Marshwood + June 2021

When school was 95 years ago Page 12

Real Tennis then and now Page 24

Inspired by Artic space and light Page 42

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Marshwood +

© Jonathan Drori Photograph by Robin Mills

The best from West Dorset, South Somerset and East Devon

No. 267 June 2021

COVER STORY Robin Mills met Jonathan Drori in the Piddle Valley, Dorset

© Jonathan Drori Photograph by Robin Mills

’I

grew up in Twickenham, south west London, not far from Kew Gardens, which later became hugely important to me. My father ran a diesel laboratory which developed and designed fuel systems, one of which—a fuel injection pump—became almost a standard fitting for tractor and bus engines around the world. When I go to agricultural shows, I always rush over to the old tractors, and say to my long-suffering wife, “You know who designed this CAV DP15 pump…” My grandfather was also an engineer, my brother and I both went into electronics.

My mother was much more interested in the arts. When we visited Kew Gardens, she was keen to teach us to appreciate the beauty of plants, while my father would explain to us the miracle of how plants work. This combination of science and beauty is wonderful, and something I believe all children should learn. Between the two of them, our parents taught us all sorts of stories about plants, and even fed us bits of them. When you use all your senses, you remember what you learn; I can recall things about plants my father taught me at the age of seven!

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Jonathan Drori

© Jonathan Drori Photograph by Robin Mills

My father came from Eastern Europe, arriving in this country just before the war, with just his little suitcase, and knowing no English.

His family had all been murdered.

It’s so hard for me to compare my life to his, but I’m constantly reminded of how lucky I and my generation have been. The first thing he had to do was learn the language, and because he already had some engineering training, he got a job at Harland and Wolff shipyard on Clydeside. Then he met

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and married my mother in Glasgow.

By the time he came to work at the lab in London in the 1950s, he was managing thousands of people, building ships to replace those that had been lost in the convoys. His story leaves me with sympathy for refugees because my Dad was one.

To my mind we’re all the same; we pretty much laugh and cry at the same things, and surely, a little human variety is the spice of life!

My parents were completely focussed on my brother’s and my

education. I think my father had assumed that school wouldn’t teach me anything and was actually quite pleasantly surprised when we did in fact learn our three R’s there. When I later went to a direct grant school in Hammersmith, I did pure and applied maths, physics and chemistry A levels, but surprisingly, it was the drama society that really set me up, although I didn’t realise it at the time. We would put something on every week; I didn’t act, but I did all the behind-the-scenes stuff like

lighting, and sound. When I went off to Sussex University, (in those days a sort of thinking person’s Butlins), to do a degree in electronic engineering, I absolutely loved it.

My parents weren’t well off, so I was fortunate to get a grant. When I left, with an interest in broadcast engineering, I applied to the BBC for a job. I think I was successful because I had the right degree, but also because of my involvement with drama at school. I in fact I had two job offers, one from the BBC and the other from BT International, who were offering double the salary of the BBC. I asked my father for his advice as to which to choose, and he said, “go to where you’ll learn most”. So, I took the job with the BBC, and years later after he’d died, I began to wonder if in fact he’d said, with his Russian-Scottish accent, “Go to where you’ll earn most”! Actually, knowing my Dad, I’m pretty sure it was “learn”.

The BBC was a fantastic employer for me. When I reached my midtwenties, I really “got it”, realising that being good at a job meant working out what an employer really wanted, and trying to do that, and be one step ahead, rather than just doing what you’re told.

I decided I wanted to move away from engineering and more towards explaining science, setting my heart on becoming a television director.

At first, unsurprisingly, I was unsuccessful in applying. But the BBC allowed me to be “attached” to a programme called Tomorrows World, for 6 months. I had to come up with ideas for parts of the programme every other week, and after that I worked my way up through various jobs, researcher, director, series producer and so on, making lots of science TV programmes for the next 16 years. I ended up running BBC Online at the end of the 1990’s. It was at the height of the internet boom, and anyone with a serious internet job was being offered silly money with outside companies.

An American e-business company offered me massively more than

I was earning, and given that our family weren’t exactly landed gentry, I thought the job would offer me some financial security. I went to the Director General, at the time Greg Dyke, and told him what I wanted to do. He said that although he didn’t want me to go, if it was what I wanted I should do it, and, that when the whole internet boom collapsed, he’d give me a similar job back, as long as I returned within 2 years. Of course, collapse it all did, but although I didn’t in fact return to the BBC afterwards, that offer meant that I could go and take a risk, and it was a great insight into how to treat people well! I then set up my own consultancy company, offering advice to government departments, and big museums and galleries on how people could use new technologies to engage audiences in new ways. I also worked in the civil service for 3 years, running a creative operation to develop new kinds of internet activities in science, culture and the arts.

Because of my interest in plants, when a board position at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew was advertised, I applied, and became a trustee for nine years. As a film maker with a botanical interest, they occasionally allowed me to travel with expeditions, making films about plants, which was pure heaven for me. One thing leading to another, I ended up on the boards of various technology, botanic or education organisations. I was Chair of a university, I’m on the board of Raspberry Pi, a computer company, which has just sold its 40 millionth computer, and I have an honorary position at the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research.

I’ve always been interested in how each discipline that one learns about connects with and interacts with others. For instance, plants are amazing, and physics is astounding, but when you put the two together, that’s super-exciting. And when you add the human dimension too, well, that’s when the magic happens! I

remember a few years ago, when I was looking for a book about trees, which I love, which included science, culture, history, folklore all entwined together, I couldn’t find one. So, I thought I’d better try to write it.

That was how Around the World in 80 Trees was born. It was almost a hobby, a labour of love, and because of that, and the beautiful way the publisher produced the book, it has been a bestseller in 18 languages, I think. A fancy way to describe it, (and the just-published follow-up, Around the World in 80 Plants), is ‘interdisciplinary’, but I have tried to make it an exciting read, whether someone comes with an interest in science, history, ecology, people or just loves plants. I’d also like people who read the books to care about the natural world, and we all know the real emergency is climate change. The priority right now is to massively reduce our use of coal, oil and gas, and to protect the forests and peat bogs that we already have.

If we make the necessary changes to our lives now, climate change can be managed.

My connection with Dorset goes back to early childhood. All through my childhood our family holidays were at Lyme Regis, where we’d go fishing off the Cobb, and occasionally rent a small boat. And as we had no car, we either walked in the countryside, or collected fossils between Charmouth and Lyme, which was for us kids a brilliant way into the magical world of science. Dorset is my spiritual home, so it was a big deal when I first introduced my wife Tracy to its countryside; as an American she was a bit surprised that we could walk across someone’s field on a footpath, and not get either shot at or attacked by a wild animal. Now, it’s a huge part of our married lives, and being able to spend more of our time in the Piddle Valley is a delight.

’

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UP FRONT Despite the fact that International Day of Happiness is normally celebrated in March, people in the UK could be forgiven for thinking it was actually May 17th this year. With a boost to confidence and the economy, pubs and restaurants opened to welcome guests. And although crowds didn’t particularly overwhelm the hospitality industry, smiling and emotional hugging was certainly in evidence, while masks off in an indoor setting did seem to produce an inordinate amount of grinning. Obviously, the answer to whether pub opening will be long-lasting or not is anyone’s guess, but infectious happiness certainly makes a nice change from anything else infectious.

One observer suggested that May 17th should be declared a national Hospitality Day of Happiness.

However, that’s a title that might have big boots to fill. Originally initiated by the United Nations, the aim of International Day of Happiness is ‘to promote happiness as a universal goal and aspiration in the lives of human beings around the world.’ It was launched to try to inspire people to be positive and to spread that attitude wherever possible. As well as endless happiness workshops, happiness coaching, a world summit, and even a world happiness festival, there were initiatives like the one promoted by a web hosting company that launched the ‘Happiest Website Ever—Guaranteed to Make you Smile.’ It offered images of people smiling; cute puppy and kitten videos; sunny skies; sunsets; pictures of food; a crackling fireplace and even photographs of elderly couples looking happy—this last one ranked number eight in a survey of 2,000 people about what in life brings them the most happiness and joy. And just in case those options didn’t work, there was also a page that flashed happy comments to the reader such as: ‘You look great today’; ‘You light up the room’ and of course the ubiquitous ‘You are awesome!’ Perhaps a pub chain will make beer mats promoting Hospitality Day of Happiness with little slogans like: ‘You look great! You’ll look even better after another beer’ or ‘Light up the room. Buy one for everyone!’ Whatever the occasion, there will always be room for positive thought—and an opportunity to help boost the economy.

Fergus Byrne

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

THIS MONTH

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Cover Story By Robin Mills Past Present and Furture - Bill Lawson Event News and Courses News & Views Laterally Speaking By Humphrey Walwyn Real Tennis - Then and Now By Fergus Byrne Tesla By Cecil Amor

32 32 34 36

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

38 38 40 41

Food & Dining Broad Bean Pesto By Lesley Waters Pickled Black Cow By Mark Hix Angler under Instruction By Nick Fisher

42 Arts & Entertainment 42 The Sea, the sea 46 Bold and Light By Margery Hookings 46 Galleries 54 Young Lit Fix By Antonia Squire 55 Screen Time By Nic Jeune

56 Health & Beauty 58 Services & Classified “Drunk is feeling sophisticated when you can’t say it.”

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Editorial Director Fergus Byrne

Contributors

Deputy Editor

Cecil Amor Seth Dellow Helen Fisher Nick Fisher Richard Gahagan Mark Hix Margery Hookings

Victoria Byrne

Design

Fergus Byrne

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Fergus Byrne info@marshwoodvale.com

Nic Jeune Russell Jordan Robin Mills Antonia Squire Humphrey Walwyn Lesley Waters Ashley Wheeler

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

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

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

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

Archive Film Festival in June

A

rchive films, not seen before, will be part of a free online festival to be staged in June by Dorset rural media charity Windrose. Four shows will be available in the last week of June (Thursday 24th to Wednesday 30th), thanks to support from Dorset Council.

Windrose director Trevor Bailey said: ‘One of our greatest joys is to take film shows to live audiences in village halls, theatres, cinemas, arts centres and museums. It is amazing how many people are drawn by these moving images of their county. The atmosphere is often electric.

‘Because of the pandemic, outreach shows have been impossible for a year. That’s been very sad. So we thought that, as restrictions begin to lift, we would remind Dorset people of just what a wonderful resource these films of truly local life really are.

‘When you have a film archive like ours, you are really custodian of the nearest thing to living history that exists.

The last thing you want is to let it gather dust. It needs to be seen by local communities. It is their story.’

James Harrison, who has been putting the online shows together for Windrose, said the film festival was completely different from Windrose’s usual shows. ‘Just for one week, anyone who is on the internet can sit at home and enjoy a whole range of wonderful films. Just go to our website — www.windroseruralmedia.org and all the information will be there.

‘We wanted to give Dorset communities a special present to help clear the gloom a bit. We’ve enjoyed ourselves hugely putting these online shows together. We’ve tried to relate them to specific areas of the county to make the most of local relevance but they will all be fascinating for anyone who is interested in Dorset. People will find some old favourites from our shows but all the work we’ve been doing recently to digitise the archive means that we have been able to give an outing to a number of films that have not been seen before.’

Windrose is famous for its extraordinary film archive of local life. Over the last 36 years, with the vital help of local communities, Windrose has saved a very large number of films dating from the 1910s onwards and enabled them to be seen again.

Over the last three-and-a-half years the charity, which also works in Somerset and Wiltshire collecting archive film and running community projects, has been working steadily to digitise much of the archive and to prepare more of it for public viewing.

Said Trevor Bailey: ‘We have selected films from certain areas of the county to make them as relevant as possible to local communities but anyone who loves Dorset will find delight in all of them. There is a mixture of old favourites from our shows and new sequences specially prepared for the festival. Some full Windrose productions have been included, which combine old films with the memories and knowledge of local people and are also available to buy on DVD.’ To see the film shows, visit www.windroseruralmedia.org where you will be guided to a special Archive Film Festival page so you can choose the films you would like to see.

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THE FILMS ARE: The coast – Weymouth to Swanage Filming birds at Winfrith in 1960s, travels through Dorset in 1940s, Sein fishing at Chesil Beach, the last train to Portland 1960s, paddle steamer at Lulworth 1960s, Purbeck farming 1950s, Weymouth promotional film 1950s. Plus Swanage seaside holidays in 1930s (which is also available on DVD).

Blandford to Sturminster Newton Blandford’s Coronation celebrations 1937, Blandford and Shaftesbury in 1930s, Sturminster Newton Market in 1930s and 1990s, the Somerset & Dorset Railway in 1960s, Fontmell Magna in 1980s. Plus Iwerne Minster in 1918. (A sparkling, newly-discovered original print of an old favourite in wonderful condition—a revelation).

Wimborne The moving of the model town 1960s, an unusual rail accident at Wimborne Station 1930s, Wimborne Urban District Council 1950s. Plus Soldiers, Civilians and Stockmen (also available on DVD), a mass of films about Wimborne town and Wimborne market during the Second World War with a comparison visit to the market in the early 2000s. Presented by the late John Loder.

Buckland Newton to Sherborne Buckland Newton people make one of the first Parish Maps 1990s, the King’s visit to Sherborne 1940s, Sherborne streets and fete 1950s, Sherborne School 1930s, an historical pageant at the Larmer Tree gardens 1960s, well known Sherborne farmer Jack Dimond and his old binder 1950s and 1990s, Cerne Abbas 1960s and 1990s.

Plus Mother Of All Pageants (also available on DVD), the story of the great Sherborne Pageant with the original 1905 film and music. Presented by the late Gerald Pitman.

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Past, Present and FUTURE Centenarian Bill Lawson talks to Seth Dellow

I

n an endearing audio interview—available in full on the Marshwood Vale Magazine website—centenarian Bill Lawson from Ilminster, recalls being dragged into school by the ear. As incentives go, that’s not quite how children expect to be introduced to education these days, but Bill remembers ‘the headmistress taking me by the ear and telling me I had to go in whether I liked it, or whether I didn’t.’ No doubt times have changed but what’s hard to comprehend is the fact that Bill’s school memory comes from over 95 years ago.

Interviewed by Seth Dellow as part of his series Past, Present and Future Bill Lawson’s memory is not only as sharp as ever but he recalls a selection of the moments of his life with a twinkle in his eye and a ready laugh at the wonder at what life has thrown his way.

Born in Hartlepool in 1920 he recalls his father as ‘fairly strict’ while his mother was petite. He remembers when he was misbehaving she would ‘hammer me on the back and I recall saying “now mother you’re going to hurt yourself if you’re not careful.”’

After school he tried to get a job as an apprentice engineer in the shipyard and also applied for a job with an estate agent. He got both job offers but though he wanted to take the apprentice option his father said he should do the estate agent job. He was there for a couple of years and then worked for the local council before going to war.

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Like many men his age, the war changed his life—literally overnight.

Bill had been out celebrating his 21st birthday and when he got home quite late his father told him not to get too settled. ‘I had to catch a train at six o’clock the next morning to go and get equipped to sign on for the airforce’ recalled Bill. It was January and he remembers that it was ‘damn cold’. Each lad was given a sheet and a blanket and allocated a Nissen Hut. He went by boat from Liverpool to Glasgow then on to India. His first posting was on a piece of land with a date plantation on one side, a swamp on another and a river on the third side. He remembers the swamp was full of noisy toads ‘We were there for a year’ he says, ‘and it was damned hot’.

Temporary showers were a bucket of water with holes in. He remembers that two or three people with ginger hair were sent home because of the heat. ‘We all wished we were ginger haired’ he says. Then it was on to North Africa and following that he joined the sea rescue service and also spent time as a wireless operator.

One time in transit just outside Cairo, there was a dance on in the army barracks. ‘That was where I first met May’ he says. ‘I asked her to dance and she didn’t show any enthusiasm at all. She thought I was a scruffy old devil.’

Perseverance proved beneficial, and scruffy devil or not, May agreed to marry Bill and they eventually got married in the Church of Scotland in Alexandria in 1945. It was a big wedding. ‘We had the army padre, the RAF padre and the civilian church of Scotland minister at the wedding’ said Bill, ‘to say nothing of all the lads from the unit.’

they couldn’t understand me.’ In the end Somerset became home and now that he has reached one hundred years of age he thinks he may stay. ‘Here I am still and here I’ll stay I expect.’

Not one to sit back, after retiring from council work Bill was offered a job to help with a new fruit farm venture.

When the owner was sadly killed in a car accident, Bill continued to help keep the business going, getting involved in the farm, the farm shop, a factory and a frozen fruit business. He spent fifteen years travelling around the country and only retired from that when his wife May’s health deteriorated. ‘So I worked really until I was nearly ninety’ says Bill. ‘That’s why I’m still here I think’.

After May’s death, Bill, in his retirement, suffered two strokes and battled pneumonia and delirium before having a bad accident. He describes ‘dashing across the road— which was stupid at my age, 94—caught my toe on a kerb stone, shot across the pavement and hit the wall.’ He fractured his shoulder joint, his elbow and his jaw bone.

With cheerful understatement he says: ‘My face was a bit of a mess’. He finished up in hospital. ‘In fact I think they thought that was my lot’ he said.

‘It was everybody for himself. You either waited for dead men’s shoes or you got on’ Whilst war had it’s ups and downs, de mobbing when it was over brought its own challenges. He remembers thousands of men being given new suits and trilby hats but there were few jobs. ‘I was very lucky’ said Bill. Having been in local government before the war he was able to get his old job back. ‘It was everybody for himself. You either waited for dead men’s shoes or you got on.’ May had twin boys and he remembers having a whisky with the doctor after they were born ‘which he seemed to enjoy as much as I did.’

His job in Yorkshire was as deputy chief of finance and soon after taking it the chief decided to leave. However the job became so hectic that May complained that Bill never had enough time at home. ‘It was a seaside authority’ remembered Bill ‘and it was really hectic—couldn’t get a weekend off, hardly.’ So that was what brought him to Ilminster in the west country.

He remembers how it was a change to come from a seaside authority to what was then ‘a quiet little place’ He remembers how all the councillors were Somerset and he was north country and laughs: ‘so we got on well together,

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‘So I worked really until I was nearly ninety’ But Bill is made of sterner stuff. With men of his calibre it is difficult not to ask the obvious question—what is the secret to his long life? ‘I have no idea’ says Bill. ‘Genes, and some degree of contentment. I’ve always enjoyed my work, the beginning and the end’.

However, he admits that every day isn’t easy. Laughing, he says he wouldn’t recommend the position of not being able to do the things he enjoys doing any more. ‘I’d love to just go and get in the car and drive off, probably up to the Lake District or something like that—but I can’t do it now’.

Bill eyes the futire with the wisdom that comes with age and perhaps dreams of the things that others may experience in the future. ‘Science has advanced so much’ he says, ‘you can nearly go to the moon now, on holiday.’

But future travel options aside he has concerns for the future of those generations coming along behind him. ‘I’m not an eco warrior’ says Bill but he says we’ve really got

to think about global warming ‘because that is a serious problem at the moment. I think probably I won’t have to worry about it but the children and grandchildren will.’

Seth points out that listening to Bill and taking stock of his experience over one hundred years is inspiring. ‘When one thinks of the impact that Bill has had’ says Seth, ‘ranging from friend, husband, son, father, grandfather and even great grandfather, it is impossible not to be filled with admiration for a man whose life shall continue to inspire those who are lucky enough to listen to him.’

The full interview with Seth Dellow is available to listen to on the Marshwood Vale Magazine website. Visit www.marshwoodvale.com.

Seth Dellow is a University of Exeter student reading History & Politics, with a keen interest in political history and public policy. He is also active in the local community, regularly volunteering and has won the Pride of Somerset Youth Awards twice. Seth enjoys interviewing people from a wide range of backgrounds. You can learn more about Seth at www.linkedin. com/in/sethdellow

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June

EVENT NEWS AND COURSES June 2

Scottish Country Dancing Classes are held every Wednesday at Hatch Beauchamp village hall TA3 6SG from 7.30 to 9.30 pm. £3.00 per session, pay as you go and please bring your own drink.

For more information please contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com . Come and join us for fun, fitness and friendship. Also 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th.

June 3

Shute Festival Talking Walk with Dr Bijan Omrani leaving from Shute Barton on the history of Shute 5-7 pm. Limited numbers, booking essential £15 - via www.shutefest.org.uk

June 5

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

June 6

Thomas Hardy Victorian Fair Online A special online production celebrating Thomas Hardy’s love for his home town.

Many of Dorchester’s heritage organisations are partnering to demonstrate what life was like in Victorian/Edwardian Dorchester.

The presentation will be themed “Thomas Hardy’s Casterbridge – Dorchester Through Time” and become a lasting legacy on the Thomas Hardy Victorian Fair website. The online presentation will go live on the website thomashardyvictorianfair.co.uk at 11am.

June 8

Bridport History Society, Zoom meeting, 2.00 for 2.30. ‘What is Photo Archaeology? Long lost negs, Postcards and Time Travel’ Carlos Guarita. Carlos was given some old negs and then set out on the detective work to find out more about them. All welcome.

For more info contact Jane on 01308 425710 or email: jferentzi@ aol.com

June 9

Axminster Heritage presents ‘Farming and land use patterns in East Devon in the 1830s and 1840s.’ 7:30pm – 8:30pm. Cost £3.50 Hear what tithe maps can tell us about farming and land pattern ownership during the 19th century in this Zoom talk by local author, David Knapman. Tickets available from: https:// axminsterheritage.org/axminster-heritage-events/

June 10

Shute Festival online: Emma Stonex fiction writer in conversation with crime fiction writer Paddy Magrane on her new bestselling book The Lamplighters. 6-7 pm. Free and details via www.shutefest.org.uk

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June 11

Mike Denham and his Cafe Stompers 8pm. Tickets £20 (£38 with pre-show supper at 6.30pm). Ilminster Arts Centre at The Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0AN. To book please call 01460 54973. www.themeetinghouse.org.uk Antibiotics: Action, Resistance and Superbugs at 11am a presentation by Keith Jones via zoom for members of Lyme Regis u3a. Please see the website www.lymeregisu3a.org for details of membership and all the activities of this learning co-operative for people no longer in full time employment.

The Undercover Hippy (full band), 8pm. Come to The Beehive’s re-opening gig! The band have been festival regulars at Glastonbury, Secret Garden Party, Boomtown and more.

Politically driven acoustic roots reggae folk-hop, with feel-good vibes and a sly sense of humour. This will be a reduced capacity, socially-distanced gig. The Beehive, Honiton. www.beehivehoniton. co.uk Box office 01404 384050 Lyme Regis Farmers’ Market 9am-4pm. Our monthly artisan market returns with a fantastic selection of producers, growers and makers from a 30-mile radius of Lyme Regis. The Shelters, Marine Parade, Lyme Regis. DT7 3JE www.lrdt.co.uk/ lymeregisfarmersmarket West Dorset Group SDFHS 1.30 for 2.00, Please note new day, not Saturday, and the meeting will go through until 4.00. Zoom meeting ‘House History Projects’ Jane and students. We will look at some house history projects in Dorset and Somerset. House History has become very popular since several series on television revealed the wonderful stories this research can unfold.All welcome. For more info contact Jane on 01308 425710 or email jferentzi@aol.com

June 12

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

Martock Farmers Market 10-1, 14 stalls, Coop shopping precinct, North street Martock, TA12 6DL. 01935 822202 Ammonite (15) 7.30pm. Lyme Regis on the big screen! A romantic drama in which a young woman (Saoirse Ronan) is sent to stay with Victorian fossil-hunter Mary Anning (Kate Winslet).

This will be a reduced capacity, socially-distanced screening. The Beehive, Honiton. www.beehivehoniton.co.uk Box office 01404 384050

June 12 - 13

Fishpond Open Gardens Eight private gardens that range from mature and traditional cottage gardens to newer gardens designed and built by RHS Award Winners, but all boasting amazing views and tended with love by their passionate owners. Entry will be by ticket purchase on the day from the Church which will also be hosting refreshments, cake and jam sales and a plant stall

with expert advice on hand. There will also be a raffle for luxury hamper. Tickets will cost: £6 per person (children under 16 have free entry), All sales will need to be cash or cheque only and a name and address will be required for Track and Trace purposes.

The gardens will be open from 11am to 5pm both days.

June 13

Divine Union Soundbath 2-3.30PM Ninesprings Natural Health Clinic 70 Hendford Yeovil BA20 1UR £15 Lie down, relax, and allow the Pure Sounds of a crystal and Tibetan bowl soundbath plus sacred vocal overtoning take you into the deeper brainwaves states of ‘the relaxation response’, while charging and balancing the aura and chakras of the subtle body, and detoxing the physical body. Numbers restricted to ensure social distancing, so please book firmly in advance–no ‘on the spot’ admissions. Covidsecure venue operating hand sanitiser, track and trace, etc. email ahiahel@live.com East Devon Ramblers 8 miles leisurely. Lovely Dorset walk.

Telephone: 01297-443836

June 16

Axminster Heritage presents ‘Axminster’s Link to the Jurassic Coast.’ 7pm – 8pm. Cost £3.50 Find out more about Axminster’s historic links with the Jurassic Coast in this talk by Phil Davidson, Senior Warden at Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre. Tickets available from: https://axminsterheritage.org/axminster-heritageevents/ East Devon Ramblers 8 miles leisurely. A walk to Ashill.

Telephone: 01404-549390

June 17

Shute Festival online: Professor Charles Spence Oxford experimental psychologist on his new book Sensehacking. 6-7 pm.

Free and details via www.shutefest.org.uk Bridport & District Gardening Club. Jo O’Connelly will present a Zoom presentation on “The Lavender Farm Project”at 7.30pm.

To join the club (£10/year) email the Membership Secretary maggiepostle@sky.com

June 18

Concerts in The West - Ferio Saxaphone Quartet 8pm. Tickets £15 (£33 with pre-show supper at 6.30pm) Ilminster Arts Centre at The Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0AN. To book please call 01460 54973. www.themeetinghouse.org. uk East Devon Ramblers 5 miles easy. Walk around Exmouth.

Telephone: 01395-266668 Lyme Regis u3a SciTec Group has a talk, on line via zoom at 10am, on Dorset Reptiles by David Croman. Please see the web site www.lymeregisu3a.org for details of how to join this event and all the others of this learning co-operative.

Nomadland (12A) 7.30pm. Triple Oscar-winning film. A woman in her sixties, after losing everything in the 2008 recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad. This will be a reduced capacity, socially-distanced screening. The Beehive, Honiton. www. beehivehoniton.co.uk Box office 01404 384050

EVENTS IN JULY

Live or Online send your June event details to info@marshwoodvale.com by June 14th.

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June

EVENT NEWS AND COURSES June 19

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

Simon & Garfunkel Through the Years 6.30pm and 9pm.

Critically acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest tribute shows Simon & Garfunkel Through The Years has toured the globe extensively receiving standing ovations and selling out theatres night after night. The show is a “masterpiece” BBC Radio. This will be a reduced capacity, socially-distanced gig. The Beehive, Honiton. www. beehivehoniton.co.uk Box office 01404 384050

June 20

Devon Hardy Plant Society’s Summer Plant Fair From 11am to 3pm at Burrow Farm Gardens near Axminster. An opportunity to choose from a mouth-watering selection of shrubs, climbers, roses, perennials and alpines, all grown in the South West. Buy interesting and unusual plants and get expert advice from nurserymen who know how to grow them. Eleven nurseries to choose from plus Devon Hardy Plant Society members’ plant stall. Coffee, snacks, cream teas and light lunches are available from Burrow Farm tea rooms, and the beautiful 13 acre gardens are open for you to enjoy until 6pm. £1 entry to Plant Fair, with discounted garden entry of Adults £8 Children £1.

East Devon Ramblers 7.5 miles leisurely. Walk on a path to Farway. Telephone:01404-44367 Divine Union Soundbath 2-4pm Bridport Unitarians, 49 East St, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3JX £15 Lie down, relax, and allow the Pure Sounds of a crystal and Tibetan bowl soundbath plus sacred vocal overtoning take you into the deeper brainwaves states of ‘the relaxation response’, while charging and balancing the aura and chakras of the subtle body, and detoxing the physical body.

Numbers restricted to ensure social distancing, so please book firmly in advance–no ‘on the spot’ admissions. Covid-secure venue operating hand sanitiser, track and trace, etc.01935 389655 or email ahiahel@live.com

June 22

Bridport and District u3a presents a talk by Brian Lane-Smith, titled ‘Hunting the Hunted’, about the construction of the airfield at Dunkeswell, online via Zoom at 2pm. Bridport and District u3a is an organisation for people who want to undertake learning for its own sake, with like minded people, in a social setting. There is no minimum age, but you should be no longer in, or seeking, full time employment or raising a family. Since March 2020 most of our faceto-face activities have been moved online, and over 20 new online groups have also started. We continue to run our full programme of scheduled monthly talks, currently using Zoom. Please visit our website for specific details and contact information www. bridportu3a.org.uk, or email membership@bridportu3a.org.uk

June 24

Shute Festival online: Jason Webster and Salud Botella on The Art of Flamenco. 6-7 pm. Free and details via www. shutefest.org.uk Rampisham Gardens open for NGS, DT2 0PT. 3 glorious country gardens open, all within easy walking distance. 1.30-5pm. £8 entry. Homemade teas and plants.

June 25

The Tommaso Storace Quartet With Dave Newton (piano), Alec Dankworth (bass) and Chris Nichols (drums) 8pm. Tickets £20 (£38 with pre-show supper at 6.30) Ilminster Arts Centre at The Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0AN. To book please call 01460 54973. www.themeetinghouse.org.uk East Devon Ramblers 5.8 miles leisurely. Walk over Shortwood Common. Telephone: 07977-544749 Jazz impromptu Duo by Mike Denham on piano with one of UK’s top jazz reed players Trevor Whiting (Clarinet & Sax). 100 years ago the world was hoping to emerge from a respiratory virus pandemic.

Sound familiar? Well, so will some of the melodies from the start of the jazz age which will feature in one or other of these concerts. Mike and Trevor revisit them, along with other great tunes that deserved to stand the test of time but have somehow faded from the memory. 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. www.tincletongallery.com.

June 26

Axminster Heritage presents ‘Paint a Border of Sumer Flowers.’ 10am – 1pm, Bradshaw Meeting Room, Thomas Whitty House. Cost £16.00 Using mixed media learn how to paint a simple border of summer flowers in a loose style. 8 spaces available. Tickets available from: https://axminsterheritage.org/ axminster-heritage-events/ For more info and a materials list contact: ginayouens123@gmail.com Solo by Mike Denham on piano. 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. www.tincletongallery.com.

Peter Rabbit 2 (U), 4pm and 7.30pm. The lovable rogue, voiced

by James Cordon, is back. Bea, Thomas, and the rabbits have created a makeshift family, but despite his best efforts, Peter can’t seem to shake his mischievous reputation. The Beehive, Honiton. www.beehivehoniton.co.uk Box office 01404 384050 Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 8 mile walk from Bridport. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340.

Winsham Open Gardens scarecrow & garage sale trail.

11am to 5.30pm. There’ll be about 17 gardens open on the day all of differing size & style so there’ll be plenty of variety. They’ll be a free car park & some gardens will also be offering refreshments & plant sales. The event will be run within Covid-19 rules of the time which could include one way systems, hand sanitising & social distancing. Sorry no dogs (except assistance dogs) or pushchairs/prams & only a few gardens will be wheelchair friendly. Tickets are only £5 each (accompanied under 16’s free) and can be purchased in advance from Winsham Village Shop or by contacting Debbie Murray 01460 432815. Some tickets will also be available on the day from the designated carparks but as numbers may need to be restricted please purchase them in advance if possible.

June 27

Divine Union Soundbath 2pm-4pm Oborne Village Hall, Oborne, nr. Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4LA £15 Lie down, relax, and allow the Pure Sounds of a crystal and Tibetan bowl soundbath plus sacred vocal overtoning take you into the deeper brainwaves states of ‘the relaxation response’, while charging and balancing the aura and chakras of the subtle body, and detoxing the physical body. Numbers restricted to ensure social distancing, so please book firmly in advance–no ‘on the spot’ admissions. Covid-secure venue operating hand sanitiser, track and trace, etc. 01935 389655 or email ahiahel@live.com

East Devon Ramblers 9.5 miles moderate. Churchstanton walk. Telephone: 01395-445872 Yews Farm garden East Street, Martock, TA12 6NF is open for NGS from 2-5. “Theatrical planting in large south facing walled garden. Sculptural planting for height, shape, leaf and texture. Box topiary. High maintenance pots. Self seeding hugely encouraged. Prolific cracked concrete garden in farmyard with hens and pigs. Working organic kitchen garden.

Greenhouses bursting with summer vegetables. Organic orchard and active cider barn – taste the difference! Plant stall.

Featured in Country Life and Houses and Gardens’. Admission £8, children free. 01935 822202.

June 30

East Devon Ramblers 5.3 miles moderate. Dalwood walk.

Telephone: 01297-552860

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News&Views

CREWKERNE Bikes wanted for charity

Crewkerne-based charity Prodigal Bikes has sent another consignment of bikes to Africa. The container of 120 bikes, tools and spare parts, along with clothes, sewing machines and medical equipment went to a remote area of Malawi. This follows a smaller shipment of 10 bikes back in 2018 to teachers in the same area of Malawi which were a huge hit and have covered many miles since. Plans are afoot to train local youngsters in Malawi to look after this next batch of bikes as a way of generating an income for themselves. If you have an old bike you no longer need, please get in contact with the charity’s founder, Anthony Raybould at aj@ prodigalbikes.co.uk.

CHIDEOCK Pompoms celebrate WI

A colourful installation in the car park in Chideock celebrates 102 years of Chideock WI and gives thanks to people and things that have helped WI members get through the last year of lockdowns and separation.

Chideock WI members have made pompoms of all colours from wool, tulle, plastic supermarket bags and construction hazard warning tape and hung them on a framework of bamboos and branches. Also tied to the branches are tags with notes of thanks to people and things that have given support over the past year.

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BRIDPORT Lockdown Food & Drink Heros

Hungry Mule Catering, Dark Bear cocktails, The New Inn at Stoke Abbott and the The Half Moon in Melplash are some of the winners of The Bridport Local Food Group’s Food & Drink Lockdown Hero Awards 2021. Congratulating the winners for the service they have given to the community during lockdown the local food group also cited Washingpool Farm Shop, the Taj Mahal Restaurant, Frampton’s Butchers, The Station Kitchen and The George Inn in Chideock as award winners. ‘Despite all the uncertainties over the last 12 months, our fantastic food and drink businesses have certainly risen to the challenges’ said Kathy Dare, Chair, Bridport Local Food Group.

YEOVIL Litterpick stations

Two new litterpick stations have been installed, equipped with litterpickers and reusable bags for anyone to borrow and do their own #2minute clean up at countryside sites across South Somerset.

Yeovil Country Park and Chard Reservoir have both recently had the litterpick stations installed, kindly provided by CPRE Somerset. The stations aim to encourage people to pick up a litterpicker and take care of the sites they visit such as Yeovil Country Park and Chard Reservoir. Once you have completed your litter pick, you can return the equipment to the station and put the litter in a nearby bin and if you can, recycle any items.

WEST DORSET Award success for attractions

The Nothe Forte in Weymouth and Sculpture by the Lakes outside Dorchester took Gold and Silver in the Small Visitor Attraction of the Year category at this year’s South West Tourism Awards. Robin Barker from Tourism Ltd, who manage the awards, said: ‘Of all the years, this has been the one that has generated the most challenges as well as the most emotions, and we are so gratified to have played our part in giving our outstanding businesses something to celebrate.’ For details visit www.southwesttourismawards.org.uk

Online Shopping Laterally Speaking by Humphrey Walwyn

I

suspect that most of us during back of a North Korean nuclear recent months have become expert trawler. However, online I’ll never at shopping online, not necessarily know and as long as it smells and by choice but by necessity. If all looks OK, it’ll probably not kill your local shops are shut and you me although I suppose I might desperately need very particular just die quietly from radio-active things like crimson candles, a carton poisoning... of canned cuttlefish, a cauliflower Of course, what you see on the or a ripe and runny camembert, you website doesn’t always mean you will find them online. The internet get what you want. I once ordered a for all its faults has been a selfcouple of kitchen chairs from EBay linking vital help line, keeping us because they looked great in the all in touch with each other as well picture—just what I wanted, or so as essential shopping and services I thought. But when they arrived, and endless streams of movies and they were dolls’ house kitchen entertainment. If the pandemic chairs and just under 4 inches tall. had happened in—say—the 1980s The moral is to make sure you before the internet became a real Another successful delivery of canned fish, AA batteries check and recheck the dimensions, and special offer felt tip pens the weight and the complete thing, I don’t know how we would have coped. description before buying from a Despite everything, we have survived without too many photo. When you buy online, all that glitters is not gold. It’s glitches owing to the constant (sometimes twice daily) more likely to be sparkly metallic plastic. Or shiny cling-film. deliveries of essential food and all sorts of other stuff Shopping for clothes online is even more difficult. Of delivered by real humans to our front doors. I suppose most course, the photos on the website make it look fabulous, of you would not consider things like canned cuttlefish but that sleek close-fitting silk skirt or shirt will arrive as a to be ‘essential’, but to me it is. As too are kippers, garlic shapeless mass of coarse nylon material that cause static butter, King prawns, loo paper and coffee ice-cream—not sparks to fly off your fingers when you remove it from its in any particular order, but all readily available at the click squeaky jiffy bag. The only good thing about it is that you can of a mouse. And don’t forget the coffee ice cream. At home print a label, repackage it in its nasty plastic bag, take it to the our continued domestic bliss now depends upon it! We’ve Post Office and return it for free. even had to divide our freezer into ‘his’ and ‘hers’ sections And what about shopping local? Well, of course I will again, to make sure we don’t conduct midnight raids on the other’s now that things are opening up. I agree there are too many stocks of coffee ice-cream! And you know what’s weird? truck miles involved in my Nottingham rose bushes let alone Before lockdown, I probably wouldn’t have even looked at my glow-in-the-dark Newcastle seafood. Better still, I’ll now canned cuttlefish or coffee ice-cream, let alone eaten them. be able to try on the trousers before I buy them and admire It is internet shopping that has introduced me to new tastes the cheese and olives at the deli. and flavours that I would never have experienced ‘BTP’ However, I will keep some of my online shopping slots (Before The Pandemic). because it has been so very convenient. No scrabbling in Our house is kept supplied by various online supermarkets my pocket for a pound coin for the trolley and no heavy as well as Amazon (of course) and an increasing army of shopping bags to carry to the car. Instead, I’ll get a warm independent suppliers who have surfaced out of the pandemic welcome from my supermarket van driver arriving with yet like bright bubbles on the froth of broadband. These include another home delivery of King prawns, loo paper and garlic an online fishmonger in Newcastle, a reliable cheese supplier butter. That’s another thing—the daily cheer of real delivery in a business park near Chester and a garden plant merchant people as they bring me AA batteries, camera spare parts or in Nottingham. In the past I would have gone to my local cuttlefish. There is one young lady (she’s a Morrison’s driver) fishmonger, delicatessen or garden centre, but they’ve all who deserves special mention. This is a true story! When been either closed or else (when I looked at their websites) my favourite breakfast cereal had run out in the store for the completely out of stock. It’s not as if I really prefer Cheshire fourth time, she actually drove out after work and left me cheese to Dorset Blue Vinny, it’s just that one’s available and two packets anonymously on my front doorstep. I reckon she the other one isn’t. Also, since I live by the sea, I’d much also paid for them herself. If that’s you and you’re reading rather get my fish locally from Weymouth where I can see this, you’ll know it’s you! A big ‘thank you’ to my Cereal Fairy! it and sniff it, rather than a Gateshead depot which (for all I owe you a couple of quid and next time could you please I know online) might be offloading my cuttlefish from the kindly add some more coffee ice-cream?

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Advertorial

THE PAST AND BEER QUARRY CAVES Local dates and dating.

When considering the past, the first thing to observe is that there is an awful lot of it. Much of the past in unrecorded however, having occurred before the invention of writing on a widespread scale. It is easy to forget that even into the 19th century most of the population of Britain were illiterate. In the long span of history itself, writing, even amongst the elite, only first appears around 3400 BC in the area known as Sumaria, nowadays Iraq. The first great work of literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh, part of which is on display at the British museum, was not written onto tablets of clay until about 1,000 BC. This is around the same time the first portions of the old Testament, mainly Genesis, were also being inscribed.

Now, homing in on Beer Quarry caves and writing, we have almost no records before the 12th century, and they are mainly at Exeter Cathedral. They have still to be translated and collated. But they allow us to put the caves into two time frames, an internal one and an external one, and a context.

The key internal time line at the caves is as follows.

Roman quarrying. Approximately 47 AD to about 410 AD. Roman entrance and stone at Roman structures in Seaton.

Anglo Saxon quarrying. Approximately 410 AD to 1066 AD. Cross in Coleyton Church.

Norman period. After 1066 and through to about 1570 AD and the Reformation. Stone in 24 of the 44 great cathedrals raised in Norman England.

Modern period. From 1600 to 1920. Various leaseholders and commercial quarrying interests.

The caves were first excavated during the Roman occupation of Britain sometime between 41 AD and 70 AD. The Roman entrance is there to see and touch and photograph. Over the centuries each successive wave of invaders or residents in Britain extended the caves in a way that is visible, touchable and photographable. The Anglo Saxon element of the caves, though short, is clearly visible. But it was with the arrival of the great church builders, the Norman’s after 1066, that the large caverns began to appear as demand for Beer stone grew. The Norman workings take us into modern times.

Basic physical facts From the Roman opening of the quarry the people doing the quarrying needed light, water and food. The cheapest light was daylight which may explain why we have at least 18 undocumented entrances around the site. As the main cave extended from the Roman workings into the site, artificial light, mostly tallow candles, appeared. The Romans used tallow type candles from about 500 BC There is some evidence of tallow candle use at the caves from the Anglo Saxon period, but nothing earlier.

The big time frame. Where Beer Quarry caves came from; 350,000 BC to 12,000 BC Although the main caves and caverns that you visit and view are significantly derived from the time line above, 47 AD to 1920 and later, the site had an earlier existence as a source

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of mankind’s main tool source for over 2 million years. This is flint. Steve Rodgers, the site curator is continually finding extremely sophisticated flint tools and implements in the fields immediately surrounding the site and above the caves. In the fields south of the site, along Quarry Lane, flint knapping (working) sites have been documented, including a site where flint is mixed with Roman pottery. Beer flint has turned up at the Carn Brae stone age site in Cornwall. That enables us to infer that the cave site goes back deep into the stone age in Britain, between 2000 BC and at least 1200 BC, possibly earlier. It also means that we can infer that stone age men and women who are the homo sapiens species, inhabited this part of Devon from about 12,000 BC or even earlier.

Now, a time jump. At Broome in Axminster, less than 10 miles from Beer Quarry Caves, a significant horde of flint axe heads and tools were discovered in the 1870s. These have been accurately radio carbon dated to between 320,000 years ago and 350,000 years ago. Some of these items are at the Royal Albert Museum in Exeter.

More interesting however is that Rob Dinnis and Chris Stringer in their book on the Human inhabitants of Britain over a million year span, suggest that the last occasion on which the Neanderthals, Homo Sapiens predecessors, occupied Britain was between about 500,000 BC and 125,000 BC, with tiny scraps of bone from Kent’s Cavern in Torquay indicating that the very earliest modern, post Neanderthal humans lived in Devon. In a comment to the author, Professor Stringer noted Broom’s absence from the chronology as due to there “Being no bones, Kevin. No bones”. But has anyone made a serious search for bones in the area?

And now another jump in time. There are three documented stone age sites within a few miles of the cave site; Sidbury, Blackbury and Farway. But there is a missing site, the most obvious one in a way. The people who quarried Beer Caves in modern times all seem to have come from Beer, a large village/settlement, recorded in Domesday 1 of 1086. It seems reasonable to infer that Beer was a source of food from the sea, at least at the time of the stone age settlements in the area.

Or more interestingly, perhaps going back to the Neanderthal period? And perhaps the abundance of flint tools in the area of the caves may indicate a ‘bridge’ between the inhabitants who made the tools at Broome and the people from Beer who were making flint tools at scale in subsequent millennia?

There are three great gaps in our understanding of the full history of Beer Quarry caves. The first is the possible link to Broom and its flint works in 350,000 BC. The second is the village of Beer through the millennia; its existence as a source of food and as a source of workers for the quarry. Much remains unknown about Beer itself, even in the historically short period between 1086 and the present. And finally, the water source for Beer and the other settlements in the East Devon aquifer adjacent to the site, that has been there since the Jurassic period.

Kevin Cahill, historian in residence. Fellow Emeritus of the Royal Historical Society and Fellow of the British Computer Society. Steve Rodgers Member of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall. Associate designate of the Institute of Quarrying

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Then and Now REAL TENNIS

It took vision, fortitude and passion to bring one of the world’s most intriguing sports to Bridport. Fergus Byrne has been hearing from some of those helping to bring Real Tennis to a wider community

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T

hose that live in this little corner of the southwest and many of those who come to visit are already well aware of the countless beautiful lanes and tracks dotted around the countryside. And unless you’re in a hurry, getting lost on route to a country pub or a local viewpoint often unveils yet another hidden gem.

One spot that never fails to delight is the short journey from Bridport to Walditch. Less than a mile in length, just off the A35 as you head east out of town, a gentle, winding, tree-lined slope has the immediate effect of leaving the world behind. Inquisitive cows graze in the fields around the impressive former home of Joseph Gundry and as you drop down into the village of Walditch an imposing building rises steeply from the roadside. If you’re lucky enough to see it ascend from an early morning mist, you might be forgiven for thinking it has the feel of JK Rowling’s Hogwarts. However, although not quite the home of an indoor Quidditch pitch, the Grade 2 listed building offers sporting magic of its own kind. It is the home of another sport that local people are fortunate to have access to. The building houses The Hyde Real Tennis court, one of only 50 such courts in the world.

Over one hundred people—men, women, and children from all walks of life—use the court in any given month and it is available to everyone, member or not. As a community resource, it is second to none in offering one of the most unique and intriguing sporting activities in the wider area. The professionals currently working at the club, Jez Brodie and Stephen Grier, offer both one to one and group tuition for beginners and more advanced players, and a Junior Academy, part-funded by a new charity that has recently taken over the club, is making the game available to a new and wider audience. Stephen, a former badminton coach, describes The Hyde Real Tennis club as ‘this wonderful, amazing, rare facility.’

But what is Real Tennis and how does it relate to other forms of racket sports that we know? Stephen has a simple explanation of how other popular racket sports are related to it, ‘From Real Tennis, squash was born. From Real Tennis, lawn tennis was born.’

The game is played in an enclosed, covered court, using walls and penthouse roofs to create endless variations of shots. Players use an odd-shaped racquet and a hand-made tennis ball. The racquet is always the first point of confusion for those used to playing more modern racquet games. ‘The shape of the racquet is derived from the shape of the hand and forearm’ explained Stephen. ‘The game is still called “jeu de paume” in France, which is game of the hand or game of the palm. The racquets have always been made the same way.’ The unusual shape and weight of the racquet take a little bit of getting used to but they simply add to the intriguing and addictive nature of the game.

Real Tennis balls are handmade, usually by the professionals at the club. In Stephen’s case, he and Jess make about 70 new balls in a month. ‘Recently, during lockdown, we made a “make your own ball kit” and we were sending them out. A lot of the feedback

A cow shed with an unusual future

Roller skating in the early 1900s

Coronation of King George VI, 1937

HRH The Earl of Wessex & Forfar received an honorary membership from Cleeves Palmer with John Gundry and Richard Salt Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 25

we had was “I didn’t realize it was so difficult.”’ Stephen says that to make a new ball from scratch takes about an hour. ‘However, most of the time we are recycling’ he says. So that takes less time. Like lawn tennis, new balls make an enormous difference and Stephen explains that the quality of the player can determine the life of the ball. He cites a couple of players who can ‘reduce the life of a ball by about five days.’

Historically, the game probably evolved from handball and is said to have been played by monks in monastery cloisters or in streets or courtyards until courts designed specifically for the game were built. It has a fascinating history which, despite today being a game enjoyed by people from all walks of life, was given a boost in popularity when Henry VIII had several courts built. One popular story relates that Henry was playing Real Tennis while his wife Ann Boleyn was being executed.

Legend has it that the actor James Cagney came to entertain the troops on the court where today locals and visitors of all ages play Real Tennis.

The court at Walditch has a perhaps more fragile Royal link, in that the man who began building it in 1883, Joseph Gundry, is said to have commissioned it to enjoy with his friend the future King Edward VII. However, although the court was first played on in 1885, sadly Mr. Gundry died in a hunting accident before the King had a chance to visit.

The building then went through a curious but fascinating series of transformations. It was used as a roller-skating rink before the First World War and then as an agricultural building, occasionally hosting village flower shows. From 1939 it was used as a dining room for British troops and then as a repair shop for American troops preparing for the allied landings on the beaches at Normandy in 1944.

The tennis court was used for servicing vehicles and guns and also apparently for dances. Legend has it that the actor James Cagney came to entertain the troops on the court where today locals and visitors of all ages play Real Tennis.

After the war the building became an enormous cow shed, albeit a cow shed with a wealth of memories. And that is how it might have stayed had it not been for the vision and fortitude of a group of local men who believed that a valuable community resource could be made of the building. Cleeves Palmer, of Palmer’s Brewery in Bridport, remembers how initial approaches to the then owner

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were rebuffed. He was doing A levels in school when a group of men including Lord Aberdare (then amateur champion and chairman of the Tennis & Rackets Association), Henry Johns (a professional at Lords) and Chris Ronaldson ‘knocked on Joe Gundry’s door’ asking to see inside the barn where the original court had been built. The men were given five minutes but told in no uncertain terms that ‘no way it’s going to become a real tennis court’. A follow up from Cleeves and his father didn’t make any progress either.

It wasn’t until fourteen years later when Cleeves was going through some of his late father’s papers that he discovered a link between the two families.

‘Both my father and Joe Gundry had been on a double ticket as independents’ said Cleeves, for a place on the then Rural District Council. ‘I found all these posters saying “Vote Gundry and Palmer” so I took them to show him’.

It was an opportunity for Cleeves to bring up the question of renovating the Real Tennis court again and on this occasion, Joe was more forthcoming. He agreed that he would pass the building, along with an acre of land around it for Cleeves to put into a charitable trust. However, there was a caveat. Joe was determined that the deal could only go through ‘as long as it’s not in my lifetime’. Not many years later the building and land were passed on.

As three acres of land for the Bridport Leisure Centre had been donated by the Palmer family, Cleeves decided that the obvious charity to put the court into was the West Dorset Sports Trust. Excited at the prospect of renovating the court and bringing Real Tennis to the area, Cleeves then attended what turned out to be an uncomfortable meeting where he was accused of being elitist for wanting to bring the sport back to Bridport. ‘I was quite young and enthusiastic in those days’ remembers Cleeves. With a passion that underlines how he must have felt at the time, he explains that his response was that he was ‘trying to make it less elitist by making it available!’ As far as he saw it, and argued at the time ‘the definition of elitist to me is expensive and unavailable. I’m doing the opposite. It will be the most inexpensive Real Tennis court—and still is to this day—to play on in Great Britain.’ Stephen Grier agrees ‘This is possibly the best value coaching, that isn’t full government-funded, that I know of ’ he says. He can offer coaching today to young people at a lot less than he could as a Badminton coach. ‘And it’s wonderful to be able to do that’ he says. Remembering that initial meeting and the reluctance to accept the club Cleeves says, ‘The elitism tag is an irrelevance now.’

After the charity eventually agreed to accept the donation of the club it was up to Cleeves to find a way to fund the renovation and running of it. A furious round of

fundraising from individuals and organisations including the National Lottery eventually raised enough money to complete the renovation and the club was opened on June 13th, 1998.

With a natural eye for publicity, Cleeves had contacted the Earl of Wessex ‘or Prince Edward as he was then’ asking him to open the club. He agreed and also played a game on opening day. ‘We were only supposed to play one set’ says Cleeves ‘but he wanted to play three.’ The match, between the Prince, Sean O Dwyer, Jamie Turner, and Cleeves Palmer ended in a gentlemanly draw. Cleeves recalls that apart from the local audience there were over twenty undercover policemen in attendance and the Prince stayed for some time longer than was scheduled. One memory of the day was the Prince’s insistence that Cleeves join him in the Royal car as he drove through Bridport. He remembers it as a ‘surreal moment’ with outriders escorting the vehicle and Bridport residents out waving their Union Jacks. Sitting in the back of the car he turned to the Prince to ask what was he supposed to do. ‘Oh you’ve got to wave too’ said the Prince. ‘So you could see people thinking, which baldheaded one is he?’ laughs Cleeves. The Prince returned as The Earl of Wessex exactly twenty years later as part of a tour of Real Tennis clubs in the country.

It was an exciting time. The club’s first professional was Mark Coghlan. ‘He did a great job’ says Cleeves. ‘He was

the perfect person for first pro. Really good with people, very gentle—just the perfect personality. We had great spirit in those early meetings. There was great excitement.

People started moving down to this part of Dorset to be near a Real Tennis court.’ The support for the club was infectious and there were many who simply took out a membership to be supportive with no plans whatsoever to play. What had potentially been a drain on Trust resources became ‘a cash provider’ remembers Cleeves.

In the following years after Cleeves’ stint as chairman, tremendous work by the following two chairmen Jamie Turner and John Mackenzie allowed the club to develop in both diversity and vision. Jamie Turner is credited with convincing Ben Ronaldson to take over as the new pro in 2008. A moment that current committee member Guy Mallinson recalls was ‘a game changer’. As current Chairman, Adrian Paterson, puts it, ‘the Ronaldson family are like Real Tennis royalty, so it was a hell of a coup to get Ben down here.’

Stephen Grier remembers how inspirational Ben was, ‘He got so many people into the game that had never played before’ he says. Over the years the club has attracted people from a wide radius around the area, as well as right next door. ‘Just this morning’ says Stephen we had a young boy who lives in the village playing. He walked past one day and said “what is this place it looks like Hogwarts?” He was

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 27

six at the time and he’s still playing and loving it. The Hyde has produced some fantastic players.

The World Number 4 came through here. He came initially on an A level visit from Colfox school.’ Following the visit, he saw the job for assistant pro advertised in the Bridport Job Centre and put in a successful application.

Today Ben Taylor-Mathews is the World Number 4.’ Stephen also mentions Mark Mathias as a past player who has won many amateur tournaments. ‘He is one of the best amateurs in the world’ says Stephen. And Levi Gale whose list of Open championship wins around the world is impressive.

‘Having started as an assistant professional at the Hyde, Levi has gone on to work alongside the current World champion Rob Fahey as his assistant’ says Stephen.

‘Another Hyde junior, Neil Mackenzie (son of past chair John) is working with Ben Ronaldson at Queen’s Club as an assistant pro.’

‘When I’m asked to explain it I say it’s a cross between squash and chess’ ‘The club here has done so much for getting youngsters playing the sport’ says Cleeves. ‘It’s very much a pay and play you don’t have to be a member to play here.’

Like all successful sporting institutions and initiatives, change is necessary for both development and stability. It became clear in recent years that the association with the West Dorset Sports Trust needed to change. Current club chairman Adrian Paterson explains that after about a year of discussion it was agreed that the committee should make the Trust an offer to buy back the court that had been gifted to them back in 1995. A price was agreed and the process of raising funds began again. A new charity, The Hyde Tennis Club Limited, was formed and the next chapter in the life of Bridport’s Real Tennis court had begun.

Adrian sees an exciting future for the club now that it is completely autonomous and believes that security of ownership is the foundation stone for the future. ‘We are so lucky to have the court down here and the opportunity to play such a wonderful game’ he says. ‘Setting ourselves up as a charity and buying the court has been a game-changer for us, as it safeguards the use of the building as a Real Tennis court in perpetuity... something that was not the case when we were under the auspices of the West Dorset Sports Trust.’

Now that the building is secured, both he and Stephen and Jez and the committee members are looking to the future and their support of junior players both male and female. ‘Through a joint initiative between the club,

28 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

the Pros and the Dedanist Foundation we are able to offer “Junior Academy” coaching every weekend’ explains Stephen.

‘These subsidised sessions work out at only £12 per hour for one-to-one coaching, but can be split between juniors to reduce the costs further for parents. We have had juniors start as young as 6, and with our recently updated court timings can offer 30-minute coaching sessions for the younger players.’

Adrian agrees, ‘Our primary objective is to encourage more juniors to play the game and this is a clearly stated aim and objective of the Charity. Both Jez and Stephen are doing a tremendous job in this regard and indeed when I arrived this morning Stephen was giving a lesson to an eight-year-old boy who lives in Walditch and when I left three more boys had turned up to have a lesson.’

There is little doubt that Real Tennis is a fascinating game to play and The Hyde Real Tennis club offers an opportunity to the local community that is unique and simply not readily available outside the area. It is an intriguing sport that without trying can be hard to fathom.

Asking some of the players to explain how they might describe it brings a puzzling yet stimulating series of answers. Cleeves Palmer says, ‘When I’m asked to explain it I say it’s a cross between squash and chess—because it is a thinking person’s sport.’ Stephen, as the one who coaches beginners coming into the game, says a combination of squash and cricket are good starting points. Committee member Guy Mallinson agrees ‘You have to run and think’ and he also points out the health values on many levels. ‘It’s great for de-stressing’ he says. ‘Because you have to think and run, you can’t be thinking about anything else. So you do have to focus on the game and therefore it is really good for you.’

Cleeves also cites the handicapping system as another reason the sport works so well. The system, which allows beginners to enjoy games with much more experienced players without feeling totally unskilled, also makes those better players try that much harder. A point that Stephen explains is one of the reasons the game is so accessible, ‘for example women can compete on a completely level playing field. And they do all the way up to the elite level.’

Adrian reiterates that point, ‘the beauty of the game is that, although brain is required as much as sporting prowess, the handicap system ensures that players of differing ages, sexes, and abilities can have a competitive and enjoyable game against each other... something almost unique to Real Tennis.’

For more information or to have a go at one of the most fascinating and engrossing racquet sports visit www.hyderealtennis.co.uk or email the pro at clubpro@hyderealtennis.co.uk.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 29

Tesla

By Cecil Amor

M

any of you will be aware that in the USA Elon Musk has been producing his Tesla electrically powered cars.

Musk is also known for his company SpaceX, which has demonstrated a reusable rocket, intended for space travel. He is also involved in solar power and battery development. Many other manufacturers are also offering battery powered electric vehicles.

A few may ask why electric cars now? Because we can, and we need to cease burning fossil fuels, to save the planet.

Until recently most batteries were too bulky and heavy to power cars, as the usual battery was the lead acid type, originally called “accumulators”. The first publicly powered transport, electric railway, in this country was installed by Magnus Volk in 1883 along the Brighton sea front. This was not powered by batteries, but by a small power station at the trackside feeding electricity to the train via its rails.

I was privileged to be offered a ride on a prototype electric motor cycle in 1966 and was very impressed by its acceleration, compared with the old petrol driven machine I had previously owned. The electric motor cycle was limited in range by its battery then. Now battery developments make electric cars, and motor cycles, and even aircraft, to be possible. The new batteries are of the lithium-ion type using expensive imported material, but lithium is now being sourced in Cornwall. Lithium extraction may invigorate local industry there. Lithium is becoming one of the World’s most sought after commodities.

You may not know why Musk has called his electric car “Tesla”. Nikola Tesla was born in July 1856 in Smiljan, in Croatia.

His parents were Serbs, who moved in the hope of a better life.

At school Nikola was fascinated by the electrical and mechanical apparatus there. His father agreed that Nikola should attend the Polytechnic in Graz, Austria, to study engineering, but he left before finishing his course, due to illness. When his father died, Nikola enrolled at Prague University, but again left early and commenced working in Budapest on the new electric telegraph.

This was at a time when great strides were being made in the knowledge of electrical apparatus. Tesla then moved to Paris, working for one of Edison’s telegraph companies.

Edison was an inventor of many electrical devices, including the phonograph, and was also excellent at self promotion, photographed at his headquarters in America, dressed as “The Wizard of Menlo Park”. At first Edison became a hero to Tesla.

Edison had commenced electrical power distribution in New York for residents and businesses, using direct current, DC. Tesla moved to New York in 1884 to work for Edison there, but could not agree that the future was in direct current as he had been developing alternating current, AC, machines. He left Edison’s employment after six months, but he had learnt from Edison the value of being something of a showman to promote his inventions.

In 1887 Tesla patented two and three phase alternators and induction motors and in 1888 he and Ferrari independently produced rotating magnetic fields. These inventions were

most important in the introduction of electrical machinery.

Tesla appears to have influenced some backers and also senior electrical engineers, as he was able to lecture to the American Institution of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) in 1888 on “AC Motors and Transformers”, opened by William Anthony, Professor at Cornell University. Tesla went on to develop and patent a polyphase motor. As a result of the 1888 lecture he met George Westinghouse, who owned the Westinghouse Electrical Manufacturing Co. Westinghouse purchased Tesla’s patents for AC machines. As a result, Westinghouse made and installed Tesla induction motors in a new factory at East Pittsburgh. Tesla went on to work for Westinghouse, but left after a year, it appears that he found it difficult to work under the direction of others.

Edison was distributing DC electricity in New York, but Westinghouse then commenced with AC. Edison campaigned against the use of AC, saying it was liable to kill people, if distributed at high voltage. However Europe expanded the use of AC, and eventually across the globe, people began to disagree with Edison.

Maxwell and Hertz had both discovered electro-magnetic waves in 1888 and in 1890 Nikola Tesla invented what he called an “Oscillating Transformer”, which is commonly referred to as a Tesla Coil, or transformer.

I referred to my well thumbed copy of The Boy Electrician of 1944 for a description and illustrations of a small Tesla high-frequency coil, which detailed an outer cylindrical primary winding of eight turns of fairly large diameter copper wire, spaced apart. A secondary winding is described of thinner cotton insulated wire, wound closely on a three inch diameter cardboard tube, twelve inches long, probably about 750 turns. Hence a turns ratio of about 94 to one. The secondary winding is mounted concentrically within the primary winding. The secondary windings are terminated each to a brass rod, each topped by a brass ball. If a battery, capacitor and a spark gap are connected to the primary winding, sparks should appear if a hand is near a brass ball. In the dark a brush discharge is evident around the secondary terminations and sparks may jump to the hand, with no sensation. I have taken this description at length, as a Tesla Coil may now not be familiar to many.

Nikola Tesla made his coil much larger and energised it from a high frequency alternator of his design and demonstrated it to the American IEE at Columbia College in 1891, producing spark discharges. He also held discharge tubes in his hands, not connected to a supply, which glowed when near the apparatus.

He also came to the UK and gave a similar demonstration to the British IEE at the Royal Institution in 1892. These demonstrations were spectacular, and they still are. The technical press gave graphic descriptions and the reputation of Tesla was greatly enhanced. In my opinion Tesla reached the peak of his achievements around this time.

It had been agreed that the power of the Niagara Falls should be used for electricity generation by the Westinghouse Company and this was a great success. Many people thought

that Tesla must have been involved, whether he was or not.

This notoriety seems to have “gone to his head”. Tesla said of Marconi, who was rapidly developing his wireless equipment, that ‘Signor Marconi’s experiments are interesting, but they are not novel’. What Tesla had forgotten was that most developments are built on the achievements of others, including his own.

In 1897 Tesla filed another patent for generating high frequency electricity, with one terminal earthed and the other at an elevation, to pass electricity into higher, rarefied atmosphere, where he suggested that current would be freely conducted.

He had a laboratory erected in Colorado Springs with a large version of his Oscillating Transformer as a transmitter, with a primary winding of two turns of thick cable and a secondary of one hundred turns of smaller cable. The secondary had one end grounded and the other attached to a large copper ball on top of a mast. He described it as a conductor via the earth of unlimited power, for the human voice. Unfortunately in 1895 fire destroyed his laboratory.

Nikola Tesla began to “enjoy the high life”, living in top hotels and eating in the best restaurants where he rubbed shoulders with famous people. He was making more amazing prophecies of the results of his inventions, for example that he had received faint signals from space and he started to lose the support of some of his friends.

Tesla managed to obtain funding in exchange for a majority interest in his latest patents and was able to build an even larger laboratory at Wardenclyffe, 65 miles from New York. This was topped by a tower about 190 feet tall which apparently produced lightning flashes at night. He said that he expected to be able to distribute electrical power through the earth, or

Crowdfunder success

THE hall committee at St Mary’s Church House Hall in Bridport reported that the recent Crowdfunder campaign met its target of £10,000—and grateful thanks are extended to all who contributed.

But, the hall does not just need money—it needs volunteers—and one effect of the pandemic has been the fewer chances to meet ‘likely suspects’ as potential committee members. There are the usual committee roles—chairman, secretary, bookings secretary and treasurer which new members might rotate into in due course.

Without such help coming forward, the future viability of halls such as that at St Mary’s will unfortunately be in doubt.

If you are interested in helping please phone Monty on 01308 423 442. For more info on the hall see the website: stmaryschurchhousehall.org

alternatively messages. No one else noticed other than the flashes from the tower. At this time Marconi was forging ahead with his installations. Unfortunately for Tesla, some of his creditors foreclosed and Wardenclyffe was taken from his hands by 1904. Tesla moved to a less expensive hotel in New York where he died in his sleep on 7 January 1943, aged 86.

His work, and that of his contemporaries lives on in modern advances. His ideas and those of Maxwell, Hertz and others may be seen now in contemporary battery charging by high frequency electro-magnetic waves of mobile phones and soon for vehicles in non plug in supplies, as well as those we already take for granted.

Nikola Tesla was honoured by the international scientific community in 1960 by using his name for the unit of magnetic flux density, “the Tesla”, symbol “T”, in SI Units. As the song goes ‘Ah Yes, I remember it well’.

In his lifetime Tesla produced over 90 US patents, 30 British and 25 in other countries, some duplicated, mainly electrical. Latterly probably they were almost duplicates. It was unfortunate that he ended up penniless after all his efforts, having sold many of his patents in order to invest in more experiments.

This article is largely based on a recent book Nikola Tesla and the Electrical Future by Iwan Rhys Morus, Professor of History at Aberystwyth University, with grateful thanks. I apologise for so much essential technical detail in this article.

Bridport History Society will appear again on Zoom on Tuesday 8th June at 2 for 2.30 pm when Carlos Guarita will answer “What is Photo Archaeology”. For details contact Jane on 01308 425710 or email jferentzi@aol.com.

Cecil Amor, Hon President, Bridport History Society.

House&Garden

Vegetables in June

By Ashley Wheeler

J

une is a good month to be a gardener or vegetable grower. The anxieties surrounding spring have all but disappeared, as the bulk of the first lot of planting is completed and the garden is in its full glory. There is still the lushness of spring lingering, before plants begin to fade a little through the summer and into autumn. Also, the blanket of fleece that has been protecting the crops through Spring and up until around mid May is finally all off and the garden is revealed.

It is easy to think that all of the work has now been done and it is just a case of waiting to harvest everything.

However, it is important to continually sow and plant successions of various veg, so that when crops come to an end there is something ready to replace them. Early crops like peas, broad beans, radish, salad turnips (the most underrated of all the vegetables!), early lettuce and salads have all been harvested and it is good to make use of the space that they have been inhabiting. We generally mow down these crops once they are cropped and if its dry then give them a little water and cover with black plastic for a couple of weeks to kill off any weeds and crops. The plastic can then be rolled back, the bed raked and then planted up.

To make sure that you have something ready to plant in these beds its good to have an idea of what is best to sow through June and July. Successions of salads and herbs are the obvious contenders. We continue sowing lettuce every two to three weeks up until mid July, but we also start sowing certain types of chicory from the beginning of June (treviso and palla rossa types), along with salad burnet, buckshorn plantain, orache, goosefoot, summer purslane and New Zealand spinach (needs to be kept moist for good germination). Also herbs like dill, coriander and basil (for polytunnel/glasshouse/windowsill) along with other crops like fennel, carrots and chard.

We mainly sow seed in module trays, which gives us about an extra month before they are planted (i.e. if they are sown at the beginning of June they are usually ready to plant by end of June or early July). This gives us a bit of time to allow the previous crop to break down properly after it is mown down and black plastic is used to cover the beds.

Make sure to sow any lettuce seed in the cool and keep it cool after sowing for a couple of days. We stack the seed trays once they are sown and leave them in a cool place for a couple of days before bringing them to the propagating space. Lettuce, along with endive, chicory and spring onions seem to be particularly susceptible to high temperatures during imbibition. This is the stage that the seed uptakes water and the enzymes and food within a seed become hydrated and active, leading to the start of the growth process. It is critical to keep the seeds below around 20°C during imbibition to guarantee good germination, so if you wondered why germination of your lettuce was poor in the summer that may be why.

32 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

Keep up the successional sowings to ensure that you have crops to put in the ground after early crops have finished cropping

So, this month enjoy the first harvests of peas and beans and make the most of the garden looking lush and bountiful, but also think about sowing successions to ensure you extend that productive period through the rest of summer and into autumn.

We have one more course at Great Trill later this year where you can learn more about the techniques that we use to run the market garden at Trill Farm and how we grow salad for autumn and winter. Check out www. trillfarmgarden.co.uk/courses.html for more details on our courses and to book.

WHAT TO SOW THIS MONTH: purple sprouting broccoli & January King type winter cabbage (early this month), French beans, chard, beetroot, chard, carrots, basil, late cucumbers, kale, fennel, salad leaves—summer purslane, buckshorn plantain, salad burnet, lettuce, chicory (Treviso and Palla Rossa varieties early in the month, other varieties later), endive, mustards and rocket (mesh to keep flea beetle off), goosefoot, anise hyssop, amaranth, orache, nasturtiums.

WHAT TO PLANT THIS MONTH: OUTSIDE: Dwarf French beans, beetroot, squash and corn (if not already done), lettuce and salads, squash, runner beans, kale, chard, autumn cabbage INSIDE: climbing French beans, cucumbers, basil, salads goosefoot, summer purslane OTHER IMPORTANT TASKS THIS MONTH: Undersow squash with a mix of red and white clovers, yellow trefoil, and other cornfield wildflowers—this will help to fix nitrogen, but more importantly cover the soil and provide organic matter and living roots for soil organisms to benefit from.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 33

June in the Garden

By Russell Jordan

H

aving had a very dry, bright, April, with frosts persisting much longer than usual, and then a May which, at the time of writing, has been pretty soggy, I am fearful that June may be less than ‘flaming’. High light levels, for a large proportion of spring, should have promoted plant growth, although correspondingly cold nights may have held back the growth of any plants which have a requirement for a degree of accumulated warmth.

I am finding that my tulips have persisted longer than they would in some years, at least until the recent heavy downpours battered the remaining blooms, and the floral handover to the Allium tribe, ornamental onions being the bulbous mainstay of early summer, is only just taking place.

If, like me, you have a somewhat informal garden then this period at the beginning of summer provides an easy kind of floral abundance when rapid growth seems to bring forth new flowers on a daily basis—whatever the weather.

I have a weakness for delphiniums, the cottage garden plant if ever there was one, although the move towards non-chemical control of slugs means that these are almost impossible to keep going, year on year, as they are complete martyrs to being grazed into oblivion by our slimy little friends. On the other hand; roses, honeysuckle, clematis, irises and perennial geraniums come into their own and are less easily annihilated by voracious molluscs.

Also, the aforementioned alliums are popping up all over the place, they are prodigious self-seeders, so it’s easy to gloss over all the weeds that also boom as soon as we have any warm weather.

Weed control, like pest control, is one gardening activity which is unavoidable. I find that in a garden that has different areas of interest, large enough to support a variety of planting styles, there has to be a correspondingly varied approach to weed control. In areas of floral excellence, flower borders with lots of herbaceous perennials, then weeds have to be kept to an absolute minimum and constant vigilance is essential. In areas with a more relaxed planting

34 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

style, where mixed borders meet the meadow area, then a certain degree of weediness is allowed.

Where annual weeds do not detract from the overall effect, ‘Hairy Bittercress’ and ‘Herb Robert’ spring to mind here, I can tolerate their presence. What cannot be tolerated, in any ornamental plantings, is the presence of perennial weeds which would take over and out-compete the more choice species if allowed to get established. Docks, nettles, dandelions, brambles etc. are particularly troublesome if not weeded out at the first opportunity. Although it’s tempting to sit back and just enjoy the blooms, at this most precocious time of year, it’s always a good idea, whenever venturing out into the garden, to have a trug and hand fork on one arm.

A bundle of string and a few peasticks may also come in handy. Whenever there is a strong wind, or heavy rain, in early summer there will be perennials and climbers requiring a little assistance and propping up. Staking and tying in lax or floppy growth, as the season progresses, will pay dividends when it comes to prolonging the flowering season as long as possible.

The same is true when it comes to feeding and watering anything growing in a pot or container.

Using a liquid feed is essential to keep your displays of annual and tender perennials flowering profusely. I tend to use one of the granular formulations that is added, at the recommended rate, to the watering can. Non-chemical versions are available these days which avoid the need for you to brew up nettle teas or confrey infusions (both of which are hard to get right). It’s an energy sapping business, producing pretty flowers over a long period, so keeping them well fed, watered and dead-headed is a good use of your gardening time.

Regularly mowing the lawn, where a formal lawn is an important constituent of your chosen garden design, is another activity worth doing whenever weather conditions allow. If you don’t have room for a compost heap of your own then taking advantage of the Council green waste collection, or bagging up your clippings and taking them to

the ‘Recycling Centre’ (formerly known as ‘the dump’), means that your grass need not go to waste. Warmer temperatures mean that compost heaps are particularly active and need to be fed with your veg peelings, soft prunings, grass clipping and annual weeds—they soon rot down.

From compost heaps... to fragrant flowers—June should be one of the sweetest smelling in the garden. Roses are getting into their stride, as will the likes of sweet scented Philadelphus and variuous Daphne species and cultivars. To inject more scent into your garden, especially where space is at a premium and large shrubs are out of the question, add some summer flowering annuals. Tobacco flowers are a classic because they add an extra dimension to the garden in that they come into their own at dusk. Nicotiana sylvestris can grow to about waist high and its scent hangs heavy on warm, still, nights. Being a naturally occurring species, rather than a fancy named cultivar, it should seed around once it’s been introduced. In garden centres it might only be possible to find named varieties which may or may not be as scented as the straightforward species.

It may not be too late to pick up a tray of Nemesia from the garden centre, even from a ‘DIY’ warehouse, and these annual bedding plants, especially the paler flowered forms, often have a surprisingly strong, vanilla, scent which, like tobacco flowers, really fills the air on warm summer nights. With lockdown easing (as I write this, fingers crossed) and ‘normal service’ beginning to resume, then the evenings, after work, may be the only time that you get to relax in your garden so scent really comes into its own... and soon there will be wonderful lilies, especially Lilium regale, to ramp up the perfume levels to eleven... June is only the beginning of summer!!!

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PROPERTY ROUND-UP

Best of the June Boom

By Helen Fisher

MARSHWOOD £650,000

A detached Grade II listed former Methodist Chapel build in 1740 and converted to a dwelling in 1932. Solid stone walls and many attractive character features inc: large basement stores. With 4 bedrooms plus an additional 2 bedroom self-contained annexe.

Large gardens with far reaching views. Ample parking.

Stags Tel: 01308 428000

BRIDPORT £625,000

A substantial 5 bedroom light and spacious detached house, presented to a high standard. Triple aspect sitting room with inglenook fireplace and exposed beams. Courtyard garden with water feature and space for alfresco dining, plus double garage. All a short walk from town.

Parkers Tel: 01308 420111

EYPE GUIDE £375,000 - £400,000

BRIDPORT £210,000

One of only 15 chalets situated by the beach, constructed in 2004/5. With a vaulted ceiling living room and double doors out onto areas of decking. With 2 spacious bedrooms and contemporary shower room. Beautifully presented throughout.

Parking. For sale by informal tender by 11th June 2021 Symonds & Sampson Tel: 01308 422092

A 3 storey Grade II listed town house with 2 bedrooms.

Tidy and well presented throughout with a modern fitted kitchen. Both bedrooms are ensuite and many rooms have storage space. All set within walking distance to town plus added benefit of no onward chain.

Goadsby Tel: 01308 420000

COLYTON £315,000

WALDITCH £425,000

An attractive semi-end of terrace period property. Set over 3 floors with 3 bedrooms within the town centre. Rear extension providing a utility room. Recently replaced double glazed windows. Small front garden and pretty enclosed rear garden. No onward chain.

Gordon & Rumsby Tel: 01297 553768

36 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

A spacious 4 bedroom Victorian terraced house with many original features inc: marble fireplace, mosaic flooring and bay windows with stained glass feature. Small front garden plus low maintenance rear garden with substantial outbuilding. On street parking. Within 3 miles walk to the coast.

Kennedys Tel: 01308 427329

No need to go far from home for unique air-dried ham CAPREOLUS Fine Foods, the award-winning artisan charcuterie business founded and run by David and Karen Richards at Rampisham, has launched a remarkable new product which has been created from the 1,000 year old tradition of Pannage (the commoners’ right of Mast) in the New Forest.

Working with New Forest Commoner and farmer Jonny Burrell, David is producing New Forest Pannage Ham, and has applied to the agriculture and environment ministry, DEFRA, for the new GI (Geographical Indication) accreditation, which replaces the EU’s PDO (Protected Designation of Origin).

The new product is genuinely unique—although essentially it is an air-dried ham, it has a delicate but delicate but deeply flavoured taste which is earthy and slightly smoky. David Richards believes it is a worthy English rival to Spain’s Jamon Iberico.

Pannage is the right of New Forest Commoners to let their pigs out on to the forest in the autumn-winter season to eat acorns and beech mast. It is a beneficial right for the commoners in terms of “free” food for their stock and a safety measure to protect the New Forest’s wild ponies and commoners’ cattle from being poisoned by eating acorns.

David has written the specifications for the GI application. There is no single pig breed used for the production of New Forest Pannage Ham but most are traditional English rare breeds, including British Lop, Gloucester Old Spot, Tamworth, Oxford Sandy & Black, British Saddleback, Large White, Middle White, Large Black, Berkshire and British Landrace. Pannage used to be common throughout the UK but now only continues in the New Forest.

Eating acorns leads to a firmer, darker and more ‘gamey’ flesh than that from pigs raised under modern farming conditions.

The New Forest—Nova Foresta—was founded by William the

Conqueror in 1079 as a royal hunting forest. Hunting—mainly deer and wild boar—was doubtless enjoyed by the Anglo Saxons, the Romans and others, but it was the Normans who were most obsessed with it. Under the Norman kings, large areas of the countryside, particularly in the southern half of England, were designated as “Royal Forests” (also Kingswood) with forest laws applied to protect the venison and the vert (the greenery that sustained the deer). The major surviving forests are the New Forest, the Forest of Dean, Sherwood Forest and Epping Forest; in the West Country, there were royal forests on Cranborne Chase, around Gillingham, Mendip, Selwood, and both Exmoor and Dartmoor.

The new Capreolus product will have a relatively short annual season, dictated by the duration of the pannage season, which in turn is linked to the volume of acorns—last year the season was extended because of a heavy harvest. As David says, ‘When it’s gone, it’s gone.’ For a unique taste of old English oak and traditional English pigs, look out for New Forest Pannage Ham at your local deli or farm shop or on restaurant menus.

Fanny Charles

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 37

Food&Dining

BROAD BEAN AND BASIL PESTO

LESLEY WATERS

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

• 300g (10 ½ oz) baby broad beans • 4tbsp capers, drained • 2 garlic cloves, crushed • 3 anchovy fillets, torn • large bunch (40g) basil • 250ml (9 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil • Salt & freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the broad beans in a pan, cover with boiling water and set aside for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside to drain thoroughly.

2. Place the broad beans, capers, garlic, anchovies and basil into a food processor. Pulse in 2 second bursts to form a coarse paste. Trickle in the oil quickly, while pulsing for a few bursts.

3. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper and a little salt if needed. Chill until required. This pesto will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Serves 8

38 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

School children get hands-on opportunity to grow veg through Young Marketeers scheme LOCAL Food Links has teamed up with School Food Matters in launching the Young Marketeers scheme for the first time outside of London. Young Marketeers is an incredibly successful programme which provides a handson opportunity for school children to grow fruit and veg from seed to sell at their local market. The scheme provides a platform to promote food education to schools and communities in an approach to support children to live happy and healthy lives.

Five local schools are involved: Damers First School, Manor Park First School, Radipole Primary School, The Prince of Wales First School and St Osmund’s Middle School.

The pupils are just about to start planting their seeds and will be nurturing them this term and during the summer holidays, ready to proudly display and sell their produce at Dorchester Market on Wednesday 22nd September 2021.

Chief Executive, Caroline Morgan said, ‘We are delighted to be working with School Food Matters to bring this wonderful programme to Dorset.

This is such a brilliant way to connect children with the food that they eat.’

Dela Foster, Development Manager, School Food Matters said, ‘We are thrilled that children in Dorset are becoming Young Marketeers this year. Having the chance to grow and harvest your own food is a vital life experience that every child should have.’

Local Food Links is an independent caterer and a not-for-profit social enterprise that supplies 4,200 meals a day to 56 schools in Dorset, Somerset and Devon. 78% of ingredients are purchased from Dorset suppliers, 95% from South West suppliers. For more information visit www.localfoodlinks.org.uk

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 39

PICKLED BLACK COW MARK HIX

COCKTAILS FOR TWO

Now that things feel almost back to normal it seems a great opportunity to get the cocktail shaker out. My larder feels bare unless I have a jar of Opies pickled walnuts which I use in all sorts of dishes, from salads to meat and fish dishes. They have such a unique flavour and they’re extremely versatile. I’ve recently come up with this version of a dirty black cow martini but I’ve used pickled walnuts instead of an olive.

It works a treat and a perfect predinner or brunch cocktail.

• 2 martini glasses chilled in the freezer • 2 two large measures of black cow vodka • 1 tablespoon of pickled walnut juice • 1 pickled walnut, halved Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice, or you can use a large jar. Add the vodka and pickled walnut juice and either stir or shake, then pour into your chilled martini glasses and add the pickled walnut halves skewered onto a cocktail stick and serve.

40 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

Angler Under Instruction

By Nick Fisher

M

y nightmare job would be teaching. Or being a driving instructor. Or worst of all, being an angling instructor.

If I became a fishing teacher, I’d be banged up in a high security prison within days. Guilty of murder.

Teaching people how to do things which I already know how to do, simply brings out the homicidal maniac in me.

If I can drive—why can’t everybody. If clumsy, three legged, club footed, badly co-ordinated me, can cast a fly rod. Then anyone should be able to.

Teaching people to fly cast is about as much fun as an ice water enema. I hate it. Yet, because I do a lot of fly casting, people often ask me to teach them. Friends. Relatives of friends. Perfectly nice people I meet in fishing lodges. Lovely neighbours. Children of lovely neighbours. Perfectly pleasant, kind, thoughtful, honest people. People I know I will want to kill within 45 seconds of witnessing them flail around hopelessly with a ten foot length of precious carbon fibre.

But what can you do? When someone asks politely.

Respectfully. Would you? Could you? If you had a moment, I would be sooooo grateful if you’d possibly....

What d’you do? I can’t hardly turn around and be honest. I can’t look into their pleading eyes and admit - ‘I’d rather suck broken beer bottles and jab sharpened pencils up my nostrils, than have to spend an afternoon teaching you to fly cast’.

So when my nice friend’s nice friend, Tom, asked me to take him up to very nearby lake last week, while I was staying in Scotland, and ‘maybe give me a few tips and pointers’. I was stumped. Stuck. Paddle less up the creek.

So, I just smiled one of those weak, empty, mouth curling at the corner smiles which makes me look a bit like I’ve got a nasty bout of constipation. But which I hope clearly communicates my inner lack of enthusiasm.

Will Tom take the hint from my eggy smile? Will he cobblers.

Instead, moments later he’s standing by the car clutching borrowed tackle, and the sort of waterproofs that only people who’ve never been fishing in their entire life are allowed to own, with a bouncy expression like a Labrador pup about to chase a stick.

With heavy heart I drove the car into the hills to the perfect little tree lined lake, that would have otherwise been a place of solace and simple selfish joy to me. But was now about to turn into a monstrous killing field.

“TV Angler Brutally Murders Innocent Novice. Casting Lesson Turns Into Callous Massacre.” I wasn’t quite sure which headline the Inverness Courier would choose, but the outcome was inevitable. Someone would die.

As I sat in the boat rowing across the lake and Terribly Nice Tom crunched his expensive walking boots into the silky smooth surface of my favourite floating fly line, I could feel my temperature rise. He hadn’t even made one of the horrible ugly miss-timed, miss-judged, uncoordinated casts that he was bound to make. And already I wanted to kill him.

I explained the principle behind not stamping all over my fragile line and pounding its scientifically engineered surface into the hard gritty floor of the fibre glass boat. He apologised profusely, which only made it worse.

Then he dropped my landing net over the side. Sunk. Without a trace. Gone. A prized, treasured, old, much-loved net which I’d brought all the way back from New Zealand. No more. An ex net.

There was murder in my heart. Cold, efficient, untraceable murder. And yet still not a single cast had been made.

Through gritted teeth I showed him how we would cast short rhythmic casts. How we only had to fish within yards of the boat because we were drifting, covering new water all the time.

I put on a ginger hopper. One of my all-time favourite, usein-any-occasion flies. A peachy little thing looking like a stunted daddy long legs.

I explained briefly, curtly, how the back cast takes a sharp quickish upward stroke to counteract the stiff wind. And how the forward cast needs only be a light punch. An invitation to the wind to carry your cast forward and drop it when it had straightened it out, over the choppy wave that pitched and tossed in front of the broadside drifting boat.

I explained these things once. I demonstrated him once.

Then I sat down in my rowing seat and proceeded to watch him with hate-burning eyes. Knowing that he would wuss up the back cast. Mistime the forward cast. Make the line wobble like a fat builder’s bum and leave my best fly in the back of his head. Or much more probably in the back of my head.

I fingered the priest. Weighing up mentally if it was quite heavy enough to dispatch a six foot Anglo Saxon male in one well aimed blow.

Then it happened. The first cast. Bad. But not quite a reason for murder. Followed by the second. Marginally better. Followed by the third. Good. Truly a good cast. One that in perfect fluke circumstances would have even caught a fish.

Perfectly Nice Tom looked to me for encouragement. I grunted. He cast again. Tongue between his teeth. Deep in concentration. The fly landed. A fish lunged. From nowhere.

For no reason. Or no reason obvious in my universe. A fish committed suicide in front of my eyes and snatched Terribly Reasonable Tom’s fly off the water. Even though Tom never struck and the trout had enough time to spit out the fly 14 times over. It still decided to commit piscatorial hari kari and let Tom become the Man Who Caught His First Fish On His Fourth Cast.

I didn’t believe it. I still don’t believe it. As I hand landed the fish on account of my net being no more. I felt a wave of horror.

This is not supposed to happen. Learning to fly fish takes ages.

It’s full of frustration, disappointment, pain. At least it was for me. And here was a man jubilant with victory. Addicted to the angling adrenalin rush, before he’d hardly felt his first fix. A man gone from trout virgin to salmonid Lothario in four bloody casts.

I should have been happy for him. But I was too much in shock. And worst of all, the very worst and lowest blow he could dealt me, after defying nature and the laws of angling, the blow aimed deep into my aching solar plexus, was to utter these ugly, ugly words...

‘Oh God Nick, you’re such a great teacher.’

The last couple of words had a strange little squeak to them.

Something to do, I think, with the pressure of my fingers around his windpipe.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 41

Arts&Entertainment

TheSea THE SEA

A new exhibition in West Bay showcases the power and beauty of the sea and introduces paintings by Nicholas Jones

I

n all its many moods, the sea holds an extraordinary fascination. With a respectful nod to Iris Murdoch whose title we are borrowing, The Sea, the Sea brings together the work of four leading contemporary landscape artists all of whom are inescapably drawn to the sea. From the ferocious storm-torn Shetland seas that energise Janette Kerr’s work to the silent luminous expanses of Nicholas Jones’s Arctic paintings, from the earthy in-the-moment Dorset paintings of Frances Hatch to Anthony Garratt’s dynamic imaginative leaps, each explores and expresses in their work the passions, and the release of passions, that the sea represents for so many of us. All four are brave exploratory ambitious painters, highly regarded for the eloquence of their work.

Nicholas Jones’s most recent paintings are inspired by Arctic space and light. He is fascinated by how such a rich and varied beauty can be created in the Arctic from the simplest of elements: ice, rock, water and light. His appointment in 2018 as Artist in Residence for the Friends of the Scott Polar Research Institute took him on a voyage to Greenland and Baffin Island where he was able to immerse himself in the light and landscape, which has been the catalyst for a fabulous new body of work.

Nicholas Jones: ‘At this time when our planet is heating at an unprecedented rate, icebergs speak with haunting poignancy. And yet they seem so composed and contained, utterly at ease and wonderfully responsive to the changing light and colour of the sea. At a personal symbolic level, I find icebergs to be beautiful images of trust, surrender and letting go, all qualities that I aspire to. It is my hope that these paintings may speak of the beauty and fragility of the Arctic but also, in some small way, open up space and light

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Nicholas Jones. Twilight Berg and Solitary Star, 2020 92 x 91.5cm Nicholas Jones Twilight Berg and Solitary Star, 2020 92 x 91.5cm

for others, just as my time in the Arctic did for me.’

Nicholas Jones was born in Bristol in 1965. He studied Fine Art at Bristol Polytechnic where his degree show paintings revealed a deep appreciation of Samuel Palmer and a concern for luminosity. For three years he then worked almost exclusively in the medium of stained glass.

In 1990 he returned to painting and in the space of twelve months began to discover his own artistic identity, working with a sudden confidence, intensity and independence. It was at this time that he first met Andras Kalman and his

Nicholas Jones in his Kayak 44 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

paintings have featured frequently in the Crane Kalman Gallery ever since. Crane Kalman have mounted eight solo exhibitions of his work since 2000. Nicholas is showing for the first time at Sladers Yard.

Landscape, abstraction, colour and light have long been the dominant themes of Nick’s painting. Taking inspiration from the countryside around his Somerset home, from visits to places further afield, he has sought to evoke the world of nature, of hills, mountains, water, skies, trees, and above all, light. Over time these ‘abstracted

landscapes’ slowly became more simplified – increasingly pure celebrations of colour and light. Between 2014 and 2017 Nick made a number of visits to Finnish Lapland culminating in over sixty paintings attempting to evoke the otherworldly beauty of the Aurora Borealis. Nicholas Jones is married to Jane Blazeby, a professor of surgery in Bristol.

They have three adult children.

Paintings by Anthony Garratt, Frances Hatch, Janette Kerr HRSA PPRWA, Nicholas Jones with furniture by Petter Southall at Sladers Yard in West Bay until 10 July 2021.

Nicholas Jones, Ice and Moon

Nicholas Jones, Greenlandic Dawn

Nicholas Jones, Dawn, Sunneshine Fjord, Baffin Island Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 45

Bold and Light The paintings and textiles of Peter Coates

by Margery Hookings

Above: Colmer’s Hill, Bridport, Dorset. Acrylic on paper. 21 x 32 cms Opposite page: Storm Over West Bay. Oil on canvas. 40 x 50 cms

46 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

T

he vibrant, colourful paintings of Peter Coates stop you in your tracks. And his range of textiles and cushion covers are great fun - something we could all do with right now.

Now living in West Dorset, Peter studied for a degree in graphic design at Manchester Art College before working for two London advertising agencies and then running a very successful design agency. Since then, his career has taken unexpected twists and turns, including a stint as a successful hotelier in Cornwall and then a management consultant working all over the UK. It’s only in the last 15 years that he’s taken up painting.

He says: ‘I started painting small landscapes inspired by the Mediterranean which I’ve always loved. I was in a framers having one of my first pictures framed when another customer came in and immediately bought the picture. It was this that encouraged me to continue painting full time.

‘My wife and I have travelled extensively and I always keep a sketch book to hand. This is where much of my inspiration comes from.’

Peter paints mainly in oils but also acrylics and uses an iPad to paint and design. His subject matter is varied but centres around landscapes and seascapes, many of which are semi-abstract. His influences are his training in graphic design and his time living in Provence in southern France, with its naturally bold and bright colours.

He also produces designs for fabrics, which have been applied to a range of cushions as well as designs for wall coverings he calls ‘Art Screens’.

He has sold his work across the UK to private buyers and exhibited in galleries from London to the Midlands and the south west. Originals, giclee prints and fabric are also available on his website.

Back in the early seventies, after a couple of years working for an advertising agency and realising it was not for him, he set up a design consultancy with a partner from the firm he had just left.

He says: ‘We were lucky enough to build a substantial client list fairly quickly and were able to purchase the last remaining fruit and vegetable warehouse in the old Covent Garden market which we renovated.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 47

Above: Haute Provence Village, France. Oil on canvas. 50 x 76 cms. Opposite page: Sheltering. Oil on canvas. 40 x 50 cms

‘I ran the consultancy for 12 years, building it into a successful business with national and international clients.

We designed national corporate identities along with publicity material for a wide range of clients including major banks and financial institutions.’

And then he quit the city and the business, moving with his then wife and three very young daughters to start a different life.

‘We’d spotted a run-down hotel in Crackington Haven, north Cornwall and decided to buy it on impulse. This was still in the days when ‘risk assessment’ was something you read about in books.

‘Over the next five years we developed it into a thriving business with a mention in the Good Food Guide, thanks to my wife’s cookery skills.

‘Sadly, probably due to the pressures of the business, my wife became seriously ill and unable to continue. We had to sell the business which led eventually to our splitting up.’

He says he now looks back at that period of his life and realises how lost he was.

‘I stuck a pin in the advertising page of a sailing magazine and found myself in Dartmouth on a weekend sailing course. I was hooked. Sailing became my therapy and diversion. Over the next couple of years I managed to obtain my yacht master certificate.’

This led to taking groups of disabled people sailing.

Peter recalls: ‘I’ll never forget watching a blind person take the helm of a 36-foot yacht after 15 minutes and sail it perfectly. But why not? Of course they were relying completely on their sense of feel; the wind on their face; and were much more sensitive to changes than a sighted person.’

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A few months after setting up a small charity to facilitate the sailing for disabled people, he had a call from Exeter Tourist Board.

‘They had a customer who’d enquired about running a team building course on Dartmoor and could we arrange something? Without knowing anything about team building I said “yes, of course” and in between the phone call and the group of 12 arriving a couple of weeks later, I read a few books and commissioned an outdoor instructor.’

The customer turned out to be the head of human resources at TSB. In the next year, Peter helped put 120 managers through the programme, setting him on course for his third career as a management consultant.

‘Over the next five years we were commissioned by several national and international clients and I remember thinking, as I spent the days tramping over Dartmoor, that I was being paid to enjoy these wonderful surroundings when most other people were stuck in their offices.

‘Sadly, the days of outdoor development, as it was called then, came to an abrupt end when the media highlighted a couple of incidences when course delegates had suffered injury or illness, unrelated to anything in which they were engaged on the course, but that was enough for outdoor development to take a hit as the cynics moved in.

‘I had already changed direction, however, and in between the outdoor work, I was commissioned by various companies to coach first middle managers and, as time went on, senior managers and executives. I gained my experience working with some of the country’s leading consultants and business schools. This is where I spent the last few years of my coaching career. I also added life coaching in its broadest sense to my skills.

‘I still help people who may be either stuck or need change in their lives in one way or another and, like watching the blind person sail the yacht, get a huge buzz out of seeing someone move from a difficult position they may find themselves in to somewhere better, more rewarding and more fulfilling.’

So how does this fit in with a painting career? Easily, according to Peter.

‘I find I’ve used art therapy in the past in some of my coaching and it works,’ he says. ‘Painting my own pictures is an escape for me. I paint landscapes for instance and ask myself, ‘is this where I’d like to be right now?’

‘Some of the most memorable times I’ve had in the past few years have been wandering round towns, cities and the countryside in warm climates with my wife, enjoying different experiences. ‘This is probably where my vibrant use of colour comes from. That and my training in graphic design has helped me develop something of a semi-abstract style in my work. If it cheers me up then I hope others will be cheered up too. Having my work accepted either by someone who wants to buy it or a gallery that wants to show it is my reward.

‘I’m sometimes conscious that, while I’ve gone through three different careers during my working life, others have been in the same job and then retire. We’re all different

and thank goodness we are. But this need for change is probably rooted in curiosity. I really do believe that being curious is one of the most important contributors to keeping young.

‘For me, as far as my art is concerned, this need to explore different directions and styles has had its problems in the past because outsiders, especially galleries, have found it difficult to define exactly what I do. It’s also why I have a range of textiles and cushions which I include on my website.

‘This year I’m focusing on landscapes and seascapes mostly painted in oils, and that’s what I’ll be featuring on my website and in the two exhibitions I have this year in Lyme Regis and Bridport.

‘That’s not to say I won’t be exercising my curiosity in my sketch books because I simply don’t believe that curiosity ever killed any cat.’

A full range of Peter Coates’ paintings, prints and textiles is at Artyfacts, St Michael’s Lane, Bridport, open from Tuesday to Saturday each week. An exhibition of Peter’s work will be held at the SouSouWest Gallery in the summer. He will host a solo exhibition in the Courtyard Gallery, Town Mill, Lyme Regis, from the 23 to 30 October.

For more information visit www.petercoatesart.co.uk

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 49

June

GALLERIES

Until May 29

George Young, Outside/In ‘These paintings are largely painted during lockdown, so there’s a lot of latent energy and emotion.’.

And Theo Mendez (1934-97) Paintings, drawings and textile designs from 1953-1988. Art Stable, Kelly Ross Fine Art, Childe Okeford, Blandford Dorset DT11 8HB. Open Thursday/ Friday 10am - 3pm or by appointment

May 30 – June 26

First Solo exhibition by talented self taught artist and illustrator Beverley Golding. Beautiful garden scenes, landscapes, countryside and wildlife in mainly acrylics and gouache. Open 9 - 4 every day at Unique Framecraft, 4/5 Millwey Rise Workshops, Axminster EX13 5HH.

June 1 – 25

A Sense of Harmony - Kathy Little Solo Show This new body of work has been created using a limited palette of just three or four colours. Kathy was intrigued to explore the restrictions and possibilities that this would present. The more familiar she became with the subtle shifts in colour and harmony, the further she explored the potential of this new approach. Open Tues-Sat 10-5 01297 489746 Artwave West, Morcombelake, DT6 6DY artwavewest.com.

Until June 4

The John Hubbard Estate showing a selection of John Hubbard’s Dorset inspired work. 12 - 5 pm daily at Chilcombe, Nr Bridport, Dorset DT6 4PN.

June 5 – June 20

‘Saltwater Series Two’: Kim Pragnell has been a professional painter of the sea for over ten years, based in a delightful village studio in Iwerne Minster, Dorset. Despite the distance from the nearest coast, he has been able to use his considerable time spent at sea, both in the Royal Navy and with sailing yachts around

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the south coast. Kim exhibits in galleries from Cornwall to Dorchester, Devon and Bath, and will be showing in Shaftesbury in October. But for now, you can see his atmospheric seascapes at the Sou’-Sou-West Gallery in Symondsbury in June, open daily from 10.30-4.30.

Until June 6

Henry Taylor Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Durslade Farm, Dropping Lane, Bruton, Somerset BA10 0NL. https://www. hauserwirth.com.

Painting and Textile Exhibition Thursday to Sunday inclusive, 11am - 7pm. Jurassic Coast Studio, at The Durbeyfield, 10 West Bay Road, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 4EL Contact details www.jurassiccoaststudios.com email info@thedurbeyfield.co.uk telephone 01308 423307.

Simon Crafter, Nichola Moeran, Ruta Crafter and Debbie Tiltman as part of Dorset Art Weeks. Between them they produce a wide range of art in various mediums of oils, watercolours, acrylics, digital and hand embroidered textiles. With a lot of their inspiration taken from the local coast, countryside and nature. www.jurassiccoaststudios.com.

Brian Rice, Jacy Wall and Kit Benwell open for Dorset Art Weeks. Brian’s Prints and paintings, Jacy’s tapestry, textiles, etchings and ceramics and Kit’s sculptures. Venus 7, Newhouse, Hewood, TA20 4NP. www.dorsetartweeks.co.uk. Not open 24 - 26 May, 1-2 June.

June 8 – August 1

Mike Perry Land/Sea Major solo exhibition of work of artist Mike Perry spearheading East Devon’s new climate campaign - Climate Conversations. Perry collects and photographs plastic objects washed up on beaches to focus attention on the environmental crisis and plastic pollution. Open 7 days a week, 105. Ocean, Queen’s Drive, Exmouth EX8 2AY 01395 266500 www. oceanexmouth.co.uk.

Until June 12

Into the Wild Featuring Anna Boss, Mark Rochester and Andy Waite. White Space Art, 72 Fore Street, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 5RU. whitespaceart.com.

June 12 - 30

Sculpture by Mark Coreth Incorporating a wide selection of original works in bronze. From cheetah to antelope, pelican to otter. The Jerram Gallery, Half Moon Street, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3LN www. jerramgallery.com.

June 18 – July 11

Emerging Talents Jack McGarrity. Jack joins a great tradition of story telling in paint and can be seen as part of a revival of figurative painting in contemporary practices. Messums Wiltshire, Place Farm, Court St, Tisbury, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP3 6LW info@ messumswiltshire.com 01747 445042.

June 22 - August 1

Lyme Light: Where Sea Meets Sky Inspiring landscape paintings and drawings by Pauline Sayers, 10.00-16.00 Tuesdays-Sundays, The Rotunda Gallery, Lyme Regis Museum, 01297 443370, www. lymeregismuseum.co.uk.

June 26 - July 18

‘Reawakening’: Bridport Arts Society A showcase for the diverse talents of the Bridport Arts Society, open daily 10:30-4:30. at the Sou’-Sou-West Gallery in Symondsbury in June, open daily from 10.30-4.30.

Until June 19

Telling Tales! Pictures, words and whimsy by children’s book author/illustrator Carolyn King for About a Bee, Along Came a Seagull and The Fish Lizard of Lyme, 10.00-16.00 Wednesdays-Saturdays, The Rotunda Gallery, Lyme Regis Museum, 01297 443370, www. lymeregismuseum.co.uk

Until June 26

Woodcuts 1962-1976 Philip Sutton RA. The Philip Sutton Gallery, 6a St Michael’s Trading Estate, Foundry Lane, Bridport DT6 3RR www.philipsutton.com.

Until June 27

In Pursuit of Spring Black Swan Arts have joined forces with Somerset Art Works for their first exhibition since last year’s coronavirus lockdown. ‘In Pursuit of Spring’ has been inspired by poet Edward Thomas’ account of his journey by bicycle between London and Somerset to meet the arrival of spring in 1913. Around 50 Somerset Art Works members have created artwork to illustrate the Somerset leg of Thomas’ journey. Black Swan Arts, 2 Bridge Street, Frome, Somerset BA11 1BB. https://www.blackswanarts.org.uk.

Until July 10

The Sea, the Sea Anthony Garratt Frances Hatch Nicholas Jones, Janette Kerr HRSA PPRWA recent paintings. Petter Southall woodwork. Ceramics sculpture, jewellery, textiles, gifts & accessories by Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 51

GALLERIES leading artists and makers. Sladers Yard, Gallery and Café Sladers, West Bay Road, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset DT6 4EL.

Saturday, 10-5. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield House, Dowell Street, Honiton EX14 1LX, 01404 45006 www.thelmahulbert.com.

Until July 25

Until September 5

Until August 14

Until October 31

Landscape Portrait: Now and Then explores the links between landscape painting and portraiture at Hestercombe since the eighteenth century, juxtaposing this history with contemporary works from the past sixty years. Includes works by Andy Warhol, Derek Jarman, Claudette Johnson, Susan Derges, Leon Kossoff, Patrick Caulfield, Gilbert and George and Balraj Khanna and C.W. Bampfylde, the Rev John Eagles and Henry Moon. Also Open-Up, series of outdoor art works in the 50 acre gardens. Hestercombe Gallery 11am - 4pm, Tickets via hestercombe.com.

Mike Perry Land/Sea Major solo exhibition of work of artist Mike Perry spearheading East Devon’s new climate campaign - Climate Conversations. Perry collects and photographs plastic objects washed up on beaches to focus attention on the environmental crisis and plastic pollution. Open Thursday –

Lockdown Reflections Work by gallery & guest artists, The exquisite Tincleton Gallery will be holding a Summer mixed show of over a dozen of their gallery artists, plus three guest artists, including a range of sculptures, oils, and prints. We think everyone could do with places to go that are calm and peaceful and inspiring, so you are most welcome to visit. Tincleton Gallery, The Old School House, Tincleton, nr Dorchester, DT2 8QR. Fri/Sat/ Sun/Mon from 10:00 - 17:00, no admission fee. 01305 848 909. http://www.tincletongallery.com.

Turning the Tide Discover the history of plastic and the problem with single-use plastics. Learn how you can help in the fight to reduce microplastics in our oceans. Admission free, donations welcomed. West Bay Discovery Centre. TuesdaySunday 11am - 4pm. www.westbaydiscoverycentre.org.uk.

Exhibition shows creative passion for wildlife

A solo exhibition of Mark Coreth’s sculpture will open at The Jerram Gallery from 11 to 30 June. Born 1958 in London, Mark has become respected internationally as a master at capturing the three-dimensional animal in motion. Incorporating a wide selection of original works in bronze, from cheetah to antelope, pelican to otter, they are representative of the fundamental essence of Coreth’s creative passion for wildlife. The Jerram Gallery, at Half Moon St, Sherborne DT9 3LN is open Tuesday - Saturday 9.30am - 5pm. www.jerramgallery.com. Tel. 01935 815261.

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A Family Show in Beaminster

W

ell-known artist Binny Mathews and her two very talented sons, Rufus and Quentin Martin, all Dorset born and bred, are ‘popping-up’ in Beaminster to exhibit their artwork and allow visitors to see them work in a working studio.

Rarely do we witness the process of sculpting and painting but Binny, Rufus and Quentin will be all there in person, working as ‘performance artists’, creating pieces and happy to answer any questions.

Binny, who is known for her portrait work and has painted eminent Dorset figures including the late author John Fowles, has an highly-tuned understanding of colour and texture which is evident in the canvases she has on show this month. She has featured in the past on Channel 4’s Big Breakfast teaching Paula Yates to paint and the BBC programme, Star Portraits, where she painted David Dickinson. Being painted by Binny has been described by one eminent local as being ‘a hoot’!

Binny says: ‘I love working alongside my boys ... to see them coming into their own as artists is wonderful …. and also Quentin carries my painting gear as we stomp across the Dorset landscape!’.

Quentin, a graduate of the Architectural Association in London, first exhibited his paintings at the Beaminster Museum at the tender age of 14.

He now combines his architect’s eye with an innate observation of light to produce some truly beautiful Dorset landscape paintings. He is delighted to have been awarded the Bath and West scholarship for his landscapes (to be exhibited at their show ground in August this year).

Rufus, a true creative in every sense of the word, has recently and fearlessly conquered the world of sculpture. He has produced busts of John Illsley, founder member of Dire Straits, as well as Clare Trenchard—herself a particularly talented Dorset sculptor. His work is so compelling that on delivering a recent commission, the sitter’s dog was completely unnerved at the sight of his duplicate bronze owner!

The studio gallery can be found at the entrance to Lynden Way just off the charming and buzzing square in Beaminster DT8 3AX. Look out for the golden flag. The show is being sponsored by local apple growers www.isaaccider.com For future information, call Binny: 07572 880962 or visit the artists’ individual websites www. rufusmatin.co.uk, www.quentinmartin.com, www. binnymathews.com.

Rufus Martin with his sculpture of Dire Straits’ John Illsley

Lewesdon Hill, Dorset. Oil on canvas, 33x38cm by Quentin Martin

The Hon. Raymond Seitz. Past American Ambassador to London. Oil on canvas, 90x80cm by Binny Martin

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YOUNG LIT FIX IN JUNE PICTURE BOOK REVIEW

by Nicky Mathewson Fred gets Dressed

by Peter Brown Published by Templar Publishing, RRP £6.99 FRED is a happy and contented child who loves to be free, free to run; jump; play and be naked. He is especially happy to be naked.

When he does decide to get dressed, he’s unsure where to begin. He takes a look at Daddy’s clothes but is uninspired by the shirts and ties. He then takes a look at Mummy’s clothes and thinks they would be fun to wear. Rather than being shocked at Fred’s attempt to get dressed, his parents embrace his alternative choice and the whole family have a makeover, including the dog!

Fabulously illustrated with bold black lines and coloured with subtle hues, Fred’s naked dashes through the house charm me to my core. The only thing to rival this perfect representation of the desire of a young child to be free, is the representation of acceptance; choice and individuality.

Any book that offers to break down stereotypes for children is a book worth reading and Peter Brown has given us just that. It’s funny and heart-warming, and it is perfect for reading to children aged 3 and up. I absolutely love it.

MIDDLE GRADE REVIEW

by Antonia Squire The Swallow’s Flight

by Hilary McKay Published by Macmillan Children’s Books, RRP £12.99

AS a companion novel to the Costa Award winning The Skylarks’ War I thought that this one might be good, but I was totally blown away when it turned out to be even better!

Set 20 or so years after The Skylark’s War, Clarry, Rupert and

Peter are all grown up but ‘the war to end all wars’ wasn’t and the greatest conflict of the 20th Century is brewing.

Kate, in Oxford, and her friend Ruby, in Exeter, are watching with growing unease as the threat of war comes ever closer.

In Berlin too, Hans and Erik watch with growing alarm as their friends and neighbours begin to disappear. But the threat to them is from their own government. As they grow up and are called to serve their country they both join the Luftwaffe, the elite German air force, fulfilling their mutual love for flight.

All the while, Clarry and Rupert are working towards finding a lasting peace, but that may be beyond the reach of anyone.

TEEN REVIEW

by Antonia Squire The Gilded Ones

by Namina Forna Published by Usborne Books, £8.99

AS Deka prepares for the Ritual of Purity along with other girls her age she harbours the age-old fears that she will fail.

It will not be for anything she has done, but rather what she cannot help. She will be cut by the elders of her village to see what colour she bleeds. If she bleeds red she will return to her father’s house and to the submissive life of all women across the world of Otera. If her blood is gold, then she will be exposed as a demon and the village elders will take it upon themselves to execute her by any means necessary.

Demons are notoriously hard to kill, and their gold blood is immensely valuable, the horrors awaiting Deka if she fails the Ritual of Purity are beyond comprehension.

There is hope though, Deka is offered the choice to be trained as a warrior and earn her freedom fighting Deathshrieks in defence of the empire, and so begins her training, along with many other girls: all demons, all traumatised and all hungry for vengeance.

A brilliant debut fantasy with rich world-building, great characters, love, loyalty and revenge. I loved it.

10% off RRP of these books for Marshwood Vale Readers at The Bookshop, 14 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NQ.

54 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

Screen Time with Nic Jeune

Emma Stone as Cruella at The Plaza Dorchester

JUNE FILMS IN THE CINEMA AND STREAMING AT HOME Cinema ODEON DORCHESTER Land (2021) Starring and directed by Robin Wright (House of Cards, Princess Bride) and set mainly on Moose Mountain in the Canadian Rockies.

“Wright’s moving performance and some genuine heart-felt and -breaking moments amid all this natural majesty make Land a journey worth taking.” Screen Daily Fionnuala Halligan.

CINEWORLD WEYMOUTH In the Heights (2021) Film adaptation of the hit Broadway Musical, winner of four Tony Awards.

“After a hellish year in which audiences have been stuck at home and unable to hug loved ones, In the Heights serves as a joyous snapshot of the life we lost and have been longing to resume.

It’s a music-infused love letter to a unique corner of New York City, as well as an unabashed celebration of community and what it means to dream outside the lines. The characters have an uninhibited zest for life, dancing in the streets, across fire escapes and through city parks.” Variety Rebecca Rubin.

“This is a vaccine for your soul,” says the director, John M Chu (Crazy Rich Asians).

The Father (2020) If you missed this at this year’s From Page to Screen it is worth catching for Anthony Hopkins Oscar winning performance.

“The best film about the wages of aging since Amour eight years ago, The Father takes a bracingly insightful, subtle and nuanced look at encroaching dementia and the toll it takes on those in close proximity to the afflicted.” The Hollywood Reporter Todd McCarthy.

PLAZA DORCHESTER Cruella (2021) No reviews yet but very strong cast and directed by Craig Gillespie (I Tonya).

Set against the punk and fashion scenes of 1970s London, Disney’s live-action feature will introduce Emma Stone (The Favourite, La La Land) as a younger Cruella de Vil, the iconic villain from 1961’s 101 Dalmatians. Also starring Emma Thompson (Nanny MacPhee, Sense and Sensibility) as the Baroness.

Streaming All4 Channel Four Leaning into the Wind (2017) I stumbled upon this on Channel Four’s All Four site and found it beautifully made and a wonderful exploration of this amazing artist.

Leaning Into the Wind will inspire anyone who sees it to look for the beauty in every gust, to admire how nature constantly rearranges itself, and us along with it. Even at its most selfconflicted, this is a fascinating reminder that some art wasn’t made to be owned.”

Indiewire David Erlich.

BBC iplayer Long Shot (2019) Hard often to recommend many mainstream US comedy films but this one works surprisingly well.

“It’s been a long time since there’s been a rom-com with two stars as straight-up likable and easy to root for as Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron are here.” Roger Ebert.com Brian Tellerico.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 55

Health&Beauty

Fun and convenient but please Zwing responsibly

L

ast month South Somerset District Council, in collaboration with the leading British micromobility operator Zwings expanded the Department for Transport South Somerset rental e-scooter operation into Chard and Crewkerne.

This scheme, which is part of the government’s wider project plan for improving sustainable transport options across the UK, has proved very popular since the launch.

The Department for Transport established e-scooter trials as part of their COVIDresponse, as well as to inform future policy and gauge how this new mode of travel can be safely integrated into the UK’s transport ecosystem.

E-scooter operators Zwings, who are fullyfunding the trial, took the opportunity to help with this research with a trial in Yeovil.

Chard and Crewkerne were also selected as trial locations to ensure the benefits of e-scooters were extended beyond the major metropolitan areas for which such transport innovation is typically reserved, as well as to help meet the Council’s climate emergency pledge to be carbon neutral by 2030.

South Somerset District Council’s Environment team, said: ‘We recognise that e-scooters are potentially an effective way of helping the county reach clean air targets and net zero by 2030. Following on from the clear success of the e-scooter trial in Yeovil, the Zwings team is working hard together with local police to manage the e-scooter trial in the area and are being proactive in mitigating and preventing misuse by legible and illegible riders. We are in the early stages of this national DfT trial, and electric e-scooters are a very new vehicle opportunity in Britain, and one we hope will help deliver decarbonised transport across the district for years to come’.

the cumulative distance travelled so far has been almost the equivalent of scooting from Chard to the pyramids of Egypt!

Uptake in Chard and Crewkerne has been extremely strong and the cumulative distance travelled so far has been almost the equivalent of scooting from Chard to the pyramids of Egypt! Riders in Chard and Crewkerne have also used the vehicles for a total of over 25,000 minutes, or over 18 full days if all the trips were made continuously. Also positive has been the assessment of Zwings riders regarding the safety of the e-scooter service, with over 92% of users saying they felt either fairly safe or very safe while riding.

Speaking about the interest since launch, Joe Lewin, CEO of Zwings, commented: ‘We recognise that the first few weeks after the launch are crucial to gain an understanding of the community’s response, and we are continually seeking to improve the trial experience in order to best suit localised

56 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

needs. Our local and head office team is working hard together with stakeholders to deliver rider education and to mitigate misuse. We are really excited that people are choosing to get on a Zwings e-scooter to get around. So far we know that the average ride time is more than 25 minutes in Chard and 21 minutes in Crewkerne.’

While there have been some reports of underage riders misusing the vehicles, Zwings are collaborating with the police to identify and suspend the accounts of those using the service irresponsibly. Riders must observe both the rules of the road and Zwings’ terms of service when using the vehicles.

Anyone who unlocks the vehicle and enables someone else to drive it will be penalised and could be issued points on their license as it is a driving offence. Accounts holders may also find Zwings in Crewkerne they will damage their credit rating too as these e-scooters are classified as a motorised vehicle.

Members of the public in both Chard and Crewkerne are strongly encouraged to report incidents of misuse. Please report this information via email directly to: Community@ zwings.co.uk.

PSCO Andrews from Chard Police, said: ‘The beat team in Chard are working very closely with Zwings and already some accounts have been withdrawn due to inappropriate use. The Zwings e-scooters are a good way of getting around the areas of Chard but must be used in accordance with the highways rules and regulations. Any inappropriate use witnessed will be fed back to Zwings via their dedicated community email. It should also be highlighted that private e-scooters are still illegal even during these DfT trials and they could be confiscated. Any inappropriate use of Zwings e-scooters witnessed needs to be fed back to Zwings.’

For the vast majority of riders and community members, the service has been an enjoyable and practical transport experience. ‘I think having the e-scooters in Chard is a great option to zip around to your friends or to go to the shop. Or just have a bit of fun for us, adults, as well as for the younger generation. Excellent value for money and for the time you get on them’ said Gary Wellstood, Zwings rider from Chard.

Julie Cole, Zwings rider in Chard, added: ‘We are thoroughly enjoying the scooters in Chard, they are a breath of fresh air, fun and convenient for getting about, we have been using them to see more of the town, we have come across a lot of people asking about them whilst we have been on them and they seem to be causing great interest. It’s nice to have something fun to do in a town where there are not many amenities.’

Founded in early 2019, Zwings is a community-first micromobility innovator. The diverse team brings deep rooted passion and extensive fleet operational experience to Zwings.

They recognise the rapidly growing need for sustainable, convenient, and affordable modes of travel across urban areas and campuses in the UK to combat our climate emergency. For more information visit www.zwings.co.uk.

Health? Eve Maunder makes the case for walking

O

ver the past year, many people found that they were no longer able to participate in their usual hobbies and pastimes and consequently took to walking instead. Walking was the most readily available option for exercise, fresh air and stimulation.

If you enjoyed walking, don’t stop now, keep going, it is really good for you! Walking is a superb form of exercise because it affords huge physical and mental health benefits.

Walking increases our intake of oxygen which is helpful for all of our organs. Walking exercises our muscles which keeps them strong and healthy and in good shape. Our heart particularly needs oxygen and exercise.

Walking puts pressure on our bones and this a positive thing. Putting pressure on bones helps to prevent loss of bone density. As we age, our bones lose density and fractures are more likely to occur. Walking is an ideal weight bearing exercise and will contribute to bone strength.

Walking for exercise burns up extra calories which helps to maintain a healthy weight. Regular exercise and being a healthy weight helps to avoid the risk of diabetes, high cholesterol and raised blood pressure.

Being outside in the sunlight and fresh air also brings benefits. Sunlight is a good source of Vitamin D and we need this to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy.

Research has shown that walking, and particularly in the morning, releases a hormone called Seratonin that makes us feel happier. This hormone can improve our mood and

is believed to relieve stress and anxiety.

Over the past year, many people more than ever before have struggled with mental health issues, anxiety and loneliness. If you have never walked with a group before, why not give it a try? Walking with a group of like-minded people is fun and sociable. You will meet lots of new people, you will make new friends and you won’t need to be lonely. Being part of a friendly welcoming group is a great way of overcoming loneliness and isolation.

East Devon Ramblers offer walks on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. As from 17th May, numbers of walkers in each group will be 20 maximum. Walks vary in length from 4 to 12 miles and they range from leisurely to moderate and strenuous.

Getting out and about on foot is a great way to explore new places, meet new people, make friends and give our physical and mental health a boost.

Why not give it a try? For more information contact Ted 01395-567450. www.ramblers.org/east-devon

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 57

Services&Classified FOR SALE Souvenir spoons (sixty) £50. 01460 74468

Boat Jumble. Eco Air dehumidifier 2 litre tank £55. Sea Search recovery magnet (64kg) £20. Brolly Mate tiller clamp £10.

Dynamo LED lantern £10. YAK buoyancy aids 1xXL,1xM/L £15 each.

Eurokamp whistling kettle 2.2 litres black £5.

Can deliver Axmouth/ Lyme area. Call David: 01297 34519.

Various terracotta plants pots, vintage galvanised items and plants. Photos 01460 55105 Large gilt framed bevelled mirror 74 x 104 cm / 29 x 41 ins - New condition.

Very attractive good quality heavy gilt framed mirror £20. Tel: 01935 872217 Jaques All England Garden Croquet Set. Two Mallets, Primary Balls, Hoops and Peg. £25 ono.

01395 512782 Kitchen cabinet, 1950’s Hygena. In very good order. Currently painted.

Pictures available. Tel 07880221665. Axminster, buyer collects £100 From M D’Albertanson, 01297631025 Internal Pine Door with hinges, unpainted, as new condition 730mm wide, height 1.95m. £35; Close Boarded Timber wicket gate by Larchlap, 3ft x 6ft high, VGC £45; Shower Screen Lakes Classic Range, size 1400mm x 1650mm high, 6mm glass, semi frameless, silver. Brand new still boxed. Price new £294, price £110. Steeel Cavity wall lintel, 3metre long, new and unused £55. 01300 321299 Sofa bed £50 Easy to convert to comfortable single bed. Easy to move (on castors). Brown colour.

Throw may be included.

07746 712766 Approx 1600 SecondHand Red Plain Clay Roof Tiles, mainly “Rougemont”, 27cm x 16.5cm (10 1/2” x 6 3/8”).

Cancelled project. Ideal for restoration. Buyer collects. nb. These are heavy and will require a suitable vehicle. Approx 1.3T/1000. Best Offer over £320 (approx 20p ea).

Located West Bay, Dorset.

Daytime phone: 075053 17684 4 vintage step ladders in sound structural condition.

The price reflects the fact they need cleaning up.

From £20 Photos 01460 55105 Various terracotta and glazed plant pots. Photos 01460 55105 ‘PetSafe’ Telescoping Dog Ramp for pets up to 400lb. Original cost £112.99. As new in box £90.00. Also ‘Pet Gear’ Easy Step 1, as new in box.

Original cost £30, selling for £20. Honiton. Tel: 01404 47529 Citysports 500w Treadmill model WP1.Only 7 months old & little used.

Adjustable speed & LCD screen. Broadwindsor £250 ono 01308 867026 Mexican Pine Dresser Tops Solid Wood.

Large Height 130cm Length 167cm £150.

Small = Height 108cm Length 98cm. Both 40cm deep £100. 07805 356052/01297 551290.

Antique Victorian Oak Tantalus, with three cut glass decanters. Few chips on neck of decanters.

Lockable with key. £175.00 ono. Antique Oval Mirror - dark wood - original glass - overall size H) 26” x W) 17” - inset mirror H)14” x W) 20” £75. Antique

58 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

standard (wine table) lamp with lampshade. Circa 1900’s - Mahogany with tri-leg base. £275.00 Pictures can be emailed for all items. Call 01404 41245 Antique Victorian mahogany oval dressing table mirror on carved supports. Two hinged concealed jewellery compartments. Overall H)32”- W)23 1/2” - D)11” - mirror original glass H)25” - W)19” £95 ono.

Pictures can be emailed.

Call 01404 41245 House clearance. Many items, low prices. Deck sale noon to 2pm every Saturday in June. Phone or email for list. 01297 489133 zeddlest42@gmail.com Solid wood table & 6 matching chairs 140 CMS (55’’) x 90 CMS (35.5 ‘’), extends to 200 CMS (79 ‘’) Excellent condition £175 Tel. 01395 515857 A ready-made small round pond in fibreglass - just dig a hole! 6ft. diameter by 3ft. deep with two ledges, £55 (cost over £200). Collect from near Crewkerne. 01460 242254 Rangemaster Excel 110 dual fuel cooker, set up for propane gas. Complete with Rangemaster cooker hood/extractor. £400.00 or near offer. Buyer to collect.

Tel no. 01460 66585 Two modern Lloyd Loom conservatory or patio chairs with pads and cushions £95. 01297 23775.

Yamaha AR100 organ £450. 2 seater green leather unused settee £250. 0794 313 5260.

Imola ceramic light brown tiles EW14411 10cm x 10cm or 4” x 4” square. Qty 240. £5. 01404 881640.

Propagator £20. 01308 459170.

SITUATIONS WANTED

LAND WANTED

Plasterer handyman 56, farming background seeks position. Most jobs undertaken.

Anything considered.

Shaun 07970 525070

Wanted to buy, field, half acre upwards. Not best land, to grow few trees for environment.

Can decide immediately! Trees I have ready, urgently need space to grow.

Tel:- 07508 106910

SITUATIONS VACANT

Business development/ ad sales assistant wanted part time. Flexible hours.

Email CV to info@ marshwoodvale.com

WORK SPACE Studio/gallery/ workshop/retail space in Abbotsbury, 460sq ft/43sq metres. Main road shop frontage, attractive rent. Phone 01305 871800 for details and viewing.

FOR SALE Wooden baby high chair, good condition, free.

01460 74572.

Circular garden table well-balanced with central hole for parasol £18.

Charcoal barbecue with shelf and wheels £25.

Garden lounger metal frame £18. Excellent ladies bike £30. 01460 27987.

Day’s Patterson medical wheel chair with battery for easier pushing uphill. £60.

01460 52347.

ADX 150 metal detector two coils £300 Simplex metal detector £250. 07465 620568.

Venetian blind light beige, 3m wide x 2.20 mm drop. 25mm metal slats, with fixings. Excellent condition. £40ono. 07594 687485.

Radley shoulder bag £10. Grey leather S,bag new £8. L blue leather bag £8. Red shoulder bag, new £5. 01395 442 004.

Jun 21

HOME WANTED Wanted - 2/3 bedroom home, Bridport area, employed, reliable, clean, local woman.

References. Tel: 07704093016

CURTAINS Little Curtains.

Handmade Curtains, Blinds and Cushions.

Contact 07443 516141 or 01308 485325

May 21

RESTORATION FURNITURE. Antique Restoration and Bespoke Furniture.

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

Experienced local family firm. Phil Meadley 01297 560335 jun 21

SURFACE PREPARATION

Alberny Restoration In-house blast cleaning for home and garden furniture, doors and gates. Agricultural/ construction machinery and tooling. Vehicles, parts and trailers etc. 01460 73038, email allan@alberny. co.uk, FB Alberny Sandblasting

ELECTRICAL

WANTED

CHIMNEY SWEEP

Thai native speaker wanted for weekly carer duties for Thai lady.

Email: claremelcher21@ gmail.com

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

Oct 21

Secondhand tools wanted. All trades.

Users & Antiques.

G & E C Dawson.

01297 23826. www. secondhandtools.co.uk.

WEB DESIGN

Oct 20

Dave buys all types of tools 01935 428975

July 21

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

Dec 21

Coins wanted. Part or full collections purchased for cash.

Please phone John on 01460 62109

FOR SALE

Upright piano in good condition, beautiful Comics. Private comic polished casing built by collector offering prices Godfrey in Yeovil £100.

Buyer collects. Mahogany for comic collections. sideboard vg condition 59 All genres welcome. inches long, green baize Ring George or leave a voicemail 07891 630569 cutlery drawer £60. 07942 313813.

Two Ercol Windsor Wanted. Old teracotta chairs, one is a rocker flower pots 0780 372 £25 each. Suitable for 1494 restoration or up-cycling.

Small dog crate £5. Photos can be emailed. 07941 FOR SALE 504149.

Large cooker, Belling 2 tyres Kumho Country Range eight gas 1’ZENkw23 tubless M/S burners, two electric ovens. 195/65 R15 91H Half Grill warming oven. Black worn. £10. Ceramic glazed with gold handles. Slightly white wall tiles 15cm x tatt hence £100. 07931 15cm. 6” x 6”. Qty 196 819670. £5. 01404 881640.

Jul 21

Sales Rep’s all leather sample case brown (United Biscuits Ltd), sales catalogues 1960s vintage VGC £45. 01935 422620 Sherborne.

Dehumidifier Ebac 2650E as new £40. Joules weatherproof coat ladies pink, worn only once, as new £40. Size 12. Jack Murphey coat, navy blue, red lining hardly worn, size 42, will accept £35.

01308 861474.

Electric vibrate foot massager for muscles. £5.

Pair of extending caravan trailer mirrors. £5. Corsa RS Aluminium and nearly new tyre. Mazzini EC0307 185/55 R15 82V MS. £35 ono. Ideal for

DISTRIBUTION

FOR SALE school or beginners fish tank and equipment 12 in by 8 in x 8in 2 water air pumps and aquarium plastic plants £5ono.

01404 881640.

Sankey Growarm 300 22 watts electric garden propagator 22 ½” length 15” wide 10” high, £10.

01460 220122 South Chard.

30 Piece Doulton China dinner service. Duckegg blue & white with gold rims. As new £30.

01308 897488 (Burton Bradstock) Answerphone if out.

Sealey SM1100 10 speed floor standing lathe in good working order.

20 yrs old. £180. 01297 489414.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 59

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

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

Name ............................................................. Telephone number .................................

Address ................................................................................................................................

Town .......................................... County....................... Postcode ..................................

Monthly Quiz –

Win a book from Little Toller Books

Send in your answer on a postcard, along with your name and address to: Hargreaves Quiz, Marshwood Vale Magazine, Lower Atrim, Bridport, Dorset DT6 5PX. Study the clues contained in the rhyme and look carefully at the signposts to work out which town or village in South Somerset, West Dorset or East Devon is indicated. The first correct answer drawn out of a hat will win a book from local publisher Little Toller Books.

There is no cash equivalent and no correspondence will be entered into.

Last month’s answer was Uploders. The winner was Rosie Feeney from Honiton

60 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

BUSINESS NEWS

Alliance to promote creative talent SOMERSET Art Works and Visit Somerset have announced a collaboration that will increase exposure for the county’s artistic talent and stimulate increased business from visitors.

Participants in this autumn’s Somerset Open Studios will benefit from having individual membership listings on the Visit Somerset website which attracts over one million visits a year.

Open Studios will run from 18th September until 3rd October and is a continuation from the 2020 online version that will see a large increase in venues being open and accessible to visitors.

Paul Newman of Somerset Art Works commented: ‘Somerset Art Works are thrilled to collaborate with Visit Somerset to promote the work of SAW members, the largest visual arts community in Somerset. We’re grateful for the opportunity this provides to members to promote their work, especially at this time, and how it helps them get their work seen in new and innovative ways. With around 300 artists normally taking part in the biennial Open Studios event, this is a great initiative to make the county’s cultural offer available to an ever wider and more diverse audience, helping make the county an even more sought-after cultural destination.’

Giles Adams, Chair of Visit Somerset explained ‘Arts and culture is an integral part of how people choose to spend their leisure time. It brings economic benefit to creatives but also to hospitality providers, which is badly needed as part of business recovery as we progress through 2021. We are delighted to be working with Somerset Art Works who have been leading on the county’s visual art development for over 25 years.’

Somerset Art Works member Sebastian Chance said: ‘This provides a welcome opportunity for artists and Open Studios participants as they seek to re-connect with audiences after such a challenging year. We hope that it will help welcome visitors from further afield, enabling them to plan a day out to visit the many studios, attractions and eateries that Somerset has to offer!’

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine June 2021 61