Bridport Times July 2018

J ULY 2018 | FREE

A MONTHLY CELEBR ATION OF PEOPLE, PLACE AND PURVEYOR

MATERIAL GIRLS with Mary Moore and Dress bridporttimes.co.uk

WELCOME

I

’m making a concerted effort to be aware of summer this year. That might sound daft but time it seems has the wind at its back these days.

It’s all too easy for a day, a week, a month or an entire season to sneak past while I was looking in the other direction. So this year, every tinkle of a distant ice cream van, every crunch of wave on the shingle and every beautiful meditative moment of komorebi is a gentle tap on the shoulder: “Psst… wake up.”

And so to July. Anna Powell visits a liberated Alex Lowery ahead of his mesmerising solo exhibition at Sladers Yard, Kit Glaysier explores the group dynamics of artists, Neville Copperthwaite predicts the weather, the Simons make hay, our chefs prepare a fish supper and colourful salad, Annabelle Hunt paints the ceiling, then it’s on to The George with Kevin Clayton to talk about our emotions. Katharine and Jo meanwhile spend a fairytale morning with Mary Moore, owner of the stunning new vintage dress boutique on South Street. A magical shop of beautiful things, celebrating the fine art of taking time to do things well.

Have a wonderful month.

Glen Cheyne, Editor glen@homegrown-media.co.uk @bridporttimes @bridport_times

CONTRIBUTORS Editorial and creative direction Glen Cheyne Design Andy Gerrard @round_studio Sub editors Jay Armstrong @jayarmstrong_ Elaine Taylor Photography Katharine Davies @Katharine_KDP Feature writer Jo Denbury @jo_denbury Editorial assistant Paul Newman @paulnewmanart Print Pureprint Distribution Available throughout Bridport and surrounding villages.

Please see bridporttimes.co.uk for stockists.

David Alcock

Annabelle Hunt

Bridport Museum

Bridport Timber & Flooring

@BridportMuseum bridportmuseum.co.uk

@BridportTimber @annabellehuntcolourconsultant bridporttimber.co.uk

Martin Ballam Xtreme Falconry

Tamara Jones

xtremefalconry.co.uk

Loving Healthy

Simon Barber Evolver @SimonEvolver @simonpaulbarber evolver.org.uk Molly Bruce @mollyellenbruce mollybruce.co.uk Caroline Butler BSc (Hons) MNIMH herbalcaroline.co.uk Fraser Christian

@lovinghealthy_ @lovinghealthy_ lovinghealthy.co.uk Gill Meller @GillMeller @Gill.Meller gillmeller.com Anna Powell Sladers Yard @SladersYard @sladersyard sladersyard.wordpress.com

Coastal Survival School @CoastalSurvival

Ellen Simon

coastalsurvival.com

Tamarisk Farm

Kelvin Clayton

tamariskfarm.co.uk

@ tamarisk_farm @kelvinclaytongp greenthoughts.me

Charlie Soole

philosophyinpubs.co.uk

The Club House West Bexington @TheClubHouse217

Homegrown Media Ltd 81 Cheap Street Sherborne Dorset DT9 3BA 01935 315556 @bridporttimes glen@homegrown-media.co.uk paul@homegrown-media.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk Bridport Times is printed on Edixion Offset, an FSCÂŽ and EU Ecolabel certified paper. It goes without saying that once thoroughly well read, this magazine is easily recycled and we actively encourage you to do so.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise - without prior permission from Bridport Times.

4 | Bridport Times | July 2018

Neville Copperthwaite

@theclubhouse2017

n.copperthwaite@gmail.com

theclubhousewestbexington.co.uk

Melanie Fermor

Antonia Squire

Dorset Wildlife Trust @DorsetWildlife @dorsetwildlife dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk Jane Fox Yoga Space @yogaspacebridport yogaspacebridport.com Kit Glaisyer @kitglaisyer @kitglaisyer kitglaisyer.com

The Bookshop @bookshopbridprt @thebookshopbridport dorsetbooks.com Emma Tabor & Paul Newman @paulnewmanart @paulnewmanartist paulnewmanartist.com Cass Titcombe Brassica Restaurant @brassica_food @brassicarestaurant_mercantile

Charlie Groves

brassicarestaurant.co.uk

Groves Nurseries @GrovesNurseries

Chris Tripp

@grovesnurseries

Dorset Diggers Community

grovesnurseries.co.uk

Archaeology Group dorsetdiggers.btck.co.uk

38 6

What’s On

JULY 2018 30 Outdoors

70 Gardening

12 Arts & Culture

38 MARY MOORE

73 Philosophy

20 History

48 Food & Drink

75 Literature

22 Wild Dorset

54 Body & Mind

76 Crossword

62 Interiors

bridporttimes.co.uk | 5

WHAT'S ON Listings

Second Tuesday every month

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7.15pm

Every Monday 7.30pm-9.30pm

Bridport Sugarcraft Club

Bridport Folk Dance Club

Ivy House, Grove Nurseries, West Bay

WI Hall, North Street, DT6 3JQ. Folk

dancing with recorded music. 01308 423442

Road, DT6 4AB. £4.50, first visit free

Mozart flute & harp concerto, Haydn cello concerto. Tickets £10 (inc. teas), children free, from Bridport Music Centre. 01935 824786

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Wednesday 18th 7.30pm

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Every Wednesday 10am-12pm

Wessex Wildlife Talk

Every Tuesday & Thursday 10.30am

Art Class

Walking the Way to Health

Unitarian Church, East St. £10 per

Bridport Town Hall. Talk by Harry

Starts from CAB 45 South Street. Walks last Approx 30mins, with trained health

session. 01308 424980

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walk leaders. All welcome, free of charge.

Every Thursday 7.30pm

Britton, in aid of Bridport Millennium

Green. Tickets £7 (£6.50 members) inc.

wine & nibbles. Info: Sue 01308 425037. ____________________________

01305 252222 sarahdavies@dorset.gov.uk

Bridport Shakespeare

Saturday 21st 11am

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Company Rehearsals -

coffee+JAZZ

Every Tuesday 10am–1pm

'Midsummer Night's Dream’

Art Class

Rax Lane door - Chapel in the Garden.

Mood Indigo trio. St Mary's Parish

Town Mill Arts, Lyme Regis DT7 3PU. £15 per session, first session half price.

07812 856823 trudiochiltree.co.uk

Rehearsing for performance in August.

07840 316264

Church, South Street. For the Roof Appeal, 01308 422373

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Saturday 21st 2pm

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Every third Friday 10.30am-3.30pm

Stoke Abbott Street Fair

Every Tuesday until September/

Bridport Embroiderers

October 6.15pm-8.15pm

St Swithens Church hall. 01308 456168

Set around the village lanes with stalls,

The Heritage Coast Canoe Club

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teas, kids’ games & music.

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Watersports' Centre, Fisherman's Green,

Friday 6th 10.30am-3pm

Friday 27th - Sunday 29th

West Bay. 12+ years. £10 per taster session.

Sea Dragon Art Day

Bridport Folk Festival

westbaykayak.co.uk heritagecoast.cc@gmail.com ____________________________

Join artist Darrell Wakelam at the

Venues across town (see our feature on

Every Tuesday 7.15pm

Centre to re-create the missing head of the Attenborough Sea Dragon.

____________________________

page 10) bridportfolkfestival.com

Free drop-in event. charmouth.org/chcc

Saturday 28th 10.30am-12.30pm

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Dorset Wildlife Trust

experience required, give it a go! Contact

Sunday 15th 3pm

Farm Walk at Portesham

Uplyme Morris on Facebook or The

Bridport Chamber Orchestra

Squire on 07917 748087

Summer Concert

Wadden Farm. Info & booking Nick

____________________________

St Swithun’s Church, DT6 5DU.

Uplyme Morris Rehearsals The Bottle Inn, Marshwood. No

6 | Bridport Times | July 2018

07824 438974. Suggested donation of £2 (£3 for non-members).

THE DORSET OPERA

MMXVIII

The full Country House opera experience on your doorstep with internationally-renowned soloists, a full orchestra and a chorus of 70 Marquee bar | Individual Picnics | Formal Dining British Stage Première Jules Massenet

LE CID

24, 26 July at 19:00 | Matinée 28 July at 14:00 Sung in French with English surtitles

Giacomo Puccini

LA BOHÈME 25, 27, 28 July at 19:00 Sung in Italian with English surtitles

The Coade Theatre Bryanston Blandford Forum Box Office: 01202 499199 Book Online: dorsetopera.com

WHAT'S ON ____________________________

1pm-2.30pm

Every Wednesday & Saturday

Monday 30th - Tuesday 31st

Story-Telling

Weekly Market

Small Things

The Community Orchard. With Martin

South, West & East Street

£7/£6 concessions & siblings. Tickets:

Second Saturday of the month

e-mail at bridportyouthdance01@gmail.com

Farmers’ Market

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Creative Arts Sessions: Monday 30th 10.30am-12pm Sticky Fishes Broadoak Village Hall. With local artist Darrell Wakelam. Make a

fantastic 3D fish to take home. 5-7

years. £7/£6 concessions & siblings

Maudsley. 5 years+ (parents welcome).

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Bridport TIC. Info: 07765 971357 or

9am–1pm

bridportyouthdance.org.uk

Bridport Arts Centre

Every Saturday, 9am–12pm

1pm-3pm

Planning ahead

Super Scary Seagulls

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Create a 3D Scary Seagull sculpture

Saturday 4th August 2-5pm

Country Market WI Hall, North Street

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to take home. 8-12 years. £8/£7

Loders Fete

Every Sunday, 10am-5pm

concessions & siblings

Local Produce Market

Tuesday 31st 10.30am-12.30pm

Loders Court, Loders, DT6 3RZ

Jumping Jellyfish Puppet

Host of stalls & attractions for family fun. £1.50 (children under 12 free)

Customs House, West Bay

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Last Sunday of every month,

Cooper's Circle, Allington Hill. Story with songs, music & puppet-making.

3-5 years (accompanied by a parent/

guardian). £8/£7 concessions & siblings

10am-4pm

Fairs and markets

Bridport Vintage Market St Michael’s Trading Estate, DT6 3RR

____________________________

10am-4pm LAST SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH

2018 MARKET DATES

1st April (Easter) 29th April 27th May (Bank Holiday weekend) 24th June 29th July 26th August (Bank Holiday weekend) 30th September 28th October ST MICHAEL’S TRADING ESTATE DT6 3RR B3162 west to join A35

Tannery Rd

COACH STATION

WEST ST P

TOWN HALL & T.I.C.

EAST ST

P

P

P

SOUTH ST ne

Towe r All

ey

St Michael

’s Lane

Stove r La Tarw ork Cut s

ide D

rive

www.stmichaelsartists.com

Rivers

VINTAGE ANTIQUES RETRO FOOD & DRINK MUSIC AUTOJUMBLE ARTISTS’ OPEN STUDIOS

P

Gundry Lane

P

A3066

Sea Rd Nth north to Beaminster

A35

east to Dorchester

BRIDPORT A35 Sea Rd Sth BRIDPORT BYPASS south to West Bay and west to Devon

BRIDPORT ART &

VINTAGE QUARTER

contact: vintagemarketbridport@gmail.com facebook.com/BridportArtVintageQuarter 8 | Bridport Times | July 2018

PREVIEW In association with

WESCA: ‘BLOOMING CONTRADICTIONS’ 28th July - 12th August Eype Centre for the Arts, St Peter’s Church, Mount Lane, Eype, near Bridport DT6 6AR. 11am - 4pm wesca.co.uk

The idea of the polluted sea as ‘blooming awful’ is intermixed

During the exhibition there will be intriguing developments.

The abundance, beauty and colour of flowers is evident in

will evolve into something new during this time. The idea

in this show with things that are blooming wonderful too! paintings, photographs, sculpture and hangings by Wesca artists (Wessex Contemporary Arts). The show will have,

at its centre, a table full of dangerous delights - objects that are enticing but laced with danger, and invite the viewer to

contemplate the impact of pollutants on the natural world.

Plastic is the main culprit addressed on this table, and around the church, and it puts us, the viewer, in the position of being duped, as marine animals are, by plastic in the wrong place.

Some Wesca artists will be working on site, and the show

of blooming as a living, developing, evolving phenomenon, in a multitude of ways, will be literally visible as the show

develops - inviting viewers to return and see it again with

new eyes as it has blossomed, flowered, sprouted, flourished

into another version - feeding on itself and the inspiration of the wonderful space of St Peter’s in Eype. evolver.org.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 9

What’s On

BRIDPORT FOLK FESTIVAL 27th-29th JULY

T

he summer of 2017 heralded the first Bridport Folk Festival (BFF), an idea germinated by a few people from Bridport town and which was taken in hand by well-known local Chris Deacon.

Consequently, after much hard work by Chris and the committee, beneath the glorious weekend sunshine Bridport Folk Festival was born.

The festival took place over 3 days in August 2017, hosted at venues across the whole town from The Woodman pub and St Mary’s Church up to Millennium Green, and from The Ropemakers across to The Tiger.

This year it will be happening all over again on 27th29th July, but this time it will be much bigger and brighter with more varied activities and acts. Lessons have been learned from organising the first festival and we hope that improvements will be noticed in this year’s festival, as well as in each and every festival in the years to come. Our committee and volunteers have been working very hard all year round at fundraising in order to make this year’s festival something special.

Festival Friday kicks off on Bucky Doo Square at The Dagger stage with bands performing throughout the day.

There will be bands and music sessions staged in the festival pubs, plus our welcome Barn Dance and Friday night headline gig at The Electric Palace, where the legendary Richard Digance will be supported by Eric Sedge.

Commencing Saturday, there will be a multitude of workshops, all singing, dancing and playing, for people of all ages. Two more stage areas open on Saturday: Colmers stage in Borough Gardens and the Trevett and Gale stage over at Millennium Green where there will also be a children’s area, a festival bar and food stalls. This year sees the addition of the Bridport Apple Mummers, Martin Maudsley Story Teller, and Wise L-Leathermonk, the Scottish ukulele bard. There will be a ceilidh and dances scheduled for St Mary’s Church House, and colourful Morris and related dancers all around the town. Finally, topping off the day, will be

10 | Bridport Times | July 2018

the headline gig with ALAW, Radio 2 Folk Award nominees and guest musicians at this year’s Proms.

On Sunday events will continue at the aforementioned venues and South Street will be closed for the grand Morris, clog, rapper and Appalachian display. Also on South Street there will be an eclectic mix of traders peddling all sorts of unique artistic and artisanal wares, including fairtrade stalls and plenty of local food and drink for you to indulge in. Music sessions will be happening around the town throughout the day and we are grateful to have the involvement of more pubs this year. There will be bands as well as sessions in The Ropemakers, The Beach and Barnicott, The Woodman, The George and The Tiger pubs.

Programmes, price £3, will be available to buy at the festival and will provide information of the times and venues of all the scheduled events. They will also be your admission ticket to the outdoor stages. Workshops are £5 each. Weekend tickets for all the events can be purchased on the day or in advance. However, there will be enough free events happening to keep you entertained all weekend.

Last year, the money raised at the BFF, some £3200, was donated to the RNLI. This year our beneficiary is the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, a charity which is an indispensable service for rural communities but which does not get any government funding.

None of this would be possible without the help of the people of Bridport, The Bridport Town Council, the businesses who have sponsored the BFF or advertised or helped in some way, and our amazing team of volunteers who along with the committee make this whole thing happen. To all of you, we say a heartfelt Thank You. For more information about the festival please visit the official BFF website. bridportfolkfestival.com

bridporttimes.co.uk | 11

Arts & Culture

STILL LIGHT ALEX LOWERY

Anna Powell, Sladers Yard

I

am off to see the paintings for Alex Lowery’s solo show at Sladers Yard. This is an important day for me. Alex Lowery is the artist we chose to open Sladers Yard back in 2006 and it was his work that has set the tone for everything that has followed. He paints the essence of things, taking as his subject mainly our own West Bay and Portland. It is a privilege to work with him and to consider him a friend. But fifth time round, what can be new? As usual, I sit on the wooden chair in his small room facing a wall where he hangs his long canvases one by one. These new paintings take my breath away. They are windows of pure light.

Alex’s work is often compared to that of Edward Hopper. The link is the way they both paint light.

12 | Bridport Times | July 2018

Hopper famously said, ‘All I ever wanted to do was to paint sunlight on the side of a house.’ Alex talks now about ‘the timbre of light, its emotional quality.’ It is easy to forget that these paintings are not lit from behind like the screens we look at too much of the time. The light here is created by playing colours off against each other in multiple thin layers. The result is a sustained rich experience which makes me think of another Hopper quote, ‘I am interested primarily in the vast field of experience and sensation.’

Alex first discovered West Dorset on childhood family holidays from London. He met his partner, the artist Vanessa Gardiner, at Central School of Art in London and accompanied her on trips to her family

Portland 125, 2017, 46x97cm, oil on canvas

cottage near Charmouth, to which they ultimately moved and where they brought up their daughter. ‘I found myself in this area of rich potential,’ he says. ‘West Bay in those days was a relatively neglected place whose case I could argue. Now it is much more discovered, although it has still escaped the worst of the Disneyfication that you often see, frequently side by side with less advantaged areas. There are still plenty of aspects left of West Bay and Portland that I can work with.’

Alex is a fine pianist and his paintings are full of music, rhythm and mood. ’I have always taken a motif, a particular set of roofs for instance, and woven variations about them. I do tend to find the same angle, even the same viewpoint, interesting again. It is so easy to travel

now, to go and see spectacular extraordinary places and sights, to look at photographs and films. It’s exciting to find new things within the familiar, right outside your front door. It’s all about creative looking.’

Still Light, the title for his new show, suggests the words ‘Still Life’ and, in many ways, it is the stillness, even where a wave is curling in to the shore, that distinguishes his paintings. Just as it is in Morandi’s landscapes, light cast on buildings can be as moving as light on placed objects. Vermeer and Corot are artists Alex particularly admires. A strong sense of the history of art and of landscape painting in particular feeds into his work. Art is a language. If we have all looked at and absorbed the Cézannes, Matisses and Mondrians, > bridporttimes.co.uk | 13

Flood Scheme, 2018, 45x110cm, oil on canvas

West Bay 305, 2018, 25x40cm, oil on linen

West Bay 306, 2018, 25x55cm, oil on canvas 14 | Bridport Times | July 2018

we have a mutual understanding to move forward from.

There is a freshness and freedom in this new work. Alex has always made colour sketches in gouache but recently he has been working to scale with charcoal and acrylic on paper, something he has found liberating. ‘You can try things you wouldn’t normally do, test out the possibilities of an idea before committing hours of time to painting it in oils.’ We are looking at Flood Scheme, his first painting of the River Exe which he says is ‘as figurative as I would want to go.’ He has painted it in acrylic and then in oil, where blocks of colour emphasise the strong underlying abstraction in a complex composition.

‘I used to go through all the questions: what is a landscape and who needs to paint in the 21st century?

I don’t think about that any more. I’m still painting.

You are not competing with nature, but when you see

something that makes a connection, you want to find what that is. By intensifying, removing the extraneous things, you can distill the emotion to make something that goes a bit beyond. I like the idea of a painting that unfolds, presents something but then steps back to allow people to go where they will with it.’

‘Still Light’, recent paintings by Alex Lowery with ceramics

by Jack Doherty and furniture by Petter Southall, is at Sladers Yard, West Bay, from Saturday 7th July until Sunday 9th September. Sladers Yard Gallery and Café is open every day 10am - 4.30pm (Sundays & Bank Holidays Gallery opens 12pm - 4.30pm). Works can be viewed online. sladersyard.co.uk @sladersyard bridporttimes.co.uk | 15

EDITION FOUR

Contributors to the next edition of Elementum include Jackie Morris, Alex Preston, Neil Gower, Catherine Hyde, Helen Scales and Whitney Brown.

AVA I L A B L E L O C A L LY O R O N L I N E

ELEMENTUMJO URNAL.CO M

16 | Bridport Times | July 2018

Arts & Culture

ARTISTIC COMMUNITIES Kit Glaisyer, Artist

Greta Berlin, image: Brendan Buesnel

A

rtists tend to be fiercely independent creatures, pursuing their own, singular vision; yet, the most significant developments in art seem to occur when a number of these (sometimes antagonistic) individualists start working in close proximity to one another, whether in the same town, city or art college. I’ve often witnessed the clash of personalities and ideologies this creative tension can generate - an inevitable result of artists’ passionate, rule-breaking nature.

This was certainly the case in the legendary St Ives art community in Cornwall. In 1962, Sven Berlin, the English painter, writer and sculptor, was a member of the burgeoning art scene as well as a founding member of the Crypt Group of young artists that included Peter Lanyon, John Wells and Bryan Wynter. Sven was also a member of the Penwith Society of Artists but he left the group following a much-publicised rift between the Modernists and the more representational artists.

This artistic clash of egos was the inspiration for his controversial, fictionalised autobiography, The Dark Monarch, which was a thinly-disguised and irreverent portrait of St Ives’ (now world-famous) artists such as Dame Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Bernard Leach and Patrick Heron. (svenberlin.com) 18 | Bridport Times | July 2018

Sven’s daughter, sculptor Greta Berlin, is now based in the Marshwood Vale, to the west of Bridport, having moved here from the New Forest in the early 1990s.

She was born and brought up in and around St Ives during the ‘40s and ‘50s and the seeds of her own art were inspired by the company of many of those artists.

Greta started making and showing her own ceramic sculptures in 1974, then gradually evolved into stone carving and welded steel structures. Her sculpture reflects the dichotomy of our inner lives: a woman needing a creative life yet fearing her ability to also give her children all they need; the anomalies of the world around us - the ‘haves and have-nots’ and the innocent victims of conflict. (gretaberlinsculpture.com) Interestingly, Bridport has a strong connection with another significant art scene: The Glasgow School.

Francis (Fra) Newbery (1855–1946), the painter and art educationalist, studied and then taught at the Literary & Scientific Institute in Bridport, which was the first government-funded art school in Dorset.

Newbery is best known, however, as director of the Glasgow School of Art between 1885 and 1917. It was under his leadership that the school developed an international reputation and was associated with the

flourishing ‘Glasgow Style’ and the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his circle. Newbery also helped commission Mackintosh as an architect for the celebrated Glasgow School of Art building and was actively involved in its design. (lsibridport.co.uk) Bridport’s first art school closed in 1922 but the artists kept coming. In the 1930s painter Paul Nash and painter/ sculptor Eileen Agar – the so-called Seaside Surrealists – were frequent visitors to West Bay. The 1960s saw the arrival of American abstract expressionist John Hubbard (1931-2017), followed by experimental photographer John Miles and figurative painter Robin Rae who both taught at Symondsbury Art School, which was run by Ann Barnes and Peter Hitchin from 1984-1990. Even after the art school closed, the art community continued to grow, attracting an eclectic mix of painters, writers, musicians, graphic designers and others from across the UK, who lived and worked together in the Oakhayes Art Residency at the old Symondsbury Rectory.

I joined the Residency in 1998 and two of the artists I met there, James Ursell and Georgina Robinson, had recently arrived from the lively Berlin art scene. James is well known for his large-scale outdoor installations such as Ecliptic Stelli, a flying camera obscura made for

the Eclipse in 1999. This was followed by the Garden of Love, a giant, 30-foot-wide wicker bowl set into the earth that mirrors the constellations. He then created La Ronde de Nuit, a life-size reconstruction of a Rembrandt painting acted out by the residents of Dolton, Devon and, in 2000, he made an installation, Straw Stellu Unit Carrier, in which he filled the Spacex Gallery in Exeter with hay bales! But painting was always James’s first love, and a British Council residency at Sacy-le-Petit brought about a new body of work that built on the basic tools of poetry and theatre he had developed. He is now concentrating exclusively on paintings that are at once pastoral, figurative and mythical. Georgina (now his wife) has collaborated with James on sculptural projects over the years since they first met on the Fine Art course at Winchester School of Art. She makes paintings that are inspired by moments glimpsed in the landscape and found objects that have aroused her curiosity. They have now moved to Herefordshire to raise a family away from the modern world and have converted an old barn into a house and studio. Both artists currently exhibit at the Table Gallery in Hay-on-Wye. (thetablehay.com & jamesursell.org) kitglaisyer.com bridporttimes.co.uk | 19

History OBJECT OF THE MONTH

THE MYSTERY OF THE ‘RUSKIN’ BROOCH

W

David Alcock, Bridport Museum Volunteer

hile searching through the stores one day we came across a beautiful cameo brooch bequeathed to the Bridport Museum in 1991 by Mrs Frances Sanctuary of Loders, now deceased.

The brooch, which had belonged to Mrs Sanctuary’s grandmother, Sarah Letitia Ashley, was believed to depict the Greek myth of Leda and the Swan. Intriguingly, the brooch is also said to have once belonged to Euphemia (Effie) Ruskin.

Effie Ruskin is a constant subject of curiosity.

Many films, biographies, television dramas and books have been written about her and her marriages to two eminent artists, John Ruskin and John Everett Millais.

Emma Thompson has recently spearheaded a new film about Effie and Suzanne Fagence Cooper has contributed a new biography. Hence, establishing a link between Effie and the brooch in Bridport Museum would be a real coup. But where to start?

First, we got the ladies in the Bridport History Centre beavering away on the case. They can find anything! They traced the family tree of Mrs Sanctuary, with some difficulty, back to her grandmother. We tried to find a point of connection between the Ashley family and the Ruskin and/or Millais families but with no luck, although both families seem to have had Scottish connections centring around Perth. At this stage we were not even sure whether the brooch had been given to Effie by Ruskin or later by Millais. And how did it come into the possession of Mrs Sanctuary’s grandmother? The brooch is also without its setting.

Why? And where is it? Could it be that the brooch was given to Effie by Ruskin and she gave it away (got rid of it) after their marriage was annulled? Mrs Sanctuary’s grandmother is said to have worn it on her wedding day. Could it have been a gift from Effie? So many intriguing questions.

We contacted the Victoria and Albert Museum hopeful that they might have some knowledge of the brooch or 20 | Bridport Times | July 2018

be able to help us establish a connection.

Richard Edgcumbe of the Metalwork Collection was very informative. The brooch is actually a depiction of Hebe and the eagle of Jupiter. She is feeding the eagle nectar from a cup. The cameo, in tortoiseshell and ivory work, possibly takes its inspiration from an engraving of a painting of the same subject by Sir William Beechey which is in the Fitzwilliam Museum. Hebe, the cup-bearer of the gods, was a favourite subject for painters in the Victorian era.

Mr Edgcumbe notes that the researcher Shirley Bury quotes from Effie’s letters that Effie was given a ‘beautiful cameo of Jupiter and Juno’ by her father-inlaw as a birthday present. In this case there would need to have been a mistake in identification for our cameo to have once belonged to Effie.

We checked through all the pictures we could find of Effie to see if the brooch was depicted in any of them but could find nothing. By chance I met members of Mrs Sanctuary’s family and grilled them for any remembrances of the brooch. No firm leads there. The writer Mary Lutyens has written accounts of Effie’s relationships with Ruskin and Millais and there are published letters, ‘Effie in Venice’, written by Effie.

We’ll be trawling through them with a toothcomb.

Bridport Museum Trust is a registered charity, which runs an Accredited Museum and a Local History Centre in the centre of Bridport. The Museum recently underwent a major refurbishment and re-opened in May 2017. Entry to the Museum is free. The Local History Centre provides resources for local and family history research. To find out more about Bridport Museum’s collections visit their website. Much of their photographic and fine art archive is gradually being made available online at flickr.com/photos/61486724@N00/ bridportmuseum.co.uk @bridportmuseum facebook.com/BridportMuseum

C R A F T C E N T R E A N D R E S TA U R A N T

Staddle Stones R E S TA U R A N T

TA PAS & W INE EVE N I N G Saturday 28th July

Staddle Stones restaurant invite you to an evening of authentic Spanish Tapas dishes accompanied by wine tasting from the renowned Morrish & Banham wine merchants.

Evening starts at 7.00pm (ticket only) £30.00 per person Please call to book your tickets.

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N O R T O M A K E A BOOKING, TELEPHONE: 01308 868362

O P E N D A I LY F R O M 1 0 A M - 5 P M • B R O A D W I N D S O R , D O R S E T, D T 8 3 P X

Wild Dorset

YOUR TERN TO VISIT Melanie Fermor, Dorset Wildlife Trust

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une is a great time for a trip to Chesil Beach and a chance to spot the UK’s second rarest breeding seabird: the little tern. This tiny character weighs in at less than a tennis ball and is the UK’s smallest tern. With their little black caps and bright yellow bills with a black tip they cut a fine figure, sprinting through the air in precision dives for small fish in the lagoon. They are just starting to nest now so what better time to visit the Fine Foundation Chesil Beach Centre and have a look? To avoid disturbance, the best views of the terns are from Ferrybridge looking towards the yellow buoys.

Little terns make an awesome journey each year, all the way from Africa, to nest here in Dorset. Aerial flying displays and offers of small fish herald the start of courtship, with females then laying two or three eggs. Once hatched, the young grow very quickly and can be seen running around on the beach after just a few days. Here they remain for several weeks, honing their flying and fishing techniques while being fed by their parents.

These elegant little birds enjoy peace and protection at the Chesil Beach colony, but their past has not always been so rosy. Between 1997 and 2009 their population dropped from 100 pairs to none at all. This triggered the creation of The Chesil Little Tern Project, led by the RSPB and supported by Dorset Wildlife Trust, Natural England, The Portland Court Leet, the Crown Estate and the Chesil Bank and Fleet Nature Reserve.

The challenge for the little terns is the fact that they are ground nesters. They actually nest right on the pebbles, leaving them vulnerable to predators such as foxes, kestrels and gulls. The project fences-off the nesting area and positions special Little Tern Wardens on hand twenty-four hours a day to ward off any potential threats.

The wardens also provide nesting patches, monitor behaviour and hatching outcomes and were responsible for working out that some low hatch rates were due to the chilly, draughty aspect of the beach.

Providing sand helped remedy this and raised hatching outcomes dramatically. Good detective work!

• The best way to see little terns is to take a trip on the Fleet Explorer boat or on a guided walk – Sunday 22nd July at 1.30pm.

• Little terns are protected by the Wildlife Countryside Act and are Amber listed.

• The Chesil Beach colony is the only little tern colony in the South West.

dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/chesilbeach 22 | Bridport Times | July 2018

Image: Paul Williams bridporttimes.co.uk | 23

Jeremy Norton BESPOKE KITCHENS AND FURNITURE BRIDPORT

jeremynorton.co.uk

24 | Bridport Times | July 2018

Wild Summer How will you go wild this summer? www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/events

DORSET WILDLIFE TRUST Photos © Vicky Ashby, Katharine Davies, Laura McLellan & Matthew Roberts.

Wild Dorset

BLESS THE WEATHER

Neville Copperthwaite, Marine Consultant and Project Coordinator

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hroughout the centuries attempts have been made to predict the weather based on folklore and personal observations. It was thought that re-occurring astronomical and meteorological events helped in the monitoring of seasonal changes in the weather and to some extent this was true; summer hot, winter cold. The detailed, daily weather forecasts we enjoy and take for granted today only became available due to the advancement of technology. We listen to the TV in the morning and it tells us whether or not to take an umbrella, whether to wear boots or shoes, a jumper or a shirt.

This convenience has rendered old-fashioned folklore redundant and all the hard-won wisdom is being forgotten, regarded as quackery. The older folk amongst you will be familiar with the saying, ‘Red sky at night, Shepherd’s delight, red sky in the morning, Shepherd’s warning.’ This is remarkably accurate as we now know that if you see a red sky during sunset (when you’re looking to the west), there is a high-pressure system 26 | Bridport Times | July 2018

with dry air that is stirring dust particles in the air and therefore rain is not likely. A red sky in the morning (looking eastward, where the sun rises) means that the dry air has already moved past and what is behind, rain or storm, will soon follow.

Those people who are still close to a natural way of life, such as fishermen and farmers, are probably more in tune with the elements than most of us, who are becoming increasingly detached from real life. As things stand, that detachment does not have any practical disadvantages but have you ever wondered how you would fare if the lights went out? No power, no TV, no weather forecast. Well for a start, you could tell the wind direction without leaving your living room. Look out of your window at birds on roofs or in trees. As farmers know, birds always perch looking into the wind. They have to do this because of the ‘grain’ of their feathers or they would be upended by the breeze. Fishermen know that this principle also applies to boats at anchor.

Stand on the cliff near West Bay and look out to sea.

An angling boat moored to the seabed will be bobbing around facing into the wind. This is all simple stuff but it is no longer second nature to us; we no longer take notice of these things because we no longer need to (until the lights go out).

For mariners, the moon has always played an important part in their lives. When the moon is either ‘new’ or ‘full’, its gravitational pull is in line with the sun’s gravitational pull, doubling the effect.

On land this will have little consequence but at sea it will suck the oceans towards it, resulting in tremendously high tides and fast-flowing currents.

These are called Spring Tides and they happen twice monthly, each individual high tide occurring twice in a lunar day. A lunar day is slightly longer than an Earth day at 24 hours and 50 minutes, which is the reason tide times move forward each day.

In Lyme Bay, Spring High Tides are always around 7am to 9am and 7pm to 9pm. This is a rule of thumb but it means that, armed with this information, you could be

in the middle of the English countryside and still be able to predict the tide times in Lyme Bay with remarkable accuracy just by looking at the moon. Admittedly this all falls down on a cloudy night but let’s not nit-pick, I’m putting forward the survivalist case here!

Being more self-aware is also useful. Using our bodies as barometers used to be far more common in times past. Any change in barometric pressure, (or the weight of the air pressing against the surface of the earth) can affect people with arthritic joint problems. When your great-aunt or grandma said she could “feel” a storm coming on, she was most likely right. It has been shown that the nerve endings in our joints are so sensitive that they can feel changes in the weather and this manifests as tightness or stiffness in the joint.

So, the next time you visit grandma and she complains about her achy knees, borrow her umbrella for the journey home. n.copperthwaite@gmail.com bridporttimes.co.uk | 27

Wild Dorset

WHILE THE SUN SHINES Ellen Simon, Tamarisk Farm

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ur stock lives solely on the grass which grows here, though in the winter there is not enough fresh grass to keep them comfortable and growing. We need to save the riches of the summer to fill the space in the winter larder. The way we save it is to sun-dry grass: we make hay while the sun shines.

In my memory, hay-making is a time of sunshine, of sticky warmth, hard work, well-earned aching muscles, and hay fragments down my bra. It is different now but it has the same quality of urgency and vitality and is an iconic part of the farm’s summer.

As a child I was not so aware of the days of work and decision-making that led up to the final hauling home of the hay. Now I am part of it: checking over machinery; carefully thinking about the maturity of the grass; thinking about the trade-off between better, richer hay early in the season, of which there is unlikely to be a big bulk, and the hay which comes later when the grasses and wild flowers are seeding, of which there will be more but which will be poorer quality food.

And then there is paying attention to the weather forecast and watching the sky over the sea.

Finally, the decision is made and the process starts.

Mowing, we watch the neat swath fall and lie, full of flowers and trailing behind the tractor in a neat spiral round the field. We leave the hay to dry in the swath, the old-fashioned way, which protects it should there be a shower but which is a slower process. In the days following, we can still see the patterns of the cut grass as the light plays on it from different angles. Riding out on horses to see the stock we also check the hay, stopping them from eating it while we jump off to smell it and see how it’s drying. When at least the top half is dry and we know (as best we can) there is clear weather ahead, we turn the hay. Next, it is lifted into windrows to be picked up by the baler.

When I was young, we made small bales, the human scale ones. Now, most of our hay is stored as big bales.

We like having some small bales: they are easier to handle in the winter and versatile, however we have little barn space and the romantic, happy work of moving 28 | Bridport Times | July 2018

bales by hand is just too time-consuming. These days, we only do a few hundred that way.

The larger part of the hay harvest is made into big bales. Huge, magnificent machinery arrives and quickly make bales of around a quarter of a tonne. Using these machines means that we need to be working on dry ground as well as with dry hay, or we risk compaction of the soil, damage to the sward and big ruts in our long-term grassland - something we hate. After baling we stack the hay to keep it safe from rain and storms.

At this scale, the strength of my muscles is irrelevant but it does need my perseverance, co-ordination and skill. Moving these bales with the tractor and front-endloader is like using giant Lego bricks. Buzzing around collecting the bales into pairs, carrying them, hitching up the trailer, hauling it to the hard standing, I am like a little worker-ant unloading and stacking again.

For the hay we make into small bales, the next stage is what I recall so well; it has hardly changed. We make them with our own little baler. We worry that we will run out of time before it rains but Adam spends time tinkering with the adjustments to produce the best possible bales - nobody quite understands how the baler manages to keep working!

Hay-making used to feel like endless days of summer.

Nothing was more fun than hefting a bale across the field to the trailer and throwing it as high as I could. For my brothers, it was a challenge, a competition. I was so much younger that I couldn’t keep up. Instead, I moved onto the trailer and stacked the bales - placing a bale was easier than throwing it above your head! Now we get out our tatty, old (but much loved) hay trailers and we bounce out to the field with hats, gloves, long sleeves and trousers. It’s hot, but hay-rash is no fun. Stacking the bales so they don’t fall off is a skill; it is a skill which is well worth learning because it is also no fun if a load collapses beneath you and you need to re-stack the whole lot.

Riding home on top of the bales you feel on top of the world. Tension disappears as you rest, lying flat on your back watching the fair-weather clouds go by. We then stack the bales in the barn, the stickiest, itchiest

job you can imagine, although my Grandmother assures me that clearing the chaff from the threshing machine was even sticker and itchier. As evening draws in, some of us stay in the field after the last load to put up the bales we didn’t manage to bring in before the evening dew. Lifting them into little stacks protects them from moisture in the soil and air; they dry further and are safe

for later. And we go home in the summer-bright night, often with a big moon, the first stars showing and glowworms in the long grass, to a well-earned meal with the satisfaction of knowing that the feed for the animals is safely stowed for the winter. tamariskfarm.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 29

Outdoors

SEASHELLS ON THE SEASHORE Fraser Christian, Coastal Survival School

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he coastline around the British Isles boasts some of the most diverse and finest of all ocean habitats.

Warm currents meeting cool arctic currents allow for a wealth of underwater life. Today we are heading for rocky outcrops and reefs soon to be uncovered by the spring tide (always on and around the new and full moons). If we are lucky we will find a range of shellfish, either holding onto or hiding under the mostly seaweed-carpeted rock.

As the tide falls away we follow it out and see what the sea has to offer - always a surprise or two to be had! Unlike us, nature doesn’t read the books and only the localised weather conditions, prior and impending, will set the scene.

As we carefully navigate our way along and over the rock, small ‘micro climates’ are apparent to the eye, every individual rock and gully shaped by the force of the changing currents. This is why, when we look at a subject in the wild, understanding the surrounding and connecting influence helps.

So, let’s start first with what we can easily see and collect with minimal effort versus reward!

Clinging patiently to the now-exposed rocks, small mound-shaped shells called limpets are waiting for the returning tide. Relaxed as they wait, stealth and diverse action is required to prise this shellfish from its rock; any vibration on its host rock or a missed strike with a handy-sized rock will result in it fixing itself ever more firmly and only smashing it will then remove it.

Limpets are not a familiar go-to for many and you 30 | Bridport Times | July 2018

may not see them in the fishmongers but, if handled correctly, they are a most valid dish. As with most animal protein, raw, flash-fried or slow cooked is best, however my favourite way to eat them, bar raw, is minced and added to a basic chowder; they really do seem mineralrich, in a way similar to oysters. Sustainability is again important when foraging shellfish and, in order to ensure a good colony remains, you must never take all the large limpets off one rock.

One of my first-ever fixed memories is a wild foodbased one: foraging with a used tin can and filling it with winkles, topping with sea water and simply cooking them on the beach by the fire. Sea snails would be a fair description if you are unfamiliar with them, easily collected and simply delicious. After bringing them to the boil and then simmering for 5 minutes, carefully prise them from their shell and dip them in a drop of peppered vinegar. Shellfish must be in good health when you find them and show positive signs of life - touch the opening of each winkle to check it retracts as you collect them.

Transport your foraged shellfish in a damp cloth bag with a handful of seaweed and cook as soon as possible.

Store in a fridge if needed but do check all are alive before cooking.

Feast or famine is often the case; next time I will be looking at preserving a glut for leaner times. coastalsurvival.com

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Outdoors

32 | Bridport Times | July 2018

RETURN OF THE KITE Martin Ballam, Xtreme Falconry

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or this month’s article I want to focus on a particularly stunning British and European raptor, the red kite. This bird was on the brink of extinction in Great Britain but is now becoming as well known and recognised as other raptors such as buzzards, kestrels and peregrine falcons. We are fortunate to be seeing plenty of kites in Dorset now; some are resident and some are breeding.

The first time I ever saw a red kite was 30 years ago.

I was off sick from my work in the bird park and was sitting at home in rural west Cornwall staring skywards when I saw the unmistakable outline of this rare bird of prey. I swore loudly in amazement (for which I was chastised by my mother) and grabbed my camera. The photo was simply appalling but I had seen a red kite and it went straight on my ‘bird list’.

Since that day I’ve seen thousands of red kites, as have many other people. The red kite has been successfully reintroduced into central England, northern England and Scotland. There are now between 1600-2000 breeding pairs and the numbers are increasing year on year. It is the biggest success story in the history of releasing birds to re-populate after near extinction. The central belt around the M40 and M4 has one of England’s largest concentration of kites. Seeing over 100 in one large field when it is being ploughed is a regular sight, as is seeing them float above the roads early in the morning scanning for roadkill. With such a large population there has to be a natural dispersal and this is why we are now seeing this majestic bird in increasing numbers.

The red kite is unmistakable. Its long, broad wings measure around 170-180cm and have a slightly awkwardlooking flap; they are not quite as deep as the buzzard’s.

However, the tail is the obvious part: a giant fork or ‘v’ shape. Standing around 60-70cm, the size seems comparable to the buzzard but its claws are nowhere near as strong. In fact, a kite’s claws are quite tiny, although the chances of seeing these two raptors side by side are quite remote so it’s the tail that’s the giveaway.

My first view of a Dorset kite was six years ago.

Whilst exercising one of my hawks on the hill leading towards Pilsdon Pen we were followed by a very inquisitive and persistent kite for around half an hour. It

then cruised off down the Marshwood Vale. Since that day the sightings have been very regular and I know of a resident pair. I’ve seen six kites circling my cottage on a warm day. Two kites have even flown fifteen yards in front of me on the 5th tee of Bridport golf course, with five kites sighted a few weeks ago over Winterbourne Abbas. But please don’t be concerned! Kites are part of our ecosystem and we must not persecute them; that’s what nearly wiped them out.

Nationwide, there used to be huge numbers of red kite. Country or town, these versatile, adept scavengers survived with their tolerance of humans and ability to take a diverse amount of food: carcasses, insects (both on the ground and caught on the wing), worms, rodents, small (very small) rabbits, lizards - the list goes on. These birds even scavenged the streets of London and other major cities. But the kite world came crashing down.

Regarded as a pest, the red kite was now on the hit list.

They were trapped, poisoned and hunted but the biggest threat was egg-collecting. Egg-collecting increased as the kite decreased and by the end of the 19th century the population was confined to Wales.

The re-introduction started in 1989 in the Chilterns, with ninety birds released over three years, and successful breeding occurred within a couple of years. Fortunately, red kites have healthy brood sizes. Maturing after only three years, they can produce three eggs in a clutch which is good for a recovery programme. They build large twig nests sometimes decorated with bits of rubbish and a lining of sheep wool. Incubation is around thirty-five days and, being such a versatile hunter/scavenger, the lifespan can exceed twenty years in the wild.

It’s a good thing to say that we don’t need a reintroduction of this species in Dorset. When high pressure systems move from the central belt to the south west, that’s when the youngsters and sub-adults ‘go with it’- that’s when we get new kites. So, please everyone, keep your eyes open, look to the skies and often not that high. If you see an effortless soaring bird with the distinctive fork in its tail, it’s the amazing red kite and they are here to stay! xtremefalconry.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 33

Outdoors

BRONZE AGE BARROWS Chris Tripp BA(Hons) MA, Field and Community Archaeologist

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s you drive along the A35 to Dorchester you may notice bumps on top of the rolling hills, some alone and others in clumps, sitting slightly off the summit as if they had slipped down accidentally. It may come as a surprise to learn that these earthen mounds were put there by people thousands of years ago. They are called the ‘Poor Lot’ cemetery.

Beneath these upturned, cup-shaped mounds lie people from the Bronze Age who had started to use metals rather than flint for tools around five thousand years ago. At first, they were placed in a crouching position, as if asleep or as if they had been returned to the womb of Mother Earth. Archaeologists call them ‘Beaker’ people, after the finely made and decorated beaker-shaped pots with which they were buried. Later they were cremated, often with richly endowed grave goods, although that would have been for the elite. For most people it would be a pot and items they would have used in life and which had meant a great deal to them or their family. Subsequent generations were placed into the edge of a mound where their ancestors lay, overlooking the community in which they had lived from their vantage point high on the slope of the hill. Their mounds would have stood out chalky white against the green fields, for all in that community to see.

If you were to take the time to stop and view barrows, or perhaps visit other examples that are on or near a right of way (there are many), you would see that they are not all constructed in the same way. The most common barrows are ‘Bowl Barrows’, made by digging a round ditch and using the earth to construct the mound inside; a ring of earth was then made just outside the ditch. ‘Disc Barrows’ are constructed in the same way but in this case the mound is smaller and a flat ‘berm’ is left between the ditch and the mound, 34 | Bridport Times | July 2018

the whole being surrounded by a ring of earth. ‘Poor Lot’ Dorset has examples of the very rare ‘Pond Barrow’, where a depression is dug into the earth and the burial is placed in the lowest point, once again surrounded by a ring of raised earth.

Despite having excavated in London and the southeast for many years, I had never dug or seen a Beaker grave until I came to Dorset and worked on a water pipeline a couple of years ago. The rectangle of darker soil in the background of natural chalk was

easy to see, but what was it? When the shape of a skull gradually appeared under a trowel and brush it was obvious, and when the distinctive shape of a beaker was uncovered, nestling in the crook of the person’s leg after its long millennia under the soil, it was a thrilling moment. The mound had long gone but the person under it was saved from the machines digging the pipeline.

These grassy mounds sit in our landscape and can appear mute and of little interest. If you visit these vast bulks of earth, which look as if someone is sleeping under

a green duvet, remember the once-living human who, if not disturbed by some well-meaning 19th century antiquarian, sleeps there still, perhaps surrounded by their pots and pins and knives. Once many people may have stood where you stand, grieving, singing, telling stories of the living now gone and thinking of what lay beyond the door of death that leads into the underworld where they may once again see the ancestors. dorsetdiggers.blogspot.com bridporttimes.co.uk | 35

Outdoors

On Foot

THORNCOMBE BEACON Emma Tabor and Paul Newman Walk Features: An ideal summer walk for an afternoon or early evening, a steady climb up to Thorncombe Beacon, with views along the coast towards Golden Cap and a lovely return section through woodland near Downhouse Farm; there is also a chance to swim at Eype Beach.

Refreshments: Downhouse Farm café (open 10am-6pm, closed Mondays).

Distance: 2¼ miles Time: Approx 1½ hours Park: Car park at Eype’s Mouth. Pay in the honesty box.

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ach month we devise a walk for you to try with your family and friends (including four-legged members) pointing out a few interesting things along the way, be it flora, fauna, architecture, history, the unusual, and sometimes the unfamiliar. For July, we take a relatively easy walk from Eype's Mouth to the top of Thorncombe Beacon with good views in either

direction along the coast. On the return there are stunning views towards Golden Cap and some good prospects inland before descending through a magical section of woodland and an easy stroll across fields back to Eype beach.

Directions

Start: SY 447910 The walk starts at Eype’s Mouth Car Park at the end of Mount Lane.

1 From the car park, as you look at the sea (or west), head right, uphill and past the small holiday cottage on the cliff edge. Follow the coast path with sea views to your left and views to your right across Eype village and chapel.

After the cottage, go through a kissing gate with a National Trust sign for Downhouse Farm and Thorncombe Beacon ¾ mile, which looms ahead.

You’ll now see an impressive Bronze Age burial mound on the skyline to the right of the beacon, in an imposing position. Keep ahead. Look out for thrift and other wild flowers along the path,

with views back towards the Isle of Portland.

Swallows skim the meadows here. After approx. ¼ mile there is another kissing gate with a National Trust sign. Go through the gate then slight right onto a narrow sheep track across the middle of the field and away from the coast path. Keep on this track, curving around the edge of a bowl-shaped field to your left which now opens out beneath the beacon. You may hear stonechats along this part of the walk. Continue towards the burial mound in front of you. Just before you reach it, you will see a stile on your right to continue the walk but first it is worth visiting the mound and then onto the beacon for fabulous views towards Golden Cap which, at 191 metres (627 feet) is the highest point on the south coast. Thorncombe Beacon was the site of one of many beacons built in 1588 to warn of the Spanish Armada.

2 Retrace your steps back to the burial mound and then the stile (signed to Eype Down and Frogmore Farm) which is now on your left to continue the walk. From here there are also good views inland towards Colmers Hill. Go over the stile, keep the hedge and fence on your right then follow another sheep track along the field edge. Tremendous views continue all around with Seatown down to your left and Chideock behind. Keep walking towards a wood as the field funnels into a corner with a kissing gate.

Go through this and then keep right at a fork, along the fence through a wood filled with sycamore. The path meanders downhill alongside the fence; look out for treecreepers at this point. After a short while, you meet another path; turn left then right onto another path, then left down towards the farm and Downhouse Farm café.

3 Go past the farm on your right and some houses on your left and you will then come to a stile on your right. Climb this to enter a field, with Eype village and chapel ahead. Cross this field, heading to your right and also to the right of a hedge protruding into the field, then go through a gate into another field, heading for the far corner towards the sea. Go through this gate, past a sign for Eype, then head slight left towards some houses and a wooden gate and stile. Just before the stile, cross a small wooden footbridge over a stream. After the stile, you find yourself on a track lined with some holiday cottages which soon meets the road. Turn right and head back towards the car park and the sea… for a swim! bridporttimes.co.uk | 37

MARY MOORE Words Jo Denbury Photography Katharine Davies

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hen I arrive at Dress, the vintage clothes shop in South Street, I’m running late.

The appointment was for 11.30 and our photographer, Katharine, is already immersed in a rack of frocks. All I can see is her camera lens poking out between the brightly coloured dresses as she photographs a petite woman sporting a sharp bob and dressed in a navy suit. She is sitting between her three assistants, all dressed in a colourful array of palazzo pants and chiffon.

‘I nearly hit 70mph getting here,’ I say. ‘We’re glad you did,’ she replies, and I smile – here is a woman who knows her own mind and likes to bend the rules.

Mary Moore was born in the 1940s, grew up in the ‘50s and, in the ‘60s, hung out at Altamont in California, when San Francisco was going through its ‘Woodstock’ stage - she belonged to the ‘Easy Rider’ era. In London she worked for IT magazine (Britain’s first underground newspaper) photographing bands, and mixed with the journalists at OZ, another indie mag of the time. It was a period in fashion led by the likes of Quant and Ozzie Clarke but, as Mary says, ‘If you were in the music industry or the alternative press, you wore second-hand clothes.’ >

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So, her interest in second-hand, or as we call them now ‘vintage’, clothes began early. ‘I’ve been collecting these clothes for 50 years,’ she explains, ‘and now I have an incredible collection of dresses from the 1920s to the 1980s. In fact, I have so many dresses that opening this shop is a form of recycling. The textiles are so beautiful and they’re made with such care and consideration that I can’t bear to put them in landfill or throw them away.

Nor can I bear to leave them in boxes – I want to see them out and about.’

Mary has good reason for choosing Bridport as her base. ‘I lived near Bridport between 1986 and 2000,’ she explains, ‘and my children went to school here. I feel very close to Dorset, both its landscape and its history. It is my ‘soul home,’ she says.

Mary is keen to talk more about her collection. It’s a summery day and the frocks are on display outside. We skim through a rack of 1950s day dresses and it soon becomes apparent that Mary has a deep knowledge of textiles. ‘After the war there was a great movement in England that was especially connected to the cotton industry,’ she explains, ‘in particular, at Horrockses in Lancashire where there had been a mill since the 18th century. In 1946 there was a sudden movement to use

these cottons to help pull Britain back up onto its feet and a drive to employ artists and designers to create the designs,’ she continues. ‘Horrockses used Graham Sutherland for example.’

‘There was also Zika Ascher who, in the 1940s, started to use artists for his textile designs,’ she says.

‘It was Ascher who came up with the idea of designed headsquares which became all the rage to brighten up dull, post-war Britain. He commissioned the likes of Graham Sutherland, Barbara Hepworth, Alexander Calder, Matisse, and also my father.’

Mary, you see, carries a legacy. She is the only child of the sculptor Henry Moore and grew up at Hoglands in Hertfordshire. Her father was 50 when she was born and, as has been well documented, Mary’s childhood was spent besieged by people wanting to talk to her father, arguably the most celebrated sculptor of the time.

‘My father had just moved from London to the country because his studio in London had been bombed.

The content of his designs was a mix of domesticity and surrealism – for his textile work my father used an incredible array of everyday objects such as piano keys, moths’ wings, barbed wire, and safety pins or portraits of mother and child. It really was an extraordinary > bridporttimes.co.uk | 41

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Image: Henry Moore Archive. Reproduced by permission of The Henry Moore Foundation 44 | Bridport Times | July 2018

mélange of subject matter in a range of colour that you wouldn’t connect with a sculptor, such as acid yellows with pinks, and browns and mustards.

‘At that time my parents weren’t rich and, when I was about five years old, a lot of the house was decorated with these furnishings. I grew up with bedspreads and curtains of barbed wire, safety pins and moths’ wings in different colour-way prints. My mother was a fantastic dressmaker - in those days we made our own clothes and she looked pretty good in a dress! She had a keen eye for a design and I became absolutely riveted by textile and fashion.

‘Consequently, the things I bought I didn’t buy for the label, I bought them for the textile design and for the sculptural construction.’ Mary finds another monochrome example. ‘Some of the dresses have such an amazing sculptural construction. Just look at this ‘50s dress, it has an unbelievable bodice with great boning. They are just so perfect. Nowadays it would cost thousands of pounds to buy because of the workmanship in it.

‘So, mostly I love the way the dresses were made, they completely carry me away.’ She’s clearly passionate about what she does and is a great supporter of good design. ‘British fashion was a driving force for changing the world,’ she adds and then pulls out another example, this time in broderie anglaise. ‘They went to such trouble to improvise,’ she says of the design. The pretty white pattern is lined with green gingham so the green comes through the broderie. ‘Today, you would have to go to a couture house to find such a level of work,’ Mary explains. ‘Textiles and fashion,’ she says, ‘I love it.’

In the early 2000s Mary was one of the first to sell ‘vintage’ through department stores and had outlets in Liberty and Whistles but, she says, ‘the mark-up was enormous, 270%.’ So, Mary decided to go it alone and opened her own vintage shop at Clarendon Cross in West London when the area still had a bohemian feel.

For Mary, the real plus of being on South Street is the wonderful feeling of being part of a town; she finds this ‘thrilling.’ ‘One of the great pleasures of dresses,’ she says, ‘is that, as with dogs and children, women can bond over them. Over clothes you can talk about anything – births, deaths, romance – just like you would in the loos.

It is a sharing experience, it is about history, it is about the arc of life.’ She pauses, ‘And men don’t like it.’ Then she roars with laughter.

Dress, 70 South St, Bridport DT6 3NN @dressbridport bridporttimes.co.uk | 45

Indulge yourself at the George Albert Spa Our Afternoon Tea and Spa package includes: 2 hours access to our hot tub, sauna and steam room 10% Spa treatment discount

ÂŁ25 per person A perfect opportunity to relax and unwind George Albert Hotel Wardon Hill, Evershot, Nr. Dorchester, Dorset DT2 9PW Tel: 01935 483430 www.gahotel.co.uk 46 | Bridport Times | July 2018

Food & Drink

LETTUCE SALAD WITH HERBS AND FLOWERS Gill Meller, River Cottage

W

hen I was younger I worked in a kitchen that served a ‘mixed salad.’ The chef taught me how to make it. He said, ‘Put a handful of chopped iceberg in the bottom of this bowl. Then take a few slices of cucumber out of that tub of water and put them on top, then take a few strips of red pepper out of that tub of water and scatter those over the cucumber. That’s it, okay?’ The only thing I really agreed with was that the salad should go in a bowl.

Still, in a funny way, that experience taught me more about making a salad than you might think. Sometimes you have to get lost to be found. Here are a few of my current thoughts on putting together a salad now that I’ve been lucky enough to cut and mix my own from the tended organic gardens at River Cottage. There, some lettuces are tight-hearted and bullet shaped; others are soft, open and nearly all water. The majority are light, sweet and clean in flavour, and there are some that are so scarily bitter they shake your mouth and rattle your teeth. None is unpleasant, variety is key.

There is no right or wrong in a mixed salad; there is no recipe, it’s whatever appears on the day. All you need is a variety of fresh leaves that offer a balance of textures, a handful of your favourite fragrant herbs and, if you can find them, a whisper of colourful flowers and petals.

At River Cottage, the hearted heads grow in rows beside the peppery, barbed orientals, the rockets and the thick, mottled-purple mustards that I love. These leaves give a salad swathes of character. I am able to cut bunches of green herbs (coriander and parsley are favourites) which I add when pert and full of life. When they are left alone, they bloom – a distillation of flavour and fragrance in the bud and petals of the plant. I particularly love flowering fennel and chives but coriander and chervil flowers make punchy little additions too. We also grow flowers specifically for our salads; they add colour, contrast and flavour. The sun-up yellow and sun-down orange of marigold is a favourite, as are the fire-red of nasturtium and the cloud-white and lilac of borage.

48 | Bridport Times | July 2018

There are other interesting things I like to add: young kale and chard leaves, particularly those from red Russian and rainbow varieties; small, tender sorrel leaves; young, raw agretti (monk’s beard); and the uniquely peppery leaves from the nasturtium plant. Fresh carrot tops and tender mint leaves are both worth trying. Scattered cautiously, the smallest blades of wild garlic are pretty good, as are wild garlic flowers. And while we’re on the wild theme, try hawthorn shoots and flowers, small, fleshy seabeet leaves, chickweed, dandelion leaves and even young yarrow.

If you can’t grow your own herbs and leaves, buy them fresh from greengrocers, farm shops, allotments and direct from small-scale commercial growers. I find it best to wash the leaves and herbs carefully in a large bowl of very cold water soon after cutting.

This is particularly important if it’s warm outside, as leaves will begin to wilt straight away. Invest in a salad spinner and spin your leaves and herbs dry, then keep them in the fridge in a large bowl or deep tray covered with a damp, clean, light cloth. You don’t need to wash the flowers (the water will damage the petals), just scatter them over your salad before you serve.

This recipe features in Gather by Gill Meller (Quadrille, £25) Why not try a “Summer Lunch” or “Summer Nights” dining experience at River Cottage? You’ll enjoy the freshest summer produce, freshly picked from the garden, and there will be plenty of time to take a stroll and explore the farm too.

Bridport Times reader offer: Get £10 off a Summer Lunch or £15 off Summer Nights when you quote BTDINE. Offer is valid on dates until 30/08/18. For more details and to book see our website or call Amy in our Events Team on 01297 630302. rivercottage.net

Image Š Andrew Montgomery bridporttimes.co.uk | 49

Food & Drink

WHOLE GRILLED MACKEREL

WITH ONIONS, FENNEL, CAPERS, PINE NUTS AND RAISINS

M

Cass Titcombe, Brassica Restaurant

ackerel is one of our favourite summer fishes and a good indicator that summer is finally here. As a keen fisherman, nothing beats a mackerel straight out of the sea and cooked over a fire on the beach. Living in West Dorset, we are very lucky to live so close to the sea where mackerel can be caught very easily from the shore or from a boat. Once the water temperature is warm enough the shoals move in, chasing the whitebait. On a still summer’s eve they can be spotted herding the tiny whitebait along the beach and sometimes onto the shingles.

Image: Louise Titcombe 50 | Bridport Times | July 2018

There is nothing more exciting to a fisherman than the sight of the mackerel shoals moving into casting distance, as they can be great fun to catch on light spinning tackle using a single lure instead of the strings of feathers which are usually deployed along the beaches.

Generally hot on the heels of the mackerel are the seabass which, if you are lucky enough to catch, will have to be returned alive as there is currently a ban on pleasure fishermen keeping any that are caught. If you happen to be in the right place at the right time and find a shoal of mackerel feeding close by, please only catch what you need. Just because they are abundant doesn’t mean that you need to catch a hundred and fill your freezer. A frozen, oily fish like mackerel is a poor substitute for a fresh one and we need to conserve our fish stocks and fish for them responsibly.

If you are confident with your filleting, they can always be filleted before cooking and then grilled only for a few minutes. Mackerel is also exceptional served raw as either ceviche with lots of chilli, lime and coriander or as tartare with an Asian slant, flavoured with pickled ginger, soy and spring onion.

Cooking over wood and charcoal is a very satisfying way of cooking, with oily fish like the mackerel being particularly suited to the smokiness imparted by cooking over flame. You really don’t need any sophisticated equipment other than a bag of good charcoal (we use Ben Short’s Dorset charcoal which is produced in Eggardon and in my opinion the best around - benshortcharcoal. co.uk) and a metal grill. Neither of these are too heavy and can be easily carried to the beach along with a few pieces of newspaper and, of course, a match.

Try grilling whole asparagus spears and wedges of fennel and dress with olive oil, lemon juice and lots of chopped mint as a great accompaniment to the fish.

Ingredients

4 whole mackerel, gutted 3 onions 1 bulb fennel 1 tbsp small capers 50g raisins 75g pinenuts 100ml olive oil 30ml moscatel vinegar 2 cloves garlic 1 unwaxed lemon oregano

Method

1 Peel the onions and slice very thinly; halve the fennel, remove the core and slice thinly.

2 Warm up the vinegar with 30ml of water and bring to the boil then add the raisins. Cover with a lid and simmer for 5 minutes on low heat.

Remove from heat, cover and leave to cool.

3 Heat up 75ml of the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and add the onions and fennel, stir well and season with salt. Cook for 10 minutes on a medium heat until browning slightly then add 2 cloves of chopped garlic and reduce heat to lowest and cook for 1 hour, stirring frequently (you are not looking for any more caramelisation, just for them to be very soft and sweet). Add the liquid from the raisins and cook until it has all evaporated.

4 Stir in the soaked raisins and capers and leave to cool (this stage can be done in advance and stored in the fridge).

5 To cook the mackerel, cut 3 diagonal slashes in the body about 1cm deep. Season the inside and outside well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

6 Halve and slice the lemon and put a few slices, along with a sprig of oregano, inside the body cavity. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil.

7 Light your barbeque and burn until the coals are grey/white. If you have a fish basket this is always easier as it makes turning much simpler.

Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side.

8 Lightly toast the pine nuts and gently warm up the onion fennel mixture. Mix together and serve on the side of the fish.

9 Served with a simple peppery leaf salad and some new potatoes, this would make a great summer lunch.

Brassica Mercantile is moving to new premises over the road from our restaurant in Beaminster’s town square.

We will be stocking Ben Short’s charcoal along with many of the ingredients used in this dish including the muscatel vinegar, capers and a selection of superior Spanish and Italian olive oils. We will also have a good selection of Brassica-made goods including piccalilli, salted caramel, fresh pasta sauces, cakes and many other exciting goodies. @brassicarestaurant_mercantile @brassica_food

bridporttimes.co.uk | 51

Food & Drink

MACKEREL TATAKI

Charlie Soole, The Club House, West Bexington

Y

ou might have noticed now after last month’s edition that we love mackerel at this time of year. Revisiting this delicious oily fish was also prompted by a few of our regulars popping in and asking where the Tataki is. They just had to wait, as we did, until the mackerel came back from their travels.

This recipe is very versatile. It is a version of ceviche 52 | Bridport Times | July 2018

that uses the acid in the lime to slightly ‘cook’ the fish.

If you don’t like mackerel, or for some reason you can’t get hold of any, you can use tuna steak or even a white fish such as whiting.

Here at the Clubhouse we like to promote fish, however, every once in a while, you might find us using meat. If you are feeling the urge for a delicious piece of beef then this recipe also goes amazingly well with a tender piece of fillet steak. You can use all the other ingredients, just replace the mackerel. The only additional thing you will have to do is season the fillet steak and sear it in a hot frying pan or barbecue. Make sure you only cook it for a minute or two on each side.

It must still be very rare. Let it cool, then slice very thinly and layer on a plate. Pour the marinade and the rest of the ingredients over the fillet slices, sprinkle with sesame seeds and garnish with slices of radish and coriander leaves. Believe me, it is amazing.

Image: Charlotte Green

Ingredients

Method

Serves 4 6-8 skinless, boneless and very fresh fillets of mackerel 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger finely diced 1 red chilli deseeded and finely diced 1 green chilli deseeded and finely diced 1/4 bunch of coriander 1 teaspoon of black and white sesame seeds toasted 2 spring onions thinly sliced 3 radishes finely sliced 2 limes 100ml soy sauce 1 teaspoon of sugar Sesame oil 2 tablespoons of water

1 Toast the sesame seeds under a grill or in a dry frying pan until golden and then set aside.

2 To make the marinade, juice one of the limes into a bowl. Mix in the soy sauce, a few drops of sesame oil, the water and sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

3 Dice the mackerel fillets and put into a bowl. Finely slice the coriander stalks and add to the mackerel. Add half the sesame seeds, the spring onions, the chilli and ginger. Stir in the marinade and let it sit for 5 minutes.

4 To serve, place the mixture onto a plate and place some of the radish on top. Sprinkle the rest of the sesame seeds over and garnish with some coriander leaves. Serve with a wedge of lime per person.

Enjoy this summer spectacular. theclubhousewestbexington.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 53

Body & Mind

FERMENTED FOODS FOR GUT HEALTH

Tamara Jones, Nutritional Therapist and Founder, Loving Healthy

54 | Bridport Times | July 2018

G

ut health is a hot topic these days and it’s more than likely you will have heard about gut bacteria and how fermented foods can make it healthier, but what does this actually mean and how does it affect us?

Fermenting

Cultures around the world have used fermentation as a way of preserving foods. Fermented foods have gone through a process where the micro-organisms such as bacteria feed on the sugar and starch in the food, creating lactic acid. The lactic acid acts as a natural preservative and it’s this process that gives a distinctive, tangy, sour taste to fermented foods such as kimchi, yogurt, tempeh, sauerkraut, kombucha and kefir.

The Health Benefits

The process of lacto fermentation creates probiotics (i.e. friendly bacteria) in the food, which significantly contributes to the health of our gut. These friendly bugs have been shown to help us: • Digest our food, absorb nutrients, produce vitamins and regulate hormones • Manage our appetite and body weight • Sleep better • Have healthy and radiant skin • Control our moods and cognitive health • Prevent us from catching colds and viruses • Manage digestive problems, such as constipation, diarrhoea and acid reflux And much, much more…

Whilst all this might sound amazing and the answer to many of our health problems, I have to remind you that we are all different; a cup of kefir a day might help one person in controlling their acid reflux but it might not be so effective for somebody else. That is why it is important to include many types of fermented foods and beverages into our diet and see for ourselves which of them agree with us and which do not.

Balance

Our digestive system is like a specialised factory with trillions of ‘friendly’ and ‘not so friendly’ bacteria colonising the gut, all of which live together in a harmonious ecosystem. However, this delicate balance can easily be disrupted. If we take a course of antibiotics, for example, our ‘friendly’ bacteria may be wiped out and our digestion affected. Similarly, if we eat a diet that is far too high in sugar, we’ll feed the ‘not-so friendly’ bacteria and other pathogens that can cause ill health.

The digestive system forms the basis of our immune system, as around 70% of our immune system lies within our gut. It’s also where the majority of our neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) such as serotonin (happy hormone) originate. Gut health is absolutely central to our daily, general and long-term wellbeing.

Feeding Your Microbiome

If you have never tried fermented foods before, sauerkraut is the perfect place to start. It makes a delicious digestive aid served alongside meat, or in salads, sandwiches or even added to soups and stews.

Making your own fermented foods is always the best option. It’s easier than you probably realise, and you know exactly what’s in it. If you don’t have the time, then don’t worry! Just make sure you buy unpasteurised, as the process of pasteurisation can kill off some of the beneficial bacteria.

SAUERKRAUT Ingredients

1 head purple cabbage 2 tbsp salt 1 jar and lid, sanitised Method

1 Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage and keep intact.

2 Thinly slice the rest of the cabbage and combine with the salt in a large bowl.

3 Using your hands, massage the cabbage and the salt together until the cabbage has softened and released a substantial amount of liquid. This should take 5-10 minutes.

4 Transfer the cabbage and all of the juice to your clean jar. Pack the cabbage down so that the level of the juice is higher than the level of the cabbage.

Use your intact cabbage leaf as a cap over the shreds, tucking it down to hold everything in place underneath the juice.

5 Close the jar and let it sit at room temperature for 1 week.

6 After 1 week, taste it! You can either put it in the fridge, if it tastes “done” to you, or let it keep fermenting. For maximum flavour leave the cabbage to ferment for anywhere between 2-6 weeks.

7 When it tastes how you want it, put it in an airtight container and store in the fridge.

Lovinghealthy.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 55

Body & Mind

SMALL GESTURES Jane Fox, Yogaspace

O

ften at the beginning and end of a yoga class the teacher will say “Namaste” with hands together. I loved the sound and feeling of this ritual, but it was a good few years before I learnt its meaning. For me, it is such a beautiful summation of yoga, embodying simplicity, clarity, respect, equality, reverence and gratitude. So I thought we would look into it a little deeper.

The literal translation of Namaste is "bow me you" or "I bow to you." "Nama" means bow, "as" means I, and "te" means you. The modern translation is “The light within me honors the light within you.” How lovely is that!

The gesture of Namaste (Anjali Mudra) is bringing the palms together at the heart and bowing our heads with eyes closed. In this deep form of respect there is an acknowledgment that we are all the same. We all hold within us a Divine Light and we are all equal. The small bow and closed eyes helps the mind surrender to this Light in our hearts. For me, it reminds me to let go a little and soften; there is an inherent feeling of gratitude that accompanies a Namaste gesture. In India the gesture (without the spoken word Namaste) is used for all forms of greeting, bringing a constant reminder of the Divine spark inside us all.

MUDRAS

Hand gestures, or Mudras (meaning ‘seal’ or ‘closure’ in Sanskrit), are used in yoga mostly during Meditation or Pranayama to direct the flow of energy within the body by using the hands. When we place our hands in yoga mudras (and there are many), we stimulate different areas of the brain and create a specific energy circuit in the body. By doing this, we can create specific states.

The Elements

The universe is made of five elements, and each of the five fingers represents one of these elements: • The thumb - fire and universal consciousness 56 | Bridport Times | July 2018

• The index finger - air and individual consciousness • The middle finger - akasha, or connection • The ring finger - earth • The little finger - water Here are a few mudras to get you started: Gyana or Chin Mudra

This is perhaps the most used in Western yoga. Bring the tips of the thumb and index finger together and keep the other three fingers together, lightly stretched.

Symbolism: The unity of fire and air, and the unity of universal and individual consciousness.

Effects: Increases concentration, creativity, and is a gesture of knowledge. Keep your palms facing upwards when feeling receptive or rest your palm on your leg when you wish to feel more grounded.

Shuni Mudra

Bring the tip of the middle finger and thumb together.

Symbolism: Unites the elements of fire and connection;

brings patience and discipline.

Effects: Helps us to generate a feeling of stability. Use this mudra when you feel you need additional strength to follow through with tasks.

Symbolism: This mudra symbolises the vital energy of prana (life force).

Effects: Encourages the flow of this energy, making you feel energised and strong.

Surya Ravi Mudra

Dhyana Mudra

Bring the tip of the ring finger and the thumb together.

Symbolism: As you bring together the elements of fire and earth, you encourage energy and health.

Effects: It provides us with a feeling of balance. It can also help to bring positive changes into our lives.

Place your hands on your lap, left palm under, palms facing up, and the tips of the thumbs touching. This is calming energy for meditation and is used for deep contemplation and reflection.

In all mudras, use both hands, keeping a slow and steady breath, and hold for at least 2 to 3 minutes, or as long as is comfortable.

In my home practice, if I use my Namaste with an open heart as part of my meditation, the respect and gratitude held within it always seems to ripple effortlessly through the day, possibly further.

I invite you to try them out and see how they feel.

Have fun and Namaste!

Buddhi Mudra

Touch the tips of the little finger and thumb together.

Symbolism: The elements of fire and water are brought together, symbolising communication and openness.

Effects: It can help strengthen your intuitive knowledge.

Prana Mudra

Place the tips of your thumb, ring finger, and little finger together. This activates the dormant energy within the body.

yogaspacebridport.com bridporttimes.co.uk | 57

Body & Mind

YARROW

THE ‘CURE-ALL’ Caroline Butler BSc(Hons) MNIMH, Medical Herbalist

Y

arrow is one of the first medicinal herbs I learned about, many years ago, when I read a book called "How to Survive, which was aimed at ten-year-olds who enjoyed being outside, building dens and whittling sticks. There was a section on first aid in the wilderness and yarrow was in there as a wound herb, to staunch bleeding and reduce bruising, something that thoroughly impressed me. Yarrow’s association with wound healing goes back a long way, as you can tell by its old names of Soldier’s Woundwort and Knights Milfoil. The first part of its scientific name, Achillea millefolium, comes from its link to the ancient greek hero Achilles who, according to legend, used it for exactly this purpose on the battlefield. The second part, millefolium, refers to the many finely cut segments of its beautiful feather-like leaves. Yarrow grows everywhere – fields, hedgerows, lawns, roadsides – and it’s worth looking out for it.

Yarrow is a true herbalist’s herb – it can be used for so many apparently completely unrelated health problems that it can seem bewildering or even fraudulent. There is an old story of a respected herbalist who was asked at a gathering what would cure a fever. ‘Drink hot yarrow tea and go to bed.’ he replied. Everyone nodded as they could see the sense in this. Then another asked what his recommended treatment for rheumatism would be.

‘Drink hot yarrow tea and go to bed.’ He answered again.

Being asked about remedies for every disease under the sun, his answer remained the same – hot yarrow tea and bed. As irritating as this must have been, it’s true that a cup of hot yarrow tea will benefit nearly everyone in some way. It works on the blood vessels, particularly the smaller arteries and veins and, as these supply all the tissues and organs of the body, yarrow’s influence is widely felt. This helps to understand how it can affect so many health problems in different areas.

Yarrow is a herb of contradictory but complementary actions. It tones the blood vessels where they are weak, yet can also dilate them; it stops bleeding, but also acts to break down and move stagnant blood. As a bitter herb 58 | Bridport Times | July 2018

it stimulates peristalsis; as an aromatic it calms spasm in the digestive tract. The result of these seemingly opposing properties is that it has a balancing, normalising effect.

I often use it in prescriptions for high blood pressure, and it’s also very useful for varicose veins and other circulatory conditions, such as Raynaud’s disease. It improves the circulation without the overly heating effect of other ‘blood movers’ such as ginger or cayenne, which can sometimes be too much for someone with an already hot constitution. Yarrow is anti-haemorrhagic, so can stop excessive bleeding whether it’s from a surface wound, a nose bleed or heavy periods, but will also break down and move stagnant, congested blood in bruises or old injuries. I find yarrow to be the most effective fever herb, when there is a high temperature with hot, dry skin. A tea of yarrow will ‘break’ the fever, inducing sweating and allowing the patient to cool down without artificially suppressing the body’s healthy response to infection. Combined with elderflower and peppermint it makes a great tea for colds, decongesting blocked sinuses and removing chills.

Yarrow can be used for the digestive system too. As a bitter herb it improves the appetite and stimulates the flow of digestive juices, helpful in sluggish indigestion with a bloated, nauseous feeling. Its aromatic nature gives it a complementary antispasmodic effect too, calming griping pains and wind. In the reproductive system I use it mostly as a pelvic decongestant, in conditions like endometriosis or other causes of uterine congestion. This moving effect is balanced by its antihaemorrhagic properties, so it can also be used to curb excessive flow and regulate the menstrual cycle.

Yarrow is much more than a first aid herb to stop bleeding and prevent infection, though it’s nice to know that it’s out there waiting in case of an accident.

Another old name for yarrow which I particularly like is Carpenter’s Weed – handy to have when there are sharp tools about! herbalcaroline.co.uk

bridporttimes.co.uk | 59

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Interiors

THE GHOSTS OF KITCHENS PAST Molly Bruce, Interior Designer

W

hether they represent a hive of healthy creativity or the shackles that bind, kitchens are a necessity. We cannot cut them from a household in favour of a new hot tub. Today’s busy world, in which we are pressured to do everything faster and achieve the impossible, often finds us multi-tasking up to our eyeballs and wondering where we will find the energy to cook dinner at the end of a busy day. A kitchen must work for us, so how can we make it welcome us with open arms?

Kitchens are often described as the heart of a home, a place where families come together to talk about their day - a relaxed, “doing” space and, most importantly, where the tea and biscuits live. This is certainly the case in our household; often the only time when we are all together is to prepare and share a meal. Of course we want kitchens to look good but what use is that if they don’t function efficiently? It’s important that research and planning are taken seriously when updating your existing kitchen or planning a complete overhaul. You don’t have to have a posh kitchen complete with the latest mod-cons. I find those rather sterile myself. Any kitchen can be improved, the key is to recognise your true needs. We all have our ideals but are they realistic? Do they suit your personality?

Consider what you would require in your dream kitchen and then ask yourself if you would really use that bluetooth bread machine. Do you even enjoy cooking, or are you a coffee machine and microwave kind of person? With all the overwhelming choices out there, a useful trick is to run your ideas past your budget because this will helpfully restrict your options and encourage realistic decisions, unless you are fortunate enough to be a millionaire.

Reflect on all your past kitchens (it’s more amusing than the ex-relationship game) from your parent’s place to your first bedsit, university slum to more grown-up rentals. Which ones worked best for you? We’ve all experienced different kitchens in our time and everyone has a story to tell. Although we may not have a clear vision of what we want, I would guess we certainly know what we do not want! I suggest the first list you make is what you hate about your current space. Consider how frequently you use the kitchen and what for - do you just need the basics or are you catering for a large busy 62 | Bridport Times | July 2018

family and a Michelin-starred chef ?

I have experienced them all, from a superb galley in a turret with 360° accessibility to shared houses abroad with mice infestations. Not to mention the building sites! I have cooked in the bedroom and washed up in the bath. I’ve balanced on planks of wood to drain pasta and picked bits of ceiling out of the sausage pan while someone drilled into the floor above. The slug infestation was very traumatic, especially when they popped up to say hello through the rotten wood around the sink during a round of dishwashing.

When it comes to aesthetics, I consider our kitchen to be one our most triumphant design solutions. My partner, the main cook, wanted restaurant-standard whilst I love all things old. How to keep us both happy?

I racked my brains to consider retro industrial options and came up with the idea of tweaking the rigid stainless-steel look with the glam of an American diner, complete with curves. At the time we were working our way through the TV series Mad Men, and I was absorbing all the ‘50s decor into my psyche. As the plans evolved, a temporary birch ply worktop, hurriedly fitted so we would have a kitchen “for Christmas”, became permanent. Off-the-shelf gloss units were jazzed up with art deco handles painted 1950’s green to match the splash-back. A restored, freestanding drinks cabinet from the reliable and much missed local shop Pams, a splash of wallpaper around the door frame and other antiques acquired locally added friction and individuality to the space. The end result satisfies everyone’s needs - a design respectful of the 1930s-1950s era complemented with a second-hand Lacanche cooker and prioritised industrial extraction. I call it the ‘Mad Men/Poirot’ kitchen.

And finally, always remember that storage is everything. If peace and order is something you crave then consider the amount of storage you need and double it.

Otherwise prepare to spend the rest of your life searching for everything, including your life, on the kitchen table amongst the biscuits, cat and family paraphernalia! mollybruce.co.uk @mollybruceinteriordesign

bridporttimes.co.uk | 63

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64 | Bridport Times | July 2018

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Interiors

THE FIFTH WALL Annabelle Hunt, Colour Consultant, Bridport Timber and Flooring

Wall: Farrow & Ball Saxon Green No.80 Ceiling and Cornice: Farrow & Ball Blue GroundÂŽ No.210 66 | Bridport Times | July 2018

A

fter leaving university, my first flat was in a lovely, decrepit old building above a dusty old bookshop. It was freezing cold in winter but the hot water was included in the rent and the bath was amazingly deep. A draught came up between the lovely old floorboards and the view of the sunset from the kitchen door was beautiful, but best by far was the orange Anaglypta ceiling in the sitting room.

For so long a simple coat of white paint on the ceiling has been the accepted norm, the safe option, but there are amazingly beautiful decorated ceilings around the world and also, conveniently, all over Instagram and Pinterest. From full-on frescoes to scattered constellations, it’s easy to be inspired.

The contrast between walls and ceiling needn’t be hugely dramatic. As with any decorating choice, go as bold as you feel comfortable with. While Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam is probably a little OTT for most of us, there are plenty of ways that you can make the most of your fifth wall.

If you have a neutral decorating scheme, try using deep colour on your ceiling. By creating a striking contrast with the walls, the ceiling will suddenly become an unexpected focal point.

In smaller spaces, with lower ceilings and in the eaves of attic rooms, using one colour on both the walls and the ceiling can be incredibly calming and will give a

feeling of intimacy, wrapping the room in colour. Also, in the absence of contrast, the space will seem larger.

If you’re lucky enough to have wonderful high ceilings then you can afford to use bold colour or pattern which will draw the eye. A fabulous way of introducing pattern, colour and texture to a room is by wallpapering the ceiling. Wallpaper doesn’t have to be restricted to walls!

You can also consider experimenting with finish as well as colour. Although this one may not be for the faint-hearted, a clever way to bounce light around a room is to use a shiny finish, giving a super glamorous, lacquered effect. Lovely, smooth plasterwork is a definite requirement for this to really work.

Metallic or mirror-effect finishes can also look really beautiful, particularly in small, unexpected spaces such as hallways or cloakrooms. The effect needn’t be brand spanking new and shiny; there are lots of products available with a lovely, subtly aged look.

Vinyl decals are perfect for those of us who are a little more cautious. We’ve all seen the inspirational quotes available on-line to stick on your wall, but had you considered a twinkly, starry sky or floral motif strewn across your ceiling? They are a really simple way of adding interest and detail without committing to redecorating entirely. bridporttimber.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 67

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Gardening

A CHILDREN’S GARDEN PARADISE Charlie Groves, Groves Nurseries

70 | Bridport Times | July 2018

I

n summer, on a day off, there’s nothing I like more than pottering in my garden, listening to the reassuring giggles of my young daughters in the background as they play happily - most of the time!

Gardens mean different things to different people but if you’re a parent of young children like I am, you’ll know that their arrival can fill your garden with a mountain of plastic toys and trampolines, swings and slides that transform your former paradise into more of a park playground than a landscaped garden.

So how do you keep your garden looking aesthetically-pleasing and at the same time create for your children a garden paradise of their own?

Size will dictate just what you can include and, of course, the age of your children. A play area for toddlers is best near the house so you can easily supervise them, however, as they get older, they want to be away from the eagle eye of parents in a private area, so screening off part of your garden with trellis or plants is the perfect solution. You can still watch them discreetly but they will feel it’s their parent-free zone. Think about shading as well. My youngest, Ivy, loves her sand pit which I built in a naturally shady part of the garden where it’s hard to grow plants anyway, and this keeps her occupied while out of the harshest summer sun.

When it comes to playing, you don’t need to spend a fortune to keep kids occupied - a simple rope swing or a tyre hanging from a tree is always a hit and a homemade slide on a slope or embankment will keep them amused for ages. Anything to do with water - paddling pools, water pistols, hose pipes and sprinklers - is a must on hot, summer days but do always think of their safety.

Making your garden a child’s paradise is easier if you are lucky enough to have a generous plot with mature trees - think tree houses, the ultimate hideaway, or a tree-to-tree zip wire as that has to be most children’s favourite outdoor adventure. If that seems a bit too much of a challenge, then let’s get back down to earth! Help them make a tee-pee out of old branches and a garden tarpaulin or build a wooden one out of old pallets; they’ll have hours of fun and can hide there when it rains. Create a crawl tunnel for them to wriggle through, made out of something such as sturdy mesh shaped into an arch and secured with canes with peas growing over it, or design a more permanent living one made out of willow with soft wood chips on the floor.

One of the simplest structures to create is a willow den. You can often buy willow whips in the springtime (we sell them when available) and these will root when simply pushed into the ground. With just a bundle of 12 you can create a living tee-pee that will be a great hidey-hole, not just for one summer but for many summers to come.

Even if your garden isn’t large there are still lots of other fun ideas that you can use and often for little money. Something as simple as a stick of chalk can turn a patio into an art canvas or a game of hopscotch. Whatever size garden you have in which to create your child’s little bit of paradise, it doesn’t have to be all about toys and playing - they love to get their hands dirty just like I did when helping my Dad. As parents ourselves, my sister Becky and I love to come up with simple and inexpensive projects for children at Groves and Little Groves so they can learn about wildlife and gardening, projects that can be done as a family such as designing a bug house, constructing a mini garden pond or building a simple bird feeder. grovesnurseries.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 71

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Philosophy

MIXED EMOTIONS

W

Kelvin Clayton

hat is the role of our emotions in decision-making? To what extent should we allow, or even encourage, our emotions and feelings to influence our morality? Or should decisions about what is good or right be made purely on rational grounds? These were some of the questions discussed at the May meeting of Bridport’s Philosophy in Pubs group. No answers were agreed, but that was not the point.

The aim, rather, was to open up the issues, to expose and explore problems that, during the course of our daily life, we either do not have time to think about or just take for granted.

As Socrates said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.”

Traditionally the focus has been on our ability to use reason to determine what is the right or good thing to do, however in recent years there has been an attempt to raise the importance of emotion in morality. Virginia Held, for example, has recently argued that emotions such a sympathy, empathy and sensitivity need to be cultivated as a contrast or balance to the more dominant rationalist approaches.

Such an approach to ethics appears to get the support of neuroscience. Here, again in contrast to the rationalist tradition, many neurobiologists argue that we cannot make decisions without emotions, and even go as far as to suggest that we first make a decision based on emotion and then find a ‘rational’ explanation for that decision. Take the example of the so called ‘French Spiderman’, the man in Paris who climbed four floors up the outside of a building to rescue a young child. He had no time to think through his actions.

If he had he may not have acted in time.

Does this mean, however, that we should abandon all pretence of rational decisionmaking? Here, some of the dilemmas that regularly arise within medical ethics make good examples. Surely deciding when to turn off the life support of a terminally ill patient, or when to prescribe expensive but potentially life-saving drugs, are strong examples of when a cool, clear, rational mind is of the utmost importance?

So perhaps the secret lies in developing the ability to decide whether an emotional or rational response is the most appropriate, providing of course such a decision doesn’t delay us running away from that escaped tiger bounding towards us!

Philosophy in Pubs is a grass-roots community organisation promoting and practicing community philosophy in the UK. Discussions take place regularly in venues around the country.

Anyone can attend and anyone can propose a topic for discussion. The Bridport group meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month in The George Hotel, South Street at 7.30pm. Attending the discussion is free and there is no need for any background knowledge of philosophy. All that’s required is an open mind and a desire to examine issues more closely than usual. For further details, email Kelvin Clayton at kelvin.clayton@icloud.com philosophyinpubs.co.uk

bridporttimes.co.uk | 73

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Literature

LITERARY REVIEW Antonia Squire, The Bookshop

There There by Tommy Orange (Harvill Secker) £14.99 Bridport Times Reader Offer Price of £12.99 at The Bookshop

“This is the thing: If you have the option not to think about or even consider history, whether you learned it right or not, or whether it even deserves consideration, that’s how you know you’re onboard the ship that serves hors d’oeuvres and fluffs your pillows, while others are out at sea, swimming or drowning, or clinging to little inflatable rafts that they have to take turns keeping inflated…”

This is the thing. This is the place. But perhaps not the time, whichsoever time that might be, because time in this novel is fluid, not linear. The here.

The now. The there. The then.

Oakland, California. Now. Alcatraz Island. Then.

Oklahoma, Arizona, Cherokee Nation, Reservation, Urban. Native American. Indian.

Tony and Dene, Opal and Jacquie, Howard, Edwin, Blue, Octavio, Charles, Carlos, Calvin. Lives separate, separated yet destined to collide as the narrative takes us unerringly towards the Big Oakland Powwow.

“We all came to the Big Oakland Powwow for different reasons. The messy, dangling strands of our lives got pulled into a braid – tied to the back of everything we’d been doing all along to get us here. We’ve been coming from miles. And we’ve been coming for years, generations, lifetimes, layered in prayer and hand-woven regalia, beaded and sewn

together, feathered, braided, blessed and cursed.”

Dene collecting his stories, the stories of the Native Americans, what it means to be Indian. Or not.

Those stories are OK too, those stories are part of it. The ones who don’t feel part of the community, who turned their backs on the community. Those who live and breathe the community, day in and day out. Those who are new to the community, those who are learning.

Opal raising her grandkids, maybe. Certainly not raising them to be part of the community, but them finding their own way in. Jacquie running away from the horrors of her past, only to find she is running towards them.

Howard and Blue trying to find their way in, separately but ultimately together.

A rare and powerful novel, searing in its honesty, brutality and love. Hope and despair, love and loss, redemption and forgiveness. Settle in, take a deep breath and read this extraordinary debut. I promise you won’t regret it.

Released 5th July. Available to pre-order now from The Bookshop. dorsetbooks.com

bridporttimes.co.uk | 75

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JUNE SOLUTIONS

ACROSS 1. Cried (4) 3. Recording device (8) 9. Form of public worship (7) 10. Seethed with anger (5) 11. Repository for misplaced items (4,8) 13. Be extremely hungry (6) 15. Sharp pain (6) 17. Amusing (12) 20. Group of shots (5) 21. Alfresco (4-3) 22. Move out the way of (8) 23. Sort (4)

76 | Bridport Times | July 2018

DOWN 1. Undomesticated animals (8) 2. Ways or tracks (5) 4. In a careless manner (6) 5. Creator of film scripts (12) 6. Become tense (7) 7. Finishes (4) 8. Absurd (12) 12. Dish of rice with fish and eggs (8) 14. Ruined; crushed (7) 16. Minion (6) 18. European country (5) 19. Egyptian goddess of fertility (4)

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