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Special Opening to Sell Flour

What a day it was on Saturday, March 21st.  So many bakers got in touch with us to ask if there was flour available.  It really made us aware that baking is such a popular leisure activity and, that for many, Heage Windmill Flour is the flour to use.

Jenny Land collects the sacks of freshly milled flour from Millers Tim Castledine (on left) and Alan Eccleston.
Jenny bags the flour in the Undercroft

With Saturday March 21st having a good wind forecast, and with it already  scheduled as a milling day – plus the fact that we already had about 60 bags of flour on the shelves – we decided to open the mill specially for flour sales.

Amazingly the shelves were very soon all but empty  as baking enthusiasts flocked to the mill.  It was then that the decision was made to bag and sell the flour which was currently being milled – normally the bagging of the flour would be on a separate occasion.

Over 100 bags were sold in total. The shop closed at 2.00pm but the milling went on until 4.00pm.

While the shop was busy selling flour David Land set up a small bric a brac on a mill wall.  This added to the great fun feeling of the morning.

Some visitors were disappointed when the flour ran out but in the lovely sunshine there was a great spirit of joie de vivre, much needed in these anxious times.

Lynn Allen in the Mill shop with the remaining bags of flour

Peter Straw Remembered

It is with great regret that Heage Windmill has to announce the death of Peter Straw who was Chairman of the Friends for 13 years, standing down in 2014 for health reasons.

When Peter and his wife Celia moved to the area, they went to an early meeting of the Friends of Heage Windmill. Shortly after this Peter was voted in as chairman and held the position for 13 years until he stood down as Chair at the 2014 AGM. He took up the post in 2002 which was when the Mill opened to the public. Peter had also been a Trustee for 10 years.

Not everyone will realise the amount of work that Peter did in the background, not just at the Mill itself but attending meetings far and wide to promote the organisation, always looking for opportunities to enhance the mill experience for visitors. Also, Peter was always more than happy to encourage visitors to make the most of their time in Derbyshire by visiting other local tourist attractions. Throughout he was well supported by his wife Celia.

Over the years he worked tirelessly for the Mill. He was very dedicated and enthusiastic in everything he did. He was very caring towards all volunteers and very good at getting the best out of people. The volunteers who worked alongside him had nothing but praise for Peter and they had never known him to lose his temper. He had a calming influence and was always happy to listen to those volunteers with problems.

Until he retired Peter was a regular guide at the Mill, making it come alive for the visitors. He also stood Bakewell Farmers’ Market on occasions on behalf of Heage Windmill.

Under Peter’s chairmanship the Mill gained and successfully retained the 5-star rating from Amber Valley Borough Council for Health and Hygiene.

Again, under Peter’s watch the Mill gained and successfully retained the Place of Interest Quality Assurance Scheme (PIQAS) status.

In his retirement from the Mill he still visited and supported all the events.

All the Friends and Trustees would like to extend their deepest sympathy to his widow, Celia plus all of his family.

 

Christmas Quiz 2018 Answers

What The Dickens!

1) A Christmas Carol

2) Great Expectations

3) Oliver Twist

4) A Tale Of Two Cities

5) Hard Times

 

Xmas Letter Equations

6)  2 Front Teeth = All I Want For Christmas

7)  9 = Reindeer in Santa’s Sleigh

8)  3 = Ghosts of Christmas (Past, Present & Future

9)  4 = Weeks in Advent

10)0 = Creatures Stirring

 

Crack The Code

11) Bread

12) Potato

13) Pasta

14) Rice

15) Cabbage

 

It’s In The Stars

16) Pegasus

17) Orion

18) Sagittarius

19) Ursa Major

20) Andromeda

Oh Carol!

21) Good King Wencelas

22) The First Noel

23) O Little Town Of Bethlehem

24) Ding Dong Merrily On High

25) I Saw Three Ships

Christmas In The Title

26) Wonderful Christmas Time – Paul Macartney

27) Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Judy Garland

28) Do They Know It’s Christmas? – Band Aid

29) All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey

30) It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas – Johnny Mathis

 

Pass The Popcorn

31) Jack Skellington

32) A Christmas Story

33) The Polar Express

34) Howard Blake

35) Jack Frost

 

My Word

36) Eggnog               37) Chestnut

38) Myrrh                   39) Toboggan

40) Wassail

 

Tree-mendous!

41) Norway Spruce

42) Douglas Fir

43) Blue Spruce

44) Normand Fir

45) Fraser Fir

 

And Finally

46) Auld Fang Syne

47) Elfis Presley

48) They always drop their needles

49) Deep pan, crisp and even

50) Noel Coward

 

How Did You Do?

46 – 50             Incandescent

41 – 45             Brilliant

36 – 40             Polished

31 – 35             Matte

Less than 30     Black Hole

Heage Windmill Sails Back On

Sails Back Up - June 6 001When wet rot was discovered last August in major structural parts of the windmill and a potential cost of around £100,00 had to be faced, it seemed as though all was lost.

Sails Back Up - June 6 002However a site meeting of Trustees and Friends took only a few minutes to decide: ‘We will get her repaired’. Fund raising and volunteer inputs brought the costs down to a more manageable £75,000 and the repair work started in November.

Sails Back Up - June 6 009Monday, June 6th saw a major event in the repair programme: the six sails, which had been painted and repaired by mill volunteers, were put back on the Grade 2* listed mill.

Work started at about 9.00 am, our volunteers working with, and under, the direction of our millwright Neil Medcalf.

The final sail was put back on shortly after 3.00 pm.

The fan tail is now to be fitted with some quite detailed work needed to connect with the controls and mill stones.

Sails Back Up - June 6 005However all this should be completed by the end of June and flour milling will then recommence.

Piers Bostock , Chairman of Heage Windmill Society said: ‘We are delighted to have the six sails back in place in  such a short time and would like to thank everyone who has made this possible.’

 

 

 

 

Santa Day this Sunday December 6th

Santa with James and Oliver Spibey from Nether Heage
Santa with James and Oliver Spibey from Nether Heage

Santa Claus is coming to Heage… this Sunday. He will be on site at 12 noon, with the visitor centre open from 11 am.

This year the cost is £5 per child to see Santa.  However, there is no need to book.

There will other things available – raffle, tombola, and some activities for children. There will also be hot food on site. No need to book to see Santa.

All these photos are from last year’s successful visit when Santa saw over 160 youngsters.  Here’s hoping for another great day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bel Canto Choir boosts Trouble at Mill Appeal

Bel Canto 004Many thanks to Amber Valley-based BelCanto Chorus who performed an evening of contemporary music in aid of Heage Windmill’s Trouble at Mill Appeal at St Luke’s Church, Heage.

The event raised a huge £508, so thank you also to all who came and swelled our coffers!

Bel Canto 002Extra funds were raised through the sale of refreshments, coordinated by Heage Windmill volunteers including Chairman of the Trustees, Piers Bostock, who introduced the concert and said a few words about the tremendous fund-raising effort which will soon see the sails turning again at the windmill.

 

 

 

Heage Windmill receives £10,000 and 99-year lease

Heage Windmill - Derbys CC Cheque + Lease 005It was a red letter day for Heage Windmill just days before the opening of a new season.

Friends of supporters of the windmill gathered to welcome Cllr Dean Collins of Derbyshire CC who presented a cheque for £10,000 to Heage Windmill’s Trouble At Mill Appeal.

Cllr Collins said it was important to get this popular tourist attraction, which is run entirely by volunteers, back in action as soon as possible.

Heage Windmill - Derbys CC Cheque + Lease 006He also delivered to the Trust a formal 99 year lease for the mill, which helps ensure the long term future of the mill.

During the morning the sails, which had been re-furbished and painted by mill volunteers, were brought back to mill site on a special lorry, loaned by local company J.C Balls.

They will be hoisted into position as soon as the millwrights have completed their work.  It is expected the mill will be in action again before the end of April.

Progress on Heage Windmill Repairs

Weather beam Work 4May AS (6)It was last August when wet rot was found in some of the major timbers of Heage windmill and we were forced to stop producing flour.

It was a shock to all our volunteers but a clear decision was made: ‘Let’s get her working again – asap!’

A huge fund raising programme was set up and an assessment was made as to what work could be done by mill volunteers against the initial estimate of about £90,000.

Weather beam on May 3- 16 (2)When  the cost was more refined it was in fact  closer to £80,000. Fund raising has brought in £54,000 so far and with existing  mill reserves we can just about cover the costs, although the essential fund raising is still going on.

The sails were removed and painted off site by volunteers over the winter and are now back at the mill.  The millwrights have made a new fan staging and fantail (which turns the sails to face into the wind.) They have also made replacements for all the rotten parts discovered and have started to re-assemble the mill, whilst the cap has been repainted by volunteers.

DSC01470The new fan staging is now back in place and a major move forward has been the replacement of the old weather beam (which supports the windshaft and sails).

There is more hidden work to do before the sails go back but hopefully, by the end of this month, all will be completed and the mill will be working again.