The West Dorset Magazine Edition 18, October 7, 2022

The West Dorset Magazine

TIME TO DIG DEEP!

major

THANKS

on streets for

years

after help

of

Council’s £29m blackhole

Dorset Council has said it is attempting to plug a £29million blackhole in its 2023 budget.

The authority has said managing ‘variables’ like inflation, employee pay awards and adult social care has left its figures up in the air.

Councillors are currently ploughing through a fiscal report outlining the depth of the authority’s funding problems ahead of a cabinet meeting on October 4.

A council spokesperson said: “There are three main variables which are affecting the council’s finances, and over which the council has little to no control. These are inflation Dorset Council, like

many households and businesses, is facing the challenge of inflation.

Costs are increasing at an unprecedented rate, affecting many services the council provides. For example, rising fuel costs are impacting on transport services, while capital costs for road works and new buildings are affected by infrastructure price rises.

“Another factor is employee pay awards the nationally agreed pay offer for next year alone is anticipated to cost the council an extra £6million.

“And finally, adult social care: Demand continues to grow due to the aging population, and new government reforms coming in over the next

year will cost significant sums to implement.”

The spokesperson added: “Dorset Council faces a high level of uncertainty over its budget position at this point in the year.

“It is not known what will happen with inflation over the coming months so budget setting has to be based on sensible forecasts and the government’s financial settlement to councils will not be announced until the end of the year.”

Cllr Gary Suttle, portfolio holder for finance, commercial and capital strategy, said: “Dorset Council continues to be under-funded, but this is now exacerbated by inflation.”

Care homes honour

West Dorset has two of the best care homes in the South West, according to a national company. Website carehome.co.uk recently named and gave awards to its top 20 care homes in the South West region. On the list of winners was Barchester Trinity Manor Care Home in Sherborne and Castle View in Dorchester.

Be a flower arranger

Sherborne Abbey Flower Arrangers are looking for new members to join their friendly team.

The group is holding a workshop on Saturday, October 15 from 10.30am until noon in The Lady Chapel. For more information email flower.arrangers@ sherborneabbey.com

The Chiropody Clinic

The Chiropody

new ownership

£135k appeal for wildlife protection

Dorset Wildlife Trust is launching a public appeal to raise £135,000 to protect wildlife in the west of the county.

The Kingcombe Wild Energy project aims to create a 5,000-hectare ‘nature recovery network’ at Kingcombe National Nature Reserve (NNR). The project would give rare and common species the chance to spread through wildlife corridors across the West Dorset countryside.

Kingcombe is home to hundreds of species such as dormice, otters, kingfishers and orchids and many vulnerable species such as the rare grey long-eared bat and marsh fritillary butterfly.

A spokesperson for the wildlife trust said: “Many of these species are on the verge of disappearing because there is not enough space for them to spread

out. Around 97% of the UK’s species-rich grassland has been lost in less than a century and an estimated 3,000 miles of hedgerows were destroyed

every year between 1946 and 1963.

“Funds are urgently needed for the Kingcombe’s Wild Energy project to create and restore habitat within the Kingcombe NNR and the surrounding area to protect and reconnect areas of natural habitat.

“By replanting hedgerows, creating meadows, rewilding rivers, managing ponds and allowing billions of seeds from wildflowers to spread and grow, mammals, insects and amphibians can move across the countryside in safety and grow in numbers, and plants can thrive again.”

n To donate to the funding appeal, visit dorsetwildlife trust.org.uk/wildenergy

CRAZY DAISIES: Wild daisies at Kingcombe Picture: LUCY FERRIS

Whasson? (and where’s it to?)

Thurs, October 6

A free exhibition entitled Quakers, Peace and Justice is being held in Dorchester’s Shire Hall Museum entrance hall until October 8.

There’s a free talk at 2pm on Thursday, October 6 in the upstairs lecture hall (through the café) on Quaker Work in Guys Marsh Prison.

Quakers have a long history of concern for justice and peace making. The exhibition will cover Elizabeth Fry and prison reform, local conscientious objection in the two World Wars, and promoting the importance of justice as a prerequisite for peace. It will also be about restorative justice, prison reform now, and working with offenders. All welcome.

The Comedy Network’s monthly giggle-fest is at The Corn Exchange, Dorchester from 8pm9.45pm. Grab a drink from the bar and enjoy laugh out loud comedy from some of the hottest comedians on the circuit.

Previous Comedy Network acts include Russell Howard, John Oliver, Harry Hill, Bill Bailey, Lee Mack, Stewart Lee, Greg Davies, Al Murray, Noel

Celebrate county town history with crier

Casterbridge Cornucopia will be held on Friday, October 7 from 7.30pm-10pm in The Casterbridge Room of The King’s Arms, Dorchester. Join Alistair Chisholm and friends in the beautiful setting to celebrate Dorset’s county town with an evening of pure entertainment. Dorchester’s effervescent Town Crier will run through the county town’s chequered past to the present, evoking memories for those that know the town and delighting those that don’t. Accompanied by music and performance from the New

Fielding, Ross Noble, Lucy Porter, Chris Ramsey, Roisin Conaty, Joe Wilkinson, Richard Herring, Dave Gorman, Jenny Eclair and many more. Book at dorchesterarts.savoy systems.co.uk

A bingo night will be held at Milborne Port Sports and Social Club. Books for sale at 7.30pm, eyes down 8pm. Cash prizes, raffle and snowball.

Dorset Music Unboxed! will be held at Dorford Centre, Bridport Road, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1RR at 7.30pm. Dorset musicians Tim

Hardy Players, pictured, an evening to remember. Tickets £15 from thekingsarms dorchester.co.uk/events

Laycock and Phil Humphries have dug into the records at The Dorset History Centre, together with the Dorset Archives Trust.

Some of the musical manuscripts held by the Dorset History Centre are those of William Knapp, an important Dorset musician of the 18th century. He is the composer of the very well-known hymn tune Wareham and one of his pieces being performed was dedicated to the town of Blandford after a huge fire in 1731 destroyed most of the town.

Works from the music book of Benjamin Rose will also feature in the

concerts. Rose was a farmer and alehouse keeper from near Okeford Fitzpaine who wrote out a collection of catchy country dance tunes from his time (1820).

The style of much of the Ridgeway’s performances is known as “West Gallery”. This refers to a time when churches had galleries and local musicians and singers would sit in the gallery to accompany the congregation’s singing. This went out of fashion in the mid-19th century, as depicted in Thomas Hardy’s Under the Greenwood Tree. It is a very full-bodied sound.

Profits divided equally between Julia’s House and the Dorchester Poverty Action group.

Book at ticketsource.co.uk /ridgeway-s-and-b

A HOWL Open Mic

Session will be held at NEON Bridport from 7.30pm-11pm – a night of live music and entertainment hosted by the legendary Elijah Wolf.

All ages. abilities and genres are welcome to come along and have a go. If performing is not for you then just go along and support those performing.

Shire Hall Bingo will be held at 6.30pm with Bingo Barry.

With all cash prizes and a brilliant raffle, Shire Hall's Bingo is a fun night out for everyone.

£10 for a book and £1.50 for cash flyer.

Refreshments will also be available to buy from Shire Hall Cafe, including teas, coffees, cake and a bar. Booking is essential, at shire-hall-historiccourthouse-museum.mysho pify.com or visit the shop.

and include a commemorative glass, programme and two halves of beer or cider. (CAMRA members receive an extra pint at the membership stand). Book at camrawdorset.org.uk or Weymouth pavilion.com or by phoning 01305 783225. Please note the Pavilion charges a £1.50 booking fee per ticket. Alternatively, you can buy tickets in person in Weymouth from The Globe and The Doghouse pubs as well as Chalbury Food and Wine or direct from the Pavilion box office. On Portland the Royal Portland Arms and in Dorchester The Convivial Rabbit are also stocking tickets.

Weymouth Concert Brass will play at St Laurence Church Upwey from 7.30pm. Tickets are £8 from ticketsource.co.uk/UpweyMusic

Whasson? (and where’s it to?)

Blandford Forum from 10am. Lots of talented local makers for you to meet on the day selling handmade products including jewellery, candles, gifts and homewares, cakes & bakes, original artwork, greeting cards and much more! Free entry. Stallholder enquiries: stall cost £30, email dorsetmakers market@gmail.com for booking info.

beach transformed into a motocross course, complete with bumps and jumps and all the thrills and spills of the race.

Weymouth OctoberfestReal Ale & Cider Festival will be held at Weymouth Pavilion on Friday, October 7 and Saturday, October 8 in the Ocean Room.

This extremely popular event, now is now in its 11th year at the Pavilion, is organised by West Dorset Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) and will this year feature over 60 real ales, ciders and perries from Dorset – possibly the largest selection of Dorset beers ever seen in one place.

Tickets are £11 per session

A talk by Francis Burroughes – The Wonderful World of Glass will be held at Weymouth Library at 10.30am.

The Friends of Weymouth Library (Fowl) are hosting the event in support of the library’s events and activities. Booking is essential. £2 for members, £3 for non-members. Contact Weymouth Library on 01305 762410 or email weymouthlibrary@dorsetco uncil.gov.uk

A Pop-up Autumn Makers Market will be held at the Corn Exchange in

Weymouth’s Nothe Fort will be investigated by paranormal specialists from 8.30pm-2am, and you can join them. RIP-UK (Real Investigators of the Paranormal) welcome you to the fort as you become the investigators of this magnificent fortification. More at rip-uk.com

Sunday, Oct 9

Weymouth Motocross Race 2022 will be held on Weymouth Beach from 11am-5pm. Weymouth & Portland Lions Club and Purbeck Motocross Club will be teaming up again to bring you this high-flying motocross extravaganza. The event will once again see the award-winning

This event attracts thousands of spectators and some of the best riders in the world. Together with riders of all abilities, a superb location and setting, combine to make this event one of the most sought after and most eagerly awaited event on Weymouth’s tourist calendar.

As well as the races the seafront will be full of traders selling their wares, and there will be children's rides and delicious food.

A car boot sale will be held at Tolpuddle Martyrs Field (DT2 7EH).

Gates open for sellers at 8.30am, £10 in advance or £15 on the day. Gates open for buyers from 10am-2pm £1 per adult. Light refreshments available. Proceeds to Mencap and Tolpuddle Church.

Enquiries to 66mregan@gmail.com or 07552 943704.

Restorative Yoga and Yoga Nidra takes place from

Whasson? (and where’s it to?)

1.30pm-4pm at Dorchester Yoga and Therapy Centre, 14 Trinity Street. Through passive and supported stretching using bolsters, blocks, chairs and blankets the body is given time to unwind, the breath to slow and the mind to become present. This will be followed by the practice of yoga nidra, a systematic method of inducing complete mental, emotional and physical relaxation with body scan and breath awareness. Suitable for all and particular if you are very tired, stressed or recovering from illness. This extended class will finish with tea and delicious, healthy cake from Feed the Soul. Teacher: Sharon CoxButton. Cost: £28. Contact scoxbutton@ gmail.com or 07742 821 937

Sherborne Market will be held from 10am-4pm around Sherborne Abbey. Artisan traders will take over the whole town centre with over 170 stalls, real quality products and produce.

The Magic Flute will be staged at The Corn Exchange, Dorchester, from 3pm-5.30pm. Marrying Mozart’s beautiful music with a witty script, our production of The Magic Flute celebrates the birth of teen culture in this timeless coming-of-age story by delving into the otherworldliness which glamorous Hollywood brought to post blitz London. Book at dorchesterarts.org.uk

Film soc Morocco bound

The next title in Dorchester Film Society’s autumn season is to be screened at the Corn Exchange on Monday, October 10 at 7.30 pm.

Casablanca Beats is an exuberant musical from Morocco with thrilling dance sequences taking place in the streets and alleyways of Sidi Moumen, a suburb of Casablanca. Encouraged by a new teacher, the students of a cultural centre free themselves from the weight of traditions and express themselves through hip hop culture.

The fifth title in Dorchester Film Society’s season, to be screened at the Corn Exchange on Monday, October 17 at 7.30 pm, will be Hope, a Norwegian film

Pianist Julie Lewis will play at the Coach House Inn in Winterborne Abbas from 5pm-7pm. A chilled-out Sunday session is promised – song requests welcome.

starring Stellan Skarsgård –a moving and deeply felt account of a family finding hope in the bleakest of times. Membership of the Society is still open – for further details of the programme and how to join online, please go to dorchesterfilmsociety.org.uk.

about their experiences –Steve Oxford (Oxfords Bakery) and John Romans (John Romans Park Homes). You'll also get a chance to talk about your idea.

12.30pm at The Kingcombe Centre (DT2 0EQ).

Are you passionate about the environment? Likeminded people come together at the centre on a monthly basis to explore Kingcombe National Nature Reserve and then visit The Kitchen at Kingcombe for a delicious treat.

The event is suitable for people aged 18+. Please be aware that there may be areas of uneven, steep, and muddy ground - please wear appropriate footwear. If you have ID books, cameras, or binoculars, please bring these (though not essential).

For further information, or to join the waiting list, contact Daisy Meadowcroft: dmeadowcroft@dorsetwild lifetrust.org.uk

A launch event offering free help with starting and running your own business will be held at The Emporium, (former Lloyds bank, Market Place, Sturminster Newton DT10 1AS) at 6.30pm. This is a new free service in to help people start their own business or improve their existing one. You don't need any experience or qualifications. Two successful businessmen will talk

Sherborne Historical Society welcomes Dr Matthew Rendle to speak on Creating a 'Usable' Past: the legacy of the 1917 Revolution in modern Russia at Digby Hall, Hound Street, at 7.45pm. Members free, visitors £5. sherbornehistoricalsociety. co.uk

The fun of Pack Monday fair kicks off when the funfair rolls into Sherborne for the weekend. Situated on the Terraces, the Anderton & Rowlands family funfair runs all the way through to the close of Pack Monday.

The Last Motel will be staged at Weymouth College Sports Centre at 7.30pm.

Welly Wednesdays will be held from 10.30am-

Abalone’s desperate, he’s taken a day of holiday from the poultry farm to commit armed robbery. Now he has Eve, a local vicar, stuffed into the boot of his classic car. Check in with us at The Last Motel, a few miles outside of Barnsley (South Yorkshire not Kentucky), to see if

Abalone’s hostage changes his perspective on life. Book at ticketsource.co.uk /thebaytheatre

Leigh Talks! presents Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall at 7.45pm at Leigh Village Hall (DT9 6HL). Doors open 7.30pm. Bar available.

Can we eat our way out of this mess?

Hugh talks about how our food choices shape our planet, our future and ourselves.

Tickets £5 from The Little Leigh Store, Leigh littleleighstore.co.uk This is the sixth in the series of Leigh Talks! which aims to get people talking about the themes relevant to climate change. Future events will be posted in the community magazines, on the Leigh Village website leighvillage.org.uk, on Leigh Climate Group Facebook and Leigh Life Facebook.

Hardy Online: The Real Woman Behind Tess of the d’Urbervilles is the subject of an online talk at 7pm hosted by Wessex Museums.

Gill Donnell MBE will be joined by Dr Rose Wallis, Lady Edwina Grosvenor and Professor Angelique Richardson to talk about the real woman behind Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles. £5 per screen wessexmuseums.org.uk/ book-online

A persistent place in folded time is the title of a talk by Dr Susan Greaney from 7pm-8pm at Dorset Museum.

The area underneath and around the town of Dorchester was an important place for Neolithic people, who built a variety of monuments here over a period of 2000 years.

From the early Neolithic causewayed enclosure at Maiden Castle and middle Neolithic sites like the Alington Avenue long barrow and the 100m enclosure known as Flagstones to late Neolithic constructions like Mount Pleasant ‘mega-henge’ and Greyhound Yard’s 380mwide palisaded enclosure, these sites form a rich and wide-ranging ceremonial landscape spanning hundreds of years.

Recent work as part of Susan Greaney’s PhD has obtained new radiocarbon dates for the major monuments in this complex, enabling a new and detailed chronology for the area to be constructed.

This talk will present these results, and discuss their implications for how we understand changes in beliefs, burials and gatherings during the Neolithic period, including how these people may have viewed older monuments.

It will also present insights that this new chronology provides into fundamental questions about what happened at the start of the Bronze Age.

Book at dorsetmuseum. org/event/a-persistentplace-in-folded-time

THIS WEE WEEK’S TOP TEN VINYL SELLERS

Whasson? (and where’s it to?)

Friday, Oct 14 Afternoon concert with Mike

An Evening with John Agard and Fred D’Aguiar will be held at the Shire Hall Museum at 7.30pm, cost £10. Experience an event featuring two giants of the literature world, John Agard and Fred D’Aguiar. Both are Caribbean and diaspora writers who had their formative experiences in Guyana. They delight audiences around the world with their imagination and gifts for improvisation and wordplay and are both studied on the GCSE Curriculum.

John Agard is a poet, playwright and short story writer whose love of language was sparked from listening to cricket commentaries on the radio. The author of over 50 books, he has won many prizes, including the The Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2012, the Smarties Book Prize. In 2021, he received the prestigious BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award. Agard is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He has been broadcast on TV and radio regularly including Desert Island Discs, Contains Strong Language for The Verb and many more. With his wife Grace Nichols, he edited Walker Books children’s anthologies including A Caribbean Dozen and Under the Moon and Over the Sea. Fred D’Aguiar was born in London to Guyanese parents, grew up in Guyana and then returned to England in his teens. He is the author of four novels,

An afternoon concert will be held at 3pm on Saturday, October 15 in St Mary’s Church, Beaminster performed by the Cirrus Quartet with pianist Mike Stanley. The programme will include Mozart Piano Quartet in E flat K.493, W.H.Reed Quartet no.4 in C and Elgar Piano Quintet in A minor op.84.

The concert is promoted by the Friends of Beaminster Festival.

Tickets £12 are available from Yarn Barton, Fleet Street, Beaminster, the Book Shop, South Street, Bridport or on the door (cash or card).

the first of which, The Longest Memory, won the David Higham Prize for Fiction and the Whitbread First Novel Award. He was a Judith E. Wilson fellow at Cambridge University and a shortlisted author for the T.S. Eliot Prize. After moving to the US in 1992, he has taught English Literature and Creative Writing in various universities including Amherst, the University of Miami and currently, at UCLA. 01305 261849 info@shirehalldorset.org

Saturday, Oct 15

Weymouth Pirate Fest kicks off at 8.30pm at The Belvedere on Boot Hill with the infamous Dolmen Pirate Quiz hosted by the notorious pirate Rotten Ren.

On Saturday 15th, pirates will muster at 10.30am, bottom of Boot Hill (DT4 8TA) to the spirited sounds of pirate band The Boarding Crew, and at 11am these motley gang of miscreants will begin a

colourful parade of the town, led by The Dolmen and their troupe of earthmovin' drummers. Anyone is very welcome to join in. All this heralds a fantastic day of piratey fun, with live music on the main stage from both local and international bands including The Dolmen, Perkelt, The Shakespearos, Celtic Giants, Connach, The Boarding Crew, and The Sensational Infernals, with more to be confirmed. There will also be a Pirate Bazaar and amazing reenactment performances from members of the pirate community throughout the day and into the evening. From 11pm festivities will continue at The Belvedere till the small hours, with acoustic performances and much jollity!

On Sunday 16th, landlady Lyn and her lovely staff will be dishing up hearty breakfasts for sore heads from 10am till 12 noon, and from 1pm there will be the traditional Survivors Party, with more live music and quantities of hair of the dog!

weymouthpiratefest.com

Musicians and a caller will lead a barn dance/ ceilidh to be held in the WI Hall, North Street, Bridport from 7.30pm to 10.30pm. Go along for a fun evening with or without a partner as everybody joins in. Soft drinks available. Adults £5 and school-age children free. 01308 458165 or 459001 for further details.

CUPID is a mutual support group founded in 2008 for ostomists – anyone with a stoma (colostomy, urostomy, ileostomy) or pouch. Their next meeting will be held between 10am-noon at the Dorford Centre, Bridport Road, Dorchester DT1 1RR. Parking is available opposite at Top of Town car park. This drop-in session gives a chance to meet and maybe swap notes, or just chat whilst enjoying a cuppa. There will be a presentation on Codes, their history up to present day, with a working simulation of the WWII Enigma. Sian Nixon, from Pelican Healthcare will also be available to present their products.

Ciorstaidh Hayward

Trevarthen, Finds Liaison Officer for Dorset, is visiting Beaminster Museum from 10am-2pm for a finds identification session

She will be happy to look at archaeological finds in Dorset made by members of the public and metal detector users in particular. This enables finds to be identified and recorded onto a national database where appropriate, generally items dated to before 1700. She may need to borrow items to research and photograph them, and you would be given a receipt while they are in the FLO’s care. You will be given a copy of the records made and images taken of your finds on their return. See beaminstermuseum.co.uk for further information.

Hardy’s Monument is having open days on Saturday and Sunday, October 15 and 16 from 10am-4pm.

The monument, at DT2 9HY, was built in 1844 in memory of Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, Flag Captain of HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. We will be operating free, timed entry, which is bookable in advance. Please note. The monument has limited accessibility and consists of a small entranceway and a tight spiral staircase of 120 steps. There are no toilet or catering facilities at the monument or in the car park. Book at nationaltrust. org.uk/hardy-monument

Heckle and Squelch comedy club will be held at The Springhead (DT3 6LW) from 8pm.

Age 16+ (under 18s must be accompanied by an adult)

Tickets £14.30 or £25.30 with a burger and a drink Three great comedians! Tickets at wegottickets. com/event/557723, or from the Springhead.

The Friends of Beaminster Festival are holding an afternoon concert at 3pm in St Mary’s Church. It will be performed by the Cirrus Quartet with pianist Mike Stanley. The programme will include Mozart Piano Quartet in E flat K.493, W.H.Reed Quartet no.4 in C and Elgar Piano Quintet in A minor op.84. The members of the Cirrus Quartet are all leading solo and chamber music performers who have played with most of the leading chamber orchestras in London as well as top woodwind instrumentalists. Cirrus has performed at the Wigmore Hall, been recorded by BBC radio, appeared on TV and has released a number of CDs. Mike Stanley (piano) was a founder member of the Yehudi Menuhin School and moved into light music, touring with rock bands and theatrical productions. He moved into the West End as Musical Director of Cats. Alongside this he has worked as a composer for children’s television and as a session player.

Tickets for this concert are £12, available from Yarn Barton, Fleet Street,

Whasson? (and where’s it to?)

Beaminster , the Book Shop, South Street Bridport or on the door.

Tolpuddle Village Hall is hosting Wild Willy Barrett's Roaring Touring at 7.30pm. Willy is an internationally renowned multiinstrumentalist, joined by his wife, Mary Holand on cello and Elizabeth Jane Williams on vocals and ukulele.

Performance from 8.30pm. Tickets at wegottickets. com/event/540682

A barn dance will be held at The Corn Exchange, Dorchester, at 7pm to relaunch the community play Spinning the Moon after a covid-enforced hiatus.

What better way to re start the community play than to

have a good old knees up! Bring along the whole family for an evening of fun and dancing at the Corn Exchange. Everyone is welcome. With live music from the wonderful Tatterdemalion and caller Angela Laycock. The tickets are £10 each on the door.

A 90s-00s disco will be held at The Bridport Masonic Hall from 7.30pm-11.30pm.

Think double denim, Dream Phone, Tamagotchi's, recording the top 40 on a cassette tape... I bet you're right back to the 90s. Add in some noughties and you've got a Ladies Circle fundraiser… Tickets are £10 in advance, and £15 on the door (subject to availability). Fancy dress is optional.

Tickets available at bridport-ladiescircle.sumup.link The bar will be open, so grab yourself a Hooch and meet us on the dancefloor. Funds raised are for the Bridport Ladies Circle, to help local people, events and causes.

Michael Hackett's Comedy Roadshow comes to Poundbury’s Brownsword Hall from 7.30pm. Safe stand-up is boring –it's time for real fun! Michael Hackett (winner of Victorious Festival) is bringing an all-new breakaway show which promises to be no ordinary comedy night! Unrestricted humour, unapologetic...and truthful with no bounds. skiddle.com/e/36159815

where’s it to?)

Anniversary showing for Hardy film

The iconic 1967 film Far From the Madding Crowd is being screened at the Plaza Cinema, Dorchester to mark the 55th anniversary of John Schlesinger’s film. The screening will be held on Sunday, October 16 at 2pm and tickets are £4.50 (01305 262488, plazadorchester.com). Much of the adaptation of the famous Thomas Hardy novel was filmed in and around Dorchester, and starred film legends Julie Christie, pictured, Alan Bates, Peter Finch and Terence Stamp.

The event is a collaboration between Picturedrome Cinemas and Wessex Museums to complement the current Hardy’s Wessex exhibition.

including Maiden Castle, Bloxworth House, Durdle Door, Scratchy Bottom, Gold Hill, Friar Waddon’s House, Abbotsbury Tithe Barn, Horton Tower and Thornhill House.

Bockhampton, near Dorchester. It went on to be one of Hardy’s first great writing successes.

A Bridport & District U3A open day will be held at St Mary's Church Hall, South Street from 3pm5pm.

Bridport & District U3A offers you an opportunity to meet your local u3a and see the great range of over 50 groups and activities on offer. Light refreshments will be available. See bridportu3a.org.uk

There’s an Open Event at Kingston Maurward College to showcase its range of courses covering animals, plants and the natural world. The stunning 750-acre estate offers courses you may not have considered before –full-time courses and apprenticeships include equine studies, agriculture, countryside &

Curator Harriet Still said: “It’s so exciting to have the film being played again in Dorchester. It made Dorset a tourist attraction as it features local locations

environment management, floristry, outdoor adventure, business studies, travel & tourism, arboriculture, construction, horticulture and animal welfare & science.

A roller disco will be held at Weymouth Pavilion from 1pm-6pm. The first session is 1pm3pm, the second 4pm-6pm and there’s a skate school from 12.10pm-12.50pm. Limited numbersprebook only at allevents.in, where tickets are £2 spectators, £7 skating, £5 skate school

“The casting directors also recruited over 700 local extras to get Wessex’s ‘real faces and voices’ – it would be fantastic if any of those people or their relatives came to the screening!”

Far from the Madding Crowd was written in 1874, when the 34-year-old Hardy was living at Hardy’s Cottage in Higher

and £9 skating with skate hire.

Skate Hire is subject to availability.

Harriet added: “The story follows the story of Bathsheba Everdene who inherits her uncle’s farm, then surprises employees and locals alike by choosing to manage the farm business herself. But her life is soon complicated by the arrival of three men – the dashing Sergeant Troy, wealthy Farmer Boldwood and loyal Gabriel Oak. It is set in Weatherbury, Hardy’s fictionalised version of Puddletown.”

The Hardy’s Wessex exhibition runs until October 30 at Dorset Museum, Poole Museum, Salisbury Museum and Wiltshire Museum in Devizes. The original handwritten manuscript of the famous ‘The Shearing Supper’ scene can be seen at Dorset Museum.

Pack Monday Fair 2022 will be held around Sherborne from 10am9pm.

There will be outside stalls, a craft market, street food and entertainment throughout the day. Traders - please book in through the website or call 01963 364399. packmondayfair.com

A bunch of amateurs are performing A Bunch of Amateurs at Royal Manor Theatre, Portland, at 7.30pm until Wednesday. Keen to boost his flagging career, fading Hollywood action hero Jefferson Steele arrives in England to play King Lear in Stratford – only to find that this is not the birthplace of the Bard, but a sleepy Suffolk village. And instead of Kenneth Branagh and Dame Judi Dench, the cast are a bunch of amateurs trying to save their theatre from developers. Jefferson’s

Whasson? (and where’s it to?)

Got to be quick to beat Mark’s quips

Described as having some of the fastest repartee in the business, comedian Mark Simmons, pictured, is bringing his new show Quip off the Mark to Bridport Arts Centre next month.

After a sold out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, where Mark was awarded runner up in Dave’s Joke of The Fringe Award, Mark is coming to Dorset as part of a 25-date tour.

The comic has recently appeared on BBC2’s Mock The Week, BBC Radio 4’s Fred at the Stand and as a

monstrous ego, vanity and insecurity are tested to the limit by the enthusiastic am-dram thespians.

As acting worlds collide and Jefferson’s career implodes, he discovers some truths about himself – along with his inner Lear!

Book at ticketsource.co. uk/royalmanortheatre/ e-yaqamo

There are Halloween Trails at Minterne Gardens (DT2 7AU), with enchanted spooky trails set around the Himalayan garden.

Giant spiders, pumpkin creatures, barmy bats and much more will greet you round the trails.

Kids will receive a welcome pack at the start and a treat at the end of the trail. £2 per child.

Dressing up is must certainly encouraged!

Light lunches and refreshments will be served on the East terrace

DIY Pundit for BT Sport. He has previously appeared in ITV’s Out There, BBC Radio

(weather permitting).

4Extra’s Stands Up, a Channel 4 pilot starring alongside Bridget Christie, as well as BBC3’s One For The Road.

Mark also presents a podcast, Jokes With Mark Simmons, where he invites a fellow comic to discuss jokes they’ve written but just haven’t worked out to see if there is a way to salvage them.

The comedian will appear at Bridport Arts Centre at 8pm on October 29. For tickets visit the centre’s website.

HUNNY

A Great Big Dorset Hedge Talk will be held at The Driftwood Cafe, Lyme Regis Baptist Church- top of Broad Street, from 7pm9pm.

Imagine a Great Big Dorset Hedge, made up of a network of connected, well-managed hedgerows, stretching across Dorset, north to south and east to west, so that every community has an opportunity to get involved. The Great Big Dorset Hedge is a Dorset Climate Action Network project to map, plant, expand, extend and join up sections of hedgerow around and across Dorset into multiple corridors that promote biodiversity and help wildlife of all sorts (birds, insects, amphibians, mammals, wildflowers, trees, fungi) to flourish across the county.

The project will start with hedges along the Jubilee Way and four of Dorset's other major walking trails. Come and hear more about it from Julie Leah, one of the project co-ordinators.

Lyme Regis Carers' Café will be held from 11am1pm at Driftwood Cafe Lyme Regis Baptist Church, top of Broad Street. Lyme Regis Carers' Café provides a space for carers to take time for themselves, meet like-minded people and share thoughts and ideas on the issues that matter to them.

Come along for a drink and a chat in a friendly, welcoming and informal environment. They meet on the third Thursday of each month 11am -1pm.

presents Around the World in 80 Days at Weymouth Pavilion today and tomorrow at 7.30pm. Weymouth Drama Club Curtain Raisers present Jules Verne's high-spirited adventure tale Around the World in 80 Days, adapted for the stage by Laura Eason. Phileas Fogg and his valet Passepartout, travel from the misty alleys of London to the subcontinent and the Wild West as they race against the clock on a dizzying succession of trains, steamers, windpropelled sleighs and even elephants, all brought to the stage by this talented young company of actors. Adult £15, Child £10 (under 16s). Book at weymouthpavilion.com

Weymouth Drama Club

Grateful veteran Tiny on the march

By Miranda Robertson miranda@westdorsetmag.co.uk

A French Foreign Legion

veteran who spent 18 years living on the street has spoken of his gratitude to people in Dorchester and Bridport, who helped him when the NHS and council could not.

Allen ‘Tiny’ Stokes, 51, has Complex PTSD stemming from both his childhood and his time in the forces – particularly in Iraq.

The nature of his illness is such he cannot bear to be indoors, and this, along with his stubbornness, has made it tricky to get help.

He has also had to overcome sizeable drink and drug issues.

He said: “I’ve got a stubborn pride. It’s all I’ve had to hold on to. I’m very hard to help. As a man you don’t want to talk about your feelings and as a veteran it’s twice as hard.

“You learn not to divulge that you’re struggling.”

He joined the Legion aged 19 in 1989, having always wanted a services career, but having been forbidden by his father. He got 100% in the Legion’s entrance test. “I could have done anything, but the battlefield just called me,” he said.

“The Legion isn’t special forces, but it’s a very brutal and elite regiment.

“We are classed as mercenaries. We weren’t even meant to be in Iraq. “We were cannon fodder on the frontline.”

Multiple stressors have contributed to his CPTSD. Tiny has had his throat cut

ON THE MARCH:

Tiny at John O’Groats and, inset below, Luke Bird and Rebecca Hobby

and been robbed and beaten up.

Tiny, whose IQ

unconscious, but survived. Now he is cycling the length and breadth of

awareness of the suffering of veterans (many die each

outdoor pods would

have been possible without the help of Luke Bird, 42. Luke set up a group called Helping the Homeless and Vulnerable Adults in Dorchester after the Hub on Great Western Road, where he had volunteered for 11 years, closed its doors.

His group provide home cooked two-course meals for Dorchester’s homeless community twice a week, and much-needed understanding.

Tiny said: “When I saw

to help fellow homeless servicemen

His mission has seen him cycle around the edge of Britain, making his way up to the Highlands, via Ben Nevis: “That was murder, I nearly didn’t make it down,” and Snowdon. Tiny has been given a plot of land in Scotland, where he intends to establish his veterans’ community.

For the Premiere Classe Legionnaire (Lance Corporal), it’s a huge undertaking, and one he takes extremely seriously.

“I’m only one person but I’m going to do what I can,” he said.

A published poet and a hardened, all-year-round wild swimmer, Tiny is now making his way down the east coast back to Dorset, pulling his 80kg trailer behind him. “I’m not looking forward to coming back out of Lyme Regis,” he said.

The first trailer was provided by Broadoak’s Captain James Daniel and his wife Charlotte, who put Tiny up on their land and looked after him for a while.

Luke in his fluorescent yellow vest I told him to keep walking. I was sleeping in the doorway of Edinburgh Woollen Mill at the time, after having been forced to live indoors during the first lockdown.

“There was no way I was going to be forced to be indoors again.

“But Luke stopped and he understood not everyone wanted to live indoors.

“He’s a great bloke.”

Luke found Tiny a digeridoo and for months

after, Tiny would play it to raise funds in South Street, taking a small amount of money to live on and ‘banking’ the rest in a safe at Funkin’ Fries, who were

glad to help.

Eventually he had enough for a boat to live on, which is a big step forward. He’s even started a relationship.

It’s a tough mission: he’s been on the road since last December. And he’s now on his second trailer. “I’ve got arthritis, both knees are dodgy, I’ve had one heart attack and one close call and I’m asthmatic,” he said.

“But I’m making people smile, doing this. I’ve had bits on my journey that broke me. One man told me, ‘I’m proud of you, son’. My dad never said that to me.

“It’s a hard fight dealing with PTSD and you have to be in it heart and soul.”

HIGH

with his bike around the

on top of Ben Nevis

Farmer opens up about mental health during campaign

A new mental health campaign has been launched to support people in rural West Dorset, called ‘Support is always within reach’. Almost a quarter of Dorset’s population live in rural areas and, for those who are struggling or facing mental health difficulties, that can sometimes feel isolating. Recognising that, Dorset’s Suicide Prevention Group has launched a new campaign to remind people that wherever you are, and whatever you’re facing, support is always within reach.

The new campaign encourages people to talk more openly about mental health, and will provide signposting and mental health training to people in areas of rural Dorset, including Broadwindsor and the Marshwood Vale area.

Trevor Cligg is a farmer in West Dorset who has faced mental health difficulties. He said: “A lot of people out there are struggling. Some withdraw and others, like

myself, hide in plain sight.

But talking about it is the biggest thing you can do to help – to whoever, be it your family, your friends, counsellors, doctors. Just talk about it.”

If you don’t feel comfortable talking to friends or family, you can speak to your GP or contact any of these free support services, which are on-hand to help 24/7: Dorset’s NHS mental health helpline Connection – call 0800 652 0190

Samaritans – call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org and someone will get back to you within 24 hours

Text ‘SHOUT’ to 85258 for confidential support via text message

Sophia Callaghan, Public Health Consultant at Public Health Dorset, is the co-chair of Dorset’s Suicide Prevention Group: “Dorset has some wonderful rural communities but if you’re having a tough time, it might feel like help is far away,” she said. “Our Suicide Prevention Group works in partnership to help those in crisis and signpost to the support that is available across our county –because wherever you are, you’re never alone.” “Help is always available, whether it’s through a friend or family member, your doctor, or simply a listening ear on a helpline. You can also contact Dorset’s brilliant social prescribers through your GP surgery to access activities and support in your area. You might be surprised at what’s happening nearby –there are wellbeing activities, friendly groups and drop-in services across Dorset.” Suzanne Green, programme lead for mental health at NHS Dorset, is urging people to

look out for others too: “It can be tough for people to admit they’re struggling. If you’re worried about someone, don’t be afraid to ask how they are. And remember, we often say we’re fine when we’re not, so ask again if you’re worried. “Even if they don’t want to open up then and there, they’ll still know you’re there for them. The Samaritans have some great advice on how to spot when someone is struggling, how to support others and how to listen at samaritans.org.”

Find out more about the Within Reach campaign, as well as support and wellbeing activities in some of Dorset’s rural communities, at lightonmh.uk/withinreach

As part of the campaign, Dorset’s Suicide Prevention Group is offering free mental health awareness training in Broadwindsor.

If you are interested in the training, please email phdcomms@dorsetcouncil .gov.uk

Villagers wait for footpath decision

By Dan Goater dan@westdorsetmag.co.uk

Battle lines have been drawn in a fight to decide if a tract of West Dorset land should become a legal right of way. The Planning Inspectorate has launched an inquiry to decide if a footpath at Melbury Osmond, which runs from a footpath at Higher Holt Farm to a bridleway at Fuzzy Grounds, should be made a right of way for walkers. Officers from the inspectorate ran a public inquiry meeting in Melbury Osmond village hall last month and are still gathering evidence before making a final determination

on whether to add the footpath to the definitive map.

According to villagers the path in question, which is on private land running from King Lane along a ridge overlooking Lewcombe, has been used by walkers for decades.

In 2009 ‘no entry’ signs appeared at the site. The town council requested ‘permissive status’ for the path to be opened to the public but the request was denied.

In 2011 an application to register the land as a public right of way was made to the then Dorset County Council. The application was formally

denied in July 2019 by Dorset Council but this was not the end of the fight.

Since the July 2019 ruling, it has been determined that mistakes were made when the right of way application was denied and that Dorset Council did not have grounds to reject the application.

The matter has now been referred to the Planning Inspectorate, who are taking virtual submissions until October 5.

It is unlikely the inspectorate will make a final decision in the matter for several months. A spokesperson for the Planning Inspectorate said:

“We can’t provide a timescale for a decision.

“The inquiry did not conclude on September 20 at the public meeting and was reconvened virtually the following week for the closing submissions. “Following that the inspector will start to work on writing up the decision.”

A council spokesperson said closing statements would be presented on October 5. They added: “This process is likely to take several weeks or months. We will then be notified of the result by the Planning Inspectorate. The decision will also be published on their website.”

New horizons as AONB pylons felled

By Miranda Robertson

After seven years in the planning, 22 pylons in the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty are coming down.

The ‘Going Underground’ project will see almost 9km of overhead line now replaced with buried cables and the natural landscape being restored.

The work is the first project in the National Grid’s £465 million Visual Impact Provision programme.

The felling of the 22 pylons, between Martinstown and Winterbourne Abbas, is one of the first schemes in the world to remove existing high-voltage electricity transmission infrastructure, which has been in place since the 1960s, solely to enhance the landscape.

As part of how it is regulated by Ofgem, National Grid Electricity Transmission has been given dedicated funding to pursue projects to reduce the visual impact of its infrastructure in AONBs and national parks.

Working with principal contractor Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, work on the project started in 2015 with initial technical workshops for stakeholders and public ‘drop-in’ events in the

Library events

Sherborne Library is holding lots of free events.

Every Monday from 2pm3.30pm, it’s ‘Feel Better with a Book’. Come along to read with others and have discussions.

Every Tuesday from 10am10.30pm, it’s story time for under 5s and every second Tuesday of the month from 11am-1pm it’s family and

AONB. Burying the cables underground was the preferred option as it was felt that screening or camouflaging pylons would not have sufficient impact. In June 2018, planning permission was granted, and construction began on site the following year.

In addition to the complexity of the engineering which saw the use of specialist equipment more usually found on Alpine slopes, and world-leading teams brought in for each stage of the project from cable jointing to pylonfelling, the project also had a team of 25 archaeologists on site who unearthed a wealth of fascinating finds on an

local history sessions with the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society.

Every Thursday during term time 1pm -3pm, The Scribes Writing Group meets and every Thursday 2pm-4pm, it’s ‘Get Online with a Digital Champion. Get help using a computer or device booking is essential.

Every Friday from 10am10.30am, it’s Rhyme Time for under 5s, no need to book.

impressive scale, uncovering human presence in the area dating back 6,000 years. Dorset AONB partnership manager Tom Munro said: “The many archaeological discoveries arising from the project have confirmed and enriched our understanding of the South Dorset Ridgeway as an ancient ceremonial landscape of national significance, with its huge number and variety of scheduled monuments from neolithic stone circles to Bronze Age barrows and Iron Age hill forts.”

In addition to the VIP project in Dorset, National Grid is also progressing plans to replace existing electricity

Every Saturday morning, there’s Lego Fun (Lego supplied). On Friday, October 7, 2.30pm-3pm join Angela from Dorset Mammal Group to learn about our local mammals’ diets and lifestyles. Free event, booking advised. On Thursday, October 20 there are free health MOTs from 9.30pm-1.30pm. Drop by for a free 10-minute wellbeing check.

On Friday, October 21 it’s

infrastructure in three other protected landscapes, including the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Peak District National Park where construction has begun, and Snowdonia National Park.

The Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers over 40% of Dorset, stretching from Lyme Regis, along the coast to Poole Harbour and north to Hambledon Hill near Blandford Forum. The Dorset AONB Partnership brings together 20 organisations to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of this nationally important protected landscape.

From Fact to Fiction 2.30pm3.30pm. Author Christopher Carver tells us the inspiration behind his novels. Free event, booking advised.

Then on Tuesday, October 25 there’s Hallowe’en Family Fun 2pm-3.30pm, with Spooky activities! Free event, suitable for families with children aged 3+. Booking is advised. For events requiring booking visit Eventbrite online or call 01935 812683.

NOW YOU SEE IT: The AONB before and after

Honoured forever: Plaque unveiled

By Karen Bate karen@westdorsetmag.co.uk

A very special ceremony was held for the unveiling of a plaque in Winterborne Monkton dedicated to Captain Lionel Ernest Queripel VC of the Royal Sussex Regiment (1st Airborne Division) who gave his life in a selfless act of bravery during the Battle of Arnhem. Captain Queripel was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his remarkable bravery and was honoured with a ceremony and plaque in St Simon and St Jude, the church where he was baptised in August 1920. The ceremony was attended by 85 guests, with family members,

HONOURED: The plaque at St Simon and St Jude’s

representatives of the Royal Sussex and Parachute Regiments along with retired military representatives and local dignitaries gathering to honour this brave war hero.

On September 19, 1944 Acting Major Lionel Queripel died whilst

covering his men’s withdrawal back into the Oosterbeek perimeter during the doomed battle of Arnhem. He had already been wounded twice while assaulting an anti-tank gun, but realising he had the enemy on three sides, ordered them to withdraw whilst he covered them.

He was last seen by his sergeant throwing grenades at the enemy. For this act he was awarded a posthumous VC.

In late 2021, two west countrymen, Peter Metcalfe and Nick Speakman, decided to start a project to have plaque installed in the village church where Lionel was born as there was no recognition of him in his birthplace.

On the 78th anniversary Lionel’s death on September 19, 2022, the project was brought to fruition in a moving service in St Simon and St Jude Church.

Peter said: “The chairman and a representative from the Parachute Regimental

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at church in memory of Arnhem hero

Association led the standards down the aisle with a replica set of his medals with the chairman carrying his sword, which had been brought to the service from the Regimental Collection for the occasion. These were

placed on the altar, flanked by the standards. The plaque itself, was unveiled by Charles Norman, a family relation.

“Ten members from the Chichester, Brighton and Eastbourne Branches along with four branch standards

made the long journey to Dorchester and thanks go to them for their dedication and also to Peter and Nick, without whom none of this would have been possible.”

Captain Queripel is buried in the Commonwealth War

Cemetery at Arnhem, Oosterbeek in Holland. Major Nick Speakman from the Keep Military Museum in Dorchester discovered this remarkable Victoria Cross winner, and it was decided that a ceremony and plaque would serve as a fitting tribute to honour his bravery.

SHOP OPEN

offering eco products for the home in

with Red Panda Trading eco shop

tree for every product

CEREMONY: Captain Queripel’s medals and sword on the altar. Inset: Lionel Queripel

MP in the headlights for road safety concerns

Primary school children in Burton Bradstock quizzed MP Chris Loder about road safety when he dropped in for a visit. Road safety concerns on the B3157 through the village were top of the agenda.

Mr Loder said: “I was very impressed with the children’s questions. I held a summit with the police, local residents and councillors in May regarding the road safety of the B3157 coast road, close to the school and I am determined to ensure

that the council and Dorset Police take this issue more seriously and I

will continue to press them for action.”

Headteacher Adam

Gough said: “Getting out and about in our local area is a key part of our curriculum and it is important to do all we can to make the roads around Burton Bradstock safer for our children and their families. It was good to meet Mr Loder and have his support and we look forward to inviting him back for a welly walk to see the issues for himself. The children are also excited about taking up Mr Loder’s kind invitation and visiting him in Westminster.”

It’s high time to restore church clock

By Karen Bate newsdesk@westdorsetmag.co.uk

A restoration campaign for the oldest working pendulum clock to ring again at St Andrew’s Church in Yetminster has been launched by The Friends who are appealing to the community and beyond to dig deep and help raise the final £15,000.

The faceless clock was built in 1683 and is of national significance. The National Anthem was installed in 1897 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and would play at three-hourly intervals.

And for those who live and work in this village, the clock was a much-loved and familiar part of their lives.

So, when the clock fell silent a year ago, the Friends of St Andrew’s Church rallied and reached out for £30,000 so

CAN YOU HELP? St Andrew’s in Yetminster

reputable clock maker Smith of Derby can replace the worn parts and improve the winding systems –taking the clock forward in good condition.

Having raised £15,000 from generous grants and donations, the Friends are reaching out to the community as a final push. Churchwarden Clare Lindsay said: “The Friends

of St Andrew’s are fundraising to help restore our famously rare and historic Tower Clock, and we are asking the whole community of Yetminster and friends beyond, for your help with the costs.

“For us in Yetminster, the clock is a much loved and familiar part of our lives, and the sound of the bells ringing out over our houses and the fields beyond, has been greatly missed since it fell silent a year ago.

“The clock carillon also plays the National Anthem when it was installed by local benefactors for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, and is very rare, and possibly unique. “For the Platinum Jubilee of HM The Queen this year, the carillon was operated manually to ring out as part of our Jubilee Celebrations.

“This will be a once-in-ageneration opportunity for the whole village, with

family and friends, to get the clock working again, so that it will chime out for our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren too!”

The message to friends, family, residents and anyone who is sentimental about this little piece of history, is a resounding ‘Save Our Clock’.

Clare added: “Please give whatever you can to help us achieve our target - we are over half way there, thanks to generous grants and donations.”

n To donate email treasurer.yetminsterpcc@ gmail.com, or Geoff or Clare on churchwarden.yet @gmail.com

For cash donations, there is a donations slot in the table as you come into the church.

For information about St Andrew’s Friends please email pccsec.yetminster @gmail.com

SAFETY FIRST: MP Chris Loder with pupils at Burton Bradstock Primary School

Farm fined £52,650 for animal suffering

A West Dorset dairy farm has pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a cow and a calf by failing to care for them, along with a series of other offences relating to conditions on their farm. Ireosa Ltd, who operate Higher Kingston Russell Farm near Winterborne Abbas, appeared at Poole Magistrates Court for sentencing on September 20, 2022, having pleaded guilty to seven offences at an earlier hearing. These offences were against animal health and welfare, animal byproducts and feed legislation, and were brought to court following an investigation by Dorset Council Trading Standards.

They were fined a total of £52,650 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £6,186.

The court heard how officers visited the farm in April 2021, together with a vet from the Animal and Plant Health Agency. They found three calves that were clearly sick and emaciated; dirty pens, water troughs and feeding equipment, and a cow with a badly injured front leg that had not received veterinary treatment for three months.

They also had to free a calf trapped in wire that had been left in a field with livestock.

Various cattle bones and a skull were found dotted around the farm as well as

dead calves in pens with live cattle.

The court was told that officers from the council’s Trading Standards service had been visiting the farm for over six years with the aim of ensuring that welfare standards were improved.

As a result of their visit in April 2021, the farm had lost its Red Tractor accreditation for a minimum period of two years.

Cllr Laura Beddow, Dorset Council Portfolio Holder for Customer and Community Services, said: “Our Trading Standards team work with livestock keepers to improve the welfare of their animals, but when advice and basic

animal husbandry is ignored, formal action can and does follow.

“All livestock keepers have a clear responsibility to ensure conditions they keep animals in, and the care they are given, is adequate.

“Where there is evidence of unnecessary suffering we will intervene and consider formal enforcement action.”

n For health and welfare advice on keeping farmed animals or to report an animal welfare problem Dorset residents can call the Trading Standards animal health line on 01305 224475, or email tradingstandards@dorset council.gov.uk

The carpet store that comes to your door

The trading estate that grew from a

By Dan Goater dan@westdorsetmag.co.uk

Like the stalwart battleship after which it is named, Dreadnought Trading Estate has been a steadfast presence for Bridport businesses for decades.

The land which the estate stands on has been a central part of the town’s industry since the 13th century beginning life as a hub of rope, net and sailcloth production for fishermen with warehouses, yards and allotments also on the land. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, maritime rigging manufacturer Rendall and Coombs, the first owners of the site, sold a small plot of what is now the trading estate to Gundry and Co Ltd in 1968. The plot purchased by Gundry was accessible via a road from West Street into the North East corner of the estate, where there are now flats. The remainder of what is now the Dreadnought Trading Estate was acquired during four further deals during the 1970s and early 80s. The River Simene originally ran in a wide loop through where the estate is and there was an old stone mill, originally rented by Dom Townsend of Townsend Engineering, by the river in the South East corner of the land. The estate owners remeandered and ‘straightened’ the river in the early 1970s using excavators and built the first of two bridges, allowing access from Magdalen Lane instead of West Street.

Unfortunately, the old stone mill was also demolished in the 1970s.

There was also another stone building with a rounded roof next to the river,

approximately where Bridport Timber and Flooring is now, which was part of the original Rendall and Coombs site.

The oldest units on the estate numbered 4 to 6 were occupied by car body specialist Brian Smith until his recent retirement.

These units were built on the site of one of the old rope walks which originally ran from behind what is now part of unit 18a, to just in front of garage Greig & Allen in unit 22.

It is believed part of the old brick piers from the estate’s

original rope walks are still visible inside these units.

By 1982 units 1 and 2 had been built and numbered retroactively with Grieg & Allen as the first occupants. Speaking about what makes Dreadnought Trading Estate such a good place to be based, Alicia Matthews, co-owner and finance director of Greig and Allen, said: “Our business has been around on the estate for more than 40 years and it’s a great location for us.

“You can drop off your car for a service or MOT and pop into town for a coffee while you

NOUGHTY BUT

NICE: Clockwise from top left, the estate in 1914, an excavator carrying out river alteration work in the 70s, in front of where Unit 1 is now, and an aerial view of the estate now.

Left, an old building and newly formed river bank in the early 70s, about where Units 21/ 22 and forecourts are now

wait. We have two units on the estate, including G&A Commercial, so our neighbours are lovely because they’re us!

“Joking aside, we’ve been here so long we know pretty much everyone on the estate and get on well with them.”

Echoing the sentiment that neighbouring businesses on the estate cooperate well, Heath Thresher, salesman for windows, doors and conservatories business Hussey and Briggs said:

“We’ve been on the estate for over 20 years and there’s a

hub

nice variety of businesses around here.

“I think that’s helpful for drawing people in and helps to keep our business name out there.

“There’s lots of footfall on the estate, since it’s close to residential areas and has good footpaths. All the businesses on the estate seem to get on really well.”

Dreadnought Trading Estate manager Lesley Wilson said:

“I think there’s a variety of reasons the estate is so popular. It’s been around for a long time and people in the

town know it well.

“We have a variety of sizes of units available, from small lock ups to larger warehouse units.

“In Bridport a lot of business happens by word of mouth. “There’s a nice atmosphere between the unit occupants and their relationship with the management is good – we’re really here to solve problems for our tenants.”

Lesley added: “Despite the area’s history, this is a forward-looking trading estate and we’re here to drive business in the town.”

By Dan Goater dan@westdorsetmag.co.uk

Organisations and community groups in West Dorset are being urged to apply for a grant of up to £10,500.

Education and health charity The Prime Foundation is offering the cash to bodies looking to complete grassroots projects.

Prime is currently working with Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust on several projects aimed at improving the experience of patients, staff and visitors.

A Prime spokesperson said the charity ‘invests in communities’ where it has built new facilities by giving a proportion of the profits generated back to local level good causes.

The charity is now accepting grant applications from groups with Dorset postcodes.

Dorset based projects that match one or more of The Prime Foundation’s aims –advancing education outside the classroom, promoting good physical and mental health and/or furthering the enhancement of social wellbeing through recreation – will be considered for full or partial funding.

This will be The Prime

FUNDING HELP:

The Sustrans trishaw and, below,, woodwork at the Jericho Foundation

Grassroots groups in the mix for grant of £10,500

announce applications for funding are now open to the Dorset area and we hope this will serve the community through those that know it best.

“We are looking forward to hearing from groups in need of financial support to start a new project or improve an existing one in order to enrich lives in the local area.”

accessible. The trishaw enabled volunteers to connect with elderly members of the community, who are most at risk of isolation and loneliness, to enjoy the outdoors.

Foundation’s first grant rolled out in Dorset.

Hannah Cashmore of The Prime Foundation said:

“We are pleased to

In 2019, the Prime Foundation provided funding for a specially adapted bicycle, otherwise known as a trishaw, for Southampton based charity Sustrans, who aim to make outdoor activity

Last year, in Birmingham, the Prime Foundation funded tools for a community wood recycling project run by the Jericho Foundation.

Applications for funding in Dorset are open until November 1. For more information or to make an application visit primeplc.com/ foundation/apply

Volunteers wanted to help revive café at abbey

The Sherborne Abbey social Committee have issued a plea for volunteers to help revive the fundraising café.

Traditionally Sherborne Abbey Social Committee has organised a fundraising café in the Digby Memorial Hall on Pack Monday, October 17. But after coronavirus restrictions enforced a two-year break, the

committee hope to revive the café again this year, but need some help.

Frances Walker said: “It is always a very busy day but well worth all the hard work, not only as a fundraiser, but also as an act of outreach to the wider community.

“Unfortunately, we cannot run the café without a lot of extra help, so before we make the firm decision to

go ahead with the café this year, we are making a plea for volunteers to sign up for a one or two-hour slot on the sheet at the back of the abbey. I do hope that together we can make this work.”

If anyone would like to be involved and pick up a shift get in touch with Frances on 01935 817147 or email frances_walker@btinternet.com

Chemo outreach service launched

Dorset County Hospital has opened a new chemotherapy outreach service in Bridport.

The service, based at Bridport Community Hospital, will allow patients in the town and surrounding area to receive chemotherapy and other cancer treatments closer to home.

The clinic is open two days a week and is supported by Fortuneswell Cancer Trust and Dorset HealthCare, which runs Bridport Hospital.

Abigail Orchard, lead cancer nurse at DCH, said: “We’re delighted to be able to launch this new community-based service for those receiving cancer treatment. The benefits for patients are huge in terms of not having to travel as far, saving on fuel costs and receiving treatment in their local area. A big thank you to Fortuneswell Cancer Trust for helping to fund the service and to Dorset HealthCare for

allowing us to use space at Bridport Community Hospital. We hope that this service will make a difference to our patients in and around Bridport.”

Siobhan Baxter, facilities area manager for Dorset HealthCare, added: “We had a space that suited DCH’s needs so were more than happy to help by hosting the Chemotherapy Outreach Service at Bridport Hospital. Being able to receive treatment closer to home will make such a difference to patients and their families.”

Jackie Duffin, from West Bay, has received treatment from the unit. She said: “I’ve found it much easier to come here for treatment. Everyone makes you feel so welcome, I can’t speak highly enough of the staff and service here.”

The new service is part of a longer-term plan by DCH to provide more opportunities or patients to receive their treatment closer to where they live.

Scalp Micropigmentation

NEW SERVICE: Lisa Newey, Macmillan systemic anti-cancer therapy clinical nurse (DCH), Siobhan Baxter, facilities area manager (Dorset HealthCare), Richard Northwood, senior facilities manager (Dorset HealthCare), Sandy and Peter Hewett (Fortuneswell Cancer Trust) Abigail Orchard, Lead Cancer Nurse (DCH), Leah Sherwood, facilities manager (Dorset HealthCare), Devon Welch, staff nurse (Dorset HealthCare)

Barn box survey an ’owling success

Dorset Council has recorded the highest ever number of barn owl chicks in an annual survey of barn owl boxes at council farms.

Over the past four years, 20 barn owl boxes have been installed at a cluster of council-owned farms in North Dorset.

This summer, the presence of nine chicks were recorded at four of these farms – the highest number recorded yet.

Cllr Ray Bryan, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment, said: “I am thrilled to hear the efforts of our natural environment team and

WHAT A HOOT: A record number of barn owl chicks have been recorded in a survey

tenant farmers have had such a positive impact on the number of barn owls in our county.

“As a council, we are committed to tackling the

ecological emergency and are working hard to conserve our wildlife-rich county and enhance it wherever we can.”

All volunteers involved in

the monitoring of the boxes have been trained on how to sensitively check and handle the owls with minimum disturbance.

Picturesque twin town with links

GODFREY HALL visits Bridport’s twin town in France, Saint-Vaast -la-Hougue

Twinned with Saint Vaast in Normandy, Bridport has had a long association with this prosperous fishing village on the coast not far from Cherbourg. With medieval links, this delightful town has a great deal to offer the visitor and is extremely well placed for our local destinations such as the D-Day landing beaches and inland towns. The first harbour to be liberated by the allies during the Second World War, it has a history going back to medieval times and beyond.

In 1001 they managed to fight off an attack by King Ethelred II and in 1694 towers were built to defend the bay. Due to their importance, they were then including in 2008 in the UNESCO World Heritage List for their architectural value. The town has an array of eating places many of which specialise in seafood and in particular mussels in their many forms. Behind the rows of restaurants which face the harbour, there are several very interesting shops selling clothes, food and drink and chandlery. If you are considering staying in St Vaast, I can thoroughly recommend two establishments which I have used several times. The first is Hôtel La Granitière.

Located just a short walk from the front it is quite unique in that it is

constructed of granite.

Ideal for visiting the DDay landing beaches, I remember that the owner when I visited was extremely keen on the Second World War, owned several restored vehicles and enjoyed driving them around the area.

The hotel is full of antiques and it very unique in its décor. The other hotel which is closer to the front is the Hôtel de France et des Fuchsias. It retains its own charm and character and has a

range of rooms some of which are located in the gardens at the back of the property. The food here is excellent and they are extremely good at using local produce in their many varied menus. Again I can thoroughly recommend it not only for its food but also for the location which is very central and just a stone’s throw from the harbour.

The harbour at St Vaast was developed during the 19th century with the jetty being constructed between

1828 and 1845.The breakwater was then added and in 1982 the harbour was closed off and a new marina built to house over 700 yachts. Here on the marina you will find a delightful restaurant and café where you can enjoy a cup of coffee, or glass of wine whilst watching the boats in the harbour area. Also very close by is the island of Tatihou which can be reached by a fascinating amphibious craft. Home to a museum, bird reserve and two cafes it is an ideal excursion from the town. Just up the coast from St Vaast is Barfleur. During medieval times this was one of the main ports in France and was where the Normans assembled just before the Battle of Hastings. There is a very interesting church in the tiny settlement which is also twinned with Lyme Regis. Brittany Ferries has a ship named after the

to medieval history and D-Day

town and there is a lighthouse just a short drive from Barfleur’s tiny harbour.

The coastline along to Cherbourg is very attractive and for the best views you should take the minor road that hugs the coast.

Other places nearby include the famous Utah Beach which was used for the D-Day landings. Here you will find a large monument, museum and plenty of information on the activities that took place here during the Second World War. Inland the town of St Mere Eglise was occupied in 1944 by the Germans as it was a

vital crossing point in the region. However in early June 1944, airborne divisions of the American forces landed in and around the town. Fierce fighting took place and information on what took place can be found on information boards all

around the town. Look out as for the parachutist hanging from the church. The town also has an excellent Airborne Military Museum and some delightful cafes and eateries in the central square.

The easiest way to get to

St Vaast is to take Brittany Ferries from Poole to Cherbourg, St Vaast is around 45 minutes’ drive from the port.

n For more information on Bridport twinning go to bridportandwestbay. co.uk/community/ twinning-association

Independent prep has new headteacher

Sunninghill Prep School has a new headteacher.

The independent school in the centre of Dorchester, for pupils aged from toddlers to 13, has recruited David Newberry, who started at the beginning of the autumn term.

David brings a wealth of experience from the independent school sector. Originally a Dorset man, David grew up on Portland before moving to London in his early twenties.

He said: “I’m delighted to have begun my appointment at Sunninghill Prep School. The minute I set foot in the school I

felt the warmth from pupils and staff and knew this was where I wanted to be.

“Dorchester, and the beautiful

surrounding countryside, is an area that I know and love, and I am thrilled to have ‘come home’.”

David says he is determined to continue with extra curricular activities including sailing and windsurfing and the gamut of music lessons offered at the school.

He added: “When I’m asked what I want of our pupils, I always answer that I want them to be grounded but with a sense of adventure. I want them to be creative and able to adapt to our ever-changing world.”

The chair of governors Jean

Walker said: “David shows a very clear management style, placing the pupils at the centre of every decision. His experience, ability to inspire pupils, parents and staff and his ambitious vision for our school makes him the ideal person to lead us.”

The school is inviting people to take a look around the grounds, with its outdoor heated pool, low ropes course, forest school and all-weather sports pitch. An open morning is being held on Friday, October 14.

Go to sunninghillprep.co.uk to book or call 01305 262306

Energy use to be cut by a quarter at 15 Dorset libraries

A raft of energy saving measures have been installed at libraries across Dorset to cut down on emissions and costs.

Over the past six months, Dorset Council has installed a

range of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures at 15 libraries. The measures –from LED lights to advanced building management systems – are part of the council’s

response to the climate and ecological emergency and are expected to save over £40,000 a year and reduce annual energy use by more than 275,000 kwh (more than a

quarter of the energy used last year across all 15 sites). The work has been fully funded by the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

WORTH A VISIT: Plenty of interesting shops in St Vaast and, right, Hotel La Grantiere

NEW HEAD: David Newberry

By Dan Goater dan@westdorsetmag.co.uk

Ground-breaking technologies that could transform education, agriculture and climate science will be showcased throughout west Dorset this month.

Dorset Council’s third annual Festival of the Future will run from October 10 to 14 in Bridport, Dorchester, Ferndown, Winfrith and Weymouth.

Festival organisers promise this year’s event will feature digital innovations in the fields of farming, education, tourism, health and the climate.

A spotlight will also be thrown on the breadth of careers available in digital industries and the support on hand to help small businesses innovate.

School children can take part in the first ever countywide computer coding day while college students can examine how Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality can transform a visitor’s experience to a tourist attraction. Guest speakers and experts will also share their thoughts on our digital future.

Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for Corporate Development and Transformation, Cllr Jill Haynes, said: “Our festival will be a fully-fledged hybrid experience where we will be live with a local audience and available online for people to view as a live broadcast.

“It promises to be a lot of fun, very exciting and enlightening as we look into the possibilities our future might hold – and best of all it is completely

from October

Have a look at the future with festival of technology

free to attend.”

The festival will also highlight the importance of making sure everyone is included in the county’s digital future and that Dorset has the right skills for a digital economy.

Exploring the lessons learned from the 5G RuralDorset project, the festival will also host demonstrations of what a digital town could look,

using Weymouth as the setting.

Dorset Council’s chief executive, Matt Prosser, said: “We’ll be exploring very important issues and relevant topics but in a relaxed, fun-packed way full of festival atmosphere.

“We won’t necessarily be able to deliver all solutions and some of these imaginative ideas generated might never take

off from the concept board. But we want to make people excited about the opportunities that exist for digital innovation and investment that could make Dorset an even better place to live, work and visit.”

n To find out what is happening on each day of the festival and where, and to book free tickets, visit dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/ festival-of-the-future-2022

HI-TECH SOLUTIONS: Dorset’s Festival of the Future

Beavers back after four centuries

By Karen Bate karen@westdorsetmag.co.uk

Four centuries after their extinction in Britain, beavers have returned to Mapperton Estate in West Dorset as part of the Mapperton Wildlands project.

A pair of adult beavers have been relocated from Scotland to an eight-acre enclosure in woodlands near Mapperton House, home to Luke and Julie Montagu, Viscount and Viscountess Hinchingbrooke.

The pair, a 15kg male and 20kg female, live in a fenced enclosure, which includes grilles across the stream bed, and has been funded by a grant from Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL), a programme under Dorset AONB and Natural England’s Seedcorn Funding.

Before their arrival, Mapperton ranger Ben

Padwick said: “It’s been very exciting preparing for the beavers to arrive. I have been busy clearing the old pheasant pen, creating dams, and even building them a home and we are delighted to see them using it!

“We are looking forward to seeing their positive impact on the landscape and to giving guided tours around the enclosure to members of the public.

“\Releasing a keystone species back here at Mapperton Wildlands is a huge milestone for us, especially as they have

been absent from the landscape for such a long time.”

Beavers are a native British species which were hunted to extinction around 400 years ago. They were prized for fur, meat and their castoreum glands which were used for medicines and scents.

They are known as ‘ecosystem engineers’ for the transformative impact they have on their surroundings and all the other species that live there.

A major five-year study on the River Otter in Devon into the impacts of beavers on the English countryside

concluded that the waterliving mammals can bring numerous measurable benefits to people and wildlife.

Luke Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, said: “The arrival of beavers is a major milestone for our rewilding project at Mapperton Wildlands.”

Roisin Campbell-Palmer, Restoration Manager at Beaver Trust added:

“We’re delighted to support the Mapperton Estate in their rewilding ventures and particularly to see the beavers settling in well, in this first translocation of the season.”

Extra 228 school places for SEND children

An extra 228 school places are being created for Dorset children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The second phase of Dorset Council’s ambitious multi-million pound investment plan will expand specialist provision across the county.

The plan, approved by a recent Cabinet meeting, prioritises the programme of projects at existing special schools and setting up inclusion hubs at mainstream

schools. Inclusion Hubs will support children with SEND so that they can access education in mainstream schools, with newly designed hubs at the heart of schools for children to access specialist support. Councillor Andrew Parry, portfolio holder for children, education and early help, said: “We have developed these ambitious plans to create more specialist provision and we want all our children and young people to have the best possible chance.

“Currently some children and young people with SEND must travel a great distance for educational provision.

“This is because there’s not enough specialist provision available in Dorset.

“We aim to build on the capabilities of our mainstream schools to support more children and young people with SEND, which will ensure more children can attend a local school and receive their education locally.”

WELCOME RETURN: Beavers are back at the Mapperton Estate

Wood you believe it? New era as

By Miranda Robertson miranda@westdorsetmag.co.uk

A new broom is in at Dorchester Timber, the official home of banter in the county town.

Pat Bickel, who launched the business 35 years ago, has splintered off to enjoy his retirement while one of his long-serving crew takes up the reins. I’ve been coming here for random bits of wood for almost all that time – for building stud walls, completing decking, installing skirting boards, you name it.

If it’s wood, or looks like wood, they’ve got it. If it sticks one bit of wood to another, or a bit of wood to any other material, they have that too. And the staff there not only know what to recommend, they can cut it to size for you – all while having a laugh. Their reputation as a friendly bunch is such that a customer carved them a sign, saying: “Dorchester Timber – Witty banter guaranteed.”

The new boss is Jed (Jedidiah) Germodo, who was born around the same time as the business. He came to work at Dorchester Timber, behind the Weldmar outlet on the Marabout Industrial Estate, after studying medicine then discovering it wasn’t for him.

One of the most wellknown faces here is Roy Hallett, who has worked here for 24 of those 35 years.

Much of the banter emanates from this cheeky chappie. “I’ve got a 40

mile an hour gob and a 20 mile an hour brain,” he said.

Roy, who was a bus driver for Bere Regis Coaches before he joined Dorchester Timber, added: “This job has been good to me for 24 years, and I’ve been good to it. We’re the heart of the community here. We’re now seeing the kids and grandkids of our old customers coming in.”

When Pat launched the business in 1987 it was an empty room, with no racking. A bank loan secured a stock of wood, which he promptly sold and had to buy more. The business grew fairly quickly and racks were purchased to keep the stock in order. The current layout has been there a long time.

But now Jed, aided by tech

guru Iain McCrossan, 41, is aiming to take the online part of the business into the 21st century, with an e-commerce site capable of handling orders and accounts.

Iain, who started at Dorchester Timber in 2006 and now has his own web consultancy, Crossworks, is busy putting every batten, nail and screw on the site ready for punters

THE SIGN SAYS IT ALL: Where to go for your timber and banter needs and, below, the boys at Christmas and Pat Bickel in the driving seat

timber firm set to branch out online

to be able to order online round the clock.

The new website will be live before Christmas.

Still, the core values of the business will stay the same, with the free delivery offered from Swanage to Bridport as it was in 1987 – despite the rise in fuel costs.

The same crew will be behind the desk, with expert knowledge to help

DIYers and trade alike find the right solution to their needs.

Iain said: “Pat and his business has been a staple of the community for all these years. He did so well with building the business and contributed to the community through the football club, bowls club, Weldmar and Rotary among other things.

“His ability at maths is

ridiculous – he only has to look at a list of figures and you blink and it’s done.”

Jed said: “He’s led the business successfully through recessions and covid and difficulties in the building trade.

“There are many buildings around here with Dorchester Timber in them, such as The Duchess of Cornwall pub at Poundbury.

“I remember we had to carry all the wood in and up the stairs.

“We want to keep the spirit of the business and keep everything people love about it, but just improve the online side to make life easier for people.”

n Dorchester Timber is open Monday to Friday, 7am-5pm, Saturday 8am12pm. 01305 269822 dorchestertimber.co.uk

KINGS OF BANTER: The team at Dorchester Timber and, below, winning the cakes on Wessex FM and, right, hard at work on the front counter

Autumn is coming, and it’s bringing

From a fungus which oozes a blood-like substance, a beetle which lives in a cocoon made from faeces and a duck which fancies itself as a bit of a James Bond – the weird and wonderful wildlife of our woods. The Woodland Trust has compiled a list of ten unique, beautiful and in some cases rather gruesome species in our woods, many of which are under threat.

Some will be unknown to most, one or two may be more commonly recognised, but all have a unique tale to tell.

Alastair Hotchkiss, conservation advisor at the Woodland Trust, said we need to act now to protect and restore nature.

“Now more than ever before, with the climate change and biodiversity crises, do we need to protect and restore the UK’s natural environments,” he said. “These ten species are just the tip of the iceberg (or the mushroom poking up from the soil’s vast mycelial web!) of secrets that our woodland habitats hold. Every species can tell us a story, everything has a role to play, and we have so much still to learn. “We must do our best to make sure we don’t lose them.”

Stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus): Pungent and a little indecent, some Victorians were so embarrassed by these woodland fungi that they would attack them with cudgels. Usually smelt before they are seen, the scientific name comes from its phallic shape which gave rise to several rude names in 17thcentury England. It was used in medieval times as a cure for gout and as a love potion, and more recent scientific evidence has found it might have potential medicinal use for venous thrombosis.

Goldeneye (Bucephala

clangula): Not the James Bond movie, but a duck that lives in trees, nesting in natural cavities or old woodpecker nests.

Like Bond’s leap off the dam in the opening movie scene, the one-day-old goldeneye chicks must hurl themselves (without a bungee) from as high as 30ft up a tree, with just their mother’s calls of encouragement as they tumble.

One of many species that rely on the unique combo of woods and water, these birds are scarce breeders in the UK, mainly around the Cairngorms, but they roam across the UK during the winter.

String-of-sausages lichen

(Usnea articulata): As the name suggests, this lichen resembles a miniature string of sausages, although their glaucous colour is less appetising. It tells a tale of a serious problem; like many lichens, the string of sausages is extremely sensitive to air quality and is mainly restricted to places well away from the worst of industrial pollution. These ‘fairy butcher shops’ are draped over branches in the cleaner air of places such as Dartmoor and south-west Wales. Evidence has revealed that Usnea lichens have anticancer properties, effective against breast and lung cancer cells.

The beefsteak fungus (Fistulina hepatica):

Sticky and gruesome, beefsteak is a woodland fungus with the disconcerting appearance of a raw cut of meat.

It even oozes a blood-like substance when cut. Usually found in broadleaved woodland, on the trunks of oak trees and sometimes on stumps.

The species is an ‘ecosystem engineer’ – decaying the heartwood of oaks, hollowing out ancient trees and leaving the biscuit-like red rot inside to provide life to hundreds of other species of invertebrates and fungi, and holes for nesting birds and other treehole dwelling wildlife.

n Stinkhorn

Picture: John Bridges

n Goldeneye and, right, string of sausauges Pictures: John Bridges/Al Hotchkiss

n Beefsteak fungus and, right, knothole moss Pictures: Rachel Harris/Steven Heathcote

a lot of very curious wildlife with it

Wasp banded comb horn (Ctenophora flaveolata):

Mimicking something that could give a nasty sting, the wasp-banded comb horn is a harmless species of cranefly. Looking like a souped-up daddy long-legs, it’s a striking specialist of old wooded landscapes where its larvae live in decaying trees. It’s a scarce species in England, and even rarer in Wales where it’s a priority for the Natur am Byth! project to save Wales’ threatened species

Knothole yoke-moss (Zygodon forsteri): This moss is globally rare, surviving at just three sites in Britain.

This is because of its extreme specialism, another which is entirely reliant upon the variety of micro-habitats provided by ancient and veteran trees – it is waterfilled rot-holes in living trees that take this species’ fancy. Most of the trees it survives on are ancient beech pollards in the New Forest, and London outskirts including Epping and Burnham Beeches.

A perfect example of why protecting our ‘living legends’ helps all sorts of other life forms too.

Hazel pot beetle (Cryptocephalus coryli):

One of the UK’s rarest insects, reliant on wooded ‘ecotones’ the transitions between more densely treed to more open vegetation with scrub, heath and scattered trees.

Once widespread across southern counties, it declined greatly during the last century to become one of the UK’s rarest insects Sherwood Forest, the legendary home of Robin Hood is one of the only known remaining sites.

The ‘pot’ is where the egg is laid and larvae live – in a protective shell-like cocoon or ‘pot’, that is created using the beetle’s own faeces!

Eagle’s claw lichen (Anaptychia ciliaris):

Looking like the talons of an eagle clinging to a tree trunk, this species tells one story of the chain of doom facing many species. Once more common across the UK, it was hit by the loss of elms from our landscapes. It is sensitive to air pollution, from acidic sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides to excessive enrichment from ammonia. It now faces the loss of trees to ash dieback, and is running out of options for the right sorts of trees in places with relatively clean air – restricting it to just a few places mainly in south west England and the Welsh borders.

Lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros): With its horseshoe-shaped nose, it’s like a flying symbol of good fortune in the woods, unless that is, you are a small moth, midge or mosquito about to be caught. Although many bats roost inside trees, horseshoe bats mainly roost in caves, mines and posh stately homes. The bats like the cover and abundance of small insect prey in woods, where their manoeuvrable flight enables them to twist and turn. It hangs Draculastyle, with its wings wrapped around its body.

Deceptive featherwort (Pseudomarsupidium decipiens): Loose cushions of this shiny liverwort grow on the sides of rocks in very humid or boulder-strewn woodlands in western Britain and Ireland. Characteristic of UK temperate rainforest –a habitat under a multitude of threats, from air pollution to invasive rhododendron. Its British localities are its northernmost in the world, and it is also known from tropical Africa, South America and the Caribbean. It’s a link to the tropical forests that folk probably think about more than our own UK rainforests.

n Eagle’s claw lichen

Picture: Al Hotchkiss

n Hazel pot beetle, Wasp banded cone horn, lesser horshoe bat, deceptive featherwort Pictures: Trevor Pendleton, Paul Williams, Des Callaghan, Al Hotchkiss

A rewilding project at Bere Regis has recorded 1,300 species, including eight Red List ‘birds of conservation concern’.

Dorset Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers made the recordings over the last year at Wild Woodbury where the land has been allowed to naturally regenerate.

A trust spokesperson said: “A dry spring coupled with the increase of invertebrates attracted by the fast-emerging pollinators in the former arable fields has led to a very positive breeding season for birds.

“A rising number of juvenile birds has been spotted across the site including cuckoo, whinchat and nightjar. Skylarks have gone from two singing males last year to 18 in 2022.” Also recorded at the site in the last year were 28 yellowhammers and a breeding pair of tree pipits raising juveniles. Skylarks, yellowhammers and tree pipits are all on the Red List, meaning they face ‘an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild’.

More than 200 meadow brown butterflies, silverwashed fritillaries and

WELCOME BACK: A tree pipit and, inset below, a yellowhammer, have all been recorded at Wild Woodbury

Birds are flocking back to woods rewilding project

newly-hatched painted lady on the wing butterflies have also been recorded at the site.

The hot weather in July and August increased moth activity too, with traps attracting some rarer species such as dingy mocha. More than 300 species of beetles, bugs and spiders have also been recorded. Large clumps of the

nationally scarce flora, lesser quaking grass have also appeared in Wild Woodbury as have narrow-leaved lungwort, red hemp nettle, three species of orchid, including the southern marsh orchid, and small populations of cobalt crust fungi.

Wilder Dorset project manager Rob Farrington said: “The aim of

rewilding Wild Woodbury is to build an exemplar for sustainable land use to tackle the climate and ecological crises letting nature take the lead as much as possible and the restoration of natural processes on the site should provide the right conditions for many species to return in greater numbers over the coming years.”

n For more information visit dorsetwildlifetrust. org.uk/wildwoodbury

£10k is good for your heart

West Dorset community groups that help people look after their hearts can now apply for a £10,000 grant from Heart Research UK. The grant is available for ‘new and innovative projects that promote healthy hearts and are aiming to reduce the risk of heart disease in their

community’.

The deadline for applications in the South West region is October 24. For more information, email healthyheartgrants @heartresearch.org.uk

To apply for a grant visit heartresearch.org.uk/ healthy-heart-grant-apply

Litton Cheney’s Got Talent fundraiser

A community variety show featuring musicians, actors and dancers will be held in Litton Cheney to raise money for Dementia UK and Thorners School Association.

Organiser Tricia Gates was inspired to set up the fundraising show after losing her mother Joyce Baker to dementia late last year.

The show is taking place at Litton and Thorners Community Hall (LATCH) on Saturday, October 8 from 6.30pm.

Some of the show’s proceeds will go to Dementia UK’s Closer to Home project, which helps provide help to families affected by dementia.

Tricia said: “I staged a similar community variety show in the village around five years ago which was hugely successful on a number of fronts.

“Therefore, when I recently lost my mother to dementia, through this difficult time, I have established a volunteer fundraising relationship with Dementia UK in aid of their Closer to Home project.

“From the success of the previous event, I am now organising a second show

with the proceeds to be shared between Thorners Primary School in the village and the Admiral Nurses, who are directly connected to the Closer to Home project.”

The line-up for the Litton Cheney show includes Bridport Youth Dance, Burton Bradstock Players, actress Audrey Gates, church organist Paul Cheater and musicians Alan Hooley and Becci Taylor. Thorners

Primary School pupils will open the show with a musical act.

The show will have cabaret style seating with a

Carry on campanology...

Anyone with an interest in bell ringing is invited to contact the bell-ringing group of St Peter’s Church, Dorchester. The group practices on Mondays at 7.30pm and new recruits, or experienced bell ringers, are welcome to contact Harry Little on 07775 072019 or hg.little@btinternet.com about joining the group.

complimentary glass of wine on arrival and free tea or coffee served during the interval. There will also be a fundraising raffle with prizes donated by local businesses. Audience members will also be invited to choose the

winner of a photography competition, with the theme for submissions being: Life in the Bride Valley Today. n For more information on the talent show email patricia123gates@outlook. com or call Tricia Gates on 01308 482742.

FOR MY MUM: Tricia Gates with her late mother Joyce Baker and, inset below, Becci Taylor and Alan Hooley

Imagine if Andrew had been her first son

Could I congratulate Kelvin Clayton for his refreshingly sensible column about the monarchy in the last issue?

The whole period since the Queen died has felt like the establishment trying to browbeat the population with an Orwellian level of pro-monarchy propaganda. The Queen may personally have been a decent individual with a strong sense of ‘duty’ and her son Charles has admirable, long-held environmental principles. But none of that remotely justifies the continuation of the monarchy. It is an archaic relic of the time when power was seized and held by the most ruthless and violent people. We like to call ourselves a democracy now and yet that is incompatible with one unelected family having a significant influence on every government and possessing huge wealth, untold amounts of land, castles, palaces etc. On top of that, poorly paid taxpayers are funding state subsidies and allowances to this family while the monarchy appears to be largely exempt from paying tax on its income. An accident of birth is no basis for selecting leadership roles –imagine if Andrew had been the Queen’s first son! If we need a head of state to represent the UK at ceremonial events or Commonwealth gatherings let’s elect a president with no political power for a fixed term, just as many other countries do, Ireland being a good example.

Julian Jones

It was good to see the two

through many committed Christian people.

To me a retired clergyman aged nearly 86 it is important to have this article in your excellent magazine. Peter Stevens

She’s back this edition, Peter! We try to include all faiths where we can. Ed

In honour of Capt. Lionel Queripel VC By William Foot

When he was blessed here, sheep filled the village street, gathering by chalk tracks from the ancient down where iron men had fought in another age: we see their ghosts still, harrying the darkening sky.

articles written in favour of ivy in the last issue. It’s a very valuable source of nectar and pollen for honeybees to see them through the winter. Occasionally I have been able to harvest from my hives in the spring ivy honey that was surplus to their requirements. It’s my favourite honey! It’s white and crunchy and not over-sweet (I don’t have a sweet tooth). Once I heard one customer asking another: “Do you get the citrus overtones?”

I once sent a sample of ivy honey from my hive on Portland to a scientist friend who did a DNA analysis and discovered that it wasn’t the normal ivy, Hedera helix, but

Irish Hedera hibernica!

Perhaps this explains why the island is covered with notices reading: Keep Portland Weird! Chris Slade, Maiden Newton

I notice that in today’s issue no 17 of Friday September 23rd there is no Christian Message. Is this because Canon Deb Smith is on holiday or unavailable, so it is a one-off omission? I also notice that Jo Belasco’s Pagan Views page has been included. Belief in God through the sacrifice of His wonderful Son and the Person and work of the Holy Spirit together with its message of love, prayer, care and healing has so much more to offer which is seen in action

In the church, there is no voice now, just the field mouse at the door, and the owl’s restless shifting in the roof, where once they bore him to the font, and made the cross upon his brow:

short his life, he went from school to war, and died on Arnhem’s bloody field.

A plaque on the wall spells out his name, lest we forget, or in our blurred and hurrying days

think not of him at all: his valour is set out in stone, he is at rest;

yet, I sense his spirit soaring free, one with all those mighty warriors on the battled hill above.

Cartoon by Lyndon Wall justsocaricatures.co.uk

Historic pub’s fortunes are turned

By Miranda Robertson miranda@westdorsetmag.co.uk

A couple who have created the most incredible array of facilities at a village pub are down to the final six for two major industry awards.

Simon and Sarah Colquhoun bought the dilapidated and closed Gaggle of Geese in Buckland Newton in 2017, determined to raise their son in a rural environment. It was only their second pub – both left very different careers to run their first pub in Brighton, which was tied to a brewery. It was dipping their toes into the water that convinced them they liked being landlords and when their son came along they decided to look for something more out of the way.

The Gaggle – built in the 1800s as the Royal Oak –had had many changes in fortunes over the years, and had closed in 2014, with the then landlord saying footfall was so low he couldn’t carry on. It’s a tricky spot, to be sure – it’s in a small village of only about 600 people with very little passing trade. But the Colquhouns saw in it huge potential – five acres of land surround the pub, which, when they bought it were overgrown. The pub itself was in poor shape too.

VARIETY: Ideal spot for weddings, the Airstream, outside bar, gardens and shepherd’s hut at the Gaggle

But a massive effort, including villagers armed with strimmers and

hedgecutters helping out, saw the Gaggle emerge from the weeds. The pub was smartened up, refitted and refurbished and opened up in May 2018, after the pair spent months zipping between Brighton and Buckland Newton.

The Colquhouns then installed two large tepees in the beer garden, and shepherd’s huts and bell

tents to create a camping area. They opened an outside bar and installed a pizza oven and a hog roast machine.

Finally, the piece de resistance arrived, towed all the way from St Albans – a double decker bus, which now houses a soft play area, after the couple spent the lockdown doing it up. The Colquhouns’ son thought it was his

Vittles

around and now in line for awards

GREAT FUN: Inside a bell tent and, right, the soft play area in the bus

Christmas present…

There are even pygmy goats and an orchard here. It’s fabulous.

There’s still space for kids to play football without disturbing diners in the vast grounds. Artsreach put on shows in the garden and there are live music nights, quiz nights and even a mini festival.

Simon, 46, said: “It was a bit of a gamble as the pub

had been shut for so long.

“It had became famous for goose auctions and featured on River Cottage.

But while a few owners did well, the pub struggled at various times – I believe it went bust a couple of times in the last 20 years.

“It was very run down when we bought it.

“We had to rewire the whole place and replace the roof and tame the wild

garden. But the village was really keen to see it reopen and many people turned up to help us.

“We had a tight budget and ran close to the wire but we finally felt this year we had achieved our vision.

“We believe if kids are happy adults stay longer and are more relaxed.” Now all the Colquhouns’ efforts have been recognised after they

Best Pub Garden and Best Pub for Families categories of the Great British Pub Awards. One other pub from West Dorset is also in the finals, which were due to be held in Manchester on Tuesday night, after this magazine went to press.

Tom Brown’s in Dorchester is up for the Community Hero award. They are not easy awards to enter – there are several rounds of written

submissions, video interviews and two unannounced visits from judges.

“It’s a major achievement for us,” said Simon.

“They are our industry’s biggest awards so I was really surprised to get into the finals for two awards.

“But we do stand out, I think. It’s not every pub that has a play bus!” n Gaggle of Geese, Buckland Newton, DT2 7BS 01300 345249 gaggleofgeese.co.uk

YOU’RE WELCOME: Sarah and Simon Colquhoun at the Gaggle of Geese

Vittles (food & drink)

Certain aromas can arouse deep emotion, leaving one with a feeling of melancholy.

It can be fleeting, or it can wrap itself around you like a hug. Favourite foods can evoke the same awakenings, smells can summon pure nostalgia in the blink of an eye, then evaporate leaving a sense of longing and belonging. I asked some friends and family what food gave them that ‘warm glow’ and that reassuring feeling that everything will be okay. Roast dinner was a favourite, especially Christmas dinners, underlining the importance of home and family. The fairground at West Bay was an interesting one, the smell of onions cooking and sugary candyfloss. woodfire pizzas, cooking bacon, Cinnamon, oranges were amongst the most popular.

One early summer as we headed south through France, we stopped off at Le Mont St Michel we arrived early having travelled on the overnight Cherbourg ferry,

Go hug yourself with an omelette

a thick morning fog hung heavy over the salt marshes virtually obliterating the island.

The fog. a vehicle for the scent of freshly baking baguettes from various boulangeries. drifted in the morning calm.

As the fog slowly evaporated, the sparkling gilt statue of Archangel Michael at the pinnacle of

Mum’s Kitchen...

Fruited Venison in Burgundy

Serves 6 Ingredients: Rape seed oil for frying 200g onions, skinned and chopped 2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 kg casserole venison, chopped 1 tbsp Worcester Sauce 1 bottle Burgundy or red wine

100g soft dried apricots, halved

Finely grated rind and juice of 1 medium orange

the spire become visible, gradually revealing the island’s size and magnificence despite it being a tourist trap, its impressive.

The scent of La Mère Poulard’s omelettes full of rich herbs and creme fraiche cooked in copper skillets on huge wood fired stoves teased gullible tourists but at 49€ per head,

it’s a one in a lifetime experience! Combine that with the aroma of fresh hot coffee and newly baked baguettes that’s my food awakening.

As I strolled around Bridport the other morning the aroma of coffee and fresh bread hit me with a bolt of nostalgia, and here in my hometown I felt hugged.

This recipe is a light as thistledown and so tasty, add your own favourite fillings.

4 Free range eggs

2 tablespoons crème fraiche

Salt and pepper

40g of butter

Crack 2 eggs in a bowl. Add the yolks of 2 more, keep the remaining whites Whisk the eggs on low speed for 5 minutes

Add the crème fraiche and whisk for another 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper.

Whisk the whites into soft peaks and fold gently into the rest of the eggs. Melt butter in a non-stick frying pan. And pour into pan. Add filling. Cook slowly for about 5 minutes.

2 level tbsps. Tomato puree

2 sticks of celery, sliced 200g carrots, peeled and sliced

1 bouquet garni

2-3 level tsps. Salt Rounded tbsp light brown sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan. Heat 2 or 3 tbsp oil in a flameproof casserole and fry venison until sealed and browned. Add onions and celery and fry until soft.

You may need to add a bit

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.

A TASTE OF NOSTALGIA: You can’t beat a good omlette

Cheap & cheerful in the courgette set

Courgette ‘parmigiana’

This is proper cheap and cheerful cooking and will make the most of any courgettes you have left, and if you have neighbours like mine there will still be loads.

Taking advantage of the economy products that are found in supermarkets, this meal can feed a family of four handsomely for less than a fiver.

I’d just add a lovely French stick to mop up the plate after you’ve eaten.

Whilst not a true parmigiana it tastes great.

Serves 4 500g tomatoes olive oil 2 tablespoons pesto 1 garlic clove or 1 teaspoon garlic purée 500g courgettes, sliced 125g mozzarella, grated 25-50g tasty cheddar cheese, grated salt and pepper

I roast supermarket tomatoes, especially when they need more flavour.

Put the tomatoes on a lightly oiled baking tray and bung in the oven at Gas 6/200°C for around 30 minutes, or until cooked through and slightly charred.

Once cooked, leave them until you’re ready to make the parmigiana, or pop them straight into a

processor and blast them.

I don’t mind the seeds so I leave them in but you can push the sauce through a sieve to get rid of them. Next, put the puréed tomatoes in a pan with the pesto, garlic, salt and pepper and simmer for around 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.

Diana Holman

Check the seasoning. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan, add a couple of slices of courgette and fry for two-three minutes on each side or until the slices are golden. Repeat until all the courgettes are cooked. Put two or three spoonfuls of sauce in the bottom of a baking dish.

Add three or four slices of cooked courgette. Sprinkle with a handful of mozzarella. Then repeat until you have used up the courgettes.

Spoon a final layer of tomato sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the last of the mozzarella and finish with grated tasty cheddar. Pop it in the oven at Gas 6/200°C for about 30 minutes until cooked through and the cheese is golden and bubbly.

n Lizzie can be found in the Old Ship Inn Upwey selling her goods on every Saturday morning. Check out her website lizziebakingbird.co.uk

More on this recipe on instagram lizzibakingbird.

more oil. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, along with most of the bottle of wine (you might be left for a glass or so for the cook, but cover the meat and vegetables well; you can always open another bottle for the cook!), mix and bring to the boil, stirring. Cover closely with a lid or foil

and cook in the oven for 2 1/2 – 3 hours until the venison is tender. Remove bouquet garni. Lovely served with creamy mashed potatoes and a green vegetable of choice.

It is not a dish for diet days, but at least you are getting your five-aday!

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

ECONOMICAL MEAL: Courgette ‘parmingiana’

Down to earth

BEACHCOMBING with JO BELASCO BA Hons History of Architecture and Design

Inevitably, beachcombing will sometimes overlap with foraging.

Inspired by John Wright’s column about sea buckthorn berries in the West Dorset Magazine a few weeks ago, I have been keeping my eyes open. As he says, don’t pick many if you do find it, leave some for the birds.

It is used to stabilise land and we surely need that around our coastlines. But yes, I found some. Sea buckthorn has its own defence system built in – in fact a series of them.

If the eponymous biblical thorns don’t get you then the Harry Potter-style exploding bon-bon berries will. As Mr Wright suggests, cut the branches and at home stick the whole lot in the freezer. I just half-picked and shook the frozen berries off in a few days.

Little tip – don’t cook them when you have company round as John points out rather comically in his River Cottage Handbook –Edible Seashore. I don’t even like the smell of the uncooked juice in the fridge but with its long list of medicinal and life enhancing properties I have taken to making it into ice cubes to add surreptitiously until my family start to acquire the… um… acquired taste.

APPEAL: Has anyone got a copy of Saga’s August magazine?

Our Jo is featured in it, in a piece on beachcombing, and would love to have a copy. Call the newsdesk on 01305 566336 or email us.

STONE ME: Oil shale and hag stone

ACQUIRED TASTE: Beachcombing at Black Head Beach near Osmington Mills, Weymouth, sea buckthorn in situ and, right, the berry juice sieved ready to freeze

Sea if you can find the berries

It’s bitter and that I believe is one of the old fashioned tastes which our modern bodies find unpalatable. Even with sugar cones of sweetness and honey the aftertaste has a kick like a mule. That wasn’t the only thing I found around the Blackhead beach area of Weymouth. I was hunting for jet and hag stones. On the jet front I failed miserably but had a heart-

stopping moment with some oil shale shown here with a cute hag stone. Jet is very rare in this area but apparently has been found. It was when I was picking up hag stones to check that the hole went all the way through that I happened upon the crystal in the centre. At first as it looks lilac I thought I had found some amethyst but later research suggests it’s crystal, which is often

found in oil shale areas. I checked and doublechecked the tide timetable as the cliffs look rather threatening and you really wouldn’t want to be scrambling up them if the tide caught you off guard. There are quite a few ways up from Blackhead beach, ranging from very steep metal steps to just a rope but all of them take a certain amount of determination…

Squirrelling away for your preserves? Go nuts!

Sally Cooke lives in Tolpuddle with her husband, two grown up sons and her spotty rescue dog. You can follow Sally on Instagram at Sparrows in a Puddle

Like many of my friends and neighbours I’ve been busy with my big preserving pan. The little glass jars I’ve squirrelled away all year have been filled with blackberry jam and apple chutney. The freezer has been put to good use too, with fruit crumbles frozen to enjoy in front of the fire on a dark winter’s evening. Others I know have been pickling cobnuts or are looking forward to tasting the stored summer sunshine in their Christmas tipples, with blackberry or apple liqueurs and sloe gins. The local wildlife is also making the most of nature’s bounty this October. Blackbirds and sparrows have juice-

stained beaks from the blackberries and elderberries in the hedgerows and red admiral butterflies are attracted to fallen pears in the garden (the more rotten the better). With so much available food at the moment, a bit like me with my jam and chutney, some animals have learned how to cache food for the winter months.

It's no coincidence that the first word that came to mind was ‘squirrelled’ when I wrote about my store of jam jars. At this time of year, my dog is often tormented on a walk in Thorncombe Wood by grey squirrels running about on the ground carrying a nut or acorn. Though, at 12 years old and with an arthritic shoulder, she never gets close to catching them. The squirrels will turn a nut around

in their mouths, deciding whether to discard it, eat it now or find somewhere to bury it for later. Researchers have estimated that in the autumn, squirrels can stash away some 3,000 nuts, ‘scatter-caching’ them in different places on the woodland floor, rather than in one big ‘larder’. Britain’s native red squirrels exhibit this storing behaviour too, and this is my favourite time of year to take the boat over to Brownsea Island to see them.

With a combination of memory, sense of smell and some chance, squirrels will find many of their buried nuts and acorns in the winter, even under a layer of snow. But of course, they will never find them all and so they can unwittingly play a role in regenerating woodland by accidentally planting new trees.

Lokking for edible mushrooms? I knew it: A Blewit

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 awardwinning Forager’s Calendar and in 2021 his Spotter’s Guide to Countryside Mysteries was published.

Blewits are types of edible mushrooms and among the very few that have a history of collection in Britain, mostly in the Midlands where Field Blewits could be found at market. There are two that are commonly collected for the table, plus two or three less frequent Blewits that I have eaten occasionally. The two headliners are the Wood Blewit, Lepista nuda, and the aforementioned Field

Blewit, L. saeva. They follow their titular habitats very well, excepting that Wood Blewits sometimes take to the field, forming large rings.

Everyone’s first thought about any wild fungus destined for dinner is how easy they might be to identify. The Field Blewit, you will be pleased to hear, is unmistakable, with a wide, grey/cream, smooth, doomed-then-flattened and always slightly damp cap, and a very short stem that is an eye-wateringly brilliant lilac. It grows in exceptionally distinct and neat rings.

The Wood Blewit is more problematic in that it has a dead-ringer in the notoriously dangerous group of fungi known as the Webcaps (Cortinarius

spp.) The lookalike in question, Cortinarius purpurascens is not actually dangerous at all, but Webcaps are generally avoided on principle. The cap, gills and stem of young Wood Blewits are a bright purple, the cap fading to a purple-brown with maturity. C. purpurascens, unfortunately, is much the same. The first distinction between the two is that the very base of the stem of the latter species swells to a circular plinth, whereas that of the Wood Blewit is barely swollen at all. The clincher, however, is that Blewits produce pale pink spores while those of the Webcap are rust-brown. This rusty colour is easily seen on gills of all mature Webcaps, but do take a

spore print if you are unsure and certainly if your specimen is young. Simply cut the stem off, lay the cap, gills down, on a piece of white paper and leave for a couple of hours. The spores will continue to fall from the gills, the en masse spore colour easily seen on the paper. Easy. Really. Are Blewits worth the anxiety? Oh, yes. They are way up in my top ten, with a slimy, sticky, rubbery and slippery texture (all in a good way) and a faint floral overtone to the standard mushroom flavour. Blewits fried in butter with garlic and cream and served on toast is the food of the Gods. You owe me.

Down to earth

PAGAN VIEWS by JO BELASCO

The clearly sign-posted path runs along the South Dorset Ridgeway to the hell stone.

As you walk you catch delicious wafts of hazelnut and blackberry cake baking in the nearby farmhouse B&B.

As we climb higher we can see the ancient pattern of ritual landscape joining up the hell stone with Hampton stone circle and Kingston Russell stone circle. Along the way there are vineyards shielded from the winds by ancient hedgerows of blackberry and hawthorn. The hell stone in Portesham is Dorset’s last surviving Dolmen. We present our gifts – nothing plastic, just beautiful feathers or a bright leaf. Some people want to spend a few minutes inside the Dolmen space to meditate or pray or sing. It’s an exhilarating high spot in more ways than one. I am not talking about wacky baccie, but ley lines, or just some powerful land energy which the area exudes. After filling our boots with energy we return to the farmhouse for coffee made from chicory, which grows all around. Had to have a ley line ice cream too – packed full of the elderberries which grow here in profusion. This visionary farmer has come to see potential in the having history-loving ramblers weave through his land by seeing them as customers instead of potential trespassers. His

TO HELL WITH IT:

The hell stone with a blast of sunshine and, below, the hell stone with the pond and Hardy’s Monument in the background and, right, the easily overlooked sign and turning to the hell stone

Following the signs all the way to the hell stone

business flourishes by attracting people interested to see the ritual landscape.

Specialists flock from round the world to see this spectacular place and stay in the nearby extended farmhouse with its growing global reputation for ley line wines.

No, no, no! I am just dreaming of how it could

be. Truth be told the signposting is appalling –almost as if someone doesn’t want you to even find the Dolmen. One way is through a usually flooded copse and is confusing the other way you have to park in a dodgy layby on a corner at the top of Portesham hill. John Ette, a former Heritage at Risk Principal

for the South West, said: “The south west region is home to more than a quarter of all at risk heritage sites across England.”

If only we could flip this to my dream? I am not suggesting we turn our land into a big theme park but I think we can do better than this for last Dolmen in Dorset.

A little patience paid off for Bridport-based artist Elizabeth Sporne, who is exhibiting at Athelhampton House from Saturday, October 8.

Her portrait of Take That star Howard Donald, signed by the man himself, will be part of the exhibition before being auctioned for the Macmillan Unit at Christchurch Hospital. Elizabeth was asked to help out with Macmillan’s Canvas for the Mac campaign, which sees celebrities sign canvases to raise cash for their vital care for people with cancer. Elizabeth was approached by the charity after her ‘music icon’ series of portraits was noticed online. She willingly agreed to paint the singer, who was happy to support the campaign. He signed the portrait when DJ-ing at a club in Bournemouth. The autographed painting will be on display during the first part of an exhibition of Elizabeth’s portraits at Athelhampton House, near Dorchester, running until late in the year.

The artist’s connection with Athelhampton began three years ago, when the new owner of the historic house commissioned her to paint several Tudor-style

FACE TO FACE: Take That star Howard Donald with his portrait by artist Elizabeth Sporne and, below, her portrait of Kate Bush

Artist’s brush with stars in fundraising exhibition

portraits, which are now on permanent display at the venue. Elizabeth is now one of the first ‘Athelhampton Artists’ with a solo show in its

reopened gallery. The Howard Donald portrait will be transferred to Christchurch for the launch of the charity auction in November, but

the exhibition itself may hold further surprises. For further information go online to elizabethsporne. com or athelhampton.com, or see @canvasforthemac

STARS IN HER EYES: Elizabeth Sporne’s paintings of Amy Winehouse, Mick Jagger and Madonna

All write on the night for authors as

Author Kit de Waal, who comes to BridLit on November 11, won The Bridport Prize two years in a row for her flash fiction. The competition was established by Bridport Arts Centre founder the late Peggy ChapmanAndrews in 1973. It’s now one of the most prestigious literary contests in the world.

De Waal won the Bridport Prize in 2014 with her flash fiction story Romans 1 Verse 29, Sins of the Heart and again the following year with Crushing Big. She returned as a judge in 2017.

Her first novel, My Name is Leon, was published in 2016 and shortlisted for the Costa Book Award and won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year. It has been adapted as a one-hour film for BBC 1.

She’s now in the spotlight with her memoir, Without Warning and Only Sometimes – Scenes from an Unpredictable Childhood

She was on Radio 4’s Start the Week discussing the city of Birmingham with Tom Sutcliffe, alongside Richard Vinen and Liz Berry and her memoir was a Radio 4 Book of the Week. Without Warning and Only Sometimes is a story of an extraordinary childhood

and how a girl who grew up in house where the Bible was

De Waal’s The Trick to Time, published in 2018, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and she has also published a short story collection, Supporting Cast. She is editor of the Common People anthology, and cofounder of the Big Book Weekend festival.

the inaugural Arnold Bennett Prize, and longlisted for The Guardian Not the Booker 2016.

Brave Hearted by Katie Hickman tells the extraordinary story of the women of the American west -from the harddrinking, hard-living poker players and prostitutes of the new boom towns to ‘ordinary’ wives and mothers walking two thousand miles across the prairies pulling their handcarts behind them, Chinese slave brides working in laundries and Native American women displaced by the mass migration.

All had traits in commonextreme resilience and courage in the face of the unknown. These women were put to the test, in terms of sheer survival, in ways that we can only dimly imagine. Hickman will be talking about her book, Brave Hearted – The Dramatic Story of Women of the American West, on Monday, November 7 in The Bull Ballroom.

offer went on to discover a love of reading that inspires her to this day.

She’ll be at The Electric Palace, Bridport, on Friday, November 11 at 6.30pm, in conversation with Lisa Blower, an award-winning short story writer and novelist whose debut novel Sitting Ducks was shortlisted for

Local author Nikki May has written a darkly comic and subversive take on love, race and family. In Wahala, Ronke, Simi and Boo are three mixed-race friends living in London. They have the gift of two cultures, Nigerian and English, and now in their thirties, they are looking to the future. When Isobel a lethally glamorous friend from their past arrives in

LET’S TALK: Kit De Waal and, inset below, Katie Hickman will be discussing their books at the festival

tickets being snapped up for lit fest

Appleyard will be in conversation with Boris Starling at The Electric Palace on Friday, November 11. Melyvn Bragg, who is also appearing at BridLit, says of the book: ‘The car has totally changed our society. Bryan Appleyard is just the writer to get to the heart of this phenomenon.’

town, cracks in their friendship begin to appear, and the women are forced to reckon with a crime in their past.

She’ll be in conversation with Oliva Glazebrook in The Bull Ballroom on Monday, November 7. Andy West will be talking to Prue Keely about his book, The Life Inside: A Memoir of Family, Philosophy & Prison in The Bull Ballroom on Wednesday, November 9. Andy West teaches philosophy in prisons. He has conversations with prisoners about their lives, discusses their ideas and feelings, and offers new ways to think about their situation. As his students discuss the knotty problems of bad behaviour, forgiveness and freedom, West struggles with his own inherited guilt - his father, uncle and

brother all spent serious time in jail.

Bryan Appleyard’s The Car: The Rise and Fall of the Machine That Made the Modern World is justifiably receiving rave reviews, including one in The New York Times this week.

‘Appleyard draws upon a vast knowledge of science, mechanics and cultural lore as he successfully supports his thesis that the car didn’t merely influence the modern world — it created it,’ says Jonathan Kellerman.

This book celebrates the immense drama and beauty of the car, of the genius embodied in the Ford

Model T, of the glory of the brilliant-red Mercedes Benz S-Class made by workers for Nelson Mandela on his release from prison, of Kanye West’s ‘chopped’ Maybach, of the salvation of the Volkswagen Beetle by Major Ivan Hirst, of Elvis Presley’s 100 Cadillacs, of the RollsRoyce Silver Ghost and the BMC and

that harbinger of the end - the Tesla Model S and its creator Elon Musk.

The well-known broadcaster will also be speaking at The Electric Palace at this year’s BridLit on the same day. Greg Mosse is the husband of Kate Mosse, who wrote the Languedoc Trilogy, which began with Labyrinth. He is also a writer and has just brought out The Coming Darkness, which has been described as ‘Bladerunner meets John Le Carre’. He’ll be in conversation with Jason Goodwin at The Bull Ballroom on Monday, November 7. Set in an alternate near future in which global warming and pathogenic viruses have torn through the fabric of society, the debut novel follows a secret operative trailing an eco-terrorist set on destabilising the controls placed on the global population to protect them from climate change. n For tickets, or contact Bridport Tourist Information Centre in Bucky Doo Square, telephone 01308 424901 and email bridport.tic@ bridport-tc.gov.uk or online at bridlit.com

DISCUSSIONS: Andy West and Nikki May and, inset below, Bryan Appleyard

Culture

Buzzcocks frontman

Steve Diggle has revealed that he was inspired by Thomas Hardy’s tale of Jude the Obscure after headlining the Barnstomper Festival in Cerne Abbas.

His spirited and energetic set rolled back the years to when Buzzcocks hit the music scene in the late 1970s.

The Mancunian said afterwards that it was a joy to drive through the Wessex countryside that he had imagined when reading Hardy as a youngster.

Steve said: “It was a barnstomping festival and a barnstomping crowd. We’ve a new album out called Sonics in the Soul and the crowd really enjoyed the new songs as well as the old ones.

“I read Thomas Hardy as a youngster and imagined the countryside as he described it, so it was a pleasure to visit Dorset again. I was inspired by Jude the Obscure because he was an outsider looking in like I was. He could see the glow of what was Oxford and had ambition to go there. “I also loved Hardy’s poems and my song Mad Mad Judy was inspired by Hardy’s poem ‘Mad Judy’ – I added an extra ‘mad’.” Diggle’s new song

HARMONY IN MY HEAD: Buzzcocks’ Steve Diggle on stage at the Barnstormer Festival and, below, Black Water County

Sixteen Again: Cerne fest turns back clock for Steve

One of the organisers, Phil Hoyle, who runs the London Tavern in Ringwood, said: “It was another hugely successful festival with every band a hit.

Manchester Rain was selected by Elton John to play on his Apple Music Show.

The two-day Barnstomper Festival is held at the Cerne Abbas Brewery and has gained a cult

following. More than 20 bands played across two stages with local band Black Water County showing again why they are tipped for commercial success and headline slots at bigger festivals.

“Good beer, good food and great music is a recipe that has served the festival well - and when you also have good weather it pretty much makes it perfect.

“Planning is already underway for next year and we look forward to seeing everyone again.”

It’s a real voyage of discovery with Dave’s Odyssey

The fabulous Dave Mynne is bringing Odyssey, a tale of gods and monsters and more exciting than excitement itself to Shipton Gorge village hall on Saturday, November 12 at 7.30pm.

Meet a host of exciting and daft characters including a one-eyed Cyclops, Circe the sorceress and the terrifying sea god Poseidon. Based (very loosely...) on the epic poem by Homer, with all the boring bits

removed. You’ll be on the edge of your seats! Utterly compelling and laugh-out-loud funny.

Tickets £10, £5 (u18s), Family of four £25 (max two adults)

Tickets at artsreach.co.uk

Wild About Dorset is a new collection of nature writing from awardwinning journalist and author Brian Jackman. Drawing on a decade’s worth of monthly columns in his local parish magazine, Jackman paints a ‘year in the life’ of wildlife and wild places in West Dorset’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), where he has lived for 50 years. A rumpled, tumbling world of green-gold hills, bordered by the Jurassic Coast’s crumbling cliffs and melting away inland somewhere north of Beaminster, few corners of England are so rich in wildlife or so intensely rural.

Arranged month-bymonth, this book celebrates the only place in the British Isles that reminds Jackman of the lost countryside of his youth. Complementing Jackman’s love letter are thirteen full-page colour illustrations by celebrated nature artist Carry Akroyd,

Only natural to walk on wild side

WILD COUNTY: Author Brian Jackman

an award-winning member of the Society of Wildlife Artists.

This is a book about nature – an account of natural history observations. Start the year by joining Jackman to watch sea trout and mating foxes and close it with mistletoe and Viking thrushes. In between, watch peregrine falcons fly along Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, marvel at mad March hares, glow worms and dormice, and witness the fallow deer rut amid ancient oakwoods. This is also a book about

place – celebrating the vigorously local and unequivocally rural even more deeply than his book Wild About Britain. Via Jackman’s pen, explore the holloways and lynchets that characterise West Dorset landscapes. Indulge in haymaking, beekeeping and the pleasure of log fires. Visit Powerstock, a thatched village straight out of Cider with Rosie Marvel at Kingcombe, ‘the farm that time forgot’, which was declared a National Nature Reserve in 2021 – and enjoy views from a giant Iron Age hillfort marking the geological divide between southern England’s chalklands and the true West Country. Evocative, personal and authoritative, Wild About Dorset is a unique portrait of rural England’s wildlife and landscapes, a breath of country air that will inspire reader to don walking boots and grab binoculars, then fall in love again with the great British countryside.

Curtain up on a career as a theatre technician

Applications are open again for Lighthouse Young Technicians, a nationally recognised training course for 12 young people aged 16-19 eager to get to grips with lighting, sound and stage management in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings.

Guided by industry specialists, young people navigate all elements of technical theatre to gain the experience to set them on course for a career.

“As a young person making your way in technical theatre, it is very important to do what is right for you,” says Poole-based international lighting designer and course tutor James Smith.

“There is no right way to start a career in technical theatre - for some the answer is university, for others it could be an apprenticeship, or a job at their local theatre where they can build their skills.”

The course costs £300, although bursaries are available, and provides a foundation that will enable young technicians to specialise.

James has more than 15 years of professional experience lighting musical theatre, plays, pantomimes, live music and events all over the world. His enthusiasm for teaching Young Technicians is clear, as is his rapport with the group,

and in designing the course, he was clearly guided by the kind of course he wishes had been available when he was starting out - it’s practical, hands-on and it matters because the students are working on real shows in real time.

“I soon realised that being in front of the curtain was not for me but all the buttons on a lighting desk were!”

n lighthousepoole.co.uk

Culture

As the weather grows colder and the evenings draw in, Dorchester Arts is offering a variety of musical, comedic and cabaret acts to keep us entertained throughout October.

Kicking off the entertainment season, Dorchester-based vinyl expert Graham Jonesowner of the Vinyl Van often found in Brewery Square – will deliver a Vinyl Revival at Dorchester’s Corn Exchange at 8pm on Wednesday, October 5. All proceeds from the event will go to the Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy charity.

Dire Straits tribute band dS: uK will perform the top hits from the album Brothers in Arms at the newly-refurbished Hardye Theatre in Dorchester at 8pm on Friday, October 7. The Ronnie Scott’s All Stars will present The Ronnie Scott’s Story with an all-new play list that mixes classic music from the jazz greats at the Hardye Theatre at 8pm on Saturday, October 8. The Pasadena Roof Orchestra will deliver an evening of superlative live music at the Hardye Theatre at 8pm on Saturday, October 22. For classical fans, Opera Anywhere will perform Mozart’s The Magic Flute at Dorchester’s Corn Exchange at 3pm on Sunday, October 9. There is a special ticket price for under 18s.

Cellist Sally Flann and pianist Peter Oakes will give a free morning recital

Music, comedy & cabaret in a busy October for Arts

of pieces by Eccles, Mendlessohn and Grieg among others at the Corn Exchange at 11am on Thursday, October 13. Virtuoso guitarist Craig Ogden and the London Tango Quintet will be joined by the extraordinary accordionist Miloš Milivojević in a celebration of the tango at Dorchester’s Corn Exchange at 8pm on Friday, October 14.

To complement Dorchester Arts’ community outreach work

taking place in Sherborne, acclaimed pianist Lucy Parham and awardwinning actor Dame Harriet Walter will deliver Clara Schumann’s I, Clara in Grandsen Hall at Sherborne Girls School at 3pm on Sunday, October 16.

For those wanting a laugh, rising comedy star Jessica Fostekew is bringing her one-woman Wench direct from the Edinburgh Fringe to Dorchester’s Corn Exchange at 8pm on Wednesday, October 19.

Local performers Charlie Bicknell and Louise Innes present Cabaret with Claws, a mix of wicked humour and eclectic jazz and cabaret performances, at Dorchester’s Corn Exchange at 8pm on Friday, October 21. The final comic performance of the season will see the welcome return of Jen Brister. Described as ‘furiously funny’ by The Guardian, Jen will perform at Dorchester’s Corn Exchange at 8pm on Thursday, October 27. Tickets for all of the above shows can be booked online at dorchesterarts.org.uk or by calling 01305 266926.

VARIETY THE KEY: The Pasadena Roof Orchestra, Dire Straits tribute dS: uK, the London Tango Quintet and, inset below, Jen Brister are at Dorchester Arts this month

Antiques

Area is a vintage destination

Demand for sustainable, recycled and nostalgic pieces for the home is soaring.

Fast furniture is becoming old hat and classic pieces which last the test of time are becoming a key part of the environmental consciousness.

And West Dorset is a magnet for bargain hunt lovers and the vintage vanguard as this little slice of the country embraces the quirky, the collectible and the historic.

Dorchester, Sherborne, Bridport and West Bay offer a bounty of antique shops and quirky independents, with collectibles and bric-a-brac featuring in every market.

Even BBC’s Antiques Road Trip has filmed at Bridport Antiques and The Mews in Durngate Street in Dorchester, and I am sure many remember when Michael Aspel presented Antiques Roadshow in Sherborne in 2012, when finds including an inflatable paper globe and work by the illustrator of Winnie the Pooh.

Antique lovers are sure to love it when Marc Allum, the freelance art and antiques journalist will be visiting Sherborne next year to host the popular Bring An Object event, organised by the Art Society, at Digby Hall in Sherborne on December 6, 2023.

GLOBAL ART & ANTIQUES

Homes

Gardens

Green, green grass of home and how

Sherborne Turf has been growing turf and looking after lawns locally for 50 years this year. Here, they share how to create the perfect green.

After a summer of heat and drought (and little that can be done for your lawn), it’s now time to get busy with lawn repairs.

For us, autumn is an incredibly important time for lawn care and in many cases, October is the last opportunity to get your lawn ready for the winter ahead. With the days getting shorter, the temperatures getting cooler and the possibility of an increase in rainfall, it can seem as if there’s so much to do in so little time, but Sherborne Turf has all the advice you need to get everything sorted. Follow our six simple steps to get your lawn ready for the winter:

Scarify

Put simply, rake your grass. If you have a look at your lawn, you’ll probably notice a layer of light brown debris, called thatch, covering the soil that can easily be removed. This will have served a purpose during the hot summer we’ve had, protecting the roots from the heat of the sun, and helping to retain the little water left in the soil. As the weather cools, however, it becomes important to remove the thatch in order to let light, water, fertiliser and seed through.

Removing this layer is easy to do with a good quality rake. Simply rake away as much of the thatch as possible. For larger areas, an electric powered scarifier may make life easier. If it’s the first time you’ve done

this, it can be a little daunting to see how much comes away as you rake but persevere to give your lawn the best chance of recovery. Removing the thatch layer from the lawn will minimise disease in the coming winter months by reducing the material pathogens need to thrive.

Aerate

After scarifying, you’ll be able to see the quality of the soil beneath. There’s a strong chance it will be compacted due to heavy use over the spring and summer. This means it is solid and pressed

together so water will struggle to reach the grass roots and will just run off the surface. This may in turn lead to water logging. To prevent this, aerate or spike your lawn using a lawn aerator with solid tines or spikes. After a drought it is a good idea to use something with narrower spikes – items such garden forks with larger tines may not help. Make sure you aerate before fertilising your lawn.

Fertilise

With the cooler weather and heavier rainfall, autumn is the perfect time to apply

fertiliser or conditioner. This will protect the lawn over the winter months. The best fertiliser will be lower in nitrogen and higher in iron, such as Sherborne Turf’s Green and Black Fertiliser. If you are not sure which option is best for you, have a look at our handy guide online, or give us a ring on 01935 850388 for advice. October is also the perfect time to use soil conditioner, which purifies the soil, improving root mass and nutrient uptake while increasing resistance to disease and pests, protecting the lawn as it enters the dormant period.

Improve the surface

If you have aerated your lawn and feel that the surface needs evening out, an application of top-dressing will smooth the lawn surface and correct any irregularities. A mixture of sand and compost will help improve drainage whilst stimulating healthy grass growth and improving the appearance of the lawn’s surface.

Re-seed

Down in the south west of England, we have a lot longer to sow grass seed should we need to, though October is often the last opportunity. Keep an eye on the weather as particularly heavy rainfall or cold temperatures will prevent germination, where light rainfall and warmer temperatures will encourage it.

Mow

It is important to continue mowing your lawn throughout the colder months. We would recommend cutting little and often, then collecting the cuttings and any leaf fall to

I FOUGHT THE LAWN, AND THE LAWN WON: Turfing is an option if your lawn is beyond repair

to keep your lawn in order in autumn

keep for compost and mulch. Don’t mow when the grass is wet as this can spread disease such as red thread, as well as potentially damaging your mower.

Feel Your Lawn is Beyond Repair?

If you’ve decided to lay new turf, autumn is the perfect time to do so. Thanks to the cooler, wetter weather, a newly laid lawn has the perfect opportunity to establish good root growth without growing too quickly (which it would do in warmer months). Higher rainfall means you would need to use less water. Shorter days means people will be spending less time outside

walking across the grass, avoiding compaction. If you are planning on laying new turf, remember to prepare the ground thoroughly first, removing larger stones and applying a layer of fertiliser such as our

Stripy Green Fertiliser. After the turf is laid, remember to ensure it is well watered (so keep an eye on the weather), avoid walking on it, and give the lawn about three weeks to take root before mowing. When you mow for the first

time, keep the mower at its highest setting to avoid stressing the grass, then cut little and often through the winter months. You can find more advice on how to lay turf at sherborneturf.co.uk. If you establish good lawn maintenance now, it will pay off as the weather warms up again next year. If you’d like further advice, call os on 01935 850388, or if you need further assistance with establishing a new lawn or improving your garden, contact our landscaping company, Queen Thorne Landscapes at www. queenthorne.garden, by email to office@queenthorne.co.uk, or by phone on 01935 850388.

EARN YOUR STRIPES: Mowing little and often through the cold period can help your lawn

Horticulture...

Born and bred in West Dorset, Dave has worked in horticulture and botany locally and internationally, notably in Belgium, Jordan and the UAE. He brings a wealth of practical knowledge with its underlying principles to his writing

The curious case of the hardy cyclamen

I remember the first time I saw hardy cyclamen growing, they were in the grounds of Herrison Hospital, where I began my professional gardening career.

A year or two later the hospital closed and morphed into Charlton Down. Despite the site’s upheaval, a few of these plants survived, although perhaps this is not too surprising since plants are reputed to live for a

century or longer. Autumn cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium) also known as ivy-leaved cyclamen, provide a rewarding splash of colour when many summer flowers are in

SPLASH OF COLOUR: Hardy cyclamen

decline. They have a habit of surprise, going unnoticed until their blooms open. Instead of taking advantage of summer daylength, the autumn cyclamen lies

hidden beneath the ground as disc-like tubers. As days shorten, masses of small (15cm) stems erupt from the earth creating their autumnal display in shades of pink or white. These are followed by green marbled leaves. To explain this summer dormancy, we need to acknowledge their home territory, the Mediterranean, where they cope with hot dry summers by retreating below ground.

Cyclamen are interesting in their own right, they are members of the primrose (Primulaceae) family, perhaps surprising on account of their oddly shaped flowers, that is until you pick a bloom and carefully open up the petals to reveal resemblance to their brethren. More astonishing are the antics of their flower stalks. Once pollinated the stalk begins to coil until the entire stem is coiled like a spring, bringing the seed pod to the ground and hidden amongst the cyclamen’s foliage. There the seed pod remains until the plant’s foliage dies back in summer. Curious behaviour you might think, because surely seeds would be better dispersed if they remained high above the

plant? However, cyclamen have a cunning plan. Their seeds have evolved an intimate association with ants. During summer, seed pods open to reveal their seeds in a ground level cauldron-like structure. Each seed has a fleshy, edible coat, called an elaiosome. It is rich in fats and proteins, which ants find irresistible. Ants gather the seeds, carrying them to their underground nests where they consume the seed coat leaving the seed intact. The seed is then discarded but remain underground protected from above ground seed predators. In time, a proportion of the seeds germinate, new plants emerge, and the cycle begins once more.

Travelling along the Dorchester bypass the other day, I caught occasional glimpses of a vivid yellow- flower. As the traffic slowed, I was able to identify it as common toadflax. This plant, like many others, have a long potential flowering season, from June to November. I assume recent rainfall has favoured its blooming now. The flowers are attractive with orange markings and resemble the garden plantsnapdragon. Due to the flower’s structure, part of the bloom must be lifted to

We need to stimulate the economy

The Chancellor’s statement followed two additional statements. ‘Our Plan for Patients’, the proposed Health and Social Care reforms for prioritising ambulances, backlogs, care and doctors and dentists (ABCD), and a statement by the Energy Secretary, which outlined the Energy Relief Scheme for non-domestic customers of electricity and gas, and the Energy Bills Support Scheme for the 1% of households who are exempt from the Energy Price Guarantee.

The Growth Plan will provide extra support to households, businesses, families, and individuals, especially here in West Dorset. The measures included the ambition to achieve a medium-term

Politics

growth rate of 2.5%, scrapping the planned increases in Corporation Tax and National Insurance, and cutting the Basic Rate of Income Tax to 19p. Importantly, there is a need to stimulate the economy, especially in West Dorset. The conflict in Ukraine and covid has hurt our local economy, with 6,500 small to medium-sized businesses in West Dorset having reduced by around 18% to 5,300 post covid, and I therefore support the Government’s approach to try to get the economy back under control.

Measures such as the cancellation in the planned rise in

Corporation Tax, reform to IR35 tax legislation, and the decision not to increase alcohol duty will benefit businesses, while the reduction in the Basic Income Tax Rate and scrapping of the rise in National Insurance will help individuals.

I have lobbied hard to support a new Investment Zone for Dorset to contribute to the levelling-up and boost our economy here, making the area more attractive to businesses and investors. It will not affect nature nor wildlife here in West Dorset and any organisation that claims so is, in my opinion, claiming falsely. There is no ‘attack on nature’. In the last week, we have

seen an alarmist approach from some organisations. It is deeply misleading to say that ‘existing protections will be ripped up’ – there is simply no evidence for this. Nor is there any evidence to say the Government plans to remove funding from farmers for agri-environmental schemes. Also, while I personally oppose fracking, the Government has given assurances that what is right for one community is not necessarily right for all. Hydraulic fracking will therefore only take place where there is local support. Rest assured I continue to monitor the current situation and share my feedback with the Government on my constituents’ behalf.

Far right policies weren’t in Tories’ manifesto

The last few weeks has been one of the most dramatic beginnings for a new Prime Minister in all of history.

The death of a much loved Queen followed by a major economic collapse, largely self-induced by the Conservatives themselves could be the greatest selfinflicted wound since Emperor Palpatine allowed the Rebel Alliance to know the location of the second Death Star!

There is so much wrong with this mini budget that it’s hard to know where to begin.

Firstly this is a Billionaires’ Budget. Only those earning over £155,000 a

By ANDY CANNING West Dorset LibDems

year get a substantial tax cut and on top of this the ceiling designed to limit bankers’ bonuses has been removed!

Whatever happened to the old Conservative mantra that, “we’re all in this together”.

Then there’s the scrapping of the National Insurance increase that was meant to help fund the NHS and social care for elderly people. So at a time when the NHS is desperately in need of increased investment, Liz Truss wants to spend less than the

previous government planned to do.

The Liberal Democrats were the first party to call for an additional Windfall Tax to be levied on the excessive profits of energy giants such as BP and Shell. Virtually everyone thinks this is a good idea, except for the new Prime Minister. She is ideologically fixated on tax cuts, not increased taxes –no matter how much justification there is for them.

And the result? A ballooning budget deficit that Britain cannot afford. This in turn created a collapse in sterling causing inflation to get worse and a

major increase in interest rates. Homeowners who can barely afford a mortgage, will now find that they can’t afford the interest rates any more. What is really unacceptable is that hardly anyone voted for any of this. None of these policies were in the Conservative manifesto at the last election and only a few members of the Conservative party voted for Liz Truss. This is a travesty of democracy. Liz Truss should resign now and fight a General Election where the British public get to express their views on this extreme right-wing government!

Growth plan is bad for planet with finite resources

The fallout from the Chancellor’s ‘mini-budget’ has been astonishing. First the pound crashed, causing the International Monetary Fund to openly criticise the government’s financial plans. They predicted that the changes would increase inequality and fuel the cost of living crisis by pushing up the price of imports. Then the Bank of England spent £65 billion to prevent a run on pension funds and severely rebuked the government for not having the effects of the measures announced by the Chancellor independently assessed. The Prime Minister’s response to these unprecedented reactions?

Strong hints of plans to cut public spending. This would be disastrous for Dorset Council which is already is

By KELVIN CLAYTON West Dorset Green Party

already facing a £29 million gap in its budget for the next financial year. Also of local concern was the announcement of the potential development of 38 Investment Zones, of which Dorset was one.

According to HM Treasury, the aim of these Investment Zones will be to drive growth and unlock housing. Through the lowering of taxes and the liberalisation of planning rules the aim will be to release more land for both housing and commercial development. There will also be reforms to increase the speed of delivering this development. Bearing in mind that Dorset

Council is challenging the amount of housing the Government wants it to deliver I am surprised that they responded so enthusiastically. The driving force behind Liz Truss’s strategy is a simplistic and all encompassing belief in growth as the universal panacea for all our problems.

Yes, there are sections of our economy that it makes good sense to grow –renewable energy and the retrofitting of energy saving improvements to our existing housing stock for example. But blanket growth for the simple purpose of increasing Gross Domestic Product in the belief that the wealth accumulated by the already well-off will trickle down to

the rest of us is at best naïve. Moreover, infinite growth on a planet with finite resources is impossible.

But it will also be disastrous for our attempts to limit the effects of global warming. Releasing new land for development is wrong on so many levels.

Green-field sites, land that is currently undeveloped, must, as far as possible, stay undeveloped. We need to do a thorough assessment of not just the number of new houses we need (note need, not want) but the type of housing we need. We should then aim to build any new housing on brown-field sites, and be prepared to create higher density housing rather than build on currently undeveloped land.

A choice: Bankers’ bonuses or the NHS?

A delegate at the Labour Party conference last week stated that the 5% cut to the top rate of tax was equivalent to restoring the £20 cut in Universal Credit for the next 53 years. I have no idea where that figure came from or indeed whether it was factually correct, but it stuck in my mind.

On the same day, I was flicking through the TV channels trying to get the latest news and opinion on the dramatic economic fallout following the “minibudget”. Lots of views were being expressed, historical references to the 1970s were being made and words like crisis, unprecedented, and

By CLAUDIA SORIN West Dorset Labour Party

dangerous were being used by Labour but also by some Tory MPs, the Bank of England and the IMF. I then turned to GB News just in time to hear one commentator saying that it was all being blown out of proportion, the pound would recover, forecasts of interest rates hitting 6% were exaggerated and the amount of income from the 5% cut in the top rate tax was minimal.

So who should we, believe? If leading economists and celebrity pundits cannot agree, what hope is there for the rest of

us? Maybe that is why the Universal Credit quote stuck in my mind. Statistically correct or not, symbolically, it was a powerful statement. It described the contrasting worlds of the rich and super-rich to those who have not been so fortunate. Politics is all about choices.

Fortunately, you do not have to be an economist to make them. For me it is simple.

In all the years of knocking on doors for Labour, nobody has ever said: “What we need is more bankers,” but, increasingly I have heard them say, “I want the NHS to be there when I need it.”

“I want the elderly to be looked after and have dignity in old age.” “I want clean air and a safe environment for my kids to grow up in.” “I don’t want to read about record profits whilst families sit in the cold and eat food from a foodbank.”

It could be two years before the next election and lots can happen during that time, but I do detect a flickering of light at the end of that long tunnel of Tory crisis, division and failure. Labour is preparing for government. With your help, we can make that light shine much brighter. n Get in touch with me at dorchesterclaudia@gmail. com

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

well as each of the 54 rows indicated by the coloured lines. Rows don’t cross the thick black lines.

Killer Sudoku

1 to 9 once each into every row, col umn and bold-lined

box. No digit may be repeated in any dashed-line cage, and each dashed-line cage

result in the

value when the

operation is applied between all of the digits in that cage.

subtraction and division operations,

with the highest number in the cage

then subtract or di vide by the other

in that cage.

Health & Wellbeing

Walking West Dorset

CERNE ABBAS

Start at the Giant’s View car park and make your way down the minor road towards the village.

Turn left and pass by the village hall, then right alongside the stream and passing a mill until you reach Mill Lane and then the village street, Long Street.

Turn left and left again to visit the church and the graveyard further up, which contains St Augustine’s Well, a spring from which I always take a sip.

Go back to the village street, turn right, heading west until you meet a footpath that takes you south past the Tithe Barn until you meet a bridleway where you turn left and go down to the Cerne Abbas Brewery.

If you’re lucky the Tap might be open, allowing you to try some excellent beer.

Continue east until you

youcantalk.net is a new wellness and mental health resource launched by Bridport-based Kerry Miller, pictured, and Alex Fender, who now lives in Snowdonia. It features lots of free resources to help people relax and take stock.

Best selling author Dan Pink has turned his attention to the ‘absurd culture of No Regrets’ and he has some interesting insights to share. See danpink.com/the-power-

Picture by Neil Barnes

meet a footpath that takes you south for a mile down the Cerne Valley with a steep hill to your left. At Pound Farm turn left and north east up Bramble Bottom.

Towards the top of the bottom the footpath curves left to the north until it meets the road at St Catherine’s Farm, heading down to Cerne.

Take the road as far as a

bend where you leave it and head north along a footpath across a steep hill until you reach another road down to the village. Take this road, heading south west until, just before the cricket ground, you take a footpath heading north for a short distance then left, south west, to enter the cemetery again where you can sip the water again and maybe

drop a coin in the well. Go down to Long Street again where you soon turn right and go uphill back to your car.

You’ll have walked about seven miles.

Regrets? I have quite a few

of-regret

There is so much scope for regret, so many opportunities for us to mess up. Be assured though, there is no such thing as a life without regrets. The only people who have no regrets are those so young that their brain is insufficiently developed, or those with such grave conditions that they cannot grasp the

concept. Immature or sick brains (His term, not mine). Attempts to minimise every regret would maximise the importance of all decisions, and this could easily lead us down a rabbit hole. Our intention should be to minimise regrets in the following categories, where possible: n Foundation regrets, which relate to not doing the work

or messing up early in life. You can’t fix this but you can learn from it and try to help others to not do the same (big tick!).

n Boldness regrets, which are about playing it too safe and not taking chances (tick!).

n Inaction regrets outnumber action regrets. We are far more likely to regret not doing something

with retired Dorset rights of way officer Chris Slade

Health & Wellbeing

Everything’s coming up and up roses

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

It was very sad news that Her Majesty the Queen has passed away.

The funeral and all the pageantry that went with it was very moving. This was a time of reflection not only on the life of the Queen and the Royal family, but also on our own families and those we have lost.

The memories we carry with us and the emotions that go with them are very strong, and bereavement is one of the most difficult emotions to overcome. You never get over the loss of a loved one, you just learn to live with it.

At times of special anniversaries these emotions are once again at the forefront of the mind. There are a variety of plants whose energies will

help you come to terms with a bereavement.

Aubrieta energies assist in the releasing of emotions, basil helps to clear grief, forsythia helps you to understand the emotion and work through the grieving process. There are other plants that work on a spiritual level such as angelica, which aids in linking to the angels. After a sense of loss, we must return to hope and reflect on the positive things in our lives. Those of us who are lucky enough to have a garden, will find solace in the quiet outdoor space, working within the

borders and shrubs, obtaining the unwavering benefit of their beauty and healing energies. Good plants to help bring in positive thinking are roses. They are good for the heart and lift your spirits when low as well as assist in positive thinking. Rudbeckia – the positive energies from this plant will increase your wellbeing, increase positivity and enable you to come to terms with, or cope with, the negative aspects of your life. Darkness has a lot of different levels, from bereavement to low self-

but far too many to mention

than doing it and realising it wasn’t worth it.

n Moral regrets are about not doing the right thing (tick!) You can fix this by ‘extracting the lesson’ not repeating the same mistakes again and repairing where possible.

n Connection regrets are about not doing enough to save or maintain relationships (tick!). This is

the most commonly experienced regret, and is often easily repairable. Go fix this!

So, nearly all of us have regrets. What should we do with them? The answer is to neither ruminate nor attempt to control or suppress them by pretending they don’t matter. Far better to disclose them, and use them to help both yourself and others in

the future, extract the lesson, work out the function or purpose of regret (or any of the so-called ‘negative’ emotions). There’s always a message, a question, something to learn. “These four regrets operate as a photographic negative of the good life. That is, if we understand what people regret the most, we also understand what they value

esteem and just being plain fed up with your lot, either way rudbeckia can assist in your quest for positive energy and will renew your outlook on life.

I find my mind wanders whilst I write these articles, I reflect on different plants

I have worked with and gardens I have worked in. One constant thing which keeps reoccurring is the peace and sense of wellbeing I receive during my time with the plants and in the gardens.

Although I don’t get the time to sit and enjoy the gardens I am in, because I am working, on the odd occasion I get to sit down with a cup of tea, I find myself being at that particular moment, content, at peace with myself, but above all else I just feel complete and at one with myself and nature. Life is far to rushed in these modern times. Just to sit and be, is so relaxing and calm that nothing else matters just for a few moments in life everything is as it should be.

the most. And so, this negative emotion of regret gives us a sense of what makes life worth living.” Dan shared the story of a man who regretted his ‘No Regrets’ tattoo. It took longer, cost more and was more painful getting it removed. I wonder if he regretted that too? Oh there are some corkers out there! Please do google ‘no regrets tattoos’. Thank you EP for introducing me to this –you’re an inspiration.

PETAL POWER: Rose pink and rose orange

Health & Wellbeing

Two members of staff at Dorset County Hospital say their lives have been transformed by organ donation – and they are urging people to discuss their wishes with their families.

Service manager Jon Fox received a liver transplant when he was just eight and HR manager Kelly Upton’s son received a liver transplant last year at the age of seven.

Nationally, someone dies every day in the need of an organ, and there are almost 7,000 people currently on the active transplant waiting list. Kelly’s son Louis has a rare genetic condition and was added to the transplant list in 2019. Last summer, Kelly and her husband received the call to say there was a match and he was bluelighted to King’s College Hospital in London where he received his transplant. Kelly said: “Organ donation transformed Louis’ life. It has massively impacted the way that his body can cope and will cope as he gets older. “It’s important to mark the life of Louis’ donor. Saying thank you will never ever be enough, but we do things as a family to mark Louis’ donor’s life. It’s such a huge range of emotions, because you are so grateful that your family member has received the most incredible gift, but you are also aware that another family is grieving for their loved one.

“Nobody wants to think

We’re very grateful after organ donors’ gift of life

conversation that anybody wants to have, but it’s important to talk with your loved ones so they know your wishes. Without telling loved ones, they may never understand your views around donation and, at the point where the most difficult decision has to be made, your family could stop this – even though it is something that you are passionate about.

about their loved ones dying but talking about organ donation is so important as it can transform and save lives, so we really want to make sure people have those conversations and understand the impact that transplants can have on

individuals and families.”

Jon received a life-saving transplant in 1997 and is passionate about encouraging families to talk about organ donation.

He said: “Just one donor can possibly save nine lives – which is incredible. It’s not a

“I’ll never be able to thank my donor family enough and I’m incredibly grateful for that gift.

“It’s made me who I am today, and I don’t take anything for granted.”

n Find out more about organ donation and register your decision at organdonation.nhs.uk

LIFE-CHANGING: Jon Fox, service manager at Dorset County Hospital and Kelly Upton, HR manager at Dorset County Hospital

TRANSFORMATION: Kelly Upton with her husband Mike, and their son Louis

Church

It’s a new age with a foundation of faith

By Canon Deb Smith, Team Rector of Bridport

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth, we were bombarded with images of her, accounts of her life, reflections by so many of her impact on the world, on our nation and on so many ordinary people.

Hers was a life which was woven into the fabric of our national consciousness. She was a constant.

Her life of service, her dedication and grace entranced the world for more than 70 years.

And she was also a remarkable disciple of Christ.

Queen Elizabeth was crystal clear, and repeatedly so that the foundation of her life of service, was her faith. In her 2014 Christmas broadcast she put it this way: “For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, whose birth we celebrate today, is an

Services

Sunday, October 9

Sherborne Abbey 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 Communion - The Lady Chapel

The first Friday of the month at 9am, Requiem Holy Communion - The Sepulchre ChapelEvery Saturday at 9am, Holy Communion - The Sepulchre Chapel

Sherborne Abbey: 8am Holy Communion, 9.30am Eucharist, 6pm Evensong

James the Great, Longburton:

inspiration and an anchor in my life.

“A role-model of reconciliation and forgiveness, he stretched out his hands in love, acceptance and healing.

“Christ’s example has taught me to seek to respect and value all people of whatever faith or none.’

Brilliantly, in an age that is on the one hand increasingly secular, and on the other, fraught by religious conflicts, her approach was engagingly inclusive.

She told the world that Jesus Christ had been the inspiration in her own life and left the world to decide if they were interested in being inspired themselves.

As we go forward into the reign of her son King Charles III, he has pledged himself eager to carry on where the Queen left off.

The remarkable spectacle of the endless queues of those who wanted to pay their respects to the Queen,

10am Family Communion

St Martin of Tours, Lillington: 10am Holy Communion St Paul’s at the Gryphon: 10.30am Holy Communion Mary Magdalen, Castleton: 11.15am Holy Communion Cheap Street: 6.30pm Taize Service

Roman Catholic Mass: 8.30am Chideock, 10am Beaminster Dorchester United Church: 10.30am Morning Worship and Junior Church Halstock: 10am Harvest Service Melbury Osmond: 9.30am Holy Communion

Frome St Quintin: 11am Holy Communion

Rampisham: 11am Holy Communion

Maiden Newton: 9.30am Harvest Service Cattistock: 6pm Holy Communion

Fr Vauchurch: 11am Baptism Symondsbury, St John the Baptist: 9.30am - Celtic Worship, St John the Baptist North Poorton, St Mary Magdalene: 9.30am - Eucharist Dottery: 10.30am - Morning Worship

reveal the scale of the responsibility he has taken on.

I heard one commentator say he might continue her legacy by seeking to be the King of the queues. In other words, to find his own way to touch the imaginations and the lives of ordinary people like his mother did.

His passion and commitment for championing environmental causes, is perhaps one way he can do that. As we move into this new age, beset with so much uncertainty for the future and so many difficulties with which we contend, I hope we can look to our new King to keep that most critical issue ever in the forefront of our thinking and inspire us all to care for our fragile world.

Askerswell, St Michael & All Angels: 11am - Harvest Eucharist Burton Bradstock: 10.30am Songs of Praise Swyre: 11am Morning Worship Shipton Gorge: 9.30am Breakfast Church Litton Cheney: 9.30am Holy Communion

Long Bredy: 11am Holy Communion

Each week a service is recorded by a member of the clergy team. Listen to this by calling 01308 293062.

Maiden Newton: 9.30am Sunday Service Corscombe: 10am Holy Communion

East Chelborough: 11.15am Morning Prayer

Melbury Osmond: 6.30pm Evening Prayer Wraxall: Holy Communion

Sunday, October 16 Sherborne Abbey: 8am Holy Communion, 9.30am Parish Eucharist, 6pm Evensong St James the Great, Longburton: 10am Family Communion St Martin of Tours, Lillington: 10am Morning Service

St Paul’s at the Gryphon: 10.30am All Age Worship

St Mary Magdalene, Castleton: 11.15am - Service

Loders, St Mary Magdalene: 9.30am - Celtic worship Powerstock, St Mary the Virgin: 11am - Benefice Eucharist Broadoak, St Paul’s: 6.30pmHoly Communion

Roman Catholic Mass: 8.30am Chideock, 10am Beaminster Dorchester United Church: 10.30am Morning Worship and Junior Church

Maiden Newton: 9.30am Holy Communion Chilcombe: 4pm Harvest Festival Evershot: 10am Holy Communion

Melbury Bubb: 11am Holy Communion Dorchester United Church: 10.30am Morning Worship and Junior Church Corscombe: 10am Morning Worship

West Chelborough: 9.30am Harvest Service Melbury Sampford: 9.30am Harvest Communion Chilfrome: 11am Holy Communion

Sport

Mixed week for mid-table Zebras

Sherborne Town 1 Welton Rovers 2

Sherborne Town were unable to build on their midweek win against Bitton, losing at home to fellow promoted side, Welton Rovers. Rovers enjoyed the better of the opening period at Raleigh Grove, with Josh Attwood producing a number of good saves to keep the visitors at bay. It remained goalless until just before the break, when Attwood was powerless to stop Lewis Russell’s fine strike from outside the box after his mazy run.

The Zebras were the better side after the break as they worked hard in search of an equalister, but it was the

visitors who scored again to double their lead in controversial fashion on 73 minutes. A Rovers player looked to be a long way offside in the build-up and although Attwood saved well to deny Rovers’ goal-bound effort, he could do nothing to prevent Joey Ellis from tapping in from close range. The Zebras rallied and reduced the arrears with three minutes of normal time remaining, as Josh Williams scored his second goal of the week to set up a grandstand finish, but they were unable to find an equaliser. The win completed a double for Rovers against the Zebras, a reversal of fortunes from last season when Sherborne overhauled their Somerset rivals on their way to the league title. The defeat saw Town slip to 11th in the Premier Division as they continue to adapt to the rigours of the Premier Division. The Zebras will now go on safari for back-toback away matches against Cadbury Heath and Wellington.

Sorry, Chris

In our Friday, September 23 edition, we wrongly referred to Beaminster Cricket Club First XI captain, Jim Park. It is, of course, Chris Park –we’re so sorry for our mistake, Chris. May we take this opportunity to remind his clubmates and opponents that Chris should not to be called ‘Jim’ under any circumstances please.

Sherborne Town 3 Bitton 1

The Zebras got back to winning ways with a comfortable win under the lights at Raleigh Grove, against bottom side, Bitton. The much-needed victory follows a poor run of results during September, in which Town had failed to earn a league point and exited the FA Vase at the hands of Andover New Street. Recalled Brett Cotterill opened the scoring for the home side on 12 minutes, controlling a headed

clearance with his chest before drilling a low shot into the net past an unsighted Ashley Wilson in the Bitton goal. The visitors equalised against the run of play on 27 minutes, as a back-pedalling Josh Attwood mistimed an attempted punch clear following a long range effort from defender, Jamal Chevolleau, and the ball dropped kindly for Jesse Howe to poke home from close range. The equaliser seemed to energise a Bitton side who had only taken one point from nine games, as they battled to contain the home side who were looking to restore their advantage. Despite carving out several chances it remained tied at the break, and the Zebras had to wait until the hour mark to

LOVELY BUBBLY!

Josh Williams scored the Zebras third in a man of the match performance against Bitton

restore their advantage, when Alex Murphy steered the ball home from 10 yards, following some good work from George Mapletoft and Henry Lawrence-Napier. Now firmly on top, the hosts poured forward in search of a third goal to kill the game, and it duly came on 66 minutes. Ashley Guppy’s pinpoint corner was met perfectly by man of the match Josh Williams, whose bullet header gave the ‘keeper no chance. Bitton rarely threatened to find a way back into the game, and the Zebras could have added to their tally, with Hughes and Guppy going close, but it finished 31 to give Town a valuable three points.

Peart equaliser thrills Bees’ crowd

By Stuart Wickham stuart@westdorsetmag.co.uk

Torridgeside AFC 3 Bridport FC 3

Owen Peart’s fine looping shot in the dying minutes rescued a point for The Bees, as they followed up their FA Vase triumph against Petersfield in midweek with another battling display. Town’s never-say-die attitude was strongly in evidence as they twice fought back from two goals under the guidance of interim boss, Chris Herbst. The home side were in the ascendancy from the first whistle as Town struggled to find their rhythm. Nathan Walter opened the scoring for the hosts, and when George Folland doubled their advantage midway through the first half, it looked as though The Bees might be facing damage limitation. However a Ryan Gall header against the run of play gave the visitors some hope of salvaging something from the game. The Bees improved after the break, although Torridgeside’s Alli Ward popped up to make it 3-1 and give the home side a comfortable cushion once more. The turning point was to come shortly afterwards when Dan Baggs was adjudged to have fouled in the box, only for Ollie Keneally’s penalty to strike a post and rebound to safety. The reprieve seemed to galvanise The Bees, with Herbst adding some fresh legs and more attacking intent, and the changes were rewarded when Josh Hunter

struck a superb volley to make it 3-2 with ten minutes remaining. The home side continued to press, with Jordan Scadding producing a brilliant fingertip save to keep Town in the contest, before Peart’s late strike rescued a draw for The Bees to send their travelling fans home happy.

Bridport Town 2 Petersfield Town 0

The Bees ended a year-long wait for a win in all competitions, producing a brilliant performance to overcome a good Petersfield

side in the second qualifying round of the FA Vase. Caretaker manager Chris Herbst was understandably delighted with the result which ended a winless streak of 392 days. The Bees’ goals came courtesy of Josh Hunter’s first half header and a Mike Calverley thunderbolt, as Herbst masterminded the win against a strong footballing side from the Wessex League. Content to concede possession and threaten on the break, The Bees took the lead on 20 minutes as Hunter’s measured header found the back of the net following a

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL:

PICS BY STEVE BARRETT

corner. Jordan Scadding produced a couple of good saves as the visitors pressed for an equaliser, while his opposite number Jordi Wilson was at full stretch to deny Hunter a second. Bridport’s defence held firm, and with the clock running down, Owen Peart found Calverley, who crashed an unstoppable right-foot shot past Wilson to spark scenes of utter jubilation. There were shades of Sir Geoff Hurst about the timing of the goal and the finish itself, and Bees’ players and fans celebrated like they had just won the World Cup –and deservedly so.

Above, caretaker manager Chris Herbst masterminded The Bees' first win in 392 days, and left, loyal fans finally have cause for celebration

Youngsters on top in friendly family fish-off

Youngster Mason Price was the big winner as junior anglers showed their older counterparts how to do it at West Bay Sea Angling Clubs’ recent Junior v Parents match.

In fantastic weather on West Bay’s East Pier, 19 juniors and 14 senior anglers landed an impressive 173 fish between them. Species caught included whiting, pollack, mackerel, garfish, corkwing wrasse, shanny, gilthead bream and thicklipped mullet.

Overall winner Mason was well behind the leaders, until he hooked a magnificent thick-lipped mullet with just ten minutes remaining. He brought it in the pier side with the help of Ian Draper, before the fish was released

MULLET OVER: Mason Price holds his winning fish with the help of Ian Draper who won the wooden spoon

back into the sea following the obligatory weigh-in and photographs.

The catch helped Mason to record a staggering 1903g, ahead of other junior competitors Harris Risdale and Chelsea Pearce, and on a day

dominated by the younger anglers, only three seniors managed to get into the top 14 places.

Organisers were delighted to see the match again won by a junior, with what is believed to be the biggest fish caught so

far in a junior match at the club. The organisers would like to thank Richard ‘Tiny’ Daw, Tom at Angling Centre

West Bay, Ian Draper, and everyone else who came along to help for their continued support.

The next match is on Saturday, October 15, please contact the club for details.

Junior Prizewinners

First fish: Aaron Chambers

Most fish: Aaron Chambers

Smallest fish: Sam Carter

Heaviest fish: Mason Price

Wooden Spoon: Hector

Final Junior Results

First: Mason Price 1903g

Second: Harris Risdale 936g

Third: Chelsea Pearce 545g.

Final Overall Results

First: Mason Price

Wooden Spoon: Ian Draper

Leweston’s Thomas scoops the Gold

An athlete from Leweston School was crowned the World Champion at the World Laser Run in Lisbon. Competing in the U17 category, Thomas J led most of the way against a high-quality field to take the Gold medal. Derived from Modern Pentathlon, laser running tests competitors’ skills in running and target shooting, with competitors having to hit targets at various intervals before continuing with their run. Leweston School had seven pupils representing Great Britain at the event.

Day one was the female races, with all three Leweston girls making the finals through the morning’s qualifying heats.

In the U13 category, Katrina S, Year 7, had a strong race to finish 13th. In the U15, Izzy W, Year 9, had a great race to finish 7th and be part of the GB gold medal team, followed by Jessica S, also in Year 9,

having her best race of the season to finish 9th. Day two was the male races with all four Leweston boys athletes making it through to the finals. As well as Thomas striking gold, in the U9s, Edward H, Prep 4,

had a fantastic race to take the Silver medal. In the U13, Charlie O, Year 8, had a good race to finish 21st. In the U15 Reuben C, Year 10, had to work hard after being boxed in at the start to pull up from 20th and finish a strong fifth. The final day was the mixed relays, this was one girl and boy making up a team in age groups, with the girls starting the race then handing over to the boys. In the U9 Edward H, Prep 4 and his partner took Bronze. In the U15 Reuben C, Year 10 and his team were 6th. In the U17 Thomas J, Year 12’s team took third, and Izzy W, Year 9, raced up into the U17 age group to take 7th place team.

Leweston student Thomas J with his World Championship medals

PIC Nuno Gonçalves Photography

Sherborne Town Ladies enjoy winning start

Sherborne Town Ladies 2

Liskeard Athletic Women 0

Sherborne Town Ladies have enjoyed a 100% winning start to their season and currently top the South West Regional Women’s Premier Division. Jemma Tewkesbury’s team followed up excellent away wins against Torquay and Royal Wootton Bassett, with a hard-fought victory against a tough Liskeard Athletic Women at Raleigh Grove. The impressive Amelia O’Connell bagged a brace in the 2-0 win, although goalkeeper Emily Hall scooped the coveted Player of the Match award, producing a series of great saves to keep a clean sheet in the Zebras’ goal.

Royal Wootton Basset Ladies 1

Sherborne Town Ladies 2

In the second match of their campaign, the Zebras had to dig deep to come from behind to beat Royal Wootton Basset, courtesy of a strong secondhalf showing. Trailing 1-0 at the break following a scrappy first half, Sherborne scored

through Sophie Garcia and Orla East.

Returning to action after the scheduled match against Ilminster Ladies was postponed as a mark of respect following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,

Town struggled to hit their straps against an organised and hard-working Bassett team. Tewkesbury rang the changes at half-time, tweaking the formation and replacing Terri Will and Olivia Watts with Jamie Bland and Lucy Slater.

The visitors were much improved, and dominated proceedings in the second period. They equalised courtesy of Garcia’s strike and missed chances to take the lead, before East found the back of the net to secure the three points.

The Zebras strong opening to the season was a 3-0 win at fancied Torquay United. In an impressive all-round performance, Kelly Snook and Olivia Watts struck in the first half, with Sophie Garcia sealing the win on the hour mark.

Sherborne Town Ladies will hope to maintain their perfect start to the league season when they visit bottom club Poole Town Ladies on Sunday, October 9.

Season’s winners revealed

Winners of Bridport Bowls Clubs’ Percy Baker Trophy, pictured L-R are Barry Shortland, Bob Taylor, Chris Thorne, Alan Weech (Men’s County President), Dave Smith, Mike Smith and Mike Craddock.

The trophy is the season finale and the club’s players will now break for the winter.

PIC BY JANINE SCOLA

BOOTED AND SUITED: Jamie Bland in action for the Zebras in the win against Liskeard PICS BY BRENT SMITH

Two-goal Amelia O'Connell in action

WYSIWYG and Zwartbles

Mud-phobic Tria Stebbing lives on the outskirts of Sherborne. She keeps sheep, is working on her first book, and works in a village school.

At the weekend we are taking a road trip to another flock of Zwartbles to look at investing in some more ewes. It is always a tricky thing, a bit like buying a secondhand car, most are okay, but there are some cowboys out there. Just like buying a car, the first stage is looking at an attractive picture, trying to zoom in to look for things that are not quite right.

We are not talking rust here, but too much white on the fleece among other things. Zwartbles sheep have a breed standard in order to be registered as a pedigree, a complicated set of rules that dictate if it is near perfect. The breed standard is a set of guidelines that are used to help the breeder conform to the specifics of the breed. Not all the sheep are born with the correct markings these would not meet the breed standard.

Zwartbles have a big frame, good length and a wide pelvis, they are tall with a striking head, which has a wide white

blaze or stripe down the centre. The blaze is so important, it should be uninterrupted, straight and can be any width, noses can be black or pink. Tails again should have no more than a white tip that does not go more than halfway up. Two or four white socks or feet are ok, if there are only two, they need to be at the back. So as you can see that initial picture is very important. After establishing that the sheep meets your high standards, its relatives need checking out. Obviously it cannot be related to any of your existing flock if you are intending to breed from them. So just like the car, there are Ferraris and there are old rust-buckets with dodgy heritage, and only the log book – or in this case the pedigree certificate – can tell you all this information.

So, having satisfied ourselves that the look and the family are ok, it is time to visit for ourselves

and do a closer inspection, taking the stock trailer with us, just in case we make an impulsive purchase. The trouble with this, is, as soon as I see them all I want them…all! Trying to pick out a few is so difficult. The ones that we are going to see are indeed the Ferraris of the breed, so we will have to limit ourselves to just a select few. Born this year, we will not breed with them this season. Instead they will live with our own lambs and be ready to make out superflock the year after next. With this year’s letter being ‘K’ we are hoping for some sensible pedigree names, I cannot for the life of me see myself calling “Come here Kylie” at the top of my voice, although in principle it would fit, as we called our rams King, Kasabian, Keane and Kaiser Chief. With such an impressive set of genes we have everything crossed that the road trip is worth it.

Analysis of forage will help with winter feeds

By LOUISE SILK Veterinary surgeon

Many of our farmers are finding it useful to have their forage analysed before the winter period (be it hay or silage), to better plan a winter ration for their sheep, cattle or youngstock. We are all aware that forage quality and composition can vary dramatically year on year, as well as between fields and cuts. Knowing the quality of your forage has two benefits: Ensuring cattle, sheep or youngstock are getting the nutrients they need (energy and protein, as well as minerals and trace element) for the stage of the production cycle they are in.

Ensuring farmers are purchasing only additional feed that is required and therefore being as economically efficient as possible. Taking a forage sample is a quick and easy process, but as with taking any sample, it is important the correct procedure is followed to get the most accurate results. (For information on sampling other feedstuffs, please speak to your vet who can contact the testing laboratory for specific guidance).

The tools you will need for taking a sample are:n Bucket / plastic sheet for mixing the sample

WORD IN YOUR EAR: Zwartbles have very high standards of breeding

Take a sample from three or more bales – these should be bulked together and well mixed. From this mix remove 0.5Kg and place in a plastic bag (plastic freezer bags or large sandwich bags work well) with the air removed. Please ensure you label the sample.

If you have bales from different cuts or distinctly different leys (eg: herbal leys Vs ryegrass), take

separate samples from each. This means more information can be utilised in your ration plan.

Clamp silage

To assess the face (ie: what the cows are eating now) take five samples in a ‘W’ shape from the clamp face. Core samples should be taken from a minimum of three sites within the clamp, ensuring the corer reaches the bottom of the silo.

Silage sampling should not be carried out within 6 weeks of sealing the clamp, as it is important to wait

for stable fermentation to occur.

Do not sample mouldy or damaged areas of a bale or clamp

Store sample in a fridge before sending to the laboratory ASAP– do not freeze Speak with your vet to discuss forage analysis costs, you are likely to find there are basic

options for energy and protein analysis and then a more in-depth analysis if you want to look at trace elements etc.

We strongly recommend

getting forage analysed as early as practical to ensure you have time to discuss and plan your winter ration planning with your vet. Synergy clients are currently submitting Sheep and Beef Silage or Hay/Haylage samples for analysis (or pre-done analysis e.g through a feed company), the results of which will assed by our inhouse nutrition vet Sam Cottam.

There are four prizes up for grabs each worth £120. For details please see the news section of our website.

Samples need to be submitted for analysis by October 28.

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