Pick of the Week

CHILDREN'S STUFF:

- DRESS for mess and get down to the Lake District Visitor Centre at Brockhole to design and print your own T-Shirt. Sessions are suitable for 7-16s and start at 1pm and 3pm today (Friday). For more details call 015394-46601.

- BE a wildlife Sherlock and root out the clues to build a factfile on Brockhole's birdlife with the Cumbria Wildlife Trust. Detection activities tailored for six to 12-year-olds begin at 2pm tomorrow (Saturday) at the Lake District Visitor Centre (015394-46601).

- KENDAL town hall hosts a children's party on Saturday with a live stage show complete with clowns from Adler Entertainments. For further details phone 01539-797515.

- TIME travel is on offer at Lancaster Castle next Wednesday as its custodians invite five to ten-year-olds to place themselves in the past by dressing-up as a character from the castle's history. Youngsters can also design their own coat of arms and be locked in the dungeons to hear tales about some of the extraordinary people who have been incarcerated behind the castle walls. Pre-book on 01524-64998. Tickets are £2.50.

ADULT'S ACTIVITIES:

- TAKE a cruise across Windermere with a lake ranger equipped with fascinating tales of life atop one of Europe's busiest inland waterways. Meet at Bowness Bay Steamer Pier (015395-31188) on Monday for the one-and-a-half or three-hour trip which leaves at 12.20pm with another outing at 1.50pm.

- INSPIRED to capture the essence of Lake District waters and peaks in paint? Then 12s and overs can head to Brockhole for an introduction to the basics of water colour. Book with the Lake District Visitor Centre on 015394-46601 to flex your brushes at this Thursday event.

EVENTS:

- MEN, women and their flying machines will be gathering at Grasmere's sports field for the Lakes Charity Classic this weekend. Hang gliders and paragliders from the Cumbria Soaring Club and other UK flying collectives will converge on the Lake District village to compete for flight-skill prizes.

- BARGAIN hunters after interesting, elderly artefacts might be tempted by an Antique and Collectors Fair on Sunday at Ulverston's Coronation Hall from 9.30am to 4pm.

TALKS:

- A GLIMPSE of the Himalayan Kingdom is being offered in a slide show from Margaret Goodwin on Wednesday, 7.30pm, at the Ladyholme Community Centre in Windermere. The evening will also include the Lake Road community centre's annual meeting.

EXHIBITIONS:

- CROQUE Morte, 2000, the work of former Turner Prize winner Douglas Gordon is up at the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal. The exhibition is a series of close-up colour photographs of a baby biting her toes. Glaswegian-born Gordon has won a string of artistic accolades including the Turner Prize in 1996 and the Hugo Boss prize in 1998. Croque Mort, 2000 is on display until July 6.

GARDENS:

- ENJOY the verdant delights of one of Britain's most magnificent gardens at the Holker Garden Festival which runs from today (Friday) until Sunday. Features include a horticultural marquee, traditional crafts and demonstrations, floral art and rare plants. Gates open at 10am daily and further details are available from the show office on 015395-58838.

- Sieze the chance to go round Roundhill on Sunday two acres of natural woodland with historic botanic garden, pools and panoramic mountain views. Enjoy a scenic half-mile walk from Grasmere to get to the garden, following Easedale Road North and signs for Thorney YHA the Roundhill Rock Garden is on the right. Roundhill is being opened from 10am to 5pm as part of the British Red Cross Open Gardens Programme and entrance costs £3.

MUSIC:

- The Blues will be resounding around the village in the hill otherwise know as Rheged near Penrith tonight (Friday) as Nine Below Zero pluck their unique mix of acoustic and electric soul food. Tickets are £12.25, to book call 01768-860025.

- OLD TIME dance with Alan and Edna of Singalong will be vibrating the boards of the Sedbergh People's Hall tomorrow (Saturday) between 8pm and 12am. Entrance is £2.50 with home-made refreshments on hand to keep the dancing legs from flagging. Further details are available from Margaret Mason on 015396-20048.

- THE Morecambe band strike up at Ulverston tomorrow (Saturday) for their summer concert in the Coronation Hall. Tickets are £8/£6.50. Details are available on 01229-587140.

SPORT:

- KENDAL Cricket Club host Fleetwood in the Northern Premier League Division 1 at Shap Road tomorrow (Saturday) at 1pm, while Netherfield CC travel to Leyland.

- The second race in the Kendal AC Midweek 10K Series takes place on Wednesday, when the Runwise Lyth Valley 10k is held from the Hare and Hounds Inn at Levens (7.30pm).

- The Mallerstang and Nine standards Yomp starts from Kirkby Stephen on Sunday at 8am.

THEATRE:

- A TALE of enduring love will be performed at the Victoria Hall, Grange-over-Sands tonight (Friday). Absence, the heart-tugging drama from Hollywood scriptwriter Wendy Hammond, has picked up its fair share of plaudits. The American Drama Critics Association named it the Best Play of the Year when it premiered in Detroit in 1999. It's being brought to Grange at 7.30pm tonight by the Freerange Theatre Company. Tickets are available on 015395-34026.

- EAST o'the Sun, West o'the Moon a Norwegian fairy tale given a multi-story makeover for ages five plus - takes to the stage of The Brewery Arts Centre at Kendal tomorrow (Saturday). The actors animate a host of characters - including humans, animals and trolls - as a young girl sets out to rescue her prince. A 12pm theatre workshop precedes the 2pm performance. For tickets call 01539-725133.

WALKS:

- GO WILD about dry stone walls with an informative wall-walk today (Friday) guided by a local expert. The five-mile walk is graded easy and starts at 1.30pm at the Hawkshead Information Centre (015394-36525).

- GET booted for an eight-mile hike over the hills to Troutbeck guided by a Lake District National Park Authority warden. The Saturday walk begins with a steady climb to Wansfell Pike then along the ridge towards the Eastern Fells before dropping in to Troutbeck village. Meet at 10.30pm at the Waterhead Information Centre (015394-32729).

- GET directions in how not to get lost on the fells with a map and compass day at Hawkshead Information Centre (015394-36525) on Sunday. This six-and-a-half hour session is designed for people of all abilities who are over 12.

- TREAD in the footsteps of Beatrix Potter on Wednesday before the movie moguls arrive to scope for locations for the scheduled biopic of this famed children's author. Potter enthusiast Beverley Maggs will guide you on this six-mile walk offering tales about Potter and her characters on route from Claife to Near Sawrey. Meet at 10.15am at the Bowness Bay Information Centre (015394-42895).

- GO BATTY with a night walk on Thursday through Grizedale Forest to discover more about bats' habitats and lifestyles. This two-and-a-half hour activity starts at 8.30pm at the forest visitor centre. To reserve a place call 01229-860010.

May 29, 2003 10:00