Eden Local issue 186

Welcome to your October Eden Local

A Snapshot of what we’ve got

We have up to 50% off in the sale at Cumbria Oak; we’ve got lots to share about October and Halloween from page 6 & 7, continued on page 16. We share memories of our dear Queen on pages 10 - 18 and a Royal puzzle to solve. I’ve been out and about in Eden doing the delivery rounds. It’s not just who you meet, but what they say.

We have another new Councillor for Penrith Town on page 14 and a date in May for a 40th Anniversary of the Lions May Day. Pam’s branching out on page 24 and opposite Pam we welcome back our local History feature with our new writer. Into the Garden we go with Karen on page 28, and you’ll pick up part two of our Hibernation specialist - an article sent in from Cumbria Wildlife Trust.

We have something locally to celebrate in Compost and we’ll close with a visitor to your home, with more legs than you, who simply wants to help you out and help themselves to some unwelcome visitors to your home. Thank you to the British Arachnological Society.

Welcome to your 186th Cumbrian Local Publication. It’s a rare thing to say, but when I sat down to write this opening, I was feeling a little lost for words. Quite a few of you will be reading this introduction weeks away from the evening of the September Bank Holiday Monday, when I chose to make a start in writing it.

The front cover of this magazine has changed its theme three times, as we got closer to print. When I saw the picture that I have chosen, it was a simple but natural reminder of the season ahead and the month we are heading into. With two Eden Locals to print before Christmas, whilst we are all doing our best to cope with so many changes that have been presented to us in 2022, it could be easy to lose focus on some of those things that just carry on around us.

If the weather is good in October and we get to see those seasonal changes around us, I hope we will all get a chance to stand still and just look around as nature gets on with preparing for winter. From the heavy dew and the morning mists, we have the wonders of those changes in colours around us. We’ll get that sudden drop in temperature with a clear night and our first frost. The wonders of the natural beauty of Autumn will remind us of just how simple things can be, but how wonderful they are, and they’re free!

With a sudden dip in temperature over the weekend when I was writing this, we actually put the wood burner on for the first time since last winter, rather than putting the heating on. Before this magazine is being posted, the chimney sweep will be booked in for the annual clean, along with other Autumn to Winter routines scheduled to take place, like the last cut of the grass.

You’ll have an idea from the ‘Snapshot’ section of what we have in store for you this month. I would like to express a warm welcome to Joe Jackson - his introduction of our new History feature explains all and I’m looking forward to the future we have of the past. As I have already mentioned, the front cover has changed. I can tell you, that originally with Halloween being close by and with a regular comment as it gets cold appearing in our homes, ‘How do they get in?’, it was going to be the spider, but I was persuaded by everyone in the house and those I normally consult with out of the house not to post a spider through the door!

With the events following Her majesty Queen Elizabeth’s passing on 8th September, and that time up until 19th September, we had considered a Royal front cover, however, whilst there will be gaps and forgotten moments, our Queen will still be in our lives; it’s a memory that will never fade. So as a small publication arriving with weeks having past after these events, we have a tribute from some who can recall happier times with an experience they have now shared in this edition.

As for the Spiders, they’re hiding at the back of the magazine!

Enjoy our October edition. Thank you to all those who have made it possible for you to be reading your free Eden Local Community Magazine.

We’ll catch up again in November, soon after that date we all remember.

How many times does the word Eden feature in this issue of your Eden Local?

Emailed answers only and a £20 voucher for a local shop will be revealed to the winner. Take care out there Lee

COMBINE HARVESTER

The C O and I will jointly forage

Along densely foliated hedgerows

For fruits that complement breakfast porridge

To boost brown and white tissues adipose Prized is the plentiful mundane bramble

Combined with windfalls such a grand Eve’s pud Better still with cream make that a crumble Which guarantees we’ll sit down with a thud We mitigate the high cost of living

With an afternoon’s amateur farming

To passing bramblers we might be giving The notion that we’re into self harming Nature’s defence has its bells and whistles

Blackberry thorns with nettles and thistles

Rex di Noci

September 1st 2022

The residential property and lettings team at H&H Land & Estates office in Penrith is as strong as ever as five become six with another experienced and motivated leading lady joining the team.

Claire Painter is the latest to join the team consisting of Leah Irving, Grace Oakey, Shirley Thompson, Sarah Haygarth and Sue Cameron. Claire, a qualified property valuer, moved to Cumbria from North Yorkshire a few years ago and brings with her a wealth of experience and a huge passion for property.

H&H Land & Estates’

All-Women Power Team

Penrith branch of H&H Land & Estates powered by a team of experienced and motivated women. CA11

Shirley, Grace, Leah, Sue, Sarah and Claire of the Penrith H&H Land & Estates’ office at 1a St. Andrew’s View, Penrith.

Pumpkins, Turnips & Swedes

by Lee Quinn

It must be Halloween! Do people still say, ‘it’s all very American’?

There so much surrounding Halloween, and whilst some would say it goes back to 43 A.D when the Roman Empire had conquered the majority of Celtic territory, over a period of four hundred years during their rule of Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.

Feralia, was a day later in October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The day that followed was to honour Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple. Some say this why today people do apple “bobbing” on Halloween.

The Celts who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and Northern France, celebrated their new year on 1st November. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter - a time of year that was often associated with human death.

The Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31st, they celebrated Samhain. On this night it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

By the 9th century, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands, and in 1000 A.D, the church would make 2nd November ‘All Souls’ Day, a day to honour the dead. All Souls Day was

celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils. The All Saints Day celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the traditional night of Samhain in the Celtic religion, began to be called All-hallows Eve and eventually, Halloween.

At this point, Halloween doesn’t really sound too American! Apart from pumpkins that is. I’ll come to swedes and turnips in a moment. I have looked up America 43 A.D but I haven’t found much about pumpkins either around that time. As a child I never carved a pumpkin and the first one I carved was in the early eighties.

As I’ve discovered, I didn’t know it’s a Celtic Tradition.

One of the reasons pumpkins are used on Halloween is that it’s easy to sculpt faces and drawings in this vegetable. In Ireland they use

vegetables to scare away evil spirits. On October 31st at the pagan feast of Samhain, as mentioned above, when the spirits of the deceased could return to Earth, to keep the evil spirits away they started cutting faces into turnips to scare the evil spirits. In the 19th century, when a lot of Irish immigrated to the United States, they took the Halloween tradition of using vegetables to scare the spirits away with them.

In America, the Irish discovered a new vegetable, the pumpkin, which is harvested in the fall, and began using it to scare the evil spirits. It was also probably easier to carve a face on a pumpkin than on a turnip!

The use of the English term Jack O’Lantern for a Halloween pumpkin also came from Ireland. Legend has it that a man named Jack managed to overtake the devil in a deal, preventing the devil from taking his soul. However, as Jack had been evil, stingy and selfish during his life, he was denied entry to heaven when he died and, as promised, he was not summoned to hell. Jack’s soul was thus doomed to wander for eternity and people began to draw scary faces on their vegetables to keep him away from their homes.

Recognising the value of the pumpkin, the first explorers of the New World brought pumpkins home with them to Europe and, around the

mid-1500s, pumpkins were cultivated in England (pumpions), and France (pompons). Because medieval England had already been making “pyes”, or pastries, with both sweet and savoury fillings for hundreds of years, pumpkin soon became a pie filling, and pumpkin pie made its debut in an English cookbook, in 1675.

I finally solved one of my own puzzles as I was told once that a swede is a turnip!

They are both root vegetables and a part of the Brassica genus, which explains why many people may be confused about the difference between a turnip and a rutabaga. Turnips are Brassica rapa and rutabagas are Brassica napobrassica. Rutabaga is otherwise known as a swede, Swedish turnip, or a yellow turnip.

So, swedes and turnips do come from the same family. And finally, here it comes - a swede is a Swedish turnip, hence the name “swede”. They are bigger, tougher skinned, yellow fleshed and much hardier than a turnip. Turnips are the smaller ones, with smoother skin and white flesh. In Scotland, a turnip might be called a swede or a turnip, and a swede might be called a neep. I’m so pleased I finally got to the root of this!

Of course, it was just the veg carvers that took the idea to America. The English and Irish traditions of Halloween costumes and naughtiness eventually turned into American trick or treating. In many ways like many things, they’ve just been reintroduced – and they’re modern versions of old traditions that go back hundreds of years. Happy Halloween!

Reference Sources www.english-heritage.org.uk

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Butterworths Solicitors. 6-8 Cornmarket, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 7DA Email: Contact@butterworths-solicitors.co.uk or message us via our Facebook page.

Look out for our next article on Motor Finance Claims.

Jane Fillis

SHARED MEMORIES

We will all have a moment and memory of our late Queen. There will be many reminders in our everchanging lives still to come, as Her majesty still remains in our lives and in many of our hearts for the rest of our lives.

Here is Archbishop Justin Welby's sermon for the State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Come Holy Spirit, fill us with the balm of your healing love. Amen.

The pattern for many leaders is to be exalted in life and forgotten after death. The pattern for all who serve God – famous or obscure, respected or ignored – is that death is the door to glory.

Her Late Majesty famously declared on a 21st birthday broadcast that her whole life would be dedicated to serving the Nation and Commonwealth.

Rarely has such a promise been so well kept! Few leaders receive the outpouring of love that we have seen.

Jesus – who in our reading does not tell his disciples how to follow, but who to follow – said: “I am the way, the truth and the life”. Her Late Majesty’s example was not set through her position or her ambition, but through whom she followed. I know His Majesty shares the same faith and hope in Jesus Christ as his mother; the same sense of service and duty.

In 1953 the Queen began her Coronation with silent prayer, just there at the High Altar. Her allegiance to God was given before any person gave allegiance to her. Her service to so many people in this nation, the Commonwealth and the world, had its foundation in her following Christ – God himself – who said that he “came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 1

People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer. But in all cases those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are long forgotten.

The grief of this day – felt not only by the

late Queen’s family but all round the nation, Commonwealth and the world – arises from her abundant life and loving service, now gone from us.

She was joyful, present to so many, touching a multitude of lives.

We pray especially for all her family, grieving as every family at a funeral - including so many families round the world who have themselves lost someone recently - but in this family’s case doing so in the brightest spotlight.

May God heal their sorrow, may the gap left in their lives be marked with memories of joy and life.

Her Late Majesty’s broadcast during Covid lockdown ended with: “We will meet again”, words of hope from a song of Vera Lynn. Christian hope means certain expectation of something not yet seen.

Christ rose from the dead and offers life to all, abundant life now and life with God in eternity.

As the Christmas carol says “where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.”

We will all face the merciful judgement of God: we can all share the Queen’s hope which in life and death inspired her servant leadership.

Service in life, hope in death. All who follow the Queen’s example, and inspiration of trust and faith in God, can with her say: “We will meet again.”

What’s Coming Up at North Lakes Hotel & Spa

Halloween Children’s Workshop

Friday 28th, Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th October

From 10am to 12pm and 3pm to 5pm

This half term, enjoy SPOOKY arts and crafts, cookie and cake decorating. £10 per child.

Friday Night Live presents Queen II Tribute Act

Friday 24th February

From 7.30pm to 11.30pm

Dance the night away with a live performance tribute act, Queen II. Includes a delicious two course meal. £45 per person.

Christmas Market

Sunday 20th November

From 10am to 3pm

Step into a winter wonderland at our Christmas Market! Discover local suppliers and businesses for a seasonal adventure. Free Entry.

For more details please visit northlakeshotel.co.uk or call us on 01768 868111 or email events@northlakeshotel.co.uk

Out and about in an expanding Eden

by Lee Quinn

I have mentioned so many times in the Eden Local how much I enjoy deliveries. Like many businesses, voluntary groups, charities and not for profit organisations like Eden FM Radio, the Eden Local has similar challenges in making sure it generates sufficient funds to exist, but also to continue growing whilst remaining sustainable.

As a free magazine posted through all accessible, safe and economically viable doors for 11 months of 2021, it has served the community by being a ‘free’ magazine to you the reader whilst also being affordable to accommodate every organisation in the community. Importantly, it allows those with the smallest of budgets to be seen in the community they have to serve and provide a service for.

Over the last four months, working with the delivery teams via social media, we have been posting pictures of the areas covered by Eden Local. This has been noticed, well received and given thousands of people a real insight to the area and the number of doors that we post to, which is currently just under 14,000 in an area in most directions of about 12 miles from our hub (my house) in Penrith.

For those not on social media, here is an example of the reality of how the Eden District is developing and it continues to grow every week, every month and every year. In this month 12

years ago, the Eden Local was preparing to launch through 6,000 doors.

In Penrith we see new housing development sites everywhere and new properties all around us. In the villages it used to be the odd property or two, but now it can be as many as 20, 30, 40 or over 100 new properties and Eden just continues to grow and grow.

To cover the areas we do, we need around 30 teams of people. Some teams cover between one to five different routes. It is always our aim to place teams as close to their doorstep as we can, but generally close to a neighbouring village. This requires at least 30 teams of people.

Here is an extract from a post I did after a day out delivering on Friday 2nd September. I completed the Hackthorpe Eden Local delivery on that Friday as mentioned. It was a nice morning out and the first of three areas l was covering.

Like all the villages and hamlets in Eden, it’s rapidly growing as you can see from the images.

When we first started delivering to Hackthorpe it was around 70 properties or less. On Friday 2nd September the count was 125 properties. By this time next year we anticipate it to be at least 150 or more properties. That day I also covered Lowther and Askham, which remain quite unchanged

apart from renovation works, however, they are in the LDNP.

In September I also covered Little Salkeld. What was around 40 properties was now 80!

After three hours I had to stop in Langwathby, returning for

another hour on another day. The development since the days of Ostrich World, then the new Story Homes development in 2002, now looking quite small compared to the others now there.

I went on to cover another six villages/hamlets and it’s the same story. For the routes my wife and I cover every month in Penrith, they are pretty much the same as they are in areas already full, some once on the edge of town no longer.

One simple solution is to ask businesses in some of the areas we cover to sponsor part or all of a route. This would be from £20 and include a print appreciation of that support in this magazine.

To help keep the community in touch with your Eden Local, please email lee@ cumbrianlocal.co.uk or call 01768 862394.

Thank you to all those people who said thank you this month. It is so appreciated by the teams, and personally it’s very humbling.

Penrith Town Council welcomes Councillor Mark Rudhall who was elected unopposed for Penrith East Ward. Mark is an experienced district councillor having stood in 2017 for the Liberal Democrats in an Eden District Council by-election for Penrith North. Mark was re-elected as a District Councillor in May 2019 and is the Portfolio Holder for Green Growth as well as being Chair of the Zero Carbon Members Working Group. The environment is one of the area’s very important to Mark and as such, he is a member of the Green Liberal Democrats and Friends of the Earth. Mark was a founder member of “Friends of the Beacon”.

Mark and his wife Michelle have lived in Penrith since 2005 and works within renewable energy technologies and providing advice on energy saving measures. When he gets spare time, Mark & his family like to go out walking on the fells and enjoy the Cumbrian countryside.

Our new Responsible Financial Officer, John Kemp, since qualifying as a chartered accountant, has extensive experience at a senior level and has worked in Penrith for almost 20 years for Amey (previously TFE Accord and now Urbaser). Having worked closely with the district council providing municipal services contractor covering refuse, grounds maintenance, street cleaning and building cleaning, John has a deep understanding of public service provision.

John is responsible for the Council’s financial administration, providing financial information and advice to Councillors, preparing budget and budgetary control reports for the Council and its Committees and the formulation of financial policies, regulations and strategies.

Penrith Town Council look forward to working with both Mark and John.

Penrith Town Council welcomes new councillor and new Responsible Finance Officer 899 773

Write: Penrith Town Council. Unit 1, Church House, 19-24 Friargate, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 7XR involved in helping to make Penrith a Carbon Neutral Town. It’s crucially important for all of us!!

From Harvest to fall to Autumn

by Lee Quinn

Through my Autumn research, whilst I love this time of the year, I was reminded that Autumn did start officially on 1st September. I suppose, like a few of you, I don’t really notice Autumn until we see it and feel it! Like some of those things I have mentioned in my opening.

Autumn is sometimes called Fall, which like my points raised about pumpkins and Halloween, is seen as quite American. "Autumn" came from the Latin word "autumnus," with the root of the word meaning "the passing of the year." The term "fall" was likely a deviation from the Old English words "fiaell" and "feallan," both of which mean "to fall from a height."

It is the time of year that transitions summer into winter. Along with the tree leaves changing colour through the process of abscission, the natural detachment of parts of a plant, typically dead leaves and ripe fruit. The temperature grows colder, plants stop making food, animals prepare for the long months ahead, and the daylight starts growing shorter - of course this is in the Northern Hemisphere.

In the Southern Hemisphere, buds are bursting out and everything is waking up as the temperature warms up. As for the use of the word fall rather than Autumn, this dates back to the 1500s, however, the earliest known name for the season in English is harvest. It comes from

the Old English word hærfest, of Germanic origin, perhaps with an underlying, ancient sense of “picking, plucking” (as in, picking fruits to harvest them).

Eventually, the use of harvest as a name for the season fell out of use, instead becoming used for the period when ripened crops are harvested — gathered for processing and winter storage. The word harvest can also refer collectively to those ripened, gathered crops themselves.

Both “fall” and “autumn” were used as part of the English language to describe the third season of the year. The older of the two is “autumn.” Over time, poets became interested in describing parts of the year in romantic ways, and this is when “fall” appeared for the first time to replace the use of the word autumn.

During the 16th Century, writers continued to be amazed with the time of year and came up

with the term “fall of the leaf”. This was used in conjunction with “spring of the leaf” to describe these transitional times of the year.

Eventually the terms were shortened to “spring” and “fall.” Shortly after this time, Britain’s empire was expanding fast, and in turn, that meant the English language was becoming widespread.

One area of the world in particular that it heavily influenced was North America. As time went on, the English that was spoken in America and the English that was spoken in England began to grow apart and develop upon its own accord.

There was less contact between the two areas and this influenced the language being spoken in the two different continents.

www.thefactsite.com

Hedgehogs

Hedgehogs are perhaps one of the most familiar of Britain’s wild mammals. Small, spiky and usually snuffing for worms, these mammals are nocturnal so usually only spotted in the dark, (or after a heavy rainfall). However, as our only spiny mammal, they are immediately recognisable! They actually have about 6,000 closely-packed, hollow spines. These are brown at the base but get lighter towards the tip, eventually becoming white.

A part of a hedgehog rarely seen due to its defence method of curling up into a ball, its underside, is made up of coarse, grey-brown fur. This defence of rolling into a ball protects hedgehogs from most of their natural predators. Hedgehogs also have a tiny tail, tiny ears and surprisingly long legs that are hidden under a ‘skirt’ of longer hairs.

In the daylight hedgehogs will spend their time in parks and gardens, where the bushes and hedgerows provide them with somewhere to hide. When they are hunting they’re after invertebrates, amphibians, birds’ eggs (or anything else they can catch!).

Insect-rich lawns and flowerbeds create excellent feeding grounds to find their favourite big crunchy beetles, earthworms, slugs (you can see why hedgehogs are called a ‘gardener’s best friend!). They have a very good sense of smell which they use to sniff out food and warn of danger.

Hedgehogs tend to travel up to 2km a night looking for food! If you aren’t sure whether there are any hedgehogs living near you, a sign to look out for is their medium-sized black droppings consisting of bits of beetles and other insects, often found on lawns.

Hedgehogs will breed between April and September. Their courtship includes snorting and barging from the female, and perseverance from the male. They can produce up to seven blind, spineless hoglets. Two sets of spines will grow in a few weeks and they will be weaned and independent just after being four weeks old.

Sadly, our once common prickly pals are now declining. Research by People’s Trust for

© Tom Marshall Tom

The Queen visited Cumbria on numerous occasions, so we’ve just captured two moments from her visit and two close encounters with the Queen on 19th March 1998 out of the thousands of people on that day.

Lisa Wong-Bamber (Penrith) had so much to say, but was there, facing the Queen, arms folded and totally speechless.

Jason Clarke (Penrith) met the Queen in the Health Education Centre at Keswick School. The Queen was giving an endorsement to a Cumbrian drug awareness project. In the picture, the Queen spent some time talking to three peer counsellors, as pictured with Jason as he introduces himself along with his two colleagues, June and Helen.

And finally, something that was seen as millions of people said goodbye, was this poem on social media…

Phillip came to me today, and said it was time to go. I looked at him and smiled, as I whispered that "I know"

I then turned and looked behind me, and seen I was asleep. All my Family were around me, and I could hear them weep.

I gently touched each shoulder, with Phillip by my side. Then I turned away and walked, with My Angel guide.

Phillip held my hand, as he lead the way, to a world where Kings and Queens, are Monarchs every day.

I was given a crown to wear or a Halo known by some. The difference is up here, they are worn by everyone.

I felt a sense of peace, my reign had seen its end. 70 years I had served my Country, as the peoples friend. Thank you for the years, for all your time and love.

Now I am one of two again, in our Palace up above.

By Joanne Boyle

Joanne is from Hartlepool, and she works as a healthcare assistant and writes poetry in her free time.

MAY DAY IS BACK! a gap of two Penrith Club is planning to hold its May Day Carnival the town centre on Monday 1st May 2023. This will be the 40th time that the Club has organised the event for the people of the town and district. Many of the favourites of past events are planned:

Recruitment (part 2) – Interviews

by Quinn HR

Welcome to the October edition of your local community magazine!

Last month we considered what makes a good CV and provided some useful hints and tips. This month we’re thinking about interviews, their benefits and how to prepare for them.

Once shortlisting has been completed, successful applicants are often invited to attend an interview. Interviews are probably still the most widely used method of selection used by employers, and sometimes they form part of a selection process that includes other assessments, such as psychometric testing, simulated activities and delivering presentations.

Interviews can be structured in different ways. Some employers may simply use an applicant’s CV or application form as a basis for questions at interview, whilst others may devise competencybased questions to ask in addition to questions relating to CVs and application forms. Whatever approach is adopted, both employers and applicants should prepare well for the interview.

Benefits of using interviews

There are distinct benefits of using interviews as a method of selection for both employers and applicants.

For employers:

• An interview process is fairly quick and easy, saving time and money – assessment centres which include a range of selection methods take much longer and can be costly to run

• They enable the employer to assess an applicant’s experience and ability in a short period of time

• They enable the employer to tell the applicant all about their organisation and the benefits of working for them

• They enable the employer to ‘sell’ themselves as an employer of choice – an organisation people want to work for

For applicants:

• It is usually a relatively quick process, saving time and money, although with any assessment process it can be fairly stressful

• It allows the applicant to learn more about the role they are applying for and the responsibilities that go with it

• It allows the applicant to ask any questions they might have about the role and the organisation

• It enables the applicant to decide whether they think the role and organisation might be suitable for them, if they were offered the role

How can employers prepare for an interview?

As an employer, you need to be aware that interviews can be prone to bias. As much as we like to think we can be objective and unbiassed, we are only human and sometimes we can judge others according to our own moral code. Interviewers should be coached in interview techniques and skills, raising their awareness of bias and stereotyping. They should also be familiar with the requirements of the role in question.

It’s often a good idea to adopt the following approach:

• Have at least 2 people interviewing applicants

• Prepare and agree a set of interview questions

• Ensure you ask all applicants the same questions

• Base some of the questions on the role – how the applicant would approach it in terms of performance, drawing on their experience

• Score or rate the applicants’ answers so that you can compare them later on

• Focus some questions on attitude and behaviour

How can applicants prepare for an interview?

The thought of an interview can be daunting and stressful, particularly if you haven’t been for an interview for some time.

Unless you are given specific information about the interview, the following approach may be useful:

• Make sure you familiarise yourself with the content of the CV or application form you sent to the employer – they are likely to ask you some questions relating to this

• Think about a couple of significant achievements – personal or professional, and be in a position to explain and discuss what they were and why they were important

• Employers still tend to ask questions about strengths and areas for improvement, so make sure you have thought about them and are prepared to explain them

• Make sure you’ve found out what you can about the organisation – look at their website or other literature, and speak to others who work there if you can

• Prepare a couple of questions to ask the interviewers – this can demonstrate interest and initiative

Quinn HR – Here to Help

Whether you’re an employer, an employee or an applicant, should you need any advice on any aspect of recruitment or any other employment matter, Quinn HR is only a call or an email away! We can advise on a whole range of employment matters and have access to additional, professional HR expertise should it be needed.

Until next time...

October – Rowan or Mountain Ash

The rich red berries of the Rowan or Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia) are filling woodlands, hedgerows and gardens at the moment; a true sign that autumn is with us.

This native tree is surrounded by mysticism and folklore including its other names. In old Celtic it is ‘fid na ndruad’ meaning wizards’ tree or it is also known as the witch wiggin tree or witchwood, but more of that later.

A mature Rowan can grow to 15m (49ft) high and can live for up to 200 years. It is most commonly found in the north and west of the British Isles often at high altitudes hence its other name of Mountain Ash. Although it grows naturally in the wild, ornamental varieties have been developed and are often planted as a street or garden tree with the berries appearing in a range of colours from pink to red and yellow to orange.

This native tree has a smooth silvery grey bark with hairy purple buds developing in the spring. The distinctive ‘pinnate’ (featherlike) leaves are made up of 5-8 pairs of long, oval and toothed leaflets with one final ‘terminal’ leaflet at the top of the group. They are bright green in the spring and in the autumn give a glorious display of yellows and golds. The frothy white spring blossom which contains both male and female reproductive parts, gives way to the brilliant red berries in early autumn and are loved by birds; in particular blackbirds, redstarts, field fares and thrushes as they fill up for longer cooler days. A heavy crop of berries is also believed to be a sign of a hard winter to come!

The rowan was often planted by houses and farms as a protection against witches, enchantment and spirits. It was believed that the colour red was the best protection against magic so the brilliant display of red berries in the autumn protected against

witches mischief. The berries also have a tiny 5 pointed star or pentagram on the base opposite the stalk – the pentagram is an ancient symbol of protection.

A rowan growing next to a house is said to protect the home and the people living there and makes the property a very valued place to live. If a rowan self-seeds in the fork of another tree or in the cleft of a rock then it is even more auspicious and is known as a ‘flying rowan’ and provides the strongest of all powers against witchcraft and sorcery!

In Scotland it was considered to be extremely bad luck to cut down or use any part of a rowan tree (apart from the berries) and even today this superstition carries on in some areas of the Highlands.

Elsewhere the wood was used to make divining rods and for stirring milk to prevent it from curdling. On the Isle of Man and in other parts of the UK crosses made from rowan wood were made to hang on cattle, over doorways or carried in pockets again for protection – but the wood must never be cut with a knife.

The berries, which are rich in Vitamin C, are still used today to make rowan berry jellies (traditionally eaten with game meats), jams, jellies and even rowan berry Turkish delight. Of course the berries can also be used in a variety of wines, spirits and ales.

As we draw to the end of another year join me next month for the penultimate musings on trees of the UK…see you in November!

By Pam Waggott

References:

www.woodlandtrust.org.uk www.somegoodideas.co.uk www.treesforlife.org.uk

I have studied history since I was a child and have since worked as an archaeologist and museum education officer and worked on excavations all over Britain. I am an author of historical literature and conduct Roman, Saxon, and Viking education sessions for schools as well as talks and lectures to various interest groups. I hold a degree in Archaeology and Heritage Management, specialising in Roman Military and Frontier Studies as well as Post Roman History up to the 11th Century.

During my work and research, it amazed me how misunderstood the early history of Cumbria is, both on a national and local level. Cumbria and particularly Eden has a unique and amazing history and culture which has evolved from that history.

Once you delve in, it really is comparable to any Hollywood epic!

The education sessions I provide in schools give the children the opportunity to explore the culture of that history, particularly from a regional aspect, which gives context for them.

When exploring these early periods, we find times when Eden and Cumbria were populated with people from Turkey, Spain, Syria, and Germany just to mention a few so this can be inclusive and resonate with pupils who are from a multicultural background.

Later it was settled by the Saxons and Vikings as well as the indiginous population, many of whom were descended from the old Roman garrisons.

To study Cumbrian history is to see just how multicultural we actually are. It was these issues that in-spired me to write ‘In Search of Cumbriaan early history from the end of the Ice Age to the Arrival of the Normans’. It is available from most book outlets and online.

While researching Cumbrian history for over 30 years I have found evidence of forgotten battle sites and new evidence to support as well as debunk legends and local myths.

I have a great enthusiasm to see communities regain ownership of their history and archaeology and many are amazed by what they discover. In the up coming issues of Eden Local, we will begin to look at Eden’s amazing history.

Next issue. ‘The creation and rise of Rheged’.

Contact: josephjackson1969@yahoo.co.uk

Welcome to our new monthly history page where we will explore, the early history of Eden and Cumbria.

Photo by Valerie Restoin

Connecting House & Garden

One of the things I often get asked about is how to make the home and garden feel as one, so here are some ways of bringing the inside out and connecting spaces.

Look at colours

Consider your indoor colour theme or the colour and material of the house and use that outside. Painting outdoor furniture is a great way of tying it in with an indoor scheme. Furniture is a good way of uniting the spaces with texture too. If your kitchen chairs are wooden, use wood outside. It doesn’t have to end there, use soft furnishings to create the comfort you experience inside. I love an outdoor rug on the area nearest the house to give it a living room quality.

Using rooms

Dividing the garden into a series of rooms can really link it; after all a house is a series of rooms too. You might have a more formal zone as you leave the house and transition to a wilder zone the further away you get. You can use a “borrowed” view if you have one (incorporating a feature further away from the garden) to merge house, garden and beyond.

Floors

The way the surfaces shifts from inside to exterior is important. Take a look at your kitchen floor or

whichever floor makes the transition to outside, and use that for inspiration for the patio and path materials and colour.

All year round

It might not be the weather to sit in the open air so having something to look at in winter from the cosiness of the house can help you bond with nature even if you are not outside. The use of pots and planters can really make a difference but also choosing a few key winter shrubs or using grasses can add some fabulous winter texture, movement and faded colour.

Outdoor lighting

We are spoilt for choice now, from string lights, fairy lights, hanging lanterns and uplighters to name a few and a lot can be solar powered, helping you become sustainable as well as creating that impression of an exterior room. Contact me to discuss ways of bringing unity to your house and garden and connecting with nature whatever the weather. I can help with anything from revitalising outdoor spaces to complete garden designs. 2022 Karen Roberts Garden Design

Endangered Species shows that hedgehogs have declined by 30% in the last 10 years alone and there are now thought to be fewer than one million left in the UK. This decline is caused by factors and threats such as development, habitat loss, and the increased intensification of agricultural landscapes.

The way we manage our gardens is becoming increasingly important, if we want to save our hedgehogs from further population declines. This includes providing plants that will attract a wide range of insects, making a hedgehog hole in your fence and making a hedgehog home. Find out more about how you can help hedgehogs in your garden, including what to feed them (and what not to feed them!) at https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/ wildlife/help-wildlife/hedgehogs

As you probably know, hedgehogs hibernate, from about November to April, making a nest of leaves or logs called a ‘hibernaculum’. That’s why it’s crucial, if you’re lighting a bonfire at this time of year, to check for hibernating hedgehogs first.

If you see a hedgehog in Cumbria, don’t forget to log it on our hedgehog survey: www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/ hedgehog-survey

Sian Bentley

© Tom Marshall

HEDGEHOG FACTS

• Length: 15-30cm

• Tail (did you know they had one?): 1-2cm

• Weight: up to 2kg

• Average lifespan: 2-3 years

• There are 14 different species of hedgehog around the world. The UK’s hedgehog – the European hedgehog – is found across Western Europe and Scandinavia.

• Some hedgehogs are blonde! This colour mutation is called leucism and is thought to be caused by rare recessive genes. A large proportion of the hedgehogs on Alderney, in the Channel Islands, are blonde!

NB If you find a sick or injured hedgehog, contact the British Hedgehog Preservation Society www. britishhedgehogs.org.uk/found-a-hedgehog/ They will give you lots of important advice.

© Gillian Day

Heltondale’s Dalefoot Composts continues to bloom

as British gardeners embrace sustainable gardening

Heltondale-based Dalefoot Composts now has over 280 stockists across the country selling its sustainable compost, as British gardeners embrace using peat-free products.

The award-winning company has signed up a raft of new stockists as well as selling direct to consumers online. Growing awareness of the quality of its premium peat-free composts, coupled with blossoming public understanding of the harmful impact of peat-use, and climate change gardening practices becoming mainstream, are helping to drive the popularty of its products.

Dalefoot recently announced a new partnership with the Eden Project which has endorsed its Wool Compost for Potting. The world famous environmental charity also teamed up with the company for a gold-winning RHS Chelsea Flower Show display urging gardeners to ditch peat. Dalefoot supported six show gardens and exhibits and also saw two of its composts being shortlisted for its Sustainability Garden Product of the Year with Wool Compost Double Strength and Wool Compost for Potting.

Renowned for its premium composts made from sheep’s wool and bracken, requiring no feed and less water, Dalefoot has added nutrient-packed comfrey to its popular Wool

Compost mix. Grown on a commercial scale at Dalefoot Farm in the Lake District, and harvested four times a year, this quick-growing crop has allowed the company to easily scale up production. The company is also now sourcing bracken from Northumberland and Wales, as well as locally in Cumbria – helping a diversity of farming communities and local landscapes.

Dalefoot’s story - The entrepreneurial couple behind Dalefoot, environmental scientist Jane Barker and farmer Simon Bland, started making compost from the natural ingredients around their Cumbrian farm in 1997. Inspired by early 20th century gardening books that mentioned wool as a garden mulch, and a desire to make good use of the invasive bracken growing on the fells, the couple invented their secret

compost recipe, bagged the product up themselves and started selling at local farmers’ markets. Twenty years later the compost is sold across the UK and the business employs 25 local people, and sources bracken and wool from farmers.

The Dalefoot team also restores peat bogs, some of which were once owned by peat compost companies, across the country for the likes of Natural England, NatureScot, South West Water and Wildlife Trusts. Peat bogs store more carbon than forests and many in the UK are now in poor condition, releasing carbon rather than storing it. Dalefoot works with these agencies to help reduce carbon release and return the bogs to functioning, healthy eco-systems. In 2022 Dalefoot announced a total of 3.8 million tonnes of carbon saved through their restoration projects.

The secret life of a spider

Geoff Oxford (British Arachnological Society)

Autumn is a season of bountiful harvests, shortening days, misty mornings and … Large house spiders. From mid-August onwards, these giants of the spider world make their presence felt by running over floors, mountaineering on walls, or stranding in baths and sinks – an arachnophobe’s nightmare. What’s going on?

It is a common assumption that these rather beautiful (yes, really - check out the images!), long-legged spiders (Eratigena species) must have come in from outside, perhaps seeking warmth as the days cool. However, there is absolutely no evidence for this as they survive perfectly well outside the whole year round, as they had to do before humans first built dwellings. The spiders we see in the house have probably lived there their entire lives, building increasing large funnel webs as they grow. They spin their webs behind

skirting boards, under floorboards, at the back of furniture or in other undisturbed corners. Towards the end of summer and into autumn adolescent spiders mature, males slightly earlier than females. At this stage, males vacate their webs and wander in search of a mate. This explains their sudden appearance in late summer, and why they are on the move.

When a male finds a female’s web, which they recognize from chemicals (pheromones) in her silk, they either start courting immediately (if the female is mature) or move into her tubular retreat and cohabit (if she is immature). Once she moults to maturity, mating takes place. Males often continue to share the female’s web after the initial mating, probably to prevent affairs with other suitors. after whereas females

Andrew Briscoe Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning

Male large house spider showing the swollen palps

Male large house spider in web showing the tubular retreat

overwinter with sperm stored securely within their bodies. In spring, with warming temperatures and an increase in insect prey, the female produces a series of silk-covered egg sacs about the size of a ring-finger nail. The egg sacs each contain 50-60 eggs and are often ‘decorated’ with the remains of dead insects or other debris. The young emerge about a month later and grow to half-size by the next winter, continuing their path to adulthood the following spring. Male Large house spiders therefore live about 18 months and females roughly two and a half years.

We have three closely related species of Large house spiders in Britain (Eratigena saeva, Eratigena duellica and Eratigena atrica). All three species are superficially identical with a lovely pattern of lighter chevrons on a darker brown abdomen, and very long legs. They are only distinguishable by microscopic details of their genitalia (pedipalps in males and epigyne in females - see box). The first two species are by far the most widespread, with the latter (atrica) a sporadic import but with a large population known around Newcastle upon Tyne and possibly also in the Perth/Dundee region of Scotland. South of a line drawn along the North Wales coast, the two common species have almost non-overlapping distributions with saeva in Wales and the West Country, and duellica in the east and Midlands, probably a result of accidental introductions from the continent many centuries

ago. From Yorkshire and Lancashire northwards (including Cumbria), all the evidence suggests that Large house spiders have only been present from the mid-1960s onwards and here both species are geographically mixed.

Where the two Eratigena species meet, hybrids between them occasionally occur, as is the case in the narrow zone of overlap along the Welsh/ English border. First generation hybrids can readily cross with each other and with either of their parent species, producing viable offspring. In northern England and Scotland, with more mixing between the species, the opportunities for hybridisation are increased. As a result, reproductive barriers here seem to be breaking down and gene flow between the species is much greater; it appears that saeva and duellica may be collapsing into a single species. If so, we would have the intriguing situation of two (reasonably) good species south of the North Wales coastal line and, increasingly, what may become a single species to the north of it.

So, next time you spot a marauding Large house spider, just remember the bigger picture. You are witnessing evolution in action – the fusion of two species into one –taking place in Cumbria, in your own home and before your very eyes.

Female large house spider in web

Female large house spider in web

Is my spider male or female - and how do I evict it?

Spiders have eight walking legs and in addition a pair of pedipalps at their head end, which look like an additional pair of short legs. In females, the pedipalps are as described (see photos on page 30); in mature males, however, they are swollen at the ends and look like a pair of boxing gloves (see photos on page 29). These are crucial in transferring sperm to the female during courtship,

Large house spiders are totally harmless despite their size but if unwanted inside they can simply be caught and put out, where they will be perfectly happy. To remove a spider, place a glass over it and slide a card between the glass and the surface the spider is on, trapping it in the glass. Take it outside and let it go.

Male large house spider

INCY WINCY

My wife is not a fan of The Spider

Whenever she spots black spots beside her I’m summoned to commit insecticide

Before the devils have a chance to hide

In the outback life is never funny

When Aussies find them camped in the dunny Aragog made Hogwarts’ students queasy None more so than poor Ronald Weasley

Spiders are not universally bad

Let’s not forget that Peter Parker lad Snooker players would be put to the test

If deprived of their peculiar rest

As nutrition arachnids never fail

Contestants out on the bush tucker trail

At the Ugly Bug Ball their dance moves honed The Spider and The Fly got rolling stoned

Rex di Noci September 20th 2022

About the British Arachnological Society

The British Arachnological Society (britishspiders.org.uk) is Britain’s only charity dedicated exclusively to spiders and their relatives – the arachnids. We use science and education to advance the wider understanding and appreciation of arachnids and to promote their conservation. Our main focus is Britain’s over 680 species of spiders, 31 harvestmen and 27 false scorpions (pseudoscorpions). We are very actively involved in providing accurate information to the public on these very important, fascinating, but often misrepresented animals. Contact: Geoff Oxford, secretary@britishspiders.org.uk

Additional reading

BAS factsheet No. 1 Essential spider info. www.britishspiders.org.uk/factsheets

BAS factsheet No. 2 Large house spiders. www.britishspiders.org.uk/factsheets

Bee, L., Oxford, G. & Smith, H. (2020). Britain’s spiders – a field guide. 2nd edn.

WildGuides: Princeton University Press.

Female large house spider on kitchen floor