When the town brass band started some 11 years ago, members wore a military style uniform borrowed from Sedbergh School. After a while funds were raised and a more civilian type of uniform was purchased. At this point no-one really thought about the shoes. The trouble is from an audience point of view looking up at the stage, band members are all smartly uniformed except for the variety and style of members shoes. So the band decided to have a bit of a make over and members are now required to wear black patent shoes. So next time you see Sedbergh Town Band they will all be tapping their toes inside shining new shoes.

To change the subject completely, at this time of the year I look forward to a visit from old friends, Sarah Finney and Dave Norman, who Keith and I met when first they came to stay at ‘Number Ten,’ back in 1999. Each year a group of first year Cambridge University geology students come to stay in Sedbergh on a field trip which includes studying the Dent fault and other interesting geological sites in the area. They have traditionally stayed at the Bull with the B&Bs in town taking the overflow. We have enjoyed the company of many students and tutors over the years especially Dave and Sarah. Dave is a fellow of Christ’s College and Sarah is the curator of the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences in Cambridge, which is especially dedicated to Darwin. Once when husband Keith and I were visiting Cambridge, Dave took us on a fascinating tour of the rooms and halls of Christ’s College. It was wonderful. We saw where Charles Darwin had written an IOU in the fellows dining room book for a bottle of wine. Dave’s room was extremely interesting. It had once been used by Darwin himself. The history of the college seemed to be oozing out of the woodwork, staircases, walls and gardens and as Keith and I said at the time; it’s the nearest we were ever going to get to being at Cambridge University.