Marshwood+ April 2022

Edith Bowman’s big scores Page 42

Dr Mary Davis on the Pilsdon Community Page 18

Nadia Eide the Voice in Dorchester Page 49

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THE

© Maurice Barnes Photograph by Robin Mills

The best from West Dorset, South Somerset and East Devon No. 277 April 2022

COVER STORY Robin Mills met Maurice Barnes in Symondsbury

© Maurice Barnes Photograph by Robin Mills

’I

was born in the village, on a farm at Miles Cross, just up the hill and down over. November 4th 1927. After the First World War ended, Father was living in a chicken shed on Eype Down. He had been able to save up enough money during the war when he had been a prisoner of the Germans by selling his tobacco and drink rations to the other prisoners. He didn’t smoke or drink himself. With the money he rented the field and bought the shed and a cow. He also worked at Crepe Farm where he met my mother. Her father was also working there and they met whilst she was taking him his lunch. They then had to save up for seven years before they could afford to get married. The bed I was born on is still in the Old Rectory here in the village. All four brass knobs are still on it.

I went to school here in Symondsbury, and I can remember Father saying to me as I went to school, passing where they were milking the cows beside the road: “Nine more years to go to school”. I passed for Grammar School when I was 11, and Father said, “You ain’t going there, you’ve got to work”.

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Maurice Barnes As a boy on the farm we had horses, and I liked them. One was a beautiful animal, and so intelligent, and I was the only one who could catch her. But the tractor could do in an hour what the horse did in a day, and she had to be sold. I was in tears when that happened. I never really enjoyed the farming work. It was because the animals were all my pets. I cared for them so much, I’d get upset when one had to go. We used to put Cod Liver Oil on the cows’ feed, and they would queue up to get to it. Their coats were so beautiful and shiny.

I used to pick kale tops from the field after the cows had eaten all they wanted, and sell them to the greengrocer in Bridport, a shilling a pound. They were very popular in those days, and I’d carry a sackful into town on the handlebars of my bike. At that time we milked just the 12 cows, and we had a milk round and sold the eggs of our 200 chickens. We also grew and sold vegetables. My father was the potato king; he grew the best early potatoes anywhere round here, all naturally grown. We never used any artificial, there wasn’t any, and I think people had more sense. I always buy organic these days if I can. We sold potatoes for 17/6d a ton.

We gave up the milk round in about 1960, when we had to pasteurise it. I said to Father, “We’re not making much money out of it now, we’d best stop the milk round”.

Farming was always a dangerous business, and I’ve had some lucky escapes. Our Ferguson tractor ran away with me downhill when it jumped out of gear, and I crashed into the bank. The tractor ran up the bank, but didn’t tip over backwards because of the plough on the back. There have been some scary incidents with bulls, and with our horse once or twice.

I was in the Home Guard in the last war. I got a call at 2am to say the Germans were landing at Lyme Regis. We went to the store where our kit was kept, and the sergeant said “I’m sorry Maurice, there isn’t a rifle for you, but the first man that’s shot, you can have his”. So we went down the lane to the farm where Bert Harris lived to collect him.

No one would get out of the lorry to fetch Bert in case the Germans were in the bushes. So the sergeant sent me. I walked as quietly as I could down the lane, when I heard the click of a rifle being cocked. I called out “Is that you, Bert?”

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Thankfully Bert stood up, and his younger brother Ted, and he said, “I had my finger half-pulled on the trigger; only a bit more pressure and I’d have shot you. You spoke just in time—I thought you were Germans”. It was all a false alarm, anyway.

I went to a dance at Netherbury when I was 20. There were 3 girls there, and I asked this big chap who they were.

He said he didn’t know, but I knew he did. I wanted to take one of them, called Hazel, home, but he had his eye on her. We managed to settle our differences without coming to blows, but I was ready for it, not being afraid of anyone.

That was how Hazel and I got together. We married, and we had 5 children, but sadly she passed away 5 years ago.

I retired from farming when I was 63. We were just doing beef cattle then and my wife Hazel looked after them. By then we had been able to buy 5 houses, including the Old Rectory, which we bought in 1953. The Church of England had decided that the Rectory was too large for them and wanted to sell. By then we owned Miles Cross Farm and our fields were next to those that belonged to the Rectory.

My Father was really only interested in the fields but the Church of England said they would only sell the fields with the building. I took two years to negotiate but in the end the Church said he could have the fields for £2000 and the Rectory for another £500. By then Father had been able to save up enough cash to buy it. It was very run down, but my mother and father were so pleased to be able to live there. Although, he wasn’t pleased that I’d bought it for a lot less than he told me to offer! After a while the whole family moved in; Father, mother, Hazel and me and our five children. He always said that all he wanted was a nice house and £2000 in the bank, and he was able to live out the rest of his days there. I was able to buy several houses in and around Bridport and I gave them all to my children or the government would have taken half when I die, and I think that’s wrong. My son Eugene took over one of the farms, and daughter Ruth took on the other.

I am also an inventor and spent three years designing the ‘Barnes Buckle’ after seeing footage of a fallen jockey being dragged. Every rider dreads falling off; and being dragged, even more so. The Barnes Buckle is a safety device which

© Maurice Barnes Photograph by Robin Mills

attaches to the stirrup and stirrup leather. It does not affect your riding in any way, but if the worst happens and you fall off and your foot is stuck in the stirrup, the parts will release under only 6kg of pressure but in normal riding circumstances it would take a pressure of 1400kg to part the pieces.

The Council rang me up one day and asked if I’d help them out with the car parking in Lyme Regis. That was 34 years ago.

So I was car park man there for 5 years. I met all sorts of people.

There was a new Mercedes I saw being parked by a couple, then a young man came and drove it away. Then two people asked me if I’d seen the car, turns out they were Special Branch, and I was able to say what colour it was, which pleased them no end. But I don’t know what that was all about.

I joined Lyme Regis Ramblers. A lady in the group asked me to pull down her wooden garage. I managed to straighten it up for her, and carried out a few other jobs, but I didn’t want paying, despite her protests. Why be greedy, I thought. We became good friends, and she would take me on holidays to the Scilly Isles.

Carpentry was my hobby; I made Davenports, and tables, one of which sold many years ago for £500.

I was 14 when my grandmother told me I was descended from William Barnes the Dorset poet. In my later years I was able to fulfil a lifetime’s ambition and write some poetry. In 1993 I had them printed in a small book and published. It’s called A Poet Walks in West Dorset. Some of the poems are true, and some…well, I wish they were.

’

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UP FRONT With so many tragic stories unfolding on the world stage, it seems slightly conflicting to talk about small local events. But after such a long period when communities were unable to come together, it also feels enormously positive that so many activities are emerging. From jumble sales to film festivals, these are all opportunities for people to come together, to talk, and especially to feel part of something again—and so many of these activities are also helping to assist others. Perhaps the current efforts to help those displaced by the conflict in Ukraine remind us that, with cold and insular activities continuing around the world there will always be people in need—and needs come in many guises. Two books mentioned in this issue highlight something that affects all communities. In Young Lit Fix (page 54), Nicky Mathewson reviews a book for teenagers called The Sad Ghost Club. The author, Lize Meddings has set up a website around her books and illustrations to spread positive awareness of mental health issues, especially for young people. At a time when we have all been impacted by massive upheaval, it is great to see initiatives offering understanding, especially when traditional assistance is overwhelmed. And here in the Marshwood Vale, the Pilsdon Community has also published a book that highlights kindness and caring (page 18). As a Community, it has been a huge benefit to people whose emotional state has made their lives difficult, especially when suffering anxiety and alienation within the traditional structures of modern society. Talking with Edith Bowman about her pick of films for Bridport’s Film Festival (page 42) she talked about how choices of entertainment depend on our emotional state at the time of choosing. Well, there’s no doubt that over the last few years emotional states have taken a beating. From Brexit to Covid to war in Ukraine, we are experiencing moments in history that are, to say the least, immense. However, despite that, the stories of people making time to help in so many different ways; whether raising money through local events, fundraising at larger gatherings, or helping organise aid packages are also extraordinary. They should be applauded and supported wherever possible.

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

THIS MONTH

3 10 18 22 23 24 26 28

Cover Story By Robin Mills Event News and Courses Past Present and Future - Dr Mary Davies News & Views Inside the Boat Building Academy Alfred the Great By Cecil Amor The Fine Art of Drying - Business Profile Sighting Seals By Philip Strange

30 30 32 34 36

House & Garden Vegetables in April By Ashley Wheeler April in the Garden By Russell Jordan Property Round Up By Helen Fisher Beer Quarry Caves By Kevin Cahill

38 38

40

41

Food & Dining Slow Cooked Lamb with Lemon and Oregano

By Lesley Waters Grilled Squid with Shaved Carrots and Nuoc Cham

By Mark Hix Canaries Charter By Nick Fisher

42 Arts & Entertainment 42 Bridport’s Festival of Film By Fergus Byrne 44 Galleries 48 Preview By Gay Pirrie Weir 54 Young Lit Fix By Antonia Squire 55 Screen Time By Nic Jeune

56 Health & Beauty 58 Services & Classified “Confidence is the feeling you have before you understand the situation.”

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Editorial Director Fergus Byrne

Contributors

Deputy Editor

Kevin Cahill Seth Dellow Helen Fisher Nick Fisher Richard Gahagan Mark Hix Nic Jeune

Victoria Byrne

Design

People Magazines Ltd

Advertising

Fergus Byrne info@marshwoodvale.com

8 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

Russell Jordan Robin Mills Gay Pirrie Weir Antonia Squire Phillip Strange Lesley Waters Ashley Wheeler

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.

April

EVENTS AND COURSES 28 March

Golden Cap Association Annual General Meeting with special guest speaker, Leo Henley Lock, Countryside Manager, West and North Dorset National Trust. 2.30 pm United Church Main Hall, East Street, Bridport. Information from Mike Nicks 01308 459855.

29 March

Scottish Country Dancing every Tuesday at Ashill Village Hall TA19 9LX from 7.30 to 9.30 pm with a break for tea or coffee.

Contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail. com for further information or just come along and join the fun. All welcome including beginners. We look forward to seeing you soon.

31 March

Lyme Voices Community Choir 19.30 to 21.15. Sing for fun.

Learn tunes by ear. Everyone welcome. Baptist Church (pine hall round the back), Silver St., Lyme Regis, DT7 3NY. Phone 01297 445078 or email petelinnett2@hotmail.com. Please let us know if you are coming.

1 April

West Dorset Ramblers Moderate 8.5 mile circular walk from Maiden Newton taking in the Frome Valley to Chantmarle. Contact 07498 604486.

Easter Bingo Charmouth Village Hall Doors open 7 pm, eyes down 7.30 pm. In aid or two Charmouth scouts that are lucky to go to the World Scout Jamboree.

Mixed Media Painting ‘Painting Water: Lakes or the Sea’ From 10 am to 2 pm. Cost £18. In the Bradshaw Room at Axminster Heritage Centre, Silver St, Axminster EX13 5AH. To book contact : gina.youens@btinternet.com.

The Duke (12A) 4pm (socially distanced seating) & 7.30pm Brilliant performances from Jim Broadbent & Helen Mirren. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

‘It’s Downton Abbey with garden tips’ (The Guardian). The Beaminster Festival joins forces with the Beaminster Horticultural Society to present the perfect show ‘Old Herbaceous’ with Peter Maqueen. Sown with seeds of gardening wisdom, this charming one man show is a love story – a humorous portrayal of a singleminded yet gentle man with a passion for plants. 7.30pm Bar from 7pm Beaminster Public Hall, Fleet Street, DT8 3EF. Tickets £12 (Online) www.beaminsterfestival.com or at Yarn Barton, Fleet Street, Beaminster, DT8 3DR Mon – Sat, 9.30am -12.30pm.

Trap for a Lonely Man by Dorchester Drama will be performed at: - Moreton Village Hall on 1st April, Broadmayne Village Hall on 2nd April, Martinstown Village Hall on 8th and 9th April.

Performances are at 7.30pm, doors open at 7pm. Tickets (£10 +£1 booking fee) are available online from www.wegottickets.com/ dorchesterdrama. For more information, contact Dee Thorne on 07749569730

2 April

The popular Fairey Band from Stockport is returning after 2 year’s break due to Covid-19, the band will be giving a concert in St Mary’s Church Beaminster at 3 pm. Tickets £12 50 from Estate agents Symonds and Sampson, The Yarn Barton Centre or Tel 10 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

01308 862493 Proceeds for Somerset and Dorset Air Ambulance and St Mary’s Church.

Jumble Sale with tombola & refreshments 2pm. Donations may be left at the hall between 10am & mid-day on the Saturday morning. Clapton & Wayford Village Hall. Further information from Jackie (01460 72324).

Talent for Textiles sale of antique and vintage textiles, lace and haberdashery. The Broadhembury Memorial Hall EX14 3NG 10am until 3pm. Further information Caroline Bushell tel. 01404 45901.

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

Cantamus presents ‘Darkness into Light’ a concert of music for Lent and spring. The Church of St Peter & St Paul, Uplyme DT7 3TT at 7.30pm. Tickets £12 on the door. Refreshments available.

Beginners Sewing Workshop 10am until 2pm Cost £18. In the Bradshaw Room at Axminster Heritage Centre, Silver St, Axminster, EX13 5AH. Learn some basic sewing skills: putting in a zip, cutting out, sewing and neatening seams, use of sewing machine etc. Come and be inspired to start sewing and learn a new skill. To book and for a materials contact : ginayouens@btinternet.com 07703246481.

3 April

Nourish Free meal supplied by Nourish. Plus opportunity to talk.

12:00 – 14:00 Axminster Guildhall 07708 731826.

Lyme Bay Chorale Spring Concert: Brahms’ Requiem. Lyme Regis Parish Church (St Michael the Archangel) at 4pm. Tickets £15 on the door / £13 in advance from Fortnam, Smith & Banwell, Lyme Regis (cash only) or choir members. Under-19s free.

Pianist Philip Clouts and double bassist Ron Phelan play melodic jazz with different flavours of African and Latin American music. They will be performing at the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis on Sunday 3rd April, and at the Tincleton Gallery near Dorchester on the 20th and 21st of May. Jazz in the Bar, Marine Theatre.

Doors/bar open 7pm Start 8pm. £10 advance £12 on the door. www.marinetheatre.com. For Tincleton events phone 01305 848 909 or email info@tincletongallery.com. Tickets £15 each including glass of wine and nibbles. www.tincletongallery.com

4 April

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Evening of Scottish Dancing at Chardstock Village Hall 7.30 - 10.00 p.m. Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own mug. No partner required. Contact David on 01460 65981 Cost £2.00 www.chardscottishdancing.org.

Bridport Folk Dance Club If you enjoy music and dancing, gentle exercise, socialising and maybe learning something new, come along to the W.I Hall on Monday evenings -7.15 to 9.30pm. All welcome, especially beginners. Tel: 458165 or 459001. Also on 11th, 18th, and 25th April.

Hawkchurch Film Nights in association with Devon Moviola, proudly presents ‘Pig’ (91 mins, Cert.15 - strong language, violence).

New regular start time 7.00pm (doors 6.30pm) at Hawkchurch Village Hall, EX13 5XD. Reservations £5 from csma95@gmail.com or 01297 678176, or pay at the door. Refreshments and sociallydistanced seating available.

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April

EVENTS AND COURSES 5 April

West Dorset Ramblers Moderate 7.5 mile circular walk from Salway Ash taking in the Brit Valley. Contact 07952 517764.

The Repair Café Free repairs on any items that can be brought into the Guildhall 11:00 – 13:00. Axminster Guildhall axerepaircafe@ gmail.com.

Scottish Country Dancing every Tuesday at Ashill Village hall TA19 9LX from 7.30 to 9.30 pm with tea / coffee break. Learn the steps , formations and dances with a fully qualified teacher. All welcome including beginners. For more information contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com.

6 April

Upholstery Classes Dalwood Village Hall - fortnightly. Time: 9.30am – 3.30pm. Also 27th April, 11th, 25th May, 8th, 29th June.

Cost: £20 per session inc tea/coffee, bring own lunch. Limited places. Not for profit. To book: Tel 07969 804184.

Ladies clothing sale A large selection of brand new ladies clothing, accessories, scarves, jewellery and gift items from branded stores at a fraction of the high street price. Refreshments available.

2:45pm to 4:30pm Charmouth Village Hall, Wesley Road.

Bridport Scottish Dancers meet every Wednesday at 7.30on on

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6th April, Salwayash VH, Salwayash, DT6 5HX and at Church House, South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NN on 13th, 20th and 27th April. All welcome, no partner required but please wear soft shoes.

First evening free, thereafter £2.00 which includes tea/coffee & squash. Contact Malcolm on 07790 323343. Check out www. bridportscottishdancers.org.uk

7 April

West Dorset Ramblers Leisurely walk around Symondsbury.

Contact 07947 881635.

Lyme Voices Community Choir 19.30 to 21.15. Sing for fun.

Learn tunes by ear. Everyone welcome. Baptist Church (pine hall round the back), Silver St., Lyme Regis, DT7 3NY. Phone 01297 445078 or email petelinnett2@hotmail.com. Please let us know if you are coming.

Art Auction for the people of Ukraine - will take place at The Ropemakers, West St; Bridport starting at 6pm. Donations of artworks from 35 local artists, to include Ricky Romain, Gerry Dudgeon, David Brooke & Caroline Ireland.

Tatworth Flower club Thursday flower demonstration by ‘Tracy Johnson’ ‘Out of the wood’. doors open at 1.30pm for 2pm. A warm welcome to Visitors £6.Tatworth memorial hall TA20 2QW further details Julie Kettle 01934 248536.

Colyton History Town Walks Meeting at 2 pm Colyton Dolphin Street Car Park. Guided tour for approximately one hour. Cost £4, children under 16 free. No need to book, all weathers. Group Bookings - please contact: Jane Dauncey 01297 552514 or Pam McCleneghen 01297 33406. Also on 14, 21 and 28 April.

John Donne Life and Work: A Talk with readings by Graham Fawcett 7.30pm doors at 7pm. Whether you know and love John Donne’s poetry or need an introduction, come along to Sladers Yard, West Bay, and bathe in his brilliant witty words. Graham Fawcett presented poetry programmes on BBC Radio 3 for many years and was a founder tutor at the London Poetry School. Tickets: £12.50. Please call 01308 459511 to book.

Vagabond (1985, France, 15, 101 mins, Director: Agnes Varda).

Vagabond (French: Sans toit ni loi, “with neither shelter nor law”) is a 1985 French drama film featuring Sandrine Bonnaire. 7:30 pm start. Clapton & Wayford Village Hall (TA18 8PS).). Membership £22, guests £4 per film. Contact mickpwilson53@btinternet.com or ring Mick Wilson on 01460 74849 or Di Crawley on 01460 30508.

Prices as they were in 2019. Sensible COVID-19 precautions are in place.

The Friends of Lyme Regis Museum present a Talk: ‘Life on the Seashore’ by Chris Andrew, Museum Education Officer. Chris investigates the local rock pools. At 2.30pm Woodmead Halls, Hill Road, Lyme Regis. DT7 3PG. This talk follows the AGM at 2.00pm.

All welcome Members £2.00, Visitors £3.00. Contact David Cox 01297 443156.

8 April

Talk and Tea: Cider Country with James Crowden 2.30 pm 3.30 pm. The Museum of Somerset, Taunton Castle, Castle Green, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4AA. Museumofsomerset.org.uk Booking, £5. James Crowden talks about his new book ‘Cider Country’ looking at the history of cider from the very beginning to the current day. Part of our Talk and Tea Series.

West Side Story (2021) at 7.30pm Village Hall, The Causeway, Milborne St Andrew DT11 0JX Doors and bar open 7.00 Tickets cost £5, which includes a drink or an ice-cream.

Ali & Ava (15) 7.30pm A British heartfelt contemporary love story.

Sparks fly after Ali and Ava meet through their shared affection for Sofia, the child of Ali’s tenants whom Ava teaches. Starring Adeel Akhta & Claire Rushbrook The Beehive Honiton www. beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050 Water Water Everywhere by Becca Flintham. Bog gardens, ponds and water wise gardening. 7.30pm. Kilmington village hall. Whitford Road, EX13 7RF Non members £3 Lyme Regis u3a is resuming ‘in person’ talks at the Woodmead Hall. Managing Director Simon West will present the truly inspiring story of the Lyme based charity The Word Forest Organisation.

11am, Details are available on the lymeregisu3a.org web site; membership costs just £12 pa and non members are welcome to the talks for a contribution of £2.

Cinechard at Holyrood Academy (upper site) will show Wes Anderson’s ‘The French Dispatch (15)’ Tickets for the showing at 7.30pm (doors at 7pm) can be purchased in advance at Barron’s, the PO and Eleos for £5 and £2.50, or on the door for £6 and £3, or from ticketsource/cinechard for a small booking fee. Plenty of parking, fully accessible, refreshments and raffle.

EVENTS IN MAY

Live or Online send your event details to info@marshwoodvale.com TH

BY APRIL 13

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April

EVENTS AND COURSES 9 April

The Sheldon Singers present “A Spring Bouquet” a varied choral programme in celebration of spring - 7.30 pm, St Mary’s Church, Uffculme EX15 3AA. Retiring collection.

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 6 mile walk from Musbury. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340.

Jumble sale at Norton Sub Hamdon Village Hall TA14 6SF. All usual stalls, quality clothes, shoes, bags, toys, books, bric a brac. and much more. Refreshments, cakes. Entrance 50p. Doors open at 11am. Everyone welcome. Contact details. Jennie. 01935 881718.

Flats & Sharps with special guests True Foxes (a seated gig).

8pm British bluegrass with blistering musicianship and silky smooth harmonies. Energetic, enthusiastic and spirited. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

Sunset Cafe Stompers St. Mary’s Church Beaminster 7.30pm £12.50.

Bridport and District Gardening Club After a 2 year break the Spring Show is back at the United Church Hall Bridport.

This is an open show (anyone can enter). Please contact Monique on 01308 301272 for a schedule or on line at http://www. bridportgardeningclub.co.uk where further information can be found. There are flower, vegetable, handicraft and cooking classes, something for everyone. As usual there will be a plant stall. All proceeds going to a local charity. Entry is free to view the exhibits, we hope you will support this event.

Easter Prize Bingo Maiden Newton Village Hall. Doors 2pm Eyes down 2.30 pm. Raffle, children’s game, tea and cakes.

Say it with Spring Flowers Helen Timbers will give a demonstration of using flowers and foliage to make a Spring centrepiece and then you can make your own, using materials supplied. Speedwell Hall, Crewkerne. 2:30pm - 5:00pm. Tickets £12 to include High Tea. Tickets available from Crewkerne Information Centre. (Limited numbers so please book early.) Tel: 01460 271767.

Scottish Dancing Party in Chardstock Evening of Scottish Dancing at Chardstock Village Hall 7.30 - 10.30 p.m. No partner required. Please bring your own plate of food and mug. Tea and coffee provided. Cost £5 Contact David on 01460 65981 www. chardscottishdancing.org Choral concerts 7.00 pm at St Mary’s Church Bridport, The New Elizabethan Singers and The Broadoak Choir will combine to perform two choral pieces written by local composers. They go ‘on tour’ the next day, April 10th to repeat the performance in St Bartholomew’s Church Crewkerne at 3.30 pm. Matt Kingston (pen-name Matthew Coleridge) has directed the NES since 2011. His Requiem integrates broad lush vocal harmonies with exhilarating organ, string and percussion accompaniments and solo passages. Tickets, £12 (under 18s free) are available from Goadsby in Bridport. The concert in Crewkerne is free to all, with a retiring collection. Do not miss this concert of wonderfully uplifting music, grown organically in the Marshwood Vale and composed and performed by Dorset talent.

Stockland Easter Village market & table top sale (sorry no

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jumble clothes). Victory hall 10am - 12 noon. Hot refreshments Free entry. Table bookings invited. Please contact Monica Parris 01404 881535. Monica.parris@connect.com.

9 - 10 April

Angels of Sound Voice Playshop 10am-5pm Oborne Village Hall, Oborne nr. Sherborne DT9 4LA toning the chakras using sacred Sanskrit vowels, and find your Soul Note. £70 booking only 01935 389655 ahiahel@live.com ff1 www.centreforpuresound.org

9 - 22 April

“Egg-cellent” Easter Fun at West Bay Discovery Centre Dropin for some Easter drawing and colouring all with an egg theme. No need to book. Open daily (excluding Mondays) between 11 am - 4 pm. Admission free donations welcomed. Further details www. westbaydiscoverycentre.org.uk/

9 - 23 April

Easter Holiday Activities 10.00 am – 5.00 pm Tue – Sat. The Museum of Somerset, Taunton Castle, Castle Green, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4AA. Museumofsomerset.org.uk. Craft activities throughout the holidays celebrating spring and Easter. Activities, £1/£2.

9 - 24 April

Kids Easter Spotters Trail - at Abbotsbury Swannery. Complete the checklist for a chance to win a Season Ticket in our daily draw.

10 April

Large Downsizing Garage Sale of Household effects and Furniture From 10-am to 4-pm at Sarum House (next to the Old Rectory) South Perrott, Dorset DT8 3HU

11 April

West Dorset Ramblers Moderate 9 mile circular walk from East Chaldon to Lulworth. Contact 07974 756107.

Megaslam Wrestling Doors open 7 for 7.30pm. 2 hour family entertainment spectacular. Get ready to grab a foam finger & enjoy some full-on family fun! Book early for the best seats. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050 Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Evening of Scottish Dancing at Chardstock Village Hall 7.30 - 10.00 p.m. Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own mug. No partner required. Contact David on 01460 65981 Cost £2.00 www.chardscottishdancing.org.

Dorchester Townswomen’s Guild Meeting Posted in the Past.

An illustrated talk by Helen Baggott, a lady very much interested in social history. 2 p.m. Dorchester Community Church, Poundbury, DT1 3DF Visitors welcome £2.50. Enquires 01305 832857.

West Dorset Flower Club (Bridport) are having a demonstration

by Carol Norman entitled “With Spring in Mind”. This will take place at 2.30 pm at the WI Hall in North Street. Visitors £5, further details from the Secretary, 01308 456339.

12 April

Scottish Country Dancing every Tuesday at Ashill Village hall TA19 9LX from 7.30 to 9.30 pm with tea / coffee break. Learn the steps, formations and dances with a fully qualified teacher. All welcome including beginners. For more information contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com

13 April

Young Farmers Breakfast Charity big breakfast, raffle and cake stall 09:00 – 14:00 Axminster Guildhall 07931 154091.

“West Side Story” (12A) (2021) Kilmington Community Cinema will be screening at the Village Hall (EX13 7RF). Doors open 6.45 film starts 7.15. Matinee on Thursday 14th afternoon doors open 2pm film starts 2.15 advance booking required for this matinee very limited seating, and cream teas (£3) available if booked with the ticket reservation. Tickets can be pre-booked by email: alun.evans@ yahoo.co.uk, see www.kilmingtonvillage.com/other-organisations. html for more information.

14 April

Crewkerne Gardening Club is pleased to welcome John Butler to talk about “Bumble Bees in your garden”. This is sure to generate a buzz of excitement. The talk will begin at 7.30pm in the Henhayes Centre and refreshments are provided. Come and enjoy the evening with us! Visitor entry - £2.50. Contact- Rosemary Prince, 01460 74290.

Sea Shanty sessions An evening of singing sea Shanties and other familiar songs of the sea, with the Chantry Buoys of Colyton.

7.30pm at The Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis. Free admission. All welcome to join in. Contact Peter, 07761 469676.

Seaton Garden Club monthly meeting at 2.30 pm in the Masonic Hall, Queen Street SeatonbSpeaker Dr Mike Lock, talk on Cape Flowers and Views. Visitors welcome cost £2 to include refreshments. Contact 01297 24049 Royal Opera Screening La Traviata (12A) 6.45 In a glamorous and superficial society, a courtesan sacrifices all for love. Opera by Verdi. Sung in Italian with English subtitles. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

15 April

Beaminster Museum opens for the summer season 10.30.

More to see, hear and do than ever before. Free entry. See www. beaminstermuseum.co.uk for opening days and times.

The Phantom of the Open (12A) 4pm (socially distanced seating) and 7.30pm A heart-warming British comedy starring Oscar Winner Mark Rylance, the true story of Maurice Flitcroft, the worst golfer to ever the play the British Open. The Beehive Honiton www. beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

15 - 18 April

Bridport Art Society 2022 Easter Exhibition and Art Sale The Salt House, West Bay at 10am to 5pm. Hung works and cards by members all for sale. Free entry

16 April

Craft@Kennaway Fair 10.00am-4pm, indoor & outdoor fair with local, handmade crafts and food stands, Kennaway House, 01395 515551, www.kennawayhouse.org.uk.

Axminster Heritage Centre new temporary exhibition ‘Spinning A Yarn: Axminster and Sheep’ and it is hooped to have live sheep at the centre for a display on shearing, weather permitting. The exhibition will also have a range of associated talks and workshops throughout the summer. Summer openings are Mon-Fri 10-4 and Saturdays 10-1 until October 29th. Entry is £4 per adult and 16 and under are free. Heritage Alive at Axminster Heritage Centre are also running coach trips once a month from April. For all information please go to www.axminsterheritage.org Thomas Whitty House, Silver St, Axminster EX13 5AH. Chideock WI Easter Cream Teas and Bake Sale - Easter Saturday 3.00pm - 5.00pm in Chideock Village Hall. For more details email chideockwi@gmail.com.

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17 April

Nourish Free meal supplied by Nourish. Plus opportunity to talk.

12:00 – 14:00 Axminster Guildhall 07708 731826.

17 - 18 April

Easter weekend at Yeovil Railway Centre Yeovil Junction BA22 9UU - Easter Egg Trail and Easter Bunny. 01935 410420 or www. yeovilrailway.freeservers.com, or find us on Facebook.

19 April

Forever Queen A four piece Queen tribute band, based in the South. For the past 10 years they have toured the UK and abroad, and are now back in Axminster. 19:00 Axminster Guildhall www. axminster-guildhall.co.uk.

“The Last Bus” Film Night Chideock Village Hall at 7.00pm for 7.30pm. Tea/coffee/wine/popcorn and choc ices available. Entry £5.00 for members, £7.00 for non-members. Contact 01297 489452.

Turn Lyme Green Talk “The Changing Landscape of Food & Health”(Free). Dr Sue Beckers (well known retired GP & Nutrition Practitioner) will talk on how eating natural foods and avoiding sugar & processed food promotes well-being and good health. 7pm at Driftwood Cafe, Baptist Church, Lyme Regis, DT7 3NY. 01297 446066 or www.turnlymegreen.co.uk Barrington and District Gardening Club A talk by Christopher Bond who’s subject will be “art in the garden”. Barrington Village Hall, visitors welcome, cost£2 to include refreshments.

20 April

Colyton & District Garden Society Talk ‘Vertical Gardening’

by Claire Hart. 7.30pm at Colyford Memorial Hall. Members free, guests £3. For information, Sue Price: 01297 552362.

The Beehive Acoustic Night 7.30pm Hosted by Terry Stacey.

Perform or listen in the Beehive bar. Free entry. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050 Beaminster Museum “Crafty Fossils” morning for 7 – 11 year olds with accompanying adults. 10.00 – 11.30. Fun Fossil Craft activities.

Free, but need to book by 6th April. See www.beaminstermuseum. co.uk for further information.

Community Coffee Morning including croissants & bacon rolls, 10.30am – noon, at Clapton & Wayford Village Hall. More details from Julia (01460 72769)

21 April

Arts Society West Dorset Lucian Freud: The Art of the Man Speaker: John Idden. 2.30pm Bridport Town Hall. Visitors welcome-£7.50.

National Theatre Live: Henry V (15) 7pm Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) plays the title role in Shakespeare’s thrilling study of nationalism, war and the psychology of power. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050 West Dorset Ramblers Moderate 7 mile circular walk from Pilsdon Pen including Lewesdon Hill and beyond. Contact 07889 921435.

Bridport and District Gardening Club monthly meeting is at 7.30pm at the W I Hall North Street Bridport. Derek Dexter is a member of the Fuchsia Society and a winner of many trophies. His talk and slides will cover the growing and showing of fuchsias. The meeting is open to non-members for a small fee of £2.00.

22 April

Giggle at the Guildhall The Guildhall’s very own monthly stand up comedy night, hosted by Tom Glover. Featuring guest comics Sandi Smith and Luke Honnoraty. 19:30 Axminster Guildhall www. axminster-guildhall.co.uk.

The film King Richard will be shown by T & F Movies in Tatworth Memorial Hall at 8.00pm. The doors open at 7.30pm and there will be a bar and raffle. Will Smith stars as the father who 16 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

bullies and coaches his daughters, Venus and Serena Williams, to become supreme tennis players.

Somerset Wildlife Trust Ilminster/Chard group. Dr Peter Glanvill will give an illustrated presentation on “Caves & Caving in Devon” & will include some intriguing tales surrounding the discovery of the new bone cave in Devon! 7.30pm Parish Hall, North St. Ilminster TA19 0DG, roadside & town car parks. £3 SWT members, £4 nonmembers, no charge for children. Refreshments will be available.

Enquiries 01460 234551

23 April

The Cassandra String Quartet 7.30 pm. Cattistock Parish Church The inaugural “Cattistock in Concert” will take place in our beautiful Parish Church. This is a very exciting new project to bring back classical music to the village and it is planned to hold many more interesting events in the future. There is no charge for this concert but suggested donations of £10 per person will be most welcome towards future concerts in this series. Drinks will be served during the interval. More details are available on the Cattistock website www.cattistockvillage.co.uk email: infocattistockinconcert@gmail. com Mobile: 07471 193229 Facebook Page: Cattistock in Concert.

Noble Jacks + Support 8pm With the fiddle leading the charge, Noble Jacks are out to take no prisoners with their high-energy footstompin’ rhythms, which have taken crowds by storm across the UK. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050 Talking Rubbish: coffee morning Chardstock Eco Group hosts a coffee morning focusing on opening conversations about how we can reduce rubbish and plastic waste. Stalls. Mini-repair cafe.

Free coffee and cake. 10am-12 noon Chardstock Community Hall Contact Vicky Whitworth 01460 221024 Plant and Gardening Fair with various other charity stalls, 9.30-1, at Bridport Millennium Green, Mountfield, Rax Lane, DT6 3JP. In aid of the Friends of Bridport Millennium Green. For more details, or if you would like to donate plants etc, please contact Sandra Brown, 01308 423078.

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 8 mile walk from Whitchurch. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340.

CUPID, a mutual support group for ostomists i.e. anyone with a stoma (colostomy, urostomy, ileostomy) or pouch, will meet between 10:00 and noon at the Dorford Centre, Bridport Road, Dorchester DT1 1RR. Parking is available opposite at the Top o’ the Town car park. This is an informal gathering where you can meet others who ‘have been there and got the T-shirt’, maybe pick up a few tips or just enjoy a tea or coffee and biscuits and hear Richard Cunningham who will tell us about the work of the RNLI. Rhys Williams will have a display of Convatec products and endeavour to help with any problems.

The Friends of Beaminster Festival are delighted to welcome Gabriella Jones (violin) & Fionnuala Ward (piano) to perform the concert originally planned for April 2020. The programme will consist of music by Mozart, Brahms, Bridge & Debussy.

Both Gabriella & Fionnuala are graduates from the Royal College of Music and have regularly appeared as soloists and chamber musicians throughout UK and Europe. Gabriella last came to Beaminster as part of the Festival in 2018. The concert is at 3.00pm in St Marys Church,Beaminster and tickets at £12 are available via the Festival web-site(ticketsource.co.uk) or from Yarn Barton and The Book Shop,14 South Street Bridport Tel 01308 422964 and on the door.

24 April

Singing Bowl Soundbath 2-4PM Oborne Village Hall, DT9 4LA

Quieten the mind calm the emotions and relax and detoxify the body. £15 advance bookings only 01935 389655 ahiahel@live.com

25 April

West Dorset Ramblers Leisurely 5 mile coastal walk from Cogden Beach to Bridport. Contact 01297 489567.

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Evening of Scottish Dancing at Chardstock Village Hall 7.30 - 10.00 p.m. Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own mug. No partner required. Contact David on 01460 65981 Cost £2.00 www.chardscottishdancing.org.

Golden Cap Association Illustrated Talk Purbeck Castles – Lulworth, Duriston and Corfe by David Warhurst. 2.30 pm United Church Main Hall, East Street, Bridport. Information from Mike Nicks 01308 459855.

25 - 26 April

Nativity the Musical Postponed from December. Nativity! the Musical, brought to you by Axminster Drama Club, is a stage musical based on the 2009 film of the same name. 19:30 And 14:30 on 26th. Axminster Guildhall. www.axminster-guildhall. co.uk.

26 April

In Xanadu Coleridge and the West Country Exhibition Tours.

26 Apr, 25 May, 18 Jun, 2.30 pm. The Museum of Somerset, Taunton Castle, Castle Green, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4AA. Museumofsomerset.org.uk. Booking, suggested donation £3. Find out more about the artworks and objects on display in this short gallery tour.

Bridport & District u3a presents a talk by Andy Lucker entitled ‘Catching baggage thieves at Heathrow Airport’ in the Bridport United Church Hall at 2pm, followed by refreshments. Covid safety measures will be in place. Visit www.bridportu3a.org.uk or email info@bridportu3a.org.ok for further details.

The Lyme Regis Society presents their AGM, followed by a Talk ‘What Lies Beneath’ The story of The Cups Hotel, part 1 by Bob Speer 2pm Woodmead Halls, Hill Road, Lyme Regis. DT7 3PG All Welcome. Members Free. Visitors £3.00. Check website for further information: https://www.lymeregissociety.org.uk.

Scottish Country Dancing every Tuesday at Ashill Village hall TA19 9LX from 7.30 to 9.30 pm with tea / coffee break. Learn the steps, formations and dances with a fully qualified teacher. All welcome including beginners. For more information contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com An evening with Gill Meller 7pm, £65 The Oyster & Fish House, Lyme Regis https://theoysterandfishhouse.co.uk/newsevents/gill-meller/ Mark Hix and Gill Meller – Chef, food writer, author. A special evening with chef, food writer, author, food stylist, and cookery teacher, Gill Meller.

27 April

‘The Pilgrim Fathers’ by Mrs Carrie Southwell of the Mayflower Society, USA. John Addie will talk about life on board and present his scale model of the Mayflower. Sarah Charman will talk about ‘New World Adventurers’ before the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers. Colyton Town Hall, 7.30pm. £4 non-members, £2 members includes refreshments. For more info email: secretary@ colytonhistory.org West Dorset Ramblers Moderate 8 mile circular walk from Worth Matravers covering both coast and country. Contact 01305 262681.

In Conversation with Alice Temperley 7pm. £65 The Fox Inn, Corscombe. An evening ‘In Conversation With’ journalist and author Dylan Jones OBE and Fashion Designer Alice Temperley MBE. Mark Hix will create a special menu for the evening of

Alice Temperley is in conversation at The Fox Inn on April 27. Advance booking only.

local spring produce, and of course Julian Temperley’s produce.

Between courses Dylan and Alice will share stories of their lives in journalism and fashion. Booking at https://thefoxinncorscombe. co.uk/ Carnival Bingo Monthly Bingo run by the Axminster Carnival Committee. 20:00 – 22:00. Axminster Guildhall. www.axminsterguildhall.co.uk.

Uplyme & Lyme Regis Horticultural Society Talk - ‘Head Gardeners’ by award-winning writer Ambra Edwards. 7.30pm, Uplyme Village Hall. Refreshments from 7pm. Members free; guests £3.

28 April

West Dorset Ramblers Moderate 8 mile walk along the Railway Line Path from Powerstock. Contact 07826 150114.

Lyme Voices Community Choir 19.30 to 21.15. Sing for fun.

Learn tunes by ear. Everyone welcome. Baptist Church (pine hall round the back), Silver St., Lyme Regis, DT7 3NY. Phone 01297 445078 or email petelinnett2@hotmail.com.

Nostalgic Cinema: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (U) 2pm.

Dementia-friendly with subtitles. Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell star as two showgirls who set sail on a luxury liner bound for France. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050

29 April

Meet the Artist, Alan Cotton MBE in conversation with television and radio presenter Judi Spiers. 7.00pm for 7.30pm. Tickets £15. Kennaway House, 01395 515551, www. kennawayhouse.org.uk

30 April

The Occasional Singers: Baroque Masterworks 7.30 St Mary’s Church in Dorchester (DT1 2HL) The Occasional Singers present a concert of short Baroque masterworks for voices, oboe and strings. Entrance is Free. There will be a retiring collection for Alzheimer’s Research UK. Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 6 mile walk from Wynford Eagle. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340.

Craft@Kennaway Fair 10.00am-4pm, indoor & outdoor fair with local, handmade crafts and food stands, Kennaway House, 01395 515551, www.kennawayhouse.org.uk.

Bridport Film Festival special festival family event, 1940s soundtrack choice of Pinocchio with puppet making workshop afterwards with Holly Miller. 2 pm Lyric Theatre, Bridport.

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Past, Present and FUTURE Dr Mary Davies from the Pilsdon Community talks to Seth Dellow

By Fergus Byrne

I

n the twelfth episode of his series of audio interviews for Past, Present & Future, Seth Dellow spoke to Dr Mary Davies from the Pilsdon Community in West Dorset.

A new book, Living Life in Common: Stories from the Pilsdon Community has just been published which was co-written by Mary, Dr David Prior, and Professor Marian Barnes. The book brings together different perspectives on life in the community from people who have known it over its more than 60-year history. It also explores both the rewards and challenges of communal living for people whose lives have become severely troubled and explains some of the motivations and experiences of those who have taken on responsibility for running the community.

Having previously been in an academic career, Mary Davies cites the need for closer human contact as one of her motivations for joining the Pilsdon Community. ‘I also wanted to be more connected to people’ she told Seth ‘and the academic life can be quite isolating and quite like a lonely experience of working in archives or with your head in the books or writing. Many parts of which I love, but I just wanted to be more interconnected with people and to be impacted by them I suppose as well.’

Now a full-time member of the community, Mary had looked at many Christian communities before coming to Pilsdon but found ‘something about it that really drew me in.’ She describes it to Seth as a ‘combination of a monastic rhythm—its simplicity, its acceptance and the kind of

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David Tucker by Seth Dellow Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 19

The Pilson Community is nestled within the heart of the Marshwood Vale

physicality of the work.’ She says it is very much a working place. ‘It is a place that has its things to get done—things to be made, food to be cooked, animals to be mucked out, gardens to be dug. And there was just something hugely appealing to me about that and the way that interwove with the spirituality of the place. And I think trying to find a sense of home in terms of spirituality was maybe also another journey for me.’ The Community is a place where a group of individuals work in common. And as Mary puts it, ‘there is an honesty here and a kind of truth-telling that I was immediately attracted to and felt really authentic.’

Located in the West Dorset countryside, the community operates as a small farm, caring for cows, sheep, pigs, hens and extensive vegetable and fruit gardens through principles of environmental sustainability. It sits within a lengthy tradition of hospitality offered by faith communities of different types and of both monastic and lay community life. Although Mary was attracted in part because of her Christian faith, people of all faiths and none are welcomed as guests to live and work alongside the community members.

Explaining the relationship between those with different faith positions she says: ‘There is a sense of purpose and there is a kind of interconnection between—well there is no separation I suppose—between what happens in the church or what prayer is and what work is. They are kind of woven together here. I think it always offered the idea that it would be a place that people could be themselves.’

The Pilsdon Community offers guests whose lives have been severely troubled by problems such as mental illness, addiction, and homelessness the opportunity to recover a positive sense of self through being and working alongside others.

The Pilsdon Community fulfills a need that is often hidden within our communities. ‘It is a place where people can feel safe and accepted and valued for who they are’ says Mary, ‘not for what they do or what they have achieved.’

She says it is an economy that is full of forgiveness and grace, and as much as possible isn’t competitive. ‘And so as a concept, as a space, as a place it is always, and it always will be, a necessary space to have in the world.’ Mary is also aware of the challenges that our fast-moving and modern society places on individuals. Despite our extraordinary connectedness through social media, Mary sees how, for many people, it is quite a disconnected world. ‘There is a lot of demand I think out there for finding places like this’ she says. ‘Here it is very embodied, it is very kind of real

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and manifest. It is just really healthy I think—a place to form relationships.’

Although the Pilsdon Community gets a lot of referrals from mental health services and from relatives and from people themselves who have identified it as a place that could be helpful for them, Mary is very clear that it is not a therapeutic community. ‘We are not trained counsellors’ she says, ‘even though we have got a lot of experience of listening to people and living alongside people.’ She says the primary goal is to provide a space that is safe and good. ‘But we are not therapeutic’ she says. ‘So we can only support people who, I suppose, have a certain capacity to work and a certain self-awareness.’

The Community was started in 1958 by Reverend Percy Smith and his wife, Gaynor who moved there with their daughter Ruth. And although Gaynor wrote a book and there have been articles and short publications since then, Living Life in Common: Stories from the Pilsdon Community, offers an extensive and fascinating insight into both its physical formation and development, as well as the spiritual growth that sustained it and made it what it is today.

Mary explained that it has been very difficult for a member of the community or someone close to it to write a contemporary book, ‘because there is just simply no time in our life, in this rhythm, in the way that we live here to, kind of, carve out time to write something.’ However, the Pilsdon Community is a resource of wisdom and that is something it is hoped will come through for those reading this new book.

Talking about the book Mary mentions the disconnect in life again and says, ‘We sometimes struggle to take responsibility for the things that we need to take responsibility for, and I think the invitation of living in a more cyclical, rhythmic, simple way is an invitation for everyone to wonder what grounds us, what holds us steady, what gives us life. And I think that there is a lot in this book about that.’

People have come to the Pilsdon Community from many different places, walks of life and denominations, and many have brought with them wisdom gained from varied life experiences. And as Mary puts it ‘there is something important about that.’ But while it is a helping hand for most it isn’t for everyone. ‘If you can’t find everything you need in this place, it is a hard place to live’ she says, ‘but I find everything I need and more—it is so enriching. But I think you have to come with a sense that you are willing to be transformed by the place.’

‘So, I think for people who want to live in socially just ways, who want to care for the environment and who feel that connection between everything like environment and people and land and their faith and the way in which that is all, kind of, combined, I think this is an amazing place to live that out.’

For more information about the Pilsdon Community or to purchase a copy of the book visit: https://www.pilsdon.org.uk/ Seth Dellow’s full interview with Dr Mary Davies is available to listen to on the Marshwood Vale Magazine website.

Visit www.marshwoodvale.com.

News&Views

CHARDSTOCK Save village shop and post office Over eighty residents attended an information surgery in Chardstock Community Hall in February trying to save its shop and post office. The community needs to raise nearly a quarter of a million pounds over a period of just two months which ends shortly. Over £40,000 was raised on the day with more promised over the following days. “We still have a long way to go,” said one committee member, “If we don’t manage to raise the remaining £70,000 by our deadline, the community will still lose its most essential amenity - the beating heart of our village.” To help contact: Paul Spearing 01460 221024 Rob Wheeler 01460 220115.

UPLYME Lighting the colours of Ukraine

St Peter and St Paul Church, in Uplyme, part of the Axe Valley Mission Community, has lit up its building in solidarity with Ukraine. Every night the tower can be seen in blue with the rest of the building in yellow. Team Vicar Rev Nicky Davies says: “As the church is on a hill, it makes a great statement that we stand in solidarity with the Ukranian people at this horrendous time. In our prayers we pray for both Russians and Ukraines and for an end to this horrific invasion.”

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MARSHWOOD VALE Landlord’s ‘terrifying’ journey

The landlord of the Shave Cross pub in the Marshwood Vale found himself helping ferry people across the border from Ukraine to Poland after delivering aid for refugees last month. After dropping supplies in Poland, Tom Littledyke, who also runs the Shave Cross cellar in Lyme Regis, used his 16-seater bus to collect people from the train station in Lviv in western Ukraine and bring them to the Polish border. He described the drive over the border as ‘terrifying’. A Just Giving page has been set up to raise money to help refugees at: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ thomas-littledyke. Tom is continuing to organise and help deliver aid to refugees from the conflict.

SHERBORNE Popular garden reopens

Paddock Garden in Sherborne has reopened after a refurbishment that included the use of unique and environmentally sustainable materials in it’s paths and maze. Made from a resin bound solution which uses a mix of stone and aggregates and recycled waste plastic (in this case the equivalent of 2,364,000 plastic straws), the solution is called Recycle Bound and was innovated by and is exclusive to Oltco, a company founded in Cornwall. It is said to be a world first and comes with a 20 year guarantee.

BRIDPORT Huge response to appeals

Volunteer groups throughout the South West have reported a huge response to appeals for donations for Ukrainian refugees. Many groups are now asking for donations to be more specific to help target essential needs.

Claire Nuttall from the St Michael’s Trading Estate group in Bridport says items needed include: Non-perishable foodstuffs; personal hygiene products; kitchen cleaning products and essential medicines. They also need sleeping bags, blankets and towels as well as telephone charging cables type-c. For children they need various educational toys, wet wipes and diapers. Donations can be handed in at St Michael’s Trading Estate behind the Euronics Burwood electrical building.

Inside the Boat Building Academy The Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis has been launching talented boat builders and furniture makers for many years. An Open Day in May offers a fascinating insight into ancient and modern craft.

F

ounded in 1997 by Commander Tim If unable to join us for weeks at a time, we run Gedge, the Boat Building Academy is a varied programme of 2-to-5-day short courses a charitable organisation that has been in boat building, woodworking, and other ancillary producing talented craftspeople for a quarter of skills such as sail making, marquetry and antique a century. furniture restoration to suit all tastes and experience Our flagship 40-week Boat Building course levels. gives men and women the professional training, OPEN DAY knowledge and confidence needed for a career To mark our 25th anniversary, the Academy will in the booming marine industry. There is no be throwing open the workshop doors for an open skill requirement to enrol—all that we ask for is day on Saturday 7th May from 11:00 to 16:00. enthusiasm, passion, and dedication. The course If you’ve never visited us before, this is the brings together a wide spectrum of people of perfect opportunity to get a real understanding varying ages and backgrounds for one shared of who we are and how we operate. Staff and goal: to learn how to build boats. students will be on hand to answer any questions Though famed for our boat building training, you might have about our courses. There will be since 2009 the Academy (as the BBA Furniture boats under construction as well as finished boats School) has been running a popular 12-week built by graduates on display in the main workshop Furniture Making course designed to give throughout the day. students a solid foundation in a wide variety of There will also be live demonstrations from the woodworking techniques—fully equipped for teaching staff, with opportunities for people to get whatever path they take next. involved with activities such as copper riveting and The Boat Building Academy brings together a wide For those wishing to take their existing oar making. spectrum of ages and backgrounds woodworking skills to the next level, the 12-week For further information about the Boat Advanced Furniture Making course has been specially developed Building Academy and the open day, please contact office@ for makers looking to work to the highest gallery-standards. boatbuildingacademy.com/ 01297 445545

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The Boat Building Academy brings together a wide spectrum of people of varying ages and backgrounds and is fully equipped for whatever path they take next

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Alfred the Great

By Cecil Amor

As a result, Guthrum asked for baptism in the Christian faith and Alfred stood with him. Guthrum agreed the Treaty of Wedmore and settled in East Anglia and began to integrate with the Anglo-Saxons, Alfred and Guthrum having agreed a division of England. Alfred proceeded to conquer London from another Danish group, so that in 866 he then controlled all of southern England, in an area north and east of a line from London to south of the Mersey. Alfred then governed his land and established mints, producing silver coins, embossed with his head. His aim was to ensure that his subjects would be able to obtain coinage within a day’s walk. In Dorset this meant mints in Bridport, Dorchester, Shaftesbury and Wareham. Alfred also built walls around these mint towns, to improve their defences. Alfred would have known Bridport as Brydian, apparently.

‘In Dorset this meant mints in Bridport, Dorchester, Shaftesbury and Wareham’

Alfred the Great’s statue at Winchester by Hamo Thornycroft’s erected in 1899

K

ing Alfred was one of us, in that he fought for and made Wessex what it became. It is said that he was partly of Celtic blood and grew up in Anglo-Saxon Wessex.

Alfred was born in 849 AD possibly at Wantage, Berkshire, his father being King AEthelred. His mother was Osburga, who died when he was young. He was the youngest of six children, and his 3 elder brothers all became king in turn and predeceased him. Prince Alfred was taken to Rome to meet the Pope when he was about five years old, a common practice among his peers. Alfred married Ealhswith, a Mercian, in 868, in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. After his brother AEthelred died, Alfred became King in April 871.

Around this time the Viking armies overwintered in England and around 870 and 871 the West Saxons lost five battles with them. Alfred fought the Vikings on the Great Ridgeway, but was beaten at Chippenham, in Wiltshire and retreated to the Somerset Marshes. He made a fort at Athelney, where evidence has been found of fires, possibly for sword making. Alfred then encamped with his army at Warminster, said to be three to four thousand strong. They encountered Guthrum and his Danish army encamped on a hill at Bratton, now near Westbury White Horse and a brutal fight ensued at Edington, Wiltshire, where Alfred and his men almost destroyed the Danes, chasing them back to Chippenham, in 878 .

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Alfred considered how best to keep his territory safe and decided to build fortifications at strategic points, which were called Burhs, often on previous Iron Age forts. It is thought that near to present day Bridport was Bredie, at Danes Camp or Old Warren, in Little Bredy parish.

This was not suitable to become a town, and so became neglected later, and the associated town became Bridport.

Its purpose was to protect the land between burghs at Exeter and Wareham. The other Dorset burgh was at Shaftesbury.

The next act for Alfred was to form what we now call a navy, and he arranged the design of ships, twice the length of Viking ships and broader and so more stable. So these ships and the burghs protected the coast from attack from the sea.

Unfortunately Alfred suffered with his health, even on his wedding day. This was some internal problem, but what is not recorded. It did not deter him from attacking Danes in London and vanquishing them and establishing a mint there, with coins again bearing his head, increased silver content and embossed “Elfred Rex”.

It has been said that he learnt to read and write in middle age. Possibly he managed to find more time then! In 887 he called Bishop Asser to his West Saxon court, to teach him Latin and he was able to translate some Latin works into Saxon English. Asser became bishop of Sherborne, in Dorset, and recorded the biography of Alfred, in Latin.

The “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle” was created probably under King Alfred’s wishes.

King Alfred died in 899, at 50 or 51 years, having reigned for 28 years. He is commemorated by a statue in Winchester, erected in 1901, Winchester having been described as Alfred’s favourite town.

There is another smaller statue of Alfred the Great in the small Wiltshire town of Pewsey, erected at the time of King George V. King Alfred is also associated with the famous “Alfred Jewel”, probably a reading aid, to point at the word being read. It carried the legend “Alfred had me made”, in gold.

It was found in marshes at Athelney, and has been suggested to have been a pendant.

There is only one question left to be considered, which is did Alfred actually “burn the cakes”, whilst in hiding in the Somerset marshes? As a child I was told that he took shelter, almost a vagrant, where a woman was baking and she asked him to watch the cakes. He was thinking of his strategy and forgot and the woman, not knowing that he was king, scolded him. This legend appeared somewhat later and may not be true!

The next meeting of Bridport History Society will be on Tuesday 12th of April, at 2/2.30 pm, in the hall and again on Zoom, when the speaker will be Rob Curtis, about “The Tolpuddle Martyrs”.

Cecil Amor, Hon President, Bridport History Society

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 25

Business Profile

The Fine Art of Drying

When Firepot started in 2017, it occupied a seventeenth-century barn deep inside the Marshwood Vale, where you could look out from the door to the Golden Cap. Within a year, the business had outgrown its first premises, moving into the three-storey mill at Pymore. This spring, the business expanded again, opening new flagship premises in the iconic Marshwood farm, Denhay, 3.5 miles outside Bridport, where the bacon factory used to be. For a business that makes dehydrated expedition food going to the world’s most distant extremes — from the top of Everest to the South Pole, from Yosemite to the Sahara — Firepot’s roots remain firmly local, from the sourcing of its ingredients to the people the business employs.

The company founder, John Fisher, is himself a keen expeditioner. He has spent time hiking in remote territory, including Greenland, Siberia, the Arctic and Himalayas. A passionate home cook, he wanted to make food he could take with him: healthy dehydrated meals, using fresh meat and vegetables, which you can cook up in extreme environments by just adding hot water.

‘It’s not been an easy ride,’ says Fisher — a serial entrepreneur who within six months of starting Firepot, won the UK 2017 Food Innovation Award. ‘In the beginning, I worried it didn’t make financial sense to operate the business from the place I’ve called home for the last twenty years. In this part of the world, tourism and second homes create premium rental rates. I knew there were much cheaper parts of the country to start up a manufacturing business. But I stuck by a hunch I’d find the right people to help me, and that with that as a strength, I’d balance out the other risks. I was right. I struck lucky in this community. The Marshwood Vale premises are just one part of what makes us ‘us’, which is proudly Dorset. Most of all,

26 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

we are defined by our local team, who are as committed to Firepot’s success as the climbers and expeditioners breaking world records with our products in their backpacks.

Nature, and treating it right, is in the roots of this farming landscape — and at Fireport, that ethic is the baseline of everything we do.’

The company’s executive chef, Tim Joy, used to work at The Bottle Inn in Marshwood. The head of packing logistics, Mike Cotterill, came to Firepot from Waitrose, and has stuck by Fisher’s expanding business through some of the most difficult times for small companies — not just as a result of the pandemic, but because of a slew of hurdles thrown in the way by Brexit laws. Yet the demand for Firepot endures. The company has recently expanded its distribution into the USA, Scandinavia and the EU. You just have to have a quick Google search to

see how fast Firepot’s reputation is moving. It’s being used on record-breaking expeditions to the North and South Poles, ascents on the world’s highest mountains, by ocean rowers, ultra-runners, round-the-world cyclists and sailors, family camping holidays, DofE and Ten Tors events across the South West. It has been endorsed by TV celebrities, Levison Wood and Bruce Parry. It’s made it onto Top Gear and Countryfile. The company is working with NASA and the European Space Agency. Most recently, it provided the food for team GB at the 2022 Winter Olympics and ParaOlympics. Right now, it’s on its way to the Ukraine, to help support volunteers and emergency medical crews working in the field.

Over the last couple of years, it has been challenging keeping the show on the road, but when you have a team who work together — ‘pulling equal weight,’ says Fisher, ‘because there are no hierarchies when it comes to graft’ — you have to keep on believing that anything is possible: ‘The Firepot crew have stuck by me through thick and thin. My biggest challenge now is building on that foundation — to find more people like the core team I started out with, who have believed in this business from the get-go. I need to find the right match with the right jobs as we grow, including a rapidly expanding kitchen staff.’

As the delivery drivers always remark out when they open up the door to find Firepot’s hustling, ‘space-age’ factory: ‘Who would have thought you’d find this here?’

Read more at www.firepotfood.com

JOIN THE FIREPOT TEAM Looking for a better work/life balance, a new challenge, or just the first step in a new career?

- Full and part time jobs available - A job in catering where you’re home by 5pm - Fun working environment with lots of opportunity for career development

Send your CV to info@firepotfood.com

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 27

Sighting Seals

along the Dorset and Devon coasts

by Philip Strange

A

glistening black head suddenly broke through the surface of the water a metre or two offshore. A long, dark, shadowy shape was also just visible and we realised that this was a seal. We watched, captivated, as it swam slowly south westwards, staying roughly parallel to the beach, leaving a trail of ripples in its wake. Along the beach, people were swimming and when they saw the seal coming, they quickly made their way to dry land but the seal had already disappeared.

This magical encounter occurred last year as we were walking along a shingle beach in south Devon, but chance sightings of seals can occur almost anywhere along the Dorset and Devon coasts and are unpredictable and surprising. Each observation, though, is a reminder that these fascinating creatures live alongside us, and gives an insight, however brief, into their lives.

Seals are the largest land-breeding marine mammals found in the UK and two species may be seen around our coasts, the grey seal and the common or harbour seal.

The grey seal is the larger of the two with males up to 2.6 metres in length and 300kg in weight. The grey seal is one of the rarest species of seal globally and the UK has more than a third of the world’s population, mostly found around the west coast of Scotland, also the Orkneys and the Shetlands with a few significant colonies along the East coast of England. Common seals are smaller, with males up to 2 metres in length and 150 kg in weight. Numerically, UK waters contain fewer common seals but the population is still significant amounting to 30% of the European sub species. Common seals have a similar UK distribution to that of the grey seal.

Should you sight a seal, it can be tricky to decide which species but if you can see the head, that may help.

Common seals have relatively smaller heads compared to body size with a clearly defined forehead and short snout.

Grey seals have larger heads with longer flat noses and no forehead. Fur colour is deceptive as both species vary in colour from grey to pale brown and whether the animal is

Grey Seals. Photographs by Philip Strange 28 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

wet or dry. Fur patterns, though, may help identification with grey seals having irregular darker blotches and common seals being more uniformly spotted.

Seals spend their lives partly on land and partly in the water. They haul out, often in groups, on uninhabited rocky islands, secluded beaches and sandbanks to rest, to digest their food or to give birth. More than half of their time, though, is spent in the water feeding and they can travel long distances to forage. They are superb swimmers, capable of diving to a depth of up to 100 metres to find food on the sea bed and during a dive they slow their heart rate in order to conserve oxygen. On land, seals can appear ponderous and ungainly, dragging themselves about using their front flippers, but once in the water they swim with grace, elegance and speed. This ability to slip effortlessly between two distinct lives, one on land and the other in the water, seen and largely unseen, gives seals an aura of mystery. It is no surprise that a wealth of myth and story has attached itself to the creatures.

Because the majority of seals in the UK are found along northern and north western coasts, sightings as far south as Dorset and Devon are infrequent but of great interest.

There are no regular haul out sites along the Dorset and east Devon coasts so sightings are usually of seals moving about. Most of these casual sightings are of grey seals although there are thought to be a few common seals resident in Poole Harbour. The picture changes as we move into south Devon where several regular haul out sites are found along the coast. Here grey seals gather in small numbers at low tide to rest although they can also be seen swimming nearby. Seals are also seen in the Exe and Dart estuaries sometimes a distance from the coast.

The Dorset Wildlife Trust Fine Foundation Wild Seas Centre at Kimmeridge is trying to build up a catalogue of seal sightings. Individual seals have characteristic marking patterns on their fur, so that photos can be used, rather like a fingerprint, to identify seals seen regularly in Dorset or moving about along the coast. By sharing their findings with

other seal recorders, they already know that some seals seen along the Dorset coast have also been spotted in Hampshire, south Devon, Cornwall or France. Should you see a seal, you can help this project by reporting your sighting (with photographs if available, see below for details).

There is increasing concern, however, that seals are being disturbed by encounters with humans. They are large wild animals and, although they are curious creatures, they can be easily upset and disturbed. Seals haul out to rest and digest food and this essential quiet time can be interrupted if humans get too close. Disturbed seals may even panic, jumping from rocks into the sea so risking injuring themselves. There are also sporadic reports of humans being bitten when trying to feed or pat seals. Feeding seals additionally risks disturbing their natural feeding patterns.

The Dorset Wildlife Trust has compiled a code of conduct to try to deal with these problems. This code should be followed at all times when encountering seals or taking photographs, to protect both seals and humans and to minimise disturbance of these wild creatures: • Keep well away from seals so that they can’t see, hear or smell you • Use a camera zoom or binoculars for a better view

• • • •

Keep dogs on a lead if seals are known to be in the area Never feed seals Take all litter home Do not seek out encounters with seals in the water

Seals are iconic wild creatures and we are privileged to be able to see them along our coasts. We must, however, treat them with respect. They have their own lives, very different from ours, and they have as much right to occupy the environment as we do. We should enjoy watching these beautiful creatures but make sure that they can live their lives undisturbed.

I should like to thank Sarah Hodgson of the Dorset Wildlife Trust for her generous help and guidance when I was preparing this article All photos shown here were taken using a zoom lens.

To report seal sightings in Dorset, use this link: http:// seals.dorsetwildlifetrust.net/, seal sightings elsewhere in the south west can be reported by emailing: sightings@ cornwallsealgroup.co.uk Philip Strange is Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Reading.

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

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 29

House&Garden

Vegetables in April

By Ashley Wheeler

A

lthough we have been planting through March, April is the time when planting in the market garden really gets going. Because we are producing veg to sell we start seed sowing really early, using heated benches in the propagating tunnel to get things going. However, on a home scale this isn’t necessary and without heated benches you can still propagate most things for your vegetable garden without a heated bench (other than things like tomatoes, peppers, aubergines which you might need to buy in as plants).

If you do end up propagating your own plants the two main concerns are getting enough light and airflow. Without good light the plants will grow spindly as they stretch out to reach the light. This is not ideal as they can be weaker plants and much more susceptible to pest and disease attack.

Starting seed sowing on windowsills can be ok as long as it is a south facing window and the seedlings are getting plenty of sunlight. Ensuring good airflow around the seedlings will not only help to strengthen them but will also minimise the chances of fungal infections. In terms of watering it is best to do this from the bottom (have the seedling trays sitting in another tray that you can pour water into)—this means that you are not getting water on the leaves. Many fungal diseases need high humidity for their spores to germinate, so making sure the leaves are dry takes away the chances of this.

If you are germinating hardy plants rather than things like tomatoes, beans, peppers etc. then as soon as they have germinated you can put them in a polytunnel, or a cold frame which will help them grow stronger rather than keeping them inside on a warm windowsill. You can also open up the coldframe or polytunnel on warmer days to ensure good airflow. Any plantings this time of year get covered with fleece (make sure you use 20gsm or higher as this is thicker and will last longer than anything thinner that will quickly rip). Most of the time we put fleece directly over the newly planted crop, weighing the edges down with sandbags and pulling it tight so that it does not flap around when it’s windy. On more tender crops whose leaves might get damaged (like lettuce for example), it might be best to put some hoops up to support the fleece so that it is not in contact with the leaves of the plants. This may also reduce slugs a little. The fleece usually stays on until early to mid May as long as there aren’t any frosts forecast—best to keep it handy just in case of any late frosts though.

April is a busy month with a lot of planting for us, which involves a lot of preparation of beds. As we have moved away from cultivating so much we have been relying on autumn sown green manures to keep the soil in good health over winter. These were then mown down and covered with black plastic earlier in the spring, and when planting time comes round we just fold up the plastic, remove any perennial weeds and then rake the bed out before planting. It’s a relatively quick and easy approach to preparing the beds, and we do not

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have to wait for the soil to dry out as much as when we are cultivating it, so we can get on and plant much sooner than when we were relying on cultivating for the early planted beds. Let’s hope for a dryish month so that we can get all these plants that we have queueing up to be planted!!

We sow our peas two seeds per cell, and we place them on a bench that is suspended from the roof of the polytunnel—meaning that rodents cannot climb up bench legs to get to them!

WHAT TO SOW THIS MONTH: turnips, chard, spinach, salad leaves—chervil, buckshorn plantain, lettuce, burnet, peashoots, anise hyssop, kales, mustards, agretti, sorrel, summer purslane & goosefoot (end of month).

Radish, fennel, courgettes (end of month), spring onions, cucumbers, dill coriander, peas and mangetout. We sow all of these into trays in the propagating tunnel to be planted out in April mostly.

WHAT TO PLANT THIS MONTH: OUTSIDE: salads—mustards, rockets etc., lettuce, peas, broad beans, potatoes, early kale, beetroot, chard, perpetual spinach, spring onions, onions and shallots INSIDE: If you sowed any early salad crops for a polytunnel or glasshouse they can go in at the beginning of March.

Also successions of peas and spring onions will continue to be planted. By the end of the month you can get away with planting french beans, cucumbers and tomatoes in polytunnels or glasshouses, but it’s still pretty early so don’t worry if you don’t get round to it!

OTHER IMPORTANT TASKS THIS MONTH: If the weather dries, continue preparing beds for the spring for planting. Keep on top of the seed sowing, but dont sow too much of anything—think about sowing successionally rather than doing one big sowing in early Spring. Things that are perfectly suited to successions include all salad leaves, spring onions, peas, beans, beetroot, chard, kale, carrots, fennel, radish and annual herbs.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 31

April in the Garden

By Russell Jordan

A

s mentioned last month, we are coming to the end of the period in which it is practicable to be planting bare-rooted material, or digging up and moving around woody trees and shrubs. If the weather remains relatively cold and wet, into the beginning of April, it may still be possible to get away with some bare-root planting but, if you do, any plantings left this late will need more diligent care, especially watering, during the growing season as they will not have had the time to grow new roots before spring is fully sprung.

As one door closes another one opens; the lengthening days and increasing average temperatures combine to encourage herbaceous perennials to start growing with alarming speed. Hopefully you will have had a chance to mulch any perennial beds by now but, if not, it’s still possible to feed the expanding plants with a general purpose fertiliser (I still favour good old ‘fish, blood and bone’) and carefully weave a good carpet of organic mulch around the rapidly emerging leafy perennials.

It’s easier to mulch before the plants have entered into growth, when it doesn’t really matter if the mulch covers up the still dormant stools, but doing it now, more slowly and carefully, at least means that emerging weeds can be removed at the same time and plant supports, preferably pea sticks, inserted around all those perennials which are prone to collapse later on in the growing season. The appliance of your chosen fertiliser can also be more accurately targeted towards discreet clumps of perennials rather than a more general scattering.

Herbaceous perennials can be propagated easily, before they are too advanced in growth, simply by chopping sections out of the clump while they are still in the ground or by lifting the whole stool and carving it up with a sharp spade. Pot up some sections into fresh compost, creating new plants, then replant the remaining third, or so, incorporating a handful of general feed into the planting hole. Remember to water in well, to settle the roots, even if the ground is already wet.

With rising average temperatures and a diminishing risk

32 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

of hard frost there’s more opportunity to sow hardy annuals this month than there was in March. Also sowing lawns from scratch can take place now, following rigorous seedbed preparation, as long as you can provide some sort of protection from heavy downpours which would otherwise wash the seed and fine tilth away.

If you have not already done so, you will certainly need to start cutting the lawn in April applying the usual common sense to avoid doing it during wet weather or if frosts are likely. Make sure whatever sort of mower you have is cutting proficiently and, where possible, set the cutting height a good notch or two higher then you would normally. Getting the lawn back under control is a real ‘feel-good’ task and sets the rest of the garden off to perfection.

Plants which have been wrapped up in fleece, to fend off the worst of the winter cold, can be unwrapped during mild spells. Keep the fleece close at hand for rapid deployment when frost threatens. Open up cold-frames, greenhouses and conservatories, whenever it is sunny, to encourage ventilation and begin the hardening off process. If you took tender perennial cuttings in the autumn, and they are still in pots or seed-trays, then these should be separated out and potted up as soon as growth resumes.

Here in the south west, especially if you are fortunate enough to live within a stone’s throw of the coast, the risk of frost is diminishing now but it’s still too early to rule it out completely. For this reason it is too early to plant out really tender bedding plants, no matter how tempting the garden centre displays may be, as they could, literally, be wiped out overnight. Having said that, because there is a danger that the choicest varieties may sell out before optimum planting conditions are with us, if you do buy them now they can be potted into larger pots, once you get them home, and kept in a frost-free place until all danger of frosts has passed.

The same goes for planting up containers and hanging baskets. You can steal a march on the season if you have room, maybe a porch or conservatory, to keep things well lit but protected until they can go outside. It’s very satisfying

to plant up your summer containers with tiny plug plants, or bedding you have raised yourself from seed, so that they can establish well, and practically double in size, before they go outside next month.

If you have acquired dahlia tubers, or kept your own in frostfree conditions over winter, they will be stirring by now and will need potting up into fresh compost so that they can start to grow roots and shoots before going outside when there is zero chance of frost or really cold nights. It is possible to remove, with a sharp knife, some of the early shoots from dahlia bulbs in order to pot them up into gritty compost and propagate new plants from them. The potted up shoots will need to be placed into a lidded propagator, or enclosed in a plastic bag, and kept moist, but not wet, until they have successfully rooted in a few weeks time. Regularly check them to ensure that they have not succumbed to rotting off, removing any that have, keeping them somewhere light but not scorching.

My final thoughts are that the galloping pace of the growing plants is only matched by the speed at which pests and weeds can multiply as the season progresses. Vigilantly patrolling, in order to deal with pests before they can get out of control, is the order of the day, as is the timely removal of any weeds as soon as they emerge and become distinguishable from your ornamental plants. If you are an inexperienced gardener you will inevitably remove a few self-sown, garden worthy, plants at this stage until you begin to recognise what is a weed seedling and what is not. I like to stick to the mantra “if in doubt, weed it out” rather than end up in the position that your garden is overrun with something really pernicious (in my case; hairy bittercress)!

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 33

PROPERTY ROUND-UP

Homes to Host an Easter Egg

By Helen Fisher

WHITCHURCH CANONICORUM £800,000

Built in the late 1990’s in the grounds of a former rectory. Beautifully proportioned ground floor living spaces arranged around a galleried hallway with 4 bedrooms above. Sitting room with wood-burning stove plus family kitchen leading to a conservatory. Mature, south-west facing gardens with veg bed and shed. Double garage and parking.

Symonds & Sampson Tel: 01308 422092

UPLODERS £375,000

A well-presented 3 bedroom family home, tucked away in a quiet cul de sac.

Sitting room with open fireplace and double doors onto the garden. Duel aspect dining room and large kitchen. Rear landscaped garden with decking area and countryside views beyond. Parking space to the front plus single garage in a block. No onward chain.

Goadsby Tel: 01308 420000

COLYTON £325,000

BRADPOLE £495,000

A beautifully situated end-of-terrace 2 bedroom cottage with generous gardens and lovely countryside views. A well-loved family home now requiring modernisation. Useful attic room with window - currently used as a workshop. Front and back gardens featuring a produce garden, small pond, greenhouse, log store and stone built shed.

Gordon & Rumsby Tel: 01297 553768

A detached 2 bedroom village bungalow with plenty of natural light and double-glazed windows and doors. Sitting room with open fireplace and patio doors to a conservatory. Large private, well-stocked rear garden with apple, pear and plum trees. Plus gate to a small stream boundary. Numerous outbuildings, garage and ample parking.

Kennedys Tel: 01308 427329

COLYTON £500,000

WEST BAY £595,000

A Victorian family home arranged over 4 floors with 5/6 bedrooms.

Generous rooms throughout plus benefiting from a basement workshop with power and light and door leading to a walled rear garden. Featuring veg patches, fruit trees and cages and mature shrubs.

Timber summerhouse, outside store and WC. Martin Diplock Tel: 01297 445500

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A detached spacious house with 3/4 bedrooms enjoying a large west facing rear garden with lovely views over the Brit Valley.

Built in the 1930s and enlarged and improved over the years. The garden features a raised circular pond, sheds and summerhouse.

Ample parking and single garage. No onward chain.

Stags Tel: 01308 428000

New youth category for international literary prize A CATEGORY for a Children’s and Young Adult Novel is included for the first time in a local 2022 international literary competition.

Now in its 19th year, the Yeovil Literary Prize continues to attract more entries each year from accomplished and aspiring writers around the world.

It was started in 2002 and has gained recognition as an established fixture in the international literary calendar.

Organisers say the response is magnificent, with quality writing being submitted from all corners of the globe.

Many talented writers thrive on the opportunity to develop their craft through competition with other writers and the Yeovil Literary Prize offers an award to novelists, as well as for writers of work that does not fit the usual writing categories with their ‘Writing Without Restriction’.

They also welcome short stories of every genre as well as poetry.

The new Children’s and Young Adult Novel category joins the existing categories as well as a general class called ‘Writing without Restriction’. To enter the new Children’s and Young Adult Novel category, writers must provide a 500-word synopsis and the first 3000 words of their book. They also have the option to include an illustration with their entry.

All profits from this competition are used within the community to sponsor local young people who are studying the arts, to support various art projects, and to host cultural events. The organisation reaches out to all the arts and also hosts an annual YCAA Booker Debate in partnership with the Yeovil Waterstones store.

Locally, they sponsor children’s writing workshops and short story competitions and are a partner in the annual Yeovil Literary Festival.

The tenth Yeovil Literary Festival will commence on 20th October and run until 24th October 2022.

The Yeovil Literary Prize is managed by a dedicated team of volunteers and all details of how to enter can be found on www.yeovilprize.co.uk Winners will receive cash prizes and be invited to present their work at a special showcase event as part of the Yeovil Literary Festival.

Although the 2022 panel has yet to be announced, previous judges have included literary agents and publishers, as well as accomplished authors and poets.

The competition is open for entries and runs until 31st May 2022. For details of entry requirements, past winners, and rules, see www.yeovilprize.co.uk. Winners are announced in the autumn.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 35

BEER QUARRY CAVES A distant prospect of their past and future in the light of the British Museum’s Stonehenge - Stone Age Britain exhibition. Feb 17 to July 17 2022

W

hat, you might ask, has Beer Quarry Caves got to do with nuclear fusion and the light that twinkles down at us from the stars above? Well, the starlight that twinkled upon our ancestors here in Devon between six thousand and ten thousand years ago, is much the same starlight that twinkles down on us now. Oh, and my nephew works at JET, the experiment aimed at making the energy that fuels the sun and the stars, available to us here on earth. If you’re young or youngish my nephews’ activities won’t surprise you much. Me? When Sputnik, the first satellite to spin around the earth first flew in October 1957, I was just under 13. I climbed out onto the rounded tin tarred roof of our great barn, and lay there on my back for hours, watching this man made artificial star, hurtle, glittering, through space.

I didn’t come down from the barn roof wanting to be an astronaut. I came down wanting to know what infinite space was.

What was this world we lived in all about, and most especially the big bit, the star filled heavens. Just as our ancestors here and at Stonehenge did millennia ago.

Now, out here at Beer Quarry Caves I am doing what I’d like you, our visitors, to do. If you can recall what Merlin tells Arthur to do in the marvellous book the Sword in the Stone, you’ll recall that the wizard tells the future King to “Think, boy, think”. As our homo sapiens ancestors, successors to the Neanderthals who lived at Broome near Axminster, worked to turn flint into tools and implements, they wondered what the world they were living in was all about. We can learn something of this from the graves they made, many of them up the way at Farway. But no leap of the imagination could have told them that their remote descendants would one day move from flint to fusion, to the fire that lights the stars themselves—and have it here on earth. And just ‘think’, this progress, from flint to fusion, only took ten thousand years or so.

Not even a blink of time’s eye out there in the heavens.

So, what are our caves really about? Are they about the dreadful tale of man’s inhumanity to man etched on their walls? For 57 generations of about 35 years each, men and women, and kids too, from this area crept into the darkness with tallow candles and small picks and hacked limestone blocks out of the rock deposits, for a pittance that was never more than the equivalent of a few pence a day. Life for a quarrier in the caves seldom lasted even 30 years. The big question then, is, was that a life at all? There are two answers. The first is that families occurred.

Humans some how endured this situation, married or whatever, and had children. Otherwise, no quarriers at Beer. The second answer is that of course it wasn’t a life, nor an approximation to one. Not at any rate if each human then was what we have now become, a living, thinking sentient being. So the question that the caves pose is why or what enabled the local people to endure and survive a life that was almost meaningless and pitted with pain?

How did we get from there to here?

Our contribution to the answers this year takes in the most marvellous exhibition ever mounted by the British Museum. At its heart is Stonehenge, but its basically an exhibition about the Stone age in Britain. We’ve linked with the Museum and taken out our first ever national advertisement, with the BM magazine. And all our guides are going to London while the exhibition is on.

Our answers for you this year will therefore be informed in a way

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they never have been before. Our guides will know, in a whole new way, how our earliest ancestors tried to make sense of the world around them here in east Devon. From what we now know about Stonehenge, most of it recent, our ancestors asked just the same basic questions we still do.

What are we? Why are we here? What do our lives mean?

Where did we come from? We now know that Stonehenge was less a settlement than an embryonic city, a stone age city, and not the first either. City like structures in the Stone Age period are now being discovered all over the world, especially in Turkey at Gobekli tepe. What Stonehenge is now disclosing is a complex Stone age society that paid great attention to the unknown, that buried its dead with considerable ceremony and cared and knew, instinctively, that the heavens and the stars mattered. It is still likely that the core standing stone formation at Stonehenge was a celestial observatory of some kind.

Down here at Beer Quarry Caves we have no great standing stone formation that might catch the eye. But what we have got is the major necropolis at Farway, reaching to within 100 meters of the cave entrance. This reverence for the dead and their decent burial is our link to Stonehenge and the religious beliefs of the people who lived at the time of Stonehenge. Our great challenge now is to formally link Beer caves to the society of its time, for which we have no written records, only flint artefacts. Please visit us—and the British Museum and Stonehenge if you can, as we make our local journey into the remote past of Beer quarry caves and the people of East Devon The Dawn of Everything. A New History of Humanity

by David Graeber and David Wengrow.

Allan Lane. Penguin Books. London 2021. 692 pages.

THIS book is being reviewed here in connection with the link between Beer Quarry Caves and the British Museum StonehengeStone Age exhibition, at the Museum from February to July 2022.

In their introductory ‘Farewell to humanities childhood’, the joint authors of this extraordinary book state something very obvious. They note that ‘Most of human history is irreparably lost to us’ and continue, ‘Our species, Homo Sapiens, has existed for at least 200,000 years and for most of that time we have no idea what was happening.’

Here at Beer Quarry Caves, we are addressing a shorter time span, perhaps 6,000 to 10,000 years, for the existence of Homo Sapiens locally. The point the authors make, and we make with them, however, is that the debate about who we are and what we are is mistakenly framed as a debate about whether we are good or evil.

The authors say that this is about as sensible as asking whether a tree or a fish is good or evil. Until we have a far clearer idea of where we came from, and why we are here at all, what the authors call the ‘theological debate’, is premature. Which is where our caves and the British Museum come into it. Both sites show us the best physical and factual evidence, such as it is, for what humanity has been up to recently, ie in the last 20,000 or 30,000 years, or in our

case 6,000 To 10,000 years. What the authors dig into is how we interpret this evidence.

Are we, they ask, the residue of gangs of hunter gatherers, who, according to Jean Jacques Rousseau lived in a prolonged state of childlike innocence, in tiny bands? These bands were egalitarian because they were so small. And nothing changed until the ‘Agricultural Revolution’ and the rise of cities, states, literature and writing. Here the authors mischievously note, ‘and the rise of annoying bureaucrats, demanding that we spend much of our time filling in forms’. Clearly, here in just Britain, Stonehenge drops a great big brick on that theory. It was, we can now see, a huge settlement, stretched all over the local landscape with tentacles reaching to Carn Brae in Cornwall and the Orkney’s in Scotland. After critiquing the faulty simplifications in Rousseau’s theory of the noble savage, the authors then give our very own Thomas Hobbes a good going over.

Hobbes wrote Leviathan, published in 1651 and still going strong as the go to guide for the average gangster.

Hobbes held that, humans being the selfish creatures they are, life in an original State of Nature was in no sense innocent; it must instead have been, in Hobbes famous phrase, ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short—basically a state of war with everybody fighting against everybody else’. Insofar as there has been any progress from this benighted state of affairs a Hobbsian would argue, it has been largely due to exactly those repressive mechanisms that Rousseau was complaining about, governments, courts, bureaucracies, police.

Hobbes didn’t live to see the megalopolises we have today, cities like London, Beijing, Paris and so on. These vast conurbations only function at all because of something that is neither oppression nor violence. Its called consent. At its simplest, if we don’t all consent to drive on the left hand side of the road, we don’t drive at all; chaos ensues. The two authors then say that they don’t like the choice between Rousseau and Hobbes. They categorise their

objections as follows. 1 - Their views simply aren’t true. 2 - They have dire political implications and 3 they make the past needlessly dull. To us at Beer there is nothing dull about the past. We see it as the record of how we got here and we recognise the issue of why the past matters. We come from the past and we cannot know the future. The present is all that we have and it is manufactured from the raw materials of the past. If we want to stop repeating the mistakes of the past, mistakes all too visible on our walls, we have to know what the past was. The authors go on to prove their point about the mistake of making simplistic models of the past.

They show that many so called primitive societies were anything but primitive or savage. They were simply different and when they encountered western missionaries and imperial adventurers they thought the missionaries and imperialist barbarians crude. But the authors, one of whom, David Graeber died just before publication of the book, after 10 years work, show how so called primitive societies had complex and civilised systems of governance. Indeed that is the model of the past we have lost which has the greatest potential value in our over beurocraticised world. Much of so called ‘savage society’ had evolved sophisticated systems of arbitration that limited violence and settled disputes rationally. The issue of the war occurring in the Ukraine now is one that would have been better arbitrated by almost any of these ancient societies. But the cultivation of the Hobbsian model, with the male chauvinist ‘big man’ theory folded into it, encourages the likes of Vladimir Putin to access the doctrine of infallibility, that does not even work for the Pope. Here at Beer Quarry caves our deficit of knowledge about just our local past is huge. We don’t think it will be anything like dull exploring it. Please come and join us.

Kevin Cahill, Fellow Emeritus of the Royal Historical Society. Historian in Residence at Beer Quarry Caves

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 37

Food&Dining

SLOW COOKED LAMB WITH LEMON AND OREGANO INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

• •

1.

• •

LESLEY WATERS

• • • • • • •

30ml/2tbsp Greek olive oil 900g/2lb Charlotte potatoes, washed, thickly sliced 6 medium sized banana shallots, peeled 1 garlic bulb, cut in half across the middle 4 good sprigs oregano 3 bay leaves 2tsp sea salt 1tsp cracked black pepper 1.64kg shoulder lamb, boned 2 small un-waxed lemons, cut into quarters 200ml/7fl oz vegetable stock Serves 6

38 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/ Gas 4.

Pour the oil in a large oven-proof pan, add the potatoes, shallots, garlic, oregano, bay, salt and pepper.

Trim the lamb and cut into 8-10 large chunks. Place in a bowl, squeeze over the lemon juice and season.

Arrange the lamb and squeezed lemon quarters on top of the vegetables and pour over the stock.

Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook in the oven for 3 ½ - 4 hours until tender basting the lamb with the juices occasionally.

To serve, spoon the lamb onto a large warm platter and top with the potatoes, shallots, garlic, herbs and spoon over the juices.

Serve with olive bread and a watercress salad.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 39

GRILLED SQUID WITH SHAVED CARROTS AND NUOC CHAM This is a great and simple dish that can be made with cuttlefish also. I often serve this for Mark’s Kitchen Table at home and occasionally I’ve made this dish without the squid and omitted the fish sauce as a starter for vegan friends. They were amazed what pleasure a humble carrot could give them with virtually no fuss.

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

•

1. First make the nuoc Cham sauce: dissolve the sugar in the water then mix with all of the other ingredients and leave to infuse for an hour.

With a mandolin or peeler, slice the carrots as thinly as possible and put them into a bowl of cold, icy water for an hour so they curl and drain and dry in a salad spinner or on some kitchen paper.

2. To serve, pre heat a heavy frying pan or ribbed griddle pan. Season the squid, lightly brush with oil and grill the body and tentacles for about 30 seconds on each side. Use another heavy pan on top of the squid so it doesn’t curl up and cooks evenly.

Remove from the heat and cut into rough strips the size of the carrot ribbons.

3. To serve toss the squid and carrots with the nuoc Cham and season lightly. Serve in bowls, spooning over any excess dressing and scatter over the coriander.

• • •

MARK HIX Mark’s Kitchen Tables are like no other dining experience.

Join Mark in his Charmouth home for an afternoon of great food, flowing wine and plenty of conversation. Enjoy some of the best local seasonal produce, cooked by Mark, and take in the breath-taking views of Charmouth beach and the Dorset coastline.

Each guest will enjoy a drink on arrival, lunch or dinner with wine, a signed cookbook, recipes brochure and a goody bag of local produce.

Dates available from April to September. Private events are also available for up to 8 people.

To check availability or book go to https://theoysterandfishhouse.co.uk/ marks-kitchen-table/

• • • • • • • •

300-350g cleaned weight of squid Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper A little vegetable or corn oil for brushing 2-3 medium carrots, coloured if you wish. Trimmed and peeled A few sprigs of coriander For the nuoc Cham 60ml warm water 60ml fish sauce The juice of half a lime 1tbs palm or golden caster sugar 1 stem of lemon grass, trimmed and finely chopped 2 red chillis, stalked and finely chopped, seeds and all 1 clove of garlic, crushed or finely grated Serves 4 as a starter or smaller main

40 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

Canaries Charter

By Nick Fisher

R

enting a charter boat in a foreign country is a bit like going on a blind date. You don’t really know what you’re getting, until you’re sat down at dinner, committed to a long night. Or in my case, stood on deck, anchored in 50 foot of water off the north tip of Fuerteventura, with my arm elbow deep in a live well full of fat sardines.

My wife won’t let me go on blind dates anymore, so I have to be satisfied with boat charters instead.

I’ve only been to the Canary Islands once before, to Tenerife, where I managed to persuade my nearest and dearest, to come for a day’s charter fishing, this time on an English run boat out of Los Christianos. It was horrible. Pointless barbaric carnage.

Everything was killed for the sake of killing. The tone for the whole day was firmly set on the way out, when the crew busied themselves chopping the jaws out of two stone dead blue shark they’d caught the day before, and then dumping the huge carcasses overboard. One of the sharks had even been in pup.

The fish had been slaughtered for a few tourist photos and a trophy set of teeth.

The Barvik at Corrallejo, on Fuerteventura, is a totally different kettle of fish. First I had a long chat with the Barvik captain’s wife, Englishwoman Michelle, on the phone.

Although it can take 8 or ten anglers, it was agreed that as I was bringing my wife Helen and our small boys, it’d be better to hire the whole boat, to ourselves. A fee which was to include either fish cooked on board or a paella lunch and a swim on the tiny island of Los Lobos.

I’ve been on wrecking trips off the south coast of England where you steam out at 20 knots for three solid hours before you reach the fishing grounds. On board Barvik, we steamed at about 8 knots for 10 minutes to reach big fish country.

Around the Canaries there are plenty of big game fish caught, marlin, tuna and sail fish, but today wasn’t going to be a trolling lures day. All I wanted was some hungry fish that would put a bend in the family rod and something on the barbecue.

Bait was the first item on the agenda. Sardines shoal around the rocky eastern tip of Lobos where the local commercial boats catch them, by hurling spoonfuls of mashed up fish chum into the water, then lowering an eight foot diameter circular net suspended from a long pole. The net’s held in position till a good bunch of fish are feeding above it. Then the net is raised sharply by heaving on the pole, scooping up the fish who aren’t quick enough to scarper.

Antonio and Carmelo, our Spanish speaking crew for the day performed this technique very efficiently, but I couldn’t help having a chuck with a string of tiny Japanese Sabiki feathers on a light spinning rod.

Antonio clucked and shook his head at my optimism, but it paid off. I didn’t catch as many as them, but the feathers

brought in two or three fat sardines on each cast.

With a live well full of bait, the British made catamaran, originally built in Faversham, was taken on a quick detour before we set about fishing seriously.

The detour involved steaming south along the coast about two miles off shore to a point, estimated by matching up mountains on Fuerteventura with hills on Lobos. (No GPS nonsense here). Then a sack of old sardines was thrown over board with a huge rock stuffed inside and a buoy attached.

Sadly my Spanish is rudimentary and Antonio’s English consisted mainly of German words, so the purpose of this manoeuvre could only be explained as pre-baiting for tuna fishing on another day. Curious. I’d have loved to have known more.

Back at the rocks off Lobos, the live sardines were free lined, hooked through the anal vent to allow them to swim down amongst the rocks.

Baits were retrieved regularly without their heads which was according to Antonio the fault of the ‘Sargo’, an annoying fish and not the ones we were after, he explained. I badly wanted to meet a ‘Sargo’.

Helen fished live sardine too, so did Antonio and my son Rory fished a chunk of sardine straight down on a light spinning rod.

Antonio soon started shouting screaming swearing and dancing around the boat in a very enthusiastic Latin way, with line screaming off his rod at real pace. He fought and blasphemed beautifully. Finally bringing an 18 pound mutton snapper to the boat. Now this is a serious fish. I’ve fished all round New Zealand and Florida, where a snapper of this size would be marked with fiesta-like celebrations.

Rory started a regular reeling-in of Sargo, which turned out to be what the Florida anglers call sheep’s head snapper. Great eating, hard fighting bass affairs with perch-like black stripes.

My finest catch was a barracuda. Great fight, beautiful toothy specimen which I later filleted and cooked for tea.

In many places around the world barracuda isn’t eaten because in certain waters it can, so I’m told, be toxic. This barracuda was, one of the best fish I have ever eaten. Lightly floured, seasoned and fried in very, very hot vegetable oil it took my taste buds on their own little charter ride of ecstasy and joy.

On the subject of gastronomic joy, lunch was eaten in a tiny weather beaten restaurant on the island of Lobos which boasts no cars or motor vehicles only boats and sea so clear and blue you’d think it was fake.

Catching fat barracuda is a joy, but nothing compared with the pleasure of watching small boys stuff their faces with saffron coloured paella and then leap into azure seas sending mullet scampering off in a shimmering silver shower.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 41

Arts&Entertainment

Edith Bowman talks to Fergus Byrne about

BRIDPORT’S

Festival of Film T

he last time Edith Bowman was due to come to Bridport’s Film Festival, From Page to Screen, Covid dampened all the excitement with a Festival cancellation. But now it’s time for Take 2, and this year having curated the original Festival programme, she will be in conversation with local restaurateur Mark Hix to talk about the film Boiling Point which is showing at Bridport Arts Centre on April 30th.

Although it missed out on a BAFTA after four nominations, Boiling Point Director Philip Barantini was delighted just to be nominated. For him that was already a win. The film follows the events that take place in a busy restaurant one night in the week coming up to Christmas. And anyone who has worked in a restaurant kitchen will be aware of the tension that is so often hard to keep a lid on (honestly, no pun intended). In the case of Boiling Point that pressure is cleverly enhanced by the use of a single take—the whole film is shot without stopping and there are no edits. For fans of the film Victoria, this is another masterclass.

‘Boiling Point is a film that will blow your mind’ says Edith Bowman. She suggests, however, you watch it without knowing too much of the story. ‘I’m slightly apprehensive about saying too much’ she explains. ‘I grew up in a hotel and I think the way they have captured the pressure of that environment is fantastic. The performances are knock-out with Stephen Graham once again showing how incredible he is. And Vinette Robinson is so captivating.’

When Barantini asked Stephen Graham to do the movie Stephen’s response was ‘I think you’re mad doing it in one take but let’s

42 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

do it’. Friends for twenty years he describes Stephen as one of the most kind, generous and loving actors that you could ever work with.

Barantini has explained that the themes of the movie are addiction and mental health and people struggling. In his early days as an actor he worked as a chef for twelve years. One of his main reasons for making the film is his belief that people who are struggling should not be afraid to ask for help. The film was shot under what he described as the ‘dark cloud of Covid’.

They originally planned to shoot it twice a night for four nights and then use the best take. But in the end Covid closed the set and they only had two nights filming. Thankfully it all worked out but Barantini remembers it as ‘a massive challenge.’

As always, From Page to Screen has many highlights including Flee, the Danish animated film directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen. The film tells the story of the extraordinary journey of a child refugee from Afghanistan. It is ‘a brilliant and creative way to broach the subject of refugees’ says Edith Bowman. ‘The animation is stunning and I think tells the story in a much more powerful way than live action ever could.’ Flee has already won and been nominated for a slew of awards and the showing in Bridport will be followed by a fundraiser and discussion with Marshwood Vale pub landlord Tom Littledyke about his efforts to help get aid to refugees from Ukraine.

As a curator Edith’s goal is to get people to come out and experience the full impact of cinema and the big screen. ‘We all have such access to films’ she says, referring to what we can now watch on television at home. ‘But to see something on the big screen, especially an older film is such a great experience.’

This year’s line-up is an eclectic selection of films by any stretch of the imagination but the theme that runs through a large part of the programme of course stems from Edith Bowman’s knowledge and passion for music. In many cases the soundtrack stands tall amongst the film’s highlights. She talks about the film Spencer, a historical fiction drama about Pincess Diana and her thoughts of divorce from Prince Charles. ‘I’m so

glad that Spencer is on the line up, a phenomenally powerful film

by Pablo Lorraine’ says Edith. ‘It’s a real character study of a woman, played so delicately and interestingly by Kristen Stewart.

One of the many things I love about the film is the score by Jonny Greenwood, an effective journey between Baroque and Jazz that gives a real emotional connection with the character.’

A founder member of Radiohead, Jonny Greenwood is one of the many musicians and composers that Edith has interviewed on her podcast ‘Soundtracking’ which can be accessed through her website www.edithbowman.com. It is also an excellent place for film fans to hear interviews with directors, actors, producers and a range of other fascinating people involved in film and music.

But one soundtrack that she won’t have heard before is Bridport Arts Centre Director Mick Smith’s live accompaniment to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1927 film The Lodger.

A professional musician for fifteen years before family commitments made it difficult for him to take on the travel required in the music industry, Mick will be producing a live soundtrack to the film. It isn’t his first time. ‘I did it in the last Arts Centre that I ran which was on the Isle of Wight’ he explained. ‘I did two. One of which was the go to silent horror Nosferatu.’ He recalled that as relatively short. ‘Then I did Piccadilly, which was the first feature length silent movie which was something like two hours—which was exhausting!’

The process means that neither he nor the audience will know exactly what the final soundtrack is until the film starts showing. ‘What I tend to do is watch it lots of times and then pick out themes for different characters, and also scenes and action, and combine them—to a certain extent on the spot.’

It’s a form of improvisation that adds an extra dimension to an already exciting programme.

For more information about the films at this year’s From Page to Screen visit www.frompagetoscreen.info and to book tickets for Bridport Arts Centre films and events visit www. bridport-arts.com.

April GALLERIES

1 - 8 April

Trees in Art Exhibition, 10.00am-4pm, Celebrating the Queen’s 70th Jubilee with tree paintings, inspired by The Sidmouth Arboretum, Kennaway House, 01395 515551, www.kennawayhouse. org.uk.

1 - 20 April

Peter Kuhfeld The Jerram Gallery, Half Moon Street, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3LN www.jerramgallery.com.

1 - 30 April

Unique Framecraft welcomes Didi as guest artist for April.

Didi will be exhibiting her acrylic artworks inspired by sea and land , mainly seascapes, some moody, calm and sunny usually of local coasts , Lyme Regis , Charmouth and West Bay etc . Large expressive works on board and a range of smaller pieces too, dogs , foxes and other animals are on show as originals, prints and as greetings cards. Viewing daily from 8.30 - 4pm at Unique Framecraft, Unit’s 4 - 5 Millwey Rise Workshops, Second Avenue, Axminster. EX13 5HH Telephone 01297 631614 or 07801 260259.

Instagram @uniqueframecraft.

Kit Glaisyer: Cinematic Landscape Paintings an evolving exhibition of West Country landscapes with a range of works on show in gallery and studio. Open Weds & Sat 11-3pm or by appointment. Bridport Contemporary Gallery, 11 Downes Street, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3JR. 07983 465789 www. bridportcontemporary.com @bridportcontemporary

Until 2 April

Lisa Hammond: Future Perfect Inviting a dialogue between mentor and apprentice, the exhibition presents works by potter Lisa Hammond MBE and three of her former students. Featuring Lisa Hammond MBE, Florian Gadsby, Darren Ellis & Francis LloydJones. Wed – Sat, 10 am – 1 pm & 2 – 4 pm. Make Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Stockwell House, 13 High Street, Bruton, BA10 0AB.

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2 - 24 April

‘11+’ Sou’-Sou’-West Arts Gallery, Symondsbury Estate, Bridport DT6 6HG. Open daily 10:30-4:30. Free admission & parking.

Contact 01308 301326 www.sousouwest.co.uk. Visit an innovative ‘galleries within a gallery’ show: a platform for discovery. Sou’-Sou’West brings together a selected collection of artists and makers, each of whom will have their own individually curated exhibition space within the gallery to showcase their work.

4 - 24 April

‘The Light of Dorset’: Irina Song Sou’-Sou’-West Arts Gallery, Symondsbury Estate, Bridport DT6 6HG. Open daily 10:30-4:30.

Free admission & parking. Contact 01308 301326 www.sousouwest. co.uk. Bright and vibrant original oil paintings, inspired by rural, wild, and coastal Dorset scenery. Irina says “The beautiful Dorset landscapes never fail to inspire me with their compelling diversity and bursts of life. Dorset has found a place in my heart that reached the tip of my paintbrush. Wherever I go, my easel and oil paints tail behind me. Whether that’s up a soaring Dorset hill or on a bustling street, I am immensely captivated by the multifaceted life as it reveals its mysteries around me”.

Until 8 April

Wildlife Photographer of the Year The world-renowned exhibition, on loan from the Natural History Museum in London, is open at Seaton Tramway. 10am - 4pm. Seaton Station, EX12 2WD. Visitor Enquiries: 01297 20375.

John Hammond - Master of Light. 10am – 5.30pm. From the coastal landscapes of South West England, to a vibrant French café, or to the dappled reflections bouncing off Venice’s waterways, John is a true master of his subject. His painting methods have been the subject of several books and even a film. Marine House at Beer, Fore Street, Beer Nr Seaton, Devon, EX 12 3EF. 01297 625257, info@marinehouseatbeer.co.uk, www.marinehouseatbeer.co.uk.

14 - 19 April

Out of the Dark 14 multi media artists respond to a theme. Wessex Contemporary Arts10.30 - 4.30 daily, 2 West Walks, Dorchester DT1 1RE.

14 - 24 April

Out of The Dark From post-modern realism to total abstraction 14 members of Wessex Contemporary Art (Wesca) respond to a theme using a wide and sometimes surprising range of materials. This will be a stimulating exhibition showing in a Georgian townhouse which overlooks the Borough Gardens in Dorchester. Open over Easter from Thursday14th April –Sunday 24th April 10.30 -4.30pm Closed on Wednesday April 20th. Wessex Contemporary Art, @2 West Walks, Dorchester DT1 1RE for this show only. Contact telephone number is 01305 260215.

Art Exhibition at the Jurassic Coast Studio by Ruta Crafter and Mandy Selhurst. Ruta’s oil and acrylic paintings are bold, expressive, colourful and free, on wooden boards and canvasses. Her subjects include landscapes, flowers, gardens and abstract compositions.

Mandy says “landscape has been a much loved part of my life”. She has exhibited at galleries in London, the Cotswolds, Dorset and abroad. She aims for a loose, free, semi abstract interpretation to her work, but which is easy enough to recognise the subject. Much of her work is done with a palette knife. Open: Daily 10am – 5pm. The Durbeyfield, West Bay Road, West Bay, Bridport DT6 4EL info@thedurbeyfield.co.uk Tel 07973769432 or mandyselhurst.art Tel 01308 867641.

21 - 24 April

Out of the Dark 14 multi media artists respond to a theme. Wessex Contemporary Arts10.30 - 4.30 daily, 2 West Walks, Dorchester DT1 1RE.

Until 24 April

Every Breath We Take: paintings by Christine Allison.

In this exhibition, Lyme Regis-based artist Christine Allison celebrates trees, the planet’s most important and too often undervalued resource. Rotunda Gallery, Lyme Regis Museum, Bridge Street, Lyme Regis DT7 3QA, Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm, www. lymeregismuseum.co.uk.

GALLERIES IN MAY Live or Online send your gallery details to info@marshwoodvale.com

BY APRIL 13TH.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 45

April GALLERIES

25 April - 8 May

‘Enclosure Acts’: Sarah Jane Ross Sou’-Sou’-West Arts Gallery, Symondsbury Estate, Bridport DT6 6HG. Open daily 10:304:30. Free admission & parking. Contact 01308 301326 www. sousouwest.co.uk. Sarah Jane Ross explores access to green spaces and the carving up of our landscape.

26 April - 12 June

Waterline 2022 Contemporary abstract photographs by Lois Wakeman and Tricia Scott of weathered and textured boat hulls.

Rotunda Gallery, Lyme Regis Museum, Bridge Street, Lyme Regis DT7 3QA, Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm, www. lymeregismuseum.co.uk.

Until 8 May

Cliffland Vanessa Gardiner A solo show of recent paintings and drawings. All Vanessa’s paintings are presented beautifully framed with white box frames. She works in acrylic on board or plywood.

Furniture by Petter Southall. Sladers Yard Gallery and Café Sladers, West Bay Road, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset DT6 4EL +44 (0)1308 459511.

Until 29 April

Body Beautiful: Diversity on the Catwalk examines how today’s fashion industry is challenging perceptions and championing alternative ideals of beauty on the catwalk, in advertising, editorial and behind the camera. The first exhibition of its kind in the world, it looks at how fashion creatives are embracing inclusivity and body positivity by exploring five key themes: size; gender; age; race and disability. Visitors will learn how the industry is calling into question existing practice, and why it must address diversity from the inside out to reappraise contemporary ideals of beauty. A National Museums Scotland exhibition. The Gallery, Arts University Bournemouth.

Until 2 May

Ida Applebroog. Right Up To Now. Over the past six decades Ida Applebroog has navigated an in-depth inquiry into the polemics of human relations, dissecting and reassembling the world around her spanning diverse mediums and modes of display. Now in her 90s, this comprehensive survey speaks to her radical introspection as a woman and an artist, presenting life as it is and the repetitive patterns of our existence. Tue – Sun, 10 am – 4 pm. Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Durslade Farm, Dropping Lane, Bruton, Somerset BA10 0NL

Until 14 May

Nick Goss, Mud Angels Imagined floods and submerged landscapes form the catalyst for Goss’ new series of paintings and works on paper, which encapsulate the impermanence of our surroundings.

Curated by Melissa Blanchflower (Serpentine.)Open Wednesday – Saturday, 10-5. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Dowell Street, Honiton EX14 1LX, 01404 45006 www.thelmahulbert.com

Until 16 June

Mixed Spring Exhibition of Gallery and Guest Artists. Returning to normality we hope with an exhibition featuring all our gallery artists including sculptors Johannes von Stumm and Sarah Moore, ceramicist Alison Wear and many paintings and prints from Phillippa Headley, Kim Pragnell, Colin Moore, Ruth Ander, to name but a few. Visitors also welcome outside normal hours by prior appointment.

Tincleton Gallery, The Old School House, Tincleton, nr Dorchester, DT2 8QR. Opening / performance times: Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon from 10:00 – 16:00. Tel. 01305 848 909. www.tincletongallery.com

Until 18 June

Spring Exhibition Gallery and guest artists The Old School House, Tincleton, Nr Dorchester DT2 8QR www.tincletongallery.com.

46 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

Until 25 June

In Xanadu: Coleridge and the West Country.

An exhibition in partnership with the British Library to showcase the earliest manuscript of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s extraordinary poem Kubla Khan. The exhibition celebrates the manuscript’s return to the county where it was written. It will tell the story of Coleridge’s time spent living in and near the Quantock Hills, his relationship with William and Dorothy Wordsworth, and the legacy of his writing. 10.00 am – 5.00 pm Tue – Sat (some Sunday opening) The Museum of Somerset, Taunton Castle, Castle Green, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4AA Museumofsomerset.org.uk See website for booking information

Until 26 June

Ray Balkwill’s The River’s Voice is a celebratory exhibition of painting the Exe Estuary for over four decades. Ray Balkwill was born in Exeter and graduated from Exeter College of Art in the late 60s. He returned to Exeter in the late 70s to work in advertising giving up his job as an Art Director to paint professionally in 1990. Since then he has lived and worked in Exmouth for over forty years, mainly capturing the many moods of the river. The exhibition will also feature some of his Mixed Media Assemblages from material washed up on its foreshore. The Cafe at RAMM, Queen Street, Exeter, EX4 3RX. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm. Closed Mondays and Bank Holidays. Admission free and all work is for sale. rammuseum.org.uk. raybalkwill.co.uk.

Until 31 October

Exhibition Buried in Time at West Bay Discovery Centre. We are marking the 20th anniversary of the designation of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site by looking at the geology of the stretch of coast between Eype and Burton Bradstock, its fossils and the human element of those who study and collect them.

Open daily 11 am - 4 pm excluding Mondays.

Admission free, donations welcomed. There will be various walks, talks and events associated with this exhibition during this period. Further details. http://www.westbaydiscoverycentre.org.uk/

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 47

April PREVIEW

Kipps launches centenary year

SIDMOUTH SIDMOUTH Musical Theatre celebrates its centenary this year, with a spring production of Kipps, the new version of the Tommy Steele classic, Half A Sixpence, at Sidmouth Manor Pavilion, on Saturday 16th April, and Monday to Saturday 18th to 23rd.

Originally known as Sidmouth Arts Club Operatic Society, the company was formed in 1922 when the Rev C K Woolcombe, vicar of Sidmouth, wrote and produced The Fairy’s Dilemma.

The Fairy’s Dilemma was followed quickly by a pantomime, The Sleeping Beauty and, the following year, The Rajah of Rajapore by a little known writer C King Proctor. In 1924 the society presented Montague Phillips The Rebel Maid under the professional guidance of Percy Stedman and Dorothy Hughes.

Until the Second World War the society’s productions were mainly Gilbert and Sullivan’s Savoy Operas, with three exceptions—Tom Jones, Flora Dora and The Arcadians.

After the war, Gene Gerard, a West End musical comedy star of the 1920s and 30s, who had retired to Sidmouth, directed many shows including Gilbert and Sullivan, and an outstanding production of The King and I in 1965 was particularly outstanding. Gerard was followed by Frederick Rylands.

Increasing costs led the society to put on an autumn fund-raiser in 1995. Presenting musicals is very expensive—with royalties of £5,000 or more and total productions costs from £25,000 to £30,000. Another significant change came in 2015 when Sidmouth Arts Club Operatic Society became Sidmouth Musical Theatre.

The original musical of Half a Sixpence, based on the novel Kipps by H.G Wells, with music and lyrics by David Heneker and book by Beverley Cross, told the story of Arthur Kipps (a simple soul), a draper’s apprentice, as he experiences Edwardian society in Folkstone. It was written as a star vehicle for Tommy Steele, who played the role of Kipps in London in 1963, on Broadway in 1965 and in the 1967 film adaptation. Steele sang 12 of the musical’s 15 songs.

Producer Cameron Mackintosh reunited the team of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe to adapt Heneker’s original songs and create new material, with Julian Fellowes writing an entirely new book for Kipps. It premiered at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2016. The new show has all the famous songs, including Half a Sixpence, Money to Burn, She’s Too Far Above Me, A Proper Gentleman, If the Rain’s Got to Fall and of course Flash Bang Wallop.

Sidmouth Musical Theatre’s autumn production will be Chess.

48 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

Healing the Nation

BRIDPORT COMEDIAN Andy Parsons was in the middle of a UK tour when theatres had to close due to lockdown—the tour was called Healing The Nation—so that title worked out well!

Now Andy is back on tour, coming to the Electric Palace at Bridport on Friday 22nd April.

He says it will be “the longest tour ever,” taking three years to complete, and as it has gone on “there’s been less and less healing and more and more of the opposite.”

Andy admits he could have changed the title: “But it still seems strangely appropriate.” Also for ticket-holders of rescheduled gigs it might be confusing if the show was now called “My life in ballet.”

Dracula in Space DORCHESTER

IF you think string quartets are all formal clothes and austere chamber music, you haven’t met Bowjangles, four brilliant musicians who sing, dance and are very funny.

Catch them at Dorchester Corn Exchange on 8th April with their show, Dracula in Space.

Bowjangles is an irreverent, anarchic group who cross the musical genres, bringing music, theatre and comedy together—in this latest outing, even adding a touch of scifi horror.

In this new show for 2022 the intrepid foursome are blasting off into outer space to meet a mysterious benefactor whose proposition seems a little too good to be true. But what happens when their lead violinist starts to act a little strangely?

(WARNING: Contains scenes of graphic violins!)

Local date for blues star

BRIDPORT ERIC Steckel, who was the youngest ever guitarist to play with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, brings his phenomenal guitar-driven blues metal to Bridport Arts Centre on Saturday 23rd April.

Cross-over diva

DORCHESTER NADIA Eide has a voice that can take your breath away—she certainly impressed the audience, live and in their homes, when she sang her way through to the finals of The Voice UK. Now the Scandinavian cross-over star is coming to Dorchester Arts at the Corn Exchange on Saturday 2nd April.

Eide, whose home is in the frozen north, is a coloratura soprano with a repertoire that ranges from Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, to Mabel in Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance and Christine in The Phantom of the Opera. She is particularly noted for the way she reimagines classic arias and songs for a wide contemporary audience.

Her versatility takes her from Sandy in Grease to the spectacular Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. She sang Tess in Tess The Musical (based on Tess of the D’Urbervilles) and originated the role of The Siren for the new musical Night Flight based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novel.

Her first single release, Fall On Me, went straight to number one in the official ITunes classical charts, surpassing Andrea Bocelli and Ludovinco Einaudi. In 2021, she was a finalist on The Voice UK, with more than a million views on YouTube, with a thrilling performance of Queen’s Show Must Go On.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 49

It is his first UK tour in eight years, such is the worldwide demand (29 countries and counting) for this maestro of the blues guitar.

He was only 12 when he performed with Mayall, joining them at the Sarasota Blues Festival. He has also played with other big blues names including BB King, Gregg Allman, Ray Charles, Steve Vai and Walter Trout.

Twenty years on the road, he is performing at the peak of his powers. With seven albums already under his belt, Eric will be touring to promote a new album. This is a rare chance to catch him with his band in an intimate venue.

Precipitous fun

YEOVIL AND TOURING STAR of Have I Got News For You and Just A Minute, Comedy Store founder member and regular,

50 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

connoisseur of slapstick comedy and silent film, and improviser-in-chief, Paul Merton is back on tour with his Impro Chums, with local dates including Sunday 24th April at Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre, 26th April at Exeter’s Northcott Theatre, 8th May at Plymouth Theatre Royal and 10th May at Weymouth Pavilion.

Described by The Guardian, as “a uniquely precipitous brand of fun,” Paul Merton’s Impro Chums – with Richard Vranch, Suki Webster, Mike McShane and accompanist Kirsty Newton – is a joy to behold.

Paul’s countless shows on television include Room 101, Paul Merton Looks at Alfred Hitchcock, Paul Merton’s Birth of Hollywood, Paul Merton’s Adventures, a travel series for Channel Five, which covered his travels in India, China and Europe and the 2021 Channel 4 series, Motorhoming with Paul Merton and Suki Webster.

A pandemic cycle ride

DORCHESTER TRAVEL writer and broadcaster Simon Parker, who has reported from more than 100 countries over the years, took to his bicycle during the pandemic. Now he tells his story in A Night of Adventure Cycling 3,247 Miles Around Pandemic Britain, at Dorchester Corn Exchange on 24th April at 3pm.

The multimedia presentation of short films, photos, audio clips and anecdotes covers his many journeys across Britain in 2020 and 2021. He travelled to the furthest corners of Britain, including Shetland, Scilly, the Highlands, Cumbria and the North York Moors to find out how the pandemic had impacted people of all backgrounds.

This is a ground level portrait of Britain, with dozens of unique stories from farmers, fishermen, artists and musicians, young, old, rich and poor.

A mirror on the world

LYME REGIS WRITER and performance poet Hollie McNish comes to the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis on 7th April, reading from her new collection, Slug ... and other things.

The Ted Hughes Award winner’s live readings are not to be missed. Expect strong language and adult content wrapped in carefully sculpted poetry.

Slug...and other things I’ve been Told to Hate holds a mirror up to the world—from Finnish mermaids and soppy otters to Kellogg’s anti-masturbation pants, brought to life with Hollie’s driving, funny and beautiful words.

A blend of poetry, memoir and short story, Slug is a joyful celebration of the human condition: from birth to death and Hollie’s attempt to manage the tangle in-between.

Giovanni Lonatti will play a programme entitled Sketches of a Lifetime – Musical Images of Childhood, Nature and Art – a selection of pieces from R Schumann and Mussgorski at Tincleton Gallery in April

Alpine thriller

VILLAGES DORCHESTER Drama’s next production is the psychological thriller Trap For A Lonely Man. The play will be touring to three villages, Moreton, Broadmayne and Martinstown, from 1st to 9th April, a new venture for the group, which usually performs only in Dorchester.

Written by the French playwright Robert Thomas in 1963, the play is a tense thriller, set in an isolated chalet in the French Alps. A man reports his wife’s disappearance to the police but soon a woman turns up, claiming to be his wife, and makes herself at home.

The man insists he has never met her, but she seems to know all about him and has evidence to prove it. What is the explanation? As the plot twists and turns a conspiracy unfolds and the Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 51

tension and mystery build to the final moments.

Dorchester Drama chairman Sean Colledge is excited by the project. He says: “Taking this play out on tour rather than performing in one location in central Dorchester has its challenges, but it’s a great move. We will be reaching new audiences and learning how to transport, set-up and strike a set, lights and sound system with military-like precision. Also it will be lovely to be in those villages.”

Trap for a Lonely Man will be Moreton village hall on 1st April, Broadmayne hall on 2nd April and Martinstown hall on 8th and 9th April; all performances begin at 7.30pm.

Musical magpies on the road

LYME REGIS AND SOUTH PETHERTON INDIA Electric Co—Joseph O’Keefe and Cole Stacey, both from Devon—bring an eclectic and exciting blend of traditional instruments, contemporary electronics and Eastern European and Irish music to their shows. Get a taste at upcoming gigs at the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, on Thursday 28th April, and the David Hall at South Petherton on Saturday 30th.

Their music explores diverse themes from Eastern Europe, Irish traditions and urban alienation to end up with something described by Mary Ann Kennedy on BBC Radio 3 as “quirky and glittery—a veritable musical magpie’s nest.”

Laughing matters

BRIDPORT COMEDIAN, journalist and polemicist Mark Thomas has revived a television show which was supposed never to be

52 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

repeated—and Bridport’s Electric Palace on Sunday 3rd April is the only date in the area where you can catch it.

Before Joe Lycett, The Revolution Will be Televised, Lee Nelson, Dom Joly and Balls of Steel, The Mark Thomas Comedy Product set the agenda. Challenging corporations, exposing corruption, ending MPs’ careers and setting up a PR company at an arms fair, Thomas’s show is said to have “changed the law on tax and inherited wealth and happily used just about every conceivable military vehicle in the cause of comedy.”

Showing his favourite clips and explaining what went on behind the scenes, Mark now tells the story in all its glory—from knob gags to arms deals, from the risqué to the risky—in this cinematic live experience of mischief, adventure, and seven years of gunning for the corrupt with a camera crew in tow.

Bluegrass at the Beehive

HONITON APRIL is a mainly film month at Honiton’s Beehive Centre, but there is a treat for folk and bluegrass fans on Saturday 9th when Flats and Sharps play an evening of British bluegrass.

Flats and Sharps are a four-piece bluegrass band from Penzance who have been delighting audiences with their energetic performances for more than ten years.

Their shows include a range of influences from footstomping traditional bluegrass to their own original music.

Support comes from True Foxes, a Cornish duo, Amie and Chloe, who are emerging from Covid hibernation to bring their folk-pop music to audiences around the region.

On Saturday 23rd, Noble Jacks bring their fiddle-driven high energy, foot-stomping folk-rock to the Beehive.

A Poet Walks in West Dorset Descended from the Dorset poet William Barnes, you can read Maurice Barnes’ story on page three. Maurice achieved his ambition to have his own poetry published in 1993. These are two poems from his book A Poet Walks in West Dorset.

Symondsbury

Calan coming to Dorchester

Calan are back

DORCHESTER WELSH folk stars Calan recorded a new album, Kistvaen, just before the pandemic. Now they are taking it around the country on their first postlockdown tour, coming to Dorchester Arts at the Corn Exchange on 15th April.

Expect intricate, captivating melodies and mesmerising harmonies, underpinned with footstamping, crowd-pleasing rhythms.

Calan’s array of instruments includes guitars, fiddles, bagpipes, harps, accordions, vocals… not to mention world-class step and clog dancing.

GPW

A wet spring – rain and rain again, but to Symondsbury now and then, beside that Christmas Pudding Hill, running through the valley so still, the little stream where they all washed and drank their fill, by the south is Kidney lane.

In the dark, lovers could meet and show no shame, north is Shutes Lane, ‘tis very old, could be over three thousand I may be so bold, cutting so deep is this old road church, school and village pub all together, not far to go, whatever the weather, and there is the big house beside the Old Rectory where William Barnes did sometimes reside.

Where my parents and all us did happily abide, in its garden is the couple of yews like one big tree over one thousand years they say they be.

The great wind in 1987 Broke one up, nigh blew it to heaven.

But was the man called Colmer so great named after our hill or the hill called after him to elate?

Mill Lane to the East Backshayes Lane in the West with an old cowstall the lucky beast; just one street called Duck Street, wi’ geese ready for our Christmas feast.

For sixty-six years I knowed this place Good times and bad: all is written in my face, damn old age, it’s come too soon, can’t I come and go like thic moon.

ME

Flats and Sharps coming to Honiton

Yer I be getting wold now to git back wer I reap’d and sow’d then for soon I be git too wold to travel an see wher’ I met my first love so kassin’ thee mind it I can tho’ such a pretty beauty you I was so proud for to be her beau there we both gittin on when thee was young and looked a swan always working all day and half the night illness no different for the cows’ delight but now thee casn’t run anymore just hobble and stand by the door we’ve had our time thee be havin’ thine.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 53

YOUNG LIT FIX IN APRIL PICTURE BOOK One Camel Called Doug

By Lu Fraser Illustrated by Sarah Warburton Published by Simon and Schuster Children’s Books RRP £6.99 Suitable for children aged 3 and up Review by Antonia Squire DOUG is a camel, all alone in the desert and a little bit lonely with no one to play with. But along comes a camel named Brian and the two play on a see-saw, play leap frog, play hide and seek. Then along comes a camel named Claire, and another named Bruce and another named Rita.

As each camel is added more games can be played until an entire camel herd arrives and a whole party ensues. Doug is having the time of his life with his new camel friends, but by the end of the day he is ‘all camelled out’ and it is time for him to go home and settle in for the night.

A delightful romp through the desert, with hilarious illustrations from Sarah Warburton, this is a counting book, a tale of friendship and a note that it is ok to be alone sometimes. It’s also a great bedtime story as the tale grows with exuberance and then winds down to a deep calm. With opportunities for little ones to engage with the text (rhyming prompts for the next number camel), lots of laughter and the time to snuggle down for a rest with Doug, this is one of my new favourite read-alouds. And the kids love it too!

MIDDLE GRADE The Chime Seekers

By Ross Montgomery Published by Walker Books RRP £7.99 Suitable for readers aged 9 and up Review by Antonia Squire YANNI is struggling. Everything in his life has gone wrong since his parents brought home his new baby sister. The home he loved was deemed too small now she was here so they had to move away to the countryside. His amazing parents are too tired to pay attention to him since all his sister does is cry all the time. All he wants is for everything to go back to the way it was, but for that he needs his sister to disappear and that’s never going to happen. He doesn’t even want to think about it.

Then one night, the second night in his new home, his parents go out for dinner (for the first time since his sister was born) and his cousin Amy comes to the house to stay with him and help with the baby. Amy is his age and a bit of a nerd, always wanting to talk about her stupid games, and Yanni wants none of it. As he stomps upstairs to check on his sister he hears chimes and turns to see a tall man in the doorway. In the back of his mind Yanni

knows something is deeply wrong, but the man is a faerie and casts a glamour over him. Somehow, Yanni isn’t sure how, the faerie gets Yanni to invite him into the room and then gets him to agree to let him take the baby. The faerie though, doesn’t leave an empty crib, he leaves a changeling in the place of Yanni’s sister. As soon as the faerie leaves Yanni is released from the glamour and realises what he has done. He chases downstairs to catch the faerie but tonight is Halloween, and the boundaries between the world of humans and the world of the Fae is thin. The faerie is gone and the changeling is walking across the ceiling. Amy and Yanni both know they need to do something and fast.

Fortunately, Amy is far more up on the world of the Fae, and with her trusty gaming guide the two of them cross the boundary in search of Yanni’s sister.

With three, seemingly impossible, tasks set by the evil faerie, and with the reluctant help of the denizens of the land of Fae, Yanni and Amy and the changeling set about their quest. By god this is good, Nicky and I both loved it.

TEEN The Sad Ghost Club

By Lize Meddings Published by Hodder Children’s Books RRP £10.99 Suitable for readers aged 12 and up Review by Nicky Mathewson SAM, who likes to be called S.G, is full of self-doubt and insecurity. There’s a party, everyone’s going, but S.G is so nervous that their inner turmoil is all consuming. The party is full of kids having fun, but S.G may as well be invisible, no one talks to them, no one notices they’re even there.

S.G sees another ghost across the room. They look like a sad ghost too, no one is talking to them either. Perhaps they’d like some company? The two sad ghosts share a common awkwardness and begin a beautiful journey to becoming kindred spirits.

Have you ever felt like you were invisible, and should have stayed in bed, hiding yourself from the world because no one understands you? The small things in life feel huge and molehills become mountains? Then maybe you should join The Sad Ghost Club and find your kindred spirits; “A safe space where anyone who is feeling sad or alone could feel… well… not so alone.”

Lize Meddings is an illustrator who is trying to raise positive awareness of how differently mental health affects us all. With this totally amazing new series of graphic novels/comics for teens, she has shone a light on feelings and anxieties that many of us feel daily. I feel that she knows me, and is speaking directly to me through her cute drawings and relatable characters. These books are full of hope and profundity and are truly heartwarming.

The Sad Ghost Club is a real comfort blanket and I recommend it to everyone!

10% off for Marshwood Vale readers at The Bookshop on South Street, Bridport. 01308 422964 www.dorsetbooks.com 54 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

Screen Time with Nic Jeune

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog

O

nce upon a time I used to help programme the wonderful From Page to Screen Film Festival. Now I can savour all the treats in store for this week of film watching. But it is oh so tough to pick out my favourites from the line up for 2022!

In the 11.00 am morning slot, to pick out one film from the week’s gems is nigh impossible from films by such great directors as Tarkovsky, Fellini, Hallstrom, Ray and Jean Vigo. However, above all, I would want to see again Satyajit Ray’s debut film and the first of his great Apu Trilogy, Pather Panchali. (1955) “The legend of the first film is inspiring; how on the first day Ray had never directed a scene, his cameraman had never photographed one, his child actors had not even been tested for their roles--and how that early footage was so impressive it won the meager financing for the rest of the film. Even the music was by a novice, Ravi Shankar, later to be famous.”

Roger Ebert.com. Roger Ebert.

On The Waterfront 1954 I will never get tired of watching Marlon Brando acting. Directed by Elia Kazan who had launched Brando’s career in 1951 with Streetcar Named Desire. Kazan was described by Stanley Kubrick as the best director in America.

“The acting and the best dialogue passages have an impact that has not dimmed; it is still possible to feel the power of the film and of Brando and Kazan, who changed American movie acting forever.” The Chicago Sun Times. Roger Ebert.

City of God (2002) “Like a bomb exploding in a fireworks factory: It’s fierce and shocking and dazzling and wonderful” New York Post. Megan Lehmann.

Flee (2021) This is an extraordinary film and an inspired use of animation.

“Flee becomes his cinematic catharsis, as Amin recounts his journey in fits and starts, while the animation turns his memories into a bracing adventure that doubles as modern history.” Indiewire. Eric Kohn.

Boiling Point (2021) A one take wonder of a film. Be interesting to hear how this compares to Mark Hix’s kitchen experiences.

“Boiling Point grips remorselessly while it’s spinning all these plates, and somehow ladles onto them a smorgasbord of great, frazzled acting from all concerned.” The Telegraph. Tim Robey.

Finally. I have never seen and look forward to The Lodger (1927) Hitchcock’s first thriller.

“Coming shortly after his return from Germany, it draws heavily on the German expressionist tradition established in such films as The Cabinet of Dr Caligari d. Robert Weine, 1919) and Nosferatu d. F.W. Murnau, 1922). These films, which used stylised, angular sets, high contrast light and shadow to convey disturbed psychological states, were to be a major influence on the developing director.” BFI Online. Mark Duiguid.

From Page to Screen Film Festival 27 APRIL - Ivan’s Childhood 11am (BAC). Shaft 2pm (BAC).

City of God 4pm (BAC). Operation Mincemeat 7.30pm Electric Palace.

28 APRIL - Amarcord 11am (BAC). On the Waterfront 2pm (BAC). The Long Day Closes 5pm (BAC). Nightmare Alley 7.30pm (BAC).

29 APRIL - My Life as a Dog 11am (BAC). West Side Story (1961) 1.30pm (BAC). Flee 5pm (BAC). Spencer 8pm (BAC).

30 APRIL - Pather Panchali 11am (BAC). Pinocchio 2pm (Lyric Theatre) plus children’s puppet making workshop with Holly Miller. Under the Skin 2pm (BAC). Paris Texas 4.30pm (BAC).

Boiling Point 8pm (BAC).

1 MAY - L’Atalante 11am (BAC). King Kong 2pm (BAC). The Drover’s Wife 5pm (BAC). The Lodger (1927) 7.30pm (BAC).

(BAC) Bridport Arts Centre.

Visit bridport-arts.com for full details, tickets and festival offers.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 55

Health&Environment Free trees to help combat climate change

Knit, crochet or sew your Royal Family favourites

Tree packs include those suited to hedgerows, copses, wet woodlands or for wildlife

M

ore than 90,000 free trees are being made available for over 700 farmers across the South West in a big boost for the environment Scores of farmers across the South West are receiving free trees to plant on their land—set to bring widespread benefits including combating climate change.

The trees are being delivered through a partnership between the NFU South West, Woodland Trust and Lloyds Bank. The tree packs include those suited to hedgerows, copses, wet woodlands or for wildlife.

Rob Daulby Assistant Outreach Officer for the Woodland Trust said trees will bring a big boost for the environment and for farmers too. He said: ‘Trees help combat climate change by soaking up carbon dioxide, give shade and shelter for livestock, provide habitat for birds and other insects and improve water quality and soil health.

More trees means more connectivity of woods and trees across the landscape providing vital wildlife corridors.

‘By working in partnership we can do so much more to expand the woodland cover across the south-west landscape and support farmers with their tree planting ambitions.

Whether people want to plant their own largescale woodland, a new hedgerow or more bespoke agroforestry scheme, we can give advice on the best approach, help design and offer subsidised trees—all of which are UK and Ireland sourced and grown.

What’s more we have a carbon offer that could enable farmers to earn an income from planting trees too.’

Melanie Squires, NFU South West Regional Director said: ‘We are delighted so many of our members have taken advantage of this opportunity. As custodians of the South West’s fabulous landscapes which provide so much, not just in terms of providing the food we eat but as the foundation of our vital tourism industry, farmers know how important it is to keep it looking its best, which includes having plenty of healthy trees.

‘Trees also play an important part in storing carbon on farms which will be crucial as we move towards farming becoming net-zero for carbon emissions by 2040, so we are pleased to be working with the Woodland Trust and Lloyds Bank to help us achieve these goals.’

Lee Reeves, Head of UK Agriculture, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: ‘Lloyds Bank, in partnership with the Woodland Trust, is helping to plant millions of trees by 2030, to absorb harmful carbon emissions from our air. As part of this, we’re pleased to support farmers to plant more trees and hedges on their land through the funding of free trees, in conjunction with the NFU South West and the Woodland Trust.’

Any landowner who is interested in creating woodland, hedgerows or taking part in agroforestry schemes can find out how the Woodland Trust can support them at woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant.

56 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

Let your imagination loose

ARE you a keen crafter looking for your next project? Why not join in and help the Royal Voluntary Service to create items to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. You can knit, crochet or sew members of the Royal Family, their pets, crowns, ‘houses’, bunting, tea cozies or other items for a Royal Tea Party. There are no limits to your imagination.

Think of sunny days in June and special events showing off your donated creations, and let your imagination take over.

All items will then be sold to raise money for Royal Voluntary Service and our work in the community.

The Royal Voluntary Service mobilises volunteers in every corner of Britain to support people in need and the NHS. Their volunteers work with healthcare teams and in communities providing practical help and emotional support when people are struggling to cope. They also assist on the NHS frontline, and right now our volunteers are once again rising to the challenge to support the NHS to deliver the booster jabs to the people of Britain as soon as possible. Volunteers provide a lifeline to those who need us in communities and the NHS. So please spread the word, get started and let them know what you are making; photos are always great and look good on their Facebook page.

Any questions please contact Maria Jacobson, Service Manager Dorset Home Library Service, tel. 07786 635154 or e-mail maria.jacobson@royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 57

Services&Classified FOR SALE Jacket Harris Tweed 44 chest £35. Bagatelle pin ball game, beechwood £10. Solitaire board game green glass marble set £5.

07879 880250.

Mandolin Barnes and Mullins (BM650) Salvino F-style with case and excellent condition. New £370. Sell £195. Tel 07939 135062.

Quality 19th century mahogany provincial made waterfall bookcase with adjustable shelves to top and lockable base drawer. 52”H, 25.5”W, 10”D (max). £300. Photo available. Tel: 01935 426197/07967 140478.

Vintage Barbour Border Green Wax Jacket, Large size C42/107cm with Badge, detachable Hood and Pile Lining, new zip and professional hemming, waxing kit. Vgc, photos available, £100, 01308 423177.

Weetabix Corgi Classics: Articulated Volvo Lorry, Leyland Van, Ford Cargo Box Van, Leyland Truck, as new, boxed, £15, 01308 423177.

Aluminium ornate garden table and four chairs, (two with arms) three chairs powder coated, table and one chair need painting.

Downsizing so unfortunately need to sell. £150. 01460 30932 Please contact for photograph/ sizes.

Mercedes Benz c class heavy duty black carpet mats as new. Will fit 2009 to 2014 models. Bargain £30 tel: 01308425549.

Various items of tack for sale including saddle, bridles,bits, girths jodhpurs etc. please phone for more details and prices.

07881 993133.

Draper submersible pump, 350w, model 61668 (with float) boxed+manual. £15, tel 07398 760637 DT6/DT1.

4 Limited edition mounted prints, 2 framed, of Fallow, Red, Roe & Muntjac deer by wildlife artist David Feather. Vgc. £40. 01308 423177.

Rollator. “Days” sturdy 4 wheel walking aid.

Folds for transport. Good brakes. Bag under padded seat. Good condition £20. Hawkchurch 07967 522061.

Vintage bamboo/ cane trolley drinks cart excellent condition £65.00 Phone 0774345 6171 nr Crewkerne 70’s Morroccan wool rug white background with Aztec pattern 51” x 26” £ 45.00 Phone 0774345 6171 nr Crewkerne.

Gents size 10 stylo riding boots in good condition, £20 ,Electric Lawn mower in good working order, £35 Ilminster area tel.

07351 952285.

1 Ton Tractor trailer, in good-nick! body size = (6ft long x 3-1/2ft wide). made of solid angle-iron frame with leaf springs and has a spare wheel. £59.00. Tel-01297678602.

Ladies cycle 5 speed, very good condition £35 01297 624222 Celestion DL8 Series 2, 10 – 150w, speakers (black casing). VGC. £55. 01935 891538.

Brown Shoes Josef Seibel Brown size 42 shoes The European comfort shoe Worn once but too large Cost £100.00 but a bargain at £45.00 Would post but added cost Metcombe near Ottery St. Mary 07976 968882.

Lightweight folding golf trolley. Removeable

58 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

wheels, card and Pencil holder, adjustable for height. Clean and in very good Condition. £20.00.

Telephone 01297 443170.

Large Wing armchair, sturdy with two cushions.

110cm high x 76cm wide x 70cm deep. £45. Tel: 01395 516543.

Bosch Slimline Dishwasher Serie 2 excellent condition, hardly used. £150; DeLonghi Microwave chrome/black glass excellent condition, hardly used £40. 01297 678448.

Panasonic upright vacuum cleaner (dark green) in good condition and working order.

Complete with hose, crevice tool, small brush and new set of dust bags. £20 ono. 01460 242254 (South Petherton area).

Approx 1/2 Ton Tractor trailer, in good-nick. body size (6ft long x 3-1/2ft wide). overall length (9-1/2 ft), width (5 ft wheels). made of solid angle-iron frame with leaf springs and has a spare wheel. £59.00. Tel-01297 678602.

Extension ladder, two section each with 12 rungs. £85 - (new price £174). Buyer collects.

Near South Petherton.

01460 242254.

Acorn stair-lift for straight staircase. Offers, Bridport 01308 422169.

Bang and Olufsen Beosystem 2200? Vintage system before CD players.

Ideal for Vinyl revival £100. Microphone stand pus various cables with standard jack plus plus Arion equalizer peal. £10 lot. 07719 535094 Eves, Dorchester.

Ercol 1960s Wndsor carver chair £170ono.

World of Colour 2.5

RESTORATION Hay £3.50 Haylage £5.00 Straw £2.75 Free local delivery 07970 288272 Oak table + six chairs £300. 01823 431484. £1000 luxury nearly new ‘Buddy’ bed with storage drawers, pullout trundle bed, two sets of Spider-man bedding.

Total £300. 01460 67964

litres emulsion paint Skye blue silk finish, Ice pink matt finish, unused. £10 each. Compost bin £10.

Wormary £10. 01297 443930.

Tennis racquet Dunlop Max 27, with cover £10.

Carlton Squash racquet with cover £10. Glass winemaking demijohns 4 for £10. 01297 443930.

Singer sewing machine table model, hand crank circa 1930 with components. Portable.

Locking cover, original working condition. £35ono. 01297 680560.

Men’s Hugo Boss suit dark blue checked pattern, trousers 34” reg waist, jacket 38” chest, Calvin Klein tie to match. Ideal prom suit. £80. Tan brogues size 7 £30 worn once. 07796 563475.

Olympic exercise bike £30. 07796 563475.

4 Solid oak chairs £50.

Sturdy pine table 5’ x 3’good condition. £50.

07891 705598.

Wheelchair silver rehab self-propelled, will fold transport in car, hardly use, cost £400, will take any reasonable offer.

07974 674743.

Suffolk Colt petrol mower in need of good service, old but cuts well. £30 ono. Buyer to collect.

01308 4566479.

FURNITURE. Antique Restoration and Bespoke Furniture.

Furniture large and small carefully restored and new commissions undertaken. City and Guilds qualified.

Experienced local family firm. Phil Meadley 01297 560335

June 22

PEST CONTROL Three Counties Pest Control. Friendly, professional service.

Pest problems? Call us on 07484 677457 www.3cpestcontrol.co.uk Apr 22

FOR SALE Electric bike 24v battery, 3 power settings, six Shamano gears, 20” wheels, folding model.

Unused, unfolded for viewing, box available. £425 01460 61005.

Care-co pedal pro exerciser. Improves circulation in legs. Use from seated position. As new, £20. 07581 749564.

Cerne Valley Forge traditional fire Petrol chainsaw 53cc, 2.72HP/ 2KW, 45cm cutting length with fuel mixing bottle, chain oil, tool, glasses, ear defenders, unused, boxed, £110. 01460 61005.

Petrol multi-tool 1.85HP/ 1.35KW lawn trimmer, brush cutter, hedge trimmer, chainsaw attachments with harness, extension pole, fuel mixing container, fuel, chainsaw oil, tool set, goggles, unused, boxed. £165.

01460 61005.

Unused Dacia/ Renault spare wheel 185/65R15 with jack, wheel wrench

ELECTRICAL

WANTED

CHIMNEY SWEEP

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

Apr 22

Secondhand tools. All trades and crafts. Old and modern. G & E C Dawson. 01297 23826. www.secondhandtools. co.uk.

Aug 22

Dave buys all types of tools 01935 428975

Apr 22

Wanted: Old tractors and vehicles. Running, non running. Good price paid. 01308 482320 07971 866364 Dec 22

Coins wanted. Part or full collections purchased for cash.

Please phone John on 01460 62109

Apr 22

Too much clutter in your Loft, shed, Garage, barn. I buy job-lots of vintage items.

07875677897

Mar 22

FOR SALE and aerosol kit. £110.

Citroen 2CV spare wheel with 125R15 tyre £39.

Fridge/ Freezer Samsung Cooltech Plus SR01628EV 32”w 27”d 29”h surplus to requirements. Buyer collects, offers. 01460 61005.

Vintage Ercol Cica 1960s Yorkshire design easy chair (low armchair) new webbing recovered chintz, as new £500. Also matching footstool £200.

Ercol Windsor Goldsmith wooden carver chair £150.

01297 443930.

FOR SALE Lovely Willow & Hall two seater oatmeal sofa.

Excellent condition, spare seat covers, can deliver locally for a small cost. £100. 01297 489431.

‘LSA’ 8 pasta plates 30cms unused white £32, collect Ilminster. 01460 52975.

New curved hard plastic dog bed £20. Halti Small No Pull Harness £20.

Halti Training Lead £18.

01460 54104.

Free Black glass TV/ Video unit 3 shelves w24” (60cm) D 16” (40cm) H 20” (51cm). 01460 271403.

Reebok training/ exercise bike, very little use £75. Dolce Gusto coffee machine, hardly used, £38. 07515 637535.

Four Winter tyres 556mm tread left all four £20 size 195/55 R15.

01935 421499.

Sherborne Luxury 3 foot electric adjustable bed. Head and foot motor control. Includes new Silentnight Miracoil mattress. Weight limit 28 stone. Colour fawn. Bed and Mattress new unused.

01935 824029.

Oak table 55” x 35.5” extends extra 15”. Plus 6 oak chairs hardly used

cost £995, will sell for best offer. Also Pine King bed and mattress £50.

01823 431484.

Sideboard 4 drawers 2 cupboards 46” x 15” x 33” good condition. £55.

Men’s waders Daiwa used once, good condition size 8. £10. Crewkerne.

078991 705598.

Beach fishing kit 5 rods, 4 reels with line, rod rest flotation suit, tent, 105 weights, head lamp, trace making bits. Trace bag, other bits and pieces. Sale as one lot £295ono. 01935 426362.

Single bed-base, pristine condition £10. Single bed pine headboard £20.

Vintage enamel bread crocks, one white, one cream, £10 each. G Plan teak cabinet 2 doors, 2 half size, 2 full size drawers, H48 W30 D16.

Circa 1960’s. £45. 01297 443930.

Laura Ashley Love Seat in excellent condition, light blue small print design (photos available on request) £140ono. Can deliver. 01460 76613.

Classic Men’s cycle Superia Bordeaux Paris 23 ½ “ frame electric blue Huret ten speed Corsaire 313 San Marco saddle

DISTRIBUTION

FOR SALE racing tyres plus unused ‘Winters’ fitted excellent condition. £275 Brain.

07711 260180.

Upright Freezer£50.

Good working condition, four pull-out baskets, two flaps. White56” high x21” wide x 21” deep. Buyer collects. 01460 220081.

Site Transformer 110V 3.3KVA £15. S way sack truck 250kg £20.Stick welder Sealey240V/210A £25. 01308 861350.

3 Rolls stock netting £45 each. Sheep turnover crate £400. 6 feed troughs £25 each Owner retired.

07597 636086. 01935 891339.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 59

FREE ADS for items under £1,000 This FREE ADS FORM is for articles for sale, where the sale price is under £1000 (Private advertisers only — no trade, motor, animals, alcohol, firearms etc). Just fill in the form and send it to the Marshwood Vale Magazine, Lower Atrim, Bridport, Dorset DT6 5PX or email the text to info@marshwoodvale.com.

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

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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 Broadway. The winner was Mrs Carol Hall from Bridport.

60 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

BUSINESS NEWS University College celebrates major investment BOURNEMOUTH’S AECC University College staff and students are celebrating the Topping Out Ceremony as their new rehabilitation centre building structure is completed. This is a £4.5m investment in facilities, works and specialist healthcare equipment which will form an important part of the University College’s clinical service offering to the community.

Part of the Topping Out Ceremony involved putting the final brick into the outer building of the new clinical rehabilitation centre. The new building is the flagship project within a broader programme of developments which will also provide upgrades to other areas of the estate, develop new patient services, provide new jobs, and increase the number of students studying health degrees. AECC University College has been working closely with partners across the Dorset Integrated Care System, other public, voluntary and independent sector partners to developing a suite of new training courses in key areas to help fill local workforce gaps.

These new developments will provide a significant boost to the Bournemouth East community economy going forwards, ensuring that Boscombe is home to a specialist health sciences university and a recognised centre of excellence in clinical and rehabilitation education, care and research. The new rehabilitation centre will provide nine treatment rooms and a large multi-zoned physical rehabilitation space to help people get back to health and mobility after injury or illness.

The new facility will be open to the public from September 2022, and will allow the University College to add an even broader range of clinical and rehabilitation services to their current offering—AECC University College already offers the local community chiropractic treatment, specialist MRI, ultrasound, x-ray, physiotherapy, a breastfeeding clinic and first contact physiotherapy. The new facilities will now allow the institution to also offer clinical services in physical and sport rehabilitation, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, dietetics, podiatry and more.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine April 2022 61