A NEW keep-fit gym for officers at Gloucester Prison has been opened in honour of Mrs Mary Porter of Lydney and her late husband Fred.
Mary has been a volunteer worker in the prison's visitor centre, serving cuppas with a cheery smile for 20 years, while Fred, who died in 1978, had been an officer in the prison service for several years before he moved to the works department.
Part of his work involved the training of prisoners in painting and decorating skills which many of them found useful after their sentences. His association with the prison service had lasted some 30 years.
Now the prison's present governor, Richard Booty, has unveiled a plaque in honour of Mary and Fred, naming the new facility the Porter Keep Fit Gym.
The occasion also marked the long association of the WRVS with the prison service. Mr Booty praised the work done by Mary and the other volunteers.
Equipment for the new gym, which will help officers maintain fitness and relieve stress, was part-funded from the profits of Mary's tea operations.
Mrs Porter, who received a long-service medal in 1995, said she really enjoyed her job. "I love it," she told the Review.
At the naming ceremony she also received a certificate recognising her outstanding contribution to the WRVS and the prison.