Derby February 2019

COUNTRY

Derby Edition - February 2019

Wedding Inspiration The Lost Houses

of Derbyshire

Knowle Hill

Ticknall, Derbyshire

John Flamsteed England’s First Astronomer Royal

Walking with the Aristocracy

Steve Orme interviews

Paul Carrack

Chatsworth to Haddon Hall

Attracting wildlife into your garden Modern Collectibles

Gentlemen’s Stickpins

taste

derbyshire

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Country

Welcome to our February edition

Unit 5 Keys Road, Alfreton, Derbyshire. DE55 7FQ Tel: 01773 830344 info@imagespublishing.co.uk www.countryimagesmagazine.co.uk Editor: Garry M Plant.

Advertisement Executives: Lisa O’Reilly, Carol Wilson, Editorial Features: Brian Spencer, Maxwell Craven, Steve Orme, Amanda Volley.

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The days are getting a little longer, the sun is getting stronger and the signs are that spring is starting to creep up on us.

In this months magazine along with our regular contributors we take a look at the important aspect of attracting wildlife into our gardens.

The inside of our homes takes a little battering over the winter especially the flooring. With this in mind we feature some of the finest brands that can help to transform your home very quickly. The local flooring companies in the feature sell the very latest designs in quality flooring.

Brian this month is on a walk that is filled with history as he goes from Chatsworth House to Haddon Hall. What a great area of our county to visit.

Max is in the south of the county at Knowle House which, in effect, is two lost houses in one.

Along with weddings, events, gardening, motoring and travel this issue is designed to lift us out of the winter blues.

We hope that you enjoy reading it.

In addition to our extensive letterbox distribution, Country Images is also stocked at over 70 outlets across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

All editions are online and FREE to read and download on:

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Images Publishing Limited is a totally independent publishing company and is not connected with any other newspaper group. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written consent is strictly prohibited. The publishers do not accept responsibility for any views expressed, or statements made, in signed contributions or in those reproduced from any other source. No responsibility is borne for any errors made in any advertisement, or for claims made by any advertiser which are incorrect. The publishers reserve the right to refuse advertising deemed unsuitable for any reason. All material submitted is done so at the owner’s own risk and no responsibility is accepted by the publishers for its return. Copyright Images Publishing Limited, Unit 5, Keys Road, Alfreton, Derbyshire, DE55 7FQ. Origination by Images Design & Print Limited 01773 830344

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The

Lost Houses of Derbyshire

by Maxwell Craven

Knowle Hill

Ticknall, Derbyshire

K

nowle Hill, which lies atop a sequestered valley west of Ticknall

and just south of Ingleby, is really two lost houses, albeit that we have no idea of the appearance of the first, and only a limited idea of the appearance of O F R I PLEY the second. What is there today, are the sensitively restored remains of a Georgian Folly, now in the care of the Landmark Trust.

OF R I PLEY

Pantone 5497C

Black

Wright’s double portrait of Peter Perez Burdett and his (second) wife, Hannah, posed in the ruins of Knowle Hill 1765. [Narodni Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic] CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 15

The first family of note to have lived at Knowle Hill was that of Franceys, which had come by a portion of the manorial land at Ticknall, once held by the King with part of Ingleby, by inheritance from the de Ticknall family, via the Beaufoys of Trusley. They had a capital mansion on this land, and it is thought that it stood on the level ground on a ridge, to the immediate west of a bosky defile with a brook at the bottom. At the time of its destruction it was described as ‘very large and romantic.’

Timber framed and gables, suggesting that it had probably been rebuilt more than once and would have looked sixteenth century by that time.

In the late sixteenth century the heiress of Franceys married the head of the distantly

related family of Franceys of Foremark and their daughter, their only surviving child and heiress, married into the Warwickshire family of Burdett. At this stage, the new owners had no interest in moving to Derbyshire, and let the house at Knowle Hill to the Abells of Stapenhill.

After the Civil War, however, they moved there, built a new seat at Foremark and installed a younger son of sir Thomas Burdett, 1st Bt., Robert in Knowle Hill, but in due course he pursued a successful career in London and eventually moved to Ireland.

It was then settled on another younger son, Walter, third son of Sir Franceys Burdett, 2nd Bt.

The substructure of the summerhouse range photographed on a very gloomy day, January 1980. The northernmost part was largely demolished during the restoration. [MC]

Walter Burdett demolished the ancient house and rebuilt it nearer the edge of the ravine in an ‘extraordinary mode of structure’ the result, which ran actually down the side of the slope in tiers, regarded by his contemporaries as a ‘curious house.’ Again, we have little clue as to its actual appearance, but a limited archaeological excavation carried out before the Landmark Trust restoration of its successor began confirmed that it must have indeed been curious in occupying a steep east facing slope!

He also created exotic landscaped gardens, dammed the brook near its source at Seven Spouts farm (anciently Knowle Hill’s home farm) and created a lake and cascades, opening the view towards the NE and Swarkestone Bridge. William Woolley in 1713 wrote of it:

The drawing room of the summerhouse range, in ruins, 1984. Traces of the trompe de l’oeuil walls can still be seen. [MC]

Plan of the restored house, adapted from the Landmark Trust handbook.

Above: A view of Knowle Hill, as rebuilt in 1765, from the south and showing the tower, by Richard Marris, 1770s. [Derby Museums Trust] Left: Aerial view of the site from the NE; the bleached-out grass in the field, upper right, may indicate the footings of the medieval manor house.

[Landmark Trust]

Mr. Walter Burdett, an elderly bachelor….has made a very agreeable habitation….suitable to his humour and circumstances, where two Knowles or hills covered with woods and two pleasant valley on each side, with two murmuring rivulets running along them, to which natural disposition he has added a great deal of art which renders it a most delightful place which, with his kind of hospitality, causeth it to be much resorted to.

Sic sciti laetantur Lares Oh quis me geldis submontibus Haemi Sistat et ingenti ramorum proteget umbra’ In the longer term, Walter, who was nothing if not personally eccentric, fell out with his family so that upon his death, unmarried, it was bought from his heir by a neighbour and drinking chum, Robert Hardinge, MP, a son of Gideon Hardinge of King’s Newton Hall (ancestor of the present Viscounts Hardinge).

He also died without issue, in 1758.

At this precise moment, Sir Robert Burdett, 4th Bt. was having a new house built for his family at Foremark, to a design by David Hiorne of Warwick and with the work being undertaken under the direction of the young Joseph Pickford. This had necessitated the family moving out, and to this end he rented Knowle Hill from the Hardinge family so that they would have a house nearby to live in until the much grander new Foremark Hall was completed.

In 1761, the new house was able to be reoccupied, and after a gap of five years, Sir Robert managed to buy the Knowle Hill estate.

The old house was thereupon demolished, and in its place a courtyard (once the stables) was created, with a long low range facing west, incorporating timber elements, possibly from the old Franceys family house. On the opposite side of the courtyard a bowended summerhouse range was built with a crenellated tower and Gothick windows, the main room boasting an Ashford black marble bolection chimneypiece from Walter Burdett’s old house, a stucco dado, frieze (of glyphs) and cavetto cornice, and was decorated in trompe l’oeuil, possibly by Nottingham artist Paul Sandby (1731-1809) who had done much the same for the dining room at Drakelow Hall (see Country Images May 2017).

Beneath this were landscaped – probably by local Capability Brown follower William Emes, who had just finished landscaping the park at Foremark – a 44 acre series of monumental terraces with stone niches, ponds, cascades and a bosky chasm, whilst the landscape generally

was re-engineered, waterworks and all, to become one of the very earliest Picturesque movement landscapes in the Midlands, making the place highly romantic and, in the catchphrase of the era, sublime. Only William Aislabie’s Hackfall in Yorkshire really rivals it.

The courtyard itself was walled to the south where a fine lawn was laid out, once walled throughout in stone and possibly more ancient than the house.

The

Lost

From the first terrace below the house, opened a narrow passage giving onto a brick lined domed cave beneath. Bottle shaped niches along the entry clearly indicate that this was designed for convivial occasions. The fact that Burdett, a Whig, was a close friend of Sir Francis Dashwood, Bt. of West Wycombe Park (later Lord Despencer), famed for his Hellfire Club, probably says it all! Antiquarian stone

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heads from the site survived until some 40 years ago in a garden at Repton. The one caveat that might be entered is that this feature could, just could have been an element of old Walter’s house!

was also tutor to the Burdett children at Foremark, and frequently accompanied them on picnics to Knowle Hill, and the Burdetts tended to go there on summer evenings in the nineteenth century after supper.

The surviving records are unclear who was actually responsible for the works at Knowle Hill, but Emes for the landscape seems virtually certain given that he was landscaping Foremark for the same family 1760-1764, and the likelihood is that Joseph Pickford designed the folly-cum-summerhouse range, bearing in mind that from 1758 to 1761 he was the clerk of works and executant architect of Foremark Hall, whose designer had died before work had hardly begun. Indeed, Pickford had returned in 1769 to build a garden temple (now a ruin) at Foremark.

Yet by the end of the 19th century the place had become a gamekeeper’s cottage (the gamekeeper being one Andrew Craven – no relation! - and ancestor of a family still living in Derby) but was used only intermittently after the Great war, when the Burdetts moved permanently to Ramsbury Manor in Wiltshire.

The last occupant, before it fell into total ruin,

These works continued until about 1767, which may explain the setting for Joseph Wright’s impressive double portrait, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Burdett, now in Prague. The cartographer and astronomer Burdett, an important Enlightenment figure and a close friend of Wright’s, was not known to be related to the Foremark family, yet he chose to have himself painted at what is unmistakably Knowle Hill, their property, perhaps the nearest he could get to associating himself with the Derbyshire family without actually causing offence. In the picture, the walls look strangely tumbledown, so the 1765 portrait may have been posed for whilst the building works were still going on (or had barely started) and possibly through the good offices of the architect, if Pickford it was, for he, too was a friend of Wright’s and had already designed a house in Derby for Burdett..

Revd. William Bagshaw Stevens, the likeably wayward headmaster of Repton in the 1790s,

18 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

(which is how I first saw it in 1979) was the eminent local sculptor Ronald Pope from 1943 until 1959.

The site was sold in 1978 for £8,000 for restoration but nothing was done, but pressure for conservation mounted (including my first account of it in The Derbyshire Country House, (1st edition) in 1984, and in 1989 it was purchased by the Landmark Trust, who sensitively restored it (omitting the crenellated tower, however), the work being done by Rodney Melville & Partners from 1990 to 1993 when it opened as a holiday let, which it still is.

The

Lost Houses of Derbyshire

by Maxwell Craven

Pictures top to bottom: The single-storey and parttimber framed range seen in 1984. [MC] The remains of Walter Burdett’s house, uncovered by excavations, 1991, with the author, right, admiring the work! Note stone niche on upper terrace, top. [Carole Craven] Knowle Hill as restored, 1995, seen from the south.

[Landmark Trust]

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John Flamsteed

England’s First Astronomer Royal

Brian Spencer follows the life of this Denby-born man who went on to be the first Astronomer Royal and set the stage for Greenwich to become the centre of time and space.

J

ohn Flamsteed was born at 7:16pm on 19

August 1646 in Denby, the third and only surviving son of Mary, daughter of a Derby ironmonger and Stephen Flamsteed, a prosperous businessman. Living in relatively comfortable style, the family home, now demolished, was on Flamsteed Lane. Stephen, John’s father, was a maltster who also owned a lead mine in the Peak District, however, he was widowed by the death of his wife Mary when John was just turned three. In 1652 Stephen remarried, this time to Elizabeth Bate, but she also died two months after the birth of their daughter, Katherine, in 1654.

John Flamsteed was a sickly child, being troubled by arthritic knees and ankles, weak legs, and frequent headaches – conditions that affected him throughout his life. Modern medical thinking suggests he was affected by rheumatic fever, a common illness in those days, tending to recur in different joints.

Despite his poor health, Flamsteed went to Derby Free School in St Peter’s Churchyard, Derby. The school has disappeared under the foundations of a shop, but it was here that John gained a foundation into mathematics and science.

Worried about his son’s ill health which he claimed was aggravated by conditions at the school, his father withdrew the 14 year-old, but despite his disappointment, John continued his studies

th

at home, teaching himself Latin and reading mathematical treatises – both of which proved useful in his later career.

With his understanding of mathematics, he was able to accurately calculate the solar eclipses of 22 June 1666 and 25 October 1668. He sent the data he collated, along with a paper to explain how the position of stars could be fixed by the moon, to the Royal Society, the national academy of science founded by Charles II in 1660. This led to Flamsteed being invited to London around Easter 1670, where he met and was befriended by Sir Jonas Moore, his Majesty’s Surveyor of Ordnance.

This meeting and friendship was to influence Flamsteed and change his life for ever.

The Star Map The world was expanding rapidly by the late seventeenth century and with it, wealth from world trade. Britain and France being traditional rivals were competing with each other to expand their colonies, especially in the New World across the Atlantic.

Ships sailing to and fro across the Atlantic frequently disappeared through errors in navigation. While it was possible to plot where a vessel was, north or south of a given point (latitude), it was impossible to know where the ship was east or west (longitude) and as a result shipping losses were horrendous, ships could be anything up to 200 miles out on longitude.

The answer was to divide the world up into 360 degrees, starting at a given point. Charles II was horrified to discover that Louis XIV of France had stolen the lead by appointing the Italian astronomer G-D Cassini as Director of the Paris Observatory. Something had to be done, and done quickly if Britain was to have its own observatory and, more important, set the zero meridian in order to control ships’ clocks that in turn would identify longitude. The observatory had to be away from London’s polluted air.

Fortunately there was crown land rising to a small hill at Greenwich, clearly visible to shipping leaving the Thames, and in addition, it would not cost the cash-strapped king a penny.

On 5th June 1674, Flamsteed was awarded a degree at Cambridge, but despite being ordained as a deacon and take holy orders in Derbyshire, the practice at that time, Flamsteed accepted the invitation of Sir Jonas Moore to stay with him in London. Here on 4th March 1675 he was appointed by royal warrant to become ‘The King’s Astronomical Observator’, the first Astronomer Royal, with an allowance of £100 a year. A little over a year later a warrant for building an Observatory at Greenwich was issued, but the cash-strapped king could only allow £500 towards the cost, together with ‘spare bricks from the Tilbury Fort’; and some timber, iron and lead from a demolished gatehouse at the Tower of London. With the foundation stone laid a month later, the building was up to roof level by Christmas. Despite the king’s promise to provide more money, nothing extra was forthcoming, but fortunately the observatory came in at only £20.9s.1d over budget.

The main part of the observatory was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, the architect of St Paul’s

St Peter’s, where John went to the grammar school Cathedral. Flamsteed was given an apartment on the ground floor, designed as he put it, for his ‘habitation and a little for pompe’. This room was called the Great Star Room (now called the Octagon Room), but most of Flamsteed’s observations were carried out in a small sextant house in the garden.

Appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Society, Flamsteed moved into the completed Observatory on 10th July 1676, aged only 28 years, along with two assistants, Smith and Denton. His job description was to ‘forthwith apply himself with the most exact care and diligence to the rectifying of the tables of motion of the heavens, and the places of the fixed stars, so as to find the so-much-desired longitude of places for the perfecting of the art of navigation’.

Settled at Greenwich, he began work on measuring the distances between stars by using a sextant, the only equipment available at that time. Remarkably and despite using such a basic instrument, his measurements were reasonably accurate. On 12th December 1680 Flamsteed observed for the first time a great comet which was generally held by others – including Sir Isaac Newton, the scientist – to be two closely aligned comets.

This difference of opinion over the so-called twin comets and other observations, led to a quarrel between Newton and Flamsteed, a quarrel that brought in Edmond Halley the predictor of a comet that regularly visits the earth.

Recognised as the greatest scientist of the time, Newton, who it is said, developed his theory of gravity by watching an apple fall while resting in his Grantham orchard, was a difficult man to deal with socially. Irritable, spiteful and often paranoid, he was basically a lonely man who demanded rather than earned respect. His relationship with Flamsteed broke down when the latter refused to publish his astronomical observations, which Newton needed for a lunar theory he was working on. Flamsteed’s refusal to publish was reasonable as he wanted his report to be accurate.

In an attempt to force Flamsteed’s hand, Newton persuaded Queen Anne, who had become monarch in 1702, to appoint him as inspector in charge of the Observatory, effectively becoming Flamsteed’s boss. The two then embarked on a series of petty litigations over such trivia as ‘failing to follow an instruction’, or ‘failing to

return a book’. The ever spiteful Newton vetoed Flamsteed’s well-earned election to the Royal Society. The final straw was when Newton gave Flamsteed’s papers to Halley who promptly pirated them as his own work. Flamsteed was not to know of Halley’s later appointment as Astronomer Royal as he only succeeded him after Flamsteed’s death on 12th January 1720.

Newton’s royal influence waned following Queen Anne’s death in 1714 and Flamsteed successfully sued to have the remaining copies of his findings returned, ( referring to them as ‘corrupted’).

He burnt 300 copies ‘as a sacrifice to heavenly truth’ on a bonfire in Greenwich Park. He then resumed work on his own ‘official’ star catalogue, his Historia Coelestis Britannica. Unfinished at the time of his death, it was completed by two colleagues, Crosthwaite and Sharp, and published by his widow in 1725.

Today, the zero meridian, the prime meridian, the controller of world-wide time and space, is marked by a brass strip outside Greenwich Observatory. Flamsteed could never have envisaged, when he chose the location of his observatory, that the position would be imprinted on every map drawn in every country throughout the world.

Denby, the village of John Flamsteed’s birth has lost its coal mines, but it remains as a pleasant rural spot, quietly at peace with the twenty-first century. The name Flamsteed can be found on the lane where his family home once stood; two farms and the local comprehensive school also bear his name. Added to these is the Flamsteed Memorial Park where a grass maze leads to a rock bearing a bronze and brass stellar globe based on his Historia Coelestis Britannica. The rotating map accurately shows the position of stars in the night sky at the precise moment of viewing. The stars give off a faint red glow at night, and it is possible to trace each star from the globe up to its relevant position in the sky. All this is accurately controlled by a quartz clock drive, something Flamsteed would quickly relate to.

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 23

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Modern Collectibles

by Maxwell Craven

John Steed wearing his stick pin, 1967.

[Carole Craven]

L

Gentlemen’s Stickpins ast year,

I bought my wife a complete boxed set of The Avengers. So many episodes does it contain that we are still ploughing through them and, indeed, enjoying the kitsch nostalgia and humour of them enormously. The late actor Patrick McNee, as John Steed, the one constant protagonist of the series, was increasingly presented as an immaculate dandy in dress, despite his prowess in practically every other field of endeavour (the better to overcome a truly bizarre assemblage of enemies). This attire included racily cut three-piece suits by Pierre Cardin (as the credits aver), variously coloured bowler hats, outstandingly slim rolled cane-handled umbrellas (in varying hues – to match the suit and hat), such dandyism extending even to his appearing in the titles of the first colour series wearing a stick pin in his tie.

An Edwardian British pin with gold and enamel ladybird head, £6,500.

[Bonhams]

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 27

A gold Carl Fabergé pin with guilloche enamel head £3,600.

[Private collection]

A Carl Fabergé Russian imperial presentation pin.

[Private collection]

Job lot of 6 pins: three gold, two silver and one base metal sold for £80. [Bamfords Ltd.]

W

hilst I doubt if a true-bred English gentleman would have been seen dead in a Pierre Cardin three-piecer in those days, he certainly would neither have worn a brown or grey bowler, nor a stick pin in his tie, and even more certainly would have baulked at tying it in a Windsor knot (as Steed): frightfully non-U! The only acceptable place for a stick pin to be worn these days (and then) is with morning dress. Indeed, I inherited my father’s morning dress in my twenties and, from occasional formal wedding to occasional formal wedding, have been gradually growing into it ever since. He also left me his 14ct gold and pearl-headed stick pin, which I wear on such occasions with a light grey tie, although a cravat would be even more appropriate, but a trifle de trop for me.

The jewelled stick pin, though, is essentially a thing of the past, having been brought to perfection in the Belle Epoque, when late Victorians like Oscar Wilde and eminent Edwardians like the King wore them as a matter of course in tie, stock or cravat. Indeed, they ranged from gem-set examples made for Tsar Nicholas II by Carl Fabergé, others by Lacloche 28 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Frères, Cartier and Tiffany, to simpler ones like mine, or another I inherited, of silver set with an abalone shell in a miniature oval of chip diamonds. Edward VII was a great wearer of stick pins and, as a leader a fashion was duly emulated at most levels of society.

British made examples tended towards the sporting: examples may be found topped with fox heads, horseshoes, diamond-set racehorses with enamelled jockeys up, finishing posts, riding whips, playing cards, dice and cameos of the pin-ups of the day. Indeed, one could signal one’s predilections with them: a pin topped with Alexander the Great, or the Emperor Hadrian’s boyfriend Antinöus, sent out a very specific message at a time when being openly gay was essentially illegal. Likewise, an image of Bacchus would suggest the wearer was a person of convivial inclinations.

Unfortunately, they fell out of fashion to some extent in the 1930s, when they were often remade into brooches, and completely after the Second World War, when austerity impacted as much on fashion as on everything else. Stickpins and tiaras were most definitely passé.

Silver, abalone and diamond mounted pin, 1920s, worth about £40.

[MC]

Yet these eclectic items are much collected, if not worn, and are available to suit all pockets. Indeed, even wearing them has undergone something of a revival, the lapel now being the favoured point of show for them, rather than a tie or cravat. Even so, it is hardly to everyone’s taste, especially in this age of studied informality, where ties seem to have given way to scraggy necks amongst the celebrities of the day.

Yet it is this unfashionableness which keeps prices of the more ordinary examples low. Although a Fabergé, Wartski, Tiffany, Cartier or similar one from over a century ago will set you back a fouror even a five-figure sum, simpler ones, even with gold or silver shafts, can be picked up for less than £50, and ‘costume’ ones in non-precious metals with marcasite or enamel tops can be bought for a lot less. Many are nevertheless attractive and styles infinitely varied.

My pearl topped pin has the obligatory twisted groove ascending the shaft, with the head tilted at 45˚ and a length of 2½ inches – English ones always measure out in Imperial round figures; Continental ones generally are metric and the correct length should lie between 5.5cm and 6.5cm – anything longer is probably a hat-pin,

An Austrian pin with the jewelled coronet and enamel initials of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, c. 1905.

[Private collection]

Typical British sporting pin, but very much top-of-the-range, 1920s, gold sapphire and diamond horseshoe with case £4,350.

[Private collection]

The author’s 14ct gold and pearl pin, 1930s, worth around £40-50.

[MC]

an entirely different field of collecting. The use of 14ct. gold (or 9ct) was universal, even amongst the most expensive examples, as any higher purity would risk the shaft bending too easily. A similar pin to mine sold at Bamford’s recently for £44. The silver one, with its chip diamonds and abalone set head, might make £50 or £60. Base metal examples can range from £1 to £30 or £40, depending on the quality of their workmanship

and general attractiveness.

If you look for them at auction, the less exotic ones are usually sold in groups, or occasionally with mixed lots of other jewellery or costume jewellery. Yet with the current trend amongst the international set for wearing a stick pin in the lapel, the glitterati are probably rescuing an outdated piece of male jewellery from obscurity ( John Steed excepted) and as James Sherwood

has remarked, ‘re-opening the floodgates of fashion’ once more. Furthermore, Carole informs me that there seems to be a growing trend for ladies to wear them about their costumes when attending the glitzier occasions too, so we must assume that prices might well soon start to move up.

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Oscar Wilde wearing a stick pin, 1894 from a carte-de-visite portrait by Ellis & Waters.

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Images of

The North

By Brian Spencer

W

ith an introductory splutter, the public address system announced, first in Norwegian, then in English and German, that we were summoned by King Neptune to assemble on the after-deck to receive our icy baptism. During the night a few hours previously we passed a small island at exactly 66°33’51’’ north, marked by a globe tilted on its axis. This indicates the position of the Arctic Circle where the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon for at least two months in winter, but makes up for it in summer.

W

e were travelling by the Hurtigruten (‘coastal express ferry’), that links the coastal towns of northern Norway with the rest of the country, with two vessels, north and south, calling every day summer and winter at 34 ports along the way. Some stops are for only half an hour, or during the night, but others are longer, stopping for anything up to six hours and where shore excursions are possible.

One of the interesting advantages of the trip is that the ferry is also used by locals making short journeys and as a result new faces appear all the time. Ports visited during the night in one direction are called at during daylight on the return journey, missing none of the fascinating towns and villages.

Starting at Bergen, Norway’s second city, where North Sea oil activity has beaten deep sea fishing into second place, we had already called at the art nouveau town of Ålesund and Trondheim, once the capital of Norway and where its kings are still 32 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

crowned in a dual ceremony with Oslo. There is a royal palace tucked away without fuss behind the main shopping streets.

Our floating home for the two-week-long voyage was the MS Nordstjernen (North Star), a 2,196 tonne veteran built in 1956. Being so old and small means it doesn’t have the refinements found on its 15,000 tonne big sisters. Refinements such as stabilisers as we later discovered while crossing the Barents Sea, were not available in 1956, but what it lacks in modern amenities is certainly overcome by the friendly old-world atmosphere, and more than made up by the excellent standards of its on-board catering. Not only do the Hurtigruten ships carry passengers, but all carry goods such as the pallets of cement, rock wool and other bulk cargo we watched being loaded into the hold, plus six kayaks lashed down as deck cargo. Our worries that these were alternative travel arrangements disappeared when they were off-loaded one night. Unlike the bigger

ships where cargo is loaded through a massive door in their sides, Nordstjernen does not carry cars, but it still serves as an essential link, the lifeblood of towns along the way. In return ferries collect such things as the dried fish still popular with Italian and African markets.

The Norwegian coast is lined by thousands of islands, some with fairly large towns, but others supporting only a handful of houses, or even none. As a result much of the voyage is along sheltered channels where the calm waters make it almost like sailing along a canal. Here the captain can show off his skills by navigating tricky sections such as the man-made Risøyrenna cut where the sea bottom is only a metre below the ship’s hull, or by making 90° turns through the seemingly impossibly narrow gap of the Stokksundet where German Kaiser Wilhelm II tried to grab control of his yacht. Not surprisingly this annoyed his pilot so much that he pushed the Kaiser aside saying ‘I’m in charge,

Roald Amundsen - Arctic explorer who reached the South Pole before Scott.

so leave me alone!’ Realising his mistake the monarch apologised and afterwards gave the pilot a specially inscribed gold watch.

One of the many fishing villages along the way.

Keeping well to the seaward of the awe-inspiring white mass of the Svartisen glacier, the second largest in Norway, we reached the important oil and gas servicing town of Bodø. Beyond is the first open water crossing where a line of jagged peaks make up the Lofoten Wall. The ‘capital’ of Lofoten is Svolvær where racks of cod dry beneath the towering craggy sides of the ‘goat mountain’, named from the twin horns of its summit. Beyond is narrow Raftsundet, lined by peaks rising to over 3,000 feet, it is the longest stretch of difficult water, but one the captain nonchalantly steamed through at a steady 15 knots.

Snow down to sea level even in late March reminded us that we were now well into the arctic zone, sailing towards Tromsø, the largest city of the far north. With its evocatively designed

Old lighthouse in Trondheim is still in use.

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 33

Arctic Cathedral and memorial to the explorer Roald Amundsen it reminded us that we were entering latitudes level with the northern coast of mainland Canada and the top of Siberia; if it wasn’t for the warming effect of the Gulf Stream, the sea and land would be covered by ice a mile or so thick. Hammerfest is a few hours sailing further north and while a night stop is made, it is during daylight on the way south that gave us more time to explore its links with the other arctic explorer, Fridtjhof Nansen. A sculpture version of his sturdy cockle-shell of a boat the ‘Fram’ (Strong), stands as though fixed in ice as it was on his courageous attempt to drift with the ice across the North Pole; in theory it was possible and the Fram’s unique design withstood the massive pressure, but while currents at first took him well towards the pole, they changed direction and he ended in northern Siberia.

We were now starting to sail east and into the Barents Sea, where the only land between northern Norway and the North Pole is the bleak isolated archipelago of Spitzbergen, home of polar bears and hardy Russian coal miners.

It was about here that we passed our sister ship ‘Lofoten’, a mere 25 years old against our 54.

Whenever Hurtigruten ships pass they always salute each other, a charming custom, but this time some younger members of Nordstjernen’s crew decided to attack it with powerful jets of water. In theory this was fine, but what they

hadn’t allowed for was the wind and it all came back soaking everyone who expected a little fun.

Leaving the ship at the tiny port of Honningsvåg, a snow plough took us in convoy to the North Cape, at 71°10’21’’ north, the most northerly point of Europe. A huge globe stands on top of the high cliff of the cape and an underground visitor centre for those who don’t want to endure the sub-zero temperature. Standing on this point it was difficult to realise that there were very few other humans between us and the North Pole. It was hard to tear ourselves away from this evocative place, but as we did my eyes drifted westward towards a spit of land about a mile away where Knivskeloden Point seems to jut further out to sea, but being almost at sea level, the Norwegians can be excused for ignoring it in favour of the more dramatic North Cape.

The advantages of stabilisers or at least our lack of them became apparent while crossing the Barents Sea that night. Considered to be one of the wildest stretches of water in the world we soon realised that not only were we in open waters, but we were experiencing one of the forty-odd storms the area gets each year. Fortunately all thoughts of rough weather disappeared as we steamed through thin ice into Kirkenes, the turning point of the journey. Snow six to eight feet deep still lined the roads of this little frontier town a mere five miles from Russia and where road signs are

in both Norwegian and Russian. Unlike most of Eastern Europe, the people who live in this part of Norway have a great respect for the Russians.

It was they who liberated Kirkenes in 1944, long before southern Norway, but unlike the rest of Europe the Russians left as soon as possible, and the only record of their ever being in the town is the statue of a Russian soldier erected by the grateful community.

Things military but of a gentler nature can be found in the little fishing town of Vardø. There is an earth banked fort dating from a time when Czarist Russia set their eyes on the ice free ports along the coast, but its guns were never fired in anger. However, one gun is still fired and it marks the reappearance of the sun each year and also a day’s holiday for the local school children. Vardø fort is also the home of the most northerly tree in the world, a mountain ash that is carefully wrapped in protective sacking before winter and unwrapped in summer.

The days seemed to go much faster as we steamed south, but there was no hint of boredom.

Certainly we had previously stopped at places like Stokmarknes in the night, but this was the birthplace of Hurtigruten, where the incongruously high and dry old MS Finnmarken is set above a modern museum devoted to the history of the company. Steaming down narrow Raftsundet towards Svolvær in the Lofotens, we

Trondheim Palace, the only timber palace in Europe.

Old warehouses, Trondheim.

34 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

North Cape, the end of Europe.

were met by a small boat and by a little careful manoeuvring, foot passengers were able to take a side cruise into the even narrower Trollfjord where sea eagles ever hopeful of a fishy handout swooped down. Further on we passed the stately Seven Sisters ridge made up so the story goes, of seven troll princesses turned to stone at daybreak while fleeing the evil troll Prince Hestmannen who fired an arrow at them in anger. It missed but pierced neighbouring hat shaped Torghatten Mountain, leaving a hole which can still be seen to this day.

Norway’s oil-based industry becomes more and more apparent as the ship sails south. The major oil-fields are too far out to be seen from sea level, but shore based gas terminals and a refinery together with monster tankers and liquefied gas carriers are all too evident, a reminder that unlike other European countries Norway is investing its oil-based wealth in such important things as a well funded state pension scheme. Kristiansund has a statue of dried fish of all things, but this once important industry is very much overshadowed by the strangely shaped supply vessels waiting to service oil and gas platforms out in the North Sea. With a night’s sleep behind us the last leg of the journey went in a flash with the Nordstjernen acting like a homing pigeon on its way back to Bergen, its final destination and for us the end of an epic journey. It was hardly a cruise, more an adventure.

This narrow fjord was too dangerous to enter.

Fishing boats at rest.

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 35

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The City that Never Sleeps

Times Square

O nly ten minutes

after my wife and I had settled into our hotel, we set off to explore a city we’d last been to 20 years ago. But the area was in lockdown.

How could this be? This was the city that never sleeps, the one so good they named it twice. Yet we could go only a few yards in one direction and a few hundred more in the opposite one.

This had the potential to ruin my wife’s birthday trip. I asked a shopkeeper what was going on.

“There’s only one reason why they close the roads: the President.”

“Really?”

“Don’t you get that in England with Theresa May?” I told him we might do it for the Queen but the Prime Minister didn’t get such preferential treatment.

We moved up to the next corner to see the biggest motorcade you could ever imagine. There must have been 50 motorbikes with lights dazzling everyone before armoured trucks announced the arrival of two limousines, one containing Trump himself.

John Lennon’s former apartment

More armoured vans were followed by three television trucks – The Donald never misses an opportunity to put over his message – and another platoon of motorbikes. Nice of the President to give us a personal welcome, I thought…

It was a surreal opening to a five-day break in the

Big Apple which proved that New York is like no other city.

It’s such a vast, diverse place that there’s something for everyone; it’s what you make it. It can be cultural, educational, manic, relaxing – whatever your taste, New York will satisfy it.

As we’d been to New York before, we didn’t want to repeat what we‘d done two decades earlier – with one exception which I’ll come to later.

So after our encounter with Trump we had a quick look at the Chrysler building from the outside, the tallest brick building with a steel framework in the world although there are five taller buildings made of a different construction in New York.

Then we marvelled at the art deco magnificence of Grand Central Terminal, otherwise known as Grand Central Station. It’s one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world, with more than 20 million visitors a year checking out the 65 shops and 35 places to eat as well as gazing at the fabulous chandeliers in Vanderbilt Hall. More than 250,000 people commute through Grand Central every day on trains, the subway and buses.

The best way to see New York is on foot. The open-top tourist buses and taxis get caught up in the horrendous traffic, so it’s quicker to walk everywhere.

We headed towards Times Square, one of the CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 39

The presidential car

Ground Zero world’s busiest pedestrian areas, and for our first evening meal settled on a place called the Brooklyn Diner which boasts that it serves the best burgers in New York. I can’t verify that because it was the only one I tasted. But it was delicious.

We started day two with a walk to Central Park.

It’s incredible that within such a bustling, frenetic city there’s this huge oasis of calm.

Only cyclists and horse-drawn carriages are allowed in the park, so you can walk around without fear of being run over or suffering respiratory problems from suffocating traffic.

Steve outside hotel

A popular place in the park is Strawberry Fields, an area dedicated to John Lennon. Walk out of one of the nearby exits and you can see the apartment where Lennon lived and was shot dead.

One of the customs you have to get used to in the States is tipping. A gratuity of between 10 and 20 per cent is expected. There was even a receptacle for tips at a Central Park stall where we bought a pretzel and water.

Memorial mosaic to John Lennon, Strawberry Fields, Central Park

Sue said to me afterwards: “I’ve got a tip for the stallholder: put a smile on your face when you serve people – then they might give you something!”

A quick detour took us to department store Bloomingdales – a disappointing experience where nothing seems exclusive yet the prices are especially high – before we headed back to Times Square.

The sales booth TKTS opens at 3pm and has seats for most major theatre shows on that evening. We decided to bypass a production which had just been nominated for 12 Tony Awards – Spongebob Squarepants the Musical – and queued up instead for 45 minutes for tickets for Phantom Of The Opera.

Although we’d seen it on Broadway before as well as in the West End, the cast has changed several times and we took the opportunity to see one of our favourite shows again.

Man selling anti-Trump badges outside Trump Tower 40 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

One of the joys of New York is meeting many fascinating people who tell great stories.

In Central Park we met a supposedly homeless man who told us about his deep, insurmountable problems with several wives and how he’d recently met Ozzie Osbourne. You couldn’t make it up.

After we’d got our Phantom tickets a man presented us with a leaflet for a discount at a nearby upmarket restaurant. He claimed to be a retired scriptwriter for one of the top TV comedy shows in the States and was working a couple of days a week just to get out of the house.

Our walk from our hotel, the DoubleTree by Hilton on Lexington Avenue, to the theatre and back meant on that day we clocked up an astonishing 15 miles.

On the third day we decided to head downtown – too far to walk, so we used the subway, a clean, efficient train taking us to Fulton Street and Ground Zero. The monument to thousands of people who died when the Twin Towers were inconceivably reduced to rubble is a strange place: I expected it to be a peaceful, possibly eerie location where people silently paid their respects.

But it was heaving with tourists, some of whom hurriedly snatched selfies without even looking at the engraved names of the victims before dashing off to the next tourist attraction.

Heading towards the Whitehall ferry terminal in Manhattan, we decided not to see the Statue of Liberty close up: we hadn’t pre-booked and there were massive queues to get on one of the ferries.

Instead we had an invigorating, 45-minute walk over Brooklyn Bridge where we could still clearly see the statue, a robed woman representing a Roman liberty goddess. The panoramic views of Manhattan are spectacular whichever way you go over the bridge.

It was interesting to compare New York with London where we’d been a few weeks before. We’d gone up the Shard which gives an unparalleled view of the English capital’s skyline. In a word it’s grey. New York, however, is colourful and vibrant.

For our evening meal we went to a sports bar where at the time the NBA play-offs were being shown – a great way for a basketball fan like me

Steve and Sue on Broo

Statue of Liberty to spend a couple of hours.

Saturday got off to a great start, breakfast with our English friend Graham, a basketball coach who lives in New York. He gave us a good tip: instead of paying 36 dollars to go to the observation deck on top of the Rockefeller Center, “New York’s most famous landmark”, you can go to a bar a couple of storeys below for nothing.

Unfortunately it doesn’t open on Saturdays. So after checking out the Empire State Building and “the world’s biggest store” Macy’s where we got a couple of good bargains in a sale, we headed to Trump Tower.

The headquarters of the Trump organisation was at one time the tallest all-glass structure in Manhattan.

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Outside a man was shamelessly selling antiTrump propaganda, demonstrating that not everyone is a fan of The Donald.

Parts of the building were closed to the public, so we headed past the awe-inspiring 60-foot waterfall on the eastern wall of the building to the Trump Bar for cocktails.

Sunday was the day we returned home, the flight from Newark International to Manchester getting us back at breakfast time on Monday morning.

New York is a quirky city. There’s constant noise from sirens and motorists sounding their horns simply because they can.

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In shops the staff can be surly or friendly. When they say “enjoy your day” it can sound like a command.

When we chatted with some Americans, all they wanted to talk about was the Royal wedding.

And people even talk to you in a lift!

Our friend Graham told us that people ask him what it’s like living in the States. He tells them: “I live in New York – it’s nothing like living in America.”

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Gardening IN FEBRUARY with

Mark Smith

R

eading back through my previous gardening articles, February can be a varied month in terms of weather, but usually gives us the first positive signs of spring with daffodils appearing all over the county. The same as last year I’ve done my first gardening talk. It’s been so enjoyable and a revelation writing down a ‘story’ of what I do as a plant manager, and for the last 12 years of doing the ‘Confessions of a Plant Manager’ talk, it always gets another chapter added. My new job allows me to visit many garden centres across the country and here in Derbyshire they are doing a great job getting ready for spring and giving gardens a much needed boost of colour.

General Garden Maintenance • When you do plant any new shrubs or trees, remember to place rabbit guards around them to prevent damage to bark.

• Fix nesting boxes to any suitable surface and check bird feeders and fill if needed.

• Again top up bird baths with fresh water and defrost with warm water on frosty days.

• Clear away old leaves in borders and around ponds and take out any leaves or plant debris fallen into the pond and compost them.

• Dig over borders and remove and thin out congested herbaceous beds.

• Trim back any tatty looking autumn-flowering heathers.

• Spread a good layer of home-made or nursery bought compost around established roses and shrubs.

• Look out for weed seedlings appearing; keep under control with regular hand weeding or hoeing.

• Look for ‘multi-buy’ bargains at nurseries or garden centres on compost, buy cheaply now to last the spring and summer season.

• Last chance this month to plant bare root hedging.

In the Allotment or Vegetable Patch • Finish winter pruning fruit trees and soft fruit if not already done so. And paint any cuts with a pruning sealing compound.

• Buy onion and shallot sets and seed potatoes now. Apply a potato fertilizer to the planting area if it needs it.

• The frosts may have done this but use a winter wash on fruit trees (before they come into leaf ) to kill any over-wintering aphid eggs.

• Sow carrots, parsnips, peas and broad beans outside in soil that’s been warmed with sheets of polythene or cloches.

42 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

• Last chance to plant bare-root raspberry canes.

• Cut down autumn-fruiting raspberry canes to soil level.

In the Greenhouse • Buy and plant summer flowering bulbs in pots.

Bringing pots of spring flowering bulbs into the greenhouse will promote flowering.

• Sow summer bedding seed now, such as lobelia, ageratum, antirrhinum, verbena and begonia etc.

• Vegetable crops to sow in a heated propagator should be tomatoes, onions, celery, peppers and aubergines.

• Vegetable crops to sow without heat – ready to plant later outside; Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, onion, leeks and spring cabbage.

• Check your greenhouse for any winter damage and repair.

If there are any empty places in the garden try these: Camellia: Technically some camellia varieties start to flower around Christmas time but the majority look their best at this time of year. Ericaceous compost loving camellias have an unfair reputation of being difficult to grow. This is a shame as with good preparation and a little care camellias are as easy to grow as most other garden shrubs.

Camellias need shelter but not too much if they are to thrive. An area in dappled shade under trees is ideal, but they will tolerate a more open position if shaded for part of the day. A westfacing aspect is perfect as strong early morning sun on frosted flower buds can cause them to thaw too quickly and drop off. In very exposed gardens, camellias are best fan-trained on a west or south-facing wall. Ideal for container growing;

most people would find a place for a camellia in their garden. With so many varieties it’s hard to recommend a single variety – but Margaret Davis (pink/white bi-colour), Debbie (double pink) and Lady Campbell (double red) are my favourites.

Jasminum nudiflorum: ‘Winter Jasmine’ One of the best loved winter shrubs; bright yellow round flowers from beginning of January to end of February. This jasmine does not twine like the summer jasmine but does need to be trained up a wall or fence. Likes a full sun or partial shade position in well drained to heavy clay. Prune often to prevent bare patches.

Jasminum nudiflorum has the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Erica darleyensis : When customers come into the nursery and ask me for plants to brighten up the garden or liven up newly planted containers; the first things I recommend are winter heathers. They are easy to grow, cheap and give instant colour. Plant around any garden shrubs in groups of 3 to produce a fantastic show all winter long with carpets of white, pink or red. Some varieties have bright golden foliage which contrasts well with deep green evergreen plants. Remember to leave space for summer-flowering heathers!.

Please keep contacting me with your gardening problems (If you can please include a photo or as much detail as you can think of as this will help a lot) garden.guru@virginmedia.com or 07817 651216 Or listen out for me on BBC Radio Derby with Mr Andy Twigge just after 12pm Please get in contact if you require a gardening talk for a gardening club or similar.

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IALISTS IN RESIN SURFACES CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 45

Attracting wildlife into your garden

by Dave Clay

P

eople

often asked me “What can I do to attract wildlife into my garden?”

I ask them what they already do to try; most often they tell me that they have bird feeders and put out bird food but not much seems to visit them.

Firstly, we need to understand the needs of any visiting creatures, be they four legged or flying.

Like us, they need to feel safe. It’s nice to be fed. It’s great to have something to wash it down with and if you can have a wash and brush up in the same spot, so much the better.

Small tortoiseshell butterfly

Main picture: Long tailed tit 46 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Robin

In the 70s and 80s many hedgerows were taken out to make bigger fields for growing crops and allow use of larger machinery. This made many hedgerow birds homeless and numbers have plummeted. Not only have they been deprived of suitable nesting sites but have also lost a valuable food supply in the form of the spiders and insects living in those hedgerows, and the berries that grew on them too. Other creatures also lost their wildlife corridors and the safety to move around in the landscape. Many small ponds were filled in; again depriving creatures like frogs, toads and newts of vital habitat. We can all do something to help mitigate the loss of habitat and in doing so begin to encourage visitors to our backyards.

Access can be an issue. Many gardens now have a wooden or concrete fence line which forms a barrier to four legged visitors. Hedgehogs are in trouble right across our island and I have to admit that I have not seen one in our garden in a long time. A hole the size of a drainage pipe in the bottom of the fence will give them a way in and a through route across the back gardens that they rely on to forage in safety at night .

For birds to feel safe in a garden they need shelter before they will consider visiting a feeder or bird table. Put it into context‌ how would you feel sitting down to your tea on the patio and the local velociraptor catches you out with nowhere

Fox at patio window

Holly Blue

Wool carder bee

to dart for cover? Birds are acutely aware of the threat of predators in the form of either local cats or passing sparrowhawks and will not visit if they do not feel secure.

installed a small pre-formed plastic pond, within days it was frog central! We always knew there were frogs in the garden, just not quite how many.

Do remember to put a rock or ramp at the side of any pond you may have to allow hedgehogs to get out if they fall in. They are good swimmers and can climb but will need a little help. I now have another tiny water feature and a round pebble pond. Our resident sparrow flock, (making an almighty racket to announce their arrival!) soon took to the idea that there was a place to drink and bathe, they are now regularly joined by the blackbird family, dunnocks and resident robin.

To afford some shelter you could plant a few shrubs; the thicker a bush they form, the better .

If you choose something like berberis, firethorn (pyracantha) or cotoneaster you will get the benefit of flowers to provide nectar for insects and also later on in the year, berries to feed the birds. Thick shrubs will also provide a nesting site for smaller birds.

By providing something like a log pile habitat you will encourage a good selection of invertebrates to take up residence. You could introduce a bug hotel if you have not got the room for a log pile. Consider planting nectar rich flowers and shrubs to encourage bees and other pollinators and have a selection that will provide nectar from spring when they are emerging from hibernation, right through to autumn when they will be feeding up for the big sleep. One of the best nectar providers in the spring is pussy willow which will feed bumble bees and butterflies alike.

Spring flowers such as snowdrops, crocus and lungwort will also be a magnet for insects as they wake up.

Water in a garden is vital. Three years ago I

Hairy footed flower bee

I recently invested in a Trail Cam to explore the nocturnal goings on in the garden. We have Urban foxes around and we were delighted to find that they too stop by for a drink.

If you like the idea of providing water in the garden, have children and are worried about their safety, you don’t have to install a pond. We have a bowl that we use to soak potted plants in. We keep it full and the frogs and birds are not in the least bit fussy; they use that just as easily.

We can all do our little bit to help the local wildlife by giving them what they need. The rewards can be staggering. I promise you will not be disappointed if you give it a go. I wish you good fortune in your own endeavours!

Peacock butterfly on grape muscari

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 47

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“Looking over his shoulder�

Steve Orme interviews

Paul Carrack

Images Leisure time

Celebrity Interview Walk Diary Gallery Food & Drink

He’s been called “the man with the golden voice” during a 50-year career, some of the highlights of which have been performing with Ace, Squeeze and Mike + the Mechanics. But Paul Carrack has also been a successful solo artist and he’s getting ready to go on tour to promote his 17th album in his own name.

He’s one of the most endearing artists you could meet, grateful that he didn’t have to go down the pit like many of his school friends in Sheffield and thankful that he’s still working at something he loves.

H Paul sang classics such as ‘The Living Years’ and wrote some of the band’s hits including ‘Over My Shoulder’

that he thinks his latest album is the best he’s done for a number of reasons.

e takes nothing for granted

and continually strives to make “a great, great album – the next one will be better”. This is despite his latest one, ‘These Days’, being described by some people as “the finest album of his distinguished career”.

Not sure who Paul Carrack is? He wrote and sang ‘How Long’ with Ace which has been covered by many artists since it was released in 1974. Later his soulful, instantly recognisable voice was on ‘Tempted’ which wasn’t a huge hit for Squeeze but was used for several commercials. He then joined the supergroup Mike + the Mechanics which had been formed by Genesis founder Mike Rutherford. Paul sang classics such as ‘The Living Years’ and wrote some of the band’s hits including ‘Over My Shoulder’.

These days a huge number of people appreciate Paul’s talents. He does concerts with a German big band every Christmas and for the past five years has toured with Eric Clapton.

During our conversation Paul eventually admitted

50 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

“I think the songs are quite strong and there’s some fabulous playing with some top-flight musicians, people like Steve Gadd on drums who I met by playing in Eric Clapton’s band. Steve’s played with everybody from Paul Simon to James Taylor. He’s one of the greats.”

Paul explains that he doesn’t feel compelled to write music every day but when he has an album to make, he’ll usually write it all in one go.

“I only write about things I know about – there’s no political slant and probably no original thoughts whatsoever! It’s just about life in general and relationships.”

Five of the songs on the new album are written with his old mate Chris Difford from Squeeze.

“He’s a great lyricist. It’s just good to have another slant, otherwise I think 11 songs by me might get a bit samey. He brings another flavour to the table.”

Paul Melvyn Carrack was born on 22 April 1951 in Sheffield. His musical vocation began with his playing a home-made drum kit in the attic. He also picked up his brother’s guitar and in his teens he started to teach himself the organ, seeing it as a way of joining a local soul band.

“I have a natural instinct and musical gene, I guess, that helped me,” says Paul. “I don’t really have a lot of theory or technique but I get by on musical instincts and that’s stood me in good stead.”

He admits he struggled academically and didn’t enjoy school. A trip down a pit concentrated his mind on

peaked at number three in the US and Canada. Paul describes those first few years as a “hand-to-mouth existence” and things didn’t change overnight. It was all an adventure to him and the band.

“We were struggling but we were doing what we wanted to do. ‘How Long’ was the first glimmer of any kind of success.

“Since then it’s been up and down, up and down until we’ve reached the point where we’ve established something of a niche. If it all turns pear-shaped tomorrow I’ll have to say ‘thank you, life’s been great’. It stills seems to be going okay.”

With the sales of CDs falling over the past few years, promoting music through touring has taken on increased significance.

“That’s fine because it’s all I’ve known. That’s where I came in. It’s a little more comfortable now – I go around in a nice car with a driver and we stay in a clean hotel whereas before it was all about sleeping on people’s floors and living in the van.

“It was tough but we didn’t grumble – back then it was accepted. That’s what you had to do. The tougher it was the more you liked it in a perverse kind of way because you were doing it for the music.”

The new tour comprises 30 dates over ten weeks, including one at Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall which Paul has played several times.

his future career.

“I had to go through the motions of pretending I might be interested in a proper job. There was a school outing with a careers master to go down the local colliery. It was pretty grim. I take my hat off to those guys – you got in a cage and went a long way down and got on a train on a track and went a long way again. And then you crawled to the coal face. That was a pretty hairy experience.

“I don’t think there was any serious chance of me ever going down there and earning a living doing that because I’d have had a job picking up a shovel.

I was a skinny little wimp back then. If I needed any confirmation that I wanted to make music work, that was it.”

Paul did get a job in an office at the gas board for a short time. But he was also playing in a semi-pro band which passed an audition to go to Germany for a month’s residency in Hamburg.

He says his seven-piece band isn’t just a greatest hits group and will feature half-a-dozen songs from the new album. But they daren’t leave out old favourites including ‘How Long’, ‘The Living Years’, ‘Tempted’, ‘Eyes of Blue’ and ‘Love Will Keep Us Alive’, the song he wrote for The Eagles.

This year looks like being another busy one for Paul.

After his band completes its tour – “this is a great band, there are no famous names but they give it everything they’ve got” – he’s teaming up with Eric Clapton again for dates in Japan, at the Royal Albert Hall and in Germany.

Paul confesses he’s had “an interesting career and life” considering he chose to go into music “when it wasn’t really accepted as being a respectable way to earn a living”.

Paul Carrack will play the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham on Thursday 14 February and the City Hall Sheffield on Thursday 14 March

“I look at what I’ve achieved, which is to play with some fantastic people and have a little bit of success along the way, and I think I’m one of the lucky ones really. I’m still enjoying it. People still keep coming to see me and are interested in what I’m doing, so it’s a really good place to be in at the moment.”

“I wasn’t really cut out for any kind of a proper job. I don’t mean that disrespectfully to people who are. To make matters worse I wasn’t very practical – I wasn’t very good at anything. If the sink gets blocked here it’s my missus that sorts it out!”

Paul has lived in and around London for the past 30 years. He married a London girl and they’ve brought up four children.

“I just had to make music work. Otherwise I don’t know what I would have done. I was fortunate. I had a bit of God-given musical talent.”

Paul left school at 15. Eight years later ‘How Long’ reached number 20 in the UK singles chart and CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 51

Walking with the Aristocracy

Chatsworth to Haddon Hall The two great houses visited on this walk are within four miles of each other as the crow flies, but each has made a unique impression on the face of the Peak District.

Chatsworth, ancestral home of the Dukes of Devonshire has developed following the fashions of house-building nobles. Additions have been made since its first owner, the redoubtable Bess of Hardwick, founding matriarch of the

Renowned as one of Thomas Hobbes ‘Seven Wonders of the Peak’, Chatsworth ranks in architectural merit alongside the finest of all Britain’s great houses. The original hall which once held the captive Mary Queen of Scots was a Tudor manor. It was built on the site of an older dwelling by the Countess of Shrewsbury, better known as Bess of Hardwick. All that is left of that house is a raised walled garden where the imprisoned Scots Queen took her ease; another remaining feature is the hunting tower overlooking the house from Stand Wood. The house we see today dates mostly from the late 17th century when the 4th Earl, later to become the 1st Duke of Devonshire. Apparently a man who was hard to please as he used several architects before he was satisfied with the resulting magnificent Palladian mansion. The last major changes were made by the 6th Duke of Devonshire, the Bachelor Duke who had Sir Jeffry Wyatville design the north, or Theatre Wing. This was when the awe-inspiring Painted Hall also came into being. It was this duke who employed as his head gardener, Joseph Paxton, the horticultural genius who designed what is still one of the finest attractions of a visit to Chatsworth.

Children visiting Chatsworth automatically make for the adventure playground and farmyard,

Norma Gent Derbyshire Artist

one of the late Duchess Deborah’s innovative schemes.

Haddon Hall is hidden amongst trees, set away from the A6 south of Bakewell. Standing on a slight rise above the River Wye, the medieval manor house is a unique example of building styles from the 12th to the 17th centuries.

Abandoned in 1640 by its owners the Manners family, Earls then later Dukes of Rutland, when they moved to Belvoir Castle in Rutland.

Rather than pull down the neglected building, in the early 1900s the then Duke decided to scrupulously restore Haddon. The result of this careful work is there to see, ranging from the family chapel to the impressive Long Gallery and banqueting hall with its minstrels’ gallery beneath which Sir John Manners, self-styled King of the Peak held long and boisterous Christmas celebrations.

The popular romantic story of Dorothy Vernon’s elopement with John Manners in 1563 tells of her crossing the terrace garden and meeting him by the low bridge below the hall. Unfortunately this story is pure myth as both garden and bridge along with the steps down which Dorothy is supposed to have fled, were not built until at least 26 years later.

Pets, Portraits, Scenes, Still Life, Executive Caricatures, Victorian Life.

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52 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Cavendish dynasty almost bankrupted her husband, the Earl of Shrewsbury. In its development, Chatsworth has grown to well deserve its unofficial accolade, as the ‘Palace of the Peak’.

On the other side of a forested ridge, Haddon Hall the Duke of Rutland’s country seat has remained virtually unchanged since its Tudor founder Sir John Manners first developed the house above this secluded bend in the River Wye.

THE IDEAL GIFT

The medieval time capsule of Haddon Hall and its setting have been used several times by film makers. Large screen and TV productions ranging from ITV’s Moll Flanders, BBC’s Chronicles of Narnia and the Prince and the Pauper, together with Franco Zeferelli’s The Princess Bride and Jane Eyre have all used Haddon along with other locations around the Peak District.

While this walk describes the route between these two great houses, it is accepted that to visit both or even one of them as well as following the walk, will be too much for one day. What the walk attempts, is to give an introduction to the houses and the countryside of their setting.

Starting from Chatsworth, the route first goes through the estate village of Edensor, a village moved from its original setting because the then Duke felt it spoilt the view. A lane climbs through the village and then joins a minor road which is followed until it joins a path down towards Bakewell. Reaching the cattle market, the walk turns left along the valley almost to Haddon Hall; here tracks and woodland paths lead back over Lees Moor, first across Calton Pastures and then over Chatsworth Park and back to the great house itself.

Norma Gent is now taking commissions. She will create a unique piece of art which will remind you of a family pet, special place, or treasured memory. Created especially for you, or as a gift for a special person, Norma will work closely with you. Contact Norma on 01773 836907 or visit The Studio, 2 The Galleries, New Lane, Alfreton.

The Walk with Rambler • From the car park walk past Queen Mary’s Bower (raised garden) and go down to the river.

• Cross the bridge and bear right on to a path climbing over the slight rise ahead.

• Go down to the road. Cross over, go through the gates and follow the side lane climbing through Edensor village.

Edensor village replaced the old estate village which being closer to the main house was thought by the 6th Duke to rather spoil the view. Being shown a catalogue of house designs he could not decide on one in particular, so he is said to have asked for one of each.

• Climb out through the village, continuing ahead where a side track leaves on your right.

Walk on until the lane reaches a minor road.

• Turn left and follow the road, gently uphill for little over a half mile.

• Where the road starts to descend steeply right at a sharp bend, go forwards on to a path descending into woodland.

• Cross the railway bridge and continue downhill to join a road.

• Go forwards down the road until it reaches a side turning into Bakewell cattle market.

• Follow the hard surface to your left around the perimeter of the market and turn left along its access track.

Bakewell is a popular place for shopping or as in this case, a mid-morning coffee. The market café has excellent home-made food designed to satisfy the hungriest farmer (or walker).

• Where the cattle market access track turns sharp right towards the river, walk forwards on to a signposted field path.

• Follow the path, keeping away from muddy sections, alongside the twisting bends of the river.

• Turn left on to a farm lane and follow it uphill, over the tunnel mouth of the abandoned railway.

This is about as close to Haddon Hall as it is possible to get on this walk. To view the hall bear right on reaching the farm lane and then almost immediately left, later to cross the river by a footbridge. Joining the main road, turn left and the entrance to Haddon Hall is about 120 yards further along the road. Return to the farm lane and turn right in order to continue the walk.

• Above the tunnel entrance, the farm lane makes a double hair-pin bend. At the upper bend keep to the right along the foot of three fields and head towards Bowling Green Farm.

• Turn sharp left towards the farm, but do not enter its yard. Continue uphill alongside the farm and towards woodland.

• Where the track crosses the top of a dry valley, turn left and go downhill for about 60 yards and then look out for a woodland path on your right.

• Climb steadily uphill on this path, bearing left with it as it climbs towards a broad forested ridge.

• Leaving the forest, begin to go downhill, heading for a narrow gap between two small belts of trees.

• Go through the gap and immediately bear right to reach the upper of a group of a small group of houses where a track is joined beside a gate.

• Do not go through the gate, but turn left and climb along a track heading towards New Piece Plantation.

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• Follow the track, through an opening in the trees. At the far side pause to admire the view before continuing downhill towards the prominent spire of Edensor church.

• Go down the stone steps on the left of the church and turn right on to the village street.

• Go through gates at the end of the village, cross the road and follow the path back to the bridge and onwards to Chatsworth House car park.

Useful Information

A 7 mile (11.25km) moderate walk along grassy tracks, quiet roads and open parkland. Two steady climbs of about 420 feet each (128m).

Muddy sections in woodland and especially along the riverside.

Recommended map: Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 Outdoor Leisure Sheet 24, The Peak District, White Peak Area.

Refreshments: Chatsworth, Haddon Hall and Bakewell.

Suggested public transport: TP (Derby/Buxton Service) to Matlock, followed by the 217 Matlock/Chatsworth Service.

Car parking (pay) at Chatsworth.

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Diary of Events diary@imagespublishing.co.uk Royal Centre Nottingham & Concert Hall 0115 989 5555 www.trch.co.uk JANUARY 28 to February 2 The House on Cold Hill FEBRUARY 1 Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra 2 The Illegal Eagles - The World’s Official No.1 Eagles tribute makes its long-awaited return to the Royal Concert Hall. This phenomenal group of musicians have been touring for over two decades and remain true Eagles fanatics! Their longevity and continued international acclaim are due in no small part to their extraordinary mastery of the Eagles’ distinctive sound.

4-9 The Full Monty 7 Sandi Toksvig Live! National Trevor 11 The Third Stage - Patrick Monahan Goals 12-16 Blood Brothers 13 Dave Gorman 14 Paul Carrack 15 Classical Music London Sinfonietta 18 Fabulous Stories with Peter Chand 18 Brainiac Live!

18 Tongue Tied & Twisted 19 Halfway to Paradise - The Billy Fury Story 19-23 RSC’s Romeo & Juliet 20 Brendan Cole Live: Show Man 21 Soul Legends 22 The Magic Lantern Family Backstage Tour Classical Music 24 Sunday Piano Series: Sasha Grynyuk 25 Simon Thacker: The Virtuoso Composer 25 Adam Kay: This Is Going To Hurt 26 to March 2 Horrible Histories MARCH 2 Beanbag Music Club: Mini Magic Flute 2 10cc 3 Anton & Erin: Dance Those Magical Musicals 4-9 The Gang Show 5 Lea Salonga 7 Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra 7 Classical Music After Hours: The Hermes Experiment 8 Mnozil Brass: Cirque 9 Nottingham Youth Orchestra: Russian Gala 10 Wannabe - The Spice Girls Show 10 Mike & The Mechanics Buxton Opera House & PavilionArts Centre.

01298 72190 www.buxtonoperahouse.org FEBRUARY 1 Royal Northern College of Music Michael Choi & Wyn Chan 3 Oddsocks Productions - Robin Hood and The Revolting Peasants 3 The Illegal Eagles 9 Aretha - Respect 10 The Performance Academy - The Greatest Show 12 Steve Birkinshaw & Martin Stone. An evening with two British fell running legends 14 Cloudbusting - 40 years of Kate Bush 15-21 A Dog’s Way Home 15 Collabro. Road to the Royal Albert Hall 54 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

15-21 Beautiful Boy 17 Pasadena Roof Orchestra 18 The Wizard of Oz 18 Neil O’Brien Entertainment Fisherman’s Friends 19 The Royal Ballet Live - Don Quixote 20-21Bing Live! Bing goes to the Theatre 22-28 How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 22-28 Green Book 23 How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World - Autism Friendly 23 Cuffe & Taylor - What’s Love Got To Do With It? A Tribute to Tina Turner 23-24 Second Act 24 The MJR Group Joan Collins Unscripted 28 Wilko Johnson. With special guest Glenn Tilbrook MARCH 1 Royal Northern College of Music Owen Bunting 1 An Evening With The Hairy Bikers 1 Buxton Buzz Comedy Club - March 2 Bess the Commoner Queen 2 Jon Boden & The Remnant Strings 3 Transitions Dance Company 7 The 2019 Triple Bill 8 Seth Lakeman 9 Henning Wehn - Get On With It Trust Fast Health with Dr Michael Mosley 11 Mike and the Mechanics - Looking Back Over My Shoulder Tour 12 Here Come The Girls 13 Shakin’ Stevens Derby Live. Box Office 01332 255800 www.derbylive.co.uk FEBRUARY 1-2 Robin Hood and the Revolting Peasants 3 It’s a Rap! 6 Searching for Mozart - Sinfonia Viva 7 Professor Brian Cox 8 Whitney - Queen of the Night 9-10 A Sentinental Affair 13 Stephen K Amos 14 Creedence Clearwater Reimagined 15 Lau - Scottish folk pioneers Lau return with their first new music since 2015’s ‘The Bell That Never Rang’ More 16 Someone Like You - The Adele Songbook is a stunning celebration of one of our generations 17 Buddy Holly and The Cricketers 21 Mandy Muden 22 Purple Zeppelin 23 Comedy Club 4 Kids!

23 ‘The Sitcom Experience’ – Fawlty Towers 23 Stephen Bailey 27 to March 2 Our House Belper Musical Theatre presents Our House The Madness Musical MARCH 2 Boxmania II 5-9 Richard III - For three long and bloody decades, the House of York and Lancaster have fought for their right to the throne of England. 9 International Women’s Day Derby Festival

Derby Theatre Box Office 01332 59 39 39 www.derbytheatre.co.uk 19 January. Warp & Weft: Bringing DerwentWISE to Life Community Productions A musical celebration of the Lower Derwent Valley, composed by John Crossley and performed by Sigma 7 and Derwent Brass. Journey through time from before cotton mills dominated the river valley, to the heyday of the world’s first factory system, to the decimating effect of the Great War, to present day Derbyshire.

An exciting collision of contemporary sounds fused with traditional brass band, inspired by the valley’s natural and industrial heritage, sharing the stories of this special landscape and its people.

DerwentWISE is a five-year project to inspire and enable us to care for the Lower Derwent Valley. Hosted by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and funded by Heritage Lottery Funds.

Nottingham Playhouse 0115 941 9419 www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk FEBRUARY 2 Gypsy Queen 8-23 Wonderland Wonderland Is The Spirited And Uplifting Drama Written By The Daughter Of A Nottinghamshire Miner.

11 John Berkavitch - Finding Your Voice 11 Scuffed Shoes - Do As I Say, Not As I Do 11 Dance Triple Bill - Bianca Hisse / Yu-Hsien Wu / Kim Geunyoung 15-16 Wolf 18-22 February Family Fest 2019 19 Play in a Day - BSL interpreted 20 Buzzy Bees Drama Games 20 Devising Theatre Workshop 21 Taking Flight, Sensory Play 22 Spring Into Action Movement Session 26 Miles Jupp: The Life I Lead 27 David O’Doherty: You Have to Laugh 28 Mark Steel: Every Little Thing’s Gonna Be Alright 2019 MARCH 1 Tim Vine: Sunset Milk Idiot tour, telling lots of silly new jokes 2 Morgan & West 3 Rachel Parris: It’s Fun to Pretend 6 A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2019 Palace Theatre Mansfield www.mansfield.gov.uk/palacetheatre FEBRUARY 7 The Legends of American Country Tribute Show 2019 - The 2019 tour will showcase highly acclaimed tributes to Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Kenny Rogers, plus four brand new tributes to icons George Jones, Charley Pride, Patsy Cline and Don Williams.

8 ‘Oh! What a Feeling’

Cloudbusting - 40 years of Kate Bush Buxton Opera House Thursday 14 Feb, 7:30pm

It's 40 years since The Kick Inside announced to the world the genius of Kate Bush.

Since that remarkable debut, a series of ground-breaking albums has secured Kate’s place in music history. Her Before the Dawn concerts sold out in minutes and changed perceptions of what a concert could be forever. Influenced by none, influencing many, there is truly no other artist like her.

Performing the music of Kate Bush with authenticity and passion since 2012, the fivepiece Cloudbusting have been championed by BBC1 as one of the top tributes in the world. 2018 sees them celebrating this woman’s work in theatres up and down the UK with a new show, 40 Years of Kate.

The show will centre around a celebration of The Kick Inside, songs like Wuthering Heights, The Saxophone Song and The Man with the Child in his Eyes staged against eye-popping visuals and projections. The rest of Kate’s career is represented by a vibrant choice of hits and album classics that could leave no Kate Bush fan disappointed.

Accolades for Mandy Watson’s vocals and the band’s superb musicianship continue to pour in from all sources; Kate’s own musical collaborators, press and radio and most significantly, Kate’s own fans.

THE MOUSETRAP

Returns to Theatre Royal Nottingham starring Gwyneth Strong 17-22 June 2019

The Mousetrap, the legendary who dunnit from Queen of Crime, Dame Agatha Christie, began a nationwide tour in January starring Gwyneth Strong (Only Fools and Horses) as Mrs Boyle, directed by Gareth Armstrong.

This unstoppable West End hit has been delighting theatre-goers for 67 years with its macabre murder mystery. Following a record-breaking 60th anniversary debut tour in 2012, this timeless thriller The Mousetrap returns by popular demand. First seen in Nottingham in 1952 starring Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim, The Mousetrap went on to become the world’s longest running stage production following its West End transfer to The Ambassadors in 1952 and St Martins in 1973 where it has played ever since, continuing a record-breaking run with over 27,500 performances in London so far. The beloved murder mystery returns to the road following the success of the first ever UK tour in 2012.

The Mousetrap will visit the Theatre Royal Nottingham from Monday 17 to Saturday 22 June.

Robin Hood and the Revolting Peasants Comedy Drama by Oddsocks.

Mansfield Palace Theatre Sunday 17 February 2019

Join Robin, Little John, Maid Marion and of course Friar Tuck, as they take on some of their hardest challenges to date: A conniving King, a sinister Sheriff and a downtrodden village of peasants whose 'get up and go' had got up and gone. Can the merry band teach the baddies a lesson? The villagers to revolt? The world to sing?

Find out when Oddsocks rumble in with their rumbustious new adventure of this legendary folk hero, in a show for all the family!

Noughts and Crosses

Pilot Theatre and Derby Productions Friday 1 February 2019 - Saturday 16 February 2019 "Why love, if losing hurts so much?" Sephy and Callum sit together on a beach.

They are in love. It is forbidden. Sephy is a Cross and Callum is a Nought. Between Noughts and Crosses there are racial and social divides. A segregated society teeters on a volatile knife edge. As violence breaks out, Sephy and Callum draw closer, but this is a romance that will lead them into terrible danger. This gripping Romeo and Juliet story, based on the bestselling novel by acclaimed writer Malorie Blackman and adapted by Sabrina Mahfouz, is a captivating drama of love, revolution and what it means to grow up in a divided world.

A BBC adaptation of Noughts & Crosses is due to be screened later in 2019. The novel won the Red House Children’s Book Award and the Fantastic Fiction Award.

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 55

Diary of Events diary@imagespublishing.co.uk Birdwatching for Beginners walks at Carsington Water.

There was a good turnout for the first walk of the year and 39 species were seen. The conditions were perfect for viewing the winter wildfowl including Great Northern Diver and Goldeneye.

The next two walks on 3rd February, 3rd March and 7th April should be full of birdsong as our spring migrants arrive. Meet at 10:00 in the visitor centre courtyard. Carsington Water.

These FREE two hour walks are suitable for all and start from the Visitor Centre at 10am.

Booking essential as they are always popular. Tel 0330 678 0701 Heanor Floral Art Group February 18th flower demonstration by Di Singleton entitled Spring Celebration. 7pm. The Wilmot Street Welfare Centre. Wilmot Street Heanor. Everyone welcome, visitors £5. For further details Telephone 01332-880179.

Mickleover Model Railway Saturday 23rd February 2019. Trains only Swap Meet. Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Church Centre, 36 Uttoxeter Road, Mickleover, Derby DE3 9GE Admission: £1 Open 10:30am 2:00pm. Free Parking. Refreshments Available.

Little Chester Local History Group February 21st at 7.30pm “Inspector Hopkins Discovery’, - a true murder story. You are invited to do a spot of detective work along with Ian Morgan. Chester Green Community Centre, Old Chester Road, Derby. Admission non-members £2. For further information Tel. 01332 559615.

Spondon Historical Society February 11th at 7.30pm for a talk by Gay Evans entitled ‘Annoying Ancestors’ . This will tell us what to look for and how to avoid pitfalls when researching your ancestors. Spondon Village Hall Member £2.50, Visitors £4.00. All welcome.’

Derby & District National Trust Members’ Group.

Tuesday 19th February “Terror from the skies” Stephen Flinders tells us about the Great Zeppelin Raid of the Midlands which took place in January 1916. Landau Forte College, Fox Street, Derby with talks starting at 7.30pm. For more info contact the Membership Secretary on 01332 703512 or email derby.members@ nationaltrust.org.uk Group Members £2.50 / visitors £5.00. Non members very welcome.

Darley Abbey Historical Group 15 February ‘Marathon des Sables’, by Chris Vasper. Meetings start at 7.30pm in Darley Abbey Village Hall, Abbey Yard off New Road, Darley Abbey, DE22 1DS. There is a charge of £1 for members of the Historical Group and £3 for visitors. For further information contact Maria Gibson on 01332 552837 or look at their blog: https://darleyabbeyhistoricalgroup.wordpress. com/ Derby RSPB Wednesday 13 Feburary 2019 at 7.30pm.

Jack Perks. A Talk Entitled ‘Shetland-Britains 56 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Northern Edge’. The Grange Banqueting Suite, 457 Burton Road, Littleover, Derby, DE23 6XX. Admission for members is £2.00, for non-members £2.50, juniors £1.00. Details on the RSPB Derby local group website www. rspb.org.uk/groups/derby Tickets £15 and £14 (concessions) 01332 830585 www.derbychambermusic.org Derby Chamber Music Society Friday 8th February at 7.30pm at the Multi-Faith Centre, University of Derby, Kedleston Road, Derby, DE22 1GB A concert by the Eblana String Trio Beethoven: String Trio in G, Op.9 No.1 Lawrie Rose: “Transformations” for String Trio Finzi: Prelude and Fugue Sally Beamish: “The King’s Alchemist” Moeran: String Trio in G also Friday 1st March at 7.30pm Florian Mitrea (piano) Mozart: Variations on “Ah, vous dirais-je, Maman” Beethoven: Sonata in C, Op.53 “Waldstein” Schubert: Sonata in A minor, D.784 Liszt: Sonata in B minor Tickets £15 and £14 (concessions) 01332 830585 or visit www.derbychambermusic.org Allestree Flower Group Tuesday 19th February 2019 Practice Night & Supper Time: 7.00 pm for 7.30 pm. Venue: The Evergreen Hall, Cornhill, Allestree. Admission: Members £3.00. Non- members £7.00. For further details telephone 01332 558540 Derby French Circle Talks, quizzes, social and cultural events. Please come and join us for conversation and games in French. All levels of French spoken.

February 2019 Programme: Friday 1 February.

7pm: Hector Berlioz, A Big Romantic Musician.

A talk by Thierry Vienois. Friday 15 February 7pm: Childhood Memories of Occupied France.

A talk by Germaine Jones. (Cercle Francais de Derby) www.derbyfrenchcircle.org.uk Venue: St Edmund’s Church Hall, Kings Croft, Allestree, Derby DE22 2FN. Derbyshire Dales Woodcraft Club 2nd. Feb. 2019 - This is a hands-on meeting; in addition we will have in attendance woodcarver Jonathon Hart who will be giving advice to the carving group.

2nd. March 2019 - Our visiting demonstrator is woodturner Rick Dobney. For more information go to www.ddwc.co.uk where you can see reports with photos on previous meetings, including competition results, and read past newsletters. If you would like to know more about the club, email your query to info@ddwc. co.uk or phone James Sharpe on 01335 344933.

Meetings held in Wyaston village hall (DE6 2DR) on the first Saturday of each month 10:00am to 2:00pm. We have a mixed programme of visiting demonstrators, hands-on sessions under the guidance of more experienced members and a monthly competition.

Derby Wine Circle Meetings are held on the first Friday of each month at The Evergreen Club, Allestree – 7.30pm for 7.45pm. For further information contact Julie@Thebelks.plus.com 01159 328217 Gilllian.wall@Ntlworld.com / 01332 551447 Derby & District National Trust Members’ Group.

A friendly and vibrant group run by members, whose aim is to promote the National Trust and local properties. Meetings at Landau Forte College, Fox Street, Derby with talks starting at 7.30pm. 01332 703512 or email derby. members@nationaltrust.org.uk Group Members £2.50 / visitors £5.00 Non members welcome.

Music at Duffield Season Oliver Wass (Harp) 15 February at 7.30pm Main Hall, Ecclesbourne School, Duffield, Derbyshire, DE56 4GS J.S. Bach Suite No. 1 BWV 996. Ravel Jeux d’eau de Falla Spanish Dance No. 1 from La Vida Breve Posse The Carnival of Venice.

Oliver Wass has won International Competitions in Italy, Hungary and the UK, and he is the first harpist ever to win the Guildhall Gold Medal, the Guildhall’s most prestigious prize.

His Wigmore Hall debut was praised for its “tremendous dynamism” and “remarkable range of timbres and warmth of tone” (Seen and Heard International). He will make his concerto debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra in November 2018. Concert sponsored by The Countess of Munster Trust. Ticket prices: Adult £15, Concession £14, Student £7 Individual tickets are available at the door or from Caroline Morgan (Tel: 01332 843191) and also online at www.musicatduffield.com For further details about Music at Duffield and future concerts please visit our website www.musicatduffield.com Derby A Cappella We rehearse every Tuesday evening at Chester Green Community Centre, City Road, DE1 3SA from 7:30 until 10:00 p.m. and are now working on a selection of songs for 2019. If you would like us to sing at an event or would like to come along and sing with us please contact: Gordon.

01332 518594 or gordonsavage@yahoo.co.uk www.derbyacappella.co.uk Folk and Acoustic Music 16 February 8pm. The James Brothers in Concert from Down Under, Australia and New Zealand. A mix of folk, blues and bluegrass makes this lively dynamic duo very popular on the folk scene. Florence Nightingale Memorial Hall Holloway Nr Crich DE4 5AQ Tickets £12 From The Ticket Hotline 01773 853428 Or Dave 01773 856545 7 March 8pm. Winter:Wilson. Live at The Lion.

Top Lincolnshire duo bring an evening of folk roots and acoustic music on guitar, banjo and accordion. Lion Hotel, Bridge Street, Belper Tickets £8.50 from the ticket hotline 01773 853428

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BRITISH COACHING INVERNESS DIAMOND ALL INCLUSIVE . . . . . . 24-28 Mar (AI) £395 WALES CULTURAL CARDIFF & ROYAL MINT . 07-10 Apr (HB) £321 EASTBOURNE AT EASTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-22 Apr (HB) £206 BOSCOMBE DORSET COAST . . . . . . . . . . .28 Apr-02 May (HB) £333 WARNERS BODELWYDDAN CASTLE . . . . . . . . 03-06 May (HB) £329 BABBACOMBE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03-07 May (HB) £303 PORTSMOUTH & SOUTHSEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 06-10 May (HB) £352 GLASSHOUSES & GARDENS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-12 May (HB) £289 SIDMOUTH DELIGHTS OF DEVON . . . . . . . . . . 12-16 May (HB) £382 MYSTERY WEEKEND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-19 May (HB) £123 EASTBOURNE SUSSEX BY THE SEA . . . . . . . . 20-24 May (HB) £345 WALES LLANDUDNO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-30 May (HB) £376 ISLE OF WIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-31 May (HB) £311 LONDON POSTAL MUSEUM & SPENCER HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02-03 Jun (BB) £168 SCOTLAND ISLE OF BUTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14 Jun (HB) £399

For further information please contact the Golf Department on 01332 782 000 Main Road, Morley, Derbyshire, DE7 6DG • www.morleyhayes.com • golf@morleyhayes.com

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SHROPSHIRE DISCOVERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14 Jun (HB) £414 LOOE CORNWALL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-21 Jun (HB) £406 SCARBOROUGH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-23 Jun (HB) £313 GREAT YARMOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-24 Jun (HB) £399 ISLE OF MAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Jun-01 Jul (HB) £487 BOSCOMBE DORSET COAST . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Jun-04 Jul (HB) £352 CUMBRIAN CAVALCADE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01-05 Jul (HB) £398

MUSCLE MATTERS!

HAMPTON COURT PALACE FLOWER SHOW . . 06-07 Jul (HB) £173

We Need Your Help!

HISTORIC KENT & HEVER CASTLE . . . . . . . . . . 14-18 Jul (HB) £389

Ø Want to help research into ageing? Ø Interested to know which type of protein feeding is best for muscle building?

Researchers from The University of Nottingham at the Royal Derby Hospital are looking for Healthy Male Volunteers aged over 65 years

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SIDMOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 09-13 Jul (HB) £390 YORKSHIRE RAILS, SAILS & ALES . . . . . . . . . . 15-19 Jul (HB) £407

HOLLAND TRAMS, BOATS & BULBFIELDS . . . . . . . . . 18-22 Apr (HB) £477 IRELAND WICKLOW & THE GARDENS OF IRELAND . . 07-11 Jul (HB) £487 GERMANY BLACK FOREST RAIL & SAIL . . . . . . . 31 Jul-07 Aug (HB) £820 SWITZERLAND SWISS CHOCOLATE TRAIN. . . . . . . .24-31 Aug (HB) £824 IRELAND BANTRY BAY & GULF STREAM COAST . . .22-28 Sept (HB) £625 SPAIN CANTABRIA & PICOS DE EUROPA . . . . . . . . . .08-15 Oct (HB) £596 FRANCE REIMS CHRISTMAS MARKET. . . . . . . . . . . . 01-04 Dec (BB) £347

DAY EXCURSIONS EARLY BOOKINGS ADVISABLE

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Website: www.slackscoaches.co.uk Email: enquiries@slackscoaches.co.uk CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 57

THE CARAVAN, CAMPING AND MOTORHOME SHOW 19 - 24 Feb 2019

E

nter a world of outdoor adventure at the Caravan, Camping & Motorhome Show 2019. It’s the UK’s biggest showcase of motorhomes, campervans, caravans, caravan holiday homes and lodges. Plus new season tents of all sizes, trailer tents and folding caravans all under one roof.

Not only will you be able to see all the new season models and products, you can stock up on all your holiday accessories as well as gather ideas, inspiration, and advice on where to go and what to do when you get there.

Whether you’re looking to get into the leisure vehicle lifestyle or already enjoy it, your holiday, short break or outdoor pursuit starts here! It’s a great family day out too, with lots of free activities and attractions for everyone to enjoy including – skate rink, climbing wall, campsite cooking, top dog arena, towing tuition, motorhome manoeuvring and much more; Step inside, browse and compare 2019 leisure vehicle products from all major brands Test your physical and mental strength at the NEW-FOR-2019 Bear Grylls Adventure Be inspired by the alternative forms of accommodation at the glamping village.

Celebs, Chefs and Industry Experts will feature in the Freedom To Go Theatre throughout the week as they provide all the advice and inspiration you need ahead of your next break.

Explore tents of all shapes and sizes in the NEW-FOR-2019 Camping Zone Check out the newest and most exciting gadgets and accessories.The Top Dog Arena is back for another year and will be packed with agility, obedience and dancing dogs everyday!

The Holiday Park Experience is sure to inspire with many opportunities for kids to experience Holiday Park activities

including a Climbing Wall and Skate Rink!

MOTORHOMES For a holiday that provides you with freedom, space and luxury; look no further than a motorhome. Sleeping 2 – 6 people plus with incredible home comfort facilities, a vast host of motorhome options will be displayed at the Show. Major manufacturers will present their latest and most popular models with the latest innovations.

CARAVANS Find your freedom with a tourer! The freedom, the flexibility, the great outdoors – it’s no wonder caravans are gaining popularity! The Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show will display the latest innovations from all major caravan manufacturers and dealers.The Show provides a great opportunity to see and try different caravan models, compare the prices, get the industry insights from towing to financing options, discover new destinations and indulge in fun activities.

It’s the only UK start-of-season show with all the UK’s leading caravan manufacturers under one roof so you can compare the fantastic innovations they have to offer.

There’s nearly 350 exhibitors across five halls and thousands of accessories for you to browse and buy too.

a good compromise between a classic tent and a full caravan. Find out all the information you need as well as prices at the Show.

CAMPERVANS Campervans offer huge flexibility allowing you to easily get up and go, making weekend adventures a reality!

From the iconic campervan to the most modern conversions, these leisure vehicles are often not much bigger than a large car, making them suitable for those wanting to whisk themselves away for wondrous weekend adventures. Visit the Show and explore the latest campervans on display!

ACCESSORIES From the smallest gadgets to the latest gizmos – the national Caravan, Camping and Motorhome Show 2018 is the place to see thousands of leisure accessories, gain expert knowledge before you buy and camping accessory bargains.

Come along and see the fantastic accessories including barbecues, cycle racks, satellite TV systems, Wi-Fi boosters, widgets, tables, chairs, torches, lanterns, solar power, sleep-easy systems, tow-bars, toilet accessories and much more!

TRAILER TENTS, TENTS AND CAMPING The Show will display the latest innovations from all major camping companies. It is a great opportunity to see and try different tents and camping equipment, compare the prices, get the industry insights, discover new destinations and indulge in activities.

Trailer tents and folding caravans are easy to tow and stow, are self-sufficient and

Derbyshire’s leading Caravan and Motorhome Servicing Specialists Call Sarah or Chris for friendly advice on

01773 513823 Or call in to our workshop at Prospect Court, Nottingham Road, Ripley, Derbyshire DE5 3AY

www.sandccaravanservices.co.uk 58 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Cleaning the Silver Volunteers at the Old House Museum have been beavering away, with room and conservation cleaning, over the winter period. Cobwebs are banished and our silver Bakewell Carnival Cups, will be on display in 2019 for the first time in the museums history. Photographs and carnival memorabilia will also enhance the new display.

Before and after the silver cleaning. The Bakewell Carnival committee tray.

Their current textile exhibition of glamorous 1930’s evening wear will be enhanced by a traditional Tibetan costume last displayed at Buxton Museum. The outfit was donated by the late Jack Longland who was educator, mountaineer and broadcaster on BBC Radio appearing in the long-running Round Britain Quiz, Any Questions?, and the panel game My Word. Jack took part in the 1933 Everest expedition and famously led a group of Sherpas to safety during a whiteout on the mountain. What a wonderful piece of history on display in the museum.

It reopens on the 25th March and there is so much to see and enjoy for visitors. Hands on activities, trails, dressing up, building bricks and courtyard games for children. Over 9,000 eclectic items to view. Open from 11am - 4pm daily. Pay them a visit this year.

London Classic Theatre presents

Tue 5 – Sat 9 Mar

by Charlotte Keatley Four Women.

Four Generations.

One Family

Box Office 01332 593939 Book Online derbytheatre.co.uk

Open Daily 11 am – 4 pm • Exhibitions • Events • Family Fr iendly

Bakewell

OLD HOUSE

Museum Fun for families • Courtyard games • Rat Trail • Dressing up box

The Old House Museum is open from 25th March 2019 featuring brand new displays.

DISCOVER

& EXPLORE TICKETSR VALID FO 1 YEAR

Telephone: 01629 813 642 www.OldHouseMuseum.org.uk Old House Museum, Cunningham Place, Bakewell Derbyshire DE45 1DD

A Northern Broadsides and New Vic Theatre co-production

Tue 26 – Sat 30 Mar

by William Shakespeare Shakespeare’s glorious romantic comedy

Derby Theatre is part of

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 59

Leonardo da Vinci exhibition comes to Derby

A

special exhibition commemorating the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death, will see 12 of the Renaissance Master’s great drawings from the Royal Collection go on display at Derby Museum and Art Gallery from 1st February to 6th May. Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing, organised

by Royal Collection Trust, will give the widestever UK audience the opportunity to see the work of this extraordinary artist. The Royal Collection holds one of the world’s greatest collections of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, and Derby is one of 12 locations nationally that will exhibit a selection of his works, along with Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Southampton and Sunderland.

Tony Butler, Executive Director of Derby Museums said: “We are thrilled to be a partner for this unparalleled nationwide event. Working with Royal Collection Trust has enabled us to bring these fantastic works to Derby, a city of makers.

Leonardo is an inspiration to makers worldwide, and this exhibition will create an amazing buzz across the whole city.”

The Head of Leda by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1505-8, Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019

The drawings on display at Derby Museum and Art Gallery have been gathered together to reflect the full range of Leonardo’s interests, from painting, sculpture, architecture to anatomy, engineering, cartography, geology and botany.

greatest minds in history. His drawings were central to his work in every field, both his artistic projects and his scientific investigations: they allowed Leonardo to work out his ideas on paper, and can be viewed as his private laboratory.”

Revered in his day as a painter, Leonardo completed only around 20 paintings in his lifetime. Likewise much of his work as a sculptor and architect, military and civil engineer and anatomist, was unrealised or destroyed, so it is only in these drawings and a handful of related manuscripts that Leonardo’s greatest achievements survive.

In May, the drawings from each of the 12 cities will be brought together for an exhibition of more than 200 sheets at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace; the largest exhibition of Leonardo’s work in over 65 years. A selection of 80 drawings will then travel on to The Queen’s Gallery at Edinburgh’s Palace of Holyrood house in November 2019; the largest group of Leonardo’s works ever to be shown in Scotland.

Martin Clayton, Head of Prints and Drawings for the Royal Collection Trust, said: “The exhibition at Derby Museum and Art Gallery demonstrates the extraordinarily wide range of Leonardo’s work throughout his lifetime, and is a thrilling opportunity for audiences to engage directly with one of the

Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing opens to the public in Derby on Friday 1st February and will be free of charge with an invitation to Give What You Think; a donation that will help Derby Museums continue to bring high-profile exhibitions like this to Derby in the future.

1 February - 6 May 2019 Masterworks on Paper from the Royal Collection

FREE ADMISSION Give What You Think Derby Museum & Art Gallery. 01332 641901 derbymuseums.org The Head of Leda by Leonardo da Vinci, c.1504-6, Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019

Leonardo_CountryImage_190x133_AW.indd 1 60 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

/derbymuseums

@DerbyMuseums

10/01/2019 16:02

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W H Smith Voucher Across 1. Put faith in 4 Breed specimens 9 Lock up 10 Cooking device 12 Get uptight 13 Break contract 14 Stag Horns 16 In pieces 18 Matrix character 19 Fe fi ! 20 Iridium 21 Cut short 23 Negative 24 For shoes 27 Peat area 28 Bisto! 29 acute 31 Hand wave 34 Sunday?

35 A dog perhaps? 36 Not inside 39 Passionate 41 Fits a bolt 43 Makes up for 45 Surround 47 Sound of exclamation 48 Consumes 49 Upper class 50 Give up Down 1 Sewing implement 2 Unfasten 33 Three times 5 Of the teeth 6 To stretch out 7 Sound of surprise 8 Stamp a design 1 Go through 15 Sharpen 17 Given gifts 22 Racket 25 Era 26 Nevil 29 Keep to one side 30 Garden 32 Tart up! 33 Furthest 37 Steal 38 China! 42 Trial 44 Who must be obeyed 46 Poem Just find the Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire village in the crossword below and send you answer to: Crossword Comp. Country Images, Unit 5, Office Village, Keys Road, Alfreton, Derbys DE55 7FQ. Or email competitions@imagespublishing.co.uk Entries to reach us by February 18th 2019

First correct entry drawn wins the prize. Terms and conditions apply.

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 61

Darley Abbey - Village Stores -

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Finest fresh, natural, organic dog food and treats now available Super premium PLUS or our grain free range Stockists for:- Darley Abbey Cider Company White Peak Distillery | Bluebell Dairy | Derventio Brewery Shiny Beers | Derby Brewing Company | English Wine Project Barry Fitch Butchers | Luke Evans Bakery Agents for: Spondon Dry Cleaning Company

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taste

derbyshire

Spotted Calf Cafe T here’s something

a bit magical about the Spotted Calf café – the small but perfectly formed off-spring of the Spotted Cow pub at Holbrook.

It’s not just the quality of the coffee – roasted to perfection in the Derbyshire Peaks - or the tanginess of the home-made lemon polenta cake. It’s the cosy, welcoming nature of the place itself which, because it is run by the community for the community, represents everything good about village life.

Even on a bitterly cold winter’s morning, the cafe is a magnet for hikers, cyclists, villagers and visitors alike chatting over bacon butties and thick slices of plum bread.

If you should tire of eating home-baked panini bread oozing with melted cheese, you can always run next-door to the pub for home-made fish fingers and a pile of chips. The ‘Cow & Calf ’ also cater for vegans, vegetarians, people with gluten intolerances and – since the addition of the post office with its banking service – those in need of a bit more cash to pay for another pint of handpumped ale. But the good news is that you can slurp, sup and snack away to your heart’s content

because – as the Cow & Calf are owned by 225 residents (and counting) – you feel like you are doing your bit for the community.

It’s no surprise to find journalists and TV crews have also been drawn to the pub-cum-cafe since the grand re-opening in July 2017. In fact, during my visit, a lady rushes in clutching a cutting from the financial pages of a national newspaper about ‘how to save your local’ citing the Cow & Calf as the blueprint.

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 63

Not that anyone needs reminding of this fight.

Most residents can still recall where they were when they discovered planning permission was being sought to knock down large parts of the historic building to build eight properties. The pub itself, which had been closed for more than two years, would also become a house.

“It caused a lot of upset as the pub has been at the heart of the village for so long. The census shows a farmer and beer retailer living here in the 1840s,” explains Stephanie Limb, a former teacher who is now affectionately known as ‘the lady who saved the pub’.

Paul and Cheryl Brew tenant landlords of the pub

“My husband Christian and I moved here because of amenities like the pub. When I saw an application for planning permission on a lamppost, I was angry. I felt we should do something and talking to a councillor who said opposing the application was ‘a bit late now’ made me more determined.”

Her co-worker Tracy Beardmore agrees. “I also felt really angry as the pub used to be the heart of the village,” she says.

“I grew-up here and my mum Penny worked in the pub for forty years. It used to be very family oriented and the place where we’d get together to celebrate bonfire fire night and New Year’s Eve. Losing the Spotted Cow would have been like losing part of my childhood.”

Tracy Beardmore

Over a cup of coffee, Stephanie and Tracy describe how this ‘anger’ galvanised the village into action. “I spoke to a member of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) and was advised to declare the pub an Asset of Community Value, a status which allowed us six months for the residents to raise money to buy it,” explains Stephanie.

“I also went to visit a community-owned pub called the Angler’s Rest in Bamford and they suggested talking to the Plunkett Foundation, a charity which supports rural communities. Their advisor not only helped with the practicalities like applying for a grant and setting up the community share offer, but she was the one who kept on telling us to ‘never give up’.”

Tracy’s abiding memory of this time is attending the Amber Valley District Council which met to discuss change of use for the pub in November 2016.

Stephanie Limb, Tracy Beardmore, Liz Swift and her dog Murphy and Anna Newton

“We were all just waiting and waiting – I think we were the last item on the list,” she recalls. “It didn’t look good when a councillor said pubs close all the time and that we should ‘get over it’.

“We sent out the questionnaire to see if there was an appetite to save the pub as the Holly Bush and Dead Poets Inns are both nearby,” recalls Stephanie.

“The overwhelming response was the Spotted Cow should remain a pub but become more family friendly and provide a hub for the community. Knowing so many people were behind it gave us all confidence but I didn’t believe we’d do it until the keys were in our hands.”

Incredibly, the villagers raised a massive £193,000 within four months. This was matched by a further £100,000 grant from a social investment fund. By April 2017, when the original owner decided to retain the top of the car park to build three houses, the villagers were in a position to secure the pub for £275,000.

But, getting the keys was only half the battle. The community had been awarded a loan towards the costs of the pub’s refurbishment, but the majority of the hard graft had to be done by an army of volunteers wielding spades, paint brushes and brooms.

“We had to use experts for the job to be signed off by the council. Other than that, we relied on a wealth of talented people from in and around the village,” explains Stephanie.

“People have asked since how we did it and my top tip would be ‘work with what you have’. We didn’t have all the skills we needed but everyone got stuck in.”

For Stephanie – and many others – it meant personal sacrifices. “I was running an after-school club and had to give it up because – along with my youngest son Sid (five) – I was at the pub every day,” says Stephanie, who is also mum to Ted (nine).

“Sid loved helping at the pub so much he didn’t want to go back to pre-school.”

By July 2017, the Cow & Calf was officially

The Spotted Calf Range of teas and coffees roasted in Derbyshire by Peak Bean and teas supplied

by Northern Tea Merchants. Delicious home-made cakes, scones and paninis.

Locally-sourced beer from local breweries

01332 880 798

In the event, the application was refused and the villagers faced the unenviable task of finding the best part of £500,000 by March 2017.

Undaunted, they launched a crowdfunding campaign in January 2017 with the intention of selling shares in the pub with a minimum investment of £250.

open for business. While the pub was put into 01332 880 798

The Spotted Cow Opening hours: Sunday -Thursday 12 noon - 11pm.

Friday - Saturday 12 noon - 12 midnight.

Others were more supportive and one said we deserved a chance as ‘we’ve all got to have a bit of hope’.”

A local landmark open for business

Opening hours, including Post Office: Monday - Saturday 9am - 5pm.

Sunday: 10am- 4pm.

www.thespottedcowholbrook.co.uk Town Street, Holbrook.

64 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

01332 882 537

the hands of seasoned licensees Cheryl and Paul Brew, the other employees - including 10 paid members of staff – were recruited from the locality.

“Penny” the cow was the face of the save the pub campaign - she moved around the village to catch people’s attention. She’s named after Penny who worked in the former pub for forty years

Having spent a morning in both the pubs and café – in the interests of research you understand – I can personally testify to the willingness of everyone to go that extra mile. It can be seen in all the little things like the ‘muddy wellies and dogs welcome sign’ and the huge effort put into every event from the children’s parties to the recently resurrected ‘Damson Sunday’; a weekend celebrating all the things – vodka, jam, pies – made from the fruit once planted to provide dye for Holbrook’s long-lost textile industry.

“We host a lot of events because it’s a community pub,” explains landlady Cheryl. “We have worked in other pubs and they’re all unique. In Holbrook, our role is to give something back to the people who supported us.”

According to Paul, one way to do this is to support local micro-breweries like Amber Ales of Ambergate. “Although I won’t stock anything I wouldn’t drink myself,” says Paul proudly, a stipulation which has helped the pub gain a coveted place in the Good Beer Guide 2019.

“We want to be the hub where everyone feels welcome.”

A desire to please the community also explains the existence of the cafe. When the village was polled, 81 per cent were in favour of creating a separate cafe in part of the pub’s former kitchen and an old storeroom.

“The villagers wanted a day-time cafe away from the pub so we applied for Lottery funding,” says Stephanie, who now volunteers at the café she helped to create, while studying for a master’s degree. “The overwhelming feed-back was that it had to be clean and modern – and serve bacon sandwiches.”

In the event, it offers all that – and more. The cafe boasts a well-honed menu featuring home-baked cakes, soup, jacket potatoes and those wonderful paninis made by Holbrook’s very own star baker Evgeniia Zhigacheva.

“Evgeniia was spotted by the local Womens’ Institute so that tells you how good she is – she even makes teacakes,” says Stephanie. “We always try to support the local economy. Our meat comes from Owen Taylor Butchers of Leabrooks, milk from The Duffield Dairy, coffee from Peak Bean and ice cream from Bluebells Dairy, Spondon.”

By 11 o’clock, the cafe is buzzing and one of the

volunteers – Anna Newton, arrives for her shift.

In addition to more coffee, and a huge slice of cake, Anna offers me a dazzling smile when I ask why she’s happy to give up her time freely to the community.

“I love it,” she says. “I’ve lived in the village for 35 years, I really didn’t get to know many of my neighbours as people go off to work during the day. I adore meeting people and it’s such a lovely team. When the pub was closed we lost more than a land-mark, now people are mixing again.”

Shareholder and fellow volunteer Liz Swift agrees; “It’s a meeting place, somewhere you can always find a friendly face,” she says. “I bought my shares before I moved here but I think it was always meant to be. Living in Holbrook is like being on holiday every day.”

The Spotted Cow and Spotted Calf can be found on Town Street, Holbrook. Phone (01332) 880798 for details. For details of the café, post office services and the B&B room above the Spotted Cow, ring 01332 882537.

Self-confessed ‘foodie’ journalist Amanda Volley showcases all that is great about food and drink in Derbyshire.

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 65

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Support in your own home, a realistic alternative

Live-in care

If you, or someone you know, would beneďŹ t from our service, either live-in, companionship or daily visits, (multiple daily visits only available within a certain radius of DE56 1AX) please get in touch with our friendly and professional team.

01773 880055

Bluebird Care, 6 Bridge Street, Belper DE56 1AX @BluebirdCareAmberValley

www.bluebirdcare.co.uk/amber-valley www.bluebirdcare.co.uk/derbyshire-dales CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 69

Wedding Inspiration

Cosima by Romantica of Devon A glamorous fit and flare style with a plunge neckline, all over lace detailing, sequin under layer and finished with a scoop back.

For local stockists visit www.romanticaofdevon.co.uk

70 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Derbyshire's newest wedding venue If your dream wedding focuses on quality over quantity, then our small and intimate wedding venue may be just the trick We supply beer from our own award winning brewery and gin, if you fancy wine or another tipple bring your own with no corkage fee. Catering can be supplied by a local company You can hire all day, afternoon or evening or by the hour, and we can seat up to 36 guest and upto 95 overall. As something quite unique why not take advantage of our Bespoke brew for your wedding with your own personal labels on the bottle.

Rob the owner of Peak Ales goes on to say “we decided to open up one side of our beautiful barn just

outside of the Chatsworth estate to offer a place for people looking for a small intimate wedding venue, we can also provide our award wining ales on the day, and very soon we will be able to offer our own gin distilled right here at the brewery”.

The peak ales team look forward to welcoming you, so why not give them a call and arrange a visit to see how they can fulfil your needs. Peak Ales The Barn Brewery, Chatsworth, Bakewell, Derbyshire.

DE45 1EX Phone:1246 583737 Email: info@peakales.co.uk

If your dream wedding focuses on quality over quantity, then our small and intimate wedding venue may be just the trick Be the first to take advantage of our brand new venue

We supply beer from our own award winning brewery, if you fancy wine or another tipple bring your own with no corkage fee.

You can hire all day, afternoon or evening or by the hour, and we can seat up to 36 guest and upto 95 overall.

We can also offer bespoke brews for weddings.

We’re pretty flexible so we can fit to your needs while our expert team will work closely with you to ensure that all those little details that make your dream day are perfectly considered and delivered.

PEAK ALES VISITOR CENTRE (shop now open daily until 4pm)

The Barn Brewery, Chatsworth, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1EX

01246 583737 info@peakales.co.uk www.peakales.co.uk CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 71

Wedding Inspiration

Mother of the Bride

by John Charles For local stockists visit www.johncharles.co.uk

72 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Wedding Inspiration Angela

by So Sassi So Sassi is designed and made in England.

The dresses are predominantly aimed at the more fashion conscious bride, mixing stunning silhouettes with fashion focused details like peplum belts and 3D floral laces.

For local stockists and more information visit www.sosassi.so

Second Chance Dress Agency Established 1977

Day wear, occasion wear and accessories Designer labels at bargain prices No appointments necessary

Stock changes daily

19 Church Street Ashbourne Tel: 01335 343025 Wed 10-1. Tues,Thur,Fri 10-4. Saturday 10-5.

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 73

Spring Wardrobe Soft yet structured, this blazer is made from easy-to-wear jersey. With a unique Joules printed lining, external and internal pockets and a back vent for shape, you can dress this up or down as you please. From the new season collections now arriving at Clarkes, 8-18 Grosvenor Road, Ripley.

A great selection of watches and a fabulous range of pre-loved designer ladies clothing and accessories for every occasion available at Frox located at Draycott Mill, Draycott, Derbyshire. Tel: 01332 875572 www.froxshop.com

Jillian Hart Fashions specialise in wedding outfits and special occasion wear suitable for both the mother of the bride and the groom, as well as less formal outfits for all guests. Their experienced and friendly staff will help with co-ordinating hats, fascinators, shoes, bags and accessories. The pictured dress and jacket is from Glitz, and prices start from ÂŁ135Â . Jillian Hart Fashions, 40-44 Babington Lane, Derby.

74 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Spring is coming!

Beautiful Range of Wedding & Occasion Wear in Sizes 10-22 Plus Hats, Fascinators, Handbags and Shoes to Match

FABULOUS RANGE OF PRE-LOVED DESIGNER LADIES CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES FOR EVERY OCCASION.

The shop you don’t want your friends to find...

40-44 Babington Lane Derby Tel: 01332 347647 Opening Times: Monday - Saturday 9.30am - 5.00pm

DERBYSHIRE’S PREMIER DRESS AGENCY Est. 2006

Tel: 01332 875572 www.froxshop.com

New Season - New Brands - New Look!

Friendly personal service from assistants who care, in a truly independent store that’s big enough to stock the quality brands you want.

Footwear – Accessories Lingerie- Gifts Linens- Homewear Menswear & Coffee Shop.

Joules White Stuff Seasalt Weird Fish Olsen

Tigi Mistral Pomodoro Soyaconcept Luca Vanucci

Viz a viz Joe Brown Barbour Espirt Superdry

8-18 Grosvenor Road, Ripley Tel: 01773 742151 Ladies Fashion at our Belper store includes Mistral, Esprit, Red Cuckoo, Luca Vanucci, Weird Fish, Barbour and more 30-32 King Street, Belper, Telephone Tel: 01773 525358

REVERSIBLE WATERPROOF RAINCOAT

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 75

Time for

with

TEMPLE SPA PALM BALM £19 Our award-winning hand cream is very popular in the Autumn and Winter, as it protects and moisturises your hands when the seasons are changing and during cold and frosty weather. Luxurious skincare for your hands.

More than just a handcream this luxurious skincare treatment fuses together extracts of aloe vera to soothe and moisturise dry chapped hands, jojoba oil to soften the skin and vitamin E to hydrate and diminish signs of ageing. The cream texture will sink quickly into skin leaving your hands softer, smoother, naturally fragranced and non-greasy.

SOLE BALM £19 Relaxation starts with the feet, so your soles and your soul are going to love, love, love some amazing SOLE BALM treatment. A powerful blend of 22 essential oils will help alleviate tension and tiredness, and a plethora of botanicals including cocoa butter, honey, wheat germ plus oils of olive, soy and avocado deeply moisturise.

Clever salicylic acid, papaya and provitamin B5 gently nibble away dead skin cells, so those rough bits will get softer and softer, whilst peppermint oil and menthol gently soothe and cool. A spa pedicure indeed!

SUGAR BUFF £23 An all over anti-ageing body scrub that leaves your skin smooth, fragrant and buffed to perfection. Our best body scrub for all skin types.

For all year round and top-to-toe sexy, soft skin that radiates with a healthy glow. SUGAR BUFF is a deliciously fragranced, Mediterranean inspired sugar exfoliator with the most luscious texture that removes dead skin cells and encourages cell renewal to reveal silky smooth skin. A gorgeous anti-ageing blend including hydrating olive and grape seed oil, fig, pomegranate, vitamin E plus a relaxing cocktail of essential oils including lavender, patchouli, clove, grapefruit, eucalyptus and rosemary. Treats your body from top to toe!

For more information and to buy online visit www.templespa.com

Sole Balm The cocoa butter, honey, wheat germ and oils make this a beautifully soothing product. I was especially surprised to see how after only a couple of days this really improved the skin on my feet. I use this straight after a shower, and will continue to use this regularly, an excellent cream. JP 76 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Palm Balm A little goes a long way with this hand cream.

It melts in quickly and leaves skin feeling soft and nourished. VP

Sugar Buff A beautifully scented body buff with eucalyptus and lavender oils.

Perfect for use during the winter when skin can become dry, it gently exfoliates the skin and leaves it silky and smooth. CB

Spring Wardrobe Fitness Buddy Tailor made women’s training

Get motivated, get fit with a Female Personal Trainer in your own home Nutrition • Weight Loss • Health t: 07720 743 064 e: fitness-buddy@hotmail.com

www.fitness-buddy.co.uk

Level 3 Diploma (Personal Trainer and Fitness Instructor) and a Level 3 Diploma in Sports Nutrition.

Let Glendair help you love your smile Call us today for a FREE new patient appointment and find out how we can help transform your smile.

“I’d forgotten how to smile and I can laugh again now! It’s unbelievable.”

Limes Avenue, Alfreton, DE55 7DW

01773 832164 www.glendairdental.co.uk

Straight teeth

Restoring smiles

Shiny & bright

Transform your look with braces

Fill any gaps with dental implants

Dazzling teeth & healthy gums

l Fast, invisible & fixed brace options

l Look, feel & work like natural teeth

l Professional teeth polishing

l Staggering results in a matter of weeks

l Ideal for replacing missing teeth

l Squeaky clean teeth & gums

l Payment options & 0% finance

l Interest free credit available

l Whole range of hygiene options

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 77

Directory Call 01773 830344 RICHARD BOOTH UPHOLSTERY

*Re-Upholstery *Loose Covers *Bespoke *Wide selection of fabrics 1 New Road, Heage, Derbyshire

01773 853338

Holiday Apartment

The Tower, Sandy Close, Crantock, Cornwall

Luxury S/C Holiday Apartment for 4 (Couples/Families Only) Outstanding Atlantic and Country Views Glorious Beach and NT Coastal Footpath (4 minutes walk) Parking, Dog Friendly and No Passing Traffic

For Booking and Enquiries Tel: 01637 830394 Email sandyclose@btinternet.com

WINDOWS DOORS CONSERVATORIES FASCIAS & SOFFITS REPAIR WORK Head Office/Showroom 28 Church Street Ripley Derbyshire DE5 3BU

Tel:01773 513339

www.sunset-windows.co.uk

WEATHERSEAL

Windows, Doors and Conservatories • Full Insurance Backed Guarantee • Shoot- Bolt Locking With Push Button (Autolock Handles as Standard) • High Security Internal Glazing Bead as Standard • A Rated Energy Efficient Windows As Standard • Hook Bolt Door Locks as Standard All kinds of repairs undertaken. Replacement Handles,Hinges and Door Furniture Including Double Glazing Repairs and Misted Up Glass Units No High Pressure Sales – Guaranteed • Each Quotation Attended by the Proprietor • Our own Fully Experienced Installers, No Sub-Contractors • 20 Years’ Experience in the Window Trade

78 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

All work carried out by our own skilled craftsmen with over 20 years of experience.

Re-Skimming • Dry Lining • Rendering • Artex Removal •Small Repairs to Full Renovations

Patrick O’Neill Plastering Tel: 0780 701 6747 or 01773 434258

Home visits a pleasure for a Free Quotation for re-upholstery or furniture repair.

Clean Reliable Service

Mobile: 07960 849642

Free No Obligation Quotations

Tel: 01773 856082

Made to measure Gates, Railings & Ironwork Phone NOW for your FREE on site quotation Fitting Service Available

The Area’s Favourite Window Company

Tel: 01773 747265 Mobile: 07967 419 504 Email: weatherseal01@live.co.uk

UPHOLSTERY RE-UPHOLSTERY REPAIRS

All Aspects Of Plastering

The Gate Maker

SUNSET WINDOWS

Your 5 Star Piece of Mind…

JOHN’S SOFA STUDIO

Dove Bow Top Double Gates 4 ft high 7 ft gap only £462 4 ft high 12 ft gap only £792 6 ft high 7 ft gap only £714 6 ft high 12 ft gap only £1224

Dove Flat Top Double Gates 3 ft high 7 ft gap only £399 3 ft high 12 ft gap only £684 6 ft high 7 ft gap only £630 6 ft high 12 ft gap only £1080

All gates come complete with brackets tofit to wall or existing post (posts not included)

01773 745822

www.thegatemaker.co.uk Shot Blast & Powder Coating Specialists in refurbishing wrought iron gates

Phone 01773 745822 NOW

A Local Family Run Company

Motor Bike Frames, Garden Furniture Collection Service Available for a small charge

Upgrade your car with a

BlackVue 4K or full HD with smartphone intergration

BlackVue dashcams connect people and their cars through the Cloud.

Directory Call 01773 830344

• DR750S & DR900S - front only or front and rear.

• 4K UHD + full HD Cloud dashcam.

• With BlackVue Over the Cloud check on your car from anywhere, anytime.

• Front cam: 8 megapixels sensor.

Get your boots on and get paid!

Car Electronics Derby Ltd

• Ultra-wide 162-degree angle.

• Rear cam: 2.1 megapixels STARVIS™ sensor.

• Rear camera records in Full HD. • Outstanding low-light sensitivity.

• Captures critical details while driving or in Parking Mode.

13, Ashbourne Road,Derby DE22 3FQ

01332 332546

www.carelecderby.co.uk @carelecderby

ʻThe Friendly Professional Local Company With Over 25 Years Experienceʼ

We Require distributors for Etwall, Willington & Repton Contact Country Images 01773 830344 garry@imagespublishing.co.uk •

New life for Old Kitchens!

•

It’s so easy! Not only will a Dream Doors makeover save you £1000s, but you will not have to suffer the stress, upheaval and mess that comes with a traditional refit.

•

out our Ask ab

F 20% OF doors

Just replace the doors and worktops

DREAM DOORS NEW LIFE FOR OLD KITCHENS

Visit our Derbyshire showrooms or call to book your FREE survey and quote: 20 The Strand, Derby, DE1 1BE T: 01332 290600 197 Sheffield Road, Chesterfield, S41 7JQ T: 01246 888786 www.dreamdoors.co.uk

•

All Types of Garage Doors Supplied & Fitted Up & Over, Sectional, Roller and Side Hinged Remote Control Operation to New or Existing Garage Door Repairs Competitive Rates, NO CALL OUT CHARGE Guarantees All Installations & Repairs Fully Guaranteed

Visit our website for examples of our work and call us for a free quotation

Call Today 01332 609445 or 07583 031427 www.ockbrookgaragedoors.co.uk CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 79

All-new PEUGEOT 5008 SUV WINS ‘CROSSOVER OF THE YEAR’ at Scottish Car of the Year Awards 2018

T

Emergency Braking System (AEBS), Distance Alert and Active Lane Keeping Assistance (LKA), all designed to improve safety.

inclination, along with two removable folding seats in the third row, resulting in the maximisation of leg room and an impressive load space of 952 litres.

The all-new PEUGEOT 5008 SUV i-Cockpit® is situated in the drivers eye line to help ensure motorists keep their eyes on the road, as well as featuring advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS,) including Automatic

The all-new 5008 SUV also includes a raft of practical features, such as sockets, hooks, blinds and intelligent storage spaces, which offer functionality and versatility. Additionally, its outstanding modularity and adaptable interior provides three individually folding seats in the second row, all ISOFIX compatible, adjustable longitudinally and in backrest

Winning ‘Crossover of the Year’ at the Scottish Car of the Year Awards 2018 is just the latest in a range of accolades the all-new 5008 SUV has achieved this year, having won ‘Best Large SUV’ at the What Car? Car of the Year awards, ‘Towcar of the Year’ at the Caravan and Motorhome Club awards and ‘SUV of the Year’ in the CCT100 awards earlier in the year.

he seven-seater SUV won over members of the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers (ASMW) thanks to its comfortable interior, refined drive experience, innovative i-Cockpit® technology and practicality.

DERBYSHIRE’S NO DERBYSHIRE’S NO1 1 INDEPENDENT LAND INDEPENDENT LANDROVER ROVERCENTRE CENTRE

Quality service without compromise.

Are you paying too much R TOO MUCH FO for yourELand AYINGServicing?

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un whilstunder Why not try DLS? We can service your ice vehicle hic even whilst le even serv your ve service n ty ca e ali W qu S! a u DL yo a quality Land Rover manufacturer’s warranty. y. Givingyou Why not try rantGiving ar w r’s s. re ice ctu pr fa r deale prices. ver manucompared to maindealer service with great to main Land Rosavings vings compared with great sa

DLS All servicing is carried out to the original manufacturer’s schedules DLS

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DLS - Quality se

Affordable Affordable and competitive on all service and repair Air Conditioning work, oftenwith largeService savings Full and aircon labour and diagnostics on parts pricesservice available Affordable quoted by the Main Dealer

Full Workingschedules Facilities manufacturer’s Affordable and competitive on all Service and Modern, fully equipped 6 Full Working Facilities Repair work,Available often with large savings on parts an bay workshop employing fully Courtesy Cars Modern fully equipped 6 bay workshop employing prices quoted by theus Main Dealer skilled Land Rover trained While labour your vehicle is with fully skilled Land Rover trained technicians Courtesy Cars technicians you could take up Available the option Computer Diagnostics yourcourtesy vehicle is with us you could take up of oneWhile of our cars Autologic option of one our courtesy cars so you will Computer Diagnostics so youthewill never beof without Diagnostic Technology never(conditions be without transport (conditions apply) transport apply) Autologic Diagnostic Technology

WATER LANE • WIRKSWORTH • MATLOCK • DERBYSHIRE • DE4 4AA

Air Conditioning Service Full air-con and diagnostic service available 80 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

CALL OUR SERVICE TEAM ON (01629) 822185 Web: DLS-UK.co.uk Email: sales@DLS-UK.co.uk

Toyota HILUX

S

ince its launch in 1968, the Hilux has become one of the most successful models in the Toyota line-up with more than 18 million units sold globally making it the world’s favourite pick-up. The Hilux was the first vehicle to drive to both North and South poles whilst the pick-up has also seen multiple podium finishes in the Dakar Rally.

zone air conditioning designed to make every journey more relaxing.

heavy damage, it could still be driven away after a short repair with basic tools.

Safety first: The Hilux offers greater protection with Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Hill Start Assist and Toyota Safety Sense* features including Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection.

Quality, durability and reliability: Hilux is well-equipped to meet your needs. With 1 tonne payload and 3.5 tonnes towing capacity the Hilux tows the toughest loads effortlessly. Trailer Sway Control (TSC) also available to ensure the vehicle stays steady in crosswinds and on different terrain.

But.. they didnt stop there. In 2007 they put a modern 2005 unit to the ultimate test by driving it to the North Magnetic Pole, making it the first motor vehicle to do so.

The vehicle was only slightly modified with larger wheels and thicker tyres and a sump guard, as well as a few other minor additions.

Hilux garnered a reputation as the allconquering vehicle, which led to Top Gear putting these qualities to the test in the most extraordinary way. Their aim was to ‘kill’ an ’88 Hilux that already had 190,000 miles on the clock.

Tough outside, comfortable inside: High quality interior and cabin surroundings including height adjustable seats and dual-

The Hilux Top gear challenge

It was subjected to all manner of car torture: from washing it out to sea, hitting it with a wrecking ball, to dropping a caravan on top of it and setting it alight. Despite suffering

From here, it was only a natural progression from ice to fire as presenter James May took his Hilux into the mouth of an active volcano in Iceland to retrieve lava samples.

This further enhanced Hilux’s reputation of invincibility throughout the generations.

To arrange a test drive call Ron Brooks 01623 240051 or 0115 8820226

HILUX INVINCIBLE X

£2,046 £341 +VAT initial rental*

ronbrooks.co.uk/toyota

+VAT per month*

Ron Brooks Ilkeston

The Gateway, Derby Road Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 5FH Tel: 0115 882 0226

Ron Brooks Mansfield

Acorns, Oak Tree Lane Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG18 3HG Tel: 01632 240 051

Model shown is Hilux Invincible X 3.2t 2.4D 150 DIN hp Automatic at £37,740 including met paint at £545. Prices correct at time of being published. 5 year/100,000 mile manufacturer warranty. Terms and conditions apply. Hilux Invincible X 3.2t 2.4D 150 DIN hp Automatic. Official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km): Urban 29.7 (9.5), Extra Urban 42.2 (6.7), Combined 36.2 (7.8). CO2 emissions 204g/km. All mpg and CO2 emission figures quoted are sourced from official EU regulated tests.

These are provided for comparability purposes and may not reflect your actual driving experience. Fuel consumption varies significantly depending on a number of factors, including driving style, conditions, speed and vehicle load.

Model shown is Hilux Invincible X 3.2t 2.4D 150 DIN hp Automatic at £37,740 including met paint at £545. Prices correct at time of being published. 5 year/100,000 mile manufacturerwarranty.Terms and conditions apply. *Business users only.

I nitial rental and VAT applies. Available on new leases of model shown when ordered and proposed for finance between 18th December 2018 and 31st March 2019, registered and financed by 30th June 2019 through Toyota Financial Services on Toyota Contract Hire. Advertised rental is based on a 36 month customer maintained contract at 8,000 miles per annum with an initial rental of £2,046 +VAT. Excess mileage charges apply. You will not own the vehicle. Other finance offers are available but cannot be used in conjunction with this offer. Offer may be varied or withdrawn at any time. At participating Toyota Centres. Toyota Centres are independent of Toyota Financial Services. Indemnities may be required. Finance subject to status to over 18s only. Toyota Financial Services is a trading name of Toyota Financial Services (UK) PLC; registered Office: Great Burgh, Burgh Heath, Epsom, KT18 5UZ.Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Terms and conditions apply.

Visit our extensive showroom...

to experience the full effect of home heating

KEDLESTON HEATING

34, DuďŹƒeld Road, Five Lamps, Derby, DE1 3BH

Sadly missed......

We are sad to announce that a vital member of the Kedleston Team has passed away. Chelsea, she will be greatly missed.

Tel: 01332 200303

Monday-Friday 9.00 - 5.00, Saturday 9.30 - 4.30

kedleston14@gmail.com

www.kedlestonheating.co.uk

winter sale

END S SO ON

Hoxton Sofa & Snuggler SAVE 25% Hoxton Sofa & Snuggler SAVE 25% living | dining | sleeping | kitchens | flooring | accessories living | dining | sleeping | kitchens | flooring | accessories Hunters, Babington Lane, Derby. DE1 1SY Hunters, Lane, Derby. DE1 1SY @huntersofderby t. 01332 Babington 349285 huntersfurniture.co.uk t. 01332 349285 huntersfurniture.co.uk @huntersofderby