SINCE moving to Penryn many years ago former town councillor John Kirby has thrown himself into community life with gusto, now his dedication to the community has been honoured with a Cornwall Council Civic Award.

Nominated by local Cornwall councillors, the civic award goes to unsung heroes who make an outstanding contribution to their local areas. Mr Kirby was nominated by another Penryn stalwart and former mayor Mary May who presented him with it at a small ceremony last week.

Mr Kirby told the Packet that the award had come as a real surprise and he was honoured to have received it.

"I don't usually get rewards so it came as a real honour" he said. "I didn't know anything about it. I was quite shocked. When she told me there was a lady who wanted to meet me, I said 'Is it the Queen?' I think Penryn is a wonderful place to live

In her nomination Mrs May says Mr Kirby has become the 'eyes and ears' of the town. "He is in the town everyday, so when a sign has been graffitied or a drain is overflowing, he doesn’t walk on by but reports the problem to our council office."

John has volunteered in the museum for many years, and was involved in the Penryn Heritage Trail and subsequently a book that was produced. Very often he can be seen taking small groups around the town on the Heritage Trail and informing them of Penryn’s rich history.

During Penryn Week John does various talks on Penryn’s 17th and 18th century buildings. One of his other passions is Glasney College, and his research enables him to give voluntary lectures at the University and in the town.

"He has helped plant many hundreds of daffodil bulbs in Penryn," says Mrs May. "Even on New Year’s Day 2020 he helped plant around 500 bulbs, despite the rain and the wind. Each Sunday throughout the summer season John would help water the Town’s hanging baskets, even on a wet evening, getting a soaking himself along with the baskets. The street planters were also planted and weeded with the help of John.

"Litter picks, he has certainly done a few of them, in particular at Muddy Beach where all day was spent clearing away plastic, not the mud though! On many occasions he has been part of a team to clear Glasney Valley of litter and large unwanted furniture that had been thrown into the stream.

"John is one of those people who takes pride in the place that he lives and is a very worthy recipient of Cornwall Council’s Civic Award."