Marshwood+ June 25

Mears © Photograph by Tula Youens-Stunell

COVER STORY

Fergus Byrne met Paul Mears in Axemouth, Devon

Iwas born in Exmouth in 1945. My father was seconded to the RAF in the war, but when they discovered he had been building boats, they sent him off to Topsham to build 65 foot carvel MFVs. Wooden ones they used for mine sweeping. He started his business over in Beer, in 1945, in a corn shed right at the top of the village. He used to build boats up top of the village, and they used to have to drag them all the way down through the village; so the boats got to the top of Sea Hill. And one of the chaps had a lorry, and he used to park the lorry at the top of the hill and let the boats down over the hill. And one day a boat ran away. Brand new boat, ran away and smashed up two winches. Smashed up the boat. They had to tow it back up the workshop and repair it.

Father was there in Beer until I started in 1960 in a shed and there was about four or five of us in there. We moved to our current site, technically in Axmouth, in the early 1960s. And then by 1983, it was only me and father, and the business rates were getting expensive, so we decided to build a smaller shed. But the rates and overheads were no different. I went to Beer Primary School and Axminster Secondary Modern. School classes were 1A, 1B, 1C, and then what we used to call the farmers class, because they weren’t interested in learning, they just wanted to get back home to work. There are quite a few from school still around. Growing up, polio was rife. Quite a few kids in Beer died or were crippled

Paul Mears © Photograph by Tula Youens-Stunell

Paul Mears

with it. And I remember milk shortages. At one time at school, we used to have milk tablets, and they were bloody delicious.

I started in the yard at 15. Not long after, we were installing a Brit engine (made in Bridport), a 1620 Brit, into a boat. We had no lifting gear, so we had to man-handle the boat and engine. It was probably 5 or 6 hundredweight. Anyway, we would normally get the engine in over on the gunwale, and we were just sliding it up a plank, and I’m down at the bottom pushing, and all of a sudden the plank slides away and the engine runs onto my leg. It broke in two places, and I was in the hospital for two or three weeks. But you know what? We had been struggling to lift that engine, but when it landed on me, they lifted it off like it wasn’t there!

I mean, everything was different then. Prices were different, and you had to work harder, really bloody hard work. I can remember sitting under a boat for three or four days with a hand plane upside down, cleaning off the bottoms of boats. Brand new boats, getting them nice and smooth. We mostly built new boats in those days. The ribs were all steamed around. They were so tough, I don’t know how we did it. I couldn’t do it now. We did some repairs, but it was before fiberglass, so you had wood or nothing. I enjoyed it, we were never going to make a fortune, but it’s a way of life. I have an iPad thing now, but I don’t know what to do with it.

It was mostly builders, farmers and fishermen living around here. But growing up in Beer we had two chemists, two butchers, a delicatessen and a greengrocer. There was a shoemaker, a fish shop, two bakers, a wine shop, a toy shop, and a tailor. Then there was the quarry for work, and everywhere did bed and breakfasts. My mother did bed and breakfast. And there was a doctor’s surgery. You could call a doctor and he’d come out at 10 o’clock at night. Now, if I try to make an appointment. I have to wait a month.

I can remember we used to sell a lot of boats to Lyme Regis, to people with plenty of money. And at the end of the season, we would collect them, bring them back here, look after them, service them, and do the decorating and stuff like that. And we used to come back, usually in convoy, because we knew somebody was going to break down! And I remember coming in the river mouth once, and my engine had stopped, and one bloke was towing me, and the wind got up so much I was six feet up looking down on him. That’s the nearest I’ve ever come to shit myself. There’s another bloke had a boat on Seaton beach and he used to get pissed out of his brains, and he come in one day from sea, and he put into Beer and he threw the anchor over, and he went over with it. The boat was still moving, and it ended up going round and round in circles with him, still with his thigh boots on. Luckily enough, somebody was on the shore and they went out and collected him or he’d be going round and round forever.

We used to build for West Bay, Lyme Regis, Beer, Sidmouth, I think the furthest away we’ve built one was for Aberystwyth in Wales. We built one for Salcombe (Granite State) and that ended up on the Isle of Ulva in Scotland. That boat would have cost about 2 to £3,000 when it was built in the seventies. It would cost about £200,000 now. I remember when we built the 35-footer that went to Aberystwyth (Western Seas). It had a 12-foot six-beam, and it was 11 foot across the transom. And the day came when we had to go out on sea trials, and I said, it’s too rough to go but Mr Shears from the ‘White Fish Authority’ (Inspector of new fishing boats at the time) insisted on going out. Anyway, we were bouncing up and down, and then he wanted to turn the boat around and go astern. I said what into these waves? He said, yeah. We went into the waves, and they were crashing over, and that went on for probably half an hour. I didn’t know if the boat was going to survive. Anyway, in the end, it was too rough to get back into the Axe, and we had to go to Lyme Regis and leave her up there for about a week.

Fishing’s changed obviously. Years ago, it was guesswork and knowledge. Nowadays they’ve got the machinery to tell them there’s one fish or that there’s a shoal of fish. They just scoop them all up. And I mean, to me, the worst type of dredging is scallop dredging, where they got these dredges going along the seabed, and it kills everything, and it just ruins the seabed.

My son Alex started in 2004, and not that long ago, he was working on a boat and accidentally ignited some acetone vapour with a hot air gun. And boom! Suddenly, he was in a ball of flames! He leapt down over the side of the boat with skin hanging over his arms like ribbons. The air ambulance came for him, but they couldn’t take him to Bristol because the fog was too thick. So his partner took him home and gave him a cold shower. Then they took him to Exeter, where they couldn’t deal with it because it was too bad. So they took him up to Bristol burns unit, and he was there for two or three weeks. I managed to put the fire out with two fire extinguishers before the fire brigade came down.

I was never going to do anything else but boat building. My father offered to send me to Southampton to study naval architecture when I was 15, but I didn’t want to leave home. All three of our boys went to university. The eldest is a chartered building surveyor, the middle one is a doctor in the RAF, and Alex has a degree in structural engineering.

I still like making little bits and pieces of furniture and stuff like that, but I had a triple heart bypass about 18 months ago. Then I had a bloody heart attack after that, and they had to put a stent in. But there’s a chap over in Beer who had pioneering surgery in 1983. He had a quadruple heart bypass in London, and he’s still going at 93!

As long as Alex wants to carry on, I’m happy to keep coming down here. He keeps the company going now. I do odd jobs, but nothing too wearing. ’

Our long-awaited summer is almost here, unless, of course, you’ve joined the chorus of those suggesting that those glorious weeks in May were the sum total of our sunshine for this year. Hopefully, there will be many beautiful days to come (along with enough rain to keep our farmers happy), and we can look forward to a variety of fetes, outdoor plays, concerts, and local community gatherings. These events are central to our towns and villages, providing more than just entertainment. They strengthen communities by building connections and a sense of belonging. They also support local economies and allow us to celebrate local talent, heritage, and traditions. Looking over this issue with Bridport’s celebration of food, Brendan Buesnel’s discerning photographer’s eye, Douglas Dare’s lyrical inspiration, and Paul Mears’ memories of a boatbuilding life, it’s easy to see how roots in a local community can shape our journeys. Growing up on a farm in the heart of the Marshwood Vale, Douglas Dare knew the rhythms of the land but was drawn to the beat of the city. However, he recalls how, despite his desire to escape to the city’s bright lights, his local environment played a grounding role in shaping his poetry and lyrics. Paul Mears’ life was always inextricably linked to the coast, and the ocean was rarely out of his sight. Brendan Buesnel’s camera lens captured and still captures images of the people and places that inspire a need to look beyond what is in front of us, while holding onto that which we need to cherish. At the same time, a gathering like Bridport’s annual food festival is an opportunity for various community groups to gather together, sharing not just the wealth of local produce and talent, but also the common goals and visions for the sustainability of our wider local community.

Fergus Byrne

in your Marshwood Vale Magazine

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Contributors

The Art of the Photograph

This month featuring

Brendan Buesnel

FFOR PHOTOGRAPHER BRENDAN BUESNEL, the path to working as a professional image maker has been both challenging and rewarding, his relationship with the lens has been a complex and evolving one. Now, on the cusp of a new chapter with a fresh work space, Brendan reflects on his journey, his philosophy, and the enduring power of a well-captured image.

From his early fascination with Don McCullin’s wartime and social documentary assignments, to

the hard hitting realism of American photographer Eugene Richards’ images and stories, Brendan continues to admire and explore such photographer’s work—even during times when his own photography had faded into the background,

He cites the impact of McCullin’s work during various global wars and crises, as a catalyst. ‘Those striking images kind of got me,’ he recalls. ‘I feel like that was the end of a sort of golden era of

Bride Valley Vines © Photograph by Brendan Buesnel

photojournalism—very tangible images that all stuck with me.’

Growing up with a keen amateur photographer father, Brendan’s first camera, ‘Dad’s old Zenit, built like a brick,’ became his tool for capturing somewhat fuzzy images of the world around him in East Sussex. This early exploration evolved into a desire to ‘capture the everyday, to bring life into focus,’ a theme that would resurface in his later work.

However, it wasn’t until his twenties, having travelled in Asia and worked in the Westcountry, that he found interest again. Living in a community at Monkton Wyld, and encouraged by his wife Mary, he enrolled in a course with local documentary photographer, the late Ron Frampton at Dillington House near Ilminster. ‘And that’s kind of when it

sparked and happened,’ he explains. ‘I had done a bit of very basic dark room work in college, enough to be sort of quite smitten and excited by it.’ Which surprised him, since he didn’t naturally take to maths and science, yet felt very comfortable with the processes required in photographic darkrooms.

This renewed passion led him to a full-time associateship with Ron, a period of intense learning and development. ‘I ended up having this sort of academic drive, which had lay dormant, until Mary recognised it and encouraged me to pursue a path of learning,’ Brendan remembers. He was gripped by a need to learn ‘to harvest information from this person.’

Early success came unexpectedly when photographs Brendan took of the band Van der Graaf Generator

Bridport Harbour © Photograph by Brendan Buesnel

ended up on their album cover and in Mojo magazine. ‘I just happened to be around, in North Cornwall, when they were recording a new album and took some photographs,’ he explains. ‘Then one day a cheque just drops through the door with a note saying, “thanks a lot”. It was brilliant.’ This pivotal moment provided the ‘spark, the inspiration to carry on as a professional photographer, rather than a student.’

However, navigating the world of professional photography was not without its challenges. Brendan found himself taking on a variety of jobs, from weddings to commercial shoots, sometimes struggling with the constraints of art direction and the pressure to constantly seek work. ‘I very quickly got disheartened by the whole industry,’ he admits. ‘I realised that I couldn’t afford to say no to any work, and so much of the work I was doing just wasn’t where my passion lied.’

In the meantime, Brendan spent time cooking for River Cottage in Axminster and took on the job of doing the photographs for the Tim Maddams River Cottage Game Book. He also became involved in the arts sector in the Southwest, working with organisations like Walk the Plank and B-side. This period allowed him to hone his skills and explore different facets of photography.

Today, he is embracing a new chapter, setting up a new dedicated space. While the new studio marks a fresh start, Brendan’s core philosophy remains rooted in the power of

above: Mill Life 1 © Photograph by Brendan Buesnel below: Seldom Heard © Photograph by Brendan Buesnel

‘Anything that sparks compassion in people, or that triggers a want for a better world

’photography to connect with the human experience. ‘At the risk of sounding too cliched, I think a big part of my photography is about preserving today for tomorrow,’ he reflects. ‘I think of my grandkids coming across my photographs and seeing this visual kind of portal into the past.’

Looking ahead, he is excited about the possibilities the new workspace offers. With commissions coming in from far and wide, Brendan looks forward to a diverse and visually stimulating workload.

Alongside his comissioned photography, Brendan is driven by social commentary, especially social injustice. He wants to create images that evoke empathy and inspire positive change. ‘Anything that sparks compassion in people, or that triggers a want for a better world or makes someone maybe think twice about an action or an opinion,’ he explains. ‘If I could produce one photograph that makes one person reconsider their approach to the world for the better, then that’s great.’

While acknowledging the challenges of pursuing such work without commission, Brendan is considering projects with the aim of a future exhibition and publication, a way of taking control of his artistic direction.

Brendan’s journey has been marked by both challenges and triumphs. His passion for photography, initially sparked by powerful images of human experience, has endured through periods of dormancy and professional hurdles. Now, with a new space and a renewed sense of purpose, he is perhaps poised to step into a brighter future, looking forward to capturing the world with a unique and compassionate eye.

Contact Brendan at: bbuesnel@gmail.com or Tel: 07989 217911

Social: @buesnelphotography

Pip Corbin © Photograph by Brendan Buesnel

Still Life Study and DJ Ellie Gillen © Photographs by Brendan Buesnel

EVENTS June

Friday, May 30

Bridport night of solidarity and songs. Joe Solo and friends raise money for refugee group. Bridport WI Hall, North Street. Doors at 7.00 pm + bar (and probably a raffle). Tickets £10 + 50p booking fee from Bridport TIC or £12 on the door. Or from TIC website. https:// bridportandwestbay.co.uk/product/joe-solo-friday-30may/

Saturday, 31 May - 1 June

St Wite’s Festival at St Candida and the Holy Cross and the Five Bells pub, Whitchurch Canonicorum DT6 6RQ. 6.30pm Sat 31st May Sarum Rite Vespers. Refreshments. Free entry. 12 noon - 5pm Sun 1st June the Festival continues. Tickets for the talks available stwitesway.org.

5.30pm 1st June Concert at St Candida Church with New Eden Consort. Tickets available on stwitesway.org.

Sunday, 1 June

Taunton Deane Male Voice Choir present Choirs in Harmony with special guests Lyme Voices. 7pm, at the Marine Theatre Lyme Regis in aid of RNLI. Tickets from Marine Theatre £13.50, Early Bird £12.

Monday, 2 June

Winsham Art Club, 2 pm at Jubilee Hall TA20 4HU. The theme this practical session is Painting the Kitchen Garden – botanical painting techniques. 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.

Hawkchurch Film Nights, in association with Moviola. org, proudly presents ‘Juror #2’, 109 mins, Cert.12 (moderate injury detail, domestic abuse, threat, sex references, language). In this gripping courtroom thriller directed by screen legend Clint Eastwood, family man Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult - ‘About a Boy’,’Nosferatu’) is called up for jury duty. The defendant is charged with murder, and Justin slowly realises that he himself might be implicated. Strong support from Toni Collette (The Sixth Sense’) and J.K.Simmons (‘Whiplash’). 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 (sociallydistanced seating available if reserved in advance); tickets also available in advance 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, soft drinks, wine and other refreshments available. We’re taking a summer break after this film and will be back on 1st September.

Tuesday, 3 June

Scottish Country dancing at Horton Village Hall TA19 9QR every Tuesday evening 7.30 to 9.30 pm. Only £3.00 pay on the door. It’s good company, great fun , super music and you don’t need a partner. Come along and give it a go. For further information contact Anita on 01460 929383 email anitaandjim22@gmail.com and visit our web site at www.ashillscd.wordpress.com All welcome. WomanSpeak Circle - Bridport. Join our empowering WomanSpeak Circle where women gather to develop impactful communication, build confidence, and develop their public speaking skills in a supportive environment. Free Taster Session Available. Booking necessary. 10.30am Bull Hotel, DT6 3LF contact Megan Simson +447379747301 or more info www.megansimson.com.

WomanSpeak Circle - Dorchester. Experience the power of an inclusive space where women come together to strengthen their voice, share their stories, and grow as public speakers. Free Taster Session available. Booking necessary. 7.00pm Unit 10 Antelope Dorchester DT1 1BE; Contact Megan Simson +447379747301For more info www.megansimson.com

Thursday, 5 June

Dr Paul Lashmar shares the shocking and, until now, untold story of Dorset’s own slave-owning dynasty. Drax of Drax Hall: How One British Family Got Rich (and Stayed Rich) from Sugar and Slavery. Pluto Press. At Waterstones bookshop, 45, 47 South Street, Dorchester. 18.00 on Thursday, 5 June 2025.

Colyton town history walk leaving from Colyton Dolphin Car Park at 2 pm – Guided walk approximately one hour. Cost £5, children under 16 free. No booking required, all weathers. Group bookings by arrangement –Contact 01297 552514 or 01297 33406.

NT Live: A Streetcar Named Desire (15) 203 min. 7pm. Bridport Electric Palace, 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £17 ADV Book online electricpalace.org.uk. 1940s Women’s Land Army Themed Coffee Morning. 10am – 12pm, Bradshaw Meeting Room, Axminster Heritage Centre, EX13 5AH. Join us for tea/coffee and a slice of cake made from an original wartime recipe for just £1.50. For more details email: info@

or Tel: 01297 639884.

Friday, 6 June

Burton Bradstock Festival of Music and Art the Spring Concert—the prelude of the Burton Bradstock Festival of Music and Art’s 43 rd season. Featuring the Musical Director, David Juritz , on the violin, and Nadine André on the piano, the programme will include:- W A Mozart Sonata for violin and piano in F major K.377 J S Bach Sonata No. 1 for violin solo, BWV 1001 Igor Stravinsky Suite Italienne followed by selections by Ravel, Debussy and Kreisler. 7pm in the Burton Bradstock Village Hall. Tickets will be on sale at £14 at the Bridport Tourist Information Centre over the counter, by phone on 01308 424901 or online at https://bridportandwestbay.co.uk/ tickets/. Meanwhile preparations are well underway for the main Festival; this starts from Sunday 10 th August. It opens with a nine day Art Exhibition, followed by six days of splendid music by internationally acclaimed musicians. More information is available from www. burtonbradstockfestival.com.

Joanna Eden: Joni & Me – UK Singer/songwriter Joanna Eden presents a breath-taking show in celebration of her hero Joni Mitchell. Tickets: £20. 7.30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. 01460 54973 www. ilminsterartscentre.com.

Saturday, 7 - 8 June

Cattistock Open Gardens, Gardens open 2pm-5pmrefreshments from 1.30pm. Over 15 gardens on display, refreshments available at the Savill Hall, plant sale and Grand Raffle. All proceeds go towards Weldmar Hospicecare and village charities. Tickets: Adults £8 2 adults £15 (valid both days) under 18s free. Netherbury Open Gardens Visit many wonderful gardens, open together on one weekend, in a beautiful village setting. Enjoy delicious home-made lunches, tea and cakes, plus plant stall and tombola, making a great day out. Entry tickets are £7.50 (children U13 free) valid for both days so the gardens can be enjoyed at your leisure. All proceeds go to local charities. Open from 1pm to 5pm. DT6 5LR, Just off the A3066 between Bridport and Beaminster.

Green Scythe Fair 2025 at Thorney Lakes. The Green Scythe Fair is a magical environmental fair in a beautiful setting on the Somerset Levels run entirely by volunteers using wind, sun, muscle and horse power. Tickets are available online here: www.greenfair.org.uk. Camping is available next to the site, bookable at www.thorneylakes. co.uk. Doors open at 11am (carpark open from 10am). Doors open at 11 am. Go to www.greenfair.org.uk for details of the Saturday workshops and courses, and for buying Sunday tickets. Free Buses from Wells, Bridport, Castle Cary, Taunton. The website also provides details of the free buses we have organised for the Sunday. Four routes cover all main towns, villages and train stations to north, south, east and west, arriving by midday and

leaving from 5pm. To encourage usage, the return fare is inclusive in the normal ticket price £15 per person (children under 14 come free), but MUST be booked online.

Saturday, 7 June

Summer serenade – the famous tea party concert! Join Weymouth Choral Society on Saturday 07 June at 3pm at St Aldhelm’s Church Centre, Spa Road, Weymouth, for their traditional summer family concert. The first half of the concert celebrates sand, sea and sun reflecting this beautiful part of the county, and the second half will showcase songs from the shows and cinema, including ‘Mary Poppins’, ‘Joseph & His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’, ‘Dambusters’ and many more. With excellent tea, cakes and live music in the interval, this is always a most enjoyable afternoon. At 3.00 pm. Tickets are priced at £15 (to include refreshments) and children under 16 have free entry. Get your tickets early to avoid disappointment – available by phone: 07929 519973, from Weymouth Pavilion, or via Ticket Source on our website. www.weymouthchoralsociety.org.uk St Aldhelm’s Church Centre, Spa Road, Weymouth, DT3 5EW.

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 6.5 mile walk from Netherbury. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/visitors welcome.

The Friends of Weymouth Library (F.O.W.L.) talk in the Library at 10-30a.m. will be about monkey business! We will learn how and why Monkey World was started in 1987 to assist governments around the world to stop the smuggling of primates from the wild. Monkey refugees from illegal trade, as well as those that have suffered neglect or abuse, are rehabilitated into natural living groups. Tickets are available at the library (phone 01305762410) @ £2 for members and £3 for non-members. For enquiries ring 01305832613 or 01305750557. Refreshments available. Everyone welcome.

Piddletrenthide and Plush Village Fete for a celebration of all things countryside from 1-4.30pm. A fun-filled day of activities is on offer, catering to all ages - including two very special (and very hairy) guests! The charming Hairy Coos are local residents who will be with us for the day and have inspired this year’s theme. You will also get the opportunity to guess the name of the baby coo. Join us for Hairy Coo Games, skittles, village stocks, junior tug of war, and the ever - popular china smash. For our younger visitors, there’s a children’s cake competition, games, a bouncy castle, and popular entertainer Smartie Pants the Clown. Plenty of your favourite traditional stalls, cream teas, and a cash raffle are also on offer; all set in the beautiful grounds of Piddletrenthide’s late 18th-century Manor House. Take in the scenery whilst enjoying music from Nina Garcia and the bar and BBQ. Don’t forget to bring your four-legged friends – the Dog Show, with fabulous pet prizes, starts at 3pm. For more information,

visit – piddlevalley.life.

Peppa Meets the Baby Cinema Experience (U) 65 mins. 11am. Bridport Electric Palace, 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £8.50 A/ £6.50 U16 Book online electricpalace.org.uk.

The Smyths + Billy Blagg Tribute to The Smiths. 8pm. Bridport Electric Palace, 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £21 Book online electricpalace.org.uk.

Poetry / Writing Workshop: Out on the Page.A full-day, inclusive workshop exploring identity, belonging and selfexpression. Part of OmniVerse 2025. 10am–4pm, Four Seasons Studio, DT6 4RN. Tickets: £45 (Standard), £35 (Low Waged), £25 (Bursaries). To book: contact Peter 07379747301 more info.https://www.jawbonecollective. org.uk/omniverse

Sunday, 8 June

French + Breton Folk Dance, Bal Crewkerne with live house band, in the Speedwell Hall, Abbey Street, Crewkerne, TA18 7HY. All welcome, no experience necessary. Dance workshop for beginners 6-7pm followed by main dance 7-9.30pm. Admission £4 cash at the door. Tea and coffee available or bring your own drinks. Free parking in the town centre car parks. More information on our website: https://balcrew.wixsite.com/ balcrewkerne.

Cathedral-style service of Choral Eucharist with music by Durufle, Jannacconi and Grayston Ives. 10.30am, St Peter’s Church, High West St, Dorchester, DT1 1XA. A free event with refreshments to follow. More information at www.musicatstpetersdorchester.org.

Dalwood Jazz Club presents The Neil Burns Trio. featuring Alec Dankworth (son of John & Cleo !) on bass, Neil Burns - guitar and Roger Beaujolais - vibes. 3pm. Dalwood Village Hall, EX13 7EG, near Axminster. Bar for beer/wine/soft drinks and teas/coffees/cake etc. Parking at the Village Hall £12.50p If possible, please book in advance and pay cash at the door. t.mackenney111@btinternet.com. www.dalwoodvillage. co.uk.

Monday, 9 June

Dorchester Townswoman’s Guild, Dorchester Community Church, Liscombe Street, Poundbury, Dorchester, DT1 3DF Monday 9th June 2025 at 2 PM. This months talk will be: M.V. Freedom - Disabled access to the sea. A charity that provides access to the sea by a 10 metre motor catamaran for people living with any disability/mobility issues. Come along to the meeting to find out more details. Talk given by Mike Walsh & Peter York. Visitors are very welcome to attend (£4). Enquiries 01305 832857.

Tuesday, 10 June

Scottish Country dancing at Horton Village Hall TA19 9QR every Tuesday evening 7.30 to 9.30 pm. Only £3.00 pay on the door. It’s good company, great fun , super

music and you don’t need a partner. Come along and give it a go. For further information contact Anita on 01460 929383 email anitaandjim22@gmail.com and visit our web site at www.ashillscd.wordpress.com All welcome. Singng Bowl Soundbath 9-10.30 PM Digby Memorial Hall, (Griffiths Room), Digby Rd, Sherborne DT9 3LN £17 Lie down, relax, and allow the Pure Sounds of a crystal and Tibetan bowl soundbath plus sacred vocal overtoning give you a sonic deep-tissue massage, taking you into the deeper brainwave states of ‘the relaxation response’, while charging and balancing the aura and chakras of the subtle body, and detoxing the physical body. Advance booking 01935 389655 ahiahel@live.com.

Wednesday, 11 June

Kilmington Film Night “Juror # 2” (12) Clint Eastwood has explored systemic injustice before, and if this one is his last, he is going out with a bang.” New York Times. Family man Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult) who while serving as a juror in a high-profile murder trial, finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma. Also stars Toni Collette as the prosecutor. Doors and bar open 6.45 film start 7.15 at Kilmington Village Hall EX13 7RF. Tickets @ £6, or £6.50 on the door, can be ordered by contacting: John at wattsjohn307@gmail.com or Tel: 01297 521681.

Free Poetry/ Writing Community Workshop.Exploring the poetry of Sylvia Townsend Warner & Valentine Ackland. Led by Peter Roe, lead editor of Jawbone. Part of OmniVerse 2025 10:30am–12:30pm, Alice Ellen Cooper Dean Community Space, Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, DT1 1XA. Free (booking recommended). To book and for more info: jawbonecollective.org.uk/ community_workshops.

Thursday, 12 June

Chard History Group History of Chard Canal Sue Heward tells the story 7 for 7.00 pm. Members £2.50 visitors very welcome £3.50. For further information contact Tessa 07984 481634.

Bridport History Society has chosen June’s meeting to hold a small celebration to mark 30 years since the founding of the Society. The central attraction will of course be a talk which will be delivered by wellknown Bridport historian Bruce Upton. Bruce has put together a special talk ‘A Celebration of Bridport’ just for BHS’s anniversary. The talk will explore how aspects of Bridport’s history have made the town the exceptional place it is today. There will also be some special guest appearances at the meeting. 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, members £1pp, 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 http://www.

bridporthistorysociety.org.uk.

Kilmington Film Matinee “Juror # 2” (See 11th June). Matinee, doors open 1.45pm film starts 2pm, cream-teas served during the interval but must be pre-booked with your seats @ £4. see above and www.kilmingtonvillage. com/other-organisations.html for more information.

Colyton town history walk leaving from Colyton Dolphin Car Park at 2 pm – Guided walk approximately one hour. Cost £5, children under 16 free. No booking required, all weathers. Group bookings by arrangement –Contact 01297 552514 or 01297 33406.

Chesil Bank Writing Shed. Do you write? Would you like to be a writer? Whatever you want to write why not come and learn with our creative writing group. New writers always welcome. 7pm - 9pm, Portesham Village Hall. Find out more by calling Linda on 01305 871802.

Chantel McGregor + Tom Killner Blues rock guitarist 8pm. Bridport Electric Palace, 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £19.50 Book online electricpalace.org.uk.

Bradpole Table Top Sale Come find a bargain or why not have a clear out and rent a table! Refreshments and Raffle. 10-2. Bradpole Forster Village Hall. Entry 50p. Call Dawn on 07825707623 to enquire.

Friday, 13 June

Lyme Regis Museum Friends offer an illustrated talk, ‘Mary Anning, the Fashionable Fossilist’ by Tom Sharpe

at 3.30 pm in the Pine Hall, Lyme Regis Baptist Church, Silver Street DT7 3HR. Tom is a geologist, historian and author of the definitive biography of Mary Anning. Members £3 visitors £5. Enquiries to David Cox, 01297 443156.

Cinechard will be showing the welcome return of Bridget Jones in Mad About the Boy (15). At 7.30pm in The Guildhall - Tickets are available in advance for £6 from Eleos and the PO (cash only please), on ticketsource/ cinechard or on the door for £7. Refreshments available, and the eponymous raffle!

Danny Baker: Aye Aye! Ahoy Hoy! 7:30pm. Bridport Electric Palace, 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £29.50 Book online electricpalace.org.uk.

Tiny, Jelly & The Duke – The Sunset Café Stompers present a new programme celebrating the lives and work of Duke Ellington, Jelly-Roll Morton, and the lesserknown but fascinating Tiny Parham. Tickets: £20. 7.30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. 01460 54973 www. ilminsterartscentre.com.

Saturday, 14 - 15 June

Cerne Abbas Open Gardens. This year will be the 49 th year of opening and the proceeds will be divided between The Dorset Wildlife Trust and Cerne Valley Cricket Club. Open Gardens has been featured on television, most recently Channel 5’s Dorset Country & Coast, episode 6. A very well regarded plant stall,

located in the village square, operates from 1pm while refreshments, including home-made cakes, are served in the vicarage garden. Local pubs and the village stores can also provide refreshments. Some 25 gardens will be open around the village covering a whole range of sizes and styles. Gardeners will be available to answer your questions and share their love of their gardens. Some gardens are wheelchair accessible and most welcome well-behaved dogs on leads. All the gardens are within easy walking distance of a free car park (DT2 7JF) which also opens at 1pm. Entry to all gardens from 2-6pm is by maps purchasable on the day in the car park or village square are £8 for a single day, £10 for both days and accompanied children are 16 enter free. For more information and to plan your visit, please refer to www. cerneabbasopengardens.org.uk.

Lyme Regis Fossil Festival Fossils, fun and family discovery: Lyme Regis Fossil Festival returns for 2025. Now firmly established as the UK’s largest palaeontological event, the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival brings together leading palaeontologists, experts, artists and performers from across the world to celebrate geology, earth sciences and the Jurassic Coast. Admission to the Festival is free and admission to Lyme Regis Museum will also be free over the event weekend. There are small number of ticketed events, for full programme information, please visit www.fossilfestival.com.

Saturday, 14 June

Scottish Dancing Party in Chardstock An evening of Scottish Dancing at Chardstock Village Hall 7.30 - 10.30 p.m. No partner required. Please bring your own mug and a plate of food to share. Tea and coffee provided. Cost £5,00 Contact David on 01460 65981. https:// chardscottishcountrydance.co.uk.

Axminster and District Choral Society summer concert, including Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast by Samuel ColeridgeTaylor. 7.30 pm at the Minster Church Axminster. Tickets £12 from axminsterchoral.co.uk or 01404 43805. Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 7 mile walk from Bothenhampton. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/ visitors welcome.

Somerset & Dorset Family History Society West Dorset Group. Downe through the ages: Downe Hall and Bridport 1770 to 1944. Tim Gale. Loders Village Hall, 2.00 for 2.15. All are welcome. Members £2.00,visitors £4.00. Tea and biscuits. Contact Jane at jferentzi@aol. com. or phone: 01308 425710 for more information. Electric Palace Backstage Tours 2pm. Bridport Electric Palace, 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £10 Book online electricpalace.org.uk.

Widworthy Fete Set in the grounds on an Elizabethan manor house, enjoy wandering the gardens and enjoy a crem tea. There will be lots to entertain you all afternoon including house tours, plants, games, BBQ,

bar, tombola, bouncy castle, vintage vehicles and plenty more for all the family! 1pm - 4pm. Adults £2, children under 16 free. Widworthy Barton. EX14 9JS. Between Honiton and Axminster. https://www.facebook.com/ share/1APiNywJJL/

Sunday, 15 June

Dino Day - A date with a Dinosaur Arts company Emerald Ant and Lyme Regis Museum, as part of this year’s Fossil Festival, are pleased to present the Iguanodon Restaurant, a wonderfully quirky piece of free street theatre coming to Marine Parade in Lyme Regis. A furious romp through 50 years of ground-breaking scientific discoveries that changed how we see the world, ‘Iggy’ the Iguanodon provides family fun for Dino lovers of all ages. Full details can be found on the Emerald Ant website: https://emeraldant.com/iguanodon-restaurant/

Monday, 16 June

Winsham Art Club, 2 pm at Jubilee Hall TA20 4HU. The theme this practical session is Chinese Brush Painting – bamboo, butterflies and insects. 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.

An Evening of Women’s Voices. Join us for a powerful evening of storytelling where women share their journeys of embracing uniqueness and finding strength in being different. Part of OmniVerse 2025 – 7pm, Bridport Arts Centre, DT6 3NR. Tickets: £8 (Adults) £6 (Concession). To Book: https://www.bridport-arts.com/ book/?id=401782

Tuesday, 17 June

Scottish Country dancing at Horton Village Hall TA19 9QR every Tuesday evening 7.30 to 9.30 pm. Only £3.00 pay on the door. It’s good company, great fun , super music and you don’t need a partner. Come along and give it a go. For further information contact Anita on 01460 929383 email anitaandjim22@gmail.com and visit our web site at www.ashillscd.wordpress.com All welcome.

Half-day retreats in the beautiful grounds of the Othona Community’s Four Seasons Studio with Susan Howse on Mindfulness and Stress Reduction .(£25) bookings at howsesp@yahoo.co.uk.

WomanSpeak Circle - Bridport. Join our empowering WomanSpeak Circle where women gather to develop impactful communication, build confidence, and develop their public speaking skills in a supportive environment. Free Taster Session Available. Booking necessary. 10.30am Bull Hotel, DT6 3LF contact Megan Simson +447379747301 or more info www.megansimson.com.

WomanSpeak Circle - Dorchester. Experience the power of an inclusive space where women come together to strengthen their voice, share their stories, and grow as public speakers. Free Taster Session available. Booking

necessary. 7.00pm Unit 10 Antelope Dorchester DT1 1BE; Contact Megan Simson +447379747301For more info www. megansimson.com.

The Personal Portrait promises to be a lively open-to-the-floor illustrated conversation about portrait painting with Binny Mathews and her son Rufus Martin. 6pm Abbotsbury Tithe Barn. DT3 4JJ. Tickets £10 at the door - includes nibbles and drinks. Reserve a seat by emailing ‘count me in for Binny’s talk’ to johnmrmeaker@btinternet.com Wrap up warm! Supporting ‘Friends of St Nics’ charity.

Wednesday, 18 - 20 June

St Andrew’s Church, Colyton. Threads of Gold - Vestments and Textiles Exhibition. A rare opportunity to admire the beautiful liturgical garments from St. Andrew’s and other churches in the Holyford Mission Community & Exeter Cathedral. Free exhibition. Open Wed 11am-5pm | Thurs 10am-7pm | Fri 10am-6pm

Wednesday, 18 June

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).

‘The Poor of Kilmington: New Horizons’, a history talk by Peter Ball, Kilmington History Group. 7:30pm, Bradshaw Meeting Room, Axminster Heritage Centre, EX13 5AH. Tickets £5 available from the Axminster Heritage Centre during opening hours. For more details email: info@axminsterheritage. org or Tel: 01297 639884.

Evening Event at St. Andrew’s Church, Colyton. Vestments - Secrets Behind the Dtitches. An illustrated talk from Diana Symes, chair of the Company of Tapisers at Exeter Cathedral, with live music and prosecco and petit-fours. Tickets £12 online at ticketsource.co.uk| reserve at info@ colyton.co.uk| on the door| card facilities.

Thursday, 19 June

New Arts Group David Hockney: The Old Master of the Modern World. Speaker Douglas Skeggs. Bridport Town Hall 1.30 for 2.00pm £10.00.

Colyton town history walk leaving from Colyton Dolphin Car Park at 2 pm – Guided walk approximately one hour. Cost £5, children under 16 free. No booking required,

all weathers. Group bookings by arrangement – Contact 01297 552514 or 01297 33406.

BridLit Special Event: Tracy Chevalier. 2:30pm. Bridport Electric Palace, 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £15 Book online electricpalace.org.uk.

The Bridport and District Gardening Club will be hosting a David Ennals talk at its meeting at the Women’s Institute Hall in North Street Bridport at 7-30 pm. David is a professional gardener, and has been growing cacti since childhood. Entrance to the talk is free for members and £2 for non-members. For more information, visit www.bridportgardeningclub.co.uk

Help Our Planet, talk by Doug Skinner. Former marine biologist and Human Genetics researcher at Queen Mary University, Greenpeace speaker, beekeeper, co-founder Planet Purbeck. The Health of our Seas Protecting Oceans, Preserving Life. 7pm (Doors 6pm, bar and hot supper available). Sladers Yard Contemporary Art and Craft Gallery West Bay Bridport DT6 4EL www. sladersyard.co.uk. Tickets: £12 (Under 21s £6). Proceeds to Dorset Wildlife Trust. Please book in advance from Bridport Tourist Information Centre. https:// bridportandwestbay.co.uk/tickets. Reservations are essential and seats are limited.

Celebrating Communities An evening of unity, culture and connection to celebrate Refugee Week 16th-22nd June. 4:30PM-7:00PM. Upstairs at Bridport Youth and Community Centre, Gundry Lane, Bridport. Enjoy music, food, stories and the spirit of togetherness at this Free event but donations welcome. Everyone Welcome! Organised by Bridport Refugee Support Campaign (Reg. Charity 1192063).

Friday, 20 - 21 June

Maiden Newton Art Group invite you to our Summer Exhibition of paintings and mixed media art on Friday Eve 20th June 6.30pm til 9.30pm and Saturday 21st June 10.30am til 4.30am. Enjoy a glass of wine on Friday evening with a raffle ticket to win a bottle of wine! Refreshments served all day Saturday! Maiden Newton village Hall, near station. Free entry!

Friday, 20 June

Milborne Movies – June Film Night – Conclave Milborne St Andrew Village Hall. Join us for a gripping evening of cinema as we screen Conclave, the tense new thriller based on Robert Harris’s bestselling novel. Set within the secretive walls of the Vatican, the film follows the election of a new pope after the sudden death of the previous one—an election filled with intrigue, politics, and unexpected revelations. With the real-world papal succession currently unfolding, there’s no better time to watch this timely and thought-provoking drama. Tickets are just £6.50, including a drink or ice cream! Doors open at 7pm, with the film starting at 7.30pm. Time for Tea Talk – ‘Classic Films of the 1940s’ by Rebecca Green. 2pm, Bradshaw Meeting Room,

Axminster Heritage Centre, EX13 5AH. Tickets £3.50 (includes tea/coffee and a slice of cake made using an original wartime recipe), available from the Axminster Heritage Centre during opening hours. For more details email: info@axminsterheritage.org or Tel: 01297 639884.

The Beatles For Sale – An exceptional Beatles experience that recreates the vibrant sounds and sights of The Beatles with a hint of humour. Tickets: £22. 7.30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. 01460 54973 www. ilminsterartscentre.com.

Saturday, 21 June

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

Free lunchtime concert given by Kevin Morgan (principal trombonist of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra). You can expect an eclectic programme and informative introductions. 12.30pm-1.00pm, St Peter’s Church, High West St, Dorchester, DT1 1XA. More information at www.musicatstpetersdorchester.org.

Electric Palace Backstage Tours. 2pm. Bridport Electric Palace, 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £10 Book online electricpalace.org.uk.

Sunday, 22 June

Spoken Word and Poetry Writing Workshop: Write to Speak. In this inspiring workshop, poet Mary Cecilia shares her journey and guides you in harnessing your true voice and emotional depth. Whether you’re picking up the pen for the first time or refining your craft, Write to Speak helps you unlock your voice, shape your truth, and speak it out loud. Part of OmniVerse 2025 10am12:30pm. WI Hall, DT6 3JQ. Tickets: £15 (Standard) £10 (Concession/Low Waged). To Book: jawbonecollective. org.uk/omniverse

Fun Dog Show Martinstown There will be a fun dog show outside Martinstown Village Hall 10am start (entries taken from 9am). Rosettes will be awarded for 1st -4th place and a goody bag prize for each winner generously donated by Park House Pet Supplies who are also our judges for the morning. The village are holding open gardens and refreshments will be in the village hall. The usual 6 classes for pedigrees and mixed breeds and 12 fun classes to include waggiest tail and fancy dress. Details 07813 196 958.

Tuesday, 24 June

Bridport u3a Next monthly talk is at 2pm. The venue is Bridport United Church hall, East Street, Bridport. DT6 3LJ. Our speaker is Graham Short and his subject is ‘ My Life as a Micro - Artist. Graham has had a fascinating life, and is famous for micro-art including the Lord’s Prayer on the head of a pin, and 100 years of Cheltenham Gold Cup winners on the head of a horse shoe nail. His work is known around the world, and some of his pieces are

in the White House and several royal palaces. The lengths to which he goes to prepare for an engraving session are astonishing. This should be a fascinating talk. Members free, visitors £3. Scottish Country dancing at Horton Village Hall TA19 9QR every Tuesday evening 7.30 to 9.30 pm. Only £3.00 pay on the door. It’s good company, great fun , super music and you don’t need a partner. Come along and give it a go. For further information contact Anita on 01460 929383 email anitaandjim22@gmail.com and visit our web site at www.ashillscd.wordpress.com All welcome.

Spoken Word & Open Mic. Part of Pop Pride Dorchester. Headliner Mimi Jones, reading from her debut collection “Sitting on the Ocean Watching You Fight Off Seagulls to Save Our Chips” (published by The Jawbone Collective). A special night celebrating the local LGBTQ+ community. Poets, storytellers, writers, and singersongwriters—5-minute slots, original work only. Part of OmniVerse 2025 - 7pm-10pm. The Poet Laureate, DT1 3GW. Free Entry. For More Info contact: Peter Roe, +447379747301.

Wednesday, 25 June

Uplyme and Lyme Regis Horticultural Society. Talk ‘Houseplant 101’ by Rob Vincent. Uplyme Village Hall 7.30pm. Doors open 7pm. Members free; guests £3. More information https://ulrhs. wordpress.com.

Thursday, 26 June

A presentation will be given on bats - how they live, thrive and survive - by Nick Tomlinson at Loders Village Hall at 7pm. Tickets will be available at the door for £10 and this includes wine and cheese.

Colyton town history walk leaving from Colyton Dolphin Car Park at 2 pm – Guided walk approximately one hour. Cost £5, children under 16 free. No booking required, all weathers. Group bookings by arrangement – Contact 01297 552514 or 01297 33406.

Friday, 27 June

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (12A). 7:30pm. Bridport Electric Palace, 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £8.50 Book online electricpalace.org.uk.

Duo Fabulae – Lorena Cantó (viola) and Yvain

EVENTS IN JULY

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

BY JUNE 14th

Calvo (piano) bring their celebrated talents to this concert of solo and chamber music. Promoted by Concerts in the West. Tickets: £20. 7.30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. 01460 54973 www.ilminsterartscentre.com.

Saturday, 28 June

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 6.5 mile walk from Grimstone. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/visitors welcome.

Cathedral-style service of Choral Evensong with music by Durufle, Ayleward, Watson and Jonathan Dove. 4.30pm, St Peter’s Church, High West St, Dorchester, DT1 1XA. A free event with a glass of wine to follow. More information at www.musicatstpetersdorchester.org.

Winsham Open Gardens, Scarecrow Trail & Yard Sales. We are expecting around 15 gardens to open their gates (from 10.30am to 5.30pm) around 6 of which were not open last time. Refreshments will be available in a couple of the gardens. The Church tower will be open so you can get a work out climbing to the top and then admire the fabulous view. There will also be a selection of plants for sale. To add to the entertainment there will be a Scarecrow trail and several locals will be holding garage/ yard sales so all in all it should be a great day out all for just £5 per person, children under 14yrs are free but must be accompanied by an adult. (Maps for the yard sales and scarecrow trail will be available separately for those not wishing to go round the gardens). We are sorry but the gardens are not suitable for prams/pushchairs or dogs. Tickets will be on sale from the 1st June in the Village Shop or from the free car park on the day. For further details call or message me on 07808 505357 Debbie Murray-Snook.

The Salt Path (12A) 110 mins. 7:30pm. Bridport Electric Palace, 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £8.50 Book online electricpalace.org.uk.

‘The Ghost Train’ (1941) Film Screening features an interval with original 1940s news footage. 3pm, Bradshaw Meeting Room, Axminster Heritage Centre, EX13 5AH. Tickets £7 (includes tea/coffee and cake made using an original wartime recipe), available from the Axminster Heritage Centre during opening hours. For more details email: info@axminsterheritage.org or Tel: 01297 639884. Wessex Women concert The concert includes Capella versions of folk songs, protest songs, blues, jazz, pop, gospel and a smattering of comic songs. Martock Church; TA12 6JL. 7:30pm. Tickets: £12 or £10 at Guardianstickets@gmail.com /07547 213992/Martock Gallery/ Martock Newsagent. Website: http://www. martock.org.uk/events ; https://wessex-women.uk/

Sunday, 29 June

Yeovil Railway Centre, Yeovil Junction Station, Stoford BA22 9UU: Themed Train Day with `School of Witchcraft and Wizardry’. For more information on the

Centre visit www.yeovilrailway.freeservers.com, see the Facebook page, or hear recorded information on 01935 410420.

Singing Bowl Soundbath 2-3.30 PM Oborne Village Hall DT9 4LA £17 Lie down, relax, and allow the Pure Sounds of a crystal and Tibetan bowl soundbath plus sacred vocal overtoning give you a sonic deep-tissue massage, taking you into the deeper brainwave states of ‘the relaxation response’, while charging and balancing the aura and chakras of the subtle body, and detoxing the physical body. Advance booking 01935 389655 ahiahel@ live.com.

Allington Strings, of Bridport - 3pm at St Swithun’s Church, Bridport - Echoes from the Near Distance: Music from the British Isles. Continuing our exploration of women composers, we turn our spotlight to the British Isle and have two remarkable pieces to offer; Joan Trimble’s Suite for Strings is a tour de force of string writing, full of energy and Irish lyricism; Morfydd Llwyn Owen’s Romance, a whirlwind of interweaving melodies. Both set beside their contemporaries, Britten’s Simple Symphony and Bantock’s Scenes from the Scottish Highlands, alongside a recent composition, Nicholas Hooper’s famous adagio, Dumbledore’s Farewell, from Harry Potter. Advance tickets £10 adult and £4 child, available from The Tourist Information Centre, Bridport (cash/Card) The Bookshop, Bridport (cash only) for £10 adults and £4 children, or on the door at £12/£5 (cash). For ticket reservations or further information: allingtonstrings@oulook.com.

Vintage Market Sunday at St Michael’s Trading Estate, Bridport DT6 3RR. Market stalls, retail and furniture shops, art & vintage quarter, food and drink, retro music. 10 am - 4 pm.

Monday, 30 June

Winsham Art Club, 2 pm at Jubilee Hall TA20 4HU. The theme this practical session is Working with Acrylics – observing tone, spaces and shapes. 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.

Thursday, 3 July

Tatworth Flower Club are hosting a special event with a national demonstrator Alison Penno from Cornwall. The Tatworth Memorial Hall’s stage will be full of wonderful arrangements that are then raffled off. Also tea and cake is served afterwards. Non members £12. Hall is in Tatworth, Kents Rd, TA20 2QW. Doors open at 1.30pm.

INature Studies

By Michael McCarthy

don’t think that many people have heard of the wayfaring tree. It’s a medium-sized shrub in the virburnum family and while it’s not a great rarity, you do have to go fairly deep into the countryside to find it, growing in hedges alongside roads or tracks. You pass it on your way, as it were—which is how it got its name, supposedly given it by John Gerard, the Elizabethan botanist whose Herball of 1597 was the first bestselling book on plants in English. But it’s been known across Europe for a lot longer than that. Ötzi the iceman, the hunter from 5,000 years ago whose mummified body was found high in the Alps in 1991 complete with all his gear, used the stems of the wayfaring tree for some of his arrow shafts, because they are so straight.

I’ve always been fascinated by it, charmed by the name and by the infrequency with which I have found it, and so I took a double pleasure in coming across one near our village, on what I think was the loveliest morning of the very lovely spring which has just finished. It was in early May, not yet eight o’clock and the sun was already warm and lighting an iridescent green world from a cloudless blue sky, and I had a sense of it being a transcendent moment, with the earth at its most beautiful, seeming young, almost newborn. And it was at this moment, when I was walking along a hedge where the farmland fields meet the wild downland, that I spotted the blossoms—bright clusters of tiny white flowers, technically known as umbels, superficially similar to the blossom of elder or rowan, but smaller and whiter. (They produce berries which turn red, then black: you can’t eat either.)

The blossoming tree was stunning and it seemed to bring my pleasure in the exceptional beauty of the morning to a peak, and I was even more delighted when I walked into a neighbouring wood and spotted a whole grove of wayfaring trees, inaccessible in a dense part of the understorey, but identifiable from the blossoms (which you can see in the

An

incomer’s discovery of the natural world in the West Country

picture.) And it has become a sort of symbol for me of the spring has which has just ended, which indeed was exceptional.

It was the second-sunniest spring on record, exceeded only by the Covid spring of 2020 (such a strange and incongruous time, that was, with the sunshine pouring down endlessly while thousands of people were dying.) Spring this year has had no such downside, and its lustre has been all the greater in comparison with last year, when the seemingly-endless rain made the whole season a washout. But 2025 featured the third-sunniest-ever March, the sunniest-ever April, and the hottest-ever May Day, when the Morris Dancers on the top of the hill above us danced the dawn in under clear skies for the first time in years.

The copious sunlight produced a tremendous crop of spring flowers around the village, with the primroses and celandines in particular overflowing in abundance; but even more I enjoyed the blossom of trees and shrubs. In early May I drove from Dorset to Cheshire, more than 200 miles across England, and the may blossom—the flowers of the hawthorn—had never seemed so splendid. All the way the hedges streamed out across the green fields like great white ribbons—it was as if the landscape were decorated for a wedding. And in a similar way but on a smaller and more domestic scale, the blossoming crab apple tree in our garden was like a giant bridal bouquet, overwhelmingly floral. But it was the bush with the memorable name which most charmed me, when I came across it on that sublime morning, and the wayfaring tree will now always be my symbol of one of the most beautiful springs of my life.

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.

Not a common sight: a grove of blossoming wayfaring trees in a dense Dorset woodland. © Photograph by Robin Mills

Click Here for an Easy Read version of this article

Bridport Literary Festival Student Bursaries 2025

BRIDPORT Literary Festival is offering local students the chance to win a £9,000 university bursary.

The two successful students will receive £3,000 a year over a three-year course in any subject.

The bursary, now in its third year, is open to Year 13 students in the Beaminster Colfox Joint Sixth Form or those living in the Bridport ward. It’s also available to gap year students intending to go to university this autumn.

Bridport Literary Festival chairman Deirdre Coates said: ‘We now have four students who were successful in 2023 and 2024. All four are really impressive young people who have achieved good results as well as made a significant contribution to their local community.

‘We feel very proud to be associated with such a worthy cause and delighted to be able to help such deserving people.’

Mrs Coates urged anyone who knows of an eligible A-level student to encourage them to apply.

‘Application is easy and they have nothing to lose. All the relevant information is on the bursaries page of our website—bridlit.com.’

The first two successful candidates were Medwin Stephen who is reading Chemical Engineering at Cambridge University and Jessie St Barbe Baker who is studying at Yeovil University to become a primary school teacher. They are now in their second year.

Last year the successful candidates were Esmee Rees, who is reading Law at Cardiff University, and Morgan Staple who is reading Archaeology and Anthropology at University College London.

Said Mrs Coates: ‘Most students who leave university do so with a great debt that might take many years to repay. Some students are deterred from applying to university because of this. The bursary can be a great help.’

Morgan said: ‘The bursary has really helped me out in my first year—it helped me cover a significant portion of my rent which has meant that I can focus entirely on my studies at university, which I think has been incredibly helpful especially as it is my first year so I was getting to grips with everything for the first time.’

Esmee said: ‘The bursary has helped me massively with paying my deposit for my second year house and buying all the necessities for university living.

‘It’s also helped me travel home and back for the holidays. Recently, my laptop broke so I have used some of the money to get it repaired. I know many people that have struggled to find a job in Cardiff and so I am grateful that this bursary allows me to fully focus on my studies.’

To apply for the bursary, visit https://www.bridlit. com/bursaries/.

Applicants need to write a letter of no more than 4,000 characters explaining why they are a suitable candidate, why they have chosen their preferred subject and how the bursary might help them achieve their aspirations.

Additionally, two referees should be provided, and applicants are asked to provide a brief filmed introduction to themselves.

The closing date is 21 August.

Presentation of a history book to Beaminster Museum

IN April the Beaminster Museum held a preview evening of the new summer exhibitions for ‘Friends of the Museum’. The first of these two new exhibitions is about the Waddon Hill roman fort and its treasures while the second is about public transport around Beaminster and the local area. During this annual event Douglas Beazer presented a copy of the book he has recently written celebrating 150 years of the Beaminster Masonic Lodge. The book contains a wide variety of topics about the Lodge life, its many and varied meetings, some of its more colourful members and the connections the Lodge has with other Lodges, including one in America.

This book took him about five years to research and write to ensure everything contained in it was correct. He thanked members of the Lodge for all their assistance and help in collaborating the book and getting it proof read before printing. He also paid a great tribute to his dear wife Lynda for allowing him the time and space at home to write it. He hopes it will be a good read for anyone, not only those in Freemasonry and will serve as a fine memory of Freemasonry especially in Beaminster to local residents and of course those visitors to the Museum from wider afield.

Bridport Literary Festival Student Bursary winners, from left, Morgan Staple, Esmee Rees, Medwin Stephen, Jessie St Barbe Baker. Picture by Graham Shackleton

Aspiring photographers invited to enter Somerset Wildlife Trust competition

SOMERSET Wildlife Trust’s annual photography competition has opened for entries from photographers of all ages and experience levels.

This year, nature lovers are being asked to capture the wild side of Somerset in one of three categories: close-up/macro wildlife, people and portraits, and a special youth category.

Three winners will be selected, each receiving a year’s free Somerset Wildlife Trust membership. One overall winner will also be chosen, who will receive the top prize of an exclusive one-to-one photography day with professional macro photographer Victoria Hillman.

On top of these fantastic prizes, the three will also have the chance to see their photographs exhibited at the Trust’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), taking place in November this year.

Last year’s competition, which celebrated Somerset Wildlife Trust’s 60th anniversary, attracted over 200 entries. Andy Lewington was announced as the overall winner for his mystical image of the Trust’s own Aller & Beer Woods Nature Reserve. Andy was also joined by five other winners, who were each commended by the judging panel.

Kirby Everett, Head of Marketing Communications at Somerset Wildlife Trust, says: ‘We’re excited to be launching our photography competition for 2025. This is a chance to celebrate the amazing creative talents of photographers across the county, whilst highlighting the beautiful natural world around us, and hopefully inspiring all to take action to protect it. Whether it be zooming in on the little things, capturing people in nature or depicting the wild side of Somerset, we want to see it all!’

To all entrants, Victoria Hillman, professional wildlife photographer and member of the judging panel, says: ‘Trust yourself, have fun with it and be original. The themes this year are broad, so there’s plenty of room to think outside the box. All species and landscapes have the power to captivate and motivate. It’s your ideas that will resonate with viewers.”

To enter, and for full details on competition rules and prizes, visit: www.somersetwildlife. org/photo-competition.

Last year’s overtall winner of the Somerset Wildlife Trust photography competition, ‘Aller and Beer Woods Nature Reserve’ by Andy Lewington

One of five images shortlisted to win last year’s Somerset Wildlife Trust photography competition, ‘Perching Egrets’ by Simon de Wilton

This Month in the not so distant past

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Looking back at historical moments that happened in June, John Davis highlights the story behind Les Misérables

Anumber of people, and some regular theatregoers are among them, are under a serious misapprehension that because the novel and subsequent musical Les Misérables includes insurrection, barricades and street fighting in Paris that it is about the French Revolution. They would of course be wrong.

The brief rebellion that forms a key role in the second half of both the original story and its iconic stage production actually occurred over two days in June 1832, not at the end of the eighteenth century.

Riots, later known as the June Rebellion or the Paris Uprising of 1832, erupted during the procession that accompanied the funeral of General Jean Maximilien Lemarque, a popular former Army commander, well known for his republican and anti-monarchist views. There was still disquiet in the city in the wake of the re-establishment of the monarchy of Louis Philippe two years earlier.

In the end the rebels, said to number about three thousand, were quashed by an overwhelming force of National Guards and regular soldiers. Estimated figures recorded suggest that about seventy of the government forces were killed while almost one hundred insurgents lost their lives. There were a large number of casualties on both sides.

Initially a young artist, Michel Geoffroy was charged with starting the rebellion by waving a red flag. Although he was sentenced to death, legal appeals led to a prison term. Months later the real flag-bearer was revealed but he was found to be mentally unfit and only served a short period behind bars. Seven of the other eighty-two trials that followed in the wake of the disturbance resulted in a call for capital punishment but eventually all were commuted to spells of imprisonment. Louis Philippe’s reign was finally overthrown in 1848 though the subsequent Second French Republic was short-lived.

On the day the rebellion started, a young writer named Victor Hugo was penning a play in a nearby park when the sound of gunfire sent him rapidly in search of the cause of the commotion. He eventually tracked it down and was forced to find shelter as bullets flew in both directions.

In his novel Les Misérables (literally translated as The Wretched or The Downtrodden), published thirty years later, Hugo vividly depicted the scenes he had witnessed on the streets first-hand. Although the novel actually begins in 1815, the year of Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, the June Rebellion and its aftermath has a marked effect on all the fictitious characters he created especially the young hero Marius Pontmercy.

Victor Hugo was penning a play in a nearby park when the sound of gunfire sent him rapidly in search of the cause of the commotion.

Hugo was a staunch and outspoken republican activist all his life and would, for a spell, be exiled from France for his forthright opinions. After at first settling in Belgium, he took up residence in the Channel Islands where, in a harbour-side house at St. Peter Port on Guernsey, he would write Les Misérables, his most famous work. The book, which in a single volume, amounts to over 1300 pages, was first published in Belgium. As well as a narrative involving the stories of the leading characters, the novel also provides the platform for Hugo to air his views on a range of topical issues including French history and architecture, politics, justice, religion, romantic and familial love and moral philosophy. It is believed Hugo stepped ashore at Weymouth with his partly finished manuscript tucked inside a briefcase on his sea journey from the Channel Islands to Belgium where he wanted to complete his research into the location of the Battle of Waterloo. This, however, may be apocryphal.

The appearance of the novel in France was highly

anticipated. Up until that point, Hugo was considered to be one of his country’s foremost poets although he had already published Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) in 1831. Les Misérables was not well received by his own countrymen initially and newspaper reviews were scathing. Its popularity grew with members of the reading public however and soon it had been translated into other languages including English, Italian and Greek.

Hugo, who had five children, several of whom died tragically, espoused radical beliefs like the abolishment of the death penalty and freedom of the press while serving in France’s parliamentary system. On his return to France following exile in 1870 he was immediately elected to the Third Republic’s National Assembly and the Senate. In 1881, as he entered his eightieth year, he was feted with a massive parade through the centre of Paris with Hugo acknowledging the crowds from the window of his house. He died in May 1885 with more than two million people joining the funeral procession to the Pantheon where he is buried close to two other prominent French authors, Alexandre Dumas and Emile Zola.

Since its original publication, Les Misérables has been the subject of a large number of adaptations in numerous types of media, the most recent being the film version starring Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe (2012) and the television mini-series featuring Dominic West and David Oyelowo in the leading roles (2018).

The original stage musical production by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg first came on the scene in 1980. Opening in London in 1985, the show is multi-award winning being the longest running musical in the West End and the second longest running globally. It is estimated it has been seen by over seventy million people all over the world, visited fifty-three countries and been translated into twenty-seven different languages.

There seems to be no end to its success. For some time, there has been a slightly abridged ‘school’s version’ to perform but now impresario Cameron Mackintosh has sanctioned that the full version is available for amateur dramatic and musical societies to stage a fully licensed production of the musical. The arena version of the show, which can play to audiences up to five thousand strong and have a cast of over one hundred, has recently been on tour.

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.

Victor Hugo by Étienne Carjat - Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Special Event Openings for Charity

June is another wonderful month for those that enjoy the quintessential British pleasure of visiting gardens open for the National Garden Scheme (NGS). As well as a wealth of beautiful gardens open in and around the Marshwood Vale, this month the NGS team have again organised some special events.

On Thursday June 5th designer Jasper Conran’s garden at Bettiscombe Manor has two tours available. Admission is £60, with children free. Prebooking is essential.

A limited number of tickets are available for a special afternoon opening on Thursday June 12th, at Farrs in Beaminster, hosted by John and Jennie Makepeace. Admission is £40. Pre-booking is essential.

Parnham House near Beaminster has a garden open event on Thursday June 19th. Admission is £25 with pre-booking essential.

On Saturday June 21st Johnnie Boden will give a talk and guided tour through the wildflower garden and meadows at Wytherston Manor. Admission is £25 with children free. Pre-booking is essential.

On Sunday June 22nd ecologist, Tom Brereton, who has supported Robert and Alex Appleby on their work at Wyke Farm will give an introductory talk and guided tour. Admission is £25 with children free. Pre-booking is essential.

Visit ngs.org.uk for information and booking for all of these events.

Wyke Farm

Farrs

Wytherston Manor

Parnham House

Bettiscombe Manor

June in the Garden

By Russell Jordan

Well! It’s been a remarkable spring and now we are officially starting the summer. As I write this it has been the sunniest and driest start to the year in history. Much as it’s nice to have warm and dry weather, unless there have been many days of wet weather since submitting this article, I must admit that, as a gardener, I do kind of hope that ‘normal service’ is resumed soon. I am, just about, old enough to remember the infamous ‘Summer of ‘76’ with associated hosepipe bans and water companies issuing “save water; bath with a friend” type advice.

I mentioned, last month, how difficult it is to rewet compost that has completely dried out. Hopefully you will have heeded this warning and planted as many plants as possible into the garden and reduced the number of specimens that require daily watering. Of course, any recently planted plants will need to be carefully monitored and watered, with a watering can if hosepipes are banned, whenever they show signs of wilting. The problem with dry soils is that, even though established plants should be able to survive a degree of drought, the lack of water will stress them make them more prone to succumbing to disease. Pests may also get out of control as they are able to reproduce more quickly than their natural predators are able to consume them—this is particularly true of those pesky aphids. Regular checking and removal, by whatever method you favour, is the order of the day. Before using chemicals remember that these can upset the delicate balance between the plant pests and their natural predators so using them may actually result in worse infestations a few weeks down the line. If you

can bear to remove the pest by hand, or with a jet of water, it may prove enough to keep their numbers down while the natural control predators get a chance to build up their numbers.

With any luck, the dry and sunny start of the growing season will enable garden birds to have an extra brood, or two, over the course of the summer and all those extra mouths to feed will make a dent in the pest population without any need for intervention. As ever, it is illegal to destroy active bird nests so, if you need to do any pruning or hedge clipping, you are obliged to check that this is possible without disturbing any birdlife. I find that birds are pretty adept at avoiding nest building in heavily trafficked areas of the garden and tend not to inhabit the kind of loose extension growth, on established hedges and shrubs, which is all you should be removing during the summer months.

I’m sure I mention this every year but it is especially important during a dry spell; no matter how brown and dry a lawn becomes it is not a good use of water to irrigate it. Lawns will always recover, once the rains return, and in the meantime just revel in the fact that the lack of water means that you can save time in not cutting them so often. Raise the cutting height of your mower because cutting them really short will simply add to any stress that they are already experiencing due to lack of water.

You are still allowed to water with a watering can during a hosepipe ban and, although you are not allowed to refill water butts with a hosepipe, you are permitted to fill your watering can from a hose. I don’t think nearly as many people use a bathtub in

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2025, as they did in 1976, so collecting ‘grey water’ to water your garden is less of an option as it used to be. It’s also not easy to carry watering cans through the house so, unless you can siphon it out of the bath down to the garden, reusing bath water is unlikely to be practicable.

Weeds are programmed to grow and reproduce as quickly as possible plus they will flower and set seed more rapidly if they are stressed by drought. Diligent weeding remains a high priority in dry weather if they are not to get out of control not only to stop them from setting seed but also because weeds will compete with your garden plants for any available moisture.

When it comes to garden plants we are well into the growing season so regular dead-heading of summer bedding plants and those in seasonal containers is the order of the day. Watering anything in a pot, or container, is a priority and it’s important to feed them too if they are to continue blooming for the whole season. I tend to use a granular feed, such as ‘MiracleGro’, dissolved into a can of water following the instructions as to dosage and regularity on the packet.

I am fully aware that there is a lot of negative publicity about using ‘chemical’ fertilisers but most of it is ‘hogwash’ and, while it may be possible to

avoid liquid feeds in the wider garden, I don’t think there are any ‘organic’ alternatives when it comes to plants in pots and containers. Growing plants in pots and containers is an entirely artificial situation and therefore probably not what you should be doing if you are a slave to ‘natural’ gardening practices; “you must cut your coat according to your cloth”!

One of the advantages of a warm and dry summer, if that’s what we’re having, is that all those border plants which get very tall and floppy, during a wet summer, might actually remain strong and stocky enough to avoid supplementary staking. Hopefully you will have managed to incorporate pea-sticks into your borders before your herbaceous plants got too tall but, if not, then it’s worth keeping some to hand just in case we get those massive downpours, often accompanied by squally winds, which take place if and when the dry spell breaks.

Hopefully all this talk of drought and watering will have prompted the contrary weather Gods to actually deliver us a more ‘normal’ English summer with the regulation amount of ‘liquid sunshine’. If not then, at least, continuing warm and dry conditions will allow us more time to actually enjoy a blooming good June garden or to get out and visit all those gardens which are open to visitors at this time of year.

Bridport’s Edible Festival comes of age and looks to the future

By Ines Cavill

J Bridport

JUNE 13-14 is the 21st Bridport Food Festival and it promises to be another delicious and fascinating weekend for all ages, featuring the area’s outstanding food and drink talent—including a new group of passionate local chefs who are volunteering their time to collectively create a unique fundraising feast.

This coalition of the filling includes; 101 Bridport’s Constance Booth, award-winning Cass Titcombe of Brassica, Dorshi’s co-founding chef Radhika Mohandas, chef Mike Beckenham with proprietor Ilaria Padovani of Mercato Italiano, Simon Payne head chef for The Parlour Restaurant at Bredy Farm and Soulshine’s Andy Tyrrell—all of whom are drawing lots to determine who produces which dishes for this very Bridport banquet.

This team of cooking stars has been brought together this year by Andy Tyrrell, with a vision to galvanise support for the festival and ambitions to make Friday June 13 extremely lucky for some.

‘We have a unique, thriving food scene with incredible local ingredients, food producers, brewers, chefs, writers, cafés and restaurants’ says Andy. ‘This year’s Friday Feast is a rare chance to collaborate more, building a stronger culture whilst raising much-needed funds for our local festival so we can keep building on its success for many years to come. Now more than ever I feel like we should work together to save the things that are for the good of the community.

‘With a stellar line-up of chefs and restaurants the menu will feature courses donated by each of them and finished over a stunning outdoor fire kitchen before serving as a long table feast—it will all look as amazing as it tastes. Our main aim is to support the food festival, but as chefs we can’t help but get excited by the chance to create

Celebrates Food

something delicious! This will be the unmissable food-lovers’ event of the year.’

The evenings of Friday 13th and Saturday 14th will also see the traditional accompanying Beer Festival in full swing, boasting a selection of over 100 different ales and ciders plus Pimms and wine bars as well as a pop up Dark Bear Cocktail Bar. All partnered by live music including Shelby’s Elbows, Stylliano, Dusty Brown, Decatonics and an open mic session hosted by Elijah Wolf.

While the Saturday is the main food festival day, showcasing nearly 100 traders selling the best local food and drink for taking home or eating there; from Little Oak Farm’s homegrown lamb burgers to Shuka Calf’s oysters, Indian sweets to Dorset cheeses. Alex Pole will be bringing a stall of his hand-forged indoor and outdoor kitchen equipment for the first time, as well as providing the flames for the Friday Feast.

The festival also programmes an exceptional range of free activities to inspire every

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generation—from chefs’ demonstrations in The Helen Choudhury Cookery Theatre (including The Taj Mahal Restaurant and gut-health specialist and cookbook writer Helen Ross to hands-on workshops for children with Creative Young Cooks who will be making pedal-powered smoothies, a chicken lunch with New House Farm and welcoming back The Olive Tree Restaurant’s Simon MazzeiScaglione who says, ‘We love working with the Young Cooks and seeing them learn to make—and then eat!— delicious mediterranean classics.’ Junior foodies can also enjoy a creative play area for younger children designed by Watercleave’s Debbie Smith and food-inspired art sessions with Jo Burlington of ‘Oops Wow’.

Not everything is about food—but food itself is about so much; community and culture, health and high streets, ecology and economy, comfort and celebrations.

Bridport Food Matters will be exploring many of these themes in their marquee and celebrating the town’s newly won status as one of a national network of ‘Sustainable Food Places’. Acclaimed podcaster and regenerative agriculturalist Ffinlo Costain will be hosting lively panel discussions about ‘why is soil key to adapting to climate change?’ and ‘what is the hidden cost of ultra processed food?’ Panellists will include Leila Scriven (Tamarisk Farm), Alex Montgomery (Generation Soil UK), Tim Williams (Earth Farmers), Dr Sue Beckers (Real Food Rebellion) and Helen Ross.

Look out too for short films curated by Josef Davies Coates (including Climate Compost from the Somerset House Soil exhibition) and information about other local initiatives including BFM’s proposed community food hub, ‘Nourish’ which aspires to sustaining—all year-round—the festival’s values of enabling good food for all for the decades to come.

Bridport Food Festival Saturday June 14th from 9.30am - 5pm Askers Meadows, Bridport DT6 4SB.

Tickets: Food Festival Adult advance entry £3.50 or £5.00 on the day.

Bridport Tourist Information sells tickets / online at bridportandwestbay.co.uk

Children 17 and under go free.

Tickets: Friday Feast £90 per person. Welcome drink and snacks, 4 courses. All proceeds to fundraise for the festival.

Beer Festival free entry no tickets required for Friday and Saturday evenings from 6pm

Food&Dining

GUEST RECIPE

MUSSELS

Add a punch of ’nduja spice to your mussels – they will be out-of-this-world delicious.

Published by Nourish, an imprint of Watkins Media Limited

ISBN: 978-1-84899-423-2 (Hardback)

ISBN: 978-1-84899-426-3 (eBook)

• crusty bread, to serve ‘NDUJA

DIRECTIONS INGREDIENTS

• 1kg/2lb 4oz fresh mussels

• 25g/¾oz butter

• 4 echalion shallots, finely sliced

• a few fresh thyme sprigs

• 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 80g/3oz ’nduja (from a jar)

• 3 chargrilled red peppers (from a jar), drained and chopped

• 250ml/9fl oz/1 cup white wine

• a small bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• lemon wedges, to serve

Serves 4

1. Wash and debeard the mussels. If any are open, give them a few taps with a knife – if they don’t close they are probably dead, so discard them.

2. Heat the butter in a large pot with a lid over a low–medium heat. Add the shallots, thyme and garlic and sauté for a few minutes until the shallots are tender.

3. Add the ’nduja and peppers to the pan and cook for another few minutes until the ’nduja paste has melted down.

4. Add the white wine and the mussels and pop the lid on the pan. Steam for about 5 minutes, shaking the pot halfway through to make sure the mussels cook evenly, until all the mussels have opened – give it a minute or so longer if they haven’t.

5. Discard any mussels that are still closed after this time.

6. Taste the cooking broth and season with salt and pepper (remember the ’nduja will probably be salty, so you may not need much salt), then stir in the parsley.)

7. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over and chunks of crusty bread to mop up the delicious broth.

Ilaria’s Italian KITCHEN

DESPITE knowing that every moment calls for a different cheese, Ilaria Padovani from Mercato Italiano in Bridport says Pecorino Giuncato is her ‘go to’ cheese when she’s a bit peckish at work—and who wouldn’t be peckish surrounded by all those shelves of delicious food and drink from Italy.

The Pecorino Giuncato is made by a cooperative of Sardinan shepherds using sheeps milk. It is semi-matured for roughly ninety days until it begins to crystalize while still retaining the sweetness of young milk. ‘I also love the rind’ says Ilaria referring to the shape given by the baskets they are kept in during maturation. ‘It is a very fine Sardinian pattern which reminds me so much of many lovely family summer holidays by the sea, but most of all the incredible hospitality we had from Sardinians. Yes, overall I have a soft spot for it—the cheese and Sardinia!’

Originally established as a weekly market stall, supplying high quality cured meats and cheeses directly imported by Ilaria using her Italian produce contacts, Mercato Italiano has become the popular destination for authentic pizza, coffee, cocktails and so much more.

The café and deli on the Dreadnought Estate is also a great stop for lunch from 12-3pm, Monday to Saturday.

Be sure to visit https://mercatoitaliano.uk and subscribe to their newsletter to keep up with events, tastings and exclusive offers.

Pecorino Giuncato from Mercato Italiano in Bridport

Adjusted Environment

From growing up in the Marshwood Vale to playing at the Royal Albert Hall, Douglas Dare talks to Fergus Byrne about a life so different.

As a young boy, West Dorset native Douglas Dare was always drawn to city life, especially London. He recalls how one New Year’s Eve he stood outside on his father’s farm watching fireworks. He remembers his father telling him the glow of lights coming from nearby Bridport was actually London. ‘As a child, all I could dream of was moving to the city,’ he tells me. ‘I always romanticized the idea of living in the city over living in the countryside.’ This yearning for something beyond the familiar fields wasn’t a rejection of home, but more a necessary counterpoint, a need to find another space to nourish his creativity and his developing queer identity.

When I catch up with him, he is indeed now London based. He has just returned from a short European tour and is dealing with that strange mix of exhaustion and disorientation that settles on those that have experienced the highs and lows of touring. He describes the feeling as a ‘bit of an adjustment.’ At times touring might feel like a holiday he tells me but ‘you’re working a lot too.’

We’re talking in advance of an upcoming gig at Bridport Arts Centre on June 21st where he will perform songs from his most recent album Omni along with a selection of others from a back catalogue that spans over ten years.

There’s a palpable sense of anticipation. A hometown show can offer unique opportunities. Douglas also hopes to share some new unreleased material as well as invite local performers to join him. The concert will be an opportunity to blend the different facets of his musical journey. A journey rooted in the green fields of the Marshwood Vale.

Growing up on a farm, surrounded by the rhythms of the land, one might have expected a different trajectory. Yet music had been woven

into the fabric of his upbringing. ‘Mum and Dad played music together’ he says. ‘They would play for weddings and in working men’s clubs and pubs and different events when I was growing up. And so almost every weekend I would be put in the back of the the horse trailer with the keyboard and the piano.’

‘No one had given me any fivers for going out and mucking out the pigs!’

He remembers getting paid a fiver from a waitress when he sang in a local pub. As a youngster he would get up on the table and sing a song and realised it was possible to make money from performing. ‘Whereas no one had given me any fivers for going out and mucking out the pigs!’ he laughs. The experience ignited an understanding that music could be more than just a pastime.

The transition from Dorset countryside to urban sprawl wasn’t a solitary leap. Douglas remembers a serendipitous gathering at Beaminster School where a group of like-minded souls shared a passion for making music. By the time GCSEs and A-levels loomed, the path was clear: ‘I wanted to be writing songs and making music’ he recalls.

Inspiration came in various forms. Classical music from his mother, the rock and roll of her gigs, the jazz records gifted by his grandfather, and the ever-present renditions of Elvis Presley songs from his father. Together they formed the initial stimulus. Later, he replaced these icons with alternatives such as, Radiohead, Portishead, Talking Heads. ‘All the heads’ he laughs, and then, local legend, Polly Jean Harvey.

‘Weirdly, I got introduced to Polly Harvey quite late,’ he says. Despite growing up in the same region, it wasn’t until university that the powerful resonance of her music truly hit home. Discovering the piano-driven White Chalk, an album imbued with its own Dorset echoes, became a pivotal moment. ‘She sort of became my hero’, he recalls. Polly’s trajectory also helped him see that it was possible to go from the farms and fields of West Dorset to a world that had once seemed mystical and inaccessible.

Then came the unimaginable: McCartney harmonizing on the song and offering gentle guidance at the piano

Douglas then went to the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) in a city with its own vibrant musical heritage. The experience proved transformative, not just for the formal training but for the community it fostered. A small, close-knit cohort of musicians, dancers, and technicians created an environment that felt like an extension of college. As well as a fertile ground for collaboration and growth, LIPA provided yet another boost to his inspiration in the form of a one-to-one session with musical icon Sir Paul McCartney.

‘I was shit scared—terrified’ he remembers. A

lifelong Beatles fan, as well as of Paul’s solo music, the prospect of sharing his work with such an iconic songwriter felt both daunting and surreal. He played Paul a song he’d written about the London Underground as a wartime bomb shelter. It turned out McCartney’s parents had met in a similar environment. Then came the unimaginable: McCartney harmonizing on the song and offering gentle guidance at the piano. Douglas asked him about his song Jenny Wren which led to an impromptu performance by the legend himself.

He gave Paul a CD of his music which he promised to listen to in the car. Did he ever listen to it? Only Paul can answer that. It remains a cherished, if unresolved, memory. The extraordinary encounter wasn’t something Douglas talked about much. He decided it shouldn’t be flaunted but rather absorbed as a personal milestone to be processed over time.

Whatever the early influences and foundations, there is a lyrical depth to Douglas’s first three albums that points to a songwriting structure that starts with poetry which is then put to music. ‘I started with the lyrics because I wanted the lyrics to stand up on their own’ he says, ‘regardless of the music.’ This poetic foundation led to early performances that were as much spoken word as song.

Like many poets and songwriters Douglas’s work mirrored a journey of self-discovery. Early songs were often historical or fictional and as he grew in confidence he turned his gaze inward. ‘The reason I

was writing songs about the London Underground was because I felt I didn’t have my own life experiences that much yet. So, I was writing stories.’

Apart perhaps from the achingly beautiful Oh Father from his Aforger album, his third album, Milk Teeth, marked a significant shift towards a confident and more open exploration of his childhood memories. It is an intensely personal record. However, while cathartic it also proved to be emotionally consuming, leading to a conscious decision to move away from the autobiographical with the subsequent album, Omni

Milk Teeth was ‘an incredibly personal record’ he says. ‘I was quite exhausted by it.’ He came away from touring the record feeling that it was ‘quite self indulgent, in a sense, because it’s all about me.’ This led to a deliberate shift with Omni , where he consciously moved away from autobiographical themes.

Musically, Omni also represented a dramatic departure, embracing beats and basslines, a stark contrast to the lyrical piano-driven sound of previous work. This deliberate change was a means of creative reinvention, as well as a way to keep pushing boundaries. It also tipped a hat to his love of dance and rave culture. The live shows during this era were equally transformative, incorporating strobe lights and club environments, a far cry from the intimate piano performances.

He acknowledges the starkness of the change may have confused those drawn to his piano based work and has since returned to the piano. He

describes Omni as something he ‘needed to do’, like a stepping stone onto the next thing. ‘Now I’m back to playing the piano and storytelling and writing stuff from personal experience, and it’s about adults experiences as well.’ Omni is promoted as about reconciling the different sides of himself: “the songwriter, the raver, the lover and the observer.”

A recent highlight for Douglas was an invitation to perform at The Royal Albert Hall to support a Teenage Cancer Trust charity. Playing solo on the grand piano, the same instrument that he’d seen Rufus Wainwright play on just a few months previously, felt like a surreal culmination of aspirations. ‘If you’d asked me six months ago, where’s the dream place to play, I would have said the Royal Albert Hall.’ The hushed reverence of the audience, the pin-drop silence in the vast hall, underscored the power of the music and the importance of the cause.

From the quiet fields of the Marshwood Vale to the grand stage of the Royal Albert Hall, Douglas Dare’s musical journey celebrates an artistic evolution in full flow. Though born out of family and place and driven by the restless spirit of artistic exploration, it is being honed by a determined aspiration that has the potential to develop a lasting legacy within the music industry.

The homecoming performance at Bridport Arts Centre on June 21st promises to be a fascinating mix of echoes from the past alongside glimpses of musical landscapes yet to be travelled. To book tickets visit www.bridport-arts.com.

3 - 13 June

Herne View School Exhibition – An exhibition showcasing the work of Herne View School students. Free entry. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30am–3.00pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. 01460 54973 www. ilminsterartscentre.com.

Until 8 June

Strength and Resilience: Somerset Women in the Second World War. An exhibition exploring the impact of 19391945 on the lives of four women with links to the West Country. Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury.

10 - 15 June

Stitch! An exhibition of contemporary wallhangings and related items, some new, others made over the last 25 years by Bridport based textile artist Kate Dowty. The combination of fabrics (many of which are hand painted or dyed) with dense stitching results in a wonderfully tactile surface. Many of the artworks on show are inspired by the local environment; all are a riot of colour and texture. Eype Centre for the Arts, St Peter’s Church, Mount Lane, Eype, Bridport, DT6 6AR (for sat nav use DT6 6AP). 10.30am – 4.30pm daily (4.00pm Sunday). Free entry. Free parking. www.katedowty.com www.eypechurcharts.co.uk.

Until 14 June

A new landscape-based exhibition welcomes three painters to the gallery for the first time, Julia Maleeva, Jo Rance and Sarah Lees, and to see the return of Charlie Baird for his second four person show. It’s exciting to have fresh work and new faces to the gallery. White Space Art, 72 Fore Street, Totnes, Devon TQ95RU.

17 June - 18 July

Ilminster Arts Centre Open Exhibition 2025 – A judged annual exhibition inviting regional artists to showcase their work in one of Somerset’s premier artistic events. Free entry. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30am–3.00pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. 01460 54973 www.ilminsterartscentre. com. Prize Giving: Wednesday, June 18, 5.00pm–6.30pm. Everyone welcome!

20 - 29 June

Five Go to Lyme one more Time: the popular five artists are delighted to return to their favourite gallery to exhibit their latest work. Alison Summerfield, Liz Vonberg, Lynsey Pickwell, Lesley Hook & Susan Paradise display a diverse collection of talents making for a stunning and colourful exhibition in oils, acrylic, mixed media, silk & printing. Malthouse Gallery, Town Mill, Lyme Regis DT7 3PU. Open daily 10am to 4.30pm. 01297 444042 www.townmill.org.uk

Until 28 June

James Ravilious: An English Eye featuring key photographic works chosen from a large retrospective show originally mounted for Ravilious by the Royal Photographic Society. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am - 5pm. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield House, Dowell Street, Honiton, Devon EX14 1LX. www.thelmahulbert.com.

Catching Light, Suzanne Blank Redstone. A major exhibition celebrating six decades of work by Suzanne Blank Redstone. On the occasion of the artist’s 80th birthday this year, Catching Light is an overdue survey giving unprecedented insight into Redstone’s influential, lively and vivid contributions to painting, sculpture and public art. Working between nature and the built environment throughout her career, more recently Redstone has also

Devon Seen Through Ravilious

worked on public sculptural commissions, employing light as a subject and material, alongside weighty, earthy stone and metal. In keeping with CLOSE gallery’s dedication to showcasing women artists and those who have been neglected by art history, this exhibition marks a pivotal moment in Redstone’s astonishing career and presents a unique opportunity to rediscover works that have until now not received the recognition they duly deserve. Close Ltd, Hatch Beauchamp, Somerset TA3 6AE. info@closeltd.com. 01823 480 350. www. closeltd.com.

Until

12 July

Beautiful, swift and bright. Paintings by Louise Balaam NEAC RWA, Nick Jones and James Lynch. Ceramics by Gabriele Koch. Furniture by Petter Southall. Sladers Yard, Contemporary Art, Furniture & Craft Gallery, Licensed Café, West Bay, Dorset DT6 4EL. www.sladersyard.co.uk. 01308 459511.

Until, 7 September

Recurring Intricacies brings together photography, ceramics, papercuts, and sculptures made by three female artists: Helen Sear, Charlotte Hodes, and Amanda Benson. The exhibition takes visitors through the ‘recurring intricacies’ of the eighteenth century, celebrating Sherborne House’s fascinating, colourful, cultural, and theatrical past. The Sherborne Newland Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3JG.

An exciting new exhibition showcasing the work of renowned photographer, James Ravilious continues until June 28 at the Thelma Hulbert Gallery in Honiton. The image above is entitled: ‘Ivor Brock rescuing a lamb from a blizzard, Millhams, Dolton, Devon, 1978. photography by James Ravilious © Beaford Arts-2’

Sladers Yard in West Bay has opened a glorious celebration of the English rural landscape with an exhibition by five artists, each with a thrilling, richly developed style admired by collectors worldwide.

Louise Balaam paints with expressive gestural brushstrokes in natural, sumptuously applied colours. Her work conveys the intense feeling of being out in the landscape, in the wind and the sun.

Nick Jones paints in acrylic on canvas and makes silkscreen prints in spare, abstracted, poetic works.

James Lynch’s paintings capture the breathtaking beauty of the West Country where glowing shafts of sunlight shine between clouds onto rolling fields and trees. James’s restrained palette and the combination of delicacy and strength in his painting, reveal a unique affinity with the natural world.

Gabriele Koch’s search has always been for simplicity, restraint and beauty in her ceramics. Recently she has been exploring new surfaces, making scored, ridged moon-scape textures in heavy black clay overlaid with various slips including porcelain.

Petter Southall responds to superb natural timber in furniture designs that combine an exciting fluidity of line with tactile textures and physical strength. Always original and surprising in his understated and brilliantly judged detailing, Petter’s pieces take your breath away.

Open until Sunday 13 July at Sladers Yard Contemporary Art & Craft Gallery, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset DT6 4EL. Tel: 01308 459511 www.sladersyard.co.uk Email: gallery@sladersyard.co.uk. Open: Gallery and Café Wednesday to Saturday 10am - 4.30 pm. Café Saturdays from 6 pm.

Above: James Lynch, Winter Flying over Westbury White Horse. Opposite page: Nick Jones, The Flood of Light. Below: Petter Southall, Lift Table. Gabriele Koch, Vase form, white and yellow clouds and Louise Balaam, August cornfield.

Beautiful, Swift and Bright five artists at slader’s yard

Coming Up A FLAVOUR

OF SUMMER

return to Forde Abbey this Summer

WILD ARTS, the Essex-based opera company, will return to Forde Abbey this summer with not one but two fantastic fully-staged opera productions. Conducted by Wild Arts Artistic director Orlando Jopling and performed by a cast of top professional singers with an orchestra drawn from the UK’s finest chamber musicians, these performances will be the perfect summer treat.

If you haven’t come across them before then Wild Arts is an opera company that has been making a big impact in the last few years, with a string of four and five star reviews for its fresh and innovative new opera productions from publications such as Opera Now and The Guardian. But while the performances you see on stage may be high impact, the company prides itself on its low environmental impact focusing on telling stories through fabulous costumes, clever props and the talent and magnetism of the performers, so that instead of lorries full of equipment, they can fit the entire production into the boot of an electric car.

Brand new for this year, is a production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, directed by Dominic Dromgoole, who was formerly Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe. A stunning exploration of life, death, love, and pride in pre-revolutionary Russia, the opera will be performed in period costume with a dazzling new English translation.

On the bill alongside this is a revival of Wild Arts’ hit 2023 production of Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love. With all the zip and joie de vivre of the original, director Guido Martin-Brandis has relocated this riotous tale of lovers and luck-chasing liars to a 1950s seaside, with a mischievous English translation.

And as has become tradition at Wild Arts performances, alongside the music you can enjoy picnics on Forde Abbey’s beautiful lawns before and in the interval of the performances.

Tchaikovsky Eugene Onegin

Wednesday 2 July - Forde Abbey

Donizetti The Elixir of Love

Thursday 3 July - Forde Abbey

Full details and online booking at: wildarts.org.uk

PREVIEW

Fingers crossed—it’s a great summer for open air theatre

SUMMER seems to have started early in 2025, and all of us who look out for an open air play or two have even more reason to be hopeful of fine weather than usual.

This year 15 companies have scheduled stops at the Dorset, Devon and Somerset venues, again bringing a wide variety of plays that, as always, include Shakespeare classics, and this year mark the Jane Austen anniversary, too. Over the years, the shows have become a big event in the social diary, and if you can’t get to Glyndebourne or the Minack, the field next to the village hall or the garden of the big house will provide almost as atmospheric a setting for competitive picnics, clinking crystal and crunchy crisps, as well as the perennially popular strawberries and cream.

It starts off this summer with Folksy Theatre, coming to Chard School on 1st June with Angela Sprocket’s Pockets, and returning to the region on 27th

July bringing Twelfth Night to the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis (our own Minack!), to Forde Abbey on 29th, Burrow Farm Gardens at Axminster on 31st July and 1st August, Hestercombe Gardens on 3rd and Cannington Walled Garden on 6th August.

The enterprising musician/actors who are Three Inch Fools will perform The Most Perilous Comedie of Elizabeth I at Beaminster Manor on 3rd June and the following night at Lyme Regis Marine. The company’s second 2025 show, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, will be performed on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, on 21st and 22nd August, now that the long-running Brownsea Open Air Theatre is late and lamented.

The all-male troupe The Lord Chamberlain’s Men have chosen Twelfth Night, and will stage it at Athelhampton House on 5th June, and Killerton House near Exeter on 22nd July.

Ever-popular commedia dell’arte company The Rude Mechanicals have a new play, Gentle Harry’s Farm, coming to the Square and Compass in Worth Matravers on 13th June and the following night at

Bursting with live music and original songs the Rude Mechanicals have a new play, Gentle Harry’s Farm touring in June

Here for an Easy Read version of this article

Abbey House, Abbotsbury.

Then it’s the turn of the HandleBards, the company that travels between venues on bicycles, this time with Much Ado About Nothing at Maumbury Rings in Dorchester on 15th June, and the Marine at Lyme Regis on 17th June.

Immersion Theatre’s The Wind in the Willow, always a hit for family audiences, comes to Athelhampton House on 21st June.

The Pantaloons have two shows this year. Robin Hood will be transporting Sherwood Forrest to Barrington Court near Ilminster on 5th July and Maumbury Rings on 6th. And the second play, Hamlet, will be performed at Montacute House on 25th July.

One of the longest established companies, Illyria, comes to Sherborne House Garden on 17th July and Corfe Caste on 7th August with Pride and Prejudice Their production of HMS Pinafore is at Sherborne House Garden on 29th July and Maumbury Rings on 1st August. They bring Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows to Sherborne House Garden on 8th July, and the Merry Wives of Windsor to Castle Gardens in Sherborne on 20th August and to the atmospheric Corfe Castle the following night.

Perhaps the best-named company for the English summer is Rain or Shine (and they mean JUST that).

This year’s production of The Rivals is on at Holme for Gardens near Wareham on 26th July, Prince Albert Gardens at Swanage on 11th August and Maumbury Rings in Dorchester on 28th August.

A Midsummer Nights Dream will be performed by Sun and Moon Theatre at Rougemont Gardens, Exeter, from 31st July to 3rd August, and there is more Shakespeare from ever-popular Cornishbased Miracle Theatre, whose Twelfth Night will be performed at the most dramatic of our settings, Kimmeridge Bay, on 1st August, and at Sandford Orcas near Sherborne the following night.

One of the newer companies, 440 Theatre has the novel idea of joining Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth as one play, and they will perform it at Taunton Brewhouse on 13th and 14th August.

Another new company, Plandits Theatre, has chosen The Big Bad Wolf for its performance at Athelhampton on 16th August.

And as theatregoers in West Dorset know, there is a special connection between the long-established Festival Players and Beaminster. This year they bring their production of As You Like It, one of the most apt plays for open air performance, to Meerhay Manor on 17th August.

So book early, plan the picnic, pray for a balmy night and check out those folding chairs for sound ferrules and seams.

Summer rep is back LYME REGIS

THERE will be a second summer rep at the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, following last year’s successful inaugural season. This year it will be an extended season of five popular plays, from 23rd July to 27th August.

There’s something for everyone with comedies, thrillers and classic drama, including a Jane Austen adaptation, celebrating the great novelist’s 250th anniversary this year.

The season opens with Deathtrap, a comedy-thriller by Ira Levin, of Rosemary’s Baby fame. It’s followed by an Alan Ayckbourn play, performed in-the-round as last time. A Brief History of Women is a funny story of one man and one house, over 60 years, and the women that he meets.

Next up is another thriller, Strictly Murder, set in France, just before the start of the Second World War. It’s a good choice in this year when we have just marked the 80th anniversary of VE Day. In Brian Clemens’ drama, the rumblings of the coming war make a menacing background for a dark and frightening story with plenty of twists and turns.

The 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth is celebrated with the fourth play, an adaptation of her last completed novel, Persuasion, which famously is set partly in Lyme Regis, with a key scene on the Cobb. Adapted by Mark Healy, it is a love story and a brilliant social satire, with snobs, fashionable visitors to Bath, naval officers, dramatic changes of fortune and unrequited love.

The season will end with Noël Coward’s sparkling comedy Fallen Angels, in which two best friends, both married, fall out in the most hilarious way over an old flame coming to town.

Several of the actors from the 2024 season are returning—Victoria Porter, Neil Thomas, Andrew Fettes—as well as Jessica Olim and Alex Ansdell from the Marine’s A Christmas Carol. They are once again joined by local actor Nickie Johnson.

Weekly rep used to be the staple fare of theatres

Comedies, thrillers and classic drama in Lyme Regis

across the country, particularly in seaside ones, but is now very rare. Each play is performed for only a week, and as the first play is being performed, the second play is being rehearsed. Then when the second is being performed, the third is being rehearsed, and so on.

The Marshwood Vale area is fortunate to have not one but two summer rep seasons—Sidmouth’s Manor Pavilion theatre has a long-standing summer rep season.

Lyme Regis’s rep company, Gilroy Theatre, hopes to continue to meet the local community. Su Gilroy, who runs the company and has more than 35 years of experience of theatre, says: “We met so many lovely people last summer and over Christmas, at the theatre and in the wider community, who all made us feel so welcome. It’s not only an honour to come back to Lyme Regis and the Marine Theatre—it’s also a pleasure!”

The plays change midweek, on Wednesday or Thursday, so anyone on holiday for a week gets the chance to see two plays rather than just one. Theatre isn’t something all seaside destinations can offer their visitors—and rep, with great traditional plays, is even rarer.

Tickets for performances are now available online at https://www.marinetheatre.com/summer-seasonof-plays-2/

... and at the Manor Pavilion SIDMOUTH

SIDMOUTH’s Manor Pavilion theatre hosts what is now said to be the longest running continuous summer rep season in the country. This year, the 12th season, again running for 12 weeks, opens on Monday 23rd June and runs to mid-September, with comedies, thrillers and some classic drama to satisfy every theatrical taste.

The season gets off to a chilling start with A Touch of Danger, a twisting tale of betrayal, murder and mistaken identity by Francis Durbridge. Like all the plays in the season, it runs to Saturday at 8pm each evening.

On 30th June, there is a popular farce, Don’t Dress for Dinner by Marc Camoletti (of Boeing Boeing fame), followed on 7th July, by Ronald Harwood’s warm and lovely play Quartet, set in a rest home for retired singers—it was successfully filmed by a cast including the late Dame Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Pauline Collins and Billy Connolly.

Alan Ayckbourn’s typically acerbic but laugh-outloud comedy Time and Time Again is on for the week beginning 14th July, followed by another comedy, Richard Harris’s A Foot in the Door, from 21st July.

A sharp-witted comedy with a dark underside, Tim Firth’s Neville’s Island is on from 28th July, with Frederick Knott’s classic murder mystery Dial M for

Murder, from 11th August, and a period piece, Philip King’s farce See How They Run, from 18th.

With a week out for Sidmouth Folk Festival, the rep season resumes on 25th August, with Torben Betts’s psychological thriller Murder in the Dark

The three September plays are Noel Coward’s delightful A Song at Twilight, from Monday 1st, Sandy Rustin’s The Cottage, a cheeky homage to Noel Coward, from 8th September, and the season ends with Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of one of the all-time great chillers, Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, from 15th September.

Women reclaim the stage EXETER

EXETER’s Northcott Theatre hosts Reclaim festival, a celebration of women in the arts, from 9th to 14th June, at its partner city-centre Barnfield Theatre. The programme includes gatherings, workshops and performances, ranging from Bollywood dance to poetry performances and a daytime open mic gig for children.

It’s the second year of the festival, described by Northcott joint chief executives Kelly Johnson, Emma Stephenson and Martin Berry as “a crucial platform for addressing the persistent underrepresentation of women in the arts, and embodies our commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for diverse talent to be seen, nurtured and celebrated on our stages”

Festival director, theatre maker and producer Katie Villa says Reclaim celebrates women “but is open to everyone and we have so many fantastic events to choose from. Reclaim brings together the very best of local, regional and national talent.”

Highlights of the programme include Happenings, an evening of live art, spoken word, moving image and experimental music; Powerful Bodies dance workshop led by Maria Tarokh, artistic director of Exeter Northcott associate artists Company Scherazade; Reclaim the Mic, headlined by multi-award-winning poet Clare Ferguson-Walker; M/Others on the Mic, a daytime open mic gig where children are welcome to be themselves; and Manic, winner of FUSE International Best Solo Show.

Other communities opportunities are a Monday Mood Board Brunch, Drag King Workshop, Family Bollywood Dance Workshop and Life Drawing for the Terrified.

Scratch Night showcases four work-in-progress performances from local artists selected through an open call-out, and Scratch Saturday features new work from theatre company Beyond Face and Devon-based performer Micha Colombo.

Reclaim festival will end with Dolly’s Film Club Presents—Mean Girls Prom Party, where themed cocktails, karaoke, fancy dress and crafting collide in a film screening like no other.

Married to Churchill HONITON

IF you watched the recent screening of the 2017 film Darkest Hour, with its Oscar-winning central performance by Gary Oldman as Churchill, you are sure to have been struck by the portrait of the wartime leader’s relationship with his beautiful wife Clementine, played by Kristin Scott-Thomas (amusing casting for all those addicted to the duo’s fascinating relationship in Slow Horses). But what was it like to be Clementine?

Actress Liz Grand brings her to life in a one-woman play at Honiton’s Beehive Centre on Saturday 14th June. Mrs Churchill—My Life with Winston examines the life of a woman for whom the epithet “Behind every great man, there is a great woman” could have been written.

But did this beautiful woman, who was married for 56 years to one of the most famous Englishmen in history, actually have any influence on him, or was she just the elegant little woman at home?

As the film—screened appropriately during the week celebrating the 80th anniversary of VE Day—so clearly depicts, Churchill’s inspirational leadership helped to keep the British fighting spirit alive during the dark days of 1940, and eventually to win the war. And over his 62-year parliamentary career he was responsible for many momentous decisions.

What was he like to live with? Did he bully Clementine as he did many other people? Was he as grumpy and irascible at home as he often was in the House of Commons? Given his strength and conviction, could Clementine actually make him change

Liz Grand brings Clemintine to life in a one-woman play at Honiton’s Beehive Centre

his mind or look differently at a situation?

Liz Grand’s moving and sensitive portrayal of Clementine Churchill seeks to answer some of these questions. Winston himself said: “My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me.”

Regional award for Artsreach

ARTSREACH, Dorset’s rural touring arts charity, has been voted Best Arts, Culture and Theatre organisation in Somerset, Dorset and Bristol in this year’s Muddy Stilettos Awards, which celebrate independent business across 35 counties throughout the UK. The various organisations and businesses are divided into multiple categories for the public top vote for their favourites.

There were more than half a million votes in the awards, which are in their 12th year, a remarkable indication of how the awards are a reflection of quality and local support.

Founded 35 years ago, Artsreach strives to enrich the lives of people in Dorset by connecting and empowering rural communities through creative and cultural experiences. It does so by working with community volunteers to present a vibrant programme of 150-plus live performance, workshops and events in more than 40 villages and towns across the county.

Kerry Bartlett, Artsreach executive director, says: “We are absolutely thrilled to have won the Muddy Stilettos award for Best Arts, Culture and Theatre in Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, having been shortlisted alongside some fantastic organisations.

“This award is truly deserved by our dedicated team of community volunteers, without whom Artsreach events simply wouldn’t happen, plus our loyal audiences who support our programme and of course, the incredible touring artists and performers who keep us all entertained and inspired creatively.

“We are so very proud that what this incredible network achieves, and which so often goes under the radar, has been recognised in this way. We would like to thank everyone who voted. Keep your fingers crossed for us at the national awards - we hope to do Dorset proud!”

Artsreach is supported by Arts Council England and Dorset Council, and in 2024-25 alone, the charity invested more than £94,500 in artistic fees, showing significant support to the creative and cultural sector with a programme that reached audiences and participants totalling around 11.000 people. Financially, more than £32,000 was raised and retained by Dorset communities through Artsreach events and, with almost half of audiences travelling less than four miles to attend, over 90% of those surveyed agree that Artsreach helps to

Pictured: Children at Broadmayne village hall enjoying a creative workshop, photo by Jayne Jackson Photography; James Wilton Dance at Drimpton village hall; the audience at Marnhull village hall waiting for an Artsreach event to start.

reduce loneliness and isolation in rural communities, something of which the charity is very proud.

Regional winners from every category will automatically go through to the national finals, where Muddy Stilettos editors will judge the ‘Best of the Best’—the national winners for each category will be announced on 25th June.

Starting from Scratch VILLAGES IN ACTION

VILLAGES in Action, Devon’s rural arts charity, has announced the return of From Devon With Love, the annual artist development programme, with two Summer Scratch events, on Thursday 10th July and Friday 11th.

Innovative artists from Devon were invited to participate in this opportunity to develop and showcase early-stage new work. From Devon With Love was created to support live performance makers at all stages of creating new work for audiences. It offers space for experimentation, feedback and connection with rural communities across the county.

A Villages in Action spokesperson says: “It’s about celebrating the creative process just as much as the final product, providing a platform for artists to test, share and shape their work alongside peers and audiences.”

There are two dates for Summer Scratch—

Thursday 10th July, Moor Imagination Collective, at 7pm at Buckfastleigh (dance and spoken word/ poetry), and Friday 11th at 7pm at The Barrel House, as part of Totnes Fringe Festival (theatre and comedy.)

Viola-piano duo CONCERTS IN THE WEST

THE viola is in some ways the poor relation of the classical strings section—a bit less charismatic than the violin or the deeply emotional cello—but SpanishBelgian musician Lorena Canto shows the versatility and beauty of the instrument in her Concerts in the West recitals with pianist Yvain Calvo, at Bridport Arts Centre at 11.30am for the coffee concert on Friday 27th June, at Ilminster Arts Centre that evening at 7.30pm and at Crewkerne Dance House on Saturday 28th at 7.30.

At Bridport, the duo will play two pieces for viola and piano by Frank Bridge and Brahms’ Sonata in F minor No 1, Op 120. At Ilminster and Crewkerne, they will also play Robert Schumann’s Three Romances, Op 94 and Beethoven’s Seven Variations on Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen, from Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

Based in London, Lorena Cantó was for several years a member of the award-winning Jubilee String Quartet. She is now continuing her solo, chamber and orchestral career as a guest artist with ensembles

Yvain Calvo and Lorena Canto touring for Concerts in the West in June

Screen Time

with Nic Jeune

Top Six at the Flix

Bridport Arts Centre

Cottontail (2023)

Kenzaburo, played by the remarkable Japanese actor Lily Franky (Shoplifters) in a performance that’s a masterclass in understated anguish. Kenzaburo lost his wife to dementia before she lost her life, but, a lifelong fan of Beatrix Potter, she made him promise to take her ashes from Tokyo to the shores of Windermere in Cumbria. A delicate gem of a film, with a powerhouse turn from Franky. Wendy Ide. The Observer.

Layla (2024)

It’s carried by a winning performance from Hasna. Peter Bradshaw. The Guardian.

The Ghost and Mrs Muir (1947)

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir goes down like a cup of hot tea on a cold night, a charming love story that asks only that its audience suspend disbelief and allow itself to fall under the spell of fantastical ghosts and romance.

Bridport Electric Palace

The Salt Path (2025)

Director Marianne Elliott crafts a movingly intimate drama that will continue to leave its marks on those who embark on Ray and Moth’s inspiring journey. Mahan Zahiri. Gazettely.

Plaza Cinema Dorchester

How to Train your Dragon (2025)

The beloved How to Train Your Dragon franchise is about to take its most daring flight yet. Universal Pictures is bringing Berk to life in a bold live-action adaptation set for release June 13. Helmed by original series director Dean DeBlois, the film aims to recapture the heart and adventure of the animated trilogy while expanding its mythology in exciting new directions. Jonathan Kao. Everything We Know.

Amazon Prime

Sing Sing (2023)

Sing Sing is a revelation. Fletcher Peters. The Daily Beast.

in the UK and internationally. Through her years of musical study, both at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, she has played as a soloist in venues including the Berlin Konzerthaus and the Wigmore Hall, as well as appeared in BBC 3 and Classic Fm.

Yvain Calvo is a Spanish pianist with a career as soloist and chamber musician. He graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2021 under the tutelage of Peter Bithell and Caroline Palmer. Established in London, he has performed at the Oxford Philharmonic Friends Evening, recitals at Milton Court Concert Hall, and recorded at Abbey Road Studios. As an accompanist he has collaborated in the 2022 Proms at St Jude’s.

Crusted characters on tour

VARIOUS VENUES

DORCHESTER-based New Hardy Players are on tour in June with a new show, celebrating their 20th year, drawing on Thomas Hardy’s famous series of short stories. A Few Crusted Characters will be performed at Abbotsbury Swannery, Maumbury Rings, Holme Gardens at Wareham and Minrterne House, from 6th to 15th June.

“It is a Saturday afternoon of blue and yellow autumn time, and the scene is the High Street of a well-known market-town. A large carrier’s van stands in the quadrangular forecourt of the White Hart Inn, upon the sides of its spacious tilt being painted, in weather-beaten letters: Burthen, Carrier to Longpuddle ...”

Hardy’s short stories could be described as the celebrated Dorset author’s answer to The Canterbury Tales—a series of comic and tragic stories, with small scenes of village gossip from 200 years ago, told by an ensemble of authentic Dorset voices.

Suitable for all ages, the play is followed by country dancing with live music in the best tradition. It has been written by Victoria Bowles after Thomas Hardy and directed by Penny Levicree and Alastair Braidwood.

The tour is: Abbotsbury Swannery, Friday 6th and Saturday 7th June at 7.30pm, Sunday 8th, Maumbury Rings at 4pm, Friday 13th, Holme Gardens at 7.30, and Minterne House, at 7.30pm on Saturday 14th and 4pm on Sunday 15th.

A dark and dangerous game

DORCHESTER, LYME REGIS AND TOURING

FORGET The Traitors—the hottest, darkest game in town is The Witching Hour! ReBels Young Company, based at Plymouth’s Barbican Theatre, will bring this exciting and very different show to the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis on 19th June and Dorchester Corn Exchange on 29th June as part of a long national tour.

Black Cats, broomsticks and pentagrams? It sounds like a witch problem and the nation’s new game show, The Witching Hour, is here to take justice to a whole new level. Survival hinges on one’s ability to entertain, spin the best narrative, and sway the crowd’s fickle loyalty.

As accusations fly, anyone can find themselves in the spotlight, cast as the next villain in a society obsessed with spectacle. As the audience cheers and the cauldron starts to bubble over, moral integrity is sacrificed at the altar of entertainment. (Pitchforks and torches, not included.)

Through biting satire and absurd humour, this explores themes of justice, celebrity culture and the fragility of reputation in a world where being “liked” can mean the difference between life and death.

Will the accused manage to turn their fate around with a well-timed joke

or a heart-wrenching tale ... or will they become the next victim of this insatiable hunger for drama?

For the full tour with several more West Country dates, visit barbicantheatre.co.uk/young-company.

Celebrating queerness in the countryside BRIDPORT

SINGER Douglas Dare returns to Bridport Arts Centre on Saturday 21st June, following his successful performance last year. This special event is part of BAC’s season celebrating and championing LGBTQIA+ stories from Bridport and beyond. As a proud queer artist from the town, Douglas brings his distinctive sound and heartfelt storytelling back to his roots.

This event is part of the arts centre’s Our Stories: Queer in the Countryside short season, which explores LGBTQIA+ lives and experiences and offers opportunities to hear from diverse and underrepresented voices. Other events include The Loom, a spoken word evening on Monday 16th, celebrating women and gender-diverse voices, and comedian Kit Ford, on Friday 20th, with the show, Narcissistic Reflections on a Queer Childhood

Turning back the clocks ATHELHAMPTON

Cellist Lee MacKenzie and guitarist and mandola player Bob Whitley

ANYONE with the faintest sense of history is transported back to the Tudor period when they step through the handsome doors of Athelhampton House. There is another opportunity to enjoy this time travel, when cellist Lee MacKenzie and guitarist and mandola player Bob Whitley bring their musical story of love and death, Anne Boleyn, Wolf at the Door, to the ancient house on Saturday 7th June at 7.30pm.

The performance follows the dark tragedy of the enigmatic Anne Boleyn who held King Henry VIII in thrall for six years and supplanted Katherine of Aragon as Queen of England on the promise that she would bear the king a son and royal heir.

In a Tudor court of scheming courtiers, religious fervour and feuding families, all fighting for the King’s favour, a deadly battle of destinies and dynasties plays out—and is explored in this musical story, written and composed by Bob Whitley.

GPW

The Young Lit Fix

The Bookshop Dog By

Harriet Evans Illustrated

by

Claire Shorrock

Published by Little Tiger Paperback £7.99

Reviewed by Nicky Mathewson

LET’S kick off summer with a picture book that celebrates reading, bookshops, and the local community.

Scamper the dog lives with Paige at The Happy Tails Bookshop and although he is a little accident prone and at times a little too noisy, he is very welcome and very much a part of the bookselling team.

Scamper is well known in the neighbourhood and the residents love spending time with him, and giving him treats. Huan, who just moved in above the shop with his mum, gives the best belly rubs!

Scamper loves stories, particularly those full of adventure and he wonders if his friends in the neighbourhood would like them too. So as Paige becomes more and more snowed under with the running of the shop, Scamper helps out by taking books to the local residents in the hope that they will enjoy them.

Miss Castellano is confused when she finds a book left for her, but she reads it and loves it. When Mr Ackerman finds a gardening manual on his doorstep he starts to spend more and more time at his allotment.

If only he could find a book for Paige who is just too busy to read.

Can Scamper help Paige rediscover her passion for reading, and will the neighbours discover where their books came from?

This picture book is a bundle of joy and is so very uplifting. I absolutely love it and I highly recommend it for a read aloud to ages 3+ and for young learners looking for first books to read.

10% off for Marshwood Vale readers at The Bookshop on South Street, Bridport. 01308 422964 www.dorsetbooks.com

A Tale of Two Cities by

Charles Dickens

IT WOULD not really be correct to say that Dickens was a historical novelist. True, he was writing largely about the Victorian period and, while it may be history to us, it was the era in which he himself was living.

The only proper exceptions for Dickens are Barnaby Rudge, set at the time of the Gordon Riots in 1780, and the much better known A Tale of Two Cities with its central characters embroiled in the mayhem of the French Revolution.

The two cities of the title are London and Paris and the story centres on the plight of a certain Dr. Alexandre Manette and his daughter Lucie. Manette is imprisoned in The Bastille and family and friends on both sides of the Channel are doing their utmost to extricate him.

Caught up in the action are ne’er do well lawyer Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay, the good guy of the piece, who, unfortunately, although he has renounced his title, has family connections to the hated and now hunted French aristocracy.

In opposition are the villains chiefly Darnay’s relative the Maquis St. Evremond and Madame Defarge. Yes, she’s the one who sits at the front knitting while the guillotine does its grisly work.

Having survived a trial in London, Darnay is captured when he returns to France. Can he clear his name yet again or will he face the ultimate punishment as The Reign of Terror continues to run rampant?

As if that isn’t enough, the novel probably has the best opening and closing lines of any piece of literature ever written. A gem then, all the way through, from “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” to “It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done;”

Published by Penguin Classics

1356 by Bernard Cornwell

BEFORE starting this novel, I had no idea what a haubergeon was, why I might be wearing a bascinet and what the difference was between riding a destrier rather than a courser. Now I know the answers I could probably hold my own speaking in Old French if, by any huge stretch of the imagination, I happened to encounter a Norman knight.

Bernard Cornwell is a prolific writer and is probably best known for his series of books on the adventures of Richard Sharpe during the Napoleonic Wars. He has written about other historical periods also and this is one such example.

This riveting tale of derring-do is set during The Hundred Years War when the English throne laid claim to much of France and The Black Prince, otherwise known as Edward of Woodstock or The Prince of Wales, earned a fearsome reputation as a warlord with his ability to deploy the lethal use of the English longbow.

Before there was the Battle of Crecy (1346), later came Agincourt (1415) but this particular yarn climaxes in the Battle of Poitiers, hence the title 1356. Before we get to the denouement though there are plenty of romping escapades with one of the bowmen’s leaders, Sir Thomas of Hookton, involving kidnapped princesses, evil landowners, dodgy clerics and the search for the talismanic ‘La Malice’.

Cornwell’s narrative is highly engrossing and the way he uses the ‘expedition like’ travels around France always keeps the pot boiling. He is certainly one of the best historical authors when it comes to describing the frenzy of medieval warfare and the section on the battle itself is, especially for students of the period, worth a read on its own.

By the way, I also now know why archers usually removed the strings from their bows when not in use and the reason for tying a piece of rag near the top of your pike when fighting hand-to-hand. Answering a ‘call of nature’ wearing full armour? Don’t ask.

Footnote: The Black Prince never did become king. He died at the age of 46, one year before his father, King Edward III, who was succeeded by the Black Prince’s son, Richard II.

Published by Harper-Collins

Death at The White Hart

by Chris Chibnall

CHRIS Chibnall is probably best known for his award-winning series Broadchurch , set in West Bay, and other drama projects but he is the latest celebrity to turn his hand to novel writing.

Adding appeal to this enterprising and very readable debut is that this whodunnit is also set in and around Dorset’s coast, although the author has used a number of fictitious names for locations.

As the title suggests the victim this time is the landlord of the local pub who turns up dead in a deserted country road bizarrely bedecked in a set of deer antlers. An odd killer’s quirk, a ritual slaying, a personal vendetta or is this symbolic—a device to convey to everyone an important message?

Trying to piece all the riddles together are experienced detective Nicola Bridge and her rookie sidekick Harry Ward. Bridge is used to crime in the big city where investigating teams are larger and so has to adapt to a situation where she is very much thrown back to improvising on much reduced resources.

Like all small communities, the fictional town of Fleetcombe has certain inhabitants who are harbouring damaging secrets, the farmer, the delivery driver, the hairdresser and the local unscrupulous entrepreneur. And that’s not to mention little Shannon who seems to witness a lot of key events from her vantage points in the play park and the pub car park.

There are elements of the usual police procedural format about the novel and it does take a while to gather pace. Maybe the latter is because the author feels time needs to be invested in layering characters in some detail as, unlike television dramas, there are no visual images to rely on.

Interest has already been shown in the novel by television companies and it seems likely that production will start possibly later this year or in 2026.

Published by Michael Joseph

Book ahead

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Explaining being Pan to Nan, Bridport Arts Centre, July 5. Tickets from: www.bridport-arts.com

Throwing Muses, Phoenix, Exeter, August 28. Tickets from: exeterphoenix.org.uk.

Spooky Mens Chorale, Lighthouse, Poole, September 4. Tickets from: www.lighthousepoole.co.uk.

Cabaret with Balls, Electric Palace, Bridport September 21. Tickets from: www.electricpalace.org.uk.

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Can Dorset Join the Leaders of the Zero Carbon Housing Revolution?

As the climate crisis intensifies, Dorset has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lead the UK’s transition to zero carbon homes. On Wednesday 4 June, Dorset CPRE will host its Summer Conference online, titled, Net Zero Homes. Can Dorset Do It?

With the UK construction sector responsible for 39% of global energy related carbon emissions according to World Green Building Council’s Bringing Embodied Carbon Upfront , and over 1 million homes built since 2015 now requiring costly retrofits, the urgency for change has never been greater. This high-impact conference brings together industry innovators, local authorities, developers, planners, and architects to explore bold new solutions and the radical transformation needed in the way we build homes.

The conference will be opened by Dorset CPRE President, former BBC Chief News Correspondent,

THE Melplash Agricultural Society has announced that their 2025 President will be John Bugler, Managing Director of Francis Buglers Ltd in Beaminster, while Simon Wakeley of AJ Wakeley & Sons will take the position of new Chairman of the Society for 2025/26. The popular Melplash Agricultural Show will be held on Thursday 21 August this year.

Kate Adie and chaired by Green Party Peer, Baroness Jenny Jones.

Speakers will include: Andrew Procter, Chair, Dorset CPRE Planning Group: Sam Goss, Founder, Barefoot Architects—Bridport Cohousing: Dr Will Hawkins, Lecturer in Structural Engineering Design, Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems, University of Bath and Ian Pritchett, Co-founder and Innovation Director, Greencore Homes.

Following the presentations the speakers will be joined by representatives from BCP and Dorset Councils and local environmental groups for a round table discussion on the issues raised.

Join in to find out how Dorset can meet the challenge of delivering Net Zero Carbon housing— cleaner, faster, and fairer.

This is an online event on Wednesday 4 June 2025 at 6:30 PM. Register at: 2025 Planning Conference.

New team heading Melplash Show

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Stamps & Coins wanted by collector / investor. We are keen to purchase small or large collections at this time. Tel Rod 01308 863790 or 07802261339.

Vintage & antique textiles, linens, costume buttons etc. always sought by Caroline Bushell. Tel. 01404 45901. Jan 25

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Antique restoration and bespoke furniture. Furniture carefully restored and new commissions undertaken. French polishing and modern hand finishes. Phil Meadley. 01297 560335. phil.meadley@btinternet.com Sept 24

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Piano, violin, theory tuition at your home. Highly qualified teacher. Adults and children welcome. Beginners to advanced. Dr Thomas Gold 07917 835781.Dec 24

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