Marshwood + April 2025 by Marshwood Vale Ltd

From Thatcher’s bollards to Jurassic cliffs, Neil Barnes has shot them all Page 24

Sophy Roberts takes her travel stories to Sherborne Page 43

After 38 years of living dangerously, what has Christina Lamb learned? Page 36

© Gabrielle Rabbitts Photograph by Maya Comen

Robin Mills met Gabrielle Rabbitts in Lyme Regis

This autumn will mark my eighth year as the Director of the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis. It’s a role I thoroughly enjoy and I have taken the theatre charity, which was near closure when they approached me for the role, through a complete turnaround.

I’d describe my childhood as unconventional. I grew up in Symondsbury College, now Symondsbury Manor. My parents separated when my brother, Gideon, and I were small and Mum moved to Bridport. Running the school was demanding, so we had a series of untrained ‘nannies’ who were supposed to look after us; I remember one ‘cooking’ an unopened tin of beans in the Aga and almost blowing the door off! Gid and I were largely left to our own devices and loved playing around beautiful Symondsbury. Summers were the best: as Dad could take time off, we would go on holiday to Italy, where we had friends to stay with. The warmth, the taste of simple pasta dishes eaten outdoors, picking up porcupine quills, and waking at night to electrical storms—such wonderful memories!

Music always played at home. I’m part of the generation that didn’t have life before Bob Dylan or the Rolling Stones; they are like extended family to me. From a fairly young age, Mum took us to see live music as she loved dancing. We went to festivals, folk clubs, and the Westpoint for Custer’s Last Blues Band on a Sunday.

© Gabrielle Rabbitts Photograph by Robin Mills

Gabrielle Rabbitts

Bridport, a live music hub, was a great place to be a teenager. The Cavity and The Bull both had open mic nights that I would sing at. In bands, we’d put on nights at Bridport Arts Centre or the back room of The Bull. As well as performing, we did all the promotion, including poster design and marketing.

After A-Levels at Weymouth College, I moved to New Cross, London for a degree in English Literature and Theatre Arts at Goldsmiths College. Students would cross over from directing to acting, writing to music—it was all fluid, and I loved it. However, my passion was acting. I took parts in several MA productions and plays friends had written. Dennis Kelly (co-writer of Matilda and now a successful screenwriter) asked me to be in a play, Debris, which we took to a couple of small venues before it went on to Battersea Arts Centre. After Goldsmiths, I had a variety of small jobs—working on indie art films, assistant directing a play for Mike Hodges (Get Carter), and recording vocals on house tracks for my friend Paul Sng (now a documentary filmmaker). Stimulating as they were, these jobs did not cover the rent so I found a job in the city. I quickly found my place in corporate event management but after a few rewarding years I got an offer I couldn’t refuse: to return to Dorset and run the Electric Palace.

A few years earlier, my Dad had bought the Electric Palace, a condemned former cinema, at auction. He and my brother had worked hard to bring the building up to standards, but both wanted to step away. Seeing an opportunity perfect for my skillset and interests, I moved back to Bridport and took over the business. I’d taken a huge risk, and an even bigger pay cut. The Palace had mounting debts and no forward program. However, my years in business, combined with my arts background, gave me the tools to create change.

I learned to negotiate, write press releases, and manage staff—on the job. Once I’d streamlined processes, improved efficiency and got the programme in a healthier place, things improved financially. It took a couple of years of late nights, six-day weeks, and not paying myself for periods to turn the place around, but we got there.

To attract higher-profile artists like Johnny Marr, Stiff Little Fingers, and The Proclaimers, I needed to increase capacity. We made the dancefloor bigger; I built relationships with agents to get the venue noticed and promoted the Palace’s growing reputation, highlighting its quirky, unique art-deco interior. As things got rolling, I could bring in bigger names to further elevate the venue’s standing. The Palace was grubby, loud, vibrant, and live—and I loved it for what it did for the Bridport community. An audience is a united body. Gigs are one-off special moments that you witness as a collective. You sing together, dance together— to a performance that will not be repeated.

I booked Grandmaster Flash as my first international artist when I was six months pregnant with my first child, Rafe. Everything was about growth at that time. The Palace was on

supercharge, I had a new life in my belly, and stilettos on my feet. Flash was old-school; I remember counting out his fee in cash in the dressing room before he went on stage.

Both my children, Rafe and Ramona, were born at home— 19 months apart. With a birthing pool set up in the kitchen (hired from the Dorset homebirth group), I didn’t even give hospital a second thought. Why would I let someone else stage-manage the greatest gig of my life? Being undisturbed, to give birth naturally in my home and then get into my own bed felt entirely right.

Rafe was born four days after I stopped work. I took four months off before returning part-time. Around that time the venue was surprise nominated by Ian Gillan of Deep Purple for Best UK Small Independent Music Venue. We received a silver award at the House of Commons.

I could work with one baby, but with two, it was impossible. After Ramona arrived, I made the heartbreaking decision to sell the Palace but was proud to pass it on with a 12-month forward programme, an award and a healthy profit on the books.

My husband, Iain, and I decided to take full advantage of my time off. We bought a camper van, let our house, and took the little ones travelling. We were away for 18 months in total, spending some of the last months in Portugal where Iain had built an off-grid house. We travelled across Europe—to Poland, Romania, Greece—getting as far as the Black Sea and then Morocco. It was an incredible maternity leave!

Arriving back in the UK, I welcomed the timely offer from the Marine Theatre. A charity, with a supportive Board of Trustees who gave me operational freedom, the Marine had a clear identity—and sea views from the auditorium and dressing rooms. I made changes, recruited my own small team and, within two years, we had paid the debts and were reporting a small surplus. Four years on and the theatre has grown in success and is now almost entirely self-funded. I have a passionate positive team and we are now producing a programme that surpasses expectations for a small UK venue. To bring about real change, you have to truly believe in what you are doing, have confidence in your own capabilities, and trust in your team.

It might feel like gigs just pop up, but to put on a good show, it passes through a lot of hands—programmer, marketing, advancing, finance, then the tech team. The last call is with the lights and sound. It is essential for all of us in these roles to aim high; we create the pre-state onstage, the welcome for the audience that determines the mood of the whole evening.

In a time when the promotion of division dominates the news and social media, small town theatres strive to unite communities, providing large-scale cross-generational community plays, youth theatres, seniors dances and access to culture for all. These precious historic theatres are at the heart of small towns and desperately need to be protected for the next generation.

A recent book launch in Bridport brought back long forgotten memories from my childhood. Anna Whitwham’s local launch of Soft Tissue Damage, a memoir about the loss of her mother and the resulting draw to boxing, surfaced buried memories of growing up surrounded by pugilism. My father was president of our local boxing club, and I remember a somewhat primal excitement when listening to the sounds of boxers training in the loft above our pub. I was too little to be allowed to join in, or even to watch. The room had splintered floorboards, rickety stairs and scattered debris that my mother considered far too dangerous for a young boy to roam around in. But when nobody was about, I did play there. Aside from the boxing equipment, it was also a space to store the paraphernalia of undertaking, a sideline my father began but never managed to shake off. For me and my siblings, death was a part of our day-to-day lives. Shrouds and coffins, boxing gloves, headguards and casket handles became our adventure playground. In her book, Anna mentions an altercation from her youth when a kindly nurse explained that it’s best to keep away when men are fighting ‘because they don’t know what they are doing.’ An article in this month’s issue with Sunday Times foreign correspondent, Christina Lamb, left me wondering if women might fight with more depth. A veteran of 38 years of reporting on conflict around the globe, Christina bemoaned the fact that there are few, if any, women around the tables of conflict resolution. She suggests that if there were more women involved in government, we would have fewer wars, and if women were involved in negotiating peace, it might have more depth. With the current display of belligerent posturing on the world stage creating ever more instability, it does seem worth a try.

Fergus Byrne

in your Marshwood Vale Magazine

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Contributors

EVENTS April

Monday, 31 March

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock An evening of Scottish dancing in Chardstock Village Hall EX13 7BH 7.30-10.00p.m. Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own mug and wear soft soled shoes. No partner required. Cost £2.00 Contact David on 01460 65981 www.chardscottishdancingclub.co.uk.

If you like music, gentle exercise and socialising, come to our dance sessions in the W.I. Hall, North Street, Bridport on Monday evenings from 7.15pm9.30pm. Tel: 863552 or text 07456730753 for more information.

Tuesday, 1 April

Scottish Country Dancing at Horton Village Hall TA19 9QR every Tuesday evening from 7.30 to 9.30 pm with tea break. Everyone welcome including beginners , so why not come along and give it a whirl. Please wear soft, flat comfy shoes. £3.00 pay on the door. We look forward to seeing you. Further info from Anita at anitaandjim22@gmail.com or visit our web site at www.ashillscd.wordpress.com.

My Ballet offers you holistic ballet classes with movement to support and improve your posture, balance, coordination, strength,and fitness to beautiful music. First timers to Experienced dancers. Ages 16 to 88 plus welcome. Seaton United reformed Church hall Cross street, EX12 2LH. Email myballetuk@gmail. com or text 07866896978. Meet new friends and stay for a cuppa.

Wednesday, 2 April

Meeting Voices Community Choir, Chard. 19.30 to 21.15. Sing for fun. Learn songs in harmony by ear. Everyone welcome. Chard Guildhall. Fore St, Chard TA20 1PP. Phone 07534 116502 or email mvsecretary@outlook.com.

Thursday, 3 April

Folk dancing at Combe St Nicholas village hall (TA20 3LT) at 1930 hrs. Simon Maplesden will be calling and Ian Bryden are providing the music. It’s £4.00 per person which includes a cuppa and cake, all welcome and it is a lot of fun! Further details from Elaine on 01460 65909.

Screening : NT Live: Dr Strangelove (15) 150 mins 7pm. Bridport Electric Palace, 35 South Street, DT6

Click Here for an Easy Read version of this article

3NY. Tickets £17 Book online electricpalace.org.uk. Hello Bookstore (2022, USA, PG, 86 mins, Director: A.B. Zax). In the shadow of the pandemic, a small town rallies to protect a beloved local bookstore. A landmark in Lenox, Massachusetts, The Bookstore is a magical, beatnik gem thanks to its owner, Matt Tannenbaum, whose passion for stories runs deep. This intimate portrait of The Bookstore and the family at its heart offers a journey through good times, hard times, and the stories hidden on the shelves. Doors 7:00 pm, 7:30 pm start. Clapton & Wayford Village Hall (TA18 8PS). Membership £25, guests £5 per film. For more details, contact mickpwilson53@btinternet.com or ring Mick Wilson on 01460 74849 or Kathy Everard on 01460 30646.

Friends of Lyme Regis Museum. Lyme Regis Museum Friends offer an illustrated talk, ‘From Plymouth Aquarium to Lyme Regis Museum’ by Kieran Satchell at 2.30 pm in the Woodmead Hall, Hill Road, Lyme Regis DT7 3PG. Kieran is the Museum’s Education Officer. This Talk follows the AGM at 2.00pm. Entrance £3 members and £4 visitors. Enquiries to David Cox, 01297 443156.

Lyme Voices Community Choir. 19.30 to 21.15. Sing for fun. Learn songs in harmony by ear. Everyone welcome. Baptist Church (Pine Hall round the back), Silver St., Lyme Regis, DT7 3NY. Phone 07534 116502 or email petelinnett2@hotmail.com.

Solo Charleston and Vintage Jazz Dance Classes1-2pm, St Marys Church Hall Bridport - Class for all levels and abilities - £6 - All Welcome www.dynamicdance.uk. Also Thursday 10th & 24th April.

Friday, 4 April

Unforgettable - Tribute to Nat King Cole Unforgettable Is stunning Vocalist/Guitarist Denny Illett and Award Winning Craig Milverton’s latest project paying tribute to the supreme and legendary Vocalist and brilliant Pianist ‘Nat King Cole’. Tickets: £20. 7.30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. 01460 54973 www.ilminsterartscentre.com.

Walk with West Dorset Ramblers. 8 miles. In Search of Eagles – circular walk from Lower Kingcombe . An easy walk . Start 10am from DWT Kingcombe c.p.(SY554 990). Bring picnic. Dogs at the discretion of the walk leader. To book and for details contact 07587 098079.

Saturday, 5 April

Axminster and District Choral Society begin their 40th anniversary year with a performance of Haydn’s Creation. 7.30 pm at the Minster Church Axminster. Axminster and District Choral Society celebrates forty years of the joy of singing. In February 1985 an enthusiastic group organised a Come and Sing Messiah in the recently reordered Minster Church. The event was a great success, and shortly afterwards Axminster and District Choral Society (ADCS) was established. Over the years both the number and range of concerts have expanded, and the pattern is now two major concerts a year, with professional orchestra and soloists, and less formal concerts in the summer and at Christmas. Our anniversary programme starts on April 5 th with Haydn’s Creation, a work that has been performed in every decade of the choir’s existence. The summer and autumn concerts focus on works by British composers, including Sir John Rutter and Bob Chilcott. A feature of the autumn concert will be a work composed for the occasion by our President, Andrew Millington. Finally the Christmas concert will reprise the inaugural Come and Sing Messiah. One aim for the anniversary year is to attract more members so that we return to our pre-Covid numbers. A second is to publicise our activities more widely. But most of all we aim to maintain our tradition of offering quality performances of wonderful music to audiences in and around Axminster. For more information please visit our website www.axminsterchoral.co.uk. Tickets £16/£14 from axminsterchoral.co.uk or 01404 43805.

Bridport Rotary Club invites you to an evening of musical entertainment from the Dorset Police and Taunton Deane Male Voice Choirs at the United Chuch, Bridport at 7.00 for 7.30. Tickets at £12.50 each are available from the Bridport Tourist Information Centre at the rear of Bridport Town Hall or on line. Also from Club members and at the door on the night. Profits are in aid of the RNLI and other Rotary supported charities and needy causes.

The Friends of Weymouth Library (F.O.W.L.) talk at 10-30a.m. will be by author Justin Newland, on how England’s fledgling navy repulsed the greatest fleet on earth, the Spanish Armada. What coincidences conjoined in England’s favour that fateful day in 1588, which would seal England’s victory? Tickets available at the Library (phone 01305762410) @ £2 for members and £3 for non-members. Any other enquiries phone 01305832613 or 01305750557. Refreshments provided.

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 8 mile walk from Stockland. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/ visitors welcome.

All Aboard the Mary Rose – a free concert with refreshments available. Henry VIII’s favourite ship – the Mary Rose - sank 480 years ago this year. His

reign and the life of the Mary Rose coincide almost exactly. Discover more and hear music of the time played in costume by Courtlye Musick on instruments including the types found on board this remarkable ship. Donations invited to support Dorset Rural Music School and (Broadwey) St Nicholas & St Lawrence Primary School. 3pm at Buckland Newton Village Hall DT2 7BZ.

The Nashville Sounds Experience 8pm Bridport Electric Palace, 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £22 Book online electricpalace.org.uk

Cantamus presents ‘Exsultate!’, a concert of beautiful choral music for spring. St Mary’s Church, Cerne Abbas at 7pm. Tickets £12 on the door (cash or card). Refreshments available.

Beaminster Museum opens for the summer season with two fascinating exhibitions. ‘One and Two Halves to Beaminster’ turns the spotlight on the history public transport in the area, from horse-drawn carriages and early petrol-powered vehicles, to canals that never materialised and railways that never reached their destination. ‘When the Romans Came to West Dorset’ weaves together three intriguing stories: the Roman invasion from a West Dorset viewpoint, the history of Waddon Hill Roman Fort between Broadwindsor and Beaminster, and the role of digital technology in uniting artefacts from across the country. The Museum is open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Bank Holidays, 10.30am – 4pm, Sundays 2pm – 4.30pm. Admission is free, but donations are very welcome. Whitcombe Rd, Beaminster DT8 3NB. www. beaminstermuseum.co.uk

Saturday, 5 - 6 April

NGS Garden Open for charity Chideock Manor Returning after a break. 12 acres of formal and informal gardens. Bog garden beside stream and series of ponds. Yew hedges and mature trees. Lime and crab apple walks, herbaceous borders, colourful rose and clematis arches, fernery and nuttery. Walled vegetable garden and orchard. Woodland and lakeside walks. Fine views and much variety. This has opened for many years and is one of our most popular gardens. Unusually adjoining the Manor House is a catholic church, with a domed basilica, it is exquisite and like nothing else you will see in Dorset. It is often open on our garden open days and well worth a visit! Location: 2m W of Bridport on A35. In centre of village turn N at church. The Manor is ¼m along this road on R. Partial wheelchair access Open 2-5 pm. Adm: £10, child free. Dogs on short leads welcome. Home-made teas.

Sunday, 6 April

Afternoon Teas, including scones, sandwiches, cakes etc. 3pm – 5pm. Also short film – ‘History of Clapton Mill’, showing at 3.30pm & 4.15pm. £6; All welcome.

Clapton & Wayford Village Hall. More details from Julia (01460 72769) or Mary (01460 74849); book in advance, or pay on the door. Opera screening : RB&O – Turnadot (205 mins) 2pm. Bridport Electric Palace, 35 South Street , DT6 3NY. Tickets £17 Book online electricpalace.org.uk

Monday, 7 April

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock. An evening of Scottish dancing in Chardstock Village Hall EX13 7BH 7.30-10.00 p.m. Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own mug and wear soft soled shoes. No partner required. Cost £2.00 Contact David on 01460 65981. www.chardscottishcountrydance.co.uk.

Bridport Folk Dance Group. If you like music, gentle exercise and socialising, do come along to our dance sessions in the W.I. Hall, North Street on Monday evenings from 7.15pm-9.30pm. No experience or partner required. Occasional live music and always a Caller to guide the dances. Only £3. Tea and biscuits. Tel: 863552 or text 07456730753 for more information.

Hawkchurch Film Nights, in association with Moviola.org, proudly presents ‘Gladiator II’, 148 mins, cert.15 (strong violence, injury detail). 24 years on, director Ridley Scott follows up his iconic original film with this epic sequel. Lucius, a prisoner of war turned gladiator (Paul Mescal) becomes embroiled in the corruption and scheming at the heart of the Roman Empire (personified by Denzel Washington’s Macrinus). Spectacular doesn’t begin to cover it. Doors open 6.30pm, film starts 7.00pm at Hawkchurch Village Hall, EX13 5XD. Ticket reservations £6.50 from csma95@gmail.com or leave a message on 07753 603219 (socially-distanced seating available if reserved in advance); tickets also available in advance for £6.50 from Hawkchurch Community Shop or £7.00 on the door (cash only). Subtitles for hearing-impaired patrons provided if available. Homemade cake, teas, coffees, soft drinks, wine and other refreshments available.

Winsham Art Club, 2pm at Jubilee Hall TA20 4HU. The theme this practical session is Abstract Landscapes. It is a 2.5 hr. session led by a visiting tutor. Small friendly group of mixed abilities. Members £5, non-members £7. Annual membership £15. All welcome. Contact: Email : suzyna48@gmail. com for further details.

Modern Jive (Leroc) Social Dance Classes. 7:30pm, Chideock Village Hall. £7 per person, Come with or without a partner. Beginners and Returners Welcome Every Week. www.dynamic-dance.uk. Also Monday 14th & 28th April.

Tuesday, 8 April

Singing Bowl Soundbath 9-10.30 PM Digby Memorial Hall, Sherborne DT9 3LN Deep-tissue

sonic massage and detox for body mind and spirit.£17 Please book in advance 01935 389655 ahiahel@live. com.

Dance Connection - movement to eclectic music that is guaranteed to make you feel better - no set steps - come alone or with a friend or partner, 7-8:30pm (doors open 6:50pm), Uplyme Village Hall, DT7 3UY 07787752201, danceconnectionwessex@gmail.com, www.joysofdance.co.uk.

Walk with West Dorset Ramblers. 9 miles. Specket Lane & Coles Cross - a circular walk on the Jubilee Trail. Start 10am at Four Ashes ST440003. Bring a picnic. Dogs at the discretion of the walk leader. To book and for details contact Ian 07826150114.

Wednesday, 9 April

Dalwood Upholstery Group. Social Amateur Upholstery Group for anyone wanting to complete a personal project. We have an upholsterer on hand who can guide you through each stage in your project. 9.303.30 Dalwood Village Hall. Contact Laura or leave a message for further details on 07789514269. Also April 23rd, May 14th and 28th and June 11th. The New Arts Group, The Shakers: Their Beliefs, Architecture and Artefacts Speaker: John Ericson. Cost: £10.00 Time: 2.00pm (tea/coffee from 1.30pm) Bridport Town Hall.

A Complete Unknown (15) 140 mins film 7:30pm. Bridport Electric Palace, 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £8.50 Book online electricpalace.org.uk

Kilmington Film Night “CONCLAVE (PG)” With 4 BAFTA and an OSCAR you do not want to miss this outstanding and informative film that transforms a seemingly austere subject into a gripping political thriller with emotional depth and masterful storytelling. Conclave unfolds within the Vatican walls, following the death of the Pope. Doors and bar open 6.45 film start 7.15 at Kilmington Village Hall EX13 7RF. Tickets @ £6, or £6.50 on the door, can be ordered by contacting: John at wattsjohn307@gmail.com or Tel: 01297 521681.

‘Funky Boots’ Modern Line Dance Class - Monthly Class - 8:15-9:20pm - The Red Lion Pub, Beaminster£6 per person www.dynamic-dance.uk

Thursday, 10 April

Colyton town history walk leaving from Colyton Dolphin Car Park at 2 pm – Guided walk

Time to Dance

The Inaugural Bridport Dance Festival Starts in May

Created as a not-for-profit organisation by Carla Steenkamp Sheills and Nikki Northover, the first Bridport Dance Festival launches in May 2025. It is a place ‘where everybody moves’ explained Carla. The Festival hopes to unite diverse and inspiring dancers from Bridport Youth Dance & BYD alumni, My Ballet and more.

Starting on Friday 23rd May with workshops and performances at Bridport venues to be announced, there will then be a performance of dance and film at the Electric Palace in Bridport on Saturday 24th May. The evening will reflect and celebrate the individuality of the dancers. This will be a powerful merging of intergenerational talent.

The performance will feature solos by dancer and Bridport Dance Festival guest artist Nafisah Baba. Nafisah won the prestigious BBC Young Dancer of the Year 2017 and later danced with Phoenix Dance Theatre. She has also featured in the music videos of Moss Kena, La Roux and with Ellie Goulding for her first live virtually streamed performance. Nafisah also appears in Beyonce’s movie Black is King

Tickets for the performance at 7.30pm on Saturday 24th May at the Electric Palace, Bridport are available from Bridport Tourist Information Centre, South Street DT6 3LF. Tel: 01308 424901. www.electricpalace.org.uk.

approximately one hour. Cost £5, children under 16 free. No booking required, all weathers. Group bookings by arrangement – Contact 01297 552514 or 01297 33406.

Chesil Bank Writing Shed. Do you write? Would you like to be a writer? Whatever you want to write why not come and learn with our creative writing group. New writers always welcome. 7pm - 9pm, Portesham Village Hall. Find out more by calling Linda on 01305 871802.

Seaton Garden Club A Talk by Ken Basterfield of BlackBerry Honey Farm. “The Making of Honey”. Time 2. 30 p.m. Venue The Masonic Hall Seaton. Members free, Visitors £2.00 including refreshments.

Kilmington Film Matinee CONCLAVE (PG) (See 9th April). Matinee, doors open 1.45pm film starts 2pm, cream-teas served during the interval but must be pre-booked with your seats @ £3.50. see above and www.kilmingtonvillage.com/other-organisations.html for more information.

Seaton Music presents Quartz Saxophone Quartet 7.30pm in the United Reformed Church, Cross St, Seaton. EX12 2LH. Tickets at door. Students and under 19s free.

Chard History Group ‘Say Cheese’ by Alan Stone. The Heritage of Somerset Cheese. Local author Alan will enlighten us on the History of this delicious staple. Samples will be provided 7pm for 7.30pm Chard Guildhall Members £2.50 Guests very welcome £3.50. For further details please contact Tessa 07984 481634.

First Blood (1982) 7.30pm. From Page to Screen Bridport Film Festival. Fringe Event. Bridport Arts Centre, South St, Bridport DT6 3NR. For full details visit: www.bridport-arts.com/fpts.

Friday, 11 April

Fun Quiz Night 6.30pm starts at 7.00pm. Teams of 6 (max) at £5.00 per person, cash on the door. Bring you own nibbles, drinks and glasses. Raffle, standing bingo and refreshments during the break. Book a table in advance. St. Swithun’s Church Hall, Allington, Bridport DT6 5DU. Contact : 07741457505.

The Brutalist (18) 215 mins film 7:30pm. Bridport Electric Palace, 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £8.50 Book online electricpalace.org.uk.

Mikeleiz-Zucchi Duo - Winners of the Royal OverSeas League Annual Music Competition’s Mixed Ensemble Prize and City Music Foundation Artists, the Mikeleiz-Zucchi Duo’s repertoire spans everything from reimagined traditional works to modern repertoire and improvisation, all vividly rendered by the unique combination of saxophone and accordion. Promoted by Concerts in the West. Tickets: £20. 7.30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. 01460 54973 www.ilminsterartscentre.com

Friday, 11 - 13 April

Sherborne Travel Writing Festival at the Powell Theatre, Sherborne. Rory MacLean, travel writer of more than a dozen books, has curated an exciting programme of talks to motivate, inspire, and excite armchair and intrepid travellers alike with unmissable stories of enlightening and challenging adventures from home and around the globe. To find out about the weekend programme of talks and to buy tickets visit www.sherbornetravelwritingfestival.com Tickets can also be bought from Winstone’s Bookshop, Sherborne.

Saturday, 12 April

Join the folk Dancers for a Ceilidh in St Marys Church House Hall from 7.30 -10.30pm. Music by ‘Jeroka’ and calling by Ruth Thompson. Teas {Or BYO ) and light bites plus a Raffle. No partner needed nor previous experience required. Only £10 (Children welcome with an adult…£1} Tel:863552 or text 07456730753 for information.

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 6 mile walk from Broadwindsor. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/ visitors welcome.

Cattistock Point-to-Point at Chilfrome (signed off A356). An afternoon of Pony Races and Steeplechase Races in beautiful countryside. Local food, bar, bookies, ice cream, stalls and children’s entertainment. Further information: pointingwessex.co.uk., or njatkinson10@gmail.com.

Top Secret -The Magic of Science 2pm Family science show. Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £16.50 Book online electricpalace.org.uk

Cantamus presents ‘Exsultate!’, a concert of beautiful choral music for spring. Holy Trinity Church, Bothenhampton, Bridport at 7pm. Tickets £12 on the door (cash or card). Refreshments available.

Yarcombe Village Market from 10-12 noon in Yarcombe Jubilee Hall EX14 9BN. Stalls include local Farm eggs, plants, cakes, pies and pasties, local traditional farm pork, woodwork,gifts, homeware and lots more including lovely Easter goodies. Coffee and cake stall. Contact Helen 078586 25421.

Wild Brew! The Making of the Beltane Brew. 10am Gathering the Herbs for the Beltane Brew Lower Barton Farm, Nether Cerne DT2 7AJ what3words congratulations//shepherdess/ locating The Beltane Beer is a vibrantly energising brew of traditional spring tonic herbs. In the morning we will forage for the herbs with medical herbalist Eleanor Gallia, gathering our cleansing and invigorating ingredients from the ancient chalk downland, Smacam Down. Join us and learn about the historic, medicinal and celebratory properties of our glorious native plants and the trees that play such a prominent role in the Celtic quarter

days. The wild spring herbs we harvest will be brewed in the afternoon workshop at Cerne Abbas Brewery. Please wear appropriate shoes and clothing and bring secateurs, gloves and a basket. There is livestock and wildlife on the hill so please do not bring dogs, thank you. Morning incl homemade nettle soup and roll £15. For more information visit https://cernevalley.co.uk and click through to Cerne Giant Festival for a full brochure.

Starting Off the Beltane Brew 1.30-2.30pm Cerne Abbas Brewery, Chescombe Barn, Barton Meadows, DT2 7JS. The annual limited edition Beltane Brew is always eagerly anticipated, and provides liquid nourishment for the thirsty revellers at 5.30am when the Morris Men dance to greet the sunrise. Come along to help them create this year’s elixir. Medical herbalist Eleanor Gallia will explain the cleansing and invigorating herb ingredients, then take your turn to toss them into the wort at it seethes in the vast copper. Beer and cider will be on sale, both on tap and bottled. Food for lunch will also be available, so make an afternoon of it relaxing at the brewery. Afternoon £7.50 incl ½ pint. All day (with brewing) £20. For more information visit https://cernevalley. co.uk and click through to Cerne Giant Festival for a full brochure.

Saturday, 12 April - 11 May

The Cerne Giant Festival Celebrating Humanity in the Landscape Four weeks of walks, talks, and workshops for you to connect with the Landscape and cultural roots of Dorset. The Festival was born out of the vibrant May Day tradition, when the Morris Dancers and villagers gather at dawn on the Trendle, the original site of the village Maypole at the top of the Cerne Giant. Here they salute the sunrise and celebrate the start of summer with a barrel of Beltane Beer. There are a variety of events so everyone can explore their own connection with the landscape of Dorset and what it means to them. Any profits from the Festival will go towards maintaining the fabric and work of the churches in the participating villages. For more information visit https://cernevalley.co.uk and click through to Cerne Giant Festival for a full brochure.

Sunday, 13 April

Singing Bowl Soundbath 2 PM Bell St Church Shaftesbury SP7 8AL Deep-tissue sonic massage and detox for body mind and spirit. £17 Please book in advance 01935 389655 ahiahel@live.com.

Screening: Andre Rieu – The Dream Continues 2pm. Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £17 Book online electricpalace.org.uk.

French + Breton Folk Dance, Bal Crewkerne with live house band, in the Speedwell Hall, Abbey Street, Crewkerne, TA18 7HY. All welcome, no experience

necessary. Dance workshop for beginners 6-7pm followed by main dance 7-9.30pm. Admission £4 at the door. Tea and coffee available or bring your own drinks. Free parking in the town centre car parks. More information on our website: https://balcrew. wixsite.com/balcrewkerne

Monday, 14 April

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock. An evening of Scottish dancing in Chardstock Village Hall EX13 7BH 7.30-10.00 p.m. Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own mug and wear soft soled shoes. No partner required. Cost £2.00. Contact David on 01460 65981. www.chardscottishcountrydance.co.uk.

Judy Clark, Station Manager, Coast Watch, will be talking to members of Dorchester Townswomen’s Guild in Dorchester Community Church, Liscombe Street, Poundbury DT1 3DF after a short business meeting and cup of tea or coffee. 2 p.m. Visitors will be made very welcome (£4). Enquiries 01305 832857.

Tuesday, 15 April

Dance Connection - movement to eclectic music that is guaranteed to make you feel better - no set steps - come alone or with a friend or partner, 7-8:30pm (doors open 6:50pm), LATCH, Litton Cheney Hall, DT2 9AU, 07787752201, danceconnectionwessex@ gmail.com, www.joysofdance.co.uk.

Walk with West Dorset Ramblers. 6.5 miles. Central Portland – a linear walk . Start 10am Masonic c.p. bus stop, Victoria Square, Portland DT5 1AR. Bring picnic/snack and money /bus pass . To book and for details contact 07798732252.

Wednesday, 16 April

Coffee Morning, including cakes, scones & savouries, and bacon/egg rolls (made to order), 10.30am – noon; all welcome. Clapton & Wayford Village Hall. More details from Julia (01460 72769).

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (15) 125 mins film 7:30pm. Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street, DT6

3NY. Tickets £8.50. Book at electricpalace.org.uk.

Professor William Buckland (1784 - 1856) - The most distinguished person - so far - to have been born at Axminster’ (Part II), a history talk by David Knapman. 7:30pm, Bradshaw Meeting Room, Axminster Heritage Centre, EX13 5AH. Tickets £5 available from the Axminster Heritage Centre during opening hours. For more details email: info@ axminsterheritage.org or tel: 01297 639884.

Drax of Drax Hall talk and book signing Dr Paul Lashmar shares the shocking and, until now, untold story of Dorset’s own slave-owning dynasty. Drax of Drax Hall: How One British Family Got Rich (and Stayed Rich) from Sugar and Slavery. An unauthorised history of the Drax family. Published by Pluto. 6 pm. Waterstones, 21 East St, Bridport DT6 3JX.

Thursday, 17 April

Colyton town history walk leaving from Colyton Dolphin Car Park at 2 pm – Guided walk approximately one hour. Cost £5, children under 16 free. No booking required, all weathers. Group bookings by arrangement – Contact 01297 552514 or 01297 33406.

Folk dancing at Combe St Nicholas village hall (TA20 3LT) at 1930 hrs.Mary Blackborow will be

calling and her band will be providing the music. It’s £4.00 per person which includes a cuppa and cake, all welcome and it is a lot of fun! Further details from Elaine on 01460 65909.

South Somerset RSPB Local Group SOS for Rare Bumblebees in Somerset. An illustrated talk presented by Jo Chesworth from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. South Somerset is one of just five locations in England and Wales where the Shrill carder bee is found. Jo will introduce us to bumblebee ecology and conservation and give us an overview of the Save our Shrills Project (SOS) which was started in 2023. 7.30pm The Millennium Hall, Seavington St. Mary, Ilminster, TA19 0QH. Entry: Group members £4, non-group members £5, under 25’s Free. Tea/coffee & biscuits included – Wheelchair access. Further details from Denise Chamings on 01781473846 or www.rspb.org.uk/groups/southsomerset. Everyone welcome.

Friday, 18 April

Cavern Beatles 7:30pm. Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £29.50 Book online electricpalace.org.uk.

Milborne Movies Join us at Milborne St Andrew Village Hall for a special screening of The Outrun,

starring the brilliant Saoirse Ronan. Based on Amy Liptrot’s bestselling memoir, this moving drama takes you on a journey of recovery and self-discovery in the wild beauty of Orkney. Tickets are just £6.50, including a drink or ice cream! Doors open at 7pm, with the film starting at 7.30pm. Come along for a great night of cinema in good company – we look forward to seeing you there!

Saturday, 19 April

Phil Beer Trio 8pm. Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £26 Book online electricpalace.org.uk

Sunday, 20 April

Easter at Yeovil Railway Centre, Yeovil Junction, Stoford BA22 9UU: Steam train running Sunday and Monday. Full details on Facebook; on website www. yeovilrailway.freeservers.com; or recorded information on 01935 410420.

Tuesday, 22 April

Bridport U3A The U3A monthly talks are held on the 4th Tuesday of each month at the Bridport United Church Hall, East Street, Bridport. DT6 3LJ. There will be a short AGM followed by a talk by our chairman, Alastair Forbes - ‘How to be a Good Tourist’. We will start at 2pm and Alastair’s talk will be followed by a Q&A then refreshments. Members free, visitors £3.

Turn Lyme Green Talks - “The Power of Place: Why communities like ours are vital to global climate action”.Lyme Regis resident Claire Anholt Duthuit works with the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions to accelerate climate action worldwide.. Fresh from COP29 in Azerbaijan, Claire will share why - from Devon and Dorset to Dhaka - bold local leadership is essential to tackling climate change. With visuals from creative campaigns around the world and a hands-on interactive exercise, this talk will explore how local leadership is driving global change - and why Lyme’s connection to climate diplomacy is closer than you might think. This event will be preceded by Turn Lyme Green AGM 6.45 - 7.30pm at the Driftwood Cafe, Baptist Church, top of Broad Street, Lyme Regis, DT7 3NY. FREE Event, Refreshments available. Contact www.turnlymegreen.co.uk or 01297 446066.

Deep Roots: a Dorset Country Life 7 for 7.30pm St Mary’s Church, Abbey Street, Cerne Abbas DT2 7TQ Robin Mills has lived and farmed in the Cerne Valley since boyhood. During the last 20-odd years

he has photographed the people and scenes of farming and country life around him. Following a successful exhibition at The Sherborne, Robin will be in conversation with Michael McCarthy, talking about his farming life, and showing a selection of his evocative black and white images. Signed copies of his book, Deep Roots, will be on sale after the talk, price £25.00. £5 from each book sale will be donated to Giant Festival funds. £7 including wine or soft drink. For more information visit https://cernevalley.co.uk and click through to Cerne Giant Festival for a full brochure.

Wednesday, 23 April

The Grapes of Wrath 11am. The Day of the Locusts 2pm. The Hate you Give 5pm. The Penguin Lessons 8pm. From Page to Screen Bridport Film Festival. For full details visit: www.bridport-arts.com/fpts. Uplyme and Lyme Regis Horticultural Society. Talk ‘No-Dig Gardening – How to Get the Soil to Work for You’ by Becky Searle. Uplyme Village Hall 7.30pm. Doors open 7pm. Members free; guests £3. More information https://ulrhs.wordpress.com.

Bringing Beavers Back to Dorset 7 for 7.30pm St Mary’s Church, Abbey Street, Cerne Abbas DT2 7JQ Beavers disappeared from Dorset over 400 years ago. In this lecture, Steve Oliver of the Dorset Wildlife Trust will tell the fascinating story of how beavers introduced in 2021 have settled into their Dorset home. He will explain how these unique mammals can play a vital role in river ecology and provide naturebased solutions to flooding, pollution and species loss. With a lifelong passion for wildlife and nature conservation, Steve is part of the team restoring beavers the landscape, whilst raising awareness and understanding about what it means to have these magnificent creatures return. £7 including wine or soft drink. For more information visit https://cernevalley. co.uk and click through to Cerne Giant Festival for a full brochure.

Wednesday 23 - 27 April

From Page To Screen – Bridport’s Film Festival

Curated by this year’s guest curator, director/producer and American History lecturer, Andrew Chater. For details visit: www.bridport-arts.com/fpts.

Thursday, 24 April

NGS Garden Open for charity Slape Manor

Netherbury, Bridport DT6 5LH. River valley garden in a process of transformation. Spacious lawns, wildflower meadows, and primula fringed streams leading down to a lake. Walk over the stream with magnificent hostas, gunneras and horizontal Cryptomeria japonica ‘Elegans’ around the lake. Admire the mature wellingtonias, ancient wisterias, rhododendrons and planting around the house. Kitchen garden renovation underway. Slape Manor is one of the inspirations behind Chelsea 2022 Gold medal winning and Best in Show Garden designed by Urquhart and Hunt with Rewilding Britain. Mostly flat with some sloping paths and steps. Ground is often wet and boggy. This garden is looking amazing and better than ever. Used to open for us under different ownership, Anthony and Sczerina Hitchens. The new owners have done extensive work on the woodland gardens beyond the lawn, added in wildflowers to the front of the house and on the back lawn and have fully renovated the kitchen garden. In addition to this they have worked on the borders by the house, now filled with peonies, roses, shrubs and some unusual and more rare plants. They have also added in lots of tulip bulbs in peach, purple and orange which will be out in April. You can take a longer walk around the lake and a pathway through the fields as the house sits within 100 acres

of its own land. Slape Manor is one of the prettiest houses in Dorset and has a wonderful large terrace at the back with views across the garden and land. It is a great place to sit and they serve lovely home-made teas. River Cottage with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall was first filmed here before moving to its new base near Axminster. Opening 1-5 pm. Adm: £15, child free. Admission includes optional guided tour on first come first served basis. Dogs on short leads welcome. Home-made teas. Visits also by arrangement 1st Feb to1st Dec for groups of 8-20 Location: 1m S of Beaminster. Turn W off A3066 to Netherbury. House ½m S of Netherbury on back rd to Bridport signed Waytown.

Screening: Pink Floyd in Pompeii (12A) 7:30pm. Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street , DT6 3NY. Tickets £17 Book online electricpalace.org.uk.

Encore Singers, a friendly Dorchester-based mixed choir, start rehearsals for their summer concert. We rehearse in the United Church, South Street,

Dorchester on Thursday evenings 7.30 - 9.30, singing songs from the shows and other easy listening pieces, putting on 3 concerts a year in aid of local charities. We currently have vacancies in all voices, but are primarily looking for altos, tenors and basses and would love to welcome some new members. In the first instance, please call Liz on 01305 786421 to check availability in your voice part and to let us know you’ll be coming. Please don’t just turn up on the night! A basic ability to read music is required.

Couples Only Partner Dance Class - Perfect for ‘First Dance’ practice! - 7:30-9:30pm - Glow Collective, St Michaels Trading Estate, Bridport - Limited spacesMust be booked in advance £20 per couple - www. dynamic-dance.uk.

Calling all colour lovers, come and join us for bespoke talks from our Lead Stylist, on ‘How to build the best capsule wardrobe’. Followed by an exclusive Kettlewell Archive Sale with heavily discounted styles & one-off samples. 10am - 5pm. Book Online www. kettlewellcolours.co.uk. Kettlewell, Goldenhaye Ind Estate, Cricket St. Thomas.

One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest 11am. Certain Women 2pm. Winter’s Bone 5pm. The Room Next Door 8pm. From Page to Screen, Bridport Film Festival. For details visit: www.bridport-arts.com/fpts.

Friday, 25 April

St Margarets Hospice Glorious Garden and Earth Day celebration. 11.00am-2.00pm Free Entry. Join us for the first Glorious Garden of the year at Yeovil Hospice Hub, where our beautiful spring garden will be in full bloom! Wander through our winding paths, surrounded by colourful tulips and blossoming trees, and enjoy a relaxing cup of tea with delicious homemade cakes from our hospice kitchen and pick up your 2025 Glorious gardens Brochure. Little Tarrat Lane, Yeovil BA20 2HU.

Time for Tea. ‘Different Branches of the Civil Defence’ by Nigel Sadler. An informal talk including refreshments. 2pm - 3:30pm, Bradshaw Meeting Room, Axminster Heritage Centre, EX13 5AH. Tickets £3.50 available from the Axminster Heritage Centre during opening hours. For more details email: info@axminsterheritage.org or tel: 01297 639884. Walk with West Dorset Ramblers. 10 miles. Ham Hill Circular – via the Parrett Trail and Montacute. Start 10am from the Ham Hill viewpoint c.p. nearest postcode TA14 6RW. Bring picnic. Dogs by arrangement with walk leader. To book and for details contact Chris 07715760884.

In Cold Blood 11am. Deliverance 2pm. All the King’s Men 5pm. The Apprentice 8pm. From Page to Screen, Bridport Film Festival. For details visit: www.bridportarts.com/fpts.

Saturday, 26 April

Scottish Dancing Party in Chardstock. An evening of Scottish Dancing at Chardstock Village Hall EX13 7BH 7.30-10.30 p.m. No partner required. Please bring your own mug and a plate of food to share. Tea and coffee provided. Cost £5.00 Contact David on 01460 65981. www.chardscottishcountrydance.co.uk.

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 7 mile walk from Evershot. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/ visitors welcome.

All Aboard the Mary Rose – a free concert with refreshments available. Henry VIII’s favourite ship – the Mary Rose - sank 480 years ago this year. His reign and the life of the Mary Rose coincide almost exactly. Discover more and hear music of the time played in costume by Courtlye Musick on instruments including the types found on board this remarkable ship. Donations invited to support Dorset Rural Music School and (Broadwey) St Nicholas & St Lawrence Primary School. Doors open 2.30pm for 3pm at St Nicholas Church, Broadwey DT3 5LW.

Are You There God? It’s Me Maragret 11am. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 2pm. Nickel Boys 5pm. The Wind 8pm. From Page to Screen, Bridport Film Festival. For details visit: www.bridport-arts.com/fpts.

Saturday, 26 - 27 April

Folly Farm Cottage Spyway Road, Uploders, Bridport DT6 4PH. An established garden of approx 1 acre with a contemporary twist. The garden has 4 connecting rooms, a main lawn with borders, ornamental trees and rose bed, a large pond area with mature trees, grasses, golden willow & silver pear which leads on to a natural fruit orchard, tennis court, greenhouse & mixed raised bed. Far reaching views of Eggardon Hill & the surrounding fields. The majority of the garden can be enjoyed via wheelchair, there are 3 short steps at the kitchen side entrance of house. I love this garden, it has distinct areas and is well kept. The roses near the house are well maintained and there are a couple of unusual garden sculptures. The house is just down from the Spyway Inn and from the garden you can see all across the valley and up to Eggardon Hill, it is stunning. Steph is very jolly and does fundraising for a couple of local charities. The garden is just around the corner from South Eggardon Farmhouse which does by arrangement visits, if people want to make a day of it. Opening: 1-5 pm. Adm: £6, child free. Dogs on short leads welcome. Home-made teas. Location: On Spyway Road ½m on L from Matravers House, Uploders. ½m on R from The Spyway Inn, Askerswell.

Angels of Sound Module 1 10 am-5pm Oborne Village Hall, Oborne, nr. Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4LA Learn the secrets of sound healing by toning

and overtone chanting using the sacred Sanskrit vowels. £128/£64 deposit. NB attendance at both Modules is required. (Mod 2 follows in June) 01935 389655 ahiahel@live.com.

Dancing into Elemental Art. Salwayash Village Hall, Bridport. A creative weekend of movement and art inspired by a walk in nature in glorious West Dorset Feed your soul, take time out from the rush of life, allow yourself to slow down and embody the elements of the natural world. The weekend will be led by Wendy Hermelin, an experienced Laban trained dancer and teacher. Open to all levels of experience. Fee: £180.00. Deposit £50.00. To secure a place please contact. mail@wendyhermelin.co.uk. www. wendyhermelin.co.uk.

Sunday, 27 April

Singing Bowl Soundbath 2pm Oborne Village Hall, Oborne, nr. DT9 4LA £17 Deep-tissue sonic massage and detox for body mind and spirit.£17 Please book in advance 01935 389655 ahiahel@live.com.

The Age of Innocence 11am. The Ice Storm 2pm. Road to Perdition 5pm. Hot Milk 8pm. From Page to Screen, Bridport Film Festival. For details visit: www.bridport-arts.com/fpts.

Dalwood Jazz Club presents Pete Allen’s Octet. with Pete on clarinet, Roger Marks - trombone, Chris Hodgkins - trumpet, Trevor Whiting - clarinet & sax, Max Brittain - guitar, James Clemas - keyboard, Jim Newton - drums and Dave Hanratty - bass at 3pm. Dalwood Village Hall, EX13 7EG, near Axminster. Bar for beer/ wine/soft drinks and teas/coffees/cake etc. Parking at the Village Hall £12.50p. If possible, please book in advance and pay cash at the door. t.mackenney111@btinternet.com. www. dalwoodvillage.co.uk.

Netherbury Repair Cafe is a free community group for Netherbury, surrounding villages and towns. The Repair Cafe is 10am – 12 noon on the last Sunday of every month, apart from August and December, at Netherbury Village Hall: Also on 25th May, 29th June nd 27th July. We have volunteers who fix stuff, but we need more! Join our Sewing Team. We especially need help for Diana and Christina who lead our sewing team with repairing clothes, altering curtains, rescuing much-loved cuddly toys and

EVENTS IN MAY

Live or Online send your event details to info@marshwoodvale.com BY APRIL 14th

even making a sail for a model boat! We work as a team, share knowledge and tips and you will be fully supported. You don’t need to come to every event and so please get in touch if you would like to volunteer as a repairer or can donate a cake or put up a poster. Lisa Willis on 07870 950 666 or info@repaircafenetherbury. org www.repaircafenetherbury.org.

Garden open for the NGS, Broomhill, Rampisham DT2 0PT. 2-5pm Come and enjoy a 2 acre country garden, with colourful blossom, bulbs, and early spring flowering plants, the borders bursting with summer promise. Easy access and plenty of parking. Cream teas and homemade cakes, plants for sale and well behaved dogs are welcome on lead.

Dorchester String Quartet – 3pm. A Celebration of Spring St Mary’s Church, Abbey Street, Cerne Abbas DT2 7JQ. David Price is part of this quartet, which will be performing works by Purcell, Borodin, and Percy Grainger; as well as Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet with Walter Brewster on clarinet. The concert will last about an hour. Tickets £12 Adults, children free (includes tea and cake) will only be available at the door. St Mary’s Church will be given a percentage of the proceeds. For more information visit https:// cernevalley.co.uk and click through to Cerne Giant Festival for a full brochure.

Monday, 28 April

Farming: at a Crossroads or a Roundabout?

6.30 for 7pm Holy Trinity Church, Church Lane, Godmanstone DT2 7AQ What is the state of farming today? How did we get here? Where are we heading? Intensification? Rewilding? Regenerative or Organic? Will there be any famers left in the future anyway? Renowned local storyteller and organic farmer Will Best grew up roaming the fields of Manor Farm, and he and his wife Pam were pioneers in the commercial production of organic milk. Parking is available at the Smith Arms carpark and Manor Farm DT2 7AQ £7 each including soft drink. For more information visit https://cernevalley.co.uk and click through to Cerne Giant Festival for a full brochure.

Tuesday, 29 April

Lunchtime Concert. Piano recital by Nicholas Brown. St. Andrew’s Church, Charmouth. 12:30 with light refreshments from 12:00. Free entry donations welcome. 01297 560681, liz@elizabethsansom.co.uk.

Scottish Country Dancing at Horton Village Hall

TA19 9QR every Tuesday evening from 7.30 to 9.30 pm with tea break. Everyone welcome including beginners , so why not come along and give it a whirl. Please wear soft, flat comfy shoes. £3.00 pay on the door. We look forward to seeing you. Further info from Anita at anitaandjim22@gmail.com or visit our web site at www.ashillscd.wordpress.com.

Walk with West Dorset Ramblers. 9 miles. Around Arne – via Slepe Farm, Shipstal Point and Arne. Start 10am Sunnyside Farm c.p. (SY939863) Bring picnic. Dogs by arrangement with walk leader. To book and for details contact Ian 07826150114.

The Mystery & History of Morris Dancing 7 for 7.30pm St Mary’s Church, Abbey Street, Cerne Abbas DT2 7JQ Those who can arise in the early hours of 1st May or who are fans of the Boxing Day Mumming will be familiar with the Wessex Morris Men. Members will give an illustrated talk about the rich history of this tradition. On 3rd May there will be a free workshop in the Village Hall. £7 including wine or soft drink. For more information visit https://cernevalley.co.uk and click through to Cerne Giant Festival for a full brochure.

Wednesday, 30 April

Thursday, 1 May

Prayers For The Stolen (2021)(15). 7.30pm. From Page to Screen, Bridport Film Festival. For details visit: www.bridport-arts.com/fpts.

HNature Studies

By Michael McCarthy

ave you ever wondered why so many of our early spring flowers are yellow? For example, yellow is the colour of the very earliest one, the winter aconite which I wrote about here last month, and which flowers in January-February. But in March-April we have three more of our most notable spring flowers in bloom, daffodils, lesser celandines and primroses (never mind dandelions and other things) and of course these are all yellow too. Why?

My own feeling is that they probably evolved this way to be conspicuous to the few pollinators about in the chill of early spring, such as queen bumblebees, which have hibernated over the winter; and I am encouraged in this belief by the knowledge that John D Herz founded the Yellow Cab Company in Chicago in 1907 after reading a University of Chicago study suggesting that yellow is the colour most easily seen at a distance.

But yellow is not just very visible; for us humans, possessed of an aesthetic sense, it seems to me a difficult not to say dangerous colour, because more than any other, its different shades seem prone to excess. Consider: we have quite a large vocabulary of perjorative adjectives in English which we apply to colours which we find too strong or bold for our taste, such as garish, lurid, brash, gaudy, etc, and I think these can be applied to yellow more than to other hues. It’s quite hard to think of a garish blue, is it not? But a lurid yellow can be easily envisaged. And for me, that’s sometimes the problem with daffodils.

Although I am delighted to see the first one as a signal that spring is coming, I find the large varieties which are widely planted in towns—‘municipal daffodils’, a botanist friend of mine calls them—often to be too brash in appearance for my taste. ‘Bilious yellow’ is my botanical friend’s description. Remember, the blooms which so delighted Wordsworth on the shores of Ullswater were wild daffodils, which are half the size and much paler. And I feel something similar about celandines. I

An incomer’s discovery of the natural world in the West Country

love the first appearance of that bold yellow eight-pointed star, I get a real kick from it, but here in Dorset you can sometimes see it growing right next to primroses and then you see what it lacks, and primroses possess: restraint.

Primroses aren’t loud: their outer petals are what I would call the palest creamy lemon, and the delicacy of that is reinforced by contrast with the centre of the flower, a blob of a richer yellow which is strong but without being brash. The combination is instantly appealing, and if I follow my own aesthetic sense I find I feel that primroses are simply more beautiful than daffodils or celandines, which is why people love them so much.

Yet where does their beauty come from? Why are they beautiful, as well as just being yellow? Is it just an accident, or have the primroses evolved in competition with the daffodils and the celandines to be lovelier than they are, and thus to make them more attractive to pollinators, as well as to us? That is, is there an evolutionary reason for beauty? For there to be one, we would have to assume that non-human organisms such as insects might possess an aesthetic sense; and although that might seem wholly far-fetched, I can tell you it is a hot topic of research among evolutionary biologists right now.

In the meantime, I am pleased that like all the rest of us, I do not actually have to bother about where the loveliness of primroses comes from; in Dorset I can just enjoy it. For the first time in my life, I live in primrose country. I am primrosesurrounded. At the moment the banks of the three lanes which lead out of our village are covered in them. They’re in every garden. They’re in our garden. They offer beauty everywhere I turn. To hell with the fleshpots of the capital. Being an incomer was never better.

Recently relocated to Dorset, Michael McCarthy is the former Environment Editor of The Independent. His books include Say Goodbye To The Cuckoo and The Moth Snowstorm: Nature and Joy.

Primroses (left) and celandines (right) – but if one is more beautiful than the other, what does that tell us about evolution? © Photograph by Robin Mills

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The Art of the Photograph

This

month featuring Neil Barnes

Fog rolling over the cliffs at West Bay © Photograph by Neil Barnes

TIn a world where mobile phones offer photography to all, we take the time out to talk with photographers. This month, Bridport photographer Neil Barnes talks to Fergus Byrne.

he proof of Neil Barnes’ efforts to capture special moments are liberally spread around his shop in South Street in Bridport. From photographing John Major or Maggie Thatcher in the 80s to capturing iconic moments around the Jurassic coast, Neil’s dedication to his craft has produced work that now graces the walls of hundreds of homes and businesses around the country.

A professional photographer for over forty-five years, Neil photographs the Dorset coast as well as events, conferences, and portraits. He also designs publications and websites and produces brochure photography. But his career as a photographer started somewhat by accident.

In 1976, he borrowed a camera after a severe storm caused widespread flooding and damage to coastal towns along the east coast of England. He recalls photographing ‘boats in the middle of the road’ and remembers that the college he was studying at was used as a ‘sort of refugee centre’ for some of those displaced by the floods. He also took photographs of the people taking shelter and his lecturer decided the work was so good that the college should show it in an exhibition. This led to the local council asking to use the photographs to show how they had to cope in an emergency.

To top it off, a few months later, the photographs helped him land a job at the Peterborough Evening Telegraph, and as Neil reflects, photography wasn’t his main subject. It had just been a part of the typographic design course he was doing at college. He had taken O Level photography and failed it twice because it leaned heavily on the academic side of the craft, which didn’t really interest him. Hence, as he puts it, his career as a photographer was ‘kind of by accident, really.’

His early career at local newspapers included the usual trail of photographing events, retirements, local business news and all the general stories that local newspapers cover. That then led him to a new job

in West London, where the news stories were more interesting. As he puts it, there was ‘really good newsy stuff going on’.

An offer of a job as chief photographer at British Gas then took Neil all over the country, taking photographs for the company’s in-house magazine, as well as for all the events and initiatives British Gas wanted to feed to the national press.

He recalls one occasion when John Major, then Prime Minister, was posing for photographs with British Gas chairman and original ‘fat cat’ corporate executive Cedric Brown. Major and Neil had known

Margaret Thatcher opening up the M25 © Photograph by Neil Barnes

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each other when he was MP for Huntington. ‘Is that you Neil?’ Major exclaimed, having not seen him for years. A bit of friendly banter caught the eye of Cedric Brown, who joked that British Gas should put Neil on their lobbying committee. It was an amusing interlude but didn’t result in an increase in Neil’s salary.

In 2001, he decided to go freelance, working in Public Relations for a range of different clients. However, his personal life was not easy. One of his three daughters had been born with significant brain damage, and his wife left the family home in 2003, leaving Neil to care for his three children. In time, his two younger daughters left home to go to university, and he decided to move to Bridport, where his sister lived. ‘There’s so much going on here,’ he says, ‘better than the murky Midlands.’

But it was a challenging time. ‘It took some doing to uproot me and my daughter,’ he says. With ‘complex needs’, things like home care, respite and moving from one health authority to another left him with many ‘hurdles to jump through.’ But he did it and says it’s the ‘best thing’ they ever did.

Neil’s interest in landscapes began unexpectedly after a job photographing electric buses in Poundbury.

During the drive home, he stopped at Eggardon Hill and took what he says was his first-ever landscape photograph. He remembers ‘watching fingers of light, almost like dancing across the land’ for over an hour. The moment sparked a new direction in his career. His work is now a favourite in the community, especially his Bridport calendars, which have become part of people’s Christmas list. So much so that he often gets people coming into the shop in the new year joking that they didn’t get one for Christmas, so they have to buy their own.

Steeped in photographic history, Neil’s shop in Bridport once belonged to the photographer Claude Hyder and was later known as Pinns Photographic Shop, where many locals will remember getting their passport photographs done. He has spotted a couple of coincidences that add to the serendipity of running the shop. Neil moved to Bridport from Kettering and has discovered that Claude Hyder also moved to Bridport from Kettering. He also tells me that Pinns was opened in the year of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, while Neil opened the latest incarnation of the shop in the year of the coronation of King Charles III in 2023. He is proud to keep this legacy alive, enjoying the happy

The Splash, taken on Burton Bradstock beach. © Photograph by Neil Barnes

coincidences that surround the venture. ‘People have said it’s absolutely right that you’ve made it into a photography place again,’ he says.

Despite his success, Neil faces modern challenges, especially with the changing retail environment. So much work is purchased online in our modern shopping world that it’s hard to imagine a shop selling photographs being successful. But customers are still coming in, and the personal touch, as well as being able to see work close up, is a huge bonus for buyers.

But Neil is also embracing technology. He occasionally uses a drone to get unusual angles and has experimented with AI in his work to create animations from still images. One of his most iconic images of a wave crashing over Burton Bradstock beach became the source image for an AI experiment as he created a moving image of the wave. ‘I’m amazed at the result’, he says. ‘Whilst there is quite a bit of negativity around AI, I think as long as the person posting it is honest about its creation when asked, then we should embrace it in the artwork.’

Maybe one day, that sort of moving image could be cost-effectively used for wall hangings, but could that detract from the use of still images? ‘I don’t think it ever will’ says Neil. ‘I think there’s always been room

for true, original, “taken in the moment” pictures.’

He is also active in the local community and committed to improving accessibility. Inspired by personal experiences, he’s worked on projects to make local beaches more wheelchair-friendly. ‘I’ve become a bit of an advocate for making the place more accessible’ he says. Wheelchair-friendly beach access is complicated due to the changing surface of beaches, but Neil has campaigned and raised money to install wheelchair-friendly benches at West Bay and Burton Bradstock.

Neil’s shop in Bridport’s South Street not only displays his art but it also connects the past and present, reflecting his own life’s path. It’s about capturing the everyday moments, whether they’re lasting landscapes or fleeting water splashes.

But Neil’s legacy is more than photography; it’s about community, shared histories, and simple moments. ‘It’s great for the ego when people come in and say, I follow you online. I love what you do,’ he says.

Neil Barnes’ story is one of passion and perseverance. Whether recalling his newspaper days or thinking about the next community project, he finds stories worth telling, one photo at a time.

This Month in the not so distant past

Looking back at historical moments that happened in April, John Davis highlights the search for the North West Passage

Since the time when sailors first put to sea on ocean going voyages the Holy Grail of seafaring was finding the North West Passage.

The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans could traditionally be linked by rounding the tempestuous Cape Horn at the tip of South America and, from the beginning of the twentieth century, through the Panama Canal, but could the two great waterways of the world be united with a sea route traversing the Arctic regions of the north?

Even as far back as the Vikings, there was some exploration of Arctic waters as these intrepid Norse mariners island hopped from Iceland to Greenland and even, so archaeologists now believe, the eastern coast of Canada and America.

Later some of the notable explorers of the fifteenth century including Columbus, Da Gama and Diaz flirted with the notion of finding a North West Passage while they were to be followed in the centuries that came after by sailors like Martin Frobisher, Henry Hudson, William Baffin and James Cook.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the search became the obsession of Sir John Barrow, second secretary of the Admiralty between 1804 and 1845. He encouraged leading adventurers of the time like John Ross and William Edward Parry to push the boundaries around Canada’s Arctic waterways.

Then, at the beginning of 1845, Barrow agitated for a full-scale expedition to the frozen north to locate this elusive seaway once and for all time. A number of candidates were touted to lead the two-ship expedition but some claimed to be retired and others flatly refused. Finally, the task was handed to Sir John Franklin (59) who had already made several trips to the region. Franklin was to be in overall charge with James Fitzjames as captain of The Erebus and the second ship, The Terror, under the command of Francis Crozier. Few of the crew had experience of sailing in such frozen and deserted climes.

Both vessels had been fitted with steam engines and screw propellers and had interior heating systems. To improve their seaworthiness, the ships had heavier wooden beams and iron plates built into their

bows and both the rudder and the propellers could be retracted to protect them from ice. Victuallers supplied the ships with enough food to last for three years.

It

was not until over two years after the expedition’s departure that real concern began to be expressed about the welfare of the two ships and their crews.

Preparations were finalised during April 1845 and the two ships departed from the Kent coast on May 19th. There were stops in the Orkney Islands and Greenland where fresh supplies were topped up. The two vessels finally put to sea with a complement of twenty-four officers and one-hundred-and-nine men. They were last seen by European witnesses in late July of the same year in Baffin Bay. There were, according to records found and testimonies later collected, encounters with Inuit hunters after then but, that apart, there has never been a complete explanation of what actually happened to the ships and their crews.

Given the absence of communications at the time and the harshness and inaccessibility of the Arctic region generally, it was not until over two years after the expedition’s departure that real concern began to be expressed about the welfare of the two ships and their crews. Sir John Franklin’s wife, Lady Jane Franklin, was instrumental in arousing the attention of Members of Parliament and a number of influential newspaper editors and eventually a reward of some £20,000 was offered to anyone providing conclusive evidence as to the party’s fate. Despite repeated searches both overland and at sea, only theories, hypotheses and suggestions have been put forward and it appears unlikely that the full story of

the ill-fated voyage will ever be known.

Over time, brief written evidence stating that Franklin himself had died on June 11th, 1847 has been gathered from stone cairns, graves have been located and bodies exhumed for forensic analysis.

Local Inuit hunters were quizzed by many search parties while in 1959 a lifeboat was also located containing two bodies, food, equipment and personal effects. Then, after years of searching, The Erebus was found in 2014 preserved under eleven metres of freezing water in Queen Maud Sound. Two years later it was the turn of The Terror. Its location was at a greater depth to the south of King Edward Island where again temperatures constantly below zero had kept it more or less intact. Both vessels were vast distances from their estimated last positions.

What seems apparent is that after both vessels had become permanently fixed in the ice, many of the expedition had set out on foot to traverse the desolate wastes of King Edward Island in the hope of eventually reaching some settlements in Arctic Canada, a distance of over 400 kilometres away. They likely perished in the attempt largely through a combination of malnutrition, hypothermia, starvation and disease especially scurvy and pneumonia. Most of their remains have never been found. Some scientists believe that lead poisoning picked up from the tinned food and the ships’ water supplies may also have had some effect. Ironically, it was later maintained that information gained during the multitude of

searches for the lost expedition probably added much more geographical knowledge of the region than its successful return would ever have done.

It took the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen to finally carve a passage through the ice by boat between 1903 and 1906. He and his six-man crew in the tiny shallow draft eighty tonne converted fishing vessel The Gjoa (Yoah) were forced to over-winter in solid ice twice during the voyage.

While his achievement ranks as one of the key milestones in Arctic exploration, the discovery of a passage for commercial shipping—the original reason for the search—was still out of reach. It would take the effect of global warming, especially from the beginning of the twenty-first century, to open up the possibility of deeper routes for larger ships including today, at certain periods of the year, cruise liners, cargo ships and bulk carriers.

Footnote: For further information see my review of Michael Palin’s book Erebus in the August, 2024 edition of this magazine or the television series The Terror available on ITVX.

Semi-retired and living in Lyme Regis, John Davis started working life as a newspaper journalist before moving on to teach in schools, colleges and as a private tutor. He is a history graduate with Bachelors and Masters degrees from Bristol University with a particular interest in the History of Education and Twentieth Century European History.

Colorized image of Icebergs and the Aurora Borealis, from October 1849. This image was published in the Illustrated London News to accompany an article about a search for Sir John Franklin’s lost Arctic expedition.

Local Manor Houses open gardens for NGS

Two special local gardens are opening for the National Garden Scheme in April. The beautiful Chideock Manor, set within 12 acres features a mix of formal and informal areas. It includes a bog garden by a stream, yew hedges, mature trees, lime and crab apple walks, herbaceous borders, and arches covered with roses and clematis.

There is also a walled vegetable garden and orchard, as well as a formal topiary garden. Woodland and lakeside walks provide additional space to explore. A woodland walkway includes a carved shark and a train with carriages made from a fallen tree, which children can play on.

Teas are served on the terrace behind the house, overlooking the lawn and herbaceous borders and the garden has partial wheelchair access.

Next to the garden is a Catholic church with a domed basilica, an unusual feature in Dorset. It is often open on garden open days.

This garden has been open for charity for many years and is a popular event, offering a variety of landscapes and views.

Chideock Manor, Chideock, Bridport DT6 6LF will be open: Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th April from 2 to 5. Admission is £10. Children are free and dogs on short leads are welcome.

Another local garden opening in April is Slape Manor in Netherbury.

Slape Manor’s evolving river valley garden offers

a mix of formal and natural landscaping. Spacious lawns, wildflower meadows, and primula-lined streams lead to a lake surrounded by hostas, gunneras, and striking Cryptomeria japonica ‘Elegans.’ Visitors can admire mature wellingtonia trees, ancient wisterias, and rhododendrons, along with carefully designed planting around the house.

Under new ownership, the garden has undergone extensive improvements. The woodland gardens beyond the lawn have been revitalized, wildflowers have been introduced to the front and back lawns, and the kitchen garden has been fully restored. Borders near the house now feature peonies, roses, shrubs, and rare plants. Tulip bulbs in shades of peach, purple, and orange will bloom in April.

The mostly flat garden has some sloping paths and steps, with areas that can be wet and boggy. Visitors can enjoy a longer walk around the lake and through the surrounding fields, as the estate spans 100 acres. The house itself is considered one of the prettiest in Dorset, with a large terrace offering scenic views. Homemade teas are served on open days.

Slape Manor, Netherbury, Bridport DT6 5LH will be opening on Thursday 24th April from 1 - 5 pm. Admission is £15 and children are free. Admission includes an optional guided tour on a first come first served basis. Dogs on short leads are welcome and home-made teas will be avalable. Visits are also available by arrangement from first of February to first of December for groups of 8 - 20.

Chideock Manor will be open for charity on April 5th and 6th.

April in the Garden

By Russell Jordan

Spring is really gathering pace now as buds are bursting all over the garden and green is beginning to return to the wider landscape. It’s still early days, in the growing season, and overnight frosts can quickly nip things in the bud, but, with spring flowering bulbs and early flowering shrubs putting on a show, the garden is a joyous place to be whenever the weather allows. Famously, there will be ‘April showers’ but these are necessary because plants, which are trying to open buds or burst into bloom, will require a good amount of moisture in the soil if they are to swell and grow.

As I write this we’ve not had any rain for about a fortnight and I am reminded that anything that’s in a pot or container will need watering, despite the earliness of the season, or else it’s growth will be retarded or, in extreme cases, the plant may actually die. If April is unusually dry it will be necessary to water anything that you may have planted during the bare-root planting season, which is now over, because they will not yet have had time to grow sufficient roots to become self-sufficient.

It may now be too late to plant bare-root trees and shrubs but, assuming you can still find a supplier, there’s still time to plant herbaceous plants supplied bare-root. They will require soaking in water upon arrival, assuming they’ve arrived in the post, and either planting up in pots of fresh compost or planting out into well prepared soil, mulched and watered-in well. On the subject of herbaceous perennials, those in your garden will benefit from some feeding. If the soil is dry, lightly fork the surface, remove weeds, and sprinkle a general feed such as ‘blood, fish and bone’ fertiliser. This will help them grow well with the aforementioned April showers. Adding a layer of sterile organic matter (mulch) to the weed-free surface helps to retain moisture and suppress further weed germination.

Weed seed germination is a good pointer to the fact that average temperatures are rising, and daylengths are lengthening, so direct sowing hardy annuals is another timely task. Starting new lawns, from seed,

can also be undertaken, from about mid-month, but be aware that if we have heavy downpours, before the seed has had a chance to germinate, then your carefully sown seed may get washed away. If only sowing small areas of lawn, to repair worn patches for example, then it may be possible to protect the seedbed with horticultural fleece, pinned down at the edges, which will aid germination and also prevent disturbance from birds or pets.

You may well have already started cutting your lawn due to there being a relatively dry and bright spell last month. If not, then you certainly will need to start cutting the lawn this month, following the usual provisos of avoiding mowing during either wet or frosty conditions. If you are particularly organised then you will have had your lawnmower serviced over the winter, with the blades being sharpened, as sharp blades will make cleaner cuts which give a better result whatever type of mower you possess. If you have a mower which has the option to either collect the mowings, or switch to a ‘mulching’ mode, it is preferable to collect the first mowings, as the grass is likely to be too long to leave the mowings behind, and only switch to ‘mulching’ once the sward is under control and the grass is being cut on a weekly basis.

A finely mown lawn is the ideal foil to a well planted border. Now that herbaceous perennials are well into growth, but not yet too advanced, it’s not too late to dig up a large clump and divide it up to make new plants to plug gaps in the border or to use elsewhere in your own garden, or to trade with other gardeners. The clump that you’ve dug up can be chopped up into relatively small divisions, as long as each has some shoots and some roots attached, as these will rapidly grow once replanted into prepared soil or pots of fresh compost. After replanting they will benefit from a thorough watering-in and, for those planted into garden soil, a good dose of general fertiliser.

While in the borders it is a good idea to start inserting plant supports before the perennials have got too tall. ‘Pea-sticks’ are the traditional favourite

for providing this support because they are a natural product and, if correctly installed, become practically invisible once the plants have grown through them. As far as I know, these are still supplied by ‘Groves Nurseries’ (in Bridport) if you don’t have an area of coppiced hazel in your own garden!

Pea-sticks can be cut to the height required, for the particular perennial that needs support, and a circle of sticks pushed in around each clump. The spacing will become obvious once you realise that the aim is to weave the horizontal stems of each pea-stick together, arching the leading stems over the top, so that the whole structure forms an upturned ‘basket’ of loosely woven branches. You’ll soon discover that the flexible stems of the pea-sticks are easily fused together, with some deft ‘twiddling’, and the resulting cage of twigs provides excellent support as the herbaceous perennial grows up through it.

Although it may be possible to sow hardy annuals outdoors this month it’s still too early to risk planting out anything that it doubtfully hardy. If you have access to a heated greenhouse then planting up containers, or hanging baskets, with tender perennials grown from seed, or obtained as small ‘plugs’, will give you a good head start. Tender perennials, that you’ve been overwintering in a frost-free location,

will need careful checking to see if they are starting back into growth. Gentle watering will be necessary, if they are in danger of drying out, and this is also the case for things like dahlia tubers which may well be starting to produce shoots.

With all this burgeoning new growth it will also be necessary to keep an eye out for pests and diseases which will also be getting back into their stride. If you can remove pests such as aphids (‘greenfly’ / ‘blackfly’) before they can really start reproducing, then it will give their natural predators a chance to increase in number and start controlling the pest as the season progresses. Pests and diseases can quickly get out of control in protected environments, such as greenhouses, so particular vigilance, and early intervention, will be required in those situations.

It’s a bit depressing to end on ‘pests and diseases’ so it’s worth reiterating that April is a month when some really lovely spring flowering shrubs are filling the air with heavenly scents. Chief amongst these are some of the early flowering viburnums such as Viburnum x juddii and numerous V. x burkwoodii varieties. It’s well worth venturing out to open gardens, or garden centres and nurseries, to sniff out April flowering shrubs for yourself because scent is one of those things which can be a very personal preference.

THE BRADFORD OMELETTE

Take the humble omelette and give it some oomph with cumin seeds, verdant coriander and the fresh clean heat of green chilli to wake you up of a morning. The city of Bradford in the north of England has a huge Asian population. I spent a lot of time there with friends as a child and this is what we would often have for breakfast. Indians think nothing of adding a bit of bold heat to their morning eggs. For a more substantial meal, you could add some cooked potatoes inside the omelette (together with the onion and spices, they would taste similar to Bombay potatoes). With some hot buttered toast on the side and a cup of chai, this makes a great start to the day. The real heat fiends among you can take things up another level with a few drops of your favourite chilli oil to serve.

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp vegetable oil

½ tsp cumin seeds

1 small onion, finely sliced

1 green chilli, finely chopped

4 eggs

½ tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground turmeric a large pinch of sea salt

60g/2oz Cheddar cheese, finely grated

To serve:

Fresh coriander/cilantro leaves

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add the cumin seeds. Cook them until fragrant and deep brown in colour, then add the onion and green chilli, and cook for 10 minutes until the onion is beginning to caramelise. Tip onto a plate and set aside.

2. In a bowl, beat the eggs together with the ground coriander, turmeric and a large pinch of salt.

Published by Nourish, an imprint of Watkins Media

Limited

ISBN: 978-1-84899-423-2 (Hardback)

ISBN: 978-1-84899-426-3 (eBook)

Sliced green chilli

Chilli oil

Serves 2

3. Pour the eggs into the hot pan and give it all a quick mix. Cook until the eggs are half set, then sprinkle the onion mixture over the top of the omelette along with the grated cheese. Leave to cook until the eggs are almost set, then flip in half and cook until the cheese is bubbling at the edges.

4. Transfer to a plate, sprinkle with chopped coriander and green chilli, and serve with your favourite chilli oil.

Bold NISHA KATONA

Ilaria’s Italian KITCHEN

GORGONZOLA DOLCE, “The Sweet One,” is sometimes called Cremificato or Dolcelatte in Italy. In Bridport and the surrounding area, it is known as ‘that delicious cheese we get from Mercato Italiano!’

Said to have originated in the 12th century in the quaint town of Gorgonzola in Lombardy, the cheese is crafted much like Piccante, with the key difference being age: Dolce matures in about two months, while Piccante takes at least three.

As the creamiest of blue cheeses, Gorgonzola Dolce is perfect spread on bread with preserves, stirred into pumpkin soup or cream sauce, or simply enjoyed with fresh figs and honeycomb. A sprinkle of black pepper adds a kick. It pairs delightfully with a Tuscan Vin Santo or Prosecco.

Originally established as a weekly market stall, supplying high quality cured meats and cheeses directly imported by Ilaria using her Italian produce contacts, Mercato Italiano has become the go to destination for authentic pizza, coffee, cocktails and so much more.

The café and deli on the Dreadnought Estate is also a great stop for lunch where you can enjoy home made pasta or a delicious Italian panini from 12-3pm, Wednesday to Saturday.

Be sure to visit https://mercatoitaliano.uk and subscribe to their newsletter to keep up with events, tastings and exclusive offers.

Gorgonzola from Mercato Italiano in Bridport

Highlighting Brutal Truths

After 38 years of reporting from some of the most dangerous places on earth, Christina Lamb talks to Fergus Byrne about the horrors of war and what we can learn about humans, conflict, and resilience.

According to a recent editorial on the British news website, Tortoise, the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine would be an appropriate response to the “invasion, occupation, expropriation, mass rape, mass murder and the kidnapping of hundreds of Ukrainian children” by Russia. Whilst these damning accusations are not new, the fact that “mass rape” is included may come as a shock to many.

But not to the chief foreign correspondent for The Sunday Times, Christina Lamb. ‘If you want to humiliate your enemy or drive people out from an area, raping the women and children is a very effective way of doing it’, she says. ‘It’s also cheap. As one of the people I interviewed told me, “It’s cheaper than a Kalashnikov bullet.”’

Her book, Our Bodies, Their Battlefield, opens with a description of the rape by Russian soldiers of women in Ukraine and goes on to document a shocking catalogue of stories about rape as a weapon of war. From Bosnia, where tens of thousands of women were brutally and repeatedly raped, to Rwanda, where hundreds of thousands of women were raped, tortured and murdered, the book is a powerful exploration of the harrowing impact of sexual violence in war, whilst also shining a light on the enduring resilience of women across global conflicts.

She tells me the book’s latest update now includes stories from Israel and Palestine. ‘That was the one conflict people sometimes used to cite as not really having much sexual violence’, she says. ‘But that’s not the case now. Clearly, on October 7th, there was rape of Israelis by Hamas and others. And clearly, in detention centres, Israeli detention centres, it’s being used on Palestinians, particularly men.’

One of the disturbing aspects of these stories for Christina is that they are only now getting close to the coverage they deserve. ‘I know there was reporting of what happened in Bosnia’, she says, ‘but this is the first time that it’s so widely reported. And I was a little worried that it’s being reported because it’s people like

us, it’s Europeans, and they look like us, and therefore it somehow seems more important to people.’

Yet despite efforts to bring these horrific crimes to wider public attention, these truths are in danger of being ignored again while the current American administration looks to be seen as a peacemaker. If Ukraine is bullied into a truce by Donald Trump’s enforcers, Russia will appear to have been rewarded for an unprovoked invasion and the re-drawing of international borders by force, whilst at the same time, horrific war crimes may be ignored.

Talking of Ukraine, Christina says: ‘It’s very clear who is the aggressor in this war and the many terrible things that they have done. Just today, I was told about a Ukrainian who was taken captive by the Russians. They contacted his children, aged 10 and 13, and killed him in front of the children. The things that are being done are just so horrific.’

From Young Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards in 1988 to Foreign Correspondent of the Year at last year’s Society of Editors Awards, Christina Lamb has built a reputation as one of the most highly regarded foreign correspondents of our time. Her dedication to uncovering the human impact of conflict has taken her to war zones from Afghanistan and Pakistan to Africa and the Middle East. But she feels she may have crossed a line in the last few years. ‘When I started out as a journalist, it was 1988, and the Berlin Wall was just coming down’, she says. ‘It was the end of apartheid in South Africa. Dictatorships in Eastern Europe and Latin America were being overthrown, and it felt like everything was going in the right direction. Well, it doesn’t feel like that now. It feels absolutely the opposite. I feel like I crossed a line, really, in recent years. I was always very idealistic and thought that my job was to go to places and expose injustice and that, somehow, things would change. But actually, very rarely does anything change. So now I’m a bit more of an activist. I speak about war rape a lot because I am so shocked at how prevalent it is, and how little it is done about it, and

how hard it is to get justice. And I interact with a lot of women around the world who are trying to do something about it.’

Highlighting the plight of women in war has had a profound effect on her, but Christina’s experience of covering so many conflicts over more than 35 years has also taught her things that are becoming glaringly obvious in a world where aggressive macho strutting dominates the news. ‘What I see is that we in the West tend to make the same mistakes over and over again.’

She cites examples of Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, where it was ‘quite easy to remove a dictator or a repressive regime’ because we have an overwhelming military force. ‘But in each of those cases, we completely failed to actually have a lasting political plan, or indeed, in the case of Iraq, it was no plan.’

She points out that ‘the failure to listen to people on the ground’ and instead just attempting to impose something from outside has been ‘a disaster’.

Global politics is fluid and unpredictable at the moment, and her extensive experience in war zones has provided her with a unique perspective. She posits a provocative idea: ‘I strongly believe that if women were running things, there would be fewer wars. There needs to be far more women in peace negotiations.’ However, she acknowledges the complexities, noting, ‘Margaret Thatcher did launch the Falklands War.’

Despite this, she believes the absence of women in decision-making roles during critical negotiations

is a significant error. ‘I can’t think of a single peace process anywhere in the world at the moment where there are women leading it’, she says.

Despite the dark realities she reports on, she remains inspired by the incredible people she meets, often women who display remarkable resilience and courage. ‘It’s in the darkest places that we see the brightest lights.’

However, many of those she has met who have had the courage to tell their stories are horrified that, having told them, nothing seems to change. She gets WhatsApp messages from them asking why nothing has been done. The lack of change is becoming a constant shadow.

Speaking of Afghanistan, she says: ‘I cannot believe that in 2025 people somehow think it’s okay for there to be a country in the world where girls cannot go to school and not work or even go to a park or beauty salon or even appear at a window.’ There is a feeling that the outrage that there was when the Taliban first took over three and a half years ago has disappeared, and people have moved on. ‘And yet these poor women and girls in Afghanistan are trapped behind four walls, and I really feel strongly that we need to keep reminding people about that.’

Christina Lamb will be speaking about her life in journalism at the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis on Wednesday, 23rd April, at 8 pm. To book tickets, visit: https://www. marinetheatre.com/

Until 4 April

The Blessed Virgin Mary of my Dreams An exhibition to celebrate the latest book from winner of the King’s Gold Medal for Poetry, Selima Hill, in collaboration with Moby Hill (artist), Archie Stokes-Faiers (stonemason), Rod Hill (textiles) and Luke Thompson of Guillemot Press. Free entry. Open Tuesday – Saturday. 9.30am - 3pm. Ilminster Arts Centre, The Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0AN. 01460 54973. info@ilminsterarts.org. uk.

8

April – 5 May

Sue Durant and Lin Hawkins – ‘Points of View’ – An exhibition featuring semi abstract representations of the natural world. Expect to see landscapes, seascapes, flowers and moons. Free entry. Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Open Tuesday – Saturday. 9.30am - 3pm. 01460 54973 www. ilminsterartscentre.com

Until 12 April

Tom Halifax Lost Property A Retrospective exhibition. The Allsop Gallery, Bridport Arts Centre, South Street Bridport. Open from 10am – 4pm Tuesday – Saturday Free entry. www.bridport-arts.com.

18 - 19 April

Makers’ Market - As well as BlueBarn.Life’s hand-made clothing for men and women, makers include: Lin Lovekin, baskets; Jon Hazell, woodturner, general woodworker and part time woodsman; Martin Hazell, world-renowned spoon-maker; Warriner Leather, leather goods; Lou Tonkin, artist and print-maker. Jo Burnell, hand thrown earthenware pottery and Lorette Dare, patchwork quilts and rag dolls.

Martin Hazell will demonstrate his craft of spoon-making. Refreshments and lunches will also be available. 11am to 4pm at School House Farm, School Lane, Blackdown, Beaminster, Dorset DT8 3LE.

Until 19 April

Magic and Mystery. Michael Cullimore (1936 - 2021) Watercolours from 1980 - 2020. ‘Cullimore has always had an odd and individual way of looking at things; he is a homegrown Symbolist, excited by the way that signs and portents and unexpected allusions seem to be half hidden in every shape of hill and valley, and finds magic and mystery in the most commonplace objects.....’ John Russell Taylor writing in The Saturday Times. Open Thursday - Saturday, 10am - 3pm. The Art Stable, Child Okeford, Blandford, Dorset DT11 8HB.

The Arborealists 40 Works at Sculpture by the Lakes. A first in the county of Dorset, The Arborealists will stage their 40th exhibition at Sculpture by the Lakes Gallery, Pallington, near Dorchester. This exquisite, popular rural venue shares ecological aims and values with the group and is in harmony with the landscape. Thirty Arborealists will show one to three works, each of diverse approaches, mediums, scales, and styles unified by the subject. Sculpture by the Lakes, Pallington, Dorchester DT2 8QU

Until 21 April

An Uncommon Thread Featuring Rachael Louise Bailey, Max Boyla, KV Duong, Charlotte Edey, Nour Jaouda, Lindsey Mendick, Jack O’Brien, Nengi Omuku, Tai Shani and Georg Wilson. The exhibition is in collaboration with Alice Black, Berntson Bhattacharjee, Carl Freedman Gallery, Gathering, Ginny on Frederick, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery

and Union Pacific. ‘An Uncommon Thread’ features 10 contemporary artists living and working in the UK. Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Durslade Farm, Dropping Lane, Bruton, Somerset BA10 0NL.

6 Bridport Artists Exhibition. A group exhibition held in the magnificent setting of Eype Centre for the Arts. Paintings, Ceramics, Lino Prints, Ornamental Ironwork and Textiles. Open daily from 10.30 to 4.30, Free admission. Eype Centre for the Arts, Mount Lane, Eype. DT6 6AR.

23 April - 3 May

Carleton E. Watkins Photographing the American West. Accompanying the From Page to Screen film festival will be an exhibition in the Allsop Gallery exploring the work of Carleton E. Watkins (1829-1916), one of America’s best-known landscape photographers. Watkins travelled thousands of miles documenting the American landscape and, in particular, the changing fortunes of the American West. Exhibition Open from 10am – 4pm, Tuesday –Saturday. Bridport Arts Centre, 9 South Street, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3NR.

Until 26 April

Ashish Ghadiali: Sensing the Planet Debut solo exhibition by filmmaker and environmental artist, Ashish Ghadiali. Through his works, Ghadiali seeks to reveal how racial justice serves as a door towards intimacy with the life of our planet in crisis. Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Dowell St, Honiton EX14 1LX thelmahulbert.com. 01404 45006.

26 April - 7May

Dorset in Colour. An exhibition by 4 artists, Jenny Penney, Caroline Tucker, Rupert Andrews and Clare Hughes working in complex media, manipulating acrylic, card, clay or felt. The results are bright, energetic and colourful offering a delightful and thought-provoking exhibition. 10 am - 4.30 pm daily, Eype Centre for the Arts, Mount Lane, Eype, Bridport DT6 6AR. Free entry and car parking. www. jennypenneyart.net.

Until 4 May

Nicola Hicks ‘Dressed for the Woods’ the first solo retrospective of Nicola Hicks MBE FRSS – one of the most significant British sculptors of the 21st century. In celebration of the artist’s 65th birthday, the gallery will present more than 30 exceptional works, drawn from each majormajor series of Hicks’ career to date. Messums West Place Farm, Court St, Tisbury, SP3 6LW. Email: west@ messums.org. Telephone: (Thurs - Mon) +44 (0) 1747 445042.

Until 11 May

A British Museum Partnership Exhibition with Colchester + Ipswich Museums delves into the lesser-known history of gladiatorial contests in Roman Britain. The exhibition showcases iconic objects like the Colchester Vase, depicting

a real gladiatorial battle, and the Hawkedon Helmet, the only confirmed gladiatorial armour from Roman Britain. These artefacts, along with others, reveal the violent spectacles that entertained the public and underscore the significance of gladiators in Roman culture. The exhibition will feature finds from Maumbury Rings in Dorchester, a unique site originally a Neolithic henge that was transformed into a Roman amphitheatre nearly 2,000 years ago. This adaptation reflects the cultural imprint of the Romans on Britain. Free as part of Museum entry. Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, High West Street, Dorchester DT1 1XA. www.dorsetmuseum.org. Philip Sutton RA Portrait of the Artist. Seventy years of self-portraits, the places they were painted and more. Sladers Yard, Contemporary Art, Furniture & Craft Gallery, Licensed Café, West Bay, Dorset DT6 4EL. www. sladersyard.co.uk. 01308 459511.

Until 8 June

Strength and Resilience: Somerset Women in the Second World War. An exhibition exploring the impact of 19391945 on the lives of four women with links to the West Country, including photographs by celebrated photographer Lee Miller and spy Odette Hallowes. The exhibition marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Exhibition at Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury.

UNIQUE MAKERS’ MARKET in the beautiful Marshwood Vale

A17th century farmhouse set in a smallholding at the top of the Marshwood Vale, with glorious views towards Pilsdon Pen and Lewesdon Hill is the setting for a unique Makers’ Market in April.

School House Farm is a family home as well as home to a small herd of beef suckler cattle and the sustainable clothing company BlueBarn.Life. Here BlueBarn.Life creates timeless hand-made clothing for men and women. Most of their designs are based on traditional workwear and clothes of the past, updated and adapted for today. ‘We use natural fibres: linen, silk and wool, often upcycling vintage and antique textiles’ explains Kat Bazeley. ‘We also make jackets and waistcoats in handwoven tweeds, and dresses and shirts in soft Irish linen.’

Although they stock a range of ready-made garments, if you want the fun of creating your own BlueBarn.Life garment, Kat says they will help you to customise something totally unique. First choose your style and size, then choose your fabric and lining from dozens of delicious textile samples, and finally, embellish the finished garment with exactly the right buttons.

On Friday 18th April and Saturday 19th April (Easter weekend), Kat and her team will be hosting a Makers’ Market. Alongside the BlueBarn.Life clothing collection they have gathered a group of carefully chosen artisans, crafting beautiful and unique artefacts.

Each is a master of his or her speciality, working with willow or wood, leather, porcelain, fabric, handmade paper and inks. They use the highest quality materials and time-honoured techniques to make individual pieces that blend cultural tradition with their artistic creativity. Each piece is made with care and attention to detail and is designed to last. If you choose to buy these pieces you are stepping away from the world of throw-away mass production and instead investing in a sustainable local heritage.

‘At our Makers’ Market you will be able to meet the makers and share the stories of our work: our inspirations, how we learned our skills, the sources of raw materials and the background of our crafts’ says Kat. ‘This will be a great day out in beautiful West Dorset and we hope to see you here.’

As well as the team at BlueBarn.Life, the makers include: Lin Lovekin, https://www.linlovekinbaskets. co.uk/makes wonderful baskets

Jon Hazell, a woodturner, general woodworker and part time woodsman.

Martin Hazell (Instagram @mr_the_creature ) is a world-renowned spoon-maker.

Warriner Leather https://www.warrinerleather.co.uk/ creates durable, timeless leather goods.

Lou Tonkin https://www.loutonkin.com/ is an artist and print-maker from Cornwall.

Jo Burnell (Instagram @potterybyjoburnell) creates individual hand thrown earthenware pottery.

Lorette Dare makes beautiful patchwork quilts and rag dolls from the tiniest scraps of fabric.

Martin Hazell will demonstrate his craft of spoonmaking. Refreshments and lunches will also be available.

Makers’ Market - Friday 18th April and Saturday 19th April, 11am to 4pm at School House Farm, School Lane, Blackdown, Beaminster, Dorset DT8 3LE.

What3Words: ///little.handyman.spud

Google Maps: BlueBarn.Life

Email: kat@bluebarn.life. Tel: 07887 530333

Instagram: @bluebarn.life. https://www.bluebarn.life/

A tribute to Woody Guthrie CREWKERNE

REG Meuross, the Crewkerne-based singer-songwriter whose work has always championed the issues of the day, from homelessness to the climate crisis, is a 21st century protest singer—and his latest project channels perhaps the greatest protest singer of all, Woody Guthrie.

Commissioned by and produced by Pete Townshend (of The Who, for those who don’t know the name) Fire and Dust, released in mid-March, tells Woody’s story with passion, wit and a deep empathy with one of America’s finest folk musicians.

The album, which features some of Woody Guthrie’s best-known songs—including Deportee and This Land is Your Land—showcases Reg Meuross’s wide-ranging skill as a song-writer, singer and musician.

When Townshend called Reg to suggest the idea he saw how the project would “draw a direct line from Woody, through Bob Dylan, to Reg Meuross” and pledged his full support to realise this vision both as a studio album (which he co-produced and played on) and a series of live tours across the UK and beyond.

Highlighting racism, bigotry, corruption and inequality of Woody’s time—and every bit as relevant today, particularly in the US—the song-cycle is focused on the life and times of a man who lived through and told the story of Dust Bowl America.

There isn’t a weak track on the album, but stand-out songs include the title track, Fire and Dust, the wry ballad, I sent for a wife, the heartfelt Fit for Work and the final powerful song, The Gypsy Singer.

Pete Townshend says: “Reg’s terrific songs tell Woody’s life story with respect and affection, but also truth.”

WEST DORSET-based journalist and travel writer

Sophy Roberts headlines the Saturday night lineup of speakers at this year’s Sherborne Travel Writing Festival. Following on from her book, The Lost Pianos of Siberia, she has brought history to life again with her new book, A Training School For Elephants. Already a Sunday Times bestseller, the book weaves together history and reportage to tell a story of folly and colonial greed.

In 1879, King Leopold II of Belgium commissioned the charismatic Irish adventurer Frederick Carter to ship four tamed Asian elephants from India to the East African coast, where they were marched inland towards Congo. The ultimate aim was to establish a training school for African elephants.

Following in the footsteps of the four elephants, Sophy pieces together the story of this long-forgotten expedition, in travels that take her to Belgium, Iraq, India, Tanzania and Congo. The storytelling brings to life a compelling cast of historic characters and modern voices, from ivory dealers to Catholic nuns, set against rich descriptions of the landscapes travelled. The author digs deep into historic records

to reckon with our broken relationship with animals, revealing an extraordinary―and enduring―story of colonial greed, ineptitude, hypocrisy and folly. She will talk about the book on Saturday 12th April at 7pm at the Sherborne Travel Writing Festival.

Travel writing takes us to places that can be exotic or intimately familiar, imaginary, historical or terrifying. For around 2,000 years, travellers have delighted, amazed and dazzled their readers with their adventures. This year, Sherborne’s Travel Writing Festival, from 11th to 13th April, will take audiences from the glittering Mughal court into the mental health system, from beautiful Greek islands to the fascinating but often bloody history of North Africa and Islam.

Join Mevan Babakar, Alexander Christie-Miller, Horatio Clare, Nandini Das, Alan Edwards, Xiaolu Guo, Rosie Goldsmith, Victoria Hislop, Kapka Kassabova, Jonathan Lorie, Ann Morgan, Sophy Roberts, Barnaby Rogerson and Rory MacLean for an unforgettable weekend.

For full details pick up a festival leaflet or visit sherbornetravelwritingfestival.com.

Sophy Roberts, whose new book A Training School for Elephants was published in March will talk at this year’s Sherborne Travel Writing Festival

Click Here for an Easy Read version of this article

The gravedigger’s story

DORCHESTER

POSSIBLY the best-known gravedigger in all literature (maybe the only one that most people remember) provides the inspiration for the surreal clowning skills of Ridiculusmus, who bring their show, Alas Poor Yorick to Dorchester Arts at the Corn Exchange, on Friday 11th April at 7.30pm.

Hamlet uses the discovery in the newly dug grave of the clown’s skull to riff on life, death and decay— Ridiculusmus look through the eyes of the men digging Ophelia’s grave for an excavation of work and political systems.

Alas! Poor Yorick draws variously on popular culture and various radical writers to present a relentless critique of our institutional failings, hypocritical cultural mores and political inadequacies, all wrapped up in a largely silent clown show.

Mashing up the serious with the silly in trademark style, Ridiculusmus meld their formative influences— The Two Ronnies, Samuel Beckett and the absurdist film director Roy Anderson—with Shakespeare’s original text.

The show is described as a Stoppardian homage that metaphorically explores work, political systems and religion in an hour of slapstick, the original text and a new spin on 400-year-old jokes.

DOF anniversary BRYANSTON

DORSET Opera Festival this year celebrates its 20th anniversary at Bryanston School’s Coade Hall, following the move to Blandford from the original base at Sherborne School.

The festival will run from 22nd to 26th July, and will include two formal dinners in Bryanston House. The thrilling opera programme features Verdi’s cruel but musically glorious Rigoletto, a bloody drama of sex and revenge, and a double bill of Mascagni’s Cavelleria Rusticate and Puccini’s Suor Angelica

Last year Dorset Opera Festival marked its golden jubilee, 50th anniversary, with a programme which included a new opera commission, based on Thomas Hardy’s Under the Greenwood Tree, and a triumphant production of Madama Butterfly.

This year, once again, says artistic director Roderick Kennedy, “we are pulling out all the stops to bring you an exciting programme, involving some of our favourite composers, whose works have enthralled our audiences over the years.”

For full details of the programme, booking arrangements and the anniversary dinners, visit dorsetopera.com

Accordion-saxophone duo CONCERTS IN THE WEST

AN unusual duo of Canadian saxophonist David Zucchi and Spanish accordionist Inigo MikeleizBerrada come to Dorset and Somerset on Friday 11th April and Saturday 12th for the next Concerts in the West programme.

The London-based Mikeleiz-Zucchi Duo have won a number of awards including the Royal Overseas League Annual Music Competition’s Mixed Ensemble Prize and are City Music Foundation Artists. Their repertoire spans everything from reimagined traditional works to contemporary compositions

Mikeleiz-Zucchi Duo touring in April

and improvisation, all vividly rendered by the unique combination of saxophone and accordion.

After their debut concert at the Vale de Cambra Classical Music Festival (Portugal) in 2019, they have performed across the UK and Europe, including appearances at Wigmore Hall, Edinburgh Fringe, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Buxton International Festival, the Rosengart Museum (Lucerne), and St. George’s Bristol.

They have appeared on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and were 2023 residents at Music at Brel (Roquecor, France). The duo is dedicated to the generation of new repertoire for their instrumentation. Individually, Iñigo and David have distinguished themselves as award-winning interpreters of classical, improvised, contemporary and experimental music.

There are three concerts, at Bridport Arts Centre for the usual coffee concert at 11.30am on Friday 11th, Ilminster Arts Centre that evening at 7.30pm and Saturday 12th at Crewkerne Dance House at 7.30pm. The programme includes their arrangement of Granados’ 12 Spanish Dances, Aileen Sweeney’s Mirrie Dancers, their arrangement of Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin, Alex Paxton’s Water Butt: Lovers, Snorkel and Bartók’s Dance Suite (arr. MZ Duo).

The Salt Path POOLE

GILLIAN Anderson and Jason Isaacs star in a new film adaptation of Raynor Winn’s best-selling memoir The Salt Path. The film will open at Poole’s Lighthouse arts centre as part of its national release on Friday 30th May.

The film tells the story of how Raynor and her

husband Moth, following his terminal diagnosis and the devastating loss of their home, embarked on a 630-mile walking journey along the South West Coast Path from Minehead to Poole. With just £115 and a tent, they make their way through heartbreak and healing, discovering the redemptive power of nature and human resilience.

The book, which sold more than a million copies, explores themes around the meaning of home and grief, which struck a chord with readers. It has also inspired both a folk music tour, with Raynor joining Gigspanner to perform Saltlines, and this high profile film adaptation, much of which was made on location in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset.

Talking politics and living dangerously LYME REGIS

JOHN Crace, The Guardian’s caustic and very funny political sketch-writer, comes to the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis on Friday 18th April for a talk entitled What The Hell Just Happened? He is followed a few days later by another top journalist, the Sunday Times’ Christina Lamb, talking about her Years of Living Dangerously, on Wednesday 23rd; both talks are at 8pm.

The last 10 years of British politics have been one long psychodrama, with the Scottish referendum, David Cameron’s surprise election win, Brexit, Theresa May. Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak ... Each prime minister worse than the last. Covid. Partygate. The UK’s politicians have rarely looked so clueless, according to Crace. Even with the new Labour government we are still rushing through several news cycles each day. With a ringside seat at

Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs as Raynor and Moth in The Salt Path

Quimantu perform a series of concerts around the county in April

all the main events, John Crace should provide an evening of high comedy as he tries to make sense of it all.

Find out what the Queen’s last words to Liz Truss really were. This might just be the best therapy session you’ve ever had.

Christina Lamb, chief foreign correspondent of The Sunday Times, is also the bestselling author of I am Malala and The Girl From Aleppo. Her work is defined by a determination to vividly convey life in areas of danger and conflict.

How else would the rest of us know about the injustice, the violence, but also the hope that can be found in those dark places?

From Chile to Covent Garden BLANDFORD AND CERNE ABBAS

ARTSREACH, Dorset’s rural touring arts charity, is working on a unique collaboration with the AngloChilean band Quimantú and community singers from several Dorset choirs to perform Misa de los Mineros,

The Miners’ Mass, in a series of concerts across the county, starting in April.

The first Dorset concert takes place in Blandford Parish Church on Friday 4th April and features the singers of Palida Choir and Shaftesbury School Choir.

The concert’s second half will feature music from Quimantu’s charismatic repertoire of Latin American and world music alongside songs from Palida Choir, led by Karen Wimhurst.

A concert in Cerne Abbas on Sunday 11th May will be the final event of the Cerne Giant Festival.

Specially programmed repertoire for the second half will reflect the festival’s celebration of “humanity in the landscape” and will feature songs from Cloud 9 Chorus, led by Kathie Prince.

The Dorset part of the project culminates with a concert at The Exchange in Sturminster Newton on Sunday 15th June with more than 80 singers from all participating Dorset choirs taking to the stage alongside Quimantu.

The musical journey reaches its finale in two

Screen Time

with Nic Jeune

Top Six at the Flix

From Page to Screen, Film Festival. ‘American Fictions is therefore my theme for From Page to Screen 2025. It will be a journey that takes in stories of rugged individuals, of the American dream and corporate dystopia, of politics and power, but also of alternative narratives, gentler and more subtle. We might not fully get to the bottom of things, but let’s unpack the box and throw things around a little and of course, watch some great films adapted from great American writing.’ Andrew Chater From Page To Screen Curator 2025.

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

The Grapes of Wrath was often named the greatest American film. Roger Ebert. Roger Ebert.

The Day of The Locust (1975) ‘...every bit as powerful as any movie on the movie industry out there and, in my opinion, conveys the themes and metaphors of the book in exactly the right tone.’ George Ferrara. TCM.

The Ice Storm (1997)

Lee daringly chooses to keep his story’s motivational mysteries unexplained, leaving this richly observed film open to the viewer’s assessments. Janet Maslin. The New York Times.

Winter’s Bone (2010)

Director Debra Granik handles this volatile, borderline horrific material with unblinking ferocity and feeling. Winter’s Bone is unforgettable. It means to shake you and does. Peter Travers. Rolling Stone.

The Apprentice (2024)

Some will argue that Stan’s performance in the central role is a touch too likeable, but the actor does an excellent job, going beyond impersonation to capture the essence of the man. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter.

The Age of Innocence (1993)

A beautifully done adaptation of the novel, polished, elegant and completely cinematic. Kenneth Turan. Los Angeles Times.

major concerts during Refugee Week 2025, at St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden.

Music at the Marine LYME REGIS

FROM the Dub Pistols to Swing From Paris, April music at the Marine offers the venue’s usual eclectic mix of great world music, jazz, folk and fusions.

The Dub Pistols, on Friday 4th, create a riotous collision of drum and bass, hip-hop, ska, dub and punk.

The well-travelled head of Jungle Cakes records, Ed Solo headlines a night off DJs playing breaks, drum and bass and party tunes on Friday 11th. The following night, Buena Bristol Social Club, a collaboration of Cuban and Bristol-based musicians, recreate the sound and flavour of the great Buena Vista Social Club.

On Thursday 24th, Henge promise (threaten?) to take the audience out of this world ... “so that eventually your species may put an end to war and set up new homes in space.”

Folk trio The Young’uns celebrate 20 years of singing together at the Marine on Friday 25th, and the month’s music ends with Swing From Paris, a Cotswold-based gypsy jazz quartet of violin, two guitars and double bass, on Sunday 27th.

Stories in the Dust DORCHESTER

CHILDREN aged five to 12 years are invited to take an exciting journey into a strange land with Anna Harriott and Iona Johnson, when they visit Dorchester Arts to perform Stories In the Dust, on Wednesday 9th April at the Corn Exchange at 2pm.

Two intrepid explorers travel across a mysterious landscape. They’re full of ideas and full of hope … but dangerously low on baked beans ...

As they journey across this unknown country in a contraption they’ve built themselves, they sing, play games and tell stories inspired by a collection of precious things they’ve gathered from a time gone by.

With live music and puppetry, Stories in the Dust is a funny, heartfelt and hopeful eco-fable that takes you to another world—where an ancient book guides your way, a drop of rain changes everything and a mighty lion holds its secrets in an old clay pot.

Blues roots with Phil Beer

BRIDPORT

MULTI-instrumental folk star Phil Beer is coming to the Electric Palace at Bridport on Saturday 19th April at 8pm, sharing the blues roots of his musical life.

Phil, one half of the West Country’s famous duo Show of Hands, will be supported by his long-time collaborator Miranda Sykes on bass guitar and Sian Monaghan on percussion. The trio will guide the audience through the music of some of the great names in blues, including Blind Willie Johnson, the Rev Gary Davis, Davy Graham and John Mayall.

Phil will introduce the music of the Great British Blues interpreters and pioneers, while giving it that inimitable Phil Beer “twist”.

The Phil Beer Trio’s Blues and Beyond tour promises three great musicians at the top of their game, combining effortlessly to create an evening of songs and random anecdotes from an extraordinary life in music, this time from the “bluesy side of the street”.

Down the rabbit hole BRIDPORT

IF you think you know Alice in Wonderland, you are in for a delightful musical surprise at Bridport Arts Centre on Friday 4th April, at 7.30pm, when Platform 4 come to town.

A gig theatre journey ... for the curious ... and the curiouser, Platform 4’s The Alice Project brings this classic tale to the stage with a wonderland of amazing live music.

Who are you? asks the Caterpillar. Alice is not sure…

This remarkable collision of live music, text and rich visual imagery takes the audience into the world of Alice in Wonderland but through a very different lens. Platform 4 has created a sonic journey through Wonderland, weaving together original music, Lewis Carroll’s text and voices from 40 contemporary Alices!

This extraordinary show also features interviews exploring transformation, identity and growing older. This is a riff, a homage and an audio adventure down the rabbit hole, with a four-piece band of multi-instrumentalist performers. Expect twisting melodies, smiling cats, tearful mock turtles and percussive teacups.

Puffling Percy DORCHESTER

MEET Percy, the very appealing star of his own show, coming to Dorchester Arts at the Corn Exchange, on Wednesday 16th April at 2pm.

Percy is a puffling who loves his burrow a little too much. What he doesn’t realise, however, is that his entire flock are about to migrate south for the winter. If he doesn’t learn to fly, he will be left behind and his life will be in mortal danger! Can fearless field-mouse Shrimp make Percy feel braver?

This Norwich Puppet Theatre show is a heartwarming children’s story about friendship, overcoming self-doubt and trusting your own instincts. With original music and songs and magical puppetry, Puffling Percy will shake you by your tail-feathers and lift you up, up and away!

Hated by teachers, loved by children HONITON

ENID Blyton was a best-selling author whose works were excoriated by critics, banned by the BBC and hated by teachers and librarians. But what was she really like? Liz Grand portrays this controversial figure in The Secret Life of Enid Blyton, a play by Kit Hunter, coming to the Beehive Centre at Honiton on Saturday 12th April at 7.30pm.

Virtually everybody of a certain age has read an Enid Blyton book. She was loved by children (except her younger daughter who hated her) but vilified by the arbiters of children’s reading matter.

She sold more than 600 million books, despite all her work being banned by the BBC and many libraries and schools for more than 30 years. She was accused of being a racist and of using such limited vocabulary that it actually hindered children’s reading progress.

Her love-life was interesting and she had numerous affairs including with her children’s nanny. She enjoyed playing golf so much that she bought a golf course near Swanage. She died of Alzheimer’s in 1968 aged 71, mourned by millions of readers all over the world.

The play is presented by On A Role Theatre Company. Liz Grand’s previous shows with On A Role include The Second Best Bed, Where Is Mrs. Christie? and Mrs. Churchill: My life With Winston GPW

The Young Lit Fix

Wolf Siren

By Beth O’Brien

Cover illustration Ayesha L. Rubio

HarperCollins Children’s Books

Paperback £7.99

Reviewed by Nicky Mathewson

In a village surrounded by walls to keep the villagers safe from the woods, a small girl, Red, is harbouring a secret. Everyone knows that the woods are dangerous because of the wolves that live there. The village used to be protected by wolf hunters, men with crossbows, but the wolves started to fight back and now the villagers live in fear, sending only women to the woods with strict instructions not to linger.

What the villagers don’t know is that Red can communicate with the trees, the trees know her and she visits them often. She is partially sighted and the trees help her find her way through the woods. She can’t keep sneaking around forever, and when a terrible secret threatens to tear her family apart, and in turn the village, Red has to summon all her strength and trust in nature to help her find the right path.

A gorgeous and evocative debut novel which shows how fear can drive humans to act cruelly and how the natural world should be nurtured and respected. Led by an empowered disabled character, this is a modern fable that I could not put down. Perfect for readers age 12 and up.

10% off for Marshwood Vale readers at The Bookshop on South Street, Bridport. 01308 422964 www.dorsetbooks.com

THIS is a time-travel historical novel with a difference. In an ambitious departure from her previous work, Tracy Chevalier outlines events from the fifteenth century to almost the present day yet her central characters, take Orsola Rosso, for example only ages from teens to her sixties throughout some six centuries.

Crafts and the creative arts are a familiar theme to the author (A Single Thread, Girl with the Pearl Earring and Remarkable Creatures) and this time we are based on the island of Murano in Venice’s lagoontraditionally a centre of the glassmaking industry.

When Orsola’s father dies in tragic circumstances, she is forced into helping to support the family business despite the fact that women are not considered suitable for glassmaking. Making glass beads does not require a large furnace however so this is her chosen option and as it transpires a niche market which flourishes and sustains her through the good times and bad.

The way in which the author dips into various periods of history, the Plague, the Age of Enlightenment, the First World War and the Covid pandemic, has been likened to the way in which a smooth pebble might touch the surface as it skims across the lagoon.

There are brief appearances from real life characters, Giacomo Casanova and Luisa Casati, for example, but the rest, (and the Rosso’s are a large family) is Chevalier’s own creation in what is an impeccably researched novel which unfolds at a pace that suits sunny days in Italy.

The author has admitted that it took a number of revisions and several re-drafts before she was satisfied but it has proved worth the effort, not only for the content of the narrative but also for the way it explores an exciting new way to present story-telling.

Published by Borough Press

Exe Marks The Spot by

Suzy Bussell

I’VE made the point in previous reviews about the length of some murder/mystery stories currently on the market which often stretch to near five hundred pages.

So, I was glad to see the point made recently by the Chinese author, Xiaolu Guo who urged writers to, “Write less in order to write stronger.”

Someone who has taken a leaf out of this book (no pun intended) is local novelist Suzy Bussell whose range of whodunnits about the Exeter region have all weighed in at about two hundred pages. All very suitable for quick bedtime reads, train or bus journeys and holiday spells on the lounger.

Straightlaced ex-police officer turned private investigator Angus Darrow has a two-edged dilemma—a murder and a disappearance. Being the technophobe that he is, Darrow enlists the help of Charlotte Lockwood, a talented though somewhat unpredictable cyber security expert, all very apposite as Bussell has a background in computing herself. They say that opposites attract and the working relationship between Darrow and Lockwood add credence to that I particularly liked the way in which the pair not only solve problems but also stumble on clues in their pursuit of the truth and you’ll find yourself trying to second guess what evidence is due to be uncovered next.

For local readers you’ve also got details of many locations in and around Exeter and if you know these places well it will certainly help the mind-pictures that reading a book creates.

For those who enjoy this highly readable mystery, there are others in the series to try like Exe Ray Vision, Exe and the City and Trouble with the Exe

Published by Snowshoes

The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier

Book ahead

The Ashes of London by

Book now and always have something to look forward to. Click Here for an Easy Read version of this article

Andrew Taylor

NO prizes for guessing in which historical period this narrative is based. As the story begins, we are in England’s capital in 1666 and The Great Fire has taken hold of much of the central part of one of the world’s largest cities.

As molten lead flows down the streets with St. Paul’s Cathedral consumed by the conflagration, two characters make contact and it is this pair who are to touch base often unknowingly during the ensuing story.

One of the protagonists is James Marwood, a government investigator/agent, who is looking into the discovery of two murders with the same modus operandi. The other is Catherine (Cat) Lovett who, escaping from an arranged marriage, is having to work as a servant while she tries to locate her missing father. Adding to her problems is the fact that her father is a Regicide-one of Cromwell’s cohorts who signed the death warrant of Charles 1. Christopher Wren, tasked by the King to redesign and rebuild the parts of London destroyed, makes a cameo appearance and other characters I warmed to were no-nonsense Mistress Noxon, who shelters Cat in her home, and Master Hakesby, the old architect, who is rapidly losing his faculties but nurtures Cat as a willing apprentice.

This book is a slow burn and while the historical detail is fascinating there is a lack of pace to the narrative. Despite the title, the story is more about the aftermath of The Great Fire in London than the actual event itself.

There is evidence of a popular trend here too. Like so many television detective series these days, the actual solving of the crime and the pursuit of the perpetrator becomes almost a side issue as the myriads of personal issues besetting the main characters seems to become the dominant factor.

Published by HarperCollins

from: www.bridport-arts.com.

Steeleye Span, Hardye Theatre, Dorchester, May 17. Tickets from: www.dorchesterarts.org.uk.

The Magic Numbers, Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, June 7. Tickets from: www.marinetheatre.com.

Rob Beckett, The Lighthouse, Poole, June 20 & 21. Tickets from: www.lighthousepoole.co.uk.

Film: I am Martin Parr, Bridport Arts Centre, June 5. Tickets

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Fingerpost restorers keeping Dorset heritage alive

One iconic image that is unique to Dorset is its fingerposts, the old road signs featuring a white or occasionally red metal roundel or finial. Since the Dorset CPRE grant scheme was launched in 2017, the charity has paid out £22,337.50 towards the restoration of 160 traditional fingerposts helping to keep these local treasures and save them from extinction.

Fingerposts are a common feature of the Dorset countryside and are a legacy of the early road system. In 1773 the General Turnpike Act made it mandatory for trustees to put up signs informing the traveller of the distance to the closest town.

Of the 1300 or so fingerposts thought to exist in the 1950s, just 717 survive today. Many were lost in WWII as they were removed in 1940 to deny guidance to an invading army, and not replaced. Some of the originals have been repaired using nontraditional materials or lettering, and others are in need of attention. The Local Authority no longer has a remit to repair them, and both the Dorset National Landscape (formerly Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and Dorset CPRE are keen to support local ‘Fingerpost Champions’ to save these signs from extinction and restore them to their former glory. Hundreds of signs have been renewed by Parish and Town Councils, community groups, and individuals.

Roger Bond (Dorset Fingerpost Restorers) co-ordinates the Dorset National Landscape Fingerpost restoration project, working from his home workshop. He repairs and restores characters on new oak ‘fingers’ whilst Coles Castings provide new stock (cast lettering and roundels) ready for fettling and painting. Roger first became involved in fingerpost restoration projects ten years ago, when he stepped in to assist with the repair of a bracket on the Green Hill Junction fingerpost at Sutton Poyntz. Since then, he has been engaged in restoring over two hundred traditional

fingerposts around the county. The experience gained is now collated in his new website to help others restore their village fingerposts and can be viewed on https://www.dorsetfingerpostrestorers.co.uk/.

Dorset Red Post at Horsey Knapp near Evershot

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