LONG standing members of Looe in Bloom have been thanked by the town’s mayor ahead of their retirement.

Cllr Tony Smith, mayor of Looe, recently hosted a thank you event for retiring members of Looe in Bloom, Di Trerise (chair), Penny Walters (treasurer), Helen Sampson and Gilda Pote.

The group were joined by eight long-standing volunteers, and all were thanked by the mayor for keeping the town “looking bloomin’ marvellous” for the last 22 years.

The mayor paid tribute to family and friends who help the Looe in Bloom team, the staff members who water the plants and Tony Brown of Brown Nurseries for the supply of the plants over the years. The mayor also personally thanked Jimmy Dingle and Armand Toms for their support to the group together with Simon Fisher for helping transport plants around the town with his ever-cheerful smile.

The mayor noted that Looe in Bloom has been supported by the whole town, including Looe Town Council with the grant they give annually and West Looe Town Trust with an annual grant which has provided transport, storage facilities, window boxes and planters.

Looe Harbour Commissioners provide planters along the quayside, help with the installation of planters around the town, and provide parking for the Looe in Bloom vans.

The event was attended by representatives of West Looe Town Trust and Looe Harbour Commissioners as well as Cornwall Councillor Armand Toms. All came together to say a huge thank you.

Cllr Smith concluded: “whilst we are sad to see our four long serving volunteers retire, Looe in Bloom will be carrying on — this last year saw seven new people come forward and I’m sure they will be helping the group to keep Looe looking good for years to come!”