A WORLD-CLASS slalom water skier whose love of the sport started during childhood holidays to Windermere has been honoured with an OBE. Andy Mapple, a six-times world champion whose parents live in the Lake District, received the award this week for his
MOVIE fans could be enjoying two more cinema screens in the heart of the Lake District from next spring, reports Rachel Kitchen. Planners have given Zeffirellis director Derek Hook the go-ahead to transform the old junior school at Compston Road, Ambleside
Two more readers of The Westmorland Gazette have had chance encounters with big black cats following last week's reported sighting near Kirkby Stephen, writes Jennie Dennett. A Cheshire tourist has reported coming face to face with a panther in a nocturnal
THE spirit of adventure will be freed from a celluloid 'lamp' next week when one of the country's most prestigious mountain festivals gets under way. In a programme packed as tight as a mountaineer's rucksack the Kendal Mountain Film Festival presents
A NORTH Lancashire teacher is hoping to take his favourite hobby of potholing to the people of China. Richard Gerrish (pictured), a Carnforth High School science teacher, was part of a four-person expedition, which has spent the last two months in the
WITH their fairytale, "gingerbread house" appearance, the Romney Road almhouses almost look as though they have been transported to Kendal from the world of Hansel and Gretel, writes Rachel Kitchen. Now local historian Dr John Satchell and his wife Sheila
THE men and women of north Lancashire who died during the two world wars are being remembered in a unique project that aims to create pen pictures of all those named on war memorials in the area. Members of the Lancaster Military Heritage Group are preparing
PHOENIX (Windermere) Judo club netted an impressive tally of two gold, three silver and three bronze medals at a Cumbria-wide competition. Peter Simm (U30kg) set the standard, throwing each of his six opponents with classical techniques to take the gold
AN EXCITING finish featured when Westmorland Triathletes hosted their annual duathlon at Kendal Land Rover, Shap Road on Sunday. A 90-strong field braved cold, stormy winds as they tackled an out-and-back 2.5-mile run towards Burneside and then took to
ANOTHER chapter in Sedbergh School's annals of supplying top-class Rugby Union internationals will be written when James Simpson-Daniel makes his debut for England against the All Blacks at Twickenham on Saturday. Twenty-year-old Simpson-Daniel left Sedbergh
KENT Estuary YFC member Richard Geldard was one of three young farmers representatives who travelled to Downing Street to discuss proposals to help young people find a way into farming. Richard, 28, who farms with his family at Low Foulshaw, Levens, was
THEY are one of the most wildly successful and inventive groups in the history of music. They were responsible for the legendary Rumours, which has sold more than 30 million copies and still remains one of the top five best-selling albums of all time.
TWO medical wards at Kendal's Westmorland General Hospital were closed to admissions on Sunday after staff and patients were laid low by the Roto Virus. The virus, which causes diarrhoea and vomiting, is not life threatening, and has infected people in
MOVES to modernise and privatise parts of Cumbria County Council could save the authority up to £25 million over the next four years, according to a council report. This spring, CCC brought in consultants PriceWaterhouseCooper to carry out a root-and-branch
THE Department of Trade and Industry has given permission for Newsquest Media Group, parent company of The Westmorland Gazette, to purchase The Westmorland Messenger, a fortnightly paid-for newspaper based in Kirkby Stephen.
CASTERTON schoolgirls will be brushing up their backhand in preparation for a one-off lesson from tennis star Jo Durie. The player who reached a career highest ranking of world number five and got to the quarter finals of Wimbledon is set to visit the
A TOURISM partnership promoting the Furness and Cartmel Peninsulas has been re-launched with a fresh image and vision. The revamped look is part of a drive to strengthen the area's appeal as a visitor destination and the partnership is urging local businesses
The normally hectic corridors of South Lakes' colleges fell quiet on Tuesday as lecturers and support staff joined a national strike over further education pay. Students stayed away as classes were cancelled at both Kendal College and Barrow's Furness
Forewarned is forearmed according to one action group which is urging South Lakeland residents to be ready to lobby against a series of proposed wind farms. FELLS - Friends of Eden, Lakeland and Lunesdale Scenery - held a public meeting this week to highlight
FIFTY new jobs could be created at Staveley Mill Yard as businessman David Brockbank pushes ahead with his vision for the historic industrial site, reports Rachel Kitchen. Lake District planners have backed his plans for a major office building at the
THE wife of rock star Sting declared the Lake District as the most beautiful place in England this week as film stars moved into Ambleside to begin the production on a new movie, reports Ellis Butcher. Actress and producer Trudie Styler linked up with
A rail users' group claims passengers are being deterred from using trains to reach the heart of the Lake District because of poor reliability and unrealistic connections, writes Michaela Robinson-Tate. The train travellers want rail companies to improve
POLICE believe they may have come within a whisker of catching a thief dubbed the Jackal this weekend after a burglar struck four times on the same street. The homes on Kirkhead Road, Grange-over-Sands, were broken into between Friday, November 1 and
A schoolteacher was this week warned he could face a prison sentence after pleading guilty to downloading indecent images of children on the Internet at home. Christopher David Bench, 44, admitted six charges of making indecent photographs or pseudo photographs
AN UNCERTAIN future faces the area's traditional agricultural shows after a senior DEFRA official indicated that the Government plans to keep its post foot-and-mouth bio-security rules in place. Julian West, DEFRA's head of exotic diseases, told a meeting
PARENTS and villagers applauded with relief as controversial plans for a special girls' school next to Witherslack's primary school were voted out, reports Rachel Kitchen. Chair of governors at Dean Barwick School, Vivienne Curtis tearfully hugged fellow
ULVERSTON'S voluntary first aid team is having to turn down requests to cover numerous events because of a lack of volunteers. The St John Ambulance, based at The Ellers, provides first aid cover at more than 200 events in the Ulverston area each year
PLANS to bring the silver screen to the secluded Furness hamlet of Oxen Park have come up against opposition. Six residents have objected to plans by Carol McNeill to adapt outbuildings at Manor Cottage, Oxen Park, into a community cinema, studio, craft
A TOURISM partnership promoting the Furness and Cartmel Peninsulas has been re-launched with a fresh image and vision. The revamped look is part of a drive to strengthen the area's appeal as a visitor destination and the partnership is urging local businesses
ANTI-WAR campaigners in Ulverston collected more than 340-signatures in just four hours in an attempt to convince the Government not to support a United States-led military attack on Iraq. About ten people gathered in Market Square bearing placards and
PUPILS at Pennington School got the chance to transform themselves into their favourite book characters for a visit from a published author. Geraldine Braithwaite from Cartmel, the author of Through the Letter Box, spent Monday morning entertaining pupils
A VOLUNTARY aided school in Ulverston is launching a fund-raising campaign to cover the cost of a much-needed £ 80,000 extension. Church Walk Primary School is planning to build a room for pupils with special needs and a new head teacher's office. At
A FORMER village school, which closed three years ago because of falling numbers, has sold for £30,000 more than the expected price. Ulpha School and the former schoolmaster's cottage in the Duddon Valley were expected to attract a price tag of £ 280,000
A REQUEST by a Kendal councillor for Kendal Town Council to release funds to cover a planning application for a sports and athletics track was turned down by the council at its meeting on Monday. The council considered a request by Coun Simon Butterfield
EMERGENCY repairs on the A685 at Docker Bridge near Grayrigg have forced a 100-metre stretch of the road to be closed for a week. The Highways Agency was forced to close the road yesterday, Thursday, after a drainage culvert under the railway bridge collapsed
FOUR householders at Wasdale Close, Kendal, look set to be able to buy open land near to their homes so they can extend their small back gardens. South Lakeland District Council cabinet members heard the piece of land, around 200 square metres, was part
A TOURISM partnership promoting the Furness and Cartmel Peninsulas has been re-launched with a fresh image and vision. The revamped look is part of a drive to strengthen the area's appeal as a visitor destination and the partnership is urging local businesses
A NORTH Lancashire teacher is hoping to take his favourite hobby of potholing to the people of China. Richard Gerrish, a Carnforth High School science teacher, was part of a four-person expedition, which has spent the last two months in the Yunnan province
PEOPLE in Carnforth are being urged to get behind ambitious plans to forge cultural and community links with a town on the Continent. For several months, residents of the town have been working on developing ties with Sailly sur la lys, a textile town
IT WAS lessons as usual at Lancaster and Morecambe College on Tuesday as the majority of lecturers decided not to take part in a national strike over pay. Lecturers union NATFHE called the strike in protest at an offer of a 2.3 per cent pay rise, compared
PLANS to extend an Indian restaurant in Ambleside sparked nine letters from concerned residents - but got the go-ahead from Lake District planners. Mr F. Rahman wants to enlarge the dining area at Tagore Indian Restaurant, on Compston Road, improve the
THE wife of rock star Sting declared the Lake District as the most beautiful place in England this week as film stars moved into Ambleside to begin the production on a new movie, reports Ellis Butcher. Actress and producer Trudie Styler linked up with
PHIL Dixon, tenant of the Bluebird Caf at Lake Road, Coniston, has secured planning permission to extend the kitchen and create more storage and freezer space. The Lake District National Park Authority's development control committee heard the extension
DOZENS of students were safely evacuated from their halls of residence on Monday night (November 4) after a fire broke out in a kitchen microwave. All 40 students at St Martin's Fairfield Hall of Residence, Ambleside, were ushered out of their halls just
MOVIE fans could be enjoying two more cinema screens in the heart of the Lake District from next spring, reports Rachel Kitchen. Planners have given Zeffirellis director Derek Hook the go-ahead to transform the old junior school at Compston Road, Ambleside
A SOUTH German town has paid tribute to a Windermere woman who played a key part in forging friendships between the two communities. Former Windermere Parish Council chairman Coun Jill Hubbard, who died in 2000, was instrumental in forming the Windermere-Diessen
Business is booming for a South Lakeland printing firm which has a healthy order book, a growing workforce and a national accolade under its belt. The contrast in fortunes could hardly be sharper between Milnthorpe-based Cypher Digital Print and its struggling
HIGH standards in caring for and managing trees have helped a South Lakeland company win a benchmark industry award. Mark Sigrist, of Storth, is celebrating his Arnside-based company, Aspen Tree Management, being confirmed as an approved contractor by
A WEIRD and wonderful procession will be making its way through ancient parts of Lancaster on the Old Calender Hallowe'en Walk on Sunday. The walk starts at 7pm from the John O'Gaunt Gateway, Lancaster Castle. For more information call 01524-582810. ENJOY
Double maths and PE were nothing more than distant memories when a Casterton schoolgirl rubbed shoulders with the stars at the world premiere of the new Harry Potter film last weekend. Naia John found herself treading the red carpet along with the famous
A FORMER South Lakeland man has adapted a real-life war romance for a radio audience to be broadcast on Armistice Day. Prolific radio and book writer Eric Pringle is hitting the nation's airwaves again at 2.15pm, on November 11, when his adaptation of
For 86-years the simple grave of William " Billie" Martindale nestled in gentle French countryside near the scene of trench war terror and turmoil which had taken the young soldier. No one in his Kendal family had ever found the plot where the 24-year-old
Services are due to be held on Sunday throughout South Lakeland and Furness as part of the annual Remembrance Day events. Veterans will join members of the public to lay wreaths and remember the dead from two world wars and other conflicts. Motorists
RESULTS of the combined event between the Reebok X Challenge and the Mid Lancs X Country League have just become available. Although Kendal AAC's Rebecca Robinson (U20) will not be targeting the Reebok Series she actually finished second and first in
CONISTON are the new leaders of the First Division. A 4-0 victory over struggling Burneside boosted them three points clear of Wetheriggs, who were without a game on Saturday. Coniston could have scored twice as many in a very one sided game, yet it was
STRIKER Garth Jones has been signed from UniBond Premier Division outfit Barrow as manager Peter Smith moved to plug a potential gap caused by the departure of Craig Walmsley for a spell of playing cricket in Australia. The Netherfield opening batsman
Gainsborough Trinity 3-Kendal Town 1. UNIBOND Premier side Gainsborough Trinity earned themselves a second round FA Trophy tie at Grantham with a 3-1 victory over Kendal Town at their Northolme ground in Lincolnshire. Peter Smith's men have now bowed
'Readers of this column have objected to the poly-syllabic nature of its sentence construction, so this week we have a simple tale, simply told. Following the desperately dismal display at Newbury, this could not have been more different, an heroic, impassioned
CUMBRIA schoolgirls have enjoyed unprecedented success at the start of this year's campaign by winning fixtures at Under-21, Under-18 and Under-16 level against formidable opponents. Cumbria Under-21s opened in style with defeats of Lancs Central 4-3
HORSE-racing pundit Mark Howard from Kirkby Lonsdale writes the first of a series of occasional articles for the Gazette on the current National Hunt jump season. WITH former Penrith- based Jonjo O'Neill firmly ensconced in his new base at Jackdaws Castle
Moresby 11, Ambleside 17. BEFORE Ambleside had got the journey out of their system, Moresby scored an unconverted try. Playing into the wind and rain, Ambleside battled their way back upfield and good forward play enabled Steve Bragg to crash over for
PRIDE was restored and confirmation came that Kendal can mix it with the best in National League 2 with a rip-roaring display against the leaders Henley Hawks at Mint Bridge on Saturday, writes Richard Daniels. Final score Kendal 9 - Henley Hawks 16.
IAN Austin, the former England and Lancashire all-rounder, has criticised the running of Cumberland Cricket Club as " amateurish" after the club released him following a mix-up over the rules governing Minor Counties professionals. Cumberland this week
AN UNCERTAIN future faces the area's traditional agricultural shows after a senior DEFRA official indicated that the Government plans to keep its post foot-and-mouth bio-security rules in place. Julian West, DEFRA's head of exotic diseases, told a meeting
EMERGENCY vaccination will be part of the government's new strategy for dealing with foot-and-mouth. Margaret Becket, secretary of state at DEFRA, said a policy of vaccination in which animals would then be allowed to live rather than be slaughtered,
TRADITIONAL cattle breeds are to be reintroduced on parts of the Yorkshire Dales as part of a new scheme to help farmers manage environmentally sensitive areas. The Limestone Country project has secured £1.27 million to reintroduce sustainable mixed livestock
TREVOR Hebdon, chief executive of the area's largest livestock auctioneers, has urged farmers to continue to support marts by using them to market their stock. Announcing 40 per cent improved pre-tax profits of £347,000 for the Harrison and Hetherington
A NEW farming organisation has been set up to represent the interests of the industry after what it claims is widespread dissatisfaction with the Government and with existing bodies such as the NFU. Farm was launched this week with the backing of multi-millionaire
THIS is the time of year when gimmer hoggs (ewe lambs born that spring) intended for flock replacements in the hills, are sent down country for winter. This gives a double advantage. Firstly it is important for the hoggs to enjoy " kinder going" on good
A CONISTON teenager is frantically fundraising for an environmental project that will see her leave behind the Lakeland fells for the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Barrow sixth-form pupil Helen Russell raised £450 by staging her own one-woman triathlon
TALKS aimed at averting fire-fighters' strikes stalled again this week raising the prospect that the Army's ageing Green Goddess fire engines will take to the streets of Cumbria. The Fire Brigades Union twice suspended plans for strike action during pay
THE Department of Trade and Industry has given permission for Newsquest Media Group, parent company of The Westmorland Gazette, to purchase The Westmorland Messenger, a fortnightly paid-for newspaper based in Kirkby Stephen.
THE benefits of communities forging cultural links with their counterparts on the Continent were debated at a town twinning conference in north Lancashire. Hosted by the Kellets Twinning Association, in Over Kellet village hall, the North West Twinning
SEDBERGH folk are "doing a bit of courting" on the world wide web as they search for their ideal twin town. Butcher and chamber of trade member Garth Steadman said efforts were being made to twin Sedbergh with a town in the Low Countries, preferably some-where
The father of murdered former South Lakeland schoolgirl Anna Lightfoot has told of his relief that one of his daughter' s killers - who was on the run armed with a gun and ammunition - has been shot dead by police, reports Michaela Robinson-Tate. David
Health chiefs are to continue to send Morecambe Bay women to the Leeds fertility clinic at the centre of a mix up in which mixed race twins were born to a white couple. They say there is no reason why dozens of couples from Morecambe Bay who travel to
EMERGENCY vaccination will be part of the government's new strategy for dealing with foot-and-mouth. Margaret Becket, secretary of state at DEFRA, said a policy of vaccination in which animals would then be allowed to live rather than be slaughtered,
AN EDUCATION officer is looking to head teachers to rethink their 'zero-tolerance' to drugs and avoid automatically excluding pupils caught in the act, writes Education Reporter Jennie Dennett. The move follows figures in a Cumbria County Council report
A HEALTH warning has been issued by Furness and District coroner Ian Smith after the busy lifestyle of Gordon Fletcher, 41, managing director of Ulvertech Ltd., led to his death. Mr Fletcher, of Priory Rd., Ulverston, died of bronchial pneumonia after
POLICE are investigating how a 19-year-old man came to be shot in the eye with an air rifle after an elderly couple were disturbed by what they thought was a burglar breaking in. Anthony Spray, 63, was arrested and released on police bail following the
ULVERSTON historians Jennifer Snell and Bernard Ellis are giving a talk entitled Tales from the Sands in Dickensian time next Thursday at 7.30pm in the Coronation Hall. The tales will include rescue missions from Canal Foot, ships that disappeared in
A BUSINESS plan is being drawn up to attract thousands of pounds of funding and encourage new businesses in the wake of 400 proposed job losses at Ulverston's GlaxoSmithKline factory. Barrow-based Furness Enterprise has also agreed to put together a support
Traders have hit out at plans to increase car park charges in South Lakeland in a bid to save and upgrade a number of public toilets. The car park charge squeeze was mooted by South Lakeland District Council after councillors and officers discovered a
Catching the latest movie, hitting the skate park or hooking up with friends could be just a bus ride away if plans to boost public transport for young people get the go ahead. Moves to inject £10,000 of public money into the bus network to help young
PLANS for pupils from a special school in Silverdale to move into a house in Nether Kellet have fallen through - to the relief of villagers. Ridgway Park School, which caters for 11-16-year-olds with special educational needs, had hoped four students
IMPRESSIVE ticket sales and a community grant enabled a South Lakeland amateur dramatics group to invest thousands of pounds in new lighting. Ambleside Players secured £750 from the Lakes Neighbourhood Forum and put the funds towards the cost of six new
WORK has started on the first-ever purpose-built call centre in Barrow, which is expected to create up to 60 new jobs when it opens in mid-2003. United Co-op Travel is investing £500,000 in the new 12,000 sq ft call centre for Barrow Travel, which will
GLASS and ceramics artist Jodi Wright has scored a notable success at a leading industry trade show. She was voted runner-up in the best newcomer section at the Top Drawer Autumn Exhibition, held at London's Earls Court. And as well as covering herself
KENDAL Town FC seek to maintain their resurgence in form when hosting Radcliffe Borough in the UniBond League first division next Tuesday, at 7.45pm, following a visit to Alfreton Saturday at 3pm. It's a quiet week on the rugby front with local clubs
In his latest article for Business Gazette, Michael Proudfoot, Kendal-based partner in Lonsdale & Partners, chartered accountants, advises how you can maximise tax relief on your company car. Historically, a car purchased by a business has been eligible
