Strongman Competition – Next Week

Families, residents and holidaymakers are invited to join a guided cycle ride to celebrate 40 years of the Peak District National Park Authority’s Tissington Trail.

This free event on Tuesday August 30th will explore the history of this popular traffic free trail – one of the first of its kind in the UK when it first opened in 1971.

The ride will be led by national park staff and is suitable for people of all ages whether new to cycling or experienced pedal-pushers.

One of the highlights of the tour is a visit to the Hartington signal box.

The ride starts at 11am. Meet at Parsley Hay cycle hire centre (SK17 ODG for satnavs). There is no need to book, people can bring their own bike or hire one from the cycle hire centre.

Property Manager, Abi Ball, who manages the Tissington Trail, said: “This year, visitors will be able to see conservation management in action, as for the first time sheep grazing will take place on the sides of the trail.”

The sheep will graze at Fenny Bentley Cutting and Parsley Hay Cutting from late summer and over winter, eating this year’s grass growth and helping to control the spread of scrub, for the benefit of next year’s wild flowers, such as orchids, bistort, knapweed and cowslips.  Both cuttings will be fenced to keep the sheep in. This work has been funded by the SITA Trust which supports projects that make lasting improvements to the natural environment and community life.

Click here for a Brief history of the Tissington Trail.

PARWICH.ORG joins Facebook

If you’re a Facebook user, then please consider “liking” the Facebook page for PARWICH.ORG. This will send links to all new blog posts to your Facebook News Feed.

Updated: Here’s the link: http://www.facebook.com/parwich

Swimming underwater: Part Fourteen

Wednesday.

Caught the Castello early this morning, then the chain ferry, and made my way to Studland. A short walk to the beach: lovely, calm and not many people!

Damon and Jim pulled into the car park five minutes later. We walked down to the beach for a recce, as neither have dived Studland before, then returned to the van to don our gear. It’s a longer walk to the beach all togged and weighted, and thankfully it’s downhill!

We discuss the dive ahead and make our way to the water. I have a real problem to begin with: my BCD isn’t tight enough (I’m a bit weak with the straps) and I keep turning turtle. It takes a while to sort it out, then we make our way out to look for eelgrass.

Being new to diving, the possible loss of control in buoyancy whilst drawing could be a real problem. I am mindful of this and remain a meter above the grass throughout the dive. I’m surprised by the abundance of small snakelocks anemones. They are attached to stems of grass: all healthy, and all like little children’s sunshines. The grass is cleaner, with some darker areas and some lighter.

I keep the boys in sight at all times. Damon looks back now and then, to check I’m still there, and sits cross-legged hovering above the grass – show off! If only it was so easy. I struggle to cross my legs out of water, never mind in the water! And the last time I hovered, it was upside down?!

I make two drawings of Damon as he leads the way. The 300lb paper no longer works; it’s breaking up as I draw. The 425lb holds up well and holds the graphite for the duration. There is a dark shore crab (not as large as the Brownsea crabs) and little sand fish. Damon and Jim see snails, but we don’t come across the seahorses.

The sun sends rays through the water as we swim toward shore. Damon’s computer reads 2.5m and Jim’s going one better, at 2.8m with a 50 minute dive. It’s been good to finally see the environment I hope to work in. I thoroughly enjoyed it – even the walk back to the van, which warmed me up!

Coffee and Green & Blacks white chocolate… cool!

It is only two weeks to the Horticultural Show and this year is extra special, as it is the 60th show. By clicking on the picture below you can find out about each class, so you still have plenty of time to get organised, try out your recipes, give your veggies some extra TLC and practise your flower arranging. This year sees the return of the popular men’s classes, with a different theme, and the extremely popular photography class is also back.

Don’t forget that entries are open at 8am and close at 11am on the morning of the show.

The show opens to the public at approximately 2:00pm
with trophies and prizes to be presented at 3:00pm.

Auction of exhibits will take place after the presentations.

Weather Stats: 14th to 20th Aug

Here are last week’s readings:

Rainfall

in mm

Pressure

in Mb (am)

Pressure

in Mb (pm)

Temperature in ºC

Max

Min

Sun 14

0.0

1007.5

1011.4

18.7

10.3

Mon 15

0.9

1018.2

1019.6

21.3

5.4

Tue 16

0.4

1016.6

1017.4

21.0

12.0

Wed 17

0.0

1020.0

1019.8

19.6

6.3

Thu 18

0.4

1019.2

1017.1

18.2

8.1

Fri 19

0.0

1017.9

1018.7

20.3

8.8

Sat 20

0.0

1018.2

1016.9

21.2

12.8

Total

1.7

Average

20.1

9.1

Our weatherman on the hill says:

A changeable week to come with average temperatures and showers, but a wet day on Tuesday.

What’s on Where this Week
Day Time Event Location
Sunday 10am Family Service Parwich Church
Sunday 11.15am Holy Communion Alsop Church
Thursday 6-7pm Circuit Training Memorial Hall
Saturday 6.30pm BBQ at The Legion Parwich Legion
Sunday 9.30am Holy Communion Parwich Church
Sunday 11.15am Mattins Alsop Church
Sunday 2.30pm Methodist Service Alsop Church

Parwich Bowls Club

We have had a different couple of bowling weeks. Each year the Thursday League stops the normal league games and takes part in the Greenaway Charity Tournament. Parwich has had quite a lot of success in the match over recent years. Last year a member managed to win the ‘plate’ competition. This year we did not manage to win in either ‘pool’, although one player got knocked out in the semi final. Anyway the Greenaway was the winner, on the day the League players raised in excess of £1100 for the Charity.

Tuesday League – 9 August – Away – Bradwell

We were behind Bradwell in the league by 4 points. And although we did win three out of the four games we lost heavily in the fourth game. The final result was Bradwell 63, Parwich 66, meaning we were still behind Bradwell by one point!

Tuesday League – 16 August – Home – Wirksworth

We had one of our best results of the season winning all four games and very convincingly. The final score was Parwich 84 (the maximum) Wirksworth 46. This result has given us three wins on the trot and lifted us to fifth in the League. With only three matches to go before the end of the season let us hope our good form continues.

Next match 23 August – Away – Bakewell

Matlock Thursday Friendly League – 18 August – Home – Matlock Park

The good form in our Tuesday league matches carried over this week to the Thursday League. Although we only won one game in the doubles the scores were reasonably level at the end of them. We more than made up the deficit in the singles however, winning all six games for the first time this season. The final score was a resounding 141 to 103 win to Parwich.

Next match 25 August Away – Whitworth Park

We have a Club competition this Sunday. We start on the ‘green’ at 10.30 in the morning. If you fancy a meander down we will be pleased to see you.

John B

This year’s successful Parwich Panoramic Five race raised £571.42 – up over 25% on last year.  As in previous years, all profits will go to the Memorial Hall. 

An enormous thanks go to all who took part and helped make it a great evening.

 Thanks Graham

Car theft from centre of village!

Thank you to Cheryl for this information.

Just to let you know that John Webster had his 4×4 stolen from in front of his house last night – right in the middle of the village!! Please warn people to be extra vigilant with their vehicles and maybe get some extra security such as steering wheel locks as this appears to be happening more and more.

Strongman Competition Returns

Swimming underwater: Part Thirteen

Sunday afternoon.

We had a group in over the weekend, so Vic and I took the landy down to the clock tower with all the bags and went to meet the boat. As the guys readied to leave, Shep (the skipper) spotted me and shouted over “Est, it’s a perfect time to snorkel!”

Oh heck, he’s right. The water’s pretty clear and the sun is in just the right position for a good look around. I’ve no excuse, even though my gear is at the Villa.

Decision made, I walk two students back to base with a short guided tour, pick up my box of bits (snorkel, mask, fins, wetsuit, hood, gloves, boots, towel) and make my way back to the castle jetty.

The harbour is crammed. There are speeding boats, jet skis, sailing boats and fishing boats, all running back and forth in the channel. I’m standing at the top of the steps looking at the swell as it comes in between the two jetties and up toward me.

Do I really want to go in there? I don’t feel nervous, but I’m a bit apprehensive about the depth and these waves. I sit a while and watch.

Shep has done a second run to Sandbanks in this time.
“Working yourself up to it?!”
How true!

The question is: do I really believe I’m getting in? I’m already talking myself out of it.

Continue Reading »

Keith P writes:

Half the houses for sale in Parwich are currently registered with the online estate agent Housesimple. One has already sold, subject to contract.

Nowadays, 80 to 90 per cent of houses are viewed by buyers online through portals such as Rightmove, Primelocation, Fish4homes, Zoopla and others, and this is changing the face of estate agency. Local estate agents are no longer the first port of call for a buyer; the internet is.

But if you want to put your house on the best internet sites, you can’t do so without going through an agent, which Housesimple will do for you. Local estate agents also put the houses on their books on Rightmove and Primelocation. The difference is in the price.

A house selling for £300,000 might have a local agent’s fee of £4,000. A house at £700,000 may attract a fee of £8,500 or more. On Housesimple, the fee is £425 + VAT in total, which is why half the properties in the village have now opted for the internet estate agent.

Who knows, you might even sell your house to someone else in the village. What’s the point in paying agents many thousands of pounds to do that, when you can get just about the same exposure for very little?

Y-Not Festival 2011 photo gallery






Continue Reading »

What’s on Where this Week
Day Time Event Location
Sunday 9.30am Holy Communion Parwich Church
Sunday 11.15am Holy Communion Alsop Church
Sunday 2.30pm Methodist Service Parwich Church
Wednesday Digital Switchover for Parwich
Thursday 6-7pm Circuit Training Memorial Hall
Saturday all day Ashbourne Agricultural Show Osmaston
Sunday 10am Family Service Parwich Church
Sunday 11.15am Holy Communion Alsop Church

Here are last week’s readings:

Rainfall

in mm

Pressure

in Mb (am)

Pressure

in Mb (pm)

Temperature in ºC

Max

Min

Sun 7

5.4

1004.7

1005.4

19.4

10.4

Mon 8

0.0

1006.3

1013.1

18.5

8.2

Tue 9

0.0

1019.0

1024.7

19.1

9.4

Wed 10

11.2

1019.9

1015.7

20.2

7.7

Thu 11

4.9

1008.6

1009.6

18.4

13.2

Fri 12

0.4

1011.5

1008.8

18.1

13.7

Sat 13

1.3

1006.0

1006.8

20.0

14.9

Total

23.2

Average

19.1

11.1

Our weatherman on the hill says:

A week of moderate temperatures with some rain on Tuesday and cloudy with sunny periods most days.

Thank you to Martin for sending in a reminder about the switchover to Digital TV next Wednesday, 17th August.

This means in order to watch TV from this date you would need either:

  • A Freeview set top box (they start from £20) and possibly a new aerial + your old telly
  • Or a TV with Freeview built in
  • Or a satellite dish + a Sky Freesat box or Skybox (£150+, or a subscription) + your old telly.

To receive High Definition (HD) TV, you would need a TV that is HD ready + a HD set top box.

For further information click on

A Freeview aerial can be fitted for a cost of £80 from Edge aerials (I can recommend them) for £80.   One can try the old analogue aerials first to see if they will pick up Freeview broadcasts from our relay transmitter.  Martin C.

To read the comments from earlier posts on Digital TV click here.

Mr Bill Whitfield, of Leatherbritches Nursery, has very kindly judged the baskets for us again. He looked at 29 baskets altogether and it was quite a task for him to decide which one to put in 3rd place.  Here are the three winners.

Michael Hart, Secretary of the Horticultural Society.

First prize – Two of Jack Cundy’s three splendid baskets. (Main Street) Continue Reading »

Renewable Energy and Planning

The following post covers all the different types of Renewable Energy discussed at last month’s sustainability meeting, as well as drawing together additional information and links to other official sites. There is a lot of detail included, so do use the Index to find the information that is relevant to your own situation.

Twenty four people  attended the meeting, which was extremely informative and produced some probing questions about the facts behind renewable energy (RE): the pros, cons and implications for individuals and communities.

The meeting, which had been set up by Robert Gosling, was as a result of comments and returned questionnaires from his own open meeting in May. John Youatt who used to be a planner for PDNP led the meeting, more recently he has been assisting Sustainable Youlgreave.

Jim Dixon, Chief Executive of Peak District National Park Authority has kindly said that when our community holds any future meetings he will be pleased to attend or send the right people to help.

Index

1. Solar & PV Panels
a. PV Panels
b. Solar Panels
2. Feed in Tariffs and Renewable Heat Initiatives
3. Rent your roof
4. Heat Pumps
5. Wind Power
6. Biomass Heating
7. Anaerobic Digestion
8. Hydro Power
9. Planning Regulations

1a.  Solar & PV Panels

Please click on this link to find out about the new government proposals regarding PV Feed in Tariffs – announced October 31st 2011.

Solar thermal or hot water panels and, solar electric (photovoltaic or PV), what does this mean?

Solar thermal is the capture of heat into fluids in tubes placed on roofs transferred to a storage tank. Solar electric or photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of sunlight and daylight (refracted sunlight) into direct electric current (DC), through silica cells in panels on roofs or on the ground. ‘On-grid’, the current is then converted into alternating current (AC) at 240v, to be used on site, with any spare sold to the national grid at a guaranteed price. ‘Off grid’, the direct current can be fed to batteries, eg on a remote building such as a field barn or a remote road sign.

How does it work in practice?
A Company with a certificate installs approved panels or a heat pump for you. A Government-backed contract guarantees you a price, currently 43.3p for every kilowatt hour you generate and 3.1p on top of that for every kilowatt you sell back to the grid. Continue Reading »

Saturday is the final day for bulk rubbish collection for Ballidon.  The van will stop by the houses between 10.30 – 10.45am.

Opening Times – Shop, Pub & Legion

For Teens interested in Drama/History

Although a bit of a distance from our area and not on a direct transport link from Parwich, the following press release from the Peak Park Authority might be of interest to some of our teens:

11 August 2011 – Keen teens needed to bring moorland lore to life

Young people are invited to act out scenes from moorland history to help create a short film in a free five-day drama workshop (August 22-26).

The Moor Memories Project has been recording the recollections of people who lived, worked or walked on the Peak District moors as far back as the 1930s to create a unique archive of moorland life.

Now young people aged 11-16 are invited to re-enact those stories in drama and film-making sessions with professionals from the Point Blank Theatre Company.

The drama workshops will brings scenes like this to life – Peak District National Park warden Ken Drabble and a friend rescuing a sheep in 1955.

Moor Memories Project officer Julia Shergold explained: Continue Reading »

Strongman Competition – 3rd Sept

A Pastoral Scene

This photo comes from a book called Derbyshire part of the series, King’s England, written by Arthur Mee and published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1937.  It shows the back of Orchard Farm in the left hand corner, with a view that is somewhat different today.  The photo appears to have been taken close to the track on Monsdale Lane that says “Unsuitable for motors”.   Thank you to JF-S for finding this gem.

If anyone has any old photos of Parwich, maybe we could borrow them, scan them and put them on the blog.

Properties for sale or rent

IMPORTANT: These details have been updated elsewhere. Please click here for our most recent property round-up.

Fernlea HouseMouldridge LanePikehall Lane
Bluebell CottageThe SquareSpenedge
Sycamore CottagesRathbone CroftPikehall Farm

The list will be updated again next month. Until then, you will be able to find it on the INFO page, via the SITE MAP, and in the ELSEWHERE ON PARWICH.ORG section on the right hand side of this page.

Swimming underwater: Part Twelve

Wednesday evening.

At Swanage pier, I have my second open water dive. Damon is my instructor for the evening and Jim is my buddy for the skills. I’m nervous as we approach the floating jetty, but as Damon pulls on his fin, the strap comes away. My mind is focused on his fixing it, and then on trying to stand solid as he leans on my shoulder for balance while donning his fins… so much so, that I’m calm and ready to take the first skill.

Damon steps off the jetty first. All’s well and he signs “OK”. I step over to the edge. “It’s a flippin’ long way down there”, Jim is happy to inform me that at only a metre “it’s not!” Right gloves heal on reg, fingers on mask, while left hand holds down any dangly bits. I step off the jetty, go under and surface. OK, but with a little water in my mask. Jim’s turn.

Continue Reading »

A survey will be held on four recreational trails in the Peak District National Park to get views on how they could be improved in the future.

Trails Saturday is being organised by the Peak District National Park Authority on Saturday 20 August to ask users what they most like about the trails and to get their ideas on what would make them even better.

Staff will be collecting the views of walkers, cyclists and horse riders between 10am and 4pm at:

• Ashbourne Cycle Hire Centre on the Tissington Trail, a 13-mile route from Ashbourne to Parsley Hay
• Parsley Hay Cycle Hire Centre on the High Peak Trail, a 17.5-mile route from High Peak Junction, near Cromford, to Dowlow, six miles south of Buxton
• Millers Dale Station on the Monsal Trail, a 9-mile route between Bakewell and Wye Dale
• Carr Lane car park on the Thornhill Trail, a route which goes from Ladybower Dam towards Bamford station.

Abi Ball, who manages the trails for the Peak District National Park Authority, said: “All four trails are well used because they are easy access routes along old railway lines in beautiful national park countryside that is rich in wildlife and historic interest.

“The recent opening of the former railway tunnels on the Monsal Trail has really generated a lot of interest and use of all of the trails.

“We want to build on that interest by preparing a five year management plan for the trails. Because of their importance to locals and visitors alike, we would like to give as many people as possible the opportunity to feed their views directly into the process.”

Anyone who is unable to visit the survey points on Trails Saturday can still give their views by completing a short online survey.

The survey will be available until the end of August. All ideas given in the survey and on Trails Saturday will shape the new management plan.

For further information, please email Abi Ball at abi.ball@peakdistrict.gov.uk  or ring 01629 816345.

Dress Alteration – Help

I need a dress taking in for next weekend and I was hoping that there may be someone handy with a needle and thread who would do it for me, I don’t think it will be a major job and I will pay for the service. If anyone can do it they can call 552.
Thanks Tracy

Another house for sale

Jason and Emma, who ran the village shop until 2008, have decided to sell the property. It has received a change of use notice from the Peak Park, so there is now development potential for turning the former shop into accommodation. The upstairs apartment is already refurbished to a high standard. There is also a garage; a rarity in Parwich? The property is available for sale at £399,000.

Thanks to Keith P for this information. The sales details can be found here or email turnerjason1@sky.com with any further enquiries.

…for there’s a new star in town! It was great to see Parwich’s Hazel B playing such a confident and well-received three-song set this afternoon, in the Acoustic Tent at this year’s Y-Not Festival. This was only Hazel’s second public performance, following her recent debut at the Miners Arms in Brassington, and PARWICH.ORG predicts that she will go far!

First Responder News

This month’s training involved us taking on board a couple of minor changes in how we respond to patients if we are called out. I won’t go into the technicalities but these changes are the result of ever-continuing research which shows what treatment gets the best results. So we will actually go back to how we worked a year or so ago. It’s a challenge to wipe our brains of one set of actions, especially when we don’t use our skills regularly. Rest assured, your First Responders are on the case!
Due to family commitments and hols I haven’t mentioned our small stall at Wake’s Week. We sold heart shaped shortbread and had the dummies available for people to refresh existing resuscitation skills. It was great to see how many youngsters were keen to have a go. We also demonstrated the crucial and potentially life-saving Recovery Position. I think all of our CFR group feel that however scary it might be to contemplate resuscitating someone, it’s nothing compared to the helplessness of facing a dying loved one and not knowing what to do – the “if only” scenario. As a group we are very keen to help people gain or improve life-saving skills. We have put on training in the past and if people feel the need for another short course we would love to hear from them.
It is worth mentioning that some of our Responders who are no longer available to go on the rota nevertheless join us at training to maintain their skills. This means that we have a good pool of basic knowledge within the village.
Lastly, for anyone interested in how we spend any funds raised, here are a few examples:
  • the pads on the defibrillators have a shelf-life and need replacing
  • training dummies
  • extra defibrillators and kit bags
  • travel expenses for our volunteer trainers
  • hire of the village hall
  • funding First Aid training sessions
  • buying new items of kit as and when they are advised by EMAS
Thanks for reading and best wishes for a lovely summer form your CFR group.
Sue H

The “Buxton Hill” section of the A515 in Ashbourne, from 100 metres north of the junction of North Avenue/Windmill Lane (by the Bowling Green pub) to the junction of Union Street (at the north end of the Market Square), will be closed between 7pm and 7am on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (August 8th-10th), and again from Monday August 22nd to Friday August 26th.

There’s more information, including suggested diversions, on the Derbyshire County Council website.

Thanks to Sue H for alerting us to this.

Here are last week’s readings:

Rainfall

in mm

Pressure

in Mb (am)

Pressure

in Mb (pm)

Temperature in ºC

Max

Min

Sun 31

0.0

1018.1

1016.2

23.8

9.5

Mon 1

0.0

1014.3

1013.3

24.2

15.8

Tue 2

0.0

1014.4

1014.9

25.0

14.8

Wed 3

0.0

1016.9

1016.2

27.2

12.8

Thu 4

1.8

1013.7

1010.1

19.3

11.7

Fri 5

0.0

1013.2

1015.8

22.5

11.7

Sat 6

1.8

1010.2

1006.2

20.3

11.9

Total

3.6

Average

23.15

12.60

Our weatherman on the hill says:

A mixed week of weather with moderate temperatures, cloudy with sunny periods, and the possibility of a thundery shower on Thursday.

What’s on Where this Week
Day Time Event Location
Sunday . Y-Not Festival Pikehall
Sunday 6.30pm Evensong Parwich Church
Thursday 6-7pm Circuit Training Memorial Hall
Saturday 10.30-10.45am Saturday Morning Bulk Rubbish Collection – Final One Ballidon
Sunday 9.30am Holy Communion Parwich Church
Sunday 11.15am Holy Communion Alsop Church
Sunday 2.30pm Methodist Service Parwich Church

Parwich Bowls Club

Thankfully we have had a change in fortune in one of the leagues we play in and in the other, although we lost, we tried very hard.

Tuesday League – 2 August – Home – Matlock Bath

After struggling for a few weeks in this league we finally managed to win, and what an emphatic win it was. We won three of the four games and the game we lost was only lost by one point. The result therefore was 83 to Parwich and 60 to Matlock Bath. Not so sure how we will get on next week – we are playing a very strong side.

Next match 9 August – Away – Bradwell.

Matlock Thursday Friendly League – 4 August – Away – Tideswell

The venue at Tideswell is really lovely, but for us it is a difficult place to play. They have lots of members in their club and their teams are always very strong. This week continued to prove the case. We thought we had done well in the doubles games only losing 50 to 41. However they obviously saved their better players for the singles games where we only managed to win two out of the six. The final result was 129 to Tideswell 98 to Parwich.

We do not have a match next week in the Thursday League as the ‘Greenaway’ competition takes place. This is the annual charity competition to support the Greenaway Centre in Darley Dale. The league players have managed to raise thousands of pounds for the centre over the years. Let us hope for another good day next Thursday.

On Sunday we play one of our own competitions, the Round Robin. It lasts all day as you will probably gather from the name each doubles pair plays all other pairs. The game starts at 10.30am this Sunday 7 August. Come down have a look.

John B

Germany feeding Europe


A satirical photo from JF-S, just remember when you see it in Private Eye, you actually saw it here first!

Cardboard Boxes

We would very much appreciate any clean, empty cardboard boxes (not too big as must be liftable). Will collect. Tel.390500
Avril

The Parish Council needs one more member to have its full quota of Councillors. To fill this one vacancy a legal process has to be followed.

Firstly, the Parish needs to decide if a full election process is the way forward preferred by parishioners. To do this 10 people, or more (registered electors), from the Parish need to write to the Returning Officer in Matlock: The Returning Officer, Derbyshire Dales District Council,Town Hall,  Matlock, Derbys, DE4 3NN by 1st September. When this has happened a full election process will go ahead.  This has cost implications for the Parish Council, (approximately £1,000 if the election is contested) which will be met from the budget received each year .

If there are fewer than 10 people who want the election process to be followed, the Parish Council can go ahead and co-opt somebody from the Parish. This will mean that everyone (providing they are on an electoral role) will have the opportunity to volunteer their services to fill the one empty post.

To read the Parish Council Vacancy Notice, click here.

Baby Moorhen on the Jubilee Pond

JF-S – easier to take than the swallows!

Calling all horse owners