Thank you !

Thank you to everyone who came along on Saturday for the Hydro Open day and added to the Railing Wrap - its great seeing so many people in the Torrs.

The central woven panel of the railing wrap is now complete but there is still space amongst the knotting and wrapping for more messages and memories to be added.

If you would like to add to it you can take along your own piece of fabric or look out for the bags of bits that will be left out at various times over the next few days..

Archie is just waiting for some more rain, but with a mini 'New Mills' heatwave for the next few days I think it will be October before he is spinning again !

'Railing wrap' and Torrs Hydro open day - Saturday 24 September

Join artist New Mills artist Amanda Whewell on Saturday 24 September (12 till 3pm) in the Torrs riverside park to be part of this unique textile installation at the same time the Hydro will be having an open day so plenty to see and do for everyone - who knows the sun may even shine.

‘Railing wrap’ has caught the imagination of hundreds of people who have joined in to weave, knot and wrap recycled textiles onto the railings in the riverside park – at the same time posting their own private messages on the materials.

This is part of the New Mills festival which culminates with a lantern procession the same evening when the whole town turns out to parade through the Torrs to the sound of pagan drum beats before congregating for a firework display and live music.

Railing wrap and next open day

The railing wrap continues to grow - fortunately the weather has been kind - we have even had some tourists from China who have joined in creating the installation as well as the excellent work being done by New Mills Schools art department.

Don't forget anyone can come and join in today and tomorrow (Wednesday and Thursday) and we are hoping Amanda will also be in the Torrs for our next Hydro open day on the 24 September !

New Mills School

It's fantastic seeing so many children working on the railings at the Hydro - this will continue all week with nearly 100 students working on wrapping the railings, why not pop down to see how things are changing !

New Mills Festival

As part of this years New Mills Festival 'Archie' is having his railings wrapped, knotted and woven using recycled textiles. Art students from New Mills School Business and Enterprise College are working with local artist Amanda Whewell to 'wrap the railings' down at Torrs Hydro and over the next week the site will gradually be transformed.

Anyone can join in creating this installation by visiting the Hydro at the following times where Amanda will be on site iwth everything you need to join in, all you need is to bring yourself !  :

• Wednesday 14 September 2pm - 6pm
• Thursday 15 September 10am - 12pm

The 'railing wrap' forms part of the 'Woolly Wander' trail where artists, local community groups, individual knitters and crafting communities everywhere have collaboratively created the ‘Woolly Wander’: a knitted trail on the streets of New Mills. The whole town is dressed with woollies... look out for the main installation, the car cosy !!

Archie is a 'Sustainability' winner

With summer looking like it is about to disappear we are now able to properly test the fixes to 'Archie' that have taken place since the storm damage earlier in the year - fingers crossed that everything continues to go well.

Some good news : Torrs Hydro has also won the monthly Capgemini Sustainability award given to any employee who is actively involved in a suitable project/scheme - one of our Directors (Sean Whewell who works as a Smart Energy consultant for Capgemini) nominated Torrs Hydro and as a result we have been awarded with a cheque for £500 and entered into the annual award for £1000

Capgemini’s Sustainability programme focuses on reducing the impact on the environment, contributing to the communities where we work and live and engaging effectively with our people.  The principles of sustainability and corporate responsibility are deeply rooted in our core values and influence not just what we do internally but also the way we do business with our clients. This approach helps achieve better results, continue to attract the best people and win new business. In 2011 Capgemini has been awarded Platinum status in Business in the Community’s (BITC) Corporate Responsibility Index (CRI), received three Big Ticks, of which two were Highly Commended, in BITC’s Awards for Excellence for sustainability initiatives and have been listed in The Sunday Times Best Green Companies for the third year running.