The Grindleford News

Did you know that Grindleford Parish Council pays for the Grindleford News each quarter?  

The Grindleford News was started in – guessing – about 2003 by Frank Galbraith, who felt that a regular magazine with news about the village would be a good idea to keep everyone in touch with what was happening.  Grindleford was both a very different and very similar place in those days – some of the faces have moved on, the Pavilion is all supersonic, the old smithy became the dentist and now isn’t again, the school Terrapin buildings (two sellotaped together, one half 30 years old and one 45) have been replaced by a lovely new building, there is a climbing wall, a bug hotel and nearly a pirate ship; Country Choice closed, the community shop opened and the pubs have both changed hands once or twice.  And yet, the river is still there with the pipe over it, the church is unchanged, the houses remain as they were back then and the population has stayed just about static, at just under 1000 souls spread across 350 houses. 

Delivering the News used to be much easier because John and Pete the postmen would take it round on their usual deliveries, but that came to an end a few years ago, along with giving your dog a biscuit (we used to get a pile of letters with a bone shaped biscuit placed neatly on top) so we were thrown onto the mercy of  the excellent Alan Jacques, and a band of stalwarts who walk round the village each time to make sure we all get a copy through our letterbox. 

After Frank’s editorship, John Mottershaw (who has now set up this website, so a veritable giant of village communications) took over for a few years, then Sarah Battarbee, Renuka Russell and our recently outgoing editor Tim Shephard, who took the News on to a new level.  It’s always a relief when someone steps up to take over, and this time round it’s Colleen Grey and Diane Wilson (the latter distantly related by marriage to our Chair) who have got off to a flying start with their first edition in July. 

The News has many regular contributors, including the HortiSoc, Gaiters, pre-school, church, shop and of course Parish Council all keeping readers up to date with what’s happening.  Then there are some highly entertaining one offs, particularly poems, and all is illustrated with some wonderful photographs. 

What a difference the News has made over the years.  We all rely on it to communicate to the whole village – it’s the only communication channel which gets to everyone.   All the village events go in there, with notifications of big village news such as the arrival of the new vicar, which will be in the October print.  It’s told us where to get sandbags when we flood, advertised the support network during lockdown, remembered some of our lovely village friends who have left us, and reported on the shop opening and the Pavilion rebuild. It’s hard to think of life without it. So well done Frank for starting it, best wishes to Colleen and Diane for taking it forward, and wishing all those who read it well for the 2020s.