Last updated 07:20, Friday, 04 July 2008

DEARHAM Brass Band caused a panic last week when they pulled out of a concert at Maryport at the last minute.

Their decision to pull out, just a day-and-a-half before a concert to mark the end of the Civic Hall in Maryport, was a huge blow to the woman organising the concert, Chrissie Patterson, who had to start making phone calls after 10pm to find a replacement.

Cockermouth’s Billy Bowman saved the day. He got together a band that played the big band music of the 1930s and 40s.

Many had to travel from beyond Whitehaven, not all could come, but the Music Masters came and entertained, and the audience loved them. They were reminiscent of the bands that used to play at the old Palace Ballroom in days gone by.

I was sitting next to deputy lord of Workington manor Alan Barry at the concert and it was comments he made that prompted an idea for this column.

“Forget Britain’s Got Talent, Maryport’s got talent,” he commented. Then, thinking about the effort the Music Masters had made, he pondered on how generous folk in this part of the world are.

“We are supposed to be a deprived area and yet so much is done for charity,” he said.

He is so right!

As you know, if you’ve ever read a word of this column before, I spent 30 years in New Zealand where it as claimed that we gave the most, per capita, of any other country in the world as far as charity was concerned.

I don’t know about countries, but I do know that I am constantly amazed at how much is done for charity in this area.

If the truth is told, it is sometimes too much, as far as I am concerned. You can guarantee I will get at least three phone calls or visits a week from people wanting a photo of a charity cheque being presented or asking for an article to advertise a forthcoming charity event. In fact those trying to put this newspaper together often have a difficult time trying to find room for them all.

We saw an example of West Cumbrian generosity last Friday night when Billy Bowman worked for hours trying to get that band together. Some did not even know, until Thursday night, that they would be playing!

That is one type of generosity. If you are in any kind of trouble there is someone there to help you.

The other type is based on giving money. I would not like to hazard a guess at how much is poured into charities from West Cumbria. And it isn’t just national charities.

Many places in the world and in this country respond to international disasters through telethon type appeals such as Comic Relief, Sports Aid and Children in Need. In a way they are the easy ones. You get caught up in the emotion. And, again, we have the evidence of this. We could devote a whole paper to running photographs of what everyone is doing for all those big events. We get involved.

But never have I seen a place where we give so much help to individuals. If there is a child who needs a wheelchair or a piece of special equipment in West Cumbria, if there is a family that needs a holiday, then it is probably only because not enough people know about it. When they do know , they rally round.

I have lived in several countries but never have I lived in an area where so much is done for individuals. A child down the road needs a walker, so Joe Smith holds a concert or shaves his hair or sells raffle tickets. In fact, when I think about it, I have never seen so many waxed, bald people in all my life!

In the national scheme of things, West Cumbria is seen as a deprived area with high unemployment, low income and so on.

That may be true, but it also makes the giving that much more remarkable.

Give yourselves a pat on your newly waxed backs or your newly shaved heads, people, because I think you are amazing.

And by the way, because you are doing so much for others, bear with us if we miss one of you in our paper.