Latest News and Happenings at St Luke’s Plymouth. Follow our blog or sign up to our newsletter for our latest news.

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Mrs M makes her mural magic shine for St Luke’s Guiding Lights

With her signature blend of nature-inspired creativity, her passion for protecting the environment and her strong sense of community spirit, Plymouth artist Ellie Johnson, aka Mrs Murals, is a beacon of enthusiasm for St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth’s Guiding Lights art trail and auction spectacular that’s set to dazzle the city’s streets in summer 2026.
As one of two launch artists, alongside St Luke’s patron and celebrated city painter Brian Pollard, in May Mrs M proudly unveiled the design she created for a small scale lighthouse that will travel to different locations across South West and West Devon and into Cornwall in the lead-up to the event, encouraging public engagement and support for the hospice.

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Vicki’s Ride of Remembrance: Tackling Tour de Moor for her dad – and herself

With a mullet bike, a fierce love for enduro riding, and a promise made on her dad’s 70th birthday, Vicki Boorman will be one of our riders taking on the 53km Tour de Moor challenge on Sunday 28 September.
For Vicki, riding has long been her way of finding balance and clarity – a few hours of freedom among the trees – and this year as she takes to the inclines of Dartmoor, every pedal stroke will be both a tribute to her dad and a step forward in her own journey.

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From Compassion to Commendation: Jamie’s Queen’s Nurse accolade

Clinical Nurse Specialist Jamie Jennings has made it a hat trick for St Luke’s after receiving the prestigious title of Queen’s Nurse.
It’s a title currently held by only 3,000 nurses in the UK – including St Luke’s Nurse Consultant Jen Nicholls and Clinical Nurse Specialist Debbie Hutchinson – and it represents a commitment to the highest standards of patient care, learning and leadership.

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Meet Yorkie: The friendly face behind the final rider at Tour de Moor

At the tail end of our Tour de Moor you will find some of our volunteers with a very important job…sweeping the route.
Paul Cunningham or ‘Yorkie’ as he is known among friends is one of the friendly faces behind the final rider at our annual cycling event across Dartmoor. His job is to ensure that no riders are left behind, keeping the event running smoothly and in the right direction!
Originally from Halifax in West Yorkshire, he came to Plymouth in 1977 when he joined the Navy and stayed here ever since. The 71-year-old is now happily retired and enjoys volunteering his time and skills each year for St Luke’s.
He said: “I can’t really remember how long I’ve been ‘sweeping’ on Tour De Moor, pretty much from the outset. I do it with my friends Steve and Lee who have been good riding friends for a number of years and Lee is also a fully trained bike mechanic so he’s a good person to be riding alongside – as well as them both being superb friends.”

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Family on wheels: Meet Ellis and mum Katie

You may have spotted eight-year-old Ellis Jenkins out and about on our Tour de Moor posters this year.
An avid cyclist, Ellis completed the Tour de Moor last year with is mum Katie in memory of his grandad and he is set to do it all again this year.
Whatever the weather, Ellis, from Modbury, can be found out riding his bike. With a love for Harry Potter, tractors, and his latest hobby – learning to skateboard – Ellis will give anything a go. He’s also a keen rugby player and a member of the Beavers, and when it comes to cycling, there’s no stopping him.
Ellis took part in our Tour de Moor last year for the first time and since then, he has been excited to do it all over again, putting his gears to the test.
Katie said: “I’ve been doing spin for a few years now and it has definitely helped me keep up with him! We are an outdoorsy family and try to get outside as much as possible. We cycle the lanes and take his bike to some of the fields near us and he loves going downhill really fast and will cycle back up again! We go to the local pump tracks with his friends, which he loves, and to Haldon Forest to do the bike trails and pump tracks there.”

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Pete’s Ironman tribute to his brother David

“Supporting St Luke’s through the Ironman feels like the closest thing I can offer to a thank-you note.”

Pete Thacker completed the Leeds Ironman last week – consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run – in memory of his brother David, who was cared for by St Luke’s back in 2023.

Pete, from Otley, near Leeds is a self-described “keen albeit rather slow cyclist and runner”. He decided to take on his second Ironman in Leeds on July 27, completing it in a fantastic 13 hours and16 minutes.

“I completed my first Ironman around twelve years ago, but the body is older now and responding to training in slightly more painful ways than it did back then! That said, there’s nothing quite like the sense of achievement when you cross the finish line whether you run, walk or crawl over it. There’s a strange enjoyment in pushing yourself to that point. When you come into the transition area for the second time to start the run, someone always says, ‘last bit now’ but what they don’t mention is that the last bit is a full marathon!”

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St Luke’s charity shop Tavistock reopens after refit

Already a favourite fixture for value, variety and sustainable shopping, St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth’s charity shop in Tavistock town centre has relaunched with a brand-new look. The fresh design and layout are designed to keep customers flocking in to browse and buy in support of local hospice care.

Following its three-week closure for the full-scale transformation, the shop once again opened its doors on Wednesday 23 July, welcoming bargain-hunters keen to check out the new interior and stock. Gone are the familiar orange décor and dated shelving, replaced by smart purple walls and contemporary black furnishings.

There to cut the ribbon was St Luke’s community team, part of our dedicated service looking after patients at home so that they can receive bespoke end-of-life care in their own familiar surroundings, close to loved ones.

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Global Learning: How a Gibraltar nurse is bringing St Luke’s learning to life

Here at St Luke’s, our services go beyond hands-on care. One important strand to our work is educating and empowering people in what good end of life care looks like.
Daniella Bright is our first overseas student studying our online module titled ‘Enhancing end of life care and palliative care practice’ in collaboration with the University of Plymouth. The aim of the module is to enable health and social care practitioners to develop a critical and reflective approach to caring for those living and dying with a life-limiting condition.
Daniella has been using her learning to assist her in her role as a Night Sister at St Bernard’s Hospital in Gibraltar, where she has been working since qualifying as a Staff Nurse back in 2013. Prior to her role as Night Sister, she was the Charge Nurse of the hospital’s Rehabilitation Ward.

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Making memories matter: Walking midnight miles for hospice care

Big-hearted walkers wore sunny smiles and vibrant pink T-shirts as they strode through the city’s streets on Friday (11 July), celebrating precious memories of much-missed family members and friends, while raising funds to support the compassionate care St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth delivers.
The charity’s annual, family-friendly Midnight Walk attracted an incredible 1,125 entrants taking on a choice of four routes – 2.5, five, 7.5 and 13.5 miles (the equivalent of a half marathon) – making it accessible for people of all ages and levels of fitness.

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Age is no barrier for Jean and Bernie

Age is no barrier when it comes to our Midnight Walkers. At 78 and 87, Jean Turfkruyer and Bernie Massey will be some of our oldest participants at our Midnight Walk on Friday, but the friends are not letting their age stop them from taking part and making a difference.

Jean and Bernie are two of our Compassionate Friends who volunteer at our Friends in the Park Compassionate Café at the Well Being Hub at Central Park.

The pair first met four years ago when the café was first set up for members of the community who are experiencing loss, bereavement or maybe affected by life limiting illness to meet.

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