Women's Institute - Report of December Meeting.

Newly elected President Marion Want welcomed 30 members and 1 visitor to the meeting.

12 members had recently attended a talk on ‘The Railway Children’ a charity working with homeless children living on the railways in India, Africa, South America and the U.K which was held at Endmoor Village Hall.

President Marion then welcomed 20 members of Windermere & Bowness Community Choir who entertained members with a medley of Christmas songs and carols.  The choir gave a professional and very moving performance which made for a memorable evening. 

Diana Dickenson gave the vote of thanks.

Members of the committee then provided and served mulled wine, mince pies and shortbread to the members.

The competition for a wrapped Christmas present for a resident of Riverside was won by Pat Dodgson with Joan Airey second.

The raffle for the flowers was won by Audrey Gott with the 8 other Christmas table posies also being raffled.

Date of next meeting is Wednesday 17th January at 7.15pm in Natland Village Hall when the speaker will be Stuart Lambert from Kitridding Farm.

The New Parish Directory now available.

Click here to find out who does what in this village, and where they are.

Christmas Events in Natland

Christmas Eve. 10am. Parish Communion.  4pm Christingle Service.   11.30pm First Communion of Christmas.

Christmas Day. 9am Holy Communion. 10.15am Family Service.

Carol Singing at Oxenholme Station last week

         

Natland Parish Council - Minutes of November meeting

At the last Parish Council Meeting PCSO Marion Jeffery introduced herself as the new PCSO for this parish and answered a number of questions regarding policing in the parish and area.  She said that it is hoped the 101 service will be improved in due course and informed the Council of the facility whereby "101@cumbria.police.uk" can be emailed with reports of non-emergencies, in order to avoid waiting for a telephone response.  

The Parish Council also discussed Highway and Planning matters, including the possibility of closing the newly opened road over Helm to through traffic. Click here for the full report.

The Weather In Natland in November

                                                      2017       2016
Temperature at 8 am                        5.5c 3.9c
Minimum Temperature (average)      3.2c 2.5c
Maximum Temperature (average)      8.9c 7.1c
                                                   mm   in         mm in
Rainfall                                    175.5  7.0       133 5.3

November was a mixture of warm , very wet weather followed by a
very cold spell at the end of the month. We have already exceeded
average annual rainfall so whatever we get in December will be a bonus.

The wet weather affected Oakmere Homes Strawberry Fields development.

Christmas and New Year edition of the Church Magazine available here.

You can find out about all the Advent and Christmas activities by clicking here, or you can read all about them when you receive a copy of the magazine through the front door. A copy will be delivered to every house in the Parish for Christmas this year.

Next Monday Club Meetings

Members will be meeting on he 4th December for their annual Christmas lunch catered for in the Village Hall, 1.15pm for 1.30pm, followed by light entertainment.
Our next meeting in 2018 will be on the 15th January, again in the Village Hall at 2pm when we will be pleased to welcome, once again, Maurice Steele with another of his delightful presentations, this one entitled "From a tiny acorn". Refreshments and Bookstall to follow.

Natland Man to be New Chairman of Local Club

Mr. Edward Lawton, well known local musician and raconteur will be installed as Chairman of the Kentside Probus Club at their Annual General Meeting which will be held at The Villa on 13th December 2017. Mr. Lawton, who is also a member and keen worker for St. Marks Church in Natland will hold the post for one year during which he will be attempting to raise money for a charity chosen by him and helped by Probus Club members.
Kentside Probus Club is open to any retired or semi/retired business or professional man aged 55 or over. We meet once a month at The Villa for lunch and a speaker whilst our other activities include ten pin bowling, curling, crown green bowling, walking and putting.  Anyone interested in joining can contact Mr. David Ratcliffe on 015395 61944 for further information.

Encore Concert raises over £500 for churchyard.

Last Wednesday's concert by Encore Opera in St. Mark's Church was very well supported by the village and visitors from further afield.
Those who turned out on a fine night heard Encore give an excellent performance of operatic excerpts with drama, humour or romance wherever appropriate.
The audience were very generous in supporting the retiring collection in aid of the churchyard and after a donation to the group's running expenses over £500 was raised including some donations from those who were unable to attend. This will be allocated for work, or equipment to be used in, the churchyard.
The invitation for volunteers to undertake work in the churchyard remains open. Please have a work with Rev. Angela Whittaker if you are able to help.

Coffee Morning on Saturday

There will be a Coffee Morning in Endmoor on the 25th November for the First Responders, who have been so helpful in setting up our defibrillator. It's from 10am until 12 in the Club Inn, opposite the Village Shop.

Agenda for Parish Council Meeting on 27th November.

Click here to find out what will be discussed, here for the budget statement and here for the cash statement.

W.I. events

The W.I. had their AGM followed by a Jacob's Join and a parcel game at their meeting recently. Click here for a full account.

The next meeting is on the 13th December when Janet Greenhalgh will entertain members with her singing group and the committee will provide supper. 

Support Your Churchyard

One of the finest sights in spring in Natland is the flowering cherry tree in the churchyard near The Green. That tree and others needed the attention of a tree surgeon recently to reduce overhang and prevent wind damage and nuisance to neighbours. Other professionals are engaged when needed such as to repair walls and to mow the grass. Much other work is done by a few volunteers.

Natland Parish Council recognises that the churchyard is a community asset and very kindly makes a generous annual grant towards the cost of mowing the churchyard which means we can pay someone to do the mowing.

All other expenditure including purchasing, maintaining and fuelling of equipment is paid for out of money raised by St Mark’s Church.

The churchyard is of great value to the parish and for many it is the final resting place of family members or friends. Tonight’s retiring collection (after paying Encore’s expenses) will be used to help the church maintain its ongoing upkeep.

If you would like to volunteer to help in any practical way, however great or small, to maintain the churchyard please contact Roy Watkinson on 61373 or Revd Angela Whittaker on 60355

Photos from the wedding of Helen Chandler and Brian Gleeson

Coffee Morning in church on 16th November

There will be a Coffee Morning in St. Mark's Church Vestry on Thursday 16th November, 10.30 - 11.45am in aid of Dementia Awareness.
Do come along to find out more about this organisation and to enjoy coffee/tea and biscuits, take part in the raffle and browse a stall, as well as meeting up with friends and neighbours.
Over £100 was raised at this event - thank you to all who came and gave.

Craft Fair and Exhibition - results

Sue Ashton, the Craft Fair Organiser, and Kirsten Cannon who
organised the raffle

The sun shone and the village was thronged with people last Saturday, partly for the Craft Fair and Exhibition but also for the marriage of Helen Chandler and Brian Gleeson. 

This was the 18th Natland Craft Fair and Exhibition and it was good to see Charles Usher, the widower of Rosemary whose ideas started the event 18 years ago. He had come from Wetherby for the day with his daughter Jane.

The Craft Fair was successful again this year, raising £769.05 for Village Hall funds; a similar result to last year.

Thank you to everyone who lent treasured work to the exhibition. The winner of the favourite item competition was Julia Baker with her felted sheep's head.



           

Next Monday Club Meeting

The next meeting of the Monday Club will be on 20th November at 2pm. As usual, we will meet in the Village Hall when Christine Knipe will talk on "Westmorland County Agricultural Society".
Refreshments and Book Stall will follow.

Minutes of October Natland Parish Council meeting

The Parish Council continues to keep on top of planning matters. The development on Natland Mill Beck Lane has been refused. In a discussion with the Town Council little headway was made on the future of Helm. The purchase of the defibrillator is now in progress. Click here for the full minutes. 

Light up the Natland Night

Please join the primary school for another great community event, the Lighting up the Natland Night lantern parade, on Friday 10th November, starting at school at 6.00pm. Please join us with or without a lantern. If you are feeling creative, lantern kits can be purchased from the school office for £6.

Age UK events

Natland Young at Heart Social Group for older residents will next meet on Monday 13th November when we will be having a Christmas craft afternoon. If you would like to come along for an afternoon of tea, chat and good company please get in touch. 

Lunch Club You are invited to come along to St Mark’s Primary School for a Christmas lunch on Thursday 7th December at 1.30 pm. Be waited on by the children and enjoy a delicious meal for £4.00. Places are limited, so to book or to cancel a place, please ring Age UK on 01539 728118 by 30th November. This event is in partnership with St Mark’s Church and St Mark’s School.

Police Update for Natland for October

INCIDENTS OF NOTE
Within the wider area that your Parish falls in the last month there have been 46 incidents reported, resulting in seven Crimes being recorded, only one incident relates to the parish.
22nd Oct a vehicle crashed into a parked car on Natland road and was failing to report the incident on further enquiries driver located and arrested for drink driving.

Other local issues of note:
28th Sept Three motorcycles stolen from a property at Hawes lane, Oxenholme.
4th Oct vehicle parked at the seven mile bridge layby at Crooklands had windows broken and Sat-Nav stolen

There have been several reports lately of vehicles in the South Lakes area being broken into and tools stolen, where possible please ensure tools etc. are not left in vehicles overnight.

Police and trading standards have also recently had more reports of unauthorized fish sellers in various locations, if you encounter traders at your door that give any cause for concern please contact the police on 101.

CRIME FIGURES
Crime figures can be obtained via the Cumbria Police Website: https://www.cumbria.police.uk/Your-Area/Your-area.aspx
Alternatively use the following link: https://www.police.uk/

CRIME PREVENTION
Any suspicious activity/vehicles please contact 101.
As autumn approaches and darker evenings please check on your security measures especially security lighting.

CUMBRIA COMMUNITY MESSAGING
Please pass this message onto friends, family and residents of your areas to re highlight the issue.

If you would like to join Cumbria Community Messaging then please contact us or visit: www.cumbriacommunitymessaging.co.uk
It is managed by the Cumbria Neighbourhood Watch Association and offers you and other members of communities across Cumbria the means to receive crime information from Cumbria Police.  You can select which information you wish to receive by managing your own settings, and it is completely FREE.  Anyone can join, you do not have to be a member of Neighbourhood Watch (NHW), or become a member of NHW to join.  Farm Watch, Church Watch and Camping and Caravan Watch are a small example of the schemes that you can register for. You can join as an individual or as a group. If you want to receive information but do not wish to be responsible for a larger group, you are still welcome to make use of this messaging system.
As well as Cumbria Constabulary the partners providing information are Cumbria County Council, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service and Cumbria Neighbourhood Watch Association.  If you do not have internet access, contact your local PCSO and they will aid in registering your details on the system.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK
www.twitter.com/cumbriapolice
https://www.facebook.com/cumbriapolice
https://crimestoppers-uk.org/

Contact police on 101. For emergency always call 999
Your Police Community Support Officer is: Martin Boak 5251
Email: martin.boak@cumbria.police.uk

Church Magazine Available

The Parish Magazine for November is available by clicking here. It is full of interesting records of activities past and information about things to come.

Natland's Weather in October.

                                             2017       2016
Temperature at 8 am             10.75c      9.5c
Minimum Temperature 9.1c       8.5c
Maximum Temperature 14.1c 12.7c
                                        mm   in          mm in
Rainfall                         203.5  8.1         46  1.8

Another above average rainfall month, in fact the second highest in October in the last 13 years. It was warmer than normal, the only cold nights being at the end of the month. John Dobson

Natland Parish Council - Agenda for next meeting.

Click here to see the range of items to be discussed on Monday the 30th October at the meeting in the Village Hall at 7pm. There is a vacancy for another councillor so if you would like to see what happens at these meetings do come along for the first part, which is open to the public.

Pancreatic Cancer Research Fundraising Coffee Morning.

Norma and Paul Singleton would like to thank all those who attended and helped to make this such an enjoyable and worthwhile day. Extremely generous giving has enabled us to make a donation of approximately £1100 to the above charity, in memory of our late daughter. This amount has now been increased to £1370. 25/10/17
Many thanks to everyone.  Norma and Paul Singleton.

The Women's Institute - October meeting.

President Kirsten Cannon welcomed 31 members and 3 visitors to the meeting.

A thank you letter from Pam Mansfield had been received informing members of the recent coffee day held at Natland Tea Rooms which had raised in excess of £1500 for the defibrillator fund.  President Kirsten expressed her thanks to members and friends for raising £100 from the September open meeting also in support of the defibrillator fund.

Entry forms for the Craft Exhibition to be held on 4 November are available from Elspeth Jayne and donations of cakes/bakes would be welcome.

President Kirsten then welcomed Pam Hetherington a podiatrist from The Foot Clinic, Kendal.  Pam gave an interesting talk on her role in diagnosing and treating conditions of the lower limbs and feet and stressed the importance of foot care.  Following her talk, she welcomed questions from members on various foot conditions. 

Kate Toms gave the vote of thanks.

The competition for a silly pair of socks was won by Jenny Butler with Janet Greenhalgh in second place.

The raffle was won by Pauline McDonald.

Date of next meeting is November 15th at 7.15pm in Natland Village Hall which will be the AGM.

Improvers Guitar

Have you learnt the basics of playing the acoustic guitar?
Would you like to keep it going and develop your skills with a small friendly group of people at a similar stage?

We meet with a teacher two evenings each month in the village hall to learn new songs and strum together.

To find out more phone Rob on 015242 72309

Music on a Sunday Afternoon

Casual Vacancy on Natland Parish Council

A vacancy has arisen on Natland Parish Council due to the resignation of Councillor Joan Lind.  The period of public advertisement (during which electors could claim a poll) has now expired, therefore the Council is free to fill this casual vacancy by co-option.
The co-option would be until May 2018, when the next full election of the Council will be held.
Anyone who is interested in taking on this valuable public service should contact the Clerk or the Chair or any Councillor – contact details are on the notice board or by clicking on this link.  Or just come and observe the Council’s next meeting on 30 October 2017.
There’s plenty of information about what parish councils do on the websites of the National Association of Local Councils and the Cumbria Association of Local Councils – just google NALC or CALC Cumbria and explore.


David Peters - Chair of Natland Parish Council – 13 October 2017

Coffee Morning for St. John's Hospice

Thank you to everyone who came to the Coffee Morning in the church vestry on the 19th October. We had coffee/tea, biscuits, a raffle and a card game and a stall, and altogether nearly £100 was made for the Hospice. There were plenty of St. John's Hospice own goods for sale as well, and they raised around £150.

Natlanders enthusiastically support defibrillator project

The defibrillator committee thank everyone who came and supported their appeal. Over £1,000 was raised at the Thursday Coffee Day at the Post Office. Read more by clicking here.

Natland Parish Council - Minutes of the last meeting

Highway and planning matters were discussed at the meeting on the 11th September. Click here to read all about it.

Church Magazine for October

Click here for a full account of the many church and community activities that are taking place this month.

September In Natland - wet and warm.

                                            2017               2016
Temperature at 8 am            11.6c 13.5c
Minimum Temperature (Av)  10.2c 12.2c
Maximum Temperature (Av) 16.2c               16.6c
                                           mm in               mm    in
Rainfall                              223    8.9     169.5   6.8

Rainfall in September was well above the average of 115mm. It was quite warm : the minimum temperature only falling below 10c on four nights, two of which were at the start of the month.    John Dobson.

Monday Club Meeting

On 16th October Monday Club will meet in the Village Hall, Natland, at 2pm to hear a talk from Susan Rowley on "The Gardens of Sizergh"
Following will be tea and biscuits and time to view the Book Stall.

Steam Train on Saturday

On Saturday September 30th ( loco to be advised) will be northbound through Oxenholme at 11:40. Pat Williams.

Craft Fair and Exhibition Coming Up

The Craft Fair and Exhibition will take place on Saturday the 4th November and if you have any items you have made that you would like to exhibit, then it would be great if you would fill in this form and send it to me, Elspeth Jayne.

Bath in layby

Is the farmer at Larkrigg planning to give his sheep a new water trough or is the bath in the layby by Hawes Bridge an example of fly-tipping?
If you know anything about this please reply on the form on this blog.

Natland Defibrillator

The next fund raisers for the new defibrillator will be on Thursday 5th October. Post Office Tea Room. 10am to 4.30pm. One of the First Responders will be there to give a talk. 
Click here to find out more news about the defibrillator situation.

W.I Open Meeting a very happy event.

Click here to find out more about the talk by Maurice Steel, and how our W.I. went on at the County Show.

Coffee Morning in Church, Thursday 21st Sept., 10.30am.

Thank you to all who came and all who contributed to the Sight Advice Coffee morning in the Church Vestry. £150 was raised.

Natland Tea Room is Open

This is the week that James finally opens the Natland Tea Room, and a very pleasant experience it is if you haven't been there already. 

The menu includes a selection of locally made cakes, traybakes and scones served with a choice of teas and normal and decaffeinated Farrer's coffee in a cafetiere. It is intended to extend the menu in the future. There is local artwork on display for sale.

The Tea Room is open 8.30-5pm, and there is a toilet with disabled access. On Saturdays it is open 8.30- 4pm and on Sunday 10am- 4pm. The Post Office is also open 8.30-5pm on week days though it closes 1-2 for lunch. On Saturdays it is open 8.30-1pm. Banking facilities include free cash withdrawal and paying in of cheques and cash to most banks (check at the Post Office first to see if your bank allows this). 

Combined Male Voice Choir Concert in St. Mark's Church.

We are delighted to be hosting K Shoes Male Voice Choir again in September with their guests from Wales. It will be on Saturday the 30th September at 7.30. Tickets £10, under 16's free. Tickets will be available from Edward Lawton and Collin Mansfield or online at - trybooking.co.uk/1646 

Chepstow Male Voice Choir was formed in 1988 from a nucleus of around 18 men. The Choir has travelled extensively over the years giving concerts throughout the UK as well as tours to Holland, North America, South Africa, Ireland and France.
Our  repertoire is broad and holds such diverse offerings as Welsh hymns, traditional hymns, folk songs and shanties as well as favourites from Grand Opera and musical shows.
The concert in September will be no exception with an emphasis on show songs interspersed with a few of the traditional Welsh hymns and male voice classics
The Choir are fortunate to have an extremely talented musical team. The Musical Director, Richard  Fry, formerly a Top Tenor of many years standing in the Choir, took up the baton 18 months ago by  popular demand .

K Shoes Male Voice Choir
The internationally famous K Shoemakers of Kendal founded their first choir, which was mixed gender, from their workers in 1929. In 1969 it became a Male Voice Choir and non employees were admitted. When K Shoemakers was merged Clarks, the new owners, continued to sponsor the choir and assist by providing footwear for new members! We currently have nearly forty well shod members…..
In 2011 Ian Allan became our MD and Andy Granville our accompanist. Ian has led the choir to bigger and better performances including two major massed choir and Regimental Band concerts in 2013 and 2015.
.

August wasn't that bad

WEATHER STATISTICS AUGUST
                                  2017 2016
Temperature at 8 am 13.5c 14.4c
Minimum Temperature 12.1c 13.0c
Maximum Temperature 18.4c 18.6c
                                    mm in mm  in
Rainfall                       112 4.5 180 7.2

August was below average for rainfall and quite warm . It was not the hot
dry month people seem to expect . It would be very unusual for that to
happen in this part of the UK. John Dobson.

Natland Monday Club

The first meeting of the 2017/18 season will be held in Natland Village Hall on 18th September at 2.00pm when John Bateson of Oxenholme will speak on "Railways in South Cumbria".
Subscriptions, due this first week, will again be £10.00 (cheques to 'Natland Monday Club' if possible) with guests paying £2.00 each visit. As usual tea and biscuits with Book Stall will follow.

Age UK Young at Heart Social Group Meet.

Natland Young at Heart Social Group for older residents will meet on Monday 11th September at 1.45pm. If you would like to come along for an afternoon of tea, chat, and good company please get in touch on 01539 728118.

Church Magazine for September now available.

Church events are lining themselves up to cheer your autumn, with the Families Group meeting on the 6th September, a coach trip to Blackburn Cathedral and Gawthorpe Hall on the 15th September, a Coffee Morning for Sight Advice on the 21st and a Male Voice Choir Concert on the 30th September. Harvest Festival is on the 1st of October and a Men's Meeting on the 6th October. The Brownies are short of a leader at the moment, too, and tinned items are requested for the Food Bank box at the back of church. Click here for more details of all these events and opportunities, together with interesting articles and notices of church services. 

Report of the W.I. meeting in August

The August meeting of Natland and Oxenholme WI was well supported following the  summer break.The outing in July organised by Joan Ratcliffe was a great success, members enjoyed a beautiful summer afternoon on the Lancaster canal with afternoon tea. Joan was thanked for her time given in putting this event together. Following the WI business, guest speaker Dr Julia Piggot was introduced and welcomed. Dr Piggot is local education officer for beekeepers and gave her advice in  a very interesting and  illustrated talk relating to the ' Identification of Bees'.  Members learned how to identify various species including bumble , honey and  cuckoo bees, they also learned how to distinguish between bees and  hoverflies, the latter resembling bees in many ways.   Dr. Piggott, a founder member of the Brigsteer Bee Reserve,  also teaches nationally in the education of both children and adults in the subject of beekeeping.The vote of thanks was given by Diana Dickinson.Marion Thornton won  the competition for a 'bee friendly posy' with Lynne Procter Second. Rosemary Bateman won the raffle.
The next meeting will be on September 20th 7.15pm in the village hall. We invite you to an  'Open Meeting'  where the  guest for the evening will be Maurice Steele, his subject entitled ' It should have been stopped'. Maurice will be well known to many as a retired hill  farmer and  a very popular guest speaker from  the Eskdale area of Cumbria. The cost will be £3.50 ( for non WI members) to include refreshments. Everyone most welcome.

A defibrillator for Natland

As you have travelled around the district you may have noticed that a number of our neighbouring villages have a defibrillator – a box usually attached to the wall of the Village Hall, which is accessible 24/7 to be deployed in the event of someone suffering a cardiac arrest. This would have lifesaving potential. It is not always possible to get an ambulance here quickly enough and a defibrillator would buy time and more importantly would potentially save a life.

So, a small working group has been set up for Natland to have a defibrillator too.

We have been in contact with Endmoor First Responders, a charity who have already attended several incidents in Natland. On one occasion when they attended the ambulance took 2 hours to arrive. They have been extremely helpful and generous in providing a defibrillator for St Mark’s School in July and also in agreeing to fund up to half the cost of an adult defibrillator in the village. They have also offered to provide training for members of the community.

It now remains for us as community to raise the other half of the funds required which is in the region of £1500 to include the cost of installation, maintenance and electricity to power it.

Our group is holding a Fundraising Coffee Day and Information session in the new Tea Room at the newly refurbished Post Office on 5th October from 10am until 4.30pm. One of the First Responders from Endmoor will also be there to talk about the Defibrillator. So do come along and support us and find out all about it and how it works. It is straightforward and the machine once opened will talk you through what to do. More importantly if it is not needed it will not work – it will only operate if the the casualty’s heart needs restarting.

As this is a valuable resource for the community we are also asking people to consider giving a donation towards the defibrillator. The sooner we raise the money, the sooner it will be in place to save a life. We already have donations of £100 each from the Church and from our Parish Council to start us off and we are very grateful for their assistance. We would welcome donations from other village organisations.

We now need to raise the rest of the money.

PLEASE COME ALONG TO THE COFFEE DAY OR MAKE A DONATION ANY TIME AT THE POST OFFICE AND SUPPORT US IN THIS PROJECT. Cheques can be made payable to the Natland Defibrillator Group.

Pam Mansfield on behalf of the Defibrillator Working Group

Natland Parish Council Minutes

The Parish Council met this week and they considered the Police Report, the proposal for a defibrillator for the village, progress on anyone acquiring Helm,  highway maintenance and planning matters. Click here for the full minutes.

July's Weather in Natland

                                                         2017                                2016
Temperature at 8am                         14.1c                               15.4c
Minimum Temperature (average)    12.7c                               14.0c
Maximum Temperature (average)    21.0c                               19.4c
                                                       mm     in.                      mm.    in.
Rainfall                                         136      5.4                      122    4.9

Another glorious summer month!? We did have some hot days but the school holidays brought wet and windy conditions. It is all down to the jet stream being in the wrong place. John Dobson.

Proposed New Development

There is another proposed new development, this time of over a hundred extra care units. It's on a site allocated in the Local Plan as "Land South of Fell Close" (2.71 hectares 61 dwellings). Here are links to plans of the location: Plan. Satellite view. Map.

School Play Area now Open

Parents and grandparents will be pleased to learn that the play area behind the school, on the left and accessible via the little path to the left of the staff car park, is now open after a year of closure. It looks to be in very good fettle and might prove a welcome resource for children with time on their hands over the summer holiday.

Village Hall Improvements

Sarah Roberts was elected the new Chair of the Village Hall Committee at the AGM, and Jean Heseltine, John Bostock and John Fisher have also joined the Committee. This has given new energy to move things forward. John Fisher will be commissioning/coordinating works over the summer.
The hall has already been re-wired where necessary and work will begin on the 21st July with tree and hedge trimming, which will allow more light in at the back of the building. Then three rooflights will be put into the toilets and corridor, to be followed by refurbishment work on doors, and pipe-boxing. In August the toilets and corridor will be re-floored. Ventilation in the toilets and kitchen and drainage and guttering to the rear of the hall will also be improved.
So, be prepared for a pleasant surprise when the hall is open again on the 6th September.

Life in the Orphanages by WIlliam Bowman

On Natland News, in the Features section, there is a link to George's Story: What life as a Waif and Stray in St. Mark's Home was really like. (Click here).

In 2017 William Bowman discovered this feature and wrote to Natland News as his brother James had been at St. Mark's Home, Natland and possibly had known George.

William had also been placed in a home and he wanted to share with Natland News readers his family experiences, including his eventual, poignant reunion with James who had known nothing about William or his other brothers and sisters.

This is followed by William's personal account of what life was like in an orphanage during the war years. Click here for the full account.

Temporary Closure of the Post Office

Natland Post Office will be closed for two weeks from the 20th July until 7th August. This is to enable extensive refurbishment to take place. Click here for the notice from P.O.H.Q.

New gas power station and lithium battery storage proposed at Old Hutton

There would be eleven 15M high chimneys and 40 shipping containers for the battery storage, and they would be very obvious from the top of Helm. Click here for the Stop the Old Hutton Power Station Facebook page.

Weather Statistics for June

                                               2017 2016
Temperature at 8 am 13.5c 15.6c
Average Minimum Temperature 12.0c 13.9c
Average maximum temp. 19.6c    20.4c
                                             mm   in      mm    in
Rainfall                                153   6.1   107.5 4.3
A variable month with a heatwave in the middle but cooler and wet at the start and end. Rainfall was twice the average for June. The only wetter June was in 2012 during the 13 years I have kept records.        John Dobson

Wish list for Natland

 At the last meeting of the Parish Council the following prioritised list of Natland's community aspirations was agreed, to be sent to South Lakeland Infrastructure Delivery Plan. 

1.    A footway/cycleway on Natland Road between Natland and Kendal

2.    A pedestrian crossing on the A65 somewhere such as the railway bridge near end of Helmside Road

3.    Funding for 20mph speed limit through village

4.    Potential traffic calming at village entrance on Natland Road

5.    New headwall, culvert and outfall at Helm Sink – to alleviate flooding of A65 Burton Road and assist with the delivery of site allocation, South of Fell Close

6.    A bus stop and shelter in the vicinity of site allocation – West of Sedgwick Road, may be funded through a S106 agreement

7.    Completion of Helm Lane resurfacing

8.    Upgrade inadequate village highway surface water drainage system

9.    Alleviate flooding at several points outside the village – (Sedgwick – Natland – Kendal Road)

10. Extension of existing footway along Oxenholme Lane from its junction with Long Meadow Lane to St Mark’s C of E Primary School

  Aspirations 7 to 10 are not as closely linked to new development as are 1 to 6.

Click here for more details of the meeting on the 26th June.

Church magazine for July and August now available.

Click here for a bumper copy of the Parish News.

Planning permission refused

The planning committee of South Lakeland District Council refused permission for the development off Longmeadow Lane on Thursday. "The most outrageous planning application I've heard in my time on the planning committee" was one  comment. “The only way to get access to this site would be by helipad or a new railway station” was another. David Peters, Collin Mansfield and Keith Jackson spoke for those who wanted the application refused. Oakmere Homes sought to defer the decision while they found more evidence, but this was refused as well. 
Click here to read Collin Mansfield's account of proceedings.

Jokes and singing at the June W.I. meeting.

President Kirsten Cannon welcomed 35 members, 2 guests and gave a special welcome to Lindsay Parr from Kendal Parr W.I. to the monthly meeting.

Lindsay Slater gave a comprehensive report of the AGM held in Liverpool, she informed members that the new W.I. website had been launched and the resolutions on Alleviating Loneliness and Plastic Soup had both been passed.

President Kirsten then welcomed the entertainer Jacqueline McDonald.   Jacqueline was one part of the first female folk singing duo Jacqui and Bridie who performed to audiences around the world and who sung at a Royal Command Performance for H.M. Queen Elizabeth. Jacqueline was also the female singer with The Spinners for 3 years. 

Jacqueline treated members to a medley of folk songs, some of which were accompanied by dancing jig dolls and interspersed with an amusing account of her life.  Stella Howse gave the vote of thanks.

The competition for a puppet was won by Dorothy Goddard with Sue Ashton in second place.

The monthly raffle was won by Pat Dodgson.

Date of next meeting is August 16th at 7.15pm in Natland Village Hall when the guest speaker Dr Julia Piggott will speak on Identification of Bees

SLDC planning committee report on the Longmeadow Lane development

Planning Officers have now prepared their report on the proposal by Oakmere Homes. They recommend refusal. The report can be read at the top of the file - click on this link.   The application will now be considered at the planning meeting on the 29th June.  

Another planning application in the pipeline.

There is a pre-application consultation about a potentially major development of up to 107 extra care housing units in Natland civil parish.  It's on a site allocated in the Local Plan as "Land South of Fell Close" (2.71 hectares 61 dwellings) formerly referenced as site R108M. Here are links to plans of the location: Plan. Satellite view. Map.

One of Oakmere Homes's arguments in favour of the site east of Long Meadow Lane is that this site is unlikely to be developed.                                       David Peters.

Men - Find Your Voice with K shoes Male Voice Choir.

K Shoes Male Voice Choir is committed to promoting male voice singing. 
We believe there are many men who could enjoy this fun packed (yes, it's true!) hobby, but who may not think themselves good enough to sing in public. To give local men the opportunity to find their voices we have created a Free of Charge course run by an excellent local, professionally qualified, singing teacher, Tracie Penwarden. 
The course commences Wed 19th July and to register, please just click here: http://www.trybooking.co.uk/1499

Helm is for sale.

Helm Quarry, source of the stone used in Natland's oldest buildings.

After 780 years of ownership of our side of Helm, the Hornyold Strickland family is putting it up for sale. So far Kendal Town Council alone have shown an interest. Click here for details in the Minutes of Natland Parish Council from the 30th May.

May's Weather

                                               2017 2016
Temperature at 8 am              10.8c 11.0c
Average minimum temp.           7.7c   8.8c
Average maximum temp.        18.0c 15.6c
                                               mm in mm   in
Rainfall                                 117 4.7 39.5  1.6

We had long dry and warm spells in May interspersed with a few days of heavy rain. The result was higher than average rainfall which is misleading as it was basically a dry month. The end of the month saw some hot days which triggered the downpours. John Dobson

Church magazine for June

There is even more going on than usual this month. Here is a list,  click on this link for all the details.
Friday 2nd June. 10.30am. Coffee Morning, organised by the MU Families Group. All welcome.
Sunday 4th June 5pm Concert in church by The Kendal Millennium Youth Choir
Thursday 8th June. 7.30pm. Open PCC Meeting - Item for discussion ‘Mission Communities’
Friday 9th June 2-5pm. 50th Anniversary Celebrations at St Mark’s CE School. All welcome.
Saturday 10th June. 2-4pm Summer Fete in Natland Vicarage Garden.
Monday 12th June. 1.45-3.45pm. Natland Young at Heart Social Group meets in the Village Hall. 
Saturday 17th June7.30pm Pro Nobis Concert in church
Wednesday 21st June. 7.15pm Natland & Oxenholme WI meet as Jacqueline McDonald talks about ‘Her Travels and Folk Singing’. All ladies welcome.
Thursday 22nd June. 10am. Holy Communion in St Mark’s CE School (not church) followed by coffee. All welcome.
Tuesday 27th June. 3pm until late. Open House at Peter & Marion Mashiter’s home, 5 Esthwaite Drive, Kendal
Friday 30th June 11am Coffee & Chat at Kendal Care Home - all welcome.

Church Fete

Development application on Longmeadow Lane

The controversial application to build 55 houses on the east side of Longmeadow Lane has now been put before South Lakeland District Council for their consideration.   The file can be seen on this link to the SLDC website. It includes the most recent response from Natland Parish Council. The application reference number is SL/2017/0318.

Heavy Rain in Natland

On Saturday we had a shower of rain so I took my camera out to get a few pics to show SLDC and Oakmere what happens when it rains in Natland. If anyone has any water experiences last Saturday please drop me a note to 2 Abbey Gardens.                                                                                                                                              Collin Mansfield.

The 'Milli' Youth Choir is coming to Natland

The Kendal Millenium Youth Choir first drew breath in September 2000 and its members are drawn from young people from 8-18 years of age, from Kendal and the surrounding areas. Led by well known local musician Tracie Penwarden, the group is trained in rehearsal, workshops and residential weekends. They will perform a range of songs for a summer evening.

Thank you from Christian Aid

Greetings from Christian Aid partners
 in Burundi

Natland, parts of Oxenholme, The Oaks, The Beeches, and this year Strawberry Fields as well, have come up trumps in donating money to Christian Aid via all the volunteer collectors who came out last week. They collected £2,114, with an extra £215 due back from gift aided donations. An additional  £428 was raised at the Coffee Morning.Thank you very much to everyone who gave so generously. With your action this Christian Aid Week you will be making things better these coming months and years. Better for refugees, better for farmers coping with climate change, better for people living in conflict, better for thousands of people suffering from failed crops and famine. Thank you. Elspeth Jayne.

Monday Club Annual Outing

Members will be meeting on the 19th June for their Annual Summer Event which, this year, will be lunch at the Netherwood Hotel, Grange.

The 2017-2018 season will begin on Monday 18th September 2017.

Plants for sale

There are plenty of plants for sale in or near the porch at St. Mark's Church; if you have a few gaps left in the flower border they're definitely worth a look. They have been grown locally so they will survive our weather reliably.

Agenda for the next meeting of Natland Parish Council

The Parish Council are having another annual meeting on the 30th May but this time just for elected members - though there is a slot for public participation. Click here for the full agenda.

Roadworks start soon.

         

Here is a map of the extent of the resurfacing which will be happening shortly. Helm Lane is the only road leading off the Village Green which won't be resurfaced.

Natland and Oxenholme W I Meeting

17 May 2017
President Kirsten Cannon welcomed 29 members including 2 new members to the monthly meeting.

The speaker was Sarah Brown from St John’s Hospice who gave an illustrated talk on the services  that St John’s Hospice provides to patients with life limiting conditions and their loved ones throughout North Lancashire, South Cumbria and North Yorkshire.  Elaine Close gave the vote of thanks.

Doris Aldworth then led the members through a consideration of two resolutions:

1. Alleviating loneliness
2. Plastic Soup – keep micro plastic fibres out of our oceans.

Both resolutions were carried.

The competition for a plate of 4 scones was won by Dorothy Goddard with Kirsten Cannon in second place.

The monthly raffle was won by Heather Harkness.

Date of next meeting is June 21st at 7.15pm in Natland Village Hall when the guest speaker Jacqueline McDonald will speak on Her Travels and Folk Singing.

Steam train a'comin.

On Saturday 20th May 46115 the Scot's Guardsman will be northbound through Oxenholme at 11.40. Pat Williams.

Coffee Morning and Plant Sale

Christian Aid COFFEE MORNING and 
SPRING PLANT SALE on

Saturday 20th May

in Natland Village Hall, 10am -12 noon. 

Thank you to everyone who came and bought. £428 was raised for Christian Aid projects.

Natland Annual Parish Meeting..

The small Village Hall was full for the Annual Parish Meeting. Here are some of the items of immediate interest prior to the publication of the full report.

The Chairman, David Peters, told us that he had just received an email from Henry Hornyold Strickland who owns the Natland and Oxenholme side of  Helm to say that he intends to sell it. He hasn't said whether the Village Green and any other common land he owns is for sale.

The planning application behind Longmeadow Lane came under discussion last night, though there was no one there from Oakmere Homes. 

This notice applies to the Village Green area and possibly outside the school as well, though and not to Helm Lane, we learned from Brenda Gray, our local district and county councillor. It is one of the works that have been scheduled some years in advance and has finally come up for attention. Damaged surfaces such as those on Helm Lane can't be done at the same time because they haven't been scheduled long enough. 

Peter Barfoot, Headmaster of Natland School, informed us that someone had been on the roof of the school recently and damaged two skylights, and to be on the lookout for this sort of behaviour.

Many favourable reports were received including ones from Appletree School, St. Mark's Primary School and from James Harkness who is proceeding happily with alterations to the shop.