BEWCASTLE
BiT O' CrACk
VOLUME 19
FREE
FEBRUARY 2017
This Magazine is a non-profit making community publication, produced and run
by volunteers to provide local people and other interested parties with information
on events and meetings in the Bewcastle Parish and surrounds; and for articles by
local and other writers. Items are accepted in good faith and the Editors reserve
the right to print at their discretion, the opinions displayed are not necessarily
those of the team!
E&OE
Originally established March, 1997
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OUTLETS FOR Bo’C AND BENEFICE NEWSLETTERS
The following have kindly agreed to be Collection Points for this issue:
Bewcastle Church; Garry’s Workshop; Roadhead Hall; Knowe Church;
Mary Phillips, Sleetbeck; Bailey Mill; any other outlet by request
To obtain B o’ C as a regular email, please contact [email protected]
with your email address.
To obtain the Benefice Newsletter as a regular email please contact
[email protected] with your email address.
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PRIVATE ADVERTISEMENTS
Ten issues per year - February, March, April, May, June, July/August,
September, October, November, December/January, as before
There will no longer be commercial adverts, to keep printing work down,
But private adverts, notices, etc are free as before.
DEADLINE - 20th - OF EACH MONTH
Rosemary & Chris Alcock, [email protected], Tel: 016977 48390
Craiggy Ford, Roadhead, CA6 6PD
Ruth Tiernan, Lower Stonegarthside, Penton, CA6 5QH,Tel: 01228 577 382
Ian James, Low Todholes, Roadhead, CA6 6PF, Tel: 016977 48646
This Magazine is a non-profit making community publication, produced and run
by volunteers to provide local people and other interested parties with information
on events and meetings in the Bewcastle Parish and surrounds; and for articles by
local and other writers. Items are accepted in good faith and the Editors reserve
the right to print at their discretion, the opinions displayed are not necessarily
2
EDITORIAL
Belated warmest wishes for the New Year of 2017.
We are delighted to welcome back our front cover Illustrator, Margaret
Armstrong, whom I met by happenchance at the till in Asda and she very kindly agreed
to take up the challenge and artistry again. She not only produces the appropriate
picture for each issue but also gives me a selection to choose from!
Our pages this month are mainly about the recent events over Christmas and
January, but should bring you up to date on what has been happening in December and
the earliest part of the year. Please let us know of any additions or changes we need
to make.
Best wishes and kind regards from Rosemary and Team.
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ROADHEAD HALL BINGO NIGHT
The Bingo Night on the 2nd December was well attended and a great success,
making £475 for Children in Need, and also a further £200 for Bewcastle School, the
latter cheque being presented to the School at their Christmas lunch, which was greatly
enjoyed by all who came for the meal.
Garry called the Bingo as ever, ably assisted by Liz Sunley, and the sales table
did a roaring trade in cakes, jams, etc, with refreshments at half time, and many
generous prizes donated for the drawing.
Many thanks to Mary Phillips and Georgina Harland for arranging such a
popular fund raiser, and to everyone who attended and gave their support to such a
worthwhile cause. The schoolchildren gave beautiful renditions of two Christmas
carols accompanied by Georgina on the guitar, and the whole evening went so well.
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KNOWE CHURCH CHRISTMAS TREE COMPETITION
The weekend of the 16th/17th December saw the Church decorated with
several trees and were judged as follows:
1st - Young Farmers, 2nd Bewcastle School - host of Angels, 3rd - Scouts,
4th - Garry, commercial entry, 5th - Reiver Arts - hand made decorations,
6th - Wendy Simpson, other entries being the Knowe Church,
Knowe Farm, Bewcastle Cross Cheese, Blue Grey cattle, First Responders,
and the Telford Family. Well done, a sight to behold.
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BEWCASTLE HERITAGE SOCIETY
We had a very interesting and enjoyable meeting with David Moorat on December 20th.
One Hundred and One Shops proved fascinating and showed how much trade the shops in
Brampton got in the 1800s and early 1900s, and what a wide range of goods needed to be sold.
Provision merchants sold everything from groceries to gunpowder as people in those days even
had to make their own cartridges. There were saddlers and drapers, and from the accounts he
showed us these people often had to wait a very long time for their money.
After the talk, Geoff handed round his mulled wine and mince pies, which added to the
wonderful atmosphere of the evening.
The Heritage Society would like to thank all the artists who took part in The Duncan
Telford Memorial Concert, and the Rev Philip Greenhalgh for compering the evening. It was
greatly enjoyed and £300 was divided between our two churches; so thank you to all who
suppoerted us.
The next event will be our annual dinner at the Graham Arms in Longtown after the
AGM, at 7pm on Tuesday the 21st February, please give names to Barbara 48212 or Geoff 01228
792723 for the meal.
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MR J RAWLINGS
What a surprise to read in December’s Bo’C (Patsy’s Page) that she and Derek had met
Mr J Rawlings at Bewcastle Church. Another surprise to learn that he had been Headmaster at
Park School. Mr Rawlings was my Headmaster when I went to (Rickerby House) Eden School,
having left Wreay chool when the teaching system changed, and all children had to go to
Secondary Modern Schools after 11 years old.
I got sent (with many others from surrounding districts) to the huge school in Rickerby
Park. It must have been quite a challenge for Mr Rawlings to go from our lovely little school in
Bewcastle to a school as big as Eden with so many classrooms, children and staff. My friends
and I all thought he was a real gentleman and he was very much respected by us all. My friend
Nancy Hutton and I went to a reunion at Shepherds Inn and it was so nice to see Mr Rawlings
again, he had brought a blue School Blazer ( a relic from those days at Eden School) which was
draped over a chair. It brought back many happy memories of our school days with Mr Rawlings
as Headmaster.
Ruth Money
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SPECIAL POSTAGE STAMPS FOR 2017
17rh January - Ancient Britain; 15th February - Windsor Castle; 14th March - Music Giants II;
6th April - Racehorse Legends; 4th May - Songbirds; 5th June - The Machin Definitive
Anniversary; 20th June - Windmills and Watermills; 13th July - Landmark Buildings;
31st July - The First World War - 1917 ; 22nd August - Classic Toys; 14th September - Ladybird
Books; ? October - To be announced; 7th November - Christmas; ? November - To be announced.
Post and Go Stamps
15th February - Royal Mail Heritage: Mail by Rail; 5th June - Machin Anniversary, 1967-2017;
13th September - Royal Mail Heritage: Mail by Air
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BEWCASTLE FARMERS AT CUMBRIA DAY`
Three dairy farmers from north Cumbria travelled to Westminster to
launch a product they hope will save their livelihoods.
Steve Pattinson, Kenneth James and Malcolm Dodd own herds in
remote Bewcastle - but rising production costs and an industry-wide slump in
milk prices have put their businesses in jeopardy. In a bid to diversify, the
three friends enlisted the help of local MP Rory Stewart, the Prince of Wales
and Carlisle-based artisan producer Cows and Co to launch their own premium cheese.
Bewcastle Cross, an ancient Welsh recipe Caerphilly cheese, was
unveiled at Cumbria Day on Tuesday 6th December. “I’ve known Rory for
a few years now, and when Prince Charles was in Cumbria back in 2014 the
two of them came to visit Bewcastle and talk about the state of dairy farming
in the area,” said Mr Pattinson. The Prince agreed to help us through a
donation from his Countryside Fund, and then Rory put us in touch with
Cows and Co to see if we could work together to maximise the potential of
our milk.”
Cows and Co recently acquired the Appleby Creamery to produce a
range of speciality cheeses using milk from dairy herds in the south of
Scotland. Bewcastle Cross is also produced at the plant. Managing director
Stuart MacLennan said: “Cumbria is great at food, great at tourism and at
farming - but we are notoriously bad at marketing ourselves. Because we
specialise in production, commerce and brand marketing Cows and Co is the
link between suppliers and producers.
“The Bewcastle milk is superior quality and, judging by the reaction
of everyone who tasted it at Cumbria Day, it makes fantastic cheese. We’ll
be including a sample in a Christmas hamper of Cumbria-sourced produce
which is being gifted to Prince Charles.”
Mr Stewart was one of six Cumbrian MPs involved in organising
Cumbria Day. “It’s a tough environment at the moment for dairy farmers
and getting those added value products to market can be a way of improving
your business,” he said. “I’ve beenworking with Steve and the others over
the last 18 months and the opportunity to bring this wonderful area, their
wonderful milk and cheese to the wider world seemed extraordinary.”
Bewcastle Cross cheese is available from: Cows & Co.com website,
and later on in local shops.
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COMFORT FOR SHOPPERS!
Shoppers in Carlisle will be relieved to know that work is starting at the end
of January 2017 in The Lanes shopping centre to build new toilets, according to the
Cumberland News! The old Lanes toilets closed in 2014 and the new ones will be
located on the first floor - opposite the library and at the top of the escalator on the
right hand side. They will be accessed by the stairs, escalator or the lift.
The old loos picked up a platinum award from the British Toilet Association
in 2013 having won the gold award for the previous 7 years running. (Phew!)
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PHOTOS OF MARCH 1963 SENT IN BY RUTH MONEY
A very bad winter!
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CALENDAR FOR FEBRUARY 2017
6th February
11th February
21st February
25th February
Easter songs and carols in the Crossings; come and sing with Maddy
Prior and others at 8pm, rehearsals every Monday until 13th March
also for performance on 11th April at Crossings
[email protected]
Mad Hatters Ball at 7.30pm in Roadhead Public Hall, tickets £12.50 in
advance, including Prosecco on arrival and a beef roll and cone of chips.
Dress: smart dress and any hat will do! Tickets from Steve Pattinson
48053 or Andrea Nicholson 48006
Heritage Society AGM and Annual Dinner at the Graham Arms, 7pm
All welcome, names to Barbara 48212 or Geoff 01228 792723 for
meal
Sat, Studio service for Shrove Tuesday, 2.15 at Barbara’s, all welcome
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NEEDLECRAFT CLASS
[email protected]
The time and date of the Needlecraft Class has been changed to the third Wednesday
of the month from the second Tuesday and will now be at 1.30pm to 3.30pm, to tie in with the
Hall Post Office timing of 9.30 to 11.30am. Please bring any current work you are doing.
All welcome, £3 as before.
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NETHERBY NEWS
Our daughter Ruth treated us to tickets for the Netherby Hall Carol concert before
Christmas. The concert was held by the Paisley Abbey singers and orchestra, of which Mrs
Margo Smith is the lead violinist, and we were all greeted with mulled wine and mince pies
before the performance. The singing was beautiful and we were encouraged to join in with
some of the carols. It is good to see the Hall being opened to the public on such occasions.
Thank you to Mr and Mrs Gerald Smith.
As seen in the local Press, the Bridge Inn has been bought by Netherby Estate and is
in the process of being extended from 6 B & B rooms to ten, using an existing barn, before it
reopens, and will revert back to its original name of Pentonbridge Inn. Work is also going on
to improve the lodge cottages on the estate, and a traditional kitchen garden, for the pub
produce, restoration of the main Hall, development of the north wing into three holiday
apartments, work on the stables, and the work to be completed by Easter 2017, is envisaged.
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BEWCASTLE PARISH COUNCIL
Would like to know if your business is affected by poor broadband and mobile signal
coverage.
Please contact the Clerk on 016977 48354 or email
[email protected]
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THE STINKIPOOPS
The reputation of the Stinkipoops is extremely skunky,
Then one day someone told them politely to take a dunky,
As when downwind they got up everyone’s noses;
Surely after a wash they would smell as sweet as roses.
They ran a bath and took a bright pink sponge
To wash off their bodies all the smelly gunge.
To get clean was going to be quite a task
Where their odour came from they hadn’t liked to ask.
Suddenly there was elevation from all the grubs
By giving each other plenty of good scrubs.
Taking an hour for a long hot steep,
And letting the soapy bathwater seep.
Eventually they got rid of all the hums,
But the little monkeys left a tide mark of scum.
They towel dried their legs and bellies,
And sprayed all over some sweet smellies.
Then they went and saw all their grannies
Who inspected all their nooks and crannies.
They thought their boys had scrubbed up well
As it was important at school not to smell!!!
Ian James
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HOSPITAL VISITING TIMES
BRAMPTON: 2.30-4PM
CARLISLE - CUMBERLAND INFIRMARY:
ASPEN: 3-5PM, 7-8PM
BEECH WARDS: 3-4.30PM, 7-8PM
CHILDRENS WARDS: 9.30AM-7PM (AT SISTER’S
DISCRETION)
ELM WARDS: 3PM-4.30PM, 6.30-8PM
LARCH A & B: 3-4PM, 7-8PM
LARCH C : 3-5PM, 7-8PM
LARCH D: 3-5PM, 6-8PM
MAPLE B, C, D: 2.30-4.30PM, 7-8PM
WILLOW A/B: 3-4.30PM, 6.30-8PM
WILLOW C: 3-4.30PM, 6.30-8PM
CCU: 3-4PM, 6-8PM
INTENSIVE CARE UNIT & HDU 2PM-3.30PM, 5.30-7PM
MATERNITY: 3-4PM, 7-8PM
SPECIAL CARE BABY UNIT: 11AM - 9PM
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NOTICE BOARD
HIGHWAYS HOTLINE 08456 096609, or online by going to:
www.cumbriahighways.co.uk
Use this number or website for any Pothole and Road Faults, Footways,
Cycleways, Road Lighting, Road signs, General Highways Enquiries,
Flooding of Roads, Windermere Ferry Enquiries, snow and Ice, Grass Verges, Overhanging Trees and Hedges. For the website: to Report a Fault,
Plot it on a Map, or type in a Description of the Location.
CONTACTING THE POLICE - Brampton Neighbourhood Policing Team
Emergency 999 Non-Emergency ring 101
Email - [email protected]
Crimestoppers - 0800 555 111
Website - www.cumbria.police.uk
Facebook - www.facebook.com/cumbriapolice
Twitter - www.twitter.com/cumbriapolice
Brampton Police Station, Longtown Road, Brampton Cumbria CA8 1SJ
Voluntary Car Scheme - Volunteer Drivers or People needing Transport, kindly
Phone Freddie Nixon on 48241 or Pat Nixon on 016977 45414 for direct bookings.
COMMUNITY FIRE SAFETY AWARENESS Alan Sowerby is Group Manager of the
Fire & Rescue Service for Carlisle & Longtown areas of North Cumbria. To have your
rural home assessed for fire prevention, have a working smoke alarm fitted, and know
what action to take should a fire break out, call freephone 0800 358 4777 for a Home Safety
Visit which is completely FREE OF CHARGE.
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH & FARM WATCH there has been a significant increase
in rural crime with criminals targeting quad bikes on farms. Any suspicious activity
witnessed including their description, vehicle details, should be passed on to the police
ASAP. For further information please contact 0845 3300 247.
RECYCLING of old Fridges, Furniture, Cookers, etc. The Council will collect these, now
for a fee of £18 per load of 5 items picked up. Tel: 01228 817200. Or take them free of
charge to the County Council Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) at Rome
Street 8am-6pm every day, or Townfoot Industrial Estate, Brampton, 10am-6pm every day
but Tuesday. You will need a Free permit at an HWRC if you have a van or twin axle
trailer - call 0845 055 1118.
Bulky household items also wanted by Impact Furniture Service (Free collection possible)
especially white goods (dead or alive!) Tel: 01228 633655. DO NOT FLY TIP AT
ROADHEAD RECYCLING SITE OR IN LOCAL HEDGEROWS!
PLEASE KEEP BEWCASTLE TIDY.
DOCTOR’S SURGERY - no longer at Roadhead, phone 013873 75100 at 8am for an
appointment at Newcastleton Health Centre - prescriptions may be collected from Garry’s,
Roadhead during working hours.
POST OFFICE NOW 9-30 to 11.130am on Wednesdays at Roadhead Hall
FIRST RESPONDERS: Doreen Telford 48248; Patricia Renwick 48024
9
Bewcastle Group
All our members came back from the Christmas break refreshed and eager to
carry on scouting, happy with the presents that Father Christmas had brought them. The leaders
held their holiday planning meeting, sadly not in some tropical paradise and produced an
interesting programme for the group to get us through this term of winter’s end. Planning is
always difficult when our weather is so unpredictable. One day bright and freezing and the
next dull, warm and muggy. Stil, we hope our plans go well although we always try to retain
a bit of flexibility in case of a sudden extreme, but we try to teach our scouts to come prepared
for anything!
Our plans include night hiking with star-gazing if it’s clear - always good to do since
we live in a dark sky area with little light pollution. If you want to check, just look at the
opening titles to the BBC tv news and see how much light is shown in mid & southern England,
north-eastern France and Belgium and the Glasgow to Edinburgh compared to our region. We
shall also be swimming, trampolining, learning about community policing, making pancakes,
holding an engineering evening and celebrating Robbie Burns and St Patrick in some ways yet
to be announced.
On our first meeting back we were able to award our annual trophies to the members
of each section who the leaders think contributed their best (or most) to the life of their section.
Beaver George McCluskey won for his enthusiasm at meetings. In Cubs, Briony Cole received
the cup for her effort and in Scouts, Anna Taylor was judged to have been a good supportive
member.
At the start of the year, we also moved some members up in their new sections in
readiness for the annual scout census at the end of January. Three Beavers ‘swam’ up into Cubs
which means that now we only have 2 members in our dormant Beaver Colony, which could be
re-opened if we had another leader, as this section is the life-blod of a group with members
moving through the sections during their scouting life. Three Cubs also climbed the gateway
into the Scout Troop and so these 2 sections seem to be maintaining their higher numbers even
though we have stopped recruiting for the same reasons. Their enthusiasm and exuberance
seem to make for a very crowded hall during the indoor meetings. Roll on the lighter nights
when we can get outside more!
Well done to the members who helped decorate the Christmas tree aat Roadhead Hall
last December, it looked very nice and also to the other members who decorated our tree at the
Knowe Church as part of their Christmas competition. There, we managed a good 3rd place
with short notice, so we hope to improve with better preparation for next Christmas.
Congratulations to our trophy winners for 2016 and as always, good scouting until
next month.
Geoff Price (Group Scout Leader, 01228- 792723)
DON’T THROW AWAY - RECYCLE!
Used printer, fax or photocopier cartridges & mobile phones
The Air Ambulance, British Heart Foundation and other charities which collect by
asking people to fill their bags with unwanted clothes, also recycle old printer cartridges of all
types, laser or inkjet, and unwanted mobile phones, so don’t throw anything away, keep them
in a bag in the shed and RECYCLE THEM!
In addition, our local schools organise mass collections from time to time so keep a
lookout for their announcements and send your cartridges and phones to them, or phone for
them to be collected. Contact Bewcastle, Fir Ends or Shankhill Schools. Thanks.
10
GETTING OLD
I’m getting rather old now, my joints are seizing up,
My hand is shaking, always spilling coffee from my cup,
Aches and pains all over from my head down to my toe,
On first names with my GP and the chemist says hello.
Takes twice as long to look half as good these days it’s often said,
Though hairs protrude from ears and nose, there’s nothing on my head
My back’s the only thing that goes, the rest of me has stopped,
It’s all gone rather saggy; everything has dropped.
My eyes appear to twinkle, it seems I’m having fun,
But it’s only my bifocals reflecting in the sun,
Seems I’m saying: ‘No I can’t’ far more than: ‘Yes I can’,
I think my wild oats finally have turned to prunes and bran.
Have to think what I can eat when I go out for a meal,
‘Cause indigestion strikes a lot, (you know how that can feel),
I remember one occasion, the thought just makes me wince,
A juicy steak, I sank my teeth and I haven’t seen them since!
And my memory is shocking; my mind just seems to go,
I often start a sentence then it’s gone, I’ve lost the flow,
Did you know about my bad knee? - It makes me quite unsteady,
Did you know about my bad knee? - Have I said that once already?
My social life has fizzled out, a dull evening’s quite appealing,
Supper and some cocoa, depending how I’m feeling,
No-one phones past nine o’clock for fear of waking me,
Mind you they often do that if they phone at half-past three!
My birthday, that was really fun, fire engines at the ready,
Lighting all those candles made my wife feel quite unsteady,
So the cake we carried outside, like a beacon from afar,
Then a group of scouts knocked on the door, singing Kumbaya.
Yesterday a pretty girl gave me a lovely smile,
(Well, my cardigan and sandals are the height of current style),
I got to feel quite breathless, my pacemaker then whined,
And next door’s car alarm went off about a dozen times!
I like to play a certain game with the folks down at the club.
‘Duelling ailments’ is what we do, while we’re chomping on our grub,
I say: ‘I’ve got lumbago, and arthritis in my spine’,
My friend says: ‘I can’t hear a thing, but it’s half-past two with mine!’
So God’s waiting room is where I sit, ready for the call,
For this world seems only for the young and able after all,
11
It’s ironic but I know that when I’m summoned from on high,
I’ll insist I have a stair lift or I’ll refuse to die!
(Courtesy Paul Hayward, Halesowen & Daily Mail)
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BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES
Many Happy Returns to:
ANDREW COWAN
GARRY PHILLIPS
CHLOE JAMES
MARGARET NOBLE
CAITLIN GRAHAM
DANIEL CHARNOCK
MICHELLE GRAHAM
JOE CHARNOCK
VANESSA DOUGLAS
LOUISE CARRUTHERS
AMANDA PHILLIPS
ELIZABETH FORSTER
LAURA CHARNOCK
MELANIE DREW
KAREN BLAIR
JORDAN HUBBARD
1st February
2nd February
2nd February
7th February
8th February
9th February
15th February
18th February
19th February
19th February
21st February
21st February
25th February
27th February
28th February
28th February
Best Wishes to All who are ill or in Hospital
Please kindly let us have any updates to our list
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BEWCASTLE PARISH COUNCILLORS
www.bewcastleparishcouncil.org.uk
Barbara Smith, Chairman, Roughsyke
Tel: 016977 48212
Brian Carruthers, Peel a Hill, Bewcastle
48232
Malcolm Dodd, Roanstrees, Bailey
48601
Ann Holt-Thomas, Murray Holme, Bewcastle
48157
Andrea Nicholson, The Police House, Roadhead
48006
Steven Pattinson, Kinkry Hill Farm, Roadhead
48053
Mary Phillips, 7 Sleetbeck Road, Roadhead
48254
Patricia Renwick, The Knowe, Roadhead
48024
Frank Waugh, Kilnstown, Bewcastle
48655
Catherine Leach, Clerk, Whintingstown, Roadhead
48354
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