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Peter Straw Remembered

It is with great regret that Heage Windmill has to announce the death of Peter Straw who was Chairman of the Friends for 13 years, standing down in 2014 for health reasons.

When Peter and his wife Celia moved to the area, they went to an early meeting of the Friends of Heage Windmill. Shortly after this Peter was voted in as chairman and held the position for 13 years until he stood down as Chair at the 2014 AGM. He took up the post in 2002 which was when the Mill opened to the public. Peter had also been a Trustee for 10 years.

Not everyone will realise the amount of work that Peter did in the background, not just at the Mill itself but attending meetings far and wide to promote the organisation, always looking for opportunities to enhance the mill experience for visitors. Also, Peter was always more than happy to encourage visitors to make the most of their time in Derbyshire by visiting other local tourist attractions. Throughout he was well supported by his wife Celia.

Over the years he worked tirelessly for the Mill. He was very dedicated and enthusiastic in everything he did. He was very caring towards all volunteers and very good at getting the best out of people. The volunteers who worked alongside him had nothing but praise for Peter and they had never known him to lose his temper. He had a calming influence and was always happy to listen to those volunteers with problems.

Until he retired Peter was a regular guide at the Mill, making it come alive for the visitors. He also stood Bakewell Farmers’ Market on occasions on behalf of Heage Windmill.

Under Peter’s chairmanship the Mill gained and successfully retained the 5-star rating from Amber Valley Borough Council for Health and Hygiene.

Again, under Peter’s watch the Mill gained and successfully retained the Place of Interest Quality Assurance Scheme (PIQAS) status.

In his retirement from the Mill he still visited and supported all the events.

All the Friends and Trustees would like to extend their deepest sympathy to his widow, Celia plus all of his family.

 

Go Online and help Heage Windmill

Did you know that Heage Windmill has signed up with Easy Fund Raising?

What it means is that every time you – our supporters – use the internet for shopping a small donation will be donated, free of charge to the windmill’s funds.  Sounds too good to be true?  Well, it’s happening, and it’s working – so far, we have received over £250!

It’s very easy to use.  If you follow the link below you can sign up and then help us, with contributions being made from most major online shopping outlets when you make your purchase.

https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/invite/A99I5M/

When you shop online, you first click on the Easy Fund-Raising logo which will appear on your phone or other device, and find the outlet you want to use. Then, when you make your purchase, the companies that participate will automatically make a small donation which is paid directly to the mill.

Thank you for helping Heage Windmill.

Christmas Quiz 2018 Answers

What The Dickens!

1) A Christmas Carol

2) Great Expectations

3) Oliver Twist

4) A Tale Of Two Cities

5) Hard Times

 

Xmas Letter Equations

6)  2 Front Teeth = All I Want For Christmas

7)  9 = Reindeer in Santa’s Sleigh

8)  3 = Ghosts of Christmas (Past, Present & Future

9)  4 = Weeks in Advent

10)0 = Creatures Stirring

 

Crack The Code

11) Bread

12) Potato

13) Pasta

14) Rice

15) Cabbage

 

It’s In The Stars

16) Pegasus

17) Orion

18) Sagittarius

19) Ursa Major

20) Andromeda

Oh Carol!

21) Good King Wencelas

22) The First Noel

23) O Little Town Of Bethlehem

24) Ding Dong Merrily On High

25) I Saw Three Ships

Christmas In The Title

26) Wonderful Christmas Time – Paul Macartney

27) Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Judy Garland

28) Do They Know It’s Christmas? – Band Aid

29) All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey

30) It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas – Johnny Mathis

 

Pass The Popcorn

31) Jack Skellington

32) A Christmas Story

33) The Polar Express

34) Howard Blake

35) Jack Frost

 

My Word

36) Eggnog               37) Chestnut

38) Myrrh                   39) Toboggan

40) Wassail

 

Tree-mendous!

41) Norway Spruce

42) Douglas Fir

43) Blue Spruce

44) Normand Fir

45) Fraser Fir

 

And Finally

46) Auld Fang Syne

47) Elfis Presley

48) They always drop their needles

49) Deep pan, crisp and even

50) Noel Coward

 

How Did You Do?

46 – 50             Incandescent

41 – 45             Brilliant

36 – 40             Polished

31 – 35             Matte

Less than 30     Black Hole

Santa Day – Great Success

Ethan Wood and his dad say hello to Santa
Santa and his elf helper Lynne Allen arrived in a motorised sleigh

Sunday 2nd December dawned cloudy and a bit damp, but mostly dry and mild. This was important because Santa Claus was coming to Heage Windmill and  duly arrived at 11.00 am on a motorised sledge, (kindly loaned by Amber Valley Rotary Club) to be greeted by a crowd of happy and excited youngsters.

Helped by the mill’s head Elf (Lynn Allen), Santa soon made himself comfortable in his grotto on the ground floor of the windmill.

Toby, with his daddy Jack Davies from Fritchley, met Santa on his way to the grotto.

The excited children were able to see Santa in turn (as result of a numbered ticket scheme which worked very well) and during his visit he saw over 130 children, each of whom received a specially

Inside Santa’s Grott with Phil and Karen Mulchinock and their daughters Rose and Daisy

wrapped present from Santa. As he rested afterwards he said ‘They were the best set of children I have seen this year!’

During the day over 500 visitors came to the mill and enjoyed the entertainments and refreshments available in the nearby marquee, and in the mill undercroft.

To pass the time waiting to see Santa, there were various games to play, raffles and food, including a very popular hot food van providing a range of food to suit all tastes.

They were also entertained by members of the Notts and Derby Rock Choir , suitably bedecked in Santa hats, who sang many seasonal songs.

Miller for the Day

Neil opens the shutters to start the mill turning

Neil Oates from nearby Ripley is our latest Miller for the Day, ‘an experience I really enjoyed’ says retired headmaster Neil.

For his Miller for the Day gift, Neil was guided by a team of three qualified millers who were stocking up on flour for mill.

Neil Oates with the first of the flour he helped produce

Neil first learnt how to start and stop the mill and to control the speed of the sails.  He then assisted in the stone milling of some 125 kg of flour, using wind power to drive the stones – a really environmentally friendly process.

At the end of the day, Neil went home with a bag of flour he had helped produce and a certificate recording the occasion. He says it was a day he will never forget.

For details on how to become a ‘Miller for the Day’ click here

 

Cobweb Time

The leaves are falling, the nights are drawing in and there are cobwebs visible almost every morning… it’s cobweb time again at Heage Windmill, signalling the time when we close for the rest of season and give our hard-working volunteers a chance to have a rest – until next Easter at least!

It has become traditional at Heage Windmill to make a large cobweb (out of elastic), the size of which is determined by the number of ‘spinners’ who come along and help produce ‘the web of the year’ – under the guidance of our master spinner Lynn Allen.

This year we start spinning at 12 noon on Sunday 28th October and invite anyone who would like to try their hand to come and join us make the biggest web ever!

The mill will then be closed from  4-00 pm for our normal weekend opening until next Easter.

However, as part of the Derwent Valley Discovery Days we have arranged a special opening on Wednesday, October 31st when we will be open for tours from 10-0 am until 3-00 pm.

 

Tractor Day – Great Success

Tractor Day at Heage on Sunday 23rd September started on a grey, cool and damp morning but the sun eventually came out as we welcomed a stream of tractors and their ephemera.

The Nicholls Family from Wingfield Park, one of many family groups enjoying the tractors. Parents Becky & David with son and daughter David & Fern. They are standing next to a Massey Harris 744D c.1949

The poor start to the day did not deter some 35 assorted makes to find their way to Heage Windmill and many people came along to admire and pore over them.

It was amazing to see how the owners had managed to get 70 year old machines, which had worked hard all their lives, back to such superb condition.

Great interest being shown round a Fordson Standard 1943 towing a Living Van

Of particular interest was a green Fordson Standard, dating back to 1943 which, unusually, towed a ‘living van’ in which the driver had spent his ‘spare’ time when the tractor was not actually working!

John Allsop, who coordinates the tractor group, came on his 1947 Fordson Major whilst his daughter Libby was alongside on her 1952 Fordson Major.

John Allsop (Tractor Day Organiser) and Libby, his daughter, on their Fordson Majors. John 1947 Fordson Major E27N, colour Atlantic Blue & Libby 1952 Fordson Major E1A, colour Empire Blue

John said ‘Tractors run in my family’s blood and we just love coming to this wonderful site at the windmill’.

The winner of the best tractor of the day was judged to be an International Farm All F12 dating back to 1936 and owned by David Land, who received a certificate and a small trophy.

Winner of ‘Best Tractor of the Day’ Trophy and Certificate David Lane: International Farm All F12 1936

The bric a brac, tombola and burger stalls did great trade and there were many who took a tour round the 220-year-old windmill which still stone grinds the popular grades of flour, simply powered by the wind.

All profits from the day will go to Mill funds so thank you to all who supported the event.

Classic Bikes a Big Hit

Last Sunday, September 9th, the visit from over 300 classic motor bikes made for another memorable Heage Windmill event.

About 500 visitors came especially to see these gleaming, machines and talk to their proud owners.

As there was sufficient wind, many of those visitors were able to see the sails turn and quite a few toured the windmill and once again obtain flour, stone milled by the wind at Heage.

The classic bikes were of all types, ranging from tourers to out-and-out racers, and there were many well-known makes on show, such as BSA, Honda, and Royal Enfield.  Very notable were some beautiful Vincents, Harley Davidsons and an MV Augusta.

The best bike, judged by Colin Clemens and Les Cross, was a Triumph Trident T160, 1976.  The proud owner Bill Myles was presented with a certificate and the recently launched ‘Dave Cleaver’ trophy, commemorating a man who just loved bikes. This was presented by Colin Clemens who organised the bikes on show.

There was the ever popular Bric-a-Brac on site plus 2 tombolas – one for adults and one for children. Also, refreshments were in high demand both from the Burger Van – many thanks to Alex for bringing it – and from the Visitor Centre.

All in all the day was a great success, with great feedback from everyone involved. All profits, of course, go into keeping the mill working and improving the available facilities and we thank everyone for their support.

Amber Valley Classic Car Club are dropping into the Mill on Saturday 16th September – this will not be a big event and will be weather dependent.

Then on Sunday September 23rd at Heage Windmill there will be the 2nd visit from the vintage tractors – normally a big event.

The Americans came again!

 

American cars are obviously harbingers of good weather because for for their third visit to Heage Windmill this year, they once again  brought warm and sunny weather.

A large number of assorted cars, vans, trucks and motor bikes arrived and gleamed in the bright sunshine, proudly displayed by their owners.

Longest car on site Cadillac Sedan de Ville 1963 – 19ft (5.8m)

The biggest was a  Cadillac ‘Sedan de Ville’ dating from 1963- it was 19 feet (5.8m!) long.

Attila Tilldog , organiser of the owners group, unusually called Coffee ‘n Cars,  said: ‘We really like coming to  Heage Windmill; it’s so pleasant and friendly and the view is to die for’.

Best Car of the Day: Mustang 390 gta

The best car of the day was judged to be a Mustang 390gta, owned by Darren Richards, who was presented with a mill Certificate by Attila.

There were many mill tours taking place and the day was supported by our ever popular bric a brac stall.

Rob Johnson (Metal Detectorist) with son Chris showing and explaining local finds
going way back to 43BC. The mill has a display case with a selection of finds in the Visitor Centre

There was  also a fascinating  display of artefacts found near the mill, the earliest of which had been dated as going back to 43BC.  All of these were found by metal detectorist Rob Johnson, whose display attracted a lot of attention.

Italian Cars – un bellissimo evento!

Our first ever rally of Italian Cars – courtesy of Abarth East Midlands & T.I.M UK Motors – proved a great success.

They also brought one the best days we have known at Heage.  It felt positively Mediterranean, just like being in Italy…

Graham Wickham’s Fiat 124 Spider, judged to be the best car on show

There was a wide assortment of cars on show including Fiat, Maserati , Ferrari and  Lamborghini.  The best car on show was  judged to be a Fiat 124 Spider, owned by Graham Wickham

The event was jointly organised by the mill and Attila Csorba, representing   the car owners – and all profits will go to the windmill maintenance fund.

In addition to the cars, the windmill itself received many visitors who also enjoyed a display of pyrography (burnt wood sketching) and helped swell the windmill’s funds even more at the bric a brac stall.