Recent Posts
Penrith casualties: Stanley Dennison & Mark Dayson
If ‘Two more Penrith casualties’ sounds somehow dismissive, it isn’t. Quite the opposite. More than 700,000 British soldiers were killed in the First World War (the number actually ... Read More
Cumbrian gin – invented in Kendal
‘Cumbrian gin’ as a search term pulls up some tempting modern offerings. But did you know a Kendal distiller wrote a best-selling book about it in 1725? Gin is in. According to a feature i... Read More
Cute animals – and a ferret riddle
Cute animals are a staple of social media and other online platforms, so here are some animal stories from 19th Century Cumberland. Ok, ‘cute animals’ is the nearest Cumbrian Characters gets whe... Read More
Election riots in Penrith (and other places)
‘Election riots in Penrith’ has nothing to do with the European Parliament Elections of a few days ago! But as the UK today digests the results of the EU poll, it’s a timely occasion... Read More
Border Regiment prisoners of war: WWI
Prisoners of war have long been a staple of movies and TV dramas, from those based on true stories like The Great Escape, to the enjoyable nonsense of Escape to Victory. The focus is almost always o... Read More
Wellington Pit, Whitehaven
Today is the 119th anniversary of a dark day in Cumbrian history, for on May 11, 1910, at Wellington Pit, in Whitehaven, some 136 men and boys were to lose their lives in, or as a consequence, of an e... Read More
Those in peril on the sea – in 1813
‘Those in peril’ is, of course, a line from the famous hymn ‘Eternal Father, strong to save’. Actually, the first hymn I ever learned, as pre-schooler: no idea how/why I learne... Read More
Unfortunate deaths in Cumbria
‘Unfortunate deaths’ may sound a curious heading. After all, there are very few fortunate ones – unless it means avoiding ‘a fate worse than…’ The choice of title reflects that the people ... Read More