UPCOMING SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR ADVERTISERS & CONTRIBUTORS:
JAN ‘26 EDITION - 5TH DEC ‘25 FEB ‘26 EDITION - 9TH JAN ‘26
From the Editor
Merry Christmas Readers!
I’ve had my thinking cap on as to what was 2025… and I have struggled! I mean, we all know what 2020 was….and 2021….and a bit of 2022 to be fair. That was all about people coming together and pan banging. 2023 and 2024 was the big economic rebuild after the aforementioned years (well, that was the intention!). But 2025? I also asked the team how they would describe 2025 and much wasn’t writeable! However, after much discussion, I think 2025 was the year of TITLES! Whether it was titles being removed, titles being long coveted and then finally being awarded, some titles being denied despite their best efforts to influence the awarding committee and some titles being revealed through the most strange circumstances…..like the people on the Coldplay jumbotron #awkward, and Alan Carr being the ultimate Traitor – who knew??!! (except that Joe Marler is the true winner of Traitors, obviously, we all know it!!).
Anyway, some things never change and true to form, as yet, I have zero gifts purchased and ergo; wrapped. In fact, not even a teeny tiny thought of what I might consider purchasing for gifts for people. No discussions have been held about the day itself either BUT I don’t want you to think that I’m totally disorganised. I did pop on the local auction several Fridays ago, after a bottle of wine one evening and purchased a Christmas Tree. Yep, we are the proud owners of ‘Terry – the Treerannosaurus Rex’ … yep, you read that right. I haven’t dressed him yet but isn’t he glorious!!!
In other news, our Christmas giveaway was such a success last year, that we decided to do it all again, and
yet again we’re giving away the Ultimate Christmas Hamper from Chatsworth! We have also had some lovely donations from our sister company, Artliff Design and Print and some of our fabulous advertisers; S42 Café, DM Furnishings, Greenstripe Innovations, Rock Fall and Goodwins – thankyou for your generosity! Yet again readers, you have to be in it to win it!! We published our winners in the Feb edition last year, so you can see that real people did actually win the prizes and much to our family’s annoyance, not one of our family members won even a golden coin!!!
Thankyou for all your love and support this year. We have had fantastic feedback all year round for the magazines and in particular, we had fabulous feedback from our November edition. It is always lovely to hear and we do get our fair share of people who ring in or email with the negatives (isn’t that always the way!), so it was lovely to have some positive affirmations both for us and our advertisers… so thankyou to those of you who do sing our praises, you are truly appreciated.
See you all in 2026
The Joy of Giving at Christmas
There’s something wonderfully magical about giving at Christmas. It’s not just the twinkling fairy lights, the smell of mince pies, or the rustle of wrapping paper — it’s that heart-warming moment when someone’s face lights up because of a gift chosen just for them.
Of course, it’s easy to get caught up in the chaos: crowded high streets, endless online delivery updates, and mysteriously vanishing rolls of festive tape. But real Christmas giving isn’t about how much you spend — it’s about the thought behind it. Whether it’s a homemade treat, a heartfelt card, or even a novelty gift, gifts from the heart always mean the most.
Think back to the best present you ever received. Chances are, it wasn’t the priciest. Maybe it was a hand-knitted scarf that wasn’t quite even, a mug with a silly slogan that still makes you laugh every morning, or the inevitable socks from Aunt Maureen — always the socks! These are the gifts that remind us we’re loved — and that’s the real spirit of Christmas.
Giving can take many forms. It might be a surprise tin of chocolates for a neighbour, a donation to a local food bank, or simply making time for someone who’s feeling lonely. Sometimes, the greatest gift is
our presence — not presents! And let’s face it, no one minds a cup of tea and a mince pie shared with a friend or family member, especially when the kids are busy unwrapping mountains of toys.
And let’s not forget the festive quirks that make Christmas so memorable: the office Secret Santa disasters, children proudly presenting slightly wonky homemade decorations, or that one relative who insists on wrapping gifts in last week’s News Paper to “save the planet.” Or the chocolate that disappears mysteriously before Christmas Day — we all know who’s guilty!
So, this year, when you’re braving the postie queues, the Christmas markets, or yet another trip to the supermarket that feels like a winter endurance test, take a breath and remember why we give. It’s not to fill space under the tree — it’s to fill hearts with love, laughter, and togetherness. Because at the end of the day, the best gifts are the ones that can’t be wrapped.
MUSEUM
NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY
‘We have to go to pay our taxes Mary, it’s the law,’ Joe told her.
‘And how are we supposed to get there, answer me that? If you think I’m walking in my condition you’ve got to be joking.’
Joe sat quietly. When Mary was like this he knew there was no point interrupting her. His mind drifted to the cupboard he had just completed. Ben was a good customer, if he was pleased it could mean more work, and with a young mouth to feed they would need the extra money. Convinced the baby would be a boy he let his imagination fly free, visualising a new sign above the workshop, Joseph and Son.
Are you listening to me?’ Mary barked.
‘Of course I am,’ he lied.
‘So, what’s the answer? How are we going to get there? And don’t you dare say that rusty tandem because I am not pedalling that rickety old thing.’
‘I wouldn’t expect you to.’ Joe smiled, ‘I have spoken to Simeon, from the big house, he says we can borrow his donkey.’ He waited, hoping she’d be pleased. She wasn’t. ‘A donkey? Unbelievable? You expect me, eight and a half months pregnant, to ride all that way on a donkey? Incredible.’ The door slammed behind her as she left.
Joe smiled uncertainly. ‘She’ll come round. It’ll be like a holiday, an adventure,’ he said out loud, more to convince himself than anything.
The journey was uneventful, though Mary moaned constantly about the daytime heat and the discomfort of sitting on the donkey. She complained about the star keeping her awake at night. In fact it was Joe, awoken by her snoring, who lay all night staring at the beautiful bright star guiding their way.
Eventually, an exhausted Mary, Joe and the sturdy little donkey arrived. Joe hadn’t thought to reserve a room. Who knew it would be so difficult? Everywhere was fully booked. By now Mary was almost crying with fatigue, she had stopped complaining hours ago. It was unlike her to be so quiet and Joe was uneasy, worried that something was wrong. ‘Are you alright, my love?’ he asked. She just snarled through gritted teeth.
He knocked on the door of the last inn, on the road out of town. If there was nothing here, they were done for.
‘We’ve no room if that’s what you’re after,’ the man told them, before Joe had time to speak. At that point Mary cried out and clutched her stomach.
‘Sir, my wife,’ pleaded Joe. ‘She is with child, please, she has to rest, a cellar, a corridor, there must be something you can offer us?’
The inn keeper scratched his flea-ridden head.
‘I suppose you could use the stable, it’s round the back. At least you’ll have shelter. I mucked it out this morning so there’s fresh straw. It’s not much but...’
‘Thank you sir.’ Joe shook the man’s hand before leading the donkey round to the stable. Mary moaned and flinched as her husband helped her down from the saddle. Joe gathered straw to create a makeshift bed. As soon as she lay down, Mary fell asleep. Joe tethered and fed the donkey, then he settled on the fresh straw next to his wife.
Tired as he was, he lay watching the bright star that had accompanied them throughout their journey. It seemed to be directly overhead and was even brighter now.
I wonder what tomorrow will bring? he thought. Then, he laughed at himself. What could happen to a poor carpenter and his wife? Nothing out of the ordinary that’s for sure.
Joyce Janes on behalf of Bakewell Old House Museum
BAKEWELL OLD HOUSE MUSEUM WILL BE CLOSED FOR MAINTENANCE FROM 12TH NOVEMBER 2025 TO 25TH MARCH 2026
SOCIETY
SCHOOLS AT CHRISTMAS IN TIMES PAST
Christmas is a very busy time in schools. It always has been. What did it look like a few years ago.
Back around the 60’s, children would be given a large piece of paper to crayon (sometimes crayoning over an object like a leaf to put a pattern in the crayoning). Others used paint. All different colours were used in painting, then the paper was put on a rack to dry. This was often for two days. On getting the paper back, they fold it in half top to bottom. Precut paper about an inch across is glued to each end of the paper for reinforcement. Then from the centre fold, cuts approx. half an inch apart, not quite touching the extra glued ends. The paper is opened up and long sides glued together to give a cylinder shape. Add a “handle of thin card, or of paper. You have a “Chinese lantern.”
The classroom itself was decorated either with strips of crepe paper cut from the pack and continually twisted and taped to the top of the walls and roof of the room. Alternatively, pre-cut chain links joined up. Sometimes children helped with joining a few links together. Then in the same way, the long paper chains were stuck to the walls and roof.
Given a circle of white paper, which had to be folded in half, then into quarters, Children cut small pieces out of the folded paper, and when it was opened – an instant snowflake…
What about the classroom walls, they were usually full of Christmas paintings. One may have been a splatter painting, where on a plain black background, a precut scene was laid out, usually part of the nativity, then with a few children at a time being very careful, a thick children’s brush was loaded with white or silver
paint. A small piece of thick cardboard combed upwards over the end of the paintbrush would flick the paint over the paper. The edges of the nativity characters put out on the paper needed to be covered well. When they were removed afterwards, it left a snowy silhouette type scene.
In between the decorations, the class may have practiced the story of the nativity. This may have been performed for parents just before breaking up for Christmas. It needed thought with regards to characters in the play. They may have added animals like rabbits, goats, sheep… or things like trees, or more people. All the children needed something to show what part they were playing, whether it was a headband, or mask. These were usually made by staff members.
The schools also had a church service, singing carols at the local church.
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JOIN ILKESTON LADIES HOCKEY CLUB
WANT TO GET FIT? NOT PLAYED SINCE SCHOOL?
FED UP OF YOUR CURRENT CLUB?
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J & K PARR BUTCHERS
Slimming World Recipe Raspberry & Lemon Semifreddo
1. Line a 24cm x 11cm x 7cm deep loaf tin with cling film, then line the base with baking paper.
2. Using a fork, lightly crush 100g raspberries with the 1 level tbsp sweetener, if using.
3. For the custard: Spoon the fromage frais, custard and quark into a large bowl and whisk well.
4. Put the egg whites in a large, clean glass bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk on a medium speed until they form stiff peaks. Gently fold
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the whites, lemon zest and sweetener into the fromage frais mixture, then fold in the remaining raspberries.
5. Add the crushed raspberries and pour into the tin. Cover with cling film, then foil, and freeze for 6-8 hours, or until firm. Transfer to the fridge 1 hour before serving.
6. Remove from the tin and peel off the baking paper. Decorate with extra raspberries and cut into 8 equal slices to serve.
• 400g raspberries, plus extra to decorate
• 1 level tbsp sweetener granules (optional)
For the custard:
• 100g fat-free natural fromage frais
• 200g reduced-fatand-sugar custard from a can/carton
• 200g plain quark
• 2 large egg whites*
• Finely grated zest of ½ unwaxed lemon
• 2 level tbsp sweetener granules
* Pregnant women, the elderly, babies and toddlers are advised to eat eggs showing the British Lion stamp if eating raw or partially cooked eggs
in: 20 mins + 6-8 hours freezing time
FOR SURVIVING CHRISTMAS TOP TIPS
Wrapping Wisdom:
Use enough tape to mummify a small child. No one’s escaping that paper fortress.
Gift Guessing:
When you open yet another pair of socks, act shocked. “How did you know?”
The Great Escape:
Pretend to “check on the roast” every 15 minutes. It’s code for “five minutes of peace.”
Shopping Survival:
If you forget the cranberry sauce, just pour red wine over everything and call it “festive fusion.”
Cracker Command:
Always sit next to a weak-wristed relative — victory and the paper crown will be yours.
New Year Prep:
Don’t bother with resolutions. Your only goal is to fit back into your jeans by Easter.
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Lies, traitors, fake news, corruption and spies. Some things never change. Except that SJ Parris’s Traitor’s Legacy is not set in 2025, but Queen Elizabeth’s Tudor Britain.
It’s historical fiction of the highest quality – the author blends fact and real characters from the period, including William Shakespeare and the Queen’s spymaster, Robert Cecil, alongside atmospheric descriptions of the freezing winter of 1598 in the murky back streets of a violent city.
The story centres around the murder of a young girl of 13, due to be married against her will into a rich and high born family. There are powerful religious and political forces at work which pull in Sophia de Wolfe, a woman of a complex and dubious background who finds herself at the heart of the killing and with desperate personal reasons to find out who is responsible and why. As we know from a different group of traitors – trust no-one.
It’s cleverly plotted, tense and an intelligent and very immersing read. SJ Parris - also known as journalist Stephanie Merritt and also the writer of the much admired Giordano Bruno novels -seems to be embarking on a new series with Sophia de Wolfe and if this book is anything to go by, we’re in for a regular treat.
All Around the Shire
ONE I MADE
As we are about to begin our All Around the Shire “Traditions of Christmas” presentations, my mind travels back through the decades to when I was a young girl.
At school, small children would be tasked with licking and sticking or pasting endless paperchains to festoon classrooms.
Paper snowflakes adorned the high classroom windows. Gummed paper lanterns dangled from the ceiling.
Growing up in a pub, decorations were everywhere: fairy lights, tinsel, foil hangings, trees groaning with baubles. Years later, my parents donated to me these pub decorations in my first home. They had absorbed years of smoke and smelled so strongly that they couldn’t be used.
I grew up during the glory days of Blue Peter when John Noakes, Valerie Singleton and Peter Purves presented the children’s programme. I had a go at making an Advent Crown using coat hangers, tinsel, candles and baubles. Needless to say, it was not a success.
Whether your decorations are home-made, shop-bought or second hand, I wish you all a peaceful Christmas filled with happy memories.
Janet and Paul Barrass are All Around the Shire. Find us on or email: oldfield512@btinternet.com for more information.
Guess the words and Fill in the crossword !
Pitcherwits® are crossword puzzles where some of the clues are in pictures. Sound easy? It’s not called “Pit-your-wits” for nothing! The mixture of cryptic and picture clues, combined with Professor Rebus’ unique sense of humour, will keep you entertained for hours.
Across
7 Freezing the baker’s bonus? (5)
8 Metal said to ban rubbish? (5)
14 Snow home logo with an eye, say, for detail (5)
15 Include second person, say, in farewell? (5)
Down
2 Tunis is not ideal for singles (5)
3 Fool of the Beaker People? (3)
5 Biscuit is not cooked to old length (5)
12 Rice made from peanut oil with an ‘off’ tone (5)
13 A libido, at first used as an excuse (5)
15 Melody herd, say, in dairy farm? (3)
Across 1 Greet in t’ North, making cake for a pud? Yum! (2,2,2,4)
9 US male, say, to sort palette out (4,1,6)
11 Ants’ suppers are a mystery drug (11)
Dairy product unlocked in tumbler kit (10)
pittas as bait is rather over the hill (1,3,4,2)
Nerds all in a tizzy about meals (7)
Terrified to float away in raft, sucker? (10)
Hair, portrayed as a bit of a landing spot (7)
Steam,
Tuna,
Puma, 14 Eloping, 16 Take a tumble.
Crampon, 14 Elk, 15 Gab.
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THE PECULIAR ‘YELLOW BRAIN FUNGUS’
Although most fungal fruit-bodies (i.e., mushrooms) appear in the autumn months, some like brackets on trees are year-round, and others such as the hallucinogenic (aka poisonous) ones like the classic red-and-white pixie toadstool, the Fly Agaric, persist well into the winter period. These fungi do include the most remarkable and frequently under-appreciated ‘biodiversity’, their ecology being vital to planetary ecosystems including our own survival. The mushrooms and toadstools with their mostly transient fruitbodies are often all that is seen, whereas the hardworking fungal mycelia are largely hidden from view. Nevertheless, some fungi like the ‘Yellow Brain’ (pictured) are remarkable and grab the attention when you spot them. Yellow Brain has the scientific name of Tremella mesenterica which means trembling and ‘mesentery’ or folded tissue usually attached to intestines or gut. Its peculiar appearance has led to evocative and descriptive common names such as ‘Yellow Brain’, ‘Golden Jelly’, ‘Yellow Trembler’, and finally ‘Witches’ Butter’. Its habitat is to be found on dead wood, with a fruiting season (i.e., when this yellow fruit-body appears) all year-round. However, this is a species that is especially seen during winter. Interestingly too, Yellow Brain is not itself a wood-rotter, but a parasite which feasts on the mycelium of what are known as Crust or Corticoid Fungi which do breakdown dead wood like fallen branches and litter. Yellow Brain lives by parasitising the wood-decomposers, with a common victim being the Rosy Crust Fungus (Peniophora incarnate), often totally enveloped by its parasite.
The common names reflect this peculiar fungus’s appearance. Essentially it lacks the obvious structures of most other woodland fungi, and looks like an orange, quivering, gelatinous blob. The smooth fruit-body has characteristically irregular shape, with soft jelly-like texture. The yellow lobes are actually quite tough, greasy, and slimy when wet. They are hard when dry. Colour ranges from pale yellow to bright orange, changing to
rusty orange if dried out. Because of its weird appearance, Yellow Brain has gained mythological, superstitious connections. Across Europe, if the Yellow Brain (‘Witches’ Butter’) appeared on your door or house-gate, the local witch had cast their spell on your family. However, this problem seems easily solved since the spell was removed by repeatedly piercing the fungus with straight pins, until departed. Related to this superstition, in Sweden for example, the dried fungus was burnt to ward off evil spirits. Described as ‘inedible’, flavourless with little substance, in China it provides texture in soups. Like many fungi, it may have medicinal properties with anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic uses. Of course, hallucinogenic fungi and mushrooms such as the Fly Agaric are frequently associated with the Christmas season and celebrations.
Professor Ian D. Rotherham, researcher, writer, broadcaster on wildlife and environmental issues is contactable on ianonthewildside@ukeconet.org. Follow his website www.ukeconet.org, blog www.ianswalkonthewildside.wordpress.com/ & Twitter @IanThewildside Bluesky @ianthewildside.bsky.social
YELLOW BRAIN FUNGUS
Colour in the garden during these cold months can be a great antidote to the winter glooms.
Luckily there are a selection of container plants which will brighten things up even if you haven’t managed to get any bulbs in. So we’re talking about the likes of winter pansies and violas, cyclamen (the small ones, not the showy indoor variety), winter heather and ivy and polyanthus. If you’re creating a few pots it’s worth clumping them together in a sheltered part of the garden even though all these plants should be frost resistant.
If you have room to plant in the ground, winter honeysuckle gives you a very pretty creamy flower and a beautiful scent. Hellebores can be pretty vibrant and will usually flower in early spring but in sheltered spots even as early as Christmas. And the beautiful mahonia bush with its spikes of bright yellow flowers is wonderful. The advantage of these three is that they are also great for winter-active bees.
You can prune apple and pear trees before Christmas – along with acers and laburnum. There’s less chance of sap bleed if you do it now.
Most herbs lose their leaves in winter, but you can still grow your own by buying a pot of your favourites in the supermarket then dividing and re-potting into smaller pots for a window sill. Most supermarket pots have loads of seeds crammed into a pot, so can be easily split and thus very economical.
