Two years <strong>in</strong>to Transform<strong>in</strong>g the Trent Valley By Louise Morris ........................ The Trent Valley is a special landscape. For millennia it has been an <strong>in</strong>dustrious region. From farm<strong>in</strong>g the rich fertile soils of the floodpla<strong>in</strong>s to navigat<strong>in</strong>g the river; from extract<strong>in</strong>g the cool, sweet ground water for beer brew<strong>in</strong>g, to the mills and factories that sprung up dur<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>dustrial revolution, the Trent Valley has a long history connected to its river. It is the people and their communities that form the beat<strong>in</strong>g heart of the Trent Valley. This is a landscape <strong>in</strong> which people have always lived, worked and relaxed. The landscape has changed cont<strong>in</strong>ually through time and cont<strong>in</strong>ues to do so. M<strong>in</strong>eral operations are leav<strong>in</strong>g their mark on the landscape and climate change is lead<strong>in</strong>g to an <strong>in</strong>creased frequency of highly damag<strong>in</strong>g flood events. New transport l<strong>in</strong>ks are scyth<strong>in</strong>g through the countryside and development is <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g pressure on our natural resources. ‘Transform<strong>in</strong>g the Trent Valley’ is a scheme that is embrac<strong>in</strong>g the challenges and opportunities presented by this landscape. The Trent Valley is peppered with a rich cultural and natural heritage that we are sett<strong>in</strong>g out to celebrate and explore. Two years s<strong>in</strong>ce our launch, and despite a global pandemic, we have some excit<strong>in</strong>g achievements under our belts. We are work<strong>in</strong>g with the natural processes of the river to reconnect the River Trent with its floodpla<strong>in</strong>, and we are work<strong>in</strong>g with communities supported by statutory agencies to improve flood resilience and restore our natural habitats. Our s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g success is the reconnection of an old river channel at Cherry Holme, near Catholme, where a large river island has been re-established, restor<strong>in</strong>g much needed habitats for wildlife. We will be improv<strong>in</strong>g access through the valley for walk<strong>in</strong>g, cycl<strong>in</strong>g and paddl<strong>in</strong>g and have made great headway through upgrad<strong>in</strong>g some of the worst sections of towpath along more than 5km of the canal network. Our family activities, paused dur<strong>in</strong>g the lockdowns, have moved onl<strong>in</strong>e with videos, worksheets and bookable zoom events keep<strong>in</strong>g families connected with nature. A broad spectrum of ‘Trent Talks’ have been launched cover<strong>in</strong>g topics from bird r<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g to recycl<strong>in</strong>g to dog walk<strong>in</strong>g and attract<strong>in</strong>g audiences across Staffordshire, the Midlands and even as far afield as Japan! Community groups have been supported with over £35,000 awarded to some great local <strong>in</strong>itiatives with our Community Grant Scheme. F<strong>in</strong>ally, we are supported by a large team of volunteers, each help<strong>in</strong>g us <strong>in</strong> their own unique way. Survey volunteers are contribut<strong>in</strong>g to our knowledge of the heritage features <strong>in</strong> the landscape <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Stop L<strong>in</strong>e 5, a relic of the Second World War that is del<strong>in</strong>eated by more than 70 pillboxes. Photography volunteers are captur<strong>in</strong>g images and footage of the valley to illustrate its transformation through time, and our Wildlife Record<strong>in</strong>g volunteers are support<strong>in</strong>g us <strong>in</strong> generat<strong>in</strong>g valuable biological records. For more <strong>in</strong>formation about ‘Transform<strong>in</strong>g the Trent Valley’, our projects, our people and our partners, visit our website www.thetrentvalley.org.uk Tales of a Private Chef By Simon Smith ......................... Some four years ago I was asked to jo<strong>in</strong> a friend of m<strong>in</strong>e who was the chef on the superyacht ‘Lady Feryal’ to help for a week at the Monaco Grand Prix. There would be 12 crew members to feed plus 12 guests who were stay<strong>in</strong>g on board but, <strong>in</strong> addition, there would be 80 day guests chang<strong>in</strong>g on a daily basis. The yacht had been chartered by an event’s company for the week and was moored end on to the track with spectacular views of the cars com<strong>in</strong>g out of the tunnel. The resident guests had paid £12,500 each for four days and the day guests had paid £3,500 each for as much as they could eat and dr<strong>in</strong>k. To some people that was seen as a challenge and by midday they were crashed out and never saw a car. One major issue that arose was that the event’s company hadn’t told the resident guests that the yacht would be full of day guests for three days. There were all sorts of arguments and upsets between the two parties! Resident guests were to have breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and a fourcourse d<strong>in</strong>ner. Day guests were to have a runn<strong>in</strong>g buffet between 11am and 5pm. The galley of course was only designed for the 12 crew and 12 guests as was the fridge space, so the logistics were a nightmare. In addition, all the roads were closed between 6am and 6pm as they were the racetrack! As a result, we couldn’t go shopp<strong>in</strong>g so had to order all the food through an agent (which added 30% to the food cost) and it was delivered across the harbour by tender at 4am <strong>in</strong> the morn<strong>in</strong>g. While these yachts all look very pretty and spacious from the outside the crew quarters are always very ‘cosy.’ As I was an extra crew member with no allocated cab<strong>in</strong> space, they found me a sunbed mattress and I slept on the floor of the eng<strong>in</strong>e room for the week. Provid<strong>in</strong>g a 5-star service is difficult where staff numbers are restricted by space and logistics, and the expectation is that you work at any time of the day or night. Although these jobs seem glamorous (and they often are) the work is really demand<strong>in</strong>g and flexibility is all important. 14
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