MOTORBIKE RS are being invited to take part in the third Great Escape charity ride next month.

Organisers are hoping for more riders and pillion passengers for this year's event that will raise money for the Furness General Hospital Equipment Fund and Sandside Special School, Ulverston.

Last year's event attracted 170 bikes including vintage, classic, trikes, custom, touring and sports models and £19,000 was raised for local charities.

The event is organised by Stollers Furniture World and will set off from the Barrow store car park on the morning of Sunday, June 27. Sponsorship forms area available from Stollers Furniture World, Crooks Suzuki, Barrow, and the Farmers' Arms, Ulverston.

After a scenic 190-mile tour of the Lake District, the event finishes at the Market Cross in Ulverston.

DURING ME Awareness Week - which comes to an end today (Friday) - GPs and sufferers of the "invisible illness" are being reminded that the Morecambe Bay ME Group is on hand to offer advice and support.

"GPs are often the first port of call for people with ME," said Sue Becker, the group's co-ordinator. "The difficulty is that there are still very few specialist services to refer people on to, but there are things doctors can do to help in the early stages. Sometimes in the past people have been told to push themselves to overcome the fatigue, but in fact that can be the worst thing of all."

With around 1,200 people in the Morecambe Bay area suffering from the debilitating effects of the chronic fatigue syndrome, Morecambe Bay Primary Care Trust has joined forces with other PCTs to bid for a multi disciplinary team of NHS workers who will specialise in the condition. If the bid is successful, the team will be in place next year.

THE South Cumbria Dyslexia Association holds its annual meeting on Tuesday, June 22, at Stricklandgate House in Kendal at 7.30pm.

Guest speaker will be Carol Saxby from the Darlington Dyslexia Association, who will be demonstrating a multiplication pack designed to help dyslexic students.

Other forthcoming events include a circus skills workshop on Wednesday, June 16, at Queen Katherine School in Kendal, and an activity day for dyslexic youngsters and friends at Castle Head Centre, Grange-over-Sands, on July 3.

For details, contact 01229-820998.

ON SATURDAY, August 14, at 5.30pm, the Queen's Guide to the Sands, Cedric Robinson, will lead Royal National Lifeboat Institution supporters on the famous Cross Bay walk across the sands of Morecambe Bay. All proceeds will go to the Morecambe Lifeboat Station and, ideally, the RNLI would like walkers to obtain sponsorship of at least £10. To book your place and to receive sponsor forms, contact 0161-787 8779.

COMMUNITY groups in Kirkby Lonsdale can now take advantage of a new minibus to hire for special events requiring transport.

It follows a partnership between Community Transport South Lakeland and Kirkby Lonsdale Parish Council which provides the buses and trained drivers or training for community drivers.

The cost of hiring the buses is calculated on mileage, with less than 22 miles costing £12 and more than 22 miles at 60p per mile.

Anyone wanting more information should contact Community Transport South Lakeland on 01539-735598.

MORE than 100 people have already agreed to give up their weekend and jump off a building in Carlisle on Saturday and Sunday, June 19 and 20, in support of the Royal National Institute of the Blind's 60 services. People are travelling from all over Cumbria and surrounding areas to take part in the abseiling event, which is being held at Carlisle Civic Centre. For more information, contact 0208-438 9063.

UNDERLEY Lodge of Freemasons in Kirkby Lonsdale raised £1,000 for St John's Hospice, Lancaster. Administrator of the hospice Janet Thompson was presented with a cheque by the brethren of the Kirkby Lonsdale group.

SOUTH Lakes Society for the Blind raised more than £820 during a street collection in Kendal last month. The cash will go towards funding the charity's work for local blind and partially-sighted people.

A BLOOD donor session will take place at St John Boste Social Club in Gillinggate, Kendal, on Wednesday, May 26, from 2pm to 4pm and 5.30pm to 7.30pm.