Cornwall couple who lost their partners holding pop-up café to help others grieving
Liz and Tony are staging the event at The Wooden Box in Redruth once a month
Last updated 26th Mar 2022
A Cornish couple who lost their partners are hosting a pop-up café to help others deal with bereavement.
Liz Smith and Tony O'Rourke opened The Wooden Box in Redruth late last year, after meeting online.
Now the pair are using their venue it for a special event on the last Monday of every month, with the charity The Good Grief Trust.
Liz said: "It's just an open, safe space for people to come for support and speak to like-minded people, to maybe get some tips, share some stories and quite often it's just a chance for them to talk about the person who they've lost.
"Or, to come along and actually say nothing at all if they don't want to. It's just being somewhere where they feel comfortable I guess".
Liz was widowed in 2019 after her husband died of a brain tumour, while Tony lost his wife Naomi to cancer in 2014.
Liz added: "It's just really a chance for people to talk about some of the things that, quite often, other people might feel uncomfortable talking about or they don't know how to open a discussion about the loss of someone or death or dying.
"It's something that our society doesn't talk about that openly a lot of the time so it's kind of removing that awkwarndness; there's a lot of laughter".
Liz and Tony are finding that because they have been open about their stories, people have heard about them and often turn up at the café during normal opening hours.
Liz added: "People will pop in and talk about stuff and then somebody else might just feel comfortable enough to join in.
"It's not always about bereavement, it's just other things. They may be talking about something that's happening in the town or whether or not they need a new gardener; because we're so tiny, it's very much a community place".
We caught up with Liz and Tony shortly before the first ever Cornwall Bereavement Day, being held at Truro Cathedral.
The drop-in event aims to provide a central location from which people can access local bereavement services and connect with others who have suffered loss of friends or loved ones.
A Good Grief Café will be set up in the venue, as well as activities for children, crafts, and bereavement services across Cornwall.
Organisations such as Penhaligon’s Friends, Suicide Liaison Service, Widowed and Young, The Good Grief Trust, and The Samaritans are just a few of the organisations that will be on hand to provide advice and support on the day.
Cornwall Bereavement Network organised the drop-in event on Saturday March 26th, which will take place from 1.30pm - 4pm.
More information is available on the Cornwall Bereavement Network's website.
For details about the 'Good Grief' pop-up café, visit The Wooden Box on Fore Street, Redruth or its Facebook page.