Our Blog

It is an irony that a month after our annual litter pick in the village we were visited by a miscreant in the early hours of Sunday morning who proceeded to dump his load of detritus and building waste not in a layby or at a gateway on the Estate but   on the main lime tree avenue, the formal entrance to our Estate. Alerted at 6.30am by an observant farmer I drove up to the site to take photos which I subsequently put on Instagram to confirm my horror. Comments on the post flooded in and at the last count I had received over 50 messages when usually my posts only get a handful. I was thrilled to receive an offer to collect free of charge from local waste recycler Perak Waste but in fact Emi from the home team loaded the rubbish into the truck and stuck it responsibly in our skip. It left me bewildered as to the effort and expense of fly tipping and the harm that it does to decent citizens and of course to wildlife. We hope not to have further incidents.

 I am often told that we should host more Americans to dinner so that we can charge them and raise funds for the roof and other necessary essential features at Tissington Hall. Gathering twenty US citizens to come and tour Stately Houses of Derbyshire is not as simple as it sounds but when it works ..it really does work! This April my sister and I were delighted to welcome a jolly group of 15 hosted by Caroline Percy and the inestimable Oliver Gerrish as they visited ten houses around the county from their base at The Cavendish Hotel in Baslow. We were the second night’s entertainment as the gathering arrived  damp from an April shower but we proceeded to amuse them with tales of FitzHerberts and Tissington complete with our twenty-one-foot family tree and a sumptuous three course dinner from Mark Hadfield. Although our new-found friends were denied a trip around the garden I trust they will return to the States with fun memories of Derbyshire. The result; good funds for the Hall and friendships made forever.

We take our security seriously at Tissington. At functions we section off and lock areas if they are not viable or practical for the duration of the event. One of the rooms that we do lock is the library loo mainly on account of my personal reading matter therein but also on account of the peculiarities of the plumbing system. One Saturday morning in April, unbeknownst to a member of staff I was erroneously locked in during my ablutions. Fearing the worst of an afternoon or possibly a weekend alone in the smallest room in the Hall I found myself clambering up to the six-foot windowsill in order to get some sort of mobile reception but preparing to ‘holler’ my presence to a passing member of staff . Our mobile signal is poor at best in the house but fortunately on opening the recently restored window I did manage to get a signal and summon help. All the staff had not missed me but did find my brief predicament amusing.

 It was a pleasure to attend the Kings Awards for Voluntary Service at the Roundhouse in mid-April. These awards are to congratulate special voluntary organizations that do great work in the Community. We were greeted by His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant Liz Fothergill and her Vice John Wilson who outlined the recipients of the awards in Derbyshire. The prize is the equivalent to an MBE and is the highest award to local voluntary groups in the UK. In 2023 five groups from the county received the gong including Hope City Furniture(who provide good quality furniture to those people who need rehousing at a time of crisis), the Friends of Derby Arboretum(who have transformed a derelict site in the City for community good) and Winster Village Shop(who volunteer their time to manage the community shop in their Peak District village). For 2024 we have nine groups up for the award…let us hope that we have even greater success this year.

 As featured in the May issue of Derbyshire Life, Ian Morgan OBE is the new High Sheriff of the County. I attended his installation at Derbyshire County Cricket Ground where the short ceremony took place in front of High Court Judges and local dignitaries alongside family and friends. The idea was to watch the county championship match between the Falcons and Glamorgan but the great British weather put paid to that as we gazed out of the marquee looking onto a rather soggy and sad-looking ground. Each High Sheriff nominates a Chaplain to assist at Church services through the year but Rev Bob Atkins’ prayers failed to stop the rain. Ian will be promoting sporting opportunity in the county during his year as a platform for team work, team sport and wellbeing. We all wish Ian and his wife Sylvia the best of luck in the next twelve months and meantime, I will closely follow his lead as I prepare for my year ion the role from April 2025.