Looking at the big picture

Published 9 May 2008

When 35-year-old stepmum Fiona Robson joined a campaign to save her local cinema from demolition, she never saw herself as a key player in shaping the future of a forward-thinking city.

Not so merry month of May

Published 2 May 2008

A band plays. Villagers in fancy dress make their way from the vicarage to the village green where children dance around the Maypole as the May Queen is crowned.

Beware what you don’t vote for

Published 30 April 2008

In common with so many other pretty, well-kept Cumbrian villages, Wetheral wears its most commonly used description with a degree of pride. Sleepy village. There may be a touch of the Miss Marple about it – but it’s still complimentary.

I suffered racial abuse during my election campaign but ignored it

Published 30 April 2008

Carlisle goes to the polls on Thursday to elect a third of the city council. The anti-immigration British National Party is contesting eight of the 16 seats. Last year it surprised the established parties by coming second in Currock.

‘A lot of guys joined the Territorial Army as a hobby. It has turned into a little more for some...’

Published 3 April 2008

Not too long ago, they were dismissed as ‘Saturday night soldiers’ – part-timers who ‘played’ at the real thing. They would meet up at weekends for manoeuvres, drills and drinking. The idea of calling up volunteers in times of national crisis goes back centuries and the counties of Cumberland and Westmorland have a long tradition of providing part-time volunteer soldiers for county militias.

The drug of choice for today’s teenagers

Published 27 March 2008

Bored. Nothing to do. Helen Gregory has heard the problems of being a teenager articulated many times. She has also seen one of the most popular solutions, although she is far from convinced that it actually works. Friday and Saturday nights are the most common time for underage drinking, as they are for adults. Helen is aware of teenagers drinking up to 30 units of alcohol in a session. A large bottle of vodka contains 28 units. Sarah is a 15-year-old from north Cumbria who regularly drinks, sometimes to the point of oblivion. “I drink at least once a week, usually on a Saturday night. My parents know I drink but they don’t know how much. They let me drink a couple of bottles a week at home.

The secret to living longer

Published 25 March 2008

Four apples, a bag of carrots and a carton of milk. Could these be the key to answering one of Cumbria’s most intriguing mysteries – why people in Greystoke live longer than those anywhere else in the county?

Is this the end ofjam and Jerusalem?

Published 13 March 2008

The clatter of china cups of tea on saucers, the faint smell of damp in a poorly heated room, the vision of a young Queen Elizabeth smiling down from a 50-year-old portrait... The organisation actually started life in Canada in the last years of the 19th century and the National Federation over here was established in 1917 by Lady Denman.

I used a craft knife on my arm. The next day, I could not believe what I had done

Published 6 March 2008

The trigger – there’s always a trigger for self injury – could be anything... bullying, sexual abuse, depression, or the ill-health or suffering of a loved one. SIS is only small but demand for its services has grown since it started operating in 2001. Last year 217 people were counselled, ages ranging from 13 to more than 60.

The mother of all jobs

Published 29 February 2008

Jane Douglas gently lifts Courtney again for the umpteenth time of asking, grins, and coos: “Courtney, Courtney, Courtney, smiiile.” Courtney is only five months old and won’t be ordered about. In between the household chores, Jane had plenty of time to spend with her youngsters, something she reckons today’s mums and dads miss out on. Despite computers, mobile phones, e-mails and texting, families don’t connect or communicate as they used to, according to Jane.

The mother of all jobs

Published 28 February 2008

Jane Douglas gently lifts Courtney again for the umpteenth time of asking, grins, and coos: “Courtney, Courtney, Courtney, smiiile.” Courtney is only five months old and won’t be ordered about. In between the household chores, Jane had plenty of time to spend with her youngsters, something she reckons today’s mums and dads miss out on. Despite computers, mobile phones, e-mails and texting, families don’t connect or communicate as they used to, according to Jane.

Should Carlisle return to Scottish rule?

Published 21 February 2008

If the people of Berwick-upon-Tweed have their way, the Northumberland town will soon be returning to Scotland after an absence of more than 600 years. HealthEducationFootball Television Language Politicians An Englishman abroad Bank Holidays

No title

Published 7 February 2008

Julius Caesar first ordered a Roman invasion of Britain in 55BC, but left when the tribes promised to pay tribute to Rome.

So what did Hadrian ever do for us?

Published 7 February 2008

For the first time, Cumbrians can stand face to face with one of the architects of the county. His fingerprints, and those of his fellow Romans, have been left all over our countryside. Mr Padley is in no doubt about the importance of Hadrian’s legacy, locally and internationally: “In this age of tourism, it is a great pull and lots of people owe their livelihoods to the wall.

From Cumbria to the South Bank

Published 31 January 2008

MELVYN BRAGG was born in Carlisle in October 1939. His parents, Mary and Stanley, lived on the new Greenacres estate in Wigton before Stanley took over the Black-a-Moor pub on Market Hill.

No title

Published 31 January 2008

Something to Bragg about

Published 31 January 2008

The theme tune – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Variations (on a theme by Paganini) – tells the story. String, flute and piano fuse into electric guitar and bass. Classical and popular in perfect harmony. Welcome to The South Bank Show, one and all.

‘We want a fundamental sea-change’

Published 24 January 2008

Re-making history

Published 24 January 2008

The Cathedral has withstood centuries of warfare and the wear and tear of the traffic of time. Founded in 1122 it has witnessed Reivers and Jacobites, the march of army battalions and the trundle of carriages and cars.