I am pleased to see that we have a very strong mail bag for this issue and I am appreciative of the members that take the time to write in and add further information on previous content. It is also great to be able to include some follow-ups on pre viously published works. Again, it all adds to our interest and understanding.

There is one subject, however, that seems to have struck a chord (or rang a bell) and that is the use of the Electric Telegraph on our railways. I am very glad to be able to say that I hope an article, destined for the next issue, will be of interest. It gives us an insight into the more general development of the electric telegraph both nationally and in our region.

I write this, as I am preparing for our August Management Meeting, three of which we have each year; one each before our Members’ Meetings and one in about the middle of the year. Our meeting are great things and much is done. Each volunteer working on behalf of the membership presents a report of his recent activity and, perhaps, more importantly, what is proposed to be done in the following couple of months. All our volunteers are invited to attend the meeting and enter into the discussion, which does give a wider perspective on any subject and the resulting decision is guided by these thoughts.

Nowadays, these meetings are held both physically and electronically. Those that are able to meet do so in a room, usually at Carlisle station, where there is accommodation that can be used, with others joining by Zoom. The hybrid nature of the meetings means that the greatest numbers of participants can join in and, therefore, can add to the deliberations of each topic. One side benefit is that the Zoom meetings can be recorded, which helps our hard-working Secretary when he comes to write up the minutes of the meeting. Needless to say, the retention of these recordings has been debated, but we all agreed that they should be disposed of after the minutes had been completed, and they would go the same way as all the other hot air generated at the meetings — into the ether!

A full report of each meeting is published in a subsequent issue of Lakes Express, but it is fair to say that, in common with a number of activities undertaken by our volunteers, the Photographic Archive team are working overtime. There are new collections coming to us and the existing images must be tended to and both need to be accurately described and catalogued. The CR Chat group has been a great help in adding information about the images and the relatively new “Out of area mystery photos” initiative has provided a distraction from the usual — members of the group are able to provide information on some photos in the collection, which have been taken outside our area of immediate interest. Our thanks to all those involved.

If there is anything you would like to get involved in, or have a skill that would be of benefit to the Association, please get in touch with the Chairman or the Secretary. The extra help would be very valuable.