Well, I’m not sure it is but we live in hope, whilst we all become armchair managers and critics! Still, it is usually a nice thing for us all to have the same common agenda for a few weeks. Although, I’m not sure this one is going to be as popular as previous World Cups, based on the ticket sales and the times of the games for those of us watching at home. I wonder how many of your colleagues, family members or friends are trying not to find out the result until they can watch the game on catch up at a more reasonable hour?! The last time we did that at Voice HQ was when Traitors was on…..ooooh, the hullaballoo over who is watching it in real time and the ‘hurry up’ calls for those of us watching it on catch up! Anyway, I can’t see that being a problem for us with the World Cup, as we have two rugby fans, one who doesn’t like sport and me who can’t stand to watch anything for more than 8 minutes at a time now I’ve entered my Peri-Menopausal stage of life – oh the days when I used to be able to concentrate!! So, it looks like Liam is going to be venting to himself on this one!!
He is especially pleased with the front covers this month as it took him back to his childhood days of Subbuteo and Shoot! magazines. I’ve put a fiver on with my friends that he’ll have purchased a Subbuteo board and all the players before the year is out….still, a cheaper mid-life crisis than most I suppose! Although, I remember my brother having a Subbuteo board when I was a kid but it was only to be kept in his room because it took up too much room elsewhere. Mind you, my brother wouldn’t have wanted it in the open because sure as eggs is eggs, I would have done something to the players, apparently #eyeroll. I’m not that convinced I would have done anything if I’m honest, it all seemed pretty boring to me – that said, if it would have annoyed him……..hmmmm!
Happy Reading,
Emily x
THE FOOTBALL WORLD CUP 2026: WHERE DRAMA MEETS DELIGHT
Every four years (and occasionally when FIFA’s calendar needs a bit of reshuffling and a strong cup of tea), the world collectively remembers that nothing quite unites humanity like 22 people chasing a ball and billions of people insisting they could “definitely do better up front”.
The 2026 Football World Cup arrives with all the usual ingredients: hope, heartbreak, tactical debates in pub corners, and at least one nation suddenly becoming experts in “expected goals” after watching a single YouTube video.
2026 World Cup promises to be the biggest yet, both in scale and in snacks consumed per match. With 48 teams, an extra 16 on 2022, fans are preparing for a tournament where the group stages alone feel like a full-blown saga. There are early favourites, dark horses, and at least one team that will be described as “technically very good, but a bit chaotic defensively” — a phrase that usually translates to fireworks at both ends.
The expanded format has also introduced a new kind of global diplomacy: nations bonding over shared frustration at a 3am kick-off, questionable refereeing decisions, and the universal truth that penalties are just emotional warfare in slow motion.
On the pitch, the football is expected to be fast, furious, and occasionally baffling. One minute a perfectly drilled counterattack slices through a defence like a hot knife through butter; the next, a striker skies the ball into orbit, prompting millions of viewers to instinctively look up as if they might actually see it.
Off the pitch, the World Cup remains a masterclass in collective behaviour. Entire countries will temporarily restructure their daily routines around kick-off times. Productivity will dip. Tea consumption will rise. And at least one uncle somewhere will loudly declare that “we should’ve brought him on earlier” regardless of which teams are playing.
The 2026 tournament also brings with it the usual parade of breakout stars. A previously unknown winger will suddenly become the most talked-about person on the planet after one dazzling run. A goalkeeper will achieve cult status for saving a penalty with what can only be described as pure instinct and a mild lack of coordination. And a striker will inevitably go on a scoring streak that defies physics, logic, and anyone who forgot to pick him in their fantasy football team.
But beyond the stats, the tactics, and the endless punditry, the World Cup is still gloriously simple. It’s about hope. It’s about shouting at a television like it owes you money. It’s about strangers hugging in the street because a ball crossed a line.
And in 2026, once again, the world will stop — not because it has to, but because football, at its best, is impossible to ignore.
Marehay Road, Ripley, DE5 8LB
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Slimming World Recipe
Chicken and chorizo paella
Method:
1. Spray a paella pan or large non-stick frying pan with 1 cal cooking spray and put it over a medium-low heat. Add the onions, garlic, chorizo, celery and carrot and stir-fry for 6-8 minutes, or until softened.
2. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, then add the chicken, tomato purée, paprika and saffron. Pour in enough water to just cover the rice, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to mediumlow, cover and simmer
Nothing says summer like eating a paella, al fresco, in the sun with a cold drink at hand! This tasty recipe will soon become a favourite over the summer months!
for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. When there is only a little water left in the pan, stir in the peppers and peas. Continue to cook for 5-6 minutes, or until the rice is just tender and the chicken is cooked through. Add a little boiling water if it gets too dry.
4. Season lightly and scatter over the parsley. Divide between 4 bowls and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over.
• 1 cal cooking spray
• 2 onions, finely chopped
2cm pieces
• 4 tbsp tomato purée
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 100g chorizo, roughly chopped
• 3 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely cubed
• 2 large tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 300g dried paella rice
• 4 skinless and boneless chicken
• 1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
• Large pinch of saffron threads
• 200g roasted red peppers in brine from a jar, drained and roughly chopped
• 200g frozen peas
• Handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped, to serve
• Lemon wedges, to serve
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AMBER VALLEY RUGBY CLUB
END OF SEASON AT AMBER VALLEY RUFC – LOOKING AHEAD
As another rugby season draws to a close, it’s a great time to reflect on everything that’s made this year special at Amber Valley RUFC.
From our youngest players taking their first steps onto the pitch, our junior teams growing in confidence, and our senior squads battling week-in week-out, this season has been full of effort, development and team spirit. The men’s team have shown real determination, continuing to push forward and improve, while our women’s section has been working hard behind the scenes to build and strengthen the squad, ready for an exciting return next season.
None of this would be possible without our dedicated coaches, volunteers, supporters and sponsors who give their time and energy to keep the club thriving.
Although the league season may be over, rugby at Amber Valley certainly doesn’t stop here. Our summer touch rugby sessions are a great way for all ages and abilities to stay involved, have fun, and keep active in a relaxed social environment. Alongside this, ongoing fitness and training sessions will be running throughout the summer.
Make sure to keep an eye on our social media pages for all the latest updates, session details and ways to get involved.
Here’s to building even bigger and better for next season! ����
More than just a club, we are the #ValleyFamily. You can visit our website www.ambervalleyrfc.co.uk, Facebook &
pages to contact us or follow what we do. You can find us at Lower Somercotes, Somercotes, Alfreton
A dogs Day out
This fabulous walk first featured in 2014, however very little has changed in that time to when we walked in last in May. We all (flake included) really loved this walk. As well as the trails it takes in some lovely countryside and loops around the Pleasley Pit, with some fantastic views.
6-MILE CIRCULAR WALK NEAR ROWTHORNE VILLAGE
A moderate walk for you and your dog. The route should take around 2-3 hours. Whilst a large part of the walk is trails and paths there are some fields to cross with uneven and potentially muddy sections, so a good pair of boots are advisable, especially if it has been wet. There are a few sections of road, so please take care and, as always, follow the countryside code.
START: Rowthorne Trail Car Park, Rowthorne Lane, Rowthorne, S44 5QQ
1. Exit the car park at the far end onto a path which bends round to the left. At a T-junction of paths turn right onto the Rowthorne Trail.
2. Continue along the trail for some distance, cross over a crossroads of footpaths and keep straight for a long distance until eventually reaching a large ‘Rowthorne Trail’ sign on your left. At this point bear right to pass through a gap adjacent to a metal gate. After a very short distance, bear right again and pass through a gap onto the Teversal Trail.
3. Turn left along the Teversal Trail and continue straight until reaching a wooden gate. Pass through the gate, cross a trail and then pass through a width restrictor to a T-junction of trails. Turn right and continue along this trail to pass through two more width restrictors.
4. Continue straight and pass by a car park on the right and a chimney stack on the left. Continue until the trail bends sharp left and back on itself. On the bend turn right and then immediately left and head towards a large wooden gate and signs.
5. Pass through the gate adjacent to the wooden gate and bear left to continue on a well laid path uphill. At the top follow the trail as it bends sharp right. Pass through a metal gate next to a large wooden gate. Bear left to continue along the trail for some distance keeping a large lake on your right-hand side.
6. On the other side of the lake, at a crossroads in the paths, turn left to pass through a metal gate. Bear left to continue along the footpath. Pass a lone gate before bearing right and pass through a metal gate. Shortly after a wooden bench on your right, turn left along a footpath heading downhill
7. With a hedgerow on your right, at the bottom, turn right at the crossroads onto a bridleway. Continue along the bridleway to meet a main road. Cross diagonally left and continue along country road signposted for ‘Stoney Houghton’. At a sharp right-hand bend in the road continue straight ahead along a signposted bridleway.
8. Continue straight, keeping a careful watch for a crossroad of footpaths, with a marker post on your left. Turn left here, through a gap in the hedge and continue straight to cross an open field. Upon reaching a hedgerow, walk straight ahead, keeping the hedge close on your right. At the end of the field pass through a gap onto a tarmac road.
9. Turn left on the road and continue for a short distance before turning right onto a residential street. At a T-junction turn right and follow the road around to the left. Where the road bends right, continue straight to enter ‘Back Lane’.
10. Follow ‘Back Lane’ to the end. At the T-junction turn right along a main road for a very short distance before crossing the road to climb some steps. Turn left at the top and then sharp right along a path. Continue onto a residential street and then after some distance take a signposted footpath on your right. Follow this right then left and into an open field.
11. Walk sharp diagonally left across the field to pass through a gap in the hedge. Then cross another field and eventually through a gap onto a country road.
12. Turn right along the road and after a short distance turn left along another road. Eventually the road bears sharp left and continues until reaching the car park on the right.
This walk is for illustrative purposes only. Voice Magazines Ltd takes no responsibility for anyone who chooses to follow this route and encourages all walkers to obey all byelaws and signs and to respect the area they are walking in, ensuring they pick up all dog mess and obey the countryside code at all times.
HERITAGE TRUST
HEAGE FIRS
The name “Firs” dates back at least to the nineteenth century.
It was a hilltop crossroads with an isolated farmhouse which also doubled as a small brewery, part of the estate of the Hurt family of Alderwasley. A beacon was traditionally lit on the hilltop at times of national celebration. Its relatively remote location made it suitable for some unusual uses: in the 1890s, an isolation hospital for the whole of the Belper Union area, including Ripley; a council rubbish tip; and a “camp”. A report in the newspaper of March 1942 says only “Application was granted for a camp to be fixed on three fields at Heage Firs”. It was in fact a Prisoner of War camp, but this was wartime and no details were given.
An offshoot of the larger camp at Swanwick Hayes, Camp No 58 housed mainly Italian prisoners, and was low security. The prisoners were often billeted on local farms, where they worked both on the land and at the flax
factory on Heage Road. When the war ended, many prisoners were allowed out of the camps unaccompanied, though apparently the Italians from The Firs were not allowed beyond the Horse and Jockey pub at the top of Hartshay Hill.
There were even relationships formed between the PoWs and local girls: one prisoner is reputed to have fathered several children in the area. It was a stark contrast to the camp at Swanwick Hayes, which housed German officers and was the site of a famous escape attempt in 1940 when one German pilot made it to RAF Hucknall, and almost escaped in an RAF fighter.
After the war, the camp area was gradually transformed into an industrial estate. Recently, planning permission has been given to turn the area into housing – modern dwellings where once stood rows of prisoners’ huts.
Italian PoWs at The Firs
Camp 58
Paul M Longden Ltd
THE PROMISE, BY DAMON GALGUT
The Promise is the Booker Prize winning story of a wealthy white South African family trapped between the dubious morals of the apartheid era and the need to change – and what that struggle does to them as people. It moves from big issues to the daily personal details of family life, sibling rivalry, overbearing in-laws.
It starts at the funeral of matriarch Ma, who promised a small shack and a bit of land on their vast estate to her personal black servant, Salome. It’s a promise denied after her death and never kept, but it comes to define the Swartz family.
Over the four-decade course of the book, the family - never less than dysfunctional –splinters. The younger members despise the old ways and make their own futures. But they also change and this is one of the great strengths of the book – the way it shows how humans develop – for good and bad. Heroes can become lost too and the underdog can triumph.
It may sound a serious book and it is, but there’s a good deal of wry humour, considerable depth and a great understanding of how complex we human beings are. A thought-provoking read but worth the effort.
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 What a peculiar spare weapon! (5)
8 Former deed is precise (5)
9 Forerunner of the repeat (2-3)
11 Old counter’s strange, picturesque secret is out (5)
Down
2 Change later, and change again! (5)
3 Bounced out to say, “Wait!” (5)
10 I’ve an odd notion it’s innocent (5)
11 Silence can be quite unnerving (5)
Across 1 Holdall, afar off for your fifty cents’ worth (4,1,6)
5 It gets longer once nested by proxy (7)
12 Still expecting work at tables (7)
13 Man who clumsily overshot September night-shiner (7,4)
Down
Final distance that can be done on an elastic house? (4,7)
Dish for mutants to root out? (5,6)
It could be raised, if yob were to be reformed (7)
W i n d o w s & W i n d o w s & D o o r s D o o r s
The Old Church, 31 Nottingham Road Ripley, Derbyshire, DE5 3AS
Opening Times
Monday-Saturday 9:30- 4:30
The Old Bank, 1 Radcliffe Road West Bridgford, Not tingham, NG2 5FF Opening Times
Thursday-Saturday 9:30- 4:30
Who remembers the radio programme “Listen with Mother”—a 1950s favourite presented by a team of “aunties” and “uncles”—sharing stories, songs and nursery rhymes for mothers and children?
I also loved “Watch with Mother” on 1960s television, with programmes such as Andy Pandy, The Flowerpot Men, Trumpton and The Woodentops. Though aimed at pre-schoolers, it captivated older children—and plenty of adults too. Did anyone else think Andy Pandy was a girl?
Another favourite was “Blue Peter”. Many will remember Valerie Singleton, John Noakes and Peter Purves, along with their pets: Shep, Petra, Fred (or Freda) the tortoise, and Jason the Siamese cat.
Most people have a standout moment too - perhaps the baby
elephant or the Advent crown. And then there was Play School, with its “through the round window” opening and toys like Humpty, Jemima, Poppy, Big Ted and Little Ted.
We hold these names and songs close. Those early programmes grew up with us—and the memories often stay with us into old age.
Janet and Paul Barrass are All Around the Shire. Find us on or
Haigh
From
Stay
Protect
Secure
Fill in all the numbers!
This is a sudoku 1 square grid
81 cells
9 3x3 blocks
1 simple rule: Use all the numbers
1-9, with no duplicates allowed, in any row, column, or block.
These puzzles are devised by the brilliant Professor Rebus. For more of his puzzles visit www.pitcherwits.co.uk
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SUMMERTIME STARLINGS AROUND THE PEAK
When the recently-fledged juvenile Starlings arrive in summer they cause plenty of confusion and largely because they look so different to the adult birds. However, at garden feeders and the like any confusion is soon allayed by the parent birds noisily feeding their offspring against a rising cacophony of sound. Drawn to mealworms and dried calci worms especially, but also to suet bars and suet dumplings, there can often seen to be thirty or more Starlings at the feeders. With populations in long-term decline these sorts of numbers are welcome and encouraging. Indeed, once quite common bird species have experienced dramatic and worrying population declines, and many are still going down. The Starlings have been through a sharp fall in numbers but may hopefully be on the way up again, and certainly the flocks in my wildlife garden suggest this may be so. As so often the case, the cause of the problems mixes habitat loss and degradation, intensive farming, climate change, and especially down in the lowlands, increasing urban sprawl. There is also the modern almost clinical tidiness of buildings which removes potential nesting sites for birds like Starlings, Swallows, and House Sparrows.
So, the Starling is a bird which has gone from being abundant or super-abundant, to one where its fortunes waned over recent decades, but may be picking up again. Readers will be aware of the wintering populations which in part are visitors from Continental Europe and as far away as Russia, and which give us the tremendous ‘murmurations’ at roost sites like Stony Middleton. However, it is our breeding birds that have really suffered and, in their case, the loss of nesting opportunities in older buildings and sites like tree-holes certainly had a bad impact. The site loss was compounded by climate change (summertime droughts) and the growing impacts of twentieth-century moorland management with extensive drainage of formerly wet moors and bogs. Drying the moors and bogs caused dramatic declines in available food in summer, particularly damaging for newly-fledged youngsters. These birds would descend on the upland moors in frenzied flocks as they love to feed on masses of emerging craneflies which are especially abundant on damp moors and cotton-grass bogs. But with moors drained and dried, the cranefly larvae (gardeners’ ‘leatherjackets’!) were gone. Synchronised hatching of adult craneflies in May and June, meant good times for Starlings, and for other birds like Red Grouse, and on lower-lying wet pastures, Rooks, Carrion Crows, and
wading birds such as Common Snipe. Dried-out moors and pastures cause declines in all these.
But we can do our bit to help. Despite current advice to not feed garden birds during summer so as to avoid spreading nasty diseases, my own view is that this is not the best solution. So, be clinically clean with food dispensers, avoid the use of a summertime bird-table which may encourage bugs to fester and spread, but provide hanging feeders like mealworm holders, spiked apples, and suet bars. So many birds are losing habitat, especially with current planning guidance to ‘build, build, build’, on greenspaces, Green Belts, and National Parks, that they need our help. Well, Starlings, both adults and juveniles arrived in abundance in my wildlife garden, and I am doing my bit, and the Starlings are feasting (see videos on social media below).
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
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We’re into Chelsea Chop territory. Chelsea, because it’s around the time of the Chelsea flower show late May/mid-June – and chop because it’s what you can do to a good number of clump forming perennials to make them bush out and produce more flowers.
It’s not a rule – lots of gardeners don’t go there; but there are advantages and disadvantages – and you can split the difference and cut some stems and leave others on the same plant. It’s a good method for the likes of rudbekia, helenium and salvia – all bushy perennials but not for the likes of peonies or poppies which produce blooms on a single stem.
The chopped plants will flower later and produce smaller flowers, but more of them. It will stop them getting leggy and being prone to rain and wind damage as they grow and they won’t need staking to keep them upright. Or you can just do the front growth of a clump – about a third of the stem just above a leaf nodeand leave the rest to grow, so you get shorter and more flowers and taller and more elegant on the same plant.
While we’re talking about producing more growth, this is the time to pinch out the growing tips of fuchsia to help them bush out and give more flowers later.
Deadhead repeat roses to encourage new growth, leave single flowering roses to produce hips later in the year.
