West Cumbria is one of the most beautiful places in England. It is also one of the hardiest. Everything appears more amplified more intense.

Big skies. Deep lakes. Rugged, breathtaking beauty. But that intensity is not just in the landscape. With great beauty there is a shadow side that pervades too.

Cumbria has one of the highest suicide rates in the country, around 50 percent higher than the national average. In parts of West Cumbria, it is among the highest anywhere in England.

This episode of Assa Marra features Lisa Birdsall. Oozing warmth vivacity and a formidable heart for her community. She has also been profoundly shaped by loss.

Lisa lost her brother Stephen to suicide. Out of that tragedy has come extraordinary purpose.

She is a trustee of Every Life Matters, supporting those bereaved by suicide and working to reduce stigma. In 2025, she led the Baton of Hope across Cumbria, the UK’s largest suicide awareness and prevention initiative.

Around 50 people carried the Baton across West Cumbria. Each with their own story. Each choosing to step forward and break the silence.

We also hear from Ken Johnston, one of the Lead Guides for the baton, sharing the lasting impact of being witness on that extraordinary day.

This is not an easy listen. But it is an important one.

A conversation about grief. About love. About what happens when people choose courage over silence.

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This episode of Assa Marra features a rapidly developing local legend Lyn Cavaghan.

Having West Cumbrian parents Lyn has the place in her DNA the Marra in her marrow. There is something about that inheritance of place that tugs at you. Even if life starts elsewhere. Even if your accent is shaped somewhere different. Even if your career begins beyond the county line.

One of the themes that keeps surfacing through Assa Marra Podcast is this:

You do not have to be born in a place to serve a place. Nor is it about big ta-dahs. It’s about rolling up your sleeves and following the need.

Belonging is built through contribution.

Through her stewardship of the Girl Guide movement, and through her leadership as CEO of Always Another Way, Lyn’s influence is felt quietly and widely across this region.

Always Another Way operates in that vital space before crisis, improving mental wellbeing across West Cumbria. Early intervention. Practical mental health support. Real conversations for young people and adults across the region. Under Lyn’s leadership it has strengthened its governance, grown in reputation, and become an award winning force for preventative care.

We talk about dyslexia. About navigating education when exams are not your natural playground. About forging a career built less on certificates and more on adaptability, instinct, resourcefulness, a bit of streetwise guile, and a healthy abundance of personality.

And running through it all is that West Cumbrian thread. The call of home. The pull of heritage. The sense that even if you were not born here, something in you recognises the landscape.

This episode is about service. About leadership. About coming back in your own way.

And about how communities flourish when people choose to contribute.

Because here, legends are not made by birthplace.

They are made by impact.

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This episode features Mark Telford, CEO of Forth Engineering.

No silver spoons. No silken cushion.

Picking coal off the beach to keep the house warm.

Welding bikes together just to have a way of getting about.

That’s what shaped him.

Mark is a pragmatist. An understated man. He was coaxed into the podcast studio because this chap doesn’t crave attention. BUT being a leader and figurehead means - showing up and shining a light, even when you would rather stay out of it.

West Cumbria is often described as a mono-employer economy. Sellafield looms large upon the landscape and local economy. For years, there has been an expectation of a job for life.

When that certainty went, the rug pulled from under him, Mark didn’t make a fuss about it. Necessity is the mother of invention. He rolled his sleeves up saw an opportunity and built something else.

This episode looks at responsibility. At giving back. At fundraising. At giving people a chance. Sometimes that’s a hand up. Sometimes a hand out. Sometimes it’s simply doing what needs doing, without shouting about it.

Mark Telford is a pillar of his community, not because he sets out to be, but because he understands where he’s from. He knows this place. He belongs to it. And that sense of belonging shapes how he leads, how he gives back, and how he shows up.

This is a conversation about a man, his choices, and a kind of leadership that grows quietly from place, loyalty, and responsibility.

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