Romantic cottages for two in the Peak District
Romantic cottages for two in the Peak District
And a certain future career on the stage for J and MF-S…!
Well, perhaps not the last bit but just see the photos…
As you may remember, John had early on established an apparent inability or perhaps unwillingness to learn words; his three parts involved a lot of action but no spoken words so he was very happy with his various roles. Here he is Fred, in the song ‘Seven Little Girls’ sitting in the back seat kissin’ and a cuddlin’ with Fred. Plenty of action and he didn’t even have to sing!
In our joint skit I had to do all the talking (glad to say we had survived the probationary period) and actually although I say it myself it went OK, raising lots of laughs. These I suspect were mainly due to John’s raised eyebrows, sighs and horrified looks as he non-verbally played his part.
The most fun of all as far as I was concerned – apart from the Master of the House at the end that the whole cast joined in – was four of us doing a ‘synchronised’ almost wordless mopping routine, dressed as caricature ‘Mrs Mops’ despite the fact – as we all admitted – that anyone we knew who really did clean was invariably smarter dressed than the four of us ever are. Actually, my chosen role necessitated a trip to the £2 and £3 sale rails at one of the less smart outfitters for young girls in Derby!
We don’t yet know how much the evening raised for the DRCS but we do know that everyone in the audience seemed to have enjoyed every moment, with comments like ‘How wonderful to spend all evening laughing almost non-stop’… And all the lovely people in the cast who had given up such a lot of time also thoroughly enjoyed themselves so it would be safe to say it was a total success in every sense of the word.
The final performance is on Friday 26th at Ashover Village Hall. That is a much bigger venue than the Medway in Bakwell where last night we sat about 160 people which was apparently uncomfortably close to being too many.
Tickets are already sold out for that (seriously!). Val Kenning has suggested that anyone that would still like to see the revue but has left it too late could come to the dress rehearsal at Ashover on Thursday 25th. She stresses that it really is a dress rehearsal and because it is in a new venue she may well have to interrupt proceedings from time to time but actually (I’m saying this, not Val) that could be part of the fun.
Entry will be free but we would ask for a donation. There will be no bar or snacks, just pure entertainment.
You might imagine from the long silence that John and I had embarked on another little series of holiday jaunts, possibly to sunnier climes, but no such luck. We have been firmly and happily rooted here, but very busily so.
Two more village funerals, one of which was for poor Janet’s father, who has not been well for some time but will be very much missed by his family who had all given him much time, care and devotion doing all they could to keep him at home. His dread, like many people of his ilk, my father Douglas included, was that he should have to end his days in hospital. I’m happy to say that neither of our fathers did.
As well as such sad occasions we have as always had much pleasure and enjoyment running our two holiday cottages. (It seems funny calling our two lovely and rather special barn conversions ‘cottages’, but there you go, as they say…) One of the reasons we enjoy it so much is because we are fortunate enough always to have such lovely, appreciative guests. And at the moment, with short breaks the order of the day, we are seeing twice as many as we do during the summer.
The other thing which is occupying much time and no little concentration as well, is the run up to the DRCS Comic Revue, the first performance of which is this very Saturday. The synchronised mopping routine I and our little team of four have got down to a T; the thing that I am having most heartache over is voice projection in the skit John and I do together.
The second performance of our Comic Revue is in a very large hall in Ashover with I think no sound amplification. John’s words come all from behind a newspaper, he having established a complete inability (unwillingness) to learn any words. He has the extra advantage of a strong voice that carries well so he has little to worry him whereas I am struggling under a double set of disadvantages…but will no doubt survive. The whole thing is a lot of fun, anyway.
It is nearly a month now since we returned from our amazing introduction to Poland, and Krakow in particular, where we went to attend the opening of the exhibition British Bohemia: The Bloomsbury Circle of Virginia Woolf in the International Cultural Centre, arranged by our friend Tony Bradshaw of the Bloomsbury Workshop.
Tony ia specialist in the work of the Bloomsbury Group and has many friends and contacts in that world, so there were over 80 works of art and books, many in private ownership and not normally available to the general public, from Canada ant d the USA as well as Britain. Everything was beautifully exhibited, with the rooms at Charleston, the home and country meeting place for many members of the Bloomsbury carefully created so that for those that knew the house, it was extremely powerful.
We felt very privileged to be part of the gathering, being one of the few total hangers on! We met up with a number of old friends from university days, members of Vanessa Bell’s family, librarians and owners of original works of art…
The opening and reception took up half of our three days; on the other two and a half days we packed in a great deal; we managed to explore just some of the delights of the ancient city of Krakow, we went to Auschwitz which was very sobering – we felt everyone should go there, to see what man is capable of doing to man and how a repeat must be prevented at all costs… We also went on a highly informative and entertaining ‘communist tour’ to Nova Huta, the communist showpiece town built round the famous steelworks where Lech Walesaa the great trades union and social rights activist lived and worked worked. We developed just some awareness of the changes and pressures and hardships that the Polish people have experienced over the centuries.
We stayed in a charming hotel called the Grodek (so good we actually did a rave TripAdvisor review!) and came away determined to return as soon as possible (and to take only hand luggage if we ever fly Ryanair again).
This will only be of interest to local friends and readers of our blog but I can’t resist sharing a tip/putting in a plug for this event.
The 2010 annual DRCS Shopping Fair takes place this week at the Maynard in Grindleford (S32 2HE for those reliant on a Satnav.)
Om Wednesday between 4 – 8 pm will be the ‘preview’ with sparkling wine, canapes and the chance to have the pick of all the exciting things for sale – plus the chance of possibly winning a diamond…! Tickets £10 per person.
The fair continues all day Thursday from 10 to 4: no champagne or canapes but snacks and drinks available from the hotel itself. Tickets for the day £5 (Or £2.50 if purchased in advance – let me know via the blog or email and I can arrange it)..
The Derwent Rural Counselling Service (DRCS) is a small but well-respected charity based it Bakewell, which provides professional counselling for local people. Last year approximately 3,000 hours of counselling were provided. Clients are asked for a donation which represents roughly 25% of the cost of providing the counselling hence the constant need for funds.
The Friends of DRCS (I am one!) work hard to support the service. We have organised this event, and next month a Comic Revue which also will be an excellent event. (John and I both appear on the stage but there are also many more extremely talented genuine pros. More about that later.
Back at last from all our wanderings but before launching into accounts of Krakow (Bloomsbury meets Krakow in Poland) and Yorkshire I just feel I have to record that the new Parwich Memorial Hall was officially opened today Saturday 25th September 2010 (by the time I have finished this it may be tomorrow!).
The sun shone, the hall was packed with young and old and even – rather unusually – a ram – the local Mercian Regiment live mascot which attended, accompanied by his colonel and his handlers.
It will all be recorded on the Parwich blog, where also anyone who is interested can no doubt soon see dozens of photos, mostly taken by John, the official press photographers from the Stunner (Ashbourne News Telegraph) having made his excuses after ten minutes, to attend a rather important football match in Derby…
This most significant day for the village ended with a splendid 60’s evening party in the new hall. All being well you will get an idea from the photos what a truly magnificent, modern and attractive building we have and the amazing thing is that this has been achieved by a small rural community with approximately 500 people on the electoral roll: Parwich and the surrounding hamlets of Pikehall, Alsop-en-le-Dale and Ballidon.
Many many public spirited villagers worked long and hard over a number of years, with great patience and determination to make it all happen, raising the nearly £750,000 in money, grants and in kind needed to do so. It makes one feel very privileged and proud to live here.
Safely back from four wonderfully relaxing days on the Norfolk Broads with our very good and very old (as in long standing rather than ancient) friends, Erica and Colin.
We arrived on Monday afternoon to be warned to seek shelter as soon as we took over our cruiser ‘Glittering Light’ from the Herbert Woods boatyard at Potter Heigham. We were advised to stop for the night in a sheltered spot as far out of the (Force 7/8) winds as possible. This we eventually managed to do, but the trouble was everybody else had been given the same advice so it took some time to find a suitable resting place.
Having survived remarkably peacefully the gale force winds on Monday night, Tuesday dawned so still that sailing was out of the question. Thereafter we experienced every type of weather apart from hail and snow – pouring rain, drizzle and seriously warm sunshine when the Factor 50 came into its own.
We had a sail on Barton Broad, but mostly were simply pottering about on the water, stopping occasionally to walk or explore, and enjoying the flights of geese over the water, herons and kingfishers (but no otters). Everything is wonderfully peaceful and quiet, particularly when any speed over 4MPH is over the top.
We had the odd drink in a pub and enjoyed some excellent food cooked in the fairly restricting galley where we longed for some of the Tom’s and Douglas’s Barn kitchen utensils; we did not even have a wooden spoon, but we coped successfully in a fairly Heath Robinsonish, making-do way.
Some raucous games of Oh Hell! were played, and many reminiscences shared. So nothing too dramatic and the whole a very happy experience for us all.
You may have sensed by now that we are rather keen on cooking and good food and probably err on the side of self-indulgence. We get a weekly organic veggie box from Riverford, which we really appreciate, although it must be admitted that at this time of year we also have a glut in the garden – mainly at the moment of courgettes and beans not to mention plums and soon it will be apples and damsons…
Anyway, we discovered that the Riverford Field Kitchen was coming up to Riverford Stockley Farm in Cheshire to host a series of lunches and dinners in a yurt. We had heard very good reviews of the meals provided and hadn’t ever actually been in a yurt so decided to give it a try. Stockley Farm is perhaps an hour and a half’s drive, but a wonderfully scenic route on a good day ‘over the top’ past the Cat and the Fiddle which is meant to be the highest pub in England. And our experience proved well worth the journey.
The said yurt turned out to be a rather beautiful circular creation with an ash frame. Eighty people sat at ten tables fanning out from the centre where stood a large wood burning stove – which was very definitely not needed today. The main course was chunks of delicious grilled chicken on a white bean and tomato sauce (I am sure there was a more poetic name but I didn’t master that) and numerous plates of quite equally delicious fresh vegetables, potatoes and garlic, carrots with caraway seeds and everybody’s favourite on our table, thinly sliced green beans and Parmesan cheese. All this was prepared in an impressively small field kitchen and served by a very competent and friendly young team who really made one feel they were genuinely enjoying serving us.
The puddings were almost literally to die for: extremely rich chocolate brownies, Eton Mess with blueberries and great chunks of meringue, and a plum clafoutis, light as a feather. The last was a new one to all on our table, but everyone made a mental note to try it out. Seriously good coffee followed, then feeling very well-fed and somewhat sleepy we wended our way home. There was a lot of (all organic) wine and beer on sale, but because of the drive we steered clear of that.
We had a very good friend here for the day last week, Meg, who although English by birth has lived in the States for most of her life, with an American husband and three American children.
She had escaped the stifling heat of Washington DC for a brief nostalgic visit to her homeland, visiting family and close friends. We took her for a walk round Parwich where, it being a pleasant summer’s day but very certainly not too stiflingly hot, lots of people were in their gardens or on leisurely sociable errands in our quintessentially English village.
And the first, second and third friendly ‘locals’ we bumped into were American or Canadian; we then returned home where she met two more Canadians who were holidaying here in Douglas’s Barn on leave from the Middle East…
Meg did meet several true Brits as well. She was struck, as practically all our guests also volunteer, how very genuinely friendly everyone they meet in the village is, from the children playing outside to the oldest adult.
Parwich may not really live up to Meg’s fleeting international experience but it does boast some wonderfully warm and friendly inhabitants and it’s a wonderful place to live.
Only a day later than promised. A friend of ours dropped in unexpectedly and stayed overnight so that was the end of good intentions for yesterday.
Anyway, we went with some other friends recently to the Saracen’s Head at Shirley. Now, Shirley is the other side of Ashbourne so it is not exactly in our immediate orbit but a 20-25 minute drive away; however it is well worth those extra minutes and miles if you’re after what should be a happy food experience.
The Saracen’s Head calls itself a gastro-pub; it wasn’t cheap, but one wouldn’t have expected it to be. The decor was bright and clean, the service very pleasant, we all enjoyed our respective meals very much and plan to return when waistband and purses allow.
Constantly in search of exciting new places where we can eat well ourselves and recommend with confidence to our guests, we have tried one or two new places recently with varying degrees of success but we will pass on our experiences for what they are worth.
Saving the best for tomorrow here goes today with the very definitely ‘not best’… We met up with a few friends the other day to try lunch Le Mistral, a new bistro in Bakewell. John and I had had a very atmospheric meal/evening at the one in Wirksworth- admittedly several years ago – and when the Bakewell restaurant opened a month or so ago we were sent very impressive brochures with a discount offer for our guests and ourselves. We had great hopes.
So far so good. Le Mistral looked bright and clean, the atmosphere attractive, staff were pleasant and our complimentary glass of house wine very acceptable. The let down was the food. It was pretty expensive (although we did get the promised discount taken off the bill afterwards) and quite frankly disappointing. Had it been delicious we probably we would probably have found the prices quite acceptable
Feeling nostalgic I had ordered ‘Homemade prime beef, tarragon and garlic meatballs, in a tomato and herb sauce, on a bed of rice topped with parmesan shavings.’ My five nondescript and fairly tiny meatballs were an embarrassment – I would have been ashamed to serve them for the most routine of children’s suppers; they cost £10.
We had a fun time. As I said, the atmosphere was pleasant, and we were with friends; however not one of us had actively enjoyed the food and none of us would bother to go back. What a wasted opportunity for a new restaurant trying to build up a reputation and what a shame for those of us who were hoping to have a great new venue to recommend to our friends and guests!
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