What Shall We Do This Week?

We know that you come to Tom’s and Douglas’s Barns to rest and recuperate, to enjoy the peace, calm, comfort and quiet and possibly do very litle but luxuriate. At least that’s often the plan, but after a few days some of those enticing walks can start beckoning, and perhaps a bit of sightseeing, and then you start wondering – what about treating yourselves to a delicious meal – or perhaps even two, or three…?

Firstly, if you would feel happier starting off with a guided walk with a snack thrown in, it is worth looking up what Sally Moseley has planned. On Tuesday 2nd she has something called the ‘Trit Trot Trail’ which is not exactly a vigorous walk but sounds a lot of fun. Don’t worry, she does do plenty of vigorous walks as well.

For something significantly more energetic, also on Tuesday but in the  evening, in Parwich, is the Parwich Panoramic Run. This a 5-mile cross country fell race which cretaes a lot of interest locally, and which all the participants claim is a terrific experience; we have to believe them – neither John nor I in our youngest, fittest, most sporting days could ever cope with – or even pretend to enjoy – running.

Throughout the week and for the next couple of weeks the Gilbert & Sullivan Festival is on in Buxton, at the Opera House. This is a great treat, if you are a G&S fan, which I am; John thinks he isn’t but invariably enjoys them when enticed to one by wife with ticket. All the favourites are being performed, by a variety of companies and we have never yet been to a poor performance.

Finally, we are also going to the Last Night of the Proms at Haddon Hall on Saturday (6th August) at 7.30 hoping that the fine weather will continue so we can enjoy the music in the wonderful mediaeval setting that is Haddon Hall.

No doubt there is masses more going on nearby but this is all the activity we propose for the moment from here.

Another Food Update from Tom’s & Douglas’s Barns

You must excuse the present stress on food but we do have a good tip to pass on after a doubly positive experience re the Peak District Pemier Cottages Privileges project, and Rowley’s Restaurant, in Baslow, which is one of the founder members of the scheme.

We have had Angela, a friend from Yorkshire staying, who is an excellent cook, and extemely interested in food generally. By lucky good fortune we were able to go together to Max Fischer (of Fischer’s which is related to Rowley’s) Taste of the Peak’s cookery demonstration at the Dome on Tuesday as part of Buxton Festival programme. Max was inspirational – apparently completely unfazed by the total gas and electricity failure at the start he began demonstrating a salad… When power was restored he made a risotto and a plum crumble which we tasted afterwards and marvelled over and decided then and there to go to Rowley’s the next day to see if it lived up to our expectations. John and I had been before, but a couple of years ago. We justified our rather self-indulgent proposal by deciding It was pretty crucial that we should test out, there and then, how our new Peak District Premier Cottages Privileges scheme was working.

So we were pretty gratified therefore when the Rowley’s manager instantly recognised the scheme, and made us very welcome; the girl that served us was also charming (we didn’t ask her name unfortunately). Even more importantly, the food was quite delicious and certainly lived up to our expectations. Eager to pick up more tips we sat at the table by the kitchen and watched the chef and his mate like hawks and I am sure we must have made them feel quite uneasy although they seemed quite affable and relaxed when we thanked them at the end.

For those that are interested John wanted a very light lunch so had roasted cherry tomato soup and a selection of ice-creams. No such restraint for Angela and me: Angela had a pea risotto and a creme brulee, complete with a dollop of banana compote, a banana ice-cream and toasted popcorn on top! My photo hardly does it justice. I also had the creme brule and a spiced beef and naan bread ‘sandwich’ which came with chips which I shared with the others, and a very delicious sauce. John’s soup was officially a starter, Angela and I had a ‘light bite’ portion but a heavy bite would be more than either of us could have managed and as it was we all felt obliged to have a brisk 4 mile walk afterwards.

We found the whole a most enjoyable experience; it was also we felt surprisingly reasonable – we had two courses each and a glass of wine (and of course our free PDPC Privileges coffee and fudge) and it came to under £50 – I think £43, but John paid so I am not quite sure. We will most certainly return and are very happy to continue to recommend Rowley’s to our guests – but with even more conviction now. (By the way, just in case you are wondering, nobody at Rowley’ has any idea I am writing this entirely unsolicited report.) And finally, we are even more convinced what a good thing our PDPC Privileges card is going to prove to be, for everyone involved.

Tom’s Gift

We seem to be full of Toms at the moment – our grandson Tom in Sydney, Tom Chambers – there’s more news about him shortly,  my cousin Tom Jackson who has just successfully completed his cycle ride from John O’Groats to Lands’ End in 9 days, our nephew Tom Hall who is up in Derbyshire for a wedding at the weekend and of course  Tom’s Barn – all very special Toms in their different ways. But this is about yet another special Tom, a particularly special one that we do want to tell you about.

Last weekend we went down to Wales to stay with friends. Corisande and Angus Grahame lost their Tom, their very dearly loved son of six, just before Christmas after a long and brave struggle with cancer. Their lives have been torn apart but they have two other children and they are all doing their best to carry on; one of the ways they have managed to do this is to set up the Tom Grahame Trust in his memory (Do have a look at their site.)

Their first big challenge is to raise enough money to build a playground for the children in Clyro where they live. I am not sure how much they’ve made yet but I gather they are not far short of the £75,000 they need to start the project. Last weekend there was a wonderful musical workshop and entertainment for children followed by a concert for their parents, with tea and cakes in the sunshine on the lawn, in between.The concert was laid on by the Aquila Trust Mid Wales Music Fund with the Cambria String Quartet and I gather the Trust extremely generously donated the entire proceeds to the Tom Grahame Trust playground appeal.

The whole event went like clockwork and was a delight from beginning to end. John and I sneaked in to the back of the children’s musical workshop and were entranced as the children, many of them tiny, watched and listened and concentrated so intently, both making music and listening to the musicians who conducted the workshop and played so inspiringly (cello, two violins and a viola). The adults also had a guest oboist who was quite superb (we just listened, no music-making for us!). John has loaded several photos of the event in our gallery which you may like to look at.

We had a lovely weekend. We would love to help Corisande and Angus spread the word about their playground appeal and the work of the Tom Grahame Trust. Do have  a look at the website where you can donate if you are moved to do so, and have a look at – and hopefully ‘like’ –  their Facebook page too. We feel they deserve all the help and support we can possibly give them.

Buxton Festival 2011

Buxton Festival 2011 is now in full swing, havng opened officially on Saturday. It’s a cultural highlight of the year, which sadly, this year, we are not supporting as well as we usually do. There are various good reasons, one being a diary clash with prearranged trips and events and another, more shamefully, because we had left it too late by the time we got round to booking – even though as ‘Friends of Buxton Festival’ we have a chance to book before the box office opens to the general public. We’ll try to do better next time.

Anyway, with luck there may be a last minute opportunity as friends and colleagues in the village find they have bought tickets they cannot honour which will be advertised on the blog. We start tomorrow with one of their wonderful mid morning talks in the Opera House. These start at 10.30 – possibly after a leisurely coffee in the sunshine beforehand if one is sufficiently organised, or possibly a pleasent lunch afterwards if not. The talks last for an hour, concluding with very relaxed question and answer sessions; the Opera House is sufficiently small to make it feel quite intimate and uninhibiting, but the audiences are always very respectful and appreciative, and questions – even when very searching ones – are never offensive (or at least, the ones we have been to).

Amongst other literary talks we’ll be going to is Joanana Lumley, standing in for the Dowager Duchess, who sadly is indisposed (at 91 that’s fair enough). There are always a lot of opera and musical recitals, and then the odd cookery demonstration, debates, hosted walks round Buxton and masses of things on the Festival fringe. It is an excellent three weeks.

The talk tomorrow is Professor Christopher Andrew and Professor Keith Jeffrey talking about the MI5 and MI6 – we’re told “Expect an interesting debate on many different aspects of British, colonial and international history over the past 100 years”.

A Memorable Event – Went the Day Well?

Sorry it has taken so long to get round to writing about this. So much has been happening but while we wait to go down to watch the Parwich Hill Race I have a few blissful spare minutes which I shall enjoy putting to good use.

The concert in St Paul’s was a wonderful occasion. John and I had taken an earlyish train down last Wednesday to give us plenty of time before the reception in the crypt at 6.15. The sun was shining and St Paul’s looked wonderful; as soon as we went in we discovered there was a Sung Eucharist at 5 so we decided to get ourselves in the mood, and managed to place ourselves literally beside the choir (complete with young cousin Harry!). The music was superb and an impressive number of people were attending, including a lot of young – maybe that is normal on a Wednesday evening when it’s St Pauls?

We then crept down to the crypt, which had been totally transformed into a party venue. By this time we had been joined by Ruthie and Nick, and Tom Sykes, a family friend and were served generously with wine and canapes before making our way up for the big event, the concert. The Duchess of Gloucester arrived, looking very elegant in a lime green outfit… But still what anticipation…!

Lots of lovely music, mostly but by no means all of the 1st World War era with several Benjamin Britten pieces plus a 7th Century plainsong and ‘How Beautiful are the Feet’ from Handel’s Messiah. And then we had the anthem we had all been waiting for, the first performance of Ben Parry’s especially commissioned ‘Went the Day Well’. It was hauntingly beautiful and there were many family hearts swelling with pride when Harry sang the solo parts, accompanied by his brother Tom on the French horn.

Then it was home to Ruthie’s flat for a delicious meal conjured up by Nick, a quick night, a haircut and then back to the Peak District. I don’t think Boots the cat even knew we’d been away.

Meanwhile, no peacful Peak District for the two boys, who will be now be on their nine-day cycle ride, hoping to average I think it was 120 miles a day for nine days. Rather them then me. You can follow them on their blog which makes terrific reading especially from the comfort of an office chair!

They have already raised over £12,000 for Help for Heroes which is pretty amazing for two 17-year olds, still at school. Help the Heroes has agreed that all of the money  raised will go towards the new Just Giving site for any kind soul who is minded to help them in their quest.

Parwich Wakes 2011

The sun has shone brilliantly all weekend, apparently there are more Nottingham campers and caravaners than ever and the Oddfellows Dinner had a record turn out yesterday (so I’m told).

It has been a busy and fun time for everybody and the Carnival and Rec. Committee has done us all proud once again. Our attendance has ben a bit sporadic as, after a buy day yesterday we missed all the evening jollities including our neighbours’ annual barbecue and the fancy dress parade last night as we had been invited to a very lovely party just outside Lichfield to say goodbye to Peter (the headmaster) and Ros Allwood (his very supportive wife) who are leaving the Cathedral School after a number of successful years there. More later, but back to Parwich where we did not return ourselves until lunch time today, having stopped overnight with friends in Lichfield; busy catching up we ducked out of the treasure hunt here this evening but tried to make up for our absence by offering helpful suggestions to the rather perplexed hunters wandering along past the house.

John always takes plenty of photos on these occasions and as their unofficial ‘Official Photographer’ he felt very honoured to be asked by Mick Edge to attend the midday ‘Feast’ of the local Oddfellow ‘Loyal Laurel and Crown Lodge’ as a guest.You can get an idea of the parade and general occasion by looking at the Parwich blog entry which saves me repeating it all!

While all this was going on there was a village market on the green with various stalls and attractions. My main responsibility was to help Sue Hughes on the 1st Responders’ site, selling heart-shaped biscuits and letting people practice or learn how to do CPR (chest resuscitations) on the two limbless Annies lying on the grass! We were most impressed by the children – they all, even six and seven year olds knew what to do, much more confidently than many of the adults. Apparently thay are taught it at school as part of life-saving, which I remember we did too, all those years back, although ours was largely to do with recuing people from drowning; we weren’t allowed to swim in the school pool (this was in Africa) until we had passed our life saving test.

Only one photo from us tonight. This is Parwich pulling Nottingham which sounds rather like David and Goliath! It passed me by, who actually won, but we do have some strong men so possibly it was Parwich!

Went the Day Well?

A week today, on June 29th, we are going to a rather special concert in St Paul’s Cathedral. Tom Jackson and Alex Bridle, two 17-year old boys who are both pupils at St Paul’s School in London, have set themselves the target of raising £50,000 for Help the Heroes. Their main challenge (I think!) is cycling from Land’s End to John 0′ Groats in nine days but to my mind organising a concert in St Paul’s is not excatly easy, nor is trying to raise £50,000… And nor come to think of it, is commissioning Ben Parry to write a special anthem for the service, ‘Went the Day Well?‘.

This – apart from the ride – the two school boys have done. I would be impressed anyway, but one of the two, Tom Jackson is a cousin once or twice renoved of mine and I feel remarkably proud of him, amd of course Alex Bridle whom we have yet to meet. And the family pride stretches even further, as Tom’s younger brother, Harry, is a chorister at St Paul’s and will be singing the anthem. Whether he is singing a solo part or not I don’t know, but he sang one at his grandmother’s funeral in March so beautifully that there really wasn’t a dry eye in the church by the time he had finished.

I shall report back at the end of next week. Meanwhile, if anyone would like to support their effort and of course Help for Heroes, they have a Just Giving link on their website and I know they would be very very grateful, and so would I on their behalf. They have no idea I am soliciting possible financial support so of course they won’t be disappointed if they don’t get any so feel under no obligation…

Fernlea House in Parwich for Sale

House for Sale

No, we haven’t turned into estate agents, nor are we on any sort of commission but Avril and Keith who live in the village have decided to move to pastures new, so their home at Fernlea House, Main Street, Parwich is up for sale.

Knowing that several of our guests over the years have had more than half an eye on finding a nice house in these parts we suggested to Keith and Avril that we should put up a post on our blog and are more than happy to do so. They are hoping to sell their house privately.

They write: “This is a Grade 2 listed limestone 18th Century former Yeoman’s house in the Parwich Conservation Area. It has been thoroughly and tastefully refurbished and is in excellent condition.

One of the prettiest houses in the village, it is south facing and stands back 14 metres from the road behind a lovely garden. 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, kitchen, large utility room, cloakroom, dining room, and sitting room. Cellar with well!

THERE IS AN ATTACHED BARN (with development potential) containing a stable, tack room, garage, store room and a workshop upstairs measuring 38 feet by 18 feet. THERE IS A LARGE SEPARATE GARAGE with storeroom across the road from the house.

The property has been valued by local agents at £750,000 and is available at OIRO £735,000 FREEHOLD.
For more information and photos click on this link or call 01335 390500 or parsons.parwich@gmail.com”

Who knows, we may end up as estate agents yet…!

More Good Food News and Reviews

Percy my brother John

The first thing to tell you is that Val Kirkham, our next door neighbour and she of TopNosh fame, has sold TopNosh so that will still exist but is nothing now to do with her. However, she is still going to carry on cooking, under the name of catering4parwich. This is a non-profit enterprise based in our new village hall, ‘providing high quality locally sourced and prpeared food for hall user groups, village residents and visitors’.

So as far as we all are concerned, nothing has changed except the name and she now has no website so you have to contact Val for information on 01335 390 458.She is still very happy to make meals for our guests which she delivers herself to your door.

Now for the Peacock! We kept hearing glowing reports and at last I have been, taken by an extremely kind and generous friend who treated three of us to the most lovely lunch there last week. I could become a lady what lunches, very easily… Our friend was driving us (I said she was generous) so we her guests relaxed and had a glass of wine before lunch and another with it. The only thing I could feel the slightest smug about was having a coofee instead of a gorgeous looking pud, but then of course with the coffee came some delicious chocolates which were irresistible.

The Peacock has been bought back by Haddon Hall, who have refurbished it beautifully and it all feels very unfrighteningly elegant and charming. The staff were charming, the service excellent and the food quite delicious. To to set it all off the sun streamed through the glass doors into the dining room which looks over the garden; here we watched an ageless scene – a family happily and leisurely playing croquet while some little girls did handstands and cartwheels on the lawn. It all felt a million miles away from the technological frenzy that modern life all too easily can seem.

So another big plus for our recommended pubs and restaurant list! And, by the way, Percy the Peacock has nothing to do with the Peacock at Rowsley but I thought he’d approve of a little publicity. Percy just adopted my brother’s garden as his own many years ago and demands constant food and admiration; he struts about leering lovingly at his own reflection in every window.

Comments and Local Recommendations from our Guests

These comments below all come from the Visitors’ Books too, but as they have some very helpful recommendations I have extracted them and put in links to help any research (I haven’t repeated any links (e.g. the George, which doesn’t appear after the first one). I felt quite tantalised copying them out and have made several mental notes of places and walks for us to try – one would need lots of walks to balance the lovely food one’s being recommended.

“Our 4^th visit to the wonderful Tom’s Barn. As always a lovely warm welcome from Marion and John, and the barn is as perfect as ever. We took a walk along the Cromford Canal – the amount of different wildlife on one walk was amazing. Had a couple of meals at the Coach and Horses at Fenny Bentley – great food, served all day. Already planning visit no. 5. Thanks again to Marion and John and their team for our perfect holiday.” May 2011

“Many thanks for a lovely stay in a splendidly equipped cottage (Tom’s Barn). We enjoyed dinner at the George in Alstonefield, a walk round Carsington Water and the teashop at Monsal Head, plus lots of lovely walks. Check out the Teashop Walk books in the bookcase. A delightful time in a beautiful part of the country.” May 2011

“Our second visit to this fabulous cottage (Douglas’s Barn)! We’ve had another fantastic holiday – very relaxing and we couldn’t have wished for better weather! Good food and service at the Devonshire Arms at Pilsley, Saracen’s Head, Shirley and the George at Alstonefield…the lemon drizzle cake was delicious!” May 2011

“A beautiful cottage (Douglas’s Barn’) with wonderful hosts and lots of walks – Dovedale is quite near and quite spectacular. Haddon, Kedleston and Sudbury Hall all repay a visit. Bakewell is really good for shops and Lathkill Dale – in the National Nature Reserve – a hidden secret. Lovely holiday!” April 2011

“We’ve all had a great time. Lots of walks – Hawksmoor, Dimmingsdale (if you go there stop for lemon meringue pie at the Ramblers’ Retreat) and Dovedale. The house (Tom’s Barn) is so cosy it’s hard to leave! We’ll be back.” March/April 2011

“Our first visit to Tom’s Barn and we are already planning a return visit. Without doubt, the most comfortable, clean and well-equipped cottage we have stayed in. Completely satisfied our book addiction at Scarthin Books and Brierlow Bar Book Store and had lovely days at Chatsworth and Kedleston Hall. However, the highlight of the weekend was Marion’s cake, heaven on a plate!” March 2011