Cumbria Recovery & Festive Fun…

Just a quick update re the floods and Cumbria’s recovery. The slogan going around is ‘Cumbria’s open for Business’ to which I would definitely add ‘… for Pleasure too!’  Today the new footbridge, Barker Crossing, was opened in Workington.  Well done to the Army, Royal Engineers for getting it put up in only a week. The BBC have given it great coverage here – note the rain is still pouring down!

There is a rather lengthy and earnest article on Cumbria Tourism’s website from Ian Stephens, their CEO, which gives details of what’s going on in the bigger picture – riveting stuff about NWDA and how we are leading the country in Tourism – yay! Read it here …

However, as Christmas is coming, I was much more drawn to how we are going to celebrate the festive season.  I especially love some of the quirky and fun events going on around the county.  All the towns and villages are bedecked with lights and decorations and the shops are full to bursting with hand-crafted gifts and delicious food.  I went Christmas shopping in Kendal on Sunday and found lots of quirky and beautful pressies  - and FREE parking!  (Apparently all South Lakeland Car Parks are free each Sunday until the 27th December.)

Holker Hall is hosting loads of great things including their Victorian Christmas extravaganza.  The Lake District is such a lovely place to visit at this time of year – there’s plenty to see and do so why not come up and see us sometime

Cumbria Floods …

This weekend has been a really awful one for Cumbria and other places in the north of UK.  Following torrential rain for many days, rivers finally burst their banks and suddenly Cumbria was plunged into chaos. Cockermouth and Workington suffered the worst, but many other people and places were badly affected.  The death of PC Bill Barker was a dreadful shock to all and made everyone realise the seriousness of the situation.

This picture was taken by Linda Mellor , a local photographer who was out taking photos before things got really dangerous. This shows the road along Ullswater to Pooley Bridge, just before it was closed. For more shots of the flooding visit LindaMellorPhotos

There are awful things happening all over the world at this very moment, yet we are most affected by what happens on our doorstep.  I have a friend in Cockermouth and so a big concern was that she was OK.  She’s fine.  And just being so connected to Cumbria and the NW makes it all so much more real …

And that is the thing for me about this disaster. It is definitely not be the worst thing to happen in the world, but it is something that is close to home … and so I care more and want to do more to help.  One simple way to do that was to use Twitter to let others know what was happening and hope that by getting the word far and wide, more can be done.  (Some of us even got coverage in The Times on Saturday!)

If you would like to help the people of Cumbria whose lives are currently being turned upsidedown, visit the Cumbria Flood Community Fund to donate.  Alternatively you can send a cheque made out to Cumbria Community Foundation to: Cumbria Community Foundation, Dovenby Hall, Cockermouth CA13 0PN. Please write on the back ‘Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund.