Marshwood+ October 2020

BridLit to buck the trend Page 49

Seasonal Upside Down Page 39

Seven years of My Ballet Page 46

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Marshwood +

© Peter Vernon Photograph by Julia Mear

The best from West Dorset, South Somerset and East Devon

No. 259 October 2020

COVER STORY Julia Mear met Peter Vernon in Colyford, Devon

© Peter Vernon Photograph by Julia Mear

’I

was born in Cheshire in 1955 and we moved to Corscombe in Dorset in 1960. I remember the really hard winter of 1962-1963 starting on boxing day right through to February. We were totally snowed in, we cut doorways through drifts and saw cars abandoned on the roads. People were ice skating on Sutton Bingham reservoir near Yeovil. My father worked in Yeovil as a Social Security Officer, mother was at home with me and my brother Paul who was 5 years older than me.

Then we moved to West Grange in West Hill, a fantastic old three-storey house with a cellar and an old staircase with a handrail I used to slide down. The cellar was always full of Dad’s homemade wine made from all sorts of free ingredients. We grew mushrooms down there too, using a bunk bed, planked out and filled with compost and sold them locally. My upbringing was fantastically unconventional. Although my father worked in an office, he was a country man at heart who loved to live off the land. A local character, Mr Brooks-King recognised my love of nature and took me and my mate, Terry Salter out birdwatching. He had a microphone in his hat and a portable tape recorder. We had to write down all the species of birds we saw. He could call a cuckoo over by imitating a female cuckoo noise, which is a very odd guttural burbling noise. Most of the time I hated school, I would much rather have been outside in the real world, wandering around the fields and woods. I got into growing vegetables from about eight years old; potatoes, strawberries and whatever else I could grow. Dad got some goats (Nancy and Susan) and chickens. I’d milk the goats and collect the eggs; I’d cut down branches to keep the goats busy eating whilst milking. Some of Dad’s customers had land and he kept geese or pigs or a couple of heifers there, which we would visit on Sundays. Mum and Dad split up when I was 17 and I went to live with my brother in Sidmouth.

My father had a heart attack when he was 58 and as a result, took early retirement and decided to buy a place with land. The only place he could find that he could afford was on Bodmin Moor. He started a piggery unit and got a

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 3

Peter Vernon

© Peter Vernon Photograph by Julia Mear

contract for his baconers; he had a couple of cows and a few Dexter heifers. He didn’t live his dream for long, he died from another heart attack about 18 months later, in 1974, chasing pigs across the yard.

I was only 19 and had to go down and look after the stock before it was sold at auction, I remember having to castrate the piglets with a razor blade! I was told his herd of pigs were some of the best they’d ever seen.

When I left school, I was into rough shooting; pigeons, rabbits etc and really wanted to be a gunsmith but the nearest place to get an apprenticeship was Bath and I wasn’t ready to leave home at that time.

During my time at Sidmouth Secondary I’d had the most inspirational metalwork teacher called

4 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

Bernard Hughes, he was brilliant and basically treated me like a son.

I managed to bunk off a lot of other lessons and would end up in the metalwork shop. He got me my first job at Brufords, a jeweller in Exeter where I started work as a silversmith. The workshop was an amazing four storey house behind the prison. They had a clockmaker; watchmaker, silversmith and a pearl stringer. Most of the work I did was repairing silver and what I really wanted was an apprenticeship making pieces. So, Mr Hughes managed to secure me a four-year art metal apprenticeship at Whipples in Exeter. I loved it but the money wasn’t great so when I’d completed the apprenticeship, I moved onto Devon instruments in Topsham where they made reproduction carriage clocks.

They doubled my money and with that and taking in a lodger, meant I was able to buy my first house in Exeter for £13,500. But after four years I was made redundant when Devon Instruments went belly up.

I then got a job with Bulmers cider as a Service Technician fitting cider pumps in pubs, hotels and nightclubs all over the South West.

I got married in 1981, to Linda, we had a son, Ashley, but sadly we divorced when he was two. After caring for Ashley every evening when Linda worked, I abruptly lost him from my life when I moved out. It was one of the worst times.

I went to court to sort out access but the ruling, because of his age, was that I could only see him every two weeks on a Sunday morning for a few hours. I complied at the start

but it was so painful for me and so upsetting and disruptive for a small child to cope with that I decided to stop with the hope that things would change when he was older. I just wanted the best for him. I have had to live with my choices that I thought were right at the time but really regret that we are still estranged. I hope that one day he will understand and that we can get to know each other.

I moved back to Sidmouth and met Diana; we were in similar situations. It developed into something wonderful and we married in 1989.

We moved to Newton Poppleford where we had an allotment and I also got into alpine plants. We grew buckets of strawberries and flowers for drying; everyone ended up with dried flowers for Christmas. After eight years we moved to where we are now in Colyford, we have a bigger garden including a rockery and beds for the alpine plants. I never do anything by halves and joined every single plant society that I could—about 20! They do seed exchanges so I had the opportunity of getting some very rare seeds which enabled me to grow things I couldn’t have otherwise grown. I got into the species Erodium, which are related to the hardy Geranium.

We used to go up every year to visit Diana’s mum in Yorkshire, and whilst they would go off to see the sites, I would search out interesting nurseries. One had the national collection of Erodiums; and at another we’d exchange plants. I let them have one of my new Erodium seedlings and as a reminder of where it came from, they added my name to the label. It was only recently, when I happened to google my name for something else, I found Erodium Peter Vernon. Amazingly it is RHS listed without any effort from me.

A lady from America also showed up online as having it and I contacted her to ask how she managed to

smuggle my plant back to America and she told me she put them in her knickers!

After 22 years working for Bulmers they got bought out and I was eventually made redundant. The redundancy and a supportive wife enabled me to think about what I was going to do next and I decided I didn’t want to work for anybody again. I set up on my own in 2004 as a full-time sculptor; an artist in wood where I developed my own way of doing things.

I got into the Blackdown Hills Business Association; they were brilliant. They had a pitch on Taunton High Street and that was one of my first experiences of selling direct to the public. I did a bit of woodturning to start with and made some jewellery boxes, then I started a bit of sculpting and had some great feedback. It was getting into sculpting and developing my own style that got me noticed.

Around this time, I met James Luard, a retired captain in the Navy, he had a gallery on his farm in Stawley near Wellington. He got a little group of us together—potters, artists, painters, blacksmiths, people working with fabrics—the whole gambit. That’s where I met Frank Martin the potter, he was encouraging and said he like my work. He was on the board of the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen and I was invited to join and sell through their gallery and at various exhibitions.

One day I got a phone call from the Guild’s manager saying someone had been in and bought one of my Manta Ray sculptures and was donating it to the Nature in Art Gallery and Museum in Twigworth, Gloucestershire. I contacted the curator who said I could come up and see my piece there. It was amazing, they’ve got pieces of Picasso and other top named artists, and there’s my sculpture in there. I’ve never done commission work as such; I

make something and I put it in the gallery and if it sells that’s great. I concentrate mainly on nature with flowing forms. I’m virtually retired now, I do the odd bit and put a few pieces in galleries but not looking to sell myself anymore.

I have a number of hobbies and once I get into them, they take over my l life. I did moth traps every night of the year for two years, I’d record and photograph every one! I caught a moth that had never been found in Devon before. I met a lot of people through that. I wrote an article Magnificent Moths on moths and caterpillars for the East Devon Coast and Country Magazine.

I’d done some metal detecting back in the 80s when I got divorced as I’d needed a hobby to distract me. Then in about 2014 I met a local chap, Gordon, coming out of a field with a metal detector, got chatting and decided I wanted to get back into it again. The second time out I found a Bronze Age axe and since then I’ve found some wonderful things. I joined the EDMDC (East Devon Metal Detecting Club), they have a dig every fortnight. There are some great sites around here. Gordon and I discovered a Medieval fair site and have found many Medieval hammered silver coins on the site. I’ve worked my way up in EDMDC and made some great friends. I’m now a site officer, finding new sites, as well as photographer and also on the show committee. We usually have a presence at about three or four local agricultural shows a year, to let people know what we do and what we find and to hopefully encourage landowners to allow us to detect on their land. We usually have a table at our digs so the landowner can see what we’ve found. The club also has an annual charity dig.

It’s a peaceful spot where we live and enjoy our many different and varied hobbies; a lovely life.

’

UP FRONT In his new book, English Pastoral, Lake District farmer James Rebanks echoes the thoughts of many people when he says he is tired of the ‘absolutes and extremes and the angriness of this age’. He says ‘we need more kindness, compromise and balance.’ Although he is talking about farming, his words could apply to many arguments in an easily divided world. His farming life was first inspired by his grandfather who made his living on an old fashioned mixed farm. Later, James’s father was influenced by the need for modernisation, although he always instinctively distrusted the direction his industry was taking. A visit to America to see vast tracts of land decimated by overuse of chemicals and ‘mechanical weapons’ confirmed what James had feared for many years; that the direction taken by conglomerates to increase food yield in farming had environmental consequences way beyond anything we could have imagined. Pushed to supply supermarkets with cheap food, many small farmers had become ‘slaves to the gospels of industrial efficiency and consumerism’. The difficulty faced by family businesses that have had to change centuries-old practises, in order to compete with vast mechanised output, is a tragedy. Not just because of the damage to ecosystems, soil and landscape, but also because of the loss of the livelihoods of thousands of families who have looked after the land around them—in most cases, with a natural instinctive care for their environment. Much of James’ concerns are not news to environmentalists, ecologists, conservationists and those who care about a sustainable future. But that in itself brings its own challenges. As in so many other aspects of society, individual voices or groups following one particular view—regardless of how caring that view might be—at some point become tribal, and even so entrenched in their focus that clarity of purpose is forgotten. James highlights our need to work together on how we farm. Organic food, re-wilding, locally-produced, even larger-scale production all have a role to play in the mixed farming of the future, but there is no simple fix. The logical route is to find a balance between the need to produce more food than ever, and the need to do so in a sustainable fashion. As James puts it, we need to bring ‘clashing ideologies about farming together, to make it as sustainable and as biodiverse as it can be.’

Fergus Byrne

Published Monthly and distributed by Marshwood Vale Ltd Lower Atrim, Bridport Dorset DT6 5PX For all Enquiries Tel: 01308 423031 info@marshwoodvale. com

THIS MONTH

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Cover Story By Julia Mear Event News and Courses A Glimpse into the Past By Margery Hookings A Late Summer’s Day at Cogden Beach

By Philip Strange Beer Quarry Caves By Kevin Cahill I saw three ships come sailing in By Cecil Amor News & Views Laterally Speaking by Humphrey Walwyn The Watch Project Interviews by Seth Dellow

28 28 30 32

House & Garden Vegetables in October By Ashley Wheeler October in the Garden By Russell Jordan Property Round Up By Helen Fisher

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36 37 38

Food & Dining Rich Steak & Venison Pie with a Black Pepper Crust

By Lesley Waters Fried Duck’s Egg with Penny Buns By Mark Hix The All Round Zander Experience By Nick Fisher Pasties and Blackberry Upside Down Cake

By Lizzie Crow

40 40 46 50 51 52 53

Arts & Entertainment Galleries Seven Years of My Ballet By James Crowden Rural Voices By Louisa Adjoa Parker The Lit Fix By Sophy Roberts Young Lit Fix By Antonia Squire Screen Time By Nic Jeune

54 54 56

Health & Beauty Steps2Wellbeing By Ellie Sturrock Services & Classified

“Under the most rigorously controlled conditions of pressure, temperature, humidity, and other variables, the organism will do as it damn well pleases.”

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Editorial Director Fergus Byrne

Contributors

Deputy Editor

Cecil Amor Kevin Cahill Fanny Charles Lizzie Crow James Crowden Seth Dellow Helen Fisher Nick Fisher Richard Gahagan Margery Hookings Mark Hix

Victoria Byrne

Design

Fergus Byrne

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Fergus Byrne info@marshwoodvale.com

Nic Jeune Russell Jordan Julia Mear Louisa Adjoa Parker Gay Pirrie-Weir Sophy Roberts Antonia Squire Philip Strange Ellie Sturrock Humphrey Walwyn Lesley Waters Ashley Wheeler

The views expressed in The Marshwood Vale Magazine and People Magazines are not necessarily those of the editorial team. Unless otherwise stated, Copyright of the entire magazine contents is strictly reserved on behalf of the Marshwood Vale Magazine and the authors.

Disclaimer: Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of dates, event information and advertisements, events may be cancelled or event dates may be subject to alteration. Neither Marshwood Vale Ltd nor People Magazines Ltd can accept any responsibility for the accuracy of any information or claims made by advertisers included within this publication.

NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS Trades descriptions act 1968. It is a criminal offence for anyone in the course of a trade or business to falsely describe goods they are offering. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. The legislation requires that items offered for sale by private vendors must be ‘as described’. Failure to observe this requirement may allow the purchaser to sue for damages.

Road Traffic Act. It is a criminal offence for anyone to sell a motor vehicle for use on the highway which is unroadworthy.

October

EVENT NEWS AND COURSES

Julioan dawson at The david Hall South Petherton

October 1 Broadwindsor’s Fun Group hasn’t had much fun at all this year, as with most other fundraising organisations. They are holding an Extraordinary meeting on Thursday, 1st October at 7pm in the Comrades Hall whereupon officers will be elected for the positions of Chairman and Vice Chairman. This is an open meeting and interested parties must be residents of Broadwindsor or Hursey. As social distancing dictates, there will only be room for 30 to attend.

Please contact the group at bwfunday20@gmail.com to put forward any nominations, to reserve a place to attend or any enquiries.

October 3 Willow Basket Weaving Workshop, 9.30 am – 5.30 pm.

Weave your own willow basket with willow artist Sarah LeBreton using traditional English techniques and willow grown on the Somerset Levels. Booking, £85, Somerset Rural Life Museum, Chilkwell Street, Glastonbury, Somerset, BA6 8DB, srlm.org.uk Julian Dawson, The David Hall. Throughout the pandemic, Petherton Arts Trust (PAT) - which owns and runs The David Hall performing arts centre in South Petherton – is having to be creative to ensure essential income while their planned programme of live performances has had to be postponed. Although the venue has re-opened for entertainment the audience numbers are limited – 48 for live gigs and just 30 for films; so, PAT is continuing to be innovative, offering both live and streamed events in October. And, to start the month, singer/ 10 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

songwriter Julian Dawson has been booked for a gig on Saturday 3rd October that offers fans the choice of seeing him live at The David Hall or streamed into their homes via Zoom. Julian has been a regular performer in The Hall for nearly 20 years and this will be his last appearance. His music is a melodic and highly individual blend of the best elements of Folk, Country and Soul, with an unmistakable tinge of Pop smarts…and great lyrics! He has recorded 25 albums, written hundreds of songs and collaborated with some of contemporary music’s finest players and writers.

Tickets for his live performance are £15 and on Zoom, the cost is £7.50. Details of how to book can be found on the website – www.thedavidhall.org.uk Petherton Arts Trust is carefully following the government’s advice relating to venues where entertainment is held. If the guidance changes, PAT will amend its procedures accordingly. Individuals who are planning to be at The David Hall for a live performance are advised to update themselves about the latest precautions being put in place by visiting the website: www.thedavidhall. org.uk October 5 Hawkchurch Film Nights, in association with Devon Moviola, returns with the classic Jane Austen comic drama ‘Emma’ (cert. U, 124 mins), starring Anya Taylor-Joy, with a strong supporting cast including Bill Nighy, Johnny Flynn, Josh O’Connor and Miranda Hart. As a thank-you to our loyal patrons, tickets are free and are available in advance only from Chris at csma95@gmail.com or leave a message on 01297 678176. Two performances, allocated seating, social distancing and full Covid-19 counter-measures will be in place - details will be issued to ticket-holders. Hawkchurch Village Hall, EX13 5XW. Performances at 4.30pm (doors 4.15pm) and 7.30pm (doors 7.15pm).

October 6 Workshops in Creative process and self expression level 2 begin today in Bridport. 5 Tuesdays 9.00am-3.30pm.

‘Serious play’ with art materials combined with group discussions, enquiry and reflective practice. An opportunity to build on the experience of level 1 and offering longer sessions to develop work with materials. Max 12 participants.

Suitable only if you have attended part 1 of the course in Bridport or London. All government guidelines will be implemented. N.B. Participants attend at their own risk.

Contact Mary Caddick to discuss the course & to book a place 07557 275275 m.caddick@gmx.net.

October 7 Ashill Scottish dancers will meet every Wednesday in October 7th 14th 21st and 28th at Hatch Beauchamp village hall from 7.30 to 9.30 pm. Please bring your own drink. £3.00 per person pay on the door. For more information please contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@ gmail.com October 8 Lipreading & Managing Hearing Loss Sessions every Thursday on Zoom. Choice of 10.30am to 12.10pm or 2pm - 3.40pm (2 x 40 minutes each with a 20-minute break in the middle) Learn how to manage your hearing loss using lipreading and coping strategies, while building confidence in a supportive, friendly group. Contact Ruth for further details. email: ruthbizley@outlook.com text/tel: 07855 340517.

October 9 - 18 Sidmouth Science Festival. Daily talks, competitions and a Citizen Project all online. For full details visit http://www. sidmouthsciencefestival.org/home.

October 10 Drawing and Painting Still Life: Autumn Fruits and Berries. 10 am to 12 pm. Cost £16. Axminster Heritage Centre, Bradshaw Room. Max 5 students COVID safety measures in place.This workshop is for those new to drawing and painting in watercolour. You will practise drawing what you see and to build up your knowledge of watercolour painting. Tutor Gina Youens to book gina.youens@btinternet. com.

West Dorset Group of the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society zoom meeting. ‘Where the Dipping if Ripping’: the Dorset Photographs of Joseph Robert Potts, Carlos Guarita. If you would like to join the zoom meeting contact Jane on 01308 425710 or email: jferentzi@aol.com to be sent a link. Participants can join from 1.30 for 2.00 start.

The first zoom meeting with a speaker in September was a great success, so please join in.

Traditional Craft Workshop: Make a Wooden Rake, 9.30 am – 4.00 pm. Make a traditional wooden rake using a wide range of green woodworking tools, in this one-day workshop with Peter Codd. Booking, £75. Somerset Rural Life Museum, Chilkwell Street, Glastonbury, Somerset, BA6 8DB, srlm.org. uk Track Dogs, The David Hall. Track Dogs will be streamed via YouTube at a cost of £15.00 per household. Again, details are on the website. Track Dogs is comprised of two Irishmen, Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 11

Bill Nighy in Emma at The David Hall

one Englishman and one American. They came together in 2011 to make their unique brand of Acoustic music, described as “a veritable 4×4 of voices and instruments, identified for their dynamic fusion of styles including Folk, Latin, Americana and even some Bluegrass.” They will give two 45-minute performances, with an interval, and after the gig, there will be a Q&A session on Zoom. Details of how to book can be found on the website – www.thedavidhall. org.uk. Petherton Arts Trust is carefully following the government’s advice relating to venues where entertainment is held. If the guidance changes, PAT will amend its procedures accordingly. Individuals who are planning to be at The David Hall for a live performance are advised to update themselves about the latest precautions being put in place by visiting the website: www.thedavidhall.org.uk October 13 Bridport History Society, zoom meeting, ‘Loders BackAlong’ Bernard Paull. Bernard grew up in Loders and has published a book about his childhood memories and pictures from his postcard collection. If you would like to join the zoom meeting contact Jane on 01308 425710 or email: jferentzi@aol.com to be sent a link. Can join from 2.00 and talk starts at 2.30. First zoom meeting in September was a great success so do join us.

October 19 Dillington House, Ilminster. House History with local 12 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

historian Jane Ferentzi-Sheppard. This is a two day session spread over a month. The first session will look at the sources one can use to start researching a house and there is then time to go away and start on a house history project, returning on the 24 November to present your findings to the group. Cost £116 includes lunch and drinks during the day. For more information contact Dillington direct 01460 258613. www.dillington.com. It is planned as a ‘face to face’ course with a zoom possibility for those who don’t wish to join in person, this all depends on Government restriction at the time. Also Tuesday November 24.

October 17 Ezio, The David Hall. Ezio will perform exclusively for an audience at The David Hall. In their 30-year career, Ezio have made a habit of dabbling in any style of music that takes their fancy. From the crunching Blues-Rock guitars of ‘Crushed’ to the Jazz rhythms of ‘The Gypsy Song’, there is plenty of genre-hopping on show here. But what has always set Ezio apart is the connection between front man Lunedei and guitarist Booga. The front man’s rich tenor and complex Acoustic guitar work is complimented by Booga’s incessant lead guitar - regularly squeezing in an extra note that shouldn’t be possible, but somehow managing to work. Tickets cost £15.00 Full, £14.00 Concessions. www.thedavidhall.org.uk. Petherton Arts Trust is carefully following the government’s advice relating to venues where entertainment is held. If the guidance changes, PAT will

Genre-hopping Ezio will perform exclusively for an audience at The David Hall

amend its procedures accordingly. Individuals who are planning to be at The David Hall for a live performance are advised to update themselves about the latest precautions being put in place by visiting the website: www.thedavidhall. org.uk October 22 - 25 Uplyme & Lyme Regis Horticultural Society virtual autumn show. Submissions in 6 classes by email to tricia@ thegardenersblacksmith.co.uk. Show goes live October 28th.

See www.ulrhs.wordpress.com for classes and how to enter.

October 27 Photography Workshop, 11- 1 £15/£12 concessions/£10 per person in family or bubble of 4-5. Thelma Hulbert Gallery offsite workshop in Sidmouth 01404 45006 www. thelmahulbert.com October 28 The Big Draw Family Workshop, 11- 3. Suitable for all ages. Free. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield House, Dowell Street, Honiton EX14 1LX, 01404 45006 www. thelmahulbert.com October 30 Petherton Picture Show will screen Emma, based on Jane Austin’s book, to a socially-distanced audience of 30. Tickets cost £5.00 each. www.thedavidhall.org.uk. Petherton Arts Trust is carefully following the government’s advice relating to venues where entertainment is held. If the guidance changes, PAT will amend its procedures accordingly.

Individuals who are planning to be at The David Hall for a live performance are advised to update themselves about the latest precautions being put in place by visiting the website: www.thedavidhall.org.uk Chard Camera Club - notice Competition in October. The last face to face meeting of the club was the club AGM back in March 2020.

Since then the club has run weekly online photographic challenges aimed at maintaining interest and stimulating

ongoing learning in photographic techniques. Judging by the number of entries, these challenges have proved to be very popular with members and have generated some high quality images which can be view on the club website at www.chardcameraclub.org.uk/ Our program of lectures and competitions for this year have, for obvious reasons, been delayed. However, following the example set by other camera clubs, the committee have decided to move our program on line and the majority of speakers and judges have agreed to work via Zoom. The program has been revised with the first session, a competition, scheduled for the beginning of October. Full details of the program will be published on the club website in due course.

Honiton Walking Club - notice Honiton Walking Club have restarted their small group walks for members on existing Club Tuesdays. This is a great time to join a well established local club. Come along on a small group walk led by a walk leader on some of our loveliest footpaths and lanes in and near Honiton and further afield. The group adheres to the government’s social distancing guidelines and group sizes. Meanwhile check out Honiton Walking Club website for details of local walks and their Facebook page for lots of interesting tips and information! New members warmly welcomed!

Thorncombe Rail Activities Club - notice Thorncombe Rail Activities Club would like to thank it’s Members, Committee and Speakers both past and present over the last 20 years.

Also all the Exhibitors, Traders and helpers at it’s annual Railway Exhibition. TRAC is no longer able to continue in this current climate and the Club has now closed.

Family History Courses Zoom Courses. Jane Ferentzi-Sheppard is planning running family history courses via zoom starting in late October. She is offering beginners, intermediate and refresher options. If you are interested please contact Jane on 01308 425710 or email: jferentzi@aol.com and we can set up some dates.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 13

Events planned for the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis AT the time of writing, the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis has two live gigs scheduled for October—featuring West Country rising star Adam Sweet and two members of British folk music’s greatest dynasty, Martin and Eliza Carthy.

Lyme’s own blues rock singer-songwriter Adam Sweet launches his 2020 album Sink or Swim at his hometown theatre on Friday 23rd October, at 8pm, performing the new album in full, plus favourites from his back catalogue and the occasional nod to some of his blues guitar heroes. Adam first picked up a guitar aged seven and saw his first live show at the Marine Theatre—the legendary blues rock band The Hamsters. His debut album, Small Town Thinking, was awarded five stars and Album of the Month in Guitar Techniques Magazine. His follow up acoustic EP, Take Your Time, was featured on BBC Introducing. The new album sees Adam carving out his own territory between classic rock, blues and Americana with new band members Ian Jennings on bass and Garry Kroll on drums.

Martin Carthy and his daughter Eliza join forces for a concert on Saturday 31st October at 8pm. Martin is a legendary ballad singer and guitarist who, over more than 50 years, has influenced generations of artists, including Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, while Eliza has been twice-nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and is a multiple-award winner at the BBC Radio Two Folk

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Eliza and Martin Carthy

awards. Trailblazing musical partnerships with, among others, Steeleye Span, Dave Swarbrick, Eliza Carthy her mother, Martin’s singer-wife Norma Waterson, have resulted in more than 40 albums; Martin has also recorded 10 solo albums, of which the latest is Waiting for Angels. Eliza Carthy has helped to revitalise folk music and is one of the most exciting and engaging performers of her generation. She has performed and recorded with a vast range of artists including Paul Weller, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Patrick Wolf and Bob Neuwirth.

Other events at the Marine in October include a screening of Matthew Bourne’s brilliant dance version of The Red Shoes, on Sunday 4th at 2pm, and Exhibition on Screen: Frida Kahlo on Tuesday 20th at 3pm.

All events, at the Marine or other venues, must be booked as seating is socially distanced and limited; and it is essential to check that the venue is open and the event is happening, because COVID-19 rules can change at very short notice, as we all know.

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A Glimpse Into

The Past

After the news last month that rural media charity Windrose, which preserves old film and runs community projects in Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire, has been given a Lottery grant lifeline, Margery Hookings delves into the archives.

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Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 17

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T

he Close Encounters Media Trail is a fascinating resource. Audio and visual stories from times gone by sit alongside those of the present, throwing the spotlight on the rural countryside not only as it used to be but how it is now for those who live and work here.

I’ve just been delving around it and it’s full of little treasures. Take Will’s Surgery, for example, where the prescribed medication is cider and plenty of it. The film was made in the 1960s on the Dare family’s farm at Shave Cross, near Bridport. It is presented by a very young Clive Gunnell for Westward Television.

This ten-minute film is up on You Tube (https://youtu. be/-P2s_jcGwTY) and is well worth a watch. I ended up crying with laughter at the stories told by the ‘patients’ and Will himself, all delivered in such wonderfully rich Dorset accents.

Clive Gunnell, leaning against an apple tree laden with fruit, a stick in his right hand, introduces the film. ‘It all started, I believe, many, many years ago when a man had a row with his wife locally. And he was feeling fed up and he went out and he slammed the door and he set off to visit old Bill. And he stayed here with Bill drinking cider for some time.

‘When he got back home he was feeling so good his wife said, “well there’s a change isn’t it, what’s happened to you since you went out?” and he said, “I’ve been up to the surgery.” She said, “where?” and he said “I’ve been up to Will’s surgery and I feel a lot better now.” Ever since then it’s been known as Will’s Surgery.’ The film shows the cidermaking process in the barn, accompanied by tall tales and a raucous rendition of To Be A Farmer’s Boy. A fascinating film about the Symondsbury Mummers was made in 1953 by folklorist the late Peter Kennedy and his colleagues. Whilst researching Thomas Hardy’s father’s manuscripts in Dorset County Museum, Kennedy had found a 19th century reference to a mummers’ play in Symondsbury.

Windrose director Trevor Bailey said: ‘They more or less caused the play to be re-performed, after having lapsed for a while, by digging out the script and talking to old players. It has gone on being performed ever since.

The full DVD production we made includes the old film and interviews with Peter and modern Symondsbury mummers, plus elements of modern rehearsal, including one scene Peter did not film because it was thought a bit rude at the time!

‘Peter’s father was Douglas Kennedy who directed the English Folk Dance and Song Society’s affairs for a long time, in succession to Cecil Sharp. His aunt, Maud Karpeles, was also prominent in folk song collecting and worked with Sharp.

‘Peter referred to folk song collecting and performance as “the family industry”. He was one of the first people to get traditional singers on the BBC with his travelling show “As I Roved Out”. He accumulated an enormous archive of recordings in addition to making a few films.’

A short clip from Kennedy’s film, Walk In St George,

is on Windrose’s Close Encounters website and also on YouTube (https://youtu.be/z9FCJvOR3l4) The archive film footage is pure Thomas Hardy, and you can picture the people and performance as a perhaps a scene from one of his novels written more than half a century before.

The film is included in a Windrose DVD, Walk In Room, Walk In, along with interviews with Kennedy about the play, the making of the film and his thoughts about the significance of mumming.

Also featured are two of the recent mummers, Ken Bodycombe and David Warren, who tell how they became involved with the play and why it is still performed every year, and Bill Bartlett who played General Valentine in the 1953 film.

An even older Symondsbury can be seen on YouTube here: (https://youtu.be/WXKacgnuxOM). This 1930s silent film of Symondsbury At Work and Play from the Barge Collection features many of the villagers in their various roles. It’s rather poignant watching all these people going about their daily lives, making nets, building a hayrick ad working as wheelwrights, carpenters and gardeners.

The five-minute video on YouTube ends with a shooting party on Sir Philip Colfox’s estate where the young beaters enjoy a drink and lunch, all of them beaming broadly after a good day out.

Some of Windrose’s archive films have been put to music. Take, for example, Dope Under Thorncombe, a lively tale of derring do made by hairdresser Frank Trevett of Bridport in the 1930s and starring his family and friends.

The 40-minute film takes place in and around West Bay and was set to a new musical score by Rachel Leach in 2009. You can see it on YouTube here (https://youtu.be/ KRTTPTNs8gw).

Windrose Rural Media Trust director Trevor Bailey said: ‘It was shot on 9.5mm film, the amateur’s favourite film choice in the 1930s. It was an amazing project for local people to take on and has been crying out to be given its own special music and to be seen more widely.’

The film, accompanied by a live performance of the new score, was shown at Bridport Arts Centre and Burton Bradstock Village Hall.

On the Close Encounters website there are also photographs and audio interviews with people who have special links to West Bay today. These include Arthur Watson, who ran the Riverside Restaurant, who talks about the build-up to the D-Day landings when American troops were stationed at West Bay, and Margaret Grundell, who served ice creams on the seafront for more than four decades. Others include Jo Hawker, whose family have been involved in fishing for generations, harbourmaster James Radcliffe and Bridport electrician and keen fisherman Rob Stephenson.

To find out more about Windrose’s work, visit the Close Encounters media trail website http:// closeencounters-mediatrail.org.uk/ and the YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/windroseRMT

A Late Summer’s day at

COGDEN BEACH

By Philip Strange

I

’ve driven along the coast road eastwards from Burton Bradstock many times but the view as the road levels out at the top of the first hill never fails to lift my spirits. That first glimpse of the sea. Those coastal hills spread out ahead as they slope gently down to the water. That vast shingle beach with its fringe of foam, stretching into the distance. This time I was on my way to Cogden Beach, part of the larger Chesil Beach and one of my favourite west Dorset places where I can be outside in the air, close to the sea and surrounded by nature.

The road dipped down and I reached the car park above Cogden but I had never seen it this full. Many people were taking advantage of the warm, sunny, late July day and I was lucky to find one of the last parking spaces.

The view from the car park across Chesil Beach was as familiar and fascinating as always. The strip of pale brown shingle swept eastwards across my field of vision in a broad arc turning sharply towards Portland, its distinctive wedge shape held in a blue haze as if suspended above the water. The sea was a uniform azure, a colour so intense in that day’s strong sun that I couldn’t stop looking. Towards Portland, though, the sun intervened, casting its light downwards across the sea, silvering the surface which shimmered in the breeze like crumpled aluminium foil.

I left the car park and headed down hill towards the sea across the short grass that appeared to have been grazed recently, a pity as this had eliminated most of the flowers, and the insects. Dark sloes and ripening blackberries showed in the path-side scrub, sure signs that the year was moving on. Families passed me, some laden with colourful beach kit, others dressed for coastal walking. Stands of intensely pink, great willowherb and sun-yellow fleabane grew in a damp area as the path approached the shingle. A small flock of about 50 birds,

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Top left: Female beewolf with prey Top right: Male beewolf with its distinctive facial markings Above: View across the wild garden of beach plants

probably starlings, surprised me by flying up from the scrub in a mini-murmuration. They banked and wheeled, flying back and forth for a short time before settling back on the bushes where they chatted noisily to one another.

I walked on to the shingle beach where, ahead of me, a small windbreak village had grown up. Some of the inhabitants were simply soaking up the sun, others were swimming or enjoying stand up paddleboards while some concentrated on their fishing. Heat shimmered from the pea-sized pebbles but a light breeze kept the temperature pleasant. Desultory waves made their way up the beach disturbing the shingle which retreated in a rush leaving some white water.

Towards the back of the shingle was the wild garden of beach plants that emerges afresh from the pebbles each spring and summer making this place so special. I stopped to look at the sea kale that grows so profusely here.

Its thick, cabbage-like leaves were a glaucous green tinged with varying amounts of purple that seemed to come and go according to the angle of vision rather like the colours on a soap bubble. Flowering season was long past but the memory lingered and each clump was adorned with a large fan of hundreds of spherical greenish yellow seeds Among the clumps of sea kale were the roughly crimped leaves of yellow horned-poppy, displaying its distinctive papery yellow flowers alongside some of the very long, scimitar-like seeds pods. The almost primeval vision created by these rare and unusual plants growing from the shingle was completed by clumps of burdock with its prickly green and purple hedgehog-like flowers.

The coast path heads westwards along the back edge of this wild garden of beach plants and for the most part it is rough and stony. In places, however, shallow holes have appeared exposing the sandy soil beneath. Large Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 21

Sea kale with fan of seeds

black and yellow striped insects were moving about in some of these exposed holes. Sometimes these insects would dig, rather like a dog with sand shooting out behind them. Sometimes they encountered a small stone and lifted it away, secured between two legs. These are beewolves (Philanthus triangulum), spectacular solitary wasps up to 17mm long that were once very rare in the UK but, since the 1980s, have

expanded their range.

I watched them for a short time before heading west on to the shingle. I soon reached the area where there are low cliffs at the back of the beach composed of thickly packed firm sand, topped by rough grass and clumps of desiccated thrift. These cliffs were punctuated by small holes, sometimes with a spill of sand emerging and here I found the same beewolves with their distinctive yellow and black markings. They were coming and going from the holes regularly and sometimes they would rest in a hole and look outwards.

Beewolves have an interesting lifecycle. The insects emerge from hibernation in the summer and the females begin to dig nest burrows up to a metre long in friable soil or sand with as many as 30 side burrows that act as brood chambers. At about the same time the females choose males for mating. Each female then hunts honeybees, paralysing them with her sting and bringing them back to place in each brood chamber where she also lays a single egg. This matures into a larva that feeds from the honeybees, hibernates over winter and emerges the following summer as a new beewolf. Although this may seem slightly gruesome, the number of beewolves in the

Tudor mayhem

HOWARD Coggins and Stu Mcloughlin are two of the West Country’s favourite performers, so fans will be delighted to hear that the pair are bringing back one of their best-loved shows in October as part of a short autumn season arranged by Artsreach, Dorset’s rural touring arts charity.

Living Spit will be performing The Six Wives of Henry VIII over three evenings, Thursday 15th October, at Winterborne Stickland village hall, Friday 16th at Sandford Orcas and Saturday 17th at Corfe Castle, all at 7.30pm. The show will be streamed on Sunday 18th, also at 7.30pm.

Other Artsreach events in the pipeline are Share a Show, a chance to enjoy a contemporary dance performance and share a Q&A with the dancers; a broadcast of Protein Dance’s Border Tales; the colourful and popular Uchenna Dance with The Headwrap Diaries; and Laura Malalou with a hiphop and physical theatre show exploring mental health issues.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shattered the region’s arts scene, and venues and arts organisations are only just beginning nervously to programme smallscale, socially distanced events. Booking is essential, and audiences are advised to check that events are going ahead. Visit the Artsreach website for more information, www.artsreach.co.uk

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UK is still low and does not impact significantly on the honeybee community. Also, adult beewolves are herbivores feeding only on pollen and nectar collected from flowers so acting as important pollinators.

I was able to witness some of this activity including a female returning with prey held beneath her to be mobbed by other beewolves and common wasps trying to steal her cargo. For most of the time, however, these insects get on with their lives quietly, unseen by visitors. I did notice one couple who chose a pleasant spot on the top of the low cliffs to sit and admire the view, only to find they were surrounded by beewolves. The couple moved but in fact these beautiful insects are not predatory and pose no threat to humans.

By mid-afternoon, it was time for me to leave. I took in one last view along the coast and headed back up the hill knowing that I would return in another season.

Cogden Beach is at the western end of Chesil Beach and can be accessed either via the South West Coast Path or from the National Trust Car Park on the coast road (B3157) between Burton Bradstock and Abbotsbury. OS grid reference SY 50401 88083, GPS coordinates 50.690271, -2.7035263.

Yellow horned-poppy

Philip Strange is Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Reading. He writes about science and about nature with a particular focus on how science fits in to society.

His work may be read at http://philipstrange.wordpress.com/

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 23

SEARCHING

for a Lost City in Time AT Beer Quarry Caves we are beginning a hunt, a hunt for a lost stone age city. We’d like you, our visitors to join us in that hunt. But first, to go lost city hunting you need to know a tiny bit about cities ancient and modern. For a start, cities come in many shapes, sizes and types, but all come with one key item in place; water. No water. No humans. No humans no city. And then the City cemetery. No ancient city we yet know of

Cutting stone with saw and pickaxe

comes without a necropolis, sometimes the necropolis dominates the city, as the catacombs once dominated Rome.

It does not take all that long for the dead to outnumber the living if a community stays in one place long enough. Mostly however cities or communities attract people from other places, and grow far beyond their original settings. A simple example is London, now a World City. But not all that long ago London was a string of villages and settlements; people shot snipe on moorland in Belgravia, London’s poshest place, as recently as 1822*. Following the London example we will start by looking for water, then connected settlements and we are being guided by what has been discovered at Stonehenge, principally the River Avon. Attention has focused on the role that river may have played in the transport of the blue stones from Wales and in the transport of the dead from other places, for burial at Stonehenge.

Which in turn is the key to Farway. We do not know what gods or spirits the people of Stonehenge believed in or worshipped. And we have little chance of finding out using current procedures. The average archaeological investigation is into the grave goods accompanying burial remains. But these people at Farway and Stonehenge had no written language; or, 24 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

at least none that has been found so far. Stone Age culture in the West of England seems to have been entirely oral. And in Stone Age Britain there were no tape recorders.

But maybe by looking at the settlements as a whole, and the one thing they all had to have, water, we may begin to find a different answer to what Farway was about. That and the other links, principally flint. What connected cities as they formed was trade. Utterly simple trade probably, fish from Beer, and animals from Blackbury, Farway and Sidbury. Most Stone Age diets consisted of fish, and fishing nets have been found going back thousands of years around the Mediterranean. In the late Stone Age there are the mixed remains of flint and Roman pottery in some of the flint sites in Quarry Lane. The assumption is that the Roman’s arrived brandishing swords and murdering every ancient Briton they met. The real evidence is that there was trade between Romans and Britons in Beer.

There is another assumption that may not be totally correct either; that it was the Romans built roads in Britain. The Romans were not instinctively innovators.

They are most likely to have built roads where roads already existed.

This is another key link that we will be looking for.

The road links between the four Stone Age settlements of Beer, Farway, Sidbury and Blackborough.

This will all take time and cost money but we hope to have a new brochure available at the Caves in October or November, setting out our new plan, beginning with a review of the existing sites and literature. * The Great Landowners of Great Britain and Ireland.

by John Bateman 1883

Coronavirus restrictions.

Of more immediate interest are the new restrictions for visitors. Visitors to the caves are limited to groups of six, observing social distancing and between groups.

Our tours are now scheduled and we do ask people to book well in advance. And watch our web site. The omens for a new March type lockdown look bad but we will remain open. We have had to reschedule our Beer Business event and will post details on the web site later.

Kevin Cahill, Historian in residence at Beer Quarry Caves.

Fellow Emeritus of the Royal Historical Society.

I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In

By Cecil Amor

T

his is what the good people of Lyme Regis said in June 1685. The ships did not come into the harbour at Lyme, but proceeded a little further west to land at an empty beach, since known as the “Monmouth Beach”. On board the 32 gun frigate “Helerenbergh”, was James, the Duke of Monmouth, from exile in Holland. He was the Protestant illegitimate son of King Charles II, who had died that year, but King Charles had recognised his Catholic brother James as his successor. Fearing that King James II would make England catholic, spurred on by his supporters Monmouth decided to challenge the succession.

About 80 armed men landed on the evening of 11th of June, together with 4 cannons. Monmouth knelt in prayer, wearing the Order of the Garter, before his deep green standard with “Fear Nothing but God” embroidered in gold. The West Country was chosen for the invasion as it was then very anti-Catholic.

Within three days several thousand men, Protestants and some Dissenters, signed up to follow Monmouth, including a third of the males of Lyme. Although it has become known as “The Pitchfork Rebellion”, most of the volunteers were tradesmen and yeomen. They were not armed or trained to fight.

The spirit of the time encouraged spying and informing the magistrates. A Bridport man, William Bond, had earlier plagued local Quakers, informing about their meetings and non-attendance at the Parish Church. At an alehouse in Hawkchurch, about 4 miles from Lyme, he heard that some of the rebels were hiding in a field nearby. He went there, but was knocked down. One of the rebels took his pistol and shot him “in the belly”, apparently the favoured target of the day. He was taken to a house, “cursing and swearing” until he died. The Quaker record says “So ended that wicked informer”.

Two customs officials rode post-haste to London to the MP for Lyme, interestingly called Sir Winston Churchill. King James was informed of the landing.

Soon the local militia was on standby in the south west and a group camped just east of Bridport, to intercept communication between Lyme and Weymouth.

About 10 pm on 13th June Monmouth sent 300 men to Bridport, under Lord Grey and Lieutenant-Colonel Venner, entering Allington early next morning. They met little resistance until they reached the Bull Inn

(now Hotel), where two Militia Deputy Lieutenants, Edward Coker and Wadham Strangways, had billeted themselves. They opened fire from their bedroom window and Coker shot Venner “in the belly”. The rebels immediately stormed the Bull. Coker was killed

by Venner. Strangways was also killed in the fight. The rebels meanwhile attacked a barrier near the end of East Street where the Militia were strong and killed several men. They shot Lord Grey’s horse under him and took some prisoners. The wounded Venner ordered a retreat back to Lyme, taking several local prisoners with them.

Monmouth decided to attack Axminster next, where the militia “melted away”. On Thursday they entered Taunton, with little opposition and more rebels joined the cause, including Prideaux of Forde Abbey.

Monmouth declared himself “King” in the Market Place on Saturday 20th June. He then proceeded on to Bridgwater, Bristol and Bath, but the Royalist army, better equipped and trained under John Churchill (son of Sir Winston) met them at Frome and the tide began to turn.

On the 1st July Monmouth fell back to Wells, then retreated to Bridgwater, and a major battle at Sedgemoor, in Somerset, on 6th July resulted in his defeat. His army had used all their ammunition and Monmouth fled the field at 4 am. Some 1,500 of the men who had joined him were killed in action, out of over 3,500. The remainder were taken prisoner.

Monmouth hid in crops growing on Horton Heath, but was seen by an elderly woman who reported it to Churchill’s men. Later he was found asleep in a ditch and identified by a magistrate at Holt Lodge, Somerset.

He and others were taken to Ringwood. He wrote remorsefully to his uncle, the King, to no avail and was taken to London for execution on 15th July. He was allowed the privilege of being beheaded.

After the hostilities King James sent Judge Jeffreys to Dorchester where he set up what became known as the “Bloody Assizes” at the Antelope Hotel. He tried 312 rebels from Saturday 5th September, condemning 74 from Dorset to death, to be hung, drawn and quartered, boiled and burnt. Jeffreys was suffering from a kidney complaint, which probably did not improve his mood. Many more were to be transported to the West Indies, reports varying from 175 to 900. A handful were to be fined and/or whipped once a year

for seven years. The London executioner, Jack Ketch, came and carried out executions at Weymouth (12 persons), Lyme (12), Sherborne (11) and Bridport (10). Not all of these people may have come from their place of execution. Jeffreys went on to serve out similar sentences at Exeter and other places. Some of those on trial were not involved with the rebellion, being away from home was considered sufficient.

A fisherman from Charmouth had encountered the three ships as they arrived and it is said that he went on board to sell his fish. He came ashore with Monmouth’s men, but did not join them. Nevertheless he was executed at Wareham.

The severity of the sentences created considerable shock in the West Country and caused religious conflicts. These were only allayed when the protestant William of Orange entered a few years later.

The event was illustrated on a pack of contemporary playing cards, as described in Cullingford’s “A History of Dorset”, including 12 portraying Monmouth’s entry into Lyme, his standard, 7 rebels killed in a fight at Bridport and several of the trial and execution.

Edward Coker who was from Mapowder, Dorset was commemorated on a brass in Bridport Parish Church. Strangways has a memorial in St Mary’s, Mordon, near Swindon, Wiltshire. A stone at Sedgemoor commemorates the battle.

It has been said that the bedroom window of the Bull in Bridport was bricked up after the events of 1685. However, when I was shown the room, then called the Venner Room, a few years ago, this was not the case and the window was only partly obscured by furniture. I noticed recently that the Bull Hotel now has a discreet sign advertising “The Monmouth Bar” over a ground floor room.

Bridport History Society is unable to meet in the hall at present, so are holding Zoom meetings on computer.

Those wishing to attend by zoom, please contact Jane Ferentzi-Sheppard on 01308425710, or email jferentzi@aol.com.

Next meeting Tuesday 13th October at 2.30 pm, “Loders Back-Along” by Bernard Paull.

Cecil Amor, Hon President of Bridport History Society.

News&Views

LYME REGIS Museum reopens

A couple from Essex, celebrating their Golden Wedding Anniversary, were the first visitors to Lyme Regis Museum when it reopened in September.

Museum Chairman, John Dover, welcomed them to the museum and Learning Officer Chris Andrew was on hand to give them a special guided tour. After so many days of emptiness it was a truly memorable visit. With over 250 visitors in 5 days, including families, couples, people on day trips and those on holiday, the museum was near capacity with the new social distancing requirements.

BRIDPORT Appeal after hate crime Officers are appealing for anyone with information to come forward following a reported hate crime incident in Bridport.

At 11.40pm on Saturday 5 September 2020 Dorset Police received a report of a fight at the Neon Bar & Grill on East Street. It is alleged that a man headbutted one person and then attempted to fight with a security guard who was asking him to leave the building. As the man left the bar, it is reported that he shouted homophobic abuse to a man who was waiting in the queue outside. A 30-yearold man from the Dorchester area was arrested and released under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset. police.uk, via email 101@dorset.pnn. police.uk or by calling 101, quoting 55200133682.

SIDMOUTH Been offered a ring?

An unusual diamond engagement ring is amongst a list of items of jewellery that police are keen to trace after a burglary near Sidmouth.

The gold band engagement ring with eight diamonds in a circle and one larger diamond in the centre was stolen along with a ladies gold rotary watch, mens gold rotary watch, ruby necklace and matching earrings, sapphire necklace with matching earrings, gold watch and bracelet set, in a box, gold band ring with three diamonds. Anyone with information is asked to phone 101 or email 101@dc.police.uk quoting crime CR/075358/20.

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DORCHESTER Hardy hotel reopens The King’s Arms in Dorchester has reopened after a £5m renovation programme that took four years. Now owned by Stay Original who bought the historic Grade-II listed building in 2016, it is located on Dorchester’s High Street and featured extensively in Hardy’s novel, The Mayor of Casterbridge.

It also featured in Far From The Madding Crowd. Rob Greacen, Stay Original Company managing director said: “To say that’s it’s been a long and eventful journey would be an understatement.

It’s been a challenging project, but worth the wait. We’ve carefully and lovingly brought The King’s Arms back to life.

Rejuvenating an old building, capturing its character and natural heritage whilst bringing in modern luxuries requires professionalism and perseverance.’

DORSET Police spread a 4Es message Dorset Police will be adopting a 4Es approach to the new ‘rule of six’ legislation using ‘engagement, education and encouragement’ to ask members of the public to comply with the regulations. ‘Enforcement’ remains a final option. Assistant Chief Constable Sam de Reya said: ‘Preventing the spread of COVID-19 is a shared effort and Dorset Police will play a part alongside the Government, businesses, hospitality owners, local authorities and others.

The change to COVID-19 legislation, and subsequent change in the law, means everyone has a legal responsibility to play their part and not gather in a group of more than six people.’ Police will have the ability to issue an on the spot £100 fixed penalty notice, which can rise to a maximum of £3,200 for repeat offending.

Conspiracies & Fake News Laterally Speaking by Humphrey Walwyn WE’VE always had conspiracy theories. Any major news event results in official reaction as to what’s happened, why it occurred and who was responsible, but this is often not the end of the matter. Within a few days you can read about a whole lot of new so-called “revelations” involving secret plots, Government cover-ups and conspiracies. You must have read about some of them such as how the assassination of JFK was a CIA plot, how the moon landings were faked in a Hollywood studio and even how Sir Paul McCartney today is a hologram because he really died in 1966—a fact that’s apparently confirmed when you play a particular Beatles track backwards… Most of these concepts are nonsense, some are plain half-baked and (just maybe) one or two might contain an element of truth. But whatever the facts, there are a surprising number of people who still believe in them.

Conspiracy theories don’t need true facts—they only need a suspicious nature and a firm belief!

So, here’s my lateral guide to a few contemporary conspiracies.

Please be aware that none of them are actually true. But then, you never know…

Fake News—Fake Wedding: Yes, this is another Harry and Meghan story. You may have seen it apparently ‘live’ on TV in May 2018 and admired all the crowds and festivities, but the whole thing was shot in Elstree studios not Windsor Castle. The crowds were all computer generated and the choirs, chapel organ and fanfare trumpeters were digitally recorded a fortnight earlier.

Since Harry and Meghan threatened to expose the whole event as a sham, they were packed off to live in California.

Bob Hope Not A Reptile: According to some people, George W. Bush and Bill and Hillary Clinton were/are part of an elite reptilian club whose aim is world domination. Although they looked perfectly normal in daytime, they grew green lizard scales at night which revealed their true identity. Bob Hope and Marilyn Monroe were also members but when it was later known that Bob Hope kept a pet lizard in his conservatory, he was removed from suspicion since no sane individual would keep a relative as a pet. Except for Michael Jackson of course.

Fake President: As you might have half expected, there are many conspiracies surrounding US President Donald Trump.

One of the more inventive is that he is a by-product of a failed experiment in genetically modified corn. It’s the hair I suppose.

Blame the drug companies and American garden centres for this one. He is also variously condemned as a Russian spy or a Martian and is a secret supporter of flying saucers. Take your pick…

Coronavirus Spread By Badgers: Highly topical of course, but the origins of the pandemic are widely debated as fake conspiracies. Many say it originated in China but others say it is an escaped nerve agent from the CIA or Porton Down. Some people also blame Trump, the Eurovision song contest or Aston

Is this Elvis Presley or a badger at Exeter St Thomas station?

And why isn’t he wearing a mask? Read below for further details

Villa football club. Myself? I propose the idea that badgers spread the virus and, if you don’t believe me, why is its transmission so much lower in areas where badgers have been culled? Do we know the truth? Obviously not… it’s a conspiracy!

Elvis Presley Is A Badger: According to some, badgers should be protected and revered since Elvis has been resurrected as one. This startling revelation was first announced by a Crewkerne resident who said she spotted a badger behind her garage and that he looked just like him as he was wearing dark glasses. This is obviously true since, as you all know, all badgers wear sunglasses. However, to be fair, I should point out that Elvis has also been seen at Exeter railway station, Tesco in Dorchester and drinking at the bar in the Harbour Inn in Axmouth. Mind you, he was wearing a mask at the time, so it could have been anybody. Or a badger with a mask.

Marshwood Vale: Here are a couple of regional news items… Firstly the Government has declared the whole area from Lyme Regis to Pilsdon Pen to be a total lockdown zone because of pandemic fears. Residents will not be allowed to share the same room (let alone building) as others, but only if it’s a Thursday. On Mondays you can go shopping between 5am and 6am but not if you are under 2 feet high. Marshwood elves are exempt.

New Dorset Monument: After years of putting up with tourists complaining that the Hardy Monument (near Portesham) was such a let-down since it celebrated the wrong Hardy (Captain Hardy rather than Thomas Hardy, the writer), West Dorset Council have made plans to tear it down and erect a 100 foot statue of Sir David Attenborough in honour of his enduring vision of Dorset wildlife and climate change. Greta Thunberg will make a speech in praise of badgers at the opening ceremony to be held in Spring 2026.

OK, I admit these last two items are entirely Fake News. As are the other items... Or are they?

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 29

Chard group helps build confidence and empowerment to fulfil potential Part of our series of audio interviews, Seth Dellow visited The Watch Project in Chard to learn how a local group approaches mental health issues with practical initiatives

O

ne day, walking along a road in Somerset looking at flowers that had broken through the tarmac, Julie Mathews, founder of the Watch Project in Chard, began to wonder how a little daisy could push its way through such dark heavy tarmac. At the time she was struggling with clinical depression.

As she thought about the effort and eventual success of the daisy, it became a metaphor for Julie who was trying to find a way to push herself out of the blackness that had engulfed her. She was already accessing mental health day centres and an opportunity came along for her to learn about Intentional Peer Support, where people who have experience of mental distress offer mutual support to help each other. This collaborative support helps to develop a mutually beneficial relationship. The seven day course in Bovey Tracey was the starting point of a dramatic change for her, as well as the many that she has since helped. ‘I was totally inspired’ she said. ‘Here I was with 35 other people experiencing difficulties and learning about peer support.’ She learned much that helped her. ‘Actually talking just makes a great difference’ she said. ‘And I started to feel less stuck. I felt like people understood where I was, and I think that breaks down isolation for a start.’ She came back after the training and started the Chard Intentional Peer Support Group which was the beginning of her journey to where she is today at the Watch Project in Chard.

Many organisations exist across our region specifically to assist those with mental health issues and it is these organisations that help people from all walks of life and of all ages, with support and advice.

As part of his series of audio and video interviews for the Marshwood Vale Magazine Seth Dellow visited the Watch Project in Chard to talk with Julie Mathews.

‘Interviewing Julie Matthews gave me a broader understanding of the structure of local mental health initiatives, such as The Watch Project’ said Seth. ‘It is operating at an exciting time, with the potential Seth Dellow is a University of Exeter student reading History & Politics, with a keen interest in political history and public policy. Aside from academia, he is active in the local community, regularly volunteering and has won the Pride of Somerset Youth Awards twice. His experience extends to the media sector and he enjoys interviewing people from a wide range of backgrounds, often to discuss the emerging themes of the day. You can learn more about Seth at www.linkedin.com/ in/sethdellow

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for growth from further funding opportunities, facilitating more extensive practical assistance at a ground level for its members.’

More information about the Watch Project can be found at its newly redesigned website, www. watchproject.org.uk, which has a dedicated section regarding how to become involved. It outlines the organisations which are closely linked to the Project in our area, and ways in which you can, as an individual, help with fundraising. It is also interesting to note that there is further information about the partners the Watch Project work alongside, such as the Somerset Recovery and Wellbeing Alliance and the Well Wessex Group. ‘What is clearly evident’ said Seth ‘is that the translation of mental health policy into practical assistance locally, such as seen in the Watch Project, is highly valued. These lifelines support some of the most vulnerable in society, and it is important that we encourage and continue to support such inspiring community initiatives.’

Seth also interviewed mother and daughter Joan and Sarah who have both benefitted from the Watch Project. Joan’s daughter Sarah, who has lived in Chard for most of her life, suffered from manic depression about eight years ago. ‘It was that bad I completely shut myself off from the world’ explained Sarah. ‘I wouldn’t leave the house for any reason.’ She suffered so badly that she wouldn’t even talk to family or friends and couldn’t even answer the door. When a friend suggested she go to the Watch Project her first thought was that meeting strangers and sitting down for a chat and a cup of tea was her ‘worst nightmare’.

Now she says it is ‘the highlight of my week. It’s a place where I can come where I am accepted for who I am.’ Sarah describes it as her ‘lifeline’. ‘My only regret’ she says ‘is not coming in sooner.’ Sarah says it’s like having a second family.

‘From my interview with Joan and Sarah’ said Seth, ‘I was struck by their honesty surrounding their own personal challenges with mental health. It is evident that both have experienced a real transformation since

Listen to Seth’s interviews via the following links: Julie Mathews 1: https://bit.ly/33D6USx Julie Mathews 2: https://bit.ly/3cew5yP Sarah and Joan: https://bit.ly/3cbkEIm

their involvement as members, something that will continue even despite the current situation.’ The Watch Project is a proud member of Open Mental Health, an alliance of local voluntary organisations and the NHS. It is working in partnership to ensure residents of Somerset get the support they need, when they need it by providing 24/7 support to adults. Open Mental Health supports people to live a full life by enabling access to specialist mental health support, debt and employment advice, volunteering opportunities, community activities and exercise. The organisations in the alliance form part of a wider ecosystem of mental health and wellbeing support across Somerset.

Anyone who is need of mental health support can call Mindline Somerset 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on 01823 276892 or email support@openmentalhealth.org.uk.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 31

House&Garden

Vegetables in October

By Ashley Wheeler OCTOBER is one of those spring. It also provides more food for significant months that signals a the soil life which will gradually take it in bit of a change in our work in the through autumn and late winter and have market garden. Everything other a positive effect on the drainage of the than the garlic and perhaps some soil as well as all of the other benefits of overwinter broad beans has been increasing soil organic matter. planted outside, so it is a case of In the beds with crops that maybe doing any last minute green manure finish too late to allow for a successful sowings in bare ground that pops sowing of a green manure (such as up during the month (it is mainly Kale plants mulched with a thick layer of straw to protect the late lettuce, late fennel and other the soil over wintersalad crops) we tend to mulch with just cereals that can be sown at this time of year—rye, oats and barley can compost once the crop has finished and be used as overwinter green manures that will protect then usually cover with thick black silage plastic to the soil from the rain and wind and hold onto any protect the soil from the worst of the rain and keep nutrients, preventing them from leaching away through it relatively dry so that we can use these beds early in the worst of the weather). the spring. Otherwise we leave the crop to gradually It is a busy month in the polytunnels as we take break down overwinter and be taken in by the soil life out all of the summer crops such as tomatoes, beans, before preparing the beds later in the spring either by cucumbers, aubergines, peppers and the like to make cultivating or broadforking to alleviate any compaction way for all of the September sowings of overwintering and mulching. salad leaves, herbs and some early alliums and legumes October is also a good time to reflect on the season such as spring onions, early garlic and sugarsnap peas. gone by and make notes of any successes and failures We tend to cut off the summer grown plants at before they have vanished from your mind. Many ground level and compost all of the crop residue. We crops we only sow once a year, so just get one chance then soak the soil inside the polytunnels to soften at growing. Although we have been growing for it a little before clearing anymore weeds and raking ten years now, that means that we have only grown out the beds to a fine tilth to minimise the lumpy tomatoes ten times—which is nothing really, so it’s soil that slugs love to hide under during the damp really important to learn and adapt each year to make winter. Then we plant the new crops that will settle in sure the next year is just that little bit better (and over the next month or two before going into some hopefully easier!). sort of hibernation in January and putting on lots of growth from mid February when day length starts WHAT TO SOW THIS MONTH: Spring onions increasing considerably. A lot of the overwinter crops (for polytunnel/glasshouse), broad beans, garlic, peas, in polytunnels and glasshouses are usually ready to sugarsnaps and peashoots (all for overwintering in the harvest or be cleared just in time for the new summer polytunnel/glasshouse), mustards, rocket, leaf radish plantings in May so it all fits together rather neatly. (last chance for sowing these for overwintering in As for outside it is mainly just continuing to harvest, polytunnel/glasshouse) making sure the squash has all been brought in to a frost free place if not already, and getting the soil WHAT TO PLANT THIS MONTH: covered for winter. For crops that finish in September OUTSIDE: overwintering spring onions (if not or early October we usually clear the ground and before), direct broad beans and garlic. prepare it for sowing green manures such as rye, vetch, INSIDE: overwintering salad leaves, coriander, chervil, phacelia and maybe crimson clover (better sown in parsley, spring onions, overwintering peas.

September). For crops that overwinter in the ground OTHER IMPORTANT TASKS THIS MONTH: and are not too affected by slugs, such as some of the continue mulching beds for the winter, and it is brassicas and garlic, we tend to mulch with a thick layer probably your last chance to sow cereal rye as an of straw. This protects the soil from the heavy rain, overwintering green manure in any bare ground. Make softening the impact and reducing compaction, as well a start on your winter job list before it starts getting as reducing weeds and also retaining moisture in the too wet and cold!

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Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 33

October in the Garden

By Russell Jordan

AS I write this we are still enjoying the last gasp of summer, the sun is shining and the skies are blue. October still has the capacity to provide some balminess but the odds are definitely more firmly stacked towards wetter, windier and duller days.

It’s funny how, sometimes, a single word can spark a long distant memory. In my case any reference to ‘equinoctial’, most commonly used in relation to a greater propensity for stormy weather, automatically brings to mind a particular ditty which I must have learned as a schoolboy: “O ‘twas in the broad Atlantic, ‘mid the equinoctial gales, that a young fellow fell overboard among the sharks and whales”.

Sung to the tune of ‘Rule Britannia’, this traditional song has always stuck in my mind due to the, appealing to me as a small boy, cleverness of rhyming ‘fellow’ with ‘fell o’ (verboard). The ‘equinoctial’ connection was merely a coincidence—but any mention of it immediately brings this tune, ‘Mermaid’, to mind.

Not sure what that’s got to do with timely gardening tasks except to remind me that strong winds will start to shake loose the leaves that are beginning to fall from deciduous shrubs and trees. If you regularly rake up, or ‘mow’ up, lots of autumn leaves then it’s certainly worthwhile to build a leaf composting bin. Four stout posts, driven into the ground, in a shady part of the garden, with chicken wire wrapped around, to form an enclosure, is all you need. The size will be determined by how many fallen leaves your garden tends to generate.

The collected leaves can be added to the ‘bin’ throughout the autumn and a compost accelerator, available from garden centres, sprinkled over each layer as desired. The leaves will take at least a year to break down and they will need to be kept damp, even watering the heap in dry weather, which is assisted by adding a covering over the top, like old carpet or empty plastic sacks. The resulting ‘leafmould’ is a great soil improver and worth its weight in gold!

Now that herbaceous plants and biennials are dying down, in readiness for winter, it’s the last chance

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to collect seed from plants which are offering it up and which you’d like to grow more of. If you’re not sure whether the seed is best sown straight away, or stored to be sown in the spring, then try both—you have nothing to lose and experimenting is one of the joys of gardening. Plants are generous by nature so collecting a few seeds and playing around with them seems like a ‘no brainer’ to me.

While you are in your flower beds and borders, gently remove collapsed foliage to keep plants looking their best for as long as possible. It’s a good time for digging up and moving plants around so reorganisation is the name of the game. Earmark any gaps where you may have lifted congested herbaceous perennials, or edited out anything that hasn’t lived up to your expectations, and think about whether you could plant spring bulbs there instead. Autumn planting bulbs for spring interest should be in full swing now, before the soil has lost all its summer warmth.

Tender perennials and dubiously hardy border plants, like cannas, should be brought under cover towards the end of the month when the risk of overnight frost becomes too great. Cannas need to be kept in large pots, or boxes, of barely moist compost in a light but frost free place. If it never gets really cold then they may well stay in leaf all winter. Dahlias will probably stay outside until next month as it’s traditional to let them get blackened by the first frost.

It’s very pleasing to see how popular dahlias have become again, having been out of horticultural fashion for decades, and I’ve mused before on how their ‘social media friendly’ vibrancy may be key to this renaissance. Their ability to go from dried up tubers to exuberant blooms in just one season is a major asset.

Their drawback of not being reliably perennial, if left in situ, must disappoint some converts to their brazen charms.

A perennial plant that is equally vibrant at this fag end of the growing season is the good old ‘Michaelmas Daisy’, a.k.a. ‘Aster’. I am using ‘aster’ as the common name in this instance because, in the

last decade or so, a lot of the garden plants formerly labelled, taxonomically, as being in the Asteraceae have been redivided into other genera so now have more befuddling Latin names. This is important, and correct, when it comes to being able to scientifically identify plants but, as far as gardeners are concerned, I think it’s best to look at them in the same way as most people look at dahlias.

If you see a ‘Michaelmas Daisy’ that you like the look of then just make a note of its variety name and don’t get hung up on its full, Latin, identification. I like the look of the aster ‘Lady in Blue’, so I’ll remember that variety name and forget about the Symphyotrichum novi-belgii bit that comes before it. The fact that it was previously an aster is neither here nor there once it’s in your bloomin’ garden. Searching for images of garden worthy asters, on the internet, will yield plenty of choices and links to UK nurseries that stock them.

Or just got to ‘Groves’ (“other garden centres are available”—but I’m a creature of habit!) and see what they have flowering in pots. Once planted in your garden asters are hardy, behave just like any other herbaceous border perennial and, for varieties with single blooms at least, an absolute magnet for nectar feeding insects. Mine are alive with bees and butterflies at this very moment.

I shall avoid all “Aster la vista” references as I sign off ;-)

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PROPERTY ROUND-UP

Thinking Big?

By Helen Fisher

SEAVINGTON £1.3M

A classic Grade II listed Georgian rectory with 6 bedrooms and large, dry wine cellar. High ceilings and sash windows with original wooden shutters. Open fireplaces and family sized kitchen with Aga. Landscaped gardens with mature trees, herb garden and orchard plus outbuildings.

All set in 1.5 acres with a double garage and ample parking.

Jackson-Stops Tel: 01308 423133

SMALLRIDGE £1.35M

A comfortable country home with triple aspect 29’ sitting room with part vaulted ceiling. Farmhouse kitchen with Aga and family bathroom with roll-top bath. Modern outbuildings/workshop and carport. With 4 large stables with pp for holiday let conversion. South-facing pasture land with area of woodland. All set in 21 acres.

Stags Tel: 01404 45885

AXMINSTER £525,000

A fascinating Grade II listed former mill with 5 bedrooms set over 4 floors on the edge of town. Large kitchen/living space, triple aspect sitting room with multi-fuel stove. pretty top floor views. Shared parking area with 3 garages plus private garden with stream frontage and decked sun terrace and summer house. Plus additional parcel of land. All set in 0.5 acres.

Gordon & Rumsby Tel: 01297 553768 36 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

MERRIOTT £2M

A large 6-9 bedrooms Georgian ham stone village house with additional coach house. Many superb period features throughout. Part walled garden with magnificent copper beach, summer house and sunken rose garden.

Plus stable block with loose boxes/tack room and flat above. First time to the market in over 50 years. All set in 6 acres.

Knight Frank Tel: 01935 804305

BETTISCOMBE £900,000

An impressive 4 bedroom family home with many character features inc: open fireplaces, high ceilings and casement windows. Generous principle rooms and kitchen with Aga. Attached glasshouse with mature plants and seating area.

Mature, private gardens with paved terrace and 2 sheds.

Ample parking and double garage.

Symonds and Sampson Tel: 01308 422092

BRIDPORT £295,000

Superbly renovated spacious 3 bed maisonette in a converted semi-detached town house. High ceilings, period cornicing, large bay window and fireplace. Rear views over the garden and out to Watton Hill. Large west facing, private, partly-walled terraced garden with seating area and small outbuilding. Roadside parking.

Kennedys Tel: 01308 427329

Council change approved A fresh start for Somerset has moved a step closer as every Somerset district council overwhelmingly backed a bold new plan—Stronger Somerset— which promises real change in the way that services are provided for residents and businesses.

At Full Council meetings at Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton and South Somerset District Councils, 84% of councillors voted to support the proposal. All political parties and the majority of independent councillors have now expressed approval for Stronger Somerset which is also receiving the backing of residents.

In a joint statement, the Leaders of the District Councils said: “This really is a momentous time for Somerset as we move forward with a plan that will make such a difference to the lives of everyone in our county.

Councils are expected to receive a formal invitation shortly from the Government to submit their business cases. There will be an eight-week Government-run consultation later in the year and councils have been advised that new organisations will be in place by April 2022.

To find out more about Stronger Somerset, visit https://www.strongersomerset.co.uk/

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 37

Food&Dining

RICH STEAK & VENISON PIE WITH A BLACK PEPPER CRUST INGREDIENTS

LESLEY WATERS

• 55g (2oz) butter • 4 medium red onions, peeled and each cut into 8 wedges • 285g venison fillet, trimmed and cut into 1cm strips • 285g sirloin steak, trimmed and cut into 1cm strips • 1 tsp sugar • 1 tsp flour • 300mls (1/2 pint) red wine • 300mls (1/2 pint) chicken stock • 3 tblsps balsamic vinegar • bay leaf • 2-3 tablespoons Sloe Gin • 375g (12oz) ready rolled puff pastry • cracked black pepper • egg glaze made with 1 egg,1 egg yolk & pinch salt 4 x small deep pie dishes (approx 10cm diameter) Serves 4

DIRECTIONS 1. In a frying pan, heat the butter.

Add the onion wedges and gently fry for 5 minutes. Cover with a cartouche and lid and cook over a low heat for 2025 minutes, until the onions are very soft. Using a slotted spoon, remove from the pan and set to one side.

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2. Heat the pan with any remaining butter and juices. Add the venison and steak strips and sear over a high heat for 1-2 minutes each side. Remove from the pan and set to one side.

3. Return the onions to the pan and the pan to the heat. Stir in the sugar. Sprinkle in the flour and gently cook for 1 minute. Pour in the wine, stock and balsamic vinegar. Add the bay leaf. Bring to the boil and cook until the liquid has reduced by half and becomes shiny and slightly sticky.

Stir in the Sloe Gin and meat and divide equally between the pie dishes.

4. Generously scatter a board with crack black pepper. Cut out four puff pastry lids, slightly larger than the pie dish tops and press lightly on both sides onto the pepper.

Cut the top of each lid with a sharp knife to form a lattice pattern, taking care not to cut all the way through the pastry. Brush each with the egg glaze and place on a baking tray.

5. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 7 / 220C / 425F. Cover each pie dish with tin foil.

6. Place the pie dishes and lids in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until the lids are risen and browned and the filling piping hot.

7. Top each dish with a peppered crust lid and serve at once.

Restoring a long standing family tradition in Maiden Newton DARLENE and Patrick Ford are hoping to restore a long standing baking tradition in Maiden Newton with the opening of their farm shop and bakery. Patrick’s uncle, Norman House, was well known in the village for his famous lardy cakes and other baked goods, which he produced in the village over many years. And his grandmother, Mrs House, (aka “Gran House”) was renowned for always being behind the counter at the village bakery.

Patrick and Darlene have farmed at Higher Norden for nearly 30 years and the farm shop will provide an outlet for the farm’s produce and other food from carefully selected local producers.

The Fords keep rare breed cattle, pigs and sheep that are well suited to an extensive grazing regime that underlies their care for the environment and sustainable approach to food production.

Their meat is already well known in the village for its exceptional eating quality, local provenance and traceability.

Patrick explains the thinking behind the new venture. ‘At Higher Norden Farm we believe passionately in the importance of good food, sustainable, naturally produced and local. Low food miles are at the core of our ethos, together with high standards of animal welfare, traceability and high quality’.

The on-farm bakery will offer a delicious range of home cooked pies, sausage rolls, cakes and different varieties of bread.

The enterprise is situated at the top of Norden Lane, on the way out of the village towards the A37. For more information and opening times visit highernordenfarmshop.co.uk.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 39

FRIED DUCK’S EGG WITH PENNY BUNS What a month it’s been for penny buns, or ceps as many people refer to them as and the local foragers have been bringing them in by the basket load along with puffballs and chanterelles so we’ve had a whole mushroom section on at the Fish House for weeks now and I hope it continues.

MARK HIX

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

• 400g penny buns cleaned and sliced • 60g unsalted butter • 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed • 1tbsp chopped parsley • 4 duck eggs • Olive oil for frying

1. Melt half the butter in a frying pan and gently cook the penny buns for 2-3 minutes until they begin to colour and soften.

2. Add the garlic and the rest of the butter and season with salt and pepper.

3. Meanwhile gently fry the duck eggs in a non-stick frying pan until just set and season the white with a little salt.

4. Turn the eggs out on to plates, add the parsley to the mushrooms and spoon over the eggs.

Serves 4

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YOUR MARSHWOOD - YOUR COMMUNITY www.marshwoodvale.com

The all round Zander experience

By Nick Fisher

O

ne in three marriages ends in divorce. It’s a fact. And at least one in three fishing trips end in a dry net. It’s true. You can’t argue with statistics. Go fishing regularly and you’re more likely to be faced with failure, than elated by success.

So when me and my mate Tony set off for a 36 hour predator purge of the River Lark in Suffolk, there was a sinking feeling welling-up inside of me. As the rain lashed down in stair-rods, turning the M11 into something from a scene in one of those news-bulletin flashflood warnings, I smiled weakly. Trying to look unaffected by the mounting evidence of potential disaster.

When the motorway ground to a standstill because of a pile-up ahead, and the wind buffeted our now entirely stationary vehicle, we both grinned cheesily, and talked with dizzy optimism of the great fishing time that lay ahead of us.

We’d both dressed in shorts and sandals, in some vain attempt at reality denial. Surely, if we dressed for heat, the weather would change. We talked tactics.

Merrily we talked of pop-up rigs, of float-paternosters and summer pike fly fishing techniques, and while we jabbered, I surreptitiously turned on the bum-warming seat-heaters.

As the temperature outside plummeted and the wind and rain reached gale-force levels, our mood started to spiral upwards into an almost hysterical pitch of optimism. It was as though we were determined to put a brave face on, no matter what the elements chucked in

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our direction. I’m not sure, but I’m pretty certain, that in psychoanalytical terms, this sort of massive denial is tantamount to mental illness.

A few hours later, dressed from head to toe in waterproof clothing, with rain pouring off our hats like some water-feature from TV’s Ground Force, we looked out onto a lake that was rising faster than London house-prices.

We had managed to catch some small roach for live baits. We had managed to have a lively little live-bait and float, versus dead bait and pop-up, debate. But now, as the light faded and the lake swelled, things looked grim.

Tony had taken the live bait on a paternostered float-ledger approach, where you suspend a small roach two foot off the lake bed, held permanently in position by a ledger weight and a float. I, as usual, swore by my trusty pop-up rig which uses a freshly killed roach popped-up a foot off the bottom on a clever rig made out of a thin plastic tube and the buoyant bit out of the centre of a Kinder-Surprise Easter egg.

‘What I’d really love now, is a two and a half pound zander’ I said. Tony thought I was wishing for a fish. A sensational snatch of rod bending angling action. But I was, as usual, thinking of my stomach. I knew exactly what I would do to a two and a half pound zander, and it involved a hot oven, olive oil and some past-theirbest new potatoes which were nestling in the bottom of my carrier bag.

Then it happened. Just like that. Within minutes of my request. Before the rumble of my tum had subsided. Tony’s bite alarm screamed. A brief struggle ensued, in a haze of lashing rain, and then, there it was, moments later, lying on the grass between our feet; a zander just shy of three pounds. Like manna from heaven. God’s answer to our soggy prayer.

Before Tony could wipe his glasses clean of rain spray, I had bundled the zander off to my lodge kitchen, running like an All Blacks scrum-half. Once safe inside, I boshed him on the head, snipped his gills to bleed him, sliced him open, gutted him, scraped off his scale-covered skin, scored him a few times across the flanks and covered him in a thick layer of table salt.

I love my zander fishing. The rain-swept bleak Fen landscapes. The late night fishing sessions. The beauty of the bronze-tinted, glassy-eyed beasts. But most of all, I love my zander eating.

Apart from trout or salmon, this is the tastiest freshwater fish in Britain. Perch comes a very close second.

But nothing can beat a zander. And the secret of great zander eating is salt. A layer of salt left on zander flesh for an hour, then rinsed off before cooking transforms it from a fairly bland fleshy fish, into a succulent firmtextured sophisticated delicacy, fit for men of noble birth. Or even just cocky bleeders like me.

After an hour of salting, I rinsed it well. Patted it dry with kitchen roll. Lay it across the baking tray, surrounded by half chopped small spuds, a few half cut cloves of garlic, a couple of fresh chillies and a few handfuls of Rosemary, scrounged out of a neighbour’s garden. Then I chucked it in an oven which was so hot it just about melted the kitchen lino.

Thirty five minutes later, Tony practically proposed marriage to me. I swear, there is no better way to eat fish. So fresh. So hot. So suck-your-eyes-out, chindribblingly gorgeous.

A few years ago, the National Rivers Authority conducted a massive zander cull on the Oxford Union canal, to try and rid the water of what were then seen only as a pest fish. They electro-fished several tons of zander from the canal and tried to sell them as table eating fish. They failed. Nobody in Britain wanted to eat zander. Nobody even really knew what they were.

So, they ended up being buried in a pit. Madness.

Although things looked bad for us, in zander terms rain and overcast skies are a good thing. They like murky water. Preferably still murky water. Their amazing night-vison makes them able hunters even in conditions that would leave a pike or a perch going hungry.

In the next couple of hours we had two more zander and a pike of around ten pounds. All of them came to the float-ledgered baits, so as usual Tony was right and I was wrong.

I wanted to cook the zander with its head on. After a recent visit to Africa I’ve been completely converted to eating fish heads. People in Africa fight over who gets the head of a fish. Not because they’re hungry, but because it’s generally reckoned to be the best bit.

In Iceland I visited a fish processing plant which send container loads of cods heads to Nigeria. Just the heads. Nothing else. They don’t want the rest of the fish. It’s the heads they prize most.

Sadly, my baking tray wasn’t big enough, so I saved the head for a fish stew instead.

As we sat on that motorway in the lashing rain this trip looked every inch like another one of those statistical failures. But that night brought four good fish before midnight and the following day was a perchshaped orgy of rod bending action. It just goes to show, a fisherman’s optimism may be a form of insanity, but sometimes, just sometimes, it pays to stick two grubby fingers up to common sense. At least, that’s my excuse.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 43

PASTIES The recipe is for six pasties which I typically make with beef but you can use minced beef or lamb, whatever takes your fancy. I would make the pastry but if you prefer there are some very good ready-made pastries.

INGREDIENTS • • • • •

Plain pastry 225 g plain flour 110 g butter 1/2 teaspoon salt Water

Pasty Filling • Olive oil • 600 g meat, diced • 100 g onions, diced • 200 g carrot, diced • 200 g potato, diced • 1 tablespoon tomato purée • 1 tablespoon flour • Thyme, fresh or dried • 75 ml red wine (optional) • Stock cube • Egg to glaze Serves 6

DIRECTIONS 1. In a large bowl sift the flour, add the salt and stir. Add the butter cut into cubes. Using a mixer, or do this by hand, rub the butter in to the flour until you have coarse breadcrumbs. Add enough cold water to bring the crumbs together and form into a ball of pastry. Put it in cling film and in the fridge for about 30 minutes or so.

2. Put some olive oil in a pan and fry off the onions until they are softened, add the flour and cook for a couple of minutes. Pop the beef in the pan with a glug of red wine (if using), a beef stock cube, tomato purée, a sprinkling of thyme and 450 ml water. Bring to the boil and put it in a casserole with carrot and potato. Put it in the oven for about 2 hours until the beef is tender. Allow to cool.

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3. Roll the pastry out, approximately 3 mm thick. Cut 4 circles of pastry, approx 18 cms. I use a side plate which is ideal. Brush water along the edge. Place 2-3 tablespoons of pasty mix on the right hand side of the circle.

Fold the pastry over the mix and crimp the edges. It is easiest to use a fork although you can experiment with different finishes.

Put them on a baking tray with about 2 cms in between.

4. Finish with a good brush of egg over the top and put them in a preheated oven (Gas 6/ 200C) for 35-40 minutes or until conker brown.

Guest Recipe

Lizzie Crow Lizzie Crow, Dorset’s Baking Bird, shares a couple of favourite seasonal recipes – her take on a traditional pasty and a delicious blackberry upside-down cake. Lizzie has regular Saturday morning cake sales at her home in Upwey and sells her sweet and savoury bakes at Dorset farmers markets, including Bridport.

BLACKBERRY UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

INGREDIENTS • 250 g blackberries • 100 g soft light brown sugar • • • • •

75 g softened butter 75 g sunflower oil 175 g soft light brown sugar 3 large free range eggs 200 g self raising flour (or plain flour plus 1 teaspoon of baking powder) • 50 g milk • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract Makes 12

DIRECTIONS 1. Mix the blackberries with the 100 g of sugar and place them in the base of a well-buttered 12-hole deep muffin tin.

2. Mix together all of the ingredients except the milk and vanilla extract in a bowl. DO NOT OVERMIX. Then add the milk and extract and stir until incorporated.

3. Divide the mixture evenly between the tins (take care not to overfill). Cook at Gas 4/180C for 30-35 minutes (do keep an eye on these as different ovens cook at different speeds). Take them out when the sponge is springy and a skewer comes out clean. Let them sit for 10 minutes and then gently turn them out of the tins.

4. Serve with clotted cream.

www.lizziebakingbird.co.uk

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 45

Arts&Entertainment

Galleries are Open DESPITE months of uncertainty, art retains a constancy that is somehow comforting ,and there are many galleries open with a huge range of work to view and purchase.

Inland is a solo exhibition by landscape painter Carry Akroyd taking place at The Jerram Gallery in Sherborne in October. There will be 40 paintings in the show in different media: oils, watercolour, acrylic, mixed media as well as a small amount of her original prints. Prices range from £350 to £2,500.

Carry’s interest in the landscape draws on many levels of fascination, producing a soft yet vibrant colour palette depicting landscape and nature. Her work is very recognizable, having been used to illustrate many book jackets as well as her monthly illustration for the Bird of the Month column in The Oldie. She also has striking books of her own work.

This exhibition has taken Carry from her home in rural east Northamptonshire to Dorset, Herefordshire and the Cotswolds. Her focus in these different parts of England is how field patterns change dramatically according to the geology, and a half hour drive will produce contrasting landscapes which are cleverly captured in her work. While out walking Carry accumulates sketches and visual notes, which later and during lockdown, are distilled in the studio, to make the final image. Roads and birds are recurring motifs. Some of the works have developed from recording a location to being more about colour and pattern.

The Jerram Gallery, at Half Moon St, Sherborne DT9 3LN, is open from Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30 am - 5 pm, to enjoy the paintings with plenty of space whilst maintaining a safe distance. The exhibition will be accompanied by an illustrated colour catalogue and can be viewed online at www.jerramgallery.com from the beginning of October. The exhibition is on from October 10 to 24.

Paintings by Carry Akroyd Left: Sundown Fox and (below) Dorset Landscape from Pilsden Pen

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ROBERT HEWER

Artwave West October 3 - 31 THE gallery owners at Artwave West first noticed Robert Hewer’s paintings in his Degree Show at Bath School of Art and Design in 2013. His abundance of talent was so clearly apparent the gallery has been delighted to represent him ever since. He became a Gallery Artist in 2019 and this will be his first feature exhibition at Artwave West.

For this exhibition, Robert has also produced several still life paintings. Enjoying the freedom this subject allows, we witness his complete confidence in using his talent to handle paint, resulting in paintings that convey a sense of playfulness adding a contrast and freshness to the exhibition.

Artwave West, Morcombelake, Dorset DT6 6DY. Open Wednesday to Saturday 10-4pm. www. artwavewest.com Into The Blue 80x80cm

DAYS LIKE THESE at the Town Mill in Lyme Regis

THE Town Mill at Lyme Regis hosts a new exhibition entitled Days like These opening in October. Moira Baumbach—Printmaker; Allan Green—Painter; Dr Sarah R Key—Visual Artist; Prof David Manley—Contemporary Artist and Stewart Reid—Painter are showing an eclectic mix of work. ‘The exhibition runs from October 22 until November 4. The Town Mill, Mill Lane, Lyme Regis, Dorset DT7 3PU. For more information visit www.townmill.org.uk.

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Curious Expressions and Recent Ceramics

C

ontinuing to exhibit exceptional quality work, Sladers Yard in West Bay hosts painter Simon Quadrat, ceramic artist Gabriele Koch and furniture designer Petter Southall in an exhibition that continues until November 8.

Now in his seventies, Simon Quadrat paints dream-like memories of his childhood in rundown 1950s London, peopled by a colourful collection of misfits whose faces tell quite different stories from the roles they are playing.

Born in London in 1946, Simon was the son of Jewish émigrés who scraped a living after the war having separately fled pre-war Germany in the 1930s leaving everything behind. He remembers a truly cosmopolitan family life conducted in many languages, often all at the same time. His father settled into business after the war and they frequently visited Europe, even post-war Germany, to see family. His mother was both a painter and a pianist. Simon also painted and played piano from an early age and describes himself as a scholarly child aware that he needed to make his living.

Simon studied law at Bristol University and established himself as a criminal barrister in the Temple in London and, from 1985, in Bristol where he continued to practice on the Western Circuit, becoming Head of Chambers in the early 1990s. When his first wife Suzy died in 1996, his thoughts turned more and more to his passion for painting. In 1999 he married Jenny and with her encouragement gave up the law to become a full-time professional painter.

Gabriele Koch’s ceramics exude a compelling quietude. Her search has always been for simplicity, restraint and beauty in a pot. Her most recent work combines two contrasting materials, heavy black clay with white porcelain.

Edmund de Waal called her pots, ‘articulate: they are wide in reach and deeply focussed.’ In his book, Gabriele Koch Hand Building and Smoke Firing, published in 2009, Tony Birks wrote, ‘There is something that lies beyond skill and experience: it is passion, an intensity which is evident in the work of Gabriele Koch.’

Admired by collectors worldwide, including Sir David Attenborough who wrote the foreword to her book, Gabriele’s pots are in public collections across Britain, Europe, Canada and USA as well as private collections worldwide.

Sladers Yard, Contemporary Art, Furniture & Craft Gallery, West Bay Bridport Dorset DT6 4EL. Tel. 01308 459511. Gallery open 10 am – 4.30 pm Wednesday to Saturday. www.sladersyard.co.uk.

From top left: Simon Quadrat Dockside Houses; Gabriele Koch Gated Vessel, H.29cm; Gabriele Koch Orkney Moon, H.32cm; Simon Quadrat Private View; Simon Quadrat The Parting and Gabriele Koch, White Standing Form, porcelain lines, H.57cm Petter Southall Flow conference table desk.

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October

GALLERIES

Until October 2 Emotional Response Contrasts with Visual Essentials: A Joint Show by Nigel Sharman & Mel Cormack-Hicks.

Marine House at Beer. Accessible online from the end of August, the show will be available to view in the gallery daily from 10am – 5.00pm. Marine House at Beer is excited to be showcasing the work of two highly respected semi-abstract painters - Mel Cormack-Hicks and Nigel Sharman. The joint show will present new artworks by two artists who in distinctly different ways have, in their contrasting but innovative artistic prowess, made themselves very popular and collectable. Though different in their emotional response and approach to visual representation, both artists are simultaneously inspired by colour, composition, and the vibrant landscapes of the South West.

Marine House at Beer, Fore Street, Beer Nr Seaton, Devon, EX 12 3EF. 01297 625257, info@marinehouseatbeer.co.uk, www. marinehouseatbeer.co.uk October 3 - 31 Robert Hewer, Artwave West, Morcombelake, Dorset DT6 6DY. Open Wednesday to Saturday 10-4pm. www.artwavewest. com October 10 - 24 Looking Inland, Carry Akroyd The Jerram Gallery, Half Moon St, Sherborne DT9 3LN, Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30 am - 5 pm exhibition can be viewed online at www.jerramgallery.com from the beginning of October.

October 10 - November 10 Dorchester artist Caz Scott exhibits her latest work at Gallery on the Square, celebrating the beauty of the local landscape inspired by the Jurassic coastline. Gallery on the Square, Queen

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Mother Square Poundbury, Dorchester DT1 3BL. 01305 213322. gallerypoundbury.co.uk Until October 12 Awakening, 10.30-16.30 Thursdays-Mondays, Colourful paintings created in lockdown by Pam Allsop, Zee Jones and Lucy de Albuquerque, The Gallery Symondsbury, 01308 301326.

Until October 14 20 20 Vision (Brass & Copper paintings) Julie Oldfield.

New paintings and in situ copper sheet sketches, inspired by the mixed emotions of Lockdown and the freedom to explore new country walks as nature and quiet reclaimed my surroundings.

10:30 to 4:30. Malthouse Gallery Town Mill Galleries Lyme Regis DT7 3PU www.julieoldfield.com Courtyard Gallery.

October 15 - Nov 2 South West Sculptors, 10.30-16.30 Thursdays-Mondays, Visiting exhibition of engaging sculptures by artists from the South West, The Gallery Symondsbury, 01308 301326.

Until October 17 Chroma, 10.00-16.00 Wednesdays-Saturdays, Handcut glass landscapes by Allan Punton, The Rotunda Gallery, Lyme Regis Museum, 01297 443370 or 01308 301326.

October 21 - Dec 5 Telling Tales!, 10.00-16.00 Wednesdays-Saturdays, Pictures, words and whimsy by author and illustrator Carolyn King, The Rotunda Gallery, Lyme Regis Museum, 01297 443370 or 01308 301326.

October 22 - November 4 Days Like These, Moira Baumbach; Allan Green; Dr Sarah

R Key; Prof David Manley and Stewart Reid, The Town Mill, Mill Lane, Lyme Regis, Dorset DT7 3PU. For more information visit www.townmill.org.uk Until October 31 Artist Rooms Richard Long ‘Being in the Moment’ Open Thursday – Saturday, 10-5. Last chance to see the work of renowned British sculptor and Turner prize winning artist, Richard Long. Free. Guided tours only. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield House, Dowell Street, Honiton EX14 1LX, 01404 45006 www.thelmahulbert.com The Arborealists: Trees and Woodland on Exmoor and Dartmoor Exhibition, 10.00 am – 5.00 pm Wed – Sat (admission by advance booking only).

An exhibition of artworks exploring Exmoor and Dartmoor National Parks and our connection to the natural world. The Museum of Somerset, Taunton Castle, Castle Green, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4AA, Museumofsomerset.org.uk Until November 8 Curious Expressions. Simon Quadrat, Gabriele Koch, Petter Southall, Sladers Yard, Contemporary Art, Furniture & Craft Gallery, West Bay Bridport Dorset DT6 4EL. Tel. 01308 459511. Gallery open 10 am – 4.30 pm Wednesday to Saturday. www. sladersyard.co.uk.

14 November – 24 December Present Makers 2020, Open Thursday – Saturday, 10-5. A curated showcase of work celebrating the talent of South West based contemporary crafts people and designer makers, who create unique hand-made and locally-designed gifts. All work is for sale. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield House, Dowell Street, Honiton EX14 1LX, 01404 45006 www.thelmahulbert.com Until November 21 Somerset Reacquainted Exhibition, 10.00 am – 5.00 pm Wed – Sat (advance booking only). A collective reflection by 63 Somerset artists during lockdown. A collaboration with Somerset Art Works.

Somerset Rural Life Museum, Chilkwell Street, Glastonbury, Somerset, BA6 8DB, srlm.org.uk Until January 10 Autumn Mixed Show Work by gallery artists & Chloe Fremantle. The exquisite Tincleton Gallery will be holding a four-month mixed show of their gallery artists, plus London-based artist Chloe Fremantle. Periodically some of the works will be taken down and replaced by others so that the show can remain fresh for the 4-month run irrespective of how the Covid-19 pandemic evolves. Tincleton Gallery, The Old School House, Tincleton, nr Dorchester, DT2 8QR. Opening times: Fri/Sat/ Sun/Mon from 10:00 - 17:00, no admission fee. Tel. 01305 848 909. http://www.tincletongallery.com Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 51

Seven years of My Ballet

WITH CARLA SHEILLS

By James Crowden

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T

o dance can be liberating. For many mature women in West Dorset and South Somerset, this means dance classes given by Carla Sheills, who runs ‘My Ballet’. To some women, it is daunting at first to run through all those ballet exercises on the barre, but for others, it is empowering. Many did ballet as children and never believed it possible to dance again. Others have never done ballet at all. So for everyone, this is an extraordinary experience. It can unlock some good memories and eases the joints. It is a holistic experience and gives the dancers greater balance, stamina and flexibility as well as elegance, poise and a deep inner sense of well being and confidence. Much needed these days…

My Ballet’s approach is tailored to suit everybody including all shapes, sizes and abilities. Not just reed-thin youngsters. Although not as punishing as some ballet traditions, the dancers work hard. Seven years ago, back in 2013, Carla Sheills pioneered teaching her integrated method of ballet to mature ladies in Winsham village hall and in the elegant blue ballroom of the Bull Hotel in Bridport. For many ladies, it was sheer joy to be dancing ballet again. Their dreams had come true…

Carla used her skills from the Royal Academy of Dance and from pioneers of British dance movement therapy to create My Ballet. This was a real step into the unknown. Carla’s very individual approach has been a great success and has inspired many new dancers and teachers alike.

Even five years ago it was relatively unheard of for adults who had never done ballet before to start training.

It was a brave thing to do but one that worked phenomenally well. This was the real thing with ballet barres and classical music.

Since then ‘My Ballet’ has gone from strength to strength and a short film was made by Justin Owen of Bridport. Within days the film went viral around the world with people watching from as far afield as Moscow and Puerto Rico, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Israel, Ukraine, Budapest, Tennessee and Chicago. Even Tonbridge Wells…

Carla says ‘I am humbled that our film Let Me Dance influenced so many people around the world with 2.6 million views and a reach of over 7 million. It was wonderful to hear from universities, dance schools and the Boston Ballet Company, as well as teachers and many aspiring dancers.’

But what of Carla Sheills who developed this unique approach to teaching ballet? Carla was born in London.

Her father was a diplomat and her mother an artist. She grew up in South Africa and started studying the Royal Academy of Dance method from the age of six. She had excellent English dance tutors in Johannesburg. At the age of eleven, she was accepted into a ballet school and studied dance every day till she was eighteen. As Carla says ‘We trained intensively. Ballet was our bread and butter. We also studied classical Greek dance and Flamenco as well as anatomy. It was very focussed and very challenging but a huge privilege.’

‘When I was a child my grandmother called me huppelkind which means ‘hopping, bouncy child’.

‘Nowadays I might have been called hyperactive!’ Carla spent some of her childhood on an African farm so the lush pastures of Somerset and Dorset were a great relief after the hot baking sun of the Eastern Cape.

After moving to England Carla studied Dance Movement therapy in Bristol and taught dance to children in

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Dance can be liberating and empowering

schools for many years. But things were not always easy. In 2007 Carla discovered she had cancer and had major surgery which greatly affected her upperbody mobility.

Lying in the hospital bed in Bristol, Carla never thought she would ever dance again. The surgery felt very brutal. It was a very painful and long recovery. But being determined and a ‘bouncy, hopping child’ Carla slowly made progress and five years later began teaching again. This time focussing on adults.

To be a ballerina is a dream that many women secretly still have. But to learn to move gracefully has for many ladies been life-changing. Above all Carla wanted to communicate the sheer joy of dancing again and she found that many of her dancers have had similar problems with their health.

Carla has a can-do approach. It is all in the Mind. ‘My Ballet’ is as much about the sense of community, bonding, friendship and a general feeling of self-worth which is a different approach to other ballet classes.

The success of the ‘My Ballet’ film took everyone by surprise. Carla was then consulted by the Royal Academy of Dance based in Battersea who have since launched Silver Swans around the world.

Ballet has opened up greatly in the last two years.

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As for teaching Carla has many different classes, usually ten a week. Every dancer has a story to tell and Carla is beginning to collect those stories for a book. The comments of her dancers are very telling.

The daughter of one of her dancers is professional ballerina Natalie Harrison, First Artist at the Royal Ballet. Carla arranged for Natalie to come down to Bridport to give a wonderful master class and this was incredibly successful.

With COVID and Lockdown in March live classes came to a halt. But Carla has been doing YouTube and ballet classes on Zoom which are very popular. For some, it has been a real lifeline. Carla is currently investigating reopening small live classes at the Bull in Bridport and in Winsham Village Hall.

COVID permitting…

Advance booking is absolutely essential as places are limited. Ballet keeps you fit. Why not give it a go? Every kitchen is a ballroom… Just grab the rail of the Aga and off you go…

For more details see the My Ballet website: www.my-ballet. uk which includes the film Let Me Dance or email the secretary Sandy Wells on elegantmovement@gmail.com or phone 0786 6896978.

Bridport Literary Festival bucks the trend with a packed programme this autumn

THE COVID 19 pandemic seems to have created mayhem for all those who planned festivals for this year and so many have been cancelled. At the time of writing however, BridLit is still very much on course, with a stellar line-up of speakers in a carefully reduced schedule which will run from Wednesday 4 to Saturday 7 November.

Festival Director Tanya Bruce-Lockhart remains optimistic that the festival will be ‘live’ in November unless another spike on coronavirus cases hits the West Country.

Events will be rotated between the Electric Palace and the Bridport Arts Centre, both of which will have configured seating to take into account social distance and will be thoroughly cleaned and sanitised before and after each event.

Speakers this year include James Rebanks, in conversation with James Crowden, and Lord Darroch in conversation with Oliver Letwin. Richard Osman, co-host of Priceless and award-winning nature writer Raynor Winn are also among the authors appearing at this year’s festival.

James Rebanks runs a family-owned farm in the Lake District and hit the best seller lists with his first book, The Shepherd’s Life, in 2015 which was shortlisted for the Wainwright and Ondaatje prizes, and has been translated into 16 languages. A graduate of Oxford University, Rebanks describes himself as an ‘old fashioned farmer’.

His second book, English Pastoral, came out on 3 September 2020. James will be in conversation with James Crowden.

Lord Darroch is a former British diplomat. He served as the British Ambassador to the US for almost three years but resigned in July 2019 following the leak of diplomatic cables in which he was critical of the Trump administration. His book, Collateral Damage, is a behind-the-scenes account revealing the inside story behind his resignation. His appearance at the festival will come just days after the US election.

Richard Osman’s debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club, is set in a luxury retirement village in Kent where four residents gather to investigate crime cases, including a ‘live’ murder mystery.

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn became a Sunday Times bestseller in 2018. It was nominated for the Costa Book Awards and the Wainwright Prize and won the inaugural RSL Christopher Bland Prize. Her second book, Wild Silence, was published in April.

There will be an online brochure on the website— bridlit.com—later this month, with information and tickets at Bridport Tourist Information Centre on 01308 424901.

‘There will be a warm welcome to everyone who enjoys reading and loves literature,’ Tanya BruceLockhart said. ‘It will be something to look forward to in these troubled times.’

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RAMELA

By Louisa Adjoa Parker

W

hen my patients ask me where I am from, I usually reply, “Wyke Regis in Weymouth.” They shake their heads and ask, “No, nurse, where are you really from?”

My name is Ramela O’Malley. When people hear my name without seeing my face, they think I have made a mistake; that my name is Pamela and I am Irish. When they meet me in person, I see their puzzled expressions as they try to work out where I am from. I did not make a spelling mistake when I wrote my name and I am not from Ireland.

I was born in 1967 in Istanbul/Turkey to Armenian Christian parents. I am a descendant of survivors of the Armenian genocide that took place between 1915 – 1918. 1.5 million Armenians were killed or went missing during this systematic killing generated by the Ottoman Turks. The Turkish government still denies to this day that there was a genocide.

Yet I know first-hand it was real—my grandmother lost 7 siblings during a death march on the way to the Syrian desert.

My original Armenian name is Ramela Nersesyan. The Turkish government changed most Armenian surnames and ours was changed to Nersesoglu. In Istanbul I went to an Armenian kindergarten and began speaking Armenian. My mum was a seamstress and my dad a silversmith and handengraver. In 1969, when I was two years old, my parents decided to emigrate to Germany like so many other immigrants who left the country to work in German factories.

My sister was born in 1970 in Germany. We both went to German schools. We were one of only a handful of ‘foreigners’ in our little village in Hessen, West Germany. Most people knew we were Armenians, not Turks, and we were accepted in our community. I don’t know why, perhaps it was because my parents were Christians, liberal and modern and my mum did not wear a headscarf. We went to church on Sundays, which was run by my uncle who was a lay preacher. We integrated well. I started my nurse training and qualified in 1989. Again, I was the only ‘foreigner’ in the nursing school. I worked as a staff nurse in Oncology and then later as a Junior Sister.

In 1990 I married my Scottish husband Tam, who was working for the Army in Germany and then later MoD police.

We had our first child, Mary, in 1991, and moved to Portland.

Dorset. Our second child, Gregor, was born in 1995.

I have been working as a staff nurse for the same NHS Trust hospital in Dorset since 1996. Now, when people ask me “Where are you from?” I cannot give them a straightforward answer. My face, with its olive complexion, my dark hair, my name, and my accent don’t all match up.

I am not a Turk, even though I was born in Turkey and was given a Turkish passport at birth. Armenians are a minority in Turkey and calling an Armenian a Turk does not go down too well. I am not German even though I was brought up there and still have a German accent. I am not British even though I have a British passport. I am Armenian, even though I have lost most of my Armenian language and I have been to Armenia only once as a tourist. Yet it is the country of my Ramela’s story is one of the many stories that Louisa has been gathering for The Inclusion Agency (TIA). To read more visit www.whereareyoureallyfrom.co.uk.

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ancestors, my roots.

Every country I have lived in I felt like a foreigner. Even in Armenia, when we went there on holiday, we felt like foreigners. Sometimes I feel sad and think I have lost my identity, that I don’t belong anywhere. But every country I have lived in has made me who I am now. And I speak many languages—sometimes all in one sentence without realising it! Living in different countries has given me first-hand knowledge of different cultures, customs, laws, traditions and culinary skills; it has given me diversity.

I like Turkey. It is a beautiful country and I still have many relatives there who I see when I go there on holidays. I love Germany, it is my second home. The way I do things are sometimes so ‘typically German’. I still go to Germany as often as I can to see my family and friends. I love England, it is my home now. I have many friends here and I have lived here longer than I have lived in any of the other countries.

Someone who has not experienced living in so many places might not understand any of this. People are quick to judge without having an insight and understanding of the difficulties I might go through. I wonder what might have happened if my ancestors had stayed in Armenia and hadn’t moved to Turkey? What if my parents hadn’t moved away from Turkey? Would I be the same Ramela I am now? I don’t think so. If I had stayed in Germany, would I be the same person? I was just about to be promoted to Sister on an Oncology ward. I would have moved up higher in my career which I never dared to do here in the UK. I always felt, and still feel, like an imposter. If I had stayed, I would have spent more time with my parents and sister. The separation from them has been extremely painful at times especially when I lost my dad in 2018. We were all able to go to Germany and spent his last few hours at his bed side.

Have I experienced racism or discrimination? Yes. Sometimes deliberate, sometimes subtle and sometimes unknowingly. It has shown itself in different shapes and forms, and has come from total strangers, work colleagues and patients.

But I am here now in beautiful Dorset and I am happy.

I have my husband, my children and our gorgeous Westhighland terrier, our lovely house and pretty garden. It was hard as a 24 year-old to move here, but I think I have done well. I had to adapt and integrate so many times! I have embraced my mixture of traditions and languages and used them to benefit myself and others. In my free time I do a lot of art and gardening and I use my language skills to welcome cruise passengers to Portland Port. In the past I have worked as an interpreter for asylum seekers. I understood some of their difficulties and the problems they had to endure which enabled me to develop a bond with them. I am Ramela, an Armenian who has come from many places.

Written by Ramela O’Malley *PoC refers to the term ‘People of Colour’ which is now commonly used in the UK to describe ethnic minorities from Black, Asian and other non-white backgrounds

The Lit Fix

Marshwood Vale based author, Sophy Roberts, gives us her slim pickings for October.

A

Sophy Roberts is a freelance journalist who writes about travel and culture. She writes regularly for FT Weekend, among others. Her first book, The Lost Pianos of Siberia—one of The Sunday Times top five non-fiction books for summer 2020—was published in February

by Doubleday.

s a travel writer, I describe places through my lived experiences. When I write about Tajikistan or Chad for The Financial Times—my main source of freelance work—my writing is dictated by the facts: landscape, people, history and politics, which I try to conjure up as evocatively as possible, but in the end, the narrative has to be driven by journalism. Recently, as Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc on my profession, I’ve found myself leaning in towards fiction for inspiration during this rare moment of pause. In liberating writing from inconvenient context, words can cut straight to the heart of a place. This month, my slim pickings are all short novels, describing a sense of place so vividly I can’t summon any non-fiction that could do it better.

A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler covers the entire twentieth-century lifespan of an Austrian man of the mountains, Andreas Egger, in just 148 pages. In sparse and understated prose, Egger’s life unfolds from his point of view: his childhood, marriage, work for Bitterman & Sons clearing swathes of land for cable cars, and his time as a prisoner of war. The alpine landscapes are a lodestar throughout, as modernity gradually makes its mark on the remote community where Egger lives. With piercing, almost brutal directness, Seethaler exposes Egger’s life, the ‘white silence’ of mountain blizzards, and the sunlight falling in ‘shimmering bundles’ through tree canopies. A work of genius.

Nagasaki by Éric Faye is one of those books that lingers long after you’ve turned the last page.

The protagonist is an unremarkable Japanese man, living an unexceptionable life as a middleaged, unmarried meteorologist in Nagasaki, the Japanese city devastated by the 1945 atomic bomb. The protagonist’s modest, ordered existence (he never eats dinner later than 6.30pm; avoids drinks with colleagues, and is surrounded by ‘old-lady’ neighbours) is thrown into chaos when he begins to notice food disappearing from his fridge. He becomes increasingly involved and concerned, the story unravelling with his obsession to identify the intruder. The writing transports me straight to Japan, from the neatly folded items in the oshiire and sun-warmed rush mats, to the ‘straggly, crooked bamboo’ and the food being taken: ‘a single pickled plum’.

The Passion is a gutsy, almost hallucinogenic read by Jeanette Winterson. Loosely set in the Napoleonic era (although Winterson is careful to caution that this is a book unbound by natural laws of time or history), the sense of place is visceral. While I enjoyed following Napoleon’s campaign from France to Russia, the real draw of this book is in the magic of Winterson’s Venice descriptions (when she wrote the book, she’d never visited). I was swept along with the protagonists to the dissolute glamour of Venice’s gaming hells, to fireworks displays above St Mark’s Cathedral, breaking the sky into ‘a million coloured pieces’, and along narrow streets, watching the ‘sepulchral churches’ rise above foggy thoroughfares. This is travel so evocative, you almost couldn’t beat it with the real deal—a good thing too, given we’re all likely to be at home a while longer.

Buy any of the books above at Archway Bookshop in Axminster in October and receive a 10% discount when you mention Marshwood Vale Magazine. archwaybookshop.co.uk.

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OCTOBER YOUNG LIT FIX

By Antonia Squire

I Really want to Shout by Simon Philip Illustrated by Lucia Gaggiotti Templar Books RRP £6.99 Ages 3+ There once was a little girl who really wanted the Cake, and then she really wanted to win. Now she really wants to Shout because things aren’t fair, and people are mean and it’s all just too much.

But shouting only makes us feel better in the moment, and often makes things worse. Fortunately, a friend who makes her laugh and a Dad who gives her a cuddle and helps her figure out what she can do instead of shouting makes everything ok again. Almost!

Any picture book requires two elements to make it a pitchperfect family favourite—vibrant, evocative illustrations and readability (tick and tick)! Lucia Gaggiotti’s illustrations are fast and furious—perfectly reflecting a little girl who lives life on the edge of her emotions as Simon Philip’s story gallops ahead—it is an absolute thrill to read aloud.

The Monsters of Rookhaven by Pádraig Kenny Illustrated by Edward Bettison Macmillan Children’s Books £12.99 Ages 9+ What are Monsters?

When Tom and Jem run away from their abusive uncle they survive for a time by stealing and conning their way into digs.

But eventually, people become suspicious and the next time they run Tom is sick and the car they have stolen runs out of petrol on a deserted lane in the middle of nowhere. Ever a bit of a blagger, Tom strides towards the strange circle of light in the woods and then through this tear in reality, forcing Jem to follow him. As they make their way up a path towards a large house, they just notice that the flowers are moving towards them before they are entangled and the heads of the flowers come for them bearing razor sharp teeth! Terrified, they are rescued in the nick of time by a young girl, Mirabelle, but Tom, illness creeping, faints the moment they enter the house, leaving his little sister at the mercy of these strangest of strangers.

Kindly, Mirabelle insists that her family help them, despite Tom and Jem are from ‘Outside’. They are taken to a room, and a doctor from the nearby village is called. Tom is to stay in bed for at least a week with food and medicine, Jem is shown around by Mirabelle, with only one word of warning—she must never leave their room after dark—it’s too dangerous. For the house they have stumbled upon is a house filled with Monsters, shapeshifters from another plane with special abilities, talents and a taste for raw meat. All except Mirabelle, an orphan born in the house rather than arriving by less ordinary means.

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Jem is terrified as she begins to discover the truth about the denizens of this strange place, but also strangely comforted by their kindness and understanding. Mirabelle and Jem become friends, learning about each other and meeting others from the village who are like Jem but bring those at the house supplies according to an ancient treaty.

So, who are the monsters? Those who take in and care for strangers despite their differences, or those who sow discord, mistrust and anger. This is a stunningly beautiful allegorical tale, rich in language, imagery and adventure. More than that though, it helps all of us understand what it truly means to be human.

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix Gollancz Publishing RRP £18.99 Ages 14+ Technically this is being published as a ‘grown up’ book but Garth Nix is famous for his brilliant YA Abhorsen series and it has tremendous crossover appeal, so I’m slotting it in right here—it’s that good!

Set in an alternate reality, 1980s London, the Left-Handed Booksellers are Authorised to Kill…and sell books.

The Right-Handed Booksellers are also a thing, they take care of research and development (and are of course, far better and their day jobs than the loose cannon Lefties).

We begin our tale in the west country, in a run-down cottage by a river near Bath. Susan Arkshaw is just embarking on a summer in London before Art School. Ostensibly her goal is to find a part time job (slightly hard to come by in Thatcher’s London ca 1983) while her real goal is to find out who her father is, and maybe even find him. Her Mum’s always been a bit vague on the subject of her dad, but then again, her Mum’s always been a bit vague on most things.

She begins her search at her ‘Uncle’ Frank’s place, but on her first night, as she is planning on creeping away, she hears a disturbance. She enters the room to see a very young man prick Frank with a hatpin making him dissolve. She’s just trying to wrap her mind around that when she is strongly encouraged by Merlin (the young man with the pin) to follow him out the window. Things get weirder and weirder as the night progresses, ending in a police station where she is questioned, and then put up in digs so she can be ‘protected’ by the Booksellers—of which Merlin is an aforementioned Left-Handed one. Danger awaits Susan at every turn as she delves deeper into the world of booksellers, goblins and fey.

Weird, funny, creepy and a bit sweary, this is a fantastic urban fantasy adventure by a master of the craft. Highly recommend.

All titles 10% off at The Bookshop on South Street, Bridport for Marshwood Vale Magazine readers.

Screen Time with Nic Jeune

Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James and Armie Hammer in Rebecca

Some cinemas are open and there are also some gems ready for home viewing GO to the cinema. They are open again. The Plaza has reopened in Dorchester and so have the local Odeon and Cineworld cinemas. They all have COVID precautions in place and you will need to wear a mask. You just have to remember to breathe slowly during the scary scenes or your glasses steam up!

Death on The Nile (2020) is on general release. It is Kenneth Branagh’s second outing as Agatha Christie’s Belgium, not French as he continuously reminds the world, detective, Hercule Poirot. Fantastic cast list. It is filmed on location in Egypt so it could be the perfect escape from early onset of winter blues.

Second classic remake of the month is the release of a new adaptation of The Secret Garden (2020). This has been adapted by the go-to screen writer of the moment Jack Thorne whose credits include A Christmas Carol and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for the stage, Shameless, Skins and His Dark Materials for TV and Wonder, Aeronauts and A Long Way Down for cinema. The Producers are the ones behind the Harry Potter films and Paddington and know how to find great young actors. It looks like they have found a new star in 15 year old Dixie Egerickx who plays the lead part of Mary.

Here are a few new digital releases to be watched from the comfort of your sofa.

Rebecca (2020)by Daphne du Maurier has been adapted for the screen numerous times most notably by Alfred Hitchcock. Late October 2020 sees the release of British directors Ben Wheatley’s version on Netflix. I am eagerly looking forward to Kirstin Scott Thomas’ interpretation of

Dixie Egerickx, Colin Firth and Julie Walters in The Secret Garden

Mrs Danvers.

Black Box (2020) is the first of a season of horror films Amazon have made with the award-winning producer Jason Blum, who brought you Whiplash, Get Out, US and Black Klansman. Black Box has no reviews yet but looks well worth a look.

Relic (2020) available on Amazon Prime is the film of the month to watch if you really need to frighten yourself. A haunted house movie tackling the theme of dementia.

Casablanca (1944) on BBC iPlayer is however a real gem.

“This great romantic noir is still grippingly powerful: a movie made at a time when it was far from clear the Nazis were going to lose.” Peter Bradshaw. The Guardian (2012) If you have never seen it make a date to spend an evening with Bogart Bergman.

“Play it Sam. Play As Time Goes By!” Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 59

Health&Beauty

HELP AT HAND IN A TIME OF NEED A psychological therapies service that is part of the NHS, Steps2wellbeing offers a range of therapies to help with mental health problems. In a series of short articles, Ellie Sturrock offers details of a vital community resource.

(The cases below are composite cases and not real people.)

J

ames is 53 and his mother and father both developed COVID in March. James went to visit them in Manchester and watched his mother improve but his previously fit and healthy father succumbed to the virus and he sadly died in hospital.

The separation from his father when he was taken away in the ambulance, lack of contact whilst he was there and then the strange small funeral service has stayed with him. He is often tearful and irritated by services and the government. The grief does not seem to get better, whereas his sister, who lives closer to the family home, seems to be functioning better.

As a hospital doctor she has suggested James seek some psychological support. James was finding it hard to do this and so his partner, Ben, called on his behalf.

Within a few days of Ben calling S2W James was offered an assessment appointment which he chose to do by video format; living out in the ‘sticks’ and wishing to protect himself and others, this suits him.

He uses video consulting for work and has good WiFi. His appointment lasted 45 minutes and in discussion with a therapist they came to the conclusion that a video delivered course called ‘Grief in the Time of COVID-19’, above individual sessions of counselling, would be his preference. This is six sessions long and he will be emailed a handbook and links each week.

Janet, 67, has just finished a course of treatment for brain cancer, she feels tired and has suffered from untreatable pain for many years. This started after her twin sister died unexpectedly 16 years ago. She has tried many different medications and alternative approaches which have helped temporarily or have helped but had strong side effects. She has found the isolation during

the COVID lockdown caused her to ruminate on her current ill health and has, she feels increased her pain.

When she was going out she was distracted and occupied and the pain had been less noticeable. She is keeping herself isolated even though the government have dropped the shielding advice. Her family visit in the garden and chat by WhatsApp but she is worried about them and their work, their finances and children in the family going to school or not going to school.

Having had some CBT with S2W in the past for an episode of low mood, she knew she could contact the service again. This time she was offered a different approach in the form of a mindfulness course for stress (Mindfulness Based stress reduction, MBSR) which is particularly targeted to people with long term physical conditions.

She too can do this at home so feels reassured about her safety and she describes herself as a ‘silver surfer’ and comfortable with technology. It is eight sessions long and helps people relate to whatever their situation is in more helpful ways, it has a strong evidence base in ill health.

Steps2WellBeing (S2W) is a free NHS short term psychological therapies service. It offers anyone an opportunity for assessment and the possibility of treatment which can be by video, phone or face to face.

We adhere to covid safe distancing and the wearing of face masks to keep everyone as safe as possible.

S2W can be contacted through the website www. steps2wellbeing.co.uk or phone 0300 790 6828.

S2W is not an emergency service. In crisis and if suicidal please use emergency services 111, Samaritans 116123 or 0300 1235440 and ask for an on the day appointment with your GP.

Fly fishing to help those living with breast cancer SOUTH West Fishing For Life is a fly fishing organisation for people all with one thing in common—breast cancer. The organisation was founded 12 years ago by a small committee of very enthusiastic people to help people who are suffering, recovering or living with breast cancer to learn a new hobby, make new friends and have support away from the hospital environment.

They now have 11 groups over the country and they meet monthly. The members are coached by qualified coaches and at the end of the session there is time to relax and chat to likeminded people. The session is called ME time and becomes a special time each month for members to escape. The gentle movement of casting has been proven to help muscle and tissue around the chest area and being out in the fresh air 60 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

helps people’s wellbeing. Learning a new hobby and meeting new friend’s helps self-confidence to return and everyone can relax, laugh again and have fun. Every group has a lead coach who arranges his monthly session but the Trustees are there to advise and set up new groups.

Every session is free and all the groups have the equipment members can use. There are two groups in Dorset. For more information visit the web site www.southwestfishingforlife.org. uk you can see where all the groups are.

For more information call 01398 371244 or email holworthyfarm@aol.com. A friend or partner is welcome to go with you but they will not be able to join in the fishing as the fishing is just for breast cancer people.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 61

Services&Classified CHIMNEY SWEEP

ELECTRICAL

62 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

FOR SALE Vintage Seed Drill This vintage seed drill was made by the Horsham, Sussex company Horace Fuller. In original vintage condition and still working. Would make an ideal barn or garden feature. £65 photos available 01460 55105 Vintage Terracotta Plant pots Collectors pots by Sankey Bulwell, Ward of Darlaston and a couple of clay scallop top Victorian pots. Photos available 01460 55105 Antique Cane Fluted Butlers Sink This Victorian sink is in good vintage condition and would make an excellent planter. There is a hairline crack to one corner 77cm long 46 wide 13 deep.Photos available offers around £180 01460 55105 Robert Welch designer wine rack. A very distinctive 12 bottle wrought iron wine rack with a spherical cage by the internationally recognised designer Robert Welch. 6 bottle rack and 2 matching candle holders all from the Dryad range also available. These can be seen on the Robert Welch website.

Photos available £120 for the wine rack please ask for details of the other items.

01460 55105 Stressless adjustable Chocolate brown leather chair plus footstool & cleaning kit VGC £500 G Plan 3 seater setter and 2 x armchairs , light beige & pale floral pretty design VGC £250. Conservatory cane furniture, 2 seater settee and 2 x armchairs light taupe colour with floral pretty design. VGC £120. Photos available if required. Ring 07870 818479 or 01935 881453.

Ladies size 14 dresses, pretty, elegant, flattering summer dresses, knee length to maxi, £15each.

White cropped trousers with turn ups size 16. Jaques Vert, Kaleidoscope, M&S etc all excellent condition.

Photographic print of an old English springer spaniel in an elaborate bronze effect frame, crackled finish to make it look aged, believed to have been made in the Far East 20” x 24”. £20. photos available. 01935 891857 Tascam 2488 Mk2 digital 24 track recorder 80Gb hard drive - excellent versatile recorder - all functioning fine - have completed several CD`s using this machine.

Only slight niggle is that to activate the `play` button you have to press the play button slightly harder than the other buttons. If you put Tascam 2488 Mk2 into You tube you might see the 2488 in operation. £175 Tel: 01300 320059.

Harley Davidson Gents XL (chest 109-118cm) elbow armoured black/grey jacket £150: Uvex blue/black bicycle helmet 56-61cm £25: Bronze/Gilt effect framed mirror 75cmx105cmx3.5cm: Wooden deep mahogany coloured pattern framed mirror 86.5cmx67cmx2cm £20: Large ‘Deer’ print cushion Black/grey 55x55cm approx. £5: set of 4 small 33x33cm and 1 matching larger cushion 43x43cm approx. £5: Bosch Tassimo Coffee Machine £5. Photo’s available. 01935 891857 German Cyclone Car Vacuum Cleaner with tools.

New £35. Solid Chrome 3 Speed Desk Fan. New. £25 07484 689302 Dahon aluminium folding bike £100. Topro Troja Rollator Walking aid with brakes, seat and back rest £80. PIEFF chrome dining chair £25. Adjustable walking stick £3. Micromark MM30129 Electric Fan 2 KW wall heater £10. Taster cups, polycarbonate, appx 150 £10. Freeplay wind-up and solar-powered radio £15.

Freeplay sherpa wind-up torch £5. Contact for photos.

07897 203931 Parker knoll low coffee table 24” square x 13” high ,

beech frame, teak finish £48.

Weymouth 01305 833523 Wine/ lamp table dark wood, 18” round x 25” high £15. Weymouth 01305 833523 Tiffany pendant lamp shades 2, pale cream brown fleck, with chains and fittings, 15” dia £45 Weymouth 01305 833523 LG smart television 37” flat screen with wifi dongle. hd. lcd. excellent picture, “Which best buy.” £115.

Weymouth 01305 833523 Old Stripped Pine Chest of Drawers 2 small and 2 large drawers wear and tare/shabby chic offers.

2x 6fts wood curtain poles with rings £10. Alan 01308 488789 Hostess trolley in good condition £50, a 4 drawer filing cabinet £20. 07970 077852.

John White Mens Italian Leather Moccasins Dark Maroon Size 10 As New £25. John White Mens Italian Leather Shoes Black tie up Size 10 As New £25 Clarks Mens Soft Leather Tie up Shoes Black Size 11 As New £20. Tel: 07484 689302 Laura Ashley Pair of Selby Clear Glass Lamp Bases.

Height 31cms.(Silver base with 3 stacked glass balls) Exc.cond. £20 each £35 pair.

Crewkerne 01460 76380 Brand new wash-basin/ pedestal,white, £30. Brand new shower-door, Merlyn, £120, ovno. New pressurized hand-sprayer ‘OneThrust’, model 5. £20. More details/ photo can be supplied. Tel/ txt -07398 760637 or 01305 267465 (Dorchester) Men’s Weatherproof Jacket, fully fleece lined, with detachable hood, XL, Brand New, never worn, £12.00, 01460 55018 Beko 1,000 spin washing machine, all in very nice condition £55ono. Lovely fire surround and hearth etc. Accept £60ono. 01308 861474.

SPACE WANTED

FOR SALE

LOGS Logs split seasoned hardwood £115 truckload 07465 423133

Artist: wanting workshop space; everything considered.

Phone 07535105471.

Thank you

Dec 20

PLANTS

TO LET

Wallflower plants £5 per 100. 01460 74572

Beautiful three bedroom house attached, with garden, at Eype available for longterm rent. Special conditions re age, noise levels is reflected in rent Looking for quiet self contained couple ideally, no families. Available early next year.

Email veronicahudson@ hotmail.co.uk/ 07817586683

FOR SALE

Men’s shoes, all size 8, Brand New. Padders Black, Brown Sandals, Gino Casuals, Cushion Wak Casuals also Navy Slippers, various prices from £8 to £5., 01460 55018 Solid oak table. 6x3ft plus 6 chairs. (2 carvers). Good condition. Moving to a smaller house. £140. 01297 34547 Vintage carpet runner, CURTAINS cleaned and very pretty with a deep beige background, pale and dark pink flowers, Little Curtains. bluebirds! I love it but really Handmade Curtains, don’t have a place to put it.

Blinds and Cushions.

Contact 07443 516141 or Length 3m 20 cm, width 68 cm. £50. Picture on request 01308 485325 and can deliver locally (item in Thorncombe). 01460 RESTORATION 30932 Small antique rocking chair, darkwood with FURNITURE. Antique wickerwork seat and back, Restoration and Bespoke oval shaped back and curved Furniture. Furniture large shape seat - picture on and small carefully request. £45.00. 01460 30932 restored and new Pure silk ribbons for commissions undertaken. embroidery purpose. Many City and Guilds qualified. unused large collection plus Experienced local family Silk Ribbon Embroidery firm. Phil Meadley Book bargain £20 tel. 01297 01297 560335 445724 Plate cupboard. Old rustic.

SURFACE PREPARATION glass fronted, wall mounted, F+B off white. W:101.5cm H:125cm D:27cm. Well Alberny Restoration used. 1 piece of glass needs In-house blast cleaning replacing. £60. Bridport for home and garden 07557 275 275 furniture, doors and Sottini Isarca pedestal gates. Agricultural/ washbasin inc tap and waste. construction machinery New X-display. £50. Bridport and tooling. Vehicles, 07557 275 275 parts and trailers etc.

4 Heavy duty roof bars 01460 73038, email to fit VW transporter van, allan@alberny.co.uk, FB only used twice. £100. 01460 Alberny Sandblasting 271645.

Apr 21

Dec 20

New porthole/portlight.

Oblo circular 264mm Foresti+Suardi. £218 online, will sell for £100. Bridport 07557 275 275 Vitra matt white tiles 10x10cm. 3.5msq. 6 boxes matching skirting tiles. 9 interior corner skirting tiles.

2 exterior skirting tiles.

Bridport £20. 07557 275 275 Genuine + unusual Lloyd loom high backed arm chair. TLC and new cushion needed. £90. Bridport 07557 275 275 Selection of silk fabrics for sewing. From Liberties and travels in Asia over 40 years.

Shot silk chiffon etc. Various lengths. Need to be viewed. £5-£30 a piece. Bridport.

07557 275 275 Photos available Bothenhampton stone/ forest marble. Reclaimed from rockery. At least 4 tons.

Some large. £300 buyer collects. Bridport. 07557 275275 Platform ladder with individual extending legs ideal for uneven ground,lowest height of platform 4’8’’ 140cm, fully extended height 6’4’’ 193cm £150, can deliver locally tel 01300 320783 Sony Playstation PS2 Slimline with two controllers and 23 games Fully working but no longer required. One controller cable has had a minor repair. Photos and/ or list of games can be provided £30 - 07747 353301 - Lyme Regis Dawes Galaxy Touring bike, lovely condition all original colour blue. £300.

01308 459454.

Tapestry firescreen 68cm x 58cm. Converts to small table. 01308 423776.

Gardena hedge trimmer 540 Pro 58cm cutting blade.

Good working order. Light weight machine. £15. 01460 221759.

Hardwood Plant/Display Stand. A unique custom made hardwood plant display

stand, possibly mahogany.

Well made,heavy and sturdy piece of furniture for inside or out. It is solid hardwood which will last many years unlike other cheap softwood versions. Overall height 66.5”, depth of bottom shelf 17” and widest point 19.5”. £90 Enquire about local delivery Photos 01460 55105 Robert Welch Dryad design Wrought iron items. 12 bottle wine rack £80, 6 bottle £55, Double Candleabra Pair £70 or £40 each. Lovely designer pieces. See the Robert Welch website for details. Photos 01460 55105 Antique Maritime Items.

Iron ship’s gimbal lantern. £105 Double pulley block £35, single pulley block £30.

Photos 01460 55105 Casio Casiotone 405 Keyboard, perfect working order £50. 01395 277018.

Calor Gas Heater with bottle, £35. 01308 425878.

Kymlo W141 scooter £245ono, Rollater red 4 wheels £45ono,Bremsher Prov Treadmill £750. 01297 021572.

Two seater brown leather sofa, vintage 1980s, good condition, £180ono.

Charmouth 560707.

Full Rise and Recline electric chair, colour beige, £80ono.

01404 851267.

Ekco ‘Royal’ heated hostess trolley instruction booklet dated Jan 1978!

Glass food containers, hardly used, working order. £50.

01297443930.

M&S Jeans indigo slimleg size 8, new, £10. John Lewis white pleated tennis skirt, unworn, medium, 26” waist, £10. 01297 443930 M&S Men’s shirts 15 ½” collar, bluestripe, easycare. 15 ½” white cotton brandnew £10. One XL, tartan tagged £19.50/ £12. One XXL greencheck. 01297 443930.

New Car tyre, brand new car tyre wheel and jack size 185/65 R15. £90. 01460 220181.

WANTED Books Wanted. We buy all types of books, particularly 20th Century Art, Architecture and Design. Tel Karen Jakobsen: 01258 471249 Vinyl Records Wanted All types and styles considered. Excellent prices paid. Please Phone Roy 07429 102645 Clocktowermusic.co.uk Bridport

May 20

Postage stamps. Private collector requires 19th and early 20th century British. Payment to you or donation to your nominated charity. 01460 240630.

Old sewing machines, typewriters, gramophones, phonographs, records, music boxes, radios.

0777 410 3139. www. thetalkingmachine.co.uk

May 20

Dave buys all types of tools 01935 428975 Jul 20 Wanted to buy - field, or part field and part woodland, any size, to about 5 acres. Not top grade grass. Private, local resident wants to ‘do their bit’ for the environment. Anything considered. Please help.

07508 106910 May 20 Vintage & antique textiles, linens, costume buttons etc. always sought by Caroline Bushell. Tel. 01404 45901.

Jun 20

Secondhand tools wanted. All trades. Users & Antiques. G & E C Dawson. 01297 23826. www.secondhandtools. co.uk.

Oct 20

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 63

FREE ADS for items under £1,000 This FREE ADS FORM is for articles for sale, where the sale price is under £1000 (Private advertisers only — no trade, motor, animals, firearms etc). Just fill in the form and send it to the Marshwood Vale Magazine, Lower Atrim, Bridport, Dorset DT6 5PX or email the text to info@marshwoodvale.com. Unfortunately due to space constraints there is no guarantee of inclusion of free ads. We reserve the right to withhold advertisements.

For guaranteed classified advertising please use ‘Classified Ads’ form

Name .............................................. Tel. ............................................

Address ................................................................................................

Town ................................................ County......................................

Postcode ..................................

Monthly Quiz –

FOR SALE Dyson DC04 vacuum with tools £25. Card table £25. Clothes airing rack £5.

Preserving pan (Aluminium) £5. Antique staddle stone (slightly damaged) £150.

01308 863868.

Calor Gas heater with 2 gas bottles 7kg, £38. 1 full (never used). Sidford, Sidmouth. 07940 279684.

Calor gas heater with bottle. £35. 01308 425878.

Vintage Windows 98 PC with Philips flat screen keyboard & mouse - all working Philips flat screen. Load all your old programmes! £30 01300 320059 Phone for picture Rare vintage Award Sessionette 75 combo guitar amplifier with footswitch & vintage Goodmans Audiom 12P speaker. Recent service and replacement of vulnerable components.

The amp has been used at home and not gigged. Amp it is in good condition and working fine. Back panel is versatile and allows effects in and out; main amp input ; external speakers 8 ohm and a recording output. £125

01300 320059. Phone for pictures.

Yamaha APX 4A Electro Acoustic guitar with lined hard case. Home use only.

Excellent condition beautiful tone and action. £225 01300 320059. Phone for pictures.

Rare Peavey Transtube Revolution 112 combo inc 12” Sheffield driver & footswitch.Good condition for age; all working; great sound. Footswitch is from a Peavey chorus combo but it seems to work when switching from the clean and dirty channels and from Thrash to Lead modes when in the dirty channel.

However whilst the reverb function lights on the footswitch I can`t get any reverb from the amp so it may need tweaking. £95 01300 320059 Phone for pictures.

Vintage Arion Compressor effects pedal. Working. £25 01300 320059. Phone for pictures.

Oxygenating pond weed - fresh and FREE. phone 01300 320059 to collect

Win a book from Little Toller Books

Send in your answer on a postcard, along with your name and address to: Hargreaves Quiz, Marshwood Vale Magazine, Lower Atrim, Bridport, Dorset DT6 5PX. Study the clues contained in the rhyme and look carefully at the signposts to work out which town or village in South Somerset, West Dorset or East Devon is indicated. The first correct answer drawn out of a hat will win a book from local publisher Little Toller Books.

There is no cash equivalent and no correspondence will be entered into.

Last month’s answer was Weymouth. The winner was Mr Dargue from Tatworth.

64 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

BUSINESS NEWS New solicitor joins West Dorset lawyers in Weymouth WEST Dorset lawyers Kitson & Trotman have welcomed Orla Gilligan as a solicitor at the firm’s Weymouth office.

Orla, who specialises in residential and commercial property, qualified as a solicitor in 2001. In previous positions Orla was a Legal 500 Recommended Lawyer in Commercial Property and head of conveyancing. Before qualifying as a solicitor, she worked in Dorchester as a registered paediatric nurse and has maintained strong links with Dorset ever since.

She replaces solicitor Stephen Jones, who retired in March. The office at St Alban’s Chambers, St Alban Street, was closed during lockdown but is now open, although visitors are advised to call or email first to avoid unnecessary contact in light of the latest Government guidance.

Orla, a member of the Law Society, has practised as a solicitor in Scotland and Ireland. #Her property experience includes acting on freehold and leasehold sales, purchase finance and re-mortgages for both residential and commercial property.

She also provides advice needed by clients when considering equity release and lifetime mortgage and transfers of equity in their main residence from a sole owner to joint names, or to family members.

Orla advises on all types of leasehold matters including new leases, renewals and extensions, licences to assign, rent deposits, tenancy agreements, deeds of variation and mineral licences. She has experience in deeds of grant, deeds of release and option agreements.

Kitson & Trotman was established in 1756 and provides legal advice and services to business and private clients throughout the south west, nationally and internationally, with offices in Bridport, Beaminster, Weymouth and Lyme Regis. For more information, visit the website https://www.ktlaw.co.uk/

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine October 2020 65