Dave Meneer has visited our chairity shop 8 Cathedral Lane again - enjoy!!
" Actually it wasn’t too bad once I’d navigated M&S Lemon Quay car park as you do. Then quite a nice stroll to the wonderful CLEAR shop at 8 Cathedral Lane – having a pre - Christmas snoop; may a bit too pre - pre - Christmas as it turns out…a bit early, much more stuff to come in they told me. By the time you read this it will have changed again – a moving Christmas feast, that place
What I did find was, just inside the door, a first edition of “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” – yours for a very modest three-figure sum – 100 odd quid should do it. Sounds a lot but not when you check out the internet as I did and see it going from £200 to £2000! Going . . . going . . . not gone . . . just yet. But hurry. They’ve always been good on books in 8CL – normally around a pound a pop but they change almost by the day – depends who’s passing doesn’t it? Or, rather, who knows to pop in and check the shelves out.
It's the same with jigsaws – especially at this time of year; £4 for some 1000 - piece belters; I haven’t done one for many years but get me searching for the corner pieces and then the straight lines and I’m hooked; sit me with a couple of grandchildren and I’ll never be seen again. A floodlit Eiffel Tower caught my eye (but would drive me mad with its 1000 pieces) and at 500 there was one called “The wonderful Bookshop”. Yes, the picture was of an old school bookshop, lots of shelves and lots of books on them; some the same size, some the same colour – drive you mad faster than Eiffel?
And then, just over there with the ladies’ shoes was THE most magnificent pair of high-heeled, pointy toed boots, maybe worn just once? colour? CAMOUFLAGE! You know how trendy and colourful that pattern can be – originally meant to make you blend in on the battlefield. I don’t think so! It’s from the French “camoufler’” you know – a sort of slang for disguise or blend in which this pair would do nowhere! A statement pair in size – Medium to Large it said on the sole! 5? 6? 7? Come in and check ‘em out ladies . . . or lads maybe. Unique. You’ll never find ‘em, they blend in so well!
Lots of jeans – black and blue, men’s and ladies’; all sizes. And lots of men’s shirts too – buy one get one free. Suits too – they tend to be grey.
And I was that bit early but it was getting festive and will get even moreso before closing day on Saturday Dec. 20th – handmade stockings, rag-wreaths and more hand - made ones to come next week. Unique baubles - a bag of ten for a fiver – take your pick. You can never have too many baubles!
And then my eye caught a hanging advent calendar in the shape of a Christmas tree – about a metre high and half a metre across at the base. Beautiful thing with 25 little pockets beautifully stitched on and embroidered - each about two inches square – one at the top broadening out to seven across the bottom as the 25 days ticked off – all waiting for something to be put in them to intrigue and delight an inquisitive young mind throughout December. A Rolex watch, a diamond ring, an emerald necklace maybe – the choice is yours. Ok, a satsuma, a walnut or one of those mini - Mars bars; a versatile item!
And I can’t leave this and you can’t leave the shop without checking out the surreal window decoration of a full - on nativity scene made from chickens made from folded paper and cardboard: Mary, wise – men, shepherds, the lot and they assured me they’re working on a donkey made from folded paper and cardboard too. A work of art – so the designer/maker told me. I’ve seen some nativity scenes in my time . . . "
Dave Meneer
CLEAR has two exciting opportunities for new Clinical Service Leads to support delivery of our BACP accredited counselling and therapy services.
The successful candidates will be joining CLEAR at an exciting time for the charity and be part of a wider service development that seeks to continuously improve our services for children, young people and adults across Cornwall.
For an informal chat, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your contact details, stating which post you are applying for.
Details of how to apply are contained within the Job Description.
The Clinical Lead: Children and Young People Trauma Recovery Service pdf Job Description(135 KB) is available here.
The Clinical Lead: Adolescent Emotional Wellbeing Service (11-25) pdf Job Description(136 KB) is available here.
Interviews will take place w/c 5th and 12th January 2026.
There is fully funded training for for anyone in the public or voluntary sector who support people who might be struggling with their health and wellbeing, housing, income and work. This is made possible thanks to funding from the Warm Homes, Healthy Futures Fund via Inclusion Cornwall.
This Reset for Resilience course
The Reset for Resilience course provides and understanding of trauma and its impacts and workshop to help you to take control of stress, prevent burnout, and build resilience. You will gain skills and knowledge in:
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Update
These courses are booking up quickly - the times, dates and places for future courses will be announced in the coming weeks - check out the latest availability on Eventbrite here
The CLEAR Annual General Meeting 2025 is at 6pm on 30th September 2025, at the CLEAR offices in Truro.
Booking is essential to ensure that we can properly cater for all who wish to attend.
Please let us know if you are planning to attend by Tuesday 23rd September - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 01872 261147
Just as the football transfer window closes and the new term starts in schools, Cornish charity CLEAR has announced that Andy Brelsford has joined them in the role of Deputy Chief Executive. CLEAR supports children and adults across Cornwall to heal from the harm caused by abuse and other emotional trauma.
This is not the first time that Andy and CLEAR CEO Carolyn Webster have worked together. They were the driving force behind Cornwall Action Team for Jobs (CAT) that ran successfully from 2000-2006 and whose legacy can be seen today within many community-based initiatives.
Andy said “I’m excited to have the chance to work for a charity focused on supporting people across Cornwall who have been impacted by abuse. I am particularly looking forwards to learning more about the real-world impact that CLEAR makes and using my skills and experience to help the charity grow and prosper.”
Carolyn Webster, CLEAR Chief Executive said: “We are so pleased to welcome Andy to the CLEAR team. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will benefit all aspects of the charity. I am excited for us to work together again”
Andy has joined CLEAR form Volunteer Cornwall with 20 years’ experience as a senior leader working as Training, Support and Development Manager. He also Chairs and volunteers for West Cornwall Search and Rescue Team.
Check out the BBC Radio Cornwall interview Andy and Carolyn did with Julie Skentelbery here at 19:03.
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