It had its ups, it had it downs – but life in Parwich during 2008 was rarely uneventful. On the downside, we lost the Spar shop, the Methodist chapel and the direct bus service to Derby, and much of the village was battered by freak floods. On the upside, we gained a shop in the pub, a refurbished hard play area, a replica tympanum and a beautiful new stained glass window in the church, half a million quid’s worth of Lottery money for the Memorial Hall, nearly £8000 for the primary school, a national award for the Sycamore, prime time TV success for a Parwich lad… oh, and can we mention this very website, which launched in March?
To help us look back on the past twelve months of village life, here’s a month-by-month reminder of some of the main events. We’re splitting it into two parts, starting with the period from January to June.
January.
Nigel Carr took over as acting head of the primary school. The first of this year’s thirteen film nights took place in the Memorial Hall, with a screening of The Bourne Identity. After five years of hard work and long hours, Emma and Jason announced the forthcoming closure of the Spar shop.
February.
A quiet month, as far as we can recall. Although the Spar shop closed its doors for the last time on the 29th, rumours were already buzzing that Janet at the Sycamore might be working on an alternative…
March.
If February was quiet, March was positively hectic! The Memorial Hall redevelopment project passed its first stage of the Big Lottery funding process, to the tune of £23,350. The Methodist chapel announced that it would be closing in May, after 159 years of worship. Caroline Rodgers was named as the new head of Parwich Primary School. The History Society hosted a talk on “Ashbourne, Gateway to Dovedale”, the PTA held a Bunny Drive, and the WI staged a demonstration of “card making/scrapbooking”, led by Carolyn.
Following the late Ambrose Wilton’s generous bequest, the Church Kneelers project got underway. PARWICH.ORG was officially launched on the 16th. The Carnival & Recreation Committee held its first Wakes planning meeting on the 26th. Less happily, the direct bus service to Derby was withdrawn from the 23rd.
Less than a month after the closure of the Spar shop, the new Sycamore shop opened for business on Easter Saturday.
The following morning, as church-goers prepared for the candle-lit Dawn Communion, Parwich woke up to an unseasonal blanket of snow (as currently pictured on the banner at the top of this page!) Was this a sign of freak weather conditions to come?
Jonathan Marshall stepped down after six years as church warden. Helen Pitts and Martin Compton were elected as the new wardens. A massive clean-up of the church grounds took place at the end of the month. Meanwhile, Parwich Film won an “Oscar” for Best Sound System at the Derbyshire Film Awards.
April.
An April Fool’s gag regarding the introduction of “ring tones” at St. Peter’s Church had the Derby diocesan authorities fooled for several days. (Crazy Frog, indeed!)
Disgruntled voices were raised regarding the so-called “temporary” traffic lights on the B5056, with the County Council promising a resolution somewhere around March 2009!
Concerns were also raised over potholes in Smithy Lane, with particular reference to the excessive amounts of running water. Little did we know what lay in store… but at least the council turned out to fill in the holes, towards the end of the month. Meanwhile, the A515 between Ashbourne and Alsop was named as one as one of the most dangerous roads in the country.
The Parish Council’s annual open meeting took place on the 3rd. The 2008 bowling season got underway on the 8th. The grand re-opening of the refurbished Hard Play Area took place on Sunday 20th, followed by a sports day. Pilates classes started on the 23rd, on the same day that the Sycamore held its first “coffee and cakes” morning. The Over 60s enjoyed a mystery trip to The Knot Inn at Rushton Spencer, and rock fans enjoyed a performance by Paul “Bono on Stars In Their Eyes” Curtis at the Legion.
The PDNPA published their draft Conservation Plan for Parwich, describing us as a “dormitory settlement” where “the only amenity is … the Sycamore Inn” – a description that was firmly corrected by the Village Action Group!
The vicar gave a well-received “multimedia presentation”, entitled “India: global giant or country of caste and corruption?” Some Parwich villagers took part in the construction of Tissington’s well dressings, with an illustrated day-by-day diary posted on the blog.
A number of villagers took part in the recording of “get well soon” messages to Carolyn, which were transferred to CD and played to her in hospital. Isobel Harrison became Parwich’s newest and youngest resident on Monday 14th, and the funeral of Annie Steeples took place on Thursday 24th.
May.
The Methodist Chapel held its final service on Sunday May 4th, with regular Methodist services continuing to take place in St Peter’s thereafter. The Peak District National Park Authority’s open consultation meeting on Parwich Conservation Area was held on the 6th, and the “Project Parwich” fund-raising drive was launched at the Memorial Hall on the 7th, followed by a presentation of the latest architects’ plans.
Jo-anne’s “Beautiful Fundraiser” make-up demonstration took place on the 19th, raising £300 for Project Parwich. An affordable housing meeting took place on the 21st. The cricket season commenced on the 17th, and the Legion hosted a Wild West night on the 24th. Derbyshire Open Arts weekend took place over the Whitsun break, with Ruby Hickmott’s home and Lewis Noble’s studio both open to the public. Slightly further afield, Ashbourne Radio commenced transmissions, with most homes in Parwich able to receive its signal.
June.
The month commenced with Don and Audrey’s Project Parwich quiz night at the Sycamore, at which the bass player from 1970s rock band Mott The Hoople was spotted!
The Sycamore was featured in the first of what turned out to be a fair few TV reports on Parwich, as ITV’s Central News broadcast a report on the new shop.
After many weeks in hospital, Carolyn returned home to Parwich, to the delight of us all.
The first of this year’s Pikehall Harness Racing events took place on the 15th, and there was an open day at the newly completed Bradbourne Mill development on the 16th.
A splendid new stained glass Annunciation window was installed in St Peter’s church on the 17th, and the replica tympanum arrived on the 26th. The eye-catching new logo for Parwich Primary School was also revealed for the first time.
The ever-popular Open Gardens day took place on June 22nd, alongside the Children’s Horticultural Show, the scarecrow competition, a Project Parwich art show, and a peformance from the Ashbourne Brass Band. The skies were cloudy, the winds were heavy, but spirits remained high throughout!
Wakes Week began on the 28th with the Oddfellows Parade, the carnival, the village market, a hog roast and an evening disco.
The campsite service followed on Sunday morning, followed by the usual campsite fun and games, and the children’s treasure hunt took place on Sunday evening. The first half of 2008 concluded with the children’s sports day on Monday 30th… but there were plenty of Wakes Week events yet to come…
PARWICH.ORG 
What a great piece of writing, showing the huge range of events and successes our village has experienced and achieved. Thanks Mike
As an ‘outsider’ I love to catch up on Parwich events… thanks for putting it up. H
Good grief, so much has happened – perhaps we could sell the rights to TV and make a Parwich soap?
On a completely different theme, I now know this break has become too long for me, since I have just noticed, I can make the “snow” effect on parwich.org change direction with my mouse – this key piece of information afforded me 10 minutes of total engrossed distraction.
– Time to go back to work I think…….
Wow, I hadn’t noticed you could do that with the snow! Pity you can’t make it go upwards, though….
Brilliant – no wonder there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day. I have really come to appreciate our village blog – it’s informative, amusing, thought provoking but most of all keeps me in touch with all the things that are going on in our lovely community. Many thanks to all of you that help keep the site so full of information.