in Sedbergh and District
  Each year Christian Aid has a focus for its annual campaign week.  Last year, in 2005, it was Mozambique.  People here gave generously and at 7.30 pm on the 6th November there will be an opportunity to hear at first hand what kind of projects the money given has enabled to take place.  The local Christian Aid Committee and the Methodist Church invite you to come along to the Methodist Schoolroom to hear Ben Humphries speak on:
  Mozambique -. faith, hope and despair in the face of HIV
  Ben is the Acting North West Unit Manager and Area co-ordinator for Cumbria and Lancashire. Earlier this year he spent three months in southern Africa as a volunteer with an ecumenical group of Mozambique churches on their home-based care programme for people with HIV. He worked with local pastors to address the pastoral and theological implications for their ministries. He saw how the community is coming to terms with the special needs of orphans, fostering schemes and support to lone parents. Ben will share his experiences with us and show some of his slides.  There will be opportunities to ask questions and raise issues and also to enjoy some light refreshments.
  Thank you to all who supported the October Coffee Morning on 18th October. £279.25p was raised for the funds.

  Mr E.N. Joy had kindly advised us about the joys of eating locally, but so far Sedbergh hasn't had a mention.
  For those of us who also enjoy a treat or two, but don't want to travel far know about some of the delights available for us 'foodies' a bit closer to home.
  Ever tried the Steak Pie at the Red Lion?  It takes some beating!  Pastry (made by the landlady each day) to die for, and the steak (from Garths next door) is cooked to perfection!
  Ellies Bakery has a good selection of house made cakes, pies and snacks, with new additions to the menu all the time.
  The Cross Keys at Cautley (take your own wine) manages to live up to its reputation unfailingly, with amazing views from the conservatory to accompany your meal.  A warm welcome awaits everyone and the menu is superb.
  Sedbergh's latest venture to tempt our taste-buds is The Gallery.  A pleasant atmosphere with friendly staff awaits you.
  Portions are generous and the owner/chef offers a great selection of snacks/meals with fantastic house made cakes and puds.  All his recipes were handed down from Grandma, and his rendition of her chutneys, pickles and sauces, to accompany the food, do her proud!
  With so much to threaten our waistlines, aren't we also lucky to have such an amazing array of walks to choose from on our way home. G. Orr-May

  The first lecture of the 2006/2007 series drew an audience of forty people to hear Yvonne Luke's talk on  "Rethinking Ingleborough".
  From Victorian times up to the Royal Commission of Monuments survey in 1988 it was considered that the summit of Ingleborough contained an iron age fort surrounded by a rampart.  It was thought that there were twenty hut circles within the rampart.  These were clustered in the central area of the summit with the north-western and north-eastern areas apparently empty.
  Yvonne had studied aerial photographs and detected a faint circle in the north-western corner and later investigation on the ground had suggested that this was a ring cairn pre-dating the iron age by about a thousand years.  A path appeared to lead from it to a break in the south-western part of the rampart.      From there a pathway occurred in the scree below leading to a grassy area.  Ring cairns are well known in the Peak District and are thought to be ritual structures dating to the second millennium BC.  They are also found in the Dales were they are 10-12 metres in diameter. Yvonne wondered if what had been thought to be iron age hut circles on Ingleborough were really bronze age ring cairns.  She also thought she had detected a few half ring structures there.
  She had investigated the rampart and decided it could not be a defensive feature of a fort for various reasons.  Firstly in places there was what appeared to be a ditch, or a quarry site for the stones of the rampart, on the inside the rampart.  This would have been a nonsense defensively.  Secondly there were several breaks in the rampart and many of these appeared to be part of the original design and marked by orthostats (standing stones).  They did not have a ditch or quarry scoop behind them.  Finally the most imposing part of the rampart occurred where it was least needed defensively as there were sheer drops below it.  She thought Ingleborough had been a sanctuary in that it was used for ritualistic purposes and also provide a shelter for cattle and people when danger threatened their pastures below but had not been a fort.
  The surface of the summit was getting badly eroded by the large number of walkers there and already some archaeological sites had been lost.  She hoped that money would be found for a dig to occur to answer questions before the evidence had been destroyed.  After her talk she answered several questions before being thanked by the chairman who wished her success when she submitted her thesis for a Ph.D.   Richard Cann

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PRODUCTS
  We are now selling environmentally cleaning products and recycled goods including - washing powder, washing liquid, toilet rolls / cleaners, dishwasher tablets, bin bags, food bags, kitchen rolls and more. There is also opportunity to order in bulk, consider other products and be part of a community ordering scheme. So please call in to explore and ask about this exciting new venture.
COMMUNITY CINEMA
  We are busy looking into Grant funding for the cinema and already have our first booking, a queue of 'projectionists' and lots of enthusiasm. It is hoped that when established, different voluntary groups will take turns to provide refreshments or theme nights based around a film, as a fund raising opportunity for their group. If your group would be interested in doing this, please let us know.
CAMCORDER HIRE
  We have a modern camcorder for hire if you want to record the activities of your club for funding or promotional purposes. The cost will be £5 per day and it is available for community groups only. We will require a deposit of £50, returnable unless there is damage to the camcorder.
BOOKS and JIGSAWS
  Due to good sales over summer we would now be grateful for more book donations. So if you have any novels / children's books / jigsaws lying around (in good condition please), please bring them in.
HOUSEHOLD BATTERIES
  Please note that we only have facilities to recycle household batteries from the Community Office at present.
SHREDDING
  We have a shredder at the office for making personal documents safe for a small charge. It is important that papers to be shredded have had the staples removed and not huge quantities please!
PULSE (Community Gym) MEMBERSHIP
  We have forms for the new community gym in the office so please call in and pick one up.

  Quite a warm month generally with 80 F recorded twice, 70F 12 times. On the other side we had a low of 39.2F with 5 other nights dropping into the 40sF. During one of the balmy spells the temperature at midnight, when I usually take my readings, was 68.5F and the minimum for the day only 61.5F! The wind speeds were variable with maxima ranging from a high of 21.0mph to 6.3mph. The wind direction was more normal with only 8 days away from the north west quarter. Rainfall was reasonable with 4.1 inches falling and the longest dry spell being 8 days.
  The warm moist weather saw a good growth of grass such that some late silage was taken. It also meant sheep and lambs had mucky bums. I also had my worst fly strikes ever on the heads of 2 of my tups. The warm weather also meant we saw lots of butterflies around. Rabbits are around in good numbers much to the amusement of the dogs in the garden. Badgers are very active especially on the warm dry nights. I still haven't seen a live hedgehog and only the occasional bat. The migrant hirudines passed through in numbers well through the month. Each time I thought they had all gone another little flurry would occur. One of the baby swallows turned up on the 8^th to roost in the kennel. I hadn't seen them for some time. The leaves are still green for the most part and grass continues to grow. The winter jasmine has had its first flush of flowers. I haven't seen any of the winter migrants arriving yet but it won't be long before the fieldfares and redwings are here.
  Correction: Had Nick Lamb read my letter he would have known I was aware you could stand as an independent candidate in elections. I was trying find out if there were funds available to do so and I reported what the Speaker of the House of Commons replied " you have to join a political party"  Brian Wright

  Many readers will be aware that the Group has endured a number of difficult years due to falling numbers and lack of assistance for Leaders in supervising meetings. Youngsters attending Scout meetings now number approximately half a dozen. Under Scout Association rules a leader and an assistant (CRB checked) must be present at meetings. Our longstanding Scout Leader, Bill Mawdsley, has for many years been ably assisted by Don Aspin (who retired last year) and by Syd McLennan (retiring in December). Occasionally other members of the Committee have assisted on an ad-hoc basis.
  Lack of Leaders resulted in the Cub pack closing in 2005 (notwithstanding valiant efforts by a small number of persons) and it is now seems likely that regular meetings of the Scout troop will cease after the end of the current school term. This will be inevitable unless someone is prepared to step forward to act as a leader or an assistant leader - ideally, two leaders or assistants are required to provide sufficient cover to ensure all meetings can proceed. A female leader or assistant would be particularly welcome as we now have girls as well as boys within the troop. Active recruitment of more youngsters to the troop and an expansion of scouting activities can only take place if the future leadership position is secure.
  The closure of the Scout troop would result in the considerable assets of the Group (bank accounts, the 85 year lease on the headquarters, tents and camping gear etc.) being passed to Cumbria County Scouts -  no doubt they would wish to sell the lease. This would bring an end to over 30 years of scouting in Sedbergh and the probable loss of the use of the headquarters (the upper rooms of 13, Kings Yard) to other local organisations. Next year the Scout Association nationally will be celebrating its Centenary. Sadly, it seems, there may be no participation in the celebrations in Sedbergh.
  Bill Mawdsley is still willing to continue as Leader - is there anyone prepared to assist him and enable the survival of the troop? Helping with Scouts is both fun and rewarding - and does not require a large commitment of time.  Anyone interested in discussing what is involved in helping with meetings, and the training available, is welcome to contact Bill or Syd for an informal chat.  1^st Sedbergh Scouts

  Sara Hirst and Justine Mahon from Sedbergh School would like to thank everyone who joined in the Worlds Biggest Coffee Morning on Friday 29th September, raising a fantastic £427.71 for people affected by cancer.
  Every cup of coffee drunk on that day in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support has helped raise money that will go towards providing practical, medical, emotional and financial support to those living with cancer.
  We would like to say a very big thank you especially to the local businesses who generously donated prizes for the raffle draw; Howgill Gifts and Home, The Dalesman, Three Peaks, Sedbergh Chemist, The Bath House and Powell's.