaway, retired Church Warden and Helen Jones new Church Warden.

Speaking to Rev Mike Kippax at the buffet, he said how delighted he is with the new Church Hall and how it is already being well used with great plans for the future. Current uses are CHIC care and hospitality in the community, Veg boxes, Coffee Morning, PATCH baby and toddler group, Alpha course, Table Tennis, Belly Dancing with ideas for future use including; A computer IT suite, a Parents group and Diva nights for young women.
A great evening was had by all that attended, we all wish St Mary’s Church Hall the very best for the future.

Report of Portreath Parish Council

Report of Portreath Parish Council


Dispersal Order

Members of the Council were very pleased to learn during a report from P.C. Roberts, Neighbourhood Beat Manager given at a recent meeting of the Council that the implementation of the Dispersal Order
within certain parts of the Village had resulted in a dramatic reduction in the number of incidents of vandalism, etc.

The combination of the Dispersal Order and the installation of a barrier at the Precinct end of the Harbour had also prevented the gathering of youths in vehicles in that area which had, in the past created, problems for those living nearby and had often resulted in the vehicles leaving the area
and travelling around the Village and Car Park at great speed. Members of the Harbour Association
have contacted the Council expressing thanks for Members ‘perseverance in persuading Kerrier District Council to allow the barriers to be erected and for all the measures taken by the Council to put an early end to anti-social behaviour.


Designated Public Place Order

The necessary legal steps necessary in the implementation of a Designated Public Place Order are being processed by Kerrier District Council following requests from the Parish Council and the support of Portreath Improvements Committee


Footpaths

All the Definative Footpaths within the Parish have now been trimmed and cleaned with the exception of a short section of New Walk which cannot be cut during the flowering season due to the presence of the rare Deptford Pink plant on the middle section of this footpath. However, trimming of this final section will be carried out shortly


Highway matters

The County Council Area Surveyor has informed Members of the Council that works will be carried out later in this financial year to reinforce the section of Sunnyvale Road near its eastern end where the retaining structure is failing. In the meantime the condition of this section will be monitored by the County Council and remedial maintenance work will be carried out if necessary. The problem of surface water run-off from the cliff area at the eastern end of Sunnyvale road is also being investigated by the Area Surveyor as a result of representations by the Parish Council.

Bridge Village
The Parish Council are pressing the County Council, through the local County Councillor, Mr. T. Rowe, for the provision of footways; the District Council for the provision of litter bins and the Police Authority has been contacted regarding the enforcement of the speed limit through Bridge Village


VE-VJ Commemoration Event

The Chairman, Councillor C.J. Watts accompanied by Mrs. S. Watts represented the Parish Council at the VE-VJ Commemoration Event held at Truro Cathedral on 11th September






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HARBOUR NEWS

As promised in the last edition , some information on the oldest wooden boat in the harbour. In fact it’s the only wooden boat currently in use, and is owned by David Jeffery (Jethro) to his friends.
Jeanette was manufactured in Porthleven by Oliver’s in 1960. She was carvel constructed from pine on oak as a displacement type hull, her shape suiting a fairly heavy sea. The engine is a 8HP Yanmar diesel running through a Yanmar gearbox.
Steering is through a traditional tiller.
The type of construction also allows the boat to take the pounding of harbours that dry out. In its early life at Portreath it was used as a licensed fishing boat SS278 by Keith Porter who still uses the harbour with another boat. Since David took over Jeanette, he has enjoyed fishing and potting as a privateer, but admits she has taken a lot of upkeep due to the timber construction.
“Being a carpenter has helped” said David.
Jeanette can be viewed and appreciated close up as the boats are due to be lifted onto dry standing now.
David is considering retirement this year, so if you are considering aquiring something that is part of our Cornish maritime history, have a word with Jethro.
NS

Jet ski to the rescue
Sunday the 21st of August saw 'tombstoning' nearly lead to a place in the graveyard. After consuming more than a little alcohol some young lads thought it would be funny to play chicken with the Atlantic Ocean and its boats and pushed one of their party off the end of the harbour. Unfortunately the lad in question was a weak swimmer and hurt himself on hitting the water. His friends, also poor swimmers and drunk could do little to help him. Swift action from local fishermen Jim and Kevin, in a passing boat, and the actions of Innis (spelling?), a holiday maker using a jet ski, meant that the lads were saved from drowning. Amazingly, whilst the boat crew and others tried to raise the alarm they were met by a torrent of abuse from the casualties' friends on the quayside - who had clearly failed to see the seriousness of the situation. It is ironic that yet again people had to risk their own safety to come to the aid of yobs who argue that society does little for them.

30-minutes later, in an unrelated incident, another local fishing vessel, this time skippered by Paul, plucked a young lad from the same area who simply did not have the swimming abilities to cope with the strong currents.


Dr Bryan Mills

LETTERS

Hi there

I was born and brought up in the Camborne-Redruth-Hayle area, and, for reasons of career, profession etc, like most young people, moved away from the area. Although I have visited Cornwall to visit friends and relatives regularly over the years, I visited Portreath this week, probably for the first time in 30 years, and how disappointed I was.

I have always been aware of the good work done by the Kerrier Council, and the Portreath Improvements Group of local residents, and they have to be commended for many of the things they have achieved. However the things which dismayed me, an understatement, were:


* the uglification of the car parking area by the beach;
* the grim steel barriers to the car park;
* the ugly signs, and the fact that the car park is locked up at 10pm; where is the freedom that existed when I was young?
* the awful yellow bins by the beach: are these for clinical waste?
* the grotesque traffic calming;
* the signs on the telegraph poles stating that you could be moved on and asked to leave the area and a curfew for kids;
* pay and display;
* the appearance of the people walking about the place, who looked as though they were from another planet.

Maybe I am the one from another planet, or maybe it is just old age taking its toll. Portreath remains a beautiful place, but I guess my tendency is going to be to focus on the beach and the scenery on my next visit, and to avert my gaze from the village!

Jon Holland

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GOODBYE


No matter where I wander
No matter where I roam
There is a place in Cornwall
I will always call my home

Where ever my journey takes me
Over land and sea and air
I can close my eyes and imagine
And in my heart I’m there

And when the sun is shining
And the skies above are clear
I will always remember Cornwall
And that place I hold so dear

When those waves are crashing
And you stare out to the sea
As the sun dips down behind Gull Rock
Please remember me.



ABBIE, AMY and LIAM McGHEE
PORTREATH PRIMARY SCHOOL 1999-2004
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St Mary’s Church Hall

St Mary’s Church Hall
Weekly Itinerary

Tuesday 19:30 Alpha course

Wednesday 10:00-12:00 C.H.I.C. Care and hospitality in the
community
10:00 Veg Boxes
19:00 Table Tennis

Thursday 10:00-11:00 Coffee Morning
19:30 Belly Dancing

Friday 11:00-12:00 P.A.T.C.H. Parent and toddler Christian
hospitality

Sunday 9:45 GroundBreakers Fun Club for ages 4-18

Alternate Greenhouse Club 12 plus youth group?

Fun Day Committee News

Fun Day Committee News

We are forming a new committee and are seeking enthusiastic support and ideas. This is your chance to make a difference to your community with action and at the same time, have a lot of fun. Your input will make all the difference to the success of the day and the money raised helps many local activities.

I am sure everybody will want to join me in thanking the past committee for the invaluable work they have done over the past years and we hope to continue their good work.

Our first meeting will be on 16th November at 7-30 PM at Bassets Acre. Glenfeadon Terrace, Portreath.

Contact Pam or Rich Christ 01209 842367

BEAT LINES

There has been a lot of press coverage about the dispersal order that was put in place in Portreath this summer. I am sure that most residents will be aware of its existence but may not know that it ceased to be enforceable as from 1st October. I now have to assess the value of the order and report statistics back to the home office.
After I first proposed that a dispersal order in Portreath would assist us to deal with the annual problems of summer anti-social behaviour we received overwhelming support. Indeed it would not have been possible for the police and the district council to bring in this legislation without the public support that we received.
My own feelings are that it was successful and that it was worth the hard work that it took to get it into place. I will now try to ascertain if it is possible for a similar order to become effective during the summer months every year automatically.

By the time you read this October will be upon us, many people like me will soon be thinking about halloween night and ‘trick or treat’. I would like to make it very clear that none of my colleagues or I wish to be killjoys or seek to spoil anyone’s fun – however we will not tolerate one persons fun becoming another persons misery. Consequently as in previous years we will again be taking measures to deal with people who are intent on causing problems for others. If you have any concerns about the forthcoming celebrations please contact me at Redruth Police station to discuss further.

You may be aware that there is a current initiative to try to gain funding for a hand held speed gun/camera for officers in Redruth. There are not sufficient funds in police budgets for each station to have their own camera. The present situation is that stations in West Cornwall have to share the use of the camera. This means that each station gets to use the camera periodically. Each Parish Council has been asked for a donation to assist in the purchase of an extra camera that will then be used by Redruth officers only.
It is unfortunate that Portreath have been unable to support this proposal as it is only contributing councils that can expect the benefits that the extra equipment will bring.

On a more positive note, I am currently working on a project that I believe will provide a huge boost for policing and the Portreath community generally. The final details have yet to be completed, including the extra ongoing financial costs that will be incurred by constabulary. Until these matters are resolved it would be imprudent for me to say more at the moment. However I hope and anticipate that I will be able to give a positive update on this idea in the next issue of ‘The Tram’.

PC TIM ROBERTS