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The National Stone Centre

February 27, 2019 VickyP

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Travelling back in time a few millenia, Brian Spencer describes what the Peak District looked like when land that became the British Isles was part of a tropical island situated near the Equator. A series of small inter-connected abandoned  limestone quarries off the road to Ashbourne, near the top of the hill marking the boundary […]

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Taste Derbyshire – A Slice of Italy – Lambarelli’s

February 27, 2019 VickyP

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The outskirts of Chesterfield on a grey and dismal morning seems an unlikely place to find la dolce vita.  But follow your nose into Lambarelli’s Italian Caffé and Pasta Bar on Chesterfield Road and you’ll be instantly transported from North Derbyshire to Southern Italy on an aromatic cloud of fresh herbs, strong coffee and sweet […]

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Taste Derbyshire – Spotted Calf Cafe

February 5, 2019 VickyP

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There’s something a bit magical about the Spotted Calf café – the small but perfectly formed off-spring of the Spotted Cow pub at Holbrook.  It’s not just the quality of the coffee – roasted to perfection in the Derbyshire Peaks – or the tanginess of the home-made lemon polenta cake. It’s the cosy, welcoming nature […]

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Images of The North

February 5, 2019 VickyP

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With an introductory splutter, the public address system announced, first in Norwegian, then in English and German, that we were summoned by King Neptune to assemble on the after-deck to receive our icy baptism.  During the night a few hours previously we passed a small island at exactly 66°33’51’’ north, marked by a globe tilted […]

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John Flamsteed England’s First Astronomer Royal

February 5, 2019 VickyP

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Brian Spencer follows the life of this Denby-born man who went on to be the first Astronomer Royal and set the stage for Greenwich to become the centre of time and space. John Flamsteed was a sickly child, being troubled by arthritic knees and ankles, weak legs, and frequent headaches – conditions that affected him […]

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Attracting Wildlife into your Garden

February 5, 2019 VickyP

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People often asked me “What can I do to attract wildlife into my garden?”  I ask them what they already do to try; most often they tell me that they have bird feeders and put out bird food but not much seems to visit them. Firstly, we need to understand the needs of any visiting […]

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Modern Collectibles – Gentlemen’s Stickpins

February 5, 2019 VickyP

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Last year, I bought my wife a complete boxed set of The Avengers. So many episodes does it contain that we are still ploughing through them and, indeed, enjoying the kitsch nostalgia and humour of them enormously. The late actor Patrick McNee, as John Steed, the one constant protagonist of the series, was increasingly presented […]

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Places of Interest on Either Side of The Lower Wye & Severn Valleys

January 3, 2019 VickyP

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Beyond Birmingham and before reaching Bristol on the way to the south west, travellers using the M5 gateway to the sun often find themselves in one of the all too frequent bottlenecks, especially around the M5/M60 junction. If they give up and decide to call it a day around Junction 9 (Tewksbury), then the possibility […]

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Modern Collectables – Modern Glass Paperweights

January 3, 2019 VickyP

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My daughter, although now 22, has gone through many enthusiasms in her short life: Barbie Dolls, Beanie Babies, My Little Pony and so on through Pokémon to soberer items. One of which was modern glass paperweights, of which we now have a considerable collection. On the whole, prices – mainly at fleamarkets and antique fairs […]

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Modern Collectibles – Teddy Bear

November 29, 2018 VickyP

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Toy animals have been around since the days of Ancient Egypt, but bears only since the 18th century, and genuinely cuddly ones, made of plush stuffed with something that will take a squeeze, only became available as a manufactured item in the 19th century. However, the all-encompassing soubriquet’ Teddy’ owes its origins in this context […]

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