Archive

CUMBRIAN dairy farmers have been on the road again this week demonstrating for a better farm gate price for their milk. Dairy Crest, one of the largest milk processing companies and a key target for demonstrating dairymen, tried to take some heat out

THE British Food Festival turned out to be a great success. You know the one I told you about where Brussels and the EU were getting upset about use of the word British. Also the top brass at Department of Food and Rural Affairs thought it better to stand

TOP DOG RECORD: A top price of £1,875 broke records at Kendal Auction Mart’s ninth annual sheep dog sale at New Hutton on Saturday. The top price was paid for a stylish 15-month old black-and-white bitch called Mossy from Tony Birkett out of his excellent

ANOTHER of the Lake District’s most badly eroded upland paths has been repaired in a joint initiative. A team spent five days taking on Dollywaggon Pike, above Grizedale Tarn. The joint project involved conservation enthusiasts from all over the UK

YOUNG dancers in Kendal have pirouetted their way to success with a crop of top-flight exam results. Pupils at the Janette Leach School of Dance passed their exams with flying colours in ballet, tap, modern jazz, gymnastic dance and freestyle. Dancers

A MULTI-MILLION pound project to create a countywide information ‘hub’ has run into difficulty following a difference of opinion between county and district leaders. Plans to set up a Cumbria Information Hub providing details about a range of council

VILLAGERS have criticised plans to turn a church into a “Gospel-based” community for recovering drug addicts and alcoholics. A religious group, called Friends of a UK Cenacolo Community, has applied to South Lakeland District Council for permission to

At this time of year, fresh back from sunny holidays in Spain, Greece or Turkey, many people dream of chucking in their day jobs and becoming a holiday rep. Recent problems in Faliraki may have changed some people’s minds, but the idea of helping happy

PRIVATE sector managers and professionals are being urged to help the arts and museums in Cumbria to thrive and grow. The call came from Mick Farley, executive director of the Learning and Skills Council in Cumbria, when he addressed a Business in the

INVESTMENT firm Border Asset Management has bucked the downbeat market trend by opening an office in Harrogate. The investment portfolio manager, which also has an office in Kirkby Lonsdale, is rated as one of the top ten growing investment managers in

PROSPECTIVE Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron has met representatives from the Federation of Small Businesses to discuss the organisation’s work in South Lakeland. Mr Farron said he wanted to hear the views

AMANDA Lebus has had a great year. An artist and storyteller, her creative home for the past 12 months has been within the imaginative walls of Welfare State International, as its artist-in-residence. She reckons Ulverston’s WSI has a revolutionary tenderness

A glimpse into lace-making and fashion trends in bygone days is the focus of a fresh new show at Abbot Hall’s Museum of Lakeland Life. Put together by the museum’s newly appointed assistant keeper, Frances Snowden, it’s a step back in time, looking at

THE Oscar-winning creators of the Toy Story films, A Bug’s Life and Monsters, Inc. dive into a whole new world of computer-animated fun, fantasy and heartfelt emotion with their splashy new underwater adventure, Finding Nemo. This latest feature from

“FOOD cooked by a person who is angry, depressed or full of arrogance or hatred will have a different effect from food cooked with feelings of love, peace and the pure desire to serve.” So says Food & Soul, an inspirational cookbook compiled by the Brahma

LOCAL chefs Duncan Collinge and Keith Taylor will be battling it out at Orton Farmers’ Market tomorrow (Saturday) to make a feast for a fiver. They will be assisted by ‘yours truly’ and Radio Cumbria’s Gordon Swindlehurst as they work against the clock

SID Vicious would have been proud. South Lakes lads Cacophony may not be long out of short trousers but they are already making their own music and it has got Punk spray painted all over it. The group is made up of 13-year-olds Nathan Jackson, on bass

FROM the ashes of Absolute Proof a new duo has arisen with a new CD clutched firmly in hand. Local saxophone/guitar duo of Paul Palmer and Richard Page have already made a name for themselves on the local circuit and, since their former band Absolute

A HAVEN for ‘musos’ is opening in Bowness. Instruments, advice, a bands’ noticeboard and even a free musicians’ website are set to be offered at Northwinds Music on Quarry Rigg. Manchester musician Rob Bell, who has been a long-standing visitor to the

INGLETON rocked to the sound of the Eliza Carthy Band last Saturday night when they topped the bill at the third Ingleton Folk Weekend. A capacity audience at the Community Centre was treated to a virtuoso performance by the young folk singer and fiddle

OH TO have been a judge for the North West Food Producer of the Year competition – the 14-strong panel of experts had to blind-taste their way through 300 delicious entries! Organised by North West Fine Foods and sponsored by Booths Supermarkets, the

Every year a new craze sweeps the Internet, attracting surfers in great numbers. 2003 is undoubtedly the year of the weblog. A weblog, or blog as they are more commonly known, takes the art of keeping a diary into the 21st century, making every entry

IN MY local garden centre they began to display Christmas decorations for sale at the end of September. Perhaps there are sound economic reasons for this, but I cannot believe that anyone is thinking about Christmas this far in advance. What all good

Every picture tells a story, with Derek Kingwell. Kendal was home to a major exhibition opened by HRH the Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lorne, on Thursday August 27, 1891, to an “enthusiastic reception”. More than 1,000 competitive entries were on

LAKELAND Life in the 1940s and 1950s: The Photographs of Gwen Bertelsman., edited by Martin Varley. Halsgrove, £24.95. ISBN 1 84114 2778 GWEN Bertelsman is remembered as a lady with a camera and a car. A quiet, shy woman, she moved from London at the

A BOLD bid to secure World Heritage Status for the Lake District took a major step forward this week, reports Andy Bloxham. The Lake District National Park Authority agreed to invest £350,000 over two years to make the case for securing a World Heritage

RECENT reorganisation within the National Park Authority has brought southern area rangers, previously based at Murley Moss head office, back to Brockhole Visitor Centre. This move was prompted by a re-structuring of the National Park Authority, which

ALIEN invaders are threatening the Lake District, according to the National Trust and English Nature. Alarm bells rang when David Preston, National Trust forest warden for Coniston and Little Langdale, recently discovered an unwelcome aquatic weed in

ANYONE who has ever marvelled at the diversity of colour in the area’s trees when autumn arrives can expect an extra special treat this season. The Woodland Trust says that the combination of dry sunny days and the cool dry nights are perfect conditions

A NEW radio station which can only be accessed by people with the internet has been set up to serve parts of North Yorkshire. Drystone Radio was launched last week at Bentham Auction Mart and will be run not-for-profit by a group of dedicated volunteers

AN ARTIST’S muse who, along with a young Cherie Blair, posed for one of the country’s leading figurative painters has visited Abbot Hall to see herself on canvas. Georgia Georgialis, who modelled for her close friend and former art tutor, the late Euan

ARNSIDE needs new blood, the parish’s new five-year plan has revealed. A major survey in the parish, which informed the plan, showed it could not afford to lose younger people or families with a working member. “An elderly population risks losing the

PLANS for a £2.5 million purpose-built community arts complex in Dalton-in-Furness have been unveiled. The Dalton events committee – set up in 1999 to oversee events during the millennium – came up with the idea about a year ago. The Dalton Partnership

A BID to give travellers on the Carnforth Connect routes up-to-the-minute information has won national recognition. Lancashire County Council’s pioneering Rural Intelligent Bus Stops (RIBS) has been shortlisted for the Bus in the Countryside prize in

A GROUP of therapists practicing osteopathy to acupuncture are on board a new complementary medicine venture in South Lakeland. Armed with 30 years of experience, Kendal osteopath Daphne Jackson has launched a new centre that caters for seven therapies

A SOUTH Lakeland man has sailed into the national final of a competition to find the country’s most enterprising student. Jonathon Nicholson of Windermere earned his place after claiming victory in the regional heat of the STEP awards held in Wigan on

FORMER Olympic hurdler Kriss Akabusi is aiming to give South Lakeland firms a leg up in the world of business next month. The charismatic athlete, who struck gold in the World Championships in Tokyo in 1991, is coming to Kendal to present an interactive

THE man in charge of one of South Lakeland’s leading hotels has been promoted to the top job in the business. Tim Rumney, 37, is stepping up from general manager of the Castle Green Hotel, Kendal, to managing director. He takes over the helm from James

THE Elton Hotel in Grange-over-Sands has been sold to a Mr and Mrs Davis from the West Midlands. The seven-bedroom hotel was on the market at an asking price of £390,000 through Penrith-based commercial and leisure property agent PF&K Commercial.

Film fans are in for a treat on Saturday, October 18, as Alan Rickman makes a surprise appearance at the Film Laundry, a new element to the Old Laundry’s annual autumn festival. Best known for his appearances in flicks such as like Robin Hood - Prince

Simple, yet so, so, effective - that’s the overriding appeal for me at this year’s stimulating Green Door Studio Artists exhibition. It all appears so seamless. Richard Light’s Walk is a splendid example - Tony Pearce’s brooding fells reflecting in

CONGRATULATIONS to the Midday Concert Club upon achieving its 60th year. In that period of time it has overseen a veritable feast of extremely high-quality music-making and last Wednesday the club welcomed the Northern Sinfonia Chamber Ensemble to once

AMBLESIDE’S new 5+ Contemporary Ceramics gallery celebrated its opening with a lively and colourful display of the work of some of the most imaginative ceramic artists in the area. The 5+ resident potters - Sue Bartholomew, Abigail Jacobs, Mike Eden,

SOME would call it name dropping - Barry Norman, wouldn’t, just rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous from the film world. The famous chair was centre stage as Britain’s Mr Cinema took an Old Laundry audience down memory lane. He told of drinks

Here are a couple of recipes to celebrate the availability of new season Bramley apples. Luxury Bramley apple & cinnamon bread & butter pudding (Serves 6) Ingredients: 450g/1lb Bramley apples, peeled, cored and sliced 75g/3oz caster sugar 1tsp

MORE than 50 beers will be on offer at the 10th Westmorland Beer Festival to be staged in Kendal Town Hall from October 21-25 - among them this year’s official festival beer from Hawkshead Brewery. Also on sale at the event will be the traditional commemorative

GRASMERE’S Jumble Room has joined forces with ‘Restaurants Against Hunger’ for a special fundraising event next Wednesday (October 15). For details of the £30-a-head four-course menu – which is also being supported by Kendal wine merchant Frank Stainton

OUR very own Junior J-Lo, Vicki Gater, is one step closer to fame and fortune after reaching the second round of the Jammie Dodgers’ Jam on the Mic competition. The biscuit brand launched the search for a pint-size pop star in association with Fox Kids

WENSLEYDALE cheese-makers at Hawes are celebrating a triumphant year of show successes after winning a clutch of trophies at the British Cheese Awards held at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. Wensleydale Creamery’s flagship brand, Traditional Wensleydale

THE adventures of an Eden couple who walked from Land’s End to John O’ Groats have been put down in black and white and preserved for posterity. Ken and Kathy Trimmer took a long winter walk in aid of children’s charity The Rainbow Trust, raising £13,570

LANCASTER - A History, by Andrew White. Phillimore, £17.99. THE well-known head of Lancaster City Museums, Andrew White, has poured his considerable knowledge of the city’s history into a beautifully illustrated book. Instead of taking the reader through

In the second of his series on Croatia, Travel Editor KEN BENNETT is all at sea when he visits the country’s fascinating islands... We are bouncing along a dusty track in a battered fire engine, blue lights flashing, in a last-minute panic to catch