Following on from the success of last years taster sessions we are starting up our Chairobics exercise sessions again in Monyash Village Hall. Anyone is welcome, all ages and abilities catered for. So come along and give it a go!

 

Sessions start on Monday 30th January, with 2 free sessions (£1 a week thereafter)

Please see our Whats On section for more details.

Thank you to everyone who came along to the Festival of Carols Service at Taddington on Saturday night. It was a lovely evening with standing room only in the Church. The choir were fantastic as were the schoolchildren from Taddington School. A really good way to kickstart the Christmas festivities.

Following the service whilst gorgeous refreshments were being served we presented our Christmas Hamper to our "Friends" winner - Barbara Allen from Brushfield. Anyone can sign up to be a friend of the Farming Life Centre, its free and we send you updates of whats happening and enter you in our Christmas prize draw. Just get in touch and we'll add you to our list of friends !

If you've yet to get your head around the NVZ regulations and managing your muck and slurry spreading and storage, help is at hand !

Jude Pealing of Bagshaws will be at the FLC on 19th Jan for one to one appointments to answer questions and show you how to make a start on the paperwork.

You can book a place at our free and confidential "NVZ clinc" by calling the FLC. Places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment.

 

The photographs taken by the participants of the make:CREATE photography group can now be viewed on the Junction Arts website : http://www.junctionarts.org/projects/makecreate/

Please come and see us at the Christmas Bazaar at Taddington Institute where we shall have a stall selling our fabulous Christmas Cards, notelets and calendars designed by our very own Art Group, local history books, and much more.....

There are also lots of other stalls, a raffle and refreshments provided by the WI.

Hope to see you there...

 

 

We are currently looking for someone to help out with our monthly lunch club. The club meet once a month on the second Wednesday of the month from 12-2pm. We need someone to generally help out, meeting and greeting and serving lunch. If you can spare the time please get in touch. Your help would be very much appreciated.

 

 

On friday we welcomed a meeting hosted by Tina Boddington, East Midlands Business Development Manager for the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG). 

There was a good turnout from the farming community with a good selection of speakers to hear from. These included representatives from EON, T4 Sustainability, Ice Renewables, Planning Manager & Live & Work Rural Programme Manager for the Peak National Park and Barclays Bank.

The speakers provided upto date information on the types of renewable technology available and Adam Maxwell, Planning Manager with the Peak Park was able to advise on what is appropriate for the Peak Park and on planning issues generally, which is always a major concern for farmers. John Beardmore also gave practical tips on how to save energy based on work at farms in the Peak District which in the present financial climate was much appreciated !

Following on from the discussion there was a chance to see mock ups of technologies and to discuss the merits of each.

Everyone agreed that the day was really informative and it had been very worthwhile attending.

 

We were delighted to welcome Archbishop Rowan Williams to Blackwell as part of his weekend tour of the Diocese of Derby.  The Archbishop joined us for a delicious traditional lunch, locally produced and sourced, and prepared by Heart of the Peak Catering.  He met with farmers from throughout Derbyshire and was able to hear something of the challenges and issues faced by the community.  He was welcomed by the children of Taddington and Priestcliffe School who sang two harvest songs, and was treated after lunch to a reading of poetry by Philip Holland and to a selection of hilarious sketches performed by members of Buxton Young Farmers’ Club.  He described his visit as “enriching” and coming from farming stock himself, was pleased to spend time hearing about and discussing farming issues.

 

The crowds gather .......

 

Humphrey,Bishop of Repton meets Bill and Christine Gregory

 

 

Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Willams with Agricultural Chaplain, Graham Hinds, giving thanks for the gift of a crook carved by John McConnell, Wirksworth.

 

 

The Archbishop with members of Buxton Young Farmers.

 

For more photos of the days events have a look at the Diocese of Derby website : http://www.derby.anglican.org. There are photos of the Archbishop meeting Julia Cook, FLC Centre Mgr, the schoolchildren, Buxton YFC and Philip Holland.

As part of our ongoing fund-raising we are delighted to announce our Summer Raffle which will be drawn at the Strawberry Cream Tea on Sunday 10^th July. The afternoon’s events will start at 2pm and the raffle will be drawn part way through proceedings.

The prizes are:

A Luxury Hamper

Derby County Football Club Match Tickets

Dragon Balloon Company Voucher

William Eyre & Sons Voucher

Heights of Abraham Tickets

Chatsworth - Family Ticket

Tideswell School of Food Voucher

Meal for Two at The Red Lion, Litton

JCB Model

Brocklehursts of Bakewell - Draught Excluder

Big Fernyford Farm- Meat Voucher

 Camping for Two at Upper Booth Campsite

If you anyone would like to buy tickets or even sell a few books for us, please call us on 01298 85162 or call in at the Farming Life Centre.

Many thanks to everyone who has kindly donated a prize!

We were delighted to welcome members of Ashbourne Farmers Club to the Farming Life Centre for a stockjuding evening at the end of May.

There was a great turnout of farming families and for many it was their first visit to Blackwell Hall. Bill and Les kindly allowed judging of their dairy cows and pigs were also draughted from Graham Belfields of Sheen in for judging, which was another first for the club.

In all 167 people judged with two people managing to score full marks!

The courtyard was buzzing with interest as people enjoyed watching Darren the Blacksmith at work and took a look around Ashwood Artisan. On the cold but bright spring evening, welcome hot drinks and a delicious buffet rounded off the evening in style

Staff and more than 20  volunteers pulled together to make the event a success -  Many thanks to everyone who helped out in so many different ways!

Longnor Area WI meeting we have arranged a 3 day Start-Up Business training

course in BUXTON in conjunction with WiRE  

The WiRE 3 day Start-Up Business Training Course contains all the skills,

information and resources needed to put down firm foundations and get your

business off to a flying start. Training is now available to ANYBODY,

ANYWHERE it doesn't even matter if you have been in business for a while and

just want a refresher or feel that you have gaps in your knowledge.

Book Online http://www.wireuk.org/events.html

Just £60 per delegate for all three days

Monday 20th June, Tuesday 21st June and Tuesday 28th June 2011

The Pavillion Gardens, St John's Road, Buxton, SK17 6BE

The Renewable Energy Day for Farmers proved to be a very popular event with local farmers, with numbers exceeding available places despite moving to a larger venue!

Run in conjunction with Live and Work Rural, a great selection of speakers were on hand, with presentations covering all aspects of renewable energy available to farmers.

Of particular note was Julian Morgan of 7Y Energy. Julian is a true enthusiast of renewable energy, having installed a wind turbine, solar panels and a wood chip boiler on his Herefordshire Farm. Also an accountant, he was able to show farmers how the various renewable energy systems could benefit their farm's balance sheet!

Details of the presentations are available to view on the Live and Work Rural Website - click here

Planning Officer, Sarah Foster, also gave an excellent presentation on the Peak Park's policy with regards to applications for solar panels and wind turbines.

Everyone agreed that it had been an informative and useful day.

We have been approached by a number of agriculture students who are looking for gap year work placements, on local farms.

 If you, or anyone you know, may be interested in employing a student for a year or so, then please contact us so that we can put you in touch.

 Similarly, we would be happy to hear from any other students looking for work to place on the list.

 We look forward to hearing from you!

The Farming Life Centre & Blackwell Hall Farm will be hosting one of the Ashbourne Farmers Club Stock-judging evenings on Friday 27th May.

Commencing at 7.15pm, there will be Dairy Stock-judging - Master judge, John Stone and  Pig Stock Judging - Master Judge, Winston Heath, and the usual raffle.

The Farming Life Centre staff and volunteers will be putting on a buffet and this will be followed by the prize presentation.

On the evening there will be exhibitions by Ashwood Artisan and traditional blacksmith, The Gerogian Forge, who are also based in the the courtyard there at Blackwell. Local artist Tony Berresford of Dragon's Back Studio will be also showcasing some of his work in the the Farming Life Centre.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Farming LIfe Centre Friends, Julie White and Nick Platt have announced their latest course for farmers which will be held here at the FLC on Thursday 9th June.

Entitled "People Performance & Profit" they will be taking farmers and growers through 7 steps to business successs, which include strategy planning, leadership, marketing, time management and much more.

The course will run form 9.30am - 4pm, and is priced at £45 per person, inlcuding VAT and a Pie & Pea Lunch.

The course is funded through Lantra Landskills, through EMDA

Please call Growing Rural Enterprise directly for more information or to book your place : Julie White 07971 666474  or Nick Platt  07767 844921

or visit their website www.growingruralenterprise.co.uk

For a long time now, farmers have been told to make hay whilst the sun shines, however with new government incentives and improved technology, they are now been advised to make electricity too!  

Farmers are invited to The Farming Life Centre for a Renewable Energy Day on Thursday 19^th May where they can find out more about generating energy on their farms, for their own use and to generate income for their business through Feed-in-Tariffs.   

Included in the programme will be presentations by Farm Energy consultant Julian Morgan, who has considerable experience in the field of renewable energy, having completed solar, wind and biomass installations on his own farm.

 There will be advice on generating income from Feed-in Tariffs, improving energy efficiency, costings and case studies of farms which have installed solar panels and wind turbines.  A member of the Peak Park planning team will be on hand to discuss their policy relating to installations in the Peak District National Park.

 Julia Cook, Manager at The Farming Life Centre says “Many farmers will have heard about Feed-in Tarrifs but don’t know how they work, maybe even thought about putting solar panels on their cowshed roof or installing a wind turbine .  We have brought together a group of speakers who will give farmers the advice and information which could help them to cut their energy bills and generate income from renewable energy sources on their farm”

For details of the full programme, click here!

The event is being run in conjunction with and funded by the PDNPA Live and Work Rural Programme. There will be a charge of £5.00 for the day which includes lunch. As there are a limited number of spaces, booking is essential, so please call us at The Farming Life Centre on 01298 85162 to book your place.

We are excited to announce that The Farming Life Centre is now on facebook!

Please visit our facebook page by clicking here

If you like what we do or are interested in future events and activities, please "like" us or even post a comment, and we will keep you updated.

We look forward to hearing from you !

Join us at Blackwell Hall Farm to grow your own vegetables and flowers in our newly developed garden area.  We have a small number of  micro-plots for use by local people in the Blackwell, Priestcliffe and Taddington area.  If you'd like to get involved in growing, but don't have the space at home, or would like to be part of a group of local growing enthusiasts, give us a call and come and have a look at what we have to offer.

Facilities on site include, kitchen, toilet, some basic garden tools and occasional watering service.

The plots will be available from spring 2011. If you are interested, please contact Penny Ward at The Farming Life Centre on 01298 85162 or email pennyward@thefarminglifecentre.co.uk

Gardeners and local green fingered residents are warmly invited to The Farming Life Centre at Blackwell on Thursday 24^th February at 10am to our “Apple Tree Planting Day”.

We will be joined by for Julian Brandram, local apple tree specialist who will be on hand to give professional advice and answer your questions about fruit trees and orchards. He will be advising on when to plant, where to plant, how to plant, and what varieties to plant in our local area. Plus guidance first pruning and much more.

If you are interesting in learning more about apple trees and orchards, please come along and join us - Please call us to book your place on 01298 85162

Refreshments will be provided.

They’re starting a new class today,

My doctor told me so

They’re going to do some exercise

I’m not sure I should go

 

They say there’ll be a few of us

I don’t know who they are

I suppose I never will know

If I never get that far

 

I’m not sure if I need it

My knees aren’t strong you know

And if I stretch or bend a bit

My tummy bulge might show

 

And what if I can’t keep up pace

Or what if they all laugh

And will they know I’m 65

And will they think I’m daft

 

Ooh - this place doesn’t look so bad

Is that Fred over there?

He said he might turn up today

I’ll go get him a chair

 

So glad she showed us what to do

Then told us once again

And why we should be doing it

It helps when they explain

 

This strengthens all your back muscles

This helps to stretch your thigh

This keeps your tummy nice and trim

This helps you reach up high

 

We do it all together now

I never miss a class

So I can keep up gardening

I even cut my grass

 

They started a new class today

My doctor told me so

I told my friends and family too

Coz I know they should go