Well, thank you for all your comments on last weeks 'bumper blog'.

You will be pleased to know that this week has been a bit quieter!!

So, whilst we wait to see if the snow that has been forecast arrives, lets get on with this weeks blog post.
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Just as we went to press last week, we were talking to some possible new tenants for Unit. And, I am pleased to say that Maria & Nino Carrera will be joining us on Friday February 1st.

Between them, Maria & Nino produce leatherwork items & jewellery, as well other associated crafts. Nino is also an author, and his first book is being published & launched as we speak.

They are also 'Steampunk' enthusiasts, and will be bringing some of that side of their lives to the Courtyard during the year, which promises to be both exciting & different.

Once they have got themselves installed then I will be finding out more about  them & featuring them in a future blog post.

Last Thursday, the Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire Tourist Board, held one of their Member meetings at Bolsover Castle, and you will not be surprised to know that we were there talking about Old Bolsover Yard (OBY), and giving out leaflets & business cards to people attending the event.

We are hoping to have more detailed talks with the Castle in the coming weeks, to see how we  can hopefully work together.

I was amazed to hear that the Castle has 95,000 visitors each year! Now if we could get 10% of them into OBY and they each spent £1 per person - that would be very nice thankyou!!
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This years Festival takes place on the last weekend of July, and this year it is being organised on behalf of the Old Bolsover Town Council by Edge Events who are based in Chesterfield & who already organise a number of similar Festivals in the area.

Next Monday afternoon, I will be meeting with Edge Events to talk about their plans for this years Festival, and will report back in next weeks blog post.

Meanwhile, we are finalising our plans for our 'Cake Bonanza' in OBY over that weekend.

Just to clarify, as there has been some confusion, the event is about featuring 'all things cakes' and next week we will be revealing more information about our plans
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Next week will be a week of meetings - starting on Monday morning with Scott Chambers, the Marketing Officer from Bolsover District Council (BDC). I met Scott at the recent Bolsover & District Culture & Marketing Partnership, and he is keen to talk about ways in which BDC can promote & publish information about businesses & other organisations in the new BDC promotional material.

Then in the afternoon on Monday, the meeting with Edge Events which we mentioned earlier

Then at the end of the week another Bolsover District Council (BDC) meeting with Sudipta Ghosh, Senior Economic Development Officer, to talk about Bolsover business in general, and I shall be talking to her about a new project that I am developing called 'Bolsover Business' - but more of that later.

We still haven't found that elusive String Quartet yet for August. Sadly, the German Oompah Band seems to be creeping ever closer!

All offers of help greatly appreciated!!
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Every week when I start to write the blog for the week, I make a list of the things that I want to mention.

Sometimes there are one or two things - this week there are 8, so no time to dilly dally - let's get started!
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rEthos Upcycling who were our first tenants in OBY, were recently approached by a local church to see if they were interested in the Chapel pews which they were getting rid of, whilst they undertook some interior changes to the church.

After discussions, Damion from Ethos Upcycling began to remove some  of the pews from the church & began to offer them for sale on social media sites including the OBY Facebook page.

And they have started to 'fly off the shelves', as the expression goes. New homes have been found both locally & in far flung places, like Mansfield!, to go into private homes and commercial premises.

So, if a Chapel pew has been high on your shopping list for this year then have a look at Ethos Upcycling FB page & message Damion to discuss. At the moment they are in 4ft, &  6ft and in the coming weeks there will be some 10ft ones too!!

​What is there to miss??!!
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This years Bolsover Food & Drink Festival will be on Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th July.

And here at OBY we have been giving thought to what we might do to support the event & encourage people to come in & see us.

So we are working on a 'Cake Bonanza' theme where we will showcase local cake makers, and hopefully you will come along and sample some 'gooey offerings' - and buy them too!

We are almost at the point of launching 'Cake Bonanza', and so more in future blog posts.

If you are a cake maker, and want to be kept informed, then send an email to [email protected] and we will be in touch.
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Gail Hannan's - Cup & Saucer - is now fully installed in Unit 4 at OBY & has already has some visitors.

Her opening times are - 

• Tuesday 11am to 3pm
• Wednesday 10am to 3.30pm
• Friday 11am to 3pm

Gail has also taken some space in The Gallery @ Old Bolsover Yard offering some very special vintage crockery - well worth a look!

And later today I am meeting Maria & Nino, who run a business producing leather-work & jewellery & lots of other exciting things. Hopefully, they will be in Unit 3 very soon.

That will then just leave us with Unit 1 to find a tenant for. If you are interested about finding out more - email me - oldbolsover [email protected]

Just back from my meeting with Maria & Nino and they will be joining the OBY Community in Unit 3 from February 1st.

More details to follow!
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I am sure that we have all suffered from 'sticking door syndrome' where either weather or something else makes a door stick, so that you have to be the worlds strongest man or woman to open & close it.

Well here at OBY we have had not one but all our doors that were replaced as part of our re-furbishment last summer, develop 'sticking door sickness'.

So we were glad to see Steve Newbould of Newbould Developments and his team 'on-site' earlier in the week to be 'door doctors', and now all the doors can be opened by anyone, and we are all having to find a new way of 'getting strong'

Thanks Steve - much appreciated!
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Those of you who regularly follow news from OBY via our Facebook page - www.facebook.com/oldbolsoveryard/ - will know that we are looking for a string quartet (or similar) for 17th August, when we will be hosting Bolsover Civic Society & their 'Soiree for a Summer Evening'.

So far, we have not been able to find these people, who seem to be in short supply, or very expensive.

Any help that you can give would be greatly appreciated, or we may be forced to book a German Oom Pah Band!, which doesn't quite fit the ambience we are trying to create of a peaceful evening of food, drink & light music.
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I was privileged to attend the meeting of this Group on Monday, representing the Bolsover Civic Society, who are members of the Partnership, but as you might expect of me, taking the opportunity to spread the word about Old Bolsover Yard.

The meeting allowed me to make a number of contacts with 'key people' and as a result I have now set up meetings with Scott Chambers - Marketing Officer with Bolsover District Council ((BDC), and with Louise Fountain, the new Property Manager at Bolsover Castle. I had already arranged a meeting with Sudipta Ghosh - Senior Economic Development Officer at BDC, for 8th February, to discuss, amongst other things the Future High Streets Fund, which has just been published by HM Government, who are calling for proposals.

Updates on all of these meetings & what it means for OBY in future blog posts.

Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire is the title given to what used be known as the Tourist Board.

By becoming a Member, we expand our opportunities to tell people about OBY, and to get involved with a wider networking group, who have resources that we as a small business don't have, but could valuably use.

For example by being Members we instantly get listings in a number of publications/guides etc. as part of our membership fee.

We get to take part in promotional activities organised by the Tourist Board.

On March 14th, we are going to be at the Annual Leaflet Swap being held at The Octagon in Buxton, and allows us to share our news & marketing material with a wide range of other attractions, accommodation providers, and activity providers across the area.

Just imagine being able to get OBY leaflets in all the hotels, guest houses, caravan parks etc. in the immediate area. So that when visitors to the area ask what to do & where to go, they are directed to OBY and to Bolsover. Our leaflet could bring people into Bolsover, and while they are here they visit your shop, cafe, pub, restaurant - all because of the OBY leaflet.

But 'fear not' I won't be expecting a cut of your increased income or footfall. It is my gift to you & to Bolsover!!.
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The Beehive Cafe will be closed from 6th February to 21st February while Michelle & Nick go off for a well earned holiday.

The picture above might give you a clue about the sort of holiday they are going on!!
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So there you are - what we have been up to in the last week. Hard to imagine that there are enough hours in the day to achieve all of that.

But we firmly believe that we have got a business to shout about. We may still be a bit 'rough around the edges', as we put the finishing touches to OBY.

But as Network Rail frequently say - 'We are getting there!' - so come back and see us next week for another exciting blog post.
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​Old Bolsover Yard is pleased to announce that it will be hosting the Bolsover Civic Society - 'Soiree for a Summer Evening' in August 2019.

As part  of the planning we have a search on our hands -

Well here we are - halfway through the first month of the year - doesn't time fly when you are enjoying yourself!!

So, I thought I would use this weeks blog post to review the things that have happened at OBY in the last week.

We have heard  from the Heritage Lottery Fund that our bid will be considered at a Panel on 21st February. Let's hope we are successful, and thanks to those who provided letters etc. of support to the bid.

This Wednesday (today in fact!!) we will be attending an Accessibility Workshop at Bolsover Castle being hosted by - Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire. More on this in future blog posts.

Late last year we took delivery of our notice board for the front of the Yard, showing the names of the businesses in OBY. It has been produced for us by Sarah Jarman, a talented signwriter based in north-east England. We have spent some time considering the best place to site the board & at the same time the entrance to OBY. Well we have now made decisions on both of these - we have identified the bit of wall for the notice board, and are going to explore some new gates for the front entrance.

​We have made some more progress on filling empty dates in the Courtyard Programme, and we are gradually getting a good mixture of offering for the Saturdays between April & August this year.

The Gallery @ Old Bolsover Yard has been open now for two months & has settled down into a set of routine opening hours. So, just to confirm - the Gallery is open from 10am to 3pm Monday to Saturday. There will be occasions when we have to open slightly later, because we have to visit customers etc., and likewise for early closing on some days. Where this happens we will put a note on our Facebook page & put a notice on the door of the Gallery.

And finally for this week, we are pleased to have been invited to talk to Bolsover District Council Senior Economic Development Officer to discuss the future of businesses in Bolsover, following the publication of the Governments - 'Future High Streets Fund' in December.

As you know, one of the reasons we came to Bolsover, was to add to the economic footprint of the town, and its tourism offering. The meeting is on Friday 8th February & I will report back in a blog post afterwards.

So, that is just a snapshot of - 'a week at Old Bolsover Yard' - never a dull moment!!

Looking forward to next weeks blog post!!

So, the Christmas tree is down, the egg nog has been put away for another year, the New Year is in full swing - back  to work, back to school, and so we  are back in 'the groove'.

At the beginning of 2019 we welcomed a new business to Old Bolsover Yard - Cup & Saucer is a small independent business owned & run by Gail Hannan which is based in the heart of Derbyshire; just a stones throw away from the beautiful Peak District which influences many of their products.
 
On their website - www.cupandsauceronline.co.uk – Gail tells us that -  "Cup & Saucer are passionate about good-quality tea, and providing our customers with a variety of unique flavours". 
 
In joining the Old Bolsover Yard community, Gail is a good example of what we were hoping to achieve as part of the Yard – providing small business premises for craft businesses who are looking to expand to the next stage in their development.

In 2018 Gail & Cup & Saucer were the winners of the Chesterfield Food & Drink Awards - Food Producer Year 2018.

Commenting on her success, Gail said - “It feels great to win the Food Producer of the Year award, but totally unexpected. It was a surprise to get through to the tasting session but, to win it, is just amazing. When I realised that people enjoy our teas, that really motivated me to just keep working hard to provide great products.” 
 
So, next time you are in Castle Street, why not pop in & see if Gail is open & find out what your favourite ‘tea tipple’ is.
 
You can also find Cup & Saucer on Facebook at - https://www.facebook.com/cupandsaucertea.