LymeOnline Digital Edition - November 27 2020

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CELEBS BACK LYME CHARITY WIT T-SHIRT RAN H GE LAUNCH PAGE 2

£100,000 appeal launched for Mary Anning statue A LONG-awaited crowdfunding campaign, with the aim of raising money for a statue of palaeontologist Mary Anning in Lyme Regis, was launched last week.

Mary Anning Rocks has long been campaigning for a statue of Lyme’s famous fossil hunter, gaining international interest with the likes of Sir David Attenborough and author Tracey Chevalier among its supporters.

Its crowdfunding campaign, with a target of £100,000, finally went live last Friday and has already raised more than £27,000 in its first week.

REPORT, PAGE 3

Proposal to twin Lyme with Gibraltar

LYME Regis Town Council has considered a request that the town be twinned with Gibraltar.

Local resident Nigel Marsh, who has been visiting the British Overseas Territory bordering Spain’s south coast for 60 years, put forward the request for a formal twinning relationship.

REPORT, PAGE 7

Hix opens first pub

It’s a white Christmas!

MORE lights than ever have been used to decorate the town in an all-white theme this Christmas

Photo by Richard Austin

LOCAL chef and restaurateur Mark Hix MBE will open The Fox Inn in the historic hamlet of Corscombe, Dorset, when lockdown is lifted in December, the second opening from Hix this year.

REPORT, PAGE 9

SPARKLING LIGHTS DISPLAY BRING FESTIVE CHEER TO TOWN LYME Regis Christmas lights display was switched-on a week ahead of schedule to bring some festive joy to the town.

The sparkling display – with more lights than ever before – was switched-on on Saturday with Broad Street, Silver Street, Bridge Street and the Cobb area glittering

FRANCESCA EVANS

francesca@lyme-online.co.uk in an all-white theme.

The annual switch-on event and Christmas lantern parade, which usually attracts huge crowds, was called off this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The main lights were switched-on

on Saturday morning with no ceremony, but a small, socially-distanced event was held in the late afternoon to light up the 30-foot Christmas tree donated by Penn Farm.

Local fundraiser Joshua Denning was given the honours of lighting the tree, having helped raise £2,700 towards the display by sell-

ing raffle tickets in recent weeks.

The event was also attended by the Mayor of Lyme Regis, Cllr Brian Larcombe MBE, mayoress Wendy Larcombe, town crier Alan Vian and members of the Lyme Regis Christmas Lights Committee.

The mayor said the stunning display proved that Lyme “will not be

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Published by Lyme Regis Media Limited Hyper-local website and fortnightly newspaper serving the communities of Lyme Regis, Uplyme & Charmouth.

Unit 5 Uplyme Business Park, Uplyme Road, Lyme Regis, Dorset DT7 3LS www.lyme-online.co.uk edit@lyme-online.co.uk Facebook: facebook.com/LymeOnlineUK Twitter: twitter.com/LymeOnlineUK Instagram: instagram.com/lymeonline Editor: Francesca Evans francesca@lyme-online.co.uk 07810 221 420 Contributors: Philip Evans philip@lyme-online.co.uk Richard Austin edit@lyme-online.co.uk Production: Jackie Evans jackie@lyme-online.co.uk

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Celebrities back Lyme Regis charity’s T-shirt campaign to help save the planet LYME Regis charity The Word Forest Organisation has received the backing of famous faces from across the globe, who have designed Tshirts to support its fight against climate change.

Environmentally-inspired designers and others who share a passion for the planet, including Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet, have helped the charity launch a new range of ethical T-shirts.

Iconic children’s TV character Mr Benn, who next year will have been helping to change things for the better for 50 years, is also supporting the campaign. Others backing The Word Forest’s message include Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity; actors Richard Coyle, Stefan Dennis and Clare Bowen; designer John Rocha; TV weather presenter and meteorologist Clare Nasir; ‘Good Morning Britain’ presenter Kate Garraway; Private Eye cartoonist Tony Husband; Radio 6 DJ Marc Riley; Pete Turner from the band Elbow; Jimi Goodwin from The Doves; and international bestselling author on the Slow Movement, Carl Honoré, with others to be revealed soon.

The exclusively designed range of tree-focused tees went on sale yesterday (Thursday) from The Word Forest Organisation’s ethical online charity shop. The charity will plant a fast-growing tree in Kenya for every single T-shirt sold.

Additionally, to mark the launch, the garment producers Teemill will plant a tree for every sale made from today (November 27) to November 30, making it a double whammy for the world.

With a deep love and respect for the environment, the ‘celebri-tee-shirt’ contributors jumped at the chance to design something that reflects their feelings about the importance of trees and taking care of the planet.

The Word Forest is optimistic that their creativity will bring new eyes to their work and help the charity scale-up their operation to reforest Kenya, which has been deeply wounded by the coronavirus pandemic.

Since March, the charity has been sending £4,000 a month to Kenya to buy critical food aid for about 1,600 people in the tree-planting communities they work with, so they can keep starvation at bay. It’s a haemorrhage of their finances and they wish it were funding more tree planting.

The charity is hoping the ‘celebri-tee-shirt’ campaign will stem it and strengthen their ability to reforest Kenya and take care of the people tending the trees; they already live on the frontline of climate chaos and life was challenging enough pre-COVID. According to a recent report from The World Economic Forum, 2020 is set to be the warmest year on record since reliable records began in the mid-1800s, which is even more remarkable since it’s not an El Niño extreme weather event year.

Additionally, the first nine months of the year saw record concentrations of major greenhouse gases in the atmosphere like CO2, methane and nitrous oxide and the extent of Arctic sea ice has also been at record low levels for much of the summer. Trees are the key to mitigating these issues.

The biggest star to support the T-shirt campaign is Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet, who first learnt about the work of The Word Forest Organisation when filming scenes in Lyme Regis in March 2019 for upcoming movie ‘Ammonite’, based on the life of the town’s famous fossil hunter Mary Anning. The actress has since narrated a documentary promoting

SPECIALLY-designed T-shirts with the #TreesAreTheKey message are available for men, women and children on the online store the charity’s #TreesAreTheKey message.

TV character Mr Benn has also backed the Lyme Regis-based charity having a local connection of his own. Clive Juster, the BAFTAwinning editor of the children’s TV programme, lives in Lyme Regis and shares an office space with The Word Forest Organisation.

Star of Australian soap ‘Neighbours’, Stefan Dennis, who plays Paul Robinson, brings an inter-generational sparkle to the mix of tee-shirt designs, with one created by him and his daughter.

Australia is becoming hotter and more prone to extreme heat, bushfires, droughts, floods and longer fire seasons because of global heating.

Stefan cites a poignant quote: “A very wise man once said, ‘When all the forests have been cut down, when all the oceans have been fished out and when all the rivers poisoned, only then will man realise he can’t eat money’. That is why the forests and coral reefs of the world must thrive.”

Met Office meteorologist and weather anchor on Channel 5 News, Clare Nasir, is a passionate advocate for the planet. Her beautiful design is centered around a geeky formula.

Clare comments: “We understand the science, we have done the maths and we know what we have to do. Trees have moderated our climate and nurtured our land for millennia. They offer the greatest chance at land-based climate mitigation for cleaner air, cleaner water, healthier soils and protection from flooding and desertification.”

To ensure the trees reach maturity and are looked after in their early days, The Word Forest Organisation supports the people who plant and nurture them in a variety of holistic ways. They do their level best to ensure the forests are protected and sustained for the long term.

Trees in the tropics can grow up to 10 times faster than anywhere else on the planet, making them absolute beasts for drawing down and locking in CO2 and other pollutants.

Tracey West, CEO of The Word Forest Organisation, commented: “Our work is made possible by kindhearted people and corporate partners who believe in us and what we do. Despite the challenges we’ve been thrown with all of our fundraising events cancelled, our team continues to work tirelessly to get more trees in the ground. Trees are the key to solving far more of the world’s problems than simply mitigating climate chaos.

“Our trees tick the boxes for many of the Sustainable Development Goals including hunger and poverty. They provide fruit, nuts and medicines, they increase food and water security too and the spare commodities from the forest can provide an income. We can’t thank these amazing celebri-tee-shirt supporters enough for helping us at this critical time.”

View the ‘celebri-tee-shirt’ collection at www.wordforest.org/celebs, or find out more about The Word Forest Organisation and watch the #TreesAreTheKey documentary narrated by Kate Winslet at WordForest.org

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Mary Anning Rocks campaign launches £100k crowdfunding appeal for statue of fossil hunter A LONG-awaited crowdfunding campaign, with the aim of raising money for a statue of palaeontologist Mary Anning in Lyme Regis, was launched last week.

Mary Anning Rocks has long been campaigning for a statue of Lyme’s famous fossil hunter, gaining international interest with the likes of Sir David Attenborough and author Tracey Chevalier among its supporters.

Its crowdfunding campaign, with a target of £100,000, finally went live last Friday and has already raised more than £27,000 in its first week.

The appeal was launched alongside a campaign film fronted by TV presenter and anthropologist Professor Alice Roberts (pictured).

Professor Roberts is a patron of the campaign and shares the life-story of Mary Anning, whose discoveries included the first ichthyosaur, filmed partially at the Natural History Museum in London.

The film also features 11-year-old Evie Swire,

who launched the campaign along with the help of her mum Anya.

Professor Roberts commented: “I think it’s so important that we recognise people like Mary Anning and celebrate them, it’s about restoring her to her rightful place in the history of science.

It’s about making sure that anyone who visits Lyme Regis knows that this really important woman was there doing that work in the early

days of palaeontology.”

Mary Anning, who lived on the site of Lyme Regis Museum and is buried in St Michael’s churchyard, has recently been gaining more international interest thanks to the upcoming release of the movie ‘Ammonite’, based on her life and starring Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet.

The film’s production company donated £15,000 to Lyme Regis after filming scenes in the town last March, and the town council split the money between three Mary Anning-related projects, with Mary Anning Rocks awarded £5,000.

The other two projects were the Mary Anning beach hut for use of those affected by cancer, and a bursary scheme to encourage more women into the sciences.

You can donate to the Mary Anning Rocks campaign and watch the video starring Professor Alice Roberts via the website www.crowdfunder.co.uk/maryanningrocks

What do Tier 2 restrictions mean for Dorset and Devon

DORSET and Devon will be placed under Tier 2 COVID restrictions when lockdown ends on December 2.

This means the counties will facer stricter rules than before the second national lockdown, when they were in the more relaxed Tier 1.

Dorset and Devon will join the majority of England in Tier 2, along with the likes of London and Liverpool.

So what will the new tier system mean for Dorset and Devon residents? Here’s a breakdown of the rules.

All tiers: ● The tiers will have a uniform set of rules, there will be no negotiations by different regions ● Everyone should work from home if they can ● Shops and personal care services can open ● Early years settings, schools, colleges and

universities remain open ● Registered childcare, other supervised activities for children and childcare bubbles allowed ● Indoor leisure – gyms and swimming – can open ● Elite sport, under-18 sport and disabled sport can continue ● Police will get new powers to close down premises breaking the rules Tier 2: ● No mixing of households indoors apart from support bubbles – rule of six outdoors ● Pubs and bars must close unless operating as restaurants, and hospitality venues can only serve alcohol with substantial meals ● Last orders at 10pm, close by 11pm ● Reduce the numbers of journeys made and avoid travel into Tier 3 areas

● Overnight stays permitted with your household or support bubble ● Accommodation open ● Places of worship open but people cannot interact with anyone outside their household or support bubble ● Weddings, civil partnerships and wakes can have 15 guests ● Funerals can have 30 guests ● Exercise classes and organised adult sport can take place outdoors, but not indoors if there is any interaction between different households ● Elite sporting events, live performances and large business events can take place with 50% capacity, or 2,000 people outdoors/1,000 indoors (whichever is lower) – social distancing applies

Lyme to pay tribute to Brixham fishermen LYME Regis will be among the south coast harbours to pay tribute to two fishermen lost off the coast of Newhaven in Sussex last Saturday.

The fishing boat was from Brixham, as was one of the crew - Adam Harper, aged 26 whose body was found on Tuesday.

The second man - Robert Morley, aged 38, and from Prembrokeshire - is still missing at sea.

Across the south coast, harbours will be switching off their Christmas lights and shining a light into the sky or sea for two minutes in memory of both Adam and Robert.

Lyme Regis will be among the harbours taking part, with the Christmas lights on the Cobb scheduled to be switched off at 6.14pm - the time marking 12 hours after the boat’s emergency beeper went off - on Saturday, December 5.

The Lyme Regis fishing community and anyone else who wants to take part is invited to shine a light or light a candle on the Cobb, arriving just after 6pm.

Those attending are asked to wear masks and remain socially distanced in their households or support bubbles.

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NEWS ONLINE: Catch up with

A round-up of the top stories from our website New food festival to be held in Lyme next year

A NEW food festival will be added to Lyme Regis’ calendar of events next year, after being given the go ahead by the town council. Eat Festivals, which has held a number of successful food festivals mainly in the Somerset area, will be holding its first event in Lyme Regis on April 24 2021. The oneday event will have a local focus with the aim of benefiting local businesses and food and drink producers within a 30-mile radius of the town.

New bus timetable improves connection with train station

BUS operator First Wessex has introduced a revised winter timetable for the X51 and X53 services which aligns better with the train timetable at Axminster station. The new timetable came into effect last weekend and marks the first time in many years that the X53 will continue to operate seven days a week during the winter months.

Lyme Bay and Charmouth medical practices to merge THE GP partners of Lyme Bay Medical Practice and Charmouth Medical Practice have announced plans to merge the two under one contract.

Charmouth Medical Practice partners, Dr Martin Beckers and Dr Sue Beckers, have indicated a wish to retire in 2021 and are keen for services in the village to continue under a merger agreement with Lyme Bay Medical Practice.

Lyme Bay Medical Practice is made up of the medical centre in Uplyme Road and Kent House medical and dental practice in Silver Street, which merged together last year under the leadership of GP Forbes Watson.

Dr Martin Beckers said: “We see this as a very positive and constructive move forwards, which aims to preserve general practice services for our registered patients. The medical facility at Littlehurst in Charmouth will be redesignated as a branch surgery to ensure its survival.

“Joining forces offers many additional benefits to patients and practice alike. As a bigger organisation we will be more sustainable, more attractive to recruiting new clinicians, offering increased opportunities for clinical and non-clinical staff and greater access for patients to the skills within the combined GP and nurs-

ing teams.”

Dr Watson added: “I believe this is a very positive step for local medical services. Working together we will have more opportunity to develop what we provide for the residents of Lyme Regis and Charmouth during the COVID pandemic and beyond.”

Patients registered with both Lyme Bay Medical Practice and Charmouth Medical Practice do not need to do anything to continue receiving care as normal and no changes are anticipated to the way appointments are made.

Any current treatments, medications or investigations will not be affected by the plans to merge.

Regular updates will be published on practice websites; emails will also be sent to patients whose email address we already have. If you would like to be included, please ensure you contact your practice and supply them with your current email address.

Patients have been sent a letter informing them of the merger, including a list of frequently asked questions to help patients understand what the merger means for them. The letter also offers patients the opportunity to email or write in if they have further queries.

Follow LymeOnline on social media to stay up to date 24/7 facebook.com/ LymeOnlineUK twitter.com/ LymeOnlineUK instagram.com/ lymeonline

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Council could make extra £800k from car parking changes CONTROVERSIAL changes to parking could bring in an extra £800,000 for Dorset Council. There have been complaints about the lack of consultation over the issue and claims that new evening and Sunday charges could hit the area’s struggling economy. Dorset Council has said it had no need to consult as the matter was ‘operational’, with the decision being rubber stamped by highways portfolio holder Cllr Ray Bryan. They include doubling the all-day fee at Lyme Regis and West Bay car parks from £2 to £4.

Friday, November 27 2020 5

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the latest from Lyme Regis

FROM LYME’S OW N COMMUNIT Y WEBSITE

Stay up to date at www.lyme-online.co.uk - 24/7 news | sport | community Church embarks on £250,000 restoration THE Roman Catholic Church of St Michael & St George in Lyme Regis is embarking on a major £250,000 restoration project.

Under constant attack by the elements, the Grade II listed church in Silver Street requires constant maintenance and has now reached a stage where considerable repair work is necessary.

The total cost of these works is in the region of £250,000 and funding has been awarded through grants from charitable organisations, including Dorset Historical Churches, the Charlotte Marshall Charitable Trust, Llewellyn Edwardes Bell Trust and Historic England, via the Grants for Programmes of Major Works Fund within the government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Culture Recovery Fund.

Lyme Regis Town Council and the Axe Vale Show Committee have also contributed, and parishioners have raised about £30,000 through fundraising activities.

Exterior work will be carried out between December 2020 and March 2021, to fulfil a condition laid down by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The parish is currently seeking further grants and is fundraising with a view to finance the interior work in spring 2021.

Co-op raises £3,700 Local photographer for three local causes wins Scottish prize SHOPPERS at the Co-op in Lyme Regis have raised more than £3,700 has been raised for three local causes. Lyme Regis Sea School, the Woodroffe School PTFA and the 1st Lym Valley Scout Group have each received £1,243,28 – totalling £3,729.84 – from the Co-op Local Community Fund.

FORMER Lyme Regis resident Ben Kapur has won first prize in the inaugural competition for Scotland’s Photo of the Year. More than 1,200 entrants took part in the not-for-profit photography competition, with Ben coming out on top with his snowy scene named ‘The Storm of Storr’.

The

Woodmead Halls YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY HALL

COVID-19 patrols operating across Dorset DEDICATED COVID-19 police patrols are now operating across Dorset in a bid to reassure communities and maintain public safety during the pandemic. Operation Tattoo will see a dedicated COVID-19 car operating across the force, seven days a week to deal with any COVID-19 related issues, provide support to partners and encourage the public to abide by restrictions and legislation.

B Sharp launches mentoring programme LYME Regis-based music charity B Sharp is launching the MusicFutures programme, a new one-year scheme for young people who are interested in a career in the music industry.

The MusicFutures programme is aimed at young people aged 15+ from across the region who are thinking about a music career, and who would like to find out more about how to take the first steps, or who would like some support to start out.

For more information or to apply visit the website bsharp.org.uk/music-futures/

Wedding Venue | Corporate Events Clubs & Organisations | Children’s Parties Fitness Classes | Concerts & Shows

The perfect venue for every occasion!

For further details or to get in touch, vist woodmeadhalls.co.uk

6 Friday, November 27 2020

LYME MATTERS with Philip Evans Essential reading for all those with Lyme at heart

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philip@lyme-online.co.uk

This year Lyme’s festive lights are ‘THE best ever’ E

ever”.

VERY year I find myself writing in this column that Lyme’s Christmas lights are “the best

So there’s a certain irony that in a year when the big switch-on, which attracts thousands to Broad Street, could not be held, our town’s festive illuminations, are undeniably “the best ever”.

One can only surmise how many people would have crowded into our main street had the switch-on ceremony taken place, given the fantastic response to this year’s lights.

Say no to Gibraltar LYME Regis Town Council has been asked to consider twinning with Gibraltar (see report on page 7).

Our councillors gave the proposal short shrift and I don’t think it’s never going to happen.

Lyme is already twinned with St George’s in Bermuda, stimulated by the connection with Admiral Sir George Somers, and with Barfleur in Normandy.There is no appetite for further twinning arrangements.

After the debate on this issue was published on the LymeOnline website, the usual nonsense of who pays for twinning trips was given another airing with the usually inaccurate references to “junkets for councillors”.

At no time has Lyme council subsidised any twinning arrangements. If the mayor or councillors go on any trips, they meet their own costs.

Despite the difficulty of fundraising this year, there was no way that the Christmas Lights Committee, under the excellent leadership of new chairman Rob James, would abandon their determination to ensure Lyme would look as festive as possible.

In fact, in a bid to improve the town’s morale it was essential that the town’s much-admired illuminations went ahead and that was why the lights were turned on a week earlier than normal.

LymeOnline got an email from the organisers on Saturday informing us that the lights would be switched-on in a low key gathering that evening but were asked not publicise this for fear of a large crowd gathering in contravention of the COVID-19 restrictions.

The honour of pressing the ‘on button’ went to champion fundraiser Joshua Denning in the presence of the mayor and mayoress, Brian and Wendy Larcombe, and committee members.

LymeOnline filmed the turning-on live on Facebook, which has been viewed by more than 8,000 people. Rob James also filmed the event, showing the lights in all their glory, for his hugely popular Love Lyme site which was seen by in excess of 100,000 people. You can’t buy that sort of publicity, a fact I hope is recognised by the town council.

Several people took to Facebook to say how disappointed they were not to have been able to attend the ceremony. The organisers, however, were left with no choice; they were unable to get insurance to cover the event due to the restrictions and, had the word got out locally, two or three hundred people might well have turned up. As it was, the whole process was over in a

Get Broad Street clear for Christmas WITH local shops coming out of lock down for the second time next week, hopefully in time for the Christmas rush, Lyme traders will be hoping that the road works in Broad Street will be completed.

With our main street looking staggeringly festive with Lyme’s best Christmas lights ever, it will be particularly annoying if the street scene is marred by ugly bollards and traffic signals during the holiday period When Dorset Council started work on the pedestrian crossing in Broad Street it was said the work would take three weeks to complete .The county agreed to suspend work for a week during half term, but shop owners are anxious that the crossing be completed well before Christmas.

Water utility works have also commenced in the town centre, resulting in parking being restricted in the main street.

This should be completed by December 9 but the frustration of those having to put up with the noise and disturbance of the seemingly never-ending work was clearly demonstrated as an addition to the sign (pictured left).

SPECTACULAR: The Lyme Regis Christmas lights in all their glory matter of minutes and those who were watching quickly dispersed.

It’s interesting to learn that every year the committee has to raise between £10,000 and £15,000 to finance the lights. They made the decision a couple of years ago to buy the lights rather than hiring them, which is more cost effective, and also ensures a variety of displays for future years.

Lyme Regis Town Council contributes £4,000 every year to the cost of the lights, around £3,000 is brought in by sponsorship from generous local businesses and the rest has to come from fundraising. This year the Christmas lights raffle, for example, has raised £2,500.

In a normal year the committee would also raise money from other events, including a duck race, harvest home auction, bingo and summer stall on Marine Parade.

The biggest cost of all, of course, is the purchase of the illuminated displays, three new ones every year, followed by the cost of erection £2,000).

The erection of the Christmas trees above the shop is not part of the committee’s remit and is organised by Virgil Turner and John King who also put up and maintain the main lighting displays as contractors.

It’s a wonderful effort all round, so typical of Lyme.

Photo By RICHARD AUSTIN

IT’S good to see Lyme-based restaurateur Mark Hix rebuilding his empire.

Mark lost control of his restaurant in Lyme early in the COVID-19 pandemic but managed to buy back his popular Oyster and Fish House in Lister Gardens.

He has now acquired the lease of The Fox Inn at Corscombe, a former Palmer’s pub and a new experience for Mark.

He opens the quaint village hostelry on his birthday, December 10.

I know only too well what it’s like to lose a business that you have built up from scratch and I wish him well in his new venture.

Where’s the best place for the Mary Anning statue?

THE fundraising appeal for the proposed Mary Anning statue was launched last week and had already reached £27,000 at the time of going to press. The organisers, Mary Anning Rocks, are hoping to raise £100,000 for the project.

As they edge ever closer to the target, discussions will soon get under way about where the statue should be sited, always a sticky subject.

It seems there are two possibilities - at Cobb Gate, near the anchor, or on Church Cliff Walk near to where Lyme’s most famous fossil made her most significant find - the ichthyosaur, which is on permanent display in the National History Museum in London.

The company which was has made the film ‘Ammonite’ about Mary Anning’s life, staring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, due to be released next year, made a payment of £15,000 to the town for disturbance, £5,000 of which went to the statue fund. Where would you like to see the statue sited?

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Council considers proposal to twin town with Gibraltar LYME Regis Town Council has considered a request that the town be twinned with Gibraltar.

Local resident Nigel Marsh, who has been visiting the British Overseas Territory bordering Spain’s south coast for 60 years, put forward the request for a formal twinning relationship.

Often referred to as ‘the Rock’, he described Gibraltar (pictured) as a “special place” and said a twinning arrangement would provide some exciting opportunities for Lyme Regis, and the unique chance to experience a flavour of Britishness in the Mediterranean.

Lyme Regis has been twinned with St George’s in Bermuda since 1997 and, more recently, entered a ‘tripling’ agreement with St George’s and Jamestown, Virginia – the three communities linked by the historic story of former Mayor of Lyme Regis, Admiral Sir George Somers, who was shipwrecked in Bermuda on his way to the new English colony of Jamestown in 1609.

Lyme has also been twinned with Barfleur in Normandy, France, for several years.

Mr Marsh said that the distance between Lyme and Bermuda meant that taking part in twinning activities was too much or too expensive for several residents, and a possible twinning with Gibraltar would provide a more accessible alternative.

He described Gibraltar as having a “fascinating history” and said there were a range of activities and interests for all ages and budgets to enjoy, including various festivals and events, places of military history, caves, museums, a cable car to the top of the Rock, beaches and other tourist facilities Similar to the Jurassic Coast, it has also be designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mr Marsh also suggested that the senior school in Gibraltar could also be connected with the Woodroffe School in Lyme, adding: “I am certain that students from the two schools would find ways to benefit from a relationship – for example through exchanges, sporting events,

etc. – and form valuable bonds that could last many years.”

Town councillors considered the request at their latest virtual meeting, at which it was noted that twinning arrangements are made through independent organisations and the council’s input is civic only, although in the past it has granted funding to twinning organisations in the town.

It was agreed that the town clerk should write to Mr Marsh and ask him to come back to the council when he had a fully developed idea that demonstrates community engagement, and there was a body to administrate the twinning process.

SHOULD LYME TWIN WITH GIBRALTAR?

Email your views to edit@lyme-online.co.uk

LymeOnline Letters Send your letters to francesca@lyme-online.co.uk

Plans to create kitchen garden in Langmoor ONE of the flower beds in Langmoor Gardens, Lyme Regis, will be handed over to the community to grow their own fruit and vegetables.

Councillors approved a proposal for a kitchen garden to be established in Langmoor Gardens, which they hope will be managed by a community group such as the Lyme Garden Growers.

Operations manager Matt Adamson-Drage put forward the proposal in support of the council’s environmental objectives and as part of a continued refurbishment of the seafront gardens.

His report said: “Langmoor and Lister Gardens cover over 25 different flower beds and maintaining this properly with a small team in a challenge.

“One of the ways to reduce the gardening burden may be allowing a bed to be cultivated by a community group, such as the Lyme Garden Growers.

“The proposal includes specially selected planting, such as raspberry canes, strawberries and scented herbs, along with other plants.

“It is intended to be a well-managed area where plants and crops are specially selected to enhance the visual spectacle of the gardens while meeting environmental requirements to encourage insects and provide food for Lyme Regis residents.

“All planting decisions would be at the discretion of the operations

GET INVOLVED WITH YOUR COMMUNIT Y PAPER

Our library is falling apart!

■ LYME Regis is in danger of losing its Library.

Why? Not through under use but because of the neglect of the fabric of the building by Dorset Council.

If this state of affairs goes on much longer the only thing holding the roof up will be the glass windows. The neglect has meant that the woodwork is rotting away by the day.

Is it the county’s plan that it will allow it to fall apart until it becomes unsafe and then close it or are they just not aware of it’s present condition. If it is the second of those then our councillors must take some of the blame here.

So come on Lyme council and our county councillor - get cracking with lobbying the county to save the building before it falls apart.

Jim Moseley, Charmouth Road, Lyme Regis

By writing a gift in your Will to Cancer Research UK

you’ll help develop long-term research that will save lives across the UK. Find out how you can write a gift in your Will at cruk/WriteAn End or call 0800 707 6006

PHOTOS of the exterior of Lyme Regis Library, taken by Jim Moseley, show rotting wood, chipped paint and an algae-covered fascia board

WE WILL BEAT CANCER SOONER

supervisor in discussion with the council gardeners and the community group cultivating the bed.”

Councillors agreed to the proposal.

Lyme Garden Growers was founded by former town councillor and local businesswoman Rikey Austin and the scheme has taken off this year, with more and more residents keen to grow their own, especially during lockdown.

Group members grow and exchange seeds and plants as needed, and community beds have been set up in various locations around the town, where residents can pick herbs and berries.

Rikey hopes to develop the idea further and, along with husband Paddy, made a life-changing decision to sell their home in Silver Street and buy a piece of land where they could run a community garden, teaching people how to grow their own and providing locally-grown produce free of charge for all.

Rikey and Paddy put their house on the market in January and have had offers, but they are still looking for a suitable piece of land to buy – preferably in Lyme Regis, two to three acres in size with space for living accommodation on site or very close by.

They recently released a video appeal for a piece of land, which you can watch on the Lyme Garden Growers Facebook page.

Christmas in Lyme

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Still the best place to celebrate the festive season!

LOCAL fundraiser Joshua Denning switched on the Christmas tree, accompanied by town crier Alan Vian and the mayor and mayoress, Brian and Wendy Larcombe

Lights brings festive cheer to Lyme Regis

CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE beaten by the virus”.

Lyme Regis Christmas Lights Committee chairman, Rob James, said: “We decided to switch the lights on a week earlier than planned as we wanted to lift everyone’s spirits and bring some festive cheer to the town.

“More than ever this year, we were determined to put on a display the town would be proud of and the committee are delighted with the incredibly positive feedback we have received, particularly through comments made on social media.

“Knowing the lights have been so well received by the local community and beyond makes our work throughout the year so worthwhile.

“We are incredibly grateful to our primary sponsors Lyme Bay Holidays and Toad Hall Cottages for their support along with many other local businesses, particularly as it has been such a challenging year.

“I’d also like to thank the Town Council and Lyme Regis Rotary Club for their valuable contributions, Penn Farm for donating the tree at Bell Cliff, and members of the local community who have generously supported our raffle which

has so far raised nearly £2,500.

“A special mention to Joshua Denning and his mum Annette who have raised over £600 of this total and Andrew Hodder who has contributed £270.”

You can still show your appreciation for this year’s display by purchasing a raffle ticket online at lymechristmaslights.co.uk before Saturday, November 28 (tomorrow).

Prizes include a week’s stay in a Yorkshire holiday cottage, cash prizes totalling £300, and vouchers for the Alexandra Hotel & Restaurant and Harbour Inn. With most of the Christmas Lights Committee’s events having been cancelled this year due to the pandemic, the raffle has been one of the main fundraisers for the display, which costs about £12,000 a year.

You can also take part in a virtual version of the Christmas Lantern Parade, which will be screened online on Saturday, December 12, by sending photos of your entry to info@lymechristmaslights.co.uk, including your name, age and where you’re from.

Lyme Bay Radio to Dates revealed for charity sleigh tour spread festive cheer

AS Christmas this year is going to be a little bit different, Lyme Bay Radio is planning to turn the festive spirit up a notch.

For a whole week in the run-up to Christmas Day (from December 21), the team at Lyme Bay Radio are presenting four very special, twohour programmes dedicated to local people.

They would like listeners to send in your Christmas dedications, messages and wishes which they will play out live on air, post on the Lyme Bay Radio social media pages and on the website www.lymebayradio.com There will also be an update from Santa himself, and LymeOnline editor Francesca Evans will be giving a special report from the North Pole on Christmas Eve! Email your video or audio messages to ashley@lymebayradio.com or call Chris Tipping at The Hub on 01297 445021.

You can also send Lyme Bay Radio a message on social media - just search for Lyme Bay Radio and follow the station on Facebook or Instagram.

All dedications must be with the team by 14th December at the latest, and the radio shows will be repeated on Christmas Day in case you miss them.

To listen live to Lyme Bay Radio, visit www.lymebayradio.com

Free Christmas lunches available for those in need

A FREE Christmas Day dinner is on offer to anyone in need in Lyme Regis this festive season.

A delicious meal will be delivered free-of-charge to residents on Christmas Day, courtesy of professional chef Dom Moldenhauer, of Lyme Regis restaurant Dom’s Table.

Dom’s Table has joined with several community groups to bring some festive cheer to those who may otherwise go without on December 25.

Meals will be available to anyone who is in need, perhaps because they are on their own, self-isolating, unwell, or unable to afford food.

Dom will be preparing the meals, then handing them over to a team of volunteers who will distribute them to anyone who pre-orders.

If you would like to order a Christmas Day dinner, contact Cheryl Reynolds on 01297 443814 or 07796 074849.

The initiative is a joint effort between Lyme Regis Community Support, the mayor and mayoress, Dom’s Table, Lyme Regis Food Bank and LymeForward, Lyme Regis Development Trust, Lyme Bay Medical Practice and social prescriber for the Jurassic Coast Primary Care Network.

Help decorate Town Mill tree THERE’S still time to make your mark on the Town Mill’s Christmas tree in Lyme Regis.

A 20-foot tree has been donated to the mill by town councillor Cheryl Reynolds and her granddaughter Lillie Filtness, and they are inviting local children to decorate it.

The tree was just six inches tall when it was given to Lillie as a gift when she was four years old, and has been growing in Cllr Reynolds’ garden in Manor Avenue ever since.

It has now been erected at the Town Mill and will be adorned in decorations that local children are invited to make.

Decorations can be made at home and dropped off at Alice’s Bear Shop in St Michael’s Business Centre, off Church Street, by December 4.

Every child who enters will receive a small gift and their decoration will be placed on the tree, and the top three entrants will be chosen by Lillie and art teacher Dot Wood and will receive a special prize.

Cheryl and Lillie hope this will be a great way for the community and local children to celebrate Christmas together while also sticking to COVID-19 regulations.

Plans for drive-in carol concert

SANTA Claus will be coming to town as the Lyme Regis charity sleigh heads out for its nineteenth year in December.

Father Christmas will be making his rounds in Lyme Regis and Uplyme on Sunday, December 6 and Monday, December 7, and will be extending his usual route to also include Charmouth on Tuesday, December 8.

This will be the nineteenth year that Neville and Sarah Causley and their family have run the sleigh, which brings joy to both children and adults alike as well as raising thousands

for local and national charities each year.

They are currently building a brand new sleigh, with a successful crowdfunding campaign having raised £660 for the project – almost double the £350 target – having been promoted during Neville and Sarah’s popular virtual quiz nights during the first national lockdown.

Full details of the routes to be taken are now available on the LymeOnline website and listen out for those Christmas tunes to make sure you don’t miss Santa!

PLANS are underway for a drive-in Christmas carol service in Lyme Regis, which will allow residents to join in while remaining socially distanced.

Early plans for the event were announced at last week’s virtual town council meeting, where permission was granted for the carol service to go ahead at the Woodmead Halls car park.

The event is being organised by Golden Cap Team rector, the Reverend Chris Martin, and town crier Alan Vian, who is a prominent member of Lyme Regis Baptist Church.

It will allow families and social bubbles to take part in a traditional Christmas carol service, singing along from the comfort of their own car to ensure social distancing guidelines are adhered to.

The event is expected to be held on the Sunday before Christmas with full details to be announced soon.

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Lyme restaurateur Mark Hix to open first pub LOCAL chef and restaurateur Mark Hix MBE will open The Fox Inn in the historic hamlet of Corscombe when lockdown is lifted in December, the second opening from Hix this year.

Following the success of The Oyster & Fish House which opened in Lyme Regis in July, the 17th century pub will open its doors on December 10.

Located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Grade II listed building is set amongst rolling hills and woodland, just four miles from Beaminster and 40 minutes from Hix’s fish and seafood restaurant in Lyme Regis.

The pub was bought by local residents Eva and the late Ray Harvey in 2012 to save it from being turned into housing and to preserve the hamlet’s history.

“The owners of the pub have been family friends for many years,” said Mark.

“When they offered me the lease, I thought it could be a great opportunity, despite these uncertain times that we are in.

“It will be my first pub so it’s an exciting new project for me in the countryside where I’ll be serving local meat and game along with some British pub classics, a contrast to the fish and seafood offering in Lyme.”

The Fox Room and Bill’s Garden Room, named after Hix’s late grandfather, will seat 35 covers serving local seasonal food. Drinks and bar snacks, including Forde Abbey pheasant club sandwich and Poole cockles with aged vinegar, can be enjoyed in front of the open fire.

The restaurant menu will be focussed on meat and game sourced from the surrounding area, including rabbit brawn with piccalilli, gamekeeper’s hotpot with pickled red cabbage, and a traditional roast every Sunday.

The menu will also feature locally caught fish and Hix favourites, such as Smoked salmon ‘Hix Cure’, which will be cured and smoked on the premises.

The drinks list will take you on a tour of the South West with local beers, wines and spirits taking centre stage.

After a small refurbishment next spring, The Fox will also offer overnight stays; offering two double rooms, designed

by Mark with the inimitable Hix style.

Known for championing local and artisanal producers, in the new year Hix will also host a farmers’ market showcasing the best of the produce from the local area.

Mark said: “With all the challenges that we are facing now, it’s great to be able to focus on an exciting new project. It’s

important to me that I keep The Fox as a traditional local pub with great food and drink.

Since lockdown in spring the pub has only been open three days a week, so I am looking forward to opening six days a week for the locals and visitors to the area to enjoy once more.”

Mark, who grew up in West Bay and now lives in Charmouth, is frequently lauded as one of London’s most eminent restaurateurs with an unrivalled knowledge of ingredients with provenance. He received an MBE for services to hospitality, appointed within the New Year’s Honours 2017 list.

He is the author of a number of cookbooks on British cuisine, including ‘Mark Hix on Baking’, ‘Hix Oyster & Chop House’, ‘British Regional Food’, which received a Guild of Food Writers’ Award and the Simon the André Simon Book Award – Special Commendation, ‘British Seasonal Food’, which was named The Guild of Food Writers’ Cookery Book of the Year in 2009, and his latest book ‘HOOKED’.

Between 2008 and 2020 he had a number of restaurants including HIX Oyster & Chop House, Hixter, Tramshed, Mark’s Bar and HIX Soho in London and HIX Oyster & Fish House in Lyme Regis. The restaurants went into administration in April 2020 as a re-

MARK Hix at the pumps of his new pub, The Fox Inn, in Corscombe.

Right, the menu will be focussed on meat and game sourced from the surrounding area, inlcuidng this gamekeeper’s hotpot

sult of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Mark has made a successful comeback, launching the HIX Oyster & Fish Truck in Morcombelake in June 2020 selling wet fish and seafood from Lyme Bay Reserve fishermen.

He also became director of Food and Drink at city stalwart 1 Lombard Street, London in July 2020, and in the same month opened The Oyster & Fish House on the site

that was formerly HIX Oyster & Fish House, in Lister Gardens, Lyme Regis, serving locally caught fish and seafood and seasonal produce from the South West.

The Fox Inn will be open Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 10pm, with food served all

day, and Sunday 11am to 5pm for food, with bar snacks and drinks available from 5pm to 10pm Sunday nights.

For more information visit www.thefoxinncorscombe.co.uk or to book call 01935 317 555 or email reservations@thefoxinncorscombe.co.uk

Delicious deliveries and takeaways from

WE WILL REMEMBER CONTINUING our series commemorating the anniversaries of the deaths of all Lyme Regis those who gave their lives in the Second World War, this week we remember Walter Henry Austn and Donald Arthur Pare Rigby. With thanks to Vernon Rattenbury of the Royal British Legion for the research.

WALTER HENRY AUSTIN

Leading Seaman (Gunner), Royal Navy Service No. D/J 23288 Born March 6 1897 in London and died November 30 1940 on HMS Lauretic, North Atlantic Walter Austin lived at Middle Mill Farm in Lyme Regis during his early life and enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1913.

During the First World War he served at the Battle of Jutland in HMS Orion and was torpedoed in 1917 whilst serving in HMS Ariadne. He remained in the Royal Navy until 1937 and was recalled for service during World War II. While serving on the requisitioned armed merchant cruiser HMS Laurentic, his ship was torpedoed by the German U-99 on November 3 1940 in the North Atlantic, whilst going to the aid of another torpedoed vessel.

After a fierce six hour battle involving two

Royal Navy destroyers and HMS Laurentic herself against the U-boat, and after taking three torpedo hits she finally slid below the surface with the loss of two officers and 47 ratings.

Son of Mr and Mrs Ernest Austin, and husband of Lilian Elizabeth Austin, of Uplyme, Devon, he is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, panel 36, column 3 and on the Uplyme war memorial.

His son, Richard Ernest Austin, had been killed on active service with the Royal Air Force on August 16 1940.

DONALD ARTHUR PARE RIGBY

Second Officer, Merchant Navy Born 1904 in Runcorn, Cheshire, and died December 5 1940 on MV Silverpine, North Atlantic The MV Silverpine was on route from Liverpool to New York when she was torpedoed by the Italian submarine Argo with the loss of 35 lives.

The son of Harry and Elenor Benton Rigby of Lyme Regis, Donald is commemorated on the Tower Hill Merchant Navy Memorial, London, panel 98, and is also commemorated on the Lyme Regis war memorials in the parish church and in the town.

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Menu from November 24th - December 5th HEAT AT HOME - READY MEAL STYLE Red Pepper & Walnut Lasagne - £6 layered buckwheat lasagne with rich tomato sauce, Wookey Hole Cheddar, peas and autumn beans (milk, eggs, nuts, gluten free) Rangoon Red Curry - £6 sweet aromatic, medium curry with paneer cheese (vegan option available with roasted peanuts), giner, rted chilli & lime paste, autumn vegetable & coconut rice (gluten free, milk) Wild Mushroom Hotpot - £6 Tierra wild mushroom & pumpkin sausages with chestnut mushrooms, peas, red wine & rosemary sauce, topped with crispy potatoes (vegan, gluten free, soy) Applewood Cheddar Tart - £6 all butter puff pastry bake with roast butternut squash, caramelised red onion, crispy potatoes, basil & sun-blushed tomato pesto (milk, gluten) Late Autumn Vegetable Tagine - £6 six vegetable tagine, slow cooked with ras-el-hanout, preserved lemon, apircots, crispy Tierra falafel & quinoa (vegan, gluten free) Luxury Patatas Bravas - £5 potatoes, slow cooked with red wine, paprika, rosemary & Tierra spice mix, with a choice of Wookey Hole Cheddar topping (mil, gluten free) OR tosemary crust (vegan, gluten free) Bag of organic salad - £2.50

Free home deliveries made between 3pm and 6pm. Orders made after 2pm will be delivered the next day that we are open (Tuesday to Saturday) Tuesday - Saturday: Lyme Regis, Uplyme, Charmouth, Morcombelake Wednesday: Axminster, Kilmington and surrounding areas Thursday: Bridport and surrounding areas Friday: Seaton, Colyton, Rousdon and surrounding areas

Order at shop.tierrakitchen.co.uk or call 07827 224735 or 01297 445189

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Dating the Dorset dinosaurs RADIOACTIVE ROCKS AND THE DINOSAUR DETECTIVES

A

RECENT newspaper headline caught my attention where it was reported that the world’s first complete dinosaur skeleton found on the Jurassic Coast had finally been studied in detail and a place found for it in the family tree of dinosaurs.

The article described the well-known local story of how fossilised bones had been collected beneath Black Ven by James Harrison – an amateur collector who lived in Charmouth, and now buried in Monkton Wyld.

In 1858, Harrison sent the bones to Sir Richard Owen – an expert at the British Museum who even coined the word “dinosaur”.

Although Sir Richard published two quick papers on the find and even gave the specimen the name of Scelidosaurus harrisonii (‘Harrison’s limbed reptile’), he did not investigate it in detail and the bones were just stored in the Natural History Museum.

Luckily, Dr David Norman from the University of Cambridge came along and spent the last three years analysing the find and published four papers in 2020 on different parts of the skeleton. These not only reconstructed what the real-life Scelidosaurus looked like 193 million years ago, but also revealed it to be an early ancestor of ankylosaurs – the armour-plated dinosaurs of the late Cretaceous Period.

It has taken 162 years to complete this work and, even then, our understanding of Scelidosaurus is sketchy. For example, it remains a mystery why Scelidosaurus fossils are only found at Charmouth.

It struck me how much detective work is involved in palaeontology. It is a bit like particle physics where you never directly see the object that you are studying – just the evidence and traces of its existence, which you use to work backwards to reconstruct reality.

Strangely enough, nuclear and particle physics do feature in our understanding of dinosaurs. If you wander around Lyme Regis looking at fossils in the shops and museums, the tags will proudly proclaim their age. These typically announce that they are 190 million years old – give or take a few million years.

But how do we know this?

Radioactivity was discovered by Henri Becquerel in 1896, but it was Ernest Rutherford who in 1904 realised that this newly found phenomenon could be used to find the exact age of a rock… and even potentially the Earth itself!

Rutherford went on to discover the atomic nucleus in Manchester, which we now know contains different arrangements of positively charged protons and neutral neutrons inside it.

SCIENCE FEATURE

by Professor Glenn Patrick

Professor Glenn Patrick is a particle physicist and science communicator who explores the quantum world of sub-atomic particles (including at the Large Hadron Collider) and now lives in Lyme Regis Over 3,000 species of nucleus – or nuclide – have been discovered with different numbers of protons and neutrons inside them.

Only 300 of them are stable – the rest are radioactive to some extent!

These unstable nuclei basically have the wrong proportion of protons and neutrons giving them too much energy. They correct this by decaying to another nucleus with a more stable arrangement.

Isotopes are nuclides with identical numbers of protons, but with different numbers of neutrons. Many everyday elements have radioactive isotopes – for example most of the carbon in the natural world is carbon-12 (6 protons, 6 neutrons) or carbon-13 (6 protons, 7 neutrons), but there are also minute amounts of radioactive carbon-14 (6 protons, 8 neutrons).

Each radioactive isotope decays exponentially at a characteristic rate that depends on its half-life. By measuring the relative amounts of different isotopes in an object you can work backwards and calculate its age.

This is exploited in carbon dating where the activity from small amounts of carbon-14 is measured.

The Turin Shroud in 1988 was dated by this method and it was shown to be only 689 years old, and therefore not linked with the crucifixion of Christ. Similarly, in 1991 a body was found sticking out of a glacier in the Tyrolean Alps. Using carbon dating, ‘Otzi the Iceman’ – as he was dubbed – was estimated to have died between 3350 and 3100 BC. The only problem with carbon-14 is that it has a half-life of ‘only’ 5,730 years. This is fine for relatively young objects up to 50,000 years old, but not much use for fossils, which can be millions or even billions of years old.

Isotopes with a much longer half-life are needed such as uranium-238, which decays to lead-206 with a half-life of 4.5 billion years.

To make matters worse, these radioactive elements do not normally exist in the sedimentary rock where dinosaur fossils are found.

Nearby layers which include igneous rock, must be used instead to indirectly date the fossil. Nonetheless, the oldest piece of rock

VIEWS of Black Ven in Lyme Regis - one of the largest mudslides in Europe which is always revealing undiscovered fossils

discovered on Earth is a zircon crystal from western Australia - estimated to be 4.4 billion years old!

As well as their age, one thing we would all like to know is why are there no dinosaurs roaming Lyme Regis today – what caused their mass extinction? It was the Nobel Prizewinning particle physicist Luis Alvarez and his son Walter – a geologist – who came up with an answer.

In 1980, they suggested that a huge asteroid - the size of San Francisco - smashed into the Earth 66 million years ago filling the atmosphere around the globe with dust and debris. The loss of sunlight stopped photosynthesis with the result that food chains collapsed, and extinction soon followed.

Alvarez based his theory on samples of limestone rock collected by Walter in a The skeleton of the Harrison small Italian village.

Scelidosaurus - some it encased He asked two nuclear in marlstone slabs (credit: chemists to determine Natural History Museum, the concentrations of R1111 - Owen, 1861) elements in the rock

and was surprised to discover a clay layer 600 times richer in iridium than the surrounding rock.

Iridium – a metal like platinum - is one of the rarest elements in the Earth’s crust, so how did it get there? Spikes of iridium were soon found in clay layers from other places around the world alongside a layer of soot, pointing the finger to an extra-terrestrial source - like asteroids, which are known to contain high levels of iridium!

When the huge Chicxulub crater – 120 miles wide and 12 miles deep - was found in 1991 off the coast of Mexico, the likely site for the asteroid impact was located. Not everyone accepted the theory, but in 2010 an international panel ruled that the evidence favoured an asteroid sparking the extinction.

As the estimated dates for the impact and the extinction agree, it remains the most widely supported explanation.

Other catastrophic events triggered by the impact - like volcanic eruptions and releases of toxins – are likely to have also played a part in ending the rule of the dinosaurs in Lyme Regis... and elsewhere.

When fossil hunting, stay away from cliffs, never hammer the cliffs, look out for mud flows and check tide times. Make sure you are properly equipped and, if inexperienced, seek advice from Lyme Regis Museum or Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre.

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Council sets next year’s budget after Putting an end to food waste being hit by coronavirus pandemic FOLLOWING Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Spending Review given in the House of Commons on Wednesday - in which he outlined how the coronavirus pandemic had affected the UK economy - Lyme Regis Town Council had some financial announcements of its own to make later that day.

The council held its annual budget setting meeting via video conferencing app Zoom. It was reported that the council expects to end the 2020/21 financial year with a £53,000 deficit, which will have to be taken from its reserves, depleting them to £560,000.

However, this is a much-improved outlook compared to a few months ago, with the council initially estimating end of year reserves to stand at just £67,000 when lockdown first took hold in the spring.

Speaking at the meeting, town clerk John Wright said the “material increase” in the estimated end of year reserve was largely down to an increase in normal car parking income during September and October, as well as a strong August, and the council spending more time chasing up historic debts.

“It’s all beginning to look better for us,” he added.

Mr Wright added that these estimates were prudent and he hoped to bring councillors even more positive news at the end of the financial year in March 2021.

Members then approved a ‘base budget’ with income of £1,686,267.25 and expenditure of £1,305,548.43 for the 2021/22 financial year, with reserves expected to increase by £380,718.82.

The 2021/22 ‘base budget’ includes savings of £128,000 to start rebuilding the reserves, including a £41,000 cut on office expenses and a £53,000 cut on outside works.

The town clerk said a large cut to office expenses would be consultant fees, which the council currently spent “a small fortune on”.

He commented: “Our legal fees alone are quite significant. We are a property based

FRANCESCA EVANS

francesca@lyme-online.co.uk

council so there will always have to be some input from lawyers, but we need to become a less letigious organisation.”

Councillors agreed not to raise council tax precept (the portion of council tax which goes to town council) in the next financial year, acknowledging that “we have all endured a difficult time” – but they warned it will have to rise in future.

Councillors agreed on objectives for the coming years, with those in the top priority list including: IT equipment for councillors, office refurbishment, seafront gardens refurbishment, electric vehicle charing pods, installing water meters, purchasing a new chipper, replacing corroding seafront railings, installing CCTV cameras, undertaking an asset management strategy, and repairing or replacing the old cadet hut behind Anning Road now used by council’s outside works team.

Despite the largely positive news, some councillors expressed concerns that the council had not adapted or made enough changes in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Cllr Richard Doney said that many organisations had realised over the past year that they needed to change the way they operated and the town council was not immune from this. He said that while some savings were being made, the council was largely continuing as normal and was not making an effort to become more efficient.

Cllr Belinda Bawden also felt the council should be adapting more in light of COVID19 and the current climate emergency.

“It does seem life is much like usual despite being in global pandemic and life is never going to be the same again, and that’s not reflected here,” she said.

A NEW initiative aimed at reducing food waste and supporting the local community is due to be launched in Lyme Regis.

The initiative was picked up by Lisa Jones and Mary Ward, who work for LymeForward and run Lyme Regis Food Bank, which opens every Wednesday morning, after reading an article about a collaboration with Seaton’s SAVE Food Hub and the Community Waffle House in Axminster.

They said: “We were already aware of the good work done by the Waffle House team and the article explained how the SAVE Food Hub operates; its volunteers collect edible, indate food and share it with local foodbanks, community food projects and local people.

“This premise was of interest to us as it aligned with our own values of zero waste and fitted in with our food bank operation. We contacted Aileen Heal who runs the Seaton SAVE Food Hub and volunteered there.

“On the first night we volunteered, about 20 crates of surplus food were picked up from the Co-op and Tesco in Seaton. We helped to sort them, photograph them and list them on an app.

“Some of the food was put aside for both Seaton and Axminster foodbanks, while the rest was listed on the app for the public to collect. We were amazed at the volume of surplus food which was being put to good use and would otherwise have ended up in the waste stream.

“We volunteered one night per week and witnessed first-hand the volume of surplus food.

The SAVE Food Hub in Seaton, including Colyton and Axmouth, operates every night of the week, thereby saving a huge amount of food which would otherwise go to waste.

“We were so impressed with the operation there that we started to think about whether this scheme could operate in Lyme Regis and began to make plans. The first challenge was to find a building from which we could operate.

“Whilst our foodbank operates out of The Hub, we knew that this was far from ideal owing to accessibility issues. We wanted

somewhere accessible in the centre of Lyme Regis, so we approached the Baptist Church in Silver Street.

“We were aware that they were an Eco Church that had led the way in using less plastic and managing their building sustainably.

We spoke to the Reverend Christopher Woodman and subsequently Alan Vian who has been very helpful and fully supportive.

“We then approached the Co-op in Lyme, knowing that they regularly support local causes. The manager, Karl Josko, was indeed very supportive and put us in touch with Sophie Graves, Co-op Member Pioneer for Axminster and Lyme Regis. We are also hoping to get Tesco on board.

“We have registered #SAVEFOODLYME with Environmental Health, followed the various procedures and have completed the Level 2 Food Hygiene and Safety Training. Consequently, we are now ready to begin the operation.

“We are hoping that people throughout the town will support this new initiative as we work towards making Lyme Regis the next near zero waste town whilst supporting our local community.”

The Save Food Lyme Hub will now be operating every Tuesday from 8.30pm to 9.30pm from the Baptist Church in Silver Street (DT7 3HR).

Those interested in benefitting from the food can download the OLIO app and set up your account at https://olioex.com/. You can then browse the listings and get notifications when new items are listed on Tuesday evenings, request items and visit the Baptist Church to collect.

Lisa and Mary added: “The world wastes £2.9 trillion worth of food annually which is more than enough to eliminate food poverty and hunger globally. This simple initiative can help and it is absolutely free to use - just turn up and collect.”

For further information, contact Lisa on 07955 772 314, or Mary on 07742 053 736, or email manager@lymeforward.com

Lyme mourns war veteran and respected citizen WAR veteran, a Royal Marine for 25 years serving all over the globe, a quarter century working with British Gas, holder of the British Empire Medal, town council macebearer, Royal British Legion stalwart, local footballer and referee, keen snooker player, allotment holder, founding member of the cribbage league.

Tony Rice enjoyed a long and interesting life, serving his country with distinction and his home town with pride. His passing, at the age of 94, at the Lyme Regis Nursing Home where he lived for the last six years, will be greatly mourned in Lyme Regis where he was a hugely respected by his fellow townsfolk.

He is survived by three children, Sue, Jenny and Martin, nine grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren.

Born and educated in Lyme, Mr Rice joined the Royal Marines at 18, became a Commando and served all over the globe, seeing action in Germany when British troops crossed the Rhine and landing in Japan shortly after the Hiroshima bomb.

He retired from the Marines at the age of 40 in 1966, having served for 25 years in all the world’s trouble spots, and took a job with British Gas for whom he worked briefly before the war. He worked as a service engineer until his retirement in 1991, having

been awarded the British Empire Medal for services to the Gas Board and the community.

Mr Rice was a popular local footballer and referee and enjoyed a game of snooker at the Conservative Club. He was also a founding member of Lyme Regis Cribbage League and was secretary-treasurer to the Lyme Regis Allotment Association. He was a keen member of the Lyme Regis branch of the Royal British Legion, acting as the caller at their weekly bingo sessions, and served the town council as a macebearer for many years.

In his latter years Mr Rice became a familiar figure around town and on the seafront in his power wheelchair, escorted by one of his children, and enjoyed meeting and chatting with his many friends whilst he puffed away on his trademark pipe.

In a tribute to Mr Rice, Philip Evans MBE of LymeOnline writes: “I lived opposite the Rice family for 50 years and all the young men in our road looked upon Mr Rice as a bit of a hero – mainly because he was a great footballer and also because we knew he was a Royal Marine Commando. Nothing earned our respect more than that.

“He always had the time of day for us and I remember interviewing him in 1989 when he was awarded the BEM about which he was extremely humble.

“He took a great interest in the football club and we often saw him on his allotment on a Saturday afternoon when we were playing at the Davey Fort. He always wanted to know what the score was.

“Mr Rice succeeded my father Jack, after his death, as a macebearer for the town mayor, a role he took very seriously. As a former Marine, you can image he brought great gravitas to his duties. The role of the macebearer, now purely ceremonial, was to protect the mayor. I can’t imagine anyone being

a threat to the mayor with Tony stood beside him!

“Living just a few doors from another former war veteran Bill Reed, we had no real understanding what like men like Mr Rice and Mr Reed had gone through during the war years. They rarely – if ever – spoke about their exploits but we knew there was something special about them. We considered it a privilege living in such close proximity in a road where community spirit was always way of life.”

axminsternews

14 Friday, November 27 2020

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Sponsored by Axminster Nub News - axminster.nub.news

Axminster Gymnastics Club hopes to expand with new headquarters THE popular Axminster Gymnastics Club is hoping to expand if it receives permission to move to a new headquarters.

The club hopes to move to an industrial building on the Axminster Carpets site in Woodmead Road, which will provide much more space for its growing membership.

A planning application is expected to be submitted to East Devon District Council shortly.

Axminster Gymnastics Club was launched by Emma Rowe in March 2017 with classes first being held at local village halls. The club later took up regular slots at Axminster Leisure Centre before eventually moving to its own premises above the Axminster Carpets shop on Musbury Road in November 2018.

Having its own premises has allowed the club to increase the number of classes it holds, now operating six days a week from Monday to Saturday, both during the day and in evenings.

But the club’s 300-strong mem-

bership has now outgrown its current home, which is also not fully accessible and has limited height restrictions.

The club caters for a range of abilities, with members aged from just two years old to adults. Members are trained in floor gymnastics, vault, bars, beam and trampette, as well as getting the chance to perform in the club’s annual summer show and annual club competition, and the opportunity to compete in women’s artistic, floor and vault, tumbling and display team gymnastics.

The club, which is run as a notfor-profit company, also provides employment for three full-time staff as well as several part-timers and has some members enrolled in a Young Leaders programme.

The club’s current premises is limited compared to its competitors, but if planning permission is received the new site will provide a gymnasium double the size, plus toilet/changing facilities and office

space to meet the growing demand for the sport, as well as more security with a long-term lease.

Emma says there is still a great demand for more children to join the club and she hopes the new premises will help accommodate them, especially as more space is now needed to meet social distancing guidelines.

The club has managed to continue running practice sessions this year, although not in person during the lockdown periods. Instead, Emma

has been running online classes and has continued her work with local schools.

She commented: “It has been difficult running classes online rather than in person but we will get through it and I hope moving to a new space will be something exciting that members can look forward to.”

For more information on Axminster Gymnastics Club, visit www.axminstergymnastics.co.uk or find them on Facebook.

Care service closes senior citizens' centre

A national network of h hyperlocal news websites, now covering the Axminster & Seatton areas With editorial content provided by the team from Ly Lym meOnline

Visit our new websites at

axminsterr..nub.news and seaton.nub.news And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & T Tw witter to keep up to date with all the latest local news

AXMINSTER Care Service (ACS) has announced the closure of the Axminster Senior Citizens Centre in Church Street.

ACS said the decision had been made with great reluctance and the centre in the Old Police Station complex would close on November 30.

The statement continued: “Long before the COVID-19 lockdowns the centre was being underused. The groups and clubs that frequented the premises during the 1980s and 90s have progressively waned over time."

It was confirmed, however, that the Tuesday Lunch Club, which used to meet at the centre before lockdown, would continue to operate.

During the coronavirus the meals have continued to be prepared and have been distributed to people’s homes instead.

In the future, Paula Grant will carry on the running of the lunch club, with ACS continuing to subsidise the cost of the meals. It is hoped that the club will in the future meet at the Guildhall, as soon as COVID-19 restrictions allow. In the meantime, Mrs Grant will continue to deliver the lunches.

In a report on other ACS matters, the statement continued: “This year, 2020, has been the most unusual in all our 34 years as a charity.

Having been faced with lockdown and COVID19 restrictions we have all been forced to think more ‘outside the box’ in order to carry on and get things done as best we can.”

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the care service has lost a number of valued volunteers over recent months and is now looking for more to help with its transport service.

Volunteers are needed to answer the telephone between 9.30am and 10.30am on rota, and to assist in allocating the journeys requested to drivers. ACS is also looking for volunteer drivers to collect patients and deliver them to their hospital or doctor’s appointments and return them home safely. All car drivers are reimbursed for their mileage.

The latest planning news in Axminster ■ PLANNING permission has been granted for a terrace of three houses at the rear of the former NatWest bank in Axminster.

The development will include the demolition of an “ugly”, single-storey extension at the rear of the former bank, which closed down in 2017, and the development of three threebedroom houses on an un-used and overgrown area of land.

The houses will be two-storey facing onto the neighbouring NCP car park, and the application says the design of the houses will “reflect the design and character of buildings in the area”.

It adds that the development will provide three houses “at an affordable price within the centre of the town in a highly sustainable location”.

It is intended for the ground floor of the former bank to be brought back into “active town centre use” and continue use of the upper floors at flats.

■ PERMISSION has also been granted a second time for two houses to replace garages in Coombe Lane, Axminster.

Permission was initially granted in 2016 but this has since expired. East Devon District Council have now given permission again for two houses to be built on a site which currently houses eight “unattractive” garages in poor condition.

The proposed houses will probably be constructed of rendered blockwork and cladding under slated roofs complimenting the surrounding buildings in the conservation area.

They will each have a parking space outside.

■ PERMISSION has also been granted to change previously-approved plans for eight new homes of the site of the former police station in Lyme Close, changing three of the proposed houses from two-bed, two-storey dwellings to three-bed, three storey dwelling, altering the heigh and pitch of roofs.

■ A PROPOSED micro-pub in Axminster town centre, which was granted planning permission in July, now has plans to expand into a neighbouring retail unit.

An application to change the use of Unit 4 at St George’s in Chard Street - a former department store now split into separate units - from retail to a micro-pub was previously granted

by East Devon District Council and the applicant now hopes to expand their new business into the neighbouring Unit 2, which runs across the back of Unit 4 and fronts Victoria Place.

Following the planning approval in July, the landlord of the wider building offered the rear storeroom in Unit 2 to form an extension of the micropub, which will help the business to meet social distancing guidelines and table service requirements which are expected to stay in place after lockdown.

Concerns were raised during the consideration of the previously approved micro-pub in relation to the size and “constrained layout of the unit”, and its ability to function as a micropub without adverse effect on amenity and the safety of both customers and members of the public, and it is hoped that the expansion will address these issues.

Unit 4 has remained vacant for 12 months and the landlord had indicated that it is difficult to find a tenant for Unit 2 due to the size and layout of the space. It is currently housing the pop-up Cards for Good Causes shop until Christmas.

Friday, November 27 2020 15

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FLASHBACKS with Richard Austin

Tales from behind the lens of our award-winning photographer

■ THIS week there was an hour-long programme on TV about the life and times of comedian Frankie Howerd.

It reminded me of the time I met up with him on a visit to a learning centre in Taunton quite a few years ago.

I’d always been a fan of his. TV shows and cinema films he had starred in were a good laugh; he had his own set of

catch words and phrases totally unique to himself.

On this visit he obviously knew the press would be there and Frankie certainly played up for the cameras, just like the professional he was, which always makes it a lot easier from the photographer’s point of view.

Frankie died of heart failure in 1992 and, afterwards, there

were plans to open up Frankie’s Somerset house to the public. I was sent along there to photograph inside and out; it felt slightly intrusive but the person in charge even showed me Frankie’s wig by the side of his bed and revealed that Richard Burton and Elisabeth Taylor secretly used to come and stay at his Somerset house.

16 Friday, November 27 2020

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ITEMS FOR SALE

TOY SCHOOL BUS, Fisher Price 192 with seven people in very good condition, £28 01297 442627.

TOY CAMPER VAN, Fisher Price, complete with extras, boat and seven people, very good condition, £30 - 01297 442627.

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CHEST OF DRAWERS, blonde oak, veneered with three drawers, 33” or 84cm wide x 29” or 72cm height x 20” or 50cm deep, only £25 - 01297 443930.

HEATED HOSTESS TROLLEY, Elko, four lidded, Pyrex containers, instruction book included, as new - 01297 443930.

BEDROOM SET, Sarah Kay bedroom set for girls, 2 duvet covers, pillow slips, matching curtains 66” wide x 54” drop, £30 - 01297 443930.

COFFEE TABLE, light oak, parquet style, very good condition, L48"(1220mm) x W24" (610mm) x H15" (390mm), £25 - 01297 678584.

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November 27 2020

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NOW IN THE DEVON & EXETER LEAGUE

Saturday, December 5th Lyme Regis 1sts away to Wareham Rangers in Dorset Senior Trophy

Seasiders return on ASHLEY’S senior trophy duty HONG KONG WITH local football being able to recommence on Saturday, December 5, Lyme Regis 1st team will be looking forward to getting their Dorset Senior Trophy campaign off to a start with an away fixture at Wareham Rangers.

The Seasiders had a bye in the first round and will fancy their chances against a Wareham side which is bottom of the Dorset Premier division, having lost all eight of their games this season, shipping 25 goals along the way.

Lyme has an excellent record in county cup competitions, the first team having won the Dorset Intermediate Cup on nine occasions, but that was in the days before they were considered to be a senior side, now playing in the Devon and Exeter League.

Since playing in the D & E Premier East division, however, the Seasiders now compete in the Dorset Senior Trophy which pitches them against some of the top sides in Dorset football.

Like all local teams, Lyme is anxious to get back to playing again, but there will be no game at the Davey Fort on re-start day (December 5) as the Reserves are away to Tipton St John in the Devon and Exeter Division One East.

Lyme Rovers have no fixture on that day but are on Dorset Junior Cup duty the following week (December 12) away to Sturminster Newton.

The Tipton game will be a stern test for the

By

PHILIP EVANS Ressies who have experienced a difficult start to the season, having won just one of their four league fixtures. Tipton, however, are riding high, occupying third place with 11 points from their first games, sitting behind Beer Albion Reserves and leaders Exmouth Rovers.

Lyme Reserves have already played both home and away games against the league leaders, performing well in both fixtures and losing by the narrowest of margins.

Bouyed by this, joint managers Nick Tregale and Darren Stewart are confident that as the season gets going again the Reserves, with an excellent team spirit, will start to climb the table.

Uplyme have made an impressive start to the season, winning four of their seven games in Perry Street Division Two, and are comfortably placed in second position behind Forton Rangers Reserves. Their first game back in action will be at home to Chard United Reserves where another three points beckon.

Uplyme Reserves, the youngest side in the league, have also got their act together after a shaky start, with three good results on the trot and have shot up Division Three to a respectable mid-table position.

On December 5 they travel to struggling Crewkerne Rangers A where a win could see jump into the top half of the table.

TRIUMPH

FORMER Uplyme and Lyme Regis cricketer Ashley Caddy, who lives and works in Hong Kong, is continuing his sporting exploits on the other side of the world. Ashley, eldest son of Russel and Gail Caddy, plays for Kowloon Cricket Club and his team has just won the CHK Premier League T20 final beating Hong Kong CC. Ashley (pictured back row, third from the left) was a key member of Uplyme and Lyme Regis CC before moving to Hong Kong and he also played in goal for Lyme Regis Football Club

VAR is spoiling football as we know it I

KNOW that many of you who will be reading this article are of similar age to me and played football in the 1960s and 70s, and will easily empathise with my thoughts on the way our beautiful game has changed, whilst the younger generation will have no idea what I am talking about.

Okay, call me old-fashioned, and many will, but the simple game has changed beyond comprehension from its humble beginnings to what we see on our screens now, and the people in charge continue to try to make it more complicated by thinking up more ludicrous rules.

The need to change the two jumpers for goalposts required updating with a goal frame that clearly indicates whether a goal had been scored, and as now, the whole of the ball had to be over the goal line to be legal.

This was sometimes difficult for a referee or linesman to see, and so some kind of equipment like the goal line technology now used is an

By STUART BROOM Former captain of Lyme Regis FC asset; about the only good change that I can see.

The old offside rule applied to any attacking player beyond the last defender in the opposition’s half when the ball is played forward, regardless of whether they are interfering with play or not, making it easy for the linesman to detect.

There is none of this complicated reasoning about whether the player had run back from being offside and waiting for the offending player to touch the ball before signalling an offence. What a waste of time that is!

Whilst the game half a century ago was much more physical, in general I don’t believe it was as bad as it has been painted by modern experts.

Yes there were some real hard men around then such as Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris, Norman Hunter, Jack Charlton and many more, who ruled by fear of a hefty thwack from behind. However, there are several in the modern era who still have the same reputation.

I agree that it needs to be reined in to ensure players’ safety, however the rules have gone too far again in my opinion. The slide tackle from the side has been virtually eliminated from the game now, but correctly executed it is one of the safest and finest weapons in a defender’s armoury. The art of stretching and sliding your foot around the front of the ball to take it off the opponents toe usually only resulted in the attacker falling over your foot.

I was never booked or red carded in my career for anything, but think I would have been dismissed every week if I was playing today for slide tackles.

Back in the day, the penalty rule was simple. It

was awarded if the referee considered it was a deliberate handball, or if he adjudged a player had clearly fouled an opponent.

Now we have VAR checking the referee’s decision to see if he was right. Play is held up whilst it decides on a number of ludicrous situations like whether the defender’s arm is in an unnatural position.

It is becoming a farce. The referee is not in charge anymore, I don’t know why they don’t have a robot instead. VAR rules are spoiling the game that we knew.

Players instinctively race off in glee after scoring a goal only for three minutes later the VAR referee, in a hut outside Wembley Stadium, to change the decision, or ask the referee to look at the monitor, suggesting he has got it wrong.

It’s all too much – bring back the jumpers, and don’t forget to pick them up before you go home!

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