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Heage Windmill Repairs Report

Heage Windmill Sail Restoration - Feb 2016 12More progress is being made on the repair and restoration of our sails.

The millwrights are working on the major repair while the mill volunteers are moving well with the refurbishing and painting of the sails and are approaching completing all of the planned work.

Heage Windmill Sail Restoration - Feb 2016 35They have disassembled the shutters on the old sails, cut out the dead wood on the whips, and have nearly finished painting all of the sails and shutters.

18 coats of paint were needed for the six sails – 3 coats per sail.

They have also been re-assembling the shutters and as each of the shutters is sponsored – there is a number on each referring to a sponsor – those numbers need to be re-stencilled.

It’s hard work but the hope is that all will be ready for the 2016 opening on Saturday March 26th.

 

Amber Valley Drinkers Dig Deep for Windmill Appeal

Amber Valley CAMRA Presentation
Tony Cooper (holding cheque to the right) pictured with Amber Valley CAMRA members Mike Wallis, Jane Wallis, Chris Rogers (Chair), Simon Riddington and David Harper

Heage Windmill’s Trouble at Mill Appeal (TAMA) is £348 better off thanks to the Amber Valley CAMRA Beer Festival held recently.

Heage Windmill Society Trustee Tony Cooper – himself a CAMRA member – contacted Amber Valley CAMRA to ask if he could shake a tin at their annual beer fest.  The next thing he knew, the Trouble at Mill Appeal had been adopted as the Festival’s nominated ‘good cause.’

The result was a collection of £348 which was presented to Tony, on behalf of the windmill, at AV CAMRA’s branch meeting at the Spanker in Nether Heage.

‘AV CAMRA really took the mill’s appeal on board,’ says Tony.  ‘As well as having a display desk at the festival, we had a whole page in the free festival programme where our appeal was explained, and the CAMRA cash desk volunteers were collecting cash from departing drinkers throughout the four-day festival.’

As Tony continues: ‘Thanks to the generosity of local people and the goodwill and support from groups like AV CAMRA, we now have sufficient funds to get started with the majority of the work involved in repairing the sails.’

Choir to raise money for Windmill

BelCanto ChorusAmber Valley-based BelCanto Chorus will be performing an evening of contemporary music in aid of Heage Windmill’s Trouble at Mill Appeal at St Luke’s Church, Heage on Friday, April 15th at 7.30 pm.

Tickets are £5, available at the windmill from March 26th or by calling 0750 535 5620.

Heage Windmill Sails Away

Heage Windmill - Sails Off Nov 26 001It was a suitably dreary, damp day at 8-00 am on Thursday,26th November when the crane arrived at the windmill to play its part in the removal of the sails – the first stage in repair of the mill following the discovery of wet rot in some key structural components.

Fortunately the wind was negligible, a critical requirement when handling large components designed to catch the wind!

Heage Windmill - Sails Off Nov 26 004A local contractor, Dave Nicholls and his mate worked hard to release the eleven huge bolts on the first sail which fasten the sails to the iron cross – the largest was about 14” long and 1 ¼” diameter.

The crane supported the sail whilst this was done and by 9-30 the first one was being guided to its initial resting place, laying flat on wooden pallets.

Heage Windmill - Sails Off Nov 26 007The volunteer team then removed the wooden leader boards from the sails and made the control rod for the shutters secure.

Meanwhile the millwrights started to remove the next sail and the whole process was repeated six times.

All the sails were then repositioned to stand vertically ready for the next stage – transport to a dry workshop where they will be carefully checked and any repairs carried before painting – again by the mill volunteers.

By 1-00 pm all the sails were off and stacked and the workers gathered round to celebrate the successful completion of this phase of the work.

The mill however looked strangely bare without her sails… But the sails WILL turn again.

Here is a gallery of the day the sails were transported from the windmill to the workshop.

 

Santa Day – Christmas Quiz Answers

Heage Windmill Christmas Quiz Answers 2015

  1. Comet, Cupid, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Donner & Blitzen
  2. 26th December
  3. Michael Collins
  4. Katrina & The Waves. Shine A Light
  5. 364
  6. Seashell
  7. Little sausages wrapped in rashers of streaky bacon
  8. Turkey
  9. Indian Ocean
  10. Lilly The Pink
  11. Babes In The Wood
  12. Alice Fitzwarren
  13. Capricorn
  14. Space Probe Beagle 2
  15. Baby turkey
  16. Tinsel
  17. The change from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar resulted in the loss off 11 calendar days.
  18. Irving Berlin
  19. Norway
  20. Tom Smith
  21. Mince pies
  22. 1988 was Mistletoe & Wine. 1990 was Saviours Day
  23. Vorsprung Durch Technik
  24. Gary Lineker
  25. Comedian Mel Smith & singer Kim Wilde
  26. The last Sunday before the start of Advent when traditionally Christmas puddings were made.
  27. Tom Baker
  28. FAB 1
  29. Scott, Virgil, Alan, Gordon & John
  30. Named after the first five American astronauts in space – Scott Carpenter, Virgil Grissom, Alan Shepard, Gordon Cooper & John Glenn.
  31. Flowers In The Rain by The Move
  32. Earth Song
  33. UNICEF
  34. Australia
  35. Cratchit
  36. 1 single flake at any one of several chosen UK locations
  37. Gary Jules & Michael Andrews
  38. Wind In The Willows
  39. Raisins
  40. Once In Royal David’s City

Miller for the Day

Miller for Day Steve Holden July 2015It could not have been a better day for Steve Holden, of Rocester in Staffs, who was Miller for the Day recently.  On a warm day the sun shone brightly and there was a steady 20 mph wind, which made flour  milling operations imperative for the qualified millers Brian Naylor  and Alan Eccleston.  They acted as Steve’s mentors through the day, teaching him, amongst many things, how to open up the mill, stop and start the sails and how to control their speed.

Above all he was able to assist in the actual milling of grain, and during the day they milled over 175 Kg of flour! As Steve said: ‘I had a great time.  Many thanks to everyone for making me so welcome. It was one of the best things I’ve done in ages and would love to come back and spend another day milling.’

He was presented with a certificate to mark his day and left the mill quite delighted. We, of course, would be happy to welcome him back!

Details of how to become a ‘Miller for the Day’ can be found here

Classic Motor Bikes – Best One Yet

DSC_0108Heage Windmill had a hugely successful Classic Motor Bike Day on the first Sunday in July.

Exceeding all expectations, we had a massive turnout of British, Italian and Japanese Road and Racing motor bikes.

The apron area in front of the mill was full of bikes, and included a great assortment of bikes carefully restored to their original gleaming condition by their owners.

It was estimated that at one time there were between 300 and 400  bikes on show  included a BSA Rocket, a Kawasaki 750 Dragster,  Suzuki T20 , dating from 1967, along with more well known models such as  Matchless, Royal Enfield and Triumph.

The bikes were supported by various stalls and food outlets and the decent weather was enjoyed by all.

bikes at mill 2015Lynn Allen, who organised the event, assisted  by Simon Bartlett representing the various bike  clubs,  said: ‘ Today was easily the most successful bike event we have run at the mill.  There were so many people on site that we actually ran out of visitor badges.’

It goes without saying that we look forward to welcoming the bikes back again next season!

Alan approved as flour miller

Alan Eccleston - Flour Miller CertificateControlling and operating a 200 year old machine is not a task  for the faint hearted. Apart from learning how to using the various controls for the sails and other machinery, they have to learn to observe the weather, especially the wind, as its direction and force are essential factors  to the safe operations of the mill.

Everyone who ‘drives’ Heage Windmill undergoes a lengthy training period and then has to pass a practical ‘exam’ before he or she is permitted to be in sole control of the windmill. However those millers who seek to produce the renowned Heage flours, using the traditional mill stones,  still  has to continue to gain more experience.  The miller is now producing a ‘foodstuff’ so, apart from learning how to operate the mill stones and the feed and processing gear, he/she now has to ensure compliance to numerous regulations, something which the old-time miller never even knew about.

Heage Windmill Portraits 024Retired Rolls-Royce engineer Alan Eccleston, who lives in nearby Lower Hartshay, has just met all these exacting requirement and over the weekend was awarded his ‘Flour Miller Certificate’ by Piers Bostock, Chairman of Heage Windmill Society. In making the award Piers said ‘He  was delighted to welcome  Alan as a fully qualified person who could mill grain into flour –there are not many of them.’ Alan on his part said: ‘Ever since becoming a volunteer at the mill I have aspired to be able to mill and I am now delighted to join the elite group of qualified windmillers here at Heage’.

Don’t forget: Flour is normally on sale every weekend at the windmill, although sometimes lack of wind deems otherwise!