INTRODUCTION
Somewhere from Europe, then from South-England, a few people moved to Whitehaven. These people are us. It's not important who we are, who has to, will get to know us. It is much more important what we do, and if our thoughts, words and actions are in harmony with each other.
If I were to continue this as a tale, it would go something like:
They were driven by their desire for adventure, and were attracted by the wonderful mountains and lakes of the Lake District. They thought while the world is busy dealing with their pandemic, they will move into the nature.
One of them, someone who has seen the world said:
Believe me, this is an other dimension. Here, if I want, I can find the mountains of my childhood, Dobogókő, the hearth chakra of the earth that is in the Danube bend in Hungary. If I look for it, I can find the earth's solar plexus that I could feel in Cusco, in the Andes. We can also find the relatives of the Himalayan mountains. I can remember the peaks of the Alps too. The Carpatians and the Transilvanian mountains and their trees can also be here if I want. Everything that I was missing since we moved to England, I can find here, so my soul can find peace. We have come so far from our roots, our homeland, but we got closer to our even older roots. The mountains are surely siblings somehow, and they are my relatives too, just like the Sun and the Sea with it's little pebbles on the shore, and the trees, even the driftwood.
Wherever I go, I try hard to leave everything in a better state than it was before me.
It is so good to walk in the nature here, I just focus on where I step, and all I have to do is to repay the love of nature, sing quietly or talk to the trees, birds, mountains and fairies. I feel there are other people around who feel the same. It would be so great to form a community with people who strive for the good.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO FOR A GOOD COMMUNITY?
We had to wake up from the tale, because the reality looked a bit sad. We didn't know when the pandemic will end, and what will happen thereafter? There is nothing in this town that is good for us. A lot of places have closed due to the pandemic, and we didn't know what life was like before it.
We are problem solvers, so we started to dream again, of a better future.
Our friends and relatives were staying with us for 3 months during the pandemic, because the Hungarian-Australian couple couldn't meet anywhere else after a year and a half of long separation. Then – as also with other initiatives in the past – I knew that we have to think ahead, plan and do whatever we can. We dreamed of a Love Whitehaven Revitalisation Project.
We believe that instead of the consumer society, there will be a creative society, and we are happy to take lead in that. We were very close to a self-sustaining economy in our farm in Hungary, and we would like to create one even better, maybe here in Cumbria.
This is our little Farm Project. We are looking for those, who feel they could contribute to make this dream come true in any way. We are looking for business partners as well. On that farm, we would like to put up yurts, that we will build ourselves.
The only thing to do now is to work everyday to make Whitehaven a better place.
THE LOVE WHITEHAVEN PROJECT
We are working on making Whitehaven a more beautiful town, and a solid and unified community, like it was before the pandemic hit, and to serve as an example for others as well. A lot of us have to work for this to change ourselves and our environment. It requires cooperative attitude of a lot of people, and very good coordination.
We have to think global, and act local.
We have to synchronise our thoughts, words and actions.
THE FIRST STEPS OF THE LOVE WHITEHAVEN PROJECT:
THE KING'S CORNER COMMUNITY HOUSE
First, as a civil initiative, we created a community house that we call King's Corner.
It is because it is at the corner of King Street, under number 23, and we are starting our activities in 2023.
We had a Grand Opening event on the 28th of October 2022, with lots of participants, where we even started a joint artwork, that has been finished by December 21, when we celebrate the Birth of the Light.
Two families have put together what they had, and purchased some equipment and furniture.
A month was enough to start, and now when I write this, we are past 4 months of experience.
In February 2023 we started to go out to the store front, to draw the attention to our activities, and to show that not all the shops are closing, but that there is something good that just opened. A volunteer couple even offers nice hommede pastries, and supports our Farm Project, and offered up all of their income for this purpose. Their local small business is Chimney Cake Cumbria, that we also support with free business advise.
We don't have a large capital and don't receive funding, so we rely on ourselves and on those who are connected to us. Large capital isn't needed at all, we only expect acceptance and small supports. We offer special services that if you use, you already support the cause. Luckily, we have the
know-how and the experience. Among us there is an economist, an accountant, an IT technician, a naturopath, masseur, healthcare worker, builder, painter, carpenter and chef. Many of us had their own businesses, where they could acquire experience. So it wasn't an issue when we had to paint a tall staircase, we had to cut some decals, print branded T-Shirts and mugs, 3D print something, fix some lights, install CCTV and alarm or refurbish furniture. We like to make our items and furniture by using things that other people throw away.
In King's Corner we can have a cup of tea or coffee together, or eat some hommade pastries, however as a next step we plan to open a community cafe, gelato, where we will also have bubble tea, most people's favourite. We will call it Puzzle Bar, and hopefully it will also be open by Summer 2023.
We want to offer international products that most people haven't tasted yet. You would have to travel to far away cities to eat some Italian ice-cream, a traditional chimney cake, or other European food that you've never even heard of. We believe that through tastes, good energies can come to our lives that move us out of our habits. To sit in and eat, or having an ice-cream is already a community experience, we dreamt this place to be a special community space too. We think that games and playfulness is important, so we will focus on those activities where we can feel like a child again, and where we can relax. In the Puzzle Bar there will be different games and entertainment, to fill every day with good experiences. The puzzle rooms will keep changing, and our visitors can take part in something special they have never experienced before. We are planning lots of surprises.
KING'S STUDIO
The top floor of the building gives space for Alliance for Legacy, a non-profit organisation that have the following activities, that keep expanding with the activities of those who join in:
We can't list all the activities here as the list keeps expanding.
It worths to look at the website and to subscribe to the newsletter.
We plan to start a photo and sound studio and a salt room and red light therapy.
Our tribal sessions are also being planned, but let that be a secret for now.
KING'S ART AND CRAFT WORKSHOP
On the first floor of the building, Cruise Fourteen Ltd organises events where we can learn, improve and relax. Just to mention some:
KING'S ESCAPE and GAMES CLUB
The puzzle escape room is such a great success, that we're working on the second room. Many people have successfully completed the first room and found the hidden money of the bank robber. Soon they can enter the Professor's office, who made a huge discovery that leads to a special treasure. This will be followed by a dungeon and loads of other quests too like a Murder Mystery Diner, a live action Cluedo game when we use the whole building, or a treasure hunt where you will need to find your way through Whitehaven following points of interests to finally find the hidden treasure.
There is nothing scary in these games, you don't have to escape from anywhere, other than the boring everyday life. It is a great experience for every participant.
You can travel to different countries and play different games on our VR headset, spend hours around a board game, play card games, or PlayStation with your friends.
You only need to open up for the good things, and live your life playfully. If you can't do that, at least take your time to really play sometimes.
This is what we provide space for and to materialise good ideas.
CALLING and INVITATION
We are always waiting for course providers in any topic. What are our viewpoints?
We don't primarily want to make use of the space, but we want to fill it with quality content.
So if someone asks about how much the room is for hire, the answer is what quality service can you provide? what can you contribute? So it is not only good for you, but also for the community, and a new colour in King's Corner's palette.
We work a lot on showing what we do, so people get to know about them, but we would also like to get our community members to spread the news about our activities.
We don't want everyone to come here. We would like to keep and raise the standard and each other.
We don't really have personal interests, as our interest always matches the group interest. The interest of the group who wants something, but didn't know what so far, and now that we show them they happily join.
We think of every age group. We put the emphasis on quality instead of quantity. It's okay if we lack in numbers, but with those who join us, we will achieve our personal and community goals and help each other. Let this be a team game. Some can get into the finish line quickly alone, but we believe that we can share the success, and that this is the foundation of happy life. This is why we need community projects.
Our message to the local businesses:
We are open for communication and cooperation.
We are waiting for volunteers' application.
Anyone who has a good idea can find us.
If you know something good that you can teach to others, then we would be happy to organise an event.
We would like to support local businesses and local artists. We have lots of ideas, but we ask everyone to take the second step. We have taken the first one.
Share the opportunity that the Love Whitehaven Project and King's Corner offers, and help us to get more supporters, so Whitehaven can really be a better place, and so we can serve the community for a long time. We organise open days, and we are happy to read your e-mails.
E-mail: kingscornerwhitehaven@gmail.com
OUR SENSE OF MISSION and DREAMS TO COME TRUE:
INTRODUCTION
https://kingscorner-whitehaven.co.uk/story-introduction
WHAT SHOULD WE DO FOR A GOOD COMMUNITY?
https://kingscorner-whitehaven.co.uk/story-what-should-we-do
THE LOVE WHITEHAVEN PROJECT
https://kingscorner-whitehaven.co.uk/story-love-whitehaven-project
THE FIRST STEPS OF THE LOVE WHITEHAVEN PROJECT
https://kingscorner-whitehaven.co.uk/story-first-steps-lwp
THE KING'S CORNER COMMUNITY HOUSE
https://kingscorner-whitehaven.co.uk/story-kings-corner-community-centre
KING'S STUDIO
https://kingscorner-whitehaven.co.uk/story-kings-studio
KING'S ART AND CRAFT WORKSHOP
https://kingscorner-whitehaven.co.uk/story-kings-workshop
KING'S ESCAPE and GAMES CLUB
https://kingscorner-whitehaven.co.uk/story-kings-escape-and-games-club
CALLING and INVITATION
https://kingscorner-whitehaven.co.uk/story-call-and-invitation
OUR SENSE OF MISSION and DREAMS TO COME TRUE:
https://kingscorner-whitehaven.co.uk/story-sense-of-mission
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