Pay It Forward

During the dam incident in Whaley Bridge, several roads and bridges above the River Goyt in New Mills were closed as a safety precaution in case the dam collapsed.  The road blocks were manned 24 hours a day by Police and road workers who had been drafted in from all over Derbyshire, some on their days off.  They worked 12 hours shifts outside in the hot weather and were not able to leave their posts to get food or drinks. Bele Bakery organised a suspended food and drink scheme that members of the public paid into for the people working at the road blocks. Women’s group collected sandwiches and drinks twice a day from Bele Bakery and delivered them in teams to 6 locations around New Mills where police and road workers were posted.

Some of the public also helped us deliver when we were short of group members to cover all the road blocks. We took them on foot with our little ones (who were delighted to meet officers and see Police vans), as there was no way to get around town in a car with the road closures. In the morning hot breakfast sandwiches and brews were delivered. During the afternoon sandwiches, cold drinks, cakes or ice lollies were offered. We also delivered food donated by local takeaways to New Mills fire Station in the evenings as they had a lot of extra personnel at their station who were helping in Whaley Bridge. New Mills WI delivered hot drinks to the workers at road blocks during the evenings. 

 The whole community pulled together and raised so much money that there was enough to deliver food and drink for the five days the roads were closed and send some toiletries to Whaley Bridge when they were running low. Thankfully following the incredible work of the RAF, Royal Engineers and emergency services, the dam was saved, residents were allowed home and the roads were re-opened.

Vision Boards

Today we created some boards of our goals and aspirations with images from magazines and brouchures. It was really motivating and helped us focus on the positive things in our lives. It was scorchio this week so we cooled off with ice lollies and we also enjoyed homemade flapjack.

Balsam Bash

We spent a great morning enjoying our beautiful countryside whilst balsam bashing recently. Jill from Transition New Mills led us on our first Balsam Bash. Himalayan Balsam is a non-native plant that has an invasive habit. It crowds out native flora and spreads rapidly on wet ground.  It has become a big problem in the Torrs and along the riverbanks of New Mills. Each plant can produce hundreds of seeds, pulling the plants up before they set seed prevents it spreading. Thanks to Jill for guiding us today.  Transition New Mills lead regular Balsam Bashes, if you'd like to join them please check their Facebook page for future dates.

One World Festival 2019

We had a stand at One World Festival recently with our legendary tombola. As part of our commitment to being more environmentally friendly we had a display of reusable products from our members, including cloth nappies, reusable wipes and sanitary pads. We had a great day raised £186.92 with our tombola and raffle. Thank you to everyone who donated prizes and supported us on the day.

High Lea Park Litter Pick

We did another litter pick this week in High Lea park ahead of One World Festival.  The park was very well kept and there wasn't much litter to collect at all.  Thanks to New Mills Litterpick Party for loaning the equipment.

Metal Stamping Workshop

We did a creative workshop lead by Kim from Darn It! this week. We learnt how to metal stamp jewellery. 

It’s very therapeutic hammering the metal although quite noisy.  We all took home several pieces of personalised jewellery.

Care Home Visit

In June we visited a care home in New Mills with our children. We had a hot drink and a good chat with the residents. The children really enjoyed meeting the residents and interacting with them.