tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8390353468056504132024-02-21T03:04:25.475+00:00All Things Local - Community MagazineAll Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-84747247078856372162012-02-24T17:39:00.000+00:002012-02-24T17:39:00.149+00:00Real Ale Tales with the Amber Valley by Nathan Dilley<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It’s that time of year again when the
members of Amber Valley CAMRA have selected their pub of the year.
This is an arduous task undertaken by the members and competition is
fierce. We are fortunate to have an increasing list of quality pubs
and inns in our region, from quiet rural pubs to lively town ones,
bustling back street locals to quirky modern conversions.
</div>
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</div>
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Members will have been visiting pubs
that may include the likes of The Old Oak Inn at Horsley Woodhouse, a
curio of a place which affords a warm welcome in the shape of open
fires, and at weekends the Rurad Bar which offers gravity-dispensed
craft beers from near & far of varying strengths and styles.
Another pub worth seeking out is the Dead Poets at Holbrook, which
offers high-backed pews at the bar, stone flagged floors and comfy
corners in which to enjoy any of the six guest beers that they have
on at any one time. The area also includes pubs such as the Thorn
Tree at Waingroves, a real locals’ pub which goes to great lengths
to source beers not found elsewhere locally and puts on interesting
beer festivals well worth seeking out. If character is what you are
after, then the Holly Bush at Makeney will definitely not disappoint;
this late 17<sup>th</sup> century listed pub was a possible haunt of
Dick Turpin when it stood on the old Derby Turnpike before the new
road opened in 1818.</div>
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</div>
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The judging panel score not only on
beer quality, but on such things as good value, service/welcome,
atmosphere and numerous other criteria which CAMRA believes makes
these pubs stand out in a crowded marketplace. Members will have
decided whether last year’s worthy winner, the Hunters Arms at
Kilburn, has retained its crown among such sterling competition. A
list of potential pubs is whittled down to the eight pubs with the
highest number of votes from members and these are then visited over
a six-week period, and the winner is announced shortly into the New
Year. The pubs mentioned above are only a small selection of possible
entrants. What they all have in common though is excellent beer, a
warm welcome and what I believe to be the ingredients that make the
pub the essential place to while away many an enjoyable hour. Why not
check out a selection of the above and see if they are deserving of a
place in your own pub of the year list?</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><b>Nathan
Dilley, Chairman of Amber Valley CAMRA</b></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><b></b></i></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><b>This article appears in our Feb/Mar 2012 issues - <a href="http://www.allthingslocal.co.uk/" target="_blank">click here to read the All Things Local issue of your choice</a>.</b></i></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-37630095800472460602012-02-20T17:37:00.000+00:002012-02-20T17:37:00.061+00:00Recipe: Mushroom & Leek Risotto<br />
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-GB">This
creamy risotto is great for a quick and easy midweek supper simply
served with a leafy green salad and some warm ciabatta bread. Replace
the mushrooms with small vine tomatoes fried until soft, if
preferred.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Serves
4</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ready
in 45 minutes</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">55g
butter</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1
tbsp olive oil</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">2
leeks, washed, trimmed and thinly sliced</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1
garlic clove, peeled and crushed</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">225g
risotto rice</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">900ml
hot vegetable stock</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Salt
and freshly ground black pepper</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">175g
button mushrooms, wiped</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">2-3
tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1
tbsp chopped fresh parsley</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-GB"><b>1</b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-GB">
Heat half the butter and the oil in a large deep frying pan. Add the
sliced leeks and garlic and fry over a medium-high heat until
softened but not brown. Stir in the rice and cook for one minute.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-GB"><b>2</b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-GB">
Add a ladleful of the hot stock to the pan and simmer gently,
stirring all the time. When all the liquid has been absorbed by the
rice, add another ladleful of stock. Continue adding the stock in
this way until the rice is tender and has a creamy texture – this
will take about 20 minutes.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-GB"><b>3</b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-GB">
Heat the rest of the butter in a separate frying pan and fry the
mushrooms over a high heat for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Stir
the Parmesan cheese into the risotto and season to taste with salt
and freshly ground black pepper.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-GB"><b>4</b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-GB">
Serve the risotto in warmed bowls topped with the fried mushrooms,
chopped parsley and extra Parmesan cheese.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-GB"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.48cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="en-GB"></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This article appears in our Feb/Mar 2012 issues - <a href="http://www.allthingslocal.co.uk/" target="_blank">click here to read the All Things Local issue of your choice</a>.</span></span></span></div>
<br />All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-61898723723688631812012-02-17T17:35:00.000+00:002012-02-17T17:35:00.742+00:00On Two Wheels<br />
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>On
Two Wheels” by Ian Bax (pictured) </b></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><b>of
Roy Jervis, Ripley.</b></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
By the time you read this Christmas
will be well and truly over, apart from, for a lot of us, the “did
I really spend that much” credit card bill and the extra inches and
pounds we seem to have received from </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Santa’s festive treats!
Unfortunately I can’t help with the credit card bill (well yours
anyway!) but maybe we can do something to help shed the unwanted
pounds. GET ON YA BIKE!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As I sit and write this article with
just 10 days to go till Christmas we are busy at the shop building,
preparing and storing bicycles and scooters of all shapes and sizes
ready for Santa to collect and deliver to kids of all ages and
cycling abilities. I love seeing kids out on the street on Christmas
morning riding their new bikes, especially when we’ve sold them!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Cycling is life enhancing, not only is
it a mode of transport but it’s a balancing act, a tool for
exploratory play and a form of exercise all wrapped up in an
eco-friendly package. Did you know that cycling is by far the most
popular sport related exercise among children?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
For kids, learning to ride a bike is a
key rite of passage giving them a great sense of independence,
enabling them to undertake journeys that were too boring or too far
to walk previously and making them fun and exciting. Cycling enables
children to explore new places, meet up with friends and make new
friends that were out of their reach before.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Obviously there are risks with cycling;
bicycles can be fast, a lot faster than running which, in itself, is
an attraction for many children. I’m sure many of us used to build
ramps and tracks to see how far we could push ourselves and our
trusty steeds! Children do hurt themselves on bikes; I did, but most
injuries are slight and every knock is a learning experience and that
is no reason to limit their rides to weekends with adult supervision.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As a kid I would spend most summer days
during the school holidays with my best mate Chris out on our bikes
going for miles with only a water bottle, some sandwiches and a few
pennies for sweets! For those of you who have read my previous
articles and have some idea of my age you will know that we didn’t
have mobile phones either! We loved it, regularly clocking up 50
miles or more and discovering places we didn’t know existed, our
favourite being “Stone Rocks” at Weirwood Reservoir in Sussex
(I’m a Southerner, don’t hold it against me!) where we would
climb the rocks and meet up with like-minded kids.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We didn’t even have cycle helmets in
those days something which should be a must today and as familiar to
kids as putting their seat belt on in a car.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Well 500 words is fast approaching, so
let me just end by saying that not only is cycling fantastic for
children’s development and general health, but it is also something
that we can all get a massive benefit from, keeping us healthy in
body and mind and giving us an activity that we can do as a family.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Good luck with the diet and I look
forward to seeing you all soon.</div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
This article appears in our Feb/Mar 2012 issues - <a href="http://www.allthingslocal.co.uk/" target="_blank">click here to read the All Things Local issue of your choice</a>.</div>
<br />
<br />All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-1210431894522030152012-02-13T17:25:00.000+00:002012-02-13T17:25:00.460+00:00YOUR HOROSCOPE for February and March 2012<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The
Cosmos during February and March</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>February:
</b></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Neptune, the planet
of mystery and illusion leaves Aquarius on the 4</span><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">
and “comes home” to its own sign of compassionate Pisces. This
will be a 14 year stay and takes us up to 2026. Neptune is the God
of the seas, and just like water, can be difficult to pin down.
Pisces is also associated with the vastness of the sea and big
questions around the world’s water and resources will arise.
Neptune also rules spirituality and deep understanding, and during
this time we could all find ways to channel our sensitivities to the
greater good of all. Spiritual ideas and new forms of healing will
affirm their validity and become more a part of everyday life.
Venus, the love</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b> </b></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">planet
is in amorous Aries on Valentine’s Day, it should be especially
passionate and romantic this year! </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>March:
</b></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> We are heading
towards longer and warmer days, and with the spring equinox on
Tuesday the 20</span><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">
and a powerful new moon in Aries on the 22</span><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">
there is renewed strength and vitality available for all. Enjoyment
and prosperity are also emphasised as benevolent Jupiter and
harmonious Venus are both in sensual Taurus. Reconnecting with love,
art, music and all things beautiful should be a priority to lift your
spirits and help to access your potential. Impatience may cause
concern as communicative Mercury marches through Aries, but this will
all slow down as the retrograde motion begins on the 12</span><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">.
It is always wise to look before you leap with Mercury retrograde,
and don’t forget to check all communications and travel plans as
the trickster always likes a laugh at our expense!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>ARIES:
MARCH 21 - APRIL 20</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Venus,
the Goddess of love and beauty moves into your sign on the 8</span><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">.
Your passions and desires will now come to the forefront and demand
that you take action. Neptune, now in a prominent position, ensures
that you begin to direct your attention to more intuitive sources and
follow your dreams. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>March:
</b></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Your ruler, energetic
Mars, is in retrograde motion all month and may bring a halt to
certain projects. This may seem like a hindrance, but in truth you
probably need to double check your plans. Mid-month brings a
spectacular alignment with transformational Pluto and new ideas are
revealed.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>TAURUS:
APRIL 21 - MAY 21</b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Neptune
illuminates the social area of your chart. With Venus also there
until the 8</span><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">
you might seek new alliances with organisations based on your
newfound spiritual interests. Many new people may now enter your life
and you’ll see that they will help lead you back to yourself.</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>March:
</b></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Venus,
the goddess of love and your planetary ruler, moves into your sign on
the 5</span></span><span style="color: black;"><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">.
Are you ready for a new romance, or just some quality time to
concentrate on yourself and bring new pleasures into your life? The
14</span></span><span style="color: black;"><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
could bring amorous surprises as Venus aligns positively with Mars.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>GEMINI:
MAY 22 - JUNE 21</b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Neptune
reaches the highest point in your chart and you’ll feel like
reaching for the stars! Your intention to merge love and beauty into
your goals ensures that your faith will be rewarded. After the 14</span><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">
Mercury enters Pisces and new ways of inspired communication develop.
</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>March: </b></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">The
full moon on the 8</span><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">
illuminates the domestic area of your chart and challenges you to
really think about your living arrangements. Mars in productive
Virgo continues to fire you up to make positive changes and your
endless enthusiasm ensures a successful outcome.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>CANCER:
JUNE 22 - JULY 22</b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Neptune
has arrived at a pivotal position in your chart; you will start to
focus on how to expand your influence in the world. Wherever you
travel now could begin to feel like home. The new moon in Pisces on
the 21</span><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">
brings a new start to projects aimed at further education</span>.<span style="color: black;">
</span><span style="color: black;"><b>March: </b></span><span style="color: black;">The</span><span style="color: black;"><b>
</b></span><span style="color: black;">new moon in pioneering Aries on the
22</span><span style="color: black;"><sup>nd</sup></span><span style="color: black;">,
challenges you to take another look at your professional life. Are
you really getting what you want and do you feel appreciated?
Communicative Mercury, retrograde after the 12</span><span style="color: black;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="color: black;">,
brings innovative and inspiring ideas to the surface.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>LEO: JULY 23 - AUGUST 23</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Planetary forces combine all month to
improve your finances and your career standing. Mars continues to
work hard in Virgo and your well thought out strategies should pay
off this month. The full moon in your sign on the 7th could bring
some major surprises, be ready for action. <b>March: </b>A
spectacular alignment of Venus and Jupiter on the 14<sup>th</sup>
could illuminate some interesting developments in your professional
life. With transformational Pluto and Mars also joining in, this is a
great time to strengthen your reputation and make important and
advantageous connections.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><b>VIRGO: AUGUST
24 - SEPTEMBER 22</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Your work place could be a source of
intense scrutiny this month. Try to stay under the radar and keep
your focus. Communicative Mercury moves into Pisces on the 14<sup>th</sup>.
This could bring some misunderstandings or confusion, but staying
connected to your intuition brings results.<span lang="en-CA">
</span><span lang="en-CA"><b>March: </b></span><span lang="en-CA">Mars
is retrograde in your sign all month supplying you with added energy
to re-focus and re-establish your personal goals. This is a
fantastic time to identify your strengths and to take positive action
to rectify situations that may have previously felt frustrating or
repressive. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>LIBRA: SEPTEMBER 23 - OCTOBER 23</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The Sun and communicative Mercury are
travelling through a pivotal spot in your chart. Creative
business projects can be furthered and because you
will do well in negotiation, you should aim high and get the
best deal. Neptune now urges you to listen to your inner voice.
<b>March: </b>This could turn out to an amazingly lucky month for
Librans. Bountiful Venus and expansive Jupiter are cuddling up in
the financial area of your chart. Optimism and enthusiasm should be
at their peak and any innovative projects started now could turn out
to be very successful.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><b>SCORPIO:
OCTOBER 24 - NOVEMBER 22</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Mighty and
benevolent Jupiter is forging ahead through your opposite sign of
Taurus. Relationships come to the forefront and you may need to check
that your needs are being met. You need emotional balance and an
inner feeling of peace and you’ll be determined to get it.</span><span lang="en-CA">
</span><span lang="en-CA"><b>March: </b></span><span lang="en-CA">Expansive
Jupiter and bountiful Venus are in your opposite sign of Taurus,
bringing up your innermost feelings and desires. Refocusing and
review become necessary now. It's time to re-examine how you have
been handling your assertiveness in relationships and with family.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><b>SAGITTARIUS:
NOVEMBER 23 - DECEMBER 21</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Mystery planet
Neptune touches the deepest sector of your chart this month. Although
you might feel confused to start with, the more you touch base with
your inner wisdom you’ll see that things can only get better. The
new moon on the 21</span><span style="color: black;"><sup>st</sup></span><span style="color: black;">
brings surprises on the home front, stay flexible and enjoy. </span><span style="color: black;"><b>March:
</b></span><span style="color: black;">Sagittarians feel a wave of new
energy at the start of this month. Three planets activate the most
creative and fun loving part of your chart. Your popularity is on an
upward trend and others will find you particularly attractive and
friendly. Spread the joy and have a ball!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>CAPRICORN: DECEMBER 22 - JANUARY 20</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Finding new ways of communicating are
your main focus this month. Neptune and Venus, both in sensitive and
compassionate Pisces, bring an entirely new slant to the way that you
get things done. Mars is busy working at broadening your horizons,
exciting times ahead if you go with the flow. <b>March: </b>Three
planets in the domestic sector of your chart herald a busy start to
the month. Many issues concerning you home and family could come to
a head now. Stern Saturn, your ruling planet, is in Libra and helps
you to find a more balanced way of coping with any difficulties.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>AQUARIUS: JANUARY 21 - FEBRUARY 18</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Neptune leaves your sign on the 3<sup>rd</sup>
after a long 14 year stay. Clarity and insight return in abundance
as you now focus on your new goals. Intuitive Neptune has taught you
many things and with new values and a renewed sense of self you are
ready to carve out a brilliant plan of action. <b> March: </b>All
things around communication and learning are illuminated during
March. Your ruler, the maverick planet Uranus, demands innovative and
creative thinking on all levels. You’ll enjoy the challenge of
tackling a variety of new subjects and making brilliant new
connections.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;"><b>PISCES:
FEBRUARY 19 - MARCH 20</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black;">Neptune has come
home and will be in your sign for the next 14 years. Neptune often
dissolves all that it touches and this is the time to dispose of
things in your life that you no longer appreciate or value. Mercury
also enters Pisces on the 14</span><span style="color: black;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="color: black;">
and you’ll find that you want more love and beauty than ever
before. </span><span style="color: black;"><b> March: </b></span><span style="color: black;">Expansive
Jupiter and the love planet Venus light up a pivotal sector of your
chart. During this cycle there should be a powerful mental
connection with your creative self-expression. You should be very
proud of your ideas and have no trouble expressing them smoothly. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>NAVIGATE YOUR WAY THROUGH THE COSMIC
TIDES OF 2012</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Would you like to know how you can
get in touch with your personal power and be the very best version of
yourself in 2012? I can help you to discover your purpose, achieve
personal transformation and work towards achieving your dreams.</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Christine
Chalklin</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Inspirational
Astrologer and Life Coach,</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>www.restyleyourlife.co.uk</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Christine@restyleyourlife.co.uk</b></span></div>All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-46469777960214684742012-02-10T17:23:00.000+00:002012-02-10T17:23:00.822+00:00Fishing By John Layton, Derbyshire County Angling Club<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-top: 0.49cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en"><b>Spring
</b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en"><b>Fishing: A time of
expectation for the fly fisher</b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-top: 0.49cm;">
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">Derbyshire</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">
is a magic place for the fisher and for many, spring is its most
magical time. If we are lucky the rivers, lakes and reservoirs are in
first class condition and the passion for the sport is at its peak.
Whilst these delights affect all fishermen, March and April is when
the Trout fishing season starts and a strange compulsion comes over
those suffering from winter fly fishing deprival. They have an
unrelenting and irresistible urge to visit reservoirs and rivers to
cast their fishing flies. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-top: 0.49cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">Derbyshire
</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">has a special place in the
hearts of fly fishers. This comes from its focus in the fly fishing
chapters of Walton's </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en"><i>Compleat
Angler </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">and perhaps</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en"><i>
</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">if fly fishing has a
sacred place, a holy of holies, then it lies in the River Dove near
Hartington</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">.
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">It was on this spot
in 1674 that Charles Cotton, author of the fly fishing chapters in
the Compleat Angler and friend of Izaak Walton built his fishing
house.</span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.42cm; margin-top: 0.49cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">The
Dove in this area flows through</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">
beautiful countryside and towering limestone gorges. The spring-fed
river is crystal clear as it dances downstream over the rocks and
when the conditions are right; swarms of flies hover and skip across
the surface of the deeper pools. In the spring flies are fewer but
fly fishers dream of warmer days and of casting fishing flies and
catching the lovely pink spotted wild Dove brown trout of about a
pound or the larger stock fish, released by Derbyshire County Angling
Club. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.49cm; margin-top: 0.49cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">The</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">
River Dove near Hartington is clear and trout and grayling are
plentiful. The river has benefited from much improvement under the
Upper Dove Restoration Project, run by the Trent Rivers Trust in
partnership with the Derbyshire County Angling Club. Much has been
achieved and the fishing has greatly improved. Trees have been
removed to allow more light into the river, allowing weed growth
which provides cover for fish and a variety of invertebrate food.
Long-term habitat improvement has ensured the health of the wild
brown trout to the upper Dove.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.49cm; margin-top: 0.49cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">If
you want to know more about fishing </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en">available
under membership of the Derbyshire County Angling go to:
www.derbyshirecountyac.org.uk or for fishing the historic Charles
Cotton fishery under the Peak Passport fishing scheme:
www.peakpassport.co.uk</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.49cm; margin-top: 0.49cm;">
</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
This article appears in our Feb/Mar 2012 issues - <a href="http://www.allthingslocal.co.uk/" target="_blank">click here to read the All Things Local issue of your choice</a>.</div>
<br />
<br />All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-71452707890594824292012-02-06T17:20:00.000+00:002012-02-06T17:20:00.116+00:00Fashion by Shona Harding of Pearls and Scarlett<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Going into the New Year most people see
it as a chance to change or adapt the lifestyle choices or habits we
all slip into throughout the year. For most people it is giving up
chocolate or cigarettes, for others it involves a gym membership or
two. These resolutions normally don’t last very long as we put the
expectations far too high and set ourselves out for failure. So for
a change this year why not set yourself a resolution to try a new
style or look. As with everything we do on a day to day basis we are
habit forming, it is part of our DNA and this is no different for the
way we shop. We get used to buying from the same shops; it gives us
comfort to know what size we are in that shop and that season after
season they tend to stick to only variations of the same look.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
If the prospect of changing your style
is too daunting why not look to your favourite films or T.V
programmes for inspiration. Programmes like Downton Abbey and films
following the lives of Marilyn, Wallis Simpson and Margaret Thatcher
are all popular and hark back to the days when women dressed in a
more stylish way. Likewise if you were inspired by Princess Diana or
Jackie O you can achieve their style by just making the smallest of
changes.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Plan your seasons – take an hour out
of your weekend to really think about what you will need for the next
3 to 4 months. We can take Jackie Onassis as a style inspiration for
example; start with a Capri length or cropped trouser, very straight
leg with vents at the ankle. A great colour is a dark beige, navy or
black, team that up with a pair of ballerina pumps or loafers; good
labels to look for here are Jaeger, French Sole & Max Mara. Then
a higher neckline for the top - slash is great with ¾ length
sleeves. Avoid prints and stick to plain, it is classic and will
ensure the look won’t date. For evenings out try a black shift
dress, length just below the knee teamed with a short swing jacket or
bolero and medium-heeled court shoes. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Keep jewellery to a minimum
with just an elegant bracelet or earrings. If you look at photos of
her from the 1960’s right up until her death she never made a
fashion mistake because she understood and knew her style.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Next edition, I will be discussing a
different look altogether; in fact it could not be more opposite to
the elegance of Jackie O - the madness of Helena Bonham Carter!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
See you all in April.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Shona</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
This article appears in our Feb/Mar 2012 issues - <a href="http://www.allthingslocal.co.uk/" target="_blank">click here to read the All Things Local issue of your choice</a>.</div>
<br />All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-48337510684581515002012-02-04T17:18:00.000+00:002012-02-04T17:18:00.108+00:00The Diary of a Local Mum<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A friend of mine recently asked me to
help her with her CV. She’s taken a ‘career-break’ to look
after her three children, and hasn’t worked in the conventional
sense for seven years. She was worried about how to communicate this
on her CV, without coming across as out of touch or a bit rusty.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
She began looking back at skills and
experience she could draw on from her previous job, but she was
concerned that it looked like she was delving into the past for
evidence of her abilities. It struck us then that we shouldn’t
skim over the past seven years, but that her experience within this
time was both valid and valuable.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There’s a common misconception that
parents of either sex who take time off work to look after children
spend all of their time cleaning and drinking tea. There’s
certainly some tea and cleaning involved, but looking after children
(and a home) involves a great deal more than that, and during those
years you develop skills that are easily transferable, and would be
beneficial in any workplace.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In fact there are very few paid
positions that require such a vast variety of skills. When you
become a parent there is no training, and often little support. You
have to think on your feet, make tough decisions, and carry out a
multitude of demanding tasks every day.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We looked at the skills that had been
well-honed during the past seven years and these included:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Organisational skills – speak to most
parents and they will say their calendar is the most important thing
in their house. Not only are you organising your own life, but
you’re responsible for numerous little people getting to and from
various schools, pre-schools, swimming lessons, clubs, and social
commitments, often all at the same time. Then there are meals,
packed lunches, uniforms, presents, and countless other things to
think about. Managing an office diary is a doddle when you’ve been
through that.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Multi-tasking – from the earliest
days of becoming a parent this becomes second nature. In fact, if
you’re only doing one thing at once you start to wonder what’s
wrong.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Quick-thinking – when a wheel falls
off a bike when you’re halfway home from the park and you’re
faced with the prospect of carrying both a broken bike and a
screaming toddler home, it’s amazing how innovative you can be.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Negotiation skills – from a
surprisingly young age children are shrewd negotiators, and the
ability to debate and agree on a compromise is imperative.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Learning new skills – there’s
nothing like being thrown in at the deep end, and when you first
become a parent that’s exactly what happens. Within days you’re
an expert on feeding, winding, changing, dressing and all the things
that had previously filled you with terror (admit it, everyone’s
scared of even holding a newborn before they have their own). This
doesn’t stop either. As your child grows up you’re continually
learning new things to keep up with them and support them through all
their new ventures.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Communication skills – as well as
learning to communicate with your children on their level
(interpreting their early utterances, encouraging them to tell you
what’s bothering them, explaining difficult concepts to them),
parents also have to learn to communicate effectively with a host of
other adults at various levels, dealing with problems or situations
that can be challenging, sensitive or embarrassing.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And this list is far from
comprehensive. Being a parent is by far the most difficult job you
could have, and it’s a life-long commitment that doesn’t get
easier! We’d all shy away from putting this experience on our
CV’s for fear of not being taken seriously, but surely any employer
would be lucky to have someone with all of these skills.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>By Helen Young</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i></i></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<i>This article appears in our Feb/Mar 2012 issues - <a href="http://www.allthingslocal.co.uk/" target="_blank">click here to read the All Things Local issue of your choice</a>.</i></div>
<br />
<br />All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-73901204165773115132012-02-01T17:15:00.000+00:002012-02-01T17:15:00.268+00:00Book Reviews – Love Stories<br />
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Romeo
and Juliet<br />William Shakespeare</b></span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;">‘<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">For
never was a story of more woe</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Than
this of Juliet and her Romeo’.</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">We
know it’s going to end badly from the start, and yet we can’t get
enough of the Bard’s star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. It’s
got everything; romance, comedy, drama, feuding families and an
apothecary. There have been many adaptations, film versions and
take-offs but why not settle down with Shakespeare’s original play
and let the whirlwind romance sweep you off your feet.</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Twilight<br />Stephenie
Meyer</b></span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background: #ffffff; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This
masterful tale of forbidden love between a vampire and a human, takes
you on a blood-pumping and heart-fluttering journey of yearning and
lust. Set deep within the misty and brooding Pacific Northwest coast
of America it’s sure to warm the cockles of even a vampire’s
ice-cold heart.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>First
Love<br />Ivan Turgenev</b></span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">First
Love is a beautifully-written Russian classic which is set in the
19th Century and charts a young boy’s awakening to love and adult
relationships. Guests at a party are invited to share their memories
of their first dalliances. When asked to recount his first love, the
protagonist, Vladimir Petrovich decides it’s a tale that is better
written down in a notebook. It’s then recounted through the eyes of
a 16 year old Petrovich. He weaves a complicated and unusual tale of
how he fell in love with an older woman who lived next door. First
Love is hailed as a significant and important novella for young
Russians.</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Angus,
Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging<br />Louise Rennison</b></span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Louise
Rennison’s hugely popular comic novel is the first in the series
about lovelorn teenager, Georgia Nicholson. It follows the trials and
tribulations of Georgia and her best friend Jas, who form part of the
Ace Gang. It’s packed with sleepovers and family life, along with
heart-stopping and life-altering crushes on the object of her
affection, ‘Sex God Robbie’. How do you cope when the boy of your
dreams winds up with one of the ‘wet weeds’ instead of living
happily ever after with you? The original Bridget Jones in a training
bra, Georgia’s diary charts her path from girl to woman…and every
step in-between.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The
Reader<br />Bernhard Schlink</b></span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Set
against a backdrop of post-war Germany, this love story asks how
generations have come to terms with what happened during the
Holocaust. The novel opens with a fifteen-year-old Michael Berg
falling for the much older and more experienced Hanna Schmitz. Hanna
is illiterate and after a chance meeting with Berg, he begins to read
novels aloud to her and their relationship begins to blossom. The
story is written in three parts, charting Michael’s life. It’s a
complex tale of first love, realisations about the world and coming
to terms with a history that irrevocably shaped Germany’s present
and future. It’s thought-provoking and truly heartbreaking.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>One
Day<br />David Nicholls</b></span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Everybody
who went to university in the eighties will both weep uncontrollably
and laugh out loud at the nostalgia that One Day exudes. Published in
2009, it follows the twenty year courtship of Emma and Dex, catching
up with them on the same day, the 15th of July, St Swithin’s Day.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">One
Day is filled with humour and wonderfully rounded, yet beautifully
flawed characters you’re bound to fall in love with. Beginning as
the two protagonists leave university and embark on their journey
into the great wide world, fate soon overcomes youthful enthusiasm
and aspiration. How long do we hold onto first loves, dream careers
and a notion of happily-ever-after?</span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 0.53cm; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></span></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<span style="color: #111111;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This article appears in our Feb/Mar 2012 issues - <a href="http://www.allthingslocal.co.uk/" target="_blank">click here to read the All Things Local issue of your choice</a>.</span></span></span></div>
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-77718833362924724922011-12-10T08:00:00.000+00:002011-12-10T08:00:05.720+00:00MONEY MATTERS by Rob Terry<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Welcome to High Edge Financial
Planning, your local independent financial planning and advisory
professionals and our column on issues relevant to financial planning
and advice.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Investment and Risk</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
We’ve gone through some testing times
in the last few years: banks collapsing, credit crunch, stock markets
falling and then bouncing back. What is one to do when it comes to
investing money? If you ask anyone what they would like from an
investment the typical response is ‘no risk and a big return’!
Utopia! </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
However, all investments and savings are exposed to one or
more forms of risk and it is true to say that by taking increasingly
more risk you can achieve a better return over the longer term.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Term: why is that important? Well,
depending on your investment horizon (the period over which you are
prepared to invest), it will dictate the type of asset you may
consider for the investment. As a rule of thumb, if your investment
horizon is under 5 years, you would generally be better off investing
in deposits with a bank or building society. This is because if you
need the money in the short term you would not want to expose
yourself to the risk of not being able to access it, or getting back
less than you have invested due to asset price movements.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When investing for 5 years and beyond
you open up other investment possibilities. The traditional asset
classes are: cash, bonds, property and equities. Each carries a
different level of risk and within each asset class you can access
different levels of risk. A key consideration for the investor is
that of risk and return, and capacity for loss. For instance, you
could build a portfolio of shares yourself, but that can carry a high
degree of risk, as you are relying on your own experience and
research capabilities to select the right stocks.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There are also different types of risk.
Inflation risk is a particular issue right now as cash deposits are
paying low rates, whilst inflation is higher. Your money is therefore
losing value in real terms.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There is market risk. This is where
your investment is subject to the ups and downs of the markets. This
could be the stock market.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Concentration risk is where you may
have all your cash in only one or two asset classes or investment
funds. A way to tackle this issue is to diversify your investment.
This means to invest varying percentages in different funds and asset
classes to spread the risk and also the return (the not having all
your eggs in one basket principle).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Counterparty risk is typically found in
what are called ‘structured products’. These are products which
aim to provide a return of capital after a fixed term if the stock
market index they are linked to falls. The provider enters into
financial arrangements with other counterparties to provide the
capital protection. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
However, as found when Lehman Brothers collapsed,
the counterparty may not be able to uphold their obligations to the
product and consequently the return of capital could be affected
adversely.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Consideration also should be given to
the Financial Services Compensation Scheme limits for deposits and
investments. This could affect how much you invest with one
institution.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So, I am barely scratching the surface
here on this A5 page. A lot of thought needs to be given to how you
invest and this depends on a number of factors personal to you. I
would suggest that when in the position of considering investments,
speak with someone who has access to the whole of the market and can
therefore offer independent, impartial advice.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
High Edge Financial Planning is an
appointed representative of Unleash Advice Partnership Ltd which is
authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
Information presented here is generic, does not constitute specific
financial advice and <span style="color: #333333;">are personal opinions of
the author. </span>For advice tailored to match your personal
circumstances, please feel free to contact us on 07773 426498.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Rob
Terry</b></span></span></span></div>
<div lang="en-GB" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Independent
Financial Advisor</b></span></span></span></div>
<br />All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-74015017265254974462011-12-09T08:00:00.000+00:002011-12-09T08:00:09.047+00:00“On Two Wheels” By Ian Bax of Roy Jervis, Ripley<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Motorcycling
– The Benefits</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I
make no secret of the fact - I love motorbikes! I have loved them
since I saw my first one as a toddler and, as soon as me and a couple
of mates could raise the required £5 (a lot to a 12-year-old in
1972), we bought a very used Raleigh Runabout, painted it white and
proceeded to thrash it round the woods! </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Various
bikes followed, ex GPO Bantams, stripped down Vespas and such like
until the magic day arrived; my sixteenth birthday. My parents had
relented and bought me my first road bike, a PUCH M50 Sport, the
first in a long line of bikes that I have owned and ridden on and off
road, in fact I still have four motorbikes and my son’s scooter in
my garage at present.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">To
me, riding a motorbike is pure joy and I have never really given any
conscious thought to the real benefits of owning and riding one, even
though I travelled to work for years on bikes - mainly because I
enjoyed it but also because I knew I would get to work in less time
than in a car and parking was a doddle.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Congestion
is a major problem in many of the UK’s towns and cities with the
number of cars increasing annually. London’s Congestion Charge
has, depending on where you are sitting, proved a success and now the
charge looks set to be rolled out to other major cities. Motorcycles
and scooters are exempt from congestion charges and often parking for
bikes is free so straight away the cost savings are quite
substantial.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Not
only will you save money but, because bikes can filter through
traffic queues, you will get to work a lot quicker and probably be
able to park a lot closer to work as well.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">With
fuel costs at well over £5 per gallon never has motoring been so
expensive and many people are swapping to motorcycles and scooters
purely for the savings to be made in fuel costs. Modern 125cc
motorcycles and scooters cost a lot less than 10 pence per mile to
run and some can achieve 100 mpg! </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In
addition, a 125cc powered two wheeler (PTW) costs just £16 per year
in Road Tax, even the largest bikes only attract a tax duty of £74
per annum. Savings will also be made on insurance, running and
servicing costs over cars. Also, don’t forget that bikes are
substantially cheaper to buy than cars.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Despite
manufacturers’ claims, electric cars have a long way to go before
they are a viable alternative to the internal combustion engine,
whereas electric two wheelers are lighter and therefore don’t need
the plethora of batteries and large motors to keep them going. OK
the range is still not fantastic - up to 50 miles - but to get into
work they are ideal and again parking is a doddle and it’s a lot
easier to get close to a plug socket to recharge.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Not
only will you enjoy the cost saving benefits of owning a bike you
will also be benefitting the environment by reducing your carbon
footprint and on a nice sunny weekend, you will have a vehicle that
you can go for a ride on purely for the fun of it and hopefully you
will come to love bikes as much as I do.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Interested?
Then come and see me for a chat and we’ll see just how much you can
save by joining the biking community, I’ll look forward to meeting
you.</span></span></div>All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-3527950953858296392011-12-08T08:00:00.000+00:002011-12-08T08:00:00.316+00:00Jessica’s Column by Jessica Davies<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><i>Jessica
Davies from Duffield has been a regular columnist for All Things
Local for the past 3 years. Jessica is now at Cambridge University
studying French and Spanish. With such an intense workload, Jessica
has decided to step down from her role as regular columnist for All
Things Local and this is her final contribution:</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;">
</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"><b>Welcome Winter</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This is the time of year that Dad likes
to play his thrifty heating game. It’s a game of endurance and
pushing the boundaries. And shivering. He likes to sneakily knock
the thermostat down one degree at a time and reduce the hours that
the radiators thaw; with an adamance that 18<sup>o</sup>C is a
healthy room temperature. How cold can a house get before the family
turns into icicles? </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There’s probably some secret league table for
fathers everywhere. “I got it down to 15.5<sup>o</sup> today,”
They boast, “Only had it on for two hours!” Cue impressed
hand-shaking and blokey congratulations. We just huddle together
resignedly.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I can forgive winter for making me
sleep in a cocoon of dressing gown, fleecy blankets and duvet,
surrounded by hot water bottles. I can even put up with the
depressingly grey mornings when it’s terrifying to set a toe out of
bed, because the sub-zero temperatures make way for exciting
novelties that have been forgotten about amid the tedium of t-shirts
and boring in-between weather.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I want drama from my sky. I want heat
wave or snowfall, fierce wind or mysterious fog. Much of the time,
England’s weather is indecisive – autumn is all showers and
breeze and short spells and frosty edges, whereas winter here is
executed thoroughly. An everyday family walk could be dull -
plodding along, drearily uphill and aimlessly downhill. Winter throws
a bit of spice into the mix. She strips the trees to leave hauntingly
beautiful skeleton silhouettes and stiffens the grass to give a
satisfying creak when we tread. A brisk winter hike gives you a
fairytale rosy flush and gets the circulation going. Plus I can
gleefully dust off my pea green coat and retrieve my beautiful
rainbow scarf and gloves, glad for zero threat of a bizarre
socks-and-shorts tan.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When my legs have entirely forgotten
the golden brown sunshine feeling of summer, a hot drink is medicine,
an antidote to the frost that presses threateningly against the
windows. The steam floods my glasses, rendering them opaque, and I
sigh with happy anticipation. I am permanently in the mood for a cup
of tea and often scarcely have I drained the dregs before the kettle
is put on afresh. Winter is a time of banding together, of laughing
and of passing around scorching mugs. Hot chocolate anyone?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
As the world outside grows darker and
colder, the lights inside glow brighter. Ice tightens around the
visitors’ cars on the drive whilst indoors songs are sung, food is
gobbled and spirits remain high. Everyone’s clothes become more
colourful and jolly despite the plummeting temperatures on the
streets. We have the ideal excuse to wear ridiculous woolly socks
and gorge on casserole and crumble.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
When the flurry of red and green
festive sparkle dies down, the Christmas presents are thoroughly
investigated and the doors are locked – an established custom at
home known as the hibernation period. It’s the rest between the
relatives, and a brief respite from celebrating the cheer when we can
sleep until late and generally indulge.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Winter is my favourite time of year.
Last year the snow was so special – and so unusual. Because, lovely
as it would be, the weather isn’t always that spectacular. It’s
sometimes just an inundation of chilly muddy rain. Hopefully this
winter the delicate drifting flakes will be a frequent sight and
we’ll get towering mounds of snow again. Then I can wear my
wellies and scruffy navy jumper and enjoy snowball fights and snowy
sculptures, as well as the other joys that winter brings –
glistening turkey, early nights and friends home for the holidays.
Oh, and did I mention my birthday is in January?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Jessica</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>Note from Editor: Congratulations on
securing your place at Cambridge University Jessica, thank you for
providing an excellent and well-articulated range of articles over
the past 3 years. Good luck with your course and I wish you every
success for the future. Karyn x</i></div>
</span><br />All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-40719902454910628022011-12-06T08:19:00.000+00:002011-12-06T08:19:00.359+00:00Views from a Grumpy Old ManDoesn't it seem like only yesterday that it was dear old Delia filling our screens with 30 minutes of 'How to cook an egg' or 'How to grate cheese' or my favourite, 'How to make ice'? <br /><br />Or to acknowledge a true TV institution; the Antiques Roadshow would present us with a treat of little old ladies with pillowcases full of priceless works of art to which we sat on the edge of our settees feeling a strange, mixed emotion between jealousy and euphoria when the said little old lady finds out that the vase she has kept old screws, drawing pins and empty cotton reels in, turns out to be the missing centrepiece of Emperor Wah Wah III from 987 AD's wedding gift to his son and future icon – Ming, and is worth just over £40 million quid.<br /> <br />Fast forward 20 years and for reasons that any intelligent person cannot fathom, our screens are overrun with both cookery and antique sales shows.<br /> <br />Let’s tackle food first. I am all for education through entertainment and learning how to make a really decent hotpot/Bolognese sauce or indeed how an omelette is both useful and long-lasting. So why do we accept and apparently continue to demand food cooking shows that are so impossibly far from our day to day lives that that the TV companies would be better presenting shows about how to live on Mars (Oops, I think that has been done) or how to make an Ocean Liner from a sherbet dib-dab.<br /><br />So as always, this is best by way of example. Firstly - I assume that our readers either go to work (I include parenting housewives and househusbands in this as there is no harder job!), are retired, studying, looking to work, or somewhere in between these - i.e. normal life. <br /><br />One show in particular, asks members of the audience to spend £5 in a supermarket on random products and then the 'experts' will make a meal in less than 20 minutes - using only these products and a selection of standard store cupboard ingredients. On the episode I watched, the mystery bag contained some sausages, some potatoes, an onion and some gravy powder. Our audience guest confesses: “I keep seeing these ingredients and would love to know what to do with them.” Our 'expert' looks perplexed, confused and claims: “You do know how to challenge a man don't you Barbara.” He is given time to think his dish through and the presenter returns 2-3 minutes later and asks: “So then Tarquin, what are you going to do for us today?” Tense moments ensue to be followed by a positive explosion of enthusiasm: “I'm gonna do Sausage and Mash!” The crowd erupts into a near riot as if each of them has just had all 6 numbers come up on a Saturday night rollover. Meanwhile at the other end of the studio, Claudia - our other 'expert' receives an equally gratuitous reception for announcing that with the eggs, sugar, flour, butter, milk, cream and jam delivered to her, she is going to attempt the Holy Grail of haute cuisine; the Victoria Sponge. The fact that neither of these dishes can be prepared in 20 minutes is a mere oversight, so clearly we have to assume that the studio staff ply the audience, contestants, chefs, presenters and indeed themselves with large quantities of cooking sherry so that the actual 60 minutes feels like 20 and they cut the program accordingly to fit their primetime slot. The end scene is our audience now beyond containment, sampling the extraordinary fayre on offer......Blimey. <br /> <br />At the other end of the scale, we have the show where a Michelin starred chef brings his/her cooking into our homes and shows us that the dishes he/she charges £120.00 each for can be made by anyone at home. Again in a particular show I have seen, our host informs us that tonight he will show us how to make his signature dish: 'Filete asado con especias de la nutria erizo relleno con un jus flamenco rosado y caramelizada párpados bate.' In English: 'Roast fillet of otter with spiced hedgehog stuffing with a pink flamingo jus and caramelised bat eyelids' (note to Editor - no actual harm came to any creature in the writing of this piece!) We are informed that most supermarkets now stock these items ....well not in Ripley they don't! So, we sit in front of our TV with a long, exhausting day behind us munching on our exquisite sausage and mash watching in a sense of disbelief or wondering if they served this on Mars. Our host then begins to assemble this dish using kitchen equipment only reserved for those that have had all 6 numbers come up, in a kitchen the size of Swindon. <br /> <br /> <br />Now off to antique world.<br /><br />TV Land has created a series of shows that have devalued our beloved Antiques Roadshow and tried to be humorous in their titling. So, we now have shows like: 'Shekels from the Shed' or 'Cash from the Cupboard' or 'Wonga from the Window Sill' - the format is the same. Some low-on-work antique traders visit some UK outpost and visit a family who need to raise some money for a holiday/wedding/car etc - all good so far. They then scour their house looking for stuff they think will fetch a premium in an auction. The program generally falls down as most people (myself included) have very few items in their house of antique value. So, our 'hunters' normally dispossess our victims of things they really need.<br /><br />“Brian, how do you think today went?”<br /><br />“Well I got 35 quid for my sofa, have nothing to sit on now and still owe 300 quid on it, so not a great day.” Our presenter looks slightly pained but not enough to really care too much. <br /><br />In another format 'antique' show, we have two teams who, for their sins get to wear bright blue or red jackets to highlight them as being absolutely clueless to the antique traders. They then walk around an antique fair and try and buy a bargain that will earn them a profit at an auction. Our stall holders at the fair are not that daft, so when presented with two family members in bright jackets surrounded by a film crew and sound engineers they unsurprisingly are reluctant to give their livelihoods up, so they do not sell a Royal Crown Derby commemorative teapot with gold inlay for £20.00 instead of £1200.00, so our witless contestants come away with a bag of utter tat for which they have parted with £100.00 and make their way to the auction rooms. They are accompanied by 'experts' who have tried to help with the negotiations but typically fail miserably. The viewers’ joy (if it can be called that) is the ignominy faced by our contestants when their item; a chipped, <br />one-eared clay cat inscribed with 'Souvenirous de Torremelinos' on its base for which they paid £40.00, is snapped up for 60 pence by a 9-year-old boy who thinks his Gran would like it. After auctions fees, our contestant receives 15 pence and then is informed that they have lost £39.85. “How do you feel about that?” our presenter asks. “Gutted” says the contestant. “Wrong audience” says the expert. “Give me strength” says the viewer...<br /> <br />GOMAll Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-35482382605775955142011-12-04T18:14:00.002+00:002011-12-04T18:17:40.565+00:00Diary of a local Mum by Helen YoungAs I write this, it’s half term. The time when teachers get a well-deserved rest, and parents are suddenly thrown headfirst into a whirlwind of complex childcare arrangements and endless attempts to entertain their children (and often one or two belonging to other people as well). <br /><br />I was lucky enough to have some time off work to spend with the kids this half term, and was hell-bent on making sure we enjoyed our time together. However, after a day or two (possibly more like an hour or two, but it felt like a while…) of giving in to the can we do’s and the can we have’s I noticed that my purse felt decidedly light, and recoiled in shock at the sight of my bank balance. It was then that I cast my mind back to my own childhood, and began to get a bit more imaginative with the entertainment…<br /><br />I reinvented myself as a Blue Peter presenter and we spent a happy afternoon baking and making models from cardboard boxes, toilet roll inners, much glue, and some paint. The next day was spent at the park kicking piles of leaves and rolling down hills (resulting in lots of giggling, some filthy clothes, and only a very minor head injury). I even introduced them to the wonders of communication via two yoghurt pots and a piece of string, which caused more astonishment and intrigue than my iPhone ever has.<br /><br />Our enjoyable budget days started me thinking about how childhood has changed over the years, and how the current economic climate, although difficult in so many ways, may have some hidden positives (albeit deeply hidden). I look back on my childhood with fond memories, and it wasn’t full of gadgets, holidays and expensive days out. My brother and I would spend hours building dens from blankets and boxes, creating our own musical instruments, or concocting delicious mud pies in the garden. <br /><br />This article appeared in the Dec 2011 / Jan 2012 edition of <a href="http://www.allthingslocal.co.uk/index.php?ref=home">All Things Local</a>.<br /><br />The thing with kids is, they have no preconceived ideas about how life should be, but they expect what they get used to – and the more they’re given the more they come to expect. And as parents it’s easy to fall into this trap of feeling guilty if we don’t give them what they want. It’s a vicious circle. Don’t get me wrong, I know that as a parent (especially when you work as well) it’s very hard to find the time and energy to get creative or leap around the park like an excited six year old, but when you do manage it, it’s surprisingly liberating!<br /><br />The other great thing about spending some time getting back to basics is that the special outings become so much more special. We did treat the kids to a day at a theme park, and there was a noticeable absence of ‘can we have’s, ‘pleeease Mum’s, and tears at home time. There was a real sense of enjoyment and, dare I say it, gratitude. <br /><br />With Christmas fast approaching I have no doubt that there’s much spoiling to come (I’m already clearing out the toy boxes in preparation), but after my half-term reality check I’m going to really make an effort to embrace the simple (and cheaper) pleasures in life over the festive season. I’m not planning on depriving my children of what’s on their Christmas lists (that wouldn’t be fair, especially considering what’s on mine…), but I will make sure they understand how lucky they are, and that their gifts are appreciated. <br /><br />And I’ll show them how much fun you can have making your own decorations and baking mince pies, even if nine times out of ten they’re totally inedible.All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-28323343124166196312011-10-03T15:43:00.000+01:002011-10-03T15:43:00.903+01:00ARTicle - Frankie Langhorne<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Frankie
Langhorne (pictured) designs and produces bespoke exquisite silver
jewellery and is also a budding watercolour artist with her works
shown at a major exhibition in London.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Frankie’s
passion is art. She studied Ceramics at college but taught most
aspects of Art at schools in Derby for 38 years, retiring four years
ago.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Most
of her jewellery is crafted at home, but she also travels to
Chesterfield College where she is tutored and has access to special
equipment for the more complex processes of silversmith work. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Frankie
loves travel, and purchases gorgeous gemstones and beads from India
and Nepal which are incorporated into her jewellery. She has used
delicate freshwater pearls, amethyst, rose quartz, turquoise and even
lava stones. She also buys from gemstone suppliers at jewellery
exhibitions.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Her
beautiful silver link bracelets are all handcrafted. Frankie uses
little hammers to give each individual link a pretty, dappled effect
by texturing and planishing. She said: “The hand-made bracelets
can take several hours to complete, whilst other bracelets take less
time dependent upon the individual pieces that I make to add to
ready-made chains. I create tiny charms and fasteners to make each
bracelet unique.”</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Her
earrings are again all individually made, either adding tiny
gemstones, or cut shapes of textured silver. Some are made from an
etching and this process is carried out at college using acid.
Frankie’s silver rings are cleverly designed so that they can
adjust to fit any ring size. Some are textured silver bands while
the others have teeny gemstones; each individually attached to the
ring using fine silver wire which takes 2.5 hours to produce.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Frankie’s
other passion is botanical painting in watercolour. She began her
art classes seven years ago and is now proud to have had her work
accepted by The Society of Botanical Artists. Her pieces have been
exhibited in the Central Hall of Westminster in April this year and
she is already working to produce five new pieces ready for 2012.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Frankie’s
jewellery and artwork was displayed at Belper Open Houses earlier
this year and another event is planned for Whitsun in 2012. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You
can also see Frankie’s work at the Christmas Fair held at Strutt’s
Centre, Derby Road, Belper, on Saturday 3 December from 10am to 4pm.
</span></span><span style="color: black;">For more details contact 01332
557113.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> This article appears in the October / November editions of <a href="http://www.allthingslocal.co.uk">All Things Local</a>. The community magazine for Kilburn, Ripley and Belper, Derbyshire. </span></div>
All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-21606671992225701882011-07-23T13:00:00.000+01:002011-07-23T13:00:07.037+01:00Views from a Grumpy Old ManA couple of weeks back, I made a rare and intrepid visit to a supermarket to buy a few groceries. Before leaving, I asked the wallet drainers in my house if they required anything – “a packet of cornflakes please!” came the response. Well at least I got a ‘please.’ Easy I thought. Hmmm…<br />
<br />
So upon arriving, I made for the cereal aisle, conveniently placed at the very back of the store next to the bread and some sort of alien food which I deduced brought forth a boiling hot jam substitute, between two layers of cardboard after five minutes in a toaster. Surely there are better things to eat before you succumb to this? <br />
<br />
Anyway, I looked for cornflakes and that was not difficult at all. There was virtually a whole shelving unit dedicated to them. The problem came when trying to choose the right ones. With time on my hands, I set about my task. Firstly I counted the number of different options: there were 43. Since when did anyone need to choose from 43 ‘different’ types of cornflake?<br />
<br />
There were the obvious known brand ones - the supermarket’s own offering, various ‘organic’ offerings, economy cornflakes, some where the factory had added sugar for you (how kind – is anyone really that busy?). One of the brands had added dried fruit for you (claiming to give you the powers of Batman); another brand had some stuff removed… (it’s a cornflake, if you take something away surely you are left with dust?)<br />
<br />
One brand claimed to make you thin – although none claimed to make you fat, which would be hilarious. Another offered you a luxurious trip down the cornflake taste pageant; (you know, the supermarket’s offerings that claim to taste better, simply the greatest, and more). Some claimed to have added nutrients derived from a fish liver (really?). There were others but I had lost the will to live at this point. <br />
<br />
Being tighter than a rat’s ear, I thought I would go for the economy brand. This came in a bag not a box and was in pence not pounds – a bargain! The labelling screamed ‘tightwad’ and declared that they were like normal cornflakes ‘only smaller.’ Presumably these are the ones that have slipped off the conveyor belt onto the floor before making a new life for themselves in any of the aforementioned offerings, then scooped up by an out of work jockey using a kid’s shovel and thrown into the bag.<br />
<br />
Ah, I thought, I’m missing a trick here. They could have trebled the price and stuck them in a box and delivered us the ‘Tasmanian Miniature Cornflake’ or similar, declaring that the constant sun, spring water irrigated channels and caring nature of the farmer (imagine a picture of farmer type; old hat, smiling, just a hint of cheekiness from the sly wink he is giving) giving us a breakfast taste sensation bettered only by Eggs Benedict at the Savoy on Royal Wedding Day. <br />
<br />
But then I thought – what will fellow customers and staff think of me at the checkout? I am tight? I am skint? Or I am sensible? I don’t need a blinking identity crisis when buying cornflakes. So ironically - after about 43 minutes - I shuffled back to the cereal aisle and picked up a box of supermarket cornflakes. On the way back to the checkout, I passed through the pet aisle and noticed ‘Simply the Greatest’ Cat Litter!!!<br />
<br />
You have got be kidding me... I can just imagine the conversation in households who have bought into this: “You can leave that litter in the tray for a few more weeks, Shirley. It says on the packet that it’s better than the others” – urrrgh!<br />
<br />
GOMAll Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-6747678541490578682011-07-14T12:58:00.001+01:002011-07-14T12:58:00.404+01:00Fashion by Shona Harding from Pearls & ScarlettHello Everybody.<br />
<br />
I thought of a slightly different approach to my article this issue. Normally I talk about influences on the high street from the fashion world and catwalk shows, but what we wear is also influenced by media and famous personalities.<br />
<br />
Magazines are flooded with shots of TV, film and showbiz stars; all with their own take on style and how to achieve it and wear it. This is not a new trend: in the 1980’s shows like Dallas and Dynasty spawned a generation of heavy make-up and power dressing. Princess Diana sparked new trends with many of her different looks, including copy cats of her wedding dress and the millions who tried to work the ‘Sloane ranger’ look to full effect. Who can forget the 1990’s when we had ‘heroin chic’ and grunge? Indie bands Oasis and Blur bought us Fred Perry and mod fashion as well as making the Union Jack a “cool Britannia” again. Media stars and film stars can impact the fashion world as strongly as designers in Vogue and all the leading glossy magazines.<br />
<br />
For example recent film releases such as Black Swan which is set in the world of ballet dancing soon filled the pages of magazines. Short cardigan wraps, ballet slippers and tutu-inspired clothing became the feature of the week, followed by the hair styles and make up. Pale skin and rosy cheeks are ‘in’; hair is loose, or in tight buns on the top of the head. Looks are always watered down for the everyday shopper but this pattern of gaining ideas from the media has become very big business.<br />
<br />
We now have websites dedicated to copying the stars’ looks. ASOS.com (As Seen on Scene) replicates red carpet fashion immediately after the events. Celebrities seen in everyday life are picked apart and every piece of clothing or jewellery is scrutinised and copied. Variations on whole outfits are offered side by side to the picture of the celebrities at a fraction of the cost. TV even understands the public obsession with star style. Gok Wan puts together high street outfits for women of every size and shape, giving them a glamorous look on a high street budget. <br />
<br />
It is also big business for handbag makers. Once Victoria Beckham was seen sporting a Birkin by Hermes. She was sent one in every colour whilst the rest of the population has to go on a two-year waiting list. Companies understand the power she wields over women aspiring to her lifestyle and wardrobe; every time she is seen with a new colour bag the waiting list gets bigger.<br />
<br />
So it is wise to be aware of the influences all around you. <br />
<br />
Have fun with fashion and see you in the next edition.<br />
ShonaAll Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-6475160500852702812011-06-24T12:55:00.000+01:002011-06-24T12:55:00.307+01:00Belper Community Matters By Adrian FarmerRoyal Connections<br />
<br />
With a Royal Wedding so recently behind us, I thought I’d look at some of this area’s royal connections (with thanks to the Friends of Duffield Frith, and others).<br />
<br />
Duke William of Normandy’s invasion of England in 1066 had considerable repercussions for the Duffield Frith, of which Belper was a part. Siward Barn was the Danish Earl who owned the Frith at the time of the invasion and he resisted the Normans strongly, but to no avail, and his lands were taken from him.<br />
<br />
When William, now King William, had completed his conquest, he rewarded his followers handsomely. Few were so well rewarded as Henry de Ferrers, the principal of the six Baron Fossiers (iron-workers) of Normandy’s iron-producing district. It is likely he was armourer-general for the invading forces, and he was a favourite of William. Henry de Ferrers received a total of 210 manors, 114 of which formed an almost solid block in Derbyshire. One of these manors, or lordships, included Duffield and Belper, and he built a castle at Duffield, with some of the thickest walls of any Norman Castle. He brought with him iron-workers and nail-makers who honed the industry for which Belper was so well known for much of the millennium that followed.<br />
<br />
The Norman and Plantagenet kings were occasional visitors to the Belper area in the centuries that followed, attracted by the good hunting to be found in the Frith. This provided many jobs for the villagers, protecting the land and the deer and other game which lived in the forest.<br />
The last of the de Ferrers family to hold the Duffield and Belper lands was Robert, 8th Earl of Derby, who after two attempts at rebellion against Henry III, in 1263 and 1266, had his lands taken from him and given to Prince Edmund, Earl of Lancaster and second son of King Henry. King Edward I, elder brother of Prince Edmund, was the first King to hunt locally after the change in ownership, visiting several times between 1290 and 1293. His son Edward II spent a month here for the same purpose in 1323.<br />
<br />
These lands remained with the Earls (later Dukes) of Lancaster, until Henry Duke of Lancaster became King Henry IV in 1399, after deposing Richard II. The lands then went to the crown, and the woodlands surrounding Belper became a royal forest. The Duchy of Lancaster has remained with the crown ever since, although the manors of Duffield and Belper were disposed of by Charles I in 1628.<br />
<br />
Henry VIII’s break with the Church of Rome in August 1533 had repercussions in Belper. November 1534 saw acts of parliament put in place which made the King head of the English Church, and this move away from the old faith accelerated during the time of Henry’s son Edward VI.<br />
During this ‘Reformation’ Belper’s Chapel was renamed. It was originally dedicated to St Thomas the Martyr, the Thomas Becket murdered by Henry II’s men less than a century before the chapel was built. Becket’s memory was not relished by the new heads of the English Church, and so the chapel was rededicated to John the Baptist, from whom it still takes its name today.<br />
<br />
Next time I’ll be looking at more recent royal connections. If you’d like to know more about the history of Belper and the surrounding area, drop in to St John’s Chapel on the last Saturday of the month between 10am and 12.30pm when members of Belper Historical Society are on hand to answer questions and there are historic images to see and information to read.All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-3090185023731252692011-06-16T12:51:00.001+01:002011-06-16T12:51:00.660+01:00Music Scene by Rhia CalvertBuryTheLadybird are a female-fronted rock band from Derby. Their unique sound and powerful performances have gained them fans all over the UK. Here's guitarist Matt Gascoyne, bassist Zach Shannon and vocalist Tiggy Dockerty to tell us more.<br />
<br />
<b>Can you introduce us to BuryTheLadybird and tell us a bit about your sound?</b><br />
<br />
<b>Matt:</b> Well, I guess I can, although these are always the hardest questions! We've been building up to where we are now since late 2009 and we've come so far! We actually started out playing soft rock with funky riffs, so it’s quite strange looking back at that saying that we now play rock'n'roll! As a band, we're quite easy going and laid back but we all have the same dedication and we put so much effort in because we all know what direction we want the band to go in. With regards to 'our sound,' it’s a tough one to answer because we all bring in loads of different influences from across the board. However, we've come to terms with the idea that we have a very classic rock edge with a strong blues and soul edge which is very commercially accessible.<br />
<br />
<b>What is currently happening with the band?</b><br />
<br />
<b>Zach:</b> Right now, we're getting a new drummer in, teaching the new songs, etc - but our main thing is to finish our recordings. We've been recording for the past few months for our first proper E.P. and we're looking forward to releasing it to the public as well as sending it out to record labels, promoters, etc. When we get these done, we'll be getting them out into the public domain, and then really pushing for bigger gigs and such.<br />
<br />
<b>Matt:</b> I'm so excited about the fact that we are playing so many big festivals this year, such as Glastonbudget, Amplitude and Silver Bullet. We are also playing at Rock City with Mcfly's support band That Sunday Feeling on 6 August.<br />
<br />
<b>How important do you think image is when it comes to being a band?</b><br />
<br />
<b>Tiggy:</b> Music and image combined is a major part of being in the music industry especially now in the 21st century. Although you should never hide behind an image or become fake to whom you are, you should emphasise your own personality through your looks, to stand out from the crowd.<br />
<br />
<b>Zach:</b> I do think, nowadays more so than ever, that image and music have come together, not necessarily for the better or for the worst. Image has changed how music is viewed, and how people perceive some bands or artists before they've even listened to their music. I do think that it has been pushed too far by certain labels or personalities, where their image is more recognisable than their music.<br />
<br />
<b>The rock world is predominantly male dominated. How does this affect you as a band being female-fronted?</b><br />
<br />
<b>Tiggy:</b> I love being one of the few girls in the Midlands rock scene. When people think about female-fronted bands they think of the stereotypical female bands like Paramore, wearing boyish clothes and taking on the more male role. I love being around the guys but love the fact that I am a girly girl. I love my make-up and dressing up and I really want to encourage females to be true to themselves rather than trying to fit into a particular role. Rock'n'roll is my love and I am inspired by artists such as Axl Rose and Steven Tyler: I want to incorporate their styles with a feminine twist. As a band we do get noticed more because of the fact that I am a girl wearing high heels and fake eyelashes whilst still rocking out, but I love the reaction we get as usually people are surprised by our act.<br />
<br />
<b>Any last words?</b><br />
ROCK 'n' ROLL!All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-12522420923844604172011-06-01T13:04:00.001+01:002011-06-01T13:04:00.996+01:00Win Hill and LadybowerWalk supplied by Angela Clarke of Belper www.peakwalker.net<br />
<br />
Start: Heatherdene car park (SK 2025 8599)<br />
<br />
Route: Heatherdene car park - New Barn - Win Hill - Hope Brink - Hope Cross - Ladybower Reservoir - Heatherdene car park<br />
<br />
Map: Explorer OL 1 Dark Peak <br />
<br />
Distance: 8.5 miles <br />
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Terrain: Good tracks<br />
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Refreshments: Yorkshire Bridge Inn<br />
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Toilets: Heatherdene car park<br />
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A walk that despite its location and length is generally on good paths and tracks. The route used to reach the summit of Win Hill means the ascent is relatively gentle and once the summit is reached your effort is rewarded with views that extend for miles in all directions.<br />
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From the car park follow the footpath on the left, that starts by the toilet block, to the main road. Cross the road and take the path across the dam wall, ignoring the footpath, signed Win Hill, on the left.<br />
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Having crossed the dam turn right to soon find a footpath, signed for New Barn, on the left. Follow it uphill until you reach a gate.<br />
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After passing through the gate continue straight ahead along a broad track ignoring the one heading downhill on the right. As the broad track swings left continue straight ahead to find a gate with a yellow public footpath arrow on it.<br />
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Follow the grassy track through the woods to a sign, on the left, for Win Hill. Head uphill to eventually cross the broad track you were on earlier. Continue uphill, following the yellow arrows, to a gate (missing at time of writing).<br />
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Follow the narrow stepped path uphill to a further gate. Pause to look behind you and you will see the distinctive Crook Hill opposite you, with Derwent Edge following the line of Ladybower Dam on the right.<br />
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The path continues straight ahead, uphill, to yet another gate. Although Winhill Pike is straight ahead of you turn left, signed for Thornhill, to follow the path with the wall and fence to your left. <br />
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At the next gate don’t go through it, instead turn right, signed Win Hill, to follow a narrow path uphill, with the wall on your left. The path will soon swing away from the wall and head up towards Winhill Pike, which is in front of you. Follow it to reach the summit with its trig point and wide-ranging views.<br />
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From the summit of Win Hill the view extends beyond Crook Hill to include Hope Forest and Alport Moor, with Bleaklow in the distance. In the opposite direction Hope Valley and the Great Ridge dominate the view. Elsewhere the view includes the Edges, which follow the line of the Derwent Valley.<br />
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Pick a path down through the rocks to the path just below and to the left of the summit. Follow the clear broad track across Hope Brink, ignoring any gates on the left, to eventually reach a gate and stile.<br />
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Cross the stile and continue straight ahead crossing two broken walls. Ahead of you the scenery is dominated by Kinder Plateau, whilst to your left the view of the Great Ridge is constantly changing, as Hope Valley is replaced by the Vale of Edale. <br />
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As the track starts to run alongside a wall on the right it splits. Take the path on the left and follow it across another wall until you eventually pass Hope Cross on your right.<br />
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Take the gate to the left of Hope Cross and continue straight ahead to a further gate and stile, which you cross.<br />
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Despite the multitude of signs next to the stile none of them point in the direction you want. Turn right and follow the track downhill, to a gate, into the wood.<br />
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Follow this track downhill, through the wood, to reach another gate. Continue straight ahead to join another track.<br />
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Continue straight ahead to follow this track where you will soon find Ladybower Reservoir below you on the left. <br />
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Follow the track, alongside Ladybower Reservoir, back to the dam wall, which you cross in order to return to the car park.<br />
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<i>We have taken reasonable steps to ensure that this walk is safe and achievable by walkers of a realistic level of fitness. The publisher accepts no responsibility for any injuries caused to readers whilst following the walk. Always wear appropriate clothing and footwear.</i>All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-44756280683161725392011-05-23T12:51:00.000+01:002011-05-23T12:51:02.606+01:00The View from the Projection Box with Ritz Cinema projectionist Paul WinfieldHello from us all at The Ritz. The summer season is upon us again. Lots of blockbusters on of course, but I thought I’d concentrate on some of the other films coming soon.<br />
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Firstly, ace director Kenneth Branagh, better known for his film version of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Shakespearean interpretations, gives us his computer-assisted fantasy action movie <b>Thor</b>. It is based on an ancient Norse legend, the one-and-only Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman and newcomer Chris Hemsworth star.<br />
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Set in ancient Japan, <b>13 Assassins</b> tells the story of a suicide mission to kill an evil lord. There is lots of spectacular Kung-Fu type action in this one.<br />
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Staying with assassins, we come to <b>Hanna</b>. A friend of mine saw this and she tells me it’s very good. Hanna is a 16-year-old girl trained by her father to be the perfect assassin. Set in Europe, it stars Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett.<br />
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In a lighter mood, remember <b>The Hangover</b>? Well, the boys are back with <b>The Hangover Part II</b>. The lads travel to Bangkok for Stu’s wedding… oh dear!! More post-blackout misadventures must follow.<br />
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A more serious film – <b>The Way</b> – follows an American father on a journey to recover the body of his son who died while on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Father and son Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen are director and star.<br />
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<b>Win Win</b> is an American indie which looks good fun.<br />
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All the summer “biggies” will be with us; <b>Pirates of the Caribbean 4</b> and the final instalment in the Harry Potter series - H<b>arry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2</b>.<br />
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That’s all for now folks! Say hello when you visit The Ritz.<br />
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*Taken from the June / July 2011 editions of <a href="http://www.allthingslocal.co.uk/index.php?ref=home">All Things Local</a>.All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-4005231269334831932011-03-20T16:57:00.000+00:002011-03-20T16:59:23.456+00:00The View from the Projection Box with Ritz Cinema projectionist Paul WinfieldWell here we are again, well into another year already and lots of films on their way to The Ritz. So without further ado, let’s go!<br /><br />Now I’m sure, like me, many of you will remember a rather disturbing news story which hit the headlines in May 2003. Aron Ralston was trekking alone in the Utah Mountains when he fell into a crevice and became trapped by a boulder which landed on his arm. To save his own life he resorted to very extreme measures. Now Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle has filmed Ralston’s remarkable story. I’ve seen a preview and let me tell you, this may not be for the squeamish but it is gripping cinema and not to be missed. Look out for 127 Hours.<br /><br />Javier Bardem is a Ritz favourite and his new film Biutiful (no the spelling is not wrong) has him playing a man in free fall, on the road to redemption. Again, I’ve seen a preview and it’s a dark, gritty drama. Bardem has already been tipped for an Oscar for his role as a man searching to forgive, for love and forever.<br /><br />I’ve seen a little bit of this one as well - Black Swan - it looks beautiful. While vying for the lead roles in a production of Swan Lake, a veteran ballerina enters into a twisted friendship with a new dancer. Natalie Portman, Winona Ryder and Mila Kunis star and of course, there is great music.<br /><br />I mentioned these next three films last time and they are coming soon:-<br /><br />Never Let Me Go. Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield play Ruth, Kathy and Tommy. After a seemingly idyllic childhood, as young adults they have to come to terms with the love they feel for each other and a haunting reality that awaits them.<br /><br />The Coen Brothers’ True Grit is unmissable!<br /><br />Gulliver’s Travels looks good fun. Also keep an eye open for these…<br /><br />Of Gods and Men, Somewhere, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. All of these will be with us soon.<br /><br />So, until next time, take care and say “hello” when you visit The Ritz.All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-43916219309216077442011-03-20T16:56:00.000+00:002011-03-20T16:57:23.284+00:00Music Scene by Rhia CalvertRhia Calvert (17) is a young lady from Holbrook with an extremely bright future ahead of her. She is in her second year at Derby College where she is studying Media. Rhia (pictured) has a huge passion for music and spends a lot of her spare time at gigs. She loves photography and writing and hopes to become a professional photographer.<br /><br />Rhia is interviewing bands and reporting back in forthcoming issues of All Things Local. If you’re a local band and would welcome some exposure within this magazine then e-mail karyn@allthingslocal.co.uk<br /><br />I've personally felt for a while now there are not enough good melodic rock bands around any more. With genres such as 'deathcore' and 'metalcore' dominating the music scene it seemed I was giving up hope on finding anything different and a little bit unique; but Blood Orange are exactly this. For any metal lover, the Nottingham four-piece are definitely something to look out for. Here's Blood Orange to tell us more...<br /><br />Can you tell us how Blood Orange first got together and how long you've been a band?<br />Simon and Steve (drums, guitar) met while in previous bands and formed Blood Orange during the late 1990s. Neil joined in 1997 and Paul in 2006.<br /><br />Can you tell us some interesting facts about each member?<br />Steve and Neil are scared of germs and carry alcoholic hand disinfectant everywhere they go! Neil was once an extra in an AC/DC video. On his left hand Steve has the top of his middle finger missing. Simon is an excellent surfer. Paul still gets really nervous before playing live.<br /><br />How would you describe Blood Orange's sound?<br />We think we're doing something a little bit different to what else is around. I think Faye Coulman, from Sandman Magazine, said it best. She once reviewed one of our gigs and described us as "Goth-tinged melodic rock" with "intricate melodies both luxuriant and acidic-edged in character" and an "almost manic-depressive energy." I love that description. I don't know why, but bands often seem to find it hard to put their sound into words - ourselves included; but for me, Faye's totally nailed it. If we'd have said it ourselves it'd look like we're being pretentious, but coming from someone else - it's awesome.<br /><br />What's currently happening with the band?<br />We're finishing off our album. It's taken quite a while to do, but we're doing it all ourselves so there's been a lot to learn about recording and stuff. Up until now, we've just recorded in studios as cheaply and quickly as possible, but the results have always been disappointing quality-wise. This time it's going to sound how it should.<br /> <br />Where is the band's favourite place to play a gig and why?<br />Anywhere playing outdoors is fantastic if you've got good weather. Rock City in Nottingham is cool to play just because of its reputation. We've had some great gigs at The Vic Inn in Derby, too. It's really small in there, but there's a good atmosphere.<br /><br />What's planned for 2011?<br />Our album will be released early this year, then it's all about getting it heard in as many places as we can, so we'll be gigging a lot to promote it.<br /><br />To find out more about Blood Orange and to listen to their music go to www.myspace.com/bloodorangeonline<br /><br />RhiaAll Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-36525511526556027102011-03-20T16:54:00.001+00:002011-03-20T16:56:05.834+00:00Belper Heritage Matters By Adrian FarmerFor the first edition of a new year, I thought it would be interesting to reflect on events that happened in this area exactly a century ago. 1911 was the year work started on the building of Belper’s biggest building, the East Mill, but a look back to other events of that year shows how much life has changed – and how some things change very little.<br /><br />January 1911 saw the release of figures showing 75 per cent of old people in the Belper Union Workhouse eligible for pensions had said they preferred to stay at the workhouse rather than take the pension and move out. At a meeting of the Belper Guardians, who officiated over the workhouse, this announcement was met by one member’s response: “I thought these old age pensions were going to see the workhouses abandoned!” which raised considerable laughter. Persistent badgering of the authorities by former police inspector John Clark (73) of Belper finally saw a change that month in the frequency pensions were paid, from quarterly to monthly.<br /><br />Early in the year, the improved street lighting programme for the town took another step forward with better and brighter lamps on Nottingham Road, Bedlam Hill, Over Lane and Long Row. April saw the first appearance of electric lighting for private use in the town centre. Rushton’s cycle and motor works on Chapel Street had electric lights in the workshop and house. The only electric lighting previously seen in the town was at the fair and to light up the front of the Public Hall (now the Ritz Cinema) for an event in 1908.<br /><br />Illness hit a Belper’s High Street School in the February, with outbreaks of whooping cough and Scarlet Fever closing the school for three weeks. It was Pottery Infant School’s turn in April, with a 14-day closure owing to outbreaks of mumps, chicken pox and measles. The building had to be fumigated and disinfected before it was cleared for opening by the council’s medical officer.<br /><br />In May, there was a massive explosion at Kilburn brickworks. Mr Gale was breaking up old iron with dynamite and used too much. Iron fragments were thrown hundreds of feet into the air, and one piece fell on the leg of 18-year-old Tom Chamberlain, who had been lying down nearby, looking on. His leg was fractured, and he was taken to the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary. Several others were hit by fragments, one being knocked off their feet, but no-one else was hurt.<br /><br />The 1911 census results were released in June, showing Belper's population had risen from 10,934 in 1901 to 11,643 – it has more than doubled since.<br /><br />George V's 1911 coronation saw bonfires lit at Duffield and Alport, with activities in all the surrounding communities. Many of the elderly were invited to a dinner in Belper River Gardens but didn't attend because the organisers didn’t put on any transport.<br /><br />September saw Belper's first ever bungalow being built by Fred Blount at the rear of his new hosiery factory on Spencer Road. That month, Milford people were asking for a station to be built for the village, but this failed to receive backing from Alderman Strutt at Makeney Hall, and came to nothing.<br /><br />If you want to know more about the history of Belper and the surrounding villages, visit St John’s Chapel in the town on the last Saturday of the month, between 10am and 12 noon. Members of Belper Historical Society are available to answer questions and there is information to read and a database of old photographs to explore.All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-43916090976046508492011-03-20T16:54:00.000+00:002011-03-20T16:54:25.561+00:00Fashion by Shona Harding from Pearls & ScarlettI hope you have all recovered from the excesses of Christmas and I am sure, like me, you are currently on one of numerous diets to get off the weight before spring. With diets and sale shopping I get very depressed in January and February.<br />
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Firstly I hate having to lose weight and secondly I loathe the hustle and bustle of sale shopping. So I always look forward to the optimism that spring brings; new fashion styles, funky prints and the promise of adding some bright colours to my winter palette of black, black and more black. What makes this spring especially promising is the influence designers have taken from oriental fashion. As well as this we have the trend of animal prints following through from winter to spring.<br />
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Firstly we will look at oriental fashions taken straight from the influence of the 70’s, Studio 54 and the style icon, Bianca Jagger. Here we have vibrant colours, floral or tropical flora and fauna teamed with sharp cuts and laser cut jackets. Large bracelet cuffs and tie oriental style belts make accessories a safe bet if you are not sure about going fully oriental all at once.<br />
Autumn/Winter 2010 was filled with animal print and this trend will continue throughout spring. From leopard spots to tiger stripes whatever your taste, a touch of any print will make an outfit look current and on trend. If you feel uncomfortable wearing prints then why not try jewellery, shoes or a handbag?<br />
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It seems there is still a throw-back to the eighties this spring. Instead of power dressing jackets and big shoulders, the high street will feature more of a ‘glam disco’ feel. Neon colours and golds are all over the catwalk with Fendi, Dior and Versace all going for all out glamour. If you have an occasion to attend it might be worth ditching the staple black dress and experiment with bright bold colours. Statement belts will help to pinch in the waist and create the curves.<br />
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Colour seems to be the real theme running through all the catwalks for spring/summer 2011. Gone are the ditsy prints and pastels and in is a more acidic palette of colours. If the thought of neons in the daytime scares you then tone down the impact with a crisp white shirt. If you can’t bear the thought of all over neon why not just introduce a bright belt or bright patent shoe?<br />
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See you next edition, when we get a glimpse of spring/summer 2011.<br />
Shona xxAll Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-839035346805650413.post-80882082206931479872010-09-24T15:21:00.000+01:002010-09-24T15:21:00.259+01:00Local Walk: Around Wingfield ManorWalk supplied by Angela Clarke of Belper www.peakwalker.net<br /><br />Start: Roadside parking in Pentrich opposite the church (SK 3900 5258)<br /> <br />Route: Pentrich - Wingfield Manor - Coalburn Hill - Wingfield Park - Pentrich<br /><br />Map: Explorer OS 269: Chesterfield & Alfreton<br /> <br />Distance: 5 miles <br /><br />Terrain: Good tracks, fields and quiet lanes.<br /><br />Refreshments: Dog Inn, Pentrich.<br /><br />Toilets: None<br /><br />A local walk that offers extensive views and visits two areas that have a historical claim to fame.<br /><br />Having parked opposite the church, with the church on your left, head uphill, in the opposite direction to the Dog Inn, towards Ripley. <br /><br />Pentrich is where the last revolution in England began and the brown plaques on the walls in the village relate to this event.<br /><br />Pass the village hall and Farm Close on the left. As the road bends round to the right cross it and take the signed footpath to the right of Farm Close. <br /><br />Ignore the stile, on the right, at the back of the house on the right; instead continue straight ahead through the gate to follow a broad track along the ridge. In the distance the noise of the A38 can be heard but press on and it will soon be lost. Away to your left the view extends as far as Crich Stand.<br /><br />After passing through a second gate the track swings round to the left, towards the farm. Before you reach the farm take the broad track on the left that is signed public footpath. Can you spot the ruins of Wingfield Manor across the valley to your right?<br /><br />Wingfield Manor<br /><br />Follow the track downhill until, as it swings left, you see a gate on the right, which you take. Continue straight ahead, downhill, to reach another gate onto the road. This road is quite busy so keep children close by.<br /><br />Turn left to find a footpath sign on the right. The actual path down to the stile is just beyond the sign. If you have young children with you it is advisable to let an adult tackle the stile first as it is a long step down on the other side and they may need helping down.<br /><br />Your route is straight ahead, downhill, with the hedge on your left. After crossing another stile continue straight ahead to find a third stile, on your left, onto the lane. <br /><br />Turn right and follow the lane round to the left, under the railway bridge to the public bridleway sign on the right just after Bull Farm.<br /><br />Go through the gate and follow the track towards Shrewsbury Cottage. Just before you reach a second gate take the track on the left.<br /><br />Coalburn Hill<br /><br />Follow this track passing through, or round, one gate to reach a second gate after which a signpost gives you multiple routes to follow. The path you eventually want is the one on the left, which is heading uphill and back on yourself.<br /><br />Before you head along the track take the time to divert off the route to get the best view of Wingfield Manor, a temporary prison for Mary Queen of Scots before she was executed in Fotheringhay Castle. To do this ignore both paths and take the gap in the trees straight ahead of you. Then follow the vague path uphill and to the left to not only look at the manor, which isn’t normally open to the public1, but to also admire the view across the valley.<br /><br />Having returned to the path follow it uphill, passing an entrance to Wingfield Manor, to a gate and a squeeze stile. Continue straight ahead to reach a second gate, which was missing at the time of writing. Continue straight ahead with the wall on your left to another gate (also missing), keep straight ahead, downhill with the wall now on your right.<br /><br />At the bottom of the field take the gate on the right and continue straight ahead, downhill, to a further gate on the right by a building. The gate takes you onto a lane where you turn left and then, at the junction, right along Lynam Road.<br /><br />Walk along Lynam Road, which is normally an extremely quiet lane, until, as the lane heads uphill, you see, on the left, a footpath sign for Buckland Hollow.<br /><br />Take the footpath and follow it straight across the field to a gate and then veer left to find a stone stile onto a broad track. Turn right along the track and follow it uphill and through Lodge Hill Farm.<br /><br />The track exits the farm via a gate and continues downhill to another gate to the left of a wooded area. <br /><br />Having gone through this gate, leave the track as the footpath now veers off to the left heading towards the trees and the River Amber.<br /><br />As the trees end bear left, with the river, to find, straight ahead of you, a bridge across the river onto the road, which can be busy. Turn right along the road and then take the footpath on the right, which is signed for Pentrich. <br /><br />After going through the gate continue straight ahead, keeping the hedge on your right. When a large gap appears in the hedge veer left to a stile in the top right hand corner of the field. <br /><br />Continue straight ahead, with the hedge on your right, across another stile, to eventually cross a third stile, in the right corner of the second field, into a third field on the right.<br /><br />Continue straight ahead, with the hedge now on your left, to find a squeeze stile further along the hedge. Take the squeeze stile and now head diagonally left, towards the houses, following a vague path. <br /><br />Take the stile into the next field, and then continue straight ahead, uphill, towards the church to a squeeze stile into the church grounds. <br /><br />Bear left to a stone path, which you follow downhill to the road, where you can either turn right for a drink in the Dog Inn or left to return to your car.<br /><br />1.Wingfield Manor is only open for pre-arranged visits on the 1st Saturday of the <br /> month. To arrange a visit telephone English Heritage Customer Services on: <br /> 0870 333 1183.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">We have taken reasonable steps to ensure that this walk is safe and achievable by walkers of a realistic level of fitness. The publisher accepts no responsibility for any injuries caused to readers whilst following the walk. Always wear appropriate clothing and footwear.</span>All Things Localhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04294790993778383353noreply@blogger.com0