JANUARY

John Woodcock MP addressed hundreds of campaigners who had marched against the building of 50m tall pylons to carry power lines across the Duddon Valley.

January 4th marks 50 years since the death on Coniston Water of Donald Campbell. It was in pursuit of a speed dream the accident happened that took his life.

Shy farmer proposes to his long term girlfriend by writing “Will” “You” “Marry” “Me” on her sheep, much to her surprise. The answer … “ewe bet”.

Sandside Lodge School - a special educational needs school - is planning to relocate from Sandside Road to a new build with state-of-the-art facilities on land at Ulverston Victoria High School.

Dan Walker, Mark Lawrenson and Kevin Kilbane of BBC’s Football Focus team visit Barrow AFC for their third round match against League One Rochdale. Barrow lost 2-0.

Leo the poodle saved the life of his owners when a fire broke out in an outbuilding next to their home. He barked until his owner woke up and got out safely.

The House of Lords and Bar Continental in Abbey Road were all but destroyed by fire as flames threatened nearby homes which had to be evacuated.

Some businesses in the area face a huge bill to convert their machinery to enable it to take the £1 coin, including slot machines owner Frankie Bailey.

W H Smith does a u-turn and decides to stay open in Barrow after the earlier announcements that they and Argos would be closing in the town centre.

Associated British Port staff have a regular Tidy Friday to make sure the area surrounding their Barrow offices is something to be proud of and shows their commitment to the community.

Four Barrow Raiders players are hailed heroes after pushing several stranded vehicles up Buckman Brow on the A595 in snow and ice on their way home from a training session.

Filming takes place on the televisation of J K Rowling’s detective novels, cameras and crews are seen filming at the Crow’s Nest on Barrow Island.

Pupils from Dowdales School Year 11 are tasked with raising money so they can go on the trip of a lifetime to Malaysia where they will do voluntary work in a local orphanage as well as take a trek through the Taman Negara National Park.

Several primary schools took part in a Lego robot challenge held at Furness College. Beginning at the end of last year the teams designed built and programmed the robots using Lego Mindstorm technology.

FEBRUARY

The “Currynation Hall” hosted a fundraising event for the Hospice. The ticket price included a curry and a beer and the event featured a red-hot chutney eating challenge.

Visitors to the Dock Museum voted to decide which of 5 unique items should represent Furness in a project called A History of Lancashire in 70 Objects. The 5 items in contention were : the Viking Hoard, a painting of the Duke of Devonshire ship, a model of the Oriana, a Stank iron mine model and the earliest known human bone from Northern Britain….and the winner was…...the model of the ocean liner Oriana.

Hundreds of excited youngsters from schools across Furness and South Cumbria took part in Young Voices 2017 - the largest school choir concerts in the world.

The fifth annual celebrity chefs extravaganza in aid of the Lake District Farmers Armstrong Family Charitable Fund returned to the Clarence House Country Hotel and Restaurant in Dalton. Michelin-starred chefs created a stunning six course menu for the lucky diners.

Art Gene and the founders of Welfare State International, Sue Gill and John Fox, were among the winners at the Cumbria Life Cultural Awards. The event was hosted by writer and broadcaster Stuart Maconie.

Lucky Year Seven pupils from Ulverston Victoria High School and Millom school were special guests at Twickenham for the RBS Six Nations weekend.

Construction began on the Furness Peninsula Blue Light Hub at Ulverston as Cllr Barry Doughty cut the first sod. The £4.6m project will provide a purpose-built centre for local emergency services.

Cumbria Crystal based in Ulverston won a national Twitter contest run by Theo Paphitis. Every week he chooses his favourite six small businesses from his Small Business Sunday campaign.

Planning permission was granted to build a specially designed two-storey building in Springfield road, Ulverston for the Sandside Lodge School pupils when they relocate.

Council tax rose by 4 per cent. This was expected to generate £4m in extra income for the cash-starved County.

Paralympian Beverley Jones ,who won a bronze medal in the discus at London 2012, was a special guest at Ireleth St. Peter’s School.

A crackdown on crime and drug dealing was launched in various areas of Barrow using plain-clothed officers, police dogs and an aerial drone

Youngsters at Newton Primary School celebrated the official opening of their new outdoor play area which was paid for with a £10,000 National Lottery Grant.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon visited BAE Systems Submarines to meet apprentices then took to the streets of Millom with Conservative candidate Trudy Harrison.

Windermere Pale, brewed by Hawkshead Brewery, was named Champion Beer of the North West by the Campaign for Real Ale.

Dalton’s famous “hedgehog lady” Irene Cannon had her busiest year yet with 93 hedgehogs in her care including six which required daily injections.

BAE Systems announced that Charles Woodburn would become the company’s new chief executive officer. He would replace Ian King who had held the role since 2008.

Millom’s Beggar’s Theatre offered punters the chance to purchase their very own chair in a bid to provide seating for all.

A special report on the South Lakes Safari Zoo revealed how hundreds of animals - including rhinos, tigers, lion cubs and giraffes - had died over the previous four years.

MARCH

From the beginning of April, in order to keep their licences, taxi drivers in Barrow will face a local knowledge test - testing them on geography, mental arithmetic and Furness landmarks.

A new company lead by Karen Brewer takes over the running of South Lakes Animal Park with talk of turning the attraction in Dalton into a conservation showpiece.

A new fitness regime comes to the Furness area in the shape of Clubbercise. Set to a 90s dance anthem track it brings a night out to the workout.

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School used the festivities of World Book Day to open their new library, having been without a fully functioning library for 12 months.

Local pug breeder, Penny Macdonald, is excited to have been chosen to judge the pug section in this year’s Crufts at Birmingham Arena.

Furness Homeless Support Group have renovated another property to house 3 homeless men from the Barrow area. The charity now has 15 units of supported accommodation.

Hairy Biker Dave Myers takes trip down memory lane by doing some filming for The One Show at his old school Cambridge Primary School.

80 years of dispensing prescriptions and looking after the health of local people came to an end when Murrays Pharmacy was sold to The Cohen Group.

Waleny School introduces a scheme to reward pupils for good work and behaviour with items on offer from stationary, books, gadgets and a two hour session at a local five-a-side pitch.

The Dock Museum are looking for a new home for a 103-year-old Morecambe Bay prawner. The skeleton of the boat has been on display for a number of years but is no longer required by the museum.

Dowdales School, Dalton, and St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow, have been awarded Champion School status by the National Citizen Service for their commitment to the scheme.

Barrow Island Primary School have won the Best Documentary made by children under 12 years at the 2017 Into Film Awards for their film The Lost Station.

A team of volunteers from South Lakeland Citizens Advice Bureau beat the most formidable quiz team in the country on popular tv show Eggheads, netting them £1,000 for the cash-strapped charity.

First bricks are laid in the new state-of-the-art maternity unit at Furness General Hospital, with the first one becoming a memorial to the brother of John Hermann who bought the brick in a charity auction.

Barrow’s Stephen Robson and Sheffield-based business partner Ged Jenkins win Guinness World Record for the smallest nightclub. It measures 2.01m (6ft 6in) high, 0.92m (3ft) wide) and 1.53m (4ft) deep.

Pupils from Ormsgill Nursery and Primary School impressed parents and visitors with their first speech festival where they recited pieces from David Walliams and Spike Milligan.

Furness General Hospital bosses, in an effort to encourage healthy eating among staff and patients, help set up an new initiative which has seen a greengrocer set up a stall in the entrance to the hospital.

Princess Anne pays a visit to the Save the Children shop in Windermere to join in paying tribute to a number of dedicated volunteers as part of her Cumbria visit.

South Lakes Wild Animal Safari Zoo saw the arrival of a baby West African giraffe, named Eloise, she is the second giraffe to be born at the zoo in six months.

The Big Dig archaeological event on Walney gave members of the public a chance to learn more about the area’s history during a project organised by Art Gene.