Derby June 2018

Country

Derby Edition - June 2018

A friend dropping in

Steve Orme interviews

Jason Manford The Lost Houses

of Derbyshire

Mackworth Castle

On the gin trail

The Walk

Foolow & Silly Dale MEETING THE CHEF AT

‘THE BOOT’

www.countryimagesmagazine.co.uk • Your Complimentary Lifestyle Magazine • Est. 1994

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sales@archwayinteriorsltd.co.uk • Tel: 01773 608365 • www.archwayinteriorsltd.co.uk CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 3

Welcome to the June edition

Country

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

June heralds the start of the holiday season and with it the chance to wander around in our area, and where better to start than the town of Belper with its bustling main streets.

Editor: Garry M Plant.

Advertisement Executives: Lisa O’Reilly, Carol Wilson, Alison Gent, Mark Douthwaite.

Editorial Features: Brian Spencer, Maxwell Craven, Steve Orme, Amanda Volley.

Download the Country Images FREE APP from

Travelling a little further south is Mackworth Castle, or you could opt for a lovely summers walk near Foolow.

Gin is very popular at the moment so this month Amanda Volley features Ambergate’s latest brewing success.

Emporium this month features ideas on how to brighten up your hallway.

We hope that you enjoy this issue.

“This product is printed on responsibly sourced paper and printed using only vegetable based inks” 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 Publishing Limited 01773 830344

4 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

The Country Images Team

Get your walking boots on!

Walk Derbyshire issues, 2, 3 and 4 are proving very popular as we see more people taking the time to enjoy the area in which we live. These publications can be ordered by visiting our website www.walkderbyshire.co.uk or our main website www.countryimagesmagazine.co.uk

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IMAGES OF

LIVERPOOL

By Brian Spencer

T

he last time I was in Liverpool must have been soon after the Toxteth riots in 1981. The very name still conjures up the smell of burned-out cars that were still littering the streets. Since then the city has gone from strength to strength and I had difficulty in orientating myself around what were once streets lining the old docks. Instead of a place trying to come to terms with changes brought about by the new container method of moving goods, the waterfront has gone from a no-go slum, to an exciting place to explore and enjoy.

Stevedores no longer queue every morning in the hope of a day’s work, manually unloading the multitude of ships berthed in the docks that can still be reached from the Mersey. All of this activity has moved to modern dock facilities out towards Bootle. In the place of gangs of

stevedores slaving deep within the holds of ships arriving from exotic parts of the world, giant cranes each operated by one single driver high above the ground, offload containers, sending them away on the backs of lorries towards their waiting markets.

The Modern Iconic Image of Liverpool CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 9

The old docks and their abandoned warehouses have become tourist venues, or a centre for water sports. What was once foul and almost poisonous water is now safe for swimming competitions, or water skiing using a clever system of fixed drag ropes; we even saw a cormorant which can only mean that the water has fish in it. Backed by a semi-permanent fairground, the Albert Dock in the centre of the restored docks and warehouses, now houses the Tate Liverpool art gallery, Merseyside Maritime Museum and the International Slavery Museum.

By publicising its links with slavery, Liverpool has bravely admitted to its part in this cruel system that brought wealth to a few, but bewildering and inhuman treatment of those considered inferior and only fit for use alongside beasts of burden.

Not only were slaves uprooted from their African homes, but people from both sides of the Irish Sea travelled through Liverpool on their way to a hopefully, better life far away.

Ships still occasionally berth alongside the modernised waterfront, but these are more than often cruise liners calling on this international city with a rich cultural and maritime past, home of world-class shopping and dining – and all within walking distance of the waterfront. There are smaller ships tying up alongside the liners at Pier Head. These are the famous Mersey Ferries,

immortalized by Gerry and the Pacemakers song, ‘Ferry ‘cross the Mersey’. This tune is played over and over again on the way across to Birkenhead and, it must be admitted, to be rather a bore. Each of the ferries is named after a spring flower. Iris and Daffodil are pre-fixed by Royal, an honour bestowed by the late King George V. Two Mersey ferries, the Iris and Daffodil as they were then known, took part in the attack on Zeebrugge harbour in World War 1. In honouring their heroism, the king decreed that both ferries and all those following them with the same name, would be called Royal. There is another, the Snowdrop, but as its forerunner was not involved in the attack, it is simply Snowdrop.

However this lack of a royal accolade is made up by its being painted in a psychedelic colour scheme.

The Beatles & The Liver Birds A slightly larger than life-sized statue of the ‘fab four’, the Beatles, Liverpool’s favourite sons, stands opposite the Liver Building designed for the Royal Liver Assurance Group, by Walter Aubrey Thomas and opened in 1911. The twin clock towers of the Grade 1 listed building are topped by the famous Liver Birds, symbols of

St George’s Place – Library/Museum/Art Gallery 10 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Liverpool and surrounded by local mythology.

One of the many stories about the birds is that the one facing the river is a female waiting for her lover to return; the other is a male who is looking inland to see if the pubs are open. Local belief also says that if the birds disappeared then Liverpool would cease to exist.

There is a line in the Beatle’s song ‘In my Liverpool home’, that goes ‘If you want a cathedral, we’ve got one to spare’. The two cathedrals, Anglican and Catholic sit at either ends of Hope Street. The two are in complete contrast; the Anglican dedicated to Christ in Liverpool is Gothic and took 74 years to build before it opened in 1978.

Standing at the opposite end of Hope Street, the Catholic Christ the King Cathedral is of more modern design. It was originally proposed to be built in 1853 to a design by Sir Edwyn Lutyens, the architect who created New Delhi.

Unfortunately the time span clashed with the rapid growth of Irish Catholics fleeing the potato famine in Ireland. As a result, the money was wisely spent on educating immigrant children.

Several attempts to start building were made over the intervening years, each to a different design, but it took until 1967 before Sir Frederick Gibbard’s plans created the modernistic ‘Crown of Thorns’ on top of high ground above the city.

In typical Liverpudlian humour, the tower has been called ‘Paddy’s Wigwam’, and ‘the Pope’s Launching Pad’.

The senior clerics of both Liverpool cathedrals, Archbishop Derek Warlock and cricketer Bishop David Shephard who was capped for England between 1950 and 1963, worked closely together in the aftermath of the Toxteth riots in 1981 and the tragedies at the Heysel Stadium in 1985 and Hillsborough in 1985. Half way along Hope Street there is a statue to the two honouring their co-operation and friendship. Even here there is an example of Liverpudlian humour – if you look carefully at Bishop David Sheppard’s feet you will see a cricket ball, something the sculptor couldn’t resist adding.

Humour is an everyday part of the Liverpudlian character, just think how many comedians have come from there – from Arthur Askey to Ken Dodd, that son of Knotty Ash (yes it is a real place). We were heading for Lime Street and the St George’s Quarter where the power and prosperity of Victorian Liverpool is openly boasted by the heavy stone line of public buildings containing a busy with visiting groups of individuals and families art gallery, museum and city library. Just then a bicycle came past, nothing odd about that until we saw the large Union Jack amongst other things such

The Liver Building

as a box fastened behind the rider’s seat. Again nothing odd, but sat in it as large as life was a Staffordshire Bull Terrier wearing sun glasses and a baseball cap. Now Stafford Bull Terriers have something of a bad reputation, but this one was left unfastened with his tongue lolling, still sitting in his box as quiet as can be while his master went to change a library book. I noticed that there was nothing to keep the dog in his place, he just sat there as patient as can be, not bothering when a little girl came to stroke him. It just goes to show that often what are classed as dangerous dogs, are only that way because they are not trained properly; it certainly proved what was on one of the notices pinned to the bike frame, calling for ‘Justice for Staffordshires’.

There is another art gallery and Museum, out along Brownlow Hill behind the Catholic Cathedral. It is on the road out towards Liverpool’s countryside at Croxteth Hall and Country Park, then on to Knowsley Safari Park, all within a few miles of the city centre and the waterfront. Both Everton and Liverpool FC’s grounds are to the north of the inner city, but further out is Aintree Racecourse, home of the Grand National. A huge area of sand at low tide beyond Bootle is the home of Anthony Gormley’s famous ‘Another Place’, cast-iron statues based on Gormley’s own body.

Scouse, or Lob Scouse as it is correctly known’ is still offered on pub menus around and about.

It first became popular amongst dockers as a convenient lunchtime meal. The stew is not unlike Irish Stew and it was brought over

by Norwegian sailors; the local name is the Anglicised version of the Norwegian Lap Scaus.

No one knows when the first Liverpudlian was called Scouse, or Scoucer, but the name seems to have stuck.

And finally a scouse joke: Why do Liverpudlians talk as though they have a chesty cold?

Answer: Because of the draught blowing out of the Mersey Tunnel!

‘Justice for Staffordshires’

Contemporary Liverpool street art CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 11

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loor Factory in Derby are Derbyshire’s only Amtico One Exclusive Retailer. Here they explain why this type of flooring is so popular…

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Amtico Decor Corona Azure 14 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

are launched regularly which is why Amtico lead the way with each new home trend that comes and goes.

Floor Factory are one of the largest flooring showrooms in Derbyshire showcasing hundreds of options of many different types of flooring. But as an Amtico One Exclusive Retailer, they have seen a huge trend develop for Amtico flooring in recent years, probably due to how robust, practical and stylish it is. They offer an Amtico design service that is exclusive to the area and people often travel from outside of the county to visit the showroom.

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Car pet | Laminate | Wood | Kar ndean | Amtico CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 15

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Herston Console Table by Neptune Herston came about because we wanted to introduce honed marble to our occasional furniture. It’s a console table with an enormous amount of elegance and pleasing contrast – oak meets marble, rough meets smooth, and cool surfaces meet those that are warm.

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Linwood Sporting Life Wallpaper by Linwood Fabric

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The Lost Houses

of Derbyshire

by Maxwell Craven

Mackworth Castle

T

he stone shell of the gatehouse to site of the ancient seat of the Mackworth family is one of the most memorable sites in the County. Lying only a few hundred yards from the City boundary of Derby, it invariably excites interest from those who see it for the ďŹ rst time, and it has been drawn and painted numerous times by local artists as diverse as Frank Gresley and Ernest Townsend; it was also photographed at a very early date by the ubiquitous Richard Keene. Its picturesque qualities are enhanced by a row of early 18th century brick farm labourers’ cottages, originally thatched, attached to the right.

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 23

The Lost Houses

of Derbyshire

by Maxwell Craven The reason it is called Mackworth Castle is because the name is entirely colloquial, applied to the existing gatehouse simply because it commands a castle-like air in the lane leading through the still largely unspoilt village. Many people actually do not realise that it is merely a rather grand gatehouse behind which once stood the seat of the Mackworth family, although what it was actually called when standing is far from clear – probably ‘the hall’ or similar. In surviving documents it is merely referred to as a ‘capital mansion’ which is fairly typical Medieval legalese for a manor house.

Three ancient views of Mackworth Castle: an oil painting, an early photograph and at the bottom a lithograph.

What we see today is a two storey three bay Keuper Sandstone crenelated gatehouse with a central depressed arch with ogiform crocketting executed in relief and a hood-mould above it.

There are stepped buttresses either side of the central opening and at the angles, an impost band and a cornice below the crenelated parapet which winds round the slender bartizans at the angles and is punctuated by a row of three gargoyle spout heads. The windows were originally traceried, vestiges of which survived by the bricking up of the outer pair. Yet there is neither roof, nor on the north side any wall at all, only two later brick lean-tos put up in the last couple of centuries in order to provide storage for the Regency farm house built behind.

Originally there were side rooms with a twochamber lodging for the gate keeper above, the large room being furnished with a fireplace with a projecting hood, finials and a castellated chimney above. Beside the fireplace is a corbel upon which to place a lamp. Dr. Emery, Britain’s foremost expert on Medieval Country houses is of the opinion that originally there was a rear wall, and visible vestiges of a low pitched roof, their dismantling in the 17th century possibly explaining the appearance of tooled ashlar blocks similar to those still in the building in a lean-to added to the adjoining cottages and to be found elsewhere round about.

A closely related gatehouse is that to Worksop Priory, also late 15th century which, although lacking the crenellations (it is today surmounted by what may be a 17th century gable and roof ) is of the same general scale, with similarly placed buttresses and windows, although an elaborate traceried shrine to the right of the door relates solely to its religious use. That fronting the North Yorkshire Meynell’s ancient castle at Whorlton is also comparable, although slightly earlier and simpler, with less ornamentation.

Yet if this was a gatehouse, built in the third or

24 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

fourth quarter of the fifteenth century (as its architecture clearly indicates) what happened to the house? A survey undertaken in 1900 identified two house platforms behind the gatehouse, but the reported position of these seems out of kilter with the extant building.

More likely the distinct platform on which the present Castle Farm house rests is a more likely site. Here in 1888 some low rubble walling was found suggestive of a timber framed building on a rubble plinth. The inference is that there was a timber framed manor house and a group of the usual outbuildings on adjoining house platforms, raised up to cope with the occasional flooding of the Markeaton Brook, nearby, just as the Medieval stable block of Tudor Markeaton Hall, demolished in 1754, had been.

younger died, and Mackworth suddenly found himself unexpectedly possessed of a much larger landed estate in Rutland, and it became clear from surviving documents that he moved there quite soon afterwards. From that moment on, then, all thought of continuing work aggrandising his estate at Mackworth was put on hold – indefinitely as it turned out. He was indeed, appointed High Sheriff of Rutland in 1478, and died after 1481.

The family continued at Empingham Hall until the Civil War when, impoverished by loyalty to their sovereign, the family, raided to a baronetcy

in 1619 had to sell up, explaining why the 5th Baronet was an apothecary in Huntingdon and why his cousin twice removed, Sir Henry 7th (and last) Bt., died penniless in the Charterhouse almshouse in London in 1803. Nevertheless, a distantly related branch living in Shropshire by the reign of Elizabeth, managed to work their way up, by being canny lawyers, talented entrepreneurs and by marrying heiresses, to landed estates of their own, centered upon Gnoll Castle in Glamorganshire (demolished in 1957), where Sir Herbert Mackworth was in 1776 also made a baronet, and whose descendant,

Mackworth family are recorded here at Mackworth from the first quarter of the 13th century. The first of the family to be called ‘de Mackworth’, Philip, was almost certainly a member of the family of Touchet of Markeaton, which included Mackworth, and he and several of his descendants were stewards to the Touchets, especially after they inherited the Barony of Audley of Heleigh, in Cheshire.

Several younger sons were also parsons, one being vicar on Longford and another rector of Kirk Langley; a third became a Prebendary of Peterborough Cathedral and Dean of Lincoln.

Thomas Mackworth was, on 1st August 1404 the recipient of the earliest datable grant of arms in Derbyshire being allowed, on the authority of his feudal lord, John Touchet, Lord Audley, a shield bearing the arms of Touchet and Audley divided vertically by a jagged line (called dancettée in heraldic jargon) and with a red chevron superimposed bearing gold fretwork.

This Tomas, a lawyer and twice MP for Derby, without doubt lived in the timber framed manor house, the vestiges of which were recorded over a century ago in the farmyard of Castle Farm.

He also managed to marry an heiress, in Alice, daughter of Sir John Basings of Empingham and Normanton in Rutland and heiress of her childless brother, another Sir John. On Thomas’s death in 1447, he was succeeded by his son Henry, who also held land at Ash (Etwall) and Trusley. Probably in the 1450s, he is thought to have begun improving his estate at Mackworth, starting by erecting the grandiose gatehouse we can still enjoy today, no doubt leaving rebuilding the house itself in matching style (and no doubt of much increased size) until phase two.

However, at this stage Sir John Basings the

Strutt’s in Mackworth Village (NEXT TO THE CASTLE) for great hair and nails!

Sometimes it’s worth travelling that little bit further for what is possibly Derbyshire’s prettiest hair and nail salon!

• Free on-site Parking • Complimentary Drinks • Expert Stylists and Nail Technician • Local Chauffeur Service

01332 385 476

Mackworth House Farm, Lower Road, Mackworth Village Derbyshire DE22 4NF

Find Us On

@struttssalon struttshairandbeauty www.strutts.com CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 25

The Lost Houses

of Derbyshire

by Maxwell Craven Sir Digby, 10th Bt. lives in Oxfordshire. Other descendants of the Mackworths include the Mackworths of Buntingsdale, Salop and the Mackworth-Praed family.

Meanwhile, the Mackworths retained their estate in Derbyshire until 1655, when a demand for an enormous fine from the Parliamentary Committee for Compounding the estates of ‘delinquent’ persons (i.e. supporters of the King) prompted its sale. Ash went to Parliamentary supporter Sir Samuel Sleigh and the Mackworth estate was purchased by an opportunistic neighbour, Sir John Curzon, 1st Bt. of Kedleston for £1,300.

Three current views of Mackworth Castle

There is no record as to whether the old timber framed manor house survived, but it probably did, either divided as tenements or converted into a farmhouse, although the hearth tax assessment of 1670 offers no clue. Three farmhouses there then each had three taxable hearths, and any of them could have been a converted medieval manor house, a type notable for having very few hearths bar one in the great hall.

If it did survive, it was probably demolished and replaced after the 1778 land rationalisation between 1st Lord Scarsdale, who had inherited it, and Francis Noel Clarke Mundy of Markeaton Hall, who received it. Mundy was a great improver, and probably built the present farm house behind the gatehouse. Certainly, all knowledge of the history of the ancient house was lost even by 1713, when all William Woolley could write was ‘…here is the remains of an old castle.’

It really is about the most lost of all lost houses in the County!

The ancient castle at Whorlton, North Yorkshire.

26 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Gatehouse at Worksop Priory

around the City The villages north of Derby boast a host of businesses oozing with expertise. On these pages are just a few established companies to help you.

Vehicle Electrical & Servicing

Duffield

Tel: 01332 340853 nelsonautoelectrical@talk21.com Mobile: 07860 545694

www.nelsonautoelectrical.co.uk Darley Abbey Mills, Darley Abbey, Derby DE22 1DZ

Darley Abbey is home not only to local history but many companies.

Ladies and Men’s Hair

H

eadlines by Julie in the heart of Darley Abbey Village is celebrating their 30 year anniversary in business. Julie has owned this business in the beautiful village of Darley Abbey and feels so lucky to have such a fantastic avenue for business. She would like to thank all the customers who have supported her with their continued custom.Headlines by Julie, Abbey Lane, Darley Abbey, Derby Tel: 01332551440

Abbey Lane, Darley Abbey, Derby DE22 1DG Appointment Service 01332 551440 Late nights Wednesday & Friday Free Parking www.headlinesbyjulie.co.uk

VR

V I C TO R I A RO B E RT - Kitchen Specialists -

• • • • • • • • •

All kitchen styles available Neff appliances Family run business Latest 3D CAD drawings Experienced friendly designers 18mm fully rigid colour coordinated cabinets German soft-close hinges and drawers which are fully extendable Free no obligation design and quotation service Free parking outside the showroom

VR

sales@victoriarobert.co.uk 01332 553075 10 Blenheim Parade, Allestree DE22 2QP victoriarobertkitchens @victoriarobert

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 27

around the City The Alphabet Gift Shop and Coffee Bar, based on Station Road, Mickleover, specialises in personalised gifts and is full of unique finds!

From jewellery to baby gifts or homewares to wedding gifts, you are sure to find the perfect present for your special occasion. With an artisan coffee shop tucked away in the back, serving breakfast, lunch and tasty treats, The Alphabet Gift Shop is a one stop destination for meeting your friends for coffee and cake, finding that perfect gift that you can’t wait to give and enjoying a friendly and relaxed atmosphere in the lovely village of Mickleover.

For more information please visit www. thealphabetgiftshop.co.uk

Shaun’s Fresh Fish and Fresh Seafood Direct from Grimsby Free Home Deliveries Available Supplier to Restaurants

Call Shaun: 07588 451894

Wednesdays 11am-2.30pm Scotland Nurseries, Stretton Road, Tansley

Thursdays 1.30pm -4.00pm Highfield House Farm Shop Darley Road, Stonedge

Thursdays 9am-12.45pm Croots Farm Shop, Wirksworth Road, Duffield

2nd Saturday of the month 8am – 1pm, Belper Farmers Market Market Place, Belper

Chevin Golf Club, Duffield

C

hevin Golf Club has a beautiful and excellently maintained golf course in the village of Duffield. Opened in 1894, over the years it has become a landmark of Duffield where members and visitors alike can play golf on a course with magnificent views over Derbyshire countryside and can relax in the clubhouse in pleasant surroundings.

Our Head Professional, Tim Stevens, is currently refurbishing his shop, and will be stocking major golf brands and offering club fitting so that the golfer can be sure he is investing in the right equipment for him or her. He will shortly have the latest teaching technology installed so that every level of golfer from the beginner or junior up to the elite golfer can benefit from first class tuition.

Besides the regular men’s and ladies’ competitions there is an active mixed social golf section which run “more relaxed” competitions throughout the year followed by a meal together in the clubhouse. There is a particularly strong ladies section at Chevin that welcomes any lady golfers new to the area or who wish to join a friendly and welcoming section. Ladies new to golf will also be warmly welcomed and encouraged to learn, improve and become part of this friendly and active section.

This year for the first time we are holding our “OPEN GOLF WEEK” 18th August to 24th August. There will be different competitions each day which are open to any golfer with a current handicap. Full details from Manager, Andy Mellor, manager@chevingolf.co.uk or from the website www.chevingolf.co.uk or from the Professional shop.

Chevin Golf Club invites new members and visitors alike to sample our course and our hospitality

Deluxe boutique of occasion dresses awaits you. From beautiful ball gowns to the perfect prom dress; we have an exceptional collection in every colour imaginable.

Chevin Golf Club Golf Lane Duffield

Variety of Membership Options available No Joining Fee at present Chevin Golf Club Ltd Golf Lane Duffield. Derbys DE56 4EE

www.chevingolf.co.uk

28 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Office 01332 841864 Professional 01332 841112 manager@chevingolf.co.uk

Booking is essential, a CK ‘Couture Consultation’ at our Boutique is the ultimate dress makeover appointment.

Our stylists provide the perfect advice on shapes, cuts and colours that will suit you.

Contact us to book a dressing room wow@ckcouture.co.uk | Tel: 07581 716463 SUITE 5, DARLEY ABBEY STABLES, STABLES YARD, OFF ABBEY YARD, DARLEY ABBEY, DERBY, DE22 1DS

• Outstanding, affordable service • See your own vet every time • Advanced veterinary care

• On-site cattery & grooming parlour • Family run business

• 15% Discount for Rolls Royce, NHS, Derbyshire Police & Armed Forces

RATED BY OUR CLIENTS ON FACEBOOK & GOOGLE

DERBY & ALLESTREE PRACTICES 134-136 OSMASTON ROAD, DERBY, DE1 2RF TEL: 01332 345119 367A DUFFIELD ROAD, ALLESTREE, DE22 2DN TEL: 01332 553396 WWW.SLVETS.CO.UK

4.9

****

Summer time for pets - A Hot Topic!

British Summer is just about here! How long it will last is debatable, but for many pets it can be a dangerous time.

We are all aware of the RSPCA campaign “Dogs Die in Hot Cars” which highlights possibly the biggest causes of heat stress in animals, but there are many other threats the sun can bring too.

Summer Threats While we bask in the summer rays, excessive heat, dehydration and the inability to cool down are the main hazards for our furry friends. Leaving dogs in cars, even in the shade with the windows open, can still be life threatening. Cars left in 22°C heat can reach a shocking 47°C within the hour. Even nipping to the shop for 10 minutes can place you pet in unnecessary danger and stress. It’s not just the greenhouse effect of cars that are a risk to our pets. Heat stress can occur when animals are out in the open and are unable to cool themselves. Long walks, lack of shade/ access to water are all things to avoid when the temperatures soar.

A lot of breeds are predisposed to heat intolerance. Brachycephalic (or “squashed-nose” breeds) and long-coated breeds are all at a greater risk from hot weather. Young, old and obese pets are also more likely to suffer. With these dogs severe heat intolerance can happen quickly and they can deteriorate rapidly.

Another concern for some pets at this time of year is sunburn. While some of us foolishly avoid the sun-cream in order to’ top-up the tan’, pets with light skin pigments, thin coats or exposed areas of skin could develop nasty and painful burns. Areas of exposed skin around the nose, ears and bellies are at most risk of getting sun burns.

What are the signs of heat stress?

Symptoms of heat stress are progressive. The first signs a dog or cat is beginning to suffer from heat intolerance are vigorous panting and drooling.

As their body temperature continues to rise, pets will become lethargic and may not want to move, or their movements will be uncoordinated.

Vomiting and collapse are serious symptoms and you should contact your vet immediately.

What can I do to help?

It is important if you suspect your pet is suffering heat stroke to act quickly. Move your pet inside onto a cool floor or seek shade immediately. Small amounts of cool (not cold) water can be used to splash over your pet’s body or cover them in wet towels. Fanning or using a fan will also help. Offer your pet small amounts of water to drink. Never use frozen items or very cold water to cool your pet as this can cause shock. Always contact your vet who will advise you of the severity of the stress as well as provide more advice.

You can also provide your dog with frozen treats such as frozen apple, carrots, frozen coconut water cubes and many more! There are lots of tasty summer treat options on the internet but many are very calorific so just remember to reduce your pet’s dinner accordingly if you use them! You can also try filling your pet’s Kong with frozen morsels or use a cake tin to freeze their favourite toys. If you’re outside enjoying the sun I’m sure your pet will want to as well, using paddling pools in the garden or wet towels to lie on will help to keep them cool.

As mentioned previously, some animals are at risk of sun-burns. White cat’s ears and noses as well as dogs muzzles are the most commonly seen burnt areas in pets. There are many pet-safe options or baby sun-creams work well.

Summer is without doubt the best time to enjoy the outdoors with your pet, just remember to keep both of you cool, hydrated and sun-creamed up!

A vet’s favourite phrase” is prevention rather than cure” and this is true with hot weather. Avoid long walks, excessive time in the sun, shade-less parks and always carry a water bottle for yourself and your pet. Keeping your pet hydrated at home and on walks is important.

Grain Free Dog Food Food which promotes healthy well-being

Healthy Pet

Naturals

Receive 10% off your first online order using discount code HPNCIP10 We want the best for our pets, which is why our grain free dog food contains fresh cuts of ‘human grade’ meat and absolutely NO hidden nasties. Our large selection of complete dry food is specifically created for a dog’s nutritional requirements.

Find out more on our website or visit us in store for a free consultation. www.healthypetnaturals.co.uk | 222 Belper Road, Stanley Common DE7 6FT t: 0115 930 1257 | m: 07753 679689 | e: info@healthypetnaturals.co.uk Pictured is Brodie, one of Healthy Pet Naturals’ satisfied customers, enjoying the view over Smalley and the Derbyshire Dales.

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 29

around the City

MICKLEOVER

H

enry’s Pine of Brailsford is much more than a beautiful furniture shop stocking a wide range of pine furniture plus accessories such as cushions and mirrors, they also have on site workshops where they can manufacture most items large or small to your exact specification and finish.

The home of Sherbourne Lift & Rise Recliners in Derbyshire Free Delivery.

Free Removal of Old Furniture.

All Ground Floor Showroom

Rowditch Furnishers Ltd

95% of our Products are British made.

The Parade,Mickleover,Derby,DE3 0GB

SALES HOTLINE 01332 511235

Most of the tables supplied by Henry’s are made in-house. They have their own designs and also traditional designs made in the traditional way. Tables can be oiled for protection against cup spillages, wine, etc.

Their kitchen furniture is hand made from solid pine (no plyboards or MDF) unless requested and are all individual, from Shaker style to free standing. All frames and doors are mortise and tenon jointed, with dovetailed drawers as in all of Henry’s range of furniture.

Bathroom furniture is mostly made to measure and oiled to be water resistant. Chat with them to make a bathroom to relax and unwind in to your own individual needs.

Bedroom furniture comes in many styles and designs. Once again Henry’s makes it all to your own sizes and dimensions, and also stock a number of bedroom furniture ranges in store, including beds, wardrobes and bedside cabinets. For more information on our range of furniture please feel free to contact us by telephone on 01335 361132 or visit our showroom.

or F e c u d o r P t c e Perf Q A Summer BB

Delicious Range of Meats and Produce All Locally Sourced From Farms In And Around The Peak District....

Stockists of the perfect produce for a Summer BBQ, with a full range of BBQ meats and flavours, delicious variety of burgers and sausages all homemade on the premises.

Planning a BBQ? Why not Pre-Order Your BBQ Meat Beforehand Telephone for Details...

. Stafford Ltd , R.G

72 Western Road, Mickleover, Derby.

Telephone:

Qu

ality Butchers

01332 514087

30 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

H

S

ENRY’ PINE, OAK AND INTERIORS

PINE AND RECLAIMED TIMBER FURNITURE

www.henrysofbrailsford.co.uk Estate Works, Bullock Lane, Brailsford, Derbyshire DE6 3DA T: 01335 361132 E: info@hentysofbrailsford.co.uk

Windows | Bi-Folds | Entrance Doors | Extensions & Conservatories

Open up your view Full design and project management for any needs with the latest technology including the pioneering Lumi new glazing system.

Established since 1993 with over 41,000 installations across Derbyshire.

Visit our refurbished showroom and view our extensive product ranges - the largest in the Midlands.

TRA DE

Trade Windows, Navigation Retail Park, 810 London Road DE24 8WA www.tradewindows.com T: 01332 755551

WINDOWS

Open: Monday - Friday 10am - 6pm Saturday: 10am - 3pm | Sunday: 10am - 2pm

D E R B Y

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 31

Local Stockists

No VAT on Fitting Costs Plumbing or Electrical Costs

Still beating our competitors quotations!

Even during their sales!

Keeping prices low all year Here at Kitchen Solutions we are looking forward to our 12th year of trading.

Over that time we have fitted and supplied 1000’s of kitchens to properties in the local area and gained an excellent reputation along the way. As a result of that we have become proud members of CheckaTrade and are Nottinghamshire County Council and Trading Standards Approved.

All our kitchens are fantastic quality as we don’t use flat pack furniture and only use talented and experienced tradesmen.

Call in at our showroom where we can discuss your kitchen project.

WWW.KITCHEN-SOLUTIONS.NET

32 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

* fitted kitchens only

Individually designed kitchens at affordable prices

Over 100 genuine reviews on Checkatrade

Our modern showroom offers a wide selection of high quality kitchens and appliances to suit a small budget through to state-of-the-art appliances and superior bespoke kitchens.

A610

• Free no-obligation design and quotation service • We only use fully trained, experienced tradesmen • Fully colour co-ordinated rigid units 18mm solid backs and enclosed wall fixings • Blum soft-closing doors and drawers as standard • Clever storage ideas available to look at in the showroom • Proud members of Checktrade.com • Fully project-managed installation service or ASDA supply only!

To Heanor To Eastwood • Solid Granite, Quartz Stone, Timber, St Andrews Laminates Church • Family run business WE ARE HERE

Kitchen Solutions (Langley Mill) Ltd

St Andrews Court, 96 Station Road Langley Mill, Nottingham NG16 4BP Open: Mon-Fri 10am-5pm and Sat 10am-4pm. Closed: Sunday & Wednesday

www.checkatrade.com/KitchenSolutions

Telephone 01773 716465

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 33

Derby’s No. 1 for Lighting

CARPETS & FLOORING

Spring cleaning!

Easier to opt for a new Free fitted carpet.

The

Lamp Shed Canal Street, Derby T: 01332 294650

eals Great d t on Grea e a m d British carpets  Luxury Vinyl Tile Specialist  Quality Carpets  Hardwood Flooring  Free fitting on all Carpets

Statham’s Carpets & Flooring, 25 Belper Road, West Hallam, Derbyshire DE7 6GY.

T 0115 9398517 M 07436 792997 E stathamscarpets@gmail.com W nottingham-flooring.com

Quality, sensible beds sold at silly low prices

&

4 Babington Lane, Derby DE1 1SU Tel: 01332 341709 21 Balaclava Road, Derby DE23 8UL Tel: 01332 270 100 www.sillysids.co.uk

34 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Free Local Delivery on Orders Over £100

Come and take a look around our show site At Cabin Master the emphasis is on quality. The quality of our buildings, quality of customer service and first class in-house installation teams is something that we are very proud of and has become the cornerstone of our business.

Our sister company Arctic Cabins manufacture and install the highest quality BBQ Cabins ensuring you can cook & entertain in your garden 365 days a year, no matter the weather Find us at: The Rose Gardens 251 Toton Lane Stapleford Nottingham NG9 7JA Opening Hours 10am - 4pm 7 days a week Including May Bank Holidays

T: 0115 932 8888

www.cabinmaster.co.uk

E: info@cabinmaster.co.uk ÂŽ

We’re here for you in your time of need, day or night…

Murray’s

Independent Funeral Directors

Come and arrange your pre payment plan or your loved one’s funeral in the tranquil setting of Findern village just a few minutes from Littleover and Mickleover.

All your needs catered for by our qualified staff Pre-Payment plans designed to suit you Monumental Mason Service Available

25, Main Street, Findern, Derbyshire DE65 6AG Telephone 01332 425022 Also at 23, York Street, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire DE14 2LX Telephone 01283 562299

www.murraysfunerals.co.uk

DON’T LIMIT YOUR COMPANIES POTENTIAL

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OVER 30,000 HOMES across Derbyshire and North Nottinghamshire.

To expolore your many advertising options call us now on 01773 830344

Summer

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36 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Lester & Nix Diamond Anniversary

O

n the 30th May 1958, Lester & Nix Ltd opened its doors for the first time at number 19 King Street, Belper in what is now the Holland and Barrett store. Brian Nix, the founder, had worked as the manager of Tomlinsons further up King Street for 10 years before that momentous day, and there are still people around who remember him from those days.

Although the name remains, the Lester family have not been involved in the business since the very early days, but Brian kept the name mainly to save on the cost of reprinting all the stationary and replacing the sign!

The store started selling radios, record-players, radiograms, black and white televisions, washing machines, spin dryers and fridges, but Brian’s first love was selling records, and from then on and through the 1960s sold many thousands of Elvis and of course Beatles records, along with all the Top 20 singers and groups of the day. This was of course when records sold in shed-loads, particularly the Beatles, where in advance orders alone, a Beatle record could go to number 1 before anyone had even heard it! Heady days!

The other thing which was of its time when Lester & Nix opened was television. In those days, televisions were comparatively expensive to buy, and they were unreliable, which is why rental took off. Nearly everyone who had a television back then rented it and at its height, the Lester & Nix service department had six vans on the road servicing television breakdowns in the home. Business boomed, and two more events were to happen over the years to continue that growth and demand for rentals; the advent of colour television in the late 1960s and the start of video recorders in the mid 1970s. Again, these were costly items to buy in relative terms, so many people rented them.

rental shop was spawned. The demand for this was so much that Lester and Nix occupied the shop next door (in what is now Kalico) as a stand-alone video rental shop, or “video club” which was open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. Video rental was very popular in the 1980s and 1990s but by the end of the decade the market had saturated. In 1999 it was deemed video rental had had its day and despite closing that part of the business down, opened it up again as a white goods shop, retaining some of the video club staff to work there. At the same time it was decided to close the Matlock branch so the business could concentrate on building up the white goods side.

As earlier mentioned, there was a lot of television service capacity to keep the rentals going. Along the way a separate service company was set up, Trade Services, which remains under the Lester & Nix umbrella. Service is all now under the one roof at King Street as a separate building is no longer needed. Televisions are no longer big, bulky and heavy, and they are a lot more reliable. And flatter!

So, to the present day. High Streets have changed enormously over the last few years. The advent of shopping on the internet has had a huge impact and many electrical shops have sadly disappeared from the scene, but Lester & Nix are still going strong. Having built up the white goods side of the business and along with the marketing and buying power of Euronics group and a dedicated core of professional staff, they continue to go from strength to strength. Never a business to stand still they have adapted their skill set to now include built-in kitchen appliance installs, which at the moment is their biggest growth area.

The store still stocks televisions, in the form of the latest flat OLED Ultra High Definition screens and an impressive array of large and small appliances. Washing machines, dishwashers, refrigeration, cookers, both built-in and free standing, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens, kettles, irons, toasters and more. Believe it or not, record players have made a comeback.

They do say what goes around comes around!

So, call and see them soon at 11 – 13 King Street, Belper, tel: 01773 822828, www.lesterandnix.co.uk

11-13 KING STREET, BELPER | 01773 822828 www.lesterandnix.co.uk

sold as an agent of euronics ltd

The original store was becoming overcrowded, so Lester & Nix bought the old Derbyshire Building Society branch in what is now Fleur the florists across the road at number 14, and opened it as a purely audio store selling music centres and hi-fi. The business had by now long since pulled out of the record business. By this time it had already opened shops in Matlock and Buxton and Stephen, Brian’s son had joined the business full time in 1974 following years of coming in on Saturdays and holidays. Although Brian sadly passed away after a long illness in 2002, Stephen is still there in what is now quite a different business from those heady early years.

In the early 1980s the double fronted store they now occupy came up for sale and they decided to amalgamate the TV and video store and the audio store into one big store. Then, they were a “brown goods” only store, and when films became widely available on video tape, the advent of the video

All Blomberg refrigeration products will work in outbuildings and most are Frost Free.

Blomberg products come with a full 3-year warranty that covers the cost of parts and labour should repairs become necessary.

Blomberg is recognised as a German quality brand in home appliances

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 37

Create Your Dream Bathroom

M������ D��������� F����� L�������� I�…

Worktops

Fireplaces

Flooring

Opening Times: Monday-Friday 8.30-5.00 Saturday 8.30-12.00

www.mandalelimestone.com

Email: info@mandalelimestone.com Old Station Yard, Rowsley, Derbyshire, DE4 2EJ

Telephone: 01629 735 507

Quality Bathrooms, Fully Guaranteed Installation, Expert Design, Personal Service

DISTINCT BATHROOMS

N AT OPENING SOO

ne, DE6 1GF Dig Street, Asbour Tel: 01335 418081 k ctbathrooms.co.u enquiries@distin

NO PERFECT FIT BLINDS Drilling Complete conservatories supplied and fitted for…

Up to 6 blinds £500, 8 blinds £660, 10 blinds £810 or 12 blinds £960!

Holes

NO

Screws

Pleated blinds for double glazed UPVC windows, doors & conservatories 9 Flood Street, Ockbrook, Derby, DE72 3RF Tel: 01332 665703 / 07983 152030

www.kjblinds.com 38 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

NO

THORPES

OF ILKESTON

Quality Furnishers for over 130 years

Buoyant – Bridgecraft – Celebrity – Cintique – Hypnos – Myers – Nathan Old Charm – Rest Assured – Sherbourne – Silentnight – Vale

NOW OPEN OUR NEW

£399 OR LESS FURNITURE STORE

in the old Co-op Building. Includes Beds, Sofas, Wardrobes, Etc Open Mon - Sat 11.00 - 3.00. Closed Wednesday

3 seater sofas £399 2 seater sofas £350 Myers 5ft Divans £399 Myers 4ft 6” Divans £350 Silentnight 5ft mattress £199 Silentnight 4ft 6” mattress £270 Silentnight 4ft mattress £260 Silentnight 3ft mattress £199 3 door Wardrobes £199 Fireside Chairs from £199 Electric Riser Recliner £399 Manual Recliner £350

…and many more bargains to be seen!

Thorpes of Ilkeston

Old Co-Op Building, South Street, Ilkeston DE7 5SG & 38-44 South Street, Ilkeston DE7 5QJ

01159 325 733 01159 327834

www.thorpesofilkeston.co.uk & on facebook Thorpes Of Ilkeston Furniture

Expert knowledge – Quality Products – Precision installation – Great service We like to call this “the Kompass experience”. architectural doors and windows

Having recently left the role of Product Director to set up his own business, supplying and installing directly to the home owner, Steve called his business ‘Kompass’ as he is the customers reference point.

expert knowledge quality products precision installation great customer service we like to call this: “the kompass experience”

a unique blend of style and service, from a Derbyshire based company, to help you complete your home Book an appointment

01773 843322

info@kompasshome.co.uk

F

or the last 25 years Steve Brown has worked for two of the largest window system producers in the country. The products that he has personally conceived will sell for more than 100 million pounds this year alone and there is every chance that one of his products is in your home right now.

www.kompasshome.co.uk

If you are shopping for glazing products for the first time, it can be very confusing, Steve will help you understand the product opportunities that are available to you. Material? Colour? Style?

Glazing? this is your opportunity to personalise your home and add value to your property. He is not a sales man, Steve is a product and industry expert. “No hard sell, just information and collaboration”.

Let me help you to achieve your dream home so that you can enjoy the experience without the worry. “If you choose to work with kompass you are dealing with a local company and you will receive a unique personal service that is totally unlike dealing with a larger company”. “I really hope that you choose kompass as your supplier and project partner”.

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Derbyshire

Antiques & Collectibles

by Maxwell Craven

Vintage Telephones

Ericson made GPO type 16 of c. 1900 in need of restoration and conversion: £250

T

hose of us over a certain age will know that, until 1984, when the GPO (Post office telephones) monopoly was broken up, one did not actually own one’s telephone, but rented it from the GPO along with associated installations.

Thus there was very little choice over the type of telephone one could have. Collecting these instruments now is a relatively inexpensive hobby, with most types being available for under £50, although as usual condition is crucial and if an example has been adapted for modern plug in use, then the price is enhanced.

When I lived in my mews house in London in the late 1960s we had two lines – KNI[ghtsbridge] 1136 and 9226 - both equipped with rather sleek plastic ’phones in two-tone grey and plastic flexibly spiral cord. Yet when I got my first place in Derby, in Littleover, I inherited a hefty Bakelite job with a fabric coloured platted cord – much inferior to my way of thinking.

This latter was a GPO type 332 introduced in 1937 (expect to pay between £20 and £80 depending on condition, but add £250-300 if originally supplied in cream). It had a ledge under the rest with a recess so you could carry it around – provided that you paid the GPO for an extra-long lead. In contrast, my London ’phones were (then) up-to-the-minute type 706 ones, which also had the option of a wall-mounted version, one of which we had.

For these today expect to pay as low as £10 and up to £60, much depending on the colour. The letters on the dial were to enable one to dial London numbers: three letters (part of a name identifiable with a distinct area) plus four numbers a system converted to all number in 1970.

Yet my earliest memories of telephones included various elderly relatives with ‘candle’ upright instruments, from which the earpiece hung from a metal bracket which opened and cut the line when the weight of the earpiece was removed or applied. The earliest of these were Bakelite and brass-mounted, called a type 150L dating from the early 1920s. Today, expect to pay £80-120 or double that if sold by a dealer. The ones I seem

A 1960s No. 706 ’phone for sale for £10 in original condition.

44 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

to recall were a later modification eliding the brass mounts, although they had the refinement of a silver-coloured metal dialling ring for London subscribers with one’s ’phone number printed on a disc in the middle and covered by a bit of clear plastic. These can fetch £120 to £150 at auction, and the bell set alone can cost £25-30.

These evolved after a while into the more compact type 162 which had its own bell incorporated, now selling for similar prices. For the purist, the 1890s Ericson-made GPO phones – very antediluvian in appearance and predominantly brass – were around until after the Great War and can fetch several hundred pounds.

Yet by the 1950s most of my friends and relatives had the first type of prewar ’phone with a horizontally placed handset, set on a slim neck, again, so that it could be carted around, and called by collectors a ‘pyramid’ ’phone.

This was a heavy-ish Bakelite instrument called a type 232L; again, it came with a dial-less version called a 232CB; both had a little drawer in the base in which to put one’s friend’s numbers. One was sold with a £80-120 estimate by Bamfords a year or two ago, although the pre-war ones (check base for approximate dating evidence) can make up to £225, and cream examples from £275, even more with bell set and drawer to base. They were introduced in the early 1930s and kept going into the 1950s, although the

Push button No. 756 from the mid-1970s

Red No 746 in one of seven colours available; this one was on offer for £55

Above: Classic Trimphone, c.

1969/70. £40 Far left: GPO No. 150L with bell set, was on sale recently for £195 Left top: GPO No. 121L wall ’phone sold at Bamfords for £140 in 2009.

Left middle: GPO No., 232CB of 1930s vintage.

Left bottom: Late 1930s GPO no.

332, this one was made in 1946. For sale reconditioned for £85.

type 332 was a later improvement, which continued to be supplied for years after the war – likely to cost £50-80 now, but a cream one might go to £300.

In darkest Herefordshire, the cousins with whom I lived after my mother died had a wall-mounted exchange with a handle on the side of its timber body which one had to crank to put callers through to the appropriate extension on the estate; this was in service until at least 1970. I saw a similar one on sale at a fair for £130 recently.

There were also various later types with buttons on the top by the rest for business use, or for domestic premises with extensions, and larger, more complex office installations, too. All the types had wall-mounted variants, although the candlestick variant was just a wooden box with a black Bakelite speaking horn and with the earpiece hanging from the side of the box.

Watching old black and white films offers a wonderful variety of these earlier types in use, should you be addicted to such entertainment!

By the time the writing was on the wall for the GPO monopoly, one could buy a variant of the type 706 (called a type 746: £35-60) which came in a dizzying variety of seven colours, or a type 756 which had a push-button dialling facility (£30-50). Indeed, the current craze in the 1970s was for the type 722 ‘Trimphone’, the first instrument to ring with a different sound to the then-familiar double ring: they produced a horrible chirruping noise, much imitated on TV gameshows. Rt. Hon. Anthony Wedgwood Benn (formerly 2nd Viscount Stansgate, briefly MP for Chesterfield and the then Postmaster-General) presented the first one to a subscriber in 1965, but it was not actually available until 1968. Incidentally, ‘Trimphone’ is an acronym: Tone Ringing Illuminated Model. These go for £30-40 nowadays, colour being important.

Once the 1983 Conservative Government had freed phone-users from the straitjacket of GPO (thence BT) control, one could buy a ’phone of one’s choice, plug it into the wall and off we go. The proliferation of types thenceforth rather clouds the waters from the collecting point of view, although almost all post-GPO types are to be had second hand for very little money.

There was also a lightweight version of the type 746 which looked more like the familiar US domestic ’phones of the era, but which never seems to have caught on – at least amongst those of my acquaintance but despite rarity, cheap to buy.

Going back to the early days in the 1890s the telephones were subject to infinite slight variations, all of which came with a separate bell unit, usually attached to the wall nearby (a phenomenon which endured to some extent to around 1970), no dial and a crank attached to a magneto wherewith to raise the exchange. It was only when the type 150 came in that standardisation largely prevailed.

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CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 45

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Turn up the HEAT this Spring with Chesneys Barbecue/Outdoor Heaters from Kedleston Heating

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ow that the chill of winter has gone and the sun is starting to peek through, it is time to think about dusting off those summer shoes and coming out of hibernation. Chesneys state of the art collection of barbecue/outdoor heaters is the perfect way to acclimatise to outdoor living this spring. The range, comprising four models, offers both cooking and heating solutions for the spring, summer and the autumn months.

With HEAT, you not only get an ultimate barbecuing experience but once the cooking is finished, the party will continue long into the evening with arguably the best outdoor heating product on the market today.

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Given the choice, I wouldn’t cook on any other barbecue.”

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A BBQ Cabin in your Garden

The concept of an indoor BBQ in your garden was introduced to the UK by Arctic Cabins back in 2001.

With close family links to Finland, where the design of these cabins originates and the British love of a BBQ, it was an obvious connection. The one thing that regularly spoils the great British BBQ is the weather. With a sloping walled BBQ Cabin in your garden, this is no longer an issue. All year round you can enjoy sitting around the open fire, cooking optional of course, but there is no better place to go and relax with family and friends.

Now manufactured in the UK to the same design and using the same high quality Scandinavian timber and BBQ equipment, the Arctic BBQ Cabin is something you and your whole family will enjoy for years.

Enjoy the sunshine and reduce plastic waste.

To really complete the genuine feel, all Arctic Cabins come with a Finnish accessory pack, reindeer skins (or cushions if you prefer) and BBQ cooking utensils. There is a complete fitting service, so you don’t need to do anything except have the space in your garden. Give us a call on 01159328888 or visit www.arcticcabins.co.uk for more information. If you want to see one for yourself, and who wouldn’t, there is also a show site with all 4 sizes of BBQ Cabin on display. Arctic Cabins, 251 Toton Lane, Stapleford, Nottingham, NG9 7JA. Follow signs for the Nottingham Tram Toton Park and Ride car park and you will find us.

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ith summer just starting, we hope, what’s better than sitting outside and relaxing? TDP’s furniture, made from recycled plastic, will be ready and waiting, as it did not have to be stored away for the winter or be treated for the new season.

In addition, you can be pleased that you are helping to solve the plastic waste problem. Last year we stopped over 200 Tonnes of plastic going to landfill by turning plastic waste into our stylish outdoor furniture.

Just the one Dale bench, shown here, is made from over 24,500 waste bottle tops.

50 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Gardening June 2018 with Mark Smith

How time flies. This time last year I was all excited/nervous about designing my very first show garden and at the first RHS Chatsworth. What an amazing team we made with BBC Radio Derby. What we accomplished with no budget whatsoever and with only 3 weeks planning was incredible and put every other show garden there to shame. Still, I’m very busy this year with exciting things ahead; but more about that next month.

Allotment or Vegetable Patch: • Check for signs of woolly aphid on fruit trees.

• Protect strawberries from birds by covering them with netting.

• Hang pheromone traps or bird feeders in apple and plum trees to control pests.

• Water strawberries and gooseberries to help fruits to swell.

• Stop cutting asparagus by the end of June to allow the ferns to form.

• Feed fruit trees and bushes with liquid sulphate of potash, such as a tomato feed.

• Feed tomato plants every time you water with a suitable fertiliser.

In the Greenhouse: • Paint greenhouse glazing with “Coolglass” to help with keeping temperatures down and reduce scorching to foliage.

• Water tomatoes regularly to help prevent fruit splitting.

• Try hanging sticky traps over plants to catch any whitefly.

• Important to water growbags and pots regularly, sometimes daily if needed in very warm weather.

• Take out side shoots of developing tomato plants • Liquid feed any planted up hanging baskets.

• Place pots of tagetes (you will find them with the bedding plants) near greenhouse doors to deter whitefly.

• If going on holiday this month, set up a watering area using a growbag tray and some capillary matting.

General Garden Maintenance: • A great time to sow new lawns with grass seed.

– remember to water well if we continue to get some sunny weather.

• Feed the lawn with a suitable lawn fertiliser.

• Lower the blades of lawn mowers.

• Plant out container grown trees and shrubs remembering to water well if there is a lack of rain.

• Cut back climbing plants that look straggly.

• Turn over and refill compost heaps to help composting process.

• Apply bark mulches around newly planted or

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established trees and shrubs to retain moisture and help suppress weeds.

• Look out for greenfly and blackfly developing on shrubs, perennials (mainly Lupins) and roses, spray with a pesticide.

• Pick dead flowering heads of rhododendrons and azaleas.

• Remove suckers from standard roses, ornamental and fruit trees with secateurs.

To recreate your little bit of RHS Chatsworth, here are 3 plants you should include.

Clematis: Clematis is a must have in the garden. Very versatile they can be grown in a pot, used as a screen, grown through trees or used as ground cover. The hybrid varieties such as “The President”, “Hagley Hybrid” or “Nelly Moser” have big dinner plate sized blooms. The species varieties such as “Tangutica” and “Alpine

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Constance” have smaller flowers but masses of them. If you decide to grow one in a pot, pick a variety that grows no more than 6ft – Raymond Evison Clematis do a range that grows no more than 3 to 4ft which is perfect for a container.

My personal favourites are “Rebecca” , “Ice Blue”, “Oh La La” ,“Cartmanni Early Sensation” (evergreen – winter flowering) and this year`s new addition at Chelsea Flower Show “Chelsea”, “Giselle” and “Samaritan Jo” If planting in the ground make sure the soil is well drained and the base of the Clematis is shaded by a shrub or a very thick layer of bark.

Weigela Rubidor: There are many varieties of weigela but “Rubidor”

is by far my favourite with the vivid bright golden leaves that contrast well with the crimson flowers. Compact growing ideal for a container needs little care, but the old flowers need pruning back straight after flowering. Height 4ft, needs a sunny well drained position.

Escallonia: Fantastic evergreen shrub with healthy looking, glossy leaves and either white, pink or red flowers. Will happily grow in sun or shade and in any type of soil. Prefers a slightly sheltered position – my personal favourite varieties are “Apple Blossom”, “Iveyii” and “Red Elf” but all varieties will make a great evergreen hedge if planted about 2ft apart.

Please keep contacting me with your gardening problems. If you can, please include a photo or as much detail as you can think of. garden.guru@hotmail.com or tel: 07817 651216 or search on Facebook Mark Smith – Garden Guru

52 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

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CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 53

Transform the look of your home with a new resin drive from

Buffalo Driveways Buffalo Driveways are the area's local leading installer of porous resin bound driveways, patios and pathways Buffalo will transform your driveway, old or new.

As well as laying resin on a new base, in many cases we can overlay existing surfaces (subject to survey) which means less mess, and a faster result.

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Local Testimonials: “I’ve had my patio done with Buffalo driveways, it looks fantastic I cant stop looking at it”

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no obligation survey • We also supply the trade • Training courses available 54 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

- Mrs Nash, Sherwood “Thank you for the great driveway that your team has just laid for me, I’m really pleased with it” - Mr Dence, Matlock “We are very pleased with our new drive, The installers worked exceptionally hard and took pride in their work, we can recommend any one to contact Buffalo Driveways for a quotation” - Mr Moorley, West Hallam

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Images Leisure time

Celebrity Interview Walk Diary Gallery Food & Drink

Steve Orme interviews

Jason Manford

H

e’s one of the biggest names on the comedy circuit, a regular on television, his first album raced into the top ten and he’s also been making a name for himself in musical theatre.

Y

ou could hardly say Jason Manford is muddling through – but that’s the theme of his new show which is selling out across the UK. He calls it Muddle Class. “We talk about the fact that life changes, we’re trying to make the best of it and we’re trying to muddle through life. We make mistakes, we improve on them and we do what we can. That’s what the show’s all about.

He got a job collecting glasses in a club when he was 17.

One evening a performer didn’t arrive, so Jason stepped in to fill the gap and his comedy career began to take off.

“It’s called Muddle Class because it’s a little bit about me but it’s also a little bit about a lot of the audience who turn up.

“I’m in a situation where I’m from a working-class background but my kids are a bit middle class. And I don’t really feel that I’m in either of those camps any more. So I created the muddle class which is for people who are a bit of a muddle about where they are.”

The cheeky, likeable Mancunian is hardly in a muddle about where he is. His current tour started off at 150 dates but has been extended until next April, allowing an extra 60,000 people to see him doing the job he loves.

“It’s a big old tour but once you’ve written it you’d like everybody to see it,” he says.

His ITV children’s show What Would Your Kid Do? in which parents are challenged to guess what their children will do in a variety of situations has been commissioned for a second series. And he is contracted to record another two albums for Decca. So how does he fit it all in?

“I always have the kids’ holidays off. The tour looks longer than it is because I only do four nights a week.

Then I have every fifth week off. It looks worse than it is.

I’ve got very supportive people around me and a good family network. It just sort of works really.”

Jason has five children, four with his first wife Catherine – they split in 2013 – and a daughter with his second wife, television producer Lucy Dyke who he married last year.

Jason John Manford was born on 26 May 1981 in Salford, Greater Manchester. He comes from a family of singers but became interested in comedy after watching people like Peter Kay, Eddie Izzard and Johnny Vegas performing in comedy clubs.

He got a job collecting glasses in a club when he was 17.

One evening a performer didn’t arrive, so Jason stepped in to fill the gap and his comedy career began to take off.

Soon afterwards he was crowned City Life North West

58 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Comedian of the Year. A nomination for the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 2005 was followed by a guest appearance on the Channel 4 panel show, 8 Out Of 10 Cats. He replaced Dave Spikey as one of the team captains in 2007 and stayed on the show for the next four years.

He took his live act to Dubai, Singapore and China as huge numbers of people hooked into his humour. How does he describe his brand of comedy?

“I just think it’s funny. I try not to pigeonhole myself too much – other people do that. It’s warm, it’s inclusive, it’s never mean. It’s for grown-ups but I look out (at an audience) and there are people who’ve got their kids and parents with them.”

Between tours Jason is always jotting things down as he recognises material which he will write into his next show.

“It’s not difficult to write once you get started – getting started is the hardest part. You’re staring at a blank screen or a blank page. That’s the hardest point. But you get an idea of what you want to talk about and what you think is interesting. I start there really and then I start writing jokes.”

On the tour Jason will return to the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham after playing there in February and will also head over to Derby Arena. He’s looking forward to the Derby gig: “I’ve not done it before so I’m looking forward to seeing what that one’s like.”

He says he enjoys East Midlands’ audiences: “They’re great fun. I’ve always included them on my tour. It’s nice to hang out there for a few days. Even when I was on the circuit I used to play Jongleurs or the comedy clubs, so I’ve always had a good time there.”

Jason’s last tour, First World Problems, sold really well, as did the accompanying DVD. But he’s not sure whether a recording of Muddle Class will get into the shops.

“We’re going to film it and see how the land lies. I don’t know if anyone buys DVDs any more, to be honest.

First World Problems was four years ago. Since then with the rise of Netflix and Amazon the world has

changed, so we’ll just have to see.”

Jason’s career has also changed in that time. He played impresario Leo Bloom in Mel Brooks’ wacky musical The Producers when it toured in 2015, took the role of Caractacus Potts in a tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and has acted in a couple of television dramas.

Last year he released his first album A Different Stage, featuring some of his favourite show tunes, which was recorded with the Prague Symphony Orchestra.

Does he have any preference for a particular brand of show business?

“Stand-up’s always my proper job but I like entertaining people. Whether it’s telling jokes, singing a song or doing a tap dance, I’m fine with all of that. I love being on stage – it’s all I’ve ever known. It’s a lovely feeling making people laugh.”

It’s far removed from some of the darker sides of his life. In 2010 he resigned as co-host of the BBC daily programme The One Show after tabloid newspapers published allegations that he exchanged explicit messages with fans on Twitter. And there was a claim that he had an indiscretion only five weeks before his second wedding with a woman who’d been to see one of his shows.

after the show, ‘oh, it’s really nice to hear somebody who’s also struggling and getting through’. Up to now, touch wood, everybody’s left and had lovely things to say about it and has had a good laugh. If you fancy laughing, come along.” * Muddle Class will be at the Royal Concert Hall on Thursday 21 June and Derby Arena on Saturday 24 November.

Last year he released his first album A Different Stage, featuring some of his favourite show tunes, which was recorded with the Prague Symphony Orchestra.

Now he says he doesn’t read what the papers write about him. “To be honest it doesn’t really bother me.

Everyone’s got a job to do and if that’s what people choose to do as a job, then fine. As long as my kids aren’t hassled and my parents. It’s just a by-product of being successful in my job really.

“I love hanging out with my kids – they’re the part of my life that I really cherish.”

Then it’s back to talking about Muddle Class. It’s already been running for more than four months and Jason could hardly be happier with the reaction.

“A lot of people have said to me CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 59

Foolow & Silly Dale

Useful Information Silly Dale

T

here are no records of any simpleton, either in Foolow or Silly Dale; both names come from Anglo Saxon English and have entirely different meanings than in today’s language.

Foolow means multi-coloured hill, possibly a reference to nearby Eyam Edge. Silly is Old English for pretty, an apt description of this little-known dale, especially in late spring when the limestone-loving flowers are in full bloom.

The walk starts and finishes in Foolow, a village of light grey limestone cottages, arguably the most picturesque in the Peak District National Park.

There is a bay-windowed manor house and the Bull’s Head offers an excellent menu to satisfy the hunger of the hardiest walker. Until 1888 when the tiny limestone church dedicated to St Hugh was opened, church-goers congregated around the ancient stone cross and its pagan bull-ring standing next to the duck pond.

The pond at Foolow

Until 1932 when pipes were laid, water was a problem in this upland village. Before then villagers had to collect water from a well a little way along the Hucklow Edge road above the village. Cattle enjoyed the convenience of the attractive duck pond on the village green and in celebration of the gift of water, village wells have been dressed since 1983 on the Saturday prior to the last Sunday in August.

Starting from Foolow the walk climbs up to Hucklow Edge before turning west and descending to the neighbouring village of Great Hucklow. This village, clustered around its pub, the Queen Anne, is really a group of five interlinked hamlets where lead miners delving 600 feet beneath the ground, worked the riches of High Rake, following a series of inter-connected veins running north-westwards. Pack Horse teams once carried the ore together with Cheshire salt across the high limestone moorland, by trackways that can still be traced for miles.

From 1938 until 1970, the playwright L du Garde Peach produced plays in the popular Playhouse theatre, based on an old barn in the village.

Beyond Hucklow, the walk descends into Silly Dale and, on climbing out of it, crosses a series of green fields back to Foolow.

www.tramway.co.uk

3miles (5km) of easy walking along rural lanes, field paths and a flowery dale.

Recommended map: Ordnance Survey 1:25000 scale Outdoor Leisure map The Peak District – White Peak Area Sheet 24.

Refreshments: Bull’s Head (Foolow), Queen Anne (great Hucklow), pubs and cafes in Eyam.

Public Transport: TM Travel 65 service from Sheffield and Calver Sough runs hourly Monday/Saturday and two hourly on Sunday.

G&J Holmes/Hulleys 66 service between Buxton and Chesterfield runs two hourly from Chesterfield Monday/Saturday and three hourly on Sunday.

Parking: roadside around Foolow village, but please do not block local access.

A Great Dayof events Outforfor the Family We have a range you to All enjoy throughout the year. Each event incorporates the Village scene, and trams from the – era including your Dog the day. appropriate or city of origin are run throughout EVENT: Sat 15th & Sun 16th July • VintageEDWARDIAN Trams Running Daily • 2018 Events Programme WWII HOME FRONT EVENT: Sat 12th & Sun 13th August Refurbished Depots • Exhibitions MODEL TRAM AND RAILWAY Sat 19th & Sun 20th August • New First World War EVENT: Commemorative Sculptures CLASSIC TRANSPORT GATHERING: Sun 27th & Trail Mon 28th August • Woodland Walk & Sculpture

HORSEcheck TRAM DAYS: Mon 31st July, 22nd & times Thurs 31st August Please our website forTues opening and prices

SITUATED NEAR MATLOCK AND ONLY 8 MILES FROM M1 JUNCTION 28

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Crich Crich, Matlock, Matlock,Derbyshire DE45DP 5DP Crich Tramway Tramway Village, Crich, Derbyshire DE4 Tel: 01773 854854321 321 Email: enquiry@tramway.co.uk Tel: : 01773 Web: www.tramway.co.uk

The Walk with Rambler Foolow and Silly Dale

The well that was once the only source of water for the village.

The village cross that hides the bull-ring-stone.

THE BIKE SHOP DERBY Not too hard to find but hard to beat – phone for directions

Derby’s largest bike shop Electric bike specialists 100-102 Monk St (off Abbey St), Derby DE22 3QB Tel: 01332 382227

www.thebikeshopderby.co.uk also in Nottingham

• With your back to the duck pond in Foolow, take the road past the church and head towards Hucklow Edge. Follow this road for just under a mile.

The old village well at the side of the road to your left is protected by a wall with a narrow stile to keep animals away from the one-time sole drinking water supply for Foolow, once a scarcity on these dry limestone uplands. Regrettably the water is now unfit for human consumption.

• Just before the road begins to climb steeply and bears right towards Hucklow Edge, turn left and cross a stone stile in order to follow a wall-side path.

Gliders from the Gliding Club behind the edge can usually be seen soaring gracefully on the upsweeping currents of air.

Tree-lined hollows and rough ground uphill towards the edge indicate the position of abandoned lead-mining activity.

• Joining a narrow lane turn left and follow it until it reaches a side road. Turn left along the road, following it below a belt of trees.

• At the far end of the woods, turn left over a stile and follow waymarking arrows and splashes of paint down into the Grindlow section of Great Hucklow.

• Bear left along the village road and then fork right towards the main road.

• Cross the road diagonally left and right, then go to the left of a single bungalow.

• Follow the narrow, walled track, down into Silly Dale.

Surface water has not flowed down Silly Dale for at least 10,000 years, when catastrophic floods marked the end of the last Ice Age. Flowers growing along the dale include white meadow saxifrage, purple cranesbill and spotted orchids.

• Turn left at the T-junction marking the dale end and cross over to the opposite side of the dale. Go to the left over a stile, and bear right and then half left, uphill.

• Following stiles cross nine increasingly narrow fields as you near the village, all the way back into Foolow, entering the village by going past the Manor House in order to reach the duck pond.

Foolow is built around a wide village green with the highly photogenic duck pond as its centre point. A fourteenth-century cross and a bullring-stone are on the far side of the pond. Better still is the Bull’s Head pub a few yards further along the Eyam road to your right

David Hughes Denture Studio Fully qualified clinical dental technician in Derby Over 30 years Experience

David Hughes Dip CDT, RCS (eng) 57a Uttoxeter Old Road, Derby DE1 1NG

Tel: 01332 291808 CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 61

Diary Of Events Royal Centre Nottingham & Concert Hall 0115 989 5555 www.trch.co.uk JUNE 1-2 Top Hat 2 The Magic Lantern Family Backstage Tour 1- 2 Dara O’Briain 4 - 9 Sherlock Holmes : The Final Curtain 5 Gareth Malone 6 Marti Pellow 8 The Shires 12-23 The Band 12 Jeff Beck 15 Elvis Costello & The Imposters 16 Classical Music - The Hallé 18 Drama Workshops with Phosphoros Theatre 21 Jason Manford: Muddle Class 22 Sheryl Crow 23 Rufus Wainwright 24 Musical Theatre Theatretrain presents Special Measures 26 Cirque Berserk 28 Classical Music - The Drivetime Concert 2018 JULY 2 - 7 Jul Titanic - The Musical 5-7 The Wedding Reception 7 The Magic Lantern Backstage Tour - July 2018 11-15 Gangsta Granny 13-14 Sarah Millican 17-18 Peppa Pig’s Adventure Derby Live. Box Office 01332 255800 www.derbylive.co.uk JUNE 2 The Adventures of Andy Kershaw 3 Youth Folk Sampler Day 3 The Big 1. Derby’s annual summer family fun day for all to enjoy.

5 Ey Up Mi Duck Race 2018 5 Professor Robert Winston 7-10 RHS Chatsworth Flower Show 7 Mark Beaumont 8 Tony Christie 9 Ey Up Mi Duck Race 2018 10 RAF Cosford Air Show 14-16 Return To The Forbidden Planet 14-16 The Tempest 15 The Devil Wears Prada Movie Night 16 Furthest from the Sea 2018 16 Spirit of Chellaston 16 Mamma Mia Movie Night 20-23 Five Blue Haired Ladies Sitting on a Green Park Bench 23 Silk Mill March, Rally & People’s Festival 24 Derbyshire County Show 2018 24 Strawberry Cream Tea 27-30 Grace - The Lighthouse Girl 28 Fastlove 29 Magic of Motown 30 to July 1 Race For Life and Pretty Muddy

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diary@imagespublishing.co.uk

JULY 1 Sarah Millican 4-7 Whodunnit?!

6 Schools’ Public Speaking Competition 7 Bubble Rush 8 The Derby Charity Classic Car and Retro 8 8 Razzle Dazzled 10 England vs New Zealand Derby Theatre Box Office 01332 59 39 39 www.derbytheatre.co.uk June 11-16 - Birdsong.

In pre-war France, a young Englishman Stephen Wraysford embarks on a dangerous affair with the beautiful Isabelle Azaire that turns their world upside down. As the war breaks out over the idyll of his former life, Stephen must lead his men through the carnage of the Battle of the Somme and through the sprawling tunnels that lie deep underground. Faced with the unprecedented horror of the war Stephen clings to the memory of Isabelle as his world explodes around him.

July 25 to August 2nd - Holiday A fun-filled show for under 5s and their families. Gabi and Jaz want to go on holiday, but Gabi and Jaz aren’t going on holiday. They have to stay at home instead.

It’s not fair. What to do? We’ll play at going on holiday!

Join Gabi and Jaz as they gather up their things, and with the magical power of their imaginations, head to the beach for an adventure - without leaving the comfort of their home.

Buxton Opera House & PavilionArts Centre.

01298 72190 www.buxtonoperahouse.org JUNE 1All Saints Brass 1 Buxton Buzz Comedy Club - June 3 The Little Mix Experience 8 Killer Queen 10 Bla Bla Bla 12 The Royal Ballet - Swan Lake Ballet in Four Acts The Royal Ballet presents a new production of Tchaikovsky’s magnificent classical ballet, with additional choreography by Liam Scarlett and designs by John Macfarlane. Swan Lake has had a special role in the repertory of The Royal Ballet since 1934. This Season The Royal Ballet creates a new production with additional choreography by Artist in Residence Liam Scarlett. While remaining faithful to the Petipa-Ivanov text, Scarlett will bring fresh eyes to the staging of this classic ballet, in collaboration with his long-term designer John Macfarlane.

15 Dave Finnegan’s Commitments 17 Peak District Music Centres - string and

wind ensembles, big band and choir 19 Joss Naylor and Steve Chilton The Life and Times of a Fell Running Legend 21 Mark Anthony as Prince 21 Woody Mann - Among guitarists and critics, Woody Mann is considered a modern master. While the blues are his touchstone, he seems to draw inspiration from every direction with ease and grace. Pioneering guitar legend John Fahey said it well: “You can hear classical, jazz and blues approaches somehow converging into a single sparkling sound completely his own.”

23 Kinder Children’s Choirs of the High Peak In The Mood!

JULY 6 Buxton International Festival to include: 7th Jesse Norman - Adam Smith: What He Thought and Why It Matters 7th Joanna MacGregor 7th John Suchet Verdi: The Man Revealed 7th Ashley Solomon - Father, Son & Godfather – Telemann, JS & CPE Bach 7th Eugenia Cheng The Art of Logic: How to Make Sense in a World that Doesn’t 7th Charles Maxtone-Smith Nottingham Playhouse 0115 941 9419 www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk JUNE 1-16 Shebeen Jamaican couple Pearl and George are helping Caribbean migrants to cut loose by hosting a forbidden party at their Shebeen.

25-27 David Badiel. Following a sold out run at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory and two critically-acclaimed West End runs, David Baddiel takes his Olivier-nominated one-man show to theatres nationwide.

JULY 11 Mark Steel: Every Little Thing’s Gonna Be Alright Comedy: Mark Steel is back with a new show, guaranteed to make the world seem even more mental than it is Palace Theatre Mansfield www.mansfield.gov.uk/palacetheatre JUNE 5 Ugly Duckling Northern Ballet 10 Grumpy Old Women to the Rescue 16-17 Excelsior Dance 19,20 Hairspray 21 The Story of Guitar Heroes 23-24 Seasons 21 & 28 Shakespeare Rocks 27 Lee Nelson (Age PG) 29 to July 1 D@nce WorksDance School JULY 4-7 Made in Dagenham - The musical

Off the Derbyshire Beaten Track A series of half-day tours a 40 mile journey of discovery lead mines great & small Sir George Watt & the Delhi Durbar 1903 June, July & August The History behind Local Rose Gardens the stories of the people who originally bred the roses December Derbyshire & the '45: a Scotsman’s Tale The minibus leaves Ashbourne @ 1.30pm

Booking essential

phone: 01335 345239/07771667097 or email frances@franscript.co.uk For further information see www.offthederbyshirebeatentrack.co.uk

23rd - 24th June 2018

at Bakewell Showground DE45 1AW Event 10am til 5pm

SLACKS TRAVEL Luxury coach travel with guaranteed seats & local boarding points

BRITISH COACHING BABBACOMBE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07-11 Jun (HB) £302 POOLE & THE JURASSIC COAST . . . . . . . . . . . 18-22 Jun (HB) £379 GREAT YARMOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-24 Jun (HB) £386 CORNWALL LOOE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-29 Jun (HB) £392 BRIDLINGTON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Jun – 02 Jul (HB) £231 HAMPTON COURT FLOWER SHOW . . . . . . . . . . 07-08 Jul (HB) £168 SUNDERLAND TALL SHIPS FESTIVAL . . . . . . . 09-13 July (HB) £352 ROMANTIC JOURNEYS OF NORTHUMBRIA. . . . . 12-16 Jul (HB) £376 BOURNEMOUTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-20 July (HB) £346 WALES PEMBROKESHIRE COAST & TENBY . . 16-20 Jul (HB) £352 LANCASHIRE COAST & COUNTRYSIDE . . . . . . 26-30 Jul (HB) £341 KENT WHITE CLIFFS COUNTRY . . . . . . . . . 30 Jul-03 Aug (HB) £441 YORKSHIRE RAIL & SAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Jul-03 Aug (HB) £400 WORLD WAR 2 NOSTALGIA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03-06 Aug (HB) £305 ISLE OF WIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04-09 Aug (HB) £407 SUFFOLK COAST & COUNTRYSIDE . . . . . . . . . . . 06-10 Aug (HB) £370 SECRETS OF SURREY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 06-10 Aug (HB) £391 HIGHCLERE CASTLE, MALMESBURY & ROYAL WOOTTON BASSETT . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13 Aug (HB) £305 THAMES TALES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13 Aug (HB) £323 PORTSMOUTH & SOUTHSEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-17 Aug (HB) £372 FROGMORE & CLARENCE HOUSE . . . . . . . . . 18-19 Aug (HB) £185 LAKE DISTRICT STEAM & CRUISE . . . . . . . . . . 20-24 Aug (HB) £399 PAIGNTON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21-25 Aug (HB) £360 BANK HOLIDAY MYSTERY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-27 Aug (HB) £205 ROYAL SANDRINGHAM & THE ENGLISH SHIRES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27-31 Aug (HB) £358 DEVON DELIGHTS BIDEFORD . . . . . . . . . . . . 03-07 Sept (HB) £317 SCOTLAND ORKNEY ISLES & THE CASTLE OF MEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .05-10 Sept (HB) £545 WALES LLANDUDNO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .06-10 Sept (HB) £360 CLASSICAL SPECTACULAR ROYAL ALBERT HALL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25-26 Nov (BB) £158 WARNERS LITTLECOTE HOUSE. . . . . . . . . . . . 17-21 Dec (HB) £249 TORQUAY SPECIAL OFFER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-22 Feb 2019 (HB) £176

EUROPEAN COACHING IRELAND WESTPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16 Jun (HB) £591 SWISS ALPS & THE BERNINA EXPRESS . . . . . . . . . . . .21-28 Jul (HB) £786 THE ITALIAN DOLOMITES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Aug-03 Sept (HB) £856 AUSTRIA TRAINS & BOATS OF THE TYROL . . . . . . . 15-24 Sept (HB) £836 IRELAND KILLARNEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-22 Sept (HB) £625 BELGIUM BRUGES CHRISTMAS MARKET. . . . . . . . . . 02-05 Dec (BB) £326

DAY EXCURSIONS

EARLY BOOKINGS ADVISABLE

Everything for a doggie fun filled day out suitable for the whole family.

Dogs Unleashed are bringing together the canine world with a huge variety of doggie disciplines. There will be competitions and displays, with all the events having a ‘have a go’ option allowing you to try for yourselves.

Book reduced tickets and camping online at

www.dogsunleashed.co.uk

Prices

Online

On the gate

Adults Children 5 -12 Family (2 adults + 2 children)

£5.00 £3.50 £15.00

£6.50 £4.00 £18.00

Children under 5 and dogs are FREE

Onsite camping available

Follow us on Facebook for all the latest information

www.facebook.com/ultimutt.doggy.day

Tel: 01246 828980 Email: info@dogsunleashed.co.uk

Admission included*

BBC GARDENERS WORLD* SNOWSHILL MANOR & BROADWAY* SOUTHPORT STRATFORD-UPON-AVON TATTON PARK RHS FLOWER SHOW* NATIONAL MEMORIAL ARBORETUM SCARBOROUGH CLEETHORPES

Adult / OAP / Child

SAT 16 JUN SAT 30 JUN

£39/£37.50/£21 £33.80/£33.80/£28.40 NT MEMBERS £23 SAT 07 JUL £23 SUN 15 JUL £23 SAT 21 JUL £45/£45/£21 SAT 28 JUL £15 SAT 04 AUG £25/£25/£12.50 TUES 07 AUG £22/£22/£11

AIR HOLIDAYS JERSEY FROM EAST MIDLANDS . . . . . . . . . . VARIOUS DATES FROM £459 GUERNSEY FROM EAST MIDLANDS . . . . . . . VARIOUS DATES FROM £469

Telephone 01629 582826/584192 K.V & G.L SLACK LTD, THE TRAVEL CENTRE, UPPER LUMSDALE, MATLOCK, DE4 5LB

Website: www.slackscoaches.co.uk Email: enquiries@slackscoaches.co.uk

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 63

Diary Of Events Birdwatching for Beginners walks at Carsington Water.

Bird Watching for Beginners – Sunday 3rd June 2018 10.00am If you want to see and hear, all the breeding summer warblers that have come to Carsington, June is a good time, with adults actively collecting food for the young. And nests everywhere.

Foliage will soon make it harder to spot birds in the trees, so come and join the experts to help you identify and enjoy the birds even more.

The next Beginners walk, which are held on the first Sunday of every month, is on Sunday 3rd June. Book by contacting Carsington or for more information, 01629 540696 or just drop in to reception. If you don’t want to miss the birds, binoculars are essential!!

Future dates to slot in your diary app, July 1, August 5 and September 2nd.

Little Chester Local History Group Thursday June 21st at 7.30pm in Chester Green Community Centre, Old Chester Road, Derby is our AGM followed by a talk by Joan D’Arcy entitled, ‘New views of Chester Green Past’. Admission non-members £2. For more information Tel.01332 363354.

Little Chester Heritage Centre St. Paul’s Church, Mansfield Road,Derby. We are open on Sunday June 3rd 2-4pm when you can see a collection of original newspapers from the Napoleonic Wars to recent times. Read ‘Forces’ and other newspapers from the Two World Wars. Free admission. Refreshments available. for further informatio9n Tel. 01332 363354. Information Tel. 01332 559615.

“Pentrich Revolution – The Aftermath” SATURDAY 9 JUNE 2018.

The day will be preceded by two walks around Pentrich, one long and one short, arriving back at Pentrich Village Hall for the commencement of the day’s proceedings at 2pm. The day will consist of an exhibition with timed events of talks, a play, updating of progress of the group, a film, a quiz and a Q&A session. There will be books/merchandise on sale together with refreshments. There is no entry fee and there is free parking on site. For further information please contact the Secretary on valerie.mherbert@ yahoo.co.uk or check our website at http://www. pentrichrevolution.org.uk.

diary@imagespublishing.co.uk

Derby RSPB Derby RSPB local group warmly invites you to join them on a free birdwatching walk at Goyt Valley Derbyshire on Sunday 3 June. We will be meeting in the main car park at 9.30am. This is by the Errwood Reservoir Dam, west side. GR SK 013757.

This will be a walk along the valley looking for woodland birds such as Redstart and Wood Warbler.

Toilets in the adjacent car park. The walk will finish at about 12.30pm. More details on the RSPB Derby local group website www.rspb.org.uk/groups/derby Derby Wine Circle Friday 1st June – “9/11 – The Ripple Effect” Guest Speaker – Susan Cooke For more details Contact Julie@Thebelks.plus.com / 0115 9328217 Or Gilllian.wall@Ntlworld.com / 01332 551447 Allestree Flower Group Tuesday 19th June 2018 Flower demonstration by Lynne Sharpe Entitled ”Car Boot Collection” 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 Middleton by Wirksworth Open Gardens Saturday and Sunday 9th and 10th June 2018. Adults £3 for both days. Well-behaved children free. Over 30 gardens and quirky corners in a wide range of gardening styles in a hilly village. Refreshments available. Two pubs in the village. Two books of local walk guides available.

Contact 01629 258471 Email: ann.stamper@hotmail.co.uk Darley Abbey Historical Group Friday 15 June 2018‘Mountain Rescue’ by John Mottram All meetings start at 7.30pm and are held 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 To find out more about the Historical Group, take a look at their blog: https://darleyabbeyhistoricalgroup.wordpress.com/

Agatha Christie: Mysteries, Murder, Marple and more

D

rawn from a private collection of books, objects, artwork and ephemera relating to the life and works of the world’s best-selling crime author, this exhibition, a tribute to Agatha Christie, explores the mysteries that she wrote and those relating to her own life.

Pickford’s House is the perfect backdrop to evoke the mood of an Agatha Christie murder mystery.

This exhibition follows the story of Agatha Christie’s remarkable literary output. She wrote 66 novels, 14 short stories and a number of plays including the world’s longest

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running play The Mousetrap which opening in the West End in 1952. The characters that she created like Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple are household names. Her books have sold more than a billion copies in the English Language. Visitors will be able to explore how Christie developed her story lines, discover how the designs of many of the book covers developed and revolutionised the future of book design and see a selection of Christie’s personal possessions which shed light on the life of this extraordinary woman.

Jonathan Wallis, Head of Museums said, “Agatha Christie is a British institution who

Glebe Centre Crich.

Friday June 22nd. - Ignite , the award winning a cappella ladies chorus are performing at Crich Glebe Field Centre 7.30 Appearing with them are popular ukulele band Ukuladies+1. (The +1 is called Simon!) The concert is in aid of CHIKs, a local charity supporting children in foster homes in Aduwa, Kenya. Tickets £10 including refreshments from Crich Glebe: 01773 857894, or from 01773 853722 or 01773 856212 Heanor Floral Art Group Demonstration by Andrew Lloyd entitled Joyous June. At The Wilmot Street Welfare Centre, Wilmot Street Heanor On Monday June 18th at 7 O’clock .

Visitors £5 everyone welcome .

For further details contact 01332 880179 Derbyshire Dales Woodcraft Club Meets in Wyaston village hall (DE6 2DR) on the first Saturday of each month from 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. 2nd. June 2018 - its our Open Day! Come along and try your hand at woodturning, woodcarving, pyrography, scroll saw, marquetry or perhaps buy a unique item made by one of our experts. Free entry. Refreshments available.

7th. July 2018 - this is a hands-on meeting and visitors may come along and have a go at woodturning, woodcarving etc. under the guidance of an experienced member.

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.

Derby City Photographic Club Derby - Celebration of a City’ 3rd May to 28th July venue Deda, Chapel Street, Derby An exhibition of 40 framed photographs and an audio visual by members of Derby City Photographic Club celebrating Derby as it is now, 40 years after attaining City status. Showcasing its buildings, commerce, industry, sport and leisure. The exhibition is open Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm and entry is free. For further information visit www.derbycitypc. co.uk

is known to many of us through the TV series and film adaptations of her work. It is great that we have been able to bring this collection to Derby to remind people that it is the books that are the foundations of Christie’s fame.”

Visitors will also be able solve their very own mystery by finding hidden clues around the house.

The exhibition opens to coincide with the start of the Derby Book Festival. For more information of other festival events and activities at Derby Museums and elsewhere please go to - http://www.derbybookfestival.co.uk/

A Derby Theatre, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, Wiltshire Creative and Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg production

Wed 26 Sept – Sat 20 Oct A hilarious masterpiece of situation comedy

Box Office 01332 593939 Book Online derbytheatre.co.uk

Derby Theatre is part of

AGATHA CHRISTIE — MYSTERIES, MURDER, MARPLE AND MORE

2 June - 3 November 2018 Pickford’s House, Derby | 01332 641901 | www.derbymuseums.org CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 65

e l y t s Life

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Main Road, Morley, Derbyshire DE7 6DG • www.morleyhayes.com • 01332 782 000 66 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Gallery... & Leisure

A photograph of the renowned artist James Preston painting in his garden.

James’ work (together with artists Colin Halliday and Phil Dyke) will be on show at an exhibition at Duffield Art Gallery. The opening evening will be on Thursday 21st June from 6 pm and the exhibition will run until 7th July (Open Thurs – Sat 10.30 am – 5 pm and Sundays 11 am to 3 pm). 3 – 5 Town Street, Duffield DE56 4EH

Steven McLoughlin.

A walk through wild garlic by artist Steven McLoughlin is one of Stevens most recent works, a collection of which can be seen, and he can also be contacted via his Facebook page.

From private tuition to friendly classes and full day workshops, artist Norma Gent has something to make your creativity flourish.

Also available from her studio at New Lane Galleries, Alfreton are a selection of artworks, all originals, for sale. You can call or contact Norma on 01773 836907.

Norma Gent Derbyshire Artist

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

SPECIAL DAY WORKSHOP Saturday 14th July 2018

WATERCOLOUR CLASSES Tuesday mornings and evenings & every Thursday 9am - 10.45am St Thomas’s Community Centre Somercotes Framing Now Available

The Studio, No 2 The Galleries, New Lane, Alfreton.

The new Bluebird Fine Art Gallery at Mercia Marina are excited to announce they will be exhibiting the fabulous new collection from Bob Dylan. The New ‘Drawn Blank’ collection marks the 10th anniversary in the series, it will be released on Friday 25th May 2018 and the full collection of ten individual editions plus a portfolio of four ‘Train Tracks’ will be exhibited in the gallery for all to view.

01773 836907

The 87th

WEDNESDAY 8TH AUGUST 2018 A TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURAL SHOW WITH ENTERTAINMENT FOR EVERY MEMBER OF THE FAMILY The Rectory Fields, Ashover, Chesterfield, Derbyshire S45 0BA 9.00AM UNTIL DUSK Telephone 01623 811545 E Mail ashovershow@aol.com www.ashovershow.co.uk ASHOVER AGRICULTURAL & HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY LTD WORKING IN AID OF THE ASHOVER SHOW

Based at the picturesque Mercia Marina the gallery is located on the waterfront and offers a diverse selection of artwork and sculpture, featured artists include Ronnie Wood, Alex Echo, JJ Adams, Bob Barker, Paul Kenton, Caroline Shotton, Sarah Graham, The Marvel Collection and many more.

The gallery welcomes visitors to call in and enjoy the artwork on display in a relaxed atmosphere Tuesday to Sunday.

Duffield Art Gallery 21st June - 7th July

Exhibition by top Derbyshire landscape artists: James Preston, Colin Halliday and Phil Dyke

‘Meet the Artists’

Thurs 21s June from 6 pm Drinks and Treats Open: Thurs to Sat 10.30-5pm & Sun 11-3pm

3-5 Town Street, Duffield DE56 4EH T: 01332 840845 M: 07432 524083 jill.underwood59@gmail.com www.duffieldartgallery.co.uk

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 67

DERBYSHIRE COUNTY SHOW & FOOD FAYRE

SUNDAY 24TH JUNE 2018 LOCKO PARK, SPONDON DERBY DE7 4PQ

J.C. Balls Digger Dance Pre-show Tickets

Show-day Tickets

Adults £10.00 Senior citizens £9.00; Children £7.00

Adults £13.00 Senior citizens £11.00; Children £8.00

Pre-show tickets available online or by writing to …

Derbyshire County Show, 5 Willow Park Way, Aston on Trent, Derby DE72 2DF

For further information call 01332 793068 or visit our website www.derbyshirecountyshow.org.uk For credit or debit card facilities please see website

Derbyshire County Show - TICKETS ON SALE NOW Tickets are selling fast for this month’s Derbyshire County Show and Food Fayre, which will remain at its stunning new location in Spondon’s Locko Park. The 138th Derbyshire County Show will be held on Sunday June 24th and is expected to attract thousands of people from across the region by showcasing the very best that the county has to offer. The 2017 show was held at Locko Park, just off the A6096 in Spondon, for the first time in its history, to allow its previous home of Elvaston Showground to recover from flooding the previous year.

The show was a huge success, with almost 11,000 people attending the event, which had expanded to include a food fayre with some of the county’s most passionate and committed producers. Organisers promise the event will be bigger and better than ever before with the return of a poultry show and a Kennel Club Dog Show, which will offer the chance to qualify for Crufts.

One of the show’s annual highlights are the two performances from J C Balls’ Dancing Diggers, who astound audiences with their intricately choreographed routines to music such as Elevation by U2 and I Like the Way You Move by OutKast. Collectively weighing more than 80 tonnes, the diggers – owned by Ambergate-based company JC Balls, wiggle past each other with split-second precision. The vehicles perform ‘handstands’ in time to the music and create a ‘wedding arch’ for other machines to drive through.

There will also be a Food Hall at this summer’s show where visitors can purchase delicious produce, much of it produced here in Derbyshire. As well as cheese and artisan bread, the Derbyshire County Show will also host the award-winning Nelson’s Gin. Their gin is currently on the shelves in Harrods and Waitrose.

Tickets are available online by visiting derbyshirecountyshow.org.uk If you would like to be involved in the 2018 event please contact Show Secretary Anne James by emailing info@derbyshirecountyshow.org.uk For further information please contact Sarah Newton at Penguin PR on 07974 502 764 or email sarah@penguin.co.uk

Now available to view at Bluebird Fine Art Mercia Marina, Findern Lane, Willington, DE65 6DW Open: Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 5pm, Sunday 10.30am - 4.30pm Monday - closed

T: 01283 204753

info@bluebirdfineart.co.uk

68 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

www.bluebirdfineart.co.uk

Reflections on Pollyanna Pickering

A Painter of the

Living World

P

ollyanna Pickering was a warm, caring, highly talented yet unassuming lady who reached the pinnacle of her career as a wildlife artist while achieving international respect for her passionate commitment to conservation.

She and Ken married in 1963, after Pollyanna had spent a further three years studying at the London Central School of Art. During her time at Rotherham art school, Pollyanna and Ken would travel out into the Peak District most weekends to sketch and In 1968, they moved to a cottage in Bakewell, a year before Pollyanna gave birth to their daughter Anna-Louise.

Shortly afterwards Pollyanna took the brave step of going freelance as a professional artist. Money was very tight, and couldn’t afford to have her pictures framed, and scoured jumble sales to buy frames, painting work to fit them.

In 1971 Pollyanna signed with her first publisher, who produced a series of prints of pedigree dogs - and this proved to be the huge turning point

Pollyanna, who passed away recently following a short illness, was born in Leeds in 1942. From her earliest childhood, Pollyanna had paint, pencils and paper to hand. When she decided that she would like to go to art school to further her studies, she was summoned to the headmistress’s office with a portfolio of work. Her headmistress looked through the folder in silence, and slammed it shut with the immortal words “You’ll never make a living at that!”

Fortunately Pollyanna’s parents had a little more faith in her abilities, and allowed her to attend Rotherham Art school – and at the end of her first year she won the coveted award for the most promising student. It was here Pollyanna met her husband - to - be, Ken Pickering, an industrial designer.

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 69

in her career. At the time there were no other open edition prints of domestic animals on the market and Pollyanna’s work was an instant hit.

A series of over sixty studies of pedigree dogs and cats followed during the 1970’s, and for the first time Pollyanna’s work reached a wider audience, selling throughout the UK and Europe. In 1974 she accepted a commission to design her first ever Christmas cards for a charity – Oxfam.

Sadly in 1979 just two years after moving into the home in the Derbyshire Dales, which Pollyanna and her daughter continued to share, Ken died, at the age of 41. He had been diagnosed with cancer before their marriage, but had been in remission for nearly fifteen years. Pollyanna nursed him throughout the final months of his illness.

Ultimately his untimely death proved another turning point in Pollyanna’s career. She threw herself body and soul into her work, partly out of the economic necessity of bringing up a young daughter alone - and partly to help cope with the grief of losing her husband.

Pollyanna subsequently signed with her current publishers Otter House, and working in close association with them has become the most published fine artist in the UK, with work selling in over 80 countries around the world.

Practically every home in Britain will have enjoyed her art at some time in the form of a Christmas or greeting card, print or calendar.

Pollyanna also found her original work gaining more and more acclaim, and in 1982 became accredited to her first London Gallery, the Tryon and Moorland. In 1983 her work was first accepted for display in the Royal Academy.

In the same year she won her first major award - the prestigious Silver Palette Trophy. By the end of the decade Pollyanna was already firmly established as one of Europe’s leading wildlife artists, a remarkable achievement in a field which remains almost entirely male-dominated.

Celebrity clients including David Bowie and John Hurt purchased work, and she was even commissioned to paint Her Majesty The Queen’s favourite racing pigeon! She could never have predicted the diverse opportunities her career would bring – she even became a familiar face on radio and television, filming documentaries for Channel 4 and BBC1 – and over the past five years she became a regular and much loved guest on the Create and Craft channel!

Even during the earliest days of her career, her desire to paint animals from life lead her to visit wildlife hospitals to sketch the birds and animals they were looking after. She became more and more interested in the rescue and rehabilitation work they were doing, and this eventually lead to her establishing a wildlife sanctuary from her own home. Caring mainly for injured and orphaned birds of prey, she also rehabilitated 70 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

foxes, hedgehogs, squirrels and other mammals.

This close contact with the creatures in her care continues to be reflected in the realism and vitality of her work.

In 1989 Pollyanna’s daughter Anna-Louise joined her mother to work in the business full-time.

Originally standing in on a temporary basis to replace Pollyanna’s previous personal assistant who had left to set up her own business, AnnaLouise soon became thoroughly fascinated by and involved in the work, and this unique mother and daughter partnership continued to work and travel together.

Pollyanna realised that if she wanted to capture the true character and beauty of the animals she was depicting, she would need to travel to paint

them in their natural habitats. Following her first journey into Kenya in 1986 she painted on every single continent. This in itself is surely a unique achievement – there cannot be many artists – especially women – who have packed their art materials and then sketched their chosen subject on each and every one of the seven continents.

Accompanied by Anna-Louise, who acted as official photographer on their travels, Pollyanna camped in tents and igloos in the High Arctic in search of polar bears, journeyed by river boat through the forests of Borneo, and just last summer braved crocodile infested rivers in Brazil to sketch wild jaguars. The expeditions were not without their dangers. The intrepid duo found scorpions in their camp beds and tarantulas in their towels – they were charged by a wild tiger

International Award in the field of Wildlife Art at a celebration gala event in Canada - the Simon Combes award for Conservation through Artistic Excellence.

Pollyanna never intended to retire, and had many future plans. Just 2 months ago she was trekking in the Sonoran Desert, sketching the wildlife for a scheduled one man exhibition in one of the most prestigious galleries in the USA. Expeditions were planned into Kenya, North America and even Outer Mongolia, where she hoped to find the snow leopards which had eluded her on previous treks into the Himalayas!

Her energy and boundless enthusiasm for life remained undimmed – and she would have undoubtedly needed another lifetime to paint all the pictures she carried in her mind.

Pollyanna remained passionate about wildlife and equally passionate about accurately interpreting her subjects. To the very end she was a champion of environmental conservation, both on the national and international stage, and an indefatigable campaigner for the welfare of endangered, sick and vulnerable creatures.

The first prime minister of India Jahwarhal Nehru said “We live in a wonderful world full of beauty charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we travel with our eyes open.”Pollyanna truly travelled through life with her eyes open, her paintings capturing with flawless detail the diverse beauty of a world that is wild, unspoiled and rich with life. Her artwork will stand alongside her conservation work as a continuing inspiration and her lasting legacy.

You can make a donation to the Foundation in Pollyanna’s memory online at www.pollyannapickering.co.uk/foundation www.goldengiving.com/secure/donation/ the-pollyanna-pickering-foundation

in India, braved extreme temperatures as low as -60 in Siberia and faced huge venomous Komodo Dragons armed only with a forked stick!

The time that Pollyanna spent with a sketch pad observing birds and animals in their natural environment brought a respect and understanding of their energy and individual character, which shone through in the timeless appeal of her completed paintings. This created a huge demand for her work from animal charities, and Pollyanna was always most pleased when her work could help support causes close to her heart.

Over the years her designs have raised millions of pounds for charities at home and abroad.

As Pollyanna became ever more involved in caring for wildlife, and in world wide conservation, she

also became more personally involved with the work of many charities. She was patron of more than thirty organisations, including The Born Free Foundation, Naturewatch and The Badger Trust.

She established the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation which raises funds for Conservation, animal welfare and disaster relief internationally.

The work of the Foundation will be continued by Anna-Louise and the board of trustees.

Pollyanna received close to fifty awards and accolades for her work including three lifetime achievement awards, the most recent from America at the beginning of this year. She was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Derby, and in 2012 received the most prestigious CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 71

A Hidden Gem of

Food & Drink T

urning the corner onto Boot Hill in Repton, the self-proclaimed capital of Mercia, I immediately thought “I should have arrived on a horse!” Everything seemed to be linked to the past and, in all honesty, I love that. The Boot, a 17th Century coaching Inn, is owned, managed and run by people with a fierce passion for what they do… and they’re very good at it.

Rewarded for their success with a second AA Rosette in two years is testament to Chef Rob Taylor’s passion for food supported by his highly trained kitchen team who maintain that standard when he isn’t around. At front of house is Manager Rick Graham, who exudes the same enthusiasm for customer care. Drinking a cup of coffee chatting with Rob and Rick I could see that both are keen to keep pushing ‘The Boot’ forward with expansion of the team, more training and menu development. Chef Rob has his own allotment where he grows various things to take home and experiment with, creating new recipes and dishes which he can then introduce to the restaurant when he is satisfied. He is proud to be sourcing food from local suppliers including dry aged beef from Tori and Ben’s Farm Butchery in Melbourne where their sister business ‘Harpurs’ is situated.

Rob and Rick have thoroughly enjoyed their three and a half year journey working in tandem and they have a good sense of humour too which I enjoyed. When you book a table it’s yours for the evening should you so wish. They both were quite adamant at this point that those who visit ‘The Boot’ should enjoy the experience from the high quality accommodation to their award -winning food.

In for a pint at ‘The Boot’.

A highlight too of my visit was to enjoy a pint of beer produced from their own, on site brewery.

As creatures of habit, a beer drinker will generally stick to what he knows. When faced with a bar full of pumps with beer names never seen before the mind gets very confused. Various areas of the country sport their own particular ales and tucked behind the ‘The Boot’ is the Boot Micro Brewery from which flows thousands of pints of the finest quality beers which are on sale at ‘The Boot’ Repton, ‘Harpur’s of Melbourne and The Dragon at Willington.

Head Brewer Jon Archer took over the brewing just over a year ago. I asked Jon what his background was. He replied “33 years in IT”, I wasn’t expecting that. There’s obviously more to this tale and it transpired that he was an avid home brewer, a skill he developed to replicate brewing at a small commercial level. So, when the offer came from the owners of ‘The Boot’ at Repton, to manage and develop their micro brewery, it was an unmissable opportunity. Home brewing is an art this author never perfected and after two failed attempts and two bouts of illness after drinking it(!) I decided to leave it to the experts and stay firmly on the customer side of the bar.

Jon explained the ins and outs of brewing to me and it’s a pretty straightforward process which becomes very complicated when trying to maintain consistency. I was taken aback by the control exercised over brewing a popular beer to maintain consistency and satisfy the regular ‘same pint’ drinker. Asking anyone how they like their beer will elicit numerous replies ‘hoppy, malty, fruity, strong, dark, pale” are among many of the responses, but how do you cater for that on the bar.

Much can depend on type of hop, where it comes from, yeast used etc. John selects the finest hops from around the country and from abroad to blend them into great tasting beer.

Rob and Rick proudly display the latest AA Rosette award 72 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

The latest brew ‘Willow’ was launched in April and, as a low alcohol light ale, is harder to brew because low alcohol beers can feel too thin so need building up, but to his credit it has gone really well and is proving extremely popular.

I watched as Jon checked the progress of fermentation in stage for the latest batch of

Measured, tested and recorded to ensure the perfect pint.

‘Clod Hopper’ which gave me an insight to the accurate records needed to maintain consistency.

Ten percent of this, so much of that, this specific temperature and much more. (The exact details are a secret though and not for my eyes!) This is recorded ready for the next batch. Jon shared with me his knowledge of how life works in the Boot brewery, from designing to creating a beer influenced by Jon’s skilled palette which is suitable for production.

I smiled as he took me to see and taste a drink in its early stages of creation, of which the base ingredient was rhubarb. I love rhubarb crumble, but I’ve never drunk it! The first taste was quite pleasant and I thought maybe a good drink but then came the next tasting made with a different yeast which took it to a whole different level on

Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence

the taste buds. And that, as they say is the crux of the matter, the master brewer, in this case Jon, is using his skills and taste buds to create something everyone will love. Some of his great creations haven’t made it to front of house yet as they are still being developed. Passion and creativity rules everywhere at ‘The Boot’.

My day got even better at this point!

By now it was time for lunch and, having been shown the brewery I needed to sample some of the 13 ales! Obviously, that’s not practical so Jon just let me select one that I fancied from the bar.

At this point I wished I had come on a horse because I could just have jumped on and said, “Home Trigger”.

It seems to me that whatever your passion, you’re going to be very spoilt at ‘The Boot’, the gastronomic hidden gem capital of Mercia.

Gold Award for Accommodation

CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 73

taste

derbyshire

It’s not just any old hooch Ten years ago, you would expect to find one or two brands of gin on offer at the golf club and, if you were lucky, a slice of lemon from a jar.

Only a teetotal hermit could fail to notice gin is everywhere. There are gin parties, ginemas (gin and a film night), ginvent calendars and gin-flavoured spa treatments. Even Burton-on-Trent, the spiritual home of beer, hosted a Gin and Rum Festival in the market hall in May this year.

It’s not just any old hooch. Ten years ago, you would expect to find one or two brands of gin on offer at the golf club and, if you were lucky, a slice of lemon from a jar. These days, the clubhouse is likely to have a gin menu featuring artisan and craft gins laced with exotic ingredients like buckthorn, loganberry and peppercorns. It all adds up to an industry which is worth £1.2 billion a year according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association.

Since gin shook off its Mother’s Ruin image, quaint cafes and farm shops are getting in on the act.

Whereas the strongest thing on offer may once have been a cup of English Breakfast, The Apple Tree tea house, Ockbrook is offering gin tasting evenings hosted by a be-suited booze raconteur.

Considering we are in the grip of a revolution, it is still a big surprise to find there is a new craft gin being produced in the Derbyshire woods.

Shining Cliff Woods at Ambergate may be on the map with local ramblers and people who have a thing about bluebells, but it is completely unexpected to stumble across a ‘proper’ distillery business (as opposed to one man in his shed) occupying 11,000 square feet in the former Johnson & Nephew wire works in the woods.

White Peak Distillery has risen from the ashes of the old wire industry thanks to one man – Max Vaughan of Quarndon – driven by his long-term dream to make whisky. But it was the hiring of a talented head distiller, Shaun Smith, which led Max to consider producing an artisan gin packed with flavours found in the local woodland.

“If we put our name on the bottle, we have to be proud of it. We love being in the Peak District and the area around us and we wanted our gin to be an expression of this,” explains Max as he stands by the distillery gates through which you can glimpse acres of verdant woodland.

74 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

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

“Shaun had previously made a successful gin and he was determined to create something authentic and different. Shining Cliff gin was inspired by the flowers and herbs we found in the wood like rosehip, elderberry and Mayflower.”

The pair spent many months in the wonderfully aromatic ‘research and development bunker’ where – with only a 30 litre still at his disposal - Shaun began to perfect the inaugural gin.

“It meant lots of trips out and about the woods on my bike looking at the plants and the hedgerows to find things suitable for Shining Cliff gin,” Shaun recalls.

“We had around ten styles of gin initially which we narrowed down to six, then to three that we were really happy with. We also discarded a few flavour combinations along the way. Like wild garlic, even though we have lots in the wood, we’ll never see a wild garlic or spruce needle gin coming to market.”

The months of tinkering can be seen by counting the glass bottles on a large unit of pigeon holes; each contains single flavour distillations used while devising the prefect blend. The final Shining Cliff gin really is stunning testimony to all Shaun’s chemistry, if not alchemy skills and features 13 different flavourings or botanicals; many evocative of the woodland setting around the distillery.

“We had a lot of positive feed-back on the gin – people even saying it’s the best they’ve tried which is a huge compliment,” Max adds.

“Our goal was to make a gin which, like whisky, is good enough to be served neat. I call it a sipping gin. It’s got flavours of citrus so it doesn’t really need anything added except, perhaps, a slice of orange peel.”

Shining Cliff gin may have gathered a loyal fan-base but it’s actually a delicious warm-up act to the star of the show. At the end of April Max and Shaun took delivery of 18 tonnes of barley; the first stage in the development of a single malt whisky. It will be the first ever commercially produced in Derbyshire.

White Peak will be one of only 15 other distilleries making, or developing, whisky in England.

White Peak Distillery has risen from the ashes of the old wire industry thanks to Max Vaughan of Quarndon and head distiller, Shaun Smith.

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CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 75

Eventually

“It will be twelve months before the first tasting and three years before it can be officially called whisky,” Max explains.

“We’re currently inviting people to join our Temperance Club, so-called because they will have to wait. But their patience will be rewarded with a limited-edition bottle once a year for the next decade. In addition, the members’ names – 1876 of them in honour of the date of the factory opening - will be etched onto bricks and built into the distillery wall.”

Looking at the pictures of the dilapidated factory buildings, once used for maintenance and storage at the wire works, it’s clear the task has been a labour of love.

As Max describes it – surrounded by the bespoke gleaming copper still built in Scotland and stainless steel-work made by Musk Engineering at Swadlincote – you can almost taste the light peaty, slightly floral malt which will be housed in bourbon casks shipped over from America and wine casks from Portugal.

“I am a whisky fan,” says Max when asked why he is so passionate to develop a whisky when he has a ‘hit’ gin product on his hands.

“My dad Barrie introduced me to whisky and to

76 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

the Scotch Whisky Society. It’s there I heard about a guy who worked behind the member’s bar who had started a small whisky distillery in Battersea.

Something about this story really resonated with me. I did a lot of research over three years, visiting distilleries and talking to experts.”

Max, an accountant by profession, may have thrashed out a good business plan on paper but he’s the first to admit he had very little else.

“When I launched the business, in early 2016, I had no premises, partners, staff permits or consents, nowhere near enough funding and no track record in the drinks and spirits industry,” he explains.

“I couldn’t bear the thought of looking back on my dream after twenty years of working for someone else.”

Max, 48, realised he must get beyond the planning stage. “I’d been to a couple of funerals of guys around my age and it really focussed my mind,” he says.

“There’s a saying that ‘now is as good a time as any’ and I’d reached my now. It also helped that my wife Claire was so supportive.”

In January 2016, Max flew out to Texas to meet Chip Tate, founder of the Tate & Company Distillery; a self-confessed maverick who succeeded in putting his multi-award-winning brand of ‘Texas whisky’ in the forefront of the nation’s craft whisky boom.

“We met on the business networking site Linkedin.

We exchanged a few emails and he invited me to stay with him and his wife,” Max explained.

“He gave me such good advice like ‘plan for success’.

He told me to build a still with the biggest capacity

Darley Abbey Stores

Now incorporating

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Open All Day 7 days T: 01332 551247 Abbey Lane, Darley Abbey

Your Local Stockists of Shining Cliff Gin are: The Gin Gaf, Church St Ashbourne The French Wine People, Snitterton Road, Matlock Fresh Basil, Strutt St, Belper Fishermans Rest, Broadholme Lane, Belper The Yeaveley Arms, Yeaveley, Ashbourne Terroir Bistro, Friargate, Derby Darley Abbey Stores, Darley Abbey, Derby Denstone Hall Farm Shop, Denstone, Staffordshire

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Restaurant CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk | 77

our budget would allow. He’d made the mistake of playing safe by starting small and had to close the operation down for months in order to expand. But while capacity is important, we also agreed that you should never put productivity ahead of flavour so our process remains low on automation – the valves and levers will be operated by hand.”

tree branch was immortalised in the rhyme Rock-aBye Baby.

Chip also encouraged Max to find some backers.

“I’d heard of a couple of entrepreneurs through mutual friends and asked if I could meet them for lunch in order to talk to them about the project,” Max says.

“We can make gin one week, rum the next, while the whisky matures in the barrel rooms,” Max explains.

“I didn’t ask for money, I asked for their thoughts.

I made a presentation and they were really enthusiastic. I left the business plan with them asking for advice about any thing I’d missed. This was on the Friday. On the Sunday one of the guys rang to say he loved the plan, he thought I was the right person to develop it and, best of all, he wanted to invest.”

Spurred on by this support, Max approached 17 friends and family members asking for an investment towards the seven-figure start-up.

Incredibly, 15 agreed.

“By May 2016, I’d found the site and I’d been in touch with a tutor on a distillery degree course who recommended Shaun. Finally, I was in a position to offer him a job,” Max says.

“Shaun was working down south and I knew he was really keen to re-locate to the Peak District. He comes from Macclesfield but has a friend in Belper and, as keen cyclists, they’d been on bike rides through the woods. Like me, he was really inspired by working in such a unique location.”

It’s easy to see why Max and Shaun are so passionate about their surroundings. Max was not only aware of the potential of harnessing the natural resources – he will use water from the River Derwent in his cooling processes – but he’s thrilled about regenerating every part of the massive industrial site.

“In addition to installing new power supplies, we’ve had to replace a couple of leaking roofs but the large rooms with their high, beamed ceilings are perfect for housing the equipment. The store rooms alone can hold up to 1,000 whisky barrels per year.” Max explains.

“We’ve also taken down partition walls to make a shop and tasting area. It’s where we’ll start our distillery tours. Thanks to the lay-out of the site, it’s easy for people to see what we’re doing here.

Hopefully they’ll go away with an understanding of what goes into making our spirits.”

Looking at the pictures of the dilapidated factory buildings, once used for maintenance and storage at the wire works, it’s clear the task has been a labour of love.

“I’m really fired-up by the heritage of the site,” Max admits.

“We’ve reclaimed and restored windows and even planned to turn an old compressor into a table by adding a glass top - I just couldn’t bear to take it to the scrap-yard.”

The celebration of history can even be witnessed in the main still room. Max proudly reveals that the bespoke still has been named ‘Betty’ in honour of local wood-dweller Betty Kenny, whose habit of getting her baby to sleep in a cradle hanging from a 78 | CountryImagesMagazine.co.uk

Betty will be kept very much in business. When the whisky is set down to begin it’s graceful ageing process, Shaun and Max have plans to develop yet more artisan spirits which, like gin, do not need a period of time to age.

“We’ve also got plans to make absinthe using wormwood from the Swiss-French border where the liquor is traditionally made.”

Throughout the interview, Max’s friends and family – some of them investors – keep popping in to check on developments and take photographs of a gleaming Betty. He’s grateful for the interest as, without a big publicity budget, he is going to be reliant on word of mouth and social media.

So far, so good – the reaction to the gin with ‘laboratory’ style labels designed by interior designer wife Claire, has been overwhelmingly positive. On White Peak Distilleries’ social media page, one commentator described the Shining Cliff gin as ‘Smooth, mellow and flavoursome – it reminds me of the woods I see from my home in Ambergate.’

Max is confident his whisky will open to equally rave reviews.

The celebration of history can even be witnessed in the main still room.

Max proudly reveals that the bespoke still has been named ‘Betty’ in honour of local wood-dweller Betty Kenny, whose habit of getting her baby to sleep in a cradle hanging from a tree branch was immortalised in the rhyme Rock-a-Bye Baby.

But, for now at least, he’s playing the waiting game.

“It’s taken years to get to this stage but it’s all part of the science, art and romance of whisky making,” Max says with a smile of contentment.

“Getting to this point has been a seven day a week commitment but it will be worth it when we open the gates to our first visitors. We’re developing something for people who care about the provenance and tradition of their craft spirits.

Hopefully people will want to come and see what we are all about. We’ll even offer to refill their bottles so our customers can enjoy a drink and do their bit for the environment.”

As for the man whose love of whisky inspired all this passion, Max says dad Barrie is very proud of his son.

“He couldn’t have been more supportive,” Max says.

“I thought he’d say it was a crazy idea but he actually said I’d be crazy not to give it a go.”

The distillery shop will be open from June 2018.

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Just find the Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire village in the crossword below and send the place name on a postcard to: Crossword Comp. Country Images, Unit 5, Office Village, Keys Road, Alfreton, Derbys DE55 7FQ. Or to competitions@imagespublishing.co.uk Entries to reach us by June15th 2018 First correct entry drawn wins the prize. Terms and conditions apply.

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W

hen Richmond Village Aston on Trent, a new retirement village in South Derbyshire, became fully operational in October 2017, the Richmond Village team moved out of their marketing suite into purpose built offices in the retirement village. Richmond Village was delighted to donate the marketing suite to the local Aston and Weston Bowls Club.

Club Chairman Jim Ballington says, “When Richmond Village offered to donate their beautiful marketing suite to the club, once their village was complete, this wonderful gesture was gratefully accepted. In October 2017 Richmond Village handed over the marketing suite to the Aston and Weston Bowls Club, organising the dismantling and re-assembly on the site of our old club house. Since then members have been busy (with help from other bodies) renovating the building to suit the needs of the club, which is now our new pavilion.

Coxbench Hall Residential Home

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We hope our close and friendly relationship will continue with Richmond Village over many years to come and look forward to their presence at the official opening of our new pavilion on Sunday 17th June 2018".

Village Adviser at Richmond Village Aston on Trent, Sally Ann Hackney commented, “It was such a pleasure to work in the marketing suite. It was always a very happy place with a nice atmosphere.

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