Marshwood+ January 2025

Rex takes an Atlantic challenge for charity Page 29

Community play goes from stage to screen Page 32

Who should be the real star of festive imagery?

Page 21

FREE COMMUNITY

Magazine

Marshwood + THE

© Sam Edwards Photograph by Robin Mills

Linking Environment, Culture and the Arts - www.marshwoodvale.com - Issue No. 310 January 2025

Happy New Year to our readers in: Abbotsbury, Aberdeen, Alphington, Alson, Ashill, Ashley Heath, Askerswell, Axminster, Barrington, Barwick, Batcombe, Beaminster, Beer, Beer Hackett, Bettiscombe, Bincombe, Birdsmoor Gate, Bishops Wood, Bishops Waltham, Blackdown, Bothenhampton, Bournemouth, Bowers Lane, Bracknell, Bradford Abbas, Bradpole, Branscombe, Bridport, Brixham, Broadmayne, Broadoak, Broadway, Broadwindsor, Buckland St. Mary, Burton Bradstock, Burstock, Burwash, Catherston Leweston, Cattistock, Cerne Abbas, Chaffcombe, Chalmington, Chard, Chard Common, Chard Junction, Chardstock, Charlestown, Charminster, Charmouth, Chedington, Chetnole, Chetwode, Chickerell, Chideock, Chilcombe, Chillington, Christchurch, Church Green, Closworth, Colyford, Colyton, Coombe St Nicholas, Corscombe, Coryates, Crech St., Michael, Crewkerne, Cricket St Thomas, Crimchard, Crossways, Dalwood, Dinnington, Dorchester, Dottery, Dowlish Wake, Draycott Cheddar, Drimpton, Dunkeswell, East Bexington, East Chinnock, East Coker, East Knighton, East Lambrook, Easton, Evershot, Exmouth, Eype, Fishpond, Fordington Dairy, Fordington Fields, Forton, Friar Waddon, Gillingham, Greendown, Halstock, Hampton, Hardington Mandeville, Haselbury Plucknett, Hawkchurch, Heathstock, Hertford, Hewish, Hilfield, Hinton St. George, Holditch, Holnest, Holway, Holywell, Honiton, Hooke, Howley, Illminster, Ivybridge, Kilmington, Kingcombe, Knowle St Giles, Langton Herring, Leigh, Lillington, Little Bredy, Litton Cheney, Loders, London, Long Bredy, Loscombe, Lower Holditch, Lower Wraxall, Lyme Regis, Maiden Newton, Mapperton, Marshalsea, Marshwood, Martinstown, Martock, Meare, Melbury Osmond, Melplash, Membury, Merriott, Milborne St. Andrew, Misterton, Monkton Wyld, Montacute, Morcombelake, Moreton Hampstead, Mosterton, Mudeford, Musbury, Netherbury, Nettlecombe, North Allington, North Bowood, Northhay, North Leigh, North Perrott, North Poorton, Norton sub Hamdon, Odcombe, Offwell, Osmington, Overcombe, Overmoigne, Over Stratton, Piddlehinton, Piddletrenthide, Pilsdon, Portesham, Portland, Poundbury, Powerstock, Preston, Pucknowle, Puddletown, Pymore, Rampisham, Rocombe, Rodwell, Rousdon, Ryall, Salwayash, Seaborough, Seaton, Seatown, Seavington St Mary, Seavington St Michael, Shaftesbury, Shepton Mallett, Sherborne, Shepton Beauchamp, Shipton Gorge, Shute, Sidbury, Sidford, Sidmouth, South Chard, Southleigh, South Perrott, Southill, Stinsford, Stockland, Stockwood, Stoke Abbott, Stoke Hill, Stoke sub Hamdon, Stratton, Swyre, Sydling St Nicholas, Symondsbury, Synderford, Tatworth, Taunton, Thorncombe, Tintinhull, Tisbury, Toller Porcorum, Tolpuddle, Uffculme, Uphall, Uploders, Uplyme, Up Sydling, Wadbrook, Wadeford, Walditch, Wambrook, Water Street, Waycroft, Wayford, Waytown, West Bay, West Bexington, West Chelborough, West Chinnock, West Knighton, West Lulworth, West Milton, Weymouth, Whetley Cross, Whitchurch Cannonicorum, Whitelackington, Whitford, Widworthy, Wilmington, Winfrith Newburgh, Winsham, Winterbourne Abbas, Wolminstone, Wool, Wooth, Wootton Fitzpaine, Worthing, Wyke Regis, Wynford Eagle, Yarcombe, Yawl, Yetminster… (and the rest!)

Yo u r M a r s h w o o d - b l a c k a n d w h i t e a n d f u l l c o l o u r, but

r e a d all over

To advertise telephone 01308 423031 or email: info@marshwoodvale.com

COVER STORY Robin Mills met Sam Edwards at Cerne Abbas, Dorset

’I

© Sam Edwards Photograph by Robin Mills

’m the third generation of my family to live in this house in Cerne; my son George will be the fourth. I was born and grew up here, went to the village school, and would tear around the village on my bike among big groups of my friends, playing in the river, and building dens. Such a wonderfully free childhood for which I feel very privileged and lucky.

My dad Paul’s an agricultural engineer, often working very long hours. He started straight out of college, first for Bredy’s, then Vaughan’s, and now for Hunt Forest the John Deere people. Mum was pretty much a stay-at-home mum, and I’m their only daughter.

I had a tricky time at Thomas Hardye’s school, Dorchester. At 14 I was diagnosed with scoliosis and following an operation I missed a lot of school in years 10 and 11 and had to drop some GCSE subjects. I had constant backache and missed out socially too, so came out of school at 16 rather lost about what I wanted to do. After a few fill-in jobs, I was offered a nannying job for someone in the village; so, I completed the childcare course I’d started at school, and carried on nannying for another 10 years, all quite local, for some very lovely people. I really enjoyed it.

I’d never met a sheep until I met Sam, my husband, in 2018. Never handled a sheep, never done a lambing, no experience Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 3

Click Here for an Easy Read version of this article

Sam Edwards

whatsoever. Sam was then looking after his flock of about 200 sheep kept on odd blocks of grazing in the area, as well as working for contractor Bernard Cox. In September 2019 we went to Dorset County Show, where we saw some beautiful Red Devon heifers. We contacted the owners, and by the end of the month we had 5 in-calf cows, with 3 calves at foot. We rented a shed near here to winter them in; we also reared calves there, and that was the start of our livestock farming together.

In 2020 we bought 115 Poll Dorset sheep, all autumn lambing, from some friends who were selling their flock, expanding them to about 200. That autumn was my first proper lambing. Sam was still contracting, so I was on my own, with Sam helping by phone, and dropping in after his day’s work to help sort out any problems. It was a very steep learning curve, but I absolutely loved it.

During that winter we negotiated the grazing of cover crops growing on local arable farms. These crops, such as mustard, buckwheat or clover, are grown over the winter on otherwise bare land as part of the Poole Harbour Nutrient Management Scheme, to reduce nutrients like nitrogen and phosphates leaching into the rivers that feed Poole Harbour. Grazing them with our sheep gave us a plan based on autumn lambing, then turning the ewes and lambs out on to the cover crops, on which they thrived.

In 2021 I became pregnant with George, and then an opportunity arose to take on the grazing at St Catherine’s Farm, Cerne Abbas. We needed to buy in more sheep.

Sam had stopped the contracting work and was working for Synergy Vets, heading up their specialised shepherding service. During that work he’d come across Highlander sheep, bred for prolificacy, efficiency and ease of care by Innovis, a sheep genetics company. We thought they’d suit us, so in June 2022 we bought a flock of about 200, and now we had a spring lambing flock.

George was 6 months old by then, and as he got older he accompanied us with whatever we were doing, loving every minute. Our second lambing of the Dorsets was that autumn, followed by our first spring lambing of the Highlanders. Those two flocks formed the nucleus of

4 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

our own sheep, about 400 altogether, which we still have.

All our stock are kept on land with temporary grazing agreements between us and the land owners. We own no land, nor do we have a tenancy over any land.

That means we cannot produce stock which are Farm Assured, so we sell all our own stock at Kivells Auction at Exeter, where they generally meet a good trade.

Last autumn we started a breeding partnership with Innovis. Sam now works for them. They breed high index rams, and now we run their sheep as well as our own. From the Innovis-bred sheep we produce rams which are sold at specialist sales; we also grow on young rams born elsewhere for sale the following year. Our partnership with Innovis also involves grazing their own breeds of ewes, for example their wool-shedding sheep, of which we now have over 100 ewes. This is a new breeding development in response to the non-existent market for wool these days which doesn’t cover the cost of shearing. The sheep are covered not so much with wool, more like thick hair, which sheds on its own in the summer. They also have a thicker layer of fat under the skin so are quite happy in the winter months.

And because they don’t suffer from the nightmares of flystrike in the summer, we don’t need to be constantly protecting them with chemicals. Over time our partnership with Innovis has enabled us to own more and more of their sheep, and eventually we aim to own all the sheep we are contract farming for them. This year we have put 950 ewes to the ram all together.

None of this could have happened without the generosity of my dad. The banks won’t lend to us because we have no security. Through the Innovis partnership, and our good relations with local farmers through grazing agreements, we have built up a significant size of business with which to step straight into a tenancy if one came up. Last September Sam and I got married in the village. We had a wonderful day, with a party in the Village Hall afterwards.

We do work hard. As well as our routine shepherding, checking and moving sheep, and electric fencing, Sam spends half the year selling rams and delivering them

© Sam Edwards Photograph by Robin Mills

for Innovis, and I work 3 nights a week in Dorchester Hospital bank as a healthcare assistant, because we’re not yet in a position to pay ourselves, and we need to pay my dad back. Keeping sheep on temporary grazing licences involves a massive amount of travel every day, is a constant juggling act, and is inevitably insecure. At any time, you can lose some grazing, so we’re constantly chasing new agreements. We did apply for a council farm tenancy, but they wanted a dairy there. So, we’re still looking.

Through Sam’s job with Innovis, the Farmer’s Guardian magazine wrote an article about us. We then got entered in their competition under New Entrants

of the Year. We got short listed, did a Zoom interview, then got invited to the awards at the NEC, leaving George overnight for the first time with Sam’s mum.

And then we won the award! We were told it was for our enthusiasm, determination to carry on in the face of adversity, and that despite no tenancy we’re still building our business. After that, Radio Solent got in touch for a phone interview with me, and then 2 weeks ago I was on a Radio 5 Live debate for an hour about the effect of the recent budget on farming. And because we’ve never thought what we do is a big deal, it’s actually nice to find people are interested, to get a bit of recognition. It spurs us on.

’

6 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 7

UP FRONT

THIS MONTH i n yo u r M a r s h wo o d Va l e M a g a z i n e

Christmas is over for another year, and it’s time to start planning presents for Christmas 2025—or not. Maybe that is one of the many New Year’s resolutions that will fall by the wayside. There’s always a reason why resolutions don’t quite pan out. Too ambitious? Too vague? Not seeing quick enough results? Or is it simply too hard to change ingrained habits? Excuses are readily available when it comes to mid-January or February, and we decide that winter is just too cold and miserable to persevere—when our bodies just need pampering! But then there are a raft of reasons why we should just plough on and stick to our plans, regardless of how ambitious they seem.

The problem is they all seem to include words like accomplishment, transformation, well-being, and meaningful, as well as the dreaded ‘fulfilling’. Looking back over some past issues this Christmas, I was struck by Humphrey Walwyn’s thoughts in the postChristmas issue in 2020. It was just before the pandemic hit, and everything closed.

He talked about shifting the New Year’s resolution paradigm to pamper rather than punish ourselves. Humphrey’s suggestions included a trip to a local spa to enjoy a bit of aromatherapy or a soothing massage, or a visit to a barber to be shaved, oiled and smothered in warm towels. But another option—that may appear like punishment for some—was his suggestion of ‘Tech Burning’. This included unplugging your phone, turning off the radio and TV and walking to the bottom of the garden. He suggested wearing earplugs for a better and completely silent effect. The idea is to divorce yourself from everything that’s happening in your life. Unfortunately, it does mean you don’t avoid seeing what needs to be done in the garden!

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

Editorial Director

3 10 19 21 22

Cover Story By Robin Mills Event News News & Views Nature Studies By Michael McCarthy This Month in the not too distant past

By John Davis

24 26

House & Garden January in the Garden By Russell Jordan

28 28 30

Food & Dining Demons on Horseback By Nisha Katona Saffron and Pumpkin Soup By Melissa Delport

32 34 38 42 48 49

Arts & Entertainment Galleries Books Preview By Gay Pirrie Weir Screen Time By Nic Jeune Young Lit Fix By Nicky Mathewson

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Health & Environment Services & Classified

D O N AT I O N S If you missed our Crowdfunder and would still like to donate to support the Marshwood Vale Magazine, please send donations either by cheque to Marshwood Vale Limited (address below) or direct to Marshwood Vale Limited at Santander a/c number 40455735 - Sort Code 09 06 66 - Ref: Donation

Fergus Byrne

Contributors

Deputy Editor

John Davis Melissa Delport Nic Jeune Russell Jordan Nisha Katona

Victoria Byrne

Design

People Magazines Ltd

Advertising

Sarah Hill info@marshwoodvale.com

Michael McCarthy Nicky Mathewson Robin Mills Gay Pirrie Weir

Instagram marshwoodvalemagazine

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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.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 9

January EVENTS

Wednesday, 1 January 2025

The Symondsbury Mummers Performing the oldest & most complete mumming play in England.

Festive fun for all the family. 6.30pm. The Ilchester Arms, 1 The Buildings, Symondsbury, Bridport DT6 6HD.

Thursday, 2 January

Alcarras (2008, Spain, 15, 120 mins, Director Carla Simón)For as long as they can remember, the Solé family has spent every summer picking the peaches in their orchard in Alcarràs, a small village in Catalonia. But this year’s crop may well be their last, as they face eviction. The new plans for the land, which include cutting down the peach trees and installing solar panels, cause a rift in this large, tight-knit family. For the first time, they face an uncertain future and risk losing more than their orchard. Doors 7:00 pm, 7:30 pm start. Clapton & Wayford Village Hall (TA18 8PS). Membership £25, guests £5 per film. For more details, contact mickpwilson53@btinternet.com or ring Mick Wilson on 01460 74849 or Kathy Everard on 01460 30646.

Friday, 3 January

Moove and Groove Adult dance with Nikki Northover at Steps studio, Crepe Farm Business Park. Every Friday at 10. 15am to 11.15am.

Journey through different dance styles from Latin to disco, to freestyle and creative work. Each class focuses on dancing for well being and ends with a relaxation. Enquiries and to book please contact Nikki Northover at nikkinorthover43@gmail.com.

Supported by Sport England

Saturday, 4 January

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 7.5 mile walk from Evershot. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/visitors welcome.

West Dorset Ramblers, 9 miles circular walk around Stratton and Grimstone Downs. To book and for details please call 07974 756107.

The Friends of Weymouth Library talk will be about Napoleon, Soldier and Lover. A brilliant strategist and Commander, he was also a man whose empress was Josephine Beauharnais. Tickets 10 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

obtainable from the Library (01305762410) @ £2 for members and £3 for non-members. Any enquiries about the talk phone 01305832613.

Refreshments provided. Everyone welcome.

Modern Jive Social Dance - No class just 3 hours of Modern Jive ‘Freestyle’ - 8-11pm - Chideock Village Hall. £8 per person - BYOB.

Monday, 6 January

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock An evening of Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Village Hall EX13 7BH. 7.30-10.00 p.m. Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own mug and wear soft soled shoes. No partner required. Cost £2.00. Contact David on 01460 65981 www. chardscottishdancingclub.co.uk.

West Dorset Jive Community Evening - 7:30pm, Chideock Village Hall - All dancers from all types of Jive welcome - Introduction to Modern Jive class

by Qualified Teacher Dee Lanning - No need to book - New members dance for Free.

Hawkchurch Film Nights, in association with Moviola.org, proudly presents ‘Thelma’ (98 mins, Cert. 12 - infrequent strong language). In this delightful comedy drama, Thelma Post, a 93-yearold grandmother played beautifully by June Squibb, gets conned by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson (Fred Hechinger), and sets out on a quest across Los Angeles, accompanied by a friend on his motorised scooter (Richard ‘Shaft’ Roundtree, in his final role), determined to reclaim what was taken from her. Also starring Malcolm McDowell (‘A Clockwork Orange’). Doors open 6.30pm, film starts 7.00pm at Hawkchurch Village Hall, EX13 5XD. Ticket reservations £6.50 from csma95@gmail.com or leave a message on 07753 603219 (socially-distanced seating available if reserved in advance); tickets also available for £6.50 from Hawkchurch Community Shop or £7.00 on the door (cash only). Subtitles for hearing-impaired patrons provided if available. Home-made cake, teas, coffees, wine and other tasty refreshments available.

Tuesday, 7 January

Scottish Country Dancing at Horton Village Hall TA19 9QR every Tuesday evening from 7.30 to 9.30 pm with tea break. £3.00 per evening pay on the

Click Here for an Easy Read version of this article

door. Every one very welcome from beginner level to experienced, so why not come along and give it a whirl. For more information contact Anita at anitaandjim22@gmail.com, 01460 929383 and visit our web site at www.ashillscd.wordpress.com See you soon.

West Dorset Ramblers , 8.5 miles walk Through Loscombe, Poorton and West Milton. To book and for details please call 07826 150114.

Wednesday, 8 January

Back Garden Safari. A talk by Richard Peters presented by Bridport Camera Club. Acclaimed photographer and author Richard Peters shows how even the most common wildlife found on your doorstep can produce unique images and tell a story by capturing the light that falls on the subject. 7pm, Bridport Town Hall, DT6 3LF. Tickets £5 from

www.bridportcameraclub.co.uk.

Thursday, 9 January

Chard History Group. History of L S Lowry By Richard Kay. 5 - 10 minutes AGM. Open 7pm for 7.30 start Guildhall Chard High Street upstairs (with lift). Members £2.50 Visitors most welcome £3.50.

Membership fees due £5 per annum. For further details please ring Tessa 07984481634.

Folk dancing at Combe St Nicholas village hall (TA20 3LT) at 1930 hrs. Jeroka will be providing the music and the caller is Jane Thomas. It’s £4.00 per person which includes a cuppa and cake, all welcome and it is a lot of fun! Further details from Elaine on 01460 65909.

Seaton Garden Club A Talk by Andrea Rye from Coombes Garden Centre. Venue Masonic Hall Seaton. Time 2. 30p.m. Members free, visitors £2.00

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including refreshments. Contact 01297 22869.

Solo Charleston and Vintage Jazz Dance Classes - 1-2pm, St Marys Church Hall Bridport - Class for all levels and abilities - £6 - All Welcome www. dynamic-dance.uk. Also 16th, 23rd & 30th Jan. Bridport History Society will be welcoming Gavin Bacon who will give a talk on new research into the history of the Earls of Ilchester. The talk will be held at the United Church Hall on East Street, Bridport. Doors open at 2.15pm for a prompt 2.30pm start. All are welcome, visitors £5pp. Bridport History Society meets on the second Thursday of each month (except July and August). Membership is open to all (£12 individual / £18 couple). For more information visit: www. bridporthistorysociety.org.uk.

Move and Flow Adults dance with Nikki Northover at Steps studio, Crepe Farm Business Park. Every Thursday at 10. 30am to 11.30am.

Each class focuses on dancing for winter well being. Enquiries and to book please contact Nikki Northover at nikkinorthover43@gmail.com.

Supported by Sport England

Saturday, 11 January

Annual Model Railway Exhibition Bridport & District Model Railway Club. The Public Hall, Fleet Street, Beaminster, Dorset DT8 3EF. Open 10 am-4 pm. Adults (over 16 years) £5. Child (under 16 years) £3. Accompanied children Free. Card payment accepted. Full disables access, car park nearby and light refreshments all day. 20 layouts, demonstrations and trade stands. Contact Ken Banks 07484-213267 or kenbanksrailway@gmail. com.

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 8 mile walk from Bovington Camp. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/visitors welcome.

Sunday, 12 January

Singing Bowl Soundbath 2 pm Bell St Church Shaftesbury Dorset SP7 8AL £16 Sonic deep tissue massage and detox please book in in advance ahiahel@live.com 01935 389655.

Mindful Rambles: Langdon Woods to Golden Cap 10am - Meet: Langdon Woods National Trust car park, Chideock, Bridport DT6 6EP. For our first Mindful Ramble of the year we shall meet at the Langdon Wood NT car park at 10am and take a gentle walk to Golden Cap, pausing often along the way. A simple breathing exercise will be shared at the beginning to help us attune to our bodies and to the location. A theme will be announced, which can be held lightly in our consciousness as we walk, seeking wisdom and insight from nature.

We’ll stop to share now and then. Another theme will be chosen from the group on the way back.

We’ll stop for a cuppa and biscuits at some point, so bring a flask and a snack. Wear suitable clothing and footwear. A stick is advised for the steep steps. Join the Facebook group for more info. kevanmanwaring@yahoo.co.uk

Monday, 13 January

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock An evening of Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Village Hall EX13 7BH. 7.30-10.00 p.m. Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own mug and wear soft soled shoes. No partner required. Cost £2.00. Contact David on 01460 65981 www. chardscottishdancingclub.co.uk.

Modern Jive (Leroc) Social Dance Classes.

7:30pm, Chideock Village Hall. £7 per person, Come with or without a partner. Beginners and Returners Welcome Every Week. www.dynamicdance.uk. Also 20th and 27th Jan. ‘Sunshine for January in the south of France’.

Art lectures about beautiful Bonnard, Picasso’s response to the south of France & Leger and lesser known artists Jacqueline Marval and Carlos Nadal, Mondays, 2pm, 20th, & 27th. Venue: United Church Hall, East Street, Bridport. Fridays, 2pm, on line, 17th, 24th, 31st January. Fee: £39 for three lectures, or £13 for individual ‘drop in’ lectures. ***To book please email: chris.pamsimpson@btinternet. com. Tutor is Pam Simpson, MA, Art & Design Historian, who is Associate Lecturer at University of the Arts in London and who has had a 37 yr career teaching in London art colleges.

Winsham Art Club, 2pm at Jubilee Hall TA20 4HU. The theme this practical session is Abstract Landscapes in Acrylics. It is a 2.5 hr. session led by a visiting tutor. Small friendly group of mixed abilities. Members £5, non-members £7. Annual membership £15. All welcome. Contact: Email : suzyna48@gmail.com for further details.

Dorchester Townswomen’s Guild 2 p.m. After a short business meeting and a chance to have a cup of tea or coffee, David Taylor will be talking to us about The Ancient Tunnels in Dorchester. This will take place in Dorchester Community Church, Liscombe Street, Poundbury. Visitors are very welcome (£3). Enquiries 01305 832857.

Tuesday, 14 January

Singing Bowl Soundbath 9pm Digby Memorial Hall, Sherborne DT9 3LN £16 Sonic deep tissue massage and detox please book in in advance ahiahel@live.com 01935 389655.

West Dorset Ramblers, 8 miles walk East from Salway Ash and Melplash. To book and for details

12 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 13

please call 07952 517764 Scottish Country Dancing at Horton Village Hall TA19 9QR every Tuesday evening from 7.30 to 9.30 pm with tea break. £3.00 per evening pay on the door. Every one very welcome from beginner level to experienced, so why not come along and give it a whirl. For more information contact Anita at anitaandjim22@gmail.com, 01460 929383 and visit our web site at www.ashillscd.wordpress.com See you soon.

Bridport Museum Winter Talk Pauline Thorn explores Beaminster’s 19th century buy-to-let business. The social profile of landlords changed significantly in the century between 1777 and 1875.

Who were they and why did they own so many properties? The talk begins at 2pm, tickets are £5.00 on the door. Refreshments are available afterwards.

Beaminster Museum, Whitcombe Rd, Beaminster DT8 3NB. www.beaminstermuseum.co.uk

Wednesday, 15 January

Coffee Morning, including cakes, scones & savouries, and bacon/egg rolls (made to order), 10.30am – noon; all welcome. Clapton & Wayford Village Hall. More details from Julia (01460 72769).

Colyton & District Garden Society ‘Choosing The Right Vegetable For You’ by Joy Michaud, Sea Spring Seeds, Dorchester. Venue : Colyford Memorial Hall, EX24 6QJ, start 7.30 pm. New membership for 2025 starts tonight, £10.00 per year. Members free, guests £3.00. Information : Sue Price 01297 552362.

Meeting Voices Community Choir, Chard. 19.30 to 21.15. Sing for fun. Learn songs in harmony by ear. Everyone welcome. Chard Guildhall. Fore St, Chard TA20 1PP. Phone 07534 116502 or email mvsecretary@outlook.com.

Thursday, 16 January

The New Arts Group, Bring an Object Talk.

Speaker: Marc Allum (Marc talks about objects the audience bring in). Cost: £10.00 Time: 2.00pm (tea/ coffee from 1.30pm) Bridport Town Hall.

Lyme Voices Community Choir. 19.30 to 21.15.

Sing for fun. Learn songs in harmony by ear.

Everyone welcome. Baptist Church (Pine Hall round the back), Silver St., Lyme Regis, DT7 3NY. Phone 07534 116502 or email petelinnett2@ hotmail.com.

South Somerset RSPB Local Group Wild & Ancient Shetland. An illustrated talk presented

by Peter Exley, which will look at the Shetland landscape, its wildlife, heritage and communities based on the cultural tours Peter leads to this remote archipelago. At 7.30pm The Millennium Hall, Seavington St. Mary, Ilminster, TA19 0QH. Entry: Group members £4, non-group members £5, under 25’s Free. Tea/coffee & biscuits included – Wheelchair access. Further details from Denise Chamings on 0781073846 or www.rspb.org.uk/ groups/southsomerset. Everyone welcome.

Grasses and their Place in the Garden. Neil Lucas the UKs leading ornamental grass specialist will be giving a talk at the Bridport and District Gardening Club at its meeting at the Women’s Institute Hall in North Street Bridport at 7-30pm. Neil is the Director of Knoll Gardens in Dorset and has been developing his naturalistic style for over 29 years.

In the talk he will explore the use of grasses in designed spaces from naturalistic style of meadows and prairies to rain gardens and alternative lawns offering environmentally conscious gardeners a mix of nature friendly informal design and easy maintenance. Entrance to the talk is free for members and £2 for non-members. For more information, visit www.bridportgardeningclub. co.uk/

Friday, 17 January

‘S’Wonderful’ - A homage to George Gershwin. A brand new show celebrating the works of George Gershwin, featuring compositions like The Man I Love, Someone to Watch Over Me, Summertime, and I’ve Got Rhythm. 7:30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Tickets: £20 01460 54973 www. ilminsterartscentre.com

Saturday, 18 January

An Evening with Robbie McIntosh & Lucy Watkins with guest Ken Watkins. An intimate performance of acoustic music from the genres of folk, country, blues, and jazz from ex-Paul McCartney musician, Robbie McIntosh & gorgeous vocals from Lucy & Ken Watkins. Shire Hall, High West Street, Dorchester DT1 1UY Doors 7.30pm / 8.00pm £15 (BYO drinks). 01305 261849. Email for tickets: info@shirehalldorset.org.

White Tara Healing Retreat 10.30am-4.30 pm Oborne Village Hall, Oborne nr. Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4LA with guided visualisation, meditation, and singing bowl soundbath. £80/60 concs for the day.

Please book in advance ahiahel@live.com 01935 389655 www.white-tara.co.uk

Sunday, 19 January

Allington Strings, of Bridport with Jonathan

14 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 15

Delbridge 3pm at St Swithun’s Church, Bridport.

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23, Clara Schumann Konzertsatz, Robert Schumann Bilder aus Osten & Joseph Krauss Overture to Olympie: A sumptuous afternoon concert of Mozart at his finest, lyrical romanticism, and evocations of Scandinavia and the Russian East. Advance tickets £10 adult and £4 child, available from Bridport Tourist Office (cash/ card) The Bookshop, Bridport (cash only), or on the door at £12/£5. For ticket reservations or further information: allingtonstrings@outlook.com.

West Dorset Ramblers, 5 miles walk around Bridport, west and north areas. To book and for details please call 07952 517764.

Monday, 20 January

Saturday, 25 January

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock An evening of Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Village Hall EX13 7BH. 7.30-10.00 p.m. Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own mug and wear soft soled shoes. No partner required. Cost £2.00. Contact David on 01460 65981. www. chardscottishdancingclub.co.uk.

Tuesday, 21 January

Scottish Country Dancing at Horton Village Hall TA19 9QR every Tuesday evening from 7.30 to 9.30 pm with tea break. £3.00 per evening pay on the door. Every one very welcome from beginner level to experienced, so why not come along and give it a whirl. For more information contact Anita at anitaandjim22@gmail.com, 01460 929383 and visit our web site at www.ashillscd.wordpress.com See you soon.

Wednesday, 22 January

Meeting Voices Community Choir, Chard. 19.30 to 21.15. Sing for fun. Learn songs in harmony by ear. Everyone welcome. Chard Guildhall. Fore St, Chard TA20 1PP. Phone 07534 116502 or email mvsecretary@outlook.com.

Uplyme and Lyme Regis Horticultural Society.

Talk ‘Garden the Low Carbon Way’ by Sally Nex. Uplyme Village Hall, doors open 7pm, talk starts 7.30pm. Members free, guests £3. More information https://ulrhs.wordpress.com.

Thursday, 23 January

Lyme Voices Community Choir. 19.30 to 21.15.

Sing for fun. Learn songs in harmony by ear.

Everyone welcome. Baptist Church (Pine Hall round the back), Silver St., Lyme Regis, DT7 3NY. Phone 07534 116502 or email petelinnett2@ hotmail.com.

Folk dancing at Combe St Nicholas village hall (TA20 3LT) at 1930 hrs. Olive is the caller and David and Rupert will be providing the music. It’s £4.00 per person which includes a cuppa and cake, all welcome and it is a lot of fun! Further details from Elaine on 01460 65909.

Friday, 24 January

Flying Folk - With Sian and Rob Colquhoun & Wildwood Jack. A fantastic folk evening with Sian and Rob Colquhoun & Wildwood Jack joining Flying Folk host Jemima Farey. 7:30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Tickets: £16. 01460 54973 www.ilminsterartscentre.com.

Award-winning Fire School and rural finedining venue, High Grange, brings its sell-out Burns night to the Marine Theatre, and this time there’s a Celidh! This might be the first time that Lyme Regis has experienced an authentic Burns Night experience brought by Edinburgh-born Sara and Luke Vandore-Mackay. On the birthday of Scotland’s national poet Rabbie Burns, Burns Night is an opportunity to have a kilt- raising, whiskeyfilled good time celebration. The annual Scottish knees-up is a great excuse to dance away the January blues. Ticket holders can enjoy a fantastic Scottish haggis feast provided by Edinburgh-born Sara and Luke from High Grange Devon (bringing their award-winning Feast and BBQ Fire School experience) followed by a traditional Cèilidh (Scottish dance). You can choose both the Supper and the Ceildih, or just turn up to dance at the Ceilidh. Tickets start at £16 for the dance (9pm11pm) or £46 for the Feast, bag piper and dance (7pm-11pm). 7pm – Diners arrive, with fire-pit canapes served to the sounds of the bagpipes!

7.45pm – Diners will be seated at communal tables before the haggis is piped on and the Burns Supper is served. 9pm – Ceilidh guests arrive for a ceilidh led by renowned Burns night aficionados Rejiig, with a caller to lead everyone through the most popular Scottish dances. Buy tickets via Marine Theatre https://www.marinetheatre.com/burnsnight/ The West Dorset Singers present a concert of contrasting choral music in St Swithun’s Church, Bridport. Mendelssohn’s ‘Hymn of Praise’ dates from 1840 and opens with the resounding “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” Sure enough, the choir follows this instruction. Parry’s ‘Blest Pair of Sirens’ was written a little later in 1889 by the composer of ‘Jerusalem’. Recognised as one of the outstanding English choral works, it’s splendidly Victorian and featured in Kate and William’s wedding in Westminster Abbey in 2011.

The completely contrasting third piece, Poulenc’s ‘Gloria’, dates from 1961. Poulenc was both devout Catholic and dedicatedly sinful party-animal. These

16 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

didn’t sit well together in the church’s eyes and his music is similarly full of contrasts. He sincerely hoped his compositions might speed his final journey to heaven but worried that it might be to hell. As a part monk, part playboy, his music mixes deep spirituality with the sounds of jazzy dance hall bands. The choir, under its Musical Director Matt Kingston, is accompanied by a professional orchestra and soloists and the concert starts at 7pm. Tickets (£15, u18s free) are available from Goadsby Estate Agents in Bridport and on-line at www.ticketsource.co.uk/ wds Jumble Sale with refreshments, 2pm.

Contributions gratefully received, & may be left at the hall between 10am & mid-day on the Saturday morning. Clapton & Wayford Village Hall. Further information from Jackie (01460 72324) or Mary (01460 74849).

Sunday, 26 January

Allington Strings, of Bridport with Jonathan Delbridge 3pm at Crewkerne Methodist Church.

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23, Clara Schumann Konzertsatz, Robert Schumann Bilder aus Osten & Joseph Krauss Overture to Olympie: A sumptuous afternoon concert of Mozart at his finest, lyrical romanticism, and evocations of Scandinavia and the Russian East. Advance tickets £10 adult and £4 child, available from Crewkerne Tourist Office (cash only) Delilah Petal, Crewkerne (cash only), or on the door at £12/£5. For ticket reservations or further information: allingtonstrings@outlook.com.

Netherbury Repair Cafe. Bring your broken things (and any spare parts you know you need) - as long as you can carry it, we will take a look at it. Repairs and café with a full range of Clipper teas and cakes (including vegan) will be open on Sunday 26thJanuary 10:00-12:00 at Netherbury Village Hall. Contact: Lisa Willis lisagracewillis@gmail.com.

EVENTS IN FEBRUARY Live or Online send your event details to info@marshwoodvale.com

BY JANUARY 12th Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 17

Singing Bowl Soundbath 2pm Oborne Village Hall, DT9 4LA £16 Sonic deep tissue massage and detox please book in advance ahiahel@live.com 10935 389655

Monday, 27 January

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock An evening of Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Village Hall EX13 7BH. 7.30-10.00 p.m. Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own mug and wear soft soled shoes. No partner required. Cost £2.00. Contact David on 01460 65981. www. chardscottishdancingclub.co.uk.

Winsham Art Club, 2pm at Jubilee Hall TA20 4HU. The theme this practical session is Chinese Brush Painting to Celebrate the Chinese Year of the Serpent. It is a 2.5 hr. session led by a tutor.

Small friendly group of mixed abilities. Members £5, non-members £7. Annual membership £15. All welcome. Contact: Email : suzyna48@gmail.com for further details.

Abbotsbury Swannery – A Year through my Lens.

An illustrated talk by Charlie Wheeler, Manager of the Swannery and Warden of the Chesil and Fleet Nature Reserve. Charlie has worked at the Swannery for 18 years and his talk documents the first territorial fights, courtship and egg laying, to cygnets hatching, the moult and the first faltering flights of the juveniles. United Church Main Hall, East Street, Bridport at 2.30 pm. Members £3, Visitors £5. National Trust Golden Cap Association. Contact: Mike Nicks 01308 45855.

Tuesday, 28 January

The next U3A talk is at 2pm. It is held at Bridport United Church Hall, East Street, Bridport. DT6 3LJ. The talk is entitled Now I Belong to Me, and our speaker is Christine Wallach. Christine was born into a religious sect. She met her husband there and they had seven children together. After two of her sons broke the rules by visiting a cinema the whole family was thrown out. Her talk will describe life before and after the ejection, and how she built a new and successful life.

Bridport Museum Winter Talk Brian Earl poses the questions ‘Was The Square in Beaminster ever square-shaped?’ And ‘How has the inside of The Square changed over the centuries?’ A potted history of the town’s centrepiece. The talk begins at 2pm, tickets are £5.00 on the door. Refreshments are available afterwards. Beaminster Museum, Whitcombe Rd, Beaminster DT8 3NB. www. beaminstermuseum.co.uk Scottish Country Dancing at Horton Village Hall TA19 9QR every Tuesday evening from 7.30 to 9.30 pm with tea break. £3.00 per evening pay on the

door. Every one very welcome from beginner level to experienced, so why not come along and give it a whirl. For more information contact Anita at anitaandjim22@gmail.com, 01460 929383 and visit our web site at www.ashillscd.wordpress.com See you soon.

West Dorset Ramblers, 5 miles walk from Weymouth to Ferrybridge, To book and for details please call 07947 881635.

Wednesday, 29 January

Meeting Voices Community Choir, Chard. 19.30 to 21.15. Sing for fun. Learn songs in harmony by ear. Everyone welcome. Chard Guildhall. Fore St, Chard TA20 1PP. Phone 07534 116502 or email mvsecretary@outlook.com.

Thursday, 30 January

Lyme Voices Community Choir. 19.30 to 21.15.

Sing for fun. Learn songs in harmony by ear.

Everyone welcome. Baptist Church (Pine Hall round the back), Silver St., Lyme Regis, DT7 3NY. Phone 07534 116502 or email petelinnett2@ hotmail.com.

Friday, 31 January

Oh La La! Quintet - A Night of French Music. A fabulous quintet led by Parisian-born Fifi la Mer, featuring French jazz at its best. 7:30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Tickets: £20 01460 54973 www.ilminsterartscentre.com.

Saturday, 1 - 9 February

Compton Valence Snowdrops villafe lunches & teas. Come and walk/drive through our beautiful village and see the stunning white drifts of snowdrops. The village hall is just below the church open (weather permitting)11.00am-3.30pm.

To book please ring or email so that we can cater accordingly. Tessa Russell – Tel ; 01308482227 mob: 07818037184 email; tessa@cvfarms.co.uk. Pre booked guests will take priority as the hall is small.

In bad/icy weather we may not be open Please be considerate of our village/verges etc when parking.

Or ring us to discuss your needs so that we can advise you where to go. We very much look forward to seeing you/ Cash Only Please.

Saturday, 1 February

West Dorset Ramblers, 8 mile circular walk on coast and country in Ringstead area. To book and and for details please phone 07974 756107.

18 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

News&Views YEOVIL Award nomination The team at Yeovil Recreation Centre have been shortlisted for two national awards in the 2025 Grounds Management Association Industry Awards. These annual awards celebrate and highlight the outstanding contributions of individuals, teams, and organisations. The winners will be revealed during a prestigious ceremony in Liverpool in March 2025.

SHERBORNE Last bank branch to close Lloyds bank, the last bank to have a high street branch in Sherborne will close in January. It will be replaced by a banking hub run by not-for-profit company Cash Access UK and the Post Office. Edward Morello, MP for West Dorset told the BBC that although it wouldn’t be the same as having a branch, at least people could still go in and see a human being and not have to do everything online.

SEATON ‘Living roof’ bus stop A bus stop and shelter featuring a ‘living roof ’ has been installed by Devon County Council in Seaton. Planted with low-maintenance greenery, it is hoped it will attract pollinators like bees and insects, providing a connection with nature. It is part of a county-wide initiative to upgrade public transport facilities, with over 70 similar shelters already in place.

LANGTON HERRING Save the Elm Tree Inn Residents of Langton Herring, determined to rescue their local pub have launched a fundraising initiative to purchase it. The Elm Tree Inn, a fixture in the community for over 300 years, closed in 2023 and the campaign group are hoping to transfer the pub into community hands. The group has raised half of the required £600,000. To help visit: https://friendsoftheelmtree.org.

WEYMOUTH Bowling alley to car park A bowling alley in St Nicholas Street, Weymouth that closed in 2019 is destined to become a temporary car park until development plans are finalised.

But not before a contract to knock it down has been completed. Dorset Council are looking for a contractor to undertake the demolition of the building and estimate the value of the contract at £250,000.

Society of Dorset Men welcomes women

T

he Society of Dorset Men, an esteemed organisation dedicated to preserving the heritage and camaraderie of Dorset, has welcomed Elizabeth Day as the first female member of the society.

At a recent Special General Meeting, the society agreed to extend membership to everyone with a connection to Dorset, regardless of gender.

Speaking to the Guardian, Peter Lush, the chair of the Dorset society’s committee said that the time was right to allow women to become members and allow them a vote ‘and a say in our doings.’

Elizabeth said: ‘I feel privileged and excited to be the first female member of this wonderful society.’

Founded in 1904, the Society originally aimed to provide a community for Dorset men who had relocated to London. Its first president was the celebrated surgeon Sir Frederick Treves, famously known for his friendship with Joseph “John” Merrick, the “Elephant Man.” Over the past 120 years, the Society has fostered a sense of pride, friendship, and enthusiasm for Dorset’s history, traditions, and culture.

The Society of Dorset Men hosts annual events such as a county dinner, a festive Christmas gathering with carol singing, and delightful summer outings, all aimed at Elizabeth Day strengthening the connection between members and their shared heritage. Although partners have always been welcome at these events, members felt the time was right to formally open membership to everyone with Dorset connections, honouring inclusivity while respecting tradition.

With an annual membership fee of £15, members gain access to a range of activities and receive the Society’s Year Book, a rich resource filled with stories about Dorset’s history, people, and landmarks. For more information about joining and to access the membership form, visit the Society’s website at www. societyofdorsetmen.co.uk.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 19

SRA launches Community Flood Action Fund for Somerset S

mall grants for works to reduce flooding are now being offered directly to Somerset communities by Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA).

The SRA’s new Community Flood Action Fund will help people with good local knowledge of flooding problems take the initiative and get things done.

Up to £200,000 a year is being made available for practical actions with obvious benefits that can be achieved quite quickly.

The Fund is aimed at not-for-profit organisations, such as town and parish councils, charities, social enterprises and community benefit societies.

Councillor Mike Stanton, Chair of Somerset Rivers Authority, said: ‘The SRA is about working together with different people and different places, to get more done on local priorities. As it says in the SRA’s Strategy, one quality that sets the SRA apart is its practical enthusiasm for ideas that come from communities for dealing with flooding problems.

‘With this new Fund, we’re putting our money where our mouth is. We’re expecting it to be very popular, we know lots of places across Somerset are interested, so please take a look. Help us to help you get things done.’

Application packs for Community Flood Action Fund grants of between £3,000 and £20,000 are now available through the Grants section of the

Somerset Rivers Authority website (https://www. somersetriversauthority.org.uk/grants/).

The deadline for the first round of applications is 25 February 2025. Successful applicants will get funding from April. Three more funding rounds are due later in the year.

The Grants section of the SRA website also includes details of some other possible sources of Somerset flood-related funding, such as grants for training and equipment.

Visit https://www.somersetriversauthority.org.uk/ grants/for more information.

Photograph (top) shows contractors clearing excess vegetation from a stream at the back of Carhampton’s recreation ground.

(Above) Hamp Brook clearance work near Bridgwater.

20 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

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Fieldfare and Redwing and below the Robin

Nature Studies

By Michael McCarthy

I

had a close encounter with three robins over the holiday. Not in the garden or the countryside—these were sitting on our mantelpiece, as images on Christmas cards. And it set me thinking—why do we associate robins with Christmas, or indeed with winter, when there are two other, related birds, which would be much more appropriate?

I suppose it’s to do with familiarity, really. The robin is officially our best-loved bird—it has been Britain’s national one since 1960, and we are drawn irresistibly to it by the charm—its rounded shape and big dark eyes, its wistful song which, in contrast to other birdsong, continues through the winter, and that flaming scarlet breast. Plus of course the tameness—robins fly into houses, follow you in the garden, nest in your watering can, perch on your spade. They inspire warm feelings, and Christmas is the warm-feelings time par excellence, Yet if we wished to mark Christmas as a season, as a winter festival, there are two birds which might justly replace the robin on our cards. These are both thrushes, distant relatives of the robin, though not as familiar as our regular, resident year-round thrushes, song and mistle—these are winter visitors from Scandinavia, the redwing and the fieldfare. They arrive every autumn to escape the northern cold and eat our crop of winter berries, and are beloved of many birders. It’s partly that they are both beautiful—the redwing is the smaller one, slim and song thrush-sized with a similar speckled breast, but with two lovely additions, a cream stripe over the eye and a patch of burnt orange on the flank. The larger redwing, plump and mistle thrushsized, is the very definition of handsome, with a grey head

An incomer’s discovery of the natural world in the West Country and tail at each end of a brown back, and a glowing orange throat above its breast of dark spots.

I don’t think the non-birding public really registers them. They are in no way part of our national folklore the way the robin is. But I think we who do appreciate them do so not only for their beauty, but also because they are dramatic arrivals when they start appearing in October, signalling the seasonal change, the approach of winter, just as swallows in April signal summer’s coming. They are sort of swallows-inreverse. When we lived in London, we used to get them in our garden, probably because we lived near the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which was very much a haven for wild birds; now that we are in Dorset we see them all across the countryside, though more on the tops of the ridges than down in the valleys; and they excite just as much enthusiasm among the birders. “21 fieldfare on the cricket pitch!” sang a post on the village birding Whatsapp group just before Christmas. “Plus a few redwings.”) And then, an hour later: “Make that 35 fieldfare!). By the time I got there they had alas, moved on, and I was downcast. To me these birds are the very spirit of the cold weather, and I have always loved them; I have to say they excite me more than robins do, and if I had a printing business I would start producing redwing and fieldfare Christmas cards. I’d have them surrounded by snow, or perching next to holly berries, or even sitting on the handle of a spade. (Redwings and fieldfares don’t normally do that, actually. I wouldn’t care. I’d sell out.)

Recently relocated to Dorset, Michael McCarthy is the former Environment Editor of The Independent. His books include Say Goodbye To The Cuckoo and The Moth Snowstorm: Nature and Joy. Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 21

This Month in the not so distant past

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Looking back at historical moments that happened in January, John Davis highlights The National Trust.

T

his coming year, the next time you tour a beautiful garden, take in the panorama from a coastal path, marvel at the splendours inside a stately home or explore the past at an historical site make time for a silent prayer of thanks and dedicate it to the social reformer Octavia Hill, the lawyer Sir Robert Hunter and the priest Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley.

For, in January 1895, these were the three people who had the vision and determination to set up The National Trust so that the natural environment and historic places could be protected for future generations. The zeal with which these individuals founded the National Trust was focused around two slogans and gave it its raison-d’etre from the outset: “Save Sites, Open Them Up” and “For Everyone, For Ever.”

Now, one hundred and thirty years later, this organisation, which started its collection with the purchase for £10 of a fourteenth century, halftimbered Clergy House in Sussex, protects over five hundred similar places and is supported by over six million members-more than the population of Denmark.

The National Trust is now the largest landowner in the British Isles with some quarter of a million hectares under its jurisdiction and one thousand three hundred tenant farms. There is some 1300 kilometres of coastline including notable sites like The White Cliffs of Dover, The Giant’s Causeway and The Needles at one end of the Isle of Wight. The Trust is also involved in nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Britain like Stonehenge and Avebury, Hadrian’s Wall and the Lake District.

Almost without exception, any historical drama seen on television or film these days contains scenes which have been shot in the grounds or within the buildings of a National Trust property. Wolf Hall, Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, Poldark and Harry Potter would feature among the credits. It is from the use of these locations that the Trust not only showcases its wares but also derives important income.

Fascinating facts about National Trust locations abound. Did you know, for example, apple pips

from the tree in the garden at Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire, where Isaac Newton is first thought to have considered the importance of gravity, were taken to the International Space Station by British astronaut Tim Peake? Did you know that the Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi sent his first trans-Atlantic telegraph message from Poldhu Cove in Cornwall and that at South Foreland near Dover the first electric powered lighthouse beamed out in 1904?

Octavia Hill deserves to be classed among the preeminent social reformers of the Victorian era.

Chartwell, the family home of statesman, author and artist Winston Churchill is among the National Trust’s possession as are the properties of the children’s story-teller Beatrix Potter who willed the Trust 1600 hectares of land and fifteen farms in the Lake District when she died in 1943. (Much of the proceeds coming from the sale of the Peter Rabbit stories apparently.) There are also two small houses in the Liverpool suburbs, the early homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, where they are believed to have started their song-writing careers together.

Octavia Hill deserves to be classed among the pre-eminent social reformers of the Victorian era.

She was quick to realise that rapid industrialisation during the nineteenth century was a threat to Britain’s heritage especially its open spaces and could, if left unchecked, sweep away much of Britain’s natural environment. She was also concerned about the effect this would have on the population, especially the working class, and she believed having improved living conditions and access to nature was vital for human well-being.

In 1877, in collaboration with her sister Miranda, Octavia founded the Kyrie Society-an organisation to celebrate the beauty of nature through music and the arts. She started a campaign to resist development of open spaces in London and this work continued unbated especially after she met Robert Hunter, later to be a co-founder of the National Trust.

A solicitor employed by the Commons

22 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

In 1982, Ralph Bankes gave Corfe Castle to the National Trust along with the family’s extensive holdings in Purbeck

Preservation Society, Hunter was a legal expert who contested development plans and it is through his work that inhabitants in Britain’s capital city can still enjoy open spaces like Wimbledon Common, Epping Forest and Hampstead Heath.

Hunter was to become the country’s leading lawyer on commons law and, although appointed to the post of solicitor to the General Post Office in 1882, he continued to maintain his interest in the country’s heritage by helping the artist and designer William Morris establish the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.

Coincidentally, Hunter was a keen fell walker and it was in the Lake District that he met and worked with the third leading light in the establishment of the National Trust, Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley.

After becoming a priest, Rawnsley was a crusading spirit in the use of practical action to bring about social change. After working in the poorer areas of London initially he moved to Bristol where he became chaplain at the Clifton College Mission.

Residents were not only helped to improve their living conditions but also encouraged to take part in outdoor activities like walking and playing football.

Following a holiday in the Lake District, Rawnsley became captivated by the region and soon moved there, supporting local town workshops to train workers. He was soon involved in the Keswick Footpath Protection Society which preserved public rights-of-way and became a leading member of Keswick Town Council as it struggled to stave off encroachment by industry. Rawnsley’s dynamic leadership earned him the title “Defender of the Lakes” and his friendship with Beatrix Potter later led to her generous bequests to the National Trust.

The importance of the National Trust and the success it has achieved since 1875 is epitomised in the following quote from Octavia Hill: “We all want quiet.

We all want beauty. We all need space. Unless we have it, we cannot reach that sense of quiet in which whispers of better things come to us gently.”

Semi-retired and living in Lyme Regis, John Davis started working life as a newspaper journalist before moving on to teach in schools, colleges and as a private tutor. He is a history graduate with Bachelors and Masters degrees from Bristol University with a particular interest in the History of Education and Twentieth Century European History.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 23

House&Garden

NGS donates over £3.5M to charities

I

n another landmark year, 2024 saw the National Garden Scheme (NGS) donating a record £3,501,227 from the 2024 garden opening season.

The impact of these donations to their major nursing and health beneficiaries means that thousands of people who live with health conditions such as cancer or Parkinson’s, who have poor mental health, or who struggle financially as unpaid carers, have been supported by their funding of the nurses, health professionals and case workers who support them. NGS funding has also provided support to those in the Gardens and Health sector along with Community Gardens and also supported gardeners through traineeships.

The impact of this long-term commitment was celebrated in 2024 by their milestone of 40 years of continuous funding for Macmillan Cancer Support The lion’s share, £2,550,000 goes to some of the UK’s best-loved nursing and health charities including Marie Curie, Macmillan Cancer Support and Parkinson’s UK, many of which have continued to provide vital support to the NHS and communities across the UK in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and who are now struggling to provide services in the current cost of living crisis.

The long-term nature of funding from the National Garden Scheme allows these charities to continue the provision of critical community nursing services, end of life care, and respite for families and carers across the UK. The impact of this long-term commitment was celebrated in 2024 by their milestone of 40 years of continuous funding for Macmillan Cancer Support, during which time NGS has given them more than £19.6 million.

Commenting, National Garden Scheme Chairman Rupert Tyler said: ‘As the nation’s health and social care system continues to battle with the long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and with deeply embedded systemic challenges, the contribution of the charities that we support has been increasingly vital. Their reach and impact, in cancer and end of life care, in community health and nursing and in particular areas such as people living with Parkinson’s, is immense and we are proud to be a major long-term supporter of them all.’

The National Garden Scheme relies primarily on the income generated by admission at its garden gates and through the sale of plants, teas and cake at these gardens. Additional income streams include donations, sponsorship and advertising, fundraising events and commercial partnerships.

To find your perfect garden, visit ngs.org.uk, download the National Garden Scheme app or purchase the National Garden Scheme’s Garden Visitor’s Handbook.

24 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

Snowdrops at Compton Valence

S

pecial dates in the diary in February must include a visit to Compton Valence in West Dorset, where village hall lunches and teas await those that have come to enjoy the stunning white drifts of snowdrops.

From Saturday February 1st to Sunday 9th, visitors are invited to walk or drive through the beautiful village and enjoy the flowers.

Weather permitting, the village hall just below the church will be open for lunches and teas from 11.00am - 3.30pm. The hall is a cash only venue and visitors are asked, where possible, to book ahead in order for the organisers to cater accordingly. Telephone Tessa Russell on 01308 482227 or mobile 07818 037184 or email tessa@cvfarms.co.uk. Pre booked guests will take priority as the hall is small. In bad or icy weather the hall may not be open.

Visitors are also asked to please be considerate of the village verges etc. when parking. Or phone ahead to discuss your needs so that organisers can advise you where to go.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 25

January in the Garden

By Russell Jordan

A

s Christmas quickly fades into memory, the New Year gets underway with lots of well meant, but seldom kept, intentions to ‘do better’; getting out into the garden is unlikely to be your first priority. As I’ve already touched upon recently, the winter is a good time to assess the ‘bare bones’ of the garden now that everything deciduous has shed its leaves and all the herbaceous plants have died down. If it’s too cold or wet to go outside, then planning for the year ahead from the comfort of your favourite armchair may be a good use of your time. Ordering seeds, summer bulbs and bare-rooted specimens is a timely task which is easier to do once you’ve assessed what opportunities for improved planting your garden possesses.

One stalwart of the ‘English Garden’ is the good old rose, and there’s still time to choose them from catalogues, either printed or online, and order bare-rooted roses for planting before spring arrives.

Additionally, when it comes to roses that you already have in the garden, there is constant debate on the best time to prune them; I find that autumn pruning can be too early as roses are barely dormant until it gets really cold.

Having said that, this year, with freezing temperatures and actual snow in November, they certainly were stopped in their tracks well before Christmas. With that in mind, now is a good time to get on and do your rose pruning, as leaving it until much later can leave open wounds, with sap rising, which could potentially allow pathogens to infect cut stems. Best to prune them now while they are in their deepest winter sleep and impervious to the vicious cuts which you are about to subject them to.

In theory there are different sets of rules to apply to each type of rose that you are tackling; be it a shrub rose, ‘Hybrid Tea’, rambler, climber, groundcover etc. The rose breeder ‘David Austin’ has cornered the market in what they call ‘English Roses’

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and these have some of the attributes that are most sought after in roses designed for garden use i.e. a shrub like shape, repeat flowering, disease resistance and classic rose flowers often with a good scent.

There are plenty of other rose breeders out there, whose roses also merit consideration, especially if you favour some of the older varieties or speciality roses such as those bred for ground cover.

Back to the actual pruning; with any rose the pruning checklist is to start with removing any dead wood, diseased wood and spindly, non-vigorous, shoots. Dead wood is easy to identify because it is brown, diseased wood is generally brown or yellow, with a mottled appearance, while healthy wood is green, although many roses have a distinct purplish tinge about them.

Once the dead and dying stems have been cleared out then the oldest stems are next for pruning out.

These are harder to spot, until you’ve got your eye in, but they tend to be darker coloured and thicker than the younger stems. There are, naturally, more old stems towards the base of the plant than at its top.

The oldest, often thickest, stems may be too tough to be excised using secateurs and are best cut using loppers, if there is room to get the blades in, or with a narrow pruning saw where access is really difficult.

Before severing the old wood, have a look along its length to make sure that it isn’t carrying new, vigorous, shoots further up which you need to keep. The aim should always be to remove all the oldest wood, whilst keeping the youngest, to leave a balance of the different ages when you have finished pruning.

Another aim is to keep the centre as open as possible with no crossing branches. That is the ‘ideal’, in fact it’s very difficult to have no crossing branches. Cutting stems so that you always leave an outward facing bud, on the bit that remains, is another laudable, but not always possible, aim. Don’t

26 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

get hung up on these finer points of pruning, just be aware that they are ‘best practice’.

If you’ve removed all the obvious stems, falling into the categories so far, then you should have shifted the balance towards healthy new growth. On a shrub type rose, shortening everything back is fine and the more brutal you are, the more it tends to bounce back.

On a rose with long, arching stems the temptation is to decapitate each ‘unruly’ growth. Resist this temptation as shortening the long, new, shoots would destroy the plant’s grace and flowering potential.

Better to construct some sort of frame around them, up to about a third or half of their total height, using tree stakes and hoops of wire which the long stems can be arched over and tied onto. The overall effect is to produce a ‘fountain’ of growth. Many of the ‘English Roses’ have a habit of producing these fairly long shoots and can, in fact, be treated more like small climbing roses than as strict shrub roses.

Working around the bush, you should end up with all the new growth kept intact, and under control, thanks to the supporting structure. It’s a relatively simple task, in subsequent years, to remove the oldest stems and tie in the newest ones – thanks to the framework which you have imposed on them.

As with climbing roses, trained on a wall or fence, the point of arching them over is to encourage every bud, on the top of the curved stem, to produce a flowering shoot hence realising its full potential.

Once pruned it is a good idea to mulch around the roses with a good, thick, layer of organic matter such as well-rotted horse manure. I find it easiest to buy this as a bagged product because commercially produced organic mulches are certain to be sterile and weed free, as they are rotted down at higher temperatures, and it is their ability to suppress weed growth, in addition to improving the soil structure, which is important to me.

While you are applying organic mulches to clear soil it’s worth paying special attention to those areas where spring bulbs are emerging. Clearing away old leaves and detritus whilst carefully working in your chosen mulch, around the emerging bulbs, will allow their flowers to be perfectly set off against the dark background of the fresh organic matter. Snowdrops and their ilk may already be in flower but drifts of early narcissi and the soon to emerge tulips will really look their best if you take the time to remove anything that might otherwise detract from their beauty.

Happy New Year!

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 27

Food&Dining

More awards for Devon cider maker

Small Plate Recipe

Demons on Horseback The original ‘devils on horseback’ are dates, stuffed with cheese or nuts and wrapped in bacon.

I’ve altered the recipe slightly to make them truly demonic—with Sriracha sauce for some explosive heat and a cute sweety drop pepper in place of the cheese or nuts.

The ideal canapé for a pepper loving friend.

T

he General, a world class vintage cider produced by independent, family-owned Sandford Orchards has just added another award to its trophy cabinet. It was named Champion Cider by Taste of the West at their ceremony last month.

Barny Butterfield, Chief Cidermaker at Sandford Orchards comments: ‘We are delighted to have scooped another accolade for The General. At 8.4%, it is the Godfather of our vintage range, aged for a minimum of 6 months in our ancient oak vat. It has already won gold at The World Cider Awards in 2021 plus a gold medal and the category trophy at the 2023 International Cider Challenge. Now it has been named Champion Cider in the Taste of the West Awards, which span the cider heartlands of Devon, Somerset, Cornwall and Dorset.’

Founded in 2002, independent, family-owned Sandford Orchards is based in Crediton, Mid Devon in the oldest working cider mill in the UK. The area has long been known as one of the most fertile parishes in all of Britain, both for its grazing and ability to grow apples. Crediton sits in the lee of the moors, so receives the right amount of rain and the right units of heat in summer.

Sandford Orchards takes a fresh, natural and low impact approach to producing cider. Combining tradition and innovation, Sandford Orchards produces an award-winning range of core session, traditional, fine and fruit ciders.

For further information on Sandford Orchards please visit www.sandfordorchards.co.uk

28 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

• • • •

24 large pitted prunes 4 tbsp Sriracha sauce 24 jarred sweety drop peppers, drained 12 rashers streaky bacon, sliced in half lengthways

Soak some wooden cocktail sticks/toothpicks in water for about 30 minutes (so they don’t burn under the grill).

Cut a small slit in the side of each prune (if there’s not an obvious hole where the stone was removed).

Spoon ½ teaspoon of the Sriracha sauce into each prune, then pop a whole tiny pepper into the hole.

Take a length of bacon and wrap it around the prune, then secure it in place with one of the soaked cocktail sticks. Repeat to fill and wrap all the prunes.

Preheat the grill/broiler to medium–high. Pop the demons on a baking sheet and place under the grill.

Cook for about 8–9 minutes, turning during cooking, or until the bacon is golden and crispy on all sides.

Arrange your demons on a serving platter and serve warm.

Bold: Big Flavour Twists to Classic Dishes Hardcover By Nisha Katona.

Published by Nourish, an imprint of Watkins Media Limited.

ISBN-10 : 1848994230 ISBN-13 : 978-1848994232

Dorset food adventures with chef Philippa Davis

P

hilippa Davis, a North Dorset-based chef and food-writer, has a new six-part food and travel television series, available on Prime Video, celebrating the wonderful food and drink of Dorset.

A Taste of Dorset takes Philippa all over the county— from the Devon border to Cranborne Chase, meeting some of the outstanding producers who have made Dorset one of the country’s most exciting food destinations.

In each 25-minute episode, Philippa Davis she meets three very different producers—they range from fifth-generation millers near Shaftesbury to a family living off grid at Wootton Fitzpaine, from oyster farmers to apple vodka distillers.

They tell Philippa their stories and the audience learns about their products and why they feel so deeply connected to Dorset.

Discovering, tasting and gathering ingredients as she goes, with her boundless energy and engaging enthusiasm, Philippa allows viewers to discover the magic, warmth and richness of Dorset’s people, places and producers.

Many local producers are highlighted in A Taste of Dorset including: Liberty Fields at Halstock; Baboo Gelato, West Bay; Hollis Mead at Beaminster; Capreolus Fine Foods Ltd, Rampisham; Fivepenny Farm, Wootton Fitzpaine, and Dorset Sea Salt Co, Chesil beach.

Each episode culminates in Philippa making a family-friendly feast or delicious cocktail, on location with one of the star food producers.

Philipa says: ‘I’m incredibly excited to support and champion the outstanding food and drink producers we have here in Dorset. It feels vital, now more than ever, to connect our wonderful farmers and makers to consumers in order to share their stories and the work they do.’

Philippa Davis grew up on a Dorset smallholding where her love and interest in great food began. At 19 she moved to London to cook in the restaurants The River Café and Moro before setting up and running The Mudchute Kitchen on London’s largest city farm near Canary Wharf.

She now works as an international private chef, travelling the globe, discovering the world’s greatest food markets, ingredients and restaurants. Her food adventures can be followed on Instagram @ philippadavis_food The series is available via Prime Video Direct—to view A Taste of Dorset go to https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CP9WY6P3 Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 29

GUEST RECIPE

SAFFRON AND PUMPKIN SOUP Saffron is the stigma of the crocus flower and is commonly found in the spices section of your local supermarket. It is native to Southwest Asia and the most costly spice by weight, and thus considered the gold of spices. Not only can it add a beautiful fragrance to a dish, but it has a pigment which imparts a rich golden-yellow colour to dishes.

INGREDIENTS • • • • • • • • • Wholesome Bowls • • MELISSA

DELPORT

Published by Nourish, an imprint of Watkins Media Limited

ISBN: 978-1-84899-414-0 (Hardback) ISBN: 978-1-84899-415-7 (eBook)

Serves 6

• • • • • • • •

1 pinch saffron threads 2 tsp coconut oil 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp ground turmeric 5 bay leaves 2 pinches salt 4 cloves garlic, minced 4 medium-sized leeks, washed and chopped 400g (14oz) pumpkin, peeled and chopped 4 large carrots, chopped 300g (10½oz / 1½ cups) red split lentils 1 litre (35fl oz / 4 cups) vegetable stock 400ml (14fl oz) coconut milk Fresh coriander/cilantro for garnishing Olive oil for drizzling Freshly ground black pepper

30 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

DIRECTIONS 1. Add the saffron to a small cup of warm water and let it steep for 10 minutes.

2. In a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the coconut oil and spices, bay and salt and fry for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for 1 minute. Add the leeks, pumpkin and carrots to the saucepan and sauté, stirring often. When the vegetables have softened after about 5 minutes, add the lentils and sauté for another minute. Add the vegetable stock and saffron water and simmer for 35–40 minutes. If the liquid runs low, top it up with extra boiling water.

3. Once ready, blend the soup with a stick blender until smooth. Add the coconut milk and stir through.

Garnish with coriander/cilantro leaves and add a drizzle of olive oil and a grinding of black pepper.

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Atlantic in over a million strokes Rex Fisher embarks on a 3,000-mile endurance challenge to support mental health and to pay tribute to his late father Nick Fisher

C

hoosing to spend Christmas halfway across the Atlantic, sharing a small boat with three other exhausted men, is not exactly everyone’s cup of tea. However, for Rex Fisher, son of former Marshwood Vale Magazine contributor Nick Fisher, it is part of a journey to pay tribute to his late father and to raise awareness of a charity that aims to help people with mental health issues.

A little under two years since the tragic passing of his father, Rex has embarked on a formidable journey across the Atlantic Ocean as part of the ‘World’s Toughest Row’. It is a 3,000-mile challenge that is a test of physical endurance and mental strength, as well as a heartfelt tribute to his late father who was a BAFTA-winning TV scriptwriter, author and fishing broadcaster.

Rex’s journey is in support of Tackling Minds, a charity dedicated to promoting mental health through fishing; the charity recognises the therapeutic benefits of fishing as a source of solace and escape from everyday struggles. Anyone who remembers Nick’s writing in the Marshwood will know his passion for the sport, which served as both his career and a personal refuge.

Speaking on Instagram from the Canary Islands to chef Mitch Tonks, Rex explained that the fourman crew expected to be doing three hours rowing and three hours sleeping, and that the row takes an average of 42 days.

They are on a boat named the Rockfisher II, named in honour of his father. Explaining the motivation for the trip Rex said: ‘My dad sadly, two years ago, took his own life and left us in a kind of chaos’. But in supporting Tackling Minds he wants ‘to prove to people, especially those that are survivors of suicide, that there is life after suicide. It’s not necessarily a happier one but it’s definitely a more resilient one, and one in which amazing things can happen.’

Nick Fisher’s writing credits are vast. He was an agony uncle for Just Seventeen magazine and spent five years as The Sun’s film critic, won a Bafta for creating the ITV children’s drama The Giblet Boys and was one of the main writers on Holby City from 2008 until 2020. He also wrote episodes for New Tricks, EastEnders, Hustle and Casualty and created the BBC

Rex Fisher and (inset) © Nick Fisher Photograph by Robin Mills

comedy drama series Manchild, starring Nigel Havers as well as presenting Channel 4’s Screaming Reels and Radio 5 Live’s Dirty Tackle. He also wrote the novel Pot Luck.

Nick was also well known for his work with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, with whom he wrote The River Cottage Fish Book. He also wrote a volume, Sea Fishing, for the River Cottage Handbook series as well as starring alongside Hugh in TV shows such as River Cottage: Gone Fishing.

In a note to supporters before leaving, Rex illustrated the sheer size of the challenge in oar strokes alone. ‘Every oar stroke has been made just that little bit easier with your support’ he said, ‘all 1.2 million of them!’ Rex’s 3,000-mile trip will be a gruelling one and an opportunity to remember the many happier times he had fishing with his dad.

His teammates for the challenge are Sam Weston and Daragh MacDonagh from Dorchester, and Ed Hughes from Windsor.

Those supporting Rex on his journey are assisting a larger, vital cause. Mental health remains a pressing issue, often invisible and sometimes stigmatized. To lend your support, visit Rex’s GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/rex-rows-the-atlantic and follow the journey on Tackling Minds’ social media (@tacklingminds).

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 31

Arts&Entertainment Click Here for an Easy Read version of this article

Stage to Screen A chance to look again at summer’s Lyme Regis community play

W

e’re a long way from midsummer but the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis is screening the most recent community play A Midsummer Lyme’s Dream in January.

Described by Fanny Charles as ‘an evening of laughter and nostalgia, a true celebration of what makes Lyme Regis special (and why Shakespeare is truly for all time!)’, the play is billed as an irreverent, modern-day blast through Shakespeare’s most enchanting comedy— interwoven with nuggets of Lyme’s history. The magical charm of both the play and the town were knitted together to produce an unmissable community event in the summer of 2024.

Following on from previous award-winning community productions ‘Monmouth: A West Country Rebellion’, ‘Are you Going to the Marine?’ and ‘Lyme and the Sea’ Lyme Regis born-andbred screenwriter and Marine patron, Andrew Rattenbury adapted Shakespeare’s play A

Midsummer Night’s Dream to celebrate the fantastic community around Lyme Regis and the packed audiences loved it.

For the community, and starring the community, the play was directed by Tessa Morton and Nicca Kathrens who ran weekly rehearsals to bring the show to life with musical director Chris Gill, alongside many organisers, singers, musicians and more.

For those who watched the show it’s an opportunity to relive the fun and for those that didn’t make, it’s an chance to enjoy a slice of Lyme Regis, unlike any you’ve seen before.

With winter and the post Christmas lull just around the corner, a trip along this particular memory lane might just be the ticket.

A Midsummer Lyme’s Dream screening is at the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis on January 17th. Tickets available from https://www. marinetheatre.com.truly for all time!)

32 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 33

January

GALLERIES

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2 - 25 January 2025

Prize Winners – Ilminster Open 2024 A selection of work from the winners of the 2024 Open Exhibition.

Free entry at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Open Tuesday – Saturday, 9:30am - 3:00pm. 01460 54973 www. ilminsterartscentre.com.

Until 5 January

Edge Of Land by gallery artists & guest artists featuring the strong theme of the shoreline from several artists.

Philippa Headley writes of the series in oil that we are showing “Nature always unveils a myriad of surprises.

Whatever time of day, the colours, textures and sensations of its beauty are available to experience and absorb. In this series I was particularly fascinated by the way in which the land and sea interacts with light and atmosphere.” Those sentiments deeply inform Kim Pragnell’s stormwracked Cornish rocks, or Mary Gillett’s pieces from her own county of Devon or from farflung Canadian lakes. Bristolbased Ruth Ander contributes her limpid nature-drenched monoprints. Many other gallery and guest artists will also be exhibiting their various sculptures, ceramics, and oils including Johannes von Stumm, Alison Wear, Almuth Tebbenhoff and Colin Moore. Tincleton Gallery, The Old School House, Tincleton, nr Dorchester, DT2 8QR. Opening / performance times: 10am – 4pm Sat/Sun, or weekdays by appointment. Admission free. Tel. 01305 848 909. www.tincletongallery.com.

Until 12 January

Radiance paintings, prints, drawings, ceramics, furniture and accessories from Julian Bailey, Laura Boswell, Martyn Brewster, Merlyn Chesterman, Michael Fairclough,

Barbara Gittings, Björk Haraldsdóttir, Gabriele Koch, Sally McLaren, Howard Phipps, Petter Southall, Yo Thom and more. Sladers Yard, West Bay Road, West Bay, Bridport Dorset DT6 4EL gallery@sladersyard.co.uk Tel. 01308 459511. Tel. 01404 45006.

Making Dorset In a reprise to Fifty Dorset Makers, an exhibition at Wolften Riding House during the first ‘Making Dorset’ in 2017, about 30 of the original exhibitors are back to show new work at the newly renovated Sherborne House. Now renamed The Sherborne, its the new home of Dorset Visual Arts.

Newland, Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 3JG.

28 January - 22 February

Convergence A shared exhibition featuring abstract and semi-abstract work from a number of local artists.

Work will include paintings, ceramics, and textiles.

Free entry at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Open Tuesday – Saturday, 9:30am - 3:00pm. 01460 54973. www. ilminsterartscentre.com

Until 2 February

The Art of Travel A photographic exploration of Central and Southeastern Asia as seen through the eyes of Chris Hilton. “The art of travel,” according to Chris,” is to find somewhere to get that zip fixed, or to get a watch battery, to go to the doctor, or to get a haircut. In other words, it exists in the cracks where our imagination failed to go. We need to let reality wash over us in all its messy, uncomfortable glory without the hindrance of expectation.” Rotunda Gallery, Lyme Regis Museum, Bridge St, Lyme Regis DT7 3QA, Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm, www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk

34 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

The Dorset Pavilion returns from Venice Until 16 March 2025

Artists in Purbeck: Spirit of Place a groundbreaking exhibition at the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum in Bournemouth. This first-of-its-kind exhibition celebrates the rich artistic legacy of Purbeck, Dorset, through the eyes of renowned and emerging artists. It is a captivating exploration of the Isle of Purbeck’s diverse landscapes, including quarries, seaside towns, and iconic landmarks like Corfe Castle.

The exhibition features over 70 works and provides a unique opportunity to explore the Isle of Purbeck over time, through the eyes of artists who capture its ever evolving beauty. RussellCotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth. www.russellcotes.com.

GALLERIES IN FEBRUARY Live or Online send your gallery details to info@marshwoodvale.com

BY JANUARY 12th

A

n exhibition that more than 7,000 people visited at the Venice Bienalle this year, The Dorset Pavilion, will be reappearing at Bridport Arts Centre in February 2025.

Celebrating the bounty of Dorset, this exhibition challenges conventional expectations of regional art by offering a powerful, tactile, and evocative exhibition that speaks to deep time; the land: the political; the literary; and the historical.

Lost Sheep Productions has partnered with Common Ground to present established art world figures such as Andy Goldsworthy alongside a traditional Tolpuddle Union Banner of the Martyrs and Bibby Stockholm by Ed Hall; an exquisite fossil design by Will White; Sheep skin art work by Lower Hewood Farm; A Brexit “mourning” Murano glass work by Sophie Molins; Stills (featuring Michael Clark as a dancing sailor) by David Appleby from Bill Douglas classic film Comrades—and a film by recent Glasgow school of Art graduate Robyn Bamford; alongside weaver and ceramicist Jacy Wall; ceramicist Silva De Majo; painters Janie Fox, Jeremy Gardiner, Henrietta Hoyer Miller, Veronica Hudson, Alan Rogers, Ella Squirrel and Amanda Wallwork and Printmakers Flora Wood and Hugh Dunford Wood, and textiles by Nicholas Kalinoski.

There is also a large-scale work by Dorset raised New York based artist Ellen Harvey from her extraordinary series The Disappointed Tourist.

The exhibition is the final event of Bridport-24, Town of Culture, a celebration of the people, place and culture. Links will be made to Portland and Weymouth, Town of Culture 2025 through the exploration of the political and protest. Town of Culture is an Arts Development Company initiative and funded by Dorset Council, Bridport Town Council and Arts Council England.

The Dorset Pavilion is at Bridport Arts Centre, South St, Bridport from February 8 to March 15 2025.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 35

Restless

Anthony Garratt, Loch—oil on canvas

Click Here for an Easy Read version of this article

EARTH

Paintings by Anthony Garratt and Frances Hatch ARWS, with paintings and ceramics by selected gallery artists, and furniture by Petter Southall

36 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

B

oth Anthony Garratt and Frances Hatch paint the outdoors in all weather and times of year, including natural materials in their work.

Anthony Garratt explores the political and emotional evidence of the human within the landscapes he paints, alongside the nature of the paint itself. Frances Hatch invites conversation with the stuff of each place, the dynamic exchanges in light and weather she experiences on the land, allowing the rain and environment to engage with the paint and radically change her work. Petter Southall responds to superb natural timber in furniture designs that combine exciting fluidity with tactile strength.

Anthony Garratt lives with his family on Dartmoor where the evidence of abandoned human efforts draw his fascination. He is interested in land and seascapes that emphasise the vulnerability of man. ‘There is beauty in the knowledge that humans are not all powerful and in control of the planet. We are at the mercy of it. If my paintings are able to communicate that beauty, perhaps that is what I am striving for.’

Frances Hatch is acclaimed for her radical and innovative approach to landscape painting.

Frances grew up on Fenland at the edge of The Wash. Its black earth and Siberian winds shaped the fundamentals of her practice. Plein air painting offered a means to respond to experiences that were marvellous to her in her solitary meanderings— mundane miracles that stopped her in her tracks, literally, and still do.

She continues to seek out time ‘in nature’, preferring

Petter Southall Lift Table. Photograph by Angus Pigott

to work under the bowl of sky rather than the confinement of a roof. Nowadays, her way of being with the land is multisensory and whole-bodied—hands-on and messy.

Petter Southall’s handmade furniture and garden features are available to view at the gallery and on the website below.

Commissions are welcome for existing or new designs. Some furniture is the garden features are available to buy now from the gallery.

Restless Earth is open from 18 January – 9 March 2025 at Sladers Yard, Contemporary Art & Craft Gallery, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset DT6 4EL. Open: Weds to Sat 10–4pm.

All work can be viewed on www.sladersyard.co.uk Telephone: 01308 459511 or email: gallery@sladersyard.co.uk.

Frances Hatch First Light Coppered Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 37

Books Reviews by John Davis

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A Lively Midwinter Murder by Katy Watson

Precipice by Robert Harris

PERHAPS an alternative title to this good oldfashioned, seasonal problem-solver, reminiscent of a traditional Agatha Christie whodunnit, might be three dahlias, a wedding and a funeral.

The dahlias here are three friends, all of them actresses, who as well as their stage exploits, have established a reputation as being rather good at solving murder mysteries.

Their sleuthing style is fortuitously more in the mould of Miss Marple rather than Hercule Poirot who always strikes me as a little too arrogant at times in some of the Christie novels I have read.

Meanwhile the action here takes place in an isolated Scottish castle where the guests are gathered for a society wedding on Christmas Eve. To make matters worse heavy snow arrives cutting the building off from the rest of civilisation.

Not really a problem you might think until the body of one of the wedding guests is found outside the family chapel wearing a wedding dress and a stolen necklace.

This is the fourth book in Katy Watson’s ‘dahlia’ collection although it’s a stand-alone story and, despite its seasonal appeal, can be read at any time of the year.

Watson has the knack of making even the side characters stand out and the way in which they interact is certainly a tangled web.

Don’t be concerned if you do lose your way a little at times in deepest Scotland, there is a wedding invitation, a cast list and a map of the local area provided.

I’VE always been an avid fan of Robert Harris and, while I acknowledge that some of his titles are better than others, I’d put him up there with the top popular writers around at the moment.

The thing I’ve liked best about his stories is the thorough research he carries out into historical events and the investigative, journalistic approach he uses to unfold the layers of a story.

There has to be an exception to any rule but perhaps it’s the fact that the subject matter of Precipice was not to my liking rather than the way in which the narrative is composed.

In brief, the novel tells the true story of the clandestine affair between Liberal Prime Minister Herbert Asquith and socialite Venetia Stanley- all while the government is wrestling with a solution to the Irish Question and coming to terms with the onset of the First World War. Harris was given access to archives containing Asquith’s messages to Venetia but her replies have been lost so we effectively only get one side of the story.

The couple’s affair, he aged in his early sixties and she in her mid-twenties, lasted several years and, as there were numerous mail deliveries in London at the time, often involved three or four letter exchanges every day.

To make matters worse, Asquith, rather like a moonstruck teenager, takes to penning his love-notes during the course of key Cabinet meetings when his attention should have been fully focused on the nation’s welfare.

Even more serious though, the Liberal politician often includes war related information and other classified information in the missives, some of which are found by the public after being thrown haphazardly out of the window of their chauffeur driven car in public places like Hyde Park.

There is a slight detective element to the story as a security agent is tasked to get to the bottom of where the leaks are coming from but we know most of the answers so there is little mystery to unravel.

Published by Constable

Published by Penguin 38 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

Book ahead Book now to beat the after Christmas blues

The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys by Jack Jewers SAMUEL Pepys is perhaps best known as the author of a diary, written in his own form of shorthand, which he kept for almost ten years from the beginning of 1660.

Less known is the fact that our leading commentator on Restoration England, the Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of London that followed, was also a raconteur, womaniser and thorough going man about town who had good reason to use a secret code to describe some of his activities.

For the day job, he worked as the Clerk of the Acts to the Navy Board, a kind of logistics officer for the senior service, and in the process had access to many of the country’s most important people.

Jewers works on the premise that Pepys did not stop his journal writing after a decade as appears likely but continued to chronicle his further adventures, hence the title of the novel.

It’s 1669, three years after the fire, that Pepys and his willing assistant Will Hewer are ordered away from the familiarity of London to the boisterous taverns, congested backstreets and busy shipyards of Portsmouth.

Their mission is to investigate who has murdered the agent who preceded them to the naval base to enquire why the account books of a man-of-war, the Prince Rupert, are far from ship-shape. Add in a band of female outlaws, some traitorous officials, professional assassins and the threat of a Dutch invasion and you have a pacy, pulsating tale that will drag you along with it.

As for Pepys himself though, my credulity did get a little stretched. Here’s a man (admittedly only aged 36 at the time, if my maths is correct) but more used to a sedentary and somewhat dissolute lifestyle, seemingly taking so readily and easily to such high energy derring-do.

Sound of the Sirens, Bridport Arts Centre, February 7.

Tickets from: www.bridport-arts.com.

Chris Difford, Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, February 7.

Tickets from: www.marinetheatre.com.

Call yourself an Irishman! Bridport Arts Centre, February 8.

Tickets from: www.bridport-arts.com.

Footnote: While other wealthy people buried money, paintings, jewellery, silver etc. in their gardens to save them from the ravages of the Great Fire of London, Pepys was altogether more epicurean. He only stashed away his best vintage wines and the tastiest of his cheeses.

Published by Moonflower

Coming to England, The Lighthouse, Poole, February 1315. Tickets from: www.lighthousepoole.co.uk Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 39

Brendan BUESNEL at Mercato

LOCALLY based photographer Brendan Buesnel is sharing some of his unique photograhic vision, in the form of a projected slideshow on the wall of Mercato Italiano on the Dreadnought Trading Estate in Bridport.

The work is showing through the winter months on Wednesday’s and Friday’s from 7pm, upstairs in the Mercato Nero bar.

Brendan also has a small selection of printed works to view with some limited edition purchase opportunities. Enquiries: bbuesnel@gmail.com or 07989217911.

Mercato Italiano is at Unit 3B Dreadnought Trading Estate, Bridport, Dorset DT6 5BU. Telephone 01308 459274 or visit www.mercatoitaliano.uk Click Here for an Easy Read version of this article

40 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 41

January PREVIEW

42 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

Miss Havisham—the back story VILLAGES WE all have our picture of Miss Havisham, the jilted bride, bitter in her dark, cobweb-filled mansion, in her ageing wedding dress with the wedding breakfast crumbling on the table ... but what really happened? Actress, writer and producer Heather Alexander brings one of Charles Dickens’ iconic characters to life in her one-woman show, coming to Dorset for three dates with Artsreach, from 17th to 19th January.

Havisham, presented by Emul8 Theatre, begins the short tour at Chetnole village hall on Friday 17th, followed by Ibberton on Saturday and Burton Bradstock on Sunday, all beginning at 7.30pm.

The scene is set in 1825. After reliving traumatic memories from her childhood, a young woman, arrives in London, full of hope and ready to embrace a fresh start. However, she soon finds herself as “the leading lady in a drama she can’t comprehend.”

The gaslighting is subtle, the manipulation slick. Can Miss Havisham discern her fate? Or is she destined to relive the devastation of her trauma?

This new one-woman play offers a fresh perspective on Dickens’ extraordinary Gothic characterisation of Miss Havisham, in Great Expectations. We know her as the embodiment of stuck trauma and malignant rage—but how did she arrive at this place and what are the tragic secrets of her calamitous past?

Click Here for an Easy Read version of this article

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 43

January PREVIEW

Brian Cox, coming to the Marine Theatre in January

Succession star comes to Dorset LYME REGIS A WORLD-famous Scottish actor is coming to the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis on 28th January for the launch of a new cinema programme. Brian Cox, most recently and famously the fearsome Logan Roy in Succession and star of countless plays, films and television series, will be interviewed on stage and

his film Manhunter will be shown, with a chance for audience questions too.

Lyme Regis locals will be familiar with the sad tale of the town’s Regent Cinema that burned down in 2016. It was popular with both residents and tourists, so is much missed. After years of fundraising in the community, the Marine Theatre has now purchased cinema equipment, adding film to the long list of

44 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

music, theatre and comedy events for which it is well-known across the region. The launch event will be raising funds for the new Marine Theatre Young Filmmakers’ course starting this year.

Brian Cox has been acting for six decades, conquering the worlds of stage, television, radio and film, working with many of the leading actors and actresses of our time, including John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Meryl Streep and Anthony Hopkins.

Marine Theatre director Gabby Rabbitts says: “We are delighted to announce cinema as the new jewel in the Marine’s crown. Over the last three years, we have been hard at work fundraising to offer our local community the very best cinema experience possible without having to travel out of town. Our efforts have now paid off.”

The theatre now has a state-of-the-art DCP projector, new comfortable seating, beautiful golden velvet curtains and an enhanced cinema sound system. Details of films will be on the Marine’s website, and there will be special cinema events and family films during holiday times.

“We would like to send a heartfelt thanks to all the organisations that have made the Marine Cinema possible,” says Gabby. “Our particular thanks to Lyme Regis Town Council, whose generous support, not only of the cinema project but of the Marine throughout the years, has provided the foundation for the Marine Theatre to build upon.”

Tragedy + time = comedy POOLE AND WEYMOUTH

Ed Byrne coming to Poole and Weymouth

A QUOTE famously attributed to Mark Twain provides the title for Ed Byrne’s current tour, which is coming to Poole Lighthouse Theatre on Thursday 16th January and Weymouth Pavilion on Sunday 19th.

One of the UK’s favourite television comedians, Ed Byrne has extended his nationwide Tragedy Plus Time

tour, winner of British Comedy Guide’s Best Comedy Show 2023—and his most personal show to date— until April 2025, almost two years after he began performing it.

Join Ed as he tests Mark Twain’s definition of humour as Tragedy Plus Time, by mining the most tragic events in his life for laughs.

With his TV career now in its third decade, Ed has appeared on many television shows, including QI, Mock The Week, Alan Davies As Yet Untitled, The Pilgrimage, Dara and Ed’s Road to Mandalay, Dara & Ed’s Big Adventure, The Graham Norton Show and Have I Got News For You, as well as hosting Live At The Apollo and Comic Relief Bake Off. Known for his passion for the outdoors (hill walking and mountaineering are major hobbies), Ed can be seen turning his presenting skills to factual broadcasting in BBC Two’s Volcano Live, World’s Most Dangerous Roads (where he spent two weeks driving through Siberia) and Into The Wild with Gordon Buchanan.

The Lawrence of Arabia mystery BRIDPORT ONE of the great mysteries of the inter-world-war period is the death of TE Lawrence—Lawrence of Arabia—in a motorcycle accident not far from his Dorset home at Clouds Hill near Wareham. On Saturday 18th January, Bridport’s Electric Palace has a screening of Who Killed Lawrence of Arabia?, a featurelength documentary which provides an in-depth investigation into the crash.

The film makers claim that it uncovers compelling evidence that Lawrence’s crash was no accident but an assassination. Expert input is provided by historians and investigators Andrew Gough, the Rev Lionel Fanthorpe, Niall Cooper, motorcycle expert Julian Amos, probability expert Paul Swift, writers and TE Lawrence experts Jan Woolf and Mark JT Griffin and senior lecturer in Arab studies Feras Alkabani. The documentary is narrated by Russell Biles.

Based on the non-fiction book, Who Killed Lawrence of Arabia?, published in August 2022, the documentary delves deeply into the crash, approaching the death as a murder, and asking who would benefit and who had the means, motive and opportunity to remove Lawrence. The documentary follows the same approach as the book, investigating Lawrence’s fatal crash and the aftermath. It reveals a plethora of evidence for an assassination but none for an accident—challenging the official story.

The documentary also strikes a contemporary note, directly connecting Lawrence’s military campaign a century ago in the Middle East to the current ongoing conflicts.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 45

January PREVIEW

But is it ART? DORCHESTER

A Viennese New Year WEYMOUTH

Tom Fetherstonhaugh

Somerleigh Players coming to Dorchester Corn Exchange

ONE of the most successful plays of the last 30 years is also one of the most contentious. Some people think it is utterly hilarious—others don’t.

Indeed, it has a contentious subject—ART asks the basic question, Is it ART? Somerleigh Players will be performing Yasmina Reza’s hit comedy at Dorchester Corn Exchange on Thursday 9th and Friday 10th January at 7.30pm.

The play is the story of three friends and what happens to their long friendship when one buys a piece of contemporary art— a pristine, all-white painting. Set in Paris, ART examines the lives of Serge, Marc and Yvan, and the way their longstanding bond is put to the test when Serge makes his unexpected and unconventional purchase.

What begins as a seemingly trivial debate over contemporary art rapidly spirals into a revealing, often funny and occasionally dark confrontation as the friends grapple with the very essence of art and truth.

Will their friendship withstand their clash of views?

ART, an insightful exploration of how passions and perceptions shape our relationships, won Olivier, Tony and Moliere Awards for Best Comedy. Join Rob Sansom, David Lucas and Kevin Morris as they explore the boundaries between art and reality with wit and intelligence in a play as thought-provoking as it is entertaining.

JOHANN Strauss and his effervescent waltzes andantes are as much part of New Year celebrations as first-footing and Auld Lang Syne—the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra brings its annual Viennese celebration tour to Weymouth Pavilion on Wednesday 8th January at 7.30pm, with conductor Tom Fetherstonhaugh and Irish soprano Ava Dodd.

This traditional Viennese Gala celebrates the joyous music of Johann Strauss II and his contemporaries spinning the audience into the New Year with a flourish of favourite waltzes, polkas and marches.

The programme includes Strauss’s Frühlingsstimmen, Csardas from Die Fledermaus and Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, and Franz Lehar’s Gold and Silver Waltz and Vilja from The Merry Widow.

Return of the comedy club HONITON HONITON’s Beehive Centre had such a success with its first comedy club that the event is being repeated by popular demand, with top stand-up Mark Watson coming to the East Devon venue on Saturday 18th January.

The first comedy club show sold out in under 24 hours, and there is likely to be a similar demand to see Mark Watson, one of the UK’s most successful comedians, renowned for his sharp wit and engaging humour. His many awards include the Panel Prize at the Edinburgh Fringe and multiple Chortle Awards, while his television credits range from Taskmaster and Live At The Apollo to QI and Have I Got News For You.

46 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

Bonfire Radicals coming to Drimpton and Portland

The line-up for the evening will feature two additional comedians, ensuring an evening filled with laughter and entertainment.

Firing up a folk melting pot DRIMPTON AND PORTLAND BONFIRE Radicals, described as a “proper folk melting pot,” bring their blend of Balkan, African, French, Scandinavian, Irish and British musical influences to Dorset for two dates with Artsreach in January—Friday 10th at Drimpton village hall and Saturday 11th at Portland’s Royal Manor Theatre, both starting at 7.30pm.

With a front line of recorders, fiddle, clarinet and vocals, and a punchy rhythm section of electric guitar, bass and drums, Bonfire Radicals have been delighting audiences across the UK with their vibrant approach to traditional and contemporary folk music.

Their live set captures the adventurous breadth of their musical imagination—an eclectic span of traditional folk music, energetic Irish tunes, Balkan dance and Swedish polskas. French melodies decorate African grooves, delicate English folk song is underscored by heavy metal, klezmer moves through moments of art rock, and Brazilian drumming accompanies snapping Scottish strathspeys.

Released in 2022, Bonfire Radicals’ second album, The Space Between, was met with great acclaim and went straight into the UK Folk Charts at 13. Expect intricate originals and inventive arrangements as instrumental fireworks, rich vocal harmonies and delicate a cappella collide.

From New England in harmony YETMINSTER THE internationally acclaimed vocal ensemble Windborne travels from New England to Dorset in January, making a welcome return to the Artsreach circuit with To Warm The Winter Hearth, showcasing the singers’ powerful and innovative vocal harmonies.

The four singers come to Yetminster’s Jubilee Hall on Wednesday 22nd January for a concert beginning at 7.30pm.

With a 20-year background studying polyphony from around the world, Lauren Breunig, Jeremy Carter-Gordon, Lynn Rowan and Will Rowan effortlessly showcase an unrivalled mastery of polyphonic music from diverse cultures. Following the release of their latest album, To Warm the Winter Hearth, expect an evening of folklore, magic and mystery as this outstanding group performs welcoming wassails, songs of solstice and music for

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 47

Screen Time

with Nic Jeune

Top Six at the Flix 2024 Letterboxd (https://letterboxd.com/) the online social cataloguing service launched in 2011 now has over 14 million registered users worldwide. In this selection of my favourite movies of 2024, these are Letterboxd reviewers and the sites weighted ratings out of 5. Anything above 3.5 is a good film.

Anything above 4 is great film.

6. Loves Lies Bleeding. (3.6) This movie is insane- it’s way more psychedelic and gore filled than I expected.

Acting is great across the board. The character dynamics create amazing tension that builds up well throughout the film. One of my favorites of 2024.

5. All of Us Strangers. ( 3.9) One of those movies that get better when you let it sit on your mind for a while. I could see how this is your favorite movie. It has a really unique view on mental health and great acting, while being just as hopeful as tragic.

4. Io Capitano. (3.9) This is pure Garrone. To go there and make the film as it is, chronicling the journey in their language, with these actors and then be open to Marvel with the oil platform appearing as Sea Monsters, all leading to a phenomenal tenderness the likes no one else would ever dare to imagine in such a story!

3. Radical. (3.9) Such a delicately crafted story—it defines the essence of feel good as a genre! It arises the question I often wonder and ask myself who are we without education and how many of the world’s solutions bears, change makers, and visionaries have existed but were not given a chance? The sad and unfortunate truth is that we do not choose our reality…

2. Zone of Interest. (3.9) You could hear a pin drop in a packed house. As soon as it was over, I sat in quiet, absolutely distraught. In a decade full with important films, I believe this is one of the most significant, if not the most.

1. Perfect Days. (4.3) Words cannot describe how perfect the timing of this film is. Two hours of my life I can only say “thank you” for. This film serves as a reminder that there is great value in life.

There’s a lot to appreciate and there’s so much admirable beauty in everyday life.

midwinter, singing in English, Occitan and Lithuanian.

Windborne will also be performing at Blandford parish church on Friday 17th January, also at 7.30pm.

Playing Charlie Parker DORCHESTER THE Neil Maya Quartet, popular across the region through regular gigs, and including tours with Dorset’s Artsreach, comes to Dorchester Corn Exchange on Thursday 23rd January, with a show that celebrates one of the greatest jazz musicians ever—the Charlie Parker Story.

Hear the music and life of the great alto saxophonist, one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time, who created a new genre in jazz— bebop—with fast tempos, virtuosic technique and advanced harmonies.

In this new show, saxophonist Neil Maya celebrates some of Charlie’s finest compositions as well as some great jazz standards that Charlie brought to prominence. In between numbers Neil will also talk about Charlie’s eventful and troubled short life and the influence he had on jazz.

Maya plays in many jazz bands including the Drat Pack, All Jazzed Up, the nationally touring Magnificent Buble and his own quartet. He has been praised for his “electrifying performance with crisp melody lines and improvisation.”

Neil will be accompanied by another Dorset favourite, Philip Clouts, at the piano, with Kevin Sanders on the bass and Gary Evans on the drums. Philip Clouts’ international career has included playing at Ronnie Scott’s, large festivals such as Glastonbury and Womad, and equally in the plush and intimate surroundings of London’s Lanesborough Hotel.

Jazzwise magazine has praised his ‘enjoyable, easy swinging’ playing, and his albums have received widespread critical acclaim and national airplay, including on BBC’s Jamie Cullum Show.

The quartet will be playing many of Charlie’s most famous compositions and recordings including Ornithology, Yardbird Suite, Now’s the Time, Blues For Alice and Cherokee.

Chamber music with bells on VILLAGES

Bowjangles—‘an irreverent, anarchic group of genre-spanners’

IF you think a chamber ensemble is all about serious string quartets and solemn musical introductions, you haven’t met Bowjangles. This is the quartet that puts the swing into strings—and they are back in Dorset for concerts at Litton Cheney community hall on Thursday 23rd January,

48 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

Lytchett Matravers hall on Friday 24th and Marnhull on Saturday 25th, all at 7.30pm.

Forget everything you think you know about string quartets— Bowjangles is an irreverent, anarchic group of genre-spanners, bringing music, theatre and comedy together in a way you’ve never seen before.

They are a string quartet who can really play ... they dance while they play ... they sing while they play ... they leap, tumble, juggle and joke while they play!

They are celebrating 16 years of touring by bringing back ALL their best bits, from 2008 to the present day! With musical tennis matches from Bowlympics, Strictly Come Dancing from On The Box and dances with the devil from Excalibow, as well as excerpts from their Edinburgh smash hit Dracula in Space, this will be a glorious retrospective of a long-running musical comedy group filled with clever physical comedy and virtuosic music, all interspersed with hilarious stories of their time on the road.

The joy of poetry VILLAGES FOR a quarter of a century, poet Luke Wright has built up a reputation as one of Britain’s most popular and entertaining performers, winning a host of awards along the way. Now he comes to Dorset with Joy, a new collection of poems, at West Stafford village hall on Friday 31st January, Piddletrenthide Memorial Hall on Friday 1st February and Shipton Gorge village hall on Sunday 2nd, all at 7.30pm.

During his long career, Luke Wright has won an unprecedented four Saboteur Awards, a Stage Luke Wright Award and a Fringe First.

He has sold out shows across the world and regularly tours with John Cooper Clarke as well as The Libertines.

Following the smash hit success of his Silver Jubilee show (“the best thing he’s done and that’s saying something”—Telegraph) Luke returns with a new set of poems that get to grips with the idea of JOY. Is it possible, as a 42 year old, to feel pure unbridled happiness, and what does it look like?

The French writer Henri de Montherlant said that “happiness writes white” but Wright’s not exactly starting with a blank page. The poet writes urgently and warmly about family, fatherhood and the joy of language itself. We might have to go down to come up, but we’ll get there in the end. Come let a little joy into your life with a raconteur and wordsmith at the top of his game.

GPW

The Young Lit Fix

Wilma the Brave

By Debi Gliori £7.99 paperback Published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books Review by Nicky Mathewson

WILMA, Viking warrior, slayer of monsters is not taken seriously by her older brothers, but her baby brother Harald adores her. She is the teller of stories and the dreamer of dreams, one day she will sail the seven seas.

Girls should be cooking, cleaning and mending according to the boys, while they do all the “important stuff ”, but Wilma has big plans to make her dreams of being a Viking warrior come true.

Whilst carrying out her chores, Harald is accidentally blown out to sea on a longboat after wandering too far from camp. So Wilma comes to his rescue, but there are no boats so she jumps on a shield and rows after Harald using the Dinhorn as a paddle.

She finds him safe and tries to sail home but a hungry polar bear has other ideas.

Will Wilma be able to outsmart it?

This is an utterly charming story of family and courage which gently tries to stamp out old fashioned views. Debi Gliori is best known for her book No Matter What which is fast becoming a children’s classic.

I love her storytelling and her beautiful illustrations have a warm nostalgic feel.

Perfect to read aloud to babies and toddlers.

10% off for Marshwood Vale readers at The Bookshop on South Street, Bridport. 01308 422964 www.dorsetbooks.com Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 49

Catch Up on 2024 What have all the people below got in common? They have all been featured in the Marshwood Vale Magazine in 2024. Catch up on these and many more interviews and stories by visiting www.marshwoodvale.com.

And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to be first to hear about new issues, articles and local events.

Happy New Year to All!

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Martin

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Sir Lia

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www.marshwoodvale.com 50 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

Health&Environment

Dinner and auction raises £101,000 for charity

Sue Dean from the fundraising committee with sponsors and nurses from Weldmar

A

dedicated group of supporters in the west of Dorset has raised a staggering total of £101,000 at a recent dinner and auction, organised to mark the 30th anniversary of Weldmar Hospicecare. Lots included holidays and short breaks, fine wines, works of art, and activities.

Sue Dean, Chair of the West Dorset Weldmar Fundraising Committee said: ‘With hospices under so

much financial pressure at present, we were delighted to have raised £101,000 at the Weldmar 30th Anniversary Dinner recently. This was only possible due to the great efforts of our fundraising committee, our generous hosts Dr and Mrs Guy, our sponsors, and the many wonderful people who contributed to the auction on the night.’

‘As the only hospice serving the local area, it is imperative that we all play our part in safeguarding its future, as sadly many of us will call upon its services in the years to come.’

Weldmar Hospicecare provides specialist end of life care for people living in Dorset who have a life limiting illness, such as heart disease, cancer, and Motor Neurone Disease, and also supports their loved ones through one of life’s most difficult journeys.

The NHS contribute around 17% of Weldmar’s overall costs leaving the charity needing to raise over £27,500 per day to fund their free of charge services through support from the local community, by fundraising and shopping at their chain of charity shops and outlets across Dorset.

Volunteers needed DORSET Wildlife Trust is looking for volunteers to join their visitor centre teams at The Fine Foundation Wild Seas Centre in Kimmeridge and Wild Chesil Centre at Portland.

Open sessions will be held at both visitor centres in January.

Volunteers need to be aged 18 or over and want to make a difference for the benefit of the planet and our wildlife.

All training is provided free, and the role is designed to help inform visitors how they can make simple everyday changes to tackle pressing environmental issues.

For roles at Wild Seas Centre at Kimmeridge: please email Julie Hatcher, kimmeridge@dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk or for Wild Chesil Centre at Portland, email Sarah Hodgson or Abi Mustard, chesilbeach@dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 51

Services&Classified GARDEN HELP

FOR SALE anchor. also 50 year paperweight calendar 1986-2035, £50.00, for both. Tel 07494057654.

Two large Dolls Houses, lovely Christmas presents, could benefit from some updating but solid and ready to Adult Men’s Road use . Hours of fun.

Bicycle For Sale : Jake Kona, with high quality £25 each and all alloy frame and wheels money to charity .

Tel Trevor Barnes on Dark red in colour.

Comes with spare used 01460 419420 or e mail trevorbbarnes@ tyre 27.5” wheels. 16 Speed. VGC. £100 Tel yahoo.co.uk. Hinton St George, Somerset.

01308 538234/ 07931 Venetian Blind, 803582.

White. Free for MS Bremon Brass collection. 129cm ships Bell + wall Exdisplay sheds. Stables, Fieldshelters, Garages, Summerhouses, Offices, Workshops, Agricultural.

01935891195 Dec 24

wide x 114cm drop.

Tel: 01305 608484 (Dorchester).

2 new 23cm square non-stick fillable baking tins, plus recipe book £5. Telephone 01935 824029.

New large non-stick twin muffin baking tin, each one 9cm deep, £5. Telephone 01935 824029.

Unused Ceramic Wall Plaque by ‘Bramble & Clover’ of hedgehogs & ladybirds 3D design.

Perfect condition £20.

Telephone 01935 824029.

8 New matching bone china tea/coffee mugs

by McClaggan Smith.

Plus 2 new bone china tea/coffee mugs with a similar design. £3 per mug. Telephone 01935 824029.

Tamron zoom lens adaptall 2 mount system for Pentax k.

70-210mm. F/3.8-4. for SLR camera, not digital. £35. Telephone 01935 824029.

Wahl Clip-Pet Deluxe animal clippers, which come with several combs and brushes. £35. Telephone 01935 824029.

Garden work, strimming, clearing, digger work, chainsaw, woodland work, coppicing, mowing.

Efficient fast worker.

Call: L. Warner 07765 666775

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for items under £1,000 For articles for sale, where the sale price is under £1000 (Private advertisers only — no trade, motor, animals, firearms etc) simply email the details to info@marshwoodvale.com.

Unfortunately due to space constraints there is no guarantee of inclusion of all free ads. We reserve the right to withhold advertisements.

For guaranteed classified advertising please use ‘Classified Ads’ form.

52 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 Email info@marshwoodvale.com Tel. 01308 423031

WANTED Coins wanted. Part or full collections purchased for cash.

Please phone John on 01460 62109 or 07980 165047.

July 24

Dave buys all types of tools 01935 428975 Dec24x3

Do you have a shed / garage full of old tools, car bits, unfinished projects etc? I buy job-lots of vintage items. Also enamel signs & slot machines & complete collections, 07875677897 Jan 24

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

Jan 25

Collectables, bygones, vintage, autojumble, Job-lots & collections a specialty. Good prices paid 07875677897 mar 24p x 4

The answer is 42 ½ Look out for the question on our Instagram posts @marshwoodvalemagazine

RESTORATION

CHIMNEY SWEEP

Secondhand tools. All trades and crafts. Old and modern. G. Dawson. 01297 23826. www. secondhandtools.co.uk.

FURNITURE. Antique restoration and bespoke furniture. Furniture carefully restored and new commissions undertaken. French polishing and modern Stamps & Coins want- hand finishes. ed by collector / inves- Phil Meadley. 01297 tor. We are keen to 560335. phil.meadley@ purchase small or large btinternet.com collections at this time.

Tel Rod 01308 863790 or 07802261339.

Mar 25

Sept 24

TUITION

Dec 24 p4

Lightweight cottons [Liberty prints, shirts, etc] to make patchwork quilts for Project Linus to give to children in hospital. Diana 07768 223030

Piano, violin, theory tuition at your home.

Highly qualified teacher.

Adults and children welcome. Beginners to advanced. Dr Thomas Gold 07917 835781.

Dec 24

To Advertise Here Telephone 01308 423031 or email: info@marshwoodvale.com

WANTED

DISTRIBUTION

Old Tractors and Machinery, Pick-up Vans and Tippers. Best prices paid. Tel. 07971 866364.

Dec 24

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine January 2025 53