Transport and Traffic Policy

The committee of the Village Society has produced a brief document outlining the perceived wishes of residents regarding local transport and traffic matters. The document, which will inevitably change with time, is to be used by the Society to communicate these wishes to the authorities during consultations with the City Council and other parties. Top priority goes to the provision of safe pedestrian routes, particularly those used by children and the elderly. Six routes have been listed which require improvement. Two other priorities are identified, both of which will lead to more effective use of the roads and parking space within the village.

The committee would welcome comments on the document, copies of which will are available by ringing 262 0012.

Gardening for Pleasure

If you have an interesting garden please consider opening it for the annual Dore Gardens Open Day on Sunday 2nd July, from 2pm until 6pm. As well as offering delight to the local community, the Garden Open Day has raised a considerable sum for charity each year. Each head gardener' chooses the charities that benefit. Last year in excess of œ1,150 was raised. All sizes and styles of garden are wanted, variety adding to the pleasure of the event.

If you wish to put your garden forward or to find out more please contact Julie Bearpark - 236 9100

Gala 2000

For those of you who do not know, this year's Gala will be held on July 8th. Doesn't time fly when you are having fun, which is what the day is all about.

The members of the committee have fun all the year round planning and organising the event; the Scouts, Cubs, Beavers, Guides, Brownies and Rainbows have fun parading and running the stalls; the leaders and the 100 or so parents and helpers have fun putting up bunting, bottle collecting, repairing and making side shows, selling raffle tickets etc. All this is done so you, the people of the local community can also have fun. It is a wonderful time to renew old acquaintances and make new friends and I hope that this year will be no exception. The building of the fabulous new playground, and the other improvements to the Recreation Ground, including the planting of saplings, has caused us to re-think the Gala Field layout. As the year 2000 is the year of change, we have decided to uproot and move to another part of the Rec. The arena and major attractions will be sited on the field behind the football pitch. This is not as undulating and gives us more room to entertain you. It also provides a safer environment as we can provide better access for the many vehicles that enter and leave the field during the event.

The format of this year's Gala Day will be similar to last year's. We will run from 2.00pm until 8.00pm continuously. We will be repeating our ever-popular arena events including the Dog of Dore, Tug of War, Fancy Dress, It's a Knockout etc. This year's major attractions are: A fabulous Classic Car Show, featuring around 100 of the finest examples. Jumping Jake Semtex, a spectacular motorcycle stunt rider. He has to be seen to be believed. A Rollover Miami fairground ride. This is a bare knuckle ride, not for the faint-hearted We will also have all the usual stalls and games and our traditional sheep-roast.

Come along and enjoy the day and help us try and beat last year's record breaking profits. Support the local Scouts and Guides and other children's charities. Full details of the programme will appear in the Gala Magazine to be distributed shortly. Alan Robinson Gala Committee Chairman

Dear Sir

Having lived in Dore and being associated with the village all my life, I take a keen interest in the affairs and am always pleased to receive the Dore to Door magazine. Obviously I've been particularly interested in the articles concerning Nab Farm.

This farm has been in my family for five generations. It was owned by my great great grandfather Thomas Wroe and has since passed on through the family and was passed to me on the death of my mother. It was never owned by Jack Greaves as stated in the Spring issue of Dore to Door. Most of the older residents of Dore will remember my mother Doris Greaves who used to deliver the daily milk. Sadly she died in 1997 and the farm then became my responsibility. The buildings had deteriorated over the years despite my mother spending money on re-roofing etc. In an attempt to keep the farm and improve matters I applied for a grant but all my requests were refused. I therefore had no alternative but to put the farm up for sale. I know a lot of people in Dore and those who knew my parents were particularly sad to see the For Sale notice go up and some of their thoughts have been reflected in your articles on the farm.

It was very sad to see the buildings being knocked down. I only hope that the new buildings will be in keeping with the area and that the new owner will retain the name of Nab Farm.

Joan Dickinson (nee Greaves)

Dore Festival 2000

The Flower Festival in Dore Church from 1-10 July will be the opening event of this years Festival and Scout and Guide Gala celebrations in the Village. The programme includes many of the most popular events held over the past six years as well as some new ones. Arroll Winning, of the Friends of the Botanical Gardens, will be organising a Tree Trail in the Village during the afternoon and evening of Tuesday 4 July and would like to hear from anyone who has an old or interesting tree(s) in their garden which they would like to be considered for inclusion in the trail. Please contact Arroll as soon as possible, at 36 Rushley Drive.

Thanks to the hard work and support of the 267th Dore Scout Group and Gala committee and local sponsorship the Village will have 20 colourful planters filled with flowers for three months during the Summer. Particularly to enhance Festival Week and Dore Gala celebrations. Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona will be the play on the Village Green performed once again by The Company' who we are delighted to welcome back to Dore. As in the past the performance will go ahead whatever the weather and we look forward to the continued support of everyone to ensure another successful evening. There will be a limited number of seats available so please bring chairs, picnic table, rugs wine etc and enjoy the open air theatre. Baslow Choir will hold a concert of "Music for a Summer Evening" in Dore Church on Friday 7th July. The programme will include a variety of choral items in many moods, from light-hearted to serious, together with two longer works (each approx 20 mins) "The Song of Miriam" by Franz Schubert and excerpts from George Dyson's "The Canterbury Pilgrims" (based on the Prologue to "The Canterbury Tales" by Chaucer). Tickets will be œ5 including wine and we hope that many of you will support this event.

Help and financial support is needed for Festival week and if you are able to offer transport and help with moving chairs to and from the Green for the play and for the DMVC concert please contact one of the committee listed below. If you can give financial support as a sponsor or "friend of Dore Festival" we would like to hear from you. Or look out for more publicity about events around the Village and particularly on Saturday 24 June when we will be in the Village selling tickets for the various events.

Maureen Cope (tel 2350392)
Syd Crowson (tel 2366633)
Anne Elsdon (tel 2360002)

Bringing history alive

Would you be interested in helping with a new project in Dore?

The Dore Old School Appeal, apart from raising a lot of money, gave us all the opportunity to revisit the history of the Old School. Many people came forward with memories, photographs and souvenirs of their schooldays at the Old School. These gave a fascinating picture of school and village life during the 20th century and in some cases stretched back into the 19th century. Life in the village school carried on regardless of the century's upheavals. The everyday events, the dramas and successes of people in small communities like Dore throughout that eventful century, is a story which deserves to be told.

To mark the arrival of the twenty-first century we want to create a community play recording those events and celebrating the lives of those people. It will be performed at the end of the year and will be an exciting and fitting way to open the new, improved Old School. Both the Dore Village Society and the Dore Festival committee support the project.

We hope that all sections of the local community will want to become involved. Even if you don't fancy "treading the boards" there will lots of other ways you can contribute. Look out for details of our first meeting which will be advertised in the usual places around the village. Remember last year's Victorian Evening? This could be just as much fun but with no danger of getting wet! It might even turn into a book eventually.

We look forward to seeing you at the first meeting. We would however be interested to hear your views beforehand.

Please write to us at Dore Old School, Savage Lane, Dore, S17 3GW marking the envelope "Community Play". Dore Old School Appeal Group

P. S. The work on the Old School is progressing well. Thank you again for your generous support.

Woodland rules

Apparently Sheffield is the greenest city in the country. This is not something that is generally known and we do rather tend to take our good fortune for granted. Most people would agree that the large area of woodland that is Ecclesall Woods is a great asset to our local environment. However because it is there for everyone to use, whether for walking, jogging, riding, or cycling, the facility is very open to abuse. In order for the area to remain in any sort of acceptable condition everybody has a responsibility to respect a basic but vital rule. Stick to the designated paths!

A considerable amount of work has been taking place in the three woods in recent months in an attempt to maintain the bridleways and footpaths. (A very difficult task given the weather of the last few weeks!) Also new signs have been put in place to ensure that we all know which are the bridleways and which are the footpaths. It is quite simple. The routes that are signed with a blue arrow are the bridle ways and usually they are surfaced to a higher standard than the ordinary paths so that they can withstand the tougher use. These routes are for horse riders, cyclists and walkers. Those that are signed with a yellow arrow are the footpaths. These are for walkers only. These paths are not able to cope with the really hard wear of wheels and hooves.

Leaving set paths leads to erosion, damage to wild plants and disturbance to wildlife. Sadly recently just one or two horse riders in particular have taken to leaving the bridle ways, churning up paths and even creating jumps over fallen trees. They are in danger of spoiling the woods for us all, quite apart from breaking the bylaws. If you happen to see this happening, please challenge the offenders. Hopefully their actions are out of ignorance rather than malice.

Lorna Baker

Ladybower Challenge Walk

Do you enjoy walking in the beautiful local countryside? Well, King Ecgbert School Association is organising a 26 mile Challenge Walk on Saturday, 1st July. It will start and end at our Wessex Building on Totley Brook Road in Dore, going out to Ladybower Reservoir via Burbage Rocks, and returning via Hope, and Grindleford Cafe, where the main walk ends and lifts are available back to school if required.

There will also be a short round walk of about 12 miles for those who don't wish to do the full walk. The walk is part of the parent-teacher association fundraising effort, and for the entry fee, we will provide:

• checkpoints en route with free cold drinks
• free travel from checkpoints back to the finish for walkers wishing to retire
• a cloth embroidered badge for all entrants
• a certificate if the walk is completed in 12 hours
• a Ploughman's Platter and tea at the finish point
• First Aid personnel in attendance

For both walks, it is up to you to decide on your route, but you have to cheek in at the checkpoints. The cost of the walk remains at £8.50 (£4for under-18's). Under-16's will have to walk with a responsible adult, and under-18's need written parental consent.

For further information or application form, please telephone 236 7942 or send an S.A.E. to Mrs. C. Brewster, K.E.S.A., King Ecgbert School, Furniss Avenue, Dore, Sheffield, S 17 3QN.

Better by bus

How long is it since you last used the bus? What do you know about the Mainline bus service between Dore and Sheffield? Buses run every half hour on weekdays and every hour evenings and Sundays, with extra journeys running during the weekday peak periods. You'll find the current bus timetable on the Dore Village Society noticeboard. And here are some advantages of traveling by bus:

Save money. For a shopping trip to town a day ticket on the bus - ALL DAY SAVER - costs just £1.70 after 9am. You probably spend double that on petrol and parking. And for the commuter a weekly ticket on the bus - a 7-DAY SAVER - costs just £6.95. That's less than £1.40 a working day!

Save stress. No need to search for a parking space. And as the 50 bus runs through the heart of the city centre you can probably get on and off the bus closer to your destination.

Save the environment. Using cars less and other modes of transport more causes less pollution, conserves scarce resources and benefits everyone in the community?

Save time. Well, maybe not directly, but you can put the time on the bus to good use - maybe read a paper or a book or catch up the office paperwork? Difficult things to do if you're driving!

Millennium Flower Festival

St John's Church Abbeydale will be holding its Millennium Flower Festival from June 16th to18th on the theme The Life of Christ'. The church will be open from 12 noon on Friday 16th with afternoon teas served from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. At 8.00pm the Tuesday Singers' from Whitby will give a concert in the church.

On Saturday 17th the church will be open from 10am to 5pm for viewing, with a Morning Market from 10am to 1.30pm serving hot dogs and ploughman's lunches, with lots of stalls for everyone and activities for children.The festival continues on Sunday 18th with normal services in the morning and viewing between 2pm to 6pm with afternoon teas available. At 7pm the festival closes with a combined service for Churches Together in S17 with guest speaker Mr Jack Straw of Radio Sheffield. Proceeds shall be shared between the Milawi teacher-training project and church funds.

Ray Wright, Church Warden

Have you noticed

Now don't get me wrong, I love my fresh fruit and vegetables, but what is happening? Suddenly we have tomatoes sold "on the vine" and sprouts "on the stalk". What next I wonder? "Apples on the branch", "leeks in the soil"? Is it that they taste better, stay fresher. And why more expensive? After all, it is not as if they have to pay someone to pick them!

Have you noticed how much people moan, about holes in the footpaths, streetlamps that are on all day, about the state of the country. All too often they blame others, the Council, the Government, even the Dore Village Society. But how often do they act themselves? Yet we all have a responsibility to our local environment and community - you can only expect to get out of society what you put in to it. Some things we can do ourselves - cleaning street signs for instance. Others are the responsibility of various council departments to whom problems should be reported.

Finally if you get no joy with this, then report your problems to our councillors. But remember, they are there to represent us, not to do everything for us. If necessary they can change policies and priorities or put pressure on service managers. And if you still cannot get things put right, then is the time to talk to pressure groups such as the Dore Village Society and if appropriate to invoke media pressure by writing to the press.

Doremouse

News in Brief

King Ecgbert School is one of two Sheffield schools to have been successful in the Public Finance Initiative Phase 2 bid, and will receive a share of œ30 million to build a new school. It is anticipated that the new building will be completed within the next 3-4 years.

Sheffield Tigers made Sheffield rugby history by beating the Bank of England Team at Twickenham in April to win the Tetley's Bitter Vase trophy.

Erosion around tree routes on the edge of the village green is causing concern and a meeting with Council officials is being arranged to discuss possible corrective action.

Two road signs have now been erected following pressure from the society. They are NewfieldLane (Whitelow Lane end) and Ash House Lane (Hathersage Road end). We are still awaiting the others!

The Sheffield Round Walk is being improved, re-signed and developed into a full circular walk this year covering approx 15 miles. Details from 273 6816.

The ship's lantern that had long been at the Marquis of Granby, Bamford, was sent to auction a while ago. An expert said it was from the sister ship of the Titanic and therefore valuable. Now the entire wooden panelling, believed to come from the same ship, has been removed and sent to Sotheby's, leaving the hotel with bare walls. Homeowners will nearly all be millionaires by 2040 if the average growth in house prices over the last 20 years continues at 6.6%.

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