CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE - JULY 2007

YOUR PIER NEEDS YOU - NOW !

Those of you who come down to the Pier in the evening will no doubt have noticed two things that have changed recently. Firstly, all the lights are now working, the intermittent fault which has bugged us for so long having been traced and rectified. Secondly, the Pier is shut, most likely from 6pm onwards. This second problem is proving to be as difficult to rectify as the first, and is caused solely by lack of volunteers to man the gate and also the shop in the evenings.

We have a paid membership of 759 for the Friends of the Pier, who provide the volunteers to run the Pier. At the gate we have 19 regulars helpers, and-in the shop 16, plus 7 reserves,-a- relatively small percentage of the total membership. The majority of the helpers at the gate have been involved since 1995, when the structure was being refurbished, and they are now 12 years older. A recent estimate of the average age of persons at the gate is mid 70s plus!

We therefore desperately need another input of volunteers if the Pier is to continue to operate for the benefit of all in Swanage and its many visitors. Please, please consider helping, even for as little as 2 hours per week, on a regular basis, and please pass this message on to your friends, and persuade them what a valuable contribution they could make to the Pier and also the Town.

On a summer^'s evening, one of the finest views in Swanage is the sunset over the Purbeck Hills viewed from the Pier. So let us once again allow access to see this, and the pleasure of strolling-along the Pier with the lights of the seafront and Pier reflected in the water.

Have you noticed lately the modern jargon being banded around? Last year a cleaner in the sea-front toilets sported the title "Hygiene Facilitator". The latest to come to my attention is the summer time-table provided for the Pier by the Dorset Belle boats, entitled "Operational Dialogue".

Perhaps we should "relabel" our volunteers as "Visitor Welcome Receptionist" for the gate and "Retail Therapy Assistant^" for the shop. Would this lure additional helpers?

Thank you for all your past support and, dare I hope, more in the future. Have a good summer and enjoy our beautiful surroundings here in Swanage.

• John Enticknap (Hon. Chairman)