Neil would just like to say a big thank you for the good humour Father Christmas displayed following our recent gala at Glossop station when unknowingly he put him on the wrong train back to Lapland!! Santa's sleigh and reindeers were waiting at Dinting station ready to whisk him back to Lapland. However Neil put Santa and his elves on a train to Hadfield!! Which just goes to show that even friends of stations need to consult timetables and information screens carefully!! Fortunately follwowing this unexpected detour the elves helped reunite Santa with his sleigh and all was well!
  A very Happy Christmas from all of us at FOGS.

A record number of families turned up to see Father Christmas arrive on the Northern train from Lapland at Glossop station yesterday! Santa spoke to over 120 children and their families as he greeted them individually in the station's Victorian Waiting room. Each child was given a small free gift.
Adding seasonal music to the occasion was popular folk group SPINDRIFT making a welcome return to this event. Children were also happily engaged making decorations for the station's Christmas Tree kindly donated by Glossop Garden Centre. Andrea and Laura were kept very busy! Thanks to Simon Denvers for template bauble and crown decorations! An interactive model railway layout provided by Glossop Model Railway Club caught the eye of many children as they moved Thomas and Percy around the tracks! The first prize for the Christmas raffle was a Family Day Out ticket kindly provided by Northern. Mettrick's, Glossop's Award winning Butchers, also kindly supplied festive vouchers as prizes.
Our guest from Northern was LIAM SUMPTER Regional Director for Northern Central area. Liam switched on our tree lights to mark the start of the Gala. Liam proved a most amenable and interested guest. He commented on the vibrant atmoshere of the occasion as he walked alongside Santa through throngs of happy and excited children! We very much appreciate his support and that of Northern and we thank Matt Worman Client and Stakeholder manager who kindly helped supply the gifts. (And the flyers which complemented Paul Marsh's excellent posters!)
So many thanks to all our helpers on the day and for all the preparatory work beforehand to decorate the station ready for the Gala. The new vintage lights set the Christmas wreaths off splendidly! Our thanks too to Dave and Graham in the Booking office for their patience and good humour and to Todd, checking the tickets, for all his cheerful assistance too. And thanks of course to Theo McLauchan, Glossop Line Manager for ongoing practical advice and support and for joining us again! David Jones, Editor of the Glossop Chroncle, also joined us on the day - much appreciated at what must be a very busy time for him.
To Joy, Sue, Chris and Barbara  - thanks for good humoured marshalling! To our train passengers thanks for patience and good humour. To Friends of Rose Hill for supplying us with extra gifts - we were very grateful! And lastly to Father Christmas and his hard working elves who proved a big hit! Good luck in the busy season ahead!
Click here for a selection of photos from the event

 We are pleased to announce that our Christmas Gala event will be held on Saturday 3rd December between 11am and 1pm. Star guest, of course, will be Father Christmas arriving on the 11.47 train from Lapland!! There will be a free gift for every child present and an opportunity for children and their parents to meet Santa in the station waiting room.
  Switching on the Christmas Tree Lights at around 11.20 is our guest from Northern, Liam Sumpter Regional Director Central.
  Creating seasonal music for the event will be popular group SPINDRIFT again making a welcome return to the station!
   As in previous years children will have a chance to make decorations  (templates kindly supplied by Simon Denvers) for the Christmas tree and to take home, with expert help on hand from Andrea Strogen and her team.  We hope too to have a model railway on display. Refreshments can be obtained in TWIG cafe on the station. A Christmas Raffle with a first prize of a Northern Day Out will be held.
    So a FOGS' warm welcome awaits whether you are a returning guests or  first time ones!!
    We would like to say a big thank you to Northern for its help with this event - to Theo McLauchlan for helping with arrangements and to Matt Worman, Client and Stakeholder Manager, for invaluable assistance with publicity and organisation.
    Decorating the station for Christmas begins this week so come and sample the festive atmosphere at our Gala!!

 Today a small event was held at Glossop Station to mark FOGS' tenth anniversary. Coffee was provided by Twig Cafe and cake by FOGS' stalwarts Bunty Gibson and Jacqueline Horne! The station was adorned with historical displays of past events including the famous football train of 2009 and the Tour de France. Principal guests were The Mayor and Mayoress of High Peak, Councillors George and Jean Wharmby. The idea was to bring together people who have helped and supported FOGS over the years. Neil Williams as Chair thanked guests for attending many of whom were from other station friends groups including Buxton, Whaley Bridge, The Hope Valley, Broadbottom, Hattersley, Hadfield, New Mills. Marple, Rose Hill and travelling a long distance, Gerald Townson from Bentham in Yorkshire! Paul representing the Brigg line was also warmly received. Neil outlined the vision of Linda Newman local Glossop resident, original founder of FOGS in 2006 whose determination and drive got the group off to such a flying start! Neil stressed that many of the group's successful projects had been achieved working in partnership with others and he thanked Northern, Network Rail and The High Peak and Hope Valley Community Rail Partnership for ongoing support and commitment. Andy Griffin from Network Rail was thanked for devising the safety licence which permitted the creation of the popular Embankment Garden. Andrew Walker was thanked from the partnership for his kindnesses and sterling efforts with communication and station improvements! Malcolm Wood Company Secretary from The Railway Heritage Trust was thanked for his passionate commitment to historic renovation of stations and his help with projects the most recent being the installation of the vintage lights. Malcolm had left Oxfordshire before 6am to be at the station today!!
  Also making welcome returns to the station were Mark Barker Northern's original Client and Stakeholder Manager and Paul Spencer Service Delivery Manager for Northern. Both gentlemen have been instrumental in their support of FOGS over the years. On hand to answer many historical questions relating to displays was Mike Brown of Glossop Heritage Trust whose photographs aroused a lot of interest!
  Creating a colourful splash were the attractive new leaflets and posters - and a new mobile banner- marking the anniversary - created by Paul Marsh who happily, was able to stay throughout the event along with his wife Hilary.
   Present too were Joan Swindells the daughter of the late and much missed Jimmy Melia and Pat from Decor 8 - Pat has been a staunch supporter of FOGS' work coming from a local railway family! Representing Glossop Gardeners were Ian Simpson, Chair and Sue Astles who, along with Chris Harris,  have given much support to FOGS. Unable to be present but sending good wishes were Mark Eastwood Line Manager in 2006, Linda Newman, Damien Greenhalgh, Rosie from Glossop Garden Centre, Brian Barnsley from ACoRP, David Mansell, Mike Bishop,Steve Forde from SEMCORP, Geoff and Sue Mitchell from Mytholmroyd and Matt Worman, Client and Stakeholder Manager Arriva Rail North.
    Neil concluded his speech with special thanks for Theo McLauchlan Glossop Line Manager for Northern. Neil praised Theo's commitment, his good humour, practical advice and the trust shown to the group. We are fortunate to have a Manager like Theo!
     The event concluded with the Mayor rededicating a plaque he had launched but which had subsequently been  relocated marking the restoration of the waiting rooms and new ticket office in 2011. He quipped," It's not often I get to do the same job twice!!"
         FOGS would like to thank all those who have sent in messages of good will and congratulations in recent weeks. The group remains committed to enhancing the qualities of our lovely historic station alongside the promotion of the Glossop Line as an excellent way to travel!


 

  We are delighted to welcome a new artist Vivien Whiteley-Toyn to our Waiting Room Art Gallery. Vivien is a member of Glossop Arts Society and has put on display nine of her paintings. These feature landscapes from a variety of places in Britain including Anglesey, Snowdonia, The Lake District, Rannoch Moor in Scotland and nearer to home, Dovestones. Vivien likes visiting the wild places of Britain and, in particular, loves the beauty of rocks in their natural settings.
  Vivien throughout her carer taught art in various schools and colleges and also worked in the field of learning disability for the NHS. Since retiring Vivien has continued to paint landscapes but has taken up narrative and portrait painting too.
  Vivien has had exhibitions of her work in Wales, Oldham and Glossop.
  The paintings may be purchased and  in some cases are available as Giclee prints. A detailed guide to the paintings and their locations is available in the waiting room. This is open every day when the booking office is staffed closing around 18.00 weekdays and 17.00 Sundays.
  We hope you enjoy Vivien's work! Vivien may be contacted on 061 343 6623.
   Our thanks to John Kimpton for his help with the display.

 We were delighted to gain three awards at the 2016 ACoRP Community Rail awards held at the Southport Convention Centre last night! It was a lovely spacious setting and once again the hard work of Hazel Bonner and Dawn Wolrich of ACoRP created visual splendour for the award ceremony and meal with an audience of over 400.
 FOGS were awarded a bronze certificate for the Embankment Garden in the It's Your Station category, a third place for the recently installed heritage lighting in the Most Enhanced Station Buildings and Environs category. And a shared second place with our fellow friends at Hadfield, Hattersley and Guide Bridge stations for our recent Teddy Bears' Birthday party event which marked The Queen's 90th Birthday in the Station to Station Celebration project - special award category.
 We received our certificates on stage from Alex Hynes Managing Director of Northern who was co-hosting the event with Merseyrail MD Jan Chaudrey-van der Velde. It was really special to be able to celebrate the successes with Babs from Hattersley and Colin from Guide Bridge! Joy from Hadfield was unfortunately unable to attend but got to hear the good news quickly! Babs for Hattersley won top bronze for Hattersley station garden and Guide Bridge's newly established memorial garden gained a second placing - both gardens well worth visiting!! On our table too were Dave and Sue from Friends of Buxton station who won first place for the illumination of their fanlight window at Buxton - a fantastic achievement! It was a good night for Northern as they gained successes in many categories though winners came from all over the UK. The overall winner was Great Western Railway with their CRP's and volunteers. Our congratulations to them.
 The occasion allows the meeting and a catch up of friends. Hello's to Mark Barker, Paul Salveson, Gerald Townson, Geoff Mitchell, Sally Buttifant ......And special congratulations to Mike Bishop of Handforth given third place in the outstanding volunteer category. Mike did so much to establish FOGS in the early years.
  Penny Greenwood and I would like to thank ACoRP for a memorable evening. We wish General Manager Neil Buxton a happy and healthy  retirement! Our thanks also to Matt Worman and Lindsay Marshall for all the hospitality that Northern provided and on our table sincere thanks to Carolyn Watson for being a very amenable and considerate host from Northern. It's good to be part of the Northern family. Although not present huge thanks to Theo Mclauchlan our Glossop Line Manager for all his ongoing help and support. I asked Theo not to go to bed before midnight so I could text him with results. And what good news I had for him!! It was also a pleasure to share these successes with Andrew Walker Partnership officer from High Peak and Hope Valley CRP and his wife Linda and Steve Forde from SEMCORP. We appreciate the national recognition of our work and the local support we receive. Thank you!!

We are very pleased to have a feature in the current edition of The High Peak Review newspaper August/September edition. Diane Inglis has produced a very thoughtful and readable summary of the work of FOGS over the last ten years. It helps us to mark this anniversary!
We hope to celebrate this anniversary at the station later this autumn.
The High Peak Review is widely distributed throughout the High Peak. Its editorial team can be contacted on 0161 484 5686 or through their website.
We thank Diane for getting in touch, for her article and the support of the paper. Read the full Review article here

We were pleased to host a visit made recently by Liam Sumpter, Northern's new Director for the Central area. Accompanied by Matthew Worman, Client and Stakeholder Manager, Neil gave both visitors a guided tour of the station and, for Liam's benefit a quick guide to Glossop on a lovely sunny day as well! It proved an amenable and interesting meeting where information and perspectives were shared. Neil alerted Laim to the issues surrounding the proposed withdrawal of the Class 323 trans on the Glossop line as from the end of 2017 and their replacement by Class 319 units. These units are unlikely to be able to maintain the current timetable. Liam has promised to look into this. Liam was also able to meet Derbyshire Police Officer Julian Gallagher who explained how Community policing works in Glossop. We are very grateful for all the work Julian does on the trains and at the station particularly with young people. And of course for his support of FOGS! Liam also had a chat with Mike Ball proprietor of TWIG cafe at the station. Before he left Liam kindly agreed to switch on our Christmas Tree Lights at our Community event on 3rd December. We thank Liam and Matt for making this visit.

 We are delighted to announce 3 shortlistings in this year's ACoRP Community Rail Awards. Our Embankment Garden has gained a bronze certificate in Category 3 "It's Your Station". Our recently installed Heritage Lighting has been shortlisted in Category 4 "Most Enhanced Station Buildings and Environs". Our recent Teddy Bears' Birthday Party marking the Queen's 90th birthday held in conjunction with the Friends' groups at Hadfield, Hattersley and Guide Bridge Stations has been shortlisted in Category 11" Station to Station Queen's 90th Birthday Celebration projects"
 The results will be announced at a special ACoRP Awards' evening in Southport on September 29th. We thank everyone for ongoing support and for theirmessages of congratulations!

We are delighted to be taking part again in Art in the Window! This imaginative scheme sees local artists displaying their work in over 70 independent retailers' shop windows in Glossop, Hadfield and Charlesworth for the month of August. In the station's Waiting Room Art Gallery the work of Tim Isherwood is featured. There is also a large location map as to where other paintings can be found. Art in the Window is organised by Glosop Arts Project (www.glossopartsproject.org) who do sterling work in the community with weekly Arts for Wellbeing sessions for people with long term physical and mental health conditions. Pictures from participants also feature in Art in the Window along with students from Glossopdale Community College. So do take some time this month to have a wander around Glossop, Hadfield and Charlesworth looking at Art in the Window!! A leaflet showing locations is also available from participating locations.