Sunday 7 December         11.00am  Informal Service with Kid’s group
Sunday 14 December        11.00am  Informal Service with Holy Communion and Kid’s Group
Wednesday 17 December   7.30pm  Beer & Carols in the Boot and Shoe
Thursday 18 December       6.00pm  Greystoke School Pageant
Sunday 21 December         6.30pm  Carol Service
Wednesday 24 December   3.00pm  Christingle Service
Thursday 25 December     10.30am  Family Christmas Service
Sunday 28 December        11.00am  Service of the Word

St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services January 2026

Sunday January 4      11.00am  Informal Service with Kid’s group
Sunday January 11    11.00am  Informal Service with Holy Communion and Kid’s Group
Sunday January 18    11.00am  Informal Service with Kid’s Group
Sunday January 25    11.00am  Traditional Holy Communion

All Sunday morning services serve coffee and cakes from 10.30 onwards. We look forward to welcoming you to our range of services over the next two months.

Greystoke’s New Together Correspondent

At the time of writing, this will be the last online Greystoke News as, after nearly 10 years, the time has come to pass the baton over to a new correspondent. Please contact me at the email address inside the front cover of November’s printed magazine if you’d like to find out more or, if you are willing from January 2026, to provide no more than a day a month collating articles, and updating the village website.

Village Hall Bingo

Come join us for Christmas Bingo on Friday 19 December – some festive fun with mulled wine and mince pies. Pop on your Christmas jumper and bring your festive spirit! Doors open 6.40pm, eyes down 7.00pm prompt.

Thank you for everyone’s generosity donating prizes. The first bingo raised £401 – helping to keep the hall maintained and available for all. The final bingo for this season will be Friday 23 January.

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 20 January in the Village Hall.

Village Hall AGM – Tuesday 27 January, 7.00pm

Come along to the AGM, your Village Hall belongs to you and we’d love to hear your ideas how we can make it even better. Everyone is welcome! Come and meet the committee, share your thoughts and see what’s planned for the year ahead. Anyone interested in joining the committee can drop us a message at GreystokeVillageHall@gmail.com or contact Laura on 07828 741 354. See you there!

Greystoke WI – The Penultimate meeting

Our meeting on Thursday 6 November began with the minutes of the meeting between the President, Secretary and a WI trustee which was held to count our votes and declare Greystoke WI suspended. 100% of members had voted in favour of the suspension.

On a more cheerful note, we then turned our attention to a dabble craft session. We could choose from silk painting, embroidering Christmas designs onto baubles and making a lantern covered with tissue and Christmas designs. There was also an opportunity to look at the archive. After our hard work we enjoyed beautiful homemade mince pies and a cup of tea thanks to Violet. We now look forward to our last session on Thursday 4 December when we will be entertained by MUGS – the ukulele group.

Friends of St. Andrew’s Building

Winter Quiz Nights in Greystoke Village Hall at 7:30 pm, on Friday 30 January, 27 February and 20 March. The Quizmaster will be Harry Upton, and includes a bar.

All proceeds will go to FoSAB (Friends of St. Andrew’s Building).

The number of FoSAB group members continues to grow. If you have an interest in our beautiful church building and would like to become a member at a minimum charge of £10 per annum or just making a donation please contact Maureen Hardy.

Greystoke and District Sports Association

The Future Pool Project: After a well-attended public meeting on the Pool Sustainability Project, we are awaiting the outcome of our Planning application. Meanwhile, Greystoke Pool and St. Andrew’s Church have received funding (Community Energy Fund Northwest Hub, and the Church of England Pilot and Innovation Fund) to explore a Feasibility Study on a Community Energy Network in Greystoke. To find out more, please come to our Public Meeting at Greystoke Village Hall on Thursday 8 January at 6.30pm. All Welcome.

AGM: Everyone is welcome to the AGM of the Sports Association on Thursday 22 January 2026 in the swimming pool café. It’s a great chance to find out more about the past year and our future plans. Do come down!

Café opening times: Our lunchtime cafe takes place on Mondays, 12 noon – 2.00pm. Homemade soup and cakes with hot drinks available.
Saturday café is also open when Greystoke football teams are playing at home. Please check Facebook for up to date information.

Save the Dates:

• Film nights Saturday 7 February and 7 March 2026
• Dance the night away to Soul Junction Saturday 28 February 2026

Greystoke Community Land Trust

Survey Results: Thank you to everybody who filled in the housing needs survey. We achieved a response rate of 35% which is excellent (30% would be considered good). 82% of respondents supported new affordable homes for local people and the survey identified an affordable housing need for 14 households. The need for (some) smaller, cheaper houses for sale on the open market was also identified. In summary the survey will help us understand what any new housing in the parish might look like.

Thank you also to those who expressed an interest in getting more involved. The most important thing you can do now is to join us as a member, and help spread the word about what the Community Land Trust could achieve – but only with the support of the community!

Membership: Join the Community Land Trust (CLT) for just £1. This will give you membership for life and a vote at all general meetings, including who should be on the board. You can join online at greystokeclt.org.uk/join or see us at various community events and meetings to join via a paper membership form. The more people who join, the more representative of the community we will be. A CLT is a democratic, non‑profit organisation run by and for the community.

Help get the housing we need, not the housing that developers want to build. Take control – decisions made by the community for the community

Together we can do this by:

• developing a small number of affordable houses for local people;
• leading the local community in representing our interests when new building developments are being planned.

The Land Trust is not just a vehicle for housing – it can be used to help buy any community asset – such as your local shop – if we need to. Join now to be a part of something really powerful.

What’s next? Look out for a meeting in January to go over the key findings from the housing survey – date TBC. We will publish this via facebook, let supporters and members know via email, and have posters on the noticeboards.

Questions? Email chair@GreystokeCLT.org.uk

Greystoke & District Sports Association – Monthly Draw

The draw is a fantastic way to raise funds for the pool and playpark and every ticket sold helps keep our pool afloat. The draw runs January to January so December is the time to renew your membership or come on board and join us. Only £15 per number with great odds each month. It’s easy to join online.

Join to today, support the pool and playpark, support your community.

£20 – Andy James – 34
£15 – Andrew Wilson – 11
£10 – Max & Becka – 60
£5 – Lesley Lamb – 163
£5 – L Watson – 93
£5 – Will Nielsen – 69
£5 – Bridget Jardine – 190

Get Fit 4 Life, Tuesdays 3pm, Greystoke Village Hall

It’s been wonderful to welcome new faces to Get Fit 4 Life at Greystoke on Tuesdays from 3.00pm to 4.00pm. The group has a lovely energy and size, but there’s still room if you’d like to join. It’s a brilliant way to get moving, meet others, and enjoy yourself. Feel free to contact Debbie on 07776 162 125 or debbie@get‑active.co.uk – or simply pop down and give it a go.

Sunday 2 November – Informal Service with Kid’s Group
Sunday 9 November – Remembrance Service 10.15 am followed by prayers and last post at the cross (11.00)
Sunday 16 November – Informal Service with Kid’s Group
Sunday 23 November – Traditional Holy Communion
Sunday 30 November – Ullswater Mission Community Service

All services, apart from Remembrance Sunday which is 10.15am, begin at 11.00am. Coffee and cake will be served from 10.30 am onwards. We look forward to seeing you.

Greystoke’s New Together Correspondent

After nearly 10 years, the time has come to pass the baton over to a new correspondent. Please contact John Bridges at the email address inside the front cover of the printed magazine if you’d like to find out more, or if you are willing, from January 2026, to provide no more than a day a month collating articles, and updating the village website.

Get Involved – Join our Village Hall Committee

We have a great bunch of people who come together to help run our village hall, ensuring it is available for the whole community. It’s a place for gatherings, clubs, celebrations, school lunches are more. We are currently looking for friendly motivated people to join the committee and help shape its future. Do you have ideas for events, activities or improvements?

So, what’s involved?

• Attending short, friendly meetings (usually 4 times year)
• Helping plan or support local events
• Sharing ideas to improve our space and services
• Help make decisions that benefit the whole community.

No experience needed – just enthusiasm and a bit of time. There are lots of ways to be involved. Whether you’re a long-time resident or new to the village – your voice matters.

Interested? Have questions? Drop us a message or contact Emma.

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 11 November in the Village Hall.

Greystoke WI

Greystoke WI was very honoured to welcome Alan Hinkes OBE, one time Yorkshire Man of the Year and first Brit to climb the 14 peaks over 8,000 metres as our speaker at our October Guest Night.

He gave an engaging and hair-raising talk about his 17 year long ambition to scale the 14 peaks over 8,000 metres. It took so long because many attempts failed, sometimes because of the weather and on one occasion because his party came upon a man who would have died if they had not helped him to walk down. It was hair-raising because at 8,000 metres you are in the death zone where humans are not adapted to survive. He spoke of the numbers of climbers who had attempted the 14 peaks but had either died or given up. He mentioned many friends who had died from falls, avalanches or from acute mountain sickness whilst climbing. He was very proud of still possessing all ten digits whereas many of his acquaintances had lost fingers or toes to frostbite. He was acutely aware of the risks he was running and the possibility that he would never get back to Fiona, his daughter, whose picture he carried to each summit. Tellingly, he said he would never climb any of the 14 again.

Alan was not shy of including gory detail and told us about a very nasty wound he suffered to his leg when he fell off a path on the way to a climb. This entailed a lengthy stay in hospital and much training to recover his fitness.

Kangchenjunga sounded like Alan’s worst experience. He felt that he came close to death at the summit rather late in the day and was faced with the prospect of descending in the dark. However, he managed to talk himself out of his fear and down the mountain. He has written about his 17 year mission in a book called 8000m All 14 Summits. We were very grateful to him for coming to Greystoke WI to speak about his experiences.

Our meeting on Thursday 6 November is a dabble craft session starting at 2.00pm. There will be an opportunity to look at the archive as well as try your hand at something new.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue, Val on or Jennifer.

Friends of St. Andrew’s Building Frost Fayre

Saturday 22 November between 10.30am and 2.00pm in Greystoke Village Hall, we will be serving our ever popular Turkey Rolls and Delicious Home Baked Cakes.

Christmas Stalls where you can have a good old Cumbrian ‘ratch’ for Christmas presents, cards, decorations, mouth-watering food and produce. Games for children and hopefully Father Christmas will pay us a visit between 12noon and 1.00pm.

At the time of writing there are still 2 stalls available to hire. Please contact Shirley or Maureen.

The number of FoSAB group members continues to grow. If you have an interest in our beautiful church building and would like to become a member at a minimum charge of £10 per annum or just making a donation please contact Maureen Hardy.

Greystoke & District Sports Association – Future Pool Project

A well-attended event took place on 29 September in the pool café, when plans for the future of the pool were revealed and discussed. Thanks to all who came along and supported the ideas for development and provided useful feedback. Our aim is to create a replacement pool that is more energy efficient, will last us the next 50 years, and be more accessible than the current pool. If you were unable to attend and would like to know more please contact any Committee member or email us at GreystokePool@gmail.com and we will get back to you.

We have benefitted from the community support over the years and will need continued help with fundraising to carry through the ambitious plans. Our next step is to submit a planning application – where letters of support will be welcomed! We will provide regular updates in this newsletter.

Greystoke & District Sports Association – Events

• Monday café – open from 12 noon until 2.00pm. Come and enjoy warming soups, homemade cakes and hot drinks. Great company too.
• Football café – we open the Pool café every time Greystoke play at home for hot drinks and tray bakes. Come and support your local team and the Pool.
• Film nights – Saturday 15 November showing the excellent film, Viceroy, with Hugh Bonneville and Gillian Anderson. £16 for a film, meal and interval ice cream. Licensed bar available. Tickets available from Greystoke Post Office and online.

Village Hall Bingo

Join us for an evening of fantastic prizes, laughs and good old fashioned fun for all ages raising funds for the hall. Our first event is on Friday 7 November 6:40pm doors open, eyes down 7:00pm. Tea/coffee/soft drink included.

The second event will be on Friday 28 November and the Christmas Bingo on Friday 19 December. Thank you to those who have donated prizes to date, our collectors will be collecting until mid-November – look out for your flyer.

Greystoke Pantomime December 11/12/13 December

It’s showtime! The Greystoke Pantomime Troupe will be performing Aladdin. Tickets will go on sale via Greystoke swimming pool website from beginning November. Or contact Clare Morton.

Greystoke Community Land Trust

A huge thanks to everyone who filled in the housing needs survey. ACT are pulling together the results so they can be shared with the community for discussion and any next steps. We hope to be able to share that with you before the end of the year.

We are now officially registered with the FCA.

The community land trust is here for the community and not just our members. Any assets we hold or profits we make must be reinvested for the community’s benefit – often called an ‘asset lock’. We will be looking to open up membership as soon as we can – we’re just waiting on some grant funding coming through and then we can open a bank account. Join for £1 for life!

Stay tuned for more news on this and see our slightly updated website.

Greystoke Pool Draw

Congratulations to the winners of pool draw for October

£20 – Bridget Jardine – 135
£15 – Maureen & Ali – 74
£10 – Gary & Marie Ratcliff – 114
£5 – Ella & Johnathan Tiffin 1– 27
£5 – Annie Swarbrick – 35
£5 – Sarah Dobinson – 70
£5 – Tim Nicol – 7

Get Fit 4 Life, Tuesdays 3pm, Greystoke Village Hall

I’m thrilled to see more people attend the Get Fit 4 Life class, as it means it can keep running and I can bring movement to your community. Classes run during term time only, and drop-ins are always welcome. Cost is £8 for a block booking. Whether you’re looking to improve mobility, boost your mood, or meet others, we’d love to see you. All abilities catered for. For more information, contact Debbie on 07776 162125 or eMail.

New bus timetable from 17/11/2025

• The route (previously designed to accommodate connections with the X4/5 to Keswick) will be simplified with all journeys running via the same anti-clockwise loop Penrith – Clickham – Greystoke – Motherby – Newbiggin – Clickham – Penrith. So will pick up on the same side of the road in each village on every trip.
• The variations in the afternoon timetable with certain journeys only running on Saturdays and on School Holidays have been eliminated. The only variation will be the 14.45 journey on the return to Penrith will end at the Rail Station, rather than the bus station on schooldays.
• The second journey of the day has been re-timed later, to pick up after 09:30, to allow English National Concessionary Travel passes to additionally be used for free travel on Monday to Friday
• The 07:10 from Greystoke will be withdrawn, and is replaced by a 08:05 arriving in Penrith for 08:50, which is better for workers starting at 9.00 (the 17:10 will run at 17:25, to accommodate a new service 106 journey)
• The 11:15 and 16:05 are withdrawn and the 14:35 and 15:00 merged to make a new 14:45
• At the suggestion of the Bus User Group, the bus will run into and out of Penrith via Castletown. It will run the rail station (for the retail park) on the way from Penrith, but use the Booths stop on the way towards Penrith
• The new route will allow the stops outside the Clickham Inn to be served

Greystoke’s New Together Correspondent

After nearly 10 years, the time has come to pass the baton over to a new correspondent. Please contact me at the email address inside the front cover of the printed magazine if you’d like to find out more, or if you are willing, from January 2026, to provide no more than a day a month collating articles, and updating the village website.

Greystoke WI

At our October meeting we enjoyed Alan Noble’s presentation on the subject of Architecture of Local Railway Stations. Alan began by showing us a map of the extent of the railway network in Cumbria before Beeching and picking out what remains now. After a few technical difficulties with the projector, heroically solved by Malcolm Kane, Alan was able to continue with his visual tour of the remaining stations in Cumbria. Some of the buildings were very attractive indeed. Some have since been turned into residences or cafés, or replaced with some pretty brutal looking buildings. A very striking water tower at Settle had become an unusual home which had featured on the TV. Alan explained the need for Harrington Humps on certain platforms where the level of the platform needed to be raised so that passengers could alight safely. We also got to see the beautiful viaducts on the Settle Carlisle line. Alan picked out beautiful details which will enhance our future railway journeys in Cumbria.

On Thursday 2 October we have an Open /Guest Night with Alan Hinkes, the mountaineer. There is no charge, but we are raising funds for the North Air Ambulance through a grocery hamper raffle. Items for this can be dropped in to Eileen in advance of the meeting or brought on the night. We will be providing tea and a light buffet. Anyone is welcome to attend, including partners, but we would like to have an idea of numbers so would ask you to ring Sue or Jennifer if you would like to join us. We no longer run a competition, although we would love you to bring pictures of you on the fell for a display.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue , Val or Jennifer.

St. Andrew’s Church Frost Fair

Saturday 22 November in Greystoke Village Hall. Further details in next month’s New Together. In the meantime contact Shirley or Maureen to book a stall.

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 21 October in the Village Hall.

Greystoke Social Club

Monday 6 October – Have you ever wondered about solar panels or air sourced heating and the cost? Chris Silver from Rural Energy will be speaking about these and the grants available for people in the rural area. Maybe you don’t think you are eligible for a grant to help save energy and keep your home warmer? Well, come along on Monday and I’m sure you may be pleasantly surprised.

Monday 20 October – Mystery trip followed by an ‘Afternoon Tea’. Contact Shirley for further details and to book.

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings and on our trips. Meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge – visitors £3, members £2, includes tea and biscuits.

Bus User Group

Despite lots of positive stories and lovely messages of support, the data on volume of passengers is low and Mark Hodgkiss at Westmorland and Furness Council gives us a stark message: “… on current data, I cannot see the contract being renewed when it comes to an end in March”.

I arranged a meeting with Mark immediately after receiving that email. Stagecoach is still adamant that diverting the X4 / X5 is not an option they will consider, so we looked at simplifying the timetable / route and reducing the number of journeys per day so it’s less costly to run. Mark is discussing those proposals with Stagecoach with a view to the changes coming into effect in November.

I’ll be sure to update you, but please, if you want to keep the bus, use it whenever possible and encourage the people around you to use it too.

Thank you, Pam Wood.

Greystoke & District Sports Association

Thank you to everyone who has helped to make the 2025 season a great success. The weather helped but we couldn’t do it without all our fantastic volunteers. We are holding a volunteer evening on Friday 26 September at the pool to say ‘thank you’.

Winter Café is back!

Held every Monday from 12.00pm until 2.00pm and run by volunteers. Serving some lovely soups with cheese scones and cakes, it’s a great place for lunch. Coffee and tea available too. It starts on Monday 13 October until Monday 22 December, then from Monday 5 January until the end of March. We look forward to welcoming you down at the Pool Café.

The Future Pool Project

The pool is over 50 years old and has served us well but it’s time to replace it. We are holding a drop-in session on Monday 29 September from 4.00pm in the Pool Café with a presentation/Q&A at 7.00pm. We will have the plans on show and information on how we intend to make the pool more sustainable and accessible. If you missed this event but want to know more then please email the Greystoke Pool.

Greystoke Film Nights

A French themed evening on Saturday 11 October in the Village Hall sees the start of our winter film nights. The meal will be beef bourguignon or vegetarian cassoulet followed by an optional French apple tart. The delightful Amélie is our film for the evening. A visual feast and much loved film, we know this will be a popular evening. As the film has subtitles we are limiting ticket numbers so everyone can see the whole screen.

Tickets £16 for meal, ice cream and film. French apple tart £3.50, payable on the door. Licensed bar available. Tickets available from the Greystoke Pool website and Greystoke Post Office.

Date for your diary: next film night Saturday 15 November 2025.

Greystoke Beer Festival

Greystoke recently held its 14^th annual Beer Festival, showcasing Cumbrian Beers by local breweries along with low and no alcohol options, wine and Prosecco. Local and up-and-coming bands played live music both nights in Greystoke Village Hall and garden marquee, filling the dance floor with revellers.

The beer festival is now an annual event and a firm fixture of the village social calendar. Importantly the event is the main fundraiser for the community open air swimming pool and this year is set to raise over £6,000!

Sue Richardson, Chair of the Greystoke and District swimming pool, said “putting this event on takes a great deal of work by a lot of volunteers but to raise that amount of money in support of the pool is just fantastic and makes the effort worthwhile. We really do try and put the fun into fundraising and actually hold events all year”.

This amount would not be possible without generous support from festival sponsors, and so if you would like to sponsor next year’s festival, or make a donation to help us keep the pool open during the summer please get in touch by eMail.

Volunteers at this and the pool café are always warmly welcomed, and you can find out more about the beer festival at our website.

Friends of St. Andrew’s Building

We have made a good start with building up the funds for the maintenance of our beautiful village church. Over the last few months we have been recruiting new members who pay a minimum of £10 per annum. If you are interested in becoming a member or making a donation please contact Maureen Hardy.

We recently had two events. The first was the heritage day in conjunction with National Heritage Week when folk were able to find out about the history and architecture of this remarkable building. The second event, which took place on the same day, was a ‘Cello concert and talk. This event was hosted at Greystoke Castle with thanks to Tom for facilitating this. This was the first of many concerts we hope to organise over the next few years. Next year we are hoping to have a concert by Encore Opera, a group of Cumbrian opera singers. Their programme is a wonderful selection of well-known arias and choruses. This will be held in the summer of 2026.

Our next event is the ever popular Frost Fayre on Saturday 22 November to be held in the Village Hall (more details in the next issue). If you would like a Christmas Stall at this event please contact Maureen Hardy.

Shwapping Evening

Refresh your wardrobe for less. Friday 17 October Greystoke Village Hall. £3 cash entry.

Shwapping is an opportunity to be environmentally friendly by sorting out your wardrobe of clothing, shoes or accessories, taking them to the Village Hall and finding yourself some beautiful nearly-new clothing, shoes or accessories.

7.00pm: drop off up to 10 excellent quality, washed pieces of clothing, shoes or accessories to swap. Clothes for everyone, not just ladies.

7.30pm: choose up to 8 gorgeous new pieces of clothing, shoes or accessories to take home, wear and love!

Make an extra donation to the village hall and receive a free glass of wine or soft drink.

Village Hall Events – Save the date

Greystoke Pool Draw

Congratulations to the winners of pool draw for September

£20 – Steve & Lesley Grisedale – 207
£15 – Annie Swarbrick – 35
£10 – Sue Munro – 66
£5 – Laura Hipple – 106
£5 – William Cummins – 186
£5 – Jo Bond – 51
£5 – Stewart Newall – 46

Cellist, Poet and dreamer, Kenneth Wilson set off in the summer of 2022 on a 2000 mile trip from Hadrian’s Wall to Rome on a 50 year old bike, towing a carbon fibre cello strapped to a trailer. He performed every day on the way – either formal concerts and pop-ups or busking. On his way, he played in a variety of locations including Canterbury Cathedral and the lawns of the Leaning Tower of Pisa to a final performance in front of the Vatican. Since his return he has written a book about his journey called Highway Cello.

We have been lucky enough to persuade Kenneth, after his recent trip around the Cathedrals of England, to come and play his cello and recite some of his funny and witty poetry. With the kind permission of Tom Nash, Kenneth will play at Greystoke Castle on Saturday 20 September at 7.30 pm. This will prove to be a very entertaining evening with a variety of music. Tickets £10 adults, £5 under 16s

For further information and reservations please contact, Shirley Mounsey, Maureen Hardy or Phil Lambert.

Leeds Excursion

An excursion has been organised with JD Coaches to Leeds for a shopping trip, visit to the museum or just a walk along the canal. Please book before Wednesday 3 September. Contact Shirley.

Greystoke Social Club

Monday 1 September – Forensic Scientist David Holme of Cumbria Police will be explaining how the use of Forensics, Fingerprints and much more help to solve crimes. This should prove to be a very interesting talk.

Monday 6 October – Have you ever wondered about solar panels or air sourced heating and the cost. Chris Silver from Rural Energy will be speaking about these and the grants available for people in the rural area.

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings and on our trips. Meeting are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge, visitors £3, members £2, includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke Church Choir

St. Andrew’s Church is expanding the choir to include children. Does your child love to sing? Come to our rehearsal and have a go! Wednesday 10 September, children 18:30-19:15, adults 19:00-20:00. New adults also welcome. Contact Isabella Wilson for further information.

Greystoke WI

At our August meeting, our speaker was Harry Navinski from Cockermouth who is a self-published writer of crime fiction. Harry admitted that this is his pen name, created during his time in the RAF, where he started as an apprentice navigational instruments fitter on aircraft. We heard about his exciting life in the RAF and his love of sports which led to sports writing for an RAF magazine. After the RAF, he spent time in India working to provide employment for vulnerable young women to prevent them being trafficked, a theme which feeds into one of his novels. This was followed by time in Cumbria, a writing course at Higham Hall and a career as a crime writer. It was very interesting to hear about the writing process that Harry has developed and the difficulties of getting published.

On Thursday 4 September, our speaker will be Alan Noble talking about the architecture of local railway stations. It is an Open meeting so all are welcome. There will be the usual refreshments of tea and biscuits, and there will be no charge for visitors. You are invited to bring along any memorabilia to do with railways.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue, Val or Jennifer.

Greystoke & District Sports Association

We are working on an exciting Energy Sustainability Project for the Pool. There will be a public meeting about our Future Pool ideas late in September. Everyone will be welcome. The date will be confirmed soon on facebook and the Pool website. Meanwhile, please contact one of the Pool Committee members or the Greystoke Pool with any queries or comments.

Greystoke Film Nights

These ever popular Saturday evenings are returning this autumn on 11 October, 15 November, 2 February and 7 March. Put the dates in your diary! Films are to be confirmed, and there will be a bar and food. Look forward to seeing you there.

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 9 September in the Village Hall.

Village Hall Meeting Room Upgrade

We listened to your feedback and work has been completed to make this room a warmer, more inviting space. Walls have been thermally insulated and a complete redecoration, including new blinds, has transformed this room. Available to hire by the hour, reduced rates for locals – email Greystoke Village Hall to book.

Greystoke Village Hall

Since 1939, Greystoke Village Hall has been part of the village, standing centre stage, used by locals for all manner of things including child and youth groups, WI, school meals, meetings, weddings, exercise classes, pantomimes, hand bells, fundraising events and the beer festival to name a few. We sometimes may even forget it’s there but it is a valuable well used community resource run by a friendly bunch of volunteers. One such volunteer, Allan Marshall, joined the committee in 1974 and has shown nothing both dedication and commitment to the hall (and indeed the village) for over 50 years. Unforeseen circumstances have resulted in Allan stepping back from the hall however. Each hall committee has been lucky to work alongside him and he will be dearly missed. His contribution has been invaluable and if he couldn’t fix something himself he always knew someone that could. The hall committee wish to thank Allan for all that he has done and wish him good health.

Allan’s departure has left a large role to fill so we are now looking for 2 or 3 locals to come and join in helping to run and maintain the hall. We don’t expect 50 years’ service or skilled tradespeople, as any major items are contracted out, just a bit of time here and there is all that is required. If you feel you could contribute in any way or want to chat it over please do call Laura (07828 741 354) or Emma (07890 987 051). We are also looking for a new Chairperson from February 2026 to join the current knowledgeable long standing committee. Want more info? Please contact Laura. We look forward to welcoming new faces.

Village Hall Events – Save the date

Housing Group Update

It’s been a very busy summer for us! As well as organising the housing survey, we’ve also made great progress on our other key objective – registering as an official community land trust. Our application is now with the FCA. This means we should shortly be able to open up membership – more on this to follow. Meanwhile, we now need to focus on opening a bank account and writing up various policies.

Housing Needs Survey – deadline Friday 12 September

By now, everyone in the parish (and some of you beyond the parish) should have received (at least) one copy of the Housing Needs Survey. The Greystoke Affordable Housing group commissioned this in conjunction with the Parish Council, so we can understand the housing need for the community – not just affordable. Please take the time to fill this in before the deadline on Friday 12 September.

A reminder of why this matters: This is your chance to have a say in the future of housing in our community. This survey gives every resident a voice. It will help us get the right homes for our community – not speculative developments that don’t serve our community, but homes designed to support the future of our village.

If you need extra copies you can pick one up at the shop, email ACT or ourselves at the Greystoke Community Group

Once the survey results are in we’ll be organising a meeting to discuss them,

Greystoke Pool Draw

Congratulations to the winners of pool draw for July and August

Get Fit 4 Life

We’re back at Greystoke Village Hall, so join us Tuesdays from 3.00pm–4.00pm, starting 9 September, for a fun and friendly mobility class designed for all abilities. We’ll warm up, build strength for everyday life, enjoy games or partner work, improve how we move – and finish with a relaxing wind-down. Led by Debbie Jackman, a fitness professional with 20 years’ experience and a passion for inclusive, community-based exercise. No need to book – just come along or contact Debbie (07776 162 125) for more info!

Pop-Up Persiana

Dacre Village Hall committee is hosting a pop-up style restaurant with a Middle Eastern three course buffet prepared by professional chef Lee Cooper and with paired wine recommendations from The Wine Society in Dacre Village Hall on Saturday 6 September. Tickets are £37.50 (excl. drinks) from Dacre Village Hall or 017684 86 507.

Roy Reminisces

I would like to thank the people who have looked after certain grassed areas on the entrances to our village, and the Parish Council for the Village greens and verges. However, the grass verge alongside the footpath towards Greystoke Gill is a disappointment with dockings and rubbish a yard high. Also the field belonging to Story Homes could do with attention as I understood at the time of them getting permission to build Fawn Meadows it was going to be a recreational area. It would be better if they asked a farmer to put some sheep in and make use of it instead of wasting it!

We also remember the ending of the ending of the Second World War in Japan and the thousands of lives that were sacrificed 80 years ago on the 15 August. Still today lessons have not been learned and wars still rage and innocent lives are still lost.

St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services July and August 2025

Sunday 6 July – Family Service with Holy Communion
Sunday 13 July – Holy Communion
Sunday 20 July – Family Service
Sunday 27 July – Holy Communion

Sunday 3 August – Family Service
Sunday 10 August – Holy Communion
Sunday 17 August – Family Service
Sunday 24 August – Holy Communion
Sunday 31 August – Joint Benefice and Holiday Club service, Greystoke Village Hall

All services begin at 11.00am and, except for 31 August, will be held in St Andrew’s Church.

Coffee and cake will be served from 10.30am onwards. We look forward to seeing you.

Friend of St. Andrew’s Building

FOSAB are pleased to announce their first concert. K Shoes Male Voice Choir will be singing at St. Andrew’s Church, Greystoke on Friday 25 July at 7.30pm. Tickets £10 (under 16s £5.00) can be purchased from Shirley Mounsey or at the door on the evening.

Please note that all profits from the various functions, Plant sale and Frost fair will be going into a fund set up by the Trustees for the maintenance of the Church fabrication.

Durham Excursion

There will be an excursion to Durham on Wednesday 23 July, leaving Greystoke at 9.00 am and Penrith RUFC at 9.15am. Maximum cost £25 (the more people who go the cheaper it becomes).

To book your seats contact Shirley.

Greystoke Social Club

Julie Boothman gave the group a really interesting talk about her new vocation as a ‘Field Nurse’. Julie goes to a number of different farm auctions and events offering the opportunity for farmers and families to have a quick health check and a chat about their lives.

Monday 7 July – a talk by Rev Beth Honey about the work of the charity shop “Restore”

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings and on our trips. Meeting are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge, visitors £3, members £2, includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke WI

Our speaker in June was Archie Workman who spoke about how his career began as an engineer working on ships. New challenges continually opened up for him, including the opportunity to learn Russian. During his time spent working on a Russian vessel he enjoyed a brief stay in a Russian hotel and painted a vivid picture of the privations at that time such as brown bathwater, lack of a bath plug and paper towels. The number of guns around sounded scary. Archie accepted a part time job which involved encouraging the top 100 companies, like McVitie’s, to stay in Cumbria. He was instrumental in bringing the Great North Swim to Windermere. Then came the pinnacle of his career when he stood in for someone as a Lengthsman and he hasn’t looked back since. It was his job to maintain the roads, cutting the verge, cleaning signs and clearing drains. He began to photograph drain covers and made a calendar which took off. The most interesting drain covers were made by long vanished foundries and have the makers’ names printed on them. The Dull Men’s Club of Great Britain contacted him to feature on their March calendar. They christened him ‘Drainspotter’ and gave him a certified dull certificate. This has led to various radio and TV appearances and even a short film which has won awards. He also restores black and white sign posts, which led to another calendar, and has refurbished bus shelters and benches.

Our next speaker on Thursday 3 July is Ros Downing, giving a talk called Snap-Crackle and Pop about breakfast cereal. On Thursday 7 August we will welcome Harry Navinski and hear about his journey to become an author.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue, Val or Jennifer.

Greystoke Swimming Pool and Playground

The 2025 season is now well underway here at Greystoke Pool and we would love to see you all down here for a swim/café visit/playground visit/chat. Our opening hours are every school day between 3.00pm and 6.00pm, and we now have 3 available sessions between 1.00pm and 6.00pm on weekends and throughout the local school holidays. Full details and booking details are available on our website.

AquaFit4All is coming to Greystoke Pool every Thursday at 11.00am from 19 June until 7 August (no session on Thursday 10 July). Run by Roo Bannister and Rhiannon Douglas at just £4 a session, it is a great way to do low impact exercise that’s fun. Book in advance via our website, some walk in spaces on the day. The café will be open so come and have a catch up with your friends as well as doing some exercise. All money goes directly to Greystoke Pool as the classes are subsidised by WaF council and the NHS.

Greystoke Pool is also available for private hire. Great for birthday parties or just getting a group of friends and relatives together. Please contact us via the website for further details and to check availability.

Big thanks to AW Jenkinson for donating us some more playground chippings and to all the volunteers who helped distribute them between the two playground areas.

If you would like to join our team of brilliant volunteers then please get in touch via the website.

Greystoke Beer Festival will be on Friday 5 and Saturday 6 September. Tickets will be available nearer the time online via our website. Support the pool while enjoying excellent bands and food and beer from the local area. Other drinks will also be available.

Greystoke Parish Council

At the Parish Council meeting on Tuesday 10 June, a special presentation of the Freedom of the Parish was presented to the family of the late Eddie Walker. Eddie was an unsung hero in the parish. As a councillor for many years, doing many good deeds, he will be sorely missed.

Other business included, consultation on 20mph speed limits, and also a housing needs survey for the parish. Fliers for both of these will delivered to each household. Please do fill in these forms as it is important to know our local needs.

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 8 July in the Village Hall.

Adam Fawcett (Chairman).

Have your say on Waste and Recycling

Westmorland and Furness council is asking residents to share their views on options for future waste and recycling services across Westmorland and Furness.

If you have not already responded, the online survey is open until Friday 11 July.

Housing Needs Survey

In the next few weeks, every household in our community will receive a Local Housing Needs Survey. The survey will be open for a few weeks to allow everyone plenty of time to fill it in. We’re asking people to take just a few minutes to complete it and return to Action for Communities in Cumbria in the pre-paid envelope. It will also be available online. We are running this in conjunction with the Parish Council and Action for Communities in Cumbria.

This is your chance to have a say in the future of housing in our community.

Like many rural communities, we face real challenges: rising house prices, limited rental options, and a shortage of homes that meet the needs of local people. Whether you’re a young adult hoping to stay in the village, a growing family, an older resident looking to downsize, or simply someone who cares about the future of our community – your voice matters.

This survey gives every resident that voice. It helps us understand who lives here now, what kind of homes people need, and how things might change in the future. This isn’t about encouraging large-scale development. It’s about ensuring we can plan for the right homes in the right places – for the people who already live and work here, and those who want to stay.

With strong local evidence, we can make the case to housing associations, developers, and local councils for more affordable, appropriate homes – homes that support the long-term future of our village, not just the short-term market. It helps us push for the right types of homes – affordable, suitable, and sensitively built in the right places. Not speculative developments that don’t serve our community, but homes designed to support the future of our village.

Without this data, we risk being overlooked or misunderstood. With it, we take control of our future. It’s about keeping our community together, preserving the heart of rural life, and ensuring that local people aren’t forced to move away.

Please take part when the survey arrives. Together, we can make sure our housing reflects the needs of our community – not just now, but for generations to come.

You’ll be able to request extra printed copies of the survey should you need them, or it can be filled in online.

At time of writing we don’t have exact dates yet so please keep a lookout on the noticeboards, our facebook group, the village facebook group and the website for more information as we get it.

website: housing.greystokevillage.co.uk

email: greystokecommunitygroup@gmail.com

Greystoke Pool Draw

Congratulations to the winners of pool draw for May and June

Roy Reminisces

On Wednesday 4 June, the Peile family were the hosts of NSA North Sheep. I am sure that Neville Howard was indeed proud of the event they allowed to be held on their farm; I know that the late Stafford and Gracia Howard would have been. I thought the bonfire and Fireworks we used to hold up there brought in a lot of people (maybe about 300 cars?) but this event was on a different level with some 9,000 farmers and some 3,000 cars – what a glorious sight to see so many, it blew you away. The people who attend are the backbone of our country life, looking after the flora and fauna, and providing our food, the amount of trade stands, I believe in the region of 190 in all making a living off farmers, we cannot do without them, if we do we perish. The old saying is if a farmer has money, he will spend it, and wouldn’t it have been great if all the people who have come to live in the village had gone up to see what it involves running a farm. My background is farming. My father was a farmer, and although my life led a different path, I finished up running my own Animal Health business so yes, I know what farming is all about and at times how arduous it can be. It was a pleasure to have seen it.

Pop-Up Persiana

Dacre Village Hall committee is hosting a pop-up style restaurant with a Middle Eastern three course buffet prepared by professional chef Lee Cooper and with paired wine recommendations from The Wine Society in Dacre Village Hall on Saturday 6 September.

Further details, including ticket prices, are to follow.

To register an interest, please contact Morna Sims.

St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services June 2025

• Sunday 1 June – Family Worship, 11.00am in St Andrew’s
• Sunday 8 June – Holy Communion, 11.00am in St Andrew’s
• Sunday 15 June – Family Worship, 11.00am in St Andrew’s
• Sunday 22 June – Open Air Service, 11.30am at Dalemain House
• Sunday 29 June – Benefice Service, 11.00am in St Andrew’s

At our 11.00am services in St. Andrew’s Church, coffee and cake will be served from 10.30am onward. The Family Services will include children’s activities.

It will be a pleasure to worship with the Christian communities from the churches around Ullswater on Sunday 22 June at Dalemain House. Please bring something to sit on, e.g., a chair or picnic rug.

Greystoke Social Club

• Monday 2 June – a talk by Julie Boothman about her work
• Monday 7 July – a talk by Rev Beth Honey about the work of the charity shop “Restore”

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings and on our trips. Meeting are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge, visitors £3, members £2, includes tea and biscuits.

Excursion to Hawes and Wensleydale

This trip, on Thursday 19 June, leaves Greystoke at 9.00am and Penrith RUFC at 9.45am, and will include the Dales Museum (£5 or £4.50 cons) and the Wensleydale Cheese experience (£5.95). Coach £25.

For further information and to book, please contact Shirley.

Greystoke WI

At our May meeting we remembered VE Day and enjoyed a visit from jewellery maker, Lesley Connolly. Lesley told us about the materials she works with such as pewter and silver, and old silver such as spoons or sugar tongs. We also heard that she picks up supplies from all around the world whilst on her travels. Lesley had brought along lots of stock. There were new and old wooden boxes which Lesley had covered with pewter and given a raised design. There were beautiful pieces incorporating haematite and cinnabar and others using shells and pearls. Lesley told us how nothing is wasted so pieces of silver are melted together to make decorative silver drops on a chain. It was fascinating to learn something about Lesley’s methods and creativity.

We celebrated VE Day with bunting, readings, ration books and war time food such as sausage rolls, Anzac biscuits and a WI VE Day cake.

At our meeting on Thursday 5 June we will hear from Archie Workman who will be giving a humorous talk on Drainspotter.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue, Val or Jennifer.

Greystoke Parish Community Housing Needs Survey

We, along with the Parish Council, are currently reviewing the draft housing needs survey, and we hope to agree it at the next Parish Council meeting for distribution in July.

Some key points to note. The survey is entirely confidential. It has been prepared, and will be reviewed by, an arm’s length organisation (Action for Communities in Cumbria). The survey will be available online, as well as in paper form, and we encourage everyone to fill this in. You do not need to be living in the parish to complete the survey. If you have a family member, for instance, who cannot afford to return to the parish to live, please get them to fill it in. You may be an employer who has staff who would like to live closer to work – and we would encourage you to get them to fill in the survey too. Only by building an accurate picture of what our community needs will we be able to try to get the housing we need.

Greystoke Swimming Pool and Playground

Hurrah! The Pool is now open every school day between 3.00pm and 6.00pm, and between 1.00pm and 6.00pm on weekends and school holidays. Full details and booking details are available on our website.

We can only open because of our brilliant volunteers. If you’d like to join this friendly group please get in touch via the website.

A big thanks goes to the Parish Council who have provided a generous grant to help us maintain the playground. Following the annual inspection there will be lots to do.

• Splash Squad: Every Tuesday local primary school children can swim for just £2, including a glass of squash and a biscuit. Only 20p for family members. Just come in uniform. (Greystoke, Penruddock, Skelton and Stainton schools)
• Fundraising Butty Morning: As the last one went down so well we are running it again. We always need funds! Come down on Saturday 7 June for a bacon/veggie butty and drink. A great opportunity to meet the volunteers who run the Pool.
• FIT4ALL Coming to Greystoke Pool: Water Aerobics run by Roo Bannister and Rhiannon Douglas will start on Thursday 19 June at 11.00am. At just £4 per session, it’s a great way to do low impact exercise that’s fun. Bookable on the booking page of the website.

Finally – save the date! Friday 5 and Saturday 6 September 2025 is Greystoke Beer Festival!

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 10 June in the Village Hall.

After-School Fun at Greystoke Pool’s Splash Squad!

All local primary school children are invited to a special after-school swimming session at beautiful Greystoke open-air village pool! Every Tuesday from 3.30pm to 5.00pm, bring your children for fresh air, exercise, and fun with friends.

For just £2 per child, little swimmers will enjoy a refreshing dip, plus a hot or cold juice and a biscuit to keep their energy up! If you’re already a family member, refreshments are just 20p. No booking is needed – simply come along in your school uniform to show the volunteer staff you’re from a local primary and get ready to splash and play. There’s a slide for little ones, floats, toys and a lifeguard on duty at all times, plus there’s the playground and playing field to enjoy once they’ve dried off.

This is a great way for children to unwind after school, make new friends, and build confidence in the water in a safe, friendly environment.

Children must not be left unaccompanied during the session. There is a fee of £1 for adult spectators. If adults wish to swim, normal prices apply. Term time only. First-come, first-served. If the pool is at capacity, we will operate a one-in, one-out policy until the session finishes at 5.00pm.

For any more information, please visit the Greystoke Facebook page, eMail us or pop along.

Greystoke Bus User Group

Hello! Two months in and we’re hearing great stories of how the bus is being used, along with receiving valuable Intel on issues people might be having.

There is an opportunity to change the timetable in the autumn, but only if we know what people want, so please, eMail me or post on our Facebook page.

There will be a small meeting in the village hall on Thursday 26 June 7.00pm, where we’ll have a think about what changes to ask for, so do please let us know.

Above all though, please enjoy using the bus!

Pam

Sunday 4 May – Family Worship
Sunday 11 May – Holy Communion
Sunday 18 May – Family Worship
Sunday 25 May – Holy Communion

All our services start at 11.00am, coffee and cake are served from 10.30am onward, please join us. All services over the summer period will be held in St Andrew’s Church and, now that the tent has been packed away for the summer, services will be in the nave.

Children’s activities are available at the Family Worship services.

We would love to see you at our services.

Greystoke Social Club

We held our AGM on Monday 7 April and elected Malcolm Kane as our new Chairman. He will be supported by Jenny Burden as Treasurer, Sue Kane as Secretary, Shirley Mounsey as Vice-Chair and Outings Organiser. Diane Hetherington will continue to act as our Press Correspondent. After the formalities, we all enjoyed the cut and thrust of a Beetle Drive, when Roy Fisher, Jenny Burden and her husband Chris all won an Easter Egg.

Thursday 22 May – why not join us on an Outing to Liverpool – there is much to see and do. We will leave the village at 8.30am and the fare is £25.
To book a seat, please contact Shirley.

Meetings will start again in June, once we are over the Bank Holidays.

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings, which are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge of £3 (Members £2) which includes tea and biscuits. Come along and see what we have planned for the remainder of the year.

Greystoke Parish Community Housing Initiative

A Housing Needs Survey is one of the critical things we need to do before we can even think about building any affordable houses. It will tell us how many and what type of houses we need.

We can report that Action for Communities in Cumbria is in the process of drafting a survey to help us and the Parish Council assess the housing needs of the parish – affordable or otherwise. We hope to be able to distribute this survey in late June / early July. It’s really important that we get as many people to fill this confidential survey in – so expect to hear a lot more about it in the coming weeks!

Stay up to date with news and housing opportunities on facebook and online.

St Andrew’s Church Plant Sale

Spring is coming with the snowdrops now gone and the daffodils in flower, and our thoughts turn to gardening and dividing plants and growing seeds. St. Andrew’s is organising its annual Plant Sale in the Village Hall on Saturday 10 May from 9.30am to 2.30pm, to raise funds for the church building.

We are planning to sell plants outside (weather permitting), and have, in the hall, a café and home produce stall selling bacon baps, soup and rolls, and scones, a variety of cakes, and tea and coffee, all at reasonable prices.

There will also be a tombola and a books and jigsaws stall.

We are requesting donations of plants (flowers, vegetables and tomatoes) and unwanted garden implements and equipment. Please contact Shirley to arrange collection, bring to the village hall after 3.30pm on Friday 9 May, or bring on the day.

All are welcome and, if you are new to the village, please come and join us for this village community event. Watch out for further information on the village notice board and Facebook page.

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 6 May in the Village Hall.

Greystoke WI

The speaker at Greystoke WI’s April meeting was Bob Price from the Acorn Bank Watermill who gave a very interesting and engaging presentation about the history of bread making. We heard about the development of the grinding stones from the very effortful saddle stone used by the Egyptians through to modern milling methods. He explained that the mill was derelict in 1980 and that volunteers got it back into working order. After Covid they formed the Acorn Bank Watermill Trust which earns income from selling flour. Bob mentioned that last summer the wheat crop was so poor after that cold summer that he had to buy wheat from Norfolk and Turkey to get the correct level of protein to make their flour. His talk was packed full of interesting snippets of information as well as showing us how sayings from milling have entered our language. Some examples were fair to middling, grist for the mill and rule of thumb – the way a miller tests his flour.

On Thursday 1 May, we have Lesley Connelly giving a jewellery demonstration. We will also be commemorating VE Day.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue, Val or Jennifer on.

Greystoke Swimming Pool Opening 2025

Thanks to the efforts of many volunteers, Greystoke Pool will hopefully be opening in early May for the 2025 season with our newly qualified lifeguards. Well done to them all! We have a great group of volunteers who run the café and admissions but we are always keen to welcome anyone who is interested in helping out. There are many different volunteer roles.

Having listened to suggestions from our users we have a few changes this summer which we hope you like.

The price of public sessions has been reduced: under 2 years free, 2-16 years old £4, over 16 years £6. We’re pleased to say season tickets have been held at 2024 prices. A new family pass is available for public swimming either term time (including half term) or the summer school holidays.

At weekends and in school holidays, we will have three sessions between 1.00pm and 6.00pm. School days will just be one session 3.00pm – 6.00pm.

The pool is available for hire, a great location for children’s parties and family gatherings.

Further information on all the above and how to book can be found on the pool website.

North Sheep Comes to Greystoke

On Wednesday 4 June 2025, NSA North Sheep will be held at Greystoke Castle Farm, by kind permission of the Peile Family.

North Sheep is a biennial event organised by the Northern region of the National Sheep Association (NSA), designed to showcase the best of the British sheep farming industry. It serves as a key gathering for farmers, industry professionals, and agricultural suppliers, offering a comprehensive look at innovations in sheep husbandry, breeding, nutrition, and land management. The event is always held on a working sheep farm in northern England and includes technical demonstrations, competitions, expert talks, and a wide array of trade stands.

For someone not involved in farming, NSA North Sheep is a fascinating glimpse into farming life and the vital role agriculture plays in the economy and environment. It offers the public and local schools a chance to see first-hand the complexities and challenges of modern sheep farming – from sustainable practices to animal welfare and food production. The event also features family‑friendly attractions such as sheepdog trials, a speed shear competition, cookery theatre and educational displays, making it a unique day out that bridges the gap between consumers and producers.

The team at North Sheep would like to make residents aware that there will be an increase in traffic in the surrounding area on the day of the event, and during the event set up (which will predominately take place on Tuesday 3 June). We would like to assure people that this will be controlled by trained stewards, signage and information prior to the event. Further event information can be found at www.northsheep.org.uk or you can contact the team directly at northsheep@nationalsheep.org.uk.

Join us in Greystoke Village Hall, on Tuesdays from 3.00pm until 4.00pm,for a fun and inclusive mobility class!

Suitable for all abilities, this session is designed to help you stay active and feel great.

No fancy gear required – just bring yourself and a smile!

Between 2.00pm and 4.00pm, every third Saturday of the month from May until September, there will be tea, coffee and homemade cake in Dacre Village Hall. Note though, that it is cash only.

Congratulation to the winners of the pool monthly draw for March and April

Sunday 6 April – Family Service – 11.00am (Greystoke Village Hall)
Sunday 13 April – Palm Sunday – 11.00am
Thursday 17 April – Maundy Thursday – Holy Communion and Vigil – 7.00pm
Friday 18 April – Good Friday – Music and Reflection – 7.00pm
Sunday 20 April – Easter Day – 11.00am
Sunday 27 April – Holy Communion – 11.00am

All our services are in St. Andrew’s Church unless otherwise indicated above.
At all our Sunday services refreshments are served from 10.30am.
Children’s activities are available at our Family Services.

Easter Cross

As is our practice, a bare wooden cross will be erected on the Village Green following our Maundy Thursday service. It will remain there over Good Friday and Holy Saturday as a reminder of the events that took place on the first Easter. On Easter Sunday, you are invited to contribute to the decoration of the cross with spring flowers as we remember the resurrection of Jesus.

Greystoke Social Club

Monday 7 April – Annual General Meeting and Games
Thursday 22 May – Outing to Liverpool
Monday 2 June – a talk by Julie Boothman about her work

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings and our trips. Meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge of £2 (Visitors £3) which includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke WI

At our March meeting, Greystoke WI held its AGM then enjoyed an engaging talk with slides from David Bell about his three Safaris. David showed beautiful photographs of trips taken to Kenya and Tanzania. We were able to enjoy shots of The Big Six as well as many other fascinating creatures. The slides gave the impression of a land brimming over with wildlife. Having felt constrained by the first highly organised tour, four of them hired their own guide on the second trip and were able to take a more relaxed approach rather than always hurrying on to the next arrangement. It was noted that safety was always paramount as well as the wellbeing of the animals. David was happy to answer questions at the end of his presentation. Having been complimented on his photography he volunteered that Simon King had seen his work and said it wasn’t bad.

On Thursday 3 April, our speaker will be Bob Price from Acorn Bank, talking about daily bread.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue, Val or Jennifer.

Greystoke Parish Council

The next meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 22 April in the Village Hall.

Community Housing Group

We have had a huge amount of support for the ambition to build affordable housing, and that is really heartening – and confirms the results of the housing survey last year. But we knew this was never going to be easy, nor without challenges.

The feedback we’ve received, particularly on the potential site, has really helped us to focus on our next steps. We are now progressing on 3 main fronts:

• Arranging a formal Housing Needs Survey so we can determine the housing need (not just affordable) for the community. We hope to arrange some meetings on this in the next couple of months.
• Incorporating as a Community Land Trust – a funding application has been submitted to Westmorland & Furness. Once this is done we can open up membership (£1 for life – and voting rights!)
• Addressing the flood risk – not only on the potential site, but also working with residents, the Parish Council, Judith Derbyshire and relevant authorities to try to address the wider existing flooding issues on Howard Park, and by extension Church Road.

Sign up to the mailing list and follow us on Facebook to make sure you don’t miss any updates.

St. Andrew’s Greystoke Friends Group Plant Sale

Spring is coming with the snowdrops out and the daffodils beginning to flower, and our thoughts turn to gardening. So if you are dividing plants and growing seeds, please think of us.

St. Andrew’s Friends Group is organising the annual Plant Sale in the Village Hall on Saturday 10 May from 9.30am to 2.30pm to raise funds for the church building, and to keep our historic and beautiful church in good repair.

We are planning to sell plants outside and have a café in the hall, selling bacon baps, soup and rolls, scones, a variety of cakes, and tea and coffee, all at reasonable prices.

There will also be a home produce stall selling cakes, preserves, etc.

We are requesting donations of plants (flowers, vegetables and tomatoes).

Please contact Shirley to arrange collection, or bring to the Village Hall after 3.30pm on Friday 9 May, or bring on the day.

All are welcome and, if you are new to the village, please come and join us for this village community event.

Watch out for further information on the village notice boards and Facebook page.

Salvation Army Food Bank Appeal

For some years contributions for the Salvation Army Food Bank in Penrith have been left by members of our community in St. Andrew’s Church. I deliver the donations once a fortnight.

In recent months, the Salvation Army has reported a decline in donations. This is entirely understandable in view of the high cost of living for most people, but your donations needn’t be expensive items.

The people who are dependent on the food bank need small, nutritious items which are easy and cheap to prepare and cook, and basic toiletries.

The Salvation Army has requested the following items in particular:

• Cup a Soups
• Tinned Vegetables (but not Sweetcorn, thank you)
• Tinned Meat
• Pasta in Sauce (pots not jars, please)
• Packets of 2 in 1 Instant Coffee
• Hot Chocolate
• Cooking Oil

All contributions, however small, are greatly appreciated – as the old saying goes, Every little helps!

If you have any queries about how you can help please get in touch with Allan Buckle

Easter Journey

Once again, as they have done for over ten years, the Open the Book team, augmented by members from other local churches, have invited the Key-Stage 2 children from Greystoke and Penruddock schools to embark on an Easter Journey. The Open the Book team tell and act out bible stories in both schools throughout the year.

Easter Journey is an opportunity not only to hear of the events of the first Holy Week but also to experience them as the children take part in a series of tableaus starting at Palm Sunday and finishing at the resurrection of Jesus on the first Easter Day.

The children gather in the chancel of Greystoke Church with their ‘palm branches’, laying their cloaks on the ground, listening for the ‘clip-clop’ of the donkey’s hooves as they wait for the entrance of Jesus. They then move on to the temple, taking part as money changers, selling doves and lambs for the sacrifice, shouting out “best prices here”, “finest doves for sale” – until Jesus appears and tells them to stop and upends their tables.

They then move, quietly, into the upper room where Jesus is seated with his disciples. They watch as Jesus washes the feet of Peter, despite his protestations, and they listen as Jesus blesses the bread and wine, and they then share in the meal – eating pitta-bread and grapes to represent the unleavened bread and the wine that Jesus used.

They then follow the disciples to the Mount of Olives where they sit in silence, listening to the sounds of that night from a CD. The snores of the disciples who could not keep awake, the prayers of Jesus to his father, the heavy footsteps of the soldiers coming to arrest Jesus, and finally the crowing of the cock reminding Peter that Jesus foretold that he would deny knowing him.

Then watching a video entitled The Miracle Maker, the children observe Jesus carrying his cross to his crucifixion, his assurance given to the thief hanging with him, the centurion who understood and cried out “surely this man was the Son of God”.

The children then proceed in silence to a quiet place to experience the waiting and expectation of Holy Saturday, before moving to the tomb on Easter Day and watch as first Mary comes and finds the stone rolled away, then having fetched Peter they both rush off to tell the other disciples the glorious news.. “HE HAS RISEN”.

The journey ends for the children with a time of discussion led by their group leaders, who have been with them throughout, to try and explore some of the questions which can be simply answered and some which cannot, before returning to their schools.

John Danks, Open the Book, Greystoke Church

Sunday 2 March – Family Service – 11.00am – Greystoke Village Hall
Sunday 9 March – Holy Baptism – 11.00am – St. Andrew’s Church
Sunday 16 March – Family Service – 11.00am – Greystoke Village Hall
Sunday 23 March – Holy Communion – 11.00am – St. Andrew’s Church
Sunday 30 March – Benefice Service – 11.00am – St. Andrew’s Church

At all our services refreshments are served from 10.30am. Children’s activities are available at our Family Services. For our services in St. Andrew’s we shall have returned to the more comfortable warmth of the tent, apart from the Baptism, which will be in the nave.

Ash Wednesday

There will be a service of Holy Communion and the imposition of ashes on Wednesday 5 March, the first day of Lent, at 6.00pm in St Andrew’s Church Greystoke.

Greystoke Social Club

Monday 3 March – a talk by a representative of Pine Tree Nurseries – gardening time will soon be here!
Monday 17 March – David Bell will give a slide presentation entitled From Thailand to Penrith & Dives in between

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings, which are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge of £2 (Visitors £3) which includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke WI

In February, we gathered in the meeting room rather than the main hall to watch a presentation by Marie Hamer about tackling educational disadvantage. Marie outlined how she became interested in trying to make education fairer for children growing up in poverty, and how she and colleagues developed structured professional development programmes. This system is known as The Golden Thread and has been well received by teachers, unions and government. It has led to improved levels of teacher retention. Hopefully, in the years to come, students will see improved outcomes in terms of jobs, income, and physical and mental health.

Before Marie spoke, we had a chance to look at some books which we had loved in childhood. Some of the examples were from the 40’s such as a Sunday School prize and an early Rupert Annual. There was also a Richard Scary vocabulary book which had helped English children growing up in Africa learn about their home country.

On a more sombre note, members voted unanimously to start the process of leaving WI. It was felt that the rising fees have become unsustainable. We hope to continue until Christmas or January 2026.

On Thursday 6 March, we will be holding a brief AGM. David Bell will show slides of a Safari he enjoyed. You are invited to bring along a wildlife photo to briefly talk about.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue, Val or Jennifer.

Greystoke Parish Council

The next meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 18 March in the Village Hall.

Community Housing Group

Following last year’s survey where the village overwhelmingly supported an objective to create additional affordable housing, our first public meeting on Thursday 30 January and our Monday surgeries represent the next phase in our consultation process. More meetings will follow! A housing needs survey is in the pipeline – we need you to fill it in. When we launch the Community Land Trust, you’ll be able to join as a member and get a vote in all key decisions.

Please keep an eye on the notice boards, website and Facebook for upcoming meetings and venues.

Ways to stay up to date:

• Keep an eye on the notice boards;
• Visit our website;
• Join our mailing list;
• Follow us on Facebook;
• eMail us

Swimming Pool Draw

Thank you to each and every one of you who rejoined the monthly draw for 2025. We have now sold 260 draw numbers which is just fantastic! A new record. That equates to £2340 of funds for the pool, sports field, playpark and café.

Congratulations to the winners of the January Draw
£20 – Norman & Christine Bell 27
£15 – Susan Dowie 217
£10 – Andrea & Nigel Raper 176
£5 – Lynn Cowperthwaite 111
£5 – D & J Scarisbric 234
£5 – Annie Swarbick 35
£5 – Ian Forrester

Sunday 2 February – Family Service – 11.00am – Greystoke Village Hall
Sunday 9 February – Holy Baptism – 11.00am – St. Andrew’s Church
Sunday 16 February – Family Service – 11.00am – Greystoke Village Hall
Sunday 23 February – Holy Communion – 11.00am – St. Andrew’s Church

At all our services refreshments are served from 10.30am. Children’s activities are available at our Family Services.

For our services in St. Andrew’s we shall have returned to the more comfortable warmth of the tent, apart from the Baptism, which will be in the nave.

Greystoke Social Club

Monday 17 February – a talk by Danny Sawrij giving an overview of the work of Omega Proteins
Monday 3 March – a talk by a representative of Pine Tree Nurseries – spring is coming, time to attend to the garden.

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings, which are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm.

There is a charge of £2 (Visitors £3) which includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke WI

Our December meeting consisted of Christmas music and supper. The Hand Bell group played carols and other seasonal pieces. There was also a chance to play a bell or a chime and follow the numbered music. On the Twelfth Day of Christmas gave the opportunity for WI to participate with some daft actions. It was good fun. Thank you very much to the bell team for entertaining us. Thank you to Maureen, who put much thought into planning for the evening. Thank you to everyone who contributed towards making the evening a success especially Eileen with her very popular mulled wine and also to all our members who brought food to share.

We met together for a New Year meal on Friday 10 January at the Brantwood Hotel in Stainton. The time was switched to 12.30pm because of the adverse weather, which seemed to suit everybody.

On Thursday 6 February, Marie Hamer will talk to us about tackling educational disadvantage. The competition will be a favourite book from childhood.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue, Val or Jennifer.

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 18 February in the Village Hall.

St. Andrew’s Church

St Andrew’s church wishes to thank everyone, from the groups and clubs and individuals who took part in their annual Christmas Tree Festival. There were ten trees, the font was decorated, and they lit up the church and made it magical particularly at the Candlelit Carol Service.

So thank you to The Boot and Shoe, the playgroup, the school, the Community First Responders, the Book Club, the WI, the Hand Bells, the Monday Social Club, the Swimming Pool, and Annie’s Quirky Workshops who decorated the font.

Thanks also to those who very kindly gifted the church Remembrance Tree and all those who helped to decorate it with messages on hearts to loved ones. There were many heartfelt messages on the tree.

Judith Derbyshire, our local councillor, judged the trees. She said it was a very difficult task, and she loved the Remembrance Tree, the Swimming Pool Tree and the Book Club’s Wines between the Lines made her laugh. She gave top marks for style to the Font, The First Responders, the Hand Bells, Greystoke WI, the Boot and Shoe, and the Playgroup.

But the winner was the school. A joyous tree decorated with lots of effort, with the very important theme of Peace in the World at this time. The Social Club was second as it celebrated all the effort everyone puts into community life.

Thanks again to everyone and a Happy New Year from St Andrew’s.

Greystoke Village Hall

Greystoke Village Hall invites you to join us for a delicious homemade soup and pudding lunch in the Hall on Sunday 9 February from 11.30am to 2.00pm. Come along for a sociable lunch whilst raising funds for maintenance of the hall. All welcome and we look forward to seeing you there. Donations of soups and puddings gratefully received, contact Julie Boothman.

Greystoke Village Hall AGM is being held on Wednesday 29 January at 7.00pm in the hall meeting room.

The hall is a community facility run by a friendly volunteer committee whose aim is to ensure the hall is suitable and meets the needs of the local community users. New members are always welcome, whether it’s helping at community events, organising fundraisers, taking on a committee role or any other specialism you have that may benefit the hall. It would be wonderful to restore the village May Day back to the community event it once was and also the Children’s Halloween and Christmas Parties. Come along and help us better provide for the local community. For more information contact Laura Seel or Emma Nielsen. Hope to see you there.

Greystoke and District Sports Association

Over the next few months we will be preparing the pool for opening in May. There will be lots of opportunities for people to volunteer for various tasks. Keep an eye on our facebook page for more information or let a committee member know you’d like to volunteer.

We are also looking for lifeguards for the coming season. We will be open from May until September and are looking for people to register interest in working at the pool. You must be aged 16 or over, have the right to work in the UK, and have good time keeping, organisation and interpersonal skills. This is an ideal job for students or adults with a few hours spare. You must be a competent swimmer, and full training will be provided. If you are interested in applying please get in touch via eMail.

• Pool Café – Come and enjoy soup, scones, cake and hot drinks in the swimming pool café every Monday from 12 noon to 2.00pm.
• Match Day Café – The café will open when Greystoke football teams are playing at home on Saturday afternoons. Keep warm with a hot drink! Check our facebook page to confirm opening times.
• Film Night – Our next film night with a lovely meal is Captain Fantastic on Saturday 8 February 2025. A comedy drama sees a family making a road trip across America after having lived in the wilds for many years and now coping with society. Tickets on sale at www.greystokepool.org.uk and Greystoke Post Office for £15. Licensed bar and interval ice cream.
• Soul Junction – Saturday 22 February 2025. Cumbria’s only Soul and Motown band are coming to the Village Hall. This 7 piece band will get everyone on their feet for an evening of great music. Tickets on sale at www.greystokepool.org.uk and Greystoke Post Office for £17. Licensed bar available.

Community Housing Group

We are holding our first public meeting on Thursday 30 January at 7:30pm in the village hall. If you can’t make it, don’t worry, as we’ll make the slides and speaker notes available afterwards. We’ll also be attending the pool café every Monday from February to answer your questions, hear your ideas, or allow you to sign up for membership.

Sign up to the mailing list on our website to make sure you don’t miss anything. You can unsubscribe at any time!

Bus Update: From BAG to BUG

Thank you to the 60+ people that attended the meeting we held at Greystoke Castle on Monday 9 December, what an amazing turnout! It was a great meeting and we were well supported by the representation we had by our local MP, Councillor and Council representatives.

At that meeting we were shown the proposed timetable and if you did not attend I have put a copy on our website (plus the local noticeboards for the not as digitally minded). This is still draft and we have been liaising with Mark Hodgkiss to try and influence the final version.

Then earlier this month ITV came to film us. We wanted to use this as a way of getting a timetable we’ll use and asking for a through fare (i.e., dayrider tickets) to Keswick, not all of that made it to the final edit, but it was very good publicity for the pool and the castle, hopefully bringing people into the village on the bus and using it that way.

So next steps, Stagecoach and the council will agree the final timetable and start date and then we need to make sure we use it! I very much welcome suggestions, ideas such as Chatty Bus Tuesday or holding social trips or even an MP surgery on the bus are innovative ways to keep us using (and then not losing) the bus.

The next meeting will be held on Thursday 23 January 7.00pm, the Village Hall. We’ll show the ITV news clip of us and have a chat about how to use the bus. Mark Hodgkiss will be on hand to answer any questions we have. Meanwhile, if you have questions or comments, please email Pam.

Finally, thank you to the whole community for their support during 2024, we’ll see you on the bus in 2025!

Greystoke Hand Bell Ringers

Greystoke hand bell ringers had a busy Christmas, playing at the Keswick Victorian Market one rainy Sunday, at WI and then, lastly, in the Village Hall. As it was the third time of playing through our repertoire we were quite relaxed and felt it had gone well. At the end of the morning we presented Maureen with a Christmas bouquet to thank her for her leadership of the group. We appreciate it takes a lot of planning and at times, stress.

We want to thank everybody who supported us that Saturday before Christmas. We had a lovely time playing and hope you had a lovely time listening and enjoying the refreshments. Thank you very much for all your donations which will be used to help us buy new music and pay our hall fees. Thank you also for joining in with On the Twelfth Day of Christmas. It took the pressure off us!

The Dacre Do

You are once again warmly invited to the ever-popular Dacre Do, taking place in Dacre Village Hall from 7.30pm on Saturday 1 March 2025 until midnight.

Pie and peas supper, pudding, a cash bar and dancing, with live music from Pete Lashley.

Tickets £20 from Lynne or Morna.

Sunday 1 December – Family Service – 11.00am – Greystoke Village Hall
Sunday 8 December – Holy Communion – 11.00am – St. Andrew’s Church
Sunday 15 December – Family Service – 11.00am – Greystoke Village Hall
Sunday 22 December – Holy Communion – 11.00am – St. Andrew’s Church
Sunday 29 December – Benefice Service – 11.00am – Mungrisdale Church

Christmas Church Services 2024

Monday 16 December at 7.30pm, Beer and Carols – in the Boot and Shoe
Sunday 22 December at 6.30pm, a traditional Christmas Carol Service for all the village – in St. Andrew’s Church
Christmas Eve at 3.00pm, an opportunity for the family to hear again the story of Christingle – oranges, red ribbon and fruits and sweets on four sticks representing the seasons – in St. Andrew’s Church
Christmas Day at 11.00am – bring your favourite present to our Family Christmas Day Service – in St. Andrew’s Church

St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services January 2025

Sunday 5 January – Family Service – 11.00am – Greystoke Village Hall
Sunday 12 January – Holy Communion – 11.00am – St. Andrew’s Church
Sunday 19 January – Family Service – 11.00am – Greystoke Village Hall
Sunday 26 January – Holy Communion – 11.00am – St. Andrew’s Church

At all our regular services refreshments are served from 10.30am. Children’s activities are available at our Family Services. For our services in St. Andrew’s we shall have returned to the more comfortable warmth of the tent.

Greystoke Social Club

Monday 2 December – A talk by Kelvyn James on Wellness Walks
Thursday 19 December – Christmas Dinner at the Roundthorn Hotel
Monday 20 January – our first meeting of the year

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings, which are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge of £2 (Visitors £3) which includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke WI

The meeting in November was a dabble session. There were several crafts on offer and members visited the different tables to try new techniques. We are very grateful to the people who gathered materials to make this possible – Sue, Helen, Jane, Mary, Hazel and Lesley. There were opportunities to try felt craft, carding, making glittery fabric tree ornaments and sewing Christmas robins.

On Thursday 5 December, we will meet to enjoy Christmas music and supper. The Hand Bell group will provide some background music and there will be a chance to have a go at ringing some Christmas tunes. We are asking that members bring a plate of food to share. Can you, please, also bring a contribution to our traditional competition which is a gift wrapped parcel up to the value of £5.

We do not have a meeting in January but will join together for a New Year meal on Friday 10 January at the Brantwood Hotel in Stainton. Our next scheduled meeting will be on Thursday 6 February when Marie Hamer will talk to us about tackling educational disadvantage. The competition will be a favourite book from childhood.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue, Val or Jennifer.

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 21 January in the Village Hall.

St. Andrew’s Church Tower, Christmas Lighting Appeal

It is that time of year, when during the moments of all the present buying, fun and frivolity, that the festive season brings, our thoughts must turn to all of our loved ones that so enjoyed our Christmas’s together, but are no longer with us.

What a wonderful way to remember and honour them, by once again lighting up the St. Andrew’s church tower.

Donations can be sent to Di Hetherington or any church member. Cheques to be made out to St. Andrew’s Church Greystoke PCC.

Thank you all so much in advance, and may I be the first to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Peaceful New Year.

Greystoke Village Hall

Come and play Bingo in the village hall, raising funds for the hall. Prizes galore. Refreshments provided. A great sociable evening for all ages. Doors open 6.40pm, eyes down 7.00pm. Dates: Friday 8 November, 22 November, 13 December and 24 January. See you there.

Greystoke Hand Bell Ringers

Greystoke Hand Bell Ringers invite you to join us for coffee, tea, mince pies and cake while we play carols gently in the background. Any donations will be extremely welcome to help us pay for hall fees and new music. We look forward to seeing you in the Village Hall on Saturday 21 December between 10.30am and 12.30pm.

Greystoke and District Sports Association

We run a monthly prize draw, January to December, for a one off fee of £15. This buys you a numbered ticket which is entered into 12 monthly draws plus a Christmas bonanza draw! Over £1450 was won in 2024 and over £2000 was raised for the pool, playground and sports field. For your chance to win cash prizes, whilst knowing your donation helps keeps these village amenities open and looked after, join today. Our collectors will be round in December to collect from those who usually pay cash.

For more information and to be included for 2025, head to our website where you can renew your membership or join us as a new member Thank-you to all our lovely loyal supporters.

 Any questions/queries, please email Emma.

• Pool Café – Come and enjoy soup, scones, cake and hot drinks in the swimming pool café every Monday from 12 noon to 2.00pm.
• Match Day Café – The café will open when Greystoke football teams are playing at home on Saturday afternoons. Keep warm with a hot drink! Check our Facebook page to confirm opening times. (Greystoke and District Swimming Pool).
• Film Night – Our next film night with a lovely meal is Captain Fantastic on Saturday 8 February 2025. A comedy drama sees a family making a road trip across America after having lived in the wilds for many years and now coping with society. Tickets on sale on our website and Greystoke Post Office for £15. Licensed bar and interval ice cream.
• Soul Junction – Saturday 22 February 2025 keep the date! Our annual visit from this superb band. Dance the night away to great music. Licensed bar available.
• AGM – The Association will hold our AGM on Thursday 16 January 2025 in the pool café. Please come along and find out more about the running of the pool. We welcome new ideas and new volunteers.

Swimming Pool Draw

Congratulations to the winners of the pool draw for November

£20 – David Finn – 98
£15 – Bridget Jardine – 135
£10 – Shirley Mounsey – 92
£5 – Steve Mandale – 219
£5 – Ian Forrest – 123
£5 – Frances Munro – 16
£5 – Julie Boothman – 13

Greystoke Village Christmas Pageant

This year, the Greystoke Village Christmas Pageant will be held at St. Andrew’s Church on Thursday 19 December at 6.00pm. Everyone is welcome to watch the children of Greystoke School perform a short Christmas medley on their brass instruments followed by a Christmas Nativity play.

On the evening there will be mulled wine, mince pies, delicious food and lots of Christmas stalls. It is an enjoyable evening for all.

If you would like to take part, have a stall, or know someone who may be interested, please get in touch with school on 017684 83 572. All stalls are free and you are very welcome.

Community Housing Group

We are now members of the Community Land Trust Network, which gives us access to great resources. We are holding a planning session in early November and we aim to hold our first public meeting to share where we are in late January. Do keep an eye on the website, social media and noticeboards for more details.

Bus Action Group

You are warmly invited to an open meeting to explain the timetable for the new bus service, where it runs to and from, how often it goes, and when it will start from.

The meeting will take place in Greystoke Castle at 7.00pm on Monday 9 December. We have confirmed attendance from Tim Farron MP, and have invited Judith Derbyshire Councillor, and Mark Hodgkiss Scheduled Bus Services Officer from Westmorland and Furness Council. They will be able to hear any questions you have.

This is a celebration of all our efforts as much as an info sharing meeting, the dungeon bar will be open, so do please come along and hear more.

Pam Wood (on behalf of the Bus Action Group).

Roy’s Review

I take delivery of 460 New Together Magazines which I then put into various lots for people to deliver. These lots range from 5 upwards, with 71 being the most. In all, 16 people are involved and they deliver 440. This leaves me with 20 to divide between the Post Office and the Church.

I would like to thank everyone for helping me with this task and wish them all a Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year.

I also hope to see you at the Bingo events in the Village Hall which is one of the Village Hall’s main fund raisers of the year.

Sunday 3 November – Service of Holy Baptism – St. Andrew’s Church, 11.00am
Sunday 10 November – Service of Remembrance – St. Andrew’s Church 10.15am, followed by 2 minutes silence and the laying of wreaths at the village cross at 11.00am
Sunday 17 November – Family Service – Village Hall – 11.00am
Sunday 24 November – Holy Communion – St Andrew’s Church, 11.00am

All are welcome at our services, on the 3rd, 17th and 24th. Cake and coffee will be served from 10.30am onward. At the Family Service in the Village Hall there will be children’s activities.

Remembrance Sunday

As is usual we will be joined by the Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Brownies and Guides to remember those who died in the two world wars and other conflicts. The service in church starts at 10.15 am, after the service we will walk up to the cross on the village green to lay our wreaths, observe the two minutes silence and remember those from our families and friends who gave their lives.

Greystoke Social Club

Monday 4 November – A talk from a representative of Omega Proteins on what they do and what the end products of their operations are.
Monday 18 November – A talk by Fred Wilson entitled Life and Times of a Photographer
Monday 2 December – A talk by Kelvyn James on Wellness Walks

We are currently taking bookings for our Christmas Dinner at the Roundthorn Hotel on Thursday 19 December.

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings, which are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge of £2 (Visitors £3) which includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 19 November in the Village Hall.

Greystoke WI

Greystoke WI’s October meeting was a Guest Night where we welcomed visitors from three other WIs. We enjoyed a light supper followed by a Kitty Brown Fashion Show. Four of our members modelled the clothes, having made the trip down to the shop at Carnforth on Monday for a trying on session. One of the four had predicted that she would probably fall over, but thankfully no mishaps occurred. The clothes were beautiful and expertly colour co-ordinated. Several times the point was made that the supplier was fair trade or that the supplier guaranteed that no pollution was caused during manufacture. We were shown a leather bag which had been vegetable tanned which is apparently kinder to the environment There was an opportunity to buy items after the show. The evening was good fun and showed our four models in a completely new light.

On Thursday 7 November, we will be holding a craft dabble session with about four options. The competition will be any craft item with an autumnal theme.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue, Val or Jennifer.

St Andrew’s Church Frost Fair

This annual event, on Saturday 30 November in the Village Hall between 10.30am and 2.00pm, is always very popular, starting off the festive season. There will be a variety of stalls which will include homemade cakes and produce, tombola, etc. The café will serve turkey rolls, soup and of course delicious cakes and mince pies. Father Christmas may visit but this needs to be confirmed!!!

If you are interested in having a stall please contact Shirley Mounsey.

Funds raised will go to the newly formed charity, Friends of St. Andrew’s Greystoke Church.

More details nearer the time on poster around the village. Don’t forget to put it in your diary

Greystoke and District Sports Association

Thank you everyone who attended the Greystoke Beer Festival. It was very successful as usual. A big thanks must go to Rosie and Robin Illingworth who have steered the event for a number of years.

After a summer with little sunshine our fundraising events are even more important this winter. Please come along and help keep the pool and playground open.

• Winter Café – Come and enjoy soup, scones, cake and hot drinks in the swimming pool café every Monday from 12 noon to 2.00pm
• Match Day Café – The café will open when Greystoke football teams are playing at home on Saturday afternoons. Keep warm with a hot drink! Check our Facebook page to confirm opening times. (Greystoke and District Swimming Pool).
• Film Night – Our next film night with a lovely meal is ‘Sunshine on Leith’ on 30th November. A romantic musical in which two soldiers return from Afghanistan and try to adapt to civilian life. The story is told through the music of The Proclaimers. Tickets on sale on www.greystokepool.org.uk for £15. Licensed bar and interval ice cream.
• Soul Junction – Saturday 22 February 2025 keep the date! Our annual visit from this superb band. Dance the night away to great music. Licensed bar available.
• AGM – The Association will hold our AGM on Thursday 16 January 2025.
• Wine Tasting – Our wine tasting in November sold out very quickly so hopefully we will repeat it in Spring.

Greystoke Film Nights

Thanks to everyone who has contributed ideas for this winter’s film nights.

The films for next season will be:

• Saturday 30 November: Sunshine on Leith
• Saturday 8 February: Captain Fantastic
• Saturday 22 March: The Angels’ Share

The price will still be £15 to include a one-pot supper, licensed bar and ice-cream. All tickets will be available via Andy in the Post Office and online. Look out for facebook and poster publicity nearer to each event.

Please bring your friends. All profits to the swimming pool.

Greystoke Village Christmas Pageant

This year, the Greystoke Village Christmas Pageant will be held at St. Andrew’s Church on Thursday 19 December at 6.00pm.

Everyone is welcome to watch the children of Greystoke School perform a short Christmas medley on their brass instruments followed by a Christmas Nativity play.

On the evening there will be mulled wine, mince pies, delicious food and lots of Christmas stalls. It is an enjoyable evening for all.

If you would like to take part, have a stall, or know someone who may be interested, please get in touch with school on 017684 83 572.

All stalls are free and you are very welcome.

Community Housing Group

The community housing group continues to work on the plans for setting up a community land trust and is looking to hold a session with Action for Communities in Cumbria in November to support us on that journey. Talks with Patterdale continue and they have given us some very helpful documents. 

Keep up to date on progress and any available affordable housing in the area at https://housing.greystokevillage.co.uk/

• Sunday 6 October – Family Worship in Greystoke Village Hall
• Sunday 13 October – Holy Communion in St. Andrew’s Church
• Sunday 20 October – Family Worship in Greystoke Village Hall
• Sunday 27 October – Holy Communion in St. Andrew’s Church

All our services start at 11.00am, with coffee and cake are served from 10.30am onward, please join us.
Children’s activities are available at the Praise and Worship services in the Village Hall.

We would love to see you at our services.

Greystoke Social Club

• Monday 7 October – Helen Atwell from Cumbria for Sustainability will talk about their work in communities across Cumbria.
• Monday 21 October – Afternoon Tea with music by Julie Best on the accordion – £10, contact Shirley Mounsey to book a place.
• Monday 4 November – a talk on the activities and products of Omega Proteins by a representative of the Leo Group.

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings, which are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge of £2 (Visitors £3) which includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke WI

At our September meeting we listened to a talk by Judith Cook who is an author and singer from Carlisle. Throughout the evening she told us of her early start as a Bluecoat, then singing on ships, in hotels and for weddings. A serious illness made her want to change her career as she felt that kindness saved her and she wanted to give kindness back to others. We heard how she now works with people with dementia. She spoke of her lack of patience with her early singing teacher who wanted to teach breathing, but the lessons obviously paid off as Judith has a beautiful singing voice. She has written her autobiography, My Doors of Destiny, and has followed this up with The Gift of Human Kindness. Judith interspersed her talk with covers of various hits from Karen Carpenter through to Cilla Black, finishing with You lift Me Up, which was her mother’s favourite.

Our meeting on Thursday 3 October is a Guest Night consisting of a light supper and a Kitty Brown Fashion Show. Some of our members will model the clothes and there will be chance to buy items after the show. The competition will be a fashion accessory.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue, Val or Jennifer.

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 15 October in the Village Hall.

Swimming Pool Monthly Draw

Congratulation to the winners of the pool monthly draw for September.
£20 – John Endean – 224
£15 – Ronnie Wilson – 191
£10 – Allan and Mary Marshall – 177
£5 – Bob and Carolyn Greenhalgh – 153
£5 – Jean Pearson – 15
£5 – Helen Hammond – 68
£5 – Pete Boyd – 81

Greystoke Parish Community Housing

Work continues into looking to set up a Community Land Trust (CLT) and we are applying for membership of the Community Land Trust Network using some seed funding supplied by Westmorland & Furness Council. We also hope to draw more on the experiences of Patterdale CLT and Crosby Ravensworth soon. Keep up to date at www.housing.greystokevillage.co.uk/

The Friends of Saint Andrew’s Church Greystoke

The launch morning last month was a most successful and enjoyable morning with beautiful weather which enabled us to open all the doors and show off the lovely building. The tours of the bell tower were especially popular and the feedback from all of those who came was positive with many commenting on the lovely atmosphere and interesting chats with the trustees at various parts of the church. Our thanks go to Shelagh and Ros for providing everyone with refreshments as they went around.

A majority of those who attended left their names and contact details with a view to becoming members, at £10 per annum, or wishing to help in any way. This has been a very encouraging start and we hope to hold another similar event later in the year, as many who were unable to attend have expressed their interest. As I’ve said, this is just the beginning and throughout the year there will be various events and ideas to raise funds for the fabric of the church.

If you are interested in becoming a member, would like to help in any way or would like more information please contact Phil Lambert.

Greystoke Film Nights

Thanks to everyone who has contributed ideas for this winter’s film nights. The films for next season will be:

• Saturday 19 October: Nowhere Special
• Saturday 30 November: Sunshine on Leith
• Saturday 8 February: Captain Fantastic
• Saturday 22 March: The Angels’ Share

The price will still be £15 to include a one-pot supper, licensed bar and ice-cream. All tickets will be available via Andy in the Post Office and online. Look out for facebook and poster publicity nearer to each event.

Please bring your friends. All profits to the swimming pool.

Roy’s Reminiscences

First, I received 153 cards on the death of my wife Edith, beside all the messages on facebook, and £1,300 in donations which was split between the Hospice at Home and Virtual Arthritis. I cannot thank you enough for all the support I have received.

On reading in the Herald newspaper, just an observation about the swimming pool. How different the fund raising events are now than what they were like 51 years ago when we first opened. Most of the people involved now would probably never have heard of a village called Greystoke, let alone thinking that they would be involved with the running of a Swimming Pool that we had built.

Congratulations and thank you for keeping the pool open. Only those who are involved on the committee know the time and effort you have to commit yourself to. Keep up the good work!

Goodness, just realised I was only 33 when I was secretary! Most of us involved then were round about that age. Wonder what the age is now?

• Sunday 1 September – Praise and Worship, Greystoke Village Hall at 11.00am
• Sunday 8 September – Holy Communion, St Andrew’s Church at 11.00am
• Sunday 15 September – Praise and Worship, Greystoke Village Hall at 11.00am
• Sunday 22 September – Holy Communion, St Andrew’s Church at 11.00am
• Sunday 29 September – Benefice Service, St Andrew’s Church at 11.00am

All our services start at 11.00am, with coffee and cake are served from 10.30am onward, please join us.
Children’s activities are available at the Praise and Worship services in the Village Hall. We would love to see you at our services.

Greystoke Social Club

Monday 2 September – A talk by James Farish-Coombes from Newcastle Building Society on Scams
Thursday 19 September – Outing to Edinburgh (contact Shirley Mounsey to book a seat)

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings, which are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge of £2 (Visitors £3) which includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke WI

At the August meeting we enjoyed a beautiful illustrated talk about the wild flowers of the Dolomites. Our speaker, David Morley, introduced himself as an ecologist who works to help farmers access ELMS. He and Isobel visited the Dolomites for a wild flower walk and then ended up leading walks there for the next few years. David explained the unique geology of the area and how that leads to a huge range of about 2,000 wild flowers. He imagined he was leading us on a walk from Corvara up to the summit of a mountain, walking through woodland, hay meadows, high mountain meadows and then alpine rocks and scree. He showed us slides of the typical plants for each habitat. David spoke about some of the adaptations which enable the plants to grow in a cold dry environment. Many were low growing and had tiny leaves to prevent water loss. The high mountain flowers have to flower quickly and set seed. David answered questions and recommended Teasdale as a place to go to see similar wild flowers.

On Thursday 5 September we look forward to hearing from Judith Cook who is an author and singer. The competition will be a quote about kindness.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue, Val or Jennifer.

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 10 September in the Village Hall.

Bus Action Group Update

I am delighted to say that the Westmorland and Furness Council have just approved funding for a bus running frequently between Greystoke and Penrith.

In terms of next steps, the council will put this route out to tender to find a suitable provider. Details of the timetabling are being worked through, but I would like us to be front and centre of those discussions and I will lobby the council to ensure we get what is most useful to us.

I’ll keep our subsite updated with developments, but this is very good news, well done to everyone who has contributed!

Pam Wood, on behalf of the BAG (soon to be BUG – Bus User Group).

 Greystoke Village Hall

We invite you to join us for a delicious a homemade soup and pudding lunch in the Hall on Sunday 13 October from 11.30am to 2.00pm.

The hall has been spruced up over the summer and we plan to improve the access to the carpark. Proceeds from the lunch will be put towards this project. Donations of soups and puddings gratefully received.

More details to follow. We look forward to seeing you there.

Swimming Pool Monthly Draw

Greystoke Parish Community Housing

Progress continues on Community Housing as we welcomed some new volunteers this month. We are also starting the process of establishing a Community Land Trust (CLT) after a recent visit to Patterdale CLT.

The council has opened consultation on a new Local Plan, and we encourage everyone to contribute – surveys close on the Monday 9 September, and it’s important to share your views so you are represented. Read more at housing.greystokevillage.co.uk.

The Friends of Saint Andrew’s Church Greystoke

Following on from the notice in the July/August magazine, we are now able to confirm the details of the launch of this new group.

The launch will take place in the church on Saturday 7 September from 10.30am to 12.30pm. You can arrive and leave at any time; this is because it is a taster event where you choose what you would like to see and hear about. Have you ever wondered why the church faces East? Have you ever wanted to go up the Bell Tower? Wondered how the organ works? Wanted to know more about the big East Window or the strange carvings underneath the seats at the East end? Did you know that there is a statue made by prisoners of war who were imprisoned in Greystoke Castle? Come to our launch and be excited by discovering even more.

We all know what a beautiful historic church we have in Greystoke and how much we would wish to ensure it remains in good repair and open and available to all. The Rev. Martin and all the Trustees of the Friends group will be there to answer questions.

The Friends group will be an independent charitable incorporated organisation that will be registered with the Charity Commission. The constitution has now been sent to the Charity Commission for their approval and once this has been received the new charity becomes fully operational.

The trustee group consists of four elected trustees, two from the church council (PCC) and two from the Parish Council, and a further four interested trustees from the village and local area.

You will also have the opportunity if you wish to join the new group as a member and support the work to keep the church in good repair by a £10 yearly membership fee. (Please leave your name and contact details and we will contact you for your membership fee, following Charity Commission approval.)

So please do come along on Saturday 7 September and find out more about our fascinating church, climb the Tower to view the bells, and enjoy coffee and cakes.

Greystoke Brownies and Guides

Greystoke Brownies (7-10), Guides (10-14) and now Rangers (14-18) meet on Monday evenings in term time in the village hall – we’ll be starting back on Monday 9 September. We enjoy loads of fun activities and games, something different every week!

We welcome girls from a wide area and lots of different schools.

Email Gina Stephenson or register your daughter here.

Bacon Butty Morning

At the Pool on Saturday 31 August. Come and cheer on the participants in the Mini Triathlon and enjoy a brew and butty too. Vegetarian option available.

Greystoke Beer Festival

Friday 6 and Saturday 7 September in Greystoke Village Hall. Come and help raise funds for Greystoke Pool and have a great evening out doing it.

Enjoy an exciting selection of beers, pilsners, wine and Prosecco whilst listening to some great bands. Tasty food available to purchase.

Tickets available from Greystoke Swimming Pool.

Greystoke Film Nights

Pool fundraising film nights will take place on Saturday 19 October, 30 November and 8 February 2025. Save the dates!

St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services July and August 2024

Sunday 7 July – Morning Praise
Sunday 14 July – Holy Communion
Sunday 21 July – Morning Praise
Sunday 28 July – Holy Communion

Sunday 4 August – Morning Praise
Sunday 11 August – Holy Communion
Sunday 18 August – Morning Praise
Sunday 25 August – Holy Communion

All our services start at 11.00am, with coffee and cake are served from 10.30am onward, please join us. All services will be held in St Andrew’s Church. Children’s activities are available at the Morning Praise services, and will be held in a new spacious gazebo erected in the south aisle of the church especially for the children. We would love to see you at our services.

Greystoke Social Club

Monday 1 July – A talk by Dominic Rhodes on Beekeeping
Thursday 18 July – Outing to St. Anne’s on the Lancashire coast.
Monday 5 August – A talk by Annie Gray on The Holistic Approach to Health
Monday 2 September – A talk by James Farish-Coombes from Newcastle Building Society on Scams

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings, which are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge of £2 (Visitors £3) which includes tea and biscuits. For details of the times of the outing and to book a seat please contact Shirley Mounsey.

Greystoke WI

On Thursday 6 June, Greystoke WI enjoyed a fascinating insight into the history of Stead McAlpine at Cummersdale, presented by Ross Downing. We also enjoyed seeing the beautiful textiles brought in by members for the competition. We were very grateful to Gwen and Eileen for the refreshments.

On Sunday 7 July we look forward to sharing a trip out to Winton Park Gardens.

At our Thursday 1 August meeting, the speaker will be David Morley who will speak about Wild flowers of the Dolomites. The Competition will be a card decorated with a pressed flower.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue, Val or Jennifer.

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 16 July in the Village Hall.

Greystoke Village Hall

Please note that the number to book the hall is now 07828 741 354 or email greystokevillagehall@gmail.com and we will be please to help you with your enquiry. The hall is available for birthday parties, wedding receptions, exercise classes, meetings, events, training, local interest groups to name a few.

Hall facilities include:
– Large heated main hall equipped with tables, chairs , benches and a stage (capacity 150)
– A ‘bar’ area adjacent to the main hall complete with small kitchen provision
– A fully equipped large kitchen for catering
– An enclosed garden area laid to lawn.
– A separate meeting room
– A large free carpark (60 cars)
– Ramped entrance providing good accessibility and Wi-Fi

Greystoke Film Nights

Your chance to choose our film for Winter 2024/25 We’re looking for three Guest Editors for our three planned winter film nights on Saturday:
– 19 October
– 30 November
– 8 February

Is there a film that you have enjoyed that you think that many others would flock to see? Is there a film you’ve always wanted to watch? We want to hear from you!

Please submit your choice(s) to Clare Morton before end July.

All nominations will be considered before announcing the winners after the summer.

Swimming Pool Monthly Draw

Congratulation to the winners of the pool monthly draw for June.
£20 – Claire Hebdige – 195
£15 – Jo Bond – 51
£10 – B&M Murray – 165
£5 – Sarah Fawcett – 72
£5 – Joan Scullion – 23
£5 – Ian Forrester – 19
£5 – Kay Derbyshire – 206

Greystoke Parish Community Housing

Following on from the survey results (which are now available online) we are opening a confidential register for anyone in the area looking for affordable housing. The hope is that this will help us demonstrate that there is a current / imminent need in the area. Please email greystokecommunitygroup@gmail.com to register your interest.

The Friends of Saint Andrew’s Church Greystoke

Dear Friends and Residents of Greystoke and surrounding villages.

It is with great pleasure that we wish to announce a new group – the Friends of Saint Andrew’s Church Greystoke. This will be an independent charitable incorporated organisation that will be registered with the Charity Commission. We all know what a beautiful historic church we have in the village and how much we would wish to ensure it remains in good repair, and open and available to all. Work has been going on for several months to take forward the formation of this new group with discussions with Martin and the Church Council and the Parish Council to put together the constitution.

We are inviting you all to the official launch of this group in the church when the Trustees will be there to answer questions. A guided tour of the Church and the Tower will be available. So please do come along on Saturday 7 September, (times to be announced in the September magazine) and find out more about our fascinating church, climb the tower to view the bells, and enjoy coffee and cakes. You will also have the opportunity, if you wish, to join the new group as a member and support the work to keep the church in good repair by a £10 yearly membership fee.

Edith Fisher

My Wife Edith passed away on Tuesday 11 June at 5.30pm. Edith was a tremendous person with always a smile on her face even though for most of the time she was in pain with her Psoriatic Arthritis which she had had most of her life.

Edith did a tremendous amount of work for the village being one of the backroom people for without them we could not function, always to be relied on helping behind the scenes. Edith was one of the magnificent seven ladies who, with two men, raised tens of thousands of pounds for charity – there are now only two left. They raised a lot of money for the Cancer scanner at Carlisle and, if they had given Edith a MRI scan earlier, they would have found out what it was. When they did it was too late, let down yet again.

Rest in peace Edith – you were one in a million.

Love you for ever. Roy.

St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services June 2024

• Sunday 2 June – Family Worship
• Sunday 9 June – Holy Communion
• Sunday 16 June – Family Worship
• Sunday 23 June – Holy Communion
• Sunday 30 June – Benefice Service at Mungrisdale Church

All our services start at 11.00am, including the Benefice Service, coffee and cake are served from 10.30am onward, please join us. All services for June will be held in St Andrew’s Church and, now that the tent has been packed away for the summer, services will be in the nave. Children’s activities are available at the Family Worship services, and will be held in a new spacious gazebo erected in the south aisle of the church especially for the children. We would love to see you at our services.

Greystoke Social Club

Monday 3 June – A talk by Moira Dudson on the topic of Occupational Therapy
Thursday 20 June – Outing to Thirsk in Yorkshire
Monday 1 July – A talk on Bees and Beekeeping

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings, which are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge of £2 (Members £3) which includes tea and biscuits. For details of the times of the outing and to book a seat please contact Shirley Mounsey.

Greystoke Parish Community Housing

Our survey closed on Tuesday 14 May (at time of writing it’s still open!). We’ll let you know the results and next steps via facebook and the website – maybe by the time you read this we’ve already started! Meanwhile, thanks to those who have volunteered offers of help. We’d love to hear from anyone with experience of house building, e.g., builders, architects, planners, who would be willing to help, and anyone else who could spare some time, even just helping out with admin. Contact us here

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 11 June in the Village Hall.

Greystoke WI

On Thursday 2 May, Greystoke WI heard about making chocolates at home. Isobel Morley came to talk to us about her hobby, which has become a business. Isobel told us about setting up her chocolate kitchen in what had been their garage and the necessary equipment, supplies and techniques of chocolate making. There were a wide variety of fillings, some based on puddings, and others on Italian or Lakeland flavours. Isobel is able to produce gluten free and dairy free chocolates. Her creations can be bought at the Stainton Farmers’ Market or online from her website. After her generous free samples, there was a very long queue at the end of the evening to buy her products. Her chocolates were exquisite to look at as well as to sample. We were very grateful to Isobel and her husband for giving up their evening for us. We were also grateful to Di and Jan for the refreshments and to John Danks for setting up the projector for Isobel.

In June we look forward to hearing from Ross Downing about Cotton at Cummersdale, the story of Stead McAlpine. The competition will be an heirloom textile so it will be a chance to show off your Grandma’s or your Mum’s beautiful embroidery.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue, Val or Jennifer.

Hospice at Home Bingo Night

Roy Fisher’s Granddaughter and her friend, Kate Jackson, are raising money for Hospice at Home with a Bingo Night at Greystoke Village Hall on Friday 14 June. Doors open at 7.00pm with the first game at 7:30pm. Hot drinks and homemade cakes will be served at half time, and there will also be an auction with lots of fantastic local items. Tickets (at the door) cost £10 and include bingo books and refreshments. All in aid of Hospice at Home.

The nurses who work for this organisation are currently looking after Edith, and Roy doesn’t know how he could have coped without their help. It is a tremendous organisation, and it is not all doom and gloom as they have some really happy times as well. Nothing is too much trouble to them.

If you can support these two young people in any way it would be much appreciated as they will need prizes for the bingo, the raffle and the promise auction.

Charity Quiz Night

Put your quizzing skills to the test at Greystoke Village Hall at 7.00pm on Saturday 22 June at a charity quiz night in aid of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and Greystoke Primary School. With a half-time pit-stop for pie and peas plus great prizes for the winning teams, as well as the opportunity to take home a Champagne Taittinger hamper in the raffle, this is sure to be a memorable evening.

The monies raised on the night will go to Duchenne UK, a charity aiming to find better treatments for this muscle-wasting condition, which affects one of Greystoke’s pupils. A portion of the proceeds will also go to Greystoke Primary School so get your teams together.

Pie and peas are included in the ticket price £12. It is an over-18s only event with a licensed bar.

To buy tickets, go online, email Rebecca or call her on 07414 541820. If you are a business who wishes to pledge a raffle prize, do get in touch.

Greystoke Open Gardens and Scarecrow Trail

This popular village event, on Sunday 23 June between 11.00am and 3:00pm, is being organised jointly by St. Andrew’s Church, the Parish Council, the Village Hall and the Village School – a real whole village event.

There will be a wonderful trail taking you around the village to view gardens and scarecrows. There will also be a fête in the school grounds which will include children’s games and ice cream, and of course the Village Hall will have a café serving teas, coffees, delicious homemade cakes and scones throughout the day.

Maps of the trail will be available to buy at £3 each. These can also be purchased at the village post office in the two weeks before the event.

To help us make this day a real success we need as many folk involved as possible, whether it be opening your garden, creating a scarecrow or helping out in the café by serving or baking.

If you would like to pop a scarecrow outside your property for visitors to enjoy as they walk around, please feel free even if you have not previously stated an interest.

If you think you can help us in any way please contact either Maureen or Laura.

Greystoke Pool

The pool and café are now open for the summer. Come and enjoy a swim in our heated pool. We are open 3.00pm to 6.00pm on school days, 1.00pm to 6.00pm all other days.

Enjoy a tea and a scone in the café – you don’t need to swim!

Adult swimming is available morning and evening, with membership details available on our website.

The pool is run by volunteers so we always welcome more help. Just ask in the café.

Greystoke History Group

This new group has been set up to record and explore the history of Greystoke and its surrounding areas. At this stage, we would really welcome any new members that want to join the group to collect stories, search archives or write up the stories and history.

Our main focus at present is on capturing all the fascinating stories from residents past and present about the history of the village and of their own lives.

If you would like to join the group or share your story, photos and history, please contact Stephen Nicol

Greystoke Film Nights

Your chance to choose our film for Winter 2024/25

We’re looking for three Guest Editors for our three planned winter film nights on Saturday:
– 19 October
– 30 November
– 8 February

Is there a film that you have enjoyed that you think that many others would flock to see? Is there a film you’ve always wanted to watch? We want to hear from you!

Please submit your choice(s) to Clare Morton before end July.

All nominations will be considered before announcing the winners after the summer.

Swimming Pool Monthly Draw

Congratulation to the winners of the pool monthly draw for May.

£20 – Julie Allison – 246
£15 – Jan & Brian Kerslake – 145
£10 – Jane Taylor – 161
£5 – Steve & Kirsty Brown – 230
£5 – Christine Corner – 62
£5 – Gavin & Judith Aris – 82
£5 – The Wallaces – 100

Sunday 5 May – Family Worship
Sunday 12 May – Holy Communion
Sunday 19 May – Family Worship
Sunday 26 May – Holy Communion

All our services start at 11.00am, coffee and cake are served from 10.30am onward, please join us. All services over the summer period will be held in St Andrew’s Church and, now that the tent has been packed away for the summer, services will be in the nave.

Children’s activities are available at the Family Worship services, and will be held in a new spacious gazebo erected in the south aisle of the church especially for the children.

We would love to see you at our services.

Greystoke Social Club

Monday 6 May – Talk on Hedgehogs by Sue Kane

Thursday 23 May – Outing to Tatton Park – gardens and house. Leaving Greystoke at 8.30am. For details of costs and to book a seat please contact Shirley Mounsey on 017684 80 430.

Monday 3 June – A talk by Moira Dudson on the topic of Occupational Therapy

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings, which are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge of £2 (Members £1) which includes tea and biscuits. Come along and see what we have planned for the remainder of the year.

Greystoke Parish Community Housing Initiative

Everyone should have now received their paper survey. Remember you can fill it in online too – it takes less than five minutes! The survey closes on Tuesday 14 May.

April also saw us promote two affordable houses being advertised via Eden Housing Association and Cumbria Choice. We’ll let you know more about the outcome when we know more.

We are also in the process of organising meetings with other local housing groups.

Stay up to date with news and housing opportunities on facebook and online.

St Andrew’s Church Plant Sale

Spring is coming with the snowdrops now gone and the daffodils in flower, and our thoughts turn to gardening and dividing plants and growing seeds. St. Andrew’s is organising its annual Plant Sale in the Village Hall on Saturday 11 May from 9.30am to 2.00pm, to raise funds for the church building.

We are planning to sell plants outside (weather permitting), and have, in the hall, a café and home produce stall selling bacon baps, soup and rolls, and scones, a variety of cakes, and tea and coffee, all at reasonable prices.

There will also be a tombola and a books and jigsaws stall.

We are requesting donations of plants (flowers, vegetables and tomatoes) and unwanted garden implements and equipment. Please contact Shirley to arrange collection, bring to the village hall after 3.30pm on Friday 10 May, or bring on the day.

All are welcome and, if you are new to the village, please come and join us for this village community event. Watch out for further information on the village notice board and Facebook page.

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 7 May in the Village Hall.

Charity Quiz Night

Put your quizzing skills to the test at Greystoke Village Hall at 7.00pm on Saturday 22 June at a charity quiz night in aid of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and Greystoke Primary School. With a half-time pit-stop for pie and peas plus great prizes for the winning teams, as well as the opportunity to take home a Champagne Taittinger hamper in the raffle, this is sure to be a memorable evening.

The monies raised on the night will go to Duchenne UK, a charity aiming to find better treatments for this muscle-wasting condition, which affects one of Greystoke’s pupils. A portion of the proceeds will also go to Greystoke Primary School so get your teams together.

Pie and peas are included in the ticket price £12. It is an over-18s only event with a licensed bar.

To buy tickets, go to https://buytickets.at/macmyday/1221911 or email Rebecca Gibb or call her on 07414 541 820. If you are a business who wishes to pledge a raffle prize, do get in touch.

Greystoke Open Gardens and Scarecrow Trail

This popular village event, on Sunday 23 June between 11.00am and 3:30pm, is being organised jointly by St. Andrew’s Church, the Parish Council, the Village Hall and the Village School – a real whole village event.

There will be a wonderful trail taking you around the village to view gardens and scarecrows. There will also be a fête in the school grounds and of course the Village Hall will have a café serving refreshments throughout the day.

To help us make this day a real success we need as many folk involved as possible, whether it be opening your garden, creating a scarecrow or helping out in the café by serving or baking.

If you think you can help us in any way please contact either Maureen or Laura.

Greystoke Village Hall – Caretaker Wanted

The Greystoke Village Hall committee is looking for a new caretaker. We are hoping to recruit a trustworthy person that takes pride in their work to keep the community Village Hall clean, replenished with stock and well maintained.

This is a paid position of 25 hours per month and you will be well supported by the voluntary committee.

For further information, or to apply, please contact Laura Seel, chairperson.

Sunday 7 April – Praise and Worship in the Village Hall
Sunday 14 April – Holy Communion in St. Andrew’s Church
Sunday 21 April – Praise and Worship in the Village Hall
Sunday 28 April – Holy Communion in St. Andrew’s Church

All our Sunday services start at 11.00am, coffee and cake are served from 10.30am onward, please join us. Activities for children are provided at all the Praise and Worship services in the village hall.

Greystoke Social Club

Monday 15 April – Our AGM, followed by games, nothing too boisterous!
Monday 6 May – To be confirmed
Thursday 23 May – Outing to Tatton Park

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings, which are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge of £2 (Members £1) which includes tea and biscuits. Come along and see what we have planned for the remainder of the year. For outing details, contact Shirley Mounsey

St Andrew’s Church Plant Sale

Spring is coming with the snowdrops out and the daffodils beginning to flower and our thoughts turn to gardening and dividing plants and growing seeds. St. Andrew’s is organising its annual Plant Sale in the Village Hall on Saturday 11 May from 9.30am to 2.00pm, to raise funds for the church building.

We are planning to sell plants outside (weather permitting), and have, in the hall, a café and home produce stall selling bacon baps, soup and rolls, and scones, a variety of cakes, and tea and coffee, all at reasonable prices.

There will also be a tombola and a books and jigsaws stall.

We are requesting donations of plants (flowers, vegetables and tomatoes) and unwanted garden implements and equipment. Please contact Shirley to arrange collection, bring to the village hall after 3.30pm on Friday 10 May, or bring on the day.

All are welcome and, if you are new to the village, please come and join us for this village community event. Watch out for further information on the village notice board and Facebook page.

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 16 April in the Village Hall.

Greystoke WI

On Thursday 7 March, Greystoke WI held a brief AGM when we voted in our new committee and presidents. We are pleased to announce that the three ladies sharing the President’s role last year are happy to continue this year. They are Val Simpson, Jennifer Allen and Sue Nowson. The AGM was followed by a slideshow from Margaret Rinder. The slides gave a wonderful impression of what life is like on Orkney where Margaret lived before coming to Greystoke. We heard about the schooling, the healthcare and the island hopping on small planes and ferries.

On Thursday 4 April, we look forward to hearing from Bill Neville about all sorts of legal matters which might be relevant to older adults. The competition is an old document so it will be interesting to see what comes to light.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue, Val or Jennifer.

Bus Action Group

Thank you to everyone that attended our meeting at the end of February, the notes from that meeting can be found via the Greystoke online website (with the link) and a copy will be printed for display on the village noticeboard.

We will consult on Plan B in the next few weeks, so please look out for more details or email Pam to get involved.

Greystoke Parish Community Housing Initiative

We didn’t quite make getting the housing survey into the magazine as advertised, but it will be with you soon! We hope you can find just a few minutes to complete it either on paper or online. It’s really important that your views are taken into account.

The survey closes on 14 May. Paper copies may be returned to the shop, and we’d encourage everyone in the household to complete the survey.

Some spare paper copies are available at the shop now, and you can also fill in the survey in online. Follow us on Facebook and on the website to keep up to date with news, and to see the results of the survey.

Penrith Repair Café

Penrith Repair Café runs on the second Saturday of each month from 10.00am to 1.00pm at the Old Fire Station on Bridge Lane. Skilled volunteers fix your household items, keeping them in use and out of landfill. Delicious home baked cakes too. All repairs and refreshments are free of charge but donations appreciated.

Swimming Pool Draw – March 2024

Congratulation to the winners of the pool monthly draw for March.
£20 – Mark and Alice Townsend – 166
£15 – Harry and Hector Ashburner – 01
£10 – Annie Swarbrick – 156
£5 – Keith and Jane Hardcastle – 201
£5 – Margaret Rinder – 216
£5 – Henry and Anna Howard – 125
£5 – Kay Darbyshire – 05

Greystoke Open Gardens and Scarecrow Trail

If you are interested in participating in this event on Sunday23rd June, between 11.00am and 3.00pm, either by opening your garden (your garden does not need to be pristine or of professional standard!!!!) or by creating a scarecrow please contact Maureen Hardy or Laura Thomson.

Please support this wonderful community event. More details to follow in the next issue.

Roy Reminisces

I reminisce in 2004, when I was chairman of Eden District Council. At that time the people who came and bought our little village dwellings only paid 90% of the full council rate. As Chairman, I proposed that, as they were emptying our villages of young people by out bidding them for the dwellings, they should pay double the council rate. I was defeated, and I was told by law that we could not do that. It has taken 20 years hopefully to see that they will now have to pay double – but I fear the horse has already bolted and the damage done.

As regards the proposed 20mph limit, how can that be controlled when those are breaking the 30mph and 40mph speed limit cannot be controlled? You only have to stand up near Fawn Meadows and see the speed, not just of the cars, but the wagons as well. We need to try and find some way of making the speed cameras we have legal so that speeders can be prosecuted.

By the way the crocuses have been looking good. Next, the daffodils, fruits of our labours.

Roy Fisher.

Sunday 3 March – Praise and Worship in the Village Hall
Sunday 10 March – Holy Communion in St Andrew’s Church
Sunday 17 March – Praise and Worship in the Village Hall
Sunday 24 March – Palm Sunday Holy Communion in St Andrew’s Church

Maundy Thursday 28 March – at 7.00pm – Holy Communion with Re-enactment of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples, followed by a short period of quiet reflection – in church

Good Friday 29 March – 2.00pm – 3.00pm – Meditation “An Hour at the Cross” in Mungrisdale Church
Easter Day, Sunday 31 March – Holy Communion celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus in St Andrew’s Church

All our Sunday services start at 11.00am, coffee and cake are served from 10.30am onward, please join us. Activities for children are provided at all the Praise and worship services in the village hall.

Easter Cross

As is usual, a bare wooden cross will be erected on the village green on Maundy Thursday in memory of the suffering that Jesus endured in the days leading up to his death on Good Friday.

On Easter Day everyone is welcome to dress the cross with spring flowers to remember his glorious resurrection on that day which won for us eternal life. A selection of flowers for you to use will be provided.

Greystoke Social Club

Monday 4 March – Please see the village notice board and Facebook page
Monday 18 March – Please see the village notice board and Facebook page

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings, which are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge of £2 (Members £1) which includes tea and biscuits. Come along and see what we have planned for the remainder of the year.

Greystoke WI

In January WI had a New Year’s meal at The Brantwood. It was a very pleasant evening. We thanked Val Simpson for liaising with The Brantwood and for her careful planning for the event. Congratulations to Allan’s team who won Jennifer’s interesting and challenging quiz.

Our speaker in February was Catherine Smith who gave a passionate and fascinating talk on Forest Bathing. She also covered the benefits of cold water immersion, which could be useful for people who suffer from Reynaud’s syndrome when used on the hands and feet. We also heard about the ways trees communicate with each other using chemicals and fungi. Finally, Catherine encouraged us to shop mindfully so we can do our bit to stop the chopping down of trees and reduce the chemicals washing into our waterways. There was a lot of food for thought.

On Thursday 7 March we have a brief AGM when we vote in our new committee and president(s). If you would like to help by being on the committee please let us know. The AGM will be followed by a slideshow from Margaret Rinder. Although birds are not the subject, Margaret is a keen birdwatcher so the competition is a feather.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue , Val or Jennifer.

Greystoke Village Hall AGM

At the AGM on Monday 5 February it was reported that the hall had continued to be well used in 2023 by various groups and hirers, fundraising events had been well attended and the village had enjoyed the Coronation celebrations and children’s sports in May.

The bank balance is currently healthy and the committee wanted to thank everyone for their continued support. Extended thanks must go to all the volunteers and in particular Allan Marshall who regularly goes above and beyond.

Going forward into 2024, the committee hope for even more fundraisers to support the viability of the hall. The ever increase energy costs now present a challenge for the hall’s funds. We are currently looking at hall hire fees. Any and all ideas or thoughts on village hall fundraising events are always welcome.

The committee for 2024 remain as Chair Laura Seel, Treasurer Ann Truman and Secretary Emma Nielsen greystokevillagehall@gmail.com.

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 12 March in the Village Hall.

Greystoke Swimming Pool Monthly Draw

The committee is delighted to report that we now have 246 fully paid up draw members for 2024. That’s a whopping £2214 raised for the pool, playpark and sports field. We would like to thank everyone that supports the draw; we wouldn’t raise these funds without your generosity.

Due to ongoing concerns from the community and evidence from the village speed cameras we know that speeding through Greystoke village is a major issue. Greystoke Parish Council intends to make an application to Westmorland and Furness Council for a 20mph speed limit within the village.

Our aim in doing so is to promote safer roads, reduce vehicle pollution and noise, to enhance the environment for the community to make it a more pleasant and safer area for families, cyclists, walkers and riders.

As part of the Westmorland and Furness Council application criteria used to assess requests for 20mph schemes it is a requirement that the proposal is supported by the local community and any introduction of the 20mph speed limit within the village will be subject to consultation.

If you are in support of the 20mph speed limit within the village please join us at a drop-in session on Tuesday 13^th February 2024 in the village hall from 6pm-6.45pm. Councillor Day and Councillor Thompson will be in attendance throughout the session.

If you cannot come along on the night, then there will be a support petition for you to sign in the village shop and the Boot & Shoe.

Add the event to your calendar here: https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/event/greystoke-village-20mph-speed-limit-application/

Many thanks

Greystoke Parish Council

Sunday 4 February – Praise and Worship in the Village Hall
Sunday 11 February – Holy Communion in St Andrew’s Church
Sunday 18 February – Praise and Worship in the Village Hall
Sunday 25 February – Holy Communion in St Andrew’s Church

All our services start at 11.00am, coffee and cake are served from 10.30am onward, please join us. Activities for children are provided at all the Praise and worship services in the village hall.

Ash Wednesday (14 February)

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the church’s season of Lent, culminating in the joy of Easter Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. On Ash Wednesday there will be a service of Holy Communion in St Andrew’s Church starting at 7.30pm.

St. Andrew’s Church Greystoke Tower Lighting Fund

Once again, can I say a big thank you to all of those kind people who so generously donated to St Andrew’s Church Tower Lighting Fund. It was so nice to see the tower so brightly shining during all of our Christmas festivities. Thank you all so much. Di Hetherington.

Greystoke Social Club

Monday 19 February – A talk on the work of the charity Mind by Janet Buckley.

Visitors are always welcome at our meetings, which are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge of £2 which includes tea and biscuits. Come along and see what we have planned for the remainder of the year.

Greystoke WI

Greystoke WI meets at 7.00 pm on Thursday 1 February. Our speaker, Catherine Smith, will tell us about Forest Bathing. The competition will be a fir cone ornament.

Please be aware that our March meeting is on the 7^th, not on the 1^st as listed in the programme.

If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue on 07754 329 204, Val on 017684 83 585 or Jennifer on 07984 663 521.

Greystoke Handbell Ringers

Greystoke Handbell Ringers would like to thank everyone who came to support us on Friday 22 December. We really enjoyed the informal atmosphere of the morning. We felt triumphant to survive Troika, to say nothing of Ding Dong Merrily on High! Thank you also for your great generosity. Just over £100 was donated. This will help us to pay the hall fees for our practice sessions and to buy new music.

If you would like to find out more about handbells, please contact Maureen.

Greystoke Village Hall AGM

An invitation to attend the AGM at 7.30pm on Monday 5 February is extended to all. New committee members or helpers are always welcome to join our friendly team, working to ensure that this wonderful community facility remains available to all.

2023 has been a busy year and the committee would like to thank all those who have helped with and supported the hall. Without the generosity of supporters and volunteers both in terms of giving their time and attending events the hall would not function. We are looking forward to building on our successes in 2024.

Any queries? Chair: Laura Seel (07828 741 354), Secretary: Emma Nielsen (017684 80 557)

Greystoke Parish Council

The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 12 March in the Village Hall.

Greystoke Survey to Seek Views on Affordable Housing

People living in Greystoke are to be asked for their views on whether more affordable housing should be provided in the village and surrounding parish. A group of local residents is securing funding with the help of Greystoke Parish Council to carry out a survey to see if there is support in principle for a community-led housing project to look at providing more affordable houses to rent or buy.

The group was formed towards the end of 2022 in response to concerns that the relatively high cost of housing in Greystoke is making it difficult for young people and families with a local connection to live there.

The group’s Facebook page Greystoke Community Housing (https://www.facebook.com/GreystokeParishCommunityHousing) has details on the forthcoming survey and the project itself. Please follow it for more information. The survey will be distributed to homes in Greystoke soon and your help in completing it would be much appreciated.

The ‘Dacre Do’

Saturday 24 February at 7.30pm in Dacre Village Hall. There will be a bar, food and live music from Pete Lashley – and dancing!

Follow us and check for more details on our Dacre (Cumbria) Community Facebook Page

Bus Action Group

A huge thank you to everyone that signed our petition and thank you very much to Patrick Freeman and all our supporters who helped us get the petition out to people; it was a lot of effort.

Was it worth it? YES! In two weeks, 349 people told us they supported and would use a bus with 79% of respondents being from Greystoke, (including the Ghyll). So many groups got involved in this, it gave us a real boost, we were particularly pleased to be invited to Greystoke school and the children did us proud. Not bad for a hamlet!

The data and information have been sent to Westmorland and Furness Council, who are currently in negotiation with a bus provider to look at providing a scheduled service that will run through the village multiple times per day on its way between Penrith and Keswick. So … watch this space!

Pam, Bernie, Raife, Janet and Iain – the Bus Action Group.

Sunday 3 December – Morning Praise in the Village Hall
Sunday 10 December – Holy Communion in the Church
Sunday 17 December – Morning Praise in the Village Hall
Sunday 31 December – Holy Communion in the Church

Christmas Church Services 2023

Christmas Eve – 11.00am – Holy Communion, All Saints Church, Penruddock
Christmas Eve – 3.00pm – Christingle Service, Greystoke Church
Christmas Eve – 9.30pm – Holy Communion, Mungrisdale Church
Christmas Day – 11.00am – Family Christmas Service, Greystoke Church

St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services January 2024

Sunday 7 January – Morning Praise in the Village Hall
Sunday 14 January – Holy Communion in Church
Sunday 21 January – Morning Praise in the Village Hall
Sunday 28 January – Holy Communion in Church

Our regular services start at 11.00am, and we will be serving coffee and cake from 10.30am. We look forward to meeting you.

St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Carol Service

The carol service will be held on Sunday 17 December in church starting at 6.00pm. After the service, the award for the best Christmas Tree in the Christmas Tree Festival will be presented. Come along and join us to hear the familiar story of Christ’s birth, the witness of the Shepherds, and the adoration of the Magi, as well as the opportunity to sing the carols which have always been part of all of our Christmases. The collection will go, as always, to the charity CRISIS.

Christmas Tree Festival

The Christmas trees will come into church on Friday 15 December and Saturday 16 December, and stay until Thursday 4 January. Pay a visit to see the trees which have been contributed and decorated by local groups. Church is normally open daily from 9.30am until about 4.00pm. Better still, come to the Carol Service to see the winner announced and to hear the Christmas Story.

St. Andrew’s Church Tower Lighting Fund

Thank you to everyone who so kindly donated to our Church Tower fund last year. It was so nice to see the tower once again shining out, during these cold and dark evenings like a beacon,

Once again I am asking if everyone could pause, during all of the festive merrymaking, to remember all of those lovely Christmas’s which we celebrated in the past, with all of those loved ones, that we see no more. What a lovely way to remember them, by again donating to our star chart, on any day in December, and early January that you chose.

If you would like to donate, please contact Di Hetherington or any Church member. Cheques please to be made out to St Andrews Church, P.C.C. Greystoke.

Many thanks once again.

May I wish you all a very Merry Christmas

Di

Greystoke Social Club

Thursday 14 December – Christmas Lunch at Roundthorn Hotel
Monday 15 January – meeting in village hall at 2.00pm – details to be arranged

Our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm, £1 for members, £2 for visitors and includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke WI

At the November meeting of Greystoke WI, our speaker, Heather Boak demonstrated découpage techniques. Making use of a thin layer of a table napkin and Mod Podge, Heather demonstrated adding découpage to a miniature cheese board and to a glass plate. This was particularly fascinating as the paper layer was added to the bottom of the plate but could be clearly seen through the glass. Heather had a huge variety of Christmas themed napkins, using them to add decoration to a variety of objects. It was an inspiring demonstration and very interesting to hear about the different sorts of Mod Podge and their uses.

Our December meeting has been moved to Thursday 14 December. Greystoke Hand Bell Ringers will play carols and Maureen will duet with Philip Lambert. There will be our usual competition and raffle of gift wrapped parcels, as well as a light supper.

There will be no meeting in January but there will be a New Year meal on Friday 19 January at The Brantwood. Please contact Eileen Lund if you wish to attend.

If you would like to join us please contact Jennifer Young, Sue Nowson or Val Simpson.

Greystoke Pantomime

The village proudly presents a “not to be missed” production of Cinderella at the Village Hall. Curtain up at 7.30pm on Thursday 7, Friday 8, and Saturday 9 December.

Fully licensed bar open from 7.00pm and ice creams available at the interval.

Adults £10; under 16s £6. Tickets on sale (online only). Go to the events page at Greystoke Swimming Pool website.

Greystoke Village Christmas Pageant

This year the Greystoke Village Christmas Pageant will be held at St. Andrew’s Church on Thursday 14 December at 6.00pm. Everyone is welcome to watch the children of Greystoke School perform a short Christmas medley on their brass instruments followed by a Christmas Nativity play.

On the evening, there will be mulled wine, mince pies, delicious food and lots of Christmas stalls. It is an enjoyable evening for all. All stalls are free and you are very welcome. If you would like to take part, have a stall, or know someone who may be interested, please get in touch with school on 017684 83 572.

Village Hall Bingo Nights

Don’t forget the Christmas Bingo on Friday 15 December. We have prizes galore waiting to be won. All ages welcome. Come and enjoy the festive refreshments – mulled wine and festive treats! Doors open 6.40pm, eyes down 7.00pm. See you there.

The Hall Committee wishes to extend thanks for the generosity shown by those donating prizes for the bingo – we couldn’t do it without you! It’s a great fundraiser for our hall. Thanks also to Roy Fisher for his input as Bingo Caller.

Save the next date – Friday 26 January 2024.

Pool Winter Weekly Café

Come and join us for coffee and a chat, or a light lunch of soup and scones.

Open every Monday in the pool café from 11.00am to 2.00pm.

Swimming Pool Draw

Subs are now due for the Swimming Pool 2024 Monthly Draw. This raises funds for the pool, playpark and playing field. With cash prizes every month and a bonanza bonus Christmas draw, what’s not to like! The one off £15 fee includes 12 monthly draws and the bonus draw. 60% of your sub is kept as valuable funds and the remainder is won by lucky prize winners. Help us make 2024 the best one yet!

Payment can be made by BACS, standing order or Cash/Cheque
Bank: Santander
Sort Code: 09-01-54
Account No: 09966088
Account Name: Greystoke & District Association

Use “Draw/Surname” as reference (e.g., Draw/Smith). Our collectors will be out in December too.

Questions, queries, want to join – contact Emma Nielsen or pop into the pool winter café (Mondays 11.00am – 2.00pm) to pick up a form.

Congratulations to the winners of the Greystoke pool monthly draw for November.
£20 – Frances Munro – 16
£15 – Lucy Fawcett – 94
£10 – T&E Blenkarn – 87
£5 – B&J Duckworth – 173
£5 – Louise Chance – 178
£5 – Shirley Mounsey – 92
£5 – Hazel McGrath – 160

Greystoke Film Night

Join us on Saturday 13 January for the action packed film Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1, starring Tom Cruise. Ethan Hunt and his IMF team must track down a dangerous weapon before it falls into the wrong hands. Some scenes filmed in Buttermere!

Tickets are £15.00 each, are non-refundable, and must be bought in advance. The price also includes a delicious one-pot supper and an ice cream. There will also be a licensed bar to purchase wine, beer and soft drinks.

All profits go towards maintaining and running the swimming pool. Tickets are available from Greystoke Post Office or online.

Greystoke and District Sports Association AGM

The Association has an active committee who keep the pool going but we always welcome new members or people who are able to contribute to a specific project.

Everyone is welcome to the AGM in the pool café on Tuesday 16 January at 7.00pm. The pool only exists because of our wonderful volunteers, come and see what we do and how you can join in.

Update from the Bus Action Group (BAG).

A huge thanks to everyone that helped make the media event at the end of October so successful! We’re feeling very hopeful this will help our cause.

The group is going to pause meetings over Christmas but we know that during this time the council will be going through the tendering process and so we’ll still keep the website updated and email the wider group with news.

If you’re not already on the email distribution list, and would like to be, please eMail Pam.

Thanks again to everyone that has supported this, it really does feel like a whole village effort!

Pam Wood and the BAG

Sunday 5 November – Morning Praise in the Village Hall
Sunday 12 November – Remembrance Sunday Service in Church (10.15am)
Sunday 19 November – Morning Praise in the Village Hall
Sunday 26 November – Holy Communion in Church

Our services start at 11.00am, and we will be serving coffee and cake from 10.30am. We look forward to meeting you.

Remembrance Sunday

As is usual the morning will begin with a short service in church, beginning at 10.15am, attended by members of the scout and guide movements.

Those at the service will walk to the village green to join others where, at 11.00am, an act of remembrance will take place and wreaths and other tributes will be laid. The two minute silence will be observed and we will once again hear the words of Laurence Binyon.

St. Andrew’s Church Tower Lighting Fund

Thank you to everyone, who so kindly supported our Church last year, with donations to our Church Tower Illumination Fund. Once again we were so overwhelmed with the response. It is so nice to see the tower lit at this special time of year. After all, this is what Christmas is all about. It reminds us also of all of those special people that had so many Happy Christmas’s with us in the past, and we see no more.

If anyone would like to make a donation to our fund again this year, please contact Diane Hetherington or any Church member. Cheques please to be made out to “St Andrews Church P.C.C. Greystoke.”

Thank you all so much once again, and have a very Merry Christmas.

St Andrew’s Church Frost Fair

Winter is coming and our thoughts turn to Christmas and St Andrew’s is organising their annual Frost Fair in the Village Hall on Saturday 25 November from 11.30am to 3.30pm to raise funds for the church building.

We are planning a cafe and home produce stall with soup, turkey rolls, Christmas cake, mince pies and a variety of cakes and other home produce all available at reasonable prices. There will be a variety of other stalls of handicraft and home produce from Greystoke WI and Greystoke Social Club, an Eden Animal Rescue Stall, Bob Park’s Pottery stall and a Tombola. Christmas decorations will also be on sale.

All are welcome and please come along and join us for this village community event. Watch out for further information on the village noticeboards and facebook page and we might even get a visit from Father Christmas!

Greystoke Social Club

Monday 6 November – Doctors in Pre-Hospital Emergency Care – Great North Air Ambulance and BEEP Doctors – a talk by Dr Theo Weston
Monday 20 November – Amazing Swifts – a talk by Richard Dixon
Thursday 14 December – Christmas Lunch at Roundthorn Hotel

Our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm, £1 for members, £2 for visitors and includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke WI

Greystoke WI’s October meeting was a Guest Night. This is one of the bigger nights on our calendar as we invite members from other WIs to join us as well as friends from the village. Our programme secretary, Eileen, always makes sure that the entertainment that night is a big draw. This year our guests were treated to a performance by the Moreland Ukulele Group (or MUGs as they like to be known). They played songs by George Formby, Gerry Rafferty and the Beach Boys to name just a few. Some members of the group also played a washboard, a kazoo and some maracas. There was plenty of audience participation which is always a sure sign that everyone is enjoying themselves.

Our speaker on Thursday 2 November is Heather Boak. She will be demonstrating making Christmas Decorations. The competition is a Christmas decoration.

If you would like to join us please contact Jennifer Young, Sue Nowson or Val Simpson.

Greystoke Hand Bell Ringers

We had the pleasure of performing at Hutton in the Forest’s Apple Day on Sunday 1 October. Nine of us squeezed inside a little portico with our tables and music stands. Two sets were performed with a refreshment break in the middle. We started gently with Pastorale and Pachelbel’s Canon, then played a selection of traditional tunes such as John Peel and Ash Grove. Our finale was a very loud Trumpet Voluntary.

We are very grateful to the organisers for giving us the opportunity to perform and to those members of the public who kindly made a donation as we are always on the lookout for new music. We also enjoyed the opportunity to look round the beautiful gardens and visit the stalls which were set up in the grounds.

Swimming Pool Draw

The pool runs a draw to help raise funds for the swimming pool and playpark and you have the chance to win cash prizes every month whilst supporting these fantastic community assets. A one off £15 fee (that’s £1.25 a month) buys you a number which is entered into 12 monthly draws and the Christmas bonus draw which has £50 cash prizes.

In 2023, we raised over £3400 with 50% given as cash prizes. For 2024 60% of your membership sub will be retained by the pool/playpark. To all existing members, we are chuffed that you keep choosing to support the pool, so a big thank you.

Payment is due in December and can be made by BACS, Cash or Cheque or better still set up a standing order. Collectors will call in December.

Want to be included for 2024? Contact Emma Nielsen or pop into the pool winter café to pick up a form.

Be involved, be a winner

Congratulations to the winners of the Greystoke pool monthly draw for October.
£20 – Helen Ledger – 171
£15 – H&F Ross – 164
£10 – Sue Collison – 235
£5 – J&G Oxley – 223
£5 – Pearl Mitchell – 99
£5 – L&R Blake – 99
£5 – Val Allison – 64

Pool Winter Weekly Café Reopening

Come and join us for coffee and a chat, or a light lunch of soup and scones. We reopen on Monday 30 October between 11.00am and 2.00pm.

Note we have switched to every Monday rather than Tuesdays.

Soup and Pudding

Join us in the Village Hall for our annual Autumn Soup and Pudding event on Sunday 29 October between 11.30am and 2.00pm. Delicious homemade soups and puddings will be on offer, served with a hot/soft drink. Donations of soup and/or puddings will be gratefully received. Contact Sarah Dobinson with your offerings.

We hope you will come and join us – all proceeds to the Village Hall.

Greystoke Film Night

Come along for a chuckle! The November film, on Saturday 18 November at 7.00pm in the Village Hall, is What We Did on Our Holiday starring Billy Connolly, David Tennant and Rosamund Pike.

The family head to Scotland to celebrate grandad’s 75^th birthday. The parents are going through a divorce and hope the kids won’t mention it but nothing goes to plan, with funny and heart-warming results.

Tickets are £15.00 each, are non-refundable, and must be bought in advance.

The price also includes a delicious one-pot supper and an ice cream. There will also be a licensed bar to purchase wine, beer and soft drinks.

All profits go towards maintaining and running the swimming pool.

Tickets are available from Greystoke Post Office or online at http://www.GreystokePool.org.uk.

Greystoke Pantomime

The village proudly presents a “not to be missed” production of Cinderella at the Village Hall.

Curtain up at 7.30pm on Thursday 7, Friday 8, and Saturday 9 December.

Fully licensed bar open from 7.00pm and ice creams available at the interval.

Adults £10; under 16s £6.

Tickets on sale (online only).

Go to the events page at the Greystoke Swimming Pool website

Greystoke Village Christmas Pageant

This year the Greystoke Village Christmas Pageant will be held at St. Andrew’s Church on Thursday 14 December at 6.00pm.

Everyone is welcome to watch the children of Greystoke School perform a short Christmas medley on their brass instruments followed by a Christmas Nativity play.

On the evening, there will be mulled wine, mince pies, delicious food and lots of Christmas stalls.

It is an enjoyable evening for all.

All stalls are free and you are very welcome. If you would like to take part, have a stall, or know someone who may be interested, please get in touch with school on 017684 83 572.

Greystoke Bingo

It’s back – Bingo in the Village Hall!

A great sociable evening with prizes galore for all ages. All proceeds to hall funds. Friday 10 and 24 November, 15 December and 26 January. Doors open 6.40pm for 7.00pm start. Refreshments included.

Village collectors will be dropping your way soon for donations of prizes – sweets, biscuits, small gifts and alcohol all appreciated. See you there.

Greystoke Parish Council

We continue to monitor and lobby on speeding issues within the village, and we are grateful to Cllr Judith Derbyshire for her continued support on this.

It is that time of year again when more potholes appear. Just a reminder that these can be reported on Westmorland & Furness HIMS system using: https://westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk/highways-enquiry.

Next year, the Parish Council is proposing a new garden event to replace the old Best Kept Garden competition. We will be discussing this with other community groups within the village. Watch this space.

The next Parish Council meeting is on Tuesday 14 November at 7.00pm in the Village Hall

Sunday 1 October – Morning Praise
Sunday 8 October – Holy Communion
Sunday 15 October – Morning Praise
Sunday 22 October – Holy Communion
Sunday 29 October – Joint Benefice Service (Preacher: Bishop of Penrith)

Our services start at 11.00am, and we will be serving coffee and cake from 10.30am. We look forward to meeting you.

Family Church in Greystoke Village Hall

Starting Sunday 5 November, St. Andrew’s Church will be moving to Greystoke Village Hall for a relaxed, informal service for the whole family.

Starting at 10.30am with fresh coffee and homemade cake, we’ll have a band and kids’ groups.

Family church will be held on the first and third Sunday’s of the month, with our more traditional Holy Communion services remaining in Church on the second and fourth Sundays.

If you’ve not been to church before, why not come and see!

Greystoke Social Club

Monday 2 October – Helen and Hayley from Blencow Forest School will give a talk about their activities
Thursday 19 October – Coach trip to Ambleside followed by afternoon tea in the Village Hall
Monday 6 November – a work in progress
Monday 20 November – a talk by Richard Dixon on Amazing Swifts
Thursday 14 December – Christmas Lunch at Roundthorn Hotel

Our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm, £1 for members, £2 for visitors and includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke WI

Greystoke WI’s September speaker was David Jenkins from Pioneer Food who gave a fascinating talk about his family business. David and his brother Graham are the fifth generation working in the business. Some of the sixth generation are also employed. Even David’s 11 year old son sorts out the drivers’ keys when he has to help his Dad on a Saturday morning. We heard how the business built up from selling pots and pans at an open market at the Guildhall but then diversified into potted meat. The catering took off from there. We heard how the business expanded and how it was a way of life for David’s grandfather and father. They both worked on into their eighties. Now they have a fleet of vans delivering to the catering trade.

Covid was a difficult time as catering shut down in lockdown. Difficult decisions had to be taken, such as shutting down Shepherd’s Inn to concentrate on the Pioneer business.

It was cheering to hear David felt that after Brexit, Covid and inflation, things were gradually getting better. We heard how Pioneer sells food made by local producers. They employ 450 people and have a turnover of nearly £50 million. Not every new venture was a success story. David told us how nobody seemed to want any of the edible straws he bought as plastic was banned. Unfortunately, he has a pallet load to shift!

A food store at Rosehill in Carlisle is open to the public with a coffee shop upstairs. As we were very kindly given vouchers, Greystoke WI members will soon be trekking over there.

Molleen thanked David on behalf of Greystoke WI for his interesting and engaging talk.

Our next meeting is on Thursday 5 October and is our Guest Night. A Ukulele Band will entertain us and there will be light refreshments and a raffle. The Competition will be a musical memento.

If you would like to join us please contact Jennifer Young, Sue Nowson or Val Simpson.

Swimming Pool Draw

Congratulations to the winners of the Greystoke pool monthly draw for August and September.

This is a great fundraiser for the pool and new members for 2024 can join in December … watch this space.

Greystoke Village Hall

The Village Hall committee would like to thank the Parish Council for the kind donation of a projector, which will now be available to hire alongside any hall bookings. The Village Hall is available to hire for events, meetings, classes, parties, etc.

To book or enquire, please call 07758 653 845 or eMail the Village Hall

Greystoke Film Night

We are delighted to announce the 2023/4 series of film nights to be held at the Village Hall throughout this autumn and winter. These are very sociable events and a wonderful way to meet with friends or meet new people.

Tickets are £15.00 each, are non-refundable, and must be bought in advance. The price also includes a delicious one-pot supper and an ice cream. There will also be a licensed bar to purchase wine, beer and soft drinks. All profits go towards maintaining and running the swimming pool. Tickets are available from Greystoke Post Office or online at www.GreystokePool.org.uk.

The first of the series is the Oscar-winning classic Casablanca (U) at 7.00pm on Saturday 14 October. This 1942 American romantic drama is directed by Michael Curtiz, and stars Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid.

Greystoke Pantomime – not to be missed!

Rehearsals have commenced for our production of Cinderella. Performances on Thursday 7, Friday 8 and Saturday 9 December in the Village Hall. Put the dates in your diaries.

Tickets will be available from mid-October.

Affordable Housing

A community initiative was kicked off last year to explore options around community housing. We are delighted to report that the Parish Council is very supportive of this, and has agreed Terms of Reference for a subcommittee to be formed so that the community can start to drive this forward with their input and assistance.

We are currently looking to determine if there is a need or desire for community led housing within the parish of Greystoke.

If you would like to be actively involved helping drive this forward, and have the time to follow through on actions and delivery then we would welcome you on the subcommittee. Please email Corrine or phone 017684 80 565 or 07932 680073 to get involved.

Help Needed

Over the last 40 years Roy Fisher has looked after killing the weeds around the Village Cross and the kerbs around the Village Green, the Village Hall, and bottom of Park Road. He still looks after the top of Park Road, cuts the grass and sees to the two tubs that have flowers in them.

Now, volunteers are sought to tend the flower bed in the middle of the Village Green and the entrance to the car park. We live in a wonderful area so it’s fitting to show the many visitors that we care for our village and like to see it look its best.

Thank You

Edith and I send our thanks for all the goodwill messages on the occasion of our Diamond Wedding and Edith’s 80^th Birthday on the Thursday 31 August and Friday 1 September.

Roy Fisher

Back to the 80’s!!!

Dig out your neon and lace, and join us for a night of 80’s music and mayhem!!

Saturday 7 October at 7:30pm in the Village Hall. No food, just dancing!!!

Tickets are £6, and available from Greystoke Village Stores. For more details contact Laura.

The May 2023 parish council elections for Greystoke were uncontested, your councillors being:

Greystoke

Little Blencow

Johnby

St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services September 2023

• Sunday 3 September – Morning Praise with children’s activities
• Sunday 10 September – Holy Communion
• Sunday 17 September – Morning Praise with children’s activities
• Sunday 24 September – Holy Communion

Our services start at 11.00am, and we will be serving coffee and cake from 10.30am. We look forward to meeting you.

Greystoke Social Club

• Monday 4 September – David Bell will give an illustrated talk entitled Walking the Fells Over the years – 2.00pm, Greystoke Village Hall
• Thursday 28 September – Outing to Dumfries House, leaving the village at 8.30, coach fare £25, 90 mins guided tour and access to the gardens £17.50. To book a seat and for further details contact Shirley Mounsey
• Monday 2 October – Hayley and Helen will give a talk about the Forrest School at Blencow, and Bushcraft.

Our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm, £1 for members, £2 for visitors and includes tea and biscuits.

Macmillan Coffee Morning

The church is pleased once again to host a coffee morning in church in support of Macmillan Cancer Support on Saturday 30 September from 10.00am until 1.00pm – we do hope you will support this worthy cause.

Greystoke Brownies and Guides

Brownies and Guides starts again for the summer term on Monday 11 September. We’ve got a busy term planned with lots of different activities including outdoor fun, baking, pumpkin carving, a cinema trip and more! Plus, we’re also planning a sleepover for Brownies, and maybe a winter camp for Guides.

We welcome girls from a wide area and several schools, so it’s a great opportunity to meet new friends.

We meet in Greystoke Village Hall on Mondays in term time – Brownies (age 7-10) 5.30pm to 7.00pm, Guides (age 10-14) 7.15pm to 8.45pm.

For more information, please contact Georgina Stephenson or register online.

We’re also looking for new volunteers to help with our growing groups. Give me a shout for more details if you’d like to find out more.

Greystoke WI

On 3 August Greystoke WI held our Open Night. We invited guests from the village to join us for cheese and wine. Adam Day, chair of the Parish Council, named the winners of the best gardens in the village. Emma from Fellside Flowers gave a presentation and spoke about how she started her business.

Thank you to the WI Committee and the Parish Council for the preparation that went into making the evening a success.

On Thursday 7 September, the speaker is due to be David Jenkins from Pioneer Food, although this may have to be changed. The competition is an unusual ingredient you have used in your cooking.

If you would like to join us please contact Jennifer Young, Sue Nowson or Val Simpson.

Greystoke Parish Council

Congratulations to all prize winners in this year’s best garden competition. Grateful thanks to our judges Anne Jackson and Jane Shaw who commented how wonderful it was to see so many lovely gardens in one parish, even on a rainy July morning.

The Parish Council is very concerned at the number of cars breaking the speed limit on Icold Road. Data from our Auto Speedwatch device reveals 253 incidents of speeding during June, the fastest of which reached 69mph. We have addressed our concerns with the Police and Crime Commissioner, and Cllr Judith Derbyshire (W&F Unitary Authority) who was in attendance at our last meeting.

The next parish council meeting is Tuesday 12 September at 7.00pm.

Adam Day

Bus Action Group

Thank you to everyone who attended our first two Bus Action Group meetings, it was clear from the high turnout that there is a strong desire for Greystoke and Motherby to be better connected to public transport (the views of those living in Newbiggin are not yet known).

Our next two meetings are Tuesdays 22 August and 19 September in Greystoke Village Hall at 7.00pm.

The agendas, meeting notes and other documents may be found on our shiny new website – with grateful thanks to Greystoke Web Design and Mark Williamson for all their support with this.

For more details please email Pam Wood

20^th Anniversary of Greystoke Hand Bell Ringers

On Saturday 22 July 2023 at 2.00pm we met at the Village Hall to celebrate 20 years of the Greystoke Hand Bell Group. We were well supported by friends and family from Mungrisdale and Greystoke. Tea and cake was served to guests while different teams performed.

Our newest members played numbered tunes. The more experienced members played from music notation. Previous members, including 4 founding members, returned to play Christchurch bells. It sounded as if they had never been away. Some brave members of the audience even had a go at ringing. Finally, all the current members joined together to showcase our current work in progress – Phantom of the Opera.

The bell archive was on display to rekindle memories. We were sorry that not all our previous members could make it back to join us and hope there will be many opportunities for them to revisit us in the future.

Chris Ellison was thanked for starting the whole thing off. Maureen pointed out that the bells would currently be valued at about £16,500. Maureen was thanked for continuing the leadership of the group. We were also very grateful to Terry’s wife, Joan, who manned the teapot.

Speeding Issues Greystoke – We Need Your Help!

If you suffer a near miss on the roads in and around Greystoke, please report it to the Police via calling 101 or emailing 101emails@cumbria.police.uk. Greystoke Parish Council is lobbying both Westmorland and Furness Council, and Cumbria Police to take action on this matter, but to do this near misses need to be reported.

General Road issues (potholes/damaged white lines, damaged kerbs, etc.) should be reported via: https://www.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk/parking-streets-and-transport/streets-roads-and-pavements.

The more reports we get to either Westmorland & Furness or the Police the greater the chance of action there is.

Any queries please contact the Parish Clerk, Becx Carter.

Rob Walker Obituary
On Wednesday 7 June I attended the funeral of Robert (Rob) Walker. Never before have I attended a funeral of one so young – 38 years of age. He now lies beside his father who died some 16 months ago.

Rob was a lovely lad, born in Greystoke, loved by all who knew him, dedicated to his work as a brickie and plasterer and loved his sport (football, darts and golf). I have played with Rob and, only in February, I got details from Appleby Golf Club for him to come and play there. He said we shall have a game together; well we know now that was never going to happen.

Cancer is a terrible thing; it took his father, and his mother, Janice, is a survivor of it. What more can life throw at her? Janice is loved by everyone!

Rob is survived by two elder brothers, Daniel and Mathew.

Rest in peace Rob; you were loved and respected by all who knew you.

Roy Fisher.

Greystoke Social Club

• Monday 3 July – Taffy Thomas, the renowned story teller, will entertain us with tales and stories (more details below)
• Thursday 27 July – Thirsk – leaving the village at 9.00am – tickets £20

Contact Shirley Mounsey to book a seat.

Our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm, £1 for members, £2 for visitors and includes tea and biscuits.

Taffy Thomas Storyteller
We are very lucky to have Taffy Thomas Storyteller coming to Greystoke on Monday 3 July.

Taffy was the first Storyteller Laureate as well as having an MBE for storytelling. He is also an international storyteller having told stories in many countries on four continents. He has a repertoire of over 300 stories and is still collecting.

The monies donated by you all at Mel’s funeral will be paying for some of this as Mel was a big believer in storytelling and Taffy will be telling the children one of Mel’s favourite stories which he told to children in his classes.

Taffy will be at Greystoke School in the morning and with the Social Group in the afternoon. Please come along, everyone will be most welcome to Tea and Tales at the Village Hall at 2pm on the 3rd July to meet Taffy, hear some of his stories and also see his beautiful Storyteller Coat. I have personally known Taffy for around 30 years now and have never heard the same story twice.

For further details, contact Shirley Mounsey.

Swimming Pool Draw
This is a great fundraiser for the pool and new members for 2024 can join in December.

Congratulations to the winners of the Greystoke pool monthly draw for June:

• £20 – Hilary Lawton – 196
• £15 – Isobel Hill – 83
• £10 – Sandi Carruthers – 63
• £5 – L Walton Family – 172
• £5 – Kath Mather – 102
• £5 – P & A Binks – 08
• £5 – Val Allison – 64

Greystoke WI
Greystoke WI welcomed Daisy Rocke as our speaker on Thursday 1 June.

On Thursday 6 July we have a trip out to visit Fellside Flowers, Long Marton. £10 per person, including refreshments.

On Thursday 3 August we have our Open Night, where we welcome guests from the village. Emma from Fellside Flowers will show slides and give a talk about how she started her business. The competition will be flowers in an eggcup or a teacup.

The best kept garden presentation will take place at this meeting.

If you would like to join us please contact Jennifer Young, Sue Nowson or Val Simpson.

Bus Action Group
An initial meeting to gauge the demand for a regular bus service through the village is scheduled for Thursday 29 June at 7.00pm in the Village Hall. This meeting is open to neighbouring villages with or without a regular bus service.

Please get in touch with me if you would like to know more about this, please eMail Pam Tester.

Roy’s Reminisce
On Tuesday 16 May I asked for nominations for the Greystoke Parish Council Chairman’s role. I am now free of all my commitments on committees and, for the first time in 51 years, my diary is blank.

I have had the honour of working with some fantastic people, and together we have, I believe, done Greystoke proud in raising hundreds of thousands of pounds, not only for Greystoke, but for local charities as well. It started many years ago when they wanted a cancer scanner at Carlisle Infirmary. We got to know the people who ran it very well and when it was installed had a personal tour of how it worked.

I was asked to join the Village hall committee in 1972 and also asked if I would be the assistant Secretary for the Swimming Pool project as the Secretary at the time, the late Martha Clarke, wanted to step down when the pool opened in 1973. She had done tremendous work in raising money for a good number of years as there was no swimming pool in the area, not even Penrith. I took over from her and was secretary for 17 years.

The late Stafford and Gracia Howard, who lived in Greystoke Castle, were also a great help to our Village organisations giving a 99 year lease on the playing field, and Stafford was also on the committee. Mrs Howard was the Chairman of the School governors and also on the Village Hall committee. We held Country Fairs at the castle and I was Chairman of the sports committee and we held a bonfire and fireworks event every November for 21 years with the castle floodlit in the background – what a tremendous sight, with some 40 people helping on the night and raising thousands of pounds to be used for the sports day and giving some of the profit to local organisations.

We did sponsored walks, bike rides, autumn fairs, swimming galas, chip suppers, car treasure hunts, valentine and charity balls, disco dances, open gardens, scarecrow trails and many other fund raising events to keep our village amenities ticking over.

I was also a Director and Chairman of Keswick Golf Club for about 10 years. My highlight was giving CPR to my fellow golfer who had a heart attack and I managed to bring him back to life some 8 years ago and he is still with us today.

I was the Greystoke Ward Councillor on Eden District Council for 14 years, Chairman of that in 2004, and attended one of the Queens garden parties 10 years ago, the day the young soldier Lee Rigby was murdered on the streets of London. I was the Licensing Committee chairman for 12 years and on the Cumbria Playing Fields Committee for 18 years until it was disbanded. I was also a football referee for 15 years and have played darts all my life – and still am.

My high point was meeting and getting married to my wife Edith who was born in Greystoke and is one of only a handful of people who can say they still live here. At the end of August we shall have been married 60 years. I have Edith and my family to thank for allowing me to have been involved in so many things with so many tremendous people.

I have been employed all my life working with the Farming fraternity with a big corporation in animal health and chemicals for farmers, then in January 1990 I started on my own employing one person and a part time secretary for 10 years, then sold out in July 2000 as foot and mouth devastated our area in February 2001.

I thank you for your co-operation and the journey I have shared with you. I should say my biggest disappointment was Story Homes getting away with only 6 affordable homes in Fawn Meadows when they should have been 12, and my most pleasing moment getting planning permission on an old quarry the Parish council owned at Blencow when the planning officers were so against it which we sold for over £100,000.

Roy Fisher

Latest News and What’s On in and around Greystoke in June 2023

St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services June 2023

• Sunday 4 June – Holy Communion
• Sunday 11 June – Morning Praise with Children’s Activities
• Sunday 18 June – Holy Communion
• Sunday 25 June – Morning Praise with Children’s Activities

Our services start at 11.00am, and we will be serving coffee and cake from 10.30am. We look forward to meeting you.

Greystoke Altar Frontal

Greystoke’s community altar frontal The Trinity is complete. Thanks to the countless people of all ages who made leaves.

For all those who took part and the whole village community, we are planning a dedication and celebration for this on Sunday 11 June at the 11.00am service. Please come!

Greystoke Social Club

• Monday 5 June – Defibrillators and CPR – a talk and demonstration by Sue Wallace
• Thursday 29 June – Whitby – leaving the village at 8.30am – tickets £20
• Monday 3 July – Taffy Thomas, the renowned story teller, will entertain us with tales and stories
• Thursday 27 July – Thirsk – leaving the village at 9.00am – tickets £20

Contact Shirley Mounsey to book a seat to Whitby or Thirsk.

Our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm, £1 for members, £2 for visitors and includes tea and biscuits.

Father’s Day Cake and Coffee

Take a break from DIY!

Bring your dad, your uncle, your grandad, your son, or come along and celebrate fathers that are no longer with us, on Sunday 18 June between 10.00am and 12.00am in the Village Hall.

Proceeds to the Village Hall.

Swimming Pool Draw

Congratulations to the winners of the Greystoke pool monthly draw for May:

• £20 – T & C James – 36
• £15 – B & S Morgan – 232
• £10 – Moira Dudson – 41
• £5 – Lucy Fawcett – 94
• £5 – S & K Brown – 230
• £5 – Hugh Taylor – 02
• £5 – Tim Nicol – 07

Greystoke WI

Greystoke WI’s May speaker was Jennifer Young who writes under the pen name Jo Allen. We heard that she had enjoyed writing from childhood onwards, spurred on by like-minded friends. She began by writing fan fiction using the characters from Lord of the Rings then progressed to spy thrillers around the age of 14. The People’s Friend was the first magazine to publish one of Jennifer’s stories. Jennifer described how she eventually found an agent and then a winning formula with her police procedurals set in the Lake District. One of this series, Death on a Monday Night, begins in a WI meeting when the lights go out and subsequently a body is found on the floor

Jennifer took us through her writing process which can involve walking in the castle grounds, riding her bike or sitting in her greenhouse. She also asked us to think about why we write. Some reasons covered were for emotional well-being, to record history and to give pleasure. The recording of history sparked memories of relatives who had written about their war experiences.

It was interesting to hear about the ups and downs of being an author. The use of slides made the talk even more engaging. It took Jennifer many years and much determination to achieve her aim of becoming a published writer.

After Jennifer’s talk we shared a glass of bubbly, drank a toast to King Charles and Queen Camilla and enjoyed the challenge of Sue’s Royal Quiz.

Our speaker in June is Daisy Rocke who will demonstrate flower arrangements and a talk about her shop. The competition is a flower in any medium except photo.

If you would like to join us please contact Jennifer Young, Sue Nowson or Val Simpson.

Greystoke Coronation Celebrations

A big thank you to all who helped make the Coronation celebration an enjoyable village event. The Procession and Crowning, Royal Hat competition and Family Races, and Bring & Share Afternoon Tea were all a huge success.

Participants, bakers, spectators, and volunteers all helped ensure a great day was had by all.

We couldn’t have done it without you.

Greystoke Village Hall Committee

Greystoke Christmas Pantomime

Due to take place on Thursday 7 to Friday 9 December 2023.

Casting for all parts early summer: details to follow.

To find out more or if you’re interested in a role on stage or behind the scenes please contact Maureen Hardy or Stephen Nicol.

Greystoke Pool (GDSA)

The 50th summer season has started well. At the start of May, there were over 120 adult and 13 family members. In addition, 65 people had registered to volunteer with us. This just shows the importance of the pool for the local community. We have space for more swimmers and non-swimmers, so don’t be shy – come for a swim, a coffee or join the volunteer army.

Reminder of times:

• School term Weekdays: 3.00pm – 6.00pm
• School holidays and all weekends: 1.00pm – 6.00pm
  (two sessions: 1.00pm – 3.15pm and 3.45pm – 6.00pm)

Adult swimming (season ticket holders):

• 6.00am – 11.00am
• 6.00pm – 8.00pm everyday

The more, the merrier!

Check our website or eMail us for more information.

Bus Action Group

Thank you to everyone that replied to my advert in April’s New Together and to all those that have made helpful suggestions so far as to how we might connect Greystoke, Newbiggin and Motherby up to the main bus route.

In order to be a stakeholder, I would like to form a Bus Action Group with the aim of coordinating efforts across these three villages in a formal way.

Please get in touch with me (Pam.) if you would like to know more about this.

St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services May 2023

• Sunday 7 May – Holy Communion
• Sunday 14 May – Morning Praise
• Sunday 21 May – Holy Communion
• Sunday 28 May – Morning Praise

Our services start at 11.00am, and we serve cake and coffee or tea from 10.30am onward. We would love you to join us.

Services are now being held in the nave of the church, the tent having been removed for the summer.

St Andrew’s Plant Fair
St Andrew’s Church is organising its annual Plant Fair on Saturday 20 May in the village hall from 10.00am to 3.00pm, to raise funds for the church. The funds will go towards the cost of insuring the church so that both St Andrew’s and Penruddock churches remain open.

Plants will be sold outside the village hall, and inside there will be a café selling soup, scones, drinks and cakes, a home produce stall, in-door plants and a Tombola.

So as the weather is now getting a little warmer and spring is in the air, and we are able to begin to get into the garden and split plants and sow seeds, please could you think of us and donate any excess plants. If you have plants to donate please contact Shirley.

If you have time to spare we are always pleased to see new people and for any extra help so let Shirley know if you are able to help. Or please just bring yourself and support us and be part of a sociable, enjoyable village community event.

Greystoke Altar Frontal
Greystoke’s community altar frontal The Trinity is complete. Thanks to the countless people of all ages who made leaves. For all those who took part and the whole village community, we are planning a dedication and celebration for this on Sunday 11 June at the 11.00am service. Please come!

Greystoke Social Club
Thursday 25 May – Outing to Hetland Garden Centre and the Devil’s Porridge Museum Departure at 9.00am from Greystoke Village centre. Contact Shirley on 017684 80430 to book a seat – price £20, note that there is a charge for admission to the museum.

• Monday 5 June – Defibrillators and CPR – a talk and demonstration by Sue Wallace
• Thursday 29 June – Outing to Whitby

Our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm, £1 for members, £2 for visitors and includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke Brownies and Guides
Greystoke Brownies and Guides meet on Monday evenings during term time.

With both units growing in size, we’d love to welcome new volunteers to help us give the girls even more great opportunities! We’d love to hear from enthusiastic, fun and creative potential volunteers! Alternatively, if you have a skill or interest and would like to share your passion with us, we’d love to hear from you!

This term we’ll be taking advantage of the light nights and (fingers crossed) better weather, so will be out and about as much as possible, practising our fire lighting, open fire cooking, tent pitching, plus tracking, shelter building and more! We welcome girls from all the surrounding villages and schools. Brownies is for girls aged 7-10, and Guides 10-14.

See more and register (for girls or volunteers) or call Gina 07776 010 437.

Greystoke Parish Council
The next meeting of the Greystoke Parish Council will be on Tuesday 16 May in the Village Hall at 7.30pm when a new Parish Council will be put in place. Before this meeting gets underway, I intend to give a summary of the highs and lows that I have been through in the last 44 years.

Not enough people have put their names foreword to serve on the Parish Council so the people who have will have to ask parishioners who they think would be likely candidates to serve on the Council; a Council term is 4 years.

A new Parish Council Clerk will also be there to take over from Rachael Kelly who has moved on to pastures new.

A new footpath has been put in place from Greystoke to Greystoke Gill road end – goodness knows what the cost would be!

There has been no word back from Alexandra Howard regarding the offer we made him for the Car Park.

Roy Fisher (Chairman)

Greystoke WI
Greystoke WI had its presentation to outgoing President Hazel McGrath. To show their thanks for her long term of office, members gave Hazel an engraved vase, a beautifully covered book of messages, a cake which reflected her love of sewing, some garden tokens and a voucher to spend at The Brantwood. Hazel thanked the whole group and the committee and gave them gifts to show her appreciation.

Val Corbett then spoke about gardens to visit in the North. She gave us a handout of gardens which can be visited in or near our area. She began with Lowther and gave tips on when is the best time to visit to see the daffodils and what time of day to arrive to see the courtyard hornbeams lit up in the winter. Her comments were supported by beautiful photos. She also mentioned Larch Cottage and advised us to visit on a day when the chapel can be seen. She particularly recommended Yewbarrow and Gresgarth. Other gardens in Yorkshire, Northumberland and Scotland were also mentioned. Her last recommendation was to visit Dumfries House, owned by King Charles, the gardens of which he has transformed.

On Thursday 4 May, our speaker is Carol Marsdon, retired teacher and vicar. She will talk to us about her Lancaster childhood. We are asked to make a crown or a tiara or a coat of arms as the evening is so close to the Coronation.

If you would like to join us please contact Jennifer Young, Sue Nowson or Val Simpson.

Greystoke Hand Bell Ringers
On Saturday 8 April, Greystoke Hand Bell Ringers played outside the Boot and Shoe in glorious sunshine. We wanted to thank all those of you who came to support us and who gave so generously. More than £60 was raised which will be spent on new (hopefully easier) music. Thank you again.

Greystoke Christmas Pantomime
Due to take place on Thursday 7 to Friday 9 December 2023

Casting for all parts early summer: details to follow.

To find out more or if you’re interested in a role on stage or behind the scenes please contact Maureen Hardy or Stephen Nicol.

Greystoke Pool – 50th Season
Our pool opened on 19th May 1973 after several years of fundraising in the village. It has been a community project ever since, being run by volunteers for locals and visitors to enjoy every summer. Celebrations to mark the anniversary are being planned including a Swimming Gala for Greystoke and Penruddock Schools, an It’s A Knockout competition, a party for the Buy a Brick sponsors and a Swim n Brunch Bun morning. Details will be online and on posters around the village.

The pool is more than a place to swim.

Many locals volunteer at the pool, some don’t swim. They do it to meet people and contribute to village life. There are lots of volunteer teams so there’s bound to be one that suits you: we have volunteers in the cafe (and assistants are needed on busy days, if you don’t want to run it by yourself), we have people testing the water quality and a maintenance team, fundraisers, event organisers … if you can’t join the pool team you can still support the pool by helping at the Beer Festival in September, buying a ticket for the 100 club or joining the team running Film Nights during the winter. Simply attending the fundraising events we run helps!

The open-air heated pool, playground and playing fields are a real asset for the village. We owe those who developed and ran them in the past our thanks. Our job now, as residents of Greystoke, is to keep the pool running for many years to come. Do join us whether you are new or have lived here for years, everyone is welcome.

Details can be found on our website or Facebook page ( Greystoke & District Swimming Pool)) or … just call in to the pool during opening hours for a chat to find out more.

Season: May to early September

• Public sessions: Weekends: 1.00pm – 6.00pm
• Weekdays in school term: 3.00pm – 6.00pm
• Weekdays in school holidays: 1.00pm – 6.00pm

Adult season ticket holders have access 6.00am – 11.00am and 6.00pm – 8.00pm (rules apply). Buy adult and family season tickets online.

Sue Richardson, Chairperson
Greystoke & District Sports Association Registered Charity No. 1177906

St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services April 2023

• Sunday 2 April – Holy Communion with distribution of Palm Crosses
• Sunday 9 April – EASTER DAY CELEBRATION with HOLY COMMUNION
• Sunday 16 April – Holy Communion
• Sunday 22 April – Morning Praise
• Sunday 30 April – Benefice Service at All Saints Penruddock

All our services start at 11.00am and, at Greystoke, coffee and cake is served from 10.30am. We would love to see you.

Holy Week

• Palm Sunday – at the 11.00am service palm crosses will be distributed to remember Christ’s triumphant entry to Jerusalem riding humbly on a donkey and welcomed by waving palms.
• Maundy Thursday – at 7.00pm a service will be held in St Andrew’s to commemorate Christ’s institution of the Holy Communion and his command that we should become servants. Martin will wash the feet of those who wish, as Christ did for his disciples, and celebrate Holy Communion with the words that Christ gave us.
• Good Friday – at 2.00pm there is an opportunity to join with our fellow Christians at the church of St Kentigern in Mungrisdale to quietly contemplate the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross.
• Cross of Witness and Celebration – a bare wooden cross will remain on the village green during Good Friday and Holy Saturday as a witness to the sacrifice Christ made on the cross. You are then invited to add daffodils to the cross on Easter Day to mark his triumphant resurrection. If you do not have any daffodils some will be provided at the foot of the cross, please use them.
• Easter Day – at the 11.00am service we will celebrate Christ’s resurrection in word, song and with Holy Communion. Please join us and then mark the day by decorating the cross on the green. HALLELUJAH HE IS RISEN INDEED!!!!

St Andrew’s Plant Fair
St Andrew’s Church is organising its annual Plant Fair on Saturday 20 May in the village hall from 10.00am to 3.00pm, to raise funds for the church. The funds will go towards the cost of insuring the church so that both St Andrew’s and Penruddock churches remain open.

Plants will be sold outside the village hall, and inside there will be a café selling soup, scones, drinks and cakes, a home produce stall, in-door plants and a Tombola.

So as the weather is now getting a little warmer and Spring is in the air, and we are able to begin to get into the garden and split plants and sow seeds, please could you think of us and donate any excess plants. If you have plants to donate please contact Shirley.

If you have time to spare we are always pleased to see new people and for any extra help so let Shirley know if you are able to help. Or please just bring yourself and support us and be part of a sociable, enjoyable village community event.

Greystoke Altar Frontal
Greystoke’s community altar frontal The Trinity is complete. Thanks to the countless people of all ages who made leaves. For all those who took part and the whole village community, we are planning a dedication and celebration for this on Sunday 11 June at the 11.00am service. Please come!

Greystoke Social Club

• Monday 3 April – The Orkney Isles – a talk with slides by Margaret Rinder
• Monday 17 April – Annual General Meeting, followed by a quiz
• Thursday 25 May – Outing to Hetland Garden Centre and the Porridge Museum
• Monday 5 June – Defibrillators and CPR – a talk and demonstration by Sue Wallace

Our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm, £1 for members, £2 for visitors and includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke Village Hall
Join us at the village hall and playing fields on Saturday 6 May for the celebration of the Coronation. Bring the family and a plate of food and take part in the entertainment. Sports on the Field, Crowning of the village May Queen, Crown competition – more details to follow when the timings of the coronation are announced.

Greystoke Parish Council
The next Parish Council meeting is on Tuesday 11 April at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. This will be my last meeting as I am standing down in May after serving the Parish Council for 44 years, 18 as Chairman and 18 before that as vice Chairman. A number of Councillors are standing down as well. You will have to have your nomination in 3 weeks before polling day on Thursday 4 May. Keep watching the Greystoke page on facebook for up to date information.

The Parish council has put an offer in to Alexandra Howard to buy the car park.

Roy Fisher (Chairman)

Greystoke WI
Greystoke WI had its AGM in March. Hazel McGrath stepped down as President after many years in office. The local Federation believes Hazel first took on the role in December 1997. There were twelve years off because of other commitments but other than that Hazel has been our WI President. We are all extremely grateful to Hazel for her leadership and friendship and wish her well as she pursues her other interests. We feel sure that we haven’t heard the last of her little ideas. Three members have agreed to share the role – Valerie Simpson, Jennifer Young and Sue Nowson. We were also pleased to welcome Ros and Janet onto the committee.

Our speaker that night was David Bell who entertained us with a fascinating slide show about his trip to China.

On Thursday 6 April our speaker will be Val Corbett who contributes to Cumbria Life. She will be telling us about Northern Gardens to visit. The competition will be Your photograph of a garden.

If you would like to join us please contact either of our three joint Presidents: Jennifer Young, Sue Nowson or Val Simpson.

Greystoke Swimming Pool Draw
Pool Draw 2023 – Final figures – 228 members, £1710 raised for the pool!

Thank You all so much for your support!

March winners are:

• £20 (207) Steve and Lesley Grisedale
• £15 (43) Liz Forrest
• £10 (100) The Wallaces
• £5 (171) Helen Ledger
• £5 (24) Keith Mandale
• £5 (141) Pauline Douthwaite
• £5 (148) Lyn and Dick Mol

Public Transport to Greystoke, Newbiggin and Motherby
Pam Wood is exploring ways these villages could be better connected to the public transport system. If you have a strong view about this or good idea for it, please contact Pam.

Coram Shakespeare Schools Festival: Greystoke School
Twenty-three children ranging from Year 2 to Year 6 from Greystoke Primary School took part in the world’s largest youth drama festival at Theatre by the Lake on Tuesday 7 March. The festival was arranged by Coram Shakespeare School’s Foundation, a cultural education charity that gives young people across the UK the confidence to succeed. The festival featured a series of abridged Shakespeare plays performed by local schools.

Greystoke School’s children performed a wonderful version of Julius Caesar. Shakespeare’s words were brought to life in a dynamic way through a variety of spoken Shakespearian text, clever choreography, a stirring soundtrack and outstanding acting from the youngest to the oldest child. The play demonstrated a wide range of atmospheres, from the opening celebration of Caesar’s arrival into Rome to the brutal death of Caesar himself, who had decided to attend the Senate, despite the ‘Beware the Ides of March’ warning from the soothsayer. Dances punctuated the performance with the soundtrack including Prokofiev’s Dance of the Knights, Fall Out Boy’s Centuries and finally Disturbed’s haunting version of Sound of Silence which was the backtrack of the epic slow motion battle scene between the forces of Brutus and Mark Antony.

After a full tech and dress rehearsal in the afternoon, feedback from Shakespeare School’s Festival staff was excellent and really gave the children confidence to give their very best performance. The sound technicians were equally complimentary and even said that the children projected better than some professional actors. Parents got the chance to attend the final performance on Tuesday evening and were completely blown away with the talent shown on the stage.

Wow! Truly exceptional Greystoke Primary School. A wonderfully talented group of children delivering a very challenging play brilliantly.

• Sunday 5 March – Holy Communion
• Sunday 12 March – Morning Praise
• Sunday 19 March – Holy Communion
• Sunday 26 March – Morning Praise

All our services start at 11.00am. Coffee and cake is served at 10.30am before the service. We would love you to join us.

Holy Week
Holy Week for 2023 begins on Palm Sunday, 2 April, and concludes on Easter Day, 9 April.

Full details of how Holy Week is to be celebrated will be in the April edition of New Together.

Warm Spot – St Andrew’s Tent
The Spot opened for 11 days, however there was little demand so it has been closed.

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is grateful to the Cumbria Community Foundation for their support of a grant to offset the costs, and the grant has now been returned to the Foundation.

The PCC would also like to thank Maureen, Elaine, Janet, Abi, Gill, Sally, Sue, Stella, Fran and Marianne who all gave their time willingly to man the Spot whilst it was open.

Greystoke Social Club

• Monday 6 March – TBC
• Monday 20 March – How to give CPR and how to use the Defibrillator

Our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm, £1 for members, £2 for visitors and includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke Parish Council
The next Parish Council meeting is on Tuesday 28 February at 7.30pm.

On Saturday 1 April, we shall sadly say goodbye to Eden District Council, as we shall then be a unitary Authority which combines Eden DC, South Lakeland, and Barrow, and we shall be called Westmorland and Furness.

On Thursday 4 May there shall be Parish Council elections, so now is the time for you to put your name forward to become a Greystoke Parish Councillor. I for one am standing down after serving on it for 44 years.

As we are warded, we need 6 councillors for Greystoke, 1 for Johnby, and 1 for Little Blencow. You will need to have your application in to the council 3 weeks before Election Day.

Roy Fisher (Chairman)

Greystoke WI
Greystoke WI celebrated the New Year in January with a meal at the Brantwood where we thanked Norman Lund and Andy Nicol for their help in revamping the WI garden. Hazel announced that she would be stepping down as President.

At our February meeting, we welcomed Sandra Pringle of Woolsty Crafts. After speaking about very precious memories of crafting from childhood onwards, Sandra gave us a lot of practical advice about knitting and crochet. She was very informative about how to judge the amount of wool you need and how to use yarns together to make thicker wool. We were shown some heirloom items and a beautifully soft heavy jumper which Sandra had knitted for her husband. Having dealt with yarn, she then turned her attention to patchwork and we were shown different designs accomplished in different ways with jelly rolls and layer cakes (!) They were all very beautiful. Her enthusiasm, energy and creativity was obvious and infectious.

In March we have our AGM followed by a slide show from David Bell. The competition is your photo or painting of The Lake District.

If you would like to join us please phone Hazel.

Greystoke Swimming Pool Film Night
The final film night of this winter series will be on Saturday 18 March in Greystoke Village Hall, starting at 7.00pm. Tickets £15 include a hot supper, English Lakes ice cream and a licensed bar. Available online and via Andy in the Post Office.

Knives Out is a 2019 American mystery film written, directed, and co-produced by Rian Johnson. It follows master detective Benoit Blanc investigating the death of the patriarch of a wealthy, dysfunctional family. The film features an ensemble cast which includes Daniel Craig as Blanc, with Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, and Christopher Plummer.

A Message from Shirley
I would just like to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone in the area.

I have been overwhelmed and totally surprised by the number of cards, with such lovely sentiments of Mel. Also the many flowers and plants, besides all the invitations to pop in for a coffee. I will take you up on these offers when all the admin side is complete.

Thank you, thank you all again … these are and will be a great comfort to me.

• Sunday 5 February – Holy Communion
• Sunday 12 February – Morning Praise
• Sunday 19 February – Service of Holy Baptism
• Wednesday 22 February – Ash Wednesday Service (7.00pm)
• Sunday 26 February – Morning Praise

All our services start at 11.00am, with the exception this month of the Ash Wednesday service. Coffee and cake is served at 10.30am before the service. We would love you to join us.

Warm Spot – St Andrew’s Tent
Come and take advantage of the warmth in the church tent on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10.00am until 3.00pm.

Read, chat, sew, meet your friends, play games, do jigsaws.

Tea and Coffee are available free, and a microwave if you want to heat some food.

Many thanks to Cumbria Community Foundation whose grant has enabled this to happen.

No need to book, just turn up.

St. Andrew’s Church Greystoke Tower Lighting Fund
On behalf of the PCC and everyone at St. Andrew’s Church, Greystoke, can I thank everyone for their kind donations to the Church Tower Illumination Fund. Your kindness is truly appreciated. Everyone will receive a personal note of thanks (when Covid allows!) Many thanks once again. Di Hetherington.

Greystoke Social Club

• Monday 20 February – a talk by Sue Kane on Photography
• Monday 6 March – TBC
• Monday 20 March – How to give CPR and how to use the Defibrillator

Our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm, £1 for members, £2 for visitors and includes tea and biscuits.

Poppy Appeal
Greystoke and the surrounding area raised a magnificent total of £937.36 for the 2022 Poppy Appeal. Johnby raised £32.24, Greystoke Gyll, £71.50.

We would like to thank everyone who contributed, especially the poppy collectors.

Village Hall says Farewell
The village hall committee would like to extend its sincere thanks to Jan Walker, who recently retired from the role as caretaker after 25+ years.

The effort and time Jan dedicated to the role, helped by husband Eddy and her children has been very much appreciated.

Jan has been an asset to the hall with her willingness to lend a hand at village events and be involved with the community.

We send her our best wishes.

Greystoke Village Hall Hire
To make a booking, the new number to call is 07758 653 845. Our new caretaker, Anthony, will be happy to assist you.

You can also send an eMail.

Greystoke Parish Council
The next Parish Council meeting is on Tuesday 11 April and is in the Village Hall at 7.30pm.

The Parish Council is looking for a joiner or handy man to repair the Parish notice boards at Johnby, Little Blencow and Greystoke.

The Speed Camera coming into Greystoke from Penrith is now working so beware of that.

The Greystoke and Motherby Charities gave out 157 gifts this year each of the households receiving £15. To qualify for this gift, a lady living on her own must be 60 years of age, and a man and wife or partner must be 65 and must have lived in the Parish Council area for 12 months. This includes Motherby, which is no longer in Greystoke Parish Council area. If you did not receive an envelope and do qualify then please let me know or one of the other Councillors. Ring me on 017684 83 457.

Roy Fisher (Chairman)

Greystoke and District Sports Association (The Swimming Pool)
AGM – Tuesday 31 January at 7.30pm in the swimming pool café.

Your pool needs you! Greystoke pool is a great success, even in these difficult times. We have an experienced, enthusiastic, hard working committee but too few people taking on too many roles. To make sure the pool opens this year we need help. The key roles of Chairman, Deputy Chair, Maintenance team leader and assistant to the treasurer are all needed at the AGM. We welcome anyone interested in joining the committee to keep our pool open. Come down to see what we have done this year and our plans for the future. We’ll provide the drinks and nibbles, hope to see you there!

A big thanks to a group of parents who have come forward to formed a Playground sub-committee to improve the facilities for local children.

Swimming Pool Fundraiser
Saturday 11 February at 7.30pm in the Village Hall – come and dance the night away to Soul Junction, an exciting 8 piece band. Licensed bar.

Tickets available online on our website.

Greystoke Pool and Playpark
Thank you to each and every one of you who choose to support the monthly draw which raises much needed funds for maintaining the swimming pool, children’s play area and sports pitch. It really does help!

The draw runs January to December and the one-off £15 fee gets you entered into each monthly draw for cash prizes and the bonus Christmas draw, with lots of cash prizes up to £50. It’s not too late to sign up for 2023.

December’s winners are:

• £20 – Joan Handley – 107
• £15 – Lucy & Rob Fawcett – 94
• £10 – Ian Forrester – 19
• £5 – Jo Parsons – 36
• £5 – Susan Dowie – 217
• £5 – Catherine Williams – 09

There were 53 winners in the bonus Christmas draw (too many to list here) each winning a cash prize ranging from £5 to £50. The full list of winners can be found on our website.

Congratulations to Matt Nicol, Ross and Tricha, Val Allinson, and Jim and Linda Young, who each won £50.

Swimming Pool Café
Our sociable café is continuing through the winter months thanks to our volunteers.

Join us for lovely soup, coffee and cakes from 12.00pm to 2.00pm in our warm café.

Greystoke Swimming Pool Film Night
The final film night of this winter series will be on Saturday 18 March in Greystoke Village Hall, starting at 7.00pm. Tickets £15 include a hot supper, English Lakes ice cream and a licensed bar. Available online and via Andy in the Post Office.

Triangle of Sadness – In Ruben Östlund’s wickedly funny Palme d’Or winner, social hierarchy is turned upside down, revealing the tawdry relationship between power and beauty. Celebrity model couple, Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean), are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-rich, helmed by an unhinged boat captain (Woody Harrelson). What first appeared Instagrammable ends catastrophically, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island and fighting for survival.

• Sunday 4 December – Holy Communion
• Sunday 11 December – Morning Praise
• Sunday 18 December – Holy Communion
• Sunday 25 December – Christmas Day (see details below)

Our services commence, except for Christmas Day, at 11.00am, and you are very welcome to join us for refreshments before the service, served from 10.30am.

St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services January 2023

• Sunday 1 January – Holy Communion
• Sunday 8 January – Morning Praise
• Sunday 15 January – Holy Communion
• Sunday 22 January – Morning Praise
• Sunday 29 January – Benefice Service

Our services commence at 11.00am, and you are very welcome to join us for refreshments before the service, served from 10.30am.

Christmas Arrangements
Details of the times, location and form of service can be found in the New Together magazine. We hope that you will be able to join us on at least one of these opportunities.

Come wrapped up to sing carols around the village, come in good voice to hear the Christmas Story told through word and carol at the Carol Service, come full of expectation to the Christingle, come to celebrate Christ’s birth at Midnight Mass or come to share what Santa might have brought you on Christmas morning in St Andrew’s.

Greystoke Social Club

• Monday 5 December – bring a plate of Christmas fare. Come with a suggestion for a party game, as we welcome Christmas early.
• Thursday 15 December – Christmas Lunch at the Roundthorn Country House Hotel
• Monday 16 January – The first meeting of the year – what did Santa bring you?

Our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm, £1 for members, £2 for visitors and includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke WI
Greystoke WI’s November speaker, Ros Downing, gave a fascinating and entertaining talk about the history of biscuits from the weevil-filled hard tack variety used on board ships to the present day brands with which we are familiar. We heard how they were originally mainly for the rich and dipped in wine for dessert. After the industrial revolution they became mass produced by companies with very famous names such as Carrs, Jacobs, and Huntley and Palmer. Ros also traced how these companies were amalgamated so that there are very few independent biscuit makers now. Tunnocks is one, which raised a bit of a cheer. She left us with the thought that, during lockdown, the sale of McVities’ chocolate digestives rose by 71% which just goes to show we were doing a lot of comfort eating!

At our Thursday 1 December meeting there will be a light supper, carols played by the Hand bells and the competition of the gift wrapped parcel with a value of up to £5. There is no meeting in January but there is a meal at the Brantwood on Thursday 20 January.

If you would like to join us please phone Hazel.

Greystoke Parish Council
The next Greystoke Parish Council meetings are Tuesday 6 December and Tuesday 24 January.

The Crocuses have now all been planted 4,500 in total by Roy Fisher, Mike Mandale, Janice Wetherall-Timmins, Peter and Anne Trueman, Robert and Rachael Ashburner, Emma Neilson, John and Lucy Piele, Adam Fawcett, Richard Sealby, Linda Edna and John Cannon, Violet Heggie, Shirley Mounsey, Pearl Mitchell, John Danks, Alan and Janet Buckley, Christine and Norman Bell, Hazel and Martin McGrath, Natalie and Karel Gegor, Helen and Peter Hammond, Georgina Bayles and her Guides and Brownies. Funding was gained by a donation of £500 off Story Holmes, £150 off Rowley’s of Blencow Hall and the remainder from Greystoke Parish Council, making it up to £830 in total.

Thanks was expressed to all the people who have looked after the Village Flower tubs which shows that the village is cared for.

May I wish you, on behalf of Greystoke Parish Council, all the best for Christmas and the New Year.

Roy Fisher (Chairman)

Village Hall Bingo
Friday 11 November saw a packed village hall for our first bingo since 2019. Over £300 was raised for hall funds, and all ages enjoyed a prize galore evening.

Our Christmas Bingo is on Friday 9 December, with festive refreshments, and Friday 27 January is our last of the season. All start at 7.00pm.

The bingo would not happen without all the generous prize donations made by Greystoke residents so a big thank you to all and to Neaum for supplying delicious sausage rolls.

Swimming Pool Maintenance Session
Please come down and help keep the pool area tidy and maintained between 10.00am and 12.00pm on Saturday 10 December. All help grateful received!

Swimming Pool Café
Come and keep warm over winter in our café, serving soup, cake and hot drinks on Tuesdays, 12.00 to 2.00pm.

Swimming Pool Draw
The swimming pool monthly draw is a fundraiser for the pool and runs from January to December each year. In 2022, we had 206 members and raised a whopping £1548 – let’s see if we can raise even more this year!

It’s simple! Join the draw for a one-off fee of £15 which this buys you a number that is entered into the monthly draws and the Christmas bonus draw which has cash prizes up to £50. This year we have £765 Christmas cash to give away.

Payment is due in December. For existing members, there is no need to do anything as we will contact you automatically.

To join and be included for 2023 contact Emma Nielsen.

To our loyal pool draw supporters, thank you. The committee is always working hard to keep the pool open and it is pleasing to know we have so many people who are helping us achieve this goal. Your continued support is much appreciated.

November winners are:

• £20 – Catherine Williams – 09
• £15 – Hugh Taylor – 02
• £10 – Paul and Jean Bridge – 211
• £5 – Simon and Trish Hawkyard – 188
• £5 – Les Nanson – 119
• £5 – Tony and Ann Royle – 78
• £5 – Max and Becca – 60

Greystoke Film Night
We are delighted to announce our next two Film Nights of the winter which will be held in the village hall at 7.00pm.

The Phantom of the Open

This is the story of Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist, who manages to gain entry to the 1976 British Open Golf Championship qualification round despite being a complete novice.

This will be shown on Saturday 3 December.

Top Gun: Maverick

After more than 30 years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. Training a detachment of graduates for a special assignment, Maverick must confront the ghosts of his past and his deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who choose to fly it.

This will be shown on Saturday 21 January (a week later than previously advertised).

Tickets £15 from Andy in the Post Office and includes a delicious one pot supper, an English Lakes ice cream and a licensed bar. All welcome. Proceeds to the Swimming Pool.

Greystoke Village Christmas Pageant
For the first time in two years, on Thursday 15 December at 6.00pm, the children and staff of Greystoke School are really looking forward to celebrating the Nativity story with friends and families in St. Andrew’s Church, Greystoke. Until the COVID lockdowns, the Greystoke Village Christmas Pageant had been a long standing tradition where we all came together to celebrate this special story.

Plans for mulled wine, mince pies, hot sausage sandwiches and lots of Christmas stalls are already underway but we would really like to reach out and invite anyone who would like to take part to please get in touch with school on 017684 83 572.

All stalls are free and everyone is very, very welcome. We would really like to make this Christmas celebration one to remember.

Greystoke Swimming Pool and Sports Association
With many new people coming to live in the area I thought it worth explaining a little about the pool and children’s playground. The thriving and friendly association is run by a small committee and many volunteers. We open the heated pool from May to September and the playground is available all year round. The field is managed by Greystoke Football Club where their two teams play throughout the season.

We need volunteers to help with general maintenance, running the cafe and admissions, managing the pool pump equipment, painting, fundraising, applying for grants, publicity, maintenance of the playground and many other activities.
We also need to increase the committee, most especially an assistant to the treasurer and a new chairperson.

If you’d like to get involved please contact Janice.

Our AGM will be in late January. All welcome!

Soup and Pudding
Thank you to all who came and supported the soup and pudding fundraising event and to those who provided the delicious food. Over £500 was raised over a very sociable two hours with all proceeds going directly to the hall to ensure it is maintained and kept available for you, the community, to use.

Could you help by becoming a School Governor of Greystoke School?
Do you feel you know the rhythm of life within our community? Are you inspired by the creativity and wonder of children? Do you have a passion to see our school continue to serve in excellent and resourceful ways? Have you an enquiring mind? Can you consider matters strategically and objectively and come to an informed judgement? Are you enthusiastic to work as part of a team?

If you’ve said yes any of these questions, we need people like you to step forward and to volunteer to be a governor – you could be a parent, represent a community organisation or just want to participate in a Board which has the children of our school at its heart and works with staff, pupils, parents and the local community.

We value that local knowledge and experience is our most precious treasure in the local governance of schools. You may also bring other skills and knowledge which is a bonus too.

You would get a chance to develop your own personal skills; you would be given free training in respect of education and governance; you would get a sense of achievement in helping to make a difference to children’s education.

We meet six to eight times a year and support the work of the Headteacher and her team. No particular qualifications needed; you don’t even have to be a parent of a child at the school.

Please contact Graham Simons, Clerk to the Governors, to find out more. He will be pleased to hear from you![/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

We will then follow the young people to the village green for an act of remembrance, the opportunity to lay wreaths and the two minutes silence at 11.00am.

St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services November 2022

• Sunday 6 November – Holy Communion
• Sunday 13 November – Remembrance (10.15am)
• Sunday 20 November – Holy Baptism
• Sunday 27 November – Morning Praise

All our services start at 11.00am, except for that on Remembrance Sunday which starts at 10.15am.

Refreshments are served at 10.30am before the 11.00am service.

St Andrew’s Frost Fair
St Andrew’s is organising their annual Frost Fair in the village hall on Saturday 26 November from 12.00pm to 3.30pm to raise funds for the church. We are planning a café and home produce stalls with Christmas fare, and a variety of other stalls including a Toy stall. Greystoke WI and Social Club will also be providing stalls.

Watch out for further information on the village notice boards and Facebook page.

Please come along and join us for this village/ community event, we might even get a visit from Father Christmas!

St. Andrew’s Christmas Tower Illumination
I don’t know about you, but I can’t believe how fast this last year has flown! Maybe it has something to do with Covid, lockdown, not seeing our family, the loss of several good friends, or lately the sadness of our dear Queen Elizabeth’s passing. It has certainly been a year of sorrow for some.

I am once again, asking if anyone would like to remember all of those loved ones that we hold in our hearts at this very special time of the year. We would love to light up the Church tower once again from the beginning of December. If there is any special day that you would like to commemorate, let me know.

Please send donations to me or any Church member.

Diane Hetherington

Greystoke Social Club

• Monday 7 November – Bring and Share something you have created – a model, needlework, painting, the choice is yours. Explain how it was made, what were the difficulties and tell us what pleasure you got from your creation.
• Monday 21 November – An opportunity to make Christmas tree decorations for the Social Club tree for the church Christmas Tree Festival.

Our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm, £1 for members, £2 for visitors and includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke WI
At Greystoke WI’s Guest Night our speaker, Denis Westmorland, showed some beautiful films he had made of the courses of rivers in the local area and the villages and towns they pass through. He showed the start of the Petteril at Greystoke Castle. There was also footage of Penrith and Shap. It made us appreciate afresh the beauty of the area in which we live. Winter scenes at Alston looked rather bleak but most of the footage was a happy reminder of the summer.

In November, our speaker will be Ros Downing on the subject of Biscuits.

If you would like to join us please phone Hazel.

Greystoke Parish Council
The next Greystoke Parish Council meeting is on Tuesday 8 November at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.

I have given all the 4,500 crocus bulbs out to numerous people and families in the Village and I will give a full list next month on how many people were involved. Without the help of these volunteers this would not have been possible so I am very grateful to everyone who has done the planting.

A new footpath will be installed between the Village and Greystoke Gill road end. We shall also see a 40mph restriction put in place before the 30mph, and all the road surfaces will be attended to before all the white lining is renewed. There will also be red strips put across the road at various places with 30 printed on them. Also, the red strip across the road where the School Children cross will be refurbished. This will all be accomplished before the end of next March, which gives them plenty of time.

Also the Parish Council has had the dead thorn bush taken out that was outside the heat transformer system at the swimming pool. Perhaps the cold air blowing onto it all summer led to its demise? Would anyone like to replace it, but in a different place!

Roy Fisher (Chairman)

Village Hall Bingo
We are delighted to announce bingo is back in the hall this year. A fun evening for all ages with lots of prizes to be won.

The first date is Friday 11 November with a 7.00pm start.

Other bingo dates for your diary: Friday 25 November, 9 December and 27 January. See you there!

Greystoke Swimming Pool
As the pool committee looks towards coping with rising energy prices next year we have decided to increase our fundraising activities to help make the pool more sustainable in the long term.

We hope you will support our efforts over the coming months just as you supported the very successful Beer Festival.

Wine tasting for Christmas
Would you like to find out more about what wine to buy for special Christmas meals at an affordable price – and taste them? The pool engineer, Dominic Rhodes, has been associated with the wine trade for almost 35 years and has witnessed massive changes on how and what we buy throughout that time.

Join him on Saturday 19 November at 7.30pm in the pool café to taste some of his favourite wines for Christmas and hear his personal stories from inside the wine trade. Tickets £12.

To book please contact Jane.

Swimming Pool Maintenance Sessions
Please come down and help keep the pool area tidy and maintained between 10.00am and 12.00pm on Saturday 12 November and 10 December. All help grateful received!

Soup and Pudding
Join us on Sunday 30 October between 12.00pm and 2.00pm for our Village Hall Soup and Pudding fundraising event. Delicious homemade soups and puddings served with bread and a cuppa. Everyone is welcome with all proceeds going to the ongoing upkeep and maintenance of our hall.

If you’d like to volunteer your cooking skills, your time to serve or to dry up dishes, please get in touch with Sarah Dobinson. It would be lovely to see some new faces, along with the familiar ones.

Sewing and Knitting Show, Harrogate
There will be a trip to Harrogate on Thursday 17 November (cost £20) with an opportunity to visit the Sewing and Knitting show (this will incur an extra cost, possibly about £16.50).

We’ll leave Greystoke at 9.00am, and everyone is welcome.

Note that this isn’t a Social Club event!

For further details, please contact Shirley Mounsey.

Village Hall Caretaker Wanted
Greystoke Village Hall is looking for a new caretaker.

We are hoping to recruit a trustworthy person that takes pride in their work to take bookings, liaise with hirers and clean the hall. This is a paid position of 25 hours per month and you will be well supported by the voluntary committee.

For further information, or to apply, please contact Laura Seel (chairperson).

Could you help by becoming a School Governor of Greystoke School?
Do you feel you know the rhythm of life within our community? Are you inspired by the creativity and wonder of children? Do you have a passion to see our school continue to serve in excellent and resourceful ways? Have you an enquiring mind? Can you consider matters strategically and objectively and come to an informed judgement? Are you enthusiastic to work as part of a team?

If you’ve said yes any of these questions, we need people like you to step forward and to volunteer to be a governor – you could be a parent, represent a community organisation or just want to participate in a Board which has the children of our school at its heart and works with staff, pupils, parents and the local community.

We value that local knowledge and experience is our most precious treasure in the local governance of schools. You may also bring other skills and knowledge which is a bonus too.

You would get a chance to develop your own personal skills; you would be given free training in respect of education and governance; you would get a sense of achievement in helping to make a difference to children’s education.

We meet six to eight times a year and support the work of the Headteacher and her team. No particular qualifications needed; you don’t even have to be a parent of a child at the school.

Please contact Graham Simons, Clerk to the Governors, to find out more. He will be pleased to hear from you!

Swimming Pool Draw
Congratulations to the winners of the Greystoke pool monthly draw for October

• £20 – Sue Richardson – 97
• £15 – Don & Isobel Hill – 83
• £10 – Henry & Anna Howard – 125
• £5 – Joan Scullion – 23
• £5 – Alan Owens – 124
• £5 – Tom & Sam Scott – 14
• £5 – Stan Rumney –31

Greystoke Film Night
We are delighted to announce our second Film Night of the winter which will be held in the village hall on Saturday 3 December at 7.00pm.

The Phantom of the Open, the story of Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist, who manages to gain entry to the 1976 British Open Golf Championship qualification round despite being a complete novice.

Tickets £15 also include a delicious one pot supper and an English Lakes ice cream. They must be bought in advance from Andy at the Post Office. All profits will go to the swimming pool.

A very sociable evening so please come and bring your friends or to meet with new people.

Greystoke Village Christmas Pageant
For the first time in two years, on Thursday 15 December at 6.00pm, the children and staff of Greystoke School are really looking forward to celebrating the Nativity story with friends and families in St. Andrew’s Church, Greystoke.

Until the COVID lockdowns, the Greystoke Village Christmas Pageant had been a long standing tradition where we all came together to celebrate this special story.

Plans for mulled wine, mince pies, hot sausage sandwiches and lots of Christmas stalls are already underway but we would really like to reach out and invite anyone who would like to take part to please get in touch with school on 017684 83 572.

All stalls are free and everyone is very, very welcome. We would really like to make this Christmas celebration one to remember.

Village Hall Big Tidy Up
Thank you to all who joined the hall committee to help make our village hall sparkle.

To those of you who dusted, mopped, sorted, stacked and stored it was very much appreciated.

What a huge difference it has made![/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

• Sunday 2 October – Holy Communion
• Sunday 9 October – Harvest Celebration
• Sunday 16 October – Holy Communion
• Sunday 23 October – Morning Praise
• Sunday 30 October – Holy Communion

All our services start at 11.00am, with refreshments served before the service at 10.30am.

Holy Communion is held in the Chancel and Morning Praise, a more informal service with modern hymns and songs, is held in the Lady Chapel. There is provision for children in our children’s area – seats, activities and books to read.

Greystoke Social Club

• Monday 3 October – Nepal – a talk with slides by Margaret Rinder
• Monday 17 October – Copper to Gold – a talk by Rev Martin Walker on his journey from the police to the priesthood
• Monday 7 November – Share a Hobby – bring along something you have made or created and share with other members (needlework, painting, woodwork, pottery, etc.) and explain how it came into being. Share the joy of creation.

Our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm, £1 for members, £2 for visitors and includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke Under 5s Playgroup
The playgroup is back after the summer holiday break and will be reopening at the slightly earlier time of 9.30am to 11.00am every Thursday during term-time, in Greystoke Village Hall.

Sessions are proving really popular and we welcome new children and babies from the area. Pop along or join our Facebook group ( Greystoke Under 5s Playgroup (2021+)) for updates and news about upcoming events and activities.

Greystoke Film Nights, Autumn / Winter 2022/3
We are delighted to announce a series of four film nights to be held at the village hall throughout this autumn and winter. We are supported by Eden Arts who are providing the equipment and films. These are very sociable events and a wonderful way to meet with friends or meet new people.

Tickets are £15.00 each and must be bought in advance. The price also includes a delicious one pot supper before the film and an English Lakes ice cream in the interval. There will be a licensed bar to purchase wine, beer and soft drinks. All profits go towards maintaining and running the swimming pool. Tickets will be available at the Post Office nearer the time of each event. All proceedings commence at 7.00pm.

The dates for your diaries are as follows:

• Saturday 22 October
• Saturday 3 December
• Saturday 14 January
• Saturday 4 March

Elvis, on Saturday 22 October, is a 2022 biographical musical drama film directed by Baz Luhrmann, who co-wrote the screenplay with Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce, and Jeremy Doner. The film follows the life of rock and roll icon, singer, and actor Elvis Presley, told from the perspective of his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

Greystoke WI
Greystoke WI’s September speaker was Jules Wooding, the manager of the Military Museum in the Castle at Carlisle. Jules has worked there since 2014 and took on managing it in 2020, just in time to keep it going through the pandemic. The museum celebrates its 90th birthday on Wednesday 7 December this year.

Jules spoke to us about how the museum was established and how the collection expanded as people donated items and soldiers brought things back with them. The exhibits that she highlighted helped to bring home her message that the museum is not just about collections of medals but about the experiences of local people in the military in times of war. It was fascinating to hear about a banner in which Jules is shown wearing white gloves and reverently holding a worn out bush hat. She explained that this tatty looking hat used to belong to George MacDonald Fraser known to many as the author of the Flashman books.

Our Thursday 6 October meeting will be our Guest Night with a supper and entertainment from Denis Westmorland.

If you would like to join us please contact Hazel.

Greystoke Swimming Pool
The swimming pool closed on Tuesday 6 September after a very successful summer. We had a later than planned opening as a new pump was required but once underway the season has gone well. I would like to thank all our volunteers who contribute to the pool. This includes the maintenance team, café volunteers, plant room and water quality team, film night team, beer festival team, pool lottery team, winter café team, lifeguard team, and last but not least, the committee. It takes over 100 volunteers to keep the pool open and sorry if I’ve missed anyone.

We welcome anyone who wants to get involved in any of the above teams or would like to join the committee. Our next meeting is on Wednesday 5 October in the pool café and we are focusing on fundraising. All are welcome! The time is to be confirmed but if you’re interested please eMail us.

Greystoke Celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Weekend 2022
Thank you very much to everyone for their very generous contributions to the Greystoke Jubilee Celebrations. The account is below:

The remaining funds will be used to pay for a commemorative weather vane and a plaque for the village hall.

Greystoke Parish Council
Greystoke Parish Council has met with Highways regarding traffic calming measures in Greystoke. Although we caught over 1,400 motorists doing over 35 miles per hour, none was prosecuted. When we asked why our Police Crimes Commissioner was not prosecuting the offenders, we were told it was not in his remit. Neither will he attend a Parish Council meeting. After asking him several times, this is very disappointing.

At last we have had a response back from Highways regarding cutting the grass beside the footpath up Berrier Road. They said they would have to get permission to cut the bush back that was overhanging the footpath – I said not to bother as I had done it for you!

I wish you all well during the difficult times that lie ahead, but if you think there is anything the Parish Council may be able to help you with please let any of the Parish Councillors know.

Next month, I should be receiving the crocus bulbs which I will then take to people around the village to ask them if they would be so kind as to get a group of people together to plant them. I hope you can help – I have already had one volunteer.

Roy Fisher (Chairman)

Mary Jack Foundation Trust Fund
Studying? Grants are available to all students aged eleven to twenty-five, who reside in the Whitbarrow, Berrier and Murrah area from the Mary Jack Foundation Trust Fund. Grants may be put towards the cost of education, training, apprenticeships, books or equipment, which would help to prepare for or enter a trade or profession.

Application forms and further information are available from Mrs E Earl, Thanet Well, Hutton Roof, Penrith CA11 0XX.

Completed forms to be returned to Mrs Earl by Saturday 29 October 2022.

In order to keep this fund functioning, the trustees would appreciate applications from eligible students.

Swimming Pool Draw
Congratulations to the winners of the Greystoke pool monthly draw for September

• £20 – Helen & Frazer Ross – 164
• £15 – Allan & Mary Marshall – 177
• £10 – B & M Murray – 165
• £5 – John Bridges – 140
• £5 – Bob & Carolyn Greenhalgh – 5
• £5 – Tom & Sam Fawcett – 126
• £5 – Bob & Denise Park – 104

Fellrunner Timetable
The Fellrunner Trustees will meet in October to discuss possible timetable changes/new services to come into effect in January 2023. I know there has been an effort at Greystoke to get Stagecoach services rerouted through the village and good luck with that! If Stagecoach say no, Fellrunner has the capacity to give Greystoke an extra service or services if the demand is there?

We currently provide a Greystoke/Penrith service on a Tuesday but we might be able to add in a service on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday too. (We aren’t Stagecoach of course and we are not talking about an all day, every 30 minute service)!! We also operate a monthly shopping trip to Carlisle which could be rerouted to call at Greystoke. (I know a couple of passengers travel from Greystoke to Newbiggin to catch this service). The key would be the level of demand – the Tuesday service attracts about five passengers from Greystoke on average.[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

• Sunday 4 September – Holy Communion
• Sunday 11 September – Morning Praise
• Sunday 18 September – Holy Communion
• Sunday 25 September – Morning Praise

All our services start at 11.00am, with refreshments served before the service at 10.30am.

Holy Communion is held in the Chancel and Morning Praise, a more informal service with modern hymns and songs, is held in the Lady Chapel. There is provision for children in our children’s area – seats, activities and books to read.

Macmillan Coffee Morning
Once again, the church will be hosting a Macmillan Coffee Morning on Saturday 1 October in church between 10.00am and 1.00pm. Offers of cakes and help on the day will be gratefully received.

Please support this most worthwhile cause.

Greystoke Social Club
Monday 5 September – bring along your favourite CD or tape and share it with everyone else, and tell us the story of why it is so special.

Our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm, £1 for members, £2 for visitors and includes tea and biscuits.

Mary Jack Foundation Trust Fund
Studying? Grants are available to all students aged eleven to twenty-five, who reside in the Whitbarrow, Berrier and Murrah area from the Mary Jack Foundation Trust Fund. Grants may be put towards the cost of education, training, apprenticeships, books or equipment, which would help to prepare for or enter a trade or profession.

Application forms and further information are available from Mrs E Earl, Thanet Well, Hutton Roof, Penrith CA11 0XX (017684 84 540).

Completed forms to be returned to Mrs Earl by Saturday 29 October 2022.

In order to keep this fund functioning, the trustees would appreciate applications from eligible students.

Greystoke Film Nights, Autumn / Winter 2022/3
We are delighted to announce a series of four film nights to be held at the village hall throughout this autumn and winter. We are supported by Eden Arts who are providing the equipment and films. These are very sociable events and a wonderful way to meet with friends or meet new people.

Tickets are £15.00 each and must be bought in advance. The price also includes a delicious one pot supper before the film and an English Lakes ice cream in the interval. There will be a licensed bar to purchase wine, beer and soft drinks. All profits go towards maintaining and running the swimming pool. Tickets will be available at the Post Office nearer the time of each event. All proceedings commence at 7.00pm.

The dates for your diaries are as follows:

• Saturday 22 October
• Saturday 3 December
• Saturday 14 January
• Saturday 4 March

Watch this space and the swimming pool Facebook page for film / ticket announcements shortly.

Greystoke WI
Greystoke WI’s August meeting was an Open Night when we welcomed friends and neighbours from the village for the annual garden prizes awarded by Roy Fisher. Some WI members were amongst the prize winners.

This was followed by Andrew Leech and Jim Bownass from Cumbria Archive showing us more of their edited historical film footage. We enjoyed fascinating details from Penrith and Keswick in the 60s – local industries, Penrith as a shopping centre and some footage of the Keswick Convention and the old Blue Box Theatre. In one of their previous audiences, an audience member jumped up saying that he had just seen himself in the film. That didn’t happen on Thursday, but Alan Marshall did recognise a lad delivering papers in the first section!

Our meeting on Thursday 1 September will be a talk on the Military Museum by Jules Wooding. The competition will be something with a military connection.

If you would like to join us please phone Hazel.

Greystoke Brownies and Guides
1st Greystoke Brownies and Guides is ready for the new term, with lots to look forward to and new members too. We’ve got lots planned over the next few weeks – making the most of the light evenings whilst they last!

We’ve got residentials planned for next year to Lockerbie Manor Activity Centre, and also Wellies and Wristbands, a festival just for Guides.

Brownies is for girls aged 7-10, and Guides is for girls aged 10-14. We meet in the village hall on Monday evenings. We welcome girls from a wide range of villages and schools. For more info and to join, see the Guides website or eMail.

Greystoke Parish Council
The next meeting for Greystoke Parish Council is on Tuesday 27 September at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.

The winners of the best kept garden competition were

• Large Garden: John and Gill Capstick
• Small Garden: Gwen Mandale
• Tubs and Containers: Mike and Val Simpson

The judges this year were Gill Marshall and Caroline Cameron. Many thanks to them for doing this difficult job.

All is quiet on the Atkinson Homes project for now.

Roy Fisher (Chairman)[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

• Sunday 3 July – Holy Communion
• Sunday 10 July – Morning Praise
• Sunday 17 July – Holy Communion
• Sunday 24 July – Morning Praise
• Sunday 31 July – Blencathra Mission Community Service and Fun day (3.00pm at Calthwaite FC Ground, Calthwaite, with activities, food and service)

Our services in July start at 9.15am and all are very welcome. Communion services are held in the Chancel and Morning Praise in the Lady Chapel.

• Sunday 7 August – Holy Communion
• Sunday 14 August – Morning Praise
• Sunday 21 August – Holy Communion
• Sunday 28 August – Morning Praise

Our services in August will start at 11.00am with coffee served from 10.30am.

Greystoke Social Club

• Monday 4 July – A talk by Roger Dix entitled “How are Roger’s Worms?” – Yes, you read correctly, come along and find out!!
• Thursday 21 July – Outing (details to follow – look on the village notice board)
• Monday 1 August – Beetle Drive

Our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm, £1 for members, £2 for visitors and includes tea and biscuits.

Church Library
We are pleased to announce that a lending library has now been opened in St Andrew’s church. There is a large selection of fiction as well as non-fiction books. You can find it just on your right hand as you enter the church. Please enter details of the books you have taken in the borrower’s book.

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
In honour of the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen, the Johnby Hall Estate has planted seven cherry trees, a tree for each decade of Her Majesty’s reign. They are in Roadside Wood, between Johnby and Greystoke, in a clearing by the road where we hope that, as they grow, they will be enjoyed by local people for many years to come.

Henry and Anna, Cecilia and Graham (The Johnby Hall Estate)

Greystoke WI
Our June meeting began with a Platinum Jubilee celebration. We enjoyed a light supper, toasted the Queen (who is a member of WI) and sang the National Anthem. Then two members cut an exquisitely decorated celebration cake, which was guarded by two icing sugar corgis and topped by a beautiful purple crown.

Our speaker was Lynne from Pine Tree Nurseries who gave a fascinating talk about the recent history of the site. She explained how her husband changed his career and they bought the site without seeing it all. It turned out to be covered in rubbish which all had to be cleared before they could get on with their planting. There was also a ramshackle greenhouse and several polytunnels which shed their plastic in a 2014 storm. It was inspiring to hear about their vision and dedication, and to see the remarkable before and after photos. There was then a chance to buy some very beautiful plants.

With no July meeting, on Thursday 4 August will be an Open Meeting with a talk from Andrew Leech and Jim Bownass who curate the Cumbria Archive of videos.

If you would like to join us please phone Hazel.

Concerts in St. Andrew’s Church
Throughout the summer we are running a series of concerts to include a wide variety of music styles, all starting at 7:30pm.

• Friday 1 July – Burnt Horse Folk Group, a local Cumbrian band combining lush harmony singing, with ukulele, guitar, bass, cello and fiddle to create a mix of folk and blue grass.
• Saturday 30 July – Penrith Town band
• Friday 19 August – Day and Jones, performing a wide range of covers from all eras. Greystoke’s very own pop and rock duo.

Tickets £7.50 for adults and £4 for children up to 16.

All tickets can be obtained by contacting Ros Sanders. There will also be tickets on sale on the night. Refreshments, to include tea, coffee and wine will be available.

Greystoke Brownies and Guides
Greystoke Brownies and Guides have had an action packed term. Guides made a bio-sphere and Brownies sowed wild flower seeds, lettuce, nasturtium and chilli. Brownies acquired new art skills when they tackled pointillism, and Guides practised their tent pitching and camp skills. You’ll have seen the Brownie and Guide Scarecrows made for the Scarecrow Trail, plus we celebrated the Platinum Jubilee with our own party, and squeezed in a visit to Cumbria Constabulary Police HQ. As you read this edition, all of our Guides will be enjoying Guide Camp in Silverdale.

In July, we’ll be enjoying a joint meeting with Threlkeld Brownies when they come swimming here in Greystoke, and a trip to Castle Park to play crazy golf and have a chippy tea.

Brownies is for girls aged 7-10, and Guides is for girls aged 10-14. We meet in the village hall on Monday evenings. For more info and to join, see the Guides website or eMail.

Greystoke Parish Council
The next meeting for Greystoke Parish Council is on Tuesday 26 July at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. Atkinson Builders will give a presentation on a proposal to build more dwellings in Greystoke.

We are also concerned about the amount of vehicles parked at the top of Church Road which do not belong to the residents. However we cannot enforce anybody to move them as there is no resistive parking. We would ask them to park in the car park or further down where the road is wider.

We are also disappointed that, although there were over 700 people caught by our speed camera in a 6 week period (45 without a licence or MOT), no one will get prosecuted as our Police Commissioner has no one in charge to send out letters to prosecute them. Our other speed camera was vandalised before it was commissioned, but it will be replaced.

Finally, the best kept garden competition will take place again this year.

Roy Fisher (Chairman)

Swimming Pool Draw
Thank you to all who continue to support the pool by taking part in the Pool Draw.

Congratulations to June’s prize winners:

• £20 – Eileen Monk – 73
• £15 – J&H Relph – 71
• £10 – Margaret Rinder – 216
• £5 – Will Nielsen – 69
• £5 – Jan Walker – 155
• £5 – Catherine Williams – 9
• £5 – Toni Hall – 18

[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

• Sunday 5 June – Holy Communion
• Sunday 12 June – Morning Praise
• Sunday 19 June – Holy Communion
• Sunday 26 June – Morning Praise

Our services start at 9.15am and all are very welcome.

We have now left the tent and worship in the chancel area of the church. On the first and third Sundays our hymn selection is more traditional, but on the second and fourth Sundays we sing more contemporary hymns and songs led by our worship band. Come along for our service and join us for tea or coffee with cake afterwards.

Greystoke Social Club

• Monday 6 June – A talk entitled Every Life Matters on the subject of suicide
• Thursday 16 June – Social Club Trip (details to be published)
• Monday 4 July – A talk by Roger Dix entitled How are Roger’s Worms? – Yes, you read correctly, come along and find out!!

Our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm, £1 for members, £2 for visitors and includes tea and biscuits.

Greystoke WI
Greystoke WI’s May meeting was about how to protect ourselves from different types of fraud. Jon Hill, from the cyber and digital crime unit, introduced the other members of his team and then gave advice about passwords, updating, backing up, and using anti-viral software. Another team member spoke about common features of phishing emails and the importance of not clicking on links. Lastly, Claire Keyes told us about her role protecting the vulnerable, as people who have been defrauded once are highly likely to be defrauded again. We were shown a call blocker device which can be programmed with the numbers of friends and family to deter would be fraudsters. It was a lively and engaging evening giving us plenty to think about.

At our meeting on Thursday 2 June we will start at 6.00pm with a light supper. We are asked to wear red, white and blue. There will be an opportunity to buy plants from Pine Tree Nurseries. After our business meeting we will finish in time to see the Beacon being lit. The competition will be the longest weed from your garden!

If you would like to join us please phone Hazel

Greystoke Open Gardens and Scarecrow Trail
This will take place on Sunday 12 June between 11:00am and 4:00pm.

A café will be available throughout the event at the village hall serving soup, cakes and afternoon teas. A map of the garden and scarecrow trail will be available from the village hall price £4.

If anyone wishes to be included in the trail, either to offer their garden or to display a scarecrow please contact Maureen Hardy.

Concerts in St. Andrew’s Church

Throughout the summer we are running a series of four concerts to include a wide variety of music styles. This is a new venture which we hope to develop over the next few years. This year we have 4 events, all starting at 7:30pm:

• Friday 1 July – Burnt Horse Folk Group, a local Cumbrian band combining lush harmony singing, with ukulele, guitar, bass, cello and fiddle to create a mix of folk and blue grass.
• Saturday 30 July – Penrith Town band
• Friday 19 August – Day and Jones, performing a wide range of covers from all eras. Greystoke’s very own pop and rock duo.
• Sunday 4 September – The Osiligi Maasai Warriors. This is long overdue as they were booked for September 2020, then 2021 but due to Covid they could not travel to the UK.

The first three concerts will be £7.50 for adults and £4 for children up to 16. The 4th concert will be £12 for adults and £5 for children, and is a fund raiser for their own community to fund new water stations, a new orphanage and new church/community centre.

All tickets can be obtained by contacting Ros Sanders. There will also be tickets on sale on the night. Refreshments, to include tea, coffee and wine will be available.

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Greystoke Handbell Ringing Group
We are now back ringing regularly after a difficult two years. We meet on Thursday afternoons in the village hall and we are looking for new members to swell our ranks. You do not need to be able to read music – just be able to count!!

We shall be playing outside the Boot and Shoe on Sunday 5 June, Jubilee Sunday, at 11.00am. If you feel you would be interested, maybe pop along, listen and then chat with us afterwards with coffee and biscuits. Alternatively you can contact our secretary Ann Royle.

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Greystoke Parish Council
The next meeting for Greystoke Parish Council is on Tuesday 31 May at 7.30pm in the Village Hall.

Also on Thursday 2 June at 12 noon on the Village Cross I will read out the Queen’s Platinum Proclamation. This Proclamation will be read out in all the Commonwealth Countries. Also the bonfire on Thursday 2 June, which heralds the start of the celebrations, will be lit at approximately 9.45pm (it is pointless lighting it in broad daylight as it is hoped to see these bonfires all over England).

Up to now the Parish Council has received £650 towards the cost of buying crocuses to plant later on in the year. £500 has been received from Story homes and £150 from Christine and Charles Rowley of Blencow Hall.

Roy Fisher (Chairman)

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Swimming Pool Draw
Thank you to all who continue to support the pool by taking part in the Pool Draw and thank you to all those newcomers. We hope you get lucky!

[one_half][learn_more caption=”April’s Winners”]

• £20 – Mike and Sheila Mandale – 20
• £15 – The Ashburners – 01
• £10 – The Millers – 85
• £5 – Stella Restarick – 150
• £5 – Max and Becka – 60
• £5 – Enid Hughes – 45
• £5 – Kate and Mark Thomlinson – 193

[/learn_more][/one_half] [one_half_last][learn_more caption=”May’s Winners”]

• £20 – Jim and Linda Young – 131
• £15 – Helen Jamieson – 152
• £10 – Emma Nielsen – 169
• £5 – Ian and Jane Curry – 99
• £5 – Geoff Smith – 117
• £5 – Jane Taylor – 56
• £5 – Rosie Illingworth – 121

[/learn_more][/one_half_last]

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Greystoke Online Gives Back!
Did you know the village has its own website? Greystoke Online offers a warm welcome to the businesses, services and events taking place in and around the village. This useful site is run by a small group of volunteers with subscriptions from local businesses that advertise on the page.

The village website continues to attract high numbers of visitors; even at the height of the covid pandemic the website had over 18,000 hits and this year, for the first time they have been able to donate back to the community the profit made by the running of the website. A poll conducted on the Facebook page then asked villagers what the money should be spent on.

Corinne Green, the Chair of the website group, said I am delighted we have this opportunity to give something tangible to the community for a cause the people in the village voted for – a fund to support the Ukranian refugees that have come to live in the village. We hope that the £450 raised will help them to settle and know they are welcome. A huge thank you to everyone that has made it possible.

If you would like to know more about this, or to make a donation yourself, you may contact us through the website or eMail us.[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

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• Sunday 1 May – Holy Communion
• Sunday 8 May – Morning Praise
• Sunday 15 May – Holy Communion
• Sunday 22 May – Morning Praise
• Sunday 29 May – Morning Praise

All our services start at 9.15am. We are now worshiping in the Chancel part of the church, having left the tent for the summer months.

Everyone is welcome to come and share in our services, we look forward to meeting you.

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Greystoke Social Club

• Monday 2 May – “Juke Box Jury”
  Bring your favourite tape or CD and share a track with club members.
  Sorry no facility for vinyl! Everyone welcome – £1 for club members, £2 for visitors for tea and biscuits.
• Monday 16 May – First Outing of the Season
  Look out for further information.
• Monday 6 June – A talk entitled “Every Life Matters” on the subject of suicide.

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Greystoke WI
Greystoke WI met on Thursday 7 April to enjoy Sue Hind’s talk about patchwork. We brought in our own examples for the competition.

On Thursday 5 May we have a talk about Pioneer food from David Jenkin. The competition will be a money saving food/cookery hint.

Advanced notice:
Our Thursday 2 June meeting will start at 6.00pm with a light supper to celebrate the Jubilee. This will be followed by a talk about Pinetree Nursery and a plant sale with Duncan and Lynne Wilson.

If you would like to join us please contact Hazel.

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Greystoke Plant Sale
St. Andrew’s Church, Greystoke, will be holding their annual plant sale on Saturday 14 May from 9.00am until 2.00pm. There will be a café serving the usual delicious cakes and soups .We also hope to offer a gardening book stall together with second hand gardening tools.

Any offers of plants, books or tools, help with the cafe or donations of cakes will be very gratefully received.

For plant donations please contact Shirley Mounsey.

For cakes/soup, help in the café, or books and tools please contact Maureen Hardy.

Hope to see you there.

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Advance Notice of Greystoke Open Gardens and Scarecrow Trail
This will take place on Sunday 12 June. There will be a map available of gardens and scarecrows at the village hall where there will be a café serving a selection of cakes, soup and cream teas.

If you would like to offer your garden (it doesn’t need to be perfect – people just love wandering round getting ideas) or you fancy creating a fun scarecrow (any theme you like), please contact Maureen Hardy.

All funds from the sale of maps and the café will be for St. Andrew’s Church.

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Greystoke Castle Estate
By kind permission of John and Liz Piele, local people will be allowed to walk around the Greystoke Castle Estate as from next month using the main road – no wandering over the fields.

Dogs will be allowed, but only on a lead. Any dog fouling, dogs being let off the lead, or litter being left will lead to the permission being taken away.

Roy Fisher

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The Queens Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
Arrangements are well on the way to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee.

Eden District Council Jubilee fund has awarded us £500. This will be used to purchase a commemorative gift for each child aged 16 and under, partly pay for the Sports Day and Tea. (Sandwiches will made by volunteers, but we would like donations of cakes on the day). Some of the money will go towards the purchase of trees for the “Queen’s Green Canopy”, and extra crocus bulbs and plants in the tubs around the villages as a memorial.

The events are:

• Thursday 2nd June

  A beacon will be lit at 9.45pm on Mains Field opposite the gallops.

• Friday 3rd June

  Nothing has been planned for the Friday.

• Saturday 4th June
  • 1.00pm Parade of Hats
  • 1.30pm Sports
  • 3.00pm Tea

  This will be Greystoke and Johnby’s main celebration day. There will be a competition for all ages for the Best Coronation Hat.

  Throughout the afternoon there will be a bouncy castle and hopefully other fun stalls.

  For it all to go ahead we need as many volunteers as possible to help set up tables and chairs, help with the stalls, collect plates and washing up and finally put everything away. The more the merrier, so that we can all enjoy the day.

• Sunday 5th June.
  • 11.00am. Hand-bells will be rung outside the Boot & Shoe. Coffee and special Jubilee biscuits.
  • 2.00pm Service of Praise in St Andrew’s Church followed by Tea and Cake.
  • 4.00pm Entertainment at the Boot and Shoe.

A small brown envelope is enclosed in the magazine. This is for a voluntary donation to help towards the cost of all the events. A volunteer will be collecting the envelopes between the 9th and 15th May.

If you are willing to help in anyway please contact Shirley Mounsey

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Greystoke Handbell Ringing Group
We are now back ringing regularly after a difficult two years. We meet on Thursday afternoons in the village hall and we are looking for new members to swell our ranks. You do not need to be able to read music – just be able to count!!

We shall be playing outside the Boot and Shoe on Sunday 5 June, Jubilee Sunday, at 11.00am. If you feel you would be interested, maybe pop along, listen and then chat with us afterwards with coffee and biscuits. Alternatively you can contact our secretary Ann Royle.

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1st Greystoke Brownies and Guides
Brownies and Guides love the Summer Term when they can take advantage of the light evenings and get out and about. They’ve got lots planned, including fire lighting and cooking on open fires, gardening and growing, tracking, a farm visit, a trip to Castle Park to play crazy golf and more. Guides are also going on a long-awaited weekend camp.

We welcome girls from a wide area and several schools, so it’s a great opportunity to meet new friends. We meet in Greystoke Village Hall from 6.00pm to 7:30pm on Mondays in term time.

For more information, please contact Georgina or register directly.

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Greystoke Parish Council
The next Greystoke Parish council meeting is on Tuesday 31 May in the village hall at 7.30pm.

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Swimming Pool and Café
Greystoke Pool opens early May, and season tickets are available through the new Greystoke Pool website.

The Pool Café Tuesday lunchtimes will cease, but the Café will be open during public swimming sessions – all are welcome.

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Greystoke Gentle Yoga
Gentle Yoga, suitable for beginners in Greystoke Village Hall. Saturdays at 10.00am. Please contact Paula on 07730 499 287, if you would like to join in.[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

]]> https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/the-national-burial-ground-survey/ Thu, 21 Apr 2022 12:29:28 +0000 https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/?p=29815 You may have spotted someone walking round the churchyard at Greystoke recently carrying some strange equipment. You won’t have noticed that the registers have left the church – and now have returned safely.

Nationally the burial grounds of all Church of England churches are being digitally mapped. This will mean that in the end the exact location of all the headstones will be known, and available on the internet.

Church registers are particularly precious because they are the only record of baptisms and burials. Older registers are safe in the archives (ours are in Carlisle) but the current ones are potentially vulnerable. So they are all being digitised too, although as they refer to living people the baptism registers won’t be going online.

A local firm, Atlantic Geomatics (UK), is the contractor and of course they are starting on home turf in the Diocese of Carlisle. The intention is to complete our diocese this year, and all of England’s 19,000 churches in 7 years. Churchyards will be digitally mapped using GPS, lasers to detect structures such as headstones and kerbs, and grave mounds. Meanwhile it is photographed, and cameras: the device in the picture takes 300,000 laser measurements per second and the five cameras on it take two photos a second. Later the gravestones are photographed separately, as are the monuments in the church: this level of recording has never been done anywhere before. All registers are being re-scanned (older ones in the archives were scanned to microfilm; they will be digital and in colour). Working registers are also being scanned although the records for baptisms will be locked for 100 years, and for marriages for 80. All registers will be freshly transcribed into digital format.

Then behind the scenes the registers, the digital map and the photographs will all be matched up so that on the internet you will be able to go from the record to the map to the headstone.

And the cost to the parish? Nothing at all. Two websites (MyHeritage and FamilySearch) are paying all the costs. The records will now be safely preserved; the mapping will be accurate; there will be improved access to people who want it. And data protection and privacy concerns are covered, too.

]]> https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/were-giving-back-450-to-the-community/ Thu, 14 Apr 2022 16:37:00 +0000 https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/?p=29762

With support from those people and businesses that have placed listings on the Greystoke Online page and the extra funds have been bolstered by our 2 monthly featured listings by Quirky Workshops at Greystoke Craft Garden Barns and Bunkers hill dairy . Udderly good we are delighted to announce that we have a total of £450 available to donate back to the community!!

 

But what should we spend it on?? Well … that’s up to you. We have a few proposals based on what we know people care about, but we need your help to choose (some may require extra details to be thought out!) or suggest other causes local to Greystoke.

We are currently running a poll on the Greystoke Village Facebook Page with the following options:
• St Andrew’s Church, Greystoke
• Greystoke Swimming Pool
• A community gardening project
• Jubilee Fund donation
• Support fund for locally hosted Ukrainian refugees to help them settle in (details tbc)
• Other

The poll will run until 28th April and the winner will be announced on the Greystoke online page, then the Facebook page.  Please spread the word and get as many people to VOTE as possible!

The Village notice board will have a poster advertising this as well, with details of how to vote if you are not on Facebook.

]]> https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/new-together-2204/ Tue, 29 Mar 2022 16:35:12 +0000 https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/?p=29723 [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Footer” _builder_version=”3.22″ parallax=”on” custom_margin=”||0px|” custom_padding=”||0px|” bottom_divider_style=”asymmetric3″ bottom_divider_color=”#ffffff” bottom_divider_height=”80px” bottom_divider_flip=”horizontal” bottom_divider_arrangement=”above_content”][et_pb_row use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ make_equal=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_margin=”0px||10%|” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”0px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”” custom_padding_phone=”” animation_style=”fade” border_radii=”on|0px|0px|0px|0px”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding=”0px|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_cta title=”Latest News and What’s On in and around Greystoke in April 2022″ 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button_one_bg_color__hover=”null” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover=”null”]St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services April 2022
We would welcome all to come and share in the worship:
• Sunday 3 April – Holy Communion – 9.15am
• Sunday 10 April – Morning Praise and Distribution of Palms – 9.15am
• Thursday 14 April – Holy Communion for Maundy Thursday – 7.00pm
• Friday 15 April – Good Friday Service – 3.00pm at St Kentigern’s, Mungrisdale
• Sunday 17 April – EASTER DAY HOLY COMMUNION – 9.15am
• Sunday 24 April – Morning Praise – 9.15am

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St. Andrew’s Church Creative Community Project
The Fantastic Felters of Greystoke have made a great start on creating leaves for a new altar frontal.



All welcome to join in.

Look out on the village Facebook page for dates and times of workshops.

Daphne Honey

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Easter Cross
Once again the stark bare cross will be placed on the village green on the evening of Maundy Thursday as a reminder of Christ’s suffering. On Easter Sunday we would welcome all the village to help thatch the cross with daffodils as a witness to the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday. Please join us.

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1st Petteril Vale Beavers and the Queen
The Beaver Scouts from the 1st Petteril Vale Scout Group, who meet at Blencow Village Hall, all got together to make a huge card which they all signed and then sent to Buckingham Palace for the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee. They were delighted then to receive a letter from Windsor Castle thanking them for their efforts and their best wishes.

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Plant Sale
St. Andrew’s Church Greystoke will be holding their infamous Plant Sale on Saturday 14 May from 9.00am to 2.00pm at the Village Hall. There will be the usual café and home produce stall, and we hope to have any surplus gardening tools for sale and a collection of gardening books. As usual we will gladly receive any plants that folk may be able to give either on the day or given to Shirley Mounsey earlier in the month. More details will follow in the May Newsletter

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Icon of Christ Pantocrator


In November last year I was able to attend an Icon Painting Course at Rydal Hall. The image is of Jesus as Christ, Pantocrator which means Ruler of Everything. Icons are ‘windows onto heaven’ and are a tradition which comes from the Eastern European -including Ukraine, Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches.

We used pigments (coloured powders originally made from natural materials), runny egg and a tiny bit of gin (preservative!) to make the paint and luxurious gold leaf. The image is built up in many layers of subtle changes of tones. Jesus’ ears has at least 8 layers which was quite tricky due to their size!

Little did we know when we gathered in Rydal that there would be war in Ukraine and suffering beyond our comprehension. I am taking my icon to church each week as an act of solidarity with all those who are suffering in the conflict. As Ukraine’s people are crying out to the world, let us do what we can to help and hold them in our prayers.

Daphne Honey

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Greystoke Swimming Pool and Playground
We are fast approaching the opening of the pool for the 2022 season. We hope to open the pool and the café fully from early May. We will share information on the actual date and season tickets in early April. We will have a new website for the pool and will once again be using TeamApp to book sessions for adult swimming.

The preparations for opening are underway so please lookout for our calls for help on social media or advertised at the pool.

The pool relies on volunteers to run the café and take admission money so once again we will run some induction sessions. Hopefully many of our past volunteers will return but there is always space for new people. Many of our volunteers remark on the satisfaction and enjoyment they get from volunteering, so do join us.

In the coming months we need to repair and improve the playground. Again we will put a call out for help with this work.

We are looking forward to a successful season and, with your help, it will be!

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Greystoke Social Club
Our only meeting in April will be on Monday 4 April at 2.00pm in Greystoke Village Hall when we will have our AGM, but livened afterwards by a quiz and possibly a bingo session – please do join us. £1 for tea and biscuits.

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Greystoke Parish Council
The next Greystoke Parish council meeting is on Tuesday 12 April in the village hall at 7.30pm. John Peile from Greystoke Castle has agreed to replace the late Eddie Walker on the Parish Council.

I am also very pleased to announce that Jamie Dobinson and Tom Peile have been successful in purchasing one of the affordable dwellings each on Fawn Meadows – I am pleased I was able to help them. They will live next door to each other.

Danny Walker has trimmed the trees down church road for the Parish Council

Roy Fisher (Chairman)

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Swimming Pool Draw
Thank you to all who continue to support the pool by taking part in the Pool Draw and thank you to all those newcomers. We hope you get lucky!

Prize winners for March are:

• £20 – Jeff & Rachel Bastow – 170
• £15 – Liz Kinghorn – 203
• £10 – Sarah Fawcett – 752
• £5 – Corrine Green – 32
• £5 – Nigel Timmins – 199
• £5 – William Cummins – 186
• £5 – Shirley Morgan – 168

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Swimming Pool Café
Greystoke Pool Café will be open Tuesdays 12.00pm to 2.00pm for soup, scones, coffee and cake. Join us for a chat and meet up with neighbours and friends

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Greystoke Gentle Yoga
Gentle Yoga, suitable for beginners in Greystoke Village Hall. Saturdays at 10.00am. Please contact Paula if you would like to join in or book online.[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

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button_one_bg_color__hover=”null” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover=”null”]St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services March 2022
All our services are at 9.15am and we would welcome all to come and share in the worship:
• Sunday 6 March – Holy Communion
• Sunday 13 March – Morning Praise
• Sunday 20 March – Holy Communion
• Sunday 27 March – Morning Praise

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St. Andrew’s Church Creative Community Project
St. Andrew’s church has launched a creative community project to make a new green altar frontal for the church. A kind donation has been given to the church to help to fund this. Under the auspices of the WI Crafting Group, there was a felting afternoon on 7 February where we had an opportunity to make a wet-felted leaf.

Future workshops will aim to be run when families or Secondary school young people will be able to come. We will also be offering the dry felting process to make a leaf or to embellish the wet felted leaves.

We also welcome contributions of leaves made by crochet, knitting or appliqué if that is more your ‘thing’! The felted leaves could also be embroidered and we don’t have to stick to just making leaves. An occasional spider, bird, dormouse or red squirrel would be lovely to hide amongst the leaves!

We would like to make enough leaves to represent each person in the wider parish of Greystoke. Come and make one for your neighbour, Grandad, Sister … Better still, bring your Grandad, Dad, Uncle, Brother as felting is for everyone. It involves, all three sciences!

Reminders will go onto the village Facebook page. We hope everyone will feel welcomed to join in as support, guidance and fun will be provided in abundance.

We will be going into the village schools and approaching local social groups to offer workshops too.

If you would like me to come to you, I can do a mini workshop in your home. Please contact me though the Greystoke Village Facebook page.

Daphne Honey

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Greystoke Village Hall
The hall welcomes a completely fresh office who are looking forward to bringing our fabulous community together to continue a thriving village hall.

• Chair – Laura Seel
• Vice Chair – Marie Addison
• Secretary – Emma Nielsen
• Treasurer – Kayleigh Hale
• Vice Treasurer – Ann Trueman

Please contact Laura (above) if you want to be involved.

Many thanks to the Les Nanson and John Bridges for all of their hard work keeping the village hall running throughout such a difficult period.

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Queen’s Jubilee Committee
Kate Tomlinson and Shirley Mounsey are organising a committee to arrange joint celebrations of Greystoke and any surrounding village organisations that wish to be included. If you are a part of a club/organisation, or just wish to be involved, please contact Shirley.

Don’t just live in Greystoke… be a part of it!

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Greystoke Social Club

• Monday 7 March – A talk on “OXFAM” by Jane Shaw
• Monday 21 March – Details to come

All our meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall. They start at 2.00pm and the cost is £1 for tea and biscuits – come along, you may wish to join us.

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Greystoke WI
WI’s February meeting was Denise Parks talking about the theory of Reflexology and demonstrating some of the techniques on one of our members. She also brought some beautiful pottery bowls which were crafted to serve soup for the charity Mary’s Meals. For a donation we could have some delicious soup and a bowl.

Our March meeting will begin at 6.30 p.m. as it is the AGM. This will start with a vote by the members about whether we stay in WI or not. If you are a member we would very much welcome your presence at this vote. After the AGM we will enjoy a cookery demonstration by Laura Harker.

If you would like to try out WI, please come along to the village hall at 6.30 p.m. on 3rd March. We are trying to stay Covid safe by hand sanitising, wearing a mask and sitting apart from each other.

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Greystoke Parish Council
With kind permission of John and Liz Piele and family, Greystoke Parish Council has agreed to hold a bonfire to celebrate the start of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations on Thursday 2 June. The bonfire will be lit at 9.45pm in conjunction with all the others country-wide. They hope to be helped in the building of the bonfire by some of Skelton Young Farmers.

A new speed camera is to be installed at the Penrith end of Greystoke on the new post that Story Holmes have put in.

The gate down near Church House has had a makeover. This was done by Danny and Matty Walker, the late Eddie Walker’s lads. A donation of £50 was given to Eddie Walker’s memorial fund for all the work and dedication he put in to being a Councillor over the last 35 years. Eddie will be very hard to replace. We shall need a new Councillor to fill the vacancy caused by Eddie’s untimely death.

Roy Fisher (Chairman)

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Swimming Pool Draw
Thank you to all who continue to support the pool by taking part in the Pool Draw and thank you to all those newcomers. We hope you get lucky!

Prize winners for January are:

• £20 – Bob Barnes – 10
• £15 – B&M Murray – 165
• £10 – John Bridges – 140
• £5 – P & A Binks – 08
• £5 – M&M Nears – 123
• £5 – Ian & Joan Curry – 116
• £5 – Dennis Dixon – 182

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Swimming Pool Café
Greystoke Pool Café will be open Tuesdays 12.00-2.00pm for soup, scones, coffee and cake.

Join us for a chat and meet up with neighbours and friends[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

]]> https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/new-altar_frontal/ Mon, 31 Jan 2022 13:40:30 +0000 https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/?p=29577 St. Andrew’s church is launching a creative community project to make a new green altar frontal for the church. A kind donation has been given to the church to help to fund this. Under the auspices of the WI Crafting Group we will have a felting afternoon starting at 1.30pm on Monday 7 February where you will have an opportunity to make a wet-felted leaf. We hope everyone will feel welcomed to join in as support, guidance and fun will be provided in abundance.

If you have them, please bring 2 pieces of bubble wrap about A4 Size, a bar of soap, an old towel and water proof apron. Don’t worry if you don’t – just come!

Future workshops will aim to be run when families or Secondary school young people will be able to come. We will also be offering the dry felting process to make a leaf or to embellish the wet felted leaves.

We also welcome contributions of leaves made by crochet, knitting, appliqué if that is more your ‘thing’! The felted leaves could also be embroidered and we don’t have to stick to just making leaves. An occasional spider, bird, dormouse or red squirrel would be lovely to hide amongst the leaves!

We would like to make enough leaves to represent each person in the wider parish of Greystoke. Come and make one for your neighbour, Grandad, sister… Better still, bring your Grandad, Dad, Uncle, brother as felting is for everyone. It involves, all three sciences!

Reminders will go onto the village Facebook page.

We will be going into the village schools and approaching local social groups to offer workshops too. If you would like me to come to you, I can do a mini workshop in your home. Please contact me though the Greystoke Village Facebook page.

Thanks, Daphne Honey

]]> https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/new-together-2202/ Sun, 30 Jan 2022 10:51:09 +0000 https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/?p=29423 [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Footer” _builder_version=”3.22″ parallax=”on” custom_margin=”||0px|” custom_padding=”||0px|” bottom_divider_style=”asymmetric3″ bottom_divider_color=”#ffffff” bottom_divider_height=”80px” bottom_divider_flip=”horizontal” bottom_divider_arrangement=”above_content”][et_pb_row use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ make_equal=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_margin=”0px||10%|” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”0px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”” custom_padding_phone=”” animation_style=”fade” border_radii=”on|0px|0px|0px|0px”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding=”0px|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_cta title=”Latest News and What’s On in and around Greystoke in February 2022″ 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button_one_bg_color__hover=”null” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover=”null”]St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services February 2022
Services will be held on the following Sundays – 6 Feb, 13 Feb, 20 Feb and 27 Feb. They are expected to take place at 9.15am, but keep an eye on the two church noticeboards, one by the village shop and the other by the church gate, for further details.

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St. Andrew’s Church Greystoke Tower Lighting Fund
On behalf of the PCC and the congregation of St. Andrew’s Church, can I thank so many generous people for their donations to the Church Lighting Fund. It has exceeded all our expectations.

Thank you all once again.

Di Hetherington

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Greystoke Social Club
The club will meet on Monday 21 February at 2.00pm in Greystoke Village Hall. Visitors are always welcome.

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Christmas Services
We are pleased to be able to tell you that after Gift Aid was added we have been able to send £215 to the homeless charity Crisis. This was the result of the collection at the Carol Services in Greystoke and Penruddock. A cheque for £210 was also sent to the children’s charity, The Children’s Society, from the collection taken at the Christingle Service.

Many thanks to all who gave so generously.

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Greystoke WI
WI’s February speaker is Denise Parks talking about Reflexology. She will also bring some pottery bowls which are no longer needed. They were crafted for the charity Mary’s Meals. For an unspecified donation towards this charity you can have a bowl plus some soup provided by a few committee members.

If you would like to try out WI, please come along to the village hall at 7 p.m. on Thursday 3 February. We are trying to stay Covid safe by hand sanitising, wearing a mask and sitting apart from each other.

If you would like to join WI, please contact Hazel.

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A Good Turn
A cub and scout from the 1st Petteril Vale Scout Group, Sam Scott and Tom Scott have really lived up to the promise they made.

What they started during lockdown, but continues today, has been the sending to an elderly lady who lives opposite them, and who lives alone, greetings each evening at 8.00pm that she enjoys a good night’s rest.

During the summer months they display a blanket from their bedroom window with a message sewn on it wishing her Night, Night. During the winter months all three of them have resorted to flashing torches to each other across the darkness.

This simple act of kindness across the generations is to be recognised by the County Scout Commissioner for Cumbria, Mr Eddie Ward, with the Commissioners’ Commendation Award. A badge to be sewn onto their uniforms.

Well done boys.

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Greystoke Parish Council
The next Parish Council meeting is on Tuesday 1 March. We hope by then restrictions will have been lifted, and we shall be back in the village Hall at 7.30pm.

This year again we gave out 160 envelopes with £15 inside them to Senior Citizens of Greystoke and Motherby. As people have been asking me who do they thank, this money is organised by Greystoke Parish Council even though it says Greystoke and Motherby Charities on the card in which you were given the money.

Roy Fisher (Chairman)

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Greystoke Swimming Pool and Sports Association
At the AGM the following have been re-elected unopposed:

• Acting Chairman – Janice Weatherill Timmins;
• Treasurer – Tara King;
• Secretary – Rosie Illingworth.

The pool has had a successful year, despite the various Covid restrictions that have been in place. Finally people were able to use our new facilities and they were much admired. The bank balance is healthy however a water leak during the summer has cost much in power and water fees.

We thank our committee and volunteers who have kept the pool going. A special thanks must go to Judith Aris who has given many years of service to the pool and Stephen Nicol, our retiring chairman who managed the development of the new cafe and changing rooms.

The pool and playground are kept going by volunteers so hopefully we will see many of you helping out in the coming year.

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Greystoke Swimming Pool Film Night
Future film nights for your diary (film details to be announced) – keep an eye out for information in the Post Office and on the village notice board.

• Saturday 5 February
• Saturday 5 March

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Swimming Pool Café
Greystoke Pool Winter Café with be open for lunch, coffee, cake and chat every Tuesday 12.00pm to 2.00pm.

Do drop in and join us for a snack and a chat.[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

]]> https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/tuesday-pop-up-cafe-over-winter/ Fri, 21 Jan 2022 08:54:13 +0000 https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/?p=29494 The Cafe at the Swimming Pool opens from 12-2 every Tuesday for lunch during the winter – pop in for soup and a chat!

Greystoke Swimming Pool

 

]]> https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/greystoke-news-2112/ Thu, 25 Nov 2021 11:20:11 +0000 https://www.greystokevillage.co.uk/?p=29386 [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Footer” _builder_version=”3.22″ parallax=”on” custom_margin=”||0px|” custom_padding=”||0px|” bottom_divider_style=”asymmetric3″ bottom_divider_color=”#ffffff” bottom_divider_height=”80px” bottom_divider_flip=”horizontal” bottom_divider_arrangement=”above_content”][et_pb_row use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ make_equal=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_margin=”0px||10%|” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”0px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”” custom_padding_phone=”” animation_style=”fade” border_radii=”on|0px|0px|0px|0px”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding=”0px|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_cta title=”Latest News and What’s On in Greystoke in December 2021 and January 2022″ url_new_window=”on” admin_label=”Call To Action” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ header_font=”Montserrat|300|||||||” header_font_size=”40px” header_line_height=”1.4em” body_font=”Montserrat||||||||” body_font_size=”16px” background_color=”#dcdcdc” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_bg_color=”#0c71c3″ button_border_color=”rgba(65,65,144,0)” button_font=”Montserrat||||||||” button_use_icon=”off” text_orientation=”left” background_layout=”light” max_width_last_edited=”off|desktop” module_alignment=”right” custom_margin=”0px|||” custom_padding=”64px|60px|64px|60px” custom_padding_tablet=”” custom_padding_phone=”34px|30px|34px|30px” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”bottom” animation_intensity_slide=”1%” hover_enabled=”0″ header_font_size_tablet=”” header_font_size_phone=”20px” header_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” body_line_height_last_edited=”off|desktop” z_index_tablet=”500″ 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button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover=”null” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover=”null” sticky_enabled=”0″]St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services December 2021
• Sunday 5 December – Holy Communion with Rev Mike Houston
• Sunday 12 December – Morning Praise led by Judith Walsh, speaker Graham Simons
• Sunday 19 December – Holy Communion with Canon Cameron Butland
• Sunday 19 December (7.00pm) – Village Carol Service
• Wednesday 22 December (6.30pm) – Carols Around the Village – meet outside The Boot and Shoe
• Friday 24 December (3.00pm) – Christingle Service for Families
• Friday 24 December (9.30pm) – Christmas Communion – led by Gill Danks
• Sunday 26 December – No Service

Please wear a mask for services and use the sanitiser provided. All services at 9:15am unless indicated.

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St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services January 2022


• Sunday 2 January – Holy Communion with Rev Mike Houston
• Sunday 9 January – Morning Praise led by Graham Simons, speaker John Danks
• Sunday 16 January – Holy Communion with Rev Richard Hall
• Wednesday 19 January (7.00pm) – Licensing of Rev. Martin Walker as Priest in Charge of Greystoke, Penruddock and Mungrisdale
• Sunday 23 January – Morning Praise
• Sunday 30 January – Morning Praise

(Keep an eye on Church Noticeboards for more details for the 23rd and 30th)

Please wear a mask for services and use the sanitiser provided. All services at 9:15am unless indicated.

Carol Service in Church
7.00pm Sunday 19 December

Come and join us as we retell the Christmas Story and sing the old familiar carols. Collection will go to the homeless charity CRISIS.

Carols Around The Village
6.30pm Wednesday 22 December

Wrap up warm, bring a torch, wear something bright and come with us as we tell of the birth of Jesus to the village accompanied by some familiar carols.

Meet outside The Boot and Shoe

Christingle
3.00pm Friday 24 December in Church

We are encouraging families to book a pew as we continue to try and stay safe maintaining some spacing, and come and join us as we start Christmas by constructing a Christingle, which tells us of the story of God’s creation and the part that Jesus played.

We shall sing to the music of the church’s worship band, and the collection will go to the children’s charity The Children’s Society.

Contact John Danks to book a pew.

Licensing of Rev Martin Walker
7.00pm Wednesday 19 January, Greystoke Church

We hope to see the church full as we join with the congregations of Penruddock and Mungrisdale Churches to welcome Martin, his wife Nicky and their family into our midst. Come along and meet the priest who will lead the Christian witness in our village in the years to come.

St. Andrew’s Church Greystoke Tower Lighting Fund
Once again we are coming up to the festive season, and this time we hope all our plans will be back to normal, compared to last year.

The last year or so has been a trying time for everyone, and there cannot be many of us who have not known someone who has been affected by the pandemic in some way or other.

Many of us remember our loved ones that sadly are no longer with us. We enjoyed so many happy Christmas’s with them in the past. Christmas is certainly a time of remembrance!

Once again we are going to illuminate St. Andrew’s Church Tower in memory of all those dear relatives and friends that we miss so much. We have had many favourable comments from villagers and beyond regarding our tower. It looks spectacular from Icold Road especially!

Last year, due to the generosity of many, many local people, we made a substantial amount, which was greatly appreciated by the PCC.

If anyone would like to make a contribution to the Lighting Fund, please contact Diane Hetherington or any Church member.

PS., Cheques should be made payable to St. Andrew’s Church PCC Greystoke.

Christmas Tree Festival
The popular Christmas Tree Festival will make a return this year. So if you are a member of a community group or organisation, a road or a family, start making your plans for how your tree will look. The Festival will be held in St. Andrew’s Church from the weekend before Christmas. Who knows, you may win the trophy!!

St. Andrew’s Frost Fair
St. Andrew’s Church, Greystoke, is holding a FROST FAIR on Saturday 11 December from 12.00pm to 4.00pm at the Greystoke Village Hall.

Masks preferred for the event.

Stalls will include Cakes and Home produce, Christmas Wreaths and Table Decorations, Christmas Cards and stationery, etc., WI, Pre-loved children’s toys, Tombola and silk craft.

There will be a café serving soup, turkey and stuffing rolls, and of course, yummy cakes. This will be table service to help with COVID rule.

New this year…Test your skill on entertaining games for both children and adults.

There will also be a guest appearance of Father Christmas who will be available from 1.00pm until 2.00pm for a chat with younger members of our community!!!!

If you feel able to contribute to the Cakes and Produce stall, please contact Clare.

Village Hall Committee
Greystoke Village Hall urgently requires new committee members and office holders to secure the future of the hall. We are looking for a Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary, to take over from February next year. This is your chance to get involved and to safeguard the future of this important community asset.

Greystoke WI
Greystoke WI met on Thursday 4 November. Paula Carol, who leads yoga classes in the village hall, took us through a gentle yoga session. This was broken down into sections on meditation, eye movement, warm up, posture and lastly, 10 minutes of relaxation. We sat on chairs the whole time but performed many stretches, which helped to loosen us up. The breathing exercises were very relaxing and made us feel pleasantly sleepy. Paula was very good at matching the exercises to her clients.

At our meeting on Thursday 2 December, the hand-bell group will play carols. The committee will organise a buffet supper. Everyone is asked to bring a gift-wrapped item up to the value of £5 for the competition and these items will become the raffle prizes. Members are also invited to volunteer a quiz or game or reading for the entertainment.

Our January meeting is on Thursday 21 when we will have a meal out at the Brantwood.

If you would like to join WI, please contact Hazel McGrath.

Greystoke Parish Council Meetings
The next Greystoke Parish Council meetings will be held at 7.30pm in the Village Hall on Tuesday 7 December, and Tuesday 25 January. All are welcome.

Parish Council Update
The Motherby and Greystoke Charity will be giving their Senior Citizens a gift again this Christmas. Land was left to the Parish Council in 1798, the rent from which had to go to the poor of the Parish. Times have changed a lot since then and we give the money to the older members of our community. To qualify, you have had to live in the Parish for 12 months. A Lady living on her own must be 65, and a Gentleman on his own or a couple must be 65. If you qualify for this gift and did not receive one last year, please ring our Parish Council Clerk on 017688 63 900. If Rachael is unable to answer, please do leave a message. Last year we gave out 160.

We have had issues with Story Homes regarding the mud on the road and are constantly in touch with them about cleaning it up, especially at the weekend. They of course have various excuses.

At the last meeting on Tuesday 2 November, the Councillors expressed their concern at the amount of remuneration being given to the new Chief Executive of EDC and wondered how this could be justified. As a Parish Council we have no say in the matter. There were various phrases expressed, but I cannot print them!

Up to now there have been 47 people caught by the speed camera on Icold Road in Greystoke with speeds up to 47mph and three with no road tax.

We wish you all the best for Christmas and the New Year and let us hope it is better than the last 2 years, and we can see light at the end of the tunnel regarding Coronavirus.

Kind Regards.

Roy Fisher (Chairman.)

1st Greystoke Brownies and Guides
Brownies and Guides meet every Monday in term time at 6.00pm at Greystoke Village Hall. Brownies is for girls aged 7-10, and Guides is for girls aged 10-14.

We enjoy a wide variety of activities plus trips, sleepovers and camps! We welcome girls from Greystoke and surrounding villages including Berrier, Stainton, Skelton, Penruddock, Plumpton and Penrith.

To find out more or join us in January, email Georgina Stephenson or register your daughter with Girl Guiding.

Greystoke Social Club
The Social Club meets at 2.00pm in Greystoke Village Hall. All are welcome – it’s just £1 for your tea and biscuits!

• Monday 13 December – Bring a plate of Christmas Food and play some party games
• Monday 17 January – first meeting of the New Year

Greystoke Swimming Pool Film Night
We are delighted to continue with our popular Film Nights held at the village hall.

Tickets £12 for a great night out including film, food and interval ice cream. Licensed bar. Tickets from Greystoke Post Office, only 50 available.

Please help us to run the event safely by doing a lateral flow test before attending and if we have to cancel the event, full refunds will be given.

Future film nights for your diary (film details to be announced):

• Saturday 8 January 2022
• Saturday 5 February 2022

A March 2022 date will be announced in due course.

Swimming Pool Café
The Café at Greystoke Pool will be open most Tuesdays between 11.30am and 2.30pm for coffee, cake, scones and soup throughout December and January.

Swimming Pool Draw
The lucky winners of the Swimming Pool Monthly Draw for November are:

• £20 – Pauline Douthwaite – 141
• £15 – John and Gill Danks – 181
• £10 – Ian and Joan Curry – 116
• £5 – Helen and Frazer Ross – 164
• £5 – Andy Nicol – 174
• £5 – Jennifer Modral – 06
• £5 – Alan Walton – 35

Join the draw and help raise funds for the swimming pool and the chance to win cash prizes every month.

A one off fee of £15 buys you a number which is entered into a monthly draw and the Christmas bonus draws. This year we have had over £1000 to give away in cash prizes!

Payment is due in December. Existing members – no need to do anything, we will contact you automatically.

Want to be included for 2022? Contact Emma Nielsen.

Be involved, be a winner.

Thank you
Victor and Anne Brownlee would like to thank most sincerely our friends in Greystoke for their support, many messages of sympathy and the abundance of flowers received following the sad loss of our precious 8 year old grandson Oliver, in Australia.

Thanks also to Richard for his sensitive ministrations, appreciated by us both in such difficult circumstances.

Best wishes to all

Victor and Anne[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Sunday 12 December – Morning Praise led by Judith Walsh, speaker Graham Simons

Sunday 19 December – Holy Communion with Canon Cameron Butland

Sunday 19 December (7.00pm) – Village Carol Service

Wednesday 22 December (6.30pm) – Carols Around the Village – meet outside The Boot and Shoe

Friday 24 December (3.00pm) – Christingle Service for Families

Friday 24 December (9.30pm) – Christmas Communion – led by Gill Danks

Sunday 26 December – No Service

Everyone is welcome to our services which are held in church.

Please wear a mask for services and use the sanitiser provided.

All services at 9:15am unless indicated.

Carol Service in Church – 7.00pm Sunday 19 December
Come and join us as we retell the Christmas Story and sing the old familiar carols.

Collection will go to the homeless charity CRISIS.

Carols Around The Village – 6.30pm Wednesday 22 December
Wrap up warm, bring a torch, wear something bright and come with us as we tell of the birth of Jesus to the village accompanied by some familiar carols.

Meet outside The Boot and Shoe.

Christingle – 3.00pm Friday 24 December in Church
We are encouraging families to book a pew as we continue to try and stay safe maintaining some spacing, and come and join us as we start Christmas by constructing a Christingle, which tells us of the story of God’s creation and the part that Jesus played.

We shall sing to the music of the church’s worship band, and the collection will go to the children’s charity The Children’s Society.

Contact John Danks to book a pew.[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

A short service will take place in church starting at 10.15am, then the congregation will proceed to the village green to join others.

At the village green we will observe the 2 minutes silence at 11.00am and wreaths and other tributes will be laid. The uniformed youth organisation will be in attendance.

St. Andrew’s Greystoke, Church Services November 2021

• Sunday 7 November – Holy Communion; Celebrant and Preacher Rev. Michael Houston
• Sunday 14 November(10.15am start) – Remembrance Sunday; Leader and Preacher Graham Simons
• Sunday 21 November – Morning Praise; Leader – Judith Walsh, Preacher – Gill Danks
• Sunday 28 November – Leader – John Danks, Preacher – Judith Walsh

Everyone is welcome to our services which all start at 9.15am and are held in church. Note that the service on Remembrance Sunday starts at 10.15am.

Book Stall
A big Thank You to everyone who supported the books, jigsaws, plants and, of course, masks outside of Hazel’s house on Howard Park, run under the WI Banner. We made over £1300 for the church during the last 18 months.

We have now decided to call a halt to the books outside but there will be jigsaws on fine days during the winter and also the masks.

All the books left have gone into the Church Library … do take a walk to the church on good days to get a book or two!

Again, a big Thank You to you all.

Hazel – Greystoke WI

St. Andrew’s Church Greystoke Tower Lighting Fund
Once again we are coming up to the festive season, and this time we hope all our plans will be back to normal, compared to last year.

The last year or so has been a trying time for everyone, and there cannot be many of us who have not known someone who has been affected by the pandemic in some way or other.

Many of us remember our loved ones that sadly are no longer with us. We enjoyed so many happy Christmas’s with them in the past. Christmas is certainly a time of remembrance!

Once again we are going to illuminate St. Andrew’s Church Tower in memory of all those dear relatives and friends that we miss so much. We have had many favourable comments from villagers and beyond regarding our tower. It looks spectacular from Icold Road especially!

Last year, due to the generosity of many, many local people, we made a substantial amount, which was greatly appreciated by the PCC.

If anyone would like to make a contribution to the Lighting Fund, please contact Diane Hetherington or any Church member.

PS., Cheques should be made payable to St. Andrew’s Church PCC Greystoke.

Christmas Tree Festival
The popular Christmas Tree Festival will make a return this year. So if you are a member of a community group or organisation, a road or a family, start making your plans for how your tree will look.

The Festival will be held in St. Andrew’s Church from the weekend before Christmas.

Who knows, you may win the trophy!!

St. Andrew’s – Musicians Wanted
St. Andrew’s Church has formed a praise and worship band which will play at one Sunday service a month and meet once a month for a practice session. We would love to welcome any musicians who might wish to join us.

If you are interested, please contact Abi to find out when we are next meeting and come along to see if it is for you.

We are in particular need of a drummer, but any instrument/voices would be a great addition.

St. Andrew’s Frost Fair
St. Andrew’s Church, Greystoke, is holding a Frost Fair on Saturday 11 December from 12.00pm to 4.00pm at the Greystoke Village Hall.

Stalls will include Cakes and Home produce, Christmas Wreaths and Table Decorations, Christmas Cards and stationery, etc., WI, Pre-loved children’s toys, Tombola and silk craft.

There will be a café serving soup, turkey and stuffing rolls, and of course, yummy cakes.

New this year…Test your skill on entertaining games for both children and adults.

There will also be a guest appearance of Father Christmas who will be available from 1.00pm until 2.00pm for a chat with younger members of our community!!!!

If you feel able to contribute to the Cakes and Produce stall, please contact Clare.

Village Hall Committee
Greystoke Village Hall urgently requires new committee members and office holders to secure the future of the hall. An Open Evening will be held in the hall on Wednesday 10 November at 7:30pm. Anyone with an interest in the future of the hall, in joining the committee or becoming an office holder, is welcome to come along for a drink and chat.

We are looking for a Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary, to take over from February next year.

This is your chance to get involved and to safeguard the future of this important community asset.

Greystoke WI
Greystoke WI met on Thursday 7 October for our Guest Night when we were joined by visitors from two other local groups.

It was part of our 100th anniversary celebrations so some of us dressed in the fashions of 100 years ago. After a sumptuous buffet supper we were entertained by Ukes Akimbo, a ukulele group which set up about six years ago when they started to take lessons. They were brilliant. We really enjoyed listening to some golden oldies like Sweet Caroline and Beach Boys classics. We didn’t just have to sit still and listen though, we were able to participate by singing along and even dancing. Some of us were obviously reliving highlights from our youth!

Anne Brownlee was judged to have the best 20’s costume and Gwyneth Yerkess won the prize for best photo from the 20’s.

In November we welcome Paula Carol who will be talking to us about Yoga. The Competition will be improvised gym equipment.

If you would like to join WI, please contact Hazel McGrath

Greystoke Library
I have been asked to set up a village library in the church for everyone to use. Hopefully this will become a useful village resource!

Initially, I am asking for donations of low standing bookshelves please (they can’t be fixed to the walls so we can’t have anything too top heavy). Also, if anyone has any children’s bookshelves or things that would work well in a children’s corner (cushions, little rugs, etc.,) these would be gratefully received.

Once they are in place, we would welcome your donations of books! I will be advertising for these in the new year, but if you are having a sort out, please consider putting some aside for us.

Please contact Lucy Storer if you have any bookshelves for the library.

Thank you very much.

Greystoke Parish Council
The next Greystoke Parish Council meeting is on Tuesday 2 November at 7.30pm in Greystoke Village Hall.

Greystoke and District Sports Association
We are delighted to announce the return of our popular Film Nights held at the village hall.

Limbo – 7.00pm Saturday 27 November 2021

Recently nominated for two BAFTA® awards, Limbo is a wry and poignant observation of the refugee experience, set on a fictional remote Scottish island where a group of new arrivals await the results of their asylum claims. It centres on Omar, a young Syrian musician who is burdened by his grandfather’s musical instrument, an oud, which he has carried all the way from his homeland.

Review: Ben Sharrock has created a delicate world, to deliver an asylum story filled with humour and understanding that always keeps the refugees at its centre.

Please help us to run the event safely by doing a lateral flow test before attending and if we have to cancel the event, full refunds will be given.

Tickets £12 will be on sale at Greystoke Post Office. Price includes cheese and biscuits, one soft drink or glass of wine, and ice cream.

Future film nights for your diary (film details to be announced):

• Saturday 8 January 2022
• Saturday 5 February 2022

A March 2022 date will be announced in due course.

Swimming Pool Draw
The lucky winners of the Swimming Pool Monthly Draw for October are:

• £20 – Karen Dalton – 04
• £15 – Steve & Tara – 55
• £10 – Sarah Fawcett – 72
• £5 – Colin & Sylvia – 167
• £5 – Angela Lowthian – 74
• £5 – Stacey Edmundson – 200
• £5 – Val Allison – 161

Join the draw and help raise funds for the swimming pool and the chance to win cash prizes every month.

A one off fee of £15 buys you a number which is entered into a monthly draw and the Christmas bonus draws. This year we have had over £1000 to give away in cash prizes!

Payment is due in December. Existing members – no need to do anything, we will contact you automatically.

Want to be included for 2022? Contact Emma Nielsen .

Be involved, be a winner.[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

We enjoy a wide variety of activities from craft and cooking to sport and STEM, plus trips, sleepovers and camps! We welcome girls from Greystoke & surrounding villages including Berrier, Stainton, Skelton, Penruddock, Plumpton and Penrith.

If your daughter would like to join us, email Gina Stephenson or register with Girl Guiding.[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

• Sunday 3 October – Holy Communion; Celebrant and Preacher Rev. Michael Houston
• Sunday 10 October – Morning Praise;
• Sunday 17 October – Morning Praise;
• Sunday 24 October – Morning Praise;
• Sunday 31 October – Confirmation with Bishop James Bell

Everyone is welcome to our services which all start at 9.15am and are held in church.

The Church Council has asked worshippers to continue sanitising their hands when entering and leaving church and to continue to wear face coverings although singing is now permitted. We are also now able to offer refreshments after services.

We will celebrate Harvest on Sunday 3 October at our service of Holy Communion.

Harvest Supper
St. Andrew’s Church is holding a Harvest Supper on Saturday 9 October in the Greystoke Village hall at 7.30pm.

Tickets are £10 (£5 for school children) and includes Cottage Pie and Red Cabbage, Apple Crumble and the first glass of wine or soft drink free. A Vegetarian option is also available. Music will be provided by Blue Jam. There will also be a bingo session and bar.

If you would like to book tickets, please contact Maureen Hardy or John Danks

Churchyard Update
The church council is most grateful for the £800 which the Parish Council has contributed towards the bill for mowing the churchyard. Work continues to tidy up around the yew trees, and we are very grateful to the Church House Group which meets in Blencow for spending two evenings carrying out maintenance.

If anyone would like to help us in this work, doing as much as you wish, please give John Danks a ring to find out what needs to be done.

Remembrance Sunday – 14th November
After the restrictions of Covid last year which meant attendance on the village green was discouraged, we will this year return to our normal format. That will be:

• 10.15am Service in Church attended by the unformed youth organisations
• 11.00am Gathering on the Village Green for the laying of wreaths and the two minute silence

1st Greystoke Brownies & Guides
Brownies and Guides meet every Monday in term time at 6:00pm at Greystoke Village Hall. Brownies is for girls aged 7-10, and Guides is for girls aged 10-14.

We enjoy a wide variety of activities from craft and cooking to sport and STEM, plus trips, sleepovers and camps! We welcome girls from Greystoke & surrounding villages including Berrier, Stainton, Skelton, Penruddock, Plumpton and Penrith.

If your daughter would like to join us, email Gina Stephenson or register with Girl Guiding.

Greystoke WI
We met on Thursday 2 September at 7.00pm for our Open Night when Roy Fisher gave out prizes for beautiful gardens, and enjoyed cheese and wine. A raffle was held of the hampers Eileen assembled. Jim Bownass and Andrew Leech then showed us some historical footage to do with Crime and Punishment. Andrew has a special interest in this as he is a JP. It was thought provoking to see how attitudes have changes to capital punishment.

On Thursday 7 October we have our Guest Night when we invite members from neighbouring WI groups. This year we are having a supper and being entertained by Ukes Akimbo – a ukulele band. There are two competitions in honour of our 100 year anniversary. The first is fancy dress in the style of 20’s and 30’s fashion. The second is a photo from your archive of that period.

If you would like to join WI, please contact Hazel.

Spirals of Time – Rectors of Greystoke
On the retirement of the Revd. Bill White in 2019, Daphne and Jeremy Honey began to rework the list of the Rectors of Greystoke, the earliest being Thomas de Vipent in 1255.

On the day the art work went to the framers, Purdon and Co. in Penrith, news of another rector arrived who was not on the list! Henri de Grandson from 1276 appeared via a post to the Greystoke Village Facebook page (12th December 2020) from the historian John Marshall. There are now several posts about Henri and his nephew Gerard de Vuippens with wonderful photos from John. We look forward to meeting John and hearing talk from him when he is next able to travel from his home in Switzerland. Henri has been ‘squeezed in’ before the frame was sealed.

The list has been divided into two and represented in the form of Spirals of Time. The arrival of our next Rector will see the beginning of a new Spiral to hang in the church and be added to over future centuries!

Greystoke Parish Council
The next two Greystoke Parish Council meetings are Tuesday 28 September and Tuesday 2 November, both at 7.30pm in Greystoke Village Hall.

The result of the Best Kept Garden competition:

• Large Garden: Eileen and Norman Lund
• Small Garden: Elizabeth and Larry Poland
• Containers and Baskets: Patricia and Ross Watson.

Greystoke and District Sports Association
We are delighted to announce the return of our popular Film Nights held at the village hall.

Our first event will be The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019 adventure/comedy) at 7.00pm on Saturday 23 October – A man with Down Syndrome runs away from a residential nursing home to pursue his dream of becoming a wrestler. Later he meets with an outlaw who becomes his friend and coach.

We are making several changes to the normal format to keep everyone safe in Covid times. There is a maximum of 50 people (first come first served), and cheese and biscuits will be served whilst you enjoy a short film. We will then show the main film with an ice cream served in the interval. There will also be a licensed bar and we will serve all drinks at your table. We do request that everyone does a lateral flow test in the 24 hours before attending and, if we have to cancel the event, full refunds will be made.

Tickets £12 will be on sale at Greystoke Post Office. Price includes cheese and biscuits, one soft drink or glass of wine, and ice cream.

Future film nights for your diary (film details to be announced):

• Saturday 27 November 2021
• Saturday 8 January 2022
• Saturday 5 February 2022

A March 2022 date will be announced in due course.

Swimming Pool Draw
The lucky winners of the Swimming Pool Monthly Draw for September are:

• £20 – Moira Dudson – 41
• £15 – Lyn & Dick Mol – 148
• £10 – Andy Nicol – 174
• £5 – Alan & Mary Marshall – 177
• £5 – Emily Coates – 37
• £5 – John Bridges – 140
• £5 – Liz Kinghorn – 203

This is a fundraiser for the pool, one ticket buys you entrance to 12 monthly draws and a bonus Christmas draw with cash prizes up to £50!

The draw runs January to December and costs £15 with half of the fee going directly to the pool, the other half as cash prizes. Payment is due in December so watch this space for details nearer the time or see the pool website.

Thank you for your continued support for our lovely village pool.

Fellrunner Bus Trips
Fellrunner is running the following minibus trips out of Greystoke (and Newbiggin) this summer. The money raised goes to support the bus service.

• Monday 11 October – Barnard Castle £15; depart 9.59am, home by 5.00pm.

To book seats or get info, call 07734 529 432[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

• Sunday 5 September
  – Holy Communion; Celebrant and Preacher Rev. Michael Houston
• Sunday 12 September
  – Morning Praise; Service leader John Danks, Preacher Judith Walsh
• Sunday 19 September
  – Holy Communion; Celebrant and Preacher Canon Cameron Butland
• Sunday 26 September
  – Morning Praise; Service Leader Judith Walsh, Preacher Graham Simons

Everyone is welcome to our services which all start at 9.15am and are held in church.

The Church Council has asked worshippers to continue sanitising their hands when entering and leaving church and to continue to wear face coverings although singing is now permitted.

We are also now able to offer refreshments after services.

Advance Notice – we will celebrate Harvest on Sunday 3 October at our service of Holy Communion that day.

Macmillan Coffee Morning
The church is very pleased to be able to host in St Andrew’s Church, Greystoke a Macmillan Coffee Morning from 10.00am until 1.00pm on Saturday 11 September in support of that much valued and highly regarded charity.

Please spread this widely and we look forward to seeing you on that day.

Harvest Supper and Ceilidh
St. Andrew’s Church is holding a Harvest Supper and Ceilidh on Saturday 9 October in the Greystoke Village hall at 6.30pm.

Tickets will be available nearer the time.

If you would like to book tickets, please contact Maureen Hardy

Greystoke Under 5’s Playgroup
The playgroup will be reopening back at Greystoke village hall on Thursday 9 September, 9.45am to 11.15am.

After almost 18 months closed due to Covid, it would be lovely to see our regulars and welcome new members.

We have new toys and special activities planned for our sessions. The playgroup will now be held on Thursdays in term time only.

For more information please join Facebook group Greystoke Under 5s Playgroup (2021+), or call Becky on 07515 761 626.

Everybody is welcome!

Greystoke WI
We restarted meetings in the Village Hall in August with a presentation by Jim Bownass and Andrew Leech. They showed us some of their fascinating old footage of Carlisle, Penrith and the Lake District. The Cumbria Film Archive has about 300 films. Some of the footage only came to light because a solicitor was at one of their presentations and offered some cine film that they were disposing of. In the oldest film, it was moving to see the workers pouring out of the biscuit factory in Carlisle, many of whom were boys who probably ended up in the trenches. Some of the promotions from the fifties and sixties were shockingly sexist but also quite humorous as they were for inventions which seemed to be completely bonkers – like the tent which popped up on your car roof! We look forward to more of their selections in September.

Thursday 2 September at 7.00pm is our Open Night when Roy Fisher will give out prizes for beautiful gardens. There will be cheese and wine and a raffle. Could members please bring an item from their larder to go into the hampers? Entry will be by donation. Jim Bownass and Andrew Leech have kindly volunteered to show us some different historical footage of the local area.

If you would like to join WI, please contact Hazel

Mary Jack Foundation Trust Fund
Studying?

Funding Available Grants are available to all students aged eleven to twenty-five, who reside in the Whitbarrow, Berrier and Murrah area from the Mary Jack Foundation Trust Fund. Grants may be put towards the cost of education, training, apprenticeships, books or equipment, which would help to prepare for or enter a trade or profession.

Application forms and further information are available from Mrs E Earl, Thanet Well, Hutton Roof, Penrith CA11 0XX (017684 84 540).

Completed forms to be returned to Mrs Earl by Saturday 25 September 2021.

In order to keep this fund functioning, the trustees would appreciate applications from eligible students.

Greystoke Parish Council
The Greystoke Parish Council Best Kept Garden presentation will take place at the WI meeting on Thursday 2 September at 7.00pm.

The Parish Council gave donations of £100 to the School to purchase a cut out Policeman to place around the Village to try and make motorists slow down, they also gave £800 to the Church and £500 to the Swimming Pool.

The next Parish Council meeting is on Tuesday 28 September at 7.30pm.

I would like to thank the Swimming Pool committee for asking me to cut the ribbon to officially open the new swimming pool pavilion. I felt very honoured to do so. It is a fantastic facility and I thank all those involved in working so hard to make it come to fruition under the Chairman Stephen Nicol.

I wish them well for the future.

Roy Fisher

Swimming Pool Draw
Congratulations to the lucky winners of the Swimming Pool Monthly Draw
[one_half][learn_more caption=”July’s Winners”]

• £20 – Hugh Taylor – 02
• £15 – Alan & Janet Buckley – 40
• £10 – Julie Boothman – 13
• £5 – Jane Taylor – 17
• £5 – Tom& Sam Fawcett – 126
• £5 – John Smith – 105
• £5 – Ross & Tricia – 25

[/learn_more][/one_half] [one_half_last][learn_more caption=”August’s Winners”]

• £20 – Peter Trueman – 80
• £15 – Simon & Trish Hawkyard – 189
• £10 – T & E Blenkharn – 87
• £5 – Mike Bellas – 89
• £5 – Claire Hebdige – 135
• £5 – Molleen McHale – 47
• £5 – Judith Eilbeck – 113

[/learn_more][/one_half_last]

Thank you for your continued support.

Fellrunner Bus Trips
Fellrunner is running the following minibus trips out of Greystoke (and Newbiggin) this summer. The money raised goes to support the bus service.

• Monday 13 September – Kendal £12; depart 9.59am, home by 5.00pm
• Monday 27 September – Gretna Gateway £15; depart 9.59am, home by 4.45pm
• Monday 11 October – Barnard Castle £15; depart 9.59am, home by 5.00pm.

To book seats or get info, call 07734 529 432

Gentle Yoga with Paula
Gentle yoga improves flexibility and mobility. Allow your mind and body to relax and repair.

Saturdays between 10:00am and 11:00am in Greystoke Village Hall, sessions are £5 and mats are provided.

There are a couple of spaces still available if anyone wants to join in.

If interested in joining, please contact Paula on 07730 499 287 to confirm a place, or visit her yoga Facebook page.[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

After almost 18 months closed due to Covid, it would be lovely to see our regulars and welcome new members.

We have new toys and special activities planned for our sessions. The playgroup will now be held on Thursdays in term time only.

For more information please join Facebook group Greystoke Under 5s Playgroup (2021+), or call Becky on 07515 761 626.

Everybody is welcome![/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Funding Available Grants are available to all students aged eleven to twenty-five, who reside in the Whitbarrow, Berrier and Murrah area from the Mary Jack Foundation Trust Fund. Grants may be put towards the cost of education, training, apprenticeships, books or equipment, which would help to prepare for or enter a trade or profession.

Application forms and further information are available from Mrs E Earl, Thanet Well, Hutton Roof, Penrith CA11 0XX (017684 84 540).

Completed forms to be returned to Mrs Earl by Saturday 25 September 2021.

In order to keep this fund functioning, the trustees would appreciate applications from eligible students.

• Sunday 1 August
  – Holy Communion; Celebrant and Preacher Rev. Michael Houston
• Sunday 8 August
  – Morning Praise; Service leader John Danks, Preacher Judith Walsh
• Sunday 15 August
  – Morning Praise; Service Leader Judith Walsh, Preacher Graham Simons
• Sunday 22 August
  – Morning Praise; Service Leader Graham Simons, Preacher John Danks
• Sunday 29 August
  – Holy Communion; Celebrant Rev. Richard Hall, Preacher Gill Danks

All services are in the church and start at 9.15am. Guidelines at the time of publication state that masks must be worn and social distancing take place.

Everyone is welcome to attend our services.

1st Greystoke Brownies & Guides
Greystoke Brownies and Guides have squeezed lots into their outdoor meetings since Easter!

Brownies have learned how to strike a match safely and light a fire, made toasted cheese sandwiches on the open fire and enjoyed S’mores too! They practiced packing for a sleepover or residential, and did an activity where they decided what items they’d need for survival on a desert island. They created an assault course for the Guides, measured the speed of the beck in the garth behind the church, and enjoyed the Habitat Nature Trail in Penrith.

Guides have dissected owl pellets, deciding what type of owl they’d come from and what the owls had been eating. They’ve pitched tents and an event shelter, lit their own fires and cooked Pizza Pockets on them (and S’mores of course!). They learned to tie new knots and lashings, making brilliant rafts which they sailed on the river.

Together, we’ve been tracking round the village, weeded the flower bed on the green and around the village hall, played rounders, swung on the rope swing and, at our last meeting of term on Monday 12 July, we enjoyed a BBQ, games, promise ceremony and badge presentation.

Guides are planning a camp later in the year and Brownies have got their fingers crossed for a sleepover!

Brownies is for girls aged 7-10 and Guides is for girls aged 10-14. We meet on Monday evenings in the village. We welcome girls from Greystoke and surrounding villages including Berrier, Stainton, Skelton, Penruddock, Plumpton and Penrith.

If your daughter would like to join us in September, email Gina Stephenson or register with Girl Guiding.

Greystoke WI
On Thursday 5 August at 7.00pm, Greystoke WI would like to invite all our friends and neighbours from the Parish of Greystoke to join us for our first post lockdown Open Night. Entry will be by donation

Cheese and wine will be served, after which Roy Fisher will be presenting awards for beautiful gardens. This will be followed by a presentation from Dennis Westmoreland, featuring local villages. There will also be a raffle.

Please come and join us as we celebrate getting back to (nearly) normal.

At the time of writing it is not known what Covid prevention measures may still be necessary. WI will try to make all our guests feel comfortable and will work with any remaining regulations at the Village Hall.

Fellrunner Bus Trips
Fellrunner is running the following minibus trips out of Greystoke (and Newbiggin) this summer. The money raised goes to support the bus service.

• Monday 2 August – Richmond £15; depart 9.59am, home by 5.00pm
• Monday 16 August – Holehird Gardens, Windermere £15; depart 9.59am, home by 5.00pm
• Monday 30 August – Lanercost and Roman Wall £15; depart 9.59am, home by 5.30pm
• Monday 13 September – Kendal £12; depart 9.59am, home by 5.00pm
• Monday 27 September – Gretna Gateway £15; depart 9.59am, home by 4.45pm
• Monday 11 October – Barnard Castle £15; depart 9.59am, home by 5.00pm.

To book seats or get info, call 07734 529 432

Gentle Yoga with Paula
Gentle yoga improves flexibility and mobility. Allow your mind and body to relax and repair.

Saturdays between 10:00am and 11:00am in Greystoke Village Hall, sessions are £5 and mats are provided.

If interested in joining, please contact Paula on 07730 499 287 to confirm a place.
[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

• Sunday 4 July
  – Holy Communion; Celebrant and Preacher Rev Richard Hall
• Sunday 11 July
  – Morning Praise; Service leader Judith Walsh, Preacher Graham Simons
• Sunday 18 July
  – Holy Communion; Celebrant Rev Richard Hall, Preacher Gill Danks
• Sunday 25 July
  – Morning Praise; Service leader Graham Simons, Preacher John Danks

All services are in the church and start at 9.15am. Masks must be worn and social distancing takes place.

Everyone is welcome to attend our services.

Churchyard
If you enter the churchyard by the normal gate, on your left you will see two rows of yew trees. Some work has started to drive back the encroaching ivy, brambles and nettles as well as clearing the trees of self-setting elders. This is proceeding slowly, but if you wish you can be part of the efforts to restore the churchyard in this area to what it was meant to be.

Please contact John Danks to volunteer to help and to be shown what you can do. You can do some work in your own time at your own pace. The church council is very grateful to Guy Challands from Church House who has done some excellent work in clearing the walls of the ivy.

Maintenance of the churchyard is a continuous task and currently the congregation pays more than £1800 each year just to get the grass mowed. This year we also will be spending several hundred pounds in having two diseased tree trunks removed to ensure safety in the churchyard. So every little bit we can do ourselves is helping to ensure that the churchyard is a pleasant and safe place to visit.

PCC, St Andrew’s Church

Open the Book
A small group of members of the congregations of St Andrew’s, Greystoke and All Saints Penruddock regularly take bible stories into Greystoke and Penruddock Primary Schools. But they don’t just read them – no, they dress up in the appropriate costumes and present the stories as plays whilst the story itself is read from a child friendly bible. At least that was what happened before the pandemic occurred, currently the stories are recorded and made available to the schools on a restricted channel on YouTube.

When we return to normal and when the group can once again go into the schools the cast will be augmented by the children as they play small parts – the part of a Roman soldier is very popular, particularly as the costume comes with a sword!!

1st Petteril Vale Scout Group
We are a very active local scout group. Our Beavers section, children aged 6 to 8, is based at Blencow Village Hall, our cubs for children 8 to 10½ are based at Stainton Village hall, whilst our scouts, for older children are based at Penruddock Village Hall. We recruit from all the local villages and from much further afield.

All our sections work towards a set of badges known as Challenge Badges. If they get them all and some proficiency badges in other subjects they qualify for the Chief Scouts Bronze, Silver or Gold Award, depending on the section.

During lock down we were not allowed to meet face to face so our meetings took place over Zoom with some interesting and unusual activities – Beavers did cooking including a micro waved cake in a mug, and some experiments including a fire-extinguisher made from baking powder and vinegar.

If you would like to join us as a leader look us up on the Eden Scout District website, this will direct you to the group contact.

Greystoke Primary School
The children in Greystoke School are working very hard on trying to help solve local issues in our village and have written the following article for the New Together Magazine.

[box type=”shadow”]Change Makers
Greystoke School children are working hard to achieve our goals for UNICEF’s Rights Respecting School Award. We have been trying to improve our local village environment by creating three steering groups who are targeting different areas in our village to improve.

During lockdown a steering group began the process of creating a school charter (which set out the rules for how to be a respectful person who can make a potential progressive difference in Greystoke) to make a significant substantial beneficial change for all Greystoke pupils and the wider community: we have the right to be able to use our voices and a right to live in a safe, clean environment.

Every Wednesday, we leave our classroom and venture out into our local village to help our curriculum come to life. We started to notice that there was a lot of dog mess left on the pavements, cars were badly parked and there were speeding cars driving dangerously passed our school. Therefore we divided the class into three groups: a speed awareness group, a dog poo group and a litter-picking group. These groups could then focus on how to improve these areas to make a positive difference by; listening to people’s concerns, writing to local companies for their support (Pets at Home), inviting PC Black to help us and designing posters and campaigns.

Our overall aim is to help keep everyone safe in our village so having corresponded with Nicky Richards and Francesca Kennedy (Bart’s Legacy Charity) we now have a better understanding of how the speeding cars, vans and cycles have a detrimental impact on the safety of horses and their riders, families, children and the wider community of Greystoke. We are hoping to raise funds for two solar powered radar speed signs so we can put one at the entrance of Greystoke near the new Story Homes housing development and the other on Icold Road. We hope that our emails and letters to Cumbria Highways will highlight the need to change their minds about road safety signs in our village and are waiting to hear from them.

Through our UNCIEF work we have a better understanding that we are able to identify a problem, find a solution through talking, listening to others and making a concrete change. Overall, all of us in school are proud to be good independent change makers who, like Malala Yousaf said, ”One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world!”

Key Stage Two: Leo, William, Tom, Freya[/box]

Greystoke Parish Council
The Parish Council will be holding a best kept garden competition this year, but there will be a difference in that it will be judged by looking over the garden fence – there will be no intrusion onto residents property, so that will rule out the vegetable garden part of it, so just flowers and lawns. The presentation will take place at the W.I. meeting in August.

We greatly regret the closing of the main road into Penrith and are in discussion with Story’s to try and get the time scale reduced. It would seem developers hold all the aces, and the Parish Council is very disappointed and angry at the way our residents are being treated. The 106 agreement that was signed in 2017 to say that 30% would be affordable dwellings was not worth the paper it was written on. They and the planning officer wanted it reduced to 5% (that was from 12 to 2) and we ended up with 6. They are building 40.

Kind Regards. Roy Fisher. (Chairman)

Greystoke WI
Greystoke WI is starting the 2021 programme with a trip to Orton on Tuesday 20 July. Please note change of day. It would be to view Jackie Hucks’ dolls houses, look around Orton and have lunch at a café. If you wish to attend you must contact Eileen Lund.

If you wish to join WI please ring Hazel.

Swimming Pool Monthly Draw
Congratulations to the winners of June’s Monthly Draw.

• £20 – Pauline Douthwaite – 141;
• £15 – Carol Galloway – 132;
• £10 – Matt Nielsen – 57;
• £5 – R&S Burton – 187;
• £5 – Roy & Edith Fisher – 12;
• £5 – Claire Morton – 179;
• £5 – Stella Restarick – 150.

Fellrunner Bus Trips
Fellrunner is running the following minibus trips out of Greystoke (and Newbiggin) this summer. The money raised goes to support the bus service.

• Monday 5 July – Keswick – £10; depart 9.59am, depart Keswick 2.40pm
• Monday 19 July – Ullswater Scenic Drive – £10; depart 9.59am, back at Greystoke 4.30pm-ish
• Monday 2 August – Richmond £15; depart 9.59am, home by 5.00pm
• Monday 16 August – Holehird Gardens, Windermere £15; depart 9.59am, home by 5.00pm
• Monday 30 August – Lanercost and Roman Wall £15; depart 9.59am, home by 5.30pm
• Monday 13 September – Kendal £12; depart 9.59am, home by 5.00pm
• Monday 27 September – Gretna Gateway £15; depart 9.59am, home by 4.45pm
• Monday 11 October – Barnard Castle £15; depart 9.59am, home by 5.00pm.

To book seats or get info, call 07734 529 432

Greystoke and District Sports Association
A new chair and trustees sought for Greystoke and District Sports Association.

As you will probably know, the Sports Association is responsible for Greystoke’s playing fields, children’s play areas and the village’s open air heated swimming pool and buildings, including its café. These are vital facilities for the village and surrounding communities.

The current chair, Stephen Nicol, is standing down, having seen the refurbishment of the pool buildings through to their successful completion and now the re-opening of the pool after the disappointment of the Covid affected 2020 season.

The Sports Association has a very committed, effective and friendly group of 11 trustees. We are supported by our pool of dedicated volunteers who help with maintenance, run the café and help at fundraising events. The Sports Association is a great way of meeting people in the local area.

We are seeking a new chair to lead the Sport Association, to ensure the co-ordination of the work of the trustees and to continue to take forward the development of the swimming pool and our other facilities.

In addition, the Sport Association is interested in hearing from others in the local area who would like to get involved in the running of the pool and join the Sports Association’s committee.

For an informal discussion about what is involved please contact Stephen

Gentle Yoga with Paula
Gentle yoga improves flexibility and mobility. Allow your mind and body to relax and repair.

Starting Saturday 5 June, between 10:00am and 11:00am in Greystoke Village Hall, sessions are £5 and mats are provided.

If interested in joining, please contact Paula on 07730 499 287 to confirm a place.[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

• Sunday 6 June – Holy Communion
  – Rev Gary Cregeen (Celebrant and Preacher)
• Sunday 13 June – Morning Praise
  – Graham Simons (Service Leader), John Danks (Preacher)
• Sunday 20 June – Holy Communion
  – Rev Richard Hall (Celebrant), Gill Danks (Preacher)
• Sunday 27 June – Morning Praise
  – John Danks (Service Leader), Graham Simons (Preacher)

All services are in the church and start at 9.15am. Masks must be worn and social distancing takes place.

Everyone is welcome to attend our services.

Church Opening and Services
The church is open every day for visitors and those seeking a place of quiet from about 10.00am until about 4.00pm. Only the central pews are available to sit in and we are still cleaning those pews each evening in line with COVID guidance.

All services are taking place in church – every Sunday at 9.15am – all welcome.

Everyone attending services is required to wear a face covering and to sanitise their hands entering and leaving the building.

Plant Sale
A huge thank you to everyone who supported this fund raiser for church funds, those who contributed plants and those who came and purchased the plants and the cake which was available.

It raised almost £1000, which is a vital contribution in these current times.

Thank you.

Garage (or Garden) Sale
There will be an opportunity to sell some unwanted items or raise funds for your own charity on Saturday 19 June from 10.00am.

Book your stall with Maureen Hardy (07565 769 354).

Stalls are charged at £5 each for church funds, you keep all the cash you raise.

Maps will be provided and refreshments will be available.

Look out on Facebook for more details.

Thank You WI
Since the beginning of the first lock-down Greystoke WI has been operating a sales table alongside the path from the village to Howard Park. The proceeds from this have been given to the church. This is a kind and generous gesture for which the Church Council is most grateful.

Thank you Hazel and your members.

Christian Aid Week
A total of £233, including gift aid, has been sent to Christian Aid to add to their funds currently used to provide clean water to areas where climate change has caused problems in the supply of clean water.

Thank you to all who contributed.

New chair and trustees sought for Greystoke and District Sports Association
As you will probably know, the Sports Association is responsible for Greystoke’s playing fields, children’s play areas and the village’s open air heated swimming pool and buildings (including its café) (see our website). These are vital facilities for the village and surrounding communities.

The current chair, Stephen Nicol, is standing down, having seen the refurbishment of the pool buildings through to their successful completion and now the re-opening of the pool after the disappointment of the Covid affected 2020 season.

The Sports Association has a very committed, effective and friendly group of 11 trustees. We are supported by our pool of dedicated volunteers who help with maintenance, run the café and help at fundraising events. The Sports Association is a great way of meeting people in the local area.

We are seeking a new chair to lead the Sport Association, to ensure the co-ordination of the work of the trustees and to continue to take forward the development of the swimming pool and our other facilities.

In addition, the Sport Association is interested in hearing from others in the local area who would like to get involved in the running of the pool and join the Sports Association’s committee.

For an informal discussion about what is involved please contact Stephen on 017684 80 088.

Gentle Yoga with Paula
Gentle yoga improves flexibility and mobility. Allow your mind and body to relax and repair

Starting Saturday 5 June, between 10:00am and 11:00am in Greystoke Village Hall, sessions are £5 and mats are provided.

If interested in joining, please contact Paula on 07730 499 287 to confirm a place.

[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

• Sunday 2 May – Holy Communion
  – Rev Richard Hall (Celebrant and Preacher)
• Sunday 9 May – Morning Praise
  – Graham Simons (Service Leader), John Danks (Preacher)
• Sunday 16 May – Holy Communion
  – Rev Richard Hall (Celebrant), Gill Danks (Preacher)
• Sunday 23 May – the Feast of Pentecost – the birthday of the church – Morning Praise
  – John Danks (Service Leader), Judith Walsh (Preacher)
• Sunday 30 May – Morning Praise
  – Judith Walsh (Service Leader), Graham Simons (Preacher)

All services are in the church and start at 9.15am. Masks must be worn and social distancing takes place.

Everyone is welcome to attend our services.

Brownie and Guides
1st Greystoke Brownies and Guides is very excited to be able to meet in person again!

This summer term they’re going to be holding outdoor meetings every Monday in term time from 6.00pm to 7.30pm, enjoying a whole range of outdoor activities from fire lighting, outdoor cooking, tent pitching and den building to growing seeds and making bug hotels! We’re also hoping to be able to go camping during the summer!

Brownies is for girls aged 7 to 10; and Guides is for girls aged 10 to 14. We’ll be working in two separate groups with Brownies and Guides doing different activities working towards their badges and awards. All activities are risk assessed and carried out in a Covid-secure environment.

You don’t have to live in Greystoke to join us, we have members from Stainton, Plumpton, Penrith, Newbiggin and more, so it’s a great way for girls to meet new friends!

If your daughter would like to join us, email Gina Stephenson or register with Girl Guiding.

Swimming Pool Draw
Thank you to all who continue to support the Swimming Pool Monthly Draw, supporting a worthwhile cause whilst being in with a chance of winning a cash prize; it’s a win/win!

Congratulations to the winners of April’s Monthly Draw.

• 149 – £20 – Shelagh Goldie
• 30 – £15 – Joseph Nielsen
• 95 – £10 – Ruth Bridges
• 173 – £5 – Jason & Becky
• 165 – £5 – B&M Murry
• 195 – £5 – Claire Hebdige
• 163 – £5 – Helen & Frazer Ross

Greystoke Swimming Pool
An army of volunteers has been preparing the pool ready for opening. Thank you to them all, they have been working very hard for the past few weeks.

At first we are opening to adult season ticket holders and hopefully to the general public later, as restrictions ease and after our lifeguards have been trained. We have put in place Covid-19 risk assessments that will help us organise the opening and look forward to welcoming villagers back to the pool.

Adult season tickets have proved very popular and we have stopped accepting new members until we see how busy the sessions become. We have been able to extend the adult swimming sessions with our new automatic dosing system.

Our café has been refurbished and we are putting in the finishing touches. Although the priority is opening the pool for swimming we are looking at how best to use the café over the summer. The list of Buy a Brick donors will be an important feature!

We also have new signage for the pool to encouraging people to park in the car park rather than on Church Road.

Plant Sale
St. Andrew’s Church will be holding a plant sale on Saturday 22 May outside the village hall from 10.00am until 12.00 noon.

With a relaxation in some Covid restrictions, we hope to be able to serve tea/coffee and cakes.

Look forward to seeing you all.[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

• Easter Sunday 4 April – Holy Communion
  – Rev Richard Hall (Celebrant and Preacher)
• Sunday 11 April – Morning Praise
  – John Danks (Service Leader), Judith Walsh (Preacher)
• Sunday 18 April – Holy Communion
  – Rev Richard Hall (Celebrant), Gill Danks (Preacher)
• Sunday 25 April – Morning Praise
  – Judith Walsh (Service Leader), Graham Simons (Preacher)

Please note that we are now back to services taking place in church, all services commencing at 9.15am.

Everyone is welcome to attend our services.

Easter Services
We shall be sharing in Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services with the congregation of St Patrick’s Church in Patterdale.

Please contact John Danks for the times and a Zoom invite.

Easter Cross
As is the custom in Greystoke, a bare wooden cross will be placed on the village green on the evening of Maundy Thursday.

Everyone is invited to thatch the cross with spring flowers on Easter Day to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and perhaps this year as a sign of the hope of a happier time to come.

If you have no flowers in your garden then some will be placed at the foot of the cross for you to use.

Church Remains Open
The church remains open daily for anyone who wants to spend some time in quiet or to pray.

Please comply with the Covid regulations which are displayed.

Many thanks to everyone who opens or locks the church, or cleans the pews daily.

Greystoke WI
Greystoke WI hopes to start the 2021 programme with a trip to Orton on Thursday 8 July if the Roadmap out of lockdown proceeds as planned. Please note the change of day. It would be to view Jackie Hucks’ dollhouses, look around Orton and have lunch at a café. Further details will be circulated.

As restrictions ease and we are allowed to meet in groups of six outside we would hope to restart meetings for coffee or tea.

Hazel’s table is laden once again with books and jigsaws.

NHS Day is to be on Monday 5 July and we are considering fund raising for it with, possibly, a coffee morning on Saturday 3 July in the village hall (subject to it being open). We would be fundraising for NHS Charities Together and the National Care Association.

Our new year in WI starts in April. If you would like to give WI a trial run, you could join our emailing list for three months and think about joining us properly when meetings start up again.

If you wish to join WI, please contact Hazel on 83 685.[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

• Sunday 7 March – Holy Communion
  – Rev Richard Hall (Celebrant and Preacher)
• Sunday 14 March – Mothing Sunday Morning Praise
  – Judith Walsh (Service Leader), Graham Simons (Preacher)
• Sunday 21 March – Holy Communion
  – Rev Richard Hall (Celebrant), Gill Danks (Preacher)
• Sunday 28 March – Palm Sunday Morning Praise
  – Graham Simons (Service Leader), John Danks (Preacher)

Everyone is welcome to attend our services.

All services are held at 9.15am using Zoom. If you would like to join us please email John Danks who will send you the Zoom invite.

Weekly Coffee and Chat
Every Tuesday at 10.00am we have a chat with coffee you are invited to join us using Zoom.

Please contact Maureen Hardy (80 699) who will provide the Zoom invite.

Easter Services
We shall be sharing in Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services with the congregation of St Patrick’s Church in Patterdale.

Please contact John Danks for the times and a Zoom invite.

Easter Cross
Following our usual pattern, the bare wooden cross will be erected on the village green on the evening of Maundy Thursday. It will remain there for Good Friday and Holy Saturday as a reminder of the sacrifice Christ made for us.

On Easter morning, everyone is invited to dress the cross with daffodils and other spring flowers as we remember the first Easter when Christ defeated death and rose again.

Greystoke WI

Greystoke WI has been unable to hold meetings since February 2020 but we have still tried our best to keep things going within the government Covid regulations.

Early on Hazel set up a stall outside her house for puzzles, books, plants and masks, etc. When six were allowed to meet outside, we had tea parties in gardens. Since then we have not been able to meet but a few of us did gather to plant crocus bulbs at the top of Howard Park. It remains to be seen how many of these will survive the process.

At Christmas and Valentine’s, we were very pleased to receive a container of Spring bulbs and then a pretty primula to let us know that WI had not forgotten us.

Throughout the year we have also had a weekly emailed message board which carries notices and anything people want to share to cheer each other up. To start with we had lots of photos of the spring flowers emerging. It seems incredible that we are already photographing the same flowers a year later.

We have been unable to meet for an AGM but have been asked to hold one at a distance by the end of May. We have established that all the committee are happy to stand once more and hope to circulate a report and voting papers very soon.

If you wish to join WI, please contact Hazel on 83 685.

Greystoke Swimming Pool

The pool committee met on Thursday 25 February and discussed plans in the light of the Government’s announcement on Monday 22 February about the roadmap out of Covid. This provides welcome clarity going forward.

Initially, we intend to open for our adult swimming club members in May; and then progress to opening the pool and café for members of the public in June once we have some lifeguards.

Of course, this is all subject to government regulations.

Further information on season tickets and opening dates will be announced in April.

We look forward to welcoming you back to the pool this summer.

Janice

Swimming Pool Draw
Thank you to all who continue to give your support to the Swimming Pool Monthly Draw, supporting a worthwhile cause whilst being in with a chance of winning a cash prize; it’s a win/win!

Congratulations to the winners of February’s Monthly Draw.

• 11 £20 Andrew Wilson
• 207 £15 Steve & Leslie
• 96 £10 Roy & Mel
• 13 £5 Julie Boothman
• 105 £5 John Smith
• 55 £5 Steve & Tara
• 192 £5 Guy & Hazel

There are seven cash prizes each month and bonus draws in December. It’s £15 for the whole year – if you would like to be entered for the next 10 draws contact Emma Nielsen.[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

• Sunday 7 February – Holy Communion
  – Rev Richard Hall (Celebrant and Preacher)
• Sunday 14 February – Morning Praise
  – TBC (Service Leader), TBC (Preacher)
• Sunday 21 February – Holy Communion
  – Rev Richard Hall (Celebrant and Preacher)
• Sunday 28 February – Morning Praise
  – TBC (Service Leader), TBC (Preacher)

Everyone is welcome to attend our services.

All services are held at 9.15am using Zoom. If you would like to join us please email John Danks who will send you the Zoom invite.

Weekly Coffee and Chat
Every Tuesday at 10.00am we have a chat with coffee you are invited to join us using Zoom. Please contact Maureen Hardy who will provide the Zoom invite.

St. Andrew’s Church Tower Lighting Fund

May I, on behalf of the P.C.C, and the members of St. Andrew’s Church, Greystoke, thank everyone for their wonderful donations to our Church Tower Lighting Fund. We were quite overwhelmed by the response, after what has been a somewhat difficult time.

A lot of our usual festivities had to be cancelled, due to the Covid restrictions, however Greystoke people were able to do their best, with the lovely Advent windows, that proved to be so popular.

The bell ringing team turned out, on what was a cold and frosty morning, and rang a number of Christmas carols and songs, putting everyone in a very happy mood, and about 40 of us enjoyed a walking carol service around the village.

Perhaps by the end of 2021, now that the vaccines have started to do their bit, next Christmas will be showing signs of a bit of normality.

Until then, may I thank you all once again, and stay safe.

Di Hetherington

Swimming Pool Needs You!
We hope the Pool can be opened in some way this summer. We want to share our new facilities with the village and maybe provide a bit of sunshine in these difficult times.

To do this we will need to increase our volunteer team.

There are many different roles: helping us get ready for opening, painting and cleaning, helping in the café and with admissions, maintaining the pool water quality, ordering stock for the café, helping coordinate volunteers, organising fundraising events, etc.

We don’t mind if you can only spare a couple of hours or have days to spare, we can use you! We will be doing all this in a safe way, applying all current COVID guidelines.

If you’d like to get involved with our brilliant local facility, please give Janice a ring.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Janice (017684 83 982)

Greystoke Parish Council
Greystoke Parish Council wants to make dog owners aware of the fact that all dogs within the 30 mile per hour signs must be kept on a lead. There are a lot of people out walking their dogs at the moment and if your dog is not on a lead and it sees another dog you will not be able to stop it attacking the other dog. One person has already been prosecuted for such an incident, so Be Responsible – Be Aware.

We are also very disappointed that Story Homes is wanting the amount of affordable homes reduced from 30% to 5%. This is contrary to the fact that it was agreed that out of the 40 houses being built, 12 would be affordable. To reduce this to 2 is just ridiculous. The original agreement must be adhered to. The younger generation, who we want in our village, cannot afford a market-led dwelling. We shall fight this to the best of our ability. In order to do so we need the backing of our Planners and the Planning Committee on Eden District Council.

We wish you all the best, and keep safe.

Roy Fisher (Chairman)[/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]