At the time of writing this bit (January 2014), it feels as if Dale village is under threat. The current owner of Verger’s Farm has recently closed the track through her farmyard to Hermit’s Wood: she claims that this was always a permissive path, and that she used to close it regularly to enforce that; no-one in the village remembers such a closure, and village people have been walking through the farmyard for decades. The matter is being investigated by the County Council’s legal department. There is a planning application for several enormous wind-turbines off Potato Pit Lane, which would overlook the valley in which Dale lies and be visible and dominant for miles around; they would ruin the peace and tranquillity which people find when visiting this valley. There is also an application for a 2000-home estate to be built on the Stanton brownfields site: no additional road access has been proposed, and the applicants acknowledge that the narrow country lane through Stanton by Dale and Dale Abbey would become a rat-run for hundreds of vehicles commuting to Derby. As most of these developments are inspired by big money going into a very few pockets, it feels as if the wishes and needs of the poor are being sacrificed to make a few people very rich. Robin Hood, who had connections with this village (through his henchman Alan à Dale – see The Wedding of Allan-a-Dale at www.mainlesson.com) would be turning in his grave.