LIONS BOOST FOR LOCAL CHARITIES

Two local charities have been presented with cheques from the Lions Club of Plymouth thanks to the generosity of shoppers at Plymouth superstores.

During the run-up to Christmas, Lions Club members organised collections from shoppers at Tesco and Morrisons stores to support Children’s Hospice South West and Brain Tumour South West Research Plymouth University.

The donations made by shoppers visiting these stores contributed a total of £2,400 and presentations were made by Lions Club President Lion Jill Owen in the presence of the Lord Mayor for Peverell Ward, I’m extremely pleased that we’re transforming a disused piece of land at the edge of Central Park into a centre of excellence which will benefit Plymouth residents by improving our existing adult social care offer, with the proximity to the park an added bonus for residents, visitors and staff.

President Jill Owen explained how the event is organised and how over the years changes have been made meet with present day requirements and to thank all the people who made donations totalling the substantial figure in view of the recent cost of living crisis.

The Lord Mayor responded with grateful thanks to groups like the Lions Club who give time to support the needs of local worthy causes.

“We are delighted to share how this fantastic new facility may look, along with more detailed plans that showcase the thought that has gone into this project to ensure that it will successfully meet the needs of some of our most vulnerable residents, supporting them and their families.”

Once built, the centre will replace the current daytime support offer at The Vine in Whitleigh and the respite provision offered by Colwill Lodge in Estover.

An online consultation is running on plymouthconsult.objective.co.uk/kse/

Demolition of the existing depot buildings on the site is currently being carried out. A full planning application will be submitted later this year, ahead of the procurement for the construction of the new facility.

US fried chicken chain is coming to Plymouth

Popeyes, the American fried chicken restaurant, is opening its doors in Plymouth.

The new restaurant will officially open on April 6 at 10 New George St, in the heart of the city centre.

Popeyes is renowned across the globe with nearly 4,000 restaurants in 30 different countries. The Plymouth restaurant is the first to open in the South West and follows hot on the heels of openings in Cambridge, Reading and Cardiff.

The fast-growing chain arrived in England in November 2021, and has since opened 13 new restaurants, with a further 18 scheduled for 2023, including the first in Scotland and Wales.

Chicken fans in Plymouth will be able to experience Popeyes world famous ‘shatter crunch’ for themselves once they get their hands on the menu, including the iconic Popeyes chicken sandwich.

Tom Crowley, chief executive at Popeyes UK commented: “When we landed in the UK in November 2021, we asked people all over the UK to ‘believe the hype’ attached to the huge cult following Popeyes already has in the USA.

“It’s safe to say they’ve done that, with overnight queues for all of our openings to date. There’s no doubt that Popeyes has been enthusiastically received on UK shores. “We’re proud to be bringing Popeyes to the vibrant city of Plymouth. We’ve wanted to launch in the South West since we landed in the UK, and Plymouth was an obvious choice of location for us to do that.”

Pamper Day Treat At Sunflower Centre

Women at Plymouth’s Sunflower Women’s Centre were treated to a special pamper day – thanks to Plymouth Soroptimists.

The event was organised to make International Women’s Day - and was the fourth one arranged by the Soroptimists.

The day saw almost 50 ladies receiving top to toe treatments including haircuts, manicures, pedicures and facials.

All the beauty treatments were given by a team of volunteers from GHQ Salon and Training Centre in Plymouth and Greenhouse Spa with Soroptimists pitching in to help out. Tea and coffee were provided throughout the day with a packed lunch supplied for everyone.

The invitation to attend the pamper day was extended to women at the Plymouth Refuge and the women that access the services at Sunflower Women’s

Centre. Lunch donations were kindly provided by Morrisons Plymstock store and the Co-op at Crownhill.

Sue Miller of Plymouth Soroptimists with Vicki Stacey of GHQ organised the beauty treatments with other members co-ordinating refreshments for the day.

Sue Miller said: “This was a real Soroptimist team effort in the planning and delivery of the pamper day.

We are extremely grateful for everyone that provided support and products on the day with particular thanks to GHQ without whom we could not have held the event.

Also we owe thanks to Morrisons, the Co-op and Greenhouse Spa. The ladies who attended had a wonderful pampering experience and really enjoyed the day, some commenting that it was the best day ever.”