Cromford Car Parking!

 Calming influences of Canadas at Cromford

12th June 2025

It would have been easier to park a barge than at those darned car parks. In Ringo's car park,  I faff about to find a good shady spot and realise the pay machine has disappeared!  Not having downloaded Ringo (no signal anyway), hoping not to have jumped into the fine of £500 I skedaddled off to the Wharf and paid a handsome £7 for the day in the machine that did work, whereupon I met Julia and Maggie, also early. Julia's answer was that Bob pays for her from the comfort of his sofa... perhaps I should have asked Bob to include me! 

Whilst Julia (thankyou) bought me a flat white, I calmed myself down with a few canada geese on the school run. One adult, breaks free 

Do you think that's a good idea to park yourself there, dear? 

But its a pretty place to be in a broody mood

Julia, Maggie and I settle into our coffees and tea with free hot water, waiting for Jo, who does arrive at the correct time.  Cheerfully announcing...

I found a free spot on the road... 😬

We caught up on our ailments, mine in particular, and decided that it's a delicate balance between resting and being active.  However, a sports' injury physio specialist is a godsend, especially if operating from Pride Park Velodrome, where there is a nature reserve called The Sanctuary.   Free parking too with certain conditions attached (cycling, join the gym class, have an injury or be in an elite bird group).

Our attention turns to a money spider making friends with Jo. 🕷 gets a  mention, as promised! We talk a bit about financial issues but the temptation of a walk before lunch  in the rising heat, cannot be resisted. 

We discover the swimming lessons are going well. (Jo's pic)

Sheep are obviously not interested in swimming, but woolly coats are a bit warm for today

Shade works best.

I'd rather be in the water (Jo's  pic)

Cooling ferns

What is Maggie explaining now? 

We arrive back at the Wharf where Lynn has just arrived: "I parked for free on the road" 😬😬

We settle in for lunch whilst Lynn catches the eyes of not one,  but two gentlemen waiting for the loo and she only knows one of them too! Can't take her anywhere.

Here's one of them. 

We are finally quorate with Pam arriving hoping Phil and grandchild share the same nap time! Apparently Ringo wasn't working, so she had to move car parks too.. 😁

We catch up on local news: the demise of curriculum choices for both students and adults in the area, twinning expansions and collections (or not!) for leaving staff.  Clearly one needs the help of the money spider to help untangle that web!🕷🕸

Train travelling is trendy and don't forget to pack your best PJ's if you are not ensuite or are sharing with strangers! We won't mention what the hole in the floor is for 😁 😁

Now, what was Pam  explaining? 

Clearly something funny!

Time ticks on  but some of us need to return home: to avoid the impending storm, to grab a grandchild and feed it geese, is that bit right Pam?, release the dog, plan the next holiday or even beat the car park clock 😬😬😁

We missed absent friends and hope we can gather in July.

Kedleston Kingfishers et al!

 

The Kedleston Kingfisher

13th February 2025

Four hardy birders met in the car park at exactly 0946.  Hugs were absolutely necessary, not just because of our friendship, but it was flippin' cold.  Not sure about a still, standing around birding activity, we decided on brisk walks interspersed with some serious stuff.  Maggie, having seen the bird list outside reception,  requested a kingfisher and a pintail.  She's so demanding! 

We didn't fancy the stepping stones in lieu of the out-of-action bridge across lots of mud, so opted for the main bridge where there was plenty to see and plenty of goose poo to try and avoid. .  Here are the orange-billed ones. 

Oystercatcher with grubby bill.

Greylag with clean bill. 

The task was made a bit harder as I didn't always say exactly where the birds were.  Plus, adding in counting the birds was fun, and the coots decided their chances of being noticed were better if they milled around in a large group. 

A lovely view of the Hall, the estate buildings and bridge arches to perfectly frame

three gelly heads! 

We return over the bridge to further test our skills on the other part of the lake.  With further counting and an added task to distinguish between male and female, we find the black and white birds.  Plenty of tufted ducks diving around and good views of goosander 

Handsome male goosander, with female following. 

But, can we find Maggie a kingfisher? 

After a few attempts at following each other's instructions of which tree and branch it had landed on, we find it, at least three times!  

obviously helped by wearing one of the traffic light hats.

Pam was so busy taking this photo, that she missed the kingfisher but she did spot a grey heron in the  tree. 

As we'd found one of Maggie's target birds, we headed towards the cafe for a much needed  warm drink. Jo found us and having admitted she had never been inside the cafe, because we nearly always meet in the warmth and sit outside, we decided a celebratory photo was needed  As luck would have it, one of my friends was on the next table. 

Thank you Val. Hope your coffee didn't get too cold!

We cut through to the gardens and admire the back of the Hall, which is rather grand. 

The gardens were showing signs of winter plants with resplendent groups of 

hellebore 

small swathes of snowdrops

and more snowdrops drifting on their own.

Our walk through the woods was virtually silent with viewings of a only couple of blackbirds. Maggie and I forged ahead (she was hell bent on getting a pintail).  We'd not realised that Pam was fading fast to the point where she disappeared altogether!  Fortunately Jo and Alison filled us in and we now only had to find Jo a kingfisher. We can't be double lucky, can we? 

Right where the kingfishers normally pose for close up photos  at Splash Pool, we find a coot finding nesting material on the edge of the fall...

re named kamikaze coot!

Grey heron likes living on the edge too!

And hooray, Jo finds a kingfisher too!

We get back to the cafe in time to see that Pam has magically reappeared with friends Helen M and Julia, tucking into rather lovely hot bowls of steaming red thai soup, except for  

Alison who plays odd babe out and opts for a bean soup.

We chatted about the usual health issues, rip off dentists and holidays.  Our shared topic as a whole group revolved around various forms of recycling and silly booking systems which don't encourage folks to save the environment. Selling on 'stuff' as Helen M puts it, seemed to be a reasonable way to get rid of sentimental family heirlooms from lovely bone china sets to grandfather clocks (ah, no, Helen M has kept one of those!). 

Finally, we come to books and the rediscovery of the library... not necessarily for borrowing books, but they are essential for keeping one' s own heating bills down!  

So, we come the end of an action packed fun day out .  And here's a bit of proof that we did find the kingfisher (another time for the pintail Maggie).  It's a dodgy photo, but it is there...

 

Level 2 birding with numbers today!

32+coot 

2 mute swans 

3 teal

8 goosander (5m 3f)

24+ greylag 

too many canadas

2 pheasant 

6 tufted  ducks (4m 2f), lots of ducking and diving

3 shelduck  

little egret

2 grey heron

1 kingfisher (bird of the day)

2 great tit 

robin

6 blackbird

jackdaw

jay

buzzard (did you all see it on the ground on the way out?)

Christmas Card Charity 2024

Christmas Card Charity 2024 

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The blog is created by all of us with entries as they appeared in my What's App in-box and a rogue one which appeared on Messenger.  (I'm saying nothing about the ability of teachers to follow a simple set of instructions!) 

As well as sharing cards and our chosen charities this year, there is also a fun element.

As we discovered in the December meet up, dinosaurs with hats appear to be THE Christmas tree decoration for this year. So, we are mostly being trendy and a little bit daft in 'naming that dinosaur'!  Just ignore the fact that the baby dinosaur's tail is not properly attached to its bottom.  That's what happens when you download a  free image; you get what you don't pay for. 

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Helen J

Love to you all and here's to more active meet ups and lazy lunches in 2025. xx

My chosen charity this year is: War Child which protects, educates and stands up for the rights of children caught up in war.

I name this dinosaur:  Debora (after the whacky Tyrannosaurus Rex song of my childhood.  Bet you can't stop singing that tune now?! )

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Lynn

 

Christmas love to you all. xx

My chosen charity this year is:  Ashgate Hospice.

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Jo 

 

Happy Christmas everyone. xx

My chosen charity this year is: Cancer Research

I name this dinosaur: Dinky

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Helen M

Happy Christmas to you all. H xx

My chosen charity this year is: Crisis

I name this dinosaur:  Mite

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Maggie

Wishing all the Gellybabes a very Merry Christmas 

and a Happy New Year. xx

My chosen charity this year is: Red Cross

I name this dinosaur:  Gellysaurus

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Julia

 

Happy Christmas to all my friends in the Gellybabes.  

Hoping you have a wonderful time and a peaceful and Happy New Year.  

Much love, Julia. xx

My chosen charity this year is:  The Children's Hospice South West because they provide hospice care for  babies, children and young  people living with life-limiting conditions and their families.

I name this dinosaur:  Steggybaby

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Pam

Warmest wishes for the Festive Season and looking forward to more convivial meet-ups in  2025. 

You  are a lovely bunch of friends!  x

My chosen charity this year is AQUABOX  as they have been successful in getting aid close and  into Gaza.

I name this dinosaur: Santasaurus

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Alison 

Happy Christmas. Love Alison xx

My chosen charity this year is the same as last year: Smile Train.  It allows children to have a relatively cheap operation to fix cleft palates, giving them a chance of a pain free and bullying free life.

I name this dinosaur : Henry the Hexapodasaurus as he seems to have six legs and is, as yet, an undiscovered species of dinosaur.

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Charlotte

Wishing you  all and your families a wonderful holiday season and  peaceful New |Year. 

Much love Charlotte and Ian. xx

My chosen charity this year is, as always: Supporting Sofia and Satyam.  Sofia is now 19 and in her final year of A levels.  She has applied and hopes to go to University in UK to study Fine Art.  Satyam nearly 18 and is in his first year of A levels: studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry (!!).  He plans to apply for a Sponsorship in UK to study Degree Apprenticeship in Aerospace Engineering.

I shall also be donating to air Ambulance in memory of my baby brother 

as this was his favoured charity. 

I name this dinosaur: Grinchasorus

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Janice

Season's bleatings to you all. Janice x

My chosen charities this year are: Crisis and UNHCR

I name this dinosaur: Manxy, on account of him having lost his tail!  

He is clearly a Manxosaurus! 

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I bet, like me, you've enjoyed reading the cards and messages, taken a deep breath over the choice of charities we have chosen and then had a chuckle at the name choices of the dinosaur.  We even have new species reported too!

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Tiger Inn, Turnditch

Time for the Tiger Inn at Turnditch

Friday 13th 2024

After lots of planning and a few concerns about the very latest reviews of The Tiger Inn, the pub manager gave enough reassurances to encourage us to stick with him.  So glad we did. The pub is well known for its pub garden and views across the hills...

Fortunately we had a warmer welcome with a table indoors.

  

Apart from someone's love of pictures and ornaments of tigers throughout the pub, why is it called The Tiger Inn? 

Here's a seasonal one !

There are two stories.  One is that the original owner once worked in a circus and brought his pet tigers to live with him at the  pub.  The other is that he collected tiger's coats for rugs.  Not sure about the ethics of that but better than finding tiger kittens in an abandoned wooden crate for Alison to look after at The Ark, eh?

Not sure the circus tigers look that friendly!

Whilst waiting to order, a rather large group of men arrived for their works' dinner. What a lovely surprise for Maggie to be greeted by one of her ex-tutees.  He's now 55; so how old really is Maggie?! And then another one turned up but at least Maggie knew who he was... haha! So, Gell represented by retired ex-teachers, long ago ex-students, parents of current Gell students and a future one all in the same building. 

The pub is also well known for its themed meal evenings. Advance booking required! An incredible range; good vegetarian choice too. 

How many weeks are there in a year?  

Having eaten too well over the past few days I chose to have a tapas. Expecting a mini Yorkshire with a bit of stilton and mushrooms this is, apparently, a small portion! Now imagine the Friday pies on the menu... quite a bit more fiesty! Alison and Maggie must have rolled home!!

Yummy, filling and good value. 

It's lovely having a log fire and whilst I needed to warm up, we were all feeling quite toasty after a few minutes. No one wanted to swap seats, can't think why?

Right side; rosy red! 

We talked a lot!  One seasonal topic was about how much a Father Christmas can make just for turning up at a commercial venue or even better on Christmas Day!  So babes, all we need are some man bits, our own grey beard (for others to stroke.. urghh!), and a big belly. Of course, the real Santa doesn't charge and some of us have our own magical one at home, for free.  

Waiting for our instant coffee with hot milk. 

Slightly less seasonal: I had a bit of a revelation about male bondage and behaviour in the birding world.  We spent a long time talking about the cost of private dental care.  Pam still thinks she's entitled to an NHS dentist.... in Wirksworth? Reality check needed! And what about all the retired incomers arriving in Wirksworth telling everyone how to do it? And the fears of joining of a Pilates class full of stick insects when feeling like an elephant. You won't be turned away unless you have a young sounding name though.  Pilates politics, eh? 

I cosy up to Maggie... I'm too hot for my own good! 

We missed our other half of the babes and hope that we can all meet up with a bit more activity in 2025.  Chatsworth seems to be high on the list, especially when or if  the parking is free at Carlton Lees.

We ended with the final handing over of birthday presents (without a 0) and decided that a Secret Santa/Easter Bunny could also be ditched or not started. However, we are all keen to continue our Christmas Card Charity with blog for Helen J to organise.  See Whats App and don't forget to send by the date given as I won't be starting sorting cooking and wrapping until the last minute and although you might not think it, multi-tasking is so last year.....

An exchange between Maggie and me on Thursday. Maggie thought I might like a quick dip, I was referring to planning a lunch...

No tigers involved!