Taking the scenic route
What do you do when your other half gets hold of a Peugeot 207 CC? Exactly! You take the roof down, and head somewhere scenic..JPG)
We decided to head towards Yorkshire, to Settle, to be exact. With the impressive Ribblehead Viaduct just a few miles up the road, you can't really go more scenic. Because the car will be the star of a feature my boyfriend is writing for the next issue of Gr8 Life magazine, I was asked to provide the photography for it. I've never taken promotional pictures before, but I gave it my best shot (pun intended). Since Settle is also one of the end points of the famous Settle-Carlisle Railway, we decided to have a race. Could the car get to Carlisle before the train pulled into the station? And that without breaking the speed limit?
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After grabbing a bite to eat in Settle, it was time to hit the road, or tracks, as it were. I've never been on the iconic railway before, nor was the car left in my care, so it was obvious I would be the one taking the train. However, that also gave me the chance to take in the views without having to keep my eyes on the road.
Unfortunately, even though I had every faith in the train, and was still in the lead when the train went through Appleby while the Peugeot had just cleared Shap, the train pulled into the station 15 minutes after the car pulled up. Leaving my boyfriend to wait for me on the platform and look smug, and a passenger on the train - who had noticed we were having a race - to comment "How the hell did that gentleman you were with in Settle get here before you did?" Good question, but I was assured that no speeding was involved.
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A Carlisle Documentary
In December 2009, we were asked to look at Carlisle from a "Resident - but tourist for a day" angle, and do a small documentary about what we found out for our Post-Modern Tourism module at the University of Cumbria.
This video was made by Conny Kaufmann and Lauren Moore.
The joys of being a student in Cumbria
Sorry for going on about my university, the University of Cumbria.
But this interview with my friend and course mate Stephen Graham made the front page of local newspaper News & Star today:
Cumbria university students claim they have been let down by lack of cash
By Thom Kennedy
Last updated at 13:34, Monday, 08 February 2010
Furious students from the University of Cumbria say they have been let down by a lack of investment in new facilities.
Plans to regenerate the city’s Viaduct Estate with a large £70m flagship university campus – including a theatre and arts centre for the city – have been put on hold because of financial problems.
That leaves students coming to Carlisle facing swingeing cuts to the university’s ambitious plans, including the dropping of some courses including law.
Final year journalism student Stephen Graham, 29, of Chatsworth Square in the city centre, said: “I started at the university in the first intake when it first formed, and over the three years the quality has degraded and I am glad to be leaving it now.
“Things like Brampton Road library closing have made it harder to study for my dissertation. It’s all very disappointing for students in Cumbria as they are going to have to travel away to go to university. It’s bad for the area.
“I feel really sorry for the next generation of students coming here. If I was going to stay on after I finish and do a Masters, I wouldn’t do it at the University of Cumbria. If it carries on the way it is, it’s going to implode.”
Steven Ramshay, of Kingstown Road, Carlisle is in his first year at the university, studying journalism. He said: “We were promised the library in Brampton Road, and we’ve been disappointed. I have been let down.
“It has turned out nearly the complete opposite of what I expected when I came to university. My sixth form college is better. The facilities available are very mediocre for a university.”
Recent MA graduate Kevin Murphy added: “They are reducing the facilities tremendously. Students will have signed up 12 months ago being promised a library and all these facilities, and now they are just reducing them.
“The library was a key part of the university as that’s where most of the research goes on.”
The Students’ Union launched a campaign last autumn to save the library when university bosses relocated it to Fusehill Street following a boost in student recruitment at the Brampton Road site.
Other students have expressed their anger at the university’s proposal to cut the law course next year, prompting a group of students to start a Facebook campaign to save the course. A plea to students reads: “The powers-that-be are proposing to axe the law degree at University of Cumbria after only two intakes of students.
“Why can’t we have a local university with prestigious degree courses like law in Carlisle? Why must we focus purely on agriculture, nursing or teaching? Why not have a wide range of courses to ensure local firms employ local people?”
Lecturers at the university’s Ambleside campus, which is set to be mothballed as a £2m cost-cutting measure, have refused to rule out strike action over the plans.
South Lakes MP Tim Farron, who is fighting to keep the Ambleside campus open amid the budget cuts, described a decision to allow outdoor studies students to continue using Ambleside as ‘a partial victory’.
However, he added: “I’m devastated for teacher training students who are still being asked to move, and for dozens of hard-working and long-suffering members of staff who may now face redundancy. Many who have given their life to the campus and to its generations of students face redundancy and an uncertain future.”
I just wanted to show you that it's not just me, who's complaining about the way this university handles things. But UoC is not the only university facing cuts. For more, read the article that was featured in The Guardian today!
A Cecil Street Christmas
The Cecil Street Project opened its doors for a fun Christmas Market. Next to the existing shops at the Project, which obviously did a good job of promoting themselves, artists, jewellers and fashion designers from further afield were also invited to showcase their work.
Flood update
Although the rivers in Carlisle are still high and it continues to rain, the water level is actually lower than it was yesterday.
Flood warning
Flood alerts have been issued for Carlisle and the county of Cumbria today, as the heavy rains, that have been hitting us since Monday, continue.
The Stoneyholme Golf Course is already under water, and warnings have been issued for all three of Carlisle's rivers: Eden, Petteril and Caldew. Rickerby Park, (above) is a swamp, but the cycle path and road were still passable today. The picture shows river Eden (top right corner shows its usual width) and Rickerby Park seen from the Eden Bridge on Scotland Road, looking towards Brampton.
After the severe floods of 2005, flood gates and flood warning systems have been installed along the shores of the rivers. Flood alerts have been issued to mostly residential areas in the vicinities of the rivers, including my street. Although we are right on the edge of the flood warning area, our house DID get flooded in 2005! And our daily route to university leads across Rickerby Park. Check the Environment Agency for a bigger map and advice!
The purple area has been issued with flood warnings. The red line shows the daily route to and from university through the flood zone.The rains are expected to continue until the weekend with up to 100mm of rain in low-lying areas and 200mm on the Cumbrian fells, and a 112kmh-storm has been forecast as well. Residents are advised to keep emergency packs (including battery powered radios, torches, candles, matches and wellies) as well as to keep their pets indoors. Cars should be moved to higher ground and leaves removed from drains around houses.
The flood warnings cover Cumbria, Dumfries & Galloway, as well as party of Yorkshire and Lancashire. North Wales has also been hit by floods. The main West Coast railway line had delays between Penrith and Oxenholme (Lake District) due to the rising water levels.
According to the News & Star, "Floodwatch" warning are in place for:
Middle River Eden
Rivers Lowther and Eamont
Lower River Eden
Rivers Caldew and Petteril
Rivers Wampool and Ellen
Upper River Eden
Rivers Kent and Bela
Rivers Duddon, Crake & Mill Beck
Rivers Cocker, Marron and Derwent
Rivers Brathay, Rothay and Winster
Upper River Derwent, Stonethwaite Beck and Derwent Water
Rivers Greta, St Johns Beck and Bassenthwaite Lake
Rivers Esk and Irthing
Rivers Ehen, Calder, Irt & Esk, as well as Keswick Campsite.
Farmers with grazing livestock on the banks of the rivers, especially Eden and Derwent, should move the animals. Rickerby Park, usually a public pasture for sheep and cattle has been sheepless and cattleless for days.
The town of Appleby (which lies on the river Eden) was already flooded by 2pm today.
Although the water level of the Eden levelled at around 3pm today, it is expected that the worst is to come overnight.
For some reason the joked proposal of getting an inflatable raft doesn't seem so funny now. We might well need it to get to university, which is located on the other side of Eden. Let's just hope we won't need sandbags!!
The Big Switch-On
However, the big switch-on gathered quite a crowd in Carlisle's market square. There was ABBA karaoke and a duo singing songs everyone knew. Oh yeah, and a half-heartedly sung "Jingle Bells" in which Carlisle's Mayor was supposed to sing along - but didn't. And then there was a countdown for the lights to be switched on.
Wow. Somebody's old and clever enough to turn a switch. How exciting! It all looks the same every year, with the blue and gold lights, some of which I understand are meant to represent snow. Oh - and the best thing is: half of them (the ones right above the gathered crowd!) didn't even work properly! Although I have to say, turning the lights on in Carlisle during the winter made more sense then the Christmas lights switch-on I witnessed in Cape Town in 2006 - in the middle of summer (southern hemisphere summer). Back then, it hadn't even gone dark!
Where I come from, the Christmas lights are not celebrated. One day they're off, the next night they're on and except for illuminating the street a little more, it doesn't make a difference to anyone. Big deal.
But since everyone over here on the island seems to be into this sort of thing, I want to extend an invitation to you! Tomorrow, at 5pm, I will switch on the lights in my room! (It'll have to be tomorrow, because the bulb on my desklamp blew and I have to replace it first). And I will call it: "Conny's Big Room-Lights Switch-On 16/11/2009!!" You can either stand right in the room when I make light appear out of nowhere, or, for a more authentic experience, you might gather in the back alley and watch my window illuminate!! I'll even put on some ABBA for you, and the microphone I'll use will not work properly!
