On Saturday January 9th this year, a fund raising cafe was organised by Cilcain villager Mary Bartley at the Village Hall to raise funds for the Cumbria Flood Appeal.
This was a real community event and the village was a hive of activity in the days leading up to the cafe, with people making cakes and scones, and sandwiches on the day. We even had a batch of Erwentsoep, a traditional split pea soup made by Cilcain’s very own Dutch lady, Judith Schaik.
Details of the event were posted on a Facebook page called ‘We Love Cumbria & The Lake District’ and we were immediately contacted by a lady called Linnhe Harrison, who is the Activities Manager at Glenridding Sailing Centre – Glenridding was one of the worst hit areas. This was a lovely surprise as Linnhe is originally from Cilcain!
Details of the event were posted on a Facebook page called ‘We Love Cumbria & The Lake District’ and we were immediately contacted by a lady called Linnhe Harrison, who is the Activities Manager at Glenridding Sailing Centre – Glenridding was one of the worst hit areas. This was a lovely surprise as Linnhe is originally from Cilcain!
She was so touched by this gesture that she has kept in touch with the village ever since, and on Saturday 23rd April, she travelled from the Lake District with her two small children in order to present the people of Cilcain with a print of Ullswater, which was kindly donated by Glenridding Gallery, as a thank you.
Linnhe is pictured left in the photo presenting the print to Mary Bartley and Sue Jones who was one of the helpers on the day of the fund-raiser. Many thanks to David Allen for taking time out to take photos for us.
It was great to finally meet up with Linnhe at last after our months of communicating on-line. She spent all afternoon at the cafe and later re-visited some of her old haunts with her children and this is what she had to say:
“It was very touching to visit my beautiful home village, as an unofficial representative of the equally beautiful village of Glenridding, to meet and thank the people who contributed towards the flood relief fund that has helped not only Glenridding, but the whole community get back on their feet.
There is still so much to do, and top of the list is get the message #cumbriaisopen out there! I loved revisiting Cilcain after 3 decades (eek!) and you are all very welcome to visit us at Glenridding Sailing Centre – the kettle is always on!
PS Cilcain Community Cafe make THE best cake!”
So, don’t forget – the next time you’re in the Lake District, pop into Glenridding Sailing Centre to say hello to Linnhe!
Linnhe is pictured left in the photo presenting the print to Mary Bartley and Sue Jones who was one of the helpers on the day of the fund-raiser. Many thanks to David Allen for taking time out to take photos for us.
It was great to finally meet up with Linnhe at last after our months of communicating on-line. She spent all afternoon at the cafe and later re-visited some of her old haunts with her children and this is what she had to say:
“It was very touching to visit my beautiful home village, as an unofficial representative of the equally beautiful village of Glenridding, to meet and thank the people who contributed towards the flood relief fund that has helped not only Glenridding, but the whole community get back on their feet.
There is still so much to do, and top of the list is get the message #cumbriaisopen out there! I loved revisiting Cilcain after 3 decades (eek!) and you are all very welcome to visit us at Glenridding Sailing Centre – the kettle is always on!
PS Cilcain Community Cafe make THE best cake!”
So, don’t forget – the next time you’re in the Lake District, pop into Glenridding Sailing Centre to say hello to Linnhe!