TEN Marie Curie Cancer Care nurses who between them have dedicated more than 75 years of their life to caring for terminally ill cancer patients are to be rewarded for their hard work. On Monday, October 4, four South Lakeland nurses will be among those presented with long-time service awards at St Mary's Hospice in Ulverston. Cecilia Barber and Leslie Gledhill, from Kendal; Angela Thornton, from Windermere; and Sandra Forbes, from Leece, near Ulverston, will be picking up awards. As well as visiting the patients in their own homes, the nurses also helped to provide comfort and support for patients' families.

THERE will be a strong smell of coffee in Cumbria today (September 24) when homes, offices, shops and schools join in Macmillan Cancer Relief's World's Biggest Coffee Morning. In Kirkby Stephen, coffee mornings will be held at Skyke House in the High Street, the JAC Club in Bank View, and The Old Forge Restaurant. In the Appleby area, there will be coffee mornings at New Bewley in Bolton, 2 Cross Fell Drive, Brampton, and Beech Cottage in Warcop. Last year, 1.5 million people in the UK raised £4.3 million in one morning, and earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

MORE than £1,000 was raised by members of Lowick and Broughton Young Farmers' Clubs when they took part in a sponsored walk between the two villages earlier this year. Cumbria YFC Southern District funds will be boosted by £500, with the remainder, £576, going to the Furness General Hospital oncology unit. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution held a one-day street collection in Hawkshead in August, raising £200 for the charity. The charity, Save The Children, collected £887.41 in a street collection in Kendal and a street collection in the town by ActionAid local support group raised £327.67 for its emergencies fund.

A KENDAL church's congregation raised more than £80 for charity when it headed out to Ypres to attend the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate. The group from Stricklandgate Methodist Church laid a wreath on behalf of the Royal British Legion. The money they raised will go towards the Legion's work in Cumbria. The Menin Gate Memorial commemorates more than 70,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers who died in Ypres during World War One and have no known grave.

THE August Bank Holiday fun day at the Westmorland Shopping Centre, Kendal, helped to raise more than £600 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Centre co-ordinator Sharon Falshaw said: "The fun day was a huge success and the money collected by the RNLI volunteers will help towards the £250,000 target to build a new hovercraft home to be used in local rescues at Morecambe Bay."

VARIOUS charities are set to benefit from an Autumn Fair organised by Ulverston St Mary of Furness Catholic Women's League to be held in St Mary's Social Centre, Victoria Road, Ulverston, tomorrow (September 25) between 9.30am and 11.30am. There will be a cake stall, bring and buy, bric-a-brac, raffle and tombola.

CUMBRIA Sjgren's Syndrome Support Group held its fourth meeting and welcomed three new recruits. The group shared advice and enjoyed a talk by local acupuncturist, Jenny Craig. The next meeting will be held on April 26 next year from 2pm to 4pm at Millthrop, Sedbergh. Contact Doreen Barker on 015394-47941 for details.

MORRISONS has raised £494 for Diabetes UK by selling a supermarket quiz. The quiz, which was Chris and Eileen Jackson's idea, was sold in the Kendal store and around town. The cheque was presented to the store's deputy manager, Neil Pinkney, by employees Chris Jackson and Jackie Bishop, who both suffer from diabetes.

Job of the week...

HELP needed to deliver hot meals to elderly people so that they can maintain their independence in their own homes and communities. For more information on this and other voluntary opportunities, contact Abigail at Volunteer Centre South Lakeland, tel 01539-742636.