Public consultations and planning-a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing!

Well, that's at least 5 days of my life I won't get back! The final day of the appeal Story Homes vs Barrow Council ended today after a tediously long day listening to the most repetitive and boring testimony from the appellant and finished off with a yomp (that inspector certainly walks fast) around the whole site.

Who knows how it will turn out? I go from positivity to negativity quicker than a magnet and I really couldn't read the mood. Today our barrister seemed to make some good points and the other lot droned on and on with very little variation. If I had been the inspector I would have awarded us the win due to total boredom! However, in this system that's not how it works. It was hard to see what does work to be honest because interventions were prohibited in the main and it was all very legal-speak. Common sense and plain truths were not the order of the day and it made me think that opinion or judgment is very transient and ethereal. Really, you can make any case at all and fly in the face of reality. One example was the "rurality" of Manor Road and the adjoining Manor Farm and the field in question. Ironically, as we completed the site visit a pungent smell of manure drifted around our nostrils and as if to amplify the point a cow mooed very loudly! I could not help but comment that the cow must be an urban cow-then adding that I was in no way trying to influence the decision!

Urban cows at Manor Road

So much energy, effort and angst over one small field. But that's the point-it is the last field and it provides a buffer between old and new. Yes, its close to schools and a road and power lines-but it has the effect of calm and tranquility as soon as you cross its threshold. The ambiance begins as you walk down the lane and the 21st century recedes into the background. And No, Mr Lancaster it doesn't happen once you go through the 13th century gateway (insignificant though you deem it to be). The whole journey builds the anticipation and the pleasure of the final reveal of the magnificent abbey and this will be diminished by the noise of an urban estate just metres away. Yes we can see the blank brick wall of the Sixth Form College, but this is way out in peripheral vision-38 houses will be within a stones throw and I won't be able to miss them. Peripheral they are not!

Courtesy Story Homes-this will cause less than significant damage to the heritage approach apparently

But when the tale is told... yes by idiots (because they can't see the value of what's in front of them), the sound and fury means nothing! They can't tell me -or you how to feel, when to feel it or whether it's important. They can't convince me by repeating the same quotation from English Heritage that there will be "less than significant harm" done to the heritage asset (Furness Abbey to you and me). In my book-less than significant harm means that there is some harm! With a nationally important Grade 1 Listed building should we allow ANY harm at all? What of the local appraisal of "harm" and protecting this much loved heritage environment? Over three thousand people objected-this was mentioned only once and pooh-poohed by the appellant's barrister as insignificant. So, if we have a system which goes to public consultation-that would mean they want to know our views wouldn't it? But then to dismiss it at stage two as irrelevant is incongruous and unfair! Granted our merry little band got a limited hearing-but it's not representative is it? 

At the end it comes down to power-power derived from money-of which Story Homes have shed loads. They can go the course-and sit with an expensive criminal lawyer, two experts and a consultant and secretary-all beavering behind the scenes (quite noisily sometimes too) to refute, argue and contradict. Our little hard pressed council have the Planning Officer, barrister and solicitor and one expert-not present today. So its David and Goliath all over again! And I'm afraid I'm a sucker for the underdog... aren't you?

Manor Road and the West Gate

Unexpected adventures

Don't you just love spontaneity? I do! Today after a good walk to Bosun's Locker for lunch a friend and I noticed the ferry boat for Piel Island was in-we suddenly decided to go for it! Boat rides are always exciting and we were giddy as a couple of school girls (well quite mature school girls it has to be said). We alighted on the jetty at the island and proceeded to explore the medieval castle! It was just as I remembered it-it must be 20 years since I last went! Obviously, those familiar with Out of Time Secret of the Swan know that George and Sid visit the island too. So it was great fun locating where the action occurred!

Ferry to the Pile of Fouldray

                                                                                                             We found where I had located the oubliette! Even though I knew there was no such item-I couldn't help but look for it! We wandered for some time and reflected what a great place to take children to! The ferry was a fiver return and you had from 11am till 5pm to return! The beaches and the castle make it a rich adventure for any child-add a picnic or bar meal from the pub and you have a fine day out! Entry to the castle is free courtesy of English Heritage                                                                                   

. 

Gate house

The outer ward

 Anyway... back to our explorations... suddenly we came upon the stone below! I had never seen this before and a shudder of deja vu or something prickled my neck! It said Aug 193? The final figure looked to be either a 4 or a 9! For my purposes it has to be 1934... the exact year George and Sid explored! How weird -reality mimicking fiction-or is it the other way around? 

I think George and Sid might have more adventures after today-after all its too good not to follow up isn't it?

The Keep

Holiday adventures

As a Grandma it's quite hard trying to make the school holidays fun. So I have been trying to get out and about with Noah- but couldn't help noticing how expensive things can be. This made me think that collecting a few really good activities together in my blog might useful to other Grans and hard pressed parents too. So I am going to post some visits and let you know what they are like and whether they are value for money over the next few weeks:

Obviously, I will begin with Furness Abbey-an often forgotten little place-but one familiar to anyone who reads this blog. 

It is a fantastic place which can take up a few hours for any family.

The Infirmary

It costs £4.20 for adults with concessions for seniors,children (U5s free) and local residents. Once inside there are extensive open grounds and ruins. It provides an adventure for curious children and is great for hide and seek (no climbing on the ruins though). There are picnic tables, toilets and hot and cold drinks available in the shop, which is well stocked with all kinds of things for both adults and children alike.

Of course as well as the shop there is a splendid little museum housing      a range of interesting artefacts including the amazing Abbot's crosier and ring found in 2010. Take a picnic and you can spend the day there and tire your little ones out too!

The abbot's crosier (courtesy of English Heritage)

Today we went to another English Heritage property-Stott Park Bobbin Mill. This little gem is accessible from the Newby Bridge turning to Lakeside. It was fascinating and held the attention of our six year old. Again a fab day! We went on Bob's trail and won a small prize for collecting the letters and then we were fascinated by the tour of the mill! Lots to see! Again a shop and refreshments available and lots of picnic tables in a beautiful setting. After out picnic we went a walk to the top of the hill to discover the lovely High Dam! It was gorgeous trekking through the woods and looking at the flowers, trees and wildlife and the view at the top was breathtaking! Noah especially loved the echo he produced at the top! All this for a mere £6.80 per adult and £4 for children-again concessions and family tickets apply.

More later....

Civic Pride and common sense restored

I wondered if I would be writing a positive blog tonight-one tends to be a bit cynical about developers and councils, but I have to say I am delighted that I can!

The Planning committee of Barrow Borough Council showed great resilience, wisdom and foresight in their decision to refuse planning permission for Story Homes to build 38 houses on the green field site on Manor Road. We have fought a public campaign for a year and its been a hard slog. We are an eclectic bunch-a range of ages, backgrounds, politics-but with one common cause-we all love and believe in the preservation of Furness Abbey. This one fact united us... and upwards of 3000 other people across Barrow, Cumbria and the world! Literally! This upsurge of public opinion could not fail to impress even the recalcitrant Story Homes and the council actually stated that it was not the normal response to planning applications in the borough. In fact it was uncommon and had certainly influenced the committee. This is not surprising -after all the committee are elected servants of the public and really ought to listen-but the impression is often that they don't!

I am proud of our democratic system today and of the council! They were unafraid to stand up against the developers and risk going to appeal. Charles Wilton the Planning Officer countered the abusive and aggressive attack on the committee and the Planning Officers by Story Homes; which was unworthy and unprofessional. He justified the refusal with two main points- heritage and setting! This reason is more powerful than any other because the setting and heritage are sacrosanct and unchangeable. Once gone they cant be brought back and restored! This is too important to be ignored and the planners and committee saw the validity of this argument!

Some of the issues which have arisen have surprised me. The procedural and structural issues which these things are governed by. For instance- the comment that English Heritage could have/should have done more. I accept-I initially believed that they would ride up "knight in shining armour-like" to help. I knew they cared about the abbey-after all-they have spent £2 million on holding it up. We at Furness Abbey Fellowship work with them and they frequently visit-indeed I had the pleasure of meeting Simon Thurley their CEO at the abbey! So I admit I was furious and devastated at their lack of action. 

However, after an initial barrage of ire via social media, we arrange to see the chap who had made the report. He was a very balanced, educated and knowledgeable man-who has spent many years visiting Furness Abbey and genuinely cares about it. We even viewed the field and discussed at length, the wall, the gateway and the heritage approach. He explained that it wasn't as easy as saying "No-its too near the abbey". In fact all kinds of structures were in place to stop him-the line he walks is strictly governed by a framework. This being so he can't comment on flooding, traffic etc because these are other agencies departments! The heritage he is concerned with is the actual abbey precinct-the peripheral wall and gate and approach have in fact been protected -because Story Homes had to amend plans on numerous occasions before EH would accept them. What they were left with were plans for an estate which they could not say would cause harm-but neither could they say it wouldn't! They can't make claims which can't be upheld in law! Therefore they are in a difficult position-they have had to settle for allowing plans which "might" do no harm. This seems ridiculous but they can only do what is allowed! Ideally they probably wouldn't want the houses but can't refuse outright.

In the same vein the Cumbria Highways Department do us no favours. They too are limiting their judgment to the actual estate-which doesn't seem too harmful. However, someone needs to look objectively at the traffic issue-because its not good! Any Barrow resident knows that Rating Lane is a nightmare and is an accident waiting to happen-which this or any other similar development would exacerbate. We the public can see this-but in the red tape world of procedure, this is apparently impossible. Similarly, the flooding evidence is not strongly upheld because of predictive maps and graphs. Yet we see floods over the last few years-and we have photographic evidence!

So this very strange state of affairs is obviously why we all believe the planners and Councillors aren't listening to us! Its because they are all so tied up with regulation and red tape that they can't. This is where we need to look! We must somehow get rid of this chess game-it does us no favours and it allows people to manipulate the system. The basic rights and wrongs are forgotten in place of process driven rubbish! Today Joe Public has spoken and been listened to. The council have stepped out of the box and haven't been swayed by fancy words and big business. They have done the right thing! I hope that this is the final chapter-but if its not-trust me-we will go on! We will continue to fight-against the odds-until the day is finally won for good!

I love it when a plan comes together

It has taken almost two years for the return of the Furness Abbey crosier and ring to be achieved. Now after a lot of work and collaboration we are basking in the success of the venture.

In 2010 a unique and internationally significant burial was found. The fully articulated skeleton was found with two rare artefacts-a crosier and a ring. From the first moment I knew of this (and I was rather lucky to hear of it-my son was an archaeologist at the abbey when the find was discovered) I knew it had to be important for the abbey. I and many others waited to hear what would happen to these amazing items and it sparked a conversation with the late Alice Leach. We met at a lecture on Jocelin of Furness and had discussed the seeming decline of the abbey and our concerns around that. Alice in her time had been very involved with Furness Abbey, had written books about it and was latterly studying the Coucher Books. We had a lot in common, both teachers, both writers and both with an abiding passion for the abbey.

We had conversations with English Heritage and pressed our issues about the lack lustre appearance of the abbey as a visitor attraction. The response initially was a little lukewarm but we came away with plans to set up a "friends" group to attempt some sort of partnership. Amazingly, the structure of English Heritage was changed almost immediately and there appeared to be a sea change in attitude and approachability. A Channel 4 News report (my other son was the producer on this piece) put the discovery of the crosier on the map and this gave us the focus we needed. We had our first meeting in March 2012 and set up the Furness Abbey Fellowship. Alice unfortunately, decided she would be unable to continue with FAF and wanted to concentrate on the Coucher books and the Civic Society of which she was Chairman. Sadly, she passed away in January this year.

From then on we forged a relationship with English Heritage and began working to raise funds and develop ideas to draw in more visitors to the abbey. We were concerned that the visitor numbers were low and one of the aims was to raise these and extend the publicity and reach of the Abbey, hopefully attracting people from outside the area and well increasing local traffic.

With the advent of the Medieval Fair last year we knew we had broken the back of the problem. The numbers who came to the fair and to see the crosier in situ encouraged us and we set off an appeal to raise funds for the special cabinet required to house the crosier permanently at the abbey.

However, none of us truly believed we would achieve this so quickly, but we have to thank the intervention of EH for this. They showed great belief in us and organised the creation of the box and the display to be ready in time for the new season.

It totally exceeds our expectations and we are delighted with the results. I believe the crosier has been found for a reason. Call it divine intervention, fate or whatever you like-but its discovery has come at just the right time. It can and will provide focus and attention to the abbey and will raise the profile. This can and must be capitalised upon. We will not rest upon our laurels now. In fact we will be regrouping and moving forward in our efforts to raise the level of the abbey, working in partnership with EH and the wider community. We do hope that everyone will continue to support us and even though it was an extravagant remark I made on Thursday- I actually DO believe we can become -if not a World Heritage site- a significant Heritage site which will attract visitors world wide!

Boudicca rides again!

There has not been much blogging going on over here recently. To say I have been busy is an understatement. It hasn't been all work either-no- I have added yet another campaign to my timetable. This one is even more consuming than the others and totally unexpected and unwanted. I had a premonition last year when the government decided in their wisdom to loosen the red tape on the planning regulations fro green field sites. It was not pleasant and I worried that some of our lovely local countryside would vanish under a sea of houses and concrete. However I did not imagine that this would be proposed so close to our beloved Furness Abbey.

I seem to be turning into a cross between Boudicca and Emmeline Pankhurst as I get older and I am not altogether pleased with the effect! I can't help myself -if I see injustice, suffering or liberty threatened I'm on my soapbox rallying the troops! Maybe it's an age thing-or maybe I realise now that if you are the silent majority you are unable to influence anything and it's no good moaning after the deed is done.

So what's the problem you might ask? Well a not so local developer called Story Homes of Carlisle has begun a speculative development in a field just a stone's throw from Furness Abbey. The plan is to build 50 houses on the field on Manor Road-the main approach to the abbey and within the conservation area. You might think-well in a conservation area they won't be able to do this...maybe once over-but not now with deregulation. You only have to look at the plight of Oswestry Hill Fort-an iron age fort-"Oswestry Hillfort is one of the greatest archaeological monuments of the nation." English Heritage"
Has this stopped the developers-not on your nelly! It matters not that this is a hugely important historic site-nor does it seem to matter to Shropshire Council who have granted planning permission on the foothills of the site. Can you imagine this happening in the USA? Or any other country with any sense?

Our plight is not dissimilar. Furness Abbey is a hugely significant historic site-in fact even Henry Vlll knew exactly how important it was-as he made it the first large abbey to be dissolved. So within 200 yards there is a field-agricultural land undisturbed and not of great note at first appraisal. But look closer and there is a Grade 1 listed precinct wall and the West Gate...rather too close for a modern housing estate to be built on it. Next we have a river-which overflows-often and flows into an underground channel beneath the road and into the abbey. Two years ago this stream broke its bank and flowed over the road creating a swimming pool in the cloister.

Mill Beck full to brimming 2012 (S Hillman)

                                           A flooded cloister-from Mill Beck 2012 (S Priss)

If the building is allowed to go ahead the idea the developer has put forward to offset any future flooding arising from the excess water from a built environment is to provide a 30 foot pond to act as a sump to drain the estate. The excess will then be diverted into Mill Beck. Now the above flood happened without 50 houses above the valley-so what can we expect if this goes ahead? A Cistercian Atlantis?

The plans a re ludicrous and one of the issues apart from flooding is the effect on the aesthetic approach to the abbey-which will damage the visitor experience massively. Then the placing of homes-and people so close to a delicate Grade 1 listed wall and arch is a disaster waiting to happen. The developer will not be able to guarantee the safety and preservation of either wall or environment once the houses are sold-and any damage done will be irreversible. We can only hope that the Barrow Borough Council Planning Department, English Heritage and the Environment Agency will see the folly in this and help to reverse it.

 Manor Road

 

Furness Abbey is the major visitor attraction in the area apart from the Dock Museum-and of course is more significant historically. With the work that the local Furness Abbey Fellowship have done alongside EH it would be foolhardy and destructive to allow this to happen-particularly as the prize of the century is returning soon to the abbey-the crosier and ring. These amazingly important artefacts will be the jewel in the crown of Barrow and Dalton's heritage and could with some more work be a boost to the local economy through visitors and tourism. 

If you want to support our efforts to stop this thoughtless and reckless idea please visit the website, twitter and Facebook below: and sign the petition

http://www.stopmanorroadhousing.org/  https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/jason-hipkiss-refuse-planning-permission-for-building-50-houses-on-land-near-furness-abbey

What a fantastic day

Iron Shepherds

Ace Puppets aka Sian Hunter performing Guy the Grumpy Gargoyle at the Furness Abbey Fair

 

We did it! We had THE most amazing Medieval Fair at Furness Abbey and the weather was perfect...I wont go into too much detail here because I really ought to blog on the FAF blog...but cant not mention what a great day we had. The best thing was that we must have had 1200 plus visitors and the families who came really enjoyed it. We passed muster with English Heritage and I believe they will allow us to make this an annual event. Iron Shepherds who did the historical re-enactments were fantastic...well researched, thorough and exciting. The other highlights included Patrick Corbett as a scribe-creating beautiful illuminated letters, Iain McNichol as Brother John explaining the use of herbs and Owen Jones making swill baskets. Helen Elvin weaving traditional baskets and Ralf Bidder doing wood turning and finally the Dorian Players providing a musical interlude.

 

We had a lot of fun and if you go to the FAF blog you can read more....meanwhile back to routine! We are back to work and this will include a mega attempt at some promotion for the books! At least there is some down time for now from FAF...but watch this space more will follow!

 

Summer events-Medieval Fair at Furness Abbey

I've been busy with writing new chapters of Out of Time 3:The Cistercian Conspiracy and working for my new Press Officer post too. I am sending the books off to agents as well as I think I need some help in taking writing to the next level. But mostly...I have been organising along with colleagues from Furness Abbey Fellowship the Medieval Fair at the end of August in Furness Abbey.

Some of the FAF Committee

It should be a good day and we have finalised most of the details for the day. The big event is the Abbot's crosier and the ring returning for the day. However we have a fantastic array of re-enactors, artists, performers, craftsmen and activities for the day. It is well worth a visit and all we need now are the visitors and the good weather.

The Cloister Range

Entry is the usual English Heritage fee of £4 for adults £3-40 concessions and £2-60 children. For this you have full access to the Medieval Fair and all activities and visits as well as seeing the crosier and ring and having tours of the building.

Medieval Fair at Furness Abbey 31 August from 10am to 4pm

An appealing story

http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/furness-abbey-supports-may-be-removed-by-2015-1.1039208?referrerPath=home/2.3320

 There is some good news for Furness Abbey as identified in the above article. Work is continuing to repair and support the structure and it is necessary to save the integrity of the abbey. English Heritage have done a magnificent job over the last few years and must have spent bucket loads of cash to do so. They often come under a lot of criticism for various reasons-some possibly justified, but their efforts to preserve Furness Abbey have been amazing and entirely necessary and do them credit. 

Our poor old abbey has looked increasingly dilapidated and shabby over recent years and it has not been helped with the mess made by flooding. Hopefully, with the ongoing conservation work it will improve and return to its beautiful self. 

So why is it important to secure the future of the abbey and what problems face it in the future?

Its important because it is one of the most significant abbeys in the UK. It was the second largest and richest abbey after Fountains Abbey. It was extremely powerful and influential politically in its day and made its mark on how Furness grew and developed. It was additionally the first of the large abbeys to be targeted by Henry V111 for Dissolution-he saw its financial potential and lost no time in liquidising the assets; from the lead on the roof to the furnishings and plate and of course selling off the huge tracts of land belonging to Furness Abbey.

Aesthetically, it is breathtakingly beautiful, spiritual and inspirational. It was written about by Wordsworth and painted by Turner-what more of an accolade could it have? 

There is a school of thought that supports the gradual decline and decay of such buildings-returning it to the natural state. There are some people who believe it to be a waste of resources and time conserving such a building. However, locally, it is very important to the people of Barrow. Everyone you speak to has a story about their connection with the abbey and judging by the numbers of people who take the Green Way path up in to the valley where the abbey sits, it is still a popular place to walk to. 

However, fixing the infrastructure is not enough! Why? Visitor numbers have fallen dramatically over the years and in comparison to other local attractions it does not seem to have held its "kerb appeal". Except...it does...the biggest problem is that visitors remain outside of the fence, because as anyone who knows the abbey will tell you-you don't need to go inside to view it. Dozens of amateur...and not so amateur photographers hang over the fence at weekends when weather permits and snap happily away. So what's the  problem? Well-if you're outside, you're not paying to get in. If you're not going in no visitor number is recorded. If you aren't going in, you aren't paying. Add to this residents of Barrow who can apply for a yellow exemption card to get in free-then again-no payments. All of which means that EH are losing essential revenue to help to restore the site. Again calculate the massive revenue cut back they have suffered and you don't have to be a mathematician to see that they need help!

This is where we come in. Furness Abbey Fellowship were established to support the abbey and reverse the decline by promotion, events and improving the visitor experience. We are on the job and have a few events planned already-but we need the public's help. If everyone who reads this joined FAF, donated £1, bought a quiz, came to the Easter event at Abbey Mill, we would be on our way to improving things.

We have also launched a new large appeal to help to fund a special and secure display unit for the abbot's treasure when it returns. We initially want to raise £6,000 but are hoping to raise enough for the whole gallery and the security which is needed to protect the artefacts. This in itself will attract visitors from far and wide-just as it did in the weekend last year when it was temporarily displayed. Numbers for that weekend were an amazing 1,500. 

We are planning events and activities and want to add to the resources in the abbey to make it a pleasant and more stimulating visit. We want to buy golf umbrellas-because most of the site is outside. We aim to produce interpretation boards to show people more clearly what they are looking at. We hope to integrate activities like a Herb Trail so visitors can interact with the site. The list goes on to be honest and this is a long term task, without a quick fix. We can only do this with funding, donations and support from the public!

If you wish to contact us please email us at furnessabbeyfellowship@gmail.com

or by phone - 07527 996 432 or find us on twitter and facebook

Furness Abbey Fellowship New Membership Scheme

Half term never works out as you plan it! Mine has flown past and although I have caught up with some things I needed to do, I still need about another week! The weather has been strange -not knowing what to do and I don't think that helps with mood-swings.

I have been busy planning marketing strategy and reaffirming my intentions as an author! Lots to do and none of it writing my book unfortunately! I will endeavour to pick it up very soon. On top of this I have masses of stuff for Furness Abbey Fellowship which never seems to end-lots of paperwork and red tape! But it will be worth it in the end! We have lots of fundraising activities coming up soon and we have launched our membership details-anyone can join but schools are free.
We have also launched an appeal for funding a display cabinet to house the Abbot's treasure when it finally returns. We would like to raise more than the initial target of £6,000 as it would be fantastic to help to provide a gallery. We are working closely with English Heritage and hope that this partnership will be very beneficial to the rehabilitation of Furness Abbey. Do have a look and if you would like to join or donate please get in touch.

http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/furness-abbey-group-s-crusade-to-rally-new-support-1.1033211?referrerPath=news

New year, new start, new challenge

2013 Hopefully the connotations of the number 13 will not set the tone for this year! I am busy writing and re-organising as well as attempting to be more organised in the marketing department-a tall order! I have a number of bookings for the next few months which is heartening, but need to work on reaching a much wider audience. If only this side of things was a easy and enjoyable as the writing process.

I am also in negotiation with English Heritage over a number of issues, including the disastrous effects of the recent flooding. Whatever the rights and wrongs-opinions vary massively-urgency/frequency/damage etc we do need to assess what can be undertaken to improve the situation because a soggy, messy abbey will attract no new visitors and could even put off future guests. Furness Abbey Fellowship have some exciting ideas and are planning events for the spring and summer, as well as looking for some funding to support these. Our membership scheme will be launched later this month and we are applying for charitable status which will hopefully be completed soon. The task of rehabilitating the abbey is a huge one and is going to take considerable effort and time to facilitate-but we are all committed to seeing this through. You can join our Facebook Group and Fan Page  below
http://www.facebook.com/groups/254495021310017/

http://www.facebook.com/groups/254495021310017/


or follow us on Twitter @FAFellowship

 However, back to the writing! I am still endeavouring to acquire more reviews for the online sites like Waterstones, Google Books and Amazon and of course Troubador Publishing. I have none for Raven's Hoard and would welcome any reviews posted or sent to me. I hope to travel farther and wider this year in order to develop the reader base and I am available for a variety of events-just let me know if you would like me to visit.

Lastly, do follow me on Twitter-@gilljep and visit my facebook page and click Like on -

http://www.facebook.com/GillJepsonOutofTime 

and take a look at the updated website- www.out-of-time.co.uk


and take a peek at this great blog too 

http://www.abbeywatch.blogspot.co.uk/

Hopefully, it will be a busy and productive year...all the best for 2013

Iron Shepherds re-enactment and living history group

Fairs, freezing, fighting and Faffing about

Well after the rains comes the frost...I know EH have reassured us-after sending surveyors down, that the Abbey has not suffered lasting damage after the floods...but the pessimist in me thinks otherwise. I cannot see how-when the initial problem with the foundations is due to degeneration of the oak floats, that more rain  in one day than is usual in a month is not damaging. Then fast on its heels is this ice and frost...I dread to think what is going on in the soaked foundations now! However, I will wait to see the outcome of the next meeting. I have to say I don't buy the comment "its in a valley" either-the monks definitely didn't spend 400 years paddling about in wellies...they managed the water course and this has changed...so investigations must be undertaken to see what has changed to fetch copious amounts of water straight in to the abbey precinct and cloister.

With the ice I had a treacherous journey to Whitehaven on Thursday!Twas terrifying and I was not keen to be skating off black ice... the journey took 2.5 hours instead of 1.19 as described by the AA. It was all worth it though because I had a wonderful day at ST Begh's Junior School doing my author thing! The staff and the kids were so friendly and welcoming and I had great fun!Thank you for inviting me!

It was busy busy busy on Friday, Saturday and Sunday... I had to present certificates for the "Six Book Challenge" at Jubilee House for people facing massive challenges from all kinds of issues. They were inspirational and I was proud to be there...we could all take a leaf out of their books...if you will pardon the pun? 

Embarrassingly, the same Evening Mail photographer followed me down to the Dock Museum where I joined fellow authors for another photo -publicity for the Author day on Saturday. It looks exciting because there will be 22 local authors all under one roof. I've long cherished the notion of such an event and I am delighted that the Dock Museum are innovative enough to embrace it-and it will be brilliant to showcase the local literary talent. The event will be from 11am to 4pm and authors and poets will be reading from their works.

oldest and youngest members of FAF

Saturday was hard, hard work...we had a Christmas Fair for Furness Abbey Fellowship. It was sparsely attended and we did not make much money-but it was our first proper event. 






Sunday-today was perishing cold but that did not stop our intrepid group, Comely Media and the re-enactment group Iron Shepherds and help from Bjarni Thorvaldrson a local "viking" from braving the cold to present a Living history camp. They showed medieval food, crafts and activities and gave fight demonstrations throughout the day. Thanks must go to Stuart Appley for organising and Abbey Mill Cafe for supporting us and for the warm drinks too. This is just the beginning...watch this space!

The gangs all here

Anna, Martin and Stuart

Bjarni tucking in to some lunch

Flood threat to Furness Abbey foundations

What horrendous weather! Typical topic of conversation for the English...but its gone beyond a joke this week. It's extremely worrying because Furness Abbey has been one casualty of these terrible flash floods. It is extremely concerning that the whole site was submerged and the drainage channels and streams were flowing like the river Thames!
This once again compromises the integrity of the abbey foundations. There is already major movement in the structure and I cannot see that this new deluge can be anything but devastating to the building. I am writing to English Heritage-I am sure they already know about it-but I think that the public need to express concern over this state of affairs and keep a "weather eye" on the situation as it were. We need to protect this wonderful edifice and save it for the future generations yet to be born. 

Furness Abbey under water yesterday-photo courtesy Steve Hillman

I looked at the pictures of the poor old abbey under water yesterday and cried a tear or two...I would be broken hearted if it deteriorated further and finally fell completely....and I know I am not alone in this. If you love ancient buildings...Furness Abbey in particular, please support us and join Furness Abbey Fellowship either on Facebook: Furness Abbey Fellowship or follow us on Twitter-@FAFellowship. We will be launching as a charity in new year and presenting membership packs...please join and help us to protect one of the most significant abbeys in the UK.

Exciting week for heritage

What a very busy week! It has been great-I have worked with Year 5 at St Pius X Barrow this week-with an author day on Wednesday and a full on trip to Furness Abbey today. I between I have been preparing for the Dystonia Awareness Day tomorrow, meeting with Sabine from the Dock Museum and meeting with Furness Abbey Fellowship (FAF). 


FAF is about to be launched properly-we are getting ready to become a fully fledged group and have made two appointments. Leeann Herbert is the new Secretary and I am the Chairman. We are seeking a treasurer and Vice Chair at the next meeting. We are moving towards partnership working with English Heritage and the Dock Museum and it is looking positive. Our aim is to raise awareness, improve the visitor experience and increase visitors t the Abbey and other heritage sites in Furness.


The week kicked off with Stuart Maconie's brilliant cameo piece on Barrow-it was so positive and reflective that I could have cried. All too often we suffer from the "Mike Harding" mentality-that Barrow is at the end of "the world's longest cul-de-sac"-this throw away comment-though funny-has done a great deal to damage the profile of Barrow. All too often the same desperate, deprived areas are flagged up and shown (I won't name them-you know where they are) and the wider, rural beauty and diversity is simply ignored. Stuart got it just right-the blend of innovation, industry and inspirational beauty was subtle and eye-catching-we need to capitalise on this and begin to develop the area.


There seems to be a sea change in attitude-our group and the new "Sense of Place" group-set up by local business both have the drive and the will to bring Furness out of the shadows and link it effectively with the wider tourist area-the Lakes. At most we are 16 miles away from the Lakes and yet we don't use that to draw in visitors. With our agenda we will hopefully begin to address this and begin to open up the tourism and energise the area once again.


Best of all-the Dock Museum have raised the full amount required for the purchase of the Viking Hoard which will be an amazing boost to tourism. This coupled with the abbot's ring and crosier at the abbey will be significant in drawing tourists...it looks good for the future of Furness Heritage

Wet week off

Funny old week...awful weather mostly. Went to the abbey to take Noah and to prepare for the trail I am planning for the schools I am accompanying there. It was lovely and the one sunny day of the week. It was good to wander round and rediscover things I had forgotten-Noah especially liked the mason's mark of a fish in the guest house. 


I will be there next week with St Pius and I am looking forward to it-still work to do but we'll get there. 


Jubilee celebrations kind of passed me by. I did catch some of it on the telly but it isn't the same. I remember when we lived in London and actually went to see the 77 Jubilee. We stood near ST Paul's for ages and got a fairly decent view of the Queen going in and coming out...well I did-I was sitting on Harry's shoulders (I was MUCH slimmer then). The atmosphere made it-so exciting and infectious...I am a bit more sanguine these days and probably lean towards republicanism, but some inherent patriotic streak stops me!


Some more pics from my wonderful trip to Italy below

Had a good meeting with English Heritage and Furness Abbey Fellowship this week. It was excellent to all be speaking the same language and be positive about extending the reach of the abbey. Look forward to some good work ahead to support EH in their good efforts.

Soggy Sunday

I love and hate days like this-love cos you can be quite lazy because its too nasty to venture out...and hate because you get nothing done! Well I've been lazy but I have done a couple of bits and pieces. Prepared for the 2nd meeting of Furness Abbey Fellowship and have drafted letters to English Heritage and Holker Estates...building up to next weekend to see the abbot's crosier and ring at the abbey-can't wait. I am going to have a tent at Abbey Mill Cafe garden over the weekend in case anyone wants to buy signed copies of Out of Time-seems an opportunity not to be missed. I hope people come along and have a chat before going into the cafe to sample excellent cakes and coffee!


Apart from that I have been thinking hard about my next two writing projects-a short history of St George's church and the 3rd in the Out of Time series. Got some ideas-no title yet but things are formulating.


Lots of fundraising coming up-Keswick to Barrow Walk first of course-on 12 May-I and my other 59 fellow dystonia walkers will be joining me at the early hour of  5-30am to walk the 40 miles over hill and dale to Barrow, through the gorgeous Lakeland landscape. I love it and dread it at the same time-just have to pray for decent weather- I do not relish a day like today-it is totally gruelling walking in freezing rain for that many miles!


The following week we have a Dystonia Society Awareness Tea Party at St Paul's Church hall, Barrow from 2-4pm. Tickets are only £2 and you get a scone, a cake and tea or coffee! Lots of stalls too so come and give us support-be nice to see you.


Two nice sessions tomorrow-St Pius in for the Furness Abbey project and Cambridge St and St Georges in for Time Investigators during which we will be visiting Barrow Archives and the lovely Glenn and Mike.


I am still busy with marketing...its very hard to see what impact one makes on this! The books are well covered on the internet, but for people to buy them they have to know about them and I still haven't worked out how to increase that. I do visit schools and other venues but don't seem to get as much access as some people manage-I know I am probably not aggressive enough...but as I have said before I find this quite difficult. Raven's Hoard is out before Christmas so I do need to up my game and get out there. I really need a publicist or PA who would work for free and get me sorted! Ah well...back to the drawing board!

Lets go viral!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Guhom3j8Y
Very pleased with the release of the video onto  to promote Out of Time The Secret of the Swan...the next step is to include it onto the website. I can see we are getting hits-probably from people who know us-but we need your help to extend and spread the word beyond the usual demographic! If you view the video please share it with friends-actually pass it on as much as possible so that it reaches people who wouldn't normally see it. I think its a lovely piece of work and it certainly put the book into pictures very clearly-it is very close to how  imagined the action! The final scene is very emotional for me as it is a fantastically accurate interpretation of the leave taking of George (who is/was my dad) and my son was uncannily like him in the shots Stuart used.
I will definitely be doing a second film later this year to be available at the launch of the next in series-Raven's Hoard. Its going to be a busy year and I must get sorted with lots more signings and visits-if you or your school or group wish me to visit please get in touch via the website email.


It was a wonderful week for Furness this week-as you will know I am passionate about Furness Abbey and the history of the area-which is why I write books about it. I desperately want to engage a wider public with the treasures of this amazing area and encourage children to take an interest and stimulate enquiry about the past. So you can imagine how delighted I was when the finds from the abbey were revealed this week. I had known about their existence for a while, but to finally see them and learn of their significance was amazing. They are to be on show during bank holiday weekend at the abbey and I and many others can't wait to see them. The Channel 4 report on Thursday gave further insight into the bones found at the same time of the abbot. These I would imagine will be re-interred at a future date-as they should be...after all he believed he would rest within the abbey precinct for eternity and I think this should be the case. This story went to News at Ten which is remarkable that it has had 2 national news airings-BBC kept it local; but its all over the papers and internet too. 
http://www.channel4.com/news/medieval-abbots-grave-discovered-at-furness-abbey
As if this wasn't enough there is the viking hoard which will also appear at the Dock Museum from 4 May for a month! Barrow Borough Council are appealing for funds to buy this for the community to place it on permanent display-which would be another great coup and a draw for tourists! Everyone should get behind this because it would be a fantastic boost to the local economy and we could end up  being put on the map for tourism at last-then maybe Furness would be given the profile it deserves instead of the butt of jokes as it so often is. We have a fantastically rich and varied history and there is so much there which can be easily and freely exploited-we just need to begin to value the heritage and put ourselves firmly behind the abbey and the Dock Museum who both do a good job with limited resources.
www.dockmuseum.org.uk/
In this vein, a number of local artists, historians, authors and lovers of the Furness heritage have formed a new group called Furness Abbey Fellowship. Its remit is to raise awareness of the abbey nationally and locally and to help to ensure that the artefacts remain here. It won't be an easy job because there will be security issues involved with housing such items-but the fact is there is no better place for them to reside! FAF...I know its a daft acronym...want to work with EH and other agencies to assist and promote the abbey and reinstate it as a centre for the community to work, learn, appreciate and enjoy. The interest extends to the other historical environments too and there is a firm belief that multi-agency approaches need to be taken to allow a consolidated strategy for the future of such important finds.


If you are interested in joining us please contact me via gilljep@hotmail.co.uk  the next meeting is at 7-30pm on Thursday 3rd May-please contact to say you are attending as we need to be sure of numbers.


So it looks as though we face an exciting few months ahead. On a personal note my second "Out of Time" book Raven's Hoard (written before the viking hoard was discovered) will be out before Christmas. More to follow soon...Ill be concentrating on the Keswick to Barrow Walk over the next 3 weeks-40 miles of pain, fun, euphoria and pleasure...come and give me a wave!
http://www.keswick2barrow.co.uk/

You've read the book...now see the film!

http://t.co/JIC5gJBH

Well here it is-the much awaited promotional film! I am delighted with the result-well done Stuart Appley of Comely Media-superb result! Thanks to English Heritage, National Trust, Abbey Mill Cafe and St George's, St Cuthbert's and St Mary's churches for the access to your venues. Big congratulations to the cast and crew-who are credited at the end. Please tweet, share and tell people about this film as it will help to expand the reach of the book. Catch you later with my views about the recent finds at Furness Abbey and my visit to Croftland's Infant School-what a week!

Introducing...

http://www.troubador.co.uk/image/books/GuytheGrumpyGargoyle.jpg
 Well here he is at last...introducing Guy the grumpiest gargoyle you could ever meet! Look at the link to the Troubador website and find out about this new story. It has been tried out on a number of youngsters in local schools and it has gone down very well! The publication date is set at 1 August but I hope it may be sooner...will let you know!


Final tweaking this weekend of Raven's Hoard too...quite excited about finishing it and hope that it may be out for Christmas-fingers crossed. 


Preparations in order for the filming next week-permissions received from English Heritage, National Trust and St George's church so all we need now is reasonable weather! Then the weekend after next I'm at Waterstone's Preston for a book signing-so hope to reach a wider audience again. 


Big push over the next couple of weeks to get some practice in for Keswick to Barrow Walk-will have to ditch the current trainers-caused some really bad blisters and has set me back. I am going to retrieve the year before lasts but feel a bit unhappy about them...oh and I am still accepting sponsorship in aid of the Dystonia Society...

New challenges

We had the first meeting of the newly formed Furness Abbey Fellowship yesterday. No not another Lord of the Rings sequel...we have set up a new group to support, promote and publicise the abbey. There are many reasons for this because as I have mentioned before the abbey is in a bit of a sorry state  at present and many of us locally feel that although English Heritage have spent lots of money on the physical well being of the abbey, they have done little to widen its appeal and generate visitors to bring in funds to offset this. The attitude is very corporate with little reference to local perspectives. We feel this is detrimental and that they are missing a massive opportunity. I will post details of our progress and our next meeting as they happen. We now have a Facebook group as well so if you express an interest I will add you to it.


On the walking front things are not looking so good-massive blister! So dilemma-to walk or not to walk! Only 7 weeks to go and then we will be on the K2B! Can't wait!


Nice bit of book news-at Barrow Waterstone's in the annual sales apparently Out of Time is only 3rd behind Paolini and Kinney! Not bad-just need it to extend to other shops further afield! Thanks to the wonderful booksellers at Barrow : )