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THE HELLIONS
Continued from last month.
The Hellions were a group of enthusiastic teenagers based in Sedbergh who got together to enjoy making music. We were all beginners and we all lived for our music. We were one of many such groups gripped in the early 1960's by the modern sounds and changes that were happening on the music scene as Rock and Roll was born.
Quite early on in the Hellions life we hired a recording studio at Hest Bank, near Morecambe, for part of an afternoon and recorded 9 of our songs. We did not have much money at the time so they all had to be "first take" and no messing around. I have now had them transferred to C D. I am glad we made the effort as we have lots of good memories from those times.
In the mid sixties Carole stood down to start a family and we took on base player Mike Jones from Kendal who remained with us up to the end. Changes were coming however and we agreed to separate amicably in 1968.We all needed to move on. By then I had a business and a wife and son. Dawson's job was now at Preston, Pete, Mike and Alan joined some Kendal musicians and became "Front Room Blues Band". Pete still plays occasionally with some Blues musicians in Kendal although he now lives in Newcastle. Alan has now been playing drums with various bands since he started with the Hellions at 14 years old in 1961. He has lost count of the number of bands that he has performed with but is now playing drums for "Moonlight Shadow" a Kendal based group who are worth hearing as they are very talented.
What of the Hellions now? I have my own butchers business in Sedbergh. I am chairman of the North West Guild of Q Butchers and chairman of Sedbergh Town Twinning Group. Alan has his own busy building business also in Sedbergh, Pete moved to Newcastle where he still lives and works as a conciliator for A C A S. Dawson moved to Preston where he has his own business in the textile machinery industry. Mike stayed with music he was a very talented bass guitarist. He soon moved down to London where he gigged and jammed with various bands and worked as a session musician. We understand that he was finally offered a permanent position with "John Mayall's Bluesbreakers", just in time for their first tour of America. He returned to Kendal before taking the job up, unfortunately he never went back and sadly he died shortly after this.
My father used to play an accordion in an old time dance band called "The Silver Star Band" and was fortunate to play at the Peoples Hall on the opening night.
On November 25th 2006 The Peoples Hall at Sedbergh is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. The Committee are inviting people who have performed at The Peoples Hall in the past and are part of the halls history to entertain. What a surprise when the Hellions were invited. We got together about 16 years ago to play three numbers at Alan's 40th Birthday party along with a number of musicians that Alan had played with in the past. Apart from that one evening it will be 38 years since we performed together. Should be no problem! Garth Steadman
SLDC RECYCLING NEWS
It is now three years since the Kerbside Recycling Service was introduced in Arnside, Milnthorpe and Kirkby Lonsdale. Since then we have extended the service to over half the district, with Kendal being added next year.
There are a number of reasons why the service is being introduced, not least that the landfill sites in use are filling up. Back in 2003 it was thought that the Lancaster landfill site had two years capacity remaining, introducing the service helped extend the life of the site and it has lasted another year. However it will be closing at the end of this year and the waste from the parts of the district to the east of Coniston Water and A5084 will travel even further for disposal.
As we send vehicles to all corners of the district collecting waste it also makes sense to collect segregated recyclables rather than take everything to landfill. The recyclables have a financial value that can offset the cost of collection as well as the environmental value of using the paper, glass or cans as a raw material used in the manufacture of new products.
The success of the service depends entirely on the willingness of householders to recycle their waste. Around 45% of the waste collected from household using the kerbside recycling service is now recycled or composted. We'd like to say a big thank you to everybody who recycles for helping to achieve this and keeping South Lakeland environmentally friendly.
If you have any questions about recycling please contact us either through the Customer Contact Centre on 0845 050 4434 or by emailing us at recycling@southlakeland.gov.uk
Thank you for recycling.
CANCER PREVENTION
This year I have been teaching on the Women's Health programme of the UK Taiji Qigong Foundation. The programme includes a sequence of exercises used in China for the prevention of breast cancer and, in hospitals, as part of the breast cancer treatment regime. So I was interested to read that a charity called CancerActive is running a cancer prevention fortnight from 3rd to 17th of November. This charity publishes literature on cancer prevention, available through its website (www.canceractive.co.uk).
The main thrust of the message is what they call the Four Pillars of Cancer:
Poor diet
Toxins
Infection (by viruses, bacteria, yeasts or parasites)
Mental state.
The first three of these have been recognised by the World Health Organisation as being the three main causes of cancer.
The basis of a good diet is to cook at home, starting from basic raw ingredients (cutting out processed food and food additives) and to eat as wide a range of natural foodstuffs as possible. The government advice of five portions of fruit and vegetables a day is good, but possibly it does not go far enough. In France they are advised to eat ten, which, considering they breakfast on coffee and croissants, must be quite hard to fit in.
Individual specific dietary requirements vary widely. Some indication of this can be obtained by tongue and pulse diagnosis, as practised by acupuncturists and Chinese herbalists. Another point of view is that of Peter D'Adamo, who wrote "Eat right for your type", based on blood types.
Most of the toxins we are exposed to at home come from things we spend our hard-earned money on. Products like perfumes, beauty products, cosmetics and cleaning products contain harmful ingredients, that are inhaled, ingested and absorbed through the skin. Environmentally friendly cleaning products are now available from the Sedbergh Community Office and non-toxic cosmetics and beauty products may be bought from "I Love Organics" underneath the new Booths in Kendal.
If you are interested in how it is thought that infections, including parasites, can cause cancer, you may want to read Hulda Clarke's book, "The Cure for all Cancers". She takes an extreme view, so be prepared.
From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, the start of cancer can be something quite simple. This model is based on the idea that energy or Qi (pronounced "chee") flows throughout the body and motivates all bodily functions. If, in a particular area, the Qi is not flowing smoothly, fluid and toxins can collect. Over time this can give rise to heat and blood stasis and it is these secondary effects which are recognised as serious pathology. So to avoid cancer, keep the Qi flowing.
The Qi which keeps the body functioning properly and, in particular, fights disease, is called upright Qi. In the face of serious disease, such as cancer, the prognosis is largely determined by the state of the upright Qi. The strength of the disease is secondary. To prevent cancer, then, we must foster the upright Qi. This is where systems such as yoga and Tai Chi can be of benefit. They help the body to work at its optimum by relaxing the muscles, opening the joints, stimulating the flow of blood and lymph and massaging the internal organs. They even help with our mental state, promoting calmness and equanimity.
I am planning to teach the Women's Health Qigong over four Wednesday afternoons, starting on 15th November and thereafter roughly once a month. Everybody is welcome. If you are interested, please contact me. My number is (015396) 20972. June Parker
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