Monday, December 31, 2012
Monday, December 24, 2012
Friday, December 21, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Saturday, December 08, 2012
Jeff Wayne - War of the Worlds the New Generation
I recently purchased the Jeff Wayne - "War of the Worlds the New Generation" album. I was a huge fan of the original and have been greatly anticipating getting hold this new version. I have listened to it all the way through 4 times and this is my honest review... It's a really nice album that keeps the original feel but brings it up to date with some modern twists... The original album would take some beating though and it does have a few downsides.
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
Peak District - Bleaklow in the Snow
It always seems that when my friend Andy and I go walking we always get rain. We don’t mind though as we will walk no matter what the weather, today however the roll of bad luck had finally ended. We got the most beautiful wintery conditions with perfect blue skies, snow, ice and the hills to ourselves. We sett off from Birchin Clough at around 09:45, headed down in the Lady Clough and then up the path through the Pine Forest. We crossed over to Doctors Gate, walked along the Roman Road and then swung northward along Devil’s Dike. We had a great walk up to the summit of Bleaklow, swung eastwards to Bleaklow Stones and then headed back down via Grains in the Water. We climbed over the moors once again and then made our way back to Lady Clough via Upper North Grain.
To view more images and read more about this walk head over to http://www.peakroutes.com/blog/peak-district-bleaklow-in-the-snow/
Sunday, December 02, 2012
Saturday, December 01, 2012
Edinburgh Castle - The One O'Clock Gun
We visited Edinburgh Castle today and I must say I really enjoyed it. We purchased the audio guides, plugged ourselves in and went for a 5 hour adventure through history. Obviously, we had to make sure we were out in the courtyard for the one o'clock gun. It was the first time I had been in the city at the right time to hear it. It was pretty loud up close and I think the only person who was ready for the bang was the soldier pulling the trigger :-)
Friday, November 30, 2012
#AudioMo - Day 30 - Hadrian's Wall
For the very final day of #AudioMo I knew I had to boo from somewhere extra special. As we we're on the way up to Edinburgh, I knew I had to stop at Hadrian's Wall on the way up. 1,900 years of history, a marker for the northern most reaches of the Roman Empire and a perfect way to round of my #AudioMo history project.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
#AudioMo - Day 27 - Kinder Scout Mass Trespass
A few snippets of audio I recorded today that will be featured in the next Peak Routes Podcast and also the Walks Around Britain Podcast. The sections I have included are where I talk about the Kinder Trespass, A historic event in the outdoor world which paved the way for open access. To find out more about the trespass head on over to http://www.kindertrespass.com/
Monday, November 26, 2012
Saturday, November 24, 2012
#AudioMo - Day 24 - The Sound of Steam
The history of the train can be found at Midland Railway Butterley's dedicated site for 73129, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BR_Standard_Class_5_73129 and you can find out more about the Midland Railway at http://www.midlandrailway-butterley.co.uk/
Friday, November 23, 2012
#AudioMo - Day 23 - Ogston Reservoir
For day 23 of #AudioMo I focused on the Ogston Reservoir that sits in between Clay Cross and Matlock in Derbyshire. When was it built, what was flooded and what history is it covering. The Ogston area was our playground when we were younger. we had beautiful rolling hills to run, cycle and walk around. We also used to jump in and out of the River Amber just down stream from the Reservoir itself.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
#AudioMo - Day 22 - Morton Toxic Waste Burial
For #AudioMo Day 22 I research a topic that was once very close to home and stopped us fully exploring our local area. I grew up in Morton Derbyshire where there was a suspected Toxic Waste Burial Site, We were always told never to go in to a particular field which was rumoured to be the location for the burial. An unknown quantity of the chemical Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TDCC) or Dioxin for short was buried there by the Coalite Company after an explosion at their Bolsover Chemical Plant. I managed to find a great report that was written in the New Scientist on the 7th of May 1981, I have embedded the article below for you to have a read for yourself.
I've embedded a Google map so you can see where the location of the opencast once was, this is the suspected location of the buried Dioxin.
View Larger Map
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
#AudioMo - Day 21 - Rewinding The Clock
For #AudioMo day 21 I focused on one particular spot in the area, the Pennytown Ponds. What has come and gone over the years, what was it like 200 years ago and what is it like now. I would love to be able to turn back the clocks and stand in one place as the years go backwards. To see the industrial units vanish, to watch the opencast mine, to see the colliery magically reopen, to see the railway network reappear then vanish and to see the Cotes Park Colliery be un sunk and the whole area returned to farm land.
I plan to carry on this investigation when #AudioMo has finished and trace back the history of this spot even further. Hopefully I'll find out more about the farm, the opening of the colliery and why the ponds are there. I haven't found any more info on the Internet thus far so I will continue my search in the local library. Rest assured I will keep you updated as I discover more. Here are a few images of the changing face of the area over the years from 1890 to 1990.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
#AudioMo - Day 20 - Cotes Park Colliery
It's amazing what you can find out if you ask the right people, today while at work i asked a few questions and found out some fascinating things about the area. I was concentrating on the immediate area around where I work and more specifically Cotes Park Colliery. I told my work colleagues what I was doing for #AudioMo and a wealth of great stories came my way. Stories about how the area has changed, features that have vanished and signs that still remain from days gone bye.
I was very lucky to be shown a map of the area from 1971 which is before my place of work was built. It showed the old Cotes Park mine shafts and locations that had been open casted. Infact, the area where our building is was once open cast mined the old mine shafts are only 200 or so metres away. I found out a rather harrowing stories about people who have perished at the mine and also saw pictures of the works from 1901.
Some day soon I plan to jump over the fence at work and go on the hunt for the old mine shafts, stay tuned for that in the near future :-)
More Resources:
Penny Town Ponds Info PDF
Deaths at Cotes Park Colliery - Page 1 of Linked PDF
Monday, November 19, 2012
Peak District - Beeley Moor & Chatsworth
#AudioMo - Day 19 - Hob Hurst's House Burial Mound
Sunday, November 18, 2012
#AudioMo - Day 18 - No Walking For Me
Saturday, November 17, 2012
#AudioMo - Day 17 - Shipley Country Park
The history I learned can be found over on the Derbyshire County Council Website as well as on many information boards at the park itself. here is what you'll find and also what I have quoted in the Boo...
The history of Shipley Country Park
"The Shipley Estate is an ancient manor mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086), when it was recorded as belonging to Gilbert of Ghent, the nephew of William the Conqueror. Records dating from the 14th century show that the land was used as a sporting estate with a hunting lodge on Shipley Hill and the area was prized for its extensive forest and excellent hunting.
Shipley Country Park has long had an association with coal mining, however, from the mid 1500's, coal mining began to play an increasingly important part in shaping the landscape at Shipley and providing income for the owners. By 1722 coal mining was in full swing on the estate, and around 1765 the Miller Mundy family took over the running of the mines themselves.
With the death of Alfred Edward Miller Mundy in 1920, the Shipley Colliery Company (founded by the Miller Mundy family) took over complete control of the mines and ran them until nationalisation in 1947.
The Woodside and Coppice pits continued in production until the 1960's when they were closed because they were uneconomic. This brought a close to over 250 years of deep mining at Shipley and left behind a legacy of spoil heaps, derelict buildings, polluted lakes and 30 abandoned mine shafts.
Derbyshire County Council determined that a Country Park was a suitable memorial to mining in the area. The National Coal Board obtained permission in 1970 to reclaim the land in the vicinity of the closed collieries by opencast methods. Work started in 1970 and was completed by July 1974. A further two years were spent contouring the site, seeding fields and meadows, planting trees and constructing facilities for the public.
Shipley Country Park opened to the public on 26 May 1976."
Naturally all the text i've just quoted here can be found at http://www.derbyshire.gov.uk and is probably copy write etc etc so I thought i'd just mention that :-) If you would like to look at a map you do so by looking at a PDF on the Derbyshire.gov.uk website
It was a glorious autumnal day in the park today, beautiful colours and the light was great. These images that I took on my iPhone 4S really don't do it justice. You can just about make out the swans in the image above crossing the path in front of us, it was a great moment showing nature in action. We had a thoroughly enjoyable few hours wandering around and the dogs loved every moment of it :-)
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| Single File Please :-) |
Friday, November 16, 2012
#AudioMo - Day 16 - George Stephenson's Clay Cross Tunnel
Clay Cross is a small mining town in north east Derbyshire, its the closest town to the village I live in. I have passed the Air Shafts many times in the past but I decided today that I would take the time to stop and have a look. The tunnel itself was built back in 1839, its is 1,631 metres long and 45m below the town centre. The Air Shaft I was stood next to while recording the Boo has recently been restored as part of the regeneration of the town. Another interesting fact about the tunnel is that The northern portal is a magnificent Moorish design and is now a grade 2 listed building.
Here are a few extra links for you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Cross_Tunnel,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Stephenson and also
http://www.derbyshireuk.net/stephenson.html
#AudioMo - Day 15 - My Web Presence
listen to ‘#AudioMo - Day 15 - My Web Presence’ on Audioboo
It was great to have a wander down memory lane by looking at some old posts from my archive, it reminded me about some great moments that had slipped my mind. You can find the archive over at http://www.deanread.net/weblog/. To have a look at what my first website looked like then you can view a post called The History of Dean Read dot net, the original site makes me cringe looking back now days but it was all part of the learning curve. I taught myself HTML and it was my very first foray in to the world of blogging.
It was great to have a wander down memory lane by looking at some old posts from my archive, it reminded me about some great moments that had slipped my mind. You can find the archive over at http://www.deanread.net/weblog/. To have a look at what my first website looked like then you can view a post called The History of Dean Read dot net, the original site makes me cringe looking back now days but it was all part of the learning curve. I taught myself HTML and it was my very first foray in to the world of blogging.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site
In the mean time if you would like to find out more about the UNESCO Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site then visit http://www.derwentvalleymills.org/. You can also view some of my blog posts that I have already written or listen tithe audio I've recorded along the way.
Richard Arkwright – Masson Mill
Richard Arkwright – Cromford Mill
Peak District – Cromford & Via Gellia
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
#AudioMo - Day 14 - #MySocialMedia
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
#AudioMo - Day 13 - My Boo Voice
I talk about where my accent has come from, where I have lived and why I put on a Boo voice. I am my biggest critic, I pick over everything I do.. Sadly some things do slip through the net. Even when listening back to this Boo I have noticed a mistake :-) Such is life
Monday, November 12, 2012
#AudioMo - Day 12 - Remembrance & Anzac Day
Yesterday was Remembrance Day. I reflect on the lyrics from a song by Eric Bogle called "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda". I also reflect on my experiences of Anzac Day spent in Australia and a visit to the Canberra War Memorial. http://www.deanread.net/weblog/pivot/entry.php?id=256
Here is a Youtube Video of the song I talk about in the Boo.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
#AudioMo - Day 11 - The Past, The Present & The Future?
After a 7 hour drive across the country I reflect on what I have learned about the past and wonder where things may go in the future.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
#AudioMo - Day 10 - Rykneld Street & Castra Feld
For #AudioMo day 10 I researched the Roman aspects of my local history.
Friday, November 09, 2012
#AudioMo - Day 9 - The Peacock Inn
For day 9 of #AudioMo I pay a visit to the Peacock Inn at Oakerthorpe in Derbyshire
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