As Willmore’s 1938 approaches the end of their first year at their new Cliff Tops location, we spoke to owners Matt and Charlotte about the year they’ve had and all the exciting Christmas events they have coming up.

As the days get colder, the cosy winter drinks are out! Gingerbread lattes have arrived at Willmore’s 1938 and people are already excited about it. A nice warm cup of this and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top will banish that winter blues in no time.

Events update

The Willmore’s team will be celebrating the Bonfire Night spectacular at Penarth Lawn Tennis Club on Friday, 3 November, George the Van serving delicious mint hot chocolates and delicious warm and cold drinks for you to enjoy while you watch the firework display.

On Friday, 1 December from 6pm, Willmore’s 1938 will play host to a special wreath-making workshop run by Toni Horne of Lily Pad Florist. Participants will enjoy a warming glass of mulled wine and a tasty mince pie while they decorate festive wreaths with an assortment of seasonal foliage and decorations of fresh pine, dried fruits and flowers, berries, cones and ribbons.

Get your running shoes on because on Sunday, 17 December, Willmore’s 1938 will be sponsoring the Festive Family parkrun at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park. Matt, Charlotte and the team will be there at the finish line, along with George the Van, handing out souvenir medals and a well-deserved mince pie. So come along and get dressed up in your favourite seasonal fancy dress and run, jog or walk around the course.

Willmore’s 1938 will also soon be launching their tasty Christmas menu, with turkey and cranberry sandwiches, mince pies and Christmas puddings, all of which will be available to preorder soon. As well as this, their famous Christmas afternoon teas are back for 2023, with delicious festive food favourites, along with mulled wine. Make sure to book in advance so you don’t miss out.

And in the spirit of Christmas, Willmore’s 1938 will be taking part in the Penarth Christmas Tree Festival on the weekend of 9 – 10 December at St Augustine’s Church for the third year in a row. This year they plan on decorating their tree with dried oranges and lemons, giving it a warm, classic Christmas feel. Make sure to head on over to St Augustine’s Church later this December to check out all the incredibly decorated trees from Willmore’s and other individuals, organisations and businesses.

New defibrillator installed

Willmore’s 1938 have also received an exciting and important donation. A new life-saving defibrillator has been installed on the outside of their building. This is alongside a bigger plan by organisations to place more defibrillators around Penarth. Others in the town include Co-op, the Police Station, The Windsor, Penarth Masonic Hall, West House and The Paget Rooms. There are also others on Penarth seafront, Penarth Marina, Cogan, Dinas Powys, and Lavernock. The full list of defibrillator locations can be found online at www.defibfinder.uk

The Willmore’s team, along with others, will be receiving training from the lifeboat team in the next couple of weeks as part of the installation.

And finally, Matt and Charlotte would like to give a message to their customers: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to all the locals, regular customers and other businesses in the community for the continuing support they have shown us over the past year. And we look forward to planning lots of exciting new stuff for 2024. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the team at Willmore’s 1938.”