Marshwood+ February 2023

Marsh wo o d

© Martin Maudsley

Photograph by Robin Mills

My grandparents were farmers on the Fylde peninsula of Lancashire, between Preston and Blackpool. They eventually retired to a tied cottage on the farm, which meant my grandfather lived, worked, and died on the same patch of land. As a boy it was wonderful to have access to both the land and their tapestry of stories: embroidered tales of farming, folklore and country life. It was a treasure trove I managed to capture on tape before they died, and formed one of my first storytelling performance pieces, called Old Tom’s Tales

I was brought up on the outskirts of the town—now city—of Preston, but many of my early recollections are of the countryside. At weekends I’d explore the fields beyond my street and holidays were either spent with my grandparents, including haymaking in the summer, or in Cornwall where my uncle and aunt also had a farm. So perhaps it’s no surprise that I grew up with a fascination for the natural world and a connection to rural life. With such childhood passions, I went on to study ecology the University of East Anglia in Norwich. It was quite a new course in those days, with lots of outdoor based learning, and I was fortunate to be taught by some leading lights in the field. Insects became a specialist interest and I stayed on to do a PhD in farmland entomology, before moving to Bristol for a post-doc at Long Ashton Research Station, which also incorporated the Cider Research Institute. My research focus was on the

Robin Mills met Martin Maudsley in Bothenhampton, Bridport.

© Martin Maudsley Photograph by Robin Mills

Martin Maudsley

ecology of hedgerow management, but I was becoming aware of the cultural, as well as biological, importance of farmland habitats —including orchards, which have become a big part of my life in Dorset.

I remember groups of school children sometimes visiting the research station, and no-one else wanted to show them round. But I enjoyed doing it, and the challenge of explaining scientific subjects in terms they’d find exciting and memorable. I once used the Little Red Riding story to describe beneficial beetles as predators of crop pests, with their adaptations like the big bad wolf—‘big eyes, all the better to see with, long legs, all the better to run with, huge jaws, all the better to eat with’.

After Long Ashton I took up a post at a newly opened science museum called At-Bristol, which included an interactive natural history exhibition set up by Chris Parsons, the producer of Life on Earth with David Attenborough. The job helped develop my environmental education skills in general, but also gave me an opportunity to use storytelling as a means of communicating ideas about the natural world. I soon found stories were a natural way to engage with people, allowing emotion, imagination and improvisation to be part of the experience. After a year, I embarked on a freelance career as an environmental storyteller, discovering to my amazement and great joy that there were literally hundreds—thousands—of folktales and myths to draw on, accrued from our deep-rooted relationship with the natural world. As an oral tradition, storytelling perhaps provided an effective way to pass on vital information within families and communities before the written word. Despite the myriad ways we now use to communicate, people still have a natural inclination towards stories told by word of mouth.

Part of what I hope to do through storytelling is increase awareness about how nature affects all aspects of our lives, including food and drink. I often perform in orchards at May Day, Apple Day and winter wassails where I try, through traditional stories and customs, to connect people with the changing seasons and local landscapes. I love wassailing and everything it represents. It takes place outdoors in January, traditionally on Old Twelfth Night, and revels in the dark, cold stillness of winter, rather than the artificial warmth and lights of Christmas. People gather in the orchard around dusk, often with a fire and a glass of cider, to bring good cheer to each other, but also to acknowledge and give thanks to the land itself. We tell stories and sing wassailing songs, and then everyone then makes as much noise as possible, yelling and banging saucepans or whatever comes to hand, to drive away bad

spirits. Finally, we offer a toast to the trees with a generous libation of cider, wishing them ‘waes hael’—good health. I think there’s a real appetite for wassailing today, a chance to come together as a community with good intention and give something back; it’s all about reciprocity. Leading the Bridport community orchard wassail was a lovely introduction for me to perform and play a role locally when I first arrived here, and I’ve done it ever since, as well as at commercial cider orchards such as Dorset Nectar.

I’m also interested in singing folk songs and play in a local band called the Woodlanders, a name which of course roots us in Hardy’s Dorset. Many of the old songs hold the cycle of the agricultural year beautifully, in terms of the plants and animals (there’s lots of songs about skylarks and cuckoos!) and the seasonally specific tasks of working the land. As with storytelling, there’s no lack of interest in folk songs because they still resonate, they still conjure something meaningful. We often sing in the Woodman Inn, my local, which has become a hub in the community for music and spoken word, where the singing is often spontaneous, inclusive and whole-hearted. We also perform a Christmas Mummers’ play there, which I wrote in 2018, with the characters based on Bridport pubs, plus a cameo from the Cerne Abbas giant. There’s something about folk performances in pubs, which is different to theatre. During the telling of a story or the singing of a song, a temporary community is formed—it’s a kind of magic.

When I arrived in Bridport I quickly fell in love with the local landscape, and all its evocative place names: the Grey Mare and her Colts, the Hellstone, the Singing Barrows. I met with Tom Munro from the Dorset AONB, and initially became involved with their South Dorset Ridgeway Project. As part of that I was commissioned to create a storytelling programme which I call “re-storying the landscape”. Using local folklore and fragments of folktales, I worked with both adults and children to reimagine local legends, incorporating our direct sensory and emotional experiences of the landscape. For instance, the Valley of the Stones, in the Bride Valley, is said to have been formed by two feuding giants. When I took a group of school children there to looking at the scattered stones on the hillside, we had great fun imagining the giants hurling boulders at one another. From there it was easy to re-piece the rest of the narrative jigsaw; why they were fighting, who won the battle. We even found a pointy stone that looks like a giant’s nose, all that’s left after the loser was buried beneath the ground! That’s become a big part of my professional passion these days—connecting people with place, through stories and storytelling.

I also work with Common Ground, a well-loved Dorset environmental arts organisation, as their storyteller in residence. Together with its director Adrian Cooper we conceived an idea to raise awareness, particularly in schools, of the importance of the changing seasons and how they affect and enrich every part of our lives. I began collecting folklore and stories which highlight each moment of the seasons (there are many more than four!), and that became the inspiration for a book I’ve recently had published called Telling the Seasons: Stories, Folklore and Celebrations around the Year. At the end of each month-by-month chapter, there’s a section headed Old Roots, New Shoots, giving ideas and inspiration for instigating new seasonal celebrations. I’m hoping it might encourage people to be more aware of their own neighbourhoods and nearby

nature, echoing Common Ground’s vision for championing ‘local distinctiveness’. Perhaps, by taking note of changes in our own patch, we can also begin to understand and take action on wider environmental issues.

Twenty years ago, my partner Ruth and I met in Bristol. Our children, Orran and Annie, were born there, but with my personal and professional interests in landscape storytelling projects, I hoped to make the countryside my natural habitat. So, we moved to Bridport before the children started school, 10 years ago now, and it’s proved to be a wonderfully wild place to bring them up. It’s a bit of a cliché perhaps, but despite having lived in Lancashire, East Anglia and the city of Bristol, moving to Bridport felt like coming home.

© Martin Maudsley Photograph by Robin Mills

Last week I experienced one of those uncanny moments when a telephone call fixed a problem without anybody actually physically doing anything. My cooker had been making an unhappy noise for a couple of weeks and I decided to phone an engineer and stand beside it so he could hear the sound it was making. When I got through and explained the issue, I knelt down to put the phone next to where the noise was coming from—and it suddenly stopped. It was like that knocking noise in a car engine that simply refuses to happen when there’s a mechanic anywhere nearby. I highlight this because it’s rare that anything similar is fixed without a thorough investigation—which is why a future with the potential of artificial intelligence looking at our health symptoms leaves me uneasy. Health is an important issue at any stage of our lives but obviously increasingly as we get older. Sometimes we use the internet to try to learn more about whatever ails us, but without any real training that can be a disaster—there’s a high chance we may worry ourselves to death. So we hope that our health service and our GP can give us balance. But if a computer algorithm makes decisions and suggestions for treatment, then one of the most powerful medications available to the health industry—that of taking time to listen—is wasted. While I fully grasp the value of, and the need for filtering and triage during a time of stretched resources, I miss that five or ten minute faceto-face chat about ones general health—both physical and mental—that often has a powerful effect. How many times have we gone to see a doctor and miraculously felt better before even ordering the prescribed medicine? There are many occasions when kind words, real concern and gentle probing questions can create a mental state that helps our bodies to heal and make us stronger. Doctors, nurses and health professionals have enormous value to the general wellbeing of a community, and consequently to the economy. But we need more of them. If we really want economic recovery, surely we need to make health services a more attractive career prospect.

Cover Story By Robin Mills 10 Event News and Courses 20 News & Views 21 Nature Studies By Michael McCarthy

House & Garden 22 Vegetables in February By Ashley Wheeler 24 February in the Garden By Russell Jordan 26 Property Round Up By Helen Fisher

Food & Dining 28 Beetroot, Isle of Wight Blue and Pennywort Salad By Mark Hix

Arts & Entertainment 30 Transient Light and Fleeting Time By Fergus Byrne 32 Galleries 34 Preview By Gay Pirrie Weir 38 Screen Time By Nic Jeune 39 Young Lit Fix By Antonia Squire

Health & Environment 40 Services & Classified

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EVENTS AND COURSES

28 January

I Wanna Dance with Somebody (TBC), a celebration of Whitney Houston. Date to be confirmed. 3pm and 7.30pm The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

Jumble Sale 2pm. Contributions gratefully received, & may be left at the hall between 10am & mid-day on the Saturday morning. Clapton & Wayford Village Hall. Further information from Jackie (01460 72324) or Mary (01460 74849).

Joey the Lips Gig, doors 7.30pm live music from 8pm (TBC) tickets £20, £22.50 on the door. Tickets from 01297 625699, www. thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm. Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 6.5 mile walk from Lambert’s Plantation. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340.

The New Elizabethan Singers will give the first public performance of new music by a local composer in their concert in January. The concert, at St. Swithun’s Church, Bridport starts at 7.00 pm. Tickets (£15, under 18’s free) can be obtained from Goadsby Estate Agents in Bridport and online at https:// thenewelizabethansingers.org.uk.

Bridport Seed Swap 10-12. Bridport Community Shed Bring your surplus seed to swap at this informal gathering of local gardeners or simply take those you’d like, in exchange for a donation to charity. For more info call Eileen 07879 280334.

29 January

East Devon Ramblers 10.00. A leisurely 7.5 mile walk. ‘An East Devon stroll’ Buckton farm, Mincombe wood. Tell 01395-577891. Singing Bowl Soundbath 2-4PM Oborne Village Hall DT9 4LA £15 Advance bookings 01935 389655 ahiahel@live.com. Allington Strings 3pm, All Saint’s Church, Merriott TA16 5PS Tickets £10 available from The Feed Station, Merriott or reserve via allingtonstrings@outlook.com.

Dalwood Jazz Club Dave Newton and Craig Milverton “Dualling Pianos” The Southwest’s best known jazz pianists in concert. 3pm in Dalwood Village Hall EX13 7EG (near Axminster) Bar for beer/ wine/soft drinks and teas/coffees etc. Parking at the Village Hall. Ticket £12.50p Pay at the door. info: t.mackenney111@btinternet. com 07999 553477.

East Devon Ramblers 10.00. ‘Up and down again’. A moderate 8.5 mile walk. Seaton seafront to Beer and Branscombe. Tell: 07886-926636.

30 January

“Family Justice” A talk by Richard Bond, a former Circuit and Family Judge. 2.30pm at United Church Main Hall, East Street, Bridport. Golden Cap Association members £2, visitors £5. Contact 01308 459855.

If you enjoy dancing and music and socialising, then join in with the Folk Dancers in the W.I.Hall, Bridport from 7.15 to 9.30 every Monday. Musicians welcome. Tea and coffee. ring 459001 for further details. Beginners welcome.

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

31 January

Scottish Country Dancing at Ashill Village Hall Nr Ilminster TA19 9LX every Tuesday evening 7.30 to 9.30 pm. Beginners, returners and dancers of all abilities are very welcome to come along and join us. Biscuits and hot drink at the interval. Please wear soft, flat, comfy shoes if possible. £3.00 per evening. Further information contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com.

Beaminster Museum winter talk at 2.00pm, when Bob Machin is talking about the architecture and evolution of Dorset farmhouses. Many of the examples and historic photographs include sites within the museum catchment area. Entry £5.00.

West Dorset Ramblers Moderate 5+ mile circular walk enjoying the Winter views around Hardy’s Monument. Contact 07952 717764.

1 February

East Devon Ramblers 10.00am. 8 mile moderate walk. ‘Three woods and a river’ Newton Poppleford, Bulverton, Mutters moor. Tel 07546-267229.

Bridport Bridge Club is inviting bridge players of all levels to come and join one of four free Open Day club sessions at St Swithun’s Church Hall at 7pm. For more information, please contact Roy on 01308 425298; email bridportbridgeclub@outlook. com or visit the club website - bridgewebs.com/bridport . Also on Wednesday February 8th .

Scottish Country Dancing at 7.30 at Church House, South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NN. All welcome, no partner required but please wear soft shoes. First evening free, thereafter £2.00 which includes tea, coffee, squash and cake. Contact: Malcolm on 07790 323343. Check out bridportscottishdancers for more information. East Devon Ramblers 10.00am. 12 mile moderate walk. ‘A hill, no donkey’ Exmouth. Tel 07895-246909.

1 - 28 February

East Lambrook Manor Gardens in Somerset will be celebrating the snowdrop season with its fifth Festival of Snowdrops, an opportunity to see the fabulous snowdrops in the garden together with additional displays showcasing many of the 150 varieties grown there. The festival will also feature steel snowdrop sculptures by Chris Kampf and tours of the snowdrops, with around 90 varieties for sale in the nursery. The Festival runs from Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm. Garden entry £6.75, over 65s £6.25, under 16s free. Free entry to the nursery. East Lambrook Manor Gardens, Silver Street, East Lambrook, South Petherton, Somerset TA13 5HH. enquiries@eastlambrook.com www.eastlambrook.com

2 February

Dance Connection movement for well-being £12, 7:15pm, Bridport St Mary’s CHH DT6 3NN, 07787752201, danceconnectionwessex@gmail.com.

Parallel Mothers (2021, Spain, 15, 123 mins, S/titles, Dir: Pedro Almodóvar) Doors 6:45 pm, 7:30 pm start. Clapton & Wayford Village Hall (TA18 8PS). Membership £25, guests £5 per film. Contact mickpwilson53@btinternet.com or ring Mick Wilson on 01460 74849 or Di Crawley on 01460 30508.

Solo Charleston Dance Classes 1-2pm, St Marys Church Hall

EVENTS AND COURSESFebruary

Bridport - Introduction Class - £5 - All Welcome www.dynamicdance.uk. Also 9 and 23 February.

Lyme Regis Museum Friends illustrated talk in the Woodmead Hall, Hill Road, Lyme Regis, DT7 3PG at 2.30 pm. ‘Supporting Industry – Whatever the Weather’ by Emma Dyer. Members £2.00; Visitors £4.00 (£2 if you pay £8 on the door to become a member). All welcome! Tickets not required. For enquiries please contact David Cox 01297 443156.

Tatworth Flower Club are holding their first meeting of the new year at 2pm. We have a local lady to do our demonstration which is called, A Reawakening of Nature. Tea and cake is served afterwards for a donation and all arrangements are raffled. Doors open at 1.30pm, £6 for non members. Enquires, Julie Kettle 01934 248536. 3 February

Spiritato Producing unique, research-based performance projects, Spiritato avoid well-trodden paths wherever possible. The group actively seeks to promote forgotten composers and bring their music to a wider audience. 11:30am. Bridport Arts Centre, South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NR. 01308 424901. www.bridport-arts. com/whats-on.

Voices of Hope Beautiful songs from around the world taught in

harmony. Group is accessible to all ages and abilities. £5 suggested donation per session. Very relaxed atmosphere, uplifting and fun. No singing experience necessary. Drop in 11am to 12am Borough Gardens Bridport near Buckydoo Square (benches in gardens for those who need to sit or rest) If it is very wet we sing in The Unitarian Chapel in the Garden on East Street Bridport Jane Silver Corren 07887675161. janesilvercorren@gmail.com

The Get-Together with Mama Tokus A joyful collective experience where you get to join in with the band. Uplifting gospel, soul, blues and funk numbers with the lyrics beamed up in front. 7.30pm The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

East Devon Ramblers 10.00am. 4.5 mile leisurely walk. ‘Around underwood moor’ Yarcombe. 01404-549390.

Bridport Bridge Club is inviting bridge players of all levels to come and join one of four free Open Day club sessions at St Swithun’s Church Hall at 2pm. If you have played some bridge before and would like to have a game in a small club environment this is a great way of getting back to a sociable game. For more information, please contact Roy on 01308 425298; email bridportbridgeclub@outlook.com or visit the club website -

bridgewebs.com/bridport . Also on Friday February 10th .

Douglas Dare Milkteeth: A Homecoming Show 7:30pm Venue: St. Peter’s Church, Eype. Tickets: douglasdare.com/live.

Spiritato Classical Concert at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Promoted by Concerts in the West. Spiritato is a pioneering period instrument ensemble with a love for little-known composers and challenging conventions. Concert starts 19:30, bar available. Tickets: £18 (free to under 12s. Students £5). To book: 01460 54973. https://www.ilminsterartscentre.com/music. Exploring Inks Workshop at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Explore and experiment with the wonderful medium of ink. 10:00-13:00. Cost: £30. To book: 01460 54973. https://www. ilminsterartscentre.com/workshops.

3 - 5 February

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ (12A) Friday & Saturday - Picnic Nights & Sunday Matinee Screenings, doors Fri/Sat – doors 6.30pm, screening 7.30pm; Sat – doors 1.30pm, screening 2.30pm, tickets: Adults £7.50, Under 16s £6.50. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

4 February

Five Points Gang One of the most powerful and original upcoming bands in the UK music scene. They are said to become the biggest rock & roll band in the world. 8:00pm Bridport Arts Centre, South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NR. 01308 424901. www. bridport-arts.com/whats-on.

Climate Cafe, Seaton A respectful space where you can express your feelings about climate breakdown. A chance to talk safely and informally about what it means for you, and listen to others’ experiences. 10.30am - 12 noon, at Natural Worx Café, The Square, Seaton, EX12 2JZ. Contact Fiona Anderson fiona.anderson.01@ gmail.com.

The Friends of Weymouth Library’s talk will be by Kevin Patience, entitled “The True Story of the African Queen”. Talk begins at 10-30 a.m. and tickets can be obtained at the Library, costing £3 for non-members and £2 for members. Refreshments provided. All will be welcome.

India Sweets and Spices (12A) A charming comedy-drama from the producers of Crazy Rich Asians. 7.30pm The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

Sticks & Stones: A riot in Dorchester 1850. In 1850, on a wet February day in Dorchester, a violent disturbance over the Corn Laws culminated in the killing of a 19-year old youth by an irate farmer. The subsequent manslaughter trial at the Shire Court revealed a deep split in Dorset society and led to a verdict that many saw as a miscarriage of justice. In a talk at the Shire Hall on Saturday 4th February 2023 at 2 pm, Philip Browne will explain why the Corn Laws provoked such strong feelings and pitted Dorset landowners against free traders and the poor of Dorchester. This talk will remind us of a dramatic event in our town’s history that has been long forgotten. Tickets: £6.00 on the door or from https://shirehalldorset.org/whats-on/ Shire Hall Museum, High West Street, Dorchester, DT1 1UY

Cinema at the Warehouse Ilminster The Duke 7.45pm Warehouse Theatre, Brewery Lane, Ilminster. Contact details crisrainbow44@gmail.com

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 7 mile walk from Burton Bradstock. For further information please ring 01308

EVENTS IN MARCH

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

EVENTS AND COURSES

898484 or 01308 863340.

4 - 12 February

Compton Valence snow drops village hall lunches and teas Come and walk/drive through our beautiful village and see the stunning white drifts of snowdrops. (The village hall is below the church) open (weather permitting): 11.00am -3.30 pm Daily. To Book Please ring or email so we can cater accordingly: Tessa Russell Tel: 01308 482227 or email: tessa@cvfarms.co.uk Or Pippa James 01305 889338 m 07880882985. email:enquiries@dovehousedorset. co.uk Pre booked guests will take priority as the hall is small. In bad/icy weather we may not be open. Please be considerate of our village/verges etc when parking or ring us to discuss your needs so we can advise you where to go. We very much look forward to seeing you.

5 February

East Devon Ramblers 10.00am. 12 mile strenuous walk. ‘Winter warm up’ Trinity Hill, Rousdon, Combpyne. Tel 01395-567450. Modern Jive Tea Dance 2-5pm, Salwayash Village Hall - All Modern Jive Dancers welcome - £7 includes refreshments www. dynamic-dance.uk

6 February

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

Bridport Folk Dance Club dance sessions in the W.I. Hall on Monday evenings from 7.15pm-9.30pm. All welcome, especially beginners. Occasional live music, and always a caller. Musicians welcome. Tel: 863552 or 459001 for more information.

Hawkchurch Film Nights in association with Devon Moviola, proudly presents ‘The Lost King’ (108 mins, Cert. 12 - infrequent strong language, discrimination). Doors open 6.30pm, film starts 7.00pm at Hawkchurch Village Hall, EX13 5XD. Ticket reservations £5.50 from csma95@gmail.com or leave a message on 01297 678176 (socially-distanced seating available if reserved in advance); tickets also available for £5.50 from Hawkchurch Community Shop or £6.00 on the door. Subtitles for the hardof-hearing provided. Home-made cake and other delicious refreshments available.

The Stanchester Quire will be all at sea as we learn songs and shanties that illustrate how the sea has affected the lives of the people of the South West of England through the years. We meet at The David Hall, Roundwell Street, South Petherton, TA13 5AA, at 7:30pm and new members are always very welcome. In fact new members get the first two weeks free! For further details please email stanchesterquire1@gmail.com or phone Bonnie on 01935 822287.

Modern Jive (Leroc) Social Dance Classes. 7:30pm, Chideock Village Hall. £6 per person, Come with or without a partner. Beginners and Returners Welcome Every Week. www.dynamicdance.uk Also 13, 20 and 27 February.

7 February

Scottish Country Dancing at Ashill Village Hall Nr Ilminster

TA19 9LX every Tuesday evening 7.30 to 9.30 pm with break for drink and biscuits. Please wear soft , flat comfy shoes if possible. £ 3.00 per evening. All abilities welcome including beginners so why not come along and join us ?. Further information contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com

8 February

East Devon Ramblers 10.00am. 5 mile leisurely walk. ‘Around Sowton’ Clyst St Mary village. Tel 07977-544749.

Colyford & District Photographic Club Come along to our Club nights 7.15 to 9.45 pm, every 2nd and 4th Wednesday, Colyford Memorial Hall, Swan Hill Road, Colyford EX24 6QJ. For more information please telephone 07753911751 or check out our website www.colyford-photographic-club.co.uk. Also 22 February.

Scottish Country Dancing at 7.30 at Church House, South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NN. All welcome, no partner required but please wear soft shoes. First evening free, thereafter £2.00, which includes soft drinks, tea, coffee and biscuits. Contact: Malcolm on 07790 323343. Check out bridportscottishdancers for more information.

East Devon Ramblers 10.00am 10 mile moderate walk. ‘Hemyock winter ramble’. Tel 07870-804711.

8 - 9 February

Fisherman’s Friends One and All (PG), Kilmington Community Cinema will be screening at the Village Hall (EX13 7RF). Doors open 6.45 film starts 7.15 on Wednesday. Matinee on Thursday doors open 1.45pm film starts 2pm, advance booking required for this matinee, cream-teas served during the interval but must be pre-booked with your seats @ £3.50. Pre-booked seat tickets @ £5 or £5.50 on the door. Tickets can be pre-booked by email: wattsjohn307@gmail.com or Tel: 01297 639758 see www.kilmingtonvillage.com/other-organisations.html for more information.

9 February

Janice and Jon A folk duo with a spellbinding presence, ‘Janice & Jon’s’ compelling storytelling comes alive through tight vocal harmonies and sensitive interplay between mandolin, bouzouki, and guitar. Cash bar. 7.30pm Shipton Gorge Village Hall. Tickets: £10, £5 (u18s), £25 (fam 4 – max 2 adults) online at www.artsreach. co.uk. For enquiries, call 01308 897407.

Chesil Bank Writing Shed Do you write? Would you like to be a writer? Whatever you want to write come and learn with our creative writing group. New writers always welcome. 7pm - 9pm, Portesham Village Hall. Find out more by calling Linda on 01305 871802.

East Lambrook Manor Gardens will be open for the NGS annual Snowdrop Festival on Thursday 9th February when all entry money will go towards supporting the NGS’s nursing and palliative care charities. East Lambrook Manor Gardens, Silver Street, East Lambrook, South Petherton, Somerset TA13 5HH. enquiries@ eastlambrook.com www.eastlambrook.com.

Chard Royal Naval Association The association will be holding their first social meeting at 7.30 pm at their new location of Chard Cricket Club (The Club House, Chard Cricket Club, Dening Field,

CHARD, TA20 1JL). where members will be entertained by Alan Hall speaking on the development of the ‘Somerset Wood’. Further information for those interested in joining the association (you do not have to be former services to join) can be obtained by contacting Chairman Paula Moon 07929291401.

Sea Shanty Sessions at The Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis. Join us and The Chantry Buoys, of Colyton, for an evening of sea shanties, and other well known maritime songs. Entry is free. Drinks will be available from the licensed bar along with soft drinks, The Buoys start at 7.30pm. Tel 07761 469676 Dance Connection movement for well-being £12, 7:15pm, Bridport St Mary’s CHH DT6 3NN, 07787752201, danceconnectionwessex@gmail.com

10 February

East Devon Ramblers 10.00am. 6 mile leisurely walk. ‘Coastal path and river Otter’. Otterton Green. Tel 07802-877978. Aftersun (12A) Paul Mescal (Normal People) stars as idealistic father Calum, whose holiday with daughter Sophie triggers bittersweet memories 20 years later. 7.30pm The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

Hunting the Hunter: Brian Lane-Smith Chairman of the Southwest Airfields Heritage Trust. An illustrated talk on the activities of American forces operating from Dunkeswell airfield during World War 2, drawing on a unique collection of photographs and some film, including attacks on German U-boats. Aspects of the construction and operation of Dunkeswell airfield also will be covered. Details on www.lymeregisu3a.org Guests welcome for a donation of £2. 11am at Woodmead Hall, Lyme Regis.

East Devon Branch, Devonshire Association The History of Seaton Tramway; Seaton Tramway is one of Devon’s best loved tourist attractions, operating narrow gauge heritage trams

between Seaton and Colyton. Dave Rawlings will talk about its founder, Claude Lane, why and when he started building trams and the evolution of the tramway from its early days to the present. Dave will also speak about the original Seaton branch line from its opening in 1868 to closure in 1966; 2.30pm, Manor Pavilion Theatre Sidmouth EX10 8RP; contact Brian Ludford 01395 513232 or edevon.sec@devonassoc.org.uk.

A Great Trio of Talent Mike Denham, Julia Titus & Steve Graham at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Welcoming back Mike Denham for the latest of his popular SpeakEasy nights. His guest is actress, poet, singer and songwriter Julia Titus, otherwise known as Ma Bessie. Among her talents is the ability to convincingly put over the songs of that great blues and vaudeville singer of the 1920s, Bessie Smith. On this occasion Mike, at the grand piano, will be joined on trumpet by long-time colleague, Steve Graham, one of the UK’s most respected vintage jazz trumpeters. Concert starts 19:30, bar available. Tickets: £18. To book: 01460 54973. https://www.ilminsterartscentre.com/music. ‘A Man Named Otto’(15) Picnic Night Screening, doors 6.30pm, screening 7.30pm, tickets: Adults £7.50, Under 16s £6.50. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

11 February

Wille and the Bandits It’s rare to find a band as dynamic as Wille and the Bandits, one as comfortable and as impressive at both ends of the sonic spectrum. Best experienced LIVE!. 8:00pm. Bridport Arts Centre, South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NR, 01308 424901. www.bridport-arts.com/whats-on.

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

Yarcombe Village Market 10am -12 noon – Fantastic local

EVENTS AND COURSES

produce – Eggs, Cakes, Plants, Jams, pickles, Woodwork, Metal work, Pottery , also Bric a Brac and Homeware – Come and have a Coffee and Cake -Yarcombe Village Hall EX14 9BN. Any queries please contact Helen 07858625421. Upyme and Lyme Regis Horticultural Society Coffee morning. Container and tuber for the summer show potato-in-a-bucket competition class on sale for £3. All welcome. Uplyme Village Hall 10am-12noon. More information www.ulrhs.wordpress.com

Scottish Dancing Party in Chardstock Evening of Scottish Dancing at Chardstock Village Hall 7.30 - 10.30 p.m. No partner required. Please bring your own mug and a plate of food to share. Tea and coffee provided. Cost £5.00 Contact David on 01460 65981 www.chardscottishdancingclub.org.

‘Valentine’s Gala Night’ doors 6.30pm, Magic 7.15pm, Music 8.15pm: table seating tickets £23, row seating £20. Celebrate Valentine’s Day at our Gala Night featuring tricks from awardwinning magic circle magician ‘Simply Simon’ and live music from ‘The New West End Jerseys’, a tribute to Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton. co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm. Beekeeping for Beginners East Devon Beekeepers, Hunthay Farm, Nr Axminster EX13 5RH. 14 hours of classroom tuition over several weeks covering all the basic aspects of beekeeping, plus a full summer of practical sessions in the apiary and winter meetings indoors will equip aspiring beekeepers to take up the craft. Details on edbk.co.uk or from Richard Simpson, education@edbk. co.uk or 07900 492242. Cost: £100 (includes a free text book and annual membership of Devon Beekeepers and British Beekeepers’ Assoc’s). Booking required as places limited.

11 - 19 February

Half Term Fun at West Bay Discovery Centre come and make a paper boat, see our latest exhibition ‘ West Bay memories’ and enjoy our hands on interactive displays. West Bay Discovery Centre 11:00am -16:00. Please note we will be shut on Monday 13th February. Admission free. Further details http://www. westbaydiscoverycentre.org.uk/

12 February

East Devon Ramblers 10.00am. 9 mile moderate walk. ‘Viaduct View’ Trinity Hill, Newcastle, Uplyme. Tel 07759-324849.

Divine Union Soundbath Bell Street United Church, Bell St, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 8AL 2-3.30 PM. Lie down, relax, and allow the Pure Sounds of a crystal and Tibetan bowl soundbath plus sacred vocal overtoning take you into the deeper brainwave states of ‘the relaxation response’, while charging and balancing the aura and chakras of the subtle body, and detoxing the physical body.£15 Please book in advance.01935 389655 or email ahiahel@live.com Last minute booking queries or cancellations 07798530515.

13 February

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

Bridport Folk Dance Club dance sessions in the W.I. Hall on

Monday evenings from 7.15pm-9.30pm. All welcome, especially beginners. With Angela and Tim Laycock calling and providing the music. Tel: 863552 or 459001 for more information.

Meeting Fun Quiz Dorchester Townswomen’s Guild 2 p.m. Mr Iain Campbell will be hosting this fun, non-Mastermind Quiz. Visitors very welcome (£2.50). Tea and Coffee available. Dorchester Community Church, Liscombe Street, Poundbury DT1 3DF. Any queries 01305 832857.

14 February

Scottish Country Dancing at Ashill Village Hall Nr Ilminster TA19 9LX every Tuesday evening 7.30 to 9.30 pm with break for drink and biscuits. Please wear soft , flat comfy shoes if possible. £3.00 per evening. All abilities welcome including beginners so why not come along and join us ?. Further information contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com.

14 - 18 February

The Addams Family Hilarious family musical presented by Honiton Community Theatre Company. 7pm + 2pm Sat matinee The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

15 February

East Devon Ramblers 10.00am. 9 mile moderate walk. ‘Saints and Sinners’ Broadhembury. Tel 07771-935117.

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

Scottish Country Dancing at 7.30 at Church House, South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NN. All welcome, no partner required but please wear soft shoes. First evening free, thereafter £2.00, which includes soft drinks, tea, coffee and biscuits. Contact: Malcolm on 07790 323343. Check out bridportscottishdancers for more information.

16 February

Talk on Banking in the 1950s by Sandra Brown. 2.30pm at Bridport WI Hall, in support of Bridport Millennium Green. £5/£4 members to include tea and biscuits. More details 01308 423078.

Thorncombe Environment Group Eco Fair 11am-2pm at Thorncombe Sports and Social Club, Horseshoe Road, TA20 4PS. Local eco-friendly community groups, wildlife and conservation organisations, children’s activities. All welcome. Entry free. Refreshments available. Bar open. For more information or to book a stand please e-mail ThorncombeEnvironmentGroup@outlook. com.

‘Strange World’ (PG), matinee, doors 2.30pm, screening 3pm, tickets adult £7.50, under 16s £6.50 age 15. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

Dance Connection movement for well-being £12, 7:15pm, Bridport St Mary’s CHH DT6 3NN, 07787752201, danceconnectionwessex@gmail.com.

Bridport & District Gardening Club will meet at 7.30 pm at the W I Hall North Street Bridport when Colin Varndell will talk about Garden Birds. He has been photographing the landscape and wildlife for over 42 years. His evocative photographs of animals,

birds, insects, wild flowers and the landscape are reproduced in books, magazines, newspapers, greetings cards, calendars and in advertising worldwide. He has won awards 4 times in the prestigious International Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. The meeting is open to non members for the fee of £2.00 and further information about the club can be found at bridportgardeningclub.co.uk.

16 - 19 February

Brew Dorch, Dorchester’s Festival of Drinks Venues across the town are celebrating the town’s prestigious brewing and distilling history and have organised some refreshing events that will involve a fair amount of frivolity! Follow the Brew Dorch Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/BrewDorch and book tickets at: www.DiscoverDorchester.co.uk/BrewDorch

17 February

East Devon Ramblers 5.5 mile moderate walk. Beer. ‘Coffee on the beach’Tel 07772-069940.

Fisherman’s Friends One and All at 7.30pm Village Hall, The Causeway, Milborne St Andrew DT11 0JX Doors and bar open 7.00 Tickets cost £6, which includes a drink or an ice-cream. Voices of Hope Beautiful songs from around the world taught in harmony. Group is accessible to all ages and abilities. £5 suggested donation per session. Very relaxed atmosphere, uplifting and fun. No singing experience necessary. Drop in 11am to 12am Borough Gardens Bridport near Buckydoo Square (benches in gardens for those who need to sit or rest) If it is very wet we sing in The Unitarian Chapel in the Garden on East Street Bridport Jane Silver Corren 07887675161. janesilvercorren@gmail.com

Flying Folk Jemima Farey and Friends at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Jemima and her talented family will be joined this time round by folk stars Danny Ward, Colin Elliott and Toadflax. Concert starts 19:30, bar available. Tickets: £12. To book: 01460

54973. https://www.ilminsterartscentre.com/music. Mrs Harris Goes To Paris is the film to be shown by T & F Movies, in Tatworth Memorial Hall at 7.30 pm. The doors open at 7.00pm, the entry charge is £5, and there is the usual bar and raffle. Felting Workshop at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Transform wool into a wearable scarf, or make a 3D model of a bird or animal using special barbed needles and lots of stabbing! Most techniques can be taught in this workshop with experienced tutor Geraldine Field. Suitable for all levels from complete beginners to those returning. 10:00-15:00. Cost: £30. To book: 01460 54973. https://www.ilminsterartscentre.com/workshops.

17 - 18 February

Giovanni Lonati; classical piano Tincleton Gallery, The Old School House, Tincleton, nr Dorchester, DT2 8QR. Opening / performance times: doors open 19:30; concert starts 20:00. Admission fee: £15. 01305 848 909. http://www.tincletongallery. com.

18 February

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

Bridport Folk Dance Club Come and join the regulars for a stomp and swing at their Saturday Night Barn Dance in the W.I. Hall ,7.30 -10.30 pm. All welcome including children. Tea, biscuits and soft drinks available or BYO. £5.00 entry...children free. Proceeds will go to Julia’s House Hospice. (The last Barn Dance raised £85 for Air ambulance). Tel:863552 or 459001 for more information.

Paddleboat Theatre – Hansel and Gretel doors 2.30, show 3pm, tickets adults £8 Under 16s £6. Family £26. This inclusive version of Hansel & Gretel is a sensory story full of magic, gentle interaction and integrated signing. With an enchanting woodland

EVENTS AND COURSES

set, playful characters and poetic storytelling it is a perfect first time theatre experience for little ones. Tickets from 01297 625699, www. thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm. Cinema at the Warehouse Ilminster Parallel Mothers Penelope Cruz stars in this boisterous swapped-at-birth melodrama full of mix-ups and moral quandaries. Spain 7.45pm Warehouse Theatre, Brewery Lane, Ilminster. www.cinemaatthewarehouse.co.uk contact details crisrainbow44@gmail.com

19 February

East Devon Ramblers 10.00am. 8 mile leisurely walk. ‘An East Devon Stroll’ from The Bowd lay-by. Tel 01395-577891. Open Music Day in Crewkerne Museum 10am-4pm Come and play, listen, learn, talk to musicians. All instruments welcome. Entry free. Donations to Museum welcome. Enquiries 01460 73168.

The Royal Opera – The Barber of Seville (12A) screening, doors 1.30pm, screening 2pm, tickets adults £14.50, under 16s £7.50. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

Royal Opera Cinema: The Barber of Seville (12A) With vocal fireworks, scheming lovers and one very busy barber, Rossini’s comic opera is packed with fun & mischief. 2pm The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

Divine Union Soundbath Bridport Unitarians, 49 East St, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3JX 2-3.30 pm £15 Please book in advance via 01935 389655 or email ahiahel@live.com Last minute booking queries or cancellations 07798530515

East Devon Ramblers 10.00am 8 mile moderate walk. ‘Play the snowdrop lottery’. Dunkery Beacon, Blagdon wood. Tel 01404811267.

Dance Connection Dance Day Workshop, 11am-4pm, Bridport St Mary’s CHH DT6 3NN, 07787752201, danceconnectionwessex@gmail.com

20 February

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Evening of Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Village Hall 7.30 - 10.00 p.m. Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own mug. No partner required. Cost £2.00 Contact David on 01460 65981 www.chardscottishdancingclub.org. Bridport Folk Dance Club dance sessions in the W.I. Hall on Monday evenings from 7.15pm-9.30pm. All welcome, especially beginners. Occasional live music, and always a caller. Musicians welcome. Tel: 863552 or 459001 for more information.

21 February

Turn Lyme Green Talk The Common Ground Project creates community land trusts that take land out of private ownership and drive its use towards diversity, regenerative practice and common good. The Project works in all areas of human wellness in relation to the land, including food, ecology, affordable housing and energy. It is creating two land trusts in East Devon, near to Lyme Regis, and will be sharing how the model works and welcoming proposals about the use of the land. Graham Willett of the Common Ground Project will be talking about the project. 7pm Driftwood Cafe, Baptist Church Broad Street, Lyme Regis DT7 3NY.

Watercolours Workshop at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Weekly morning and afternoon sessions. Learn to paint in watercolours with experienced tutor Nicky Clarke. Tuesdays, mornings 10:00-12:00, and afternoons 13:00-15:00. Cost: £15 per session. To book: 01460 281773 or randnclarke@hotmail.co.uk. https://www.ilminsterartscentre.com/workshops.

Scottish Country Dancing at Ashill Village Hall Nr Ilminster TA19 9LX every Tuesday evening 7.30 to 9.30 pm with break for drink and biscuits. Please wear soft , flat comfy shoes if possible. £ 3.00 per evening. All abilities welcome including beginners so why not come along and join us ?. Further information contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com

22 February

East Devon Ramblers 10.00am. 10 mile moderate walk. ‘St Boniface Way’. Newton St Cyres. Tel 07885-951863. The Beehive Acoustic Night. Hosted by Terry Stacey. Perform or listen in the Beehive bar. Free entry. 7.30pm The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

Scottish Country Dancing at 7.30 at Church House, South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NN. All welcome, no partner required but please wear soft shoes. First evening free, thereafter £2.00, which includes soft drinks, tea, coffee and biscuits. Contact: Malcolm on 07790 323343. Check out bridportscottishdancers for more information.

Upyme and Lyme Regis Horticultural Society talk on The Secret Lives of Garden Bees by Jean Vernon. Uplyme Village Hall 7.30pm. Refreshments from 7pm. Members free, non-members £3. More information www.ulrhs.wordpress.com

Acrylics Workshop at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. First in a series of six classes. Learn to paint in acrylics with experienced tutor Juliet Farnese. Wednesdays, 09:45-12:15. Cost: £105 for 6 sessions. To book: 07920 133358 or julietfarnese@gmail.com. https://www.ilminsterartscentre.com/workshops.

Dorset Museum Music Society will be launching its 2023 series with a concert given by the Solem Quartet, an outstanding young string quartet with glowingly reviewed recordings and concert appearances both in the UK and further afield. The concert takes place in the Victorian Hall of the Dorset Museum, High West Street, Dorchester, a splendid chamber music venue highly regarded by both performers and audiences, at 7.30pm. Tickets can be purchased on line from: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/dorsetmuseum-music-society-cio or, if still available, on the door. This is the first in a series of six monthly concerts featuring varied and exciting programmes given by leading performers, details of which can be found on https://dorsetmuseummusicsociety.uk

23 February

I’m Glad I asked This funny, tender heart-felt, one woman (and a puppet) show is drawn from workshops with women of all ages and Michele’s own lived experiences with her 91-year-old Mother, Gena. 7:30pm. Bridport Arts Centre, South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NR. 01308 424901. www.bridport-arts.com/whats-on. Nostalgic Cinema: Now, Voyager (1942) Stars Bette Davis. A dementia-friendly subtitled screening open to all who love the old

films. 2pm The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton. co.uk 01404 384050.

National Theatre Live: Othello (12A) An extraordinary new production of Shakespeare’s most enduring tragedy. 7pm The Beehive Honiton www. beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

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

National Theatre Live: Othello (12A) screening, doors 6.30pm, screening 7pm, tickets adults £14.50, under 16s £7.50 Tickets from 01297 625699, www. thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am1pm.

EVENTS AND COURSES

Illustrated Talk: Cruise along the Jurassic Coast West Bay Discovery Centre is holding another winter talk at The Salt House at 2:30pm with West Dorset marine photographer and sailor Steve Belasco who will be taking us on a unique journey along the Jurassic Coast using his photographs captured exclusively at wave level. Tickets £5 are available in person or on-line from Bridport Tourist Information Centre. Further details http://www. westbaydiscoverycentre.org.uk/ Pastels Workshop at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. First in a series of six classes. Linda Hampson’s ever popular Pastels workshop - this term’s theme is the Natural World and the letter ‘B’! Blackbird, Beaver, Begonia, Blueberries, Bateleur Eagle... Thursdays, 10:00-13:00. Cost: £85 for 6 sessions. To book: 01460 54973. https://www.ilminsterartscentre.com/workshops.

Art Journaling Workshop at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. First in a series of six classes. Express your feelings in pictures and words - no rules, no experience needed. Thursdays, 13:30-15:00. Cost: £95 for 6 sessions. To book: 01460 54973. https://www. ilminsterartscentre.com/workshops

The Dart Valley Stompers This 4-piece band has a repertoire firmly rooted in Traditional & New Orleans music. Members of the band have performed their style of jazz many times for us and are a major crowd pleaser playing a lively and exciting musical selection. 7:30pm Martock Church; TA12 6JL. Tickets: £12 or £10 at Guardianstickets@gmail.com /07547 213992/Martock Gallery/ Martock Newsagent. Website:www.martockonline.co.uk/events. www.dartvalleystompers.co.uk.

24 February

East Devon Ramblers 4.5 mile leisurely walk. ‘Around and about Shute Beacon Kilmington, Shute Hill. Tel 07966-300919.

Trevor Whiting and the Craig Milverton Trio at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. From Bechet to Bird - a celebration of clarinet and saxophone highlights of the classic jazz era from New Orleans through to Swing and beyond. Concert starts 19:30, bar available. Tickets: £18. To book: 01460 54973. https://www. ilminsterartscentre.com/music.

A Rogues Gallery for Gardeners a talk by Sally Nex at Winsham’s Jubilee Hall at 7.30pm. £3.50 for members and £5 for non members. “A talk packed with practical advice on organic ways of tackling pests and diseases, including ways to prevent them from attacking your plot in the first place, and how to limit the damage if and when they do.” For more details & to reserve a seat please contact Debbie on 01460 432815.

Voices of Hope Beautiful songs from around the world taught in harmony. Group is accessible to all ages and abilities. £5 suggested donation per session. Very relaxed atmosphere, uplifting and fun. No singing experience necessary. Drop in 11am to 12am Borough Gardens Bridport near Buckydoo Square (benches in gardens for those who need to sit or rest). If it is very wet we sing in The Unitarian Chapel in the Garden on East Street Bridport Jane Silver Corren 07887675161. janesilvercorren@gmail.com

The Beehive Open day Showcasing the activities and opportunities at Honiton’s community venue. Come along and see what’s on offer. 2-8pm The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.

co.uk 01404 384050.

Glass Bead Jewellery Making Workshop at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. In this course, experienced tutor Jenny Harrison will guide you through the art of creating glass bead jewellery. Learn how to put beads onto head pins to make an easy fasten necklace and earrings. 10:00-13:00. Cost: £25 + £5 materials. To book: 01460 54973. https://www.ilminsterartscentre.com/ workshops 25

February

Martin Carthy For more than 50 years Martin Carthy has been one of folk music’s greatest innovators, one of its best loved, most enthusiastic and, at times, most quietly controversial of figures. 7:30pm. Bridport Arts Centre, South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NR. 01308 424901. www.bridport-arts.com/whats-on.

What’s Love Got To Do With It (12A) British romantic comedy about contrasting approaches to love and marriage. Starring Emma Thompson, Lily James, Sajal Aly. (to be confirmed) 7.30pm The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050. Wootton Fitzpaine social club Quiz Night 8.00pm, Max 6 player in a team, £1.00 per player. All Welcome Membership now due £10.00, Opening times wed, frid, sat from 7.30pm. Snooker table, pool table, football games, skittle alley and well stocked bar. Events to look out for Easter Bingo & Bumper Easter Draw Night. Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 7 mile walk from Odcombe. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340.

‘The Darkside of Pink Floyd’ gig – Live Music, doors 7.30pm, music 8pm, tickets £20, £22.50 on the door. More than just an ordinary Pink Floyd tribute band, The Darkside of Pink Floyd entertain audiences with a fantastic light show and passionate performances. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton. co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

26 February

East Devon Ramblers 10.00am. 10.5 mile moderate walk. ‘The Exe Valley and it’s rolling hills’. Bickleigh Mill. Tel 01395-516897.

Divine Union Soundbath Oborne Village Hall, Oborne, nr. Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4LA 2pm-4pm Lie down, relax, and allow the Pure Sounds of a crystal and Tibetan bowl soundbath plus sacred vocal overtoning take you into the deeper brainwave states of ‘the relaxation response’, while charging and balancing the aura and chakras of the subtle body, and detoxing the physical body.£15Please book in advance via 01935 389655 or email ahiahel@live.com Last minute booking queries or cancellations 07798530515.

Axe Vale Orchestra invites you to “An Afternoon at the Theatre” at 3.00pm, The Town Hall, Colyton. Tickets, £12, students free, from www.axevaleorchestra.co.uk, via TicketSource, or from The Little Shop, Colyton. Cimarosa: Overture Il Matrimonio Segreto, Faure: Masques et Bergamasques, Bizet: Carmen Suite, Respighi: La Boutique Fantasque.

27 February

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Evening of Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Village Hall 7.30 - 10.00 p.m. Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own mug. No partner required. Cost £2.00

Contact David on 01460 65981 www.chardscottishdancingclub. org.

Bridport Folk Dance Club dance sessions in the W.I.Hall on Monday evenings from 7.15-9.30pm. All Welcome, especially beginners. Occasional live music and always a caller. Musicians welcome. Tel 863552 or 459001 for more information.

Amanda Hampson will give a talk entitled “The Jurassic Coast: A Poet’s journey.” National Trust Golden Cap Association. United Church Hall, East Street, Bridport. 2.30 pm entry £2.00 for members and £5.00 for visitors. Information from Mike Nicks 01308 459855.

Scottish Dancing at All Saints An evening of Scottish Dancing at All Saints Village Hall. 7.30-10.00 pm Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own mug. No partner required. Cost £2.00. Contact David 01460 65981 www.chardscottishdancingclub.org 28 February

Scottish Country Dancing at Ashill Village Hall Nr Ilminster TA19 9LX every Tuesday evening 7.30 to 9.30 pm with break for drink and biscuits. Please wear soft , flat comfy shoes if possible. £ 3.00 per evening. All abilities welcome including beginners so why not come along and join us ?. Further information contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com.

Bridport & District u3a Monthly Meetings & Talks ‘Wild Gardening’ by Mitch Perkins of Dorset Wildlife Trust. Mitch works at Dorset Wildlife Trust in the Wider Communities Team. Her background is in ecology and wildlife gardening. The talk will be about wildlife gardening and why wildlife needs our help and what we can do to support nature in our gardens and local green spaces. The talk begins at 2pm in the Bridport United Church Hall in East Street. The talk will last for about an hour and there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Refreshments will follow. The talk is free to members and there is a £2 charge for non-members. Please

see the Bridport & District u3a website for further information about this and future talks and if you are interested in becoming a member: bridportu3a.org.uk.

The Lyme Regis Society present A Talk Lyme Regis Hospitals by Rachel Pope. To be held at 2pm Woodmead Halls, Hill Road, Lyme Regis. DT7 3PG. All Welcome. Members Free. Visitors £3.00. Refreshments Included. Check website for further information: https://www.lymeregissociety.org.uk.

Simon Nicholls, Home Safety Advisor for Devon Fire Service, will talk to Seaton u3a at their monthly meeting. He will give us tips and advice about keeping safe in our homes and take questions from the audience. The talk will start at 2pm at The Gateway, Seaton and is free for members; £2 for non-members who are welcome to join us for the talk and refreshments afterwards. More information about Seaton u3a can be found at https:// u3asites.org.uk/seaton/home.

LYME REGIS

‘One of the good guys’ TRIBUTES have been paid to a ‘man firm and strong in his beliefs’ with the death of former Lyme Regis deputy mayor, Cllr John Broom. Cllr Broom passed away aged 78 at Dorset County Hospital in January. Councillors have spoken of his good humour, the wealth of knowledge he brought to his council role, and his honesty, calling him ‘one of the good guys’. Leading the tributes, Lyme Regis mayor Cllr Michaela Ellis said: “Everyone at Lyme Regis Town Council is saddened to hear of John’s death. He will be greatly missed for all the input he had in building and planning matters.” Cllr Larcombe said: “We’ve lost a councillor, a colleague, and a friend.”

WEST BAY Walkway closure

SHERBORNE Maintaining historic churches

EAST DEVON

Tributes to former leader

EDDC’s Chair and Chief Executive have paid their respects following the sad news that former council leader Paul Diviani had passed away. Paul was an EDDC councillor for 20 years, from 1999 to 2019 and the leader of the council from 2011 to 2018, holding the position of EDDC’s chair and portfolio holder for the economy, regeneration and strategic development during his tenure. In December 2019, he was made an Honorary Alderman. EDDC’s Chair, Councillor Ian Thomas said: I was deeply saddened by the news of Paul’s passing. My heart-felt sympathy goes out to Paul’s family and friends.

WORK has begun to see what is needed to reopen a public walkway at West Bay

Harbour that was temporarily closed by Dorset Council for safety reasons. Monitored for some time, Dorset Council safety officers noticed increased structural movement since it was last inspected a few weeks ago. Officers are concerned about the stability of the wall and ultimately the safety of people using the walkway. The council apologised for the inconvenience caused and said the walkway will not remain closed any longer than it has to be.

DORSET Historic Churches Trust announced it had raised a mganificent £85,000 on it’s annual fundraising Ride and Stride (R+S) event. Hundreds of energetic supporters all over the county cycled, walked and rode to help with the upkeep of Dorset’s beautiful and historic church buildings. This figure is well up with the pre-Covid average and the Trustees are very grateful to everyone who took part. The Trust is always looking for volunteers. Visit dhct.org.uk for more information.

DORCHESTER

Virtual visit to Hardy’s woods

HOSPITAL patients in Dorchester can visit the woods around Thomas Hardy’s birthplace without leaving their beds, thanks to a partnership between arts organisation ScreenPLAY and Arts in Hospital.

ScreenPLAY’s wellbeing journey Rites of Way with Mr Hardy is now available through the Arts in Hospital website so patients can listen to stories and poems from the woods and imagine they are there. Dramatherapist Sharon Hayden, co-creator of Rites of Way explained that although the idea of the project is to listen when you are in the woods, people not able to get there can still get the benefit. The website https://dchartsinhospital.org.uk includes links to a series of podcasts.

Nature Studies

By Michael McCarthy

Idoubt if one person in a hundred, perhaps even one in a thousand, can now tell you what Candlemas is. As familiarity with Christian tradition steadily erodes, it’s not surprising that we lose sight of some of the lesser festivals of the church, and Candlemas is one of them: held on February 2, forty days after Christmas, it is the feast of the purification of the Virgin Mary, according to Jewish custom, after the birth of Jesus. It also marks the presentation of the infant Jesus at the temple. In practical terms, it was the day when everyone in the parish brought their candles to church to be blessed, so that they might ward off evil spirits.

But Candlemas has another, very attractive, connotation: it is particularly associated with snowdrops. Indeed, the flowers were once known as Candlemas bells, and it is easy to see how they were the perfect flowers for the feast—flawless symbols of purity. It’s not hard to imagine what pleasure must have been taken in gathering them, or in merely having them growing by the church, on the day itself. And even today many of our best snowdrop displays are associated with the old faith, clustering around churchyards and ancient religious foundations, ruined abbeys and priories, where they were planted with Candlemas in mind. For years I attended a fishing dinner in early February in what seemed to me the loveliest village of the loveliest river valley in Hampshire, and one of the highlights of my visit was always to go and admire the sheets of snowdrops on the site of the thousandyear-old ruins of its nunnery.

I have spent a certain amount of time thinking about why I find Galanthus nivalis (the ‘snowy milk-flower’) such a moving sight. It is certainly beautiful, but there is something else going on here. I think it’s to do with timing. The flowers appear at the toughest time of the year, when the earth is locked down hard, and they’re the very first sign of something else, an undeniable signal that the warm days will come again. I think they fill me with elation because what I am looking at, against the dead tones of the frozen earth, is hope, suddenly and unmistakably manifest in white. But perhaps there’s something even more…

Last year, in the first winter after we moved west, I started

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

looking out for snowdrop sites, and one of the first I came across was Herringston, the ancient house just south of Dorchester where the flowers line both sides of the long drive. But I soon realised there were more ambitious displays, and one of the best, as many people will know, is to be found at Kingston Lacy, the Restoration mansion near Wimborne now in the care of the National Trust. As Robin Mills’ photograph (above) of the flowers there clearly shows, the sheer scale of the blooming can be spectacular—a sensation of wondrous abundance that can rival that of bluebells. And I found that many other great houses in Dorset have extensive snowdrop displays which can be visited, from Minterne to Mapperton, and that some whole villages are covered in snowdrops, such as Compton Valence, while Shaftesbury, with an extensive planting programme, is attempting to become Britain’s first ‘snowdrop town.’

But it was the snowdrops in a Dorset churchyard which moved me most. I’m not going to name it, since I feel that the site is so delicate that it would not well support any sort of sudden influx of visitors. The church in question is very small and hidden away—it can’t be seen from the main road—and it is an exquisite building, dating back to the early Middle Ages, and I find services in it to be very moving (it helps to have a vicar who fully appreciates it). I was told about its snowdrops last February and when I got there, I could scarcely believe my eyes: the churchyard was, quite simply, full. It was completely covered in a blanket of white, as if there has been a sudden and heavy fall of snow not an hour since. I had never seen anything like it. To have a sacred building of such beauty anyway, suddenly complemented by a loveliness that seemed almost unearthly, had me struggling for words, and what came to mind was the idea which animated the 17th century religious poets such as George Herbert: the beauty of holiness. And for a brief moment I felt possessed of an insight: that’s what Candlemas bells are really about.

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

01308 423031

“A sensation of wondrous abundance” - snowdrops at Kingston Lacy. © Photo: Robin Mills

Vegetables in February

By Ashley Wheeler

All that is really needed to grow organic vegetables is seed and a healthy soil. Perhaps you’ve already ordered seeds for this season, but if not, give some thought to where they come from, who produces them and how they are produced. Most seeds sold in the UK are produced in hot climates using cheap labour, and a lot of them are F1 hybrid seeds which lead to plants that cannot produce viable seed. If seed is saved from F1 hybrid plants it can be sown but the resulting offspring will be very variable and not necessarily what you are after. If you want to save your own seed then you will need to use open pollinated seed in the first place.

Some great seed catalogues like Vital Seeds, Real Seeds and the Seed Cooperative grow their own open pollinated seed but also use other British growers such as ourselves to produce seed for them. This means that the seed is produced in soils and climates that are similar to those that it will be grown in, rather than being produced in a hot dry country and then grown in a mild, wet country such as ours.

Plants pass on information through their seed, this information has come from the environmental conditions that the plant has experienced when growing and forming the seed. This means that when that seed is sown the following season, it will have the information necessary to grow healthily under similar conditions to the previous years that it was produced—this is how plants can adapt to certain growing conditions if you save seed from them year after year. So, it is best to get seed that has been produced under similar growing conditions to what you will be growing it under.

As for healthy soils, that’s at the heart of what we do, and although we don’t always get things right, we are striving to build the healthiest soils that we can whilst being able to produce vegetables in a practical way. We use green manures as the basis of improving soil health, but we are also beginning to try out foliar feeding plants with the idea that a healthy plant will be able to reach it’s maximum potential for photosynthesising, and this will lead to more root exudates feeding the soil life. More soil life in turn then leads to all sorts of benefits to plant growth—from increasing water and nutrient uptake to improving soil drainage and producing more nutrient dense vegetables.

One of the things we will be trying out this year is a wormery. We always rely on worms in the soil, but this year we are farming them to produce wormcasts (also called vermicast) that we will use to make foliar feeds to spray on the plants and to soak our plants in before planting out. We may also try inoculating some of our beds with the vermicast before planting. We have the worms in a tub at the moment—with some compost, woodchip, vegetable leaves and hay to provide food for the worms. We top it up with vegetable leaves and make sure it is moist but

not too wet. The worms in a wormery are specifically composting worms, and the ones that we are using are Dendrobaenas rather than the anecic worms such as lobworms which are more commonly found in garden soil and are deep burrowers, or the endogeic worms that burrow horizontally.

We will be making a small windrow type compost heap for the wormery, but you can buy special wormery “bins” as a way of keeping it all a bit tidier. This is a new thing for us, so I will keep you posted about how it goes and the ways that we will be using the wormcasts to create healthy plants and in turn healthy soils.

WHAT TO SOW THIS MONTH: If you have a heated propagator in a naturally well lit place: peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, beetroot, shallots, spring onions, spring cabbage, salad leaves (see above). If you do not have a heated propagator, best leave sowing until March.

WHAT TO PLANT THIS MONTH: OUTSIDE: Wait until next month!

INSIDE: Most of the indoor space should have been planted up with overwintering leaves, herbs, and early crops like spring onions, early garlic and peas.

OTHER IMPORTANT TASKS THIS MONTH: If the weather dries, continue preparing beds for the spring by mulching with a little compost and covering with black plastic if you are planning on planting them in early Spring. Wash any polytunnel or glasshouse to make sure maximum levels of light are getting through to the crops. Try to finish off any “winter jobs’’ this month before sowing, bed preparation, planting and weeding begins to take over!

Devon Freewheelers Supporting the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance

DEVON Freewheelers (DFW) are offering Marshwood Vale Magazine readers the opportunity to sponsor a delivery to the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA).

Founded in 2009, the charity provides a totally free transport and courier service, supporting, the NHS, air ambulances, surgeries and the community. This includes a dedicated blood delivery car, and team of volunteer drivers based in and around Dorchester. The cost of all of these services is funded entirely through generous donations from businesses, organisations and the public.

To give an indication of the level of support provided by DFW, in 2021 the team made 230 deliveries to the DSAA at Henstridge. This included 189 scheduled runs and 41 unscheduled replenishments, i.e. blood was needed at the scene of 41 major trauma incidents. The total of 41 unscheduled deliveries made in 2021 had already been equalled by the middle of October 2022.

The charity is offering readers of the Marshwood Vale Magazine the opportunity to sponsor a delivery to the DSAA. If you were to donate £10, this would cover the cost of fuel required to make the delivery. Donations can be made using the ‘Donate Now’ facility on the DFW Web Site devonfreewheelers.org.uk. If you send a message to fraggle3966@gmail. com confirming your donation, you will be informed when your delivery was made. Also if it was subsequently used to save a life, or was a replenishment.

February in the Garden

By Russell Jordan

In February it really does feel like winter has been dragging on for too long but at least there are more cheerful signs of approaching spring than there were last month. Even in the coldest, wettest, winter there will be a choice of bulbs that are already in flower, adding to the snowdrops that emerged last month, and chief amongst these are the early crocus species, such as C chrysanthus and C tommasinianus, with their numerous named varieties and cultivars. Forms of Iris reticulata will also come into flower this month and I tend to be more successful with these when grown in pots rather than in the open ground. The benefit of any small bulb grown in pots is that they can be brought into the house while in full bloom to be enjoyed however foul it is outdoors.

Whenever the weather is not too foul, and the ground not too waterlogged or frozen, then getting out into the garden to continue soil aerating and mulching is a worthwhile task. February is also the month most usually recommended for shinning up a ladder to tackle unruly wisteria by cutting back its shoots to just a few buds. The standard practice is to shorten the long, whippy, stems before autumn, to reduce the chance of them peeling themselves off their support wires, but to leave flowering stems with half a dozen buds or so.

The more drastic pruning is completed now and the lack of leaves also means that it’s a good time to chop out any unnecessary growth, dead stems or disease. Long stems, required to extend the coverage area of the specimen, should have been tied onto supporting wires during the summer but it might be easier to reassess their position, tying them in again where necessary, now that you can see the framework more easily. The same sort of attention is equally applicable to climbing roses grown on walls and structures attached to a framework of wires.

On the subject of roses; February is as good a time as any to prune them if you haven’t already. I’m never too sure what to say when I’m asked the ‘correct’ time to do your rose pruning. I tend to do them any time that they are dormant during the winter. In the past, when a lot of roses were grown in dedicated beds and included plenty of ‘standard’ (grafted onto a tall stem) specimens, it was necessary to reduce their longest stems before the onset of autumnal storms to avoid the dreaded ‘wind rock’. This may still be an issue in very exposed locations but the trend

towards planting more shrub-like varieties, such as ‘English Shrub Roses’, means that they are generally stronger growing and more weather resilient.

Just like wisteria, the aim of most rose pruning is, having removed any dead, dying or diseased material, to reduce everything else to just a couple of buds. In an ideal world you prune out any stems that are crossing, or touching, another stem and when choosing a bud to cut back to it’s preferable to select an ‘outward facing’ bud. In the real world what this generally means is that you look along the stem and find the best looking bud that’s pointing away from the centre of the rose, and is roughly two or three buds along that stem, and cut back to it with a clean cut.

Somewhat counter intuitively, I tend to shorten the thinnest, weakest, stems the most drastically, cutting them out altogether if they’re really thin, while leaving the sturdiest stems a little longer, probably more than the ‘two buds’. Roses tend to respond to hard pruning by producing extra vigorous growth, hence an already vigorous shoot needs less encouragement than a more feeble one.

Looking forward to the summer, a very pleasant prospect during this last month of winter, now is a good time to obtain and pot up summer flowering bulbs like lilies - I have a real weakness for Lilium regale, both grown in pots and strewn throughout mixed borders. Similarly, if you have dahlias overwintering in your greenhouse then they can be gently coaxed back into growth this month, with a bit of extra warmth, and a moved into the light if they’ve been kept in the dark until now. I tend to keep them on the dry side, and not pot them up into fresh compost, until I can see that they have active shoots developing. Plunging dormant bulbs straight into damp compost may cause them to rot, rather than root, if you are unlucky.

Also with one eye on the fast approaching growing season, when plants break winter dormancy and burst back into growth, it will soon be necessary to ‘feed’ your beds and the plants growing in them. The high winter rainfall will have washed out many of the nutrients which were contained in your mulch, assuming you’ve mulched with an organic mulch rather than an inert one, so forking in a general purpose organic fertiliser, I still rely on ‘fish, blood and bone’, is a good idea towards the end of the month as plants start actively growing again.

The onset of active growth, bud-break and leaf emergence, is a little way off for most plants yet so there’s still time for bare-root planting and moving around established plants while they are dormant. If there is a period when it is dry enough to get onto your flower beds then it’s a good time to dig up any herbaceous perennials that have got too large, or that you wish to produce more of, so that they can be chopped into smaller sections.

Replant some back where they came from, with a good dose of organic matter and some general feed, and pot up the spare ‘divisions’ to produce new plants. If you have room in your garden, or the luxury of a nursery bed, the divisions can be chopped into quite tiny sections, anything with a few shoots and attached roots will suffice, and replanted in rows, just like in a vegetable garden, to grow and establish into new plants ready to be lifted again in the autumn and used elsewhere.

Having an area of the garden that can be used as a temporary home for all those plants, both old favourites and new acquisitions, that are in limbo is practically a necessity if you garden actively. My inspiration, and I fully realise that not many gardens are as large as this, is ‘Great Dixter’ and especially the period when (I think it was during Fergus Garrett’s original reinvigoration of the place) the original stock beds, organised in rows and serried ranks, were dug up and rearranged into more informal drifts and groups of plants. In this way even a ‘functional’ area of the garden can still be aesthetically pleasing—which is, after all, the whole point of having a garden.

BEETROOT, ISLE OF WIGHT BLUE AND PENNYWORT SALAD

You can vary this salad depending on the different beetroots available and wild leaves but my favourite leaf on this visually and taste is pennywort. It grows wild literally on my doorstep and if you look hard you will see it growing wild in many places like peoples walls, hedgerows etc. You can use just pickled walnuts although adding the toasted walnuts gives the salad a bit of a crunch. I’m a big fan of Isle of Wight blue as it has that all year round great consistency. Replace it with another soft blue if you wish but do try it.

DIRECTIONS INGREDIENTS

• 400-50g mixed coloured beetroot (yellow, white, candy and red), depending on availability

• 2-3 medium sized pickled walnuts, quartered and the juice retained for the dressing

• 1 tbls pickled walnut vinegar

MARK HIX

• 16-20 good quality walnuts lightly toasted with a little sea salt and rapeseed oil

• A handful of pennywort or other small leaves, washed and dried

• 150ml rapeseed oil

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 100-120g Isle of Wight Blue, broken or cut into small pieces

Serves 4

1. Cook the beetroots separately in their skins as they will take different times and there will be no staining from the red beetroot. Once cooked leave to cool and peel the skin by rubbing it off with your hands and preferably a pair of gloves for the red beets. Cut the beetroots into a mixture of wedges and rough chunks and store separately.

2. Reduce the pickled walnut juice down by two thirds then transfer to a bowl and whisk in the cider vinegar and rapeseed oil and season to taste.

3. To serve, arrange the beets on serving plates with the pickled and toasted walnuts and pennywort leaves, season lightly, scatter over the cheese and spoon around the dressing.

Celebrating Brewing

BREW Dorch, Dorchester’s Festival of Drinks, is taking place in February when venues across the town will celebrate the town’s prestigious brewing and distilling history.

The festival kicks off on Wednesday 15 February with a special beer and brewing themed pub quiz at Dorchester’s Brewhouse and Kitchen. The next day, Thursday 16th, will be jam packed with different beer tasting, gin tasting and wine tasting events across the town. Favourite local tipples will include Fordington Gin, Furleigh Estate wine and the launch of a special edition Brew Dorch Beer, brewed by Brewhouse and Kitchen. On Friday 17th there is a brewing heritage tour of Dorchester with Joy Wallis and a special DJ and cocktail tasting evening at The Kings Arms.

Saturday 18th kicks off with another Brewing Heritage tour, this time with local historian Derek Pride followed by a “Make your own pottery beer tankard!” event with PotsNPints! at Tom Browns in the afternoon. Then an evening of Comedy in the Courthouse at Shire Hall Museum where visitors will have a special welcome drink included in the ticket price.

On Sunday, the last day of the Festival, there is an Open Brewery Day at Brewhouse and Kitchen where you can pop in and see brewing in action.

The final event of the festival is the Dorchester Pub Race! A fun filled fancy dress race across Dorchester raising money for Dorchester Foodbank.

The event is coordinated by Dorchester Tourism Partnership, led by Dorchester Town Council to celebrate Dorchester’s amazing Brewing Heritage.

Follow the Brew Dorch Facebook page at: https://www.facebook. com/BrewDorch and book tickets at: www.DiscoverDorchester.co.uk/ BrewDorch.

Love Nests

By Helen Fisher

TOLLER PORCORUM £300,000

Charming double-fronted 2 bedroom period cottage, dating back 200 years yet now extensively modernised. Characterful features inc: fireplace with wood burner, exposed floorboards and solid pine cottage doors. Modern kitchen with solid oak worktops and shower room. Good sized rear garden with summerhouse. Unrestricted lane parking. Stags Tel: 01308 428000

SANDFORD ORCAS £650,000

A 4 double bedroom bungalow circa 1961 and extended in 1996. Set well back from a little-used lane in a peaceful setting beside a mill stream. Living room with wood-buring stove, kitchen/breakfast room and conservatory. Now would benefit from refurbishment. Wonderful gardens plus double garage, summerhouse and machinery store. Ample parking.

Knight Frank Tel: 01935 810064

CHIDEOCK £325,000

A historical Grade II listed cottage, having been renovated and well maintained and recently re-thatched. Period features inc: feature fireplaces, exposed ceiling beams and window seats. Good sized enclosed rear garden with lawn and seating areas. Parish parking permits available.

Kennedys Tel: 01308 427329

COLYFORD £360,000

A Grade II listed bright and spacious cottage with 2 large double bedrooms. Hallway with herringbone wood block floor. Large lounge/dining room with feature fireplace. Stunning rear garden with steps up in terraces to many different levels and a small wildlife pond. Plus decked area and brick outhouse. Benefitting from a large parking bay for 3/4 vehicles beside the property.

Gordon and Rumsby Tel: 01297 553768

2023 Tel. 01308 423031

BRADPOLE £350,000

Delightful 2 double bedroom cottage with substantial sitting room and open fireplace. Second reception which could be a third bedroom. Kitchen/diner with French doors onto terrace. Far reaching countryside views from the bedrooms plus large attic room with Velux windows. Southerly aspect, mature rear garden. Terrace, lawn, garden shed and rear access.

Symonds and Sampson Tel: 01308 422092

PORTLAND £175,000

A characterful end of terrace stone cottage within walking distance of Chesil Beach and Cove. With 2 bedrooms (one double and one single), large lounge/diner with a feature fireplace. A pretty, private courtyard garden, plus benefitting from no onward chain.

Martin and Co Tel: 01305 775504

Douglas Dare brings show to hometown venue

ultimately collaborated with label mates Nils Frahm and Broadchurch composer, Olafur Arnalds.

Douglas went on to release his debut album ‘Whelm’ in 2014 to critical acclaim. A regular on BBC Radio 6, Dare has been named ‘Album of the Day’ twice with both his second album ‘Aforger’ in 2017 and ‘Milkteeth’ in 2020.

Following the success of his 44 date tour across the UK and Europe in 2022, former Colfox/Beaminster student Douglas Dare brings his solo show Milkteeth back to where it all began. His third album, a conceptual album on the theme of memories of childhood explores the experience of a his early years growing up on a Dorset farm; surrounded by land, animals and extended family, yet feeling a sense of otherness.

Douglas left Bridport in 2008 to study at the prestigious Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts which culminated in a one-to-one songwriting session with Sir Paul McCartney. Encouraged by his success in Liverpool, Dare quickly attracted the attention of London based record label ‘Erased Tapes’. It was here that Douglas met and

In 2017 he was asked to contribute a re-interpretation of Dance Me To The End Of Love to the Leonard Cohen exhibition A Crack In Everything at the Contemporary Art Museum of Montréal, which went on to show at The Jewish Museum in New York before opening at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco in September 2020. He was invited by Robert Smith to perform at his Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre in 2018, followed by the David Lynch-curated Manchester International Festival alongside Anna Calvi in 2019.

Unable to tour during the pandemic, Douglas turned his hand to composition with his music featured on both BBC and Netflix dramas and even lent his voice to Disney’s post-pandemic television advert singing Someday My Prince Will Come

Dare is now working on his fourth album not before a final Milkteeth performance in his hometown.

Douglas Dare ‘Milkteeth: A Homecoming Show’ Friday 3rd February 2023 7:30pm St. Peter’s Church, Eype Tickets: douglasdare.com/live

Former Colfox and Beaminster student Douglas Dare plays at Eype Church in February

Transient Light and Fleeting Time

Transient Light and Fleeting Time, the title of a new book by award-winning photographer Robert Golden alludes to reaching that special moment of magic that photographers strive to capture. Produced as a series of 50 essays, each facing a photograph, the book is not a technical demonstration of how to achieve great photography but rather an exploration of Robert’s own way of thinking; a walk through the thoughts and philosophy that have evolved from a life of studying the people, places and events that he has photographed and filmed.

The book is particularly concerned with how to be socially useful as a photographer and as Robert says, to ‘live a creative life’ while surrounded by what he calls ‘a boorish, corporate made, popular culture’. Rather than lenses, F-Stops, LUT’s and technical matters, Transient Light and Fleeting Time explores curiosity, themes, content and subjects from a philosophical position. It offers a soul baring insight into the politics that drives Robert Golden to create images that make a difference. Discussing the morality of the ‘Right to Photograph’ Robert

explains that he is driven by the belief that photographers and film documentarists are ‘messengers’ whose role is often to provide ‘representation, if not a voice’ to those that might otherwise be ignored by history.

A chapter entitled, A Story of Generations, succinctly describes the human life cycle, from toddling behind our elders to being laid to rest by our children. ‘With this kind of perspective’ writes Robert ‘the photographer can recognise that all pictures are part of a journey’. He describes photographers as ‘the magpies of history’ collecting images from the narrative of their own lives as well as those of others. The impact of how we are affected—whether emotionally or intellectually—by world events, natural and cultural influences, confrontations, novels, music or even inanimate objects such as a broken tea cup or a crushed up newspaper, are all platforms that can affect our approach to a photograph.

Robert has been making photographs since he was 12 years old. In his early career, he worked in New York with many magazines and newspapers, creating photo-essays and stories

for articles. Once he moved to London, he was commissioned to photograph actors, politicians and others, producing magazine, book and record covers. He pioneered a new style of advertising and editorial food photography; conceived and shot ten awardwinning books called the ‘People Working Series’ published by Penguin; a book about unemployment called Down the Road, and was a major contributor to The American Air and Space and the Natural History Museum catalogues. He also trained several wellknown photographers including Fay Godwin, Eamon McCabe, and Robin Broadbent.

Throughout that career, he also intensified a politic that railed against the status quo; what he describes as powerful myths sold by the media to make sure that citizens don’t grasp the incompleteness of their lives. It’s a view that has informed much of his photography, filming and writing and Transient Light and Fleeting Time is a distillation of some of that philosophy as applied to his craft.

The hard bound copy and e-pub are available from all major bookshops online and from https:// robertgoldenpictures.com/transient-light-fleetingtime.

Images: Opposite: Pages from the book. Below Ricky Romain by Robert Golden.

Right: Robert Golden by Djordje Nikolić

GALLERIES

1 - 28 February

Kit Glaisyer: The Marshwood Vale & Beyond is an evolving exhibition of West Country landscape paintings, with works on show in the gallery and studio. Open Weds & Sat 103pm or by appointment. Bridport Contemporary Gallery, 11 Downes Street, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3JR. 07983 465789 www. bridportcontemporary.com @bridportcontemporary

4 - 26 February

Creative Journey To emphasise the importance of exhibiting work as part of an artist’s creative journey, we are proud to introduce this open exhibition. We support and encourage artists at all stages to exhibit in our professionally curated gallery. exhibition including painters, textile artists, photographers. 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.

4 Feruary - 8 March

Silence and slow time Louise Balaam, Nicholas Jines, Alfred Stockham and Petter Southall at Sladers Yard, West Bay, DT6 4EL. Tel’ 01308 459511.

Until 18 February

Miscellany Exhibition at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. A mixed media exhibition including painters, textile artists, photographers and printers in 3D. A shared exhibition of 10 artists showing together at the Arts Centre for the first time. Free Entry. Open Tues-Sat, 09:30-15:00. https://www.ilminsterartscentre. com/exhibitions.

Until February 25

Dan Jaffe is guest artist for February, this is the first time that Dan has exhibited with us and will showing artworks which include trees and birds in watercolour, pencils and acrylic! Well worth a visit! Open daily from 8.30 til 4pm at Unique Framecraft, Unit’s 4 - 5 Millwey Rise Workshops, Second Avenue, Axminster EX13 5HH. Telephone 01297 631614 or 07801 260259. Instagram:- @ uniqueframecraft. What3words: warned.tasteful.elaborate.

Until February 26

Month of Makers SSW Gallery Shop shines a light on selected work handmade by local artists and designer makers. 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.

Richard Hoare ‘Threshold’ Most of the works in this exhibition feature the savage and sublime coastlines and landscape of the remote and most westernmost fringe of Europe. Messums Wiltshire Place Farm, Court St, Tisbury, Salisbury SP3 6LW

Until 4 March

A Language of Seeds Series of photographs by Devonbased artist Léonie Hampton celebrating her vegetable garden, family and friends while responding to Royal Albert Memorial Museum’s botany collection. Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Dowell St, Honiton EX14 1LX thelmahulbert.com. 01404 45006.

Schools Go Visual at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. The 10th exhibition featuring the creative talents of the pupils at schools in and around South Somerset. Free Entry. Open Tues-Sat, 09:30-15:00. https://www.ilminsterartscentre.com/ exhibitions

Until 5 March

Portraits of Golden Cap Local artist Edward Hall draws inspiration from the iconic form and setting of this highest point on the south coast. Rotunda Gallery, Lyme Regis Museum, Bridge St, Lyme Regis DT7 3QA, Tues/Wed-Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 10am-4pm, www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk.

Until 18 March

Brian Rice Red, Black and White Close Ltd. Close House. Hatch Beauchamp, Somerset TA3 6AE. +44 01823 480 350.

Opening times: Thursday 10am - 4pm Friday 10am - 4pm Saturday 10am - 1pm.

18 March - 13 June

Paradise Found: New Visions of the Blackdown Hills explores the Blackdown Hills through the lens of 36 leading contemporary artists alongside works by members of the Camden Town Group. This new exhibition marks the launch of THG’s new East Devon wide engagement programme ‘Create Our Space’ funded by Arts Council England. 18 March, 4pm: Opening talk by Patrick Baty on Stanisława De Karlowska. Open Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 5pm. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield House, Dowell St, Honiton EX14 1LX.

Until 31 March

Brian Taylor by appointment only. Approximately 30 works by the artist Brian Taylor (1935-2013) will be on show in the exhibition including many bronze sculptures which have rarely been on public display since the early 1960s. Messums Wiltshire Place Farm, Court St, Tisbury, Salisbury SP3 6LW.

Until 8 May

Rodney Graham Getting it Together in the Country Rodney Graham (1949 – 2022) expanded his diverse practice to encompass photography, painting, sculpture, film, video and music. A true polymath, Graham seamlessly inhabited different personae, genres and art forms throughout his unparalleled career. Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Durslade Farm Dropping Lane, Bruton Somerset BA10 0NL.

The New Bend Curated by Legacy Russell, Executive Director & Chief Curator of The Kitchen, ‘The New Bend’ travels from Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles to Somerset. The exhibition brings together 12 contemporary artists working in the raced, classed and gendered traditions of quilting and textile practice. The artists featured are Anthony Akinbola, Dawn Williams Boyd, Myrlande Constant, Ferren Gipson, Tomashi Jackson, Basil Kincaid, Eric N. Mack, Sojourner Truth Parsons, Tuesday Smillie, Rachel Eulena Williams, Qualeasha Wood and Zadie Xa. Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Durslade Farm Dropping Lane, Bruton Somerset BA10 0NL.

GALLERIES IN MARCH

Richard Hoare ‘Threshold’ at Messums. Most of the works in this exhibition feature the savage and sublime coastlines and landscape of the remote and most westernmost fringe of Europe. Richard’s work is held in public collections, such as Wiltshire County Council, C. Hoare & Co. Bank, Fleet Street, London, The Bridgeman Art Library, The Lowther Art Collection, Falmouth Art Gallery. Exhibition continues until February 26 at Messums Wiltshire Place Farm, Court St, Tisbury, Salisbury SP3 6LW.

An

CHOREOGRAPHY GEOGRAPHY: a change of direction

A combination of geography, choreography and a creative response to COVID-19 refreshed the practice and reset the direction of Bridport Youth Dance Company, which is based beside the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site in south western rural England. Teacher, producer and choreographer Nikki Northover explains how.

Photograph by Brendan Buesnel

In March 2020 Bridport Youth Dance (BYD) put on a production of Orpheus and Eurydice: The Power Of Love at Bridport Electric Palace. The show involved 90 young dancers aged from 5 to 19 years from our small rural English town, Bridport, and its surrounding localities. I wrote, directed and collaborated with former European composer of the year, Andrew Dickson, who has also scored for Mike Leigh (Vera Drake, Secrets and Lies, High Hopes). It became a memorable event for many as just days later, all theatres across the globe went dark. The following week Bridport Youth Dance (BYD), which I had founded in 2001, closed its doors too. This Greek tragedy inadvertently became the last live theatre many of the audience were to see for some time, as the world entered a turbulent phase.

In fact, BYD closed, over time, for sixty weeks. But on reflection, almost three years later, what happened feels more like a gift.

After the initial shock of sudden closure and the feeling of dread this created, the pandemic became a time of new possibilities. In retrospect, this hiatus has greatly enriched Bridport Youth Dance by enabling a change of direction.

Bridport is an incredibly beautiful place set in rolling hills with a vibrant arts scene. With the studio closed, the only thing to do was to step out into the spectacular natural world on our doorstep.

During the first lockdown, BYD established a remote programme; but over time what became clear was that the young dancers really needed to connect with each other in real life and real time. For some, lockdown was an introvert’s dream, but the connection to their friends and to their after-school clubs and activities was an important part of their lives. Dance acts as an important form of release and has a significant impact on their mental, physical and emotional well-being. Following each lockdown, we emerged with outdoor dance classes in a beautiful local garden with live music again led by Andrew Dickson and former LSO musician and double bass player Nic Worters. We continued to dance in gardens and on beaches; we made short dance films – The Dance Weavers series – that are about responding to the local landscape through movement and dance.

Simultaneously, we began to create site-specific work including Cloud Nine on Charmouth Beach where the dancers moved in the water and on the sand against a stunning natural backdrop of sea and sky. Throughout this time BYD created a new future vision for itself and relaunched with an outdoor programme to become known as BYD’s ART and DANCE in the LANDscape dance education programme which fuses movement, dance, nature and land. One of our most recent projects was Choreography Geography, a performance on the spectacular ancient hill site of Eggardon. It was supported by Arts Council England, (ACE) Dorset Council, Bridport Town Council and Dorset Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty and was created in partnership with the National Trust.

Eggardon is an Iron Age hill fort dating back 2,500 years: a place of extremes, one minute wild and free, the next all gentle folds. The natural landscape creates a mood and atmosphere, an air of mystery and of history. Our sitespecific performance was developed through creative tasks and improvisation with choreography interwoven, much of the movement evolving in response to the landscape with the young dancers connecting to and honouring the land.

Choreography Geography moved with the landscape. The audience walked and watched, listened and absorbed. They observed the vast cloud-filled sky and the undulating land with incredible panoramic views over the Marshwood Vale and the Jurassic coast with awe and respect. Many of the audience found the performance deeply moving and were brought to tears. The power of dance runs deep and here the audience were reminded of two powerful things: spirit and earth. No clutter, no distractions... just a reminder of the beauty of Mother Earth and of life itself. The performance was described as “awe-inspiring” and “unforgettable”. One audience member stated, “The landscape of Eggardon Hill is utterly breathtaking and the performance utilised this perfectly… The weather gods were also extremely kind, providing such a glorious evening, finishing with the most memorable sunset I think I have ever witnessed. Even the mighty highland cattle contributed!”

A review by Rachelle Green, whose three sons have been

a part of BYD’s boys’ dance programme, takes us inside the event:

What a journey this show was for the audience. From the beginning we were completely consumed by the commitment of the dancers, varying in age from 10-18 years…well-rehearsed, confident and showing a depth of understanding in the nuances of the land they moved along. It isn’t easy to dance outdoors but they negotiated the spaces beautifully, illustrating their level of fitness, exercising jumps, lifts and intricate footwork on rough terrain.

The choreography took us on a journey from high views to flat spaces, choreographed pieces with hilltop dancers improvising and framing the performance… intense dark sequences, improvised butterfly puppetry, intimate, playful duets, beautifully framed by the pink sky.

A tap soloist delighted the audience with her commitment and skill then led the audience to a ridge. Here the company of dancers ended the journey with four repeated shapes, performed in slow contemplation as the sun dipped in the sky.

A peaceful, serene ending, performed with beauty and reverence, honouring the land and the space. As the dancers exited over the hills, a reminder to celebrate the earth and its history, Nikki and her team have again successfully captured the power of dance and all that is to be celebrated in this world. Even a week after the performance, it is still resonating with me.”

The Dance Weavers films were also created in response to the pandemic. The first and second films (Emerging and Freedom/Connection) were selected to represent South West England at the U Dance national dance platform, a celebration of youth dance across the UK. Freedom/ Connection was selected as a part of their screen showcase and shown at selected cinemas including a première at the British Film Institute on London’s South Bank. The third film in the series, From the Boards to the Earth, focuses on celebrating BYD’s new work in the land, but also gives a nod to its roots and to its work in the theatre.

Above all, the films are a celebration of dance and of the dancers themselves. These young people have shown enormous resilience at a challenging time and their passion, dedication and commitment to dance have been unwavering. BYD gives them happiness and confidence and has created a company where artistic young people can form friendships with like-minded others in a safe, creative and educational environment.

Bridport Youth Dance continues to inspire and encourage young people to dance, enabling them to experience its empowering nature and forge ahead as future dance lovers, makers, shifters, creators. Past members have become film-makers, theatre directors, dancers, dance academics, artists and lovers of the arts. Some have gained places at various universities to study dance and recently some have successfully gained places at Circe Media, Northern School Of Contemporary Dance, London College of Dance and London Contemporary Dance School.

This year we are celebrating 21 years of Bridport Youth Dance. And for me personally, 30 years as an arts supporter and promoter in Dorset.

Our outdoor dance education programme continues alongside work in the studio on the Symondsbury Estate; and into the future, we will continue outreach work based around the theme of connecting to nature through dance in local primary schools, with a Forest School and ASCape, a group for autistic and socially anxious teens and young adults once again supported by ACE.

The Dance Weavers films continue to evolve, with the fourth film Choreography Geography being premièred in January 2023 and with another site-specific production in September.

Our story shows how artists always find a way to create, even when the world appears to turn upside down. The work of BYD is a celebration of young people, of art,

Photograph by Brendan Buesnel

dance, land and community, and brings value to the local community. And after twenty-one years it has reached a new beginning by reconnecting to nature. BYD’s aim is to continue inspiring and empowering many more young dancers to follow their hearts, to experience the joy and the power of dance. Its outdoor work is now an integral and important part of its future vision, alongside Food for the Soul: a new initiative which is raising funds to expand the outreach work in local primary schools and is supported by The Arts Council who have offered free dance workshops based around the theme of connecting to nature through dance. Food for the Soul is also supported by The Red Brick Café.

Now as we move into 2023, both community and collaboration need to be our priorities as a town. Bridport is a beautiful place... let’s look out for each other.

A wonderful quote, attributed to Vivian Greene, comes to mind: “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

The generous support of The Arts Council has helped BYD enormously in this shift to working in the land with the talented young dancers. At the same time, BYD

has forged fantastic and important partnerships with the Local Authority and with Children’s Services, Activate Performing Arts and The National Trust. Many local businesses and organisations have also come forward to help ensure that this valuable work continues in the local community. These include Leakers Bakery, Groves Nurseries, Little Fones Landscapes, Vicary and Co. Estate Agents, Bridport Rotary, Brit Valley Rotary, Bridport Lions Club and JD Cleaning. BYD is also supported by The Walbridge Trust and one anonymous angel who provides financial support for children from low income families . Receiving both national and local support has been vital for the group’s very survival and has ensured that BYD can keep inspiring local children and young people to dance and experience its many benefits.

The Dance Weavers 3 film – From the Boards to the Earth https://youtu.be/iooI0HiJKv8 www.bridportyouthdance.org.uk

This article, first published in the Winter 2023 edition of Animated, is reproduced by permission of People Dancing. All Rights Reserved. See www.communitydance.org.uk/animated for more information.’

Photograph by Brendan Buesnel

Photograph by Dan Tucker

Photograph by Brendan Buesnel

New chapter for Karabits and BSO POOLE

A REMARKABLE 15-year partnership between Ukrainian-born chief conductor Kirill Karabits and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra will end in summer 2024—but the relationship will continue with Karabits becoming the BSO’s Conductor Laureate and artistic director of the Voices from the East programme.

Karabits is the BSO’s second longest-serving chief conductor since its founder Sir Dan Godfrey. During his years with the orchestra, there has been a wide growth in its repertoire, not only with cycles of Beethoven, Brahms and Prokofiev, but with UK premieres of works from CPE Bach to contemporary music from Azerbaijan, and championing music from eastern Europe and Ukraine through Voices from the East

Under Karabits’ adventurous leadership, the orchestra has commissioned music from composers, including Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, Anna Korsun, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Sir James MacMillan.

The Voices from the East series of symphonic revelations from the Ukraine and beyond has come to define Karabits’ most recent years with the BSO. Through performances— and a series of recordings for the Chandos record label— the orchestra’s audiences have been introduced to music from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and the Ukraine, with composers Kara Karayev, Boris Lyatoshynsky, Chary Nurymov and Avet Terterian becoming familiar names.

Looking back, this dynamic conductor, whose country has suffered such appalling hardships since the Russian invasion: says: “I have never forgotten my first encounter with the BSO. I immediately felt this was a very special

group of musicians. It feels like a home from home—and never more so than during these last few years, where this community of musicians and audience has been of great support.”

• Meanwhile the BSO’s relationship with Artsreach, Dorset’s rural touring charity, continues with BSO On Your Doorstep concerts, at Portesham village hall on Friday 10th February at 7.30pm, and Marnhull village hall on Sunday 12th February at 3pm. The programme will be a Spring Serenade by a flute, harp and cello trip, with music from Bach to Joni Mitchell, plus works by Elgar, Ibert, Schubert and Bizet.

An Italian at the gallery

TINCLETON

THERE is a musical and a real gallery at the heart of Giovanni Lonati’s February recital—the Italian classical pianist will be giving a programme that includes Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition at Tincleton Gallery at the The Old School House in the village near Dorchester.

The other works will be two of Schumann’s piano masterpieces, the Waldszenen and Kinderszenen.

Giovanni, whose previous dates with the venue were postponed (twice, thanks to Covid), will be in Dorset on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th, playing the same programme on both evenings, from 8pm.

He studied in Milan and Rome, graduating cum laude, also obtaining a scholarship as the best graduate of the year 2014. He was awarded the prize Premio Pianistico Regione Lazio, and a scholarship at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

As well as giving recitals throughout Italy, he teaches

Kirill Karabits Karabits with members of the BSO

at the Anton Rubinstein music school in Rome and the association Eidos Musica. He is also a composer and sings with a choir.

Panto cat’s new dance company HALSTOCK AND MARTINSTOWN

A BRILLIANT young dancer, James Bamford, who wowed audiences at Yeovil’s Octagon theatre as Tommy the Cat in the 2022 pantomime, Dick Whittington, is coming to Dorset on 10th at Halstock village hall and 11th February at Martinstown with his own company, Project Dance.

Artsreach is supporting this emerging young south west company on its debut tour of rural communities, with Fragments, a love story, performed by two talented young dancers.

Based in Somerset, James Bamford, who was previously an artist with the English National Ballet Youth Company, is artistic director of Project Dance, which aims to create ambitious and innovative professional and youth dance works for stage and screen.

Fragments tells the intimate story of a young couple who, when faced with what anyone else would describe as a nightmare, learn to fall in love with each other again, piece by piece, memory by memory. This new dance theatre work explores the vulnerability of falling in love.

James Bamford says: “We feel very grateful to present the work of Project Dance in such a close-up and personal setting. Like all our work, Fragments has been made for anyone, whether you adore dance in all its forms or have never watched a theatre performance in your life.”

One tonne of fun

LYME REGIS

THE multi-talented Lloyd Griffith, a classically trained choral singer, comedian, actor and presenter, who calls football superstar Lionel Messi a friend, comes to the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis on Saturday 11th February.

After Lloyd’s last tour was interrupted by ‘you know what’ and ended up lasting eight years or so, he’s back with his biggest tour to date, featuring his trademark mix of stand up, dubious impressions, and a sprinkling of singing.

As a comedian and actor, he has recently been seen on television in Ted Lasso, It’s A Sin, House of Games, Not Going Out and Jonathan Ross’ Comedy Club. He fronted a highly praised BBC

Project Dance, a new Somerset-based company, makes its Dorset debut

documentary called Can You Beat The Bookies? and has been on 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Comedy Central Live at The Comedy Store, Pointless Celebrities, Football’s Funniest Moments, The Premier League Show, Songs of Praise and many more.

As a classically trained choral singer, Lloyd can often be heard performing with the choirs of Westminster Abbey, St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle and various other London groups.

Other local dates are 17th February at Exeter Northcott Theatre and 1st March, Poole Lighthouse.

Michele did ask BRIDPORT

HOW often do you hear someone say: “If only I’d asked?” when a parent or elderly friend dies and leaves all those unanswered questions. Performer Michele O’Brien was determined not to let that happen with her mother, and the result is a powerful and moving show, I’m Glad I Asked, coming to Bridport Arts Centre on Thursday 23rd February.

This funny, tender, heart-felt, one-woman (and a puppet) show is drawn from workshops with women of all ages and Michele’s own lived experiences with her 91-year-old mother, Gena.

Michele wanted to take the opportunities with her

mother, to ask the questions. In doing so she has created a deeply personal piece of storytelling theatre that explores the joys, frustrations, shared memories and the love that bind generations together.

I’m Glad I Asked is directed by Katherina Radeva; the puppet was created and built by Teresa Grimaldi and the puppet consultant was Amy Rose of Green Ginger.

Monsters, music and more HONITON

ONE of the best-loved horror comedies of all comes to the stage of the Beehive centre at Honiton during February, a month that is also packed with excellent recent films and opera and drama screenings from leading theatres.

Honiton Community Theatre has chosen The Addams Family for its new year show, at the Beehive from 14th to 18th at 7pm with a 2pm Saturday matinee. With music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, the musical is based on Charles Addams’ famous cartoon characters, depicting a ghoulish American family with an affinity for all things macabre.

The show opens with the Addamses visiting the graveyard for an annual gathering of family members (living, dead, and undecided) to celebrate what it is to

Michele O’Brien with the puppet of her 91 year old mother, Gena

Screen Time

Top Six at the Flix

The Electric Palace Bridport I Wanna Dance With Somebody (2022) “Critics will sniff, as they invariably do, about the familiar conventions of the music biopic. But the spirit of I Wanna Dance With Somebody transcends those conventions far more often than it gets weighed down by them.” The Hollywood Reporter. David Rooney.

The Empire of Light (2022)

“Empire Of Light is a sentimental film—the piano-heavy score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross advertises that from the opening bars—but its message of love, tolerance and finding family wherever you can, should make an impact in darkened rooms wherever it plays.” Screen Daily. Fionnuala Halligan.

Bridport Arts Centre Love around the World (2021)

Directors Andela and Davor Rostuhar are a married couple from Croatia who, after he proposed during a visit to Antarctica, decided to spend the first year of their marriage travelling around the world interviewing other couples about love…the resulting documentary is very polished for what was presumably a mostly two-person operation, beautifully shot by Davor and seamlessly edited together.” The Guardian. Leslie Felperin.

Netflix Your Place or Mine (2023)

“A charming new romantic comedy featuring two stars of some of the best examples of the genre, Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kuchner. At the helm and behind the script of the film is rom-com veteran Aline Brosh McKenna” Screen Rant. Valerie Parker.

BBC iPlayer County Lines (2018)

Based on the ‘county lines’ crisis whereby gangs use children to smuggle drugs from large cities to smaller towns, writer-director Henry Blake’s feature debut is a harsh, bleak and moving slice of social realism. Cinevue. Christopher Machell. Night of the Living Dead (1968) Despite mostly unprofessional acting, near non-existent production values, homemade special effects, and cheap grainy black-andwhite film stock, the film is a triumph. TV Guide Magazine

be an Addams. Uncle Fester stops the Ancestors’ return to their graves to enlist their help. He explains that Wednesday has invited her new (normal) boyfriend, Lucas, and his parents, Mal and Alice, to dinner. Wednesday, who is torturing Pugsley on a rack, admits that love is pulling her in another direction, (If you don’t know the story, you get the picture!)

The month’s films include India Sweets and Spices, a comedy-drama from the producers of Crazy Rich Asians, Aftersun, starring Normal People’s Paul Mescal, and What’s Love Got To Do With It, a romcom starring Emma Thompson, Lily James and Sajal Aly.

There are live screenings of an acclaimed Royal Opera production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, with a cast including Sir Bryn Terfel, at 2pm on Sunday 19th, and Othello from the National Theatre, with Hamilton star Giles Terera in the title role, on Thursday 23rd.

Spinning into action DORCHESTER

THE countdown has started, rehearsals are under way and tickets are on sale for Dorchester’s record-breaking seventh community play, Spinning the Moon, which will be staged in April, after several Covid-related postponements.

The play was originally planned for 2020, and finally takes to the stage nine years after the last community play, Drummer Hodge

Performances are at the Thomas Hardye School theatre, on Tuesday to Thursday 4th to 6th April at 7.30pm, Saturday 8th at 2.30 and 7.30, and Monday to Saturday 10th to 15th at 7.30pm..

With a cast of 90-plus performers alongside a group of talented musicians, the play, by Stephanie Dale, is a compelling story set in Dorchester in the turbulent years that followed the Wars of the Roses.

Society is changing and rural communities are looking to an unsure future as the certainties of life fall away. Fusing historical fact and fiction, drama and comedy, this is a tale of the community, performed by the community and presented to the community. It is directed by Peter Leslie Wild, assisted by Penny Levick, with music by Tim Laycock assisted by Alastair Simpson, and set and costumes designed by Dawn Allsopp.

Baroque with spirit TOURING

CONCERTS in the West begins the 2023 programme with a series of four recitals by the exciting period ensemble, Spiritato!, beginning on Friday 3rd February at Bridport Arts Centre for a morning coffee concert and an evening performance at Ilminster Arts Centre.

As individuals they can be found performing with specialist ensembles throughout the UK and Europe, including the Academy of Ancient Music, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Les Talens Lyriques and the Orchestre Révolutionaire et Romantique. They frequently tour internationally, and their second album on the Resonus Classics label was praised by the Financial Times, Early Music Today, Bachtrack and BBC Music Magazine.

The programme for Concerts in the West includes works by Pachelbel, Kerll, Kirchhoff, Thieme, Bach, Buxtehude, Scheidt, and Krieger.

The concerts are at Bridport Arts Centre on Friday 3rd at 11.30am, Ilminster Arts Centre on Friday at 7.30pm, Crewkerne Dance House on Saturday 4th at 7.30, and St Laurence Church, Upwey, on Sunday 5th at 3pm.

Penguins in danger!

TOURING

A NEW play for children, with a powerful environmental message, is on tour over the February halfterm—Georgia and the Iceberg will be at Poole’s Lighthouse,

with Nic Jeune

Dorchester Corn Exchange and three dates with Artsreach.

It promises to be a brrr-illiant adventure filled with puppetry, jokes, and a heart-warming original story. When Georgia goes to visit her big sister Helena, all she wants is to explore the big frozen continent outside her bedroom window.

While Helena is focused on completing her chores, Georgia discovers a giant iceberg on a collision course with the nearby penguin colony. If she can’t journey across the ice in time to warn them, then everyone’s in danger. She might need some help…

Georgia and the Iceberg is at Poole’s Lighthouse arts centre on Saturday 11th February at 11am and 2.30pm, Dorchester Corn Exchange on Tuesday 14th at 11am and 2pm, Child Okeford village hall on Wednesday 15th, Winfrith Newburgh on Thursday 16th at 10.30am and Broadwindsor’s Comrades Hall, the same day at 3.30pm.

Rich Hall on tour

DORCHESTER

ONE of the most popular comedians on the international scene, the Americanborn musician and stand-up Rich Hall, has a new show on tour, Shot from Cannons, and he’s bringing it to Dorchester Arts on Friday 10th February, at Thomas Hardye School theatre, Fresh on the heels of his critically acclaimed memoir, Nailing It, Montana’s transatlantic messenger—who first hit the headlines with his show featuring his red-neck alter ego, Otis Lee Crenshaw—returns with new rants, knife-edge observations, thrilling musical interludes and a formidable knack for laughs on the fly. You’ll pay for the whole seat, but you’ll only need the edge of it.

The tour continues at Tiverton Community Arts Theatre on Saturday 11th, Bristol’s Redgrave Theatre on 2nd March, Salisbury Arts Centre on 5th May, and Bridport Electric Palace on 20th May

Byrd to Britten DORCHESTER

THE choral ensemble Tenebrae comes to St Mary’s Church, Dorchester, on Saturday 11th February, with a programme that spans 400 years from Byrd to Britten. Renowned for the breadth of their repertoire, Tenebrae will perform a programme of music for six voices, with a particular focus on William Byrd in his 400th anniversary year, but also featuring contemporary pieces, including works by Britten and some beautiful folk arrangements by Chilcott.

The choir is renowned for its interpretations of choral music ranging from the Renaissance through to contemporary masterpieces and is a dedicated advocate for new music. Alongside its busy concert and recording schedule, the choir also runs a thriving learning and connection programme, as well as choral workshops for students and amateur singers all over the world.

Bev’s living it up TAUNTON AND LYME REGIS

LIVING Spit, the brilliant comedy-acting duo of Stu McLoughlin and Howard Coggins, have a new show on the road—Puss in Boots, More Than A Feline. However, audiences at Taunton Brewhouse on 8th February and the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, on 10th February, will see a new performer, Bev Rudd.

Howard, the one in the string vest if you’re lucky enough not to know Living Spit, won’t be in this show as he’s poorly. Bev Rudd, a familiar face from Kneehigh Theatre, is playing his part and she’s brilliant.

Told entirely through song and rhyming couplets, this Puss in Boots promises all the usual frolics, festivities and foolishness, plus the answers to such burning questions as: Is Stu’s Irish dancing actually any good? How are they going to do the Ogre?

So, there’s this bloke. He’s stony broke. His name is Tristan Sprout, He can’t afford to pay the rent; the landlord wants him out.

He has a cat called Roger who has several attributes

Of note: He talks and wears a pair of fetching kneehigh boots!

But then they hear a rumour of an Ogre on the prowl?

Can Tristan be a hero? Or will he throw in the towel…?

The Young Lit Fix

Published by Pan Macmillan RRP £8.99

Recommended by Antonia Squire for ages 14+

TREY, JB and Ramon all attend The Promise Academy for boys, and while they may chafe against the extreme discipline instilled by Principal Moore in The Moore Method, they all know this is their one chance for university and escaping the fate of the gang culture many of their friends and families are caught up in.

It’s hard though: silence in the corridors, perfect uniforms, no talking back, no individuality at all. When things get hard at home, sometimes school is the only place to act out, which lands the three boys in detention. And that is when the three of them hear gunshots and discover Principal Moore has been murdered.

With no alibis, the boys become the prime suspects in the crime and are suspended from school. With gossip and innuendo rife, it is only by working together, with a couple of trusted friends, that they can even begin to prove their innocence. Because they are innocent, aren’t they?

A fantastic thriller, full of intrigue, I cannot recommend The Promise Boys highly enough. Just brilliant.

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

The Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

National Trust warns 2022’s weather will become the new ‘norm’

A number of wildfires on National Trust land, particularly in the South West, devastated areas of Zennor Head in Cornwall, Bolberry Down in south Devon, Baggy Point in north Devon and Studland in Dorset.

These important coastal habitats were left scorched with the fire destroying the homes of the silver blue butterfly, rare sand lizards and smooth snakes at Studland, while at Baggy Point the recent rains have created large gullies, washing soil and ash down the slopes, impacting the land’s ability to regenerate.

The lack of rainfall was devastating for the breeding of some rare species such as the natterjack toads, it disorientated species such as bats, and affected the breeding season of many species of butterflies and birds. Pollinators were also impacted due to the shorter flowering season caused by the drought.

With a round up of the weather pattern for the past year, the National Trust has warned that last year’s tumultuous weather is set to become the new ‘norm’ causing a range of impacts for nature if steps aren’t taken to tackle the climate and nature crises.

A warm January followed by back-to-back tree-toppling storms in February, a dry spring, a summer of record breaking temperatures and a prolonged heatwave causing severe drought, ending with December’s cold snap, has given UK wildlife a bumpy and difficult year with many species and habitats struggling to cope.

A new record high UK temperature of 40.3 degrees Celsius was recorded at Coningsby, Lincolnshire, on July 19 during the heatwave, helping make this the joint hottest summer on record.

The drought conditions also caused particular issues for National Trust gardens—with lawns drying up and plants in summer borders going over earlier than normal. Tenant farmers struggled in some areas with a lack of grass for livestock and the heat stunting the growth of arable crops. It also contributed to the ‘false’ autumn seen by much of the country with early leaf drop.

In contrast, much of the UK experienced a mast year for some nuts and berries—but this is thought to be partly due to the stress to trees caused by the drought conditions.

The mild autumn and the arrival of rain has also resulted in a good showing of many varieties of fungi, with some gardens seeing signs of spring with rhododendrons and delphiniums blooming due to the warm temperatures.

For information and to donate to the National Trust’s work visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/everyone-needs-nature-appeal

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DETECTORIST

Experienced metal detectorist, looking for detecting buddy, Honiton area of East Devon. Preferably retired who has an interest in local history. Mob. 07591 058862.

Vintage craftsman made solid oak refectory style dining table Beautiful grain; lovely traditional piece of furniture Length 5ft width 2ft - 6ins disassembles for transport £45. Also Pair of vintage

FOR SALE

Ex-display sheds, Stables/field shelters, summerhouses, offices, workshops, agricultural 01935 891195 Mar 23

traditional oak rush seated carver chairs. Very attractive chairs in very good condition £25. Happy to email photos 01935 872217.

Solid pine trundle bed with good quality mattress Very useful - stows away underneath single bed Cot bed sized mattress with

FOR SALE

zipped washable cover Suitable for up to age 7 length 153 cm width 74 cm Only used occasionally for grandchildren’s visits £10 Happy to email photos 01935 872217.

Mothercare Advanced child car seat, 4-11 years and less than 36kg, black/ grey, unused, as new, £30, low price as buyer collects from Uplyme. Call 01297 445447.

Engineers vice 4” jaws £15. Metal cutting guillotine, max cut 5mm thick £18. Exercise bike £25. Tel 01308 427349. Roman blind new unused. Width 40” Drop 52” Plum colour Blackout £35 (New £70). Tel: 07729 111783.

Ladies traditional cycle, 5 speed, make Concept, very good condition, £35.00. 01297 624222. 3 x laurel bushes, 50-cm, 70-cm, 100-cm, £10.00. phone 01297678602.

jersey stamp booklets and prestige stamp books (1969 - 2010) all in mint condition, in album. real price approximately £430.00 £350.00 ono. Jersey definitive stamps (1969 - 2007) all in mint condition in album, also jersey postage dues all in

mint condition in album, (1969 - 1982) to include all bulletins with inserts, real price approximately £460.00 £370.00 ono. phone 01305 820878.

Kitchen display dresser, glazed upper doors cupboards draw below. Solid chestnut professionally hand made for previous house. 1.85m wide 2.26m high. Cost in 2003 £3500 for sale now £500. 07966 490429.

Knapsack sprayer for sale, Solo 475 15 litre, tel: 07770720373.

Sherborne Lynton electric rise and recliner armchair with arm caps and treated with Stainguard. Fabric in Kendal Mink . Excellent condition. Suitable for gentleman or tall lady. £300. Buyer must collect. 01297 442686.

Wine Making Equipment, Heat tray for 2 demijohns, syphon, fermentation bucket, 2 wooden wine corkers, 2 x 1gallon demijohn, 1 x 0.5-gallon demijohn fermentation locks, bungs, corks, tubing etc £60, 01297 442793.

Honda 1977 GL 1,000 dummy tank covers, sold as a pair £20.00. Troy auto speccoNY good original condition, brass made exhaust tail pipe whistle £80.00. Epman oil sandwich adapter, new in box, unused, AN8 - will fit in Mazda RX8 - not used £33.00. 1980 Harley Iron head sporster front forks, with triple tree & calipers with 2 front axles, slight marks on the chrome, collection only £280.00. 2 ladies Topshop dresses 1 is strapless 1 is

sleeveless Size 16 both for £20 great condition. Oasis size 16 dress, cream, with flowers, hardly worn £10, sleeveless. Zara black/ white above knee dress, lined, size L £10.00. Tel 01308 538345.

Two Lounge Ornamental Lamps heat/bronze bulbs complete with dimmer switches, as new. £10 each. Water heater for home or club. As new, still with box, 3.5 litre. Energy saving. £20. 01308 423620. Fridge Beko 145cm x 54cm x 54cm. £50. 01297 442290.

Quality metal frame, single bedstead and mattress, both in excellent condition. £75. Buyer collects. 01460 76545 (Merriott). Eumig Vintage Cine film, mark-S STD8 sound projector + films £15.

07434 101119 Weymouth. Cycling Ribble 58cm Training/winter bike, 11 speed Shimano 105 equipped, health reason for sale. £295. Dorchester 07719 535094.

Acoustic Guitar, CF Martin & Co. Dreadnought Model D2832, Year 1986. Fine instrument with case £790. Dorchester 07719 535094.

Press for ironing sheets, pillowcases, table cloths, easy press £40.00 ono 01460 4881640.

Television Neon. Colour pink. 19 inch. Connectors Scart, Video VGA HDi. Come + view. £20.00 01404 881640.

Dog crate 23 inch x 35 1/2 inch height x 33 inch. Removable tray sliding locks £20.00 ono 01404 881640.

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