Last updated 10:11, Thursday, 14 August 2008

Bright idea to capitalise on Blackpool’s light show

MILLOM might be sprucing up its festive lights with some of Blackpool’s famous illuminations.

A plan to buy a section of the seaside town’s internationally renowned lights has been discussed by Millom Town Council.

If the plan goes ahead, the bright bulbs would be put up across town centre areas such as Wellington Street and Market Square during next year’s Christmas period.

Councillor Joan Hobbs told this month’s Millom Town Council meeting: “We had a tourism meeting a couple of weeks ago and everyone in the meeting expressed horror at the state of Millom’s Christmas lights. I understand that if we buy some of our own, Copeland Borough Council will install any that we happen to get.

“They sell off excess lights from Blackpool illuminations and I think it would be a good idea to have a look to see what they have. I think they would be a lot better than the ones we get from Copeland Council, though we would have to fund them ourselves.

“It was very nice having the tree on the post office last year and I think we should extend on that. We are thinking about putting a big tree up to make an impact when people come into Millom.”

After the meeting she said: “The Blackpool lights wouldn’t be for this year as the sale doesn’t start until January, but we are hoping to make a bigger deal of this year’s display in other ways.”

Each year Blackpool illuminations cost around £2.4million to produce drawing in crowds from all over the world. Since last year the group in charge of the event has sold sections of lights from previous years’ displays through auction and at the sale in January.

In 1999 the illuminations spread over six miles and used 1454kw of electricity. This has since been reduced by 37 per cent using green technology to 915kw.

Former paratrooper reaches the high notes

HERE’S an image to conjure with – an ex-paratrooper on the top of Scafell Pike singing Jerusalem.And it was really happening this week as Keith Kingham and a handful of volunteers from the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence went up the three peaks Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon over the course of three days. The aim was to raise money for the British Limbless Ex-Service Men’s Association. A CD of Keith’s singing was also being produced to help raise money. It includes several tracks, including Till the End of Time, a song written especially for the event by Tim Spencer. Online donations can be made at www.singoutforwounded warriors.com

Serving up a treat for all you food lovers

COUNTRY guesthouse Moresby Hall is embarking on a new venture for those interested in food (and aren’t we all!).

Jane’s Cookery Demonstrations are due to start on Thursday, September 25 when proprietor Jane Saxon will cook up a storm in her swish new Smallbone kitchen, which can seat eight people around a large work-island.

It promises to be a sociable and informative event with new tips and ideas, plus the bonus of consuming a delicious three-course meal prepared throughout the session.

If you want to treat yourself, or someone else, call Jane for details on 01946 696317.

Full circle for Pinter specialist, Terence Rigby

THERE’S a strange but reassuring coincidence concerning the actor Terence Rigby who died this week.

The actor first found fame as Lenny in Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming having cut his teeth on repertory, including Keswick.

The Times wrote: “Rigby became a founding member of what became the Century Theatre Company in Keswick by default when he was hired to replace an actor who had suddenly left the company. Over the first week he would learn four parts for the company’s daily change of repertory.”

And the actors at Keswick Theatre today think they have it tough!

But by chance, one of the plays currently on show at Keswick is another Harold Pinter classic: The Caretaker. This time with a sterling performance by actor Stephen Ley.

One hopes the spirit of Terence Rigby might pay a visit to the theatre by the lake to give his seal of approval to their interpretation of Pinter.

Welsh dragon huffs and puffs over our sausages

SOME people have a nerve. Just as campaigners think they are getting somewhere in the fight to protect the ‘Cumberland sausage’ up pops that most dreaded of creatures: The Times letter-writer.

Roger Baker of Llanddeusant, Carmarthenshire (ie nowhere near Cumbria) had the audacity to suggest that the fight should fail because the sausage is named after a breed of pig, not a place.

Well we’ve got some bad news for this Welsh sour puss.

If he’s going to use that criterion for judging worthiness of protection then he can say farewell to Caerphilly cheese.

That 100 per cent reliable source of facts, Wikipedia, tells me that the cheese “was not originally made in Caerphilly, but was sold at the market there, hence taking the town’s name.”

And there is no doubt a long list of other ‘local’ products that have dubious heritage.

Stick that in your daffodil and smoke it.

Who needed Google when you had Reg

WITH the passing of West Cumbria’s ‘Mr Cinema’, Reg McCallam, the area has lost a good friend and an information source to rival Google on anything to do with the world of entertainment.

We carry an obituary on page 4 to Reg whose funeral was held on Tuesday at St Mary’s Westfield. Reg was a good friend to journalists who regularly phoned him to check facts. The former projectionist always said that he only wanted to see films that cheered him up – “I want to leave the cinema in a better mood than when I went in.” Not a bad philosophy.