Hello Readers,
From the Editor
So, Mr Emily thinks he can make it to the 2028 Olympics as a Break-dancer... The worst part is I actually think he stands a chance!!
I always had it in my head that August was a quiet month, especially as we don’t have kids to entertain for around 6 weeks (honestly, I take my hat off to you all!). Turns out not to be the case on many levels this August, not helped by myself, who seemed to have booked the diary down to the last millisecond, much to Mr Emily’s dismay!
To add insult to injury, in the month of August I had my first Over 40’s Women Health letter from the doctors – and so it begins! Obviously, there was a bureaucratic calamity which involved the surgery not having a diary going 3 weeks into the future and a blood test sheet not being supplied and me turning up at Ripley basically begging them to take blood for whatever, just to get it over with! (In all honesty, the staff were brilliant). Despite the fact that the appointment could have been done online, at home, at my own leisure, I am very thankful that we have an NHS and that these health checks exist. The alternative doesn’t bear thinking about when I consider how many people these routine check-ups have saved over the years.
Anyway, one of the highlights of August was when the Voice team went ‘Mad For It’ in Manchester for our Sarah’s Hen Do. It was a worry as to whether we were still going to be able to go after the week of riots, but after a difficult year for her we wanted to make sure we sent her into her forthcoming nuptials in the ‘right’ way and that we did! From a Steam Train Murder Mystery evening, to a fabulous Ghost Walk around the City, to a couple of nostalgic hours at the Crystal Maze and much more in between, we covered the best that Manchester had to offer in a weekend. We’ve had a turbulent few years like most businesses and had more than our fair share of difficulties for such a small, family run company but we are very fortunate with the team we have and that we are all able to do what we love. So raise a glass to Sarah and her impending doom….ooops, …I mean happiness! We certainly did!!
Happy reading,
PS: Don’t forget to mention the ‘Voice’ when you use any of the companies in this magazine
ROALD DAHL DAY a Journey into Imagination
13th of September is just around the corner, and that means it’s time to celebrate the splendiferous (a very Dahl like word) Roald Dahl. This day honours the author, whose stories have captivated the hearts and minds of children and adults alike, transporting us to strange worlds where anything and everything is possible…like a giant peach that’s bigger than a house.
Roald Dahl is the creator of classics like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Matilda,” and “James and the Giant Peach,” to name just a few. He has given us stories filled with larger-than-life characters, and extraordinary adventures, all mixed up with more than a sprinkling of mischief and mayhem.
Dahl has also provided us with a litany of inspirational quotes…
“If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”
“We make realities out of our dreams and dreams out of our realities. We are the dreamers of the dream.”
“There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you’ll be free if you truly wish to be.”
Ah…the stuff great memes are made off!
Why do we celebrate him on the 13th of September, you may ask? Because it’s Roald Dahl’s birthday, of course!
Born in Wales in1916 to wealthy Norwegian immigrant parents, his first language was actually Norwegian. His father died when Roald was 3, leaving behind a fortune that today would be the equivalent of over £8mill.
Something I’ve only just discovered is that Dahl attended Repton School in Derbyshire from the age of 13 to 18. Whilst at the school, he was not considered by his teacher to be a particularly talented writer. Ironic, eh?
School did, however, provide inspiration for many of his novels. During his time there, Cadbury would sometimes send boxes of chocolate to the school for testing and Dahl would imagine inventing new flavours… “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” anyone?
After a stint working for the oil company, Shell, where he was assigned first to Mombasa, Kenya, then to Dar es Salaam, he returned to the UK as the war drums began to sound. He served in the Royal Air Force, becoming a fighter pilot and, subsequently, an intelligence officer, rising to the rank of acting wing commander.
Although we now remember Dahl as primarily a children’s author, he did in fact write several very dark adult themed stories and his short story collection, “Tales of the Unexpected”, became a TV show of the same name. He also invented over 500 new words by scribbling down his words before swapping letters around and adopting spoonerisms and malapropisms.
Love his books or not, no one can argue that Roald Dahl was a talented chap and worthy of a day to celebrate his life and works. He was also 6’6” tall – I wonder if this was part of the inspiration behind my favourite of his books,
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.
THE LITTLE RED HEN HOUSE
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CLAY CROSS PARISH COUNCIL UPDATE:
WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU!
If you need help and support maximising your income along with making sure you are receiving all the benefits you are entitled to, come along to Clay Cross Social Centre every Monday from 10AM – 1PM (excluding bank holidays) and see a friendly face from the Derbyshire Unemployed Workers’ Centres and they will do everything they can to help you. No appointment necessary.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS AT CLAY CROSS SOCIAL CENTRE
DOORS/BAR
On Friday, 27 September 2024 we will be hosting our ever-popular Charity Race Night in association with Clay Cross Parish Council and Clay Cross & District Probus Club. Doors/ Bar Open at 7PM with Racing from 8PM.
Tickets priced at £5 each including a Pie & Pea Supper are on sale NOW from the Clay Cross Parish Council office, Clay Cross Social Centre, Market Street S45 9JE.
On Saturday, 28 September 2024 there will be a Health & Wellbeing Event from 10AM –3PM. We would love you to join us at this Event where you will be able to take time for yourself, have the opportunity to buy some wonderful gifts and products, learn more about the support available to you in your community along with the chance to experience a number of relaxing and healing therapies. Free Admission/Free Parking!
Slimming World Recipe
Blueberry Muffin Cheesecakes
Method:
1. Soak the gelatine in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes until softened. Spray a 20cm springform or loose-bottomed square cake tin with low-calorie cooking spray, then line it with cling film, leaving some overhang.
2. Put the vanilla yogurt, Greek-style yogurt, quark and vanilla extract in your food processor. Set aside 1 level tsp sweetener for the topping, then add the rest to the food processor. Pour 100ml boiling water into a jug. Squeeze the excess water from the soaked gelatine and stir the gelatine into the hot water until it completely dissolves. Add to the food processor, then pulse until smooth and well blended. Scrape the mixture into the tin and chill for 2 hours.
For
Cheesecake was recently voted the UK’s favourite dessert. With this recipe, swapping the biscuit base for a yummy cinnamon crumb means you can indulge whilst still staying on plan.
3. Dissolve the jelly crystals in 150ml boiling water, add the lemon juice, then leave to cool. Scatter the blueberries over the cheesecake then pour over the cooled jelly and chill for a further 1-2 hours until set.
4. Preheat your oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6. Put the flour, oats, cinnamon, egg and remaining 1 tsp sweetener in a bowl and rub together using your fingers to make a crumble mixture. Spread this out on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 10-15 minutes until crisp.
5. Remove the cheesecake from the tin, discard the cling film and evenly scatter the crumble mixture over the top. Slice into 9 equal portions to serve.
Serves: 9
Syns per serving: 1
Ingredients:
• 6 sheets leaf gelatine
• 11.5g sachet blackcurrant sugarfree jelly crystals
• Low-calorie cooking spray
• 350g any no-addedsugar, fat-free vanilla yogurt
• 200g fat-free natural Greek-style yogurt
• 250g plain quark
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 level tbsp sweetener granules
• Good squeeze of lemon juice
• 225g fresh blueberries
• 25g plain flour
• 10g plain porridge oats
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 large egg yolk, plus 2 tsp egg white
Ready in: 25 mins, plus 3 hours 10 mins cooling and chilling time
COACH TOUR HOLIDAYS
MORECAMBE
Auckland Hotel
Mon 7th - Fri 11th Oct
5 Days - £425
BABBACOMBE
Babbacombe
Studley
2nd Tuesday of each month 9am - 1pm | South Normanton Market Place
2nd Thursday of each month 9.30am - 12.00pm | Bolsover Market
2nd Friday of each month 9am - 1pm | Ripley Market Place
SUDOKU
#50 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
3rd Tuesday of each month 9am - 12noon | Blackwell Community Centre
3rd Thursday of each month 9am - 1pm | Alfreton Severn Square Car Park (Outside B&M)
3rd Friday of each month 9am - 1pm | Sutton-in-Ashfield, Portland Square
Flake’ s Favourites
Re-walking Rafa’s Rambles
6.5-MILE CIRCULAR FROM POOLSBROOK COUNTRY PARK
A longer but gentle walk for you and your dog! This fairly flat walk should take around 2½ to 3 hours. There is a range of terrain, with some muddy and uneven sections. There are also a couple of road sections, so take plenty of care and make sure you wear appropriate footwear for the conditions.
Flakey was out of commission this month with a foot injury, so our super subs, Michelle and Dean stepped in and stepped out on this lovely walk. They said:
“One of our favourite things to do at this time of year is get out and about, walking on a sunny day is good for the ‘sole’ and our vitamin D levels. If you’re anything like us, then we are sure you will enjoy this month’s walk as much as we did”
Thank you, Michelle and Dean!
START: POOLSBROOK COUNTRY PARK, EAST CAR PARK, ERIN ROAD (A6192) STAVELEY, CHESTERFIELD, DERBYS S43 3JU. ///CHIN.CREATE.LOOPS
1. Standing in the car park entrance with your back to the road, head diagonal left across the car park and take the footpath signposted ‘Horses This Way’. Continue with a lake on your right and cross over a footbridge. After a short distance, just after a bench, turn left to go uphill along a footpath with a hedge on either side.
2. Continue until the path bends sharp right. Follow the path around to the right and then after a short distance follow the path sharp left. Continue uphill and after a short distance bear right to continue along a tarmac lane with a fence and views to your right.
GAP IN FENCE
PICNIC BENCH
BENCH
3. Continue along the lane until reaching a metal kissing gate on your right. Pass through the gate and continue with a hedge on your right. After passing through a gap and continue straight downhill through some trees.
4. At the bottom of the hill, just prior to a lake, turn right. Continue with a lake on your left and then continue until leaving the lake behind and reaching a metal width restrictor. Pass through the restrictor and then turn immediately to the right across a field with a pylon.
5. After a short distance, pass through another width restrictor and turn right along a footpath. Follow this path for some distance until reaching a car park on your right.
6. Alongside the car park pass through a gap in a fence and turn immediately right. After, turn immediately left following a sign for ‘St John’s Plantation’. Cross over a main road and continue straight ahead.
7. Upon reaching a T-Junction of paths turn left. Continue for a short distance and then bear left to cross over a bridge. After the Bridge, ignore the path bearing to the right and continue straight ahead to a main road. Cross the road diagonal left and continue along a path with a lake on your left.
8. Continue to pass a recreation ground on your right. Continue ahead and then turn left over a footbridge signposted for ‘Nature Reserve’.
9. After the bridge, turn immediately right, through a gap in the fence, up some steps and through a width restrictor. Continue until reaching a lake ahead of you. Go to the right of the lake, passing a ‘Deep Water’ sign on your left. The path looks overgrown in summer months.
10. Continue ahead with the lake on your left. At the far end of the lake and as the path begins to bend around to the left, bear right and uphill passing a bench on your right.
11. Follow the path into some trees and continue through the trees for some distance until reaching a road. Turn right along the road until reaching a T-Junction of roads. At this point, cross straight over the road onto a lane through the metal pedestrian gate.
12. Continue along the lane and after some distance ignore a lane/footpath to the left. Continue for a short distance and at a T-Junction turn right along a trail.
13. After a short distance and turn left after the picnic bench along a footpath. Follow the path for some distance and then pass through a metal width restrictor.
14. After a short distance, enter some woodland. Follow the path around to the right and then steep uphill for a very short distance. Continue for some distance until reaching a major fork to the right.
15. Take the right fork going uphill. At the top pass through a gap in the fence and then continue with a fence on both sides. Upon reaching a road, turn right signposted for ‘Poolsbrook Country Park’.
16. Continue along the road for some distance. When the road begins to bend sharp left, continue straight through a gap adjacent to a large wooden gate. Turn immediately left along a trail.
17. Continue to cross over a road bridge. Continue for some distance and cross over a second road bridge. Afterwards turn immediately right signposted for ‘Poolsbrook Country Park’.
18. Continue along the footpath until reaching a single track tarmac road. Cross straight over the road and then turn immediately left, heading downhill.
19. Cross over another road and then continue to skirt around the edge of a lake on your right. Follow the lake around to return to the car park.
This walk is for illustrative purposes only. Voice Magazines Ltd takes no responsibility for anyone who chooses to follow this route and encourages all walkers to obey all byelaws and signs and to respect the area they are walking in, ensuring they pick up all dog mess and obey the countryside code at all times.
FOOTBALL: IT IS MORE THAN A GAME
What do you think of when you watch a game of football? Do you see it simply as a game of two teams trying to kick a ball into a net?
Football clubs are about much more than that.
Football clubs are vital to their communities. They influence wellbeing, support the economy and regeneration, and they are the pride of a town, village, or city.
There are examples everywhere you look and at every level of football.
Consider the community work that Chesterfield FC Community Trust delivers – from inventing walking football to implementing health initiatives that support those who are overweight and cancer patients.
Clubs in grassroots football are no different from larger clubs in this respect.
You cannot beat the pride of a parent or grandparents the first time they see their child or grandchildren play, score or be named player of the match.
The smiles on the players’ faces as they develop friendships, and their confidence grows by being part of a team.
Team sports help to develop the important life skills our young people need as they grow into adults. Being part of a team requires cooperation, aspiration, commitment, discipline,
and the ability to overcome failure as well as sharing in success. These attributes prepare young people for real life and help them have the best prospects for the future.
Organised sport can tackle anti-social behaviour too by bringing people together to be part of something bigger and giving them purpose.
As clubs, we help young people to get active, learn how to play properly and teach new skills –all in a fun environment.
New Tupton Ivanhoe F.C. is also at the heart of our community. We are involved in local events, as well as organising our own, including one of the region’s biggest grassroots football tournaments and charity events. These activities support local charities and generate revenue for businesses in the village.
Whether you love the game or hate it, next time you see a match happening, please do remember it is so much more than a game.
If you would like to find out how your child could get involved in playing football or you are interested in becoming a coach please contact Dave Hoult, Club Secretary on 07759 048 037
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
Contact Sarah on 0115 849 2386
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■ Members of Age UK
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RUBBER ROOFS ROOF REPAIRS
Please
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 Soapy rucksack? Such a pain to open! (6,4) 9 Sounds signally a must for Ada to take in the Loire air (5,6) 11 Stall, to compose a poem about frailty (4,3,4) 16 Sets in place plans to omit fluids from diet (4,6)
Across
7 Dragonfly, not any more in Indiana, sadly (5)
8 Bush is just the sort to push rubbish out! (5)
14 ‘twill, say, be in much inorganic stuff (5)
15 It rankles a bit as a leg joint (5)
Down
2 A curtain to tie round a long lead? (5)
3 Boy, that’s some accolade! (3)
5 Criteria to eat out and about in the clouds? (5)
12 A reason for absence from central Ibiza (5)
13 Irritated by dire mess around the weekend (5)
15 Back on board with a bit of craftmanship (3)
Crank put out by being flat broke (10)
Old French milkman following Louis? (7)
Bee is in olive spread. I’m sure that’s right (1,7,2)
Holding off for more, but not up to par (3,4)
•
•
•
•
All Around the Shire
MEMORIES OF TELEPHONES
My early memories of telephones were of using a red telephone box two streets away which contained dusty books giving people’s phone numbers and addresses and always had a peculiar smell. You had to press button A or button B to make a call.
As children, we were drilled in how to make an emergency call and always had to carry a tuppenny piece “just in case”. I kept mine in my sock.
When we finally got one in our home, it had a party line where you could hear neighbours’ conversations. We had fun ringing the speaking clock and dialling prank calls. There was always a money box next to it in the hallway to collect coins for National Children’s homes and an egg timer so you could tell how long your call was.
We now own a 1938 Bakelite telephone which was in use until the 1960s and has been converted to modern use. It has been interesting trying it out on young people. They can work out how to use the dial but cannot grasp the notion of putting the handset to their ear.
No one could have foreseen the way that telephones have developed so rapidly over the past century. From the cup and string through the switchboards and “hello girls” (who were not completely phased out until 1960), to the ubiquitous mobile phone. Telephone boxes have become repositories for unwanted books and defibrillators.
I will pose a question: have our lives been made any better by this instant communication? I do hope so. But for now, I will enjoy the feel of my Bakelite telephone and treasure the memories it evokes.
Janet and Paul Barrass are All Around the Shire. Find us on or email: oldfield512@btinternet.com for more information. Janet
YOUNG BIRDS FLOCKING TO GARDEN FEEDERS ACROSS THE PEAK
Although the birdsong across the countryside and in or around gardens has largely ended, the bird activity has not. Across the Peak District and beyond, there is a host of baby and juvenile birds roaming around and seeking out bird-feeders in wildlife gardens. The young blue tits, coal tits, and great tits are especially noticeable at present, with numbers building over recent weeks. In my own garden the flocks are growing to twenty or thirty birds, mostly juveniles. Adults with childcare duties completed, are now trying to re-gain strength and condition for the winter ahead, though not all have survived. Rearing a brood of demanding blue tits for instance, is a stressful and exhausting business, and potentially fatal.
The local blackbirds are probably on their third or fourth brood of youngsters and the offspring can be seen in the garden and also in woodlands around the area too. Their dark plumage is rather like the adult female blackbird but with neck, belly, and breast somewhat speckled almost like a thrush, (and of course the blackbird is one of the thrush family). Young robins, also closely related, also sport speckled plumage and lack the red breast of the adults. The reason for the latter is that if the juveniles did have the red breast, it would trigger the adults’ aggressive reactions to an intruder. Indeed, simply placing a red sphere in a robin’s territory will often make it go into attack mode! Anyway, going back to the blackbirds, one of my youngsters appeared this week and seemed to be a newly-fledged bird. Its behaviour was completely different from
that of the older juveniles, which now seem quite independent, and was pursuing the female parent around the garden and ceaselessly demanding to be fed. Calling, gaping, and fluttering all at once, I wonder how long this will continue before the adult sends the baby on its way. Very soon these birds will be flocking up and heading for hedgerows and the woodland edges of the wider countryside were they will feast on hawthorn berries and blackberries, or perhaps the rowan trees of the moorland fringes with their rich pickings of bright red berries. Then, once these are exhausted, the birds will return to gardens for pyracanthas and cotoneasters, and by November into December they will be joined once again by wintering flocks of European blackbirds, along with redwings, and fieldfares too. The hedges along disused railway lines, now access trails, are rich hunting grounds for these wintering birds, and I wonder if we will experience another wonderful influx of waxwings as we did last year. The Monsal Trail at Hassop was definitely the place to be last winter!
Tawny owls have been very vocal in recent weeks, and it is the newly-fledged young owlets that are causing all the fuss. The parents will have two or maybe three young birds stationed in the treetops and calling to each other and to the adult birds as they learn how to survive and to fend for themselves. But it will be a good while before the juveniles are able to cope alone in the big, wide world. In the meantime, the parents will be kept busy feeding themselves and their growing youngsters.
FEMALE BLACKBIRD
FEMALE BLACKBIRD JUVENILE BLUE TIT
Gardener’s Calendar
been very
in the last few weeks in which case leave till spring. Pot
Lift plants with a garden fork and shake off soil. With big clump plants you often need two garden forks back-to-back to split them and they can then be pulled into smaller chunks of root and re-homed elsewhere in the garden. Smaller plants can usually just be teased apart. If you’re going to plant some roots back into the same soil add some compost to improve the nutrient value and help them recover from the shock. Make sure to continue watering after replanting.
Pick seed pods of any flowers you want to grow again next spring. Wait for a dry day and make sure the seeds are dry. Shake the seed head onto a piece of paper and remove any detritus. Empty seeds into a paper bag, label and store in cool dry place. Dividing perennials and collecting seed equals new plants for nowt!
Keep feeding and deadheading containers and bedding. They’ll keep going till the autumn frosts.
Hardy annuals like calendula, love in a mist and any of the lovely starry ammis can be sown directly into prepared weed-free fine soil now to give them a head start for earlier flowering next summer.
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