DESIGN, SUPPLY AND INSTALLATION OF KITCHENS, BEDROOMS AND BATHROOMS
BASED IN WIRKSWORTH, GOODWINS ARE A TEAM OF KITCHEN, BEDROOM AND BATHROOM CONTRACTORS THAT MANAGE YOUR PROJECT FROM START TO FINISH. GET IN TOUCH TODAY.
OUR VALUES
• WE TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN WHAT WE OFFER AT GOODWINS, AS WE’RE ABLE TO HELP YOU CUSTOMISE YOUR HOME EXACTLY HOW YOU WANT IT.
• WE’LL ALWAYS TAKE THE NECESSARY TIME TO TRULY UNDERSTAND YOUR VISION TO ENSURE THAT WE’RE OFFERING YOU EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE AT ALL TIMES.
• USING THE LATEST 3D DESIGN SOFTWARE, WE’RE ABLE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH BESPOKE PLANS THAT GIVE AN ACCURATE IMPRESSION OF HOW YOUR ROOM WILL LOOK.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE’LL ALSO PUT FORWARD MULTIPLE OPTIONS AND IDEAS TO HELP YOU DECIDE ON A FINAL LOOK.
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I hope you enjoyed our Coronation special last month and indeed, the Coronation itself. We’ve gone in a completely different direction for the front covers this month, as you can see! I really hope they bring a smile to your face like they did for us here in the office! It’s always difficult to follow such a strong event but as every day is ‘bring your dog to work day’ for us (Flake won’t let us leave the house without him!), we couldn’t resist!
Well, isn’t this sunshine refreshing? I say that, but in about 6 weeks’ time, I’m going to be boiling hot and moaning that I can’t sleep or eat – actually, not eating might be of benefit! Question – is it just me or since joining the 39+ club, do you only need to look at a profiterole and 2 stone instantly lands on your hips? …. thinking about it, it isn’t really the looking that’s the problem is it?!
Anyhoo, we’ve had a busy old month here at Voice HQ, not really sure where time has gone – weddings, holidays, lots of outings & a 26-mile charity walk. That last one wasn’t me, that was our Office Manager Michelle & her hubby. They hopped on the bus down to London and raised money for breast cancer charities by doing the Walk the Walk, marathon Moonwalk, which is as it states, you walk through the night, past the specially illuminated landmarks of London. She did it in an awesome time to boot, 7hrs 29 mins. Anybody who knows Michelle, knows that she is a
force to be reckoned with and she smashed it as predicted and we’re all incredibly proud of them both.
Our other outings this month were Chesterfield Bowl & Trentham Monkey Forest, you may have seen us out and about via our social media? First things first, Chesterfield Bowl is an impressive hidden gem with all mod cons including air hockey (my favourite!). It’s a great place and the food was excellent – absolutely ideal for a party – or just if you want a fun night out!! We had an absolutely fabulous time, and the stars of the bowling show were Lisa and Danielle, although Liam would like me to mention that he achieved a ‘Turkey’ – whatever that is!!
Monkey Forest is very literally one of my happiest places!! I’ve been a few times before and going with the team was a real treat. I’m not a massive zoo fan, purely because of the concept of animals being contained in small spaces (I was okay with Toronto Zoo as each animal had a space the size of Berkshire to roam freely in!!) but to see Barbary Macaques wandering around freely, is just wonderful. Just to note as well, this is a very peaceful group, they are nothing like the ones in Gibraltar & the little babies were beyond cute!!
Anyways, I’m off for a Mojito (gotta be done, the sun is shining!!) we shall see you next month.
Happy Reading,
It is often said that Britain is a nation of dog lovers - but what happens to our canine friends when we have to leave them at home and head out to work?
Dogs are social creatures, pack animals, and they really do not like being left alone for extended periods. Having their special human seemingly abandoned them for hours at a time must be unbearable, is it any wonder that dogs left alone are often prone to destructive tendencies? The combination of loneliness and boredom leads them to decide that “eating dad’s slippers” is a good way to pass the time!
One solution for the home alone pooch is to take them to work with you; this is becoming more common, especially in office based environments - taking your dog to work in a hospital, factory, or restaurant may not be such a good idea. Research by pet food company EUKANUBA, has revealed that almost one in ten (8%) UK employees – that’s 2.5 million people – already bring their canine companion to work.
Evidence suggests that having an office dog around can be therapeutic for the human workers (unless of course someone is allergic to dogs!). Having a dog in the office has been shown to reduce people’s stress levels, and that means all the employees, not just the dog owner.
The mere fact that a dog is there, needing love, petting and trips outside, can help deflect the mental negativity of a “heads down, crack on with it” work culture. A dog makes people stop and pause in the working day, take 5 minutes to play with the animal, stroke it, take it for short walks…
Dogs also up the humour quotient in a working day - our furry friends make us smile with their silly antics, and their presence sparks conversations. Dogs can bring a workplace together, forging relationships that may not ordinarily happen. In other words, having a dog around lightens the mood and thus improves employee mental health.
This kind of reduction in work stress levels and improvement in mental health obviously has a longer-term effect, both on individuals and the business in general. Less stressed staff means less time off with stress-related illnesses, which has the knock-on effect of increased productivity. Here are five good reasons why taking your dog to work is beneficial:
1. Dogs reduce stress
2. Dogs increase morale and team bonding
3. Dogs encourage regular breaks throughout the day
4. Dogs increase productivity in the long term
5. Dogs increase employee retention and reduce sick days
Words of warning…hard as it may be to believe, not everyone likes dogs, and some folks are downright scared of them, consider this before taking your pet to work. And, if several people in an enclosed office environment decided to bring their dogs to work, chaos could ensue - think about staggering the days.
DO YOU TAKE YOUR FURRY FRIEND TO WORK WITH YOU?
Barbara Kingsolver has been writing brilliant novels for years. And her most recent – Demon Copperhead - has just won the Pulitzer Prize and been shortlisted for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction.
It’s basically a re-working of Dickens’ novel David Copperfield. Kingsolver has described it as a contemporary adaptation and it tells of red-headed Demon’s journey from being born to a teenaged single mother, brought up living in a trailer home, taken into foster care and onward and upward with side slips into downward.
In true Dickensian style it’s passionate, rightly angry, moving and full of humour and totally convincing. And it’s uplifting. It’s set in the Appalachian Mountains in the US – an area with more than its share of problems and this is a very modern take on the age-old story of a child growing up in a challenging world.
The characters are flamboyant. You get so involved with the main character that it’s at times painful to read. He’s got real charm, he may have a lousy start but he’s a fighter and you so much want him to win through. It is superb immersive storytelling and one of those books that as a reader you have to give your full emotional response to. Worth doing it.
The Voice Magazines team had a blast recently when they were invited to Chesterfield Bowl for an afternoon of fun, food, and games. Having parked up in the ample car park, as soon as we arrived, we were greeted with the sound of crashing pins and the aroma of delicious food wafting from the bowling alley’s kitchen.
After grabbing some tasty snacks and drinks from the bar, the Voice Magazines crew laced up our bowling shoes and hit the lanes. Eager to show off our skills and see who would come out on top. The competition was fierce, with plenty of laughs and friendly banter to go around.
Chesterfield Bowl offers more than just 16 lanes of bowling. Visitors can also enjoy a licensed bar, a piazza café, three American pool tables, and video games. We battled it out on air hockey and other classic games in the arcade. It was the perfect way to unwind after a long day at the office. Overall, Chesterfield Bowl provides a wide range of entertainment options for everyone to enjoy.
Of course, all that fun and excitement worked up our appetites. Luckily, the kitchen at Chesterfield Bowl was more than up to the task of satisfying our hunger (and we all know the Voice Team can eat!). The team was presented with a massive platter of mouthwatering food, featuring all sorts of delicious options. From juicy chicken fillets and crispy fries to other comfort food classics, the team indulged in a feast that hit the spot after all that activity. The scrumptious spread was a perfect complement to the fun and games, and the team left feeling completely satisfied.
As the day wound down, the team reflected on what a great time we had had. We had made memories, bonded with each other, and most importantly, had a lot of fun. We were already talking about when they could come back for another visit.
So, if you’re looking for a fun, friendly place to spend an afternoon or evening, look no further than Chesterfield Bowl. With great food, tons of games, and an all-around good time, it’s the perfect spot to let loose and have some fun.
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 Warworth
✽ We have fast fibre Wi-Fi and smart TV’s
Search ‘The Little Red Hen House’ at:
When I was young, there were lotions, potions, creams and medicines in the bathroom cabinet, some of which have stood the test of time, while others have not.
Take for example Germoline. It used to come in a small tin and be applied to cuts and grazes, with or without a plaster. Its smell was so pungent that germs dare not intrude into the wound.
What was Milk of Magnesia for? We were given a spoonful of the chalky, milky mixture if we complained of tummy ache. It has now been withdrawn from sale for not complying with EU recommended sulphate levels.
Calamine lotion is still available: pink and cooling for chicken pox sufferers.
Who remembers Delrosa Rose Hip Syrup? The sticky, sweet liquid provided a vitamin boost for young children as did the welfare orange juice and dried milk.
Cod liver oil was universally disliked but helped provide a vitamin D boost - protection against developing rickets.
For constipation was syrup of figs, senna pods or liquorice root. For fever, junior aspirin, crushed between two teaspoons
with a drop of milk added.
Virol was a brand of malt extract which included bone marrow and designed as a nutritional supplement for the feeding of infants. This was remembered as having a pleasant, malty flavour.
The most bizarre home remedy by far was the use of butter. On burns and bumps on the head, butter was rubbed into the affected area.
Just some memories of a childhood in which children’s health was of national importance. What are yours?
Janet and Paul Barrass are All Around the Shire. Find us on or email:
Janet
oldfield512@btinternet.com for more information.
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1. Preheat your oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas 7.
2. Put the sweet potato wedges in a medium-size non-stick roasting tin or baking tray. Stand the cobettes on a board and, using a sharp knife, carefully halve each cobette lengthways, then halve each half lengthways again to make 4 quarters – you should have 16 ribs in total. Add them to the sweet potatoes, spray everything with lowcalorie cooking spray and roast for 20 minutes.
3. While they’re cooking, put the chicken on a board and cut from the thickest side almost all of the way through horizontally, so
For more information visit www.slimmingworld.co.uk
This recipe caught the eye immediately. Fresh, tasty, simple to prepare and delicious to eat. Perfect!
that they open up like butterflies. Sprinkle with the peri-peri and set aside. (‘Butterflying’ helps them cook quicker and capture even more of the fiery spice.) Add the chicken to the tin and roast for a further 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. While you’re waiting, mix the salsa ingredients in a small bowl and season to taste.
4. When everything’s ready, spoon the salsa around the tin and serve with the lime slices or wedges, coriander sprigs and a big salad.
Serves: 2 Ready in: 50 mins
Ingredients:
• 2 large sweet potatoes, cut into wedges
• 4 sweetcorn cobettes (or 2 corn cobs, halved)
• Low-calorie cooking spray
• 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts
• 2 level tsp periperi seasoning
For the salsa:
• 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• ½ small pack fresh coriander, finely chopped, plus sprigs to serve
• Juice of ½ lime, plus slices or wedges to serve
Syns per serving: 1/2
Garden rooms aren’t just a room in your garden, they are rooms which add value to your life & your home. Giving you extra space in the garden no matter the weather... and let’s face it, British weather is very unpredictable!
A fully insulated garden room is just like a room in your house, and can be used in all weathers. It has the added benefits of not needing deep foundations, lengthy (and costly) building work, or the inconvenience of having an extension. They can also be installed in just a few days! Not only that, they generally fall under the permitted development rights, so it can be a quick turnaround from order to installation. From garden bars, home offices & studios, to garden gyms and chill out spaces, finding a trustworthy company which can design, deliver & install bespoke garden room solutions throughout the UK is priceless.
Cabin Master have been in business for over 20 years. They offer the full end-to-end service, including base/ foundations, electrics, flooring and painting, bringing you that much needed extra space you can use all year round. So, if you’re searching for the perfect garden room, Cabin Master are the experts! Their factories in Derbyshire manufacture your building to order and their 10 year guarantee gives you great peace of mind.
Choose from their zero-maintenance Marley Board cladding, timeless, rustic Redwood, or vibrant, luxurious Cedar to create a stunning and useful feature in your spare garden space. They offer something to suit all garden styles and needs, designed completely around you. Cabin Master also ensures that everything you need comes as standard, but they also offer lots of additional options to help you personalise your garden room and get the most out of your space, from internal partition walls, and air conditioning to bi-fold doors and external lighting, plus much, much more!
If you’re looking for a quirky, unique entertaining space, then Arctic Cabins BBQ Cabins are the ultimate in luxury log cabins! They come fully installed including a central BBQ unit, so you can enjoy BBQing all year round in the comfy, cosy Scandinavian-inspired surroundings with family and friends. The Arctic Bar version is fast becoming their best-seller, with a built-in timber bar and drinks rack, offering space to entertain, just steps from home. Your Arctic Cabin will become the heart and soul of your garden! So, whether you need the space for family gatherings, romantic evenings, or a relaxing place to chill out in, they are perfect.
With over 20 years experience in designing, manufacturing and installing garden rooms throughout the UK – you only need to look at their Trustpilot review pages to see their customers’ journeys and experiences are outstanding, so you can trust Cabin Master & Arctic Cabins to deliver your perfect garden space.
Before:
After:
TAKING ON NEW CUSTOMERS!
Tom Lucking: 07581 070 916
tom@deluxewindowcleaning.co.uk
www.deluxewindowcleaning.co.uk
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.
Across
9 Fed off fixated attempts to get back in the cab (4)
10 Alongside, in stretching out (4)
11 Stack can be safe with hospital treatment (5)
12 Pal in toxic, humble surroundings (4)
13 A while back, with a force to be excited about (4)
Down
2 Employment is a somewhat amorphous exercise (3)
3 Cut up, formerly (3)
7 Wish to happen from eternal springs? (4,3)
14 Personal boomerang post? (1,1,1)
15 Lotto ought to be reduced, also (3)
1 Took it out of the socket, but still stuck at it? (7,4)
5 Abstains from linking school head, say, with gum sticks (7)
14 What’s all this about clarets being red? (7)
1 Big cats hunting in the Alps for landfill nuisance? (7,4)
4 First red space, man? (4,7)
16 Resigned, maybe, like a transformer? (7,4)
6 Case is Mick’s: a bit earthshaking! (7)
8 Few took the earl to be in a state of general health (7)
This puzzles has been devised by the brilliant Professor Rebus. For more of his puzzles visit www.pitcherwits.co.uk
Grinling Gibbons was the most celebrated British woodcarver of the 17th century. Born in Rotterdam in 1648, to British parents, Gibbons completed his initial apprenticeship in the Low Countries before emigrating to London in around 1667.
After his arrival in London Gibbons quickly attracted attention – receiving commissions by the mid-1670s to produce decorative carving for two countryhouses in Hertfordshire.
Gibbons was given his first royal commission in 1675, when he was hired by Charles II to produce decorative carving for Windsor Castle. Over the next 25 years, he completed important commissions for Whitehall Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral and Hampton Court Palace. In 1693, he was appointed as master sculptor and carver in wood by King William III.
Grinling Gibbons’s highly distinctive style is characterised by botanical elements carved with hugely naturalistic detail, in very high relief. Gibbons worked with limewood –a material whose uniform but soft structure makes it particularly well suited to high-relief carving.
Gibbons’ limewood carvings were unpainted and unvarnished. They were designed to hang against oak panelling, creating a dramatic
contrast between dark oak and light lime which worked to heighten the effect of their abundance, depth and incredible detail. The huge skill and delicacy of Gibbons’ work is perhaps best demonstrated by a limewood cravat, carved to imitate lace. Examples of his work can be found at Lyme Hall and Chatsworth.
Grinling Gibbons produced his decorative carvings via a large workshop in which different parts of a single design were completed by different carvers – many different hands would have worked on each commission. His style of carving, although unusual in Britain in the mid-17th century, was very quickly imitated by large numbers of contemporaries.
Gibbons died intestate at his home in Bow Street on 3 August 1721 and, on 10 August, was buried in London at St Paul’s, Covent Garden, where his wife had been buried two years before.
07375 559 374
One of the region’s most spectacular flowers is something we often take for granted and indeed, barely notice, the common gorse. In the Peak and North Derbyshire, we have two gorse species, the common gorse (a big, bold, brash shrub), and the western gorse (an altogether more subdued species). As its name suggests, the latter is rather restricted to western Britain and so we are on the eastern edge of its distribution, and it is not so common. The name ‘gorse’ comes from AngloSaxon ‘gorst’, and its alternative name ‘furze’ from ‘fyrs’, also Anglo-Saxon. Place-names like Fir Vale in Sheffield derive not from conifer trees but from ‘furze’ on the common, from a time when this plant was very important to local people and the rural economy. This was when most people, and especially the poorer ones, relied on the heath and common for their subsistence.
Being so abundant, gorse was significant to people and figured in folk culture. It was said that ‘when gorse is not in bloom, then kissing is out of season’, the reason of course being that this shrub flowers all year round. That said, its main flowering period is in spring when it can be truly spectacular. Indeed, in times past, before urban sprawl and ‘improved’ farming swept away most of our heaths and commons, the swathes of bright yellow across the landscape were amazing spectacles. It was said that Swedish botanist
Carl Linnaeus, one of the key founders of modern natural history and scientific botany, came to Britain and was profoundly affected by the vista when first seeing gorse in bloom. Not found as a native eastward into Europe, gorse is a denizen of the western seaboard. Linnaeus visiting from Sweden had never seen it en masse before. When shown an entire landscape covered in the yellow of common gorse on Putney Heath, he fell to his knees and gave thanks to Almighty God!
Along with being visually spectacular, gorse or furze, was also especially useful to medieval communities in some places until the 1900s. Many farms in Derbyshire and the Peak would have had ‘furze fields’ where gorse seed was scattered on poorer land to grow gorse. It grew in abundance on poor, sandy soils (because it ‘fixes’ or traps atmospheric nitrogen using nodules in its roots), and thus was a great provider of forage for grazing livestock. Put through a gorse shredder or cutter, the resulting greenery was fed to the animals. Along with this, gorse burns ferociously and cleanly to leave little ash. It was therefore good at starting fires (as kindling), and for communal baking ovens or cloams. The bottom slice of a baked loaf was cut off with its ash, but the rest was good to go. Gorse made good temporary fencing on open land such as common or heath, and when seen in hedgerows today, it often indicates a one-time heathland. Bundled up and tied to a long stick, you could use it to sweep your chimney, a practice described for the Hope Valley in Derbyshire.
Gorse is also excellent habitat for birds such as whinchats, stonechats, yellowhammers, and meadow pipits.
We
unless you’re planting into fresh compost which often has nutrients to encourage growth. Then remember to keep watering until established and in periods of hot dry weather –Water in the morning if possible. A good drench is better than small amounts frequently. Evening watering is next best although it can encourage slugs as the ground will be wet overnight. Preferably don’t water in the middle of the day, it can scorch blooms. Hanging baskets dry out fast and water retaining gel can help counter this.
It might seem odd to talk about pruning when so much is bursting into flower, but there are some shrubs which need it now if you’re going to get the best out of them next year. These include those which flower in spring such as philadelphus (mock orange) forsythia and flowering currant. In order to get a good blossom show year on year they need to be cut back as soon as they’ve finished flowering. Take out dead or damaged stems to ground level and prune up to a quarter of old stems to near the base. On stems which have flowered this year, cut back to a lower strong growth.
If you have still got tulip foliage remaining in pots, and with this year’s cold start to the season that’s quite possible, it’s a good move to lift and plant them in a border. This not only frees up the pot for summer planting, but tulip bulbs which might show again next year have a better chance if fed with tomato feed and given a new home. Leave them in the pot and you’re more likely to get lots of leaves and small flowers.
The old mantra. Deadhead for more flowers. Particularly essential for sweet peas as they’re prone to completely giving up producing new flowers once they’ve set seed. The only plants you might want to leave to go to seed are things like digitalis which will produce more plants for you free of charge next year.
should be safe to put summer bedding plants out now and the key to getting a brilliant show is to add some slow release feed when you plant...
