Twist issue 148 April 2023

Tw st
Play’s
purrfect
outcome
So proud of
father’s Polar
Bear service
HERE were big smiles all round after Dronfield Players’
production of play Cheshire Cats, by Gail Young, raised
£597.61 for Ashgate Hospice.
The donation will help the charity provide palliative and end of life care
at its Inpatient Unit in Chesterfield and in community across north
Derbyshire.
Leigh Allwood, from the hospice, said: “We’re so grateful for the support of
everyone at Dronfield Players after choosing to support us in their recent
production.
“To have raised such an amount of money is incredible and will help us
continue caring for the patients and families across North Derbyshire who
need us the most.”
The drama group chose the hospice to benefit as the charity has cared for
some of the members and their families, during difficult illnesses.
Chrissy Broughton, chair of Dronfield Players, was accompanied by
fellow ‘Cheshire Cats’, Carol Mullins and Caroline Hurt, to hand over the
money.
The production received great feedback from audiences, the group reported.
Dronfield Players are celebrating their 80th anniversary this year and their
spring production is See How They Run a comedy farce by Philip King, from
22nd to 25th March.
• Anyone Interested in joining the drama group should visit www.dronfield
players.com for more information.
30
Presenting the
cheque outside
Ashgate Hospice’s
premises in
Dronfield
T
Litter-pick invitation
C
HESTERFIELD residents are invited to help keep the borough
tidy by joining in with community litter picks.
Chesterfield Borough Council’s tenant engagement team has organised two
litter picks in the borough and is on the lookout for willing volunteers to get
involved and lend a helping hand too.
The next litter pick will take place at Green Farm Close, Loundsley Green, on
Tuesday, 28th March, starting at 10am and finishing at 12noon.
Anyone wishing to support the event is asked to meet next to the recycling
area.
Litter-pickers, high visibility jackets and gloves will be provided for
everyone taking part. Anyone attending should wear sensible shoes and
clothing.
Coun Chris Ludlow, the Borough Council’s cabinet member for housing, said:
“Keeping our communities clean and tidy is one of our top priorities as a council
and involving local residents helps us to build a strong community through
communication and teamwork.
“Our tenant engagement team and housing officers will be aiming to hold
regular litter picking events across the borough, so we encourage residents to
keep an eye out on the council’s website and social media channels for more
information.”
Anyone who would like any further information on the event, or other future litter
picks, can contact the tenant engagement team on tenantengagement@
chesterfield.gov.uk or 01246 345147.
Dear Dronfield Eye,
MY sister, who lives in Chesterfield, passed
on a copy of your January Twist magazine,
pointing out the article about the Polar
Bear regiment as our dad was a Polar
Bear.
We consider ourselves Polar Bear ‘cubs’ and
after reading the article about your editor’s
grandfather, he seems to have been in the same
places as our father in World War II.
My dad was in the York & Lancaster
Hallamshire regiment; he served two years in
Iceland then seemed to be all over the place.
He too went across the Channel with the
Canadians. He should have gone the day before,
but there was an air strike on the docks so he
went the day after. At that time, ‘strike’ had a
totally different meaning to nowadays.
He then went with the British Expeditionary
Force into Germany, in particular it would seem
Cologne.
My sister and I started to do family tree
research and we came across some photos from
my dad’s time in the army, mostly of Iceland, with
fellow Army friends and views and pictures of
bridges in and around Cologne.
My dad also had pictures of two German
families that he had some connection with in
Cologne.
My sister and I, with respective husbands,
drove across to Cologne to try and find the
locations of the bridges, which we did, and took
modern day pictures. In spite of the sadness for
our dad and the pictures we had seen, we had a
good time.
I have my dad’s Army papers but they are very
difficult to read as they seem to have their own
shorthand with lots of capital letters with no
words in between. I also have his shoulder
badge of a Polar Bear, plus a couple of silk
hankies from Iceland.
It felt good to read about another Polar Bear’s
experience and think about all the experiences
my dad may have gone through.
Margaret James