http://www.matlocktown.net/blog/ Latest Blogs http://www.matlocktown.net/matlocktown/blog/history-john-smedley/ John Smedley

Born in nearby Wirksworth in 1803, John Smedley is often described as "the man who made Matlock". The businessman and philanthropist eff...]]> John Smedley

Born in nearby Wirksworth in 1803, John Smedley is often described as "the man who made Matlock". The businessman and philanthropist effectively transformed Matlock from a drowsy hamlet into a thriving tourist town.

Smedley joined his fathers hosiery business at the age of 14. He rescued the company from near bankruptcy and eventually employed 1,000 workers. A generous man, he provided a free hospital for his workers and catered for their spiritual and educational welfare.

His fascination for hydropathy (water cures) stemmed from his personal experiences. Water treatments has worked wonders for him after he had a bout of fever in 1847.

Smedley bought a property on Matlock Bank in 1853, and set about designing and building what later became known as Smedley's Hydro. No less than 30 establishments later sprang up in the town.

Now the headquarters for the Derbyshire District Council, Smedley's Hydro expanded after his death in 1874. A Billiards room and Winter Gardens were added, boasting a floor resting on railway carriage springs.

During the first World War it became a hospital. In World War 2 it was a military intelligence school attended by famous names such as writer Evelyn Waugh and actor Dirk Bogarde. The hydro closed in 1955.

As a family home John Smedley also built the massive and ostentatious Riber Castle on a hilltop overlooking Matlock. Now one of Derbyshire's most famous landmarks, it has also been used over the years as a boys school, a WW2 Ministry of Defence storage site and a wildlife park with plans to turn it into apartments.]]> http://www.matlocktown.net/matlocktown/blog/history-john-smedley/ Thu, 13 May 2010 17:19:18 +0000 Matlock Town http://www.matlocktown.net/Tricks/blog/how-to-change-your-profile/ Andy has one too!

So you're probably new to th...]]> Andy has one too!

So you're probably new to this site and would maybe like to give your own profile its own nice touch, and it couldn't be simpler!

Click on "Customise Profile" which is in the "profile" drop down menu and then you'll see the "Profile Designer" pop up at the top of your profile, don't be afraid to have a poke around in this little editor even if you slip up on the way you can simply click "Revert to Default" which will reset all the settings to the one you have now.

To get a nice picture on the background simply follow these steps:

1. In the Profile Designer click on "Advanced"
2. Click on "background"
3. You can either pick a colour from the colour picker or in the URL box put the link to your chosen background image, this should be an image that has been uploaded onto the internet, one of the easiest image hosters out there is Photobucket just upload your chosen image there and they will provide you with a link you can use in the URL box.
4. With the image linked you should now automatically see the image in the background, if you want to align it better you can use the "Position" rolldown.

My settings are as follows:

My URL: is http://www.7spire.com/richpics/13-2.jpg (my private server)
Scroll: is set to "no" this means the page scrolls over the image and the image stays where it is and doesn't move with the page
Position: Top Left (the image is displayed in the Top Left of the screen)
Repeat: is set to "no" this means the image doesn't repeat across or down the page, if you have a small image of some flowers that you wanted across the page you would set this as "Repeat across" but because I only wanted the one image to display I set this to "no"

I hope this little tutorial has been a help to you all, just remember you can always "Revert to Default" if things go a little wrong

Ask me any questions should you get stuck and need help!]]> http://www.matlocktown.net/Tricks/blog/how-to-change-your-profile/ Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:19:32 +0000 Richard http://www.matlocktown.net/chocart/blog/chocolate-lovers/ http://www.chocart.co.uk for a chocolate adventure. I make everything by hand from hand-made chocolates, chocol...]]> http://www.chocart.co.uk for a chocolate adventure. I make everything by hand from hand-made chocolates, chocolate wedding and birthday cakes to chocolate sculptures. Also on Facebook: Chocolate ART.]]> http://www.matlocktown.net/chocart/blog/chocolate-lovers/ Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:47:43 +0000 Taeke Oosterwoud http://www.matlocktown.net/Andy/blog/first-impressions-with-freesat/ FreeSat for those who dont know, is a service provided by BBC/ITV in which you can enjoy a selection of digital channels without the costs of subscrip...
Over the weekend I had FreeSat installed in my home with the cost of a satellite dish (not needed if you already have one) and a set top box (I got one with HD support!).

First thing I noticed was that not all the channels on Freeview are on FreeSat.. These are channels such as Dave, Quest, Virgin, Sky3, Fiver and Five US, but I guess as it becomes more popular we might be seeing them included.

Channels currently available: 145 (108 TV / 37 Radio):

Entertainment
101 BBC 1
102 BBC 2
103 ITV1 (ITV HD via red button)
104 Channel 4
105 Five
106 BBC Three
107 BBC Four
108 BBC HD
110 BBC Alba
112 ITV1+1
113 ITV2
114 ITV2+1
115 ITV3
116 ITV3+1
117 ITV4
118 ITV4+1
120 S4C Digidol
121 Channel 4 + 1
122 E4
123 E4 + 1
124 More4
125 More4 + 1
135 CBS Drama
136 CBS Reality
137 CBS Action
138 Zone Horror
139 Zone Horror+1
140 BET
141 BET+1

News & Sport
200 BBC News
201 BBC Parliament
202 S4C2
203 Al Jazeera Eng
204 Euronews
205 France 24
206 Russia Today
207 CNN
208 Bloomberg Television
209 NHK World TV

Movies
300 Film4
301 Film4 + 1
302 True Movies
303 True Movies 2
304 Movies4Men
306 Movies4Men2

Lifestyle
400 wedding TV
401 wedding TV Asia
402 Information TV
403 Rural TV
450 Men and Motors

Music
500 Chart Show TV
501 The Vault
502 Flava
504 B4U Music
509 Zing
514 Clubland TV

Children
600 CBBC Channel
601 CBeebies
602 CITV
603 POP
604 POPGirl
605 Tiny POP
606 Kix!

Special Interest
650 Teachers TV
690 Inspiration TV
691 Daystar TV

Radio
700 BBC Radio 1
701 BBC 1Xtra
702 BBC Radio 2
703 BBC Radio 3
704 BBC Radio 4 FM
705 BBC Radio Five Live
706 BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra
707 BBC 6 Music
708 BBC 7
709 BBC Asian Network
710 BBC Radio 4 LW
711 BBC World Service
712 BBC Radio Scotland
713 BBC Radio nan Gaidheal
714 BBC Radio Wales
715 BBC Radio Cymru
716 BBC Radio Ulster
718 BBC London 94.9 (available on London postcode only)
719 Capital FM
720 Choice FM
721 Classic fm
722 Gold
723 XFM
724 Absolute Radio
725 Absolute Class Rock
726 Absolute Xtreme
727 NME Radio
728 WRN Radio
729 Jazz FM
730 Planet Rock
731 talkSPORT
750 RTÉ Radio 1
751 RTÉ Radio 2 FM
752 RTÉ Lyric FM
753 Raidió na Gaeltachta
777 Insight Radio
786 BFBS Radio
790 TWR Radio

Shopping
800 QVC
801 price-drop tv
802 Bid TV
803 Pitch TV
804 Pitch World
805 Gems TV1
806 TV Shop
808 JML Home & DIY
809 JML
810 JML CookShop
811 Thane Direct
812 Ideal World
813 Create And Craft
814 Speedauctiontv
815 The Jewellery Channel

Gaming & Dating
851 Netplay TV
861 Gala TV

Regional TV
950 BBC 1 London
951 BBC 1 Channel Islands
952 BBC 1 East Midlands
953 BBC 1 East (E)
954 BBC 1 East (W)
955 BBC 1 North West
956 BBC 1 North East & Cumbria
957 BBC 1 Northern Ireland
958 BBC 1 Oxford
959 BBC 1 South East
960 BBC 1 Scotland
961 BBC 1 South
962 BBC 1 South West
963 BBC 1 West Midlands
964 BBC 1 Wales
965 BBC 1 West
966 BBC 1 Yorks
967 BBC 1 East Yorks & Lincs
968 BBC 2 England
969 BBC 2 Northern Ireland
970 BBC 2 Scotland
971 BBC 2 Wales
974 Channel 4
975 Channel 4 + 1
977 ITV London

Interactive
986 Teletext

The list above isnt great, I know but in an area where we currently cant receive freeview this is probably the best choice to enjoy these channels on your tv. Also, freesat is always adding to its service with BBC iPlayer and ITVPlayer coming soon, allowing you to enjoy the tv shows you missed on your tv instead of sitting in front of your computer.

The system itself is very easy to use with a interactive tv guide and channels sorted in genres for easy access.

Overall I'd give FreeSat 9/10. No problems with it so far but just lacks those extra few channels, maybe iPlayer/ITVPlayer will raise my rating to 10!

Have you tried it out yet?]]> http://www.matlocktown.net/Andy/blog/first-impressions-with-freesat/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:26:49 +0000 Andy http://www.matlocktown.net/Andy/blog/is-tea-the-best-drink-in-the-world/

How many cups of tea do you get through?]]>

How many cups of tea do you get through?]]> http://www.matlocktown.net/Andy/blog/is-tea-the-best-drink-in-the-world/ Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:40:14 +0000 Andy