Diptyque pays tribute to Mediterranean nature by dedicating its entire summer collection to its inexhaustible source of inspiration for the maison and featuring special illustrations from the young french artist Matthieu Cossé. Summer Essentials collection The Summer Essentials collection pays tribute to Mediterranean nature by dedicating its entire summer collection to its inexhaustible source of […]
Food In Derbyshire – Mitchells Butchers
There’s no better way to start the summer than with a sizzling BBQ. Eating Al Fresco, or even under the cover of a garden gazebo outside is a delight especially after enduring a grey and dull winter that seemed to last forever. To make it a truly enjoyable experience, throw away the skinny, dubious cheap […]
Restaurant Review – Chevin Golf Club
Times change and so that means businesses have to adapt with them. Golf clubs traditionally have been a pretty no go area for members of the public but all that has changed at Chevin Golf Club, and their latest development reflects that refreshing approach. Light, airy and up to date with the emphasise on friendliness, […]
Walk Derbyshire – Osmaston Park
The A52 Derby to Ashbourne road passes through some of the gentlest rural countryside in Derbyshire. Tiny villages little changed in centuries sit around junctions of minor roads that wander pleasantly between both ploughed fields and pasture. This walk skirts three of them, one barely bigger than a hamlet; starting at Osmaston, the largest, it […]
The World’s Greatest Accidental Explosion
Brian Spencer investigates the worst military disaster to occur on British Soil. The Ordnance Survey map for Derby and Burton on Trent shows a strange feature in the countryside near the village of Hanbury, a little to the west of Tutbury, in Staffordshire. It is oval in shape and obviously deep, but too small for […]
Celebrity Interview – Andy Hamilton
Andy Hamilton is holed up in a hotel in Ireland. A week’s holiday with his wife Libby has turned into a fortnight because both have caught Covid. But he assures everyone he’ll be fine for the start of his new tour in Nottingham. He has managed to avoid the virus for two years and describes […]
The Lost Houses of Derbyshire – The Grove, Darley Dale
The name Alsop (with multitudinous variations of spelling) is by no means uncommon in Derbyshire, if only because it derives from an unique place name, Alsop-en-le-Dale, next to Parwich, just north of Ashbourne. The Alsops had a Norman or Norse ancestor, called Gamel (probably derived from the Latin for ‘twin’- gemellus), who took his name […]
Product Test – Weleda
Treat soil, the skin of the Earth, as you would your own skin. Soil, just like our skin, is a living, breathing eco-system. It is the living skin of our Earth. But a third of the Earth’s soil is degraded, threatening animal and plant habitats, and increasing greenhouse gas emissions. For over a century, Weleda […]
Restaurant Review – The Fishpond, Matlock Bath
Myself and Susan had been invited to sample the Sunday carvery at The Fishpond. It had been a pleasant mid-day drive through the quieter country lanes to our destination: Matlock Bath. It was a warm Sunday and although the main roads were busy the car parks were a long way from being full. The day […]
Restaurant Review – Denby Lodge
It was a mid-week evening and Susan and myself were out to sample the new menu at the Denby lodge. There’s something homely and relaxed about the Denby Lodge that I can’t quite put my finger on. It feels familiar. The decor helps with its modern, soft palette and mix and match furniture. The staff […]
