The village of Kettleshulme turned out for the wedding of Rachel Pass and Steve Blood. It was only the second wedding in nine years at the little church shared by the Uniting Church and the Church of England.
Just married: Rachel and Steve happy among guests inside the little church
Neighbours watched as Continue Reading →
Whaley Bridge Primary School has been celebrating its centenary with lots of dressing up, singing and cheering the school’s new flag wen it was raised.. Teachers and pupils were in a variety of Edwardian clothes, ranging from co-head Rik Heys in deepest black (and a top hat) to little ones in farmworker caps or parlour maid lacecaps. The other co-head. Fay Walton and most of the female teachers sported headgear which would have done credit to Ascot or TV’s Downton Abbey.
Players from the school, with governors' chair Anne Winter on keyboard at flag-raising
Holy Trinity church just along from the school had been open for only six years when the school started – what an era for local development that was, The entire school filled the church for a special service conducted by Beryl Axcell. She kept the attention of her young congregation, with snippets of information. The opening hymn Morning has Broken was written by Cat Stevens, 50 years ago when the school was 50 years old. The Ink is Black was from the American civil rights struggle of the 60s… the hymn One More Step Along the Way was written as recently as 1971 … and the song Congratulations! was written when Mr Heys was 20.
Pupils read out their comments about the school’s past, present and future. The Rev John Pinner told the children how different a church service like this would have been 100 years ago. Then children would be ‘seen, but not heard’, with no laughter or enjoyment. He led a prayer for the school, and all who learn and teach there.
Then teachers led their little Edwardians back to school for another ceremony, the raising of the school’s new flag. Pupil-members of Whaley Bridge Band played the national anthem as the flag, with its owl images, fluttered in a light breeze.
Pupils and teachers applaud the raising of the new school flag
The 25th September – This Sunday – is a FUN day organized by High Peak Borough Council to kick off the start of the project which will see capital expenditure of £230K+ of Heritage Lottery Funding being spent over the next 24months on Whaley Bridge Memorial Park, from an overall grant of £478K. This is a fantastic success story for Whaley Bridge, and will see a completely new childrens play area, new bridge, newly resurfaced paths and a renovated War memorial and gardens amongst many other things. This is money coming in to Whaley Bridge at a time of severe public expenditure cuts, and it is extremely welcome.
On the 25th you will have an opportunity to see the final plans for the park, and a big opportunity for adults to ask questions of HPBC about the project. Dont miss it.
The event is intended to be a fun day and a number of attractions have been booked – chief of these being the climbing wall. If you havn’t seen this before, you should bring your kids along to this and let them have a go. Whaley Bridge Band will be there too to provide musical distraction while they are far too high and clinging on for dear life. Other local organizations will be there supporting the event and there is loads going on. There will be a number of local groups raising money in different ways through stalls and activities. Take a diversion through the park on Sunday between 11am and 3pm and have some fun !
The poster below shows some of the other events that are on.
Bring the Kids. Tell the Kids. Make it a Success.
This is your BIG opportunity to ask questions about the park plans.
Paul Evans, the new park Keeper will be there to answer questions along with Christine Latham from HPBC who is the officer in charge of the project.
Whaley Bridge has reinforced its 17 year link with Tymbark, with a visit to its picturesque, fruit juice producing twin town in Poland by 18 members or supporters of the twinning group.
Nice to see you - Polish interpreter greets Whaley visitor
There was a memorable trip to a Continue Reading →
The red-carpeted aisle of Holy Trinity Church, Whaley Bridge, will be turned into a temporary catwalk on the night of Thursday 29 September at a fashion show to raise funds for the parish.
Members of the congregation will be modelling autumn and winter styles from the Edinburgh Woollen Mill group.
The chairs will be rearranged from their rows facing the pulpit to giving the audience a close-up of fashions that combine warmth with good looks.
The models will change in the choir vestry before facing the ‘fashionistas’ of Whaley Bridge at 7.30pm.
Tickets are £6 each, including refreshments. They can be obtained by phoning Joyce on 01663 734 240 or Eileen on 01663 734 153. There will also be a raffle.
The vows: Melanie and Chris with Rev Cheri Pinner
A guard of honour raised a salute of silver swords for Whaley Bridge Army nurse Melanie Lath as she was married to Light Dragoons corporal Chris Dyke.
Swords of honour welcome bride Melanie and her dad Jeremy
Melanie and Chris first met in Canada, while on separate Army training courses. As boy and girlfriend they met up again as each served miles apart in war-torn Afghanistan. The Light Dragoons are due to serve in Afghanistan again next summer.
Bright sunshine shone off the six man guard of honour’s swords and silver spurs, which added to the smartness of their dark blue dress uniforms and red caps. They welcomed Melanie and her father Jeremy, with seven bridesmaids, at the gateway to St James’s church, Taxal – and later, as the service finished, with the full arch of swords.
Two of Melanie’s bridesmaids, Rachel Simmons and Hannah Hardman, had attended Taxal and Fernilee primary school with Melanie. The groom comes from Rugeley, Staffs.
The happy couple after the service in St James
The reception was held at the Old Hall, where the bride’s father is executive head chef. After a short honeymoon, the couple will return to their home near Northallerton, north Yorkshire. They ran in the Great North race on Sunday 18 Sept. Melanie and Chris are planning a full honeymoon cruise from Mexico, starting on Boxing Day.
Whaley Bridge’s annual Flower Show, held In the Bowling Club on Saturday 10 September, was a great success. There were dahlias, chrysanthemums and onions “as big as yer ‘ead”, a 25lb -plus cabbage, some sensational baking and craftwork , and imaginative animal life created from vegetables by children. Attendance on a bright autumn day was excellent, and the usual auction of entries at the end of the show was great fun, with bidders vying for coconut home made wine, giant onions, bunches of flowers and home made cakes,flans and puddings.
The whaleybridge.com camera spotted some good examples from the many entries:
That giant cabbage won a first prize for Peter Bowling. It was at least 15 inches across. He planned to cut it up into sections to give to neighbours in Jodrell Road.
Peter Bowling with his giant cabbage
Dot Blamey had made a special birthday cake for husband Frank, a keen fisherman. It showed him in a little Continue Reading →
Work has started on the ‘greenway trail’ on the Shallcross Incline of a historic railway in Whaley Bridge. The greenway is expected to open in November, giving off-road access to walkers, horse riders and cyclists (but not motor cyclists).
The greenway is nearly 600 yards long, running from Shallcross Mill Road, near the local Scout hut, on an uphill, tree-lined route to Shallcross Road.
The work, being done by Derbyshire county council staff, follows a long period of planning, appeal and consultation processes. The greenway will have Continue Reading →
Welcome to the Memorial Park - Wheatsheaf Road entrance
The activities and attractions to suit all ages and tastes range from Continue Reading →
Autumn must be on its way! The Whaley Bridge Show and Garden Society Show is on Saturday 10 September, starting at 1pm. The venue for this celebration of garden produce, flowers, baking and arts and craft is the Whaley Bridge Bowling Club. Admission is free.
There are 94 different competition sections, ranging from ‘four potatoes white’ to ‘best buttonhole, carnation excluded’ or ‘best home-made chutney’. There are sections for handicrafts, photography, painting and homecrafts.
The children’s section is sponsored by the Rose Queen Festival committee, and includes such things as edible necklaces, animals made from vegetable or fruit and painted eggs.
Attractions also include cream teas, tombola and raffle and a public auction at the end of the show (about 4pm, just after the prize presentations.)
Contacts for entries; Mr C Heathcote 01663 733 466; Mrs N Christie 01663 733 559; Mrs L Coverley 01663 733 127. New members welcome – ask at the Bowling Club bar for an application form.
