Congratulations to Alan Green and Josh Beattie for qualifying as Branch Instructor and Sports Diver respectively this weekend :-) 

An Appleby schoolboy is cycling 100 miles around the Eden Valley to raise money for a cancer charity that helped support his mum after she was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma.

Josh Beattie, 16, attends Appleby Grammar School where he is currently doing his GCSE’s. He’s a member of Appleby 2192 ATC squadron and also Penrith Divers, the sub-aqua club.

Josh will be cycling around the Eden Valley on Sunday 6 July, taking in the fell villages, over to Orton, up to Kirkby Stephen and finishing in Appleby.

His friends, family and his younger brother, Dylan, will be alone different stages of the route to offer support and encouragement along the way.

Josh decided to do a fund-raising challenge to raise money for the cancer charity Macmillan, because of the support they gave his mum, Sam Beattie, following diagnosis of Hodgkins Lymphoma in December last year and throughout having chemo at the Cumberland Infirmary.

Josh set up a JustGiving and JustTextGiving page and has already raised £385 towards his target of £500.

Josh said: “I wanted it to be a personal challenge. Because my mum has gone through a hard time, my fundraising has to be something difficult too.

“I wanted to raise money for Macmillan because of the support they have given me and my family and I wanted to repay that so that they can help other families to.”

Josh’s mum and dad said: “We are so proud of Josh. To challenge himself like this to help others is amazing.

“We’re really grateful to everyone who has sponsored him.”

Josh’s mum Sam added: “I’d like this chance to say a big thank you to the nurses and staff at Cumberland Infirmary.”

To sponsor Josh please visit his JustGiving page.


(article from Cumbria Crack)

It was an almost full turn-out, including some no longer active club members, for the annual not-quite-Christmas dinner at the Cross Keys Inn.
A good time was had by all with much merriment and only a slight excess of alcohol partaken of in some quarters ;-)  It could even be said that there were some interesting revelations made!
Here's to a great start to the festive season and many more to come.

Wednesday evening saw a small but enthusiastic crowd of Penrith Divers and their families/friends descend on the unsuspecting public at AMF Bowling in Carlisle.  Despite protests from some members that they had never set foot in a bowling alley before (well aright, maybe 2 or 3 times in their lives!!), some pretty respectable scores were notched up and good fun had by all.  The younger members were, of course, the most prolific with strikes and spares coming in from all directions but even the oldies managed one or two each and nobody failed to get at least one :-).  The change of muscles used led to one or two aches and pains the next day but on the whole, a successful opening night to what will hopefully become a more varied and active social side to the club. 

"Remember your ticket and passport and don't be late for the bus" were the instructions given at the start of this welcome trip to the sunshine in the middle of winter.  Unfortunately, things didn't quite go to plan as flat tyres and useless locking wheel nuts caused problems right from the start.  However, a heroic rescue drive and a few last minute changes of plans and early morning phone calls/texts soon sorted things out and we were off!
Blue O Two's boat the blue Fin was to be our home for the week and we soon settled into her luxury, becoming well trained like Pavlov's dogs to leap at the sound of the bell and do the next thing (did we just dive? Yes, then it must be time to eat....or sleep....or shop....or dive again?).  The people on board were great, the food was fantastic and plentiful and the dive guides and boat staff were fabulously helpful as always, needing you only to look at something and they were on hand to assist.
Highlights of the week ranged from a beaming smile and the exclamation of "There was just so much orange!", through learning about all the different life forms underwater and spotting new and different creatures, to swimming/diving with wild dolphins and a very friendly turtle.
Sadly, all too soon it was time to spend our last day lazing by the pool at the gorgeous Marriott hotel in Hurghada before heading back to the plane and home again, ready to be greeted by the depressing news that the ground temperature in Manchester was a whopping 0 degrees!
All in all, an absolutely fabulous trip.  Where to next guys?

Congratulations to Euan Sinclair and Stephen Thomson who have both qualified as Sport Divers :-)

On a very wild and windy day, a small but dedicated group of Penrith divers trooped darn sarf to Murrayfield Hospital, Wirral for a visit to the hyperbaric chamber.  The day began (after the group from Carlisle finally turned up!!) with a talk about the ways the chamber is used and the dangers of decompression illness.
Then we got to have a go ourselves!  First we watched the monitors and dials as the first batch of 10 got taken to the pressure equivalent of 40m and back up again, with a lot of giggling and some 'interesting' views on the camera.  Next it was our turn.  We filed in and squished up cosily on the benches, putting our computers into the handily provided bucket of water so that they would register the 'dive' too.  'Descending' was an amazing experience with regular ear clearing needed as the temperature rose and the mix of helium in the air began to affect us.  Much giggling ensued as we tried to have a sensible (but rather high pitched!) conversation as well as experimenting with whistling and testing the density of the air in front of us.  After 10 minutes or so we began the 'ascent'.  This again involved a lot of equalisation and a surprisingly chilly return from 30+ to 22 degrees but was taken slowly and carefully with plenty of safety stops - after all, you don't go to the chamber to get bent!
Last of all, we collected a stamp in our log books to remind ourselves of the experience and headed back into the tempestuous outdoors for the journey home.  Another great experience experienced and a good time had by all.

The evening of Friday the 13th (no bad luck thankfully, unless you count having to drive straight into the low and very bright sun) found a merry band of Penrith divers driving the 200 or so miles into deepest darkest Scotland, converging on the Furnace Inn and, after a revitalising beverage and warm fire, making our way up the interesting looking track to the B and B, wondering what was in store for us.  This proved to be a wonderfully interesting and well appointed place (Goatfield farm, see links) with incredibly friendly owners for whom nothing was too much trouble.
Following a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast, we made our way to the Quarry View cafe (making sure to ring and book with them well in advance!) for our first day's diving.
The usual dramas of sorting out the correct weighting for a sea dive and getting back into things for those who had not dived for a while commenced but soon settled down into a great dive with huge, egg-laden, bacon-eating crabs and a multitude of other sea life to be seen.
Three quarters of an hour later saw us partaking of some very welcome hot drinks and delightfully sinful chocolate cake in the cafe before a spot of kit re-arrangement and ready for dive 2.  This was another great dive although visibility had declined somewhat from the morning, with only minor problems of leaking dry suits and stone-cuddling to deal with!
At this point, most of the group had to depart for the sleety southlands ready for work and other commitments the next day but we left Rob and Alan setting off to refill cylinders and investigate for potential other dive sites further along the shore, hoping for another great day's diving when re-inforcements arrived in the morning.
Thanks for a great (couple of) day(s) Loch Fyne, we'll be back!!!