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From the Editor
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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)
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
I never thought it would come to me but…I have reached that age! I’ll be getting excited by Velcro slippers
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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.
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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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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.
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Slimming World Recipe
Chicken Donburi Yakitori
Method:
1. Put the chicken in a ceramic bowl and sprinkle over the soy sauce. Toss well to coat.
2. Cook the rice according to the pack instructions, then drain well and keep warm.
3. At the same time, spray a non-stick wok or large frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and put it over a high heat. Add the chicken strips and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, or until browned.
4. Add the vegetables and stirfry for 4-5 minutes.
5. Pour in the teriyaki sauce and stock and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes, or until piping hot and bubbling.
6. Divide the rice and chicken mixture between 4 bowls, and sprinkle over the shredded seaweed, if using, to serve.
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Ingredients:
• 3 large skinless and boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 4 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 250g dried long-grain white rice
• Low-calorie cooking spray
• 2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
• 1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into thin strips
If you’re a fan of Japanese food then this tasty fakeaway, packed full of flavour, should be right up your street. For more information visit
Serves: 4
Syns per serving: 1
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Ready in: 25 Minutes
A dogs Day out
This is one of our favourite walks for this time of year. It makes great use of the trails from the Teversal Visitors Centre to go up around Silverhill Wood Country Park and up to Nottinghamshire’s highest point, ‘The Miner’ statue, where there are great views across the county!
3 MILE CIRCULAR WALK FROM TEVERSAL VISITORS CENTRE, VIA THE MINER AT SILVERHILL WOOD COUNTRY PARK.
A gentle walk for you and your dog. This short walk should take around 1½ - 2 hours. It is mostly on trails but as ever make sure you wear appropriate footwear for the conditions. And, as always, follow the countryside code.
Starting Point: Teversal Trails Visitor Centre, Carnarvon St, Teversal, Sutton-in-Ashfield NG17 3HJ
1. With the Visitor centre on your left exit the car park via the path towards the Teversal Trail. Shortly, at the fork in the path, take the left path to cross over a small footbridge then turn left at the T-junction.
2. After a short distance turn right along the Teversal Trail, heading north. Follow the trail for some distance to cross over a bridge over a road. Shortly after the bridge take a path on the left, signposted to ‘The Miner’.
3. Follow the path as it emerges from a wooded section and then around the outside of a large pond, on your right. Ignore any paths off until reaching a T-junction of paths, with another, larger pond in front of you.
4. Turn right at the T-Junction following the path for some distance, uphill and around to the left. The path levels off and straightens before bending around to the right. The path then bends to the left and left again before bringing you to a fork in the path.
5. Take the left-hand path, heading uphill. The path straightens then bends around to the left before straightening again. After some distance you will reach a more open area with ‘The Miner’ statue on a hill on your right.
6. Take the stepped path on the right up to the Miner statue to take in the view, then head back down on the path to your left, to re-join the path you were on.
7. Follow the path downhill for some distance until reaching a loose crossroads of paths. Take the path to the left and follow this for some distance as it brings you back to the larger pond you were at earlier.
8. Follow the path as it goes around the pond on your left, then turn right at the junction to return back along the path you came in on, with the smaller pond now on your left-hand side.
9. Follow the path back onto the Teversal Trail, now heading south and back over the road bridge. Continue for some distance until you reach a path on the left. Take the path for a short distance then turn right to cross back over the footbridge and back towards 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.
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Heritage of Kirkby & Annesley
SOPHIA HAYWOOD 1758 – 1819. MOTHER OF JOHN MUSTERS. MARCH 2025
Looking at the history of Annesley, the main focus over many years has been the families of Annesley, Chaworth and Musters. The Squires at Annesley Hall lived at the country house, from which the estate was managed.
So many books have been written that focus on Mary’s connections to the 6th Lord Byron and his child like love for her that influenced his poetry over time, that as a woman and mother, she runs the risk of being forgotten. The Musters family were involved in Court circles, George IV and his Queen Charlotte. John Musters found his wife at Court, Sophia Catherine Haywood, a lady from the Queens’ bedchamber, who wed in 1776. As a daughter to
James Modyford Haywood of Devonshire, and her aunt being Lady Howe, wife of Admiral Howe, she was well connected.
The King was known to like pretty ladies at court, and often had portraits painted by the great artists of the day, Sir Joshua Reynolds and Romney included. Sophia was noted to be one of the most beautiful and one of the styles of portraits was of classical women. There is a large portrait of Sophia as Hebe often seen in Downton Abbey at the base of the stairs.
Statues of Sophia and other classical items were moved over from Musters homes over the years. At various times, they were moved to Annesley Church, along with artefacts from the Old
Church. Sophia was a very modern women of her time, learning to paint and work in glass, she was also noted to have been ‘wild’ in both her personality and language. With any marriage, they had complications and at times had relationships that were recorded in family books, but they were reconciled in later life.
Colwick Hall was the main family home; a small Church stands by its side. In this shell of a building are the bodies of John Musters Snr and Sophia. John died 1827 aged 74, in the London House, Sophia in Brighton in 1819 aged 61.
Now in Annesley Church, Sophia crafted these glass panels for Colwick Church, the East Window.
Memorial to Sophia Musters. The graces of music, painting and dancing are portrayed.
Memorial to Mary Ann Musters nee Chaworth. Died 1832 aged 47 years.
There is a small brochure at Annesley Church listing the position and information of each item.
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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.
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12 Jump over burial chamber (5)
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GARDENERS CALENDAR
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
COCK HOUSE SPARROW
