Rural Voice - Bakewell & Villages Edition - July 2023

GOODWINS

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From the Editor

Dear Readers,

Ok, so it took less than 6 weeks to start moaning about the heat!! Last month I said it was ‘refreshing’, now, I just pray for rain as I am about as fresh as a camel in the desert.

And before anyone tells me off for dissing the weather, I’m the biggest fan of warm weather - as long as I don’t have to work during the day and I have aircon in my room at night! Anyway, I remortgaged the house at approx. 1000% to enable me to purchase a cooling fan and that seems to be doing the trick for now.

In other news, I’ve had a bit of a month! Had a lovely break away with some of our oldest friends to celebrate all our 39+1 birthdays. We came home, collected the dogs, put a wash on, ate dinner, kicked back with a glass of something cool – then a mahoosive pigeon takes off from the tree in our garden, followed by a huge cracking sound, followed by the tree falling towards the house!! Not quite the welcome home we were anticipating! We were so fast in our reactions, we managed to reach the edge of the sofa before it came to a stop, just shy of the house thankfully!! Anyways, after some family and friends help to clear it and then a tree surgeon to remove the rest of the very ropey looking tree (not before several discussions with Mr Emily about why we can’t just buy a chainsaw and do it ourselves #eyeroll), all is well with the world again. Although my poor beautiful Acer was a casualty, but we think/hope she can be saved and regain her glorious form in future years!

Oh and Mr Emily has (after 25yrs) finally talked me into picking up a hockey stick again and attending Mansfield & Ashfield Aztecs Hockey Club summer rush hockey. They are great clubs and they are doing some great initiatives for everyone of all ages over the summer, so I highly recommend. My only word of caution, which I am disgracefully and not remotely coming to terms with, is that my 39+1 body of a tubby cherub, apparently refuses to accept what is being asked of it and throwing, what can only be described as, ‘a wobbler’ every time I ask it to do something physical! Who knew that the new ‘Eau de Parfum’ of the 39+1 club is Deep Heat!!

Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy watching the Women’s (football) World Cup this month – based on the success of England’s ladies at the Euro’s last year, it should be good viewing.

Oooh and don’t forget to take a look at our ‘Summer Sizzler’ to help you entertain the kids/grandkids this summer – it’s a good one.

Happy Reading,

RSPB Sherwood Forest, Edwinstowe NG21 9RN

THE BE AUTIFUL GAME

Women’s football has come a long way in the past few years hasn’t it? In fact I heard a male commentator actually describe the English team as “European Cup Winners” without prefacing the statement with “ladies”.

It may seem that the women’s game is a relatively new thing - at least so far as popularity is concerned, but there is in fact a somewhat “hidden history”, let me explain.

From the late 18th century there are reports describing annual football matches involving the fisherwomen of Musselburgh and Inveresk in Scotland. These matches would have been informal, with no ratified rules - as was true in the men’s game at this point.

The Football Association came into being in 1863, and by the late 19th century women wanted to establish their own teams and leagues. The earliest known match was played at Easter Road, Edinburgh, in May 1881. It was an international match between Scotland and England with Scotland winning 3-0.

The popularity of the women’s game grew…as did the resistance to it! Check out this quote from the London Daily News, 5 March 1895: It is a great game, and a manly game, and deservedly popular. It must not, however, be forgotten that it was originated and improved by strong young men, and only by strong young men can it with any safety be regularly played

In the face of such misogyny women’s football faded away for a while, only to stage a dramatic resurgence during WW1. With the men’s game suspended, the FA allowed the women’s game to use the facilities and grounds of their male counterparts and attendances soared. Tens of thousands of people attended matches across the UK raising funds for effort in the process.

After the war the popularity of the women’s game was seen as something of a threat to the men. Equivalent men’s games drew much smaller crowds than the women. There were even claims that the ladies were using charity fundraising (millions was raised during the war) to pay the players - a claim strenuously denied.

In December 1921 the FA banned all female footballers from playing and using league pitches and facilities. The financial allegations were cited as the reason, but as the following

comment was recorded, I think we can safely say that at the heart of the issue was the male ego.

Complaints having been made as to football being played by women, Council feel impelled to express their strong opinion that the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and should not be encouraged.

And that could have been that, except ladies football proved popular throughout the world and thus continued. The home nations have now (gratefully) re-embraced women footballers and the game is arguably even more popular than in the early 20th century.

With the Lionesses currently champions of Europe, who can discount them becoming World Champions in this summer’s World Cup taking place in Australia and New Zealand?

Football may finally be coming home, AFTER ALL, LIONESSES ARE THE HUNTERS!

FIFA WORLDWOMEN’S CUP NZAU2023

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Slimming World Recipe

Zesty Salmon Pasta

Method

1. Cook the pasta according to the pack instructions, then drain and return to the pan, reserving 100ml of the pasta cooking water.

2. Meanwhile, spray a wide non-stick frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a mediumhigh heat. Add the salmon chunks and cook for 1-2 minutes or until just cooked, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a plate.

3. Add the peppers, garlic and green beans to the frying pan and cook for 6-8

For more information visit www.slimmingworld.co.uk

Fresh, light and tempting. This dish is perfect for a Summer picnic or as a delicious dinner.

minutes or until tender and lightly charred, stirring often. Add to the salmon cubes and mix gently.

4. Toss the salmon mixture through the pasta and stir in the fromage frais, lemon zest, chopped watercress and as much of the pasta water as you need to make a good sauce. Season lightly and divide between plates or shallow bowls. Scatter over the reserved watercress sprigs and serve with the lemon wedges for squeezing over.

Serves: 4 Ready in: 25 mins

Ingredients:

• 500g dried fusilli pasta

• Low-calorie cooking spray

• 4 skinless and boneless salmon fillets, cut into bite-size chunks

• 2 peppers (any colours), deseeded and chopped

• 1 garlic clove, crushed

• 300g green

beans, trimmed and halved

• 100g fat-free natural fromage frais

• 1 large unwaxed lemon, zested and cut into wedges

• Small bag of watercress, a few sprigs reserved, the rest chopped

Syns per serving: FREE

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HERITAGE OF BAKEWELL PASS THE BUTTER PLEASE…

First milk a cow, goat, sheep, buffalo or yak (preferably one of your own). Leave the pail of milk to stand overnight, allowing the milk to separate, cream on top, milk on the bottom. Skim the cream off and use it to make butter.

Simple… As easy as going to the supermarket and buying some? Not quite.

A lot of work is needed before cream becomes butter. The cream has to be agitated or shaken for a long time. This action is known as churning. Originally the cream would have been placed in an animal skin and shaken until it broke down into butter. Over the years various containers have been created and adapted to help with the process.

Butter churns, usually made of wood, were fashioned into a barrel shape. They had a plunger to work the cream until it formed butter. Later glass jars containing wooden, or metal paddles were made, these would have been used when making smaller amounts butter.

Churning the cream is not a job most people would want to do by hand today. In the grand houses servants must have developed strong arms and firm muscles for it could take up to an hour of constant movement to transform cream into butter. Approx 5 gallons of cream, almost 23 litres, is used to make 6 lbs, 3 kilos of butter.

Once churned the butter needed to be washed and drained before salt or herbs were added. When the butter was ready it was separated

into workable lumps then patted into shape with wooden paddles. To make individual pats of butter, small amounts could be used. These would be pressed with a carved wooden stamp to decorate with a picture or alternatively pieces were pushed into prettily shaped pattern moulds.

Nothing was wasted. The residue, once the butter is removed, is a white liquid called buttermilk. It can be used in baking to add a mild tangy flavour and rich moist texture. As always, superstition played its part. Throwing salt on the fire before starting the churning process was a custom said to keep witches away. It was believed that natural events such as the weather could affect the process, even ruin the butter. Stormy weather was said to sour the milk, so farmers placed thunderstones (pieces of flint, fossils or ancient battle-axes found locally) on window ledges in an effort to stop this happening. It was believed that a milk maid in a bad mood could stop the butter forming. Faeries around meant no matter how long you churned, the butter would not come. A solution believed to resolve this problem was to plunge a redhot poker into the churn as this was believed to drive the faeries away. Did anyone tell you the joke about butter? I couldn’t possibly, you might spread it.

The museum is hidden away behind All Saints Church in Bakewell on Cunningham Place. You can contact us on 01629 813642 or go to our website www.oldhousemuseum.org.uk

Photo’s by Sean Page

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Open Evening Lady Manners School

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STAYCATION OFFERS

EXCITING SUMMER NEWS

Summer is blooming and so is our business so we are branching out!

Due to a huge increase in desire for our beautiful creations, which are designed by our highly skilled florists, we are now sending our fantastic flowers countrywide!

Watch out for our website coming soon. For now, please give us a call on 01623 553736

World Famous Major Oak in Sherwood Forest VISIT THE

The Major Oak is the biggest oak tree in Britain and is thought to be between 800 and 1,000 years old. The world-famous tree weighs an estimated 23 tonnes, has a girth of 10 metres (33ft) and boasts an impressive canopy that reaches a whopping 28 metres (92ft). Legend has it that the mighty oak not only provided Robin Hood with shelter, it was also the place where he and his Merry Men hid and camped on their adventures.

15 minute walk from the Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre

Rafa has Rambled around here, check out his walk from our back issues!

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EASY ETON MESS

Method

With strawberries, creamy yogurt and crushed meringue, the sweet and simple SLIMMING WORLD ETON MESS recipe is like summer in a bowl!

Ingredients

1. Roughly chop the strawberries, place half in a blender and purée until smooth. Transfer to a bowl with the strawberry yogurt and stir to mix well.

2. Place the remaining chopped strawberries in a bowl, add the fromage frais and sweetener and stir to mix well. Add this mixture to the strawberry purée mixture and swirl through to create a marbled effect.

3. Fold in the crushed meringue and divide the mixture between 4 chilled dessert glasses. Serve immediately, decorated with chopped strawberries.

400g strawberries, plus a few finely chopped strawberries to decorate

320g any no-added-sugar, fat-free strawberry yogurt

400g fat-free natural fromage frais

1 level tbsp sweetener

4 meringue nests, roughly crushed

3½ Syns per serving

10 minutes

Serves 4

MANYHOWOF YOUITEMEACHCAN SEE?

ELM TREES IN THE LANDSCAPE

This decline is a likely result of the ravaging effects of a recent wave of Dutch elm disease which has affected all of the UK’s elms, killing many mature trees and preventing new trees from growing. Despite its name, the English may well have been introduced into the UK during the Bronze Age, or may only be native in Southern England. Those that do survive send out new shoots and eventually regrowth occurs. If the dreaded disease appears then anything above 2 meters will be affected once more, giving little chance for the towering elms trees we once knew.

HOW TO IDENTIFY

Elms can be recognised by their asymmetrical, oval leaves that are toothed around the edges and have very short stalks; they also produce winged fruit.The English elm has smaller, rounder leaves than wych elm.

DISTRIBUTION

Widespread but scattered distribution in England and Wales and now commonly found more as a hedgerow bush. Often found on farmland, townscapes and mixed woodland environs.

DID YOU KNOW?

Historically, elms have been regularly associated with death, perhaps due to their readiness to drop massive branches without warning, or due to the use of their wood for coffins.

WHAT IS DUTCH ELM

The disease (Dutch elm disease DED) devastated elms throughout Europe and much of North America in the second half of the 20th century. It derives its name “Dutch” from the first description of the disease and its cause in the 1920s by Dutch botanists Bea Schwarz and Christina Johanna Buisman. Owing to its geographical isolation and effective quarantine enforcement,Australia has so far remained unaffected by DED, as have the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia in western Canada.

DED is caused by a microfungus transmitted by two species of Scolytus elm-bark beetles, which act as vectors. The disease affects all species of elms native to North America and Europe, but many Asiatic species have evolved antifungal genes and are resistant. Fungal spores, introduced into wounds in the tree caused by the beetles, invade the vascular system. The tree responds by producing something called tyloses, effectively blocking the flow from roots to leaves.

Mature English elms were once common on the rich, farmed soils of middle England, but are now rarely found as trees and are more common as hedgerow shrubs.

Your Local Family Business

Book Review

167

Robert Harris doesn’t write boring books. His latest, Act of Oblivion, takes true events from the 17th century and turns them into a clever, tense and thoroughly modern thriller which is a masterclass in storytelling.

If you’re looking for a tale to grip you on the beach or chilling on your staycation this might just fit the bill. His stories always have a fair bit of intellectual weight but they never fail to entertain and grab your attention. This one involves a manhunt across continents for two men responsible for the execution of King Charles II.

It’s full of political intrigue and might even make you think you could be tempted to do a bit of historical research into the period yourself. And there are some interesting and amusing present-day parallels to be trawled for. But Harris manages always to humanise his characters, giving the reader sometimes teasing insights into what makes his protagonists tick and leaving us to make connections - always fun.

Good immersive reading. He does write well.

Guess the words and Fill in the crossword ! Pitcherwits®

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

7 She’s ‘L.N.’ so to speak! (5)

8 A rota designed for red vessel (5)

14 Sunlight said to lift (5)

15 Plead a cause that’s faded (5)

Down

2 Lute played around the heart of England for the net (5)

3 Managed and kept going (3)

5 It’s a mistake to follow a trial (5)

12 Give a view from a Chopin extract (5)

13 “Gotta run” from cowgirl. However, I’ll do it (5)

15 Pale violet colour beginning to look like plastic (3)

9 Charles to cart off stuff? That’s a bit thick!

11 Solution’s a contradiction for you! (5,6)

16 It’s sad to play a hymn with a ‘cello (10)

ANSWERS FOR LAST MONTHS

This puzzles has been devised by the brilliant Professor Rebus. For more of his puzzles visit www.pitcherwits.co.uk

All Around the Shire

MEMORIES OF ICE CREAM

What could be nicer on a hot day than a cone of delicious, creamy ice cream, especially topped off with a flake? This would make it a “99”. Although ice cream, in some form, has been around since the 4th century BC, the modern cone was invented in 1904.

If you happen to come from Belper, you may remember Mazza’s. Mr Corrado was an Italian POW and settled in Belper after the second world war manufacturing the most delicious ice cream. The recipe was, and still is, a secret and people who grew up with the unique flavour still hanker for the taste.

At the tiny shop on Long Row, you could buy a cone for 3d or 6d or take a bowl and Mrs Corrado would fill it for you. If you only had a penny, she would give you a small portion on the end of a broken-off cone.

A day trip to the seaside would always include an ice cream treat to be enjoyed while walking down the promenade, maybe with nuts and strawberry sauce drizzled on top.

Nowadays, a trip to the ice cream van might set you back the best part of £5! Of course, it doesn’t taste the same. The recipe

very rarely contains dairy in any form let alone cream.

When I was growing up, fridges and freezers were rare in homes, so the tinkling sound of the “oakey” van was an exciting event. From my childhood, I remember slices of a brick of ice cream between two wafers, Arctic Roll and oyster wafers with marshmallow, chocolate and coconut. Thankfully, all of these are still available today. Has this musing conjured up any memories of childhood flavours and experiences for you? Did you use a special word for ice cream?

A welcome return for the Peak’s starlings

I wrote previously about the Peak’s recovering population of starlings, both those breeding in local woods and gardens, and the flocks of feeding birds on the moors and bogs in late summer, and also the wintertime murmurations. I am re-visiting this species because I was blown away by the stunning springtime plumage of the breeding male birds. For most people, the starling is probably a smallish, dark, or even primarily black bird and often viewed in fast-moving flocks. However, up-close in good sunlight these birds are outrageously colourful with a range of multi-coloured metallic sheens from green, to purple and blue, and gold. As a very young birdwatcher I only had two field guides, the ‘Observer’s Book of British Birds’, and the 1930s, Edmund Sandar’s ‘Bird Book for the Pocket’. Images in the former were mainly black and white, and in the latter, were colour but rather lacking in finesse. I recall spotting my first starlings in bright sunlight on a rooftop and the only bird that had a description and image matching what I saw turned out to be a kingfisher. I knew this was wrong, but my bird appeared to be blue and purple with a shimmering sheen. Well, it wasn’t a kingfisher but a starling. Indeed, at that time river pollution had wiped out most of the local kingfishers and it would be another ten years before I saw one for real!

Starlings went through a major dip in numbers some years ago, but seem to have recovered well more recently. Re-wetting the moors and bogs, difficult in drought years, is a big help for summer-feeding

starling flocks. The birds feast on cranefly larvae (leatherjackets) emerging from wet moors, grasslands, and bogs, so projects like ‘Moors for the Future’ are a big help in this. On a good, wet moor there may be more biomass of cranefly larvae feeding on plant roots underground than there are for example, sheep grazing above ground. These insects emerge en masse in midsummer and are targeted by starlings and by red grouse too.

This is a bird which local people can help through things like garden feeders. Starlings love dried mealworms for example, and imaginative use of feeders filled with these will act as magnets to flocks of them that will descend excitedly and noisily to become a feeding frenzy. Once the birds are used to the feeders being there, then they will return in numbers. They like fat-balls too, but mealworms are their food of choice.

A final confusion with starlings is when the young birds are around during the mid and late summer. Their plumage varies dramatically from the adults, so these very approachable youngsters are highly visible but so very different from their parents that people get rather confused. Of course, the other interesting behaviour exhibited by starlings is their uncanny ability to mimic other bird songs and calls. I remember rushing from my parents’ house to try and spot a green woodpecker I could hear ‘yaffling’, but only to find a starling doing a perfect impression. Similarly, a curlew flying over the house turned out to be another starling. You can actually tell where the starlings have been feeding from their calls based on the birds they associate with, such as a green woodpecker on open heathland, a curlew on the wet moors, or an oystercatcher or redshank on a seashore!

Professor Ian D. Rotherham, researcher, writer, broadcaster on wildlife and environmental issues in the Peak District and elsewhere, is contactable on info@hallamec.plus.com. Follow his website

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Gardener’s Calendar

In the flower garden container plants will benefit from liquid feeds on a regular basis – usually weekly. You can cut back growth on hanging baskets if they’re starting to look a bit straggly. This will revive the plants and encourage new growth, but do always give a feed after the chop to help them get over the shock. It maybe put a short temporary stop on the plants but will keep them going much longer over the summer.

In the veggie area ensure your beans have plenty of water so the seed pods will set. Beans and tomatoes can both be stopped at this stage, so the growth can go into the existing fruit and give you a better chance of getting a good crop. Less is sometimes more. With beans take off any growth beyond the top of the growing cane. With cordon tomatoes cut to the leaf beyond the fourth truss. If you’ve got bush tomatoes they can be left to grow.

Top Tip:

Going away on holiday can be stressful for houseplants. It’s an idea to move them into a cool room and away from windows. If you’re away for more than a few days try wicking. You can buy capillary wicking matting from garden centres. Fill a water container, - anything will do. Put one end of the wick into the container and the other into the plant pot soil and the plant will draw down water as it needs it. Obviously this will work with several pots if you place them round the container. Alternatively find a nice neighbour!

Top tip: Cut back hardy geraniums and delphiniums now for another late flowering.

A lot of July gardening is about maintenance – and enjoying the fruits of your hard work.