Millennium cloths

THE signatures of around 2,700 people in Torpoint feature on Millennium Cloths which are due to go on display in the town.

Six large embroidered cloths bearing all the names have been created to mark the beginning of the new Millennium.

Paul Roper and his wife Christine have co-ordinated the project on behalf of the town's Millennium Committee.

"It has been a big team effort," said Paul, a policeman. "Up to 2,000 hours of labour has been freely given. The last stitches were put in place in December."

Paul said that the original idea was for one cloth measuring seven foot by five foot. However, this cloth became almost full with over 800 signatures so more cloths were needed.

Eventually there were two "town" clothes, with signatures from people in the town, one from HMS Raleigh, and three from the local schools.

The centrepiece of the first cloth is a drawing of the Torpoint Ferry by Torpoint artist Mike Howells. The second cloth has an illustration taken from the Torpoint mayoral chain. The individual school crests are on the cloths from Torpoint School, Carbeile Junior School and Torpoint Infants, while HMS Raleigh's crest is the centrepiece of the cloth signed at the naval base in the town.

Christine embroidered the Raleigh crest in red, brown and gold. She has also joined other volunteers in embroidering all the signatures in a variety of colours. This has been a mammoth task with each signature taking between 25 and 45 minutes to complete.

The Torpoint Wives Group, headed by Margaret Warmington, has been particularly involved in the project as have Margaret Martin, Mary Eyles, Topsy Gilbert, Joan Penton and Nancy Bennett, who comes from Millbrook.

Different styles of embroidery can be seen on the cloths.

"The cloths are quite effective to look at, being embroidered in all the different colours," said Paul.

There were two main reasons for staging the cloths project. The first was that the cloths would be an historical document of people in Torpoint at the start of the new Millennium and the second was that the project would be a fundraising venture with many people involved.

People paid to sign the cloths which raised around £2,700 towards the town's Millennium celebrations.

People of all ages have signed the cloths, with the youngest thought to be a four-year-old boy and the oldest a 94-year-old lady. Local MP Colin Breed and Sir Richard Carew Pole of Antony House are among the well-known people to have signed.

A special ceremony was due to take place last night (Thursday) with the cloths being handed over to the town council. They will be put on display at the Torpoint Archives in the Council Chambers in York Road.

*The council has agreed to extend its distribution of free Millennium coins. The commemorative coins will now be available to all Torpoint children born during the year 2000.

Holocaust

memorial day

A TREE-planting ceremony will take place at Mount Edgcumbe Country Park near Torpoint to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

The Lord Mayor of Plymouth, Dennis Camp, will plant a tree in the English Garden at 2.15pm on Saturday, January 27.

The memorial day, which is backed by the Government, is designed to give people an opportunity to remember those who died in the Holocaust and to act as a reminder to be vigilant so that such atrocities can not happen again.

Afternoon prayers will be held at the Synagogue in Catherine Street, Plymouth, at 4.30pm on the day. Members of the public are invited to attend. Men are asked to wear hats and women to cover their arms.

Footpath draws criticism

THE standard of the footpath between HMS Raleigh and Horson crossroads in Torpoint has been criticised by the town council.

Councillors heard from the Cornwall Highways department that maintenance work had been carried out on the path.

However, councillor Ivan Southworth was critical of the condition of the path. His view was supported by the council which agreed to send a letter to the highways department asking for the path to be "upgraded to an acceptable standard".

Meanwhile, the department has told the council it will be looking into its suggestion of connecting drains in Marine Drive to a storm drain on the nearby beach to try to alleviate flooding problems.

Ferryboat entertainers

REHEARSALS are beginning for a summer show in Torpoint.

The town's Ferryboat Entertainers will be staging a show called Melting Pot which will run in July.

The show will feature song and dance, and is being produced by Judith Jones.

"If anyone would like to join the group, they will be most welcome to come along on Thursday evenings at 8pm in Torpoint Rowing Club when we hold rehearsals," said Sandie Pearce of the Ferryboaters.

"Our Christmas show, Christmas Presents, went well. The audience enjoyed the songs and dance and also the festive fare at the end.

"High spots included Rachel Kenhard singing a solo, To Sir With Love, a comedy dance to the tune of Dulco Jubilo and a dance to a medley of James Bond themes which was well put over."

Christmas tree holder

A CONTRIBUTION of £134 has been made by Torpoint Town Council towards the repair of the Christmas tree holder in Sparrow Park in the town centre. The town's chamber of commerce approached the council for finance help to repair the holder which is used for one of the town's two main decorated Christmas trees each year. This Christmas the two trees, the other being sited in Elliot Square, were again given free by Sir Richard Carew Pole of Antony House.

Industrial unit

A PLAN to build a new industrial/business unit at Trevol Business Park in Torpoint has been approved by Caradon District Council.

MP Surgery

COLIN Breed MP will be holding a surgery at the Chatlink Shop, Torpoint on Saturday January 27. Anyone needing to see him, please ring for an appointment on (01579) 342150, office hours only.