May I congratulate those who organised the recreation of the Hardman picture of sheep being driven down Allhallows Lane at Kendal in 1953.

It attracted significant publicity for the town. I certainly felt it worthwhile getting out of bed an hour before my usual time to watch and take part.

However, as we all moved away from what was surely as an iconic event as the original, I was struck by a thought.

Our immediate thought about sheep, wool and Kendal is to think of the town’s motto ‘Wool is my bread’ but, in reality, when those sheep came down Allhallows Lane 60 years ago they were not going into cloth hung on Tenter Hooks and then carried by packhorse to distant markets like Southampton.

No, they were going to the auction mart, reflecting that Kendal was, as it remains, a market town, a place where farmers brought livestock and produce.

Sadly, but understandably, that part of town life has now moved to junction 36; as indeed has the County Show whose banner was unfurled in the re-enactment of the Hardman picture.

However, it is the intention of the town council, Kendal Futures Board and BID that Kendal should remain the pre-eminent market town of South Lakeland and old Westmorland.

Indeed the ‘Vision for Kendal’ adopted by the town council begins by saying it envisages the future of the town being a ‘market town’; a place that people, whether close by or from far afield, will want to visit to shop.

Our challenge is to ensure that nothing prejudices that ambition.

Coun Tom Clare

Mayor of Kendal 2014-15