Books with Steve Matthews of Bookends

You can use Peter’s loaf!

book2511b Anyone who knows Peter Sidwell’s bistro, Good Taste in Keswick will know how fanatical he is about his bread.

Last updated 27 November 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

So near yet so far away. War’s grip on a Lakes town

Few places in England were further removed from the theatre of war in Europe than Cockermouth. Nevertheless, the people of the town took extraordinary precautions to avoid being a target for German bombers.

Last updated 20 November 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

History is all around us

One of Whitehaven’s most prized possessions is the Beilby Slavery Goblet. This exceptionally beautiful glass was made in Newcastle in 1763. On one side there is an engraving of a slave ship and on the other the words “Success to the African trade of Whitehaven”.

Last updated 30 October 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

Memories with a sad ending

There was a time when a headmistress’s rule was total: “Pupils are forbidden to wait for one another at the school gates, to loiter in the streets or elsewhere, either before or after school hours, or to walk aimlessly about the streets at any time. In the streets not more than two should walk together.”

Last updated 30 October 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

Ready for Hitler, in every hill, dale, village and town

In 1935 a giant Zeppelin, the Hindenburg, flew so low over Barrow that locals were able to wave at the Germans on board. Even though it was “a courtesy visit” the batteries of cameras on board and the way it hovered over the Vickers dockyards suggested that its purpose was far from peaceful.

Last updated 16 October 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

Joss the legend, running for his life

Joss: The Life and Times of the Legendary Lake district Fell Runner and Shepherd Joss Naylor by Keith Richardson. River Greta Writer. £25

Last updated 9 October 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

The jewel in west Cumbria’s cultural crown turns gold

There can be few theatres in the country that have felt the tread of such distinguished feet. The boards have responded to the regal touch of the Queen Mother and of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon.

Last updated 2 October 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

Edwardian utopia versus Bolshevism. Ransome‘s dilemma

Arthur Ransome created his own geography. Windermere and Coniston Water became one. There were real-life equivalents of Cormorant Island, Wild Cat Island and Houseboat Bay. They weren’t quite where you might expect them to be. In fact, when Ransome visited the Lakes in his later years, he experienced a sense of momentary dislocation.

Last updated 25 September 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

Farmer’s lad who picked the greats for Bill Shankly

Even in the days when he was manager at Carlisle, Bill Shankly was a hard taskmaster and a great disciplinarian.

Last updated 18 September 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

With Friends like this... Lakeland has been secured

Lord Judd, chairman of the Friends of the Lake District (FLD), in a strident forward that echoes the campaigning spirit of the early Friends, speaks out against the philistines: “Sinister materialist pressures, with their stressful consequences and the creeping suffocation of spiritual values by cultural and environmental homogeneity, make the Lake District more indispensably relevant than ever.”

Last updated 4 September 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

When Caldbeck was centre of the great ore rush

In 1572 an ingot of silver mined at Silver Gill near Caldbeck was sent to Queen Elizabeth I. The Caldbeck Fells were alive with mining activity. It was said that “Caldbeck and Caldbeck Fell are worth all England else”.

Last updated 28 August 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

Out of the Blue Box came nights of theatre magic

Even Dame Judi Dench, Queen Victoria as was, climbed into a JCB to do her bit. She looked splendid leaning out of the cab with her thumb up and her hard hat pressed securely on her head. She was officially launching the work on the building site for Theatre by the Lake back on May 7, 1998.

Last updated 21 August 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk

Here’s to another 150 years of thriving sea trade

The longest ship to enter the New Dock in Silloth was the Sovietsky Sever. It arrived on January 17 1995 carrying a cargo of fertiliser from St Petersburg. It was 113.9 metres long and had to contrive to turn around in a dock that was 120 metres wide and allowed it only seven metres clearance.

Last updated 14 August 2009
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk