COUNTYWIDE NEWS Flash fiction, poetry and short stories relevant to the five to twelve age group can be submitted to The Paul Cave Prize for Children’s Literature, which closes on February 28, 2024. Top prize is £75 and all winners will receive a copy of The Paul Cave Prize for Children’s Literature 2024. “The children’s book market is incredibly difficult to get into and unless you’re a celebrity or established in this field. It’s nigh on impossible to get your work published,” says Tim Saunders, who will be judging the prize with his wife, Caroline, and children Henry (7), Heidi (10) and Harriett (12). “So this is a great opportunity for budding children’s authors.” For more information visit: https:// tsaunderspubs.weebly.com/the-paulcave-prize-for-childrens-literature.html
Seven ‘Oscars’ so far for salon!
The Wam Bam Band in action.
Sell-out concert in aid of Wirksworth Music Centre IN November, the ever-popular Wam Bam Band had a sell-out crowd at Wirksworth Town Hall dancing and singing the night away. There couldn’t be better advocates for getting involved in live music! The evening was a fund-raising concert for Wirksworth Music Centre (WMC), which offers opportunities for local, school-age children to come together to make music in various ensembles and choirs. As a registered charity, the centre is dependent on grants, donations and student subscriptions. As a result of student numbers falling during the pandemic and being slow to recover, the WMC trustees are actively seeking alternative sources of funds. Thanks to marvellous community support, the concert raised over £2,500! The Wam Bam Band generously waived their usual fee as several band members have children who have enjoyed belonging to the Music Centre in the past. The bar, run by volunteers, donated their significant profits to the total raised. The local businesses who provided raffle prizes were: Otto Café; Carly Hair; Mitchell’s Artisan Butchery; Webster’s Café in the Wirksworth Heritage Centre; Le Mistral restaurant; and donations of whisky from Friends of the WMC. Sallyanne Swindell, owner of Marsden’s Gifts of Wirksworth, kindly handled ticket sales. Ranald Macdonald, a trustee of WMC, organised the concert with an excellent team of helpers and said: “It was so rewarding to see the local community coming together, generously supporting our young people. Johnny Rowlatt, lead singer of the band, said: “We are all passionate about getting young people involved in music and WMC does a wonderful job doing this.” 24 Reflections January 2024
The band was formed in 1998 as a soul band, with 15 members (now about 12 regulars), all from the Wirksworth area. To support the Wirksworth Music Centre, why not become a Friend of WMC by making a regular or one-off payment? Details at https://wirksworthmusic-centre.org/donations
A £400K grant to ‘Feed Derbyshire’ DERBYSHIRE County Council has approved funding of nearly £400,000 to Rural Action Derbyshire to enable them to carry on supporting affordable food projects across the county. Rural Action Derbyshire coordinates the Feeding Derbyshire Network, which has run since 2015 and offers help to people struggling with low incomes, debt and poor access to affordable, nutritious food. As part of this, the Affordable Food Network was set up in 2020. This aims to provide a longer term, more sustainable alternative to food banks with the creation of community pantries. These differ from food banks as people pay a small yearly membership fee and also pay a small contribution toward the cost of the food they choose during their weekly visit to the shop. The community pantry model has been piloted over the last two years and so far three pantries have opened in community venues and on the high street using empty properties. Another eight are currently in development.
Children’s literature competition ENTRIES to an exciting children’s literature competition are invited from Derbyshire residents.
A MATLOCK salon has won SEVEN hairdressing ‘Oscars’ in the last two years! Aspire Creative won the Best New Salon title in the 2021 Salon Awards; then took four awards in 2022 – Best Salon Team, Best Colour Salon, Best Customer Experience and a Stylist of the Year award for Jamie Hadleigh. The salon, which only opened in December 2020, moved from Matlock Green to Bank Road, Matlock, earlier in 2023 – and its new base proved a double winner in the 2023 Salon Awards late last year, taking the Best New/Refurbished Salon and Derbyshire’s Best Salon awards. “We are absolutely thrilled to receive these two incredible awards. This recognition is a testament to the hard work and passion of our entire team,” said creative director Jamie. The move to Bank Road, Matlock, in March 2023 allowed Aspire Creative to offer a full range of beauty treatments, and providing three sunbeds, as well as continuing to operate as a salon. Salon manager Ashley said: “We are immensely grateful to our loyal clients whose support continues to inspire us to raise the bar in providing exceptional salon experiences.”
Above: Some of the Aspire Creative team after receiving their 2023 awards in Manchester, from left, Megan Lees (senior creative), Natasha Beresford (advanced skin specialist), Jamie Hadleigh (co-owner & creative director), Ashley Orwin (co-owner & salon manager), Lily Slater (creative stylist) and Gracie Clark (graduate creative).
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