‘Still’ crazy after all these years

This was the first time the NMDCA had tried a Gin Night but it seemed to go down really well with the people who braved Storm Dennis to come out and join us for the evening. The proceedings were hosted by Clio and Malcolm of the Hiltingbury Still who gave us a fascinating insight into their introduction to Gin making. They told us about the history of Gin going back as far as Pliny the Elder in the first century through to the latest revival of localised craft gin production.

The Hiltingbury Still however, produce more than just Gin and use many local products to provide unique flavours to their drinks. These include honey from local bees and apples and crab pears from Hilliers Garden Centre for their Schnapps. They also make Hiltingbury Limoncello although the lemons for this are sourced from Italy.

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Throughout the evening we were able to taste samples of different types of gin to illustrate the talk. We were encouraged to taste the Gin neat to get a real feel for the subtle flavours but then allowed to dilute it with tonic as required. Other Hiltingbury Still products could be tasted later. Doreen and Gillian laid on a spread of nibbles to soak up the alcohol and Charlie tested the remaining braincells with an alcohol themed quiz. Unfortunately the audio visual element of the quiz had to be cancelled due to an accident with an HDMI cable (this was before the drinking started) If you were at the evening and you wanted to see what you missed I have inserted it below.

 

Andy and Heather Vining remember the Hiltonbury Farmhouse.

As promised in the October Miller’s Tale here is a link to the full stories that Andy and Heather sent to us.

What was this for?

Here’s a question. Does anyone know what the brickwork between the Farmhouse and the Community Hall was intended for?

The middle picture was posted on our sister site Chandler’s Ford Neighbours by Sarah Ghafoor and got me thinking. The picture dates back to 1986. Some of it was removed to allow the Deanery to access the car park but some still remains.

A bit of Millers Dale history

Kindly supplied by Mr Rawlings are the original sales brochures for the housing development that became North Millers Dale. I have scanned them in and they are available to look at here. Interestingly, hand written on, are the prices these houses were selling for at the time, around 1980. Click the brochures to view.

Ashbridge Rise (Phase 1)

Charlecote Drive

Ashbridge Rise (Phase 2)

Ashbridge Rise (All)