Wednesday 9 December 2015

Lakeland Wildlife Oasis flood appeal

The local little charity, Lakeland Wildlife Oasis, across the moss from Burton on the A6 has been badly flooded, and is needing help with the clean up and repairs. 


This is a small place, doing important conservation work. This is the park where the globally endangered and rare Snow Leopards cubs were born in May 2014.  One of the two cubs has left to join a breeding programme elsewhere, whilst the other is still at LWO awaiting paperwork which will allow him to move to another breeding programme.

As well as practical help (details when we have them later) they have launched an appeal to raise £5000.

If you can help in any way, please would you do so?
Appeal Link: https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/jayneestelle-gibbins

Find them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lakeland-Wildlife-Oasis

Their own website: http://wildlifeoasis.co.uk/

Tuesday 8 December 2015

Christmas Fair

Christmas Fair in aid of Burton Memorial Hall & Burton Pre-school. Lots of stalls, Santa's Grotto, Music by Kirkby Lonsdale Brass Band, games, refreshments, cakes!  Everyone welcome!!!


After the Deluge - the Spirit of Cumbria


What a stressful time it has been thanks to Storm Desmond. Here is Burton we escaped relatively lightly. A few wet cellars, some flooded and damaged roads, and a collapsed wall or two, but nothing on the scale of the communities around us. 

Seeing many places under feet of water is so shocking. It's hard to imagine what it is like living in a street where the flood water comes up to your chest, or where the West Coast Main Line is under eight feet of flood water.

Some 5,000 homes across the county have been flooded, which means all those families are now either staying with friends and relatives or have taken shelter on one of the refuges around the county.

The assistance given by the emergency services, by volunteers from organisations such as RNLI, Bay Search and Rescue, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the mountain rescue teams and many others, plus the support given by the Army, has been invaluable. They have worked tirelessly since the Storm began, and everyone in the county owes a huge debt of gratitude to them all.  Without them it would have been so much worse.

Aid has also come from all over the country. Kind people throughout the UK have been contacting local groups, offering clothing, bedding, Christmas gifts, food and drink, and much more besides, to those who have lost so much in the floods. Their generosity is overwhelming and much appreciated.

It will take millions of pounds to effect repairs to all of the properties damaged, to mend all the roads ripped up or washed away, to replace the bridges destroyed. Just cleaning the mud and water out and disposing of damaged items will be a huge task. Kendal Lions have provided a huge quantity of cleaning materials for those affected in Kendal. Supermarkets ASDA and Morrisons have been sending food and clothing to the refuges. Hundreds of local businesses have offered help without being asked. The community spirit is strong in Cumbria, but it will take more to rebuild our towns and villages.

The Cumbria Foundation's Cumbria 2015 Flood Appeal was launched over the weekend, and has, as of today, raised more than £500,000 towards its target of £2 million, which will go to help anyone in the county who needs help as a result of the flooding.

If you can help by making a donation to the Appeal, you can do so via their Just Giving webpage here http://campaign.justgiving.com/charity/cumbriafoundation/cumbriafloodappeal2015

If you need help just ask, if you can help just offer. http://www.spiritofcumbria.co.uk/ And thank you to everyone who does.