St. Mark's Church magazine now available

Click here to find out what is going on in the parish in December and January.

Christmas Flower demonstration in Village Hall

Council lobbies for action on Natland Road footway/cycleway

A lot of this month’s meeting of the Parish Council was spent reporting back on issues raised at the October meeting and lining up lots of exciting new areas of activity for the January agenda (when we hope to be taking several new actions from the Parish Plan forward – including the formation of a history group and the better coordination of village activities). One thing decided on the night was, following a proposal from the new Traffic & Highways Working Group, to write to our County Councillor Brenda Gray reminding her of the strong case for a footway/cycleway along Natland Road, including the significant support for it shown by residents during the Parish Plan process. The County Council is currently deciding how to allocate money from the Local Growth Fund and so we are striking while the iron is hot!

These are exciting times on the Parish Council and we’ve still got room for one more councillor with an interest in seizing the opportunity to make a difference for our parish. Do get in touch if you’re interested. You can read the full draft minutes of the November NPC meeting here.

Report of the November Women's Institute Meeting and AGM

      The November meeting of Natland and 0xenholme W.I. was presided over by Marion Thornton and preceded the A.G.M. Two members of Preston Patrick W.I. Noreen Webster and Fay Bailey were welcomed to act as tellers.

Kirsten Cannon had attended the Annual Council meeting and gave a comprehensive report of a very busy year, and events now being planned for the 2015 Centenary year. A 50 year membership certificate was awarded to Doreen Galbraith,  and Jean Clement received a 30 year certificate.  The trophy for the best co-operative yeast cookery exhibit at the County show was presented to the five members who contributed. An excellent speaker at the group meeting hosted by Crosscrake W.I. had resulted in a very enjoyable evening, reported Diana Dickinson. A team of  four members had had an unsuccessful but fun night at the Federation Quiz. The winner of the Evelyn Cottam Cup for the most points gained in the monthly competitions was won by Kirsten Cannon.                                                                  
The years financial statement was then presented, and the Committee's Annual report of meetings given by Stella  Howes.  The chairman, Marion, thanked all for their support and help over the past 5 years.  Doris Aldsworth thanked her for her leadership, and Kirsten presented her with a gift token, an appreciation from the group's members.

As a result of the ballot by the members, Kirsten  Cannon was elected as president. Two new members joined the committee. Our thanks to the tellers were expressed by Lynn Pritchard.

Supper provided by members was enjoyed, and  a lively social half hour ended the evening.

Next meeting, Wednesday 10th December at 7.30pm. in the Village Hall Natland.
Jackie Huck, entertains with an evening of  Poems and Stories. Visitors welcome. 

Extra recycling service comes to Natland in January

Following the presentation to the parish council last month, SLDC has now confirmed that it will start collections of plastic and card for recycling from homes in the following roads in the New Year:

• Abbey Gardens
• Cracalt Farm
• Longmeadow Lane
• Natland Hall Farm
• Oxenholme Lane
• Park Close
• Robby Lea Drive
• Wandales Lane

New recycling bags (for plastic and also cans) and information about the new service will be delivered to these households before the end of the year.

• Cardboard will be collected along with paper in the recycling box.
• Glass will continue to be collected in the recycling box, but not mixed with cans.

We are asked to put bins and boxes out by 7am on recycling day, whatever time you have been used to having your recycling collected in the past. Collection times are likely to change.

SLDC say that they hope to expand the service to all households in the parish in the future.
For more information visit www.southlakeland.gov.uk.

Parish Council November meeting

The agenda for the next meeting of the Parish Council on Monday 24 November has now been published and you can read it here or on the post office noticeboard.

As usual, anyone is welcome to come along and raise concerns with the council on the night, at the very beginning of the meeting (at 7.30pm at the Village Hall). Alternatively you could email the Chair here or contact Lois, David, Rhian, Sarah, John or David (contact details on this website and on the post office noticeboard) before the meeting if you would like a subject discussed.

Lighting up the Natland Night

Curtains twitched in our sleepy village as the procession of schoolchildren processed from the school the the Green, accompanied by drumbeats

The lanterns lit up the Village Green

Then a small group of children danced in a way that evoked experiences of the First World War - it was a moving experience. The occasional cartwheel and complete body flip were impressive.

Then the music really started, as every child saw their own artwork projected onto the church tower.

Cumbria County Council Budget Consultation

Cumbria County Council is trying to find £83 million of savings over the course of the next 3 years and this includes estimated savings of £30.6 million within 2015/16. A series of proposals have been developed and the residents of Cumbria are being asked for their views. In addition, we are being asked about our views on creating a ‘unitary’ council, or ‘unitary’ councils. 

You can read more and tell them what you think by visiting http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/budgetconsultation/default.asp before 20 January or by attending a  local drop-in meeting. The closest one to Natland is being held at Kendal Library, from 10am to 12pm on Wednesday 19 November.

Vote NOW to keep massive new pylons away from Natland!

The ‘North West Coast Connections’ consultation – about how National Grid will get power generated out in the Irish sea and a new power station near Sellafield into the electricity network – has only a fortnight left to run. Have you told them that you don’t want huge additional pylons across the bottom of Natland parish yet? If not – please take a moment to do so now at:

www.northwestcoastconnections.com

At October’s Parish Council meeting, we agreed to submit an objection to the full ‘Onshore South’ citing the visual damage to high quality landscape and to valuable ecological sites (Roudsea Wood, Foulshaw and Meathop Mosses and others) caused by the construction works. You may want to make similar points and add your own.

Please don’t just leave this one to everyone else. The deadline is Friday 28 November.

Desert Island Discs on Monday.

Missing Cat

Our much loved cat, Tiggy, went missing on the afternoon of 5th November 2014 from Long Meadow Lane, Natland.
Tiggy is micro chipped no: 9772 0000 741 7201

Please check your garages, sheds and any warm spaces.
If you have seen her please call Sonya:
015395 60145    or      079585 01360

Lantern Procession and Pictures on the Church Tower next Friday

Help with fuel in winter for the over 60s

Thanks to Sarah Roberts for highlighting this news item in the ACT Gazette this month...

Cumbria Community Foundation have recently launched their fifth annual Winter Warmth Appeal to raise money for elderly people in the county who struggle with heating bills. Last year the fund helped more than 1,000 people and raised £105,000.

If you would like to donate (many people donate a sum equivalent to their Winter Fuel payment if they don’t need it) – or if you know someone who may be eligible for help (over 60, Cumbrian resident and struggling to maintain a basic acceptable standard of living because of their heating costs) – contact Cumbria Community Foundation on 019000 825760 or visit www.cumbriafoundation.org/winter-warmth-fund

Calls to action from the Parish Council

After a short presentation from SLDC officers about new recycling options for some households in Natland in the New Year, October’s Parish Council meeting worked its way through a packed and wide-ranging agenda – from the establishment of the new Traffic & Highways Working Group and the work of the Natland Volunteers on restoring the Sam Inglesfield memorial seat to requests for dog fouling bins, complaints about the signage at The Beeches on Natland Road and the redrafting of the Parish Charter which defines the working relationship between SLDC and local parish councils.

PCSO Mark Hutchinson also urged us to ask Natland residents to take part in the current consultation on local policing (http://www.cumbria.police.uk/about-us/public-consultation-survey-2014 by 14 November) and Cllr David Peters reminded us of the importance of telling the North West Coast Connections consultation if we DO NOT want outsize new pylons marching across the bottom of our parish (by opposing the full ‘Onshore South’ option and supporting the ‘Onshore South with Tunnel under Morecambe Bay’ option at www.northwestcoastconnections.com (by 28 November).

You can read the draft minutes of the meeting by clicking here.

10 days left to have your say on local policing

The police launched a public consultation last Monday. Paper questionnaires have to be in by Friday 7 November but if you can complete one online you have until Friday 14 November to have our say on the future of local policing. PCSO Mark Hutchinson came to October’s Parish Council meeting to present his monthly report and began by urging us all to take part and tell our friends and neighbours to do so, too.

The police service has been asked to make huge cuts and is looking at options such as cutting numbers of PSCOs, or of police officers, or selling off buildings, or closing police station front desks. None of us want to see any of this but it’s important to log in to let them know that we care about the future of the police service – even in rural areas! – and have opinions on which bits are important.

The survey will only take you 5–10 minutes. Please log in today at http://www.cumbria.police.uk/about-us/public-consultation-survey-2014

Pre-School Jumble Sale

It's on Saturday 15th November at the Village Hall and starts at 2.00pm, entry is £1 to include a drink and a biscuit.
Anyone wishing to donate jumble can bring it to the hall on either Friday or Saturday morning.

Desert Island Discs in the Church

Then let's rejoice with loud Fal la--Fal la la!

That Nature always does contrive--Fal lal la!

That every boy and every gal

That’s born into the world alive

Is either a little Liberal

Or else a little Conservative!

What would W.S. Gilbert have rhymed with UKIP or The Monster Raving Looney Party? Well we had a little Liberal on our Desert Island and now we are going to send a little Conservative
On Monday 17th November at 7.30 in church you can find out how our Conservative candidate, Dr Ann Myatt would fare on her own as a castaway when she is subjected to searching questioning on her survival skills. By May next year we may be all so fed up with politics we will all want to be on a far away island."
Dr Myatt is a consultant Dermatologist at WGH and Barrow, she will be asked to tell us how she would survive, choose her eight favourite pieces of music for you to listen to as well as nominate a book and a luxury item. The bad news for those interested in politics is that all party political questions (and answers) will be strictly off limits.
Afterwards there will be refreshments available (donations requested) and a chance to meet Ann and explore her musical tastes.
Entry is £5.00 each (under 16 free) pay on the night. All proceeds are to help defray the cost of recent drainage works in the churchyard.

Monday Club Meeting

The next meeting of the Monday Club, the club for the over 50s, is to be on November 17th at 2.00pm in the Village Hall when the speaker will be Maurice Steele, his subject being "Irish Gems" (illustrated).

Members are reminded that payment for the Christmas Lunch (£14 per head including drinks) on the 8th December is due at this meeting.                             Paul Singleton.

Craft Fair Result and Village Hall Committee Meeting

Some of the stalls at the Craft Fair

At the meeting on Monday, thanks were expressed to the many people who helped make the Craft Fair and Exhibition a success again this year. The takings for the Village Hall from the Craft Fair and Exhibition totalled £763.67.

Part of the Craft Exhibition including the Noah's Ark knitted by Marion Thornton, which was voted favourite item.

The 200 Club winners for November were
1st           W Cavenay
2nd          R Frankland
3rd           C Wilson

Natlanders Return

British Sea Power
Sea of Brass
Sat 8 Nov | The Factory 7.30pm | £20

Homecoming gig from the Mercury nominated indie rockers with an exciting new musical project alongside the acclaimed Foden's Brass Band. Two of the members of this famous band were born and brought up in Natland.

This gig will take place at the Factory cultural hub, Aynam Road, Kendal

Church Magazine for November

Click on this link to find out details of everything that is happening at St. Mark's Church this month.

Cardboard and plastic collection coming to (parts of) Natland

The much-anticipated doorstep collection of cardboard and plastic for recycling is coming closer! At the October Parish Council meeting Andrew Vickers and Nick Pearson from SLDC came to tell us about plans for ‘Phase 1’ of the rollout, which will start early in the New Year with a ‘Kendal’ trial which will include some streets in Natland. (Sadly, they can’t confirm just yet which areas of Natland will be included in Phase 1 but we’ll let you know on this blog as soon as we get do.)

The houses that are included will get a big new bag for putting their plastic in and be asked to flatten cardboard and include it with the paper in their paper box. Collections will happen on the same day as the current green waste, bottles and glass collection – although probably at a different time of day as the new lorries will be taking different routes. They ask that we have everything out by 7am to be sure of collection until things settle down. 

Latest on bus services

Over the past few months Cumbria County Council has been phasing out its financial support for scheduled bus services. Previously subsidised services may be withdrawn, or re-scheduled by the operator as a similar or reduced commercial service. 

Changes to the timetable for 551/552 Kendal-Arnside service came into operation a couple of months ago (http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/elibrary/Content/Internet/544/931/6586/6592/41849113110.pdf).  Timetables for the Kendal town services are unaffected, but those travelling further afield are advised to check travel times beforehand (http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/roads-transport/public-transport-road-safety/transport/publictransport/busserv/timetables/southlakeland.asp). In particular, there are reductions in the evenings to both the 555 services between Kendal and Ambleside and the X6 services (Kendal-Grange-Barrow). 

Cumbria County Council is not publishing its usual county-wide winter timetable this year because of the uncertainty over the future of certain services so it’s best to check the website for information.

If you want to keep abreast of bus-related info, campaign for better bus services locally, or make suggestions and ask questions of the County Council’s Integrated Transport team or local bus operators why not join Kendal & District Bus Users Group (KADBUS)? The annual subscription is a very modest £2. For more details contact Barbara Colley (01539 821629, colleygarth@btopenworld.com). 

Sarah Roberts

(Natland Parish Council’s KADBUS representative)

Weather in October back to normal

	2014		2013
Average temperatures
Temperature at 8am	9.1C		10.0C
Min temperature	7.4C		8.8C
Max temperature	12.0C		12.3C
Total rainfall	mm	in	mm	in
	184	7.4	174	7.0

It was back to normal in October with rain on most days. It was mild although not quite as warm as last year. The temperatures were higher in the latter part of the month which is unusual.

John Dobson