The Baronets Diary November 2024
As visitors to the village will know we have a thriving Kindergarten on the Estate that was opened in 1995 when Freddie was born and takes children from 2 to 5 years old. A great number of pupils have passed through its doors but I can now report that two alumni have now started careers as artists having spent a happy time with crayons and paint brushes under the guidance of Miss Wendy. The first is Georgia Dymock whose website describes her work as ‘ a deconstruction of the body into simplified forms, often making her subjects gender-neutral, existing in their striped-back nature’ and her paintings have been exhibited in London, New York and Basel. Secondly Zoe Annabel, whose Grandfather recently hosted a private exhibition of her work at his home in Longford, where she paints commissions of horses and other animals. It is amazing that Tissington has produced two such talented artists.
Have you noticed that we have had very few wasps this year ? Usually we are overwhelmed at Herbert’s tearooms with the vermin and I have to organise a myriad of traps lest our customers are disturbed whilst enjoying their cream teas with raspberry jam. The good side is that the apple trees have produced an abundance of fruit and we are offering a range of apple -based puddings until our stocks run dry. Our damson tree was early this year and fruit was sparse but rhubarb and plums did well. The other thing that I have noticed as we suffer the effects of climate change are that rabbits have returned to the Estate and I can see them from my office in the front parkland. And that has not happened for about twenty years!
If ever I feel that I might be remembered by future generations for all the work that I have put into both Tissington and Warsop, fear not!! One of our countryside team, Ben Verhoeven, has asked my permission if he can name one of his litter of eight Labradors after me!!! I accepted of course and stand with ‘Lord Stubbins’, ‘Ploughman’s Wood ‘ and myself as the names of the three yellow dogs out of the litter. Having been registered at the Kennel Club , I am available for purchase on various Facebook dog sites. I will keep readers informed of who purchases me….and how well trained I become!
Some readers will remember that we had a sweetshop in the village called ‘Edward and Vintage’. We all benefited from ten years of ‘Olde Worlde’ sweets but sadly Covid put an end to that operation and the amiable entrepreneur David Walker moved to one of the northernmost reaches of the UK namely the island of Sandy just north of Orkney. Fiona and I visited in the summer for glorious walks with the dogs on deserted beaches and others have followed. Now the charming David has released a new book about a Hogboon ( a small impish creature) who has many adventures on the island entitled ‘The Hogboon of Hellihowe’ by the Trow Maker. a splendid stocking filler for Christmas!
I often report on the deaths of local people in this column. In my pieces I try and give a flavour of the individual and the contribution they made to Derbyshire life. This month I am thrilled to report news of a birth. Our hardworking house keeping couple Gabi and Emi have welcomed a little girl into the world in September and called her Maya Lunar ,a friend for yellow Labrador Zoffany. That makes two babies in the village this year and both were born in Derby. Wonderful news.