Introduction - One day I’ll get there Pages 5

Rubik cube or The Chambers of Secrets, we have the Red Herring Escape Rooms presented by Summer Latham. I am looking forward to testing this out with team Eden FM! Joining Eden Local this month we do have some new writers and some guest writers. One being a man with a talent to share with his first offing, ‘OKTOBERFEST’. Which you can find on Page 12; a Sonnet by Rex di Noci, the first of many. On my mind of course is Halloween and Bats! So, I first spoke to the Bat Conservation Trust, wait for it… in Battersea and from there I got to speak to Suzanne Collinson, the secretary of the local Cumberland Bat Group just minutes from my door. Thanks to Suzanne, as on pages 28 to 30 you’ll find out about our local bats but with the story starting here, you’ll have an introduction from our youngest writer with a Passion for the past, as Rafferty explains how the Bats flew into our world many years ago. Whilst our October magazine will take us close to All Hallows Eve (which features on page 17), we are on the eve of our 13th November Eden Local, as we enter our 12th year for Eden Local which coincides with 10 years since Eden FM switched on for the first time. When pondering what to write about in this opening I had a look back at the first October issue, No 12. These are all available online and available in hardcopy to everyone. Being in developing publication we were presenting the first of many features on Jim Walton. On this occasion it was the story From Cattle to Cars. We did also feature a number of local food suppliers. Do you think of the colour orange at Halloween, I do? Let’s fly back to the October 2011. When once upon a time carrots were carrots and in fact dirty Carrots, from Carleton Hall Farm they were a seasonal vegetable not requiring CO2, or cold storage. Here is a clip and a memory trip taken from that article.

Take the dirty carrot and wash it. That’s the hard part over. Take one bright orange carrot that basically has done more miles than a month of school runs. Prepare both and try both just as they are. There will be a distinct taste. One might taste If you are cooking your carrot, chances are the dirty carrot, now clean, will be ready quicker. But why? It will have a much higher water content and won’t be a dehydrated vegetable prior to cooking, so it won’t need re-hydrating to bring back to life. Some supermarket carrots the day after they have been harvested are hydrocooled to around two degrees in iced water. This reduces decay and fungal attack. They are then packed and dispatched to the supermarket depot, which will then eventually arrive at the supermarket store. It will then go into the cold store, until it eventually comes out of the cold chain and onto the shelf.

At Carleton Hall Farm some people liked bright clean looking carrots. The alternative is the ‘dirty’ carrot, hand-picked, stored in the ground until they are needed, grown 2 minutes from the shop, just on the edge of Penrith. They are picked on the day, ready and displayed on sale without a hydrobath, making them dirty! The good news is I spoke to Emily today at Starfruits, they also featured in that 11th Eden Local and the dirty Carrots are now in the building. Alias for our new readers Carleton Hall Farm closed some years ago but for seasonal fruit, veg and pumpkins that have ribbons of flavour, alongside Local Honey, can be found at 9 Angel Square, Penrith. Happy Halloween, take care out there and remember I’ll be back before November!

Lee

Phone: 01768 862394

Email: lee@cumbrianlocal.co.uk www.cumbrianlocal.co.uk Cumbrian Local Publications Ltd, Suite 6, Cumbria House, Gilwilly Road, Penrith CA11 9FF