This is a series of open meetings with snail- and e-mailing lists. Somneone very knowledgable on their subject gives a very challenging lecture of about an hour to an audience of 15 to 30 of us, followed or interrupted by the serving a of a savoury plateful of food and an hour in which the very challenging audience cross-examines rthew lecturer or takes the discussion along unpredicatable, or predicatable, diversions. Yet more brain-wringing goes on in The Boat after. Meetings take place on a Saturday evening every couple of months or so. Look out for posters or ask to be placed on the e- or snail-mailing list. £4 in the plate covers the food, an initial coffee or tea if we have time and the "overheads". Several meetings are in the offing for Autumn 2010 - for up to date (maybe) information see this This Hyperlink, and for a bit more bumph and some off-putting pictures, see Another Page. A great tradition, which has now given birth to a reading group (see below).
This Samatha Buddhist meditation group meets every Thursday evening during school term-time and spans both genders and a wide age range. Just turn up (to the side door), or for more information click HERE. Or contact Rosemary on 01629 814617 or e-mail her.
Autumn 2010 Meditation classes begin on Thursday 16th. September, which is around the spiritual New Year in Dave's opinion.
A very welcoming, relaxing but thought-provoking meeting of between four and ten people around one long table in The Vineyard.There is a strict format in which the discussion circulates (anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere) around the table with a ban on interruption and on going on too long, with an additionally give-and-take conch-grabbing round. Meetings are monthly on a Thursday morning 10 for 10.15 until 12 noon. The subject is chosen by majority vote at the outset, not necessarily from a prior shortlist. There is no charge "other than for food and drink that you may inadvertently consume". For more information, look out for posters or contact Roger at 01629-823818 rogermgreen@hotmail.com
The branch holds its intensive bi-monthly planning meetings and occasional public events in the café. If you want to join or assist the group or the wider movement, contact Amnesty Wirksworth
Diese Gruppe trefft jede Woche in einer Kneipe in der Nähe von Matlock.Gewöhnlich gibt es zwischen fünf und zwölf Leute dabei. Unter den Mithgliedern sind mehrere Ur-deutscher und Ur-deutscherinnen, auch Leute die in Deutschland, der Schweiz oder Österreich gearbeitet oder gewöhnt haben und Leute wie ich, die interessieren sich in deutschen Leben und Kultur. Persönlich, kann ich viel mehr verstehen als sprechen, so bitte ankomm ohne Furcht! Wir klatschen über alltäglichen Dingen, abenso wie man in der Kneipe macht. You can tell from the above that my own German is only of school standard, so whether you are fluent or hesitant you can enjoy the club, which is not a commitment - people drop in and out, come regularly or occasionally - the hours are 8.30 or 9 to 10.30 or 11 and the location rotates (Autumn 2010) between The Temple Hotel (Matlock Bath), The Barley Mow (Bonsall), The Three Stags Heads (Darley Bridge), The Old Poet's (Ashover) and The Dog Inn (Pentrich). Wendy schickte uns eine Terminliste jede zwei oder drei Monaten. Hier ist Wendys e-Mail Addresse zu finden.
Following five rewarding years as the Phoenix Choir under brilliant accordianist, pianist and composer Vlastimil Jarunek our small group was on the verge of becoming insolvent and had to close (again!) after Christmas 2009. Re-forming and now having reverted to the Community Choir title, we are now thriving again under the warm and humorous leadership of Lynne Dean. Long may it last, even if she does take Weep O Mine Eyes far too slow (it's a bit too fast on that link, but the background baby-noises are endearing). The 2010 calendar has filled up nicely with performances at Wirksworth Farmers' Market and during the September Wirksworth Festival, village events in Cromford and Kirk Ireton and weddings! Vivaldi's Gloria was performed in early July with Ashbourne Symphonia and young student soloists in Ashbourne Town Hall. and Christmas will be busy as usual. Our repertoire ranges from Renaissance to Modern music, secular and sacred - in short our selection of the customary Chamber Choir work. We do make rather a nice sound, despite having few solo-quality voices. Members need to sing in tune and not stridently; precise sight-reading isn't necessary, so long as you can pick up a part fairly quickly and hold it despite the basses. We can be contacted via Scarthin Books, or try us out on a term-time Wednesday at Wirksworth Junior School 7.45 to 9.30 p.m. and afterwards (non-musically) for some in the Royal Oak.
No mention of choirs could leave out the sensational Dale Diva who meet just down the road at Cromford Community Centre. I normally despise those those screaming-audienced, purple-shaded-studio'ed television programmes that I never willingly watch. But purple does describe the intense, emotionally charged performances of Ladies' Barbershop Singing given by the Diva (or DivaS) as we commonly know them. They perform with smiles and choreographed movement and entirely without musical scores. The standard of musicianship is streets above most ensembles and is reached by dedicated attention to every detail of vocal and facial expression and note-perfection - and the coaching and testing of recruits, who may be new to choral singing, until they are adjudged ready to perform out. Don't pass up a chance to hear Dale Diva. Prepare to clap them now - and have a handkerchief ready at the dab.
The Big News of August 2010 is that Dale Diva have reached the final of Channel Five's Don't Stop Believing competition for all-singing, all-dancing choirs/choruses. The live screening is at the earlier than usual time of 5.30 p.m. on Sunday 22nd. August. YOU can vote, and so numerous are we, their supporters, that they must be in with a strong chance of winning, and recording and selling some higher-profile albums.
They did win, receiving the largest share of 1.6 million votes, which means that the great campaign to mobilise friends and family voters must have been dwarfed by a genuine winning popular vote. To hear about the history and the experience of being in Dale Diva I recommend clicking on BBC Online Woman's Hour and scrolling down to click on Dale Diva.
An offshoot of the Cafe Philosophique demanded by those for whom our infrequent full meetings were not enough; Karen, David and Ray being the spearhead. We meet every two months on a Tuesday at 7.30 in the Bookshop Cafe. There's usually no food and always no charge, but you have to try to read the books. For more information contact David Pankhurst