Craft Fair on Saturday

Come along to admire the crafts that people round here have carefully worked for the exhibition, meet up with friends and enjoy a cup of tea and cake in the small hall, start your Christmas shopping by buying one of the individually made items from one of the stalls in the big hall, and contribute to the running of the Village Hall, all at the same time. Entrance 50p.
2nd November 10am-4pm

Police call for extra care on longer nights

The October Police Report to the Parish Council on Monday highlighted the need for greater vigilance in longer, darker nights and poor weather, as these can be used to ‘cover’ crimes. Unusually, there was a crime recorded in Natland last month – theft from tools from a joiner’s van.

Thefts from farms and outbuildings remain the key focus in the area – as well as extra policing around half term, Halloween and Bonfire Night.

We have also been asked to publicise a ‘drop-in’ event with Richard Rhodes, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cumbria, in the Westmorland Shopping Centre on Wednesday 6 November between 2pm and 4pm. There will be BBC television cameras there and a chance to meet him and discuss policing issues.

St Mark’s Fold finally adopted!

To general relief and amazement, parish councillors at the October council meeting finally received notice from Cumbria County Council that St Mark’s Fold has been ‘adopted’. Adoption means that the Highways department of CCC has taken responsibility for maintenance of such things as street lights and also the Sedgwick Road footway (and its hedge pruning) which was part of the same development.

The Council has been lobbying for many years for this to take place, writing letters regularly to the relevant CCC officers and even summoning them to attend meetings to explain the reason for the delay.

Computer Virus

Message from Cumbria Constabulary and Cumbria Trading Standards

Cumbria Police and Trading Standards are reminding residents to beware of a computer virus which causes your computer "to freeze" and then an official looking message appears on your screen.  The message purports to be from the Police or Serious Crime Agency and implies that the computer has been used to view illegal sites or used for illegal activity such as pornography or money laundering.  The message states that you must pay £100 fine to unlock your computer.

Similar previous scams have purported to come from the Metropolitan British Police, West Yorkshire Police and Cheshire Constabulary.  The message mentions a number of ways to pay the fine, including by UKASH voucher, Payzone, E Pay logo and Pay Day Safe Card.  It contains authentic looking logos and a picture of HRH The Queen.

It is important to ensure that you have "malware protection" in order to reduce the risk of computer being infected.  Never respond to unsolicited emails or messages that ask for payment or bank account details.  Use only trusted websites and make sure your web browser is up to date.

Report the scam to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or report it online at www.actionfraud.police.uk

For general consumer advice on this or any other matter please contact Trading Standards via Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 08454 04 05 06 or visit www.adviceguide.org.uk

Follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/cumbriats

Natland Mill Beck RSPB Evening

Free advice at the Birdcage this Saturday

Police, along with partner agencies, are holding a pop-up, one-stop community advice centre at the Birdcage in Kendal this Saturday (26 October) - and you can get your bicycle securely marked by the police for free, too.

Police officers along with representatives from the Trading Standards, Cumbria Fire and Rescue, Young Cumbria and South Lakes District Council will be at the Kendal Birdcage between 10am and 2pm.

Police Inspector Latham said: “It is the ideal opportunity for members of the community to discuss any issue with us, from Halloween and Bonfire night concerns, to crime prevention and personal safety. Please don’t think that your issue is too minor to bother us with. Just come along and have a chat.”

Wedding in Natland

Simon Walker and Nicola Watkinson were married at St. Mark's Church on Saturday 12th October. Nicola is the daughter of Roy and Joyce of Abbey Gardens, sister of David and Andrew and Rachel. The reception was held at Abbey House Hotel, Barrow and the couple are now on their honeymoon cruise.

Fireworks

MESSAGE FROM CUMBRIA TRADING STANDARDS AND
CUMBRIA FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service and Cumbria County Council’s Trading Standards are urging people across the county to keep themselves safe whilst they enjoy the festivities this Bonfire night.

Cumbria County Council’s Trading Standards team has also joined forces with CFRS to remind retailers to be vigilant, not sell fireworks to under 18s and to ensure counterfeit fireworks are not being sold.

Underage volunteers will be working with Trading Standards around the county to carry out test purchases for fireworks and the police are laying on extra high-visibility patrols to clamp down on anti-social behaviour.

Remember:
 

• Only buy fireworks from a legitimate retailer and check they are marked with the British Standard 7114 or marked with a 'CE'.

• If you are under 18 you can’t buy or use ‘adult’ fireworks and it’s against the law for anyone to set off fireworks between 11.00 pm and 7.00 am, except on certain occasions.

• Adult fireworks are category 2 and 3 fireworks - they don’t include things like sparklers and party poppers.
   
• The law says you must not set off or throw fireworks (including sparklers) in the street or other public places.

• You must not set off fireworks between 11.00 pm and 7.00 am.  The exceptions are: Bonfire Night, when the cut off is midnight New Year’s Eve, Diwali and Chinese New Year, when the cut off is 1.00 am.
   

You can only buy fireworks (including sparklers) from registered sellers for private use on these dates:

15 October to 10 November
26 to 31 December
3 days before Diwali and Chinese New Year

At other times you can only buy fireworks from licensed shops.

You can be fined up to £5,000 and/or imprisoned for 3 months for buying or using fireworks illegally.  You could also get an on-the-spot fine of £90. 

If you are concerned about young people in your area being sold fireworks illegally please contact Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice Consumer helpline on 08454 04 05 06.

Natland Parish Council Meeting 28th October

The next meeting of Natland Parish Council is to be held on Monday 28th October 2013.  Please follow link for AGENDA

Another Steam Train heading North.

Wednesday 23rd Oct. northbound through Oxenholme 45699 Galatea, 
11-45 am.

Pat Williams.

Free help with keeping warm this winter

Two free guides to keeping warm and reducing fuel bills, specifically aimed at people in rural areas, have just been published by the charity Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE).

The Energy Efficiency Community Guide aims to help people reduce spending on fuel by using energy more efficiently in their homes. It explains how families can reduce bills by improving insulation, draught proofing and using low energy lightbulbs but also how eligible households can get help with insulation and boiler replacements through government initiatives such as Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation.

The Affordable Warmth Community Guide focuses on how communities can help households to stay warm and avoid falling into fuel poverty. It explains how the most vulnerable households can get help from the Government towards their heating bills and includes case studies of work carried out by members of the ACRE's national network of rural community councils, such as bulk oil buying schemes.

The guides can be downloaded free from the ACRE website.

Monday Club Meeting

The Monday Club will meet on Monday 21st October in the Village Hall at 2pm. The speaker will be John Fitch on the subject of Mountain Rescue. New members welcome.

Steam train heading north on Wednesday

46115 Scots Guardsman will be northbound through Oxenholme today 16th Oct. 11:45. Penrith 12:22. Carlisle 12:42.

Pat Williams

and here it is as it went through Natland.                              Martin Jayne.

Church Coffee Morning on Thursday

Support our Village Hall 200 Club!

The Village Hall 200 Club is an important fund raiser for our Village Hall. 
Members each contribute £12 a year for one number in the monthly draw.  Half of the income is paid in prizes and half goes to Village Hall funds.  Three prizes are drawn each month at the Village Hall Management Committee’s meeting so during one year each member has 36 chances to win a prize.  The amount of the prizes varies according to the number of members contributing.  This month the first prizewinner was awarded £29.10, the second £14.55 and the third £4.85.   The more members there are then the larger the prizes. 
Please join the Club and support our Village Hall.  Any queries to Midge Fairhurst tel: 01539 731727.
Application form can be downloaded here

The winners in October are:
1st           58           M Melville
2nd          88           A Tilney
3rd           31           B Evans

Lunch at St. Mark's Primary School

A harvest lunch was held in St Mark’s School on 7th October for the older residents of Natland and Oxenholme by kind invitation of Mr Peter Barfoot, Headteacher, and arranged by Mrs Ruth Taylor, Age UK Village Agent.  A school lunch of hotpot followed by apple crumble and custard and tea/coffee was enjoyed by all.  Year 6 pupils were very able waiters and waitresses and afterwards they asked the visitors about their school days in ‘olden’ times and compared those with school life today.   
It was a very happy occasion and it is hoped that this lunch club will become a
regular occurrence in school.

Craft Fair and Exhibition on November 2nd.

If you have any craft items which you would like to display, it would be lovely to see them.

We take great care of your treasures. We will have stewards on duty at all times to watch over the exhibits. Insurance  has also been taken out to cover them for the day.  Whilst on exhibition each item will have a small card (like a place card) inscribed   “Exhibited by …………..” 

For insurance reasons, we need to compile a comprehensive list beforehand, noting each item and also its value.  Therefore we are asking you to complete a form and return it to me soon so that we can get all the arrangements made.

A form to send in before the event can be downloaded here.   
Elspeth Jayne.(Craft Fair Organiser)

Lantern Workshop in School on Saturday

Last year the school ran an event on a dark November night to celebrate our school community and thank God for Jesus being the Light of the World. We made paper lanterns and processed around the school field after having a warming soup supper. Angela Whittaker led us in a quick Liturgy of Light half way through the procession.

We would like to invite residents in the village to join us for a similar event this year.

There is a lantern making workshop in the school hall on Saturday 12^th October from 10 – 12.00.

The Lighting Up the Night soup supper and lantern procession will be held on Friday 15^th November at 6.00.                                              Peter Barfoot

Draft Action Plan available here soon!

First of all ‘thank you’ to everyone who took time out of their busy day last month to visit our drop-in and display about our draft proposals for the Parish Plan 2014 Action Plan. We were very pleased with the numbers who dropped in, made supportive comments and suggestions and signed up for the proposed volunteer groups on various themes. The display has also been up in the village school in the past month, with all pupils and parents invited to take part in this stage of the consultation process.

The Parish Plan Steering Group will next meet early in November, once the deadline for feedback from key partners on the first draft action plan has passed, to work on it again and then we plan to publish it here. At this point it will still be a draft plan but we hope there will not be too much more work to do. Please look out for our next posting on this website to download your copy.

You can read more about the work we are, and have been, doing here.

Autumn Serenade on Saturday

Missing Man

Police are appealing for the whereabouts of missing 42 year old  Christopher MORRISON.Christopher went missing on 4/10/2013 from Ipswich and may be somewhere in The Lake District.Police are warning members of the public not to approach Christopher but to inform the police of any sightings or information they have regarding his whereabouts.Possible vehicles Christopher may be using are: Grey Audi a4 - AV08 YJS, white peugeot panel van AV11 ZFN, red vauxhall corsa FG08 UFK. 

September Weather Stats

Parish Council Minutes

To view the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Monday 30 September, please follow link to MINUTES

Parish Council objects to Natland Mill Beck Lane development

The residents of Natland Mill Beck Lane turned out in force to this week’s Parish Council meeting to express their objection to the planning application now formally lodged by Story Homes for the building of 76 homes on the plot of land bordered by Natland Road, Natland Mill Beck Lane and Helme Lodge. Nigel Mitchell spoke on behalf of Helme Lodge residents and Phil Livesey on behalf of Natland Mill Beck Lane residents.

The Parish Council objected to this land being earmarked for development of any kind back in 2009 and in 2011, as part of the consultation on the new Land Allocation Document, which is still in the process of being examined by an independent Planning Inspector and so not finalised or adopted. The grounds on which the Council has and continues to object are: considerable adverse impact on the character of the local landscape, a major step towards coalescence between urban Kendal and Natland village and considerable adverse impact on the residents of Helme Lodge.

On Monday night councillors reiterated their objection to any development on this land, but also responded to the proposal by highlighting issues including: the need for secondary emergency access to the site and a better pedestrian link to Asda, concerns about how green spaces and street furniture would be maintained in the future and requests that funding be allocated for work necessary if the canal were to be rewatered and for provision of a cycleway/footway along Natland Road and a bus shelter at the Kendal-bound bus stop on Natland Road (given increased traffic between Natland village and the development, the new houses being in the catchment area of St Mark’s School).

The Fate of the Fete

Can anyone remember when we did not have a Church summer fete? The sun shines, the band plays, everyone has a good time and the church reaps the financial reward (usually about £2,000) which it has needed in recent years to help keep the church solvent.
The fete has many positives but also a few problems. Over 50 people were involved working in one way or another on the day at the fete. It can be hard work for many of the same old (and getting older) faces who have helped for many years. The task of being “organiser in chief” has become onerous. Are we in a rut? Many things are done “because we have always done them that way” and most people like the familiar.
 Should we change? If we are to continue with the fete should we make minor or major changes and if so what? Should we replace it with one or more different events? If so what and will they provide the same social and/or fundraising results? Whatever we do how should these events be organised and who will do the organising. John Chandler has indicated after three years of involvement he wishes to take a step back from his level of commitment given his other roles including treasurer. Do we need an organising committee rather than leaving most of the organising to one person?
The social and fundraising committee of the PCC wants to get input from all those who have, have had, or may in the future have an interest in the fete. There will be a meeting on Tuesday 8th October at 7.30 in the vestry. Please come along and have your say. We are having the meeting now rather than in the spring so that we can plan ahead for next year. If you cannot be there feel free to send me your thoughts in advance.

Collin Mansfield
Social and Fundraising Committee
collin4mansfield@homecall.co.uk

Village War Memorial to be renovated

Following a request from the PCC of St Mark’s Church, in whose churchyard it sits, the Parish Council agreed last night to cover the cost of renovation of the village war memorial, at an estimated cost of about £450.

John Chandler kindly attended the meeting to provide information about the history of war memorial, first unveiled in August 1921, and the work needed, and to answer councillors’ questions. Chair David Peter’s recommendation that the NPC pay for the work in full was then passed unanimously.

A Thank You message from the police

At last night’s Parish Council meeting, PCSO Martin Boak asked councillors to pass on to residents a big THANK YOU from the police for the reporting of suspicious vehicles in the parish recently. All reports have been followed up but no crimes have been recorded within the parish in September. The overturning of the planters on the village green towards the end of August was also reported and followed up but with no success.

PCSO Boak also took the opportunity to remind residents of the monthly drop-in sessions now being held at Lane Farm, Crooklands on the first Monday of every month between 10am and midday. The next one will be on Monday 7 October.