It all began with a stop at a red light.

    Kevin Salwen was driving his 14-year-old daughter,Hannah,back from a sleepover in 2006.While waiting at a traffic light,they saw a black Mercedes Coupe on one side and a homeless man begging for food on the other.

    "Dad,if that man had a less nice car,that man there could have a meal," Hannah protested.The light changed and they drove on,but Hannah was too young to be reasonable.She pestered（纠缠）her parents about inequity,insisting that she wanted to do something.

    "What do you want to do?" her mom responded. "Sell our house?"

    Warning!Never suggest a grand gesture to an idealistic teenager.Hannah seized upon the idea of selling the luxurious family home and donating half the proceeds（收入）to charity,while using the other half to buy a more modest replacement home.

    Eventually,that's what the family did.The project—crazy,impetuous（鲁莽的）and absolutely inspiring—is written down in detail in a book by father and daughter scheduled to be published next month: The Power of Half.It's a book that,frankly,I'd be nervous about leaving around where my own teenage kids might find it.An impressionable child reads this,and the next thing you know your whole family is out on the street.

    At a time of enormous needs in Haiti and elsewhere,when so many Americans are trying to help Haitians by sending everything from text messages to shoes,the Salwens offer an example of a family that came together to make a difference—for themselves as much as the people they were trying to help.In a column a week ago,it described neurological（神经生物学的）evidence from brain scans that unselfishness lights up parts of the brain normally associated with more primary satisfaction.The Salwens' experience confirms the selfish pleasures of selflessness.

    Mr.Salwen and his wife,Joan,had always assumed that their kids would be better bigger house.But after they downsized,there was much less space to retreat to,so the family members spent more time around each other.A smaller house unexpectedly turned out to be a more family-friendly house.

    Wearing a red nose for a day may seem like a strange way to raise money for charity. However, it seems to work in Britain

Red Nose Day (RND) is well-known in the UK. The aim of the day is to raise money for a charity called Comic Relief which helps people in need in Africa and in the UK.

    Red nose?

    Comic Relief was started in 1985 by the scriptwriter Richard Curtis. It's called Red Nose Day, as on this day many people buy a plastic red nose to wear! The money made from selling red noses goes to the charity.

    When is RND?

    Red Nose Day takes place every two years in the spring and is now so famous that many people consider it to be an unofficial national holiday. For example, many schools have non-uniform days. This year Red Nose Day was on 13^th March 2015.

    Money

    Across Britain, people are encouraged to “Do Something Funny for Money”. The money that is collected helps children to go to school, and educates the adults with HIV and AIDS. Comic Relief also works closely with disabled and elderly people to make sure they have equal rights and a better life.

    So, if you are ever in the UK on Red Nose Day, now you know why you may find normal people wearing red noses and doing silly things! It's all for a good cause! If you want to find out more about the day, have a look at the official Read Nose Day website.

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Welcome to Holker Hall & Gardens

Visitor Information

How to Get to Holker

    By Car： Follow brown signs an A590 from J36, M6. Approximate travel times: Windermere-20 minutes, Kendal-25 minutes, Lancaster-45 minutes, Manchester-1 hour 30 minutes.

    By Rail: The nearest station is Cark-in-Cartmel with trains to Carnforth, Lancaster Preston for connections to major cities & airports.

Opening Times

    Sunday-Friday (closed on Saturday)11:00 am-4:00 pm,30^th March-2nd November.

Admission Charges

Special Events

Producers' Market    13th April

    Join us to taste a variety of fresh local food and drinks. Meet the producers and get some excellent recipe ideas.

Holker Garden Festival    30th May

    The event celebrate its 22^nd anniversary with a great show of the very best of gardening, making it one of the most popular events in gardening.

National Garden Day    28th August

    Holker once again opens its gardens in aid of the disadvantaged. For just a small donation you can take a tour with our garden guide.

Winter Market    8th November

    This is an event for all the family. Wander among a variety of shops selling gifs while enjoying a live music show and nice street entertainment.

    Bike Share Toronto is the city's official bike share program, designed to give locals and visitors a fun, affordable and convenient alternative to walking, taxis, buses and the subway. There are 200 Bike Share Toronto stations and 2,000 bikes across the city, making Bike Share the most accessible way to get around and explore.

    How it works

    Become an Annual Member or buy a day Pass to access the system.

    Find an available bike nearby, and get a ride code or use your member key to unlock it.

    Take as many short rides as you want while your pass or membership is active.

    Return your bike to any station, and wait for the green light on the dock(停靠点)to make sure it's locked.

    Choose a plan

    For visitors

    Day Pass: $7. Unlimited 30-minute rides in a 24-hour period.

    3-Day Pass: $15. Unlimited 30-minute rides in a 72-hour period.

    For locals

    Monthly Pass: $25. Unlimited 30-minute rides for a month.

    Annual Membership: $90. Unlimited 30-minute rides for a whole year. The Annual Membership is the best deal for locals of Toronto and other frequent riders.

    The first 30 minutes of each ride is included with the membership or pass price. Avoid extra fees by dropping off your bike every 30 minutes at any other station. If you keep a bike out for longer than 30 minutes at a time, you will be charged an extra $1.50 for the first 30 minutes over, $4 for the next 30 minutes, and $7 for each additional 30 minutes after that.

    Contact us
    ●Customer Service: (855)898-2388
    ●Repair Service: (855)-2378
    ●Corporation Partners: (855)898-2398
    ●Employment Opportunities: (855)898-2498

    I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt's house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning.

    I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see—the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving and never to come back was hardly in my head then.

    The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism（乐观）, but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost—having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to “the hard times.”

    My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers（移民局官员）, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.

    From my experiences I have learned one important rule: Almost all common troubles go away at last! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.

    The secret to happiness is keeping busy, research has found. Keeping the mind occupied with tasks—no matter how meaningless—keeps off negative emotions, the study found.

    However, the bad news is that humans are seemingly born to be lazy in order to save energy, according to Professor Christoper Hsee, a behavioral scientist at Chicago University.

    In a study, 98 students were asked to complete two surveys. After they had completed the first, they were made to wait 15 minutes to receive the next one. They were given a choice of either handing in the first survey nearby or a more distant location they had to walk to. Whichever option they chose, they received a chocolate bar. It turned out that about two-thirds (68 students) chose the lazy option. Those who had taken the walk reported feeling happier than those who had stayed put.

    Professor Hsee concluded that keeping busy helped keep people happy. He said the findings, reported in the journal Psychological Science, had policy implications (暗示).

    “Governments may increase the happiness of idle (无所事事的) citizens by having them build bridges that are actually useless,” he proposed.

    At the personal level, he advised, "Get up and do something. Anything. Even if there really is no point to what you are doing, you will feel better for it." He added, "Incidentally, thinking deeply or engaging in self-reflection counts as keeping busy, too."

    “You do not need to be running around. You just need to be engaged, either physically or mentally.”