K Fellfarers

All bookings for High House from mid March until the end of June (those in July to be reviewed in early June) were cancelled due to the Covid-19 virus, and all deposits returned. Travel restrictions were severe, but in early May they started too ease. Many people in tourist areas were very concerned that people travelling in for the day would spread the virus. Peter Edmondson at Seathwaite Farm (not Edmonson as in the article below) reflected the concern of many when he appeared on the BBC local news. This article was copied from the BBC web site.
Barriers put up by a Cumbrian sheep farmer to stop tourists walking across his land during the coronavirus pandemic have been taken down. Peter Edmonson, who has a heart condition, built a road block near his home in Seathwaite, near Keswick. He said it was "quite frightening" that walkers were using his land without cleaning their hands. Cumbria County Council said there was "no legal restriction on people visiting the Lake District". "We have no option other than to take action to remove any blockages that prevent access to the highway," a spokesperson said. However the authority urged people "to respect our local communities and keep their Lake District plans on hold for now". Since lockdown measures were relaxed hundreds of ramblers have been heading to the Lake District. One of the most popular walking routes in the county goes through Mr Edmonson's farmyard, following a path which passes close to the farm buildings. "They've got no gloves on, they haven't even sanitised their hands so then I've got to take these sheep out of the sheep pens later and I've got to open that gate," he said. When lockdown began Mr Edmonson blocked the end of the road to divert people away from the farmyard, but when measures were eased the council removed the barriers. "They made us feel like we were criminals - and we're not," he said. "We're just trying to look after our own people, our own family."
	Peter Edmondson
The barriers that Peter erected on the road from Seatoller to Seathwaite
	Peter's sign at the entrance to the farm.

June - The month was very unsettled for weather as the following report from the Met Office shows. While June 2020 overall was not a record-breaking month, it has been notable for many, with some heavy rainfall at times. And, despite cooler days in the inclement weather, there was a notable heatwave and there have been some warmer than average nights. Early in June there was a gradual breakdown of the high-pressure system which was responsible for bringing us the sunniest spring and the driest May since records began. The breakdown allowed a return to Atlantic weather systems, bringing unsettled weather across the UK. Low pressure prevailed for much of the month, with spells of heavy rain and showers for many, triggering Met Office rain and thunderstorm warnings at times. The June rainfall was above average across most of the UK. Although Cumbria as a whole recorded 151mm of rainfall, its 13^th wettest June on record, Honister Pass Environment Agency rain gauge recorded 212.8mm of rainfall on 28^th June (24-hour total) breaking the wettest June day on record for the UK, the prevous record being 208.4mm set in 2012. It was also the wettest day of 2020 so far.
July - By the middle of the month, lock-down guidlines started to ease, so High House was opened up to members on a limited two household basis. Maja and Jim, and Pam and Mike visited to open it up (flushing water through, checking for legionella, cleaning, etc) and took the photos below. Apart from the grounds being overgrown as expected, including nettles, the place was in good order. The two photos below show how the track has started to become overgrown due to lack of usage.


	Rod's table in the middle of long grass.
But the building was looking as good as ever

August - The Westmorland Gazette for August 6th reported the death of Tony Greenbank, the local climber and writer. He was present at the launch in December 2010 of the Fellarers 75th commemorative book, and contributed a chapter to it. He was a friend of Chris Bonnington who said: “Climbing was his first love. He always had a wonderful enthusiasm, he was just fun to be around and he was a very thoughtful man.” Probably his most famous climb was Red Pencil Direct on Pen-y-Ghent and is featured in Ken Wilsons Classic Rock book. He was also a caver and co-wrote at least one book on the subject. The Guardian published this obituary - Tony Greenbank was an exhilarating colleague on the Guardian in the north, a writer whose wit, curiosity and exuberance made him a fine successor when Harry Griffin, the doyen of the Country Diary, died in harness in 2004 after 53 years of contributing from the English Lakes. Tony, who has died aged 86, felt awed at first but was soon producing exceptional columns. A fearless rock climber like Griffin, he reached places others could not. His personal warmth gave extra space for people, whose role in the diary had often been secondary, among them refugees learning shepherding skills and the surgeon who refettled his hip. He also drew on the nous of the Yorkshire Dales farmers who had been in his family for generations. He was born in Settle, North Yorkshire, son of Anthony Greenbank, who worked for ICI, and Marjorie (nee Hunt), a music teacher who played the church organ at Horton in Ribblesdale for 50 years. He was educated at Horton village school and nearby Giggleswick school followed by national service in the RAF. In 1958 he married Mary Murray, a nurse, and they had a daughter, Heather. Working as an Outward Bound instructor after a stint in local libraries, he sent an adventure story to Eagle comic and his career in journalism began. Most of his work involved the north and the hills but his classic The Book of Survival (1968) was an international hit and led to memorable TV interviews in the US with Johnny Carson and David Frost. After his first marriage ended, Tony married Chrissie Houghton, also a nurse, in 1976, and they had two children, Mark and Hannah. He brought adventure home, taking his children on night-time hunts for caves or starting them on solo fell walks with just a map and a promise to meet them at the end. They sensed that he led life in his own terms. After the success of The Book of Survival, he came home impulsively with a metallic purple soft-top Ford Capri. When his hip operation coincided with the Queen Mother’s, he was pictured soon afterwards on a rock face by a Cumbrian paper with the headline: “Bet You Can’t Do This Ma’am”. Tony’s second marriage ended in divorce. He is survived by Heather, Hannah and Mark, and by Rebecca, his daughter from his relationship with Pamela Cotterill; as well as by four grandchildren, Harry, Billy, Ishbelle and Josh, and his brother, John. He was given to saying, startlingly, that New York reminded him of the Lakes - because of a shared sense of community. But Tony created a community wherever he was.

Our President Roger Atkinson reports that his brother-in-law Syd Armstrong has died aged 93. Roger says - He was a member back in the forties and still a member into the seventies, perhaps longer. He was a Committee member and part of the team who installed our first “modern kitchen”. I think he may be the last of our members who saw service in the second world war. He worked at K Shoes all his life apart from National Service. Mick has supplied the two photos below of Syd, both taken in 1942 at High House, and both featured in the commemorative book. Syd is in the leather jacket.


There are tawny owls nesting in the trees around High House, and during August this young owl was seen peaking in through the downstairs dormitory window, no doubt checking that the members inside were socially distancing correctly.

October - At the start of October, storm Alex caused widespread devastation in Europe, but mainly in France. St Martin Vesubie in the Mercantour National Park, where the club had their camping meet in June 2019 was severely hit. Mick provided these two photos showing before and after, and says - The campsite would be just off the bottom of the picture. You can see the ramp we used to walk up alongside the retaining wall when we walked into town. The tennis courts, football field, scrapyard and, I suspect, the campsite are all gone.












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