Community

Local History

Princess Diana Opens Belper Red Cross Centre

Fifty years ago I received permission from Derbyshire Red Cross to establish a voluntary aid detachment in Belper, so I set about finding somewhere to run courses to train interested volunteers in first aid and nursing.

My first thought was to try Babington Hospital in Belper. An interview with the Matron and Hospital Secretary led to permission to use the disused Training Room at the hospital. So began many years of building up a thriving detachment and several groups of youth members, all giving service in various ways to the people of Belper.

In a structural reorganisation in 1974, National Headquarters asked the branches to set up centres in each town which would draw together the Red Cross services in their area, overseen by a centre organiser. Belper Centre was quickly established and run from the Centre Organiser’s home. By 1989 it was apparent that an office with regular opening hours was desirable to handle the amount of work coming in. Again the Hospital Secretary of the time was approached, and he offered the former chapel which was only used for storage. This proved acceptable to all parties, and the Red Cross took it over in 1991 after the refurbishment of the room.

As the Centre was the only one in the country to be set up in a hospital, thoughts turned to having an official opening to mark the event. The Branch President approached National Headquarters, and we were delighted to hear that HRH Princess Diana had agreed to come in her capacity as Patron of Red Cross Youth. The date was fixed for April 28th, 1992.

Then the planning began. The presentation line and the youth members’ activities in first aid, home nursing and child care would take place in the walled garden outside the centre room. Inside would be displays of casualty simulation and hand care, and a small group of children would say a short poem about the Red Cross. Then the Princess would sign her photograph and unveil the plaque there. The plan and timetable were drawn up and approved. Letters went out to the schools asking permission for the children’s absence, and invitations to guests were sent. We received permission to make a video film of the occasion, and Lester & Nix kindly hired the latest video cameras and provided two staff to record the day. The inscription was designed and approved for the plaque which was then engraved on Welsh slate by a monumental mason.

The day dawned; fortunately dry and sunny. The police made sure all was safe and secure at the hospital, even looking into drains and attics! Then the participants were let in, if they arrived at the stated time and with their invitation cards. Preparations went well and all was ready in good time when the Princess arrived to visit the hospital wards first and then the Red Cross Centre. All agreed that she was very interested in everything on display, and she spent a lot of time talking with the youth groups and other members, and was a delightful person to meet. All too soon it was time for her to leave, but not before she had chatted to people in the crowd out on Derby Road. The rest of us went to The Orangery for speeches, cutting of the celebration cakes and tea.

The Centre thrived and developed over the following years. However, nothing lasts. The British Red Cross reorganised itself again, deciding centres were no longer needed, and at the end of 2009, Belper closed down.

HRH with Mrs M. Henry (County President) and Mrs P. Marjoram (Centre Organiser)

By Pat Marjoram

Editor’s note: Sadly this is the final ‘Local History’ article from Pat but I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge ‘Thank you’, on behalf of Team ATL and all our readers, for all the wonderful contributions over the years!

Upbeat

We are now almost two months into Operation Derbyshire – an initiative to share with our communities the excellent work that is going on to tackle certain crime types in the county and support victims.

At the end of last year, Derbyshire welcomed a new Chief Constable, Rachel Swann, and she and Police and Crime Commissioner Hardyal Dhindsa have worked together to set these crime types as their priorities.

We recognise that many crimes have a devastating effect on the victim and those close to them. There are so many crimes that have an impact, but that may not always be in the spotlight – these will be the focus for this operation.

The operation will highlight what we are doing to reduce speeding, tackle wildlife, heritage and rural crime, and target community crimes like anti-social behaviour.

Operation Derbyshire will also highlight the work that we and our partners do to support victims and bring offenders to justice. Chief Constable Swann said: “Focusing on delivering a high-quality service to the public is at the core of everything we do at Derbyshire Constabulary.

“We do this by fighting crime, proactively bringing offenders to justice and protecting the most vulnerable from harm.”

Mr Dhindsa said: “We really want our communities to know that we focus on long-term problem solving, engaging, listening and responding. We then need to ensure that we let the public know what we’ve done – this is a really important part.”

You can find out more about the operation and what is happening in your area by signing up to our messaging service, Derbyshire Alert. The system allows us to send you local information about crimes and initiatives in your community. You can also use the system to contact us, feeding back on any concerns you have or telling us what you think our priorities should be. You can sign up for alerts by visiting www.derbyshirealert.co.uk.

You can also follow your local policing team on social media. Visit www.derbyshire.police.uk/FollowYourSNT to find out more.

PC Tips from your ‘Local’ Computer Tutor Changing your Broadband Router/Provider There are two main reasons for having a new Router for your Broadband.

 You’ve upgraded your Broadband

Account

 You’ve changed Broadband Provider

Whatever the reason is you will have a new name for your WiFi and a new Wireless Key to input into all your devices. The information for these changes will be on the reverse of your Broadband Router and in the information sent. Remember your printer, Alexa and other remote wireless devices quite frequently forgotten. For Help, Advice or Training call 07810562532 email computertutor4you@icloud.com

Animal Tales

Nelly, Digby and Esther: revising our pig prejudice

The famous wartime leader Winston Churchill said, “Dogs look up to you, cats look down on you. Give me a pig! He looks you in the eye and treats you as an equal.” It seems he may have been right. Recent research published on the UCLA e-scholarship website has revealed that pigs share traits with many other animals that we consider to be intelligent, such as chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants.

Skilled swine

Rejecting negative perceptions of pigs as lazy, dirty and greedy, the researchers found that they are intuitive and good at learning from each other in groups. They also revealed that pigs can recognise symbols, calculate basic numbers and rapidly recall important memories.

Around 9,000 years ago farmers began to domesticate pigs by capturing wild boars and breeding them to eliminate their more aggressive characteristics. Wild pigs and boars are also highly intelligent animals: so much so that the Visayan Warty Pig, a breed of wild pig from the Philippines, has been observed using pieces of tree bark gripped in its jaws as a tool to scoop out soil in preparation for nest-making.

Clever Nelly

Pigs are considered to be the fourth most intelligent animal in the world and their brainpower is believed to be even greater than that of dogs. Recently ‘Nelly the Clever Pig’ won fame in America as a performing pig, executing complex tricks on stage in return for food rewards. When a Professor of Animal Behaviour went to visit Nelly as part of a TV documentary, the doctor was keen to assess how much her behaviour was influenced by her human owner.

One of the doctor’s experiments was to place a bell and a glass on the floor and ask Nelly to decide which of the two items, when moved, would earn a reward. The film shows Nelly initially shoving the bell with her snout. When that doesn’t produce a reward, she pushes the glass. After receiving a treat, clever Nelly returns to the glass again and again, earning multiple rewards and demonstrating the astonishing speed at which she can learn without human intervention.

Pigs as pets

Having a pig as a pet in the UK is considerably more complicated than looking after a dog or a cat: you are required to register as a pig keeper and you’ll also need a licence to walk your pig along public streets.

A decade or so ago ‘Micropigs’ were the go-to pet for pig lovers, but far from living up to their name, most of these animals went on to grow to normal size. A good example is online swine star Esther the Wonder Pig, whose Canadian owners were told she would grow no bigger than 32kg (she now weighs 295kg, or 46 stone).

Pet owners like Derek and Steve from Ontario, who look after Esther the Wonder Pig, are very clear about why they have chosen their unusual housemate: “All pigs are loving, intelligent and compassionate animals and they deserve better than the brutal life they are born into.”

That’s a statement we’ll all need to consider carefully now science is teaching us more about these fascinating animals.

By Kate McLelland

29 Gregorys Way, Belper DE56 0HS (Near Tesco Express) Tel: 01773 825153

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Post Offices

Belper (Strutt Street) 01773 820108 Duffield 01332 840105 Holbrook 01332 882537 Kilburn 01332 880444 Little Eaton 01332 832780 Sawmills 01773 852060 Smalley 01332 882222 Stanley 0345 7223344 Stanley Common 0345 6112970

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Friendship Blooms

Show your appreciation for a fellow member of the community; it may be a friend, a family member or maybe someone you’ve come into contact with

who provides a wonderful service or who works hard to make a Beverley Kennedy

difference. Let All Things Local surprise them with a fresh bouquet of flowers.

All Things Local has joined forces with Beverley Kennedy (pictured) from Floraline, Gregory’s Way in Belper, to offer readers the chance to show their appreciation for a fellow member of the community.

The recipient of this issue’s bouquet is Pat Marjoram, one of All Things Local’s long-time contributors:

“This Friendship Blooms bouquet has been presented to Pat Marjoram, author of our ‘Local History’ articles, who has written her 50th and final piece for this issue. Her fascinating articles have been entertaining and informing our readers for over 8 years and we are incredibly grateful for all the time, effort and research that Pat has put in to writing for us. We’ve all learnt a great deal of interesting information about the history of our local area thanks to Pat!” Team ATL

Nominate someone to receive the next

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The only rule is that the person receiving the flowers must live or work in the distribution area of All Things Local, Belper Edition (listed on front cover). Just write your nomination on a piece of paper and send to Friendship Blooms, All Things Local, 74 Woodhouse Road, Kilburn, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 0NA or e-mail your nomination to helen@allthingslocal.co.uk putting ‘Friendship Blooms’ as the subject. Please include your full name, address and daytime telephone number on your nomination.

Pat Marjoram receives the Friendship Blooms bouquet.

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Index

Accommodation: Shining Cliff Hostel 13 Aerials: AMC Aerials 33 Aerials: Satellite Aerial Services 51 Airport Transfers: Holbrook Travel 6 Animal Welfare: The Cat’s Protection League 6 Architect: Green 2K Design 54 Architect: Pilkington Architecture 52

Bathrooms: Belper Kitchens & Bathrooms 61 Bedrooms: Contour Furnishings 33 Bedrooms: Kitchen & Bedroom Warehouse 55 Blinds: UK Blinds 39 Blinds, Curtains & Shutters: Hillarys 2 Builder’s Merchant/Landscaping Products: Browns 40 Building Work: 3Sixty Property Solutions 43 Building Work: A Allsop 38 Building Work: Hilltop Builders 46 Building Work: JJN 57 Building Work: Little Job Building Co 56 Building Work: Simon Owen Response 59 Building Work: TDB Builders 46

Car Body Repairs: B A Kelf Car Body Repairs: ChipsAway Car Body Repairs: Martin Buxton

30 28 30 Car Leasing: Cocoon Vehicles 28 Car Servicing, Repairs, MOTs: 20Ten Garage Services 29 Car Servicing, Repairs, MOTs: EDM 27 Car Servicing, Repairs, MOTs: Little Eaton Garage 28 Caravan Servicing: EDM 27 Carpet Cleaning: Roy Milner 32 Carpets & Flooring: Brian Gration 56 Carpets & Flooring: Ian Wilson 60 Carpets & Flooring: T Nutt & Sons 7 Cleaning/Sanitising: Time For You 37

Dentures: Beautiful Dentures 26

Education: Derbyshire County Council Adult Education Electrician: A Hallam 71 49

Electrician: Andy Hill

51 Electrician: Devenport Electrical 51 Electrician: JB Electrical & Security Systems 38 Electrician: Midlec 51 Electrician: TME Electrical 39

Fencing: Able Fencing Fencing: ColourFence Financial Advice: Belper IFS Florist: Floraline Foot Health: Amber Feet Fuel: Browns/Signal Fuels 35 42 10 76 23 40

Garage Doors: Garolla 34 Garage Doors: Ockbrook Garage Doors 57 Garden Living: Cabin Master 3 Garden Services: Cartwright’s 35 Garden Services: Jaam Properties 37 Garden Services: Steve’s Gardening 46 Garden & Property Services: The Garden Guy 46 Gutter Clearance: Gutter PRO 35

Home Maintenance: The Handy Shack 38 Home & Garden Maintenance: The Handyman Lee 54 Hotel: The Derby Hotel Blackpool 14 Jewellers: Gemsmiths 15 Jewellery Cleaning/Polishing: Gemsmiths 12

Kitchens: Belper Kitchens & Bathrooms 61 Kitchens: Dream Doors 49 Kitchens: Holtams 45 Kitchens: Kitchen & Bedroom Warehouse 55 Kitchens: Sonna Kitchens 47

Landscaping: Mount Pleasant Landscaping 47 Landscaping: Team Morley 46 Loft Ladders: More than Loft Ladders 50

Optician: Belper Opticians Optician: Hurst Opticians Oven Cleaning: Spring Fresh 21 79 33

Painting & Decorating: John the Painter 50 Painting & Decorating: Roy Milner 34 Painting & Decorating: TCA Home Maintenance 38 Personal Trainer: Alex Robinson 22 Pest Control: MW Pest Control 46 Plastering: Claxton Plastering 38 Plastering: JM Plastering & Property Maintenance 37 Plastering: S Beresford 54 Plumbing & Heating: Belper Plumbing & Heating 54 Plumbing & Heating: Blacks 43 Plumbing & Heating: LEEVA Plumbing & Heating 53 Plumbing & Heating: MDA 57 Plumbing & Heating: Richard Fearn 55 Plumbing & Heating: Woodward 50 Property Maintenance: 3Sixty Property Solutions 43 Property Maintenance: JM Plastering & Property Maintenance 37 Property Maintenance: Simon Owen Response 59

Restaurant, Function Room, Hotel: Morley Hayes 17 Roofing Specialist: County & McAndrews 62

Schoolwear: Loop Schoolwear Security: Prestige Solicitors: Ellis Fermor & Negus Solicitors: Shacklocks Solicitors: Smith Partnership 1 50 11 8 9

Taxi: Holbrook Travel 6

Tree Care: ArborEx

55 Tree Care: Cartwright’s 35 Tree Care: Charnwood Tree Services 60 Tree Care: Clip ‘Em & Fell ‘Em 39 Tree Care: Greg Long 56 Tree Care: The Garden Guy 46 Tree & Garden Services: Mark Hudson 49 Tree & Garden Services: Pennine 57 Tyres & Exhausts: ETS 80

Vegan Food: Planted in Belper 17 Vet Care: John Rosie Vet Care at Home 6

Web Design: High Heel Creative 11 Web Design: www.yourbusinessmarketer.co.uk 11 Weight Management: 24th Floor Health & Fitness 23 Window Cleaning: Deluxe Window Cleaning 37 Windows, Doors, Conservatories: Smartglaze 36 Windows, Doors, Conservatories: Trade Windows 44 Windows, Doors, Glass Replacements: JG Glazing 39 Work from Home: Matt Elliott 4 Workwear: Loop Workwear 1