Neil Williams, Chairman of FoGS led the party of dignitaries on a tour of the refurbished waiting rooms, followed by a look at the banking. Then back to the waiting rooms for cake and coffee, supplied by Bunty and Lesley.
There was a panic at the start of the morning when Bunty and Neil attempted to gain access to the old booking office and they found that the key barrel had slipped! Fortunately Bunty had prepared most of the coffee and food at home so she and Neil dashed back to Bunty's to collect some mugs! A swift return to the station allowed arrangements to continue as planned and Neil's pulse rate returned to normal!!
Andrew Bingham showed interest in all the work that had been done and complimented Northern Rail and Derbyshire County Council on their new facilities. He was quite incredulous that FOGS' recent work on the Embankment had meant 06.00 starts on Sunday mornings! He enjoyed looking at Simon's displays and particularly commented on the fact that the FOGS' montage had a smart apps link. He also revealed with a smile that he had been on the famous football special from Glossop to Wembley two years ago!
The visit also allowed useful discussions to take place between Mike Rose of HPHVCRP,Matthew Cox, Paul Marsh and Neil about the provision of tourist information in Glossop and more specifically at the station. Mike is going back to Matlock to look at the provision of a map that best suits the station.
Thanks are due to Bunty, Jacqueline and Lesley Nixon for providing the biscuits and flapjack! And for serving them! And also to Simon and John Kimpton for taking photos for FOGS on the day- overall a very successful visit!