Marshwood+ January 2021

Looking after this good earth Page 42

Local business in 2021—use it or lose it Page 18

The fact that this is the twentieth year that I have worked on our New Year’s issue was brought home to me by a customer I spoke to on the phone last week. He was in the process of winding down the business that he had built up over the last twenty years and pointed out that we both began in the same year. He recalled how we started our respective businesses in a time of turmoil—just after the 9/11 attacks in the US and against the backdrop of foot and mouth disease in the UK—and how the world was now in the throes of yet another crisis. It is hard to believe how many New Year’s resolutions have come and gone since then. And even harder to believe the level of uncertainty we face coming into another year. But I have looked back at some of those Marshwood Vale Magazine issues from the last twenty years and been amazed by how much has happened in this small patch of the UK. Apart from building a record of the people, events and sometimes the hopes and dreams of those that live here, I can see that, over the years, we have also captured a sense of the resilience and positivity of those that have helped build and maintain the landscape and economy of the area. Once a mostly agricultural community, changes in the way we work, the culture we create and enjoy, and the way we collect and consume our food, has meant the area is now made up of people from within a hugely diverse range of industries. The business from which the area derives its income has changed too. And although some may argue differently, that diversity has made us stronger; without hugely changing the heart and soul of where we live or the core thread of humanity that flows through our wider local community. And long may that be the case. By supporting each other, local businesses and the communities they serve can grow and work together and create a better future. In this issue, we hear from local leaders, local business owners and many others who are striving to make our world better. We will carry on doing our bit to keep highlighting and promoting them, and also continue to create a deeper record of the community we are part of. And although at a mere twenty years of age we are older than Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and all the other social media platforms—and thus a dinosaur in terms of modern communication—I think I can live with that. Besides, what would the Jurassic Coast be without its own dinosaur?

Fergus Byrne

Contributors

Margery

January

EVENT NEWS AND COURSES

January 6

Scottish Country dancing will take place every Wednesday (6th, 13th, 20th, 27th January) at Hatch Beauchamp Village hall TA3 6SG from 7.30 to 9.30. Beginners very welcome. Pay as you go £3.00 per evening. For more information please contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@ gmail.com . Please check before travelling in case there are changes in government restrictions due to Covid 19. West Dorset Ramblers Circular Walk - Sydling Ups and Downs. 10.00am. 8 miles No dogs. Please call 01305 262681 January 9

West Dorset Group of the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society. ‘Loders Court Estate 1799-1916: Victorian life in a Dorset village’. Helen Doble. Zoom meeting opens at 1.30, meeting starts at 2.00, all welcome. If you would like to join the zoom meeting contact Jane email: jferentzi@aol. com for the zoom details.

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 5 mile walk from Abbotsbury. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340.

January 11

Hawkchurch Film Nights, in association with Devon Moviola, presents ‘Little Women’, (cert. U, 135 mins) the Oscar-winning adaptation of the classic novel, (screenplay) written and directed by Greta Gerwig (‘Ladybird’), starring Meryl Streep, Saoirse Ronan, Laura Dern and Florence Pugh. Tickets are £5 and are available in advance only from Chris at csma95@gmail.com or leave a message on 01297 678176. Two performances, allocated seating, social distancing and full Covid-19 counter-measures will be in place. Hawkchurch Village Hall, EX13 5XW. Performances at 4.45pm (doors 4.30pm) and 7.45pm (doors 7.30pm).

January 12

Bridport History Society, ‘Exeter in the 1700s: the golden years of the cloth industry’. Dr. Todd Gray, his book on the subject is about to be published. Zoom meeting opens at 2.00 and meeting starts at 2.30, all welcome. If you would like to join the zoom meeting conract Jane email: jferentzi@aol.com for the zoom details.

January 13

Scottish Country dancing will take place at Hatch Beauchamp Village hall TA3 6SG from 7.30 to 9.30. Beginners very welcome. Pay as you go £3.00 per evening. For more information please contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com . Please check before travelling in case there are changes in government restrictions due to Covid 19.

January 14

West Dorset Ramblers Circular Walk - Beaminster Hills &

Farms. 10.00am. 10 miles. No Dogs. Please call 01308 862981

January 16

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 7 mile walk from Bothenhampton. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340.

January 17

Divine Union Soundbath Lie down, relax, and allow the Pure Sounds of a crystal and Tibetan bowl soundbath plus sacred vocal overtoning take you into the deeper brainwaves states of ‘the relaxation response’. Numbers restricted to ensure social distancing, so please book firmly in advance--no ‘on the spot’ admissions. Covid-secure venue operating hand sanitiser, track and trace, etc. £15. 2pm-4pm Ninesprings Natural Health Centre, 70 Hendford, Yeovil Somerset BA20 1UR. 01935 389655 or email ahiahel@live.com

January 19

West Dorset Ramblers Circular Walk - Ringstead and Area. 10.00am. 8.5 miles. No dogs. Please call 01300 320084. Art History talk : Art in Advertising, 10 – 11.30am £10. Book via Eventbrite. Limited availability Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield House, Dowell Street, Honiton EX14 1LX, 01404 45006 www.thelmahulbert.com

January 20

Scottish Country dancing will take place at Hatch Beauchamp Village hall TA3 6SG from 7.30 to 9.30. Beginners very welcome. Pay as you go £3.00 per evening. For more information please contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com . Please check before travelling in case there are changes in government restrictions due to Covid 19.

Straight Laced: Corsetry through the ages. Join author Jill Salen to learn about corsets, which have been used to create fashionable silhouettes for centuries. This workshop will delve into whalebone, cording, lacing and flossing as well as exploring the history of the production of these garments. Staid, upright and straight laced are all terms whose roots lie in corsetry; while the 21st century sees them as acceptable bridal and evening wear. Jill will look at the many varied styles and types of corsets, as well as some unexpected explanations as to why they were worn. Jill Salen is a retired lecturer in costume. She has made costumes for many clients, including Shakespeare’s Globe, Cosprop, and the Welsh National Opera. She is also the author of a number of successful publications on corsetry, costume history and construction, and is currently researching for a further book on corsetry. This event will take place online as a Zoom session. Jill will be showing example pieces during the session. 10am to 12.30pm. £15. Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Queen St, Exeter EX4 3RX. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10am – 5pm. Last entry 4pm. Closed

bank holidays and Mondays. https://rammuseum.org.uk/

January 21

West Dorset Ramblers Circular Walk - Colmers & Thorncombe Beacon. 10.00am. 8 miles. No Dogs. Please call 01308 424512

January 23

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 6.75 mile walk from Charmouth. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340.

January 26

Dillington House, Ilminster one day course. Local historian, Jane Ferentzi-Sheppard is offering, The Workhouse ‘People Palaces’: How the Victorians and the Edwardian’s looked after the poor? Fee £58 includes coffee and tea during the day, lunch and tea and cake at the end of the session. Zoom attendance also available for £35. For more information and to book contact the booking office on 01460 258613 or visit www. dillington.com.

West Dorset Ramblers Circular Walk - Through The Isle of Portland. 10.00am. 7.5 miles. No dogs. Please call 01308 898484.

Bridport and District u3a, Wildflower Grasslands in West Dorset 2pm online via Zoom. Bridport and District u3a is an organisation for people who want to undertake learning for its own sake, with like minded people, in a social setting. There is no minimum age, but you should be no longer in, or seeking, full time employment or raising a family. Since March 2020 most of our face-to-face activities have been moved online, and over 20 new online groups have also started. We continue to run our full programme of scheduled monthly talks, currently using Zoom. Please visit our new website (from mid January) for specific details and contact information www.bridportu3a. org.uk.

Art History talk: Landscape tradition, 10 – 11.30am £10. Book via Eventbrite. Limited availabilityThelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield House, Dowell Street, Honiton EX14 1LX, 01404 45006 www.thelmahulbert.com

January 27

Scottish Country dancing will take place at Hatch Beauchamp Village hall TA3 6SG from 7.30 to 9.30. Beginners very welcome. Pay as you go £3.00 per evening. For more information please contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com. Please check before travelling in case there are changes in government restrictions due to Covid 19.

January 28

West Dorset Ramblers Circular Walk - Mangerton Mill & Old Railway Line. 8 miles.10.00 am. No dogs. Please call 01308 538101.

January 30

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 7.5 mile walk from Ringstead. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340.

January 31

Divine Union Soundbath. Please book firmly in advance. No ‘on the spot’ admissions. Covid-secure venue operating hand sanitiser, track and trace, etc. £15. 2pm-4pm Oborne Village Hall, Oborne, nr. Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4LA. 01935 389655 or email ahiahel@live.com

Nature in the Lens

Local amateur photographer Paul Coggins spots a Kingfisher on the River Asker

THERE are over 100 species of kingfisher worldwide, but only the common kingfisher, (Alcedo atthis) breeds in the UK. With its stunning azure and copper plumage, the kingfisher is a very recognisable bird when spotted, even if it’s only glimpsed as it flies by. Additionally, it has a very noticeable call, especially when alarmed. It is vital for kingfishers to hold a territory with enough food, particularly during the winter months. If their territory doesn’t have an adequate food supply or becomes frozen over during winter, kingfishers may have to move out and find food elsewhere.

The one in the photographs, has its territory on the River Asker, for about a kilometre it flies up and down the river just above the water line looking for small fish such as Minnow or Sticklebacks to devour once found. The Kingfisher perches on a small branch above the slow, clear, flowing water, spots its prey then dives into the water, catches its fish and then swallows it whole back on its perch.

The Kingfisher is quite noticeable with its orangered plumage underneath and its dark, dagger-like bill. Females and males can cautiously be told apart, as females have a reddish base to their lower mandible.

Kingfishers nest in burrows, usually in the soft riverbank above the water line. Both the male and female burrow into the river bank to construct the nest. The Kingfisher usually has three clutches of eggs each year. The Kingfisher is classified in the UK as “Amber” under the Birds of Conservation Concern 4: the Red List for Birds (2015). It is protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.

Dorset: an eye for history and detail

An independent publisher of books on a rich variety of history and heritage, Amberley Publishing has recently produced a nostalgic look at Dorset’s past and highlights the special character of some of its most important historic sites. Historic England: Dorset—Unique images from the archives of historic England by Andrew Jackson with contributions by Historic England, portrays one of England’s finest counties.

The photographs are taken from the Historic England Archive, a unique collection of over 12 million photographs, drawings, plans and documents covering England’s archaeology, architecture, social and local history. Pictures date from the earliest days of photography to the present and cover subjects from Bronze Age burials and medieval churches to cinemas and seaside resorts.

The book includes information and photographs on a range of sections such as the Jurassic coast; ancient sites; historical figures and events; armed conflict and castles as well as industry past and present, pubs and hotels and religious figures and buildings. Dorset is justly renowned as one of the most beautiful and interesting counties in England and this new book has much to add for those with an eye for its history and detail.

The eastern outer gun battery at Portland Castle. © Historic England Archive Historic England: Dorset: ISBN: 9781398101371 www.amberley-books.com

AXMINSTER

Charity publishes cook book Restaurants and chefs in Lyme Regis and Axminster have donated recipes to support a local charity. Due to the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, Axminster and Lyme Cancer Support had to cancel in-person fund-raising events for 2020. It has now published Recipes with Love, drawing together a collection of recipes from chefs, popular restaurants and supporters of the charity. Some of those contributing include Tierra Kitchen, Monmouth Pantry and The Galley Café of Lyme Regis. The book can be purchased online: https://axminsterandlymecancersupport. co.uk/product-category/shop. It is also available at: Archway Bookshop, Serendip Bookshop, Felicity’s Farm Shop, Millers Farm Shop and Dalwood Post Office.

LYME REGIS

Work to begin at Woodroffe Award-winning construction firm Stepnell is to begin work on a £2million project at The Woodroffe School in the new year. The development will include a new, twostorey teaching block with classrooms and a group learning space, library resource centre and additional office space to help improve the school’s academic offering. Landscape work will also be undertaken to include the creation of new footpaths in the surrounding areas, providing full accessible circulation to the ground floor and accompanying lifts for disabled users. The new development will not result in additional pupil or staff numbers, but will instead replace outdated teaching space elsewhere in the school.

BRIDPORT

Scammers steal thousands Detectives are appealing for the public’s help to identify fraudsters who scammed two elderly Bridport residents into handing over thousands of pounds. The first victim—a woman aged in her 70s—received a phone call from someone purporting to be a detective sergeant from Oxford police who convinced her to withdraw £4,700 and arranged to have it collected from her house. A second offence is reported to have occurred when a man aged in his 80s received a call from someone claiming to be a detective inspector from Bristol police. The victim withdrew money and a man came to his address to collect it. Anyone with information should contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk, via email 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55200184989.

SHERBORNE

MP claims success

West Dorset MP Chris Loder, a fourth generation farmer from near Sherborne has claimed victory for his efforts to highlight the need for better animal welfare. Plans to ban the export of live animals for slaughter and fattening have recently been unveiled by the Government Environment Secretary. Mr Loder said: ‘Bringing an end to the unnecessary suffering of animals during transport is long overdue. Through my Animal Welfare Bill, which reaches the Committee Stage early next year, I hope not only to achieve tougher custodial sentences for those who inflict the worst kinds of cruelty on innocent animals; but also to deal with the cruelty that has been happening on a mass scale, such as with live animal exports.’

WEST BAY

Parking charges to increase

Despite pulling back on plans to increase car parking charges in West Bay and Lyme Regis for parking between 6-8pm, Dorset Council is set to go ahead with another unpopular increase for all-day parking. Though deferring the 6-8pm charge this year Cllr Ray Bryan told Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting that the council would revisit that option next year when a larger parking review would be undertaken. In the meantime West Bay and Lyme Regis all-day charges in council owned car parks will now go up from £2 a day to £8, quadrupling the daily cost. Cllr Bryan said the council was facing a £3million drop in car parking revenue due to the pandemic whilst there has been no drop in maintenance and running cost.

Humphrey’s Festive Crossword

Laterally Speaking by

Humphrey Walwyn

Blue Sky Thinking

The most popular New Year’s wish is that 2021 is nothing like 2020. Fergus Byrne has been hearing from some local businesses about how they see the next year unfolding

Furleigh Estate, Salwayash, Bridport

Looking into a crystal ball at the beginning of a new year we often hear talk of ‘million-dollar questions’ about the future. This year, it’s more likely to be ‘billion-dollar questions’ and it’s also more likely to be about years rather than the next twelve months. What lies ahead for the world economy, the national economy—and more important to most of us in this corner of the South West—what lies ahead for local business and the economy of our wider local community is a popular question.

Although for some, the impact of Brexit will be somewhat hidden by the impact of coronavirus, the double hit on the UK is enormous—especially when many businesses have never fully recovered from the 2008 economic crash. And while debate on the rights and wrongs of decisions made by government over the last few years and months will rage forever, this is where we are. So with hospitality and retail in the spotlight, we asked a few local businesses to tell us a bit about their hopes for the coming year.

Unsurprisingly, views are mixed. There’s is no doubt that for many there is light at the end of the tunnel, it’s more a question of how long that tunnel is—and for some businesses it is likely to be longer than for others.

Alastair Warren, chairman of The Electric Pub Company, a recently launched hospitality business in Dorset, sets a positive tone but echoes a point that many have voiced in recent years. He warns that if we don’t support local businesses we will lose them. Talking about the upsurge in online purchasing and the long term effect that that may have on his local town of Bridport he said: ‘It’s perfectly fine to buy things online, we’re all human beings and all looking for a bargain at the end of the day. But if you do that at the expense of going into RLK Tools or into Cilla & Camilla or the Morrish & Banham Wine Shop or any of the other independent retailers in town, eventually those retailers won’t be there.’

As the owner of the Electric Palace Cinema and a growing stable of pubs as well as a wine business, Alastair is aware of just how difficult trading has been in the last year for customer-facing businesses. ‘The last year has been about survival’ he says. He believes that in the main, government support for the sector has been good. Grants and furloughing have helped offset some of his company’s losses, and post

lockdown trading in pubs like the Pymore Inn outside Bridport has also helped. But social distancing makes it very difficult for most pubs to trade. And with limited inside space, he sees a ‘difficult winter’ ahead.

However, looking further ahead he believes valuable and useful lessons have been learned on both sides of the counter from the way the industry has adapted. ‘We got an enormous amount of support’ he says of the way people came out to the pubs that were able to open. ‘And I think we learnt a lot.’ He cites ‘table service’ regulations and food deliveries as bonuses for customers that he describes as ‘much better in terms of the customer experience.’

So, whilst he hopes that by next summer we have ‘something that looks more like normal’ and that people will be able to walk up to the bar to order drinks, he thinks that levels of customer service will have improved. ‘We will continue doing food deliveries in a post-lockdown world because people like it’ he says. ‘We were forced to do exclusively table service; we will continue to do table service in those venues which can justify it, like the Pymore Inn and one of the others, in a postlockdown world.’ Alastair wants to retain ‘the good bits’ as well as allow customers to ‘do all the things you used to be able to do—hopefully in a post-vaccine, normalised world.’

His business can be broken down into three categories: the cinema, the wine business and the pubs. All sides of the business were negatively impacted by the coronavirus lockdowns in different ways—the cinema perhaps worse than others. ‘I would say that cinemas and theatres are almost the sworn enemy of social distancing’ he says. He explained that when you go to a cinema or a theatre you typically are sitting very close to the person next to you and generally entering in through a crowded foyer, as well as mixing with people while getting drinks at the interval. And of course live music or theatre, involves interaction between lots of people, with the exception perhaps of solo comedy shows and cinema.

‘So, by definition, it’s very difficult to maintain social distancing’ he says. ‘That being said, we did reopen very briefly, to do the first part of BridLit prior to the current lockdown, and actually, it went incredibly well.’ Although only able to facilitate about half the normal audience, he said the event was very well supported. ‘People were incredibly understanding,

in terms of how they entered and how they exited the building, how they pre-ordered their drinks, how they just operated responsibly. That has given us great encouragement.’ Encouragement enough to consider running a limited programme of comedy which he says ‘can be done because there’s only one person on the stage and then a spread-out audience.’ He hopes the same can happen with film, with the audience distanced.

‘What remains difficult, until such time as social distancing is removed, is live theatre and live music because you just can’t make the numbers work. You need too many people in the building to make a commercially realistic enterprise. But with the optimistic view that the government will have rolled out a vaccination programme to the most vulnerable by the Spring, and then with a view that the weather will be improving and there will be a more comprehensive roll-out of vaccinations through the summer, we are hopeful that we will be back to normal audience numbers by the summer period’.

Although that may feel like a long way from now, it shows a level of positivity that might give theatre goers hope.

Alastair is also investing in the Bridport Arts Centre building with plans for a restaurant, café and wine bar next year. However, although his wine retail business is doing well and he expects it to grow he says ‘I’m actually pretty cautious on retail generally because there has been this marked shift towards online.’ This is why he hopes people will make the effort to support their local independent shops and businesses. ‘You’ve got to be balanced about it’ he says. ‘I’m not saying buy everything in Bridport but I’m saying, spend money in town because otherwise the town that you love won’t be there and I think that’s really my message and that’s what I try to do. Of course, there are some things which I source from suppliers outside of town but the vast majority of things that we buy for our businesses, we buy from the local area and we recognise we have to sometimes pay a little bit more for that. But do you know what, customers, in turn, are also prepared to pay a little bit more for that. It’s a little bit everywhere, and doing a little bit to help everybody sustains these communities.’

Richard Barker from Cilla and Camilla is also upbeat about the future of our local community. Although hit hard by the lockdown, he saw better trading than expected when the first closure ended. ‘We had a wonderful summer’ he said. ‘We put that down to two things; people not going on summer holidays, so we saw an

Mark Hix at The Fox Inn

Cilla & Camilla have stores in Bridport, Beaminster and Sherborne

The Alexandra Hotel in Lyme Regis

awful lot more visitors who were choosing to camp or come to nice hotels in Dorset rather than go to wherever they went otherwise. But we also saw a lot of people that might have gone and shopped in Exeter or Bournemouth or Bath or Bristol, who simply weren’t going.’

Many retailers and hospitality industry businesses had looked forward to November as a bonus trading period after losing the first months of the summer. But the second lockdown ended that hope. Kathryn Haskins from the Alexandra Hotel in Lyme Regis had seen November as a month when a little of the revenue from lost bookings might be clawed back. But it wasn’t to be. ‘We were looking forward to a really busy November and that all went by the board’ she said. The overheads of running a building like the Alexandra when there is no income is a massive challenge. No easing of business rates can cover those costs. Unlike the retail option of increasing stock and selling more products, the hotel industry sells time. ‘In a hotel, the rooms you’ve lost are the rooms you’ve lost, you can’t make up for it’ she says.

Tier 2 rules have not helped the restaurant trade either.

‘Not many people go out to eat with the people they live with’ explained Kathryn. ‘A lot of people go out to meet with friends and of course, you can’t do that, so all our lunch booking trade is just gone. People come to eat with friends and catch up.’ Alluding to the Government ruling she said, ‘So they’ve killed the business without killing it.’ However, no matter how hard it may be, she is fiercely determined to

support her local community. As soon as lockdown lifted she and her daughter were out visiting the local shops. ‘We’ve done a binge in Beaminster and a binge in Lyme’ she says. ‘We’ve been waiting until the shops open to actually spend our money locally and I think a lot of people are doing that.’

That is one of the many positives that we hear from both businesses and customers, and not just locally. When the first lockdown hit, a national spirit of sympathetic support lifted the country. ‘I think it is great how positive people have been locally and how supportive people have been locally’ said Kathryn. ‘The messages we have had from guests and from all over the country and even from abroad have been so lovely. I’m hoping that that will continue into the time we reopen.’

That hope for a better year ahead, as 2021 moves into Spring, is echoed not only by those in business and their customers but also in the way some business owners are looking ahead. Mark Hix, whose restaurant chain went into administration in April 2020 as a result of the pandemic, has already reopened his original restaurant in Lyme Regis and has now taken on the lease at the Fox Inn in Corscombe. The pub had been bought by local residents Eva and the late Ray Harvey in 2012 to save it from being turned into housing and to preserve the hamlet’s history. Family friends of Mark’s for many years he explained, ‘When they offered me the lease, I thought it could be a great opportunity, despite these uncertain times that we are in. It will be my first pub, so it’s an exciting new project for me in the countryside where I’ll be serving

local meat and game along with some British pub classics, a contrast to the fish and seafood offering in Lyme.’

Mark has many plans to help build up local trade while at the same time promoting other local producers. In the New Year, he hopes to host a Farmer’s market showcasing the best of the produce from the local area. ‘With all the challenges that we are facing now, it’s great to be able to focus on an exciting new project’ he said. ‘It’s important to me that I keep The Fox as a traditional local pub with great food and drink. Since lockdown in Spring the pub has only been open three days a week, so I am looking forward to opening six days a week for the locals and visitors to the area to enjoy once more.’

Listening to the thoughts of some of those in business locally, it’s no surprise that there are mixed feelings about the future of the local economy. Rebecca Hansford from the award-winning wine producer Furleigh Estate outside Salway Ash, saw an increase in trade as soon as the first lockdown ended. ‘However, there is no escaping from the fact that we lost our Easter and early summer 2020 trading period—a quarter of the year’ she explained. She also had to cut prices to keep cash coming in to pay vineyard staff.

Rebecca is also keenly aware of the impact that Brexit will have on her business. Most of her equipment comes from the EU which means servicing and parts will be a headache, as well as sourcing products such as corks and wirehoods which

currently come from Portugal and France. Her company produces some of the best wine in England, but as she points out, cost increases are inevitable. ‘The issue for us is whether the wine drinkers of the world will pay the increased price this will mean for our wine. Still, C’est la vie!’

Alastair Warren has said that he believes customers will be prepared to pay a little bit extra to support their local community, and with reports of a likely hike in the cost of imported foods after December 31st—and this could apply to many products—his ability to look at a national or global view may be helpful. As a former senior executive at Deutsche Bank as well as at Goldman Sachs, Alastair is in the unique position to be able to look at the bigger picture, as well as the area he grew up in. ‘There will, I think inevitably be some economic cost to Brexit’ he says. Although he hopes it will be mitigated to a large extent by whatever deal is agreed with Brussels. But he believes it will also be mitigated by an increase in taxes. Regardless of whatever government is in power, he says ‘That’s the only way you can pay for it.’

But he also believes that the government will need to make people feel better, so hopes to see them ‘providing some kind of support or price guarantees for domestic producers which will be important around milk and other produce.’ He also suggests that the housing market will need to be assisted with an extension of stamp duty relief and other measures

Electric Pub Company Directors Steve Killingbeck, Mark Banham & Alasdair Warren

‘because the housing market, in the south-east of England is still totally dead, pretty much, and that has a knock-on effect through the whole thing.’ He expects interest rates to remain low for a very long time and hopes also to see increased levels of support for ‘small and medium-sized businesses and the rural community.’

Unlike many who share dire predictions of a post COVID world, Alastair doesn’t expect a global meltdown. ‘I’m actually pretty optimistic about the global outlook’ he says. ‘I don’t see global recession, I actually see continued stimulus coming from a wide variety of governments.’ However, he believes much depends on the success of a vaccine. Speaking about the other businesses he runs he says ‘we are seeing pretty encouraging signs, albeit critically dependent on the vaccine becoming a reality.’

With his “investor confidence” hat on, Alastair offers fascinating insights into what we may expect from the impact of Brexit and the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on our future, but his keen business eye is also heavily focused on his local town and the wider community around it. ‘One of the great strengths of Bridport is the fact that there are very few chain stores in the town’ he says. ‘And we’ve got a small number of quite large private landlords who have actively encouraged independent retail for many years, and my understanding is that through this difficult trading period, they’ve actually been pretty flexible on rents and the like. So, I’m actually quite optimistic for Bridport because I think the landlords have acted responsibly. But I’m quite cautious about the market towns and larger retail centres where they don’t have that same feel and understanding. Bridport is quite unique in that sense.’

The retail market may look worrying after the collapse of efforts to keep Arcadia and consequently Debenhams alive, but both Alastair Warren and Richard Barker see that as something that was going to happen despite the impact of COVID-19. Arcadia ‘was over-levered and they hadn’t moved with the times’ says Alastair and ‘It’s not the pandemic that’s caused the problem. There was a problem already and this has just exacerbated it and brought the issue forward’ says Richard.

On balance, we may be fortunate within the Marshwood Vale Magazine’s wider local community to be somewhat shielded and less prone to the devastation that this last year has wrought on some parts of the country. But there is little doubt that challenges remain. And the one thing that can help to temper these potential difficulties is ensuring that we spend as much of our money in nearby towns and villages as we can, and support locallyowned businesses as a priority.

Working for a Better Future

Back in November, Margery Hookings invited community leaders in towns in and around the Marshwood Vale to tell readers about their hopes and plans for 2021. After a year dominated by coronavirus, all of us are looking forward to a brighter future when we can look back on the pandemic with relief that it has passed. Not all towns responded but here are some of the comments we received. Our thanks to the community leaders here for taking the time to share their hopes and plans for the new year.

SIDMOUTH

Ian Barlow, Chair of Sidmouth Town Council

In what has been a challenging year for most, Sidmouth has seen the completion of a number of major projects. Firstly, in collaboration with Visit Devon and our marketing partners, Ignyte Ltd, we have completely updated and improved our town’s tourism website, making it much more user-friendly and giving local businesses more opportunity to promote themselves. This has already seen a huge boost in tourism to the town, which we hope will continue into 2021. A new website focussed on our residents will be following shortly.

A number of projects have also taken place within Sidmouth and the Sid Valley, making the town even more attractive and providing more activities for residents and visitors. This includes the opening of a new skate park and the new Alma Bridge, which allows easier access to the south west coast path. As well as this, Sidmouth has taken ownership of Knowle Parkland, providing even more public open space for residents and visitors to enjoy. The space includes gardens and a new amphitheatre allowing for even more iconic events to take place in Sidmouth. While many of these have been postponed for 2020, annual celebrations, including Sidmouth Folk Festival, have already confirmed dates for 2021, so we can all agree that there is plenty to look forward to.

SEATON

Ken Beer, Mayor and Chairman of Seaton Town Council

Seaton Town Council is looking forward to a busy 2021 working with Seaton’s famous attractions such as Seaton Tramway, the Wetlands and Seaton Jurassic. Seaton will also play host to new events being organised through the Promote Seaton Group—a working party comprising councillors, business owners, community groups, residents and other local stakeholders. Subject to any restrictions still in place next year, we hope that we will once again welcome established events such as the Grizzly Run, CycleFest, Natural Seaton, Seaton Carnival week, with other new and exciting events in the planning stages. Seaton always welcomes visitors to enjoy

our wonderful independent shops and eateries and our spectacular coastline.

We are helping our local businesses improve their premises and encouraging coach operators, by providing better facilities.

The accessible seafront, with its far-reaching views across Lyme Bay, attracts visitors in all weathers and plays host to a variety of activities for all ages, including paddle boarding, sea fishing, swimming or simply enjoying a family picnic on one of the cleanest beaches in the South West.

We look forward to seeing you in 2021.

BRIDPORT

Ian Bark, Mayor of Bridport

The people of Bridport have risen to the challenges by supporting each other in so many different ways. We have come to realise how valuable our local businesses are and how important it is we give them our support. Perhaps the most important hope for 2021 and beyond is reigniting the Green agenda. There is much work to be done and we need to be brave in our actions. Future generations will not forgive us if we fail to act now.

Dave Rickard, Leader of Bridport Town CounciI

The town council will need to maintain its involvement in the pandemic’s consequences but we also want to press on with some of our key strategic aims, such as responding to the climate emergency, developing plans for the town centre and building on our Rights Respecting work.

I would also like to see our reputation as ‘Dorset’s Eventful Town’ restored to the full—and, if possible, extended. Arts and cultural events can help our local economy to recover from the ravages of Covid19.

It won’t be an easy year and we need to plan our financial recovery alongside delivering our plans. As the leader of a ‘can do’ council in the ‘can do’ town of Bridport, I am confident that together we will make 2021 the year Bridport bounced back and moved on from Covid19.

LYME REGIS

Brian Larcombe, Mayor and Chairman of Lyme Regis Town Council

2020 has by any standards been unprecedented and challenging, and for those who’ve lost family members or suffered illness it’s been both heart-breaking and threatening. It has been a year of depths; the depth of what we have had to face, and the depth of personal and collective response we’ve all given to this unforgettable year.

Lyme and indeed the local radius have reason to feel more fortunate than other parts of the UK. We did a great deal in 2019 and much of this continued into 2020 despite Covid-19. It hasn’t been easy but there is now a better prospect ahead of us because of the efforts made over the last two years and throughout 2020 by everyone.

Although the effects of Covid will be with us in different ways for a long time yet, we have and will continue to adjust and adapt with the same resolve in 2021, with optimism and responsibility.

We should respect and maintain the physical distancing and other Covid measures required, and importantly cherish the closeness of those around us; the important things that may have been lost to the less important, and the things that this year has encouraged us to rediscover and value.

BEAMINSTER

Craig Monks, Chairman of Beaminster Town Council

2020 has been a very different and difficult year. During Lockdown, Beaminster Town Council implemented the Community Resilience Plan to support residents, businesses and local groups in such extraordinary times.

Through our website, our social media and an army of volunteers delivering leaflets, we aimed to up our game in communicating with the town. Most recently we have started to live stream our council meetings so residents can watch live or after the event. And lastly, we are now providing a monthly update in the Team News with news and useful information we wouldn’t want local people to miss.

After the initial lockdown, we had hoped for a return to some normality so we started our Beaminster Restart Campaign with the flags, bunting, flowers and of course the Scarecrow Hunt Competition, all aimed to welcome new and old faces back to the town. This year will see the return of many regular events such as the Beaminster Festival. But we have much more planned for our residents and visitors to enjoy. So we look forward to welcoming you back to our town soon. Just visit www.discoverbeaminster.co.uk to see what we have planned. The future is bright, but for now stay safe.

SHERBORNE

Jon Andrews, Mayor of Sherborne

After a very unexpected 2020, we welcome 2021 with open arms.

Our wonderful volunteer sector in Sherborne has stepped up and helped in so many essential ways, at such difficult times.

A community pandemic recovery fund has been established aimed at not-for-profit organisations such as locally registered charities, food banks and community groups who may struggle to survive or to meet demand in the pandemic.

The future economy and prosperity of Sherborne depends to a great extent on the wonderful variety of independent businesses in retail and hospitality. It is one of the factors that makes the town an incredibly special place to live and visit. Government financial support allied to the furlough scheme has been a lifeline to many. But the second national lockdown came at one of the busiest times of the year for small business owners.

A new website has been recently launched together with social media platforms making it easier to communicate with the town.

Looking ahead, the council faces huge challenges with pressure on budgets, but we are delighted to have been selected by the Dorset LEP to receive funding for the ShopAppy scheme that will take the high street in Sherborne online, bringing a great opportunity for shops to reach more people.

Sidmouth celebrates the sea

Bridport—‘Eventful Town’

The Drift Road

A LOST VILLAGE WORKSHOP

The Dorset Diggers Community Archaeology Group was set up in 2012 to work in the community to facilitate the study of Dorset’s deeper past. That means that we are not just a hobby group, but to actively engage local communities in doing all aspects of research. Our first site was proof that archaeology does not always have to be about looking for aretfacts and structures from thousands of years ago, but also those that lived closer to our own time, now forgotten.

I was sitting in my village cafe in Maiden Newton when a villager came up to me and asked if I would be interested in looking at a structure up on the Drift Road/Old Sydling Lane. We walked there, whereupon I saw what looked like a water trough. From the trough a narrow mound of grass ran toward the hedge lining the lane. From the style of brick I thought that the structure was probably about one hundred years old, but still worth looking at. No one could say why this large structure was sitting in the field, as animals troughs are usually much smaller and connected to a water supply. We were asked to answer this question, so we set about digging.

We found that the mound was made up mostly of brick and tile and would need some serious hitting with mattocks to clear away. After that was cleared we had found a whole building, constructed from chalk and flint with the trough attached to it! The structure was divided into two rooms by another narrow chalk wall. The northern room had a brick wall on top of a flint foundation facing the lane, but this wall would not have been load-bearing and may have supported a timber partition that could have been opened to people using the path. The floor was divided into two parts, one cobbled and the other compacted earth. The cobbled flooring may have been the work area or as a hard standing for horses. The southern room had a compacted dirt floor, with a double door facing east. The finds made it highly probable that this was a small workshop dealing in metalworking relating to the repair of cart wheels and horse equipment.

The bricks were made by Colthurst & Symons & Co in the 1850s, leading brick makers in the Powerstock area. Metal waste comprised of nails, bars, hooks, brackets, door bolts and wheel rims. Two penknives had bone handles, the blades having corroded badly. A bridle

BY CHRIS TRIPP

bit with a twisted mouth piece was dated to the late 19th century or early 20th by a visiting horse rider who arrived within just a few minutes of the artefact being found! Bridle bits are now made smooth, as this is not so hard on the horse’s mouth.

A Camp Coffee bottle was found in perfect condition, embossed on three sides with “ESS CAMP COFFEE & CHICORY”, “GLASGOW”, “PATERSON”. Camp was founded in 1876, but the same design appears on adverts in the 1940s. A vet’s bottle was found close-by, intact, with a glass stopper. It was embossed “ELLIMAN’S ROYAL EMBROCATION FOR HORSES

MANUFACTORY, SLOUGH” and is possibly late Victorian, but this was still being used in the early 1980s. It was for rheumatism, sore throat, sore shoulders and backs, capped hocks and elbows!

A glass stopper had the stamp WRIGHT & CO., based in Staffordshire. Further research was done on this company, the scene of an industrial accident where a glass kiln exploded. One worker was killed by the explosion and two others were killed by being engulfed in molten glass. Once the glass had cooled it was found that only hobnails and belt buckles had survived, so the remains were kept in glass blocks and then the whole buried. It was reported that the owner of the company told the men at the funeral that “they would have to work harder to make up for the loss of three employees”! However, the firm did not last long and went out of business soon after.

Archaeology is about our collective memory, in this case the structure we were excavating had been quickly forgotten, a structure that told a story of a local business much needed up to the time of the internal combustion engine took over the work of horses in the 20th century. Even though it was only a century since demolition it had been lost to us and the only way to recover that memory was to undertake an archaeological investigation. It can now be seen by a new generation.

Stonehenge keeps Growing

By Cecil Amor

Inormally write about this topic for the Winter Solstice, but missed it last year. However I can now wish readers a Better and Happy New Year! Stonehenge is growing mainly in our knowledge, due to modern archaeological methods and increasing aids. But also it is growing in size and information provided on TV, radio and newspapers. As an engineer I am amazed at the way early people managed to move and erect the large stones, without our tractors, cranes and power tools and only stone axes, antler picks and ropes of twisted vegetation. Also their design capability and man-management, not forgetting making contact as far away as Scotland without telephones. So I share some recent information, as follows :

Last June The Guardian newspaper reported that a circle of deep shafts has been discovered near Stonehenge, forming a circle of 1.2 miles (2 km) in diameter. Durrington Walls Henge is precisely at its centre, 1.9 miles north east of Stonehenge. Each shaft is more than 5 metres deep and 10 metres in diameter. Twenty have been found so far at an average of 8.64 metres from Durrington Walls Henge. The circle also encloses Woodhenge and crosses a causewayed enclosure near Larkhill. There may have been over thirty shafts. The shafts have filled in naturally and were earlier dismissed as sink holes or dew ponds.

Professor Vincent Gaffney of Bradford University, who announced the findings, believes they may be greater than 4,500 years old and hence contemporary with Stonehenge and Durrington Walls. The circle appears to have included the Larkhill causewayed enclosure, which is believed to be over 1,500 years older than Durrington Walls. The investigation involved a consortium of Bradford and Birmingham

Universities and one in Vienna.

Worked flints and bone fragments have been found in the shafts. Planning the circle must have involved pacing over 800 metres from the henge outwards and so must have involved a counting system or some sort of tally. Professor Gaffney believes it to be an incredible new monument, providing an insight to the past, of an even more complex society than we have imagined.

I have just discovered that I had overlooked a newspaper article by David Keys from 2012, describing Stonehenge as an art gallery. A laser scan of the monument discovered that five of the largest stones have carvings to be viewed from the north east, probably during processions at the solstices. At present these carvings are invisible now to the naked eye, having been chipped very finely. There are 72 carvings, dating from Early Bronze Age, 71 represent axe heads and one a Bronze Age dagger. It is suggested that real axe heads were used as stencils, up to 46 cm long, but larger than any actual implements so far discovered. They are believed to date from 1800 to 1500 BC and face nearby burials of the period, or the centre of the monument. The work was carried out for English Heritage by the Greenhatch Group from Derby and analysed by York Archaeological Trust.

In July English Heritage reported that they now believe they know the origin of the source of the large 20 ton sarsen stones for which Stonehenge is famous. Apparently during repair work in the 1950s a core sample was taken by drilling with diamond tools from one of the large 22ft stones. One workman took part of the core sample home as a memento and subsequently took it when he went to live in the USA. He is now 90 years old and asked

his sons to return the sample to English Heritage, where it has been chemically compared with sarsens from Devon to Norfolk. Susan Greaney, one of the English Heritage authors of a recently published paper, believes that its origin is West Woods, near Marlborough in Wiltshire, about 15 miles from Stonehenge. Just the far side of West Woods lies the road from Marlborough to Avebury and adjacent to the road lie many large sarsens, commonly known as “Grey Wethers”, an old name for sheep. I have always considered this to be the source of the Stonehenge and Avebury sarsens, so I was not far out!

Professor Alice Roberts reported in October that excavations at Bulford, 3 miles to the east of Stonehenge by Phil Harding (of Time Team fame) and others had discovered two previously unknown henges, in fact a double henge. An unused stone axe, chalk balls and a decorated pot, perhaps late Neolithic, were found. Forty pits were excavated, containing a number of aurochs bones, several times larger than our domesticated cows and thought to be sufficient for a large feast, possibly for their religion. These people could have witnessed the erection of Stonehenge, 4,500 years ago. Later people left evidence of new skills, first the Beaker people and then metal working. Another excavation, towards Amesbury, at “Vespasians Camp” about one kilometre from Stonehenge showed human evidence from the Mesolithic period, with flint tools. Also animal bones some 8 or 9,000 years old, e.g. a wild boar tusk and aurochs bones. This is 3,000 years before Stonehenge was erected.

So it is gradually appearing that a large area around Stonehenge was in use before and after the erection of the monument. After its erection the use of the wide area seems to be for burial purposes of cremations, as a “hallowed ground”.

Some 14 miles, 30 km from Stonehenge is another henge which has only been fully investigated in the last 10 years. This is at Marden in the Vale of Pewsey, near Devizes in Wiltshire, described as a “Super Henge” on Radio 3 in April by Penny Bickle and Jim Leary. It is the largest known henge in Britain. Traces of a hut with a large central area of chalk/stone and remains of flint knapping and feasting on cattle and pigs were found. Some of the animals came from Scotland, according to strontium analysis, similar to

those at Stonehenge and Durrington Walls. Post holes of a trapezoidal building, 20m long by 10m wide with timber walls, possibly Neolithic, maybe 3,800 BC, were found. Flat pieces of chalk engraved with marks were found in the post holes. The building might possibly have been a community hall, perhaps 7,500 years ago. The dwellings of the time would have been very smoky and residents would have ingested carbon.

This September Professor Alice Roberts added more detail about the Marden Henge, which had a bank and ditch about 10 times larger than Stonehenge. A large circle showed traces of houses, inside the henge, one of which had a large fireplace or hearth, possibly for a sauna or “sweat lodge”. Hot stones could have been carried inside and water poured over them. A second large hearth was also found, with no charcoal, but there were traces of a bonfire and a burnt sarsen stone. Near the entrance to the henge in the ditch a Neolithic burial was found of someone of mid teens, with amber beads and beaker remains of 2,000 to 4,000 BC. Later remains in straight lines were also found nearby, possibly Roman.

The Penguin Guide to Prehistoric England says the Marden Henge was oval shaped, of 14 ha, with bank and internal ditch, except on its south and western sides where the River Avon encloses it. Entrances were found on the north and east sides. A mound, the Hatfield Barrow, once stood 6.8m high inside which was excavated in 1807 by William Cunnington, but little was found and soon after it was destroyed. Excavations in 1969 found the northern ditch was over 15m wide, but only 1.8m deep. Grooved ware, antler picks and flint tools were found, with evidence of a timber circle 10.5m in diameter with 3 posts for a possible roof support.

As I write this I hear that a road tunnel will take traffic out of sight of Stonehenge soon. I wonder what may be found during the excavations?

Bridport History Society opens the New Year via Zoom at 1.30 for 2.30 pm on Tuesday 9th January 2021 when Dr Todd Gray will describe “Exeter in the 1700s: the golden years of the cloth industry”. For Zoom details contact Jane Ferentzi-Sheppard on 01308 425170 or email jferentzi@aol.com.

Best wishes for a better and Happier New Year. Cecil Amor, Hon President of Bridport History Society.

JVegetables in January

By Ashley Wheeler

anuary is an excellent time of year to get things in order for the beginning of a new season, which once it gets going won’t wait around for you, so being ready and organised as much as possible before the onslaught of spring is important. Having said that, it is also really important for us to just slow down a bit in January.

We make sure that all of our crop and sowing plans are fully up to date in January (sometimes we get round to doing this before January too, but normally finish it all of this month). This gives us a weekly sowing calendar so that we don’t forget any of the crucial sowing dates. Our sowing plan also calculates how many plants to raise so that we can have a simple sowing list each week showing us what to sow, how many seeds per module, how many trays to sow and any other useful information. This gets printed off each week so that we don’t have to think about it too much in the height of summer when lots of other things are going on in the garden. We make adjustments to our plans depending on notes that we have taken through the previous year. For example, if we felt that something didnt have quite enough time to fully mature before winter, we would note this down and sow a little earlier.

We also like to have a proper sort out of all the sheds and propagating polytunnel so that everything is in its proper place before the season gets going again. This gives us a chance to have a look at everything that we have—from tools to seed trays, assess whether we use them and whether it is worth keeping and then either getting rid of anything that is just taking up space and not being used, or putting things in the right place if we do use them. Each year the garden gets a little more organised and in being more organised it becomes a more pleasant place to work as you don’t spend hours looking for a tool that you need, or moving things about to get to something that you are after as it’s all in one big unorganised pile.

It is also great to make the most out of any good weather days in January rather than just be cooped up inside all the time, so make the most of those crisp winter days by getting outside and starting to get things ready for the new season ahead. Don’t tidy up too much yet, but get on with jobs that you don’t have time to do once the Spring gets going—maybe putting down new woodchip in paths, doing any mulching that needs doing—the sort of work that warms you up a bit!

So, don’t feel too glum about it being January— make the most of it being a new year and get organised and sorted for (hopefully) a better year ahead. Also try to get outside as much as possible when the weather is good.

WHAT TO SOW THIS MONTH: It is still too early to sow most veg, but we will be sowing a few sugarsnap peas, lettuce, spring onions and agretti on a heated propagation bench for early tunnel production. But, there is no rush for sowing anything until the end of February/early March.

WHAT TO PLANT THIS MONTH:

Nothing to plant this month (unless you still haven’t planted garlic, in which case it’s not too late!)

OTHER IMPORTANT TASKS THIS MONTH:

Keep working through your winter job list of getting everything sorted for the season ahead. Soon enough it will be time to start sowing in earnest, so the more prepared for this the better. Do your seed ordering now if you haven’t already—and try to use some of the great smaller seed companies growing seed in the UK such as Real Seeds, Vital Seeds and the Seed Cooperative. Make sure you have gone through all of your seed packets, and throw out any that don’t last more than a year. We find that parsnip seed is no good after a year, and parsley, carrots, spring onions and leek seed doesn’t last particularly long so we tend to buy seed each year for these.

Also check out our Salad Growing and Introduction to Market Gardening courses in Spring and Autumn this year at trillfarmgarden.co.uk/courses

Having a place for all your tools makes it a much more pleasant experience when you are trying to find one of them!

January in the Garden

By Russell Jordan

The current climate has certainly promoted a general yearning for simpler, perhaps more natural, times, so I’m guessing that more of us may have chosen living Christmas trees, rather than felled or artificial specimens, this festive season.

After ‘Twelfth Night’ you will have to decide what to do with a living tree in a pot. Whether to keep it in a pot or whether it’s better to plant it out into the ground (if you are fortunate enough to have access to a garden).

The chances are your Xmas tree is likely to be either the original ‘Norway Spruce’, with finer needles, or the more recently introduced ‘Nordmann Fir’ with broader needles. Either way, they are both species which need to be grown outdoors, reaching full tree proportions if left unmolested, and cannot be kept as houseplants. They are likely to have suffered a little, in the unnaturally hot and dry conditions of the average home, not to mention suffering the indignation of being festooned with various gewgaws, tinsel and fairy lights.

As long as you have kept them well-watered, during their time indoors, they should be able to recover once they return outside. It might be a bit of a shock to go straight outdoors, especially in January temperatures, having just spent a few weeks in hotter, drier and darker than ideal conditions. To acclimatise the tree more gently, where possible, it’s best to place it in a light, frost-free, place, an unheated greenhouse would be ideal, and keep it well watered for a week or two. Release it back into the wild whenever a mild, for January, spell of weather is forecast. On the allotted day you have a choice of either finding a nice spot in the garden or repotting it into a new pot, one size up from the one that you bought it in. Whichever you choose the first thing you’ll have to do is to knock the tree out of its current pot. Hopefully at this point you will find that your tree has a good root system which has filled the original pot and is crying out to be given

a little extra growing room. If the root system is dead, diseased or, in the case of less scrupulous suppliers, completely missing then it’s probably best to cut your losses and consign the tree to the bonfire or to the Xmas tree recycling scheme.

If replanting it in the garden then remember that mature Fir or Spruce trees both reach heights of hundreds of feet, in their native habitats, and are certainly not suited to constricted spaces. Having said that, worst case scenario is that you get to enjoy it for a good few years before needing to call in the tree surgeon. When planting it out the usual tree planting rules apply; dig a hole much larger than the rootball; improve the garden soil with a generous dollop of organic matter; bury the rootball so that it’s no deeper than it was in the pot; refill with the improved garden soil; firm in very well with your feet (most people do not firm the soil well enough to anchor the plant); water in well even if rain is forecast because the watering is required to ensure the roots are in intimate contact with the surrounding soil—it’s nothing to do with lack of water which is seldom a problem in a British winter.

Unless you bought a massive Xmas tree, with a tiny rootball, it should not be necessary to stake the tree unless it is in a very exposed site or you are unable to firm the soil around the rootball to the required degree.

Repotting your tree into a larger pot gives you the option to bring it in again next Christmas, assuming you’ve kept it alive in the meantime, and to keep reusing it for as long as it remains suitably sized. Find a new pot that is just a few inches larger than the old one and prepare the rootball by rubbing some of the exhausted compost without losing all of the root system. Use fresh potting compost so that the rootball sits centrally in the new pot with a cushion of new compost all around plus enough room at the top to allow for generous watering. Water in well and

keep the potted Xmas tree in a sheltered place, but not somewhere so sheltered that it does not receive adequate light or so remote that you forget to water it regularly—especially during the summer months. If you look after it diligently, only repotting it into slightly larger pots each year, then it should respond like a bonsai specimen and remain small enough to use indoors for many years to come.

Elsewhere there is a welcome lull in gardening activity as far as the more active tasks are involved. On nice, bright, not too chilly days there’s always some pruning, digging or clearing to get to grips with. If you were one of the many that took to gardening as a response to the Covid crisis then January is a good time to think about how to progress going forwards.

Joining the ‘Royal Horticultural Society’ might be a good place to start because it’s a fantastic source of knowledge and inspiration for every aspect of the hobby. If you’re not quite ready for that degree of commitment then some armchair gardening, such as ordering seeds to sow in the weeks ahead, is a good way to keep the faith until the growing conditions outside are more favourable.

2021 surely has to be an improvement on 2020?

Happy New Gardening.

PROPERTY ROUND-UP

Make That Move!

By Helen Fisher

WAYTOWN £475,000

An attached stone cottage in a superb semi-rural location. Formerly the Hare and Hounds pub so benefits from characterful features inc: large inglenook fireplace, window seats and shutters. With 3 double bedrooms and high ceilings. Beautifully presented throughout. West facing front garden plus side garden with lawn and wooded area. Single lock-up garage. Stags Tel: 01308 428000

AXMINSTER

£325,000

YEOVIL £775,000

Originally a 17th century dairy farmhouse now a Grade II listed Ham stone family home with many original features inc: stone mullion windows, window seats and carved fireplace. With 7 reception rooms and 5 bedrooms plus a self-contained annex. Heated swimming pool and pool house plus sauna. Gardens, parking and double garage.

Knight Frank Tel: 01935 808426

A very well located detached modern house - about 6 years old. Built with an emphasis on individuality. Large kitchen/diner with French doors to decking area. Upstairs, bright galleried landing and 3 bedrooms. Double glazed throughout. Very easy walking to the station and town centre. Side garden and ample parking.

Gordon and Rumsby Tel: 01297 553768

BRIDPORT £450,000

A delightful chalet-style bungalow built in the 1960s with major improvements made in recent years. With 3 bedrooms, good storage space and large double-glazed windows with far-reaching views. Terraced gardens with alfresco dining areas, greenhouse and sheds plus fishpond. Driveway parking for 2 cars plus garage with workshop. Kennedys Tel: 01308 427329

NR TOLLER PORCORUM

£1M

A magnificent barn dating back to 1766 converted into a beautiful light and well proportioned 4 bedroom family home. Open plan living space with double fronted wood burning stove, plus open plan kitchen with stone flooring and Aga. Stunning gardens. Speciality trees and plants, greenhouse, veg beds and water feature. All set in 2 acres.

Jackson-Stops Tel: 01308 423133

WEST BAY £550,000

A 1920s family home with 5 bedrooms and level walking to the beach and harbour. Light filled rooms, decorative open fireplace, large bay window. Most bedrooms are en-suite and some newly fitted this year. Front garden with lawn and water feature plus large driveway with off road parking for a number of vehicles. Symonds and Sampson Tel: 01308 422092

New Beginnings and Green Shoots

Vast sections of the hospitality industry have suffered catastrophic losses due to the coronavirus pandemic and with various pubs and restaurants closing down or being sold, it’s nice to report some positive stories from the local area.

Local restaurateur, Mark Hix, whose chain of HIX branded eateries went into administration early on in the pandemic, has now taken on the lease at the popular Fox Inn in Corscombe.

The 17th century pub opened its doors in December and the Fox Room and Bill’s Garden Room, named after Mark’s late grandfather will seat 35-covers serving local seasonal food. Drinks and bar snacks, including Forde Abbey pheasant club sandwich and Poole cockles with aged vinegar, can be enjoyed in front of the open fire.

The restaurant menu is focusing on meat and game sourced from the surrounding area including Rabbit brawn with piccalilli, Gamekeeper’s hotpot with pickled red cabbage, and a traditional roast every Sunday. The menu will also feature locally caught fish and Hix favourites such as Smoked salmon ‘Hix Cure’, which will be cured and smoked on the premises.

After a small refurbishment next spring, The Fox will also offer overnight stays; offering two double rooms, designed by Mark with the inimitable Hix style.

Known for championing local and artisanal producers, in the new year Hix will also host a Farmer’s market showcasing the best of the produce from the local area.

Mark wants to keep The Fox as a traditional local pub and hopes to reopen it 6 days a week for the locals and visitors.

In the meantime over in Bridport, Morrish & Banham has opened a new shop next door to the Electric Palace Cinema in South Street. The shop stocks a wide range of high quality wines, spirits and beers and staff are on hand to offer friendly, experienced and knowledgeable advice.

With a location already up and running in Dorchester, Mark

Banham is pleased to be back in Bridport. ‘We are really delighted to open our second store in Bridport’ he said. ‘We have a great following in the town and look forward to welcoming customers old and new to our new home!’

During the lockdown period, the shop will remain open for customers to make COVID-safe instore purchases. A “click and collect” and home delivery service is also available from their website (www.morrishandbanham.com) and they offer free delivery on all orders over £75 within the DT6 postcode. When lockdown restrictions ease and things begin to resemble something closer to normality, the store will re-open its tasting room and also offer wine, beer, spirits and cocktails by the glass, complemented by delicious cheese, charcuterie boards and hot and cold tapas prepared in their on-site kitchen.

They will also re-start their monthly wine tastings, food and wine matching events, gin tastings, and “Meet the Producer” evenings. Morrish & Banham is now part of The Electric Pub Company which was established in 2019, with the objective of buying and developing a portfolio of distinctive free house pubs and restaurants across Dorset.

Along the coast in Lyme Regis, Harriet Mansell recently turned her popular pop-up into a full-time restaurant in Silver Street. Opened under the name, ‘Robin Wylde’, the restaurant focuses on wild and wonderful West Country ingredients.

Originally from Sidmouth in Devon, Harriet studied politics and history at Cardiff University and having completed Cordon Bleu culinary training, followed a stint at Mark Hix’s Champagne and Oyster Bar within Selfridges with a three month spell at the world-renowned Noma in Copenhagen.

Harriet has worked for the Qatari Royal Family as well as the Murdochs and ‘Robin Wylde’ is already gaining great praise for its refreshing take on local produce.

For more information visit www.robinwylde.com.

Mark Hix at The Fox

Mark Banham in Bridport

Harriet Mansell at Robin Wylde

BUTTERNUT AND CORIANDER SOUP

How about whizzing up some fabulous butternut squash soup for lunch instead of that boring cheese sandwich? It’s packed with beta-carotene and Vitamin C to boost your immune system.

LESLEY WATERS

INGREDIENTS

• 25g (1oz) butter

• 1 onion, chopped

• 2 teaspoons ground coriander

• 675g (1 1/2lb) butternut squash, peeled, deseeded & chopped

• 1.2 litres (2 pints) vegetable stock

• freshly ground black pepper

Serves 4

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large pan, heat the butter. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the coriander and butternut and cook for 1 minute.

2. Add the stock and season with black pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer for approx. 15 minutes until the butternut is cooked.

3. To serve, transfer the soup to a food processor or blender and whizz until smooth. Ladle into four soup bowls.

4. Serve at once with crusty wholemeal bread.

GAME FAGGOTS

As a child I’d buy faggots in the chippy after swimming. I’ve stayed loyal to that spiced livery flavour ever since. Faggots are a good cheap wintery dish. Generally they’re eaten with peas, frozen or mushy, though I prefer mashed potato or root vegetables like neeps or coarsely mashed parsnips. You could make a minted pea purée which would certainly put your dusty food processor to good use. I suggest making these with lamb or pork caul fat which a butcher might be able to order for you. It keeps all the flavours in during cooking and isn’t any different from sausage skin really. I used the mincing attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer for this, but you could easily use the chopping blade of a food processor.

For the onion sauce

• 2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced

• 1tbsp vegetable oil

• A good knob of butter

• 3tsp flour

• 1tsp tomato purée

• 1tsp Dijon mustard

• 100ml red wine

• 250ml beef stock

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

INGREDIENTS

• 3 onions, peeled and finely chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

• 3 juniper berries, crushed

• 2tsp chopped thyme leaves

• 1tbsp vegetable oil

• 200g minced pork belly

• 250g minced pork or game liver

• 350g minced game meat such as pheasant, venison, hare, etc

• 1/2tsp ground mace

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 100g fresh white breadcrumbs

• 1 egg

• 200g caul fat, lamb or pig’s, soaked for an hour in cold water

Serves 4

DIRECTIONS

1. Gently cook the onion, garlic, thyme and juniper in the vegetable oil for 2-3 minutes until soft, add the pork belly and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes stirring well. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 220C/Gas mark 7. Mix in the liver, game meat, breadcrumbs and egg and season well with the salt, pepper

and mace. Mould the mixture into 150g balls—bigger than a golf ball, smaller than a tennis ball—and wrap in a double layer of caul fat. In a deep baking tray, roast the faggots for 20 minutes or so until nicely coloured, then drain off the fat.

3. Meanwhile make the sauce: heat the oil in a thick bottomed pan and gently cook the onions for 8-10 minutes with a lid on until lightly coloured—you may add a splash of water if they are catching on the bottom of the pan. Add the butter and flour and tomato purée and stir well over a low heat for a minute. Add the mustard, stir well then gradually add the red wine, stirring again to prevent lumps forming, and then gradually add the beef stock. Season, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 20 minutes.

4. Turn the oven down to 175C/gas mark 4. Put the faggots into an oven-proof dish with the sauce, cover with a lid or foil, and continue cooking for 40 minutes. These are great served with bashed neeps and wild mushrooms, or you could serve with mashed potato.

MARK HIX

TA Bucket of Charr in Slovenia

By Nick Fisher

here was a time when I didn’t know where Slovenia was. Not a clue. I knew it was somewhere vaguely in the mess that used to be Yugoslavia. What money, what language and whether NATO were currently bombing it, were all mysteries to me. At that time, I was also a man who’d never caught a charr.

Today, I can put Slovenia on the map (go up the boot leg of Italy and turn right on the upper thigh) it lies nestled between Austria, Italy and Hungary, and I can show you how to catch and cook ‘zlatovcica’, the stunning charr from Lake Bohinj.

Slovenia is a Mecca for the discerning and ambitious trout angler. It’s rivers vary from gentle chalk streams like the Radovna in the north, to wide deep fast turquoise valley-carvers like the Soca in the west. But more of trout another day. Charr was the fish that drew me like a magnet to Bohinj.

Slovenia is a powerful green colour. Covered from top to toe in deep fragrant meadows of sweet grass sprinkled with wild flowers, it’s a cow’s paradise. Traditional farming techniques prevail through much of the country with small holders cutting and stacking hay by hand, or even ploughing fields with horse drawn machinery. The fierceness of the green makes Ireland look pale and sickly by comparison.

Trouble is, to get such a green you need rain. Lots of rain. And when I was around the mountain lake of Bohinj the rain shelves were fully stocked. Swathed from head to toe in waterproofs, I wandered onto the dock at Bohinj to be met by a confusion of waving arms, shaking heads and small glasses of honey flavoured schnapps as thick as soup.

The Slovenians are incredibly helpful. Can’t do enough for you. But in so much doing, it’s hard to work out exactly what’s going on. Within twenty minutes I found myself sharing a small rowing boat with four furrow-browed Slovenian men, three of whom spoke no English and one of whom handed me a telescopic spinning rod, a half inch chunk of freshly killed minnow and mimed for me to wind down 15 turns of the reel.

Charr are a shoal fish. They’re like golden bellied wide boys who love to hang around in a gang near the bottom persecuting minnows and telling surreal fish jokes. They are deep (the fish, not the jokes) where

the light doesn’t penetrate well, and being gregarious they like to chat, so they need to be distracted with something garish and flashy.

Three toby spinning spoons, without their hooks are tied end to end on a cast with one single size 6 hook placed six inches from the bottom spoon. This looks like something you’d use to catch mackerel from the sea in summer. The idea is the spoons wobble and flash alerting the charr to the tasty morsel hanging below.

Within five minutes I’d hooked my first charr twenty foot down and it broke the grey cloud covered rainlashed surface of the lake giving off a golden flash of colour like a shaft of imported Caribbean sunshine. The glow of honey schnapps and bright bellied ‘slatovcica’ made me feel like that kid in the Ready Brek advert consumed in an aura of gold.

Before I could wax too lyrical the charr was banged on the head chucked in a bucket and my bait was back in the water. Six fish is your limit. After that you need another licence or a hot grill. With the right guide to help you to find the shoals, six fish can be caught within a couple of hours easily.

And if you run out of bait, do what the Slovenians do, which is to use an eye from the last charr caught. Charr it seems are very partial to eating their mates’ eye balls.

The fish aren’t big but what they lack in size they make up for in style. And, at that time, at around £25 for licence, boat and guide for three hours, the cost was easily affordable and the experience unforgettable.

With a bag of gutted charr and the offer of more honey schnapps than any human being could feasibly drink, I was packed off to the Hotel Jezero where the chef was heart-warmingly enthusiastic about preparing my catch.

Grilled with truffle sauce, baked with potatoes and herbs, poached with asparagus tips or carpaccio were just some of the recipes on offer.

Charr carpaccio is a hard thing to resist. Tiny wafer thin slivers of pink filleted charr meat are arranged on a plate then marinated in a mixture of local grated Emmental-like cheese, lemon juice, chives, pepper and olive oil for a few minutes. Then served with hot toast. The sensation is not unlike sending your tongue on an all-expenses paid weekend retreat to a five star health spa. It comes back happy.

Guest Recipe

After more than a decade of growing and preserving her own food, raising chickens in urban backyards, and trying to craft a more sustainable and simple life for her husband and their two daughters, Linda Ly has a wealth of experience to offer. The No-Waste Vegetable Cookbook takes a unique top-to-tail approach by teaching you how to use up every edible part of the plants you grow or buy.

The No-Waste Vegetable Cookbook; Recipes and Techniques for Whole Plant Cooking

Linda Ly

OVEN-BAKED POTATO PARMESAN FRIES

Homemade fries are the best. They’re less greasy and more flavorful than fast-food fries and so easy to throw together when you’re craving a savory snack. Amp them up with a blend of salty and smoky spices, and you don’t even need ketchup— which is how I gauge the perfect fry.

INGREDIENTS

• 2½ pounds (1.1 kg) russet potatoes, cut into 3-inch (7.5 cm) wedges

• 2 tablespoons (28 ml) olive oil, plus more for greasing

• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

• ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin

• ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

• ¼ cup (25 g) grated Parmesan cheese

• 2 tablespoons (8 g) chopped fresh parsley

Serves 4 - 6

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C, or gas mark 8). Grease a large rimmed baking sheet and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the oil until thoroughly coated.

3. In a small bowl, combine the salt, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Sprinkle the spices over the potatoes and toss to coat. Spread the potatoes across the prepared baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until browned and crispy.

4. Transfer the potatoes to a large serving bowl. While the potatoes are hot, scatter the Parmesan and parsley on top and toss to combine.

LINDA LY

SAVOURY BISCOTTI

Photo: Lara Jane Thorpe

Our ancestors had this ‘twice baked bread’ or Biscotti that were perfect for sailors heading off to sea (as they kept for ages). Indeed, they needed to be dunked in coffee or wine to be edible. These savoury varieties are beautiful served up with the cheese board. I like to use a local cheese—either Dorset Blue Vinny (dorsetblue.com) or James’s Francis (jamescheese.club) are both lovely and tasty. Alternatively you can just use all cheddar cheese.

INGREDIENTS

• 40g Cheddar

• 40g Blue Vinny or Francis cheese (grated)

• 190g plain flour

• 1 teaspoon of baking powder

• Scant ½ teaspoon of salt (use less with blue cheese)

• 2 eggs

• 2 tbsp milk

• 2 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin)

• 50 g whole nuts (almonds, pecans or walnuts)

Makes 20-24

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven Gas 4/ 180C

2. In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients. Then add the cheeses.

3. Whisk eggs, oil and milk together. Add these to the

mix, with the nuts, and stir it until you have a ball of dough.

4. Cut the dough in two and form them into log shapes (approx. 3 cm wide and 1.5 cm deep). Transfer these to parchment lined baking trays and cook for approximately 30 minutes until firm to the touch and golden.

5. Remove these from the oven and leave them to cool for 10 – 15 minutes.

6. Then slice each log into pieces about 1 cm wide and put them on the baking tray and back in the oven. Turn them over to brown them slightly on both sides and remove from the oven. Leave to cool.

7. You can keep these in an airtight container for approximately 3 – 4 weeks. Serve with tasty cheese and a glass of something sparkling.

Guest Recipe

Lizzie Crow

Lizzie Crow, Dorset’s Baking Bird, shares a favourite seasonal recipe – Savoury Biscotti. Lizzie has regular Saturday morning cake sales at her home in Upwey and sells her sweet and savoury bakes at Dorset farmers markets, including Bridport.

www.lizziebakingbird.co.uk

This Good Earth

AND OUR PART IN ITS FUTURE

Filmmaker Robert Golden’s latest film, a powerful statement about the planet on which we live, is scheduled for a world premier in Bridport in January. He spoke to Fergus Byrne.

Documentary filmmaker, Robert Golden, had a powerful motivation for making his latest film: ‘They are killing people’ he told me from his home outside Bridport. ‘These people should be arrested and charged with crimes against humanity.’ It is Robert’s strong belief that politicians, indeed governments across the world, are in the pockets of large corporations that are ‘perpetuating market places and ways of doing things that are actually going to kill their grandchildren.’ He goes on to say that these corporations are ‘already causing terrible destruction around the world’ and says ‘there is not much difference between them and the SS of the Second World War.’

These potent and damning beliefs are part of the reason he was compelled to make his latest film, This Good Earth, which is to be premiered in Bridport on 21 January at an event that will be live-streamed around the world from the Bridport Arts Centre. Afterwards there will be a discussion with Robert Golden and several of the interviewees from the film about the necessity and power of storytelling to bring change. Tickets will be available in the beginning of January from the film’s website, https://this-good-earth.com.

A ninety-two-minute documentary, This Good Earth paints a picture of global food markets skewed for profit, with farmers strangled by the greed of businesses whose motivation is naked self-interest. It is the story of a food system that causes environmental destruction, obesity, hunger and increasing levels of food-related diseases. A story of how intensive farming—using agrichemicals designed to create efficiencies and higher profits for large corporations—is damaging resources to a point where some may never recover. The film also highlights the enormous amounts of workers poisoned by pesticides, quoting a figure of 40,000 fatalities; a number that doesn’t attempt to include the huge impact of long-term health issues.

The film came about when Robert had been asked to make an update to a locally-based episode from his Savouring Europe documentaries—a series of beautifully filmed profiles of food production from different

countries around the world. However, the idea of making an update changed. ‘It became less and less a celebration of what’s around here, although of course in some senses it is’ he explained ‘and more and more a critical look at what’s going on in our world.’ He found himself drawn back to research he did on a project many years before, then titled Toxic Harvest. It had been shelved due to the 2008 economic crash. But the lessons Robert learned from that, along with his need to tell that story, had never left him. ‘I decided to take all the different elements from soil all the way through hunger and bad diet and disease and show them as a whole picture, and pay attention to the fact that we live in a holistic world. The degradation of soil has a direct link to climate change and people accessing food.’

He learned an enormous amount from the farmers, producers, scientists and professors he had interviewed when researching the project. ‘I began to realise that not only was it a much darker story than even I could think of—and I have a pretty dark view of the world—but that the connections were even more sinister. That’s when I began to understand that I had to make different kinds of linkages. The soil question is directly linked to climate change; the question of landscape is directly linked to the disappearance of species, and the long food chain is definitely linked to peoples’ illnesses.’

He hoped that step by step, the story would be clear. ‘But there was an underlying thing I wanted to do which is basically to say, “look at how extraordinarily beautiful this planet is”. Seduced by the beauty of the earth and its stunning landscape, Robert hopes that people will ask who is really causing destruction and why is this happening. ‘We all know the answers’ he says. ‘I realised that all these professors and the farmers know what the answers are. It’s not a question of a lack of knowledge; it’s a question of something else. And the something else, obviously, is a combination of policymakers, politicians and corporations whose vested interests are not to let anything change. So they mendaciously stand in the way just like the tobacco companies did, knowing full well the consequences of what they are doing, and yet still doing it.’

Although discussed in dozens of books, reports, magazine articles and television documentaries over recent years, each view offers fresh eyes and this is a story that, as Robert points out, needs to be told as often as it takes to stop the destruction of the planet and the poisoning of its people.

Set in and around West Dorset, the film is beautifully shot and simply presented without the use of a narrator.

It is told using comments from farmers, producers, scientists and academics whose compelling arguments against the tactics and philosophy of large agrichemical, distribution and sales organisations, makes it clear that this message cannot be ignored.

In the opening scene, a local farmer walks through a freshly ploughed field using his feet to kick through and test the dry soil. The ground he walks on is the starting point of the growing cycle and the source that constantly gives up nutrients for the benefit of whatever is harvested from it. The first segment of This Good Earth makes the point that without constant care and respect, the organic material that creates the nutrients that allow plants to thrive will no longer support our needs. Decades of chemical intervention to try to control nature has made and continues to make it harder and harder for the soil to survive.

In the film, interviews with local farmers are interspersed with testament from scientists and officials such as Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at City University London’s Centre for Food Policy; Erik Millstone, Emeritus Professor of Science Policy at the University of Sussex; Jules Pretty, Professor of Environment and Society at the University of Essex and Liz Bowles from the Soil Association. Set against the backdrop of West Dorset small-scale farming, their comments starkly highlight the need to wake up to the damage intensive farming is doing.

Aware of the corporate need to create efficiencies to increase yields and therefore profits, Ellen Simon at Tamarisk Farm points out that, small-scale operations like hers are obviously not the most efficient in terms of output, but they, therefore, do not contribute to global warming in the same way. Relying on local

markets, smaller operations, especially organic and those supplying local markets are not so much bound by the rules of forces out of their control.

Philip Colfox from Symondsbury Estate talked about how the lack of contact with the customer left many farmers trapped in a cycle they had no control over; a cycle where an intermediary supplied the raw materials including agrichemicals to help increase yields, and then, through a related intermediary, purchased the harvest. It was a system that tied the farmer to a process which had to be adhered to or they would be quickly dropped as a supplier. ‘He’s stuck in a vice and not able to negotiate his own price’ explained Philip. ‘He’s not able to create his own products to sell to his customers, he’s just growing commodities.’ This made it very difficult for the farmer to do what he could be proud of; ‘to simply create good quality food for the customer. He’s just someone running a sort of factory, almost a captive in the good old-fashioned sense—and he’s sold his soul to the company store.’

Buyers that dictate what is grown have less interest in the long term view that environmentalists or those concerned with health issues share. Profit over a small number of years is their motivation and one that results in land use more likely to destroy nutrients and local ecosystems rather than allowing them to regenerate or thrive.

That loss of nutrition and the residue left by chemical additives also help produce products that lack the same natural health value; products that may indeed feed the many, but with little thought for their long-term health.

Erik Millstone, Emeritus Professor of Science Policy at The University of Sussex points out that

‘after agrochemicals have been sprayed on land and crops, they inevitably contaminate the food that we subsequently eat. And while it’s common for officials and their government advisors to say “Oh the residual levels are safe” I’m not at all convinced. On the contrary, I think there’s quite a lot of evidence that even the pesticide residues in common foods are problematic.’ Professor Millstone wants to see a proper system of testing and assessment that he says ‘ought not to rely just on evidence from chemical companies but also from independent scientists such as academic scientists or people working in public health institutes.’ He says that all evidence gathered should be registered and pooled so that companies can ‘no longer have the option of concealing unfavourable evidence.’

Diet and our over-reliance on mass-produced meat is a problem that has become a much-debated issue. Talking of the overuse of land for animal feed and the lack of concern for biodiversity, Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at City University London’s Centre for Food Policy, says ‘the figures don’t add up’. If we only focus on the short-term needs of humans he says: ‘basically the planet stops functioning.’

Jules Pretty, Professor of Environment and Society at The University of Essex points out that we pay four times for the food we eat; first at the till, then for the cost of cleaning up the environment and thirdly in Government subsidies from our taxes. On top of that, he says there’s actually a fourth way that we pay for our food and that is in the result of the choices that we ultimately make about the food that we eat. Those choices are not necessarily free choices; ‘they are constrained by our own resources’ he says, alluding to the food poverty that has seen a huge increase in food banks, ‘or strongly shaped by advertising or other corporate interests to encourage us to eat certain sorts of foods. The result of that is that a large amount of ill health worldwide now is related to the kinds of foods we do eat.’

This Good Earth focuses on three elements; soil, land and food. Within these three broad subjects, the film tackles a myriad of issues that cannot be described in a short article. However, the message is clear and the film asks for our response and action to deal with a system that can easily be interpreted as criminal.

Tim Lang describes a truth that is all too often apparent. He talks of the fantasy world of hour after hour of ‘TV chefs tantalising, and competitions tantalising you with totally unaffordable foods and tastes’ against the reality of very big companies, ‘trying to sell you cheap pap which is tasty, sweet, fatty, lovely instantaneously, but makes you obese and you die early.’ He believes ‘diet is one of, if not the major cause of premature death.’

Patty Rundell from the International Baby Food Action Network cited the addictive nature of sugar:

‘You get hooked on sugar’ she says. ‘It is addictive, all these things are addictive and they know it. And the corporates behind it know exactly what they are doing in the way that they sell it to us.’ She cites how the baby food sector was one of the first to pinpoint something called ‘commerciogenic malnutrition’—a term for something that means you actually cause harm or death by commercial practices.

While many people make the point that social movements are vital to help affect change, it is also clear that the law must play a role in challenging these commercial practises that could be seen as criminal. Human Rights Lawyer, Richard Harvey, makes a point that echoes Robert Golden’s belief that there are criminal activities to be dealt with. ‘Food is big business, very very big business’ Richard says. ‘Just like oil, just like gas, these are substances that really are all about money as far as the big manufacturers are concerned.’ He says that while we know what we should be doing to the land and what we should be eating, ‘the really smart people that run those big businesses’ know that better than anybody, because

they’ve been studying their industry and how to manipulate it for years. ‘So when you know that the quality of the food that’s being produced is actually damaging the people that it is destined for, it’s a bit like saying that you are poisoning them. And there are laws against poisoning.’

He says that one can prosecute a CEO or the very highest board members of those companies, but he also knows there are strong forces in play and doesn’t believe the law is the final solution. ‘There are clearly cases where the companies control the courts to the extent that individuals have got very little chance of winning against them’ he says. But he believes we all have a human right to a clean, healthy, safe and nutritious environment, one that is all about human dignity. He asks a hopeful question: ‘isn’t that really what we all want?’

Robert Golden believes that ‘corporations own most of the politicians and the political parties’ and that one way or another, big business is able to put huge pressure on politics. He believes their terror of potential unrest by interfering with existing food

systems is part of the reason for political inertia.

‘I think a combination of their terror and their pocketbooks and their paying for elections means they are not servicing us—they are servicing the corporations.’

This Good Earth makes a solid case and although it doesn’t set out to offer all the answers, dissecting the issues is a way of finding a route to a better future. Perhaps there is the chance that a combination of the law, along with social movements for change and individual efforts to live better can alter the future for our grandchildren—but only if everyone cares about their grandchildren.

The opening event in Bridport has been cancelled due to the lockdown.

None the less the film will become available in Britain and around the world at 7PM on the 21st of January, 2021.

It can be purchased for streaming for £4.99 (inc. Vat) at the film’s website: https://this-good-earth.com where you can read more about the film, watch the trailer and purchase 1 year licences for showing the film in public.

Any feedback can be offered on the website.

GALLERIES January

Until January 8

Winter Exhibition 2020. Gallery on the Square, Queen Mother Square, Dorchester DT1 3BL.

Until January 10

Autumn Mixed Show Work by gallery artists & Chloe Fremantle. The exquisite Tincleton Gallery will be holding a four-month mixed show of their gallery artists, plus London-based artist Chloe Fremantle. Periodically some of the works will be taken down and replaced by others so that the show can remain fresh for the 4-month run irrespective of how the Covid-19 pandemic evolves. Tincleton Gallery, The Old School House, Tincleton, nr Dorchester, DT2 8QR. Opening times: Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon from 10:00 - 17:00, no admission fee. Telephone 01305 848 909. Website: www. tincletongallery.com.

January 16 - February 26

The Spectacular Sky: Donna Goold Solo Exhibition Donna Goold’s paintings are an exploration of colour and light observed simply by looking up. Although different motifs may appear the viewer is still pulled back to the overriding power and drama of the sky. Wednesday to Saturday 10am - 4pm. Artwave West, Morcombelake, Dorset DT6 6DY. Tel: 01297 489746. www.artwavewest.com

January 16 - March 6

Mikhail Karikis Children of Unquiet (2013-14) – Film by Greek-British artist Mikhail Karikis created with a group of children living in Devil’s Valley in Tuscany, a volcanic landscape and home to the world’s first geothermal power station. Open Thursday – Saturday, 10-5. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield House, Dowell Street, Honiton EX14 1LX, 01404 45006 www.thelmahulbert.com.

Until January 17

Colour & Light: recent paintings by Julian Bailey, Alex Lowery, Michael Fairclough and Alfred Stockham with furniture by Petter Southall. Four painters who reflect glorious light effects in their paintings to celebrate both the natural and the built world, Petter Southall’s beautiful bentwood furniture, plus ceramics with Mike Dodd, Peter

Hayes, Gabriele Koch, Franny Owen, Sue Ure and Paul Wearing. Also craft, gifts, and accessories by leading artists and designers. 10 am - 4.30pm Wednesday to Saturday (Café also open Sundays 10 - 4.30pm). Free admission. Sladers Yard, Contemporary Art, Furniture & Craft Gallery, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset DT6 4EL. 01308 459511. sladersyard. co.uk.

Until January 18

Unwrapped, 10.30-16.30 Thursdays-Mondays, A showcase filled with a wide variety of original 2D and 3D arts and crafts that will make ideal gifts for the season, Lyme Bay Arts, The Space, Symondsbury, 01308 301326. Bringing Art to Life, 10.30-16.30 Thursdays-Mondays, An open exhibition of 2D and 3D artwork made by artists from the Southwest that celebrates colour and form, Lyme Bay Arts, The Gallery, Symondsbury, 01308 301326.

Until February 21

A Picture of Health. A group exhibition of contemporary women photographers. The Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA.

Until February 28

Anna Grayson: The Photographic Art Thief comes to the Café at Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) with selected works also available to purchase. Anna Grayson is a geologist by training and was a BBC presenter and science writer by profession; she re-trained as an artist at the age of 60, and her work was featured by Grayson Perry in Channel 4’s Grayson’s Art Club earlier this year. Much of Anna’s work is humorous, but there is a serious side too with clear themes of gender, feminism and social commentary. Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Queen St, Exeter EX4 3RX. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10am – 5pm. Last entry 4pm. Closed bank holidays and Mondays. Free entry. Donations welcomed. For guaranteed entry, pre-book a free timed ticket. https://rammuseum.org.uk/

Until March 7

Annual Open Exhibition. Royal West of England Academy, Queens Road Clifton, Bristol BS8 1PX.

Change your view in the New Year

After the last 12 months a new year is an opportunity for a new outlook.

Sladers Yard in West Bay has a welldeserved reputation for showing some of the highest quality art in the area and the current exhitition is no different. Colour and Light shows paintings by Julian Bailey, Michael Fairclough, Alex Lowery, Alfred Stockham, furniture by Petter Southall as well as ceramics, craft, gifts and accessories by leading artists and designers.

No-one seems to capture the breathtaking light of the Chesil beach and Devon estuaries like Alex Lowery. His paintings distill place and light over time into something potent and seriously addictive. If ever there was a selection of

beautiful work to change the look of the coming year Colour and Light is it.

Looking further afield there is also much to lift the spirits at an exhibition in Exeter. The city’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) will play host to the Mona Lisa, The Girl with a Pearl Earring, The

Scream, plus Van Goghs, Magrittes, and many more masterpieces this December, but with a twist—the famous works have been recreated as pastiche photographs by artist Anna Grayson, for her solo show The Photographic Art Thief. It is at the Café at RAMM until Sunday 28 February 2021, with selected works also available to purchase.

Over in Morecombelake between Bridport and Lyme Regis Donna Goold is having a solo exhibition at Artwave West.

Donna’s paintings are an exploration of colour and light observed simply by looking up into the sky. The Exhibition will be open Wednesday to Saturday 10am – 4pm or by appointment. www. artwavewest.com.

Wynford Eagle 2, 2020, 30x70cm, oil on canvas by Alex Lowery

Castle Island 40x60cm by Donna Goold

Impressions of a Landscape

How the Marshwood Vale inspired the work of two great artists, by Connie Doxat

The hamlet of Hewood sits almost organically in its surrounding landscape, tucked neatly into the folds of the valley. Trees caress its sides, softening the edges of buildings and blurring the boundary between man and nature – a suggestion of the communal respect for this land that has been passed down through generations. The stretching horizon -so often blotted with pearly cloudframes this scenery in a subdued, delicate light and outlines the undulating profile of distant hills. There is a pastoral timelessness in this place, striking both a sense of calm and flaring imagination; space to think and time to do. It was therefore little wonder that here, buried within these layers of green, two great artists and friends, Lucien Pissarro and Harry Banks, found their source of divine, creative inspiration.

Though he would eventually come to live in this small corner of the world, Pissarro was brought up far from the muddy lanes and thatched villages of west Dorset, instead growing up in a leafy suburb of Paris, the eldest child of the eminent impressionist painter Camille Pissarro1 Between time spent in and out of his father’s studio, Lucien became familiar with the artistic world through exposure to great talents, such as Claude Monet and Pierre Auguste Renoir- who both frequented the Pissarro family home2. It was almost inevitable that Lucien too cultivated a personal penchant for painting, initially developing a style similar to Camille and his contempories; employing thin, yet visible brushstrokes to depict the ephemeral beauty of dappled, changing light.

Following several trips to England, and a stint working for an art-publishing firm in Paris, Lucien moved to Chiswick, North London where he worked primarily in book illustration and was a founding member of the influential Camden Town Group of Artists3. During his years involved in both the London and Paris art scenes, Pissarro found himself emerged within a milieu of many other avant-garde artists, including Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Signac: who were both busy carving what would later be recognised as the new boundaries of modern, expressionist art. In fact, a rather rough, sketchy portrait drawn by Pissarro in 1887 is thought to be the only depiction of Vincent and his brother Theo – alluding to just how unrivalled Lucien’s access was to other revolutionary creatives of this era4. Vincent also showed fondness to Pissarro through his own artwork,

tenderly dedicating the painting, ‘Basket of Apples’ (1887) to “à l’ami, Lucien Pissarro”5 – ‘to the friend, Lucien Pissaro’.

However, as someone who loved to paint outdoors Pissarro grew restless of printing in the city, and frequently visited properties in Essex, Sussex, Devon and Dorset to take inspiration from more natural subjects. His passion for rural scenery is apparent in the sheer bulk of his work produced during such stays, which feature bright, airy landscapes and endearing tree-lined lanes – almost symbolically representing his own impulses at the time, drawing him into the thicket of country life. Of all of these places though, it was the enchants of Dorset’s golden coastline, magical hillforts and steep, wooded valleys which pulled the strongest, and eventually lured Pissarro and his family permanently in 19146.

After renting a crumbling cottage in Fishpond - from where Pissarro painted several wonderful pieces, including ‘The Heather Patch’ and ‘High View, Fishpond’ - the family finally settled in a handsome property in the secluded hamlet of Hewood. Hewood is one of those rare places that still today feels relatively untouched by modern times; with the whole hamlet under a group listing, it is a gem seldom known to the rest of the world. At the heart of Hewood is a small green, where you’ll often find cattle and goats grazing, seemingly unaware of the centuries that have passed since the surrounding cluster of cottages was built. Pissarro’s own affection towards the enduring charm of Hewood is translated in the plodding pace of rural life which he exquisitely captured within his work. Though still in their subject, the vibrancy of Pissarro’s oils evoke a heady nostalgia for the bursting hedgerows and fleshy, ripe grass of summer’s warm days. The sheer length of time Pissarro spent in Hewood is too a reflection of his enjoyment there, as he proceeded to paint the local landscape for 30 years, right up until his death in 1944; his daughter, Orovida allegedly rolling him out in his chair across the countryside in the frailty of his last few years.

During his time in Hewood, Pissarro was visited by various friends, including the talented etcher Harry Banks –whom he met during his involvement in London’s printing scene. Banks enjoyed an esteemed career himself, exhibiting in the Royal Academy, Paris and America and also being selected to design the invitation for Edward VII’s lavish coronation dinner in 1902�. Like Pissarro, Banks also found

himself falling for the local landscape, moving into the neighbouring hamlet of Synderford, saddled on the banks of the bubbling River Synderford. With his exchange of the tidy streets of Chelsea for Dorset’s meandering lanes, the focus of Banks’s work shifted too, as he composed looser, subdued watercolours and atmospheric etchings to depict his new bucolic surroundings. Among its many patchwork hillsides and sunken paths, Banks - like Pissarro - also sought to record those who inhabited this land, setting up his easel in mucky farmyards and crackling wheat fields to observe the slow workings of rural life.

I often find myself wandering down the same lanes, which plunge down into the depths of the Marshwood Vale, thinking of these two artists - and every time I can’t help but feel a tingling creativity inside of me. Though not as artistically blessed, my twitching fingers instead turn to write, in my best efforts to incarnate a similar awe of the unfolding landscape as those two men who curiously trailed these paths before me.

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucien_Pissarro – Wikipedia: ‘Lucien Pissarro’

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucien_Pissarro – Wikipedia: ‘Lucien Pissarro’

3 https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/the-eragny-press-1640158-details. aspx#:~:text=In%201894%20Pissarro%20and%20his,the%20Fishes%20 (number%20i) – Christies: The Eragny Press’

4 https://www.theartnewspaper.com/blog/vincent-in-conversation-with-theoidentified-as-his-companion-in-ashmolean-drawing - The Art Newspaper: ‘Theo Van Gogh is identified in mystery drawing now on show in London’

5 https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/camden-town-group/lucienpissarro-r1105344#fn_1_1 –Tate: ‘ The Camden Group of Artists in context’

6 http://www.thorncombe-village-trust.co.uk/page34.html - Thorncombe Village Trust: Pissarro at Hewood

7 http://www.thorncombe-village-trust.co.uk/page68.html - Thorncombe Village Trust: Harry Banks

Watercolour of Higher Synderford Farm, c.1940, Harry Banks. With pigs digging around in the mud and a freshly cut pieces of timber, Banks’s encapsulates the leisurely rhythm of country life.

‘Muddy Lane, Hewood’, 1940, Lucien Pissarro. Painting a lane right outside his own house in Hewood – Pissarro often turned to subjects close to home as he became increasingly frail and blind.

‘Highview, Fishpond’, 1915, Lucien Pissarro. Showcasing a panoramic view into the Marshwood Vale, Pissarro uses light tones to present the warm, watery sunlight of a summer’s day.

‘A Dorset Hillside – On Blackdown Hill’ c.1945, Harry Banks. Like many of his works this striking piece was made by aquatint – a technique which uses fine marks etched onto a metallic plate to print areas of tone.

Banks’s design used for the invitation cards to Edward VII’s coronation dinner in 1902. The artist’s distinct style and creative vision are clear in this vibrant print.

Hardy’s women in Life and Literature

Anew book written by Thomas Hardy aficionado Peter Tait looks at the most significant relationships Hardy had with women during his lifetime.

Thomas Hardy was always fascinated by women. While in life his relationships were often fraught and unhappy, through the heroines of his novels we can see into his soul. These fictional characters, usually drawn in part or whole from women he knew, garnered our sympathy as they entered the difficult world into which Hardy cast them. In this respect, he was ahead of his time in challenging traditional attitudes to the plight of women in such questions as marriage, divorce, feminism, incest and lesbianism.

Throughout his life, Hardy nurtured close female friends, though at the expense of his two often neglected and humiliated, long-suffering wives. His mother, Jemima Hardy, exerted a possessive, domineering influence on young Thomas which would endure throughout his life. His relationship with his sisters and female confidantes, meanwhile, shows us how Hardy viewed women and what he expected from them.

Thomas Hardy’s Women: In Life and Literature assesses the influence of Hardy’s closest female friends and family on his life and his work and looks at how his response to them moulded his creative genius. Hardy, it would seem, fell in love easily. A glance or a word from a pretty woman would merit a poem. Letters and photos would follow. But neither of his marriages was truly happy. Perhaps the only women he was destined to love without qualification were the ones he would create—Tess, above all.

Peter Tait is a New Zealander who has lived in England for the past twenty years.

A long-time aficionado of Thomas Hardy, his interest was rekindled when he came to live in Dorset in 1998. He has written several books, the most recent being novels based on the lives of Thomas Hardy’s two wives, Emma (Emma: A Woman Betrayed) and Florence (Florence: Mistress of Max Gate) as well as contributing a preface to the autobiography of Littleton Powys. He has spent most of his life in education, as a teacher and headmaster and has written and spoken extensively on many educational issues in various magazines, websites, books and in the national press.

As an historian, Peter Tait has a keen interest in the history of Empire and of the Pacific, the subject of his next book, as well as environmental education as a trustee of Operation Future Hope which is dedicated to teaching children about ecology, re-wilding and climate change. He lives in Somerset with his wife Sarah, also a writer (Heart of Resistance, The Bookshop Dragon).

Planet Earth II concert rescheduled—it’s

BBC Studios and concert promoter FKP Scorpio UK have announced a further update to their previously rescheduled Planet Earth II Live In Concert arena tour of the UK & Ireland which had a local date scheduled in Bournemouth.

The original 2020 tour was previously postponed twice and rescheduled to March 2021 following government advice and the closure of venues across the UK, as part of the nationwide effort to combat the spread of coronavirus. Due to the continuing uncertainty regarding the unlocking of mass gatherings for arena events in the entertainment sector, it has been decided to reschedule the shows again to March 2022, a touring period which will provide greater optimism and safety for a return to normality. The Bournemouth show is now scheduled

a long wait

for March 19th 2022 and all previously purchased tickets will be valid.

These spectacular live concerts will be hosted by science and natural history TV presenter Liz Bonnin, with behind the scenes insights from Mike Gunton, the executive producer of the BAFTA and EMMY® awardwinning BBC television series.

Featuring breath taking specially-selected footage shown in 4K ultra high-definition on a gigantic LED screen, the City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Matthew Freeman, will perform the remarkable music by Oscar winner Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea & Jasha Klebe for Bleeding Fingers Music.

For further ticket information go to the website www. planetearth2live.uk

The Lit Fix

Marshwood

Vale based author,

FSophy Roberts, gives us her slim pickings for January

inally, a silver lining to this pandemic to bring in the New Year: a new bookshop has just opened in Beaminster. Little Toller Books, brainchild of the eponymous publisher, is a brilliant new addition to the local literary scene. This month’s slim pickings are some of my favourite pieces of nature writing—something Little Toller has championed in the publishing side of its business—and can all be bought from their new bookshop. I urge you to pay them a visit.

Horatio Clare’s Orison for a Curlew may be prose, but his elegiac lyricism makes the pages of this book read like poetry. Clare traces the migratory passage of the slenderbilled curlew across southern Europe and the Balkans, as he searches for this possibly-extinct bird. The narrative is darkened by many of the issues that plague modern conservation efforts—habitat destruction, hunting, pollution—but is lightened by exquisite descriptions of ‘dozy dolomitic scenery in ageing lemon sunlight’, clouds of black storks jumping like ‘an ambush of Hussars’ and philosophic musings from the people he meets.

Peregrine by J.A. Baker is over half a century old but remains as gut-grabbing now as when it was first published. An intense, exultant narrative, it follows Baker’s life-long obsession with peregrine falcons in Essex. His imagery is visceral prose: a dead wood pigeon ‘purple and grey like broccoli’, ‘clear black lunar shadows’ and a darkened ridge with ‘a bloom on it like the dust on the skin of a grape’. No less engaging is the author’s consciousness of his own species. ‘We are the killers. We stink of death’, writes Baker of human impact on the natural world. And yet ‘Nothing is as beautifully, richly red as flowing blood on snow. It is strange that the eye can love what the mind and body hate.’

Helen Macdonald’s hotly-anticipated Vesper Flights is a collection of essays. She takes us from the vanishing countryside to the vespers Macdonald chants as she tries to sleep, with one of the best pieces taking us to the very top of a tower block in New York City. This is an intimate portrayal of loss, personal connection to nature and musing on the destruction of our fellow species. The title—relating to evening devotional prayers ‘the last and the most solemn of the day’—was chosen, MacDonald writes, because it’s ‘the most beautiful phrase, an everfalling blue’. The tone of the narrative is set...

Elizabeth Tova Bailey’s The Sound of a Wild Snail

Eating is a quiet narrative that packs an outsized punch. Suffering from an undisclosed illness, Bailey finds solace in a wild snail, which she keeps in a terrarium by her sickbed. From observations on molluscan anatomy to the snail’s various daily habits, the author falls into the rhythm of its life and movements. The snail helps her find a greater understanding of her own place in the world—with survival sometimes dependent on something as ephemeral as noticing ‘the way the sun passes through the hard seemingly impenetrable glass of a window and warms the blanket.’ A wise, subtle book about living with chronic illness and how appreciation of the smallest details in the natural world can deepen our lives.

Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty was one of 2020’s publishing sensations. The narrative follows a year in 15-year-old McAnulty’s life after his family moved from one region of Northern Ireland to another. Written in diary-form, McNulty explores his connection to wildlife and the way he sees the world; about his dream of ‘enabling our own wildness’ because ‘We need to feel the earth, and hear birdsong. We need to use our senses to be in the world’. McAnulty was diagnosed with autism and Asperger’s as a child; this experience is closely bound with his writing and communion with the natural world.

Buy any of the books above at Archway Bookshop in Axminster in January and receive a 10% discount when you mention Marshwood Vale Magazine. archwaybookshop.co.uk.

Sophy Roberts is a freelance journalist who writes about travel and culture. She writes regularly for FT Weekend, among others. Her first book, The Lost Pianos of Siberia—one of The Sunday Times top five non-fiction books for summer 2020—was published in February by Doubleday.

JANUARY YOUNG LIT FIX

PICTURE BOOK REVIEW

I am Bat by Morag Hood

Two Hoots, RRP £6.99, Ages 2+

Reviewed by Antonia Squire

‘I am Bat. I do not like mornings. I like Cherries!’

And with that wonderful non sequitur begins the delightful adventure of Bat and his cherries (which he loves) and his other animal friends who may or may not be stealing them.

When someone loves cherries as much as Bat and someone else then takes them, it only follows that someone like Bat would be heartbroken by his loss. Is there anything that could possibly make him feel better?

With gloriously simple, yet vibrant illustrations this hilarious story of a Bat who knows his own mind, loves his cherries and hates to share is a perfect read aloud for very little ones (and one of my favourites to read to unsuspecting people coming into the shop). Genius!

MIDDLE GRADE REVIEW

The Highland Falcon Thief by M. G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman

Illustrated by Elisa Paganelli

Macmillan Children’s

Publishing, RRP £6.99, Ages 9+

Reviewed by Antonia Squire

Harrison Beck lives happily in Crewe with his Mum and Dad, but our tale begins at Kings Cross Station where Harrison is due to join his Uncle Nat on the trip of a lifetime. At least it would be if Harrison had any interest in trains. Or if he knew his uncle very well at all. But Harrison’s Mum is about to have a baby, and Harrison’s Dad is very worried about her so Uncle Nat volunteered to take his nephew on the trip until the baby is born.

And what a trip it’s to be! The last journey on the

historic Highland Falcon, a steam train that will travel around Britain, carrying the Prince and Princess as they wave this former Royal train farewell. That would be exciting enough, but there is a jewel thief aboard the train, and with wealthy passengers, as well as royalty, there are jewels to be thieved and Harrison, along with his new friend Lenny find themselves embroiled in both the mystery and the investigation.

A truly rollicking read for anyone who loved mysteries, adventure and of course—trains!

TEEN REVIEW

The Call by Peadar O’Guilin

David Fickling Books, RRP £7.99, Ages 14+

Reviewed

by Antonia

Squire

The island of Ireland has been cut off from the rest of the world by an impenetrable fog and the boundaries between the world of the Fey and the world of the humans have weakened dramatically. Now, beautiful, twisted and cruel, the Sídhe roam the land, taking young people back to their world for sport. From the age of 10, to the age of 18 these kids train for the day they too will be taken. For it will happen, and while they will all return, only one in ten return alive.

The school doesn’t even know why they are training Nessa. She can’t possibly survive, she can’t run, she can’t even walk without her leg braces and those will be left behind when she is taken. Along with the rest of her clothes.

But Nessa has other strengths, she knows how to make crutches, her arms are extremely strong and she is very, very smart. She is sure that she has as good a shot at survival as any of her classmates. Not that one in ten is a very good shot.

Fast paced, creepy as hell and brilliantly written this is a the first in a fantastic duology. We are all fans at The Bookshop.

10% off RRP exclusively for Marshwood Vale Magazine Readers at The Bookshop, Bridport.

Windrose DVDs remind us of times past and lives lived

A point comes in nearly everyone’s life where images of days gone by bring back memories of those that were once part of our lives, whether from recent generations or those beyond our own recall. Which is one of the reasons why the work of the Windrose Rural Media Trust is so valuable. Old films and audio from Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire are now available on DVD and can be purchased from the trust’s website. So as we enter another year, with no knowledge of what may lie ahead, there is something poignant yet comforting about looking back at those that helped build the world we now try to protect. Proceeds from the sale of this diverse collection of DVDs go to help the rural media charity continue its work of preserving old film and creating new footage to reflect how we live today. For more information about the titles available, go to https://windroseruralmedia.org/projects/shop.

Screen Time

with Nic Jeune

NETFLIX

The Minimalists: Less Is Now (2021)

“the thing that gets us past the things so we can make room for life’s most important things—which aren’t things at all”. This is creed the Minamalists live by. Interesting to watch this documentary film about living with less possessions after the season of giving things!

The Dig (2021)

John Preston’s novel reviewed as “a brilliantly realized account of the most famous archaeological dig in Britain in modern times”. Carey Mulligan, Lilly James and Ralph Fiennes star, set in East Anglia at the outbreak of the second world war. The discovery of Sutton Hoo may not sound like a subject for a film but this is a great cast and the adaptation is by Moira Buffini (Jayne Eyre, Tamara Drewe).

The White Tiger

From writer-director Ramin Bahrani, The White Tiger is an adaptation of The New York Times Bestseller & the 2008 Man Booker Prize Winning novel by Aravind Adiga. It stars one of India’s most successful film stars Priyanka Chopra.

“You believe your destiny is what was bred in you… till you find a way to break free. I’m so proud to be part of this project.” Priyanka Chopra.

AMAZON PRIME

Thelma and Louise (1991)

It may be 30 years old but it still is a fine road movie.

“Begins like an episode of I Love Lucy and ends with the impact of Easy Rider.” Peter Travers, Rolling Stone.

The Midwife ( 2017)

Catherine Frot plays opposite Catherine Deneuve, two greats of French cinema.

“two formidable actors attack their roles with the same gusto that Béatrice (Catherine Deneuve) deploys when faced with a nice bottle of Graves.” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian.

BRIDPORT

ARTS CENTRE 28TH JANUARY 2021

Summerland (2020)

“What a lovely, hopeful and rather magical movie this is.” Mark Kermode. The Guardian.

Not many opportunities to go to the cinema at the moment but this is a real gem. The first full length film by award winning writer director Jessica Swale whose play Nell Gwynn starring Gemma Arterton won The Olivier for best new comedy 2016. Mark Kermode’s review continues: “Summerland provides just the tonic we need in times of turmoil”.

I hope in January 2021 subject to Dorset’s Covid Tier ranking this cinema and many others will be open for audiences to enjoy a night out with the silver screen.

Ralph Fiennes in The Dig

Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in Thelma and Louise

Damien Hirst at Yeovil Hospital

YEOVIL Hospital Charity has been given two pieces of incredible art, which they hope will bring a bit of joy to patients visiting the hospital this winter.

A piece by Damien Hirst will be displayed in the main hospital foyer, next to an original print by local artist Charlotte England.

Both pieces have been created in response to the pandemic and both include positive images which the charity hopes will help to make patients and their loved ones smile during this difficult time.

The Damien Hirst piece is a rainbow he has created specifically to acknowledge the commitment of the NHS. Similar pieces have been sent to other hospitals and form part of the artist’s wider support for the NHS during the pandemic.

The Charlotte England work is an illustration featuring the slogan, “Please wash your hands”. The Somerset-based artist is selling prints of the work, with all profits going to Yeovil Hospital Charity. The prints make an ideal addition to any bathroom and are a friendly way to remind people of the importance of hand hygiene. Several have been sold to local companies, for them to display in their staff facilities.

Charlotte, who is based in Yeovil, Somerset said ‘I created this “please wash your hands piece” during the lockdown in March. I wanted to create a clear message but in a fun and more friendly way. I hope it will be displayed in bathrooms, cafes, schools, businesses and hospitals and will make people smile during what seems to be a time of uncertainty. I created the piece using watercolours and inks.’

James Kirton, Head of Fundraising at Yeovil Hospital Charity, said, ‘This is a fantastic project as the art itself will make people smile as they walk past or are waiting for an appointment, which is priceless when you think about everything that is currently going on in the world. It also gives people a great opportunity to make a difference for patients here at Yeovil Hospital, by buying a print and helping us to raise much-needed funds. The key message about washing your hands is also really important at the moment, so just by having it on display at home or at work, you are helping in the fight against the pandemic.’

Charlotte’s A5 prints cost £10 and can be purchased at www. charlottengland.com.

Damien Hirst’s Beautiful Butterflies at Yeovil Hospital

Some of the other memories of 2020

2020 will not go down as a year of great memories for most of us. However, The Marshwood Vale Magazine managed to produce even more issues than in a ‘normal’ year. In case you missed any of the articles here is a selection from the past year. They can all be viewed online, however, if you would like a PDF of any particular article in order to print and read it, please email us at info@ marshwoodvale.com and we will happily send you a copy. Happy New Year!

SITUATION WANTED

Responsible, compassionate, professional lady seeks part-time work in a companion/carer capacity including cooking, shopping, light gardening in Bridport area. Driver. Excellent references £15 per hour. Please call 07721 634651

LOGS

Logs split seasoned hardwood £115 truckload 07465 423133

CURTAINS

Little Curtains. Handmade Curtains, Blinds and Cushions. Contact 07443 516141 or 01308 485325 Apr 21

FOR SALE

Ikea Duvet single 10 tog, £6. Single cotton duvet cover, pillowcase grey stripes £4. All cleaned. 01308 422997. Beautifully Restored Victorian Cast Iron and Rosewood Curved Garden seat. Unique and very comfortable. £540. 07484 689302.

Rollator. Brand new, never used. ‘Days Breeze 4-wheel indoor rollator’ with storage bag and tray. Adjustable height. Cost £115, accept £50. Phone 01297 489504. Hotter Ladies’ Shake style shoes, brand new, lightweight Nubuck, size 5 1/2. Two pairs, one beige, one coral colour. Cost £69 new, £25 each. Phone 01297 489504.

Bicycle for Sale, 21 gears all round springing, blue and silver, good condition.

Vintage & antique textiles, linens, costume buttons etc. always sought by Caroline Bushell. Tel. 01404 45901. Apr 21

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. Oct 20

Dave buys all types of tools 01935 428975 Mar 21

RESTORATION

FURNITURE. Antique Restoration and Bespoke Furniture. Furniture large and small carefully restored and new commissions undertaken. City and Guilds qualified. Experienced local family firm. Phil Meadley 01297 560335 Mar 21

SURFACE PREPARATION

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

ELECTRICAL

FOR SALE

£60. Garrett Apex metal detector, as new, mint condition, with instructions, used twice, sale reason job loss looming. £400. No offers. 07594 687485.0 Trout & Salmon magazine. Several years of T&S - free to a good home! Contact: 07709922704 or email beaminster@icloud.com

Boss Katana 100 guitar amplifier. A very versatile amp in great condition. £180. Also GAFC foot controller £60 - or £230 for both items. 07709922704. beaminster@icloud.com. Antique traditional pine dresser with detachable open shelved top and base. Beautiful aged grained base top. Height 1740 width 870 depth 500 mm. Lovely condition £65. Can email photos. Tel: 01935 872217.

Graco first stage car seat only very occasional use in grandparents’ car excellent condition £10. Can email photos. Tel: 01935 872217.

Drysoon Electric clothes drier/ airer purchased from Lakeland for £125. For sale at £50ono. Buyer must collect from Sydling St Nicholas. 07778 90639. 01300 341339.

Large 00 model railway collection, estimated purchase value £1350. Phone for details. Serious offer considered. 01460 61005.

Electric bike 24V battery, 3-power settings, six Shimano gears, 20” wheels, folding model, unused, unfolded for viewing, box available, would make excellent Christmas present. £450. 01460 61005.

Man’s Ralph Lauren wool lined raincoat, size 40, lining removable, the genuine article purchased from Lord and Taylor Chicago, £50! Buyer collects from Sydling St Nicholas. 01300 341339. Mamas / Papas Lucia cot/ Junior bed, 400 mattress. £45. As new. Green Rayburn Royal OF7 oil with Back Boiler Offers. Buyer to collect. Wayford TA18 8QG. 01460 73614. Ian Whitehead wrought iron designs, include weather vanes to suite upcycled table lamps £40, wine racks £50, candelabra £25. Triple extending aluminium ladder app 30’ £95. 01460 64607.

CHIMNEY SWEEP

To

FREE ADS for items under £1,000

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 the text to info@marshwoodvale.com. Unfortunately due to space constraints there is no guarantee of insertion of free advertising. We reserve the right to withhold advertisements. For guaranteed classified advertising please use ‘Classified Ads’ form

Name ............................................................. Telephone number .................................

Monthly Quiz

– 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 Ryall. The winner was Mrs Bell from Tisbury.

Dorset LEP appoints new Chair

CECILIA Bufton, has been announced as the new Chair of the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership Board—a business led private and public sector partnership, promoting local economic growth and prosperity.

Cecilia brings a wealth of private sector experience to the Board having worked for a range of businesses including multinationals and SMEs. She has enjoyed a successful 30-year career, in senior roles with responsibility for the strategic direction and financial performance of businesses in the UK and globally.

Cecilia’s main focus has been in strategic business development in the health and care sectors, most recently involved in developing innovative, digital technology enabled products and services that help change the way healthcare is delivered.

With her expertise, and an MBA in international strategic marketing, Cecilia is well placed to drive forward Dorset LEP’s ambition to put Dorset on the map to secure investment from the government and the private sector.

On her appointment, Cecilia shared: “I am delighted to be taking on the role of Chair at Dorset LEP. The impact of Dorset LEP’s investments, COVID-19 recovery initiatives, business engagement and careers education activities are being felt across the region and I look forward to representing businesses, using my expertise and experience to help drive forward this work.”

“I take on the role of Chair as we face some of the biggest challenges in business, in education and in our communities. Dorset LEP already has an excellent reputation for collaborative working and I accept the mantle with confidence that Dorset LEP and our partners really can make a difference for Dorset’s people, and as a place.”

For more information visit https://www.dorsetlep.co.uk/