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The process for the Nominations of future High Sheriffs takes one to the High Court in London. In the hallowed surroundings of Court No 4 all the names of the prospective candidates are read out by Senior Judges. In November I asked our Under Sheriff Sue Jennings and her deputy Chris Birds so they could witness the procedure at first hand. Lunch first in Covent Garden, a short walk took us to Aldwych and security at the front door. A broken biro at the bottom of my pocket proved irksome for the guards and we were fortunate to take our seats as Cheshire and then Derbyshire were read out! A subsequent gathering at the nearby Church proved jolly and the finesse ( and quirks) of our judicial system a marvellous example of how glorious our heritage remains.

The first snow of the season produced a great deal of inconvenience and upset in the area around Ashbourne. When snow falls our first mission is to get all the snow off the rooves of the main marquee and the stretch marquee at the tearooms. This can be a cumbersome and exhaustive process using brooms and ladders to gain access as needed. If the snow melts and then freezes into ice , it can also cause other issues especially ripping of the fabric. With so much snow the local schools shut and the village children can be seen sledging happily along our deserted roads. The subsequent thaw ( and overdue rain) provide another hazard as the levels rise at the ford on the road to Bradbourne. Sadly, we had a least two victims of either sat nav malfunctions or sheer stupidity and the local fire service were called to extract flooded vehicles and stranded motorists. Please beware in the future.

It is not often that my train trip to London takes over six hours but I, along with many other East Midlands trains passengers, became further victims of the inclement weather resulting  in flooding around Market Harborough. The tale begins on the Sunday after Storm Bert as I happily boarded the 16.06 to London from Derby. All was going well as we arrived at Leicester but a few  miles on we were stopped by a landslide and had to return to Leicester where we all disembarked. With the platforms bulging with sorry folk I saw the opportunity to take a cross country train through Melton and Oakham onto Peterborough to catch an East Coast train to Kings Cross. Eventually I reached my lodgings around 10 pm a full seven hours after my departure from Tissington. It had been an exhausting trip , one that I trust not to repeat.

Regular readers will know that our butcher Andrew Holmes closed his business in the Old Slaughterhouse in May. Luckily Andrew has found another job and is thriving. The Estate were then faced with what to do with premises that has its own unique aura and atmosphere. A chance conversation on a dog walk heralded the arrival of local resident Julie Coulbert to relocate her hairdressing business from Ashbourne to Tissington so reducing her work miles and meaning that her cherished dogs will get an extra walk each day. Julie is completing her refurbishment of the shop over the Christmas holidays and will open her salon in January. From steaks to styling…what a dramatic change!

We are lucky to have several owl-lovers in the vicinity. Recently I was forced to chop down a diseased ash tree on one of the farms that was adjacent to a road and footpath and was promptly approached by an email saying what was I going to do with the owls that had lost their home ? On subsequent investigation I realised that this particular tree had housed an owlish family for some time.  I was then thrilled to hear that a local ‘owl group’ had offered new purpose built boxes for the said progeny. Although these new homes have no central heating or hot water they certainly are clean ,tidy and manageable yet, of course, not liable to ash dieback! Long live our owlish friends.