Wish you were here! High Peak posties set to climb Mount Everest in memory of beloved friend

Two well-known local post men are set to take on their longest rounds to date, when they scale Mount Everest in memory of a friend who died by suicide.

(L-R) – Andrew and Toby alongside friends, Paul Stanton and Adam Moss during the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge

Andrew Craig and Toby Hardwick – along with four other friends – are taking on the once-in-a-lifetime challenge in October, in honour of Kris Greaves.

The team is raising funds for Andy’s Man Club, a men’s suicide prevention charity that offers free support groups across the UK.

They have already raised over £1,100 online, with Andrew also taking the time to chat to local residents and ask for sponsorship whilst doing his postal rounds in Chapel-en-le-Frith.

Andrew, from Chinley, explained: ‘A group of us had been planning to do something amazing to celebrate our 40th birthdays. Kris took his own life in November 2021; he’s left a very big hole in a lot of lives. We’ve been planning this trip of a lifetime since 2018; to go to Everest Base Camp and then to climb the very challenging Island Peak.

‘This was definitely one of Kris’s life goals but unfortunately, he didn’t get to make it. So, in his honour, we are still going to do the trip. There are six of us doing this very challenging and very demanding trip and we would be very grateful if you could show your appreciation by helping to raise thousands of pounds for the amazing charity, Andy’s Man Club.’

Toby has only very recently hung up his satchel to move onto pastures new after two decades as a post man across High Peak communities. He is hoping to become an ambassador for Andy’s Man Club, and host group sessions for men in New Mills.

The team has been preparing for the huge challenge for over four years, by taking on significant walking and climbing routes across the UK, including Scafell Pike, Mount Snowdon, Kinder Scout, and by completing the 25-mile Yorkshire Three Peaks in just over nine hours.

Find out more, and sponsor the team for their incredible efforts.

Fire away! New Mills business woman to walk over hot coals for charity

A kind-hearted business owner from New Mills, who is usually found caring for people’s feet, is set to walk bare foot over hot coals in the name of charity.

Caroline Murphy, qualified foot health practitioner and owner of The Hub on Albion Road in New Mills, is taking on a fire walk for the Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance service.

The unique challenge on Friday 12th November will see Caroline walk over burning ashes that will have a temperature measurement of around 800 degrees Celsius.

As well as providing services including piercing, massage and waxing at The Hub which she’s owned for 10 years now, Caroline is trained to care for fungal nails, corn and callus removals, in-growing nails, and toe nail reconstruction.

Caroline, who is a member of the College of Foot Health Professionals and the British Association of Foot Health Professionals, said: ‘I am passionate about my job and foot heath care will be of upmost importance when I attempt the fire walk. As the name suggests, this is a bare foot walk over red-hot embers; no tricks, no special effects. Not only will I be completing an incredible life achievement, but also raising vital funds for a lifesaving service.

‘When I saw the fire walk challenge, I knew that I would have to take part. It reflects my business. I am passionate about foot care. I will be stepping out of my comfort zone quite literally. I know that for some people, the idea of someone touching their feet is a big no, no, and it is a huge step to even make an appointment. Please do not be embarrassed about your feet. I have a passion about the work I do and get great satisfaction with the results I deliver. You too can step out of your comfort zone.’

Critical care paramedics, doctors and pilots from the Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance service attend an average of ten rescue missions a day. The charity receives no government funding and relies entirely on donations to raise the £1,700 it needs for each mission. Find out more.

Sponsor Caroline for her incredible challenge by calling in at The Hub during open hours, or donating via her Just Giving page.

Wild about the community in Hartington! New intergenerational project to see wildlife habitat created

Schoolchildren in Hartington are working alongside older members of the local community to create new wildlife and insect habitats.   

Pupils from Hartington C of E Primary School are taking part in the Archbishop of York Youth Trust Young Leaders Award, aimed at building leadership skills and character, growing confidence and empowering youngsters to serve their communities.   

Children are working closely with local residents as part of the inter-generational project, to plan and deliver two community action projects within Covid safety guidelines.   

Two new wildflower and insect-rich habitats are being created within the school grounds on The Dale, and in the village. Displaying the school’s vision and ethos of ‘loving our neighbour as we love ourselves,’ children chose to dedicate one of the wildflower areas to Bel Kerr, a late and much-loved resident of the village. It has affectionately been named ‘The Blue Bel Garden.’  

Pupils are also taking part in a programme to support the wider community’s commitment to tackling litter and fly tipping.  

Tracy Blackwell, head teacher, said: ‘The connectivity with our amazing village community always has been an essential part of school life, but it’s been so vitally important during the past year of the pandemic. 

‘During lockdowns, the children thought of imaginative ways to keep in touch with local residents including writing letters, making activity cards and videos, and turning our annual fundraising event for Macmillan into a virtual afternoon tea where residents received a box of treats delivered to their door and a personalised card from pupils.  

‘Since January, we’ve been thinking about opportunities where we can start to establish some safe ways of reconnecting with our local village by being actively involved in community projects.  

‘The Blue Bel Garden in memory of Mrs Kerr was a spontaneous act of remembrance and it demonstrated the children’s genuine affection for this much-loved and respected member of the local community. 

‘We’re really excited to be taking part in the Archbishop of York Youth Trust Award and look forward to working with knowledgeable, passionate and kind local residents to make sure that Hartington remains an inspirational location to learn, live and visit.’  

An older pupil commented: ‘We have enjoyed working with members of the community prior to the pandemic and keeping in touch with them via letters during the lockdowns. This helped to ensure everyone’s mental health and wellbeing. Being in isolation from our friends and families was very lonely, sad, and sometimes depressing, so we are all really excited and looking forward to working with our community again.’  

Find out more about school activities and keep in touch.

Odd one out game set to take over New Mills this Saturday

In the wake of what has been an emotional and uncertain week for many High Peak people, a New Mills business owner is hoping to bring some fun and laughter back to the high street.

Pollie Bancroft, owner of Pretty Little Things on Market Street in New Mills, is organising an Odd One Out game for businesses in the town this coming Saturday, 10th August.

The game will see the majority of shops across New Mills including on Market Street, Union Road and Albion Road, put an item they would not usually sell in their window displays.

Members of the public will then have the opportunity to walk around the shops spotting the odd items and filling in the details on a form, which can be collected from Pollie’s shop.

The competition is free to enter and will be open all day from 9am on Saturday; all completed forms will be put into a prize draw and one lucky winner will pick up a Pretty Little Things goodie bag.

Pollie, 22, said: ‘Due to majority of the roads being closed in and around New Mills over the past week, there has been very limited access into the town. It has been a very quiet time for all of the local businesses, and some have been hit hard with the lack of trade. I thought the game would encourage local people to visit the town centre and help to support the independent traders like me who so heavily rely on the support of the local community.

‘I used to enjoy doing this competition as a child when the volunteer centre organised it and so thought I’d bring it back! I hope it will be a fantastic way of promoting what the town has to offer and a fun, free activity for local people to take part during the school holidays.

‘Shops will be hiding something in the window displays that they don’t normally sell, for example the town’s florist might hide something like a tin of beans or some socks! A café might pop something in the window like some soap or a candle – it could be absolutely anything, as long as they don’t sell it in store!’

To find out more about the exciting game and to get involved, visit Pretty Little Things in New Mills, or find the shop on Facebook.

Climate change champions – High Peak youngsters get involved in Cleaner Air Project

Taxal and Fernilee Year Three pupils and school project leader, Rachel Cleveland

School children in the High Peak are set to help monitor how local traffic is contributing to climate change by taking part in a special survey.

Pupils at Whaley Bridge and Furness Vale Primary Schools, as well as Taxal and Fernilee C Of E Primary School, are getting involved in the exciting citizen science project as part of Whaley Bridge’s Neighbourhood Plan.

The survey is funded by Whaley Bridge Town Council, and the Councillors Initiative Fund of High Peak Borough Council, supported by Councillor David Lomax. It will measure ambient and indoor air quality, and exposure to heavy metals around the three local school sites, through a number of different methods supporting accuracy, usability and cost.

Ken O’Boyle, head of Whaley Bridge Neighbourhood Plan Traffic Group, said: ‘The original idea was for a school lesson, but this has developed into a larger-scale cross-school project, designed to contribute to the curriculum, and enable local children to get involved in the neighbourhood plan through citizen science.

‘The Cleaner Air Project will be an early introduction to the tools available to civil society, an exercise in democracy and how young people can make a difference to their environment and their own community.

‘As a result of the project, we will be able to gather evidence for the need for things such as exclusion zones around schools, idling bans, and measures to ease traffic flow, which might end up being included in our Neighbourhood Plan.’

Members of the Traffic Group have received expertise and advice about getting the project off the ground from LSX (London Sustainability Exchange), a registered charity which has hosted similar and successful schemes in the capital city.

Fay Walton, Head Teacher at Whaley Bridge Primary School, commented: ‘Using science and technology, the children will have a unique opportunity to learn more about the impact of our travel choices on the local environment in this very special real-world project. We hope to be able to inspire parents, carers and the wider community to think wisely about how they get out and about, and to make smarter transport decisions that will help our local area for generations to come.’

The Neighbourhood Plan will allow local residents to have a measure of control over developments occurring across Whaley Bridge, Furness Vale, Taxal and Fernilee until 2031, including transport, regeneration, tourism, leisure activities and housing. Find out more or get involved.

Full steam ahead for Hope Valley station friends group

Photo by Derek Phillips

A volunteer group to improve services and facilities at Edale train station has been rejuvenated after more than a decade.

Edale Station Friends Group had a fairly quiet existence over the last 10 years but has undergone a revival thanks to passionate local volunteers.

Dedicated residents have been busy chugging away for just over 12 months now, to bring the group into the present day and pull together exciting plans for the future.

Volunteers are working to improve signage at the station, including more local information and events; introducing planters with native flowers and shrubs, and lobbying railway franchises for improved services to the village from Sheffield and Manchester.

The group is also working hard to enhance drainage systems on a tunnel that connects the station platforms, which is prone to flooding during heavy rainfall.

The group’s logo drawn by local school pupil, Gabriella Snape

Volunteers follow in the tracks of other friends groups on the picturesque Hope Valley line, including Grindleford, Bamford, Dore and Totley.

Secretary Phil Rogers was instrumental in reviving the group. Village resident, Phil said: “I am delighted to have brought together other like-minded volunteers to bring the station friends group back to life. The station is a lifeline for residents who commute for work; and at weekends when many hundreds of people travel to visit Edale by train as they head out to walk, bike and enjoy the phenomenal local area, including Kinder Scout and the Pennine Way. I want to make sure the train station is up to scratch; providing the best quality information and services to both local people and visitors.

“We’ve been working closely with fellow station friends groups on the Hope Valley line, to share knowledge and best practice, which has been hugely beneficial for us as a new team. We really hope to create a friendly, welcoming station for everyone who lives, works and visits Edale, to enjoy.”

The group is working to create a dedicated page on the High Peak and Hope Valley Community Rail Partnership website, which will be live soon. In the meantime, you can learn more by finding Edale Station Friends on Facebook.

New friendships for pets of elderly or terminally ill High Peak residents

A national charity is looking for pet-loving High Peak people to join their dedicated team of volunteers and support local residents who’re elderly or very poorly.

The Cinnamon Trust works to relieve the anxieties, problems, and sometimes injustices, faced by elderly and terminally ill people and their pets.

The specialist charity has built up a network of over 15,000 volunteers across the UK to provide practical support with any aspect of day to day pet care, including feeding or walking.

A fostering service is available for animals whose owners face a spell in hospital, and the charity also provides long-term care for pets whose owners have died, or moved into residential accommodation that will not accept them.

The Trust, based in Hayle, Cornwall, was founded in 1985 by Averil Jarvis and now works to support over 32,000 people a year with almost 41,500 animals.

Tressa Herriott, Volunteer Coordinator, said: “The special relationship between owner and pet adds incalculably to the quality of life, but all the pleasures and benefits can be completely neutralised by intense anxiety regarding the fate of their devoted companion should the owner die, fall ill, or have to move to residential accommodation.

“As a charity we have built a dedicated database of volunteers from all around the country and we’re always looking to recruit and welcome new volunteers who would like to join the Cinnamon Trust and help exercise dogs or care for other pets belonging to elderly residents who perhaps have not got family or friends living close by.

“Our aim is to match our valued volunteers up with elderly and unwell residents and their pets in the area, enabling owners to keep their furry companions with them as long as possible , safe in the knowledge that their dogs are getting plenty of exercise. Many of our volunteers say that they themselves benefit from the exercise, make new friends or simply have the chance to bond with a dog when maybe they are unable to have a pet of their own.”

After retiring from his role as New Mills and District Volunteer Centre Manager at Christmas, Ed Mountifield has signed up to become a Cinnamon Trust volunteer. The Glossop resident said: “I am very much looking forward to getting out and about in the beautiful local area more during my retirement. Helping the Cinnamon Trust means it’s a win-win situation because I’m supporting local people who’re in need, and I’ll also have a special friend to keep me company on my walks too!”

To find out more about volunteering with The Cinnamon Trust or if you think you and your pet might benefit from its services, call the charity on 01736 758707 or visit the website.

High Peak support service for elderly and vulnerable people is proving huge success

A High Peak resident who’s being supported by a free local service after leaving hospital says volunteers are “kind, helpful and caring.”

Ann Wood, 83, was referred to the Home from Hospital scheme earlier this year and has received help with her shopping as well as attending medical appointments and generally making friends.

The service is funded by Derbyshire County Council and coordinated across the borough by New Mills and District Volunteer Centre, Glossop Volunteer Bureau, and Buxton’s Voluntary and Community Services Peaks and Dales.

Ann, from Glossop, explained: “I found the Home from Hospital volunteers most kind, helpful and caring people. They will shop for you if you can’t get out, or take you shopping or to appointments, or even just sit and chat with you- the choice is yours.

“I would encourage anyone just out of hospital to get in touch with the service, as it has helped me so much. I lacked the confidence to go out, but I have received lots of help and encouragement from the volunteers and I now feel much more confident than I did when I first left hospital. I am so grateful for all their help.”

Glenys

Glenys Hawkins is also from Glossop and is a Home from Hospital volunteer. She said: “I have always been keen to involve myself in giving something back to society since becoming a widow and then retiring from paid work. In the course of the range of activities I have been involved in, the thing I found I most enjoyed was to have personal contact on an individual basis and this project gave me exactly that. I have felt so rewarded by seeing first-hand the positive results of my contribution to rebuilding the confidence of service users.”

Anne-Louise Black coordinates the programme from New Mills and District Volunteer Centre. She said: “The Home from Hospital service has been really popular since its launch in July. Home from Hospital isn’t just for those leaving hospital though, and we support people across the High Peak and North Derbyshire Dales area who might need some extra help at home, particularly over winter when they might struggle to get out and about.

“I’d encourage anyone in the local community – stretching across Buxton, New Mills and Glossopdale, and the surrounding villages and hamlets – to please get in touch and have a chat about how we might be able to help.”

Contact Anne-Louise by phone 01663 744196 or email: Anne-Louise@nmvc.org.

New Mills ‘wall girl’ is national radio hit

The High Peak’s Nikki Ayrton is a celebrity in her own right after being seen by the likes of both real and music royalty, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Jay-Z and Justin Bieber.

Unbeknown to Nikki, a giant-sized poster of her face has graced the wall of the BBC Radio 1 studios in London for more than six years after being taken at a festival. Every presenter, staff member and celebrity guest has walked past the photo to get to the studios and offices.

The discovery was made as Radio 1 breakfast show host, Greg James, uploaded a video to his Instagram story exiting the lifts at the studio, and telling the poster version of Nikki on the wall to ‘shut up.’

This was spotted by Nikki’s sister, Katie, who promptly got in touch with the DJ, and Nikki was asked to speak to Greg live on the radio.

Following the telephone conversation, a BBC team decided to take down the festival wall scene, and replace it with a more current backdrop, meaning Nikki was being discarded.

However, the life-size poster did not go down without a fight, as Greg invited Nikki to the Radio 1 studio on Tuesday 30th October, to tear down the image for herself.

BBC newsreader, Simon McCoy provided the commentary and a choir serenaded listeners as Nikki – wearing the same clothes and sunglasses she was pictured in all those years ago – pulled the print from the wall.

Nikki, 27, who has affectionately become known to radio listeners as ‘Wall Girl,’ said: “My sister first spotted the image on Greg James’ Instagram account and then so many friends got in touch to let me know I was there.

“I had absolutely no idea that I’d featured on the wall of Radio 1 for so long, and that the photo had even been taken at the Radio 1 Big Weekend in Hackney in 2012. This whole experience has been absolutely surreal and something I’ll never forget. I’d like to thank everyone involved for making it happen.”

BBC staff member, Marc Parish tweeted: “For years now I’ve been greeted by this face every day when rocking up to work as it is plastered on a poster by our lifts and now we now who it is!” (sic)

Radio 1 presenter, Adele Roberts added: “I shall miss seeing Nikki every day. Met her today (in the toilets) panicked and didn’t ask her for a selfie.”

You can listen to the programme until 28th November 2018 via the BBC iPlayer.

Reading and Leeds Festivals await for New Mills musicians

Two musicians from New Mills are getting ready to perform alongside the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Kings of Leon and Fall Out Boy, at one of the UK’s top rock music festivals.

Callum Smith, 27, and Arthur Davies, 26, make up psych-rock band WUZI, alongside bandmates Tom Baker, 27, and Elliot Marsters, 26.

WUZI won the Futuresound Events Emerging Competition this month, with the prize being a slot on the bill at both Reading and Leeds Festivals over the Bank Holiday weekend. 

They’ll perform on the BBC Music Introducing Stage on Friday 24^th August in Reading, then in Leeds on Saturday 25^th.

Ahead of the big performances, the band is releasing new single Compromised Host this Friday (17^th); the first single to be taken from their forthcoming EP, Severed Head.

Guitarist and vocalist, Callum, said: “I can only just put into words how excited and ecstatic we are to have a place on the BBC Music Introducing Stage at one of the UK’s biggest festivals. Reading and Leeds are festivals that the whole band has grown up to love and admire, especially the musicians that get to perform there. We’re absolutely over the moon to have the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the greatest artists in rock music, and continue on this amazing journey together.”

Alan Raw from BBC Music Introducing has tipped the band as “ones to watch.”

WUZI first burst onto the music scene in 2016 and shortly afterwards they headlined Indie Week Canada in Toronto after winning the Indie Week Europe competition. They’ve since gone on to play memorable shows including Live at Leeds and Liverpool Sound City, sharing the stage with other up and coming UK bands like Strange Bones, Fangclub and The Moonlandingz. 

Reading and Leeds Festivals have a total capacity of 160,000 people.

See an exclusive preview of the Compromised Host single and video.  

Keep up to date by following WUZI on social media:

• Facebook  
• Instagram 
• Spotify
• Bandcamp
• Twitter