Belper Railway Station

The Mayor of Belper and Hilary Fender unveil the very first poem.

Steve's wife, Fran, and his best friend, Dave Gottshalk with the poem on platform 1.

By kind permission of Central Trains both platforms have a poem displayed.

"Brief Encounters", from notes by Steve Cutmore is on platform 1 (picture immediately above). Steve Cutmore was born in London in 1955. He moved to Liverpool in 1990 working as a jazz musician and recording artist. He played tenor and soprano saxophone and played alongside John Martyn and Snake Davis. In 1993 he won the Merseyside Association of Writers’ Workshops prize for his poem ‘Blood Brothers’. He produced one book of poetry ‘Colour of Morning’, and a jazz CD ‘Picture House’ with guitarist John Whittington. In 2003 he was diagnosed with cancer, but went on to record two more CDs ‘Something More to Say’ and ‘Bride to Be’ featuring his own songs with himself on guitar. ‘Bride to Be’ was dedicated to his wife Fran, whom he married in 2007.

Steve was asked to write a poem for the station but died in March 2008, before he could complete it. His wife deciphered his notes and Glen Mulliner, a member of the trail steering group, was able to produce a poem from them. Only the title and 2 lines are not directly attributable to Steve.

"From a Railway Carriage" by R L Stevenson is on platform 2 (pictures below). This has been printed in the style of an old railway advertisement.

Beth came to Belper by train as her late husband had worked for British Railways for many years and rail travel was always her first choice.

We are grateful to Central Trains for donating the cost of the display noticeboard and fixing the poems.

See information on poems shown previously at the station.

Close up of the R L Stevenson poem.

Fixing the poem to the wall.

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