“It was, you might say, satisfactory.” A week can make a lot of difference; when I began thinking about writing December on something other than poetry, Donald Trump might have been getting a 2020 / second term and there seemed little hope on the vaccine front as CV19 January ripped across our continent again. Today, then, everything seems a lot 2021 more satisfactory, and hopefully things will have improved further by the time you read this, though time -lags are always dangerous. Christmas, then, may be a time of looking forward with some hope, even though so much has been lost. Mid-Eden I am back from living on an island off an island in the loveliest spot I can Magazine imagine, yet fear stalks the island, and the phrase I heard most frequently with news was “It’s only a matter of time.” from the Maybe the best we can hope and pray for then in 2021 is a satisfactory Parishes of year. The Cross Fell Group Clearly it may not be satisfactory for those who have lost loved ones due to the virus (my own mother died in part due to it). It will certainly not be satisfactory if your business closes or does not return, or you lose your job. (As I write the Church is likely to make a number of clergy redundant!) Eliot’s great poem (The Journey of the Magi) has the Eastern kings making their way from their opulent palaces with their silken girls through the sand dunes of Arabia to the “uncontrollable mystery on the bestial floor” (the Christ child). The end of all their searching is said to be “satisfactory”. It’s a bit like someone describing their holiday of a lifetime to an exotic foreign location as “ok”! Yet “satisfactory”, in Eliot’s brilliant mind, has a double meaning. They have found what they were looking for and yet in surroundings less than auspicious, just about satisfactory, you might say. Yet this satisfaction also affords a deep inner contentment as they have discovered a new meaning in their lives and are no longer content with the old dispensation. Perhaps as we begin to return to normality in 2021 we will in turn begin to rethink our priorities, to reset our inner compasses, to begin collectively to redefine what society might be, and how we might accommodate Sponsored by ________________________ better the non -human world, and indeed the planet itself. If this happens Langwathby Stores & Post Office. then what we have endured would have a satisfactory outcome. Home and Garden – Nigel and Jill Preston, Winskill. The VIC, Culgaith. For T.S.Eliot finding the Christ child in the manger is a source of Tithe Cottage Furnishings. satisfaction, not just to the magi, but to all who seek and find Jesus down Parish Councils: Culgaith, Hunsonby, Langwathby the centuries. PCCs: Addingham, Culgaith, Edenhall, Langwathby Langwathby Methodist Chapel. May I wish you all then a satisfactory Christmas! www.midedenmemo.org.uk MidEdenMemo Canon Stephen Pye Page 1 THIS MONTH’S ARTICLES Page Memo AGM: Monday 1st February at 7.30pm 3 Coronavirus Local Support Groups 4-5 Emergency Support Helpline, Cumbria County Council and partners 6 They may be able to help 6-7 Hyperfast Broadband for Langwathby Parish 8 Langwathby Parish Council Meeting Minutes 9 Culgaith Parish Council Meeting Minutes 10 Langwathby School Notices 11 Langwathby WI Thanks 11 Melmerby Hall History 12 -13 Three Poems 14 -15 Kirkland & Blencarn 50/50 Results 15 Christingle Alternative Arrangements at St Peter’s, Langwathby 16 Langwathby Footpath Obstruction Notice 16 Skirwith Village Hall Lottery 17 Community activities 17 Pubs, Shops & Restaurants 18 -20 Business and Local Services 21 -24 ISSUE: 2021 COPY DATE: ISSUE:2021 COPY DATE: FRIDAY FRIDAY February 15th January March 12th February April 12th March May 16th April June 14th May July 11th June August 16th July September 13th August October 10th September November 15th October December/ 12th November January CLERGY CONTACT NUMBERS The following EEMC ministers can be contacted by email or telephone: Rev Katharine Butterfield Tel 01768 898176 Email [email protected] Rev Keith Speck Tel 01768 898257. Email: [email protected] Rev Mark Houston Tel 01768 885669 Email: [email protected] Canon Stephen Pye Tel 1768 8811212 Email: [email protected] Page 2 About The Mid Eden Memo (MEMO) A team of over 40 volunteers collate, type, proof & distribute your MEMO each month to produce a community based publication. We are grateful for the support given by businesses & sponsors. You can contact us as follows: For editorial, general or non -business enquiries contact: Chris Forrester 01768 881015; e: [email protected] For business advert enquiries contact our business coordinator: Jeff Trueman 01768 881163; e: [email protected] For payment related enquiries contact our treasurer: Sheila Ripper 01768 881348; e: [email protected] All copy for the February issue by Noon FRIDAY 15th January 2020 Items ready to be typed can be sent directly to - [email protected] or to Chris Forrester, Bank House, Langwathby, CA10 1LW - (across the road from “The Shepherds Inn”) Payment should accompany the advert request . Cheques payable to ‘The MEMO’; Payment can also be made by BACS/ electronically please contact Jeff or Chris as above for details or confirmation of charges for your advert. The Committee maintain the right to edit and/or withhold material as deemed necessary. With regret the general distribution of the MEMO has had to be suspended as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. A paper copy can be picked up from Langwathby & Melmerby village shops CHARGES WAIVED - UPDATE FROM THE MEMO COMMITTEE. In March, the committee looked at how The MEMO could continue safely in light of the Covid pandemic. Door to door deliveries were suspended, and printed copies left at shops in Langwathby and Melmerby and an online copy created at www.midedenmemo.org.uk and on Facebook. Thanks to a small surplus, we were also able to suspend our charges for advertising – a small help to our communities. The committee decided to review these decisions after six months and after careful consideration of finances and feedback the committee have agreed to continue this approach until March 2021. We would like to thank the individuals and businesses who have been able to donate to The MEMO. Our ability to support our communities and local businesses by waiving charges will continue to be dependent on these donations. Please get in touch if you can help. Please all stay safe - “Hands Face Space” Page 3 MEMO AGM The MEMO AGM will be held on Monday 1st February 2021 at 7.30pm. Depending on COVID restrictions in place, which we will review closer to the date, we will either hold this as a socially distanced meeting in Langwathby Village Hall or we will hold it as an online video conference. All welcome to attend and have your say about how you'd like your community magazine run or to talk to us about volunteering your help with the production of the MEMO. If you think you will be interested in attending could you please contact Chris Forrester on [email protected] or 01768 881015 and he will ensure you are contacted with final arrangements. COVER ARTIST We’d like to thank Leo aged 7, Culgaith School, who has kindly produced this month’s cover drawing for us. See the inside back cover for more drawings from other pupils. The MEMO now has a website! - www.midedenmemo.org.uk You can download the electronic copy of the Memo from here and also additional content like the extended “Culture Online” article. Page 4 SUPPORT DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC As is the case in communities across the country the Eden Valley has been no exception in responding to the challenges faced by the coronavirus pandemic. People have been coming together and supporting each other during this difficult time. In addition to families, neighbours and friends supporting one another a range of support groups, networks and services have been established in our communities to provide that extra bit of help, especially for the vulnerable, lonely and isolated. Often these groups/networks have been established through parish councils and may relate to their Emergency Plans but other people have also come forward to offer/coordinate support arrangements. Sometimes a list of people believed to be isolated or vulnerable may have been drawn up through local knowledge so that contact can be made or maintained. Groups have employed differing ways for establishing contacts e.g. via ‘Help Cards’, websites, Facebook, emails, adverts in local papers and newsletters. Below is a list giving details of some groups, networks, and contacts in communities covered by the Mid Eden Memo’s distribution area. Arrangements in each village community may vary. However generally the services on offer are likely to include the following types of help : - > collecting and delivering essential food shopping or other urgent supplies > collection of medications/prescriptions > posting of mail > offering a friendly chat Other types of service may also include things like dog walking or plant and seed exchanges. Arrangements have also been made in some cases with some local food producers/retailers which can be delivered to central points in a village such as a village hall. The list may not represent the totality of the local support on offer but it gives details of at least some and key contacts. Page 5 VILLAGE NAME OF SUPPORT GROUP / NETWORK AND / OR KEY CONTACTS Blencarn and Kirkland Andrew Clay 01768 88693 or 07931 732825 [email protected] Culgaith Culgaith