The popular Flying Angel Centre, inside Falmouth Docks, re-opened on Monday with bunting and flags flying high. All the seafarers who visited were served cakes and tea and all received a free gift.

The Mission to Seafarers’ facility had been closed since late March for the building of a new, bespoke centre, a portable studio ark eco-building designed and built by Cornish company Pioneer Environmental Buildings.

Falmouth Mission offers visiting seafarers free wi-fi, foreign currency exchange, international phone cards and warm clothing. Its garden has been well-used in the summer months when the centre was closed for the building work.

The Flaminia Summerhouse offers free wi-fi 24/7 when the main centre is closed, and the centre also has a chapel and phone boxes. Volunteers are on hand to offer visiting seafarers hot and cold drinks and to help them contact home. The Mission cat, Bagpuss, has also been provided with a cat-sized ship’s bunk, complete with stairs and curtains. The centre will have an official opening at the end of the month.