Wirksworth and Kedleston

Wirksworth Welcome and Kedleston ... 

9th May  and 12th May 2022

In a stylish Wirksworth apartment, fittingly our stylish friend returns. Sporting half a scarf(!) but the biggest smile ever, we hugged and laughed... a lot. 

With most Babes reading the instructions properly, we thankfully had enough mugs for refreshments. Tupperware revealed enough homemade cake to feed the whole town but disappointingly not a slice of kitchen roll was to be found in any of the cupboards! 

Now, hoowzaboout a selfie? With Charlotte's rickety phone camera and Jane's long arm, we somehow manage a group selfie. 

Pam throwing herself into the frame.

Perfect!  

We harked back to times when we 'took action' and swapped our lunchtime duties for trips to the pub, our IT skills ( somewhat varied!) which led to THAT calendar featuring our male colleagues in various guises.: balloons, carrots, goggles, santa ... how did you persuade them Jane?!

Yew look good Jane, but a bit boxed in😉 

Meanwhile Maggie, is looking forward to some soggy weather in the Lakes.  Practising looking out from within at the 

Tebay Services on the M6.

If only she had waited a day, she might have found a drier spot and another babe.

Jo on her way to support Dave get stoned.

Meanwhile Alison is receiving  birthday wishes on the wrong day, and then the correct  day.

A few days later five go walkies in Kedleston. 

Think we might have cracked the group selfie thanks to Janice’s expertise!

After coffee and a good old catch up under a spreading chestnut tree we set off through the gardens and up through the woods, once again Helen J had organised some good weather, a bit breezy but dry and sunny.

Much talk of the perils of no mow May, rewilding, the joys of honesty plants, ponds in washing up bowls and being mistakenly thought of as clueless old ladies!

A band of merry women (slightly out of focus thanks to Betty wanting to join in) - not quite the Major Oak but still impressive and no sign of Robin Hood.

Stopping to admire the view is compulsory at this point - Alport Heights in the distance

Sheep shall safely graze, despite Betty’s best efforts to try and play with the lambs

Wild garlic and much talk of foraging and here’s the recipe for wild garlic soup:

• 25g butter
• 2 (roughly 275g) medium potatoes, cut into 1cm cubes
• 1 (about 150g) medium onion, chopped
• 1 litre vegetable stock
• 4 big handfuls (about 200g) of wild garlic leaves, chopped 
• 100ml double cream
• Heat the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. When foaming, add the potatoes and onion, then toss until well coated. Season. Reduce the heat, cover and cook for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft.Add the stock, bring to the boil, then add the wild garlic and cook for 2 minutes until wilted. Immediately liquidise the soup with a hand-held stick blender, then return to the pan, stir in the cream, taste and season. Serve hot with crusty bread.

The garlic mustard also created some interest and here’s  a link to some interesting stuff about it:

https://www.foragersfolly.co.uk/garlic-mustard/

Betty was very excited to be back with her chums and showed her joy by rolling in every type of poo she could find, badger and goose being her poos of choice

A paddle in the mud at the edge of the river - she’s hoping that will mean she won’t have to have a bath when she gets home.

The walk ended in the now traditional lunch on the lawn outside the hall with more catching up, talk of upcoming holiday plans, various ailments etc etc… Pam headed of for her Ukrainian meal and Helen M headed off to bath a smelly Betty. 

Helen J, Alison and Janice went off to explore the hall in the hope of finding the dressing up box

The reception hall for visiting aristocrats. Visiting months were May to September so perfect timing. 40 rooms to stay in. Stay until you felt you had overstayed and then move on to another posh place such as Chatsworth! Go home in September.

Helen J is wonder if this will fit in her van -I’m sure it will!

A bit of light reading

Janice sets the alarm off whilst peering to look at the silver - hope they checked her pockets on the way out

Secret door to unused en-suite.

Roman charity

Quite a pair!!

The bird list for the day:

Chaffinch

Jackdaw

Canada geese

Greylag geese

Blackbirds

Pied wagtail

Tufted duck

Coot

Goosander

Mallard

Swan

House Martin

Crow

Chiffchaff

Swallow 

Oyster catcher

Allestree Park

 Not-yet- rewilded Allestree Park 

14th April 22

Maggie, Alison, Jo, Bob and Helen J, met in the round car park without the need for mobile phones or binoculars to find each other, as instructions had been followed to the tee!  As many Babes, busy with family, were unable to meet up we ditched some of our plans and headed off for a walk in, beyond  and around the park in search of sun for our picnic. 

Bob behaving perfectly, as were Jo and Alison!

  We might have seen moss, fungi brackets, fallen trees, spring flowers up the muddy path and through the woods, but who knows? Because, as some of us hadn't met each other for months, we spent much of the time catching up and ignoring all the wildlife going on around us.

We bumped into Helen's other Thursday friends where we met up with Sarah C-Smith's mother-in-law and wondered why woodpeckers drummed.

Bob on top form makes a new friend.

Feeling adventurous, we left the park, crossed the road and out into open fields into a gentle, warm breeze and lighter clouds.  But when will  the sun actually come out? We admired some of nearby mansions and Alison kindly filled us in on the gossip about which footballers lived there. 

Views across Allestree and Kedleston, sort of. 

Back across the road, we set off down a slightly slippery slope in search of some wildlife.

Found them! 

And, then our first evidence that Allestree Park has been around for a very long time.  

Dinosaurs once roamed here.  Proof in the footprint.

Feeling mellow yellow. 

By now it was nearly midday, so, obviously time for lunch. The ground was a little damp for sitting on the grass, so we went in search of a quiet bench.

Making a grand entrance.

A perfectly quiet spot.

 The most exciting part of the day was clearly the comparison of our picnics.  Three of us with cheese were quite envious of Alison's onion bhaji and mango chutney sandwich; all home-made, of course!  And the sun came out... perfect!

Perhaps Alison is having second thoughts though!

After our post-lunch chat about holidays, snow, Scottish wildlife,  how many Peak District questions we got right on Mastermind and most significantly vet fees, we set off in search of some flower power.

First bloomin' bluebells

Encore: Feeling mellow yellow...

Candles in the shade.

Carpets of wood anenome

And then... the injuries.  First Jo and Bob manage to part company.  Bob ends up in a whirlwind with another tiny dog and Bob comes off worse.

Bob lifting up his poorly paw., but it was his fault!

Fortunately a lovely lady with loads of information, gave Bob the once over and much to Jo's relief didn't charge her anything. However, Bob is made of strong stuff and with the occasional limp, holding his  paw up for inspection and hoping for even more sympathy continued on his now much-embarrassed walk. 

This is what a well behaved owner and her dog look like!

Not quite done with injuries, Maggie was then attacked by a pussy willow! 

Licking their wounds, we sauntered beside the lake and admired the lovely view of Marsh Marigolds

but didn't stay long because of the smelly lake!

It's even too much for the swan! 

We then said 'adieu' to Bob and wished him a speedy recovery and hope that Jo doesn't need to visit the vets over a the Easter weekend! Alison, Maggie and Helen continued up more slopes, through more woods and found the tree where distinctive drumming was happening.  Alison spotted the great spotted before it flew away, unspotted by Maggie and Helen J. 

Our bird list was a bit dodgy considering where we were, so we hope that when it is properly re-wilded we will be able to spot a few more.  19 for the day. 

Plus:  a few grey squirrels, a pond skater and brimstone butterfly.

.

   

Magnificent March

Magnificent March 

On Thursday 17th March 2022 Pam, Maggie, Jo, Lynn, Tali and Julia met at The Wharf Café in Cromford. As it was St Patrick’s Day it was lovely to have Maggie with us as our little Irish leprechaun but unfortunately she had not brought her lucky shamrock with her. She did however, offer to wash up….Pam and Maggie had walked from Wirksworth.

Charlotte was in California (lucky thing)

Breakfasting by the ocean

 Helen J was at Allestree Park and had appointments during the day…

… but she sent a wave!

 Helen M was exploring the East Coast waiting for yardarm and was last seen wondering about the impossible bath at their accommodation

while Alison was otherwise engaged.

We all had a lot to catch up on… topics included COVID and who hasn’t had it yet…Holiday bookings Iglu and the Bolsover Cruise Club, Pam’s very exciting news in different languages, Pam and Jo’s ski trip to Pamporovo in Bulgaria, births, marriages and deaths and the war between Russia and Ukraine and ideas on how we can help the millions of refugees. Pam told us that Jane Aikman is the organiser in Wirksworth if you would like further information – tel: 07957330897. 

Lynn would very much like to invite Ukrainian visitors to join her choir for the performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony which is taking place in Wirksworth during the Arts Festival 2022. Ukrainians have magnificent voices. Lynn played a Ukrainian choir singing, on her phone. You can find this on Lynn’s page on Facebook.

After refreshments we set off on our walk towards Aqueduct cottage. The sun was shining which had brought folks out in their droves including Anne Gibbon who was walking her daily 4 miles. After a lovely chat we said goodbye to Anne and continued on to the cottage past the Pumping station.

The cottage continues to be renovated and is looking magnificent in the sunshine

Who is that in photo bombing pose in the distance?

Sister Pam was able to use her nursing skills using the first aid kit from the cottage to bandage an elderly gentleman who had fallen on the pathway. An ambulance was called and one of the volunteers walked the gentleman back to his home to wait for it to arrive. The gentleman was worried that he would be in trouble when he got home. Bless ‘im.

We walked back to the Wharf café for lunch and were served delicious broccoli soup and cheese by Joanne Walliss.

After more chatting and eating we all set off home after a lovely day together. Julia kindly offered Pam and Maggie a lift back to Wirksworth after lunch.

Mallard, jackdaw, buzzard, magpie, Canada goose, blackbird, moorhen, little grebe, wood pigeon, collared dove, robin, coot, grey wagtail, dunnock, bluetit, great tit, cormorant.

Bumble bees and a water vole. Top marks to Lynn.

Charlotte’s additions to the bird list

See you all next time around second week in April.