Cc ds summer14 52

COUNTRY CHILD Issue 17

Your Local FREE Family Magazine

Summer 2014

PUTTING THE HOME INTO HOMEWORK Why one family decided to home school

SUMMER LOVIN’ What’s hot for families

FRESH FACED

Alix Austen looks at why we should be toxic free

STUDENT VIEWPOINT Single sex or co-ed?

HIT THE BOOKS

The importance of reading and literacy

SMILE!

Keeping children’s teeth and gums healthy

pul cal l out and endAr gui even de i t nsid e

1 DORSET SOMERSET DORSET SOMERSET DORSET Somerset Dorset

Discover more in our Nursery and Pre-Prep

Op en D ay 27t hS

ep 10a temb m- e r 2 2pm 01 4

more reading Daily opportunities for guided reading

more time

More individual teaching time to maximise potential

more creativity

more sport

Regular sport and swimming sessions for fitness and fun

more exploring

Lively mix of music, dance, drama and art to boost self-expression

On-site minibus fleet for frequent trips

Dining in – we serve hot healthy meals to keep children bursting with energy!

Before and after school care with an action packed timetable!

Fortnightly play sessions for under fives

Tag Rugby, Dance, Sports Club, Percussion, Football, Art, Film Club, Hockey

Come along with your little one – it’s free!

Call Ros on 01747 813155 to find out more 2

www.clayesmore.com

EDITORIAL & DESIGN Sarah Third 07875 555360 sarah@countrychild.co.uk ADVERTISING & ACCOUNTS Jo Leigh 07794 447105 jo@countrychild.co.uk PHOTOGRAPHY MILLIE PILKINGTON FOR PEROTT HILL SCHOOL

SUB EDITOR FEATURES Alix Austen

Miranda Avis

CONTRIBUTORS Martin Hughes-Games Josie Potter DIY Dad Orchard Park Motcombe Primary School Jess Vyas Carly Markendale Tania Pilley Lisa Gordon Clark Virginia Edwyn-Jones Little Dish BoomTown Martyn Hurll The Old Malt House Dental Practice Jaks Pemberton Emma Hattersley PHOTOGRAPHY Millie Pilkington Follow us @countrychildmag

Welcome to summer

W

ow, a year has passed since Jo and I took over Country Child and what a year it has been! We have launched a new edition in Hampshire and Wiltshire, welcomed a host of new contributors and advertisers, moved offices and increased our distribution. It has been a challenging but fun and rewarding twelve months for us and we are hugely grateful for all the support and feedback you give us both face to face and via social media. We love working on the magazine and are thrilled that you all love it too! Compiling this issue has been, as ever, a joy to do. We’ve loved finding out about all the great festivals and family events happening in the area over the summer, head to pages 25-31 for a full run down.

Attending all these things with the children ought to tire them out, but if regular sleep still eludes your little ones head to our Family Matters column on page 7 for some insight into bedtime routines. If waking up in the night is more of a problem then you might like to read a child pyschologist’s view on night terrors on page 11. School can be a factor in disturbed sleep, one local mother has opened up to us on her decision to home school her son and the journey that brought her to that point. It's an interesting and inspirational piece. Of course you can teach your children at home in conjunction with formal schooling by encouraging them to read more as well as making things fun and getting out and about, which enables them to embrace new experiences. BBC’s Martin Hughes-Games is back once again with his guide to what to look for in nature this time of year, Miranda also has some top tips on rockpooling with the family on page 33.

Learning outdoors can be fun and this is certainly the time of year to give it a go with the long summer holiday just around the corner. We have found some great summer ideas for you on page 13, lets just hope we get the weather to make the most of them! As ever, we really hope you enjoy this issue of Country Child and wish you a lovely and relaxing summer spent enjoying balmy days with the family!

www.facebook.com/ countrychildmagazine

DISTRIBUTION Barry Cook - Nicola Loud Sheree Creighton - Tracy Burge & Caroline Wormsley www.volunteerwestafrica.org

3

Age 3-13

Happy, enthusiastic, independent

To find out more about the opportunities we can offer your child contact Aurora Mercer 01935 810911 registrar@sherborneprep.org

4

Contents

Summer 2014

Regulars

18

7 Family Matters Up the wooden hill - the hot topic of bed time.

9 What’s In Store Summertime madness - make the most of your garden.

21 Student Viewpoint Single sex Vs co-ed.

23 Food Glorious Food Pick of the picnics and Little Dish competition.

25, 29 Inside Out Things to do and places to go.

9

26, 27 Calendar Pull Out guide to local activities.

28 Toddler Timetable Pre-school activity programme.

31 Show and Tell A guide to local live entertainment.

32 The Great Outdoors What to look out for with BBC’s Martin and Miranda.

37 Interior Ideas Summer is all about fun and colourful stripes.

39 Window Shopping All good things come in small packages, we look at downsizing.

43 Bookworms Reviews from Motcombe C of E Primary School.

47 Kidzone Our activity page for kids, no parents allowed!

49 Top Marks News and announcements from local schools.

50 Open For Business Advice and news for local business.

51 DIY Dad Builds a picnic table.

37

13

Summer Specials

11 Sleep? What sleep? A pyschologist explains night terrors.

13 Summer Lovin’ What’s hot for families to enjoy this summer.

14 Fresh Faced Alix Austin delves into the world of toxic free toiletries.

17 Smile! Sarah Third looks at the importance of oral health for children.

18 ‘Putting the Home into Homework One local family opts to home school.

35 Play Therapy How this may help with your child’s emotional problems.

40 Hit The Books A look at literacy and how local authors want to improve it.

45 Competition Time! WIN Family tickets to BoomTown Fair.

40

Cover photography by Millie Pilkington www.milliepilkington.co.uk

Neither Country Child Limited (trading as Country Child Magazine) nor any of its predecessors, affiliated companies, directors or employees, shall be liable for the accuracy or reliability of any of the content (including advertisements) published in Country Child Magazine or other information accessed directly or indirectly from Country Child Magazine, nor shall they be liable for the quality of any products, information or other materials displayed, purchased or obtained by any consumer, as a result of an advertisement or any other information or offer in connection with the service or products.

Country Child Limited shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions contained within any content (including advertisement) published in Country Child Magazine.

5

BE WISE

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CHOOSE WESSEX

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It pays to be secure

Intruder Alarms Fire Alarms CCTV Specialists Access Control Fire Extinguishers Alarm Maintenance

Experts in security systems since 1984

Call for a free no-obligation survey on 01747 852258 www.wessexgroup.co.uk

Dumpton School Wimborne HOME TO GROWTH AND LEARNING Independent Day School for Girls and Boys aged 2½ to 13 years

50 scholarships to senior schools in the last two years ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted Inspection for the Foundation Stage ‘Excellent’ ISI Inspection in every category

‘You can because you think you can’ The school motto lies at the cornerstone of our teaching

6

01202 883818 www.dumpton.com Dumpton School, Deans Grove House, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 7AF Dumpton School. Registered in England and Wales No. 936623.

Registered Office: Deans Grove House, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 7AF. Registered Charity No. 306222

Family Matters We’re all talking about.......

Bed Times

H

elping your child develop good sleep patterns is one of the most important things you can do for their future well-being.

We need to start with realistic expectations – newborn babies are instinctive creatures and so have little control over when they sleep and when they wake. As a result, they can vary widely in their sleep patterns. A baby that sleeps through the night from birth is not the norm! With time, a pattern of greater night time sleeping will emerge but it’s really important to provide comfort and reassurance along the way in order that the child feels secure. Some early sleep-training methods risk doing more harm than good – ignoring their cries can undermine a baby’s trust in their parents’ responsiveness and retard emotional and cognitive development.

Once natural sleep patterns do begin to emerge, it makes sense to establish a bedtime routine. This can help the child from getting overtired and further encourage them to distinguish between night and day (as well as giving us parents some much-needed adult-time in the evening). Maintaining a predictable structure to regular bedtimes is key e.g. tea, play, bath, feed, story and bed will lay the foundation for good sleep patterns later on. Consistency is key – if your child won’t settle is there something genuinely bothering them or are they just trying to turn bedtime into a game?

Making time for our children at the end of each day can be very rewarding - there will be times when a child who can’t sleep needs

comfort, cuddles or just to tell you what’s on their mind.

In fact, according to a study of more than 10,000 children carried out by University College London, children put to bed at the same time each day are significantly less likely to misbehave whereas erratic bedtimes can lead to problems such as hyperactivity and emotional difficulties, with children demonstrating symptoms similar to those of jet-lag. More seriously, prolonged irregular bedtimes can disrupt the body’s natural rhythms causing sleep problems and thus undermining the way the brain matures. The good news is that these effects do appear to be reversible. There are other things we can do to help ensure our children get a good night’s sleep. Physical exercise, ideally outside, helps tire children out and should be part of the child’s daily routine if possible.

Certain foods can unsettle children e.g sugar and caffeine and so should be avoided in the evening. Screens before bed are a complete no-no – this should be a period of downtime and it is thought that the light from screens may suppress the normal nighttime release of melatonin, a key hormone in the body’s clock.

With increasing numbers of adults suffering from sleep problems that are having a detrimental effect on our health and wellbeing, we owe it to our children to make sure they get the rest they need…who knows, if we practice what we preach, we might just sleep a bit better ourselves.

Your social say:

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NEW PLACES AVAILABLE BALLET New places now available Pre-Primary 4yrs + Primary 5yrs + Grades from 1 - 7

STREET DANCE & JAZZ New places now available 4yrs - Adult

PRE–SCHOOL DANCE Places now available 3yrs+

‘Very regular in our house although as they get older (9&6) it is less rigid.’

Zoe, Dorset ‘Mine is a crazy football match of chucking my children in the general direction of their rooms before the babysitter arrives and I have to go to work! This means my children dress themselves in hilarious outfits for bed but it also means they are very independent! Not ideal but that’s the way it goes!’

Joni, Dorset ‘Quite rigid more for me though! Find it more difficult as they get older, they seem to go to bed later...The evenings seem not to exist anymore. ‘ Catherine, Dorset

www.tlwdance.co.uk

TLWdance@googlemail.com

Continue the debate online at:

07584340897 7

1am 10-1 www.boostoyshop.co.uk TEL: 01305 261132

8 Buttermarket Poundbury DT1 3AZ

SPRING SUMMER

A GORGEOUS RANGE OF CHILDREN’S TOYS & GIFTS

at The Toy Barn * climbing frames

* parties

* go-karts

Come and see our new Orchard climbing frame, swings and playhouses handmade at Blackmarsh Farm!

Plus a huge range of climbing frames, trampolines and outdoor play equipment, and toys, games and puzzles.

Blackmarsh Farm

Sherborne, DT9 4JX Open Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm

The Toy Barn 01935 815040 www.toy-barn.co.uk Climbing frames, swings, sliDes & trampolines go kart parties play houses

orCharD parties toys & games

The Toy Barn Blackmarsh Farm, Sherborne 01935 815040 www.toy-barn.co.uk

8

25

What’s in Store Lets Play Hide and Seek!

HOBBIT HIDEYHOLE Give your children the coolest playhouse ever. This playhouse is easy to assemble and provides a great space for little hobbits to play. Two sizes from £350

by MudPutty, available from fablittleshop.com

CLIMBING THE WALLS Make the most of long summer days at home with a bespoke piece of playing apparatus, this will see the kids through from toddlerhood to teens. Prices vary from outdoorplaysouthwest.co.uk

AWAY WITH THE FAIRIES Perfect for BBQs and summer entertaining when the kids want a table for two from theoriginalfactoryshop.co.uk

TENTALISING Great for indoor and out, this Castle tent is good for a game of knights and princesses. Price £47.99 from clementinesshop.com

KING OF THE SWINGERS Calling jungle VIPs of all shapes and sizes!

These swing seats are available as single and doubles, perfect to chill out in. From £225 available from toy-barn.co.uk

HANGING OUT Adults and children alike will love relaxing in this hammock over the summer. Part of a great value collection from the Range £141.99 therange.co.uk

9

7A Salisbury Street, Shaftesbury SP7 8EL 01747 855 984 www.stompshoes.co.uk

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bella west Portraits for fathers

www.bellawest.co.uk bellawest@me.com 01747 845 509

Better than Toblerone www.bellawest.co.uk e: bellawest@me.com t: 01747 854509 10

Sleep?

What Sleep?

Clinical Child Psychologist Dr Tania Pilley, explains how to help children with ‘Night Terrors’

PHOTOGRAPHY MILLIE PILKINGTON

I

f you have witnessed a night terror, you will appreciate how distressing they can be, both to you and your child. Research suggests that night terrors are caused by hyper arousal of the Central Nervous System that regulates both sleeping and waking brain activity. It is not uncommon for the child to scream and shout and appear terrified. They can have a rapid heart rate and hyperventilate as their body is in a state of high alert. They also have their eyes wide open which can be quite disconcerting as the child is actually asleep.

Research shows that there tends to be a family history of night terrors or sleepwalking, with around 80 per cent of children having parents who also experienced the condition. They occur during the earlier part of the night, as the child moves into deep sleep rather than dream sleep (REM - Rapid Eye Movement). In contrast, a nightmare occurs during REM sleep and tends to occur later on in the night.

Instinctively as a parent, you have an urge to comfort and protect your child when they are distraught however, trying to comfort your child during a night terror is not recommended. This is obviously something that many parents will find very hard but the best approach is to try and stay calm and ensure that they do not hurt themselves if they are thrashing around. This may be easier said than done, especially as it could go on for 15 minutes or so and there may be several episodes during the course of a night. Although your child may seem inconsolable at the time of the terror, leaving you feeling helpless and anxious, waking a child during the episode often disorientates and confuses them. In contrast to this, a child can often remember a nightmare and so does need to be comforted during and after bad dreams.

Understanding the causes of night terrors can be useful as a child becoming over-tired or stressed may trigger them. Establishing healthy sleep habits is really important, as is talking to your child to find out if there’s anything worrying them. Sometimes sleeping in a new environment can be a cause or starting a new medication. If your child has night terrors frequently, it is worth keeping a diary to note down what time they occur. If they tend to happen around the same time, waking the child up 15 minutes before the child enters the deep sleep phase of their sleep cycle for seven days will help to break the cycle.

The good news is that the majority of children will grow out of this condition and, perhaps most importantly, they do not appear to cause any lasting psychological harm. In fact, the child will have no memory of the terror in the morning. If you do have concerns though, contact your GP or a child specialist.

The table below provides a guide to how much sleep your children need Age

Hours of Sleep

Bedtime

Notes

Newborn

15-18

N.A.

New babies typically sleep in short spurts of 2 to 4 hours throughout the day & night.

1-4 months

14-15

8:00 - 11:00

Babies are still developing & feeding often during the night. Bedtime can move earlier.

4-8 months

14-15

5:30 – 7:30

Circadian rhythms are emerging. Regular naps & earlier bedtimes ensure they get the sleep required for physical & mental development.

8 -10 months

12-15

5:30 – 7:00

Babies this age may only take 2 naps so bedtime may move earlier to compensate.

10-15 months

12-14

6:00 - 7:30

Babies may be transitioning to only1afternoon nap so bedtime may need to move earlier, it should be no later than 4 hours after waking from nap.

15 months – 3 years

12-14

6:00 - 7:30

Naps may end now or be inconsistent so bedtime can be earlier to help adjust.

3 – 6 years

11-13

6:00 – 8:00

Your child will likely drop their nap. Once your child is no longer napping, he will need an extra hour of sleep at night so bear this in mind.

7 – 12 years

10-11

7:30 – 9:00

School age children are still experiencing enormous growth, are very active, & require a lot of sleep.

Adequate sleep helps with school performance, behaviour, attention, memory, & more.

Teenagers

9+

10:00 - 10:30

Teens need to be up for school. Count backwards from wake time to find the bedtime that ensures they get enough sleep. Keep in mind it takes kids an average of 15 mins to fall asleep, more if they have a lot on their minds.

11

country child_Layout 1 29/04/2014 09:56 Page 1

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Summer Leweston!

Summer Club 2014 Enjoy the use of Leweston’s swimming pool, tennis courts and extensive grounds over the summer with an array of attractive Summer Club membership packages. To become a member please contact office@leweston.dorset.sch.uk or telephone 01963 210783.

Leweston Activity Weeks Outdoor Education, Sports & Adventure for 5 – 11 year olds Week 1: 28th July - 1st August Week 2: 4th - 8th August Week 3: 11th - 15th August 09.00 – 17.00 £25 per day or £110 per week ActUp! A fun and engaging drama course for 7 – 13 year olds 18th – 22nd August 09.00 – 17.00 £25 per day or £110 for the week

www.leweston.co.uk

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www.theprojectclimbingcentre.co.uk

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Summer Lovin’ H

itting the festival circuit with the kids this year? We love these parasols from indianparasols.com Great to keep the sun off and add a touch of ethnic glamour too, in the garden, the park or at the beach. £20.00 + £3.95 p&p



FRESH AIR FUN Pack a picnic and go and explore the countryside. Nature Reserves are a great place to start as often you can get guide books and activity packs telling you what to look out for. Our favourite reserves are: Kingcombe Meadows, Dorset Yarley Fields Nature Rerve, Somerset Peppercombe Wood, Wiltshire Hazeley Heath, Hampshire - this is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to the flora and fauna.



Did you know Dorset and Hampshire boast more species of reptile than any other county? Can you spot a snake or a lizard basking in the sun?

Who doesn’t like ice cream? Here are Country Child’s top places to enjoy this tasty treat:

Shearwater Lake Wilts is a great place to take the family as you can fish, cycle, walk, horse ride and picnic. The newly refurbished cafe is a great place to grab an ice cream before the activities start. Lovingtons Ice Cream from Somerset are a well known name, look out for them at festivals and even in the air on the way to your summer holiday as many airlines serve this delicious brand. For an ice cream experience with a difference it has to be the hidden gem that is the ice cream garden at Sturminster Marshall, Dorset where Barford Ice Cream is produced. The garden is beautiful with plenty of space to explore and lots of nooks and crannies to sit and enjoy your ice cream in peace.

Free entry, free parking and some great walks to enjoy - a brilliant value day out. The Beach Hut ice cream parlour at the Hive Beach cafe, Burton Bradstock Dorset has been refurbished with a retro feel. Now stocking Craigs Farm Dairy Ice Cream, from just up the road in Osmington, it offers some of the best views of the Jurrasic Coast. Well worth a visit this summer. Judes Ice Cream, based in Twyford, Hants, are another amazing local company, their ice creams can be found in Cafe Monde, Winchester, Mange 2 Deli in Alresford and The Good Life in Headbourne Worthy - stock up and explore the Watercress Line, Cathedral and City or Worthy Down.

Pewsey, Wilts with its Wharf, white

horse and proximity to Stonehenge is another great destination. After you have all explored and you’re ready to be refuelled, a visit to East Chisenbury is a must. The thatched free house, the Red Lion, is an amazing, award winning pub and a foodie’s haven serving the hippest ice cream creations around.

Sarah Third discovers what’s hot for families this Summer





A study for the PNAS Journal has scientists believing that due to El Nino patterns we are set to have the best Summer ever!

When we saw this innovative product we just knew we had to mention it, its fun, unique and local. Make Sunday bath time a lot more enjoyable with the aroma of woodsmoke wafting as the children splash about whist you enjoy the balmy summer evening with a glass of something chilled...... Tub Marine make hot tubs that are inspired by nature and fuelled by a wood fire. They are beautifully crafted in Dorset from Stainless Steel and Oak and as they are free standing they can be placed away from buildings allowing you to create a peaceful outdoor zone. So how does it work? You light the fire, fill the tub with fresh water, when the required temperature is reached leave the fire and hop in! Add more logs if you need more heat, drain once finished (water the plants!) Clean with a soapy damp cloth ready for next time.

Country Child readers will get a promotional price. countrychild.co.uk facebook.com/TubMarine

See pages 24 - 31 for a full guide of what else is on over the Summer for you and your family to enjoy.

We Love.........

T



his award winning natural and organic sun care range for children from greenpeople.co.uk. Using natural broad spectrum protection with a blend of earth mineral sun filters from Edelweiss and Cinnamon Ester Acid, it protects delicate skin safely. With Myrrh and Chamomile to sooth and Beeswax to repel water it is an excellent choice for young sensitive skin. With none of the harmful chemicals that affect aquatic life the Marine Conservation Society have given it their seal of approval too.

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Fresh Faced Alix Austen looks at the growing trend in toxic free toiletries

I

t seems that increasing numbers of us are concerned with what shampoo, shower gel or toothpaste our families use. In addition to claims made by big companies about the amazing life-enhancing nature of their products, there are just as many counter-claims being made about the potentially harmful effects of many products we use on a daily basis. But can shampoo make our hormones go haywire or our daily deodorant cause cancer?

Who to believe? With the UK toiletries industry predicted to reach a value of £5 billion in sales by next year, big brand names are keen to play down any negative effects their products might have, arguing that the long-used ingredients present in their formulation that may have been found to cause problems in rodents, are used in concentrations too minuscule to have a detrimental effect on us. In truth, we don’t really know what the long-term, cumulative effects of the cocktail of synthetic chemicals that we put on our bodies day-in, day-out are but there is no doubt that so-called ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ products are taking an increasing market share as people err on the side of caution. The Soil Association’s ‘Organic Market Report’ for 2014 revealed that sales of organic health and beauty products grew by 17% in 2013 to £37.2 million and the British are the largest consumers of these types of products in Europe.

The biggest organ on our bodies is our skin and anything that comes into contact with it is rapidly absorbed into our bloodstream. I became a bit more concerned with what I exposed my body to when I started having children but when making choices about what products to buy, I seemed to need a PhD in chemistry to work out what’s used to make them. Let’s be clear, there is no such thing as a ‘chemical-free’ product. Everything is made up of chemicals, from cosmetics to water to the human body itself. Chemical elements are the building blocks of all substances, both natural and man-made so to create a “chemicalfree” product of any kind therefore is simply not possible.

Furthermore, just because something is natural, it doesn’t necessarily follow that it’s safe – just think of deadly nightshade!

The terminology used by companies on their packaging can be very confusing…a cynic might say deliberately so! Natural

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PHOTOGRAPHY MILLIE PILKINGTON

elements such as water, clay and minerals can’t ever be classified as organic because this term can only be applied to farmed ingredients and agricultural production where products have been cultivated under ‘controlled’ conditions. Unlike the food you eat, there is a lack of organic regulations for cosmetics, and in some cases due to the complexity of calculating ‘organic’ in beauty products, there has been a proliferation of new brands that exaggerate their organic status. Some contain very few organic ingredients at all while others also contain quite a few synthetic ingredients that consumers may not expect or want. Did you know that products must only contain 1% organic product to be able to use the label ‘organic’ - so in many instances, it is little more than a marketing gimmick?

If you want to buy organic, avoid being duped by choosing products that have independent organic certification (Soil Association, USDA etc.) or choose companies that clearly identify their certified organic ingredients and sourcing policies. Soil Association Certification is the UK’s largest and best-known organic certification body. NYR Organic currently has the UK’s largest selection of Soil Associated certified organic health and beauty products and has been at the forefront of clear labelling on its products. Xenia Standbridge, Frontline Regional Leader for NYR Organic explains, “We fully disclose our ingredient information with our customers, both online and on our packaging. We have nothing to hide and are very proud of our natural, plant-based formulations that really work.” So no hiding behind trade secrets here.

In addition to the beneficial effects more natural products might have on our bodies, many consumers are attracted to the wider ethical and environmental standards these brands stand for. It has been illegal to test cosmetics on animals in this country since 1998 and as animal welfare and humane farming has moved up the political agenda, people are increasingly keen to use products that are approved under humane cosmetics standards.

Organically grown ingredients will not have been farmed using pesticides that can harm the wider environment and will have been produced using sustainable methods.

These products are also more likely to adhere to ‘fair trade’ principals, whereby producers, often in developing countries, are paid a fair price for their labour and raw materials. According to Green People, “With many of us becoming more aware of leading a greener, more sustainable lifestyle, the demand for natural ingredients in make-up is on the rise, but just because it is natural, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is ethically sourced or socially responsible.” Many good quality organic products will contain exotic and wild-harvested ingredients from far-flung corners of the globe and skincare brand, ila, says it sees investment in direct relationships and sustainable farming projects with indigenous communities as the key to safeguarding both its own integrity and the integrity of the planet.

Another growing trend in this market has been an increase in the number of small, local brands, who’s appeal lies in the more personal, handmade nature of their products. Angela Langford, who makes natural skincare products, says, “I am very proud that all my products are lovingly made by hand in Somerset, England in small batches, by myself.” You might have come across the Bramley range of natural bath and body products, designed by Chloë Luxton for her husband’s pub, the Beckford Arms in Wiltshire.

At the end of the day, you’ll have to weigh-up the evidence and decide what is right for you …although the fact that parabens were originally developed as an active ingredient in antifreeze may not necessarily mean they’re bad for you, it doesn’t sound too good.

Organic products do tend to be more expensive due to the higher quality nature of the ingredients and the more labour intensive production process so price is definitely a factor (although I have found that a little goes a long-way). When I asked my hairdresser what she thought about ‘natural’ shampoos, she was sceptical about whether they work and while I definitely prefer organic face creams and oils, when it comes to deodorant, the organic one I tried just didn’t do the trick!

While I would find it difficult to go completely natural, from now on I‘m definitely going to buy a few more organic products that the whole family can use.

What you might want to look out for on the label…

Brands to Try…

‘NYR Organics’ – the largest range of certified organic health and beauty products with many items produced in its Dorset-based eco-factory.

‘Green People’ – great for suncreams that use natural plant oils and extracts which offer good levels of sun protection without compromising safety. Also natural toothpastes and children’s range.

‘Burt’s Bees’ - more than just lip-balms.

‘Earth Friendly Baby’ and ‘Little Me’ – mother and baby ranges for family bath time.

‘Angela Langford’ and ‘ila’ – divine skincare treats for mum with an ethical ethos.

‘Forever Living Aloe Vera’, products to support your skin, weight management, sport and mobilty.

‘Primary Organics’ ethically sourced treats for the family.

Phthalates – (often not listed separately rather falling under the umbrella of ‘fragrance’ or ‘parfum’) found in hairsprays, perfume and nail polishes and used to give substances a ‘smooth’ effect and enhance skin penetration. Can act as hormone disruptors, affect fertility and potentially increase the risk of cancer in later life.

Parabens – found in some deodorants, moisturisers and toothpaste and used as a preservative. Oestrogen mimics that have been linked to conditions resulting from hormonal imbalance such as breast cancer and reproductive system defects.

Triclosan (5-chloro2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)-phenol – found in handwash, toothpaste and deodorants and is a powerful anti-bacterial agent that may upset the functioning of normal bacteria in the body and cause damage to the environment.

Formaldehyde (formalin, formal, methyl aldehyde) – used in a large range of personal care products as a preservative and disinfectant. A suspected human carcinogen that can irritate the eyes, nose, throat and may trigger asthma attacks.

Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate - present in nearly all shampoos, hair colour and bleaching agents, toothpastes, body washes and cleansers, make-up foundations, liquid hand soaps, laundry detergents and bath oils/bath salts. An irritant that, when combined with other ingredients, may form carcinogenic nitrosamines.

Ethanolamine (Di/Mono/Tri) - used in shampoos, lotions, creams and other cosmetics. Can react with other ingredients to form other known carcinogens.

Propylene Glycol –a skin-conditioning agent that has the ability to attract water and act as a moisturizer in cosmetic formulas.

15

The Old Malt House Dental Practice Brian Thomason BDS DPDS Helen Butler BDS DPDS

Our professional, dedicated and long-standing team are committed to providing the very best in patient care in a relaxed and friendly environment.

However simple or complex your requirements, we offer a comprehensive range of dental services including the latest techniques in cosmetic, aesthetic and orthodontic treatments.

Affordable low cost payment options are available from only ÂŁ14 a month.

To book an appointment, or simply request a practice information pack, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01258 473397, or visit our website at www.sturminster-dentist.co.uk The Old Malt House Dental Practice Bridge Street Sturminster Newton Dorset DT10 1BZ Tel: 01258 473397

Hazlegrove

...making the most of childhood ***NEW MINIBUS ROUTE*** via Longbridge Deverill and Mere

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To visit, call Fiona O’Neill on 01963 442606

SMILE! Sarah Third discovers it’s never too early to start looking after our little ones’ teeth

PHOTOGRAPHY MILLIE PILKINGTON

D

id you know that dental caries (more commonly known as tooth decay) remains the most prevalent chronic disease in children, even though it is largely preventable? A recent survey has found that 31% of children starting school have tooth decay, and that by twelve years old, a third have visible dental decay.

Untreated, decay can cause pain and discomfort, dysfunction, and can look unsightly. All of these problems can significantly affect a child’s quality of life and their self-confidence. Teaching your child the importance of good oral care and setting up a good oral hygiene regime, at a young age, is an investment in their health that will last a lifetime.

Baby teeth start to come through at about six months old and most children have their full set of twenty baby teeth by the age of three. You should begin to clean your child’s teeth as soon as the first baby teeth come through. Initially, this can be done by wiping them with a clean damp cloth after feeding. Specially designed children’s toothbrushes can also be used from four months old to gently massage the teeth and gums. Choose a small-headed toothbrush with soft, nylon bristles, suitable for your child’s age.

Once your infant turns into a toddler, it can become more difficult to brush their teeth. A good tip is to make sure that they see you brushing your teeth every morning and evening. Keep toothbrushing fun and positive and give lots of praise when they let you brush their teeth. Songs can often help, as both an aid to brushing and a distraction technique!

The easiest way to brush your toddler’s teeth is by sitting them on your lap, facing away from you, with their head cradled in the crook of your elbow. Gently ease the toothbrush into their mouth and give the teeth a gentle brush. If sitting on your lap loses its appeal, or your toddler is uncooperative, try kneeling or sitting on the floor behind your child. Get them to lie down on the floor with their head in your lap (or between your knees) so you can see and reach all of their teeth easily. You may find it useful to cradle their chin in your hand. Above all, make it as fun as possible.

Teeth should be cleaned twice a day, once in the morning before breakfast and again after their last drink in the evening. They will probably chew the brush and make a grab for it. Don’t resist, allow them to do this for a while, but then gently take it back and brush some more.

Use only a smear of toothpaste that covers less than three-quarters of the brush and one that has been formulated specifically for underthrees. Too much toothpaste over a long period of time can lead to mottling on the teeth (fluorosis), so only use a pea-sized amount and encourage your toddler to spit out the leftover paste.

Gradually start brushing your toddler’s teeth more thoroughly, so that eventually you are covering all the surfaces of the teeth. It’s a good idea to continue to brush your child’s teeth until they are about seven or eight year’s old. As they get bigger and their dexterity increases, gradually increase their responsibility of tooth-brushing, but continue to supervise until you are happy that they are able to a good job by themselves. Using disclosing tablets at home can show both you and your child that they are doing a great job!

The first adult teeth will start to come through at around five or six years old, so keep a look out (be aware, they can come through at the back of the mouth even before the child loses any of their front milk teeth).

Providing your child with a healthy and balanced diet and limiting sugary food is also necessary to protect against tooth decay. The sugars found in some foods combine with the bacteria around the teeth called plaque to produce ‘plaque acids’. It is these plaque acids that attack the tooth surface to cause dental decay. If you want to give your child a snack in-between meals choose things like carrot sticks, cheese chunks, rice cakes and fresh fruit slices with milk or water to drink..

It’s a great idea to take your child to the dentist whenever you go for your routine appointments so that they become familiar with the surroundings. Children should have their own regular check-ups from about the age of two and dentists will usually reward their young patients with stickers and plenty of praise.

Some dental practices offer their services to groups within the local community, including mother and toddler groups, pre-schools and primary schools. Tracey, Practice Manager and Oral Health educator at The Old Malthouse Practice in Sturminster Newton says, “Giving children and their parents the knowledge and skills to look after their teeth and mouth is one of the most important services we offer at the practice.”

So, when your toddler is wriggling like a sack of ferrets on your lap and you have toothpaste all over your hands, just remember that hopefully they’ll thank you one day for their beautiful smile.

17

Putting the ‘Home’ into ‘Homework’

One local mother opens up to Country Child on her decision to home school her son.

I

’m trying to find a quiet moment to write about my experiences as a home schooler. The problem is, with three children under 8 at home full time, there’s rarely a quiet moment!

Today they have friends over to play. Squeals of laughter carry on the soft breeze and I can tell that they’re somewhere beyond the vegetable garden, in the scruffy hedgerow they affectionately call ‘the den’. I recall with amusement the parting words of my son’s class teacher as I told her he was being withdrawn from school, “All the evidence shows that home schooled children are very socially isolated.”

This fear was one of the main reasons I teetered on the brink of home schooling for so long. Would removing my children from school turn them into oddballs, devoid of social skills and the ability to play with other children? Almost a year into our home schooling journey, the answer is an emphatic no. They’re more confident and sociable than ever, still in contact with their old school friends but also, due to having more time to pursue hobbies, befriending children with whom they share common interests, not just the same postcode.

So what finally pushed me to push my fears aside and take this momentous step? Desperation. Four years of school had transformed my beautiful, intelligent, funny and charismatic son into a miserable little boy. He hated school and anything associated with it. Evenings were ruined by hour-long spellings or boring reading practice and many mornings would begin with the words, “Mummy, I don’t feel well”? My child, who at three years old could have given tours of The Natural History Museum, now rolled his eyes and groaned at the mere mention of a dinosaur; space rockets were “rubbish” while India was plain “boring”. I remember crying into the washing-up one evening when I overheard him say, “I’m useless at everything, the stupidest in my whole class.” So matter of fact…resigned to failure at just 7 years old.

My mind drifted to the plaque hanging in the school’s entrance

18

hall, proudly displaying the school’s ethos about how pupils would reach their ‘full potential’ and have ‘high self-esteem’ as ‘valued members of a community of learners’. These hollow buzzwords were not what I was seeing in my little boy. Sure, there were areas in which he struggled, but in others he was fine.

Yet he’d lost his confidence, his thirst for knowledge, his sparkle.

I didn’t recognise this negative and dispirited little soul… felt like I was losing him!

I had tried to ignore the nagging doubts in the back of my mind. His Reception teacher described him as ‘eccentric’, a term she used as a politically correct alternative to ‘weird’. Was it weird that he preferred Roald Dahl to Julia Donaldson, didn’t enjoy arts and crafts and would rather play outside than learn to write his name? Let’s try the word ‘inconvenient’ instead. He didn’t fit what the school and government said he should be doing at his age, a fact that made him a bit of a pain in a class of 25 children. The school didn’t seem to want to acknowledge what was happening or develop a strategy to tackle it, fobbing me off that he was ‘fine’.

William’s final parents evening was a year ago, during which I was suddenly told he was still a cause for concern with the special educational needs coordinator. The word ‘still’ hit me like a sledgehammer for at what point during the previous four years, had he been categorised as a cause for concern and why hadn’t I been told? It was my Eureka moment...confirming all my suspicions about William and totally undermining my faith in the school. He was drowning and I was standing by, hoping someone else would drag him up. I realised I didn’t just want him dragged above water, I wanted him to learn to swim by himself and simply couldn’t see it happening at school.

William was, unsurprisingly, overjoyed at the prospect of home schooling, assuring me he wouldn’t miss a thing about school life. He skipped merrily out the next afternoon. “Did your teacher wish you luck?” I asked him. “Nope, she didn’t say goodbye at all.” he answered.

The enormity of the decision was not lost on me –to shun trained professionals and say that you can do a better job yourself is audacious. Home schooling is legal even if you are not a qualified teacher and there is no guidance or framework to dictate exactly what or how you teach (although we were subject to a statutory one-off home check by a local authority social worker). All home schoolers are offered free support from a school liaison officer, provided by the local authority.

Ours, a retired headmistress with 40 years experience is both positive and helpful.

Initially, I was keen to fill in all the gaps in William’s knowledge. We needed a ‘school detox’ where we stopped comparing him to others and simply concentrated on what he could do. I dropped all spellings, handwriting, times tables, reading schemes and everything else he’d come to dread and found books he actually enjoyed reading.

Working on a one-to-one ratio means that we only need to work for an hour or so each day.

In fact, there are days when we do no formal work at all and yet he has still progressed far better than in any previous year. He just seems to understand things when I explain them to him, I can personalise examples and understand the way he thinks. We do follow a formal Maths syllabus, available online and we’re attempting to cover the core curriculum subjects.

Of course there are days of chaos, when I question my own sanity but if you embrace the madness, you find you can use it to your own advantage. One day, slogging through some particularly

dry maths exercises, William was messing around and the usual sanction of no TV or DS just wasn’t cutting it. I felt my jaw tighten and in that moment could identify with the frustration his teachers must have felt when working with him. But then came a flash of inspiration, “William, if you finish these questions in the next 5 minutes, you can draw a moustache on me with that pen.” I wore my Sharpie moustache with pride that day. We’d both won the battle and a difficult session had ended well.

He now loves to read, anything and everything and his spelling, grammar and punctuation have improved as a result. He’s better at maths than I expected and his interest in the world around him has been restored. He’s keen to try new things, is confident and able to recognise his strengths and not be destroyed by his weaknesses. He’s found a love of the performing arts and has just won a scholarship to his weekend theatre school.

I want my children to be able to fit back into the school system if that’s what they’d like and certainly don’t want my choices to close any doors for them in future. I’m chasing the ideal of a conventional education attained in an unconventional way and while I may not be an educational specialist, I am a specialist in William. Together, we’re working to make sure that he turns out more than ‘fine’.

“William, if you finish these questions in the next 5 minutes, you can draw a moustache on me with that pen.”

If you want to home school your children try teachmykids.co.uk for more inspiration.

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The Riding School for all ages & abilities

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Day and boarding for girls aged 7-13

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Inviting applications for

The Greenwood Awards Celebrating our 65th year, Knighton House is pleased to announce four new awards, offering substantial funding for children starting at the school in September 2014 in Years 3 and 4.

Part of Knighton House’s charitable mission, The +VIIR[SSH %[EVHW [MPP SJJIV KIRIVSYW ½RERGMEP support all the way through to Year 8.

To register your interest in these means-tested bursary awards, email admissions@knighton-house.co.uk Telephone 01258 452065 or visit www.knightonhouse.dorset.sch.uk

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Student Viewpoint GCSE student, Jess Vyas, looks at the hot topic of single sex versus co-ed schooling

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MILLIE PILKINGTON

H

aving spent the entirety of my education in single sex schools, I should declare my hand and admit to having a relatively biased viewpoint in the single sex/co-ed debate. Personally, I believe my single sex schooling has prepared me far better intellectually than a co-ed environment would have done.

I think however, that it's a common misconception to suggest that having boys in a classroom makes girls' learning suffer and vice versa. Rather, it's got more to do with how each gender learn differently. Research conducted in American primary schools found that 6-year-old boys learn better standing up rather than sitting at a desk!

Boys and girls also tend to excel academically in different areas.

Girls often have better language skills and have been found to have around 20% more neurones in the areas of the brain where we produce and interpret language. Boys, on the other hand, favour subjects that involve spatial skills, perhaps because of their brains’ abilities to visualise and construct three-dimensional objects. While these physiological differences could explain why boys and girls often choose stereotypically gender relevant subjects, some argue that this is merely the result of social norms, based on our expectations for the sexes. Advocates of this stance point to evidence that in single sex schools, boys are more likely to choose subjects like art, music and languages while girls will opt for subjects like physics and computer sciences in greater numbers. Single sex schooling helps break down the stigma attached to many subjects and liberates students to achieve their potential, regardless of gender.

Alison Tremewan, headmistress at Knighton House School, an all-girl prep school, explains why there is still strong demand for 'girls only' education. "Having taught in co-ed and single sex schools and seen fantastic teaching in both, I have witnessed how special the classroom environment can be when there are only girls present - some girls just seem to flourish within a girl group.

Independent evidence reporting that girls do better academically in a girls-only teaching environment.”

Although it's easy to look at the statistics and make arguments based on the data, it's important to remember that any decision regarding a child's education is incredibly personal to the individual. I know people who have very strong opinions on this topic that largely contradict 'the facts'. To quote one friend, "While single sex schools may provide a better learning

environment for girls from that of a co-ed establishment, they don't provide that same advantageous atmosphere for boys who, I think, are more likely to excel in a co-ed school." I do agree with my friend’s argument that co-ed schools aren't usually as good a learning environment for girls as they are for boys and think one of the reasons for this is the focus on looks and appearance that a mixed campus might encourage for girls (and that our wider culture unfortunately perpetuates).

An argument often heard against single sex schooling is that it doesn’t allow normal interaction between the sexes (after all, we live in a ‘mixed’ world) and might create man-crazy girls or boys who don’t have a clue how to relate to women. Single sex schools do a lot to counter this by holding ‘socials’ with each other and sharing activities like plays and recitals. From any teenage student’s point of view, there’s no doubt that interacting with the opposite sex is incredibly important. Perhaps a system with a mixed campus but separate classes would be the best of all worlds, favouring both the differences in learning styles while allowing for boys and girls to interact without the need for an organised (and often awkward) social occasion.

Though we can look at the data as much as we like, at the end of the day, the decision about a child’s education comes down to personal choice. We’re lucky to have a great deal of choice in both the private and state sectors of education, meaning parents and children can choose together where they will best succeed.

The number of single-sex state schools has fallen from nearly 2,500 to around 400 in the last 40 years.

According to the Independent Schools Council’s annual census, there are now 100 independent boys’ schools and 150 independent girls’ schools in the UK. A 2012 study by the University of Pennsylvania, involving a unique randomised experiment (considered the experiment with the highest level of scientific validity) concluded, “Attending all-boys schools or all-girls schools, rather than coeducational schools, is significantly associated with higher average scores (in college entrance exams).” The data comes from schools in South Korea, where students of different genders are randomly assigned to schools in their district (to avoid clustering or selfselection relating to socio-economic background).

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An enchanting series of children`s books aimed at 3-5 year olds by Dorset author Patrick Caruth and beautifully illustrated by Jenny Noscoe. Follow the adventures of two woodlice, Archie and Pam as they play in the garden, and have narrow escapes.

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HANFORD

Independent boarding and day school for girls aged 7 to 13

Visitors are always welcome Please call the School Office to make arrangements

office@hanford.dorset.sch.uk Child Okeford, Blandford, Dorset DT11 8HN 01258 860 219 www.hanfordschool.co.uk

Food

GLORIOUS Food

Picnic Time...... Country Child’s top tips for the perfect picnic:

 Think about wasps, avoid packing too many cakes and sticky, jammy things.  How far will you be carrying your picnic? Bear this in mind when packing it and use paper plates to save on the weight. Boxes of salad take up a lot of room, why not stuff a pitta instead?  Put juices and water in the freezer a few hours beforehand, they can act as chiller blocks en route but the drinks will still be cold once you arrive.  Try and choose foods that can all be served at the same time, laying it all out at once so everyone can help themselves at an easy pace.

From World Heritage coastline to patchwork fields, woods, hills and valleys, Dorset has a plethora of ideal picnic spots. Our favourites are: Ringstead Nr Weymouth Bulbarrow Hill Stonebarrow Hill

WIN

A month’s supply of Little Dish meals and first birthday goodies worth £60!

T

o celebrate the launch of Little Dish’s new British Lamb Hotpot we’re giving one reader the chance to win a month’s supply of Little Dish meals in a prize package worth £60. Dressed in Limited Edition packaging to commemorate Prince George’s 1st birthday, Little Dish’s latest recipe blends succulent British minced lamb with soft red lentils, topped off with a wholesome vegetable sauce and crown of deliciously sautéed potatoes. Nutritionally balanced and made from 100% natural ingredients, it even provides two of your little Princes’ and Princesses’ five-a-day. Find the new British Lamb Hotpot in the chilled aisle of Tesco, Waitrose, Asda and Ocado, RRP £2.50 per meal (200g).

For your chance to win, send the answer to this question to: info@countrychild.co.uk before the end of July 2014 Which famous Royal turns one this July?

A. B. C.

Prince George Prince Charles Prince Harry

I

Want to cut down on food waste and food miles? Then shop with FarmDrop

f you want to buy the freshest local food around, you should be buying locally produced goodness direct from producers, and now you can through a new initiative called FarmDrop. We were so excited to hear about this innovative new way of shopping, we felt compelled to spread the word.

FarmDrop is a brand new online marketplace that cuts out the middleman and allows you to click-and-collect fresh produce straight from local farmers, growers, fisherman, bakers and more.

Founder Ben Pugh explains: “60 years ago farmers received over 50% of the money we spend on food.

Nowadays it’s just 11%, which is just wrong. So we’ve developed a model that gives producers a new profitable route to market - with FarmDrop, producers keep 80% of the sale price. Shoppers benefit from unrivalled freshness and the reassurance of knowing exactly where their food comes from”.

FarmDrops are managed by someone in the community called ‘Keepers’. Members join and together as a community place orders with local producers via the website. The orders are then delivered to a venue in the community once a week - like a pub, school, barn or somebody’s house.

The site launched in March and now 16 FarmDrop communities are building across the UK. The first Hampshire drop will be starting soon, but if you’ve ever dreamt of starting your own local food business they’d love to hear from you. Not only can you earn money as the vital link between your community and local farmers, you’ll be bringing people together and boosting your local economy.

It’s the new generation of farmers’ market that ticks all the boxes - we think there should be one in every community! For more information head to farmdrop.co.uk or email hello@farmdrop.co.uk.

One winner is entitled to 1 x Little Dish branded cool bag & a month’s supply of Little Dish meals (2 meals per week equal to 8 x free meal coupons at a face value of £20), 1 x Little Dish placemat and spoon, plus 1 x commemorative First Birthday mug and plate, at a total face value of £60.00. For full terms and conditions see countrychild.co.uk

23

THE MELPLASH SHOW West Bay, Bridport, DT6 4EG

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All creatures great and small… there is lots for the children to see and do A full day out for all the family

Shaftesbury Arts & Musical Festival 7th June Waterston Manor, Puddletown Sun 8 June Ferndown Pram Race, High Street Sat 21 June Damn Fine Fest, Compasses Inn Damerham - Sun 22 June Frome Food Festival, Market Yard Sat 5 July 5pm - 10pm.

Swanage Regatta - Mon 28 July

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Warminster Prep School Independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 – 11

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Hosts of rural attractions

Warminster Prep School, the home of EXCELLENT learning, teaching and achievement Excellent pastoral care • Day, weekly & flexi boarding Variety of scholarships • Armed forces discount Bus routes – Bath, Chapmanslade, Devizes, Frome, Larkhill, Market Lavington, Melksham, Pewsey, Trowbridge, Salisbury, Shrewton, Tisbury

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Something for everyone?

T

Things to do Places to go

he ecclectic and diverse mix of a THE SKY IS THE LIMIT Radio 2 DJ, races up Gold Hill (with cheese or on bikes) South American food, Yeovilton Air Day 26 July at the Royal Navy Air Station, samba and cocktails, a Tudor Banquet, Yeovilton Somerset is an dog show and outstanding local food and outstanding and award drink means only one thing - Shaftesbury Festival is back and better than ever. winning one day event. You Kicking off on 2nd June this little Saxon can see fast jets, historic Hilltop town is host to an amazing array warbirds, helicopters, of activities. From Jazz to cookery demos, formation display teams markets to Ceilidh - there really should be and stunning aerobatics. something for everyone.

The day culminates in 1-7th June Millie the Cow’s Window the world renowned Spotting Competition in association with Commando Assault finale BMV Dairy. featuring troops, aircraft 3 June Not BBC Question Time with and pyrotechnics.

A day Fanny Charles at the Grosvenor Arms.

4 June A Slice of Song at Amore. not easily forgotten.

5 June Sound of Brazilian Summer at royalnavy.mod.uk Beggars Banquet, Samba and South American food and cocktails.

6 June Big Bands Gig at the Arts Centre.

Super Saturday 7 June opened by Johnnie Walker. Head to Park Walk to see the Festival Parade, schools’ cafe, cookery demos, silver band, Kidz Zone and local food and drink market. The town will be bustling all over with art and craft in Swans Yard, a Tudor Banquet at Gold Hill museum, the ATM and of course cheese races up Gold Hill, as well as cycle races!

You can even climb Trinity Tower to see the amazing view of the Blackmore Vale.

8 June sees the ever popular dog show on Castle Hill, a jazz lunch at the Grosvenor and cycle races, organised by Hammoon, around the town. All culminating in a finale concert at St Peter’s Church.

shaftesburyfestival.co.uk

ONE FOR THE GROWN UPS!

For A Roaring Good Time!

FATHER’S DAY 15 JUNE

Inside Out

Y

es its that time of year again, a lie in, cuppa in bed, full power of the remote and possibly a cold beer or two, its Father’s Day! Here is our guide to whats on for all those Daddies out there.....

■ Christchurch Priory Music and Arts Festival, for a slice of culture set in beautiful surroundings.

■ Classics on the Prom, for the petrol heads visit Weymouth seafront to see a display of vintage and classic vehicles.

■ For a family day out that the little ones will enjoy then visit Farmer Palmers, half price entry for Dads.

■ Kingston Maurward are having a fun day and Country Fair with the opportunity to see students’ work as well as try out activities.

■ There is a special Father’s Day lunch on the Swanage Railway, sure to be one Grandad will enjoy too, pop to Abbotsbury too to see the cygnets.

■ If its an old fashioned village event you fancy then the Fipenny Fayre at Okeford Fitzpaine is for you.

A fete, stalls, car boot, games and stalls.

■ For foodie fathers it is the last day of the Crab Festival at Lyme, a fresh crab sandwich in the sun is bound to go down well.

■ Make a weekend of it at the Wimborne Folk Festival from 13-15 June. Great atmosphere, local food and drink and of course lots of folk music.

■ Thorney Lakes, Somerset are holding the Green Scythe Fair, a great day out with 70 stalls, live music, organic local food, kids’ activities and ale and cider galore.

■ For something a bit diffferent that leaves a lasting legacy why not plant some Snowdrops in the Park off St James, Shaftesbury. Happy Father’s Day!

Tire the children out with three water slides including a multiperson one so they can ride with friends, water jets and islands to swim to.

There is a 20m pool as well as sauna, steam and hot tub for the grown ups. With two restaurants and bowling this is a family day out to remember.

FULL STEAM AHEAD Set on the holiday park at Established in 1998 and run by volunteers, the Chickerell Burton Bradstock you are in Steam and Vintage Show, is not to be missed for all things the heart of the Jurassic Coast. mechanical. With trade and craft stalls and a fairground its jurassicfuncentre.co.uk a great family day out. 5/6 July 2014

25

JULY

JUNE

PULL OUT EVENT GUIDE MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

2

3 Not BBC Question Time part of Shaftesbury Festival South Street Kitchen opens in Gillingham

4 A Slice of Song at Amore, - part of Shaftesbury Festival

5 Sound of the Brazilian Summer at Beggars Banquet - part of the Shaftesbury Festival

6 Illminster Midsummer Experience until 8th

7 Radio 2 DJ Johnnie Walker. kicks off 'Super Saturday' See page 25 for full line up ‘Breakin’ Convention’ International Festival of Hip Hop, BIC Bmouth Chettle Village Fete

8 Hammoon Cycles road races around Shaftesbury Crab Festival Lyme Festival until 14th Open Farm Sunday Bridport

9

10

11

12

13 Nightjar walk St Ives, Ringwood Wimborne Folk Festival and 14th

14 Charlie and Lola’s Best Bestest Play, Salisbury Playhouse Bridport Food Festival Behind The Castle music festival, Sherborne International BBQ competition & family day Orchard Park Gillingham

15 Larmer Tree Open Day Jazz on the Lawn Barrington Court Bananas in Pyjamas BIC

Fathers Day

16

17 As You Like It, 18 Salisbury Playhouse

19

20 Angelina Ballerina the musical, live on stage Southampton Mayflower Ashmore Filly Loo

21 Petherton Folk Festival, South Petherton Somerset ATM at Ferndown Pram Race Story Time at Boos Toy Shop Poundbury 10am

22 Angelina Ballerina the musical, live on stage Southampton Mayflower ATM at Damn Fine Fest, Damerham

23 Chalke Valley History Festival

24 Chalke Valley History Festival

26 Chalke Valley History Festival

27 Salisbury Vintage Market Chalke Valley History Festival

28 Beaminster Festival of Music and the Arts until 6th July Yeovil Farmers Market The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Lighthouse, Poole

29 Chalke Valley History Festival Sutton Poyntz Victorian Street Fayre Nr Weymouth

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

30 June

1

2

3 Macbeth open air theatre Corfe Castle

4 Blissfields Festival, Winchester Boogie Woogie Festival Stur Newton until 6th

5 Blissfields Festival, Winchester Story Time at Boos Toy Shop Poundbury 10am

6 Gold Hill Fair Blissfields Festival, Winchester

7 Wareham Carnival Starts until 13th

8 Shrek the Musical, 9 Southampton Mayflower until 26th

10 The Lion King live on stage, Southampton Mayflower until 6th Sept

11 Somerton Summer Arts Festival until 19th Swanage Jazz Festival until 13th

12 Jurassic Fields Music Festival Party in the Park at Galhampton Bourton Village Fete Story Time at Boos Toy Shop Poundbury 10am Amazing Thailand, Christchurch

13

14 Mendips Country Fayre

15

16 Larmer Tree Festival until 20th July

17 CSI Coleridge Spy Invasion, Somerset until 1st Sept

18 Somerset Steam Spectacular and County Show until 20th Hatch House Ballet

19 Hatch House Ballet Story Time at Boos Toy Shop Poundbury 10am Stoke Abbot Street Fair

20 Tea on the Quay, Weymouth Peter and The Wolf Dorchester Arts Centre Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

22

23 Outdoor and Adventure holiday programme until 29th Aug Yeovil Leisure Centre

24 RNLI Raft Race West Bay

25 Music Festival at Gilcombe Farm and 26th Archery at Frome Leisure Centre until 29th Aug

26 Swanage Steam Railway regatta and carnival until 2nd Aug Boogie Nights Club, (adults) The Toy Barn Yeovilton Air Day

27 Mudeford Arts Festival Triborder Food Show, Hunters Lodge Leigh Common, Wincanton

29 Super Summer Dino Hunt, Dinosaur Museum Dorchester until 31st Aug

30 Trampolining at Frome Leisure Centre New Forset and Hants County Show

31 Camp Bestival until 3rd Aug Forde Abbey Summer Fair

28 ATM at Swanage Regatta Bournemouth Carnival until 5th Aug

26

CALENDAR SUMMER 2014 TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

1

2 Story Time at Boos Toy Shop Poundbury 10am Swanage Carnival and Regatta ends

3 Salisbury Farmers and Artisan Market West Bay Day Lyme Regis Regatta and Carnival until 10th

5 Stomp, BIC Bournemouth Pottery Parlour Workshops

6 Trampolining at Frome Leisure Centre

7 Indoor Go 8 Family Bat Walk St Ives. Ringwood Karting at Frome Leisure Centre until 14th ages 4-10yrs Pottery Parlour Workshops

9 Summer Youth School workshop BIC Music By The Lakes, Thorney Lakes Bath Folk Festival until 17th

10 Swanage Lifeboat Week until 17th Vikings Invade!

Abbotsbury Children's Farm

12 The Pantaloons perform History of Britain, Larmer Tree Gardens

13 Trampolining at Frome Leisure Centre

14

15

16 Tractor Ted Weekend Bowood House Yesterday’s Farming Show, Crewkerne

17 Yesterday’s Farming Show, Crewkerne Mid Somerset Show, Shepton Mallet

18

19 Mini Beast Safari St Ives, Ringwood

20 Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show Weymouth Carnival and firework finale

21 Melplash Show, Bridport Purbeck Folk Festival until 24th

22 Beer Festival, Greyhound Inn Corfe Castle until 26th

23 Open Air Theatre, Montacute House ‘The Tempest’ Mike The Knight at Abbotsbury Children's Farm

24 Craft and Garden Fair Kingston Lacy Coleford Village Day Somerset

25

26

27 The Great Dorset Steam Fair

28 The Great Dorset Steam Fair

29 The Great Dorset Steam Fair Lyme Folk Festival until 31s

30 The Great Dorset Steam Fair Drayton Street Fair Story Time at Boos Toy Shop Poundbury 10am

31 The Great Dorset Steam Fair

4 Summer workshop, Octagon Theatre, Yeovil until 8th

Bank Holiday

AUGUST

MONDAY

27

Toddler Timetable Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

9.30-10.30 Baby Gym, Motcombe Park Sports Centre

9.30-11 Tummies, Tiddlers and Toddlers, St George’s Primary School, Bourton

9.15-10.30 Creative Playtime, Clayesmore Nursery – fortnightly

9.30-11.25 Toddler Workshop, Chalke Valley School of Dance, Shaftesbury

9.30-11.30 Jigsaw Toddler Group, Sturminster Newton Methodist Church

9.30-11.00 Stay & Play, Tisbury Children’s Centre 9.45-11.30 Tiddlers & Toddlers, Lecture Hall, Mere 9.30-11.30 Baby & Toddlers, Child Okeford Community Centre 10-11.30 Monkey Doodle, Wylye Village Hall, Wylye 10.15-10.45 Rhyme Times, Gillingham Library 10-11.30 Toddler Time, Climb Aboard, West Stour 11.30-12.15 Pre-School Ballet, TLW Dance Shaftesbury 2-3.30 Stay n Play, Community Kids Pre School, Bruton 2.15-2.45 Rhyme Time, Warminster Library

Friday

9-11 Leweston Pre-Prep, Parent 9-11 Little Preppers & Toddler Group and Toddler Parent and Toddler Group, Tunes Sherborne Pre-Prep

9-11.30 Stower Vale Baby 9.30-11.30 Marnhull Baby & & Toddlers, Stower Provost Toddlers, Marnhull Village Hall School Hall 9.30-11.00 Stay and Play at 9.30-11.30 Pimperne B&T Ludwell Primary School 10-11 Musical Beginnings, Group, Village Hall 9.45-11.30 Tiddlers & Toddlers, Zeal Church Meeting Lecture Hall, Mere 9.30-11.30 Stay n Play, Rooms Mere Childrens Centre 10-11.15 Knighton House 10-12 Toddler Group, 9.30-11.30 Little Cherubs School, Baby & Toddler Group Batcombe Jubilee Village Toddler Group, St Mary’s 10-11 Time Together Castle Hall School Room, Gillingham Cary Primary School 10.30-11.30 Baby and 9.30-10.30 Baby Gym, 10am Munchkins at Buckhorn Toddler Rhyme and Story Motcombe Sports Centre Weston Village Hall Time, Wincanton Library 9.30-12 Bumps and Babes, 10-12 Motcombe Toddlers, 10.30-11.15 Library Tisbury Children’s Centre Motcombe Memorial Hall Gets Lively at Sherborne Library 10-11 Messy Play, Youth 10.15-10.45 Library Gets Lively, Centre, Sturminster Gillingham Library Toddler Workshop Newton Shaftesbury Arts Centre 2-2.45 Tiny Tots Gymnastics, toddlerworkshop.co.uk 10-12 Evercreatures, Tisbury Leisure Ctr Evercreech Village Hall 2-3.15 Parent and Toddler 10.30-11 Story & Rhyme 10-12 Caterpillars Parent Session at Clayesmore Nursery Time at Milborne Port & Toddler Group, Fovant Library 2.30-3 Rhymetime, Shaftesbury Rainbow Centre Library 11.10-11.55 Emma & The 10.30-12 Sunny Hill Prep Magic Bag Music Class, Toddler Group, Bruton Shaftesbury Arts Centre 2-3.30 Little Squirrels, 2-2.30 Rhyme Time, Hazlegrove Blandford Library

9.15-11.15 Bumps, Babes & Bigs Parent & Toddler Group, Okeford Fitzpaine School Hall 9.30-11.30 Jigsaw Toddler Group, Sturminster Newton Methodist Church 9.45-12 Saplings Outdoor Toddler Group, Hidden Woods, Frome - Booking essential 10-12 Toddler Stay and play, Shaftesbury Childrens Centre 9.30-10.30 Baby Gym, Motcombe Park Sports Centre 10.15-11 Emma & The Magic Bag, St Andrew’s Primary School, Fontmell 11-12 Mini Movers at Tisbury Sports Centre 1.30-3, Mere Babes, Mere Childrens Centre

Library Times

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Blandford Dorchester Gillingham

10am-6.30pm 10am-5.30pm 10am-1pm

9.30am-5pm 9.30am-7pm 9.30am-6.30pm

Closed 9.30am-1pm Closed

9.30am-6.30pm 9.30am-5.30pm 9.30am-5pm

9.30am-4pm 9am-4pm 9.30am-4pm

Mere Milborne Port

10am-7pm Closed

9.30am-1pm Closed

9.30am-5pm Closed

Shaftesbury

10am-5pm

9.30am-5pm 9.30am-1pm 2-5.30pm 9.30am-5pm

Closed

9.30am-6.30pm

Stalbridge

2-5pm

10am-12.30pm

Closed

Sherborne

10am-7pm

10am-12.30pm 2-5.30pm 9.30am-1.30pm

9.30am-1pm 9.30am-7pm 9.30am6.30pm 9.30am-5pm 9.30am-1pm 2-5.30pm 9.30am12.30pm 2-5.30pm

Closed

9.30am-7pm

9.30am-4pm

Sturminster Newton Tisbury

9.30am-12.30pm

2-5pm

Closed

2-5pm 5.30-7.30pm 9.30-1.30pm 2.30-5pm

Closed

10am-1pm

9.30-1.30pm 2.30-5pm

9.30am-1.30pm 2.30-5pm

10am-6.30pm 10am-7pm

9.30am-1pm 9.30am-5pm

Closed 9am-12.30pm

9.30am5.30pm 9.30am-12.30pm 2-5pm 2-6.30pm Closed 2-5pm 5.30-7.30pm Closed 9.30am1.30pm 2.30-6.30pm 9.30am-6.30pm 9.30am-5pm 9.30am-7pm 9.30am-5pm

Wincanton

Wimborne Warminster

28

Thursday

9.30am-1pm 9.30am-12.30pm 9.30am-1pm 9.30am-12.30pm

9am-12.30pm Closed 9.30am-1pm

9.30am-4pm 9.30am-4pm

Animal antics and family fun

V

isitors young and old will enjoy this fantastic family show held near Bridport.

There really is something for everyone as this event ticks all the boxes, one of the oldest agricultural shows in the UK, it is a showcase for the farming community with entertainment galore. Get ‘curried away’ by entering the best curry competition, open to all ages so if you have a budding chef in the family then why not enter their dish? If you are partial to making your own sausages then there is also an award up for grabs for the best banger. As seen on Britain's Got Talent, the Bolddog Lings Freestyle motorcylce display team will be taking over the main ring - a must see! With over 300 different trade stalls you can enjoy a spot of shopping too not to mention the Food Hall which will of course be full of retailers offering the best of local produce including meat, cheese and chutney. Animal lovers can see the show classes including cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, donkeys and horses.

Other exhibits include vintage tractors and classic cars as well as face painting, entertainment and a fun fair. Really is a crowd pleaser.

Inside Out Things to do Places to go

F

estival family Fun

Angel gardens are back once again in the fields of bliss at Blissfields Get Your Skates On! Festival this summer. Angel Sam is in oller discos are back (did charge of all the amazing child friendly they ever really leave us I activities. The White Rabbit Caberet tent offers dance, drama, yoga and music, of wonder?) What a great way to have fun and exercise with course the disco is geared up for kids the family. Our top three are: too with an embarrasisng Dad dancing competition! The discos are themed, ■ Tisbury Leisure Centre, one night onesies and one Christmas Wilts, Tuesdays 3.30pmcomplete with a new year countdown.

4.30pm and Friday 5.45pmWith ponies to groom, meet and 6.45pm fantastic value at ride on the saturday and an under 7s a pound each and a great craft and make tent as well as themed way to burn off steam after school. You can hire skates or workshops and talks for the over 7s there is something for everyone. Kid's take your own. choirs, bands, treasure hunts, sports ■ Ferndown Leisure Centre, days and entertainers - Blissfields Dorset have one every really has a lot to offer the younger Sunday 4.30pm-6pm, with guests. The Angel Gardens contain all lasers, a smoke machine, DJ, games and disco lighting - this sorts of nonsense from waterless duck melplashshow.co.uk 21st Aug 2014 races, staff vs kids tug of war and a has got to be a fun thing to tournament of silly games. If you have a do post the roast! birthday that weekend bring a cake and ■ The BIC in Bournemouth his part of the world is host to some of the register on the Friday night to take part have an enormous full on country’s oldest traditional agricultural fairs and in the giant birthday party on Saturday roller disco happening this shows. Nostalgia and modern farming techniques merge what could make for a more unique way half term. For over 4s only at these fantastic events. Here are just a few to keep to mark the day for adults or children?! these two hour session run your ‘young farmers’ interested this summer: There are parties all weekend that you Mendip Country Fair 14 July. from 24th May - 1st June. can join in with, no invite required, just There is an adults’ only one Yesterday’s Farming show, on 24th in the evening if you head to the Big Top for themes such as Crewkerne, 16-17 Aug. pirates, princesses, magic and science. feel like reliving your youth!

Of course babies and toddlers are not Mid Somerset Show, forgotten, with songs, hand casts and Shepton Mallet, 17 Aug. changing facilities. With great bands for Gillingham and Shaftesbury mum and dad too this is one for all the Show, 20 Aug. family. blissfields.co.uk 4/5th July 2014

T

R

Rural Days Out

EXCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVE

C

ountry Child magazine are pleased to be involved with an exciting new local venture. Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Kingcombe Centre at Toller Pocorum are launching their birthday parties this May in conjunction with Country Child magazine. We were lucky enough to enjoy a taster day to see what would happen at a ‘Free Range’ Kingcombe party. It all kicks off with a fireside introduction to break the ice followed by safety tips of course. Games of ‘Whose Pooh?’ and ‘Whose Skull’ seem to interest boys and girls alike - quite a challenge too! Then children can make their own wooden pendants that they saw themselves, cook damper bread on the fire on a willow fork and enjoy with a local Wild Boar sausage and Kingcombe ketchup. For a sweet treat the Chocolate Orange Bomb Cake is a winner - cooked in the fire of course! With mementos of the day, the option to make a ‘Woodland Friend’, and plenty of space to roam and explore with the Forest School trained Vic close by, a Free Range Kingcombe party is ideal for children who want to do something a little bit different., available all year round so book one now! kingcombe.org

29

L ARMER T REE T O L L A R D R O Y A L , S A L I SB U R Y , W ILTSHIRE SP5 5 P Y 01725 516 971

OPEN DAY

S U N DAY 1 5 TH J UNE 2 0 14

“It’s great being a part of this community and I have amazing friends” OPENING OF OUR NEW PAVILION

EVERYONE WELCOME!

Gardens & Coffee Grove Café Open Sunday to Thursday 11.00am to 4.30pm

“Rare to find such an outstanding boarding school... Buzzes with confident, gregarious girls” Good Schools Guide

www.godolphin.org

www.larmertreegardens.co.uk

SIN

!

E C N A D !

G

AC

!

W O TN

The largest network of part-time performing arts schools in the UK with 600 branches.

Teaching skills for life to 4 - 18 year olds for 25 years.

Stagecoach Shaftesbury

are now taking bookings for next term!

Call: 01305 777308

shaftesbury@stagecoach.co.uk www.stagecoach.co.uk/shaftesbury

30

EN

RO L NO LING W!

International Jazz Guitarist to play Frome Festival!

Show and Tell A guide to local live entertainment We’re going on a Bug Hunt!

Albare, aka Albert Dadon, is joining the headliners at the Frome Festival this summer. Now in its fourteenth year, this festival is a celebration of the arts with a wealth of events running from 4-13th July. The award winning Moroccan born musician is bringing his musical prowess and originality to the Somerset town on 10th July at The Cheese and Grain.

With international musical influences and an esteemed and varied career this could be a treat for the parents on a summer’s eve!

I

fromefestival.co.uk

Head to the BIC in Bournemouth this summer holiday to see this amazing exhibition. Delve into the magnified world of mini beasts, this highly interactive show is guaranteed to fascinate all ages. See human sized models of creepy crawlies, some up to 180 times the size of the original f its live entertainment you’re after this summer then a insect. With smart screens festival is a veritable banquet. This year, with an overall and things to smell and touch, circus theme, Camp Bestival 2014 is set to wow audiences beware sensory overload! like never before. Favourites the Insect Circus and Kawa Flash Mob - Where This is a show not easily Circus will be back as will the Royal Albert Hall’s band with Dance Worlds Collide forgotten. 19 July - 31 Aug their circus themed orchestral extravaganza. And they’re still his is a must see show for bic.co.uk not finished! Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, to celebrate dance fans of all ages. See your the Circus theme in glorious Camp Bestival style, we’d like favourite stars from television shows you to put your hands together to welcome the fabulous new such as Strictly Come Dancing, venue, The Greatest Tent on Earth! Beneath its canopy you will Got to Dance and So You Think witness jaw-dropping circus shows, astonishing extravaganzas, Can Dance as well as Flawless tremendous theatre performances and characters galore. (pictured below) from Britain’s Got Behold: A new, unique, eye-popping, ear-tickling evening Talent. Whether you like Latin or performance; Gandini Juggling Remixed by Rob da Bank; hulaLocking, Celtic or Contemporary, hooping marvel Marawa The Amazing; the highly acclaimed this is an emotive and dynamic BRIT School who will share a never-been-seen-before Circus production not to be missed. themed performance; elite song and dance group West End Lighthouse Theatre, Poole 10th July Kids; Christian Lee’s new magical miming comedy show POP!; lighthousepoole.co.uk alternative teen star Catherine Bennett; our local Dorset singing maestros Funky Little Choir and many more besides!

Sat proudly at the top of the Kids Garden, The Greatest Tent on Earth is brand new, super-exciting and is guaranteed to amaze, entertain and astound you all weekend long.

As well as The Greatest Tent On Earth, you’ll be kept on your toes adding even more ace new areas and attractions to this year’s Camp Bestival, so keep an eye out for news of The Feast Collective, Caravanserai, Oberon’s Observatory, TeenArena and Travelling Barn coming soon! This is a live performance mecca, before we even get into mentioning the bands!

31st July-3rd August at Lulworth Castle, Dorset. Tickets available through ticketline.co.uk/ camp-bestival 0844 8884410 see campbestival.net for full line up

T

31

Garden Clippings

by Josie Potter josie@countrychild.co.uk

June

The busiest month! Focus on watering newly planted young plants and vegetables as well as anything in pots if its warm. Pull up weeds whilst they are small, much easier and dig out perennial weeds or they will return.

Stay on top of the dead-heading for more blooms, especially plants like phlox and hardy geraniums. Watch the roses for greenfly and if you use a spray do it later in the evening when the beneficial insects are not so active.

Staying with roses remove any suckers from bushes pulling, rather than cutting, from the root and they will be less likely to grow again. Hanging baskets are popular and rightly so but a lot of work whether you buy ready planted or fill your own, as in the heat, especially on a south facing wall they will need attention twice a day. Well worth the effort I think for all the months of pleasure and colour they bring to the garden. Keep on top of mowing the lawn! Early potatoes may be ready at the end of June, a real treat.

Protect small runner bean plants against slugs and again keep the young plants watered well.

Tomatoes can be planted outside now and fed with a high potash fertiliser every week throughout the growing season. Cucumbers can be treated in the same way ie fed and watered well. If you like turnips they could go in now for an Autumn crop as well as the winter brassicas. First strawberries should be ready this month, these too will need to be checked for pests, if you can get some straw it will keep them dry and away from the soil too. In the greenhouse make sure plants don’t get too hot and dry! A busy but rewarding month as the fruits of all the labours begin to be enjoyed.

July

It's the school holidays, so if you are going away make sure there will be someone to water and cut the lawn for you! Nothing worse than coming home to a garden of wilting plants and a scorched greenhouse.

A good month for taking cuttings, the warm days and nights are ideal for this. Try taking some from hydrangeas and conifers as well as clematis. Prune wisteria, cut back the whippy growths made during the Summer so that they are within five or six buds of the main stems. Divide irises, cut back faded flowers and try layering pinks and carnations for some new stock, just peg the stems into the ground and new roots will form. Keep moist. Harvest vegetables as and when they are ready, potatoes definitely and shallots too if we’ve had a warm spell. Onions are ready when the leaves turn yellow and flop, leave them on the surface if it’s dry and then store them carefully. Salad crops can still be planted and carrots too. Tomatoes grown outside should have the tops pinched out now after they have formed four trusses, this is usually enough as our Summers are not normally long enough to grow more. Keep runner beans moist. After the last strawberries have been picked trim the leaves and tidy the bed ready for next year.…

August

Feed and water plants, and fill up bird baths too! Trim lavender once the flowers have faded and prune rambling roses after flowering. Cut and dry herbs for winter use or freeze in ice cube trays, very effective!

Remove yellowing leaves from tomatoes and keep the watering on a regular basis to avoid the fruits splitting and rotting at the base.

Plant any new strawberry plants and if you have some fruit trees the very first apples and pears will be just about ready for you to pick.

This is the month with the least to do in the garden, so, if the weather allows and we have a repeat of last Summer, sit outside with something cool and just enjoy it while it lasts!

32

SUMMER LOOK OUT with BBC’s MARTIN HUGHES-GAMES

S

ummer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” So said author Henry James and it’s hard to disagree. A bicycle ride, a walk or just stepping outside into the garden on a summer’s day reveals an exciting new world of natural wonders.

Cockchafers Large tawny brown, slightly scary (but totally harmless) beetles you sometimes find in large numbers bashing against your windows at night then tottering about clumsily on the ground. Look out for the seven-leaved antennae of the male cockchafer, which he uses to try to find the females.

Swifts One of the most amazing animals on earth, black scythe-winged birds that come to the UK to nest in Summer. When the chicks fly the nest for the very first time they will not touch the ground again for two to four years, feeding, drinking, even sleeping on the wing. I always think it must feel so odd to be a swift, coming into land for the first time after being airborne for literally years.

Bats Start to emerge in April and get busy hunting insects to feed up after their long winter hibernation. Go out bat watching at dusk on a warm summer night and you’ll probably see them suddenly change direction as they home in on a tasty moth or gnat. If you toss a small pebble up into the air you can sometimes get them to come and investigate, this is called “bat stoning”.

Dragonflies and Damselflies Come in a variety of brilliant colours. You can tell the difference between them nothing like plunging your nose into because when they land, Dragonflies always hold their wings out sideways whereas damselflies fold their wings the dense creamy white flowers over their backs. In midsummer, male and female often of meadow sweet and breathing fly joined together in what’s called the “tandem position”. in the rich honey vanilla smell.

Try to see how they hold onto each other as they whizz Glorious. Meadow sweet used around! to be scattered on the floor in churches during weddings hence one of its other names “bridewort” Fox cubs Are born underground in March or April, and start to emerge from the den six weeks later. I was once walking quietly down a field and came across a Slow worms Snakes and slow group of tiny cubs fighting and playing in the grass. They didn’t notice me and eventually went to sleep in a heap worms (actually legless lizards) with fat tummies and legs in the air. regularly shed their skins. The old skin splits at the head end then, catching on a bit of undergrowth, Kingfishers In summer, look out for the flash of a turns inside out and peels off, like kingfisher zooming along a river near you. The kingfisher is dazzling electric blue, with contrasting chestnut-brown taking off a sock. You may find shed skins out on a summer walk. under parts – one of the most beautiful birds in the world.

In summer, kingfishers nest in holes dug in the banks of If you put a bit of old corrugated rivers - the male digs the nest and the females fight for iron out in the garden slow worms might come and hide away both the male and the nest he has dug! underneath it - they eat slugs so Flying ant swarms On just one day of the year, are great to have around. because of a precise conjunction of temperature, humidity Wild strawberries Delicious! and day length, flying ants explode from underground.

Whilst most ants in a nest are wingless female workers, I know a huge bank of wild flying ants are a mix of unmated females (“princesses”) strawberries near where I live and males. Once mated “princesses” become “queens” and, and I go there every year for a after landing and rubbing her wings off on a convenient summer feast. There is nothing stone, the queen is ready to start a new colony. A queen like the intense taste “hit” of a small, delicious (sun-warmed) wild ant can live for up to 30 years - one of the longest lived insects on earth. strawberry.

Meadow sweet There is

The Great

Outdoors

Miranda Avis hits the beach and ‘Rocks Out’ with her family to discover the hidden gems in our rockpools.

W

ith the arrival of the summer months, we all start to plan al fresco activities for the school holidays; family picnics, country walks and, of course, trips to the beach. Some of our most cherished childhood memories revolve around time spent visiting the seaside; car boots filled to the brim, buckets and spades retrieved from the loft and picnic hampers dusted off and packed with mouthwatering delights.

As a child, my favourite part of a trip to the seaside was, without doubt, the excitement of rockpooling and the (several!) decades since have done little to dampen this passion. Clambering over sea-carved rocks and hunting for marine treasure with my family was truly magical, and something I love to do nowadays with my own children.

Britain’s rocky shores provide tremendous opportunities for rockpooling. When planning a rockpooling adventure, studying the tide times before leaving home is an absolute must. The best time to go is during a low tide when the water has retreated, revealing lots of rock pools.

Rockpooling is one activity that doesn’t cost the earth to prepare for, in fact, quite the opposite as you’ll see from this list: ■ Pair of wellies ■ Plastic bucket or container (preferably clear) ■ Fishing net ■ Magnifying glass ■ Guidebook By cutting the bottom off an empty, clear plastic bottle and replacing it with Clingfilm, you have the perfect underwater viewer, enabling everyone to clearly see what’s lurking in the pools.

The shore is a harsh and constantly changing environment in which many plants and animals must survive, adapting to a vast range of environmental stresses. At one point in the day they are submerged in water while at other times they are exposed to the unforgiving heat of the sun. I recommend heading straight to the low shore (the area nearest the sea), as this is where you’ll find the most exciting mix of creatures. But do take a minute or two to look at the rocks on the upper shores as you pass by.

You’re guaranteed to see Barnacles and Limpets; some of the planet’s laziest creatures! Dismissed by many as ‘boring’, the hardy Barnacle is a member of the crab family although it never moves from its spot on the rocks. It feeds at high tide by opening the hole at the top of its head and sticking out long feathery feet, which then hunt for food. So, whilst they may look comfortable, barnacles spend their entire lives standing on their heads!

Limpets however, are a little more adventurous and will move about at high tide, feeding on algae. If you look at the patch of rock surrounding a limpet, it may very well be clear, an indication that it’s been eating well!

When approaching your chosen rock pool, make sure you stand at the pool’s edge (not in it!) and try not to cast your shadow into the water. Keeping voices low is important, as the creatures you’re hoping to spot are both sensitive and shy. I always begin by filling my bucket with seawater so that it’s ready for me to put my rockpooling finds into. A rockpool will have numerous nooks and crannies; perfect hiding places for a host of critters. Begin your hunt by carefully turning over rocks and stones and looking amongst the wafting seaweed. Smaller children can be scared of putting their hands into the water, but using a small net can quickly alleviate any fear.

Here are my Five Favourite Finds: Hermit Crabs are one of the best Rockpooling finds and the good news is that they’re widespread around the British coast.

These critters don’t have their own hard shell, but instead spend their lives living in the empty shells of other animals. Picking up a sea snail shell to discover it is, in fact, home to a hermit crab can be both alarming and exciting in equal measure!

The Cushion Starfish is a fascinating marine creature and one you have a strong chance of spotting. Not only can starfish regenerate lost arms, but they also start life as males and change to females at four years of age. And, when it comes to feeding, the cushion starfish pushes its stomach out of its mouth to surround the food…bizarre!

Shore Crabs are one of the most common of the crab species.

Usually dark green in colour, these eight-legged carnivorous critters will eat pretty much anything they come across. Keep an eye on their pincers as Shore Crabs can give a little nip!

If you come across a red, jelly-like blob attached to the rocks the chances are you’ve discovered a Beadlet Anemone. When covered by the sea, these ‘blobs’ become a beautiful vision of 192 stinging tentacles, wafting in the water on the look out for an unsuspecting prawn.

Whilst the name Long Spined Sea Scorpion may not sound like the friendliest of animals, you needn’t be alarmed as they are actually harmless. In fact, you may just overlook them, as they tend to sit very still on the bottom of the rockpool, blending in with their surroundings. They need to be kept in water at all times.

Although children may beg to take their new-found ‘friends’ home, it’s important to return all critters back to the pools where they were found, right side up. Oh, and if you want to take a shell home as a keepsake…make sure it’s empty!

Happy Adventures, Miranda x

Expert Tip This Summer

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PLAYTIME Country Child explores how Play Therapy can help children cope with a broad range of difficulties

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s parents or carers, we naturally worry when a child has a problem that causes them to be sad, anxious, rebellious, or unable to cope. There might be concerns about a child’s low self-esteem, their angry or withdrawn behaviour, eating and sleeping patterns or about their relationships with parents, siblings or peers. Sometimes these difficulties can be resolved within the family, but occasionally a child may benefit from more specialist help.

Play Therapy is an increasingly popular and respected approach to helping children and young people understand and to cope with muddled feelings and upsetting events in an age-appropriate way. Lisa Gordon Clark, a locally-based Play Therapist, explains: “Rather than describing in words what is troubling them, as adult therapy usually expects, children use play to communicate. In the metaphors and stories of their spontaneous imaginative play, a child can express and sort out feelings that are just too complex or painful for them to put into words.” Because play is children’s natural form of expression, the way they make sense of the world, emotions can be explored at their own level and at their own pace, without the child feeling threatened or interrogated.

The Play Therapist remains non-judgemental and follows the child’s lead as they play in whatever way they want, within a few basic limits for mutual safety.

The child is encouraged to choose resources including arts and craft materials, dressing-up props, sand and water, clay, small figures and animals, toy vehicles, musical instruments, puppets and books to express themselves freely, without having to provide verbal explanations. Sometimes a troubled child may re-enact traumatic or difficult life experiences in order to make sense of their past and cope better with their future. Over time, children usually come to feel more positive about themselves and can learn to manage relationships, conflicts and losses in more appropriate ways.

Play Therapists typically start with a consultation meeting to listen to the parents’ concerns, reviewing their child’s history and finding out about the stresses they and the family have been through. After the introductory meeting with the child, the therapeutic sessions themselves tend to be individual and confidential, or as Lisa prefers to explain to the child: ”It’s ‘private’ but it’s not ‘secret’ - the child can tell whoever they want to about what they have played with me if they choose to - but I will not share exact details about what they have said or done with anyone without their permission, unless I am worried they are at risk. That helps an apprehensive child to feel safe and trust that I’m not ‘going behind their back’ to tell on them“. But, Lisa continues, “that’s not to say that parents are shut out or

excluded! I hold regular review meetings with parents, not only to evaluate progress, but also to feed back on broad themes when appropriate and to share insights emerging from the child’s play that will help parents better understand their child.”

Some Play Therapists have also had training in filial therapy and work with parents alongside their child, teaching them to play with them using these child-centred techniques.

For more information on Play Therapy bapt.info

A child’s view...

“My name is Jenny and when I was six my Mummy and Daddy started arguing. It was scary and I didn’t like it when I could hear them shouting. I tried to stop them but I couldn’t; sometimes I thought that it was my fault. They said they were going to get divorced. Daddy moved to a new house and I didn’t see him very much. I missed him. I cried a lot and didn’t want to go to school and leave Mummy behind. That was a horrid time and I had a lot of tummy aches and nightmares.

One day, mummy took me to meet a lady called Lisa who had loads of toys and stuff. Although I wasn’t sure at first if I would like her, she was really nice and friendly and her toys were really cool. Lisa let me choose what I wanted to play with. My favourite things at first were all these slimes and squelchy goos and pots of fart putty that made really rude noises. That made me and Lisa both laugh and I started to have fun!

A bit later, I decided to play with this big dolls house and I made up lots of stories, a bit like some of the things that had happened in my real house, before Daddy went away.

Lisa didn’t ask me any nosy questions about that which I was glad about, but sometimes I told her anyway or she seemed just to understand without me explaining. Mostly, I just played and she joined in too if I wanted.

After a while, I realised that I wasn’t having so many bad dreams or headaches. I was still sad quite a lot and still missed Daddy badly so Mummy and I decided I could carry on having more playtimes with Lisa. I think I went about fifteen times in the end and then we said goodbye. Now I’m nearly eight and I’m OK but I’m glad I had Lisa to play with when I was not happy and when everything was so confusing and hard.”

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It benefits from an amazingly impressive interior full of Georgian grace and character. This three bedroom apartment will welcome all the family for Christmas and special occasions and then give space for Grandparents to relax in their own domain throughout the rest of the year. No need to worry about climbing the stairs to the top, the communal hallway provides a lift. Again don't worry about the garden chores as this is all maintained under the lease agreement. Simply unwind, relax and enjoy your retirement!

Tisbury has a good range of individual shops and a great pub, The Beckford Arms is nearby as well as a station on the London to Waterloo line.

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Mere, Wiltshire £625,000 A style lead barn conversion, beautifully designed will make any down size easier than you may think. The open plan feel a barn conversion provides is hard to beat. They do however force the issue of decluttering and letting some items go but the results are always worth it! Here is another three bedroom home with two en-suites that will provide ideal guest accommodation and the quarter of an acre garden will keep you busy and those fingers green! Mere has fantastic links to the A303 enabling easy transport links to see family and the town itself has a variety of shops, pubs, countryside walks, seasonal events and the superb Yapps Brothers Wine store!

Tarrant Keyneston, Dorset £565,000 A delight for gardening fans this chocolate box cottage would be a pleasure to reside in later years. Originally two dwellings the property has evolved over the years to what is on offer today. One complete thatched home with over a third of an acre full of established plants to tend to. With two good size bedrooms to fit all the necessary furniture and more but you can leave the wardrobe behind as the master suite with en-suite has the addition of a dressing room allowing more valuable storage space. In just under half an hour you can be on the coast watching the boats go by, enjoying an ice cream. Perfect!

Castle Cary, Somerset £270,000 The ultimate down size option is a cottage in close proximity to the local shops in a bustling and popular Somerset town.

The courtyard garden allows days to be all about relaxing with a good book in the summer sun without having to worry about maintaining a lawn. This three bedroom property has been well looked after and has some charming features to fall on love with including fireplaces and a stunning galleried landing. The small and friendly country town has all you need on a day to day basis but the near by Paddington line into London retains links to the city.

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HIT THE BOOKS PHOTOGRAPHY MILLIE PILKINGTON FOR PINEWOOD SCHOOL

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Miranda Avis looks at reading and literacy and the links with our children’s social skills.

rnest Hemingway once wrote, “There is no friend as loyal as a book” – a belief many of us can appreciate. Curling up with a favourite book is one of life’s simple pleasures; an enjoyable activity relished by all generations.

Yet, the benefits of reading go far beyond the purely pleasurable. Studies carried out by the National Literary Trust (NLT) have shown that children who read outside of the classroom are 13 times more likely to read above the expected level for their age and it’s anticipated they’ll go on to enjoy academic success. As the pages turn, a young reader is subconsciously learning a multitude of vital life skills; thoughts are shaped, opinions formed and young minds empowered by the written word. Cotswolds based author, Belinda Roberts, equates a good book to a tasty sweet, “They’re delicious, tasty treats to chomp and chew and hope for more” she explains.

“But whilst sweets rot your teeth and dissolve into nothingness books stay with you forever, colouring your imagination and taking you to worlds far beyond the everyday.”

However, today’s children live in a world of glitzy technological distraction. Social media, smart phones, digital tablets and numerous television channels are constantly vying for our children’s attentions. According to Ofcom, household ownership of digital tablets has more than doubled in the past year and where there are children in those households, they tend to be users too. Forty-three per cent of 5-15s have a social networking profile, rising to 80% of 12-15s and, with more than 40,000 gaming Apps available for download, it’s not surprising that technology is taking a degree of control over our children’s extra curricular activities.

Whilst modern technology certainly has its role in young peoples lives, it’s important that it doesn’t have a negative impact on our children’s reading. As parents, it is our role to encourage our children to read when perhaps other avenues may appear more enticing to them! As the children’s author, Emilie Buchwald, said, “children are made readers on the laps of their parents.”

Simple everyday actions by parents, such as us being seen reading by our children can contribute positively to how books are perceived by our offspring. Indeed, according to the NLT, young people who get a lot of encouragement to read from their mother or father are more likely to consider themselves readers and enjoy reading for pleasure.

The benefits of frequent trips to the local library have been widely documented. Libraries give children the opportunity to nurture an ongoing love for reading and, over time, a thirst for knowledge starts to evolve. With each visit, young minds become that little bit more inquisitive about the world around them and a lifelong hunger to learn is gradually established.

With Internet giants such as Amazon holding the monopoly on book sales these days, it is little surprise that independent high street bookshops are sadly becoming a thing of the past. Seeking out original, individual books is often a challenge, yet something we still try to do.

Caroline Moore runs the small online bookstore, Imagination Adventures, from her home in Salisbury. Specialising in books for children up to seven years of age, Imagination Adventures does the ground work for its customers; sourcing wonderful storybooks

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from a host of authors. As a mother, Caroline is tuned into what the younger generations like to read and, as a result, is a font of all knowledge when it comes to buying books for children.

The South West is blessed with being a fertile breeding ground for emerging children’s authors. This June farmer’s wife, Olivia Tuffin, launches the first in a trilogy of wonderful tales for the pony loving reader. As a child, Olivia spent her time either riding ponies or reading about them, “Reading is a wonderful hobby, it offers escapism into an entirely new world” she explains. In 2010, Olivia discovered a gap in the market for what she describes as “good, old fashioned pony stories for girls” and decided to put pen to paper and amend the situation.

Dorset based children’s author, Rebecca Westcott, is the author of the ‘funny, utterly touching and absolutely heart-warming’ book, Dandelion Clocks. As a children’s author, Rebecca clearly appreciates the importance of reading for the younger generation.

“Children are living in the same families, the same world, as adults.

They experience many of the same difficulties and are aware of the worries of their parents. They need books that will help them to understand challenging situations and form their own opinions about how they feel, while at the same time allowing them to explore new scenarios on their own terms, at a pace they feel happy with.”

For children with a passion for all things digital, the arrival of e-books has been met with a warm welcome. Indeed, with the advent of the iPad and Kindle, e-book sales have soared dramatically in the past three years, “It is entirely possible that in years to come, people will be more used to reading from a screen than a page” said Sarah Odedina, managing director of Hot Key Books, a publisher of children’s fiction. Whilst this prediction may terrify some parents who fear that their children will forget what a real book is, local author, Lottie Page can see the benefits.

“My books have been printed in paperback and are also available electronically,” she explains. “Children who like to use gadgets will possibly feel more at home with a Kindle than a book. At the end of the day, it amounts to the same thing – children are reading, and we must encourage them to do so, in any way we can.”

In today’s world, children’s exposure to and use of texts starts from an early age and the use of text speak, or txt spk as it is more often referred, is being blamed by many for falling standards of English in our young people. By continuing to expose our children to books and encourage a love for reading, the hope is that the future generations will not lose the ability to tackle complex language structures or indeed complex thought.

Whilst modern technology, and all that it stands for, is very much a part of everyday life, making time to sit down and read a book with our children is hugely important. Not to mention, the tactile appreciation we feel by holding a book; a trusty companion.

The smell of the old, the crispness of the new, the comfortable familiarity of well-thumbed pages and the pleasure derived from sharing a trusty favourite with family and friends. Who better to sum up the value of this age-old activity than the late, great Roald Dahl?

READ INTO IT

Photograph Miranda Avis

Available from Amazon and local stockists...

Dandelion Clocks

 Rebecca Westcott (Dorset) From £5.03 Billie Book of  The Mysteries Lottie Page (Dorset) From £3.08 - kindle edition Daisy Drama Club

 ON TOUR!

Belinda Roberts (Cotswolds) From £5.25 Pirate Small in Big

 Trouble

Julie Sykes (Hampshire) From £5.94 The Palamino

 Pony Comes Home Olivia Tuffin (Wiltshire) From £4.49 Woodlice World

 Patrick Caruth

(Dorset) From £5.00

FACE UP TO IT GREAT FACES of DORSET

After a three year journey capturing the faces of Dorset’s characterful men and women, Millie Pilkington will be launching her book this Autumn with Elizabeth Pope. From Olympians, Actors, Pilots and Priests each have a story to tell. Subscribe by the 31st July for a signed copy £20 dovecotepress.com published in October ‘14

millie pilkington & elizabeth pope

oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, ❜❜ So please, Go throw your TV set away.

And in its place you can install, A lovely bookshelf on the wall.

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Happy reading!

FARMERS & DRAMAS Local farmer’s wife and vet Anna Birch, has written a funny, endearing and insightful look at life in the country.

Expect hilarious anecdotes and tales from her true life misadventures as a rural vet. From £5.59 amazon.co.uk

41

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veryone wants the best for their children and none of us know what the future holds. I believe that with a little forward planning it is possible to give your children the best future and the best education.

You might be looking at: • A tax efficient way of building up savings for future school fees • Spreading the cost of current school fees • Protecting the school fees in the event of your death, illness or incapacity

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Whatever your situation, I can help you plan for your children’s future by providing you with a range of financial solutions to help you invest on behalf of your loved ones. For further information, or to request your complimentary guide to school fees planning, contact: An investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds selected and may fall as well as rise.You may get back less than the amount invested.

PETER HARDING PRACTICE LTD Principal Partner Practice of St. James’s Place Wealth Management

PARTNERS I N M ANAG I NG YOUR WEA LT H

Tucks House, Foyle Hill, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 0AG Tel: 01747 855554 Email: peter.harding@sjpp.co.uk Web: www.sjpp.co.uk/peterharding

The Partner Practice represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/products.

The title ‘Partner Practice’ is the marketing term used to describe St. James’s Place representatives.

Celebrating 10 years of Girls at Sandroyd

www.sandroyd.org Sandroyd

01725 516 264

Acres of development potential for your child

A Co-Ed Boarding and Day School for children aged 3 - 13 situated on the Dorset / Wiltshire border 42

BOOKWORMS

Motcombe Church of England Primary School is a successful village school, achieving 2nd this year in the Dorset League tables for KS2. The school is surrounded by beautiful North Dorset countryside and situated between the towns of Gillingham and Shaftesbury. The school is centred around the original Victorian school building with the addition of a modern well equipped school hall and five large classrooms. There are extensive grounds including an adventure playground, a small games area, a netball court, an outdoor stage, a conservation area, outdoor classroom, a spiritual garden and a large field.

For visits to our school please contact the school office by  01747 852018 or email: office@motcombe.dorset. sch.uk

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

by Eric Carle – Max Pinder, age 8 This book is a real page turner because you always want to know what will happen next! It is about a caterpillar that eats different kinds of fruit every day of the week. However, on Saturday he eats a very unhealthy feast. I loved the ending because he turns into a vast, colourful and bright butterfly. The pictures in this book are really bright and eye-catching. There are also flaps to lift that younger children will love.

Motcombe C of E Primary School, Dorset

My Friend Walter by Michael Morpurgo – Lexie Sapsford, age 9 This book was a real page turner. It was about a child who goes to a family reunion and meets an old man under a cloak, who tells him the story of the ghost of Sir Walter Raleigh in the tower of London. My favourite part was when the ghost of Sir Walter Raleigh lets a large stallion out of its field (that made me laugh). I found the book funny and sad at different times of the story.

Cookie by Jacqueline Wilson – Harriet Curtis, age 10 As soon as I saw this book it caught my eye.

Eagerness and desperation hooks everybody in and this book has the full package.

A little girl called Beauty Cookson who absolutely hates her name and gets bullied all the time. She lives with her beautiful mum and her horrible dad. But can she survive with her dad’s hurtful criticism? Will Beauty and her mum ever have a happy life together?

The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pinchon – Nelson Burles, age 8 This amazing book is all about a boy called Tom Gates and he’s always getting into trouble.

When his teachers are not looking he likes to draw and make up ways to annoy his sister Delia. When you get to the end of a page you always want to read more.

I recommend this book to children aged six and over.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare – Naomi Bannister, age 10 A magnificent story on heartbreak, love, hatred and betrayal has lifted me out of my seat.

Shakespeare brings a great start to increase your reading skills with Romeo and Juliet.You would think Shakespeare’s work to be more advanced but thanks to the great work of technology all ages can read. I would recommend this book or any book in the series to anyone over nine.

The Hobbit by J.R. Tolkien – Fleur Dutton, age 11 A thrilling tale based on an ordinary hobbit, Bilbo Baggins who lives in the Shire. The Shire is no ordinary place it’s full of hobbits. When Bilbo Baggins gets a visitor from his past. Gandalf the wandering wizard turns up with a band of dwarfs on his doorstep.

Bilbo Baggins joins the dwarfs in a quest to help reclaim their homeland, with many life threatening dangerous incidents along the way.

Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl – Aimee Brawn, age 8 This book is about a family of foxes who live in a tunnel under a huge tree in a wood and they steal from farmers.

The farmers are interesting characters because they are all mean in different ways! However, Mr Fox is quite different though because he is kind to his family but a little bit cheeky! I enjoy this book because it is very adventurous. I would recommend this book to children aged six and up because it is very, very funny.

Blackbones Saves the School

by Alan MacDonald – Alex Walters, age 9 The book is about Class 4 who have a pirate for a teacher and the head teacher (Miss Lupin) does not like this new teacher!

My favourite part is at the end because they go for sailing lessons but actually they’re trying to look for treasure! I like this book because at the beginning Class 4 terrorise Class 3 and they make them go up the diving board and force them to jump.

Jasper’s Beanstalk by Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen – Ducklings Class: Charlotte Cox, Max Hemming, William Marshall, Tabitha Redman, Eva Laurie and Keira Ealson-Taylor, aged 4-5 It’s about a chubby black and white cat called Jasper who plants a bean. He rakes, sprays, hoes, waters and mows to get it to grow, explains Charlotte and Max. Will and Tabitha added that Jasper gets grumpy because it doesn’t grow but it has a happy ending.

Eva really liked the last page when Jasper went looking for giants. Keira and Max thought the story would be better if Jasper had friends like puppies and hippos to help him!

Be A Bookworm

This page provides an opportunity for local schools to promote themselves through their pupils' book reviews. If you would like us to feature your school, please email info@countrychild.co.uk for further details.

43

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Examples of their work are also on display. We offer a complete service for measuring, design, and ¿WWLQJ IRU ¿UH VXUURXQGV DQG ÀRRULQJ

MELBURY STONE natural and timeless

Open Monday – Saturday 9am to 5pm Alternative times by appointment.

West Melbury Farm, Melbury Abbas, Shaftesbury, Dorset. SP7 0LX Tel: 01747 812798 Mobile: 07799111029 info@melburystone.co.uk / www.melburystone.co.uk / Facebook: Melbury

TH Country Child Half Page Summer 2014_Layout 1 08/04/2014 10:59 Page 1

KINDERGARTEN

Talbot Heath3

Independent School for Girls aged -18 HONOUR BEFORE HONOURS

PRE-PREP

JUNIOR

SENIOR

6TH FORM

BOARDING

100% of our pupils achieved or exceeded in every Early Learning Goal in the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile 2013

• Kindergarten from £27 per session • Outstanding Early Years Provision ISI 2011 • Set in acres of beautiful woodland • A level 82% A*-B, 20% A* • GCSE 70% A* - A • National finalists in fourteen sports • Superb achievements in both music and drama

Talbot Heath School Rothesay Road, Bournemouth, Dorset

Tel: 01202 761881

www.talbotheath.org

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OPEN MORNING early October Please call for date and timing Bournemouth & Poole’s No.1 Performing school for Girls, based on A level & GCSE grades A*- B

WIN WIN WIN WIN

FAMILY TICKETS

B

y the very words of headliner Shaggy, this years BoomTown Fair 2014 on the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th August in the Hampshire Countryside is set to be Boombastic!

Think Alice in Wonderland meets Mardi Gras and you could just about visualize the wild and wacky settlement that is one of Alresford's most popular Summer Events. KidsTown is the place to be with the children (mini boomers) so they can fully let loose and explore a whole host of activities, workshops and music such as the Formidable Vegetable Sound System and Disney Rascal on the NEW Sandcastle stage. Other acts and activities include Horace the Travelling Pliosaur Cinema, Granny Turismo, Grannyoke, climbing frames and inflatables, Pizza and Puppets, Mr Wolf Shadow Puppet Shows, Panic Family Circus and Horse & Cart Rides. Some tickets still available visit boomftownfair.co.uk

T

his year Country Child and BoomTown are offering one lucky family (max of x2 adults and x3 children) the chance to experience this exceptional festival for free! Simply enter by emailing us at info@countrychild.co.uk your full name, date of birth, postal address, mobile telephone number, and number of children and ages. Closing date 30th June 2014. Competition not open to employees of Country Child and BoomTown Fair, for full details visit both countrychild.co.uk and boomtownfair.co.uk/ tourist-info/terms-conditions-and-important-info

NATURAL

Supply

Restoration

Woodflooring

SUPPLY, RESTORATION & INSTALLATION

Visit our Showroom Installation

Conservation

The Bakehouse • Ludwell • SP7 9ND Tel: 01747 828023 • Mob: 07957 891952 Email: info@natural-woodflooring.co.uk

Suppliers of Quality Hardwood Flooring.

Specialising in custom staining and colouring.

Website: www.natural-woodflooring.co.uk 45

Over 20 Years Experience Advising Schools on Extending & Repairing their Buildings

HIGH PERFORMANCE 4X4 - CAR- VAN For the best price and service in Dorset ce performan conomy to E  a re a ranteed stock in  Largest ervice gua s t s e B  s s able price ily busines  Unbeliev Local fam  k c e h c safety  FREE tyre

Tyres, batteries and Hunter four wheel alignment

Chartered Surveyors Tel: 01258 454029 www.ajestyncoke.co.uk

Fi BOYLE GARDEN DESIGN

DCM Tyres (Wessex) Ltd, 4 Longmead Industrial Estate, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 8PL 01747 851 654 DCM Tyres (Wessex) Ltd, Bournemouth Road, Blandford St Mary, Dorset, DT11 9LW 01258 488 667

Launching a Quality Recruitment Service for Country Homes and Estates

We welcome our new expert Lucy Freemantle to launch a service for Country Houses and Estates. Undertaking permanent and temporary placements that remove the stress from quality, confidential staffing.

Typical roles include: Estate Manager Personal Assistant Couples Gardener

Housekeeper Chef/Cook Event Staff

GARDEN LANDSCAPE DESIGN & CONSULTANCY Award winning, creative, inspiring & approachable, helping you get the most out of your garden

Tel: Office 01747 840202

Mobile: 07787 913027

Stourhead Estate Office, Stourton, Wilthsire BA12 6QD

www.fiboylegardendesign.com fi@fiboylegardendesign.com

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We take the time to meet, reference and get to know our candidates, just like we get to know our customers, so we can find the right people for your family and home.

Lucy will be delighted to meet, discuss your needs and offer any informal advice you require. Please call our office, or email Lucy directly.

Lucy Freemantle lucy@swann.uk.com 01258 458695

SwannRecruitment.co.uk

D I K

T

What did the tie say to the Hat? You go on ahead and I’ll hang around!

W hy ca n Becaus yo u never tr u e they make u s t ato ms? p ever yth ing! se be 12 inches?

Why can’t yo ur no a fo ot! be d ul wo it en Because th

WIN A ‘TRACTOR TED’ FARM FOR THE DAY

he National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and popular children’s series Tractor Ted have joined forces to launch a brand new competition with a prize worth over £1000! The competition is part of the NFU’s Let’s Talk Farming campaign which encourages 4-7 year olds to think about where their food comes from. Children are asked to enter by matching up animals to their house (i.e chicken to the coup), mothers and babies ( the ewe and her lamb) and the farm to food (ie the potato and the crisp).

The winner will receive Tractor Ted’s Little Farm Live for one day their garden, local park or school playground. The Little Farm Live will have a barn tent with pens of small farm animals such as sheep and hens with two Tractor Ted Farmers to introduce the animals to the children, explain which breed they are, how to care for them and help the children to gain confidence and knowledge. They will also have Tractor Ted’s unique giant bouncy tractor and slide. To enter the competition, which is open until 31 August 2014 go to letstalkfarming.co.uk and download an entry form. Competition leaflets also available from NFU’s Let’s Talk Farming Roadshow and Tractor Ted Live Event, locations: tractorted.co.uk.

LET ME TAKE A SELFIE...

Fed up with trying to take selfies on your mobile phone, even if you’re at the Oscars? Or maybe you struggle to take pictures of you and your school mates?

Try the Snap remote, the simple remote links to a free downloadable app, and all you have to do is position the camera, step back and snap away. £14.95 from:

CRAFTY CREATORS CHECK THIS OUT

in

Do you have any jokes, tips or fun ideas? Share them with us! Email: info@countrychild.co.uk

E N ZO

JOKE CORNER

Here’s a Step by Step guide to making one of Stampin Up’s gift bag, kits available online or from a demonstrator at stampinup.co.uk ■ Take a piece of 12x6in designer paper and score along the long edge at 3.5in, 4.5in, 5.5in, 9in, 10in and 11in. Turn 90 degrees and score at 1.25in.

■ Make a paper cut at the 3.5, 5.5, 9 and 11in score lines, just as far as the horizontal score line. Fold each score.

■ Add Sticky Strip to both long edges of the 1in end panel, across the 2 pairs of 1in panels and then on the reverse of the middle 3.5in section ■ Fold the bag into shape and tape the two long sides together. Then fold in the two small panels on the bottom in and the large panel with no tape down onto them. Finish with the taped large panel to seal the bag. Pinch the top closed, ready for your stamped tag.

■ Score an 11.5 x 6.5in piece of Whisper White card across the middle and fold in half. Take the Cool Kid stamp and colour in the stamp carefully using your chosen colours, then stamp onto the cardstock, near the fold. (Tip: If your ink dries before you are ready to stamp simply huff on the stamp to reactivate the ink.) Punch the Decorative Label out, taking care not to punch through the fold.

■ Tie a bow in a piece of Bakers Twine and use a Mini Metallic Clothespin to attach it to your bag, along with your tag.

TURNPIKE KENNELS & CATTERY

2 MILES FROM SHAFTESBURY & GILLINGHAM ON THE B3081 (MOTCOMBE TURNING)

Felix

REX

Four secure grass exercise areas for dogs, Highest standards of hygiene maintained Prices inclusive of pet’s bed, bedding, food, heating, insurance & VAT Special diets catered for on request Viewing always encouraged

A safe, happy environment to board your pet!

TEL: 01747 854768 OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 8.30-11.00AM/3.00-6.00PM

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Brochure Websites, Ecommerce & Email Marketing for every device 01747 852298

www.authenticstyle.co.uk

Mob:07979 523832 Tel:01929 460029 www.scott-masson.com office@scott-masson.com

Tyres & Batteries Car servicing from a well-establised, friendly, honest and reliable company offering great value for money!

• • • •

New tyres and tyre pressure checks New exhaust systems and exhaust repairs Batteries and fitting available.

General car maintenance

Tel: 01747 850558 Unit 2, Shaftesbury Small Business Units

Longmead Ind Estate, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 8PL

the UK’s only car and free insurance* † package that starts when you’re 17!

• NEW Vauxhall Corsa SXi • FREE insurance* • 20 FREE driving lessons

from just £189 a month +

lots of other cars available

you get the fuel, we’ll do the rest!

Go to marmaladeshaftesbury.co.uk enter your postcode and see what incredible deals we have for you.

Or call us on 01747 228 061.

m marmalade

Blackmore Vale Services, Sherborne Causeway, Shaftesbury, Dorset. SP7 9PX *Terms & conditions apply. See website for more details. +Deposit and final payment required. Marmalade is a trading style of both Provisional Marmalade Ltd (registered in England and Wales, no. 6779950, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) and Young Marmalade Ltd (registered in England and Wales, 4627884), which is an Appointed Representative of Provisional Marmalade Ltd.

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TOP

Village, primary, pre prep, private or state we want to know your school news, email: info@countrychild.co.uk

Marks Y

A Little Community With a Big Heart

S

tour Provost Pre School were thrilled at the success of their fund raising car wash.

It was a well supported event which is a testimony to this rural and friendly pre school.

With toddler groups and natural progression into the adjacent Stower Provost Primary School, this forward thinking little day care stowervalepreschool.co.uk provider is well worth finding out more about.

ear 12 Clayesmore School student, Andy Smith, took part in a National Biathlon at the Olympic Park where he came 13th overall. He also managed to win the running element of the race and achieved an 18 second personal best in the pool. One to watch for sporting prowess in the future, Andy has been selected to represent the South West for the fourth year running, well done!

News In Brief ■ Canford celebrate another impressive hockey season at regional and national levels ■ Clayesmore’s Combined Cadet Force rewarded with a trophy at the challenge in Bovington ■ Talbot Heath put on two sell out performances of Alice - A musical Fantasy with a cast of over 115 pupils ■ Leehurst Swan Pre Prep is deemed ‘outstanding’ in all aspects after the ISI Inspection Report ■The Black Swan Arts Frome 2014 winners announced from the 58 local schools that took part blackswan.org.uk for the list ■ Norman Court school appoint new Head Mr Hamish McKeown ■ Knighton House have been running 65 years ■

MEET THE HEAD

Emma Hattersley Godolphin School, Salisbury, Wiltshire

H

ow long have you been at the school? I started in January ’14.

What is the ethos of your school? We are passionate about educating girls for the 21st century and equipping them with the skills, aptitude and adaptability they will need to cope in a very modern, fast paced, global society. A Godolphin education is about breadth of opportunity and is centred wholly on the individual. This is fundamentally an extremely happy school with a strong sense of community and a commitment to providing first class pastoral care. Boarders and day girls rub shoulders in the same houses and there is a huge team and network of support in place here should a girl need it. Above all else the environment at Godolphin is purposeful and dynamic. The girls speak for themselves – happy, motivated individuals who do the school real credit.

How do you help ensure that every child meets their full potential?

Schools are naturally judged in part by their academic results but what is important at Godolphin is that we do the absolute best by the girls that we have regardless of their ability. A Godolphin girl may be extremely able and be challenged and stretched in the classroom and through academic enrichment. A Godolphin girl may also be someone who does not find academic work easy. Here too we can help and support as appropriate. This is a nurturing school that brings out the very best in its pupils

whatever their starting point. Our strength in art, drama, music and sport also enables girls who are not necessarily academic to have a fulfilling time and succeed whatever their talent.

What do you find most rewarding about teaching? For me, it’s about helping young people achieve and grow in confidence.

It is the most fulfilling job in the world and a real privilege to contribute to the development of each individual child and see them turn into assured young adults.

What are your own hobbies and interests? I have a pile of books by my bedside and my absolute pleasure is to be able to read – especially historical novels. I am a musician by training and I enjoy being able to play the piano and even accompany girls at school in the odd concert. I also enjoy keeping fit, which can mean walking the Devon coast path or climbing a mountain or two with my husband and chocolate Labradors!

What does the future hold for you and your school? Technology is a key issue for us and it is my aim that all girls will continue with some form of IT regardless of whether they take it as a formal subject. By September we will also have a Parent Portal in place in order to improve our communication with parents. Our sixth formers will be exposed to a variety of new initiatives through the launch of a Godolphin Diploma known as the Godolphin PPE. This will aim to provide personal and professional support for girls in their final two years. We aim to start this programme in the Autumn. We are also planning to invest further in science and the arts whilst keeping an extremely broad based curriculum where every girl can find something to be inspired by.

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Time for a change

OPEN for Business I

f you have a little monkey that loves to climb then a new business in Poole could be right up your street.

The Project is a new climbing centre providing climbing for the whole family. Offering instructed courses in bouldering - that’s low-level free climbing without the use of ropes and harnesses, instead using crash mats for protection. Junior Casual Sessions provide an excellent opportunity for kids of all abilities to climb in a fun and safe environment, under the supervision of instructors. For those looking for a more progressive approach to learning to climb, there’s the Junior Club, a series of structured lessons aimed at taking kids from being complete beginners to competent and confident climbers. Then there’s the Family Course, designed to introduce you and your family to an activity that you can enjoy 16:25 92x62 Advert:Layout 1 all 20/7/11 together, regardless of age and ability. theprojectclimbingcentre.co.uk

AUDIT ACQUISITIONS RETIREMENT STRATEGIES

M

artyn Hurll, Manager from St James`s Place Wealth Management gives us his insight into the current ecomonical performance.

With the dust having settled after the Budget, now is an excellent time to put some of the recent changes into context.

The Chancellor’s decision to remove the requirement for people to buy a retirement annuity is welcome and according to recent research by Blackrock Investment Management, it will be the catalyst for a pensions’ renaissance, freeing-up an estimated £27 billion of pension money and allowing investors to make their own decisions about what to do with their retirement fund. Of course it does mean that, with greater choice, the need for professional financial advice will be imperative –a point highlighted by George Osborne –to ensure investors maximise the opportunities available to them at this key point in their lives. But it wasn’t just the pensions’ arena that Mr Osborne gave a boost to; he also took the opportunity to make a significant increase in the annual Individual Savings Account (ISA) allowance. From 1 July, investors will be able to put up to £15,000 into this tax-free savings vehicle with the ability to split the money between cash and stocks and shares in any way they choose, giving more freedom of choice in respect of their planning. Unsurprisingly, given the tax benefits of an ISA –no capital gains Page tax and tax-free income – most investors will be advised to include this option as an integral part of their strategy. Taxefficiency is of course only one element in creating a financial planning strategy.

Choosing where to actually invest the money is often far more difficult with investors having to weigh up potential returns against the potential risk involved.

Financial markets have enjoyed better times since the calamitous global financial crisis in 2008. But as more experience investors will know, markets will always find something to fret about, be it interest rates going up, disappointing corporate earnings and geopolitics to name but a few. If one takes a snapshot of the world today there are plenty of mixed messages.

On the one hand, most corporations are in good health with large cash balances and in the US, 54% of companies are announcing better-than-expected first quarter earnings figures which is good for stocks.

Conversely the outlook for emerging markets is less certain as the Chinese economy slows and global investors become wary about their exposure to this sector. Geopolitics in the form of Ukraine, also feature large on investors’ radars. Here in the UK the economy, the news is much better, with growth forecast to be 3.2% this year, the first time it has topped 3% since the financial crisis. The feel good factor is cascading down to consumers with rising retail sales and a robust housing market, thanks to the government’s ‘Help to Buy’ scheme. With economic growth having been so much stronger than expected, the markets are betting that the Bank of England will be forced to raise interest rates sooner than expected. As a consequence sterling has risen significantly against many major currencies, including the US$ and the € which means that now may be a good time to buy foreign assets.

Despite the raft of good economic news the UK stock market has, disappointingly, underperformed its European and American counterparts but which means there are still opportunities to invest in high quality British companies with good dividend yields at relatively low prices. So given recent events, now is a good time to review your investment strategy to ensure it is best placed to reflect current events and future opportunities.

BUSINESS PLANNING ESTATE PLANNING TAX MITIGATION TRUSTS

Effective quality service & first class client care T: 01747 823147 www.andpal.co.uk

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS Wiltshire Farm Stay celebrates 30th Birthday - Box Upon a Time launches innovative box concept with personal shopper for baby clothes - New Project Climbing Centre opens in Poole - Fork & Flower is a new florist in the heart of Shaftesbury - Check out Elisabeth Rose a new interior shop in Tisbury - Cafe at Shearwater lakes has been refurbished, worth a visit. - Wonderful Wax is a new childrens wax crayon provider in Blandford - The Hive Beach Ice Cream Parlour in Burton Bradstock has also been refurbished in a retro style. Free Range is a new accounting and business service offering advice and solutions for companies see ad on page 48 for more information - New Toddler Workshop run by Rosalind Shaw Shaftesbury Arts Centre - South Street Kitchen opens 3rd June in Gillingham Jenny Lee joins Hunts Accountants Sherborne to drive businesses growth

wincombe centre

50

DIY Dad Builds A Picnic Table

S

ince moving into our house some 18 months ago, we have been on the look out to find a garden table and chair set we both like for Summer BBQ parties!

As we traipse around more garden centres for the second Summer in a row, my wife commented, “you could make one of those…” Ha ha I cried! Then I thought it through and decided to give it a go. Fortunately Grandad was a carpenter and we still have piles of spare wood, so off I went to get supplies - see diagram.

Also the beauty of working with wood is that all you need is a saw, coach bolts, screws, wood glue, trusty spirit level, G-cramps, tape measure and pencil!

1

8

2

3

5 6

4 7

Once all of your sections are cut to size, start by drilling the positions for the coach bolt holes in all end top and seat supports (3 + 5). You can drill the corresponding holes in the legs (4) although I decided not to and used G-cramps when attaching the legs, so as to temporarily hold the

legs in place whilst checking everything with a spirit level (table is in the upright position). Any fine adjustments can then be made before checking and accurately drilling the corresponding holes. Now attach all of the top stiffeners (2) to the top boards (1). Then fix on the legs and the seat supports (5) using the coach bolts. After attaching the seat stiffeners (7) and the seat boards (6), attach these to the seat supports (5). The last pieces to fix are the braces (8) which attach to the underside of the top boards (1) and to the top stiffeners (2). Our guide instructed us to attach some small pieces of wood to act as leg protectors but these are rarely common. Along the way I went slightly off plan due to some areas proving tricky for example; when fixing the legs to the table top, the desired 90 degree angle was not as it should be. This can be easily corrected by standing the table upright and then correcting the angle by hand or with a tap of a mallet. Then when you fix the seat boards and the braces, the whole assembly is perfectly true and rigid. Another tip I would recommend is to pre-drill pilot holes for fixing screws and constantly use your spirit level to check and re-check the angles and levels before fixing sections into place. Don’t forget to use wood glue and to treat timber for longevity!

The sheer size of the 6ft dining area now dominates the decking and the kids love it! It’s like having a picnic in your own garden, except you haven’t had to drive the hour in a stifling hot car, with everyone talking at decibels louder than Big Ben, just to be heard! Turn on the sprinkler and create some BBQ memories!

Keen on meeting new people, searching for the next opportunity or fishing for new business?

sheds summer houses garden offices gazebos garages beach huts

Why not join our fantasic Freelance Sales Team?

Contact Jo - 07794 447105 or Sarah - 07875 555360 for an informal chat

Poultons (Dorset) Ltd Unit 7B Wincombe Business Park Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 9QJ

01747 853067 info@poultons.co.uk www.poultons.co.uk

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Classroom DESIGN A

Win a

of the Future COMPETITION

multimedia bundle...

Have you ever imagined what your classroom could look like in years to come?

What technologies will pupils be using and what will they be writing with?

Viking are inviting budding artists, engineers and designers aged 16 and under* to visualise what the Classroom of the Future could look like. Not only is technological innovation and room design a great topic to study, but this competition is a lot of fun and pupils could win a great multimedia bundle for your school worth £2,500, including a 42” HD LED TV, two Apple iPad Air tablets, a laptop and two cameras, plus much more.** So why not download an entry form, along with teaching resources and terms and conditions, now? Simply visit www.vikingschools.co.uk to find out more.

...worth

2,500

£

FOR YOUR SCHOOL**

Download an entry form, along with teaching resources and terms and conditions at www.vikingschools.co.uk Closing date for entries is 18th July 2014. Open to all pupils aged 16 and under. * Competition entries are divided into two categories – 11 and under, and 12 and over. ** For details of all the amazing contents within our prize bundle, read our terms and conditions at www.vikingschools.co.uk.

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