Down to earth

BEACHCOMBING with JO BELASCO BA Hons History of Architecture and Design

“You haven’t even mentioned shells yet,” admonished an admin in a Facebook shell group. Personally, I can take them or leave them. Granted if I pass a deserted sandcastle I might stop to plunder. It’s not that I don’t like shells, it’s just I like historical artefacts more than natural history. However, along the way between Lyme Regis and Weymouth I have picked up a few shells and squirrelled them away for future projects. Researching for this article I have warmed to shells. Mostly, as I have discovered they are in fact historical artefacts used down the centuries for a myriad of purposes from currency to musical instruments. I collected up my shells from all over the coast in West Dorset and decided to take them on a photo shoot at Pirate’s Cove, Weymouth. Making shell pictures on the sand I found I was inspired by recent news about what sort of energy power we are going to utilise. The pod razor shells made me think of the wind blades of turbines. These shells are named after the cutthroat razors that some old-fashioned barbers still use. To me, they usually conjure up tense scenes in Westerns or Crime thrillers of the 1940s. I suppose they are a bit ugly but I would always prefer any natural wind power over nuclear or fossil fuel. With a little adaption it was easy to make my razor clam Wind turbines look more like the more traditional windmill. If only we could do this in real life. As a spin-off from doing a blacksmithing course with our son I learned about cuttlefish casting with silver. The cuttlebone is really a shell, an internal shell full of air which helps the cuttlefish float. Glancing through the last Dorset Art Weeks brochure I noticed a lady called Sian Evans had offered some workshops of this wonderful skill. I contacted Sian with regard to this year and she will be showing with Liz Somerville and Emily Myers and will bring some work in progress but does not plan to do workshops at present. However, courses are sometimes available in South Petherton, eight miles from the Dorset border, with Juila Thompson ( 07886 906262). Dorset Art Weeks run from May 14-29. Sian Evans and fellow artists are number 255 in Powerstock in this year’s Dorset Art Weeks brochure available online.

SHORE THINGS: A variety of shells with the common whelk at the back then common cockle (bivalve) then the wee wentletrap and finally at the front left the large flat sand gaper or could be a common otter shell A HAND CASTLE: On the beach at Pirate’s Cove and a pod razor shell as a windmill

She sells sea shells on the seashore...

Dorset Council received £19 million from the government as part of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) to make publicly owned buildings more energy efficient. Solar panels have been added to the roofs of the Crookhill waste services depot in Chickerell and the Poundbury waste services depot in Dorchester, which the council say are already producing over 200,000 kWh of renewable energy each year – providing most of each building’s power needs. At Crookhill, 302 solar PV modules are expected to produce around 135,180 kWh of electricity each year – the equivalent of 36 homes’ power – and saving around 30 tonnes of carbon emissions. While the panels are expected to provide around 70% of the power needed at the depot, it’s worth noting that some recent sunny days have seen the whole Crookhill site running purely on solar-generated electricity alone, from dawn until dusk. At the Poundbury depot, 182 panels are expected to generate around 71,057 kWh each year, which is more than the site’s typical annual usage, saving around 18 tonnes of CO2. Similar panels have already been installed in schools, libraries, and leisure centres as part of the PSDS programme and the work also includes heat pumps, LED lighting and improved building management systems. Cllr Ray Bryan, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment, said: “At a time when energy is so expensive for everyone, I’m delighted to see we’re reaping the benefits of producing our own renewable electricity across these waste depot buildings. Not only will this save money that we’ll be able to redirect toward more essential services, but the carbon savings will help us reach our net-zero emissions target as per our Climate and Ecological Emergency strategy. I would encourage people to investigate whether installing solar panels or other energy saving measures at your home may be useful. If you run a business or a public/community sector organisation, our Low Carbon Dorset programme may be able to help you improve your efficiency and increase your use of renewable energy.”

PANEL GAME: Solar panels at Crookhill waste depot Solar energy powering council’s waste depots

First spring show for two years is a blooming success

The first Bridport and District Garden Club Spring Show since 2019 was a roaring success with 260 entries of spring flowers, herbs, artwork, preserves and cakes. This year was organised by president Monique Pasche. “It’s brilliant to be back and to see the fantastic work everyone has been doing in their gardens and kitchens,” she said. Although it was late in the season, the six different classes of daffodils showcased the diversity of the form, size, and colour in this flower which seems so familiar. The judges viewed these symbolic specimens from all angles, finally awarding the Daffodil Society bronze medal to Charlie McCormick to join his armful of cups including the Charlie Barrett Cup for overall show winner. Perhaps the most eyecatching plant was the beautiful white orchid for which Thelma Pratt won best in class. Outside on East Street the plant stall raised over £200 for Weldmar Hospicecare Trust. In giving out the cups and awards Mayor of Bridport, Ian Bark led thanks to all the contributors and to Monique Pasche together with her small team, for stepping in to organise the show and reminded everybody about the late summer show on Saturday September 3.

Take a seat in the Devil’s Armchair

PAGAN VIEWS

By Jo Belasco

The first two times I went looking for The Devil’s Chair, I got lost. Happily, I was able to enlist the help of Chris Slade, a retired Dorset rights of way officer and West Dorset Magazine columnist. Chris gallantly reconnoitred and then escorted me in the sweeping ceremonial route down the hills into the valley. How could I have missed it? The public footpath runs right through. Although, having said that, you probably would not find the footpath unless you knew it was there as it is not clearly signposted. In Peter Knights’ Ancient Stones of Dorset he writes: “To the author’s amazement the site is not a listed Ancient Monument, a status which it certainly seems to warrant.” The stones may have been a chambered long barrow and the ‘Devil’s Armchair’ or ‘Granny’s Armchair’ could have been used for meditation or ritual as Knight suggests. As you enter the valley bowl you notice some iron railings in the middle of the field. The atmosphere in this part of the walk for me at least is a bit unnerving and I wondered if the railings once protected a ‘cursing- well’ but then the sun came out… When Chris and I had visited in the summer a few years ago he pointed out a lane called Barrow Lane. Revisiting Corscombe this year I felt drawn to walk up Barrow Lane and see how easy it is to connect up with the possible barrow near the Devil’s Armchair. It does connect up, but only with a dramatic dive to the left where a big sign ‘bridleway’ seems to redirect you through a tiny modern estate. On the ridge above the Standing stones there appears to be some bumps which reminded me of Bincombe bumps – they looked like a series of tumuli or barrows. If one followed the path of Barrow Lane it looks like it would lead up to these seeming barrows directly. Zelda the dog and I decided we may need to scrutinise the map and call on Chris’s help again to check that we would still be on a public footpath. But here I include a picture of the tantalising Corscombe bumps –maybe burial mounds to be investigated at a later date. The grid reference for the stones is 514048 and it’s eight miles north-west of Maiden Newton.

FEET UP: Chris Slade takes a seat and, top, a sign for Barrow Lane and, right, burial mounds near Corscombe

The West Dorset Magazine, April 22, 2022 41 Down to earth It’s England v Spain in the battle of the bluebells

Sally Cooke lives in Tolpuddle with her husband, two grown up sons and her spotty rescue dog. Sally will be writing seasonal pieces for The West Dorset Magazine and you can see her work, Sparrows in a Puddle at Instagram.com/ sparrows.puddle.photos

I am privileged to celebrate my birthday at the absolute best time of year – bluebell time. The end of April is the most spectacular time in ancient woodlands when thousands of bluebells carpet the ground creating an intoxicating sight and scent. British woodlands have almost half the world’s bluebells and there are plenty of wonderful places to see them in West Dorset, my personal favourite being Thorncombe Wood. Flowering earlier than many other plants, they’re a great source of nectar for woodland pollinators such as butterflies, bees and hoverflies, though some bees ‘steal’ the nectar by biting a hole in the bottom of the flower, leaving pollinating to others! In the Victorian language of flowers these ‘cuckoo’s boots’, ‘witches’ thimbles’, or ‘fairy flowers’ were associated with humility, constancy, gratitude and everlasting love. If you wore a garland made from the flowers you were compelled to tell the truth and if you managed to turn a flower inside out without it tearing you would eventually win the one you love. However, many folk stories have made bluebell woods enchanted, if you pick a bluebell the fairies will lead you astray and if you trample them, expect bad luck as the fairies will be angry. I should think the fairies are grateful that

bluebells are now protected by law and must not be removed from the wild! Our English bluebells are under threat, however, from the faster growing Spanish bluebell. Very common in gardens, and annoyingly still in mine despite my best efforts, the Spanish bluebell can be distinguished from the native flower by its thicker stems and broader leaves. Both varieties attract pollinators and cross-pollination between the two species is a potential risk with hybrids occurring, particularly in urban areas near to woodlands. The poet Emily Bronte wrote that ‘its blossoms have the mightiest power to soothe my spirit’s care’. Why not test the power of the bluebells yourself with a walk, even if it’s not your birthday you can still follow it with cake! Rubbing spalt into the wounds of wood-turning

JOHNWRIGHT is a naturalist and forager who lives in rural West Dorset. He has written eight books, four of which were for River Cottage. He wrote the award-winning Forager’s Calendar and in 2021 his Spotter’s Guide to Countryside Mysteries was published.

With the need for a log fire abating, you may not need to sort through your log pile until October. But when you do, pay special attention to any beech logs you may find. The split surfaces and cut ends frequently display irregular black lines. The wood is ‘spalted’. You may have seen this before on your logs, or perhaps in the forest, though there is one other place you may have seen them, of which more shortly. These lines are in fact the edges of internal membranes which form enclosed chambers within the wood and mark the defensive peripheries of abutting fungal colonies. Fungal colonies do not generally get on well together, so, like all good neighbours, they put up high (or in this case, tough) fences. Several fungi enclose themselves in these membranes, which are known as pleurosclerotial plates (PSPs). The main fungus, however, is Brittle Cinder, Kretzschmaria deusta, seen as irregular black lumps on the bark when it fruits. You may even have noticed just the PSPs. If you have ever wondered why many of the fallen small branches and bits of branches of beech lying of the forest floor are often completely black, I can tell you that they are encased in a PSP. Last year in the New Forest, I found a longfallen beech that was quietly rotting away. The topmost surface had rotted almost completely but had left a honeycomb of PSPs. PSPs are naturally impervious to fungal attack and remain long after the wood has disappeared. I was a furniture maker in and around Dorchester for thirty years and people would sometimes come to admire my work and perhaps commission a dining suite or dresser. Some of them, heady, no doubt, on the smell of sawdust, would express a passionate desire to take up wood-turning when they retired from their job as a hedge-fund manager or some other incomprehensible occupation. I would be encouraging, and tell them that yes, woodturning is a fine skill to learn and terrific fun. But I always felt sorry for their friends and family. These unfortunates would be required to tolerate any number of turned candlesticks, bowls, vases and other novelty items on their mantelpieces. Such turned objects, although a great pleasure to make, are appalling blots on the domestic landscape. It is for such horrors that spalted wood is frequently employed and it is impossible to visit a craft fair without encountering them. Beware.