From the Editor
Dearest Readers
This writer has just finished watching the third season of Bridgerton and is now considering turning this into a gossip column (Society Paper). I am terrible at gossip though and not particularly observant, so I’m not entirely sure what this Lady Waffledown would discuss?! Obviously, if you have any interesting gossip, I’m all ears – pen poised!
At the time of writing England (and Scotland) are still in the Euro’s and the General Election is still up for grabs. So, forgive me if I steer clear of football and politics, not least because I imagine by the time you are reading this, everyone may be a little sick of talking about both these things!
So, onto more worthwhile pursuits… I promised you all an update on my adventures at Ninja Warrior. Let’s be clear it was the family friendly pay-to-play adventure park, not the TV show. Don’t expect me to show up on your telly-box, swinging from a monkey bar and trussed up in lycra… based on my exploits it would be a brief appearance, although I will say it was great fun, with lots to do for kids of
all ages and good value for money. My little tip though… don’t go to Meadowhall food court for lunch on a bank holiday Monday… feeding time at the zoo is an apt description!
I am looking forward to the Olympics though… I love watching all those sports and athletic disciplines which you don’t normally get to see on TV. Although, I will say I don’t look forward to Mr Emily pretending he is an expert on each event based on his 30 minutes of watching, along with his insistence on telling them (me) on how to do it better… #eyeroll
Until next month gentle reader, I await tidings of your juiciest gossip, Happy reading,
NEXT GENERATION TV STARS
2023 was a record breaking year for turnover for Next Generation Home
Improvements in Ripley and the company have continued to provide customers with great service in 2024.
They also made an appearance on television’s DIY SOS, providing a new resin surface for Treetops Hospice in Risley as well as featuring at The Newark Garden Show. So all in all things are going well for this local business and Director Lee Goddard wants to continue moving forward. He states “we put our success down to the high standard of work that our installers adhere to. It is important to remember that a driveway is the main focal point at the front of a customer’s
home so it is essential that we make sure it looks fantastic. With this is mind, we have continued to keep our installers trained to the highest of standards and make sure they keep a pride in their work. Our installers are a credit to the company and our 1000’s of satisfied customers speak so highly of them which is lovely to hear.”
As well as specialising in resin driveways, paths & patios, Next Generation also offer Aluminium gates, composite fencing & garage doors. They are more than happy to offer help, advice or no obligation quotes. They welcome customers to call into their offices on Butterley Hill or call them on 01773 303181.
The company would be delighted to quote on any customers work involving resin driveways, patios, composite fencing or gates.
Simply drop them a call on 01773 303181
WEIRD OLYMPIC SPORTS OF THE PAST
We’re all familiar with the athletic events at the modern Olympic games, plus all the other sports included today—gymnastics, swimming, basketball, football…etc. etc. etc!
There are also more random events such as breaking (break dancing), skateboarding, surfing, and BMX biking on the menu at this month’s Paris games. But have you ever been tempted to investigate some of the odd “sports” that formed part of previous Olympics?
I looked and was both surprised and horrified by some of the weird events that have been deemed Olympic worthy in the past…
Let’s have a look:
Live pigeon shooting – yep, you read that correctly! In 1900, which coincidentally was also held in Paris, competitors assembled to shoot pigeons. The winner was the one who shot down the most birds from the sky. Nearly 300 birds were killed. Unsurprisingly, it turned out to be quite messy, with dead or injured birds on the ground and blood and feathers all over the place.
Canon Shooting – this was at the 1900 Paris Games (must have been something odd in the water that year!). There were 17 events, all for men, and (oddly enough!) only French competitors participated. No specific results are known; indeed, no one really knows what the competition involved.
Town Planning – I kid you not, medals for town planning were awarded during the Olympic Games held in Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Berlin, and London between 1928 and 1948!
Men’s 200m swimming obstacle course – unbelievably, this is another from the 1900 Paris games – there was definitely something amiss with the French psyche that year. There were three obstacles; first the competitors had to climb over a pole, then over a row of boats, and then swim under another row of boats. Bizarre.
Solo Synchronised Swimming – surely the most obvious oxymoron ever! How can a solo swimmer synchronise with something? Regardless, Solo Synchronised Swimming was a sport at the Olympic Games between 1984 and 1992. Perhaps it would still be around if renamed, “Pool Dancing” – or similar!
Men’s Sailors 100 meter Freestyle – this one is bonkers! In 1896, at the first modern Olympic Games held in Athens, a swimming event open only to Greek Royal Navy sailors was held. The suspicion was that Greece included this event to boost their medal haul!
Roque – no, I’ve never heard of it either! Apparently, it was (is?) almost identical to croquet but played on a hard surface with solid boundary walls. It made an appearance in the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri. Only Americans competed in the event, drawing complaints that the host country was trying to inflate its medal count, just like Greece in 1896.
Enjoy this year’s Olympics, and be grateful that these days, the events require a huge amount of athletic skill and dedication on the part of the competitors. And, as an added bonus, there will not be a bloodied pigeon feather in sight!
These articles are researched and written by Laura Billingham, a local content writer and author. Laura moved to the Peak District several years ago to pursue her passion for writing.
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THE LITTLE RED HEN HOUSE
NORTHUMBERLAND
STUNNING HOLIDAY COTTAGE IN WARKWORTH, NORTHUMBERLAND
Treat yourself to a luxury break at the 4* Gold Award winning Little Red Hen House. An elegant and cosy holiday home just a 7 minute drive from award-winning and dog-friendly Warkworth beach.
✽ 2 spacious en-suite bedrooms
✽ A fully enclosed garden
✽ 2 small to medium dogs welcome (3 upon request)
✽ Fully equipped kitchen, including an American style fridge freezer
✽ Perfect for exploring the stunning Northumbrian Heritage Coastline
✽ Close to a range of dog friendly pubs, cafes and restaurants in stunning Warkworth
✽ We have fast fibre Wi-Fi and smart TV’s Search ‘The Little Red Hen House’
Slimming World Recipe
Chocolate Banana Bread
Method:
1. Heat your oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6 and line a small loaf tin with non-stick baking paper.
2. Put the bananas in a mixing bowl and mash with a fork. Add the almond drink and stir well. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder, then add the vanilla, baking powder and sweetener, followed by the eggs. Mix until smooth.
The collective ‘oooh’, followed by ‘so when are you going to make some?’ when I suggested this recipe confirmed it was the right choice for this month... Hopefully it tickles your fancy too!
3. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes.
4. Take the loaf out of the tin and peel off the baking paper. Cover the top with the sliced banana, sprinkle over a light dusting of cocoa powder and cut into 10 equal slices to serve.
Ingredients:
• 2 ripe medium bananas, plus 1 banana, sliced, to decorate
• 60ml unsweetened almond drink
• 100g self-raising flour
• 20g cocoa powder, plus extra to decorate
• 5 drops vanilla extract
• 2 level tsp baking powder
• 4 level tbsp sweetener granules
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
COACH TOUR HOLIDAYS
Flake’ s Favourites
Re-walking Rafa’s Rambles
This month we have picked a walk which I think is perfect for a ramble whatever the weather, making use of some of the paths and trials to the north of Derby’s city centre. We begin our walk in Darley Park, heading down the side of the river Derwent, before crossing the river and turning to head back up, alongside the Racecourse Park. From here we pick a section of the Great Northern Greenway, turning off before we reach Breadsall. We then cut across to meet up with the River Derwent again, before heading south to pass through the West Mill and back to where we began.
4 1/2 MILE CIRCULAR WALK FROM DARLEY PARK, DERBY
A short walk which should take you and your dog around 2 hours to complete. There are a few sections of road so please take care. There majority of the walk is on paths and trails but please wear appropriate footwear and as always, please follow the countryside code.
START: DARLEY PARK CAR PARK, POPLAR ROW, DERBY. DE22 1DU.
1. Standing with your back to the entrance cross the car park diagonal left passing some recycle bins on your left and taking the well laid footpath to pass behind the cricket club house. Follow the path with the river on your left for some distance and cross over a small wooden footbridge.
2. Continue ahead staying close to the river for some distance and eventually you will begin to pass houses raised up on a bank to your right. Eventually the footpath will turn into a road. Continue straight ahead to pass Derby Rowing Club and a small car park to your left. At this point keep left and take a tarmac footpath straight ahead of you keeping the river close on your left.
3. After a short distance, just before passing under a bridge, turn right. Then after a short distance turn left and up some steps. At the top of the steps turn left and cross over the bridge. At the other side of the bridge continue ahead and at the crossroad turn right, signposted for Allestree, Darley Abbey & Little Eaton. Follow the path keeping some industrial buildings on your right.
4. Continue until reaching a T junction with a road. Turn right and then immediately left to continue along ‘Chester Green Road’. Continue straight ahead with a row of houses on your left and a recreation area to your right until reaching a T junction with a main road. Cross over a zebra crossing in front of you and turn right along the main road. After a short distance take the 2nd left into Caesar Street.
5. When the houses end and the road narrows continue straight ahead to pass beneath a bridge and walk on until reaching a main road. Cross straight over the road and then continue straight ahead along a footpath to pass through an underpass. Immediately after the underpass at a fork in the path bear to the left. After a very short distance at a crossroads of paths turn left again. Now continue along a footpath with playing fields on your right.
6. Continue straight ahead for some distance and then at a fork in the path bear right and continue to a main road. Cross over the road following a signpost for ‘Breadsall Hilltop’ and then continue along a tarmac footpath for some distance.
7. Eventually you will reach a road. Continue straight ahead along-side the road until reaching a T junction with another road and a pub directly opposite. Cross straight over this road, turn left to continue for a short distance along the road and then turn right through a width restrictor onto a footpath, keeping the pub on your right.
8. Continue along this footpath for some distance passing a signboard on your left reading ‘Great Northern Greenway’. After some distance, at a crossroads of footpaths, turn left through a gap in a fence adjacent to a large white gate, along a footpath. Continue along this path going gently downhill until passing through a metal width restrictor and onto a road. Cross over and then turn left along the road.
9. Continue along the road for a short distance, then upon reaching some large stones on the righthand side of the road turn right along a cycleway. After a short distance cross over a main road and pass through a metal swing gate to follow a footpath through some trees to cross a field.
10. After some distance on the footpath you will reach some steps. Climb the steps cross over a rail bridge. On the other side turn immediately to the right and then to the left to cross over a wooden footbridge. After the footbridge continue
straight ahead across a field keeping a dyke on your left. Upon reaching a T junction with a lane turn left keeping a river on your right.
11. After some distance pass over a stile and continue ahead for a short distance until you have a fence in front of you. Bear left and continue with the fence on your right. Stay close to the fence for some distance, then shortly after the fence begins to curve to the right follow the footpath straight ahead peeling away from the fence as straight as possible.
12. Continue straight to cross a stile. Now continue with a wire fence on your right. When the path bends to the right, continue straight staying close to the fence. When the fence ends keep to the path, around to the left to pass over a stile adjacent to a large metal gate. Walk along a tarmac lane until reaching a road with ‘Haslams Rugby Club’ opposite.
13. Turn right along the road to pass a 2mph sign as you enter an old mill. Continue along the narrow road through the mill passing a ‘Toll £1’ sign and eventually cross over a river bridge with the weir on your left.
14. Immediately after crossing the bridge the road curls to the left. Follow the road around to the left and then when the road bends right take the first turning on your left into ‘Darley Street’. Continue along ‘Darley Street’ passing ‘Mill View Gardens’ on your left and then after a short distance turn left into ‘Poplar Row’ to continue back to the car park.
Darley PARK
DARLEY ABBEY Breadsall Derby
Clay Cross Social Centre has one of the finest dance floors in the area. It is spacious and comfortable, with a furnished lounge area adjacent to the bar and a fully equipped kitchen.
In good weather there is an outdoor seating area and during the evening and weekends a large car park.
We are fully licensed for entertainment with a maximum capacity for 200 persons.
NEW TUPTON IVANHOE FC CLUB OF THE YEAR
NEW TUPTON IVANHOE FC NAMED CLUB OF THE YEAR IN THE
DERBYSHIRE FA GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL AWARDS
The club was awarded the title from over 300 grassroots football clubs in Derbyshire.
New Tupton Ivanhoe FC is celebrating after winning not once but twice at the Derbyshire F.A. Grassroots Football Awards. The North Derbyshire club was named Grassroots Club of the Year and Lakisha Burton Coach of the Year (Female Pathway) by the Derbyshire FA.
New Tupton Ivanhoe FC has over 400 young people playing from ages 3 to 15 and organises one of the largest grassroots football tournaments in the region. Since launching in 2011, it has developed new and improved sporting facilities for the local community.
New Tupton Ivanhoe FC was previously named the Derbyshire FA Grassroots Club of the Year in 2020 and is only the second club to receive this accolade twice.
Antony Maidans, Chair, said: “We are so proud to be named Grassroots Club of the Year. We are successful due to the amazing volunteers who give their time to coach and run the club. Their dedication brings grassroots football to Tupton and makes a difference to many young people. The club is proud of the investment in our coaches to ensure they continue to develop their skills to develop young people.”
Dave Hoult, Club Secretary, added: “We are so proud. The club has grown from one team to over 400 kids accessing football. We continued to develop and grow our facilities and offer new initiatives to allow wider participation in football from the local community.”
Lakisha Burton was named Coach of the Year (Female Pathway) for her development and coaching of Wildcats. The FA’s Weetabix Wildcats is non-competitive football for girls aged 5 to 11 who want to give football a go for the first time or want to play with other girls their age.
Lakisha said: “When I found out, I was shocked. Then all the emotions came, feeling happy, overwhelmed, proud and extremely grateful for being recognised for what I do as a Grassroots Football Coach.”
“Winning the Club of the Year just shows how successful the club is as a whole, and I’m proud to be part of that and work alongside the other coaches.”
If you are interested in Little Ivanhoes, The Wildcat Centre or joining a team please message the clubs facebook page at: www.facebook.com/newtuptonivanhoefc/ visit: www.newtuptonivanhoefc.co.uk or contact the Dave Hoult, Club Secretary on 07759 048 037
Guess the words and Fill
in the crossword !
Pitcherwits® are crossword puzzles where some of the clues are in pictures. Sound easy? It’s not called “Pit-your-wits” for nothing! The mixture of cryptic and picture clues, combined with Professor Rebus’ unique sense of humour, will keep you entertained for hours.
1 Consign ace to the bin for awareness (10)
5 Income minus outgoings equals runny money? (8)
15 Aim to nurture sloth with postal advertising (8)
18 Prayed for Terence, who did a bad thing (10)
Across
9 One in an army patrol (4)
10 Bit sarcastic, say, about story writer? (4)
11 Collapsed arch gets no fish (5)
12 Coming from across town in Herefordshire (4)
14 Story recounted at the end (4)
Down
3 Has difficulty this Wednesday (3)
4 Foregone part of the trip (3)
6 Itch treatment to be up to? (7)
7 Pleads on behalf of meadow (3)
13 Masking off some of the jump (3)
16 Boxer hailing from Somalia (3)
17 Rushed in to get the lady (3)
1 Riddle of company sister, that’s got one beaten (9)
2 Recants over sweet fluids (7) 8 Rumoured sotto voce (9) 10 Local transport, thus let out (7)
Sub, 8 Close-up, 10 Breeder, 11 Utopian, 14 Vie, 15 Goo, 16 Right amount.
Ski,
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BOOK REVIEW
Natalie Haynes book A Thousand Ships is one of a series of recent novels re-telling ancient history from a different perspective to the one we got at school. This no longer the Trojan War seen through the eyes of soldiers, conquerors, invasion, land grabs and loot. Instead, it’s the story of the women who, as so often in history, have been relegated to the side-lines – as if the only important thing is heroic tales of fighting and victory. This is a feminist re-writing of history. There are heroes, but they are largely the underdogs, the slaves, the people – often female - who are the spoils of war.
If you’ve enjoyed Pat Barker’s the Silence of the Girls or Madeleine Miller’s Circe, this will almost certainly be a book for you. Natalie Haynes is a classicist by training – she knows the history, but she digs into the areas around the existing texts to tell wider stories. And her approach is not all grimly serious – it’s witty and sarcastic but doesn’t pull any punches about the horror and enslavement if you’re a bit player in war. And it gives a voice to the voiceless.
And it’s definitely a different kind of page turner for your beach or deck chair read this summer.
One is the Chelsea Chop when you cut back your emerging perennials at the same time as the Chelsea Flower Show late May or early June, thus delaying flowering. The other is in mid to late July when you can cut individual shoots of perennials by about a third of their height. Both are reckoned to prolong the flowering period and promote later strong growth. If you prune about half the shoots on any plant just now – a phlox or helenium for example - it will give you a display of flowers now and the rest will come into bloom as the first ones go over.
We’re well into the holiday season and keeping houseplants happy if you haven’t got a house sitter means more direct action. If you’re just going for a short break, you can cover individual plants with a plastic bag which will create moisture and keep it watered – don’t let the bag touch the plant though. For longer periods, move your plants from sunny spots such as windowsills and if possible, use a bit of capillary matting to create a reservoir to water the plants. You need a water container, insert a strip of the matting into the plant soil and the other into the reservoir container and it will draw down water as needed. And if you have enough strips, you can water any number of plants through this method.
If you like to use lavender to sweeten your home, cut it when it is a newly opened flower – the smell is particularly strong and hang in a cool dark place for it to dry out.
Pick your sweet peas every day – they have a lovely scent, but importantly they will stop flowering if they go to seed. This can happen quite quickly, so keep checking every day.
THE BUTTERFLY BLUES
The spring and summer of 2024 will not go down as a great period for many of our butterflies. Often cool and generally wet, this has not been good weather for most butterfly species. Nevertheless, across the Peak District and surrounding areas, are some butterfly hotspots, but you may have to seek them out. Wherever there are grasslands, (i.e., meadows and pastures), rich in wildflowers and in sunny locations, then there are opportunities. If soil is dry and low in nutrients then it is likely to favour yellowflowered Common Bird’s-foot Trefoil, one of the pea family, and the foodplant for the Common Blue Butterfly. Incidentally, the orange-coloured trefoil flowers are associated with the plant’s defence mechanism called cyanogenesis. Producing a bitter taste and releasing toxic hydrogen cyanide and glucosides when insects cause damage, which discourages generalist herbivores. However, grassy areas favour butterflies including moth-like skippers whose caterpillars feed on grasses, and day-flying moths like Burnets feeding on trefoils and other legumes. Habitats for these and other grassland butterflies are found on Peak District limestone pastures, moorland-fringe areas, or old meadows like the National Trust estate at Longshaw, close to the Grouse Inn. Surprisingly perhaps, some of the best sites for these pretty insects are along roadside verges, effectively wildflower-rich, linear nature reserves throughout the region. Rich wildflower areas provide foodplants for larvae and sources of nectar for adults too. So, during the summertime months these are wonderful places to see a diversity of colourful species. As I hinted earlier, this has not been a good year for many species of butterflies in gardens or woodland edge perhaps,
apart from the now ubiquitous Speckled Wood. The Holly Blue, sometimes abundant in spring has been noticeably absent, but its grassland cousin the Common Blue seems to have done pretty well, such are the vagaries of butterfly watching!
It is always good to see butterflies especially when they are relatively abundant and can easily be spotted on a daily walk around your patch or else in your garden. However, there is rather more to butterfly watching than meets the eye. Research at the University of Derby has shown how spotting butterflies really is good for you and helps improve both health and your sense of wellbeing.
Researchers working with the Butterfly Conservation Society found that as little as fifteen minutes of butterfly watching whilst counting butterflies for a survey, reduced stress levels by around 10%. They also discovered that even activities like a short time observing and counting butterflies, enhanced the participants’ feelings of being connected to nature. These observations are similar to those for other wildlife groups such as birds and really emphasise that nature and a good, rich environment bring many benefits. Furthermore, people’s positive feelings led to an increased desire to support the conservation of these species and to be actively engaged. This might for example, include being a member of a Wildlife Trust or other conservation group, helping create a wildlife space in your local area, or perhaps making your garden a butterfly-friendly place. So, all in all, it is great to have butterflies around, and enjoying the experience will encourage you to take positive eco-action too!
SUDOKU #48
Fill in all the numbers!
This is a sudoku
1 square grid
81 cells
9 3x3 blocks
1 simple rule:
Use all the numbers 1-9, with no duplicates allowed, in any row, column, or block.
These puzzles are devised by the brilliant Professor Rebus. For more of his puzzles visit www.pitcherwits.co.uk
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