St.Stephen’s Coffee morning took place on a bitterly cold Saturday morning on February 11th. Many thanks to all that came braving the -5 degree temperature to warm up with a hot drink and slice of cake (or in some cases,slices of cake…) The total raised was £205, which is excellent given the weather.

ANNUAL PARISH SPONSORED WALK

The second annual Parish sponsored walk took place on Sunday 2nd October with the starting point the “Round” car park overlooking Staunton Harold reservoir accessed through the hamlet of Calke.
11 of us started the walk plus Toto the Yorkshire Terrier although one of us nearly didn’t finish! (more of that later). Fr.Tom and Kevin both had notes from their doctors excusing them from doing the walk so they acted as Support Crew. I was expecting them to provide a drink and a rub down with a cold sponge at the halfway point but this didn’t materialise…..
It was a shock to the system that a walk in October took place in almost 25 degree heat. Nobody was complaining though! I’ve always said that the only thing the British summer provides us with is more light so we can see the rain coming down.
To provide an extra challenge (and get sympathy from potential sponsors) I decided to walk to Calke and back home again from Woodville which turned a 3 mile walk into 13 miles. Everyone else took the far too easy option of driving there…..
Due to the unseasonably good weather and, I’m led to believe lots of free tickets, Calke Abbey was very busy. Thankfully not many knew of the car park so everyone managed to get a parking space and we all set off at 2.30pm.
The route would take us next to the worryingly low reservoir, uphill around the Deer Enclosure, through Serpentine wood weaving downhill to Mere Pond,uphill again to the Tea Rooms and then past the Church,Home Farm and the road back to the car park.
The walk was marred by a worrying incident at the top of the Deer park when Shirley was bitten on the right arm by a large dog. I find it amazing that irresponsible owners take a potentially dangerous dog on a walk in a very busy area on a Sunday afternoon. The consequences of it biting a child don’t bare thinking about. Many thanks to Mary for pouring water on the wound along with cold cucumber wipes to keep the swelling down. My own first aid kit needs updating as I had 2 out of date Aspirin, 1 tin of Vaseline and a set of Ear Plugs…….
Thankfully Shirley is making a full recovery after a Tetanus shot and Antibiotics. She has had a few side effects though-she is now partial to the occasional Bonio and the lawn is in quite a mess…..
After a well earned break at the tea rooms the group headed back to the car park to finish the walk. It was at this point I left the group and headed towards Southwood and the steep climb of Pisternhill and made my way back to Woodville.
Thank you to everybody who took part in the walk and thank you to all sponsors who gave generously to raise funds for both churches.
Redeemer’s Ramblers needs a few more walkers. Walking is free, fun and keeps you fit.

Yours in walking,

Mr. T. Rudge

The hardy bunch of folk who call themselves Redeemer’s Ramblers have managed to do one walk each month through the winter months.From having to slap on the sunscreen for October’s sponsored walk the ramblers have braved typical winter weather for each of their walks.November’s walk started from Albert Village on a cold,misty day and while December’s walk that started from Breedon-on-the Hill took place in bright sunshine, the walkers had to look deep into their closets to find extra clothing as the thermometer barely got above zero.
January’s walk took place on New Year’s Day (the 1st for those who aren’t sure…) Starting at Moira Furnace the walker’s were faced with four seasons worth of weather in one afternoon and ended with a thorough soaking as the heavens opened.
February’s walk started from Albert Village again and it was that cold, I’m not sure if it was because my eyelids were freezing over but I could swear there was a Penguin waddling about at Reservoir Hill Lake……
With Spring on the horizon the Redeemer’s Ramblers would welcome more walkers to emerge from hibernation and join us. March’s walk will start from Staunton Harold on a date to be confirmed.

Yours in Walking

Mr S.T.Ride

They raised around £1500 by wonderful support, which is fantastic.
I must say, it was packed out which is great to see.