Marshwood+ February 2020

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© Bob Speer Photograph by Robin Mills

MORE of the best from West Dorset, South Somerset and East Devon No. 251 February 2020

COVER STORY

Robin Mills met Bob Speer in Lyme Regis

Bob Speer Photograph by Robin Mills

’I

arrived in April 1939 in Cox Green, then a small village outside Maidenhead. My parents ran a small garage there with just one pump, but from the photographs that survive they radiate an innocent joy and seem untouched by the looming war, just a young couple very much in love.

But, I was never to know my father as tragedy struck when I was two, my father killed in a tragic accident, and my mother hospitalised with grief. There are no memories prior to 1944, and just a few fragmentary photographs survive.

My Mother never recovered and I did not see her again till I was nine, and even then only intermittently. One can indeed die of a broken heart.

Looking back I can see I was shielded from the tragedy out of kindness. They had simply gone away...and that was the end of it. Fortunately my grandfather, a wise and kindly man, stepped in and took over my upbringing. He had fought in Africa in the first world war and seemed to me to be the fount of all wisdom. As an only child, I see now that I must have represented some kind of surrogate for his own tragedy, that of losing his only two sons, each in their prime. I worshipped him and must have subliminally absorbed his every word. The weeks and months revolved around the school vacations when I could be with him.

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My abiding childhood memories are of extracting honey from his beehives amid swarms of angry bees, learning Kipling’s poem “If ”, fishing along the Thames at Boulters Lock, sleeping underground in an Anderson shelter by candlelight, and best of all, manually pumping the ancient organ in the tiny Cox Green village church Sunday morning and evenings for pocket money. There is something wildly comical in accidentally disturbing a wasp nest in the organ loft space, hearing the organ fade in the middle of Hymn 442 Onward Christian Soldiers and the vicar urging you to keep pumping in a fierce whisper. But the pay was good. A silver sixpence!

Amid the turmoil of war and its aftermath, evacuation, the austerity, the food shortages, the memories linger on of being one of two boys only in an all girls primary school for one term (knitting and weaving raffia place mats!), a latin master who would only talk to us in latin, and then, after school foraging for winkles and shrimps and the occasional lobster. This was no game. Food was short. This came about because in 1946 we had relocated to Westgate-on-Sea in Thanet, a place that was to become my home until I was nineteen.

It was here, on my first day of my first term at my first secondary school in Birchington on Sea, that I first became aware of books. I must have been about ten, so we are in September 1949. The new headmaster, a tyrant and perverted bully addicted to caning, in a chearout of the then deceased former headmaster’s office, arranged for his library to be burned and his fossil collection to be thrown out. There was a bonfire at the rear of the school. I crept back after hours and rescued some of the books and fossils. Beautiful Victorian volumes on microscopy, astronomy, exploration... etc. I still have them seventy years on. At ten one is unable to contextualise such behaviour, or even talk of ethics and morals, but I do recall a feeling that something was seriously out of kilter. The turning point came when I was fourteen. Having failed all exams and been assessed as four years behind, my Grandfather stepped in again and I was enrolled for one year at an all girl’s Secretarial College, but this time with one to one tuition at the rear of the class, in Maths, English & Latin. All this guided by an old-school Victorian tutor in winged collar. My tutor must have seen some spark in me as the maths was a revelation, and this,

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Bob Speer

together with a love of books fostered by a kindly Hungarian bookseller (any book 6p), was to be the pivotal year that set the course of my subsequent life.

Four years at St Lawrence College, a public school near Ramsgate, followed by a year A level cramming at Chatham Technical College got me a very modest Kent County Bursary to London University. It was only many years later that I learned this schooling was all financed by my father’s Life Insurance Policy, carefully put aside and invested by my Grandfather.

But it was now September 1959 and there was a buzz in the air, as if the country was awakening from a long hibernation. I recall walking round my room at the Queen Mary College Student Hall of Residence touching the walls in a sort of trance at the freedoms that London offered. Ronnie Scots, 100 Oxford St, Chris Barber, Bruce Turner and his Jump Band, Soho dives. The three years of a B Sc Physics degree raced by and we all worked every waking hour, because at some subliminal level we knew that post war austerity was easing and a rising tide raised all boats.

However it was not all plain sailing. The cost of living in London had reduced me by the end of my second year to having to work evenings six days a week, very seriously compromising my studies for my third and final year. In desperation I took off and walked into the Kent Higher Education offices in Canterbury unannounced, explaining why I would have to abandon my degree. To my utter astonishment a week later I received a cheque for a full Kent County award backdated for two years. This was a huge sum, as I was in effect now able to finance my final year of studies at twice the rate of any of my classmates. All worries dropped way. It was a lifesaver and taught me important lessons about bureaucracy and boldness.

Now aged 22 and just prior to graduation in 1962, I applied to the Space Research Group at University College, and was taken on for a PhD in Astronomy from Space, at that time a brand new field led by Professor Sir Harry Massey. It is almost inconceivable now, but in those heady days of Jodrell Bank, Sputniks, the first UK satellites Aerial 1 & 2, one could have one’s own satellite experiment launched by NASA, see it through to launch, and be rewarded with the data.

Nowadays there are lead times of up to twenty years and the research is of such sophistication that hundreds of collaborators are involved across many institutes and countries. But chance success brought extraordinary rewards; the most prized being a Senior Lectureship at Imperial College that lasted 32 years and the chance to help shape the lives of a future generation. Retirement came in 1997, and the safe harbour in my own rare book business. Looking back one sees that the catalyst at ten had led to a lifelong passion for books...but channelled to the age of forty only in collecting. Around 1982 a lucky friendship brought me a shareholding in The Gloucester Road Bookshop in Kensington, where I eventually became the Buyer and so learned the book trade from the inside, well before the advent of the Internet. In retrospect this was a blessing, as knowledge was everything and the knowledge had to be carried in one’s head.

Only in 1998, after a year in Lyme Regis, could one give expression to the feeling that everything prior had just been a rehearsal.

The longed for stable family life, the history, the embrace of the book world, the people, the vibe, these have all yielded the happiest twenty years of my life. Lyme is such a wonderful town. The tea at the bottom of the cup can indeed be the sweetest and is maybe best sipped in the springtime of one’s senescence.

I have been fortunate to have met some extraordinary people through our bookshop in Broad Street, now in its 22nd year.

Maybe this is the real gift? To know and have known the kindness and help of John Fowles, Derek Steinberg, Bob Benson, Louis Leteux, Jean Vaupres, Tony Keegan, Harold Towers, the U3A. To all of these, and especially my grandfather, my tutor, the editor of Marshwood Vale, my much loved wife Mariko and our three boys Sean, Patrick & Elliot, and to the many many others, I can only say: Thank you all and everyone, it’s been a privilege.

’

UP FRONT Reading Humphrey Walwyn’s column this month I can’t help thinking that there is a lot to be said for a bit of pampering and spoiling. The New Year always brings so many suggestions for life changes that it’s often hard to know what to do. In the week after Christmas, I saw press alerts about best diets, best exercise routines, how to de-clutter my life (and my phone!), how to promote work/life balance and even how to have better relationships with animals. I was invited to learn the secrets to a longer, healthier and happier life and given tips on how to age gracefully.

I was even given the opportunity to ‘immerse’ myself in success. What I didn’t see anywhere was suggestions on how to cut out some of the emotional turbulence that’s accompanied recent times. It seems to me that the noise level created by political discussion over the last year went through the roof. The volume of heated debate in and outside of parliament was such that it was often hard to hear people’s opinions—let alone digest and understand what they were trying to say. The relative quiet since the election has made the previous cacophony seem even more hectic, and at the time of writing there seems to be a relative lull while the next storm brews.

But I wonder if that lull is more to do with not listening rather than a change in the volume. Before Christmas, I met someone who explained that for the last year or so she had been so battered by the clamor of the debate around her that she had stopped reading the front pages of her newspapers. In fact, she had avoided the first few pages altogether, instead concentrating on other news. She didn’t use social media, so was able to avoid the echo chambers of her own opinions, as well as the vitriol that accompanied some of the more ‘high spirited’ online discussions.

She even stopped listening to talk radio stations and regulated her television viewing to films and documentaries that had nothing to do with current affairs. She explained that by weaning herself off constant political deliberation, the emotional decibels in her head had reduced to practically zero. Perhaps that sort of detox is worth a try. But will it mean completely distancing myself from things like Trump v Thunberg, Coronavirus, the Labour leadership challenge or that other unmentionable? I doubt it somehow—but it is a nice thought.

Fergus Byrne

Published Monthly and distributed by Marshwood Vale Ltd Lower Atrim, Bridport Dorset DT6 5PX For all Enquiries Tel: 01308 423031 info@marshwoodvale. com

Editorial Director

This magazine is printed using wood from sustainable forestry

Advertising

Fergus Byrne

Deputy Editor Victoria Byrne

Design

Fergus Byrne

Sue Norris sue@marshwoodvale.com

THIS MONTH Visit www.marshwoodvale.com and click on Marshwood +

e ilabl Ava iew v o t st on 1 ry ua Febr

Visit our website for more Marshwood

Marshwood + is a new page-turning extended version of the Marshwood Vale Magazine. More events, more news, more people and a lot more Marshwood.

Plus! Each month we also look back on some of the things you may have missed over the nearly 20 years of publishing your community magazine.

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Cover Story By Robin Mills Ki Aikido By Fergus Byrne Murmurations and Memories By Philip Strange Local Events Courses and Workshops Films A History of Science in 20 Objects By Cecil Amor News & Views Laterally Speaking by Humphrey Walwyn

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House & Garden Vegetables in February By Ashley Wheeler February in the Garden By Russell Jordan Property Round Up By Helen Fisher

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Food & Dining Baked Flaked Rice Pudding & Vanilla Roasted Pears

By Lesley Waters Sprouting Broccoli with Capers By Mark Hix Thai Bowls with Peanut Sauce by Erin Romeo People in Food By Catherine Taylor Sea Cucumber By Nick Fisher

Arts & Entertainment Being in the Moment By Fergus Byrne Galleries, Preview and Performance

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Health & Beauty Services & Classified People at Work By Catherine Taylor

“The sooner I fall behind, the more time I have to catch up.”

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Contributors Cecil Amor Helen Fisher Nick Fisher Richard Gahagan Margery Hookings Mark Hix Russell Jordan Robin Mills

Gay Pirrie-Weir Erin Romeo Philip Strange Catherine Taylor Humphrey Walwyn Lesley Waters Ashley Wheeler

Twitter @marshwoodvale

The views expressed in The Marshwood Vale Magazine and People Magazines are not necessarily those of the editorial team. Unless otherwise stated, Copyright of the entire magazine contents is strictly reserved on behalf of the Marshwood Vale Magazine and the authors.

Disclaimer: Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of dates, event information and advertisements, events may be cancelled or event dates may be subject to alteration. Neither Marshwood Vale Ltd nor People Magazines Ltd can accept any responsibility for the accuracy of any information or claims made by advertisers included within this publication.

NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS Trades descriptions act 1968. It is a criminal offence for anyone in the course of a trade or business to falsely describe goods they are offering. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. The legislation requires that items offered for sale by private vendors must be ‘as described’. Failure to observe this requirement may allow the purchaser to sue for damages.

Road Traffic Act. It is a criminal offence for anyone to sell a motor vehicle for use on the highway which is unroadworthy.

Ki Aikido NATURAL ENERGY

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Sensei Eileen Honeybun has been teaching a Japanese Aikido form in the village of Winsham for 28 years. Fergus Byrne has been to meet her.

I

n the Jubilee Hall in Winsham in South Somerset, with its impressive high ceiling, oak floor and beautiful wooden ceiling arch, Sensei Eileen Honeybun stands about four feet apart from one of her students, Jacco Toornent. They each hold one end of what in Aikido terms is known as a ‘Jo’; a wooden stick that looks not unlike a short curtain pole. With a movement not immediately apparent to the naked eye, Sensei Eileen uses the ‘Jo’ as a conduit to deliver enough energy to make Jacco tumble to the floor.

He rolls elegantly across the specially designed rubber matting and springs to his feet. It’s a dramatic moment that is hard to comprehend. I can’t help but blurt out ‘What just happened?’ Eileen and Jacco smile. After so many years practising the Japanese art of Ki Aikido they know that an explanation, though perhaps simple to them, may be incomprehensible to those of us with little knowledge of their art.

Sensei Eileen has been teaching Aikido at the Jubilee Hall in Winsham for 28 years. Before that she had a class in Chard and prior to that practised in Seaton. Although elegance and grace go hand in hand with its highly choreographed and stylish movement—using the natural energy in our bodies—Aikido was the furthest thing from Eileen’s mind when she was growing up. She was born with back problems that were further exacerbated by an accident on a trampoline when she was thirteen.

‘It turns out that I was born with a problem with my spine’ she explains. ‘So I hated sports. My Grandad used to carry me to school because it hurt my legs so much to walk.’ After she ‘jack-knifed’ on the trampoline things got progressively worse and by the time she was a young mother an orthopaedic surgeon told her the most energetic thing she would ever do would be to read a book. When she asked the surgeon, who would look after her children, he simply answered, ‘Not you’.

At the suggestion of her sister’s husband she began learning about Kiatsu which is the healing art that goes with Aikido. As even that required a certain amount of physical input she hated it at first, but in time, expanding to Aikido practise, she began to see extraordinary changes. ‘It’ll all based on circular movements’ she explained ‘very beautiful, almost like dancing.’ After a while her back pain eased and bit by bit, thanks to Kiatzu from her head of the Federation, as well as practise, she says she is now totally pain free. ‘Best of all, I am also free of the fear of hurting my back’ she says. ‘That had ruled me for years.’

Designed around simple principles that use the power of the mind along with the body’s natural energy, or ‘Ki’ which literally means ‘Life Force’, Aikido originated from the ancient Japanese art of Aikijutsu. Aikido however is known as a softer less aggressive form which doesn’t encourage striking an opponent; instead blending with their movements to dissipate an attack. In the art of Ki Aikido there is no aggression, tension or competition. Classes are suitable for all levels of fitness and may be practised equally by men and women of any size, age or ability. According to the Ki Aikado Federation, the purpose of the practise is to learn to co-ordinate mind and body through enjoyable exercise.

Jacco Toornent, one of Eileen’s students has just passed his second Dan grading. He spoke about the ‘Ki’ element of their form. ‘I think the best way of explaining the Ki side of things is where a person is tense and the opposite force is tense - then you create a fight. With Aikido you don’t want to fight. What you want is that energy to move on. So what you do is you blend in, and by blending in, the person can’t resist it.’

Although the form practised with Sensei Eileen is softer now, even than when she first began, Jacco’s background in the Royal Dutch KCT Special Forces has seen him in what

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he described as some tricky situations. ‘It’s saved my life really’ he says, speaking of his earlier Aikido training.

‘In the forces you do tend to have to defend yourself.

I’ve had a fair few close calls and being able to defend myself did save my life.’

However both Jacco and Sensei Eileen are keen to point out that Ki Aikido is not necessarily a martial art.

It’s hard to describe it properly explains Eileen. ‘People ask is it a martial art and no it’s not, it’s a Japanese art. They want to know is it self-defence and no we certainly don’t advertise it as self-defence. And yet it’s the greatest self-defence you can have - defence against the self. Eileen says it breaks down all your old habits and bad attitudes. She confided that she had always been a worrier. ‘I would worry about everything and anything endlessly until I practised this’ she said. ‘When you get to what’s known as green belt you’re doing your second test, which is the worry test. You learn not to react to something that hasn’t happened yet. So bit by bit I’ve now learned not to worry. Strangely it took me a very long time to learn to pass my second test, because that was my problem. Now it’s very rare I even catch myself beginning to worry.’

Being rural, Winsham Aikido Club is small which allows more time for individual training. Members work in pairs. ‘It’s not a competition’ she says ‘two people are working together to perfect an exercise. You’re both trying to help each other get it right. You’re testing the exercise rather than testing each other.’

The club has recently enjoyed a double celebration.

Jacco passed his second Dan grading at the December Christmas course, held in the Headquarters of the Ki Federation of Great Britain in Mark, Somerset. And another club member, John Speirs, after 20 years of practice, was awarded 6th Dan by the Federation’s President, Sensei Margaret Williams.

Sensei Eileen said, ‘I’m immensely proud of them both; their grades are well deserved and concludes a great year for our Club’.

Classes for juniors (age 12+) and adults are held in the Jubilee Hall, Winsham every Monday 18:30 – 20:30 and Thursday 19:30 – 21:30.

For further information contact Eileen on 01297 34255 and for further information about Ki Aikido visit the federation’s website at www.kifederationofgreatbritain.co.uk

Jacco and John from Winsham Ki Aikido

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Murmurations and Memories

by Philip Strange

I

t was the video that clinched it! I’d read the reports of starlings gathering in their thousands at sunset over Chesil Beach but when I saw the video of their murmuration and the liquid patterns they carve in the sky, I knew I had to go to see for myself. So, on the first clear, dry day we set off for West Bexington on the West Dorset coast near where the starlings had been spotted.

West Bexington lies between low coastal hills and Chesil Beach and when we arrived that mid December afternoon, the village felt very quiet. The sun hung low in the pale western sky, its bright yellow disc casting a shimmering, silvery mirror across the water and a warm light across coastal fields. We parked in the beach car park and set off across the shingle, the pea-sized pebbles making for hard going as usual. The sea was calm with just a light swell and waves that barely left a thin white line along the vast sweep of shingle. I had thought there might be more people about to watch the birds but, apart from a few fishermen, their faces turned fixedly towards the sea, we were alone on the beach. The skeletal remnants of beach plants that flourish here in warmer months added to the sense of isolation.

For a short time, we stood by the extensive beds of pale reeds

that line the back of the beach. The feathery stems fidgeted and rustled as a light breeze passed and we heard the occasional squawk from birds deep in the reeds but invisible to us. A skein of geese passed eastwards to disappear behind the coastal hills honking loudly as they went and the pale moon appeared above the ridge.

Then we noticed another figure labouring across the shingle, swathed in warm shawls and a woolly hat. She approached us and asked if we had come to watch the starling murmuration.

We had of course. She told us that she had seen them perform near here on the two previous afternoons before roosting and this was about the right time. We stood, the three of us now, looking, watching, scanning the sky for perhaps ten minutes, but nothing happened. We discussed the vagaries of watching wildlife and we got colder and colder. The sun, a fiery orange ball by now, approached the horizon and spread its warm glow across the shingle. The moon, nearly full and not to be outdone, rose steadily above the hills.

We were on the point of giving up when the first group of starlings appeared in the sky above the coastal hills to the west.

At first, they were just a mobile black smudge but soon they

Moon Rising over the Ridge and Murmurations over Chesil Beach (L) photographs by Hazel Strange

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began to move about in the pale sky sculpting smooth shapes and occasionally disappearing from view over the dark land.

Quite suddenly they were joined by more …… and more……. and more birds, as though some signal had been sent and soon a huge cloud of thousands of birds was moving backwards and forwards forming massive, mobile, liquid shapes that twisted, thickened, thinned and sometimes split apart before merging again. The mass of birds, the murmuration, seemed to have a life of its own, as though it was some kind of sky-bound superorganism squirming about. This was one of the most impressive natural events I have ever experienced, forever engrained in my memory. It lifted our spirits eliciting spontaneous exclamations of surprise and delight.

By now the sun was setting and the light was fading. Suddenly, and without warning, the birds dropped down to roost across the coastal scrub to the west below Othona like a sheet floating to the ground; it was as if another signal had been sent that only the birds understood. With so many starlings, there must have been an impressive noise from their wings when flying and from their chattering when on the ground. I lost all sense of time while the birds were performing their murmuration but when I checked my watch the whole event had lasted only ten minutes and coincided roughly with the setting of the sun.

We marvel at their behaviour but starlings don’t create these pulsating patterns in the sky for our benefit. So, why do they do it? Security is thought to be one reason. Predator birds are always on the lookout for food and as the light fades, individual starlings become more vulnerable. They cannot see the predators well in the fading light but flying as part of large swirling mass of birds provides safety in numbers. Predators find it difficult to focus on single starlings in a moving murmuration so the chance of attack for individual birds will be lower. Starlings are also gregarious and are thought to gather in large numbers as a prelude

to roosting close together both to keep warm overnight and to exchange information about good feeding areas. It is tempting after having watched a murmuration to suggest that the birds are also expressing some kind of joy of life.

And yet, starlings are not universally loved. Some people view them as noisy, thuggish and dirty creatures: bird-feeder bullies that soil urban spaces where they roost and have a negative effect on arable farming. Should you take the time to look at a starling, though, you will see a beautiful bird with glossy black plumage enhanced by flashes of iridescent purple or green.

Their dark plumage is decorated with startling white spangles in the winter so that, as the poet Mary Oliver says, they have “stars in their black feathers”.

But whether you love them or hate them, starlings in the UK are in trouble. Since the mid-1970s, there has been a 66% drop in their numbers, the starling has been red-listed and is of high conservation concern. The reasons for this decline are poorly understood but are thought to be linked to changes in farming practice. The use of pesticides and synthetic fertilisers and the loss of flower-rich hay meadows have severely reduced numbers of invertebrates such as earthworms and leather jackets that starlings depend on for food. Starlings are dying of starvation and other farmland birds such as tree sparrows, yellowhammers and turtle doves have also been badly affected. Agriculture needs to adjust to make space for wildlife in order to halt this downward spiral before we lose these birds altogether and murmurations become no more than memories.

For some brief videos of this murmuration have a look at my YouTube channel: Philip Strange Science and Nature.

Philip Strange is Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Reading.

He writes about science and about nature with a particular focus on how science fits in to society. His work may be read at http://philipstrange.wordpress.com/

Murmurations over Chesil Beach photographs by Philip Strange

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Keeping the secret in Yeovil

THE longest-running play of all time, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, comes to Yeovil Octagon from Monday 17th to Saturday 22nd February.

Decade after decade, new audiences are kept on the edges of their seats by this brilliantly intricate plot, where murder lurks around every corner. A snowstorm closes in on a guest house, trapping a group of strangers inside with a murderer ‌ Who is it and why have they come to Monkswell Manor? And when you find out whodunnit, you just have to keep the secret!

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February LOCAL EVENTS

TUESDAY 28 JANUARY

U3A Monthly Talk The U3A (University of the Third Age) offers a wide variety of general interest groups for retired, and semi retired people in Bridport and the surrounding areas. 2pm in Bridport United Church Hall in East Street. The cost to non members for each talk is £2. Further Information can be found at www.u3asites. org.uk/bridport. Dr Keith Hooper presents a talk entitled ‘Faith, Angels and the Poor’ from his biography of Charles Dickens.

Seaton Cooking For One 11am - 1pm A cooking demonstration and taster for anyone who wants to learn to cook delicious, nutritious meals on a budget. The Marshlands Centre, Seaton hannah@halff. org.uk kerry@halff.org.uk 01297 631788 West Dorset Ramblers Walk Portland Circular. Starts at 10:00am - 8 miles/12.9 km. Contact 01308 423927 Charity Tea Dance 2.30p.m. Ballroom and sequence dancing to strict tempo CD’s All Saints Hall, Sidmouth EX10 8ES 01395 517122 Merriott Gardening Club Time: 7.30pm : Dr Francis Burroughes -a talk about the Victorian Head Gardener and his life on a Victorian country estate. Location: Tithe Barn, Church Street, Merriott - nonmembers £2 at the door. Contact: Barbara on 01460-72298 Parish Boundaries around Yeovil by Jim Hart, 7 for 7.30 pm, at Martock Primary School, TA12 6EF. 01935 822202.

Dorset Industrial Archaeology Society lecture,7.30pm,”Weymouth to the Channel Islands” by Brian Jackson,the Dorset Room, Colliton House,Colliton Park,Dorchester.01308 422054/01935813598.

WEDNESDAY 29 JANUARY

Health MOT. Free check up with LiveWell Dorset. 9am -4pm. Literary & Scientific Institute www.lsibridport.co.uk Coffee Morning. 10am-12noon. At The David Hall, South Petherton, TA13 5AA. Free Entry.

THURSDAY 30 JANUARY

West Dorset Ramblers Walk Hardy 16 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

Country Hike. Starts at 10:00am - 8 miles/12.9 km. Contact 01308 423346 Short Mat Bowls, 7.00pm, Beaminster Public Hall, Geoff 01308 538971 Lyme Voices Community Choir. 19.30 to 21.15. Sing for fun. Learn tunes by ear.

Everyone welcome. Baptist Church (pine hall round the back), Silver St., Lyme Regis, DT7 3NY. Phone 01297 445078 or email petelinnett@naturalvoice.net Goldilocks, 7.30pm, a panto whodunnit with bears and gnomes, All Saints village hall, nr. Axminster, EX13 7LX, www.aspc. org.uk/pantomime-society. Also 31st and Feb 1st.

FRIDAY 31 JANUARY

Flying Folk, 7.30pm, an evening of folk music hosted by Jemima Farey, Tickets £15, Ilminster Arts Centre, The Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster, TA19 0AN, 01460 54973, www.themeetinghouse.org.uk The Living Tree, cancer self-help group.

2.00pm Tripudio Flow gentle exercise.

2.15pm Art with Libby. 2.30 – 4.00pm Therapy session to be confirmed. Drop in any time between 2pm and 4.30pm at the Friends’ Meeting House, 95 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NZ. Tel 07341 916 976. www.thelivingtree.org.uk Quiz, 6.30/7.00 pm, teams maximum 6, individuals welcome, hot supper, prizes, raffle, 50/50, £8.00 per person. Fund-raiser for defibrillator. Misterton village hall.

Information / tickets from Phil 0146073815.

The Living Tree, cancer self-help group.

12.45pm Mindfulness session with Sue Howse. 2.00pm Tripudio Flow, gentle exercise. 2.15pm Art with Libby. 2.30 – 4.00pm Therapy session to be confirmed.

Drop in any time between 2pm and 4.30pm at the Friends’ Meeting House, 95 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NZ. Tel 07341 916 976. www.thelivingtree.org.uk

SATURDAY 1 FEBRUARY

Bridport Ceilidhs, 7.30-11pm. The second month sees the return of Hampshire’s very musical Jigfoot, playing for the first time with caller Dick Williams.

All welcome, no experience or partner

needed; all dances will be walked and talked through and called for as long as necessary.

Bring & Share super and your own alcohol (the Woodman Inn is just opposite). St Mary’s Church House Hall, South Street, Bridport DT6 3NW. £10 on the door, £9 if bought in advance from The Bridport Music Centre, South Street, or pre-booked with Monty on 01308 423 442 or email monty3dayslate AT yahoo.co.uk. See www. bridportceilidhs.wordpress.com Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 8 mile walk from Abbotsbury Swannery 10.30am start. Bring picnic. No dogs. All welcome. Please call 01308 898484/01308 863340 Cerne Abbas Ceilidh, 7.30-10.30. Music from Dorset with The Ben Rose Big band, caller Angela Laycock. Bring and share supper and your own alcohol at the Village Hall DT2 7GY. £8 pre booked, £10 on the door, contact Angela 01308 482443 alaycock61@gmail.com or Ruth 01300321396 ruthfiddler@outlook.com Jumble Sale, 2pm, at Clapton & Wayford Village Hall - with tombola & refreshments. Contributions most welcome & can be left at the hall from 10am – mid-day. Information from Jackie (01460 72324) The Tuckers Jazz Club Derek Nash and The Martin Dale Quartet The Tuckers Arms, Dalwood, EX13 7EG. Near Axminster, (just north of the A35 between Axminster & Honiton) Tickets £10 Info. at www.dalwoodvillage.co.uk 01404 831 280 : 07999 553477 Saxophonists Derek Nash (from The Jools Holland R&B Band) and Martin Dale (well-known Southwest musician with his Quartet) team up for a lively swinging evening of Jazz at The Tuckers.

Family Storytime with The Flying Monkeys. 11am. Stories told not showed for 3-8 year olds and their carers. Free/ Donation. Bridport Literary & Scientific Institute www.lsibridport.co.uk Connecting with Soul. 10-4.30pm. A one day workshop to explore connection with the Soul using a range of processes. The Chapel in the Garden, Bridport, DT6 3JJ. Contact Linda Heeks 07973 529245

Mad Dog Mcrea - A ’Chance to Dance’ Event. 8pm at The David Hall in South Petherton. From self-penned songs of adventure, drinking, love and life, to Traditional songs of gypsies, fairies, legless pirates and black flies – Mad Dog never fail to capture their audience with their infectious songs. Tickets: £17 Full, £16 Concessions, from www.thedavidhall.org.uk or 01460 240 340.

SAT 1 – SAT 29 FEBRUARY

Throughout February, the 30 acres of award-winning gardens are carpeted in a spectacular display of snowdrops, heralding the start of Spring. It’s the perfect time of year to explore the topiary-lined views and vistas and enjoy the garden starting to wake up from its Winter hibernation. Entrance throughout February will be £5 for adults and £2.50 for children. www.fordeabbey. co.uk Tel: 01460 220231

SUNDAY 2 FEBRUARY

St Swithun’s Church, North Allington, Bridport, 4pm. Bach Vespers service for Candlemas, featuring Cantata no 82, ‘Ich habe genug’. Choir with soloists and a chamber orchestra. Free with a retiring collection. See www.sworgansociety.org for details.

South Somerset Ramblers. 11 mile walk from Otterford Lakes CP (ST 225141) via Churchstanton & Biscombe Hill. Bring picnic. Assistance dogs only. Details from Carl on 01460 30163 Sunday Meditation 4-5pm. Mindful awareness, sacred sounds, the power of the spoken work and Stillness. The Chapel in the Garden Bridport DT6 3JJ. Contact 07884 191459 or 07973 529245 Also 16 Feb. 8 mile leisurely walk. 10.00am. Stockland.

Contact 01404-549390

MONDAY 3 FEBRUARY

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock 7.30 – 10.00 p.m. Evening of social dancing at Chardstock Village Hall, Cost £1.50 tea or coffee included. No partner required. Contact David on 01460 65981; Ann on 01308 42297; or Andrew on 01297 33461; or just come along. www. chardscottishdancing.org West Dorset Ramblers circular walk 9.5miles/15.3km Kingcombe & Hooke, Sections of Jubilee Trail and Wessex Ridgeway. 10.00am, bring picnic, no dogs.

Contact 01300 320084 Lipreading & Managing Hearing Loss Honiton Methodist Church 10am - 12noon. Learn how to manage your

hearing loss using lipreading and coping strategies, while building confidence in a supportive environment. First session free. Small, friendly group. Tea, coffee and biscuits provided. Contact Ruth for further details ruth@bizleyart.com 07855 340517.

Also on 10th and 24th.

Scottish Country Dancing at Ashill 7.30 to 9.30 pm. Learn steps, formations and dances, led by a fully qualified teacher in a relaxed and fun setting. Ashill village hall, just off the A358 Nr Ilminster. For more information contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail. com. Also on 10th,17th, 24th Feb. Arts Society Neroche South Somerset – Canal History and Heritage. Illustrated talk by Roger Butler, 7.15 p.m. A colourful introduction to the secret world of our 2000 mile inland waterway network.

Frogmary Green Conference Centre, South Petherton, TA13 5DJ. Contact 01460 57179.

Bridport Folk Dance Club, 7-30pm – 9 30pm WI Hall North Street, Bridport.

DT6 3JQ Impress your Valentine, learn to Dance. Beginner and experienced dancers welcome (children must be accompanied by an adult}. Contact: 01308 458 165

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 17

MON 3 – FRIDAY 14 FEBRUARY

Come and walk/drive through our beautiful village and see the stunning white drifts of snowdrops. (The village hall is below the church) Open (Weather permitting): 10.30am -3.30 pm Daily To Book Please ring or email so we can cater accordingly: Tessa Russell Tel: 01308 482227 or email: tessa@cvfarms.co.uk Or Pippa James 01305 889338 m 07880882985 email:enquiries@dovehousedorset.co.uk Pre booked guests will take priority as the hall is small. In bad/icy weather we may not be open. Please be considerate of our village/verges etc when parking or ring us to discuss your needs so we can advise you where to go. We very much look forward to seeing you.

TUESDAY 4 FEBRUARY

Dorchester Civic Society Public Talk.

A vision for sustainable transport in West Dorset. 7.30 pm Scott Witchalls, Director of Transport and Infrastructure, Peter Brett Associates. Dorford Centre, Top o Town, Dorchester 01305 262005.

West Dorset Ramblers circular walk 6 miles/9.6km Downland Walk and Pub Lunch 10.00am, bring snack, optional pub lunch at the Brewers Arms PH, Martinstown. No dogs. Tel. 01305 261230

18 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

Chard Camera Club Members will be travelling to Wellington camera club for an annual inter club competition starting at 7.30pm.. Further details can be obtained from the club’s website www. chardcameraclub.org.uk or by contacting the club’s members secretary Mrs Joyce Partridge Annual Coffee Morning Come and Meet Us. 10.30 - 12 noon at The Alexandra Hotel in Pound St, Lyme Regis DT7 3HZ. Entrance Free. All Welcome. 01460 66885.

Lipreading & Managing Hearing Loss Bridport Hospital 2-4pm. Learn how to manage your hearing loss using lipreading and coping strategies, while building confidence in a supportive environment.

First session free. Small, friendly group.

Tea, coffee and biscuits provided. Contact Ruth for further details ruth@bizleyart. com 07855 340517 or just come along on the day. Also on 11th and 25th.

Beaminster Museum Winter talk , 2.30pm, ‘Stories from the Jurassic – the Rocks and Fossils of Horn Park’, by Sam Scrivens of the Jurassic Coast Trust, Beaminster Museum, Whitcombe Road, DT8 3NB. Info@beaminstermuseum.co.uk Chard Ladies’ Evening Guild will meet for a talk by Gwyneth Jackson about one of Chard’s most notable personalities,

Margaret Bondfield, who was born in Chard 1873 and rose from quite humble beginnings to eventually become this country’s first woman Cabinet Minister and Privy Councillor. Her story is a remarkable one and will be of great interest. The meeting will be held at the Crowshute Centre at 6.45 p.m. where there is ample free parking space in the adjacent public car park.

WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY

AVDCS Work Party, 10.00-16.00, Scrub bashing on Goat Island. Meet Stepps Lane SY266903. Contact Donald Campbell 01297 552945 Axminster Historical Society Talk: Devon Festivals - Robert Hesketh delves into the origins of Devon’s festivals, many deeply rooted in the county’s history and folklore: Flaming Tar Barrels, Hot Pennies, Wassailing, Raising the Glove, Ale Tasting, Tip Tip Toeing and much more.

7:30pm All Welcome, Membership £10 Non Members £2 The Bradshaw Meeting Room, Axminster Heritage Centre, Thomas Whitty House, Silver Street, Axminster, EX13 5AH Bridport Camera Club 7pm for 7.30 start. Knockout Print Competition Monochrome Portrait judged by award

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 19

winning photographer Tim Booth. Non members £4 at the door. Bridport Town Hall DT6 3HA. info@bridportcameraclub. co.uk. 01395 892353.

THURSDAY 6 FEBRUARY

Sidmouth Ballroom Dancing Club, 8p.m. Couples of all abilities welcome. St Francis Hall, EX10 9XH 01395 579856.

Also 13,20,27 Feb. Talk ‘The RAF in Lyme Regis 19371964’ by Ken Gollop : 2.30pm : Ken is a local historian well known over many years for his popular ‘Under Shady Tree’ talks : Woodmead Halls, Hill Rd, Lyme Regis DT7 3PG : contact David Cox on 01297 443156 (Friends of Lyme Regis Philpot Museum).

Chard History Group welcomes Jan Humphreys for a Talk “Horton -here’s a How” at 7.30pm. Drawing on a series of articles appearing in “The Horton Gazette” on a quarterly basis since Summer 2010, Jan will offer the history of Horton village from its origins up to the mid-18th century. The Phoenix Hotel upstairs in The Ball Room in Fore Street, Chard. Members £2, Guests £3. Contact information 01460 66165.

Chard Camera Club The club will be holding it’s first ever ‘Mix and Match

Female Vs Male’ DPI competition at their base in the Baptist Church Hall Holyrood Street at 7.30pm further details can be obtained from the members secretary Mrs Joyce Partridge on 01460 66885 or by visiting their website wwwchardcameraclub.org.uk.

Any person wishing to find out more of the club should call in at one of their twice monthly meetings (first and third Thursdays of the month) where they will be made most welcome.

Scottish Country Dancing with the Somerset Branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society. We have classes at Long Sutton, Ashill and Somerton to suit all levels. To find out more contact Liz on 01935 826181 or Anita on 01460 929383.

FRIDAY 7 FEBRUARY

Smuggling and the Dorset Connection.

An illustrated talk by Trevor Ware.

MA.M.Phil. Maritime Historian on the Smuggling industry of the 18th and early 19th Century in Britain and in Dorset especially. West Bay Discovery Centre. Details and tickets from www. westbaydiscoverycentre.org.uk; Tickets £8 per person.Including wine.

Fish and Chip Friday – 12.30pm.

Fish, chips, mushy peas and tartar

sauce, followed by a fruity dessert.

Non-members £8.75 / members £6.50.

Booking required. The Henhayes Centre, South Street Car Park, Crewkerne, TA18 8DA. Tel 01460 74340.

Dorset Wildlife Trust - Sea What’s There, 7:30pm – 9pm, Talk by Morven Robertson, UK project officer at the Blue Marine Foundation, Bridport United Church Hall, East Street, Bridport, DT6 3LJ., www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk Yeovil Archaeological and Local History Society meeting at Holy Trinity Church, Lysander Road, BA20 2BU at 7.30pm have an interesting talk ‘ ‘The Magic of Somerset Carnivals’ - (Carnival has a 400 year history in Somerset beginning with bonfires and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes in Bridgwater.

Torchlight processions followed, therefore starting the tradition of carnival processions, which have developed over 400 years to the spectacular processions of today). Speaker – John Dando. Guests £2 at the Door. Contact 01935 477174. www.yalhs.org.uk Furleigh Fizz - Comes of Age, 6:45pm, Tasting of Furleigh Fizz from 2015 back to 2009 presented by Suzy Atkins Wine Writer for The Sunday Telegraph, £25pp More details at www.furleighestate.co.uk

Cornish Bluegrass comes to Honiton

FLATS and Sharps, a four-piece band from Penzance, Flats and Sharps, come to the Beehive Centre at Honiton on Saturday 8th February as part of their winter tour. The band plays powerful and well-crafted original songs. Their music perfectly blends strong harmonies and energetic solo. Their incredible stage presence and energy create an evening that will have the audience dancing, laughing and singing along in no time. Other dates on the tour include Friday 21st at Buckland In The Moor community hall.

20 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

Megson. 8pm at The David Hall in South Peterton. Four times nominated in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and double winners of the Spiral Earth Awards, Megson - aka Stu and Debbie Hanna draw heavily on their Teesside heritage to create a truly unique brand of Folk music.

Tickets: £16 Full, £15 Concessions, from www.thedavidhall.org.uk or 01460 240 340.

5 miles leisurely walk. 10.00am Chardstock. Contact 01460-220636 The Living Tree, cancer self-help group.

12.45pm Mindfulness session with Sue Howse. 2.00pm Tripudio Flow gentle exercise. 2.15pm Speaker – Paul Duffy will be talking about how a positive mindset can enhance physical wellbeing, this talk will also include aspects of hypnotherapy and EFT (emotional freedom technique). 3.15 – 4.15 pm Therapy session – Worry Busting with Louise Wender. Drop in any time between 2pm and 4.30pm at the Friends’ Meeting House, 95 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NZ. Tel 07341 916 976. www. thelivingtree.org.uk

SATURDAY 8 FEBRUARY

Sherborne Town Band Concert 19:30 A long established brass band in the finest

tradition presenting a varied programme of unforgettable brass band music.

Martock Church; Church Street; Martock TA12 6JL Tickets £10 or £9 at Martock Gallery/Newsagent or 01935 829576 Egyptian Society Taunton “Ramesses III: Why He Came to a Nasty End”.

Speaker: Vanessa Foott. The lecture will take place at 2.00pm at Friends Meeting House, Bath Place, Taunton, TA1 4ED http://egyptiansoctaunton.wixsite.com/ home Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 5 mile walk from Martinstown 10.30am start. Bring picnic. No dogs. All welcome. Please call 01308 898484/01308 863340 Jumble sale 2-4pm Colyford Memorial Hall Contact Katie 01297 551288 If you have items for collection please call the above number.

The River Parrett in South Perrott (on A356) Village Hall at 7pm. The River Parrett rises in the grounds of Chedington Court, flows through South Perrott and West Chinnock on its way to Bridgwater and beyond. Clive Gunnell takes you on an interesting tour visiting places of interest along its course. Entry is £5 and includes refreshments. There is also a raffle. In aid of St Mary’s Church

Roof Fund. Enquiries: 01935 891224.or 891234.

Martock Farmers Market, 10-1 a chance to hear how over 16 stallholders grow and make their food. In CoOp precinct, off North Street, TA12 6DH. For a table ring Fergus 01935 822202.

Flats and Sharps 7.30pm A brilliant four-piece Bluegrass band from Penzance with strong harmonies, stonking solos, incredible energy and stage presence. £12 in advance, £15 on the door (seated) The Beehive, Honiton. www.beehivehoniton. co.uk Box office 01404 384050 Pip Utton Presents: At Home with Will Shakespeare. 7.30pm at The David Hall in South Petherton. Pip Utton gives us all the chance to spend time with the great man; a man who loves, laughs, drinks, sings, dances and cries, and in between is forced to write some plays and poetry to make a living. This production was a favourite at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Tickets: £10 Full, £9 Concessions, from www.thedavidhall.org.uk or 01460 240 340.

Village Coffee Break Light refreshments to eat and buy. Long Bredy Village Hall. 10.30 to 12.00. Contact details: 01308 482882

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 21

Loders Village Hall, Loders, West Dorset Group of the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society meeting, 2.00. Members business meeting followed by ‘What’s new on the Internet’ members session, do come along and see what is new for family history research on the internet. Members £1.50 and visitors £3, all welcome, tea and biscuits included. For more information contact Jane on 0308 425710 or email: jferentzi@aol.com

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock 7.30 – 10.00 p.m. Evening of social dancing at Chardstock Village Hall, Cost £1.50 tea or coffee included. No partner required. Contact David on 01460 65981; Ann on 01308 42297; or Andrew on 01297 33461; or just come along. www. chardscottishdancing.org Meeting. Dorchester Townswomen’s Guild 2p.m. Talk by Jan Tollerfield about Frederick Treves. Visitors £3. Dorchester Community Church, Lipscombe Street, Poundbury. Enquiries 01305 832857.

West Dorset Flower Club are holding their AGM at 2:30 pm in the WI Hall in North Street, Bridport. Visitors and new members are very welcome. For further details please contact the secretary on 01308 456339.

Radipole & Southill Horticultural Society, 7-30pm, Dorset’s Changing Wildlife by Bob Ford, Southill Community Centre DT4 9SF, 01305 788939 Bridport Folk Dance Club, 7-30pm – 9 30pm WI Hall North Street, Bridport.

DT6 3JQ Impress your Valentine, learn to Dance. Beginner and experienced dancers welcome (children must be accompanied by an adult}. Contact: 01308 458 165

included Michelle Obama and Bill Gates.

The Beehive, Dowell Street, Honiton, EX14 1LZ at 2pm.

Charity Tea Dance 2.30p.m. Ballroom and Sequence dancing to strict tempo CD’s St Francis Hall Sidmouth EX10 9XH 01395 579856 Axe Vale Stamp Club - 8.00 pm Members’ Evening Display - Bradshaw Rooms, Silver Street Axminster - Nicholas Arrow 01297 552482 West Dorset Ramblers circular walk 8.5 miles/13.7km. Char Valley. Ryall, Shave Cross, Denhay Cross.10.00am. Bring picnic, dogs optional. Contact 01308 898484 Stanchester Quire Spring Season 7:30 – 9:00pm New members welcome to learn songs about the South West of England Martock Christian Fellowship Centre, TA12 6JL Contact Bonnie on 01935 822287 or Phil 01935 47784 Chard WI meeting at Chard Baptist Church Rooms, Holyrood Street TA20 2AH. ‘Call My Bluff ’ with Brian Phelps.

Meeting starts 7.30. Guests and new members welcome. Call Madeleine on 01460 68495 or e-mail info.chardwi@ gmail.com for more information. Meetings second Tuesday of each month.

Turn Lyme Green 7.15 for 7.30 prompt start Mark Foxall talks about latest developments in compostables and how we can avoid more plastic pollution. All welcome. Free. Donations welcome. Royal Lion Hotel Lyme Regis Contact Jo Smith Oliver 07525005430 Time for Tea and a Talk: Malcolm Miller ‘History of Miller’s Farm Shop and French Connection’ 2:00pm £3 Tea & cake served. For info or to book please call 01404 831207 The Bradshaw Meeting Room, Axminster Heritage, Silver Street, Axminster, Devon, EX13 5AH Bridport History Society, United Church Hall, East St, Bridport 2.30. ‘D-Day Spearhead Brigade: The Hampshires, Dorsets and Devons 6 June 1944’ talk with Nick Speakman, copies of the book will also be on sail. Members £1 and visitors £4 all welcome, tea and biscuits provided. For more information contact Jane on 01308 425710 or email: jferentzi@aol.com

TUESDAY 11 FEBRUARY

WEDNESDAY 12 FEBRUARY

SUNDAY 9 FEBRUARY

Divine Union Soundbath 7pm-8.30pm Crystal and Tibetan singing bowls for relaxation/detox Dorchester YMCA, Sawmills Lane, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 2RZ 01935 389655 ahiahel@live.com www. centreforpuresound.org 8 miles leisurely walk. 10.00am Colyton.

Contact 01395-567450

MONDAY 10 FEBRUARY

Arts society Honiton ‘Big Ben’ - Tim Redmond. Big Ben is one of the most iconic buildings in the world – it identifies the UK and democracy in the Western world. You will be taken on a virtual tour of the interior of the most famous bell in the world! Tim spent his earlier career as a detective in the Metropolitan Police. On retirement he became a City of London tour guide. He used the knowledge gained to become a guide within the Palace of Westminster. His many guests have 22 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

Axe Valley Centre National Trust, AGM and Talk by Graham Stark, a Guide from Shute Barton, Colyford Memorial Hall 2.30pm. Visitors welcome £2 Contact Membership Secretary 01297631801.

“SHIRAZ” – singer/song-writers from Bridport. St. Peter’s Church, Dalwood, EX13 7EG (just north of the A35 between Axminster & Honiton) A concert of Shirley & Sharon’s brilliant compositions in a very informal setting. FREE entry, glass of wine, tea/coffee. Retiring collection for

FORCE (Cancer Support Centre in Exeter) The Beehive Acoustic Café, 8pm A supportive open mic session in the Beehive bar with host and guitarist Terry Stacey. Come along to listen or to play.

Free entry The Beehive, Honiton. www. beehivehoniton.co.uk Box office 01404 384050 Sharing Stillness. 7.30-9.30pm. Listening to the teachings of Eckhart Tolle and silent meditation. The Chapel in the Garden, Bridport, DT6 3JJ. Contact Nichola Motley 07884 191459 Also 26 Feb. Nordic Walking at Furleigh Wine Estate, 11:30am, one hour with qualified instructors. Poles provided, £10pp including coffee and fizz, More details at www.furleighestate.co.uk 4 miles easy walk. 10.30 Sidford.Contact 01395-266668

THURSDAY 13 FEBRUARY

West Dorset Ramblers circular walk from Symondsbury over the hills 7miles/11.3km.

10.00am, bring picnic, no dogs. Contact 01308 862981 Chard Royal Naval Association The association will be meeting in the Chard Rugby Football Club, Essex Close at 7.30pm for their first social meeting of the year.The evening will consist of two of the members recalling their part in the Falklands conflict 1982. Any person showing an interest in joining the association should attend one of their meetings held monthly on the second Thursday of the month where they would be made most welcome. Just as a reminder you DO NOT have to be a former service person to take advantage of it’s membership.Further details can be obtained from the branch secretary Mr Gary Pennells on 01460 77978 Uplyme & Lyme Regis Horticultural Society coach trip. Depart 8.15am Uplyme Village Hall to Colesbourne Park near Cheltenham. 10 acres with more than 300 snowdrop cultivars and a 300tree arboretum. £20 (£23 for guests) includes soup and roll, tea/coffee. Book with Tricia Boyd 07767 261444 tricia@ thegardenersblacksmith.co.uk Seavington Gardening Club, 7.30 pm.

Talk ‘ Bees and Beekeeping ‘ by Neil Cook . Seavington Millennium Hall . Enquiries Karen Day 01460249728.

Crewkerne Gardening Club invites you to an excellent talk on “Container Gardening” from a Gold Club speaker.

This will be held in the Henhayes Centre at 7.30pm and refreshments are included.

Everyone welcome! visitors £2.50.

The Great Fen: An Illustrated Talk and book launch by Alan Bowley. Free/ Donation. Bridport Literary & Scientific Institute www.lsibridport.co.uk

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 23

Bridport Women’s History Group, 7-9pm, The Challenges of Researching North Korean Women’s Lives By HyunJoo Lim Bridport Youth & Community Centre, Gundry Lane, Bridport, all women welcome, More info: k.hunt@keele.ac.uk

FRIDAY 14 FEBRUARY

Valentine Wedding Festival Weekend, school children acting out ‘The Wedding at Cana’. Thorners’ School at 2.15 pm in LATCH hall Litton Cheney and Burton Bradstock School at 9.15 am in St Mary’s Church Burton Bradstock. Contact the Rector on 01308-898799.

Windborne will be performing Song on the Times. Doors and bar open 7.00 for performance start at 7.30. workshop also available, 5.00 to 6.00. This close harmony group from America wll be singing protest songs from the UK and USA and making them relevant to today, courtesy of Artsreach. The Village Hall, Milborne St Andrew DT11 0JB. Book online or with Sarah Ryan 01258 839230.

Lyme Regis U3A Social Morning. Come and meet the Activity Group Leaders at our Social Coffee morning and maybe join a group? Learn, Laugh and Live.

Woodmeads Hall, Lyme Regis. Free entry bring a friend! From 10:00 am until 12:00 Food on Friday, 12 noon, at Clapton & Wayford Village Hall - two course lunch, roll & butter + unlimited tea/coffee, £5.

Special diets can usually be catered for if requested in advance. Disabled facilities, ample parking, lovely view. Open to all ages; very friendly atmosphere, newcomers really welcomed, but please book places in advance by phoning June (01460 77057) or Jackie (01460 72324), who will also provide more information if required.

Kilmington Garden Club: Nick Bailey of BBC Gardeners World gives us the benefit of over 25 years of experience from his varied gardening career during a talk on ‘365 Days of Colour’. Start 7:30pm £10 Ticket entry only from 07900 827689 Kilmington Village Hall, Whitford Rd. Kilmington EX13 7RF 6 miles moderate walk. 10.00am Musbury. Contact 01297-552860 The Living Tree, cancer self-help group.

2.00pm Tripudio Flow gentle exercise.

2.15pm Rose Thorpe introducing you to our library and some really good reads, not only great books on Cancer, but also other interesting reading. 2.30 – 4.00pm Therapy session Karen Forrester-Jones offering M’Technique, touch therapy, mini sessions that are suitable for all. Drop in any time between 2pm and 4.30pm at the Friends’ Meeting House, 95 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NZ. Tel 07341 916 976. www. thelivingtree.org.uk

24 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

FRIDAY 14 – SUN 16 FEBRUARY Spring Flower Celebration. At Holy Cross Church, Woodbury Lane (off Lyme Road) Axminster. Open Fri 12noon to 4pm, Sat 10am to 4pm and Sun 10am to 3pm followed by Songs of Praise.

Free entry but donations appreciated.

Refreshments available on Sat & Sun. Our church is now licensed to hold wedding ceremonies. For more information call 01297 598953.

SATURDAY 15 FEBRUARY

St Michael’s Church, Lyme Regis, 7.30pm. Choral concert to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the installation of the church’s Skrabl organ. Lyme Bay Chorale directed by Peter Lea-Cox, with Alex Davies on the organ. Programme includes Laudes Organi by Kodaly, Mendelssohn’s Organ Sonata no 1 and several songs by Max Reger. Tickets £10 from Lyme Regis TIC, Penny Black cafe or on the door.

Evening of Social Dancing at Chardstock Village Hall, tea or coffee included 7.30 – 10.30 p.m. No partner required. Contact David on 01460 65981; Ann on 01308 422927; or Andrew on 01297 33461; or just come along. Cost £3.00 www.chardscottishdancing.org Please bring a plate of food to share.

Valentine Wedding Festival Weekend, all Bride Valley Churches will be open from 10.00am till 3.00pm with wedding themed displays. Burton Bradstock, Shipton Gorge, Puncknowle, Swyre, Litton Cheney, Long Bredy and Littlebredy. Contact the Rector on 01308-898799.

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 8 mile walk from Pilsdon Pen 10.30am start. Bring picnic. No dogs. All welcome.

Please call 01308 898484/01308 863340 AVDCS Work Party, 10.00-16.00, General management Colyton Community Woodland. Meet Hillhead car park SY245934. Contact Donald Campbell 01297 552945 Sooouper Saturday 12 noon - 2 pm Come along and enjoy a bowl of delicious home-made soup and a sandwich at Holy Trinity Church Bothenhampton. For more details please contact Ro on 01308 459259 ‘Que Pasa’, 7.30pm, at Clapton & Wayford Village Hall – a concert of words & music by poets Chris Fogg & Chris Waters and saxophonist & composer Rob Yockney. Live music & lively words to transport you to far away places & back!

Licenced bar & raffle. Tickets, to include interval ploughman’s supper - £9 adult, £4 child/student (suitable for 11 years +). Please book on 01460 74849 or 01460 72769.

Saskia Griffiths-Moore. 8pm. Saskia Griffiths-Moore is bringing her new music, and Baez & Dylan ‘throwback Folk’, to

The David Hall in South Petherton. This young rising star is increasingly known for her crystal-clear vocals and melody-led Acoustic song-writing and has appeared at Petherton Folk Fest in both 2018 and 2019.

Expect a night of laughs, sincere music and original material. Tickets: £14 Full, £13 Concessions, from www.thedavidhall.org.uk or 01460 240 340.

Wedding Event with hats, bells and refreshments. St Peter’s Church, Long Bredy 10.30am to 3.30pm Country and Western Music by Dave Montana, Drimpton Village Hall, Chard Road. 8pm Tickets £7 Tel: 01308 868385

SUNDAY 16 FEBRUARY

ShelterBox Tea Dance 2.30p.m.

Ballroom,Latin and sequence dancing on the best floor in East Devon; Stowford Centre(opp Waitrose) Sidmouth EX10 9YL 01395 579856 St Michael’s Church, Lyme Regis, 11am. Sung Eucharist to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the installation of the church’s Skrabl organ. Invited choir directed by Matt Kingston with Alex Davies playing the organ. Music will include excerpts from the Mass of St Thomas by David Thorne and Messe Solenelle by Vierne, plus Stanford’s Te Deum in B flat. Music before the service will be played by young PipeUp organ students.

Valentine Wedding Festival Weekend, all Bride Valley Churches are holding a Special Service at 10.30am to celebrate loving and caring relationships. Burton Bradstock, Shipton Gorge, Puncknowle, Swyre, Litton Cheney, Long Bredy and Littlebredy.

Contact the Rector on 01308-898799.

Snowdrop Tea, 2-30 to 4-30pm. Admire the churchyard snowdrops and enjoy tea and cake in St Nicholas Church, Combe Raleigh, EX14 4TG. Snowdrops for sale.

Contact 01404 43929 or 01404 43166.

South Somerset Ramblers. 14 mile walk on the Blackdowns from Staple Hill CP (ST 247160) via Bickenhall Plain, Netherclay & Piddle Wood. Bring picnic.

Details from Ian on 07478 672185.

Divine Union Soundbath 2pm-4pm Crystal and Tibetan singing bowls for relaxation/detox Bridport Unitarians, 49 East St, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3JX 01935 389655 ahiahel@live.com Wedding Event Service 10.30 am followed by exhibition as above, until 3.30pm. No charge but donations towards the renovation of the church organ..

Contact details: 01308 482882

MONDAY 17 FEBRUARY

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock 7.30 – 10.00 p.m. Evening of social dancing at Chardstock Village Hall, Cost £1.50

tea or coffee included. No partner required. Contact David on 01460 65981; Ann on 01308 42297; or Andrew on 01297 33461; or just come along www. chardscottishdancing.org AVDCS Bird Watch, 10.00-all day, Birdwatching with Rob Johnson at RSPB Greylake & SWT Catcott Lows. Meet reserve car park ST399346. Contact Fran Sinclair 07804 835905 for car share.

Bridport Folk Dance Club, 7-30pm – 9 30pm WI Hall North Street, Bridport.

DT6 3JQ Impress your Valentine, learn to Dance. Beginner and experienced dancers welcome (children must be accompanied by an adult}. Contact: 01308 458 165 Axminster Musical Theatre’s Annual General Meeting at 7 pm in the Masonic Hall, South Street, Axminster including all the details about our forthcoming musical Avenue Q in April 2020! All welcome and refreshments provided! If you need more details, please email our secretary jasminehussey28@gmail.com

MON 17 – FRI 21 FEBRUARY

Half term pirate week. All day. There will be swash-Bucklin’ fun aplenty and Shire Hall’s half term Pirate Week.

Kids dressed as pirates go free, when accompanied by a paying adult. There will

be a treasure hunt, parrot spotting, film nights, and visitors can create their own wanted poster For more information visit shirehalldorset.org or call 01305 261849.

a cat, a camel and lots of laughs. Adult £14, U16 £8 The Beehive, Honiton. www. beehivehoniton.co.uk Box office 01404 384050

TUESDAY 18 FEBRUARY

WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY

St Michael’s Church, Lyme Regis, 2.30pm. Seminar with renowned organist Peter King and pianist Duncan Honeybourne on the remarkable associations between Liszt’s organ and piano compositions. The session will include the Fantasy and Fugue on B-AC-H, Fantasy on ‘Ad nos, ad salutarem undem’, the B minor piano sonata, and much more. Part of the South West Organ Society’s winter organ course but open to the public. Free, donations welcome. www. sworgansociety.org Beaminster Museum Winter talk , 2.30pm, ‘A Convict Ship Museum visits Dorset’, the horrors of transportation to Australia, by Diana Trenchard , Beaminster Museum, Whitcombe Road, DT8 3NB. Info@beaminstermuseum.co.uk

TUES 18 – SAT 22 FEBRUARY

Dick Whittington 7pm + Saturday Matinee 2pm. Honiton Community Theatre Company returns to The Beehive with a fun-filled panto from start to finish:

Devonshire Association Meeting, 2.30pm, a talk by Dr.Peter Marsden entitled London and Exeter: a tale of two Roman and Saxon Cities. At the Pavilion, Peace Memorial Playing Fields, Coly Road, Colyton EX24 5PU. Entrance: Donation £1 (DA Members), £3 (Non Members).

For more details visit devonassoc.org.uk/ events/category/branch-events/axevalleybranch-events/ The Minster Church, Axminster, 10.30am. Seminar with renowned organist Andrew Millington and pianist Duncan Honeybourne, examining Mendelssohn’s short life, and illustrating and comparing the music he wrote for organ and piano during his travels. Part of the South West Organ Society’s winter organ course but open to the public. Free, donations welcome. www.sworgansociety.org Thorncombe Rail Activities Club will host a talk and slide presentation given

by Calum Darraugh entitled “The Story of Peco and Pecorama” The meeting is at Thorncombe Village Hall, TA20 4NE

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 25

Looking Ahead SUNDAY 1 MARCH

Plant and Gardening Fair 10am - 4pm See what you can add to your own garden, or just to admire the plants on show. £5 admission and free parking. www. fordeabbey.co.uk Tel: 01460 220231

and starts at 7.30pm. Non Members are welcome, there are refreshments, a raffle and the parking is free. Contact Richard Holt, Chairman Tel. 01460 30428 or Google TRAC “traclubsite” for information.

Dorset Wildlife Trust Sherborne Group, 7.30pm, talk by Pauline Kidner, Founder of Secret World Wildlife Rescue, Digby Memorial Church Hall, Digby Road, Sherborne, DT9 3NL, cost £3.00. Mary Howes 01935 872742 West Dorset Ramblers circular walk 11 miles/17.7km. Lambert’s Castle to Forde Abbey, straying just across the Axe and back. 10.00am, bring picnic, no dogs.

Contact 01460 77094 Angel Heart Theatre will be performing ‘Mazy Meg and the Honeybees’, 4.00 to 5.00. Suitable for age 3 upwards. The Village Hall, Milborne St Andrew DT11 0JB. Book with Angela Johnson 01258 839060.

The MakeShift Ensemble presents: The Curious Garden. 11am at The David Hall in South Petherton. Join The MakeShift Ensemble as they bring to life New York Times’ award-winning children’s book, The Curious Garden, which is all about one boy’s quest for a greener world... one garden at a time. £10 Full, £9 under 12s, from www.thedavidhall.org.uk or 01460 240 340. Plus, at 2pm, a one–hour drama workshop with the performers, based on the themes in the show. Tickets: £5.

Colyton & District Garden Society.

Talk ‘1,000 Years of Growing Your Own’,

by Ambra Edwards. Colyford Memorial Hall, 7.30pm. Members free, guests £3.

For information Sue Price 01297 552362.

8 miles mod walk. 10.00am Branscombe.

Contact 01404-831143

THURSDAY 20 FEBRUARY

Chard Camera Club The club will meet at 7.30pm at the Baptist Church Hall Holyrood Street to have their print panel of three images entered in the ‘Peter Partridge Panel’ and a digital triptych.

Judge for the evening being Mr Barry Holmes. Further enquiries can be made via the membership secretary Mrs Joyce Partridge on 01460 66885 or via their very informative website www.chardcameraclub. org.uk The Arts Society West Dorset. ‘Indian Travels with Kipling’. Speaker Elizabeth 26 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

WEDNESDAY 4 MARCH

Axminster Historical Society ‘Exeter Before The Railway’ by Alan Rosevear. 7:30pm All Welcome, Axminster Heritage Centre, Silver Street, Axminster, EX13 5AH

Merry. Bridport Town Hall 2.30. Details: 01308 485487.

The Life of a Village Agent is the the title of the talk to be given by Nicola Hardy to Tatworth W.I. at 7.30pm in Tatworth Memorial Hall. Visitors welcome.

Charmouth Gardeners invite you to their AGM followed by a talk from Claire Hart entitled ‘Square Metre Gardening’.

2.30pm with refreshments from 2.00pm at Charmouth Village Hall, Wesley Close. All welcome, non members £2 or why not join only £5 for the year. Tel 01297560757 for more information.

FRIDAY 21 FEBRUARY

Dorset Feasting Evening, 7pm. Sharing board banquet of local and seasonal foods by candlelight in the 18th Century Chapel at the Alexandra Hotel. £29 per person, Alexandra Hotel, Pound Street, Lyme Regis 01297 442010 Chef ’s Special Lunch – 12.30pm. Fruit juice upon arrival, Roast Beef followed by Sticky Toffee Pudding. Tea / coffee and a chocolate to finish. Non-members £9.50 / members £8.00, Booking required. The Henhayes Centre, South Street Car Park, Crewkerne, TA18 8DA. Tel 01460 74340.

Family Bingo in South Perrott (on A356) Village Hall. Eyes down at 6:30pm.

Refreshments and raffle. In aid of St Mary’s Church Roof Fund. Enquiries: 01935 891224.

Feed the Soul - acoustic concert with vegan dinner to feed your body and soul Magdalena Atkinson - Dorset based singersongwriter and multi instrumentalist will be sharing her joyful & inspiring original music, featuring the song “Feed the soul” 7pm (door open at 6.30pm) Feed the Soul - Godmanstone, DT2 7AE tickets £20 including vegan dinner available in the cafe or through the website: www. magdalenaatkinson.co.uk Blue Rose Code + support from Steve Dagleish. 8pm at The David Hall in South Petherton. Ross Wilson writes from the heart, eschewing any specific genre; and the 12 new songs on The Water Of Leith - addressing themes of love, loss, travel, home, accepting the past and embracing the future - are painted with colours of Soul, Jazz, Folk and Pop, an eclecticism that has become a hallmark of Blue Rose Code. Tickets: £18 Full, £17 Concessions,

SATURDAY 7 MARCH

Sidmouth Daffodil Day 10am - 3pm Entry only 1p. Kennaway House, Sidmouth, Devon, EX10 8NG 01395515551 www. sidmouthdaffodilsociety.org.uk

from www.thedavidhall.org.uk or 01460 240 340.

St. Gabriel’s Strolling Players are reprising their successful performance of “A Walk Along the Dorset Coast with JMW Turner”, this time in aid of the Uparo Project. The evening does not require the audience to walk, but consists of words, written by Turner’s contemporaries about some of the places he visited in Dorset, music, song and some dance.7pm This time the venue will be Bridport Roman Catholic Church. Tickets are £5 from 01297 489658.

The Living Tree, cancer self-help group.

12.45pm Mindfulness session with Sue Howse. 2.00pm Tripudio Flow gentle exercise. 2.15pm Emma Gilmore from the School of Bodywork returns to discuss ‘Scars, love ‘em or hate them’.

2.30 – 4.00pm Therapy session - Peter Cove offering Massage. Drop in any time between 2pm and 4.30pm at the Friends’ Meeting House, 95 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NZ. Tel 07341 916 976. www. thelivingtree.org.uk

SATURDAY 22 FEBRUARY

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 7.25 mile walk from Thorncombe Wood 10.30am start. Bring picnic. No dogs. All welcome. Please call 01308 898484/01308 863340 AVDCS Estuary Clean-up, 10-12, Litter pick on Axe estuary eastern edge. Meet Axmouth Bridge lay-by SY253901. Contact Lesley Clarke 01297 20180 Acoustic Night. 7.30pm – 11pm at The David Hall in South Petherton. All styles and forms of performance welcome – not just music. If you wish to perform please send an email to folk@chriswatts.org to secure a slot.

SUNDAY 23 FEBRUARY

Divine Union Soundbath 2pm-4pm Crystal and Tibetan singing bowls for relaxation/detox Oborne Village Hall, OBORNE, nr. Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4LA 01935 389655 ahiahel@live.com 8 miles leisurely walk. Honiton. 10.00am Contact 01395-577891

MONDAY 24 FEBRUARY

Musbury Garden Club A talk by Becca Flintham: ‘Water, water everywhere!’ With

climate change bringing gardeners extra challenges in the form of not enough water - or too much when it does arrive! - how can we garden in more water-wise ways, both for ourselves and for wildlife and the environment? Discover the value of ponds and bog gardens in helping wildlife, and some tips for plants and techniques to help make you a water-wise gardener. Becca has over 25 years experience working in environmental education with children and adults. Doors to Musbury Village Hall, EX13 8AJ open for refreshments at 7p.m. before the talk at 7.30p.m. Members: £1.50. Non-members very welcome: £2.50.

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock 7.30 – 10.00 p.m. Evening of social dancing at Chardstock Village Hall, Cost £1.50 tea or coffee included. No partner required.

Contact David on 01460 65981; Ann on 01308 42297; or Andrew on 01297 33461; or just come along www.chardscottishdancing.org Bridport Folk Dance Club, 7-30pm – 9 30pm WI Hall North Street, Bridport. DT6 3JQ Dance with local band and visiting caller Beginner and experienced dancers welcome (children must be accompanied by an adult}.

Contact: 01308 458 165

TUESDAY 25 FEBRUARY

U3A Monthly Talk The U3A (University of the Third Age) offers a wide variety of general interest groups for retired, and semi retired people in Bridport and the surrounding areas. 2pm in Bridport United Church Hall in East Street. The cost to non members for each talk is £2. Further Information can be found at www.u3asites. org.uk/bridport. Raj Adgopul tells the story of his journey as an immigrant to England.

Charity Tea Dance 2.30p.m. Ballroom and sequence dancing to strict tempo CD’s All Saints Hall, Sidmouth EX10 8ES 01395 517122 Dorset Industrial Archaeology Society,Members Evening. 7.30 pm.the Dorset Room, Colliton House, Colliton Park, Dorchester. 01308422054/01935813598.

West Dorset Ramblers circular walk 8 miles/12.9km. Shipton, Uploders, Loders.

10.00am, bring picnic, no dogs. Contact 01305 459315 Dorset National Park - Another Perspective Speaker t.b.a 2.30pm- 4pm at Woodmead Halls, Hill Road, Lyme Regis. DT7 3PG. All Welcome. Members Free. Visitors £3.00. Including Refreshments. www. lymeregissociety.org.uk Merriot Gardening Club An intriguing talk

by David Moon on ‘Gardening for the Rich and Famous’.

Please meet at the Tithe Barn, Church Street at 7.30pm - refreshments and raffle.

Everyone welcome - non-members £2 at the door. 01460-72298

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 27

WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY

WW2 East Devon Auxiliary Units, a talk on the untold story of Colyton’s highly secret wartime unit. Presented by Colyton Parish History Society and Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team. Colyford Village Hall, 7.30pm. £4 non-members, £2 members includes refreshments. For more info contact email: secretary@ colytonhistory.org South Petherton Local History Group presents ‘Hidden History in Old Maps’

by Ed Lorch and Steve Creaney. 7.30pm.

Methodist Church Hall, Palmer Street, TA13 5DB. Visitors £3 on the door.

Honiton U3A February meeting at The Beehive, Dowell Street, Honiton - 1.30pm for a 2pm start. Our speaker is Timothy Philips, Chairman of the National Piers Society who will be giving his talk entitled ‘Pier s& Music’ where he will be exploring this iconic symbol of the British seaside.

Member Free / Visitors - £2.00 donation.

More details at https://u3asites.org.uk/ honiton Coffee Morning. 10am-12noon at The David Hall in South Petherton. Free Entry.

10 miles mod walk.Steps Bridge.10.00am Contact 01395-516897

THURSDAY 27 FEBRUARY

West Dorset Ramblers circular walk 9.5 miles/15.2km Around Burton Bradstock & West Bay. 10.00am, bring picnic, no dogs.

Contact 01308 424512 The Art of The Joke: An Illustrated talk

by Susie Harries. 3pm. £5 Fundraiser.

Bridport Literary & Scientific Institute www.lsibridport.co.uk Monmouth Club Lunch 12.30pm. The Monmouth Club of Lyme Regis meets at a local hotel. The Club is open to retired or semi-retired professional gentlemen and is ideal for those who have recently moved to the Lyme Regis area. Members enjoy a 2 course lunch and convivial conversation with no after lunch speaker. For further information contact Dr Charles Wright on 01297 443258.

Postponed to March 5th: The Alexander Technique: a talk by Inge Dyson at the Charmouth Community Library at 7.00 pm.

Tangle Theatre presents: Volpone.

7.30pm at The David Hall in South Petherton. The classic satire of cunning and greed. A multi-skilled ensemble of three actors perform to an enticing backdrop of new and vintage Jazz, delivered with Tangle’s trademark dynamism. Tickets: £15 Full, £14 Concessions, from www.thedavidhall.org.uk or 01460 240 340.

28 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

FRIDAY 28 FEBRUARY

Blackdowns Adder Survey.

7.30pm. John Hanratty will deliver a Reptiles & Amphibians group presentation.

Parish Hall, North St. Ilminster TA19 0DG Enquiries, Valerie 01460 234551 Genesis Visible Touch: The Duke Tour 8pm The ultimate Phil Collins-era Genesis show! Celebrating the 40th anniversary, Genesis Visible Touch are performing the “Duke Tour” live set with hits such as “Turn It On Again”, “Misunderstanding” and “Follow You Follow Me”. £16.50 in advance, £18.50 on the door (seated) The Beehive, Honiton. www.beehivehoniton. co.uk Box office 01404 384050 The Living Tree, cancer self-help group.

2.00pm Tripudio Flow gentle exercise.

2.15pm Art with Libby. 3.15pm Rising Voices – singing with Jane. 2.30 – 4.00pm Therapy session: Anne Escott offering foot massages. Drop in any time between 2pm and 4.30pm at the Friends’ Meeting House, 95 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NZ. Tel 07341 916 976. www.thelivingtree.org.uk

SATURDAY 29 FEBRUARY

Leap Year Event in aid of Bridport Millennium Green. Entertainment to include Bridport Broadsiders, local male sea shanty singers, at Bridport Town Hall, 7.30pm. £7 (members £6), to include wine and nibbles. More details Sue Wilkinson, 01308 425037.

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 6.5 mile walk from Penn Farm 10.30am start. Bring picnic. No dogs. All welcome.

Please call 01308 898484/01308 863340 Artsreach at Powerstock Hut : ‘The Walking Man’ : A Talking Gig with Andy Morgan & Alhousseini Anivolla. 7pm for 7.30pm. Tickets: £9, £6, £25, 01308 485474/485730 or online www.artsreach. co.uk Henhayes Big Breakfast – 10am – 12 noon. Egg, bacon, tomato/beans, toast and tea/coffee. £4.50 Extras 50p each including black pudding, mushrooms & hash browns. Vegetarian options are also available. The Henhayes Centre, South Street Car Park, Crewkerne, TA18 8DA. Tel 01460 74340.

The Tuckers Jazz Club Dave Newton and Craig Milverton The Tuckers Arms, Dalwood, EX13 7EG. Near Axminster, (just north of the A35 between Axminster & Honiton) Tickets £10 Info. at www. dalwoodvillage.co.uk 01404 831 280 : 07999 553477 Dave Newton & Craig Milverton – A dynamic performance from The Kings of the Keyboard at The Tuckers.

Coffee Morning/ Indoor Car Boot Sale.

10am - 12 noon. Uplyme Village Hall. To book a table or enquiries ph. Becky on 07590495909

The Langport Mummers will perform a Leap Frog Day special, as all their performances are! 7.30 pm. Sharon Lazibyrds will also sing and play strings, there will be mulled cider and eats to buy.

Parish Hall, TA12 6JL. £5. Ring Fergus on 01935 8/22202 for more.

The Truth About Love: Bizet to Broadway 7.30pm Artists from the Royal Opera House & English National Opera perform in aid of Action East Devon & Honiton Dementia Alliance. With guests, Devon Close Harmony Quartet. £10 adv, £12 on the door The Beehive, Honiton. www.beehivehoniton.co.uk Box office 01404 384050 A Leap Year Concert at 7.30pm in St Peter and St Paul Church, South Petherton, featuring accomplished mixed choir Sixteen Bells and versatile quartet Bella Acapella. Tickets £8 / under16s free.

Wine for a donation. In aid of charity Raft (refugeeaidfromtaunton.org.uk).

Organised by Refugee Support Group, South Somerset. Geraldine Downey 01460 271358 Christian Garrick & The Budapest Café Orchestra – 10th Birthday Tour. 8pm at The David Hall in South Petherton.

The BCO play a blistering barrage of traditional Folk and Gypsy-flavoured music from across the Balkans and Russia, Klezmer laments, Romanian Doinas, Hungarian Czardas and their own unique re-imaginings of some of the biggest pieces ever written by the greats. Tickets: £18 Full, £17 Concessions, from www. thedavidhall.org.uk or 01460 240 340.

Norton sub Hamdon Concert by The Avon & Somerset Constabulary Male Voice Choir in Norton Church at 7.30pm.

Ticket £7 from Norton Community Shop or by Post (£8) calling 01935 881330.

Further details visit www.nortonfestival.org

SATURDAY 29 FEB – 1 MARCH

Hedge Laying. Patch Tucker will be at Monkton Wyld Court for the weekend to guide us through the skills and art of hedge laying. You will be maintaining a mature hedge in traditional west-country style, laying branches to regenerate, whilst harvesting firewood and poles for craft. £80.00pp including lunch. Accommodation and dinner on the Saturday night are not included in the price. If you wish to book this in addition, please request when contacting us. To book please contact: info@monktonwyldcourt.org

SAT 29 FEBRUARY – 8 MARCH

Crocus week, when these jewel-like flowers will carpet the lawns, although many bulbs will have been in bloom since mid-February. www.fordeabbey.co.uk Tel: 01460 220231

Flanders band is back

Belgian band Wor bring 18th century music from Flanders into the 21st century

BELGIAN band WÖR is back in February for a seven-date tour with Dorset’s Artsreach and Somerset’s Take Art rural touring arts charities, starting at Studland on Wednesday 5th February.

Almost 300 years ago, some musicians from around Antwerp, Brussels, Gent and Leuven decided to write down their favourite music. As time passed, the paper turned yellow, the ink began to fade, and the music was left to gather dust along with the faded manuscripts.

With their finely textured arrangements, WÖR injects new energy into these 18th century tunes from Flanders. Featuring Fabio De Meo on baritone sax, Jeroen Goegebuer on fiddle, Pieterjan Van Kerckhoven on bagpipes, soprano sax and musette, Bert Ruymbeek on accordion and Jonas Scheys on guitar, this young band shines an inventive spotlight with a modern twist on tunes from these manuscripts.

Marshwood Vale Magazine area dates for the tour are Studland village hall on Wednesday 5th with Artsreach, Norton sub Hamdon village hall on Thursday 6th with Take Art, and Winterborne Stickland’s Pamela Hambro Hall on Friday 7th. WÖR will also lead a workshop for instrumentalists at Winterborne Stickland on the morning of Saturday 8th February from 11am. Participants must bring their own instrument, and be capable of playing fluently. Suitable for ages 16-plus, places for the workshop can be booked by calling 01258 880920.

February COURSES & WORKSHOPS

WEDNESDAY 29 JANUARY

Dalwood Upholstery Class 9.30am to 3.30pm with tutor John Cooper in Dalwood Village Hall. 9.30am to 3.30pm. £15 per day. Places are limited, please book in advance on 01404 831207.

Dalwood Pavilion EX13 7EU. To book and for details please phone: 01404 831207

SATURDAY 15 FEBRUARY

Hare £75pp Studi0ne Broadwindsor Craft Centre Dorset 9-30am -4-30pm

Modern Floral Watercolour Workshop ll - Spring Tulips & Daffodils An introduction to painting spring flowers, learn the basic techniques: laying a wash, brushes, paints and paper, etc. Suitable for beginners and intermediates. Tutor: Gina Youens. Contact tutor for a material list 07703 246481. £16 An Axminster Heritage Craft Course 1:00pm – 3:30 pm The Bradshaw Meeting Room, Silver Street, Axminster EX13 5AH To book and for details please phone Jane on 01404 831207

SATURDAY 8 FEBRUARY

SUNDAY 16 FEBRUARY

THURSDAY 30 JANUARY

Mosaics Workshop, 30 - 09.30 to 13.00, 31 - 09.00 to 10.30 £40 Coastal Craft Collective, 10 Marine Place, Seaton, Devon EX12 2QL 01297 691362 hello@ coastalcraftcollective.co.uk

SATURDAY 1 FEBRUARY

Kokedama Workshops 10am - 12 noon Create striking sculptural ‘string gardens’ for snow drop displays that can be hung indoors or outdoors, with head gardener, Joshua Sparkes. Tickets cost £25 and include entry to the garden as well as a generous slice of cake and cups of tea and coffee to fuel creativity. Also 22 February. www.fordeabbey.co.uk Tel: 01460 220231

MONDAY 10 FEBRUARY

Advanced Massage Course, 10.00am 5.00pm, No Hands Massage ‘Transforming Touch’, 3 continuous days of giving and receiving potent healing touch intergrating neuro-muscular, myofacial and trigger point release in a unique and effective way with zero strain. You need to be a qualified Bodyworker to attend this course. Sunday 16th - Tues 18th Bridport, Contact Amanda 07733 045 289 bridport. massage@gmail.com

Learning to Draw : Spring Flowers. 1pm to 3 pm £16 “ Come and take the first steps in learning to draw and simple mark making.” Bradshaw Room, Axminster Heritage Centre , Axminster EX13 5AH. gina.youens@btinternet.com 07703246481

WEDNESDAY 12 FEBRUARY

Dalwood Upholstery Class 9.30am to 3.30pm with tutor John Cooper in Dalwood Village Hall. 9.30am to 3.30pm. £15 per day. As places are limited, please book in advance by phone on 01404 831207.

FRIDAY 14 FEBRUARY

By The Loom - Axminster Heritage Spinning and Weaving Group. Come along and learn new skills or use old ones with a friendly and supportive group. £3 Everyone welcome; beginners and the more experienced. 10.30 – 3.00 pm at

30 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

SATURDAY 22 FEBRUARY

Calligraphy for Beginners. A five-lesson course starts today. Saturday mornings in Feb, Mar and April. £65. Come and learn the Foundational Round-hand in a small group in a first floor studio in Dorchester.

Learn the basics then work on some easy but effective projects. For details and to book a place phone Jenny on 01305 264568.

WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY

Dalwood Upholstery Class 9.30am to 3.30pm with tutor John Cooper in Dalwood Village Hall. 9.30am to 3.30pm. £15 per day. Places limited, please book in advance by phone on 01404 831207.

FRIDAY 28 FEBRUARY

By The Loom - Axminster Heritage Spinning and Weaving Group. Come along and learn new skills or use old ones with a friendly and supportive group. £3 Everyone welcome; beginners and the more experienced. 10.30 – 3.00 pm For more info or to book: 01404 831207.

The Bradshaw Meeting Room, Axminster Heritage, Silver Street, Axminster, Devon, EX13 5AH Dillington House, Ilminster. Bridport historian Jane Ferentzi-Sheppard is offering a day ‘DNA and Family History Research’, how to use the results in your family history. Need to have done an Ancestry DNA test to attend. Fee is £56 which includes a three course lunch and tea and coffee all day. For more information contact the booking office at Dillington House on 01460 258613 or email dillington@somerset.gov.uk

SATURDAY 29 FEBRUARY

Jewellery workshop with Caroline Parrott. 10am-4pm. Create your own unique jewellery, using anodised aluminium that you handprint and dye as part of the workshop. Students typically create 5 different pieces in a day including, earrings, bangles and pendants. Suitable for beginners and those with experience of jewellery making. Please bring and apron and wear old clothes as dyes can stain permanently. Lunch provided. For more information visit shirehalldorset.org or call 01305 261849.

Hand Embroidery For Beginners Learn the best 15 hand embroidery stitches.

Produce a sampler and then use the stitches in a creative project. 10am - 3pm Tutor: Jan Dimond £16 An Axminster Heritage Craft Course at The Bradshaw Meeting Room, Thomas Whitty House, Silver Street, Axminster EX13 5AH. To book please phone Jane on 01404 831207

Presenters wanted for Lyme Bay radio

Benjamin Rose Big Band weekend in Cerne Abbas

T

he studio has been built, the equipment is being configured, the songs are being loaded onto the system and the ‘On Air’ sign will soon be ready to light up: all it needs now is a talented crew.

Local residents, Chris Tipping and Simon West, are the backbone behind Lyme Bay Radio, They’ve worked tirelessly over the past 18 months to raise funds to get the community station out of the starting blocks and it’s nearly time to (rock and) roll. All being well, the first broadcast will be on Sunday 1st March at midday.

A solid crew of trained volunteers will be needed to present programmes and do OBs (outside broadcasts) during Lifeboat week, the carnival and of course, at Lyme’s musical and food festivals.

Simon and Chris are looking for an engaging selection of voices to present shows, but equally important are the back office team of technical support engineers, show producers, researchers, admin assistants keen to do designing and fundraising, and event organisers too.

The station has been set up as part of local charity, Lyme Regis Development Trust. The radio station strengthens LRDTs remit to serve the wider community of Lyme Regis. Its success will be dependent upon finding and training a talented team who are prepared to learn the ropes.

The station is gearing itself up to provide a considerable amount of live content from homegrown presenters and perhaps a few syndicated shows too. It’ll be a vibrant and informative channel, serving locals and visitors to the area alike. They’re hoping to find presenters with passions for all genres and the content will be woven together with hot off the press news from local and national media outlets.

For more details visit LymeBayRadio. com or see their pages on Facebook and Twitter.

Tim Laycock and Colin Thompson

TWO hundred years ago, on 29th January 1820, Benjamin Rose sat down in his alehouse in Belchalwell and began to copy country dance tunes into a small book.

There were 135 lively and very danceable tunes that he and other musicians played for parties in manor houses and village inns in and around Sturminster Newton.

Amazingly, the book survived. Nine years ago musician and historian Tim Laycock and fiddler Colin Thompson published a facsimile of the original tune book, and arranged workshops to teach the tunes to local musicians. Many of the tunes can now be heard all over Dorset and beyond!.

On 1st February, at Cerne Abbas village hall, Tim Laycock, Colin Thompson and fellow folk musicians will play as the “Benjamin Rose Big Band” to celebrate the anniversary with a ceilidh, dancing to the tunes that our ancestors enjoyed two centuries ago, where all the music will be from Benjamin’s Book, and caller Angela Laycock will get everyone up dancing.

At Ibberton village hall on Thursday 30th January there is an opportunity to hear a selection of the tunes played on fiddles, concertina, recorder and tambourine by Tim and Angela Laycock and Ruth and Colin Thompson. The evening starts at 7.30pm, and all are welcome to listen to the music, hear the story of Benjamin Rose and perhaps (space allowing) even do some dancing.

The main bicentenary event will be at Cerne Abbas village Hall on Saturday 1st February, when the Benjamin Rose “Big Band” will take the stage for a ceilidh, It will be a bring-and-share supper evening, bring your own drinks, but tea, coffee and soft drinks will be provided.

For tickets contact Ruth at ruthfiddler@outlook.com 01300 321396 or Angela at alaycock61@gmail.com or 01308 482443.

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 31

February FILMS

TUESDAY 28 JANUARY

Phoenix Doors open 7pm for 7:45 film.

Bridport Film Society, Bridport Arts Centre (Members and guests only; Text only to 07770 261348 guests@bridportfilmsociety. co.uk)

FRIDAY 31 JANUARY

Nostalgic Cinema: Whisky Galore! (U) 2pm1949 Ealing Comedy starring Basil Radford & Joan Greenwood. Scottish islanders try to plunder 50,000 cases of whisky from a stranded ship. A dementiafriendly screening open to all. £3.80 includes tea and biscuits after the film. The Beehive, Honiton. www.beehivehoniton. co.uk Box office 01404 384050.

Royal Opera House Screening: La Boheme (12A) 7.15pm Puccini’s music and Richard Jones’s production capture the joy and heartache of young love in Paris. Sung in Italian with English subtitles.

Adult £16.30, Student £10.30 The Beehive, Honiton. www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

SATURDAY 1 FEBRUARY

Little Women (U) - Film, 3pm and 7.30pm. Writer-director Greta Gerwig takes on the beloved story of the March sisters – four young women each determined to live life on her own terms. Adult £6.80, U16 £5.80 Family of four £22. The Beehive, Honiton. www.beehivehoniton.co.uk Box office 01404 384050

MONDAY 3 FEBRUARY

Downton Abbey (PG). Doors open 7:30pm for 8:00pm start. Screening at Odcombe Village Hall. Tickets £5 in advance on 07934 737104, or £6 on the door.

WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY

Downton Abbey (PG) Many of the cast members from the original series have returned, including Dame Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Michelle Dockery and Elizabeth McGovern. Moviola screening at Kilmington Village Hall, doors and bar 32 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

open 6.45pm with the show starting at 7:15 pm. Tickets £5 in advance: 01297 639758 leave contact info to receive acknowledgement. £5.50 at the door.

See village web for email contact & film review www.kilmingtonvillage.com/otherorganisations.html.

THURSDAY 6 FEBRUARY

Jules et Jim (PG, 106 mins, subtitles, dir. Francois Truffaut) A classic tale of a love triangle which takes place over 20 years, both before and after World War I. Catherine, the beautiful and unpredictable woman who maintains a delicate relationship with two friends, the quiet German Jules and the romantic Parisian Jim. The War intervenes and drives the men to the opposing fronts. Guest tickets £4. Contact: mickpwilson53@btinternet. com, or ring Mick on 01460 74849 or Di on 01460 30508.

Little Women Writer-director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) has crafted a Little Women that draws on both the classic novel and the writings of Louisa May Alcott, and unfolds as the author’s alter ego, Jo March, reflects back and forth on her fictional life. Portraying Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth March, the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, with Timothée Chalamet as their neighbor Laurie, Laura Dern as Marmee, and Meryl Streep as Aunt March.

7.30pm Electric Palace Bridport. Box Office 01308 424 901.

FRIDAY 7 FEBRUARY

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (12A) - Film , 7.30pm The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once more in the final chapter of the Skywalker saga. Adult £6.80, U16 £5.80 Family of four £22 The Beehive, Honiton. www.beehivehoniton. co.uk Box office 01404 384050

MONDAY 10 FEBRUARY

Downton Abbey (cert. PG, 119 mins) - the hugely successful TV series gets a feature-length outing. Hawkchurch Village Hall, EX13 5XW - doors 7pm,

film 7.30pm. Tickets £5 in advance from Hawkchurch Community Shop or £6 on the door.

TUESDAY 11 FEBRUARY

Our Little Sister Doors open 7pm for 7:45 film. Bridport Film Society, Bridport Arts Centre (Members and guests only; Text only to 07770 261348 guests@ bridportfilmsociety.co.uk)

WEDNESDAY 12 FEBRUARY

One Day - Supper and Film Night, 7pm. a two course meal and a cocktail followed by the film, £30 per person, Alexandra Hotel, Pound Street, Lyme Regis 01297 442010

FRIDAY 14 FEBRUARY

The Lion King (PG), Doors at 7pm for a 7.30pm start. Cinechard at Chard Guildhall Tickets £5 and £2.50 in advance from Eleos, Barron’s and the PO, or online at ticketsource/ cinechard Kinky Boots the Musical (12A) 7.30pm The Tony Award Winning Musical filmed live at the Adelphi Theatre, London which takes you from the factory floor of Northampton to the glamorous catwalks of Milan! Adult £12.80, Student £10.30 The Beehive, Honiton. www. beehivehoniton.co.uk Box office 01404 384050 Downton Abbey (PG) presented by Petherton Picture Show at 8pm. Starring Matthew Goode, Alice McCarthy, Maggie Smith. Tickets: £5. No concessions.

The David Hall, South Petherton, www. thedavidhall.org.uk or 01460 240 340.

JoJo Rabbit Writer-director Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) brings his signature irreverence and pathos to this smart World War II-era satire. Tackling the ludicrousness of racism and nationalism head on, Waititi has crafted an audacious black comedy that besides clearly being very timely, also boasts great emotional depth and tenderness. With lovely central performances from Davis and McKenzie and a fantastic wider cast that also includes Stephen Merchant, Sam Rockwell and

Rebel Wilson, Jojo Rabbit is riotously funny, moving and relevant. 7.30pm Electric Palace Bridport. Box Office 01308 424 901.

stage musical into a breakthrough cinematic event. 7.30pm Electric Palace Bridport. Box Office 01308 424 901.

SATURDAY 15 FEBRUARY

Downton Abbey (PG) Community Hall, Lower Sea Lane. 7.30 start £5.50 in advance (£6.50 on the door). Tickets from Morgans and Nisa.

Downton Abbey (PG) 7.30pm (Doors 7pm). The beloved Crawleys and their intrepid staff prepare for the most important moment of their lives. A royal visit from the King and Queen of England will unleash scandal, romance and intrigue that will leave the future of Downton hanging in the balance. Halstock Village Hall. Tickets: £6.50 from Halstock Shop or on the door. Contact: 01935 892485 Spies in Disguise Super spy Lance Sterling (Will Smith) and scientist Walter Beckett (Tom Holland) are almost exact opposites. Lance is smooth, suave and debonair. Walter is … not. But when events take an unexpected turn, this unlikely duo are forced to team up for the ultimate mission that will require an almost impossible disguise – transforming Lance into the brave, fierce, majestic… pigeon.

Walter and Lance suddenly have to work as a team, or the whole world is in peril.

11.00am Electric Palace Bridport. Box Office 01308 424 901.

Cats Oscar®-winning director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, Les Misérables, The Danish Girl) transforms Andrew Lloyd Webber’s record-shattering

THURSDAY 20 FEBRUARY

FRIDAY 21 FEBRUARY

Yesterday. Doors and bar open 7.00 for start at 7.30. The Village Hall, Milborne St Andrew DT11 0JB. Yesterday (PG13) a drama/fantasy directed by Danny Boyle & written by Richard Curtis, will be shown by T & F Movies at 7.30pm in Tatworth Memorial Hall. The doors open at 7.00pm and the entry charge is £4.50.

MONDAY 24 FEBRUARY

Judy For many, Judy Garland’s story is the story of Hollywood: a natural talent who grew up in front of the movie camera, the pressures of fame that consumed her and the tragedy she eventually met. In this new biopic, we revisit the last few months of her life. Stars Renee Zellweger as Judy. Tickets £5 More info or to book: 01404 831207 Doors open 1:30 for 2pm start Axminster Heritage, The Bradshaw Meeting Room, Axminster, Devon, EX13 5AH

TUESDAY 25 FEBRUARY

Behemoth Doors open 7pm for 7:45 film.

Bridport Film Society, Bridport Arts Centre (Members and guests only; Text only to 07770 261348 guests@bridportfilmsociety. co.uk)

THURSDAY 27 FEBRUARY

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (PG) 2pm The Classic Disney Comedy Musical from 1971 starring Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson. A dementia-friendly screening open to all. £3.80 incl. tea and biscuits The Beehive, Honiton. www. beehivehoniton.co.uk Box office 01404 384050

FRIDAY 28 FEBRUARY

The Current War (12A) presented by Petherton Picture Show at 8pm. Starring Tom Holland, Michael Shannon, Benedict Cumberbatch. Tickets: £5. No concessions.

The David Hall, South Petherton, www. thedavidhall.org.uk or 01460 240 340.

1917 (15) Sam Mendes, the Oscar®winning director of Skyfall, Spectre and American Beauty, brings his singular vision to his World War I epic, 1917. 7.30pm Electric Palace Bridport. Box Office 01308 424 901.

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 33

A History of Science in 20 Objects

By Cecil Amor

A

t the end of last year the Institution of Engineering and Technology published an article with this title in its publication Engineering and Technology.

The article was written by Mary Cruse who has just published a new book An Illustrated History of Science: From Agriculture to Artificial Intelligence. This is obviously a large brief and she has included 20 illustrations to make it an enjoyable read. I can only copy her list for you, with some of my own comments.

I searched my bookcase for a slim item and blew the dust off Inventors and Inventions

by Brooke Bond Oxo Ltd., introduced in 1975. Once upon a time small boys used to collect cigarette cards. When medical opinion decided that small boys should not be introduced to smoking the cards stopped. Tea manufacturers saw an opening and placed similar cards in tea packets. In 1975 we would swop the tea cards until we had a complete set, of 50 cards. Brooke Bond sold an album to mount the cards in for 8p, complete with descriptive text and additional illustrations. It had an introduction from Raymond Baxter of Tomorrow’s World, then on TV, and covered 50 inventors and inventions.

1: The first object chosen by Mary Cruse is a Sumerian sickle dating back to 3,000 BC when nomadic tribes in Mesopotamia had begun to settle and agriculture commenced.

The sickle was probably used for agriculture, food gathering and also for making things.

Mary Cruse points out that such inventions gave mankind more time to think and explore. I would suggest an alternative in Europe: the Neolithic flint hand axe used to cut down trees to clear ground for agriculture in the Stone Age. 2: The second choice is an Egyptian Papyrus of 1,600 BC, which is a medical textbook for diagnosis and surgery, describing 48 types of trauma and analysis avoiding superstition and magic, with evidence and scientific thought.

3: Then comes Euclid’s “Elements” of 300 BC in ancient Greece, concerning geometry and mathematical theories with logic, forming the foundation of mathematics and science.

4: Jumping to 1439 AD Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press using movable type and promoted science in Europe.

5: Coming in at No. 5, “pop pickers”,

34 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

as someone used to say, was the Medieval Islamic Astrolobe of 1480 from Syria or Egypt used to measure the altitude of objects for surveyors, geographers and astronomers.

6: For 1610 it had to be Galileo with his telescope eventually of 30x magnification and with which he discovered the moons of Jupiter and the phases of Venus.

7: By 1665 the compound microscope had spread throughout Europe and Hooke was able to write his text “Micrographia” with intricate engravings of a fly’s wing, hairs on an ant’s body and a flea among many items.

8: In 1781 James Watt’s steam engine, patented in 1769, was beginning to be installed in factories across Britain and aiding the Industrial Revolution.

9: Edward Jenner, a physician, noted that milkmaids exposed to cowpox were immune to smallpox. He commenced injecting children with a little liquid from cowpox pustules and they did not become infected. This was the first scientific approach to vaccination in c.1796.

10: In 1831 Michael Faraday constructed the world’s first electric generator, proving the principle of electromagnetic induction.

It was too inefficient for practical use, but it paved the way for electric power.

11: Charles Darwin set off in 1831 for his five year voyage to South America. Stopping at the Galapagos Islands he observed finches bills varied in size and shape from island to island from which he deduced that they were adapted for different environments. He published his On the Origin of Species in 1859 and the theory of evolution was created.

Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution published in 1859

12: Also in 1859 John Tyndall demonstrated the way in which different gases vary in their ability to absorb radiant heat. He discovered that ozone and ethene absorb more radiant heat than water vapour so that even small traces of these gases may cause excess heat to be retained.

13: 1859 must have been a vintage year as William Rontgen also discovered X-rays whilst passing electric rays through an induction coil inside a glass tube and noted nearby photographic plates were glowing.

14: Something which radically changed the world occurred in 1896 when Guglielmo Marconi was developing radio, or wireless, transmission and in 1897 made contact across sea. Soon messages across the Atlantic became common and also contact with shipping. His work made possible television.

15: In 1928 Professor Alexander Fleming returned to his laboratory to find his petri dishes had been contaminated and bacteria had been absorbed by penicillin mould. He saw this could be an antibacterial material, but was unable to purify it.

In 1940 two other scientists were able to refine penicillin into drug form and millions of lives have been saved by its use.

At this point my suggestion would be Radar which helped win the “Battle of Britain” and is now widespread.

16: In 1942 film star Hedy Lamarr was also an inventor and with composer George Antheil developed a system of preventing the jamming of torpedo signals and sending them off-course. Their frequency hopping technique allowed switching between different radio frequencies but was not immediately accepted until the Cuban Crisis and later GPS development.

17: Rosalind Franklin, a British crystallographer, produced a diffraction image in 1952 by firing X-rays at a sample which enabled its atomic structure to be deduced. In 1953 Watson and Crick solved the structure of DNA, partly due to her photograph.

18: The Saturn V rocket was first launched in 1967, 64 years after the Wright brothers’ first flight. It launched 13 missions including the Apollo 11 when men first set foot on the Moon.

19: Around 1971 Intel engineers were tasked with producing a powerful calculator, a distraction from their main area of memory chips. They produced four chips

including a central processor to perform different functions. This was the first general purpose computer chip, known as the 4004.

20: The Large Hadron Collider at Cern is the most powerful particle accelerator in the world. In 2010 it discovered the Higgs boson, an elusive particle. It continues to investigate fundamental phenomena.

No doubt many readers may disagree with the list produced by Mary Cruse, and have their own proposals, but it gives us a basis for discussion. For example, I would include petrol and diesel engines and motor vehicles, cars, lorries, busses, etc., most of which seem to have originated in Germany, from 1876 to 1893, by Otto, Daimler, Benz and Diesel.

Also the Jet Engine and then Concord.

Mary Cruse, in summing up Watt’s Steam Engine of 1781, says that the Industrial Revolution did not come without a cost, for example climate change and environment problems. Also after Tyndall’s Radiant Heat experiments of 1859 she states that we now know greenhouse gases are a cause of catastrophic global warming. This makes us think of 16 years old Greta Thurnberg who has been very forcibly bringing the problem to our attention.

In the Middle Ages trees were cut down for shipbuilding, “Hearts of Oak” as the song goes, possibly not in a sustainable way. I have seen for myself steel production, with furnaces belching out smoke of colours from black to orange/red and containing particles. Does anyone remember London “Smog”, when all houses used coal fires, plus vehicle fumes. I can recall travelling to London by the Great Western Railway, then coal/steam powered when almost everyone smoked cigarettes, to return home to be greeted by “We can tell where you have been, from the smell of your clothes”. I also suggested internal combustion engines as an addition to Mary Cruse’s list, but these are polluters in road transport, trains and ships.

We can only hope that the governments of the world can agree on how best to eliminate the problems we have created over so many years.

The world is a better place through many of the inventions described by Mary Cruse. I am grateful to Mary Cruse for her list and also to Brooke Bond for their tea cards of 1975.

Bridport History Society meets on Tuesday 11th February at 2.30 pm in the United Church Main Hall, East Street, Bridport for an interesting talk from Nick Speakman “D-Day Spearhead Brigade: Hampshires, Dorsets & Devons 6 June 1944”. All welcome, visitors entry £4.

Cecil Amor, Hon. President, Bridport History Society

Shakepeare at Home, Celebrated Storytellers and Classic Satire at The David Hall

Pip Utton is at the David Hall in February

POPULAR actor Pip Utton brings one of his Edinburgh Fringe favourite performances, At Home With Will Shakespeare to the David Hall at South Petherton on Saturday 8th February at 7.30pm.

Following his one-man shows exploring the lives and legacies of personalities as different as Chaplin and Hitler, Francis Bacon and Winston Churchill, Pip Utton here invites the audience to spend time with the world’s greatest playwright, who loves, laughs, drinks, sings, dances and cries, and in between is forced to write some plays and poetry to make a living.

Will is leading a double life, as a family man and landowner in Stratford-upon-Avon and as the great playwright in London. His wife, his loves, his children are all there for us to meet. It’s fun, it’s moving and from time to time, it involves the audience.

The scene moves to a garden on Wednesday 19th February at 11am when The MakeShift Ensemble presents The Curious Garden. The play brings to life the New York Times’ award-winning children’s book, about one boy’s quest for a greener world... one garden at a time. While out exploring one day, Liam discovers a struggling garden and decides to take care of it. As time passes, the garden spreads throughout the dark, grey city, transforming it into a lush, green world.

The theatre programme ends with Tangle Theatre’s new version of Ben Jonson’s satire of greed and cunning, Volpone, on Thursday 27th.

Inspired by South African Township Theatre, the production includes vintage and new jazz, and is performed by three multi-skilled actors.

Vintage and new jazz performed by multi-skilled actors in Volpone

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 35

News&Views

SEATON Joining up the attractions

A new tram stop providing a direct link to the Seaton Wetlands is part of a masterplan backed by East Devon District Council’s cabinet, according to The Midweek Herald.

A new circular route for walkers and cyclists will join up three of Seaton’s most popular attractions—the Wetlands, Seaton Jurassic and the tramway, which are run by different organisations.

The masterplan aims to combine visits to all three attractions in a day from one starting point.

Service lead for countryside and leisure Charlie Plowden said the project would provide ‘a comprehensive tourism offer’ for Seaton. Cllr Paul Arnott said it was an easy win and something fantastic that should be backed. Seaton Wetlands was a great success, he added.

LYME REGIS Boomerang bags are backed

An initiative aimed at reducing the number of plastic bags is gathering strength in the town and Uplyme, reports lyme-online.co.uk.

Boomerang Bags was launched at the end of 2019 and gives shoppers the opportunity to borrow re-useable fabric bags from participating businesses. The scheme reduces plastic going to landfill, encourages local shopping and enhances community spirit. Organisers, Plastic Free Lyme Regis Strategy Group, have launched a campaign to show people how easy it is to use with a poster designed by local children. Since its launch in Lyme Regis, 23 shops, B&Bs, hotels, cafés and other businesses have signed up to stock the bags. There are more than 200 in circulation, with four more people signed up to make more bags

36 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

CHARD New homes plan submitted

Housing developers Persimmon have submitted new designs for 263 properties, including 35 per cent described as ‘affordable homes’, off Holbear as part of the Chard Eastern Development Area, says the Chard & Ilminster News. Persimmon originally wanted to build 335 houses between Tatworth Road and Forton Road. But the plans were strongly opposed by residents and the town council before being rejected by the district authority. Plans were later changed to include 323 homes but this still did not find favour with the council and the public. If approved, the new development would see an access roundabout built on A358 Tatworth Road. The main road through the site will also form a part of the link road, designed to take traffic away from the town centre.

BURTON BRADSTOCK improved access for disabled

Two benches for wheelchair users have been installed at the beach following a campaign by a local photographer, the Bridport News reports.

Neil Barnes, who is main carer for his profoundly disabled daughter, Lucy, wants to ensure equal access to the coastline. He considered an interlocking mat system that would allow wheelchair users on the beach but ruled it out because of the destructive force of the sea.

After much thought, he came up with adding wheelchair accessible benches. With the help of the National Trust, two have been installed at Hive Beach. Two more are planned for West Bay. Neil thanked all those who contributed to his campaign, particularly Jane Elliott from Warren House, Chideock, who organised fundraising events.

DORCHESTER Residents take action

Residents at Robin’s Garth have taken matters into their own hands after what they say is a lack of action over parking problems. The Dorset Echo reports that they have been asking Dorset Council and the former county council for help for more than two years but nothing has happened. The close is often partially blocked by town centre workers whose badly parked cars are left there all day.

This has led to bin lorries unable to get to homes and an ambulance being unable to get through. Residents are now putting out traffic cones on bin days to ensure the lorries get access rather than wait two more weeks for rubbish collections. Dorset Council says the road has not been forgotten and is still on a waiting list.

Pampered and Spoiled Laterally Speaking by Humphrey Walwyn

A

fter all that loud and frantic festive activity throughout December and ongoing parties in January, I expect you’ve been longing for a good rest. A bit of peace and quiet to allow the body and soul to recuperate.

Some of you of course may have been doing a spot of physical mending like a dry alcohol-free January, or a low carb month or even a wild attempt at daily jogging or weekly visits to the gym. I know of one person who tried to go Vegan for 2020 in the hope it might benefit the planet as well as herself, but she didn’t seem to last beyond the first week of January without succumbing to a bacon sandwich.

A friend of ours in Cornwall told everybody he’d made a New Year’s Resolution to swim for one minute in the sea every morning, but this didn’t get much further than January 2nd. These are all punishments—self-inflicted penalties as part of a personal guilt trip because you woke up with a double hangover after too much gin, prosecco and Old Peculiar (often in the same glass) from the night before.

Anybody who makes extravagant promises when they’re feeling like complete rubbish, is bound to fail. Surely there’s a better chance of success if you think about reward rather than reprimand—a carrot is more effective than a stick.

If you’ve been particularly good, you should claim a prize. Here are a few ideas: Physical Pampering: Treat yourself to a trip to a local spa and enjoy a bit of

aromatherapy or a soothing massage. If that’s a bit expensive, then make an appointment with your favourite hair dresser and get a completely new look. I’m also told the latest thing for girls is to visit a Nail Bar—apparently there are loads of them springing up all over the south west.

Boys could try a visit to a Turkish Barber, another newly fashionable bonus to many local high streets where you can get shaved, oiled, smothered with hot towels, have your nostrils waxed and all of those fine hairs you never knew you had burnt off. It may not cure your hangover, but your face will have so much happening to it, you’ll forget you ever had one.

Lunch: Invite someone special to lunch.

And your lunch guest will be… yourself!

Yes, just you. Have a good old-fashioned prawn cocktail or a home-made steak and kidney pie without any need to have a meaningless chat with anyone else. You can even take a book if you like. There’s no one with you to get annoyed and tell you to put it away.

Learn how to bake things: You might have been inspired by Great British Bake-Offs on TV (or not) and of course you can cook a meal—even bacon, fried egg, frozen peas and oven chips? OK, but have you ever baked a cake or a loaf of bread? It really can be quite fun. This task usually requires reading a recipe book (Boys please note—you’re actually allowed to do this. It’s not cheating like reading a microwave instruction book before you

take it out of the box and turn it on!) And you will glow with pride like a warm oven when you’ve succeeded. This is one of the few prizes you can actually eat.

Mental Pampering: when you were much younger did you ever put your favourite rock band on the turntable, turn up your HiFi really loud, put on your stereo headphones and blast your brain for ten minutes with Jimi Hendrix or the Rolling Stones? When was the last time you did this, I wonder? Time to re-live your disco days and your mis-spent youth perhaps?

Tech Burning: This is the opposite approach… you need to unplug your phone, turn off the radio and TV and walk to the bottom of the garden. Wear earplugs for a better and completely silent effect.

The idea is to divorce yourself from every outside interference that’s happening in your life. After 5 minutes of hush, you may start to hear the grass growing and your heart thumping. After about 15 minutes of total silence, you will find yourself drifting into a meditative state. Try to stay awake, particularly as I’m just reminding you that your nephew and his young and awfully noisy family are coming to tea and you still have to go shopping for ginger biscuits and butter. And don’t forget you need a half bottle of sherry for your aged Aunt who’s coming for lunch tomorrow.

Sorry to wake you from your quiet contemplation, but it’s February and it’s time to take the dog out.

February – a month to take a deep breath and relax?

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 37

TAKE A SHOT

on the Wild Side T

he world-renowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, on loan from the Natural History Museum in London, opened at Seaton Tramway, Seaton Station on January 15th. It features exceptional images which capture fascinating animal behaviour, spectacular species and the breathtaking diversity of the natural world.

Whilst inspiring curiosity and wonder, the images also remind us of the fragility of our planet and our responsibility to protect it.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the most prestigious photography event of its kind, providing a global platform that showcases the natural world’s most astonishing and challenging sights for over 50 years. Launching in 1965 and attracting 361 entries, today the competition receives over 48,000 entries from 100 countries, highlighting its enduring appeal. This year’s 100 award-winning images will embark on an international tour that will allow them to be seen by over a million people.

Dr Tim Littlewood, Director of Science at the Natural History Museum and member of the competition’s judging panel, says, ‘For more than fifty years this competition has attracted the world’s very best photographers, naturalists and young photographers, but there has never been a more important time for audiences all over the world to experience their work in our inspiring and impactful exhibition. Photography has a unique ability to spark conversation, debate and even action. We hope this year’s exhibition will empower people to think differently about our planet and our critical role in its future.’

The Exhibition will be open at Seaton Station until April 3rd. The Natural History Museum exhibition is the first of many events and exhibitions that celebrate the Tramway’s 50th year of operation at Seaton.

Seaton Tramway will also be hosting a number of events & experiences linked to the exhibition at Seaton. The Wildlife & Landscape Photography Trams will be returning for a second year allowing budding new and experienced photographers exclusive access to the Axe Valley from a vantage point not found anywhere else, on top of a double decker tram. An experienced photographer will act as guide for those wishing to know more about how to get the best out of their equipment.

New for 2020, are two new workshops to which access to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition is included. ‘Picture This’, a creative writing course, led by a local author and scriptwriter for fun and informal workshops. Perfect for beginners, adults will draw inspiration from the exhibition and the rest of the Axe Valley, focusing on a different aspect of creative writing at each of the three dates. The workshops will run: 7th & 21st March and 4th April.

‘Wild Art’ Workshop is great for families and will also allow access to the Exhibition before going and creating your own Wild Art, using a mixture of available materials. Departing Seaton, 17th & 18th February and 14th March.

Tickets available now from the Seaton Tramway website.

Get inspired by the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition and enter next year’s exhibition which opens for entries from photographers of all ages and abilities from October 21st 2019.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition runs from January 15th – April 2020.. 10am – 5pm.

To book tickets visit www.tram.co.uk/WPY Adults £5. Under 16’s FREE For more information telephone 01297 20375

Background Image: The freshwater forest by Michel Roggo, Switzerland. Highly Commended 2019, Plants and Fungi.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

38 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

If penguins could fly by Eduardo Del Ă lamo, Spain Highly Commended 2019, Behaviour: Mammals Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Canopy hangout by Carlos PĂŠrez Naval, Spain Highly Commended 2019, Young Wildlife Photographers: 11-14 years old Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Ralf Schneider Sleeping like a Weddell, Highly Commended 2019, Black and White

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 39

Dorset Wildlife Trust calls for prompt reporting of casualties

New website explains Marine Protected Areas in Dorset new website about Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s) has been launched to highlight the important marine wildlife of Dorset. It aims to explain the complex and confusing system of Marine Protected Area management and to celebrate the benefits that come from careful stewardship, including high-quality seafood.

Over the last year Dorset Wildlife Trust (DWT), along with partners from Southern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority, Natural England and National Trust, have worked with local fishers as part of a project to improve public awareness on how and why well-managed MPAs are an important boost for Dorset’s marine wildlife, the fishing industry, and tourism. As part of the project, MPA Fishery Management Plans, leaflets and a website incorporating all the six MPAs in the Dorset, Devon and East Dorset area have been created. Visitors to the website will be able to learn about activities in the water, the history of each MPA and, most importantly, the reasons behind the designation—the protected wildlife and habitats within.

The Purbeck Coast MCZ is one of the MPAs within the project area. It has a wide range of users—walkers for the stunning coastal scenery, families to the shallow accessible rockpools, water sports enthusiasts for the fabulous dive and snorkelling sites, and of course this rich marine diversity found within has sustained a wellmanaged traditional fisheries and recreational angling.

Emma Rance, Marine Conservation Officer, Dorset Wildlife Trust; “We are proud to have been part of this positive project. Whilst we have long since known the benefits of MPAs, we hope that the website and leaflets offer clarity on the beauty, management and use for one and all to appreciate, safeguard and ultimately benefit from—be it through industry or wellbeing”.

Dorset Wildlife Trust along with Southern IFCA has led the public engagement strand of the project for the summer season in 2019, attending events with the project’s educational van with hands on activities and audio-visual information on MPAs and species in Dorset. For more information on the project please visit: www.dorsetmpas.uk/

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Common dolphin washed up on the shore, photograph by Sarah Hodgson

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orset Wildlife Trust (DWT) has been made aware of reports that a number of dead dolphins and porpoises have been washed up on Dorset’s beaches this winter. They have been receiving information about sightings since 7th November.

The cause of death is unknown, although higher numbers are often recorded at this time of year with stronger winds, bigger swells and larger waves more likely to wash carcasses ashore.

DWT says it is important that these are reported as soon as possible to enable organisations to assess and record the carcass before it decomposes.

In some instances, experts from the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) may undertake a post-mortem examination to try to determine the cause of death.

DWT’s Chesil Centre Officer, Sarah Hodgson, said, “There are many reasons that could cause these animals to die, either simply due to natural causes or as a result of human activity such as by-catch from commercial fisheries, entanglement from ghost fishing-gear or pollution. However, without indepth examinations we can only speculate.”

The strandings have been either Common Dolphins or Harbour Porpoises but a rare White-beaked Dolphin, measuring over nine feet in length, was recently discovered at Hallelujah Bay on Portland.

Sarah said, “Whilst it is unusual to see a White-beaked Dolphin, we are aware that there is a small population of these dolphins which are resident in Lyme Bay. We have passed details and photos to MARINElife who have been researching this local population”.

Dorset Wildlife Trust encourages anyone who finds a marine mammal washed up to report it as soon as possible by calling 01305 264620 or emailing kimmeridge@dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk. It is helpful if you can include a photograph of the animal but not to touch it as they can carry diseases. Once it has been reported a DWT representative will be able to complete a strandings report to send to CSIP for their national database and potentially further investigation.

The recent strong south westerly winds have also brought in a number of Portuguese man o’war which are normally found out in the open Atlantic Ocean. These creatures are not true jellyfish but floating colonies formed by coral-like hydroids which together create the bubble-like float and long, venom-filled stinging tentacles that can reach 10 – 30m long. The gas-filled iridescent float can angle itself to catch the wind on the sea’s surface and can measure up to 30cm long, although those found recently have been much smaller.

If you find one, DWT advises that you do not touch them, as they can sting even when dead.

40 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

The MPA project educational trailer at Lulworth © Emma Rance

Photoghraph by Colin Varndell

Book early for the Dorset Hedgehog Conference

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n response to the steep decline in the UK’s hedgehog population, especially in the last 20 years, the Dorset Mammal Group (DMG) is pioneering a successful approach to hedgehog conservation in Dorset, which co-ordinates community action, skilled hedgehog rescuers and veterinary practices. DMG will be sharing this strategy and placing it in the national scientific context of hedgehog decline at a conference on Saturday 4 April 2020 in Dorchester, Dorset.

Speakers will include Dr Nigel Reeve, a leading ecologist, who has studied hedgehogs for over 40 years. Nigel will be talking about the Regents Park study and the research projects into hedgehogs across Europe. Hugh Warwick is a well-known hedgehog champion and a lively speaker. Hugh has written no less than three books on hedgehogs and will be talking about his work with the species in Oxfordshire. Colin Varndell, a professional wildlife photographer who has been working with hedgehogs for the past four years, will be showing extracts from his thought provoking, high impact visual presentation The Hedgehog Predicament. Delegates will learn much about the natural history of hedgehogs and conservation

strategies in Dorset and beyond.

Speakers from Dorset, includes Susy Varndell, DMG’s hedgehog lead, and representatives from local communities, the rescue network and Dorset Council’s Natural Environment Team who oversee wildlife mitigation in planning applications. Susy will give an overview of the co-ordinated six point hedgehog conservation strategy which includes establishing co-ordinators in 27 hedgehog friendly towns and villages (to date), public education, a network of hedgehog rescues and vets, training for hedgehog rescues and vets, keeping up with the latest research and working towards establishing a hedgehog hospital in central Dorset.

The Dorset Hedgehog Conference, Working Together to Help Hedgehogs is on Saturday 4 April 2020, 9.45am to 4.15pm at The Dorford Centre, Dorchester, Dorset The conference fee is £25. Booking via Eventbrite https:// www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-dorset-hedgehog-conference-tickets-79701925605 or email hedgehogs@dorsetmammalgroup.org.uk for booking details.

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 41

SPRING CLEAN for delicate tapestries

Call for Entry to Local Writing Prize

Anthony Woodhouse, Chairman of Hall & Woodhouse, Emma Timpany, Susmita Bhattacharya, Dee La Vardera, Maria Donovan and best-selling author, Minette Walters.

Photograph by Emma Lewis

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leaning an Abbey is not for the faint hearted, and in February the Winter dust sheets come off and Heather and Myra set to work.

There’s the panelling to dust, oak and walnut to polish and over 720 square foot of historic needlework to revitalise.

It’ll take scaffolding, a hoover, and some very fine pieces of gauze to clean the Mortlake tapestries on the walls of the Saloon at Forde Abbey, a former Cistercian monastery in Dorset . Woven from the cartoons painted by Raphael, and now on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum they have hung in place for over 300 years. Along with the originals commissioned by the Sistine Chapel, in Rome, they vividly bring to life the stories of St Peter and St Paul, and depict in finely stitched detail: The Healing of the Lame Man, The Miraculous Draft of Fishes, The Sacrifice of Lystra, The Death of Ananias and Christ’s charge to St Peter.

They were commissioned by Sir Edmund Prideaux, Member of Parliament for Lyme Regis, fervent supporter of the parliamentary cause and later, Oliver Cromwell’s Attorney General. Prideaux died in 1659 and was succeeded by his son, also Edmund. Despite being considered an intelligent man he made the disastrous mistake of entertaining the Duke of Monmouth one night in 1680.

Five years later, after the Battle of Sedgemoor in which James II’s army defeated Monmouth’s Protestant rebels, Prideaux was suspected of having supported the invasion. On the slender pretext of Monmouth’s earlier visit to Forde, he was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London on a charge of high treason. The notorious Judge Jefferies demanded a sum of £15,000 to save him from the gallows, but only after his wife had made an impassioned plea for his life.

As further punishment, the tapestries were confiscated and kept rolled up in Whitehall until they were presented to the later resident of Forde Abbey, Francis Gwyn by Queen Anne, in recognition of his work as Secretary of State for War. Protecting them from any harsh sunlight over the years, has ensured the stories continue to be played out in rich and vivid detail. Ones that both Heather and Myra know only too well. It’ll take them two weeks to pore over the tapestries, starting from the top and working downwards. Carpets of snowdrops will be out when they start, and the bottom section will finish in line with the crocus and narcissus. A benchmark each year for the start of Spring.

42 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

THE Hall & Woodhouse DLF Local Writing Prize— the popular award created by the Dorchester Literary Festival—is now open for entries in its third year.

Available to authors either based in the West Country, or with a strong connection to it, the prize offers a great opportunity for publicity and promotion, plus the chance to win £1000.

Last year’s winner, chosen from 72 entries, was Emma Timpany who is based in Cornwall and whose book, Travelling in the Dark was unanimously voted for by the final judges. “The prize gave me confidence that it was worthwhile continuing with my second novel,’ said Emma. ‘The first took me six years to write, and winning the prize means I’m now confident that my writing can be widely valued and enjoyed.’

Sponsored by Hall & Woodhouse since its inception, the competition is open to writers of fiction, history, biography, travel and other literary genres; except poetry and children’s books. Entries must have been published - either by the author or a local publisher - within the three years preceding the closure date for this year, which is March 15th 2020. They will be judged by professional writers, publishers, booksellers and a leading literary agent, with the winner being announced in July.

Anthony Woodhouse, Chairman of Hall & Woodhouse, said: “We enjoy getting to know our local authors at the annual awards, held at the Duchess of Cornwall Inn in Poundbury. It’s inspiring to hear first-hand about the positive impact that the prize has had on the writers and we’re delighted to play a part in supporting them take their literary ambitions to the next level.”

All details of the prize, including entry forms, are on the Dorchester Literary Festival’s website, www. dorchesterliteraryfestival.com All books must be in printed format and sent by post to: DLF Writing Prize 2019, 9 Kempston Road, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 8XB

Hardy Table

Returns to Max Gate

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small table which Thomas Hardy had at Max Gate has returned home after more than 80 years away. The table was sold in a house auction after Hardy and his second wife Florence died. Almost the entire contents of Hardy’s home were put to auction in the 1938 ‘Max Gate sale’ which means very little of Hardy’s own furnishings remain in the house.

Elizabeth Grant, The National Trust’s House Steward at Max Gate said: “We are very excited to add this new acquisition to our collection, particularly as so little of Hardy’s original furniture remains.”

Since the 1938 sale, the table has had an interesting ownership over the years. It was first bought by an Ernest Roscoe and on his death in 1966 was acquired by his friend Michael Ramsbotham.

Michael was a Bletchley code breaker during World War II and also a novelist, and so he was very interested in the literary connection of the table.

The table was looked after by Michael and his partner Barry Gray at their home in Sussex. Both Michael and Barry wanted the table to eventually return to Max Gate, and both put this request into their wills. Following their wishes the table was bequeathed to the National Trust in 2018 and returned to Max Gate in 2019.

On arrival at Max Gate, a handwritten note was discovered in one of the drawers which states: “Mrs Hardy, 1 Arundel Terrace, Upper Tooting, to pay 1/6. Wootton”. This would seem to suggest that Hardy and his wife had the table brought to Upper Tooting, where they lived before Max Gate was built. Although as the paper is not dated the National Trust team are unable to confirm anything for certain.

More information about Thomas Hardy and Max Gate, the house he built, can be found at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ max-gate Rachael Raine, Visitor Experience Officer for Max Gate examines the note found in the table drawer.

Photo: National Trust/Tony Gill Table owned by Hardy along with the note discovered inside the drawer.

Photo: National Trust/Tony Gill

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 43

Bridport composer Andrew Dickson releases long-awaited CD of film music

Andrew Dickson’s limited edition CD is available at Clocktower Music in Bridport

THOSE lucky enough to squeeze into a busy Clocktower Music on Saturday January 25th for the launch of a unique and limited edition CD applauded local composer Andrew Dickson as he spoke about his life in music and his collaboration with the film maker Mike Leigh.

Caldera Records has presented a selection of Andrew’s music for Mike Leigh’s films, most notably Naked from 1993.

Mike Leigh is one of the most revered film-makers in British cinema. Over a span of nearly 50 years, he has garnered 7 Oscar nominations, 14 BAFTA nominations (winning four), a Palme d’Or, a Golden Lion, and countless other prestigious awards.

He had already shot Bleak Moments and several BBC productions when, in 1981, he met Andrew Dickson. Their collaboration would become one of the most fruitful ones between composers and directors. For Meantime, broadcast in 1983, Andrew chose to use a tack piano and a saxophone. The composer has always liked the idea of different instruments representing different people, and piano and saxophone somehow seemed perfect for a film about two brothers in a housing project.

His music for High Hopes with its prominent use of blues harmonica, recorder, viola and bass won Andrew the European Film Award in 1989—and deservedly so. But, undoubtedly, their most well-known film is Naked, a raw and painful portrait of a young man (played by David Thewlis in a career-defining performance) wandering through London’s night life. Naked is a relentless score, driven by a recurring ostinato played on harp.

The music is as relentless as the character of Johnny, driving him forward, onward, downward.

Like Naked, Secrets & Lies is in an incredibly rich film, giving

44 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

Andrew a lot to draw on. His music, composed for strings and brass, is heart-rending and yet far from being sentimental.

Andrew Dickson’s music for Mike Leigh’ films has never been released commercially in any format, despite several attempts by various labels. Thanks to the support of both Mike Leigh and Andrew Dickson, Caldera Records were able to finally license selected cues for this unique compilation, the 34th CD-release of Caldera Records. This world premiere features a detailed booklet-text by Stephan Eicke and elegant artwork by Luis Miguel Rojas. The CD was mastered by Richard Moore and produced by Stephan Eicke and John Elborg.

Andrew Dickson at Clocktower Music

From the Archives of

the Marshwood Vale magazine

A Look Back at FEBRUARY

2005 & 2010

in the Marshwood Vale Magazine and People and Food Magazine ONE of the features that we published in February 2005 was a story by Katherine Locke about Bridport composer Andrew Dickson. Readers can catch up on that in these pages.

Coincidentally, this month Andrew hosted a gathering at Clocktower Music in Bridport’s St Michael’s Trading Estate to celebrate the launch of his first-ever CD. It was a surprise to many that a composer such as Andrew, who has been so involved in both community events and internationally acclaimed film scores, had not released a recording of his music before. Launching the CD, Andrew pointed out that he hadn’t really been interested until approached by a producer who was prepared to help get all the permissions required to publish. It took years to achieve but eventually, much of the music that he composed in collaboration with the film director Mike Leigh is now available in one place. For those familiar with Mike Leigh’s films, it is fascinating to listen to the music without the distraction of the film—giving listeners a deeper understanding of the music. The launch put Andrew’s CD at Number 1 in Clocktower Music’s monthly album chart. There are still some copies of the limited edition CD available at Clocktower Music.

Amongst the other gems that we look back on this month, we are also able to remember the story of the late Bert Vickery who passed away in March last year. Farming from the age of 13, Bert, christened Eveleigh Albert, was invited along with his wife, Elsie, to the Queen’s Garden Party where the Prince of Wales came to chat to them. ‘He guessed we were farmers!’ remembered Bert.

When we first published Bert’s story he was 83 and still working on the farm. Indeed he had been out driving his tractor on the day of the interview. Bert’s memories of local life are fascinating and a treasure to enjoy again.

There are many other fascinating insights into local people and places in these pages and we are also able to enjoy some of the pages from issues of People and Food Magazine. Read again (or for the first time) articles about people as diverse as Mike English from Fruits of the Earth in Bridport and author Josceline Dimbleby, whose lives may have developed in different spheres, but whose philosophy and experience may have led them to many similar conclusions.

As we continue to look back we invite readers to update us on any of the items featured in this section of Marshwood+. Please email us at info@marshwoodvale.com.

Fergus Byrne

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MARSHWOOD VALE

FR

THE

MAGAZINE

For West Dorset, South Somerset and East Devon

February 2005-Issue 71

Amba, West Dorset, photograph by Dianne Dowling

Arts & Entertainment Food & Dining

Gardening Interiors Health & Environment

These pages are from February 2005 - advertiser offers are not current

Outposts in the community Where to get your Marshwood Vale Magazine

OUTPOSTS is a regular feature where we highlight some of the many outlets that carry your community magazine. Copies are available along the coast from Sidmouth in East Devon to Portland in West Dorset and in towns and villages from Ottery St. Mary to Yeovil. To stock the Magazine telephone 01308 423031.

Local setting for hilarious first novel

Dave Mort signs copies of his book at a pub in Bridport Bridport Arts Centre, photograph by Belinda Silcox

WITH over 70,000 visitors each year, Bridport’s Arts Centre is a popular place to pick up your copy of The Marshwood Vale. The centre hosts a thriving café and a huge diversity of events throughout the year. In February alone there is something for everyone - drumming workshops, a Mozart drama, an art exhibition, a musical adaptation of a popular children’s book and a film about the life of Peter Sellers! The Arts Centre is also home to the popular Farmers Markets, which are held once a month. Programs are available which list all events including workshops and community group events. Tel. 01308 424204 for information and bookings or look at their useful website www.bridport-arts.com.

Goldini’s, photograph by Belinda Silcox

GOLDINI’S in the heart of Axminster is a venue with many strings to its bow!

Owner Dave Prosser and co licensees Brian Johns and Rocky Whenray offer a warm welcome, and whether popping in for coffee, enjoying a light lunch, having a drink or dancing the night away, a good time in convivial surroundings is assured. The food is prepared by French trained chef Ro Davies, who uses fresh local produce wherever possible. Goldini’s is a strong supporter of local talent and live bands play there frequently. The high tech music system makes the Friday and Saturday dancing evenings a hugely popular affair. Goldini’s is also available for private parties. Tel. 01297 631626 or via email info@goldinis.com.

A MARKET town called ‘Hemport’, right next to a harbour known as ‘Southbay’, is the setting for an excellent first novel from Bridport writer Dave Mort.

Set in a not too distant past, the story highlights characters and events that could easily, (and some do), appear in the present.

Local History was the inspiration behind the novel which is called Money for Old Rope.

The story is of a bunch of brewery workers, tired of subsistence living, who try to work their way up the class system. What subsequently happens to them, and those that live in and around the town, makes for a riotous read.

Characters such as the ‘Mothers For the Propagation of Christian Family Values’ (led by Mary Lighthouse), ‘Dr Lex Lovitt’s Kindly Hearts Club Band’, ‘The Sisters of Habitual Indulgence’ and ‘Mono’ the masturbating chimpanzee, share the stage in public houses such as ‘The Madness of King George’ and ‘The Hop and Hemp’.

Fuelled by a mixture of ‘Hempsticks’ and pints

of ‘Charmers Century Ale’ the characters and their story romp along in a Tom Sharp style, liberally sprinkled with social comment. Indeed Liberal is a word dear to the author’s heart, as the novel was inspired by a story of how in the 1800s the Liberal Member of Parliament was unseated in election by the connivings of a local brewer.

The story goes that the local brewer, Jobb Legg, gave free beer to anyone who voted Tory. A wide range of contraptions were made available to transport the inebriated to the polling station with the result that a Tory was elected and has held the local seat ever since.

Money for Old Rope, which has shades of Hunter S Thompson as well as the obvious influence of Tom Sharp, ends with the characters participating in a powerful moment in world history.

It should become part of the library of anyone who has shared an irreverent, anarchic or poignant moment in a pub anywhere in the world.

Available from The Bookshop in Bridport.

Historic impressions The Hellstone

The Hellstone, Dorset, photograph by Robin Mills

DORSET’S beautiful countryside is an incredibly rich source of information on the life of the people who occupied the area in ancient times. This can be seen most spectacularly in the vast hill forts, e.g. Maiden Castle and Eggardon, which show the almost superhuman scale of activity of the Iron Age communities in the construction of massive defensive ramparts, inside which the population and their livestock could be protected.

On a smaller scale, any cursory study of an Ordnance Survey Map reveals large areas of the Dorset countryside peppered with tumuli, barrows, standing stones, and many strange features that raise questions as to their origin. Impressive though they are, the hill forts are but the visible remnants of much earlier human activity. The Iron Age was from around 700BC to the Roman invasion in 43 BC. Going back a further 3000-4000 years, the Neolithic era (new stone age), has left evidence all over Dorset.

The Hellstone, found at the top of Portesham Hill in Dorset, is the stone chamber of a Neolithic Long Barrow, in which the remains of the dead would have been placed. The earth mound which covered it, estimated at some 88ft long and 40ft wide, has long since eroded away. There are nine vertical stones supporting a capstone which probably weighs twenty tons. The stones are sarsons, which are the weathered-out remains of extremely hard sandstone deposits lying within the naturally occurring local limestone. Sarson stones were often used for

these purposes, e.g. at Avebury in Wiltshire, where there may well have been some 580 used as standing stones. The inner chamber is just big enough to crouch or sit in. There is an old weathered thorn tree overhanging the stones, adding to the atmosphere of the place. Dorset historian John Hutchins described it in 1774, interestingly mentioning a long terrace leading to it.

Before the Neolithic era, people survived by hunting and gathering food and basic necessities. The change that took place around 4000BC was fundamental: people learned to farm. By enclosing animals, to save having to run so far to kill the next meal, they quickly discovered that they could breed them specifically for their purposes: and by saving and planting seeds they could grow crops to feed themselves and their livestock. The effects of these changes must have been dramatic in terms of population growth, but also seem to have brought about a unique aspect of human life: the construction of shelters for the protection of communities from the elements, and from attack.

These ancient communities must have placed great importance on the spiritual and ritual aspects of their lives. It is impossible not to be amazed by the great henges at Stonehenge and Avebury, which must have required unimaginable human effort and ingenuity to erect. The burial of the dead in those times must also have been a matter of great significance, and the alignment of the Hellstone is with the mid-winter and

mid-summer solstices. In Dorset there are some sixty recorded Long Barrow sites, in which Neolithic people placed the remains of what were perhaps tribal chiefs and their families. From the random arrangement of bones found within, the bodies were probably allowed to decompose naturally, before being interred.

Often the ancient sites have names associated with the underworld: folklore refers to the Devil having thrown the stones across from Portland, and this myth adds to the “scary” name, the Hellstone, which was probably promoted by the more puritan Christians of earlier times who wished to discourage any pagan activity that they felt might have occurred at these sites. The name may in fact be a corruption of “Heal-Stone”, as many thought these sites had healing properties.

By 1860, the stones had completely collapsed, and in 1868 it was reconstructed using the original stones, though it is thought not to be entirely accurate in design.

This fact slightly discounts its reputation as Dorset’s oldest standing man-made structure, perhaps five or six thousand years old. Today it can be fairly easily reached on foot, not far from the public footpath between the Hardy Monument and the Portesham-Dorchester road.

Sources: The Prehistoric Age, by Bill Putnam Ancient Stones of Dorset, by Peter Knight Story by Robin Mills

Images of everyday life Compiled by Ron Frampton

Bert Vickery, photograph by Ron Frampton

FOR this issue of Images of everyday life, Ron met Bert Vickery at Thorncombe. This is Bert’s story: “My grandparents, Henry and Mary Vickery, farmed at Elmore, Thorncombe, in the 1880s. I'm now 83 and I've worked the land, in the same area, on the edge of the Marshwood Vale, for almost 70 years – six days a week with church on Sundays. For most of the time, I ran a mixed farm of around 160 acres.

At first, I worked with heavy farm horses, then iron-wheeled tractors, and from the late 1940s, rubber-tyred tractors. I’ve been driving our International tractor for 32 years. It’s still in original condition – we don’t like throwing things away. The jacket I’m wearing was Dad’s, he was born in 1880, and passed away nearly 40 years ago.

In 1945, I married Elsie Fry, a farmer’s daughter from Beaminster. We’d been courting during the five war years. Elsie’s mother was born when her mother was in her 50s. They say, the late pregnancy ‘turned her brain’, and she was ‘put away’. Elsie’s mother was brought up by her aunt and uncle, Hatt and Amos. So, Elsie never knew her grandparents – very sad.

When we married, we lived in an old farm cottage at Sadborow, near the pigeon house in the middle of fields, with no roads. Lighting was by oil lamp and there was no key to the door – no need to lock up in those days. Water was from an outside tap and the toilet was at the end of the garden. The cottage had been empty for months, or maybe years, and was condemned. We were only allowed to live there

because it was wartime.

Cooking was done on a black-leaded range, or one-ring oil stove. Our first Sunday dinner, with my in-laws visiting, was a disaster. Elsie had just served up the meal, roast beef (on ration), and vegetables. We were about to start eating when a great piece of plaster fell from the ceiling – in the centre of it was a nest of small mice! No more dinner that day. The cause must have been heat and steam.

The cottage was later pulled down. It was a wonderful place to bring up our two boys; they could roam wherever they wanted – an unspoiled setting, with a woodland and stream.

We eventually moved into the farmhouse, worked hard, but always found time to do lots of fund-raising for charities. In our courting days, we raised money for the ‘war effort’, and later, we formed a small concert party. I’ve always liked singing – I like to let go in church.

Christmas was a time for carol singing, out with the tractor and trailer. The singers, grownups and children, would be on the trailer and someone would play the accordion. We’d visit the out-lying farms and cottages around the villages – out in all weathers: rain, snow and the bitter cold. We always enjoyed ourselves, and raised lots of money for charities. We sang carols in the Beaminster workhouse (now Stoke Water House); finishing up with the inmates singing around the piano, followed by hot mince pies.

Over the years, I’ve been MC (master of ceremonies) at charity whist drives, auctions, flower-shows and children’s Christmas

parties. Elsie was always involved, she did the work and I did the shouting. Most of the fund-raising has been for cancer research, but also for our two local hospitals, Axminster and Chard. I’ve been churchwarden, and chairman of Thorncombe Parish Council. I’m still chairman of Holditch village hall.

Twenty-five years ago, Elsie and I were invited to the Queen’s Garden Party. Our invitation was for all the charity and community work we’d undertaken over the years. It was exciting. Prince Charles came across and had a chat with us; he guessed we were farmers!

About twenty years ago, we handed the farm over to our son Roger and his wife Valerie. Our elder son, Roy, has spent all his working life at the Natural History Museum in London, where he is Senior Curator of Flowering Plants. He is the author of two books. Sadly, Elsie passed away 18 months ago, during the early stages of this story.

I’ve kept a diary for 39 years; I write a few lines each evening. It’s interesting to look back.

April 15, 1970: Elmore farm house burnt down (the home of my grandparents); November 1970: Hayballs Cottage was pulled down (our first home); Feb 5, 1974: Thorncombe Primary School burnt down (our boys’ first school).

There’s more information about my life in Chard Museum.

I’ve never stopped working. I still get up early every morning and there’s always plenty to do – I’ve been out driving the tractor today!”

Next month Ron will be going to East Devon.

50 The Marshwood Vale Magazine February 2005 Tel. 01308 423031

Andrew Dickson

by Katherine Locke ANDREW Dickson’s music is not immediately synonymous with pantomime.

However, he has just finished work as the musical director on Aladdin. Unusual, you may think for an award-winning composer who is famous for his collaboration with innovative filmmaker Mike Leigh. Not so unusual when you learn that this version of Aladdin was written by Adrian Mitchell and performed just off the Falls Road in Belfast.

It was a community production, which aimed to involve as many local people as possible, either as cast or audience. ‘It is one of the poorest areas of Belfast and many people haven’t been to the theatre before’ says Andrew ‘so all tickets were £5.00 each’.

This type of inclusive theatre has always been close to Andrew’s heart. He describes himself as someone who has spent his life trying to help people to discover music and is a committed teacher as well as a composer. ‘The play was originally commissioned for the Children’s Theatre of Minneapolis’, says Andrew ‘but the Americans don’t really get pantomime, I think it could be something to do with the cross-dressing!’ As we talk, it becomes obvious that the anarchy of the medium suits him very well and combined with the opportunity of supporting people to fulfil their musical potential, it proved an irresistible project (‘even though there’s no money in it’ he jokes).

Andrew is better known perhaps for his film music. High Hopes, the first feature film he worked on with Mike Leigh, won him the BFI Asquith Award and European Composer of the Year. The pair met when Andrew was writing the score for a production of Othello at the Nottingham Playhouse. ‘I think Mike responded to the simplicity of my music and the fact that I don’t use electronic or computer generated sounds’ he says. The sparseness of Andrew’s music also complements Leigh’s film making technique. ‘He is brilliant at using silence’ says Andrew ‘most films have almost continual background music, like aural wallpaper; but Mike isn’t afraid of letting the film speak for itself ’.

Vera Drake, which is set in the 50s and is about a woman whose secret life ultimately tears her family apart, has already received great critical acclaim. Surprisingly, there are only fourteen minutes of music in the film and Andrew tells me that it is some of the

Andrew Dickson, photograph by Dianne Dowling

most discordant and difficult he has ever written. The score is largely made up of women’s voices, which reflect the very emotional and tormented nature of the film. ‘I first got the idea of using women’s voices when we were rehearsing with the choir at The Palace Cinema in Bridport’ Andrew tells me ‘The acoustics in the building are absolutely wonderful. There were twelve people singing together and for the first time everyone could hear every note’, When asked about the mechanics of writing music for film, he explains the laborious and time-consuming process. ‘It takes five or six weeks of very intense work’ he says ‘I endlessly watch the rough cuts of the film as the music is written before the final edit.

Mike and I will spend a couple of weeks ‘spotting’, which is identifying the points of the film that need music’. Between them they decide on which instruments to use ‘it is almost a case of an instrument for every character’ he says. After that Andrew will write the music alone. ‘For every twenty tunes I write, Mike will choose one’ he says ‘then I write twenty variations of that tune and perhaps he will choose two, and so it goes on. Initially, there were nearly five hours of music for Vera Drake’, he says ‘but Mike is brilliant at continually whittling it away to get to the heart of it’.

Andrew is an entirely self taught musician. He admits that he often breaks the rules because he isn’t aware of them in the first place. This gives his work an edginess that suits Mike Leigh’s creative directing style, which relies on improvisation and many weeks of preparatory work before filming begins. His lack of a formal musical education means a freedom from conventional academic music theory. As he says ‘for me music is all about the hands and the heart, not the eyes and the brain’.

Vera Drake will undoubtedly win Andrew further acclaim as a film composer.

It has been nominated for several BAFTA’s, including Best Actress and Best Director.

Ironically, he is a world famous film composer who lives in a town with no cinema.

As we chat about the film and the vital role The Palace played in initiating the process of writing the music, Andrew echoes the views of many local people when he says ‘wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could see the finished film there?’

Marshwood The

Vale Magazine

February 2010 Issue 131

FREE

John Miles, photograph by Robin Mills

For West Dorset, South Somerset and East Devon

Robin Mills went to Bridport to meet photographer John Miles. This is his story.

“My first memories, being born in 1939, are of war damaged Croydon, near where we lived.

The aerodrome was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe, and after our house got hit, my parents felt it was all getting a bit too risky, so I was evacuated to Norfolk to a farm which belonged to a distant relative. Working on the farm were German prisoners of war, and they became my friends. They spoke no English, and obviously at the age of four I had no German, but I can remember really vividly how they looked after me. One of them made me a silver ring, which I lost. He then made me another, which I also lost when I moved back home, and that was the saddest thing. We had a real bond, a friendship that meant a lot to me, and it gave me great insight into relationships between people of different ages, and from different cultures, in later life.

It’s very difficult to say where the photography started, but I was studying painting at Wimbledon Art College. We were all doing large scale figurative stuff; Stanley Spencer was the main man then. All of a sudden, it was like the Americans landed, and abstraction entered the equation; people like Jasper Johns, Josef Albers’ Homage to a Square. Everybody started making these kinds of images without any idea of what it was all about. I struggled with it a bit, and was rather despondently having a coffee in the student bar when a small man with a rather weasely face, dressed in a classically dirty raincoat, came over and said to me: “why so gloomy?” I said something like “I don’t want to talk about it”, but he came and sat down and we talked. He told me he ran the photography department, to which I said I didn’t know there was one; he said, “that’s the way we like it”. I really took to him from the word go, and the conversation ended up with him pulling a little 1950’s Leica camera from his raincoat pocket.

He said, “I think you’d better do photography”.

I said, “I know absolutely nothing about it”, and he just said, “You don’t need to. There’s a film in the camera, you just press this button here, then you wind it on with this lever, then you press the button again. That’s all there is to it”.

This completely non-technical approach really suited me, but of course when we developed the film, there were only two shots on it. In time I began to get better success rates, but once I got in the darkroom I was completely hooked. I carried on trying to do some painting, but I was much more interested in the photography. It was at this time Sally and I met; we married, and here we are together 50 years later.

From Wimbledon I went to Goldsmiths, and by the time I left there I had a family. I tried to get a job in London, teaching. That wasn’t happening, so when I saw an advert for a teaching job at Beaminster School, I applied. I came down for the interview the night before, and met a man in the pub, who found it obvious I wasn’t a local.

Wondering what had brought me to Beaminster, I told him I was trying to get a job at the local comprehensive, teaching art. So we had a nice chat that evening, and the next morning, the school secretary told me the headmaster would

Cover Story Robin Mills met John Miles in Bridport

Geometric Terry 09, photograph by John Miles

like to see me before I had the interview with him and the governors. Of course, who should the headmaster turn out to be, but the man I’d unloaded everything to the night before in the pub. He told me he really wanted me to take the job, but warned me not to give vent to the opinions about religion I’d expressed the night before to the governors in the interview, one of whom was a vicar. Interestingly, the headmaster turned out to be a great friend of Michael Duane, who was headmaster of Risinghill School in Islington, a progressive school which pioneered many new ideas in teaching. I got the job, and spent a very exciting two years teaching at Beaminster where we were all trying to apply Duane’s ideas. I thought the school was absolutely brilliant at that time, very unconventional.

When I moved to Dorset in 1967 I was much reminded of childhood in Norfolk, not because of the landscape which is obviously different, but because in ’67 life in the Dorset countryside had the same kind of reality to it as in wartime Norfolk. Lots of folk would go rabbiting, using ferrets: the first pub I went to there were old boys comparing each other’s ferrets round the bar.

The pub was actually serving badger dinners, so you had these people with their ferrets out, in the bar, tucking into greasy old Brock. I’d been down to Dorset a couple of times before, with a friend in a motor-bike and side-car. I remember stopping at Worth Matravers, climbing out of the side-car which was full of water from the heavy rain, and getting the camera out. I just thought this part of the world is so amazing, so beautiful; I took to all of it. These days, the countryside’s changed a lot, everything’s been sanitized, tidied up, small farmers disappeared. I’ve been getting wonderful bantam eggs from a local farmer I know, and he said recently he’d have to stop supplying me. He’d been told he had to have a machine to stamp all the eggs: “tis gonna cost I four thousand pound”, he said. “What do I want with a machine that cost four thousand pound?”

That sums it up, really.

I had a friend when I moved to Dorset, Val Hennessy, a journalist I liked because she pried into everyone’s business, she’d upset the apple cart, and I did some work with her for the

Guardian. I can remember photographing the first riots at Notting Hill, took loads and loads of pictures. I sort of knew the picture editor on the Daily Mirror, Len Greener, so I whizzed round to the Mirror with my pictures, pleased with myself that nobody else could possibly have got there before me. “Too late”, he said, “I’ve just bought a load of stuff off that American, Homer Sykes, have a look”. The pictures were all of black kids throwing rocks at policemen. He asked me what I’d got and I told him they were the complete opposite: all of policemen beating up black kids. “Well”, he said, “our readers aren’t interested in that”. That remark gave me a pretty good insight into how the media works.

When I left Beaminster School, I met Michael Pinney. One evening I came home to find him having a firework party in my garden.

He said he’d been writing poetry since he was seven; he liked my pictures and thought we should work together. That party led eventually to Bettiscombe Press, which we decided should publish work in the way that the artist would like it to be published. We did work by Derek Jarman, Ralph Steadman, poets, artists, photographers, a real variety of interesting people. That lasted about eight years, during which I was also doing peripatetic teaching in art colleges all round the country.

I’m very fond of one book I did. We went to a funeral in Bothenhampton, and standing by their garden gate was a lovely old couple.

I thought there was something special, and we visited them continuously for the next two years, whilst I documented their lives in photographs and stories. Theirs was a way of life that’s really disappeared now. The house was falling to bits; there were chickens in the kitchen, all this in Bothenhampton which was fast becoming quite a smart village. They told me the most wonderful stories, I wrote them all down, and published a book, which I called Visiting Bob and Evie. I loved being able to combine the creative, the photography, with the journalistic. That book sold out quite quickly, which I considered a success.

Lately I’ve been creating photographic collages, sticking together bits of photographs, text, and so on and re-photographing the results. I did rather well at the Royal Academy summer show, and I’ve had some work in the Discerning Eye exhibition in the Mall in London. Some new work has been hung in the Electric Palace here in Bridport which has gone down quite well.

London remains the centre for culture, though.

Our three children who were brought up here in Dorset have all left and are now based in London, and that means we spend quite a bit of time up there. My eldest daughter Sarah is an independent film-maker, my son’s a successful fashion photographer, and my younger daughter Emma runs a restaurant in Clerkenwell. My son Edward’s first word was “tractor”, which meant watching him sit on one all day; now he’s flying all over the world photographing rock stars and fashion models. They’re all doing very creative work, and their success is hugely pleasing to me.”

The view from the country Life during World War Two by Derek Stevens OLCANIS and Hubert Calvert of Bramble Hill, Seaton, had four sons. All served in the Royal Engineers and the youngest, James Michael was to become a much decorated hero for gallantry displayed whilst serving with the legendary General Orde Wingate and his Chindits against the Japanese in Malaya and Burma.

Failing to pass a medical for entry into the navy because of defective arches he decided to follow his older brothers and was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1933. He served in the Far East and trained special forces in New Zealand and Australia. His unorthodox methods of warfare brought him to the attention of the equally unorthodox General Wingate. The two met and became firm friends. He helped in the formation of the Chindits and was given command of the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade. The Chindits derived their name from their arm badge of a chinthe or stone lion which guards the entrance to Burmese temples.

The objective of Chindit forces was deep penetration behind Japanese lines with the help of airborne supplies, to cause havoc and to disrupt enemy supply lines. The trail of destruction left by Major Calvert and his forces earned him the nickname ‘Dynamite Mike’, but later after successes in operations which others would have considered had little chance

of success his sobriquet became elevated to ‘Mad Mike’.

In 1944 he was greatly instrumental in preventing the invasion of India.

Personally leading a glider borne force his force helped in successfully blocking the Japanese advance on allied forces at Imphala driving them back into Burma.

For his actions of extreme gallantry he was awarded the DSO. By the end of his service in Burma he had added a bar to his DSO. For his actions at Imphala the United States honoured him with their Silver Star.

After Orde Wingate’s death in an air crash the Chindits were disbanded and Brigadier Calvert returned to Europe where he was given a SAS brigade comprising British, French and Belgian units.

Their actions in the last phases of the war earned him further decorations, both the French and the Belgian Croix de Guerre.

The Crewkerne parents of two young brothers serving in India at that time were to receive mortifying news about them. A local news report ran: Twice within a few days a PO messenger cycled to the home of MajorGeneral Sir Frederick and Lady Gwatkin, at Merriot near Crewkerne, to deliver telegrams marked ‘Priority’.

Twice, a member of the house opened the envelope to read a message which began: ‘The War Office regrets to inform you ...’

These two telegrams gave news that two brother officers, only sons of Sir Frederick and Lady Gwaitkin, had died fighting with their units against the Japanese.

The first message told of the death from wounds of the younger son, 21-yearold Lieut. Archibald Gwaitkin, 19th KGV Lancers, Indian Army Command.

The second of the death in action of Captain Frederick Charles Gwatkin, aged 22, of the Royal Deccan Horse, Indian Army Command.

A friend of the family said ‘Never were there two more devoted brothers’.

Fifteen months before his brother joined up, Frederick volunteered and was commissioned in the Indian Army. Then came Archibald’s turn. He asked for, and got, a posting in India to fight the same enemy as his brother.

Their letters home told little of the fighting they had seen. Strangely, they never met in India, but died in action miles apart, within a few hours of each other.

Another West Country hero who should certainly be remembered is air ace Flying Officer Jack Churchill. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Distinguished Service Order the Yeovil born infant Jack Churchill had been found, thirty years before, wrapped in a blanket on the steps of a Dr Barnados home.

Campaigning villagers get new Post Office VILLAGERS in West Dorset have been celebrating the opening of their new Post Office after winning their campaign to bring the service back into their community.

Broadwindsor’s Post Office closed in December 2007, prompting members of the local Women’s Institute to look at what could be done to reinstate the service.

Following a two year community campaign also involving the parish council, Dorset Community Action and West Dorset District Council, Post Office services have

finally returned to Broadwindsor this week.

A full range of services will now be offered between 10am and 12.30am every Tuesday and Friday in the Comrades Hall.

Ruth Yarde of Broadwindsor WI, who campaigned to bring the services back, said, “We are very excited and pleased for the whole village and the surrounding area.

It just shows what can be achieved if one is patient and just works away at something.

People just have to support it now. We have given the village the opportunity and it’s

down to local people to pull together and use the service.”

The Comrades Hall is used by various groups on Tuesdays and Fridays. Coffee mornings are planned and the local Police Community Support Officer will be holding his monthly surgeries at the hall to coincide with the Post Office service. The mobile library visits Broadwindsor every other Friday morning in the Square meaning that people using the library can then just walk up to the hall to use the Post Office services.

The Poor Man’s Friend

A Bridport pharmacist, Dr Giles Roberts, developed an ointment, the Poor Man’s Friend, which became popular in many parts of the world in the early 19th century.

His name lives on, as Philip Strange describes.

I wonder how many people, like myself, have noticed Doctor Roberts Close off South Street in Bridport and wondered what it referred to. In fact, if you walk up the spacious tree-lined pavements of South Street, you will see several other clues to Dr Giles Roberts who became known worldwide for a time in the early 19th century. In the churchyard he has an ornate grave with an obelisk, the Museum has a room dedicated to him and on the stone seat in BuckyDoo Square there is a panel depicting a pharmacist/druggist shop at 9 East Street – Beach and Barnicott, formerly owned by Dr Roberts. This is now the Cancer Research UK shop and the name Beach and Barnicott has also been borrowed by a newish café opposite BuckyDoo Square.

Giles Roberts’ parents ran the Ship Inn (now the Bridport Arms) in West Bay where he was born in 1766. As a boy he showed an interest in science and the use of plants as drugs, buying himself a copy of Culpeper’s English Physician at the age of 12 and designing his own plant-based medicines at the age of 13. He wanted to be apprenticed to an apothecary but this was not to be. He held several apprenticeships in other trades before returning to Bridport in 1788 to do what he wanted and set up his chemist/druggist business in West Street. This was popular and successful and he began to practise as an apothecary and became well known in the region. To give himself more credibility he decided to go to London for medical training.

He returned to Bridport in 1795 and set up as “Chemist, Druggist, Surgeon, Apothecary and Accoucheur fully qualified and authorised”. His new status was eventually confirmed by the award of an MD in 1797 from the University of Aberdeen. His fame spread locally and in 1805 he moved to the shop at 9 East Street, formerly the old George Inn. Here he set up a laboratory for science experiments and began to give his popular lectures on science. Another important part of his life was his Christianity and he worked hard to help establish the Methodist Church locally including preaching and helping the poor.

By 1800, he had developed the formula for a revolutionary ointment, “Poor Mans Friend”, recommended for treating “ulcerated sore legs, cuts, burns, scalds, bruises, chilblains, piles etc”. The immense popularity of the ointment made his name well known beyond Bridport. Indeed the ointment was supplied to many parts of the world by Dr Roberts, mainly through advertisements in newspapers. Some examples of the small

Poor Man’s Friend

china pots that were used for the ointment may be seen in the Bridport Museum and in the Beach and Barnicott café.

The formula for the ointment was a closely guarded secret and after Dr Roberts died in 1834, it continued to be made by his successors Thomas Beach and John Barnicott and then others as recently as the mid 20th century. In the 1970s a pharmacist bought Dr Roberts’ old shop and discovered an envelope marked “private”. Inside the envelope was the original recipe for the “Poor Man’s Friend. This showed that the principal ingredients were lard and beeswax. Smaller amounts of several other chemicals were present including zinc oxide, mercury and lead compounds, bismuth oxide and oils of rose, bergamot and lavender.

The ointment sounds like a curiosity to us nowadays, used as we are to a sophisticated health service with medicines available on demand for most conditions. The medicines we have nowadays have been developed with the disease in mind and often target a particular disease mechanism. For example, we have drugs called statins, used for treating heart disease by lowering levels of blood cholesterol. High levels of blood cholesterol are considered to be a risk factor for heart disease and the statins reduce production of cholesterol in the body through inhibition of the first enzyme in the pathway of cholesterol synthesis. Development of such drugs requires very sophisticated knowledge of both biology and chemistry and illustrates how far science has proceeded. We must remember, however, that this is very much a phenomenon of the last 60 years or so. It is only over this period that knowledge in biology and chemistry has expanded to allow the huge pharmaceutical industry to develop and provide these drugs.

For many hundreds of years, medicine was very primitive and, by the end of the 18th century, physicians had only a handful of plant-derived (e.g. digitalis, quinine) and mineral based (e.g. potassium iodide) drugs that they could trust. This was, however, a time of great change. The industrial revolution lead to the movement of people in to towns bringing both increased prosperity and increased disease. At the same time there was increased knowledge of chemistry and increased interest in science and what it could do. This fuelled a great demand for treatments of diseases but physicians had a limited repertoire of drugs. This demand was satisfied by “patent medicines” usually concocted by the physician or pharmacist and marketed under a memorable name e.g.

Daffy’s Elixir. Many of these were mixtures of compounds often laced with alcohol, cocaine or opium making them potentially very dangerous. Most of these disappeared as medicines became more controlled although some names still persist e.g. Andrews Liver Salts, Phillips’ Milk of Magnesia.

Dr Roberts and his “Poor Mans Friend” ointment were in this tradition and nowadays we might dismiss an ointment containing lead and mercury compounds as a “quack remedy”. I believe, however, that we should try to imagine what life was like in the early 1800’s. Hygiene was poor, work was hard and many people probably suffered from skin problems. Dr Roberts seems an honest man who wanted to help people. It is unlikely that his ointment would have been so popular and successful if it had not done some good.

At the very least the Poor Man’s Friend acted as a barrier and moisturiser but it also contained zinc oxide, still used nowadays for skin problems, and bismuth oxide, still used for treating piles. Mercury compounds are rarely used now but at the time they were used as disinfectants. I like this testimonial from 1966 when the product finally disappeared – “This is sad news as, over the years, my wife and I have found the ointment to be quite remarkable in curing odd skin complaints including eczema in our dog’s ears” I should like to thank Margaret Milree and staff at the Bridport Local History Centre for their help in preparing this article.

Philip Strange is Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Reading. He was awarded second prize in the National Brain-Science writing competition in 2008 and is a regular contributor to www.lablit.com.

Rice Pudding with Butterscotch Apples

by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

THERE are all sorts of treats and toppings to serve with the perfect rice pudding, such as hot jam, or boozesoaked dried fruits (rum and raisins, prune and Armagnac, apricots and whisky, for example), or even melted Mars bars! But these ‘butterscotch apples’, an experiment a few years back, have become a great favourite.

Ingredients:

Rice Pudding with Butterscotch Apples

Serves 8 50g unsalted butter 100g pudding rice 500ml whole milk, mixed with 500ml double cream 50g caster sugar freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

For the butterscotch apples: 50g unsalted butter 4–5 firm, tart eating apples (Cox’s or Granny Smiths are good), peeled, cored and cut into 1–2cm dice 50g light brown sugar

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat and add the pudding rice, stirring so it is coated with the butter (it shouldn’t fry or even so much as sizzle). Add the milk and cream and then stir in the sugar. Stir for a couple of minutes to warm the milk and dissolve the sugar. Transfer to a buttered deep ovenproof dish and grate a little nutmeg over the surface, if you like. Place in a slow oven (140°C/ Gas Mark 1) and cook for 11/2–2 hours, opening the oven door every 20 minutes or so to stir the pudding gently from the bottom to the top, separating the grains and working the surface skin back into the pudding.

When the rice has expanded to fill the dish and is quite tender (a little over an hour should do it), leave without stirring for the last 20–30 minutes so it can form a nice, golden-brown skin. You can even give it a flash under the grill if you like. For the butterscotch apples, melt the butter in a large frying pan, add the diced apples and fry very gently. After a couple of minutes, sprinkle over the light brown sugar. Keep tossing and gently frying the apples until they are tender and lightly coated in a buttery, sugary, appley glaze (about 12–15 minutes in all). Serve hot,

What you need in the depth of Winter is warming, nutritious food. With Winter Kale, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts and Rhubarb in season, Gillon Meller has some excellent ingredients to work through his set menu’s.

Each Friday Night, River Cottage HQ host a special event based around four courses of sublime River Cottage food. Beginning at 7 with a warming drink such as Somerset Cider Brandy and handmade canapés, our guests gather in our Mongolian Yurt round a roaring fire. Just before 8pm, everyone takes their seats in the converted threshing barn and the Head Chef talks you through the menu before sitting down to eat it. If you’re vegetarian or have any specific dietary requirements, that isn’t a problem and River Cottage HQ runs a Bring Your Own Wine policy. During February only, tickets for Marshwood Vale Readers are 2 tickets for £90 (the usual cost is £126). To book, please call 01297 630302 . The offer is subject to availability.

&

Arts

Entertainment

Literary Journey Local poet and writer James Crowden, already a prolific contributor to local culture, has researched Somerset’s long history of the written word.

IN the introduction to his new book, Literary Somerset – A readers’ guide, author James Crowden plays down the significance of his work, calling it a ‘first trawl’ of a county teeming with literary anecdotes. He suggests that his work may be a source for readers to begin their own research. He may be right, there is plenty of room for each reader to do their own further research, but Literary Somerset is quite an extraordinary first trawl.

From Thomas Hardy’s time spent living in Yeovil to John Le Carre’s time spent teaching at Millfield, James Crowden has packed his book full of fascinating facts and anecdotes. Through the highways and byways of Somerset, including the cities of Bath and Bristol, he has created a literary road map from Anglo Saxon times up to the present day.

Who would have guessed, for example, that Johnathan Dimbleby ran an organic farm near Bath for some years or that Thomas Hardy’s former home in Yeovil is now a private car park for a shop that specialises in ‘cheap knickers, blouses and skirts’. What would Hardy have made of that?

Not everyone would have known that JRR Tolkien honeymooned in Clevedon or that Roald Dahl went to boarding school in Weston-super-Mare, the same town in which John Cleese was born and Jeffery Archer grew up. James Crowden recalls spending four weeks in the Himalayas with John Cleese, who fell

over and sprained his ankle whilst doing a silly walk over a pass at high altitude.

He devotes five pages to TS Elliot who became a pen pal of the comedian Groucho Marx, even requesting a portrait which he proudly hung in his home.

The book covers more than 300 writers: early chroniclers and opium addicted Romantic poets, philosophers, pirates and playwrights, eccentric clergymen, diarists and herbalists, novelists and historians, travellers, chefs and scientists – from Gildas to George Bernard Shaw, Fay Weldon, Margaret Drabble and Terry Pratchett.

Many of these literary connections are well known: TS Eliot and East Coker, Wordsworth and Coleridge in the Quantocks; but did you know that John Taylor, founder of the Guardian lived in Ilminster; or that Virginia Woolf had her honeymoon in Holford; or that John Steinbeck lived near Bruton to research the Arthurian legends; or that the weird electrical experiments of Andrew Crosse at Fyne Court inspired Frankenstein… or that the vicar of Isle Brewers was once sold for 25/- and then walked naked across Afghanistan; or that Arthur C Clarke was born in Minehead or that Cheddar Gorge inspired Helm’s Deep in Lord of the Rings?

Literary Somerset is broken down into manageable chapters, many with quirky names such as ‘Three Wise Men’, ‘Two Herbalists and a Leg Stretcher’ and ‘Hacks and Scribblers’. One chap-

ter, ‘Four Waugh and a Herbert’ about Arthur, Evelyn, Auberon, and Alexander Waugh, and Aubrey Herbert, has the author remembering how Arthur Waugh became his father’s godfather. He points out that Waugh’s deep interest in books and publishing rubbed off on his own family and how the Waughs all had a great sense of humour – an art that James Crowden has mastered and uses with great effect in this book.

Irrepressible, energetic and passionate about the West Country, James Crowden has produced yet another excellent addition to a library of Somerset literature that is already bursting at the seams.

Literary Somerset – A readers’ guide

by James Crowden is published by Flagon Press ISBN 978-0-9562778-0-0.

See www.james-crowden.co.uk.

House&Garden

Concerts in the West CONCERTS in the West brings a mixed media element to its February 2020 mini series, which starts with a coffee concert at Bridport Arts Centre on Friday 21st February, followed by evening concerts at Ilminster Arts Centre on Friday and the Dance House at Crewkerne on Saturday 22nd.

The three performers, John Reid, piano, Nicholas Mulroy, tenor, and mixed media artist William Lindley are all well known for their wide-ranging artistic and creative activities. This is the first time they have all worked together.

John Reid is an inventive, charismatic pianist of notable versatility and range, with wide experience as an outstanding chamber musician, song accompanist, soloist and exponent of new music.

Increasingly in demand as a teacher, he is a professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Tenor Nicholas Mulroy is in constant demand both in the UK and further afield in a wide range of concert, recital and opera engagements. He has sung at many of the world’s great concert halls: the Sydney Opera House, Boston Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, Berlin Philharmonie and the Salzburg Festival.

Catherine Maddocks, the founder and director of Concerts in the West, says all three are well-known for their wideranging artistic and creative activities: “Last year William and John started a collaboration to explore the potential for creating site-specific audio-visual experi-

Tenor Nicholas Mulroy and pianist John Reid combine with mixed-media artist William Lindley for concerts in February

58 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

ences, through the combination of solo piano music and projected moving images.

Nicholas and John, who have played for us before, will be joined by William, whose projected moving images will give a fascinating backdrop to the music.”

The programme for the evening concerts will include Purcell’s An Evening Hymn, In the Black Dismal Dungeon of Despair, WD Browne’s Arabia, Tippett’s Compassion (from The Heart’s Assurance), Britten’s Canticle 1 (My Beloved is Mine) and Elgar’s Symphony No 1 (transcribed for piano by Iain Farrington).

The Bridport programme will be Schubert’s Der Musensohn, Abendstern, Der Winterabend and Alinde, Fauré’s Poème d’un Jour and Ballade, Op 19 (for piano) and WD Browne’s Arabia.

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 59

Vegetables in February By Ashley Wheeler

I

Sowing a couple of pea seeds in each module means that they can be planted out at around 15-20cm apart. It is also easier to keep the mice off them than directly sowing them in the ground.

t’s all kicking off again! Well...just about. We will begin to sow our first seeds this month, starting off with peppers, tomatoes, beetroot, lettuce and other salad leaves (like broad beans for tips, mustards, kales, chervil), shallots, spring onions and spring cabbage.

However, we have heated benches to help maintain the right sorts of temperature for seed germination for these crops, so if you don’t have anything like this don’t be tempted to start sowing too early. Sometimes the weather at this time of year can charm us into being a bit overexcited, but be cautious—it does not pay to sow things too early. Light levels are still low, and seedlings can grow very leggy and weak. It is generally better to wait a few weeks and start sowing in March for a lot of things. Even waiting a few weeks to sow tomatoes may mean the first harvest are just a couple of days later, and the effort to keep the seedlings healthy and strong through February is not always worth it.

Almost all of the crops that we grow we sow into module trays first (the only crops that we sow direct into the soil are carrots, parsnips, radish and a few mustard salads). We fill the trays up with organic seed compost, making sure that it is well pushed down into each module (especially around the edges). We then press down with our fingers (or a special tool that does all the modules at once) to make a little impression in each module into which we sow the seed. Many of the crops that we grow we sow multiple seeds per module, so that we can plant out a clump of plants at a time. We do not thin these out, but each seedling pushes the others out of the way a little and creates its own space to grow. The result is a mini bunch that can be harvested in one go, and saves time thinning plants. It also means that the beds can be hoed a lot more thoroughly as we set out the plants at even distances allowing the hoe to pass between them rather than having a dense line of plants. This works well with beetroot & chard, peas (all 2-3 seeds per module), spring onions (10 seeds per module), shallots and many of the different salad leaves (3-5 seeds per module). We sow just one seed per module for cabbages, broccoli, kale and most other brassicas, lettuce (as pills), chicory and endive. Lettuce seeds that are not in pills (a clay coating around the seed) are sown in an open tray and pricked

60 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

out once the two seed leaves (cotyledons) appear, we also do this with tomatoes and peppers.

After sowing the seeds into trays we usually lightly cover them with vermiculite which helps to maintain more constant moisture levels and temperature. We then place the seed trays in a tray of water, so that they are watered from below. This ensures that all of the compost is moist and well watered, and takes away any chance of washing the seeds away from watering overhead. The only seeds we don’t do this with are larger seeds like beans, peas, cucumbers and squash which can rot if they get too wet. Lastly we put the soaked seed trays onto the heat benches and cover them with polystyrene sheets. This again, maintains more constant levels of humidity and temperature. We look under the polystyrene twice a day, and at the first signs of germination we take it off (take it off after 3 or so days for seeds from the umbellifer family—parsley, chervil, dill, fennel, as they need more light to germinate). We then take the trays off the heated benches to harden them off a little and make space for new sowings. The plants are ideally planted out once the first lot of true leaves have come up.

All of our early plantings outdoors (which start around the end of March) are covered in horticultural fleece to keep them protected from the wind and cold until around May. WHAT TO SOW THIS MONTH: If you have a heated propagator in a naturally well lit place: peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, beetroot, shallots, spring onions, spring cabbage, salad leaves (see above). If you do not have a heated propagator, best leave sowing until March.

WHAT TO PLANT THIS MONTH: OUTSIDE: Wait until next month!

INSIDE: Most of the indoor space should have been planted up with overwintering leaves, herbs, and early crops like spring onions, early garlic and peas.

OTHER IMPORTANT TASKS THIS MONTH: If the weather dries, continue preparing beds for the spring by mulching with compost. Wash any polytunnel or glasshouse to make sure maximum levels of light are getting through to the crops. Try to finish off that winter job list, so that you are fully prepared for the onslaught of spring!

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 61

February in the Garden

By Russell Jordan

E

arly last month I was in the border cutting down a Molinia, this grass species is less stiffly-sturdy than it’s cousin the Miscanthus, and among the masses of cut stems, at ground level, I found eleven (yes, 11 ) bright red lily beetles. It was during a period of warmth, following an extended period of cold and wet, so these devastatingly attractive little beasts were already active when I disturbed them.

This observation got me thinking. Lily beetles have become so entrenched in UK gardens that growing lilies, in mixed plantings, has become almost impossible, without constant vigilance, since pesticide use is generally eschewed these days. I have, previously, got quite used to finding the overwintering adults amongst the general debris, and the old lily stems, but finding such a concentrated number, so early in the year, in a completely different plant species was a surprise.

The moral of this story is that I’m now beginning to wonder whether I need to rethink my gardening practices which I’ve evolved over a lifetime of gardening. I have written before about how I tend to leave most of my major border tidying and cutting down until just before plants are breaking dormancy.

My thinking behind this has been that I don’t like to spend the whole winter looking at borders completely flat and denuded of plant interest (save for evergreens and the bare stems of deciduous trees and shrubs).

Many herbaceous perennials and grasses have beautiful structures, in muted shades of brown and straw, which provide interest, a food source for birds and small animals and, on occasion, look startling when bejewelled by a decent hoar frost. I had convinced myself that this was a good enough excuse to leave them standing for as long as possible. My recent revelation, that they may be harbouring scores, possibly hundreds, of voracious pests, such as the infamous lily beetle, has somewhat changed the way I see things now.

In the past, the generally accepted wisdom was that herbaceous plants were cut to the ground as soon as they began to die down.

The reason for this ‘scorched earth’ approach was to leave pests and diseases nowhere to hide, during the dormant season, and to ‘let the frosts’ get to the soil where it is able to perform some sort of purging effect on pests and diseases.

I’m not sure that I’m quite ready to return to completely bare beds, fom late autumn until the following spring, but I think I’ll be a little quicker to remove the collapsing grasses and twiggier herbaceous specimens in future. With that in mind, February is a good time to clear the borders, whenever soil conditions are not too wet or frosty, so that emerging spring bulbs and early flowering perennials are given the best stage on which to perform.

As far as performing is concerned, snowdrops have been providing early cheerfulness since before Christmas, if you have a few of the early flowering varieties, but they will soon be petering

62 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

out (make a note to lift and divide them soon, ‘in the green’, if you want to expand your drifts). I’ve always had a soft-spot for the ‘Spring Snowflake’ (Leucojum vernum) which flowers later than Galanthus nivalis and is generally beefier, leafier and sturdier. It’s one of those useful bulbs which can stand a little more shade than most and seems to go from strength to strength, once established, if just left alone, in a quiet corner, to get on with life.

If the weather has allowed you to clear your borders then adding an organic mulch, gently forking out your footprints as you go, is a very pleasing way to leave them looking properly smart and ready for the growing season ahead.

My method here remains the same as it ever has; I remove emerging weeds (they will germinate during any warm spell); generally fork over the bare soil and lift it to reduce compaction; sprinkle on a few handfuls of ‘fish, blood and bone’ (old-fashioned, I know); cover this with a couple of inches of humus-rich, organic, mulch. I favour commercially produced, usually bagged, mulch because it should be sterile and weed free so that I know that it will be suppressing weed growth and not introducing new, unwanted, seeds which will only add to my future workload.

Other tasks will become apparent as you go along and, for me, rose pruning is one of them; I tend to grow roses in mixed borders rather than in splendid isolation. Every time I write about rose pruning I try to make it as brief and non-scary as possible, without success! I think the truth is that you get a feel for it the more you do it. It’s practically impossible to kill a healthy rose by pruning it, so I’d recommend simply tackling it without fear of the consequences.

The general aim is to cut out any dead bits, any flowered bits, any weak bits and any congested bits. As long as you leave some buds, preferably ‘outward facing’, and make clean cuts just above a visible bud (the little bumps which are not thorns), then you can’t go far wrong. Being bold is always preferable to being timid—an established rose always responds to hard pruning by fighting back with vigorous new shoots. Forking in a proprietary rose fertiliser, just as dormancy is breaking, is a good idea especially with freshly establishing plants.

An example of horticultural ‘fine tuning’, which tends to become apparent as soon as you clear your borders, is removing the old leaves from those early flowering plants which would otherwise have their fresh new blooms diminished by emerging through tatty old leaves.

Oriental hellebores will already be in flower and they really benefit from having their old leaves removed for practical as well as aesthetic reasons. Epimediums also have persistent leaves which can completely overshadow the dainty flowers if not removed now. Pulmonarias should have shed their foliage but some varieties, with tough, large, leaves are improved by being completely cleaned up to show off their emerging blooms.

In the greenhouse keep sowing seeds, which have arrived from your seed ordering, if you can provide the supplementary heat which they may require. Repot cuttings of tender perennials which have been overwintering, but only if they need it, using marginally bigger pots or else they’ll rot off. Keep everything just ‘ticking over’ as there’s still at least a couple of months of potential frostiness ahead. Remember that plants tend to dislike any sort of root disturbance if the conditions are not right for active growth. If in doubt leave them until there’s a warm spell with good light conditions.

Before I sign off, there is one task which is pretty universally suggested for completion during February : shortening the flowering stems of wisterias to ‘a few buds’. You’ll need a nice, dry day to do this as you’ll not want to be up a ladder, against a wall, in wet and windy weather! The shoots which you need to shorten are the ones which you should have cut back, by about two thirds, last summer.

Reducing each one to three or four flowering buds (they should be fattening up by now) maximises the potential size of the great dangly blooms, the whole point of a wisteria, and keeps this unruly plant nicely under control and pinned to its supporting wires / framework / pergola.

If you don’t have a wisteria then you can ignore the last paragraph and save yourself a few hours of jeopardy up a ladder—lucky you...

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 63

PROPERTY ROUND-UP

Love at first sight

By Helen Fisher

HARCOMBE £695,000

A beautifully presented 4 bedroom cottage with a light and airy feeling throughout. Kitchen with Aga and French windows opening onto the garden and terrace. Set in a elevated, south-facing aspect surrounded by mature broadleaf woodland. Approached by a private drive with parking and garage.

Knight Frank Tel: 01935 810060

COLYFORD £475,000

A beautifully presented 3 bedroom detached home. Bright and spacious interior with oak flooring. Modern kitchen and bathrooms.

Double glazed windows and doors. Garden wraps around the house with large paved seating area, well screened by hedging. Ample parking.

Gordon and Rumsby Tel: 01297 553768

LYME REGIS £300,000

A self-contained first floor flat in an elegant Georgian house with breathtaking views of the coastline and Cobb Harbour. Converted into 7 apartments in the 1980’s, taking care to retain period details. Secluded communal garden with southerly aspect and fantastic views plus 2 parking spaces.

Martin Diplock TelL 01297 445500 64 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

UPLODERS £500,000

Originally built as a carpenter’s cottage, now substantially extended while retaining period charm. With 3 bedrooms, large Kitchen/diner with Aga plus sitting room with wood burner. Pretty garden packed with mature shrubs & plants and boarded by a stream.

Symonds and Sampson Tel: 01308 422092

SYDLING ST NICHOLAS £1.5M

A sensational Georgian Grade II* listed village house arranged over 3 floors with 6 bedrooms. Extensively renovated yet retaining many original features inc: sash windows, open fires & ornate alcoves. Stunning mature gardens with numerous outbuildings and far reaching country views. Garage and parking.

Jackson-Stops Tel: 01935 810141

BRIDPORT £290,000

A completely charming Grade II listed character cottage in a suburb tucked away location yet a short walk into town. Set over 3 floors with 3 bedrooms and large sitting room with fireplace. Front and rear (partly walled) gardens with ornamental tree and outbuilding/shed.

Stags Tel: 01308 428000

One Photographer’s View

A new exhibition, Another Way of Life, by Bridport photographer George Wright features images taken on journeys which were mostly made by motorbike, including riding the length of South America as well as travelling to Iran and back. George’s work has appeared in numerous magazines including the Observer, Telegraph and Independent, Country Life, Country Living, Atlante (Italy) & Departures (USA). Photography has taken him all over the world, from Armenia to Zimbabwe and from Djibouti to Irian Jaya. He has photographs in the National Portrait Gallery Collection, in the Dorset County Hospital and Dorset County Council.

The earliest photograph in this exhibition, of a street photographer in Aleppo, was taken in 1979 when George travelled overland to the Middle East. Another Way of Life is showing at Bridport Arts Centre until February 15th.

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 65

BAKED FLAKED RICE PUDDING VANILLA ROASTED PEARS Whether you share your creations with a partner or family and friends, I hope you will indulge and enjoy, and treat yourself this month to a little bit of something very nice.

LESLEY WATERS

RICE PUDDING

ROASTED PEARS

Ingredients • 300ml full fat milk • 284ml pot double cream • 25g caster sugar • 1 lime, (zest only) • grating of nutmeg • 55g flaked rice

Ingredients • 6 small ripe dessert pears • 1 vanilla pod • 115g granulated sugar • 1 large orange, zest and juice • 55g unsalted butter, diced • 75ml/5tbsp white wine

Clotted cream and vanilla roasted pears to serve Serves 4 Directions 1. Preheat the oven to 150C, 300F, Gas 2.

2. Place the milk, cream, sugar and lime zest into a pan and gently bring to the boil.

3. Divide the flaked rice between 4 teacups and pour over the hot milk and cream mixture.

Grate over a little nutmeg.

4. Place the cups on a baking tray and place in the oven for 45-50 minutes.

5. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.

Top each with 2 small pear halves and a dollop of clotted cream. Serve straight away.

66 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

Directions 1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

2. Peel, halve and core the pears, leaving the stalks on. Arrange them in a shallow ovenproof dish.

3. Split the vanilla pod and toss around in the sugar. Scatter 85g/3oz of the sugar over the pears. Add the orange zest, juice and vanilla pod and pour over the wine. Scatter over the butter.

4. Bake the pears in the oven for 20-25 minutes until just soft.

5. Remove the pears from the oven, sprinkle with the remaining sugar and grill until lightly browned and slightly crisp.

6. Serve with rice pudding and clotted cream.

Food&Dining

Chansons for

Valentine’s

CELEBRATE Valentine’s Day at Bridport Arts Centre with a romantic mix of favourite French chansons, performed by singer Magdalena Atkinson, with accompanist Philip Clouts.

Le Voyage a Paris, starting at 8pm, features a varied programme of songs from the great singers of the 1950s and 60s, including Charles Trenet, Charles Aznavour and Edith Piaf, France’s most beloved entertainer, national icon and musical legend.

Magdalena’s singing is not an impersonation but an interpretation, always heartfelt and sometimes humorous.

Le Voyage à Paris: French Chansons is at Bridport Arts Centre on Friday February 14th at 8pm.

February 2020 Food Markets Please check dates and times with venues or organisers

Sat 1st

Thu 13th Fri 14th Sat 15th

Thur 20th Fri 21st Sat 22nd Thur 27th Sat 29th

Poundbury, Queen Mother Square - 9am - 1pm Shaftesbury, Town Hall - 9am - 1pm Wareham, Town Hall, East Street - 9am - 1pm Blandford, Blandford Forum - 9am - 1pm Bridport, Arts Centre, South St - 9am - 1pm Martock, Moorlands Shopping - 10am - 1pm Yarcombe, Village Hall - 10am - 12noon Purbeck, Commercial Road, Swanage - 9am - 1pm Honiton, St Paul’s Church, High St - 8.30am - 1pm Sherborne, Cheap St - 9am - 1pm Wimborne, Market Square - 9am - 1pm Crewkerne, The Henhayes Centre - 9am - 1pm Wareham, Town Hall, East Street - 9am - 1pm Dorchester South, High Street - 9am - 4pm Barrington, Village Hall, 10am - 12noon Yeovil, Middle Street - 9am - 2pm Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 67

SPROUTING BROCCOLI WITH CAPERS A lot of people associate sprouting broccoli with the summer but it actually grows well throughout the year and I have different varieties in the garden which gives me a great yield as the more you cut and trim it the more sprouting flowers it produces.

Sprouting broccoli is such a versatile vegetable and one of my favourites and up there with asparagus.

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

• 400g sprouting broccoli, with any woody ends removed • 4-5tbsp extra virgin olive or rapeseed oil • 1-2tbls capers and some of their juice • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the sprouting broccoli in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the stems then drain. Mix the oil with the capers and a little of the liquid and season. Serve on warmed serving dishes and spoon the dressing over.

Serves 4

MARK HIX

HIX Oyster and Fish House is Mark’s local restaurant that overlooks the harbour in Lyme Regis and boasts the most stunning panoramic views across the Jurassic coast - this is easily one of the most picturesque spots to enjoy British fish seafood.

To book please call 01297 446 910 68 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 69

Guest Recipe

ERIN ROMEO Erin Romeo is a nutrition coach, expert meal planner, and foodprep specialist. She’s an advocate for good nutrition and regularly shares her tips and tricks for healthy eating on Instagram, where she’s better known as the “foodprepprincess.” She’s still as passionate about helping others get healthy, get organized, and get the results they want as she was with her first client ten years ago. Erin and her meal preps have been featured on the websites for Shape.com, Health Magazine.com, thekitchn.com, The Daily Burn.com, BuzzFeed, and Brit+Co, and in Oxygen Magazine. Her Instagram was voted one of the Best Meal Prep Accounts on Instagram in 2018

by PopSugar. Find out more at foodprepprincess.com and on Instagram @foodprepprincess.

THAI BOWLS WITH PEANUT SAUCE A healthy meal. If you ask me, the peanut sauce is what makes this dish so good!

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

Peanut Sauce • 1/4 cup (60 g) natural creamy peanut butter • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) soy sauce • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) rice wine vinegar • 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger • 1 teaspoon raw honey (optional) • 2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) warm water

To make the peanut sauce: 1. Place all the peanut sauce ingredients into a Mason jar or sealable container and secure with the lid. Shake to combine. Add warm water, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) at a time, to thin the dressing to desired consistency.

2. Equally divide the sauce into 4 small containers. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 or 5 days. The sauce may need to be reheated before adding to the bowl to make it pourable. Simply pop the jar (without the lid) into the microwave for 20 seconds, stir and pour.

Bowls • 2 cups (320 g) cooked brown rice • 1 teaspoon sesame oil • 1 bag (16 ounces, or 454 g) shelled edamame (thawed if using frozen) • 1 large red bell pepper, diced • 1/2 large seedless cucumber, diced • 1 medium-to-large carrot, julienned (you can buy bags of carrots cut into matchsticks) • 4 scallions, chopped, plus more for topping • 1/4 cup (10 g) roughly chopped Thai basil leaves • 2 tablespoons (16 g) sesame seeds (white or black), for topping Serves 4 TheVisual Guide to Easy Meal Prep:Save Time and Eat Healthy with over 75 recipes £16.99, Race Point Publishers

To make the bowls: 1. Drizzle the cooked rice with the sesame oil and set aside to cool (if the rice isn’t already cooled).

2. To a large bowl, add the edamame, bell pepper, cucumber, carrot, scallions, and basil, and toss until well combined.

3. To assemble the bowls, equally divide the rice into 4 containers, followed by the vegetable mixture, storing the toppings in separate containers. Top each portion with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and some chopped scallion.

Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 or 5 days. When you are ready to enjoy, pour the desired amount of peanut sauce over the vegetables and rice, and combine.

Bridport’s Vegan Market

COME and investigate Curious Kombucha, Fruit Badhi, Little Fox Bakery, Peace, Love and Bananas and many others at Bridport’s Vegan Market on February 8th at Bridport Town Hall.

Bridport Vegan Market was set up at the beginning of 2018 to help make vegan food and products more accessible to everyone.

Each month there are a variety of stalls including vegan cakes, chocolate, candles and many other products. There are t’shirts that promote animal welfare, beauty and cleaning products and much, much more.

A Bridport Vegan Market favourite, Blue and White Kitchen will be back in February with a wonderful Greek inspired menu with seasonal, vegan and sustainable ingredients. Homemade Flatbreads, dips and seasonal produce give a creative twist for an authentic taste of Greece.

Offering delicious food and Eco goods, Bridport Vegan Market is on from 10 am to 2.30 pm. For more information visit www. bridportveganmarket.co.uk.

PEOPLE IN FOOD & DRINK

Jamie Smith - photograph and words by Catherine Taylor

JAMIE SMITH JAMIE Smith spent his weekends with his grandparents in Chideock. He always found the village a great place to be. Little did he know, years later he would come to live there and be part of the heart and soul of the village, as landlord of The George Inn. Cutting his teeth in the catering business he did his work experience at The Green Yard café in Bridport and worked there full time when he left school. Growing increasingly enamoured with the food industry he then moved on to work for Highlands End before taking up work at The George Inn. Jamie learnt the ropes and was living above the pub when the opportunity arose to take it on.

As the son of an amateur musician who gigged around the Bridport pubs, Jamie was always taken with the idea of becoming a pub landlord, as he had watched through child’s eyes the one person in the pub everyone wanted to be friends with. Years later, the notion still appealed and so Jamie became one of the youngest Palmer’s landlords, running the 160 seater pub since 2015. He has put in the graft ensuring the pub thrives with both local and visiting custom. However, he admits he has no idea how he ran the pub on his own for three years since his girlfriend, Amy Day, has started helping him. With her own full-time job, Amy also looks after her daughter and helps him run the pub, often working late into the evening.

Tackling the summer trade with food freshly cooked to order is no mean feat, something he manages to deliver with his loyal ‘Team George’.

Jamie doesn’t get much time away but does let off steam on the football pitch in Charmouth and at skittles once a week. Still passionate about being a landlord, Jamie is continuing to explore the pub’s potential and further knitting himself into the fabric of the community he has come to love and know so well.

From the Archives of People and Food Magazine Although she has many memories of her years at school in Dorset, Josceline Dimbleby’s latest book, Orchards in the Oasis, traces her love of foods from some of the many other countries in which she has spent time. Katherine Locke met her on a recent visit.

JOSCELINE Dimbleby has an extraordinary life story. She has travelled all over the world and, drawing on her exceptional memory for people, food and places, has written a new memoir/cookery book entitled Orchards in the Oasis. As a diplomat’s stepdaughter, she was able to experience parts of the world that were little known at the time. She spent her early life in Damascus, travelling from London with a governess she hardly knew and spending five days at sea in order to get there. This is the sort of travel accompanied by leather suitcases and initialled brass bound trunks, where dinner was served on linen tablecloths and eaten with silver cutlery.

Josceline (or Jossy as she is known to her close friends and family), evokes the era beautifully, using her early experiences of food to reveal the nature of the country and of a period long forgotten. She recalls her first time in that kitchen in Damascus – ‘As soon as Khalil showed me the kitchen I knew it was a place I would often be in. ...Beside the spices was a pile of fresh mint, chopped finely, and lamb was roasting in the oven; it was a fusion of smells quite new to me,

and mouth-watering. Joseph gave me a light, crispy little pastry; sticky with honey, it had a slightly scented taste.

That was the moment, I have always felt, in the distant aromatic kitchen, which awoke my taste buds and kindled my lifelong passion for food and flavour.’

These early experiences of cooking with herbs and spices stayed with her through her many travels as a child. By the time she returned to England as a young adult, she was hooked on a style of cooking which we would describe today as ‘fusion’ or ‘world cooking’, but at the time (London in the 1960’s), was about as exotic as it got. She recalls not being able to find the ingredients she needed to recreate the tastes she longed for. The chapter in the book First Dishes from a Basement Flat describes how, as a young woman, she modified the dishes of her youth with the, very limited, dried herbs and spices available. She struggled on, however, in a tiny kitchen with no light and ended up producing such delights as her version of shepherd’s pie, which included the very un-English spice, Cumin.

‘Many other food writers are attributed with having ‘revolutionised’ British cooking, but Josceline Dimbleby is perhaps one of the few that genuinely deserve such an accolade.’

She married the broadcaster David Dimbleby in the early 1970’s and went on to have three children with him. It was her desire to be at home looking after them that first led her to write about her particular style of cookery. ‘It was something I could do whilst still being there for the children after school’ she says. After an initial successful magazine article, she was asked to write a food column for The Sunday Times and says ‘At that time, the food coverage in The Times was almost non-existent. I had a tiny column in which I would include two or three recipes’. It is a far cry from today’s papers stuffed with food magazines and celebrity chefs. She was subsequently asked by Sainsbury’s to write her first cookbook for a supermarket Cooking with Herbs.

‘In the 1970’s’ she recalls ‘Sainsbury’s stocked one pot of dried herbs and one pot of mixed spices, so I insisted that if I were to write a book about cooking with herbs, that they ought to stock a few more’. It is almost entirely down to Josceline and her passion for delicious flavours, that we have the fantastic choice of ingredients we have today. Many other food writers are attributed with having ‘revolutionised’ British cooking, but Josceline Dimbleby is perhaps one of the few that genuinely deserve such an accolade. There are many people who learnt to cook curries and spicy dishes from her recipes in those slim volumes from Sainsbury’s. It was a window into another world, a world that was just beginning to open up in the 1970’s. ‘More people were beginning to travel’ she says ‘I think the books came at just the right time’.

She went on to write the first Cooking for Christmas cookery book. It is hard to imagine now, but this was the first ever cookery book dedicated entirely to Christmas food. ‘It was the only Christmas cookery book on the market for many years’ she says ‘then Delia Smith did one and then everyone’.

Despite initial reservations from the supermarket, the books were a tremendous success and Josceline went on to write about food whilst indulging her passion for travel. She talks about how travel can bring about ‘clarity of mind’ and how there is nothing more delicious than getting on a plane and leaving all your responsibilities behind. ‘It is always a huge effort to arrange a trip’ she says. ‘but the minute the plane takes off you are returned to a childlike state, with a complete lack of responsibility’. Put like that, it is easy to see how it can become addictive.

Josceline has travelled from Syria to Peru, from Turkey and Iran to Morocco and Lanzarote, from North America to Burma, Vietnam and India, all

the while collecting tastes and recipes. She has been described as having a ‘sensual intelligence’, that is the ability to recall tastes and memories (rather like Proust!). For Josceline food and people are inextricably linked. She is not just a recipe collector, scouring the world for new tastes sensations, like a 19th century lepidopterologist, she is passionately involved in the stories behind the food and the way in which eating brings us together. ‘There is a reason why peace making is called Breaking Bread’, she says.

She talks about having found the trick of getting put through to the appropriate department in call centres. ‘If I know the call centre is in India, I will ask which region the person is from. I can then start a conversation about that area’s particular delicacies. It never fails!’, she jokes. This is not mere idle chitchat, but an illustration of how central food is to making deep and lasting connections with people.

Her latest book wonderfully illustrates this. A collection of recollections, interspersed with delicious recipes, which chart her travels and travel companions over the years. She recalls events in such detail, it makes you wonder how she does it. ‘I have always kept an appointments diary’ she reveals ‘Just very basic stuff like “Dinner with M”, but it is amazing how it jogs the memory’. So important is this diary, that she says she is probably one of the few people to know, not only exactly what date, but exactly what time, she lost her virginity!

Josceline has an unashamed sweet tooth and the cake, tart and pudding recipes are particularly lovingly rendered. These are recipes that she really enjoys, from the humble Almond and Lemon cake made in her London basement, to the more exotic Apricot and Pomegranate Jelly, these are puddings that the reader can really connect to.

The book is also beautifully illustrated; both with her own photographs and mouth watering food photography by Jason Lowe. If you are one of those people who have cookery books on the bedside table, you will love this book because it gives you reading material as well as recipes. Surprisingly, Josceline has never achieved the sort of celebrity status other food writers have acquired, although many more famous chefs (including Anthony Worrell-Thompson) quietly acknowledge her as the inspiration behind much of their work.

It is said that people only ever try three new recipes from any new cookbook. Well, there are plenty in this new book that might prove the theory wrong.

It is my guess you will be tempted to try many more than that.

INVOLTINI DI CARNI – BEEF SPIEDINI Serves 4 800g beef escalopes flattened 1.5 cups of fresh breadcrumbs, white part only Half white onion 30ml olive oil 2 tablespoons tomato puree 1 tablespoon pine nuts 1 tablespoon raisins or sultanas Half tablespoon parsley, chopped 1 packet of Parma ham salt & pepper 1 tablespoon grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese 1 batch of herb crust 50ml olive oil 8 skewers 8 bay leaves Preheat a frying pan with the olive oil. Add the onion and sweat until golden brown and soft.

Add the raisins and pine nuts, parsley and tomato puree. Turn off the heat and transfer everything to a bowl. Add the breadrumbs and Parmesan, season with salt and pepper.

Spread the escalopes out on a chopping board and place a piece of Parma ham on top. Next place about one tablespoon of filling on top of each escalope. Fold the escalopes and make sure to trap the filling inside. Pour some olive oil in a dish and place the escalopes in the oil, turn and coat on both sides then put the escalopes into the crust mixture and coat both sides. When ready start to build up the spiedini. Place a bay leaf between each spiedino and pierce each portion with 2 wooden or metal sticks on both ends.

Put the griddle on a medium heat. When the griddle is hot, place the beef on it and cook for about 2 or more minutes on each side. As soon as the beef is ready, serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil.

For the Herb Crust 1 sprig of each of the following herbs: rosemary, thyme, marjoram and sage – all chopped. Half tablespoon basil & half tablespoon parsley chopped: 2 cups of dry or fresh breadcrumbs; 1 teaspoon dry oregano; 1 clove garlic, finely chopped; salt and pepper Mix all ingredients together.

SICILIAN COOKERY WITH

Giuseppe Sinaguglia

GUISSEPPE Sinaguglia is a Sicilian who moved to London having worked as a Chef in some of Italy’s top restaurants. Initially he cooked for Marco Pierre White at The Criterion and then became Head Chef at Carluccio’s flagship restaurant.

The Olive Tree Cookery School lies between Wareham and Corfe Castle, in the beautiful Purbeck Hills. Guisseppe and his wife, Sara, opened the school in a small converted barn behind her parent’s house. It is a haven of peace and calm. The passion that Guisseppe has for food and for cooking is abundantly clear but his quiet, gentle presence are immensely reassuring.

His courses reflect the range of his talent and the extent of his passion.; Mad about Mushrooms, Dinner Party for Six, Cooking with Game and an Italian Christmas are a sample of the extensive course list. There are courses aimed at every ability and at varying levels of interest. The Cooking with Game Course, for example, is a three day course which commences with butchering a deer.

The Sicilian Cooking course was attended by two men and myself. Although of different ages both men cooked daily for their wives/ girlfriends and shared a real passion and knowledge for cooking and food. They had both done courses with Guisseppe before.

Our menu for the day included Arancini (stuffed and fried risotto balls), Pepperonata (a delicious vegetable casserole made with peppers, tomotoes, aubergines and potatoes); Polpette di Tonno (wonderful tuna balls with a deep tomato and anchovy sauce) and Cannoli (a pudding made of a deep fried chocolate ‘pasta’ filled with sweetened ricotta. The crowning glory was the Involtini – rolled and stuffed beef escalopes with a herb crust.

This hands-on course could have been daunting given the seemingly complicated menus and unfamiliar combinations.

Guisseppe’s clear explanations, infinite patience and good humour and huge passion for his craft put everyone at their ease and despite several moments of potential crisis, the recipes were completed on schedule, and we sat down, immensely self-satisfied to an outstanding and memorable lunch.

For more information telephone 01929 477260 or visit www.olivetreecookeryschool. com

MAKING LIFE EASIER WITH

Richard Bertinet

BRITTANY born Richard Bertinet started training to be a baker at the age of 14. He moved to England in his 20’s and became a very successful chef. Five years ago, he and his wife set up The Bertinet Kitchen in Bath to share both his bread making skills and love of cooking.

The School offers a wide range of courses by an impressive list of visiting chefs as well as the courses given by Richard himself.

Cook, the title of his latest book, was also the name of the class that I attended. Described as a ‘hands-on class with Richard cooking his favourite recipes from the book’, it offered a good combination of useful skills and new ideas.

Richard exudes confidence – not in an overbearing or self-satisfied way but in the calm, easy manner of a true professional. His French charm and a good sense of humour make cooking in his kitchen fun and easy. He is hugely knowledgeable and everything he says or does is accompanied by clear explanations and constant time and labour saving tips.

The morning flew as we worked, consistently entertained by Richard’s anecdotes, suggestions and continual reminders to ‘taste as you go along’ and ‘keep checking the oven’. Just before we sat down to eat the fruits of our labour, Richard produced a jar of prunes soaked in a delicious but hard to identify alcohol. None of us could guess what it was but all vowed to produce it once we knew. The secret, Richard insists, can only be revealed to those who do the course!

To Richard cooking is all about sharing, keeping it simple and eating together. It’s not something to do alone but alongside friends and family. Share the work, enjoy the food.

His courses are well respected and immensely popular appealing to both the novice and the professional, ranging from Classic Patisserie to a basic ‘Desperate Housewives and Hapless Husbands’ class aimed at the ‘culinary challenged’.

Richard’s three cookery books Dough; Crust and the latest Cook reflect his clear, comprehensive and thorough style of teaching.

The courses, whether introductory or a five day masterclasses embrace the same fundamental principal ‘Making Life Easier’.

For more information telephone 01225 445531 or visit www.thebertinetkitchen.com

CREME CARAMEL Serves 6 For the creme 1 pint of full fat milk 4 eggs (2 whole eggs and 2 yolks) 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar (or caster sugar and a little vanilla extract) 6 creme caramel moulds A knob of butter to grease the moulds For the caramel 3 oz caster sugar 3 tablespoons water a squeeze of lemon juice Pre–heat the oven to 150° C fan/170° C static Butter the moulds Measure all of your ingredients To make the caramel, place the sugar, water and lemon juice into a heavy bottomed pan and place over a medium heat until golden brown. Pour into the bottom of the moulds.

To make the creme, heat the milk until just below boiling.

While the milk is warming, beat the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together.

Pour the milk onto the beaten egg. Stir well.

Strain through a seive or chinois and then pour into the moulds.

Place the moulds into an oven dish and pour boiling water around them.

Bake until set (about 15 to 30 minutes depending on your oven).

Leave to cool for at least 6 hours or place in the fridge overnight before serving.

To serve, run a round-ended knife around the mould. Place a serving dish over the mould and invert.

© Mike English, photograph by Robin Mills

Britain may no longer be a nation of shopkeepers however they still play a vital role in contributing to community life. Bridport shop keeper Mike English looks back on the life that brought him to local retail.

“I was born in Chippenham, Wiltshire. My father was a policeman but shortly after I was born he joined Woolworths and trained with them, so I moved around a lot as a child, living in rented rooms, then a caravan on a farm near Stroud. Our first house was in Banbury where we lived for five years, and most of my secondary schooling was at Keynsham Grammar School between Bath and Bristol where I managed to fail all of my A levels, heaven knows how or why.

I had no idea of what career I wanted but lots of my friends were joining the Civil Service because there were lots of civil service establishments in and around Bath. I was interested in science so I joined the Scientific Civil Service. I joined the Royal Naval Physiological Laboratory in Gosport, Hampshire, where they did research into decompression sickness – the bends – for Navy divers, and produced decompression tables. I worked there from 1971 for five years. This is where I met Sue, my wife; we got married and transferred to the MOD in Dorset, to the Underwater Weapons Establishment on Portland.

We lived in Dorset for five years until 1980, when we both found work outside the civil service in the flight simulation industry. We became software engineers, programming for flight simulators in a small computer consultancy in Worthing but mostly subcontracted to a company in Crawley, near Gatwick Airport, building flight simulators for Boeing for six years.

We were being really well paid in flight simulation; we had a nice house in Littlehampton and

were travelling a lot. Sue spent time in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We both worked in upstate New York while the children were young, and I spent some time in Iran with flight simulators there. This was all very interesting but we had two children and were taking it in turns to look after them as well as working, so we were only really meeting each other at weekends, which isn’t very good for a relationship. My father had been a Woolworths manager for many years, so shops weren’t an unknown environment to me. So we decided to try a shop and to go back to Dorset. We found three places on our first look; there were two post offices in Bradpole and Buckland Newton and the wholefood shop, Fruits of the Earth, in Victoria Grove, Bridport, where I still am.

We had practically no interest in food and health before, other than enjoying eating good food.

There was a small health food shop near where we lived in Rustington where we used to pop in to get brown rice, cake and bread, but as we were both working we had a standard issue life going to the supermarket, doing our weekly shop, and getting home with it as fast as we could.

The shop had been Fruits of the Earth for about four years before we arrived, starting in 1982. We built it up, putting in shelves, increasing the stock; we didn’t really know what we were getting into but we had a get out clause when we first arrived, as our employers in Sussex said we could go back if it didn’t work out. But very soon we decided it was going to be the life for us because we loved being in it; and doing it and meeting people; chat

From the Archives of People and Food Magazine “There is an old maxim which is: Think globally and act locally.

If everybody acts locally it will have repercussions throughout the whole world.”

ting to people. We learnt a lot very quickly because we had to. We asked our wholesalers what things were for, why were people buying things; we asked our customers why they were buying them, and we learnt from them. We did a few courses, and we asked lots of questions.

We do have an effect on a small part of the local community as we have face to face contact with people and can talk about things; we provide locally grown organic produce from two or three local growers which also gives them an outlet. But as a percentage of the local community what we are doing has quite a small effect compared to supermarkets, as there are fewer people coming through our shop.

When we first arrived here we never really had an explicit plan to contribute to the local community, as we didn’t know what the local community was like. We had never really experienced one before, having been working away from where we lived a lot of the time. Any contribution we have made has really been achieved by being here and doing what we do. We contribute by providing a space for people to sell things; we talk to people about what they are buying and why they are buying it, helping people out generally. Sue has contributed in other ways while we have been here because she was on the Art Centre committee in the town for a while, she has taught locally and has become a massage therapist, so she has been out there doing more in the community whilst I have been concentrating on the shop.

Locally we are quite blessed by having lots of healthy food available that has been locally produced. We are used to it in the town and around us. People visiting Bridport for the first time are intrigued by so many independent local food outlets. We have fishmongers, butchers, bakers, greengrocers, shops that many small towns don’t have, and health food shops of course.

Globally the growth of organic, locally produced food has to be good for the planet and the local community. I am guessing that there will always be a place for supermarkets but I don’t think you need five in a town the size of Bridport. The main problem with supermarkets that we face locally and globally is the amount of wastage; food waste, packaging waste. They often don’t pay fair

prices for food they are buying in from producers, for instance milk; what they pay for milk is very little compared to what they sell it for.

I can see a place for supermarkets as we can’t expect people to shop in independent shops all the time, because it takes up too much of their time and people are busy working. Supermarkets can sell some things cheaply that should be cheap, which is a good idea, but they need to be restrained in what they sell, how they sell it, how much packaging they use, how they deal with waste. A big problem is the delivering of goods by lorry and the carbon emissions caused by lorries on the road, because we have an appalling rail network. Things like that are difficult.

In some supermarkets I am sure the quality of food is good, particularly when the food is organically grown locally and waste is reduced.

Our wholesalers have all come out against genetic modification so we can guarantee that the food we sell is not genetically modified. We can talk about the goodness of the food we are selling.

There is an old maxim which is: Think globally and act locally. If everybody acts locally it will have repercussions throughout the whole world.

For instance, there is no need for the use of palm oil in products. The planting of palm oil plantations destroys habitats. When tropical rainforests are destroyed, the amount of carbon in the atmosphere is increased. We can stop buying things containing palm oil. Even as we speak there are plans to build a palm oil burning power station on Portland, very close to us, so people need to think about whether we need to be planting palm to produce oil to create energy. Should we be using land to grow things to burn to produce energy when we could be using land to feed people?

Politically and economically we have to think of the effect our decisions have on others in different parts of the world.

I believe we are inherently moral creatures, though we do need to remind ourselves of this sometimes. Interestingly in the past morals were often faith based so they were brought to us by religions. In these days of growing irreligiousness it would seem that we still have those morals, so it is a secular morality that we are experiencing, which I think is a good thing.”

Sea Cucumber

By Nick Fisher

AS far as I understand it, the idea of reincarnation is that you’re reborn, after your mortal life, as another creature. And, the status of the creature you’re sent to reincarnate, relates to how you behaved in your first life.

If you were good, noble and righteous, you get to come back as something spiffy. Like a lion. Or a zebra. Or a stud racehorse. If you were a mouth-breathing, scumbag of a human, you come back as a dung beetle or a tapeworm. Or maybe even a sea cucumber.

The day to day life of a sea cucumber is not glamorous. Destined to dwell on the floor of an ocean, with no means of propulsion apart from some pathetic and inefficient tubular legs, and to live on a diet of undiluted fish crap, doesn’t sound much like fun, does it?

Around the world’s oceans there’s a staggering 1250 different species of sea cucumber. They can range in size from just over an inch, to three foot long.

And, their range of habitat can vary from the blood-warm seas of the Indian Ocean, to the frigid, deep, sea trenches of the north Atlantic. No matter where they live, their lifestyle is pretty much identical: cling to the sea bed and eat crap.

Although the sea cucumber’s nearest relative is the starfish, its job in the sea is most similar to that of the earthworm, on land. They eat detritus, grind it up into smaller particles, digest it, then poop it out onto the sea bed, broken down enough for marine bacteria to be able to attack and destroy. Sea cucumbers are like wormy compost-makers who help recycle matter and reintroduce it into the food chain.

Although they only ever eat crap, humans around the world love to eat sea cucumbers. In China, Japan and many other Asian countries, sea cucumbers are harvested, to be eaten fresh, or else, dried and sometimes even smoked.

Prepared this way, it’s known as Trepang or Beche de Mer. Sea cucumber fish is actually pretty much tasteless, similar to something like soya bean curd (tofu), which has plenty of nutritional qualities, but no flavour.

Its absorbent texture means the sea cucumber is great at assuming the taste

78 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

body wall. This trick doesn’t just impress scientists; it caught the attention of Hollywood film producers too.

The producers of Hulk, the movie spawned by the comic series, the Incredible Hulk, used sea cucumber expansion and contraction as the basis for Hulk’s physical phenomenon.

Anyone patient enough to sit through the Hulk movie will notice Hulk’s father, Banner, experimenting with sea cucumbers.

The Sea Cucumber’s job is similar to that of an earthworm The sea cucumbers trick is to stretch the protein in their fibres, of any seasoning. It’s a kind of culinary called collagen. Unlike humans, sea blank canvas. One that’s rich in salts and cucumbers can change their collagen minerals. from solid to liquid form, at will. Which As usual, where man’s been greedy allows them to squeeze into tiny holes and scooped-up all the available sea in rocks by literally ‘pouring’ themselves cucumbers to scoff, the resultant effect though a gap. Then, they can even on the sea bed has been catastrophic. Insolidify their skin to prevent anything stead of keeping the waste matter semi getting at them. liquid and recycled, without sea cucumThe sea cucumber has tricks. But, it’s bers, the bed quickly becomes hard and still a very basic life form, with a mouth calcified. This kills off the bacteria and surrounded by tentacles at one end, and bottom-dwelling algae, which removes an anus surrounded by gills at the other. the bottom rung of the food chain and A sea cucumber does actually breath causes problems for all the larger species through its butt. Which, I think we’d all further up the pecking order. agree doesn’t seem like a brilliant evoluSea cucumbers are not only of intertionary tactic. est to Chinese cooks, they’re also a big For all their primitive, immobile slugfavourite of marine scientists, because gishness, the sea cucumber is full of of their unique properties and talents. surprises. It’s always had a soft spot in They’re members of one of the oldest the hearts of the Chinese medicine men, groups of marine invertebrates and are for being a rather obvious aphrodisiac. unique in having a soft outer shell. This Its phallic shape alone makes it a ripe makes them very vulnerable to predacandidate for being eaten as a ‘rooster tion. Being such an easy snack means booster’. But whether its trouserthey’ve developed quite astounding rouser status in eastern medicine is well means of defence. They perform a very deserved or not, it’s current status in classy self-defence routine, known as western medicine is on a meteoric rise. auto evisceration.

The sea cucumber is already used in This happens when they’re being the treatment of rheumatoid and osteoattacked by the parasitic pearl fish that arthritis, and the Japanese have claimed a burrows into their flesh. When the patent for using sea cucumber extract in sea cucumber has had enough of the the treatment of the AIDs virus HIV. It aggressive little parasite, it can expel its appears that the sea cucumber contains own insides by doing a violent body excertain compounds similar in structure plosion, spewing out its digestive organs to ginseng which are now also being and even its own gonads. This either prescribed as an anti-cancer drug. scares the predator away, or at least gives It goes to show, that all of life, even it something to eat, while the cucumber ugly life, is potentially precious and useslinks off to grow a whole new set of ful. Even a slimy green thing that slides wedding tackle. along the sea bed eating fish poo and Another sea cucumber trick is to breathing through its anus could one day expand its body mass, stretching itself, provide a cure for cancer. You just can’t bigger and bigger without rupturing its judge a sausage by its skin.

Treat in store for visitors to Mapperton Estate as blooming spring flowers make an appearance.

T

he first signs of Spring are peeking through at Mapperton Gardens while preparations are under way to welcome visitors for Snowdrop Sundays. And you may find crocuses and daffodils as well this year!

This annual tradition is an opportunity to enjoy a spot of fresh air with a peaceful woodland wander as well as exploring the topiary and grottoes of the formal Italianate gardens.

The Coach House Café on site will be open offering hot drinks, cakes and light lunches, including warming soup and a selection of delicious sandwiches.

Selected plants including snowdrops and reticulated iris will also be on sale.

Head Gardener Steven Lannin is looking forward to welcoming everyone, ‘February is a great month to get the wellies out and look around the garden with fresh eyes’, said Steven. ‘ The peaceful

wild garden and woodlands offer space to stretch your legs and admire the early blooming spring flowers.’

Keen gardeners will find many different hellebores and camellias making an appearance around the gardens, and don’t forget to take a look inside the Orangery to spot the Abutilon, citrus flowers, begonias and tree ferns.

Snowdrop Sundays will be held on the 2nd, 9th and 16th February with entry open from 11am to 4pm. Admission is £5 per person with under 16s free, payable on entry. Mapperton Estate will be making a donation to the National Garden Scheme from Snowdrop Sundays proceeds.

For more information about Mapperton House & Gardens, which opens its doors for the season on Sunday 8th March, please visit the website mapperton.com.

Dom’s Talking Snaps

Geoff ’s Taking Liberties

DOM Joly loves to travel, and the more adventurous and even dangerous his destination the better. Find out more when his Holiday Snaps tour comes to the West Country, starting at Ilfracombe’s Landmark Theatre on 16th February and coming to Dorchester Corn Exchange on Wednesday 4th March.

From North Korea to Chernobyl, he’s visited some of the most unusual—and hazardous—places on the planet. He will meet fans after the show to sign copies of his latest book, The Hezbollah Hiking Club.

Other West Country dates are Taunton Brewhouse on Saturday 7th, Plough Arts at Torrington on Wednesday 18th, Paignton’s Palace Theatre on Thursday 19th, and Exeter Corn Exchange on Sunday 22nd.

GEOFF Norcott enjoys sending up politics and politicians and he’s always questioning the right of anyone to tell him what to do. The multi-talented comedian, writer and broadcaster is on the road with Taking Liberties and the tour has just been extended, including dates at Bridport’s Electric Palace (Friday 21st February) and the Marine at Lyme Regis (Saturday 22nd).

He says: “There’s been a lot of talk about extensions. Well, despite my political allegiances I’m delighted with this one. It’s time the people were given another say ...on whether or not they want to see my show.”

Beyond left/right party politics and Brexit, Geoff Norcott has realised the main thing that motivates his political persuasion is that he hates being told what to do. Whether it’s Eurocrats, ministers, cultural icons or his wife of 15 years, he just can’t stand anyone having power over him.

Geoff Norcott is a regular on television and radio comedy and politics shows, has written for several newspapers and has contributed to programmes including Have I Got News For You, Live At The Apollo and Channel 4’s Alternative Election Night.

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 79

Arts&Entertainment

Being in the Moment Richard Long exhibition launches Thelma Hulbert Gallery’s Culture and Climate programme

I

n 1967, whilst still a student at Central St Martin’s School of Art in London, Richard Long walked through a country field and photographed his imprint on that particular part of the British landscape. The photograph, A Line Made

by Walking, has been analysed to within an inch of its life over the more than 50 years since its creation, and is often referred to as a metaphor for man’s imprint on the earth. In the context of what we now call the ‘climate emergency’ it is fitting that it should be part of a new exhibition opening at the Thelma Hulbert Museum and Gallery in Honiton in February, which launches a year of events and exhibitions under the banner of Culture and Climate 2020.

The opening exhibition takes its title from the work Being in the Moment (1999), a portfolio of four photographs by Richard Long to be shown for the first time as part of the ‘Artist Rooms’ programme.

Ruth Gooding, curator at the Thelma Hulbert Gallery, sees these exhibits as ‘the perfect work to link our own personal sensibility of how we relate to landscape, but giving a nod to how critical it is within the current climate change crisis.’ She sees this work as demonstrating not only the continuity in Long’s methods and practice (1960-99), but ‘his affinity with both national and international landscapes, alluding to a universal human sensibility and sympathy for the natural world across all continents.’

Although Richard Long doesn’t like to be seen as a political animal—he prefers to describe himself as an ‘art animal’—his affinity for the natural landscape, his near obsession with walking and his intriguing sculptural works now dotted around the world, make him the perfect artist to open the Thelma Hulbert programme. ‘This exhibition is an invitation to rethink the relationship between art and the rural and how we connect to and understand space’ explained Ruth. ‘Richard Long’s personal, human scale way of being with nature may help us find our own place in the universe and connect us to our environment in new ways, critical at this moment in the earth’s history.’

For more than 50 years, Long has been at the forefront of conceptual art, working beyond the confines of traditional

material and questioning how we view the relationship between landscapes and art. His investigations into nature, using mediums such as walking, and working with found materials such as mud, earth and slate, remain as relevant today as they ever were.

He has a deep affinity with nature. His work carries the simple message to respect the environment. This exhibition presents the full breadth of Long’s practice including photography, sculpture, text, material, drawings, maps and diagrams. Seen collectively, the works invite consideration of the inter-relationship between man and the natural world and its future.

The launch exhibition and the coming programme of exhibitions, symposiums and events are set against the context of Thelma Hulbert and East Devon District Council’s commitment to Devon’s Climate Change Emergency declaration, and the University of Exeter’s declaration of an environment and climate emergency.

Ruth explained how the gallery is focusing on the most important issue facing the planet today. ‘We’ve identified the urgency of corresponding our program with the wider agenda around climate change, and how artist practises and activity can inspire cultural change, which is the way that we are going to tackle the climate crisis. We’re working with lots of different artists over the year on some really ambitious projects.’ Ruth believes that climate change is a cultural challenge and therefore current cultural production plays a pivotal role in helping us understand our complicated relationship with nature. ‘Culture can also help us identify a new way to coexist with nature’ said Ruth, ‘imagining possibilities or scenarios of how we could live which may appeal to both our rational and emotional selves.’

On 13th May Sir Richard Long will be participating in Creative Dialogues, an ‘in conversation’ presented by University of Exeter, followed by a guided tour of the exhibition by curators at Thelma Hulbert.

‘Artist Rooms’ Richard Long - Being in the Moment is on from February 22 to May 23, 2020.

The ‘Artist Rooms’ touring programme is delivered by the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate in a partnership with Ferens Art Gallery through 2020, supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England,

by Art Fund and by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.

Images - Left: A Line Made by Walking 1967 and South Bank Circle 1999. Above: River Avon Mud Fingerprints Spiral 2006.

All images © Richard Long. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2020.

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 81

February

GALLERIES

1 FEBRUARY

Beaminster Museum Textile Exhibition, 2.00 – 4.00pm, ‘One Planet to Share’, Roberta Bee, Beaminster Museum, Whitcombe Road, DT8 3NB. Info@ beaminstermuseum.co.uk

1 – 12 FEBRUARY

Not Everything Is Black and White, 10.30-4.30, Trisha Hayman’s exhibition highlights her more contemporary approach to still life: simple clean lines in graphite that complement the richly detailed subject matter. Alongside Trisha’s work will be pieces by Mark Swan, creator of delicate Japanese Shoji screens and furniture. The Gallery, Symondsbury Estate, Bridport DT6 6HG. www.lymebayarts.co.uk

1 FEBRUARY – 15 MARCH

Mysterious Adventures: Acrylic Paintings

by David Brooke, Wed-Sun, 10.00-4.00, The first artist to be featured in an exciting new series of solo art exhibitions organised

by Lyme Bay Arts for the Lyme Regis Museum’s Rotunda Gallery is David Brooke whose distinctive acrylic paintings evoke mythology and folk tales, mysteries and adventures. The Rotunda Gallery, Lyme Regis Museum, Bridge St, Lyme Regis DT7.

UNTIL 6 FEBRUARY

Mechanical Human Matter Northwest Gallery AUB Curated by Professor Siân

82 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

Bowen and Peter Symons. This exhibition aims to explore complexities of material transformative processes within the human/machine spectrum using innovative approaches to drawing. Arts University Bournemouth, Wallisdown, Poole, Dorset BH12 5HH. aub.ac.uk.

UNTIL 8 FEBRUARY

South West Academy Exhibition the Academy’s 20th anniversary year begins with an exhibition of exceptional work featuring work across a diverse range of media including paintings, sculpture, prints and photography. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am – 5pm, Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield House, Dowell Street, Honiton EX14 1LX, 01404 45006 www. thelmahulbert.com

8 FEBRUARY - 31 MAY

By Royal Appointment: Devon Lacemakers Opening for the 180th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s wedding and ending after the 201st anniversary of her birth, By Royal Appointment: Devon Lace-makers unravels the threads of some previously untold stories, revealing the beauty and technical skill of Devon lace and the history of the people who made and wore it. The abundant use of Devon-made lace on Queen Victoria’s 1840 wedding dress revitalised the local industry. Linking Royal splendour to rural poverty, the story of lace

offers an intriguing insight into the lives of lace makers from the 18th century to today.

RAMM’s lace collections and selected loans tell the stories of the men, women and children who made textiles of extraordinary beauty. The exhibition features paintings lent

by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from the British Royal Collection, a replica of Queen Victoria’s 1840 wedding dress as seen in the ITV production ‘Victoria’ and contemporary lace from leading local makers. Dresses worn by local 19th century lace-makers contrast with the finery they produced. Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Queen Street, Exeter EX4 3RX

9 FEBRUARY

Beaminster Museum Textile Exhibition, 12.00 – 12.00am, ‘One Planet to Share’, Roberta Bee, Beaminster Museum, Whitcombe Road, DT8 3NB. Info@ beaminstermuseum.co.uk

UNTIL 15 FEBRUARY

Glorious Gallimaufry, Mon-Fri 9.30am4.30pm, Sat 9.30am-2.30pm, Eclectic group exhibition, Ilminster Arts Centre, The Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster, TA19 0AN, 01460 54973, www.themeetinghouse. org.uk Another Way of Life As seen from a Motorcycle – Photographs by George Wright. Bridport Arts Centre, 9 South Street, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3NR.

15 FEBRUARY – 8 MARCH

Fifth Printmakers Open, 10.30-4.30, In this special annual exhibition, visitors can enjoy seeing the whole range of printmaking techniques, from monoprints to etchings, as emerging and well-established printmakers from the Southwest take part in Lyme Bay Arts’s fifth Printmakers Open. A series of printmaking workshops will accompany this showcase; contact 01308 301326 if interested in taking part. The Gallery & The Space, Symondsbury Estate, Bridport DT6 6HG. www.lymebayarts. co.uk

15 FEBRUARY - 14 MARCH

Liz Somerville Land of Hodd linocuts, woodcuts and drawings The Art Stable, Kelly Ross Fine Art, Child Okeford, Blandford, Dorset DT11 8HB Tel: 01258 863866

UNTIL 20 FEBRUARY

Brian Clarke: On Line. TheGallery, AUB Curated by Professor Paul Greenhalgh and the Brian Clarke Studio. Having been a major figure in contemporary art and architecture for over four decades, Brian Clarke is renowned for his large-scale architectural stained glass work often created in collaboration with leading architects such as Norman Foster, Oscar Niemeyer and the late Zaha Hadid.. This exhibition showcases a selection of his stained glass, works on paper, paintings, and sculpture that highlights Clarke’s commitment to drawing that is used as a tool for all his practice from stained glass to paintings. Arts University Bournemouth, Wallisdown, Poole, Dorset BH12 5HH. aub.ac.uk.

20 FEBRUARY – 21 MARCH

Treasure Planet, a celebration of life on the Jurassic Coast. 10am to 4 pm, Tuesday to Saturday. An eclectic show

by Artwey artists. Diverse styles and media. www.artwey.co.uk. Bridport Arts Centre, 9 South Street, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3NR. Lyn Kirkland. lynkirkland222@btinternet.com 07818257665

22 FEBRUARY - 23 MAY

ARTIST ROOMS Richard Long Being in the Moment. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield House, Dowell St, Honiton EX14 1LX

UNTIL MARCH

Roots of Religion in West Bay, see website for Winter opening times.

2019 marked the anniversary of the

opening of the Methodist Chapel (170 years ago) and St John’s Church (80 years ago). Explore the history of these two churches and the stories of those associated with them at West Bay Discovery Centre. Admission free, donations welcomed. Further details www.westbaydiscoverycentre.org.uk.

AROUND

the Galleries & Studios

UNTIL 1 MARCH

Counterpoint: Martyn Brewster, Daisy Cook, Brian Graham, ceramics by Paul Wearing and furniture by Petter Southall.

Sladers Yard Gallery and Café, West Bay Road, West Bay Bridport, Dorset DT6 4EL. sladersyard.wordpress.com

UNTIL 3 MAY

60 years of a 60s icon: Brian Rice exhibition at RAMM. A celebration of the abstract work of the distinguished West Country artist Brian Rice. Work includes his vibrant multi-form painting ‘Green Cross’, from his formative 1960s London period, ‘Dowth’, with its European rock art influence and later work ‘Horton Rock’, 2008 with its lyrical and mischievous twirling lines.

Also exhibited will be objects, textiles and books from the artist’s personal collection that have been important to the development of his work. Brian Rice studied at Yeovil School of Art and Goldsmiths College, becoming very active in London during the 1960s before moving to the west of England in the 70s where his interest in ancient cultures influenced his work. In the 1960’s Brian Rice was at the heart of the creative and ground-breaking London Art Scene and a part of the crowd of artists associated with the Royal College of Art such as David Hockney and Peter Blake. Brian Rice’s abstract paintings from this period were influenced by the De Stijl group and European Constructivists of the 1920s and 30s. These formative London years from 1962-1978, strengthened Rice’s conviction in abstract work and saw his reputation grow. His paintings and prints have been featured in almost 200 group exhibitions and 35 solo exhibitions. Most works featured in the exhibition are available for sale. Brian Rice will be in conversation with art historian Michael Bird on the evening of Thursday 6 February. His work will inspire family activities during the February half-term and a college dance performance on Tuesday 24 March.

Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Queen Street, Exeter EX4 3RX

Brian Rice: 60 years of paintings and prints Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery Queen Street, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3RX. www.rammuseum.org.uk. 24 Jan to 3 May.

Liz Somerville Land of Hodd linocuts, woodcuts and drawings.

The Art Stable, Kelly Ross Fine Art, Child Okeford, Blandford, Dorset DT11 8HB www.theartstable.co.uk. 15 Feb to 14 March.

Brian Clarke On Line: a selection of stained glass, works on paper, paintings, and sculpture. Arts University Bournemouth Wallisdown, Poole Dorset BH12 5HH. Until 20 February.

Mysterious Adventures: Acrylic Paintings by David Brooke.

The Rotunda Gallery, Lyme Regis Museum, Lyme Regis DT7 3QA. 1 February to 15 March

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 83

PREVIEW

An evening of wit and music by the Master is on offer when Peter Gill celebrates the genius of Noel Coward

Celebrating Noel VILLAGES

THE dazzling wit and song-writing skill of Noel Coward is celebrated in a new show by pianist and entertainer Peter Gill, on a short Artsreach tour, including Broadoak village hall on Thursday 13th February and Sydling St Nicholas on Friday 14th, both at 7.30pm.

The tour follows Peter Gill’s previous Artsreach performance, Meet Tommy Atkins, which was part of a programme of WW1 centenary events. The show is a tribute to that most English of Englishmen, Noel Coward, who once said of himself “I am an enormously talented man and there is no point in denying it.”

Born in 1899, Coward was an actor, writer, composer, director, producer, and in later life painter—and he excelled at them all. Through anecdote and song, Peter Gill will remind audiences of Coward’s dazzling wit and perform such gems as Mad About The Boy, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, A Bar on The Piccola Marina, Don’t Let’s Be Beastly To The Germans, Mrs Worthington and There Are Bad Times Just Around The Corner.

Song on the times MILBORNE ST ANDREW

VOCAL harmony quartet Windborne, four graduates of Northern Harmony, come to Dorchester Corn Exchange with Dorches-

New England vocal quartet Windborne explore protest songs through the centuries

Megson coming to Milborn St Andrew

ter Arts on Wednesday 12th February and to Milborne St Andrew village hall on Friday 14th with Artsreach.

The Milborne St Andrew event includes a workshop, where the singers will teach songs from their American roots, songs from their album Song on the Times, and folk songs from other cultures collected on their travels. Running from 5 to 6pm, the workshop is open to all, but booking is essential. Further details and tickets from www.artsreach.co.uk Hailing from New England, Windborne specialise in close harmony singing, shifting effortlessly between dramatically different styles of traditional music. Their musical knowledge spans many continents and cultures, but they remain deeply rooted in American folk singing traditions.

The show is called Song on the Times, based on a project to collect music from working class movements for peoples’ rights in the US and UK over the past 400 years, and sing them for the struggles of today. The singers are graduates of Northern Harmony, a New England vocal ensemble which has delighted Artsreach audiences on previous tours.

Lynn Mahoney Rowan, Will Thomas Rowan, Lauren Breunig and Jeremy CarterGordon have collected and studied polyphonic vocal music for more than 15 years.

Learning from traditional singing masters

from cultures around the world, the singers are as comfortable with an improvised Corsican couplet song as an English ballad.

The Windborne performers entertain the audience with stories about the songs, and explain the characteristics and stylistic elements of the traditions in which they sing.

Mad about the dance SOUTH PETHERTON

FESTIVAL favourites Mad Dog Mcrea get February off to an energetic start with a “chance to dance’ gig at the David Hall, South Petherton, on Saturday 1st February.

Playing a colourful mix of folk, rock, pop, gypsy jazz and bluegrass, the band has a repertoire that ranges from original songs of adventure, life and love to traditional tales of gypsies, fairies, black flies and legless pirates.

On Friday 7th, folk duo Megson – husband and wife Stu and Debbie Hanna – take to the David Hall stage with their engaging songs that draw on their Teesside heritage. Their music is characterised by an infectious mix of heavenly vocals, lush harmonies and driving rhythmic guitars, and their live performances are also renowned for their dry northern humour.

The following weekend, on Saturday 15th, Saskia Griffiths-Moore, who recorded her latest album at Abbey Road Studios, brings her mix of folk music and “Baez and

Sufi sisters debut tour in Bridport THE Sufi sisters—Hashmat Sultana—who came to public attention through a major Indian television talent show—come to Bridport Arts Centre on Friday 28th February as part of their UK debut tour.

The sisters, who emerged from the talent show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, received rave reviews from prominent Bollywood composers Pritam Chakraborty and Sajid-Wajid for their beautiful and electrifying vocal abilities.

Since then Hashmat and Sultana have 84 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

been winning the hearts of audiences in India and internationally with their contemporary twist on traditional Punjabi folk and ancient Sufi music. They have become a YouTube sensation with a huge online audience.

Featuring Sufi poetry and songs from the great Punjabi Sufi poets, such as Baba Bulleh Shah and Shah Hussain, the sisters appeal to a new generation with their powerful vocal performances and versatility that shows maturity beyond their years.

PREVIEW

Mark Thomas is back on tour with a new show, 50 Things About Us

Dylan throwback folk” to South Petherton.

This young rising star, who is increasingly known for her crystal-clear vocals and melody-led acoustic song-writing, appeared at Petherton Folk Fest in 2018 and 2019.

Blue Rose Code, a musical nomad whose eclectic repertoire includes soul, jazz, folk and pop, comes to the David Hall on Friday 21st. Singer-songwriter Ross Wilson of Blue Rose Code writes from the heart, eschewing any specific genre; the 12 new songs on The Water Of Leith address themes of love, loss, travel, home, accepting the past and embracing the future. Fans have compared him to John Martyn, Van Morrison and Tom Waits.

The month ends on Saturday 29th with an anniversary gig by virtuoso violinist Christian Garrick and the Budapest Cafe Orchestra. Celebrating their tenth anniversary, this gypsy jazz ensemble plays music that ranges across Eastern Europe and the Balkans, drawing on the heritage of klezmer laments, Romanian doinas and Hungarian czardas.

examine how we have come to inhabit this divided wasteland that some of us call the United Kingdom.

Mark picks through the myths, facts and figures of our national identities to ask how we have so much feeling for such a hollow land. Who do we think we are? This is a show about money, history, songs, gongs, wigs, unicorns, guns, bungs, sods of soil and rich people.* *(not the adjective Mark has chosen) The show is back in Dorset, at the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis on Wednesday 11th, and the last West Country date is at Torrington’s Plough Arts Centre on 24th April.

from London to Morocco in search of fame and fortune.

This colourful version introduces several entertaining new characters as well as traditional favourites like Kitty, Sarah the Cook, King Rat and the Sultan.

Alderman Fitzwarren and his motley crew are sailing for Morocco when King Rat manages to sink the ship on the shores of the Sultan’s private beach.

There follows a misguided escape attempt by our heroes, culminating in an exciting showdown in King Rat’s Lair.

The show is directed by Shaun Bonetta, with Ian Crew, musical director, and Sarah Pottinger, choreographer.

Bow Bells to Morocco HONITON

The Truth About Love HONITON

HONITON Community Theatre follows the success of last year’s Cinderella with one of the oldest and best-loved pantomime stories, Dick Whittington, on stage at the Beehive Centre from Tuesday 18th to Saturday 22nd February.

This traditional panto, drawing on a 600-year old story, has been written by Gail Lowe, and follows the adventures of Dick and his friends as they travel

SINGERS from the Royal Opera House and English National Opera will be at the Beehive centre at Honiton on Saturday 29th February at 7.30pm.

The Truth about Love: Bizet to Broadway is a selection of arias and songs from favourite operas and musicals. The concert is raising funds for Action East Devon and Honiton Dementia Alliance.

GP-W

Who do we think we are?

TOURING

SOCIAL commentator, mischief-maker, polemicist and well-researched critic of authority, Mark Thomas is on tour with a new show, 50 Things About Us, coming to the Red House Theatre at Plymouth on Saturday 1st February, Bridport’s Electric Palace on Saturday 22nd and Dorchester Arts at the Corn Exchange on Wednesday 26th.

In 50 Things About Us, Mark Thomas combines his trademark mix of storytelling, research, mischief and comedy to Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 85

PREVIEW

Welcome return to Plymouth for Royal Shakespeare Company

Role reversal – boys will be girls and girls will be boys in the RSC’s hilarious production of The Taming of the Shrew,

BACK in 1997 and 98, the Royal Shakespeare Company added Plymouth to its touring schedule, balancing geographically with its regular stop at Newcastle on Tyne.

Now in 2020 the Stratford-based company brings three favourite plays to the Devon city from Wednesday 12th to Saturday 22nd February. The plays are As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew and Measure for Measure and each member the 27-strong company of appears in two of the three productions.

As You Like It is directed by Kimberley Sykes, The Taming of the Shrew by Justin Audibert and Measure for Measure by Gregory Doran.

The company’s artistic director Gregory Doran, who also directs Measure for Measure, says: “We have worked hard to assemble a company of actors which reflects the nation in ways it has never done before. Featuring a 50/50 gender balanced ensemble, we have brought together talent from all corners of the United Kingdom, reflecting both the ethnic, geographical and cultural diversity of Britain today and those artists who are underrepresented on our stages. We want to create a season of work which places contemporary audiences at its heart, which speaks directly to the present moment.”

Lucy Phelps plays Rosalind in Kimberley 86 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

Isabella (Lucy Phelps) and Claudio (James Cooney) in Measure for Measure.

Sykes’ production of As You Like It, with David Ajao as Orlando.

Justin Audibert’s reimagined staging of The Taming of the Shrew, Claire Price plays Petruchia and Joseph Arkley plays Katherine in a cast where women play the roles written as men, and men play those written as women.

Sandy Grierson will play Angelo in

Gregory Doran’s Measure for Measure, with Antony Byrne as The Duke. and Lucy Phelps as Isabella.

There are four performances of each play, including one matinee. For more information, telephone 01752 267222 or visit the website, www.theatreroyal.com GP-W

PREVIEW

Inspirational pianist Nicholas McCarthy in South West tour

Nicholas McCarthy

FOR its third 2020 concert tour, Concerts in the West is delighted to welcome back the exceptionally talented and inspirational one handed pianist Nicholas McCarthy, who will be performing at a new venue Minehead Methodist Church (5 March), as well as Bridport Arts Centre and Ilminster Centre (both 6 March) and the Dance House in Crewkerne (7 March). As part of his Concerts in the West tour, Nicholas will be working with young musicians at the Centre for Young Musicians Taunton.

Nicholas McCarthy was born in 1989 without his right hand and only began to play the piano at the age of 14 after being inspired by hearing a friend play Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata. Having once been told that he would never succeed as a concert pianist, Nicholas was not discouraged and went on to study at the prestigious Royal College of Music in London.

His graduation in July 2012 drew press headlines around the world, being the only one-handed pianist to graduate from the Royal College of Music in its 130 year history. In March 2018 he was awarded honorary membership by it’s President, HRH The Prince of Wales.

Nicholas is a champion of the ‘left hand alone’ repertoire, which first came to prominence in the early 19th century and developed rapidly following the First World War as a result of the many injuries suffered by musicians on the battlefield.

He has performed extensively throughout the UK including major venues such as The Royal Albert Hall. Internationally, Nicholas has toured and performed in France, Belgium, Holland, South Africa, South Korea, Malta, Kazakhstan, Japan the US and a six city tour of China One of Nicholas’s proudest moments was performing with the British Paraorchestra at the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 Paralympic games alongside Coldplay in front of an audience of 86,000 people and half a billion worldwide viewers.

His concert performances, recordings and media features have gained critical acclaim. His ongoing commitment to encouraging new audiences to classical music along with his work with young people through music education is ever present in his schedule.

Nicholas is Patron and Ambassador for Nordoff Robbins, The One Handed

Musicians Trust (OHMI) and Create charities.

Catherine Maddocks, the founder and director of Concerts in the West, said: “The extraordinary left-handed pianist Nicholas McCarthy returns this season.

Not only does he give performances all over the world but he has helped many companies motivate their workforce by sharing his unique and inspiring story.

During his tour of the West Country he will work with young players from the Centre for Young Musicians Taunton (CYMT) and I am sure he will inspire them too.”

Concert details can be found on the individual tour pages and booking details for the concerts can be found on the booking/venue information page of www.concertsinthewest.org Times: all evening performances commence at 7.30pm. The Bridport coffee concert will start at 11.30am and finish at 12.30pm (previously it ran from 11am to 12pm).

Tickets: evening concerts: £15; Bridport: £12 (optional donation at the concerts)

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 87

Interval delights in Dorchester

New production by Bridport Youth Dance Orpheus and Eurydice: The Power of Love is the latest production by Bridport Youth Dance and it will be showing at the Electric Palace, Bridport in March.

Orpheus and Eurydice is a story of tragic separation but also about the power and transformative value of dance, music, friendship and love. Musician and poet Orpheus falls in love with mortal Eurydice and loves her so deeply that when she dies, he travels to the underworld to get her back.

There he enchants everyone….even the dark king Hades—with the beauty of his music.

The Bridport Youth Dance (BYD) version of the Greek myth is a story about the power of love against the inevitability of human weakness. Love and friendship are underlying themes throughout.

Orpheus and Eurydice: The Power of Love is BYD’s 16th annual production. Choreography is by Nikki Northover, Aimee Symes and Bec Ayles. Music is by composers Andrew Dickson (with singer Georgia Collins) and Chris Reynolds and sound is arranged by Rob Lee. Performances: Friday 6 March : 7.30pm, Saturday 7 March : 2pm, Saturday 7 March : 7.30pm.

Ticket Booking Line 01308 424 901 or via www.electricpalace.org.uk

Olwen Foulkes coming to Dorchester

FROM 1702, the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, staged dazzling entertainments in the intervals of plays. These might include music, dance or acrobatics.

Recorder player Olwen Foulkes comes to Dorchester Corn Exchange on Sunday 23rd February, at 2.30pm, with Indoor Fireworks: Entertainments from Drury Lane, giving a taste of what those early 18th century audiences would have enjoyed.

Olwen, who will be accompanied by theorbo and cello, will introduce the music and musicians featured in these fashionable interval concerts.

The programme includes fiery sonatas by Arcangelo Corelli and Giuseppe Sammartini, and beautiful suites by less well-known musicians James Paisible, Matthew Locke, and John Grano.

88 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

Royal wedding soprano joins Armonico Consort in tour of Bach’s final masterpiece

S

tar soprano, Elin Manahan Thomas, is to join the critically-acclaimed choir and ensemble, Armonico Consort, and Director Christopher Monks as soloist on a 6-date tour of Bach’s final masterpiece, his Mass in B minor.

The internationally-renowned soprano and baroque specialist, who sang at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, describes the B minor Mass as “my favourite piece to sing”.

Never performed complete in his lifetime, the Mass in B minor was Bach’s final major composition, scattered with music and references that he considered to be his best work, or movements which he had allowed to develop over time and had returned to ‘perfect’ at a later date.

“The B minor Mass is without doubt my very favourite thing to sing,” says Elin Manahan Thomas, “it moves effortlessly and beautifully between the grand and solemn, to the brash and gleeful, to the intimate and hushed.”

A devout Lutheran Protestant, enigma

Elin Manahan Thomas photograph by AP Wilding

surrounds Bach’s plan to write a full Catholic mass. The Kyrie and Gloria were first performed in 1733, other parts were written in the 1740s but it is not known whether Bach actually intended the individual settings to be performed

together as a complete Mass.

The music, however, speaks for itself as Christopher Monks, Armonico Consort’s Artistic Director explains, “the work is, in effect, Bach’s own self-obituary, how he wanted to be remembered by the world. If you have never heard it live, this is one concert you absolutely must not miss.”

Armonico Consort’s top professional singers will step out from the choir to take solo roles and the orchestra will play on instruments of the period to give an insight into Bach’s soundworld.

Elin Manahan Thomas has partnered with Armonico Consort many times over the years in repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary, most recently in Beowulf by Armonico’s composer-inresidence, Toby Young.

Armonico Consort’s tour of Bach’s Mass in B minor begins at Lighthouse, Poole on Friday 31 January and also comes to Yeovil (11 February) Details from www.armonico.org.uk.

Photograph by Paul Stuart Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 89

PERFORMANCE TUESDAY 28 JANUARY

BRIDPORT, Arts Centre, Bridport Film Society, Phoenix (Norway), 7.45.

WEDNESDAY 29 JANUARY

BRIDPORT, Electric Palace, Bridport Pantomime Players in Beauty and the Beast, to Sat, 7.30, Sat mat 2pm.

DORCHESTER, Corn Exchange, Helen Wood in solo show The National Trust Fan Club, 8pm.

LYME REGIS, Marine Theatre, Blinded by the Light, film, 7.30.

WIMBORNE, Tivoli, Roger Chapman, Family and Friends, 7.30.

THURSDAY 30 JANUARY

EXETER, Northcott, Brendan Murphy in Friend, solo comedy tribute to Friends, 7.30.

FROME, Merlin Theatre, Mark Bruce Company in Return to Heaven, new dance theatre, to Sat, 7.30.

TAUNTON, Brewhouse, Sound of the Sirens, Exeter-based folk rock duo, 7.30.

FRIDAY 31 JANUARY

BATH, Theatre Royal, Richard Alston Dance, Final Edition, and Sat, 7.30, Sat mat 2.30.

BRISTOL, Thekla, Jah Wobble.

EXETER, Northcott, Iain Dale talks to Jonathan Dimbleby.

EXMOUTH, Pavilion, Think Floyd.

HONITON, Beehive, La Boheme live by satellite from the Royal Opera, 7.15.

ILMINSTER, Arts Centre, Flying Folk with Jemima Farey and other local performers, 7.30.

WEYMOUTH, Pavilion, The Rolling Stones Story, 7.30.

YEOVIL, Octagon, Jackson Live in Concert, 7.30.

SATURDAY 1 FEBRUARY

BRIDPORT, Arts Centre, Porgy and Bess, live by satellite from the Metropolitan Opera, 5.55.

DORCHESTER, Corn Exchange, Joli Vyann in Anima, contemporary dance, 8.

EXETER, Cygnet Theatre, Tom McConville, folk fiddle, 7.30.

EXMOUTH, Pavilion, The Dangerous Desires, 7.30.

MARTINSTOWN, Village Hall, Neil Maya Quartet with The Brubeck Project, jazz 7.30. AR SOUTH PETHERTON, David Hall, Mad Dog Mcrea, 8pm.

WEYMOUTH, Pavilion, Let’s Dance, 7.30.

YEOVIL, Octagon, Black Dyke Band, 7.30.

SUNDAY 2 FEBRUARY

BRIDPORT, Electric Palace, Giselle from the Bolshoi Ballet, 4pm.

BRISTOL, The Fleece, Felice Brothers.

HATCH BEAUCHAMP, Village Hall, Protein Dance in The Little Prince, 3pm. TA YEOVIL, Octagon, Turin Brakes, acoustic, 7.30.

MONDAY 3 FEBRUARY

PLYMOUTH, Theatre Royal, Frantic Assembly in I Think We are Alone, to Sat, 7.30, Thurs/Sat mats 2.30.

TUESDAY 4 FEBRUARY

BATH, Theatre Royal, Jennifer Saunders in Blithe Spirit, to Sat, 7.30, Wed/Thur/Sat mats 2.30.

BRIDPORT, Electric Palace, La Boheme recorded from the Royal Opera, 7pm.

YEOVIL, Octagon, Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor talk snooker with John Virgo, 7.30.

WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY

SIDMOUTH, Manor Pavilion, Sidmouth Youth Theatre in Korczak, to Sat, 7.30.

WEYMOUTH, Pavilion, Jersey Beats in Oh What a Nite, 7.30.

THURSDAY 6 FEBRUARY

BATH, Theatre Royal, Ustinov Studio, The Realistic Joneses, UK premiere, to 7 March.

BRIDPORT, Electric Palace, Little Women, film, 7.30.

FRIDAY 7 FEBRUARY

BRIDPORT, Arts Centre, Luke Wright, The Remains of Logan Dankworth, performance poetry, 7.30.

Electric Palace, Kinky Boots - the Musical, recorded at the Adelphi, 7pm.

EXMOUTH, Pavilion, Beyond the Barricade, 7.30.

ILMINSTER, Arts Centre, Mike Denham and the Sunset Cafe Stompers, 8.

SOUTH PETHERTON, David Hall, Megson, folk duo, 8pm.

YEOVIL, Octagon, BeeGees with Jive Talkin, 7.30.

SATURDAY 8 FEBRUARY

BRIDPORT, Arts Centre, Steve Knightley, Pass Notes - the Stories behind the Songs, 7.30.

EXETER, Cygnet Theatre, Journeymen Theatre in A Rock and a Hard Place, play about domestic abuse, 2.30 and 7.30.

EXMOUTH, Pavilion, Country Superstars Experience.

HONITON, Beehive, Flats and Sharps,

bluegrass from Penzance, 7.30.

ILMINSTER, Warehouse Theatre, Cinema at the Warehouse, The Guilty, 7.45.

KINGSDON, Village Hall, Spitz and Co in Les Gloriables, 8. TA LYME REGIS, Marine Theatre, Sam Lee, folk, 7.30.

SOUTH PETHERTON, David Hall, Pip Utton in At Home with Will Shakespeare, 7.30. TA WEYMOUTH, Pavilion, Queen Rhapsody, 7.30.

SUNDAY 9 FEBRUARY

EXETER, Northcott, John Cleese in conversation.

LYME REGIS, Marine Theatre, Sunday Sessions, local musicians, free, 3pm.

PIDDLETRENTHIDE, Village Hall, Pip Utton in And Before I Forget I Love You, I Love You, 4pm. AR

MONDAY 10 FEBRUARY

BRISTOL, O2 Academy, The Hu, Mongolian throat rock.

TUESDAY 11 FEBRUARY

BATH, Theatre Royal, Dial M for Murder, to Sat, 7.30, Wed/Thur/Sat mats 2.30.

BRIDPORT, Arts Centre, Bridport Film Society, Our Little Sister, 7.45.

WEDNESDAY 12 FEBRUARY

DORCHESTER, Corn Exchange, Windborne, Song on the Times, folk and protest, 8pm.

HONITON, Beehive, Acoustic Cafe, open mic session with guitarist Terry Stacey, free, 8.

SHERBORNE, Abbey, Sherborne Schools Choral Society, Mozart Requiem, cond James Henderson, 7.30.

YEOVIL, Octagon, Fascinating Aida, and Thurs, 7.30.

THURSDAY 13 FEBRUARY

BROADOAK, Village Hall, Peter Gill, The Wit and Songs of Noel Coward, 7.30. AR EXETER, University Great Hall, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, cond Robert Trevino, Simone Lamsma, violin, Electrifying Rhythms, Stravinsky, Szymanowski violin concerto, Rachmaninov 3rd symphony, 7.30.

Corn Exchange, Fairport Convention.

Phoenix, Jah Wobble.

LYME REGIS, Marine Theatre, Mrs Lowry and Son, film, 7.30.

PLYMOUTH, Theatre Royal, Royal Shakespeare Company season, to 22 Feb: As You Like It, and 14/20 at 7.30, 15th 1.30pm.

Rural touring organisations AR = Artsreach, TA = Take Art, Via = Villages in Action 90 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

PERFORMANCE FRIDAY 14 FEBRUARY

BRIDPORT, Arts Centre, Le Voyage a Paris, French chansons with Magdalena Atkinson and Philip Clouts, 8pm.

Electric Palace, JoJo Rabbit, film, 7.30.

DORCHESTER, Corn Exchange, Craig Ogden, guitar, Milo Milivojevic, accordion, Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Piazzolla, etc, 8pm.

EXMOUTH, Pavilion, Moonstone Theatre in St Valentine’s Day Massacre, murder mystery dinner.

HONITON, Beehive, Kinky Boots- The Musical, filmed at Adelphi Theatre, 7.30.

ILMINSTER, Arts Centre, Nick Maclean Quartet with Caribbean trumpeter Brownman Ali, jazz, 8.

LYME REGIS, Marine Theatre, Simply ReRed, tribute, 7.30.

POOLE, Lighthouse, Midge Ure, the 1980 tour.

SYDLING ST NICHOLAS, Village Hall, Peter Gill, The Wit and Songs of Noel Coward, 7.30. AR WEYMOUTH, Pavilion, The Best of That’ll Be the Day, 7.30.

SATURDAY 15 FEBRUARY

DORCHESTER, Corn Exchange, Patrick Monahan, Started from the Bottom, comedy, 8.

LYME REGIS, Marine Theatre, Kinky Boots - the Musical, filmed at the Adelphi, 7pm.

SIDMOUTH, Manor Pavilion, Moonstone in Presumed Guilty, 7.30.

Parish Church, The Fitzroy String Quartet, Haydn, Mason, Schubert, 3pm.

SOUTH PETHERTON, David Hall, Saskia Griffiths-Moore, folk, 8pm.

WEST BAY, Sladers Yard, Alan Barnes, clarinet and saxophones, David Newton, piano, Ian Smith, trumpet, Ashley John Long, bass, jazz. 8pm.

WEYMOUTH, Pavilion, Islands in the Stream, music of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, 7.30.

YEOVIL, Octagon, That’ll Be the Day, 7.30.

Westlands, Ben Portsmouth - The King is Back, Elvis tribute, 7.30.

SUNDAY 16 FEBRUARY

LITTLEBREDY, Bridehead, BSO flute, viola and harp trio, Debussy, Leclair and Bax, 3pm. AR WEYMOUTH, Pavilion, Simon Brodkin, comedy, 7.30.

YEOVIL, Octagon, Chinese New Year Extravaganza, 1.30 and 5.30.

MONDAY 17 FEBRUARY

YEOVIL, Octagon, The Mousetrap, to Sat.

TUESDAY 18 FEBRUARY

BATH, Theatre Royal, Six, musical about Henry VIII’s wives, to Sat, 8, Wed/Fri mats, 5.30 Sat/Sun mats 4pm.

HONITON, Beehive, Honiton Community Theatre in Dick Whittington, to Sat, 7, Sat mat 2pm.

WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY

DORCHESTER, St Mary’s Church, Jamal Aliyev, cello, Maria Tarasewicz, piano, Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Popper, Tchaikovsky, Lutoslawski, Franck, 6.30.

Corn Exchange, Mike Denham’s Speakeasy with Trevor Whiting, clarinet and saxophone, 8pm.

LYME REGIS, Marine Theatre, Children Love Disco, half-term special, 2pm.

SOUTH PETHERTON, David Hall, The MakeShift Ensemble in The Curious Garden, children’s theatre, 11am, workshop 2pm.

WOOTTON FITZPAINE, Village Hall, The Last Baguette in The Bird Show, 11am. AR

WEST BAY, Sladers Yard, DH Lawrence, Poet, talk and readings by Graham Fawcett, 7.30.

WEYMOUTH, Pavilion, Bee Bop A Lula, 7.30.

SATURDAY 22 FEBRUARY

BRIDPORT, Electric Palace, Mark Thomas, 50 Things About Us, comedy, politics, etc, 8pm.

CREWKERNE, The Dance House, Concerts in the West, John Reid, piano, Nicholas Mulroy, tenor, William Lindley, mixed media art, Purcell, Britten, Browne, Tippett, Elgar, Schubert, 7.30.

LYME REGIS, Marine Theatre, Geoff Norcott, Taking Liberties, comedy, 8.

SIDMOUTH, Manor Pavilion, Sidmouth Town Band and guests, in aid of Lions Club charities, 7.45.

WEYMOUTH, Pavilion, Henning Wehn, Get On with It, comedy, 7.30.

SUNDAY 23 FEBRUARY

BRIDPORT, Electric Palace, James McEvoy in Cyrano de Bergerac recorded at Playhouse Theatre, London, 7pm.

LYME REGIS, Marine Theatre, James McEvoy in Cyrano de Bergerac recorded at Playhouse Theatre, London, 7pm.

WEYMOUTH, Pavilion, The Take That Experience, 7.30.

YEOVIL, Westlands, Laughing Boy Comedy Club, 8pm.

BRIDPORT, Electric Palace, Swan Lake live by satellite from the Bolshoi, 3pm.

DORCHESTER, Corn Exchange, Olwen Foulkes, Indoor Fireworks, 18th century entr’acts from Drury Lane, theorbo and cello, Archangelo, Corelli, Sammartini, Jacques Paisible, Locke, Grano, 2.30pm.

LYME REGIS, Marine Theatre, James Billington, songs from Nat King Cole to Sinatra, 8.

WEYMOUTH, Pavilion, Beatlemania, 7.30.

YEOVIL, Octagon, Milkshake Live, noon and 3.30pm.

FRIDAY 21 FEBRUARY

MONDAY 24 FEBRUARY

THURSDAY 20 FEBRUARY

BRIDPORT, Arts Centre, Concerts in the West, John Reid, piano, Nicholas Mulroy, tenor, William Lindley, mixed media art, Purcell, Britten, Browne, Tippett, Elgar, Schubert, 11.30am.

Electric Palace, Geoff Norcott in Taking Liberties, comedy, 8.

DORCHESTER, Corn Exchange, Simon Williams and Lucy Fleming in Posting Letters to the Moon, wartime correspondence of Celia Johnson and Peter Fleming, 8pm.

ILMINSTER, Arts Centre, Concerts in the West, John Reid, piano, Nicholas Mulroy, tenor, William Lindley, mixed media art, Purcell, Britten, Browne, Tippett, Elgar, Schubert, 7.30.

PORTESHAM, Village Hall, Angel Heart in Mazymeg and the Honeybees, puppets, 3pm. AR SOUTH PETHERTON, David Hall, Blue Rose Code, soul, jazz, folk and pop, 8pm.

EXMOUTH, Blackmore Theatre, Exmouth Players in Beyond Reasonable Doubt, by Jeffrey Archer, to Fri, 7.30, Sat mat 2.30.

SHERBORNE, Tin Chapel, Amateur Players of Sherborne in Table Manners, to Sat. SOUTH PETHERTON, David Hall, acoustic night, open mic, 7.30.

TUESDAY 25 FEBRUARY

BRIDPORT, Arts Centre, Bridport Film Society, Behemoth, (Chinese documentary), 7.45.

Electric Palace, Marston and Scarlett, new ballets from Covent Garden, 7pm.

BRISTOL, Hippodrome, Beautiful - the Carole King Musical, to Sat. EXETER, Northcott, Night of the Living Dead - Remix, and Wed, 7.30, Wed mat 2.30.

SALISBURY, Playhouse, Claire Sweeney in Shirley Valentine, to 7 March.

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 91

Health&Beauty Take a life changing challenge for Julia’s House

W

hy not make the start of the next decade a life changing one by taking up a challenge for Julia’s House? You can trek in deepest Peru, take a marathon walk along the coast, run a five or 10K or plunge through the skies on an exhilarating 120mph skydive—signing up to a Julia’s House 2020 challenge event will ensure it’s a year to remember. And, you will be helping the Dorset and Wiltshire children’s hospice charity raise money to continue to provide its life-changing care to local children and families.

With over five events to choose from, on two wheels or on foot, with family, with friends or with four-legged friends, it’s a great opportunity to step outside your comfort zone and achieve something truly amazing in 2020. Even more amazing when you know that while you are taking on your own personal challenge, you are raising funds to help children living with life-limiting conditions and their families with the challenges they face every day. Choose from a once-in-a-lifetime trek to Machu Picchu through the Peruvian Andes mountain range, a walk along the breath-taking Jurassic Coast or among ancient Wiltshire landmarks, a tandem skydive from

Museums

Please telephone or check website for directions and opening hours Bridge Street, Lyme Regis.

01297 443370.

ALLHALLOWS MUSEUM

CHIDEOCK MUSEUM

High Street, Honiton.

01404 44966.

Church of Our Lady, North Road, Chideock. 01308 488348.

www.honitonmuseum.co.uk

www.chideockmartyrschurch.org.uk

AXMINSTER HERITAGE

COLYTON HERITAGE CENTRE

Barrack Road, Weymouth.

01305 766626.

Silver Street, Axminster.

01297 639884.

Market Place, Colyton

www.fortressweymouth.co.uk

www.colytonheritagecentre.org

PORTLAND MUSEUM

www.axminsterheritage.org

CREWKERNE & DISTRICT

BEAMINSTER MUSEUM

The Heritage Centre, Market Square, Crewkerne. 01460 77079.

217 Wakeham Portland.

01305 821804.

Whitcombe Road, Beaminster.

01308 863623.

www.crewkernemuseum.co.uk

www.beaminstermuseum.wordpress.com

DORSET COUNTY

BLANDFORD MUSEUM

High West Street, Dorchester.

01305 262735. (Closed)

Bere’s Yard, Blandford Forum.

01258 450388. www.blandfordtownmuseum.org

BRIDPORT MUSEUM

South Street, Bridport.

01308 422116. www.bridportmuseum.co.uk

CASTLETON WATERWHEEL

Oborne Road, Sherborne. www.castletonwaterwheelmuseum.org.uk

CHARD MUSEUM

Godworthy House, High Street, Chard. 01460 65091. www.chardmuseum.co.uk.

13,000 feet, the Big Ride cycle challenge with a choice of three distances, or slip on your running shoes for the new look Run Bournemouth event with a range of distances, junior races and a new dog jog for 2020.

“Our challenge events are so rewarding as you know you’re not only challenging yourself, but you’re also making a life changing difference to local children and their families who face their own huge challenges every day,” says Hannah Miller, Challenge Events Manager for Julia’s House. “Our families are in desperate need of the very special support we provide out and about in the community or at our hospices. We need people to sign up, take a challenge and fundraise, so we can continue to make a life changing difference. There isn’t a better feeling than achieving a personal goal knowing that it is helping others. Spaces are limited so people need to register as soon as they can!”

The challenge season begins on Saturday 7 June with the Jurassic Coast trek along Dorset’s stunning coastline, followed by The Big Jump sky dive on Saturday 1 August. Find out more and sign up at juliashouse.org/events or call Hannah Miller on 01202 644262.

www.dorsetcountymuseum.org

EXMOUTH MUSEUM

Sheppards Row, Exmouth.

07768 184127.

FAIRLYNCH MUSEUM

27 Fore Street, Budleigh Salterton.

01395 442666.

GROVE PRISON MUSEUM

Governors Gardens, The Grove, Portland. 01305 715726.

ILCHESTER COMMUNITY

High Street, Ilchester.

01935 841247.

LYME REGIS MUSEUM

92 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

NOTHE FORT

SIDMOUTH MUSEUM

Hope Cottage, Church Street, Sidmouth. 01395 516139.

THELMA HULBERT GALLERY, ELMFIELD HOUSE

Dowell Street, Honiton.

01404 45006.

THE MILITARY MUSEUM OF DEVON AND DORSET

ROYAL ALBERT MEMORIAL MUSEUM Bridport Road, Dorchester.

01305 264066. & ART GALLERY

Queen St, Exeter, EX4 3RX. 01392 665858.

SEATON JURASSIC

The Underfleet, Seaton 01297 300390 https://seatonjurassic.org/

SEATON MUSEUM

Town Hall, Fore Street, Seaton.

01297 21660.

SHERBORNE MUSEUM

Church Lane, Sherborne.

01935 812252. www.sherbornemuseum.co.uk

SHIRE HALL MUSEUM

High West Street, Dorchester.

01305 261849 www.shirehalldorset.org

www.keepmilitarymuseum.org

TOLPUDDLE MARTYRS MUSEUM

Tolpuddle, nr Dorchester.

01305 848237.

TUDOR HOUSE

3 Trinity Street, Weymouth.

01305 779711 or 812341. www.weymouthcivicsociety.org

WEYMOUTH MUSEUM

Brewers Quay Hope Square, Weymouth. 01305 457982 www.weymouthmuseum.org.uk

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 93

Leading charity Diabetes UK is looking for swimmers in Dorset

DIABETES UK is looking for people from Dorset to take on the swimming challenge of the year, Swim22, between 22 February and 22 May. Swim22 participants will cover an incredible 22 miles—the equivalent of crossing the English Channel. People taking on the challenge can swim in their local pool alone or, better still, with family, friends or colleagues.

There are an estimated 4.7 million people living with diabetes in the UK—a condition where there is too much glucose in the blood because the body cannot use it properly. If not managed well, both type 1 and type 2 diabetes can lead to devastating complications, including sight loss, amputation, kidney failure and stroke. There is currently no known cure for any type of diabetes.

Phaedra Perry, Diabetes UK South West Regional Head, said: “Swimming is a fantastic way to help you get fit and healthy, have fun and set yourself a challenge. Whether you’re an absolute beginner or a seasoned swimmer, our team will be on hand to offer swimming tips and fundraising advice.

“Every length you complete and every pound you raise brings us closer to our vision of a world where diabetes can do no harm. So sign up and make a splash!”

To register, visit www.diabetes.org.uk/ swim22. There is no registration fee and no minimum sponsorship.

Diabetes Healthcare Professionals Wanted

Diabetes UK is also looking for healthcare professionals from Dorset to lead improvements in diabetes care. The charity is searching for healthcare professionals with a special interest in diabetes to take part in its Clinical Champions programme.

For more information or to apply to become a Clinical Champion for 20202022 please contact clinicalchampions@ diabetes.org.uk or call 020 7424 1052.

94 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

New film showcases Swanage as the perfect place for an NHS career

S

Harry Redknapp with hospital staff in September

wanage Hospital is marking its 125th anniversary by leading a drive to recruit more community hospital staff to Dorset.

A new seven-minute film highlights the broad range of rewarding roles and career opportunities at the seaside hospital—as well the many lifestyle benefits of living in Dorset.

With the NHS continuing to face major recruitment challenges, it’s hoped the video will help persuade more people—from the UK and abroad—that Dorset is the place to be.

Swanage is one of 12 community hospitals run by Dorset HealthCare.

Opened in 1895, the busy site houses 15 inpatient beds, a minor injuries unit, day surgery facilities and a host of outpatient services including endoscopy, physiotherapy and gynaecology.

Thousands of patients are treated or receive care there each year. It has received national recognition for its end-of-life care and endoscopy work, while the radiology unit recently enjoyed a £500,000 refit and was formally opened by legendary football manager Harry Redknapp.

Further refurbishment work will take place this year, with the creation of a new car park, staff room and storage areas, plus accommodation for the relatives of patients in the final stages of their lives.

Around 100 people work at the hospital in roles ranging from porters, cooks and admin staff to nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and radiographers.

The film features interviews with several staff talking about life at the hospital, including people who began their careers there as well as experienced practitioners who moved to Swanage seeking a new challenge.

Matron Donna Kiss said: “When I came here in 2015, I imagined it would be quite sleepy, quite quiet, but it’s not like that at all—there is so much going on.

“We care for patients with anything from a sprained ankle to terminal illness, and every complex, multifactorial condition in between. There is always something to learn, and a lot of opportunities to develop—whether you are a newly-qualified staff nurse or are coming from an acute hospital keen to provide more personal, one-to-one care.”

The video was funded by the Friends of Swanage Hospital. The group has hundreds of members, and local people donate huge sums of money for new equipment, improved facilities and staff development.

Senior Sister Natasha Norman said: “Swanage Hospital is a very special place. Until you start working here, you don’t appreciate that it is the heart of the community, and it is an absolute honour to be part of that.”

The hospital currently has nursing vacancies in its day surgery unit, outpatients department and the inpatient Stanley Purser Ward.

You can watch the film, and see all current vacancies at Swanage and Dorset’s other community hospitals, at http://joindhc.co.uk

Age UK Dorchester Needs Your Help CAN you help Age UK Dorchester find bigger premises to expand their day services?

So many older people have been benefitting from the fantastic day services and lunch clubs offered by the charity, they now need bigger premises in both Dorchester and Bridport.

An additional two venues are needed—with heating and kitchen facilities, suitable for a day-centre.

They must be able to accommodate over 30 older people Monday to Friday.

Can you help them, to help more older people in your area get a hot meal, make friends and socialise?

Age UK aims to end social isolation and make Dorset a great county in which to grow older.

CEO, David Thorp, said: “So many older people in rural Dorset live alone with no one to talk to.

“Social contact and connecting to a community is a vital part of healthy and happy ageing. I want to ensure we continue to meet the needs of the older population of Dorset. No one should have no one”.

If you can help please call Age UK Dorchester on 01305 279444 or email sfrigot@ageukdorchester.org. uk

Dorchester Camera Club Lecture Dorchester Camera Club will host the second annual Knoll Gardens Foundation (KGF) Community Lecture on Wednesday 26 February 2020.

The lecture, entitled Plants, Gardens & Wildlife: the work of the Knoll Gardens Foundation will be delivered by Neil Lucas, owner of Knoll Gardens, RHS Council member and winner of 10 Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medals. It will look at the naturalistic style of planting employed at Knoll and explore the Knoll Gardens Foundation’s work in researching and promoting the benefits of naturalistic gardening to wildlife.

The first KGC community lecture was given in 2019 to mark the tenth anniversary of the Foundation, the Wimborne-based charity that researches and promotes environmentally sensitive and wildlife-friendly gardening. Dorset community groups are invited to apply to host the lecture, and in 2020 the charity’s trustees chose the Dorchester Camera Club from among those that applied.

Dorchester Camera Club is an enthusiastic group of hobby photographers ranging in age from 17 to over 90. Members come from a wide catchment area across Dorset and beyond and many have a particular interest in the environment.

Club Chairman, Helen Jones said “Many of our members have taken advantage of the special photography open days held at Knoll each year. The opportunity to see, listen to and be inspired by the work of Neil and the work of the Knoll Gardens Foundation will be a very popular addition to our programme.”

The 2020 KGF Community Lecture takes place at Brownsword Hall, Pummery Square, Poundbury near Dorchester from 7.30pm on Wednesday 26th February. Tickets cost £7.50. For more information and tickets email wlmailhtml:dorchcamclub@gmail.com

Skills Survey to help Dorset’s Future

Dorset LEP is working with Serco

A

s Dorset evolves and seeks to expand growth in industrial strengths, it is important to ensure the current and future workforce is equipped with the required, and desired, skills.

In response to this, Dorset LEP, working with Serco, invites all employers in Dorset to complete the Dorset 2020 Employer Skills Survey to help identify the current and future skills and workforce training needed across the region.

The findings will help identify strategic priority areas as Dorset LEP’s Skills Advisory Panel & Board develop a long-term Dorset People and Skills Plan to support business performance and growth in Dorset.

This is the chance for local organisations to share their challenges around skills, and influence the development of future skills development and support in Dorset.

Lorna Carver, Dorset LEP Director, said: “As employers strive to recruit a successful and skilled workforce, they need an availability of willing employees with relevant experience, skills and education. On top of this, these people need to be available in the location which the business requires.

“One way to aim for this sustainable workforce is through government funding. It is in the government’s interest to fund skills development strategies which include the needs and wants of specific industry sectors, so that employers are equipped with an optimum workforce. This equals better employment rates and business prosperity in the UK. “This skills survey strives to understand the experience of recruitment in Dorset, is recruitment and retention a challenge for your company? With this information Dorset LEP may appropriately set the strategic direction of the county’s employment needs in the future, calling for what’s best for the region economically, but also socially and environmentally. We are well placed to listen to local businesses and inform government of the skills needed for the region to survive - and thrive in the future. Therefore, we want to help Dorset’s local businesses with this skills challenge.

But, we need the help of our incredible local businesses!”

Those completing the survey can opt to enter a prize draw for the chance to win a free 2-hour business evaluation and advice consultancy session with an external business growth expert.

Complete the survey before the deadline of 9am on Tuesday 4 February 2020. Visit https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Dorset2020EmployerSkillsSurvey2 You’re also invited to share this survey link with your network and on social media using #DorsetSkills.

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 95

Services&Classified HOUSE SHARE

SITUATION WANTED

House Mate. I am looking for a house mate to share my beautiful home in a lovely part of Dorset. If you are a reliable trustworthy person with a good sense of humour & easy to get along with & a non smoker who is very clean & tidy please get in touch on 07752766959

Experienced responsible compassionate woman seeks part-time work in Bridport area. Personal care, cooking, light gardening, shopping.

Own transport. Excellent references £15 ph. Call 07721 634651

PROOFREADING

Sold flock. All sheep equipment for sale.

Example, creep feeders, shearing gear, etc.

Beaminster 01308 863332

Proofreading, editing, transcription, secretarial for writers and businesses.

Excellent references.

Penny Dunscombe Apr 20 07825339289.

To advertise on these pages telephone 01308 423031

FOR SALE

Book Collections, Billy Bunter comprising 30 titles 1929-1970. £40.

Dandy, Beano, Beezer and Topper annuals comprising 28 titles 1950-1970. £30.

Tel. 01297 551332 Sofa from M&S Lovely 2 seater sofa.Light

Monthly Quiz –

FOR SALE colour fabric with rustic pattern. Reversible cushions and matching arm caps.

Non smoking household.

Excellent condition. £95.

07752 857508 Redland50 Farmhouse Red Roof Tiles. New. 290 available. £200 the lot or 75 each.

01460 234302/07769180826.

Double 4’6” bed on divan base with beechwood legs.

Mattress in excellent condition. Used as occasional guest bed. No headboard.

Base separates for easy transport. £65. Tel: 01460 242644 Rock effect fibreglass pond cascade. 5’3” x 2’ £10; 3-in-1 sack truck £10; 2-part extending ladder £20. 01297 678306 or text 07967 522061 Jersey stamp booklets and prestige stamp books (19692010). All in mints condition, in album. Real price approximately £380 - £285 Ono, 01305 820878 Jersey definitive stamps (1969-2007) all in mint con-

dition. Also jersey postage dues all in mint condition in album (1969-1982) to include all bulletins with inserts. Real price approximately £360 £265 Ono 01305 820878 Vintage terracotta plant pots. Various sizes all in good condition. Photos available 01460 55105 from £10 per lot. Vintage French dog cart.

A really pretty french made wooden dog cart in good condition, just a small piece of wood broken from one of the uprights which can be seen in the photo. Pulls along and steers easily. Great garden feature, prop or shop display. 41” long 20 wide.

Photos available £290 01460 55105 One large wormery unused no worms £15.00 01308427681 after 6pm Men’s Black/Grey Cruisewear Weatherproof jacket, fully fleece lined, with detachable hood, XL. Brand new, never worn. £12.00.

01460 55018 (Ilminster).

Miele 10cu ft chest freezer, white, model GT316ES £175. 01305 871335 Modern 3 seater faux leather Sofa. Comfortable and in good condition. £85.

Tel: 01395 487554 Efco 137 Chain Saw, 14” bar. Brand new chain fitted and in good working order. £95. Tel: 01395 487554 Wall Mirrors with pine and oak frames. Various sizes.

All in very good condition.

From £8 - £20. Tel: 01395 487554 “Next” Cushions in various sizes and colours with coordinated Throws. All in very good condition. From £5. Tel: 01395 487554 Rival Pop Corn Maker, unused, £10. Tel: 01395 487554 Old Cantonese large ceramic Charger. £100. Tel 01395 487554 Proxxon model makers milling machine 240 volts inc. cutting tool, vice, turn-

Win a book from Little Toller Books

Send in your answer on a postcard, along with your name and address to: Hargreaves Quiz, Marshwood Vale Magazine, Lower Atrim, Bridport, Dorset DT6 5PX. Study the clues contained in the rhyme and look carefully at the signposts to work out which town or village in South Somerset, West Dorset or East Devon is indicated. The first correct answer drawn out of a hat will win a book from local publisher Little Toller Books.

There is no cash equivalent and no correspondence will be entered into.

Last month’s answer was Wigborough. The winner was Mr White from West Chinnock.

96 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

FOR SALE 1 x Mobility scooter.

2 x Wheelchairs, one with battery. 1 Electric stairlift. Can supply photos. Near Bridport.

Buyer collects. 07947 712468.

Rapido 2 berth motorhome.2005. FSH. Low mileage. 12 months MOT. 07721735207 Body Max rowing machine. £50.00 01297 489324 Ladies waterproofs Blue Paramo Andina jacket, size - XL £100.

Berghaus Hydroshell Elite blue, size 18 £50.

Both as new. Phone 01404 881800. table, with manual. £475 vgc 01308 422514 Waterproof mens long caped ‘Stockmans style’ raincoat in dark green with Tartan lining. Brand new with tags (wrong size given as gift) size Medium Bargain at £25. 01300 341637 (Cerne Abbas) Single very solid solid light oak bed head from Old Creamery Furniture (vertical slats). Cost over £100 and then a plan change meant a double bed was needed!

- hence an unused item. Bargain at £50 and I can freely deliver if required. 01300 341637 (Cerne Abbas). Can email photos.

Free. 3 seater Rattan sofa and armchair. Dark brown with removeable racing green cotton covers. Very solid.

Near Honiton 01404871602.

Solid Mahogany Oval dining table seats 6 £140 Demi Lune Occasional Table Leather inlay £70 Hand Crafted Mahogany TV Cabinet. £180 Authentic Chinese Rug Peach 6x4 £140 07484. 689302 Walking boots - Hawkridge MIR-TEX Men’s Size 7.

Waterproof and breathable linings, leather uppers. Little used, excellent condition. £25. 01300 321683.

PEOPLE AT WORK

MUSIC

LOGS

Piano, violin, theory tuition at your home.

Highly qualified teacher.

20 years experience.

Adults and children welcome. Beginners to advanced. Dr Thomas Gold 07917 835781 Feb 20

Seasoned hardwood logs £115 per truck load 07465 423133 Feb0 20 SURFACE PREPARATION

RGT/LCM Examiner offers Electric and Acoustic Guitar Tuition.

Beginners to Advanced.

All Grades. charliemason3@ btinternet.com Tel:07759603912 01297678691

Alberny Restoration In-house blast cleaning for home and garden furniture, doors and gates. Agricultural/ construction machinery and tooling. Vehicles, parts and trailers etc.

01460 73038, email allan@alberny.co.uk, FB Alberny Sandblasting

CURTAINS

RESTORATION

Little Curtains.

Handmade Curtains, Blinds and Cushions.

Contact 07443 516141 or 01308 485325

Furniture restoration.

Antiques large and small carefully restored. City and Guilds qualified, ten years experience in local family firm. Phil Meadley 01297 560335

Feb 20

Mar 20

jan 20

WANTED Wanted. Plough for a Oxford Allen Scythe 01460 74886

Wanted. Laptop running Windows 98 (Thinkpad or equivalent) 01297 33187

Wanted to buy - field, or part field and part woodland, any size, to about 5 acres. Not top grade grass. Private, local resident wants to ‘do their bit’ for the environment. Anything considered. Please help.

07508 106910 Mar 20 Postage stamps. Private collector requires 19th and early 20th century British. Payment to you or donation to your nominated charity. 01460 240630.

Secondhand tools wanted. All trades. Users & Antiques. G & E C Dawson. 01297 23826. www.secondhandtools. co.uk.

Feb 20

Vintage & antique textiles, linens, costume buttons etc. always sought by Caroline Bushell. Tel. 01404 45901.

Jun 20

Dave buys all types of tools 01935 428975

Apr 20

Old sewing machines, typewriters, gramophones, phonographs, records, music boxes, radios.

0777 410 3139. www. thetalkingmachine.co.uk

May 20

To advertise on these pages telephone 01308 423031

Claire Wrixton, photograph and words by Catherine Taylor

CLAIRE WRIXTON NESTLED at the bottom of Colmer’s Hill is the charming Symondsbury Estate Manor Yard, where visitors can eat and shop for local wares. The newest shop on the block is Wrixton-Smyth Creations, owned

by Claire Wrixton, local jewellery designer. Long acquainted with the view of Colmer’s Hill, she grew up in a house adjacent to the iconic silhouette, with its crown of pine trees. Each day she would gaze out of her bedroom window at the view which would emerge in her GCSE art coursework and beyond, materialising in her jewellery and even forming her logo.

Effectively self-taught, Claire explored different materials but felt the relatively new material, silver clay, was the best match. Motherhood, with two small children to look after, enabled Claire to focus on her jewellery making during nap times and stolen moments in the evenings. She started to sell at craft fairs and listed her items on Etsy, finding a welcome audience and loyal following. Once her youngest had started school, she recognised the moment as ‘now or never’ and opened her shop in November 2019. Her jewellery is also stocked by National Trust Dorset, Bridport Museum and Collate in Axminster.

Wrixton-Smyth Creations started mainly with jewellery inspired by the Jurassic coast. Creating ammonites with minute detailing into earrings, rings and necklaces, encased in boxes with the name, age and location where the fossil was found, forged Claire’s reputation. She then branched out into a Dorset Countryside collection, using sycamore seeds, acorns, leaves and ferns, collected during walks with her children. Alongside, on display are other items using her developed traditional skills as a silversmith and now goldsmith. Simple studs to mosaic and middleeastern inspired designs, there also features a series of necklaces with a Colmer’s Hill pendant, naturally.

Soon to be moving her family back to the house she grew up in, Claire anticipates recreating her childhood with her children. Splashing in the stream, smelling the hay in the summer, sitting on a golden bale together, watching the sun go down behind her favourite view.

Tel. 01308 423031 Marshwood + February 2020 97

FOR SALE Illuminated 12”/30cm globe with wooden base.

Major mountain ranges in raised relief. Up to date cartography. Cream background. £49 Tel: 01935 389348 Mini piano - Evestaff Royal. Full size keyboard.

Overstrung. Iron frame. 3ft high. Photos emailed. £225 .

01297 599237 Kenwood Chef attachment Mincer fine & course blades Good condition £20 01460 242071 07548 300269 Kane May (km)3000 Electronic temp recorder with two probes 9 thermo couplings plus control. £15 01460 242071 07548 300269 Home care half step for shower Half step for entrance door x2 Good condition £15 each 01460 242071

07548 300269 Trek 1000 men’s cycle slim tyres with foot pump 24 gears Excellent condition £80 07800524409.

Cast iron agricultural wheels 46”. Made by the well known Devon company Huxtable who were renowned for their agricultural machinery dating back to 1873. A piece of local history to decorate your garden or courtyard. Enquire about local delivery. £180 Photos 01460 55105 Sherborne Electric Rise and Recline armchair. Petite size, oyster colour fabric with light oak knuckles still under guarantee. Excellent condition. £160 ono Bridport area, buyer collects 01460 62507 mob 07970917501 Honda 2113 Hydro static ride-on lawnmower, old but

ELECTRICAL

STORAGE

98 Marshwood + February 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

runs well, £400 ono. Buyer collects Axminster Areas.

Phone after 6pm. 07912 975920.

Ercol dark wood dresser, 4ft wide x 5ft 8ins. £25.

07983 164325 (Sidmouth).

G. Fieldhouse hand crafted saddle. £75 ono. 01460 72167/ 07796 590407.

O’Neil ski jacket, large ladies blue/mve with motif £20 ono. 01297 639023.

Good condition.

Hedge cutter partner HG 55-12 petrol, 21in cut with instruction book £50 ono.

013000 348513.

Folding wheelchair.

Lightweight and sturdy with handbrakes. Complete with carrying bag. Easily fits in boot of small car. Excellent condition. £40. 01308 424668.

Portable calor gas heater and bottle, £40ono. 01308 425878.

Art Nouveau dining chairs four. Padded seats and backs £80. 01308 427633.

Disco lights. Duet MH-246 £30. Light-works Gantry £15. Sound-sensitive. As new. 07795 146272.

Mobility scooter K-Lite.

Excellent condition dismantles to fit into boot, unused last six months. Needs to be seen. £300 ovno. 01935 826903.

Chair recliner dark green real leather, wooden frame, good as new, 3 years old, cost

FOR SALE £400 new. £75ono. 01460 220635.

2 sets of bowls £65 each ono. 07889 019587.

Table and 4 chairs 1930s, mid oak, 3ft square, opens 5ft x 3ft, attractive floral needlepoint chairs, £160ovno, Colyton 01297 551455.

MIG welder 140 Mono migatronic £125. 01935 425220.

Lister LDI diesel stationary engine, 1951, S/N8381 Ld15, on trolley. £175. 01935 425220.

Baby Gear travel cot easy to assemble packs into bag, mattress included, Graco Contour brand, £30ono.

07746 712766.

Vintage Faux fur warm coat, black, never worn, size large, £40. Sage green coat size 16 £10. Modern. 07814 537404.

Indian stone paving slabs, 3 No 900 x 900, 1 No

Humphrey’s Seasonal Crossword Solution

600 x 600. £20. Gents 23 ½”, Ladies 19 ½” frame, Dawes Galaxy bicycles, 15 wide range touring gear set, brown, in good condition, Gents £275ono, Ladies £225ono. 01297 33034.

Canteen of cutlery cost £80 now £40 new. 01404 758445.

Office desk solid oak with two drawers, cupboard and pull out keyboard shelf, 79h x 140l x 56d, good condition, £50. 01305 269315.

Three box set, GB stamp albums 1970s – 1998. £100.

Mike 075275 38863.

Hacker A30-16 brushless MV4 electric model aircraft motor, plus many other bits, all mainly unused. £20.

01308 861474.

Green 3 x piece settee, 2 chairs, good condition, no fireproof guarantee so free to a good home. 01297 678692.

FREE ADS for items under £1,000

CHIMNEY SWEEP

Classified advertising in The Marshwood Vale Magazine is normally 95 pence+VAT per word in a box. This FREE ADS FORM is for articles for sale, where the sale price is under £1000 (Private advertisers only — no trade, motor, animals, firearms etc). Just fill in the form and send it to the Marshwood Vale Magazine, Lower Atrim, Bridport, Dorset DT6 5PX. or email to info@marshwoodvale.com. (Please do not send in all capital letters).

Unfortunately due to space constraints there is no guarantee of insertion of free advertising.

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