Natland Spring Litter Hunt 2015

The tenth Spring Litter Hunt since the Natland Parish Plan of 2004 proposed its re-introduction took place on Saturday 28 March 2015.  Last year’s bad weather on the day was repeated, with a driving, cold (8°c) wind and heavy rain easing only for a brief spell in the morning session and about an hour in the afternoon before returning.  There was a sharp decline in volunteer numbers – perhaps an understandable case of once bitten, twice shy – with only seven on the day (compared with 21 last year).  Still to be picked are the east side of A65/Burton Road from ASDA to the railway and the road over The Helm.  And the Crowpark/Watercrook/Hawes Bridge circuit awaits the WI Ramblers.

Because of the wild weather picking may have been less perfect than usual, and more litter arrives every day, so there is plenty of scope for ad hoc volunteering.  The Parish Council has a small stock of picking tongs, high-visibility waistcoats, gloves and bags that people can borrow.

Thanks go again to SLDC for providing equipment and taking the bags to tip, and to the public-spirited volunteers who were: Stephen Hitchcock, Di Outhwaite, Rhian and David Peters, John Ritchie, Sarah Roberts, Judith Sharps, Don Shore and Mike Trelogan.  Well done all of you!

David Peters

John Denver tribute comes to Natland in April

Chris Bannister will be singing the songs of John Denver at the Village Hall on Saturday 11 April at 8pm to raise funds for St Mark’s Church. Tickets, £8.50, are available from Natland Post Office or by calling Sarah on 07973 802637 to reserve in advance. Doors open 7.30pm. Refreshments available.

I love the way Chris captures the true spirit of John's songs, yet delivers them in his own powerful, well-honed style.

Steve Weisberg (John Denver’s guitarist 1972-78) 

When Chris sings it’s almost like John is back with us again. 

Peter Plantec, Snowmass Colorado, Friend of John’s for over 20 years

The Eagle and the Hawk was one of the most striking performances to have graced the stage at the Victoria Hall in many years.

The Craven Herald and Pioneer

Kendal Leisure Centre Easter Rural Programme

...is coming to Natland!

Our team are on tour bringing myriad activities to local venues, for children aged five to 11 years. Join us for multi-sports, rounders, dodgeball, football, kwik cricket, team games and lots more!
We will be at Natland Village Hall on Tuesday 7 April between 2.00pm and 4.00pm.

Please book these sessions on: 01539 729777
Special introductory offer: Play for a Pound (usual price £4)

Natland and Oxenholme W.I. meeting

A good attendance was held at the spring meeting of Natland and Oxenholme WI. President Kirsten Cannon welcomed all members.

The various social events that had taken place during the last month were reported on, and the forthcoming monthly activities were outlined.

Sue Mulvaney - the replacement guest speaker for the evening was warmly welcomed, and thanked for stepping in. The subject for the evening was' William Blake's Jerusalem' . An illustrated talk then followed, which displayed the speaker's enthusiasm and vast knowledge. The history and creativity that surrounded this radical poet and painter were finely detailed. Following the recital of two of Blake's poems Sue finally offered an interpretation of his well- known poem and hymn  'Jerusalem'. This hymn was later associated with the suffragette movement before becoming the W.I.Anthem. Diana Dickinson gave the vote of thanks.

Competition Winners: Chris Nacey, second Dorothy Goddard. Raffle Winner: Audrey Cason

The next meeting will be Wednesday 15th April (7.30pm) when guest speaker Maria Radice will give a talk entitled 'Prisons'.

A Coffee Morning is to be held in the Village Hall on Saturday 28th March from 10.00am to 12noon £1.00 Admission. Proceeds towards Village Hall and Manna House. There will be Craft and Cake Stalls, and a raffle. Copies of the Natland map compiled by Daphne Lester will also be available.

Football Fun Days for Easter holidays

Westmorland County FA is organising four Football Fun Days during the Easter holidays for children aged from 4 to 11 at Castle Park Primary School. It costs £5 for a half day (10am to 12 noon or 1pm to 3pm) or £10 for a whole day and the sessions are on Tuesdays (31 March and 7 April) and Wednesdays (1 April and 8 April) either side of the Easter weekend.

To book your place visit www.westmorlandfa.com or telephone 01539 730946.

Pro Nobis Concert features Natland's own composer

As well as music from the 16th century and choral and organ music by Brahms, there will be the first complete performance of Clive Walkley’s  Missa Brevis which was written for Pro Nobis in 2013.

A Minor Emergency in Natland

Follow this link to the Westmorland Gazette website for more details.

Art Show another great success

Visitors to the annual Art Exhibition in Natland & Oxenholme Village Hall enjoyed a wide range of exhibits from 45 local artists. Picture sales, a raffle and sale of refreshments raised £800 for village hall funds.

The management committee would like to thank everyone – artists, visitors and volunteers – who helped make the weekend so successful, despite initial fears that Kendal Food Festival might prove a greater attraction!

Good Turn out at Fashion Show

Around 70 ladies (mostly) came for a convivial night out at the school for a fashion show from East, elegantly modelled by Rhian Peters, Di Outhwaite, Linda Wood and Marly Hunter. There was wine and a raffle and make-up demonstration from Beales. Around £680 was raised for church funds, a sum which is very welcome as new boilers are needed for the central heating. Thanks to everyone who came.

Could you help Natlanders work together to save waste?

Cumbria County Council is launching a new Resourceful Communities pilot scheme to reduce waste. The aim is to develop and road test a series of “How to” guides to enable local community groups and parish councils to run their own resource efficiency sessions within the community. Those groups or councils who sign up to take part in the pilot will be given access to the “How to” guides and a £250 grant to set up and run 10 sessions, which will include clothes swaps, toy swaps, upcycling workshops, skills sessions such as reducing food waste, household repairs and more.

They are looking for a community from South Lakeland who would like to take part in the pilot, which will involve 5 households from the area. The resource efficiency sessions will also be open to the wider community, but the five families per parish/area, who sign up for the pilot will agree to attend as many as they can and take part in some pre- and post-pilot consultation.

If you’re a Natlander who’s interested in taking part, please let Lois (Parish Council Chair) know as soon as possible and we’ll see whether we have enough volunteers to take this forward.

So what is Natland Streetlife all about?

Many people in the parish will have had a letter from an organisation called Streetlife inviting them to join the ‘local social network’ for Natland. For the avoidance of doubt, this has nothing to do with the Natland News website or (as far as we know) anyone in Natland.

Streetlife appears to be a new national commercial operation, targetting towns and villages all over the UK at the moment, aiming to be a new kind of Facebook for local communities. We will watch its development with interest!

Experience Kilimanjaro at the Monday Club meeting

The next meeting of the Monday Club is on March 16th at 2pm, when David Ratcliffe will talk about his experience on Kilimanjaro.

Parish Magazine - March edition

Click here to download the church magazine for this month. There's a lot going on.

Fashion and Beauty in Natland

On Thursday 12 March St Mark’s School will be the venue for a fashion and beauty evening. The clothing shop EAST will present its spring/summer range of clothing and Beales cosmetic Team will have products from Clarins, Yves St Laurent, Clinique, Christian Dior, Elizabeth Arden and Estee Lauder to demonstrate at no obligation. There will be gifts and offers available on the night as well as a raffle with great prizes to be won. All this for only £5.00 per head which include a free glass of wine.

This should be a very sociable, entertaining and enjoyable evening. Proceeds from the evening will go towards the cost of churchyard drainage works at St Mark’s Church. For tickets contact Di Outhwaite or Collin Mansfield on 07740 447858.

Click here to see (and download if you wish) the poster for the event.

Rotary Club offers free afternoon tea for the over-90s

The Rotary Club of Kendal is celebrating its 90th birthday this year in various ways.

For one event, we are inviting anyone aged 90 or over living in the LA9 postal area to join us for a scenic drive in the Lakes followed by afternoon tea at a hotel at Waterhead.

If you or anyone who know would like to be put on the list, please give Allen Crossley (01539 740757) or Peter Sutcliffe (01539 728341), a call soon.

Ruth Otway (President, Kendal Rotary Club)

February colder (and drier) than last year

	Feb 2015		Feb 2014
Average temperatures
Temperature at 8am	2.2C		4.0C
Min temperature	1.1C		3.0C
Max temperature	4.7C		6.3C
Total rainfall	mm	in	mm	in
	104	4.2	158	6.3

The first half of the month was dry but the remainder was very wet. Similarly, we had overnight frosts early in the month but it became milder when the wind came round to the West or South West.

John Dobson