Meet the Team

Here’s our team for 2011-12.

Hello, my name is Patricia I come from Fleetwood near Blackpool. I have been a Catholic all my life and it has played a major part. I have an amazing large family and I love them so much- Mum and Dad, I have 3 brothers, 2 sisters and a baby Nephew. Also Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles and lots of cousins. They mean the world to me. I went to Cardinal Allen High school and after school I went and studied child care at Blackpool Fylde College. I enjoy spending time at the beach and in the mountains with family and friends. I love all music love being creative drawing and painting. I came to Castlerigg Manor when I was younger on family holidays but also with school it has made a big impact in my life. It’s a great place! I really enjoy working here, and getting to know people, it has helped me grow in confidence and recognise who I am. Throughout my time here at Castlerigg I have been to Lourdes, Madrid, Dublin and Rome on different retreats and World Youth day to Germany. It’s an amazing experience. Love every minute.

Hey everyone, my name is Bridget and I’m from Lancaster. I first joined the Castlerigg team in August 2010, and I’m back for another year here – it is truly an amazing place to live and work. Before I joined the team here, I lived in Leicester where I went to university – I made lots of amazing friends and memories for life. My family live in Lancaster – I have a Mum, Dad and a little brother (who is actually much taller than me!) and I love to spend time with them when I get the chance. I also love spending time with my friends, and going on fun adventures with them – some of my favourite things to do with them are, going on random road trips and holidays, going to gigs and festivals or just laughing so much that you can’t breathe! I enjoy listening to music, singing, shopping, cooking and drinking lots of tea. My faith is a big part of my life that now guides me in everything that I do; it has shown me what it means to truly be free. I feel very lucky to be able to work somewhere where I can live out my faith and share it with others. Looking forward to meeting you all!

Hi, I’m Iona – a new member of the Castlerigg team. The oldie of this year’s team, I am 24 (although most people think I look about 19 – which is kind of annoying but I suppose will pay off when I am old and wrinkly but don’t look as ancient as my friends). I was born in London and moved around quite a lot, from the south to Lytham St. Annes, then to near Manchester, followed by Hungary in central Europe, and finally ending up in Cheshire where my family home is. I have three younger brothers, two of whom dwarf me and the third, who is only 14, is very nearly my height. I absolutely love cycling, which I started doing properly just over a year ago. I got a beautiful touring road bike, drop handle bars – the whole works, and ended up doing an epic sponsored cycle pilgrimage this summer. I cycled, solo, 1200 miles from northern France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. From there I met a diocesan group from home and went to World Youth Day to see the Pope and his excellent red shoes, and celebrate my faith with 2 million other young, mad Catholics. A pretty hectic summer. I am a bit of a tea-aholic and am convinced it is the solution to any problem, from a slight sniffle, to the end of the world. I am learning the guitar and the piano and love singing, although I’m not a big fan of karaoke. I got confirmed last Easter, and since then have found my faith flourishing, which is what brought me here to Castlerigg, to spend the year getting to know and serve God.

Hi there, my name is Kyle.  I live in a small place called Grimsargh in Preston.  I went to St Cecilia’s RC Technology College in Longridge, and then went to study a BTEC National Diploma in IT and Business at Preston College for 3 years. My hobbies are Running, Cycling, Taekwondo (Blue Belt), Rugby, Walking and many more.  I’m glad that I have the lifetime opportunity to live in one of the most beautiful parts of England at Castlerigg. Being a Catholic means a lot to me as it’s my life and I was always up for a challenge, so being here at Castlerigg means the world to me.  I wanted to share what has given life to me.  I am hoping my time here at Castlerigg will give me the time to know more about my faith and to share with others the way and why I believe in God and Christ Jesus. 

Hello! I’m Sarah, part of the new Castlerigg team. In my spare time I enjoy spending time with friends and baking. I am from Bury in Lancashire, and I came to Castlerigg myself at school – which was a wonderful experience. Now I can understand life at Castlerigg from the other side! Recently graduating from Lancaster University, this year seems like a great opportunity to develop my faith and become close to God. When I was younger I went along to church with my parents, but the time at Castlerigg now means I can develop my faith independently.

Hello! My name is Vincent. I’m 20 years old and traveled all the way from San Diego, California here to The Lake District. It’s my first time here in England, and I am so happy to be here. Ever since I was little, England has been the country that I have wanted to visit most. I come from a large Catholic family. I am in the middle of two older brothers and two younger sisters. My favorite color is orange…I like all shades of orange. I’m most excited about having seasonal weather here in Keswick. At home it’s summer basically all year round… I love the summer time, but I also love the fact that I will have a proper white Christmas time this year. I love going to the beach in the morning time and staying there until night time…but I don’t think it will be warm enough to do that here. I really enjoy chasing the sheep here, and I have already caught my first sheepJ. I’ve also caught a hammer head shark while fishing in Mexico once. I don’t really like candy, but I love pastries and baked goods. I don’t like tea much, but I do like hot chocolate. I live for Jesus, family, friends, and those moments where you laugh so hard that your stomach hurts. That’s basically all there is to know about me. Hope to meet you soon! Oh yeah, if you want, you can cook me some Mexican food, or send me a burrito in the mail, that would be lovely! Extra hot sauce please and thank you.

Hi everyone, I’m Ruth and I am originally from Luton, north of London, so being in the Lake District feels very far from home! I love being in the Lakes however, since for the last three years I’ve been working as a watersports instructor in Surrey. I hope to get some sailing sessions in on Derwent Water!  I’ve always wanted to live in such a beautiful and wild place and now I am. I am the youngest of six from a close family and had a very happy Catholic upbringing. I left home when I was 16 to go to college to study Outdoor Education, which was amazing. We did loads of fun stuff such as wild camping in the snow in Scotland and running up freezing rivers in just a wetsuit. In my spare time I like to go for runs, write, explore Keswick and drink still lemonade in Costa Coffee. I have a slightly overweight hamster, Sasha, who I miss very much and my favourite music is Mumford and Sons. I saw them live  and it was amazing. My faith is a strong part of who I am, it’s what guides my life, makes me genuinely happy and something would be missing without it. I love being a Catholic and it means everything to me! I hope my time at Castlerigg will help me to grow in confidence in my faith and sharing it with others.

Hi I’m Richard, I’m 19 and I’m from Workington so I haven’t had to travel far to get here. I live at home with my Mum. Just the two of us, I have an older sister too. She is awesome! For me there is no greater pleasure than spending time with my family and friends. Since I went to Lourdes in 2009 I knew I wanted a career in which I would help others, old or young. This is my opportunity to do that so I’m very excited for the coming year! It was that Pilgrimage to Lourdes where I really found my faith. I’ve always said I don’t know how I ended up there, to be honest I think it was an accident, but it was meant to be. I have made some fantastic friends through Lourdes and more recently World Youth Day in Madrid. When my friends ask me about my faith, at first I was ashamed to tell them, not anymore, this is who I am, it has made me the person I am today. Let the good times roll!

Hello, my name is Ruth and I have been with the Youth Service for just over two years. My home town is Wallsend, near Newcastle, but I feel very thankful to be living in Keswick. Since I moved over here I have started to enjoy looong walks and being outdoors. I recently learned to Kayak and went Kayaking down the River Wye earlier this year, sleeping in a teepee along the way. When I am not working I enjoy going to the cinema, meeting friends and generally relaxing after a hard day’s work. It’s great to be part of the Youth Service team and to have the opportunity to help people grow closer to God. I am privileged to meet so many people of all ages who say their time at Castlerigg has changed their life. It’s a special place to come and means a lot to so many people. It’s also great to meet so many young people through the other things we do too, they are a real source of inspiration.

Hi, I’m Fr Philip. This is now my fifth year as the chaplain to the Youth Service. I live at Castlerigg Manor. It’s a fantastic place to live and work in the midst of the mountains that I have always loved. I’m finding it an amazing privilege to work with all the young people who come to Castlerigg for retreats and to journey with the young people of our diocese on the various pilgrimages, events and missions that we organise. Living here I really enjoy getting out into the mountains, running, cycling, and enjoy travelling, reading (when I get a moment), and I have discovered a new-found talent in space-hopping.

Howdy, I’m Kevin but you can call me Kev or any other random nickname you can think of (but it must be nice!!!). I’m from North London and I have made the 302 mile journey up north to be part of the Castlerigg Community. I have been working with young people now for over 7 years now in various roles from Youth Worker and Minister, Scout Leader, Confirmation Catechist and Head of Altar Servers. After Praying for a new challenge at the Papal visit, the opportunity arose to come and work at the Manor and I took this as an sign of God answering my Prayers. You will generally find me using an Indian accent at some point, playing the piano and singing at random times during the day – I can assure you I am not weird I just go a little crazy now and again. I also am a massive telly addict and am a Massive fan of Eastenders, Neighbours, Waterloo Road and the much missed show of The Bill. I have amazing memories of going and taking groups on retreat and I hope you do too. Love and Prayers.