Marshwood+ August 2022

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© Dr Sam Rose Photograph by Robin Mills

The best from West Dorset, South Somerset and East Devon No. 281 August 2022

COVER STORY Fergus Byrne met Dr Sam Rose in Bridport, Dorset

’I

© Dr Sam Rose Photograph by Robin Mills

was born in Watford, though I don’t remember any of that as we moved to Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire when I was about two. My dad’s an academic, a geographer, and my mum was a primary school teacher in those days. She’s also a geographer and I ended up becoming one too. I played cornet in the local brass band when I was young. I remember my lips froze to the mouthpiece one winter playing carols in Leighton Buzzard town square. We moved to a village called Cublington between Leighton Buzzard and Aylesbury. So I grew up wandering the fields, exploring old barns, rivers and streams. It was great, a lovely place to grow up. I didn’t yearn for town life until my mid-teens when my mates and I started going into Aylesbury, where our school was, partly because it had a great second-hand record shop. My chemistry teacher used to run the Friars Club in Aylesbury, where Bowie and Genesis and other great bands used to play, although a little before my time. I was a bit of a muso then and played the drums in a band with friends from school. We wrote our own music and in fact two very talented band members went on to make a career out of music. It was when the eighties were in mid-flow; bad hair styles and terrible clothes, all that stuff.

Strangely I had no real interest in nature at that point. I went to a grammar school which was very academically and sport focused. It you played rugby and were going to get three ‘A’s they liked you, otherwise they weren’t particularly interested. I did maths, physics and chemistry for my A levels, although at that time I was interested in ceramics and photography. However I was encouraged to pursue the sciences, and did.

Then I applied for Leeds University with the idea of being a civil engineer. I first took a year out, saved money and travelled to Australia, Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 3

New Zealand, Pacific Islands. My time in the north of Australia in the rainforest was where I thought “why am I going to do civil engineering?”, so I swapped my course to Geography. It was a good course but perhaps the most influential time for me at Leeds was an expedition with some colleagues from Ecology. Six of us went to Sulawesi in Indonesia for three months. We raised the money, did all of the organising, worked on projects and had an amazing time in places with people unaffected by modern society. We trekked up and down mountains and through rainforests; it was proper old school expedition stuff, but all done with the goodwill and support of the local people. I started out that trip very green and naive and I think the experience changed me a lot; it helped change the way I was thinking about the world.

At the end of my degree I wasn’t sure what to do. I knew I was interested in nature conservation in some form, so I could either go and be a volunteer for a Wildlife Trust and be continually poor, or I could do a PhD - and also be continually poor. I was offered, and took, a PhD about tropical forest biodiversity. It is an interesting and complex subject, but the PhD was difficult and isolating. I can’t say I enjoyed it, but it really taught me a lot about research, tropical forests, and about looking at nature in different ways.

After that I got a job with Raleigh International, which has sadly folded as a result of the pandemic. Raleigh is a very special thing. My job with them was to run a biodiversity research project in Chile. Over the course of three years I worked with the local forestry body, scientists from the Natural History Museum, scientists from all across Chile and of course the young volunteers. We had to figure out how to get all these scientists into very inaccessible

Dr Sam Rose

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places to do their research. I think, over the three years, we had about six expeditions studying the biodiversity of Laguna San Rafael National Park, one of the most beautiful, amazing and remote parts of the world. I became fluent in Spanish there and made Chilean friends who are like part of my family. I finished it off with a three-month period as expedition project manager to renovate a school in a remote island community in Chile. Again, that was another life changing experience. It wasn’t always plain sailing, there were lots of challenges, but it was very life affirming.

After that I came back to run a year’s biodiversity project for the University of Leeds, helping to set up the Peruvian forestry service in the Amazon with a system to manage their forests better in terms of biodiversity. It was around that time I decided I didn’t want to be an academic. So continuing on the overseas theme I got a job with VSO, Voluntary Service Overseas, living in London and working for three years doing programme development and fundraising. I was travelling about four or five times a year to countries like Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, Mongolia. I even went to the South Pacific to Tuvalu which is now almost under water.

I very much believe in what VSO do, which is to recruit volunteer specialists from the UK and elsewhere to offer technical assistance when requested. VSO volunteers are all trained to work in a way that is appropriate for the local communities and context and are paid the same wage as local counterparts.

After that, in 2004, I decided I wanted to cut the travelling, and got a job as programme coordinator for the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site team in Dorset County Council, and my wife Debs and I moved to Bridport. For the next thirteen

years, whilst our boys Eddie and Alfie were younger, we settled into West Dorset, which is very much home now. For the Jurassic Coast, I think we achieved a lot. Between the team and other partners we looked after the World Heritage status well, and gave this area a strong new identity. The Jurassic Coast brand works well, people benefit from it, so it’s done good things for the area. I took over as Team Leader in 2007 and then in 2017 we transitioned the Jurassic Coast team out of the Council into an independent charity, the Jurassic Coast Trust, for which I was the first Chief Executive.

In 2019 I decided to move on from rocks and fossils. I had spent a lot of my life taking photographs and it had become closer to a passion than a hobby. Although I had done exhibitions, I never really felt I knew what I was doing, so I decided to do an MA in Photography at the Arts University Bournemouth. I continued consultancy work on World Heritage, mainly with the prospective Flow Country World Heritage Site in the far north of Scotland. It’s a massive area of peatland, important for biodiversity and climate change. In the meantime I also co-founded the Bridport parkrun, which took us about nine months to get going, and literally the day after I finished my job with Jurassic Coast Trust we had our first run—symbolic of a new start. I am very proud of our parkrun and fabulous team of volunteers.

I had to find a major project for my Photography MA and had been reading Isabella Tree’s inspiring book Wilding.

So I decided that rewilding would be my subject, and over a period of two years I made thousands of photographs from different sites, interviewed about forty people, and produced podcasts and case studies. The results are on an ongoing site

© Dr Sam Rose Photograph by Robin Mills

at www.whatifyoujustleaveit.info. I knew Tim Smit from Jurassic Coast days and he was incredibly helpful with connections to get me going. Nick Gray from Dorset Wildlife Trust was, and remains, very influential. I finished my MA in December and was very proud to get a distinction.

I have a touring exhibition that was in Bournemouth University then went on to Yeovil Hospital, and which is in Bridport Arts Centre over the summer. I’m also working on a book about Rewilding that I hope to have published by November.

As well as learning to be a photographer, I’ve learnt an enormous

amount about rewilding, I’ve learnt another new profession really. I don’t pretend to be an ecologist but I understand the processes involved, the principles, what “natural process led restoration” is all about. It’s about allowing nature to take the lead. It’s about restoration of degraded land, not so much management of existing nature reserves; you don’t need to restore those because they are generally doing ok. There are a lot of parts of our landscape where you can start to restore nature quite quickly.

It’s particularly the marginal land, the land that’s not so good for farming,

steep slopes, wetlands or areas prone to flooding. There are so many places where you can really do this, which would not impact on food production but which would have a positive impact for nature.

I’m currently working with Nick and local landowners on a new rewilding initiative called West Dorset Wilding. I’m also doing photography contracts and will be teaching a creative photography course at Arts University Bournemouth in September. I’m also hoping to continue to grow my ‘What if you just leave it?’ podcasts and case study work about rewilding.

’

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UP FRONT Watering plants in the moonlight recently was a first for me; a new experience to add to my memories and one that, at the time, I mused might become common. It made me think of Philip Strange’s visit to see Luke Jerram’s ‘Moon’ at Exeter Cathedral (page 22). In his article, Philip highlights the Moon’s effect on our lives. The Moon is one of our environmental titans and he describes it as the ‘driver of tides’, reminding us how it sets up important rhythms that also influence migration and reproduction in the non-human world; it was the spectacular Buck Moon in mid-July that gave me the unusual opportunity to enjoy the garden at night. However, it was that other environmental titan, the Sun, which probably took most of the focus in July, with thousands of words written about the effects of climate change. But apart from causing discomfort, disruption, and in some cases tragedy, the recent ‘heatwave’ also led to some people reminiscing about their youth. Long days and hot weather can do that. In my case, I remembered lazy days swimming in the local river; fishing for trout in a stream called the ‘Pinkeen’, and running around a recently topped field dreaming I was in Wembley Stadium. Then it was home for banana sandwiches before rushing out for another Cup Final replay. Regardless of what generation you speak with, everyone seems to have a few rose-tinted memories of summer days. My mother often related stories of the slowness of life. One particular tale she told was about the morning sun waking her in the seat of the pony cart that she and my father had been driving home from a late-night dance. As the sun rose above the trees and the two young lovers dozed, the pony had stopped by the side of the road to enjoy a long, lazy breakfast.

Most of these memories are due more to extended daylight than to extended sunshine, but they do convey a slower lifestyle; a time when there was less awareness of the damage being done to our environment. Today most people have moved beyond skepticism of climate change and in many cases denial has turned out to be a ploy to conceal other agendas. But watering in the moonlight did make me wonder how long it will be before future generations are robbed of such summer memories.

Fergus Byrne

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

THIS MONTH

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24

Cover Story By Fergus Byrne Event News and Courses News & Views Butterflies, Vicars and Amazonia By James Crowden When the Moon came to Exeter Cathedral

By Philip Strange Under the Greenwood Tree By Cecil Amor

28 28 30 32

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

34 34 36

Food & Dining Lemon and Lime Spritzer By Lesley Waters Black Cow Oyster Mary By Mark Hix

38 Arts & Entertainment 38 The Marshwood Vale and Beyond

By Margery Hookings 40 Galleries 43 Preview By Gay Pirrie Weir 46 Screen Time By Nic Jeune 47 Young Lit Fix By Antonia Squire

48 Health & Beauty 49 Services & Classified “In God We Trust — All others must pay cash.”

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Editorial Director Fergus Byrne

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Cecil Amor James Crowden Helen Fisher Mark Hix Margery Hookings Nic Jeune

Victoria Byrne

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

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

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

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

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

August

EVENTS AND COURSES 30 July

Powerstock Country Fete 2.00pm All the fun of the fete set in glorious West Dorset countryside, the Weirfield at Nettlecombe, nestling in the shade of Eggardon Hill. Fete to be opened by Adam from the Archers, then there’s Punch and Judy, Johnnie Boden’s Bucking Bronco, live music from Durnovaria Band, great food and drink including Nick Poole’s prize winning cider, games, stalls, bargains, craft demonstrations, posh stuff at the silent auction, old machinery, Grand Draw with some superb prizes, ferocious Tug of War. Extensive free parking, bus for disabled from car park to fete – and back. Entrance adults £2, children free. Address DT6 3ST. See us on Facebook.

Spandau Too tribute band gig, doors 7.30pm.Tickets £19.

Spandau Too brings you a glittering evening of the greatest Spandau Ballet hits from the last 40 years. In a stunning tribute to one of the finest pop bands in the world from the 1980s, enjoy their musicianship and soundscape during this cabaretstyle two and a half hour show. Tickets 01297 625699, www. thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

Art lecture for Ukraine 2pm-3.30pm. Art that has a political dimension, starting with the mid 19c photographs of Roger Fenton, Goya, political satire from James Gilray, Dada photomontage by John Heartfield, Kathe Kollwitz, Paula Rego, Picasso’s Guernica, Jeremy Deller, Barbara Kruger, Richard Hamilton,’ Itsy and Sot’, Banksy, Goldsmiths ‘Forensic Architecture’, Ai Wei Wei, Gerhard Richter and Peter Kennard.

A fund raiser for Ukraine. The lecture will include paintings, sculpture, performance installation, and mural and graffiti art.

Lecturer is Pam Simpson MA. Pam is Associate Lecturer at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts and teaches Art History in Bridport where she runs weekly courses.

Fee is £10 per person, All proceeds equally to Mйdecins Sans Frontiиres / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the Disaster Emergency Committee for Ukraine and UNICEF Ukraine appeals. To book please email Pam on chris.pamsimpson@ btinternet.com or telephone 01300 321715. Pam will send you the Zoom link, so you can join the lecture on line.

Model railway exhibition The Sir John Colfox Academy, Bridport. The Bridport and District Model Railway Club will once again be holding their annual exhibition in the Sir John Colfox Academy, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3DT on Saturday 30th July from 10am until 4pm. Visitors will be able to view a wide variety of layouts in various gauges and themes, from both local exhibitors and those coming from farther afield. There will also be layouts representing steam and modern railway scenes which have a very local and an international flavour together with other railway displays. The exhibition will also have some trade stand for visitors wishing to buy new or second-hand model railway products. Car parking is available in the car park with hot and cold refreshments being served during the day. Admission prices are Adults £6, Child (under 16 years) Free, Family (2+2) £10 Contact; Bob Ahrens: 07927-312341 or R_Ahrens@outlook.com

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30 - 31 July

Yeovil Railway Centre Yeovil Junction, Stoford BA22 9UU: Two-day Train & Tractor weekend, also with Land Rovers and stationary engines. 01935 410420 for recorded information; visit www.yeovilrailway.freeservers.com; or find us on Facebook.

31 July

“Music in the Garden”, The Speedwell Hall, Abbey Street, Crewkerne. A wide variety of singers and musicians playing an afternoon concert in the beautiful Speedwell garden. Light refreshments available. (Seating is limited so own chairs and blankets welcome.) Doors open 1:30pm; performance - 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Tickets £5 adults, children under 16 free.

Tickets from The Green Dragon Bookshop, George Precinct, Crewkerne, 01460 279814.

Dorchester Repair cafe Bradford Peverell Village Hall 1012pm Bring your broken items and we will see if our volunteer repairers can get them working again. From lamps to broken zips, phones to teddybears, we can deal with a diverse range of objects. Don’t send them to landfill, bring them to us, and have a cup of coffee and cake and hopefully a chat whilst you do. Or just drop by to see what we get up to. Volunteers always needed. Contact: repaircafedorchester@gmail.com.

East Devon Ramblers 10 miles moderate. Beaminster Tel: 01395-579607.

Portesham Arts Club presents The Great Baldini at Portesham Village Hall, Malthouse Meadow, DT3 4EU. Children’s Magic Show at 3.30 p.m. Tickets £5 (£8 grownups).Hilarious interactive magic for children under 10 and families. Magical Cabaret 7.30-9.30 p.m. Tickets £12 (£6 under 18s). A fantastic night of magic, comedy and fun. Bar and refreshments available. Tickets: Call 01305 871035 or email: ajl.s49@icloud.com.

Horn Park Quarry National Nature Reserve Open Day 10.00am to 3.45pm. Rarely open to the public, this site houses an important collection of Jurassic ammonites.

Located between Beaminster and Broadwindsor, in Horn Park Business Park, there will be guided talks, displays, children’s activities. Timed slots must be booked in advance via www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/horn-park-quarry-open-day-2022tickets-365644762327. Please see Beaminster Museum website for full details, parking, safety information, weather advice www.beaminstermuseum.co.uk. In association with Natural England and Jurassic Coast Trust. Free entry.

St Candida’s Church Whitchurch Canonicorum, 3pm followed by tea with cakes in the church. Tickets, to include tea, cost £10. The programme comprises Pachelbel’s Canon in D, a selection from J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and the Mozart Trio Divertimento K563, played by the Abraxas Trio, with Christian Halstead (violin) Jordi Morell (viola) and Heidi Parsons (cello).

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August

EVENTS AND COURSES 2 August

Adults Dance 7pm to 8pm These classes journey through a number of dance styles from disco, to latin, to freestyle and electro swing. The classes are a gentle way to release, for well being, opening your creativity and keeping fit. Steps studio, Crepe Farm Business Park Symondsbury. For more enquiries please contact Nikki Northover at bridportyouthdance01@gmail.com . M: 07765971357. www.bridportyouthdance.org.uk.

2 - 6 August

Strictly Variety. Comedy, music & dance presented by Honiton Community Theatre Company 7pm. The Beehive Honiton www. beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050

3 August

East Devon Ramblers 6.5 miles moderate walk . Branscombe .

Tel 07977-057546.

West Dorset Ramblers Moderate 14.5 mile (with a shorter option) walk from Maiden Castle via the South Dorset Ridgeway.

Contact 07715 760884.

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Interactive Storytelling Shows & Crafts with Kristina Stephenson. Join Kristina for a storytelling show with costumes, props, puppets and songs. This is a fun-filled show of LIVE interactive storytelling, music and creativity for all the family. 11.00 am, 12.30 pm, 2.00 pm and 3.30 pm. The Museum of Somerset, Taunton Castle, Castle Green, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4AA. Also 17 and 31 August. Museumofsomerset.org.uk. Drop-in, Show £2.

4 August

West Dorset Ramblers Moderate 8 mile walk around Abbotsbury. Contact 07952 517764.

5 August

Weather Weaving pop up art workshops Making with community artist Darrell Wakelam. 1pm to 3pm. Make a magnificent pheonix using paper and card construction. Ages 6 to 11 years. £5. Venue: A secret garden. Places are being subsidised

by Dorset Council - Area of Natural and Outstanding Beauty. To book contact Nikki Northover at bridportyouthdance01@gmail. com.

5 - 7 August

Pick Your Own Flowers Flower Farmers Big Weekend on a Working Flower Farm. 10-4, entrance free, just pay to pick.

Abbey Farm Flowers is a sustainable flower farm in the heart of Abbotsbury. Gifts, plants and refreshments, by the Tithe Barn in Abbotsbury DT3 4JJ. Call 07583 250754 for details www. abbeyfarmflowers.co.uk.

6 August

Loders Fete from 2-5pm in the grounds of Loders Court, Loders, Bridport DT6 3RZ. We are delighted to see the return of magician and entertainer Count Backwards, who was a huge hit in 2021. We’ve also got some fantastic music from the Bridport Broadsides Sea Shanty Crew and a variety of stalls and games, including our Grand Raffle, a Silent Auction and the positively therapeutic Crockery Smash, as well as our ever-popular Tea Tent and Pop-Up Bar. As in previous years, we are raising money for Loders Church and local community organisations, such as the Village Hall, Loders School and Loders Youth Club.

Flower festival in St Mary’s church in South Perrott from 11am - 4pm.

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

Scottish Dancing Party in Chardstock Evening of Scottish Dancing at Chardstock Village Hall 7.30- 10.30 p.m. No partner required. Please bring a plate of food to share. Tea and Coffee provided. Cost £4.00 Contact David on 01460 65981. www. chardscottishdancingclub.org.

Brazilian music at Litton Cheney London band Polcas e Boas present a lively event with Brazilian refreshments. Admission from 6.00 p.m., music from 6.30 p.m. LATCH (Village Hall), School Lane, DT2 9AU. Children £2.00, students/UB £5.00, adults £10.00. Cash please. Reservation essential: email D.Charlton@ rhul.ac.uk, or phone 01308 482 514.

Crewkerne Gardening Club’s Annual Show Lots of plants, handicrafts and homecrafts , competitions open to all! Entry forms available from the Henhayes Centre and Carousel shop, to be returned by Wednesday 3rd. Entries must be staged between 8am-10am in the Henhayes Centre and the Show will be open from 11.10 am - 2.00pm with prize giving at 1.45pm. Details from Rosemary Prince - 01460 74290.

Dorset Food & Arts Festival Market a bumper crop of local food, drink, art, craft, and community talent. Join in the fun from 10am -4pm at the Great Field, Poundbury, in Dorchester. With over 60 stalls around the festival field selling delicious food and drink, locally made products, crafts and art, there’s something for everyone!

Barrington and District Gardening Club Flower, Vegetable, Craft and Art Show 2pm – 4pm. At Barrington Village Hall.

Free entry, Teas and Raffle. Entry forms available from BDGSTreasurer@gmail.com.

6 - 14 August

Seaton and District Art Society Annual Summer Art Exhibition Seaton Gateway 10am - 4pm every day from Saturday 6th August -

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

BY AUGUST 12

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August

EVENTS AND COURSES until Saturday 13th August. 10am - 1pm on Sunday 14th August Original artworks, canvasses, 3D, folios etc. Refreshments.

Exhibition will be opened by Alan Cotton MBE.

7 August

South Perrott Summer Fayre 11am to 4pm. Stalls include tombola, produce, plants, cakes. Local artists exhibition. Cream teas: and full bar with burgers and pizzas. Live music with two groups and much more. Contact 01935 891890.

East Devon Ramblers 11 miles strenuous walk. Churchinford.

Tel 01823-601497.

8 August

Hawkchurch Film Nights in association with Devon Moviola, proudly presents ‘The Duke’ (Cert. 12A, 95 mins). Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren star in this delightful comic drama based on the real-life theft in 1961 of Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery. Directed in his final film by Roger Michell (Notting Hill, Le Week-End). Doors open 6.30pm, film starts 7.00pm at Hawkchurch Village Hall, EX13 5XD. Reservations £5 from csma95@gmail.com or leave a message on 01297 678176 (socially-distanced seating available if booked in advance) or pay at the door. Come and see how the film looks with our new projector! Home-made cake and other scrummy refreshments available.

10 August

East Devon Ramblers 9.5 miles moderate walk . Winsford. Tel 01297-23424.

West Dorset Ramblers Moderate 8 mile linear walk along the Lyme Undercliff from Seaton to Lyme. Contact 07826 150114.

Cudworth Summer Market St Michael’s Church TA19 0PR. 10.30 – 1pm. Produce, cakes, bric-a-brac, raffle etc. plus great coffee!

11 August

Chard Royal Naval Association The association will be holding a social evening at 7.30 pm at the Chard Rugby Football Club.

The evening is open to any person wishing to attend who may be interested in joining as a member or just to be informed on the night of the current update and position of the ‘Poppy of Honour’ as informed by Terry Williams. Further information on the association can be obtained by ringing the Chairman Paula on 07929291401.

Garden open for the N.G.S at Broomhill, Rampisham, DT2 0PT. 2-5pm £5 entry. Glorious 2 acre garden, extensive herbaceous borders planted for colour and bees. Lawns leading to a less formal area with a large wildlife pond and a small meadow, the garden also has a productive vegetable garden and an orchard.

Well behaved dogs on leads welcome, wheel chair access. Delicious homemade teas and quality plants for sale.

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Sea Shanty Sessions Marine Theatre Lyme Regis. Devon Shanty men, The Chantry Buoys, perform an informal shanty singalong, with other well known songs, and maritime frolics. A free event, The Buoys start at 7.30pm. Join them for a fun evening, all monies raised go to local charities. Come along and have a good sing!!

Licensed bar will be open, serving local ales and soft drinks. Tel 07761 469676.

12 August

East Devon Ramblers 5.5 miles moderate walk. Beer. Tel 01297552860.

Oops Wow and Dance 1pm to 3pm. An art and movement workshop with Jo Burlington from Oops Wow and Aimee Symes from Bridport Youth Dance. Playing with paper and fabric you will make things to play with. There will be painting, making, paper ripping, flag dancing and shoes with magic powers. It’s going to be a fun filled multi-sensory creative afternoon in a lovely garden. Good for kids age 6-11 yrs. Parents are welcome to stay or drop off. £5 Venue: A secret garden. Places are subsidised by Dorset Council - Area of Natural and Outstanding Beauty. To book contact Nikki Northover at bridportyouthdance01@gmail. com. Weather Weaving is a part of Bridport Youth Dance’s Art and Dance in the Land progamme supported by Dorset Council AONB. Cinechard at Holyrood Academy will be showing The Phantom of the Open (7pm for 7.30pm) starring Mark Rylance as Maurice Flitcroft, the worst golfer to ever play the British Open - a typically quirky British true story. Tickets £5 and £2.50 from Eleos, Barron’s and the PO in advance; or on the door for £6 and £3. Fully accessible, lots of free parking, tiered seating and refreshments.

David Bailey Wildlife Photographer 11am at Woodmead hall, Lyme Regis. On the ‘Glorious Twelfth’, Lyme Regis u3a will enjoy a presentation by acclaimed wildlife photographer David Bailey.

David has made many media appearances and published two books, Wildlife Wanderer and Wildlife wanderings, with two more scheduled. He has also delivered a variety of projects for Wildlife Trusts and the National Trusts. So we are promised an extremely well informed feast for our eyes! Details on www.lymeregisu3a.org Non members welcome for a donation of £2.

The Darkside of Pink Floyd. More than just an ordinary Pink Floyd tribute band, The Darkside of Pink Floyd entertain audiences with a fantastic light show and passionate performances 8pm. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050

13 August

Beaminster Horticultural Society’s Summer Show the highlight of the society’s annual calendar in the Public Hall (Fleet Street), Beaminster from 2pm. The Show also includes some Platinum Jubilee-themed classes in celebration of this special year.

The Society is grateful to Symonds & Sampson LLP for their

sponsorship of the Show, and in particular the “Best in Show” competition.The Show opens to the public from 2pm with the winners revealed. Trophies will be presented at 4pm by President of the Society, Ken Hunt. Tea, coffee, and a delicious selection of homemade cakes will be available. Admission is £1 per person.

For more information, please contact the Show Secretary, email: bemhortsoc@gmail.com.

Lightyear (PG) Buzz Lightyear embarks on an intergalactic adventure with a group of ambitious recruits and his robot companion 4pm. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050 Workshops at Axminster Heritage Centre Silver St, Axminster EX13 5AH : 10 am to 2 pm cost £18. Beginners Sewing Workshop. Bring your own beginners project to work on. Do you have an unfinished project such as a cushion or skirt etc? Bring it to the workshop and learn some useful tips. Bring a sewing machine and equipment and a packed lunch. To book and for more information for these workshops contact: gina.youens@ btinternet.com.

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

Yarcombe village market Yarcombe village hall 10 am – 12 noon. Lots of fabulous local stalls – plants, cakes, woodwork and metal work, eggs, dairy and much more. Coffee and cake. Helen – 07858625421.

Summer Music at Pugin Hall, Rampisham DT2 0PR, 6-9pm.

The String Quartet will play a spectrum of music from the screen, opera, Broadway and pop, ‘music to delight everyone’. Start the evening by wandering through the gardens and grounds enjoying

sparkling white and rosé wine. A light buffet will be offered from 6.30pm onwards. Garden Owners: Tim & Ali Wright. To book a ticket at £45, go to: https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/ garden/35728/pugin-hall Book Launch: Kit Glaisyer The Marshwood Vale & Beyond A collection of 65 paintings including 13 early works and 52 Cinematic Landscape paintings created between 2005 and 2021 at Kit’s various studios in Bridport. These paintings capture the subtle light and sublime character of this unique corner of the West Country and bringing a contemporary twist to the traditional genre of the Romantic landscape. Book Launch from 2pm-6pm.

Bridport Contemporary Gallery, 11 Downes Street, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3JR. 07983 465789 www.kitglaisyer.com @kitglaisyer

14 August

East Devon Ramblers 8 miles leisurely walk. Stentwood Farm.

Tel 01404-45944.

15 - 21 August

Bridport carnival 15th Crowning of Bridport Royalty, at Bridport Art Centre. 16th Carnival Quiz, at The Ropemakers, West Street.

Start 7.30pm. 17th Carnival Bingo, at the Bridport Football Club.

Eyes down 7.30pm. 18th Battle of the Buskers, at Bridport Rugby Club from 7.00pm. 19th Darts Competition, at the Bridport Football Club. Sign on from 7.00pm. 20th Carnival Day. Music from Wessex Military Band in Bucky Doo Square from 10am.

Procession Line up is along West Allington by The Health Centre from 5.45pm. The Parade will start at 7.00 pm, moving from West Allington, up West Street to the Town Hall, where it turns right into South Street and continues to the end at Morrisons car park

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 15

August

EVENTS AND COURSES (at approximately 9.00 pm). 21st - Torchlight Procession Torches on sale from 6pm to 8.45pm at Bucky Doo Square. Procession moves off at 9pm prompt to walk to West Bay. Dancing on East Beach. Bonfire on East Beach, followed by fireworks on West Pier at 10.30pm approximately (weather permitting).

Beehive bar. Free entry 7.30pm. The Beehive Honiton www. beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

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

16 August

18 August

Burton Bradstock Festival of Music and Art 16 -21 August 2022. Art exhibition opens (until 21 August) in the Village Hall.

Festival Evensong 6.30pm in St Mary’s Church.

More information www.burtonbradstockfestival.com.

16 - 21 August

Burton Bradstock Art Exhibition 2022 (part of Burton Bradstock Festival of Music and Art). Village Hall, Church Street, Burton Bradstock DT6 4QS Opening times are: Tuesday 5.30pm – 8.30pm Wednesday – Friday 10am – 10pm Saturday 10am – 7pm Sunday 10am - 1pm. artinfo@burtonbradstockfestival.com.

Facebook /burtonbradstockfestival.

17 August

Colyton & District Garden Society Talk by Claire Forster, the Lady Horticulturist, on ‘Wall Shrubs and Climbers’. 7.30pm Colyford Memorial Hall. Members free, guests £3. Information: Sue Price 01297 552362.

Burton Bradstock Festival of Music and Art Jazz Evening 7pm St Mary’s Church Take two - Award winning saxophonist Jake McMurchie joins David Gordon, Sandy Burnett and Paul Cavaciuti as they explore two towering figures of 20th century jazz, Dave Brubeck and Charles Mingus.

Late Night Concert 9.45pm St Mary’s Church A touch of tango Craig Ogden, Milos Milivojevic and David Juritz play music from Paris and Buenos Aires by Hahn, Pujol and Chaminade.

Soup and roll supper in the village hall at 9.15pm. Tickets from Bridport Tourist Information Centre. More information www. burtonbradstockfestival.com.

The Fantasy Orchestra (fantasyorchestra.org) are performing in Buckydoo Square, Bridport from 1.15pm as part of their international tour, cycling between venues including the Square & Compass, and St-Vaast-La-Hougue, Bridport’s twin town in Normandy. It is a community project based in Paris and also in Bristol. The Orchestra (motto: ‘World Peace One Note At A Time’) brings together up to 50+ musicians, professional and amateur, to create a kaleidoscopic symphonic brigade. Their eclectic repertoire covers film soundtracks (Morricone, Barry, RD Burman), rock and pop favourites (Hendrix, Beatles, Bowie, Radiohead), and some more obscure treasures. Think psychedelic loveliness, rousing choral noise, and some choice costumes. And it’s all free! (although a hat will be passed round for the Mayor’s Charities- this year, Bridport Youth Centre, and The Bank of Dreams and Nightmares mental health for primary aged children.

Sing along, dance or just listen and enjoy!

The Beehive Acoustic Night Perform or listen in the

16 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

West Dorset Ramblers Moderate 8.5 mile circular walk from the Hardy Monument along the Jubilee Trail and inland coast path.

Contact 01460 62060.

Burton Bradstock Festival of Music and Art Lunchtime Concert 12.30pm St Mary’s Church. A midday serenade with Eluned Pierce, Craig Ogden, Anna Hashimoto and the Festival Players.

Chamber Concert 7pm St Mary’s Church. Mykola Lysenko was jailed in 1907 for writing patriotic Ukrainian music while Reynaldo Hahn represents the apotheosis of the French romantic. Peter Hope writes music for television, radio and the concert-hall, where he has worked with José Carreras, Dame Kiri te Kanawa and Jessye Norman. Craig Ogden plays Hope’s ebullient Divertimento and Anna Hashimoto plays Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet.

Late Night Recital 9.45pm St Mary’s Church. French connection - David Gordon leads the Festival Players astray in a romp through the French Baroque with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully and his compatriots. Soup and roll supper 9.15pm in the Village Hall. Tickets from Bridport Tourist Information Centre. More information www.burtonbradstockfestival.com.

19 August

East Devon Ramblers 6 miles moderate walk. Stoke Abbott. Tel 01460-220636.

‘Elvis’ (12A) screening, 7.30pm, doors 6.30pm, tickets £7. Picnic night. Elvis is an epic, big screen spectacle from Warner Bros.

Pictures and visionary, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Baz Luhrmann that explores the life and music of Elvis Presley, starring Austin Butler and Oscar winner Tom Hanks. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

Burton Bradstock Festival of Music and Art Gala Concert 7pm St Mary’s Church. Theatrical music by Jean-Baptiste Lully; Milos Milivojevic plays a Ukrainian accordion concerto by Igor Shamo; David Gordon in a chamber version of the Adagio from Beethoven’s Emperor concerto; extracts from Elgar’s Nursery Suite, written for the young Princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret. Anna Hashimoto brings the Festival to a lively finish with Milhaud’s Scaramouche Suite. Tickets from Bridport Tourist Information Centre. More information www. burtonbradstockfestival.com

20 August

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

The Railway Children Return (PG) A new adventure begins,

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 17

August

EVENTS AND COURSES starring Jenny Agutter & Sheridan Smith 4pm. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

A ‘Jubilee Bop’ is being held in the Norton Sub Hamdon village hall (TA14 6SF) from 8pm - 11pm. DJ Roy will be playing music from the 50s, 60, 70, and 80s. Dress as a decade Optional. Prize for the best dressed. Cash bar and raffle. Tickets from Norton community shop £8. each, or 2 for £15. Proceeds to’ Norton Jubilee Nature Garden ‘ Everyone welcome. Enquiries or information please contact: Jennie Harris. 01935 881718.

Bach Cello Suites 1-3 played by acclaimed cellist Orlando Jopling.

Orlando has kindly included us in his Cello Pilgrimage to help to raise money for our church roof repairs. Drinks and nibbles will be served in the interval and are included in the ticket price of £25.00. Available from sophie.stovin@hotmail.com (Please be aware that access is across a field, also there are no facilities on site.) 6.30pm at St Mary’s Church Frome St Quintin DT2 0HF.

NGS Garden Open Ellerslie, Cattistock DT2 0JL Owners David & Sue Orr, provide a talk on the garden and a guided tour with in-depth discussion on individual plants and planting schemes. Tea, biscuits and soft drinks provided on arrival. 11am to 12.30pm. To book a ticket at £20, go to: https://findagarden.ngs. org.uk/garden/43857/ellerslie.

NGS Garden Open Farrs, 3 Whitcombe Road, Beaminster DT8 3NB. Wander through the beautiful walled gardens which are punctuated with giant topiary and sculptures. At 3.30pm, Jennie will give a talk on plants. Cream teas will be served in the house, finishing at 4.30pm. Garden Owners: John & Jennie Makepeace.

2.30pm to 4.30pm. To book a ticket at £20, go to: https:// findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/21930/farrs.

25 August

Workshops at Axminster Heritage Centre Silver St, Axminster EX13 5AH : 10 am till 2 pm. Cost £18. Painting sunsets. Colour mixing, composition and painting techniques will be studied to produce lively sunsets. Bring your own paints : watercolours, acrylics, gouache or watercolour pencils and a packed lunch. To book and for more information for these workshops contact: gina. youens@btinternet.com.

The Melplash Show at West Bay, Bridport. (see page 31) Minions – The Rise of Gru (U) screening, 7pm, doors 6pm, tickets £7. Family Picnic Night. In the 1970s, young Gru tries to join a group of supervillains called the Vicious 6 after they oust their leader - the legendary fighter Wild Knuckles. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue Thur 10am - 1pm.

Nostalgic Cinema: Grease sing-a-long (PG) A dementiafriendly screening with subtitles 2pm. The Beehive Honiton www. beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

23 August

26 August

22 August

West Dorset Ramblers Moderate 8.5 mile figure of 8 walk from Chardstock with views of sea and Hawkchurch. Contact 01460 62060.

Bridport & District U3A Monthly Meeting & Talk by Marcus K. Paul ‘Ireland to the Wild West. This talk is based on his book which is a true account of a romance and adventure of emigration to the USA in the 1870s. It starts with the birth of an Irishman in 1846 who emigrates to Philadelphia aged 17 and moves to the Wild West in 1863. This was the time of Wyatt Earp. The talk is richly illustrated with over 100 slides including many never-beforeseen photographs. The venue is the Bridport United Church Hall in East Street. The talk starts at 2pm with an opportunity for questions afterwards. Refreshments will be available. The talk is free to members and there is a £2 charge for non-members.

Please see the Bridport U3A website for further information about this and future talks and if you are interested in becoming a member: bridportu3a.org.uk’

24 August

East Devon Ramblers 8.5 miles moderate walk. Newton Poppleford. Tel 01395-567450.

Bridport Scottish Dancers will meet for an evening of social dancing at 7.30. Church House, South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NN. All welcome, no partner required but please wear soft shoes. Cost: £2.00 which includes tea/coffee & squash. Contact Malcolm on 07790 323343. Check out bridportscottishdancers

18 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

East Devon Ramblers 5 miles leisurely walk. Kilmington . Tel 07748-618089.

26 - 27 August

Le Navet Bete present ‘Dracula-The Bloody Truth’ Live theatre, 7.30pm, doors 6.30pm, tickets £15 adults, £12, age 15 & under. Suitable for age 8+. Exeter based Le Navet Bete are committed to creating hilarious physical and totally accessible comedy theatre using creative and engaging storytelling. This brand new comedy theatre show will take audiences on a journey across Europe from the dark and sinister Transylvanian mountains to the awkwardly charming seaside town of Whitby whilst the frantic Van Helsing and his three amateur actors try to stage a lifechanging, factual theatrical production of the events of Dracula.

Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

26 - 28 August

Misterton Flower Festival St Leonards Church Misterton Titled Anniversaries including the 70th Jubilee. Sales table and Tea/ coffee and Cake on the garden of Finial next door to the Church.

27 August

Winsham Horticultural Society Annual Show & Car Boot Gates open at 2.30 and entry is £1. If you’d like a pitch at the

car boot (no trade please) please ring Debbie 07808 505357 set up time will be 1.30 and it’s £5 a pitch. Out of area entries to the show, which has over 140 classes (something for everyone) are also welcome (entries close 7pm 24th August) please ring Chloe 01460 30032 for details or pick up a schedule from Winsham village shop. Refreshments will also be available so it should be a great afternoon out for the family we look forward to seeing you there.

André Rieu’s 2022 Maastricht Concert Happy Days are Here Again! (U) An unforgettable cinema experience. Popular classics, show-tunes and waltzes from the violinist and his 60-piece orchestra 4pm. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050

28 August

East Devon Ramblers 11.5 miles moderate walk. Chard. Tel 07759-324849.

Candles on the Cobb Lyme Regis at 8 p.m. 5000 tealights will illuminate the Cobb Harbour. Candles On The Cobb is one the West Country’s most unique and moving events, with members of the public asked to sponsor candles in memory of someone and watch as the historic Cobb Harbour is illuminated with over 5000 special tealights. This event is now organised by The Rotary Club of Lyme Regis. This year the money raised will go to benefit local youth projects as well as the British Red Cross which is currently working hard to support those in need in Ukraine, and Cancer Research UK, through its active fundraising committee in Lyme Regis. To sponsor a candle in memory of a loved one or for more details visit candlesonthecobb.com.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Meerhay Manor Festival

Players International are returning to Meerhay Manor in Beaminster with their current production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Kindly sponsored by Mr and Mrs Michael Ryan, the performance will be in aid of the RNLI and is scheduled to start at 3.00pm. Audience members are very welcome to bring their picnics and the gardens will be open from 1.30pm.

Please bring low back chairs or rugs. Tickets are £16 for adults and £8 for under 18s. Online booking is available from crbo.co.uk/ msnd or Yarn Barton 01308 862943 (cash or cheque only). Further information: 01308 862305. Guide dogs only.

Giant Car Boot Sale Symondsbury Cricket Club, Symondsbury, Bridpdort DT6 6EZ. Set up from 07:00. Start & Finish 07:0013:00. Free parking. Cars £7.00. Car & trailer £10.00. Small Van £10. Large Vans £15. Something for all the family. Turn your trash into cash. More information call Richard 01308 422638.

29 August

Flower & Dog Show Whitchurch, Morcombelake & Ryall Flower and Dog Show. Entry to the show is £2 (children under 16 free). Dog show includes varied classes. There will be a bar, Morris Dancers, live music, stalls & classic vehicles. Held at the Whitchurch Canonicorum Village Hall, Dorset, DT6 6RF, from 2pm to 5pm. Enquires 07979 475120.

31 August

East Devon Ramblers 8 miles moderate walk. Sidmouth. Tel 01404-831143.

West Dorset Ramblers Moderate circular walk from Cerne Abbas via Minterne Magna. Contact 01300 320346.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 19

News&Views

THORNCOMBE Planning Inquiry

A planning Public Inquiry is scheduled to take place in August regarding an appeal

by Aggregate Industries UK Ltd against Dorset Council’s refusal to grant planning permission for an extension to Chard Junction Quarry at Westford Park Farm. The Inquiry is from 10am Tuesday 23 August 2022 at The Guildhall, Fore Street, Chard.

The extension hopes to facilitate excavation of approximately 930,000 tonnes of sand and gravel and includes a new internal haul road and the retention of the existing mineral processing facilities and silt lagoons. Local residents have set up a petition to stop the extension at: www.change.org/p/dorsetcouncil-stop-the-new-quarry-in-dorset-aonb.

YEOVIL Octagon to remain open

As the programme for developing The Octagon Theatre in Yeovil moves ahead, there are still a number of key milestones that need to be achieved before building work can commence. Therefore, the decision has been taken to keep the theatre open, with performances taking place until mid 2023.

Plans which will see The Octagon Theatre transformed into a centre of excellence are progressing with final touches being made before a formal planning application is submitted in the coming weeks.

DEVON Leave the barbecue at home

Originally founded by a group of friends in Devon in 1972, The Woodland Trust is urging visitors to its woods to bin the barbecues this summer and avoid the catastrophic impact of fires on wildlife and nature. Fires on its sites over the past five years have caused millions of pounds worth of damage and had a devastating effect on rare woodland and wildlife. Many summer wildfires are started accidentally by lighting fires or disposable barbecues.

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SHERBORNE Junction improvements

As part of Dorset Council’s ongoing programme of traffic signal upgrades, the busy Marston Road junction in Sherborne is being improved. With temporary traffic signals currently in place due to the collapsed private wall on Kitt Hill, the junction improvements have been brought forward. These alterations are to improve the efficiency of the junction. Existing pedestrian crossings at the junction will be upgraded to the latest Toucan equipment to further improve cycle facilities in the area. Work will last for around 16 weeks.

Drivers are being asked to help by planning ahead and thinking more carefully about their route around the town centre.

WEYMOUTH Summer fireworks scheduled

Weymouth Town Council will host three spectacular firework displays over Weymouth seafront in August. The free events will take place every other Monday in August (1st, 15th, and the August Bank Holiday on the 29th). The displays on 1st and 15th August will be lower noise displays with all three displays starting at 9.30pm. Cllr Ann Weaving, Mayor of Weymouth Town Council, said: ‘The fireworks on Weymouth seafront always create a fantastic atmosphere throughout the town for residents and visitors. I would encourage people to make an evening of it and support our local hospitality venues prior to the displays.’ Where possible, people are encouraged to leave their cars at home.

Amazonia

Butterflies, Vicars &

James Crowden highlights three new illustrated books from local authors

T

he Amazon matters more than you might think.

Global warming, plant diversity, carbon dioxide, rising sea levels. By good fortune the Dorset coast has several eminent scientists and two of them have used lockdown to produce not one but three illustrated books with an Amazonian flavour.

First is Sir Ghillean Prance of Lyme Regis who has written The Amazon Forest and its People with his own black and white photographs many of which were taken over 40 years ago. Sir Ghillean has made 39 expeditions to Amazonia collecting over 350 new species of plants. He has worked at the New York Botanical gardens and was Director of the Botanical Gardens at Kew 1988-1999. He is an expert on Brazil nuts.

This book touches on anthropology, botany, trees, body painting, cassava, hallucinogenic initiation, plant hunting, basket making, fishing, conservation and forest survival.

Often it is the indigenous people who suffer from exploitation both direct and indirect, yet they are key to the forest’s very survival. This is an important book which charts the life of seven tribes including the Yanomami.

Our future hinges on their survival and that of the Amazon. This book has a human quality which brings the forests of Amazonia alive.

The second eminent scientist is Professor Philip Howse of Burton Bradstock who worked for many years on insect behaviour at Southampton University. He has now produced two books. The first about an eccentric butterfly collecting clergyman called Vicar of the Amazon all about the Rev Arthur Miles Moss who built the first Anglican church in the Amazon in 1912. He had a vast parish, the largest in the world which comprised one twenty fourth of the world’s surface. He was better known for his butterfly collecting and he amassed a collection of over 25,000 butterflies which are now resident in the British Museum.

The book charts the adventures of Miles Moss who came from the Lake District and then went via

Cambridge to Norwich, Switzerland, Lima and Peru before finally settling in Belem in Brazil. Gateway to the Amazon river. His life story has many narrow escapes and is well illustrated by colour photographs of the butterflies he encountered. Miles Moss also collected local songs and beliefs. He was well aware of the dark side of how indigenous people were treated by the rubber barons.

Miles Moss encountered bandits and strange Colonels in the Brazilian army. He kept many notebooks and was an accomplished watercolourist.

Third, and by no means least, is a well illustrated volume called The Spider-winged Cupid and the Platypus also

by Philip Howse. This book is a voyage into mimicry and shows how extraordinary nature really is at camouflage and outwitting the enemy. ie predators both large and small. Spiders, moths, butterflies, snakes, bats, birds, fish, frogs, tigers, apes and scorpions. Let alone the duck billed platypus which had Darwin foxed. At the Natural History museum back in the 1790s when the experts were sent a skin from Australia, they thought the Platypus was a hoax: part beaver, part mole, part duck. Yet nature has its own complex way of surviving. Hence the Spider winged cupid butterfly from the Amazon which flies along the forest floor and looks as if a spider is attacking it to ward off other spiders. Deception and mimicry are all important. Not just in warfare.

Professor Howse’s book contains a myriad of other parallel conundrums which are the product of skilled artistic evolution. The message seems to be ‘the odder you look the better chance you have of surviving’ All three books are published by Butterflies and Amazonia and are initially available from their website www.butterfliesandamazonia. com. Price £29.99 signed and £24.99 unsigned. P&P extra.

NB This AMAZONIA website is not to be confused with the other giant sales device known as AMAZON which mimics a rainforest.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 21

WHEN THE MOON CAME TO EXETER CATHEDRAL

by Philip Strange

I

t was a rare, cloud-free evening in mid-February earlier this year and I had stopped to gaze up at the sky, by now a deepening dark blue. Although the sun had set nearly an hour previously, vestiges of light lingered in the west and only the brightest stars were visible. Almost directly above me, though, it was the Moon that captured my attention. It was bright and well defined that evening and just over half illuminated. I gazed upwards for a while and this set me thinking about our relationship with this celestial body.

The Moon is the Earth’s only natural satellite and the only place away from the Earth where humans have set foot. It orbits our planet at a distance of 384,400 km and although that may seem a long way away, the Moon influences life on Earth to a surprising extent. It is the main driver of tides on the Earth setting up important rhythms that dominate lives lived near the sea. It can also influence the timing of migration and reproduction in the non-human world. Its prominence in the Earthly sky and its regular phases (new Moon, full Moon etc) have given the Moon great cultural significance influencing ancient religions as well as many artists, musicians, poets and writers.

Before the advent of widespread street lighting, the Moon was the only source of night time illumination.

Travelling in the dark, without moonlight, was hazardous and evening social gatherings were often planned to take advantage of a full Moon. Nowadays, darkness features less in our lives and awareness of the phases of the Moon and the night sky is minimal. Despite this, everyday speech still contains references to the Moon in

22 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

terms such as “once in a blue moon”, “over the moon”, “honeymoon” and “lunacy”.

The Moon was uppermost in my mind that evening because, the following day, we were booked to visit the Museum of the Moon exhibition in Exeter Cathedral.

This exhibition featured UK artist Luke Jerram’s massive travelling artwork depicting the Moon. Jerram’s artwork had already been exhibited in several other places locally including Bournemouth, Sherborne, Taunton and Wells.

When we arrived in the Cathedral Close that morning, a small queue of people, each wearing a mask, had formed at the entrance door. After a short delay we were ushered in and were immediately confronted by the huge pale sphere.

It hung between the roof and floor of the Cathedral, almost filling the vast space, dominating the view and capturing our attention. Most people reacted with surprise and there were audible exclamations of “Wow! or Gosh!”

Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon is a massive bluegrey globe, seven metres in diameter with a mottled surface, depicting the geography of the moon. The artwork is a 1/500,000 scale model based on precise lunar imaging from NASA combined with modern printing techniques and with internal lighting to create as realistic a representation as possible. In Exeter Cathedral, it was accompanied by a soundtrack specially created by composer Dan Jones.

We walked around the installation, looking from different directions, trying to take it in, not quite sure what to make of it. We weren’t alone, though, as there were quite a few people about that morning making it feel busy. Small

Close to the moon

The great east window, Exeter Cathedral

children were running here and there, lying down beneath the huge sphere to look up, shrieking. School children, some in uniform, were drawing, colouring in shapes.

Adults were standing, looking, holding their phones up to capture images. Some adults also wanted to lie down and “moonbathe”, but adults don’t, do they?

Luke Jerram’s Moon is a great concept but I wasn’t as impressed by it as I thought I would be. Perhaps in today’s culture where we are barraged with so many graphic images it is difficult to impress? Perhaps having witnessed the first Moon landings half a century ago it is hard to better those moments? I also found it difficult to concentrate on the artwork with all the other people, noise and movement around me. Despite these comments, it was good to see the children running about, enjoying the installation and engaging with its ideas. Perhaps that’s what we should all have been doing?

It’s also difficult for any artwork to compete with the splendour of Exeter Cathedral and I couldn’t help being drawn away from the Moon to gaze at the architecture, the medieval vaulted ceiling, the colourful roof bosses, the stained glass and some of the memorials and chapels. It felt as though having the Moon artwork there made me look afresh at the Cathedral. In the end, we stayed for more than an hour suggesting that we were very engaged with the totality of the experience.

One of my favourite artefacts in Exeter Cathedral is the Astronomical Clock. Dating from the 15th century but still in use, the main face of the clock shows the hour in its

Astronomical Clock with the Moon roughly half illuminated

outer dial and on the inner dial the days of the lunar month (the time between successive new Moons). The sphere representing the Moon also rotates to show its phase.

When we visited, the Moon on the clock was roughly half illuminated, very similar to what it had been in reality the night before. Despite these obvious references to the Moon, I noticed no attempt to link the Astronomical Clock to the artwork and, for the visit of the Moon to Exeter Cathedral, this was a missed opportunity.

Overall, though, Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon has been a huge global success having been presented more than 250 times in more than 30 countries (there are several Moon artworks circulating) and experienced by more than 10 million people. The Museum of the Moon is still on the move inspiring different creative responses wherever it appears. One of its notable recent outings has been at WOMAD 2022 where it was accompanied by an immersive sonic experience inspired by the ethos of the Festival and composed by Yazz Ahmed.

For many who have witnessed the artwork, this will have been their most intimate interaction with the Moon generating considerable new interest in this celestial body. Hopefully, this will have gone some way towards reconnecting people with their only natural satellite.

Philip Strange is Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Reading. He writes about science and about nature with a particular focus on how science fits in to society. His work may be read at http://philipstrange.wordpress.com/

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 23

Under the Greenwood Tree

By Cecil Amor

O

ur familiar local Dorset writer and poet, Thomas Hardy, wrote the novel Under The Greenwood Tree, with a second title of The Mellstock Quire, which was Hardy’s own preference. It was published anonymously in 1872, 150 years ago, by Macmillan in two volumes and became a notable success. It tells the story of simple, likeable country people, who fall in love and eventually marry, despite the woman being pursued by several potential suitors.

I first read the novel over 30 years ago, after we decided to move to Dorset. I mentioned to a colleague that I would have to start reading Hardy, and she replied that I should start with this one, as it was basically happy and humorous, and full of country life. She was quite right.

The main character is Dick Dewy, son of Reuben Dewy, a “tranter”, or carrier with a horse and cart. Dick falls in love at first sight with Fancy Day, who has recently returned to the area to teach at the local school. Fancy is the daughter of Geoffrey Day, Head Gamekeeper and Timber Steward for the Earl of Wessex, with 5 acres of land, so somewhat above the station of Dick.

Two other, more suitable, candidates for the hand of Fancy appear: the new vicar, Mr. Maybold, and a local farmer, Mr. Shiner. This is the triangle around Fancy, which is the core part of the story.

The main location of the story is Hardy’s Mellstock, which Herman Lea defines as Stinsford in The Hardy Guides with excursions to Bockhampton, Kingston Maurward and even Weymouth, (Budmouth). Lea described himself as the touring and photographer companion of Thomas Hardy.

Dick’s father, Reuben, is the acknowledged leader of a band of men known as the Quire, who play rudimentary instruments in the church gallery for church services, especially at Christmas. The band was addressed by Reuben as “my sonnies” and included Grandfather William, with his bass-viol, Michael Mail, with a fiddle under his arm, Robert Penny, boot and shoemaker, Elias Spinks, Joseph Bowman and Thomas Leaf. The hero of the story, Dick, played the treble violin, Rueben, the tenor and Michael the second violin. Some of the instruments were hand-medowns and some homemade, as were the books of music each carried. These men, and four others, with seven boys, constituted the Quire.

On Christmas Eve the players congregated at Reuben’s house for tuning up and drinking much of Rueben’s

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homemade cider, then at midnight they set out to sing carols at various houses in the neighbourhood. This came as a surprise to me, as I had been a choir boy in our village church and we went out about a fortnight before Christmas, leaving about 6 pm and concluding about 10 pm at the latest. We visited most houses in our neighbourhood and generally collected cash at each, recorded in a book which was returned to the Church. As in Mellstock, we frequently encountered snow, but were not fortified with cider.

Cider seems to have been very popular in the time Hardy wrote about and was regularly made at home from the fruit of apple trees grown in home gardens.

One type of tree was described as The Bockhampton. Hardy also refers to beekeeping as a popular activity with the eventual honey making and consumption.

A black cloud hangs over the Quire.

The new vicar, Mr. Maybold, has a small organ, or melodeon, and has found out that Fancy Day can play it.

Therefore, he tells the Quire that they will no longer be required in the church gallery. After some discussion, it was decided that this fate could be put off until Michaelmas, and much could happen by then.

There was a party at Rueben’s house on Christmas night.

Dancing was forbidden until after midnight. Then country dancing commenced, with “Triumph”, or “Follow my Lover’’ followed by “Six-Hands-Round”. Later there was supper, laced with cider, ale, mead and homemade wine. All this dancing, several people deep, took place in a cottage said to be modelled on Hardy’s family home in Higher Bockhampton.

I hope that this brief article will encourage you to read or re-read the novel yourself. I have not been able to describe the scenery, as Hardy could, or the people sufficiently. Yet it does not seem like 150 years ago. I recall one winter when snow prevented many of my fellow students from going to school and the remainder of us were directed to the school hall, where we spent the time country dancing to keep us warm!

Thomas Hardy penned a poem Friends Beyond which has some familiar names: “William Dewy, Tranter Reuben, Farmer Ledlow late at the plough, Robert’s kin, and John’s, and Ned’s, And the Squire, and Lady Susan, lie in Mellstock churchyard now!”

Later Sir John Betjeman published Dorset, possibly a parody, which I have abbreviated:

“Rime Intrinsica, Fontmell Magna, Sturminster Newton and Melbury Bubb,” “While Tranter Reuben, T.S.Eliot, H.G. Wells and Edith Sitwell, lie in Mellstock Churchyard now.”

“While Tranter Reuben, Gordon Selfridge, Edna Best and Thomas Hardy, lie in Mellstock Churchyard now.”

A note states that the last lines of these stanzas are put in not out of malice or satire but merely for their euphony.

Cecil Amor, Hon President, Bridport History Society

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 25

Resource package to help support wellbeing through nature and art

Hard work pays off for Melplash Garden and Allotment winners

George Payne Memorial Trophy winner Mr Roy Tarsnane

Your Seasons of Stories is free to access and available online

STEPPING into Nature announce the launch of Your Seasons of Stories, a beautifully written, illustrated and filmed mix of resources to encourage creative conversation, community and nature connection.

Your Seasons of Stories resources were co-created by four Dorset artists working closely with selected Dorset communities, and are free to access and available online as downloadable pdfs and short films, and as a high quality limited edition resource box containing five themed activity cards, inspirational poster artwork, stories and poetry and an artist materials starter kit.

The storytelling, poetry and art activities within this beautiful resource encourage people of all ages and abilities to enjoy local landscape, wildlife, folk tradition and culture to spark creativity and boost wellbeing. There are tips to help loosen up and relax into creative thinking, find creative flow, and be present in the moment.

The activities are suitable for all adults with access to nature indoors or outdoors, with no additional materials required, and tips to expand art with new materials. The project aims to reach those lacking in mobility, isolated or experiencing low mental health but anyone is encouraged to join the growing community by taking part and sharing thoughts or artwork.

Creative facilitator and landscape poet, Sarah Acton said: ‘We hope to inspire nature connection, creativity and creative conversation with these beautifully designed, accessible and playful resources. We have collaborated closely with some fabulous community groups to create the activities, and it’s always satisfying and uplifting at the end of a session when participants realise that just ‘having a go’ can lead to surprises, not least that anyone can be an artist (or poet) in everyday life! It’s not about outcome, but about enjoying the process of making, and for wellbeing – tracking feelings and appreciating nature and seasons, connecting to the wider world.’

Your Seasons of Stories follows on from the popular Seasons of Stories ‘Autumn’ and ‘Spring’ books commissioned by Stepping into Nature, designed by Spike Golding and written by professional poet Sarah Acton and storyteller Martin Maudsley. Your Seasons of Stories was the next step to equip anyone with the skills, confidence, and motivation to create their own personal seasonal poetry, stories and art. The creative team for Your Seasons of Stories expanded to include artists Ilse Black and Sarah Jane Ross, and videographer Ben Ingram.

To view online, download or request a Your Seasons of Stories box by post go to www.dorsetaonb.org.uk/park-event/your-seasonsof-stories . Alternatively give Steph, Stepping into Nature Project Officer, a call on 01305 224788 to request a box on the phone.

26 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

CONSIDERED as the most prestigious garden competition in the West Dorset area, the Melplash Agricultural Society’s Annual Gardens and Allotments Competition is open to all residents within a 12-mile radius of Melplash Village Church.

Each year the competition celebrates the hard work and pride that people put into their gardens. All types and sizes of gardens and allotments are encouraged to enter, this year there were 16 in all.

They were judged over two days by Mr & Mrs Tim and Sibyl Gale, the 2021 Large Garden winners, and Melplash Show Horticulture committee member, Mrs Jackie Seogalutze, and were accompanied by the Society President, Mr Nigel Jones and Society Chairman, Mr James Vickery and Vice Chairman, Philip Hardwell.

Judges’ overall comments: ‘We were very impressed by the wide variety of gardens, full of wonderful plants, perfumes and delightful spaces. All were different but linked by the enthusiasm of their owners and the pleasure that gardening brings. Nearly all the gardeners recognise the critical part that wildlife, particularly pollinators, bring to their gardens and the health of our environment - gardens are not only a source of joy and pleasure but significant contributors to a sustainable future’.

Society Chairman Mr James Vickery said, ‘It was a privilege to visit so many fantastic gardens and allotments. It was very obvious that everyone had spent many hours working in their gardens and did so throughout the year. The results were magnificent.

Thank you everyone for taking part, we hope you will again next year!’

Winners included: Mr Kevin and Mrs Deanna Trott, West Allington for allotments; Mr Nick and Mrs Jen Tett, Bridport for Small Gardens; Mrs Jane Pinkster, Beaminster for Medium Gardens and Mr Jason Smith and Ms Nicola Darby, Mangerton for Large Gardens.

The Special Environmental Award, The George Payne Memorial Trophy, went to Mr Roy Tarsnane from Bridport. The judges were impressed by his vision to create a wildlife garden that has been carried through with hard work and enthusiasm for over 20 years.

The prizes will be awarded at the annual Melplash Agricultural Show at West Bay, Bridport on Thursday 25th August.

August Days garden

S

pecial treats for garden lovers on August 24th include Farrs in Beaminster and Ellerslie in Cattistock.

At Farrs, the home of John and Jennie Makepeace, enjoy several distinctive walled gardens, rolling lawns, sculpture and giant topiary around one of Beaminster’s historic town houses. John’s inspirational grasses garden, Jennie’s riotous potager with an oak fruit cage. Glasshouse, straw bale studio, geese in orchard. Remarkable trees, planked and seasoning in open sided barn for future furniture commissions.

Visitors especially enjoy seeing not only a contemporary garden but also the modern interior with its collection of paintings, sculpture and applied arts in a historic house (Listed Grade 2*). The combination makes for a refreshing experience.

A limited number of tickets have been made available, kindly hosted by John and Jennie at their historic town house home in the centre of Beaminster. There will be a warm welcome from John at 2.30pm in the main rooms of the house, with a talk on his furniture design and recent commissions whilst also covering some of the modern paintings, sculpture and artwork in their collection. This will be followed by the opportunity to wander through the beautiful walled gardens which are punctuated with giant topiary and sculptures.

At 3.30pm, Jennie will give a talk on plants. Cream teas will be served in the house, finishing at 4.30pm. To book a ticket at £20, go to: https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/ garden/21930/farrs.

Ellerslie in Cattistock is a large restored 19th century walled garden with formal lawn and pathways, owned by David and Sue Orr, and is well planted and full of structure and floral colour.

In the centre of Cattistock, not far from the church spend a delightful hour and a half taking in the box and yew hedging, the deep and densely planted borders, some unusual plants and stunning roses.

On the south facing beds of the walled garden the planting has been coordinated with cooler tones, in contrast to the west facing longer border divided by a water feature and warm floral colour. An ancient wisteria wraps itself around the house itself and is a behold to see in spring. Outside the walled garden, there are wilder grass areas, a large fruit cage, flower cutting bed, fruit trees and a recently planted terraced area with specimen trees for autumn colour.

The owners David and Sue Orr, provide a talk on the garden and a guided tour with in-depth discussion on individual plants and planting schemes. Tea, biscuits and soft drinks provided on arrival. 11am to 12.30pm. To book a ticket at £20, go to: https:// findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/43857/ellerslie.

Farrs in Beaminster, photograph by Carole Drake

Ellerslie in Cattistock

Handmade wooden furniture in a ‘sensory paradise’

S

et against the backdrop of the undulating hills of Dorset and Devon, you’ll find the Sitting Spiritually garden.

As well as the stunning, Jarmanmurphy designed garden, this sensory paradise is home to a collection of our beautiful handcrafted swing seats and the ever increasingly sought after Swinging Day Bed, a particular favourite with garden designers.

If you’ve had your heart set on a swing seat, the best way to really appreciate the comfort of them, and the joys to be had from owning one, is to come and visit the gardens and see for yourself.

If you’d like to discover more about the rich heritage and history behind the handmade wooden furniture, Martin is always happy to have a chat—talking swing seats is his favourite subject.

To book your visit to The Sitting Spiritually Garden visit: https:// www.sittingspiritually.co.uk/visit-sitting-spiritually.

House&Garden

Vegetables in August

By Ashley Wheeler

A

s always, the weather in July has been favourable to some crops and not so liked by others. Lots of sun and high temperatures have meant that all of the summer fruiting and heat loving crops like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash and courgettes have done really well. The lack of rain has been more problematic for crops like celeriac, and we have had difficulties with carrot germination this year too. We have been irrigating more than we ever have done in the past, and needing to damp down polytunnel crops with our overhead irrigation to increase humidity and reduce the temperatures for some of the fruiting crops to reduce flower drop.

August brings the last chance to sow some of the autumn crops and the end of the month can be seen a little like a second Spring sometimes—with all of the July sowings being planted and establishing. We usually sow winter radish which come in a huge range of shapes and colours, as well as salad turnips (which are very underrated and are hardly anything like the winter turnips that people are more familiar with).

Mustards and other salad leaves and herbs are sown through August to provide leaves through early autumn too.

It’s a busy month in terms of planting out various autumn crops such as chicory, chinese cabbage, lettuce, fennel and endive—all of which we grow a lot of through the autumn as the growth rate reduces, so we need to grow a lot more than we do through the summer to ensure that we have plenty to keep us going through the autumn. All of these crops are planted out or sown directly into beds that have already had one or two crops in this year. After the first crops come to the end we usually mow them down and then water the beds before covering with black plastic to help kill off the old crops and any weeds. This is usually done around 3 weeks before the beds are to be planted again, and then the plastic is taken off and the beds usually raked out and planted directly into.

August is a good month to establish green manures, and we experimented a lot last year with undersowing many of the August planted crops with linseed, buckwheat and black oats. We would normally hoe any newly planted crops about a week after planting, then about a week after the first hoeing we would sow the green manures over the crop—usually just broadcasting the seed by hand, but sometimes drilling the seed with a seed drill. We then hoe in the seed, which acts as a second hoeing of the crop but also ensures the seed is lightly mixed into the top layer of soil so that there is a better soil to seed contact and the seed germination rate is improved. The green manures then slowly establish whilst the crop grows, and by late autumn once the crops like lettuce, endive and fennel have been harvested the green manure then has more space to grow into and it covers the bed. This means that there are more living roots in the soil through the winter, and the green manures are more established than if you sow them in September so the soil is in better health going into Spring.

28 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

We remove a lot of the lower leaves of the tomato plants through August to increase airflow and maximize the light getting to the fruit to ripen them

WHAT TO SOW THIS MONTH: endive, winter purslane, salad mustards (best sown direct) such as Golden Streaks, Purple Frills, rocket, land cress, chard, leaf radish, texsel greens, lettuce, fennel (early in the month), broad beans (for tips in salads) & peashoots, autumn radish and turnips, chinese cabbage and pak choi (early in the month), parsley (for overwintering in polytunnel/glasshouse), corn salad & spring onions & spring cabbage (all late in month for overwintering) WHAT TO PLANT THIS MONTH: OUTSIDE: fennel, beetroot, lettuce, chard, kohl rabi, chicory, salad leaves: buckshorn plantain, salad burnet, chervil, endive, turnips and winter radish (sown direct), pak choi and chinese cabbage INSIDE: summer purslane, goosefoot OTHER IMPORTANT TASKS THIS MONTH: Keeping on top of taking old crops out and planting with new crops is still important throughout August. There is still plenty of time to get late crops in the ground, and as we roll into September it can almost be like a second spring (with the benefit of already warm soil) Generally it is a time to harvest—keeping on top of harvesting courgettes and beans will keep them going and mean that they don’t get too big or too stringy. Also continue with the weekly job of sideshooting tomatoes and removing lower leaves to get good airflow going through the crop.

What if you just leave it?

A photography exhibition by local photographer Sam Rose has opened at the Bridport Arts Centre’s Allsop Gallery until August 20th and it’s all about rewilding.

The concept of rewilding is taking the UK by storm. The 2019 bestselling book Wilding Ecosystem Engineer at Wild Ken Hill by Sam Rose by Isabella Tree raised public awareness hugely and it has been a storyline on the Archers, Sir David Attenborough is a supporter of rewilding and even Ed Sheeran says that he plans to rewild as much of the UK as he can.

However, despite the publicity and soundbites, many people are not sure about what rewilding really means. This exhibition aims to ‘unwrap’ the concept and help people to find out more; and maybe encourage them to get involved themselves.

The Allsop gallery will host a range of more than 40 images, including the animals that are the ‘ecosystem engineers’ and make rewilding happen, the people who choose to rewild, and the landscapes that result from rewilding. It also includes some drone photography of some areas being rewilded, and a range of fine-art black and white images that explore the ‘messiness’ and uncertainty that surrounds rewilding.

Rewilding Unwrapped by Sam Rose is at the Allsop Gallery, Bridport Arts Centre until August 20th 2022.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 29

August in the Garden

By Russell Jordan

H

aving begun last month’s article with musings on how important the weather is, to what’s going on in the garden, I am currently even more obsessed than usual due to the ‘Met Office’ warning, for dangerously high temperatures, that is in effect as I write. I’m hoping that, by the time you are reading this, there has been a period of summer rain and a return to more seasonably average temperatures.

Although the best way to reduce the need for any artificial irrigation is to plant according to the ‘right plant, right place’ principle, in times of extreme heat and drought watering to keep plants alive is unavoidable.

Watering overnight is best simply because less water is lost by evaporation and more of the precious water gets a chance to penetrate the soil. Also, there is a danger that if you water plants in hot, sunny, weather then the foliage can be damaged by the action of the sun on the wet leaves.

Remember that a good, long, soak is far better than just a quick sprinkling with the hose because the latter promotes surface rooting and this will make plants more prone to succumbing to drought in the future.

Damage due to lack of water may not show up immediately, especially in more woody plants, but the stress of being droughted can make plants more susceptible to succumbing to pests and diseases even once ‘normal’ weather conditions have returned. The main consequence of being stressed by lack of water is to speed up the process by which flowering plants finish flowering and set seed. They have evolved in this way as an attempt to ensure that if the drought is severe enough to kill the parent plant then, at least, if it’s completed flowering and managed to produce viable seed then there will be a new generation to take over once more favourable conditions have returned. Seed is designed to remain dormant, but alive, over a long period of time, centuries in the case of some plants which have germinated having been discovered by archaeologists, which is the ultimate insurance policy to guarantee the survival of plant species.

This brings me back, nicely, to the wildflower meadow area, an ‘inoculation patch’ within a larger field, that I sowed in the spring. I did, as ever, leave it a little late to get started with this new area of meadow but the inoculation patch was initially mown off, ‘cleaned up’ with an application of non-persistent herbicide (glyphosate) and the resulting bare circle scarified to open up the soil surface. Although, prior to being killed off with the herbicide, the original vegetation was predominantly italian rye grass (a non-native, ‘alien’, agricultural grass

30 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

cultivar) with associated agricultural weeds, largely docks, it is interesting to see what has happened to it now.

The ability of seeds to remain dormant, but viable, until conditions are ideal for germination creates what is known as a ‘seed bank’ in any soil where plants have ever grown.

One factor that may break the dormancy of seed in the soil is the removal of any vegetation that has, up until the point of removal, shaded the soil and prevented dormant seeds from being exposed to light. Breaking up and turning over the soil will also bring dormant seed to the surface where the exposure to light and air may be the factors that break its dormancy. The addition of moisture, plus spring or summer temperatures, may be the final part of the jigsaw which unlocks the germination process of seeds which have been dormant in the soil for decades.

The relevance of this, to my newly sown wildflower meadow, is that at this point, about three months after sowing, some of the wildflowers are in flower (poppies, cornflowers, ox-eye daisies etc.) but the predominant species, which outnumbers all the newly introduced wildflowers, are annual thistles—‘Sow Thistles’ to be exact. The interesting thing about this is that, in the whole of the rest of the field, there are no sow thistles to be seen. They cannot compete with established plants but, in my inoculation patch, as soon as the competition is removed and the soil surface broken up, then the thousands of thistle seeds, which had been dormant for years, break their dormancy, germinate, grow and, in a matter of weeks, mature to flowering size. Soon they will set seed themselves to add another generation of thistles to the seed bank where they will wait for another time, maybe many years in the future, when they have the perfect conditions to germinate.

The other weed species which is worryingly abundant, having germinated from the seed bank, is the common dock. Docks are present in the existing field mix, they are very difficult to eradicate, so to have large amounts of their seed in the exposed soil of my inoculation patch is not unexpected. What is concerning is that, unlike the annual thistle species, docks are perennial and once established they are very difficult to get rid of and could potentially ruin my planned wildflower meadow due to their ability to out compete everything that I’ve introduced.

If I use a selective herbicide, one that kills broadleaved weeds in established grassland, this will also destroy all the wildflower species which are even more susceptible to weed

killers than the much more resilient docks. They are far too numerous for removal by hand, which is pretty difficult anyway due to their tenacious tap roots, so the only option for cultural control is very carefully timed mowing. If they can be mown off before flowering, but after my more precious wildflowers and meadow grasses have managed to set seed, then there is a chance that the dock population will be reduced over time.

Mowing the sward short, and often, outside of the growing and flowering season should help to exhaust the established docks, and other rank weeds, while encouraging the finer meadow grasses and wildflower species to compete against them.

In addition, I have been harvesting the seed from ‘Yellow Rattle’, which grows in my more established meadow area, and broadcasting it over the area where I want to establish a new species rich meadow. When I cut my already established meadow, rich with scores of native grasses and wildflower plants, I will spread the mowings over the area surrounding my inoculation patch in once that area has been cut as short as possible. I may attempt a little scarifying of the field surface, wherever I’ve broadcast the rattle and strewn the mowings, to allow the newly introduced meadow plant seeds to gain a foothold—the risk being that I also encourage yet more docks and thistles to emerge from the ancient seed bank alongside them!

Of course, the best thing about covering your allotted patch with a native wildflower meadow is that it should never need to be irrigated and the best thing about grassland, including your domestic lawn, is that no matter how brown and droughted it may get it will always bounce back once the inevitable rains return : watering the lawn, no matter how dry it gets, is simply a profligate waste of this most precious resource.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 31

PROPERTY ROUND-UP

Hot to Trot

By Helen Fisher

BRIDPORT £1.1M

A recently extended, modern 6 bedroom/4 bathroom detached house.

Sitting room with wood-burning stove leading to a kitchen and cinema/ games room with views to West Bay. Large master bedroom with sea views. Bathroom with jacuzzi bath. Large garden with level lawns and decked terrace. Detached double garage and no forward chain.

Kennedys Tel: 01308 427329

EAST CHINNOCK £925,000

A fascinating Garde II listed former staging inn, built in 1690. Many character features inc: tiled, timber & flagstone floors, exposed beams, fireplaces and window seats. In addition, a large two-storey barn, selfcontained with a vaulted ceiling. High-walled mature rear garden with trees, shrubs, veg beds, greenhouse and weeping willow.

Knight Frank Tel: 01935 810062

WHITFORD £565,000

BURTON BRADSTOCK £800,000

A bright, spacious detached house with 4 bedrooms set in a pretty village. Large sitting room with wood burning stove, kitchen plus dining room and conservatory. Nearly all windows double glazed.

Front and rear mature gardens with shed and wood store. Driveway, integrated garage and ample parking.

Gordon & Rumsby Tel: 01297 553768

Detached 3 bedroom (plus study) 3 bathroom barn conversion.

Tucked away from passing traffic yet walking distance to the shops and beach. Spacious kitchen/dining/living area with vaulted ceiling. Double doors leading to south/west facing conservatory.

Front and rear gardens with palm tree, greenhouse, terrace and ornamental pond. Garage and additional parking.

Symonds and Sampson Tel: 01308 422092

CHARMOUTH £1M

BRIDPORT £850,000

An individual, detached character property with stunning panoramic sea views. Built in 1939 and extensively refurbished with 4 bedrooms.

Living room with multi-fuel burner and kitchen/diner with bespoke solid wood units. Extensive well-stocked gardens and grounds plus a wildflower meadow. Outdoor spa pool plus 3 ponds and bridge. An orchard with a variety of fruit tress, veg garden and greenhouses.

Stags Tel: 01308 428000

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A substantial family home with 5 bedrooms. Immaculately presented throughout benefiting from a versatile living space.

Mater bedroom with dressing area and en-suite. Double glazed throughout. Mature, well-stocked rear gardens with patio, pond and pizza oven. Small garage/workshop, driveway and ample parking Goadsby Tel: 01308 420000

Celebrating Rural Life by the Sea FOR 175 years the Melplash Agricultural Society has been supporting and promoting local farmers and food producers. The annual Melplash Show plays a major role— as well as giving local farmers the chance to meet up and celebrate what they do, it is a platform for the public of all ages to learn more about food, farming and the countryside, whilst demonstrating the importance agriculture has in all our lives.

Show secretary Lucy Hart says: ‘Having had a two-year break due to the pandemic we are determined to make this year’s Show one of the best. As always it will feature many of the traditional aspects of an agricultural country show

along with plenty of new and exciting visitor attractions.

There really will be something for everyone, with lots to see and do for all the family to enjoy. It is going to be another amazing Show Day!’ Attractive membership packages with excellent Show Day benefits are available. Discounted advance adult tickets (£17) can be bought online at www.melplashshow. co.uk or from local outlets. Tickets on the gate £19. Entry for youngsters 16 years and under is FREE. To keep up to date with Show news visit www. melplashshow.co.uk of follow Melplash Show on facebook, twitter and instagram.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 33

Food&Dining

LEMON & LIME SPRITZER This refreshing drink can be chilled ahead and transported in a flask for a zesty, thirst quencher on a summer’s afternoon – with a hit of Gin or Vodka if required!

LESLEY WATERS

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

• • • • •

1. Using a potato peeler, peel the zest from the lemons and limes. Place in a large bowl with the sugar, pour over the boiling water, stir, cover and leave to cool.

2. Squeeze the juice from the fruit and add to the cooled liquid.

3. To serve, strain the lemon & lime drink into a jug and pour in the sparkling water. Add some ice and extra slices of fruit and serve at once.

• •

2 unwaxed lemons, washed 2 limes, washed 185g (6oz) caster sugar 600mls (1 pint) boiling water 300mls (1/2 pint) sparkling water, chilled To serve Lemon & lime slices & ice Splash of Gin or Vodka (optional!)

Makes approximately 1 litre

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Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 35

BLACK COW OYSTER MARY This frozen Bloody Mary mix works a treat spooned onto oysters, it’s a kind of anytime dish and works particularly well for brunch or even breakfast. It’s a kind of classic combo and goes down a treat at the pub as a bar snack

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

•

1. Mix all of the ingredients together for the Bloody Mary then transfer to a container with a lid and place in the freezer for about 2-3 hours, stirring every so often as its freezing.

2. Once frozen you can break it up into small crystals with a spoon and return to the freezer until required.

3. To serve, spoon the frozen Bloody Mary mix over the oysters.

• • • •

MARK HIX • • •

12 rock oysters, shucked For the Bloody Mary 30-50ml Black cow vodka 1tbsp Worcestershire sauce The juice of ½ lemon a couple drops of Tabasco, depending on how spicy you like it 200ml tomato juice Freshly grated horseradish to taste Celery salt

Serves 4

Make a date with the Hix Oyster Celebration MARK Hix MBE will kick off the beginning of native oyster season with the official HIX Oyster Celebration. The all day event will take place on the deck of The Oyster & Fish House in Lyme Regis on 3rd September from 10.30 - 4.30 pm, in collaboration with the Lyme Regis Folk Weekend. Mark and his guests will host a series of talks and tastings exploring the heritage of the great British mollusc. He will be joined by like-minded oyster growers and experts Nigel Bloxham (Crab House Café), Billy Winters, (Portland Oysters) and Pete Miles (Dorset Oysters). He will also be joined by James McCarthy of Red Panda and East Kitchen + Bar. Guests will discover oysters from around the South West of England and enjoy them paired with an array of local drinks. It will be a great opportunity to meet the producers and enjoy local beer, wine and spirits.

With the Lyme Regis Folk Weekend taking place across the town, Mark has teamed up with organiser Jeremy Hayes to bring music into Lister Gardens. The Pitch and Putt in front of the restaurant will become the Oyster Stage for the day, with live acts performing at 12 noon, 2 pm and 4 pm. Entry to the event is free of charge and food and drink tokens will be available to purchase on the day with oysters from £1 each.

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Arts&Entertainment

Spooky men—wearing black with ‘interesting hats’ Through delicate threads of communication with chief Spookmiester Stephen Taberner, Fergus Byrne hears a history of one of the world’s most extraordinary groups and gets a flavour of the philosophy in which they have become submerged.

F

ounding member and leader of the Spooky Men’s Chorale, Stephen Taberner, recently described singing as a ‘human right’ and possibly even a ‘human need’. He told Sarah Kanowski, at ABC Australia that singing is ‘simple and elemental’ and that to have the idea that you have to be good at it is essentially ‘doing violence to the psyche.’

‘Singing is good’ he concludes. Stephen believes everyone can sing. Though admits, with his trademark dry humour, that ‘some people sing badly.’

So, whether you confine your singing to the shower, give free concerts to a battered George Michael poster in your bedroom or brave the judgement of a live audience, it’s safe to say that you might agree with Stephen’s thoughts— singing is good, and, as it happens, listening to the Spooky Men’s Chorale is also good.

The group had their first gig in 2001 when Stephen Taberner called around all his friends who could sing and asked them to gather together to make up a performance for a gig. He suggested they wear black and sport an ‘interesting’ hat. They learned three songs, performed them in Paddington Uniting Church in Sydney and never looked back. The Spooky Men are often described as a group of Australian male singers who sing songs on topics ranging from power tools to covers of ABBA songs. They also perform traditional Georgian music, ‘a major influence on their compositions, harmonies and vocals.’

However, Stephen has many descriptions of his own that don’t necessarily fit into the standard public relations spiel.

He calls the chorale ‘a vast, rumbling, steam-powered and black-clad vocal behemoth—seemingly accidentally capable of rendering audiences moist-eyed with mute appreciation, or haplessly gurgling with merriment.’

He has also described the chorale as an ‘unapologetic and unassuming presentation of masculinity’. Another description he uses is ‘vast, weathered and useless.’ He explains that it’s ‘a line of men standing on stage wearing black and wearing hats. It’s a single line so it’s a chorale rather than a choir.’

Stephen started his singing in a church; his family were Christadelphians, which he describes as very serious.

‘There’s no fun to be had’ as he recalls. He remembers playing a bit of violin and a bit of piano when he was young until his brother had a series of what he refers to as ‘rebellions’. One of which was to become a jazz musician.

Until that happened Stephen’s youth was ‘isolated—stamps were my only friend’. He learned to play the double bass while minding it for his brother and later joined a choir called Voices from the Vacant Lot which he described as like another species—‘chaotic and wonderful’ mixed music.

He stayed with them for four years before forming the Spooky Men’s Chorale.

The group have since gained a cult following on the folk circuit with a brand of music and style that defies any real categorisation. It is driven by humour, a strong tongue-incheek ethos and a sometimes well-disguised depth that, as Stephen says, accomplishes the three aims that he has set for the group; to be ‘magnificent, foolish and tender’. It’s a fair description.

For those that haven’t shared the unique experience of being in the same room as Stephen Taberner’s ‘vocal behemoth’, the Spooky Men’s Chorale are just finishing up their tour of the UK at the moment and will be celebrating their 21st birthday at the Hardye Theatre in Dorchester on August 24th. For tickets visit www.dorchesterarts.org. uk/2022/03/23/spooky-mens-chorale.

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The Marshwood Vale & Beyond Shining the spotlight on artist’s cinematic landscapes

Dorset Clouds over the Marshwood Vale 120x55cm oil on canvas

Artist Kit Glaisyer has just brought out a book featuring his striking paintings of the West Dorset countryside. Margery Hookings finds out more.

T

he vast cinematic landscapes by Kit Glaisyer make an instant impression.

They capture the magical majesty and unquestionable beauty of this special part of the world. There is something about the light, the composition and their sheer size that make them a match for the very countryside they represent.

His new book presents a series of his oil paintings of the Marshwood Vale and beyond from 2005 to 2021. It’s a body of work inspired by his childhood in North Dorset and his love of the West Dorset countryside, where he has lived for more than 20 years.

He says: ‘I’ve been an artist all my life, devoting myself fullheartedly to my art. I’ve struggled, persevered and surmounted many challenges facing an artist, using a combination of passion and conviction, along with a tenacious entrepreneurial spirit, in order to realise dreams I’ve had since I was a boy.’

He describes the series of landscape paintings as ‘an earnest and enthusiastic hybrid of past and present’.

He started out as a plein air painter, nurtured by his parents who were both talented artists, though neither went to art school or pursued art as a career.

‘My father, a GP based in Cerne Abbas, West Dorset, would carry a small watercolour set in his car so that he could stop and paint local landscape views between visits to his patients,’ Kit recalls.

‘At home, he would then explore the views from nearby fields and, once I was old enough, I began to accompany him on his painting excursions.

‘After working for an hour or so at opposite ends of a field, we would meet up to see what the other had done, and this was really how I began to learn what did and did not work in a painting, and

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thus to develop my abilities to better achieve painterly expressions of mood, drama, and nuance.’

Those early experiences made him appreciate how creating an accomplished outdoor painting was not just about capturing the likeness of a scene but deeply examining the subject matter and using his imagination to create something truly distinctive and memorable.

‘Working alongside my father’s highly accomplished paintings also made me demand more of my own work, striving to accomplish something truly distinctive and surprising by tweaking the composition, improving my observational drawing and honing my palette to maximise the visual impact of the image.’

As a child, Kit won an art scholarship to Sherborne School for Boys.

He says: ‘I’m lucky to have benefited from a private school education, but I didn’t particularly enjoy my school years, and I’ve never utilised any ‘old boys’ network, only really feeling that I’d found my ‘tribe’ when I joined the Foundation Studies Course at Bournemouth & Poole Art College.’

He went on to Farnham Art College to study fine art but dropped out after a term because he quickly realised his time would be better spent honing his talents in the ‘real’ world.

He moved to London, where he spent six years as a figurative painter before turning to abstract art. But he missed the lush countryside of Dorset and sometimes came back to paint familiar views.

He moved to West Dorset in 1998 to an attic room at Oakhayes, Symondbury, which back then was a collection of artist residences and workshops. It closed in 1999 so Kit set out to find another studio in Bridport. After a short search, he

discovered an old, half-empty warehouse on the semi-derelict St Michael’s Trading Estate and moved in to two rooms on the first floor next to a Bikers Bar, above a junk shop, a stonemason and an upholsterer.

Over the next few years, other artists began to move into the building, and it became the St Michael’s Studios, a thriving work and exhibition space for a wide range of artists until it was sadly damaged by a fire in July 2018.

In 2011 Kit became Director of Bridport & West Dorset Open Studios and continues to play a pivotal role in arts events in the area.

His current series of Cinematic Landscape paintings began in 2006, when he found some slides he had taken four years previously on a journey back from London to Dorset. “I always love the feeling of finally returning to the West Country as I head high over the hills from Dorchester towards Bridport with a sense of ever-growing grandeur as the Jurassic coast gradually opens up to reveal the sweeping arc of Lyme Bay. ‘And on that autumn day, just before descending into Bridport, my attention was unexpectedly taken by a glimpse into the Chilcombe valley, where, far below, a gentle mist had settled over freshly ploughed fields, and then gradually dispersed below the surrounding hills towards the Bride Valley.

‘Those deeply atmospheric photos inspired something deeply significant and profound within me, and it occurred to me that I had encountered a critical point of decision in my life as an artist. I knew that somehow, I now had to create paintings that did full justice to my unique personal perceptions, and so I made a commitment to take as much time as was necessary to create paintings that achieved the ‘impossible’, whether it took me several weeks or even months of work.

‘As it turned out, I spent five months working on three paintings of the Bride Valley and the experience completely changed my life. A successful exhibition of these new works then led to more sales and commissions, and then to my current series of increasingly ambitious Cinematic Landscape paintings. Most of these paintings now require six to nine months of work and the same total commitment to my painterly realisation of my passionate experience of Nature.’

Kit now combines traditional and contemporary techniques, extensively researching the subject, exploring, walking, sketching outside, as well as using photography and digital collage for reference. This gives him a compelling vision for the painting and a definitive plan on how to proceed—with clear ideas about dynamics and atmospherics at play.

‘After working-up the paintings with precise compositional designs, I discard my preconceptions, allowing something original and organic to grow from the solid foundations. Whilst developing a painting, I constantly break down and gradually rebuild all aspects of the landscape – every field, pathway, tree— according to the mood I’m looking for. This personal process of painting is both improvised and exacting.

‘I deliberately incorporate chance and accidents into my working process so that innovations and inventions can take place on the canvas of their own accord. Intriguing new directions are found or fortuitous juxtapositions presented. One final and crucial aspect of my working process is that the painting always has to surprise me in some way, regardless of how much research and preparation I’ve done. This is where the magic of oil painting really shines through. It is a medium that is endlessly versatile and illuminating. So, for me, creating these paintings is as much a process of discovery as it is of creation.

The Marshwood Vale and Beyond. Book launch 13 August

View from Lewesdon Hill, Dorset. Kit Glaisyer

Lewesdon Bluebell Path 92x35.5cm. Kit Glaisyer

Whitchurch Canonicorum 91x36cm oil on canvas. Kit Glaisyer

Kit on Eggardon Hill, July 2022

Kit Glaisyer opens his gallery, Bridport Contemporary, at 11 Downes Street, on Saturdays from 10am to 3pm where he will have a book launch on Saturday 13 August. The Marshwood Vale & Beyond will be available for £20 at his gallery and at The Book Shop, 14 South Street, Bridport. Kit will also give a talk at Waterstones, 21 East Street, Bridport at 6pm on Weds 17 August. The book contains a collection of 65 paintings with 13 early works and 52 cinematic landscape paintings created between 2005 and 2021.

August GALLERIES

1 - 7 August

Art of Summer Eype Centre for the Arts DT6 6AR Atmospheric paintings by Diane Summer displayed in this stunning converted church overlooking the sea. These artworks inspired by coastal scenery and still life are infused with texture and colour.

1 - 14 August

Colmers and Beyond: Marion Taylor Sou’-Sou’-West Arts Gallery, Symondsbury Estate, Bridport DT6 6HG. Open daily 10:30-4:30. Free admission & parking. Contact 01308 301326 www.sousouwest.co.uk. This exhibition explores how Marion’s well known acrylic paintings of Colmer’s Hill have evolved, recently incorporating collage, printmaking and illustration and showcasing her quirky nature!

1 - 27 August

Sarah Jane Ross This is Sarah’s first exhibition with us and we are pleased to present Sarah’s unique interpretation of contemporary landscapes in acrylic ink on gesso. Open daily from 8.30 - 4pm at Unique Framecraft, Unit’s 4 & 5 Millwey Rise Workshops, Second Avenue, Axminster. EX13 5HH. Telephone 07801 260259 or 01297 631614. Find us on Instagram @uniqueframecraft.

1 - 31 August

Kit Glaisyer presents his evolving exhibition of Cinematic Landscape paintings of the West Country with a range of works on show in his gallery and in his studio upstairs. Open on Saturdays from 10am-3pm or by appointment. Bridport Contemporary Gallery, 11 Downes Street, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3JR. 07983 465789 www.bridportcontemporary.com @ bridportcontemporary.

6 - 21 August

South West Sculptors Group Exhibition Sou’-Sou’-West Arts Gallery, Symondsbury Estate, Bridport DT6 6HG. Open daily

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10:30-4:30. Free admission & parking. Contact 01308 301326 www.sousouwest.co.uk.The South West Sculptors group is as varied in their work as our region is in landscape. All media, all sizes, all prices are to be enjoyed in this show: stone, bronze, ceramic, driftwood and found objects, mosaic, metal, glass; from figurative animals and the human figure to abstract forms inspired by nature.

Until 12 August

Summer Exhibition Paintings, Prints and Ceramics by Contemporary and Modern British artists, by appointment. The Art Stable, Kelly Ross Fine Art, Child Okeford, Dorset, DT11 8HB 07816 837905.

13 August

Book Launch: Kit Glaisyer The Marshwood Vale & Beyond A collection of 65 paintings including 13 early works and 52 Cinematic Landscape paintings created between 2005 and 2021 at Kit’s various studios in Bridport. These paintings capture the subtle light and sublime character of this unique corner of the West Country and bringing a contemporary twist to the traditional genre of the Romantic landscape. Book Launch from 2pm-6pm.

Bridport Contemporary Gallery, 11 Downes Street, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3JR. 07983 465789 www.kitglaisyer.com @kitglaisyer.

13 - 25 August

Richard Kaye, Recent Work 2018-2022 Featuring works by Richard Kaye, including Painting, Printmaking and Drawing.

The Malthouse Gallery, The Town Mill, Lyme Regis DT7 3PU. Opening times: 10 – 5 daily (including Sundays).

15 August - 4 September

Landscapes, Seascapes, Hedgerows by Dot Wood Sou’-Sou’West Arts Gallery, Symondsbury Estate, Bridport DT6 6HG. Open daily 10:30-4:30. Free admission & parking. Contact 01308

301326 www.sousouwest.co.uk. Working with acrylic paint and pastel, Dot developed a series of paintings inspired by the 78 days’ worth of hedgerow and flower studies she had produced whilst in hospital, receiving treatment for leukaemia.

Until 20 August

What if you just leave it? Rewilding Unwrapped Sam Rose Photography exhibition. Work made from places as far afield as Glenfeshie in Scotland and the Lizard in Cornwall, although there is a particular focus on the Knepp Wildlands in West Sussex, the subject of the book Wilding by Isabella Tree. Allsop Gallery, Bridport Arts Centre, 9 South St, Bridport DT6 3NR. www.bridport-arts.com.

GALLERIES IN SEPTEMBER

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

BY AUGUST 12TH

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August GALLERIES

20 – 27 August

David Brooke and Caroline Ireland “Imagination Unlocked 3” showcases recent paintings and drawings by two Bridport based artists. Both work from their imagination but in different mediums and very different styles. David’s meticulously painted acrylics and Caroline’s vibrant watercolour and pastel pictures will spark ideas and invite you to weave your own stories. Open daily 10am to 4.30pm. Eype Church for the Arts, The Mount, Eype, near Bridport, DT6 6AL www.eypechurcharts.co.uk Free admission and on-site parking.

27 August - 18 September

Unrestricted: SSW Summer Open Sou’-Sou’-West Arts Gallery, Symondsbury Estate, Bridport DT6 6HG. Open daily 10:30-4:30. Free admission & parking. Contact 01308 301326 www.sousouwest.co.uk. The gallery offers a ‘no limits’ approach to their annual summer open this year artists have been encouraged to defy conventions - with no holds barred!

Until 28 August

150 years of Exeter Rugby Club From local heroes to European champions, will feature an array of memorabilia spanning the 150-year history of the Exeter Chiefs. Shirts, photographs, trophies and caps will take visitors on a journey starting back in 1872. Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Queen St, Exeter, EX4 3RX.

Until 2 September

Summer Exhibition Celebrating 13 years of Artwave West! An exciting and dynamic selection of paintings, ceramics and sculptures by our Gallery Artists. Artwave West, Morcombelake, Bridport, Dorset DT6 6DY Open Wednesday to Saturday 10am - 5pm Phone 01297 489746. www.artwavewest.com

Until 3 September

“Our World, Your Choice” An exhibition examining how we lived in the past; workshops and exhibits by local businesses all relating to the issue of climate change and how we can all make small adjustments to our lives to help.

Mon, Thur, Fri, Sat 10am-4pm. Free. Crewkerne & District Heritage Centre, Market Square, Crewkerne. Somerset.

TA18 7LP. www.crewkernemuseum.co.uk.

Until 4 September

Portland Coast Fascinated by this rocky coastline, local artist Leon Dore was determined to find a less figurative

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and more authentic response to its unique mixture of Mesolithic geology, quarrying, natural rock fall and erosion. Form dominates, colour is minimised, and each visit provided a unique artistic experience. Rotunda Gallery, Lyme Regis Museum, Bridge St, Lyme Regis DT7 3QA, Tues-Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 10am-4pm, www. lymeregismuseum.co.uk

Until 11 September

Alex Lowery ‘Picturing’ recent paintings and drawings Akiko Hirai ‘In a manner of Speaking’ recent ceramics.

Petter Southall furniture. A heart-stopping exhibition from three artists whose intelligent, exquisite work always brings something new and thrilling. Sladers Yard Contemporary Art, Furniture & Craft Gallery, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset DT6 4EL Open Wednesday to Saturday 10am - 4.30pm (Café and ground-floor gallery also open Sundays 10am - 4.30pm). Admission free. 01308 459511. www.sladersyard.co.uk

Until 25 September

Canvas & Rock an exhibition by Philomena Harmsworth. A fusion of paint, charcoal and neon some of the media used in this latest collection. New Inn, Stoke Abbott, DT8 3TJ. Opening hours are 122pm & 6-11pm Weds - Sunday. Check website before travelling.

Until 29 October

Myths and Monsters Explore the wild worlds of Myths and Monsters in a new exhibition featuring over 70 artworks from some of our best-loved children’s stories.

Star contributors include: Axel Scheffler – The Gruffalo, Jim Kay – A Monster Calls, Chris Mould – The Iron Man and Victoria Topping - Mythologica: An encyclopedia of gods, monsters and mortals from ancient Greece. The exhibition is created in collaboration with Events of Wonder.

Open until 29 Oct, 10.00 am – 5.00 pm Tue – Sat. The Museum of Somerset, Taunton Castle, Castle Green, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4AA. Museumofsomerset.org. uk

Until 31 October

‘Buried in Time’ at West Bay Discovery Centre. Open daily 11 am - 4 pm excluding Mondays. Admission free, donations welcomed. There will be various walks, talks and events associated with this exhibition during this period. Further details. http://www. westbaydiscoverycentre.org.uk/

August PREVIEW

Musical anniversaries galore

BURTON BRADSTOCK BURTON Bradstock Music Festival celebrates its 40th festival, from 16th to 21st August, with the annual art exhibition at the village hall al week, and three days of outstanding classical and jazz music.

Before lockdown, the festival director, violinist David Juritz, had planned to mark two anniversaries: the centenary of the legendary Dave Brubeck and the 90th birthday of the Dorset-based composer Peter Hope.

These two milestones will still be celebrated, in 2022, with the added attraction of another major jazz centenary. Jake McMurchie, one of the UK’s most exciting saxophonists, will join David Gordon and other musicians for an evening of Brubeck and Charles Mingus (born 1922). The festival programmes also include two works by Peter Hope—his string trio and his Divertimento for guitar and strings featuring Craig Ogden.

This year brings the anniversaries of two great French writers, both with deep musical associations: Molière (born 1622), several of whose plays were set to music by Lully, and Marcel Proust (died 1922), who actually created his

own composer, Vintueil, in À la Recherche du Temps Perdu.

Lully and his Baroque contemporaries will be the theme of the late-night Thursday concert led by pianist David Gordon.

There is another Proust connection, with harpist Eluned Pierce playing music by the novelist’s lover Reynaldo Hahn.

Striking a more immediately contemporary note, David Juritz has programmed two works to reflect on the ongoing war in Ukraine: a virtuoso string trio by the father of Ukrainian music, Mykola Lysenko; and Igor Shamo’s accordion concerto with the virtuoso Milos Milivojevic as the soloist in the final evening’s gala concert.

Sadly, Mary Ryan, who founded the festival with her husband Ronald Gilham, passed away in April this year.

David Juritz says: “I feel a great debt of gratitude to Mary, not least for handing her festival on to me. David Gordon will be playing the second movement of Beethoven’s Emperor concerto in Mary’s memory at the gala concert.”

This year’s musicians include clarinettist Anna Hashimoto, Miloš Milivojević, accordion, David Juritz and Fiona McCapra, violins, Yuri Zhislin ,viola, Adrian Bradbury, cello, Sandy Burnet, bass, and David Gordon, piano. All the concerts take place at St Mary’s Church.

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Festival Treats Purbeck Folk Festival

A deliberately anachronistic re-telling of an Arthurian Legend in Dorchester, Yeovil and Buckland Newton The Michael McGoldrick Band will be at Purbeck

FEATURING outstanding, original young folk, roots and world music, the Purbeck Valley Folk Festival always encourages young up and coming musicians as well as booking national and international folk acts and local music. There’s something for everyone. From 18 - 21 August there are three full days of brilliant music across 5 stages (and Thursday evening), music workshops, sessions, Purbeck Rising (bringing new talent to the our stages), Purbeck Poetry Slam and children’s area. Visit: purbeckvalleyfolkfestival.co.uk.

B Cider Seaside 15

Chaz Thorogood joins the lineup at Bredy Farm

BREDY Farm’s end of the summer event to be held on the August Bank Holiday weekend. This is the little festivals that pack a big punch—a super friendly and chilled atmosphere meaning you can relax, let your hair down and enjoy yourself without a care in the world! From 26 - 29 August enjoy a small festival that showcases some of the finest local, national and international touring artists from a multitude of genres including: Ska, funk, reggae, dub, electro, blues, soul, rock’n’roll, folk, alternative rock, americana, cumbia, soca, calypso, latin & world music. Visit: bredyfarm.com/ events-at-bredy/ for tickets.

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Is this a baguette I see before me?

OPEN AIR TOUR THE Last Baguette will be performing their uniquely dotty version of the Arthurian legends at three open air venues in August, starting at Maumbury Rings at Dorchester on Sunday 1st at 2.30pm.

They are also at the Octagon Theatre in the Park at Yeovil on Saturday 6th at 2.30pm, and The Gaggle of Geese, at Buckland Newton, with Artsreach, on Thursday 18th at 4pm.

Armed only with their talent, some dodgy costumes and some distinctly unthreatening baguettes, King Arthur is a farcical family adventure with knights, wizards, mist, magic and an amplified lute!

Somewhere in England, a long time ago, a very, very, very long time ago. So long ago that nobody quite knows whether it happened or not. Or where it happened or not. A boy pulled a sword from a stone and became King.

This fun and farcical adventure is a deliberately anachronistic re-telling of the Arthurian Legend with live music, physical comedy and lo-fi acrobatics.

Youth theatre returns

LYME REGIS THE Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis is launching new classes for seven to 18 year olds, starting this September.

In the new Marine Youth Theatre, participants will work alongside experienced tutors and other young people to develop their creativity and performance skills, explore themes and devise new theatre to share with friends, family and the public.

Sessions are fun, welcoming and inclusive. The young people will not need previous experience, just a desire to get involved and work creatively.

Music and the sound of laughter

SANDFORD ORCAS THREE Inch Fools, one of the most energetic of the summer open air theatre touring companies, bring their hilarious version of Twelfth Night, to Dorset for two performances in August.

This acclaimed, innovative touring theatre company has built a reputation for bold and vibrant productions, with a fast- paced, musically-driven style featuring a huge variety of instruments, actors playing multiple roles and many a quick costume change along the way.

Prepare for an evening of mischief and hilarity as a cast of five present an inventive take on this favourite comedy for all the family.

Pack a picnic, dress for all weather, bring your cushions and camping chairs and join Three Inch Fools on an outdoor adventure at Corfe Castle on 11th

Slinky Machine at Millenium Green Lucky Pigeons, an exciting and inventive circus show by Brainfools coming to Litton Cheney in August

John Robertson, Ian Kindred, Peter Earle and Joe Musto bring Slinky Machine to Bridport on August 28

SLINKY Machine, The fantastically talented jazz fusion outfit from Lyme Regis will be appearing in Bridport in August. A four-piece instrumental band who are equally at home in a jazz bar as they are playing to a festival crowd, they play a set ranging from exciting original material, through jazz fusion classics, to classy re-workings of contemporary tunes. Slinky will also play tunes from their new album Choose Your Froot.

Promoted by Bridport Arts Centre they will be supported by Bristol fusion trio, King Heron, at Millenium Green in Bridport on August 28 from 4pm (music from 6pm). Tickets are £5 and available from the box office at Bridport Tourist Information centre or at www.bridport-arts.com August, and with Artsreach at Higher Orchard in Sandford Orcas on Sunday 21st August.

Performances are at 7pm.

The Three Inch Fools bring their other summer 2022 production, a new and doubtless anarchic take on The Gunpowder Plot, to the stunning setting of Powderham Castle on 14th August.

Pigeon fancies

LITTON CHENEY THE playing fields beside Litton Cheney community hall will be the venue on Saturday 13th August at 6pm for Lucky Pigeons, an exciting and inventive circus show by Brainfools.

A young businessman struggles with the demands of city life and, after losing his job, takes his frustrations out on a group of pigeons. Karma follows, when the man finds himself turned into a pigeon, where he quickly learns about the playful world of this misunderstood bird.

With a mix of absurd and extravagant theatre, impressive acrobatics, empathetic and funny stories and a pinch of satirical spice and puppetry, a cast of seven will perform daring aerials and acrobatic feats in this soulful story.

Brainfools, who are led by two graduates of the National Centre for Circus Arts, will also be at Stalbridge village hall on Sunday 14th August at 2pm. The short tour has been arranged by Artsreach.

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Screen Time with Nic Jeune

Treats at the Film Society FILM fans of West Dorset have a special annual film feast, The Bridport Film Society season. The film showings take place every fortnight on a Tuesday evening at 7.45pm at the Bridport Arts Centre, screened on state-of-the-art digital cinema equipment.

The members of this society, one of the oldest film clubs in the country, founded in 1925, take great care in selecting the films each year. The films are often Oscar winners or nominees directed by multiaward winning directors. The season 2022/2023 is no exception. Twelve films from France, India, Spain, Japan. Eleven different countries in all.

Almost impossible to choose between them but here are three selections. The season kicks off September 27th with: Summer of Soul (..or, when the Revolution Could not be Televised) (2021).

Winner of 2021 Oscar and Bafta for Best documentary feature film.

The film includes never-before-seen concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, The 5th Dimension, and more.

‘Buried for 50 years, the spectacular filmed footage of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival reveals a musical moment — and a Black revolution — in full flower.’ Variety. Owen Glieberman.

Shoplifters (2018).

Winner of over fifty film awards.

A wonderfully tender film of great originality.

‘For all its calm gentleness, the film, which is based on a news story, is devastatingly clear-sighted about modern Japan, its dysfunctions and hypocrisies.’

The Guardian. Peter Bradshaw.

Everything Went Fine (2021) French director Francois Ozon brings his wry humour to the subject of assisted dying.

‘André Dussollier and Sophie Marceau are outstanding as a father and daughter whose tricky relationship is upended when he asks for her help to die’ The Guardian.

Peter Bradshaw.

Season tickets go on sale on September 1st. Twelve great films for £35. A bargain!

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Half the Vegan Idiots on stage

LYME REGIS A BRILLIANT comedian and comedy writer, Julian Deane headlines the Lyme Regis Comedy Club at the Marine Theatre on Sunday 28th August at 8pm.

Widely celebrated for his ingenious punchlines, Julian Deane is a past winner of the ITV Stand Up Hero and the Laughing Horse New Act of the Year competitions. He also hosts the Two Vegan Idiots podcast, with fellow Julian Deane comes to Lyme Regis in August comedian Carl Donnelly.

Julian has appeared on The Russell Howard Hour and supported Paul Chowdhry on a world tour, which included Wembley Arena. He is also an in-demand writer, with credits including Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Mock the Week, Matt Forde’s Unspun and Morgan Spurlock’s New Britannia.

He is joined at Lyme Regis by Tom Toal and Tom Glover.

Variety for Ukraine

HONITON HONITON Community Theatre is putting on a variety show at the Beehive Centre for four nights, from 2nd to 6th August at 7pm.

The show, Strictly Variety, includes comedy, music and dance, with cabaret style seating. Proceeds will go to the victims of the conflict in Ukraine.

They’re the tops

BRIDPORT BRIDPORT Musical Theatre takes on one of the great Cole Porter shows for its summer production, Anything Goes, at the Electric Palace from 16th to 20th August, With a fabulous score of Cole Porter classics, including You’re The Tops, It’s Delovely, I Get a Kick out of You and the show-stopping Anything Goes, the action is set on a trans-Atlantic liner.

When the SS American heads out to sea, etiquette and convention head out the portholes as two unlikely pairs set off on the course to true love … proving that sometimes destiny needs a little help from a crew of singing sailors, a comical disguise and some good old-fashioned blackmail.

This hilarious musical romp across the Atlantic is directed by BMTC’s Dave Swaffield. Performances are at 7.30pm with a Saturday matinee at 2.30.

Celebrating the spoken word

BRIDPORT BARDFEST, a celebration of the spoken word, comes to Bridport Arts Centre on Saturday 20th August, at 6.30pm, with a lineup of local and guest poets and performers, hosted by Kevan Manwaring.

The evening starts with local folk dance side, Wyld Morris, and Jane Silver-Corren’s Voices of Hope choir.

Debut poet Estelle Phillips will share her poem about Ukraine, Reaper, (which has been translated into Ukrainian).

Local wordsmiths Martin Maudsley, Dylan Ross, Ged Duncan, Robert Sean Casey, Tom Rogers, and Peter Roe will read some of their poems and tales.

After the break there will be more stories from Gloucestershire-based storytellers Anthony Nanson and Kirsty Hartsiotis,

Story teller Martin Maudsley joins a celebration of the spoken word in Bridport

poetry from the current Bard of Bath, Tick Rowley, plus live music from Car Dia (Susan Marie Paramor from Glastonbury). To finish off the evening, DJ Emu Mama will get everyone dancing.

The Young Lit Fix

Oxygen Mask by Jason Reynolds Art by Jason Griffin Published by Faber. Ages 12+ Review by Nicky Mathewson Black Hound theatre brings Alright? to Bridport in August

Coping? Not coping!

BRIDPORT NOAH finds life difficult. He doesn’t know how to cope. What do you do if things aren’t alright? Black Hound theatre comes to Bridport Arts Centre on Friday 5th August with a new play that asks just this question.

Alright?, on stage at 7.30pm, is performed by Dillon Berry and written by Patrick Withey, “Happy Birthday to me. 15. The end of the world!” Noah doesn’t know what to do. As his dad says, “You’ve gotta laugh!”, but what if it’s not funny… How do you cope when you’re clearly not Alright?

This original play is a brutally honest and quick-witted insight into living with mental health problems.

Octagon work delayed to 2023

YEOVIL PROGRESS continues on the major redevelopment plans for Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre, but the venue will remain open until spring 2023, rather than the original planned closure after the 2022 pantomime.

The programme to restructure and improve the Octagon Theatre, and transform it into a centre of excellence, is moving ahead with final touches being made before a formal planning application is submitted shortly. So the decision has been taken to keep the theatre open, with performances taking place until the end of April.

It means local audiences will be able to enjoy one of the world’s most famous whodunnits, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, on a national tour and coming to Yeovil in February. Also in February, Tap Factory, which was to take place at Westlands Entertainment Venue, will be moving back to the Octagon.

Some local amateur groups are also taking advantage of the delayed closure to bring their shows to the Octagon stage. They include The Dance Factory with Dance Infinity, the Helen Laxton School of Dance and the Somerset School of Performing Arts with Everybody Dance, Yeovil Amateur Pantomime Society (YAPS) with Aladdin, and the spring show of Yeovil Amateur Operatic Society (YAOS).

Recently, the Octagon and architects Fielden Clegg Bradley arranged two open days that enabled the public to come in and view the plans, speak to staff and provide feedback. More than 75 people attended the sessions with many more viewing the plans online.

GPW

I HAVE to start by saying that this book is a unique piece of art. Jason Reynolds and his good friend Jason Griffin have created something so special that I feel giddy. It’s the book/art that I would want to create myself. It’s immersive, visceral, poignant, crushing and uplifting. Using sketch, paint, collage and words to throw the most powerful punch, reflecting our society and ourselves.

It is born of the sketchbook journals that Jason Griffin kept during lockdown and the economical and perfect words that Jason Reynolds is so well known for. Produced to the highest standard by Faber it feels and looks like one of those sketchbooks, where the seeds of the idea were planted.

This collaboration shows a snapshot of the year 2020 when the world was turned upside down. Self reflection layered with a commentary on wider society.

Words and pictures that painfully remind us of the devastation but also the love. Emotive and breathtaking, Oxygen Mask shook me and left me gasping for air, and yet I am delighted by it, it is a thing of beauty and truly is a masterpiece.

I urge you to read/look/feel and absorb it, and be sure to read the comments by both artists at the end.

10% off for Marshwood Vale readers at The Bookshop on South Street, Bridport.

01308 422964 www.dorsetbooks.com

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 47

Health&Environment

First beaver born in Dorset in 400 years

Beavers being released in February 2021. Photograph James Burland

BEAVERS have bred in Dorset for the first time in over 400 years at Dorset Wildlife Trust’s enclosed beaver site in West Dorset. Trail cameras inside the enclosure have captured images of a young beaver, known as a kit, and its mother, exploring the watery woodland created by its parents since they were released in February 2021.

This landmark project for Dorset is hosted by Dorset Wildlife Trust working alongside lead partners, University of Exeter and Wessex Trail cam image of Dorset’s first beaver in 400 years Water to undertake a scientific study to assess all the impacts that beavers make on the natural environment including river flow, water quality and biodiversity. Since the beavers were introduced to site, they have built dams, creating a wetland to suit their needs but which also provides habitat for many other species, such as frogs and newts which depend on water.

Rivers Conservation Officer, Steve Oliver said, ‘We have been closely monitoring the pair since their release and it has been clear that they have formed a strong bond in the time they have been on site, and this latest discovery is further evidence of this, alongside their industrious dam building activity. The trail cams have only identified one kit so far, but beavers can typically have one to four kits in a litter, and we are discreetly observing their activity to see if any others have been born.

Seeing the first kit is an incredibly exciting moment for the project and breeding is a clear indication of normal behaviour and that the adult pair are healthy and happily settled in their Dorset surroundings. This local project is an enormous step forward on the journey to restore beavers to Dorset, helping us to raise awareness and understanding of what it means to have these influential mammals back in our county.

Beavers have the potential to make a huge difference to our natural environment and can assist nature’s recovery as well as providing other benefits for humans.’

To find out more about the Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Beaver project, visit dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/BeaverProject.

48 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

Treasure the UK’s seaside superheroes this summer!

Exploring Marine Life, photograph by Emma Goddon

JOIN Dorset Wildlife Trusts for rock pool rambles, dolphin watching and eco-crabbing during National Marine Weeks, a two-week summer festival ending Monday 8 August in celebration of the fascinating, colourful, diverse and often surprising marine wildlife found right here in Dorset.

This year, Wildlife Trusts across the UK are celebrating seaside superheroes to shine a light on the extraordinary sea creatures and plants which are helping to fight climate change and water pollution or have amazing powers to help them survive. In Dorset we are very lucky to have the most astonishing marine wildlife, from secretive seahorses and delightful dolphins to colour-changing cuttlefish and rocklicking limpets.

To celebrate Marine Weeks, Dorset Wildlife Trust has planned a series of special events to get families and individuals involved in exploring the seashore and wider marine environment to discover some of the bounty that these habitats have to offer. At Kimmeridge Bay, there will be the opportunity to join a dolphin watching session on the cliff-top look-out, explore underwater marine life on the snorkel trail, or take part in eco-friendly crabbing and rock pooling activities led by our expert wardens.

At the Wild Seas Centre at Kimmeridge, a state-of-the-art underwater camera will broadcast live footage to a screen inside the centre to showing Kimmeridge Bay beneath the waves. All without getting wet! The centre staff will be getting the microscopes out on Plankton Day when visitors can discover the amazing diversity of plankton found in water samples collected from Kimmeridge Bay and also learn about the vital role that these miniature organisms play in our oceans.

Over at Chesil Beach, there’s the chance to join the Strandline Detectives walk to hunt for wildlife treasure washed in from the sea and to find out what lives in the deeper water. Or you can take a trip on the glass-bottomed Fleet Explorer boat, which makes regular trips around part of the spectacular Fleet Lagoon, to explore its incredible underwater wildlife.

To find out dates, details and costs of all the events happening in Dorset for Marine Weeks, go to dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/events.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 49

Services&Classified FOR SALE “Roberts” digital sound system - £80. cd/usb/ sd/dab/fm. With dock for iPod and iPhone.

Instruction book. Tel: 07720 437 876.

Pair lined curtains - £150. + Additional thermal interlining. Aquamarine with delicate silver motif. Pewter-look eyelet headings. Each H. 7’7” x W. 13’3” Tel: 07720 437 876.

Double bedstead 4’6” £150. (Furniture Village “Emily” - 2019). Plain Oak & Soft Grey painted.

Dismantled. Ground floor collection. Tel: 07720 437 876.

Pair of armchairs (IKEA - “Ektorp”) £30 each - £50 the pair. White loose covers.

Tel: 07720 437 876.

Ceramic Wall Tiles over 300 reclaimed 8 x 4 inch, light colour, free. 01308 422879.

Mowbray lite adjustable toilet seat and frame flat packed in box, perfect clean condition. £20.

Hardcastle rotating car seat. £6. (01305 871716) Hunter Herald 14 Wood burning multi-fuel stove.

Second hand £175. Can email photos can if reqd.

Phone 07887 372623 Crewkerne area.

Table Top Football Set £30, Sturdy Swing Ball £20, Vintage Oak Mirror 75cmx67cm £15, Philips 32” Flat Screen TV with Remote £30, Family Bicycles: Mens, Womans shopper, Childs two wheels (need TLC), The lot £50o/o., Round Barbecue Free, Philips 22” TV Free.

07985 013 996.

Microwave Panasonic, stainless steel. Very good condition. 500mm wide. £25.

Tel: 01460 242644.

Student Alto Saxophone (Chateau) black/silver nickel plated. American design by Steve Goodson.

As new, serviced by Wessex

Music. Complete with good quality case and accessories.

Bridport 01308 425037.

Men’s Bicycle, Ridgeway GX750, 12 speed, 26” wheels. £25. Bridport 01308 425037.

Metal and glass extending dining table. 80\139/169 and 4 chairs Seaton 01297 24745.

Aquaroll £20, Wastemaster £20, whale pump £15 and digital aerial £35 Telephone 07719362164 after 6pm.

Tormek SA 250 wet grinder. Very good condition. Complete with new adjustable blade and chisel holder. £250. 07905 627483.

3 fold, wood, loft stairway.

Open length 9’ - 7”. Treads 12. Complete with wood surround, fitted drop down door, and spring mechanism. £45. 0129734259.

Single Divan Bed with 2 storage drawers and hardly used memory foam mattress, £50. Antique Pine chest of drawers (5 drawers) 107cm W 48cms D and 97cms H £50. Occasional table in dark finish with shelf underneath, ideal for chalk paint makeover.

77cms W 48cms D and 42cms H £20. Hardwood Bureau with opening desk top and two drawers 77cms W 41cms D and 100cms H £25. 07875763304 or 07836656453.

Sets of Bowls sizes ‘O’ to ‘5’ from £40. “Try before you buy” For further details tel. Arthur at Bridport 01308 425278.

Beautiful Qashqai Persian Carpet in excellent, clean condition. size: 89” long x 41” wide (226cm x 104cm). £195. Tel: 01395 487554 Exceptional Wall Mirror, size: 47ins x 54ins in a pine frame and with a boarded and jointed back. Would enhance any space. £150.

Tel: 01395 487554 Lovely Art Deco style quality large Table Lamp

50 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

with a coloured glass shade in excellent condition, size: 22ins high x 13ins wide. £50.

Tel: 01395 487554 Vintage Fisher Price Play Family School House Set with Clock and bell, complete with all accessories including play people, desks, chairs, magnetic letters and numbers, chalk board etc, playground equipment including roundabout, swings, slide, etc, plus also a nursery set with push chair, high chair, play pen, rocking horse, etc. Hours of fun. VGC. £50. Tel: 01395 487554 “Next” rectangular cushions in various colours and all in excellent condition, £3.00 each. Lovely quality Chenille Throw, size double 150cm x 212cm, in excellent condition, £8. Tel: 01395 487554.

English paint 2.5 litres unused, world of colour Skye Blue Silk £10. Ice Pink matt finish £10.Also Plants for sale, Buddleia, Forsythia, Hydrangea, Rowan tree saplings. V cheap, visit Corner Gore Lane/ Cuckoo Lane, Uplyme. 01297 443930.

Ice-cream maker Magimix Gelato Chef 2200 Freezer compressor, churn mechanism, working order, makes lovely ice-cream and sorbets, original instruction booklet and recipes, bit of wear and tear but works very well. £100ono. Bradpole 01308 421720.

Vintage steamer; trunk metal hinges perfect renovation project (to coffee table) length 31 1/4inch, width 17 inch, depth 13 inch £25. Photo can be emailed.

079707 15413 or 01395 577859. Sidmouth.

Vintage large 2 handled white and blue enamel washbowl ideal as a garden planter or bird bath. 15 inch diameter, 16 inch height. £15. 079707 15413 or 01395 577859. Sidmouth.

HOME DECORS

RESTORATION

Chalk & Chisel: Distinctive Vintage Mirrors. We sell beautiful, well-priced vintage mirrors. Visit our store at The Emporium, 39 Princes Street, Yeovil BA20 1EG. Discover more at chalkandchisel. co.uk Jul 22

FURNITURE. Antique Restoration and Bespoke Furniture.

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

Experienced local family firm. Phil Meadley 01297 560335

Sept 22

PEST CONTROL Wasps Rodents Insects Professional eradication and control from Three Counties Pest Control 07484 677457 www.3cpestcontrol.co.uk

Beaminster upholstery and furniture repair.

Tel. Mike Oaten 07470 007588.

PROOFREADING

Aug 22

SHEDS Ex-display sheds, Stables/field shelters, summerhouses, offices, workshops, agricultural 01935 891195 sept 22

TUITION Piano, Violin, Theory tuition at your homw.

Highly qualified teacher.

Adults and children welcome from beginners to advanced. Dr Thomas Gold 07917 835781 oct 22

FOR SALE Under counter fridge good condition £40 ono.

Dyson top of range Vac AI cond. £300 new, asking £60.

Various airline tools, one box full, £65ono. 01460 929692.

Spode-Copeland dinner service from Thomas Goode, London, ivory white classic embossed silver rims, 17 dinner, 11 dessert, 11 soups, 3 sauce boats, elegant lids crescent by 7 plates, 2 charger dishes, £95, 57 pieces. 01460 72980.

Georgian arched large room divider doors, including lining and

Proofreading, editing, transcription, secretarial for writers and businesses.

Excellent references.

Penny Dunscombe 07825339289.

aug 22

THERAPIES Somerset Reiki: Complementary therapy for body & mind in South Somerset. Read about Reiki & its practical benefits at somersetreiki. com. Contact sara@ somersetreiki.com Jul 22 07484 636577.

FOR SALE architrave. £265. Can text pictures, 07932 122398.

Black & Deckeer GT200 electric hedge trimmer, good working order. £40. 01297 489495.

4ft Divan base. Four roomy drawers under base folds in half. Good condition only £35. 01460 220081.

Lalique crystal glass 3 ¼ inch bird figure sparrow, no damage £40. Late 19th century galvanized Dolly Tub, good condition, ideal ornamental garden planter. £30. Rugby World Cup 2015

ELECTRICAL

WANTED Wanted - Old slot machines, shop signs, fairground & military items, Old Interesting items & collections, 07875 677897

CHIMNEY SWEEP

oct 22

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

Oct 22

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

FOR SALE

collect. 01308 456479.

Toyota Aygo wheels multi-spoke silver alloy 15 inch (as new) with Nankang Ultrasport tyres, transform looks and handling £350.

Dave buys all types of tools 01935 428975 Jul 22 01297 624165.

Ikea beech veneer table good condition H 74, W 50 extends to 78, L 90. £20.

Wanted: Old tractors 01308 420580. and vehicles. Running, non running. Good price Vax Floormate upright hard floor washer. Works paid. 01308 482320 similar way to Vax carpet 07971 866364 Dec 22 cleaner. Excellent condition. £75. 07581 749564 (Dorchester).

Coins wanted. Part Antique Pine Dresser or full collections base, 3 drawers 3 cupboards, purchased for cash.

H 1m 5cm. W 2m 1cm, D Please phone John on 55cm. Nr Crewkerne. £200.

01460 62109 Oct 22 01460 72682.

Free Piano upright – Stamp collections/ Fleurich of Leipzic, 07983 albums especially Great 164325. (Sidmouth).

Britain and empire.

BBQ Cadac Safari Please contact Mike 075 Chef for use with Butane 275 38863. or Propane Gaz, good condition. £25. Seaton 01297 20151.

FOR SALE Vintage Sarah Kay girls Canterbury short sleeved bedroom set two duvet white top, large, officially covers, four pillowslips, one licensed product in original cushion cover, curtains, sealed packaging. £30. 07970 66”w x 54” drop. All 715413 or 01395 577859. excellent condition. £30.

Sidmouth.

Jeans M&S indigo slimleg Trespass unisex ski jacket size 8 unworn £10. 01297 grey with built in hood, size 443930. large, 38” to 40” chest, worn Vintage Ercol easychair, few ties. £5. 01935 422629. low armchair Yorkshire Bradford Abbas.

Design circa 1960s. Has new Suffolk Colt petrol mower, webbing, recovered Chintz in need of good service, as new. £500ono. Matching cuts well (old) £30. Buyer to footstool £200ono. Ercol Aug 22

Windsor Goldsmith Carver Chair £150ono. 01297 443930.

Tennis Racquet Dunlop Max 27 with cover £10. John Lewis pleated skirt unworn 26” waist £10. Carlton Squash racquet with cover £10. M&S man’s shirt. 15 ½ collar, regular fit. New £10.

01297 443930.

G Plan Teak cabinet 48” x 30”w, 2 doors, 2 large 2 small drawers, one lined as jewellery compartment. £50. Old oak cabinet 1930’s Barleytwist legs 2 doors, formerly held gramophone £45. 36”w x 30”h, local delivery possible. 01297 443930.

Sit on Sholley with bag etc, used only once, cost £200.

Price £150. 01308 459751.

Long mid green brocade dress – jacket Eastex 16. Pale green skirt and top Jacques Vert 16. Both suitable for wedding or evening. £25 each. Immaculate, selling due to weight loss. 01305 266726.

Equinox 600 Detector 11” coil cuff cover, control box cover, super condition Little used, with Andy Sabisch hand book, genuine reason for sale. £600. Best offer accepted. 07591 058862.

Wooden artist’s painting drawing box easel, easy to carry, size 270w 380l 85d. £15ono. 07730 376626.

Old Pine, flour, grain, blanket box. Length 830mm,

DISTRIBUTION

FOR SALE width 440mm, high 660mm. £40ono. 07730 376626.

Four Redwood Garden recliner chairs, still new, boxed, cost £150. Will accept £90. Bridport 07916 873161.

Gents Scarpa light weight walking boots.Are size 12 but fit my size 11 feet perfectly. Good condition £30. Panasonic webcam with wide HD & microphone

Model TYCC20W £15.

Hauck travel cot.Good condition £15 Gazco Logic HE gas fire with modern surround to fit fireplace with conventional flue.Cost £700 but hardly used Will sell for £150 with free marble back panel & hearth. Tel:01308 423849

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 51

MARIA STRANI-POTTS

an obituary and literary tribute

M

Maria Strani-Potts in Corfu

aria Potts, nėe Strani (1946-2022), whose home was in Dorchester, died on May 7th, when swimming in the sea whilst on holiday in Greece.

Maria, who was born in Corfu, wrote as Maria StraniPotts. She earned a degree in Contemporary East European Studies from the University of London and always had a thirst for knowledge and travel, for foreign languages, history, international relations and world literature.

Apart from her academic interests, Maria came to be regarded as an original writer of fiction. Much of her published writing has been in English. Her consistently popular novel, The Cat of Portovechio, Corfu Tales, will be republished in a British edition by Colenso Books next year. The Australian edition was published by Brandl & Schlesinger in 2007, and a Greek language version was published by Kedros in 2011.

At the first launch of the Australian edition, David Malouf AO, one of Australia’s greatest writers, had this to say of the book (13 November 2007): “In The Cat of Portovecchio Maria Strani-Potts has produced a genuinely charming book...The charm consists in the book’s wholeness of view...the writer’s generosity in letting everything in; her allowing a place for all sorts of ordinary human follies and indiscretions, for bad humour as well as good, but with a sense that what all this makes up is a picture of the way we are… She takes us inside a whole world, lovingly created, that is like no other we

52 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

have been invited into, but with an eye that can be savage as well as loving. Just when we think we know some of these characters, and feel comfortable with them—too comfortable in fact—she catches them for us in a new and altogether less easy light...She has the writer’s eye for detail: for the small, unnoticed aspect of a thing that makes it immediately alive to us; the writer’s sense of pace, that makes time, and room in the writing, so that everything finds its place; and the writer’s unsparingness that makes truth more important to her than any desire to please.’

Writing in The Anglo-Hellenic Review (Spring 2009), Richard Pine captured other aspects of her achievement: “Maria Strani-Potts is incisive in her observations of her locale…Strani-Potts’ writing is characterized by a relentless and seductive intelligence which can be cruel, compassionate and ironically amusing- often all at the same time. She is never less than provocative. A pleasure to read and, even for Corfiots, an education”.

Cathy Peake wrote in an extensive review in The Weekend Australian, February 9, 2008: “Strani-Potts conjures a world that assaults the senses and her affectionate descriptions of recipes and food preparation of the kind authentic to Corfu are so vivid and mesmerizing, so imbued with social custom and occasion they are a unifying thread running through the fractured, passionate and often difficult lives of her characters”.

She concluded: “The Cat of Portovecchio is notable for its freshness, warmth and spontaneity. Strani-Potts invites us to step into the lives and over the thresholds of this island community with charm and generosity. She leaves us with a seaside village and a landscape so vibrant that it stays in the mind long after the book is closed.”

In The Age, Thuy On wrote (Saturday January 19, 2008) “The Cat of Portovecchio is a deeply sensual novel; you can almost smell the sea brine, the diced garlic, the fresh bread, and even the metallic blood scent wafting from the nearby slaughterhouse. This is a busy book; the characters’ lives intersect as they go about their daily business. As you’d expect from any close-knit village, there are widow(ers), adulterers, the forlorn, the gossips and the fearless. Secrets and lies plague the seemingly virtuous and hidden passions are closely guarded”.

Of Maria’s collection of four short stories, When the sun goes down, Island stories (available in Kindle e-book and paperback editions), one verified reviewer wrote enthusiastically and perceptively: “Strani-Potts most recent collection further establishes her high position among 21st century authors and

critics…The Cat of Portovecchio, Corfu Tales stands as a singular example of story writing at its finest. This collection emphasizes the sundry metaphors of “the island”: a physical, emotional, and/or a political territory isolated from the mainland by the vastness of the sea (itself a chimeric metaphor). One story in particular, “The Exploitation of Panorea,” is as fine a parable as Kafka’s “Hunger Artist” or Walser’s “Battle of Sempach.” StraniPotts, a Corfiot, cleverly situates her characters in narratives that require a strong sense of place, a temporal anchor.

Like Flannery O’Connor’s undeniable identification with the South, Strani-Potts’ fiction is tied to the Ionian Islands and to the culture of freedom found there”.

The collection includes “The Exploitation of Panorea. an abridged version in English of Maria’s powerful environmental Greek allegory, “To Poulima tis Panoraias” , 2008.“ Dimitris Konidaris, of The Society for Corfiot Studies, commented in the newspaper Enimerosi (translation from the Greek article): “I didn’t just read it, I studied it closely. This book should be read by political candidates, and by all those who work in institutions and who hold any kind of power, or who hold the fate of the island in their hands”.

Maria also conceived the idea for an anthology of over 130 Dorset writers and photographers, which was published by Roving Press as Dorset Voices, with a preface

by Prince Charles. It was co-edited by Maria and Jim Potts and by Louisa Adjoa Parker.

Maria wrote a moving play for radio (The Children of Others), and she kept extensive diaries which she had hoped to finalise as a volume of memoirs, initially for the family. She worked on this project for many years and had begun the process of editing, as it ran to 150,000 words. It remains unfinished but it is Jim’ Potts’ intention to complete the project and to collect other unpublished stories and writings.

Maria’s first love was quilting - patchwork quilting-, which she developed as a committed textile artist who always delighted in sharing her knowledge and skills and in introducing the art to new groups around the world. Maria had wide international connections both in person and through Facebook.

Jim and Maria, and then their children Nina-Maria and Alexander, shared their lives together in countries as far afield as Ethiopia, Kenya, Greece, Czechoslovakia (as it was), Australia and Sweden. They served in London on several occasions. In 2009, they made their home in Dorchester, Dorset, where they lived very happily for twelve years. They had both spent extended periods living in Castle Cary. Somerset and in West Bay, Bridport, Dorset.

Jim worked for, and represented, The British Council for 35 years, strongly and ably supported by Maria in many areas of his cultural relations work.

The family lived through national revolutions, terrorist bombings of offices, assassinations of colleagues, profound changes and upheavals of many different sorts.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 53

FREE ADS for items under £1,000 This FREE ADS FORM is for articles for sale, where the sale price is under £1000 (Private advertisers only — no trade, motor, animals, alcohol, firearms etc). All ads must include the price. Just fill in the form and send it to the Marshwood Vale Magazine, Lower Atrim, Bridport, Dorset DT6 5PX or email the text to info@marshwoodvale. com. Unfortunately, due to space constraints, there is no guarantee of insertion of free advertising. We reserve the right to withhold advertisements. For guaranteed classified advertising please use ‘Classified Ads’ form

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54 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 Tel. 01308 423031

BUSINESS NEWS Community Land Trust celebrates decade LAST month was an exciting time for the Norton sub Hamdon Community Land Trust (CLT), when they celebrated ten years since becoming a legal entity. They had plenty of reasons to celebrate—having, over the course of that decade, created ten affordable homes for local people The CLT has created 10 affordable homes and saved the village shop and post office from closure.

‘The CLT members, many of whom volunteer in the shop, are very proud of this record’ said Elizabeth Maunder, Secretary and one of the founders.

The CLT is a form of not-for-profit organisation called a “Community Benefit Society”. The members, all volunteers, are people who care about the community in which they live and want to keep it vibrant into the future. ‘The CLT does what is says on the tin’ says Elizabeth, ‘it holds land in trust for the benefit of the Community. It is run democratically by it’s members and protects local assets, such as the land our affordable housing was built on and the community shop.

‘Working on the housing project gave us enough confidence to tackle other things. We have been running our Community Shop and Post Office for nearly eight years, saving both from closure. Their importance to the local community cannot be underestimated and were essential services throughout the pandemic—not closing for a single day in all that time and making deliveries to the most vulnerable.’

There are many local CLTs across the West Country now, with over 200 homes built on their land across Devon, Dorset and Somerset and another 350 or so in the pipeline. New CLTs are springing up across the region hoping to copy the successes of the established groups such as Nortonsub-Hamdon.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine August 2022 55