• Contact us
  • About us
  • Digital edition
  • Online archive
Monday, June 16, 2025
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
  • News
    Risks and strategies for flexible pension drawdown

    Risks and strategies for flexible pension drawdown

    Man arrested after fleeing from police in Penrith

    Man arrested after fleeing from police in Penrith

    £37.7 million to tackle potholes and upgrade roads

    £37.7 million to tackle potholes and upgrade roads

    Over £38,000-worth of fake goods seized at Appleby Horse Fair

    Over £38,000-worth of fake goods seized at Appleby Horse Fair

    New bid for Appleby stallion sculpture revealed

    New bid for Appleby stallion sculpture revealed

    18th century Eden pub sold as owners retire

    18th century Eden pub sold as owners retire

    Tebay’s plans for battery storage unit

    Tebay’s plans for battery storage unit

    Pub landlord must remove Covid canopy

    Pub landlord must remove Covid canopy

    Flower fairies of Kirkby Stephen brighten people’s day

    Flower fairies of Kirkby Stephen brighten people’s day

  • Sport
    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

    Penrith Panthers celebrate winning season

    Penrith Panthers celebrate winning season

    Darren Edmondson leaves Penrith AFC

    Darren Edmondson leaves Penrith AFC

    Lucy plays key role in county T20 triumph

    Lucy plays key role in county T20 triumph

    Gold for Keith in annual festival of orienteering

    Gold for Keith in annual festival of orienteering

  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • Buy Photos
  • Buy your paper
  • North Lakes Living
No Result
View All Result
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
  • News
    Risks and strategies for flexible pension drawdown

    Risks and strategies for flexible pension drawdown

    Man arrested after fleeing from police in Penrith

    Man arrested after fleeing from police in Penrith

    £37.7 million to tackle potholes and upgrade roads

    £37.7 million to tackle potholes and upgrade roads

    Over £38,000-worth of fake goods seized at Appleby Horse Fair

    Over £38,000-worth of fake goods seized at Appleby Horse Fair

    New bid for Appleby stallion sculpture revealed

    New bid for Appleby stallion sculpture revealed

    18th century Eden pub sold as owners retire

    18th century Eden pub sold as owners retire

    Tebay’s plans for battery storage unit

    Tebay’s plans for battery storage unit

    Pub landlord must remove Covid canopy

    Pub landlord must remove Covid canopy

    Flower fairies of Kirkby Stephen brighten people’s day

    Flower fairies of Kirkby Stephen brighten people’s day

  • Sport
    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith teen crowned British vault champion

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    Penrith gymnasts represent North of England in finals

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

    New boss revealed for Penrith AFC

    Penrith Panthers celebrate winning season

    Penrith Panthers celebrate winning season

    Darren Edmondson leaves Penrith AFC

    Darren Edmondson leaves Penrith AFC

    Lucy plays key role in county T20 triumph

    Lucy plays key role in county T20 triumph

    Gold for Keith in annual festival of orienteering

    Gold for Keith in annual festival of orienteering

  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • Buy Photos
  • Buy your paper
  • North Lakes Living
No Result
View All Result
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald
No Result
View All Result
Home Latest

Ross Brewster: When I was trapped in a Lakes hotel worse than Fawlty Towers

by CWH
19 February 2023
in Latest, Ross Brewster
A A
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
John Cleese is planning to revive the hit sitcom Fawlty Towers

How sad that John Cleese is planning a sequel to all-time comedy classic Fawlty Towers. Can’t we be left with the memory of a great series that never went beyond its sell-by date. Leave ’em wanting more was the perfect message from the maniacal hotelier Basil.

It’s reputed that the new series will be filmed in the Caribbean. But not on the BBC. The Beeb is far too politically sensitive these days, says Cleese. He can’t be doing it for the money, not at 83 and worth £8 million. It seems it’s more of a vehicle to boost the career of actress daughter Camilla.

I once stayed in a hotel — it was in Cumbria but no names, no pack drill — that was far worse than Fawlty Towers. The house was having some work done so me and my then partner took off for the weekend to escape the builders.

The proprietor warned on arrival that doors closed at 9pm and he did not welcome the smell of alcohol on his premises. During the night I thought I heard noises outside the room. When I investigated it was the owner sitting on the stairs listening in for any of what he called “hanky panky”.

At breakfast he insisted on prayers and a homily. There were two other guests. The wife whispered to me, “he’s locked the gates, do you think we are prisoners of a madman?”

It was Fawlty Towers plus. Thank heaven we weren’t Germans. The only thing our host didn’t mention was the war.

Terrible scenes of devastation

It’s not easy to comprehend from such a distance the absolute horror of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, an event which commanded the TV news bulletins throughout last week. It is only thanks to those brave, resourceful and indefatigable BBC correspondents that we are given first-hand and immediate coverage of these tragic events.

Sometimes it’s hard to relate fully to such disasters because we seem to be living in a world full of wars and disasters at present. But this is a tragedy on an unprecedented scale.

What drove it home to me was something I spotted in the background as one of the Beeb’s faithful female reporters was being filmed against a terrifying background of fallen buildings and piles of immovable rubble.

It was the fallen floodlight pylons at the town’s football ground. A town probably the size of Carlisle, now completely destroyed.

We see these news items and quickly put them to one side as we get on with our daily lives. Maybe we donate a tenner to one of the relief funds.

But it struck me forcibly. What if it was Carlisle, or Penrith and Keswick. Unimaginable maybe. But comparing the size of a Turkish town, now effectively gone, with something local to us drives home the appalling nature of this event.

There was actually an earthquake registered at 4.7 on the Richter scale in the Carlisle area on Boxing Day back in 1979. No substantial damage was reported.

But I do remember, as many people in the Lake District will, the shock we received in December 2010, a tremor lasting 20 seconds measured at 3.6. The Guardian report said it “caused alarm but no serious damage.”

It certainly moved me. I had just gone to bed and was reading a book when I heard a distinct rumble and experienced a dizzying spell when the room seemed to go round. The British Geological Society later pinpointed Coniston as the centre of this quake.

I don’t know if they made up the quote to lighten the story, but I do recall the Kendal man who told The Sun — it had to be that newspaper — that his girlfriend said it was the first time the earth had moved for her.

Geologists reckon we’ve had at least half a dozen similar level tremors in recent years. We had one just five years ago, centred on the village of Mosser, which was felt in Kendal, Cockermouth and Keswick.

Compared to the terrible consequences of the Turkish earthquake, ours might create a few lines for the local papers and a witty headline for the national press, but they are really no great shakes.

One town on television had lost its Brunton Park equivalent, but in human terms it lost incalculably more.

Can Rod Stewart fix our potholes too?

When Sir Rod Stewart got frustrated with lack of action over potholes in his local road — they were damaging his Ferrari — he got his mates round to help him fill them in.

Cue council officials with a warning that people should not take matters into their own hands in case someone had an accident, blamed the repairs and, in this age of litigation, consulted their learned friends about suing.

Pity because, with councils bound to be strapped for cash, a bit of community do it yourself would not come amiss.

We did a report on potholes in last week’s paper. John Judson’s damaged roadside at Lazonby, the patchwork quilt in Penrith and the way the weather has created a perfect storm of holes all over the county.

Where’s Sir Rod when you need him?

Tags: premium

Related Posts

£37.7 million to tackle potholes and upgrade roads
Latest

£37.7 million to tackle potholes and upgrade roads

13 June 2025
Pub landlord must remove Covid canopy
Latest

Pub landlord must remove Covid canopy

13 June 2025
Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history
Latest

Patterdale’s Eden Eagles make history

6 June 2025
Appleby Horse Fair: Several cases of animal cruelty
Latest

Appleby Horse Fair: Several cases of animal cruelty

5 June 2025
Multiple fire crews tackle roof fire in Crosby Ravensworth
Latest

Multiple fire crews tackle roof fire in Crosby Ravensworth

30 May 2025
Penrith Beacon access closed after vandalism
Latest

Penrith Beacon access closed after vandalism

6 June 2025
No Result
View All Result

Stay connected

Facebook Twitter Instagram

Most popular

Tebay’s plans for battery storage unit

Tebay’s plans for battery storage unit

13 June 2025
Special needs campsite set to open in Eden

Special needs campsite set to open in Eden

13 June 2025
Carbon audit produces positive results for North Sheep host family

Carbon audit produces positive results for North Sheep host family

13 June 2025
Over £38,000-worth of fake goods seized at Appleby Horse Fair

Over £38,000-worth of fake goods seized at Appleby Horse Fair

13 June 2025
18th century Eden pub sold as owners retire

18th century Eden pub sold as owners retire

13 June 2025
Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

Double national triumph for Stuart Robinson

13 June 2025
Cumberland and Westmorland Herald Logo

33 Middlegate
Penrith
Cumbria
CA11 7SY

Phone: 01768 862313
Email: news@cwherald.com

Registered in England as Barrnon Media Limited. No: 12475190
VAT registration number: 343486488

Explore

  • News
  • Sport
  • Farming
  • Property
  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Your view

Useful links

  • Contact us
  • Photosales
  • Online archive
  • Buy your paper
  • Digital edition
  • North Lakes Living
  • Advertise
  • About us

Follow us on

© Barrnon Media Limited 2025

Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy

This website and its associated newspaper are members of the Independent Press Standards Organisation
Review Your Cart
0
Discount
Add Coupon Code
Subtotal
Total Installment Payments
Bundle Discount
Checkout

 
0
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Obituaries
  • Nostalgia
  • Online archive
  • more
    • North Lakes Living
    • Buy Photos
    • Buy your paper
    • About us
    • Contact us

© 2020 Cumberland & Westmorland Herald