The West Dorset Magazine, Edition 29, June 2023

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Transmitter bunker comes to life again as a holiday home: P37 THE TREE OF FORTUNE: How one woman’s search for her dad’s birth parents led to Great Train Robbery discovery: P58-59

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Anti-racism group invades barge demo

A ‘community picnic’ demo against the barge housing 500 migrants off Portland, featuring placards such as ‘No to the invasion’ was itself invaded – with a second demo against racism.

Dozens of people gathered, along with their children, to voice their protest against 500 men claiming asylum arriving at Portland Port this month, in The Bibby Stockholm barge. Lynne Hubbard, joint chair of Stand Up to Racism Dorset, which covers the west of the county, said: “They made the mistake of having an open mic so we made speeches, too. “Some of their speeches weren’t very nice – one woman talked about the perceived dangers of having Muslim men around when you have women in bikinis on the beach, and children. Really nasty stuff.

“They are trying to gather up

people who have legitimate concerns about the barge, who feel they haven’t been consulted, and get them involved in what is essentially a Far Right group called Patriotic Alternative.

“They are trying to sow the seeds of hatred. But generally, people’s attitudes are very good. People aren’t well off in Weymouth and Portland and they are concerned that resources will be stretched. We haven’t heard much from our democratic representatives about the barge. However it

shouldn’t be a competition, and we feel that this could be an opportunity to get better healthcare for Portland. They could reopen the hospital’s minor injuries unit, and the Xray facilities, for example. “We have organised a solidarity protest – no to the barge, yes to refugees and we would welcome people to come along to our next event on Tuesday, June 13 at the C2000 Community Hall (behind the library) DT5 1HG.”

Alex Bailey, who launched a

petition against the barge which was signed by more than 3,000 people and organised Saturday's community picnic, said: “The family-friendly, static protest, picnic this Saturday gone was an opportunity for the people of Portland to reclaim a voice stolen by the privately-owned port and the Home Office. “They took up this event and voiced their many unanswered concerns about the barge, and know that this is only the beginning. The people of Dorset say no to the barge!” The Bibby Stockholm has been used to house homeless people and asylum seekers in Germany and the Netherlands before being earmarked for Portland.

Portland Port has been holding a series of meetings with councils and community groups to reassure them about security.

MAKING A STAND: Stand Up to Racism Dorset members

Best bib and tucker for fair

Throngs of people stepped back in time in Dorchester on Saturday to celebrate the birthday of Thomas Hardy.

The Thomas Hardy Victorian Fair attracted thousands of literary lovers and history buffs, many wearing Victorian attire, for its third year celebrating the life and times of the novelist and poet, who was

born in 1840 in Higher Bockhampton. With Penny Farthing displays, live history from ‘The Ragged Victorians’, a Punch and Judy Show, craft demonstrations and Morris Dancing plus a Victorian pop-up market and age-old traction engines, all things Victorian, (except the smallpox), was celebrated.

Unsung heroes thanked

Three unsung Weymouth heroes have been honoured with community awards by the town’s mayor.

Outgoing mayor Ann Weaving presented the award winners with certificates at this year’s community expo event.

Natalie Lawrence was honoured for supporting parents in the Park District and surrounding areas. A town council spokesperson said Natalie “has helped children in poverty with events where families could get free coats and books for their children”. Natalie is also the first woman to win the Ironman.

The Help for Homeless group also won an award for supporting homeless people in the community.

Gillian Paterson, who has been part of the Littlemoor

Community Action Group for 35 years, also won an award.

Gillian is involved in various groups and organisations as chairman of the Littlemoor Community Action Group and has been described by her colleagues as a “loyal and reliable person to the community”.

Derek Davey was also recognised for rescuing sea and water birds for years. He nurses them back to health, paying for food and medicine himself, before releasing them back into the wild.

The other award winner was James Irvine, who delivers free lifesaving courses in the community on how to save babies, children, adults and defibrillator training.

Cllr Weaving congratulated the winners for all their hard work.

THE MADDING CROWD: Costumed visitors to the fair

FUNDRAISING CEILIDH!

Thursday, June 8

All welcome on a guided evening stroll around Dorchester Borough Gardens at 6.30pm, by Blue Badge guide Joy Wallis. Free! Collection for the Mayor’s charities.

A silent disco is being held for Dorchester Community Nursery School at the Trinity Club. The nursery is in desperate need of urgent building repairs. £10 at tickettailor.com/events/ dcnsfundraisingteam/859542

Philip Sutton RA will give a talk in conversation with Maureen Murray at 6pm, surrounded by his dazzling solo exhibition at Sladers Yard Gallery, 6 W Bay Rd, West Bay, Bridport DT6 4EL. Sutton, 94, was born in Poole in 1928 and returned to live in Dorset in 2014. A wonderful speaker as well as painter. Tickets £6, call 01308 459511.

James Bradley is doing a tour of the south coast on his mobility scooter raising money for Macmillan cancer support. The tour starts with a puppetry fun day today at St Andrew’s Church rooms, Preston, Weymouth DT3 6BU and ends in Plymouth in July 2023puppetingworldtour.com

Cattistock open gardens will be held today and tomorrow 2pm-5pm. Adults £15 for both days, £8 for one day, under 18s free. Refreshments in hall from 1pm, compost heap and pond competition. Grand raffle and plant sale.

If you’re a vintage vehicle buff, or just enjoy a bit of good-oldfashioned nostalgia, then head for the West Bay Vintage Rally at Melplash Showground, today and tomorrow

A fundraising ceilidh will be held at 7.30pm at The Digby Hall (next to the library), Hound Street, Sherborne, DT9 3AA. Music from Sherborne Folk Band with caller Michael Catovsky. Bar and car park. Raffle & interval entertainment Tickets £12 in advance at sherbornefolkband.org or £16 on the door.

Bridport Rotarians are holding a tabletop sale at the Town Hall from 10am-2pm, with crafts, bric-a-brac and lots more, plus refreshments and a raffle.

The West Dorset Vintage Tractor & Stationary Engine Club (WDVTSEC), a small club of 380 or so members who meet once a month at the Colliton Club in Dorchester, have been holding the rally since 1976. It was held at Puncknowle before moving to Gore Cross, Bridport, with its final move to West Bay.

There’ll be plenty to see and do (and eat!), from a vintage auction on the Saturday, from 10am – which always draws the crowds – to perusing a fabulous cross section of stationary engines, tractors, vintage cars, steam engines and more.

There are marquees and stalls with a plethora of craft displays, model makers and collections. The Ring will also host the vintage vehicle parades, the

ever-popular Extreme Falconry on the Sunday, plus there’ll be everyone’s favourites – the beagles!

The team have raised nearly £90,000 for local charities and community projects. Local groups also pitch in and help them over the weekend too, from the Young Farmers to the Scouts, to name but a few. 9am-5pm at Melplash Showground, West Bay Rd, Bridport, DT6 4EG. Adults £10, OAPs £8, 11-16s £2, 7-U11s free when accompanied by an adult. wdvtsec.com/rally

There’s a Celtic Music Concert with Head North, live at All Saints church, Wyke Regis 7pm. Mix of traditional and progressive music, with some Transatlantic additions and original tunes. Tickets £5 at parishofwykeregis.org.uk/events or from Jeff Thomas on 07710 096174. Cash bar. All proceeds to the church roof fund.

A Quiet Day will be held at Marian Dunlop House, 8 Prince of Wales Road, Dorchester from 10am to 3.30pm.

A day of restorative relaxation and meditation.

The house belongs to The Fellowship of Meditation and has an extensive library you can browse in, time can be spent in the beautiful garden with its summerhouse and seats all around. Tea and coffee provided but bring lunch. Everybody welcome, no booking required. Donations welcome.

Donkey Down campsite is hosting a super series of live music events this summer.

Tonight, the amazing What the Phunk take to the stage at the scenic campsite near Sutton Poyntz, Weymouth. There’s live music every Saturday night with Stress on June 17, Masau’u on the 24th. Moving into July it’s Jolly Boys Outing on July 1, Vanilla Radio on July 8 and Trinity Knot on July 15. Music then switches to the nearby sister site of Culliford Trees from then onwards, with Small Mercies on July 22, Robbie, Steve and Jess on July 29. For August, the line-up is: Robbie McIntosh band on August 5, What the Phunk back on August 12 and it’s the punk/new wave sounds of The Shakespearos on August 19. It’s all free and but there’s a £5 charge if you’re staying overnight on site. Full details at donkeydowncamping.com or 07970 498772.

Weymouth Choral Society host their famous afternoon tea and cakes concert, with musical theatre favourites, popular songs and light classics, at St Aldhelm’s Church Centre, Spa Road, DT3 5EW at 3pm. Tickets £12 to include refreshments, under 16s free. Book at Weymouth Pavilion, Ticketsource or 07929 519973.

The West Dorset Group of the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society is meeting at Loders village hall at 2pm. There is a cream tea to remember members who have recently passed away, including Celia Martin, Diane Trenchard,

Dorchester

September 23: Liam Halewood as Boy George & George Andrew as George Michael

December 16: Liam Gray as Robbie Williams & Simon King as Freddie Starr

Whasson? (and where’s it to?)

Sat, June 10 ct’d

Cecil Amor, Pam Pully and Diane Jagged. There will be short presentations about the research they were involved with and time to chat and look at photos showing activities undertaken by the group over the years. These include migration, stone circles, and house history. Do come along and share your memories. Let Jane know as soon as possible, so they can organise catering. Jane 01308 425710 or jferentzi@aol.com

Sunday, June 11

Events from June 10 happening today (see previous page): Cattistock Open Gardens West Bay Vintage Rally

The Originals band, playing hits from the 60s 70s 80s, are playing at Dorchester Borough Gardens 2pm-4pm.

Broadwindsor’s Got Talent is at the Comrades Hall from

5pm-7pm, £3 entry including a drink, U16s free. Tickets from the community stores..

Yetminster & Ryme

Intrinseca’s open gardens, featuring 16 beautiful gardens, is on 11am-5pm, cost £5, U12s free. Morning coffee, light lunches and afternoon teas served in Jubilee Hall. Proceeds to Friends of the Yeatman and Blood Bikes

Put on your wellies and take a tour of Denhay Farm in Broadoak from 10am to 4pm. Melplash Agricultural Society is working with the Marshwood Vale Farmers’ Cluster and Coppet Hill LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) Open Farm to host the open day. The free event has informative and fun activities giving visitors of all ages the chance to learn about farming and the countryside. People can get up close to Jersey cows, Portland and Dorset Horn sheep, Saddleback pigs, chickens and pygmy goats

as well as learning about soil health and the crops that are grown on the farm. There will be a ‘spot and learn’ tour of the farm teaching people about wildlife and the chance to learn about beekeeping, hedgelaying and other rural skills. Activities for children plus there will be a picnic area and local food and drink available. There will also be displays by Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty partnership, Dorset Wildlife Trust, Dorset Farming, the Wildlife and Advisory Group, Bridport Bird Group and Wessex Water. Melplash Agricultural Society chairman Philip Hardwill said: “Enabling members of the public to learn more about how their food is produced and the many ways in which farmers are striving to care for their soil and the environment around us, is a priority for our society.”

Cathedral-style service of Choral Eucharist at 10.30am in St Peter’s Church, Dorchester. Immediately after

there’s a coffee concert at 11.45am. Young artist Stefan Oakes (baritone) will play a 30minute programme of Barber, Vaughan Williams and Handel. Free admission, coffee & cake.

The Quangle Wangle Choir will give a short concert at St Nicholas’ Church, Abbotsbury DT3 4JJ 3pm-4pm. Tickets £5, children free from Barbara 01305 871532, thcbar1@gmail.com. quanglewanglechoir.co.uk

Beaminster Festival: As You Like It (Shakespeare) 2.30pm at Beaminster Manor by young theatre company Three Inch Fools. Bring a picnic from 1.30pm. Tickets £16/£6 U18. TicketSource 0333 666 3366 or beaminsterfestival.com

Monday, June 12

Dorchester Townswomen’s Guild will be entertained by Miranda Pender in Dorchester Community Church, Liscombe Street, Poundbury DT1 3DF at

Whasson? (and where’s it to?)

2pm. She is an accomplished musician and public speaker with a wicked sense of humour. This talk is entitled Perils of Research. Visitors welcome, £3. Enquires 01305 832857.

MS Society Dorset is holding a social evening at the Bull Hotel Bridport. If you have MS, care for someone with MS or would like to volunteer come along on the second Monday of each month. Accessible private room. Join Dorchester Choral Society

at a short free concert at 7.30pm at St Mary’s Church, Cerne Abbas. This is an ‘Italian Feast’, featuring opera choruses (including The Bridal Chorus from Wagner’s Lohengrin and Verdi’s Va Pensiero from Nabucco) plus some lighthearted musical fare from Genee (Italian Salad) and Banchieri (Festino):

Bridport Museum is hosting a talk by local author Sarah Acton on Seine fishing from Chesil Beach at 5pm for 5.30pm. £5 from museum shop.

Ann & Neil’s acoustic night at the Woodman, South St, Bridport. Solos & duos play and sing folk, blues, country and all things rootsy in the round. Free. Every 2nd Tuesday 8pm. New performers and singers welcome or just listen and enjoy.

The Dorset branch of the MS Society is holding their regular Weymouth social evening in the Lulworth block at Weymouth College 6.30pm9pm.

Bere Regis Floral Group is running a free two-hour beginners’ flower arranging workshop at Winterborne Kingston Village Hall at 2pm. This class is open to anyone with an interest in flower arranging who wants to learn some new skills. You don’t have to be a member of the club, so give it a try! The class will be led by Irene Hickson, a leading flower arranging teacher in the area and will be both informative and fun. The workshop is free to both members and non-members. Contact chairman Bob Holman

on 01305 848262 or bobdiholman@btinternet.com

Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance will give a talk to Loders WI 7.15pm-9pm at the village hall. Everyone welcome, £5, members free.

Weds, June 14

An open mic poetry evening at The Occasional Bookshop 16 Durngate Street Dorchester DT1 1JP 7pm-9pm.

Picnic and Churchyard Tour. All Saints, Wyke Regis from 11am. A Great Big Green Week activity. To include wildflower area planted last year and a unique labyrinth. parishofwykeregis.org.uk

Thurs, June 15

Rock Steady Boxing South

West, a high intensity, noncontact boxing and exercise programme specifically designed for members of the Parkinson’s community starts today at B! Health & Fitness in Lyme Regis. Physical activity has been proven to help people living with Parkinson’s. See Rock Steady Boxing, South West facebook page: rsbsouthwest

Bridport & District Gardening Club will meet at 7.30pm at the WI Hall North Street when Alan Eason will talk about The Importance of Foliage. He is a partner in a gardening business in North Dorset and very involved in the world of garden history, so is an active member of the Dorset Gardens Trust.

Slinky Machine and Moose are playing Clocktower Records Bridport. Word of mouth

spread quickly last time Slinky Machine played at Clocktower, leading to a sellout gig, so be sure to book your tickets fast for this awesome instrumental funk fusion prog band. This grooving four-piece group play a heady mix of instrumental tunes guaranteeing a jumping dance floor. Guesting is Moose, immersing you in the intimate sounds and feels of jazz fusion. Tickets from Bridport TIC online or on 01308 424901

performed at Dorchester Prison earlier this year. For tickets, email weldmar-fundraising@ outlook.com All proceeds to Weldmar.

The Originals band, playing hits from the 60s 70s 80s, are playing at The Centenary Club, Weymouth

Armed Forces Weekend will be held from Saturday, June 17 to Monday, June 19.

The Owermoigne Arts & Drama Society (TOADS) proudly present a murder mystery dinner at the village hall, DT2 8XD at 7.30pm. Tickets £25 including 3-course dinner. Cricket Club bar will be open or you can bring your own drinks. Please note: this is the same murder mystery that was

On Saturday at 10am historic military vehicles will be at the Pavilion before parading along the Esplanade at 12.30pm. There will be charities and awareness stalls on Weymouth Esplanade. The Castletown DDay Centre will welcome the convoy at about 1pm. On Sunday at 11am Weymouth seafront will host

an open air service for veterans at the Cenotaph followed by a Parade along the seafront with marching bands and military vehicles. There will be band performances in the afternoon. On Monday at 10.30am, the weekend will end with Weymouth Town Council raising the flag at The New Town Hall, Commercial Road.

The Quangle Wangle Choir will give a gold-themed concert at St Nicholas’ Church, Broadwey, Weymouth, DT3 5DN, 7.30pm-9.30pm. See quanglewanglechoir.co.uk Tickets from Susana at susanamalik@yahoo.com or on 07944 617553. Adults £8, children free. Cash bar.

Bridport Folk Dance Group are holding a ceilidh in the WI Hall, North Street, 7.30pm-10.30pm. All welcome including children; no experience or partners

necessary. Refreshments available. £5, children free. 01305 863552 or 459001.

The first ever Chesil Youth Pride is being held, hosted by Dorset Council, Weymouth College, Space Youth Project, The Drop-In (Portland) and Dorset Police.

There will be a stall event held at Weymouth College from 1pm, where you will find organisations offering advice and support, with plenty of fun and activities. There will then be a parade down the promenade to the Pavilion at 4.30pm, ending the celebrations with music and dancing.

Moreton Village Hall has a Coffee & Book Morning from 10am to noon, followed by a screen quiz night at 7pm. Prizes and light supper.

About 25 private gardens in Cerne Abbas will be open from 2pm until 6pm today and

tomorrow. This is the 47th event. Proceeds to the Charles North Charity set up in 1943 to help folk in distress in the village and the Dorchester Food Bank. Entrance to all gardens is £8 for adults, U16 free. A few gardens are wheelchair accessible and most accept well behaved dogs on leads. Plant stall and teas are provided by the local youth club, both open at 1pm. Almost all gardens are within easy walking distance of the free car park. More information at cerneabbasopengardens.org.uk

Calling all wannabe Indiana Joneses – Beaminster Museum is offering to identify archaeological finds people have made by chance while out walking or working in their gardens. Dorset’s finds liaison officer Ciorstaidh Hayward Trevarthen is returning to the museum for another session identifying artefacts from 11am to 3pm.

A museum spokesperson said: “It’s not just metal detectorists who uncover treasures from the past. Every year thousands of archaeological objects are found by people out walking, pottering in the garden or through their work.

“Ciorstaidh is interested in all manner of things that tell the story of how previous Dorset generations lived and worked, from coins and metal objects to pottery, flint and tiles.” If your find is of special interest – for example if it’s dated to before 1700 – Ciorstaidh may ask to borrow it for further research and to record it on Portable Antiquities Scheme national database. When it’s returned, you’ll receive copies of the records and the images. Highlights from last October’s session included a Roman brooch, coin and tessera (mosaic tile); a medieval buckle; post-medieval pottery; and various undatable bone and stone items.

Sat, June 17 ctd

Martinstown Open Gardens will be held today and tomorrow 2pm-6pm with more than 20 private gardens. £5 entry valid for both days. There’s also an art exhibition at the hall and home made teas. On the Saturday, there will also be a Fun Family Dog Show –details of classes on the hall page at martinstown-news.co.uk. All profits from both events to the village hall.

A Fair Trade coffee morning will be held at All Saints, Wyke Regis 10am-noon. A Great Big Green Week activity. All welcome for Fairtrade, coffee, tea, cakes and books.

Sutton Poyntz is holding its Open Gardens on June 17 and 18, noon-5pm. More than 20 gardens, cost £5

for both days. Proceeds to CRUK and Dementia UK. Refreshments in the Mission Hall and a plant stall, also a scarecrow trail.

Talent in the Town will be held 10am-4pm in Beaminster Public Hall as part of Beaminster Festival. Exhibition of local skills, hobbies, interests and collections. Free admission.

Thornford Fete and Craft Market will be held 2pm-5pm at the village hall DT9 6QB.

Events continuing from June 17 (see previous pages):

Martinstown open gardens

Cerne Abbas open gardens

Sutton Poyntz open gardens

Whasson? (and where’s it to?)

29 Trinity St Dorchester

divineinktattoos.co.uk

CALENDARS £10

Sun, June 18 ct’d

Enjoy delicious pizza to the sounds of soothing jazz at Bridport’s Mercato Italiano from 4pm-8pm (open from 12). Find them on the Dreadnought Industrial Estate, DT6 5BU. Book on 01308 459274 or hello@mercatoitaliano.uk

Monday, June 19

Beaminster Festival: Choral Evensong with Exeter Cathedral Choir, followed by a short recital will be held at 6.30pm at St Mary’s Church. Tickets free but must be booked. TicketSource 0333 666 3366. beaminsterfestival.com

Bridport Museum’s weekly talks continue with Professor Colin Divall on Do you really call that progress, Mr Marples? The closure of the Abbotsbury and Bridport branch lines, at at 5pm for 5.30. £5 from museum

shop.

Wessex Morris Men tour with Dr Turberville’s Morris to Phil Crown and Victoria, Tintinhull, BA22 8PZ at 8pm, then the Recreation Club, Chilthorne Domer, BA22 8RD at 9pm.

Green Words: an anthology of natural words from West Dorset is being launched at 7pm, at The Salt House, West Bay. Free entry. Refreshments. Profits from sale of anthology go to Dorset Wildlife Trust.

‘Green Words’ is a walking & writing wellbeing project. Guided creative writing workshops and walks have been held for ten weeks, culminating in this launch. Bridport-based Dr Kevan Manwaring, senior lecturer in Creative Writing at Arts University Bournemouth, and a keen walker has compiled the anthology with the group –with contributions of poems, prose, photographs, and

drawings.

The project is funded by the Dorset Community Fund, with the support of Mick Smith, director of Bridport Arts Centre.

Friday, June 23

A free will writing clinic will be held 10am-4pm at 6 Prout Bridge, Beaminster, DT8 3AY. It is a drop in for anyone to come and talk about their wills, possibly have one written and they can leave a donation or legacy to the Prout Bridge Project, (no obligation).

Saturday, June 24

Dorchester Repair café will be held at Martinstown Village Hall, 10am-noon.

Fancy testing your brain cells and your general knowledge and raising money for a jolly good cause? There’s a fundraising quiz taking place at the Victory Hall in

WEEKEND TICKETS INCL.£105CAMPING

17-20

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SARAH JAROSZ

MICHELE STODARTKATHRYN WILLIAMS AUGUST 2023

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Email 2 CEILIDHS - OPEN MIC - SESSIONS - WORKSHOPS - HEALING AREA - FIRE SHOWS BEAUTIFUL LITTLE FESTIVAL ON A SMALL FARM WITH VIEWS ACROSS THE PURBECK HILLS AND CORFE CASTLE - EVERYONE’S FAVOURITE FESTIVAL

Whasson? (and where’s it to?)

Charlestown, Weymouth, at 6.30pm for 7pm. It’s just £2 person, with a maximum of six in a team, and it’s raising money for Girl Guiding South West and the International Opportunities trip to Austria later this year.

The quizmaster is Nick Horton from the West Dorset Magazine. There’s also a virtual duck race and a fundraising raffle. Tea, coffee and hotdogs will be available but please bring your own beer/wine etc. Tickets, more info and donations for the raffle from local businesses, contact 07847 763191 or eleanor.jeram@gmail.com

Dorchester Choral Society is holding a short free concert at the Borough Gardens at 7pm. The ‘Italian Feast’ will feature opera choruses (including The Bridal Chorus from Wagner’s Lohengrin and Verdi’s Va Pensiero from Nabucco) plus some

lighthearted musical fare from Genee (Italian Salad) and Banchieri (Festino).

Dean Carter will launch his instrumental album Songs Without Words Vol II at 2pm at The Beat & Track Record Store, 4 The Shambles, South St, Sherborne, DT9 3LN. What the critics said about Vol I: Dean Carter has brought life to an album with the elegance of a master singer-songwriter. Balancing acts of instrumental virtuosic ability along with cutting, sharp lyricism –Sinusoidal Music …a magnificent album… compositions of this level are a sign of genius in the making. –Illustrate Magazine. The long awaited comeback of a celebrated musician who’s back at the top of his game. –Plastic Magazine

Bridport Auction

Join us for our 32nd annual festival in Cerne Abbas. Classical masterpieces presented in beautiful, informal surroundings by musicians who are principal players in some of Europe’s greatest orchestras and ensembles.

Whasson? (and where’s it to?)

Sunday, June 25

Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens is holding a plant fair with Plant Heritage.

A ‘Vagus Nerve Reset Day Retreat’ will be held at Launceston Farm, Tarrant Launceston, (near Blandford Forum), 10am - 4.30pm. Introduction to the vagus nerve and relaxation practices, culinary adaptogens talk and mini-workshop, breathwork session, delicious organic lunch and afternoon tea (gluten and dairy free). Bookings essential as limited places. More info at thewelllifelab.systeme.io/dayretr eatjune

Beaminster Festival: Braimah Kanneh-Mason (violin) Junyan Chen (piano) at 7.30pm at St Mary’s Church. Music by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn and Brahms.

Information and tickets at:

cerneabbasmusicfestival.org.uk

Cerne Abbas Music Festival

July 20-23

Booking opens June 22nd

July 20, 7pm, Schmitt, Hummel, Dvorak

July 21, 7pm Weber, Jacob, Brahms

July 22, 11.30am coffee concert.

Light, varied and entertaining

Tickets £22 reserved, Age 8-25 Free. beaminsterfestival.com

Monday, June 26

TicketSource 0333 666 3366 Beaminster Festival: 11.30am at St Mary’s Church. Hathor Duo (Meera Maharaj / Lucy Nolan -flute / harp). Tickets £12/U25 free.

2.30pm Sue Stuart-Smith, author of The Well Gardened Mind in conversation with Simon Tiffin. Tickets £12/£2 U18.

7.30pm Choir of Clare College, Cambridge Sumer is icumen in. Tickets £22/£2U18.

beaminsterfestival.com

TicketSource 0333 666 3366

Bridport Museum’s weekly talks continue with Professor Karen Hunt on Bridport and Refugees, at 5pm for 5.30pm. £5 from museum shop

Wessex Morris Men’s Squire Pete’s Tour heads to The Rose

July 22, 7pm

Boccherini, Dvorak, Beethoven

July 23, noon. Mozart Piano concerto, Flute Quartet and Horn Quintet

July 23, 6pm Devienne, Mozart and Schubert Trout Quintet

and Crown, Longburton, DT9 5PD at 7.30pm, then Folke Golf Centre, Sherborne, DT9 5HR at 8.30pm.

Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens is hosting Shakespeare in the Garden: Twelfth Night at

Tuesday, June 27

6pm. abbotsburytickets.co.uk

Beaminster Festival at St

Mary’s Church:

11.30am Richard Gowers (organ). Music by Demessieux, Vaughan Williams, Bach, Mason and Sowerby. Tickets £12/£2U18.

2.30pm Stephen Moss, naturalist and author of Ten birds that changed the world. Tickets £12.

7.30pm Timothy Ridout (viola ) and Jonathan Ware (piano). Music by Clara and Robert Schumann and Franck. £22/U25 free. beaminsterfestival.com

TicketSource 0333 666 33

Bridport & District U3A will hear about The Art of Dishevelment (garden design) by Charles Chesshire, a garden designer whose work can be found as far afield as New York, Long Island, Saudi Arabia, London and France. He was curator of Burford Gardens and consultant to Sudeley Castle and Sezincote Gardenrestoring Lydney Park in Gloucestershire and the 90 acres of Morton Hall Gardens that are both frequently open to the public and been published widely in garden magazines. He moved to Dorset in 2018 where he set up a rare plant nursery in Symondsbury.

Bridport United Church Hall, East Street, 2pm. Free to members, non-members

Weds, June 28

£2. bridportu3a.org.uk

Beaminster Festival @ St Mary’s Church: 11.30am Ethan Loch (piano).

Finalist in BBC Young Musician. Music by Bach, Debussy and Chopin . Tickets £12/£2 U18. 7.30pm: Sacconi String Quartet and Morgan Szymanski (guitar). Music by Vivaldi, Haydn, Piazzolla, Boccherini. Tickets £22/U25 free. beaminsterfestival.com

Whasson? (and where’s it to?)

June 28 continued

TicketSource 0333 666 3366

The Uplyme and Lyme Regis Horticultural Society is hosting a talk on Edible Flowers and Leaves by Sian Davis of Incredible Edible Flowers. Uplyme Village Hall DT7 3UY. Members free, non-members £3. Doors open 7pm for refreshments, talk starts

TicketSource 0333 666 3366

The Anja Graefe Band and Jody and the Jerms are playing Clocktower Records Bridport.

The melodic blues and folk quartet play their own contemplative and bouncy blues with music that will stay in your head and leave you craving more. Influenced by Anja’s travels, this powerful band is one not to miss for lovers of music with soul. Tickets from Bridport Tourist Information Centre online or by phone or on 01308 424901.

7.30pm: Dominic Alldis and friends on guitar, double bass and saxophone. An evening of jazz and cabaret. Tickets £22/U25 free.

beaminsterfestival.com

Jen’s ice cream van. Kids free. Sherborne Digby Hall

Monthly Market will be held 10am-3pm at New Digby Hall nxt to the library DT9 3AA, with antiques, arts, crafts, food & more. Cafe, free entry parking and toilets.

7.30pm. ulrhs.wordpress.com

Beaminster Festival @ St Mary’s Church:

11.30am Ryan Corbett (classical accordion). Music from Bach to Albeniz.

Tickets £12/£2 U18.

2.30pm: Tom Fort, author of Rivets, trivets and galvanised buckets. Tickets £12/£2 U18

7.30pm: Yuanfan Yang (piano). Music by Mozart, Faure, Liszt , Debussy and improvisations. Tickets £22/£2 U18. beaminsterfestival.com

Moreton Village Hall has prize bingo – eyes down 7.30pm in

TicketSource 0333 666 3366 Beaminster Festival @ St Mary’s Church.

2.30pm: Alison Weir, author of Henry VIII The Heart and the Crown. Tickets £12/£2 U18. 8pm: at Beaminster School –Zoots, sounds of the 60s and 70s. Tickets £18 /£8 under 18. beaminsterfestival.com

TicketSource 0333 666 3366

Come and have tea in the garden from 2pm-5pm at the Old Rectory, Stock Gaylard, DT10 2BG.

Fabulous tea, stalls. Admission £5 including tea, children under 12 free, well behaved dogs on leads welcome. Free parking. All proceeds for Lydlinch Church Roof Fund.

aid of the Air Ambulance Beaminster Festival @ St Mary’s Church

11.30am: Faith i Branko Quartet – Serbian Roma jazz. Branko Ristic (violin), Faith Ristic (accordion) with tabor pipe, double bass and guitar. Tickets £12/U25 free.

Cerne Abbas village fete is on from 1.30pm-4.30pm at Cerne Abbas Brewery. Admission £3 Raffle in aid of St Mary’s Church and Cerne Abbas First School, bric-a-brac, books, plants, new to you, cakes, tombola, honey, prettiest rose, sideshows, Morris men, hot food, classic cars, school choir,

Crossways Youth & Community Centre in Old Farm Way, DT2 8TU is holding a coffee café and car boot sale with bacon butties and homemade cakes, books and bric-a-brac stalls 9am-noon. Tables or pitches £5: bookings@crosswaysycc.org

Open to traders from 8am. A Flowers and Home Crafts Exhibition will be held at St

Giles Church, Hooke DT8 3PA from 10am-4pm. To book email joye321@btinternet.com Refreshments. Entry by donation. No commercial sales.

An exhibition by Bridport Art Society called Summertide runs July 1-July 23 at Sou’ Sou’-West Arts Gallery, Symondsbury DT6 6HG, 10.30am-4.30pm daily. bridportart.com

Skittles night at Frampton Village Hall, starting with children’s skittles 6pm-7pm. BBQ, bar, raffle and adults

Sunday, July 2

individual and team skittles. The Friends of Greenhill Gardens (01305 768446, greenhill-gardens.co.uk) are holding live music every Sunday in July, 2pm-4pm featuring: July 2 Weymouth Ukeleleans, July 9 The Originals, (A Weldmar Hospice Event), July 16 The Dorset

Wrecks, July 23 Tony Lowe (A Weldmar Hospice Event), July 30 The Decadettes.

Beaminster Festival @ St Mary’s Church: 7.30pm: Gala Concert by Orpheus Sinfonia. Director/cello Thomas Carroll to include music by Mozart and Haydn. Tickets £25/£20 unreserved /£5 U18. beaminsterfestival.com

TicketSource 0333 666 3366

Frampton Village Fete, 1pm4.30pm. Between the village hall and Millennium Green. Stalls, games, BBQ, teas, bar, ice creams, duck races, raffles, classic cars and with dancing from The Studio Dorset and live music from Teresa De Roberto. £1 entry for adults. West Dorset Community

Weds, July 5

Orchestra and Local Vocals Community Choir present a summer concert at 7.30pm at

St John’s Church West Bay.

West Dorset Community Orchestra is based in Bridport and plays mainly classical and light music pieces. They will be playing a varied range of orchestral pieces to include music such as an Abba Medley,Country Dance by Gustav Holst, Marche Militaire by Franz Schubert, and a suite by Peter Warlock, along with an interesting programme of vocal music by Local Vocals. Admission is free with a retiring collection. There will be refreshments at the interval and a raffle.

Dorchester and District Gardening Club will hear All about Pelargoniums from speaker Brian Carlson – a retired schoolmaster who has been growing and showing the flowers for 40 years. Learn all about pelargoniums, frost tender plants (originally called geraniums), which are heat and drought tolerant and perfect for

containers to flower all summer long.

The meeting starts at 7.30pm (doors open 7.15pm) at St George’s Church Hall, High Street, Fordington, Dorchester DT1 1LB. Free entry for members, visitors £4 on the door. There is also a bring and buy stall and a draw, with tea/coffee and biscuits available after the talk. All welcome. Contact: Jane,

Thursday, July 6

secretary 01305 268523. Sherborne and District Gardeners’ Association will meet at 7.30pm at the Digby Hall, Hound Street, when Cecilla Bufton, chairman of Plant Heritage, will give a talk entitled Conserving the Diversity of Garden Plants. All welcome. Visitors £3. Further information from Richard

Town crier now mayor

Champion town crier

Alistair Chisholm has taken over from Janet Hewitt as Mayor of Dorchester. At a ceremony attended by the town’s great and good, Alistair donned the heavy chain of office, joking that it would not be easy to step into Janet’s shoes... particularly the ones she had on –underneath her ceremonial robes, the retiring mayor was wearing flipflops!

Land yourself a new position

Castletown’s awardwinning D-Day Centre on Portland has a rare chance for new volunteers.

The centre is an authentic recreation of a busy wartime dockyard, where thousands of American troops departed for the Nazi-occupied beaches of France.

There’s an impressive array of authentic Second World War artefacts and vehicles, including a full-size replica Spitfire, a Bofors 40mm gun and even a restored Sherman tank, plus interactive audio-visual displays, tank tours and a D-Day bunker.

Now open seven days a week for the peak summer season, extra volunteers are needed to welcome visitors from across the world.

Volunteers enjoy a fun range of activities from driving military vehicles, to coordinating special events, and giving tours of the tank and centre. Deputy manager Shaun Souster said: “Volunteering at the D-Day Centre is a fantastic opportunity for anyone with a keen interest in military history or local history in Portland.

On Saturday, June 17, the

Chris Loder MP

Your Member of Parliament for West Dorset

hello@chrisloder.co.uk 01305 818446

D-Day Centre will be welcoming a convoy of historic vehicles as part of Weymouth’s Armed Forces Celebration weekend. Contact Shaun on 01305 443 444 or email mark.baker@nemesis properties.co.uk

For the latest news and updates about the Castletown D-Day Centre, go to the Facebook page @castletownddaycentre

MP welcomes school investment at Marshwood, Thorncombe, and Chickerell

Marshwood CofE Primary Academy, Thorncombe St. Mary’s CofE Primary Academy, and Chickerell Primary Academy will all receive a share of over £450 million of investment to improve school buildings across the country.

Chris Loder, MP for West Dorset, has welcomed the news that three schools in the constituency are to benefit from the School Improvement Fund.

The Department for Education’s School Improvement Fund will benefit 1,033 projects at 859 academies, sixthform colleges and voluntary aided schools. In December last year and after much lobbying by Mr Loder, The Gryphon School and Budmouth Academy in Chickerell were selected as

beneficiaries of the first tranche of the School Improvement Fund.

Commenting on the recent funding allocations, Mr Loder said: “This is excellent news for three of our primary schools in West Dorset. This funding will help to improve school buildings at each site, helping to provide a high-quality learning environment for students.”

Mr Loder continued: “I understand some of our schools in the constituency are in need of improvements. This funding will make sure that responsible bodies can plan ahead and get projects started, such as replacing roofs, boilers and windows.” n

VOLUNTEERS WANTED: The Castletown D-Day Centre on Portland is looking for new volunteers

NEW MAYOR: Alistair Chisholm

Giant cover-up over cheese package

Cheesed-off residents say the Cerne Abbas Giant has been ‘castrated’ and made ‘non-binary’ on a dairy company’s labelling.

But the Oxford Cheese Company say they were left between a Roquefort and a hard place after a shopper was shocked by the chopper on its Cerne Abbas Man vintage cheddar.

The big cheeses at the firm insist they have not lopped off the Giant’s todger, but instead, given him a pair of trousers to wear in one supermarket –his member remains proudly on display in other stores, apparently. Villagers, however, are less than impressed.

Vic Irvine, head brewer at Cerne Abbas Brewery, our giant here and defacing him like this is like throwing paint over

UNDER WRAPS:

The Cerne Giant has been censored ...by a cheese. Above, Dorchester Mayor Alistair Chisholm paid tribute to the Giant’s ‘magnificent’ member

Nelson’s Column. It is clearly a binary giant who has a large phallus. It’s that simple.

“If you don’t like it, don’t use our giant. The whole thing makes me really cross, I’m incandescent with rage.”

Dorchester’s Mayor Alistair Chisholm said: “That’s just wrong. The whole point is that he is depicted the way he is, which is what makes people come to see him. “It makes a mockery of it. It’s like filling in Durdle Door and making it a solid block of rock.

“His member is what makes him magnificent. “It would just be plain wrong to make him amorphous.

“The whole point is that it provokes a reaction. Remove his member and he is just a white line on the hillside.”

MONDAY: 7pm

CROSSWAYS

Crossways Youth & Community Centre, Old Farm Way DT2 8TU

Julie 07871 821928

TUESDAY: 7pm

DORCHESTER

The Old Salvation Army Hall, Durngate Street DT1 1NA (google The Pointe)

Tracie 07827 710552

TUESDAY: 5.30pm & 7pm

WEDNESDAY: 9am &10.30am

WAREHAM

Masonic Hall, Howards Lane

BH20 4HU

Jackie 07715 438810

slimmingworld.co.uk

THURSDAY: 7pm

PUDDLETOWN

Puddletown Village Hall, High Street DT2 8FZ

Call/text Julie 07871 821928

FRIDAY 9.30am & 11am

SATURDAY: 9.30am

DORCHESTER

Dorchester Youth & Community Centre, Kings Road, DT1 1NJ

Sam 07814 619200

Voucher fund help

Applications for supermarket vouchers as part of the Household Support Fund (HSF) are open, and residents who meet eligibility criteria can expect to receive them in 6-8 weeks. Residents should apply at dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/ household-support-fund. For help with the form ring 01305 221000.

Blue Flag award

Weymouth beach has scooped a Blue Flag for its cleanliness. Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy says the beach met the high standard for the Blue Flag and Seaside Award. The Blue Flag is presented to well-managed beaches with water quality defined as ‘excellent’ under the EU Bathing Water Directive and environmental education programmes.

Bee a honey and help us grow

A group of Bridport area conservationists are abuzz with enthusiasm for their latest project – helping to encourage the humble bumble.

Chairman Alison Little, Helen Bolter-Griffin, Gareth Flux, Nicole Collins, Jo Cullis, Emma Roberts and Jo Clarke want to win the area awards for bee-friendly practices. They launched Bee Friendly Bridport at the town’s Charter Fair in May, chatting to scores of people about the many ways they can help our little stripy friends. Their first aim is to win accreditation from the Bee Friendly Trust and they have appealed to the town council to help them:

● Plant up roundabouts

● Create a bee friendly school

● Make a bee friendly (bus)

station

● Put up homes for wildlife

● Share seeds

● Welcome wildlife at home

● Enjoy a bee friendly pub

● Host a bee themed event The new group was established by the team at The Dorset Bee and the Symondsbury School Bee Club. They are raising awareness of the importance of all pollinators and the risks to them of habitat loss. This includes the actions that individuals, groups and organisations can take to support pollinators, and how these actions can have a positive effect on the natural ecosystems and biodiversity within Bridport and its surrounding area. Alison said: “We can all help pollinators to thrive and we

know that a lot of fantastic projects are already underway in this area, such as Symondsbury School Bee Club, Bee Hives at the Community Orchard and the Community Shed seed and plant swaps to name just a few. “The Bee Friendly Trust awards ‘Bee Friendly Town’ status each year to villages,

AWARD-WINNING HOLIDAY COTTAGES NEAR DORCHESTER

Slate roofs, exposed wooden beams. crisp, white sheets, manicured grounds, ancient woodland, indoor pool and hot tubs

Welcome to the award-winning Greenwood Grange, a collection of 17 luxury stone-built self-catering holiday cottages deep in Hardy Country in Bockhampton

Put on your walking boots and take a look around!

Pupils from Symondsbury School distribute Bee Friendly Bridport leaflets at Bridport Charter Fair

pollinators

towns and cities which have demonstrated a commitment to be more bee friendly.

“It would be amazing for Bridport to receive one of these accolades and we aim to be able to enter the town for an award in 2024 to put Bridport on the map as a pollinator friendly place.”

She added: “Everybody can get involved, by growing more flowers, leaving areas to grow wild, cutting grass less often, leaving insect nests undisturbed, and trying to reduce the use of pesticides.” For information about growing pollinator friendly plants and flowers, how to build bug hotels and how to do a pollinator survey go to beefriendlybridport.org or email info@beefriendlybridport.org

Extra train services

Great Western Railway (GWR) is introducing new services on its Castle Cary to Weymouth line, bringing in a regular, two-hourly service in the week. There’s also a new yearround Weymouth to Westbury service, running Monday to Thursday, to meet passenger demands for a later return journey. Throughout the summer, there’s also two more direct Saturday services: 0809 from Gloucester and 0845 from Swindon. Extra return services from Weymouth are 1845 to Bristol Temple Meads and 1940 to Swindon.

GWR is retiming BristolWeymouth services into a regular two-hourly pattern. Detailed service changes are now online gwr.com/ travel-information

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Slave owner plaque removed from church

A ‘repugnant’ memorial to an 18th century slave owner has been removed from a Dorchester church.

The plaque at St Peter’s Church commemorated plantation owner John Gordon’s part in violently suppressing a slave uprising in Jamaica in 1760. The plaque – which used outdated and racially offensive language – praised Gordon for his ‘bravery’ and ‘humanity’ after almost 500 slaves were murdered by colonial forces during ‘Tacky’s War’.

Ruth Arlow, diocese chancellor, said: “The monument celebrated in language of acclamation the violent quelling of a rebellion by enslaved people against a status that is now universally acknowledged as morally repugnant and contrary to Christian doctrine. Its

continued presence in the building seemed to imply the continued support, or at least toleration and acceptance, of discrimination and oppression and was inconsistent with the message of the universality of God’s love which the community of St Peter’s sought to share.” Before the plaque was removed, it was partially

covered by a laminated sign since 2020 that read: “This memorial is of its time. Using language and commemorating actions which are totally unacceptable to us today. Its future is under active consideration.”

Penny Sayer, Archdeacon of Sherborne, said: “Local people were asking if it was

appropriate to have such a monument in a church, or is it more appropriate to have it somewhere else.

“It is really important that the story is told, particularly because it mentions Tacky’s revolt which represents hidden voices, people whose stories are not often told. “There were very careful steps taken by the church to ensure the monument was researched and the right process followed.”

Gordon was a trained lawyer from Sutherland in Scotland who owned around 400 slaves in Jamaica. He died in 1774, aged 46, in Dorchester while travelling to Falmouth on his way back to the Caribbean.

The plaque commemorating Gordon is now in storage at Dorset Museum and is available to view upon request.

Churchwarden Val Potter, left, and Dorset Museum’s acting director Elizabeth Selby with the plaque Picture: GEOFF MOORE

All the jingle ladies at Lyme Morris

The Lyme Morris group has welcomed three women dancers for the first time in its history.

Following a relaunch and several successful recruitment events, five new dancers have joined up.

Lyme Morris Squire Peter Morton said: “We have had a very successful and fun time introducing new members especially the girls into the side. They have given us a new look and different dimension. “We are moving forward with new dances and would relish more people, girls and lads, locally to come and give Morris dancing a try. It’s so much fun.”

The revitalised side’s first major performance was at the recent joint Morris organisations’ Day of Dance in Exeter. This was followed by a special performance at the Lyme Regis Town Mill in

collaboration with Lyme Morris’ new sponsor Lyme Regis Brewery.

New recruit Emma Ellynn has always enjoyed watching Morris dancing so attended a Lyme Morris recruitment event last year. Since joining the side, Emma said she has found there are many benefits: “The dancing requires concentration and focus and is a great way to de-stress at the end of the day.

“It uses coordination, balance, flexibility and strength. It’s also good for stamina as some of it

can be quite high-energy. In fact, it is a really enjoyable workout that is fun and very social.”

Vickie Stickler’s interest in Morris dance came from her studies of the history and folklore of Britain.

“Morris dancing is such an integral part of the rural identity of our country,” she said. “Learning the dances makes you feel connected to that history. In true Lyme Regis style though, we add our own twist to the classics and one of

Concerts and talks at girls’ school

A rich mixture of concerts and talks will be held at Hanford School in Child Okeford, near Blandford, from June 19-25, as part of their Festival of Performing and Creative Arts.

On Monday, June 19 Spanishborn British soprano Alexandra Lowe will perform. She has made an indelible impression on critics and audiences, from her exquisite Dafne (Apollo e Dafne) to her tour-de-force Pierrot Lunaire at Covent Garden. This season marks her first since graduating from the prestigious Jette Parker Young Artist Progamme at the Royal Opera House.

On Tuesday, June 20 Hal Cazalet’s ‘Play on Words’ will honour his step greatgrandfather PG Wodehouse, alongside Jerome Kern, Gershwin, Alan Jay Lerner,

Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Maury Yeston, Noël Coward, Stephen Sondheim, Hal Cazalet, Dudley Moore, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Alan Ayckbourn, and many more.

On Wednesday, June 21 violinist Shana Douglas is in concert with Julian Gallant. Violinist Shana has been subleader in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for ten years. Julian has travelled the world with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Oxford Philomusica, Moscow Philharmonic, City of London Sinfonia, and Kiev Chamber Orchestra.

Saturday, June 24 there’s An Evening with Larry Lamb –one of Britain’s most popular and accomplished stage and screen actors. He has starred in numerous TV series, playing

Mick Shipman in BBC’s Gavin & Stacey and Archie Mitchell in EastEnders. Larry’s talk, in conversation with a Dorset friend, is loosely entitled ‘Don’t Put Your Daughter On The Stage, Mrs Worthington’ and it promises to be a wonderful evening, full of fun and laughter in wonderful company.

Tickets from £10-£20 from hanfordschool.co.uk Drinks are served from 6.30pm and the events will run from 7pm- 8pm.

On Sunday, June 26 Hanford’s gardens will be open as part of the National Gardens Scheme 2pm-5pm, with music from the Blackmore Vale Brass Band, tea, cake and magic by the Great Baldini.

Tickets from the National Garden Scheme website.

my favourite dances is to Queen’s legendary We Will Rock You.”

Dancer Jennifer Guest was also a fan of Morris dancing before joining the side. She said: “I get such a buzz from dancing in public. There is great camaraderie in the group and it is so much fun.”

You can see Lyme Morris performing regularly on the Lyme Regis seafront or at various festivals in Dorset and Devon. Lyme Morris’ annual day of dance will be taking place on Saturday, July 15 when Morris sides from across the South West and beyond will be descending on Lyme Regis to perform.

Lyme Morris encourages new dancers to join this fun and social side. Musicians are also urgently needed to help the group perform. For more information contact Peter at petemorton56@googlemail.com

Flood meet at Sydling

West Dorset’s MP Chris Loder met villagers and Environment Agency and Wessex Water staff to address flooding at Sydling St Nicholas.

The village is especially prone to groundwater flooding, particularly as it is in a valley with chalk streams nearby, and suffered significant flooding earlier this year. Wessex Water says improvements to the village’s sewer pipeline are scheduled in the next six months. The Environment Agency is also planning flood resilience schemes in Sydling.

Market car boot windfall for community groups

Organisations awarded money by Dorchester Market Car Boot Fund gathered for a celebration tea.

Pre-school clubs, sports clubs, youth projects, projects for people with disabilities or long-term health related issues and projects tackling social isolation were among those that benefitted from more than £24,000 raised by sellers’ fees at the weekly bargain hunt.

Councillor Molly Rennie said: “Many people don’t realise that the money collected from stall holders on a Sunday goes directly back to their local

community, so by coming and selling your stuff at the car boot, you not only have the chance for a good clear out and to make some money yourself, but you will be helping support some wonderful projects in the town.”

Successful organisations

included HomeStart West Dorset, Dorchester and District U3A, Dorchester Arts, Dorchester Disabled Club, Freewheelers Emergency Medical Couriers and Dorchester Youth and Community Centre n Other organisations who also benefitted from the funding include: Central

Dorchester Scout Group, Crossways and Moreton Scout Group, Dorchester

Almshouses Social Group, Dorchester Child Contact Centre, Dorchester

Community Plays Association, Dorchester Family Support, Dorchester Opportunity Group. Dorchester Poverty Action, Dorset Blind Association, Dorset Youth Dance, Lions Club of Dorchester and District, Manor Park CE First School PTA, Mid Dorset Mencap Group, Relate Dorset and South Wiltshire, Ridgeway Community Radio (T/A Keep 106) and The Grove Preschool. The 2023 grant programme will be open for applications in October.

BOOT-IFUL: Recipients with their certificates

School welcomes ‘good’ Ofsted report

Bridport Primary School is a ‘happy and welcoming place’ and has been rated ‘good’ after a recent Ofsted inspection.

The 330-strong school was praised for its inclusivity. Inspectors said staff have ‘high expectations for pupils, including those with special educational needs or disabilities’.

The school was part of Minerva Learning Trust which has merged with Wimborne Academy Trust to form Initio Learning Trust.

Headteacher Michaela Kite

CHEERS:

said: “It is some time since the last inspection and this report recognises the considerable

effort and hard work that has gone into making the school what it is now. The inspection was robust but fair; we believe inspectors gained a good understanding of what it means to be a member of the Bridport Primary School community. It was heartening to read how our pupils are ‘polite and considerate towards each

other. We are especially proud that pupils’ personal, social and emotional development is an ‘emerging strength’. “Our curriculum was also praised, and inspectors noted how our children enjoy reading. We are proud of the extra-curricular activities we offer, and the report praised how pupils take on responsibilities and make a genuine difference to school life. There will always be areas to develop, and we are all working hard to ensure the school keeps improving.”

Vearse Farm homes scheme changes discussed

Planning chiefs will discuss proposed changes to the controversial Foundry Lea housing development in Bridport on June 15 following an unexplained delay.

Dorset Council planning committee members were due to decide if three drainage ponds at

the site could be relocated last month before the item was removed from the agenda at the last minute.

Committee chairman Cllr David Shortell said the discussion had been delayed for ‘technical reasons’. So far, the council has not explained the cause of the

delay. Council paperwork showed members were due to decide if one pond on the 760home estate could be reduced in size, while another is moved further north and the third one is re-shaped. Members were told if changes to the ponds were approved, they might delegate

final approval for the overall scheme to officers, allowing the main building work to begin. Proposals for the 43-hectare site off the A35 include 94 per cent houses and six per cent flats. Some 70 per cent will be three or four-bedroom homes and 302 of them will be ‘affordable’.

Pupils and staff at Bridport Primary School

Trefoil group’s 80th anniversary

Dorchester’s Trefoil organisation, part of the girl guiding group, has celebrated its 80th anniversary.

Members have been out litter picking, planting bulbs and picnicking among other activities to earn their 80th anniversary badge.

Exercise on village green

Broadwindsor’s revamped village green has been enhanced by three new pieces of adult exercise equipment.

The air skier, double air walker and rider have been installed at Bernards’ Place, in the heart of the village.

They complement challenging new play equipment and an oak-

framed shelter which was put in last year by the Comrades Hall Committee after a major fundraising campaign to transform the village green.

Two pieces of equipment were funded by Magna Housing Association and Bridport Round Table. Ross Heaver, from Bridport Round Table, was brought up in the village.

His father Malcolm led a team of volunteers who put together the shelter on the green. Ross said: “Having grown up in the village it’s amazing to see such a high level of support from the local community, businesses and charities alike. Bernards’ Place is such an amazing spot for all to enjoy.”

A spokesperson for the group said: “We were recently celebrating some of our local evening section, The Hardy Perennials, renewing their guide promise as members of Trefoil. Our county president Shirley Williams and county chair Sarah Murray joined us for the event and Shirley presented our red Trefoil Promise badges to Linda Scott, our former division commissioner and leader of the 1st Dorchester Guides.”

IN SHAPE: Ross Heaver and Anthony Claiden from Bridport Round Table with Suzy Edgerley, Morgan Napier, Malcolm Heaver, Sophie Sinton Chris Edgerley, Jill Maguire and Alice Bag

Twinners up, up & away

Beaminster marked 45 years of twinning with the French town of Saint-James with a visit led by town council chairman Craig Monks, accompanied by the Twinning Group including founder member Margaret Greenham, now in her 80s.

The group were unexpectedly treated to a flight over the Mont Saint Michel in

two four-seater planes. Mr Monks said: “The exhilarating experience was heightened when I took control of the aircraft, much to the amusement and concern of my fellow passengers, David and Christophe. The breathtaking views of Mont Saint Michel from above left an indelible mark on our memories.”

Join our choir

A popular, long-established Dorchester men’s choir is looking for new members. The Casterbridge Male Voice Choir was founded during the Second World War, and has continued to delight audiences. This friendly choir enjoy singing a wide range of music from songs from the shows, to traditional male voice choir songs and current popular pieces. They rehearse at St Mary’s Church Hall, Edward Road, Dorchester DT1 2HJ, every Wednesday at 7.15pm. casterbridgemalevoicechoir.org.uk or Jim Burt on 01305 784114.

DORSET

Mobile

ENTENTE: Founding members of twinning Margaret and Tony Greenham with Beaminster chairman Craig Monks and St James Mayor David Juquin and, right, Craig, David and Christophe Duhamel of St James Council

Menin Gate makeover with Portland

By Geoff Moore Award-winning travel writer thetraveltrunk.net

Portland stone is to play an important role in one of Flanders’ most iconic memorials to the fallen of the First World War. After 100 years of battling the elements, the Menin Gate in Ypres is to receive a makeover. The monument is being shrouded in scaffolding as part of a two-year project to restore it.

A daily Last Post ceremony is held every evening in this Belgium town.

At 8pm every night the traffic is halted and the last post ceremony is normally played under the middle of the arch. But now the ceremony has been moved to just in front of the East entrance.

Overseeing this whole building work project on behalf of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is Sarah Camerlynck, who has spent the last two years inspecting the building, compiling reports for the architects and the construction teams working on the project. Some parts of the building have weathered well, but where damage has been done it will need to be restored or replaced and this is where calls will be made on the Portland Stone.

The prized precious name panels are made from Portland Stone and will certainly be one area that will also be further inspected in fine detail now the scaffold is up.

Here 54,586 names of the fallen without any known grave are inscribed. Weathering may have reduced the legibility of so many names carefully inscribed, which is where letter cutting masons will attempt to re-cut them in situ.

Sarah Camerlynck said:

“All the name panels are of Portland Stone and we assess each panel. We can even feel the stone to test where there is any

damage. In general, the panels are in quite good condition, however we may have to do small restorations and interventions.”

Nearby at Arras, just over the border in France, is a specialist facility run by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).

Across the world the CWGC looks after 23,000 cemeteries or war memorials including here

at Navy Cemetery at Portland.

Portland company Albion Stone has been supplying gravestone blanks of Portland Stone to the CWGC for many years. Now the stone is hewn from a mine and not an open style quarry. The CWGC requires around 2,000 headstones each year and the policy is to reuse and re-carve them if possible.

Gareth Hardware from the

NEVER FORGET: The Last Post ceremony held daily at Menin Gate which is currently undergoing a makeover with Portland Stone Pictures: GEOFF MOORE/thetraveltrunk.net

MAKEOVER: Polishing a gravestone at Albion Stone and, above, a computer engraving machine at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and, right, Sarah Camerlynck

Stone

facility at Arras said:

“Portland Stone has been very important to us and has been for the last 100 years.

“We are conserving the stone rather than just replacing degraded stones, which means we are re-engraving many stones in situ.

“However, we still require around 4,000 headstones each year.

“Rather that than some 22,000 that we just replaced with any damage many years before.”

During the First World War three battles were fought in Arras. The last major conflict was Passchendaele.

The memorial site of the Menin Gate was chosen because of the many thousands of soldiers who would have passed through on their way to the battlefields in this sector called the Ypres Salient or bulge.

It commemorates casualties from the military forces of Australia, Canada, India, South Africa and the United Kingdom who died.

The Ypres memorial bears the names of more than 54,000 officers and men whose graves are not known.

Designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield the memorial was unveiled by Lord Plumer on July 24, 1927.

n The trip was hosted by Visit Flanders.

I stayed at the Albion Hotel in Ypres albionhotel.be/en

Head for heights: Excellent rating

By Miranda Robertson miranda@westdorsetmag.co.uk

A proud Portlander whose teaching career has seen him travel around the south in various posts is now enjoying his first headship – and just a few months in, his school has been rated excellent across the board.

David Newberry, 51, took up the reins at Dorchester’s Sunninghill Prep in September after a 20-year career in teaching which started in state primaries.

He moved back to Dorset with wife Tammy, who deals with marketing and admin at the school, and within a few months the school scored ‘excellent’ ratings from the Independent Schools Inspectorate for its quality of education in both academic and personal development areas.

He said: “We are so proud of our kids – they are lovely. Music is really, really strong here – 85 per cent of the kids are learning to play an instrument. There’s a strong correlation between learning to play music and academic success. So we are keen to get as many of them as possible into music. It’s relaxing and

calming and gives them the experience of performing in front of people, from performing to a few parents in a little room and building their confidence to public

speaking competitions.”

In recent Lamda (drama) exams 76 per cent of pupils achieved a distinction. Beyond performing arts there’s an enrichment programme

with all sorts of activities. On a trip to the River Wye pupils canoed 15km, which took them eight hours, and cooked all their own food. They have buddied up with nearby care home residents and told their stories – one pupil was very impressed by the fact his buddy, in her 80s, used to be a police officer. Their next project is to build an electric car, and they hope to rig up a solar panel to keep it charged. There are no SATs here –instead there are progress tests, where ability is measured alongside potential to spot any mismatch. Lack of progress could mean they aren’t working hard but equally could flag up dyslexia or other difficulties. In reverse a mismatch could mean a child is working much, much harder to achieve the same result, doing hours of work every night. “That’s not good either,” said David. “The tests show us what we need to do to help each individual child.”

Sunninghill’s building on South Walks Road holds a great deal of significance in Dorchester’s history. It was built in 1895 for

Show off your green fingers in gardens contest

The Melplash Agricultural Society is once again searching for the best gardens and allotment in the area. Every type and size of garden can be entered. There are prizes for the best large, medium, small garden and best allotment as well as a prize for the overall winner. The only stipulation is that the garden is designed and

made by the entrant. If part-time help is employed it should be for no more than eight hours per week. The competition is open to all residents within a 12-mile radius of Melplash church and is kindly sponsored by Bridport- based William James & Co and Chedington Compost. There is no entry fee.

Applications forms are available to download from melplashshow.co.uk

But be quick – entries close on June 12. Judging takes place over two days on June 20 and 21 and the winners of each category will be presented with their cups and prizes at the Melplash Agricultural Show on Thursday, August 24.

BRIGHT FUTURE: David and Tammy Newberry at Dorchester’s Sunninghill Prep School

for school after new head takes over

Alfred Pope, of the brewing dynasty, and called Fourpenny House –a pint of ale cost fourpence at the time. It provided a fabulous playground for his 15 children and then grandchildren until being used as a convent, St Genevieve’s, from the 60s. The school was founded in 1939, and occupied premises in Herringston Road until moving to Fourpenny House in 1997. There are still nods to the Popes in the features of the building, such as the initials AP on the fireplace in the head’s study. But now the site also hosts numerous classrooms for its 130 pupils, who range

in age from two years nine months to 13. The nursery has a beautiful secure outdoor area for learning, there’s a swimming pool for the summer months and lots of games areas.

David said: “Along with excellent academic results, Sunninghill prides itself on being a supportive and nurturing school with excellent pastoral care and this was recognised by the

inspectors. They commented that ‘pupils demonstrate high levels of self-confidence, selfesteem, self-awareness and perseverance’, pupils were ‘decision makers’ and ‘pupils display a strong contribution to others, embracing the many opportunities to take responsibility to others’. “When I got here, the school’s strapline was that it’s a hidden gem. We think it shouldn’t be hidden any more!”

262306.

HAPPY DAYS: Pupils blossom at Sunninghill Prep

Get on board for land train’s new Esplanade route

The Weymouth Land Train is now offering a second route along the Esplanade. The train has been granted permission to run from opposite The Gloucester to the Sealife Centre from 9am to 10.30am and from 4.15pm to 6.15pm until the end of August.

The main route will still run from the harbour every 30 minutes between 11am and 3pm daily.

The routes do not run concurrently as there is only one land train. Train owner Tony Poole said: “This useful transport link is a favourite with

tired families returning from Weymouth beach to the car parks at Lodmoor and those visiting the Sealife Centre.

“The (new) Yellow route will operate in the mornings and afternoons only on the Esplanade. The Land Train will be using HVO Fuel – Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil, a synthetic diesel alternative that is made from completely renewable raw materials. “We are excited about the new route and providing a link from the Lodmoor car parks to the beach and town centre.”

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By Miranda Robertson miranda@westdorsetmag.co.uk

An underground bunker decommissioned 67 years ago has come back to life as a quirky holiday home.

Sykes Cottages, which manages the Transmitter Bunker, say the unusual pad, set in a hillside at Ringstead looking over the sea, is already fully booked for the summer. Where once it would have been kitted out with radar equipment, it now has an open-plan living and dining room, kitchen, a twin bedroom, a bunk bedroom and a shower room.

A far cry from its once spartan wartime facilities, the bunker now has underfloor heating, a smart TV, wifi and modern kitchen appliances including a dishwasher.

But while it has been transformed, nods have been paid to its previous life, with the concrete walls kept bare throughout and exposed pipes and lighting visible. The old bunker was built in 1941 to warn of Hitler’s bombers in the Second World War. It was one of the first military radar bases to reach operational status in the UK.

The RAF radar base was part of Winston Churchill’s ‘chain home’ early-warning system of bunkers along the south coast used to track the Luftwaffe’s movements. Later it was repurposed as a rotor station to identify Russian bombers during the Cold War. It was last used in 1956. After it was decommissioned, it was left as a grassy mound hidden from view by

UNDERGROUND:

Underground bunker is an ideal place to bunk off

overgrown vines and grass.

The architect, Jonathan Plant of London-based firm Corstorphine & Wright, has made it look as if the rock has been blasted to reveal the little holiday home and provide exceptional views over the bay.

He said: “It became clear very quickly, that if we retain as much of the structure and ‘feel’ of the space, we could easily tell the story of the bunker’s incredible place in history in defending the UK during the Second World War.

“It is imperative that when you stay in the bunker, you are aware that you are

staying in a bunker and that you are experiencing history.”

Jonathan, was careful to retain as many of its original features as possible, including its original concrete walls, exposed pipes, and lighting, to commemorate its historical significance. Jonathan did, however, decide to add a ‘blast opening’ to introduce natural light into the otherwise subterranean structure rather than a simple cut out to play on the history of the bunker. Thankfully the bunker never did receive any direct hits from enemy fire to cause such an opening.

The site belongs to dairy farmer The Hon John Russell, 72, whose family have owned the plot for more than 400 years. Work has already started on a second bunker on Mr Russell’s land, which is much bigger but will have a similar look and feel. The Transmitter Bunker sleeps up to four guests and two well-behaved dogs.

A spokesman for Sykes Cottages said: “You can practically feel the history emanating from every part of the property with original features throughout.

“The renovation has had regard for the fact that the bunker is listed Grade II, with the original concrete walls and other features retained.”

n To book a stay at The Transmitter Bunker, available with Dream Cottages as part of Sykes Holiday Cottages, visit sykescottages.co.uk

Prices start from £702 for two nights.

GOING

The Transmitter Bunker at Ringstead, near Weymouth, has been completely refurbished

hundreds of roses in bloom

The perfect time to choose perfect rose for your garden

Gates returned to their former glory

Grants and fundraising of more than £12,000 have seen an imposing set of 19th century gates to the entrance of Holnest Church and churchyard returned to their former glory. The gates to the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary are back in position, following extensive repairs and restoration by experts in the field of ironwork repairs at Newton Forge, Sturminster Newton. The small church, which has origins in the 13th century, is Grade 1 listed. It has many unique architectural features. It is set back from the busy A352 Sherborne to Dorchester road and surrounded by its

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churchyard, a site of nature conservation interest. At the church entrance, between two stone pillars, hang a pair of imposing wrought iron gates erected around 1872. After a century and a half of exposure to all wind and weathers, the gates were rapidly becoming unsafe. They had numerous cracks; pieces had broken off that required refixing and they were in a poor decorative state.

Holnest Parochial Church Council (PCC) procured a generous grant from the Ironmongers’ Company of £5,676 and another from the Friends of Holnest Church, of £2,016, added to £4,800 previously set aside.

£5k grants for community groups

Grants of up to £5,000 are available for projects that bring communities across Dorset together. If you’re looking to kickstart a new project that will make a difference for people in your community, round five of the Community and Culture Project Fund has now reopened.Not for profit groups who meet the funding criteria have until July 7 to apply. Details can be found at dorsetcouncil.gov.uk

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LOOKING SMART: The refurbished gates at Holnest Church

I’m not over the hill just yet says calendar snapper Doug

A photographer who discovered an amazing view of Colmers Hill after taking some trees down at his new home has now been producing calendars of it for a decade.

Doug Chalk, who has a distinctive stall at Bridport Market every Wednesday and Saturday, has just launched his 11th calendar, featuring seasonal images of the well-known hill from all angles. He said: “I have rightly been accused by some as being obsessed by that hill! “Well, not many people of 78 find something in life that they enjoy and that keeps them motivated, do they?”

Despite the cost of living increases, the calendar is still priced at £10, and is to be found at Doug’s red gazebo at the top of South Street.

The calendar won Artisan Market Trader 2023 at the

MAKE A DATE: Doug Chalk’s 2024 calendar featuring Colmer’s Hill

Bridport Business Awards. Doug said: “I was a freelance photographer back in the 80s, working mainly in black and white, won many competitions and had a lot of exhibitions in Wiltshire where I lived and worked.

“I didnt want to get into computers and digital so took a back seat (gave up) for about 12-15 years when we moved to Dorset 24 years ago.

“But I was struck by the beauty here and here I am, doing it all again, and loving it!”

Open day at steam centre

Sherborne Steam and Waterwheel Centre is holding an open day on Sunday, July 23 from 11.30am to 3.30pm. The waterwheel and Hindley steam engine will be in operation at the volunteer run site plus presentations and machinery displays. There is wheelchair access to displays but not to the toilet or visitors’ centre. Entry is by donation.

Nature on show

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition is coming to Dorset Museum from July 21 to October 29. The exhibition features exceptional images which capture fascinating animal behaviour, spectacular species, and the breathtaking diversity of the natural world.

There’s no stopping this wheelchair

Property lawyer Philip Hall is getting to grips with becoming a wheelchair warrior after being paralysed in a horseriding accident. Philip, who runs his own conveyancing business based in Poundbury, is learning a specially adapted form of the Korean martial art Hapkido at classes in Dorchester Prison. And when he’s not busy grappling with instructor Rick Lee’s fighting syllabus, Philip is making waves as a race-winning mariner with the charity Chesil Sailability.

Philip said: “I wanted to learn a self-defence form that really works and master Rick at the club has done a great job of adapting the syllabus for people in wheelchairs. “There’s another wheelchair user at the club who was once mugged at knifepoint and we work together.

“From what I understand master Rick looked at the syllabus (of Hapkido), got himself a wheelchair and, with experienced colleagues, set about trying to match techniques

to how they can be delivered from a wheelchair.”

Philip lost the use of his legs in a riding accident in 1992, after his horse –who was “feeling a bit feisty” – bucked him off and he broke his back. Philip spent six months in the spinal unit and in rehab at Odstock Hospital (now Salisbury District).

“I’m quite lucky in that it was my back, and not my neck, that was broken,” reflects Phil. “The accident left me paraplegic, not quadriplegic. I’ve always

said you can mope about things that have gone wrong in life, blame the world and be miserable, or you can accept what’s happened and deal with it.”

Fortunately, Philip has not had to put his martial arts training to use in real-life – although it has got him into one slightly sticky situation.

He explained: “I got locked in Dorchester Prison grounds once because the groundskeeper there didn’t realise I was a wheelchair user and needed extra time

to get into my vehicle and go, so he just locked the gate and left. I had to honk my horn and flash my lights to get him to come back before he disappeared.”

Philip is now a blue belt, brown tab – three grades off black belt – and has been studying Hapkido for the last five years.

Master Rick Lee, who has written a book called The Way of the Wheelchair Warrior, said: “The wheelchair syllabus we use for Hapkido was designed by myself and one of my long-term Third

Twenty set to be plenty in plenty more locations

Bridport and Wimborne town centres are set to become 20mph zones.

Dorset Council’s 20mph panel group has also approved applications to reduce speed limits in Langton Matravers, Pimperne and Winfrith Newburgh.

The 20mph applications are now being assessed for funding before going through a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) public consultation where residents can give their

feedback. The council is investigating an application to make Poundbury a 20mph zone. Fifehead Magdalen has paused its application to consider an alternative application for a Speed Indicator Device, and Fontmell Magna did not meet the required criteria to apply. All applicants so far have been notified of the panel group’s decisions.

Councillor Ray Bryan, portfolio

holder for highways, travel and environment, said: “This initiative is in response to community concerns about road safety and healthy areas in towns and villages.

“We are committed to working with local towns and parishes to promote road safety. Limiting speeds to 20mph where people walk, live and play is one way people can benefit from streets that are healthier and safer.”

ACTION MAN: Philip Hall learning Hapkido with Rick Lee and, right, with Chesil Sailability partner Tom Hepburn. Opposite page: Racing the Hansa 303 yachts

warrior’s sporting ambitions

Dan black belt students Hugh GangeHarris, who now uses a wheelchair after a cycling accident.

“It is almost a pure adaption of our ablebodied syllabus with many small adjustments and only a few major replacements and was aimed at our classes being all inclusive.

“Obviously, no footwork is required by a wheelchair user, so hand grappling techniques are the focus here.

“However, the wheelchair user has one major advantage over able bodied practitioners – that is a low centre of gravity

which generates a great deal more power, and something able bodied students try to achieve by using a lower bodily stance.”

When Philip is not challenging himself – and others – at Hapkido class he spends a lot of time on the water with the charity Chesil Sailability. Philip and his sailing partner Tom Hepburn race in a two-person Hansa 303 vessel and have won three major UK championships

– The National Championships on Carsington Waters in Derbyshire, The Royal Yachting Association

Sailability Multiclass on Rutland Waters, and the National Series of one-day Traveller Trophy events throughout the country. Philip said: “Now Tom and I are bringing on new sailors from Chesil Sailability to get involved in racing and they are getting bitten by the racing bug. It’s great fun meeting up with the familiar competitors at events around the country. “They’re friends on the shore but they’re our archrivals out on the water.”

Extra beds on way to hospital

Dorset County Hospital’s A&E and critical care units are set to share in the government’s £20bn fund –with a new ED increasing beds from 64 to 72 from 2025.

The new critical care unit will have space for 24 beds. Both units are to be built on part of the site of the former Damers School. Initial work is already underway.

Welcoming the news, West Dorset MP Chris Loder said: “Around 300,000 people across the west of Dorset receive emergency and planned care at the current site, but increased demand and population is putting pressure on services.”

Make

Patients who are unexpectedly admitted to hospital with no belongings will now receive a free comfort bag, thanks to the Friends of Dorset County Hospital (DCH).

The charity has donated bags full of essential toiletries for patients who have been admitted to the Emergency Department and need to be transferred to a ward. Items include toothpaste and toothbrush, deodorant, wash cloth, tissues, wipes, comb/hairbrush, shower gel, shaving kit and pen.

Annette Kent, vice-chair of the Friends, said: “We

hope these bags make life a little easier for patients and their families during what is often a very stressful time.”

The Friends of Dorset County Hospital raises money to help provide comfort and help to patients, their relatives and friends.

IN THE BAG:

Annette Kent, centre, and Friends treasurer Paul Kent, second from right present the comfort bags to DCH staff

Annette added: “The charity has initially donated 50 bags and we have another 50 ready to restock. ” If you would like to support the Friends of DCH, you can donate online. You can also email friends@dchft.nhs.uk or call 01305 255896.

Poverty group so grateful for help

Dorchester Poverty Action is giving its thanks to everyone who supports the charity.

Toilet twinning school is flushed with £3k fund

West Dorset MP Chris Loder praised pupils from St Osmund’s C of E Middle School in Dorchester for raising almost £3,000 for the Toilet Twinning charity which helps provide safe toilets, clean water, and hygiene training for impoverished communities.

Mr Loder said: “Pupils at St Osmund’s have managed to ‘twin’ 49 of their school’s toilets, and I am honoured to ‘twin’ the 50th for them – a loo in the Houses of Parliament!”

Mr Loder was presented with a Toilet Twinning certificate to be displayed at a Westminster loo.

A spokesperson for the group said it has been an ‘incredibly busy’ year, with the number of grants for people in the DT1 and DT2 postcode areas rising by almost 50 per cent in just 12 months.

This year 208 grants were given to families and individuals compared to 141 last year. This included washing machines, nursery equipment, furniture for a family escaping an abusive situation and a young care leaver, car repairs to get to

work, flooring for a family with a toddler, a cooker, a double bed and mattress. Between April 2022 and March 2023, £63,000 was donated to the charity and £63,000 was distributed in a variety of ways across DT1 and DT2 to those in financial difficulties. Only one per cent of the funds were spent on administrative costs, mainly printing and insurance, as everyone at DPA is a volunteer. DPA’s next fundraising event is a coffee morning on Saturday, July 1 at the United Church Dorchester, South Street.

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BOG STANDARD: Chris Loder congratulates staff and pupils at St Osmonds for their toilet twinning success

Be entertained

Cerne Abbas First School choir and Mr Baker’s Dozen Morris Men will be performing at this year’s Cerne Abbas village fete. Funds from the fete –taking place from 1.30pm to 4.30pm on Saturday, July 1 in the vicarage gardens in Back Lane

will go to St Mary’s Church and the first school. Admission is £3, children free.

Forty years of Treacle Eaters

WANTED

HEAVERS HEAVERS

Feet are tapping and hands are clapping as Treacle Eater Clog Northwest Morris dancers and musicians are celebrating their 40th year with performances across many of our much-loved venues. Welcoming the dance season proper, the Treacle Eaters, joined by Wyvern Jubilee Morris and Enigma Border Dancers, performed on Ham Hill before dancing at a Jack in the Green event in Evercreech.

On Monday, June 26 the group will perform at Cerne Abbas at 7.45pm and The Greyhound in Sydling St Nicholas at 8.45pm. Then on July 10 they’ll be outside Halstock Village Shop at 7.45pm and the Fox Inn at Corscombe at 8.45pm. Performances are free however it is Morris tradition to pass around a hat. At the end of the evening, the Treacle Eaters retreat inside for refreshment and a music session.

CLOGGED UP: The Treacle Eaters Morris dancers

Researchers are calling for help from people in South and West Dorset to monitor what is believed to be Britain’s smallest population of coastal bottlenose dolphins. Sailors, fishers and anyone else who spends a lot of time at sea are being urged to feed information about dolphin sightings to the South Coast Bottlenose Consortium, a partnership of conservation groups, universities, businesses and governing bodies. The consortium was formed last year to monitor a pod of around 40 dolphins that has been spotted all along Britain’s southern coastline, from the north shores of Devon and Cornwall to the beaches of East Sussex. The consortium said they are calling for the public’s help to try and build a ‘comprehensive pattern’ of where the dolphins travel at different times of the year and whether particular factors, like human activity or environmental conditions, influence their movements.

A consortium spokesperson said the length of the dolphins’ coastal range and the small size of the pod makes it ‘incredibly difficult’ for marine conservation experts to track them in detail.

Help keep track of coast’s bottlenose dolphin visitors

Researchers are particularly keen to learn if the dolphins have preferred breeding grounds, or any other reproductive patterns, because the pod has not ‘significantly grown’ in size since it was first identified in the 1990s.

Freya Diamond, an MSc Marine Conservation student at the University of Plymouth who will be analysing public sightings, said: “Despite them having been identified a number of years ago, we still know very little about them.

“That means we are not in the best position to fully understand the challenges they are facing and how

we can support these dolphins in the future. “This project will hopefully provide us with the critical information we need to plug some of those knowledge gaps.”

Bottlenose dolphins are grey, not patterned, and measure two to four metres long. Anyone seeing the pod is urged to note the precise time, date and location.

Abby Crosby, marine conservation officer at the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said: “This research is essential to provide evidence to support the conservation action needed to protect these special animals. Without this

information and better protection there is a very real chance they will die out and never return to our shores, and to lose them would be a tragedy.”

Anyone photographing the dolphins is encouraged to take ‘clear, straight-on’ shots of their dorsal fins because individuals can be identified by their markings.

Harrassing dolphins is an offence and observers are urged not to get too close. Report your sightings by emailing scbottlenose dolphins@outlook.com or via the South Coast Bottlenose Dolphin Consortium Facebook page.

Singing the praises of dementia support choir

Dorset Wellbeing Choir, which provides support and companionship for people living with aphasia and dementia, is now running two regular meetings in Wareham and Bournemouth.

Coordinated by Paul Martin of Dorset Music Therapy Service, based

in Bere Regis, the choir was formed more than two years ago at the request of NHS Dorset’s acquired brain injury service. The choir meets on the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 10.30am to 11.45am at Wareham Plus at 21 Bonnets Lane.

To book a place or find out more email warehamdaycentre @caredorset.co.uk or call 01929 554618. Alternatively, email Paul Martin at dorsetmusictherapy @outlook.com or call 07788 185048. All are welcome, sessions are £2.50 per person.

HAVE YOU SEEN US: Bottlenose dolphins have been spotted along the south coast

Picture: GEORGE KARBUS

Dorset Youth Pride returns to Shire Hall Museum in Dorchester on Saturday, June 10.

Now in its second year, organisers describe Pride as a ‘free, inclusive event welcoming all members of the LGBT+ community and allies’.

Shire Hall Museum is opening for free from 10am to 4pm for the event, where visitors will have the opportunity to take part in a range of activities, including taking over Vinyl Van’s decks for a Pride Pick & Mix gig.

Museum director Nina Corey said:

“We’re so excited to be hosting Dorset Youth Pride at Shire Hall Museum again. “As a social justice museum, we’re proud to support and champion all members of the LGBT+ community.

“We believe that Pride should be for everyone, so we’re delighted to be hosting this inclusive celebration for people of all ages.”

A Pride spokesman said: “Following the success of last year’s event, it’s brilliant to be working with even more local partners to deliver Dorset Youth Pride. With informative displays and talks, craft activities and music, there is something for everyone to enjoy on the day.”

Take Pride with events

Dorset Youth Pride will feature stalls from Space Youth Project, Pop ’n’ Olly, Dorset Youth Voice, Weymouth Gay Group, This is Me and Dorset Police. The Young Historians Group from the Keep Military Museum will showcase their display Queer Was Always Here

exploring LGBT+ figures throughout history.

n Dorset is set to have a record SIX Pride events this year – including a parade along Weymouth’s sea front for the first time. A Weymouth Gay Group spokesperson said: “We are overjoyed that Weymouth will see its first Pride parade along the seafront too, plus, not one, but three Pub Prides!”

Pride was born following the Stonewall riots in 1969 and is still a protest as well as an event of celebration for the LGBT community. The first three Dorset Prides were held on May 26, with The Wyke Smugglers and Hardy’s in Dorchester hosting, along with The Globe in Swanage. In June Dorset is set to have two Youth Prides – Dorchester’s and a nw Chesil Youth Pride, hosted by Weymouth College on Saturday, June 17, which will have a parade along the Esplanade. Dorset’s biggest and longest running LGBT+ event – Bournemouth Pride BourneFree – rounds off the Dorset celebrations over July 7 and 8 at Meyrick Park, with thousands of LGBT+ people, families and allies providing a riot of rainbow colour. For further info go to weymouthgaygroup.weebly.com

FLYING THE FLAG: Dorset Youth pride returns to the Shire Hall in Dorchester this month

Tory candidate is selected

Self-employed beautician Rebecca Burns has been selected as the Conservative candidate for the upcoming Sherborne West by-election. The decision was agreed by a selection panel of the West Dorset Conservative Association on May 13.

Ms Burns, who runs The Courtyard Salon in Long Street, Sherborne, previously contested the ward unsuccessfully in 2018. The by-election has been triggered following the resignation of the incumbent Liberal Democrat councillor. The West Dorset Conservative Association released a statement saying: “Rebecca is very active in the community and works closely with local groups, including the Chamber

of Trade, Sherborne Future Group, and The Rendezvous.

“She regularly volunteers to help individuals from underprivileged backgrounds.”

Ms Burns said: “Sherborne

West’s electors rightly deserve a candidate who is local, driven, and who will deliver for them. It is also vital that residents have strong communication with their councillors, which I feel has been missing.

“I know what it is like to live and work in this wonderful town; I want to honour and respect its values and history, while introducing a more modern, refreshed approach to its governance and representation.”

West Dorset MP Chris Loder said: “Rebecca is well-known in the Sherborne West ward and has a wealth of experience that will serve her well when it comes to being a councillor. “She has my full support and endorsement.”

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Share in brewery’s £50k grant

Dorset brewery Hall & Woodhouse is inviting applications for a share of its £50,000 Community Chest.

The independent familyowned brewer has launched its 22nd year of awards, for charities and community projects, from local village halls and cultural organisations, to charities that assist with poverty, social isolation, and specialist health needs. You have until Saturday, July 15 to submit grant applications for £300£3,000.

Download an application form at hall-woodhouse. co.uk/community-chest

TORY CANDIDATE: Rebecca Burns

Last Watch and eight bells for the

Weymouth is hosting a three-day celebration of our armed forces from Saturday, June 17 to Monday, June 19.

To mark this, historian ALVIN HOPPER looks back at the loss of the HMS Royal Oak during the Second World War and the Remembrance service held each year at its namesake pub on Weymouth’s quayside

Weymouth Town Council has been running veterans’ weekends since 1984, which was the 40th anniversary of D-Day. Since 2014, on the morning after the Sunday service and parade, the town council has raised a flag at the rear of their offices, heralding the start of veterans’ week. Every year – excluding 2020 and 2021 due to covid – a service called the Last Watch takes place at the Royal Oak pub on Weymouth quayside. After prayers at precisely noon, eight bells (four doubles) are rung out in memory of all those lost at sea, including those lost on the HMS Royal Oak.

A Revenge class battleship, the Royal Oak was sunk in Scapa Flow in 1939 by German submarine U-47. Some 833 crew members on board lost their lives. The quayside pub was regularly visited by many

Pupils grill MP

West Dorset MP Chris Loder met staff, students and Principal Mike Hoffman at Budmouth Academy in Chickerell following news their buildings will be improved as part of the Government’s School Rebuilding Programme. The MP was impressed after questions from students. He said: “The area is ranked lowest in England for social mobility. “Despite this, students are rightly determined to prove that one’s postcode doesn’t determine your prospects.”

of those lost crewmen while she was still in service as a gunnery training ship at Portland. At the weekends, sailors would take the ship’s

liberty boats to Weymouth Harbour and, upon seeing the namesake of their ship in bold lettering on the walls of the inn, made straight for it.

During these times when they were at liberty, the sailors formed a strong friendship at that lads’ watering hole, which was known by them to be a

Home monitoring for oncology patients

Oncology patients from Dorset have helped design a pilot service that allows their health to be monitored from home.

Dorset HealthCare’s remote monitoring team has launched their Oncology Monitoring @ Home service to help them manage their patients’ health without them having to go to hospital. The monitoring team will give their patients devices

such as thermometers, scales, blood pressure monitors and pulse oximeters so they can feed back real-time information to the NHS online. Patients will also complete a questionnaire three times a week about their symptoms whilst on the oncology treatment. This information can then be accessed by the clinical team to help them monitor the patient’s progress,

providing patients with self-care advice as required, keeping them safer but also ensuring early access to the hospital if required.

The service is accessible via a website and mobile app on smart phone and tablet devices.

For more information about this service contact: ourdorsetdigital @nhsdorset.nhs.uk

ALL HANDS ON DECK: The Royal Oak crew, courtesy of Orkney Museum, and, left, HMS Royal Oak sunk at Scapa Flow on October 14, 1939, by U-47

833 lives lost onboard the Royal Oak

EIGHT

BELLS: In memory of the 833 crew lost and, right, the pub painted pink in 2009 and, below, how it is today

‘good run ashore’. In 2014, remembering the centenary of the launch of HMS Royal Oak, and the outbreak of the Great War, a ceremony was held in The Royal Oak in memory of the crew who were lost. The pub’s bell was engraved with the name Royal Oak and thus began what became the first

annual bell ceremony, which honours all those lost at sea in wartime. In 2016, the centenary of the Battle of Jutland was also marked at the Royal Oak and this was the first time the Mayor, then of Weymouth and Portland, was invited to attend. The ceremony has since come to be known as The

Last Watch and is always rounded out with traditional wartime entertainment. For many years the pub has not sported a sign as its bracket was left to rust for decades. But this was recently replaced, and a new sign depicting HMS Royal Oak as it appeared at the

Jutland battle on May 31, 1916 now hangs in place. The sign is in two-tone gold on black. On the pub’s side wall is a new metal sign spelling out Royal Oak on a green field and surmounted with a Windsor crown. The new signage is certainly more appropriate than when the pub was mistakenly painted pink. The confusion arose after someone said the pub should be painted ‘Mountbatten Pink’ –without realising this was a lower decks nickname that meant battleship grey. The error was later rectified with the pub’s new colour a home fleet, or battleship, grey as originally intended.

As you were: Arts centre marks 50th

Bridport Arts Centre marked its 50th anniversary by re-creating the photo taken on May 18, 1973 when the Wesleyan chapel on Bucky Doo Square was purchased for conversion into a longed-for theatre. The new photo represents those founding figures as well as some of the events that went on to flourish at BAC, such as the Bridport Prize and BACstage, the centre’s youth theatre. Descendants of the original line-up were contacted, including Peter Chapman-Andrews (son of Peggy) and Elizabeth Sporne (daughter of Florence), as well as

people connected to the founding of the arts centre such as Sandra Brown and

Miles Bell (who inspired the conversion of the chapel’s old schoolhouse

into the Allsop Gallery), and Tristan Allsop, whose father Kenneth was the first president of the organisation (the gallery was named in his honour). Current chairman Barry Lovejoy said: “Tristan is also a regular volunteer at BAC, working on projection for the film society and the From Page To Screen film festival, as is Ingrid Hull – one of its longest-serving stewards –they both represent the hundreds of Bridport people who have given their time and commitment to the centre.”

Sandra Brown MBE is the last remaining member of the original steering group

NOW: Miles Bell, Kate Wilson, Sandra Brown, Peter Chapman-Andrews, BAC Board Chairman Barry Lovejoy, recently retired Mayor Ian Bark, Elizabeth Sporne, Eddie Rose, Tristan Allsop and Ingrid Hull

anniversary by restaging iconic photo

that started fundraising and searching for a suitable building in 1968. The fourtimes Mayor was BAC chair in the 1990s. She recalled how Peggy Chapman-Andrews not only guaranteed the realisation of a dream venue but also the ongoing funds to support it: “No one could say no to Peggy!” she said. “After the building was secured she rang me again to say she’d had another idea. She wisely knew we wouldn’t just need capital for the purchase and conversion work on the old chapel but also an income to keep it maintained and developing

THEN:

mother)

– what about an annual, fundraising writing competition? Brilliant!

Now we had the Bridport Arts Centre and the Bridport Prize – which

would go on to become an internationally-acclaimed literary institution.”

The BAC lobby featured a display of the centre’s 1960s and 1970s archive that has begun to be collected by the arts centre’s ‘time team’, including trustee Ines Cavill, who is already planning an end-of-year exhibition.

The display of early archive in the BAC lobby will be available to view until Saturday, June 10, along with the current exhibition upstairs in the Allsop Gallery: Earth | Ground.

Free entry to both, Tuesdays to Saturdays 10am-4pm.

Unknown, Doreen Barwick (committee member), Sister Kathleen (violinist with festival orchestra), Peggy Chapman-Andrews (Hon. Sec. 1973 - 83), Harold Smith (Chairman of Bridport & District Arts Society in 1973), Mayor Percy Norfolk, Florence Sporne (Treasurer in 1973), Alban Wylde (committee member), Richard Matthews (Building Fund Manager), Dorothy Hothersall (Peggy’s

Polished performers out on parade

If you’re a vintage vehicle buff, or just enjoy a bit of good-old-fashioned nostalgia, then head for the West Bay Vintage Rally at Melplash Showground on June 10 and 11.

The West Dorset Vintage Tractor & Stationary Engine Club (WDVTSEC), a small club of 380 or so members who meet once a month at the Colliton Club in Dorchester, have been holding the rally since 1976. It was held at Puncknowle before moving to Gore Cross, Bridport, with its final move to West Bay. There’ll be plenty to see and do (and eat!), from a vintage auction on the Saturday, from 10am – which always draws the crowds – to perusing a fabulous cross section of stationary engines,

tractors, vintage cars, steam engines and more. There are marquees and stalls with a plethora of craft displays, model makers and collections. The Ring will also host the vintage vehicle parades, the ever-popular Extreme Falconry on the

Sunday, plus there’ll be everyone’s favourites – the beagles!

The team have raised nearly £90,000 for local charities and community projects. Local groups also pitch in and help them over the weekend too, from the

Young Farmers to the Scouts, to name but a few. 9am-5pm at Melplash Showground, West Bay Rd, Bridport, DT6 4EG. Adults £10, OAPs £8, 11-16s £2, 7U11s free when accompanied by an adult. wdvtsec.com/rally

GOLDEN OLDIES: Vintage vehicles will be on display at West Bay on June 10 and 11

Well-known Bridport photographer and disability campaigner Neil Barnes has opened a gallery in South Street.

Newly installed Bridport Mayor Dave Bolwell cut the ribbon on the gallery, showcasing Neil’s landscape work of Bridport and the surrounding areas. There is a large range of beautiful pictures in canvas, print and framed format along with a selection of greetings cards, postcards, posters, gift wrap and his newly issued 2024 Bridport & West Bay Calendar, now in its 11th edition. He said: “After seven years on the market in East Street selling my work, I thought it time for a change especially considering the inclement weather that continually interrupts the market. On looking around

Neil

snaps

up a former shop to open his gallery

for suitable properties, the old Pinns photographic shop came up and I thought, how fitting is that?

“Further delving into its history brought up some coincidences. The original

shop was established in 1921 by Claud Hider, also a photographer who moved to Bridport from Kettering in Northamptonshire, something I did too in 2011. He sold the business

Long Live the King!

year of 1953 and I took over this coronation year.” Neil’s daughter Lucy was special guest of honour at the opening, which fell on her birthday.

To celebrate the Coronation

漀 King Charles III, Friary Care held four days 漀 fun-昀lled activities.

Weymouth care homes Kingsley Court and Friary House celebrate the Corona琀on

Residents of Friary Care’s Kingsley Court and Friary House in Weymouth decorated the homes with all things royal for the Coronation. Residents' arts and crafts (with lots of crowns, carriages, and even Paddington Bear!), posters of King Charles, and various wall posters of famous spots of London adorned the homes ahead of an amazing indoor street party with music by Martin and The Choir.

Residents reminisced about the previous Coronation over a glass of champagne and a breakfast, after-

noon tea with homemade cakes with family and friends, and fish and chips – all fit for a King. Homes owner Peter Fry said: “We had so much fun and laughter, we really have celebrated the Friary Care way. All that's left to say is: Long Live the King!” Come and join us and make your home in one of our care homes in Weymouth. Call the owner of Friary Care, Peter Fry, on 01305 78 78 11 or visit www.friarycare.co.uk

SMILE PLEASE: Guests at the opening of Neil Barnes’s gallery in Bridport with his daughter Lucy front and centre and, below, new Mayor Dave Bolwell cuts the ribbon

Filmmaker’s no-budget Hardy on

By Dan Goater dan@westdorsetmag.co.uk

Filming Thomas Hardy adaptations on a mobile phone and a shoestring budget may sound like a challenge, but it’s one that aspiring filmmaker Rose Goldthorp is throwing herself into.

Working with her mum Ann-Marie, the motherdaughter team set up the Wessex Dramas Project earlier this year after relocating to Weymouth last June.

The duo have already completed one no-budget feature film called Hardy’s Regrets and are now working on their second feature film Hardy’s Hand of Fate as well as a series of audio drama podcasts. Interrupting her busy schedule of editing in her home studio, 24-year-old Rose told The West Dorset Magazine that Hardy’s stories are the perfect mediums in which her and her mum can flex their creative muscles.

“I’m really interested in fantasy stories, but that’s hard to do well on zero budget,” Rose said.

“Mum, on the other hand, is very interested in 18th and 19th century writers like Hardy, and period stories, so I think together our tastes kind of meet in the middle when we’re making these films.”

Rose and her mum divide filmmaking duties, with Rose filming on location and editing while Ann-Marie writes scripts and screenplays and co-produces.

Their films have been

shown at museums and Portland’s Royal Manor Theatre and have even attracted the attention of film festival judges.

Rose said: “We now have one feature film and three podcast seasons under our belts, so far, and are starting to rev up for our second feature film, which we’re producing this year, called Hardy’s Hand of Fate. Our first no to low-

budget feature film was an anthology called Hardy’s Regrets, which has been awarded laurels for official selection at the Lift Off film festival organised by Pinewood Studios in London.

“We will be shooting another feature, which we have already adapted, called Fellow Townsmen in and around Bridport in 2026, as Hardy set his

novel there but called it Port Bredy.”

Despite feeling an affinity for the work of Dorset’s most famous writer, Rose and her family have lived all over the world, moving around often for her father’s job as an IT consultant.

Rose was born in Wales and has lived in France, New Zealand and South Africa with her family,

ON LOCATION: The last day shooting The Three Strangers with John Seal, Peter Allison, Tony Lee, John Simpson, Robin Lee, Neil Highley and Ernie Minns Picture Gary Adams

FOCUSED: Rose filming at Tout Quarry Portland and, right, the preview of Hardy’s Regrets at the Royal Manor Theatre, Portland, and, below, filming at Church Ope with Rose and Mike Staddon

a mobile phone

Co-ordinator wanted for

literacy support group

Read Easy South Dorset is appealing for a co-ordinator in the Dorchester area. Team leader Christine Voce said: “We need someone with a background in literacy who has about eight hours a week available. The co-ordinator must attend some team meetings. We are looking for someone who is very well organised with paperwork, can juggle demands and be

comfortable meeting all sorts of people from all walks of life. Good problem-solving skills are an advantage.”

The co-ordinator would be one of a three-strong team and will attend an induction programme.

Christine added: “It’s quite demanding, but the upside is it’s varied, satisfying and fun.”

Contact Christine on 07490 372212 for details.

Read about Home Library Service

Pictures: Gary Adams

If you, or somebody you know or care for, cannot get to the library, the Home Library Service (HLS) will deliver a regular supply of books for you to enjoy at home. HLS volunteers will help you to choose books, including talking books and will deliver and collect every three weeks.To use the service ring Maria Jacobson on 01305 236666 or email maria.jacobson@ royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk

who moved back to the UK just before the covid outbreak.

Rose said she is always looking to find new volunteer cast and crew members for future film projects and is also keen to hear from anyone who has access to any ‘cute Dorset cottages’ that could be used as period filming locations.

“It’s hard to make films on zero budget,” Rose said. “But it’s rewarding to pull off and it’s something I love to do, especially working with mum.”

n To find out more about Wessex Dramas Project’s film projects or to volunteer with them visit thedailydilettante.com

FILM STARS: Izzy Joy, Malachi O’Callaghan Scott Munro, Neil Highley, Caro Joy, and, below, the preview of Hardy’s Regrets at the Royal Manor Theatre Portland cast celebration Scott Munro, Dan Almond, Frankie Joy, Rose Goldthorp, Olivia Watson, Izzy Joy, Neil Highley, Caro Joy, John Simpson and Peter Allison

After 16 years at Autobitz, Martyn Whelan knows a thing or two about engines. And now this Dorchester born and bred mechanic has fine-tuned his creative skills to give cars, bikes and vans that perfect paint match for a body-shop finish after launching Paints ‘N’ Plates.

Martyn can even make your car registration plates while you wait.

“The main reason why I started Paints ‘N’ Plates was because I had seen that I needed to challenge myself and provide a service that helps other people out after finishing 16 years at Autobitz. This is an area I was trained in.

“What I find interesting about my job is the variety and creativeness behind what I do. Having started

We’ll paint your wagon & make a dream come true

this amazing journey in my life, I feel that it is an opportunity for me.” And it is clear Martyn is doing something right

having secured a long list of loyal customers impressed with his eye for detail and paint mixing expertise.

Martyn added: “Here at Paints ‘N’ Plates we offer high quality products and great customer service at an affordable price. Now you too can get the optimal ‘body shop’ finish from your home with our high-quality paints.

“We also make bespoke copper brake pipe to your specifications so you can rest assured knowing that your brake lines have been produced to the high standard that we thrive to achieve.”

As a leading provider of vehicle paints and associated products coupled with more than 15 years of mixing experience, proven by the trade and trusted by many, Martyn can help you achieve your vehicle dreams.

If you would like more

information, motor along to Martin’s website at paintsandplates.com, email mart@ paintsandplates.com or ring 07359 132670.

PURPLE PATCH: The Paints N Plates van looking very smart and stylish

I traced my dad’s family history, and

By Dan Goater dan@westdorsetmag.co.uk

When Laraine Cousins began investigating her father’s family history, she had no idea it would lead to her launching a groundbreaking legal case and revealing his suspected link to one of Britain’s most notorious crimes –the Great Train Robbery. In 1969, a 19-year-old Laraine – who grew up in Evershot – learned from her mum that her father, Leonard ‘Peter’ Cousins, was adopted. He was born in Huish Episcopi, Somerset, in 1929 but was adopted by a couple living in Weston-super-Mare. Despite Laraine encouraging her dad to find his birth parents, he refused, and died in 2011 without knowing who they were.

Not content with letting her questions remain unanswered, Laraine began what would become a lengthy legal campaign to access her father’s birth records. Laraine’s family had lived in various locations in Somerset, Dorset and Hampshire and her investigation began by contacting the former Bournemouth Council’s social services adoption team.

After more than a year of cutting through red tape, the team obtained Peter’s adoption records from the courts in Weston-superMare – before telling Laraine she had no legal right to view them.

In response, Laraine lodged a case with the

family court in Bristol to access the records after they were moved there.

“I was in court for 30 minutes before the judge said my case was too complex,” Laraine said. “I was told the case would need to go before Sir James Munby, the president of the High Court’s Family Division, when he was on a circuit tour of the courts.

“I was told I would need a barrister, but I was quoted £25-30,000 for the case. I knew people who had

taken cases to the High Court and lost a lot of money, so I said: ‘Look, I know it’s ridiculous, but I’m going to represent myself.’

“The barrister I was talking to at the time basically said: ‘Good luck with that’. He said Sir James Munby has a brain the size of a planet and I wouldn’t get anywhere with him.

“I said: ‘I will.’”

When Laraine got to the High Court in July 2014, she said she didn’t know

what to write in her formal application.

“I was just staring at a blank piece of paper. I had been told the only way to access my father’s records would be if I could demonstrate exceptional circumstances,” she said.

“I couldn’t really think of anything to say other than: ‘It’s exceptional to me even if it’s not to anyone else.’”

After making her representations, Laraine had to wait until September 2014 to learn she had won her case –setting a legal precedent that she could view a parent’s birth records after their death.

She said: “When I finally got to view those records, among them was a letter my great grandmother by birth, Ivy, had written to my dad basically saying he was loved but, due to circumstances that weren’t fully spelled out, he had to be adopted. The sad thing is dad never saw that letter.”

Laraine’s investigation into her father’s life had one incredibly unexpected side effect – it’s led her to suspect he played a small role in the Great Train Robbery.

Laraine said her father, a working-class man of limited means, became a qualified pilot after someone paid for him to have flying lessons.

During the week of the Great Train Robbery in August 1963, Peter sent Laraine and her mum and siblings to Butlins for a week’s holiday, saying he had to take on a week of

FAMILY TIES: Laraine Cousins today and her late father Leonard ‘Peter’ Cousins. Inset below: Laraine’s book Looking For Ivy about her search for her family tree

linked up to the crime of the century

‘night flying’ missions.

“It’s long been believed in my family that dad played a small part in the Great Train Robbery,” Laraine said.

“A few years before we moved to New Milton in the New Forest dad started having flying lessons, which was very odd.

“We had gone from living in his adopted mum’s house to him having flying lessons and eventually buying his own plane. He then bought a small bungalow when he had never had his own home before.

“The week of the robbery, he disappeared. He took me and my family to Butlins and left us there and said he had to go out for a week of night-flying. In reality, during the week of the robbery, he didn’t fly at night, only in the daytime – the latest time being 6.30pm. He had told my mum he was going night flying but he wasn’t.”

She added: “Before dad died he had married again and his second wife gave me his flying log books.

“They show during the week of the robbery he flew from Bournemouth to an airfield not far from Leatherslade Farm in Buckinghamshire where the train robbers hid out and which also had a disused airfield.

“There were thousands of pounds unaccounted for after the robbery. I don’t think dad played a big part in the robbery, I think he just moved some of the money around by plane.”

Peter’s flight logs show he

flew from Christchurch airport to Scotland the week after the robbery, stopping in various parts of the country along the way.

Laraine said: “Dad was once featured on the TV news after he had to crash land his plane in a field. He said at the time he was worried about his fuel levels, but every pilot knows to check that before taking off.

“I think he was practising landing on uneven terrain.”

Laraine also recalls going on a caravan holiday around Europe with her dad and an unknown man when she was a teenager. Although it didn’t strike her as odd at the time, her father and the unidentified man spent most of their time going into various banks in every country they visited, including France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. The family later moved back to the Bournemouth area where Laraine and her siblings attended a private

school and Peter ran car dealerships.

“We seemed to have money when we didn’t before,” Laraine said.

“Years later when I was talking to my auntie she said that my dad and grandad used to go to London to trade in cars and I think that was with some of the train robbers. My auntie also said when the family saw pictures of the train robbers on the television, my grandad had said he knew one or two of them.

“I think mum was a bit naïve and never really questioned where all of dad’s money came from.”

Laraine also notes that one of the bank robbers, Roger Cordrey, was caught by the police when he was renting a flat in Wimborne Road, Moordown and renting a garage in Tweedale Road, Bournemouth. Other local connections include train robber Ronnie Biggs targeting a cinema in Yeovil and a train in Swanage as well as later serving time in Dorchester Prison.

Summing up the incredible story she unearthed, Laraine said: “I think it’s important for people to have the right to find out where they came from.

“There have been too many people who have lived their whole lives and died without ever knowing that.”

n Laraine’s story is set out in her book Looking for Ivy, available now.

FAMILY: Laraine’s mum Jean Cousins, her dad’s adoptive father Leonard and mother Flora May Cousins, her dad Peter Cousins and his sister Carole. Front: Laraine and her sister Jane. Below: Peter Cousins with his airplane and, left and below, his flying log work with entries from August 1963, the week of the Great Train Robbery

Jive talking: Dance group looking for hoofers

A modern jive class in West Dorset is calling out for new dancers to come and try tripping the light fantastic.

Dee Lanning and her team at Dynamic Dance want to see some new movers and shakers at their regular jive classes at Chideock Village Hall.

A spokesperson for the group said: “Although 2023 has brought many

Save the date for Candles on Hill

Preparations are already under way for this year’s Candles on St Catherine’s Hill event, set to take place on November 26.

new members to this popular Chideock-based class, these new members have now moved onto intermediate level so the Dynamic Dance crew will once again be welcoming new beginners. “Over a six to eight-week period, new dancers will be introduced to the fundamentals of modern jive and will learn around 18 to 20 beginner’s

moves that can be danced in any sequence.

“Because there is no complicated footwork to learn, these classes are perfect for those with little to no experience and with two left feet.” Classes run on Mondays from 7.30pm to 10.15pm and are £6. Contact Dee Lanning on 07740 349393 or visit dynamic-dance.uk

Abbotsbury businesses and the village hall will be selling bags containing battery-powered tea lights for £2 which will be laid out along the path up to the chapel and in a wheel pattern.

Profits from the sale of the bags go to The Friends of St Nicholas, a charity established to maintain the fabric of St Nicholas parish church. Sponsors are still being sought for this year’s event. For more information visit abbotsbury.co.uk

Concern over children missing school

Thousands of children in Dorset are missing out on schooling, with ‘no idea’ how much the problem is costing the taxpayer, according to research conducted by an online school.

Figures obtained by Minerva’s Virtual Academy (MVA) show the number of pupils persistently absent from school in Dorset in 2021/22 was 6,617 – an increase of 116 per cent on the previous year’s figure of 3,068.

According to an MVA spokesperson Dorset Council is ‘unable to say’ how much it has spent addressing the issue,

although it made more than £27,000 in fines for nonattendance in the 2021/22 school year.

The spokesperson added: “In 2021/22 more than 890,000 children were persistently absent from secondary school in England alone.

“Many education authorities said they did not hold figures for the number of pupils classed as persistently absent – those with an attendance record of 90% or below.”

In response, MVA says it has launched its Class of 10,000 campaign, which aims to get 10,000 children currently missing out on

full-time education back into learning on the internet. The school has teamed up with not-forprofit organisations Square Peg and Not Fine in School to highlight some of the issues which are keeping young people out of the classroom and highlight the solutions available.

Hugh Viney, who founded MVA during the lockdown, said: “There are 1.67 million children and young people who are facing barriers to attendance at school, with reasons ranging from anxiety and mental health difficulties through to complex additional needs.

“Mainstream schools aren’t suitable for every pupil. “Many young people thrive in a traditional school environment but, for a significant proportion, a bricks and mortar setting simply cannot meet their needs. We know from experience that online schooling can help many of these children, but the government and many local education authorities are reluctant to go down that route.

“We want to try and help 10,000 children back into education – that is just one per cent of the estimated number of children who are currently missing out.”

LIGHT WORK: St Catherine’s at Abbotsbury Picture: GRAHAM HUNT

Royal honour for long-serving nurse

Weymouth-based health visitor Jane Hill has been made a Queen’s Nurse by community nursing charity

The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) in honour of her 24 years’ service. A charity spokesperson said the title was given not only as an award for past services in recognition of a “continuing commitment to high standards of patient care, learning and leadership” throughout Jane’s career.

Her journey as a nurse started in Poole in 1978, where she trained in hospitals and in the community.

After qualifying, Jane’s career took her to Glasgow then Southampton and back to Dorset again. She specialises in neurological nursing, having completed a nursing degree and MBA, and working in intensive care and as a nurse educator for many years.

After starting a family, Jane opted to retrain as a

health visitor and has worked across Dorset in the role since 1999. She said: “Despite many changes over the years, I still love being a health visitor and always try to make a difference for the families we work with. It’s a great job and privilege.

“As health visitors we work really hard – often unnoticed – assessing and supporting children

and families to live their best lives. The key is listening to what someone is saying and exploring it. “Sometimes it’s just about telling someone they are doing a good job – being a parent is hard, yet many people forget about all the challenges it involves. “I enjoy trying to support families to make a difference for themselves, helping people tackle

Can you put the kettle on for us?

A friendship group established nearly 30 years ago is urgently in need of someone to spend a morning a week making teas and coffees after one of its founder members was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Bridport Disabled Carers and Friends Club have weekly meetings for the disabled, carers, the elderly and friends. There is no fee, though donations towards costs are welcome.

TEA PLEA: Bridport Disabled Group

In addition, help is on hand for benefit advice and monthly chiropody sessions. Meetings are held every Thursday 9amnoon at the Vernon’s Court Community Room off South Street.

Sadly Pete Bowditch, who makes the drinks for attendees, needs to find someone to take over after his diagnosis. Email pete.bowditch @hotmail.com or call 01308 423620 or 07805 622201.

issues such as low mood, addiction, domestic abuse, having a child with additional needs or feeling anxiety around becoming a parent. It’s such a diverse role and different every day.”

Dawn Dawson, Chief Nursing Officer at Dorset HealthCare, said: “We are really proud of Jane. The Queen’s Award reflects her dedication and commitment to providing the best level of care possible for our clients and their children.

“At the same time, I’d like to thank all of our nurses for what they do. Whatever the setting, wherever the location, whomever the patient, the one thing all nursing staff have in common is their unwavering commitment to make a difference to people’s lives. Three years on since the start of the pandemic, our nurses continue to work in extremely challenging circumstances.”

ROYAL HONOUR: Jane Hill with her award

Fuming! How cig ban and man caves led to boom

For anyone who feels a sense of nostalgia about oldfashioned, smoke-filled pubs, John Halsall’s tobacciana collectibles are on sale at Dorchester Market on Wednesdays and Sundays. Mr Halsall said there has been a surge in interest for branded ashtrays, jugs, glasses, bar

pumps, match strikers and other paraphernalia since the smoking ban.

“As the smoking ban came in the manufacture and free distribution of tobacco branded items quickly stopped and those that still decorated pubs and bars were quietly put in cellars, lofts and or sold in boot sales to entrepreneurs like me,” Mr Halsall said. “The other factor caused by the ban is the explosion of ‘man caves’ – blokes turning their garden sheds and garages into their own minipubs where they can invite their friends for

a drink, smoke and stay as long as they wish without anybody yelling ‘time gentlemen please’.

“This in turn caused the demand for authentic décor to expand away from just ashtrays to encompass jugs, pumps, match strikers and other branded items.”

Mr Halsall added: “It then became sophisticated to seek out foreign items and advertising plaques, especially in French, to add a little sophisticated ‘je ne sais quoi’ to your man cave. I’ve got a property I often visit in Normandy, so I’ve started making trips to car boot sales and bric-a-brac warehouses in France and Spain on a regular

basis to invest in stock. I’ve now supplied many French restaurants and film sets in the UK, including ‘Allo ‘Allo and A Year in Provence, with authentic items. I also have a burgeoning website to enable online ordering.”

ebay.com/str/breweriana collectables

Pledge to make a difference Down to earth

Weymouth businesses are being asked to focus on being green as a new initiative by We Are Weymouth, the town’s Business Improvement District (BID). The BID’s campaign will focus on sustainability, looking at how to improve the town’s carbon footprint, protect the coastal environment and increase Weymouth’s circular economy. We Are Weymouth (BID) is asking businesses to pledge to make just one small change. These changes could be anything from opting to recycle more within the business, volunteering for litter picks, changing transport habits, pledging to try and shop locally once a week or using our local service providers in the town. CEO

said: “With nearly 700 BID Levy Payers in Weymouth, and another five years of the BID, we really felt it was important we look at the town’s impact on the environment, our carbon footprint, and the sustainability of the town’s economy. We understand that big changes are not viable for all our businesses, but we believe if all 700 pledged to make one change, the impact would be immense.

“This campaign also gives us the opportunity to celebrate all Weymouth has to offer when it comes to green activities and green businesses – buying fish from our local fishermen, walking the South West Coast Path, cycling to the Oasis Cafe, refilling at SW Coast Refills, purchasing second hand books from books Afloat or repairing items at Repair Cafe Weymouth.”

Dawn Rondeau

Pledge to make a difference at form.jotform.com/231101636366045

PUFF PIECE: A lighter to grace any table

Down to earth Crafts special

Master the art of stained glass with Jackie

Stained glass artist Jackie Hunt is offering to share her more than 30 years’ experience with students at a new craft class and by taking on private commissions.

Based in West Dorset, Jackie has a fully equipped workshop with kilns and a sand-blaster where she experiments with her own love of this versatile medium. She enjoys sharing her skills by running short courses at venues across Dorset. Her themes are often based on natural forms, landscapes and plants, and her commissions generally celebrate particular places and events.

Jackie uses the traditional

techniques of this ancient craft in a contemporary style. The methods she uses include traditional kiln-fired painting and staining, sometimes incorporating metals and organic materials, alongside treatments like sand-blasting, silk-screen printing or kilncarved glass. These days most commissions are encapsulate within double glazed units for practical reasons.

Over the years she has won several large public art commissions in Yorkshire, Herefordshire and Dorset, working with communities and schools to develop and realise their ideas. These commissions have

Workshops are soaper!

Discover the joy of handcrafting your own soap at a workshop hosted by Duir at Abbey Farm in Abbotsbury. A real feast for the senses, the half-day sessions will teach you how to create your own soap using your choice of natural oils, butters and essential oils, under the guidance of Jane Ward.

As a certificated member of the Guild of Craft Soap and Toiletry Makers, Jane will take you through a safety briefing and demonstration of cold process soap making, before you choose a complimentary notepad and pen to begin recording your own scent and colour choices over a tea or coffee.

After beginning work on your first batch of soap, the session will break at midday for a light lunch provided by the nearby Cherries Cafe. After lunch, you can return to the session to make a second batch of soap.

You can take the fruits of your labour home in an ecofriendly, disposable mouldready to be cut into 14 100g bars between 24 and 48 hours later.

Your hand-crafted soap will add a touch of true personalisation to your home or make a truly thoughtful gift for a loved one.

All of Duir’s soaps are palm oil and cruelty free and do not use parabens or sodium lauryl sulphate. All wrappings can be upcycled, composted or ethically recycled.

To book a half-day soapmaking session, including lunch, for £85 email duircrafts@gmail.com or visit duirsoap.co.uk

included village halls, schools, a field centre, a retirement home and a doctor’s surgery. Visiting schools to explain the craft and to involve the children in artwork can be a great way to

involve them in a local project. Jackie has more than 20 years’ experience teaching stained glass techniques. To commission Jackie or book a place on a course with her visit jackiehunt.co.uk

PAGAN VIEWS

by JO BELASCO

There’s a 20-minute ritual which takes place every seven years. While I cannot state it is shrouded in secrecy, I can relay that it is hard to find out about (especially when you are given wrong information) and even harder to get to… unless you are a dignitary officially invited to the event and ferried across the Chesil from the army bridging camp. Am I talking about a pagan ritual in the woods at midnight? Nope – the rite was led by the Rev Tim Gomm but does smack of pagan sacrifice with a schoolgirl leaning over a stone being “ritually” flogged! I am talking about the furtive Portland Beating of the bounds. I only saw it from a distance as I was one of the few (five) who

Bound to secrecy? Can’t beat it

trudged along the stony coastline. By the time I arrived – and I was well within the half-hour window – I was explicitly told they were leaving... I hadn’t particularly wanted to take photos –others have done that –but I did want to ask a few questions. Why, for instance, if the beating of the bounds is just symbolic of the old custom of ensuring all knew where the boundaries of each parish were, had they chosen the most remote and hard to get to boundary stone? There are many boundary

stones on Portland. One is right by Portland Castle, surely a perfect place for all to be involved, not just the elite. Why, if this is a Christian celebration of Ascension, is it not open to all of the faithful? This type of exclusion is one of the many reasons I moved away from the Christian church.

By comparison Dorchester Beating of the Bounds was a joyful event open to all. It was the final jaunt of the Dorchester walks festival and by far my favourite day of the year. Families, dogs, musicians, mummers, mayors old and

new joined to walk round the Roman walls. There was beating of drums for professionals and beating of saucepans for the robust, beating of aluminium flan containers for those whose spirit was willing but flesh was weak.

Callum Jenkins Teague and his team from the Dorchester Roman Tours wove the history of the Roman ceremonies of Terminalia and Ambarvalia into our Christian heritage with seamless dexterity. Roll on next year when we can do it all again.

Awe-inspiring sight of the Milky Way rising over

planetary observing, but early risers can view Saturn in the southeast in the pre-dawn sky. Jupiter will join in later in the month.

With the solstice nearly upon us, and the few hours of actual darkness only available to dedicated night owls, it may not the best time to be trying to write an astronomy column, but here goes…

Planets – it’s not the best time for

Venus and Mars will be setting around midnight, the former in its waning gibbous phase.

The Milky Way – something I try to do every summer is pay a visit to the Isle of Purbeck viewing area, above the village of Creech, to view the core of the Milky Way to the south. The area around the constellations of

Sagittarius, Scutum and Scorpius is awash with stunning nebulae and globular clusters, such as Messier 22 (just over the diameter of the full moon and home to around 500,000 stars), and Messier 4 (at an estimated age of over 12 billion years old, one of the oldest known globulars). Then there’s the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, Messier 24, a bewildering view of countless stars seen through a gap in the stars, dust and gas surrounding the galactic core

BEAT IT: Dorchester Roman tours leading the way and, right, Zelda and I rush to get there in time, seeing the boats with the dignitaries crossing the Fleet

Kevin Quinn is a Dark Sky Custodian for the Cranborne Chase Dark Sky Reserve who lives in Piddletrenthide. Read his blog at theastroguy. wordpress.com

Sally Cooke lives in Tolpuddle with her husband, two grown-up sons and spotty rescue dog. She loves to photograph and write about the everyday wildlife she sees in her garden and on her daily dog walks. You can follow Sally on Instagram at Sparrows in a Puddle.

All goes on under the surface of ponds

I was chatting recently with a friend in the village about the beautiful dragonflies and damselflies we had seen in our summer gardens and in the countryside nearby. These amazing insects come in a variety of vivid colours and I’m always thrilled to see them near my garden pond. Dragonflies and damselflies are closely related, both have two pairs of wings, but the dragonfly has a bulkier, shorter body and the damselfly is slenderer with a very thin body. They are both highly efficient predators, catching hundreds of smaller insects. I love having them in my garden, and feel especially privileged when I see them laying their eggs into my pond. My friend told me that he had just been pond dipping for the first time

with his three-year-old granddaughter. I love to think of her wonder of that hidden underwater world and it made me realise that this was something I hadn’t done for some time. Summer evenings when my boys were younger were often spent with a net, carefully sweeping it through the weed and seeing what we had caught. We would then excitedly pore over our haul of tiny tadpoles and minibeasts in a plastic box of pond water before returning them carefully back to the pond. A quick dip with my net this June brought several dragonfly larvae, known as ‘nymphs’, up wriggling. These nymphs can be in the pond for as much as five years and, like the adults, are efficient predators, though they are also an important food

source for the garden frogs and newts. Taking a close look at the everyday but dramatic underwater world of the pond is a great way of getting children engaging in nature.

I used to cause great excitement at my boys’ first school when, as a volunteer, I took small groups of children to see what they could find in the pond at the ‘Butterfly Bus Stop’ – their school nature area.

After running several sessions over three summers, I managed to send only two children back to class with wet shoes and socks! But hopefully it inspired some of them to think differently about what goes on under the water. Of course, a pond isn’t right for every garden and we didn’t build ours until we felt our children were old enough to be safe around it, but even a very small garden can have a mini-pond. Dorset Wildlife Trust shows you how even an old washing up bowl can attract wildlife, it’s just very important to make sure wildlife has a way out.

n dorsetwildlife trust.org.uk/ actions/howcreate-mini-pond

Cerne Giant captured on a mobile phone camera

… a vast ‘object’, in which the stars appear as densely packed as grains of sand on a beach … Wow!

Aim for a moonless night over the coming months; a pair of binoculars will help. At one of our recent gatherings in Cerne Abbas, myself and a few others were treated to the awe-inspiring sight of the Milky Way (pictured) rising over

Giant Hill, with more and more detail coming into view the higher it got… the accompanying photo, taken with my phone, gives just a hint of what could be seen.

The moon – a recent post on the astronomy forum Stargazers Lounge prompted me to take a closer look at our nearest celestial neighbour, the moon.

The topic focused on something called ‘the stars of Aristillus’, a group of mountain peaks in the

centre of the named crater. The tips are only illuminated on one night of the month, and appear as bright pinpoints of light … This is just one of the many ephemera that make lunar exploration so fascinating.

n My latest book, WOW! List - 50 Stunning Deep Space Objects for Amateur Stargazers, is out now.

KIM BERLIN – A newcomer to the Rock

It’s scruffy, still rather weedy, and I love it.

It is, of course, my allotment, 1,170 square feet of democratically allocated space, rented to me by Portland Town Council for the bargain price of less than £25 per year.

I first took it on in 2018, before the pandemic hit us, but being able to go there during lockdown was a blessing I shall never forget. I have been lucky with this plot. Although it was a bit weedy when I took it on it wasn’t as bad as some and the soil is deep and fertile, so although there’s constant competition with bindweed, couch grass and groundsel, I still manage to keep it productive: potatoes, onions, garlic the size you’d expect to find in a Provençal market (top tip: Solent Wight does very well in Dorset) and beans dominate my harvests, interspersed with salads, roots and brassicas. And there’s

Plot thickens in a growing hobby

GROWING CONCERN: Kim’s plot

usually a tomato forest to be found in a sunny spot. Allotments originated in the early medieval period when areas of land would be divided into smaller plots for allocation to families to grow their own food. The world wars brought the importance of this small scale ‘farming’ into sharp perspective with the very real need to feed

people through the Dig for Victory campaign. My own grandfather, Victor Simpson, had a very large allotment that kept several families supplied with fresh fruit and vegetables during the Second World War, supplemented by the odd rabbit or pigeon that strayed onto his plot. It is often thought of as being a very British concept, but this is far from true. Allotmenting is enjoyed in many places around the world. We’re all familiar with the Russian term ‘dacha’ which conjures up a vision of a small log cabin on a plot of land allocated by local government. Well, a dacha is quite literally an allotment. Across Europe there are allotments but their purpose

differs from country to country. Although there’s still an emphasis on ‘grow your own’, in many places the humble allotment has become a recreational space, sometimes including a wooden building that allows summer residency away from the city’s hustle. And the idea continues to grow, with countries as diverse as Malta and the Philippines adopting the concept, for the first time, just in the last few years. Competition for allotments locally is strong. Particularly since the pandemic, the desire to have a small plot to call your own has grown massively and outstripped what is available, which is a pity. Growing your own, whether it be vegetables, flowers, even herbs for dyeing or medical practice, has enormous health and social benefits, in particular for mental health, and that produces a positive benefit for society as a whole.

Beware the horrific nematode, the ultimate nemesis

JOHN WRIGHT 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.

As part of the research for a book on British grasslands I have been looking at the microscopic creatures that inhabit grassland soils.

The first microscope slide was frankly terrifying, with a dozen nematode worms violently thrashing around on my computer screen. Fortunately, they were only 2mm long.

The layman’s only likely encounter with these creatures is when they attack garden or agricultural plants, or they use them to kill slugs. A much worse encounter is to suffer one of the handful of diseases they cause. It is pity that most people know little more about them as nematode worms are fascinating and ecologically important. They are also super-abundant. The population in a square metre of grass can

run into millions, they flourish in both the sea and on land and tolerate harsh conditions almost everywhere.

There are sixty billion nematodes for every human being on earth and, according to a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation, those sixty billion weigh about the same as a human being.

I am always keen to identify anything I find, but with 30,000 or so named nematode species and anything up to a million more awaiting discovery, it is a hopeless task for an amateur.

I have contented myself with those I saw under my microscope being a bacterivore, due to the shape of the mouth. Other shapes might indicate it consumes plants, or fungi, or animals, or is an omnivore. Most nematode species are socially

conventional, with male and female, the male usually being much smaller. Some of the birthing strategies used are, however, not even remotely conventional. The female of the White Potato Cyst Nematode, for example, buries her head into a potato root to feed, the rest of her body swelling into a white sphere which will, in time, fill with eggs. The sphere yellows, then, on the death of the mother, it turns hard and brown, the eggs contained therein hatching over a period of years. A few species will turn to an even darker reproductive strategy, at least when food is short: eggs hatch within the still-live mother and the baby worms eat their way out. Nice.

Celebrating royal coast path with guided walks

Natural England are hosting the first of a series of events to celebrate the King Charles III England Coast Path at the Nothe Gardens, Weymouth on Sunday, June 11. The free event is intended to connect people with nature, enabling all to access the natural environment and experience the health benefits that it can bring. The event takes place between 10am and 4pm and visitors can try a variety of activities

including guided walks, theatre and performing arts, abseiling, yoga and much more.

The Greenspaces team will be supporting the new England Coast Path event as well as running free wildlife activities in the gardens throughout the day.

Mayor Kate Wheller said: “This is a chance to learn more about the path that goes through Weymouth, connecting the beautiful coastline of

our town together with other scenic locations along the Jurassic coast path.”

When completed, the new National Trail will cover the coast of England and will be around 2,700 miles long. There is also a free silent disco event at the Nothe Fort from 5pm on Saturday, June 10. Book tickets at nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/englandcoast-path-celebrations-in-the-southwest

Warning: This plant can trap sheep

A rare South American plant with a fearsome reputation has burst into bloom at Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens.

The Puya chilensis is a rarely seen relative of the pineapple, native to the mountains of Chile.

Known as the ‘sheepeating plant’, in its native habitat its ferocious spines have been known to trap sheep, birds and small animals.

Their remains provide the nutrients for the huge plant to survive and bloom.

Because it requires large amounts of energy, Puya requires decades to gain the energy to flower into clusters of bright, usually yellow, blooms and is pollinated by hummingbirds.

So, there was great

excitement when Abbotsbury’s Puya showed signs that it was preparing to flower this month. But plant fans keen to see the unusual sight only have a couple of weeks to enjoy the spectacle, depending on the weather.

Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens’ Curator David Pearce said: “The Puya’s highly specific growing requirements make it a rarely seen plant in British cultivation; with it typically only being seen in heated glasshouses. In

addition to this, it typically takes more than a decade to flower, making this a much-anticipated blooming.

“We knew it was going to flower because the flower stem began to emerge from the centre of the leaf rosette.

“The inflorescence – the term used for a group of flowers – grew up to 20cm a day until it reached about 3.5 metres tall, when it branched into a resplendent network of flowers with an unusual turquoise form of flowering.

“This year we had four inflorescences, all emerging from the same clump.”

More information on tickets and opening times at abbotsburytourism.co.uk/gardens

Have your say on council’s climate change policy

Dorset Council is inviting comments from residents as it prepares guidance documents on planning for climate change.

These documents include new guidance for owners of listed buildings, a proposed sustainability checklist and an “interim guidance

and position statement on planning for climate change”.

An authority spokesperson said these documents will “bring together legislation, national policy and local planning policy on climate change and will encourage those making planning applications to consider measures for

addressing climate change”. There is also a proposed amendment to section 39 of the council’s Local List in relation to planning applications. The proposed change is that applicants must submit a “sustainability checklist” alongside a sustainability statement.

RARE SIGHT: David Pearce with the Puya chilensis at Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens

Arrow words Wordsearch

Jumbo 3D Sudoku

Place 1 to 9 once each into every black-bordered 3×3 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:

Place 1 to 9 once each into every row, column and bold-lined 3×3 box. No digit may be repeated in any dashed-line cage, and each dashed-line cage must result in the given value when the stated operation is applied between all of the digits in that cage. For subtraction and division operations, start with the highest number in the cage and then subtract or divide by the other numbers in that cage.

Cryptic Crossword

Brain chain (Hard version)

61 RESULT ×2+50%-75-50%+104

Can you solve these brain chains entirely in your head? Start with the bold value on the left of a chain, then follow the arrows and apply each operation in turn. Write the result in the box.

Across

1 Respireabouttoenterplaceforimmersing bodywithenergy (7)

5 USfellowworkingasafavour (4)

9 Bravevictor,boxerfollowedbyworker (7)

10 OldoldsoldieracceptingRepublican?That’s obvious (5)

11 PlacefordancinginOxfordiscovered (5)

12 PoshconservationistsI’dfoundbyyardbeing messy (6)

14 Denialsaynotevidentinrace (6)

16 InformationtakenbyWelshmanmostlyin Swisscity (6)

18 Foolsgoingafterfirstofboisteroussingers (6)

19 Spindlefoundinnon-universalalcove (5)

22 Atmosphereinbordersofduchy?Itusedto besuitableformaids (5)

23 Selfishsortlearnttooccupyrelaxingsite (7)

24 Decorativebandinsmalltree (4)

25 WhataboutGreekcharacteraptforrevolution gettingfuneraryinscription? (7)

2 Presidesoverregulations (5)

3 Aloanoldguysarrangedwithnoendofgood inasimilarway (11)

4 Objectofridiculeone’sfirsthusbandheldup inlargebath (3,3)

6 Completedmusicalworkalmostlate? (7)

7 Commentuponmemo (4)

8 Gettingaroundclimbingroadtoll? (7)

10 Proceedingdisclosedandbecoming unpopular (2,3,3,3)

13 Vehicledeterioratesprovidingincentives? (7)

15 Adietsopreparedforservilesorts (7)

17 OutlikeformerBritishPMwhen overthrown? (6)

20 Bachelortoproceedwithdifficultyasa reactionary (5)

21 Teamsfirstoffinfatefuloccasion (4)

Vittles (food & drink)

To The Manor drawn, for a better battered fish

From Swyre on the B3157 a country lane ambles down towards the sea, passing fields of lambs and pasture to the village of West Bexington. The Manor Hotel rests whimsically overlooking the seascape that is Lyme Bay. A warm summer’s evening, the sun still high in the sky, the sea twinkling against a sapphire sky; how lucky we are to live in such a stunning place.

The Manor, always a favourite, has seen some changes of ownership in recent years but has never disappointed. It’s a comfortable place to eat, no matter what time of year or what the elements outside throw at you. In the winter a roaring fire bids you to stay, and the summer draws you outside into a pretty garden. Thursday evening and The Manor House was busy, with the contented murmur

of happy diners. I enjoyed one of the best battered fish with chips I have ever had. The fish was moist and a generous portion. Hublet, predictable as always, had the fish pie which, he remarked, is consistently good. We had a lovely, relaxing evening and watched the sun slowly slip into Lyme Bay’s pocket for safe keeping, until another day.

Given our experiences as happy customers at the Manor, and as a former restaurateur, it was a nasty surprise to read a negative review of it in a little local magazine. Unlike some other

magazines, the WDM does not publish bad restaurant reviews. We consider them in bad taste. If for some reason I do not enjoy a meal, I just won’t write about it. Food is a personal preference. Hospitality has been hit the hardest in this present economic climate –it’s hard enough without petty, negative comments. Why did this amateurish writer feel it necessary to harangue overworked staff just because he got ice when he didn’t want it, the chips were not hand cut or the peas were frozen? Fresh peas don’t happen to be in season, you know… Unfair censure can destroy

morale, and livelihoods –and this writer seems to be making a habit of it, with a review of another local eatery recently bemoaning what they thought was poor ‘signage’. Now, did that really spoil the enjoyment of a meal? Get a grip!

I also read on social media about establishments appealing for people to ‘behave’ and not be rude to staff. This is inexcusable; do people really need to be reminded how to behave? Everyone is trying their best to keep prices down, battling against rising energy bills, food prices and difficulty recruiting staff. I mean, who wants to work in an environment where all you get is abuse? If you want hand cut chips, expect to pay a higher price for that predilection! It’s easy to be a ‘benchwarmer’ critic without experience and knowledge of just how hard work the catering industry these days can be.

Mum’s Kitchen... with Diana Holman

Strawberry and Hazelnut

Streusel Cake

This lovely summer cake is a little more trouble, with three mixtures to prepare for layering, but the results are delicious.

Ingredients:

Cake batter:

100g blanched hazelnuts

200g butter, softened

200g caster sugar

4 medium eggs, whisked

100g self raising flour

2 teaspoon mixed spice

Fruit Mixture:

550g strawberries, hulled and halved

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 tablespoons castor sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Streusel Mixture:

50g blanched hazelnuts

50g butter

60g self raising flour

1 teaspoon mixed spice

100g jumbo oats, toasted

60g demerara sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan. Grease and line a 20cm springform round cake tin. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

To prepare the fruit mixture, mix the strawberries, ground ginger, caster sugar and lemon juice. Tip onto a lined baking tray and roast in a pre- heated oven for 15 minutes.

Karen Broad lives in Burton Bradstock, with her husband and two mad dogs. She ran The Mousetrap in Dorchester, has lived in France and loves discovering new food producers.

RARELY BETTERED: The battered fish at The Manor in West Bexington

Vittles (food & drink)

Cress up for the occasion, with cake

Watercress and Vanilla Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This recipe makes use of watercress that is in season this month. We are very lucky here in Dorset that the watercress company is based at Bere Regis –although much of that supplied to many of the big supermarkets is in fact from Dorset. It adds a deliciously peppery note this light cake. With plenty of vanilla and a cool cream cheese frosting, this cake will be well received by all the family.

It really is important that the butter and cream cheese are at room temperature before mixing, otherwise the frosting could be lumpy.

Preparation 45 minutes

Cooking time 50 - 60 minutes

For the cake:

125g watercress

285g sunflower oil

325g caster sugar

5 medium eggs

375g self-raising flour

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the frosting:

100g butter, preferably unsalted (room temperature)

50g icing sugar

200g cream cheese (room temperature)

Edible flowers to decorate (optional)

Heat the oven to Gas

4/180C. Grease and line a 20cm

In the meantime, place all the hazelnuts (for the cake batter and the streusel) on a baking tray and roast for 15 minutes until golden.

When they are cool enough, chop 50g for the streusel, and then put the rest into a food processor and whizz to a fine consistency.

Lower the oven temperature to 170C/ 150C fan

Spoon the fruit into a bowl, draining off any excess liquid. Set aside to cool.

To make the streusel, place the butter and flour in a bowl and rub the butter into the flour until you have a

square tin or a 23cm round tin.

To make the cake, chop the watercress until very fine –ideally do this in a blender. Put it in a mixing bowl with the rest of the cake ingredients and beat until well incorporated. Try not to over stir – it isn’t the end of the world if you do, but the cake may not rise as well as it could. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for approximately 50-60 minutes. The cake is done when a

skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Set the cake aside to rest for 15 minutes before removing it from the tin. Leave on a cooling rack until cold. To make the frosting, beat the butter and icing sugar together until pale in colour then gently fold in the cream cheese until evenly mixed.

Spread a lovely thick layer of cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake. I like to decorate with a few edible flowers, such as violas or rose petals.

n Lizzie is based in Upwey and sells her baked goodies in the Old Ship Inn on a Saturday morning. She can be found at various food markets and events all over the county. Check out her website for details lizziebakingbird.co.uk

Don’t forget to tag @lizzibakingbird on Instagram if you make this (or any of her) recipes.

then fold in the remaining ingredients including the ground hazelnuts, using a large metal spoon.

breadcrumb-like consistency. Mix in the mixed spice, jumbo oats and caster sugar and the mix in the chopped roasted hazelnuts.

To make the cake batter cream together the butter and sugar using an electric mixer. Gradually whisk in the eggs and

Spoon half the cake batter into the lined cake tin. Top with half the streusel and half the strawberries. Spoon on the rest of the cake batter and smooth out to create an even layer. Top with the remaining streusel and strawberries. Bake in the centre of the oven for 50 minutes, before covering with a layer of foil. Continue baking for a further 45 minutes before removing from the oven. Leave to cool before removing from the tin. Enjoy!

Lizzie Crow – AKA Lizzie Baking Bird – is a self taught baker, who has a stall outside The Old Ship Inn in Upwey each Saturday. See her scrumptious eats at lizziebakingbird.co.uk or find lizzibakingbird on Instagram.

SEASONAL: Watercress and Vanilla Cake

Picture: LARA JANE THORPE

Vittles

(food & drink)

Sunday best for a roast in a glorious garden

RESTAURANT REVIEW Pymore Inn Bridport

By John Clements, chef at The Olive Tree, Bridport

While inside tables here are bookable, outside is a complete gamble – first come, first served. The odds of getting a table weren’t good – the weather was warm. I have so many wonderful al fresco memories with some of my favourite peeps here. And it’s Sunday…no way I’m gonna be able to rustle up a roast with what’s left in the fridge if this bet goes south… Fingers crossed. A leisurely 25-minute stroll from Bridport town centre, the inn sits aside Dorset

TASTY TREATS: The Sunday roast and, right, the chocolate brownie at the Pymore Inn

fields covered (in late May) with radiant buttercups and the footpath there with fluttering summer swifts, bathed in Queen Anne’s Lace and Devil’s Tongues. We arrived to find a few free tables – jackpot!

On the Sunday menu were four roasts, chicken, beef, pork and nut. Four starters too – soup, gravlax, hummus and burrata. We

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chose pork and chicken. Both were served with a gargantuan Yorkshire pudding, veg and roasties. Unfussy, well cooked, moist and warm, just perfect. English chefs take roasts very seriously. It’s just a fact. I’d wager that the chefs who work here do too. The garden area is lovely. If gardens can have vibes then this has a good one. The

tables and chairs are perfectly spaced and very sturdy. There’s a fire pit, an outside kitchen, a bar and a covered tent if the heavens decide to open. All in all an idyllic place to be on a warm summery Sunday afternoon. Surprisingly there were five puddings to choose from, banana, coconut and lime fritters, brûlée cheesecake (interesting hybrid), sticky toffee, chocolate brownie and yes – a cheeseboard. We shared the brownie. I urge you not to share the brownie. It was an unctuous, rich chocolate hit. There was a clash of spoons. Please gamble responsibly and have a cheeky punt on the Pymore Inn.

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Stay on top of chores to enjoy your garden

Mike Burks is the managing director of The Gardens Group, with garden centres in Sherborne, Yeovil and Poundbury. Mike is a former chairman of the Garden Centre Association and is a passionate advocate of eco-friendly gardening practices.

At the height of the summer one could be forgiven for thinking that all the work in the garden is done and that a spot of relaxation should be an entitlement! However, while there should be time for a snooze every now and then there are also chores to be done to keep plants in good shape.

Baskets and tubs need to be watered every day. On a rainy day in the garden centre, it can often amuse customers seeing the plant team in waterproofs still watering the plant displays. This is because so much of the rain will be blocked from getting to the soil in pots by the foliage of the plant. The use of water retentive gel in the compost can help but its effects are marginal and are no substitute for daily watering.

It’s also worth looking at how water is applied. Gaily wafting the fine spray from the

end of a hosepipe is probably the least efficient method whereas seep hoses and the use of micro irrigation systems which apply water very precisely will be much more effective. Watering is best carried out early in the morning before it gets too warm.

Covering the soil with a Bloomin’ Amazing or Composted Bark mulch will keep moisture in and will protect the soil from being damaged by the monsoon like rain we seem to get these days. As the mulch breaks down, the soil will be improved, making it more able to hold onto moisture and become more fertile too.

Regular feeding especially of tubs and baskets will keep the garden looking good. It’s worth thinking about what the food is for. For example, if more flowers are required, as they would be in a

hanging basket, then a high potash fertilizer such as Big Tom would be good. In leafy crops such as the vegetable garden a feed higher in Nitrogen such as Boost might be more appropriate. Deadheading too should be carried out on flowering displays. On many plants should a flower be allowed to go to seed the plant will

think its job is done. However, with the removal of the old flowers the plant is kidded into thinking that it needs to produce more flowers and so the display will be prolonged. And, once all of this is done there should still be time to step back and admire the display.

Mike Burks thegardensgroup.co.uk

W A R D O N H I L L

T R A D I N G P O S T

A watering can-do attitude can help

In the excitement accompanying the eventual return of warmer weather, preparing your garden for whatever the summer might throw at us, is surprisingly easy. With last summer’s drought still fresh in our minds, it is important to think about how to maintain your garden, keeping it looking beautiful, while also saving money.

If you are adding any plants to your garden, remember to choose them well. Choose plants that are well suited for the climate in the southwest – the more native plants the better. Locally grown natives will not only have a lower carbon footprint, but they will also be much easier to

grow, require less watering and be fantastically beneficial to wildlife. When thinking about your planting plan, try to group plants according to their watering needs. You can save a lot of water by putting plants that thrive in drier conditions together, and the same for those that like a good drink. You should be able to find this information on the label when you buy the plant, but if that information is not there, simply look up the plant online. Be prepared for anything. Who knows what this year’s summer will bring, whether that’s torrential rainfall and another

drought. Using ecofriendly moisture retaining granules around the roots of your new plants, or underneath new turf, will help your plants come rain or shine – and will save you money and water! Simply add the granules to the soil before you plant or plants. The granules will soak up redistribute it as and

Another great money saver is to use bark or bark mulch in your borders. This will also protect your plants from whatever the British summer throws at us. Bark will help to keep weeds down, retain

moisture and stabilise the temperature around the plant’s roots.

It is always a good idea to be prepared, just in case there is another drought. Save water by making sure you have water butts to store water from rainy days to use on dry days. You can also save money and water by reusing grey water from the house to water your garden. Just make sure it doesn’t contain harsh cleaning chemicals that plants won’t like. Of course, the most important thing is to get out and enjoy your garden as much as possible. n For more advice, go to queenthorne.co.uk, or message us on Facebook or Instagram,.

Homes & Gardensx

Less is more in encouraging wildflowers

Andy Cole is a reiki healer in Middlemarsh. He specialises in planting for healing.

The Photinia Red Robins are doing well at The Potting Shed and flowering wonderfully. The healing energies help focus a cluttered mind. With all the cluttered thoughts going around these energies assist in concentrating the mind on the most important one. I took the time to sit in the community garden among the wildflowers and long grass, listening to the birds singing. In all my years brought up on a farm, living and working in the countryside, working with stock then landscaping and gardening, this has been the first time I have taken the time to sit and actually look at what was around me, not as a field of hay or for silage, or an area

I needed to fence off for the cattle or sheep to graze. I saw buttercups, red clover, plantain, vetches and grass seed heads all swaying in the breeze – what a beautiful, peaceful and inspiring sight. Plantain energies are said to ward off evil spirits, and the plant has significant healing uses. You can also make a herbal tea from the leaves, but please check how to do it properly before you try it. The mixture of grasses reminded me of the old permanent pasture mixes my father used on the farm at home, with Timothy, meadow fescue, and clover. Nature has added her bit over the years with the buttercups, vetches

and other wildflowers. This spectacle had been created by a farmer and thrived as it was managed over the years, by cutting it for hay or grazing it. We have now become the custodians of this small parcel of land. We have changed a bit, added bits, but have also left a lot alone as it truly is a special place to relax, unwind and be inspired.

I am mindful that we must not change the management of the wildflower areas so we keep the flora and fauna as it is, so we will graze the area with sheep in the autumn and again in early spring, then allow the area to regenerate all the wildflowers again next year.

If something is working, keep doing the same and it will continue to work. We must remember the countryside we all dearly love and wish to preserve has been created by farmers, their management of the fields and hedgerows combined with the conservation work they do, keep our countryside looking the way it does.

During the recent meditation evening the wildflower meadow was used for a walking meditation. A lot of the participants walked around barefoot and enjoyed the natural reflexology as well as the meditation. Please follow The Potting Shed on Facebook for details of the next event. I am off to dig a small veg patch and plant some runner beans – you can’t beat homegrown produce.

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New-look Tempest set to be a summer storm

A Shakespeare classic with a Dorset twist will be touring the area from July-September.

SISATA presents The Tempest as you’ve never seen it before, focusing on the impact of climate change Portland.

A great storm is coming to the Isle of Portland, bringing trouble to its shores. Prospero’s spells wash ashore the ghosts of his past, triggering strange magical consequences for Portlanders Miranda, Ariel and Caliban.

The human lust for power and control have become toxic, causing devastating pollution, endangering lives and the future of the land itself. Can the tempest crisis unite them to live and love and work together with nature to battle the inevitable tide of climate change? Will love win the day?

The project will culminate in an original site-responsive promenade play cycle of three dynamic and nature-connected pieces that are inspired by the original

Shakespearean text and will be performed on the island as part of the b-Side festival (Sept 8-11). These three plays in a cycle are being written, co-created and performed by local community performers, led by a team of professional writers and SISATA.

Performances will also be held at: Museum of East Dorset on Saturday, July 15 at 6.30pm, Sandsfoot Castle Gardens

Weymouth, DT4 8QE on Friday, July 21 at 6.30pm, Swanage

Amphitheatre from Saturday, July 22 to Monday, July 24 at 2.30pm (free), at Maumbury Rings in Dorchester on Friday, July 28 at 7pm, at Red House Museum & Gardens, Quay Rd, Christchurch BH23 1BU on Saturday, July 29 at 6.30pm and at Portland Castle on Saturday, September 2 at 6pm.

Poole’s Lighthouse will host the show on Wednesday and Thursday, July 13 and 14 at 8pm.

Tickets are £12-15 apart from the Swanage show, information at sisata.co.uk

CLIMATE CHANGE: SISATA’s version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest will be touring Dorset this summer

Culture

Callum’s sobering look at pub culture

A cautionary yet entertaining tale about our shared love for pubs, community and family is coming to Dorset this month.

Thirst by Callum Patrick Hughes is a “riotous, warm and musical” exploration of alcoholism that reminds us not everything we love is good for us, presented by Artsreach Dorset. A spokesperson for the show said: “Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse – all sadly members of the infamous 27 Club.

“In July 2018, two months shy of his 28th birthday, Callum Hughes was nearly added to that list. “Join acclaimed writer and performer Callum for a riotous, warm and musical journey from a small Oxfordshire town, through Beijing’s Hutongs and the Scottish Highlands, to the bright lights of the ‘Big Smoke’ as he attempts to discover who he is without looking

through the bottom of the bottle.”

Intertwining storytelling and song, Thirst is described as “both a love

letter to sobriety and a celebration of all things alcoholic”.

The spokesperson added: “It’s a joyous and

uproarious look at life, family, religion and most importantly the positivity of the pub, and how creating a community under the roof of your nearest watering hole doesn’t have to involve alcohol.”

Thirst is presented as part of Artsreach’s contribution to the Inn Crowd, a national project running since 2019 enabling spoken word artists to share their stories and entertain regulars at community pubs.

So pull up a barstool, order Callum a 0% lager and listen to his touching story at The Royal Oak in Drimpton (01308 867617) at 6.30pm on Sunday, June 11, and in Swanage Mowlem Theatre’s Showbar and Taproom (01929 422239) on Monday, June 12 at 8pm.

n Further information and tickets are available online at artsreach.co.uk

Strat’s entertainment: Marking guitar’s 50 years

A celebration of the iconic Fender Stratocaster guitar will take place at Dorchester’s Hardye Theatre on June 17.

Favoured by star musicians including Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Holly and Eric Clapton, Dorchester Arts is celebrating 50 years of the

Fender with a live gig starting at 8pm.

A Dorchester Arts spokesperson said: “The show takes us through the Stratocaster’s incredible story, told through the songs and the players that used and loved it.

“There will be live

performances of songs like The Shadow’s Apache, Jimi Hendrix’s All Along The Watch Tower, David Bowie’s Let’s Dance, Elton John’s Pinball Wizard, Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer, Dire Strait’s Sultans of Swing and many, many more.

“The show is also peppered with interesting guitar history. Did you know that Buddy Holly was the first

Stratocaster player to play on live TV? Or that Eric Clapton built his famous “Blackie” himself? Or that Mark Knopfler’s first Strat was a copy…

“A real treat for guitar lovers everywhere, the show will immerse you in some of the best songs in an evening of live music.”

n See dorchesterarts.org.

uk/2023/02/16/sat-17-june50-years-of-fender/

IT’S YOUR ROUND: Callum Patrick Hughes presents his Thirst at a number of Dorset pubs

In the build-up to his 95th birthday this October, acclaimed Royal Academy of Art member Philip Sutton will be exhibiting his works at Sladers Yard Gallery in West Bay until July 8.

Exhibiting paintings from the family collection for the first time alongside works on canvas, paper and ceramics, Sutton RA has selected pieces from a lifetime of painting, including some of his most recent work.

Mr Sutton, who is exhibiting more than 100 artworks including original posters, will be in conversation with Maureen Murray at the gallery on Friday, June 9 from 6pm. Tickets are £6 from Sladers Yard.

Born in Poole in 1928, the youngest of four boys, Philip Sutton left school at 14 and worked for three years in a drawing office, eagerly waiting lunch breaks so he could borrow a drawing board and draw.

He did his National Service in the RAF during the Berlin Airlift, earning a grant which allowed him to study at the Slade School of Fine Art in London from 1948 to 1953.

Sutton found his own style after being struck by the playfulness and seriousness he found in the works of Matisse, an artist who was largely ignored at the time. His tutor, William Coldstream, recognised him

Gallery to host a lifetime’s work of remarkable artist

as ‘a gifted, intuitive painter’ and introduced him to the dealers Roland, Browse and Delbanco who sold his first painting to Peter Pears and Benjamin Britten.

After his first show in 1956, the gallery continued to exhibit Sutton’s work in Cork Street for the next 28 years. In 1956 he was also invited to become a member of the London Group. While he was at Slade he met Heather Cooke. They were married in June 1953 and departed immediately after he graduated to travel and live in Europe for over a year, funded by three scholarships including the Prix de Rome.

After painting all the daylight hours for six months in the South of France, Sutton joined Stanley William Hayter who ran the famous Atelier 17 printmaking studio where Sutton learned unusual woodcutting techniques through observation and experiment. Back in London, he took a part-time job teaching etching and lithography at the Slade. He and Heather had four children by 1963, when Pop Art and the American Expressionists caused turmoil in the art world. In 1976 Hugh Casson invited Sutton to become an RA and his reputation began to move beyond the art market.

This led to commissions including designing a tapestry for Shell, one of two made at West Dean

College. He designed a logo for 3i and contributed to the rose logo for the Labour party as well as making wall tiles for a restaurant in a bank in Amsterdam.

The owner of the famous Fulham Pottery commissioned him to paint on pots made by Jean-Paul Landreau, an association that continued for some 15 years, leading to the ceramics in the current exhibition.

He designed stamps for the Post Office, a poster for the London Underground and crockery for the Royal Academy restaurant. A poster and the flag for the academy’s Summer Exhibition led the film director Sam Wanamaker to ask Sutton to design a poster for the launch of the reconstructed Globe Theatre. Sutton became inspired by Agincourt, travelling to northern France to imagine the conflict and painting fantastical pictures reminiscent of Uccello. From 1995-97 the painting of the series was filmed in a television documentary ending with the paintings in the foyer of the Globe. In 1988 Sutton gave up teaching at the Slade. He and Heather moved to Manorbier in Wales where they lived until 2014 when they moved to Bridport. Very sadly Heather died in 2017.

The forthcoming Sladers Yard show will be his fourth major solo exhibition. Mr Sutton says he still paints every day as his way of expressing his appreciation of the world around him.

ON SHOW: The Magic Field by Phillip Sutton, inset

New model of publishing aims to help authors thrive

A co-operative publishing consortium of established authors, editors and talented designers celebrated its launch with exciting new books by two of its leading writers. Resolute Books launched in Bridport, with gripping historical novel Wheel of Fortune by award-winning Bridport author Claire Dunn, and former crime scenes investigation officer Paul Trembling's chilling new

Striking wildlife photography that captures the power of nature will go on display at Eype Centre for the Arts. Featuring remarkable landscape shots of Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, Andrew Haydon’s solo exhibition Reflection will run from July 17 to 23.

The mainly black and white photos show the curiosity and strength of birds of prey.

Andrew is launching his exhibition following an 18year career in the entertainment business as an artist management. He spent ten years working with the creator of Bob the Builder Keith Chapman, producing TV projects including Fifi and the Flowertots, Roary the Racing Car and Raa Raa the Noisy Lion. “Being involved in many preschool animation projects taught me the importance of capturing the

crime novel, Local Killer, among its first offerings. Internationally renowned historical novelist Elizabeth Chadwick attended the event, and said Wheel of Fortune “is the best Wars of the Roses novel I have ever read.”

Resolute Books’ foundermember Claire Dunn said: “This is a genuinely unique venture because it is neither a traditional publisher nor a hybrid, nor is it self-

publishing. Each new book goes through a rigorous process. It also encourages the full involvement of the authors, something many writers feel denied by

traditional publishers.”

As well as established writers including Pen Wilcock, Edward de Chazal, Sue Russell and Ruth Leigh, Resolute will encourage new talent. “It is a venture of collaboration,” Claire said. “We decided last year we should bring our talents together to create something from which both we and our many readers would benefit.” resolutebooks.co.uk

What are you looking at?

Wildlife in focus at photography exhibition

viewer’s attention and framing carefully considered compositions,” he said.

Andrew’s lifelong passion for photography started when he was a child, shooting with a vintage Voigtlander and developing film in his

parents’ darkened bathroom. In 2018 he moved to a village near Bridport, where he focused on the abundant wildlife and stunning landscapes and townscapes that Dorset has to offer. “I like to think the

photographs reflect much more than the moment I pressed the shutter,” he said. “They tell who I am and incorporate all of my experiences.”

n For more information visit andrewhaydon.com

Outdoor theatre group returns to Walled Garden

Illyria outdoor theatre is returns to Castle Gardens in Sherborne, with its fastmoving, fun-packed family shows

The award-winning theatre company’s fun-filled adaptations begin with Robin Hood by Oliver Gray on Friday, June 9, followed by William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night on Wednesday, July 5, before the troupe return on Wednesday,

July 12 with Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, which has sold out nationwide six years in a row.

All three sparkling adaptations will feature fantastical sets, costume drama and plenty of laughs along the way. The performances will take place within the Walled Garden beneath the summer evening sky, so audience members are

encouraged to bring seating, picnics and warm clothing in preparation for an evening outdoors.

Doors will open at 6.30pm each night, with performances starting at 7.30pm. Tickets are now on sale from Castle Gardens, New Road, Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 5NR and online via illyria.co.uk

LET US PREY: Andrew Haydon’s photograph of an owl

Untangling the secret life of runaway teenager

West Dorset based writer Gail Aldwin is celebrating the county in her latest novel The Secret Life of Carolyn Russell.

The story revolves around 16-yearold Carolyn, who walks out of a West Country school in the 1970s and is never seen again.

The contemporary storyline follows the journey of Stephanie, a redundant journalist who takes up podcasting to

finally get to the bottom of what happened to Carolyn. The novel will be released by Bloodhound Books on July 3.

After reaching the end of her teaching career in Dorset, Gail Aldwin set herself a new challenge –joining the Voluntary Service Overseas organisation in 2022 and going to work at a refugee settlement in Uganda. While she was living

there, Gail discovered her love for true crime podcasts that inspired her to write her own stories.

Gail has already published two novels, both shortlisted in the Dorchester Literary Festival Writing Prize 2020 and 2022 competitions. Gail has appeared at Bridport Literary Festival, Stockholm Writers Festival and the Mani Lit Fest in Greece.

Something for everyone at folk fest

Purbeck Valley Folk Festival has an amazing line-up again this year: The Magic Numbers, Newton Faulkner, four-time Grammy winner Sarah Jarosz, UK folk royalty Seth Lakeman, Radio 2 favourite Kathryn Williams, the ultimate jumping Euro-folk group Sheelanagig, Lady Nade, The Destroyers, Old Baby Mackerel, and loads more!

PVFF is a festival that’s loved by everyone because there’s loads for kids to do, loads for parents and loads for the old folkies!

As well as four evenings and three full days of outstanding from AUgust 17 to 20 original young folk, roots and world music across five stages, Purbeck Valley Folk Festival brings music workshops, sessions, comedy, a massive craft area, a healing area, fire shows and loads for kids. Children’s activities include storytelling, The Circus of Science, theatre workshops, fun crafts, puppet shows, bubble displays, baby/toddler

Rhyme Time sessions, face-painting, a treasure hunt, bouncy castles, fancy dress, maypole dancing

and Morris dance workshops, family ceilidh, space-hopper obstacle course, welly wanging, and Circus skills performances and workshops including juggling, diablo, devil’s sticks, unicycling, stilt walking, low level trapeze, an inflatable tumble mat. And all kids activities are included in your ticket price, so there are no hidden costs.

PVFF’s craft area is growing year on year too. This year it’s better than

ever with workshops available in, rope-making, crochet, wicker modelling, macrame, cyanotype printing, clay modelling/pottery, bunting printing, tie-dye, blacksmithing, traditional woodturning, pebble painting, origami, and more. Music workshops this year include guitar playing with Newton Faulkner, and ‘Come and Try’ instruments try-outs which allow youths and adults the opportunity to

try out instruments that they might not get a chance to otherwise without having to invest in them first.

One of the things that makes Purbeck Valley Folk Festival really unique is its beautiful setting. Bang in the middle of the Purbeck hills with views across Corfe Castle, and the Swanage steam railway running alongside the family camping field, and just down the road from the Jurassic Coast and beautiful landmarks such as Durdle Door; it’s absolutely idyllic. A brilliant musical line-up, loads of stuff for kids, a huge craft area for adults, perfect location, and a great selection of real ales and ciders…

Tickets have been selling fast already with record numbers of festival-goers buying tickets for this year’s festival before they even left the site last year! Tickets are on sale now from £135 (£70/£30) for the weekend ThursdaySunday, including camping.

n purbeckvalley folkfestival.co.uk

MUSIC AND A LOT MORE: Purbeck Valley Folk Festival takes place from August 17-20

Culture STAINED GLASS WORKSHOPS

Brush with fame

The Great Field in Poundbury saw 90 artists aged 19 to 99 enjoy a day of landscape painting for Art in the Park.

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Landscape Artist of the Year 2023 Finn

Campbell-Notman, Portrait Artist of the Year 2022 runner up Binny Mathews and owner of Gallery On The Square, Poundbury David Murdock were the judges. Mr Campbell-Notman said he was impressed with the variety and quality of art.

Overall winner was James Meiklejohn, who won £250.

Dennis Hill, 99, won the Established Artist award against 40 other artists in the category, with Kevin Moore and Kim Smurthwaite as runners up.

The Enthusiasts’ category saw Natasha Hayball scoop first place, in what was her first ever competition, with runners up Elizabeth Guichard and Fiona Redstone. Winners were awarded £100 and runners up £50.

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WHAT A PICTURE:

From pages 80-81

Overall winner James Meiklejohn is presented with £250 from Gallery On The Square, with judges, Binny Mathews, Finn Campbell-Notman and David Murdock and, right, popular winner of the Established Artists category 99-year-old Dennis Hill with judge Finn Campbell-Notman

Getting to the root of dentistry issues

Before proceeding, it is important to notify any residents in the west of Sherborne who read the West Dorset Magazine that, on June 29, polling stations will open from 7am to 10pm.

Over 2,200 households face a by-election for a new Dorset Councillor in the Sherborne West ward, following the resignation last month of the Liberal Democrat councillor Matthew Hall, who moved all the way to Devon almost a year ago. Matt only resigned his seat after winning an election in Exmouth in Devon a few weeks ago. And if he hadn’t have won the Exmouth election, he would have continued to

Politics

use his Sherborne electors from over 55 miles away to be paid £14,000 a year of taxpayers’ money as an absent councillor. This byelection provides electors with the chance to restore their voice on Dorset Council. The local Conservative candidate who lives in Lenthay in the Sherborne West ward is Rebecca Burns. Rebecca is a lifelong Sherborne resident and awardwinning owner of a business in the town centre, and she has my full support.

On Wednesday last week, I led a debate in Parliament to raise the issue with the provision of NHS dentistry in the

South West. Our region has been experiencing acute difficulties in accessing routine and emergency dental treatment. Access to dental services continues to be a difficulty. This is a particular problem which has persisted for many years and is a consequence of the covid backlog, the unpopular 2006 dental legislation and the unfair remuneration system. As a result of these problems, the number of NHS dentists turning to private practice has increased and has meant that many of our local practices are not accepting new patients.

Many constituents have rightly been in touch over the last few months to tell me

of their difficulties accessing an NHS dentist, and I was glad to be amplify their concerns with neighbouring MPs to the Health Minister, Neil O’Brien. One of the reasons behind such a shortage of dentists is the difficulty to maintain the workforce in rural areas, such as here in West Dorset. Nationally, there is an uneven distribution of dentistry schools – while there are only currently two in the South West, there are six located in the North! In my speech, I proposed a new dental school in Dorset in order to help rectify this issue, and the Minister has agreed to meet with me to discuss this.

There’s a lot of money to be made in property

Summer in West Dorset means sunshine and an influx of visitors. Tourism is vital for the economy of West Dorset but is a double-edged sword. Holiday lets and second homes reduce the housing stock available for residents, especially first-time buyers. Two huge new housing developments in Dorchester and Bridport both claim to be part of the solution to the problem. However, neither offer enough affordable housing, and both threaten to overwhelm already stretched local infrastructure and services.

In 2022 Persimmon, one of the property giants involved in the plans for 4,000 new homes north of Dorchester, made

By EDWARD MORELLO West Dorset LibDems

£1billion in profits. Barratt Homes, involved in the 750home Bridport development, made £642m. Such profits are hardly surprising when developers can make up to 30% profit margin on the new houses they build.

A 2021 report by Transparency International revealed £1 in every £5 donated to the Conservative Party between 2010 and 2020 came from companies and individuals with substantial interests in the housing market. Roughly £60m in donations. In the three-year period to 2020 Conservative

ministers also held 669 meetings with property groups and lobbyists to discuss housing and planning. During their 13 years in Government the Conservatives have repeatedly acted to weaken community oversight of new developments, imposed central targets, overridden local planning concerns, and made it quicker and easier for developers to secure planning permission. The Government’s upcoming Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill will grant the Secretary of State even greater powers to override attempts to prevent unsuitable development.

If you believe the

Conservative Party will put local concerns before the interests of the property developers, then I’ve got a new build to sell you.

The Liberal Democrats understand the need for some limited new house building, but where they must be built, they must be affordable for local people, sympathetic to the local area, and come with the necessary infrastructure to avoid adding to already overstretched local services. We can also reduce the need for new builds by clamping down on the number of second homes in the area and unlocking vacant properties. Only the Liberal Democrats will act to protect West Dorset from overdevelopment.

Constituency issues with West Dorset MP Chris Loder

Any colour you like, but we need some sort of PR

Not content with his monthly political column in this magazine, last month Chris Loder wrote a letter pointing out that he “doesn’t tend to write on party politics” and was critical of the other columnists for doing so. Now I don’t want this to come as a shock Chris, but these columns are about party politics. That’s why the three columns alongside yours are entitled ‘Politics’. These other columns are not entitled ‘Constituency issues’ because they are not written by the West Dorset MP.

Rather than play party politics Chris says that he chooses to focus “on what is being done to deliver on the things that matter for

By KELVIN CLAYTON West Dorset Green Party

West Dorset”. The problem with this holier than thou attitude is that the things that matter are not homogenous and clear cut – they are different for different groups of people in different circumstances. The role of the other columnists, as I see it, is to represent, as far as we are able, these other perspectives and point out where the incumbent government is failing. Having said that, I do agree with Chris about not repeating “established party-political central office attack lines”.

I can honestly say that the views I express in this

column are my own and are not dictated to me. The fact that my views tend to mirror those of the Green Party is why I am a member. I genuinely feel under no pressure to conform, and can honestly say that at Dorset Council the Green group never imposes a ‘whip’ when it comes to voting. More generally, politics needs to be done differently in this country. The current government and opposition adversarial divide is not conducive to constructive deliberation, and it does not represent the diversity of the country as a whole. This is why we need some version of Proportional Representation. We need not only all views

represented in parliament, but all views involved in decision-making.

We need to understand that there are rarely, if ever, clear cut solutions to our problems, and that good decisions need to take into account all perspectives. Chris closes his letter with a passing comment on the yellow leaflets of the Lib Dems. Now it has come to my attention that certain incumbent Tory MPs have changed the colour of their own party leaflets from blue to green. Now why would they do that? Surely they couldn’t be getting so nervous of losing their seat that they were trying to pass themselves off as green? But I’m sure Chris wouldn’t do that.

Policy ideas come from open debate and discussions

Dorchester Town Council is made up of 20 councillors, of whom 17 are Liberal Democrats.

It seems that even with so much control they do not allow dissent within their ranks. Councillor Tony Lyall has resigned his position on the town council, having been told that his views did not conform to the party line. He has also been critical about the council’s mismanagement of the town’s assets and funds. When one group has so much control it has a negative effect on democracy, stifling debate, and it’s time we heard from different voices. Councillor Lyall’s resignation may lead to a by-election and Dorchester Labour will put a candidate forward if this is the case.

By CLAUDIA SORIN West Dorset Labour Party

As a broad church, the local Labour Party not only encourages debate and discussion in our own meetings, but we also go out and speak to members of the public through street stalls, door knocking and encouraging feedback from our newsletters. Over the last few months, the local party has submitted ideas that will go towards developing the Labour Party manifesto at the next general election.

On transport we have said that local authorities must be allowed to take control of bus services, with funding to subsidise these as cuts have hit our rural communities and

economies hard. We welcome Labour’s commitment to bring our railways into public ownership.

On tackling poverty, we call for recruitment of sufficient staff to be able to clamp down on tax evasion, bring in wealth taxes and reform of council tax to make it more proportionate. For young people we have called for a statutory youth service delivered by local authorities to support children and young people’s social and emotional wellbeing.

On a fairer voting system, we call for a form of proportional representation to go with reform of the House of Lords so that everyone has a vote that counts.

On housing, local authorities should be supported to build

council houses, abolish right to buy, use powers of compulsory purchase and charge council tax to ensure developers deliver on affordable housing. Renters must be protected through longer tenancies, rent controls, and ending no fault evictions. More support for Community Land Trusts is needed.

On equality we welcome the Labour Party’s commitment to ensure that the single-sex exceptions in the Equality Act are maintained and clarified to protect women’s rights. Some of these ideas have already been announced as Labour policy and West Dorset Labour members have played a key role in developing what will be an excellent manifesto for a fairer, greener future.

Freelance copywriter ANDREW KNOWLES is based in Wyke Regis. He’s been freelance for nearly 15 years, including work with Dorset Growth Hub, helping to support and train hundreds of small business owners.

We must learn the lessons of failure

“If I wrote about why my business failed, would you want to read it?”

Someone tweeted this a few days ago. I replied immediately: “Yes.”

Years ago one of my daughters picked over the bones of a dead animal with macabre fascination. That’s not dissimilar to how I listen to the story of how a business died.

In the same way doctors learn through dissection, business owners should find tales of failure to be instructional.

Yet the majority of business stories pushed at us are all about success. The entrepreneur who founded a multi-million-pound empire from their bedroom/garage/garden shed - that sort of thing. Around one in five businesses fail in their first year.

Less than 40% make it to their fifth anniversary. The Office of National Statistics publishes data on what it calls business births and

THE LAW COLUMN

deaths.

These numbers hide the human stories.

So many business deaths are also human tragediesshattered dreams, broken relationships and personal savings lost.

Sadly, some of these tragedies are predictable. For years someone’s nurtured an ambition to own a coffee shop or be self-employed.

When the opportunity presents itself, they jump in, often without taking much advice or learning from the mistakes of others. Too often, failure is built in from the start.

If you’re considering starting a business, please take care.

To help you, here are some of the most common reasons why businesses fail.

Unbalanced partnerships

A friend set up a website company in partnership with a graphic designer. They’d never discussed their ambitions - one was

More protection

New legislation has been introduced to bolster support for working parents and carers, aiming to enhance workplace protections.

The objective of these fresh measures is to improve leave entitlements and redundancy regulations, ensuring that individuals with caregiving responsibilities can achieve a healthier work-life balance and

extremely entrepreneurial, a risk-taker. The other wanted to play it super-safe. Within a couple of years they closed the business, because of continual disagreements.

Wrong location

A relative set up a garden centre on a plot of land supplied by a friend. It was on a quiet road, miles from anywhere. Those who found it loved what was available, but customer numbers were too low for it to be sustainable.

An inconvenient lifestyle

Years ago someone close to me took over their local grocery shop. While they liked the idea of running the shop, in practice having to be there every day became a major frustration. Margins were too thin to employ staff, so they closed.

Cashflow problems

A loss-making enterprise struggles on for years while its neighbour, a profitable

business, fails. Why? One had cash in the bank, the other didn’t. The moment you can’t pay rent, staff or suppliers, the game is up. Bear in mind that it can take a new business a couple of years to break into profit.

Poor marketing

Successful new businesses typically spend 20% of their turnover on marketing (which is more than ads). Unfortunately, many small firms neglect marketing. Yet customers will choose an inferior product or business when it’s marketed more effectively.

If you’re about to start a business, I highly recommend you invest time talking to others who run a similar operation. Learn what worked for them, and what mistakes they made. Many business owners are happy to share their stories. If you’re not sure where to start, get in touch with your local Chamber of Commerce.

working parents and carers

and paternity.

receive fair treatment in the event of losing their job.

These new rights stem from three Government-backed, cross-party bills that have now been granted royal assent.

Once enacted, parents and carers will enjoy

n Up to 12 weeks of paid neonatal care leave for employed parents whose children are admitted to neonatal care, so that they can spend more time with their baby at what is a hugely stressful time. This is in addition to other leave and pay entitlements such as maternity

n Redundancy protection for pregnant women and new parents with the extension of existing redundancy protections to cover pregnancy and a period of time after parents return to work

n A new entitlement for unpaid carers to a week of flexible unpaid leave a year, for employees who are caring for a dependant with a long-term care

the following enhanced protections:

Lisa Pharaoh is the West of Dorset’s only qualified and registered mediator with the Civil Mediation Council

for

Save money reconfiguring old machinery

With more than 35 years’ professional experience, electrical engineer Russ Prevett of RPEME saves businesses money and adds value by increasing efficiency, functionality and improving reliability to existing equipment. Current projects include installing power factor correction and voltage optimisation – a process that will save clients thousands on their electricity bill. Adding automation of machinery also removes operator error and increases ‘up-time’. Retrofitting ageing control systems on existing equipment – where obsolescence and condition affects reliability but mechanically the machinery is sound – is highly worthwhile. You’re effectively future proofing with such an investment.

“Projects such as these really improve machinery efficiency,” Russ explains. “Reducing running costs, while also identifying where process and production gains can be

need. This will enable carers to better balance their caring and work responsibilities, supporting them to remain in employment.

Startling research conducted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission revealed that approximately one in nine mothers either faced dismissal, compulsory redundancy, or were subject to such poor treatment that they felt compelled to quit their jobs.

The Protection from Redundancy Act will extend existing

made, using energy more economically today is vital for sustainability in business long term.

“The bottom line is – I will save you money.”

Born and raised in Dorset with an apprenticeship served at Bovington Camp, Russ qualified in 1985 before leaving in 1986 to start work as a marine electrician at Cobbs Quay, Poole.

Within a year, he had begun his international career in the marinas of Southern France. A career where he has travelled the

world, working to exacting standards at sea in the marine and oil and gas

EXPERIENCED AND RELIABLE: Electrical engineer Russ Prevett of RPEME

industries. With those airmiles also came skills: automation, commissioning, process control, PLC programming – Russ is a true engineer with a love of boats, who still gets asked to solve electrical problems afloat in the harbours and marinas of Dorset. For more information visit rpeme.co.uk or call Russ on 07775 975165 or email rpeme@btinternet. com

protections to protect pregnant women and new parents against this discriminatory practice. If you have employment worries, feel free to get in touch. Pharaoh Law’s Director Solicitor, Lisa Pharaoh, BA (Hons) in Decision Making and Law, has over 30 years’ experience in Employment Tribunal and EAT.

By Stuart Wickham stuart@westdorsetmag.co.uk

In their 100th anniversary year, we continue our look back at the history of Bridport Bowling Club, from 1973 to the present day.

Members celebrated the club’s Golden Jubilee with an invitational match against the English Bowling Association, with Bridport losing 125 to 105. At a pre-match luncheon, club President Harry Castle declared that the civic reception and visit of the EBA was the highlight of the celebration and a unique and outstanding event in the history of the club. More plans were mooted regarding the location and possible amalgamation with the newly established indoor club towards the end of the 1980s, and council plans for a new hospital on the site of the club were shelved, when the council realised the difficulty in having to find an alternative site for the club.

In 1992, lady members were finally given the same rights and votes as the men, apparently one of the few equal joint membership clubs in the county at that time. The Ladies’ section of the club began outperforming the men’s section, providing regular teams competing in National Finals at Leamington Spa. Over a ten-year spell from 1985 to 1995 Bridport provided the county with two Lady Presidents in Edna Paisley and Sue

Thriving club gearing up for next hundred years

Hawkesworth, with Sue also going on to play for England.

In 1998, the club celebrated 75 years with the men and ladies playing their respective county sides, although the highlight was a match which combined all of the governing bodies both nationally and at county level against Bridport. All teams included either current or past presidents playing against the Bridport rinks and the English Bowling Association rink also included the secretary of the World Bowls Board.

In more recent years the club continued its success in team and individual competitions throughout the county with the Ladies side regularly featuring at the National finals in Leamington.

Since the millennium, the club has undergone changes from the dress code to the structural aspect of the club. In a move to become more modern and steer away from the perceived stuffiness of bowls the club, like most in the area, were one of the first to adopt a lightweight sports top as the club shirt,

moving away from the traditional shirt and tie which was the standard dress code for all bowlers. Aided by grants and the tireless work and fundraising of members, a new modern clubhouse was opened on the west elevation of the green, which now houses both men’s and ladies’ changing rooms, a large kitchen and bar, and a large community area to host social functions. Please see bridportbowlingclub.org.uk for details of membership and information on their anniversary celebrations.

GAME ON: Action from a recent Bridport Bowls Club home match and below, the club hosts several social events throughout the year including the popular Captain’s Day

Dorchester and District Angling Society’s juniors have had a busy schedule of competitions and events in May, with the fourth round of the 2023 DDAS Junior Championship taking place at Revels Fishery.

A beautiful day greeted the seven participating juniors on Dead Tree Lake, although thunderstorms on the previous day could easily have changed fishing conditions overnight, and it is the time of year when species like carp will start to think about spawning rather than eating. There were far fewer silverfish caught during the match than predicted, and patience was rewarded for those fishing the feeder. The winner was the everconsistent Austin Scott-Kennedy with 20lbs 11ozs, including a belting carp of 9lbs 9ozs, which moved Austin to the top of the leaderboard in the competition. Second place went to Josiah WellsParkes with small feeder-caught carp of 14lbs 6ozs, and taking his first podium on only his fourth fishing trip, was Caoimhin D'Errico with 13lbs exactly

Austin excels with monster carp to top leaderboard

of feeder-caught carp. A week earlier, the club’s juniors fished at Todber Manor on Homeground Lake. The fishery was hosting a pole open day for the public to come and meet some of the top names in fishing and get the opportunity to fish with some very expensive poles. Competitors received

signed caps from Shimano’s Nick Speed, photos with world champion Will Raison, and Preston Innovations Des Shipp even loaned one of the youngsters his own pole. Des was even kind enough to come down and present some vouchers to the winners at the end. It was such a big day for

juniors and coaches alike. Winner on the day with 97lbs 6ozs was Harry Cryer beating his brother, Jack, by just one pound. Austin Scott-Kennedy came third with 93lbs 1oz. n Away from competition matches, DDAS Juniors hosted a fishing experience for Broadmayne Primary School at the club’s own Luckfield Lake. Five young students who were keen to learn the basics of coarse fishing, joined the juniors for a taster on a warm evening. Each of the newcomers caught their first fish to give them an experience they will always remember. DDAS Club Secretary, Steve Sudworth, helped nine year-old Willow catch a beautiful common carp in close down the edge on the pole, all the time supported by her younger brother, Basil.

If you would like to know more about the club’s school events or any further information regarding DDAS Juniors, contact Junior Secretary, Graham Howard, on juniors.sec@d-das.com or go to ddasjuniors.co.uk

Ladies in action in full day of top competition

Lyme Regis Golf Club

By Marina Cave

Lyme Regis Golf Club Ladies played for the Spring 4 Ball Better Ball trophies. The trophies were presented by Mrs Jennifer Pollard on her retirement as Lady Captain. Despite the format requiring the ladies to play off a reduced handicap, there were some excellent top scores. The winners, with a fantastic 42 points were Ros Clemmans and Kim

Beauchamp, with the pairing of Kathy Briggs and Caroline Baker scoring 38 points to take second place, and Susan Moore and Sandra Barclay, also 38 points in third. The course was then at its very best as 26 ladies competing in a singles Stableford competition, which also included prizes for both the Committee Cup, awarded to current and past committee members, and the Centenary Sword, awarded to one of last year’s major trophy holders.

The best overall Stableford score in Division 1 was Jane Dixon with a solid 35 points, with Jill Swainson taking second place on 33 points on countback. Division 2 was won comfortably by Tessa Gilks with an impressive 40 points, nine points clear of second placed Judith Ellard. Caroline Baker won the Committee Cup, and Jane Dixon triumphed in the Centenary Sword final qualifier and now awaits the winner of the men’s Centenary Sword competition.

WHAT A CATCH: Austin Scott-Kennedy with a 9lb 9oz carp, part of his winning weight of 20lbs 11ozs at Revels and, right, Harry Cryer with his winning haul of 97lbs 6ozs at Todber Manor

Hosts in the Lymelight as teams from

Lyme Regis Gig Club held off stiff competition from teams across the South to win the Men’s race as the club hosted their Masters Regatta at Monmouth Beach. Three Lyme Regis teams, and a crew from Bridport, competed against 15 other boats in six events in what was described by some entrants as a ‘festival of rowing’.

Clubs from as far as Falmouth and Helford in Cornwall, and Lewes in Sussex, made the journey to Lyme to enjoy a day of highly competitive ocean rowing in fantastic racing conditions.

Races took place in a traditional 1.6km diamond-shaped course, stretching along the beach to afford spectators a great view of the action. The crews all faced a tough final leg back into the wind to the finish line. The boats, Cornish pilot gigs, were originally used for transporting harbour pilots out to ships. Each boat is 32 feet long and made from oak and elm, with Lyme’s current fleet being made by renowned local boat-builder Gail McGarva.

The hosts led the men’s final from the start, with Helford and Falmouth in close attendance. Lyme maintained a narrow lead to the first turn and powered ahead of the Cornish crews, with Helford securing second. Bridport’s men in Blaze rowed hard throughout the final, finishing seventh

ahead of the team from Flushing and Mylor.

The women’s final saw Falmouth, Rame and Lyme competing for the top slot. The Falmouth crew stretched out comfortably in the home straight, with Rame finishing second. However due to the Falmouth crew being made of rowers from more than one club, the result was awarded to Rame, with Lyme moving up to second place.

In the Women’s Plate Final, Lyme were leading almost all the way to the finish in the last leg of the race, only to be chased down and pipped at the post by a strong Bristol team. Bridport women rowed a solid race finishing fourth, behind the women from Flushing and Mylor.

The Mixed A race saw 15 boats on the start line. Lyme Regis were beaten to

the first turn by Falmouth, ahead of a strong pack and were made to work all the way round the course. Lyme chased hard but Falmouth kept ahead. There was to be another victory for Lyme in the final race of the day, with Lyme B winning the B team race.

Heather Prior, organiser of the regatta for Lyme said: “This is our second Masters regatta. We are so

OARSOME: Lyme Men’s A and, below, Lyme Mixed B at the Lyme Regis Masters regatta

the south compete

pleased that we could put on such an amazing event for all the teams and have been supported by clubs across the south.

“It has been an amazing day with so many different clubs able to win individual races – no one team has dominated today to show how close and strong we are across the region.”

Marcus Dixon, chair of the club and part of the commentary team, said: ”I'd like to thank everyone who took part in planning, managing, catering and hospitality, safety boats, laying of the course, race control, commentary, merchandising and so much more – all working so hard to make yesterday such a success. And on such a hot day.

“Feedback from clubs attending has been very

positive, we had well fought and competitive races all admirably umpired by Allard from Weymouth. The strength of our results, the commitment to training and putting on this event shows that we are a club open to all, we are committed to rowing for all.”

FULL RESULTS

Men’s Final:

Winners: Lyme Regis A

Women’s Final:

Winners: Rame, Lyme Regis 2nd

Men’s Plate: Winners: Torridge, Lyme Regis B

5th

Women’s Plate:

Winners: Bristol, Lyme Regis 2nd

Mixed A: Winners: Falmouth A , Lyme Regis

2nd

Mixed B: Winners: Lyme Regis B, Lyme Regis C 5th

Club gearing up for its big August regatta

Lyme Regis Gig Club is an ocean rowing club which offers the rapidly growing sport of Cornish Pilot Gig Rowing to the community.

The full Lyme Regis Gig Club regatta will be held on Saturday, August 12 as part of the annual Lyme Regis Regatta Week, which will include a full range of racing for all age groups.

The club are due to begin

Casuals stroll to three out of

Dorchester and District Evening Cricket League

By Robin Potter

With a month of the season completed, some teams are already setting out their stalls, with Dorchester Casuals making a strong start in Division 1. Casuals have already notched up three wins out of three and are clearly intent on making a strong challenge for the title, although there is a long way to go and reigning champions Puddletown are also unbeaten, while Hazelbury Bryan and Charlton Down await their first successes.

three

Dewlish. Charlton Down and Dorchester Casuals are awaiting their quarter final opponents.

building a new boat at the Lyme Regis Boat Building Academy. Men’s captain Rob Hounslow will be undertaking the build, with the intention of the boat being ready for the 2024 World Championships in the Isles of Scilly.

n For more information, please see the club website is: www.lyme regisgigclub.com

Dewlish and Bere Regis lead Division 2 at this very early stage with two wins apiece, while Plush have suffered two defeats. Plush 2nds are faring no better than their first team, being winless in Division 3, where New Look/ASM are the early pace-setters with a 100% record from their three games played. Two quarter finals are already set up in our Doug Read Memorial Cup, with St Georges due to meet Cattistock & Symene and Martinstown to host

Cameron Roberts of Bere Regis is the league’s only centurion so far with 103 not out against Abbotsbury. Abbotsbury also have a star batter as Neil Walton notched 85* against Puddletown 2nds in a 40 run win, aided by Pankaj Nikale taking out Puddle’s first three batters for just 14 runs. The best bowling spell so far belongs to Ollie Legg from Cattistock & Symene with 5 for 26, although Dave Portch with 4 wickets for only 6 runs is also eye-catching. The fielding statistics for Puddletown make interesting reading, with Ryan Norman pouching two catches and a run out while son Regan has two catches and a stumping from his wicket-keeping duties. Cerne Valley’s John Stiles already has four catches to his name, while Simon Mitchem can match his victim count with three catches and a run out for Casuals.

Long may the sunshine continue as we move into June and July!

It’s just like watching Brazell

Emma Brazell was the Manager’s Player of the Year at Sherborne Town Ladies’ FC end-of-season awards. The recognition from manager Jemma Tewkesbury came as a fitting end to club captain Emma’s career as she has announced her retirement from the game. Other awards were shared out, with goalkeeper Emily Hall receiving the Supporters’ Player of the Year award, while there was a three-way tie for Players’ Player with Elisha Jacks, Sarah Lewendon and Becky Narramore all being recognised.

When words fail us, there’s always prayer

By Canon Deb Smith

When I was training for ordination I spent a couple of months on a placement at Helen House Hospice in Oxford – the first children’s hospice in the world. I remember sitting around the kitchen table with some of the children staying there and a few staff. I was sitting next to a young carer who was very new, and getting used to the ways of that community –which was so full of hope, yet may not have seemed so when you didn’t know it. A child who was born without capacity to do anything for herself, was crying, and the young carer shhhhed her, telling her not to cry. A natural thing to do. But the older, more experienced carer turned to

her and said gently, don’t stop her from crying, don’t silence her.

Often prayer feels like a cry to God.

I don’t mean the long-list kind of prayer, but prayer when you feel there’s nowhere else to turn, when you are not even sure what you believe, but you need to cry out. That kind of prayer.

One of the things I know about prayer is that we never simply offer our words. Instead, our words are an offering of ourselves and the circumstances of our lives.

There’s always more going on than the words we say. They are just the tip of the iceberg, an outward and audible sign of some inner stuff.

I don’t know what was

Sunday, June 11

Sherborne Abbey: 8am Holy Communion, 9.30am Parish

Eucharist, 6pm Evensong

going on in that helpless little girl, and I wouldn’t even have wondered if it wasn’t for the wise and compassionate words of the older carer, who acknowledged her human cry, her need to be heard. I sometimes don’t understand what is going on in me when I come before God in prayer, but I do know the words I offer do not encompass all that is on my heart.

Perhaps you feel that too, perhaps that is why it is in the silence, when words fail us, that we can know something of God. In all of us there is more going on than the words that we say, either in prayer or when we are pouring our hearts out to a friend. Our prayers are when and where we can stop

Remembering the Fallen

Saturday, June 17

pretending and be open to God.

On the night before his crucifixion Jesus prayed like that, struggling with what was ahead of him. He faces his life.

He stays in touch with his humanity. He speaks from the heart. He feels what he feels. He grieves. He weeps. He gathers with his friends and he prays. So when it comes to prayer, what if we took our cue from Jesus? What would that look like in what we are working out and struggling with today?

Weekday Services

Monday to Saturday at 8.30am, Morning Prayer - The Sepulchre Chapel

Every Monday at 9am, Holy Communion - The Lady Chapel

Every Tuesday at 12noon, Holy Communion - The Lady Chapel

Every Wednesday at 10.30am, Holy Communion with Homily – The Lady Chapel

Every Thursday at 12noon, BCP Holy Communion - The Lady Chapel

Every Friday at 9am, Ecumenical Holy CommunionThe Lady Chapel

The first Friday of the month at 9am, Requiem Holy Communion - The Sepulchre Chapel -

Every Saturday at 9am, Holy Communion - The Sepulchre Chapel

St James the Great, Longburton: 10am Family

Communion

St Martin of Tours, Lillington: 10am Holy Communion

St Paul’s at the Gryphon: 10.30am Morning Worship

St Mary Magdalene: 11.15am Holy Communion

St John the Baptist, Symondsbury: 9.30am Celtic Worship

St Mary Magdalene, North Poorton: 9.30am Holy Communion

St Saviour’s, Dottery: 10.30am

Morning Worship

St Michael and All Angels, Askerswell: 11am Benefice

Eucharist

Friday, June 16

Sherborne Abbey: 11am

Sherborne Abbey: 5pm Choral Evensong

Sunday, June 18

Sherborne Abbey: 8am Holy Communion, 9.30am Parish

Eucharist, 6pm Choral Evensong

St Martin of Tours, Lillington: 10am Morning Service

St James the Great, Longburton: 10am Family Communion

St Paul’s at the Gryphon: 10.30am All Age Worship

St Mary Magdalene, Castleton: 11.15am Mattins

St Mary Magdalene, Loders: 9.30am Celtic Worship

St Mary the Virgin, Powerstock: 11am Benefice Eucharist

St Paul’s, Broadoak: 6.30pm Holy Communion

Thursday, June 22

Sherborne Abbey: 5pm Choral

Evensong

Sunday, June 25

Sherborne Abbey: 8am Holy Communion, 9.30am Parish

Eucharist, 6pm Choral

Evensong

St Martin of Tours, Lillington: 10am Morning Service

St James the Great, Longburton: 10am Holy Communion

St Paul’s at the Gryphon: 10.30am Morning Worship

St Mary Magdalene: 11.15am

Mattins

St Saviour’s, Dottery: 9.30am

Holy Communion

St John the Baptist, Symondsbury: 11am Benefice

Eucharist

St Michael an All Angels, Askersewell: 6.30pm Evensong

St Mary Magdalene, North Poorton: 6.30pm Evensong

Sherborne Abbey

I don’t know Wether Tim noticed... but I did

I read the May issue of TWDM, paying particular interest to ‘Kim Berlin’s’ ‘A Newcomer to the Rock’.

‘Kim’ is plainly satisfied with himself, and with a lovely supper of lobster, I’m not surprised. The pictures from his kitchen look delicious. But what I was most interested me was that he plainly nicked his crockery from Wetherspoons.

It was wise to go incognito, but Tim Martin will know where he lives, the name of the boat he built (although strangely ‘Kim’ seems to have built in in the nineteenth century)... and ‘Kim’ even helpfully supplies a picture of himself. Hmm.

Dave Wallis, Wiltshire

I must take issue with Claudia Sorin (West Dorset Labour Party) in May’s edition concerning nurses working many unpaid hours each week.

As a recently retired NHS nurse manager I always ensured that staff were paid or given time owing for any extra working hours as normal practice.

No nurse should be working unpaid hours, or be abused by their managers to work

extra, and it is up to them to just say “No!”

Dominic Holbourne

Registered Nurse

With food prices rising and food banks struggling to meet demand, I wanted to share an app that could make a difference. BanktheFood connects you with your local food bank. Whenever the food bank runs low on essentials, the app sends you a list of their most needed items. But that’s not all – the app also sends you an urgent list of needed items when you arrive at the local supermarket, so you can easily pick up a few extra items to donate before you even reach the checkout. Over 34,000 people are already using BanktheFood, helping 350 food banks across the UK. If you’re looking for an easy way to make a difference, please consider giving BanktheFood a try. It’s a great way to help your community. Emma

Something Fishy Going On

First as a child, then with my kids I’d take a jam jar on a string To any stream among the meads

And cast the empty jam jar in.

Within two minutes, three at most, The first few minnows would appear And then a dozen, then a host, And in the jam jar they would peer.

You waited ‘til they’d gone inside Then jerk the string to raise the jar And bring it brimming to the side, Then at the tiny fish you’d stare.

Retired now, with time to waste, I thought I’d play that game again And Walton’s Minnow Tansy taste But find my quest is all in vain!

I stalk the haunts of coot and herne. I dabble, paddle, even swim! But now I find, to my concern, There is no stream with minnows in!

No kingfisher beneath the bridge; They’re just a mem’ry now, a dream; Not much by way of fly or midge. Pollution’s poisoned ev’ry stream!

Chris Slade, Maiden Newton

Health & Wellbeing

Support for autistic youngsters gets £80k boost

Bridport charity ASCape, which supports autistic children, young adults and their families, has won an £80,000 award from the National Lottery to expand its programme to help people meet up and socialise, explore their feelings, and gain peer support.

Founded in 2018, by parents Indigo May Roe, Leeann

Boon and Karen Wright, ASCape is a growing community of over 500 people, directly supporting over 100 children and their families through a range of family-based activities. As well as monthly youth clubs for pre-teens and teens, a gardening club and an over-

18s social group, ASCape runs family activity afternoons, from pond dipping and seed planting, animal feeding and handling, swimming, ten-pin bowling, bouldering, rope making, fossiling and beach games as well as the hugely popular Family Picnic. In the autumn, ASCape activities

include rafting, canoeing and treasure hunting.

ASCape co-lead Clare Cameron said: “We are so thrilled to have been awarded these funds. Without the right environment to socialise, autistic children, young adults and their families can become extremely isolated. We know

there is a desperate need locally for fun and supportive activity. The National Lottery money will allow us to continue to provide opportunities for children and young people to make friends, boost their confidence and self-esteem and improve their lives.”

Parent Victoria Thomas said: “With ASCape, we feel we have found our tribe, especially with understanding the barriers our family faces to accessing what, for some, are just everyday activities. I’m grateful I can bring both my daughters as there isn’t much provision for autistic children, where the whole family can take part.”

Health & Wellbeing

WYNFORD EAGLE

This walk is less than four miles and has some stupendous views from the hilltops, making them well worth the climb! Start at the Manor House, which has a large bird perched on its roof. The house is large: the kitchen fitted 50 people for snacks after the Christmas carol service!

Head west, crossing the river Wyn by a bridge, I’m guessing where the ford used to be. They ought to change the parish name to Wynbridge Eagle! Soon you come to the

Agriculture

WALKING IN DORSET with retired Dorset rights of way officer Chris Slade

church, which is usually closed but there’s an interesting notice board by the porch giving the history of the parish. Continue westward along the road and, when you reach the cottages you’ll find a bridleway on the right hand side, heading northwards up the first hill. Plod your way up for about half a mile until, at the parish boundary, you meet a footpath heading left, southwest for another half mile and skirting part of Wynford Wood. When it meets a farm

track the path turns left for a short distance to meet the road opposite a barn.

Cross the road and join the bridleway that takes you down hill south eastwards along field edges for about half a mile, crossing the Wyn, again by a bridge, to meet the road

leading to Higher Wynford. Turn right and after about a hundred yards join a bridleway on your left that takes you steeply up hill south eastwards. When it levels out at the field at the top, continue in the same direction to the far corner.

Here you join the Jubilee Trail. This takes you northwards along the top of the ridge, curving round to the north west to join the road near Manor Farm and back to your starting point.

New arrival Sebastian is quite a coo

who the milky ewes are, we call them the ram raiders –stealthily ducking underneath, only to be kicked off by the worldlywise ewes.

A month is a long time in the world of a smallholder. This time last month we were waiting for our last arrivals, the last of the twin lambs. They arrived on time with a splash bringing an end to this year’s lambing. They are huge now, in four weeks they have gone from little timid things to monsters that pummel their mums’ udders for milk, relentlessly after the very last drop before somebody else gets it.

Some of the ewes have more milk than others and the lambs have been quick to identify

In a few weeks we will wean them away from their mothers, already they are chewing grass and stealing pieces of sheep mix when they can get it, as well as drinking water from the troughs. It is fair to say that they are ready to go it alone. We cut the flock size down considerably this month by selling on last year’s shearlings to a local farmer, who was himself increasing his breeding stock.

We had an idea that if we reduced the numbers down, we would have more time to do other things at weekends and evenings other than sheep maintenance.

So it was that we had a weekend where what was left of the flock had been pampered with a pedicure, treated for flystrike, trimmed, and given treats and we were free to walk through the yellow fields and not have to worry about them. My partner even found the time to sit down and read the Farmers Guardian as well as trawling through the pages of ‘farmer stuff’ on social media. That was where it all took a different turn… We saw an advertisement for an addition to our flock. Having always wanted one, we contacted the seller and arranged a viewing. The weather was foul on the drive down to the coast, visibility on what were probably lovely views, was zero and it was very wet. Arriving at a boggy field in the wet and mud all

seemed to disappear into insignificance as we viewed the new boy, and we very quickly decided that he was ‘the one’. We left a deposit and returned home to research what we needed to do to bring him home. After several phonecalls and more agricultural paperwork, we were ready.

He was delivered yesterday, and we have named him Sebastian, only some of you will understand why. We also have a Pyrenean mountain dog, and when we get a partner for the new boy, she will be called Belle. His arrival was without any stress or anxious moments, and he has settled in well with his new friends King and Hero, our quieter rams.

Welcome Sebastian the Highland calf, otherwise known as a Highland Coo. What a stunning addition to our herd.

Mud-phobic Tria Stebbing lives on the outskirts of Sherborne.