I have had lots of fun and games this week due to the news regarding the Wainwright statue.

I had been in meetings all day last Friday so had been un-contactable, I left the Town Hall and was making my way home when the realisation that the whole country was interested in the Wainwright statue became immediately clear as my phone never stopped ringing!

All forms of media had left me messages asking for me to contact them as soon as I could.

I’ll let you have the story from the beginning – Since I was first elected in 2006 the mention of a possible Wainwright statue has arisen each year, around budget time, ‘should we put money aside each year?’ ‘Could we afford or even should we consider such a statue?’ are the questions asked by a few councillors. Though nothing was ever decided.

|I met Sir Tom Finney at a Kendal Town football game and his companion told me all about the Les Dawson statue, its benefits to the area and how the local authority had gone about it.

So I did a little research of my own, not only the Les Dawson Statue but Eric Morecambe, Freddy Truman and of course Loral and Hardy.

The economic benefits to the Town could be great.

Wainwright himself as we know locally, was a very private character and not very sociable. We would like to celebrate his books, his walks and his love of the area in which we live, and in intrude in his persona.

He was not born a Kendalian, but lived here for many years dedicating almost 40 years to the Town as Kendal Borough treasurer. Each year he drew a local scene on the front cover of the Annual Financial reports, a tradition which is still carried on to this day by the District Council and a member of the NPS team.

The Town Council has agreed to own, insure and maintain the Statue, SLDC will allow the land and help lead with the project and we will all work closely with the Wainwright Society and remaining family members.

A professional fund raising company are going to help raise the funds via various activities and work with the sculptor so the project is finally going to move forward.

It may take two years - who knows, it just depends how long it takes to raise the money but at least now on our way to getting our statue.

We need to look at potential sites and poses, I would like to think of him sat on a rock with his pipe, gazing along the River Kent to the hills in the distance, but we will have to wait and see.