Christian soldiers onwards with trek

Charity fundraiser Christian Lewis has completed the Dorset leg of a trek around the UK coastline with his family.

As former paratrooper Christian finished the county coast hike with his partner Kate Barron, nine-month-old son Magnus and dog Jet, he learned his book Finding Hildasay had entered the Sunday Times’ top ten bestselling hardback list. Chris wrote the book with pen and paper by torchlight on the walk. Describing himself as suffering from anxiety and depression, Christian set out on his epic trek in August 2017 with a few days’ supplies, £10, a tent with a hole in it, sleeping bag, small gas stove and a phone his mum bought him to take photos. During his gruelling trek, Christian has broken his ankle and had to drag himself to a road to get help, broken a tooth and extracted it himself, and completed the Three Peaks challenge as well as living on the uninhabited island of Hildasay in the Shetlands during the Covid lockdown. His sister created a Facebook page for him to post his progress photos and updates which now has 115,000 followers. n To support Christian visit the ‘Chris Walks UK Coastline’ page at justgiving.com

While passing though south Dorset, Christian and his family stayed in accommodation organised by members of the Weymouth and Portland Veterans Hub community café in Portland Road, Weymouth.

Christian’s walk is due to end around June in Swansea and has already raised £279,000 for SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity.

Cash raised in memory of founder

West Dorset Vintage Tractor and Stationary Engine Club presented

£2,611.66 to Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance in memory of one of its founding members.

Les House died unexpectedly at home in May 2020, during the first lockdown.

The money was raised at a Tractor Trundle and a ploughing match. Covid restrictions at the time of Les’s funeral only allowed ten people to attend and more than 100 family and friends gathered for a memorial at Manor Farm in Godmanstone, with some 55 pre-1990 tractors on the trundle and a huge raffle, with over 80 prizes spread out on a 14ft trailer.

Les was a national ploughing judge, and held his own ploughing match each autumn with friend, Peter Symonds. “I met Les over 25 years ago at the Steam Fair and became firm friends, going to rallies and ploughing matches,” said Peter, “and we started our own ploughing match in Chideock 22 years ago.”

Celebrate women

Dorchester Arts is celebrating Women’s History Month with Nothing on Earth on Friday, March 24, portraying incredible stories of women through the ages. Women who flew Spitfires, crossed continents in pursuit of Chairman Mao, parachuted out of rickety hot air balloons, and shouted ‘No Surrender’ into the mouths of the guns. This is a time-travelling, funny and moving show using stories of Watford adventurer Violet Cressy Fisher Marcks (1895-1970), Potters Bar Edwardian balloonist Elizabeth ‘Dolly’ Shepherd (1886-1983), and Knebworth Suffragette Constance Lytton (1869- 1923). All ticket holders are also invited for a free singing workshop to introduce you to the work on Thursday, March 23 at 5.30pm. Full details at dorchesterarts.org.uk