A WORTHY local charity is hosting a jam-making competition to raise money to support their valuable work with disabled children.

It has just been announced that The Bendrigg Jam Fest, in honour of the Bendrigg Trust, will be held this Autumn - meaning entrants should start cooking up a storm right away.

The Jam Fest opens at Kendal College at 10am on Saturday, October 10, and entry is free.

Jules Drummond-Hay, who volunteers at Bendrigg, in Old Hutton, said: "It's a local charity for local people and every penny goes directly to Bendrigg - it's spent on actual things rather than on PR campaigns."

While Bendrigg offers an extensive range of outdoor activities for disabled children, including a zipwire and a climbing wall, they also offer more personal touches.

Jules said: "They do things like taking people outside and sitting them around a campfire to hear stories at night.

"For many of those children it's the first time they have been outside at night and that's a magical thing. Bendrigg is full of special things."

Entrants should drop off their jams at any of the following venues between September 14-30:

Bendrigg Lodge, Old Hutton, LA8 0NR

White Stuff, Finkle Street, Kendal, LA9 4AB

Chesters, Skelwith Bridge, Ambleside LA22 9NJ

Fat Face, 38 Main Street, Kirkby Lonsdale, LA6 2AJ

Yew Tree Barn, Low Newton, Grange-over-Sands, LA11 6JP.

For first time 'jammers', a simple recipe is listed here:

The Traditional Strawberry Jam

Makes 2 jars of jam – one for you to enjoy and one for Bendrigg

Ingredients:

2 x 200g jars with lids

1kg strawberries – the smaller the better

800g of jam sugar – which contains pectin

Juice of a lemon

Method:

Boil the jars to sterilise them. Place a saucer in the freezer to chill.

Hull the strawberries, discarding any that have gone mushy.  Quarter or halve the strawberries and then tip them into a large, heavy bottomed saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice, stir and leave for half an hour for the flavours to mingle.

Bring the jam to the boil and boil for 10 – 12 minutes.  Remove the chilled saucer from the freezer and dot a little of the jam on the cold surface – leave to cool for a minute, and it should form a wrinkle when pushed with a finger.  This is setting point.  Remove from the heat.  If a red scum has formed on the surface of the pan, then discard this using a slotted spoon.

Carefully pour into the jars and seal with a lid and label. 

For more information visit www.bendrigg.org.uk or call 01539 723766.