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TAI CHI IN DENT
This month I find myself in an unusually privileged position, rather like a reviewer who has seen a programme ahead of time. There is a major Tai Chi event forthcoming in Dent and I got a preview at a weekend in Wales last month.
The Yang Bang Hou Taijiquan three day intensive at the Meditation Centre (April 4th - 6th) will be taught by Raymond Towers, who is one of the leading teachers in this country and by his son Gavin Towers, a past Tai Chi champion of Great Britain. (Don't be put off by the spelling. There are various systems for rendering Chinese into our alphabet. Taiji and Tai Chi are the same thing. Yang Ban Hou is just the name of a particular Tai Chi form and the "quan" on the end of Taijiquan means "fist", which underlines the fact that Tai Chi is a martial art.)
So why do Tai Chi (or Taiji)? I started about 5 years ago (because of foot and mouth, but that's another story) and the main reasons I keep at it are:
It is very enjoyable (this is essential for any form of exercise, otherwise there is no motivation to continue)
It can be done anywhere, with no special equipment
The health benefits are considerable
It leads to an understanding of self-defence principles.
The emphasis is on learning to move in a connected way, summed up in the phrases, "When one (part of the body) moves, everything moves. When one stops everything stops."
The weekend in Wales was interesting because of the diversity of people taking part. There was a young man who had recently won a competition, a good cohort of women in their 40's to 60's, men of all ages including two young men in their 20's who were complete beginners.
About a third of the time was spent on exercises to promote good health. We did many shaking, tapping and massaging exercises as well as exercises to open the joints and improve coordination and balance. It might surprise you to see health exercises forming such a large part of a martial system, but the reason is simple. To be a martial artist you have to be strong, balanced and mobile and this is precisely what is needed for good health.
Another third of the time was devoted to partner exercises, illustrating the self-defence applications of the form. These involved practising specific techniques in a controlled way. The most important thing is to maintain your balance. It is very interesting working with a wide range of partners. You can learn something from every interaction.
The remaining third of the time was devoted to learning the first few moves of the Yang Bang Hou Taiji form. The movements were related to the exercises we had already done, which made it easy to remember them. Raymond also demonstrated many variations. For anyone interested in the martial arts, this is a golden opportunity to see a master in action.
For me, the health benefits of Tai Chi were immediately obvious at the end of the weekend. I left Aberystwyth on the Monday morning feeling both energised and relaxed.
If you are already doing Tai Chi locally (Ian McPherson has classes in Sedbergh, Garsdale, Hawes and Dent, telephone 015396 20648) you will find this event will be part of a natural progression. If you have never done any before, but would be interested (either for health reasons or to learn about the martial aspects), this would be an opportunity to start with a top class teacher. You could then maintain the practise with one of the local classes. In addition there are two more three day events planned in Dent this year.
For further information or to book, contact Gavin Towers by phone (01228 829429) or e-mail (info@uktqf.co.uk). If you want to hear more about it, please phone me. My number is (015396) 20972. June Parker
SEDBERGH & DISTRICT BEEKEEPERS' ASSOCIATION
March weather has been 'mean to our bees', the coldest and windiest of the last ten Springs at least! Not only does it prevent the bees from leaving the hive, it's also holding back the spring flowers that provide our bees with much needed pollen; without it, the queen bees have to stop laying their eggs as the young larvae need the protein that the pollen provides in order to grow properly. This means the colony cannot increase its numbers to its full size ready for the main 'honey flow' in April/May, when all the fruit trees, sycamores, and many other trees and spring flowers are ready to give their nectar for the bees to turn into honey.
Honeybees today also have to put up with a parasitic mite called varroa in the hive. This pest was accidentally transferred (a bit like bird 'flu could be) from the Far East some years ago, where the mite evolved with the Asian honeybee that evolved with the mite and was able to deal with it. Ours did not and cannot! It does not harm the honey or the honeycomb, but does weaken the adult bees, so we have to treat the colony with a special 'medicine' if the population of mites grows too large. The cold weather slows down the growth of the mite population, so for this cold weather, 'it's an ill wind......'. To measure how many mites we have in our hives, beekeepers have installed special floors under each hive that allow the mites to fall down through a fine metal mesh and on to a sticky sheet of film on a removable tray. We can remove the tray without disturbing the bees above and count how many mites we find stuck to the sheet, and so estimate the total population of mites. From this we know if and when we must give the bees a 'dose of medicine'. But it is not just varroa mites that fall down through the mesh, so do all the tiny bits of wax that the bees drop when they are opening up, sealing over, or cleaning out each individual cell of the honeycomb. This makes a very revealing pattern on the sticky sheet; we can tell what is going on in the hive and where it is going on! So again 'it's an ill wind.....', we have to check for varroa mites, but we can also see just where and how fast the bees are increasing the size of their 'nursery' where all the young brood are being reared, and where and how much of their store of honey they are using, all without having to disturb them at all. It all adds to the fascination of beekeeping, whatever the time of the year, whatever the weather. But roll on Spring!!
Our next meeting, after the Sedbergh Spring Show, is on Monday 24th April at 7.30pm in the People's Hall committee rooms, when Tommy Brooks will be explaining to our new and novice beekeepers how best to plan the beekeeping season. Then on Saturday 29th April at 2.30pm we shall be holding our first apiary visit of the year at our Chairman Vic Hopkins apiary in the gardens of 'Brantrigg' in Winfield Road. If you would like to learn about bees and see things for real, do come along. Malcolm Fraser-Urquhart
COMMUNITY RADIO
Make your Voice heard in the Lune Valley - Invitation to Sedbergh Residents
In mid November last year, OFCOM (the Radio Authority) awarded one of the new breed of Community Radio Station licences to the Lune Valley area after considering a successful application. This will be a five year licence from the date of first transmission, and is the first in the North Lancashire/Cumbria area, and one of only 63 successful applications from across the UK.
By the time that this issue of Lookaround has been produced, presentations will have taken place to various community organisations, including Rotary, Lunesdale Farmers and local businesses. If you are part of a group that would like to know how you may be able to get involved and would like a presentation to your members, then do get in touch through one of the emails given below.
The feedback from presentations given to date has been that this is very professional, backed by a lot of radio industry and business experience, has scope for all to get involved and will generally benefit the communities of the Lune Valley area including Sedbergh. The aim may be to set up a studio in the Sedbergh area for reciprocal transmissions
The Voice Community Trust has now been set up to be responsible for the station (to be known as the Voice), and whilst the priority for the time being is to bid for funding and attract investment locally, there will be a need over the next few months to recruit trustees and a management group.
What does this award mean for the community members?
As part of the research for the application, I visited Bradford, which already had a community station. They had 170 volunteers producing and presenting a range of programme types. We don't have the same catchment area but there is great scope for ideas. We have a wealth of young talent in local schools and a vast pool of older business and professional experience to call upon locally - the door is open to all.
In the application, I said that training in research, production and presentation would be given, and this presents a great opportunity for progress into other parts of the industry. I have already had an expression of interest from the BBC to explore the scope for co-operation. There is then hopefully lots of scope for individuals to contribute and great potential for the area as a whole to benefit, as another aim is to network with other community stations and promote the Lune Valley area by in-house production.
What does this award mean for me?
There is a growing realisation that this is an initiative on behalf of and to include the whole community, aimed at bringing the "localness" back to radio and giving all the opportunity to devise and present programmes of personal interest.
Again, if you have undiscovered talents and skills(or you think you have) or you just want to hear more, then either get in touch by email or suggest a presentation in the Sedbergh area. - your Voice counts.
Paul Broadbent Tel: 015242 73737 e-mail: paul@thevoicefm.co.uk or paul@lakelandtoday.com
SEDBERGH PEPPERPOT CLUB INCLUDING PEPPERPOT MUSIC MAKERS
Sedbergh & Kirkby Lonsdale Neighbourhood Form has awarded a grant of £531 to Sedbergh Pepperpot Club towards the purchase of some music stands and a glockenspiel for the use of the Pepperpot Music Makers. An anonymous Pepperpot Sponsor has very kindly provided the balance. On behalf of Cumbria County Council, Councillor Joe Nicholson came to the rehearsal of the orchestra on March 6 and saw the youngsters enjoying the use of the multi-coloured stands and heard the glockenspiel in action. Sedbergh Pepperpot Club and the Pepperpot Music Makers are very grateful for this generous help.
The glockenspiel is currently being played by Toby Satchell (photo) in the Pepperpot Music Makers orchestra which rehearses after school on Mondays at Sedbergh Primary School. The orchestra is funded by Sedbergh Pepperpot Club with the help of annual donations by Pepperpot Sponsors and external grants. The ultimate aim is for the Music Makers to become self-sufficient.
If you would like to help to make this come about by becoming a
Member (£6 annually or £10 for two at the same address)
Friend (£5 annually)
Sponsor (£20 or more a year)
Company Sponsor (£30 or more a year)
or even by leaving a legacy, we would be delighted to hear from you!
Members have the chance to join like-minded people on trips with shared transport to concerts, plays, open gardens and other events of interest.
Friends and Sponsors receive occasional news of the Music Makers' activities and notice of particular events during the year.
During St Andrew's Festival 2006, the primary-age Music Makers will perform The Midnight Thief by Richard Rodney Bennett and Ian Seraillier at a Coffee Concert in St Andrew's Church, Sedbergh, at 10.30am on Saturday June 17. Please make a note of the date and the time.
Further information about the Pepperpot Club and the Music Makers can be found in the Pepperpot brochure, available from Sedbergh Tourist Office, or by contacting Mrs Shirley Smith, Hon. Secretary, Sedbergh Pepperpot Club, Yan Tethera, Queen's Drive, Sedbergh. LA10 5DP. telephone 015396 21196 email yantethera@aol.com or at www.sedbergh.org.uk More stories appear here.
SETTLEBECK HIGH SCHOOL
Intermediate Maths Challenge
Armed with only pencil and paper and their "little grey cells", about 30 volunteer students challenged themselves in February to do 25 teasingly difficult maths questions in the space of one hour.
This competition (open to all students in Years 9 and 10) is not easy and all the students are to be commended for responding to the challenge. We are pleased to report that five students were awarded certificates. Megan Ingham, Hannah Scully, Claire Hunter and Charlotte Orr were all awarded bronze certificates. Zoe Craven's performance was rewarded by a gold certificate.
Zoe was subsequently invited to take part in a future national competition which she undertook in March. We await the results!
The next opportunity to take part in a "challenge" like this will be on Thursday 27th April 2006. This will be open to students in Years 7 and 8. Thirty tickets are available.
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