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Many of you have picked up on the fact that the March Eden Local was out early in March; in fact we started the delivery around 18th- 19th February, and here we have the April delivery arriving through your door in March, ready for those clocks going forward on 29th of the month.
Whilst it is snowing as I write this, there is an amber warning for snow. A few days previously to starting the content and design of the magazine, as I was finishing my part in posting the Eden Local through doors, close to my own door, I saw a beautiful pink blossom on the tree not far from my house. I thought to myself, I must get a picture of it tomorrow, as it was getting dark, before it falls. The next day the frost arrived, and from pink to brown it turned - I’d missed my opportunity.
The plan is to get the April Eden Local out by Sunday 2nd April, subject to the weather of course; April Fool’s Day of course being on the Saturday. By some strange coincidence, it is also the day that as residents, we say goodbye to our Eden District Council and Cumbria County Council. As the Penrith Town Elections are on 4th May, requests are already coming in for enquiries to assist with the distribution of election leaflets.
Leaflets are something we don’t normally do, on the basis that it’s usually a lot cheaper to have a page placement in the magazine, but why? Well, in over 20 years of being involved in print and
distribution, I have seen and witnessed first-hand, so many people and local groups that call me when they have thousands of leaflets, with no idea of the costs or the time it takes to distribute them.
For those of you reading this who are contemplating a leaflet campaign for whatever reason, an election, a menu, promotional activity and so on, please try to imagine the time it takes for the Eden Local team to empty a box of 125 magazines, then insert a leaflet into 125 magazines and then re-box them. Based on the delivery target of the Eden Local, we are posting the equivalent of 200,000 A5 leaflets a month. This month we are posting the equivalent of close to 240,000 A5 pages.
I am very pleased to say thank you to the 106 Partnership, Communities in support of our local buses team. They have asked the Eden Local to assist with the distribution of their brochure along the A6 areas that the Eden Local covers, and its areas across Penrith. If you are in this area and you have not received a 106-bus brochure and timetable, please give me call on the number over this page and I’ll make sure you get one.
Moving on, we are already a quarter of the way through 2023 or thereabouts, depending on when you are reading this. In this next 12-month period, your Eden Local returns to being posted through your door every month, after it changed during 2020 and 2021, due the circumstances we all faced.
Meanwhile, I have been settling the new studio in with the Eden FM Team, at its new studio now based on the old Newton Rigg Campus. Moving a radio station unfortunately isn’t like moving home; it is quite complex based on the authorities
it is governed by and licensing it has.
Like many voluntary organisations, it needs more volunteers, but not just for Penrith, as it’s ‘Connecting the Community’ plan linking towns, villages and hamlets across Eden is presented in this issue on pages 7 and 13.
Also featured is the Penrith Lions 40th May Day Carnival update on pages 8 and 9, and there are details of a meeting which is an invitation for people to come forward if they can help now, during and after the May Day event, even if it’s just for a few hours. The President of the Penrith Lions details’, John Rogerson, are included with this article.
If you are a local business or organisation and you would like to sell the May Day programme which the Eden Local and Eden FM team is putting together on behalf of the Penrith Lions, please drop me a line or give me a call.
Much of what I am writing is about pure communication, focused on volunteers, voluntary groups and not for profit organisations, and how, for many years, they have been relied on for key tasks, many through small groups in delivering key strategies.
Communication is essential, and fundamentally at the base of everything we do. It still remains a two-way process. I illustrated this with an image of two tin cans and a piece of string connected to the bottom of each, with the open end of the tin used for speaking or listening. A few decades later, the tins were replaced with plastic and paper cups. A few decades later still, they were replaced by mobile phones.
Communication requires two key elements, via a number of channels. It can be verbal, visual, or some form of sound or written. Communication, for it to happen, requires a message to be sent. For communication to work, it requires acknowledgement that it has been received at the very least, and ideally a response.
What do you think happens when you send a text, but the reply comes back via another channel? For example, via one of five social media channels. I could say welcome to my life,
but like food, everyone has their favourite, and communication is the same, but with so many ways of communicating, it’s become fragmented through so many channels. We can generally only watch one channel at a time on TV, but how many lines of communication do we have open?
On 1st April, Eden District Council will stop functioning. We have got key changes presented on pages 20 – 21 from Penrith Town Council about this. For those still not sure of why we have a town council in Penrith, I could say wait and see. However, what I would say since it was set up, is that Eden District Council never followed the process of devolution and never released key assets that generate income to support the community of Penrith and many of the villages around it.
The next six to twelve months are very important in the future of Penrith and those around it that depend on it. It starts with the first Penrith town election, without a District Council election on 4th May 2023.
I’ll be back getting you ready for May as early as 12th April, and if everything goes to plan, I’ll be out with the Penrith Lions promoting the 40th Carnival with other members of Eden FM.
Take care out there
Lee
Phone: 01768 862394
Email: lee@cumbrianlocal.co.uk
www.cumbrianlocal.co.uk
Cumbrian Local Publications Ltd
Home based business, Penrith CA11 8
Monday - Saturday: 5.30pm - 9.15pm Sunday: 12.30pm - 8.30pm
Watch as our team of chefs transform ingredients into tempting dishes in the heart of the dining room. Bringing elements of the kitchen out in to the restaurant, enjoy the theatre and excitement as you wait.
Every Day from 12pm to 4pm
A selection of finger sandwiches, homemade sausage roll and chutney, warm scones, cakes and sweet treats. From £26.95 per person
Friday 16th June, from 7.30pm
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Friday 15th September, from 7.30pm
Dance the night away with a live performance tribute act, George Michael Live. Includes a delicious two course meal. £42 per person
To book call the Events Team on 01768 868111 or email events@northlakeshotel.co.uk
by Lee Quinn
I would say it’s an overlooked Community Group, that runs 24 hours a day 365 days of the year. Do you know who they are? They have supported pretty much every local group and charity in Penrith and many of the towns and villages around them, up to a 25-mile radius and even as far as 45 miles away reporting sport! Before Lockdown, they we out and about in the community they served.
It’s the first time in a while I have actually written about this team solely. These people are part of a great team, committed to the community. No prizes, awards or recognition for what they achieve or continue to do. In fact, the last time I wrote about them, they attempted a Guinness World Record, with 300 people, with some fantastic support from friends. Unfortunately, due to a technical problem, they didn’t get the record that day, but experience of not achieving inspires the team to have another go on another day.
Set up as an organisation in July 2010, they had a strategy that meant following an application process that would take four years to obtain a licence to do what they do. This came with a lot of conditions that mean that as a requirement, they had to be a not-for-profit Ltd company and they could not be a charity.
They also have to have several industry licences associated with what they do, insurances and key conditions and rules in delivering what they do and how they do it, week on week, year on year. Taking into consideration all that I’ve mentioned, their income as a condition of licencing is also capped in areas to prevent them from being a commercial entity.
In order to do what they do from an energy point of view, they raise funds to be switched on 24 hours every day and can never be switched off. The senior team has an element of on call duties as volunteers. The equipment use has to be of a high specification, custom built with endurance run 24 hours every day. These key components have to be made to order, which can take 6 to 12 weeks and most of the equipment they have has been sanitised within an inch of its life!
The Eden Local magazine was actually created to launch this organisation as a project in 2010, to recruit its first team so it could switch on in 2011. In 2014 this small team of local people produced leaflets and even a free newspaper to support the need of raising awareness that the town of Penrith would need a town council to prepare it for a unitary system.
Continued on page 13
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by Lee Quinn
I’ve written about it, and I have talked about it, but as I write this reminder, I am just 55 days away from the biggest and longest-running signature event in the History of Penrith. As you start reading this, it might be 35 days or less, but it is happening and this traditional family day where there is something for everybody will be upon us before you realise it!
As early as the August 2022 Eden Local, this year’s carnival was announced. It was the first August Eden Local since 2019, and our last May Carnival was on 6th May 2019. I was there with the Eden FM team by the Musgrave Clock. It started out bright, but didn’t we get wet as the day progressed? Looking ahead to 1st May 2023, the long-range weather forecast is dry, 15 degrees with the odd cloud.
There was a time when we would say come rain or shine, the Carnival carries on. The first Lions May Carnival was on 4th May 1981 and I can tell you that Bucks Fizz with ‘Making your mind up’ was No1 in the Charts, after winning the Eurovision Contest - that back then was on 4th April. Unfortunately, I haven’t got much history on the first Carnival at the moment. Maybe you can help? Were you there? Do you have a programme or a relative who was there?
The Penrith Lions was established in 1975, but as mentioned, the first Carnival came six years later. If anyone has got any history they can share about the Penrith Lions during this time, I would really appreciate any thing you have. For now, my research is into the history of the Carnival event for the 40th Carnival Anniversary, because as I’ve learnt and discovered, there was one year when it was moved to August.
Telling you too much about what I know might spoil the 40th anniversary quiz featured in the 40th anniversary programme. It’s a masterpiece of print history! Just recently I was given a 2nd May 1983 eight-page programme printed on pink paper, one of many colours used, and styles. In the pink programme was the previous landline owner of my phone number! Of course, it only had five numbers then.
In 1983 there was the Children’s Sports on Sunday 1st May on the Foundry Field. As I said, I would love to tell you more, but in the May Day programme this year is the history of the Penrith Lions previous Carnivals, and as we prepare for 2023, this not just the return of this event, but the laying of the foundations for the 2024 Carnival and the 50th anniversary of the Penrith Lions in 2025.
I am still in search of all the May Queens from 1981. I know of 23, based on the programmes I have, but I am missing the following programmes, which I need to copy and recreate for something special. They Penrith Lions Carnival programmes
I’m am looking to borrow from the 80s are;- 1981, 82, 84, 85, 86, 87 and 88. From the 1990’s are 1991, 92, 94, 96 more recently 2010 its 2011, 12 and 15. If you can help, my contact details are on page 4.
Can
More volunteers are needed to assist with helping the Penrith Lions, before, during and after this event. It you can spare a few hours, half a day, or an evening, please let the Penrith Lions know.
6.30 pm Thursday 13th April in Penrith, the Penrith Lions are inviting those interested in helping out for this event as things get finalised for the big day. Can you help?
The venue will be confirmed nearer the time, but for more details please contact John Rogerson via email at rogersonjohn@talktalk. net or via mobile 07748 442280. Thank you.
Finesse Jewellery has moved, but not far. We have moved from our location at 43 Middlegate in Penrith just two doors into our sister business Finesse Bridal at number 40. All of 7 metres.
Combining both businesses into the one shop means not only our jewellery business remains but we can also reopen Bridal after the disruption caused by covid.
It has been wonderful to hear from our regular customers that they are glad we are continuing and wishing us well.
Much of the ground floor consists of our jewellery range and continues in the pre-loved vein of traditional, vintage and antique and with more space allows us to get more items on display.
We are still buying, selling on commission or part exchanging jewellery items of all designs.
Having won the English Business Awards “Best Bridal Boutique in Cumbria” the effect of the Co-vid pandemic set up back and are only now reopening fully.
A small range of wedding dresses are displayed on the ground floor, a larger range of are on our first and second floors…. The dress you try, is what you get, (so no disappointments)…and we have a wonderful seamstress who will alter or personalise!
Please feel free to come and browse, or book an appointment. We are open during the week, with the exception of Wednesday and Sunday.
We will also be able to make ‘out of hours appointments, within reason, to accommodate brides who have restricted time availability.
Welcome to our monthly look up to the night skies and the first of the planets in our Solar System and the one with the fastest and shortest orbit around the Sun. Mercury is a unique planet of extremes with enormous and dramatic changes in temperature as it rotates on its almost vertical axis. It is a rocky planet with a solid surface, which like Earth, Venus and Mars is covered in craters so looks very much like our moon. Because the planet has very little atmosphere it has little defence against the impact of objects hurtling through space which has resulted in around 763 craters, all of which have been named after famous artists, musicians and writers including Wren and Monet, Bach and Puccini, Shakespeare and Dr Seuss!
As the closest planet to the sun it experiences extremes of temperature due to its very slow rotation. Days on Mercury are very long because the planet turns very slowly but it has a very fast and egg-shaped orbit meaning that one Mercury year takes 88 Earth days (if you lived on the planet you’d have a birthday every three months!) This also makes for unusual sunrises and sunsets. In some places on the planet the sun appears to rise for a short time, sets and rises again. This happens at sunset too with the Sun appearing to set twice.
Equivalent size (if the Earth was the size of a cherry tomato!) A pea
Equator circumference: 15,329 km (9,525 miles)
Radius/Diameter: 2,440 km (1,516 miles)/4,880 km (3,032 miles)
Distance from the Sun: 58,000,000 km (36,039,529m) miles
Day length: 59 Earth days
Year length: 88 Earth days
Temperature: from -180° to 430°
Made of: This planet consists of silicate rocks and metals and is made largely of iron. The exosphere (thin atmosphere) is made mostly of Oxygen, Sodium, Hydrogen, Helium and Potassium. It is
unlikely to support life as we know it because of the extreme temperatures and solar radiation.
Features: If you were able to stand on Mercury’s surface the Sun would appear more than three times larger than it does on Earth and would be seven times brighter. It has no moons because the gravitational pull of the Sun would drag them out of the planet’s orbit. Although Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun it is not the hottest; that honour goes to Venus which is much hotter due to its very dense atmosphere.
Mercury is visible to the naked eye so it is difficult to say exactly when it was ‘discovered’ however it was first observed through telescopes in the 17th century by astronomers Galileo Galilei and Thomas Harriot.
Mythology: Mercury is the Roman name for the Greek god Hermes and was the god of commerce, merchants and communication. He was also the messenger of the gods known for his speed and swiftness. He is often depicted wearing winged shoes and hat. This led to the naming of the planet because of its extremely fast orbit around the Sun.
Mercury is the least explored planet. Only two missions launched by NASA have been sent to Mercury. These were both robotic spacecraft; Mariner 10 launched in 1973 and was able to send images back to earth of about 45% of the surface before the mission ended in 1975. MESSENGER was launched in 2004 entering orbit in 2011. The mission lasted for 4 years and collected enormous amounts of data and images before it was pulled onto the surface by the planet’s gravitational force ending the mission in 2015. Currently the European Space Agency mission BepiColumbo is on its way to Mercury to explore further and send more data back to earth.
Join me next month for the next planet on our journey through space!
By Pam WaggottReferences: www.nhm.ac.uk • www.funkidslive.com www.solarsystem.nasa.gov • www.britannica.com
For those of you who purchased a Penrith and Eden Valley Monopoly, you’ll probably remember how much work this team put in to creating this unique part of history.
Is this the kind of team you would like to join? You might like to help out how you can with the skills you have for a couple of hours a week or a month? Whether you are 8 or 98, we welcome people of all ages to the team! You’ll become part of a team that is committed to helping local groups, charities, other not for profit organisations and local businesses, to be seen and heard in the community they serve.
What comes next?
Well, the Group moved to a new site in November, and it’s doubled its output to reach more people in Eden, approximately 38,000. Do you want to join? You can even volunteer without leaving your home, workplace or school. It is looking to recruit volunteers in Penrith, Appleby, Alston and Kirkby Stephen for four new micro studio hubs. It is also
looking for groups of villages to set up clusters with 3 to 6 neighbouring hamlets and villages via pop up studios through IP addresses.
It is all connected via the main studio, enabling the hubs to connect with Eden on a regular, shared schedule, with regular local news, events and stories, at least once a month.
This group is hoping that the five secondary schools in the Eden Valley consider doing one show a week live from their school, as an after school, homework slot that can be recorded, then loaded and played for all to hear, which the team can set up. It would like groups to come forward and spread the word about what they do at least once a month - this could be wildlife, events, music, sport, local news, hobbies and/or a campaign.
You can find out more about this by firstly recognising who this group is on the front cover and secondly using the contact details on page 4 to find out more.
Have you heard of them? Would you like to be a part of Connecting our Community?
Annual increases to the National Living Wage (NLW) and the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will take effect from 1 April, but are you prepared and making the necessary changes?
Whilst employers are not required to advise employees of the changes to NLW and NMW rates and how they may affect them, it is probably a good idea to let them know in advance, to avoid numerous queries.
So, what should you be paying from 1 April 2023 in terms of NLW, to ensure you are compliant?
• NLW is payable to workers aged 23 and over, and will rise to £10.42 (currently £9.50)
From 1 April 2023, the following rates will be applicable for most workers under the age of 23. The different age bands are as follows:
• The adult rate for workers aged 21 to 22 will rise to £10.18 (currently £9.18)
• The youth development rate for workers aged 18 to 20 will rise to £7.49 (currently £6.83)
• The young workers rate for those aged 16 to 17 will rise to £5.28 (currently £4.81)
• The apprentice rate will also rise to £5.28 (currently £4.81)
Don’t forget it is against the law for employers to pay workers less than the NMW or NLW and there can be serious penalties for breaches.
Also remember that there may be reasons why your staff may not actually be receiving the correct, minimum rates of pay. This could be:
• where your staff are required to purchase part, or all of their uniform themselves
• where your staff are required to take unpaid breaks or attend meetings (unpaid)
• where you make deductions from staff wages for work-related events
• where you are offsetting staff ‘benefits in kind’ against their pay
With effect from 2 April 2023, the following statutory weekly rates will increase to £172.48 (currently £156.66):
• Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
• Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP)
• Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP)
• Shared Parental Pay (ShPP)
• Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay (SPBP)
In addition, with effect from 6 April 2023, please note Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will increase to £109.40 per week (currently £99.35 per week).
Whatever your employment-related query, I am here to help – able to offer advice and support and provide information as needed. The following are typically some of the areas I support businesses with:
Employee relations – disciplinaries, grievances, whistleblowing, bullying and harassment
Attendance issues – sickness related and other
Performance issues – appraisals, managing poor performance and capability
Staff Handbooks – policies, procedures and standards
Employment documents – particulars of employment (employment contracts) and any other employment-related documents
Recruitment and selection – recruitment activities, job descriptions and recruitment documentation
Pay and benefits – pay structures and job evaluation
Reorganisation and redundancy
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Management Training/Coaching
Advice and support can be provided on an ad hoc basis or through a retainer service, where for a small fixed, monthly fee, you can access support as and when you need it.
I’d be delighted to hear from you, whether you need some immediate advice or whether you would like to discuss ongoing support.
Email:
PENRITH - 15 Apr PENRITH PLAYHOUSE
RHYL - 30 Apr RHYL LITTLE THEATRE
MACCLESFIELD - 12 May MADS THEATRE
COLNE - 19 May PENDLE HIPPODROME
LIVERPOOL - 26 &27th May HOPE STREET THEATRE
A brand new stage show featuring all the best loved Irish ballads and trad favourites premieres in the North West this Spring, as part of a twenty three venue UK TOUR for 2023. And all the cast and crew are northwest based also making this a very special production for a region with so many Irish connections and heritage.
The show is a fully staged production with set, costumes, props, narration, poetry, music and song and will appeal to not only those with Irish blood but also those who love all things Irish. Who isn’t moved by beautiful ballads such as ‘Danny
Boy’, ‘Town I Loved So Well’, ‘I’ll Take You Home Again Kathleen’ and who can resist toe tapping and clapping along to songs such as ‘Galway Girl’, ‘Tell Me Ma’, ‘The Wild Rover’ and ‘Black Velvet Band’ to name just a few.
The cast features Morgan Wild (The Wizard of Oz / Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf / Rapunzel); Tom Loughlin (Carmen the Opera / The Devil Rides Out musical / Cinderella); Julie Proctor (Ramsbottom Concert Orchestra / Bolton Symphony Orchestra / Ribble Valley Jazz Festival); Michelle Victoria Riley (Ada / Birdsong in Bedlam / Hearts Hands and Cake); Tom
Collins (Edinburgh Festival / Cannon and Ball show / Keeping It Country TV); and Ryan Ireland (Celtic Christmas tour / The Devil Rides Out musical / Rock’n’Roll Roadshow UK Tour)
The role of Dara, our soprano is played by some outstanding singers on the northwest spring tour - Shelley Anne Rivers [Salford/Rhyl/Liverpool] fresh from her appearance on ITV Starstruck as Judy Garland, as well as Rebecca Casey [Blackpool], Gabrielle Dams [Penrith], Sinead D’Abreu Hayling [Macclesfield] and Millie Green [Colne].
March always brings out everything that Irish and the tour opens on 31st of March in Salford at The Empty Space Theatre, but continues into April and May with performances at Showboat Blackpool 10th April, Penrith Playhouse 15th April, Rhyl Little Theatre 30th April, Mads Theatre Macclesfield 12th May, Pendle Hippodrome Colne 19th May and two dates at Liverpool’s Hope Street Theatre on 26th and 27th May.
So join us on a journey across the Irish Sea to hear about the mass emigration, the effects of the famine, the building of the titanic, the 1916 rising, and Irish music spreading across the world. With a fantastic cast of seven actor/singer/musicians all based in the northwest it really is a production that will showcase some of the wonderful talent in the region.
H & H Land & Estates are delighted to bring to the market
The Garth, a smallholding with five bedrooms, stabling, riding arena, and approximately 2.2 acres of land. Situated near Appleby-in-Westmorland, this is that rare type of property, rural, move in ready and with working from home space and its very own cinema room.
A high angle view of a house
Description automatically generated with low confidenceInternally and externally The Garth is wonderfully appointed and perfect for someone who would enjoy the great outdoors and a spacious, flexible living space.
Registered as a small holding this property comes to the market with three stables, a riding arena, tack room, feed room, double garage, and a range of outbuildings. In total
the property covers c.2.2 acres, the grassland being split into two paddocks, one with a field shelter.
With a guide price of £775.000, The Garth is for sale by private treaty through the Penrith office of H&H Land & Estates.
Kate Patrick, Head of Estate Agency for H&H Land and Estates commented: “Properties such as The Garth are increasingly few and far between, and here in Cumbria we are seeing no decline in the number of purchasers looking for a change in lifestyle and to own a few acres.
“Recent times have shown more and more people looking for a work/lifestyle balance and this property ticks all those boxes. The Garth is a perfect property to meet the increasing demand of those wishing to work from home. They can enjoy the
great outdoors combined with a contemporary living space. The equestrian facilities are extensive and have the potential to provide a range of alternative uses.”
The house itself has five double bedrooms, four of which have ensuite shower rooms, a family bathroom and an impressive 28’ reception dining room with bi-folding doors to the enclosed, raised terrace. The farmhouse kitchen has an electrically converted AGA, powered by solar PV, which complements the Biomass central heating system. Outside there is additional accommodation in a Norwegian Spruce log cabin which has a wood burning stove.
For further information or to arrange a viewing please call the Penrith H&H Land and Estates office on 01768 840619 or email penrith@hhlandestates.co.uk.
We are delighted to announce the launch of our dedicated in-house Environment & Forestry Team to provide clients with fully integrated support, complementing our well established and highly respected land agency specialists.
We are delighted to announce the launch of our dedicated in-house Environment & Forestry Team to provide clients with fully integrated support, complementing our well established and highly respected land agency specialists.
The move reflects the accelerating shift in Government policy that puts environmental sustainability ever more firmly at the heart of the UK’s farming, forestry, and land management future.
The move reflects the accelerating shift in Government policy that puts environmental sustainability ever more firmly at the heart of the UK’s farming, forestry, and land management future.
Leading this specialist team as Head of Environment & Forestry is Tracey Jackson, H&H Land & Estates Associate
Leading this specialist team as Head of Environment & Forestry is Tracey Jackson, H&H Land & Estates Associate
and Chartered Surveyor.
and Chartered Surveyor.
Already providing a full range of professional farm, land and forestry management services to our clients, the comprehensive expertise of a dedicated Environment team adds a major new dimension of value to the business and our growing client base, to meet the demands of changing policy and emerging opportunities.
Already providing a full range of professional farm, land and forestry management services to our clients, the comprehensive expertise of a dedicated Environment team adds a major new dimension of value to the business and our growing client base, to meet the demands of changing policy and emerging opportunities.
If you’d like to speak with our team, we have offices in:
Working alongside our Land Agency team and property division, our Environment & Forestry team will help clients across the full spectrum of environmental challenges in land and project management, ensuring that all opportunities are maximised, and legislative and compliance requirements are met.
Working alongside our Land Agency team and property division, our Environment & Forestry team will help clients across the full spectrum of environmental challenges in land and project management, ensuring that all opportunities are maximised, and legislative and compliance requirements are met.
• Carlisle
If you’d like to speak with our team, we have offices in:
• Penrith
• Carlisle
• Kendal
• Penrith
• Cockermouth
• Kendal
• Durham
• Cockermouth
• Durham
Contact our experts today for advice on grants and schemes, common land, biodiversity net gain updates, nutrient neutrality, forestry and woodland management and more.
Contact our experts today for advice on grants and schemes, common land, biodiversity net gain updates, nutrient neutrality, forestry and woodland management and more.
Visit our website today
hhlandestates.co.uk
Visit our website today hhlandestates.co.uk
5.30pm – 7.00pm
You are invited to attend if you are a local government elector and on the electoral role for Penrith. (LGA 1972 s 13(1)). The Annual Town Meeting is your opportunity to meet councillors, raise issues and find out what is happening in your town.
Welcome from Councillor Charlie Shepherd, Mayor of Penrith. Minutes
Receive the minutes of the Annual Town Meeting 11 April 2022.
Have Your say and Ask Questions about your town
Questions must be submitted to the Town Council by midday on 17 April to enable a response to be given at the meeting.
Guest Speaker: Cumbria Wildlife Trust
Cumbria Wildlife Trust will give a short presentation on the plans they have for the land gifted to them at Coldsprings.
Meet Community Groups who help sustain Penrith
The following community groups who carry out work in and for Penrith will be in attendance:
• Lions Club of Penrith
• Penrith Rotary
• Community Gardeners
• Eden Rivers Trust
• Penrith Beekeepers
Come and meet them, see what they do and whether you would like to join them.
Councillor Charlie Shepherd, Mayor of Penrith
Held in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12, Part II
Local government reorganisation in Cumbria is here, which means the current six district councils and Cumbria County Council will be replaced by two new unitary authorities.
Copeland, Allerdale and Carlisle will form the new Cumberland Council and Eden, South Lakeland and Barrow will form the new Westmorland & Furness.
For Penrith residents (and those in the Eden Valley), this means that all of the functions of Eden District Council and Cumbria County Council will be merged and operated by Westmorland & Furness.
Change can often be confusing, so we have pulled a list together outlining the functions of the new Westmorland and Furness Council:
Formerly EDEN DISTRICT COUNCIL responsibility
Formerly CUMBRIA COUNTY COUNCIL responsibility
WESTMORLAND & FURNESS COUNCIL
• Building control
• Car parking and on and off-street parking enforcement
• Council Tax and Benefits
• Electoral services
• Environmental services e.g. noise, pest control
• Housing services
• Planning
• Licensing and street trading
• Markets
• Recycling and refuse collection
• Sport and Leisure centres
• Street cleaning and dealing with fly tipping
• Town centre management
With Local Government Reorganisation we are hopeful that more assets will be devolved To Penrith Town Council. You have told us that you would like the Town Council to be responsible for:
• Buildings such as the Town Hall, Tourist Information Centre, Museum, and toilets.
• Facilities such as sports grounds, the leisure centre and pitches, public parks, Castle Park, playgrounds and open spaces including churchyards and flower beds.
• Town centre assets such as car parks, New Squares, events and development
The Town Council has raised this with the new unitary Council expressing an interest in these services and looks forward to working collaboratively with Westmorland and Furness Council for effective asset transfer.
• Blue/car badges
• Children’s services
• Concessionary travel
• Education and schools
• Emergency planning
• Health and social care
• Highways, including potholes, signage and gritting
• Libraries and archives
• Public rights of way
• Public transport services
• Registration of births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships
• Strategic planning and some planning applications
• Trading Standards
• Transport
• Waste Recycling Centres
Parishes, 136 wards, 33 9 town councils 107 parish councils, 107 And 65 unitary Councillors
www.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk
Badgers have called Britain their home for 250,000 years, living alongside humans and other native plants and animals for all that time. They once once co-existed with wolves, brown bears, arctic foxes, and wolverines, all of which once roamed Britain! Today’s badgers are now Britain's largest land predator.
Their long history in Britain makes badgers a key part of our natural heritage. The cultural significance of badgers can be traced through place names throughout the nation – have you ever strolled along a Badger Way or ambled down Brock Lane?
Badgers are members of the family Mustelidae, which includes otters, wolverines, polecats, ferrets, martens, and weasels.
In the UK, badgers live in mixedsex groups of between four and eight animals in underground 'setts'. A social group living together in the same sett is also known as a 'clan'.
Badger setts are an underground network of tunnels and chambers. They vary from occasionally used "outliers", which often have single entranced tunnels, to larger, ancient underground complexes with multiple entrances. Many setts can take years to create and are passed down through generations –some setts can be more than 100 years old. These are the family homes, used, maintained and enlarged by generations of the same social group.
A badger’s sense of smell is a particularly important sense as it plays a vital role in communication. Badgers have several scent glands which
produce a variety of odours, used for distributing information like warning signals and mating status. They are also used to tighten bonds between social groups, with studies suggesting that clan members have similar scents. Badgers also deposit scents in their feces and will typically defecate in shallow dug pits known as latrines, which are found on territorial boundaries.
The diet of a badger is extremely varied, with badgers being described by expert Professor Tim Roper as "opportunistic omnivores". Earthworms are the core of the badger's diet, often by as much as 60 per cent. In a single night, an adult badger may eat well over 200 worms!
Badgers mate at almost any time of the year, but due to an unusual reproductive technique, known as delayed implantation, they have only one litter a year. Litter size ranges from one to five cubs, with two or three the more common number. Cubs are born in chambers lined with bedding material that the females (sows) gather and drag into the breeding chamber. Straw, hay, grass, fern are all commonly used, which keep the cubs warm.
It is currently cub season!
Most cubs are born in early to mid-February and will emerge above ground at around 12 weeks. At 16 weeks, cubs will be displaying most adult social behaviours, including grooming and scent marking.
The badger can grow up to 1 metre in size and has loosely fitting skin, which makes it difficult for an antagonist to get a firm grip of the badger in a fight. A thick layer of subcutaneous (under the skin) fat develops during autumn in order for the badger to live off fat reserves when going into torpor during winter.
Body weight of adult badgers is variable and can depend on several factors; the differing seasons, the area in which they live, the amount of food available and their age. Badgers are at their heaviest in late autumn as they fatten up for winter. They then feed less, spend more time inactive underground, and their weight falls away. Sows (females) are at their lightest after giving birth around February.
The short dark and white hair on the face gives the UK badger (Meles meles; European or Eurasian badger) its iconic striped features, with black ears tipped in white. Badger cubs are born with very light silvery hairs and after a few days the facial stripes appear; they then develop to have the same markings as adults.
There are other forms of pigmentation within the badger population including Albino (white with pink eyes), Leucistic (loss of pigmentation, black eyes), Erythristic (sandy, gingery colour) and Melanistic (mainly black and very rare).
Anthropogenic (human-induced) activity is the leading cause of species decline in Britain, and badgers are no exception. Badgers and their setts are protected in law.
The 1992 Protection of Badgers Act was initiated due to the unprecedented levels of speciestargeted persecution, in the form of badger baiting and digging, faced by these unassuming nocturnal mammals. The Protection of Badgers Act is concerned with animal welfare as a priority, compared with the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which focuses more explicitly on wildlife conservation.
The rapid rise of property and road development across England and Wales means that Planning and Development now represent one of the most significant risks to local badger populations. The Protection of Badgers Act (1992) strictly prohibits any malicious or negligent act which disturbs badgers or their homes (setts)
In addition, every year, an estimated 50,000 badgers are killed on our roads. Badger Trust collates reports of road traffic casualties to identify hot spots where mitigation should be placed or identify new setts. Occasionally the prompt investigation of road traffic collisions reveals the presence of orphaned cubs nearby. Badger Trust and local Badger Groups keep data on road deaths and this data can be crucial in helping badgers locally.
Whilst badgers are one of the most persecuted native species in Britain, the good news is that there is space for badgers and humans to live sustainably, side by side. If we take positive steps to value badgers as equally deserving of a safe home, food, and space to roam, we can create a sustainable future for badgers and humans to thrive.
As a living symbol of the British countryside, these secretive and mysterious mustelids continue to bring joy to those lucky enough to encounter them in the wild. And badgers play an integral and
Their role as ecosystem engineers contributes to habitat heterogeneity and promotes biodiversity. Badgers maintain and regenerate soil health through foraging and sett building, and they help to disperse seeds through their dung. They create new habitats for amphibians, invertebrates and pollinators, small mammals, plants, and fungi, and their setts provide refuge for other wildlife too. All of these elements are vital for healthy ecosystems.
Badger Champions are needed now more than ever as biodiversity threats continue to impact badgers and their habitats.
Badger Trust has an affiliated network of over 50 local badger groups, all run by volunteers and all working to deliver services to help badgers on the ground. This ‘badger army’ is a lifeline for badgers, as the volunteers who give their time and energy to provide services help and often save badgers –here and now.
Badger Groups are involved in all aspects of educating about badgers on a local level and can include activities such as; sett surveying, recording, and monitoring; offering advice and information, talks and educational resources to schools and the local community; the rescue of injured badgers; running stalls and fundraising at events; responding to threats to badgers, their setts and habitats by commenting on planning applications; working with other local organisations, supporting Badger Trust on their national campaigns and much more.
We are looking to set up a new group in this area. The group will have full support from Badger Trust. Groups Co-ordinator (groups@badgertrust.org.uk).
Penrith, its modern name is a corruption from either Penrhyd, meaning headland by the ford probably referring to the river crossing below its slopes at Brougham or Penrhudd, meaning “Red headland” referring to the bright red sandstone of its geological makeup. The latter interpretation is often seen as the correct one and pronunciation does support this it is simply impossible to say. Rather than meaning “hill” Pen means a headland and, in this case, refers to the position of the hill at the head of the sandstone Triassic ridge. There is no archaeological evidence of any major pre or post-Roman settlement in the area now covered by the town of Penrith, the hill probably had a few small farmsteads on it but the area of what is now the town centre was mostly marsh fed by several small streams. Just to the north of the modern town in the area now called Thacka is a flat basin which during the 9th century was a shallow tarn which over the centuries has silted up but would have once offered fishing resources. Penrith is comprised of distinct areas the earliest archaeological evidence for settlement in Penrith is its monastic centre dating to the 9th century. There are several names within Penrith of Norse origin; Scaws, Thacka (originally Thackhay yat) Sandgate and Middlegate, Wetherriggs and Pategill (Patghyll in Cumbric). Scaws is potentially an early settlement site, it sits on a small plateau on the slope of Penrith. Scaws is a corruption and the Norse word Skali meaning “main hall”. It would be logical for a Norse settlement to be placed there it was next to the Roman road and the slope
of the hill gave the site good drainage.
Penrith was originally a collection of small Norse/ British settlements and farmsteads surrounding the wet and marshy low ground around Dog Beck and Strickland Beck with the monastic site taking up the low but raised ground around St Andrews and Friar Gate.
Penrith is notable for the number of street names ending in “gate” this is the Norse word for Street or road. Thacka in the past known as Thackhay Gate comes from the Norse word Virki Hay (meaning make hay) and probably refers to the old hay meadows that once existed there.
Penrith’s origins as a town are entirely Norse this was also proven when DNA test revealed that
the town has the largest proportion of Norse descendance in England while York has the largest proportion of Danish descendance. The evidence of this can also be seen in the old local dialect which is largely based on old Norse.
The Norse had originally entered Cumbria as raiders under the leader of the Great Viking Army, Ivar the Boneless and his brother Hafdan. It was Hafdan who allegedly attacked the monastery at Dacre causing the monks to move east and establish a new monastery at Penrith in the mid to later 9th century. Surviving pieces of stone work such as the stone cross which now sits near the entrance to St Andrews Church support this date. Ivar went on to establish some of Cumberland and all of Westmorland into part of his kingdom which included the east of Ireland, the Isle of Man, Cumbria and the Outer Hebrides. There is name place evidence to remember Ivar, such as Ivegill or Ivars stream.
At some unknown date the town took on the name of its hill “Penrith” and the hill locally became known as Beacon Hill. Penrith has a unique history in Britain, not only does it have strong Norse roots but its area played a major
role in the creation of England. Brougham and Maybrough Henge are the nations birthplace, the river Eamont was the border between England and the kingdom of Strathclyde then from 1018 to 1091 the border between England and Scotland. Penrith became the first town travellers came to in Scotland yet besides this its people and culture remained strongly Norse.
Penrith today make little of its amazing early history and roots and perhaps it should celebrate them more.
If you have an interest in the Viking Period there is a new Viking re-enactment group called the Black Wolves who are a national group and now have a branch in Cumbria. If you are interested in joining or for more details then contact me at josephjackson1969@yahoo.co.uk
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Biodiversity is a word that we hear a lot but at home garden level it is interesting to consider what it means and how it impacts us day-to-day. The World Wildlife Organisation tells us it is “all the different kinds of life you’ll find in one area—the variety of animals, plants, fungi, and even microorganisms like bacteria that make up our natural world.” In gardening we can all do our bit. One of the problems is the disconnect between habitats particularly in built up areas so even small growing spaces help.
Top tips
• Try and cope with common enemies like slugs and snails without resorting to pesticides –these all help to maintain the biodiversity and provide vital food for some birds and hedgehogs for example.
• Plant a tree – even in a pot. I think there is a tree for every space so take a look later in the article for ideas for containers.
• Plant pollinator-friendly plants.
• Add water to your garden – I love a wildlife pond and it doesn’t have to be too big.
• Lawns aren’t all bad – why not try ‘no mow’ May this year?
• Hedgehog highways – did you know a hedgehog can travel around a mile a night?!
• Feed the birds especially in winter.
• Have a wild patch – if you have a big enough garden let a part grow wild, sow a wildlife meadow or have a pile of logs as a ‘bug hotel’ in a small area.
Trees for pots
• Ginkgo biloba – the maidenhair tree is one of the oldest living tree species, lovely in a pot and great autumn colour.
• Fruit trees can do well iespecially apples (e.g. ‘Discovery’ AGM) and pears (e.g. ‘Concorde’).
• Acers - Japanese maples have many smaller forms, with the advantage that you can have the right acidic soil in a pot even if your garden soil isn’t. There’s a fabulous array of leaf colours to choose from.
• Dwarf flowering cherries e.g Prunus incisa ‘Kojo-no-mai’ which flowers in early March.
• Citrus trees which otherwise wouldn’t grow in this climate, in a container can be moved inside in winter.
You will need to care for the container tree: water it regularly and in spring take of 5cm of compost from the top and replace, and feed it with a fertiliser. At some point over the years it will become impractical to repot it so instead rootprune it in spring replacing the compost.
Go wild in the garden and have some fun!
© 2023 Karen Roberts Garden Design
There is surely no other bird whose call is so instantly familiar, and so entwined with the season, as the cuckoo. The sound of the male bird calling its own name is a welcome traditional herald of spring not only in Cumbria, but across much of the northern hemisphere.
This is certainly a bird that is more often heard than seen, as referenced in the opening lines of Cumberland’s own William Wordsworth’s poem To the Cuckoo:
“O blithe New-comer! I have heard, I hear thee and rejoice.
O Cuckoo! shall I call thee Bird, Or but a wandering Voice?”
Famously, cuckoos do not rear their own young. They are known as brood parasites, meaning that the adult female lays an egg in the nest of another bird – in Britain, usually a reed warbler, dunnock or meadow pipit.
The host birds will occasionally remove the
cuckoo egg from the nest, or abandon their clutch altogether, but more often than not they will incubate the new egg and rear the chick that hatches out, even as the young cuckoo grows to a size far greater than that of the adult host bird. The sight of a 12g reed warbler placing a caterpillar into the gaping mouth of a 100g cuckoo is nothing short of a natural wonder.
Cuckoos spend only a few months in Britain each year; most of their time is spent in sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, most of the cuckoos that breed in Britain share their wintering grounds with leopards, elephants, lions, chimpanzees and gorillas in the rainforests of the Congo.
Like those African species, the cuckoo’s population is in steep decline. There are likely to be several reasons for this.
Climate change has an impact. With warmer weather earlier in the year, host birds tend to start laying eggs earlier now than they did in the past, but cuckoos are not returning to the UK any earlier. As a result, by the time they arrive it is often too late to find a host nest.
Cuckoos rely on insects, their diet mostly comprising moth caterpillars, and it is well known that insect numbers are not what they used to be. There is also general habitat loss in the UK, the Congo and across their migration route. Conservation and an increase in wild areas are needed if this iconic bird is to continue to be our herald of spring.
Chris ScaifeYoung and adult cuckoos eat all kinds of insects, but hairy caterpillars are their favourites!
Cuckoos are sometimes mistaken for sparrowhawks due to their markings: blue-grey backs and heads, with striped, dark grey and white undersides. They have long tails and pointed wings and a hawk-like shape in flight.
You’re most likely to hear cuckoos calling from March to August.
In most languages the cuckoo is named after its call: in France it’s known as the coucou, in Holland koekoek, in Germany kuckuk, in Russia kukush-ka and in Japan kak-ko.
Playing bowls offers you all of the following:
Opportunities to meet new friends in the community and expand your social group.
A new challenge in your life
A different way to enjoy time spent outside
A team activity with potential health benefits
Improved fitness from gentle exercise
Improved co-ordination and skill development
Improved confidence and self esteem
We are repeating our offer for to you to join us at our Jumbles sessions held every Wednesday evening at 6.45 and every Friday afternoon at 1.45 throughout the season. Sessions start on Wednesday April 19th.
Participation in any group sport is largely acknowledged to make a positive impact on our happiness, on our mental and physical health and on our overall wellbeing.
Playing bowls is widely recommended by GP’s and by the British Heart Foundation. Medical benefits are said to include: -
year only without necessarily joining.
Improved flexibility
Improved muscle strength
Mental stimulation
Stimulation of Cardio benefits which promote a healthy heart
Gentle physical activity is known to be good for stress relief
BOWLS IS A SOCIAL SPORT SUITABLE FOR ALL AGES AND LEVELS OF FITNESS
It’s a contact free sport making it perfect for any age, sex, or ability.
It can be played for recreation, relaxation, competition or just socially. It brings people together in all its formats.
It can be a great family game.
It offers a gentle way to get active.
What other sport enables play between grandparent & grandchild?
If you are interested in exploring the possibilities you are welcome to join us at Lazonby Bowling Club either as a full subscribing member* or, if you have not previously taken advantage of the scheme, at our Jumbles sessions for one
We charge just £2 per session and on average we play for about 75 minutes. Afterwards, for a nominal cost of 50p, you can stay and enjoy tea or coffee, biscuits and a chat with your new or old friends. We can lend you a set of bowls BUT TO PROTECT THE PLAYING SURFACE YOU MUST BRING AND CHANGE INTO PREDOMINANTLY FLAT SOLED SHOES.
*You may apply to join us as a full subscribing member for an annual fee of £45 which gets access to all Club activities.
Don’t miss this opportunity at Lazonby Bowling Club to try social or competitive bowls and meet some new friends.
There are no upper or lower age limits to play the game.
NB. All Bowling Clubs will welcome enquiries from none members but other Clubs will have different introductory offers. If Lazonby is not convenient you can find your nearest Club on www.bowlsengland.com Just tap on the “Play Bowls” drop down index and then on “find a club”.
(Borrowed from J B Keats - almost)
