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The No.1 News Source for the Town of Shap
◆ HOTTEST JUNE EVER: Derek removes jumper. ◆ ICE CREAM VAN SPOTTED (locals baffled). ◆ BREAKING: Wind continues. ◆ THE TOILET HAS REOPENED (50p a go). ◆ ACCIDENT ON THE M6 (yes, again). ◆ Sheep seen. ◆ Local man "fairly sure" he saw the sun in 2019. ◆ A6 still there. ◆ M6 southbound: don't. ◆ Granite update at 6. ◆ Bin collection delayed (wind). ◆ It is cold. ◆
HOME WEATHER LOCAL NEWS SPORT CLASSIFIEDS GUESTBOOK CONTACT

SHAPPINESS INDEX™
3/10
"it could be worse, probably"

TODAY IN SHAP
Conditions
4°C
Feels like
-16°C
Wind: 54 mph
(gusting "biblical")


Outlook: Wind, then
more wind.

SHEEP-O-METER™
1,402
sheep currently
visible from the
village green

(up 3 on yesterday)

⚠ M6 WATCH ⚠
DAYS SINCE LAST
ACCIDENT ON THE M6

0
▲ DELAYS ▲

Current incident:
jack-knifed lorry near Tebay

(southbound, naturally)
 
SHAP · · Updated when the editor's hands thaw
HOTTEST JUNE EVER — DEREK REMOVES JUMPER
EXCLUSIVE · By Stormy Weathers, Shap Meteorologist

England is sweltering through its hottest June on record, and in an event meteorologists are calling "genuinely unprecedented," the heat has reached Shap. Temperatures have soared to levels locals describe as "frankly suspicious."

In the most dramatic development, lifelong resident Derek Pickthall, 61 — a man who has famously never once been warm — has removed his wool jumper for the first time in living memory. Neighbours gathered in near silence to witness the moment. "I felt a breeze on me arms," said a visibly shaken Derek. "I didn't care for it."

The jumper, knitted in 1987 and not removed since, has been placed under light guard at the Spar (next to the famous fridge) pending its safe return. Forecasters stress the heat is temporary: "Don't get used to it. The wind's back Thursday, and Derek's already eyeing the jumper."


ICE CREAM VAN SPOTTED; LOCALS UNSURE WHAT TO DO
By our Civic Affairs Desk

An ice cream van was sighted on the high street during the heatwave — the first confirmed sighting in Shap since 2011. Its arrival, heralded by a tinny rendition of Greensleeves, was met with what witnesses called "mass uncertainty."

Some residents formed an orderly queue. Others drew their curtains and waited for it to pass. Derek Pickthall, 61, approached but bought nothing: "I wasn't sure of the etiquette, and I'd only just got me jumper back on." The van left after eleven minutes, having sold two 99s and a rocket lolly — the latter is believed to be over Penrith.

» Full story & more local news


WIND BLOWS, AGAIN
By Stormy Weathers, Shap Meteorologist

Residents of Shap awoke this morning to the shocking news that it was, once again, both cold and windy, in a development that has stunned absolutely no one.

"I stepped outside and my face went," said local man Derek Pickthall, 61, who has lived in Shap his entire life and has never once been warm. "Then a wheelie bin overtook me on the high street. It were doing a fair lick."

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning, a red warning, and a small handwritten note that simply reads "sorry." Meteorologists confirmed the wind is expected to continue until further notice, or roughly the heat death of the universe, whichever comes first.

» Read full forecast (it's wind)


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GRANITE GETS YOU GOING!
Shap Granite — famously PINK, and frankly the only bit of colour for miles. While the sky stays grey and the wind stays vicious, our rock stays rosy.
Buy a pink rock today. Rocks make great gifts.

A message from Shap Quarries Ltd. since 1864.
 
VISITORS SINCE 1997
0 0 0 1 4

NEWS IN BRIEF
» Ice cream van spotted; locals unsure

» Toilet reopens (50p a go)

» Spar fridge still humming

» Accident on the M6, again

» Pothole "coming along nicely"

» Man waves at neighbour; town divided

» Pigeon returns


POLL OF THE WEEK
Is it windy out?

Yes █████████ 98%
No  1%
Other 1%

412 votes cast
(411 by the wind)

QUICK LINKS
» Shap Granite Fan Club
» Live A6 Traffic Cam
» Live M6 Cam (brake lights)
» Is It Windy? (yes)
» Shap Abbey Webcam
» Lost & Found (Hat)
» Parish Council Minutes

THIS DAY IN SHAP
1971: Wind.
1988: Wind.
2003: Bit of sun (4 min).
2010: Wind returns.
Today: See above.

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