Archive for the ‘2011’ Category

Everyday First Aid

Posted in 2011, Health Care, Posts of Note, Services on Thursday March 3, 2011| 4 Comments »

FREE FIRST AID SESSIONS FROM THE BRITISH RED CROSS

The aim of everyday first aid is to provide people with the skills and confidence to act in a first aid emergency, thereby increasing the resilience of local communities and reducing “the bystander effect”.

The Red Cross knows that everyone can learn a few simple skills that could help someone if things suddenly went wrong. It doesn’t matter how young or old, or how able the person thinks they are, everyone can learn to do something to help an ill or injured person.

Everyday first aid differs from more traditional first aid training. The sessions are a maximum of two hours and focus on first aid skills which are easy to learn and remember; and which respond to a local need – so that in just a couple of hours, learners can become life-savers. We try to work alongside other organisations and tailor our first aid training sessions to your specific needs in an inclusive and flexible way.

The topics covered in a first aid session vary, depending on the needs of your group, but can range from: calling the emergency services; caring for an unconscious casualty who is breathing; caring for a casualty who is not breathing; choking; blood loss; seizures, burns and scalds etc. A typical session lasts around one to two hours, and can be delivered to groups ranging in size from about 8 to 20 people

Participants receive an easy to follow “workbook” which consists of first aid cards with a photograph of the injury or medical emergency on one side and the main key skill we want the person to deliver on the other. Each pack also contains a “Certificate of first aid learning” which each person can fill out with their name, as well as a place to tick each individual skill they’ve learnt during that session.

Sessions are free of charge; although if groups wish to make a donation to support the work of the Red Cross, that is most welcome.

This first aid programme is an exciting way to learn first aid. It offers the participants the opportunity to learn skills according to their ability and learning style. Everyone can learn something and be rewarded for it.

For more information, please contact: Deborah Webster, CBFA Coordinator
Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire & Cheshire
Tel: (01629) 593335 Mob: 07912080894 email: dwebster@redcross.org.uk

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Brr, what a winter!

Posted in 2011, Posts of Note, Weather on Tuesday March 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Now that we have reached the month of March, with spring time hopefully just around the corner, let’s take a look back at the last six months of Parwich weather, based on the daily maximum and minimum temperatures supplied by our “weatherman on the hill”.

With the “great freeze” of December 2010 still fresh in our memories, it scarcely seems possible to imagine a warm, sunny day in Parwich – and as our figures show, we haven’t enjoyed a temperature of over 20 degrees since Thursday September 9th. However, a warm spell in early November gave us an unexpected high of 16.4 degrees on Thursday November 4th – after which, it was downhill all the way.

Just nine days later, on Saturday November 13th, the maximum temperature in Parwich reached double figures for the last time in 2010 – and it didn’t rise to double figures again until Thursday January 13th, exactly two months later.

Although our first sub-zero temperature was recorded overnight on Monday October 25th, the first “great freeze” didn’t start in earnest until Wednesday November 24th. This marked the first of a whopping sixteen consecutive sub-zero nights, lasting until Thursday December 9th. During that time, the temperature dipped below minus 10 degrees on four nights, reaching its coldest – a positively Arctic minus 12.2 degrees – on Monday December 6th. Other villagers reported tempertaures as low as minus 15.5 degrees on the same morning – while out by Tissington Ford, one driver from the village recorded a gobsmacking minus 22 degrees.

Parwich’s second major cold spell struck on Friday December 17th, just in time for Christmas. This time round, the sub-zero nights lasted eleven days, ending on Monday December 27th. And for the five day period between December 17th and Monday December 21st, the maximum temperature in the village never once rose above zero.

During January and February, things started to improve – despite a further cold spell at the end of January, and a somewhat chilly mid-February. We had five days of double-figure mildness from Friday February 4th to Tuesday February 8th, our last sub-zero temperature was recorded in the early morning of Tuesday February 8th, and last Thursday’s 13.4 degree maximum gave us our warmest day since early November.

For the stats-lovers amongst you, here are some charts, which illustrate the last six months of maximum and minimum temperatures: from September 1st to February 26th.

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Winning artist goes underwater to paint seahorses

Posted in 2011, Arts, Esther Underwater, People, Posts of Note on Tuesday March 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Note from the blog team: Starting from today, Parwich artist Esther Tyson will be posting regular diary-style updates on her new creative project: to immortalise the seahorses of Dorset in art. In this first post, Esther gives us some personal background on the project, before explaining her forthcoming activities in more detail. Esther, it’s over to you…

1. The past.

We had been paddling along the gullies, sand squishing through our toes, small fish tickling our legs. I remember the excitement as the sand came alive and a flat fish darted from our feet. We sped up the shore to dry and get warm, then away again to searching the tide line, full of anticipation.

A stick, with a dragon head?

Once home, we rushed upstairs, knowing exactly where Dad’s Observer book of the sea shore stood and thumbed through every page until there it was – we had found our very own pipefish! It was moved out to the shed pretty quickly. Mum disposed of it when we weren’t looking; apparently it smelled bad!

Our following trip to Tridely left a stronger impression. We had been treading the gullies as usual, but the next moment was filled with fear. The ground fell away, and I was scrambling at the edge of the sand bank with nothing but clouded water beneath me. Clutching handfuls of bank, I couldn’t get out. My little sister came running; she grabbed my arm and pulled me out…

In 2005, I spent three months on an island in the Seychelles, working alongside scientists studying the indigenous magpie robin. Surrounded by the Indian Ocean and beautiful clear water, how could I not explore the reef? I decided there that I would attempt to get over this fear of deep water… maybe take swimming lessons back home.

In 2008, the Dorset Wildlife Trust announced they would be offering a diving bursary to explore UK waters. How exciting – for someone else! Or maybe it would focus my attention to break this water thing…?

Five swimming lessons on a “back to basics” course, six months and my confidence grew. Three years on, I decide to apply for the diving bursary…

2. The Project – A Personal Sense of Place: Studland, Dorset.

The aim is to produce a body of work inspired by the rare and unique seagrass meadow habitat and the weird and wonderful creatures that make it home (predominantly the two species of seahorse). With hope, this body of work will help increase awareness of the importance of this habitat.

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Maisie’s New Puppies

Posted in 2011, Pets of Parwich, Posts of Note on Sunday February 27, 2011| 3 Comments »

Two weeks ago, Jill L’s border terrier Maisie gave birth to six of the cutest puppies you ever did see.

There are 4 boys and 2 girls in the litter. Two of them are Blue and Tans whilst the others are Red Grizzles. All six puppies are healthy and are doing very well.

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New Parwich Transportation Service Available

Posted in 2011, Posts of Note, Services on Monday February 7, 2011| 8 Comments »

If you find climbing the hills of Parwich a trifle arduous, fear not! A brand new transportation service has just arrived in the village. The Mike and Sue ‘willow litter’ will be making circuits every 15 minutes around the most popular points in Parwich. Flag them down and take a seat on top of the sticks! Stops include The Sycamore, The Green, The Legion, The Sycamore, The Shop, The Legion and The Sycamore.

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Many thanks to J F-S for capturing the first shots of this crack transportation team!

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Parwich Portrait Photography Exhibition – Final Weekend

Posted in 2011, People, Photography, Posts of Note on Saturday February 5, 2011| Leave a Comment »

The closing date for submissions to the Parwich Portrait Photography Exhibition is tomorrow – Sunday 27th February. If you have an interesting photograph of someone living in (or connected to) the Parwich area, send it in!

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Parwich.org invites you to get creative and enter our grand portrait photography exhibition!

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You don’t have to have a big expensive camera to enter. This is about having fun taking pictures..and sharing some interesting portraits of people linked to the Parwich area.

Here’s how it works:

  • Pictures should feature people who either live in and around Parwich, or are associated with the area.
  • A maximum of 5 pictures may be submitted per person.
  • You must have taken the picture yourself, or have the permission of the owner of the photograph.
  • Pictures should be emailed to parwich@hotmail.co.uk.
  • Let us know if you would be happy to be credited with the photo or if you prefer to remain anonymous.
  • Optionally, give your photo(s) a title or a few words explaining the picture and its background. Note we will not publish full names.
  • The closing date for submissions is Sunday 27th February, we will publish the photographs the following weekend.
  • By submitting your photos you give us permission to publish them on this blog. You will of course retain all rights to your photographs.

If you need some tips or inspiration on portrait photography, click here.

Give it a go…and let’s have some fun!

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Fire Safety

Posted in 2011, Posts of Note, Services on Thursday February 3, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Following the tragic fire in Hulland Ward, this is the time to check if you have WORKING smoke alarms.

The Derbyshire Fire Brigade offer a FREE home fire safety check, where if required smoke alarms will be fitted FREE of charge. The home fire safety check will give you valuable information on making your home a safer place and advice on how to protect yourself and family if the unthinkable happens.

For more information or to book an appointment call the West Area Office 01298 22274.

If you are over 60, then the Derbyshire Handy Van service will fit smoke alarms for free. Call  0845 850 8013

Modern smoke alarms have a 10 year battery life, and are sealed, so no-one can remove the batteries for their toys, etc…

Smoke Alarms

Ensure that the alarm is working and tested regularly. This should be done once a week, but in any case in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Most alarms are tested by pushing in an obvious test button for a few seconds until the alarm sounds. When the batteries are running out, the alarm will give an occasional bleep. This will continue until the battery runs out or is replaced. Make sure the right type of battery (normally alkaline) is used as a replacement. Batteries should normally be replaced once per year, except in the case of ten year alarms. Smoke alarms also need hoovering twice a week to keep the sensors free from dust.

A fire strikes when you least expect it, often during the night. It also spreads very rapidly, but the real killer is the smoke. If you are asleep when a fire starts and you don’t have a smoke alarm to wake you, your chance of surviving are reduced. Smoke suffocates quickly.

Smoke alarms are available for people with a hearing impairment which consists of flashing lights and vibrating pads.

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We’ve Made It To Half A Million!

Posted in 2011, About this site, News, Posts of Note on Saturday January 15, 2011| 9 Comments »

Our village website has just passed a historic milestone today. This blog, set up to serve a few hundred people in and around Parwich, has just received half a million visits.

The site has been extraordinarily successful since it was officially launched in March 2008. The blog plays an important role in keeping the community informed and provides an effective means of holding a collective dialogue. We are regularly cited as one of the most successful ‘hyperlocal‘ websites in the country, and we are held up as an example of what local communities can achieve when they harness the power of the internet.

On average last year, we received 545 page views per day. These visits come from people who live locally and want to know what’s going on; they come from from people who used to live here and like to keep a connection to the area; they come from people as far afield as the USA and Australia, who have historical connections and want to find out more.

So here are some more statistics…

Our most popular month was January 2010, when 72 notices were posted and almost 26,000 page views were recorded. Subjects ranged that month from make-up workshops, through Austrian dinner evenings to a lament that the fish and chip van hadn’t turned up!

Our most popular day was June 30th 2010, when 2003 visitors clicked on the site. The main interest that day was the Hill Race. Many pictures of the contestants were posted and there was great interest in this record of the races.

They say the best form of flattery is imitation. We were particularly chuffed therefore that the creators of that long-running BBC institution – The Archers – have used parwich.org as an input to create their own village website  – click here to see just how similar it is! What’s more,  Archers scriptwriter Keri Davis dips in to parwich.org to get ideas.

I’ve been popping into parwich.org for quite a while as an Archers scriptwriter, often drawing on it for little village details. So yes, it was a big influence when we were setting up the Ambridge site.

Most of all, we’d would like to thank you for your support and active participation on the website. It’s a cliché, but without you, the whole thing would not work at all! Please keep your information and ideas rolling in….we’ve only just begun……

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The PARWICH.ORG Bumper Quiz of 2010 – ANSWERS.

Posted in 2011, Posts of Note, Quiz on Sunday January 9, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Well, you can’t win ’em all! Although the response to our Quiz of the Year was best described as “muted”, a promise is a promise – so here are the answers to those fifty questions that have doubtless kept you all guessing over the past week and a half.

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A warning from Debbie W about accidental poisoning

Posted in 2011, Pets of Parwich, Posts of Note on Friday January 7, 2011| 5 Comments »

We lost our lovely cat Funston (who was a wanderer by nature – he spent a lot of time in the church yard) to accidental anti-freeze poisoning. Apparently, anti-freeze tastes very sweet to animals and children, and it is fairly commonly ingested by both.

I Googled it, and it only takes an animal to walk through spilt anti-freeze, then lick their paws to be affected. I had no idea of this – I’ve merrily filled up with washer screen fluid in my car in the past, and not given it too much thought when it has slopped onto the driveway in the process.

I wanted to share this with people, to avoid this happening to another pet or, God forbid, a child. I’m very thankful to my neighbour who found Funston, and rushed him to the vet (I wasn’t home). We have some very kind people in this village.

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More Urbanisation and Waste of Money‏

Posted in 2011, Local government, Opinion, Posts of Note, Roads, Services on Thursday January 6, 2011| 1 Comment »

John H writes:

Just to let you all know the Derbyshire Dales District Council has started (as of Wed Jan 5) to repair the section of footpath 21 from Croft Avenue to the squeeze stile by the electicity sub-station, between Croft Avenue and Church Walk.

Wednesday morning’s work involved four men, two lorries, a trailer, a van and a JCB digger – and they haven’t started laying tarmac yet! They are turning the former 0.9m wide footpath into a 1.8m wide ‘highway’ – as far as the squeeze stile. This work is being directed by Footpaths and Rights of Way.

I have pointed out to the workmen that the continuing footpath is 0.9m wide to the south of the squeeze stile and has no surface at all where it runs north through 9 Croft Avenue, but was informed that 1.8m was what they were told to provide.

I THINK THIS IS AN UTTER WASTE OF PUBLIC MONEY. A single man with a spade could have cut back the encroaching grass covering the underlying footpath in a few hours. The team working on this could have been more usefully employed filling in the holes in Alsop Road.

The Footpaths and Rights of Way officer has just returned my call, and has stated that 1.8m is the standard adopted wherever possible when they are reconstructing footpaths – whether it be in a conservation area or not, across public land or private land. He is also aware of the condition of the footpath alongside Smithy Close – are we going to see more tarmac there fairly soon?

These piecemeal ‘improvements’ are eroding the character of Parwich as creeping urbanisation. Do we realy need 1.8m footpaths, kerbstones, road signs and street lights, or are they being imposed upon us by County Hall bureaucrats wasting our money when it would be better spent repairing roads, providing care services and education?

As part of the Limestone Way, footpath 21, even in its ‘grassy’ state prior to this morning’s activity, was adequate for use by ramblers. As a local path, for use by village residents, it could have been better, but it did not need to be wider. In poor weather conditions, most villagers would choose to use alternative routes to avoid the hazards of the lower section of the footpath which still remain.

– John H.

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The PARWICH.ORG Bumper Quiz of 2010 – Part Five

Posted in 2011, Posts of Note, Quiz on Saturday January 1, 2011| 2 Comments »

Our five-part quiz of 2010 ends today, with a look back at events from October to December. If you can’t quite remember any of the answers, we suggest using the “Search” box at the top right hand corner of the page, as it should help you navigate fairly easily through our archives.

We hope you have enjoyed this quiz. The answers will be revealed in a few days’ time.

41. In October, Ben Chadfield became a junior champion in what activity?

42. Where was the Macmillan Cancer Support coffee morning held, raising £437.85?

43. What disappeared at Nethergreen, after nearly sixty years?

44. The choir of which church is pictured here, performing at the Choral Classics for Remembrance concert in November?

45. Another village blog was launched in November, and PARWICH.ORG was credited as being “a big influence” on it. Name the village!

46. What returned to Parwich in the early hours of Saturday November 27th?

47. How many inches of snow did John F-S record in his garden in early December?

48. Our weatherman on the hill recorded the lowest temperature of the year on Monday December 6th. What temperature did he record?

49. A painting of Parwich was featured on which national television show?

50. Who provided Christmas karaoke at the Legion?

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