A Care South home for residential and dementia care
We know that residents in our care have led rich and fulfilling lives and we want to keep it that way and to ensure there is plenty of food, fun and friendship along the way.
Our purpose-built care home has specialist floors for different care requirements, ensuring residents receive the support they need to live happy lives in their new home. Large lounges overlook the gardens and provide comfortable places to socialise with other residents or share a coffee with visiting friends and family. There’s also a welcoming coffee lounge as well as an onsite hair and beauty salon.
Nothing is ever too much trouble for the team when it comes to the comfort of residents. Staff are multi-skilled and well-trained, knowing residents on a personal level and putting quality care at the heart of everything they do.
The chefs are passionate about providing high-quality food and craft menus around individual tastes to create varied and nutritious meals whilst seeking regular feedback to see what residents prefer. Snacks are available throughout the day and different dietary requirements are catered for to the same high, tasty standards.
A daily activities programme exists with a mix of fun and engaging activities that appeal to each individual, such as group games, interacting with the community, enjoying performances from visiting entertainers, and getting out and about on day trips. All activities are tailored to offer something to those who may prefer to be in smaller groups or need one-to-one interactions.
Fern Brook Lodge also offers respite care options. This can be useful for those who may need extra support for a short period, particularly after a stay in hospital or to give carers a break. Respite care also offers a chance to enjoy a change of scenery, meet new people, try new activities and experiences and be gently introduced to residential care on a more permanent basis if needed.
Meet the Manager
Deb at Fern Brook Lodge
Deb chats through some of your frequently asked questions about the support provided at Fern Brook Lodge. Watch Deb talk about life at the home by scanning the QR code.
Paul Jones - Editor in Chief We love hearing your news and views. Get in touch with us by emailing newsdesk@blackmorevale.net or calling 01963 400186
THOUSANDS of homes could eventually be built in Dorset as the government continues to push councils into helping it reach its growth target – which could mean some villages and towns could vastly expand under proposals.
Dorset Council’s Local Plan is in the process of being finalised and the draft proposals are now available for people to comment on.
The plan will help Dorset meet its development needs over the next 15 to 20 years and will be used to inform planning decisions.
It covers development, including housing, employment, Gypsy and traveller sites and renewable energy. A Local Transport Plan will also look at how to make travel across the county safer, cleaner and more reliable.
But the most controversial issue of the Local Plan is the housing allocation.
Roughly 41,000 proposed new houses in the county are included in the plan.
This comes after Deputy Prime Minister and secretary of state for housing, Angela Rayner said she is committed to building 1.5 million new homes in the next five
years.
Campaigners have described the proposed housing allocation for the county as “unrealistic” due to the large areas of protected landscapes.
Dorset Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said the housing figure for Dorset – some 3,300 extra homes a year – is nearly twice the average annual completion rate.
They said a more realistic completion rate would be 1,800 per year and suggested the council should not blindly follow the government’s calculation.
Councillor Shane Bartlett, cabinet member for planning and emergency planning, said this marks a “big moment” for Dorset.
“We have tough housing targets to meet that the government has set, but I’m also mindful that we’re planning for real lives, not just numbers on a page,” he said.
The consultation is open from August 18 to October 13.
All comments must be received by the end of October 13. The online consultation is available at the Dorset Council Local Plan webpage – www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/
dorset-is-changing
The consultation documents are also available to view in hard copy in the reception of County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, DT1 1XJ, as well as local libraries.
Drop-in events will take place across the county in the coming months, with opportunities to find out more about the proposals.
Houses been proposed at the following locations in the Vale (quantity proposed in brackets): Bishop Caundle (301), Blandford Forum and Blandford St Mary (1,000), Bourton (125), Broadmayne and West Knighton (1,065), Charlton Down (220), Charminster (560), Child Okeford (105), Crossways (4,697), Dorchester (495), Fontmell Magna (105), Gillingham (1,180), Hazelbury Bryan (298), Maiden Newton (46), Marnhull (698), Milborne St Andrew (342), Milton Abbas (60), Motcombe (464), Okeford Fitzpaine (177), Puddletown (258), Shaftesbury (735), Sherborne (2,652), Shillingstone (175), Stalbridge (442), Sturminster Newton (250), Thornford (179), Winterborne St Martin/Martinstown (40), Winterbourne Abbas (50), Yetminster (200).
Gardening club puts on a good show
by Mark Steele
THE Valley Gardening Club held its annual summer show at the Pamela Hambro Hall, Winterborne Stickland. Despite going through our fourth heatwave, our independent judges were impressed by the high standard of entries. We had over 190 entries from 23 exhibitors in our horticultural, cookery, handicraft, photography and children’s sections.
Our congratulations go to all
those who won awards and trophies, and a big thank you to everyone who helped with the show set-up.
As the club nears the end of it’s 91st anniversary season, we begin to look forward to our 2025-6 programme.
In 2026, our spring show will be on Saturday, March 21, and our summer show will be on Saturday, August 15.
Find out more at: https:// sites.google.com/view/ valleygardeningclub
Development will bring 58 new homes to Mere
PLANS to bring 58 homes to the south of Mere in Wiltshire have reached the next stage.
Redcliffe Homes received planning permission for its outline plans for the site in July 2023 to build the homes on land adjacent to Woodlands Road.
It has now submitted a reserved matters planning application to clarify the layout, appearance and landscaping of the proposed development.
The land is currently occupied by a warehouse and office buildings that are “no longer suitable” for modern business requirements, the plans said.
The buildings would be demolished under the plans, with vehicular access proposed from Woodlands Road.
The plans said that the homes, which would be a mix of one, two, three and four-bed houses, would appeal to couples, families and older
people.
17 of the homes would be affordable, with all homes to be two-storey buildings.
“One of the key conceptual ideas behind the scheme is how this development would fit harmoniously with the character of Mere,” the plans said.
“Part of the vision was to create a development which feels intrinsically part of the character of Mere both in architectural scale and grain, successfully rounding off this edge of the town.”
Mere Town Council supported the plans on the proviso that a routing and traffic management plan for the construction of the homes is produced.
To view and comment on the plans, visit the planning section of Wiltshire Council’s website and search reference PL/2025/06047.
The plan for the development Picture: CliftonEmerydesign
Warning after Winter Fuel Payment scam resurfaces
DORSET residents are being asked to be vigilant because a Winter Fuel Payment scam is making the rounds.
Police said they’ve seen a sharp increase in the scams, which see people receive a text or email impersonating the Department for Work and Pensions.
The message includes a link that, if clicked on, asks people to provide personal details and pay a small sum, usually £1, to receive the Winter Fuel Payment.
“The Department for Work and Pensions will NOT contact you via email or text message with a link to a form,” a Dorset Police spokesperson said.
“Therefore, if you do receive an SMS or email pertaining to the Winter Heating Payment, please do not click the link or provide any personal or financial information.”
Anyone who receives the scam text should forward the text to 7726 or forward the email to report@phishing.gov.uk.
The Winter Fuel Payment is available for those born before 22 September 1959, and provides between £100 and £300 to help people pay their
heating bills for winter 2025 to 2026. Anyone eligible will receive a letter in October or November clarifying how much they will get, with most payments made in November or December.
Record fair is a pub first
VINYL, retro hi-fi equipment, CDs and merchandise will all be for sale at a Gillingham pub’s first record fair.
The Dolphin pub, in Gillingham (SP8 4HB), will be hosting music buffs and record collectors from 10am on Saturday, September 6.
There are still tables available if you’ve got vinyl to sell. Call the Dolphin on 01747 824007 to hold your space.
Parking is available on site, and entry for shoppers is free.
The pub will be serving breakfast rolls as well as tea and coffee from 10am. The bar will open at 11am.
MORE than 50 homes across Dorset, including in the Blackmore Vale, will be opening for the Dorset Greener Homes event next month.
The fifth annual event will see householders showcase to visitors the green and sustainable measures they have taken in their own homes.
That may include solar panels, battery storage and air and ground source heat pumps.
Others show low-cost solutions, using natural materials which can be recycled at the end of the building’s life, and wildlife-friendly gardens.
Homeowners will give impartial advice to visitors, including about installation, costs and healthy payback times on investment, helping them to make their own homes warmer and cut energy bills.
In previous years visitors
have found answers to questions about the noise of heat pumps, insulating listed buildings and whether solar panels are worth installing and where reputable installers can be found.
14 homes are opening in the Dorchester and Weymouth area, plus a growing number in the Gillingham and Shaftesbury area; nearly 20 homes will open in the Lyme Regis, Charmouth and Bridport area; and 18 homes across BCP, Swanage and Purbeck.
Among them are listed buildings which have insulated the walls and roofs and overcome listing and planning regulations to create warm homes fit for the future.
High-end projects include Athelhampton house, a Tudor manor which has achieved zero carbon status.
Dorset Greener Homes runs
Petal power
GARDENERS turned out in force for the Bruton and District Horticultural Society annual show.
Despite the complaints about the lack of rain, and the devastating effects of the four summer heatwaves on gardens across the country, the Vale gardeners have managed to grow some stunning flowers and produce this year.
There were over 500 entries and 29 cups presented, including for the best exhibit of annual flowers (won by Janet Jones), best collection of vegetables (won by Neil Parfitt), and best exhibit in photography (won by Colin Dewsbury).
Entrants ranged in age from five to 90 years, and the show was a fitting celebration of the Society’s centennial year.
Visitors can learn more about making their homes greener and more sustainable in the Dorset Greener Homes event
on the weekends of September 20-21 and September 27-28.
Most homes are open for one or two days and may require prior booking – booking details and opening times can be found at www.dorsetgreenerhomes.org
The website also features mini-films of some of the homes.
Many homes are also open
outside of the event dates all year round by appointment.
The event is one of Dorset Climate Action Network’s (DorsetCAN’s) main projects, as it aims to offer residents an opportunity to learn more about greener energy solutions.
For more information visit www.dorsetcan.org
Graves reveal ancient history of Dorset village
A LOST part of Iwerne Minster’s history has resurfaced more than 1,000 years later.
Archaeologists have been hard at work in the shadow of the 12th century St Mary’s Church in the village, where they have unearthed dozens of graves dating back thousands of years.
“The burials are revealing a fascinating insight into the life and death of this rural population in the heart of Anglo-Saxon Wessex,” said a spokesperson for archaeological contractor, Context One.
Recently, villagers and visitors were given a look behind the scenes at the dig, with a special evening tour explaining the site –and showing off some of the finds.
Visitors during a tour at the dig site, in Iwerne Minster Picture: Context One
Above: a group photo of the committee and show judges.
Right: Ken Dominey with his dahlia exhibits
Day centre seeks volunteers
A DORSET day centre faces closure due to a lack of volunteers.
Mere and District Day Centre, which has been running for over 30 years, must appoint a treasurer and trustee by December 31 or face closure.
The centre is currently operating at capacity, providing support and a social scene for 14 guests in two sessions a week.
Jail for vape thief
A 25-YEAR-OLD man from Zeals in Wiltshire has been jailed after he stole vapes and alcohol from two garages on the same night.
Carter Light, of Westfields, burgled the Longbridge Service Station at Longbridge Deverill in Wiltshire, and the Murco Garage in Stalbridge, Dorset, on July 30.
He received a 16-month custodial sentence after he pleaded guilty at Swindon Magistrates.
PC Charlie Forster, of Wiltshire Police’s burglary team, said: “Burglary can have a significant impact on those businesses affected.
“Aside from the obvious financial loss and disruption to trade, there is the emotional impact that such crimes have on hard working staff who are left to pick up the pieces.
“I hope that this result sends a strong message that we will do everything in our power to bring such offenders to justice.”
Jane Mason, pictured chairing the AGM, explained that Wiltshire Council has withdrawn funding and many day centres have closed across Wiltshire as a result.
There are 19 volunteers currently helping at the centre, and it provides employment for some.
It is hoped that a new and
improved facility at the proposed rebuilt Fives Court could be used in years to come.
The centre hopes someone in the Mere area will come forward, although applicants from outside Mere would also be welcome.
Anyone interested in the roles should visit www.
meredaycentre.org.uk
Keeping the memories alive
WARTIME memories were revived when care homes in Dorset marked the 80th anniversary of Victory Over Japan – VJ Day.
Colten Care’s homes Abbey View in Sherborne and Newstone House in Sturminster Newton were decorated with Union flags, bunting and 1940s memorabilia for the occasion.
At Abbey View, residents enjoyed the opportunity to sing classic favourites at an afternoon concert in the garden.
Among the residents who took part was 94-year-old David Froud, a former captain in the Parachute Regiment.
As an ex-soldier, David was invited to address the gathering and spoke of the importance of honouring those who fought.
Mere marks VJ Day
Words by George Jeans, picture by Rachael Hansford A SMALL ceremony was organised in Mere to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VJ Day.
The town clock chimed at midday and the bugler, Mary Burfitt, played the Last Post, signalling two minutes’ silence.
Wreaths were laid at the war memorial, and the Rev Michael Molano performed a short service. The ceremony was organised by Col Stewart Walker.
The three wreath layers, pictured left to right, were Kit Stallard for the Army, Mere Town Council chair, Cllr Sandra Catley, and Wiltshire Councillor, George Jeans.
Shillingstone remembers
by Kay M Ridout (Shillingstone Parish Council)
SHILLINGSTONE Parish Council’s VJ Day 80th anniversary event included a raffle to win Kim Suter’s commemorative cake (pictured). The cake was admired by all, then raffled to raise funds towards the upkeep of the war memorial.
The final act of the afternoon was to announce the winner of the commemorative cake.
Gary Ridout, whose winning ticket was drawn from the drum, announced he could not possibly eat all the cake himself, so asked for it to be cut and shared among everyone there.
A fitting and perfect end to the Shillingstone’s Second World War
Wartime stories
THE Chafyn Grove Almshouses in Zeals held a tea in the gardens to mark VJ Day.
Friends and residents enjoyed a tea made by two of the trustees, Pippa Scholfield and Lyndi d’Ambrumenil.
Richard Kemmis Betty visited and gave an interesting and moving talk about his father’s wartime diary.
Peter Kemmis Betty was a
Gurkha officer captured on the fall of Singapore and imprisoned in Changi, the notorious prison in Singapore.
In the diary he talks about the market garden he set up and ran.
Richard has had the diary, called Half a Banana, published and it is available on Amazon.
The garden looked stunning thanks mainly to the ‘green fingers’ of resident, Angie.
Abbey View residents Wendy Ash (left) and Sheila Yates at the Sherborne home’s VJ Day 80th anniversary commemoration
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Shaftesbury School
STUDENTS at Shaftesbury School have been praised for their hard work and determination as they collected their A-level results.
This year, 80% of the school’s university applicants received offers, with 74% securing their first-choice placement.
The remaining 20% are being supported through Clearing by the school’s Sixth Form team.
Some students have been highlighted after they achieved exceptional grades.
Arabella B achieved an excellent set of As and Bs. Isla
P exceeded her targets in all three subjects, earning As, Bs, and a Distinction*. Reuben S surpassed his targets in three subjects, achieving Bs across the board. Rosie B achieved Distinctions and Distinction* in all her subjects. Ella P attained Distinction* and Distinction grades in every subject. Charlie D secured Bs across all of his subjects. Mariia B achieved As across her art subjects.
A school spokesperson said: “Our students are progressing to a variety of institutions, including: University of Leeds,
Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff University, University of Plymouth, University of Brighton, King’s College London, Manchester Metropolitan University, Royal Holloway, University of Liverpool, and Falmouth University.
Many GCSE students exceeded expectations and secured places at sixth forms, colleges, and apprenticeships.
Imogen Carlyle-Clarke –who joined the school midway through Key Stage 4, was delighted with her results.
Malak Hammoud’s efforts
and dedication paid off. She earned with grades that were far above her expected grades across eight of her subjects.
Urte Rasiulyte was overjoyed with her results.
Ava Liney also joined the school from a local secondary school halfway through Key Stage 4 and the school said that she has shown that her determination and resilience have paid off, having balanced studies with significant mitigating circumstances over the course of her studies. She was “overjoyed” with her results, with superb grades in fine art, English language and history.
Jack Ridley is also happy with his results as he goes off to Yeovil College.
The Gryphon School
HIGH-flying students at The Gryphon School, Sherborne, celebrated their exam results.
An impressive 54 A-level students achieved at least one A grade, with a remarkable 16 students achieving three A’s or higher in their exams.
The school maintained an average A-level grade of B-, and had a 99% pass rate for A*–E across all subjects.
This year saw 100% of students achieving grades A–C in art, computing, English language, French, Spanish, religious education, and health and social care.
Sixteen of the students achieved grades worth at least three A grades at A-level, including:
Evelyn Willams A*, A*, A*, A*
Toby Bowers A*, A*, A*, A*, A
Emillie-Grace Watts A*, A*, A*, A*
Ben Rutter A*, A*, A, A
Roger DSouza A*, A*, A, A
Charlotte Tweedley A*, A, A, A
Maxwell Morewood A*, A, A
Rebecca Atkinson A, A, A
However, outstanding performances do not end there… Leya Johnson has secured a degree apprenticeship in accountancy with KPMG.
Bella McKenzie has gained a place at the prestigious Italia Conti drama school in Surrey to study musical theatre.
A school spokesperson said: “We must also commend the 50 students in the cohort who met or exceeded their target grades
A heartfelt thank you from Bramley House
As the manager of Bramley House Care Home in Mere, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported our very first Summer Garden Party under my management. The weather was absolutely perfect, and the day could not have been more of a success. I am deeply grateful to our local businesses, families, residents, and staff who generously donated prizes for our raffle and tombola, and to the wider community for showing such incredible support through your attendance. Your kindness and contributions truly made the day special.
It was a joy to see all of our residents able to come outside, enjoy the sunshine, and take part in the festivities. Our stalls, BBQ, wonderful singer, and the lively majorettes brought so much fun and laughter, creating lasting memories for residents and their loved ones. I have been overwhelmed by the positive feedback and am so appreciative of the togetherness and joy shared on the day. Thank you to everyone who helped make our Summer Garden Party such a fantastic celebration for Bramley House and the community of Mere.
All profits made at the Summer Garden Party will be donated to Dementia UK and to Mere Surgery who are raising money to purchase a defibrillator for the community.
Anna Dunford
in all of their subjects.”
The following individuals are the top five out of those 50 students: Mario Beltran-Garcia, Alex Raju, Daniel Williams, Anastasiia Gorban and Elijah Thulamannil.
At this year’s GCSEs, maths has proved to be a strong point after “significant gains”.
Mae Comyns was celebrating after receiving seven grade 9’s and four grade 8’s. Stanley Palmer achieved seven grade 9’s. Amy Spearman achieved six grade 9’s and three 8’s. Tom
Massey achieved 7s and 8s. Asher Kirkwood achieved six 8s and a 9 in fine art. Twins Lauren and Ellie Le Poidevin achieved grades 9 and 8.
Megan Morris earned a grade 8 in drama, and got into the Performing Arts Depot in Bedfordshire.
Ruby Sutton received grades 6 to 8 and is pursuing a career as a medical officer in the Royal Navy.
Annabelle Wilson was not only celebrating her results, but it was also her 16th birthday. A special mention to Rachel Laws, age 51, who works as a catering assistant at the school. Rachel didn’t complete an English GCSE when she was at school, but after much encouragement, she passed.
King Arthur’s School
STUDENTS at King Arthur’s School in Wincanton received some of the highest results in the school’s recent history.
The number of students achieving a grade 5 in English and maths has increased by more than 10%, with pass rates at grade 4 also increasing by more than 10%.
Some high-flyers include Victoria H, awarded top grades including grade 9 Polish, grade 8 across English, maths and science; Flynn B, with grade 9 in maths and science, 8 in French and further maths and 7 in English; Connie H-B, who earned grade 9 in English, grade 8 in humanities; and Isobel H, with grade 8 in English, grade 7 in humanities and French. Other outstanding performers include Amy-Louise W, Ruby S, Hope N and Oliver P.
The school has also congratulated those students who have made “exceptional progress” against their baselines: Jacob C, Earlene B, Lacie W, Archie P, Ella G and Caitlin R.
The school has also acknowledged the success of a number of Year 10 students who sat GCSEs in statistics and Polish, achieving “exceptional results” a year early.
Students will be taking up further education pathways at Gryphon, Gillingham, Sexey’s, Strode, Kingston Maurward, Yeovil and several local apprenticeship providers.
Leweston School
OVER a third of students at Leweston School achieved straight A* and A grades and well over half gained at least one top grade.
Nine of the 24 subjects taken saw all grades at A* to B, including English literature, religious studies, music technology, fine art, 3D design and photography.
Will and Gracie earned three A*s each, and Honor and Molly both gained two A*s and an A.
Will is going on to read medicine at the University of Exeter and Gracie will be reading biochemistry at King’s College. Honor has a place at Edinburgh to read geography. Molly is joining the army to work as a geographical technician before progressing to Sandhurst. Lewestone students are continuing to a diverse range of courses at a variety of universities, including environment, economics and ecology; forensic psychology; immersive media and mixed reality; sociology and social policy; music production; marine and natural history; photography; and product design.
Gillingham School
SIXTH form students at Gillingham School are celebrating after collecting their A-level results.
An impressive 44% of A-level students obtained all A*-B grades. In vocational studies, 68% achieved distinction or distinction* results.
Congratulations to Lucy and Teresa for achieving four A*/A grades, Lyra, Olivia, Oscar and Nancy for three A*/A grades, and Marie, Chloe, Peter, Elijah and Tom for three A grades. Students obtaining two A
grades include Zac, Shinya, Edie, Rosie, Anna, Miles and Will.
In Key Stage Five, 73% of students exceeded their expected outcomes. Particular congratulations go to Dima, Rhiannon, Caitlin, Lara, Oscar, Rory, Esme, Ruby, Emilie and Jake.
From those students heading to prestigious Russell Group universities to others pursuing specialist training at renowned drama and dance schools, the school is delighted that 99% of students obtained their chosen university places.
The school continues to welcome applications for Sixth Form starting in September 2025 – email sixthformenquiries@gillingham-dorset. co.uk
In GCSE results, he majority of Gillingham School’s year 11 students achieved five or more passes, allowing them to progress to their next steps.
The number of students achieving the academic Ebacc remains well above national average.
Students scored highly across a wide range of subjects. Particular mention goes to Mirei who achieved an incredible 13
Sturminster Newton High School
MANY of the students at Sturminster Newton High School Sixth Form secured the top grades required to pursue degrees, apprenticeships and employment opportunities.
The school saw notable achievements in both STEM and creative subjects.
Ben White (A*, A, A) achieved top grades in biology, chemistry, and physics, and is now preparing for a career in veterinary medicine.
Nat Quinnell (A*, A, B): excelled in maths, physics, and chemistry.
Head girl Freya Pallett (A, B, B) achieved a top grade in graphic design.
Kalem Rimini (D* Media) earning the highest grade in the BTEC creative digital media production course.
The school said physics results continued a three-year
trend of rising achievement and business results were strong once again with successful progression to university and local enterprise roles.
Maths also maintained a record of high achievement and progression into STEM fields and geography saw a marked improvement in both exams and coursework, with strong student outcomes.
Notable destinations include Winchester University, Coventry University, Bournemouth University, Southampton Solent University, BIMM, University of the West of England, and the University of East Anglia.
Students will be pursuing a range of disciplines such as veterinary medicine, law, digital media, criminology, forensic science, cybersecurity and art.
GCSE results reflected the
GCSEs all at grade 7 or above, including five grade 9s, and Nadia, whose 12 GCSEs included eight grade 9s and the rest at grades 7 or 8.
Also of note are the many students who made exceptional progress, with congratulations going to Amelia, Summer, Thomas, Louie, Lucy, Annabelle, Alicia, Monty, Olivia, Clemmy and Abbie for their achievements.
best progress scores in the school’s recent history.
Some high flyers include… Oscar, with nine GCSEs at grade 9 and three at grade 8, placing him among the highest achievers in the school.
Chirandi, who achieved six GCSEs at grade 9 and three at grade 8, reflecting her consistent academic excellence.
Noah who earned four GCSEs at grade 9, three at grade 8, and three at grade 7,
placing him among the top performers in this year’s cohort. Elizabeth, with five GCSEs at grade 9, one at grade 8, three at grade 7, and one at grade 6, demonstrating a strong and consistent academic performance across a broad range of subjects.
Sam, who achieved two GCSEs at grade 9, five at grade 8, and three at grade 7, showing consistent effort and achievement across his subjects.
Chloe, Issy and Connor collect their A-level results
Ellen, Ellena, Scarlett, Charlotte, Eva and Grace celebrate their GCSE results
Ansford Academy
STUDENTS and staff at Ansford Academy in Castle Cary celebrated their best GCSE results in recent years.
The school said its impressive results reflect the “hard work, resilience, and determination of students and staff, and position the school on a strong path of continued improvement”.
A key highlight from this year’s results include 43% of students achieving a grade 5 or higher in English and maths.
Head of school, Karl Musson said: “Our students have done themselves, their community and our school proud.
“These results represent countless hours of hard work, working with families and a real passion for learning.
“I am honoured to be head of school at Ansford Academy and these results reflect our ongoing improvement and I very much look forward to seeing Ansford Academy continue to grow to be the best it can be.”
Harbour Vale School
THE head of Harbour Vale School in Sherborne – for pupils who are unable to learn in mainstream settings – said they are “incredibly proud” of students as they picked up GCSE results.
The majority of students have successfully achieved GCSE qualifications in English and maths, providing them with the foundations they need to progress into further education, apprenticeships, and training opportunities.
Where students have not accessed GCSE exams, many have gained valuable Functional Skills qualifications. Students at the school have overcome a range of challenges, the school said, including anxiety, mental health difficulties, and barriers to attendance, to reach this milestone.
“Their determination and resilience are an inspiration,” a school spokesperson said. In addition to English and maths, students have celebrated success in subjects including biology, citizenship and geography.
The school is “particularly proud of the outstanding results in art, a subject enjoyed and embraced by many of our young people, where creativity and talent have shone through.”
Headteacher Kelly Knight said: “We are incredibly proud of every one of our students. “They have worked hard, overcome significant challenges, and today we celebrate not just their academic success, but their growth, resilience, and readiness for the future.”
Complete Care Solutions
Luxury residential care at Bramley House
Bramley House in Mere, unlike modern purpose-built care homes, has been tastefully converted from a former rectory. Carefully adapted to enable professional care within an environment that really does look and feel like a real home.
Elegant ensuite bedrooms, beautiful gardens, relaxing spaces, engaging activities, delicious food, and most importantly real loving care.
Residential care Day care
Convalescent stays Respite care
The Blandford School
STAFF, parents and carers were on hand to celebrate, as the class of 2025 upheld The Blandford School’s proud tradition of achieving results above the national average in English and Maths, while also excelling in a range of other subjects.
Standout performances were seen in the sciences, maths, catering and food, business and modern foreign languages.
These successes reflect the school’s broad and inclusive curriculum, combined with consistently high-quality teaching and learning as recognised by OFSTED who graded the school as Good in April 2024.
Mr. Dan Spry, head of year, also reflected on the achievement of the cohort.
“On a year group and
individual level, I couldn’t be prouder of the results achieved by so many of our students,” he said.
“As ever, the individual stories behind the numbers tell of hard work, perseverance, focus and for many, overcoming adversity to achieve fantastic results.
“Year 11, I look back on the past 5 years with immense satisfaction, and I wish every one of you the very best with the next steps on your journey.”
Milton Abbey School
STUDENTS were celebrating after achieving the best exam results in recent years.
Significant progress has been made at Milton Abbey School in both A Levels and BTECs, as well as standout performances for GCSE results.
This year, the school has made improvements in performance across all subjects. Students continue to impress
not only with their results but also with the diversity of subjects they’re choosing to pursue, from biological sciences and filmmaking, to bloodstock and equine performance, international hospitality business, and media, communication and cultural studies.
Find out more about sixth form studies at Milton Abbey – call the admissions team at 01258 881804 or email admissions@miltonabbey.co.uk
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moss removal service which entails all moss removed and to re-point any defective cement works from ridge line and re-cement any broken gables, we always allow up to 15 broken or slipped tiles. What this offer ensures is an overall roof clean and minor repairs, all gutters and downpipes will be cleaned once the job is finished.This service is from as little as £295 and will 100% prevent you from having large roof repairs or roof replacment.
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Fun in the sun
Pictures and text by George Jeans, Mere RESIDENTS at Bramley House care home in Mere enjoyed fun and laughter in the sunshine and shared a buffet with their families at a summer garden party.
The attractions included a bouncy castle, majorettes, stalls and a sizzling barbecue.
The event raised £589.16, which will be shared between Dementia UK and the defibrillator fund at Mere Surgery.
Maintain Full Control of Your Assets. When you set up a living trust, you remain as one of the trustees — often alongside trusted family members. This allows you to manage and use your assets as normal, with surviving trustees stepping in only if you lose capacity or pass away, ensuring a smooth transition with no court delays.
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Evensong
ending
THE Laudemus Choir ended a week of choral evensong at various Dorset churches with a performance at Wimborne Minster.
The choir sang both the Magnificat and the Nunc Dimittis in the service from the Laudemus Canticles written by Philip Lawson.
The Service was conducted by the Rev Heather Waldsax, associate priest at Wimborne Minster.
Centre of the photo is Jeremy Jackman, the choir conductor; to his right is Sam Hanson, who accompanied the choir on the organ throughout the week; the Jeremy’s left is Philip Lawson.
Tel: 07832 331594 or Email: info@oakwoodwills.co.uk
Email: info@oakwoodwills.co.uk
Band practice
BOOKINGS are now open for next year’s summer school for brass, wind and percussion musicians.
Wessex Band Summer School is a week-long course for brass, wind and percussion players of all levels and abilities.
Under the expert direction of musical director Michael Fowles and an internationally renowned musical staff, students are given the chance to test themselves playing a wide and exciting range of music, whilst having fun and making new friends.
The non-residential course is held at Sturminster Newton High School. Students are able to camp on-site, while some choose to stay in one of the many guest houses or hotels in the area.
Camping, which is operated by the Wessex Camping Committee, helps to foster a sense of community on the course.
Wessex Band Summer School is made up
of all ages and abilities, from all over the country, who are attracted by its friendly, supportive and inclusive values and atmosphere.
The 55th course will return to Sturminster Newton on July 27 to August 1 2026. For more details, and to book your place, please visit www.wessexband.com.
Hearts of glass
BLANDFORD
Fashion Museum hosted two sold-out glass fusion workshops recently.
Complete beginners were let loose on brightly coloured glass pieces to create their own masterpieces.
Expertly guided by local glass artist Rebecca Norris – ‘Sybil’ – the attendees cut, shaped, glued and created fused glass pictures of which they could all be proud.
The atmosphere could be cut with a knife (or glass scalpel) as everyone concentrated hard on creating that work of art that would adorn their mantelpieces for time to come.
The workshops were such a success that the Museum has
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Shaftesbury
“ Slimming World Saved My Spark”
By Evelyn Taylor
Before joining Slimming World in January 2023, life had become boring. I felt sluggish, unmotivated, and stuck in an inactive routine. I was eating far more than I needed and exercise had become a distant memory. I’d reached a point where I knew something had to change.
I carried not just physical weight but emotional weight, too — a quiet sense of defeat that crept into many areas of my life. I didn’t realise how much it was holding me back until I stepped through the doors of Slimming World and found a place where change felt possible. Joining Slimming World wasn’t just about changing numbers on a scale — it was about finding belief in myself. So far I’ve lost 3 stones –and it’s changed my life.
Over the first few months, the weight came off steadily, and I felt motivated and excited. But like many, I hit a bit of a plateau. What kept me going? The unwavering support from my Consultant and fellow Group members.
Next, I turned my attention to exercise — or as Slimming World calls it, Body Magic. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d done any sort of structured activity, so I started small. Just 15 minutes with the online Slimming World Body Magic videos (completed in the bedroom where my husband couldn’t see me!). Gradually, I built up my stamina,confidence and energy, and now I exercise at least three times a week.
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Comedy carrots
EAST Knoyle Flower & Vegetable Show triumphed over this year’s difficult weather and was, as usual, a busy, colourful and joyful event.
It also showed not only perfect specimens but the slightly less so!
Parking peeves
THERE’S still time to let Dorset Council know what you think about its parking provision across the county.
A new parking survey, which the council promises will help shape the future of parking across the Dorset Council area, is open until September 4.
The survey is part of a comprehensive parking review, which is assessing how well the current parking arrangements are working and exploring opportunities to improve access, fairness and sustainability.
The review covers all 117 council-operated car parks and on-street parking areas, including resident zones, coastal destinations and town centres.
Cllr Jon Andrews, Dorset Council’s Cabinet Member for Place Services, said:
“Parking is something that affects everyone, whether you live, work, run a business or visit Dorset. This review is about making sure our parking services are fair, accessible and fit for the future. We want to hear from as many people as possible to help us understand what’s working well and where we can do better.
“Your feedback will directly influence how we manage parking across the Dorset Council area, so please take a few minutes to complete the survey.”
The review also supports Dorset Council’s wider goals, including reducing carbon emissions, supporting the local economy and improving road safety and accessibility.
The survey is open until Thursday, September 4, and can be completed online at: consultation.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/c-e/ parking-survey
Poetry in action
TWO major literary events have shared the stage at the Corn Exchange Café and Bar in Dorchester.
The evening saw the launch of Blood on the Bramble, the debut poetry collection by Molly Dunne, Bard of Dorchester, followed by the first edition of The Heard, a new open-mic night.
forest and a literary salon.
“I wanted the launch to feel like stepping inside the pages,” said Molly.
“I’m so grateful to everyone who came to listen and support the book.”
Blood on the Bramble, published by local arts organisation The Jawbone Collective, is a collection steeped in folklore, feminine resilience and the wild edge of nature.
The launch, supported by Dorchester Arts and produced by The Jawbone Collective, included readings, guest performers, activities and whimsical decor that transformed the cafe into something between a fairy
The second half of the evening introduced The Heard, a new open-mic night that will run regularly in Dorchester.
It will celebrate spoken word in all its forms and offer a platform for poets, storytellers, musicians and performers of all backgrounds.
“It was great to see such a variety of performers and styles,” said one audience member.
“There was a strong sense of community, and people really listened to each other.”
The Heard is set to return in November 2025
Our loose Canon
On why it is vital the Church stay involved in politics, in a reflective capacity by
Canon Eric Woods
THERE is an old joke about a surgeon, an architect and a politician enjoying a drink in a bar, and beginning to argue about whose was the oldest profession.
The surgeon claimed his was the oldest. “Eve was made from Adam’s rib”, he said, “and that was surely a surgical operation,”
“Maybe”, said the architect. “But prior to that, order was created out of chaos, and that was an architectural job.”
“But”, queried the politician, “who do you think created the chaos in the first place?”
No, I think that to suggest that God is only interested in human life when all the political, the social and the economic dimensions of it have been taken out is a very serious heresy indeed. Who could believe in a god interested only in the fag-end of life when everything important to his creation had been carefully removed?
Events on the international political front are moving too fast for me to make any useful comments about current global chaos, and I don’t want to. Anything I write today will be out of date by the time it appears in print. But don’t get me wrong: I do not think the Church, or clergy, or people of faith should ‘keep out’ of politics. Far from it. The late Pope Francis once told a group of students “Getting involved in politics is a Christian duty. We Christians cannot be like Pilate and wash our hands clean of things.” Archbishop Desmond Tutu was equally clear in the thick of the battle against apartheid: “When people say that the Bible and politics don’t mix, I ask them which Bible they are reading.”
But equally, as the Bible says, there is “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak”. I think that at the moment we could all do with rather less clatter of contradictory voices and a little more reflection, and seeking to discern what is really best for our country and our world. In particular, I believe that senior figures in the Church must be very careful lest they allow themselves to be ‘recruited’ by one side or another in the current war of words.
Writing in war time as Archbishop of York, in a little book entitled Christianity and Social Order, William Temple said:
“At the end of this book I shall offer, in my capacity as a Christian citizen, certain proposals for definite action which would, in my private judgement, conduce to a more Christian ordering of society; but if any member of the Convocation of York should be so ill-advised as to table a resolution that these proposals be adopted as a political programme for the Church, I should in my capacity as Archbishop resist that proposal with all my force, and should probably, as President of the Convocation, rule it out of order.”
He also wrote: “It is very seldom that Christianity offers a solution of practical problems; what it can do is to lift the parties to a level of thought and feeling at which the problem disappears.” And that is my prayer today.
Photo by Emma Swoboda
or
Words and pictures by George Jeans
Stourton and Kilmington Home Guard Fete was held on a sunny August afternoon.
With plenty of entertainment for adults and children, including stalls, a car boot sale, live music, a bar and barbecue, it was supported by visitors both local and from further afield.
Gillingham Showroom 01747 833 789 Unit 21, Kingsmead Business Park, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5JG
Opening Hours Monday–Friday: 9am–5pm Saturdays by appointment only Closed Sunday. www.solsticekitchens.co.uk
News from Age Concern
by Dianne Cooper, on behalf of the Board of Trustees
AGE Concern North Dorset has been around for over 60 years serving Sturminster Newton and the villages surrounding the town.
The charity has seen some changes over the years, but the goals and ideals have very much remained the same – to support and enhance the lives of the elderly people living in and around North Dorset.
Our balance classes at the local gym, Sturfit, have proved very popular. From September, we will be offering four classes a week (on a Monday and Wednesday morning). There are still spaces available in the Monday morning sessions.
Run by professional staff at the gym and aimed at those who would not normally be able to join a normal exercise class because of certain disabilities, this is a gentle way to exercise, stay fit and meet friends at the coffee morning held in between classes.
We have also expanded our foot clinic sessions this year offering a weekly Thursday morning foot clinic run by our foot health professional, MCFHP/MAFHP. Our welfare service is run by volunteers,
and this year we can offer help with attendance allowance, pension credit and carer’s allowance. This is a service provided in the home.
Please feel free to drop in to our local office in Stour Connect, Bath Road for a chat. If you cannot get to our office, Diane Traves, our community outreach worker, would love to meet you at Stalbridge Library on the third Tuesday of every month (2pm-4pm), or the Tuesday country market in the Exchange in Sturminster on the fourth Tuesday of the month (10ammidday).
We are always in need of more trustees and volunteers and would love to hear from you if you would like to support a small local charity.
We are a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) so there is limited liability for trustees and any members of the charity.
For a full list of our services and more information about becoming a trustee, please visit www.acnorthdorset.org.uk
All our services require advance booking. You can call us on 01258 475582, or email info@acnorthdorset.org.uk
Retirement isn’t one-size-fits-all.
Whether you’re just starting to think about life after work or already counting down the years, a tailored plan can help turn “what if” into “what’s next.”
Let’s
Tractor run coins in the cash
A TRACTOR run has raised over £6,400 for a Dorset cancer charity.
Ducks and Drakes Cancer Trust benefited to the tune of £6,434 thanks to Chris Cox and his dedicated team at CJ Cox.
The event's success was made possible by the sponsorship of local businesses, including Ivor Williams, along with the invaluable assistance of numerous volunteers and helpers.
"We are overwhelmed by Chris's amazing effort and the generosity shown by everyone involved," said Jane Weeden, trustee of Ducks and Drakes Cancer Trust (www. ducksdrakescancertrust.org.uk)
Fern Brook Lodge residents
enjoy ‘fur
F
therapy’ during farm visit
ern Brook Lodge care home residents cuddled a range of animals while visiting Madjeston Animal Park.
Residents from the care home in Gillingham met a host of farm animals during the outing, including goats, chickens, pigs, and alpacas for some ‘fur-therapy’.
The ‘hands-on’ experience was organised by the care home’s dedicated activities team, who run a daily programme of events to encourage residents to socialise and make friends. Activities enjoyed by the residents are based on their interests and hobbies, as well as enabling them to try something new.
Fern Brook Lodge, which is part of the not-for-profit charity, Care South, provides residential, respite, and dementia care.
Visitors can enjoy complimentary cakes and hot drinks, while experiencing the warm and friendly atmosphere at the home’s Welcome Wednesdays sessions which run each week from 2pm to 4pm.
Fern Brook Lodge also hosts Memory Café sessions every Thursday morning from 10am to 11am for people living with dementia and their carers. There is no need to book - just drop in on the day.
Fern Brook Lodge residents enjoy ‘fur therapy’ during farm visit
Fern Brook Lodge care home residents cuddled a range of animals while visiting Madjeston Animal Park.
Scan the QR code to find out more, hear from residents and meet the Home Manager.
Residents from the care home in Gillingham met a host of farm animals during the outing, including goats, chickens, pigs, and alpacas for some ‘fur-therapy’.
Stags hit the road
Words by George Jeans, pictures by Gary Martin
OWNERS of Triumph Stags, all members of the Stag Owners Club, met at the Stourhead Estate for a ‘Summer Country’ experience.
The ‘hands-on’ experience was organised by the care home’s dedicated activities team, who run a daily programme of events to encourage residents to socialise and make friends. Activities enjoyed by the residents are based on their interests and hobbies, as well as enabling them to try something new.
They gathered by the Bristol Cross, then moved on to nearby Alfred’s Tower, a folly built in 1722 on the site where it is believed King Alfred the Great rallied his troops.
Some of the drivers climbed the spiral staircase at the 49-metre triangular structure, which has views over three counties.
Fern Brook Lodge, which is part of the not-for-profit charity, Care South, provides residential, respite, and dementia care.
The Stags then headed to the Old Brewery at Wyke, Gillingham, a restaurant known for its display of motorbikes.
Some of the Triumph Stags are about 50 years old but still travel significant distances.
Visitors can enjoy complimentary cakes and hot drinks, while experiencing the warm and friendly atmosphere at the home’s Welcome Wednesdays sessions which run each week from 2pm to 4pm.
One owner purchased his Stag in 1972 for about £2,300, £100 over the new cost, as the car was in short supply.
Fern Brook Lodge also hosts Memory Café sessions every Thursday morning from 10am to 11am for people living with dementia and their carers. There is no need to book - just drop in on the day.
Events
13&14 September 202510amto5pm
The
Sturminster
Newton Cheese Festival
The Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival, which began in the early 1990s, aims to provide enjoyment for all ages and to celebrate quality food and crafts produced mainly in the south-west of England. There is entertainment for all ages, bars to sample the best beers, ciders and wines and wide choice of food to purchase from over 85 exhibitors plus over 70 Crafts exhibitors.
Entry costs and food and drink prices are kept as low as possible (children under the age of 15 free) as our primary aim is to provide enjoyment and not profit. We also enable local charities and clubs raise money during the Festival and by paying them for work they do to help run the Festival.
However, the Festival does in some years have a surplus and over the last 20 years we estimate that more than £450,000 has been generated for charities and local clubs of societies.
Most recently the Cheese Festival together with the Sturminster Newton Rotary Club awarded Yewstock school sufficient funds to enable them to purchase a replacement minibus for their older vehicle which had reached the end of its life. Yewstock provides education for children having complex needs and the new vehicle will enable the school to offer outside educational activities aimed at helping pupils understand the more complex world beyond their families and their school.
More information about the Festival is available from our website: cheesefestival.co.uk
Harp guitar at village church
ST Gregory’s Church in Marnhull is set to host a special concert, Wonders of Wood and Wire, featuring harp guitar.
Harp guitars are an ancient instrument that feature any combination of fretted – guitarlike – and un-fretted – harp-like – strings, and are currently experiencing a modern renaissance.
The performer is Jonathan Pickard, who has been a professional guitarist and pianist for the last 25 years and has developed a busy career specialising in Classical, Spanish, Flamenco and Latin guitar styles, along with modern pop arrangements for the six-string guitar.
Jon was trained in Classical guitar and Jazz piano at Bath Spa University by teachers from London Trinity College and has had many years of private tuition and
TEA IN THE GARDEN – in aid of church roof appeals Saturday 30th August from 2.30pm Manor Meadow, West Orchard, Shaftesbury, SP7 0LJ
Raffle – teas – tombola –plant and cake stalls
CHARITY AFTERNOON
TEA to help families affected by childhood cancer. Wednesday, 10 September, from 11am4pm. At Henstridge Airfield near Shaftesbury, Tickets start at £45 per person, with all proceeds going to charity, To book tickets contact teamtorri@mail. com or visit https://www. eventbrite.co.uk/e/t-fizztickets-1461620860339
JUMBLE SALE at Marnhull
Royal British Legion DT10 1HR on Saturday September 6th. Doors open 10.15am.
masterclasses from world renowned players such as John Mills, Xuefei Yang and Terence Latham.
He has designed and commissioned his own 23-stringed harp guitar and now composes and performs his own original music for it, as well as other harp guitar composers’ works, and arrangements of other music for the instrument.
His videos have been played on television in more than 40 countries, and he has given concerts and performances as a professional guitarist across the UK, and in Germany, France, Portugal and Australia.
The concert is on Sunday, September 7, at 3pm and admission is £10 in advance or £11 on the door, and includes refreshments.
Tickets are available from Gordon Amery on 07817 379006.
THE DOLPHIN PUB IN GILLINGHAM DORSET is holding its first ever Record Fair on Saturday 6th September at 10am. Call the Dolphin on 01747-824007 to book your table. You can then set up from 9am. Got CD’s to sell as well, bring them along too. serving breakfast rolls, tea and coffee from 10am. The bar will open at 11am. This is a free event so why not pop along and browse, buy or just enjoy a bite to eat.
THE WILTON DECORATIVE & VINTAGE
FAIR at The Michael Herbert Hall in Wilton, Wilts, SP2 0JS. Saturday 13th September 2025. 9:30am - 3:00pm. Selling decorative antiques and vintage items. Refreshments available!
CRAFT STASH CLEARANCE.
30th August. 10-1. 13 SP8-4RY. 50% to Cancer Research
SATURDAY
6th SEPTEMBER 1-4 pm
Holton village summer fete Free entrance
Traditional stalls - fun dog show - licences bar - homemade cakes - free cuddle corner - rabbits etc .
THE FRIENDS OF WINCANTON COMMUNITY HOSPITAL, SUMMER FETE 2025.
Saturday 13th September 2- 4pm, Raffl e, Bouncy Castle, Prize Skittles, Tombola, Pony Rides, BBQ, Refreshments, Stalls and Crafts, and much much more! All money raised will go directly to WCH and other community health projects
Deadline to place your advert is the Friday before publication.
CAR BOOT SALE, Friends of Yeatman Hospital. 7th September. 9-12. The Terrace, Sherborne, DT9 5NS. 07540 587554.
THURSDAYS FROM 4th SEPTEMBER
7.30 - 9.30pm, St Michael’s Scottish Country Dancing Club, Davis Hall, West Camel BA22 7QX, £2.00. 07972125617. stmichaelsscdclub.org
BARN SALE SATURDAY
30th August, 9am-1pm. Building materials, furniture, garden furniture, bric-a-brac and tiles, etc. Creech Holding Tolpuddle, Dorchester, DT2 7HB. 01929-471453
The Hand in Hand Lodge of Oddfellows
is organising the following social activities and everyone is welcome to join in.
A Monday afternoon of tabletop games at PIP Café
Poundbury 2pm-5pm. £5.00 for members and non-members. Refreshments included. Come and play or learn to play: Scrabble; Rummikub; Bananagram; chess; backgammon; mah jong; canasta. Dates include: 13th October, 10th November, 8th December, 12th January 2026 and 9th February 2026.
The Blue Pool & Nature Reserve Visit
Wednesday 17th September £16.00. Visit to The Blue Pool and nature reserve near Wareham to include refreshments. Meet at The Blue Pool entrance at 10am.
Apple Picking
Apple picking at Lower Muckleford Farm, DT2 9SW. Saturday 4th/Sunday 5th October 10am start. Ploughman’s lunch provided. This is a free event.
Bournemouth Pavillion - Fawlty Towers the Play
Wednesday 15th October 7.30pm. Fawlty Towers is now a brand-new stage play adapted by comedy legend John Cleese.
Dorchester Literary Festival
Dorford centre. Saturday 25th October 4.30pm. Martin Clunes presents his book ‘Meetings With Remarkable Animals’.
Tincleton Gallery DT2 8QR
Friday 6th September 7.30pm. An evening of Jazz Music with Roger Beaujolis on Vibraphone and Rob Palmer on guitar. Drinks and nibbles will be served. Tickets £20.00
Please contact Rosemary Rogers rosemarywdt2@gmail.com or phone 07788436797 for more information and to book your place at the above events
Arts & Entertainment
Literary festival pulls big names
by Helen Mockridge BOOKS
open doors to worlds that may be new or familiar, offering enlightenment, escape, adventure and much more besides.
This year’s Dorchester Literary Festival has invited some incredible speakers, and whether you’re interested in fiction, crime, science, history, railways, politics, the natural world, health, music, walking, biography or crime, there’s something to tempt you in a week’s worth of live events.
Glittering local authors include Martin Clunes, who celebrates the ways animals enrich people’s lives in Meetings with Remarkable Animals; Professor Geoffrey Guy, who gives us a glimpse into the future of medicine with Quantum Biology; while Natasha Solomon retells the
unmissable story of legendary Egyptian Queen Cleopatra.
Chris Chibnall, creator of Broadchurch, sets his crimes in Dorset’s most picturesque spots including the local boozer in Death at the White Hart.
There’s plenty to get stuck into on the political and history front, from Sarah Vine’s explosive memoir How Not to be a Political Wife to BBC News’ Gordon Corera’s The Spy in the Archive about an introverted Russian archivist who exposed the KGB, or Jonathan Sumption’s The Challenges of Democracy
Max Hasting is also back with his latest bestseller, Sword: D-Day Trial by Battle Health and wellbeing are high on the agenda with Dr Julie Smith’s instant Sunday Times number one bestseller Open When, on how to reframe life’s
complex problems when feeling overwhelmed, and pioneering scientist Tim Spector’s introduction to the life-changing benefits of fermentation.
Extraordinary real life stories are brought to life – Anne Sebba’s exclusive first-hand accounts of The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz, and the astounding memoir of West African Monica Macias, who describes her upbringing in North Korea under the guardianship of President Kim II Sung.
Not forgetting Somewhere a Boy and A Bear, Gyles Brandreth’s charming account of AA Milne, Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh.
Dorchester Literary Festival runs from Saturday, October 18, to Saturday, October 25.
INTERNATIONALLY renowned vocal ensemble The Gentlemen of St John’s College, Cambridge, are coming to St Peter’s Church, Dorchester.
Seven singers will perform a programme of music drawn from a repertoire spanning 600 years.
The ensemble, formed from choral and organ scholars of the Choir of St John’s College, have enjoyed a busy schedule of concerts and recordings for over 40 years.
The Gentlemen of St John’s College perform on Saturday, September 6, at 7pm, and tickets priced £18 and £14 are available online at www. ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/ dorset/st-peters-church.
Actor and author Martin Clunes will be appearing in Dorchester PHOTO: Nicky Johnston
Elvis: Early years to Las Vegas days
ELVIS act Ben Portsmouth is returning to one of his favourite venues when he visits the Westlands Entertainment Venue in Yeovil.
Ben’s show, with the Taking Care of Elvis Band, promises energy, passion and authenticity – and a journey from ‘The King’s’ early rockabilly roots to his Las Vegas years.
Hits such as I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You, If I Can Dream, Suspicious Minds, Unchained Melody and Viva Las
Vegas, feature.
Ben has performed to packed audiences at Westlands many times.
“We love coming to this venue, the audiences are always so much fun – really interactive – and we’re definitely looking forward to returning,” he said.
“At the end of the day, the greatest part is being on stage, feeling that you’ve given your best performance and making people happy,” he added.
“If you walk off stage and
think, ‘yeah, we’ve all had a good time’, I’ve done my job.”
Ben Portsmouth is in Yeovil
COLOURFUL ceilidh band Tatterdemalion are set to return to the Corn Exchange in Dorchester with their Big Dorset Michaelmas Ceilidh.
The band, formed 10 years ago to provide music for New Hardy Players productions, bring traditional Dorset tunes from 200 years ago to life today.
Band leader, Alastair Braidwood, said: “It was a strange beginning. A group of people who didn’t really know each other very well brought together to play music, who then realised they were onto a good thing.
“We were asked to play some
tunes for a bit of dancing at a party, and then someone else asked if we’d play for a fundraiser, and it all took off from there.
“We’ve become friends over the years – indeed, the number of married couples in the band has lately doubled!”
Tim Laycock, recent English Folk Dance and Song Society gold badge winner, folk singer and musician, provided the first tunes and gathered the musicians together.
His wife, Angela, is the group’s primary caller and brings her extensive knowledge and warm manner to all their
gigs.
Alastair said: “All of our tunes come from two manuscripts of folk tunes which were being used for dancing and enjoyment in Dorset in the 1820s and 1830s.
“We’ve updated them a little, with a beat and some fun harmonies, but the traditional tunes would still be recognisable to Thomas Hardy, whose family tunebook is one of our sources.”
on Friday, September 5, at 7.30pm, and tickets are available at www.westlandsyeovil.co.uk
Traditional tunes and a merry dance ROKIT choir pays tribute to Ozzy
THE ROKIT choir made a triumphant debut at The Exchange at Sturminster Newton when it performed its sold-out summer concert, Legends
The 90-strong choir of singers from Gillingham, Blandford and Sturminster Newton celebrated the icons of pop and rock music, taking the audience on a musical journey through the decades, from the
soaring harmonies of Bohemian Rhapsody to the soulful power of Human, and the feelgood energy of Shake a Tail Feather Emotional renditions of Angels and Bridge Over Troubled Water added a heartfelt depth to the setlist.
Special guest for the evening
was West End star Nathaniel Morrison who blended Gospel, Motown and Musical Theatre with ease – and revisited the songs that launched his career as Stevie Wonder in Dancing in the
Streets
The evening also included a tribute to the late Ozzy
Over the last few years, Tatterdemalion’s seasonal ceilidhs with Dorchester Arts have proved popular –especially since the introduction, at the behest of former Dorchester Mayor, Gareth Jones, of the Kiddies’ Keilidh, with specially designed folk dances for youngsters.
Tatterdemalion will bring their favourite tunes for dancing to the Big Dorset Michaelmas Ceilidh at the Corn Exchange on Saturday, September 13. No experience or partner is necessary – and the bar will be open the whole evening.
Tickets are available through Dorchester Arts’ website or box office priced £13 adults and £7 concessions – under-18s and low-wage – for the evening ceilidh, or £3 for the Kiddies’ Keilidh.
Osbourne when compère and choir leader Mark James joined Morrison for a stripped-back acoustic version of the Black Sabbath ballad Changes In memory of choir member Clare Langridge, who sadly passed away a month before the concert, the concert helped raise £435 for the charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) through a raffle sponsored by Udder Farm Shop.
Westlands in Yeovil is one of Ben Portsmouth’s favourite venues
Ceilidh band Tatterdemalion
Arrow words
Crossword
Sudoku 3D puzzle
Across
8 Writer twice interrupted by a song of praise (5)
Place 1 to 9 once into every black-bordered 3x3 area as well as each of the 54 rows indicated by the coloured lines. Rows don’t cross the thick black lines.
Killer Sudoku Pro
9 Trouble in a Thai – or Caribbean resident (7)
10 French priest with a pair of learners offering panacea (4-3)
11 Animal longing to be in hot area (5)
12 English politician with hard article facing amount in stress (9)
14 Fine individual disregarding new rival (3)
15 Source of heat for all to see between poles (3)
16 Formulated plan I tote showing possibility (9)
Down
1 Apparent pain in hooligan (6)
2 Aquatic creature heading for pond in habitat (8)
3 Old coin kept by Indian native? (4)
4 Talk of cold or hot food (6)
5 Group rowing over three points for figure
6 Rank policy (4)
7 Crazy and empty son comes in (6)
13 List of characters? (8)
14 Just behaviour in reasonable drama? (4,4)
19 Preliminary proposition from line by novel (5)
Killer Sudoku Pro
21 Secret hint in card game largely by person (7)
15 Unaccompanied chap losing heart is grave
23 Understand wrongly note by woman with Arab (7)
24 Conservative charge for case (5)
Place numbers 1 to 9 once each into every row, column and bold-lined 3x3 box. No digit may be repeated in any dash-lined cage, and all the digits in any cage must add up to the value shown in that cage.
17 Frustrate Henry before conflict in Isle of event (6)
18 More substantial drink cut by bartender lately (6)
20 Flat-topped hill in Middle East and South Africa (4)
22 Unpleasant sensation a temporary obstacle first off (4)
Church
• Anglican High Mass at Wimborne St Giles: First Sunday of each month at 11am.
• Blandford Methodist Church: Sundays – services at 10.45am. Thursdays – coffee and chat from 10am-noon. Fridays – lunch club for over-55s from noon at £5 per meal. Phone Joyce Wild on 07817 505543 to book. The church is anxious to offer help to all those in need – call church steward John Cornish on 07799 516735.
• Bell Street United Church, Shaftesbury: Sundays –services at 10.30am. Second Sunday of the month, All Age Service. Everyone welcome.
• Blandford Evangelical Church: Sunday – 10am Family Service, including classes for three-18 year olds. Monday Fellowship – weekly, 2.30pm-3.30pm, everyone welcome, term times only. Tuesday – Footprints, an activities playtime for preschool children, 10am-11.30am and 1.15pm-2.45pm, term times only. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings – small groups meet at homes at 7.30pm. The church is in Albert Street. Phone 450689 for more information.
• Castleton, Sherborne, St Mary Magdalene (DT9 3SA): First, third and fourth Sundays, Sung Mattins; second and fifth Sundays, Holy Communion. All services are BCP at 11.15am.
• Chalbury Church: Fourth Sunday of the month, 10am Holy Communion.
• Charity cake sale: Parsons Yard, Cheap Street, Sherborne, Saturday, September 6, 10am2pm. Home-made cakes will be on sale to raise funds for local youth charity the Rendezvous.
• Cheap Street Church, Sherborne: Prayer time –9.45am Thursday; Thought for the Day – 10.30am Thursday. Sunday service at 10.30am. Monday Music second Monday of the month at 6.15pm with a bring and share supper. 31st anniversary concert in aid of Save the Children, Friday September 12, 7pm. Seven choral scholars and an organ
scholar from St John’s College, Cambridge. Tickets from Winstone’s Book Shop – cash only – adult £20, student £10. • Cream teas by the river: Every Sunday in August, 2.30pm4.30pm, Damerham Village Hall SP6 3HU. In aid of St George’s Church, Damerham. Bric-a-brac, home grown produce.
• Digby Memorial Church Hall: Children’s Choir –rehearses at the Almshouse on Mondays at 4pm. Contact charlie.gurnham@ sherborneabbey.com, assistant director of music, to join, or just turn up.
• Hinton Martell: Second Sunday of the month, 10am Holy Communion.
• Horton Church: First Sunday of the month, 10am Holy Communion.
• Horton & Chalbury Village Hall: Third Sunday of the month, 9am Breakfast Church.
• Kingston Lacy: Second Sunday of the month, 9.15am Holy Communion. Fourth Sunday of the month, 9.15am Family Service.
• Lufton Church: Prayer Book services every Sunday at 6pm. Sung Mass on the third Sunday. See www.lufton.co.uk for details.
• Our Lady of Lourdes & Saint Cecilia, Blandford: Sunday, 9am Holy Mass; Monday/ Wednesday/Thursday/ Friday, 9.10am Morning Prayers, 9.30am Holy Mass; Tuesday, 6.10pm Evening Prayers, 6.30pm Holy Mass; Saturday, 9.30am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament/ Confessions; 5.30pm Vigil Mass of Sunday.
• Our Lady’s RC Church, Marnhull: Mass Sunday, 9am and 6pm.
• Sacred Heart, Tisbury, and All Saints’ Wardour Catholic Parish: Sunday Mass – Sacred Heart, Tisbury, 9am, coffee after Mass; All Saints’ Wardour 10.30am.
• Shapwick: Third Sunday of the month, 9.15am Holy Communion.
• Shaftesbury Quakers (Society of Friends): Meets for
one hour each Sunday from 10.30am at the Quaker Meeting House, Abbey Walk, Shaftesbury SP7 8BB.
• Sherborne Abbey: Monday to Saturday, 8.30am Morning Prayer; The Sepulchre Chapel. Mondays, 9am CW Holy Communion; The Lady Chapel. Tuesday, noon CW Holy Communion; The Lady Chapel. Wednesday, 10.30am Holy Communion with Homily; The Lady Chapel (alternates CW and BCP). Thursday, noon BCP Holy Communion; The Lady Chapel. Friday, 9am Ecumenical Holy Communion; The Lady Chapel. First Friday of the month, 9am Requiem Holy Communion; The Sepulchre Chapel. Third Friday of the month, 11am Remembering the Fallen. Saturday, 9am CW Holy Communion; The Sepulchre Chapel.
• Sherborne Abbey organ recitals: Recitals will resume on Monday, September 8, at 1.30pm.
• Sherborne Quakers: One hour of silent prayer or meditation every Sunday at 10.30am at Raleigh Hall, Digby Road DT9 3NL. Everyone welcome. Contact Nick Jackman at sherbornequakers@ gmail.com
• St Gregory’s, Marnhull: Sunday services 8am and 10am. Other services, visit www. stgregorysmarnhull.org.uk.
• St John’s Church, Enmore Green: Service every Sunday at 11.15am; parish communion on the first Sunday of the month; prayer services every other Sunday.
• St Margaret’s, Margaret Marsh (Shaftesbury Benefice)
SP7 0AZ: Alternating first Sundays Mattins and Holy Communion, 11.15am. Everyone welcome.
• St Mary’s, Motcombe: Evening worship (BCP) – every first Sunday 6pm; parish communion – every second and fourth Sunday 9.30am; evening worship – every third Sunday 6pm.
• St Mary’s, Sturminster Newton: First, third and fourth
Sundays – 11am Holy Communion; second Sunday – 9.30am Morning Prayer; fifth Sunday – 11am Benefice Holy Communion; second and fourth Sundays – 6pm Evensong; Wednesdays – 10am Holy Communion.
• St Mary & St Bartholomew’s Church, Cranborne: Book of Common Prayer Evensong with the Benefice Choir, first Sunday of the month at 6pm.
• St Peter’s Church, Stourton: Fundraising concert featuring the Rokit Choir and classically trained jazz trumpeter Henry Spencer on Saturday, September 6 – doors 6.30pm, start 7pm. Tickets £10 from Jane Joyce on 01747 840149; email j-joyce@ dircon.co.uk
• St Peter’s, Hinton St Mary: First, second and third Sundays, 9.30am Morning Prayer. Fourth Sunday, 9.30am Holy Communion.
• St Thomas’, Lydlinch: Second Sunday, Holy Communion 11am; third Sunday, Evensong 6pm; fourth Sunday, Matins 11am.
• Two Rivers Benefice: Sunday, August 31: 10.45am –Communion at St John the Baptist Church, Spetisbury; 3.30pm – Hymns and Pimms at St Mary’s Church, Blandford St Mary. Sunday, September 7 –10.45am Together Communion at St Mary’s Church, Charlton Marshall. Coffee and cake –Spetisbury 10am–11.30am, first and third Monday each month; Coffee and cake – Blandford St Mary 10am–11.30am, September 18; Crafternoons –first Thursday of every month 2pm–4pm, £3 including refreshments; Coffee stop –Charlton Marshall Parish Centre 10.30am–12.30pm, Tuesday to Friday.
• West Camel Independent Methodists: Meet at All Saints Church, BA22 7QB. Sunday, August 31, 6pm – United Service. Contact: Geoff.mead@ yahoo.com or phone 01935 850838.
• Witchampton Church: Third Sunday of the month, 10am Holy Communion.
We need to see bobbies on the beat
THE Sunday Times recently carried an article about a group of people in Bournemouth who call themselves the Bournemouth Safeguard Force, whose job it is ‘to protect the most vulnerable’ simply by patrolling the streets around Bournemouth assisting, but separate from, the ‘overstretched police service’.
Laudable but with caveats from the police apparently.
This same article refers to someone called a ‘policeman’.
I remember seeing ‘policemen’ when I was a youngster back in the 1950s, but really since moving to Gillingham a handful of years ago, I cannot recall seeing a policeman anywhere – not in the area I live in, not in neighbouring areas and certainly not in the centre of Gillingham.
What do they look like today? And where are they hiding? Do they have ‘beats’ to patrol? Do they even exist?
I have seen several expensive fast cars marked ‘Police’ rushing around in the wrong gear at the wrong speed, but they never stop to get out and speak to the public – but why should they?
We are only the poor souls who fund them through our various taxes.
It would be great to see some of these ‘invisibles’ doing some basic police work like walking a ‘beat’ around the various housing areas.
In the old days, a ‘copper’ was always a friend to turn to.
Well, today you cannot turn to a ‘nothingness’, can you?
Let’s have the police back on patrol.
Via email
Name and address supplied
Doctors’ fears over job security
HAVING read the Loose Canon’s column – New Blackmore Vale, August 1 – I feel compelled to contact you.
I usually read his column and find it thought provoking and interesting, but this article made me see red!
Does the Loose Canon know any resident doctors before he criticises them?
My daughter graduated from medical school in 2007 and after her foundation years was lucky enough to get a runthrough training post within the Wessex deanery.
Wanting to maintain a work-life balance after starting a family, she has managed to train while working part-time, meaning she will complete her training in the coming months.
Once she has completed her training, she has a short period of grace to find a consultant post.
Due to financial constraints within the NHS, this time next year she may well be unemployed or forced to work in an unrelated job.
So, Loose Canon, doctors do not have secure careers and they do not work shorter hours.
If a shift finishes at, say, 8.30pm, my daughter often does not finish until 10pm.
Doctors cannot just walk away from a patient requiring treatment.
Since my daughter graduated, the training regime has changed and due to the contract brought in by Jeremy Hunt their salary was decreased.
My daughter was placed on protected wages, so the employer could not reduce her salary.
My daughter did not strike, as she feels it is unethical, but is very concerned about job security and feels more should be said about that.
Name and address supplied
Are kids in Dorset not as clever?
I WAS intrigued by the latest set of A-level results, which show significant differences in academic attainment across England.
Where I used to live in Surrey, 36% of students across all subjects achieved A or A* results. In Dorset, the level is 25%.
That is not a statistical blip, with even greater differences across all counties ranging from 18% for the Isle of Wight through to 41% for Rutland.
Maybe the kids are more ‘stupid’ in one county or another.
Or is there some very sinister conspiracy going on that government is not telling us?
The differences probably do not come down to the air we breathe, food we eat or water we drink, as these are fairly constant across most of us.
So, what is it driving these massive differences, and, need we as a society, be worried?
The first answer I suggest is down to quality of education and type of school.
The left leaning, selfappointed liberal elite will hate me for writing this, but those places that are doing better have a history of having had Grammar Schools.
As much as streaming has been vilified in a race to the bottom by many in this nation, educational stratification does work.
The next item is, should we be bothered?
My view is a resounding ‘yes’, today, and it will only get worse with serial economic mismanagement – we pay out more on servicing debt as a nation than we invest in education.
The UK is now on a path we cannot change.
As we do not have a wealth of raw materials, we must excel as a trading, innovation, services and market-making nation.
These sectors require the best and brightest of brains to be unleashed, as many other nations are looking to displace us.
Educational attainment levels with such staggering levels of
difference should send shockwaves up and down all our spines.
As, of course, the kids of Dorset are as clever and have as much potential as all others.
Finally, well done Labour for trashing the private education sector – brilliant move to totally bugger us up in the name of political ideology and envy.
Hold your heads in shame as the nation continues to sink to the bottom of the barrel.
Mike Madgwick Via email
Police comments and reality of crime
RESIDENTS of Bournemouth and Poole regularly record on social media the daily street violence, shoplifting by gangs, thefts from cars and property, the blatant widespread distribution of drugs at all times of day and night, and the intimidation that has become such a way of life in all areas and especially Bournemouth town centre.
They also record the complete lack of response or even interest from Dorset Police, even when presented with clear video evidence, to the point where no-one now reports these crimes.
The smug and complacent remarks – New Blackmore Vale, August 31 – from the Deputy Chief Constable and the Police Commissioner regarding ‘the continuing fall in crime in Dorset’ and the ‘relentless pursuit of criminality’ is quite unbelievable.
Similarly, the refusal to disclose the cost of its new headquarters, together with the no doubt expensive fittings and furnishings. Shameful and inexcusable.
Roland Britain Via email
Politics
Time to reset broken asylum system
THE High Court’s ruling on an asylum hotel in Epping should be a moment of clarity for ministers.
Last year, 84,200 applications for asylum were made in the UK for 108,100 people – the highest on record. Refugees and asylum seekers comprise 16% of all immigration to this country – the highest on record. More than 50,000 people, mostly young men, have crossed the Channel in small boats since Sir Keir became PM – the highest on record.
It cannot go on like this.
The Epping ruling is minor compared to what needs to be done. It might mean asylum seekers are relocated from hotels to other accommodation, but the taxpayer will continue footing the bill – £3 billion last year alone.
Why do they need accommodation at all? Because we cannot send them back while their claims are being processed. Why not? Because we are
Conservative
for South West Wiltshire
obligated by international law to do so.
So, we can either continue processing them here or process them elsewhere.
If here, the first thing the Government should consider is dedicated detention centres –much more appropriate than commandeering hotels. And they greet illegal entry with chilly caution rather than open arms and a chocolate on the pillow. That is important if we are to discourage people from
making dangerous Channel crossings.
But processing claims here does nothing to remove the incentive to risk crossing the Channel. Only processing offshore does that.
One way would be to revisit the unfairly maligned Rwanda scheme. Modelled on Australia’s processing of ‘boat people’ on Christmas Island that led to the almost total halt of dangerous crossings to Australia from Asia, we know it can work with enough resources and time.
Another way is to make plain two principles that ought to be obvious. Firstly, if you come here illegally, your claim for asylum will be rejected. Secondly, we will issue no visas to foreign governments that refuse to take back their citizens rejected for asylum. Quite straightforward, one would think.
The ultimate recourse, however, is reconsidering our place in the crumbling
architecture of international law built for a bygone age, especially the European Convention on Human Rights that is incorporated into British law by the Human Rights Act 1998.
Time and again, the Court in Strasbourg has frustrated the efforts of our elected Government and Parliament to control our borders. As a member of the Council of Europe, we should seek to renegotiate the terms of the ECHR. If the signatory states cannot agree, we should leave and replace the Human Rights Act 1998 with a Bill of Rights as in the US Constitution. We would not be abandoning human rights to which this country has been committed for centuries. We would be regaining the sovereignty and democratic accountability we so recently let slip away.
The Epping judgment should serve as a wake-up call. Our asylum system is broken. Time for a reset. This is our chance.
Small businesses vital for economy
DURING the summer recess
I’ve enjoyed getting out and about across the Glastonbury and Somerton constituency. Last week I visited the Mitre Inn, a newly opened pub in Glastonbury, to meet the owners and staff, alongside discussing some of the challenges the hospitality sector is facing.
Hospitality businesses play a huge role in supporting our communities, providing jobs and supporting local producers and suppliers, but many are struggling with recruitment, business rates, high costs, alongside the government’s changes to employer NICs announced in the last Budget.
Somerset is home to many fantastic cider producers, brewers, pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants, which are so often the beating heart of rural economies like ours. Nearly 500 hospitality establishments
support more than 5,000 jobs in Glastonbury and Somerton and realise a turnover of £200-plus million.
However, I worry about how the landscape will look in future unless we take urgent action to support not just hospitality businesses, but all small businesses. Somerset is dominated by small enterprises, with nine out of 10 businesses in Somerset employing fewer than
10 people.
Despite the entrepreneurial spirit that is so strong in Somerset, business growth has faltered in recent years. The Enterprise Research Centre’s latest report found that despite an extra 400,000 SMEs being established in the UK since 2010, the proportion registering any employment growth has fallen.
This is why I am holding a small business roundtable with local business owners from across Glastonbury and Somerton to share perspectives, exchange ideas and discuss how government policy can better reflect the realities of running a business.
I hope this event will help to ensure that the Government’s Small Business Strategy reflects the real priorities and challenges faced by business owners in Glastonbury and Somerton. A
thriving local economy is crucial to ensure our part of Somerset is not left behind. Small businesses had to suffer through years of chaos under the last Conservative Government and now this Labour Government doesn’t seem to understand the realities rural small business owners face.
In Parliament I have already raised these issues, constantly highlighting the real impact of government policies and urging Ministers to overhaul the business rates system and scrap the NICs hike. We have been promised changes to the business rates system, but so far have only seen tinkering around the edges.
I will continue to champion small businesses and pursue this important campaign and push for real solutions, because small businesses must be right at the heart of any economic plan. .
Lib Dem MP for Glastonbury & Somerton Sarah Dyke
MP
Dr Andrew Murrison
Leonardo’s superb ‘green’ garden
ONE of the real privileges of being your MP is visiting local projects that show what can be achieved when people come together with vision and determination. Recently, I visited Leonardo in Yeovil to see its new sustainability garden. It is an inspiring project that highlights how businesses and communities can play their part in tackling the climate crisis – something the Liberal Democrats have long argued must be at the heart of government policy.
The garden came about when some old portable buildings were removed, leaving a bare patch of ground. Rather than leaving it empty, staff decided to transform it into a green space. What could have cost more than £100,000 if done commercially is instead being created by staff volunteers and local businesses, using donated materials and creative ideas.
The concrete has been broken up to create soil and pathways, and wildflowers will soon bring colour while attracting bees and other pollinators. Raised beds have been built from recycled filing cabinets and tubing, showing that sustainability is about using what you have as much as what you plant. There is also a helicopter made of scaffolding poles that will one day be
covered with climbing plants. A central seating area has been left for staff to meet, eat lunch and enjoy some fresh air.
This project is proof that with the right support, local people and businesses can make a real difference. But it should not just be left to staff goodwill and voluntary donations. National government has a responsibility to provide the funding, incentives and leadership that allow these projects to flourish everywhere, from large employers like Leonardo to schools, councils and community groups across our towns and villages.
The Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for stronger action on sustainability and biodiversity. That means protecting our green spaces, giving local councils the tools to deliver climate action plans, and supporting businesses with grants to cut waste and invest in
greener ways of working. It also means valuing staff wellbeing, recognising that places like Leonardo’s garden will not only help the environment but improve mental health and bring people together.
As someone who worked for many years as a landscape gardener, I know how powerful green spaces can be. They lift spirits, encourage creativity and help nature recover. But we need more than small, local projects. We need a government that treats climate change and biodiversity loss as the urgent crises they are.
The garden at Leonardo shows what can be achieved when people step up and work together. Now it’s time for ministers to do the same, and back communities like ours with the resources and support we need to secure a greener, healthier future.
Local Plan – time to get involved
HOPEFULLY, if there is one thing we can all agree upon is that the Dorset Council area needs a Local Plan. Without one our whole area lies exposed to speculative development on inappropriate sites. There have been a number of planning applications which in ordinary circumstances would not have won at their appeals but did so due to the absence of a Plan and the ability to demonstrate a Five Year Land Supply. When I served as a Minister in the Department with responsibility for planning policy we removed overbearing, centrally imposed, top down housing targets and relaxed the approach to the Five Year Land Supply. This was welcomed by communities up and down the country and across North Dorset. The new Labour Government decided to not only reverse these popular decisions but to add to the new build targets for rural areas while reducing those for urban.
Conservative MP for North Dorset
Simon Hoare
Perverse and incomprehensible
I hear you mutter. I agree. Lib Dem controlled Dorset Council has launched the first round of public consultation on the Draft Local Plan. If one includes existing planning permissions the council is consulting upon delivering 70,000 new homes over the plan period. By any margin that is a lot of housing and one thing I would ask you to consider is the impact on the demand for
services, for example, GPs, hospitals, school places and the like. What will come first – the jobs then the housing or vice-versa. If there are no new jobs, why would a housebuilder build? It is a long process with many hurdles ahead and will be subject to an examination undertaken by the Planning Inspectorate in mid-2027 with final adoption anticipated towards the end of 2027. The consultation plans cover not just housing but also employment, accommodation for Gypsies, Travellers and Showpeople, infrastructure development and the like. It also proposes a greater fluidity towards the importance of maintaining existing settlement boundaries and how they interlink with their neighbours. The Plan is important as it will be the blueprint for development over the next 17 years. The consultation period closes on October 13 and I would urge
everyone to look at the documents and make their views known. I know local Conservative councillors are organising consultation events in their areas to help people understand what is being proposed and how they can have their say. Please visit Dorset Council’s website, www. dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/dorset-ischanging, and follow the links to the documents and consultation form.
There is always a tendency to respond to consultation opportunities on major documents with: ‘I will do it tomorrow’ or ‘I haven’t got the time to read through all that’ or ‘my views won’t matter; it’s all a done deal’. The worse response is ‘someone else can do it’. If you care about where you live, the local environment, access to local services, food security and the need to maintain agricultural land, then you need to get involved.
Lib Dem MP for Yeovil
Adam Dance
Politics
Build better and for the future
AS you will know, the Government has announced a plan to build 1.5 million new homes. This will result in an effective doubling of Dorset’s housing target to 3,750 houses.
We have a long tradition of failing to meet housing building targets in the UK and it is difficult to see how doubling the expectation of what Dorset can deliver will change that. Where we do build, we invariably build the wrong types of houses, in the wrong places, for the wrong people, at the wrong price and without the necessary infrastructure to support them.
Dorset does need more housing, but it needs affordable and social housing. Houses for local people, young families, first-time buyers and key workers. Where we do build houses, we need the infrastructure to alleviate, not compound the pressure on, our
Thinks
Dem MP for West Dorset
Edward Morello
roads, GPs, schools and sewage systems. We need to build better and build for the future. Moreover, nearly 70% of West Dorset is designated a National Landscape, what used to be known –far more appropriately – as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Given the importance of our natural environment, and the vital role it plays in attracting visitors, it is important that any development does not detrimentally impact the countryside we all love so much.
So, I am delighted Dorset Council has launched a consultation on its ‘Local Plan’ and is asking for our views on how it can deliver growth that supports local communities. The plan covers housing, businesses, town centres, community infrastructure –such as parks and schools – and how best to protect our natural environment.
Alongside it is the Local Transport Plan, which sets goals for improving transport in Dorset, including making travel safe and easy, helping villages grow by staying connected, reducing congestion and encouraging alternatives to cars.
It is our opportunity to feed into the process and let the council know what our priorities are.
The consultation runs until October 13 and feedback can be given through an online portal or by writing or emailing the council. There will also be a series of in-person consultations including at Bridport Town Hall on September 10, The Corn Exchange in Dorchester on September 11 and Digby Hall in Sherborne on October 7.
I strongly urge residents to get involved. This is your opportunity to tell the council what matters to you and be a part of building a better future for Dorset.
You can find out more information about the Local Plan, read the documentation and provide feedback on the dedicated be portal, www. dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/dorset-ischanging
tanks, media and protest
THERE are two difficult balancing acts faced by campaigners seeking to achieve the large-scale societal and behavioural changes needed to address the climate and environmental situation. The first challenge is deciding what information to share, and the second challenge is how best to share it.
In deciding what to share, the need is to deliver enough facts to motivate and inspire people to take positive action, but not so much information that people are overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness that risk quenching any thoughts of doing anything positive. Scientific facts by themselves don’t help, because facts don’t change minds –emotions do. The powerful emotions of fear and anger are linked and have historically been the drivers of societal change. For too many decades the billionaire-owned – and partly fossil fuel funded – media
Ken Huggins on behalf of the Green Party in North Dorset
has largely controlled the narrative on climate change, with a stream of misinformation and disinformation. Some well meaning scientists have unwittingly not helped by softening the bad news with talk of ‘by the end of the century’, a remote timescale that encouraged complacency. The true speed of the crisis is now apparent – for those prepared to
look out of the window.
The second challenge is how to share the information needed to inspire people to take action – and to prompt politicians to do what we pay them for, which is to act in the best interest of us all. With the mainstream media dominated by climate denial and delay, campaigners took to the streets in huge numbers seeking to persuade politicians to take action. Unfortunately, the politicians had learned that peaceful protests could be ignored, after the UK joined the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 in spite of more than one million people having marched through London to protest against it. Environmental campaigners were forced into more disruptive protests, to which the government responded with anti-protest legislation –attacking the messengers, instead of paying heed to their message. It’s another example of how dark money has corrupted
our democracy. Rishi Sunak, when prime minister, boasted about the government’s antiprotest laws having been guided by the Policy Exchange, a right-leaning think tank reported to have received funding from fossil fuel interests. Sunak worked there himself before his 2015 election to parliament. Also, ex-Labour MP John Woodcock, now Lord Walney, acted as the government’s so-called ‘independent’ advisor on domestic extremism. No surprise that as a paid advisor for the arms and oil industries he specifically called for bans against groups protesting against defence and energy firms. Perhaps those who consider disruptive protests to be an unacceptable hindrance to businesses and the public could advise how else we can get the government to take the actions needed to address the unfolding climate and environmental crises.
Lib
Treat for stamp and coin collectors
WINCANTON Auctions is set to hold a special sale of stamps, postcards, collectors’ cards, cigarette cards, bank notes, coins and medals.
The sale includes very rare and desirable individual stamps and intriguing printing errors, curated albums and captivating postal history.
Postcard collections and photograph albums offer evocative glimpses into history, travel and bygone eras.
For numismatists, the sale features a wide variety of valuable and unusual coins, together with banknotes and medals.
The second day of the auction is reserved for a huge collection of cigarette and collectors’ cards.
The sale on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 16-17, promises a wealth of interest for philatelists, postcard enthusiasts,
coin collectors and lovers of history, and should appeal to every taste and budget.
Bidding will be available in the room and online, allowing collectors everywhere the opportunity to take part.
Special Sale of Stamps, Postal History, Postcards, Collectors Cards, Bank Notes, Coins and Medals
TUESDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER 2025 COMMENCING AT 11AM
TUESDAY
Viewing is on Friday, Saturday and Monday, September 12, 13 and 15, 10am-4pm; and from 9am on sale days, with bidding from 11am.
The full illustrated catalogue can be viewed at www. wincantonauctions.com and www.easyliveauction.com
Wincanton Auctions is inviting entries for future specialist sales of books, art, vinyl records and hi-fi equipment.
The saleroom’s team will be delighted to advise and assist anyone considering entering items.
The Auction to take place Online and in our Saleroom at: Bennett’s Mead. Southgate Road.
VIEWING DAYS FRI 12th, SAT 13TH & MONDAY 15th SEPTEMBER 10AM-4PM
Auction to take place Online and in our Saleroom at: Bennett’s Mead. Southgate Road. Wincanton. Somerset .BA9 9EB VIEWING DAY MONDAY 15th SEPTEMBER 10AM-4PM
Wincanton. Somerset. BA9 9EB
A Zanzibar 1895-96 3R Brown and Green Error ‘R’ Inverted. One of only four. Cat value £6000.
An Album of WW1 Period Photographs with Military Interest.
An Indian Mutiny medal with ‘Defence of Lucknow’ clasp.
Hattons of London Cased RAF Centenary Day. Full, Half & Quarter Sovereign Proof Set 2018.
An 1936 Cased Set of Maundy Money
A Victorian Scrapbook
1979 Rowland Hill Mini Sheet
SG MS1099F £4250 Myrtle Green Omitted Error. Only 6 Sheets recorded existing.
& Collectibles
Advertiser’s announcement
Strong market for collections
CLARKE’S Auctions is busy preparing for the first of its autumn sales on Friday and Saturday, September 12-13.
It will be taking entries for the auction until Wednesday, September 3, and anyone who has anything they would like to consign, or would like advice on, can contact them on the number below.
Clarke’s is offering another single-owner collection, this time of about 50 lots of antique bladed weapons.
contained in its original leather sheath; a Khmer Phkak, a long machete or polearm traditionally used in the fields
Shamshirs; and other smaller bladed weapons and daggers.
Single-owner collections are always sought after at auction and command good prices.
Many collectors have sold their prized items with Clarke’s, including collections of gold coins, Railwayana, Royal Crown Derby paperweights, taxidermy and scratchbuilt models.
It includes a rare Victorian Thornhill fixed blade Wingfield knife with four folding elements, including corkscrew, button hook, awl and concealed scissors, tweezers and pricker,
of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam; antique Persian double-bladed swords, including Talwars and
Clarke’s Auctions
Auctioneers & Valuers
Anyone who has an interesting collection or part-collection they are thinking of selling is invited to get in touch with them.
For enquiries about consignment into future sales, probate or insurance valuations or full or part house clearances, phone Richard Clarke or Karen Marshall on 01747 685592 at the salerooms at The Old Glove Factory, Buckingham Road, Gillingham SP8 4QF.
ACREMAN St Auctioneers & Valuers Sherborne has two days of auctions in September.
On Thursday, September 25, at 10am it has a specialist modern, 20th century and fine art paintings sale, with general antiques and collectables at noon. On Friday, September 26, at 10am it has a jewellery, silver and watches sale.
The catalogue and bidding are available online through easyliveauction.com and thesaleroom.com 10 days before the auction.
Acreman is now accepting items for its September auctions.
The auction house holds regular valuation days where prospective vendors can take in items for its specialists to evaluate at 121 Acreman Street,
Antiques & Collectibles Sale Friday 9th & Saturday 10th August
Joseph Farquharson RA (Scottish 1846-1935)
The Flower Borders of the Artist’s Garden at Finzean, Aberdeenshire Oil on canvas Sold for £6,300.
An original Fry & Sons 'Fry's Pure Concentrated Cocoa' enamel sign. Sold for £1,600.
The Old Glove Factory, Buckingham Road Gillingham, SP8 4QF 01747 685592 enquiries@clarkesauctions.co.uk
Clarke’s Auctions o er free home visits and verbal valuations. Now accepting items for this and future sales e Old Glove Factory, Buckingham Road Gillingham, SP8 4QF 01747 685592 enquiries@clarkesauctions.co.uk Antiques & Collectables Next Sale Friday 12th & Saturday 13th September
Units 1 & 2 Kingsettle Business Park, 01747 855109 enquiries@clarkesauctions.co.uk
Sherborne, DT9 3PH.
Valuation days are from 10am-3pm: Jewellery and Watches – Tuesdays and Saturdays; Silver and Objet d’Art – Tuesdays and Saturdays; Toys and Collectables –Wednesdays and Saturdays; Oriental and Asian – Thursdays and Saturdays; Coins, Stamps, Books and Ephemera – Fridays and Saturdays; Militaria –Fridays and Saturdays; Textiles and Fashion – Mondays and Saturdays; Paintings and Contemporary Art – Mondays and Saturdays.
Anyone unable to get along on the allocated days can phone or email to make an appointment – house visits can also be arranged if required. Photographs can be emailed to auction@acremanstreet antiques.co.uk
Anyone who has anything they would like to consign should contact Gill Norman on 07908 333577 or 01935 508764 or via email to auction@ acremanstreet
‘Sisters’ portrait sold for £36,000
AUCTION houses act as bridges between past and present, bringing the marvels of yesterday into today’s world through expert curation and the skilled voices of auctioneers.
While historical treasures continue to captivate, the artistic excellence of the modern and contemporary art world equally deserves recognition.
Duke’s Auctioneer’s Art & Design Post 1880 auction celebrates the creativity of artists such as David Hockney, Henri Matisse, Elisabeth Frink and others, who have shaped the visual language of the 20th and 21st centuries.
A small 18th century oak coffer bach.
The most recent sale achieved outstanding results, including a full-length portrait of the Talbot Sisters by Wilfrid Gabriel de Glehn (1870-1951) which sold for £36,000, and a rare signed David Hockney print that realised £10,000, including buyer’s premium.
The next Art & Design Post 1880 auction is on Thursday, October 16, and consignments are now open.
To submit works for consideration, email enquiries@ dukes-auctions.com
The deadline for entries is Thursday, September 4. The Talbot Sisters, by Wilfrid Gabriel De Glehn, sold for £28,000 hammer
A COLLECTION of Beswick and Border Fine Art from a property near the New Forest is coming up for sale with Charterhouse.
“The owner has been involved with horses and ponies all her life and collected the Beswick horses and Border Fine Art horse groups over the past few decades,” said Richard Bromell, from the auction house.
“Needless to say, they were all over the house and even in special purpose-built cabinets to keep them safe and secure.”
Among the collection of
hundreds of horses are large Border Fine Art groups including Appleby Fair and rare Beswick rocking horse grey porcelain figures.
The collection is included in Charterhouse’s specialist auction of Beswick and Border Fine Art on Tuesday, September 23.
Charterhouse is now accepting further entries for this auction – contact Richard Bromell at Charterhouse in Sherborne on 01935 812277 or email rb@charterhouseauction.com
MOTOR RACING & MOTORING MEMORABILIA wanted by established local dealer. Tel 07771 518629
by Sally Gregson
MEMORIES of tropical holidays may be fading, but those memories of great, exotic meals remain longer. These days it’s easy to recapture that taste of the Far East first sampled on a far-flung holiday. Our supermarkets do occasionally stock oriental vegetables, but if you really want to recapture that authentic taste try growing them yourself in a corner of the garden.
Now is a good time to sow seed of traditional Chinese and Thai vegetables. Seed of exotic vegetables sown in spring has a tendency to bolt due to low temperatures, transplant shock or simply lengthening days.
A taste of the Far East, fresh from the garden Summer refresh for houseplants
by Sally Gregson
WE in the UK are lucky enough to be able to grow most of the world’s flora either out in the garden, under glass in the greenhouse or indoors on a cool windowsill. During a summer as hot as this it can be easy to forget the green plants that share our indoor lives with us. But houseplants need a holiday, too.
All those dusty pots languishing in the muggy bathroom or abandoned in the hall will benefit from a little attention and some warm gentle rain before autumn is upon us again. Many are from lush tropical jungle environments, well suited to the dark indoor light of our centrally heated houses in winter. But in summer they could be equally happy outside in a shady part of the
Mostly they are very fast to germinate and grow on in the summer-warmed soil. A Chinese cabbage can easily reach four times the size of a lettuce in the same time. And a late summer sowing of oriental brassicas will be producing seedlings and young plants that ‘cut and come again’ throughout the autumn.
Try Chinese ‘mustard greens’ for spice and heat. The variety ‘Red Giant’ eventually produces large plants whose outer leaves become maroon-purple in colder weather. The younger foliage and inner leaves are not quite so hot. This pepperiness can vary from plant to plant, but if you soak the leaves for 30
garden.
Any plants that are infected with whitefly or red-spider-mite should be given a one-way ticket to the bin, offering the excuse for a visit to the garden centre for a healthy replacement. It would be as well to thoroughly clean the greenhouse glass too, while it is out of use. Eggs of insect pests are very long-lived.
The survivors can then spend their summer holiday somewhere cool and shady, protected from slugs and snails with a taste for the exotic with the usual remedies. Rain water is so much better than chalky tap-water.
But stay-at-home gardeners are counting their blessings in a good summer – long warm evenings, outdoor meals and
Home & Garden
minutes before cooking, they will have a milder flavour. For a warm salad to serve with a traditional Thai or Chinese dish, blanch the young leaves for 30 seconds in boiling water first. Then grate onion and ginger over the salad, and dress it with sesame oils, lemon or lime juice, sea salt, ground black pepper and crushed garlic. Sprinkle a few fresh herbs over
the salad and serve. Try Thai basil for an authentic taste. Or stir-fry the hot, peppery leaves sliced with onions and garlic and seasoned with soy sauce. Serve them beneath spicy duck breasts slow-baked until they are soft and succulent, for an authentic taste of China. The flavours will transport you back to your dream holiday.
quantities of small young vegetables and salads as fresh as they are sweet. It’s a special pleasure to sit in a quiet flower garden as the sun starts to sink in the sky. The longer rays of light illuminate the mauve, blue and white colours making them shimmer. Bats come out of hiding, ducking and diving after
the moths, and if you throw a stick in the air they will move in closer to examine it. The tawny owls shriek eerily, if you are lucky enough to live in range, and the familiar garden you lovingly tend all day will assume a darkly different guise – a theatre for the creatures of a summer night.
Try Chinese ‘mustard greens’ for spice and heat in meals
Houseplants will benefit from some warm gentle rain before autumn
Home & Garden
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TO be fair, autumn and winter bedding is never quite as spectacular as its summer cousin. However, the interest is subtler and varies depending on which stage of the year we are at. For example, winter pansies give a spectacular display from September through to the depths of winter but then fade back before coming again in the early part of the spring. It is best to plant these when they are in flower and with dead-heading and a regular gentle feed of a high potash fertiliser, such as Tomorite, they will flourish in all but the toughest part of the winter. Some people prefer bedding violas with their smaller more detailed flowers. They tend to be more robust and keep their quality in bad weather.
snowdrops on the edges or tubs or baskets. We once experimented with planting a basket all round with Tête-àTête as a complete ball! The result was quite entertaining with the flowers all finding their way round the basket to point upwards. It may not catch on but was great fun!
Mobile: 07976 934 252
Tel: 01963 250005
Mobile: 07976 934 252
Lady Landscaping
Primulas and polyanthus are also good for flower. Again, these flower before the winter and should come back strongly in the spring, too. Primulas are better for hanging baskets, as the flowers are shorter, but the taller more spectacular polyanthus are really good for tubs.
Other flower interest can come from winter heathers, which will still be performing whatever the weather, forget-me-nots before and after winter, a new type of antirrhinum bred for two flowering periods and miniature bulbs that can be underplanted in a bedding or basket display.
We tend to use dwarf daffodils and narcissi such as Tête-à-Tête or Jumblie at anything from six to 10 inches as a centrepiece of baskets and tubs. Planted in a tight cluster with other plants on top, the bulbs will eventually force their way through and flower when everything else in the basket is struggling. These centrepiece bulbs can be backed up with clusters of mini bulbs such as dwarf Iris, Chionodoxa or even
Many alpines are also useful to give foliage interest. Some of my favourites include lamiums such as White Nancy, which provides white variegated foliage cascading down the sides. Ajuga – Bugle – particularly the purple types. I like Chocolate Chip with its narrow foliage. Their final fanfare in the basket will be the blue bugle flowers in the spring. Other alpines do this too, including the Alyssum montanum, which has spectacular yellow flowers on silvery foliage and, of course, for out and out flowering, Aubretia and Arabis, with purple, blue or red flowers and white or pink flowers respectively. I tend to forget about these beauties and am pleasantly surprised every year as to how good they are!
Other useful plants for autumn and winter effect are the variegated Ivies available in small pots each containing five or more cuttings. These can be split and planted at the edge of the basket, again providing colour when all else is having a hard time. We have experimented creating whole hanging basket balls of ivies and these are really effective.
Looking after winter displays is fairly straightforward with far less input needed than the summer versions. If planting a basket or tub, don’t forget to check for water on a weekly basis in the winter but more frequently in the autumn and spring. Gentle but regular feeding with a high potash fertiliser such as Tomorite will also help.
The latest gardening news, hints and tips, with Mike Burks, MD of The Gardens Group
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Meditations in nature: An unexpected encounter
by Susanna Curtin
IT is a warm, late afternoon on the Dorset heathlands at Arne. A light breeze is picking up and blowing in from the sea, and the quintessential blue summer sky has been whitewashed by a blanket of high cloud. I have come here with no particular agenda except to enjoy a nice walk with my binoculars, and to be half on the lookout for ospreys or perhaps the whitetailed eagles. But making my way to the hide that overlooks the Middlebere channel, I can see the incoming tide has brought the waders upstream – particularly the black-tailed godwits in their full summer plumage, curlews, oyster catchers and shelducks. A pair of little egrets are taking their pick from a panicking shoal of fish that are trying to jump their way out of trouble. The splashes and commotion attract the attention of a lone sandwich tern, who, with its pointed, slender wings, loops effortlessly into a dive to take advantage of the situation. Scanning over the water, I glimpse two common seals raising their shiny black heads out of the water before they dive and disappear from view. More is going on here than I expected. Eventually, leaving the hide behind me, I suddenly become aware that the scrubland is a hive of activity, with flocks of small birds flitting from bush to bush, tree to tree. Willow warblers, chiff-chaffs, blue and long-tailed tits, stonechats, dunnocks and swallows are on the wing, all feasting on a plethora of tiny insects. Through the scrubland and up amid the heather, a single
Dartford warbler is silhouetted against the white clouds. Most people have gone home for tea by now and it seems as though the wildlife is coming out of hiding, as the reserve takes on its usual peacefulness.
Finding myself by the conservation pond, I try to find the wasp and raft spiders that live here. To my delight I count three wasp spiders and a large, velvety, female, raft spider. I will tell you more about these in a later article, as what happens next is a rare occurrence. Still scanning the pond for more spidery activity, my eyes catch movement by the roots of some tall pond grass about a metre and a half away from where I am standing. I watch and wait, and wait a little longer, for I am sure something is there and about to emerge. A while later, and to my delight, a water vole suddenly appears in full view. I have never seen one before now despite years of looking. But here he is. My very own ‘Ratty’, the water vole from Kenneth Grahame’s 1908 story The Wind in the Willows. How I agonised as a child as ‘Ratty’ and his friends struggled to win back Toad Hall from the squatting stoats. Although they are victorious in the end, Ratty, poor thing, is still having a very difficult time.
Between 1970 and 2000, this charismatic aquatic vole suffered one of the most catastrophic declines of any species in the UK, disappearing from 90% of the waterways where they once lived. Water pollution and loss of habitat are a major cause, but also the prevalence of American mink which were brought to the UK
Health & Wellbeing
for fur farming in the 1920s. As the fur market was phased out, mink were deliberately released into the wild to join previous escapees. Mink now breed across most of the UK and are voracious predators, feeding not only on ground-nesting birds but water voles. They are excellent swimmers and can enter their water-line burrows to take their young. Despite much conservation effort, water voles remain on the red list and are still one of our most endangered species.
Water voles make their home along rivers, streams and around pools and lakes, often with secret underwater entrances to their burrows. They also like marshland, reedbeds and wet moorlands. Although they are only slightly larger than other voles, they can get big enough to be mistaken for a brown rat, especially when swimming. Having said that, looking at this one now, I think they are unmistakable, with close set, beady black eyes, a blunt rounded nose, tiny tufty ears,
chestnut brown fur, a short furry tail and delicate whiskers. Every now and then, this little chap looks up at me, and as I move to either get my binoculars or camera, he scurries along the run he has created amid water and roots, then hides for a second only to come back out to continue his dinner, for he has to eat about 80% of his body weight every day. All the time I am watching him, I can hear another one munching and scurrying on the bank beside me. There is obviously more than one. Eventually, however, he swims across to the bank to join his mate, climbs up a foot or so, and then peers out at me from under the vegetation. At which point, I decide to leave him to it lest I disturb him more.
As I drive back home, I can’t help but smile. Nature always delivers some unexpected delights. I am so very pleased that, at last, I can now say that I have seen a water vole. n Dr Susie Curtin (email curtin. susanna@gmail.com).
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Health & Wellbeing
Joy without permission: Allowing joy to stay
by Kay Parkinson
HAVE you ever noticed how easy it is to replay criticism while we quickly brush off compliments? When someone thanks us, tells us we’ve done well or offers kindness, we often deflect instead of allowing those words to settle in. We might say, ‘it was nothing’, or ‘I just got lucky’, or ‘anyone could have done it’.
Why do we respond this way?
For many, this reaction stems from a lack of trust in joy, which we may have learned along the way. Perhaps praise was rare during our upbringing or came with expectations attached. Maybe we were taught that humility means we should never enjoy positive attention or that we didn’t truly deserve it in the
first place. As a result, we develop a reflex to push away good things before they have a chance to have a positive impact on us.
I remember a conversation with a friend who had achieved something remarkable at work. When her boss praised her, she responded, ‘it wasn’t a big deal’. Later, she admitted that she felt physically uncomfortable in that moment, her shoulders were tense and her stomach was tight, as if she had been caught doing something wrong. She had spent years earning approval through hard work, but when praise came without her needing to prove herself, she didn’t know how to accept it.
Embracing joy is not about inflating your ego – it’s about
recognising that you, like everyone else, deserve moments of joy, appreciation and connection without having to earn them. When we reject kindness, we not only deprive ourselves of its benefits but also deny the giver the fulfilment of seeing their care acknowledged.
The next time someone offers you something good, like a compliment, a favour or an unexpected act of generosity, take a moment before you dismiss it.
Pause, take a breath and let their words or actions really sink in.
You might even try saying, ‘thank you, that means a lot’. Pay attention to how it feels in your body to simply receive. If this feels difficult at first,
remember that many of us are more comfortable giving than receiving. Consider how you feel when someone accepts your help with genuine gratitude. It’s a gift to you as well. By allowing joy into your life, you are also giving others the chance to experience that joy.
With time, this practice can soften old beliefs. It can remind you that you don’t earn your worthiness through constant striving – it is something you already possess, even if you have forgotten it. When joy arrives, resist the urge to open the door just enough to wave it away. Instead, let it in, offer it a seat and allow it to stay.
n Kay Parkinson is a therapist specialising in trauma, emotional neglect and the impact of shame on identity and self-worth. Kay’s work focuses on transforming shame through the lens of authentic honour. Visit: www.placetotalktherapies. co.uk.
Feast on fruit ahead of winter
by Fiona Chapman
AS I write, we are into our fourth heatwave of the summer. For me this is bliss, but we do need rain badly. I am watching all my flowers and herbs struggle, and am being very
encouraging to them, telling them there will be rain soon!
We too need to keep hydrated in this heat and drinking endless cups of water can get very boring. To keep hydrated, and to give up coffee, which seems to
be almost impossible to do, I am resorting to juicing again, and I it does make me feel marvellous – full of life, vigour and energy.
I have been making the juices with watermelon, cucumber, apples, ginger and lemons.
The watermelon, as well as having a high water content, contains vitamin A – for eye health – and C. It also has lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, which is good for the heart and has been linked to reducing cancer risk.
Cucumbers, again with a high water content, have been proved to reduce cholesterol and may help control blood sugar levels, as well as having Vitamin K, potassium and magnesium, all vital elements for our cells.
Apples, with lots of vitamin C, and antioxidants, help to preventing diabetes and contain pectin, which lowers cholesterol and is good for the heart.
Lemons have masses of vitamin C and other antioxidants, so are excellent for the immune system generally.
Ginger, which gives the whole juice a lovely kick, is a powerful circulatory stimulant which can be felt almost immediately, pushing heat out to the periphery of the body.
Ginger is also antiinflammatory and full of antioxidants. It is well known for digestion and can help with nausea, if necessary.
It all makes for a delicious, hydrating juice, packed with goodness. It can be kept in the fridge for a while but is better drunk straight away. My body and brain think it is wonderful, and it is an immediate energy boost.
I have a glut of apples, so juicing them is a great option. I am also trying to make apple cider vinegar from scratch, which is exciting.
It is time to feast on fruit and to build up our strength and immunity for the autumn and winter months to come.
n Fiona Chapman is a naturopathic herbalist (email Pellyfiona@gmail.com).
Steak night: Food heaven on a plate
THE taste of summer is on offer with this vibrant dish of marinated bavette steak, crispy parmentier potatoes and smoky charred courgettes.
Ingredients (for 4 servings)
For the steak
2 Bavette steaks or skirt – about 1-1.5lb each
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
2 handfuls fresh garden herbs
– rosemary, thyme, oregano –chopped
½ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
For the potatoes
3lb potatoes, diced with skin on 4-5 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Sea salt
For the courgettes
4 courgettes, sliced lengthways
Olive oil, garlic, rosemary and sea salt for seasoning
Method
1 Marinate the steak
Mix minced garlic, chopped herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Rub over the steaks and marinate for at least 1 hour – or longer, if possible.
2 Prepare the potatoes
Pre-heat oven to 400°F (200°C). Toss diced potatoes with olive oil, garlic, rosemary and sea salt.
Spread on a baking sheet and roast 20-30 minutes, turning occasionally until golden and
crispy.
3 Cook the steaks
Pre-heat barbecue to high heat. Sear Bavette/skirt steak 2 minutes per side for a nice char – get a really high heat first. Move to a cooler part of the grill and cook until cooked as desired (rare 125°F/52°C).
Let it rest for a few minutes before slicing against the grain.
4 Char the courgettes
While the steaks rest, grill the
courgettes 4-6 minutes per side until lightly charred.
5 Serve garnished with fresh herbs, a bowlful of potatoes and a green salad with a lemon, honey, Dijon mustard and olive oil dressing, and season to taste.
n Annie des Forges, DirectorChef, The Table Bruton; Annie Austin, Director-Host and Concierge, Somerset Roadtrip.
Enford Farm Shop
Durweston DT11 0QW
Home reared and locally produced meats, game, deli, fruit, veg, free range eggs and lots more.
Follow us on Facebook for all our latest meat pack deals and what’s in fresh that week.
Chicken feeds etc available.
Half a lamb £90 | Half a pig approximately £160
Open Wednesday to Saturday 10am-5.30pm.
01258 450050
TRADITIONAL COUNTRY PUB
SERVING FINE FOOD AND DRINKS
Peter and Karlene are delighted to invite you to the Plough Inn at Manston and look forward to seeing you soon.
We are delighted that our renovation and expansion project has been well received by customers as have our food and beverage offerings. After a very long search, we now have a fully staffed kitchen and offer our full lunch and dinner menu every day from Tuesday lunch until Sunday lunch. We are closed after lunch on Sunday and all day Monday. We offer a wide range of beers, cider, wines and spirits as well as a range of non-alcoholic options.
A Pub With Warmth And Atmosphere
The bar and snug have been refreshed but retain all the old features that made this cosy area so attractive. And, by popular demand, we have a new wood burning stove to provide atmosphere and warmth whenever needed! We have a completely new kitchen, beer cellar and new male, female and disabled washrooms. The old conservatory is now an insulated garden room and we have a new dining area which can accommodate a further twenty guests.
Hearty Food And Distinctive Drinks
By experimenting with our menu and listening to our customers we have developed a popular menu ranging from light snacks to exciting specials and everything in-between. Please look at our menu and see if you can spot your favourite country pub meal. For Sunday lunch, in addition to our full menu, we offer a traditional roast with all the trimmings. Our range of drinks has evolved in response to customer demand and caters for all tastes. But most importantly we have built a wonderful team to look after you all and ensure a great experience at the Plough.
We hope to see you soon, Cheers, Peter & Karlene
Announcements
IN MEMORY
In memory of Terry Huxter
Formerly of Fir Tree Cottage, invites friends and family to come and enjoy a celebration of lifes get together, with his brothers John and Tony, on 26th September at The Kings Arms, East Stour at 15.30”
A celebration of the life of David Watson will be held at Former School Hall, Todber, DT10 1HT between 2pm and 4pm 30/08/25. Friends/neighbours welcome. Andy 07849618522
David Nichols
A gathering to celebrate David’s life will be held at Henstridge Village Hall on Saturday 20th September from 11am The memorial service will start at 12pm, but you are welcome to drop into the village hall until 2pm that day. Please RSVP by text to 07812-692435 or leave a message at 01963-363123
THANK YOU
DAVID WILLIAM MOGER
Lucy and Family thank everyone for all the messages sent when David died; for the support at the Holnest Memorial Service and donations to the church funds.
PUBLIC NOTICES
Pursuant to the Trustee Act 1925 anyone having a claim against or an interest in the Estate of the deceased, late of Paynt House Farm, Gore Common, Shaftesbury, SP7 0PZ, who died on 02/01/2025, must send written particulars to the address below by 30/10/2025, after which date the Estate will be distributed having regard only to claims and interests notified
Rebecca Beresford c/o Mogers Drewett LLP, Spring House, East Mill Lane, Sherborne, DT9 3DP Ref: REB/R2701 008
DEATHS
Newbury
Patrick Brian George (Pat)
Passed away peacefully on 3rd August 2025 aged 82 years, a beloved husband and father who will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
Funeral service at Chilmark Parish Church on Friday 5th September 2025 at 11.00.am. Family flowers only please but donations to be divided between Cats Protection and Hindon Surgery c/o Chris White 12 South Street Wilton SP2 OJS. Tel: 01722 744691.
Zilla Amy Tudor
Of Gillingham. Passed away peacefully on11th August 2025. Aged 87 years. Beloved wife of the late George, A much-loved Mum, Grandma and Nanny. Funeral Service to be held at: St Mary The Virgin, Gillingham, on Tuesday 9th September at 10 am. Family flowers only but if you wish to donate in Zillah’s memory please visit her tribute site at: www.funeralcare.co.uk/tributes-and-donations or send cheque made payable to Dementia Uk c/o Co-operative Funeralcare, 2 High Street Gillingham SP8 4QT Tel: 01747-824738
David Nichols
David died at home, in the arms of his beloved wife Carolyn, on the 7th August after a very short illness born with courage and fortitude.
He was a loving and proud father of Matthew and Zoe and father figure and friend to his step children Susan, Stephen and Robert, and a rock to all their families A so very proud Poppa to all his grandchildren and great grandchildren.
A staunch and loyal friend to many. His presence in all our lives with be so missed but the wonderful memories and all his many achievements will endure.
A private burial will take place at the Ham Down Woodland Burial site at Shillingstone.
A celebration of his life will be held, at a date yet to be confirmed, where all who knew him and those who worked with him in the Yeovil and Milborne Port Tanneries and latterly while carrying out his Electrical and Engineering work in Henstridge, Stalbridge and beyond will be very welcome. Predictably donations in memory of David will go to Cats Protection and can be made at the celebration or can be made online at peterjacksonfuneralservices.co.uk Alternatively, cheques made payable to the charity may be sent C/o Peter Jackson Funeral Services, Harwood House, Newbury, Gillingham,SP8 4QJ. Tel: 01747-833757
PHYLLIS PHILOMENA RING Deceased
DEATHS
BARBARA JAMES
On 7th August 2025, peacefully in the Cedars Nursing Home aged 94 years. Of Shaftesbury. Graveside service takes place at Shaftesbury Cemetery on Friday 5th September at 11.00am.
Family flowers only please. Any enquiries to Merefield & Henstridge F/D. Tel: 01747 853532. www.mhfd.co.uk
BROOK PEGGY EDITH
Aged 90 years of Milborne Port. On 8th August 2025. Suddenly but peacefully at her home. Peggy will be sorely missed by her family and friends. Funeral Service at St John the Evangelist Church, Milborne Port, On Tuesday 2nd September at 2.30pm Followed by private cremation. Flowers, or donations in memory of Peggy are being invited for the Donkey Santuary. C/o Harold F Miles, Funeral Director, South Cadbury, BA22 7ES. Tel: 01963 440367
Kellaway Peter
Died peacefully at home on 8th August 2025. Much loved husband of Eileen, father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother and friend to many. Funeral Service will take place at Yeovil Crematorium on Thursday 4th September, 2025 at 10.00am.
Family flowers only please.
Donations in memory of Peter for Friends of the Yeatman Hospital, may be sent c/o A.J. Wakely & Sons, 16 Newland, Sherborne, DT9 3JQ (Please make cheques payable to the charity)
ANDREW JOHN CHICK ‘ANDY’
On 10th August 2025, peacefully, after a short illness, in Dorset County Hospital aged 82 years. Of Shaftesbury and formerly of Child Okeford. Much loved husband of the late Jenny. He will be sadly missed by all family and friends. Funeral service takes place at Salisbury Crematorium on Tuesday 2nd September at 12.00 noon. Donations in his memory for Neema Crafts, Iringa, Tanzania can be made online at www.mhfd.co.uk or sent to Merefield & Henstridge F/D, Ridgemount, Pitts Lane, West Melbury, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 0BU. Tel: 01747 853532. Please make any cheques payable to Merefield & Henstridge Ltd.
Roberts, David James (Dave) of Shaftesbury
Died peacefully on 13th August, 2025 aged 87. Loved and missed by all his family and friends. A celebration of Dave’s life will be held at The Grosvenor Arms, Shaftesbury, on Monday, 1st September at 12 noon.
Donations in memory of Dave for RNLI or the British Red Cross may be made online at www.mhfd.co.uk or sent to Merefield & Henstridge F/D, Ridgemount, Pitts Lane, West Melbury, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 0BU.
Tel: 01747 853532. Please make any cheques payable to the individual charity of choice.
LESLIE ROY WHITEHEAD “ROY”
On 17th August 2025, peacefully, in St Denis Lodge Care Home, aged 77 years. Of Shaftesbury. Reunited with his late wife Judy, after 7 weeks apart. Private cremation. Friends are welcome to get together to remember happy times at The Royal Chase Hotel, Shaftesbury on Friday 5th September at 4.00pm. Donations in his memory for Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance may be made online at www.mhfd.co.uk or sent to Merefield & Henstridge F/D, Ridgemount, Pitts Lane, West Melbury, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 0BU. Tel: 01747 853532.
MAUREEN BONE
Aged 86, on 20th August 2025, passed peacefully, surrounded by her family. Of Fontmell Magna and formerly Donhead St Mary and Semley. Beloved Wife of Gerry, and Mum of Derek and Rachel. Loving Grandmother and Great Grandmother, and Sister to Phil.
She will be very much missed by all her family and friends. Funeral service takes place at St Andrew’s Church, Fontmell Magna on Thursday 11th September at 12.00noon. No flowers please, but donations for St Andrew’s Church Fabric Fund may be made online at www.mhfd.co.uk or sent to Merefield & Henstridge F/D, Ridgemount, Pitts Lane, West Melbury, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 0BU. Tel: 01747 853532.
Please make any cheques payable to PCC Fontmell Magna
Announcements
DEATHS
Yvonne Lilian Clarke
Peacefully on 30 July 2025 aged 93. Much loved wife of the late Newton, and mother of Nicky and Mark, grandmother to Anna, Daisy, and Freddie. The private family funeral service has taken place.
BELBEN
Mervyn John - ‘Merv’
Peacefully on 4th August 2025 at Sherborne House Care Home, aged 85 years, of Templecombe. Much loved Father of John, Martin and Jane. Loving Grandad and Great Grandad. He will be dearly missed. Funeral service at Yeovil Crematorium on Friday, 5th September at 1.20pm. Family flowers only please. Donations if desired, for Childhood Eye Cancer Trust can be made online at peterjacksonfuneralservices.co.uk
Alternatively, cheques made payable to the charity may be sent: C/o Peter Jackson Funeral Services, The Old Reading Room, Shaftesbury Road, Henstridge, BA8 0PP. Tel: 01963 362570
ADAMS
EILEEN MARY
Aged 89 years of Wincanton, On 17 th August 2025.
Peacefully at Yeovil District Hospital. A much loved Mum, Nana, Great Nana, Sister, Aunt and Friend. Funeral Service at St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Wincanton, on Monday 1st September at 2pm. Followed by private cremation. Family flowers only please, Donations in memory of Eileen are being invited for St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Wincanton or Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. C/o Harold F Miles, Funeral Director, South Cadbury, BA22 7ES. Tel: 01963 440367
Janice Mary Sneade (Jan) neé Clothier
Passed away peacefully at The Yeatman Hospital, 11th August 2025 aged 73, with her loving husband, Dave by her side. Loving Sister & Sister-In-Law, A good friend to many and will be sadly missed. Funeral to be held at Yeovil Crematorium Friday 5th September 2025 at 12.00pm. Family request all mourners to wear a splash of colour. Family flowers only please but if you wish to make a donation in lieu to Weldmar Hospicecare please do so in retiring collection or forward a cheque made payable to charity to Stuart Foster Funeral Services, 27 Market Street, Yeovil, Somerset BA20 1HZ 01935 508971
JOAN KATHLEEN WEBB neé MILLARD
Sadly passed away on 13th August 2025 in Yeovil Hospital aged 87. Mother to Jane, mother In law to Andy, Grandmother to Kimberley and Husband Simon and Great Grandma to Riley. She will be sorely missed. Funeral at Yeovil Crematorium on Thursday 4th September at 11.20am. Family flowers only. Donations to The Cats Protection.
JACQUELINE BRICE
Died peacefully at Trinity Manor, surrounded by family on the 14th August 2025, after living a very good life. Friends & family are welcome to celebrate her life at a Thanksgiving service at St Mary’s church, Stalbridge, on the 9th September at 12.30pm. She will be greatly missed.
TURNER
WILLIAM GEORGE MICHAEL ‘BILL’
Aged 78 years of Sigwells. On 14th August 2025 tragically after a freak accident. A much loved Husband, Dad, Grandad, Brother, Uncle and Friend. Funeral Service at St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Charlton Horethorne. On Friday 5th September at 12.30pm. Followed by burial. Family flowers only please. Donations in memory of Bill are being invited for ICU Southmead Hospital or Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. C/o Harold F Miles, Funeral Director, South Cadbury, BA22 7ES. Tel: 01963 440367
CHUTTER, Joyce Ellen ‘Joy’
Passed away peacefully at home on 15th August 2025, aged 93 years. Beloved wife of David, loving mum of Mark and Andrew, much loved mother-in-law, grandmother and great-grandmother. She will be much missed by all family and friends. A private cremation for close family and friends will take place at Yeovil Crematorium.
All are invited to join the family for a Service of Thanksgiving at St Mary’s Church, Hermitage on Monday 8th September at 12.00 noon. Family flowers only. Donations for either Dementia UK or St Mary’s Church Hermitage may be made online by visiting www.grassby-funeral.co.uk
All enquiries to Grassby Funeral Service. Tel: 01305 262338 Please wear whatever feels comfortable
KENNETH EDWIN RENDALL (Ken)
Passed away peacefully on 20th July 2025 At The Willows, Sherborne. Aged 82. No funeral at Kens request
MARGARET HELEN HALL “BUNTY”
17th August 2025, peacefully at home aged 98 years. Of Berwick St John.
Much loved Mum, Sister, Grandmother, Great Grandmother, Aunt and friend to many. Private cremation followed by a service to celebrate Bunty’s life at St John the Baptist Church, Berwick St John on Tuesday 9th September at 2pm. Donations, if desired, for PCC of Berwick St John and The Injured Jockeys Fund may be made online at www.mhfd.co.uk or sent to Merefield & Henstridge F/D, Ridgemount, Pitts Lane, West Melbury, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 0BU. Tel: 01747 853532. Please make cheques payable to the individual charity of choice.
The New Blackmore Vale Magazine
DEADLINES
Display ads must be booked by Wednesday the week prior to publication, with final copy submitted by the Friday.
Classified ads may be accepted after this, HOWEVER these will be subject to space.
• Unattended funerals starting from £995
• Tailored and unique Attended Funerals
• Prepaid funeral plans also available
•
• Local knowledge and expertise with a reputation for quality that is second to none
•
• Reassurance that your
Sherborne DT9 4EZ Tel: 01935 813479
A J Wakely& Sons
J Wakely& Sons
A J Wakely& Sons Independent
Independent Family Funeral Directors
Independent Family Funeral Directors
A J Wakely& Sons
Family Funeral Directors
A J Wakely& Sons
Choice of Hearses available including our Land Rover Hearse Wakely& Sons Funeral
J Wakely& Sons Independent Family Funeral Directors
Independent Family
Funeral Directors
Choice of Hearses available including our Land Rover Hearse
Choice of Hearses available including our Land Rover Hearse
Choice of Hearses available including our Land Rover Hearse
Choice of Hearses available including our Land Rover Hearse
Independent Family Funeral Directors
– 24 Hour Service –
available including our Land Rover Hearse
Independent Family Funeral Directors
Sherborne Tel: 01935 816817
– 24 Hour Service –
Sherborne Tel: 01935 816817
Wincanton Tel: 01963 31310
Wincanton Tel: 01963 31310 – 24 Hour Service –
Hour Service –
Wincanton Tel: 01963 31310 – 24 Hour Service –
Sherborne Tel: 01935 816817
Sherborne Tel: 01935 816817
Tel: 01935 816817
Sherborne Tel: 01935 816817
Sherborne Tel: 01935 816817
plans available
Wincanton Tel: 01963 31310 – 24 Hour Service –
Wincanton Tel: 01963 31310
When your family suffers the loss of a loved one, we are here to support, guide and reassure you - every step of the way
Wincanton Tel: 01963 31310
Pre-payment plans available
Choice of Hearses available including our Land Rover Hearse
Choice of Hearses available including our Land Rover Hearse
Tel: 01963 31310
Pre-payment plans available
Please contact Richard Wakely, or a member of our dedicated team for any advice or guidance.
Pre-payment plans available
Pre-payment plans available
Sherborne Tel: 01935 816817
Pre-payment plans available
Wincanton Tel: 01963 31310 – 24 Hour Service –
Sherborne Tel: 01935 816817
contact Richard Wakely, or a member of our dedicated team for any advice or guidance.
Please contact Richard Wakely, or a member of our dedicated team for any advice or guidance.
contact Richard Wakely, or a member of our dedicated team for any advice or guidance.
Wincanton Tel: 01963 31310 – 24 Hour Service –
Pre-payment plans available
Pre-payment plans available
member of our dedicated team for any advice or guidance.
Please contact Richard Wakely, or a member of our dedicated team for any advice or guidance.
Please contact Richard Wakely, or a member of our dedicated team for any advice or guidance.
CLASSIFIED ADS Place your ad today
Classified Ads call 01963 400186
Rachelle Cooper
WILLOWBROOK ELECTRIC ADJUSTABLE BED. Very clean and good working order. 6ftx3ft. 01963-210580. 07944-999872. £350
MEDIUM OAK TABLE and four chairs, modern. £100. 01258-503510.
ALUMINIUM SCAFFOLD TOWER 2.8metres, complete with fittings. £65. 07818-080173. Sherborne.
INVACARE LEO SCOOTER 2 new batteries, hardly used. £450 ONO. 01963-824607
CLASSIFIED ADS
BROWN LEATHER 3 PIECE SUITE, Excellent Condition £200. 07719-293880
SOLID PINE TABLE + 6 BEECH CHAIRS £100. 07719 293880
TWICE USED FROM NEW RYOBI 3000 WOODCHIPPER £150. Tel: 07514 540925
MULTICO WOODWORKING TENNONER. single phase . New cutting heads . Working order . £850 . Tel: 07513-244033
VAX RAPID POWER PLUS, carpet washer. CWGRV021. Brand new, never used. £100. Tel: 07860-148761
COLORWAY ELECTRIC BIKE, brand new never used. Tools and bags to go on the back. £700 ono 01963-362242.
FREE CLASSIFIED ADS
MIELE S1 CYLINDER VACUUM CLEANER with attachments,corded.Very good condition. £35. Tel.01747 811611.
MOSHULU WEDGES, blue, size 40, worn once £20, great condition, 07736-561824
NEW WHEEL AND TYRE for fiat motorhome, carried as a spare.£45.00 call 01935 475451
WHITE TILES. 6”x6”…(44), BLUE tiles. 6”x6”…(50). £20, or would separate. 07785 534524
TOASTER 4 SLICE IN WHITE, never used. £15. 01935-817782
LG 32LM637BPLA 32” smart TV + remote , 3 yrs old VGC £25 07749 810627
TRI-WALKER £40 STURDY and supportive. Easy to fold up & lightweight for transportation. Fully adjustable with arthritis friendly brakes. Collect only.
MOTORCYCLE JACKET - Mens
Richa Boomerang 3 in 1 jacket. Size XXL, black/white. Great condition - £30. Tel: 07400-620070
10 x 500 PIECE ‘corner piece’ puzzles & 1 x 250 piece Wentworth puzzle. Job lot only £20 07885-614137 ( Evenings)
OAK GATELEG DINING TABLE. £25 07791-847767
OLD ROCKERY dismantled approximately 60 substantial stones to be taken away free or donation to charity. Cann 01747 852661
BELFAST SINK. used in garden. £30.00. Buyer collects from Shaftesbury. 07785 393130.
RABBIT HUTCH. Wooden rabbit hutch, also suitable for guinea pig. £25. Buyer collects from Shaftesbury. 01747 851514
PAIR OF HIGH BACK GARDEN CHAIRS £25 each (Shaftesbury) 07588 053555
BEAUTIFUL 8” LONG CHINA dachshound (cooper craft) £6. Tel: 01963 350118
40 DENSE CONCRETE BLOCKS 4 inch size plus 45 bricks all unused.£45 07721 530520.
ENGLISH FOOTBALL CARDS (1991 season) all four leagues and players available. prices from 50p. Tel: 07598 982824
TAPESTRY FRAME, assorted sizes, includes 1 large freestanding frame, with accessories, plus 5 small frames. assorted sizes, plus a large amount of wool. £50. Tel: 01258-821280
MODEL RAILWAY TRACK £25. 07791-847767.
WALL MOUNTED PAN RACK. Ideal for over Aga. Hand made from steel. Powder coated black. Length 90mm. Height 30mm. Depth 30mm. £45. Sherborne. Text 07906 102490
WANTED, VINTAGE HIFI, either separates or complete systems, turntables, cassette decks, amplifiers, speakers, mini radios. Will consider items that are not tested or working. We pay fair prices and are happy to collect. Call Andrew 07799-417711
GENTLEMAN (62) would like to meet a lady for friendship/walks/days out. Please text: 07581-320432 (genuine replies only please)
OLD BOOKS BOUGHT. Will call by appointment entirely without obligation. Bristow & Garland 07392 602014
Recruitment
FARM WORKER NEEDED
Negotiable hours and pay
Manual Farm Work – Not Tractor driving
Please email cv to mail@ mbcrocker.co.uk
Or call Paul for an informal chat on 07967-388895
TRACTOR DRIVER
WANTED on Dairy Farm in Sturminster Newton. Tel: 01258-472050.
Full Time Water Engineer
Experienced with pumps, filtration, pipework and controls. Able to work independently as well as in a close team. Clean driving licence. Good rates of pay.
Part Time Storeperson
Would suit someone to work around school hours or in part retirement. Role to include packing of water pipe and fittings.
£13/hr PAYE – 10 -16hrs per week (Flexible hours)
Based near Shaftesbury.
Please email your CV & covering letter to: accounts@hgwater.co.uk
GENERAL FARM WORKER needed on a dairy and beef farm, between Wincanton and Bruton. Tel: 07812-009364
EGG PACKERS
Negotiable hours and pay Factory work
Please email cv to mail@ mbcrocker.co.uk
Or call Paul for an informal chat on 07967-388895
PART-TIME PERSON
WANTED to help with general farm work. 07811837061
FARM CLEANER
Negotiable hours and pay
Please email cv to mail@ mbcrocker.co.uk
Or call Paul for an informal chat on 07967-388895
HOUSEKEEPER.
Required Friday and Saturday. 0800-1630 £13-15 DOE (£30kPA) 07490-083762 contact
A Level Qualified Opportunities
System and Development Support Trainees for a North Dorset Electronics Company
Suitable for STEM and non-STEM recent graduates
Located in North Dorset
Full-time positions on initial 12 months fixed term contract
Apply in writing with CV and covering letter to sysdevgradsdorset@protonmail.com
Full
Assistants
MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE IN YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY
Join our welcoming team of volunteers in North Dorset. No prior experience is needed - full training and support provided.
• Help find people a way forward
• Learn new skills and build confidence
• Great for your CV
• Flexible hours - even a few hours a week can help
Experienced (1st & 2nd Fix). Full time employed/self-employed Weekly pay. Immediate start available.
Potential of Company van for right applicant (employed)
Please apply through our Office
Live-In Carers Required – Upton Noble (Somerset)
We are looking for two experienced live-in carers to provide fulltime support for a 91-year-old woman living in her own 3-bedroom bungalow in Upton Noble. The role will be shared between the two carers on a rota basis.
About the role:
• Live-in position, to be divided between two carers
• Car essential (expenses covered)
• Starting as soon as possible
• Support required with daily routines, companionship, light household duties, meal preparation, medication reminders, and mobility (walks with rollator)
About her:
• 91 years old with early vascular dementia
• Enjoys company, but also her own space and independence
Requirements:
• Proven experience in early dementia care
• Excellent references and DBS check
• Ability to cook simple, healthy meals
Pay: Competitive/generous for the right people able to commit to consistent, compassionate and patient friendship with our mother Apply: sophieheneage@gmail.com
Farm Worker / Assistant, Shaftesbury
We are looking for someone with experience in animal care, horticulture, and basic maintenance/DIY. You’ll be hands-on, proactive, confident working outdoors in all seasons, and able to work independently (including lone working at weekends). A valid driving licence is essential.
•Up to 28 hours per week (Tues, Fri, Saturday & Sunday)
•Job share option – 14 hours each (one weekday & one weekend day)
•Salary c. £20,250 – £20,750 (for working 28 hours)
You’ll help care for animals, maintain paddocks and enclosures, support seasonal growing in our walled garden, and carry out general farm upkeep. The role also involves basic maintenance tasks and promoting our ethos of sustainability and care across all farm activities. To request an application form, call 01747 449 858, or email hr@coombehouse.org.uk
Full details available at https://coombehouseschool.org.uk/about/recruitment/ Closing date: Sunday 14 September 2025 (we may close early if filled).
We are committed to safeguarding and expect everyone who works in our school (and visitors to our school) to share this commitment. We take all safeguarding and welfare concerns seriously and encourage our pupils to talk to us about any worries they may have. We will always act in the best interests of the child. The successful applicant must be willing to undergo child protection screening, including checks with past employers and an enhanced DBS.
League’s invite for new season
WHIFF whaff, ping pong, tennis de table – however you once knew it, wherever or whenever you last played it, if you’re looking for a fun, social and occasionally energetic pastime to relive your previous sporting glories, the Blackmore Vale Table Tennis League could be the answer.
With the new season starting in early September, the league and its many clubs are welcoming newcomers, experts, gold medallists and novices to turn up, try out or just join in.
Current clubs include Chalke Valley (Broad Chalke), Child Okeford, Compton Abbas, East Stour and Stalbridge.
There are two active leagues plus practice only and social sessions for anyone who just wants to give table tennis a try.
Junior coaching is also available for younger players.
Even in the midst of the season, matches are held in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere where the focus is on camaraderie rather than unbridled rivalry, although a league is still to be won.
Sessions for newcomers:
Practice only – Child Okeford – Sunday mornings; Chalke Valley – Sunday evenings.
To find out more, email barriewaterman@hotmail.co.uk or phone 01258 450669. CONTRIBUTED
Win in cup and a first league defeat
Emirates FA Cup Preliminary Round Shaftesbury 4
Thatcham Town 0 by Avril Lancaster SHAFTESBURY moved into the First Qualifying Round of the FA Cup with a third successive four-goal win.
The Kingfishers did make a decent game of it with Archie Goode and Edmundo Junior Da Cruz having decent efforts in the first half.
Alefe Santos DAbadia put the Rockies ahead in the 10th minute after Harry Baker was felled in the box.
Luke Burbidge set up Baker for the second goal on the hour and substitute Moss JacksonCollis added the third in the 88th minute after being set up by Santos DAbadia.
Jackson-Collis turned provider for Toby Holmes, when Holmes drilled a shot past Macet Wiczorek into the far corner in injury time for the
fourth goal.
Pitching In Southern League South 1
Malvern Town 2 (Tumelty 65, Johnsen 86)
Shaftesbury 1 (Baker 55) SHAFTESBURY went down to a disappointing defeat at Malvern Town after Harry Baker had put the Rockies in front from close range.
10 minutes later, Joseph Tumelty was played into the box to score past Ben Taylor and level the scores.
Charlie Johnsen headed in a a Tumelty corner in the 86th minute to win the game for the Worcestershire side, who have now won all three of their Pitching In Southern Division 1 South fixtures.
It was Jim Milligan’s side’s first defeat of the season and knocked the Rockies off the top of the table.
Attendance-240.
THE first team and the reserves at Mere Town enjoyed wins when they played matches against Westland Utd from Radstock.
The Moonrakers’ first team won 5-0 and the newly formed reserve side 6-2 in the games played in glorious sunshine at Mere Sports and Recreation Ground.
The goalscorers for the first team were Malachi Benjamin
(two), Sam Paterson, Danny Smith and Jacob Rowley 1.
The scorers for the reserves were Eboni McCann (two), George Rich, Ethan Mazarura and Jack Brundish, plus an own goal.
A food and drink tent in the summer sun was well received.
Text and pictures George Jeans, Mere.
WINNERS in Sherborne Golf Club Women’s Texas Scramble on August 14 were: 1 J Close, M Dimishky and M Crawford 64; 2 C Woolley, F Collins, K Kennedy 65; and 3 S Mead, G McKnight and T Ponsford 65.
Pictured are third-placed team Sally Mead, TJ Ponsford and Gillian McKnight on the fifth green.
Shaftesbury are through to the First Qualifying Round of the FA Cup after a comfortable win against Thatcham Town
Mere Town’s first and reserve team both enjoyed easy wins when they played teams from Westland Utd of Radstock
Months of roadworks near hospital
IMPROVEMENT works at two key Dorchester junctions will result in months of temporary traffic lights.
Both ends of Williams Avenue, near Dorset County Hospital, are to be made safer and more accessible for all users.
Work at the Bridport Road and Damers Road junctions will create wider footways and easier crossing points, upgraded traffic lights that are ‘more modern and responsive’, and shared footways and cycleways.
Temporary traffic lights will be in place during both phases of the works, which will be synchronised with the nearby signals and remotely monitored to keep traffic flowing ‘as smoothly as possible’, Dorset Council said.
Temporary lights will be in place at the Bridport Road/ Williams Avenue junction from September to the end of December.
This will allow the creation of a new pedestrian crossing, upgraded traffic lights, the removal of the left turn lane, a single exit lane from Williams Avenue, a widened footway/ cycleway on approach to Williams Avenue and a new crossing, as well as a new climbing cycle lane and road resurfacing.
The second phase of works will see temporary traffic lights in place at the Damers Road/ Williams Avenue junction from January 2026 to April.
This will see similar improvement works take place, with upgraded signals and crossings, a new junction created east of the junction, a widened footway on the south side of Damers Road, a singlelane exit from Williams Avenue, a widened footway/cycleway, an uphill cycle lane, a new cycle route to local schools and Poundbury and road resurfacing.
Three 30-minute bays on Damers Road will be removed to widen the south-side footway, but four bays will remain.
The work comes after Dorset Council said both Bridport Road and Damers Road can be hazardous for walking and cycling, with no crossings of Bridport Road at the Williams Avenue junction.
They also said narrow footways on Bridport Road, a key walking route between Poundbury, the hospital and the town centre, make life difficult for walkers, and Williams Avenue, the main vehicular access link to the hospital, has no dedicated provision for bikes.
The traffic lights are also reportedly unreliable and there is limited cycle provision on Damers Road and Bridport Road.
Central government will fund the replacement of the traffic signals.
Councillor Jon Andrews, cabinet member for place services, said: “The traffic signals at both junctions are reaching the end of their serviceable life.
“Rather than simply replacing outdated and unreliable equipment, we’re taking this opportunity to redesign the junctions to meet modern standards for safety, accessibility and efficiency.
“This is a particularly busy part of town, serving Dorset County Hospital, key commuter routes and three nearby schools.
“The current road layout is no longer fit for purpose and urgently needs updating to better support the volume of traffic it sees every day.”
The council is encouraging those not attending the hospital to avoid using Williams Avenue during the works.
Find out more about the plans at www.dorsetcouncil.gov. uk/williams-avenue
Fears over number of unroadworthy vehicles
THE number of people receiving penalty points on their licences for driving unroadworthy vehicles has jumped by 52% over the course of just 12 months, new data analysed by the RAC’s mobile servicing and repairs division has found.
Following a Freedom of Information request to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the RAC found that a total of 13,109 penalty point endorsements were given to drivers in 2024 for driving vehicles with defective brakes, tyres, steering or other problems.
This is a substantial increase of 4,495 endorsements compared to the 2023 number which was 8,614.
The offence attracts three penalty points which stay on drivers’ licences for four years.
The RAC believes the figures are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the total number of unroadworthy vehicles on the UK’s roads at any one time – as they only represent those who have been
caught in the first place. With vehicles failing nearly 10 million MOT tests a year, the actual number of those that are not mechanically sound but are still being driven is likely to be far higher.
Driving a vehicle with defective tyres was the biggest reason drivers received points last year, with 8,945 people being stopped and having their licences endorsed – up 44% on the 6,196 drivers in 2023.
But it was a rise in the number of people caught driving vehicles with defective brakes that saw the largest year-on-year increase.
A total of 1,190 drivers received penalty points for this in 2024, up from 181 a year earlier – a more than six-fold increase.
An additional 2,974 endorsements were handed to drivers for other problems related to the roadworthiness of their vehicles such as defective steering, increasing by a third (33%) from 2,237 in 2023.
RAC mobile servicing and repairs team leader, Nick Mullender, said: “The steep increase in drivers receiving points on their licences for unroadworthy vehicles is a cause for alarm as it could indicate more drivers are
2014 (14) Ford Ka 1.2 Zetec 3dr. £35 road tax, air con, panoramic sunroof, cambelt has been replaced, only 66,500 miles..................£3650
2017 (17) Ford KA+ 1.2 Zetec 5dr. 85bhp, petrol, 5 speed manual gearbox, parking sensors, cruise control, hill hold, air con, Bluetooth, upto 56mpg economy, small exterior with a spacious interior, 76,900 miles ....................................£6450
2019 (69) Ford Fiesta 1.0T Titanium Nav 5dr. Sat nav, road sign assist, cruise control, auto lights & wipers, lovely example with only 17,200 miles................................................................................£10950
2012 (62) Ford Ka 1.2 Studio 3dr. 69bhp, petrol, 5 speed manual gearbox, £35 yearly tax, 50+mpg, simple car with basic spec, cambelt replaced, MOT Nov 2025, private sale on behalf of a customer, 73,500 miles .......................................£2950
2018 (18) Ford Focus ST3 Nav 2.0T 5dr. Sat nav, parking sensors, cruise control, heated leather Recaro seats, style pack, road sign assistance, 250bhp, stunning car in Stealth Grey, 61,500 miles....£15000
2014 (14) Ford Kuga 2.0TDCi Titanium X AWD 4x4 SUV 5dr. 163bhp, diesel, 6 speed manual gearbox, 4x4, high seats, leather, heated seats, heated screen, sat nav, park sensors, auto park, reverse camera, sunroof, auto lights & wipers, cruise, lane aid, sign recognition, hill hold, electric tailgate, cambelt replaced, 92,500 miles .........£7450
2021 (21) Ford Puma 1.0T ST Line X 5dr. Partial leather, sat nav, parking sensors, cruise control, collision detection, road sign assistance, 47,200 miles................................................................................£13750
2020 (69) Ford Tourneo Custom 2.0TDCi Titanium 320 L1 H1 Automatic 9 Seat Minibus 5dr. 130bhp, diesel, 6 speed automatic gearbox, 8 seat plus driver, reversable seats for conference or forward facing, auto lights & wipers, cruise control, heated front seats, park sensors, cambelt replaced, 97,000 miles ............£21500 + VAT = £25800
2018 (18) Ford C-Max 1.5TDCi Titanium Automatic 5 Seat MPV 5dr. High seating, big boot, sat nav, cruise control, road sign assist, parking sensors, auto lights & wipers, only 44,100 miles..............£10250
2020 (69) Ford Transit 2.0TDCi Trend 350 MWB MR L2 H2 11 Seat Minibus 5dr. 130bhp, diesel, 6 speed manual gearbox, 10 seat plus driver, 2 front seats, 9 rear seats, auto lights & wipers, cruise control, parking sensors, heated front seats, hill hold, cambelt replaced, 90,200 miles.........................£19500 + VAT = £23400
2018 (68) Ford Kuga 2.0TDCi ST Line SUV 5dr. Sat nav, road sign assist, cruise control, parking sensors & auto parking system, reverse camera, partial leather, auto lights & wipers, 61,800 miles...........£11750
2014 (64) Kia Venga 3, 1.6 Automatic (Sat Nav) 5dr. 123bhp, petrol, 4 speed automatic gearbox, high seating, decent boot, sat nav, parking sensors & reverse camera, electric sunroof, partial leather, heated seats, cruise control, sign recognition, hill hold, only 38,800 miles........................................................£7850
2014 (14) Ford Transit 2.2TDCi 350 Trend 12 Seat Minibus 5dr. 3 front seats, 9 rear seats, removable rear seats, standing head room, skylight, ideal for day van or camper conversion, 75,500 miles..................................................................£10500+VAT = £12600
2016 (66) Mazda 3, 2.0 SE-L Nav Automatic 5dr. 120bhp, petrol, 6 speed automatic gearbox, sat nav, auto lights & wipers, cruise control, parking sensors, sign recognition, heated seats, hill hold, 75,900 miles...................................£8450
2011 (11) Kia Venga 2, 1.4TD 5dr. Clearance car, sold as seen with MOT until July 2026. high seating, great value low-cost motoring, £35 road tax, poor paint on 1 door, not perfect, full history, 130,500 miles................................................................................................SOLD
2006 (06) Mercedes-Benz CLK200 1.8 Kompressor Sport Automatic Convertible 2dr. 163bhp, petrol, 5 speed auto gearbox, recent new roof & shocks absorbers, full history, 15 stamps, heated leather, electric roof, auto lights & wipers, cruise, park sensors, MOT June 25, private sale on behalf of a customer, 77,500 miles ...........................................................................................................£4250
2012 (12) Peugeot 508 1.6THP SR 4dr. Sat nav, cruise control, Bluetooth & USB, climate control, road sign assist, only 43,900 miles...............................................................................................£4500
2015 (65) Peugeot 308 1.2THP Allure Automatic 5dr. 130bhp, petrol, 6 speed automatic gearbox, sat nav, park sensors, reverse camera, auto lights & wipers, cruise control, hill hold, only £35 a year road tax, 50+mpg economy, cambelt has been replaced, 69,500 miles..............................................................DUE IN SOON
2018 (68) Renault Clio 1.5DCi GT Line Nav 5dr. Sat nav, cruise control, partial leather, parking sensors, auto lights & wipers, cambelt kit has been replaced, 63,200 miles....................................................£7950
2019 (19) Renault Captur 1.5DCi Iconic Automatic SUV 5dr. 90bhp, diesel, 6 speed automatic gearbox, sat nav, cruise control, auto lights & wipers, parking sensors, hill hold, high seating, sliding rear seats, upto 67mpg economy, 20,300 miles .........................................................................................................£12250
2018 (18) Suzuki Swift 1.0T SZ5 Automatic 5dr. Sat nav, reverse camera, parking sensors, auto lights, cruise control, collision detection, Bluetooth, only 20,100 miles.........................................................£11250
2017 (17) Vauxhall Astra 1.4 SRi 5dr. 100bhp, petrol, 5 speed manual gearbox, auto lights & wipers, parking sensors, cruise control, pre-collision assist, sign recognition, hill hold, Bluetooth, 63,600 miles ..............................................£6950
2023 (73) Vauxhall Vivaro 2.0TD 3100 Pro L2 Van 6dr. Sat nav, reverse camera, cruise control, air con, twin side doors, ply lined, 21,300 miles, selling on behalf of a customer.................£18250+VAT = £21900
2016 (66) Vauxhall Mokka 1.6CDTi SE 4x4 SUV 5dr. 136bhp, diesel, 6 speed manual gearbox, 4 wheel drive, high seating, big boot, heated leather seats, heated steering wheel, auto lights & wipers, cruise control, parking sensors, hill hold, performance & economy, upto 60mpg, 65,500 miles ....................................£7250
The steep increase in drivers receiving points on their licences for unroadworthy vehicles is a cause for alarm, says the RAC
running the gauntlet and driving unsafe vehicles –although it’s also possible more drivers are being caught by the police.
“Whether it’s brakes, tyres, steering or something else, every mechanical component in a vehicle plays a critical role in ensuring it can be driven safely and confidently.
“By getting behind the wheel of vehicles that are defective, a minority of drivers are needlessly putting the lawabiding majority at serious risk.
“We should be thankful the police were able to detect those drivers included in our analysis.
“But unfortunately, for every person caught there will doubtless be more who are knowingly in charge of unroadworthy vehicles that could be involved in completely avoidable collisions in the future.
“In many cases, it’s likely that a driver has been pulled over for an entirely different reason, only for a police officer to then discover the vehicle
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they’re responsible for isn’t road legal.
“Every driver has a legal responsibility to ensure the vehicle they’re driving is roadworthy, even between regular services and MOTs.
“We strongly urge drivers to keep on top of routine maintenance and get any issues checked by a well-qualified mobile mechanic or reputable garage.”
Chief Superintendent at the National Roads Policing Operation for Intelligence and Investigations, Marc Clothier, said: “These figures are shocking and if you are driving an unroadworthy vehicle with defects such as tyres or brakes, you are not only putting yourself at risk but you are putting the lives of other road users at risk, too.
“Ensuring your vehicle is roadworthy and safe to drive is your responsibility and we would encourage everyone to routinely check their vehicle before getting behind the wheel.”
2008 LANDROVER FREELANDER SD4. 114k miles, family owned from new. MOT Feb 26. £1200. Tel: 01963-370347
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DOGS can be variable in their association with food. Some are not bothered, some are obsessed and some find food stressful. Managing each situation is important to avoid future problems.
While the ideal is to have a dog that is completely relaxed around food, it is not always the reality. We can help reduce issues by being aware of what causes the stress and avoiding those factors.
Even well-behaved dogs benefit from a quiet place to eat without being disturbed. We frequently feed our dogs in the kitchen where we all eat but this is often busy and noisy, and a dog with his head in the bowl will often constantly look up and look round to check on everything around him. It is much better to choose a quiet area with low noise levels and
low ‘traffic’ such as a bathroom or utility room or a quiet corner.
In a multi-dog household, it is better to separate dogs while eating to avoid conflict. One dog may eat slower or be put off eating if they feel intimidated by the other one. One may bolt their food then steal from the other bowl. Dogs may fight to protect their food. If dogs have medication in their food, it is essential to prevent the wrong dog eating it. Ensuring that children know to leave the dog alone while he is eating is important. If children are too young to understand or ignore rules, then using a physical barrier such as a child gate is essential. Even a chilled dog can be surprised or hurt by a lively child.
Reinforcing inappropriate behaviour can develop inadvertently. A dog which growls or bites will quickly learn that this ensures they will
Some dogs are not bothered around food, some are obsessed and some find food stressful
not be disturbed and may escalate this behaviour. It is better to avoid this happening by ensuring the dog does not need to growl or bite by leaving them alone while eating.
If you need to encourage your dog to leave something they shouldn’t be eating, then it is better to train them to come for a high value treat and to leave the inappropriate activity than to approach them and to try to take it. If you do try to take it, the dog may swallow it whole causing a possible obstruction, or they may growl at you or snap. Training at home in advance for this type of situation will mean your dog is already prepared to respond
as needed.
Resource guarding can also be a symptom of generalised anxiety. Punishing a dog for growling with food may stop the behaviour at the time but it may heighten their anxiety levels in general and they may escalate directly to a bite next time. Positive reinforcement has better long term results than negative responses to a behaviour.
It may simply not be possible to have a dog relaxed about food, so it is important to manage their environment to avoid conflict. If it causes stress, avoid and manage the situation rather than expect to change it.
01747-828736
MID DORSET CATS PROTECTION C ats looking for new homes
Maddie, 10, shy lady looking for a country home
n Tenby and Mumbles, 13 weeks, looking for a home together
Tabatha, 10, shy lady looking for a home in the country. Could be
n For details, please call the helpline on 01258 858644 or visit our website, www.cats.org.uk/middorset
n Cats’ Protection is also looking for homes for farm cats
Chihuahua-cross puppy Poppy was found with broken legs and ribs following a series of attacks. She now enjoys daily walks to the beach with her new loving owner
Sorry tale of rise in animal beatings
ANIMAL beatings are on the rise, with one report of animal abuse made every 15 minutes the RSPCA’s call line is open, according to new figures.
The charity is highlighting the statistics as part of its Summer Cruelty Campaign.
In Dorset, reports of beatings during the summer months have increased 126% from 2020 to 2024 –19 against 43 – with 175 reports in total.
Across England and Wales, 105% rise in beatings in summer has been reported over the last four years – 1,613 for July/August 2020 to 3,304 in July/August 2024 – with four beatings reported every hour or one every 15 minutes the call line is open.
Year on year the number of beating reports has risen by 10% and the charity is braced for this to continue to climb this summer.
Ian Briggs, head of the Special Operations Unit, at the RSPCA, said: “These are really distressing and stark figures.
“It isn’t clear why there has been such a dramatic increase in abuse against animals, but what is clear is that animals are suffering at the hands of people on a much bigger scale than many people realise.
“This is why our Summer Cruelty Campaign is so important to highlight that for thousands of animals, summer is a season of pain and suffering when cruelty peaks.
“As the RSPCA braces to help tackle animal cruelty, we need your help now more than ever to continue to rescue animals in desperate need of
care.”
In Dorset, Chihuahua-cross puppy Poppy was rescued by the RSPCA after she was found with broken legs and ribs following a series of attacks.
Poppy now lives life to the full with her owner where she enjoys daily walks to the beach.
Ian added: “We’re finding that CCTV footage, doorbell cameras and smartphones are providing a view into society that we never had before, meaning that animal beatings are more likely to be caught on camera in supermarket car parks, on streets, in lifts and even behind closed doors in the home – giving us the evidence we need to be able to seek justice for animals like Bella.
“This could account for the rise that we are seeing as these awful abusers are more likely to be caught on camera, uploaded to social media or reported directly to us.”
Dogs were the most likely pet to be beaten with nearly 21,000 dog beating reports made to the RSPCA last year with bulldog breeds the most likely to be abused – 6,670 reports from 2022-24 – and Staffies – 4,786 – compared to just 22 reports for Old English Sheepdogs or 58 for West Highland Terriers.
In June, July and August last year, the RSPCA took 34,401 cruelty calls to its emergency line – compared to 25,887 the year before – up by a third.
On average, it took 374 reports of cruelty against animals every day during this period or one call every two minutes the line was open.
n Mitzy, 13. Sweet indoor girl
n Cole, 17, grumpy old gentleman looking for a quiet place to retire
n
n
homed with Maddie
n Milo, eight, gorgeous indoor boy
Field & Stream
The county show: Old traditions and modern times
by AJ Selby
Warm September brings the fruit, sportsmen then begin to shoot
MANY local fairs and county shows take place in late summer – a tradition that goes back centuries. We have several in this area to enjoy such as the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show, the Sturminster Cheese Show, Melplash Show, the Dorset County Show and the Frome Cheese Show, to name but a handful. Shows were held at this stage of the year close to the quarter day of Michaelmas – in late September – as in times past it was when the farm rents were due and labour was hired.
In those far off days labourers would sometimes offer themselves for hire for a full 12 months, the farming ‘year’ starting as it does in September. This was the season when ground was ploughed and readied for the sowing of winter corn, rams and bulls were prepared for fathering duties and all harvests were gathered in to ensure that man and beast could survive winter.
Today, our shows have a different feel with a mix of the old – steam engines, flower and vegetable showing competitions, sheepdog demonstrations – as well as the new with the latest cars and tractors alongside stalls for solar panels, water filters and broadband deals. Much of the core of the old events remain, with the main showring home to carriage driving, livestock classes – these are now in side-rings at the smaller shows – and parades.
The beer tent, of course, is always popular and this, along
with music and dancing, was where local lads used to meet local lasses to pair up – and still do – just what the aforementioned bulls and rams were being readied for! Few people in the past ventured much beyond the parish boundaries, so it was a great place for that popular pastime of the chattering classes – gossip and story swapping.
Many would have travelled on horse-back or on foot to the fairs – wouldn’t it be fascinating to travel back in time to, say, 1875 and see how different things were 150 years ago? –as well as carts bringing cheese, fruits and vegetables to sell. What food would have been sold to show-goers back then to keep them going on their annual day out? Bread, sausages, cheese, pickled onions and autumn fruits perhaps. Many would bring their own picnics, of course, as some still do today.
Walking around the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show recently I was struck by the range of vittles’ compared to even 30 years ago, when the show was shared with the Shaftesbury site in alternate years. Today, we see curries and nachos, falafels and noodles, pitta breads and Caribbean cooking. I am sure back then it was bangers, burgers, chips and roast pork rolls. We also have
Few people in the past ventured much beyond the parish boundaries, so local fairs and county shows were a great place for gossip and story swapping
local microbrewery beers as a novelty and yet 150 years ago most counties had a number of small breweries servicing local pubs. Plus ça change.
The Gill show is always a bit of a marker point for me as it’s usually around the time of my eldest son’s birthday, and I feel that this is the time we turn the corner towards a slow descent to autumn. This year has been an exceptional summer for those of us who enjoy hot weather and the temperatures look like holding up for the time being. What is noticeable, however, is the darker mornings and evenings which are often accompanied by dewy grass and a slight chill in the air once the sun has gone.
You can see when walking the lanes and woods at the end of August that there is a listlessness in beast and flower as swallows and martins gather for their journey south, the leaves on our native trees look dull as they prepare to turn colour, and many a plant in hedgerow and wayside is just a stalk with a seed-head or dying
flower to enable identification. Apart from a few spots, I have been disappointed with the blackberries this year –unsurprising that they are small and lacking taste with little rainfall in many months. Sloes, however, promise well and crops of wild plums, damsons and crab apples are decent. Pheasants, partridge and pigeons have summered well and some plump birds are around ready for the pot. However, the same cannot be said for many of our native amphibians and fish, with lakes at very low levels, rivers running at half speed and some streams completely dry. We know that nature will balance itself out in time but most of us would rather have a mix of sunshine and showers, not a feast and famine of drought and flood.
As the years go by, one is acutely aware at the passing of each summer that there are a finite number left to enjoy and I, for one, welcome the sunshine, the warm evenings and sizzling hot days. The weather will change soon enough, and it will be hats, coats and gloves, and a yearning for the better weather next year. Final word again –don’t forget to leave water out for the birds while this drought continues.
‘Sheep chess’ and youngsters at the big show
by Tria Stebbing
AS I write, the media is starting to fill with what was inevitable. We all saw it coming and have been battling it for months. The ground has turned to dust. Suddenly we seemed to be faced with desert-dry parched grass, that was, in fact, just dust with texture.
It has rained, but we have found that the Blackmore Vale has its own microclimate. It may be raining in Blandford, but here, the other side of Bulbarrow, it is not. The recent storms and deluges missed us completely, making it even more frustrating when relatives share the news of the awful weather.
At the weekend, we played sheep chess, splitting and moving the flock to new pastures. The ewes were split into adults and Dutch Spotted, and are grazing a local house ground, enjoying the green stuff. We removed the ewe lambs into a group on their own, for my benefit. With so many lambs and so much time invested into Nova, Nirvana and Neil, I felt I did not know the other lambs at
all. It is time well spent, as, believe it or not, they all have very different personalities.
Those that run with the flock, those that were born to lead, those that just want to escape, those that stick their heads in a hedge and those that want to not live for much longer. It is good, too, to identify future showing lambs, ensuring they are targeted for future halter training and grooming.
Showing has been on our radar this week as Harry and Eddie have shown King’s lambs at the Gillingham and Shaftesbury. As the shearlings were born last year, their names begin with M – can you see the pattern? – so Misty and Mistletoe have enjoyed their five minutes of fame.
Harry and Eddie invest a lot of time in preparation, practising ‘the judging walk’ and brushing and clipping. It paid off as Eddie won the eight years and under young handler and went on to be awarded young handler reserve champion.
Harry, too, did well, getting third with Mistletoe in a tough
– Harry also had a sixth in the Shearling class.
Both boys then took part in the Grand parade.
How lovely to see young people loving animals, being proud of them and investing time and patience. The future of British farming is in the hands of young people like Eddie and Harry, and we are proud to be breeders of a very special ram in King. Well done Eddie and Harry and good luck at Melplash and Dorset County –
please give them a cheer if you are there.
The rams have been moved onto a patch of good grass in preparation for being loaned out again to other starter flocks or to flocks where a new bloodline is needed. It seems like five minutes ago we were lambing and with bottle feeding only just stopping, it is hard to believe we are getting rams ready to start the journey again. The farming year seems to get quicker and quicker!
class
Harry and Eddie at the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show
What is Mycoplasma? Is it present in your herd?
by Friars Moor Livestock Health
MYCOPLASMA Bovis is most diagnosed in calf pneumonia. It is often suspected when cattle do not respond very well to treatment. It can also cause ear infections resulting in a head tilt, and in older animals may be the cause of recurrent mastitis.
Cows infected with mycoplasma – usually asymptomatic carriers – will spread the bacteria across the vagina, eyes, nose and milk. This explains why snatch calving, pasteurisation of colostrum and milk replacer play a role in reducing transmission to calves.
Mycoplasma is more likely to cause pneumonia when there are concurrent pneumonia viruses.
70% of the calf immunity
starts in the gut, so pneumonia is a common consequence to scour issues.
If the calf environment is not ideal – too damp, insufficient air changes, draughts, high stocking rate etc, then mycoplasma pneumonia becomes more likely.
We are undertaking surveillance this summer to encourage herds to know their status for mycoplasma. This is open to dairy and suckler herds and those rearing beef calves. The lab fees are funded by Zoetis until the end of September, so don’t miss the opportunity!
n Option 1 Bulk Milk Sample n Option 2 Blood samples from five calves treated for pneumonia – >3 weeks treated Historically we have only been able to vaccinate for viral
pneumonia pathogens and manheimia bacteria. In the last year, there is a new mycoplasma vaccine ‘Protivity’ which we have used successfully on a handful of herds this year.
How to improve calf response to vaccination
WE make significant investments in vaccines to confer protection to our calves. Providing we use the vaccine as per data sheet and preserve the cold chain from clinic to animal – the rest is up to the animal.
For vaccine response to be optimal, we need the immune system to have sufficient nutrition – energy, protein and minerals – and not to be overwhelmed by other concurrent disease or stress.
– or concentrate.
Even in animals fed sufficient maintenance levels, these may not be enough to meet the increased demand that occurs at vaccination, especially in times of stress.
Multimin is a prescription trace element product containing copper, selenium, zinc and manganese. It is being used in Ireland, New Zealand and increasingly the UK at the same time as vaccination to:
n Promote a faster response
n Increase antibody level
n Reduce disease
When a vaccine is given, the immune system requires selenium, zinc and copper to formulate its antibody and white blood cell response. Calves will be born with a short supply of minerals and will then receive a supply through milk powder – whole milk to a lesser degree
Multimin can be injected subcutaneously at the same time as the first vaccination in a course. It can be incorporated into the vaccine protocols for autumn-born calves. Beef animals coming off grass this autumn may run into deficiencies due to tight grazing this summer and may benefit from an injection alongside the pneumonia vaccine ahead of housing.
n Friars Moor Livestock Health: 01258 472314; farmoffice@fmlh.co.uk; friarsmoorlivestockhealth.co.uk
Farming Focus™ podcast returns with fresh perspectives
Cornish Mutual’s popular Farming Focus™ podcast is back for its fifth series with more honest conversations, practical insights and forward-thinking ideas. Hosted by beef farmer and Nuffield Scholar Peter Green, each episode features in-depth discussions with respected farmers, business leaders and agricultural experts from across the South West and beyond.
The latest series opened with businesswoman Helen Wyman and Dorset dairy farmer George Holmes sharing how mentoring can help avoid costly mistakes and build business resilience.
This was followed by an episode similarly able to inspire farmers and business owners alike. Pasture for Life technical director Nikki Yoxall and Cornish dairy farmer Andrew Brewer explored how understanding your ‘why’ is central to finding balance in your working life.
Subsequent episodes examine the role of technology in farm management with agri-tech specialists Matt Dobbs and Adam Short, and why a commitment to quality is essential for small-scale farming, which meat specialists Philip Warren and Matt Chatfield discuss. Also covered in this series are agroforestry, regenerative agriculture, the future of family farms and the impact of climate change on food production.
With more than 12,000 all-time downloads and over 7,500 unique listeners, Farming Focus™ is a must-listen for the region’s farming community. Whether you already subscribe or are discovering Farming Focus™ for the first time, now is the perfect opportunity to tune in.
Listen to all episodes, including the latest series, at www.cornishmutual.co.uk/farming-focus-podcast or via Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
FARMING FOCUS
3 PART-TIME POSITIONS AVAILABLE
1)Morning help with horses on stud farm. To predominantly work with Mares, foals and blood stock. To involve feeding, handling, yard work, maintenance and other associated tasks. Liaising with farrier and vet etc. as needed. Hours variable and flexible according to requirements. Average 3hrs per day. 5 days per week, occasional weekend cover.
2)Afternoon feeding and stable work associated with above. 5 days per week, occasional weekend cover.
3)Grounds maintenance, field maintenance, property maintenance. Fencing, harrowing, topping, mowing, strimming etc. Hours by arrangement probably 8 hrs over 2 days according to weather.
Rate for all 3 positions, £13.00 to £16.00 per hour depending on experience. Jobs can be combined.
Near Milborne Port DT9. Please reply by text in the first instance to 07734 599223, giving some details of interest and experience. References will be required.
WOOD CHIP - 45mm screened, small bags / bulk 01258-920133
SHIPPING CONTAINERS
FOR SALE / HIRE
Tel: 01258 472288 Mob: 07977 936109
New and second hand containers - blue/green - all with box locks
Hose clamps
Hydraulic Hoses
Quick release couplings
Pressure wash hoses + lances
Up to 1 ½ “Hose stocked
Variation of oils
Mobile service available
We provide a friendly, local service at competitive prices. Based at Redlynch near Bruton, we supply Car, Commercial, Agricultural, Plant & 4x4 tyres and offer a 24hr breakdown service. We won’t be beaten on price.
TOPPING. Tel: 01747-855198
FLAIL TRIMMING. Tel: 01747-855198
ORGANIC PIG FEED - No GM, 25kg bags, £17 each 01258-920133
DOUGLAS FIR SLEEPERS - 8”x4” x 8ft, beautiful & resilient, £29 each 01258-920133
HEDGE PLANTING AND HEDGELAYING for more information contact James on 07930-262639
R&W FENCING. Agricultural paddock and stock. Also part time help required. 01258-88089207980-036250
CONCRETE GROOVING, Mobile Grain Crimping and dry rolling Service. Cowco Southern. Call Ted: 07970-965040
Lameness in Dairy Cattle
Ina departure from everyone’s British summer weather-related woes, I’ve had a recent run of cases that are more of a perennial problem: lameness. When dealing with lame cows, at either the individual or herd level, getting the right intervention at the right time is the key to success. We are fortunate at Synergy Farm Health to have a large, experienced Veterinary Technician (“Vet Tech”) team, as well as some very skilled farmers to work with! For the best results on lameness a team approach is by far the most effective, with first aid being delivered by those who look after cows day to day; Vet Tech foot trimmers delivering preventative trims and mobility scoring; and vets stepping in to help with the odd challenging case. Getting everyone involved gives the best results in terms of preventing lameness and it can be really rewarding for everyone to see cows moving better – don’t let lameness be a pain!
Nick Britten
Surgeon,
Andrew Lee Vegetation Management
Grass flail and scrub flail available for the management of scrub, brambles, grass etc.
Working on slopes of up to 50 degrees with operator.
Including: Kramer 407 Ecospeed (24), John Deere 6930 (10), Ford Ranger (13), Mitibushi L200 (09), Mitibushi L200 (12), Ford 5610, RS Evo-Bed Alpha Self Propelled Bedding Machine (24), Heracles H180 Pivot Steer, John Deere Gator, Jacobsen Nextron Ride On Mower, 50 Point GEA Rotary Parlour, Kristal 25,000ltr Bulk Tank, Mount Pleasant Backing Gate, 4 x Topcool 3 Phase Fans, 2 Collinson Bulk Bins, Symms Cake Bin, Mollases Tank & Stand, Westfalia 3 Way Segregation Gate, Dairy Moomaster & Approx 450 Cow Collars, Forster Technik Automatic Milk Feeder, 168 Wilson Cowcoon I-Mount Cubicles, 132 IAE Ultima Style Cubicles, 49 IAE Ultima Cubicles, , 64 Wilsons Head to Head Cubicles, 7 x HappyCow Swing Brushes, HTL Electric Foot Trimming Crush, 15 x 40mm Poly Pillow Foam Matresses, 2 x 160ft Feed Rails & Boards, 2 x 180ft Feed Rails & Boards, Vogelsang Lobe Pump (21), Kuhn 28.2CL Diet Feeder (21), Spread-a-bale Midi (18), Glendale Engineering Mobile Handling System (23), AW Engineering ATV Trailer, Browns Box Scraper, 2.4m Shear Grab, Cherry Dung Grab, Cherry Bale Spike, Giant Sawdust Dispenser, 20ft Ken Wooton Bale, Ifor William 12ft Livestock Trailer, 21ft Feed Trailer, 14ft Feed Trailer, Wydale Creep Feeders, Wydale Hay Racks, Milkbar 10 Place Calf Feeder, Wydale Calf Feeders, Hook on Hay Racks, Wydale Milk Trolleys, IAE Calf Pen Sections, Bateman Dehorning Crate, Raptor Audio Bird Scarers, 70 Calf Jackets, 6 Enduramaxx Tanks, AI Flasks, Quantity of Yard & Field Gates, Calftel Group Hutches, IAE Cattle Crush, IAE Sheeted Hurdles, Cattle Hurdles, 15ft Feed Barriers, Ritchie Calving Gate, Quantity of Water Troughs, Quantity of Feed Troughs, Round Feeders, Self Locking Yokes, Silage Pit Secure Covers.
Marshall QM2 Silage Trailer, 2005 Joskin 11000ME Slurry Tanker, 2017 Keenan VA2-18 Feeder Wagon, 2020 Aerworxx 10-30m Aerator, Lely Splendimo 280F Mower, 2012 Pottinger Lion 301 3m Power Harrow, Browns Flail Topper, 2002 Major 700 Road Brush, Ifor Williams TA510G Livestock Trailer, 2021 Merlo 8ft Bucket, Wylie Shear Grab, 25ft Single Axle Bale Trailer, Single Leg Mole Plough, Teagle Tomahawk 4040 Bale Shredder, Mixit PTO Lagoon Stirrer, Quicke 210 Loader Bucket, Logic Contact 200 Weed Wiper, 2009 Joskin 4300/209SDH Shallow Disc Injector, Feed Trailer, Large Quantity of Electric Fencing Stakes, Reels & Fencers, Quantity of Feed Troughs, Various Feed Buckets, Mobile Milker, Hook on Buckets, Wydale Teat Feeders, Parlour Matting, Parlour Fans, Calftel Group Hutches, Various Field & Yard Gates, 32mm Water Pipe, Parlour Spares, Quantity of Astro Turf, Emergency Bulk Tank, Concrete Water Troughs, 60ft x 30ft Poly Tunnels. Further entries invited.
2021 Merlo TF 42.7 CS Turbo Farmer (2,690hrs), 2010 Case Puma 140 (10,939hrs), International 674 with Loader, 24:24 Fullwood Afimilk Parlour, Cotswold Flush, Fullwood Auger Master Feeders, Ambic Teat Sprayer, 2000 Fullwood 12,500ltr Fabdec Bulk Tank, ND Jeanes 15t Bulk Bin, Rowlands 20t High Discharge Bin, Mollasses Tank & Stand, 2018 Anka Pro Foot Trimming Crush, 2010 Marshall QM2 Silage Trailer, 2005 Joskin 11000ME Slurry Tanker, 2017 Keenan VA2-18 Feeder Wagon, 2020 Aerworxx 10-30m Aerator, Lely Splendimo 280F Mower, 2012 Pottinger Lion 301 3m Power Harrow, Browns Flail Topper, 2002 Major 700 Road Brush, Ifor Williams TA510G Livestock Trailer, 2021 Merlo 8ft Bucket, Wylie Shear Grab, 25ft Single Axle Bale Trailer, Single Leg Mole Plough, Teagle Tomahawk 4040 Bale Shredder, Mixit PTO Lagoon Stirrer, Quicke 210 Loader Bucket, Logic Contact 200 Weed Wiper, 2009 Joskin 4300/209SDH Shallow Disc Injector, Feed Trailer, Large Quantity of Electric Fencing Stakes, Reels & Fencers, Quantity of Feed Troughs, Various Feed Buckets, Mobile Milker, Hook on Buckets, Wydale Teat Feeders, Parlour Matting, Parlour Fans, Calftel Group Hutches, Various Field & Yard Gates, 32mm Water Pipe, Parlour Spares, Quantity of Astro Turf, Emergency Bulk Tank, Concrete Water Troughs, 60ft x 30ft Poly Tunnels. Further entries invited.
Friday 7th July at 12 noon
Friday 7th July at 12 noon
Friday 7th July at 12 noon
Wynford Eagle
Wynford Eagle
Wynford Eagle
Wynford Eagle
The Grain Store, Manor Farm, Wynford Eagle, Dorchester, Dorset 1298 acres of Standing Straw
The Grain Store, Manor Farm, Wynford Eagle, Dorchester,
The Grain Store, Manor Farm, Wynford Eagle, Dorchester, Dorset 1298 acres of Standing Straw
The Grain Store, Manor Farm, Wynford Eagle, Dorchester,
Thursday 18 September at 12:00 noon Thickthorn Farm, Lyneham
Dispersal Sale of 2 Tractor, 2 Sprayers, Telehandler, Quad Bike, Ford Fiesta Car & Arable Equipment
On behalf of Spicer Partners
On behalf of Spicer Partners Online bidding available
On behalf of John Swain Limited (Retiring) Online bidding available Contact Greg Ridout: 01935 382909 / 07817 517467
Including: John Deere 6185R with 575 hours (24), John Deere 6130R Premium (21), Manitou MLT 524 (97), Frazier Phantom TDI PHT 670 Sprayer, Frazier Agri Buggy 4D Turbo (95), Ford Fiesta (11), Honda 450 Quad Bike, Starfire 7000 Reciever, Starfire 6000 Reciever, AS Marston Ace 12 Grain Trailer (13), Kuhn MultiMaster 153 5 Furrow Reversible Plough, Kuhn HR 3001 Power Harrow, Amazone ZA-V 3200 Fertiliser Spinner, Accord Pneumatic DA Drill, Einbock Pneumaticstar Pro Grass Harrows (11), Ken Wooton 8 Grain Trailer (95), Twose JHF Ring Rollers, Watson Transport Box, McConnel 7 Leg Shakerator, Kongskilde Delta 3m Cultivator, Michael Moore Moles Mole Plough, Hatzenbichler Land Technik Seeder, John Deere 900kg Front Weight, 1700 ltr Diesel Tank, Grain Fans, Grain Pedestals, Enduramaxx 10,00ltr Fuel Tank.
On behalf of John Swain Limited (Retiring) Online bidding available Contact Greg Ridout: 01935 382909 / 07817 517467
Wednesday 25th June
Wednesday 25th June
Pinhay and Bindon – The Grain Store, Heathfield, Rousdon
Pinhay and Bindon – The Grain Store, Heathfield, Rousdon
Approx. 1,000ac of Standing Straw
Saturday 29th July
Approx. 1,000ac of Standing Straw
Saturday 29th July
Buckham Down Farm, Beaminster DT8 3SH
Buckham Down Farm, Beaminster DT8 3SH
Friday 27th June
Friday 27th June
Pinhay and Bindon – The Grain Store, Heathfield, Rousdon
Pinhay and Bindon – The Grain Store, Heathfield, Rousdon
Dispersal sale of 4 Tractors, Farm Machinery, Bygones and Miscellaneous
Dispersal sale of 4 Tractors, Farm Machinery, Bygones and Miscellaneous Further suitable entries
Introduced: Mzuri Pro-Til 3T Drill (22)
Approx. 8,5000ac of Standing Straw
Approx. 8,5000ac of Standing Straw
Contact
07817 517467
On behalf of Park Farm, Mapledurham (Having Ceased Dairy Farming)
Dispersal
On behalf of Boole Crop Specialists (Change in Farming Policy)
PROPERTY AUCTION THURSDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2025
PPROPERTY AUCTIONS FRIDAY 25 OCTOBER 2024 & FRIDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2024 AT THE DIGBY CHURCH MEMORIAL HALL, SHERBORNE AT 2:00PM AND VIA LIVESTREAM
2:00PM AT DIGBY HALL, HOUND STREET, SHERBORNE DT9 3AB & VIA LIVESTREAM
PROPERTY AUCTION THURSDAY 24TH JULY 2025 AT 2:00PM AT DIGBY MEMORIAL CHURCH HALL, DIGBY ROAD, SHERBORNE, DT9 3NL
PROPERTY AUCTION FRIDAY 16 MAY 2025 2:00PM AT MERLEY HOUSE, WIMBORNE BH21 3AA & VIA LIVESTREAM
Bridport Road
rich in biodiversity, in a secluded, peaceful area south of the River Frome. Freehold.
Level pasture land and a traditional stone building set in 2.15 acres on the outskirts of the village of Queen Camel. Freehold.
Guide £7,500
Wimborne | 01202 843190
North Perrott Guide £45,000 3.01 acres (1.22 ha) of gently sloping pasture land with direct road access. Freehold.
Yeovil | 01935 382901
Sixpenny Handley
0.15 acres and 0.11 acres of land offered as separate lots, with potential for a variety of uses (STPP/consents), in a convenient location 2.5 miles from Dorchester. Freehold.
Holt, Wimborne Guide £80,000
Guide £150,000
Dorchester Agricultural | 01258 473766
Yeovil | 01935 432526
A detached barn of about 125 sqm. in just under 1.70 acres with off-road
An opportunity to purchase a parcel of permanent pasture in the village of Holt, extending to approximately 4.51
Woodlands
Marshall
Pallington
Guide £300,000
Dorchester | 01305 236237
Dorchester
Melplash
Dorchester
Guide £15,000
Guide £200,000
Guide £50,000
Witchampton Guide £50,000
East Knoyle
Yeovil
Bournemouth
Guide £125,000
Guide £19,000
Guide £200,000
Hindon
Wimborne
Guide
£50,000
Guide £225,000
Guide £150,000
A former village hall with parking situated on the main road in the heart of the village. GIA 175 sqm. Freehold. RV TBA.
1.11 acres of sloping woodland and level river bank adjoining the chalk stream River Frome, in an accessible location on the edge of Grove Trading Estate. Freehold.
A centrally located Grade II Listed property currently arranged as 3 x 1 bedroom flats and walled gardens, requiring modernisation throughout. CTBs A, EPC Exempt, Leasehold.
0.19 acres of amenity land with scope for a range of uses (STPP/consents), adjoining residential properties. Freehold.
Dorchester Agricultural | 01258 473766
Dorchester | 01305 261008
Dorchester Commercial | 01305 261008
Wimborne | 01202 843190
Tarrant Rushton
Winterborne Zelston
Guide £185,000
Guide £250,000
Guide £350,000
1.03 acres of deciduous and coniferous woodland in an accessible, rural position 1 mile southeast of the A350. Freehold.
Verwood Guide £125,000 1.38 acres with a derelict barn in a residential location falling within the main urban development area on the Local Plan. Freehold.
A grand, 4 storey (including basement) mixed-use Victorian building occupying a prominent corner plot on Lansdowne Crescent. RV: £53,500, £8,300, CTB A, EPC TBC. Freehold.
A Grade II listed building offering several uses/options with planning permission and LB consent for conversion to residential. Freehold. EPC-D.
Sturminster Agricultural | 01258 472244
Dorchester Commercial | 01305 236237
Yeovil | 01935 423526
Wimborne | 01202 843190
Heath
23.55 acres of permanent pasture, with fishing rights along the River Stour, which borders the land. Freehold.
4.50 acres of predominantly level permanent pasture land located in the rural village of Woodlands, suitable for a variety of uses, subject to any required consents. Freehold.
Wareham Guide £110,000
Wimborne | 01202 843190
Dorchester | 01305 236237
9.13 acres of freely draining land, predominantly comprising pasture with an element of woodland, located between Wareham and Wool. Freehold.
A semi-detached 3 bedroom property for refurbishment with scope for extension and remodelling (STPP) in a convenient location on the A31. Freehold. CTB-C; EPC-E.
A detached, extended 3 bedroom cottage for renovation, enjoying a rural position and delightful countryside views in 0.20 acres of gardens. CTB C, EPC G, Freehold.
38.42 acres (15.55 hectares) of fertile, workable arable land with good accessibility. Conveniently split into three workable parcels. The land has previously been used to grow salad crops and is understood to be very productive, more recently the land has been in a combinable crop rotation. This Autumn, the land has been drilled with a cover crop. Freehold.
Wimborne Agricultural | 01202 843190
Blandford | 01258 452670
Blandford Forum | 01258 452670
Motcombe
Wimborne | 01202 882103
Shillingstone
Guide £295,000
Guide £95,000
Okeford Fitzpaine
Corfe Mullen
Guide £295,000
Guide
£100,000
Batcombe, Dorchester Guides £40,000 to £115,000
Bradworthy, Devon
Guide £395,000
20.70 acres (12.01 ha) tucked away in a quiet rural position in 3 lots.
Lot A – 15.02 ac arable capable pasture land with a gentle south facing slope£115,000
9.44 acres of level, productive pasture land with direct road access and a pocket of conservation land on the edge of the village. Freehold.
A charming semi-detached 2 bedroom cottage with a separate 1 bedroom, single storey annexe with off-road parking and gardens. CTBs C & A, EPCs D & B, Freehold.
Sturminster | 01258 473766
A former primary school measuring over 6,300 sq. ft./585 sq. m. in grounds of 0.54 acres, providing development potential, subject to planning permission. EPC D, Freehold.
Lot C – 11.11 ac pasture and strip of woodland with stream frontage - £90,000
3.85 acres of permanent pasture with mature boundaries and a timber field shelter, in a convenient location close to an extensive bridleway network. Freehold.
Lot B - 3.57 ac pasture and woodland including an old brick pumphouse - £40,000
Traditional stone barn set in 5.97acres. Positioned in a private location with residential conversion opportunity (STPP & relevant consents). Freehold.
Sturminster Newton | 01258 472244
Sturminster Agricultural | 01258 472244
Tiverton | 01884 218911
Guide £775,000
| 01935 814488
Sturminster | 01258 473766
Wimborne Agricultural | 01202 843190
Kingsbury Episcopi
Guides £125,000 and £175,000
Horton, Wimborne
A substantial bungalow
Chilcompton Guide £195,000
Guide £450,000
A partially built 5 bedroom detached house, with double garage and gardens. PP was granted under application reference 2022/1683/FUL. Freehold.
74.24 parcels of level and southfacing arable land, arranged in two parcels of 54 and 20 acres, with the added provision of a circa 1,200 sqft barn currently used for the storage of machinery. Freehold.
Sturminster Newton | 01258 473766
2 x building plots measuring 0.36 and 0.86 acres, both with full planning permission for detached 3 bedroom dwellings in a sought after village location. Freehold.
Wimborne | 01202 843190
Sturminster Newton | 01258 472244
Yeovil | 01935 423526
Guide £400,000
A 4 bedroom bungalow in need of modernisation throughout, with 0.62 acre grounds, multiple outbuildings and stunning views. Freehold. CTB-E; EPC-E.
A period detached cottage in need of general improvement throughout, set in spacious gardens of 0.21 acres (0.08 hectares). Freehold.
Iliminster | 01460 200790
Sherborne | 01935 814488
Guide £190,000
Guide £275,000
A storage barn measuring approx. 851 sqft., in a convenient location off the A303, benefitting from mains electricity and shared private access. Freehold.
Winfrith Newburgh Guide £170,000
20.42 acres (8.26 ha) of level, productive permanent pasture land adjacent to Tadnoll and Winfrith Heath. Freehold.
A charming 2 bedroom ground floor apartment with parking conveniently situated in the town centre, with parking. Leasehold. Service Charge £4,269 pa. G
Rent £30 pa. CTB-D; EPC-D.
A semi detached, extended 4 bedroom period property for complete renovation with a generous garden adjoining Ferndown Forest. CTB C, EPC F, Freehold.
Sturminster Newton | 01258 473766
Wimborne | 01202843190
Sherborne Sherborne | 01935 814488
Dorchester | 01305 236237
Milborne Port
Fitzpaine
Fifehead Magdalen
Guide £250,000
Guide £90,000
A mid terrace 2 double bedroom property in need of renovation throughout, with an enclosed rear garden situated close to the town centre. Freehold. CTB-C; EPC-D.
A partially renovated and extended 2 bedroom bungalow with potential for upwards extension, subject to planning permission. CTB C, EPC E, Freehold.
Wimborne | 01202 843190
Dorchester Dorchester | 01305 261008
Sturminster Newton | 01258 472244
An attractive semi-detached 2 bedroom cottage for renovation with a generous garden situated in this much favoured North Dorset village. CTB E, EPC G, Freehold.
Winterborne Houghton Guide £400,000 42.94 acres (17.38 ha) of productive arable land. Free draining loam soil over chalk, two road access points, a cattle handling race, outstanding views and private water supply. South east aspect suited to vines and solar. Freehold.
A 0.30 acre building plot with planning permission for a 2 bedroom bungalow, vehicular access, parking and garden enjoying a rural location and views. Freehold.
Sturminster | 01258 473766
Sturminster Newton | 01258 473766
Fontmell Magna
Guide £350,000
Henstridge Guide £300,000
Clifton Maybank
Guide £105,000
Lyons Gate
Shaftesbury Guide £95,000
Guide £395,000
Guide £115,000
A former doctor’s surgery in 0.58 acres with prior approval for change of use to a residential dwelling under application P/PACD/2024/02991/. RV: £5,100, EPC C, Freehold.
A charming 1 bedroom property forming part of a Grade II* Listed building, ideal as a buy to let investment or bolthole. Leasehold with 50% share of freehold.
An agricultural stone and block building measuring 2927 sqft. with an adjoining 0.70 acre paddock, enjoying views over surrounding countryside. Freehold.
Sturminster | 01258 473766
A lofty workshop with large and level fenced outside space. 0.66 acre plot on the Marsh Lane Trading Estate. Freehold. RV Workshop-£9,600 Yard£12,000; EPC-C. Dorchester Commercial | 01305 261008
Sturminster Newton | 01258 473766
Yeovil Agricultural | 01935 423526
Guide £225,000-£250,000
Somerford Road, Christchurch
A detached 2 bedroom cottage for complete renovation, situated in this highly sought after village within Cranborne Chase. Freehold.
development site measuring 0.87 acres with full, detailed planning permission for 7 residential dwellings (planning ref: 20/01206/ FUL). Further 1.13 acre field included. Freehold. CTB-D; EPC-F.
Blandford | 01258 452670
Wimborne | 01202 843190
A charming Grade II Listed3 bedroom
Milborne Port Guide £150,000
An attractive period property for renovation enjoying a generous garden sitting on the outskirts of Milborne Port. Freehold.
9.63 acres of pasture and woodland providing stunning views over the Blackmore Vale, enjoying an unspoilt and peaceful location and a network of bridleways and footpaths. Freehold.
Fiddleford Sturminster Newton | 01258 473766
A detached 3 bedroom character property in a village location with scope for improvement, sitting in a 0.66 acre plot less than 2 miles from Sturminster Newton. Freehold. CTB-F; EPC-F.
Corfe Castle Wimborne | 01202 843190
stone cottage for complete renovation, situated close to the centre of this highly sought-after village. CTB E, EPC Exempt, Freehold.
Sturminster Agricultural | 01258 472244
Sherborne | 01935 814488
Chilthorne Domer
Guide £650,000
A site measuring 0.39 acres with full planning permission for an exclusive development of 9 x 2 bedroom apartments (8/22/0470/FUL), situated in the heart of Christchurch close to Avon Beach and Mudeford Quay. Potential for alternative schemes STPP. CIL: £98,735.93, Freehold.
Belchalwell Guide £250,000 A detached bungalow on a 0.30 acre plot for modernisation/replacement (STPP) with a positive pre application response for a 4 bedroom house. Freehold.
Sturminster Newton | 01258 473766
Yeovil | 01935 382901
Charlton
Horton
Point. Freehold.
Okeford
Bincombe, Weymouth
Dorchester
PROPERTY AUCTION THURSDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2025
2:00PM AT DIGBY HALL, HOUND STREET, SHERBORNE DT9 3AB & VIA LIVESTREAM
PROPERTY AUCTION THURSDAY 24TH JULY 2025 AT 2:00PM AT DIGBY MEMORIAL CHURCH HALL, DIGBY ROAD, SHERBORNE, DT9 3NL
PROPERTY AUCTION FRIDAY 16 MAY 2025 2:00PM AT MERLEY HOUSE, WIMBORNE BH21 3AA & VIA LIVESTREAM
Guide £25,000
Guide £50,000
rich in biodiversity, in a secluded, peaceful area south of the River Frome. Freehold.
Level pasture land and a traditional stone building set in 2.15 acres on the outskirts of the village of Queen Camel. Freehold.
North Perrott Guide £45,000
Wimborne | 01202 843190
3.01 acres (1.22 ha) of gently sloping pasture land with direct road access. Freehold.
Yeovil | 01935 382901
Sixpenny Handley
Guide £150,000
Holt, Wimborne Guide £80,000
Yeovil | 01935 432526
A detached barn of about 125 sqm. in just under 1.70 acres with off-road
An opportunity to purchase a parcel of permanent pasture in the village of
Dorchester | 01305 236237
Melplash
Dorchester
Guide
£200,000
Guide £50,000
Poole
Yeovil
Bournemouth
Yeovil
A former village hall with parking situated on the main road in the heart of the village. GIA 175 sqm. Freehold. RV TBA.
A charming 3 bedroom period cottage requiring modernisation, set in 0.44 acres with large garden, garage and river frontage. Freehold. EPC G. CTB C.
A centrally located Grade II Listed property currently arranged as 3 x 1 bedroom flats and walled gardens, requiring modernisation throughout. CTBs A, EPC Exempt, Leasehold.
Witchampton Guide £50,000 0.19 acres of amenity land with scope for a range of uses (STPP/consents), adjoining residential properties. Freehold.
Dorchester | 01305 261008 Guide £230,000
Dorchester | 01305 261008
Dorchester Commercial | 01305 261008
Wimborne | 01202 843190
Guide £185,000
Pallington Guide £350,000
23.55 acres of permanent pasture, with fishing rights along the River Stour, which borders the land. Freehold.
Wareham Guide £110,000
Wimborne | 01202 843190
Dorchester | 01305 236237
9.13 acres of freely draining land, predominantly comprising pasture with an element of woodland, located between Wareham and Wool. Freehold.
for refurbishment with scope for extension and remodelling (STPP) in a convenient location on the A31. Freehold. CTB-C; EPC-E.
38.42 acres (15.55 hectares) of fertile, workable arable land with good accessibility. Conveniently split into three workable parcels. The land has previously been used to grow salad crops and is understood to be very productive, more recently the land has been in a combinable crop rotation. This Autumn, the land has been drilled with a cover crop. Freehold.
cottage for renovation, enjoying a rural position and delightful countryside views in 0.20 acres of gardens. CTB C, EPC G, Freehold.
Blandford Forum | 01258 452670
Blandford | 01258 452670
20.70 acres (12.01
cottage with a separate 1 bedroom, single storey annexe with off-road parking and gardens. CTBs C & A, EPCs D & B, Freehold.
Sturminster | 01258 473766
Traditional stone barn set in 5.97acres. Positioned in a private location with residential conversion opportunity (STPP & relevant consents). Freehold.
Tiverton | 01884 218911
over 6,300 sq. ft./585 sq. m. in grounds of 0.54 acres, providing development potential, subject to planning permission. EPC D, Freehold.
C – 11.11 ac pasture and strip of woodland with stream frontage - £90,000 Sturminster Newton | 01258 472244
Guide £450,000
house, with double garage and gardens. PP was granted under application reference 2022/1683/FUL. Freehold.
facing arable land, arranged in two parcels of 54 and 20 acres, with the added provision of a circa 1,200 sqft barn currently used for the storage of machinery. Freehold.
Sturminster Newton | 01258 473766
Wimborne | 01202 843190
Sturminster Newton | 01258 472244
Sherborne | 01935 814488
Sturminster | 01258 473766
£400,000 modernisation throughout, with 0.62 acre grounds, multiple outbuildings and stunning views. Freehold. CTB-E; EPC-E.
A substantial bungalow requiring renovation, providing potential for extension or replacement, subject to PP, in a rural position enjoying grounds of 1.60 acres. Subject to an AOC. CTB E, EPC F, Freehold.
Sherborne | 01935 814488
Guide £200,000
Guide £125,000
Guide £225,000
Verwood Guide £125,000
Wimborne
Sherborne
Guide £275,000
Guide £225,000
Guide £150,000
1.38 acres with a derelict barn in a residential location falling within the main urban development area on the Local Plan. Freehold.
A grand, 4 storey (including basement) mixed-use Victorian building occupying a prominent corner plot on Lansdowne Crescent. RV: £53,500, £8,300, CTB A, EPC TBC. Freehold.
A Grade II listed building offering several uses/options with planning permission and LB consent for conversion to residential. Freehold. EPC-D.
An attractive 3 bedroom mid-terrace property for modernisation, with a garden and parking in a popular road in the Longfleet area of Poole. Freehold. EPC E. CTB B.
Wimborne | 01202 843190
Dorchester Commercial | 01305 236237
Yeovil | 01935 423526
Wimborne | 01202 843190
A semi detached, extended 4 bedroom period property for complete renovation with a generous garden adjoining Ferndown Forest. CTB C, EPC F, Freehold.
A detached bungalow in 0.39 acres in need of modernisation throughout with scope to re-develop the plot, subject to planning permission/consents. Freehold. CTB D. EPC D.
Yeovil | 01935 423526
Wimborne | 01202843190
Sherborne | 01935 814488
A
Dorchester
Horton Heath
Guide £275,000
Guide £300,000
Guide £190,000
A partially renovated and extended 2 bedroom bungalow with potential for upwards extension, subject to planning permission. CTB C, EPC E, Freehold.
A mid terrace 2 double bedroom property in need of renovation throughout, with an enclosed rear garden situated close to the town centre. Freehold. CTB-C; EPC-D.
Wimborne | 01202 843190
| 01305 261008
Dorchester | 01305 261008
Fifehead Magdalen
Guide £300,000
Guide £250,000
A charming 3 bedroom Grade II Listed property with ample garaging, driveway parking and a quaint garden in a sought after village location. Freehold. CTB E.
An attractive semi-detached 2 bedroom cottage for renovation with a generous garden situated in this much favoured North Dorset village. CTB E, EPC G, Freehold.
draining loam soil over chalk, two road access points, a cattle handling race, outstanding views and private water supply. South east aspect suited to vines and solar. Freehold.
Sturminster | 01258 473766
A charming 2 bedroom ground floor apartment with parking conveniently situated in the town centre, with parking. Leasehold. Service Charge £4,269 pa. G Rent £30 pa. CTB-D; EPC-D. Milborne Port Sherborne | 01935 814488
Alweston Sherborne | 01935 814488
Fontmell Magna
Sturminster Newton | 01258 472244 Guides £40,000 to £115,000
A former doctor’s surgery in 0.58 acres with prior approval for change of use to a residential dwelling under application P/PACD/2024/02991/. RV: £5,100, EPC C, Freehold.
Sturminster | 01258 473766
Somerford Road, Christchurch
Guide £650,000
Wimborne | 01202 843190
A site measuring 0.39 acres with full planning permission for an exclusive development of 9 x 2 bedroom apartments (8/22/0470/FUL), situated in the heart of Christchurch close to Avon Beach and Mudeford Quay. Potential for alternative schemes STPP. CIL: £98,735.93, Freehold.
Horton, Wimborne
Plush
Dorchester
Grade II Listed 4 double bedroom detached country cottage, with off road parking and attractive gardens, within the village of Plush in the Piddle Valley. Freehold. CTB F.
Morden
East
A rare chance to acquire three individual properties on the outskirts of Crewkerne, requiring some improvement, but positioned next to each other and offering a lifestyle opportunity. 5 bedroom seventeenth century Farmhouse, 3 bedroom converted Granary, 1 bedroom seventeenth century Cottage, gardens, orchard, barn, walkable to mainline Station.
A rare chance to acquire three individual properties on the outskirts of Crewkerne, requiring some improvement, but positioned next to each other and offering a lifestyle opportunity. 5 bedroom seventeenth century Farmhouse, 3 bedroom converted Granary, 1 bedroom seventeenth century Cottage, gardens, orchard, barn, walkable to mainline Station.
An exceptional modern country house situated up a long farm track set in a spectacular rural location with stunning far-reaching views. 3 reception rooms, 4 bedrooms, 3 bath/shower rooms. Professionally designed and landscaped gardens, roof terrace and balcony. Orchard and paddock in all about 2.73 acres. Further land and buildings available by separate negotiation.
An Edwardian country residence with wonderful rural views, extensive & versatile accommodation, outbuildings and delightful gardens.
Lot 1: A fine unlisted Arts & Crafts country house with superb views over the Wylye valley situated up a long drive. 3 reception rooms, 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms. Outbuildings, stabling, workshops. River frontage, paddocks and woodland. In all about 18 acres. A cottage and further land available by separate negotiation. EPC
A rare chance to acquire three individual properties on the outskirts of Crewkerne, requiring some improvement, but positioned next to each other and offering a lifestyle opportunity. 5 bedroom seventeenth century Farmhouse, 3 bedroom converted Granary, 1 bedroom seventeenth century Cottage, gardens, orchard, barn, walkable to mainline Station.
A stunning contemporary home built to a high specification with beautiful views over open countryside. 3 reception rooms, 4 bedrooms, 3 bath/shower rooms. Double garage with 1 bed annex above. Studio, garden, swimming pool, stables. Paddock of approximately 2.6 acres. In all about 4.25 acres. EPC
A rare chance to acquire three individual properties on the outskirts of Crewkerne, requiring some improvement, but positioned next to each other and offering a lifestyle opportunity. 5 bedroom seventeenth century Farmhouse, 3 bedroom converted Granary, 1 bedroom seventeenth century Cottage, gardens, orchard, barn, walkable to mainline Station.
An Edwardian country residence with wonderful rural views, extensive & versatile accommodation, outbuildings and delightful gardens.
An Edwardian country residence with wonderful rural views, extensive & versatile accommodation, outbuildings and delightful gardens. Hall, five reception rooms, family kitchen/breakfast room, utility, 2nd kitchen, cloakroom, 6 bedrooms, 6 bath/shower rooms, studio, carport, outbuildings &
A beautifully renovated old Bakery and Temperance hall on the edge of this popular village. Old Bakery: 1 reception room, 3 bedrooms, 2 bath/shower rooms. Gardens, carport and 2 garages. Temperance Hall: Open plan living room, mezzanine floor with 1 bedroom and shower room. EPC F
ACCOMMODATION WANTED
Professional family of 4 looking for 3 bed home to rent long term. Sherborne areas. Excel refs. Tel 07798-760107
HAZELBURY BRYAN..NEW INDUSTRIAL UNIT, 1600 sqft, 3 phase electric, fibre broadband, 24/7 HGV access, ample parking, CCTV, one year minimum term, £1200 pcm 07798-500059
SELF-CONTAINED ACCOMMODATION on quiet farm near Yeovil 01935 892476
Lidl eyeing bigger store
PLANS have been unveiled to replace a Wincanton supermarket with a ‘bigger, better store’ – including a ‘drive-thru unit and employment units’ – on land right next door.
Lidl, in Southgate Road, is alerting customers to plans for a new outlet on adjoining land – on the site formerly home to transport and logistics firm, Wincanton Ltd.
The haulage company left the two-acre plot – its last base in the town from which it took the name – at the end of 2023, which was then put up for sale.
Plans on show in Lidl’s current Wincanton branch said: “Lidl GB would like to replace our existing store on Southgate Road, Wincanton, with a bigger,
better store.
“This would increase local shopping choice by providing a modern, state-of-the-art store and create additional jobs.”
It said the plans would represent a ‘multi-million pound investment’ while regenerating the former haulage site.
There are no details as to which firm would occupy the proposed ‘drive-thru’ unit. Currently, the likes of Greggs, Costa and Starbucks commonly lease such facilities.
“The existing Lidl store would continue to trade while the new store is being developed,” the notice added.
An aerial plan of the proposed new development includes 135 parking spaces, the new Lidl store, as well as the drive-thru.
A planning application has not yet been submitted, but people are being urged to have their say over the scheme.
Fern Brook Lodge is proud to be part of Care South, a not-for-profit charity and leading provider of residential, dementia and nursing care, as well as care at home services across the south of England.
Care South have been rated as one of the top 20 care home groups for the fifth year running, based on reviews from residents, relatives and loved ones on the industry website carehome.co.uk.
Everything we do is guided by our HEART values of Honesty, Excellence, Approach, Respect and Teamwork and we are regulated by the independent Care Quality Commission (CQC) with all our homes rated as ‘Good’.
Care South has been operating for over 30 years and is proud to provide an outstanding and compassionate care service, along with plenty of Food, Fun and Friendship within the North Dorset community.
Specialist dementia care
We recognise that each person’s experience with dementia is unique, so we tailor our care to meet each resident’s individual, specific needs and preferences. We’re also here for the families too.
That’s why we ensure all our staff undertake specialist dementia training, scientifically and medically proven to give them a snapshot of what it may be like to live with dementia and therefore a better understanding of how to best enable, support and care for residents.
It is our approach to dementia care, with thoughtfully designed living spaces, personalised care, professionally trained staff and support for families which resulted in Care South being awarded the University of Worcester’s Hennell Award for Innovation and Excellence in Dementia Care.
Sue and Heather: living with Alzheimer’s.
It is with a heartfelt thanks to Sue and Heather, mother and daughter, for sharing their experience of living with dementia and explaining how Care South has supported them. It is their hope that this short video, sharing their experience of living with Alzheimer’s provides a little insight and can help others who may find themselves on a similar journey.
Join our Memory Café
A welcoming, supportive space for people living with dementia and those who care for them, every Thursday 10am - 12pm
Join our complimentary, communityfocused café, designed especially for people living with dementia and their loved ones.
Held in ‘The Brook’, our bright and airy in-house community space, these sessions provide an opportunity to connect, learn, and enjoy new experiences.
Our Memory Café (every Thursday 10am - 12pm) offers a friendly, inclusive space to socialise, learn about dementia & local support services, engage in activities and Maintenance Cognitive Stimulation Therapy with Age UK.
In partnership with
The café is a social, safe environment where people can feel relaxed and talk to people who understand.
Deb, Home Manager at Fern Brook Lodge
A Care South home for residential and dementia care
