Young Kidz is an umbrella group formed by parents and group leaders from the town, who by representing their own children's groups and charities, have come together under one name.
  The group have long term aims and targets and over twelve monthly periods they will organize, plan and run events of all shapes and designs, raising funds in the process towards a final annual total that will be shared equally between those involved and contributing in their monthly events.  At their second meeting held in the Bull Hotel on Monday 30th January the following officers were nominated and voted along with a large committee.
Chairman Kevin Kirby
Secretary Jackie Baines
Vice Secretary Tracey Holt
Treasurer Julie Lowther
Vice Treasurer Nicky Game
  Our first event got off to a brilliant start when a Bingo Night in the Club raised £800 on Friday 3rd February.  Many thanks to the Club.  Big thanks to the Bingo team of Maureen, Janette, Joan and Joan, plus the english interpreter!
  Thanks to everybody who attended on the night but the biggest thanks goes to all the businesses and individuals who donated prizes.  Next up is a Casino Night on Saturday 4th March in the Bull Hotel followed by a Race Night on Saturday 1st April.
  Our plans for this years Big Pull are progressing.  Approximately 40 land and 20 lasses will attempt to pull T.K. Robinson's 9 ton Leyland Daf Wagon unit fifteen miles from Kirkby Stephen town centre to Sedbergh centre on Sunday 28th May.  Again a Fun Day will follow plus evening entertainment, when we decide on a venue.  All monies raised from the Pull will be shared again three ways between the Joanne Burrow/Jackie Wilson Breast Cancer Fund, Cystic Fibrosis and Young Kidz.
  Anyone wishing to pull the truck please see the lasses.  The Young Kidz group will get bigger and stronger once we are fully up and running.  Look for the logo and please give us your support.  All the monies are being invested back into the town for your children's and future children's benefit.

Young Kidz

S & D Community Trust.  We are in the process of revitalising the charity with new trustees and updating the constitution.  We are looking for 3 new trustees - one each from the parishes of Sedbergh, Dent and Garsdale.  If you would like to get involved, please call in.  The charity is there to help secure funding for any projects concerned with improving health, alleviating distress, promoting environmental well being.  Your chance to be creative and gain experience in grant application, project management and record keeping!
Green Marquee.  We are planning to have a marquee on gala day, promoting environmentally friendly lifestyles and sustainable business practices.  There will be demonstrations, interactive activities and information stands.  This is a new project from the Community Trust so if you would like to be involved in it, please call in.
Eco Goods/Awards.  Realising that there is nowhere in Sedbergh to buy eco/bio-degradable cleaning products, we are considering offering this service at the Community Office.  We would put a small commission on wholesale prices to support office funds.  Please register your interest at the office so we know if it is worth pursuing.
Sales/Exchange/LETS Board.  We have had requests for a community board offering articles or services for exchange/sale/give away/wanted.  We have created space on our main board in the corridor so please use it!  If you are posting an advert a £1 donation would be appreciated.  Please also date your advert - we will leave notices up for one month but please let us know if the article or service is no longer available.
New Sign.  We have the design for the new sign so if anybody would like to have a look, please call in.
Allotments.  Sedbergh School discussed the allotment situation at their last governors meeting. They have a new bursar who is looking into the situation.
Outreach and Videos.  Our Sedbergh School volunteers have been busy visiting people who are house bound, or who just like some company and a chat.  One of their ideas is to make a video about Sedbergh lives.  Sedbergh School and the area in general.  If you would like to help with this, leave a message for Catherine or Tim at the Office.
Art Drop-in Club.  If you are interested please call in on Monday afternoons and see Andy.  He is able to give you tips and suggestions about your art.  Or please come and have a go at painting Main Street from the art room vantage point!
Political issues and Philosophical Ideas (PI) Club.  The next meeting will be Friday 3rd March at 7.30pm at the Community Office.  We will be discussing whether alternative/holistic therapies should be integrated into the National Health Service.  Cost is a £1 donation to the Community Office per meeting.  For further details please ring Deyna on 21556.
Age Concern/Homeopathy/SLCVS.  Don't forget about these clinics on Wednesday mornings - if they don't get used we will lose them so please call in with any concerns!

  Years ago, when I worked at Harlow Car Gardens at Harrogate, I developed a route which I would take around the garden which took in various plants, not for their flowers or for their shape, but for the fragrance of their leaves.  First on the route was the strangely named "Headache Tree" (Umbellularia californica) , a rather unassuming evergreen with mid green oval leaves.  The crushed foliage is richly aromatic but has to be sniffed with caution - in some folks it induces a sharp headache.  Interestingly it makes a traditional remedy for headaches either as an infusion, or bound to the forehead.  (I think I would hide in a darkened room if I tried this method).
  Next on the route was Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens).  Its small dark green leathery leaves yield oil of wintergreen an anti septic, anti inflammatory substance which relieves aches and pains, is used in perfumes and as a toothpaste flavouring.  Going on down the Gardens to the end of the Arboretum I would take in the glossy green foliage of the Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata) a plant frequently used for hedging or shelterbelts.  This one smells richly of pineapple.  Its two cousins, American and Chinese Arbor-vitae, though less fragrant, are both used medicinally, the former in cancer therapy and eczema treatment, and the latter for coughs, arthritic pain and premature baldness.
  Lastly in a sunny space on the rockery I would sniff the Mint bush (Prostanthera rotundifolia) whose tiny round dark green leaves give off a rich fruity minty smell when rubbed between the fingers.  Prostanthera leaves retain their fragrance long after they are dried - as do the leaves of the headache tree.  I carry an odd one around in a pocket for weeks on end and unearth it for a surreptitious sniff from time to time whether I have a head ache or not.                                                                                                                                                                                                         Elaine Horne

  At the point of writing this, we still do not know whether the four hostages in Iraq are dead or alive. The anguish of their families is almost unimaginable. But who are they, and what were they doing in Iraq anyway?
  The four are members of a Christian Peacemaker Team working to resolve everyday conflicts. A similar CPT team is working in Israel alongside Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers. Their work is difficult and dangerous. Both sides accuse them of "getting in the way". They reply that it is time the conflicting parties tried the way of peace!
  John Lynes is a Quaker member of the team working in Israel, and on Sunday March 12th, while on a short home-visit
to Britain, he is coming to Sedbergh to talk and answer questions about practical peacemaking in Israel and Iraq. This will be a wonderful opportunity to meet someone who puts his own life on the line every day. John is a friend and colleague of some of the hostages, and can take us behind the headlines and the TV pictures to help us understand the conflict better.
  Invitations have gone to all the Sedbergh and district churches, but everyone is invited to join us at Brigflatts meetinghouse on Sunday March 12th at 2pm, preceded by a "Jacob's Join" lunch at 12.30.                                                                                         David Boulton for Brigflatts Quaker Meeting