KENDAL Castle WI’s mid-summer meeting was well-attended. The group was joined by a local couple, Julia and Tim, of Heathen Vegan, who served up the most amazing vegan curry meal. Julia advised that they source and grind all their own spices.

Members enjoyed the meal and were surprised that it tasted so good. Heathen Vegan host curry evenings at The New Union, Kendal, on Wednesday evenings. The next meeting is on September 9 when a talk on ‘Fraud Protection Safety Online’ will be given.

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THE annual open morning of the South Lakes group of the University of the Third Age (U3A) will be held on September 4 (10am-noon) at Kendal Town Hall.

The U3A is a movement which promotes education and activities for those who have retired from full-time employment within self-help groups.

The South Lakes members have many meeting places within the Kendal area and with more than 1,400 members and 98 different interest groups, there is something for everyone.

The event will showcase 70 interest groups, languages, science, discussion, leisure and games to keep the brain active.

Existing members can renew memberships for another year at the event and prospective new members can meet the coordinators to see what the U3A might have to offer them. For further information, visit southlakesu3a.org.uk.

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THE Kendal and District Engineering Society will hold the first talk of its 2019/20 season on the September 18 (7.15pm), at the Castle Green Hotel, Kendal. The talk, joint with the Institute of Civil Engineers, will be given by Mark Kirkbride of West Cumbria Mining and will cover ‘The Reopening of the Woodhouse Colliery near Whitehaven’. This talk is one of seventeen, covering diverse engineering topics such as ‘DNA in Forensics’, ‘Steamboat Restoration’ and ‘Restoring the Birkland Viaduct’. More details are given on the society’s website: kendalengineeringsociety.org.uk.

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KENDAL Fellwalkers A group used the bus to enable them to start Sunday's walk at Keswick and finish it at Threlkeld. The route followed the course of stage one of the challenging ‘Bob Graham Round’. However, it was unfortunate that although incessant rain and strong winds did not deter them from climbing to Skiddaw and Great Calva, they reluctantly decided to miss out Blencathra and finished along the track leading to Threlkeld from Skiddaw House. The B group enjoyed a lower-level exploration of Coniston mineworkings and an interesting traverse between Levers Water and Low Water. The C group climbed from Glencoynedale to Glenridding Dodd and Sheffield Pike but, in view of torrential rain, they took a short return route down to the valley.