Natland Annual Parish Meeting

The Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Thursday 18 May.

All Natlanders are cordially invited to their Annual Parish Meeting

There is no particular theme or guest speaker this year, although a lot has been going on and there may be updates on some of them, such as Natland's Common Land and the Canal Towpath Trail.

There is also the usual opportunity to put forward motions for debate and resolution and there will also be an opportunity to discuss the Oakmere planning application which was only recently submitted.

And you will hear from the District and County Councillors, Police, parish institutions (Parish Council, Schools, Village Hall, Church) and several other Natland-based groups about their activities and plans.

You can read the draft agenda here. (There is the opportunity for electors to submit motions for discussion which must be on the agenda when it is finalised and published seven days before the APM on Thursday 11 May.)

There will be a chance to chat over a glass of wine or juice at the end of the meeting.

From 7.30pm at Natland and Oxenholme Village Hall, Natland.

Parish Magazine for May now available

Click here to find out about spring time goings on.

Young at Heart Group Meetings

Natland Young at Heart Social Group for older residents
will next meet on Monday 8th May at the Village hall
from 1.45-3.45pm. Come along and join us for an afternoon
of tea, chat and company.

Lunch Club. We have a few spaces left at St Mark’s Primary School for lunch on
Thursday 25th May at 1.30 pm. Be waited on by the children and enjoy a delicious meal
for £2.50. Places are limited, so to book or cancel a place, please ring the Age UK
helpline on 01539 728180 by 18th May. This event is in partnership with St Mark’s Church
and St Mark’s School.

Village Hall AGM | Monday 8 May

All interested residents of Natland and Oxenholme are cordially invited to attend the Annual General Meeting of the Village Hall on Monday 8 May at 7pm in the village hall.

Coffee Morning in Church Vestry

There will be a Vestry Coffee Morning in St. Mark's Church on Thursday the 27th April from 10.30 to 12 noon.

Everyone is warmly welcome.
Coffee/Tea and homemade biscuits - £1.50. There will be a stall of plants and other goods and a raffle. Proceeds will go towards church funds.

Thank you to everyone who came. £109 was raised.

Information about James Bowman

Last year, I found George Wenman’s account of his life at Natland Home for Waifs and Strays on your website.

Oh, how I wish I had been able to contact George Wenman - he must have known my brother James Bowman while James was living at Natland.

This is probably also a very accurate outline of the kind of life that James experienced while he lived in Natland. It bears a surprisingly close resemblance to my own experiences in St Hughes Home for Boys in Lincoln, from 1940 until 1946.

James stayed at Natland from 1942 until 1953, when he was 15 years old. He was sent to work on farms in Yorkshire.

The home in Natland was closed in 1994. If anyone would like more info please contact me.

Bill Bowman (born in Penrith in 1935)

Regards,
William Bowman | william.bowman@sympatico.ca

Report on the last Natland and Oxenholme W.I. Meeting

President Kirsten Cannon welcomed 35 members and 5 guests to the monthly meeting.

4 members had recently attended a lunch and a very entertaining talk at The Villa by Paul Laidlaw, the television antique expert.

President Kirsten expressed her thanks to all who had helped make the Fashion Show on 17 March such a success, particular thanks to the models and those providing refreshments and to Caroline from Kitty Brown at Carnforth.  She had received many positive comments about the event which had raised £661.

President Kirsten then welcomed our speaker Sue Allen who works for The Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere.  Sue gave an illustrated talk on Dorothy Wordsworth the beloved sister of the famous poet William.  Dorothy was an extraordinary woman who was an accomplished writer in her own right.  Her surviving notebooks including the ‘Grasmere Journal’ are on display in The Jerwood Centre at Grasmere.  Joan Ratcliffe gave the vote of thanks.

The competition for A favourite poem was won by Lauren Harkness with Joan Ratcliffe in second place who read out their poems to the members.

The monthly raffle was won by Marlene Williamson.

Date of next meeting is May 17th at 7.15p.m. in Natland Village Hall when the guest speaker Sarah Brown will speak on ‘St John’s Hospice’.

This Saturday - The Music of John Denver for one night only in Natland

After a two year gap, Saturday 22nd April sees the reappearance in Natland of Chris Bannister performing the songs of John Denver. Chris has performed all over the UK and in the USA.  He will be performing at St. Mark's Church when he comes to Natland. Starts at 7.30.

Tickets from Natland Post Office or trybooking.co.uk/953

Here are just some quotes about his performances 
‘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

Thanks Everyone. It was a lovely evening. Chris was able to sing without amplification because of the superb acoustics of the church. Over £1,000 was raised towards the running costs of the church.

Natland Parish Council - Agenda

The Agenda for the Parish Council Meeting on the 1st May is available by clicking here.

Monday Club Meeting

Club members will meet, as usual, in the Village Hall at 2pm, on 24th April when Pat Ascroft will speak on "Arctic dog-sledding".
Refreshments and Bookstall to follow.

The Parish Council is objecting to "short-sighted folly"

The Parish Council is objecting to a proposed new development off Longmeadow Lane by Oakmere Homes. Their objections can be boiled down to the need to maintain separation between Natland and Oxenholme, the adverse visual impact on the landscape, the inability of the narrow village lanes to accept any more traffic, and the distance from the village centre – it’s the wrong direction in which to expand this settlement

In addition the proposed ‘amenity space’ is not needed in a rural village .

Another objection is the uncertainty about what lies beneath this site – limestone with caves – and where the water off The Helm goes. Click here to read the full letter of objection

An Appeal from the Natland and Oxenholme Village Hall Committee

YOUR VILLAGE – YOUR COMMUNITY.  CAN YOU HELP?
Your Village hall is a vitally important facility for the whole community and all age groups, providing a safe and reliable venue for many activities and events.
The Management Committee needs more volunteer members to help run and maintain the Hall to ensure it remains sustainable.
No specific previous experience is required – everyone has knowledge or skills that might help the team to make good decisions in managing the use and upkeep of this valued facility.
If you’re interested, please contact the Secretary, Rhian Peters on 015395 60671, for more information.

Parish Council Minutes

The Parish Council met as usual at the end of March and reported on various events like the litter pick and and planning matters. Click here for the full minutes. If you notice this Easter how well the public footpaths in the village are signposted credit should be given to Ian Ellison and Sue Ashton who have tramped in the cold and through the mud to survey the paths and erect new yellow signs.

Debit card found on the Green

Found today on the Green this morning when walking dogs at Natland a NatWest Visa debit card in the name of Miss Nicole Blackwell. If anyone knows her, please ask her to get in touch with me, Heather Moore, on moore.679@btinternet.com.

Tea room planning application for the post office

Cllr David Peters has drawn our attention to the ‘change of use’ planning application that has appeared on the planning register on SLDC’s website relating to the establishment of a tea room at the post office.

It’s easily found on the register using ref no CU/2017/0002 or postcode LA9 7QQ.

Plans and documents can be viewed and comments (which would be made public) can be submitted online.

It really was a wet March

WEATHER STATISTICS MARCH
                                                      2017 2016
Temperature at 8 am                        5.4c 4.1c
Minimum Temperature (average)    3.9c 2.8c
Maximum Temperature (average)    9.2c 7.7c
                                                      mm in mm in
Rainfall                                       156.5 6.3 92 3.7
March was milder than usual : there were no temperatures below zero.
It was also much wetter than the average of 85.6 mm. Apart from a dry
spell towards the end of the month, we had rain nearly every day.

Church Magazine available

The April edition of the Parish Magazine is available here.  There is plenty going on in St. Mark's Church and in the village, and there are also plenty of opportunities to  'make space for God's grace and mercy' during services over Easter, or in times of quietness in the lovely church building. The church is open all day.