Norway Inn in the Community

The great British pub has for centuries played an important part in the community it serves, and none more so than in rural communities such as those in Cornwall.

Apart from being a place for travellers to rest and take food and drink, from often long journeys, the Inn is a day to day meeting place, and a place for locals and visitors to gather. You will often find an English pub or inn very near a village church too.

Here at The Norway we enjoy holding events throughout the year marking numerous well known dates as well as those with a local theme such as St Piran’s Day on 5th March - Cornwall’s patron saint, and Norway Day on 17th May - Norwegian Constitution Day.

These events allow us to raise funds for worthy local charities including St Julia’s Hospice, Cancer Relief in Cornwall and in 2004 the Boscastle Disaster Appeal. ( Boscastle, on Cornwall’s north coast was spectacularly caught in a flash flood and over 150 lives were saved by helicopters from Cornwall. It is known as the “Boscastle Miracle” as no lives were lost that day.)

One of our regular causes we like to support is the Falmouth Branch of the RNLI. Over the last two years over £1000 has been raised on St Piran’s Day’s and Trafalgar Day 200 in 2005 when the volunteer Sea Shanty Team “The Falmouth Shout” heartily entertained our guests

On D Day +60 in 2004 and on Norway Day 2005 a similar amount was raised for our local Perranwell branch of the Royal British Legion. Even on New Years Eve 2005, guests kindly supported our charity raffle and £200 was raised for the Renal Unit at The Royal Cornwall Hospital, Treliske in Truro A month later on Burns Night the “hat” was passed around and guests generously donated £100 for the Cardiac Unit, again at Treliske Hospital.

Local charities make up the greater number of benefactors but when moved by the poverty found in the Gambia on a visit a few years back, Rod Gill - our Head Waiter, set out to do something to help. Through his hard work and the generosity of guests and friends two major charity auctions have been held here at The Norway and nearly £10.000 has been raised to support children’s education in the Gambia.

Finally we support the St Austell Brewery Charitable Trust, which has been specifically set up to help local causes in Cornwall and Devon. Each year the brewery runs a Charitable Trust Day when all the St Austell pubs join in in a fund raising effort. Annual funds raised now exceed the £10,000 mark.

These are a few examples of how we like to put back something positive into the community we serve. However, what you cannot put a value on is friendliness and being good neighbours. A feature we constantly receive from those around us and that we endeavour to return.

Seen in an old London Pub, written on an old beam - “A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met”.

To enquire about holding events for local charities at The Norway and to submit requests for support to the St Austell Brewery Charitable Trust please contact Alan Poole, co Manager at The Norway Inn