THE CHRISTMAS GALA 2011 AT GLOSSOP STATION 11.00 to 1.00pm

On Saturday 3rd December FOGS will be hosting its annual Santa event at the station.

We will have music by the Altrincham based trio Spindrift, a display by Glossop Model Railway Club and a craftmaking stall - decorations for the tree with Andrea Strogen and Lesley Nixon. Seasonal refreshments ie Bunty and Jacqueline's hugely popular soups will be available again!

Santa arrives on the 11.49 train and every child present will receive a small free goody bag courtesy of Northern Rail. Santa will be assisted by Matthew Cox and Sam Scott from GODS' pantomime Dick Whittington.

The Christmas tree lights will be switched on by PETE MYERS Head of Service Quality at Northern Rail. The tree has kindly been supplied by Glossop Garden Centre. Seasonal decorations have already been put in the flower boxes by Bunty Gibson and Chris Harris and the remainder will be put into place Friday evening.

 Although the renovation work on the platfrorm and canopy will result in less space than usual being available the event is going ahead with the kind permission of Network Rail. THeo McLauchlan, Glossop Line manager and Mark Barker Client and Stakeholder Manager for Northern willalso bepresent.

So do come along to join in the fun!!

Work has begun at Glossop Station by Network Rail and their contractors Story Rail on the renovation/ refurbishment of the open platform and the canopy. Significant progresshas been made in just one week with the platform stripped of much of its orignal surface and the tiles on the roof removed . Heavy netting has been placed at ceiling level making it look like the set for I'm a Celebrity - Get me out of here!! Some passengers have asked whether our Christmas decorations will have a fish theme this year! Much of the work is being done overnight so we are conscious there is a lot of noise for surrounding residents. Network Rail has sent letters of explanation to surrounding streets. One consequence of the work is that the trains are stopping well short of the canopy - much longer walks to/from the trains are required - in the first few days it was definitely a station for the bewildered! FOgs is grateful for the commounications/ suppotr it is receiving about this work from Karen at Network rail and Chris at Story Rail. They are aware that it is the Christmas event on Saturday.

On Wednesday 9th November Neil attended an ACoRP Community rail meeting at The House of Commons in London. This brought together a wide selection of volunteers, MP's and rail personnel. The meeting was hosted by Ben Bradshaw MP for Exeter and Theresa Villiers, Minister of State for Transport, delivered a focused and detailed speech covering all aspects of Community Rail. For every £1.00 spent volunteers give back £4.00 in time to the economy. Andrew Bingham, High Peak MP joined Neil, Robin from Whaley Bridge, John from Chapel and Mike Rose from the HPHVCR partnership. They all enjoyed the chance to speak to a range of acquaintances and the sandwiches - minus crusts!! All the MP's had to leave hastily at 4.30 for the Immigration debate vote. The latest edition of ACoRP's magazine Train Times was given out and Neil was delighted to find a large feature plus photo on the recent opening event at Glossop station. Hazel and Dawn from ACoRP had, as always, worked extremely hard to make the event go well in such hallowed surroundings! Dr Peter Howard of Dronfield Friends asked Neil if he and others from the group could pay a visit to Glossop in the near future. Neil will set this up. Richard Allen of Northern, one of the events co sponsors along with First Great Western, came to chat with his Northern team!! he assured us that Northern's parent companies- Serco and Abellio - are determined to secure the new franchise in 2013.

 Mirror mirror on the wall!! John Kimpton today finished work on the mirror in the Waiting Room. It now has a very attractive wooden surround - John has spent hours crafting this and seeking approval of the colour! The overall effect is most pleasing and compliments the Station Gallery. This has also seen the addition of a  new small tourist Information stand provided by High Peak Borough Council to meet the demands for such information locally. The bigger stand is now being wheeled out daily to outside the booking office. The local Glossop line timetable is still topping the take away charts! Chatsworth in number 2 position. What will be the Christmas Number one? 

On Wednesday 21st September Neil met Theo at the station to discuss Network Rail's refurbishment plans with their representative Karen Davidson. Karen was extremely helpful as she explained that the work would cover repair and repainting of the Canopy and the resurfacing of the entire platform including the installation of a tactile edge. Some time was spent looking at windows - The Railway Heritage Trust has recently awarded a grant to Northern to replace two modern windows with the historically correct design of sash windows. Neil pointed out to Karen that two futher windows (currently boarded up) could be brough back to life in a similar manner. The Network Rail work is scheduled to begin in October and will last for at least 3 months. FOGS is delighted that further investment is taking place!

Preparations continue apace for the FOGS' Christmas Gala on Saturday 3rd December between 11.00 and 13.00. Confirmed are the Altrincham trio SPINDRIFT for music. Glossop Model Railway Club will be displaying a seasonal layout and Andrea Strogen will be running her popular children's craft making stall. This allows children to place decorations on the tree. The tree this year is kindly being provided by Glossop Garden Centre thus hopefully saving Eric and Neil a mile and a half trek dragging one to the station in the snow!! There will be a raflle masterminded by John LeGrove and the popular refreshments will be provided by Jacqueline Horne and Bunty Gibson. Matthew Cox and Sam Scott from GODS' pantomime DICK WHITTINGTON will join Father Christmas to give out presents. Santa is due to arrive on the 11.49 train. Watch for further details in the local press and High peak Radio.