December 2017

Could you provide refreshments at countryside sites?

Are you looking for a new challenge in 2018? Or perhaps a new business venture?

We are looking for caterers to serve refreshments at several of our country sites and parks from April.

So whether you're a budding barista with a love of coffee, have ambitions to run your own ice-cream van or serve up scrumptious snacks, then this could be the opportunity for you.

Leases are available to provide refreshments at:

Dronfield Hall Barn

We know the festive period is not over yet - but we wanted to let you know our 2018 Events Programme is out now! Our first event of the New Year will be hosted by the Dronfield Wildlife and Natural History Group:

Wednesday 3rd January 
“Ancient Sites and Spring Flowers in Southern Turkey”
An evening lecture by Dr Patrick Harding.

New prints by Angela Harding

We are really pleased to be showing new prints by Angela Harding at the gallery during our Christmas exhibition. Her work is nationally known and she has been prolific as an artist and printmaker.  

"The Rutland countryside has a wealth of animal and bird life that is a constant inspiration for my work. Rutland Water is just over the ridge which attracts a great diversity of bird life that is world renowned".

gallerytop
Chatsworth Road
Rowsley Derbyshire DE4 2EH

New Year Musical Performances in Derby

Derby LIVE is pleased to announce a host of fantastic music shows to be performed in Derby. With a variety of genres on offer, there is a show to suit every music enthusiast in the New Year.

Performances Celebrate Creative Talents of Local Disabled People

All Dance - a pioneering project to develop and celebrate the talents of disabled people – has held its first celebratory performances in December in Derby and Chesterfield – attended by more than 200 people.

Groups of disabled adults from across the county  have been working with dance artists to devise new work which they performed at regional dance house Déda in Derby and at the Winding Wheel Theatre in Chesterfield.

Local Lady Wins Prize Draw Bonus

A Derby pensioner has won £300 of vouchers to spend in shops in Derby’s Cathedral Quarter after entering a prize draw.

The Cathedral Quarter Business Improvement District (BID) produced a leaflet showcasing the variety of entertainment and events taking place in the area and invited people to enter a prize draw for vouchers to spend in two shops of their choice.

Joan Clemens from Derby did just that and won vouchers which she has opted to spend at Bennetts and nearby Emily Brigden fashion boutique on Iron Gate.

Joint Initiative Supports Local Cause

A bereavement support group, set up and run by family-owned funeral directors G Wathall & Son, have teamed up with a Derby care home to donate provisions to their local food bank.

Residents at Coxbench Hall Care Home in Alfreton Road were invited to design a Christmas card for Derby Dandelions bereavement support group.

The winning design was created by Mrs Carmela Nadolski who received a £25 garden centre voucher and Derby Dandelions donated a further £150 worth of non-perishable food which have been added to the donations from the care home.

Derbyshire farm shop Croots boosts its parking facilities to cater for demand

Popular Derbyshire farm shop Croots has doubled the size of its car park to cater for increasing numbers of customers.

As it gears up for Christmas and its busiest time of the year, the farm shop near Duffield has opened a second car park to create additional spaces.

The new hardstanding area has effectively doubled the number of car parking spaces at the farm shop in Wirksworth Road to around 56.

Derby College Students Support Local Food Bank

Mature learners at Derby College’s Ilkeston campus in Pimlico have collected and donated food and toiletries to Ilkeston Arena food bank.

The students are on the Access to Health Professions programme at the College with their sights set on progressing onto University and a range of careers in nursing, midwifery and other health care professions..

Hecate Arts want to make a snowstorm, Do you want to make snowflakes?

As part of a brand new and exciting festive community arts project in Matlock called ‘No Two the Same’ we’re going to transform the unloved and underused market hall into a beautiful woodland glade by decorating it with snowflakes made by people from in and around Matlock,
The event will take place over the weekend of the Matlock Christmas Market 16/17th December and will feature storytelling from local favourite Rachel Murray in a specially constructed woodland glade within the Market Hall.

Venice to Dovedale - paintings by Mike Bernard RI

Mike Bernard trained at the Royal Academy Schools and has exhibited frequently in London and the wider UK. He was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour in 1997 and moved to Devon in 2008 where he has been inspired by the amazing light. 

Magical Moonfall Family Show at Déda

Hikapee Theatre present a heartwarming story about a princess like no other as she tries to reach the moon.

A magical, whimsical and charmingly entertaining circus theatre show suitable for families and children aged 4+ - Moonfall will delight audiences of all ages.

Local Producers' Market Sunday 17th December 2017 Dronfield Hall Barn

10am - 3pm
Join us for our Christmas Local Producers' Market.

Come along and stock up for Christmas with delicious local food and drink!


Hosted by Real Food Function and our Gardens at The Barn volunteer team, stalls include local producers of pork, cheese, beer, bread and bakery goods, chocolate, preserves and chutneys, pies, cakes, wine,  coffee, wood fired pizza, street food curry, potted meat..and more.

Derbyshire based Hannah Lobley gets a Twitter Boost from Theo Paphitis

A Derbyshire based firm has received a business boost from Retail Entrepreneur Theo Paphitis. Last week, Hannah Lobley owner of Hannah Lobley - Paperwork tweeted Theo about her business during ‘Small Business Sunday’ and was one of six weekly winners to gain a retweet by Theo to his 500,000 Twitter followers.  The weekly initiative, set up by Theo in 2010, now has over 2000 #SBS winners and supports small businesses in the UK.

Venice to Dovedale - paintings by Mike Bernard RI

Mike Bernard trained at the Royal Academy Schools and has exhibited frequently in London and the wider UK. He was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour in 1997 and moved to Devon in 2008 where he has been inspired by the amazing light. 

 

As part of our Christmas exhibition, we have two distinct groups of Mike Bernard's paintings. The first group is concerned with the light and colour of Venice and of Cornwall. The second group focuses on winter - monochromatic works evoking the weather which has just been forecast for the UK....

STEAMCHICKEN 2018 Spring Tour

The remarkable album ‘Look Both Ways’ was a sharp turn left for one of the country’s leading ceilidh bands. A conflation of British and Greek folk forms, musical theatre, jazz and soul, astonished critics and delighted audiences, with a sell-out gigs and standout shows at Boomtown, Stainsby, Warwick and Sidmouth festivals.

The Derby Conference Centre chop down mowing time by donating a sit on lawn mower to St. Vincent De Paul charity!

The Derby Conference Centre have donated a brand-new sit on lawn mower to their chosen charity, St. Vincent De Paul England and Wales. The Christian charity helps those in need to tackle poverty.

The Derby Conference centre have been supporting St. Vincent De Paul’s since 2013. The partnership came about because of a personal relationship that an employee of the centre has with the charity.

Creative Collaboration Signals Further Growth

Two Derby-based creatives have joined forces to expand their client base and create more opportunities for up and coming professionals.

Photographer Mark Averill and video and film specialist Ash Stanley have started working in collaboration on a number of clients.

These include NK Motors, Bounce Revolution and Hatton Systems and there are several projects with major companies and brands in the pipeline.

Postcode Lottery Backs Sing Viva – Derbyshire Carers Choir

Sing Viva – the choir made up of local carers have won the support from the People’s Postcode Lottery.

The choir is run by Derby-based Sinfonia Viva - the East Midlands’ only professional orchestra – as part of its 35th anniversary programme which has aimed to enable more people than ever to experience creative music making.

Memorial Service Gives Families Time to Remember Loved Ones

More than 800 people are expected to attend a special Service of Thanksgiving and Hope at Derby Cathedral, organised by family-owned funeral directors, G. Wathall & Son Ltd.

Wathall’s hold the memorial service every year – inviting families who have lost loved ones during this and past years, as well as representatives from local churches, hospitals and nursing homes.

Derbyshire Shire Horse Association hands over donation to palliative care unit

Derbyshire Shire Horse Association has presented £500 to the Nightingale Macmillan Unit, a specialist palliative care unit at the Royal Derby Hospital, following the group’s annual open day.

The money was raised from admission fees, raffle tickets, a tombola and sponsorship from local companies – and was handed over during a ceremony at Croots Farm Shop.

Staged at Farnah House Farm, just outside Duffield, and the home of Croots Farm Shop, the show is an annual event which attracts pedigree Shire horses from across Derbyshire, Cheshire and Staffordshire. 

Wilson James Security Academy Broadens Students’ Horizons

Derby College has teamed up with a national leader in security solutions to highlight to students the wide range of career opportunities available in the industry.

Wilson James work with a wide range of clients across the UK and Europe including cultural heritage venues, leading businesses, and regional airports.

Wathall’s Collect Lifeline Gifts For Children Worldwide

Derby and Ashbourne family-owned funeral directors G.Wathall & Son Ltd have collected nearly 700 shoeboxes of Christmas gifts, hygiene and school supplies which are now being shipped around the world to children in need.

The funeral directors have been involved with Operation Christmas Child, run by charity Samaritan’s Purse and coordinated locally by Rotary Club of Derby, for the past six years.

CQ Saturdays Knickerbocker Glorious – December 16

CQ Saturdays Knickerbocker Glorious free festive street entertainment programme returns to the Waterfall Stage in the Market Place this Saturday (December 16) between 11am and 3pm.

CQ Saturdays Knickerbocker Glorious takes place every Saturday in the run up to Christmas, organised by the Cathedral Quarter Business Improvement District (BID) in conjunction with FFTS Events.  The event will run alongside a range of other festive street entertainment taking place in the area and provided by the BID.

Calligram

Calligram is a new arts, culture and literature magazine for showcasing new talent in the East Midlands. More details on the attached Open Call for fiction, poetry, non-fiction, graphic fiction, art, design, illustration and photography.

Many thanks to those who have supported us so far in setting up Calligram magazine. Our open call finishes in two weeks on 20th December, so we'd really appreciate anyone giving our submissions information a fresh push on social media or adding it to newsletters if you haven't already.