AGRICULTURE is in the blood of most native Cumbrians. If they trace back far enough, they usually find their ancestors were farmers, farm labourers, shepherds, blacksmiths, drystone wallers or filled some other rural role.

So the formation of a Cumbrian Farm History Group, reported recently, should arouse great interest.

As there are longstanding family links with many county farms, memories have been passed down the generations of primitive work methods in fields, ploughing with horses, the era of many hired men and pride in successes when exhibiting livestock at local shows.

Older Cumbrians, though now townies, recall visits to farm-based relatives, deep in the past, sometimes to help with haymaking, feed the hens or collect eggs from small henhouses, spread about the fields.

The memories of this columnist from the 1930s centre on stays at Skelton Wood End, then farmed by the late Bob Grindal and family.

They were blissful breaks, with much of the time spent in the hayfield, relishing the picnic meals brought from the farmhouse at regular intervals. Outings with a ferret, in pursuit of rabbits, made a lively sideline.

There must be a rich vein of reminiscences worthy of preservation in words and pictures:

The hustle and bustle of hiring day fairs in Penrith and other Eden towns… the history of agricultural shows… old cattle breeds… shepherds’ meets like the old gathering at Mardale’s Dun Bull… livestock auctioneers and their jocular quips… land girls in war-time…

Farming is now undergoing vast changes and this is an appropriate time to compile its Cumbrian history.

HOW DID LIAM SURVIVE?

Hopefully, things are getting back to normal in Coronation Street following the gripping drama, in which Liam, handsome young manager of the knicker factory, took a headlong plunge down a craggy rockface as he searched for his dog on a Lake District mountain.

Lesser men would not have survived such a terrible tumble, but Liam, with faithful dog guarding his inert body, lived to tell the tale.

However, the heroine of this agonising story was his horrified girlfriend, Maria, fighting back tears as she raced precariously down the fellside to instigate a search by a mountain rescue team and an RAF helicopter.

Somehow, Liam escaped with a “bashed head” and hypothermia and, after a short stay in hospital, he was back on “the Street”, supported by crutches.

The lively episodes, set in Lakeland, were a complete change from customary storylines in the popular soap opera, normally centred on love triangles, punch-ups in the Rovers Return and squabbles in the betting shop.

For Penrithians, there was added interest as they tried to spot a local film extra, Irwin Wallace, who had a non-speaking role as a hotel porter, appearing briefly at least three times.

Reflecting again on the opening paragraph of this piece, about things getting back to normal, it must be said that this seems highly unlikely.

Normality does not apply to Coronation Street, which appeals to millions because of its traumatic content of wrong-doing and social problems — from adultery and family fall-outs to the appalling quality of the toilet rolls in the loos at the knicker factory.

GOURMET AT “THE YAT”

The sign outside a popular Lakeland inn invites passers-by to “drop in” by means of a quaint verse:

This gate hangs well

And hinders none.

Refresh and pay

And carry on.

Notables responding to the call of the Yanwath Gate Inn, between the A6 at Eamont Bridge and Ullswater, have included a man who makes a living by going to pubs, Alisdair Aird, editor of The Good Pub Guide.

His assessment, published with views on other inns in Tom Holman’s new book, A Lake District Miscellany, is a tribute which will please fans of “The Yat”.

Alisdair writes of the inn: “My current favourite for a really good imaginative meal — yet, unlike so many gastropubs, this is at heart a proper pub, warm, relaxed and informal.”

His top 10 Lake District hostelries also include the Pheasant at Bassenthwaite and Keswick’s Dog and Gun.

REMINDER OF GRANDMA

When Bargain Hunt, BBC Television’s competitive show about the value of antiques was produced in Penrith the other week, local viewers switched on expectantly, hoping the items selected would reflect the town or area.

A painting by Penrith artist Jacob Thompson, perhaps, a memoir from the great days of Lowther Castle or a John Peel hunting horn?

Alas, the teams taking part were more cosmopolitan in their purchases, which included small boxes made of sycamore wood, an elegant bon-bon dish and a model of a pipe-smoking monkey.

Only one item stirred a few memories — an old-style flat iron used for smoothing clothes, after washing, in the days before many Cumbrian homes had the benefit of electrical power. The ironing was part of the domestic ritual of a dear grandmother, who never experienced any of today’s labour-saving devices or even indoor sanitation.

The flat iron in Bargain Hunt sold for £18 — probably a massive price to those of grandma’s generation.