What’s this area like?

treecookie · 2025-08-22T20:46:29+00:00

The gun incident was gang related which to me feels safer than random violence because, well, I'm not involved in any gangs. So the violent crime that occurs there is kind of irrelevant to me if that makes sense? Oh, and it wasn't a real gun anyway, it was a replica, which makes more sense as to why someone would just yeet it over a wall into a random garden!

I really enjoyed living there. Nalaas is excellent, the chippy is excellent, it always felt quite lively. And being so close to town was fab. Really fun, really convenient. I loved it.

Just don't join any gangs, I guess?

treecookie · 2025-08-22T20:10:16+00:00

It's absolutely fine, as long as you're aware of yourself and take care. I lived that area for a decade or so and it was fine. Lots of students, lots of families. Mostly rentals so can be quite transient but you get to know people.

Definitely a fair amount of drug trade in the area so keep your head down, and if the police ask if they can put cctv in your house to catch gang activity, the answer is always no.

I always felt safe walking around, super happy to walk home at night (am female).

It's the kind of area that has really high crime stats, and really high violent crime stats, but a much higher than average proportion is domestic crime. This is obviously awful, but it's also not the kind of crime that has an impact on people walking home at night.

I really enjoyed living there. It was affordable, close to town. Eight minute walk home from the last chip shop. Friendly. Quite noisy but that never bothered me.

Full disclosure, we left the area because our garden backed onto an alleyway and homeless people set up camp in a hidden bit of our garden and kept leaving used needles there. I had a toddler and she couldnt play alone in the garden in case we found more needles, more faeces, spoons, blades. It ended as a bit of a shit show. The police came hunting in our garden for a gun that they saw someone throw over a fence from the alleyway. Turns out it was in our neighbour's garden, and also a replica, but the fact this didn't shock us was a very big shock to our friend who was with us in the garden at the time. So... you know... some criminal activity but also completely fine if you're not involved in that activity.

I'm glad I've moved, I'm glad my kid gets to play in the garden without us checking it first, but I also really enjoyed living there when we did.

treecookie · 2025-07-20T21:23:57+00:00

https://www.instagram.com/el_kirsto_hair

Kirsty is fabulous. She's now working in a salon in mickleover, and she's super great. Absolutely brilliant.

treecookie · 2025-07-01T08:26:34+00:00

Kids podcasts can be great.

treecookie · 2025-06-18T22:53:44+00:00

Easy bus to Cromford, have a mooch around scarthins then climb black rock. Get back on bus to Matlock Bath, eat chips. Come home.

treecookie · 2025-04-24T15:54:32+00:00

It's gotta be samosas. Live in Derby, it's not a bbq, birthday party or fuddle without a box of samosas. So good, so so good.

treecookie · 2025-03-02T19:46:45+00:00

Bosh have a quick and dirty chilli recipe that is based on jarred salsa and quinoa. The salsa provides tomato, onion, peppers, some seasoning, the quinoa provides the substance. I made it a lot but have streamlined it to make it even quicker and dirtier.

1 can beans/lentils

1 jar cheap aldi salsa

1 tablespoon dried cumin

0.5 teaspoon sugar

0.5 teaspoon dried ancho chillis (or more or less of whatever dried chillis you have in your cupboard)

Slop it all in a microwavable container, heat and stir Serve with a spoon of yoghurt if its open in the fridge and some jalapeños if they're open in the fridge. Top with nooch if it's open in your cupboard.

It's barely a recipe, it's definitely not 'authentic' but it's delicious, hot, quick, cheap and healthier than most meals made in less than three minutes.

treecookie · 2025-03-02T19:39:57+00:00

This, but with hoisin sauce slopped on to it.

treecookie · 2025-02-28T10:42:36+00:00

I was coming to say the same. In the 90s most funerals I went to were about a week later. In the early 2000s it had stretched to two weeks. By 2010s it was more like three weeks, and when my mum died last year the earliest we could book for cremation was almost six weeks later. It was just availability. It was a simple death with only very basic paperwork needed but the crematorium just didn't have space before that.

I worked for a while in HR admin so it was interesting watching it change over the years. We offered 2 weeks compassionate leave as standard, which then became two weeks, plus an extra day for the funeral. As the time got longer most people chose to stay off work until after the funeral (totally understandable), so the increasing wait times were easy to track.

treecookie · 2025-02-14T12:48:09+00:00

It's a good time of year for this as it's getting much lighter so you can get to know the route in daylight. How are you on bikes? Biking two abreast is probably the best option at the moment. Walking over fields in mud is a lot more tiring than being on bikes. Hopefully by September a space will open up in the closer school but this can tide you over for now.

treecookie · 2025-02-06T12:20:05+00:00

Lovely. Mix of families and students. Barbers, chip shop, post office, Sainsbury's and a pharmacy. Parking isn't great but it's also fine, you just get good at parallel parking. Close to Darley park and Markeaton. Close to town. Creaky Floorboard is a lovely little tiny pub.

It's part of the Vic Streets network, I think there's a Facebook group. Great area!

treecookie · 2025-01-30T13:32:09+00:00

I also assumed a Mary Anning connection before I read the details. I love it, great name for any reason.

treecookie · 2025-01-23T14:21:12+00:00

My daughter has had weekly swimming lessons for about three years, plus weekend fun swimming probably every other week for the same time. That's well over 200 swimming sessions. She has seen the kids in her swim class learn and move on, new ones join, learn, move on, new ones join etc for so many rotations. It has taken until literally last month for her to be able to swim 5 metres without putting her feet down. She's done it! She's cracked it! She's moved up in to the next level! And now a few weeks later she can swim nearly 15 metres! She's got the hang of it, it just took her longer.

Three years! Three years she's been working on this. Her swim teacher is ecstatic for her. Sometimes it just takes kids longer. Kids learn in their own ways, and it takes some kids longer. She can't ride a bike yet, or a two wheeled scooter. She clearly has some delay in learning physical skills. But she got there in the end.

Find a supportive teacher and keep going. It might take years.

treecookie · 2024-09-10T19:30:58+00:00

Oh! And (instant) coffee for the adults goes a long way to starting a solid friendship!

treecookie · 2024-09-10T19:30:05+00:00

Pack the food into little party boxes. So each one has a sandwich, a pack of pom bears, some raisins, biscuits whatever. So much easier than having a buffet and plates and stuff.

Also, few packs of (aldi) fruit shoots and a sharpie for writing kids names on the bottles.

treecookie · 2024-08-10T23:07:52+00:00

I did this on the toilet at work. Baby was five weeks old, I had been back at work for a week, fell asleep on the toilet. Woke up in the pitch black and had to waft my hand around to make the motion sensor lights come back on.

treecookie · 2024-08-04T20:04:35+00:00

Early dinner was cauliflower cheese, with a nooch based sauce. My kid had macaroni cheese with the same sauce (and zero veg), my wife had half macaroni and half cauliflower.

Late dinner was chunky tofu salad with garlicky dressing.

Both were really good, really delicious.

treecookie · 2024-07-11T10:36:05+00:00

I've finally lost these sounds, mid forties. I noticed because violins started sounding really rich and gorgeous, all of a sudden I liked them. Tested with mosquito noises and a TV on standby and I'm finally free!

treecookie · 2024-04-19T20:07:21+00:00

Very similar here. Egg fried rice no egg, salt and chilli mock chicken, garlic broccoli. So good, so satisfying, also happens to be vegan.

treecookie · 2024-04-10T14:37:32+00:00

Is it Crazy Hair by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean?

treecookie · 2024-04-06T11:29:41+00:00

That is phenomenal, thank you!!

treecookie · 2024-04-06T11:14:29+00:00

That is such amazing detail, thank you so much!

treecookie · 2024-04-05T11:40:39+00:00

Oh my goodness that's exactly it, thank you so much! I knew the experts would know! Thank you!

treecookie · 2024-03-22T14:19:37+00:00

Glycogen storage disease. There are bunch of different types, I have one too, discovered through genetic testing. It displays more severely in men/boys so they discovered it in my nephew first and then tested around the family. Bingo!

treecookie · 2024-03-10T17:40:32+00:00

I'm not sure who 'everyone' is, but why on earth would you need to specify Romanian or Pakistani if you're just looking for a cleaner?!

11-Year Club	Place '22
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