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From the Editor
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Hello Readers,
Well, I think we’ve surpassed ourselves with the front covers this month, even if I do say so myself! Come on, hands up if you took a moment to recognise us again? We are certainly enjoying coming up with new looks and we hope you are enjoying it too. Anyway, I digress, the whole point of this front cover was a different representation of Mother’s Day and I’ve think we’ve nailed it. There is nothing like the animal kingdom to highlight that bond between parent and child with the fierce protection and extreme tenderness and humankind (by and large, as there are always exceptions) aren’t much different in that respect.
We’ve got lots of little snippets of tips, facts and things to do throughout the mags this month, so be sure to pay attention and spoil your Mother’s this month. Whether they are a maternal mother, surrogate mother, step-mother, furry mother, partner who is a good mother or celebrating a mother that is no longer with us, do something nice, as my Grandma always used to say to me – “You only have one mother you know!”.
In other news, I disappeared to Lisbon for my birthday last month. I think I’ve mentioned before, if I don’t have a birthday in this time zone, it doesn’t count right?! We’ll skip right past the bit where I went to Lisbon which is totally in the same time zone…..but it still stands! Anyway, miles walked, lovely place, had the most fabulous time, yada yada – I gets back to work and had a little birthday fuddle as we do for all of us. At the time of writing, Sarah is still to have her birthday and Liam is a summer baby, so there’s ages yet! However, just to give you a flavour…..Lisa got some lovely Adidas Gazelle trainers (her faves) and Michelle was gifted a lovely boat ride excursion when she goes on her joliies. “How lovely”, I hear you all say….. “I wonder what you got Emily”….well that’s a good question and I shall tell you…..an electric heat pad. Oh yes readers, and let me tell you, despite my initial reaction, I am truly blessed! I do some kind of fitness/sport most evenings and every night, I wrap my little heat pad around the offending ache and low and behold, the magic begins to happen! It’s true, I no longer stomp down the stairs like CP30 every morning, all for the sake of a wrap-around heat pad.
I never thought it would come to me but…I have reached that age! I’ll be getting excited by Velcro slippers next!!
Happy reading everyone,
Would You Divorce Your Spouse to Save on Tax?
Having considered the article published in The Mail Online a few weeks ago, one might raise an eyebrow at the suggestion that divorcing your wife and marrying your mother-in-law was the best way for the family to inherit her estate taxfree (as her spouse) and providing the answer to Rachel Reeves changes to inheritance tax.
From a family law perspective, there are many issues that may arise with this cunning plan – and that’s before you start on the ethical dilemmas!
Divorce is not to be undertaken lightly. Although the court fee of £593 may seem paltry compared to the possible savings
on inheritance tax, the emotional cost of divorcing your wife to marry her mother is likely to be extensive. Even if your wife is happy with the plan, the confusion for any children involved and the attitude from friends and family might mean the plan is too unattractive, to put it mildly.
There are also a few other factors that should be taken into account. The process can take up to nine months to obtain the final order of divorce and then there is the waiting time for the motherin-law (now spouse) to die if the plan is to succeed!
On a serious note, any divorce can have significant financial implications regarding how assets are divided. It can affect the occupation of a home, or entitlement to pension benefits, and should not be seen as offering financial fixes.
the remarriage trap. Those who remarry before making their financial application on divorce, forfeit the right to make such financial claims. That in itself might make any remarriage plan financially unviable. Assuming that The Mail Online extreme plan works out, and upon mother-inlaw’s death, the estate is passed to the new spouse tax-free, that simply leads to another problem – his asset base/estate is now even larger than at the outset of this plan – even more perhaps to be taxed in the future or maybe even for the new wife to take on their divorce.
Anyone simply completing a divorce without addressing the financial issues that come with it needs to be aware of
Maybe, instead of taking drastic action such as marrying your mother-in-law, expert legal advice should be sought first. For further advice on inheritance tax or estate planning, wills and advice on divorce, contact our specialist teams at Graysons. We can offer a first free appointment in which you can discuss your concerns.
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CLOSURE OF THE WIRKSWORTH HERITAGE CENTRE
The Trustees of Wirksworth Heritage Centre, registered charity no 515399, have taken the difficult decision to close. The current economic climate, increased running costs and poor trading conditions are all factors in this decision. Heritage sites throughout the country are facing similar issues.
Wirksworth Heritage Centre has been an independent museum for 40 years. It houses a unique local collection focussing on the rich history of the town and its inhabitants. The very popular café, shop, events and activities are a community hub/resource which will be greatly missed.
The Trustees wish to thank the staff, volunteers, members, customers and grant funders for their support over the years. The National Lottery Heritage Fund have played a major role in establishing the museum in its current location, saved a historic building and provided ongoing grant support.
In order to secure the future of the collection, the Trustees are appealing to local businesses, groups, philanthropists and individuals to come forward. They are working to keep the collection “Wirksworth Story” in the town in the long term.
Jacqueline Ferguson Lee, Chair of Wirksworth Heritage Centre Trustees, says “We appeal to interested parties to help secure the future of the collection. We get so many positive comments about the museum. Our Visitor’s Book is full of compliments. How can we allow these wonderful artefacts to be dispersed? Our visitors praise the museum saying it’s a little gem, full of interest and with well-presented informative displays. Please help us to secure Wirksworth’s heritage for future generations”.
jacqueline.ferguson-lee@wirksworthheritagecentre.org
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All staff were polite, helpful, knowledgeable and professional. In this day and age it is refreshing to have such excellent service.
A few unforeseen glitches (no one’s fault!) were sorted promptly and to our satisfaction.
Once again everyone, thank you – it has been a pleasure doing business with you. You get a big gold star from us.”
A Mother’s Love
Becoming a mother is one of the most transformative events in a woman’s life.
The moment you gaze into the eyes of your newborn, you know your world will never be the same. You have a deep, almost animalistic urge to protect and cherish this new life you have created, and this feeling barely changes as your child grows from baby to child, and ultimately to an adult with children of their own.
The desire to care for our children is hardwired into us (well, most of us) and is undoubtedly a vestigial emotion carried in our genes from our earliest ancestor. Ancestor who lived perilously, competing for resources with animals who saw humans as just another source of food.
Human babies are born frail, needy, and totally unable to care for themselves for many years. Contrast this with the animal kingdom when newborns can usually stand, walk, and run soon after birth, allowing them to escape from predators and live another day.
Is it any wonder then, that as a species we appear to have such a special and deep bond with
our offspring? We may not be fighting off sabre-tooth tigers these days, but the need to protect our young is deep and lasting.
But it’s not just we humans that show love and care towards our young, the animal world is full of examples of motherly love. The lionesses fierce protection of her cubs is clear to see — as well as the playfulness shown when she happily allows her cubs to climb all over her.
Elephant mothers are very protective of their babies and the calves stay with their mothers for years. Even though weaned by around the age of 2, an elephant will often try to suckle from its mother up to the age of 10. (I hear a sharp intake of breath from any mums who are currently breastfeeding!).
Even in the world of birds, the act of building a nest and feeding fledglings is a demonstration of maternal (and with birds, usually also paternal) devotion.
A mother’s love speaks louder than words. The loving touch of a mother and the assurances she offers are understood by all, regardless of species. It’s a reminder that love is felt deeply in the heart and doesn’t require elaborate declarations or grand gestures.
I don’t want to cut fathers out of this article because they obviously play a huge role in the growth and development of a child, but a mother grew that child within them. They felt the first flutters of a new life, the fierce kicks and punches as the baby learns how its limbs work. And they experienced the unique joy and pain of childbirth.
Mothers are special—whether human or animal. The day we lose our mother, our world tilts on its axis, the one person who has been with us since conception is gone, and we are suddenly at the top of our family tree.
So, remember, treasure your mum, and tell her you love her.
MARCH 2025
Heritage of Bakewell DOLLS
The earliest documented dolls go back as far as ancient civilisations of Egypt, Greece and Rome. Dolls are believed to have existed since 10,000 BC. Over the years archaeologists have discovered dolls made of clay, wood, wax, bone ivory and jade. As recently as 2017 a doll, believed to be over 4,500 years old, was discovered in Siberia. Sadly, only the soapstone head remains as the body, which was made of organic material, quickly disintegrated once it was exposed to the air.
Dolls have often been found in the tombs of children. Theories differ as to their use, some considered as toys, others as symbols for rituals. In the 17th century French dolls were created using wood and papier-mâché. During Victorian times wax dolls became very popular, with English makers adding glass or China eyes to make them look more realistic. When a child died it was considered too much to bear to see a dead baby in an open casket
so wax dolls were created to look like the deceased child, sometimes using the child’s real hair. These were known as ‘grave dolls.’
The late 18th century and early 19th saw Germany and France embrace mass production of dolls featuring glazed and unglazed porcelain heads along with bodies made of leather or wood.
In Victorian times ‘pudding dolls’ were popular. Tiny porcelain dolls were baked in cakes as presents; they were supposed to bring luck to the finder. Peg dolls were made and dressed in any available fabric by those who had little money to spend on toys. Mothers with no money who wanted to entertain their children would often make dolls from rags.
Dolls became popular playthings and new production methods after WW2 saw the toy industry in Britain transformed. With new materials being developed, such as plastic, prices dropped, and dolls became readily available and affordable for many.
The glamorous, curvy American Barbie doll hit the market in 1959 and was followed only four years later, in 1963 by her British competitor Sindy. Britain’s answer to the very shapely Barbie. Sindy was considered to be more like the ‘girl next door’ with her wholesome English rose looks. Despite retailers doubting she would be a success Sindy, with her outfits created by London fashion designers, reflected the trendy clothes of the day and she soon went on to win the National Association of Toy Retailers ‘Girls Toy of the Year’ award in 1968 and 1970.
In Bakewell Old House Museum toy room, we have a large collection of dolls. Pictured are two tiny Dutch peg dolls with jointed arms and legs that are hardly bigger than a two pence coin, a porcelain doll with real hair (rather scary in my eyes) along with other beautiful Victorian examples.
Bakewell Old House Museum will reopen after winter on 25th March 2025. The museum will be open every day from 11am to 4pm so there is plenty of opportunity to come along to see our lovely dolls and enjoy the rest of our fascinating collection.
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.
Across
8 Inn, on reflection, is material result (5)
9 Examines the trials and tribulations (5)
10 Nippy set of vessels? (5)
12 Jump over burial chamber (5)
Down
2 Shattered, but everything’s included (3,2)
3 ‘Old Faithful’ sound systems are his, if played well (2-3)
11 Relish unsticking frozen joystick (5)
13 Saddened by unhappy setup (5)
Across
1 Damaged when pranged, relatively speaking (5,6)
5 Right on? No, it’s not included either! (4,3)
14 Nocturnal canines, one of them had a novel day (7)
15 Shot up, with York deck set out (11)
1 Sly fan to grant, perhaps, some accommodation (6,5) 4 Very comfortable to let weld set then tell it wrong (4,7) 6 Caftan I embroidered for a zealot (7) 7 Eight-note partner, Mark Anthony? (7)
All Around the Shire
LINO AND CARPET
When I was a small girl, no one I knew had fitted carpets in their houses. The best we had was a square of carpet in the middle of a room, leaving a border of painted floorboard around the outside. Parquet if you could afford it. Bedrooms only had rugs and stairs may have a strip of carpet running up the middle of the steps. Vacuum cleaners were available but not everyone had one. You were more likely to see rugs on the washing line being cleaned with a carpet beater.
Rag rugs were an age-old way of cheering up a floor using the make-do-and-mend approach. They became popular again during wartime. My granny had one in front of the sink in the kitchen, or scullery as she called it, where her feet had spent so long standing over the years, that they had made dents in the lino.
A Victorian invention, linoleum was practical, hard wearing, waterproof, non-flammable and available in a multitude of patterns and colours. It was also very cheap to manufacture and was to be found in most households until the 1950s when Vinyl became available.
I remember “Ewbanking” for sweeping up small crumbs from carpeted areas. Or “Hoovering” when the job needed a bit of suction.
Although many people nowadays have reverted to ceramic tiled floors, we have come a long way from scrubbing them on hands and knees.
Janet and Paul Barrass are All Around the Shire.
Janet
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SUDOKU #56
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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NORMAL WOMEN, 900 YEARS OF WOMEN MAKING HISTORY BY PHILIPPA GREGORY
Philippa Gregory is best known for her historical novels such as The Other Boleyn Girl which have given a voice to some of our country’s most powerful women across the centuries.
But her most recent book is not a novel. And it’s not about high born ladies or the intricacies of the Tudor courts.
In Normal Women, 900 Years of Women Making History, the writer gives us the real story about the part played by ordinary women throughout British history. She uses research skills she perfected on kings and queens to radically retell the story of how our society has grown - putting women where they have in reality always been - at its heart.
These women flew Spitfires, committed crimes, invented lots of stuff, farmed, rioted (they started the Peasant’s Revolt), held communities together, started businesses, built ships, had children, headed up political campaigns, wrote poetry and plays and were housewives and pirates.
Their stories have mostly been invisible in history books – and also in the skewed way, even now, we look at how society functions. We may have come a long way, but …
It’s a story which has needed telling for a long time and because Philippa Gregory is so skilled as a writer; it is constantly fascinating and readable.
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Spring bulbs may have pride of place in our gardens right now, but it’s also a good time to think about how we’re going to make the most of the coming season.
Mulching can help with a number of things – for a start you can put a layer of organic mulch – leaf or bark or home-made compost - around your flowering bulbs – as the foliage dies back. It will feed them and make sure they retain moisture during this important regrowth period.
But it can also help keep sprouting weeds down if you spread thickly enough – a few inches deep. Or if used more sparingly - up to about 5cm - it will enrich the soil. However, if you are using it as an enricher rather than a weed restrictor make sure you get rid of as many weeds as possible before laying the mulch otherwise it will enrich the weeds too – definitely not a positive outcome. And if you’re using animal manure as a mulch, make sure it is very well rotted otherwise the high levels of nitrogen are likely to burn plants. Which brings us on to weeding. It’s good to get a head start, but probably best at this time of year to tackle them individually with a fork rather than using a hoe. The hoe works better in drier conditions when roots will dry out, but wet soil can lead to them re-growing.
And while it’s tempting to cut the grass as soon as possible, roots can be damaged by cutters in soggy soil. If you are going to cut, make sure it’s on a high blade. Once there’s some warmth in the soil you can start repairing any bald patches by removing thatch or dead grass by raking through, so the soil is loose and not compact, then create holes for drainage with a garden fork. Mix the seed with some compost and scatter then tread in and water. Don’t bury the seed – it needs light to germinate but also contact with the growing medium.
we’re all being told about the undoubted environmental benefits of using peat free compost in our pots and hanging baskets but it’s worth bearing in mind that the nutrient value of peat free may not be as high, so you may need more feed in the longer term.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE HUMBLE BUT FAMILIAR HOUSE SPARROW?
In the early 1900s, across Derbyshire and the Peak District, local farmers would have employed small children to catch house sparrows in their hundreds in order to protect grain – both in the fields and in the barns. Indeed, when the so-called ‘Cockney Sparrow’ was introduced to the United States in the early 1800s, by lonesome British migrants, it rose in numbers to become a major pest of agriculture and the economy. Then, for many of us growing up in the twentieth century, the humble sparrow was perhaps our most common bird around house and home. Not only this, but there was a second species too, the ‘Tree Sparrow’, altogether more refined and to my eye perhaps prettier! That is a bird that has almost totally gone but in the 1970s and 1980s, I regularly watched them in rural areas of North Derbyshire. By the 2000s, the house sparrow had become increasingly uncommon and on a worryingly steep decline. The tree sparrow is probably one of several victims of modern, intensive farming that squeezes some of our more traditional birds to near extinction in the region. This is not the fault of farmers per se, but of the way we demand cheap food production – and it is said that you ‘get what you pay for and what you deserve!’ So, we have lost turtle doves, corn buntings, linnets, yellowhammers, corncrakes, wild grey partridge, and yes, tree sparrows. But people ask what has happened to the ubiquitous house sparrows? Well, it is probably a mix of different factors together with a few more ‘exotic’ explanations that probably don’t hold water – like the adverse impacts of mobile phones for example. The more wacky explanations are probably unnecessary because the explanation is a mix of tidiness with less spillage of grain in fields and around farms, but also more widely. In the 1800s heyday of the sparrow, our transport and cartage was by animal power with horses and oxen, and they ate grain and spilled much of it all over the place for the sparrows to hoover up! But also, our homes and farm buildings are often tidier as roof-spaces are sealed and the holes and cavities favoured for nesting and roosting are closed off. There are also nasty diseases around, like ‘Avian
Pox’ and these might be made worse by climate change and other stresses. These have affected other familiar birds like the greenfinch. Anyway, do try to do your bit for the humble house sparrow. And don’t forget they need untidy places to nest but also, they love old, rambling shrubs and hedgerows to congregate in and to roost. Old beech hedges and privet are wonderful sparrow habitat, and you will hear flocks chattering happily away even if you can’t see them. So, do check and think before you remove that overgrown hedge or an aged shrub. For the local house sparrows that just might be home!
Professor Ian D. Rotherham, researcher, writer, broadcaster on wildlife and environmental issues in the Peak District and elsewhere, is contactable on ianonthewildside@ukeconet.org. Follow his website www.ukeconet.org, blog www.ianswalkonthewildside.wordpress.com/ &
HOUSE SPARROWS BATHING
MALE HOUSE SPARROW
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