The Best of What's On

by Helen Wall

Happy 2012 everyone and thanks for checking in to Cumbria What's On. If your New Year's resolution is to do something different this year we have plenty on offer in January. Of course, one person's "different" is another's "do it all the time" that's why we work hard to include a variety of events in our listings.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust events all over county, throughout January

Quite a few attractions and venues have shut down for a month now that Christmas is over, but Cumbria Wildlife Trust has shedloads of events for January. If you are still looking for something completely different in 2012, why not do your bit for wildlife and volunteer for a day's work on a nature reserve. Cumbria has an amazing variety of landscapes, not just fells, dales and lakes, but woods, limestone pavement, bogs, sand dunes and much more. Most of them need a little help to get rid of non-native species or remove plants that are harming the habitat. Joining a work party gives volunteers a chance to get to know more about the countryside and get a bit of fresh air and exercise into the bargain. You don't have to be a member of the trust to go along and give it a try. On some work parties you can take a spud to bake in the bonfire, you might see some winter-visiting birds, or some of our lovely residents, while at Gosling Sike Farm you can see the longhorn cattle and learn about organic farming. All workparties are led by a Cumbria Wildlife Trust expert. They are not in your face, but if you want to know a bit more about the habitat you are working on they will be happy to chat while you work.

It's not all work, the trust has organised some walks and talks during the month and there are meetings of the junior branch of the trust at the Wildlife Watch groups for budding Chris Packhams and Kate Humbles. All the details are on our listings pages.

The 2012 Team Quiz January 22, Sands Centre, Carlisle

You might be a wizard at general knowledge in front of Eggheads or University Challenge but have you ever put yourself to the test in public? There's a chance at the Sands Centre in Carlisle if you can muster up a team of four and £22. Up to 140 teams are wanted and you have until January 19 to register with an entry form you can download on the Sands website. OK, it's a struggle to find your way around the Sands website, but if you click onto the home page and write "quiz" in that little search box at the top right and click "go", it worked for me (after trying several other options). You will be letting yourself in for three hours of competitive general knowledge including picture and music rounds on January 22, but there will be a bar to sustain you... and there are prizes! Details are on our listings pages.

Football Carlisle, Barrow and Workington January 2, 7, 14, 21, 24 and 28

I know someone who grew up in and around Barrow, has been an ardent Manchester United supporter since primary school, now lives in Greater Manchester and follows Barrow soccer with more passion than Man U. His explanation? "You know Man U are probably going to win enough most of the time. With Barrow it's much less predictable and more precarious. It makes you more passionate about it." We don't have million pound signings and premiership battles in Cumbria but we do have keen supporters, and an exciting game of football can happen at any level. In case the state of Cumbria football has passed you by, here is a quick guide: Carlisle United is the county's top club, in League One which means it plays the likes of Leyton Orient, Notts County, Sheffield United and Hartlepool; Barrow AFC (the Bluebirds) is in the National Conference or Blue Square Bet Premier, which is one step down from the leagues and plays teams like York, Luton, Kiddermister and Cambridge; Workington Reds are in the Northern Conference or Blue Square Bet North, one step down from the National Conference and play Boston United, Halifax Town, Altrincham and Blyth Spartans.

Just to make it more exciting you should know that Carlisle is 8th in its league, Barrow is 10th and Workington is 17th. Details of the home games, grounds, how to get there and what it costs are all in our listings pages.

Gardeners' Question Time Recording Victoria Hall, Grange Over Sands January 31

Radio fans have a chance to catch the recording of a favourite show this month. Don't get excited roadshow fans, it's for Radio 4 listeners who like gardens. Those in the know call it GQT and it is often chaired by Cumbrian Eric Robson, who rarely fails to mention that he has a garden in the Lake District. The show travels the country at the invitation of a different club each week, usually one with an interest in gardening. Panellists like Matt Biggs, Pippa Greenwood, Bob Flowerdew, Anne Swithinbank, Bunny Guinness or Chris Beardshaw (I haven't made up those names) answer questions from members of the club along the lines of "what do you suggest I can grow on a steep banking with acid soil in the shade?" or "my incarvillea delavayi has refused to flower for the past two years. What is wrong with it?."

The programme emerged from a 1947 show called How Does Your Garden Grow? and, like Desert Island Discs and The Archers, Radio 4 doesn't know how to stop it. Since 1994 the panel has not been allowed to see the questions in advance. Most of the tickets go to club members but anyone with an interest in gardening and a desire to see their gardening heroes in the flesh (or should that be in the green?) can queue up at the offices of the Grange Now town magazine in Main Street between 9.30am and 12.30pm from the 3rd to the 6th of January. A ticket costs just £2.50 but will only be sold to personal callers.

The Wizard That Was Kirkgate Centre, Cockermouth January 20, 21, 27, 28; Robin Hood and the Singing Nun Victory Hall, Broughton-in-Furness January 26-28; Jack and the Beanstalk Coronation Hall, Ulverston January 24-28

If you don't want Christmas to be over just yet there is nothing like a panto to keep the spirits up and some of Cumbria's amateur groups are happy to keep the festivities going for just a little longer. At the Kirkgate Centre, Cockermouth Amateur Dramatic Society tells how Wizard Wizbang has been commanded to magic a suitable Prince out of pantomime to marry Princess Rose; in Broughton-in-Furness Broughton Drama Group is presenting the pricelessly titled Robin Hood and the Singing Nun. You have to go and see it to find out who is dressing up as a nun. Finally Ulverston Pantomime Society has chosen Jack and the Beanstalk as its annual outing. Expect all the traditional boo-hiss, oh no you won't and it's behind you for the kids. Details are on the listings pages.