Yes! - here we are back from a week in Herefordshire overlooking the foothills of the Malvern's in Worcestershire, with sheep in the field outside our cottage, a woodpecker going about its business of 'tree felling', as well as squirrels & rabbits.

But don't worry, work on Old Bolsover Yard carried on with planning ideas abound. Also Ethos Upcycling re-stocking with lots of new goodies - watch out on their Facebook page in the coming days.

Also Molly Felicity Designs, who will be joining the OBY community in the coming weeks (more of that later in the blog), were raiding the vintage shops to stock up on lots of new fabrics, which will be turned into new products etc. 

And now, onwards & upwards - no sign of a 'Beast from the East' yet - which means that we can look forward to a new season at OBY, with a full set of tenants now in place and lots of new exciting developments, and sadly, some news on our Heritage Lottery Fund bid.

​So - read on & enjoy!! 
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Regulars readers of our blog posts will know that a new Government initiative - 'The Future High Streets Fund' - was launched at the end of last year, and that I had been in contact with Bolsover District Council Economic Development Department, about whether or not they would be making a bid for funds & more importantly, would those funds (if the bid were successful) be for Bolsover?

Well on Monday, I had a meeting with Karl Apps, Paul McGrath & Sudipta Ghosh, from BDC to discuss the bid that they are going to be making. Whilst I cannot say whether Bolsover is 'in the frame', because of an embargo (posh name for 'my lips are sealed'!), the meeting was very productive and explored a wide range of issues about  Bolsover & the businesses & people of the town.

The Government expects there to be as many as 400 bids submitted, and based on the size of funds allocated to each successful bid, there will be a 1 in 4 chance of a successful bid.

Still - as they say about the Lottery - "You have to be in it to win it"

I will keep you up to date as & when things develop.
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So, hot foot from my meeting with the Economic Development Team, I was back at The Arc for the launch of a series of videos that have been produced to highlight Bolsover District.

In his introduction - Councillor Steve Fritchley, Cabinet Member for Town Centre Renewal, Media and Marketing said - 
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"The videos are a culmination of the past nine months hard work as we have been out and about across our district filming our communities, businesses and tourist attractions and capturing some unique drone footage of the area.
 
We are striving to promote Bolsover District as a place to live, to visit, to work and to invest in. These videos will help us do that and portray the District in a positive light, promoting what we have to offer, to residents, visitors, tourists and businesses.
 
'The District will be bought to life in the short films and will give users experiences like visiting Creswell Crags, walking in Whitwell Wood, fishing at Pinxton Wharf, marvelling at the magnificent Hardwick Hall and showing what business opportunities we have."

Following the introduction & showing of two of the videos about business & tourism opportunities in the area, Scott Chambers, Communications, Marketing and Design Manager of BDC, then invited guests to have a look at the individual town videos that have been produced.

Not surprisingly, I headed for the Bolsover video, which has been professionally produced, and features the centre of the town, and the wider area.

When I have got a copy of the video, which I have been promised, I will try & get it uploaded on to the OBY website.

I also took the opportunity of inviting Councillor Fritchley to visit Old Bolsover Yard, which he agreed to do along with Scott Chambers, to discuss posssible ways forward for businesses in Bolsover. I will update on when that meeting is to take place & report on it after it has happened.

With that I went home after a busy first day back after the holiday & treated myself to an alcoholic drink!

On Thursday 14th March, Old Bolsover Yard will have a stand at the Annual Leaflet Swap organised by the Tourist Board.

This event is a great opportunity for us to network with tourism providers and tell them about Old Bolsover Yard, and by definition put Bolsover on the map.

The event is being held at the historic Octagon building in Buxton.

Hopefully we can get our leaflets in to shops, B&B & hotel accommodation etc.
and take the opportunity to 'spread the word' about OBY.
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We are excited that we have 'let' our last Unit in the Yard & we are now a complete community.

Molly Felicity Designs - original designs made with you in mind, builds on the current revival of 'make do and mend' culture & brings you unique handcrafted items perfect for that unique gift for a loved one, or simply treat yourself to something special.

For owner, Sarah Smith, this is the latest development in building a business which she started in 2012 after finding her ‘Sewing Bug’ making gifts for family and friends.

Those of you who have visited The Gallery @ Old Bolsover Yard will have seen some examples of Molly Felicity Designs work, and their arrival is a natural next move.

We are working hard to make Unit 1 ready for Molly Felicity Designs & hope that it wont be too long before they are 'open for business'

So, if you are into sewing, fabrics and all related things then get ready to visit.

Whilst on the subject of new tenants - Maria & Nino are busy fitting out their Unit
ready to open & provide you with another opportunity to spend money on locally handmade crafts. 

They have plans to have an 'Opening' on Saturday 6th April, which other than that date I have no more information, so - 

Last Thursday (21st) was the day that our Heritage Lottery Bid went to the final panel for consideration.

Unfortunately, we had a phone call yesterday to say that our bid had been unsuccessful and we would not be getting any funding.

On enquiry, we were told that - "There were better bids than ours" - bit of a statement of the obvious!! and that we would be sent a letter with more explanation later this week.

We are obviously disappointed that we were not successful, but we await 'the letter' and then decide whether to re-submit our bid again!

Thank you to all those people & organisations that gave us letters of support or completed an interest form. Thanks especially to Richard Godley & his team, who put in a lot of hard work on the bid.

More details in a future blog post when we see what Heritage Lottery Fund have to say for themselves!

In a recent post, I said that we were going to have a tourist information stand in OBY, as there was presently no official Tourism Information Office in Bolsover.

The stand has now arrived, and will be kept up to date once a month by the providers of the stand. Hopefully this will be useful to both local residents & to visitors to the town. 

Currently the stand can be found in Unit 1, where Molly Felicity Designs are about to take up residence.

We still have space available for stallholders on two of our forthcoming Courtyard events.

The first is on April 27th and is Yarn Shop Day -

The second is our Cake Bonanza on July 27th & 28th as part of the Bolsover Food & Drink Festival - 

If you interested in either of these events then please email - oldbolsoveryard@gmail.com & and we will send you more information.
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Since we moved in to Old Bolsover Yard, we have been trying to piece together the history of the Yard which was once a town slaughter house & meat processing area along with a butchers shop on Castle Street.

We are grateful to all of those who have come too see us & tell us their memories, bring us books to read that help to set the scene etc.

In the last week we have got two more pieces of the jigsaw.

First is  this advert which was in the Church Parish magazine in January 1955. If you can add anything about Mr Davis & his butchery, we would love to here from you

Then this week a gentleman came into the Yard & was telling Damion from Ethos Upcycling, about how he used to visit the Yard to collect a bucket of blood from the slaughterhouse to take home & put on his roses! I bet he had the best roses in Bolsover, and quite an appropriate snippet in this Valentine  Day week!

We know that many of you keep up to date via our Facebook page & this week we have reached 250 people who have 'liked' the page.

Thank you to those of you who are 'followers' and if your not then perhaps you might like to join

Regular readers will know that we have been working hard on our Courtyard Programme 2019, where we are trying to get something happening in the Courtyard every Saturday between April & August this year.

Things have been going reasonably well, and we are pleased to launch another new event that will take place at the end of April.

Now in its sixth year, Yarn Shop Day is a successful, industry supported annual event that celebrates bricks-and-mortar yarn shops and actively motivates consumers to visit their local store. 

Now before anybody says anything - we know that we are not a yarn shop, but we are all about crafts - and one of the oldest crafts must be - knitting, crocheting & all things wool/yarn.

And so we are going to support Yarn Shop Day. If you are involved in 'anything & everything to do with yarn, and want to demonstrate your skill, or sell your handmade wool/yarn products then email for us for a form & more details.

Finally, and this thought has only just entered my mind but - is there a locally based knitting group who would like to take part - a sort of 'knitting circle'
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 27th & 28thContinuing with the Courtyard Programme 2019 - in our recent blog post, we told you about our contribution to the Festival.

Response has been slow, but that might be because July seems a long time away, but in the event planning world it is not that far away.

So, just a reminder about the Old Bolsover Yard 'Cake Bonanza' to be held over the weekend July 27th & 28th.

The aim is to get together a series of small businesses, who have things 'cake related' - cake themed home decor, vintage crockery, wooden platters etc. and yes of course cakes.

If you want to find out more, then have a read of the poster below, and then email us, and we will get back to you, with more details.
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Another booking for the Courtyard Programme comes on Saturday 20th July, when we will be welcoming the Signing Choir from Fairplay in Chesterfield.

We have only just confirmed the booking with them & so more information to follow in the coming weeks.

​In the meantime, put the date in your diary.
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We are in the advanced stages of booking The Honey Belles for the Courtyard Programme.

They are a three part harmony choir – Altos, Mezzos and Sopranos, however they have dabbled with more harmony sections, thanks to their exciting brush with Gareth Malone in 2016. They sing a variety of music genres including musicals, 80s classics and modern pop. They also have some very talented choir members who enable the choir to arrange music, allowing them to mash their favourite songs together.

Depending on availability the choir can number as many as 50 voices, so we are in for a fabulous day when we have finally fixed the date.

Another bumper blog post, which hopefully will keep you going for the next couple of weeks.

We are off for a few days rest & recuperation - but planning for the year ahead will not stop!

Many of you will be familiar with the weekday programme on BBC1 - Antiques Road Trip, where Antiques experts set off on a road trip around the UK searching for treasures and competing to make the most money at auction.

Well this week new boy Angus Ashworth & regular David Harper have been around & about northern England & yesterday they ended up in Bolsover with Matt at Odds & Sods Reclamation.

Following, the usual format of the programme, the pair had a good 'rummage around' & selected a couple of items to take on to the the auction in Harrogate.

But, here is where for us at Old Bolsover Yard (OBY), the real excitement started, because in one segment of the visit, front & centre of the background shot was a set of industrial bellows.

Not just any old bellows though - oh no! - these bellows are now proudly part of Old Bolsover Yard. Yep, we bought them soon after the programme had been filmed, and we were looking for 'bits & pieces' for OBY, and unbeknownst to us they were to become a set of 'As seen on the Antiques Road Trip' bellows.

So, now you all have another reason to visit us at Old Bolsover Yard to 'worship' at the foot of the bellows that featured on The Antiques Road Trip. You can stand next to them & have your photo taken with them. You can put the picture in the family album for future generations to see. We might even get a 'blue plaque' erected alongside them!!

Yes, you are right, here at Old Bolsover Yard we never miss an opportunity to promote ourselves & Bolsover too.

Doesn't time fly when you are enjoying yourself!! It hardly seems a week since I sat down to write the latest blog, and here we are again beginning to get this weeks blog post ready.
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Scott is the Communications, Marketing and Design Manager, for Bolsover District Council & I met with him on Monday, to talk about ways in which Old Bolsover Yard (OBY) might be able to work with the Council, and contribute toward the growth of Bolsover.

We had a wide ranging discussion, and Scott is going to bring the BDC Cabinet Member for High Streets, Councillor Steve Fritchley, to see what we are doing at OBY.

The Council has a number of initiatives that it is working on including a new TV channel which will feature local businesses, as well as articles in Council publications, and OBY is destined to feature in some or, if we are very lucky' all of these in the coming months.

As part of this years Bolsover Food & Drink Festival on July 27th & 28th Old Bolsover Yard is having a cake bonanza!

We are going to feature - "All things Cakes" - not just cakes, but cake decorations, cake themed home decor, and YES! cakes themselves.

We are now ready to launch this and open bookings.

So if you have anything to do with cakes, have a look at the poster below & contact us by email - oldbolsoveryard@gmail.com - for more information & a booking form.

When you contact us just give us your business name, email address, and a short description of what your business does.

​We are looking forward to hearing from you!

One of the things that we have not got in Bolsover is a Tourist Information Office - somewhere that visitors can find out more about things to do, places to go in the area.

So, as ever, having identified the problem, we have done something about it. From late February we will have tourist information available in OBY.

We will be getting an information rack that will have details of things happening in the area, places to visit, and every month the information will be updated, with the old out of date information taken away & all new information replacing it.

Initially, the information stand will be located in Unit 1, but may get re-located at a later date.

For OBY this means another reason for visitors who come to the town to come and visit us, and for us to tell them & show them what we are doing.

Another example of the Old Bolsover Yard - "Never miss an opportunity" mantra, and an opportunity to talk to visitors about Bolsover and local area.

Just a reminder that the Beehive Cafe will be closed from 6th to 21st February.

We wish Michelle & Nick a restful holiday on the high seas, and look forward to seeing them back, so that we can be jealous of their sun tan!!
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From Saturday 16th February Ethos Upcycling & The Gallery @ Old Bolsover Yard, will not be open, but our other tenants will be open as usual.
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Normal service will be resumed on Monday 25th February at 10am

Thank you for your understanding, but we think that we have earned a rest! - though I am sure that there will be some Old Bolsover Yard planning taking place during the week!!
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There will be one last blog post next week before we 'toddle off' - make sure you have a look!
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