Feature: The floods, the festivities and a baby called Noah

The news reports call it Cumbria, but many locals prefer its other name, the Lake District, one of Britain's scenic beauty spots.

Visitors from across the world head to the mountainous region in England's extreme north, famed for its stunning vistas and many lakes.

But it's the way harsh weather turned the streets of towns and cities into temporary lakes that captured the headlines.

Storm Desmond devastated whole communities, causing damage running into many hundreds of millions of dollars. The clean-up and repair work will take many months.

Overcast skies and the threat of more rain failed Saturday to dampen the spirits of plucky Cumbrians. The show, as they say, must go on.

So on Saturday festivities were underway to raise a smile among local people, and to allow them to forget, for a short while, the turmoil Desmond inflicted upon them.

Organisers of the Taste Festival in Cockermouth and Carlisle's Christmas Fayre each said they wanted to show Cumbria's resilience in the face of the great storm of 2015.

The festival is showcasing the festive produce of local businesses, with many firms devastated by the floods managing to take part.

Marie Whitehead, director of CN Events organisers of the Taste Festival, said: "We want to promote this county's resilience, while respecting the fact that these floods have, tragically, claimed a life, and so many people have been forced out of their homes and businesses. If we can bring a temporary smile to people's faces as they go through this ordeal, then that's what it's all about."

The Christmas fayre in the county capital city of Carlisle spans the weekend and is offering free activities including Christmas decoration and drama workshops, as well as food and drink stalls.

An online appeal with a target of 4.5 million U.S. dollars set up to help flood victims has so far raised more than 1.5million U.S. dollars.

Meanwhile a local couple who battled through the floods for the birth of their son have given him the middle name Noah, the Biblical character who reacted to floods by building an ark.

John Bibby had feared he would not be able to get his wife Katharine to hospital in time because roads out of their Lake District village of Backbarrow were flooded.

Minutes after arriving at hospital after battling through flooded roads Mrs Bibby gave birth. He's called James Noah, James after the fictional spy James Bond.

Bibby told how the bridge out of the village over a swollen river collapsed and the only other route was almost a meter deep in water.

"We got through the main flooded bit, luckily we have a Land Rover, but I don't think a normal car would have done it. It did cross my mind that I might have to deliver the baby in the car."

A massive James Bond fan, Bibby added: "His first name was always going to be James, but we've given him the middle name Noah, because of his journey through the floods."

Mother and baby are doing well after their ordeal.

A yellow weather warning for rain Saturday issued by the Met Office remains in place for Cumbria and parts of nearby north Lancashire. Endit