Marshwood+ May 2020 Mid-Month Special Issue
The best from West Dorset, South Somerset and East Devon
No. 254 - 2 May 2020
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UP FRONT This Mid-Month Special Issue is a great opportunity for me to look back on some of the fascinating stories that we have published over the years. And it’s fair to say that looking back is something many of us have been doing during the last few weeks—especially as we wonder what the future will bring. But we are a resilient, inventive and entrepreneurial race, so whatever lies ahead, it will certainly be interesting. And for many, it may well be informed by lessons from the past. There is little doubt that slowing down might suit a lot of people. Reading Peter Thomas’s story about his life in farming paints a picture of farming life and how so much has changed. He had to retire aged 61 when his legs and knees made it too difficult to work the land, so it’s a joy to see how the countryside stayed with him when he developed a new career turning wood. And it’s such a pleasure reading Kay Townsend’s story, so full of memories of days gone by. It conjures up the colours and sounds of the fairs and other gatherings that so delighted people in the past; people who loved to come together to celebrate their interests and achievements. Kay remembers how when she first went to school she cried because she had stepped into someone else’s world. She had grown up in a caravan and the fairground was her world; the rides, the sounds, the travelling, that was normal life to her. I’m sure that colour and those gatherings will return in years to come and we can all look forward to celebrating and shaking hands in friendship again. But in the meantime, there is so much to take from the past. Fergus Byrne
Published Monthly and distributed by Marshwood Vale Ltd Lower Atrim, Bridport Dorset DT6 5PX For all Enquiries Tel: 01308 423031 info@marshwoodvale. com
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THIS MONTH Building a New Future
The world we knew is changing and many of us will be trying to build new lives in the months and years after coronavirus. We’d love to hear from you about what is happening in your community along with who and what we could be featuring. We’d also like to know what you’d like to see in your community magazine and hear your ideas. Email us at: info@marshwoodvale.com. 6 12 18 24 28 30 32 34 36
Merrily Harpur By Robin Mills Peter Thomas By Julia Mear / Robin Mills Kay Townsend By Robin Mills Peter Gostelow By Robin Mills Local Events Update Partners for Progress By Charlie Portlock News & Views Vegetable Tips from Kew Gardens By Helena Dove Property Round Up By Helen Fisher
38 38 38
Food & Dining Spider Crabs By Nick Fisher Slow-cooked Chicken with a Crisp Corn Crust by Yotam Ottolenghi
40 Arts & Entertainment 40 Art Weeks 41 Health & Beauty 42 Services & Classified “You can only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” Like us on Facebook
Instagram marshwoodvalemagazine
Contributors James Crowden Helena Dove Helen Fisher Nick Fisher Richard Gahagan
Julia Mear Robin Mills Yotam Ottolenghi Charlie Portlock
Twitter @marshwoodvale
The views expressed in The Marshwood Vale Magazine and People Magazines are not necessarily those of the editorial team. Unless otherwise stated, Copyright of the entire magazine contents is strictly reserved on behalf of the Marshwood Vale Magazine and the authors. Disclaimer: Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of dates, event information and advertisements, events may be cancelled or event dates may be subject to alteration. Neither Marshwood Vale Ltd nor People Magazines Ltd can accept any responsibility for the accuracy of any information or claims made by advertisers included within this publication. NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS Trades descriptions act 1968. It is a criminal offence for anyone in the course of a trade or business to falsely describe goods they are offering. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. The legislation requires that items offered for sale by private vendors must be ‘as described’. Failure to observe this requirement may allow the purchaser to sue for damages. Road Traffic Act. It is a criminal offence for anyone to sell a motor vehicle for use on the highway which is unroadworthy.
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A Look back at some of the people we have featured in the Marshwood Vale Magazine
‘M
y upbringing was in Surrey, although I was born in Buckinghamshire. All the while I lived in Surrey, I was wishing I lived in Dorset, and it’s taken me this long to get here. My father was youngest son of a rector of the Church of Ireland, from County Laois in the Republic of Ireland. He came to England after his education, and was working in newspapers when he met my mother. She was from a Scottish/ English family who had been living in France, so they both had a slightly foreign take on England, and although they were very English in their attitudes they perhaps considered themselves a bit foreign. I think that might have rubbed off on us, especially as my mother, who was a witty person, found the English very funny. I have three brothers and they are all very droll in different ways—tremendous company. I went to boarding school, Headington School, in Oxford. Oxford’s an interesting place to be at school; there are undergraduates everywhere which is just the job if you’re a certain age. I didn’t know whether to go to Art School, or to university to read English which was the other great interest of my life. In the end I chose the latter, because I thought I’d never get round to reading Anglo-Saxon unless I was forced to. I went to Trinity College, Dublin, got a degree in English, and set about trying to live by my wits. I had made a vow to myself, which was that I would never have to set my alarm to make myself get out of bed, ever again, and I don’t think I ever have. It comes from a horror of having to be constrained by anyone else’s timetable, but if I give the impression of being slothful and unreliable I’m certainly not: I get up at 5.30am every morning, and I think that’s because I don’t have an alarm—I get up just dying to start the day.
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So I’ve always been self employed; I started off as an apprentice picture restorer, living in a farmhouse in Herefordshire with various artists and craftspeople. About that time I began to get into cartoons. I’ve always had a feeling I could draw cartoons, even at school, and that I could make them funnier than the ones I saw in newspapers. Then I got an agent, and that made a huge difference. They force you to produce a huge amount of work, very quickly, on typing paper, and none of these beautifully crafted images I used to do sitting at a table. And then I suppose my little vow of never having to undergo formal constraints rather went out of the window, because I had to reel off all these cartoons, rather like having to do an exam every day. If you’re working for a newspaper you have to produce a cartoon by say 2.00pm on Friday or else forget it, and you have to produce four or five different ones because the editor chooses the one he thinks is funniest, and you’ve maybe only started that morning. Luckily I’m quite good at exams. Getting into cartoons was actually brilliant, especially as it was during the 1980s which was the absolute heyday for cartoons. Most of the magazines had cartoons, and I had a double page spread to myself in Punch every week, when Alan Coren was editor. I was lucky enough to surf that wave in the 1980s, coinciding with the success of Steadman, Trog, McLachlan, John Glashan and Michael Heath, wonderful cartoonists, when having great cartoons in a magazine seemed to be the coolest thing. Anyway, I moved to London and became—what seemed to me then—rich and famous. My work was based on social satire, and I worked for the broadsheet papers, mostly the Guardian and the Sunday Telegraph. Mac’s cartoon was on the front of the Sunday Telegraph, and I was on the back, quite annoying really, but he is the best pocket cartoonist. I’ve had several strip
Merrily Harpur
Photograph Robin Mills
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cartoons running in newspapers, and they’ve always been on the same subject, which is about London people who move to the country. The idea was to satirise both the London people and the country, so I had a lot of fun at the expense of people who live in “Ye Olde Pigsty”, etc. These days there’s a bit of a dearth of good satire, especially political. At about this time I learned to fish, thanks to a keen salmon-fishing boyfriend. We used to go to Scotland two or three times a year, but these days I love trout fishing—it’s more skilful—and I’ve been a member of the Dorchester Fishing Club for 12 years. It’s a life support system for me, and it’s what I do in the summer when I’m not painting. I then found I was actually in a position to sell my flat in London, pay off the mortgage, and buy a house in Ireland. So I moved to South West Cork, the Mizen Peninsula, my idea of heaven because of its remoteness and beauty. I could do that because the fax machine had been invented, and that meant I could still produce the work, while enjoying the blissful freedom of living where I liked. Later of course came email, which was even better. Originally I would drive to
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the offices of the paper in Fleet Street and put the cartoon on the editor’s desk, so I was one of the first people to have a fax machine, even before the Guardian had one. South West Cork contained quite a lot of English, Germans, and Dutch people, and after a while I thought I’d prefer a more undiscovered part—the Ireland I remembered from family holidays when I was a child. So I bought a sort of hovel in County Roscommon, in the middle of Ireland, the nearest town being Strokestown which is a delightful backwater. That was marvellous, and I got to know all my neighbours who said I was the first “blowin” they’d had living there. The local postman was a chap called Pat Compton, who said what we really need is a festival. So we cooked up the idea of Strokestown International Poetry Festival, and I was the first director, a kind of founding mother. And I run it to this day. It’s tremendous fun, and keeps me in touch with Ireland. In the early 1980s I became very intrigued with the idea that there were big cats roaming the countryside, and started to do research. Perhaps the seeds of my interest were sown by what was known as
“The Surrey Puma” which provoked many fruitless police hunts there when I was a child in the 1960s. It’s a very puzzling idea, and one of those that becomes more puzzling the more you know about it. Dorset’s a bit of a hot spot for big cats, although sightings have been recorded in every county. In my earliest research I tried going out looking for them, but quickly cottoned on to how hopeless that was; you are more likely to come across one completely by chance. In fact I’ve written two books on the subject, and could for all I know be a world authority, but the fact remains I’ve never actually seen one. There are many mysteries—you never find one dead beside the road, 85% of them are black, there are no spotted ones; all these anomalies, and yet the sightings are by completely reliable people like farmers and gamekeepers who know very well what they’re looking at. I thought the first book would take me 6 months to write, but there was so much to get my head round, it actually took 6 years. And my head’s still not round it. I do talks on big cat sightings, and I also do talks on hunting; the anthropological and philosophical aspects
of it, its history and mystery. After my mother died my brother and I moved to Dorset. She had been living in Wiltshire, so I’d got to know Dorset a bit more through visiting her. West Dorset’s really an earthly paradise, and no one who lives here, myself more than most, ever stops congratulating themselves on living here, rather smugly. About 4 years ago I sold my place in Cork and bought my cottage here in this wonderful village. I’m still doing one cartoon a week for the London Evening Standard, which is a very welcome bit of regular income, but for the last two or three years I’ve been painting full-time, every day. In fact if there’s a day when I can’t paint I feel quite uneasy. And it’s been brilliant because the work has sold well—about 90% sold in my first Dorset Art Weeks—which has spurred me on even more. I’ve had a lot of help from the other artists here in the village. We sometimes call ourselves, rather cheekily, ‘Tate Cattistock’.
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New life at Abbotsbury
L
ooking for something to brighten up your day? The very first cygnets of 2020 have arrived at Abbotsbury Swannery! The sight of the tiny bundles of fluff hatching in Abbotsbury Swannery’s nest Number Four is guaranteed to raise the spirits—not least because the first cygnets herald the start of summer. This year’s nesting season at The Swannery has been like no other. Normally the mute swan couples are used to bringing their families into the world under the curious gaze of thousands of visitors, keen to walk among the huge nests on the edge of the Fleet lagoon. But since lockdown, and the closure of the Swannery to the public, things have been a lot quieter. But as far as the swans are concerned, it is very much business as usual and there are more than 100 nests, with around half a dozen eggs in each, which means that hundreds of cygnets will
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be hatching over the next couple of months. Swanherd Steve Groves said: “It’s always a wonderful thing to see the first cygnets arrive, and this year, three nests have all started hatching today, with so many more to come. “For us, it has been a very unusual time in that we are usually full of visitors at this time of year and it’s disappointing that people can’t be here to see the baby birds emerge. “But as far as the swans are concerned, they are in their safe place, with plenty to eat—and life for them goes on as normal!” In more normal times, The Swannery is the only place in the world where visitors can walk through a colony of mute swans, see cygnets hatching and learning to swim and participate in mass feedings twice a day. The swans lay their eggs at two day intervals and hatching takes place 35 days after the final egg of the clutch has been laid. The Swanherd and staff feed the adult swans three times a day on wheat grains while the cygnets are fed three times daily on chick crumb, a crushed pellet full of protein, and grass cuttings. Their parents also find natural foods for their cygnets such as algae, water-weeds and grubs. For more visit www.abbotsburyswannery.co.uk
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A Look back at some of the people we have featured in the Marshwood Vale Magazine
‘I
’m a Wiltshire moonraker: born between Calne and Marlborough on the Wiltshire downs, and I grew up in a small village very much like Rampisham is today. Father was one of thirteen children: every one of his brothers and sisters farmed except him. So, sadly I was unable to inherit a farm, but there’s no doubt farming is in my genes. From a very early age I spent all my time on my uncle’s farm, and I can remember that all I ever wanted to do was farm. I think I soon realised that peer pressure and job competition meant that I should get as good an education as possible, so I finished up going to Wye College and got a degree in agriculture. I’m not sure it did me a lot of good. I didn’t have the capital to farm on my own account, so I went into farm management. The first couple of jobs I went for, I never even mentioned the degree as it would probably have been seen as a hindrance. In those days in farming, education meant you probably weren’t much good at the practical stuff. I’ve had the beard since then: people reckoned I was too young for the job, so I grew a beard, stuck ten years on my age and got the first job I went for. That was in about 1958. That farm was in Gloucestershire, near Stow on the Wold. We were there in 1963, all through the hard winter. We had our first child then, Wendy, and couldn’t get off the farm for eight weeks, snowed in. The dairy had just gone over from churns to bulk milk then, and obviously you couldn’t get milk out what with the 20ft snow drifts. So we got some churns dropped by helicopter, filled them from our new bulk tank and then I’d dig my way to Stow on the Wold, 5 miles away, to unload the milk, and often have to dig my way home again. That took all day, on a Fordson Major, no cab: in those days you didn’t know any different. The snow that year was still lying in the
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quarries up on the hills when we were haymaking in June. I worked in Warwickshire, and in Dorset, then it was back to Gloucestershire, where we were during the two drought years of 1975 and 1976. That farm went from 400 acres when I started, to 4000 acres during the next 18 months. They had land in Scotland, in Dumfries and Galloway, and I used to drive up there once a month to look after it. If the locals chose to lay on the Scots accent a bit thick, I couldn’t make out a word of it. In ’76 we finished combining in the middle of July: the crop had just died. We tried to make second cut silage, mowing grass in the morning then baling it as hay in the afternoon. My last job came about in 1985, when I saw it advertised in the Farmer’s Weekly, managing a farm back in Dorset, and we’ve been here ever since. I’ve had to change jobs in the past quite a lot: you have to, to make any progress up the farming ladder. The main attraction to the job here was the opportunity to run our own enterprise, in this case sheep. My son Simon left college to come and run the sheep flock, and a year later my daughter Wendy and her husband joined us, so we were running it as a family business. Simon later fell in love with Australia, backpacking there in 1991, and then emigrated there with an Australian girl he’d met on our neighbour’s farm. Wendy and her husband now have a National Trust farm down in Devon. That was all about the time when things in farming were starting to get a bit sticky. We went from lambing 1200 ewes, a dairy herd, and 400 acres of arable, to just me on my own buying in ewe lambs and selling them a year later as two-tooths, with the arable land put out to contract. By then we’d fallen in love with the area, especially Rampisham. Here, nothing changes, and that’s by virtue of
Peter Thomas
Photograph Robin Mills
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the fact it’s an estate owned village. What we all value and love remains the same. So, I retired early. I was 61, the children had left, my legs weren’t too good and I needed a knee operation, and to be quite honest, I was disillusioned with farming. When I started, I never thought for one moment I’d be saying that. But everything coming from government seemed anti-rural, and to me the fun had gone out of the farming life. I’d always liked woodwork, and if a tree blew down on the farm we always kept the trunk rather than cut it up for fire wood. I started making little coffee tables and suchlike, but it never quite filled the gap. One day I saw a secondhand lathe advertised, so I bought it without seeing it. There was no point in going to look at it: never having seen a lathe working, I wouldn’t have known what I was looking at. I got it home, set it up, and spent the next few weeks really just making a mess of pieces of wood and tools. But I became absolutely hooked. And that’s how it all started: I never had any lessons, just learned by my mistakes I suppose. I built bigger lathes: the one I’ve got now will take blanks up to about 7cwt, but I had to buy an engine hoist to lift them into place! When we moved up here, I built the shed, deliberately quite small. I thought it might stay tidier that way, but that didn’t work. At first I was just making stuff to give to friends and family, and was really amazed when I took work to village shows to find people would buy it. At one stage we were doing about 30 shows a year. I insist on selling locally, though of course it goes all over the place afterwards. Nowadays I always do Dorset Art Weeks, and maybe 6 shows a year. I’ve got a tiny gallery here at home, and people come to me. I’ll probably
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spend 6 or 7 hours a day in here, turning wood, I just love it. All my wood is sourced locally, off the estate or farms nearby. There’s no need to travel far or import exotic timber, it’s all around us. When I started doing the shows, I was shocked at people’s ignorance of the countryside. Then the Dorset Coppice Group was formed, and I joined because I thought I could help educate the public about our woodland heritage, and about the fact that of all the imported rainforest timbers, none was more attractive than our own indigenous wood. Most of what I use would normally finish up as firewood, or rot, and we have all this wonderful resource in our woods and hedgerows not appreciated. So, as much as anything now I’m on a bit of a crusade, to try and make people aware of this. I’d never dream of cutting down a healthy living tree. Last year I was given 5 walnut trees that blew down: that’s a huge amount of timber. I’ve been at shows where people looking at my work don’t even know it’s made of wood: or, that the oak, beech or whatever species it’s made of, comes from here. I find that quite sad: also that nowadays it’s so rare for people to make things with their hands. When they do, and I teach people occasionally, they love it, and it can be very therapeutic. All this mass-produced stuff, there’s no life or soul to it: if what I do helps spread the word about the countryside a bit, I’m happy.
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David Hall launches Crowdfunding Appeal THE David Hall at South Petherton, one of the region’s finest live music venues, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help it through the Covid-19 lockdown crisis. In common with arts and entertainment venues across the UK, the David Hall is closed and it is not clear when it will be able to re-open. The crowdfunding appeal aims to raise £10,000 to help with interim costs. Cliff Keating, chairman of Petherton Arts Trust (PAT), which owns and runs the David Hall, says that the venue is not supported by Arts Council England, or any other funding body: “Under normal circumstances, income for the David Hall comes from ticket sales and regular fundraising events such as monthly coffee mornings. “As all events have had to be cancelled till July—with the probability that this will have to be extended—the venue is currently receiving none of its usual income. Funding through donations and grants is therefore the only way we can survive. “PAT was extremely grateful to receive £10,000
from South Somerset District Council, which was provided to pay for essential overheads during the lockdown. This has proved to be an absolute lifeline as our limited reserves would not have seen us through this unprecedented situation.” The crowdfunding page can be found at https:// www.crowdfunder.co.uk/big-funds-for-the-davidhall Petherton Arts Trust has also teamed up with the Music Venues Alliance, which supports grassroots music venues throughout the UK. This means that the David Hall’s fundraising campaign has gone national via www.saveourvenues.co.uk Mr Keating says: “Given that the financial status of the David Hall has become a huge concern, we sincerely hope that our regular patrons and audience members will continue to support us by making donations. Meanwhile, members of the board of PAT are staying positive and looking forward to the day when we shall be able to re-open the doors of The David Hall and continue our usual programme of music, theatre and film events.”
Julia’s House launches Gameathon Fundraiser
A
re you up for a virtual gaming challenge? The first ever Julia’s House Gameathon puts your gamer skills to good use while raising vital funds for the Dorset and Wiltshire children’s hospice charity. Gamers from Dorset, Wiltshire and across the UK will be joining forces over the May Bank Holiday weekend (23-24 May) to help fundraise for the families of local children with life-limiting and lifethreatening conditions. Being a game changer for these families couldn’t be easier—simply set the duration of your gaming marathon (anything from 1-24 hours), create a JustGiving fundraising page, share details of your challenge with friends and family, and play your favourite games while you fundraise! Live stream as you play so people can donate in real-time, wear a crazy costume, get friends to suggest additional challenges to help you reach your fundraising milestones—the choice is yours! You can play solo, in a squad or tag-team, using a console of your choice. “Lots of the children we support are keen gamers,
enjoying the freedom to compete and spend time with friends, especially while they’re in isolation. I’ve enjoyed competing with them too!” says Julia’s House senior carer, Ashley Dickinson, who has been gaming with the children he supports during lockdown. “They’ve been our inspiration for this challenge and we hope lots of them are going to get involved! The families are always so pleased to see us when we visit and call. It’s great for us to know that we’re really helping them at such a difficult time.” Julia’s House is adapting its care on a day-today basis so that it can continue to support the most vulnerable children and families during the coronavirus crisis. The charity’s nurses and carers are still visiting family homes wearing PPE to provide care, reassurance and advice to anxious parents. Crucially, their support is easing the burden on an overstretched NHS by enabling these children to stay at home. For more information and downloadable Gameathon resources to help with your challenge visit juliashouse.org/JHGameathon
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A Look back at some of the people we have featured in the Marshwood Vale Magazine
‘I
f I say to local people my name’s Townsend, they often say, ‘What, the Fair people from Chickerell?’ Which is true, that’s who I am. My family’s been here in Putton Lane since 1933. When my Granny bought the land it was a turnip field in winter, and of course it was very, very muddy; we had heavy traction engines to put in the field, so we bought cartloads of ‘bats’, which are reject bricks, from the local brickworks and made a road right down through the field. That was the beginning of our showman’s yard. We had traction engines for many years, with dynamos powering the rides and lights. We bought two which came from the Portland stone quarries. My Uncle Tom paid £25 for the pair, and we converted one into a showman’s engine, with the canopy, and all the brass work. This one was originally called Nellie, after a servant girl who worked at Portland Castle. My uncle christened her ‘Queen Mary’, by breaking a bottle of milk stout over the wheel. She’s owned by a family called Cook now, and still goes to the Great Dorset Steam Fair every year. My family have been showmen since 1876. My great granddad lost his job, driving the mail coach between Radstock and Bath. He had nine mouths to feed, so he bought a small children’s roundabout, which packed away into a cart, and was pulled by a horse. When it was open, the horse was led around, thus turning the roundabout to give the children their ride, and that little ride was the start of show business for us. My grandparents’ last child born was my Dad, and he was one of triplets, born in Commercial Road in Weymouth, in a showman’s living wagon parked by the water’s edge. Sadly the other two babies didn’t survive. My parents, Joe and Esme Townsend, raised me, an only child, in the old-
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fashioned way; never lie, never swear, work hard, and show respect. I have never met anyone who didn’t like my father. He always wore a trilby hat; he had a kind heart, and worked hard all his life. They met when Townsend’s fair was open at Milborne Port; she came to the fair, had a ride on the swinging boats, and her dress blew up in the breeze. Dad caught sight of her legs, and that was it. In the early days, education wasn’t seen as particularly important in showland. My Dad did go to school in School Street in Weymouth for a while, so he could read the paper every day, but through dictating he got someone else to write his love letters to my Mum when they were courting. My earliest memory as a child was of Uncle Dick and Uncle Pat painting the rides in our big paint shed, ready for the summer season. We were open from April to November, travelling all over Dorset, Somerset, and a bit of Wiltshire. So really I only had half the schooling of other children, as we were on the road all that time. I can remember my first day at Chickerell School, when I cried, because I’d stepped into everybody else’s world, and in my life I’d only experienced our world. I felt very alone. Every year after Portland Fair, which was always the last fair of the season, my Mum made sure I went back to school. She was determined I should read and write, but even now my spelling and punctuation’s far from perfect. People often say to me ‘I suppose you’ve had a colourful and exciting life’. Not really, because the fairground was my world; the rides, the sounds, the travelling, it was normal life to me. I was brought up in a caravan; then when I was nine, we had our bungalow built here in Putton Lane. Like many show children, as a little girl people called me gypsy, because my family were show people. I’d say ‘no I’m not’, but now
Kay Townsend
Photograph Robin Mills
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I’m older I can explain to people what the differences are between us and gypsies. Growing up most of the time on the road, early in the season there weren’t that many other children to play with, not until the later part of the season when other showmen and their families would join us at the fairs; then I’d see more of my friends. My school reports would always say the same: ‘Kay does her best’, so it’s true my education was limited, and it was hard catching up with the other children. But I’ve never let it hold me back, to the extent that I’ve now published four books about the showman’s life and history— with considerable help from spell-check and proof readers! Three of my books were printed by Creeds of Broadoak, near Bridport, who were exceptionally helpful to me as an ‘amateur’ writer. Our season’s work included charter fairs,
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which were always on a fixed date, for example Wool Fair which was always the second weekend of May, then Beaminster Fair. Other fairs and carnivals, we would apply to the local committee for permission to bring our fair along, so the season’s dates were always planned in advance. We would also do private events, where we would rent a field from a farmer for a week outside a town to hold a fair. We did this at Swanage, usually for two weeks. When we were on the road, we had three rides; we had Dodgems, an Octopus, and a Noah’s Ark ride. Since 1918, we have had swinging boats and roundabouts on Weymouth beach, and we still have family connections with today’s operation there. I stopped the travelling a few years ago now: something just clicked and I thought I’d had enough of it, although once a showman always a showman. It’s in my blood, and I still feel
more at home in my caravan than I do in any house. Nowadays I run a shooting stall which I take to shows, right down to Cornwall sometimes. The operating costs now for the travelling fair are phenomenal, with fuel, labour, and capital outlay on the rides, plus the insurance and testing of the equipment for safety. Then during the winter maintaining and painting the equipment for the season all adds up, and makes the rides quite expensive. We also have to compete with theme parks, where you pay a fixed entry, then all the rides are free. If I’d been asked say four years ago whether I thought the showman’s way of life would continue, I’d probably have said not for much longer. But I’ve changed my mind now; people are adapting to change, and although many families have left the business, there’s a few people who are
determined to keep it going. It’s a struggle, but they’re supported by the Showmen’s Guild which is always there behind them. The atmosphere at the fairs has changed a lot, so that it’s noisier and glossier now; but thankfully there are still people keeping the old traditions and styles going. I actually launched my last book standing in front of our old engine ‘Queen Mary’, and that was a very special moment for me. Writing about my family’s way of life and the history of showmen has been very important to me, and it’s good to preserve and pass on the stories. I wouldn’t change my upbringing for anything, because who I was yesterday makes me who I am today.
’
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Barn owl hatching on DWT webcam
O
n May 5th the first of five barn owl chicks hatched live on the Dorset Wildlife Trust (DWT) webcam. The remaining four eggs are expected to hatch any day now and over the bank holiday weekend. The parents, affectionately known as ‘Mr and Mrs B’ by the dedicated followers of the webcam, have been roosting in the box on DWT’s Lorton Meadows Nature Reserve since winter 2019. Following the outbreak of Covid-19 many people have taken great pleasure in being able to get a rare insight into the natural world on DWT’s webcam from the comfort and safety of their home. Amy Ryder from Norfolk has been following the barn owls on the webcam and was pleased to see the arrival Parents and first barn owl chick © DWT
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Adult female barn owl at Lorton Meadows © Paul Williams
of the chick. She said, “I’ve been watching these beautiful owls preparing their nest box for the arrival of 5 owlets to hatch. Today the first owlet arrived, and I haven’t been able to stop watching the webcam. As we are all going through these challenging times it’s a beautiful thing to watch and witness the new owls coming into the world”. To watch the webcam, tune in now at: www. dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlifewebcam.
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A Look back at some of the people we have featured in the Marshwood Vale Magazine
‘I
suppose when I was younger, travelling was always exciting: our family holidays often involved sailing, which could be pretty adventurous. After University I travelled alone in Africa for 8 months, using public transport. I loved it, but sometimes there was a sense of missing out on rich experiences by sitting in buses and trains as the countryside passed by. So I returned to the UK, but I knew now I wanted to travel more. I trained as a TEFL teacher, and during this process the idea came to me of making a “big trip”, and doing it on a bicycle. Eventually I was offered a job teaching English in a Japanese school. During one of my holidays, to the complete bewilderment of my Japanese employers, I cycled round an island close to the school, about 1000 miles in 3 weeks. I found that an amazing experience, one which really confirmed that my idea might work, but the notion of actually cycling all the way to the UK was so crazy that I kept it pretty much to myself. Nobody likes to announce something like that, and then not do it. On the face of it, planning such an expedition is impossible. I had maps plastered all over the walls of my room, and read a couple of inspiring travelogues, by German traveller Heinz Stucke, and the late Ian Hibble, an Englishman who was well-known in the cycling world. Stucke describes the simplicity of bicycle travel and how it allows the traveller to fully experience the richness of cultures and communities. Getting visas for the countries I wanted to cross was only possible to a limited extent: I’d no idea how long it was going to take to get from a to b, so dates of entry and departure were a complete unknown. Some countries, used to western tourists, are easy: some, especially Iran and former Soviet states, need months of planning. I
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realised I couldn’t really make a specific planned route, with little idea of what to expect, but at a guess I thought it might last a year and a half. The equipment I took had been carefully researched, and as a keen photographer, a digital SLR camera was a vital part of it. Leaving Japan on August 1st 2005, my first stop was South Korea, then by ferry to Eastern China. Although the most direct route from there would have been to head west across Central China, by November the weather would have been bitterly cold all the way, so I turned south and made for Southeast Asia. From then on, the weather became an important factor in deciding the route: cycling in cold or wet weather is really hard, as is camping out at night. However, I chose destinations for all sorts of reasons, but often simply because of striking landscapes, like Tibet, Western China, Pakistan: the photography motivated me, and when actually cycling I would be looking at the scenery as if through a lens. On a bike, the slow pace allowed me to see images and sometimes to go back and take the shot. Arriving in towns, I’d spend a day or more walking round, taking photos. From my maps I’d choose the smallest roads, hoping that the people who lived in the remoter places along those roads would be more excited to see a westerner on a bike, making the experience for me more interesting: fewer tourists, and more photo opportunities. Of course, despite the freedom of cycling, it’s often very limiting. Many amazing places were just too far away to get to in the time available. Sometimes I thought it would have been better on foot, especially for photography, and sometimes I wished I’d had a motorbike. In some countries, like Thailand, where I’d been before on holiday, I never felt very far out of my comfort zone: in most places
Peter Gostelow
Photograph Robin Mills
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English was spoken, but in other places I could go days and weeks without hearing my own language. I had a Chinese phrase book, so that in remote China I could find food, directions and accommodation, but it was simple communication. I had lots of energy early in the trip, and I didn’t feel too isolated, just excited by the adventure. There was something about the nature of the trip which meant that the longer I went without something, the more I appreciated it when I got it – like company with other westerners, good food, or a hot shower. It did get harder for me though as the trip went on. It’s true to say, generally, that the places with the fewest tourists are the friendliest. In Muslim countries, like Pakistan, hospitality is part of the religion. Being invited to people’s homes for food, or to stay in their house, almost made me feel a bit trapped, but I always felt incredibly indebted to them for their generosity. I can’t remember ever feeling really in danger: or if I did it was due to my misreading a situation, or some kind of prejudice lurking in my mind. Back home in the UK, with hindsight, I wonder how I actually coped with some situations, but at the time I just did. I also think back on places like Tibet, in the Himalayas, incredibly remote, where if something had happened to me there was no one to help for miles and miles. I rarely ever knew in advance where I was going to stay at night: it became a routine to just deal with situations as they arose. The trip showed me how we’ve become so security dependant in our world these days. I headed south into India, to Delhi. My Mum flew out to meet me, and we took a trip by train to the southern tip of India. It was great to have a few weeks break from cycling. When she went home, I cycled back to Delhi, finding the diversity of culture, religion, language, and the intensity of the experience almost overwhelming. In northern India the temperature was rising, so it was time to head back into the cooler mountains – north through Pakistan towards western China. This route followed
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the famous Karakoram Highway, where my neck was often craning to look up at 7000m high peaks. From China, my route led across central Asia, through the former Soviet states of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, whose cultures are both Muslim and Russian influenced. With a little trepidation I was now heading into Iran. I’d avoided the heat of the Iranian summer, but my direct route home from there would have meant a European winter, so I headed south, and extended my trip through the Middle East and North Africa for several more months. I crossed back to Europe by ferry from Tunisia to Sicily, and cycled through Italy, Germany, Switzerland and France in the spring and early summer. The homecoming in England was going to be strange. While I’d been away, my Mum had moved to Godmanstone, in Dorset: it was a home I didn’t know. But that last day, in July 2008, almost 3 years after I left Japan, I cycled from Gillingham thorough wonderful scenery, past fields misty in the early morning sun. There was a sign in Godmanstone which, though my tear-filled eyes, I read as “Pete”, and I thought this must be it: it actually said “Fete”. There was of course a huge family welcome for me round the corner. People often ask if the trip has changed me: fundamentally I’m the same person as when I set out, but I do think I’m more open-minded. I accept things for what they are now, having had all these experiences. Over the coming months I’m interested in giving talks/slideshows to schools, clubs and organisations about the trip, as well as planning my next adventure.
’
House&Garden
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LOCAL EVENTS
FOLLOWING Government advice, gatherings are still cancelled. The following notices from just a few of the local groups whose events have been promoted within these pages over many years, confirm positions taken by these organisations. We will keep you up to date on any other information in future issues.
Abbotsbury Open Gardens The Trustees of the Friends of St Nicholas Church, Abbotsbury have decided, very reluctantly, that it will not be possible to stage this popular event, due to the continuing uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic. Hopefully, the event will return, bigger and better, in 2021. Salway Ash Cream Teas Salway Ash cream teas for Sunday 17th May has been regrettably cancelled. Thelma Hulbert Gallery THG is currently closed to the public, but they are very much working behind the scenes preparing to relaunch their Culture + Climate programme with the support of TATE and National Galleries of Scotland in August. Where possible they have been moving elements of their programme into the digital realm, starting with ‘Nature Shorts’, a series of online workshops / films from artists they have been working with this year. They are available on the gallery’s social media channels Instagram: thelmahulbertgallery Facebook: ThelmaHulbertGallery Youtube: search for Thelma Hulbert Gallery. The THG team is enjoying planning the future programme 2020/21 which includes their Christmas
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Craft exhibition Present Maker, environmental photographer Mike Perry, The London Group, Ingrid Pollard and much more. The exhibitions will be accompanied by a wide range of workshops, events and talks. They are also launching a new creative pandemic recovery project working with EDDC Countryside team as part of THG Out & About.
Colyton Garden and Food Festival What did you do instead?
L
ike so many other local organisations the team behind Colyton Garden and food festival were forced to cancel their event this year. However in the positive spirit that has been so prevalent they decided to launch an initiative to celebrate the day if not the event itself. ‘In extraordinary times, extraordinary things happen!’ said Michelle from the organising committee. ‘After making the decision to cancel our festival which we had spent a lot of time organising, we realised that we still needed to keep the spirit of the Festival alive the best way we could. The only way we could do this was as a virtual festival, The Virtual Colyton Garden and Food Festival!’ The group’s plan was to put together a pictorial record of what everybody all did on 2 May 2020, the day the festival should have been open to the public. ‘We asked people to send
in pictures, they didn’t need to be fancy or staged. It could be a snap of your daily exercise, a view of your work bench, something you baked, etc.’ The idea was to support as many businesses as they could who would have been at the festival and add their contact details to their social media pages. ‘We invited all stallholders who booked a pitch at the 2020 Festival, volunteers from our school community and Festival visitors who would have been at school on 2 May 2020 to join in.’ They also hope to use these images to bring together an exhibition at the 2021 event, documenting the Virtual Festival that did go ahead during the Covid-19 pandemic. They are still adding pictures which have been sent in. Have a look at them on https://www.facebook.com/ colytongardenfoodfestival/
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PARTNERS FOR PROGRESS By Charlie Portlock
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or over three decades Elizabeth Rutter, a former teacher at Leweston School, Dorset, has fostered a unique partnership with the people of Nepal. Whilst on a trekking expedition she discovered a school in the village of Baglungpani, where she met its headmaster Ganga Ghale. Since then Elizabeth has nurtured a strong link between her school, Leweston, and Ganga’s school, Shree Jana Jyoti, alongside her personal friendship with Ganga. Over the years the two have collaborated on a wide range of projects including the reconstruction of Shree Jana Joyti and the establishment of Rutter Home, a sanctuary for visitors to the school. Elizabeth has also generated a link between Thornecombe primary school and Hill Top Heaven, a preschool in the village of Ghalegaon. After Ganga retired as headmaster, to form a new school in the nearby town of Besisahar, Elizabeth maintained her friendship link and the official link with the new headmaster Bil Prasad Gurung who has since become another steadfast friend. Throughout this period the two schools have flourished and Elizabeth has visited Nepal every year without fail, providing sponsorships to students which helps to pay for tuition fees, books, uniform and stationary, transport and accommodation. Sponsor students are chosen by the heads of their respective schools for their intelligence, diligence and good behavior as well as being genuinely poor. If students achieve well at school and go on to college to take 10+2 (our A- Level) their sponsors continue sponsoring them and often into university. Currently, we are sponsoring thirty-nine students at secondary and primary level across four schools and a further eleven at college and university level. With nine students at university studying; Nursing, Agriculture, Civil Engineering, Medical Science, Commerce and Tourism. After thirty years working to empower and support
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Nepali communities Liz Rutter, with Charlie Portlock and John Smith formed a charity called Partners for Progress a year ago in March 2019. Last month the charity was officially recognised and registered by the Charity Commission. Partners for Progress aims to support and enable our Nepali communities in realizing their ideas and visions for progress within their communities. Our support is based around an ethos of mutual respect, cooperation and friendship in which both sides benefit, learn and develop side by side. We strive to promote education and community development within Nepal and support the projects that our Nepali partners wish to pursue. This charity is the culmination of thirty years of cooperation and friendship that has resulted in the sponsoring of numerous students through school, college and university and has rebuilt a school. Currently, we are supporting the creation of a vocational school and cultural heritage museum in partnership with local communities and government. Agreeing to become our country director for Nepal, headmaster Bil Gurung has established an elevenmember Partners for Progress Nepal committee to direct our work in Nepal. This ensures that even after thirty years every decision made here in the UK has a Nepali voice at the table. We often put on fundraising events locally to raise money for our latest projects and encourage people to become members of the charity, sponsors of students and trustees. Due to COVID-19 several of our events have had to be cancelled and we have moved our fundraising efforts online. We would like to encourage all those that are interested in supporting Partners for Progress, whether through a donation, working with our charity or becoming one of our trustees, to get in touch and help us continue to support and empower our Nepali friends. Contact: partnersforprogress@outlook.com
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News&Views
SOMERSET Police step up traffic patrols
Avon and Somerset Police have stepped up traffic patrols having seen the weekly number of complaints around speeding double in the weeks during lockdown. The dramatic increase comes as some drivers choose to abuse quieter roads by driving well in excess of speed limits, putting other road users including families and cyclists taking daily exercise at risk. Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens said: “Speeding is never acceptable.”
SHERBORNE Chicken theft Officers investigating the theft of poultry near Sherborne are issuing images of a man they would like to speak to. Several chickens were stolen from an enclosure at a smallholding in the area of Poyntington at around 6.45pm on Wednesday 8 April 2020. Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police. uk, via email 101@dorset.pnn. police.uk or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55200053558.
LYME REGIS & WEST BAY Harbour Master message
James Radcliffe, Harbour Master for Bridport and Lyme Regis harbours posted a message on May 13 for harbour users: ‘Although the Government is now easing certain aspects of the lockdown in England, there is not yet any specific advice on whether this is applicable to marine leisure activities.’ While awaiting further advice he said ‘until we have confirmation that marine leisure activities are permitted and any relevant restrictions on them, we are advising that they should not take place.’
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DORCHESTER Local group makes masks
A Dorchester group #Masks4All Dorchester (M4AD) is making masks to help support local volunteers and other frontline workers in the community. Inspired by the international Masks4All movement the group was started by Emma Scott, Rosie Lees and Emma Teasdale. The group are happy to advise others who want to set up sewing hubs and can be contacted by emailing: masks4alldorchester@ gmail.com.
WEYMOUTH Bomb detonated on beach
A woman gardening at her home in Weymouth recently found an unexploded World War Two bomb. Lulu Cirillo, 49, mistaking it for a stone threw it across the garden and later cleaned it with a Brillo pads to get a better look. However friends pointed out that it might be a bomb. She called police and bomb disposal experts took the item away. It was safely detonated on Weymouth Beach at about 9pm that evening and police thanked the public for their cooperation.
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Vegetable tips from Kew Gardens By Helena Dove
The Kew Gardener’s Guide to Growing Vegetables by Helena Dove published by Frances Lincoln (rrp £12.99) Illustrations © the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 34 The Marshwood Vale Magazine May Mid-Month Special 2020 Tel. 01308 423031
Britain Wants Spuds Online search for growing advice is up by over 800%
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ata looking at British gardening habits shows a dramatic increase in the numbers of people looking to grow their own fruit and veg in the face of the COVID-19 shutdown. The new data shows that in March alone, there were 1,417,000 gardenrelated searches by shutdown Brits, many of them looking for tips on how to grow your own fruit and vegetables—an increase of 113% on the numbers of people searching for the same information pre-lockdown. With online searches for ‘how to grow potatoes’ increasing by 834%, onions at 407% and carrots and tomatoes, both up 406% month on month, it’s obvious to see which larder staples Brits don’t want to face dinner without. Ambitiously—there has also been a dramatic spike in people searching for how to grow their own avocados, up 83%. There is also a tropical twist to what people want growing in their gardens, with Watermelon and Pineapple also proving popular searches alongside more traditional British staples—up 46% and 83% respectively. Searches for ‘vegetable garden’ alone have spiked by 175% over the last month.
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PROPERTY ROUND-UP
Homes with Far Reaching Views By Helen Fisher
SALWAY ASH £340,000
A detached bungalow, recently renovated and modernised inc: new boiler, oil tank, flooring, kitchen & bathroom. Modern woodburner and redecoration. Double glazed throughout. Enclosed south-west facing rear garden, detached single garage and large parking area. Wide-span panoramic views. Kennedy’s Tel: 01308 427329
COLYTON £585,000
A detached house, set along a quiet lane on the outskirts of the village. With 3 large bedrooms and 3 reception rooms, double glazed throughout. Superb garden with produce area, formal lawn, flower beds and pretty stream and pond. Summer house with fabulous views of the sea and estuary. Garage and ample parking. Gordon and Rumsby Tel: 01297 553768
CHARMOUTH £600,000
A detached 3 bedroom bungalow set in an elevated position at the top of a quiet cul-de-sac with stunning 180 degree views of the Jurassic coastline. Built in the 1960’s and double-glazed throughout. With a neutral, contemporary decor and striking glass enclosed terrace. Mature garden, garage with workshop and ample parking. Symonds and Sampson Tel: 01308 422092 36 The Marshwood Vale Magazine May Mid-Month Special 2020 Tel. 01308 423031
THORNCOMBE £395,000
A semi-detached modern character cottage-style home built about 18 years ago. Set in a small development in the heart of the village. With 4 double bedrooms, spacious living room with open fireplace and French doors. Enclosed & easily maintained garden with small terrace and garage. Panoramic countryside views from ground and first floor. Gordon and Rumsby Tel: 01297 553768
DRIMPTON £530,000
A detached bungalow with a sun room, utility room, double garage and home office. In a convenient village location yet with a rural countryside outlook. Sitting room with fireplace and wood burner, solid oak kitchen and 3 bedrooms. A generous plot of 1.5 acres with large veg bed and poly tunnel. Stags Tel: 01308 428000
BRIDPORT £799,000
A glorious, unique home in an unspoilt, rural setting, transformed by it’s current, garden designer owner. With original parquet flooring, Aga and 3 large bedrooms plus annex. Secluded grounds with produce garden, wild flower meadow, trees and wood shed. Endless countryside views. Ample parking. Stags Tel: 01308 428000
Keeping the Keep Going WHO was the sergeant who on 13th May 1944 drove his tank onto a tennis court and turned the tide of the entire Burma campaign? • How did a bugle save the life of a Weymouth brewer? • Why is Port Elizabeth called Port Elizabeth? • Who were Veale and Onions and what did they—and only three others—do? • Who did the Princess’s brooch belong to and what’s its story? • Why are Hitler’s desk and an 18th Century spy’s snuff box on display in Dorchester? All these questions and many more are answered in a new book, published recently, called The Keep in 50 Objects. It is the work of thirty staff and volunteers, each of whom chose one or two objects to research. Some fascinating stories emerge, each illustrated with a colour photograph taken by Stephen and Helen Jones of Weymouth. Edited and professionally produced, the new book is now available from the shop page on the Keep Military Museum’s website: www. keepmilitarymuseum.org/shop
Publication coincides with the Keep launching an appeal on the 75th anniversary of VE-Day on 8th May. The Museum, which has been forced to close because of Coronavirus, faces the prospect of losing most of its visitor income for this year. It is therefore turning to all its supporters and friends locally and asking them to support the Keep the Keep Going Appeal. Details of this Appeal can be found at www. peoplesfundraising.com/donation/keep-thekeep-going- or donations can be posted to The Curator, Keep Military Museum, Barrack Road, Dorchester DT1 1RN. Gift Aided donations from UK taxpayers can increase donations by 25% at no cost to the donor.
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Food&Dining
Spider Crabs by Nick Fisher
I’m afraid I have worrying news for you. Spider crabs aren’t actually crabs at all. They are extra-terrestrials from another planet, who have landed on Earth and have cunningly decided to use the sea as part for their clever disguise.
I
nstead of falling out of the sky, or arriving in suspicious-looking, unidentified flying spacecraft, whose presence would immediately cause concern, they are attempting to invade the planet by using the unsuspecting vector of our commercial fishing fleet. You may think I’m mad. You may point your sceptic’s finger, shake your head and say, ‘that Nick Fisher’s been on the magic mushrooms again’. But, mark my words, these spider crabs are not of this world. You only have to look at them to see they were designed in another galaxy. At this very moment, there are armies of spider crabs crawling across the sea-bed, creeping towards the beaches where they intend to amass into one unified terrible force, and then invade the planet. No doubt their strategic offensives will focus on the cradles of political power: Downing Street and the White House. This cunning alien-crustacean plan of world domination would undoubtedly succeed. And Man would become just another forgotten chapter in world history, were it not for one terrible mistake that the spider crab invaders have made. In their search for a convincing form in which to sneak onto Earth, they made the tragic error of choosing a body, that is just sooo tasty. Spider crabs are failing to take over the world because every time they pop out of the sea to start their invasion, we eat them. One of the things that convinces me of spider crabs’ extra terrestrial origins is the fact that it seems like they’ve only just arrived. I’ve been sea fishing since I was 5, and I’d never even heard of a spider crab until a few years ago, let alone seen one. Now it feels like I’m surrounded by them. The south coast of England and the Channel Islands have been chosen as the preferred landing site for the spider crab invaders. At this time of the year, in early summer, the number of spider crabs that are caught increases exponentially, as the armies of
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these maja squinado move from the deep water of the Channel, to the warmer, shallow inshore water. Spider crabs have long, powerful, articulated claws (not unlike a Martian spaceships), which they use very effectively to tweeze open small mussels, clams and to mince up tough starfish. They are very efficient predators, equipped to hunt in daylight or dark, when they’re even able to catch small fish taking shelter amongst rock ledges. At the same time, if there’s nothing alive for them to hunt, spider crabs are happy to scavenge and eat all forms of marine carrion. The summer migrations to shallower, warmer water makes the spider crabs more devious which results in some rather astonishing behaviour. Divers all along the south coast have reported sightings of huge underwater gatherings of spider crabs, who congregate together in tightly packed mounds of writhing, scraping bodies. Another undisputed example of the spider crab’s other-worldly origins is the spooky ability of the female to reproduce, even when there are no males about. It’s true. Female spider crabs that have been kept in isolation, separated from any males, have been witnessed to give birth to as many as five consecutive broods, without any evidence of mating or egg fertilisation. The current theory that marine scientists have come up with, to explain this bizarre ability to self-fertilise and reproduce is that the females are able to store male sperm in a special part of their body in order to use it later when there’s no blokes around. However, we know that the reason spider crabs behave so oddly and have these inexplicable, unearthly abilities to hunt, mate and reproduce is because they aren’t crabs at all, but in fact just invaders from a far away galaxy. Basically the sooner people accept this little known fact, and start eating their way through these invaders, the better. Eat an alien today. Please. Our galactic future may depend on it.
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Guest Recipe
YOTAM OTTOLENGHI Yotam Ottolenghi is a cookery writer and chef-patron of the Ottolenghi delis, NOPI restaurant and ROVI. He writes a weekly column in The Guardian’s Feast Magazine and a monthly column in The New York Times and has published six bestselling cookbooks: Plenty and Plenty More (his collection of vegetarian recipes); Ottolenghi: The Cookbook and Jerusalem co-authored with Sami Tamimi; and NOPI: The Cookbook with Ramael Scully. Sweet, with Helen Goh, is his baking and desserts cookbook. Yotam has made two ‘Mediterranean Feasts’ series for More 4, along with a BBC 4 documentary, ‘Jerusalem on a Plate’. www.Ottolenghi.co.uk @Ottolenghi
Extracted from Ottolenghi Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi, Tara Wigley and Esme Howarth (Ebury Press, £25) Photography by Jonathan Lovekin
SLOW-COOKED CHICKEN WITH A CRISP CORN CRUST This slow-cooked chicken is packed full of flavour and the crust – gluten-free, rich and corny – makes for a welcome (and lighter) change to a heavier mash. You can make the chicken well in advance if you want to get ahead: it keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days or can be frozen for 1 month. You want it to go into the oven defrosted, though, so it will need thawing out of the freezer. The batter needs to be made fresh and spooned on top of the chicken just before the dish gets baked, but it then can just go back in the oven. It can also be baked a few hours in advance – just warm through for 10 minutes, covered in foil, before serving. I love the combination of the chicken and the corn, but the chicken also works well as it is, served on top of rice, in a wrap or with a buttery jacket potato.
INGREDIENTS
SWEETCORN BATTER
• 3 tbsp olive oil • 3 red onions, thinly sliced (500g) • 2 garlic cloves, crushed • 3 tbsp rose harissa (or 50% more or less, depending on variety: see p.301) (60g) • 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika • 850g chicken thighs, skinless and boneless (about 9–10 thighs) • 200ml passata • 5 large tomatoes, quartered (400g) • 200g jarred roasted red peppers, drained and cut into 2cm thick rounds • 15g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) • 20g coriander, roughly chopped • salt and black pepper
• 70g unsalted butter, melted • 500g corn kernels, fresh or frozen and defrosted (shaved corn kernels from 4 large corn cobs, if starting from fresh) • 3 tbsp whole milk • 3 eggs, yolks and whites separated
Serves 6
DIRECTIONS 1. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan, for which you have a lid, on a medium high heat. Add the onions and fry for 8–9 minutes, stirring a few times, until caramelised and soft. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic, harissa, paprika, chicken, 1 teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the passata and tomatoes. Pour over 350ml of water, bring to the boil, then simmer on a medium heat, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring every once in a while. 2. Add the peppers and chocolate and continue to simmer for another 35–40 minutes, with the pan now uncovered, stirring frequently, until the sauce is getting thick and the chicken is falling apart. Remove from the heat and stir in the coriander. If you are serving the chicken as it is (as a stew without the batter), it’s ready to serve (or freeze, once it’s come to room temperature)at this stage. If you are
making the corn topping, spoon the chicken into a ceramic baking dish – one with high sides that measures about 20 x 30cm – and set aside. 3. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. 4. Pour the butter into a blender with the corn, milk, egg yolks and ¾ teaspoon salt. Blitz for a few seconds, to form a rough paste, then spoon into a large bowl. Place the egg whites in a separate clean bowl and whisk to form firm peaks. Fold these gently into the runny corn mixture until just combined, then pour the mix evenly over the chicken. 5. Bake for 35 minutes, until the top is golden-brown: keep an eye on it after 25 minutes to make sure the top is not taking on too much colour: you might need to cover it with tin foil for the final 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes before serving.
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Arts&Entertainment
Weeks of Work Dorset Arts Weeks may have been cancelled this year, but the artists participating have produced work that is waiting for a new home. The following pages show a small selection of that work. For up to date information visit www.dorsetartweeks.co.uk
Karen Browning and Karina Gill INSTALLATION ART, GLASS, SILVERWARE AND JEWELLERY
Karen Browning An exhibition of two artists held in the medieval manor house. Karen Browning is an installation and glass artist. She will be exhibiting her cast black glass, alongside a new art installation created for the venue. Karina Gill works in silver and is influenced by organic repetition in nature, print-making and textiles. She creates contemporary silverware and jewellery using her distinctive folding techniques. Fiddleford Manor is a medieval manor house beautifully situated overlooking the River Stour with access to walks. The manor is in the care of English Heritage, with free parking and admission. Fiddleford Manor, Fiddleford , Sturminster Newton, DT10 2BX
Karina Gill
Karen: 07966697555 • glasslightspace@yahoo. co.uk • glasslightspace.co.uk Karina: karina@karinagill.co.uk • karinagill.co.uk english-heritage.org.uk
Hunters Moon ILLUSTRATION, PAINTING, MOSAIC, CERAMICS, TEXTILES, PRINTMAKING, SCULPTURE Louise Batt: Domestic pottery for the home in blue and white Jane Chapman: Childrens’ illustration, printmaking Colin Davis: Mosaic art Gail Davies: Ceramic forms Philip Ross: Sculpture Bethan Venn: Textiles Noah Warnes: Painting, printmaking
‘
LOOK TO THE FUTURE
Unwind in our beautiful venue. We have a peaceful garden with wheelchair access, parking, refreshments and a toilet. We are looking forward to sharing our creative process with the public. There will also be various practical demonstrations of our work throughout DAW 2020. Hunters Moon, Streetway Lane, Cheselbourne, DT2 7NT 01258 837985 07706 401104 janekchapman@mail.com
Dorset Art Weeks 2020 has been postponed. Over the next few months there will be a monthly DVA E-News. If you have any creative news or opportunities you would like included please email kate@ dorsetartweeks.co.uk marked E-NEWS in the subject.
’
Louise Batt
Bethan Venn
Jane Chapman
Colin Davis Noah Warnes
Gail Davies
Philip Ross
Anne-Louise Bellis and Martin Dickson PAINTINGS AND CERAMICS
National Gallery of Bridport FINE AND DECORATIVE ARTS
Hugh Dunford Wood
Anna-Louise Bellis Anne-Louise: Landscape, seascape and abstract paintings inspired by the coastline, skies and countryside of Dorset. Martin: Unique ceramics for interiors and gardens; ranging from delicate polished porcelain, through hand-built sculptural vessels, to planters, sundials and fountains. Pieces are made from a range of variously textured highfired clay bodies and are most often angular and geometric, emphasising the interplay of form and surface. Beautiful period barn studio and exhibition space. The Old Cow Shed Studio, Manor Farm, Glanvilles Wootton, DT9 5PZ Anne-Louise 07970 797748 / Martin 07732 601086 albellis@btinternet.com / martindicksonceramics@gmail. com theoldcowshedstudio.co.uk / martindicksonceramics.co.uk
On the south slope of Allington Hill, a collective of artist makers. Emsie Sharp’s unique handblown wine glasses, tableware and one-off pieces reflect Lucy Gill’s robust steel and brass sculptures. Fran Boyle’s treasure chest of silver, gold and porcelain narrative jewellery from Oxfordshire compliment Linzi West’s compelling explorations of faces both in painted portraits and on simple flower pots. Romanian Igor Rodu has sent sculptures and wooden reliefs while Hugh Dunford Wood shows paintings and lino prints against his handblocked wallpapers. This gallimaufry of talent, colour and materials also hosts a pop-up café. The Light House, Allington Park, Bridport, DT6 5DD 07932 677540 • hugh@dunfordwood.com • dunfordwood.com
Jane Burden CREATIVE COMBINATIONS OF TEXTILES AND CERAMICS
Bridport Stained Glass STAINED, DECORATIVE AND HERITAGE GLASS Bridport Stained Glass is a collaboration between Stonecroft Traditional Glaziers and Jude Alderman. Jude has been designing and making stained glass and decorative leaded lights for almost thirty years years. She has a distinctive and contemporary approach to design work and has exhibited a number of pieces of her painted work. Stonecroft are experts in the repair, conservation and restoration of domestic, ecclesiastical and heritage stained glass. They have undertaken a variety of projects, in a wide range of styles. There will be demonstrations, talks and hands-on workshops on offer - see website and Facebook page for further details.
Jane Burdon My creative studio sits in a pretty, flower-filled courtyard behind a listed thatched cottage in the lovely village of Frampton. Inside the stable doors my work combines smoked-fired ceramics with colourful textile techniques, framed pieces, wallhangings and bowls. Exploratory work-in-progress is on display, smaller items are also available to buy and I regularly work to commission. There are excellent local walks criss-crossing the river Frome and a small walking map is available. A voucher signed in both Frampton studios receives a free speciality tea or coffee with any main meal from The Saxon Arms.
The Old Bakery, 126 North Allington, Bridport, DT6 5EA 01308 425168 / 07854 002319 jude@ stainedglassdorset.co.uk stainedglassdorset.co.uk
Wessex Barn, 8 Dorchester Road, Frampton, DT2 9NB 01300 321501 / 07877 612031 janeehburden@icloud.com • flickr.com/people/ janeburden
Jude Alderman
Inside No. 11 STUDIO GALLERY OF VICTORIA YOUNG JAMIESON
These Days I Only Eat My Friends PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS, VIDEO, PHOTOGRAPHY
Sarah Filmer
Victoria Young Jameson Behind the usually closed doors of No. 11, discover the studio and gallery of Victoria Young Jamieson and Molecula Modern Design. Featuring artworks from a select group of fellow artists from the area for a one-off gallery exhibition. No. 11, Old Yarn Mills, Westbury Road, Sherborne, DT9 3RQ 07833 475342 • victoriayj@gmail.com • victoriayj. com
An exhibition of new work and work-in-progress by artist and vet Sarah Filmer, made during her year-long residency at Lower Hewood Farm. These Days I Only Eat My Friends incorporates large and small scale drawings and paintings, video and photography installed throughout the buildings and outdoor spaces. In addition: A Ritual Feast (Sunday 24 May, 4pm). Talk - Farms and Artists, Gods and Monsters, in conversation with Sarah Filmer, Sara Hudston and Alexa de Ferranti (Friday 29 June, 4pm). Talk Knowing Animals, in conversation with vet Darren Partridge, Sarah Filmer and Alexa de Ferranti (Friday 5 June). Outdoor drawing session (Sunday 31 May, 2.30 - 5pm). Open Farm Sunday (7 June, 11am). Details at lowerhewoodfarm.org. (Call numbers below for confirmation of Talks.) These Days I Only Eat My Friends will continue to Southampton and London. Lower Hewood Farm, Hewood, Chard, TA20 4NR 07939 537397 / 07939537397 info@lowerhewoodfarm.org • lowerhewoodfarm. org
Ben Russell THE DORSET STONE CARVER
David Marl PAINTINGS
David Marl Having originally trained in stained glass at the Royal College of Art I now paint small pictures in the English visionary tradition. I have had exhibitions in Truro and Worcester Cathedrals and in various galleries and art centres. St.Probus, Marston Road, Sherborne, DT9 4BL 01935 389673 • burgoyne.marl@gmail.com • dmarl.co.uk Ben Russell Ben’s stone sculptures portray the grown world as he sees it in his minds eye. Part abstract and part representational he uses traditional tools and techniques to capture the wondrous natural world in a range of beautiful stones. Having originally trained as an architectural stone carver Ben also undertakes commissions for private clientele through his company The Dorset Stone Carver. His studio sits within the beautiful countryside between Bridport and Beaminster in West Dorset. Parnham Farm, Netherbury, Bridport, DT6 5LY 07969 419875 ben@thedorstestonecarver.co.uk benrussell.co.uk / thedorsetstonecarver.co.uk
GALLERIES
Innovative Art Courses IN an era of innovation, Westcountry artist Marilyn Allis has launched a series of online courses until face to face workshops can open again. She has created three tiers of monthly subscription: Basic, Masterclass and VIP. The classes options range from ÂŁ5.99 to ÂŁ15.99. Tuition is recorded and those signing up watch and work on at their own pace. All workshops are recorded in real time, with a few markers of title cards that you can pause in easy places as you wish. A list of materials is always given and from the Masterclass subscription you also can have the reference photograph and drawing, so just like a real workshop. You will be emailed as the links are released. Most classes are in Two parts and both will be emailed at the same time. For more information about how it works visit: https://youtu.be/ kYtDqSir0X4 or visit www.marilynallis. com and click the Patreon link.
50 The Marshwood Vale Magazine May Mid-Month Special 2020 Tel. 01308 423031
A Sneak Peek
Virtual Gallery at the Marshwood
With lockdown restrictions slowly lifting it is still difficult for artists and gallery owners to make work available to buyers. However the work is out there and waiting to be seen, enjoyed and purchased. Over the page is a sneak peek at a Virtual Gallery being launched by the Marshwood Vale Magazine this month to give gallery owners and artists a platform on which to show work. For more information or to include your gallery or studio email info@marshwoodvale.com.
Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine May Mid-Month Special 2020 51
LT Lotta
TEALE TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR Click on the image to view the video
52 The Marshwood Vale Magazine May Mid-Month Special 2020 Tel. 01308 423031
LOTTA TEALE www.lottateale.com lcteale@gmail.com England, Pakistan, Italy
w w w. m a r s h w o o d v a l e . c o m
The Importance of
LEWESDON HILL by James Crowden
F
or many people in West Dorset, now that the ‘plague’ is with us, the clock has been wound back about 100 years. Motor cars are increasingly scarce. Horses and bicycles are rampant. Lockdown, which sounds a bit like a new type of seriously strong glue, means that we are confined to barracks and many people do far more local walking that they ever did before. Their gardens, if they are lucky enough to have one, have become small paradises. Which is not surprising as the word ‘paradise’ is derived from the old Persian word pairidaêza meaning walled enclosure, which later referred to ornate pleasure gardens. Everyone must have their own paradise. There is even a paradise apple, which is a very old apple indeed—first recorded in the Hotel St Pol in Paris in 1398. It came from the Caucasus and has been found growing in the wild in Armenia. It was one of the first modern apple rootstocks, released in 1917 and in France was called ‘Jaune de Metz’. Being England it now has the far less poetic name of M9 from East Malling Research station in Kent. Many of you may have M9 rootstock for your apple trees without knowing it. But what has this got to do with West Dorset? The analogy is simply that you may have wondrous things in your garden or on your doorstep which you may have taken for granted all these years, but which are, upon further inspection, far more interesting and historically important than you realise. Like the Dorset knob from Morecombelake. Very good with Blue Vinney and a glass of cider. But it is two other much larger ‘knobs’, further inland that really interest me, Lewesdon Hill and Pilsdon Pen ‘known to ancient mariners as the ‘Cow and Calf ’ being eminent sea marks to those whose sail upon the coast.’ Sea marks are important navigational aids, especially to smugglers…. on
moonlit nights. Take Lewesdon Hill, Mount Parnassus of West Dorset. Within easy walking distance if you live in Stoke Abbot or Broadwindsor and well worth the effort of climbing on a fine day. Lewesdon, unlike its next door neighbour, Pilsdon Pen, has tall beech trees upon its slopes, which at this time of year burst into a garish, almost luminescent, metallic green leaf which contrasts beautifully with the sea of blue bells. Pilsdon Pen is the most prominent of the two hills, with a prow that juts out like an old battleship and is reckoned to be 909ft high. For many years it was assumed that Pilsdon was higher than Lewesdon. But recent more sophisticated surveys say that Lewesdon is six feet higher—which in real terms is a fathom. Many people will have passed Lewesdon Hill on the road between Broadwindsor and Bridport, without giving it a second thought. But Lewesdon Hill has a fascinating story to tell, which like its true height, has been hidden under a bushel for many years. This story starts in the 1780s, when car parking was not such a problem as it is today. William Crowe, rector of Stoke Abbot, wrote a long poem about walking up Lewesdon Hill on a May morning. His daily exercise. It was published anonymously in 1788 by the Clarendon Press, Oxford and was immediately reprinted with his name tally ‘WILLIAM CROWE LLB of New College and Public Orator of the University.’ It was a sensation and went into several more editions. William Crowe was an unusual academic. His father was a carpenter who worked in Winchester. As a boy William Crowe was talent spotted and received an education at Winchester College and was then admitted to New College, Oxford and
gained a degree in Law. A very bright lad… He became a tutor, then a fellow of New College and Public Orator for the University, a very distinguished position. He held it for many years and delivered speeches in the Sheldonian in Greek and Latin at University functions like degree ceremonies or appear in robes if distinguished visitors turned up. But for that May Day walk up Lewesdon Hill William Crowe was anything but formal. He was simply walking up the hill with his eyes and ears open, enjoying the beauties of a spring day. He was rector for four years and the ambience of the West Dorset landscape inspired him no end. The poetry was free from the straightjacket of iambic pentameters and the more traditional 18th century classical poetry in the ‘Augustan’ mode. Well known for its wit, urbanity, revering such classical poets as Virgil and Horace, the Augustan period ended with the death of Alexander Pope in 1744. But nothing much had replaced it, till the Cambridge professor Thomas Gray wrote Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard in 1751 about Stoke Poges. This poem broke new ground as all graves do. It became a meditation on death, dying and remembrance. It set the scene for rural poetry and placed poetry back in the shires, in the present. Well away from the London orbit. Rustic mode back in fashion. Then there was Thomas Chatterton the young Bristol poet who committed suicide by taking arsenic in 1770. The same year William Wordsworth was born. Romantic poets were still in wings or even the cradle. There was a slight poetic vacuum that had to be filled. What next? Then in 1788, the same year that Lord Byron was born, enter William Crowe, the unsung hero of West Dorset who unwittingly sparked a small revolution in poetic terms. His mode of address was very personal, almost casual as if he was having a conversation with a close friend or even himself. He had broken out of Gray’s churchyard and strolled up the hill. He celebrated life not death in blank verse. It was quite literally a breath of fresh air. Energy replaced Elegy. Lewesdon Hill was a stream of conscious, internal remembrances, like an introspective filmscript. With no obvious rhyme or verse or external setting. But plenty of reason and acute observation of nature and
humankind. As if the landscape gave it form and structure. A meditation on the secretive Marshwood Vale laid out below. But there is a Wordsworth connection and this is where it gets really interesting. Lewesdon Hill was published when William Wordsworth was only eighteen and a student at Cambridge. His first long poem which he had been working on for a number of years was called an ‘Evening Walk’ about the Lake District was published in 1793 and addressed to a young Lady, in all probability his sister, Dorothy. It is a walk set in the Lake District just like Lewesdon Hill with many natural observations and inner freedoms that became the hall mark of his later verse, including Tintern Abbey and The Prelude. By chance, through a friend in Bristol, Azariah Pinney, William and Dorothy both ended up living beneath Pilsdon Pen at Racedown Lodge owned by the Pinney family. Not a stone’s throw away from Lewesdon Hill. Aza sent Wordsworth a copy of Lewesdon Hill in November 1795 and Coleridge had borrowed a copy in March of that same year from Bristol Library. So they had plenty to talk about… William had been in Revolutionary France and had fathered a child there with Annette Vallon, his French mistress. But that was all hushed up. Sadly there is no journal (that exists) but they had two important guests at Racedown. Dorothy’s old friend Mary Hutchinson who was later to marry William and the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who was rather smitten with Dorothy and her ‘gypsy tan’… William wrote The Borderers here and seriously started writing poetry again, inspired by his sister. The fuse had been lit. “She gave my eyes, she gave me ears: humble cares and delicate fears Maintained a saving intercourse With my true self, preserved me still. A poet.” A fine tribute from William to Dorothy that I arranged to be carved on a sturdy but elegant wooden gate on the western side of Pilsdon Pen made and carved by Karen Hansen of Evershot. In the words of the Dorset poet Catherine Simmonds ‘The landscape of West Dorset, the rural poverty, the words of William Crowe as well as the encouragement of his sister Dorothy provided a vital
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James Crowden and Catherine Simmonds of Shaftesbury reading the poem on Lewesdon Hill. Photograph by Martin Hesp
catalyst to William’s creativity.’ As if Wordsworth had used Lewesdon Hill as some kind of template and went much deeper with his introspection. It was a guide, a beacon, a leading mark… To quote William Crowe: “Above the noise and stir of yonder fields Uplifted, on this height I feel the mind Expand itself in wider liberty. The distant sounds break gently on my sense soothing to meditation…” That is pure William Crowe not William Wordsworth.. And Crowe continues on that introspective vein: “ so methinks Even so, sequestered from the noisy world Could I wear out this transitory being In peaceful contemplation and calm ease.” That notion and honesty and inner meditation is a stepping stone, one of many within the poem that must have struck a chord with young Wordsworth. It is a real shame that Crowe does not get more recognition for his magnificent poem and its inner workings which inspired the Romantic movement. Someone should film it… William and Dorothy stayed at Racedown for nearly two years: (September 1795 - July 1797). Far longer than they ever did in Alfoxton House in West Somerset which was their next port of call, to be close to Coleridge in Nether Stowey. William was disillusioned with the French Revolution which had turned very sour, but they were all inspired with creating a revolution in words and poetry. A new society with greater freedom of thought. Even walking was seen as a revolutionary activity. From Racedown they used to walk for about two hours a day and as Dorothy says:
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“We have hills which, seen from a distance almost take the character of mountains, some cultivated nearly to their summits, others in their wild state covered with furze and broom. These delight me the most as they remind me of our native wilds.” Her ‘native wilds’ being the Lake District. So the poem Lewesdon Hill was well known to Wordsworth and Coleridge. Both poets derived something from it, not just from its lyrical passages, which are quite delightful, but also from its political, libertarian, even pro-republican sentiments. As Professor Jonathan Wordsworth points out in his 1989 introduction to the poem, Lewesdon Hill was in Wordsworth’s library and is mentioned in his 1820 Postcript to the River Duddon sonnets. Some critics say it also leads into the Tintern Abbey and Wye Valley poems of 1798. But there is an even closer connection, not just in style, but in content. As I read Lewesdon Hill one phrase jumps out: ‘tufted orchards’. Line 10. Just imagine you are William Crowe, aged only forty-three and still sprightly, climbing the hill on May Morning with a poetic air spread all around you, taking in the magnificent views. “Up to thy summit, Lewesdon to the brow Of yon proud rising, where the lonely thorn Bends from the rude South East with top cut sheer By his keen breath, along the narrow track By which the scanty-pastured sheep ascend Up to thy furze clad summit, let me climb: My morning exercise; and thence look round Upon the variegated scene, of hills And woods and fruitful vales, and villages Half-hid in tufted orchards, and the sea Boundless, and studded thick with many a sail.” That is only the first page, there are many, many more, and William Crowe is looking down on the Marshwood Vale where small farms are given over to dairy farming, cheese-making, sheep and cider-
making. Has anything changed in 200 years? Much more follows including not only a very accurate description of the skills needed to be a smuggler but the shipwreck of the Halsewell, an East Indiaman wrecked off Purbeck in January 1786 with great loss of life. Here poetry mirrors real life. Wordsworth must have had that very scene in his mind as he learnt of the death of his brother, John Wordsworth, the captain of the Earl of Abergavenny, a large East Indiaman that sank in a storm in Weymouth Harbour in February 1805. What really interests me and gives a clue to the use of Lewesdon Hill as an inspiration is that in line 10 the phrase ‘tufted orchards’ which crops up as ‘orchard-tufts’ in Wordsworth’s famous poem ‘Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey’ describing the Wye valley near Brockweir. The phrase has been reversed in line 11. A code word, a clue, an enigma, a tribute: even hints of cider to come. “Here, under this dark sycamore, and view These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts, Which at this season, with their unripe fruits, Are clad in one green hue, and lose themselves ‘Mid groves and copses.” It could just as easily have been William Crowe describing West Dorset. My suspicion is that this was young William’s way of acknowledging his debt to William Crowe. It just so happens that a friend of mine has a cider farm above Brockweir above the Wye and there are sycamores and ruined cottages. Cider and poetry always seem to go together. Not much cider in the Lake District however… The view from the summit of Lewesdon Hill - a panoramic shot: “From this proud eminence on all sides round The unbroken prospect opens to my view, On all sides large; save only where the head Of Pillesdon rises, Pillesdon’s lofty Pen: So called (still rendering to his ancient name Observance due) that rival height south-west, Which, like a rampire, bounds the vale beneath. There woods, there blooming orchards, there are seen Herds ranging, or at rest beneath the shade Of some wide-branching oak; there goodly fields Of corn, and verdant pasture, whence the kine, Returning with their milky treasure home, Store the rich dairy: such fair plenty fills The pleasant vale of Marshwood, pleasant now,
Since that the spring hat): decked anew the meads With flowery vesture, and the warmer sun Their foggy moistness drained … This fertile vale, in length from Lewesdon’s base Extended to the sea, and watered well By many a rill; but chief with thy clear stream, Thou nameless Rivulet, who, from the side Of Lewesdon softly welling forth, dost trip Adown the valley, wandering sportively.” Mount Parnassus indeed and Paradise all in one hit. Why live elsewhere? West Dorset cider is also very good. So there is far more to Lewesdon Hill than at first sight. William and Dorothy really enjoyed themselves in West Dorset. A quiet antidote to the French Revolution which had greatly disturbed William’s mind. William found rest and started to write poetry again. Dorothy did a lot gardening, mending of clothes and even arranged a bride for William: her good friend Mary Hutchinson. Then Coleridge came to stay. I am quite sure they went up Lewesdon Hill and read the poem on its summit which is only a mile or two from Racedown. They frequently walked to Crewkerne to get their mail, which was much, much further. Or Lyme Regis to order coal. On one trip to the Cobb, William, ever forgetful, left his horse tied to a lamp post. Just by the small but wonderful narrow bookshop, which was the old coal yard. When he got back to Racedown Dorothy said to him ‘EE William.. Where’s the ‘oss? and ‘Where’s the coal?’ That’s poetry for you. If you cannot make the walk yourself up Lewesdon Hill this year to see the bluebells and beech trees, you can always purchase a facsimile of the original 1788 copy of Lewesdon Hill with a long introduction all about the life of William Crowe. And so, in these troubled times, you can take the virtual journey in words and images, to the summit of Lewesdon Hill
Lewesdon Hill can be ordered for £5 + p&p through www.james-crowden.co.uk. Also see Dorset Footsteps—Wessex Ridgeway Poems which includes several poems about Lewesdon and Pilsdon Pen as well as William and Dorothy Wordsworth and their stay at Racedown Lodge. Also £5 each + p&p.
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Movies IN LOCKDOWN
Mid-Month Movie Choices from Bridport-based film producer Nic Jeune BBC iPlayer has gone overboard on Second World War films and it is hard to choose between Colin Firth in Kings Speech (2010) and Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour (2017). If you have never seen it catch The Lunchbox ( 2013) with the finest of actors Irrfan Kahn. Netflix catch Flight (2012) “No actor is as brilliant, or as cunning, as Denzel Washington� New York Times. Princess Mononoke (1970) another Studio Ghibli you and your family would enjoy. 8.4 on IMDB rating. Atlantics (2019) a love story set in Senegal which earned the director Mati Diop the Grand Prize at The Cannes Film Festival last year. Amazon Prime Ghost World (2001) See opposite page.
58 The Marshwood Vale Magazine May Mid-Month Special 2020 Tel. 01308 423031
Click on the image to view the trailer Film of the Mid-Month is Ghost World on Amazon Prime
Other Recommendations:
Darkest Hour on BBC iPlayer
It stars an unknown young actress called Scarlet Johanson opposite an equally brilliant teenaged Thora Birch. It is based on the hit graphic novel by Daniel Clowes. In the words of the great movie critic Roger Ebert “I wanted to hug this movie.�
Kings Speech on BBC iPlayer
The Lunchbox on BBC iPlayer
Flight on Netflix
Atlantics on Netflix
Princess Mononoke on Netflix Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine May Mid-Month Special 2020 59
Health&Beauty
60 The Marshwood Vale Magazine May Mid-Month Special 2020 Tel. 01308 423031
Services&Classified SITUATIONS VACANT
Friendly people person needed April onwards. Abbotsbury. Saturday and Sunday mornings. Breakfast and tidying up. Contact Angela 07967886762 Full and part time staff required at local plant nursery. Halstock 01935 891668 dorsetwaterlily@ outlook.com No agents thank you.
TO LET Room to let. Own bathroom, non smoker quiet location, nr. Seaton. Tel; 0790 959 5245
CURTAINS Little Curtains. Handmade Curtains, Blinds and Cushions. Contact 07443 516141 or 01308 485325
POSITION WANTED Experienced Mature lady with small dog seeks work with accommodation caring/ housework. Qualified HCA excellent refs Sara 07592396941
Experienced, passionate cook available Axminster area. Part-time week days, one off batch cooking or drop off. Excellent references. Please give me (Juliet) a call 07553055787
Builder Handyman 55. Farming background, animal lover. Seeks position with or without accommodation. Anything considered. Shaun 01749 871074, 07970 525070
ELECTRICAL FOR SALE Cabbage Leek plants £1.20. Chrysanth plants £5 per 6. 01460 74572
Sofabed. Single. Grey leather. DFS, as new, 145 x 100 folded. £350 Photos available 07837452637
Vintage Swedish tuneramp, wooden cabinet, including Wharfdale speakers. £50. Sailing jacket, storm-proof,3 in 1. Superb condition, £50. 01305 767271. Coffee / occasional table. Bespoke made in medium colour solid oak with ledge below. Cost £900 new. L120cm x D66cm x H47cm. Cost £900 new. Sadly too large for new home. £50. Tel: 01460 242644
CHIMNEY SWEEP
Apr 21
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 Tatworth. The winner was Mr Walcott from Brigewater
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FREE ADS for items under £1,000 Classified advertising in The Marshwood Vale Magazine is normally 95 pence+VAT per word in a box. This FREE ADS FORM is for articles for sale, where the sale price is under £1000 (Private advertisers only — no trade, motor, animals, firearms etc). Just fill in the form and send it to the Marshwood Vale Magazine, Lower Atrim, Bridport, Dorset DT6 5PX. or email to info@marshwoodvale.com. (Please do not send in all capital letters). Unfortunately due to space constraints there is no guarantee of insertion of free advertising. We reserve the right to withhold advertisements. FOR GUARANTEED CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING PLEASE USE ‘CLASSIFIED ADS’ FORM
Name.....................................................Telephone number ................................. Address................................................................................................................. Town.................................. County.................... Postcode ..................................
STORAGE
62 The Marshwood Vale Magazine May Mid-Month Special 2020 Tel. 01308 423031
PROOFREADING Proofreading, editing, transcription, secretarial for writers and businesses. Excellent references. Penny Dunscombe Apr 20 07825339289.
RESTORATION Furniture restoration. Antiques large and small carefully restored. City and Guilds qualified, ten years experience in local family firm. Phil Meadley 01297 560335
WANTED Beehive national brood supers wanted. Tel. 07715 557556
Vinyl Records Wanted All types and styles considered. Excellent prices paid. Please Phone Roy 07429 102645 Clocktowermusic.co.uk Bridport May 20
Postage stamps. Private collector requires 19th and early 20th century British. Payment to you or donation to your nominated charity. 01460 240630.
Secondhand tools wanted. All trades. Users & Antiques. G & E C Dawson. 01297 23826. www.secondhandtools. co.uk.
Old sewing machines, typewriters, gramophones, phonographs, records, music boxes, radios. 0777 410 3139. www. thetalkingmachine.co.uk
Vintage & antique textiles, linens, costume buttons etc. always sought by Caroline Bushell. Tel. 01404 45901.
Oct 20
Jun 20
Wanted to buy - field, or part field and part woodland, any size, to about 5 acres. Not top grade grass. Private, local resident wants to ‘do their bit’ for the environment. Anything considered. Please help. 07508 106910
May 20
Dave buys all types of tools 01935 428975
Jul 20
May 20
May 20
Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine May Mid-Month Special 2020 63