The New Blackmore Vale Magazine - Issue 94

The New Blackmore Vale

FORDORSET’S FUTURE

We’revotingLibDemon2nd

May:

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“ IhavevotedLabourbutI knowtheycannotwinhere inNorthDorset.

ThelocalLiberalDemocratsare hard-workingandaretheonly partythatcangetridofthe awfulConservativeshere!

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It’sincrediblyimportantto methatwehavelocal councillorsthatcareabout whatresidentsthink.Iknow thattheLibDemslisten. Itisalsoimportanttomethat weelectindividualsthat recognisethevalueofrobust healthandcarepoliciesandthatprioritise dealingwiththeclimateemergency.

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IusedtosupporttheTories butitiscleartomethatnow theyonlylookafterthefew, locallyaswellasnationally.

Today,Iactivelybackthe Liberal Democrats.Theyaretheonly teamworkingpositivelyforusall andtheonlyteamtakingonthe ConservativesacrossDorset.

Elizabeth,LocalResident &FormerLabourvoter Mike,LocalResident&

Helen,LocalMum&NHSNurse

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Actiononprotectingourlocal riversandstoppingthesewage scandal.

LibDemsListen-Holding eventswhereresidentsshare theirpriorities.

Holdingstreetstallssolocal peoplecancomeforadvice andsharetheirideas.

A unitedteam,workingin partnershipforthegoodofour sharedcommunity.

LocalLibDemscareabout Dorsetandarepreparedtoroll uptheirsleevestoprotectit.

Listeningtolocalpeopleand takingactionontheirbehalf.

Actionongettingourlocal roadsrepaired.

Supportinglocalfarmersand holdingeventspromotingthe EnvironmentalFarmersGroup.

Thelocalvolunteerteamhave surveyedthousandsoflocal peoplesoyourviewsareheard.

Theteamlitter-pickingtokeep Dorsetlookingbeautiful.

Feasting brings villagers together

FOR the past 20 years, villagers from Over and Nether Compton have been enjoying a tasty fund-raising experience that’s shrouded in mystery.

One spring evening, those who have signed up for the progressive supper will wander off into the night, not knowing where they will be fed, but certain that

The hard work then begins for the organisers. All the names go into the mix, and the evening is planned so that, as participants move between courses and

Mary Glasby, who’s now ably assisted by Sarah

and Jean Bryans

Community has plans for old bank

A CAMPAIGN group has big plans for Crewkerne’s old NatWest bank building. Crewkerne Community Kitchen (CCK), which gives food that shops cannot sell to people who would like to eat it, has ambitious plans to raise funds to buy the building and convert it into an arts and community centre.

The group has launched a crowdfunding campaign www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/ natwestcrewkerne to cover the initial costs involved in buying the building.

This would pay for a valuation and structural survey, but the bulk of the cost of buying and renovating the building would be covered by grants and charities.

Michael Fox, the chair of CCK, says: “We recently found out that we can apply for government funding to buy a building like the NatWest and create a community centre hosting a wide range of activities.

“We could call it an art bank, and provide spaces for artists and makers to display their work, and also to hold workshops where people of all ages can learn new skills.

“We can also provide space for wellbeing groups either in the communal area downstairs or in a meeting room on the first floor. Someone has suggested a ‘library of things’ where people borrow tools or children’s toys – this fits well with our interest in sustainability. There are so many ideas – but we want the people of Crewkerne to get involved and help shape

how the project develops.”

CCK has approached the owner of the bank and he is willing to sell the building.

The group has received support from the Community Action Group Somerset Network, which has given advice and support on how to access government and grant funds.

But first the group needs to pay for a valuation and structural survey so it can apply for funds, so it has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise at least £4,000.

“That is the cost of the valuation and

‘Use it or lose it’ urge bus campaigners

DORCHESTER Transport Action Group has secured a trial bus service for residents in the Winterbourne Valley.

Les Scarth, a Martinstown resident and member of Dorchester Transport Action Group, spearheaded the campaign.

“First Bus has agreed to a trial diversion of their X51 bus service from Weymouth to Axminster so that it will go through Martinstown and Winterbourne Steepleton,” said Les. “At the moment it just goes via Dorchester, Bridport and Lyme Regis”.

The trial diversion starts on

May 12 and ends in September. It will operate seven days a week with roughly a two-hourly frequency during the day.

First Bus will consider making the service permanent if it generates enough money to justify the cost.

So it’s vitally important that local residents use the service and promote its benefits to summer visitors.

Stewart Palmer, chair of Dorchester Transport Action Group, said, “This is a great opportunity for local residents but everyone needs to realise that it is a ‘use it or lose it’ moment.

survey, but it would be fantastic if we can show we have the backing of Crewkerne by raising more than that,” says Michael.

Anyone who donates £20 or more on the crowdfunding platform will have their name displayed inside the project. “But even if you only give a few quid it’s a great way of showing your support,” says Michael.

The group is also considering how to acknowledge any larger donations that they receive.

For more information call Michael Fox on 07515 483994 or michaelbernardfox@ yahoo.com.

capped at £2, the service will be a great benefit for everyone”.

“The service frequency will help people go into Dorchester or Bridport for shopping trips as well as providing an excellent means of having a cheap day out to Weymouth, Lyme Regis or Axminster.

With the costs of town centre parking and fuel and with the maximum single fare being

Members of Dorchester Transport Action Group will be delivering promotional leaflets to everyone living along the trial diversion route.

Les added, “It’s great that First Bus has agreed to this trial, all credit to them! So we want to help them by promoting the service.”

As well as maximising opportunities for work, leisure, hospital visits and social activities, improving public transport also reduces congestions in our towns, reduces carbon emissions and encourages people actively out of their cars.

For updates and more information look for the Dorchester Transport Action Group (DTAG) on Facebook.

Vintage tractor restoration saves lives

by Heather Bryson-Banks

A SHEPTON Mallet father and son team, plan to restore a vintage tractor, paint it pink, and auction it to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Tobias Daniels and his son Oscar started their tractor restoration project Father & Son Tractors as a family hobby in 2021. Oscar is studying to be an engineer, and has his heart set on an apprenticeship at Rolls Royce. Working with his dad on the tractors is a great way to gain experience and learn on the job.

Oscar set up a YouTube channel @ fatherandsontractors and Instagram account documenting their efforts, and the project now has hundreds of subscribers, with their quirky upbeat videos attracting thousands of views.

Father & Son Tractors now has an official sponsor Agriline, and receives donations from businesses nationwide including Ron Greet, Johnstones Paints and DMH Tractors.

So far, the duo have fixed up a number of vintage Fergussons. A highlight was winning a rosette at last year’s Midsomerset Show for fully restoring, to working condition, a beautiful grey 1950’s Fergusson TED-20, using all original parts, right down to the bolts.

Tobias has sadly lost some family members to cancer, and decided to fundriase the only way he knew how.

“I’m not great at running, and didn’t fancy sitting in a tub of baked beans”, he joked. “I do know my tractors though, so I reached out to breakers, and was kindly donated a 1947 TE-20 Continental, for free. Once this beauty is restored to her full glory, and painted a lovely pink for Cancer Research UK, it’ll be auctioned off, with all the proceeds directly helping the charity and ultimately saving lives.

“We are also running a ‘guess the name of the tractor’ competition in partnership with The Art Bank cafe, in Shepton. You might see us at tractor shows, or local

events, collecting with the CRUK bucket. Come and talk to us!”

Radio Shepton are also supporting the project, and will be filming regular updates and livestreams on www.facebook.com/ radioshepton

To support this project , subscribe to the youtube channel or donate directly at www. gofund.me/5cbaa355

Thanks go to Hunt Forrest Group and GJ Webber for arranging free haulage for the charity project.

Shop targeted in series of thefts

PERFUME and Adidas shorts were stolen in two incidents at a Gillingham shop last month.

Police are investigating after thefts from the Original Factory Shop, in Station Road.

The first incident occurred at around 6am on Monday, March 25, when entry was forced to the shop.

A perfume cabinet was smashed and a large quantity of items stolen.

Then, at around 1.40pm on Thursday, March 28, police said suspects entered the store and concealed multiple pairs of Adidas shorts before leaving without paying.

“An investigation is underway into both incidents and we are appealing for anyone with information about who was responsible to please come forward,” a spokesperson said.

“We are also keen to hear from anyone who has seen perfume or Adidas shorts being offered for sale locally at a reduced price or in large quantities.”

The incidents came just days after several shops in the town – including the Original Factory Shop – were targeted by vandals overnight between March 19 and 20.

Anyone with information about the incidents in Gillingham should contact Dorset Police online via www. dorset.police.uk, or by calling 101, quoting incident number 55240044228. They can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling Freephone 0800 555 111.

Family Law Advice

Family Law Advice

Second fatal crash in two weeks on A361

A MAN has died after a crash on the A361 in East Cranmore.

The incident happened at just before 6.40pm on Wednesday, April 17, and involved a white BMW 1 Series, travelling towards Shepton Mallet, and a green Vauxhall Astra, heading in the opposite direction towards Frome.

“Our enquiries are at an early stage but we have also spoken to the driver of a black Ford Fiesta, that was seen driving in the same direction as the BMW, as we seek to establish whether their vehicle was also involved in the collision,” an Avon and Somerset Police spokesperson said.

“A man who was driving the Astra sadly died at the scene. His next of kin has been informed.”

The male BMW driver was taken to hospital for treatment, they added, while the A361 remained closed in both

directions between Tansey and Nunney Catch until the following morning.

Collision investigation work has been carried out at the scene, including reviewing CCTV footage.

“We believe there were a number of cars and a green John Deere tractor, which was towing a red silage trailer, travelling in the area at the time,” the spokesperson added.

“We would ask the occupants of those vehicles to please contact us to let us know if they witnessed anything that could help our enquiries.”

The crash comes just two weeks after the death of Natasha Poore, of Evercreech, after a crash on the A361 near Frome.

Anyone who witnessed the crash, or who has relevant dashcam footage, should contact police on 101, quoting reference number 5224098411.

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Missing history

DORSET Record Society will be celebrating the launch of its new book Minutes of the Dorset Standing Committee 1646, on Saturday, May 18.

The launch party takes place at 2pm at the Dorset History Centre on Bridport Road (DT1 1RP).

At this free event, the book’s author, Tim Goodwin, will give a talk about this important ‘missing’ part of Dorset’s Civil War history, and will sign copies of the book.

Save the date

Office open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

9.30 - 2.30. Answerphone Thursdays & Fridays

Telephone Support Foot Clinic info@acnorthdorset.org.uk

ON Saturday, April 27, St. John’s church will host a fundraiser in Enmore Green town hall. Comprising a raffle, tombola, plants sale, live music and refreshments, it will be bustling from 10am to 2pm.

Biker killed in crash on A354

A BIKER has died after a crash near Sixpenny Handley on the morning of Sunday, April 21.

The incident, involving a grey Kawasaki motorbike, happened at around 6.06am on the A354 between Cashmoor and the Handley Cross roundabout.

“Emergency services attended and very sadly the motorcyclist – a man aged in his 60s from Dorchester – was pronounced dead at the scene. His family has been informed,” a Dorset Police spokesperson said.

Road closures were put in place to allow the emergency services to respond and for a detailed examination of the collision scene to be carried out, said Sergeant Dave Cotterill, of the Roads Policing Team.

“Our thoughts are with the loved ones of the man who sadly died in this collision, and we are conducting enquiries to establish the full circumstances of the incident,” he added.

“I would urge any witnesses who have not already spoken to police to please make contact with us, and I am also keen to hear from anyone who was driving in the vicinity and may have captured relevant dashcam footage.

“I would like to thank members of the public for their patience and understanding during the road closures.”

Anyone with information should contact Dorset Police via www.dorset.police.uk, by email to scit@dorset.pnn.police.uk, or by calling 101, quoting incident number 21:99.

They can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously at Crimestoppers-uk.org, or on Freephone 0800 555 111.

Arrests after break-in attempt

POLICE arrested two people who allegedly tried to force their way into TK Maxx.

The incident happened at the Babylon Hill store, between Yeovil and Sherborne, at around 8.55pm on April 16.

A Dorset Police spokesperson said two men reportedly used a metal bar on the store shutters to gain entry but were disturbed by shop staff before they made off on a black motorcycle.

A 44-year-old man and a 45-year-old man from Yeovil were later arrested on suspicion of burglary offences.

Detective Sergeant Claire Lloyd, of Dorset Police, said: “I am keen to hear from any witnesses or anyone with relevant information.

“I am particularly keen to speak to anyone who was near the store and witnessed any suspicious activity at the time of

the incident, as well as any motorists driving in the area of Babylon Hill who may have captured relevant footage on their dashcams.”

Anyone with information should contact Dorset Police via www.dorset.police.uk, or by calling 101, quoting incident number 55240056321. They can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously at Crimestoppersuk.org, or on 0800 555 111.

Stolen medals rehomed at tank museum

TWO medals recently donated to The Tank Museum at Bovington belonged to the man without whom the tank might never have existed.

Walter Gordon Wilson possessed the creative mind that led to the tracks of the first tanks running right around their distinctive rhomboid shape.

It is remarkable that his medals have ended up at the museum because they were stolen many years ago.

But recently they emerged and Walter’s grandson, Brigadier Henry Wilson, took possession of them and made the donation.

They are now on display along with the very early tanks that Wilson was responsible for helping design.

When Winston Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty during the First World War pushed for ‘land-ships’ to be created, Wilson was put in charge of testing.

With William Tritton of the agricultural manufacturing firm Fosters of Lincoln, he worked to create what would become known as the tank.

He is credited with inventing numerous key features, notably the track design for the test vehicle Little Willie, now on display at the museum.

He also invented Little Willie’s rhomboid successor ‘Mother’ with the tracks running around the whole vehicle.

Later, he improved the gear system in the Mark V tanks so a single operator could drive them, rather than a team of four as with earlier designs.

Tanks would enter the fray in the First World War on September 15, 1916, and would become a vital weapon in the allies’ victory.

Reflecting their leading role, Walter Wilson and his partner Sir William Tritton

jointly received the largest financial award from the post-Great War Royal Commission for Inventors for their work on the tank.

The donated medals are the War Medal – awarded to all those who served in the First World War – and the Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (CMG).

The CMG was awarded in June 1917 in recognition of Wilson’s contribution to the war effort.

The fact that Wilson was the only leading player not to receive a knighthood or higher honour may well have something to do with his uncompromising character.

David Willey, curator of the museum, said: “These medals might be modest in one sense, but they are of great significance and importance to us because of whose they were.

“Without Wilson’s drive, creative mind and problem-solving skills, the story of what became known as the tank might have been very different.

“It is extremely generous of the family to donate the medals which will help us tell the story of how the ‘landships’ were turned from an idea into reality.”

Brigadier Henry Wilson, grandson of the inventor, said: “My grandfather’s medals had been missing since stolen in 1954, so it was fortunate that I heard they were being put up for sale.

“Thanks to the vendor’s cooperation the medals were returned to the family.

“Due to Walter’s pioneering role in the invention of the tank, I felt that the Tank Museum was the appropriate home for them, so we decided to donate them.

“My grandfather, after a brief early spell in the Royal Navy, studied mechanical science at King’s College, Cambridge.

engineer on several occasions.

He teamed up with Percy Sinclair Pilcher, a glider pioneer, and designed and built a lightweight engine for Pilcher’s new triplane named The Hawk

“Always an innovative thinker, he became involved with early powered flight before building his own motor cars, the WilsonPilcher, from 1901 to 1904. He then worked on designing commercial vehicles for Armstrong-Whitworth before his leading war-time role in the tank story.”

Wilson was born in Ireland in1874. At Cambridge he met Charles Rolls – of Rolls-Royce fame – and acted as his mechanical

Tragically Pilcher died in a crash at Stanford Hall, near Rugby, on September 30, 1899, before the engine could be fitted.

Had this not happened and the venture had succeeded, as experts believe it would have, they would have achieved powered flight five years before the Wright brothers.

One example of the Wilson-Pilcher veteran car remains in private hands today participating regularly in the LondonBrighton run.

After the First World War Wilson patented the epicyclic pre-selector gearbox which was built by the family firm SelfChanging Gears Ltd at Coventry for over 40 years.

Walter Wilson died in 1957.

Brigadier Henry Wilson, grandson of the inventor Walter Wilson

Walter Gordon WIlson’s medals: the War Medal –awarded to all those who served in the First World War – and the Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (CMG)

David Willey, museum curator, with Little Willie

Gala dinner coins in the cash for air ambulance

DORSET and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA) held a gala dinner in March at the Crown Hotel in Blandford Forum.

The evening raised £20,000 for the DSAA, which receives no direct funding from the Government or the National Lottery and relies on public support.

The gala dinner was in celebration of the charity’s 24th anniversary and was attended by 100 guests. It was sponsored by Leonardo Helicopters and LFS.

Guests were greeted and treated to the beautiful sound of Tamsyn Berry and Graham Maunder, who played as they arrived. Tamsyn suffered serious life-changing injuries after a road traffic incident in 2020 and has made remarkable progress in her recovery.

The venue looked incredible, as did the guests, who ate, laughed (and cried at times) and danced the night away to music provided by the brilliant Haus Band.

A fantastic night of fundraising started with a raffle which had an incredible array of prizes.

Then came the auction; William Batt (Duke’s auctioneer) took charge, and whipped up some dramatic bids.

Emma Jones, DSAA fundraising manager, was delighted with the event and said, “What a beautiful evening we had. My team

worked so hard to make it special for those who attended and it really was. I want to thank everyone who made the event happen for us, including our event sponsors Leonardo Helicopters and LFS, the many businesses who show their ongoing support regularly and attended the night, of course the wonderful Tamsyn Berry who has inspired us all with her amazing determination and recovery, all those who donated raffle and auction prizes and everyone who played their part, be it small or large, in helping us to raise such a fantastic amount.

“We are now looking ahead to next year; our very special 25th anniversary and our plans are bigger and better. We can’t wait to share them with you all.”

Find out more at www.dsairambulance.org.uk

Blast from the past

IT’S National Mills Weekend on May 11-12. Sturminster Newton Heritage Trust (SNHT) will have Sturminster mill at its best, and everyone’s welcome to see the mill in action between 11am and 5pm on both days.

Visitors will be able to catch up with the local amateur radio group, who will be chatting with working mills around the world.

On Wednesday, May 15, SNHT, in conjunction with the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society, presents ‘To Lie Abroad: The Georgian Traveller’, a talk by Gordon La Pard at The Exchange (DT10 1FH).

Gordon will be explaining how the idea of travelling for pleasure began and developed over time, as travel in the 18th century became easier and safer thanks to improved transport networks. Many original Georgian items will be available on show, too.

The talk opens at 7.30pm in the Bow Room. Entry costs £4. Hot and cold drinks will be available at the bar.

The great and the good give thanks

WIMBORNE Minster will open its doors this Sunday, April 28, for a thanksgiving service arranged by the town council.

Every year, Wimborne’s mayor hosts a thanksgiving service in Wimborne Minster. This cherished tradition is eagerly anticipated by the community. All are invited to attend, though admittance will be subject to the Minster’s capacity.

Councillor Diann March, serving town mayor, said, “We anticipate the arrival of esteemed civic representatives from across Dorset and neighbouring parishes to Wimborne Minster.

“The occasion will feature the presentation of colours and standards by various local organisations at the service’s commencement, followed by a procession into the Minster. Participants will include the town mayor’s serjeant and crier, the Wimborne militia, civic dignitaries and local town councillors.

This event serves as a platform to acknowledge and express gratitude to the myriad of community groups, organisations, and volunteers that have contributed to our town’s growth and wellbeing.”

A short parade will start at about 2.30pm from Church House, going around the Minster Green. An official photograph capturing the occasion will be taken upon arrival to commemorate the day.

The service itself, conducted by the rector, The Reverend Canon Andrew Rowland, rector of Wimborne Minster benefice rural dean of Wimborne, starts at 3pm, with musical accompaniment by the Minster choir.

The town mayor’s serjeant and crier, supported by the Wimborne Militia, will be fulfilling their roles as guardians of order and tradition.

Guests are encouraged to be seated by 2.50pm; the service is expected to last approximately 45 minutes. Following the service, refreshments will be served at Church House, and there will be a musketry demonstration by the Militia on the Minster Green.

Rotary donation

MEMBERS of Wimborne Rotary Club have given £500 to Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance to support its valuable work.

They were pleased to welcome local air ambulance volunteer, John Bizzell, at a meeting, who spoke about how the air ambulance team operates.

Club president, Graham West, said: “While we hope never to need its services, the air ambulance provides reassurance to local people that, if needed, the service has the capability to respond quickly to any emergency medical needs.

“We are delighted to support its work.”

Easter egg raffles

PUBS and shops in the Blackmore Vale have raised about £1,500 for Blackmore Vale Lions Club charities by running Easter egg raffles.

More than 20 businesses raffled eggs in what the club said was “an annual demonstration of generosity by business owners and patrons”.

A spokesperson for the club said: “We would like to thank all involved at the 27 businesses in Dorset and Somerset for their efforts to raise money for the less fortunate, needy and deserving of the Blackmore Vale.

“It is a good reason for going to the pub or shopping!”

The following businesses raffled eggs: Dorset –Sturminster Newton: The Cutting Station, Swan, White Hart; Child Okeford: The Saxon; Manston: The Plough; Okeford Fitzpaine: The Royal Oak; Fiddleford: Fiddleford Inn; Marnhull: Crown, Blackmore Vale Inn; Spire Hill: Thyme after Time; Kings Stag: Green Man; Pulham: Halsey Arms; Stalbridge: Geoff’s Hairdressers, Royal British Legion, Grace Haine Opticians, Swan; Hinton St Mary: White Horse; West Stour: Ship; East Stour: King’s Arms; Sherborne: Plume of Feathers, Digby Tap; Buckhorn Weston: Stapleton Arms. Somerset South – Cheriton: White Horse; Milborne Port: Tippling Philosopher; Henstridge: Bird in Hand, Virginia Ash.

Wimborne Rotary president, Graham West (right) presents Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance volunteer, John Bizzell, with a cheque for £500

Never too late

AFTER over 50 years working as a carpenter, Gillingham man Ray Lee has found a new lease of life as a children’s author.

Ray, 69, retired in 2021 and found himself with time to do things he couldn’t do before.

His main interests are music and writing, and he started writing a series of children’s stories called Forest Magic, about two brothers who discover the entrance to a secret magical forest.

He published them as podcasts, using classical music as a background to his voice.

He said: “I felt the pieces I used would enhance the atmosphere of the stories.

“I was then advised by Mark James, the musical director of the RoKIT choir of which I am a member, that I could be breaking copyright law, even though the age of the music was over the copyright threshold.

“So, I composed and recorded my own theme tune and background music.”

Ray had more than 3,000 downloads and decided to publish the stories in book form. He had produced 30 episodes, enough for three volumes.

The first volume of 10 stories was published in October 2023 in e-book form, which he chose because of the flexibility of the format.

Readers can change the font, enlarge the text and find the meanings of any of the harder words, ideal for younger readers.

Earlier this year, Ray joined a creative writing group called Scribblers, run by Tiggy Hayes. Members meet once a month and share their writings.

The group has several published authors, so they can compare experiences of the whole process, from writing to publishing.

Ray has also had some of his work broadcast on This is Alfred radio.

He is currently working on his first adult novel, which he hopes to publish later this year in paperback.

Ray added: “My advice to any budding authors is, go for it, you never know, you could be the next J K Rowling.”

Digging up the past

DO you have an interesting object you would like to know more about?

Then why not take it along to an identification event at Sturminster Mill & Museum (DT10 2DQ) where Dorset Council’s finds liaison officer

Ciorstaidh HaywardTrevarthen is returning to demystify your most unusual bits and bobs.

Ciorstaidh will be at a finds day on Thursday, May 30, from 10am until midday by appointment only – email finds@ dorsetcouncil.gov.uk to book your space – and midday until 1pm for a drop-in session.

Village fete promises fun for all the family

EAST Stour village fete will take place at the village hall and field (SP8 5JY) on Sunday, May 26, from 12.30pm.

There will be games and face painting on the field and a raffle in the hall, plus more than 20 stalls selling local crafts, plants and books.

Refreshments will include beer, wine, tea, coffee, soft drinks, cakes, hot food and ice cream.

Memorial window

TWO veterans of the Second World War are giving a talk to raise money for a stained glass window at Holy Trinity Church, Warmwell, in memory of personnel from RAF Warmwell who served at the air station.

The talk, Flying High, Flying Low – the Mosquito in War, will be given by Flt Lt Colin Bell DFC, 103, a Mosquito pilot in Bomber Command, and Flt Lt Desmond Curtis DFC, 99, a Mosquito navigator in Coastal Command.

The talk is at the Dorford Centre, Dorchester, on Wednesday, May 15, at 6.30pm, with tickets priced £15.

RAF Warmwell was developed on land north of Warmwell, just before the war in 1937, in what later became the village of Crossways.

During the Battle of Britain, it was the base for Spitfire and Hurricane Fighter squadrons, which protected a sector of the south coast that included the important port of Portland.

The memorial window in the church, the garrison church for the base, will commemorate the personnel and the air station.

Warmwell churchyard has the graves, now maintained by the War Graves Commission, of 24 air and groundcrew killed while serving at RAF Warmwell.

A series of talks and fundraising events are planned for the summer, with the installation to be completed in time for Armistice Day in November 2024.

For more information, contact David Walsh on 07770 343441 or at davidpwalsh1802@gmail.com, or Gerry Gerrard on 01305 852320 or at ggerrard99@gmail.com

What a difference a year makes

Alex says… “i joined Slimming world because I lost my dad to diabetes and needed to make healthier choices for myself so I didn’t go the same way”

I Felt unhealthy, unwell and i couldnt keep up with the kids. One of our Favourite meals is pizza topped chicken, or lasagne with potato wedges and salad which everyone eats, Foods I never thought I could enjoy and lose weight with.

Imagine how happy i was after my first week and seeing that I’d lost 11.5lb and achieving my half stone award.

I love going to group, meeting new friends and sharing ideas. Almost a year later I feel brilliant,

healthier, younger and much happier.

Im now active doing zumba, walking, and just I’ve started running!

Something I could never have done when I was 6 stone 11lb heavier.

Rotary runners raise £2,000 for Julia’s House

RUNNERS who took part in two fun runs organised by Wimborne Rotary Club last year raised £2,000, which has now been presented to children’s hospice Julia’s House.

The Caribbean summer fun run, on the hottest day of the summer, and the Santa Stour fun run in December, attracted hundreds of entrants.

Julia’s House fundraiser, Katie Thompson, spoke at a lunchtime meeting of the club about the work the hospice

carries out, how children can access the facilities and how fundraising is always needed.

Rotary president, Graham West, presented her with a cheque for £2,000.

He said: “We are pleased to have raised this amount for Julia’s House and I would thank all the runners for turning up to enable us to raise this impressive sum.

“I would also thank all the volunteers and sponsors for making the events possible.”

Shared reading

SHAFTESBURY Library Shared Reading group brings people together and books to life.

The group meets fortnightly on a Thursday, from 1.45pm to 3.15pm until June 27.

Come along to the library to hear short stories and poems, then discuss them in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. There’s no need to read ahead.

For more information and to book your space call Shaftesbury Library on 01747 852256 or email shaftesburylibrary@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk

Rotarian Neil Hutchinson (left), Julia’s House fundraiser, Katie Thompson, and Wimborne Rotary president Graham West

Beautiful bonnets

RAFIA artist Claire Richards was the guest speaker at Blandford Evening WI’s April meeting.

Members were shown prepared rafia and learned about its ecologically sound cultivation and preparation on the island of Madagascar, the only place in the world where the rafia tree grows. No other natural leaf material is as durable and long-lasting as rafia.

Members learned that a three-strand plait comes out as a tube while a four-strand plait is flat and is the main building structure for Claire’s comfortable, stylish and hard-wearing hats.

Claire showed a hat she had woven when she first began weaving and working with rafia over 30 years ago – and it was still pliable, comfortable and looked great, even though it had been crushed, soaked and spent days in the sun.

Claire also showed her designs for shoulder, hand and clutch bags, all of which she sells at fairs and shows around Dorset.

She also runs courses in rafia work and can be contacted online at allthingsrafia@gmail.com

Liz Rawlins won an Easter bonnet competition with a creation which included flowers and flashing fairy lights.

President, Vicky Watkinson, presented Liz with her trophy.

Shield your home from Care Costs & Inheritance Tax with a Living Trust.

A Living Trust, is a legal arrangement that allows you to protect your assets, including your home, from care costs along with potential inheritance tax implications. Here are a few key points to consider:

1. Asset Protection: By transferring ownership of your home and other assets to a living trust, can help protect them from certain creditors and potential claims, including care costs.

2. Care Costs: Placing your main home into a living trust can ring fence the property from any potential future care costs. Thus, protecting your inheritance

3. Inheritance Tax Planning: A living trust can be part of an estate planning strategy to minimize inheritance tax liability. By placing assets into a trust, they can be excluded from your taxable estate upon your passing, potentially reducing the amount of inheritance tax your beneficiaries would owe.

4. Reversable Nature:

One of the advantages of a living trust is that it is reversable, meaning you can make changes to the trust or remove your home from the trust during your lifetime. This flexibility allows you to adapt to changing circumstances or wishes.

5. Trust Administration:

When you establish a living trust, you typically designate yourself as the trustee alongside one to three other trustees. Thus, maintaining control over the assets and allowing you to continue using and managing them as you did before. Surviving trustees take over the administration of the trust upon your incapacity or death.

The effectiveness of a living trust in achieving your specific goals will depend on your individual circumstances. Oakwood Wills offer a free consultation in the privacy of our own home. Tel 07832 331594 email: info@oakwoodwills. co.uk

Our loose Canon

Is there a place for religion in our schools?

by Canon Eric Woods

STATE schools and religious faith have been much in the news lately. The issues involved provoke heated and sometimes violent argument. I want to take a brief and calm look at them.

First, and achieving the most publicity, has been the success in the High Court of Michaela Community School in Wembley in defending its decision to forbid all forms of “prayer rituals” on its premises. A Muslim pupil had brought an action against the school for denying her and some of her fellow Muslims the right to pray openly in the playground using their blazers as prayer mats. The pupil is reported as having received £150,000 in legal aid to bring the action. She lost, as Michaela was founded as a specifically secular school. It has no obligation to provide facilities for any kind of religious worship.

You may well agree with the judge’s verdict, not least because of the cost to we taxpayers of the court action. But I am left uneasy. Michaela also serves a local community, and half its pupils are Muslim. Just as most hospitals have a prayer room for use by those of all faiths – even airports do the same – I would have thought it reasonable for Michaela to make some provision for its students of faith. Even a Portakabin would do. A community school needs to reflect the needs of its community.

Meanwhile, attracting less attention, has come a proposal to remove restrictions on religious selection in state-funded schools in England. That means, for example, that a Church of England school could apply stringent CofE membership criteria to the pupils it selects – and the same would go for faith schools of every type: Roman Catholic, Muslim, Jewish and so on. And I’m not happy about that, either. Once again, it is because most schools which receive state funding are serving their local communities. Start forbidding entry to a pupil who lives just around the corner in favour of another who lives on the other side of town has to be divisive. As a young curate in Bristol many moons ago I saw that in action. Our local comprehensive was a Voluntary-Aided CE school which did indeed give extra “points” to applicants across the city who claimed CofE membership (“VA” indicates a tighter control by the Church to a “VC” – VoluntaryControlled – school). I would constantly be told by other clergy in the city that parents and their son or daughter aged nine or ten would suddenly become extremely devout churchgoers, but once entry to the school was secured, they were never seen again. At the moment even VA schools have to keep at least half their places open to local children, and that’s how it should remain.

Finally, Ofsted has reported that poor-quality religious education in schools is leaving children with shallow knowledge and unprepared for a diverse society. Superficial attempts to cover every faith and give each one equal lesson time does not help pupils to live in our complex multi-religious and secular world. That’s really a “Loose Canon” article in itself….

Photo by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash

Passing on the torch of remembrance

THE granddaughter of an officer who fought in the Battle of Kohima in the Second World War has followed in his footsteps to mark the 80th anniversary of the event.

Charlotte Carty, from Milborne Port, walked 77 miles in 39 hours in Nagaland in north east India, through the foothills of the Himalayas, with 20 fellow descendants of those who fought in the battle and others.

The walk replicated what her grandfather Lt Col Bruno Brown and his men did to escape the advancing Japanese. The men made it to Kohima and then fought for two more weeks surrounded until relief finally arrived.

Charlotte said: “The trek was awesome and exhausting. The following day we held a service in the Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery at Kohima.

“There were 20 walkers, half 50-plus and half in their 20s as we pass the torch of remembrance on to the next generation.

“Almost everyone had a direct descendent involved at the battle itself 80 years before.”

The Battle of Kohima in 1944 was known as the “Stalingrad of the East”. Historians believe it was key to the Allied victory in the war as it held back Japanese forces in their attempt to invade India.

The walkers held a service at the Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery in Kohima; Charlotte Carty’s grandfather, Lt Col Bruno Brown, fought in the Battle of Kohima (inset)

Award-winning Dorset firms heading for national finals

TWO North Dorset businesses - less than three miles apart - have won prestigious awards.

Child Okeford Village Shop & Post Office was selected as the Best Village Shop in the region, while nearby Wessex Internet, based in Shroton, won the Rural Enterprise category.

The gongs were handed out at the Countryside Alliance Awards, now in their 17th year, which recognise businesses that go the extra mile within their communities, supporting the local economy and championing local goods and services.

Both Wessex Internet and the Child Okeford Village Shop were initially nominated anonymously by their customers.

Then, from hundreds of nominees in the region, the two businesses topped public polls.

Hector Gibson Fleming, CEO at Wessex Internet, said:

“It’s a wonderful testament to the innovation and community spirit of the local area that two very different businesses, located only a few miles from one another, topped their categories in an awards region that covers a huge geographical area stretching from Wiltshire to Cornwall.

“For Wessex Internet, this follows recent recognition as Best Rural Internet Provider at the 2023 ISPA Awards and as Overall Fibre Provider of the Year at the 2023 UK Fibre Awards.

“To now be acknowledged more widely as a leading Rural Enterprise, as well as leaders in our sector, is particularly special, as these countryside-focused awards recognise values that are very important to us.

“We have always sought to be champions and enablers of the rural economy – through providing ultrafast broadband to areas overlooked by other companies, as an employer of choice for hundreds of local people, and by working in consultation with rural communities and landowners in how we build our network.

“I am also delighted for our neighbours at the Child Okeford Village Shop and know first-hand how popular the shop is with our teams.

“With many villages unfortunately seeing the closure of local amenities, we are lucky to have a nearby shop that provides many locally sourced products – including delicious deli lunches - and an essential Post Office service.

“By providing ultrafast broadband to Child Okeford and other villages like it, Wessex Internet will also continue doing our part to help rural communities thrive.”

Proprietor of the Child Okeford Village Shop & Post Office, Andrew StevensonHamilton, said:

“We are thrilled to have been voted the best village shop and post office in the South West of England and that our

neighbours, Wessex Internet, have been winners in their category as well.

“We are indebted to our loyal customers who came out in force to vote for us, in both the qualifying rounds and in the finals.

“The competition was very strong and we have huge respect for our fellow finalists.

“In particular, I would like to pay tribute to the runner-up in our category, The Hawtree & Sons Riverside Garage, which is based in West Stour.

“It says a great deal about the quality of the village shops in the north of Dorset that two village shops, within eight miles of one another, came first and second in the whole of the South West.

“However, most of all I would like to thank the fabulous team who work at the shop, the bakery and the post office, whose dedication, good cheer and hard work brought us to this point.

“We now look forward to the national awards in June, when we shall learn which shop from the eight regional winners will be crowned the best village shop in the United Kingdom.”

As regional winners of their categories, representatives from Wessex Internet and the Child Okeford Village Shop have been invited to an awards ceremony at the House of Lords in June, where national winners will be announced from the regional finalists.

Hector Gibson Fleming of Wessex Internet, left, with Child Okeford shop proprietor, Andrew Stevenson-Hamilton

Healing body and mind

PROMISING to bring the most powerful and lifechanging practices to Shepton Mallet the Healing Hub opens this weekend (April 27-28).

Organisers promise to take the mystery out of ancient holistic therapies, and make them available to everyone.

The Hub, at 9 Market Place (BA5 4AZ), brings together well-being practitioners from different disciplines, providing a space in which they can share their gifts via courses, talks and workshops.

Courses include mindfulness, art therapy, qi gong and quantum parenting, with individual treatments encompassing NLP, crystal healing and hypnotherapy.

Organisers hope to reach

everyone in the community. There are empowerment circles for teenagers; corporate toolbox packages for local businesses, and –on Free Fridays – free sessions to those on low incomes or unemployed .

The launch weekend boasts two full days of open doors, and is an opportunity to meet the practitioners and experience taster sessions in techniques like deep breathing, gentle movement, meditation and energy balancing.

The Healing Hub’s mission is to help people to understand the science behind these therapies.

From Monday, April 29, to Saturday, May 4, the Hub is offering six days of free taster sessions open to everyone. These include mindfulness, trauma release,

qi gong, soundbaths, shamanic energy healing, meditation, hypnotherapy, yin yoga, quantum parenting as well as many others.

“By working together, it is possible to learn about other people, to make connections and to deepen empathy for one another,” explains Hub founder and Shamanic healer Inga Lamb. “Group energy is very powerful and very healing as it is a reminder that we are not alone.”

RNLI visits FILGroup

by Marilyn Willoughby

APRIL’S meeting saw RNLI volunteer fundraisers Ben and Mary give an informative talk about the RNLI, now celebrating its 200th anniversary.

FILGroup members were in awe of the bravery of the crews that go out to people and boats (and animals) caught up in horrendous sea conditions no matter their nationality, the political state of the country or however questionable the reason for the difficulty.

The crews are no longer just fishermen, as they were in 1824, but come from all walks of life. Since 1969, women have been accepted onto the boats rather than restricted to land support.

The raffle proceeds were given to the RNLI in remembrance of Sally McGinn, who recently passed away.

For more information about forthcoming events please email filgroup15@gmail.com

Perfectly preserved

CHILDREN from Sherborne Primary School have been busy burying a time capsule on the school site.

The school is currently building a new multi-functional community hub building, and the time capsule will be buried alongside this.

The time capsule was given to the school by Sherborne Town Council to celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee and

the subsequent King’s Coronation, alongside a tree to commemorate the events.

Sherborne Primary’s time capsule includes letters written by pupils in Year 1 and 2, detailing their daily lives and favourite toys.

Head pupils Matilda and Emerson said: “We hope we’ve captured the essence of childhood in our current life and times, and this time capsule will preserve a snapshot of the school community for posterity.

“Buried beneath layers of earth, the time capsule awaits its eventual discovery, poised to unveil a piece of Sherborne’s history to future generations.

“Whether unearthed by archaeologists or stumbled upon by curious minds, it holds the promise of connecting the past with the present, offering insights into the lives of those who walked the halls of Sherborne Primary School.”

Dung detectives

A DORSET farm is holding a free owl pellet discovery workshop for children to find out just what the barn owls living on site have been eating.

The drop-in discovery morning at Bere Marsh Farm, a Countryside Regeneration Trust (CRT) property, will take place on Saturday, April 27, between 10am and 12.30pm.

At the Threshing Barn, the

CRT’s Community Engagement Manager Nick Dobbs will share interesting facts about UK owl species and give each child a barn owl pellet. CRT volunteers Karen Holliday and Alison Chopping will show everyone how to prepare and dissect an owl pellet. Using the facts sheet provided and to keep, it is then over to the children to turn detective and find out what the owls had for dinner.

To guarantee your child’s place(s), book online at www. thecrt.co.uk/Event/27-apr-owlpellet-discovery. It’s free, but donations are welcome online or on the day to help support the conservation work of the CRT.

The workshop is suitable for children aged 7 plus and all children must be accompanied by an adult parent or guardian. Subject to the weather, public parking is available in a designated and clearly signed field.

Pupils for the planet

PUPILS at schools in Wimborne are taking part in a poster competition aimed at fostering awareness about recycling, rubbish bins and climate change among young people.

The competition is being organised by Wimborne Minster Town Council in collaboration with Planet Wimborne.

Young artists are being invited to visually represent Wimborne Minster’s dedication to the environment.

A4 posters will need to be submitted by noon on Friday, May 24, to Wimborne Minster Town Hall for the attention of Councillor Jeff Hart.

Entries should include the name, age, home address and school of the participant on the reverse of the poster.

There are three age categories: first school, middle school ages and secondary school.

Cllr Hart said: “The Wimborne Minster School Council has urged the council and Planet Wimborne to organise this competition to underscore the importance of recycling and climate change awareness.

“Wimborne Minster is a beautiful town, but its charm can be further enhanced if we all prioritise environmental conservation.”

All entries will receive certificates to acknowledge their contribution and book tokens will be awarded to the winners of each group.

The winning entries will be displayed at the school council meeting in the council chamber on Tuesday, June 11, at 4pm.

Fun run is a resounding success

THE first Easter Fun Run organised by Shaftesbury Rotary Club was a runaway success attracting nearly 150 runners and raising more than £800 for good causes.

The runners, some from as far afield as Weymouth and Eastbourne, ran 5km and 10km

courses around the town in kind conditions.

Mayor of Shaftesbury, Virginia Edwyn-Jones, and Easter Bunny RotaKids Marley from Abbey Primary School and Charlotte from Shaftesbury Primary started the runs. They were also at the finish

line to give runners their medals.

Local charity HOPE supplied refreshments and RotaKids from Abbey Primary and Shaftesbury Primary provided water and jelly babies at the halfway point. Funds were raised for local

charities including the Stars Appeal at Salisbury Hospital.

Shaftesbury Rotary Club hopes the run will become an annual event.

To find out more about the Rotary club, or to get involved, contact hello@ shaftesburyrotaryclub.org

Get on your bike!

GOLD Hill in Shaftesbury will be the finishing point for riders when Shaftesbury Rotary Club holds its North Dorset Cycle Ride.

Two rides are available at the event on Sunday, May 19, one over 25 miles, which starts at 9.30am, and the other over 50 miles, which starts at 8.30am, both from Park Walk.

Registration opens an hour before the rides start.

A family ride, successfully launched last year, will feature again and this year head for Shaftesbury Primary School.

A range of skills tests will be on offer there, led by local Rotarians and supported by RotaKids from Shaftesbury and Abbey primary schools.

Friends from BV Dairy will be on hand to offer refreshments. They will be joined by Daisy the cow, and visitors will be able to try their hand at milking.

Full details of the ride and how to enter can be found on Shaftesbury Rotary Club’s website at www.

shaftesburyrotary.club.org, following links to North Dorset Cyle ride, and on social media.

Everyone who completes the rides will receive a medal.

The HOPE charity will be the main beneficiary of the event and BV Dairy is sponsoring for the third year running.

Anyone who would like to get involved with Shaftesbury Rotary Club should contact hello@ shaftesburyrotaryclub.org.

Urban explorers

FREE fun for all the family is promised at the relaunch of Gillingham’s Urban Orienteering Trail next weekend.

Participants will meet outside the library (SP8 4UA) and walk, jog or race the courses in the park, finding the checkpoints using their mobile phone.

Volunteers from Wimborne Orienteering Club will be helping at the event on Saturday, May 4, from 9.30am-1pm.

The trail is suitable for various levels of ability and all ages, and can be done with prams, pushchairs, mobility scooters and wheelchairs.

To find out more visit www.findyourwayvo.org.uk

Duchess drops in!

ORGANIC food, learning and gardening were on the agenda for a royal visit to Somerset.

The Duchess of Edinburgh was in the county on April 17, where she joined a Learning Day at the Royal Bath & West Showground, before visiting organic dairy brand, Yeo Valley.

In her role as patron of the Association of Show and Agricultural Organisations, The Duchess attended the Field to Food Learning Day 2024 at the Shepton Mallet showground.

It is an annual day focused around educating the next generation about farming and food production, giving young people an insight into where their food comes from, and the hard work farmers do.

The Duchess took part in ‘plough to plate’ educational activities, learning about livestock, arable farming, horticulture, food, and machinery.

Later, she visited Hazel Manor and the Yeo Valley Organic Garden, in North Somerset, to discover projects which are opening up the countryside and to learn more about sustainable farm and gardening practises.

Open gardens

VILLAGERS in Stourton Caundle are opening their gardens for visitors to enjoy their early summer beauty.

At the time of going to press, 11 gardens have agreed to open, ranging from established large gardens in the grounds of old houses – two of which have regularly opened their garden for the National Garden Scheme – to smaller and more intimate spaces.

The event is on Sunday, June 2, from 2-5pm, and tickets priced £10 and maps showing the locations of the open gardens will be available from outside The Manor Farm – opposite The Trooper pub in the centre of the village.

Visitors will be able to enjoy tea, coffee and cakes at The Manor Farm and The Trooper will also be open.

All funds raised go to repairs on the village hall roof.

Get set for The Gillingham & Shaftesbury Spring Show, now taking place on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th June.

This countryside show offers two days of perfect entertainment for all the family. Children up to the age of sixteen go free and advance tickets are just £15 per adult.

In the main ring, comic capers come alive with hilarious stunt clown Dingle Fingle getting up to all sorts of mischief. Make sure you duck to miss the water cannon! There’s also lots of wonderful animal attractions to enjoy. You won’t turn your snout up at Joseph’s Amazing Racing Pigs as five rare breed trotters hurdle over jumps and enjoy a fun hog hoe-down. Horse fans will adore Amanda Sandow’s famous Spotted Ponies, showcasing circus heritage and the art of woman and horses working together. This year, there’s also a Heavy Horse Village where you can get up close with these giants of the equestrian world, learn more about their important role in our country’s history and see them in action. The countryside theme continues with farmyard animals and fun, free tractor

trailer rides, sponsored by Friars Moor Livestock in Sturminster Newton.

Green fingered fans will not want to miss the line-up of horticultural talks and demonstrations by renowned gardening gurus. Plus, there’s plenty of plant stalls to tempt you to take something home for your own garden. And if you’ve ever fancied having a go at felting or even making your own crown, some of Dorset’s leading crafts people will be sharing their skills In the ‘Hands On’ marquee.

Please note all tickets bought for the original show date of 20th and 21st April are still valid for the rescheduled date. Visit www.springcountrysideshow.co.uk to book and find out more.

Spring Countryside Show is now taking place 8 & 9 June

Leading Brands Confirmed for New Mobility Expo in Somerset

A host of leading UK mobility brands are scheduled to exhibit at a free event this May in Somerset.

Nationwide providers of life-changing equipment for people with disabilities including Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs), specialist bathing, beds, chairs, lifts, and wheelchairs, will gather for 2 days from Friday 10th – Saturday 11th May at Haynes Motor Museum in Sparkford, to present a range of the latest in and out of home innovations that can help those with mobility impairments to live a more independent lifestyle.

Dubbed ‘Mobility at the Museum’, the event aims to bring together a range of assistive technology in one place, for a convenient, accessible day out where visitors can discuss their needs with experienced specialists in personal mobility. Exhibitors will include Brotherwood Automobility, a leading provider of vehicle conversions for wheelchair users; Permobil, a global manufacturer of power and manual wheelchairs, seating and positioning products; Abacus specialist bathroom solutions; Wessex Lifts, who have been have been making homes and buildings accessible for nearly 50 years; Theraposture, a leading specialist in power-assisted adjustable beds, chairs and care cots; and Q’Straint, a world-leading specialist in wheelchair passenger safety solutions.

Mobility at the Museum is hosted at the spectacular Haynes Motor Museum in Sparkford, Somerset – just off the A303 and 40 minutes from junction 25 of the M5. With the UK’s largest collection of cars and bikes displayed in stunning style, dating from 1885 to the present day, Haynes benefits from outstanding

facilities and accessibility for disabled guests.

Parking and event entry is completely free – just register at Brotherwood.com/show to confirm your attendance. Museum entry is not included.

About Brotherwood

Brotherwood are the UK’s Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) Specialists and are recognised as the market leader in Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Design. We believe that every WAV should prioritise comfort, inclusion, and safety for the wheelchair user. Offering a range of new Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles for sale, as well as factory refurbished WAVs; Brotherwood also offer flexible, long or short-term accessible vehicle hire.

Brotherwood offer free, no-obligation home demonstrations across the UK, and work in conjunction with Case Managers and Occupational Therapists to deliver mobility solutions for wheelchair users.

Brotherwood are also a certified CPD Member, offering free training sessions, study days and workshops to healthcare professionals involved in the provision of accessible transport; ensuring that Case Managers are equipped with the knowledge to enable them to perform transport needs assessments, and ensuring their client’s needs are accurately measured and met.

Brotherwood are also members of WAVCA (The Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Convertors Association) and are approved suppliers to the Motability scheme.

For more information contact Brotherwood today on 0330 1747 555 or visit Brotherwood.com.

Knob Throwing Games set to return to Dorset this summer!

DORSET knob throwing is back for 2024.

Fives years after they were last staged, The Dorset Knob Throwing Games will return at the Cattistock Countryside Show, on July 14.

“For five long years, a Knob in Dorset has not been thrown. No Knobs have been painted, or pinned to the Cerne Abbas giant, or the weight of a big

WEST STOUR PLANT SALE

Saturday 4th - 11th May

Starts at 10am

Proceeds in aid of Air Ambulance, Stars Appeal at Salisbury Hospital and the Westminster Hospital at Shaftesbury

GERANIUM AND PATIO

PLANT SALE on Saturday

11th May from 10:00 at Grove Building, Mere BA12 6DS Friends of Mere Museum.

Knob guessed,” a spokesperson said.

“But now the much-famed Dorset Knob Throwing Games are back.”

The Games will be part of the show, which takes place near Maiden Newton, in the Chilfrome Valley.

For more information, and to buy tickets, log on to cattistockshow.co.uk.

CHARMINSTER VILLAGE FETE

DT2 9QL June 01.2024, 2-5pm

TABLE TOP SALE, SATURDAY 27th APRIL, DAMERHAM VILLAGE

HALL, SP6 3HN Sellers £10 from 10am. book at info@ damerham.org Buyers from 11am £1 Refreshments.

SOLAR POWERED POP-UP

DJ totally retro Ecotainment! Suitable for any occasion 07554 477889

24th ANNUAL YARLINGTON SPECIALIST PLANT FAIR

Yarlington House, Wincanton, BA9 8DY

Saturday May 11th, 10am-4pm

Nurseries from across the West Country Tea, coffee, cake and raffle. Entrance £5.00. Children FREE

In aid of the Church of St. Luke and St.Teresa, Wincanton

LYN’S BINGO at Marnhull

Royal British Legion on Monday April 29th Eyes down 7pm

ATHELHAMPTON HOUSE

PLANT FAIR Sun 12th May. 10am - 3pm. Admission £7.00 includes Fair and Gardens. Wide selection of plants plus crafts and wildlife stalls

BLUEBELL WALK ASHMORE

SP5 5AQ

Bank Hoiday Monday 6th May 2-4pm. Teas served until 4.30pm. Walk £2/person, under 10s free, dogs welcome on leads.

Events

In Aid of the Parish Churches of St Lukes and St Margarets

GARDEN PARTY

SATURDAY 11TH MAY 2.30PM to 4.30pm at Vale Farm, West Orchard SP7 0LJ (follow the signs)

Stalls include Cake, Plants and Gift. Raffle and Tombola

Enjoy an Afternoon Tea while chatting to friends.

Offers of help and items for stalls much appreciated

Please call 01258 472893 or 01258472331

Spring Brocante

The Larmer Tree Gardens SP5 5PY

Sunday 5 th May & B/H Monday 6 th May

Vintage, Artisan & Decorative Antiques Fair with Local Foodies

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit our website

www.thedorsetbrocante.co.uk

THE Museum of East Dorset in Wimborne is going back to a divisive period in England’s history for its new exhibition.

Rebellion and Revolt, which runs until October, highlights the English Civil War of the 1640s and the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685, two national struggles which had a big impact on Dorset.

The exhibition looks at the difficult choices ordinary people faced in choosing sides – the Roundheads, champions of Parliament and a Protestant monarchy, or the Cavaliers, loyal to King Charles I and the Church of England – as well as the battles and bloodshed.

Young visitors can enjoy a new themed trail around the museum, free crafts and ‘decide your side’ dressing up.

Little Explorers Mini Musketeers, a morning of fun children’s craft activities, is on Tuesday, May 28.

For more information on the exhibition, visit www. museumofeastdorset.co.uk

Lucy has a feeling for landscape

A NEW exhibition at Gallery On The Square, Poundbury, offers a rare chance to see the distinctive work of painter Lucy Erskine.

Lucy, who lives near Sherborne, was born in London and spent part of her childhood and her teenage years in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

In 1987, after studying with

Nera Simi in Florence and at the Byam Shaw and Chelsea Schools of Art, she was one of 10 UK art students selected by Brian Sewell to take part in a Young Masters exhibition at the Solomon Galleries in Dover Street, London.

It was early recognition that marked the beginning of a successful career.

She has had exhibitions at several London galleries, as well as the Nico Malan Opera House in Cape Town and the University of Stellenbosch, and has had paintings selected for several Royal Academy summer shows.

In the new show at Gallery On The Square, her accurate and skilful draughtsmanship focuses on the landscape of Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, as well as South Africa, and includes a retrospective element.

The exhibition runs from Saturday, April 27, to Saturday, May 25.

Lucy Erskine is exhibiting at Gallery On The Square in Poundbury

Festival formula: Beer and cider plus music...

AT least 30 beers and more than 30 ciders, along with live music from local bands and musicians, will be on offer at the Yeovil Beer & Cider Festival next month.

The event, at the Westlands Entertainment Venue, will also help charities and good causes, with Yeovil Hospital Charity, Freewheelers, Yeovil Opportunity Group and The Foyer Club among those set to benefit.

Local musicians confirmed to play include Twisted Vinyl, Velvet Thunder, D-State, Bad Uncle and Banty Rooster.

Old and the new collide

THE fierce and funny The Motive and the Cue is the next National Theatre Live showing at Shaftesbury Arts Centre.

The play, directed by Sam Mendes, is set in New York in 1964 and stars Mark Gatiss as John Gielgud and Johnny Flynn as Richard Burton.

Adam Burgan, venues manager at Westlands Entertainment Venue, said: “Westlands has been home to so many fantastic festivals over the last few years, so we are excited to be hosting and running the Yeovil Beer & Cider Festival.

“The team are working hard to make sure it’s the best festival experience that everyone has come to love and expect at Westlands.

“With a fantastic start to ticket sales since going on sale, we are looking forward to seeing the venue filled with people enjoying themselves.”

Yeovil Beer & Cider Festival is on Friday and Saturday, May 17 and 18. The Friday session will run from 6-11pm and tickets are priced £10; the Saturday session will run from 2-11pm and tickets are priced £15.

Tickets can be purchased online through the Westlands website at www.westlands yeovil.co.uk, the box office, by calling 01935 422884, or by visiting the venue during opening hours (Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm).

Soft drinks, gin and wine will also be available at the festival, and tickets include a festival cup and programme.

THE ninth annual Cursus Festival, being held on the spring May Bank Holiday weekend on Cranborne Chase, is a small festival with a big reputation for good music and friendly vibes.

This year’s line-up features Mista Trick, Black Water County, 3 Daft Monkeys, Millie Manders & The Shut Up, The Freeborn Brothers, Gecko and Skimmity Hitchers, and many more live acts and DJs.

area for children to make friends and explore different skills.

The festival at Myncen Farm is family-friendly with a dedicated DIY Den activity

The DJ tent, rural craft demonstrations, campfire and tuk-tuk rides make for a diverse and fun experience. Festival organiser Kev Davis said: “Whether you can attend for the whole weekend or just one day, you’ll find a warm welcome waiting for you at Cursus Festival.”

For more information about the festival, held from Friday, May 24, to Sunday, May 26, visit www. cursusfestival.com.

Burton, newly married to Elizabeth Taylor, is to play the title role in an experimental new Broadway production of Hamlet under John Gielgud’s exacting direction.

But as rehearsals progress, two ages of theatre collide and the collaboration between actor and director soon threatens to unravel.

The screening is on Sunday, April 28, at 7pm and tickets are available from the box office or the arts centre’s website.

Treat for car, bike – and tank – fans

DARING mountain bike displays and supercars will be on offer in a Tracks and Wheels event at The Tank Museum in Bovington on Bank Holiday Monday (May 6).

Urban Display stunt cyclists will be performing gravitydefying cycling feats and Sporting Bears, a group of classic car and sports car enthusiasts, will showcase their collection.

Visitors will have the chance to ride in a supercar, for a donation to the Sporting Bears Motor Club.

Events manager, Tom Holmes, said: “The museum, as the home of the tank, is the perfect place to celebrate everything tracks and wheels.

“Building on the success of last year, we have packed a programme of activities for car, bike, and, of course, tank enthusiasts.”

Visitors can also discover

The Tank Museum is holding a Tank and Wheels event

how soldiers used bicycles during the Great War with object handling and a dress-up session.

And the Southern Armour Group will demonstrate large-scale remote-controlled tanks and military vehicles.

Visitors can also learn about 100 years of armoured warfare through the museum’s 300 tanks, interactives, objects and moving human stories.

Johnny Flynn plays Richard Burton in The Motive and the Cue being screened at Shaftesbury Arts Centre

Church

• Anglican High Mass at Wimborne St Giles: First Sunday of each month at 11am. BH21 5LZ.

• Benefice of St Bartholomew: In Recovery: A personal account and discussion of addiction, recovery and available help, with the Hon

David Bernstein, St Mary’s, East Knoyle, Wednesday, May 1, 7pm. Rogation walk, Sweetwell Farm, Sedgehill (SP7 9JB), Sunday, May 5, 9.30am. Barn service with music and refreshments 11am. Dog and buggy friendly!

• Blandford Methodist Church: Sundays – everyone is invited to services at 10.45am and to stay for refreshments. Thursdays – coffee and a chat from 10am-noon. Fridays –lunch club for the over-55s from noon at £5 per meal.

Phone Joyce Wild on 07817 505543 to book. The church is anxious to offer help to all those in need – call church steward John Cornish on 07799 516735 or leave a message.

• Chalbury Church: Fourth Sunday of the month, 10.30am Holy Communion.

• Hinton Martell: Second Sunday of the month, 10.30am Holy Communion.

• Horton Church: First Sunday of the month, 10.30am Holy Communion.

• Horton & Chalbury village hall: Third Sunday of the month, 9am Breakfast Church.

• Kingston Lacy: Second Sunday of the month, 9.15am Holy Communion. Fourth Sunday of the month, 9.15am Family Service.

• Longburton Village Cafe: The cafe, held in the village church of St James, provides tea, coffee – free refills – and great cakes for just £2. It is open on Tuesdays April 9 and 23 from 10.30am-noon.

• Two Rivers Benefice: Sunday, April 28 – 9.30am Communion at St Mary Church, Charlton Marshall; 9.30am Morning Worship at St John the Baptist, Spetisbury; 11am Communion at All Saints, Langton Long; 11am BCP Communion at St Mary’s Church, Tarrant

Rushton. Sunday, May 5 –10.45am Together Communion at St John The Baptist, Spetisbury. Coffee and cake –Spetisbury 10am-11.30am first and third Monday each month; coffee and cake – Blandford St Mary 10am-11.30am May 16. Coffee stop – Charlton Marshall Parish Centre 10.30am12.30pm, Tuesday to Friday. Every Thursday, Morning Prayer by Zoom, 9am – contact Jane Griffin for more information.

• Lillington: All morning services at Lillington now begin at 9.30am.

• Our Lady’s RC Church, Marnhull: Mass Sunday, 9am and 6pm.

• Shaftesbury Quakers (Society of Friends): Meets for one hour each Sunday from 10.30am at the Quaker Meeting House, Abbey Walk, Shaftesbury SP7 8BB.

• Sherborne Abbey: Monday to Saturday, 8.30am Morning Prayer; The Sepulchre Chapel. Mondays, 9am CW Holy Communion; The Lady Chapel. Tuesday, noon CW Holy Communion; The Lady Chapel. Wednesday, 10.30am Holy Communion with Homily; The Lady Chapel (alternates CW and BCP). Thursday, noon BCP Holy Communion; The Lady Chapel. Friday, 9am Ecumenical Holy Communion; The Lady Chapel. First Friday of the month, 9am Requiem Holy Communion; The Sepulchre Chapel. Third Friday of the month, 11am Remembering the Fallen. Saturday, 9am CW Holy Communion; The Sepulchre Chapel.

• Sacred Heart, Tisbury, and All Saints’ Wardour Catholic Parish: Sunday Mass times –Sacred Heart, Tisbury 9am, coffee after Mass; All Saints’ Wardour 10.30am.

• Shapwick: Third Sunday of the month, 9.15am Holy Communion.

• Sherborne Quakers: Meet Sundays 10.30am in the Griffiths Room, Digby Memorial Church Hall. Everyone welcome.

• St Benedict’s RC Church, Gillingham: Sunday, 11am.

• St Gregory’s, Marnhull: Sunday services 8am and 10am. Other services, visit www. stgregorysmarnhull.org.uk.

• St John’s Church, Enmore Green: Service every Sunday at 11.15am; parish communion on the first Sunday of the month; prayer services every other Sunday.

• St Mary’s, Motcombe: Evening worship (BCP) – every first Sunday 6pm; parish communion – every second and fourth Sunday 9.30am; evening worship – every third Sunday 6pm.

• St Mary’s, Sturminster Newton: First, third and fourth Sundays – 11am Holy Communion; second Sunday – 9.30am Morning Prayer; fifth Sunday – 11am Benefice Holy Communion; second and fourth Sundays – 6pm Evensong; Wednesdays – 10am Holy Communion.

• St Peter’s, Hinton St Mary: First, second and third Sundays, 9.30am Morning Prayer. Fourth Sunday, 9.30am Holy Communion.

• St Thomas’, Lydlinch: Second and fourth Sunday, 11am Holy Communion. Third Sunday, 6pm Evensong.

• St Nicholas Church, Henstridge: Avon & Somerset Constabulary Choir, Saturday, May 11, at 7.30pm. Phone: 01963 364063.

• West Camel Independent Methodists: Meeting at All Saints Church BA22 7QB. Services on Sunday, April 28, 4pm. United service Sunday, May 5, 4pm. United “Sunday @ Four” with tea – visit of the president of Independent Methodist Churches. Phone 01935 850838 or email Geoff. mead@yahoo.com

• Witchampton Church: Third Sunday of the month, 10.30am Holy Communion.

• Friends of Sherborne Abbey: Coffee morning on Wednesday, October 27, 10.30am-1pm, at Digby Memorial Hall. Visitors are invited to take a friend or friends! For catering purposes,

RSVP to Francesgd49@gmail. com

• Sherborne Quakers: Meet every Sunday at 10.30am in the Griffiths Room, Digby Memorial Hall, for an hour of quiet prayer or meditation followed by coffee. Everyone is welcome to go along. For more information, phone Nick on 07870 192599.

• St Paul’s Alpha Course: Starts Tuesday, April 30, for 10 weeks. Open to everyone, a safe place, no previous knowledge required. Details from Sarah on 01935 816444 or admin@ spcsherborne.co.uk.

• Cheap Street Church, Sherborne: Sherborne Girls’ lunchtime concert: On Tuesday, April 30, at 1.45pm. Everyone welcome. Tickets £15/£12/£10 from events@sherborne.com

• Cheap Street Church, Sherborne: Sherborne School Friday lunchtime recitals: May 3, Chamber Ensembles –1.30pm, Sherborne Abbey, part of the music festival; May 10, Strings; May 17, Woodwind; May 24, Instrumental and Vocal Soloists; June 7, Pianists; June 14, The Choral Scholars. All at 1.45pm. Free admission (unless otherwise stated).

• Sherborne Abbey Choir Concert: The Abbey Choir will be singing some of the most beautiful 16th century choral music ever written at its concert on Monday, May 6. Tickets priced £6-£12 are available on 0333 6663366 or from the Abbey Festival website. Music includes Parsons’ Ave Maria, Victoria O quam gloriosum mass movements and a rare opportunity to hear some of the repertory from the Sherborne Missal

• Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM): The event for the Parish of Sherborne with Castleton and St Paul’s is on Sunday, April 28, at 4pm, at Digby Memorial Church Hall. Nomination forms etc for churchwardens, elected members of the PCC and Deanery Synod are available at the churches. Forms etc should be returned to the Parish Office.

Is democracy falling victim to cowardice?

ON May 2 Dorset will see one of its lowest number of local government elections since the introduction of universal suffrage.

Elections will take place in only 23 out of the 155 town and parish councils in the bucolic county of the Tolpuddle Martyrs and Thomas Hardy because not enough people are standing to cause an election.

In 21 parishes there are no candidates at all.

Psephologist Prof Sir John Curtice says he does not know if this failure is replicated in the rest of the country because no one collates information for town and parish councils despite it being the most basic manifestation of our democracy.

A clue to the failure has come from Dorset Council itself which has revealed that “fear of violence and intimidation has resulted in an abnormally large number of candidates concealing their addresses in their nomination papers in favour of the words: “Address in Dorset County”.

This apparently follows the prompt from local government minister Simon Hoare, MP for North Dorset, who wrote to the chief executives of all local authorities in March to warn against increasing threats of violence nationally against councillors.

Dorset Council has revealed that many members are “conflicted” about disguising where they live but feel they have no choice because of “increasing concerns about intimidation in public life” and so feel it is no longer “safe” to reveal their home addresses.

The police are our guardians against violence and intimidation but in modern Britain police protection

sometimes seems more antagonistic than supportive of democratic free expression.

Which means it comes down to individual courage in the fight for democratic rights.

So, the question now has to be asked: Is individual cowardice now becoming the greatest threat to our democracy?

The Tolpuddle Martyrs and Thomas Hardy would both have understood the question, but do we?

Richard Thomas Shaftesbury

Parking rage at Waitrose

THE other day, I drove to my local Waitrose, which, judging by the number of parked cars, was busy.

As I came round the corner of a line of parked cars, I saw two spaces, one either side of a large black four-door Mercedes saloon, which had driven into the space.

I decided to reverse into the second space so that my passenger side was next to the Mercedes passenger side and my driver side was next to the other car’s driver side, hence leaving enough space to get in and out of our respective cars.

As I was walking back through the car park, I saw the Mercedes moving out of the parking space.

When I approached my car, I saw a message on the windscreen and at the same time the Mercedes speed away.

The message read: “Selfish pig, good thing I didn’t have a passenger!”

I drive a Ford Focus, which is 12 years old, so not as wide as some modern vehicles.

Yes, I was closer to the Mercedes, so it would have

been difficult for passengers to get in, but I was within the allocated parking space.

May I suggest to the elderly grey-haired female who left the note that she buys a smaller, narrower car which she can handle easier.

Also, for future reference, if she has a passenger and the same situation, then either reverse out of the space and let the passenger in or, if raining, let the passenger in the back door on the driver’s side.

I hope she has recovered from her parking rage.

Bob Bartlett Gillingham Bank customers will lose out

THE proposed closure of Lloyds bank in Sherborne next January is purely a commercial decision, without consideration of the effect on businesses and the large number of people, some, but by no means all, elderly, living in the town and surrounding area who rely on this, the last remaining bank in Sherborne.

I am a regular user and yesterday there were eight people queuing and two cashiers dealing with customers in their usual helpful and efficient manner.

Lloyds is always urging us to move to internet and mobile app banking.

There are quite a number, not all elderly, who are not comfortable with the technology or simply do not possess a computer or smartphone.

I was standing next to one in the queue yesterday, and he was wondering how he could cope when the branch closes.

Sherborne town may have excellent connectivity, but this is certainly not the case in much of the surrounding area.

Where I live, the mobile signal at my home varies between zero to barely adequate and the broadband signal keeps dropping off.

If you would like to comment on this branch

closure, you can write to Paul Griffiths, area director, Lloyds Bank BX1 1LT, or, more reliably, drop your letter into the bank and they will deliver it via their internal mail system.

Geraldine Hobson

Pidney, Hazelbury Bryan Stroke unit and ‘four-hour rule’

I READ Chris Loder’s article on the possible closure of stroke unit facilities at Yeovil Hospital – New Blackmore Vale, April 12.

Some years ago, I suffered a stroke on a Sunday – not the best of days for such happenings!

An ambulance duly arrived and took me to Dorchester’s County Hospital.

The staff there decided my symptoms did not amount to a stroke, so I was discharged.

The following day, still suffering from the same symptoms, I reported to the Grove Medical Practice in Sherborne, which immediately referred me to Yeovil Hospital.

There they quickly confirmed I had suffered a stroke and after three days of treatment I returned home, an otherwise lucky man, although continuing to suffer from some limited brain damage.

The proposal to create a single hyper-acute stroke unit in Taunton is understandable but fails, as Chris Loder has pointed out, to take account of increased journey times.

As many will know, there is ‘the four hour’ rule whereby the application of a single injection can often eliminate stroke damage, thus freeing patients to resume normal lives and saving them, in many cases, from serious after-effects costing a great deal of money in terms of care.

Therefore, to extend travel time beyond Yeovil is not a cost-effective idea and certainly not in the best interests of patients.

Edward Cowan Caundle Marsh

History

Sergeant got a ‘bit singed’ in the thunderbox by Colonel John Blashford-Snell CBE, former British Army officer, explorer and author. John also founded Operation Raleigh and the Scientific Exploration Society

IN 1958 my Royal Engineer Troop was supporting the Grenadier Guards, who had been sent to quell the terroristinfested Panhandle district of Cyprus. We found ourselves harbouring in broken country where our sections were quickly deployed to the rifle companies while I established my small headquarters near Battalion HQ. The first thing and, indeed, one of great importance, was to site the thunderbox.

“Where would you like it, sir?” asked my transport corporal.

“That spot by the trees looks well drained, nicely concealed and has a pleasant view,” I replied. So, my fine oak portable lavatory was erected under a Karib tree so that, when enthroned at dawn, I could view the mountains of Turkey 40 miles distant.

The next day the corporal reported that the thunderbox must be moved as it was “full up”.

“Full up,” I gasped. “With only five of us here?”

“’Fraid so, sir. It’s them Guards sergeants using it.”

This was an insult of the highest order. An officer’s thunderbox is a very private thing – although I allowed my own soldiers access to it, it was gross insolence for outsiders to intrude. The proximity of the device to the Guards sergeants’ mess was clearly too great a temptation. Regretfully, I ordered it moved westward, some 60 paces.

Alas, next morning it was found to be “full” again. This really was too much, and I was of a mind to report the matter when the corporal, a devious but ingenious man, suggested

explosive was heavy in the night air.

an alternative plan to deter trespassers.

“You may recall, sir, we captured some home-made explosive yesterday,” he smirked. “Might I suggest that we place a minute quantity, with a booby-trap switch, beneath the toilet, to be operated by anyone seating himself thereon?”

The idea appealed. “What about us?” I enquired.

“We shall leave a safety pin nearby. All engineers, before seating, must replace the pin,” he replied.

It was an hour after dark and I was on duty in the battalion operations room when I heard a dull “boom” followed by a cry of “medical orderly, medical orderly.” When the padre relieved me, I asked what the medic had been called for.

“Oh! One of the sergeants sat on a stove – bit singed, I gather!” replied the vicar.

Back at our lines, I found my men grouped about the thunderbox, or the remains thereof. The hessian screen lay on the ground and the shattered timbers were scattered around. The black plastic seat was 15ft away and the roll of soft white paper trailed sadly across the field. The pungent smell of

“About 21.00 hours, sir,” reported the corporal, Sapper Rampling. “And I perceived a light bobbing across the field. Stand to, lads, I say. Here comes the enemy.

“We see the light go behind the screen and a few seconds later there is a bloody big bang.” The wreckage told the rest.

“Then there’s t’bloke rolling about in t’smoke,” said Rampling, in his strong Lancashire accent, continuing the tale. “He can’t get up quick like, cos ‘is trousers is round ‘is ankles and ‘ee’s lost ‘is belt.”

“Was he badly hurt?” I enquired with concern.

“Well, ‘ee was making bit of fuss like, but I think it were just shock,” replied Rampling.

It took all next day to rebuild the thunderbox, but it was never the same. A week later, after a long cordon and search operation, most of the battalion regrouped at the main camp. My sections came in and, having arrived in the middle of the night, were not familiar with the layout. Unfortunately, a sapper was discovered on the Grenadiers’ commanding officer’s thunderbox by the battalion adjutant, with whom I had already crossed swords on other matters. “One of your wretched men is on the colonel’s thunderbox,” he

screamed. I was tired and considered there were more important things to worry about at that moment. “I’m sorry,” I grunted, but the adjutant continued to rave. “For Pete’s sake,” I retorted, “I’m always finding Guardsmen on my thunderbox, and we have a way of dealing with them.”

For a moment I thought he would have a seizure. “You, you, you have a way of dealing with a Guardsman”, he stammered.

“Yes,” said I. “We blow them up”. The colonel then appeared.

“Sir, Blashford-Snell has been blowing up guardsmen,” blurted out the adjutant.

“Really,” said the CO, looking mildly interested.

I explained what had happened, hoping that I sounded more confident than I felt.

“Hmm,” muttered the senior officer, looking stern. “Can’t have that, can we?”

“Certainly not”, snapped my tormentor with obvious satisfaction.

Poking me with his walking stick the Colonel said slowly: “Your punishment, young man, is that you must write the story for our regimental magazine.”

Signed copies of John Blashford-Snell’s recent book, From Utmost East to Utmost West are available priced £19 including UK postage. Contact jenny@ses-explore.org for further details.

Lieutenant John Blashford-Snell (centre) with his Sapper Troop in Cyprus and a pile of confiscated homemade explosive devices

Tories have a strong track record

THURSDAY, May 2, is local elections day in Dorset. If you don’t want extremely large developments, don’t want excessive solar farms and want to keep council tax as low as possible, then voting Conservative will ensure that view is represented.

The screeching U-turn of Sherborne area Liberal Democrats voting in support of West Sherborne development and the 180-acre Stockbridge Solar Farm – when they had previously opposed it – has attracted much more attention to their track record than usual.

If you want the A30 dual carriageway singled, if you’re happy with paying up to £400 more council tax because you live in Sherborne – compared to Castleton – and if you want more enormous solar farms - you would vote Liberal Democrat. And, of course, we are seeing now, in full swing,

Conservative MP for West Dorset

Chris Loder

what a Lib Dem led council does in Somerset, with Yeovil residents having had their council tax sky-rocket by almost £200 and almost £300 in Taunton.

By comparison, in Dorset, the diligent Conservative administration on Dorset Council has over the last five years delivered for residents. This includes £120 million

reinvested to safeguard frontline services; more than £4.4 million in grants to local causes through the Community Grants Scheme; nearly 60% recycling rate of waste collected, compared to 43.4% nationally; investing £40 million in schools for children with special educational needs; and £19 million invested in projects across Dorset to make council-owned property carbon neutral. The Conservatives have a strong track record on Dorset Council, and it’s important that we enable this to continue.

In other news, 8,700 households and businesses across West Dorset will benefit from ultrafast full-fibre broadband following the latest Project Gigabit contract award. The Government’s scheme will see £33.5 million worth of record investment in areas across Dorset and Somerset. This is fantastic for West Dorset’s broadband and

connectivity infrastructure, which I’ve persistently campaigned to improve since I was elected in 2019. It is expected that the roll-out of this latest contract will begin in early 2025.

I said in the last edition, that we have been fortunate in securing a banking hub in Sherborne. It is ideal because, not only does each bank provide consultants in person on different days of the week, but regardless of your bank, you can pay in or withdraw cash every day. Despite what Lib Dems have been saying – none of whom were involved in the dialogue to secure the facility – I can confirm there will be a cash point at the new banking hub in the town. The banking hub offers us more banking facilities than we have had for a long time. It is a great development for the town and is something that should be welcomed.

Cap raised on election expenditure

BACK in January – which seems a long time ago – I suggested that politicians should adopt telling the truth as their New Year resolution. It seems the suggestion has so far fallen on stony ground. Disappointing, but not surprising. Old habits die hard.

I almost spat my coffee out recently, listening to our MP Simon Hoare sharing his thoughts in a podcast. I raised a quizzical eyebrow at some of Simon’s statements, such as one about climate change causing growing numbers of migrants to flee from uninhabitable areas of the planet, and how this was adding to problems in Europe. Sadly true, but Simon failed to mention that the situation has arisen because of the disastrous failure to take anything like enough action to prevent climate change.

On food security, Simon correctly called for “sustainable environmentally neutral farming

and food production”, but he offered no suggestions as to what that would involve. Perhaps he was anxious not to fall out with those of Dorset’s NFU members who intensively farm livestock. Neither did he mention the UK’s chronic failure to grow anywhere near enough fruit and veg. This leaves us increasingly vulnerable, as the overseas

growers on which we depend are hit by the changing climate.

Then came the coffee spray moment, as Simon declared that he has “supported consistently the drive towards carbon neutral UK generated energy”. Wait, what?! Simon is not alone among Tory MPs now seeking to portray themselves as eco-warriors, mindful that a large majority of voters are growing increasingly anxious about climate change and our disintegrating environment.

However, a useful website called TheyWorkForYou.com collates every MP’s parliamentary voting record. It shows that Simon has voted against financial support for low carbon electricity generation, as well as voting for the Climate Change Levy to be applied to renewable energy generation. In addition, Simon has generally voted against measures to prevent climate change – four votes for, 16 votes against – and

against improving environmental water quality –one vote for, three votes against. He has also always – seven times – voted against improving biodiversity. I’ll leave that there.

Regarding the upcoming general election, the Tory government has used a statutory instrument – which doesn’t need Parliamentary approval– to increase the cap on election expenditure to about £35 million. They will now be able to take full advantage of donations like the £15m they have received from their biggest donor, Frank Hestor, whose contract to supply software to the NHS provides a handsome 56% profit margin. Little wonder the Electoral Commission’s research shows a long-term decline in public confidence in the political finance system, and another shining example of why we need to urgently reform the way we do politics.

Ken Huggins on behalf of the Green Party in North Dorset

Politics

Time to cut £4.9 billion food waste

THIS week Parliament returned from Easter recess, and I was pleased to be back in the House of Commons, standing up for Somerton and Frome.

On my first day back, I pressed the Minister for Legal Immigration and the Border on a recent report from the former Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration stating that 275 certificates of sponsorship were granted to a company that used forged documents and purported to be a real care home.

Failures such as this at the Home Office raise serious concerns about leaving people at risk of exploitation and modern slavery. I asked the Minister to confirm what steps he will be taking to ensure our immigration system is more robust and protects vulnerable people who come to the UK to work in our care system.

I also took part in a debate about food waste and

redistribution and was able to shine a light on some of the fantastic work going on in Somerset to combat waste and help people access food. On a recent visit to Frome Community Fridge, I was amazed to learn that coordinator Terri Pitts and her team of volunteers have managed to prevent a staggering eight Wembley Stadiums’ worth of

surplus food being wasted since it opened in 2016.

I am keen for us to act quickly to prevent food waste, given that 4.6 million tonnes of edible food goes uneaten every year, costing £4.9 billion. Most of this food ends up in landfill and emits harmful greenhouse gases.

I also want to see the Groceries Code Adjudicator given more teeth to stop supermarkets from being able to negotiate contracts that allow them to cancel or reduce food orders from farmers at the last minute, leaving producers with surplus food they are unable to sell elsewhere. This would limit pre-farm gate food waste and protect British farmers from unfair supermarket practices.

Educating the next generation about food and where it comes from is a passion of mine, so I was delighted to join HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh at the

Royal Bath & West Showground’s annual Field to Food Learning Day in Shepton Mallet, alongside 1,400 pupils from local schools. The children took part in a variety of hands-on food and farming activities, many of which helped develop their understanding of sustainability. The Liberal Democrats are strongly committed to reducing the UK’s impact on the environment and I’ll be using my first adjournment debate next week to highlight the need to reduce single-use plastics.

During recess, I also held surgeries and coffee forums across the constituency. If you’d like to come to one, please keep an eye on my Facebook page, Sarah Dyke MP, for details.

As always, if there is anything else I can do to assist you, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at sarah.dyke. mp@parliament.uk

Dorset Council a well-oiled machine

‘ALL politics is local’ is a well known phrase. It is the fact that most people use our local council services. I spent 14 years as a councillor and I must confess to getting slightly downhearted by low turnouts in local elections and people using them as a temperature test on Westminster.

I’m not naïve to think that this year’s elections will not be a hard slog for my Party. Although I must tell you that out on the doorsteps, as I have been across North Dorset, the picture is far more nuanced than the opinion polls would lead one to believe.

I am asking you to think and vote local. Another well known phrase is ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. I can assure you, and I say this drawing on my experience as Local Government Minister, that Dorset Council is working like a well-oiled machine. I say that not as a Conservative commenting on a Conservative

council but as someone taking a dispassionate view.

The more than £100 million in savings which the council has made since going unitary has been ploughed into local services – making Dorset a pleasing place in which to live. There have been no cuts. The support it delivered to communities and businesses during Covid was first class. It is

helping to lead the way in recycling. It committed to providing locally based special educational needs when it purchased St Mary’s Shaftesbury.

I have read the opposition’s campaigning works of fiction. Our former Government Coalition partners have stated that the Council CUT £ to support the poorest in Dorset. In fact, the Council ADDED £ to that provided by Central Government.

Our erstwhile Government partners have also stated there’s a ‘secret plan’ to increase Council Tax by 21% next year. This simply could not happen even if – and they don’t – Dorset Tories wished to do so. As Minister I only allowed Labourrun Birmingham City Council to increase taxes by 21% because it had so mismanaged its affairs it is in ‘special measures’. There is a cap of an increase of 5% a year

anyway UNLESS a council wishes to test a higher figure through a referendum.

Tory Dorset Council is well run. It is not on my Departmental ‘to watch’ list. You can dismiss the mischief making – terminological inexactitudes if you like. They seek to scaremonger because they have nothing else to say. As my political hero Baldwin said – “power without responsibility; the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages.”

We also have elections for our Police & Crime Commissioner. David Sidwick has led from the front prioritising fighting rural and wildlife crime as well as re-opening Blandford Police Station. He deserves to be re-elected.

To misquote Churchill – give my fellow Conservatives your vote; allow them to continue with the excellent jobs they are doing.

Liberal Democrat MP for Somerton & Frome Sarah Dyke

Conservative MP for North Dorset Simon Hoare

Local elections: Time for a change

METAPHORS, something-orother-gate and slogans litter the path we’ve been travelling for these last five years. Ovenready deals, Truss-o-nomics, partygate to tractor dating, all stick in my mind. Those same five long and turbulent years mark the time since the previous local elections on the formation of Dorset Unitary Council.

So, while wanting to see the back of many tainted slogans, I unashamedly offer a new one: “For Dorset’s Future”. It’s on the front cover of this magazine and it’s what Liberal Democrats have in mind and offer as our candidates stand before and for you, the voters, and your decision on May 2.

Here in 2024 in North Dorset, and all across the county, we have a chance to turn a corner from all that

turbulence and misfortune. This will start locally at first, to make new choices about how

we will start to solve our challenges, to dig ourselves out of the hole we have sat in for so long and follow the path out of the woods, to use just a couple more metaphors. Then later, it will be the national question.

Thursday May 2, 2024, is your opportunity to change the direction of decision making for Dorset’s future. It is our chance to select new town and parish councillors, as well as Dorset councillors. As someone not standing for election on May 2, I thank all candidates in all parties for offering their time and energy to serve their communities.

Yet turnout was only around 40% across all local elections in North Dorset in 2019, and that was at a time of heightened political awareness and division. That level of

engagement is a concern as the importance of local government has increased. Councils made big cuts to meet their basic statutory requirements and even these are under threat. What have we seen from Dorset Council except the easy efficiencies of redundancies and selling off assets that come with any increasingly centralised bureaucracy. These cuts are accompanied by increasing remoteness and, from our point of view here in the North, a lack of focus on our needs. It has to be time for a change in local government.

Lib Dems work hard and smart to get a fair deal for local people. On May 2 take back control – to coin a phrase – use your voter power to choose, and vote Lib Dem, for a fair deal and for Dorset’s future.

Centre-left coalition on the cards

VOTERS across Dorset will soon be going to the polls. Indeed, many may have voted by post already.

You might question whether local elections matter. You might ask whether your vote counts for anything, given Dorset has been governed by the Tories since time immemorial.

Well, I would argue this time is different. The Conservatives have never been as unpopular, in recent memory. There is genuinely a chance that in 2024, they could be evicted from County Hall and a new administration ushered in. One that will govern proactively, rather than lethargically.

No other party is likely to get a majority. A change in local government will likely be a coalition across the centre and the left.

That’s why a vote for Labour in these elections has never been more relevant. Labour is contesting seats

Dorset.

There is a housing emergency in Dorset caused by a failure of local housing policy for the last 35 years. Dorset has about 4,500 households on the housing register and more than 300 households in temporary accommodation.

people are struggling to access a GP. We’d improve access to GP appointments by exercising the powers of the council’s health scrutiny committee. It would insist that the provisions of the Equality Act are upheld by making all forms of access to appointments equally available and advertised.

across the county and has a serious manifesto it hopes to implement in government.

To take the cost of living crisis, Labour will ensure that Dorset Council is an accredited living wage employer that pays the real living wage. We’ll also work with local trade unions to establish a programme of employment rights workshops at schools and colleges in

Labour will Identify more low-cost public land that could be developed for 100% social rent and increase the proportion of new homes for social rent for local residents. We’ll also strengthen restraints and restrictions on second homes and Airbnb where local housing need has not been met.

In local government, Labour would tackle the discharge of untreated sewage into our waters. We’d ensure that Dorset Council uses all its regulatory, environmental health and public health powers to monitor, enforce and prosecute pollution by locally operating water companies.

Across the country, many

On education, Labour will review every aspect of schooling from nursery provision, breakfast clubs to longer school days, timing of school holidays, the cost of school uniforms and what additional support might be needed for parents who are working.

And in government, Labour would enhance local democracy by delegating some local services back to town and parish councils, giving them both the responsibilities and the necessary finance to deliver them.

With your vote on Thursday, May 2, these bold policies can be implemented.

Alan Cross, on behalf of Dorset Labour

Gary Jackson, North Dorset Liberal Democrats

Politics

Candidates hoping to be your PCC...

THE final list of candidates hoping to be the next Police and Crime Commissioner in Dorset and in Avon & Somerset has been confirmed.

Residents will head to the polls on Thursday, May 2, to elect the roles, which oversee policing in the two force areas.

To vote, residents must be on the electoral register and have voter ID.

What the Avon & Somerset PCC candidates say:

Benet Allen –Liberal Democrats

“I was born in Taunton, and returned to the area in 2014 after a career in TV News to live with Sally and our lovely Democratic Dogs.

“Formerly deputy leader of Somerset West and Taunton Council, a leading light in the local male voice choir and involved with local charity fundraisers for Musgrove Park Hospital, I am familiar with the place where I live and make it a priority to understand the issues and concerns of people living there.

“The Liberal Democrats understand that there’s more to solving crime than ‘looking tough’. We’re offering a programme based on care across all government agencies to give young people a better start than a life of crime.

“Policing is about priorities, and there are no quick fixes. Promises are too easy to make, and too easy to break.

“It’s going to take a long, dedicated effort to get the best out of our police, and to repair relations with the community. Every crime matters, and we need to focus on ‘broken windows’ –small crimes that damage confidence and trust, but also work on improving prosecution rates for serious and violent crime.

“At the same time, we need to fix the police. The recent documentary series ‘To Catch a

Copper’ and many violent crimes by serving officers that you’ve seen on the news, are signs that all is not well with the police. We need an end to the climate of complacency. It’s time for change.”

Katy Grant –Green Party

“I am a councillor in Bristol, and an Avon and Somerset magistrate. Before that, I worked for 20 years with the UN on child protection and violence against women in conflict and humanitarian settings in the global south.

“As Police and Crime Commissioner, I will focus on: Preventing crime; working with community, schools, youth service providers and families to tackle the structural/social causes of crime, especially knife violence. I want to see trusted, neighbourhood police officers participating in community-wide actions to provide young people with alternatives. The police will play a role at all levels, as community support officers in schools, joining peer group support plans, building resilience. Better police presence in the community in the aftermath of violence, with enhanced services to families of victims.

Improving results on the prosecution of sexual violence, domestic violence and assault; I will make sure we have the systems to deliver (and metrics to demonstrate) greater safety for women and girls in their homes and on our streets. This will include specialist outreach to prevent child exploitation and abuse.

In rural areas, I will strengthen policing of county lines drug operations, and reduce related violence in Somerset towns. Rural police teams need better resourcing to prevent agricultural theft, burglary, vandalism and wildlife crime.

I will ask the police to lead on a collective commitment to a five-pillar Vision Zero strategy to

eliminate traffic fatalities in Avon and Somerset. We will work with councils, schools and others to prioritise road safety.

Improved performance and standards within the force; This will include greater independence for misconduct panels. I will work tirelessly with the Avon and Somerset Police to get closer to and regain the trust of the communities we serve.

Clare Moody –Labour & Cooperative Party

“Labour will restore community policing after 14 years of Tory neglect.

“We will increase the number of neighbourhood police and PCSOs by 13,000 nationally, with guaranteed police patrols in town centres and every community in our area having a named officer they can get in touch with. Many of our streets feel less safe than ever, and over 14 years under this Government the police have grown more distant from the people they serve. The Tories are putting up your council tax again, while cutting PCSO numbers by 80 and police staff by around 200 in Avon & Somerset. They are letting people down across our region in the middle of a cost of living crisis.

“My priorities, if elected with your support on 2 May, are:

Investing in neighbourhood policing: Building safer communities and helping to prevent and solve crime.

Supporting victims of crime: Making sure victims are properly listened to, and get the help they need when they need it.

Prioritising reducing violent crime: The scale of violent crime, including knife crime and violence against women and girls, isn’t inevitable but it needs focus and commitment to fix it.

Preventing crime: Working with agencies across the public sector and civil society to prevent crime and build safer communities.

Restoring trust and confidence

in the police: Enabling the police to take pride in high standards.

At the last election Labour were just 5% behind the Tories. A vote for anyone else just lets the Conservatives back in. My experience means I am best placed to restore the public’s trust in the police and be the voice of our local communities in policing – I will be visible and accountable to you.

“When elected as your PCC in 2021 I promised more police officers, a relentless focus on tackling serious crime and to listen to every community.

“I have brought my 32 years of experience in military service to focus on delivering excellent policing and making Avon and Somerset an even safer place to live.

“I have DELIVERED on those promises and more:

1,500 new police officers have been recruited, delivering an extra 500 officers focused on Neighbourhood Policing and CID investigations.

There has been a 300% increase in the number of rape cases reaching the courts – a major achievement by the new courageous Chief Constable I appointed in 2021.

Avon and Somerset is the top performing constabulary in England for disrupting illegal drug activity thanks to Operation Scorpion.

“New police stations are being opened in Bath and Minehead, as well as major refurbishments to the Yeovil station and the Trinity Road station in Bristol, making the police more accessible to the public.

“But there’s still more to do.

“I have a long term plan to continue making Avon and Somerset safer for all residents. If elected for the next four years I will continue my work on:

Increasing the support our rural

Mark Shelford –Conservative candidate – More Police, Safer Streets

communities need to fight rural crime.

Prioritising educating young people through school programmes on the dangers of knife crime and criminal exploitation to keep our younger generations safe.

Reducing reoffending through perpetrator rehab programmes and helping prisoners gain employment skills for a better chance on release.

“So, on May 2, use your vote for the candidate who has a track record of combatting crime and the experience to keep making Avon and Somerset a safer place for everyone.”

What the candidates in Dorset say:

Howard Legg - Liberal Democrats:

“I have the breadth and depth of experience to be Dorset’s next Police and Crime Commissioner. With a background spanning engineering, finance, education, and public service, I will bring my experience to Dorset Police.

“Every crime matters – every victim matters. Dorset police are stretched too thin. It is time for our police to demonstrate to you that every crime matters. I will fight to ensure every Police Officer and PCSO will be trained to a good standard in investigation, so that every reported crime is taken seriously.

“Prevention is better than crime. Our police record crimes that have been reported or detected, but not those that are prevented. As your Police and Crime commissioner I will prioritise crime prevention in Dorset by ensuring every Police Officer and PCSO is trained to a good standard of crime prevention.

“Stronger community policing. Liberal Democrats believe that community is at the heart of everything we do. As your Police and Crime Commissioner, I will ensure every Police Officer and PCSO is trained to a good standard in public contact.

“As Dorset faces critical

decisions in law enforcement and community well-being, I am the clear choice for Police and Crime Commissioner on Thursday, May 2.”

David SidwickConservative Candidate - More Police, Safer Streets

Who is David Sidwick?

I am a fourth generation Dorset resident who has lived here all his life.

In my senior executive career I’ve demonstrated award-winning leadership with strategic skills handling significant budgets and delivering accountability.

My broad skills have been ideal for the PCC role.

What preparation did he do to become Dorset PCC?

Three years of preparation with other PCCs, a tutorial programme and rigorous assessment to prove myself. I spent those three years asking the people of Dorset what they wanted and these became promises forming a golden thread, with a 7 year Police and Crime Plan through Dorset Police’s operational vision to be tough on crime, put victims first and keep people safe.

Why re-elect David Sidwick as your PCC?

My vision is for Dorset to be the safest county in the UK.

This job is about delivering for you – nothing else. I’m bringing back prevention with robust visible community policing and putting victims and communities first.

The plan is working with Dorset having gone from 10th to 7th safest place in the country. Anti-social behaviour, violent crime (with and without injury), rural crime are all significantly reduced. This is meaningless until everybody feels this everywhere and that challenge is one I will deliver.

This isn’t a job to me – it’s a vocation. I have no desire to be any politician other than Dorset’s PCC. For me it is about nothing more than making the place we all love the safest in the country. This is about Dorset.

The mission is to cut crime and

anti-social behaviour and together we will continue to make our police crime fighters again. Help me do that. Re-elect David Sidwick on May 2.

David StokesLabour & Cooperative Party

“Over the past 12 months my team and I have spoken to thousands of people on the doorstep across Dorset. Time and again crime has been a major concern. Whether it is anti-socialbehaviour, knife crime, domestic violence, rampant shop lifting or violence towards retail staff, Dorset certainly doesn’t feel like a safe place to live anymore.

As your Police and Crime Commissioner, I would work to see more police on the street. More neighbourhood and community policing working alongside specialist units to concentrate on violence against women and girls, drug dealing and serious violent crime.

Shockingly, across the country 90% of crimes now go unsolved. We need to restore confidence in the criminal justice system, to raise standards and get more crimes solved.

We also face increasing threats from cybercrime, fraud and ingenious scams that will affect more and more people. We need to take these new and emerging crimes seriously.

The Police and Crime Commissioner must focus on all the challenges that face the whole community. Co-operation, community and partnership work are things that come naturally to those of us in the Labour and Co-operative Party. They will be key themes that will underline my new administration as Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset.”

David is 63 years old, married with three grown up children. He was born in Bournemouth and has lived here all his life, apart from 13 years working overseas on construction projects. He now works for a local firm as a Senior Quantity Surveyor and is active in his local Church. He is a member of Unite the Union.

Marianne Storey - Independent

“I am an independent candidate because I believe the Police and Crime Commissioner should be a democratically elected advocate for local people, not governed by a political party. Only by being independent can the PCC hold the police to account.

My priorities have grown from conversations I have had with the public, police representatives and organisations who work with victims of crime. People have said they want a police force they can trust; a force that responds, listens, and can be seen to be tackling crime.

On behalf of the people of Dorset, I will lead real change tackling the root causes of crime, through honest dialogue and transparent actions.

I will champion a police force that is visible – enabling us to reclaim our town centres, protect our rural areas and defend our coastal communities, whilst also galvanising the public sector to bolster prevention.

1. I will ensure you have visible Police Officers preventing crime. I want you to hear reassurance coming from the teams tackling violent and serious crime. You have the right to be taken seriously when you have concerns and complaints. I will ensure this happens by creating a culture of visibility from the top, and a police force you can trust.

2. The safety of women and girls must be improved. By prioritising specialist teams who create safety and justice for vulnerable people, and interventions proven to work, perpetrators of crimes, like domestic abuse, can be stopped in their tracks.

3. Prevention of crime is rooted in supporting our younger people; – as perpetrators, or as victims. My initiatives will support disadvantaged young people to prevent them being involved in crime. In turn, communities will have more of a say about policing in our neighbourhoods.

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Lots of glorious garden goodies

SUMMER is on its way and people are turning their attention to their gardens.

Acreman St Auctioneers & Valuers Sherborne is holding a Garden & Architectural Auction on Thursday, May 30, at 10am.

Included is a beautifully weathered Heals retailed teak bench, an antique pair of large cast iron urns, antique carved stone troughs, antique staddle stones, antique lead garden features, garden tables and chairs, pots and so on.

A General Antiques & Collectors Auction on Thursday, May 30, at noon will include an interesting collection of blue and white Oriental Chinese pots bought 30 years ago from mainland China.

Acreman’s Jewellery, Silver & Watches Auction is on Friday, May 31, 10am.

The catalogue and bidding are available through Easyliveauction.com and Thesaleroom.com, and Auctionet.com for the timed auctions.

Upcoming specialist auctions are: Garden & Architectural, Thursday, May 30; Stamps & Coins later in the year.

Acreman is accepting consignments for its upcoming sales and is happy to advise prospective sellers on an anything being considered for auction.

Phone Gill Norman on 07908 333577 or 01935 508764, email photos to auction@ acremanstreetantiques.co.uk or take items into Acreman Auctioneers & Valuers, 121, Acreman Street, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3PH Monday to Saturday 9am-4pm.

Time is money

A COLLECTION of 18th and 19th century pocket watches is included in the auction of watches, jewellery and silver at Charterhouse in Sherborne on Thursday and Friday, May 2-3.

“For centuries pocket watches dominated the market until the wristwatch was developed in the early 20th century, but they remain popular today among collectors,” said Richard Bromell, from Charterhouse.

The watches have been passed down through generations of family members. Made from silver, gold and tortoiseshell they are each estimated from £100 to £4,000.

Viewing for this two-day auction is at The Long Street Salerooms from Monday, April 29, with all lots and live

internet bidding on www. charterhouse-auction.com. Charterhouse is now accepting further entries for its busy programme of specialist auctions including coins, medals, stamps, toys, classic cars and classic motorcycles throughout May and June.

John Snape and the Charterhouse team can be contacted for specialist advice and valuations at The Long Street Salerooms, Sherborne, on 01935 812277 or via js@ charterhouse-auction.com.

An early 18th century silver pair cased pocket watches

Asian Art is riding high

DUKE’S is inviting consignments for its upcoming Asian Art auction on Thursday, May 23.

Last year’s sales illuminated the significance of Asian art in the auction world, with triumphant results and international attention.

The May auction holds great expectations but promises to inherit the great prosperity suited to such a lineage of highly successful Asian Art auctions.

gravity, while remaining anchored in Asian cultural pride.

The previous sales saw numerous items exceed even their highest of estimates, including a Chinese blue and white Qianlong-marked bowl which sold for £18,750 and a Chinese coral-ground bowl (pictured) for a colossal £212,500, inclusive of buyer’s premium.

With artefacts of such eternal beauty, it is of no surprise Asian Art continues to hold such a dedicated audience in the auction world.

Not simply figures of spectacle, nor rusted relics of sentimental value, Asian art blends splendour and historical

With Asian Art’s unpredictable and wondrous nature, surprise hides behind every corner and even the most unassuming items can conjure vast fortunes.

Get in touch to organise a free and confidential valuation with one of Duke’s specialists either through enquiries@ dukes-auctions.com or 01305 265080.

Rare Lowry makes £2,600

CLARKES Auction at Semley had some incredible results at its recent sale.

A rare LS Lowry limited edition lithograph titled The Football Match 1973 saw fierce bidding and sold to a collector for £2,600.

Laurence Stephen Lowry was an English artist whose drawings and paintings mainly depict Pendlebury, Greater Manchester, as well as Salford and its vicinity.

A rare find, a 19th century pollard oak and ebony inlaid library book stand, designed by George Bullock, consigned locally, fetched £2,000.

George Bullock (c.17771818) was a sculptor and furniture maker who worked in Liverpool and London.

The ethnographical section saw a carved hard wood totem figure, signed and dated 1970, by Ben Osawe, sell for £1,400 to a buyer in London.

Ben Osawe was a central artist of Nigeria’s postindependence generation, and is best known for his modernist sculptures.

Other lots that proved popular this month were a stunning 19th century diamond set and blue enamel pendant that dazzled bidders and sold for £1,400; a 15ct gold bracelet, set with three diamonds and three sapphires, made £900; a large Chinese famille rose fish bowl which made £1,400; and a similar 19th century Chinese famille verte fish bowl made £1,300.

Clarke’s Auctions

Friday 10th and Saturday 11th May 2024

Viewing Wednesday 8th, ursday 9th and Friday 10th May from 9am to 5pm

A 19th century diamond set and blue enamel pendant, on a fine white metal chain, 23mm diameter,6g.

Clarkes Auctions o er; free home visits and verbal valuations. Colour catalogue available at the-saleroom.com and easyliveauction.com

How to make a garden pond come to life

by Sally Gregson

ONE of the most interesting areas to plant in a new garden is a newly-made garden pond. It’s a question of working out exactly what areas will be available to plant, preferably before filling the pond with water. And it’s a lovely question to tackle.

It helps initially to divide the area in and around the new pond into different zones – a marginal area around the edge of the pond, which gets damp in wet weather; at a specific depth in the water on a shelf placed; and in deeper water, again at a specific depth, for true water plants.

The area around the pond – the margins – can pose problems in a particularly dry year, so it helps to ensure an

area of surrounding soil is kept below or just near the surface level of the pond. Spring is a good time to improve the soil in these areas, with plenty of garden compost dug in before planting a selection of bogmarginals.

There are plenty to choose from. There are the water-loving irises such as I. pseudacorus with tall butter-yellow flowers, I. pseudacorus var. bastardii with pale lemon and white flowers, also tall and elegant. They would need to be kept in check to prevent them taking over the whole area.

Within the water, at a specific depth, there are lots of beauties to choose from, including the elegant Arum Lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica. Many of the more colourfully flowered

Looking after your pond

by Sally Gregson

ON a warm, dry day this month, if ever we get a warm spring day, that is, take the opportunity to clean out the pond. Lift the baskets, plants and all, out of the water, and tidy the plants up, reducing over-enthusiastic players by cutting through the rhizomes and dividing the crowns. Ponds can easily become entirely subsumed beneath shiny, seething green leaves.

Now is a good time to replace any old plants that have outstayed their welcome, and to plant up new spaces. Choose a basket that is the right size for the new plant and use claybased loam compost formulated for aquatic plants.

Be aware of the depth of the

forms are, however, not quite hardy, but Z. aethiopica ‘Crowborough’ is a toughie that produces the typical arum lilies that look so good in a bouquet.

At a greater depth, of course, there are water-lilies, Nymphaea. These too are particular about the depth of water they occupy. Consult a specialist grower to find which lilies will be happy in your

pond. They can also spread more than desired. So, check exactly which forms suit the pond size, and be prepared to ‘tidy’ and ‘prune’ them all after a year or two, once they are established.

And your pond will capture the light and bring it down into the garden. It’s what Claude Monet spent half his life trying to paint. Successfully.

water. The shallower it is, the more quickly it warms up. It will evaporate fast, too. The deeper it is, the colder it will stay for longer and the flowers will be later, perhaps, and fewer. Of course, it’s also important to put in oxygenating plants such as Water violets – Hottonia palustris – Water Crowfoot – Ranunculus aquatilis – and pondweed, but often resident fish will eat these, so it’s as well to renew the stock from time to time. And pop in a few oxygenating pond snails to help with the air balance in the water.

If the balance of oxygen to nitrogen is upset, the water can become cloudy and green. This often happens when the pond is cleaned and fresh tap-water is

Wait for a warm, dry day to clean out the pond

introduced. Try the trick of putting in a tightly tied-up ‘bale’ of hay. This takes a few weeks to work, but eventually the water will become clear again.

When the water is sufficiently clear, fish can be introduced to the water. Within hours of them going into the pond, you can guarantee a visit from the local heron. They could consume the entire stock

in a matter of minutes if left undisturbed. In order to avoid their predations, run a fishing line around the edge of the pond to act as an invisible trip-wire. It does work, and very soon you will pay host to a living, breathing oasis of water full of dragonflies, damsel-flies, and water-boatmen. And the fish will thank you by making more of themselves.

A newly-made pond is an interesting area to plant

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Victoria Medal for horticulturalist

ONE of the country’s leading authorities on ornamental grasses, Neil Lucas, of Knoll Gardens, near Wimborne, has been presented with a special award.

He has been given the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Victoria Medal of Honour in recognition of his services to horticulture.

This year marks his 30th anniversary at Knoll Gardens, where his grasses, grown in the on-site nursery, can be seen planted in drifts in the gardens for everyone to enjoy.

The Victoria Medal of Honour was established in 1897 in memory of Queen Victoria’s 63-year reign – only 63 people can hold it at any one time.

The medal is not awarded every year, making it especially prestigious to be selected.

Keith Weed CBE, president of the RHS, said: “There is no

higher horticultural award than the Victoria Medal of Honour.

“Those who have received this medal are the very best of the best.

“We at the Royal Horticultural Society are delighted that Neil Lucas VMH has been recognised for all that he has done over so many years.”

Knoll Gardens is an RHS partner garden and is renowned for its beautiful naturalistic plantings of ornamental grasses and perennials, and its wildlifefriendly approach to sustainable garden management.

Neil said: “I am delighted to be awarded the Victoria Medal

of Honour by the RHS. “Reflecting on previous and current recipients, who through history have inspired generations of gardeners, it is especially rewarding to have had my contribution to horticulture

recognised through this longstanding tradition.”

Neil has this year successfully launched his latest book, Grasses for Gardens and Landscapes, and hosted a party of local dignitaries from across Dorset.

Neil Lucas, of Knoll Gardens, near Wimborne, and receiving the RHS’s Victoria Medal of Honour (left)

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Plants for pollinators

IF you don’t mind sharing your garden with bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects, then you will be doing the world of good for the environment.

Boosting food sources for such insects can be achieved by supplementing the permanent shrubs and herbaceous plants in your garden with some annual summer bedding.

It used to be that purists would say that this ought to be native plants but nowadays if the flowers chosen are simple in their structure and a good source of food then a cosmopolitan mix is just fine. By simple, I mean single flowers rather than double or showy flowers. The reason for this is that if the flowers are too complicated it’s just too tricky for the insects to get to the food source and so the pollen.

cascading down the side of the container in white or pink shades throughout the summer. Nicotiana are very stylish and with tubular flowers are loved by insects. A range of heights are available right up to the Nicotiana sylvestris varieties up to four to five feet in the right spot.

Shrubby plants too can be a good food source and the perennial wallflowers, such as Erysimum Bowles Mauve and the wonderfully named Walberton’s Fragrant Sunshine are great value for the number of flowers as well as being a great food source.

In the herbaceous garden the Verbena bonariensis is a superb choice. It has tall stems of pink flowers which seem to float three or four feet above the ground on slender stems.

The advantage to you is that your garden will be enhanced in terms of colour as well as being a wildlife haven.

A good example are Cosmos which are fabulous at attracting insects and come in a wide range of colours on large daisy like flowers. They are tall and have attractive ferny foliage giving a powerful display.

On a smaller scale bedding Alyssum are low-growing edging plants that flower early with white or pink flowers with a powerful scent. Bacopa are fabulous for hanging baskets and pots

Being away from the foliage of other plants the flowers make an ideal landing spot for butterflies.

Also pink flowered is Sedum Autumn Joy with “blue” foliage now with flowers forming later in the summer over which insects go mad.

If blue is your colour then there are a number of herbaceous Salvias that wildlife love including Salvia Caradonna which will grow upright to two feet, with each growing shoot sporting a violet spike of flower.

The stems are also an interesting almost black colour for extra interest.

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521377 or mail malcgin@hotmail.com

Kingsmere Surfacing are your Local Driveway Specialist Installation Company

Kingsmere Surfacing are your Local Driveway Specialist Installation Company

Kingsmere Surfacing are your Local Driveway Specialist Installation Company

Kingsmere Surfacing are your Local Driveway Specialist Installation Company

Kingsmere Surfacing are your Local Driveway Specialist Installation Company

Kingsmere Surfacing are a specialist driveway company working within Blackmore Vale Dorset, Wiltshire & Somerset. We can transform the look of your home, by laying a new surface to your driveway, giving a beautiful, eye catching and individual look.

Kingsmere Surfacing are a specialist driveway company working within Dorset, Wiltshire & Somerset. We can transform the look of your home, by laying a new surface to your driveway, giving a beautiful, eye catching and individual look.

Kingsmere Surfacing are a specialist driveway company working within Dorset, Wiltshire & Somerset. We can transform the look of your home, by laying a new surface to your driveway, giving a beautiful, eye catching and individual look.

Kingsmere Surfacing are a specialist driveway company working within Dorset, Wiltshire & Somerset. We can transform the look of your home, by laying a new surface to your driveway, giving a beautiful, eye catching and individual look.

Kingsmere Surfacing are a specialist driveway company working within Dorset, Wiltshire & Somerset. We can transform the look of your home, laying a new surface to your driveway, giving a beautiful, eye catching and individual look.

Kingsmere Surfacing are a specialist driveway company working within Dorset, Wiltshire & Somerset. We can transform the look of your home, by laying a new surface to your driveway, giving a beautiful, eye catching and individual look.

We offer a most attractive and versatile choice of surfaces for both classic contemporary driveways.

We offer a most attractive and versatile choice of surfaces for both classic and contemporary driveways.

We offer a most attractive and versatile choice of surfaces for both classic contemporary driveways.

Services offered include:

Services offered include:

We offer a most attractive and versatile choice of surfaces for both classic and contemporary driveways and specialise in fully SUDS permeable drainage surfaces. Decorative Resin Bound & Bonded Aggregate

We offer a most attractive and versatile choice of surfaces for both classic and contemporary driveways.

Services offered include:

Services offered include:

Services offered include:

• Decorative Resin Bound & Bonded Aggregate

• Decorative Resin Bound & Bonded Aggregate

We offer a most attractive and versatile choice of surfaces for both classic and contemporary driveways.

• Decorative Resin Bound & Bonded Aggregate

• Decorative Resin Bound & Bonded Aggregate

• Decorative Resin Bound & Bonded Aggregate

• Block Paving

• Block Paving

• Block Paving

• Block Paving

• Block Paving

• Natural Stone Patios & Paths

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DEADLINES

Display ads must be booked by Wednesday the week prior to publication, with final copy submitted by the Friday.

Classified ads may be accepted after this, HOWEVER these will be subject to space.

L R MASONRY GENERAL BUILDER, Stone work, Brick work 07971-982565 llewie30roberts@gmail.com

NEIL PIERCY PLASTERING

All types of plastering, floor screeding & rendering. Wincanton & 20 mile radius.

HELPFUL ADVICE & FREE QUOTATIONS

CALL NEIL: 07974 185923 or 07811 211586. HANDYMAN, reliable and experienced Call Chris 07413 678076

KBB KITCHEN FITTER, all aspects of kitchen fitting undertaken. 30 years experience, free estimates given. Tel: 01963 364550 or 0789 0841827

blackmorevale.net

COLIN LEA

COUNTRY CARPENTRY

Doors, repairs, general maintenance etc Call Nick on 07887 358570

Book Online

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Painting & Decorating

Local Quality Painter & Decorator.

35 Years Experience

FREE Estimates. No VAT

Call Richard on Tel: 01258 880670

Mob: 07825512627

‘Your home in safe and capable hands’

LJB CARPENTRY & BUILDING SERVICES. Extensions, loft conversion, garden make-over, office removals, rubbish clearance. Mere VAT registered. 07543 814320. ljbcar@mail.com DECORATION,

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No VAT - call 01747 590117 07708 467601

GARETH TANNER

G.O.T. DECORATING

City and Guilds qualified Interior/exterior Decorating Free Quotes no VAT Tel 07736644452 go.tanner93@gmail.com

GENERAL MAINTENANCE SERVICES, Painting & Decorating, Carpentry, Interior/Exterior. For free quote call Tim 07793 837073

M & M PAINTING & DECORATING. 30years experience. Fully insured, clean & tidy. References available. FREE no obligation quote. Tel: 07534952486 / 01305-849380

LES BENHAM

Painting Services, Property Maintenance, Domestic/ Commercial Inside or Out, Fully Insured/Free Quotes 01258 458849/ 07788 907343

lesbenham@yahoo.co.uk /checkatrade

01747 416059 www.properdomestics.com

Relentless rain huge challenge for farmers

by Barbara Cossins

2023 was the wettest year on record, going back all the way to 1836. Months of relentless rain have been extremely challenging – and a complete washout – for many farmers in England.

Food prices are soaring globally as farmers around the world struggle with their own problems with the everchanging climate and growing populations. It is a tough time to be a farmer.

We only produce 50% of our food in England and that is nowhere near enough in my opinion. We should not be relying on lots of imported foods in the unstable world we are living in. We have already

seen the effects of Russia invading Ukraine and what it has meant for our food supplies.

Sadly, a lot of people still do not understand and appreciate the importance of all this.

Education is the key – we have to get the message out that it is important for people to buy, eat, support and promote British food for UK food and farming businesses to stand a chance of survival. Our farmers are working hard to fight their corner, especially with ridiculous government policies.

Here is just one example. The Government has decided to pay farmers to grow flowers instead of producing food. This is bonkers and the Government

is now backtracking and putting a cap on the amount of land that can be taken out of food production.

We now have a new minister who apparently represents common sense. Maybe she has already made a difference? Threats to our food security are a huge concern and a problem that should be addressed as a top priority right now. That’s using common sense.

The good news is we have been able to get our milking cows out to grass at long last, nearly a month later than usual because of all the wet weather. So let the growing season begin and let us hope warmer weather is on its way.

n Barbara Cossins is creator of Love Local Trust Local and proprietor of The Langton Arms and Rawston Farm Butchery & Shop.

TRADITIONAL COUNTRY PUB SERVING FINE FOOD AND DRINKS

Peter and Karlene are delighted to invite you to the Plough Inn at Manston and look forward to seeing you soon.

We are delighted that our renovation and expansion project has been well received by customers as have our food and beverage offerings. After a very long search, we now have a fully staffed kitchen and offer our full lunch and dinner menu every day from Tuesday lunch until Sunday lunch. We are closed after lunch on Sunday and all day Monday. We offer a wide range of beers, cider, wines and spirits as well as a range of non-alcoholic options.

A Pub With Warmth And Atmosphere

The bar and snug have been refreshed but retain all the old features that made this cosy area so attractive. And, by popular demand, we have a new wood burning stove to provide atmosphere and warmth whenever needed! We have a completely new kitchen, beer cellar and new male, female and disabled washrooms. The old conservatory is now an insulated garden room and we have a new dining area which can accommodate a further twenty guests.

Hearty Food And Distinctive Drinks

By experimenting with our menu and listening to our customers we have developed a popular menu ranging from light snacks to exciting specials and everything in-between. Please look at our menu and see if you can spot your favourite country pub meal. For Sunday lunch, in addition to our full menu, we offer a traditional roast with all the trimmings. Our range of drinks has evolved in response to customer demand and caters for all tastes. But most importantly we have built a wonderful team to look after you all and ensure a great experience at the Plough.

We hope to see you soon, Cheers, Peter & Karlene

Last year was the wettest since records began in 1836

Tor cheese is the best in England

A SOMERSET goats cheese paying subtle homage to the Glastonbury Festival has been crowned the best in England.

Tor, produced by Shepton Mallet-based White Lake Cheese, was crowned Best English Cheese at the 2024 British Cheese Awards.

The awards, held at the Royal Bath & West Showground, featured more than 600 cheeses.

White Lake Cheese won Best English Cheese for Tor, a fresh lactic goat’s cheese, made from unpasteurised milk and vegetarian rennet.

Formed in a pyramid shape – echoing the iconic Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival hosted in nearby Pilton – it is billed as having “a unique geotrichum rind and is lightly coated with ash to add a

very subtle peppery undertone along with a combination of lemony flavours and a typical goat’s cheese ‘tang’”. In total, White Lake won four Gold medals, three Silver medals and eight Bronze medals.

Roger Longman, owner of White Lake Cheese, said: “We are delighted to win yet more awards for our cheeses.

“Consistently winning prizes helps customers know that they have made the right choice and introduces new cheeses to the cheese world.”

Gary Yeomans, chair of the Milking Goat Association, praised members who had picked up gongs.

“These awards are superb news for these members of the British Goat Association,” he said.

“For Tor, from White Lake

Tor goats cheese, produced by Shepton Mallet-based White Lake Cheese, won Best English Cheese at the 2024 British Cheese Awards

Cheese, to win Best English Cheese out of over 600 cheeses judged is a superb achievement. It just shows the exceptional quality of goats milk products made here in the United Kingdom, by dedicated and talented producers.”

The British Cheese Awards were started by cheese expert Juliet Harbutt in 1994 to celebrate the renaissance in British cheese making and to raise awareness of the diversity

and quality of British artisan cheese.

This year saw 50 goats cheeses entered into the awards, compared to 38 in 2022, when the awards were last held.

Cheeses are scored on presentation, texture, aroma, flavour and balance. Depending on the scores that each cheese received, Gold, Silver and Bronze medals are then awarded.

CHAMPAGINE AFTERNOON TEA

Enjoying

a refreshing cha mpa gine afternoon tea in the ra re ‘Devon Belle ’ Pullman observation ca r as you stea m through the spectacula r Purbeck countryside .

Sport

Rockies in nine-goal thriller

Shaftesbury 4

Andover New Street 5 by Avril Lancaster

A CRAZY game at Cockrams saw Andover New Street convert an injury time penalty to win and end Shaftesbury’s league season before the play-offs.

The Rockies made some changes and Brett Pitman's two goals moved him onto 57 in the league.

But, credit to the Swifts, who hit back from 4-3 down when

former Rockies player Claudio Herbert headed in Lewis Williams’ cross to level the score at 4-4.

Shaftesbury took an early lead when Dan Bartlett’s cross was headed past Sean O'Brien by Sam Davidson but New Street got on top and Cameron Thatcher slotted an equaliser just before the break.

The second half saw Williams get clear to net with a deflected shot for Andover before Pitman levelled with a header from Ryan King's cross, then substitute Stuart Green turned the defence to slot home

for the Rockies.

The visitors responded almost immediately when Jake Carswell hit a 25-yarder past Shane Murphy to level again at 3-3.

Cameron Beard found Pitman to put Shaftesbury ahead, with Herbert's header squaring the game at 4-4, before Sean Lock's penalty won the day for Andover.

King, George Bennett and Tyson Pollard all got some game time, with King impressing.

It was Andover New Street’s day, however.

Club reaches out to beginners

GILLINGHAM Bowling Club are holding two open days, with younger people encouraged to sign up.

Members range in age from 10 to 92, making up both men’s and women’s teams.

The open days, on Saturday, May 4, and Saturday, May 11, from 10am-4pm, offer free coaching tailored to beginners.

Last year, the club went on a tour to south Wales, playing against teams from Neath and Bridgend.

Alongside the bowling,

members can enjoy bingo, craft mornings, a presentation dinner and more events throughout the season.

Club captain, Norman Hayward, said: “Often people who aren’t naturally sporty find they can do bowls.

“All you need is flat shoes and a willing attitude – we’ll do the rest.”

Gillingham Bowling Club is in School Lane (SP8 4QR).

Mayor gets the season rolling

MAYOR of Blandford, Councillor Hugo Mieville, bowled the first wood when Blandford Bowling Club started their new season on Saturday.

The mayor was introduced to more than 60 members by club president, Norman Arnold, and the mayor wished club members a happy and successful season.

The players went on to bowl 15 ends and were pleased to be back on a perfect green following a winter of dedicated maintenance by the voluntary green team led by David Burge. Refreshments followed in the clubhouse.

Members are looking forward to a busy and enjoyable season of league matches, friendlies and competitions.

Anyone interested in trying bowling should visit www. blandfordbowlingclub.com for details.

Open days are planned for Saturday, May 11, from 10am-4pm, and Sunday, May 26, from 1-4pm.

WINCANTON Golf Club results:

Seniors foursomes – April 9: 1 Kevin Francis/Phil Francis 28; 2 Chris Dibben/Steven Ireland 24; 3 Kevin George/Richard Strong 22; 4 Kees Schouten/ Simon Lenton 21; 5 Rick Graham/Philip Dewar 13. Monthly stableford – April 13: 1 Chris Chapman 33 ocb; 2 Rick Graham 33; 3 Stephen Ashfield 32 ocb; 4 Nigel Orr 32. Seniors back 9 hole medal –April 19: 1 Philip Dewar nett 32; 2 Phil Francis 33; 3 Ray Phillips 36.

Mens stableford – April 20: 1 Nigel Orr 36; 2 Jim Stephen 34 ocb; 3 Chris Chapman 34. Pairs shield 2024 – April 20: Winners – Nigel Orr/David Cartwright – 64 points.

New players try their hand

MERE Croquet & Boules Club got the 2024 season under way with an open afternoon.

The club are looking for new members and potential players, novice and experienced, and current members, enjoyed a pleasant afternoon.

Members offered tuition to visitors not familiar with the game and tea and nibbles were served.

PHOTO: George Jeans

Blandford mayor Hugo Mieville bowls the first wood of the season

Zebras earn their stripes in first international friendly

SHERBORNE Town Ladies

Under 15s beat French side Val d’Europe FC in an international friendly at Chapel Gate in Christchurch.

Sherborne, known as the Zebras, beat their opponents, from Paris, 9-4 and secured an invitation for a re-match in France next May.

The Zebras are currently enjoying their first season in the Junior Premier League (JPL).

The team, sponsored by Battens Solicitors and Morton New Estate Agents, play Dorchester in the final of the County Cup at the County Ground, Poole, on Saturday,

May 11.

Manager Justin Walbrin said: “The match against Val d’Europe comes at the end of a great first season for the team in the JPL and was a really good-spirited game with both teams well supported from the sidelines.

“The girls are now understandably excited by the prospect of travelling to France next season for the re-match.” Sherborne Youth would welcome additional sponsors – for more details contact philip stephens116@btinternet. com

Sun shines on Margarita Trophy

FOOTBALL GOLF

PLAYERS enjoyed dry weather and sunshine when Wheathill Golf Club held their ladies competition, the Margarita Trophy.

Some 22 Ladies played the six x four ball better ball, six x greensomes and six x foursomes format which kept them on their toes.

It was a close finish with Jen Warmington and Nicky Wisniewski third with 41 points, Anne Scott – lady captain – and Marion Hodgson second, on countback, also with 41 points, and Becky Thompson and Sue Moon triumphing with 44 points.

The competition was sponsored and entered by one of the founder lady members and past captain, Sue Rees.

by Rebecca Thompson

STORM Kathleen tried its best to scupper Wheathill Golf Club’s annual Captains v Vice-Captains competition but stalwarts turned out in force to support the teams with the

vice-captains triumphing. Prizes went to the highest scoring two pairs in each team. Representing the Captain’s team in first place were Josh Owen and Jim Palmer with second place going to Dave Kerswell and Dee Powell.

Representing the ViceCaptain’s team were in first place Gerry Morgan and Sue Moon with second place going to Leslie Wheatley and John Houston.

Sean Woodward, captain, is

Jack’s the winner by an ounce

JACK Copp returned to winning ways in the third round of the 2024 Dorchester & District Angling Society Junior Points Championship, held on the Canal Lake at Whitemoor, near Wimborne.

It was close though as Jack sneaked in by just a single ounce weighing in 31lb 5oz to take the full 25 points.

Austin Scott-Kennedy had to settle for 2nd with 31lb 4oz.

Jack Cryer and former champ, Oliver Smith, tied for 3rd place both weighing in 28lbs 8ozs.

After three rounds, the championship leader is Oliver Smith on 53 points.

Jack Cryer moves into second on 50 points ahead of Alec Campbell and Austin Scott-Kennedy who both have 49 points.

The next event is a mixed coaching and match day at Todber Manor tomorrow (Saturday, April 27).

For more information go to ddasjuniors.co.uk or email juniors.sec@d-das.com

For DDAS membership information go to d-das.com, for fishery information visit whitemoorlakes.com.

Jack Copp with his winning weight of 31lbs 5ozs

pictured presenting the victorious team, ViceCaptains Daz Martin and Fiona Cruse, with their trophy.

Sherborne Town Ladies Under 15s played Val d’Europe FC from Paris

Becky Thompson, Anne Scott (lady captain) and Sue Moon

Wild garlic good for the heart

by Fiona Chapman

IT is that time of year again –wild garlic! We all seem to get addicted to the stuff as soon as it appears. It is odd, because I have frozen it before and then brought it out in the middle of November to eat and not enjoyed it nearly so much. My conclusion is that it must be something that our bodies really crave after winter.

As I have said before, one of the best ways to eat wild garlic is as a pesto with parmesan cheese, a bit of olive oil, fresh lime juice, pine nuts and a good handful of clean wild garlic leaves and flowers, a pinch of salt and good grinding of black pepper, all whizzed up in a blender.

My daughter’s boyfriend eats it by the tub load and in the spring, it seems to go with

just about anything!

Like its cousin, it is extremely good for the heart, it helps the body deal with fats, it reduces blood pressure, will thin the blood and improves its circulation. It also helps with digestion – as long as you are not too greedy about it, then it definitely does not – by increasing the flow of bile, and it is a mild diuretic so helps the body to get rid of toxins.

We not only have it as a pesto – it is great with pasta with the flowers thrown on top after cooking, or in soups and stews. The leaves and flowers can also be added raw to salads.

People say that wild garlic breath is not as strong as after eating commercially produced garlic, but I disagree with this – I think you can smell it, or at

least I am very conscious that I probably reek of garlic and find myself holding my breath if people get too close!

Last autumn, I wrote about making a blackberry balsamic vinegar, which is now wonderfully mature. It was a tiny bit watery, so I boiled it down to make the most delicious blackberry tasting syrupy vinegar – where am I going with this?

The most delicious, nutritious and healthy lunch or supper is a slice of sourdough or ryebread slathered with wild garlic pesto baked in the oven with soft goats’ cheese. When it is all melted and smelling irresistible, take it out and drizzle over the blackberry balsamic vinegar and top with some of the blackberries that have been steeped for the last few months.

It makes my mouth water just thinking about it! n Fiona Chapman is a naturopathic herbalist; email Pellyfiona@gmail.com.

A pesto made with parmesan cheese, olive oil, fresh lime juice, pine nuts and a good handful of clean wild garlic leaves and flowers, plus salt and black pepper, is a treat

Health & Wellbeing

Top tips to help you sleep better

SLEEP is essential for your physical and emotional wellbeing. While it’s normal for sleep to fluctuate, if you’ve been having difficulty sleeping for three months or more, it might be time to seek help, especially if it’s affecting your daily life.

An occupational therapist can help you work through challenges you’re facing to help you get to sleep and stay asleep.

Here is some expert advice from members of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists.

n Think about what you do each day and how you feel WHAT you do and how you feel throughout the day impacts your sleep. Have you been outside? Getting out in the daylight helps regulate your circadian rhythm and helps your brain make melatonin, which helps you sleep better at night.

Have you been active? If you haven’t moved enough, or if you feel overloaded by sounds, lights or touch during the day, your body will be in a state of stress, making it much harder to get to sleep.

n Think about what else is going on in your life

IT may be helpful to look at the bigger picture of what brings stress or anxiety into your day and start from there. Feeling stressed throughout the day due to other aspects of your life can trigger your body’s ‘fight or flight mode’. This is when your body is feeling overwhelmed, so releases adrenaline to manage the stress. It can have a

negative impact on long-term wellbeing and sleep.

n Review recent changes and disruptions

IF you're having difficulty sleeping when you used to sleep well, think about recent changes in your routine, stressful events, or new medical or environmental changes. Then ask yourself if you can do anything about it. For instance, if you’re taking new medication with sleep disturbance as a side-effect, speak to your GP to see if there is an alternative.

n Have a consistent routine

THE key is to go to bed when you’re tired and get up around the same time each morning. Your body clock can then fall into its own rhythm. Think about what you eat and drink in the evening and avoid caffeine and heavy meals close to bedtime. Alcohol and drugs may help you feel more tired in the short term, but they affect the quality of your sleep.

n Understand your circadian rhythm

YOUR circadian rhythm operates over a 24-hour cycle and guides when you feel awake and when you feel sleepy. It’s normal to have dips in your levels of alertness throughout the day, and that’s related to the circadian rhythm. Learn to recognise what tiredness feels like for you, and – if you can – rest or get some fresh air when you become aware of it during the day. It might help you get to sleep quicker at night too.

n Create a wind-down routine

A WIND-DOWN routine can help slow your body and mind down. Parents often do this for children, but it works for adults, too. This could include having a warm bath, brushing your teeth, getting into your pyjamas or listening to music. It’ll help get your mind and body ready for bed. Consider having a morning routine too, which will help your body regulate its circadian rhythm.

n Limit the use of devices before bed

IF you use your devices in the evening, think about switching them off half an hour before you go to bed and doing something different like reading or listening to an audio book. Research has shown that reading a book helps create more calming hormones than reading on a screen. If it’s not possible to put down the device, try changing the settings on your device to ‘dark mode’.

n Focus on your breathing

CONCENTRATE on slowing your breathing down. This will help activate the network of nerves that relax your body after periods of stress and danger – known as your parasympathetic nervous system. Taking slow, deep breaths focuses the mind on the here and now. You could try different breathing techniques, such as box breathing or listening to guided sleep meditation, sleep stories or different sounds, such as white

noise.

n Distract yourself

IF your brain is active, try a distraction technique like going through the alphabet and naming girls’ names beginning with A, B, C, and so on. Or use the ‘the’ technique – say ‘the’ to yourself repeatedly for a few minutes until you drift off. Better still, list all the things you’re thankful for.

Concentrating on something in this way can help quieten other thoughts and help you become calm enough to sleep.

n Write down your worries HAVE a notebook and pen by your bed and jot down any thoughts that pop into your head before you go to sleep or during the night. Try to finish with something you’re grateful for. The list will be there in the morning, so you don’t have to worry about it while you’re trying to get to sleep.

n Don’t force it

IF you struggle to get to sleep, it’s okay to get up – instead of lying there worrying about not sleeping. Have a hot drink, read, do something you find boring, or watch some television – we always hear ‘no screens’, but if a rerun of Friends helps you to relax, it’s fine. Sometimes, 20 minutes out of bed doing something else, and not worrying about sleeping, is the best way to reset and get good quality rest.

n For more information or to find a registered occupational therapist, visit rcot.co.uk/ sleep.

Young drivers: Handy hints to help cut insurance costs

AFTER passing the driving test, many young drivers find the brakes slammed on their joy. Car insurance for young drivers can be very expensive.

Here are some tips on how to lower your car insurance.

n Find a low insurance group AVOID purchasing a vehicle in the highest groups – 50 is the highest rating in the UK.

Cars in group 1 generally have the cheapest insurance premiums.

the same price may not offer the same level of benefits.

So remember to check that a policy covers everything you need.

n Car security

THINKING about the security of your car could help reduce your premium.

n Don’t modify your car IT may be tempting to add modifications such as fins and spoilers to the motor – but they’re likely to increase your insurance bill.

n Compare like-with-like insurance

CAR insurance policies with

n Where your car is kept overnight

KEEP your car secure by storing it in a locked garage or park it off the road.

And make sure you remove valuables when you lock the car.

n Security devices

BUYING additional devices such as an alarm system, ignition lock and glass etching will help to attract lower premiums.

Your insurer can advise what devices are suitable.

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SUZUKI JIMNY. 6 months MOT. Spares or repairs. £800.00 Tel: 07956-000580

VOLVO V70 ESTATE, D5, 2002, years MOT, dark blue, manual, 195k miles, excellent service history, VGC, £2,200 ono. Tel: 07709-504518

AUDI A4 ESTATE, 1.9Tdi Quattro, 2002, blue, 6speed gear box, excellent engine, new tyres and brakes, intermittent clutch slip, no MOT, on sorn, spares or repair, £550.00 ono

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STORAGE FOR CARAVANS, boats and cars at Enford Farm near Blandford. 01258 450050 / 07704 813025

PEUGEOT METROPOLIS 400cc, 120 ANS, ABS Tricycle. Year 2019 5500miles, Blue. 10 months MOT 45-50 to gallon, £4950.00 O.N.O. Tel: 07931-296339

Deadline to place your advert is the Friday before publication. CHRIS’S REPAIR

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2014 (64) Ford Transit Connect 1.6TDCi 240 L2 Van. 115bhp, diesel, 6 speed manual gearbox, No VAT to pay, 3 seats, tailgate & twin side doors, Bluetooth, park sensors, cruise control, 82,700 miles, No VAT to pay .......................................£8500

2009 (09) Honda Civic 1.8i V-TEC SE 5dr. 138bhp, petrol, 6 speed manual gearbox, leather, clearance car to be sold with MOT until April 2025, service history, a real bargain with only 61,800 miles .............................................................£2850

2003 (52) Mazda Bongo 2.0 Automatic 4 berth Campervan 4dr. Petrol, automatic, pop up roof, awning, fridge, hob, sink, electric hook up, sleeps 4, selling on behalf of a customer, recent service & MOT, 65,000 miles ........................£14500

2017 (17) Nissan Juke 1.2DIG-T N-Connecta SUV 5dr. 115bhp, petrol, 6 speed manual gearbox, sat nav, parking camera, auto lights & wipers, cruise control, hill start assist, 49,500 miles ................................................................................£8750

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SUNRISE SERVICE & MOT CENTRE

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MOTS , SERVICING AND REPAIRS ON ALL VEHICLES UP TO 3.5 TONNES INCLUDING HORSEBOXES AND MOTORHOMES

MOTS – class 4,5 and 7

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www sunriseserviceandmotcentre com

2015 (15) Renault Megane 1.5DCi Expression + Sport Tourer Estate 5dr. 110bhp, diesel, 6 speed manual gearbox, Free tax, upto 80mpg, cruise control, hill start assist, cambelt replaced at 79k miles, 85,600 miles................................ £5450

2018 (18) Toyota Yaris 1.5VVTi Hybrid Excel Automatic 5dr. 98bhp, selfcharging petrol hybrid automatic, upto 85mpg, sat nav, parking sensors & camera, auto lights & wipers, sign recognition, 20,500 miles...................................... £13450

2019 (19) Vauxhall Crossland X 1.2 Elite Estate MPV 5dr. 82bhp, petrol, 5 speed manual gearbox, high seating, parking sensors, cruise control, 51,900 miles...... £9650

2017 (17) Vauxhall Astra 1.4 SRi 5dr. 100bhp, petrol, 5 speed manual gearbox, cruise control, auto lights & wipers, parking sensors, pre-collision assist, sign recognition, 63,600 miles ................................................................................£7650

2016 (66) Vauxhall Corsa Van 1.3CDTi 3dr. 95bhp, diesel, 5 speed manual gearbox, selling on behalf of a customer, only 41,600 miles ..DUE IN MID MAY £6000 + VAT (£7200)

2006 (56) Volkswagen Golf 1.9TDi Sport 3dr. 103bhp, diesel, 6 speed manual gearbox, clearance car, new MOT with no advisories, cambelt replaced in 2023, extensive service history, 182,000 miles ..............................................DUE IN SOON

manual

Car Parking Space, Gillingham

Close to Town Centre/Station. Tel: 07986-529830

GOLDEN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Robert and Pamela Christie

Congratulations on your Golden Wedding Anniversary 27th April 2024 with lots of love from all the family

DEATHS

MILLS Christopher (Chris)

Peacefully on 19th April 2024 in Yeatmen Hospital, Sherborne. Beloved partner of Fliss. Dearly loved Step Dad, Grandad & Great Grandad, Brother ( & in law),Uncle and Cousin and Friend to many.

Private Cremation - Donations if desired may be made to Dorset Air Ambulance.

MR & MRS HANNAM

Colin Edward & Wendy Ethel (née Portch) Colin died peacefully on 1st April 2024 in Yeovil District Hospital, aged 87 years.

Wendy died peacefully at home on 14th April, aged 86 years, of Bishops Down.

Dearly loved Parents, Grandparents and Great-Grandparents. Their joint funeral service will be at Yeovil Crematorium on Tuesday 30th April, at 12.40pm.

No flowers please. Donations if desired, for either British Heart Foundation or Dementia UK can be made online at peterjacksonfuneralservices.co.uk or cheques made payable to the charity can be sent c/o Peter Jackson Funeral Services, Mons, High St, Henstridge BA8 0RB. Tel 01963 362570

DEATHS

NEWMAN Hazell Rosemary

Passed away peacefully on 29 March 2024 at Yeovil District Hospital, aged 86 years, formerly of Gillingham, Dorset. Monday, 29 April 2024, 1.00 pm Salisbury Crematorium followed by a Service of Thanksgiving at Fovant Chapel at 2.30 pm.

Donations in memory of Hazell are to be shared by Fovant Chapel and Gillingham Baptist Church and may be sent c/o Chris White Funeral Directors, 12 South Street, Wilton, Wilts. Tel: 01722 744691

HILL MARGARET (MARGOT)

Aged 101years. On 2nd April 2024, peacefully at the Cedars Nursing Home, Shaftesbury, resided in Stalbridge in retirement from 1986-2019. Wife of the late Rev John Hill and a much loved mother of Jonathan and Mary, grandmother, great grandmother and friend. Funeral Service at Yeovil Crematorium today Friday 26th April at 11.20 a.m. Family flowers only please, donations in memory of Margot are being invited for Cedars, Castle Hill, C/O Harold F.Miles, Funeral Director, South Cadbury, BA22 7ES. Telephone (01963) 440367

David James Riggs ‘Jim’

Passed away peacefully at Salisbury District Hospital on the 9th of April 2024. Loving brother, brother- in-law and uncle. Funeral at Salisbury Crematorium 1st May at 12pm, all welcome. Donations in memory of Jim to Cancer Research UK c/o Chris White, Wilton. Tel:01722 744691

HOLMAN. JACK COLIN FRANK (COLIN)

Aged 87years of Zeals Rise, Zeals. On 4th March 2024, peacefully at Elliscombe House Nursing Home, Holton. Colin will be sadly missed by his family and friends.

Thanksgiving Service at St Martin’s Church, Zeals on Wednesday 29th May at 2.p.m. Donations in memory of Colin are being invited for Mary’s Meals and Fishing for Schools. C/O Harold F.Miles, Funeral Director, South Cadbury, BA22 7ES. Telephone. (01963) 440367

Announcements

DEATHS

Richard Pearson

Much loved husband, dad, grandad and friend to so many died suddenly on 9th April aged 72.

Funeral will take place at Holy Trinity Church Stourpaine on 30th April at 13:30. Service to be followed by refreshments in the village hall.

Family flowers only please. Any donations if desired to Cancer Research UK.

JACK MASTERS

Aged 92, of Wincanton, passed away peacefully on 13th April 2024 at The Royal Bournemouth Hospital. He will be greatly missed by his Daughter Deborah, Son Colin, Grandson & Great Grandson Michael & Finley. The extended family, Dorothy and his close friends. We will celebrate his life with a memorial service at St Peter’s and St Paul’s Church, Wincanton on 8th May 2024 at 2pm. No flowers please

Molly Bishop

Passed away peacefully on the 12th of April 2024 aged 93 years. A much-loved wife to the late Bob, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.

She will be sadly missed by all who knew her.

Molly’s Funeral service will take place on Friday the 3rd of May, at 1:00 pm, at St. Peter & St. Paul’s Church, Wincanton.

Donations in memory of Molly will be for Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance, or can be sent c/o A. J. Wakely & Sons, The Old Police Station, Carrington Way, Wincanton BA9 9JS Tel: 01963 31310. Please make cheques payable to Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance

Anthony ‘Tony’ William Aplin (14th May 1936 – 10th April 2024)

We are sad to announce the death of a much-loved father, brother, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Tony passed away peacefully and will be greatly missed by all his family. Funeral service at the Catholic Church of St. Luke & St. Teresa, Wincanton, on Thursday 9th May 2024, at 2:00pm.

Family Flowers Only, please.

Donations in memory of Tony will be for CAFOD & The British Heart Foundation, or can be sent c/o A. J. Wakely & Sons, The Old Police Station, Carrington Way, Wincanton BA9 9JS

Tel: 01963 31310.

Please make cheques payable to the charity.

WITT: Tim

Suddenly on 14th April at home in Yeovil, aged 69 years. A much loved husband of Ann, a treasured Dad of Claire, Laura and Jamie, Gramps to Maisie, Ava, Joe, Charlotte and Grace. He will be very sadly missed by all his family and many friends. A celebration of his life will be held at Yeovil Crematorium on Wednesday 1st May at 12.40pm, black clothing is optional.

We kindly ask for no flowers but instead donations to The British Heart Foundation.

These may be left after the service, given online at www.stoodleyandson.co.uk or sent c/o

Stoodley & Son, The Park, George Shopping Centre, Crewkerne, Somerset, TA18 7LU Tel 01460 73229

Patrick Butler

Of Shaftesbury

Passed away peacefully on 10/04/2024 Aged 77 years old

A much loved Father, Grandpa, Brother and Friend

Funeral Service to be held at: St Edward, King & Martyr Church On 09/05/2024 at 10.00 am followed by light refreshments in the church hall.

If you wish to donate in memory of Patrick, please visit his Tribute site at: https://patrick-butler-1946-2024.muchloved.com/

Or send cheque made payable to Cancer Research or St Edward, King & Martyr Church

Co-operative Funeralcare, Greenacre House Salisbury Road, Shaftesbury, SP7 8BS Tel: 01747 858968

Ralph

Brian John Of Lyons Gate

Died peacefully at home on 7th April 2024, aged 92 years. Much loved husband and best friend to Margaret. He will be sadly missed by family and friends. Funeral Service at Yeovil Crematorium on Thursday 2nd May 2024, at 12.40pm. No flowers please. Donations for Diabetes UK may be sent c/o Woods Funeral Services, 11a Icen Way, Dorchester. DT1 1EW

Telephone 01305 250425.

www.woodsfuneralservices.co.uk

Roma Ellen Joyce Young

Peacefully on 11th April 2024. Roma aged 90 years. Dearly loved Wife of the late Jim Young. Funeral Service at Yeovil Crematorium on Wednesday 1st May at 2pm. Family flowers only please donations if desired for The Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance Trust. C/o Peter Jackson Funeral Services, Mons, High Street, Henstridge, Somerset, BA8 0RB. Tel – 01963 362570. TITE, Brian

Peacefully on 17th April 2024, surrounded by his loving family, at Dorset County Hospital.

Much loved husband of Mandy, father of Stephen, father-in-law of Louise and grandfather of Eleanor. Funeral service will take place at Yeovil Crematorium on Wednesday 15th May at 12noon.

Family flowers only. Donations made payable to either Fortuneswell Cancer Trust or Cancer Research UK may be sent c/o Grassby Funeral Service, 8 Princes Street, Dorchester, DT1 1TW or can be made online by visiting www.grassby-funeral.co.uk

Casual dress preferred, no formal or black clothing

LEGG

Doris Sheila Joan

Passed away peacefully at the West Mendip Hospital, Glastonbury on 12th April 2024 aged 90 years. Much loved wife of Norman, who passed away in July 2023, father of Peter and Marcia, grandad to Chantel and Mother-in-Law to Gerry.

She will be fondly remembered by all who knew her. Thank you to friends for your cards and many kind messages of sympathy.

John Bell

Passed away peacefully on the 30th March after a long illness, funeral service will be held at Harbour view on 4th May at 10.30 in the (Long Barrow cemetery Hall) please wear something Bright, as that was dads wishes. Family flowers only. Any donations will go to cancer research and British Heart Foundation.

A.P.STEPHENS AND SON require a full time Bricklayer and Labourer, driving license needed. Call Luke 07818-297152

SUPPORT CARER

REQUIRED to assist with care of elderly gent in Langport. Paid position. Must have own transport, DBS and Insurance.

Please Contact: 07565 915736

LOVE WORKING WITH CHILDREN AND ANIMALS?

Mother’s Help needed for busy family home near Templecombe Including baby minding and housekeeping tasks

Approx 8-10 hours a week, can be flexible on timings

Advanced DBS check and own transport required

Contact Grace for more info 07967 640036

EXPERIENCED GARDENER wanted. 2-4 hours/week. Sherborne. Must have own transport. 01935 815648

APPRENTICE TRAINEE

TREE SURGEON, Gillingham area, must be hard working and loyal. Tel: 07455-673434

GENERAL FARM WORKER

/ Tractor Driver wanted on Dairy & Beef farm between Wincanton and Bruton. 07812 009364

FARMING WORK WANTED for man (23) with mild learning difficulties. Experience as GFW, groundsperson and in kitchens. Hardworker. Gillingham. 07766 043995 nikkibond007@btinternet.com

EXPERIENCED GARDENER WITH OWN TRANSPORT NEEDED. CONTACT 07788-536890

CLEANER REQUIRED

We are looking for a cleaner to work 12 hours a week at our house in Gillingham. References required. Please contact us on 07809 379 256

GARDENER WANTED, for 1 acre mature garden with borders and shrubs. At least 10 hours per week. No lawn mowing required. Higher Ansty, Dorchester. Tel: 01258-880261

Landscape Labourers

We are looking for skilled landscapers and general labourers to join our team. A good knowledge of hard and soft landscaping along with a can do attitude required, drivers preferred but not essential. Long term positions within an establish local company. Previous applicants need not reapply. 07792892999

SELF EMPLOYED EXPERIENCED GROUNDWORKERS/PLANT OPERATORS

We are looking for an experienced Groundworker who can also operate a 360° Excavator for local interesting contracts, working as part of a team.

Applicants must be con dent in their ability to carry out all aspects of groundwork to a good standard with attention to detail. We o er a safe working environment with good rates of pay. Local work and an opportunity of long-term employment with a friendly family run business.

If you are that exible, skilled groundworker who can also operate plant to a good standard please call, Martin on 01258 455219 or email admin@farwellplanthire.co.uk

Understanding why your cat urinates inside your house...

by Lynn Broom Longmead Veterinary Practice

CATS are prone to developing certain behaviours in response to stress. Their reasons for feeling stressed and their responses to stress can appear illogical to us as humans because they find different things stressful compared to dogs, for instance, and their behaviours don’t appear to be stress-related.

Domestic cats are generally solitary animals and most prefer to be the only cat in the household. Some love the

presence of other cats, but they are in the minority. Cats like to ‘be in control’ of their environment and, if they do not feel in control, they may show stress behaviours.

Typical stress behaviours are recurrent sterile – not caused by infection – cystitis, inappropriate urination and overgrooming, particularly around their back legs and under their tummy.

Cats may urinate in different places inside the house. We may place a litter tray in a position suitable for us, but this may not be where your cat chooses to

F1 COCKERPOO PUPPIES

Mum white and chocolate cocker spaniel Dad phantom toy poodle, both KC registered and fully health tested. Pups will be ready early May they will be microchipped, first vaccine, wormed and vet checked. For more information please call 07555 171717

Dog, cat and small animal food. Grain-free, vegetarian, frozen, gluten & sugar-free chews, natural treats. Soft toys, leather toys, leads & collars, coats, cool & heat pads, veterinary bedding, shampoo, towels...even microchipping! Come and get your wild bird food for the winter.

COMPULSORY MICROCHIPPING for Cats & Dogs 2024 – book yours now - call or pop in store

Check-a-chip service is free

Friday 9am to 5pm & Saturday 10am to 1pm. oad Robin, Gillingham SP8 4PJ, opposite the Onestop ailable. Email:

urinate for various reasons. Being close to food and/or water bowls, high ‘traffic’ areas – for example, the access point to the kitchen for human family members, a ‘dirty’ – already used – tray and a tray being ‘guarded’ by another cat can all be reasons why a cat may not use the tray.

Providing at least two trays for one cat and at least one more tray than the number of cats present in multi-cat households can improve litter tray use.

Placing a tray in the place your cat chooses to urinate may be inconvenient, but it is more likely to encourage your cat to use the tray rather than to wee

BABY GUINEA PIGS, 8weeks. 4 female, 2 males. £15 each. Tel: 07901-550295

SHORT LEGGED JACK RUSSELL PUPPIES, Ready 26th April, Frontlined , wormed and microchipped . Mum and dad owned. Tel: 07769-960360

MINIATURE DAUCHSUND. smooth haired choc & choc/ tan male puppies. Available early May. Seen with mother. Experienced breeder07855 062575

C.B. Brett & Son

Pet & Wildlife

Dog - Wet, Dry & Frozen Food

Cat - Wet & Dry Food

Bird/Hedgehog/WildlifeFood, Feeders & Accessories

Old Market Car Park, Hound St, Sherborne, DT9 3AB 01935 812107

on the carpet.

If a cat is urinating in a place within the house repeatedly and you do not wish to place a litter tray there, then the only guaranteed way to prevent continuation of the behaviour is to prevent access to this area by physically closing the door. Cats are far less trainable than dogs and learning to adapt to their behaviour is more effective than trying to change it.

Ensuring that your cat can avoid your other cats, dogs and young children will also reduce its stress responses.

Cats which urinate by doors and windows often do this in response to the perceived – or real – threat of cats outside.

Preventing vision – using curtains or preventing access to rooms with windows allowing viewing of cats outside – can reduce this behaviour because the cat feels less threatened and won’t feel the need to “scent mark their territory”.

Understanding the underlying causes and learning to work with your cat can help with these behaviours, but it is important to check for physical causes with your vet, particularly in older cats which have not shown this behaviour before.

PEACOCK AND PEAHEN. 1 1 months. Friendly. Need to be free range. Nr Blandford. £50 ono 07850 326148

CUDDLES FOR CATS reliable cat sitting in your home. Jacqui 07791 198679

WORKING COCKER

SPANIEL PUPS for sale. One white girl with golden ears. One black boy. Full tails. KC registered. Chipped, vaccinated. Living with their Mum. Country homes with people required. Very relaxed and friendly. Ready end April 2024. Powerstock near Bridport. Ring kennard on 07837-287366

GORGEOUS LABRADOR PUPPIES AVAILABLE MID MAY - One black boy and one yellow boy from a litter of eight. KC registered, wormed, microchipped and first vaccination complete. 07850 246188

Litter trays being close to food or water bowls, or being ‘guarded’ by another cat, could be why a cat does not use the tray

Exploring safely: Navigating walks with your dog

by Raychel Hill

FOR us dog owners living in rural areas or those who enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking or camping, encounters with livestock are not uncommon. It’s essential to understand how to safely and respectfully navigate these situations to ensure the wellbeing of both pets and livestock.

Ensure your dog is on lead: Keep your dog on a leash at all times when in the vicinity of livestock. Even if your dog is well-behaved, unexpected stimuli or the instinct to chase may arise, leading to potentially dangerous situations for both your dog and the livestock. Make sure your lead and the clip are in good condition and will not break – having a back-up lead can be useful.

Respect boundaries and signs: Be mindful of livestock enclosures and respect property boundaries. Avoid allowing your dog to roam freely near livestock pastures or grazing areas, as this can cause stress and disruption to the animals. If you plan to hike or camp in areas where livestock are present, obtain permission from landowners or authorities beforehand. Respect

any guidelines or restrictions in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of both your dog and livestock.

Training: Ensure your dog receives training and socialisation from a young age to teach them to remain calm and controlled around livestock. Expose them to various environments and situations, and reinforce positive behaviour through rewards and praise –including recall. This skill can be invaluable in situations where your dog may encounter livestock unexpectedly, allowing you to quickly regain control and prevent any negative interactions. Always supervise your dog when in areas where livestock may present – and in general. Stay alert to your dog’s behaviour and be prepared to intervene if necessary to prevent any conflict or harm.

Understand livestock behaviour: Educate yourself about the behaviour and body language of different types of livestock. Recognising signs of stress or agitation in livestock can help you anticipate potential conflicts and take appropriate action to prevent them.

Clean up after your dog: Always clean up after your dog and properly dispose of waste to minimise the risk of contamination to grazing areas or water sources used by livestock.

n Raychel Hill owner of Pet Peeves Animal Behaviour & Teaching; email raychel@ petpeevessomerset.co.uk.

For more details, please call our helpline 01258 858644 or visit our website: cats.org.uk/blandford (Formerly Blandford & Sturminster) Sponsored

MID DORSET CATS PROTECTION

Cats looking for new homes

Willow (nine months). Sweet but nervous little girl looking for a quiet home

Minx (nine years old). Brindle tortie, sweet and friendly

Polly (14 years old). Black with white chin, very sweet, no other pets

Louis (four years old). Ginger and white boy, super friendly

Smudge (four years old). Grey and white big friendly boy, not lived indoors before, no other pets.

Nessa (nine-plus) years old. White and ginger girl, super sweet

For details, please call our helpline on 01258 858644 or visit our website www.cats.org.uk/blandford.

LOST CATS

If you have lost a cat, please contact us via our website, phone or Facebook. Please make sure we have a contact phone number so we can get in touch with you quickly if needed.

n Light tabby, missing from Wiltshire Close, Gillingham since March 23.

n Black stocky cat missing from Donhead St Mary since March 26.

n Tabby, slim build, missing from Enmore Green since March 8.

n White with tabby markings on head, back and tail, missing from Shaftesbury since March 21.

n Small black boy, with white hairs on chest, missing from Shaftesbury since March 2.

n Black timid girl, missing from Blandford since April 5.

FOUND CATS

If you regularly see a cat in your garden or down your street that you don’t think has an owner, please give us a call – it may be a lost cat that could be reunited with its owner.

n White and black, unneutered male, Gillingham. Date advised March 25.

n Greyish/white tabby, Gillingham. Date advised April 5.

Independent family run business offering a very personal, caring pet cremation service to bereaved pet owners.

Collection Service Farewell Room

Out of Hours Service provided

Located in a rural countryside setting on the Somerset Dorset border

Contact us on: 07900 654 440 www.companionsatpeace.co.uk

CLASSIFIED ADS

STAMP COLLECTION. 5 albums, many first day covers, hundreds of loose stamps going back to Victoria. £250.00 Tel: 01963-33388

BICYCLE CARRIER, Halfords brand new, never used. £60.00

Tel: 07956-000580

HAYTER HARRIER 41 Lawnmower, excellent condition, £300 Tel: 01935-862721

MOBILE HOME, 2007 Willerby

Winchester, 38ft X 12ft, 1 double/ en-suite wc, 1 single bedroom, shower room/WC, gas CH, DG. well appointed. £16,500.00 video available. Tel: 07956-181042

LUPON EASY FOLD mobility car boot scooter. As new.

Tel: 01935-814440

SIEMENS 8KG 1400 SPIN washing machine three years old. Excellent condition £100

Tel 01963 362779

BTWIN ELOPS 300 LADIES BIKE. 26”,wheels , very comfortable saddle. Ideal bike for around town. Very good.condition. £40 ono. Tel. 01935-812545

BOSH CORDLESS DRILL psb

18 ve- 2 hammer boxed 2 battires charger hardly used £40 07899-691847

50 NEW YELLOW GOLF BALLS. Donney. £12 the lot. Tel: 01935-476815

A COLLECTION OF OLD and new 20 gauge cartridges over 100. Licence holders only please £40 07707-475328

6 x FUNKO POP! Collectibles. £8.00 each or make me an offer. Call for details 07842 120313

BOSCH ELECTRIC MOWER. Rotak 34gc. Offers. Tel: 01747-858899

SET OF BOWLING WOODS size five £20, 01258 820642

MARLENE DEITRICH at the Wimbledon Theatre programme, 1975 - her last tour (I was there). £15. 01935 815887 (Sherborne).

FOR SALE. SMALL (36 notes) electronic keyboard plus music stand and microphone. Offers. 01747 861421

NEW MATTRESS, 6ft3 X 4ft3. I ordered wrong size! Cost £230 yours for just £50. Tel: 01258-881368 / 07968-235566

ROMILLY GRADUATE FLUTE, case, plays ok, good tone. £45ono. 01747 854208

3 SEATER ITALIAN LEATHER settee. Hand made in Italy. 1 easy chair. Light Grey. £1000.00 ono. Only 3wks old. Tel: 01963-31072

Wincanton

IFOR WILLIAMS, 5ft bed trailer, GC. £600.00 Tel: 01963-370361

DOUBLE GLAZED PATIO

DOORS, full length window either side. 293cm X 200cm £400 ono.

Tel: 07969-127136

LARGE OLD STYLE TELESCOPE, plus stand. with instructions and spare lenses. Offers.

Tel: 07969-127136

NEW WHIRLPOOL BATH. 1800 x 800. 12 jets. Brand New still in Box. £175. Tel: 07714-289400

SKIP-HOP FOR 4MONTH + baby. £70. Mokee baby crib with stand as new. £75. Other items available.

Tel: 07588-053555

MEN’S ARIAT LONG BOOTS, black size 10, regular calf, zip and laces, worn once £50 07599 916950

WHEELBARROW - ideal for transporting plants. Strong, level, plywood carrier not bowl. £10 (STREET) 01458 443264

A SET OF 4 HENSELITE BOWLS, size 5, in a box. £40. 07707 596857

CHILDREN’S SIT-ON kayak and paddle £50. Contact 07446143467

ALSTONS SOFA BED. Beige fabric. Good condition. Buyer collects. £50. 01258 817810

CURTAINS. 4 PAIRS. Heavy cotton. Terracotta, cream lining. Rufflette heading. 120&206cms long. Varied widths. Good quality. Offers. 01258-454607

JULIAN CHARLES PAISLEY

Natural Jacquard Bedding all in excellent condition, Bedspread (260cm x260cm), Cushions x 2 (30cm x 50cm), £20. 07528-133025

UP-RIGHT PINE PIANO. FREE. Collection only. Nr Buckland Newton. Tel: 07487-605434

6 FRAMED JACK VETTRIANO prints, assorted sizes £25 ono. 01747 824482

CHEST OF DRAWERS, 3x full width and 2x half width, made by Just Finished Pine, VGC £45. Tel: 07860-969868

MOBILITY FOLDING wheel chair brand new unused £50 Tel: 01747-850546

RALEIGH ASCENDER BIKE, 15 speed gears, tyre 26x175. Good condition £45. Tel: 07468-338631

2 DOG SLOW FEEDER BOWLS. 1 black 1 red. VGC. £4 each or 2 for £6. Tel: 01935-472584

SELECTION OF FISHING

TACKLE. Sea and river rods and reels. Sensible offer. 07785 534 524

HAYTER HARRIER 41 Lawnmower, excellent condition, £300 Tel: 01935-862721

COFFEE TABLE, two-tier, glass and chrome,110x60x42cm, £40. 07484 848238

2 OLD WOODEN CHITTING crates, 72x50cm, with mesh base. Tel: 07743-731685

SHELF BRACKETS SPUR White 66 various sizes; £10 the lot, mobile 07774-628-641

WHITE BATH, 1700 X 700 with shower panel, good condition. FREE TO COLLECT. Mere 01747-861207

A PAIR OF GREEN wheat Denby Jugs. 2 pints and 1 pint. Never used. £25 Tel: 01935-813920

2 SPEAKER TRIPODS, perfect for Karaoke. £50 the pair. Tel: 07771-795442

MCALLISTER 530w Electric Hedge Trimmer £30 01935 814746

FOR SALE 6 DINING CHAIRS (4 chairs and 2 carvers) in v.g.c. can deliver locally. £50. phone 01963 363586

YAMAHA ELECTRONIC portable keyboard,model PSS270,option of mains or batteries £30. 01963 33001

HAYNES WORKSHOP MANUAL Ford Fusion P&D, 02-12 reg mint condition £20 plus postage & packing 07717-522304

MINKY WING 12m heated clothes airer, purchased October 2023, Argos code 707/6006, under guarantee, perfect condition. Used once. £45.00. Tel.no 07851 408667

DIVAN BED, small double, complete with comfortable mattress, 2 large drawers, excellent condition. £50.ono 01258 820869

PHILIPS DELIZIA HR2303 Ice cream/sorbet maker, max 0.8L. with recipe book, boxed. Excellent machine. VGC. £20 Tel 07891 -987809

2xHP 350 BLACK, 1xHP 351 colour cartridges for sale. Half retail price. Tel: 07563-677169. Gillingham.

CARAVAN SOLD. Various camping and contents items, under £50. Tel: 01747-830284 (East Knoyle)

HORNBY MODEL RAILWAY track. OO gauge. £25.00 Tel: 07791-847767

SEWING MACHINE v.g.c. £35 Bargain! Tel: 01747-822338

CAT/SMALL DOG CARRIER, ‘Nomad Karlie, 51x33x34cm, Max weight 5 kg as new £25, 01258-450881

TV STAND 24”x17”, black/chrome, £10. Standard lamp, 4’, brass, £5. Sherborne 01935 812328

BOSH CORDLESS DRILL psb 18 ve- 2 hammer boxed 2 batteries charger hardly used £40 07899-691847

PADDED HEAD-BOARD. 4ft6 bed £45. Tel: 07588-053555

PINE DRESSING TABLE. Sits 6-8. very good condition. £50. Bradford Abbas. 07789-343532

WHITE TODDLER BED FRAME. No mattress. £40. Buyer collects from Warminster. 07812-190817

SUPADANCE BALLROOM DANCE shoes . Diamante T bar. Colour black. Size 4. Heel height 3”. Price £10. Tel: 07731 580011

GOLF CLUBS Full set of Slazenger left handed golf clubs and trolley £40 01935 421313

BOSCH EASYGRASS CUT electric Strimmer 26cms. Vgc. £15 .EVERGREEN Easy spreader £15. Tel. 07543-679877 Blandford

Changing face of our piece of heaven

by Tria Stebbing

12 years ago, on a bit of a whim, as the best things often are, my partner Chris bought a small piece of the Dorset countryside, to continue his passion for countryside management. It sits in a small hamlet in north Dorset on the edge of the Blackmore Vale.

There is nothing in the hamlet except a settlement of housing, community spirit and a love of the countryside. The field itself sits on a road to nowhere, a road that follows winding lanes of primroses to the next hamlet and beyond.

Chris has laid the hedge on each side of the field to encourage nesting birds and go back to the traditional way of boundary marking. We have had nesting Canada geese, moorhens, and now have a

beautiful little robin nesting in an old storage barn, hidden well away from the predatory barn owls that are seen at dusk swooping along the hedgerow.

Each year more deer use the field to raise their young, confidently leaving them in the tall grass during the day, while they go off to hunt for food. The dappled coats make spotting them difficult, and if we plan to get the tractor out, we check first for sleeping young.

Along the edge of the pond, we are blessed to watch spotted orchids come back each year, making a beautiful display of pink spikes that sway in the wind. We have resident newts and in the middle of summer glow worms fascinate us with their luminous mating dance. Up until now the field was

surrounded by open agricultural land, old pasture, old barns and pig pens sharing their space with wildflowers and a bird of prey that has nested in the same barn for many years.

We have neighbours now. Planning was recently granted for houses to be built in the adjacent field on the site of the old pig pens. On paper the right words were written, the assurances were given and the wildlife to be conserved.

Except that on visiting today, there were no deer basking in the sun on the hedge line, and the resident pheasant with the quirky white tail had gone. The houses have sprung up with alarming speed and are surrounded by muddy churned up mess.

Where did that little natural pond go that used to be there? The promised wildflower meadow that was part of the plan, was actually there already – it isn’t now, it is a man-made pile of soil, waiting to be re-sown.

As we sit over the field in the warm spring sun, we wonder what the residents of the new houses will bring to the area, and wonder if the sheep will be too noisy for them when lambing next spring? Is this progress? We will wait and see, maybe the new residents will surprise us and turn out to help with baling, maybe it will all be okay.

If the Blackmore Vale is to be preserved, maybe Dorset Council would do well to come and take in our new view. What made our day today though was the abundance of cuckoo flowers that had sprung up, reminding us that this was indeed, still our little piece of heaven.

We do not live on site and rotate our stock between here and other small hamlets locally. Our dream is to have an eco-shack of sorts up by the road, a dream we do not pursue because the irony of it all is that we probably wouldn’t get planning.

‘To sit under a may tree on a warm, sunny day with blossom and birdsong above is perfect for me’

by AJ Selby

“The may reigns in hawthorn lands and the world is full of birdsong.” Anon.

MAY, may. Yes, my favourite month is upon us and the blossom from the may tree, also known as the hawthorn, is covering those shrubs that were skeletal just a couple of months ago. The flowers have appeared earlier this year, in common with many other plants, and I hope for a dazzling display again, although I have never seen one to beat 1975 when the hedges looked bedecked with snow.

The blossom has an almost sickly scent, but it’s one that

are all showing their best. Our native deciduous woods are carpeted with bluebells – a sight seen in few other places in the world – around half the bluebells globally are found in the UK.

will always confirm a time and place, as does the elderflower in late June. Most may trees are white but pink ones make a lovely contrast to the usual colour. They are an insect magnet, too, and to sit under a may tree on a warm, sunny day with blossom and birdsong above is my idea of perfection. The other blossom I absolutely adore is the wisteria, which usually flowers towards the end of May and can cover old houses with its beautiful purply-pink flowers which hang like small chandeliers. Of course, blossom doesn’t have to be spectacular to be enjoyed and field, forest and hedgerow

They are a sign of ancient woodland and consequently have many folk tales linked to them – it is said that if you hear a bluebell actually ring like a bell, then you will be visited by a bad fairy and then die! It is also said that you can watch fairies hiding among the flowers, and if you wear a garland of bluebells you are unable to tell a lie.

My favourite spring flower is a small, humble white flower that has five pairs of petals that split into two and is found in hedgerows at this time of year – the greater stitchwort, and it just shouts ‘spring’ to me. Where old woodland has been cleared, bluebells will often remain in the hedge bottoms and their blue is a lovely contrast to the white of the stitchwort and the butter yellow primroses. Blue, yellow and white is a great colour combination.

It’s great fun learning wildflowers and a country walk with a handy pocket guide is all

that is needed – my book of choice was the Observer’s book of wildflowers. In my early teens I spent countless hours identifying as many species as possible in field and forest and once I became proficient I got deeper into botanising and splashed out £3 on the 1974 edition of W Keble Martin’s Concise British Flora in Colour. The Rev Martin was a priest and botanical illustrator who spent 60 years compiling his opus magnum using careful fieldwork and first-class painting skills.

Born in 1877 in Oxfordshire, he was educated at Marlborough and studied Greek Philosophy and Botany at Christ Church College, Oxford. He led an interesting ecclesiastical life and aged 90 he had four of his designs for wildflower stamps issued by Royal Mail. Two years before, when he was 88, he had his Concise Flora published and I note on the internet that copies are available from around £40 to over £100 – I wish I had bought two and put one away unopened!

Lots of field guides are available, some listings by flower colour, others by habitat, but whichever one you chose, the hobby is addictive as you

find more and more to identify. You will also see that most of our favourites have more than one name, and some of the variations are regional. So, garlic mustard is Jack-by-theHedge, dandelion is wet-thebed – and a French equivalent – wild garlic is ramsons, arum lily is Lords and Ladies, the cuckoo flower is lady’s smock – and milkmaids – and our May flowering cow parsley is also wild chervil – and Queen Anne’s lace and keck.

It’s a fascinating pastime and one that you can pass on to the younger generation to inspire enthusiasm in those to come after us. As is bird watching, and last month I mentioned that swift expert Edward Mayer was giving a talk in Sherborne on swift conservation. His talk at

LAYING HENS leaving freerange flock. Free to good homes. 07810-628504

SHEEP GRAZING WANTED 10 mile radius of Sherborne –07949-595632

the Digby Hall – albeit on Zoom as the trains weren’t running – again! – was interesting and flagged up things that we can all do to help swifts and other wildlife, both directly and indirectly.

Some of us may be able to put up swift boxes or swift bricks on our property to encourage nesting, but for those that can’t, help in other ways is equally important. Swifts, he told us, can eat up to 20,000 insects a day and we can encourage these by planting insect-friendly species in our gardens and public spaces, and reduce – or eliminate, preferably – the use of poisonous herbicides and insecticides. As the old saying goes, if we each do a little, we can all do a lot.

208 ACRES OF ORGANIC mowing grass for 2024. Email churchfarm.gibbs@btinternet. com

WORKING BEARDED COLLIES, Puppies, Tel: 07854 552382

HAY & SILAGE FOR SALE. East Knoyle. Tel: 01747-830560

SHEEP GRAZING FOR SALE, near Blandford. Tel: 07771-748494

R&W FENCING SERVICES Agricultural, paddock and stock. Tel: 01258-880892 or 07980-036250

Farming

Corfe Castle, Wareham

Guide: £1,600,000

Offered for sale for the first time since the 1930’s, this residential farm is an exciting renovation opportunity, situated within the heart of the Isle of Purbeck, comprising a three-bedroom farmhouse, traditional farm buildings, set in 46.19 acres (18.69 hectares).

Morgan Clement | 01202 843190

Halstock, Yeovil Guide: £65,000

5.17 acres (2.09 ha) of predominantly level pastureland in an edge of village location benefitting from mains water and a pond.

Tenders closeTuesday 21st May 2024 at 12 noon.

Lucy Carnell | 01935 423526

Auction 16 May

Broadoak, Bridport

Guide £90,000

10.81 acres (4.37 ha) of gently sloping pastureland with a small area of orchard, well situated in the Marshwood Vale at Broadoak. Freehold.

Axminster | 01297 33122

Saturday 27th April at 10.30am

Hydes Farm, Kings Stag, Sturminster Newton DT10 2BE

Dispersal Sale of 4 Tractors, 2 Diggers, Man Livestock Lorry, 2 Pick Ups, Fullwood Milking Parlour, Bulk Tank, Grassland Machinery, Livestock Equipment, Buildings, etc

On behalf of S R Vickery Ltd (Tenancy having Expired)

Thursday 2nd May, 11.00am

Corton Farm, Friar Waddon, Weymouth, DT3 4EP

Dispersal of Tractors, Telehandler, Combine, Isuzu Pick-UP, Mobile Farrowing Units, Bulk Bins, Pig Rearing Equipment & Livestock Sundries

Including: Merlo P40.7 Panoramic (12), Case Farmall 50A 2wd (13), David Brown 880 Selectamatic, Isuzu Rodeo 2.5 Denver Pick-up (11), Class Dominator 108SL with 15’ Header, 3 x Finrone Portapig Farrowing Units (18 and 16 Sow) c/w 360 Farrowing Pens, 13 x Collinson Bulk Bins from 1.5T – 22T, 32’ Bale Trailer, PTO Pressure Washer – 30ltrs p/minute, Albutt 1.8m³ Telehandler

Bucket, Strimech X-Form Grain Bucket, Moulton Flat 8 Bale Grab, Paneltim Gates, Doors & Dividing Panels, 2 & 5 Place Dry and Wet/Dry Feeders, Pharmweigh Electronic Pig Scales, Wallow Troughs, Pig Arcs, 3 x Hudson Sow Barns, Air Compressor, Workshop items, etc

Formal Tender Contact

On behalf of Corton Farm Partnership (Ceasing Pig Rearing) Online bidding available

Saturday 18th May

Kitwhistle Farm, Beaminster, DT8 3SG

Dispersal of 4 Tractors, JCB Telehandler, Arable Machinery, Livestock Equipment & Miscellaneous

On behalf of G J Hasell & Son (Auctioneers having sold the Farm)

Property

The Loft

Tisbury

01747 442500

www.ruralview.co.uk

East Knoyle, Wiltshire – Guide Price £975,000

A most attractive detached period cottage with good accommodation and delightful grounds, set in a charming hamlet. Hall, three reception rooms, kitchen breakfast room, utility, wc, five bedrooms, two bathrooms. Garage, stables, parking & garden. EPC D

Fifehead Magdalen, Dorset – Guide price £685,000

A charming extended period cottage with a lovely garden and far-reaching views. Sitting room, kitchen, conservatory, office/bedroom four, study. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms. Garden, parking, garage.

EPC D

Heytesbury, Wiltshire – Guide price £895,000

A penthouse apartment with elegant accommodation in a historic country mansion in a glorious parkland setting. Spacious open plan sitting/dining room, kitchen/breakfast room. Three double bedrooms, two bathrooms. Parking, garage, six acres of communal parkland. EPC Exempt

Sutton Row, Wiltshire – Guide price £649,000

A beautifully refurbished and extended period cottage, set in a spectacular rural location close to Tisbury. Entrance hall, sitting room with woodburner, kitchen/dining room, cloakroom. Three double bedrooms, bathroom. Over 0.5 acre of gardens and woodland, outstanding views. EPC E

www.ruralview.co.uk

www.ruralview.co.uk

Tisbury, Wiltshire – Guide price £625,000

A detached Grade II listed cottage for refurbishment, situated on the edge of this sought-after village with views. Large sitting room, kitchen, bathroom, three double bedrooms, wc, outhouse, double garage, garden & parking. EPC Exempt

Donhead St Andrew, Wiltshire – Guide price £460,000

A most appealing extended Grade II listed period cottage situated in a sought-after historic village with garden and range of outbuildings. Sitting room, dining room, kitchen, downstairs bathroom, three bedrooms, wc.

Garden,summer house, garage and parking. EPC Exempt

Barford St. Martin, Wiltshire – Guide price £585,000

A beautifully presented quintessential listed English country cottage in a lovely tucked away rural village setting with bags of period character, a wonderful garden and offering further potential to extend. Sitting/Dining room, Kitchen/Breakfast room, three bedrooms, bathroom. Garden and parking. EPC Exempt

Hindon, Wiltshire - Guide Price £320,000

A charming Grade II listed cottage, beautifully refurbished and situated in a vibrant rural village. Sitting room, kitchen, cellar, two double bedrooms, bathroom, courtyard garden, unrestricted parking. EPC E

www.ruralview.co.uk

£585,000 Horsington

£400,000 Bruton

An

Thinking of moving in 2024?

Now is the ideal time to spring into action! Contact us for a free valuation and marketing advice. Many potential buyers are registering with us wishing to purchase a property in the coming months within the local towns and villages.

If you are considering bringing your property to the market we would be delighted to hear from you.

Please call 01963 34000 to arrange an appointment or email wincanton@hambledon.net

£240,000 Templecombe

A

An attractive three bedroom semi-detached house tucked away in a cul-de-sac on a small sought after development. Comprising entrance hall, light and airy sitting room, open plan kitchen/diner, conservatory, cloakroom, en-suite shower room, family bathroom, gardens and a large single garage with utility area. EPC Rating: C. Freehold.

exceptional three bedroom period cottage situated in the heart of Bruton, recently extended and tastefully refurbished, blending modern day living with charm and character. Outbuildings and delightful views from the garden EPC Rating: C. Freehold.

delightful three bedroom mid terrace house with a large attic bedroom enjoying far reaching views. Spacious living/dining room with French doors opening to a sunny aspect garden, fitted kitchen, garage in nearby block. EPC Rating: E. Freehold.

Property

PROPERTY WANTED

ACCOMMODATION WANTED

Unfurnished long term 3 bedroom property for professional family. Pets/ garden, Sherborne areas. Max £900 pm. Tel 07798760107

PROPERTY TO LET

SELF-CONTAINED ACCOMODATION on quiet farm near Yeovil 01935 891817

WORKSHOP/OFFICE, small industrial unit TO LET. 24hr access, 340+ sqft, well lit, please ring for further details07811 551161

FOR RENT - 2 BEDROOM MID TERRACE HOUSE IN SHAFTESBURY WITH GARDEN. NEW CARPETS AND DECOR, AVAILABLE FROM MAY 2024. £845 PCM CONTACT 07966 268466

2 INDUSTRIAL UNITS FOR RENT Approx 1800 sqft each. 3 phase possible Melcombe Bingham. 07725 910364

Crossword

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