PARWICH.ORG

(Click here for Part 1.)

The second half of our Parwich News Review of 2008 starts where we left off: slap bang in the middle of Wakes Week. We hope you’ll enjoy our month-by-month summary, which covers the period from July to December.

WARNING: it’s quite a lengthy summary!

July.

The Wakes festivities continued with the Hill Race on July 1st (and who could forget the splendid achievement of Team Parwich’s Roberto Buntingo?), the Strongest Man competition on the 2nd, the Pet Show and Wheelbarrow Race on the 3rd, and Race Night on the 4th (including the Ball Race and the Thoroughbred Ferret Furlong).

As Wakes Week drew to a close, the Flower Festival got underway at St. Peter’s. The highlight of the festival was the dedication service for the tympanum & the new window, as conducted by the Bishop of Repton.

On the publishing front, copies of Paul Burlinson’s chucklesome “Parwich Rag Rag!!” pamphlet began to circulate around the village. Meanwhile, the former Methodist Chapel was sold at auction to a private bidder from Sheffield.

This busy month continued with a whole host of activities, such as the Over 60s trip to Liverpool, a concert at St. Peter’s by Saint Anselm’s chapel choir, and a History Society trip to Cromford Mill… not to mention a round of parties, including a memorable 50th birthday disco at the Memorial Hall. Oh, and we mustn’t forget Denise Ball’s sponsored skydive either!

The primary school said goodbye to Miss Chatfield, as the summer holidays began. Janet and Steve won the Midlands heat of the Great British Pub awards, in the Best Community Pub category.

Our saddest news of the month was the death of Margaret Lees, on the morning of Thursday July 10th.

August.

Ushering in the holiday season, the Y-Not festival took place at Pikehall, featuring three days of live music from a wide variety of rock bands and acoustic performers.

Revised building plans for the Memorial Hall were made public, just ahead of the announcement of the Peak Park planners’ decision to refuse planning permission, based on the earlier set of plans. Following a well attended meeting in Bakewell on the 15th, the revised application was granted by the Planning Committee.

The new sign for the primary school was put in place, featuring Charlotte B’s new logo. A-level results were announced, with QEGS students achieving an impressive 97.7% pass rate, placing them 12th in the country. “Team Parwich” were well represented at the Bradbourne village fell race on the 24th. Tracy Marshall re-launched her Autumn Flame Candle Company, and artist Esther Tyson was welcomed to the village.

At the Methodist service on Sunday 24th, a new lectern was dedicated in the memory of Minnie Smith, and a glass cross in the Lady Chapel was dedicated to the memory of John Lees.

The Abel Shipley Memorial Trophy for Parwich’s best hanging basket display was awarded to Jack Cundy.

Four months after PARWICH.ORG idly speculated upon the idea, it was announced that Tom Chambers would be taking part in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing. You read it here first, folks!

September.

September began with the last of Alsop Church’s regular Bank Holiday “coffee and cake” afternoons, and with the Memorial Hall committee’s submission of the formal bid for Stage Two of the Big Lottery funding.

When we heard that the Garden Gate “Snail Trail” sale had been postponed due to a poor weather forecast, little did we realise what lay in store. During the early hours of Saturday September 6th, much of Parwich was hit by torrential flooding: 39mm in eight hours, according to our “weatherman on the hill”. The excess water running down from Parwich Hill turned Smithy Lane into a river, and the descending waters gathered so much speed that whole sections of tarmac were ripped up. Many homes throughout the village were devastated by water damage, with the Sycamore being particularly badly hit – although, thanks to a massed clean-up operation, it still managed to re-open for business later in the day.

Despite all of this devastation, the annual Flower & Vegetable Show went ahead as planned on Sunday 7th, and the school was still able to commence its autumn term on Tuesday 9th. And as if the flooding wasn’t enough, fire engines were called to the village on three occasions. (Thankfully, little serious damage was done.)

The Over 60s enjoyed a day trip to Southport on the 9th. The Ashbourne News Telegraph devoted its editorial comment column to a positive appreciation of PARWICH.ORG on the 10th. The WI hosted an illustrated talk on the Everest Marathon. The darts Winter League got underway, with the Legion in Division One and the Sycamore in Division Two.

The tennis club held their Singles Championship, with Nia winning the Ladies’ final and R. Drummond beating his own father in the Mens’ final. The Mixed Doubles Championship took place on the following weekend, where Val Stevenson and yet another member of the Drummond tennis dynasty proved victorious.

Just twelve days after the Sycamore was decimated by the floods, Janet and Steve received the ultimate morale booster. At a glittering ceremony at the Park Lane Hilton in London, they won two awards: one regional (“Best Midlands Pub 2008”) and one national (“Best Community Pub 2008”). Meanwhile, Ben C. was named “Most Promising Young Farmer of the Year” at the Ashbourne Young Farmers’ dinner dance.

Tom Chambers made his live Strictly Come Dancing debut on the 20th, dancing the ChaCha in a fetching turquoise silk blouse. Down at the pub, a giant plasma TV screen was installed for the season, and a new Saturday evening ritual was born. (How many of us can still recite Tom’s phone vote number from memory?)

Earlier on the same day, a coffee morning at Dam Farm raised funds for the Church kneeler project. This was followed by the Harvest Festival on the 21st and a Harvest Supper on the 22nd, attended by nearly 60 people. Our first “alternative” film night took place on the 23rd, with a screening of the French film Amelie.

Parwich participated in “the largest coffee morning in the world” on the 26th, raising an impressive £450 for Macmillan Cancer Support. The Legion held a Pirate Night on the 27th, with music from Gold Top.

Alsop Church’s Harvest Festival on the 28th brought this extraordinary rollercoaster of a month to a close.

October.

Parwich was back on regional TV screens at the start of the month, courtesy of two BBC East Midlands Today features on our support for Tom in Strictly.

“Tom’s really putting Parwich on the map!”, exclaimed one supporter, as the cameras whirred inside the Sycamore on Saturday 4th. “But we don’t want to BE on the map – that’s why we live here!”, came the reply from a corner table. All good fun!

Later in the month, Tom’s wedding to Clare saw the couple gracing the front covers of Hello! and OK magazines.

The History Society visited Middleton Top and Lea Pump House on the 5th, to see both engines working under steam. The Horticultural Society’s annual Bob Matthews Quiz was held on the 9th, Sue and Mike’s Swiss Raclette evening raised around £300 for Project Parwich on the 12th, and the Over 60s visited Shrewsbury on the 14th.

Parwich artist Esther Tyson won two national awards for her work, and Alsop’s William Bunting was presented with a Bishop’s Badge in Derby Cathedral.

The final draft of the PDNPA’s Conservation Area Appraisal for Parwich was made publicly available. Meanwhile, an online poll on PARWICH.ORG revealed an 88% majority in favour of direct elections to the PDNPA’s board.

Having been rescheduled for the 25th, our ill-fated “Snail Trail” sale was postponed once again. The Oddfellows Race Night took place at the Legion later that evening.

It was with “much sadness” that our vicar, Christopher Harrison, announced his departure from Parwich in February 2009, in order to take up a new position in Nottingham.

November.

The Legion’s Halloween Party kicked the month off, with Gold Top once again providing the entertainment. Veteran Dovedale Dasher Clive Russell romped home in second place on the 2nd, on his 44th consecutive appearance. Bonfire Night was held on the Alsop Road on the 5th, and the Horticultural Society’s AGM took place on the 7th.

Saturday 8th saw Parwich’s premier folk-rock band The A52s making their live debut at the Legion. The following morning, the village paid tribute to its fallen comrades at the Remembrance Day Service.

PARWICH.ORG clocked up its 100,000th page view on the 10th – shortly after receiving its 1000th comment, and shortly before making its 1000th blog post.

Over at the Memorial Hall, the Over 60s enjoyed a Pie and Pea supper on the 11th, the PDNPA held a planning surgery on the 12th, the Safer Neighbourhood Team’s Community Forum convened on the 17th, and the First Responders held their AGM on the 18th. The Stepping Stones Autumn Quiz and Karaoke night took place at the Sycamore on the 15th.

On Friday 14th, the primary school raised £45.61 for Children In Need by laying a trail of 1p and 2p coins around the building. The school was also awarded £7860 as part of Derbyshire County Council’s “Growing Better Together” funding initiative, in order to grow their own fruit & vegetables.

Early risers awoke to a spectacular dawn on Thursday 13th, and again on Saturday 22nd. Andrew Peach’s butcher’s van made its last visit to the village on Friday 14th. Matching the Over 60s for expeditionary prowess, the History Society organised a trip to see a performance of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in Matlock.

Dennis Laycock gave a talk to the Local History Society on the 27th, on “The Mystery of Local Postcards”. A new fish and chip van commenced its weekly service to the village, starting on the evening of Friday 28th. The service proved instantly popular, with patient queues forming from 7pm every Friday night.

Stepping Stones published its first newsletter. A nasty bug began to spread around the village, resulting in very high temperatures, sickness and coughing. Water supplies to Parwich were cut off for several hours on Saturday 22nd, owing to a burst at Knockerdown.

The Parish Council organised a highly successful village clear-up day on the 23rd, in order to repair some of the damage caused by September’s floods. St. Peter’s Church launched its Fabric Appeal, with a target sum of £17,710.

Having spent virtually all their lives in Parwich, Freda & Sheila moved to Ashbourne at the end of November. A new altar frontal was put in place in the chapel at St Peter’s, in memory of Dorothy Foden.

Several Parwich residents were featured on BBC1’s Politics Show on Sunday 30th, expressing their desire to see greater democratic accountability within the Peak District National Park Authority.

December.

The Parwich Advent Calendar was launched on December 1st. Thanks to a succession of brave Calendar Boys and Calendar Girls, who posed for a saucy series of “exciting mystery windows”, the calendar raised over £300 for the Memorial Hall redevelopment fund.

Tom Chambers and his Strictly Come Dancing partner Camilla Dallerup called into the Sycamore on December 2nd, accompanied by a BBC film crew. The footage was screened on BBC1 on Saturday 6th, catapulting Parwich into the national media spotlight. We particularly enjoyed Carol C’s contribution!

The Parwich Guizers and Mummers were out and about on Saturday 6th, performing their traditional play. Jo-anne Jewett’s make-up book “The Beautiful Truth” was launched on December 8th at Bennetts, followed by a reception at The Horns. The Sycamore hosted the History Society’s Christmas Quiz on the 11th.

A “singalong” version of Mamma Mia was screened to an enthusiastic capacity crowd at the Memorial Hall on Friday 12th. At the same venue, Stepping Stones held its Christmas Fayre on Sunday 14th, followed by the First Responders’ Christmas Social Evening. These two events were sandwiched by the Carol Service at St. Peter’s, making for an exceptionally busy day.

Parwich School’s production of Dick Whittington was staged on Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th. This year’s family Christmas film was Elf, which was screened on Saturday 20th, and Santa himself made a special appearance at the Legion on the 21st.

The Big Lottery Fund’s award of £500,000 towards the redevelopment of the Memorial Hall was announced on the 17th. A celebration was held in the newly redecorated Sycamore on Friday 19th, followed by another rip-roaring performance from The A52s.

The following evening, Tom and Camilla’s victory in the finals of Strictly Come Dancing sent the Sycamore into ecstatic uproar – especially after Tom thanked “everyone at the pub in Parwich” on live national television!

Over the next few days, visitor numbers to PARWICH.ORG went stratospheric, as curious web surfers across the country entered “Parwich” into their search engines. By the end of the month, our website had clocked up an astonishing 20,000 page views in just over four weeks.

On Sunday 21st, Ben and Martin installed a Parwich village map on the south approach road, with additional copies distributed to homes across the village.

Less fortunately, a mini-crime wave resulted in the theft of a farm gate from a field entrance on the edge of Parwich, and the loss of a number of power tools from a garage within the village.

On the evening of Tuesday 23rd, an impressive turn-out of villagers sung carols on the Green, with musical accompaniment provided by Chris Hooley. Christmas Eve was commemorated by a splendid Nativity Play at St Peter’s, as scripted by Christopher Harrison. A midnight communion at Parwich Church was followed by a Christmas Day communion at Alsop Church.

As a dazzling display of hoar frost turned Parwich into a veritable Winter Wonderland, 2008 ended in fine style with “The Night Of The Triple Buffets”, featuring celebrations at the Legion, the Memorial Hall and the Sycamore.

PARWICH.ORG WISHES ALL ITS READERS A HAPPY NEW YEAR!