On the 6th June we went to Belper on a walk of around eight miles which Carol Green kindly organised and led. It was a varied walk with good views back over Belper. We started at the Strutts mill and finished at the cafe which is situated in the park at the back of the mill.
The walk started in Belper through Wyver Lane Nature Reserve to Blackbrook, Mitford and back along the River Derwent. It was rather overcast but a relief from the heat that we have recently experienced.
In our continuing spirit of enquiry, some of our Grumpy Old Men recently set off for Lichfield, which one of our number is familiar with from his working life.
We started off with coffee in a very convenient cafe next to the Cathedral, then we had a self-guided tour around the Cathedral itself, a gothic masterpiece which dates back to the 13th century. Lichfield changed sides twice during the English Civil War, with consequent damage to the building.
The Cathedral subsequently underwent significant restoration by Sir Gilbert Scott in the 19th Century. It is the only medieval English cathedral with three spires and is the only cathedral in the UK to have been fortified with walls and a moat, traces of which remain in the surrounding landscape today.
We then set out on a walk around the centre of the town to see more historic sights, plus the local Wetherspoons for lunch.
The recent sunshine has once again brought out the litter louts so in May the group cleared up a total of 25 bags of their rubbish including a suit, shirt and shoes – has someone been thrown out?!
Also, on one of his regular litter picks, one of our members came across 19 bags of fly-tipped rubbish on a footpath just off Waterloo Road in Hucknall. This was reported online to Ashfield District Council who fairly promptly came out and removed it. The council tip is only about ½ mile away so whoever dumped the rubbish would probably have travelled further to dump it than they would if they had taken it to the tip. Unbelievable!
Val Gant
Should anyone wish to join our litter picking group please contact me as per the interest group details at the end of the newsletter or via the form below:-
In May, the Not So Grumpies braved the sweltering heat to do battle on the lawns of Nottingham Croquet Club.
Our gracious hosts, Nicky, Peggy Martin and Mark, all members of the Club, explained the rules of Croquet, and the alternative games of Croquet Golf and Skittles, following which battle commenced.
Far from the picture of genteel serenity the game of croquet may suggest to the uninitiated, ours was a hard fought strategic engagement between opposing teams who each employed various tactics to block, frustrate and defeat their opponents. Any rules were often stretched, broken or downright disregarded in the general melee of the afternoon, with only a brief respite as adversaries sought the temporary refuge of the refreshment area.
As the afternoon’s exertions finally came to a close, the overall winning team was Greg Umney, Ian Raynor, John Saunders and Mark Jackson.
We then made our way back to The Loxley in Nottingham for a post-match analysis and well-deserved fortifications before returning home.
Welcome to our website. It’s nice to welcome the sunshine back, even if it does mean having to water the plants. I trust that you had a good May with all the bank holidays and the coronation to watch, whatever your views it must be said the UK can certainly be proud of its pomp and ceremony.
Not a lot to report this month, mainly as I have been out of action due to a detached retina at the end of April, this was repaired and reattached almost immediately at the Queen’s Medical Centre, on 21st April, just a couple of days after being confirmed. I was very impressed and grateful for this very quick response, considering what we read about the current huge waiting lists. It’s a bit difficult getting about with only one eye, but I will have to wait and pray that my vision returns.
This was followed by me having a planned total knee replacement to my left knee at the Park Hospital on 22 May (had the right knee done last year), Amazingly only kept in one night and discharged after the Physios (pain corps) knew I could cope at home. Just a lot of exercises, physio and pain control for the next six weeks and then hopefully somewhat back to normal.
Crutches and one eye, a real-life Long John Silver ‘me hearties’. Thankfully our Vice Chair has taken over in my absence helped of course by the rest of the committee. My many thanks.
Hoping that you can attend June’s meeting, please remember to enter the John Godber Centre for our monthly meetings via the car park, and as always, please book in at the desk on arrival and, as importantly for Health and Safety, ensure you sign yourselves out if leaving early.
Please also try and wear your name badges so that we all know who we are speaking to, 500 members are a lot of names to remember and of course turn off or silence your mobiles during the meeting.
If you feel that you can be part of the committee, please enquire what it entails, as next year, we have several committee members coming to the end of their six year term and we cannot exist without certain officers in place.
Please don’t forget to volunteer for the tea and coffee rota, if we all volunteered, we would only have to do so every 4 years.
Melvyn Francis, Chair
