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The Camborne / Redruth / Hayle Gazette March 2017


News round-up


Ventilator boost for crew of air ambulance


A NEW £15,500 ventila- tor is proving to be ‘like an additional member of the crew’ for the paramedics aboard the Cornwall Air Ambu- lance.


Crew members say that the ventilator has already had a positive impact on missions across Cornwall, where patients have had diffi- culty breathing or have stopped breathing alto- gether.


Paramedic Stuart Croft said: ‘We used to have to juggle carrying the patient on a stretcher back to the helicopter, sometimes over several fields, as well as trying to breathe for them using the old squeezable ambu-bag and potentially trying to administer CPR.


‘Now the ventilator provides breathable air for the patient.


‘But it is more than just an extra pair of hands. It is like having an intensive care venti- lator with sophisticated monitoring, which means it’s more like an additional member of the crew that provides a reliable basis for treat- ment decisions.’


The new ventilator can be used in treating medical conditions such as cardiac arrests or asthma, as well as for injuries such as neck fractures or in- juries to the chest or torso.


In these cases, it helps ensure oxygen is reaching the brain as the damage caused by a lack of oxygen is often irreparable.


The donation for the new equipment was made through St Austell Brewery’s Char- itable Trust.


Students see ways coffee can be career


A CORNISH company says there is a need for specialist training in the growing art of serving good-quality coffee in all its varied forms. The message came as professional cookery students from Cornwall College Saltash visited the Redruth headquar- ters of Cornish Coffee to gain an insight into the global industry and its growing importance to the county.


Cornish Coffee bar- ista Marcon Ullenan said: ‘The coffee indus- try is growing and it is a market that is becom- ing more and more popular in the region.’ The students were given the opportunity to develop some barista skills, which, says the firm, are highly sought- after in the South West as well as many other areas of the country. Barista, originally an Italian word for a bar- tender or person be- hind a counter who makes hot drinks, has been adopted by good- quality coffee shops in the UK as a title for a professional skilled in producing espresso- based coffee drinks. ‘A barista’s role is an exacting skill, one that requires rehearsal and precision timing,’ ex- plained Marcon.


Student Cory McNeil said it was ‘great to


CHRIS Penk


gain in-depth knowl- edge on the back- ground of coffee’. He added: ‘We dis- cussed different types of coffee and their ori- gins, coffee art and serving coffee in the barista style. I felt really engaged in the training. ‘It is really good that we are able to go into the industry and learn directly from the profes- sionals.’ Team lead for hospi- tality and professional cookery at Cornwall College Saltash Chris Penk said that the day had been ‘a great op- portunity for our stu- dents to gain further knowledge of the provi- sion within the food and beverage service at the same time as experiencing employer engagement’.


News


Book highlights Cornwall’s wealth of exotic gardens


By ANDREW TOWNSEND


GARDENERS around Britain are envious of their counter- parts in Cornwall.


Alan Titchmarsh, broad- caster and gardener, reveals this in his foreword to a new book about notable gardens in the county.


He says: ‘Gardeners are not, by nature, jealous souls, but every now and then they gaze, green with envy, upon an- other’s plants and think, “I wish I could grow that”. ‘It is something that hap- pens to me in Cornwall more than anywhere else in the country.


‘Spring comes early to this western extremity of England, and milder temperatures mean that a far wider range of plants can be grown than in most mainland gardens.’ In Cornwall, we sometimes take for granted the tremen- dous variety of plants we see in the gardens open to the public.


However, the new book, The Great Gardens of Cornwall: The People and their Plants, highlights a rich heritage and reminds us these gardens are to be treasured and enjoyed with eyes wide open. Former BBC Radio Corn- wall presenter Tim Hubbard has written the book, which details the gardens belonging to The Great Gardens of Corn- wall group.


As well as telling the stories of the gardens in words and pictures, the book also con- tains celebrity comments.


Beauty


Broadcaster Fern Britton says: ‘Cornish gardens offer enormous beauty throughout the year. In spring, the fields in the Tamar Valley are cov- ered in daffodils for the Lon- don markets. ‘In summer, the awesome gunneras tower over shady nooks and, in autumn, the crocosmia burns bright in the hedges. But my favourite of all is the Padstow Pride, scent- ing the hedgerows and bring- ing memories of long child- hood summers.’


Chef Rick Stein says: ‘I’ve been visiting Cornish gardens all my life and I’m still amazed by the variety of plants that grow there.’ Nineteen gardens across the county and on the Isles of Scilly are featured, from Cote- hele and Antony to Trewidden and Tresco.


The book, produced by Ali- son Hodge Publishers and priced at £9.95, will be pub- lished on Wednesday, March 8, to celebrate 25 years of The Great Gardens of Cornwall group.


CELEBRITY gardener Alan Titchmarsh, left, has written the foreward to The Great Gardens of Cornwal, centre, by author Tim Hubbard, right. Picture right by Simon Burt Photography


DARREN Dickey, head gardener at Trebah, examines some splendid magnolia flower buds


THE tree fern dell at Trewidden. These plants are native to Australia and New Zealand


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