Agenda
Will Carlisle shops pay the price for higher parking fees?
Published 28 November 2008
For many years the shops in our town and city centres have lived in fear of the giant shopping developments on the outskirts, open 24 hours a day and offering free parking.
So children are animals? What does that say about adults?
Published 23 November 2008
Antony Hext reaches down to his friend Nathan Thomlinson’s left leg and stares at his sock. “Have you got your machete?” he asks. “Is it in there?”
Who are happy hour drinks promotions happy for?
Published 14 November 2008
Cheap booze. For many those two words are enough to put a beaming smile on the face. A nice relaxing night with a bit of change left in the purse or wallet, whether that drink is consumed in a pub or the comfort of home.
For brave young soldiers like Sarah, we must always remember
Published 7 November 2008
Sunday will be a difficult day for Maureen Feely. In tribute to all soldiers, fallen in so many wars, she will pause to remember them. In honour of her treasured only daughter Sarah, killed in active service in Afghanistan, the day will be much like any other ... awash with precious memories.
Cumbria marathon runners 'want to be tested'
Published 31 October 2008
As the world of work becomes less manual and more office-bound, growing numbers of us feel the need to test our physical toughness by getting back to nature – and proving to ourselves that we can handle it.
A crash course in road survival
Published 24 October 2008
Five years ago a shocking statistic spurred the county into action: it was revealed that Cumbria had the worst rate of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents, per head, in the country.
Ernie, the hill farmer who has a fragile existence
Published 17 October 2008
Our beloved Lake District landscape is changing almost imperceptibly as farmers and their sheep retreat off the fells. It’s news to no one that sheep farming is in decline but as the trickle out of the industry has turned into a torrent, fears of an irreversible shift are growing.
Spreading the word
Published 17 October 2008
When the Rev Canon Dr Richard Pratt closes the door to his vicarage in January and heads to west Cumbria, Carlisle will surely seem a quieter place.Still, the wider picture shows numbers are continuing to fall. “Life seems to be more pressurised and only on Sundays can people stop and draw breath,” he muses before jumping up to make more tea. “That’s a bad thing I think. Also as a society people don’t join things as much: WIs, Rotary Clubs, political parties. People have pressure on their time, on their energy and have different commitments.”
Richard's spreading the word
Published 10 October 2008
When the Reverend Canon Dr Richard Pratt closes the door to his vicarage in January and heads to West Cumbria, Carlisle will surely seem a quieter place.
Going underground?
Published 10 October 2008
There is a story, sworn by its teller to be true, of an American woman who visited Carlisle in the 1980s. “Nice place,” she said. “But what a dumb thing to do – building a castle so close to a road.”
What are they putting in our water?
Published 3 October 2008
About 130,000 homes in Cumbria are supplied by water containing added fluoride – and soon that number could be increased.
‘It beggars belief that a body entrusted with improving your health is promoting this...’
Published 3 October 2008
Dianne Standen’s daughter has had to spend thousands of pounds on cosmetic dentistry after developing mottled, discoloured teeth. She has had to pay for veneers to cover the damage done by the condition called dental fluorosis.
Stewart Young - back at the helm, a man on a mission
Published 26 September 2008
The fashionable view is that it doesn’t matter who runs the county council. Politicians are all the same, aren’t they? Stewart Young begs to differ.
No theatre for 45 years... is Carlisle a cultural desert?
Published 19 September 2008
Parked cars and shopping trolleys mark the site of Carlisle’s last theatre. The final curtain fell on Her Majesty’s in 1963.
Destination Christmas
Published 19 September 2008
Christmas.It’s spelled C-a-r-l-i-s-l-e for many. Make a quick tour of the city centre and in among all the jingling tills, you’ll hear accents from Scotland, the north east and Preston.
Queen of Raffles
Published 19 September 2008
On Carlisle’s Raffles estate Kath Queen is everybody’s second mum. For many she is more important than their blood relations. Every day Kath deals with other people’s almighty problems.
High on life
Published 19 September 2008
First the tea then the milk then the sugar. Small rituals are packed with significance for Harry Price and Adam Slade. Harry carries the cups through to the living room as his friend Adam turns the volume down on the TV. Homelessness and drug use often go hand in hand. Drug addicts frequently lose everything, including their homes. And people who become homeless for other reasons often turn to drugs to blot out grim reality.
Saving Bassenthwaite
Published 19 September 2008
As a youngster, Barbara Maher had one ambitious career in her sights – to become a diamond hunter. Now she hunts for “diamonds” of a different kind in her detective’s role, seeking out the culprits that are threatening the very future of one of Britain’s best known lakes. So what can be done to lessen the impact of the silt from Newlands Beck? Prof Maher points to “softer” management of the beck and the planting of trees to hold the soil and reduce the impact of the rain.
Access all areas?
Published 19 September 2008
Cumbria is on the brink of a spectacular regeneration. Thousands of new homes are earmarked for Penrith; there’s a rebirth in the making out west where there are plans to redefine and redevelop Sellafield and West Lakes; Workington has a glossy new £35m town centre; and an even more expensive renaissance is slowly taking shape for Carlisle.Rob Johnston, chief executive of the Cumbria Chamber of Commerce said transport providers should look at redrawing services, using imagination and initiative on how they are provided.James Mellor, commercial manager for Stagecoach buses which operates services across the county, said Cumbria could follow the example set by another rural county, Lincolnshire.Raymond Archer is part of the Cumbria Voluntary Social Car Scheme where volunteers provide transport in their own cars for those unable to use buses and trains.
The wastelands
Published 19 September 2008
The small rural Borders community of Nicholforest is used to standing up for itself and fighting its corner – they’ve had centuries of practice in the ‘Debatable Lands’.
