An Evening with Malala Yousafzai

The three tiers of the Barbican Theatre were packed to the gunnels. They had come to hear from a most remarkable confident yet unassuming young woman who has become the figurehead for the campaign for universal education for girls and women.

A proud citizen of the Swat Valley, together with her family they were driven from their home by the rise of the Taliban. You can read her own story in “I Am Malala”. After being shot on a school bus and placed in an induced coma she eventually ended up in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham where she was nursed back to health and Birmingham became her adopted home.

She became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her campaigning work. As she acknowledged she owed so much to her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai a Pakistani education activist who, against the custom of his culture, took pride in having a daughter, encouraged her independence and pioneered female education in Pakistan in general and the Swat in particular. Being proud of a strong, confident daughter who now operates on a world stage is something I share with Ziauddin. It is wrong that in our times, in so many countries, women's education is at best curtailed, at worst non existent.  It is a travesty in our own country and our own time that those who should understand instead force the closure of libraries and use fiscal restraint to force music and drama from the mainstream curriculum!

Malala took to the stage full of confidence. Enthralled the audience and raised more than a few laughs, answered many questions and left to a spontaneous, rousing and lasting standing ovation.

In her latest book “We Are Displaced” Malala strives to bring to life the personalities, aspirations, hopes and dreams of displaced young women, often caught up in refugee camps, showing them not as stereotyped groups to be feared or hated but as individuals hit on hard times, not of their own making, striving for better more normal lives.

Malala Yousafzai – a wonderful human being and a great humanitarian. 

(All proceeds from the sales of her books go to the Malala Fund)

The Trip North

Bitts Park

Bitts is Carlisle’s main park running the stretch of the River Eden through the City.

We headed from the main car park along to the Sheep Mount. Hadn’t been here since school sports day, many many moons ago, and was surprised at how it has developed from a grassy mount with a rough running track to a fully developed sports centre.

Turning back on ourselves we followed the river, under Stanwix Bridge, past the Pitch n Put to the suspension bridge. This was the route of the old schools cross country. Have to admit me and my mates used to duck under the bridge support and have a quick fag whilst the others continued round the Cenotaph and back over the bridge whence we rejoined the tail end for the return trip. M insisted on taking a photo of me at the Cenotaph just to prove that I, eventually, made it :)

It was then back, on the other side of the Eden, through Rickerby Park to what we knew as the Chinese Gardens but now refurbished and renamed Eden Bridge Gardens.

Talkin Tarn

Last time we circumnavigated the Tarn we got drenched, not this time pleased to say. The tarn is glacial in origin, being formed about 10000 years ago, and is fed by underground streams. 

The Country Park is a 165 acre site rich in mature woodland and meadows, all surrounding a glacial lake with the stunning Pennine Hills as a backdrop.

A most pleasant meander ending in soup on the balcony at the Tarn Cafe.

Keswick

Another unexpectedly bright winters New Year Day we headed down to the lakeside at Keswick and strolled out to Friars Crag Point and its stunning views over Derwent Water.

should've taken more water with it!

Returning past The Theatre by the Lake we passed up into town for tea at the lovely Wild Strawberry Cafe.

Kielder Forest

Taking the road through Canonbie we initially overshot the badly signed turn off to Kielder Reservoir and enjoyed an unexpected drive through part of the Forest. Kielder Forest is a large forestry plantation in Northumberland surrounding Kielder village and the Kielder Water reservoir. It is the largest developed woodland in England with three-quarters of its 250 square miles covered by forest. Over the past 25 years, the landscape around Kielder Water & Forest Park has become home to a unique collection of visual art.

Parking up at Kielder Castle we were joined by a number of hikers, dog walkers and cyclists. Even towards the end of a crisp winters day Kielder is a popular place. Formerly the hunting lodge for the Duke of Northumberland, the Castle is now home to a variety of exhibitions. It is also the centre for cycling within the Park.

We took the Viaduct path a mile or so down to a panoramic view of the lake/reservoir then back along the top path to the Castle. Glad to complete the mainly single track road back to the main drag before complete darkness set in.

Port Carlisle

In its bustling hayday Carlisle was connected to Port Carlisle, across the treacherous Brough marshes, first by canal then rail. 

The village of Port Carlisle, originally known as Fishers Cross, was developed as a port in 1819 to handle goods for Carlisle using the canal link built in 1823. The canal was 11¼ mile long, and had 8 locks. The building of the Bowness-on-Solway railway viaduct altered the deepwater channels, causing Port Carlisle to silt up, and the railway was abandoned, but its course can still be traced.

Port Carlisle Junction railway station was a very short lived station that first came into use in July 1863 which brought many Scandinavian emigrants through Carlisle on their way to the USA. There was some untimetabled use until 29 October 1863, but the station closed as early as 1 July 1864. After closure, the up platform was retained for use by those northbound crews requiring change.

Walking from Drumburgh we picked up the tail end of the Hadrians Wall Path hugging the Solway Coast, circumnavigating the village of Port Carlisle.