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Newsletter 42 Spring 2007
Spencer Bromley: Just before Christmas Spencer Bromley a long time friend, supporter and Trustee of the Centre - died peacefully in his sleep after a long illness.
West Cumbrian born and bred, Spence could always be relied on for down to earth advice and solid common sense. Both a natural gentleman and a naturally gentle man, his was the voice of reason at some of our early (and stormy) Committee Meetings, and he brought a wonderfully old-fashioned touch to proceedings by insisting on calling Patrick Gordon-Duff-Pennington Mr Chairman when everyone else was calling him Patrick (or something entirely more colourful ). When he retired from the Committee due to ill health, a little bit of much-needed Workington grit passed from our lives.
He is survived by his partner Liz the drop-dead glamorous New York showgirl who decided to share her life with him. It was an engagingly unlikely pairing, and against all the apparent odds, it worked.
Our love and sympathy go out to her.
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Great Cumbrian Run: David Nicholson safely completed the run in October, and not only lived to tell the tale but was also walking reasonably normally the day after (or so he said ). He raised over £600.00 for the Centre. Our thanks both to him and to everyone who sponsored him.
Martinmas Fair: Do you remember the truly atrocious weather we had at the end of last year and the beginning of this? Wind, storms, structural damage? That weather? Yes? Well, it began on November the 11 th the day of our Martinmas Fair. You could not almost literally stand up in the wind that was cutting across our front steps. We wouldn't have been entirely surprised if no-one had shown up. Nor would we have blamed anyone for staying at home in front of the fire. As it turned out however a steady trickle of hardy souls DID start to arrive. Some even came from as far afield as Keswick, which either made them incredibly noble or certifiably insane. Nonetheless, at the end of the day we unanimously felt it had been a bit of a washout until we noticed that all the cakes had gone and three-quarters of our jumble seemed to have vanished. When we added up the takings, multiplied by the date of the Battle of Hastings, divided by a baker's dozen and took away the number we originally thought of, we were astonished to discover that we'd cleared over £1,000.00. We were, of course, absolutely delighted . It's just such a shame that we have NO idea how it happened
Finances: We continue to live our lives in true Micawberish fashion. When we faced imminent demise last year, we knew exactly what we had to do in order (a) to survive and (b) to ensure that we never found ourselves in the same position again. Part (a) of the plan with a lot of help from friends, supporters, charitable trusts and fundraising events came to pass. We duly lived to fight another day and indeed we will live to see the next financial year, something we could never have predicted 12 months ago. Part (b) however which was at least as important as Part (a) has proved to be rather more troublesome than expected. In spite of all our best efforts, local industry has failed to support the Centre to anything LIKE the same extent as either individuals or the local and national charitable trusts, resulting in a shortfall of some £9,000 in our carefully calculated budget. That £9,000 would make the difference between literally living hand-to-mouth (and having to spend a disproportionate amount of time chasing funding) and being able to put financial worries to one side for a while and concentrate on what we're SUPPOSED to be doing helping those in need. The most aggravating part about all this is that £9,000 would be a drop in the proverbial ocean to the large companies we're talking about companies who have a duty of care to the local community. We are not, however, about to go away and stop bothering them. Over the years we've become very good at nibbling people into submission
IN THE MEANTIME we have a few fund-raising events beginning to take shape.
First out of the blocks is Muncaster Castle 's annual Festival of Fools from Sunday the 27th of May to Thursday the 31st of May. Last year we had an improbable amount of fun running Ye Olde Splatte Ye Ratte stall. This year, the Castle has yet to reveal its evil plans for us, but I gather they have something else entirely in store. In 2006 we managed to field a full company of volunteers over the whole five days of the Festival and we'd like to do the same again. It's a great volunteering opportunity for the whole family children are often some of our most enthusiastic and energetic helpers. It'll come as no surprise at all to regular readers of this Newsletter to learn that there's a form enclosed so that you can tell me how much you'd love to lend a hand. Of course, you're perfectly at liberty to tell me to take a long walk off a short pier, too but I would just like to remind you that I Know Where You Live .
Cooking the Books: This little gem has just sprung, freshly minted, from the brain of our very own Volunteer Organizer, Andrea (although I own up to being responsible for the naff title). Please mark Friday the 27th of July and Saturday the 28th of July in your diaries. On those two days, when West Cumbria should all things being equal be heaving with summer visitors, we are holding a massive book sale at the Centre. The whole of the ground floor of the Chase, except the kitchen, will be given over to our vast and ever-expanding collection of second-hand books. The kitchen will be dedicated to guess what? Yep. Cakes. Whatever else we do, we can't resist selling cakes. We're hopeless cake cases. (Oh go on laugh. It's not a bad pun.) Doors will open at 10.00am and close at 4.00am on both days. We might even sell you a cuppa if you're very good. Secondhand books, volunteers, bakers and customers all required in equal quantities.
EGREMONT CAR BOOT SALE : After we were all nearly parboiled at last year's Car Boot at the Market Hall, I asked if we could have an autumn date in 2007. This was on the grounds that I personally prefer freezing to being rendered down for chip fat. The splendid Town Clerk took me at my word and has reserved us Sunday the 21st of October . I'll remind you all again in the September newsletter but thought I'd just plant that little seed in your brains now.
Gardening supplies : Our garden is gorgeous and we love it to bits but working on it is rather like painting the Forth Bridge . Fortunately, our gardeners both paid and voluntary DON'T all enjoy doing the same things, so we have one who really likes laying into the wild rhododendrons with a brush-cutter, one who likes weeding and planting, one who likes pruning, one who likes demolishing things Between them they make an effective team and manage to keep the grounds looking half-way decent for most of the year. Spring is on its way (so rumour has it) so we've started turning our minds to our future gardening needs. Because so many more people are appearing on a Wednesday to help out with the garden, we're a bit short of tools, so my chief ask (and let's face it when am I NOT asking for something?) is for gardening equipment. Do you have old forks, spades, trowels, hoes, wheelbarrows, rakes and the like that are still serviceable but for which you have no further use? If so send them in our direction, please also any plants, shrubs, young fruit trees, bulbs whatever. We'll take anything you have, as long as it's not marestail or ground elder. We're also trying to track down a decent secondhand greenhouse or polytunnel, if such a thing exists or a reasonably priced (ie: dirt cheap) new one. The greenhouse would probably have to be a lean-to in view of the powerful winds that rip across the rear garden. Any suggestions or indeed offers would be very gratefully received. If you'd like to join us on Wednesdays, you'd be very welcome. Lunch is provided and you can do as much or as little as you like it's entirely up to you. If just pottering is your thing, that's absolutely fine, too.
New Therapists:
We are pleased to say that as from the beginning of this year, two new visiting therapists will be swelling the ranks:-
Erica Flint (who is our new next-door neighbour) is a registered homopath and a member of the NHS register of Complementary and Alternative practitioners. As well as seeing people individually, Erica is also planning to run courses covering a broad range of activities from print making through gardening to paper crafting. Tel: 01229 717577.
Kay McMahon is a long-time friend of the Centre who is a Therapeutic Practitioner for Surestart Copeland. Kay will be offering Ayurvedic Massage by appointment. Ayurveda originated in India 4,000 years ago and is believed to be the oldest health-maintenance system known to modern man. Tel: 019467 24226.
The Medicine Garden : Our good friend and colleague Sarah Atkinson is a Medical Herbalist and is running a series of cookery courses from her premises The Medicine Garden in Ulverston. We have just enough room to give a couple of her offerings a quick plug:
Wednesday, 14th March: Brain Food ideas to feed your memory and concentration.
Thursday, 22nd March: Living with Cancer.
For more information, contact Sarah on 01229 580222 or visit www.medicine-garden.com.
Finally-but-one: I know I often sound like a cracked record, and I frequently bore myself to tears but could you POSSIBLY consider making regular donations to the Centre by means of a Banker's Order? As little as £2.00 per month makes a big difference, because standing orders are a regular and reliable source of income for us and they're made even more valuable by Gift Aid, which enables us to claim back 28p for every £1.00 donated by a taxpayer. Standing Orders are easy to set up and can be paid monthly, quarterly or annually. Just in CASE I've caught you at a weak and generous moment I'm enclosing a standing order form or you can find one on our website cccare.org.
Finally: I've updated our mailing list software. When I last did this, terrible things happened specifically, people who had previously been removed from the list reappeared as if by magic. If it's happened again, please don't shout at me. Just accept my sincere apologies, tick the box at the bottom of the enclosed form and I'll delete you. Again.
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