The Observatory at www.cumbriaobservatory.org.uk is a multi-agency database of information on Cumbria’s population, economy, geography and environment hosted by Cumbria County Council. It includes facts and stats on anything from how healthy people are, to crime rates, unemployment levels and housing needs. It can also provide a snapshot of individual wards and the type of people who live there via its innovative Instant Atlas.

Now, thanks to the new @cumbriastats Twitter service, followers will get an instant alert every time important new research, information and intelligence about Cumbria is added to the Observatory. They will also be able to receive fun facts about their local area. The move is designed to help people find out more about the county and also promote the wider use of the Cumbria Intelligence Observatory as a useful service.

Cumbria County Council, the district councils, police and health are often asked to provide information for people which is already ready available through the Cumbria Intelligence Observatory. Therefore promoting the service through Twitter also makes good business sense for all the partners involved in collating the data.

The resources of Cumbria Intelligence Observatory are there to support anyone looking to find out more about the county. From helping in the planning of local public services, to identifying the safest areas to buy a house, the Observatory team provide access to current and high quality research and intelligence about Cumbria.

The Cumbria Intelligence Observatory is a partnership initiative bringing together a range of organisations across the county to ensure access to high quality information about Cumbria. Partners involved in the Observatory project include Cumbria Constabulary, Cumbria NHS, the University of Cumbria, Invest in Cumbria and Cumbria County Council.

Delivered by Volunteering England and sponsored by Santander, Student Volunteering Week is currently in its 11^th year. The theme for 2012 is ‘Back to Basics: Community Roots’, turning the spotlight on informal volunteering and community action.

63 per cent of students take part in some form of formal voluntary activity during university, with 95 per cent driven to do so out of a desire to improve things or to help people. Volunteering also enhances employability, with half of recent graduates under the age of 30 in paid work saying that volunteering has helped them secure a job[1].

Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society, commented: “Young people should think seriously about volunteering. As well as offering them a great opportunity to develop new skills and give something back to their community, it’s also a way to get fantastic work experience for their CV. Student Volunteering Week 2012 is a great opportunity for young people to find out about how they can get involved.”

Stephen Greene, Chief Executive of RockCorps, an organisation that encourages students and young people to get involved in helping out in their communities, said: “RockCorps believes youth are one experience away from changing the world. We fully support Student Volunteering Week as a scheme that helps young people to make a difference.”

Jon has worked both on-stage and in the studio with the Clash’s Mick Jones and in 2008 Jon was given Glastonbury Leftfields best new artist award for his solo performance.

The gig is taking place this Friday, from 7.30pm at Lanternhouse, and the full line-up features:

• Jon Byrne
• Sootytern
• Jade Connolly
• Atlast (Acoustic)

We hear that early-bird tickets are almost sold out, so give Lanternhouse a call on 01229 591127.

Forge Europa is at the heart of the cool, bright LED revolution with its innovative LED products. They pride ourselves on delivering the highest standards of customer service and technical expertise to their customers, and are looking for CVs/resumes from highly motivated, competent individuals interested in joining their team.

Electronics Design Engineer (Ulverston)

Responsible for specific LED product design from concept to prototyping. Applications welcome from graduates in the electronics field with practical engineering experience.

LED Applications Engineer (Ulverston)

Role involves the optical, mechanical and thermal design of LED products for a wide range of customers and applications. Candidates should be graduate level or with equivalent experience.

QA Assistant (Dalton)

Responsible for the compilation and reporting of QA inspection, test and cost data as well as assisting with quality checks on incoming goods and finished products.

Administrative Coordinator (Ulverston)

Role involves general administrative duties including accounts, credit control, record keeping, assisting with purchasing and data analysis using Sage and Excel. Office experience is essential.

For full information about these positions and how to apply, visit the Forge Europa website.

Following a course which is a complete circuit of Windermere, England’s largest lake, the Brathay Windermere Marathon takes in Hawkshead, Newby Bridge, Bowness and Waterhead. In 2011 almost 1000 runners enjoyed the stunning scenery around the challenging 26.2 mile course. They’re hoping for 1300 runners in 2012.

The Family Fun Day is held in conjunction with the marathon.  Spectators and supporters of the marathon, visitors to the area and the local community are invited to Brathay Hall Estate to help support the runners and enjoy a range of entertainment, activities and refreshments.  There will be everything from a jazz band, local brewery beer tent, BBQ, high ropes challenge course, canoeing, children’s activities and plenty more to keep everyone busy throughout the day.

You can find out loads more about this brilliant event, and apply online by visiting the Brathay Windermere Marathon website.

In Autumn 2011, Printfest asked print studios around the country to nominate the best printmakers in the UK.  Kelly was nominated by Edinburgh Print Studio and was chosen from a short list of artists to undertake a residency in Ulverston and exhibit her work at Printfest.

Printfest, now in its eleventh year, is the UK’s only art fair dedicated solely to printmaking and has seen tremendous growth over the past few years, with record sales to celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2011.   The event now draws artists of such a high calibre that it attracts regular visitors from across the north of England and beyond.

Previous Printmakers of the Year have included Trevor Price who worked with members of the local community on a participatory print to celebrate our 10th anniversary, Anja Percival, who produced the first Printfest commissioned print and Hamanishi Katsunori, a Japanese artist who has work in collections throughout the world.

Born in Sydney Australia, Kelly moved to Edinburgh in 2000 to pursue her career in illustration and to be amongst traditional architecture. Drawing European traditional architecture fulfilled a passion that she craved, having been surrounded by predominantly modern architecture in Australia. Edinburgh became a constant source of inspiration and she began to draw quirky architectural sketches and street scenes combined with mark making and handwritten text.

Kelly joined the Edinburgh Printmakers workshop in 2001 and since then has dedicated most of her art making to the medium of silkscreen printing.  She enjoys the drawn line and quite often varies the line quality, whether it be from a pencil, a graphite stick, charcoal or a nib and combines them into the one artwork through the screenprinting process.  Screenprinting offers limitless opportunity in combining the drawings with found textures, photographic imagery and text.

“As a printmaker with a passion for the medium of silkscreen print I am very excited to be nominated and chosen for Printfest’s Printmaker of the Year. I look forward to contributing to this years Printfest exhibititon, meeting other passionate printmakers and promoting the unique, versatile, fun qualities of screenprinting,” said Kelly.

Kelly has exhibited in galleries throughout the UK as well as open exhibitions such as the Visual Arts Scotland at the RSA, the Royal Glasgow Institute of fine arts and Aberdeen Artists society exhibition. Permanent collections are in Howies Restaurants (Edinburgh and Aberdeen) as well as in the Budongo Chimpanzee House at Edinburgh Zoo.

As Printmaker of the Year, Kelly will undertake a residency, based in Ulverston and create a commissioned print inspired by the local area.  This print will be unveiled at the Printfest private view on Friday 4 May with a copy retained by Printfest and other copies for sale at the event.

“This year we wanted to offer a residency to a printmaker to give them the time and space to develop their work, and create a print for Printfest,” said Artistic Director, Janice Benson.  “We worked with 20 print studios across the country to find the best printmakers in the UK and we were incredibly excited to offer the role to Kelly.  We know that her work will be a huge attraction at Printfest.”

“We are also very grateful to the Arts Council who have given us funding to develop Printfest over the next two years.  Their support is crucial to the continuing success of the event and a real vote of confidence for us going forward.”

Printmakers from all over UK and abroad have applied to exhibit at Printfest 2012, which will take place from 4 t0 6 May 2012 at the Coronation Hall, in Ulverston.

There’s a wealth of information on the Printfest website.

Chair, Denis McGeary said ‘Lanternhouse staff have shown great resilience over the last 12 months, and continued to create a wide ranging programme of activities and events. The Board of Trustees now needs time to think what is best for Lanternhouse in the future.’

Lanternhouse will now start to wind up its programme to end on 31st March and cease trading from 1st April 2012.  They’re currently talking to their partners, including artists and community groups, to make sure winding up is a smooth process.  Lanternhouse is also trying to ensure some community arts projects survive and become a lasting legacy in Ulverston.

Andrea Hawkins, Executive Director said ‘In less than two years Lanternhouse made lots of new friends from across Cumbria. On behalf of the team I want to thank everyone, of all ages, who made Lanternhouse a very special place.  The mix of artists and people produced a creative vitality that was unique to Lanternhouse.’

Top Travel Blogger & Social Media Guru Zoe Dawes aka “The Quirky Traveller” will share her top tips on how to make money for you business from Blogging and Social Media.

Zoë, voted Britain’s Best Travel Blogger last year, will explain:

• What is a Business blog and why you should have one?
• How social media works for business
• Hhow Blogging enabled Zoë to create a financially viable business
• Top tips on making the most of blogging and social media for your business

The event is open to all business owners in Furness and beyond. Cost is £5 per head and there’ll be ample time for networking and meeting other local business owners.

President Barack Obama during his recent State of the Union address launched a #visitUS campaign which asked people to tweet their favourite place in America and why they loved it in a bid to boost tourism. Tim is hoping that residents can do the same with a hashtag of #visitcumbria.

This is another initiative of Tim’s campaign to boost tourism in the county. The tourism sector plays a vital role in the Cumbrian economy, it provides around 32,000 jobs (Full Time Equivalents) and provides around £2bn of investment each year.

Tim recently called on the government to establish a cross-Cabinet committee in order to coordinate government policies affecting the industry. He said:

“Every little helps and I hope that this initiative will allow us to spread the message around the world about the wonderful places and attractions that Cumbria has. With millions of people expected to visit the UK for the Olympics this year, now is the ideal time for us to put Cumbria on the map as a fantastic place to end a visit to England on.”

A repository would affect people in the area for many generations into the future. At this point they’re only looking at whether the area should take part in the search for a site for a repository.

However, if there is a decision to take part in the search for a site, young people who are at school today would be involved in making the decisions about whether to remain in the process over the next decade or so, and ultimately in deciding whether to have a repository in West Cumbria.

Although there would still be a right to withdraw from this process during the search for a possible site, the decision that needs to be made now is an important one and we they are keen for as many young people as possible to learn more about the issues involved and come to their own view about what would be best for the area.

This competition aims to encourage young people to find out more about the issues involved and think about what a repository might mean for them, their family, friends and the area in general.

In order to take part you must be aged 18 or under on the closing date which is 12^th March 2012.

To take part in the competition you need to produce:

• An article up to 500 words; or
• A film or audio podcast up to 4 minutes long. You could use images showing what a repository might look like that can be found here, and interview friends or family.

The Partnership are looking for pieces that explore some of the issues that would be involved in West Cumbria taking part in the search for somewhere to put a repository for higher activity radioactive waste. More information is available at www.westcumbriamrws.or.uk.

You could look at what it might mean for you, your family and friends, your community, and/or the rest of West Cumbria, the whole county and/or further afield.

The Partnership has produced some information and activities for use by schools and youth groups to explore the issues involved. This may help you prepare your competition entry. Please get in touch with Jenny Willis (jenny@3kq.co.uk or 07775 770190) if you would like a copy of these youth engagement materials.

They’re not looking for pieces which make an argument either for or against taking part in the search for somewhere to put a repository. Instead you should aim to produce a fairly balanced report of the kind that you would expect to find on TV, radio or in a newspaper.

The winner will receive £500 and there will be three runners up prizes of £150. Entries can be by an individual or a group, including a class. If winning entries are submitted on behalf of a class or a group the prize will be given to the school or organisation concerned.

The judges will be Jonathan Lee, Editor and Publishing Director of the North West Evening Mail; Sam Parker, a reporter for ITV Border; and Reverend Lindsay Gray who represents Churches Together in Cumbria on the West Cumbria MRWS Partnership.

For more details on how to enter, and full terms and conditions check out the Partnership website.