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News Archives 
RNLI/Max Levene Sponsored Swim Update
 The sponsored castle-to-castle swim from St Mawes to Falmouth which was such a success last year is once again looking for swimmers to sign-up. Celebrity swimmer, actor Steve McFadden - better known as Phil Mitchell from Eastenders - braved the waters last year and gave the now annual event a great kick-start.
100 swimmers have already entered, but many more are welcome up to a total of 300. But don't fret, a training schedule has been drawn up for all those interestd in taking part.
"It is important that people sign-up now as they cannot do this on the day," said organiser Dina Croft. "However, there is a planned 12km run organised thereafter which anyone can sign up to at the last minute."
The swim will take place on Sunday 6th June at 12.30 from Crab Key in Falmouth, ending at St. Mawes castle. Thereafter, the run to St. Just and back will start at 3.00pm on the St. Mawes Quay.
All raised funds raised will go towards both RNLI and Max Levene - a popular Truro School sixth former who broke his neck in a rugby game last year and is now paralysed form the chest down. The minimum entry fee is £50, but any donations or to register interest can be made on theRNLI website.
For more information, to receive a swim training schedule (prepared by Len Hatcher who recently trained 4 girls to swim the channel) or to get a sponsorship form and register you interest locally, please email Dina Croft.
 Ralph's Stores Bakery Receives County Commendation
Following a routine inspection by Cornwall Council's Food Safety Officer, the bakery which supplies Ralph's Stores in Portscastho has been upgraded to a three star rating; the highest rating in the bakery's history.
Head baker, Richard Wallis said, "We are delighted that this independent assessment acknowledges and confirms the excellent progress being made my team."
The assesment went on to note; the significant improvements in the running and manage-ment of the bakery, the improvements in hygiene and ensuring food safety for all their customers.
More about Richard's recent changes and successes can be read in our report on Ralph's Stores Bakery in last month's Roseland View - A Rising Passion.
Dad's Army postponement
The planned performance of the Veryan Player's production of 'Dad's Army' will have to be put on ice until November.
"Our chairman is beginning to feel he is destined not to have a show at the memorial Hall, Portscatho," said Publicity Officer, Coral Pepper. "For two consecutive years he had assembled a cast who eagerly anticipated performing “Stepping Out” and both times the publishers withdrew performance rights. This summer was “Dad’s Army” however, due to other commitments, many of the company were not available, so that has been moved to Veryan hall between 24th to 27th November."
There is a meeting planned on 2nd September in Veryan Parish hall at 7.30pm to for those interested in performing, being part of the crew, or just becoming a helper and Roseland Online will announce that again later in the season in our announcement pages.
Gerrans Hill Development: An update on allocation procedures
 Roseland Online has heard that Gerrans Parish residents have been understandably anxious about the allocation process for the flourishing Affordable Housing development in Gerrans Hill, Portscatho. For this reason, Roseland Online has had extensive talks with the Affordable Housing department to get to the bottom of the allocation process.
From the 27th March 2010, Cornwall Homechoice took over as the one register to apply for social housing vacancies and affordable housing in Cornwall. All the existing former district registers no longer operate; they use the new Cornwall Homechoiceinstead.
There are some helpful FAQs on the Cornwall Housing website about the new Homechoice scheme which you can look at here. Also there is a property search page here which you may well like to add to your bookmarks as it is where you will need to go once the houses become available. There are also other properties available there at the moment in case you wanted to look at alternative accommodation possibilities.
As to the allocation process for this scheme, when the properties are nearing completion and ready to advertise, the Homechoice team will work within the requirements of the Section106 agreement. Needless to say, those meeting the qualifying Parish connection criteria and local needs will be the first priority. But how that will manifest is hard to put an exact mark on at this time. It very much depends on the needs at the time of allocation so much could change for a household between now and the development’s completion.
The most important thing to do is ensure you are registered with Cornwall Homechoice. The best way to register is online. There are many questions that residents can find answers to by visiting the Homechoice website, where you can also make an online application to the register.
As soon as information becomes available, the team have promised to keep Roseland Online updated and there is also the possibility that a rural surgery will be held in the locality. Once again, Roseland Online will report on any upcoming events like this well in advance.
To clarify on a question that has been on many people’s lips: one bedroom accommodation is not being built on this scheme. The reason for this is to allow single people, or couples as yet without children, to have room to grow. They have learnt from past lessons when single bedroom accommodation was built, only to find that a year or two on, residents outgrew their accommodation and needed more room. For this reason they are ‘over compensating’ to allow for natural growth of singles/couples and small families; hence the two, three and four bed houses being built. It is not the case that single people or couples without children will receive no allocation because no single bed accommodation is being built.
The main thing for someone wanting to be considered is to make sure they are signed up to the Homechoice scheme – the best way to do this is online. Once the council have opened ‘bidding’ for the new houses an applicant must put in their bid. It is an applicant’s circumstances at that time that will determine their qualification for one of the new development properties.
St Geroge's Day Celebration in Portscatho
Around 17 children, both local and holidaymakers, gathered at the Memorial Hall in Portscatho on Tuesday (13th) for a morning of craft and fun. With paint up to their elbows, the children displayed a great deal of concentration, making shields of faith, dr agons, flags and cakes in celebration of St George's Day.
St George (Of the legend St George And The Dragon) is the patron saint of England and identified with the ideals of honour, courage, bravery and gallantry. He will be remembered at the Family Service at St Gerrans Church on Sunday 25th April at 10am. Everyone is welcome, whether participants of the craft morning or not.
Pictures by Mary Alice Pollard - www.justnicephotos.com
Treloan Easter Fete for ShelterBox and Gerrans Church A Success
 The skies looked bleak as the Treloan Coastal Holidays Easter fundraiser got underway. But nothing could stop the generosity and spirits of the Roseland residents and visitors from supporting this Easter fundraiser in aid of ShelterBox and Gerrans Church from being anything but a huge success. The marquee was full to bursting as Debbie and Peter hosted a 12 - 4pm bric-a-brac sale and raffle. Then, at 7.00pm, they went on to host an evening fundraising  and auction with chef Simon Stallard producing a wonderful meal for the hungry bidders.
In total, the day raised not only local spirits, but a whopping £2000 for three Shelterboxes and also a tidy sum for Gerrans Church. 
Debbie and Peter said, "We'd like to thank everyone for their incredible generosity."
And the feeling was mutual as a local resident commented, "It was such a sunny atmosphere and the weather didn't dampen anyone's spirits." They went on to add, "The evening supper, auction and music, hosted by Mac Dunlop, was a fantastic evening, too. What better way to raise funds and awareness for  such great causes... thanks Treloan!"
For more information about both ShelterBox and Gerrans Church, please follow these links.
Pictures by Mary Alice Pollard - www.justnicephotos.com
New Youth Club to Launch in St. Mawes and Portscatho
Plans for the new Youth Club in St. Mawes are now well underway and they will be starting every Tuesday evenings very soon. As soon as we have news of the exact starting date, you'll be the first to know. For more information, contact Beth Jennings on: Beth.Jennings@dcha.co.uk
In the mean time, the first meeting of the potential Gerrans Parish Youth Club was held at the Harbour Club, Portscatho on Saturday. The response was very encouraging and the group are trying to be active around mid April. The proposed venue is in Portscsatho Harbour club every Friday evening at 6.00 - 8.00pm for 11 - 16 year olds and there is talk of a club for 8 - 11 year olds before that from 4.00 - 6.00pm. Confirmation should be made just after Easter, so watch this space for updates. In the mean time, contact mark@roseland-online.co.uk for more details.
Roseland Triathlon Open For Competitors
The first Roseland Triathlon - Brainchild of Portscatho resident Barney Nichols - is now open for competitors' entries. The event will be held on Saturday 21st August at 11.00am and will raise money for Ataxia.
The competitors (which can also be teams of specialists for each section) will start with an open-water swim from Tatum's beach, Portscatho, to Porthcurnick beach. A cycle ride to St. Anthony headland will follow this, the route taking the competitors down into St. Mawes and out past the castle and eventually on to St. Anthony Lighthouse. At St. Anthony they will leave their bikes and run along the coastal footpath to the finish line back in Portscatho.
There is only a limited number of entries being accepted this year (100), so to ensure you/your team secures themselves a place, visit the Roseland Triathlon website and download an entry form.
Fal RIver Links Co-op lanuches Oyster Card
Fal River Links Co Operative is launching the Fal Oyster Card from this May. Locals and visitors will be able to purchase one of two types of smart card:
Fal Oyster Card will be for transport only including Western Greyhound and First Bus services on the Roseland and between Truro and Falmouth, First Great Western Falmouth to Truro Branch Line, and the main ferry services. The smart cards will be valid from 1 day to 1 month, working on the basis that the more you travel, the better value you'll get for your journeys. Payment is taken once and you can travel as often as you like on any of the routes that are linked to Fal River Links. http://www.falriverlinks.co.uk/html/map.php (the map is last years and new routes will be added this year)
Fal Oyster Card Plus will include all of the above plus give discounted entry to local attractions and allow membership of the Falmouth Shopper Card scheme, it is planned to run a similar link with Truro and Roseland shops, galleries and places to eat. So if you run a shop, gallery or place to eat on the Roseland, please contact Beverley at King Harry for more information: beverley@kingharry.net.
Tim Light said, "In simple terms it is hoped that the Fal Oyster Card will be a triple win scenario for everyone. 1 – More use of public transport through providing greater value and easier access through understandable and linked timetables, which equates to more people using the facilities. 2 – Less congestion and emissions and visitors can enjoy good value days out without their cars. 3 – Encourage visitors and locals to shop locally through benefits linked to getting to the villages/town/city using public transport."
Music night in memory of popular Roseland resident
The Harbour Club will host a memorial gig in memory of Thirza Whittall – who died last year in Portscatho.
Members of popular soft rock band The New Seekers (who are on their 40th anniversary Tour) and The Mixtures will perform, alongside enthusiastic local musicians. The event, which will be held on Oct 31st from 20.30pm, is free – although collections will be made for Thirza’s favourite charities.
One local organizer said; “It’s the second year now that we’ve managed to get named acts to visit our small village for this event and I hope, as last year, everyone will come out in force to support it”.
Gig Club Races on Roseland
 Portscatho was this year’s venue for the Roseland Gig Club’s annual event (5th September) and despite the inclement weather, the day was a real hit.
The well-contested races included Men’s B, Ladies B, Juniors, Men’s A and Ladies A, and the well-supported event was rounded off with presentations outside the Plume of Feathers public house.
Established in 1986, the Roseland Gig club is based in St. Mawes and currently has four Cornish Pilot Gigs, WilliamPeters, Rhos, Killigerran and Polvarth.
For further information about the club, log on to www.roselandgigclub.co.uk
Seaside fundraiser nets for charity
 A traditional Roseland regatta day has raised hundreds of pounds for local charities, despite the credit crunch and the soggy weather!
Visitors and locals alike flocked to the Portscatho Regatta, held at the Roseland village of Portscatho on Saturday, where Cornish hospitality and family-fun was in evidence aplenty! 
An annual event, this year’s regatta day combined sailing over an exciting course in beautiful Gerrans Bay, with various other water-sports including swimming races, kayaking(above), and raft-racing at Tatam’s beach.
 As if that wasn’t enough, the shore based attractions included a fantastic sand castle making competition (above right), beach races, live music (below right), a BBQ, as well as a plethora of old-fashioned games stalls on the lugger.
“We’ve had a really wonderful day” one visitor told Rose-land-Online “and it was great to see such a fantastic turnout. It really cheered us up after all the rotten weather and rounded off our holiday perfectly”.
The Portscatho Regatta wasn't the only treat in store on the Roseland last weekend. The following day (Sunday 30th August) both locals and tourists had a great day out at the wonderful Percuil Regatta on the lovely Percuil river.
Roseland-Online goes from strength to strength
 Just two months since its launch and Roseland-Online is going from strength to strength.
Not only is it attracting a keen interest from local residents and holiday-makers alike, the Roseland’s very own community website has been viewed in 18 countries around the globe.
Outside of the UK the websites second highest ‘hit-rate’ is in Canada, closely followed by Germany and then Belgium. What’s more, Roseland-online has attracted users from as far away as Cameroon, India, and even Afghanistan!
Internet afficionado and Roseland-online fan Harold Ryan, from Copenhagen in Denmark said:
“To be getting so much traffic after such a short space of time is pretty impressive, so they must be doing something right. My guess is that it is also to do with the fact that people abroad, particularly those in other EU countries, may be thinking of visiting the UK due to the low level of the pound. Roseland-online, with its fab events guide and great pictures of the area, might well help convince these potential tourists to visit the Roseland”.
The full list of Roseland-online web hits are; UK, Canada, Germany, Belgium, United Arab Emirates, United States, France, India, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Cameroon, Ireland, Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Australia, Italy, Afghanistan, and Denmark.
The whole two yards - of ale!
 Who said traditional pub games were a thing of the past?
In the Royal Standard in Gerrans this week the ‘Yard of Ale’ was attempted not once but twice – in the same night!
The aim, of course, was to consume 2.5 pints of bitter in one go through a traditional yard-long glass, and this week’s challengers, Ben Coppin and Richard Atkins, both 18 of Wolverhampton, delighted locals with their determined efforts.
Speaking to Roseland Online afterwards, Ben told Roseland online “It was there, so we couldn’t really not try it”; whereas friend Richard, who successfully drank the whole yard of ale, simply stated “I feel great”.
Tregony Horse Show and Country Fayre 2009
Under a new organisational team, the Tregony horse show and coun try Fayre, now in its 32nd year, was a huge success this Sunday.
Started in 1977, the show had its humble beginnings with just 6 horses and a handful of stalls. Today however, thanks to years of growth, organiser Alan Barnes has taken on the event is trying to inject some new life into the proceddings. “We made nearly £10,000 last year,” he told Roseland Online, “and I want to see that grow.”
Alan, who also is involved with the cricket, rugby and football teams at Tregony sports club - which he also hopes to breathe a new lease of life into with children from the area becoming more interested – is just as keen to make more out of the show by bringing it into the 21st century.
This year, some of the many attractions were a Viking display, Sheepdog demonstrations and sheep shearing, a birds of prey display as well as the various horse shows. There was also a great display of vintage tractors and a line of wonderful restored Morris Minors for the visitors to enjoy, not to mention the rabbit tent, featuring surely the biggest rabbit in Cornwall!
 The live music included 70s band Soul Survivor, followed by Shameless and The Heard – a local band made up of pupils from Roseland School.
Charities benefiting from the proceeds included popular Cornish charity, ShelterBox. Roseland-Online wish Alan and his crew all the best for their future plans... here’s to 2010! MDH.
Roseland cricket club wins in style
 Eat your heart out World Cup Twenty20 - a local cricket club has just posted one of its biggest scores in its recent history in a 690-run thriller on the Roseland peninsula.
Roseland outfit Gerrans Cricket Club won with a whopping score of 374-5 in 46 overs against visitors Tideford CC in their latest league match at home (Sat 13th June) - the visitors themselves managing a massive 316-8!
The Gerrans batting line-up impressed with scores of 117 for Shane Read, 78 for Richard Hastings, and 47 each for Phil Woods and Rob Pinney. Also spare a thought for Tideford’s Lawrence Marsh, who scored 135 – despite finishing on the losing side!
Vice Captain Tristan Perry said “It’s one of the highest scores that Gerrans has made which is fantastic, and it was a really good all-round team performance. It was also a great game against a friendly opposition, so credit also goes to Tideford”. 
Gerrans batsman Tom Day said “It was like the Twenty20 World Cup out there and it was definitely a batsman’s paradise, with a really good wicket to play on - we have the Gerrans ground staff to thank for that”.
“It was a great game and a great day for cricket”, added Gerrans Captain Geoff Roberts.
Local Gerrans resident Bruce Brockhurst, who lives near the cricket pitch, said “I was in my garden thinning my carrots when I heard lots of cheers and applause, so I knew that something special was happening. It’s a big score and a great achievement for the Gerrans lads”.
On the bowling front, the pick of the bunch were Gerrans’ Shane Read, who finished with figures of 4-62 in 11 overs, and J. Taylor from Tideford CC with 3-57 in 9 overs.
Gerrans CC - 1st 1X win by 58 runs - Cornwall Cricket League, Division 3 East.
Remember the biggest ever cricket score on the Roseland? Were you there? If so, please write in to the Roseland-online letters page.
German wins Roseland in landslide victory
 Independent candidate Julian German has been elected as Councillor representing the Roseland in the June 4th local elections.
With 1089 votes, he beat Conservative candidate Peter Woodbridge (409 votes), and Liberal Democrat Mark Hatwood (173 votes) into second and third place respectively. Voter turnout was considerably down on the 2005 local elections - particularly for the party candidates.
Mr German now becomes one of 32 independents elected to the new unitary authority, Cornwall Council, which replaces the 6 district councils and the county council. He will sit alongside 50 Conservative councillors, 38 Liberal Democrats, and 3 (three) Mebyon Kernow councillors.
The election results in Cornwall mean that no one group or party is in overall control of the newly elected Cornwall Council, and that the Council does not have one single Labour member.
Although there are no doubts about the overall result on the Roseland, concerns have been raised over the administration of the election.
Not all postal votes were received by voters, and advice on how the situation would be resolved was unclear to potential voters. More worryingly, two children from the Rosleand village of Gerrans (aged 13 and 10) received their white printed polling cards in the post. To the considerable suprise of their parents, who brought the matter up with election officials at Memorial Hall, the children were also actually on the voting register at the polling station.
If you’d like to share your views on the local election, please e-mail our Roseland-Online letters page.
A 'Big Lunch' for Portscatho
‘The Big Lunch’, a plan to energise local communities by encouraging lunch with the neighbours, is coming to Portscatho.
Brainchild of Tim Smit of the Eden Project, the initiative encourages people up and down the country to organise their own outdoor ‘street lunches’, in an attempt to put the smile back on British faces. The plan is that, whatever the weather, on July 19th the people of Britain will stop what they are doing and sit down to lunch together.
The Porstcatho event, which is being promoted by Transition Roseland, will take place on the Lugger, where there will hopefully be a large trestle table ready for home-made lunches. Organisers are hoping to encourage a ‘local’ theme, and will ask people to grow or prepare a dish of ‘local’ produce that can be shared with everyone.
One member of the Transition Network said; “The whole thing is a fantastic idea and lots of people are already looking forward to it. Crayon’s will be provided along with a big white tablecloth for kids to write answers to questions we’ve posed on the cloth, and – should it survive the food onslaught – we’ll use it as a piece of art afterwards. It’s going to be an exciting day with the neighbourhood coming together and, rain or shine (we have the Memorial Hall booked in case of the former) we hope everyone will come down with their dishes and help make it one to remember. And don’t forget your plate and cutlery!'
If your Roseland community is also getting involved in this fantastic event, please let Roseland-Online know, and we will be happy to cover it!
Roseland beaches and water recommended by MCS
 The Roseland peninsula has got a big ‘thumbs-up’ in the 2009 Good Beach Guide.
The National guide, compiled by the Marine Conservations Society (MCS) as part of a campaign for clean seas and beaches across the UK, assessed the water quality of three beaches on the Roseland - Pendower near Veryan, Porthcurnick, near Portscatho,
Roseland waters: clean and safe and Towan near St Mawes. All three beaches were ratedas MCS Recommended -which means they had excellent water quality through the summer of 2008, continuous waste water discharges (if any) were properly treated, and storm overflows (again if any) had a low impact.
The Roseland’s MSC results seems to have bucked the national trend this year, which saw the biggest annual fall in the number of beaches recommended in the UK - only 370 which is 74 less than in 2008. Moreover, 17 beaches in other parts of Cornwall saw a drop in their measured water quality from the highest standard.
According to the MCS the most likely explanation for the poor national figures was last summer’s heavy rain which swept pollutants, such as raw sewage, into the rivers and the sea.
(Photo Richard Wallace - RW).
Gerrans Women 'Race for Life'
A nine-strong group of Gerrans women completed the Cancer Research 2009 Race for life in Falmouth on Sunday (May 17th). 
The women, who were running as part of the Royal Standard public house team (Gerrans), all finished the 5K course and were amongst 1750 women to walk, jog or run in aid of Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work. All together the team managed to raise more than £1000 for charity.
Hats off to the Gerrans 'Race for Life' Team: (From left to right) Vicky Beck, Debbie Wallis, Bobbie Mitchell, Ro Fletcher, Laura Rowe, Rita Day, Margie Rowe, Jane Staples and Elaine Dennetts (Picture Richard Wallis).
The team also ran in support of family members suffering from cancer and especially in memory of their good friend John Turner, who died suddenly on May 15th.
Race for Life participant and Gerrans resident Debbie Wallis said;
“It was well worth it. You know you’re running for something important, but it’s also good fun and I’d like to do another one. You don’t have to be a runner, and some people walked”. Bobbie Mitchell, landlady of the Royal Standard in Gerrans, who also participated said; “Local people may have been wondering why there have been strange sightings of local women running around Gerrans over the last few months – the answer is it was all for a good cause, which was Cancer Research”.
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