Val Armstrong

Supporting Content

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  Duration: 12:14

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  This time we meet Ryan Blackburn, chef patron of The Old Stamp House, in Ambleside

  Duration: 26:00

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• Amazingly Cumbria now has the highest number of Michelin starred restaurants outside London.

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  Duration: 24:38
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• Val Armstrong

  Val has become one of the better know voices on Radio Cumbria in the past few years, although sitting behind the microphone was the last place she ever thought she'd be.

  A Lancastrian by birth, she came to the radio station in 1982 after a short spell measuring inside legs in a jeans shop.

  Somehow Val also held down a job at a cotton wool factory for a while and has detailed knowledge of what can be achieved with a cotton-bud!

  Across the years she's been as flexible as possible - spending time answering your calls on the switchboard and even getting her hands wet cleaning the kitchen.

  On the air she's been heard presenting everything from the Farming Show to Sport.

  What does Val do in her spare time?

  "I spend lots of time with my family. I'm one of 6 children and have thirteen nieces and nephews. There's always someone to visit or baby-sit."

  Val also loves music, films and travel, but complains that she doesn't have the finance to support her passions properly.

  What secret can we reveal about Val?

  She used to be a member of the County athletic squad (many, many years ago!).She ran in the first Great North Run, played netball for Carlisle City, but admits these days to "getting breathless just running up the stairs".

  If you meet her, you must ask about her claim to fame ... but do it in private!