JUNE sees the start of a month of fun in Whaley Bridge, as the three big outdoor events of summer come one on top of another.

The Water Weekend starts on Friday evening, 10 June, with an acoustic fest from 6pm.  Then follows a busy programme of boat trips, music, dancing, and more.  See more details in the other posts and visit www.whaleywaterweekend.co.uk

Whaley Bridge Welldressing, which has become a major fixture, starts its preparations on Saturday 18 June,  completing for the blessing at 2,30pm on Sunday 26 June at the Canal Basin.

The Rose Queen Festival is on Saturday 25 June, with the usual carnival parade and all the fun of the fair, and  the queen’s arena in the new site at the Bowling Club.

WHALEY BRIDGE’S famous Water Weekend (W3), which starts this Friday, has sent a challenge to local photographers: bring your cameras down to the event and then enter our exciting new photographic competition.

The contest, organised by local businessman and art photographer Tony Whittle, will be launched over the weekend with an exhibition of some of Tony’s award winning pictures in the Mechanics’ Institute.

Tony tells budding photographers, especially youngsters:  “Use your eyes.  We live in a beautiful place – be inspired by that. There are wonderful pictures everywhere.”

Tony Whittle and pictures: organising photo contest

Endless photo opportunities  are available at the Water Weekend, starting with the first event, an accoustic fest onstage at the Canal Basin from 6pm on Friday night.  Organiser Linda Simpson – former member of Magna Carta – is promising an  evening to remember:  “Bring a picnic and a picnic chair – and, just in case, wellies and a brolly!”

All day Saturday and Sunday, free boat trips and bustle around the canal – including the return of those photogenic meerkats – will give photographers more pictures.  Take a trip along the canal,  through the ‘green tunnel’ of trees, to get atmospheric shots,  Or watch the Powderkegs, Whaley’s own border morris dance group, open the Saturday session.

Whaley Band in ‘oompah’ mode on Saturday and conventional brass band uniforms on Sunday are further targets for the lens, as are Nightyear,  a boy rock band from Chapel., playing on Saturday night  Displays of canoeing by Peak Paddlers, BMX bikes by local teenagers could make yet more pictures.

Music by Acoustic Collective, High Peak Jazz Orchestra and Whaley Choir are Sunday highlights – and the glittering array if classic cars, by Hare and Hounds Classic Vehicles Association is sure to provide good camera shots. Or how about someone sinking their teeth into a Whaleyburger, the locally sourced beef, on sale over the weekend?

Punch and Judy, the children’s favourite, a paid for funfair, and endless stalls  are further ideas for that perfect shot that could win a prize.  Rules will be obtainable at the photo display in the Mechanics’ Institute.

Beryl Axcell, winner of Community Award, will be face painting at W3

Driver Nick Cullen welcomes Whaley Bridge people to the W3 shuttle bus, which will provide accessible transport for residents with mobility issues to join in the fun at the Water Weekend. Book a pick up time from your home for the Saturday or Sunday by calling 01298 23970 up to Friday, during office hours, to make arrangements.

Nick Cullen and the W3 Shuttle Bus - Free transport for those with mobility issues.

The service is offered through the Whaley Bridge Association’s  Whaley Way  project,  funded through the Big Lottery Fund in partnership with Buxton Volunteering Centre.

FURNESS Vale’s Field Day goes from strength to strength, with another wonderful village day in brilliant sunshine for the second year running.  There were many more tents than last year, including a large marquee which would have given shelter to many of the large crowd had it rained.

The big marquee was home to the local rock bands, who entertained noisily.  The Review met two of the groups:

• Drugstore Cowboys  describe themselves as ‘odd rock’ .  The name is a pseudonym  – the original is Fantasist,  Under that name they have produced albums, currently available on fantasist.band.com   The group includes New Mills boy Rob Sutcliffe on bass and vocal, Seb Sweet on drums and vocal, Oliver Cordwell on guitar and vocals.

Drugstore Cowboys

• Nightyear is a very young band, all students at Chapel High School:  Chris Griffiths, drums, aged 14; Jack Parker, guitar, 13; Ross Hartley, vocals and lead guitar, 15; Shane Carrington, bass, 16.

• Nightyear band from Chapel

Volunteers helping Community Organisation Green Space (COGS) braved eye-stinging smoke to cook hundreds of burgers, snapped up by the hungry crowd. In the High Peak Community Arts ‘yurt’ – a traditional round tent – Claire Mooney on guitar entertained children, writing an impromptu song including  their suggestions and singing it at the end of the session.

Terry Watson, chairman of COGS with Paul Hines, showed local people plans for the football area.The purpose of the Field Day is to raise funds to develop plans  for improving the playing field.  Currently it is owned by High Peak borough council, but Terry’s committee hopes one day to take it over.  With hoped-for Lottery funding, they see the future of the field guaranteed for sports and community leisure.

• For information about the plans and how to help, contact Terry Watson on 01663 743 421

HAYFIELD Junior Football Club has honoured the memory of former Liverpool and England player Bill Jones, who was born in Whaley Bridge but discovered by a Liverpool scout playing for Hayfield St Matthew’s in the 30s.

Bill Jones, Liverpool star, born in Whaley

Carl Dean, chairman of Hayfield Juniors, enlisted the help of the Whaley Bridge website – which reported Bill’s death aged 89 on Boxing Day – to track down relatives for permission to use Bill’s name on an annual trophy for the young players.

Well over 100 parents, family and young players crammed into Hayfield Primary School hall for presentation night.  First winner of the Bill Jones Memorial Shield for ‘skill and determination’ was Kane Marshall, 10, from New Mills..

Kane Marshall receives trophy from chairman

Carl Dean told how Bill Jones  went right to the top. At 17 he was spotted playing at Hayfield and recommended to Liverpool, signing as a professional in 1938.  After  the war his career took off. Bill played in defence for England and Liverpool, including an FA Cup final

Whaley4Wards

Whaley4Wards is a new community group set up by Whaley Bridge Town Council to  propose, define and implement small to medium size projects across the 4 wards of Whaley Bridge – Furness Vale, Taxal, Yeardsley and  Fernilee. 

The projects will be chosen by consensus, driven by community input, with one of the main goals being that the group gathers momentum  and maintains enthusiasm through success. The key to this in the initial stages is seen to be the careful selection  and focus on projects that are truly achievable in the short term.

The main aim of the projects is to directly benefit the residents and businesses in the four wards of Whaley Bridge, through projects which improve the Town centre and other areas, and which help to revitalize and attract visitors into the area, whilst maintaining and capitalizing on the historical character of the town.

Whilst short term projects are a clear initial goal,  some longer term projects will naturally emerge  and the group intends to accommodate these through consensus and through smaller working groups.

Projects will be implemented through a mixture of direct member participation and engagement of local professional services.

For further details and ways to get involved, please follow the Whaley4Wards link at the top of the home page or click below:

 Whaley4Wards

Whaley4Wards has been set up in response to the recent decision by High Peak Borough Council to withdraw funding from the Whaley Bridge Regeneration Partnership which has been active since 1998 in Whaley Bridge.  Although the Regeneration Partnership focussed mainly on trying to resolve the two large projects in the town, the ‘Second Bridge’ to provide access into Bingswood Industrial estate and the ‘Transhipment Warehouse Development’ project to rejuvinate the Canal basin, it also managed to successfully complete many other much smaller projects throughout Whaley Bridge during its time of existence.  There is considerable ongoing local support for an organization which continues to tackle these smaller projects, and for this reason WBTC have decided to set up Whaley4Wards to focus specifically on these. A seperate group is going to be set up to focus specifically on the Bridge and the TSW, both of which remain an absolute priority for Whaley Bridge Town Council. WBTC believe that by seperating the smaller projects from the larger ones,  there can be much more effective use of resources and time.

A vigilant resident in Whaley Bridge contacted the police this lunchtime, 24th May, reporting a ’51 registered suspicious white transit van driving very slowly round the area. Police stopped the vehicle and checked the driver. He has been reported for not having a Waste Carriers Licence and other motoring offences.

A good result, thank you!

Please continue to be vigilant.

There are a number of useful devices/alarms available which tend to work either by monitoring the level of oil (activated if the level drops rapidly) or by a trip switch on the filler/inspection caps. They are usually connected wirelessly  to a chime alert in the house and/or linked direct to a household intruder alarm system. Some can be programmed to Continue Reading →