Marshwood+ June 2024

© Graham Roberts

Photograph by Robin Mills

Robin Mills met Graham Roberts in Lyme Regis

Igrew up in Surrey and had a reasonable education at what was then a comprehensive. I then got an apprenticeship with Fairey Aviation and started training as an aerial photographer. During the 5 years of my apprenticeship, I did part-time OND and HND in industrial photography at Reading. After qualifying I was then lucky to spend two years working in Africa, starting in Nigeria and then in many countries along the West Coast. That’s over 50 years ago now, but it was very exciting, often as the youngest member of the crew.

I had always been interested in nature and conservation from my childhood. I inherited that from my dad, a farmer’s son, one of 10 children. He joined the RAF, spent the war as a p.o.w. in Germany having been shot down, but sadly the farm was too small to be viable, so it was sold after the war. The buyers were the Mills family—the ones with the famous actor John Mills. Visits to the farm in childhood had embedded my fascination with nature from a young age. There was a river running through it, called the Kent Water, where as children we’d collect lampreys, minnows, and small trout. I

© Graham Roberts Photograph by Robin Mills

Graham Roberts

visited it some 30 years later. It was just a ditch—thanks to intensive farming with no protection of the watercourse it was virtually devoid of life.

After two further aerial photography trips to Africa, and having fallen completely in love with African wildlife, I was unable to travel for a year having contracted meningitis. During that time, although I loved my photography work, I realised I wanted a change of career. I really wanted to work in conservation, but I knew there would be a journey to get there.

I took a job with London Camera Exchange, a large photographic retailer, which allowed me to start studying part time Environmental Science at Southampton. Surprising myself, I found I enjoyed retail and was quite successful. Having done the research, I decided I would open my own photographic shop in Fareham, and later another in Ocean Village, Southampton. It was very hard work combined with the study, but when the time came for my thesis, the subject was the status of otters in southern Britain. That is really what changed my life, giving me a clear direction of what I wanted to do.

For the early years I was volunteering on Sundays for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, running a nature reserve called Emer Bog. On one of the work parties, the chief exec visited, and asked me if I’d like to work for the Trust. I said I probably couldn’t afford to at the time, but my intention was to build up my business, then sell it, which would supplement my income enough to work for the trust. The chief exec then suggested I write a job description for otter recovery in southern Britain, and they would try and get funding. So, I wrote a one-year project, which the National Rivers Authority (which later morphed into the Environment Agency) took up. They then offered me the job, and I was supported by them for the next 20 years through the Wildlife Trust. That project, and selling my business, enabling me to live on a much lower salary, was without doubt the best decision of my life, but funding for a project like that would never happen

My remit was to cover Kent, Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight, and I walked all 26 of the main rivers over two and a half years, between 1986 and 1988. That gave me a clear understanding of how we’ve degraded out rivers, how few of them were natural, but the real surprise for me was my discovery of the Chalk Rivers. Working with the Vincent Wildlife Trust, which specialises in mammal conservation, and the Wildlife Trust, I set up the first two otter havens in Hampshire, both on the Upper Itchen. I also visited and surveyed 1100 riverside estates across the South East and found otter signs at just 26 sites at that time.

As a teenager I had fallen in love with hill walking in the lake District, and then I discovered Scotland. For many years I rented a house on a remote peninsular opposite the Isle of Mull, one of the best places in the UK to see otters. Eventually I was able to buy the house, from where you could watch otters on the shoreline, sea eagles, and if lucky an orca in the Sound of Mull. My contract with the Wildlife Trust involved nine months per year of very hard work, but it gave me quality time in Scotland at different times of the year. The 600-mile journey however became an increasing problem after forty years of visiting, the motorways seemingly clogged with traffic both day and night.

After living in the New Forest for nearly 30 years, I was spending a weekend with friends who lived down here in Lyme Regis. I saw my current home, which appeared to have an incredible sea view, and asked them to let me know if it ever came up for sale. Amazingly, some time later it did, and with the proceeds of selling my property in Scotland, and later the New Forest house, I was able to buy it some 11 years ago.

It took me a little time to settle into life in Lyme, but I began attending a few events run by Turn Lyme Green, an organisation which seeks to engage the community with environmental issues. It was at that time there were beginnings of concerns about the pollution of the River

Lym and some basic monitoring was underway. It was obviously an issue I felt I could help with, and after a meeting at which I spoke about the privatisation of the water companies, the lack of regulation, etc, I was easily persuaded by Vicki Elcoate and Liz Davis of Turn Lyme Green to set up a sub-group, calling ourselves the River Lym Action Group.

We’ve been going about two years now and certainly have the attention of the Water Company and Government Regulator. At the beginning we were very much ignored. The Town Council were worried about our revelations being a problem for the tourist trade, but this very quickly changed by asking do we really want the tourists swimming in a filthy, polluted sea and the actual risks? We had already shown by testing the water how bad it was.

We realised we needed to formalise our efforts. This issue was going on everywhere in most English rivers at the same time. There are now a plethora of organisations like the Rivers Trust, River Action, the Wild Trout Trust, all singing from the same hymn sheet, and now we have Surfers Against Sewage whose CEO lives locally. We have a lot of people power, and we need to be heard. I’ve worked with Fergal Sharkey on a number of occasions, who is extremely vocal, passionate and really knows his stuff, and is really helpful on river pollution issues. We now have constructive dialogue with South West Water, the Town Council, and the Environment Agency with a timetable of three years to

improve the situation. Last year the pollution in the River Lym was double the previous year. In a dry summer it’s worse because it’s less diluted. We’ve found and proved high levels of human-based E Coli after earlier disagreements. We have now started regular Riverfly monitoring (for streambed invertebrates) which has shown that our river was ecologically compromised, but hopefully now slowly improving.

Lyme Bay is in a designated Marine Conservation Zone, which are areas that protect a range of nationally important, rare or threatened habitats and species. People had to fight hard to get these designations, which are so important for marine wildlife. If we’ve got 10 or 12 rivers all pouring untreated sewage into the coastal waters just along this stretch of Lyme Bay, how can they be fit for purpose?

It also means working with farmers, riparian landowners, to try and improve water protection with buffer strips, and by reducing silt input, which is effectively losing their valuable topsoil and nutrients, without affecting their businesses adversely.

There are other groups now working for the benefit of all the local rivers—the Axe, the Brit, the Kit, the Sid, the Char and others coming—it’s just wonderful, all these people, citizens who are getting involved to try and make a difference. To do that we all need to work with people, not against, with the ultimate goal of improving our environment. ’

©

Graham Roberts

Photograph by Robin Mills

Recently, as I was clearing up an area that had been neglected, I had to deal with some rubbish bins that had been commandeered by ants and spiders, along with a few of their less agile friends. The cleaning process meant that many of the creatures that had been enjoying living in a slimy mess needed to find new homes, rapidly. It reminded me of Douglas Adams’ Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, when the earth had to be unceremoniously destroyed to make way for a new intergalactic superhighway—a hyperspace express route, no less. Thankfully, the bulk of the inhabitants of my bins quickly found new homes, unlike Adams’ earthly inhabitants who were completely oblivious to their fate until it was too late, which is something that can’t be said about the current fate of the earth since a ‘code red for humanity’ declaration was made by the United Nations some time ago. António Guterres, SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations, said at the time, ‘The evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions are choking our planet and placing billions of people in danger.’ There are, no doubt, many people who have no interest in changing habits to help slow the earth’s global warming problems—it will always be ‘someone else’s job’. But having interviewed environmental activist Trewin Restorick last month (see our website for the full article) and looking through the features in this issue, it’s clear there are many people intent on doing everything they can to save this planet from a slow death. That can be anything from working in nature conservation to enhancing biodiversity—or even ‘rewiggling’ (page 26). One example is a Common Ground initiative to turn Bridport into a Swift Town (page 24). It’s a community response to the problem of dwindling numbers of swifts coming to our shores. In our cover story this month, Graham Roberts recalls how the river he played in as a youth is now just a ditch thanks to intensive farming with no protection of the watercourse. His work, with the River Lim Action Group, is just one small but important part of a goal to help improve our environment, because, unlike the malapropism in our Crowdfunder plea on page 64, the clock is ticking.

Fergus Byrne

Deeply Rooted

in the Landscape

In a world increasingly dominated by urban sprawl and digital technology, a new book by photographer Robin Mills offers a fascinating insider’s view of country life in Dorset.

In a Foreword to Robin Mills’ Deep Roots: An Insider’s Photographs of Dorset Country Life, which has just been published by Tanyard Publications, the highly respected journalist Kate Adie asks readers to take a close look at those who live on the land, those who carry tradition and knowledge in their way of life. She speaks of ‘traditionalists, characters, innovators’ and ‘people wedded to a quiet, vital way of life.’ Many of them are here in Robin’s book. But it is the words ‘vital way of life’ that bring home the reality of Kate’s impression.

Over the more than two decades that Robin Mills has been contributing to this magazine, we have seen the lives of people in and around the Marshwood Vale come to life through his lens, as well as through the fascinating conversations he has had with so many interesting people. He has contributed a wealth of stories from our collective human journey and captured them one frame, and one paragraph, at a time.

In Deep Roots, Robin has compiled a selection from his archive of photographs that have not yet been published, and also included a few of those that have appeared on these pages in the past. He has also

shared memories from some of the people that have farmed the land, those whose experience of this ‘vital way of life’ highlight the closeness of community ties, where families worked together to harvest crops or tend to the land.

For many rural areas, farming was not merely an occupation but a way of life that influenced social structures, economies, and the environment.

John Morris, a farmer from Sydling St Nicholas, remembers how ‘In Father’s day we were farming for production. Nothing else.’ Today he is ‘grasping the challenges of going the environmental route on the farm’ and is enjoying the process of seeing the changes in wildlife.

In days gone by, Will and Pam Best from Manor Farm in Godmanstone grew organic wheat and saw their own organic milk sold from Penzance to Inverness. They had three vans on the road and a team of drivers but decided the food miles were ‘completely ridiculous’. Today they have a few beef cows which Will says are important for the bird life on the farm.

Jim Goddard, a farmer and steam engineman from Forston, remembers long days getting to and from

Above: Deep Roots: An Insider’s Photographs of Dorset Country Life Right. John Morris’ Oats, Huish Farm, 2007 Below: Ed Rich and Sandy

steam fairs and taking back roads. ‘We were a bit too slow for some car drivers’ he says.

Deep Roots provides a sense of continuity and belonging, linking the present to the past through faces, landscapes, and shared experiences. In a world increasingly dominated by urban sprawl and digital technology, the value of these photographs, documenting the simpler, slower-paced life of the past becomes even more pronounced. Robin’s images offer a visual chronicle of daily activities and the people behind them, providing insight into the rhythms of rural life that have shaped and sustained communities for generations.

In his introduction, Robin says he wanted to attempt to document the characters and events which, only 20 or so years ago, seemed to be a feature of the Dorset countryside. Something that modernisation was fast eliminating. That ambition, over time, has coalesced into this selection of photographs. He describes it as an attempt to portray the essence of what it means to be a country person, someone for whom life in the city would be no life at all.

Deep Roots offers one man’s view of people, not just farmers, whose lives are embedded in the countryside. As Robin says: ‘Common to them all is their rootedness in the landscape they live and work in; their lifestyle, which although widely variable, identifies their belonging.’ The other striking common identity is one of independence within the wider community.

Deep Root is an immersion into a shared heritage, an invaluable reminder of our community’s cultural identity.

Deep Roots: An Insider’s Photographs of Dorset Country Life has just been published by Tanyard Publications. To order a copy at £25 +£3.50 p&p, either email Robin at robins. mills72@gmail.com or telephone 07976 154101.

Alan Brown, Hurdle Maker, Waterston, 2017

© Photograph Robin Mills

June

EVENTS

Saturday, 1 June

Powerstock Hut Barn Dance with music by the Ping Pong Orchestra with caller. Doors open 7pm. £5 entry u16 free. Proceeds to Weir Sports Ground. Bar. Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 6.5 mile walk from Beckford Bridge. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/visitors welcome.

‘Seaton’s D-Day 80 Show’ - Gateway Theatre, Seaton –7.30pm, doors, 6.30pm, tickets £15. For the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings this historic event will be marked across the nation as an opportunity to celebrate peace, liberty and reconciliation. Come along to the Gateway to enjoy the sound of the Big Band era with the Three Counties Swing Band, the fantastic Liberty Sisters, and Seaton’s very own home guard, who will be ensuring your entertainment is a barrel of laughs. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person TueThur 10am - 1pm.

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

Sunday, 2 June

Southleigh Open Gardens at 12.00 to 5.00p.m. £5.00 person (cash only). All proceeds in aid of The Seaton Hospice at Home and the Church. Teas and cakes in the Village Hall.

The Royal Ballet & Sadler’s Wells – ‘Message in a Bottle’ (12A) Screening- Gateway Theatre, Seaton – 2pm, doors 1.30pm, tickets adults £15, Under 16s £8. Message In A Bottle is a spectacular new dance-theatre show from five-time Olivier Award nominee, Kate Prince, inspired by and set to the iconic hits of 17-time Grammy Awardwinning artist Sting. Tickets from 01297 625699, www. thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am1pm.

Chard Museum Blue Plaque Walk, from the Guildhall at 10.30am. Walk takes approximately 60 minutes, booking required £8, refreshments and museum entry discount included. Details and descriptions at www.chardmuseum. co.uk/walks. 07870697956 (10am-4pm) 10.00am. East Devon Ramblers. 9 mile Moderate walk. Weston and Branscombe. Phone 01395-488480. Monday, 3 June Dance Connection, for fun, health & wellbeing, 10:30am, Othona, Burton Bradstock, 07787752201, danceconnectionwessex@gmail.com, https://www. joysofdance.co.uk.

Hawkchurch Film Nights, in association with Moviola. org, proudly presents ‘The Zone of Interest’ (105 mins, Cert.12 - Holocaust theme, disturbing scenes, racism, moderate sex references). This haunting historical drama alludes to the atrocities of the Holocaust without directly showing them, as the commandant of Auschwitz builds an idyllic home life for his family while unseen horrors unfold in the adjoining camp. Jonathan Glazer’s disturbing film was nominated for 5 Oscars, winning Best International Feature and Best Sound. Predominantly in German with subtitles. Doors open 6.30pm, film starts 7.00pm at Hawkchurch Village Hall, EX13 5XD. Ticket reservations £5.50 from csma95@gmail.com or leave a message on 01297 678176 (socially-distanced seating available if reserved in advance); tickets also available for £5.50 from Hawkchurch Community Shop or £6.00 on the door (cash only). Subtitles for the hard-of-hearing provided. Home-made cake, teas, coffees, wine and other tasty refreshments available.

Tuesday, 4 June

Scottish Country dancing at Horton village hall TA19 9QR every Tuesday evening from 7.30 to 9.30 pm with tea / coffee break. £3.00 pay on the door. Every one very welcome from beginner level to experienced , so why not come along and join our friendly group of dancers. For more information email Anita at anitaandjim22@gmail. com or phone 01460 92383 and visit our web site at www. ashillscd.wordpress.com.

Tuesday, 4 - 9 June

Fine Arts Film Week. Bridport Arts centre are hosting a week of fine arts films. Starting with Exhibition on Screen: My National Gallery on Tuesday 7th, 7:30pm – a selection from curator to security guard are asked their favourite piece in the famous London Gallery. On Thursday 6th June, 7:30pm is ‘Anselm’, the viewer is invited into Anselm Kiefer’s warehouse of art. And rounding off the week is the Fine Arts Film Festival on Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th. Saturday sees two selections of short films (5pm & 7pm) with the evening selection followed by a live talk with renowned artist, Hugo Grenville. Feauture ‘History, Mystery, Odyssey’ completes the week of events, Sunday at 2pm. Bridport Arts Centre, South St. Bridport. 01308 341 528 www.bridport-arts.com.

Wednesday, 5 June

Dorchester Tree Walk - A whistlestop tour of 20 trees in 90 minutes - learn how to identify them and the amazing ways in which they work. Using paved walkways in town and by the river. Walks will run whatever the weather. Your walk leader is Julie. Look out for the orange sunhat and high vis waistcoat. No need to book. £7.50 (children accompanied by an adult go free) 6pm to 7.30pm from

outside The Colliton Club, Colliton Walk, Dorchester, DT1 1XJ. Also every Wednesday in June, July and August. Contact treewalksindorset@gmail.com Facebook page: Tree Walks in Dorset.

10.00am. East Devon Ramblers. 10 mile Moderate walk. Abbotsbury. Phone 07966-451875

Thursday, 6 June

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

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

D Day Evening Service, 6 pm St Andrews Church, Colyton.The Shanty Sessions. Marine Theatre Lyme Regis, 7.30pm. Join East Devons Shanty Men, The Chantry Buoys, for an evening of traditional sea shanties, and other well known songs of the sea. Entry is free and all are welcome to come and join in with the fun. All proceeds go to local charities. Doors open at 7pm, licensed bar will be open. The Buoys start at 7.30pm. Ahoy there!

Beaminster Town Hall The museum is supporting Beaminster’s commemoration of the Normandy Landings with an exhibition at the Town Hall on the afternoon and

evening of 6th June. It will include items relating to the American troops of the 16th Infantry of the 1st Division who were stationed in Beaminster. Town Hall, Fleet St, Beaminster DT8 3EF.

Friday, 7 June

Summer Wine Tasting with Will of Selected Grapes, Bridport. 6 for 6.30 pm. Tickets £20 to include WineTasting, Talk , home-made Canapes, Prosecco. At Thorners Hall, School Lane, Litton Cheney, DT2 9AU. To reserve your place in advance please Contact 01308 863690 or 01308 420071, or e.mail cropayne@icloud.com.

Honiton’s D-Day Anniversary Show, Join us for a very special evening at The Beehive to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of D-Day at ‘Honiton’s Anniversary Show’. Everyone welcome! 7.00pm, The Beehive Honiton, EX14 1LZ, 01404 384050, Beehivehoniton.co.uk

‘Complete Madness’ Live Music - Gateway Theatre, Seaton – 8.30pm doors 7.30pm, tickets £20, £23 on door. A fun night of Madness songs and ska music, so bring your dancing shoes! Tickets from 01297 625699, www. thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am1pm.

Three Men in a Boat - A hilarious play starring Giles Shenton about boats and men behaving badly. 7.30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Tickets: £16 Students: £5 Children 12 and under: Free 01460 54973 www. ilminsterartscentre.com 10.00am. East Devon Ramblers. 6 mile Moderate walk.

Colaton Raleigh. Phone 07780-638350.

Saturday, 8 June

Fine Art Film Festival. Fine Arts Film Festival (UK) present a selection of the finest films made about art and the art world. The Saturday evening programme will feature a Q&A with the renowned artist Hugo Grenville. Screenings on at 5pm and 7pm Bridport Arts Centre. For more information visit www.faff-uk.com or Bridport-arts.com. Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 6.5 mile walk from Sydling St Nicholas. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/visitors welcome.

‘The Fall Guy’ (12A) – Picnic Night Screening - Gateway Theatre, Seaton, 7.30pm doors 6.30pm, tickets Adults £7.50, Under 16s £6.50. Ryan Gosling stars as Colt Seavers, a battle-scarred stuntman who, having left the business a year earlier to focus on both his physical and mental health, is drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie—being directed by his ex, goes missing. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

Woodland Day at North Eggardon Powerstock DT6 3ST. Guided woodland walks, demonstrations of log extraction, sawmilling, oak framing, greenwood work, charcoal, yurt, wild bee hives, chair making. 11 am-5 pm. £5 entry u16 free.

Saturday, 8 - 9 June Netherbury Open Gardens. Visit many wonderful

gardens, open together on one weekend and enjoy delicious homemade lunches, tea and cakes, plus plant stall and tombola, making a great day out.

Gardens open from 1pm-5pm. Lunches are served between 12.30pm and 2pm. Free parking is available. Entry tickets are £7.50 per person, children under 13 free. All tickets are valid for entry on both days and can be purchased at various points around the village. All proceeds go to local charities. Cash preferred. Just off the A3066 between Bridport and Beaminster (DT6 5LR)

Sunday, 9 June

‘A Small Quiet English Town – A Sidmouth Folk Story’ (U) Screening - Gateway Theatre, Seaton, 7pm doors 6.30pm, tickets £5. This documentary takes audiences back in time, remembering how Sidmouth Folk Festival began and why it grew exponentially at times, Featuring Ralph McTell, Martin and Eliza Carthy, India Electric Co., and using unseen film and photographic archive, live performance and interviews with original attendees from 1955 and recent years. Tickets from 01297 625699, www. thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am1pm.

Chard Museum Lace Riot Walk from the Guildhall at 10.30am. Walk takes approximately 60 minutes, booking required £8, museum entry discount included. Details and descriptions at www.chardmuseum.co.uk/walks. 07870697956 (10am-4pm)

10.00am. East Devon Ramblers. 10 miles Moderate walk.

Bampton. Phone 01395-516897

Open Gardens and Arts Event Two of the great historic houses in Abbotsbury, the Old Gatehouse and the Manor House, together with two commercial Gardens and one historic tea-room, will all open their gardens to visitors from 12Noon until 5pm. Admittance £5 per adult. Under 16’s free. As well as the extensive gardens, in their prime, visitors will be able to enjoy craft stalls, plant sales and tea and cake and pimms tents. Simultaneously, over 20 invited local prestigious artists will be positioned across the five gardens, painting ‘en plain air’ for the entertainment of the visitors. At 4 pm artists will down brushes and take their completed work to the Great Medieval (Tithe) Barn, known locally as The Abbey Barn. From 4.30pm until 7pm, the public may enter the Barn for an Evening Reception and enjoy a glass of bubbly, a finger buffet and live music, whilst rubbing shoulders with the artists and judges and watching the final stages of the judging process taking place. Price £10 per adult. £5 for 5 to 15 year olds. There will be a cash bar available. Visitors will be able to place a sealed bid for their favourite piece of art during the course of the day. Bids close at 6pm. From 7pm-9pm the neighbouring ‘Cherries’ restaurant will be offering a Summer Supper to all those who wish to remain behind to enjoy the atmosphere and continue to discuss the art with fellow guests, artists and Judges. Cost £18 per person.From the Monday 10th -16th June, artist John Meaker is running The Abbotsbury Art festival from the Abbey Barn for a week long experience for all artists, amateur, student, beginners and professional to experience painting and creating work in and around the ambience of 1000 years of history in the village and surrounding countryside. Experienced tutors will be available for consultation, tutoring and mentoring throughout the week along with talks, demos and the opportunity to exhibit in Abbey Barn. 10am registration from the Barn each morning for maps, guidance and a chance to meet other artists, costing just £10 per day and £50 for 7 days. The public are welcome as spectators to experience “a living art form in a magnificent setting” Witnessing artists create in the landscape and enjoy seeing their work presented in Abbey Barn for free for this special week. Tea and coffee will be available for artists and the barn will be open all day. Please come prepared for the changeable weather.

Divine Union Soundbath 2PM Bell St. Church, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 8AL Try our sonic deep-tissue massage using crystal and Tibetan bowls and sacred vocal overtoning to quieten the mind, calm the emotions, and relax and detox the body. Please book: 01935 389655 ahaihel@live.com £16.

Monday, 10 June

Meeting Dorchester Townswomen’s Guild 2 p.m. Dr. Francis Burroughs, ‘Don’t put your daughter on the stage’, after a short business meeting. Dorchester Community Church, Liscombe Street, Poundbury, DT1 3DF. Visitors welcome (£3). Tea and coffee available. Enquiries 01305 832857.

Tuesday, 11 June

Divine Union Soundbath 9PM Digby Memorial Hall,

Digby Rd, Sherborne DT9 3LN Try our sonic deep-tissue massage using crystal and Tibetan bowls and sacred vocal overtoning to quieten the mind, calm the emotions, and relax and detox the body. Please book: 01935 389655 ahaihel@live.com £16.

Scottish Country dancing at Horton village hall TA19 9QR every Tuesday evening from 7.30 to 9.30 pm with tea / coffee break. £3.00 pay on the door. Every one very welcome from beginner level to experienced , so why not come along and join our friendly group of dancers. For more information email Anita at anitaandjim22@gmail. com or phone 01460 92383 and visit our web site at www. ashillscd.wordpress.com.

Wednesday, 12 June

Wicked Little Letters (15) Deliciously sweary poison-pen mystery, warning very strong language. Doors and bar open 6.45 film start 7.15 at Kilmington Village Hall EX13 7RF. Tickets @ £5, or £5.50 on the door, can be ordered by contacting: John at wattsjohn307@gmail.com or Tel: 01297 521681.

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

10.30am. East Devon Ramblers. 8 mile Leisurely walk. Poundsgate. Phone 07594-622813 Thursday, 13 June

Wicked Little Letters (15). Matinee, doors open 1.45pm film starts 2pm, advance booking required for this matinee, cream-teas served during the interval but must be pre-booked with your seats @ £3.50. see www. kilmingtonvillage.com/other-organisations.html for more information.

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

Bridport History Society is a hosting a special all-day event to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day 1944 and Bridport and Dorset’s part in it. The event will be held at BHS’s usual venue in the United Church Hall and commence at 10.00am (and finish around 4.30). The Society will be welcoming Jane Ferentzi-Sheppard (local historian), Chistopher Jary (Keep Regimental Museum, Dorchester) and Nick Pitt (journalist). Plus, all the way from the US, Steve Clay (Regimental Historian, US 16th Infantry Regiment). All the speakers have their own special knowledge of the events on, and leading up to, 6 June 1944. Visitors welcome £5pp (all day). For more information about the June 13th’s programme, visit: www. bridporthistorysociety.org.uk.

A talk by Peter Cantrill from Dayspring Plants. There will be plants for sale and advice from Peter. Time 2.30 p.m. Seaton Masonic Hall Seaton. Non members £2 to include refreshments. Contact 01297 22869 for details.

Colyton town history walk leaving from Colyton Dolphin Car Park at 2 pm – Guided walk approximately one hour.

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

Chard History Group The Cheese making Heritage of Somerset by Alan Stone. Doors open at 7pm for 7.30. At Chard Guildhall. Members £2.50 Visitors Welcome £3.50. For further details ring Tessa 07984481634.

Dance Connection, block of 6 begins, 7:15pm, Bridport St Mary’s CHH, 07787752201, danceconnectionwessex@gmail.com, https:// www.joysofdance.co.uk

Friday, 14 June

‘Jazz Jurassica: Lady Nade sings Nina Simone Jazz Supper’ - Gateway Theatre, Seaton, Food 7pm, Show 8pm, doors 6.15pm, Tickets £39 (includes 2 course supper) This high-energy performance recreates Simone’s distinctive blend of jazz, blues, gospel, and folk. If you like Joan Armatrading, KT Tunstall, Janis Joplin, or Joni Mitchell, you’ll love Lady Nade. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

Drop-in Health and Wellbeing event Residents of West Dorset are invited to attend the upcoming Drop-in Wellbeing Event at Bridport Youth & Community Centre on Gundry Lane, scheduled from 10am to 3pm. This event, hosted by Help & Care in collaboration with Jurassic Coast Primary Care Network, aims to promote community health and wellness with a range of activities and services. The event is open to all, with no need to book in advance. Special thanks to the Rotary Club of Bridport, Bridport Lions Club, and Age UK for their support in making this event possible.

For more information about the Drop-in Wellbeing Event, please email jcsocialprescribing@dorsetgp.nhs.uk, call 01308 428943 or visit www.helpandcare.org.uk.

June Louise Parker - Ilminster Arts Centre is honoured to host the magnetic voice of Louise Parker, hailed a ‘totally genuine Jazz Performer’ by Les Tomkins of The Jazz Rag and exalted for her “Sweetly soulful jazz vocals” by Mike Flynn, Jazzwise Magazine. Louise will be joined by pianist/ organist Martin Jenkins and bass player John Donnelly. 7.30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Tickets: £20 Students: £5 Children 12 and under: Free 01460 54973 www. ilminsterartscentre.com 10.00am. East Devon Ramblers. 6 mile Moderate walk. Seaton Hole. Phone 07587-217811. Friday, 14 - 15 June

Katharine Lam; solo piano inc. Schubert’s last great sonata – Piano Sonata in Bb Major D.960 (amongst other works). This will be a solo piano recital by Katharine Lam which will include Schubert’s last great sonata – Piano Sonata in Bb Major D.960, as well as pieces by Scarlatti, Chopin, Poulenc, and Fazil Say. On a number of occasions Katharine Lam has played at Tincleton Gallery, sometimes alongside Duncan Honeybourne and on other occasions solo as she will be again this June. She has established a distinguished profile throughout the UK and abroad as recitalist, concertosoloist, chamber musician, accompanist and music educator. Following her London recital debut in 2003, she made her debut as soloist with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 2004 at Symphony Hall, Birmingham. The Birmingham Post praised her playing for its “glittering panache and terrific aplomb. Definitely the highlight of the evening.” Katharine’s subsequent career has included performances at major venues with conductors including Barry Wordsworth, Adrian Lucas and Edwin Roxburgh. Her solo recitals throughout Britain have featured a wide and diverse repertoire, including contemporary repertoire and premiering new music. She is Senior Lecturer in Piano at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students and giving lectures on Piano Pedagogy. Opening / performance times: doors open 19:30; concert starts 20:00. Admission fee: £15. Venue contact number: 01305 848 909 Tincleton Gallery, The Old School House, Tincleton, nr Dorchester, DT2 8QR. Website: http://www.tincletongallery.com. Saturday, 15 June Climate Cafe, Seaton. A respectful space where you can express your feelings about climate breakdown. A chance to talk safely and informally about what it means for you, and listen to others’ experiences. 10.30am - 12 noon, at Natural Worx Café, The Square, Seaton, EX12 2JZ. Contact Fiona Anderson fiona.anderson.01@gmail.com.

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 8 mile walk from Abbotsbury. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/visitors welcome. Annual Fleece Fair Somerset Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers. 9.30am to 1.30pm at Hatch Beauchamp Village Hall, TA3 6SG. Many fleeces and dyed fibre tops and refreshments available

For more information see website: www.somersetguildwsd. org.uk.

Scottish Dancing Party in Chardstock An evening of Scottish Dancing at Chardstock Village Hall 7.30 - 10.30 p.m. No partner required. Please bring your own mug and a plate of food to share. Tea and coffee provided. Cost £5.00 For more information contact David on 01460 65981. RAF association Quiz night. 7pm Bridport & District social club, North street. Teams of four to enter. Great prizes cash bar & raffle. Further details contact. Mike White 07821 167278

Goldberg & Romain: Variations for Piano & Sitar. Goldberg Romain play two sets on Piano and Sitar. The first features works from their debut album Variations. They are joined by guitarist, John Robertson for the second set as they play new repertoire from the forthcoming album. 7:30pm. Bridport Arts Centre, South St. Bridport. 01308 341 528 www.bridport-arts.com.

Rejoice and Sing - Axminster and District Choral Society perform well-known anthems and choruses chosen by the choir. 7.30 pm at the Minster Church, Axminster. Tickets £10 from axminsterchoral.co.uk or 01404 43805.

Beaminster Museum Ciorstaidh Heyward Trevarthen, Dorset Finds Liaison Officer for the national Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), is back for another popular dropin session and is happy to take a look at any archaeological (not geological) item found within the county boundaries. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. 11.00am3.00pm, Beaminster Museum, Whitcombe Rd, Beaminster DT8 3NB www.beaminstermuseum.co.uk

Saturday, 15 - 16 June

Cerne Abbas Open Gardens In 1974 Cerne Abbas opened a few of its private gardens to raise money for a good cause. Fifty years, and 48 openings, later we will open about 25 private gardens once again from 2 -6 pm. Last year’s event featured in the Chanel 5 series “Dorset Country & Coast”. The proceeds will be divided between to support an archaeological dig in Cerne and the restoration of the ancient church in Godmanstone. Entrance to all gardens is by a single day ticket which costs £8 for adults and accompanying younger folk under 16 are free. A few gardens are accessible on wheelchairs and most gardens accept well behaved dogs on leads. There is a well-regarded plant stall and teas are provided by the local Youth Club, both commencing at 1pm. Almost all gardens are within easy walking distance of the free car park and are located on maps distributed with the ticket. We look forward to welcoming you to Cerne. More information on our website www.cerneabbasopengardens.org.uk.

Wilding Weekend at Hooke Farm near Beaminster DT8 3NZ. Dorset’s third annual Wilding Weekend is a wonderful, family-friendly experience with a wild garden to explore, wildflower meadows, a cascade of ponds, insect homes and a medieval-style marshland walkway. There will be talks, tours, stalls and delicious food and drink. Speakers include: Trewin Restorick, Sizzle: Talking about their Enrich the Earth campaign to replace peat with sustainable alternatives. Sam Rose, West Dorset Wilding: Talking about the new

landowner and farmer-led charity taking action to restore ecosystems and increase nature in West Dorset, through rewilding and regenerative agriculture. Benedict Macdonald, Author of Rebirding and Cornerstones talking about his nature restoration business – Restore. Kate Rawles, Author of The Life Cycle – draws on her experiences cycling the length of South America on a bamboo bicycle. Julie Leah, The Great Big Dorset Hedge: Talking about the importance of hedgerows for wildlife and why we need to look for alternatives to garden bonfires. For full details visit https://juliahailes.com/wilding-weekend2024-updated-apr24-2.

West Milton Open Gardens 2.00 - 6.00pm. £5 per adult, children free and dogs welcome on leads. In aid of local charities. Delicious teas, local cider and ice reams await you as well as a plant and produce stall. Contact: aajanewhite@gmail.com.

Sunday, 16 June

The Royal Opera‘Andrea Chenier’ (12A) Screening - Gateway Theatre, Seaton -. 2pm, doors 1.30pm, tickets Adults £15 Under 16s £8. Jonas Kaufmann headlines David McVicar’s spectacular staging, under the baton of long-time collaborator Antonio Pappano – who conducts Giordano’s epic historical drama of revolution and forbidden love in his last production as Music

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

French + Breton Folk Dance, Bal Crewkerne with live house band, in the Speedwell Hall, Abbey Street, Crewkerne, TA18 7HY. Dance workshop for beginners 6-7pm followed by main dance 7-9.30pm. Admission £4 at the door. Tea and coffee available or bring your own drinks. Free parking in the town centre car parks. More information on our website: https://balcrew.wixsite.com/balcrewkerne.

Dalwood Jazz Club presents Trish Heenan & The Craig Milverton Trio with Jazz Vocalist, Trish Heenan, Craig Milverton - piano, Kevin Sanders - bass and Dennis Harrisdrums. Dalwood Village Hall, EX13 7EG (near Axminster) at 8pm. Bar for beer/wine/soft drinks and teas/coffees/ cake etc. Parking at the Village Hall £12.50p If possible, please book in advance and pay (cash or card) at the door. t.mackenney111@btinternet.com 10.00am. East Devon Ramblers. 12 mile Strenuous walk. Sidmouth. Phone 01395-266668. Monday, 17 June

Dance Connection, for fun, health & wellbeing, 10:30am, Othona, Burton Bradstock, 07787752201, danceconnectionwessex@gmail.com, https://www. joysofdance.co.uk.

Sherborne Abbey Choir: Choral Evensong with short recital. St Mary’s Church Beaminster. 5.30pm Free but booking essential. www.beaminsterfestival.com Tuesday, 18 June

‘Dad’s Army’ (PG) Nostalgic Cinema – Matinee screening - Gateway Theatre, Seaton – 1.30pm, doors 1pm, tickets £3.50.

Anyone who loves nostalgic films is very welcome to join us for an afternoon of fond memories and friendship. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

Scottish Country dancing at Horton village hall TA19 9QR every Tuesday evening from 7.30 to 9.30 pm with tea / coffee break. £3.00 pay on the door. Every one very welcome from beginner level to experienced, so why not come along and join our friendly group of dancers. For more information email Anita at anitaandjim22@gmail. com or phone 01460 92383 and visit our web site at www. ashillscd.wordpress.com.

Elaine Beckett: Poetry Reading Elaine explores intimate relationship between poetry and music. Tangerine Café, Beaminster 3pm £10 01308 281110 Wednesday, 19 June

Colyton & District Garden Society The Natural History and Cultivation of Carnivorous Plants by Dennis Balsdon ex Chairman of the Carnivorous Plant Society. Colyford Memorial Hall, EX24 6QJ, start 7.30 pm. Parking in the hall car park.. Members free, guests £3.00. Information : Sue Price 01297 552362.

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

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

Lulu Allison: Creative Writing Workshop Enhance and expand creativity inspired by music with Women’s Prize listed author. Wed 10am, Thurs, 2pm £25 Tangerine Café, Beaminster www.beaminsterfestival.com TicketSource 0333 666 3366.

The Importance of Being Earnest: Rain or Shine Theatre Company. Thoroughly entertaining al fresco theatre in stunning gardens of The Manor House, Beaminster. 6pm. Picnics from 4.30pm Bring low-backed chairs, rugs etc £16/£6 Family 2+2£36 www.beaminsterfestival.com

TicketSource 0333 666 3366.

Thursday, 20 June

Bridport and District Gardening Club Margie Hoffnung talk “Gardening a very British Tradition”. She completed a 4 year Horticulture Degree at Writtle College, after working at Westonbirt Arboretum. Her sandwich placement was with Rosemary Verey, the well-known plantswoman, author and garden designer, with whom she continued to work for over a decade until Rosemary’s death. She also spent some years at Highgrove as both gardener and garden guide for HRH The Prince of Wales, as well as manning Jekka McVicar’s herb stand at flower shows like Chelsea and Hampton Court for several seasons. She subsequently completed a Masters degree in the Conservation of Historic Gardens & Cultural Landscapes at Bath and since 2013 has worked for the Garden History Society (now the Gardens Trust) and is their Conservation Officer. In this role she liaises closely with County Gardens Trusts all round England and responds to planning applications which might affect listed historic designed landscapes, to make sure as far as possible, that these proposals do not have an adverse effect on those sites or their settings. She is a regular speaker to gardening societies on a variety of topics as well speaking on conservation issues relating to historic gardens to heritage bodies. As usual the meeting will be held at the WI Building on North St in Bridport at 7.30pm.

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

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

Folk dancing at Combe St Nicholas village hall (TA20 3LT) at 1930 hrs. Robert Blackborow and his band will be providing the music and Mary Blackborow will be our caller. It’s £4.00 per person which includes a cuppa and cake, all welcome and it is a lot of fun! Further details from Elaine on 01460 65909 Friday, 21 June

‘Maestro’ (15) Picnic Night Screening - Gateway Theatre,

Seaton – 7.30pm, doors 6.30pm tickets Adults £7.50, Under 16s £6.50. Maestro is a towering and fearless love story chronicling the lifelong relationship between cultural icon Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein. A love letter to life and art, Maestro, at its core, is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

Lara Melda - Lara made her BBC Proms and Royal Albert Hall debut in 2023 as one of the soloist pianists performing with the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Andrew Gourlay in an evening devoted to previous Young Musician winners. Promoted by Concerts in the West. 7.30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Tickets: £18 Students: £5 Children 12 and under: Free 01460 54973 www. ilminsterartscentre.com

The Holdovers Nobody likes teacher Paul Hunham (Giamatti) -- not his students, not his fellow faculty, not the headmaster, who all find his pomposity and rigidity exasperating. With no family and nowhere to go over Christmas holiday in 1970, Paul remains at school to supervise students unable to journey home. After a few days, only one student holdover remains -- a troublemaking 18-year-old named Angus, a good student whose bad behavior always threatens to get him expelled. Joining Paul and Angus is head cook Mary (Randolph)-an African American woman who caters to sons of privilege and whose

own son was recently lost in Vietnam. These three very different shipwrecked people form an unlikely Christmas family sharing comic misadventures during two very snowy weeks in New England. The real journey is how they help one another understand that they are not beholden to their past-they can choose their own futures. Described as a well acted feel good comedy drama. at 7.30pm. Village Hall, The Causeway, Milborne St Andrew DT11 0JX. Doors and bar open 7.00pm. Tickets cost £6, which includes a drink or an ice-cream.

10.00am. East Devon Ramblers. 6 mile Moderate walk. Axmouth. Phone 01297-552860.

Albert Lee Live in Honiton, One of the most respected and renowned guitarists in music history, the Grammy Award-winning Albert Lee has worked with the likes of Eric Clapton, The Everly Brothers and The Crickets over an illustrious career spanning 60 years. 7.30pm, The Beehive Honiton, EX14 1LZ, 01404 384050, Beehivehoniton.co.uk.

Friday, 21 - 22 June

Maiden Newton Art Group Exhibition and sale of paintings Tombola and refreshments. Maiden Newton village hall contact Jane 01300 321405 Friday (evening) 5pm -9pm. Saturday 10am-4pm.

Saturday, 22 June

‘West Side Story’ (1961) Picnic Night Screening – Gateway Theatre, Seaton – 7.30pm, doors 6.30pm, tickets Adults £7.50, Under 16s £6.50. Our Bernstein weekend continues

with the iconic original film from 1961, starring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer and Rita Moreno. Lovers Maria and Tony find themselves entangled in the bitter battle between their gangster families. Knowing this feud will lead to disastrous consequences, Maria sends Tony to end the fight. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

Charlie Connelly: Attention all Shipping! A celebration of the shipping forecast as it reaches its centenary year. Charlie Connelly brings the broadcast vividly to life in his hilarious show. Charlie explores its remarkable history, unlocks its mysteries and tells rip-roaring stories of his own adventures among the seas. 7:30pm Bridport Arts Centre, South St. Bridport. 01308 341 528 www.bridport-arts.com. Winsham Village Street Fair from 11am to 4pm. The Elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water. Elements Themed procession to open the Fair. Prizes for the best ‘Elements’ Face Paint or Hair/Hat or Fancy Dress Costume. Majorettes. Folk Music and Morris Dancers. Art and Sculpture Trail. Scarecrows. Tractors. Fire Engine. Variety of outdoor Craft Stalls. Art Exhibition. Labyrinth. Coffee Barista, Ice Cream Van and Barbecue. Cream Teas with Prosecco, Cake Sale and Street Food. Children’s Art & Crafts, Punch & Judy Show, Penalty Shoot Out Competition, St. George & The Dragon Puppet Story and Bug Safari. Iron Age Round House. Educational Activities with Axe Vale River Association (AVRA) and South Somerset Wildlife Trust. Tombola with Bottles of Wine. Real Ale and Cider Festival. Wonderful range of Raffle Prizes. All proceeds in aid of AVRA and Winsham United Charities. Parking at the Community Club, Bakersfield, TA20 4JN. Entry, Street Entertainments and Activities all FREE. Church Tower Tours: small charge to raise funds to refurbish the bells.

Live Music at The Bell from 5.45pm until Late. The Ukes of Hazard at The Bell Inn, Winsham, TA20 4HU. Free Entry. Real Ale and Hog Rolls.

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

Saturday, 22 - 30 June

Beaminster Festival of the Arts Classical and Jazz, literary talks, comedy singalong, al fresco theatre, including Treorchy Male Choir, Mishka Momen Rushdie, piano, Emma Johnson and Friends, Tim Kliphuis, Liverpool Beatles, Rob Hutton. Tickets from free- £25 www.beaminsterfestival.com or TicketSource 0333 666 3366.

Sunday, 23 June

Briantspuddle and Affpuddle Open Gardens. 15 open gardens across the two villages. Classic car collection. Local artists exhibition. Plant sales. Church flower festival. Morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea at Briantspuddle village hall. Bar. Free car parking. All welcome £7 per personchildren under 10 free.

10.00am. East Devon Ramblers. 11 mile Moderate walk. Postbridge. Phone 01404-811267.

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra – Resound: Night Dances. BSO’s award-winning six-piece disabled ensemble perform an exciting new programme of music especially reimagined for this unique group. Repertoire includes Lucy

Hale, Beethoven and Warlock amongst many others. 11am Bridport Arts Centre, South St. Bridport. 01308 341 528 www.bridport-arts.com.

Tuesday, 25 June

Scottish Country dancing at Horton village hall TA19 9QR every Tuesday evening from 7.30 to 9.30 pm with tea / coffee break. £3.00 pay on the door. Every one very welcome from beginner level to experienced, so why not come along and join our friendly group of dancers. For more information email Anita at anitaandjim22@gmail. com or phone 01460 92383 and visit our web site at www. ashillscd.wordpress.com.

Bridport U3A The next talk is at 2pm at Bridport United Church, East Street, Bridport. DT6 3LJ. The talk will last about an hour, followed by a Q&A then refreshments. Members free, visitors £3. The title is ‘Telling Tales - Life and Work as a Professional Storyteller’, given by Bridport’s own Martin Maudsley. Martin specialises in stories of the natural world and local landscapes. He uses creative storytelling to connect people with nature and a sense of place.

Wednesday, 26 June

Scottish Country Dancing: Bridport Scottish Dancers invite you to an evening of dancing led by a visiting RSCDS qualified teacher on Wednesday 26th June 2024 at Church House, South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NN. Time: 7.15 for a 7.30 start. Cost: £3.00 which includes tea/coffee/ soft drinks + biscuits. All welcome, no partner required but please wear soft shoes. Contact: Malcolm on 07790 323343. Check out bridportscottishdancers for more information. Uplyme and Lyme Regis Horticultural Society talk ‘Gardening with Ornamental Grasses’, Uplyme Village Hall DT7 3UY 7.30pm. Doors open at 7pm for refreshments. Members free; non-members £3. www.ulrhs.wordpress.com.

Meeting Voices Community Choir, Chard. 19.30 to 21.15. Sing for fun. Learn songs in harmony by ear. Everyone welcome. Chard Guildhall. Fore St, Chard TA20 1PP. Phone 07534 116502 or email mvsecretary@outlook.com. 10.30am. East Devon Ramblers. 9 mile Moderate walk. Exford. Phone 01297-23424.

Thursday, 27 June

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

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

Friday, 28 June

‘Macbeth : Ralph Fiennes & Indira Varma’ (12A) Screening - Gateway Theatre, Seaton -. 7pm, doors 6.30pm, tickets Adults £15 Under 16s £8. Tony and BAFTA Award winner Ralph Fiennes, and Olivier Award winner Indira Varma) star in a brand-new ‘full-voltage visceral’ (4 stars. Daily Telegraph) production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Filmed live at Dock X, a custom-built theatre space in London, this critically acclaimed staging of Macbeth will be

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

Moscow Drug Club - Moscow Drug Club are transcendent Troubadours of World Jazz and Folk. Combining their original material with songs by the likes of Jaques Brel, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen & Eartha Kitt, Moscow Drug Club deliver an intoxicating and intimate musical experience. 7.30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Tickets: £20 Students: £5 Children 12 and under: Free 01460 54973 www.ilminsterartscentre.com

Duo Correa Andrews Classical guitarist Francisco Correa presents music from his native Columbia alongside his wife, British Flautist and mezzo-soprano, Emily Andrews. These pieces mix classical and Colombian Folk styles. 7:30pm Bridport Arts Centre, South St. Bridport. 01308 341 528 www.bridport-arts.com.

10.00am. East Devon Ramblers. 5 mile Leisurely walk. Powderham Castle. Phone 01392-439122

Saturday, 29 June

Dalwood Music Day 11am - 6pm. 150 Musicians & Vocalists. All styles of Music. 3 venues. Free Parking. Free Programme. BBQ food and Teas. Buy Stroller ticket from the 3 venues on arrival £15. Children: Free Evening Concert 8pm. Jeremy Huggett’s 60s Band £10 Dalwood, EX13 7EG (near Axminster) www.dalwoodvillage.co.uk for information.

‘Ordinary Angels’ (12A) Picnic Night Screening – Gateway Theatre, Seaton – 7.30pm, doors 6.30pm, tickets Adults £7.50, Under 16s £6.50. Based on a remarkable true story, Ordinary Angels centres on Sharon (Hilary Swank), a fierce but struggling hairdresser who discovers a renewed sense of purpose when she meets Ed, a widower working hard to make ends meet for his two daughters. With his youngest daughter waiting for a liver transplant, Sharon sets her mind to helping the family. Tickets from 01297 625699, www. thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

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

Saturday, 29 - 30 June

Flower Festival with themed display, at St Mary’s church, Thorncombe, TA20 4NE, to be held from 10 – 5pm daily. Visit our beautiful village and church. Refreshments, bric a brac, prize draw, children’s painting competition. All proceeds

EVENTS IN JULY

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

BY JUNE 15th

to church upkeep.

Sunday, 30 June

Divine Union Soundbath 2PM Oborne Village Hall, Oborne, nr. Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4LA

Try our sonic deep-tissue massage using crystal and Tibetan bowls and sacred vocal overtoning to quieten the mind, calm the emotions, and relax and detox the body. Please book: 01935 389655 ahaihel@live.com £16.

10.30am. East Devon Ramblers. 9 mile Moderate walk. Aylesbeare common. Phone 01395-579607. The Vehicle Extravaganza, an Axminster Carnival main fund raising event is on from 10-4 pm on the showground Trafalgar Way Axminster. A mixed display of vintage and classic vehicles. Entry is by donation. Anyone wishing to bring a vehicle along may email axminster-cve@hotmail. com or call 07875413698.

Celebrating Miles Davis. Miles Davis was an American jazz trumpeter who became one of the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz. Pioneering the bebop style alongside Charlie Parker, Davis went on to record the most popular jazz record of all time, Kind of Blue, and continued being an artistic innovator throughout his life. Sam Massey will be performing some pieces composed by Miles Davis like All Blues, and many associated with Davis over his career, such as Stella by Starlight. Massey has been hailed as a “fine trumpet player” by the Guardian and he will also be playing flugelhorn to add a contrasting mellow timbre for some of the tunes, accompanied by Philip Clouts at the piano and John Donnelly on double bass. Sam has performed alongside topclass musicians from across the UK, including the legendary Devon based bandleader Mike Westbrook and Radio 2 favourite Clare Teal. As a performer, arranger and composer, he and his music have been broadcast on numerous BBC, Jazz FM and RAI (Italy) programmes and is found on critically acclaimed albums by artists such as American soul singer PP Arnold and ska band The Simmertones. Jazz giant Miles Davis was at the forefront of many key developments in the history of jazz. His best known albums include Birth of the Cool, Kind of Blue, Porgy and Bess and In a Silent Way, and continue to have a lasting impact on musicians and listeners to this day. Davis had a very impressive virtuosic trumpet style which could also be very sparse, making every note count. Expect to hear a wide variety of enjoyable tunes, all reflecting the incredible talent of one of the foremost figures in the jazz world. 8 pm. Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis. £14 advance £16 on the door Tickets available at www.marinetheatre.com. You can also purchase tickets from the Lyme Regis Bookshop and Bridport TIC (01308 424901)

AS it marks its 10th anniversary, mental health and wellbeing charity Harmony also celebrates the presentation of The King’s Award for Voluntary Service and a move to larger accommodation in the newly renovated Tower Building on St Michael’s Estate in Bridport.

From humble beginnings, the charity now provides support to hundreds of local people from across West Dorset each year. It offers friendly advice, help, free weekly activities, and crisis mental health support via the Community Front Room service, all based at The Harmony Centre. All its services are open to anyone aged 18 and over on a drop-in basis with no referral needed.

In November 2023, Harmony was awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK, equivalent to an individual receiving an MBE, and will be attending an award ceremony in May at Buckingham Palace.

Last year the charity was fortunate to receive a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund to support it over the next five years. Along with contributions from a number of trusts and foundations as well as fundraising and donations from the public, this will allow it to offer help to a greater number of people and enabled the move to larger and more accessible premises.

Chair of Trustees, Rachel Coney comments: “We have now reached the end of the first year of our Reaching Communities Lottery funding which has given us the opportunity to develop the charity and expand into new premises.” Rachel continues: “Everyone at Harmony is really excited about the move. This will provide us with a mental health and wellbeing hub able to provide activities and support open to any adults in West Dorset.”

Today, visitors to the Harmony Centre can try arts and crafts, pilates and wellbeing activities or join an allotment group or men’s walking group. Equally they can come along for a chat and a coffee; to find out information about mental health and wellbeing services available locally or to talk with one of our peer support workers.

The Community Front Room service is accessible ThursdaySunday 2.15-9.45pm for anyone needing immediate one-to-one support from qualified, friendly, non-judgmental staff in a safe space.

From June, Harmony will be located in its new home on St Michael’s Estate in Bridport which will provide the Bridport and wider West Dorset community with a bespoke mental health and wellbeing centre.

For more information about Harmony services contact info@ theharmonycentre.org.uk or visit www.theharmonycentre.org.uk.

News&Views

SOMERSET

Business grants available

Following a successful first round of funding last year Somerset Council is encouraging businesses and organisations to find out if they are eligible for a grant from the UK Government’s Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF). The second round is now open and the Council have allocated £2.5m which must be spent by the end of March 2025. Projects can apply for grants between £5,000 and £100,000. To discuss a project applicants should email REPF@somerset.gov.uk.

EAST DEVON

New CEO for EDDC

Following an extensive recruitment process, Tracy Hendren emerged as the preferred candidate to lead East Devon District Council. Previously she was the Director of Housing, Health and Environment at EDDC and one of the three interim CEOs. Before this, Tracy was the Assistant Director of Housing, Environmental Health, and Trading Standards at The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead.

SHERBORNE

Fossil collection seeks home Wolfgang Grulke, who featured on the cover of this magazine in August 2021, is looking for a home for his impressive collection of fossils. Currently housed in a converted barn near Sherborne, the collection includes a large cluster of uncoiled ammonites, an entire ichthyosaur skeleton, and marine fossils that were found high in the Alps. A note in his visitor’s book from Sir David Attenborough simply says: ‘I am, truly, lost for words.’

Bridport bangers big in Downing Street

SAID to be Britain’s oldest family owned butcher, R J Balson was represented at Downing Street in May at the Farm to Fork Summit 2024 when Richard Balson served sausages to the Prime Minister.

‘We cooked 220 of our finest pork and Tudor Rose sausages for the Prime Minister and 100 of his guests—Lords, MPs and producers from across the farming and food sectors’ said Richard Balson. ‘We were highly honoured to represent Dorset and the farming community’.

More than 70 businesses and producers attended the summit.

BRIDPORT

Animal sanctuary complaints

An animal sanctuary that has been the subject of complaints about ‘howling and barking’ has had a planning application for already existing buildings denied, says The Bridport News. The decision could result in the sanctuary facing action by Dorset Council. The council’s planning team say the BirkettSmith Animal Sanctuary near Pilsdon Pen is ‘visually intrusive’ and creates ‘significant harm’ to the character and appearance of the Dorset AONB (now National Landscapes).

LYME REGIS

Bathing beach designation

Local campaigners and swimmers have been celebrating news that Church Cliff Beach in Lyme Regis has been redesignated as a bathing beach after a two-year campaign. This means the water quality at the beach will have to be monitored between May and September by the Environment Agency, with better information provided to the public. If the water quality isn’t good enough, the Agency has to identify what’s needed to clean it up.

Making Bridport a Town Swift

… The swifts

Materialize at the tip of a long scream

Of needle. ‘Look! They’re back! Look!’ And they’re gone On a steep

Controlled scream of skid

Round the house-end and away under the cherries. Gone. Suddenly flickering in sky summit, three or four together, Gnat-whisp frail, and hover-searching, and listening from ‘SWIFTS’ by Ted Hughes

Swifts are one of our most beloved birds. Their presence is a symbol of summertime, and spirits lift when screaming parties arrive in the skies above our towns and villages. We can hear them from our homes or places of work. We stop to watch the small flocks for a moment, rushing down the high street and over fields. At the church in Salway Ash, on the back door of a shed, the arrival of the swifts has been marked by someone every year for decades—a quiet celebration that expresses this strong bond between people, place and birds.

We notice swifts because they live near us. From May to August, swifts become our neighbours, nesting in buildings and feeding in landscapes nearby. Swifts, however, are in serious trouble. Between 1995 and 2020 their population saw a massive 60% decline, and in 2021 they were added to the Red List for endangered birds. In contrast, the swift population in mainland Europe has stayed largely stable, signalling that the UK needs to take urgent action to save this very special species.

Bridport Swift Town is a community response to the problems swifts face. The project is a collaboration between local residents, Common Ground, the Bridport Bird Club, Dorset National Landscape, Bridport Town Council, RSPB, West Dorset Wilding, Little Toller Books and the Dorset Wildlife Trust. Collectively, we believe that celebrating Bridport swifts is key to protecting them—by drawing attention to swifts, by expressing how they make us feel—in art, poetry, songs, stories— we can spread awareness and gather important data about nesting sites and feeding habits. We are inviting all swift lovers, swift enthusiasts and swift ambassadors to join us in turning Bridport into a Swift Town—a place that recognises and celebrates the value and hope these wonderful birds bring with them, screaming through every summer.

Bridport Swift Town is preparing a programme

of free swift walks and workshops, many of them held in the town during the national Swift Awareness Week (29 June - 7 July). These activities, run by local ornithologists, conservationists, musicians, artists, storytellers and poets, aim to deepen understanding of swifts and inspire the community to share their love and fascination for swifts through creativity—a communal response that will be performed and exhibited at a future Swift Welcome Party in May 2025. These events are also a way of engaging local residents in the wider story of Bridport’s swifts and encouraging us all to become citizen scientists, collecting nesting and sighting data using the open-sourced app developed with RSPB, Swift Mapper.

This combination of community creativity and data collection will be the beginnings of an ongoing commitment to swifts in Bridport. It will help us develop a Bridport Swift Map, an annual Swift Welcome Party, and a Manifesto for Swifts that establishes a longer-term goal for the project and a ‘voice’ for Bridport swifts that introduces more nest boxes, campaigns to ensure local building developments always include swift bricks, and supports a wider landscape recovery plan that enhances green spaces in the town and feeding habitats in the nearby countryside.

Swifts are a quintessential part of the West Dorset summer. Their presence adds to the local distinctiveness of our towns and villages. There is something very special about the built and natural environments here— it is just right for swifts, which is why they have returned for hundreds of years. Let’s get together to celebrate and better understand them. Let’s make Bridport a Swift Town! You can join in simply by sharing your swift stories, poetry, art, songs and ideas with us (swiftmail@ commonground.org.uk) or by supporting our campaign for free swift activities in the community this summer: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/bridport-swift-town

Elegant reprint for a timeless garden classic

Published by Batsford ISBN 9781849943642

“Crammed with good advice.” Vita Sackville West.

A FEMINIST manifesto? The blueprint of the modern cottage garden design? This timeless classic from one of the twentieth century’s greatest garden writers, receives an elegant new edition. Whether you’re a cottagecore lover or a lifelong gardener, ‘We Made A Garden’ is the landmark work on gardening and transforming wilderness into flora, by the immensely influential garden writer Margery Fish.

In this timeless book, Margery Fish recounts her struggles in both landscaping and love, describing the pressures of her marriage alongside the demands of her craft when designing the popular public garden of East Lambrook Manor situated in Somerset, England. The gardens are now due to sell for the first time this century.

Accompanied by a foreword by Graham Rice, this beautiful book details both the joys and trials of creating a garden from scratch in the 1950s, covering everything from the most suitable hyssop for the terraced garden through composting, hedges and making paths to the best time to lift and replant tulip bulbs.

Clashing with her husband Walter, who preferred a more suburban approach, Margery Fish writes with both ease and humour on their divided visions and how the creation of their garden brought them closer together.A memoir-come-gardening guide from one of the most revered gardening writers of her time, this stunning new edition is perfect for any nature or garden lover and packs inspiration into every page for both the modern feminist reader and passionate horticulturalist alike.

Margery Fish (1892–1969) was one of the most admired gardeners and garden writers of her day. Her many articles and books inspired garden enthusiasts with her easy-to-read knowledge and observation. A passion for nature and an ability to combine plants effectively in even the smallest space and in differing environments made her ideas relevant to all gardeners of her time, and an inspiration for future generations. Her garden at East Lambrook Manor in Somerset is still open to visitors today.

Eagles back at Mapperton

MAPPERTON House in Dorset is celebrating the return of its iconic 18th century lead eagles after extensive repairs funded by wellwishers.

A pair of lead eagles have welcomed visitors to Mapperton, near Beaminster, at the front of the Tudor/Jacobean manor for some 300 years.

In the style of the Le Nôtre, the celebrated landscape architect of Louis XIV, the eagles are the centrepiece of the courtyard. In 2022 a severe storm caused one of the eagles to fall over, and it was soon discovered that both were in dire and urgent need of repair.

Mapperton House & Gardens are located two miles from Beaminster in the heart of the Dorset countryside.

We Made a Garden First Edition cover

From left: Julie Montagu, Viscountess Hinchingbrooke, Luke Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, Caroline Montagu, the Countess of Sandwich, and specialist lead worker Mike White. Photograph Mapperton Estate

HNature Studies

By Michael McCarthy

aving hungrily devoured a lot of what Dorset’s landscape has to offer in immediate terms, in the last couple of years, I am now seeking out some of its less obvious parts, not least its hidden valleys. I find most valleys attractive, because of their topography—slopes are inherently more interesting than flats—and for me a hidden valley is one that is not on a tourist map. So somewhere like the Valley of Stones, the geological wonder up near Hardy’s Monument, which is pretty isolated, would not qualify, because it is too well-known. Some hidden valleys can even be driven through by car: being ignored, unknown or forgotten is the key quality.

I am thinking for example of the valley of the South Winterborne, the beautiful chalk stream which flows from west to east of Dorchester in a long curve south of the town, before joining the Frome at West Stafford. Its western section is busy and full of villages—Winterborne Abbas, Winterborne Steepleton, Martinstown, Winterborne Monkton. But the eastern section, running from Herringston to the Wareham road, feels isolated: a lovely green vale of watermeadows, with a road running through it but virtually no traffic, where you are suddenly presented with the Palladian splendour of Came House, sitting on its hill and framed by woodlands,

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

a sight which makes you gasp. You think you are in deep Dorset, although you are only one ridge away from the traffic maelstrom of the Dorchester bypass.

On the whole, though, the more special hidden valleys require a trek to get to, especially the roadless dry valleys in the chalk downland known in Dorset as bottoms. I have found several of these to be charismatic places, but for me one takes the prize: the dry valley known as Crete Bottom which lies deep in the downs between Sydling St Nicholas and Godmanstone. It is special for its beauty and its sense of isolation but most of all because it contains Bushes Barn, the farmstead, long abandoned, where Raymond Forcey spent his boyhood, between the ages of five and ten, from 1909 to 1914. In the simple but stunning memoir he wrote as an old man and published in 1992, Memories of Wessex—A Boyhood in a Dorset Valley , Forcey describes growing up amidst grinding rural poverty but overflowing wildlife abundance, where hardship was ever-present yet birdsong was deafening, foxes, stoats and weasels ran around visibly, wild flowers seemed infinite in number and variety, and the children all wore thick woolly socks because there were so many adders. The abandoned farm is still relatively wildlife-rich: a whole hillside is covered in cowslips, and linnets

Looking down The Lost Valley on a May evening © Photograph by Robin Mills

and indeed corn buntings, now so rare in much of England, sing from the hedges. But Forcey’s memories are what make it special: it is a haunting place.

“Perhaps you may understand me when I say, even when you get there, it is hard to find.”

However, the hidden valley which has moved me most lies beyond the chalk, in the greensand in the west of the county. It is hard to find and hard to get to, and perhaps you may understand me when I say, even when you get there, it is hard to find. It is a steep-sided cleft in the green landscape of domed hills, surrounded by meadows, with a stream running along its wooded bottom and a footpath following the stream, through (the last time I visited,

on a warm May evening) the bluebells and the wild garlic and the yellow archangel and the white stars of greater stitchwort. The only sound besides the murmuring of the stream is the song of chaffinches and blackcaps. Its loveliness is almost beyond description. It is the epitome of unspoiled England, almost a memory of a lost world, and though it does have a name of its own, I will merely call it The Lost Valley.

My wife and I were first taken to it on a cold February day by our friend the nature writer Brian Jackman, when the sides of the stream were blanketed from end to end with snowdrops. I was mesmerised by its beauty even in winter, by its very survival even, and I cried out: “But no-one knows about this!” (although of course, some people do.)

“Let the tourists all go to the Cotswolds,” grunted Brian, in a sort of a defiant assertion that even now, after all the urban development and the intensive farming of the long years since the Second World War, there are still parts of the countryside in Dorset which are untouched, which are wondrous.

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

Slopes are inherently more interesting than flat

The R-Word: Time for a bit of Rewiggling

It may sound like a quip from an over enthusiastic Strictly Come Dancing judge but Rewiggling may be something that helps save millions of pounds of flood damage repair. Dr Sam Rose explains.

So, everyone is talking about water. Flooding, sewage overflows, nitrates, phosphates and all kinds of other pollutants in rivers, from lots of different sources… it’s the new hot topic of conversation! We have sewage in the sea, water companies going bust, overly high river flows in the winter, very low flow in summer, and photos of ‘drowned’ villages appearing in reservoirs because their levels are so low. It’s all doom and gloom, but why is this happening and what can be done about it… and why am I talking about it here?

Well, politics, policies and money play a big part, but ‘The Vale’ is not the place for that, I leave the scathing attacks to others. Climate change is certainly making it worse—extreme events, unpredictable weather patterns, warmer ponds, lakes and rivers are all having an impact on our wildlife and infrastructure that was not built for an extreme climate.

But what can be done, and I don’t mean the spending of squillions of pounds on new concrete and steel constructions? In particular, what can be done that brings back biodiversity, allows the sequestration of carbon and reduces flooding, directly and obviously benefitting communities—enter rewiggling.

Rewiggling is a not a great word, but although it is claimed to have been invented by the RSPB, or made popular by Sadiq Khan, it has been around for a while. Even James Rebanks—he of the austere language of a Lakes shepherd—has used it. It basically means undertaking one or more

New channels to spread the water and slow it down. © Photograph Dr

Sam Rose.

Rewiggling 2024. © Photograph Dr Sam Rose.

interventions in, or adjacent to a stream or river so that it can regain a more natural course and ‘revert’ back to flowing as nature intended.

Why do we need it? What does it do? And why am I talking about it here? Well, over hundreds of years, thousands possibly in a few areas, streams and rivers have been straightened—canalised—and dredged by people. The straightening has been done for many reasons, including to, understandably, stop water from flooding agricultural land or infrastructure. There is no blame here, these practices have been encouraged for many years so as to help maintain food production which we all need, but with the changing climate comes increasing problems, such as pushing the flooding downstream.

Sometimes channels are straightened to be ‘neat’ or simple—if you look at straight hedges along fields, many will have ditches, dug (and kept clear) to neatly take the water away from the fields, but the speed at which they do that is frightening. Likewise with roadside ditches. Dredging can also be problematic. As well as for navigation, dredging is, again, often done to take more water away more quickly, to prevent flooding in one area, but again, it just pushes water downstream quicker, making problems elsewhere, as well as upsetting the balance of nature.

Most (although happily not all) of our brooks, streams, ditches, and rivers have been altered over time, which has led to many of the problems we are facing today. These actions negatively affect aquatic biodiversity and water quality, and increases flood risk in some areas, drought in others. Faster, deeper rivers are more difficult habitats for many species— particularly invertebrates—to thrive in, and so you not only lose the water life, but the amphibians, mammals, birds, bats and reptiles that feed on them, and so on up the food chain. Add this to the weirs, sluice gates, tunnels and culverts that affect our streams (yes a culvert under a road does technically carry a stream), it’s a wonder that we are not all under water in every storm, and that there is any life left in our rivers at all.

So, what’s to be done? One approach to tackling this is the rewilding approach—that is, letting nature take the lead, letting natural process act as they see fit. Nature is very good at knowing where water needs to go, it’s called gravity. Trying to ‘manage’ gravity is never going to end well, so we need to work with it.

As in some cases for land-based rewilding, to kick start the process of allowing a river to repair itself you need to intervene and give it a helping hand. This might include one or all of the following approaches:

• making many small dams up in the headwaters, either naturally with beavers or by people making ‘leaky dams’. This slows the flow at the start of the rivers, often on higher land where more rain falls, and creates great habitats for wildlife, such as pools and scoured gravel spawning grounds in front of the dams;

• blocking field drainage ditches, in-field drains and small streams, to allow rainwater to find its natural channel across the land—some people call this making a ‘stage zero’ stream. This is great for slowing the passage of water over the land, and creating new wetland habitats;

• creating new channels alongside the existing ones and then diverting some water into these so that the overall flow slows and the water travels over a wider surface area, creating new meanders and better habitat for wildlife;

• raising the riverbed levels with woody or rocky debris so that when the water levels go up, it pushes it out onto the floodplain (the clue is in the name, floodplains are called that because they flood—no one should be surprised by that). The excess water is captured there in ‘scrapes’ (shallow ponds) or larger ponds and held for a while.

All these approaches, and many more, create ‘friction’ in the water system, slowing, altering and allowing the rivers to behave more naturally. They also have multiple benefits, such as trapping sediment washed into the river from ploughed fields, capturing carbon in peaty wetlands and sediment, and filtering the nitrates, phosphates and other chemicals out of the water. Slowing the flow and creating pools and ponds is not only also good for new wetland habitats, but also they reduce the chance of flooding downstream, and maintain a higher flow level in times of drought, better for farm animals as well as for wildlife.

This is a complex and challenging subject, and I have, like the water boatmen, just skimmed the surface. There is a lot to explore online, so please dive in, and like rewilding, rewiggling is not for everywhere—our landscape is too developed for that—but with the right intervention in the right place, and with landowner and community support, it can be very, very effective… so rewiggle away!

Adding debris into the river will push out flood water, capture sediment and slow flow.

© Photograph Dr Sam Rose.

JVegetables in June

By Ashley Wheeler

une is a bit of a moment for market gardeners, it can be the turnaround month where all of the slog of spring comes together, or sometimes it can be a continuation of the slog…

It has been a difficult Spring—with the theme of wet, fairly cool spring weather continuing from last Spring. However, we had some good weather at the beginning of May which helped us to get back on track with hoeing and planting. May is a huge month for planting and it is difficult to get everything done that needs doing. There is always something that slips a little. By June we hope to have the bulk of the market garden planted up, with still some crops to be planted out in the field for later autumn and winter veg.

This does not mean that we can just sit back and watch it all grow unfortunately. This is the moment to make sure we stay on top of the weeding, but also continue the seed sowing to ensure a succession of crops through the summer and autumn. Some of the early spring crops have either finished cropping or are coming to an end, so we need to make sure that we can fill the beds with something else as soon as possible. This is not only to ensure that we can produce the most out of the space as possible, but it is also to ensure that we have healthy, living plants in the soil for as long as possible, whether that be vegetable crops or green manures feeding soil life and keeping it healthy for subsequent crops.

We have a week by week plan of the market garden so that we know when a new crop will be planted. This allows us to work back and work out what we need to do to prepare the beds for those plantings. Usually we will mow off old crops and cover with thick silage plastic for 2-3 weeks in the summer. This allows enough time to kill off the old crops and weeds, whilst not leaving the soil for too long without living roots giving back to the soil life. Having a clear plan of which crops will be planted where and when allows us to easily see when beds need mowing off and we can work in an organised, prepared way rather than a more hectic, reactionary approach.

In the middle of summer when there is so much to do and think about this is really important, as it means that we don’t need to give it too much thought—the thought has gone into this through the quieter winter months, and it is all planned out and organised already. Of course, things don’t always go to plan, but the crop plans allow flexibility, so we can move crops around a bit if we need to and adjust as and when things don’t quite go to plan.

As you can see in the list below there is plenty to be sowing at this time of year to ensure successional cropping, so be sure to stay on top of sowing rather than relying on one batch of sowing in Spring to keep you going with veg all through the year. June is also a good month to undersow some of the longer term crops with green manures which will add a diversity of crops to your growing space, and build a healthier soil. We use a variety of clovers—white, red and crimson, plus yellow trefoil, and then add in a mix of flowering annuals such as linseed, buckwheat, phacelia and also usually a grain such as oats. We literally throw this over the crops such as courgettes, squash, runner beans, kale and other autumn brassicas and then hoe it in. If the soil is dry we will water these in, but ideally we rely on the rain to water in the seed.

Let’s hope for a sunny June to get those tomatoes ripening and everything growing!!

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, broccoli, leeks, celeriac

Cramming in lots of planting in time for the rain

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. Also, keep on top of sideshooting your tomato plants every week so that you can maintain good airflow around the plants.

Don’t forget that we run courses on salad growing and market gardening, so if you would like to learn more about how we do things check out our website www.trillfarmgarden. co.uk, We also deliver veg door to door around Axminster, Lyme, Seaton, Beer and Charmouth so if you don’t have the space to grow your own, please get in touch about getting a bag of veg from us.

June in the Garden

By Russell Jordan

Every year is different, obviously, from a weather point of view but you have to hope that June will prove to be ‘flaming’ rather than ‘drowning’. If there’s one thing that seems certain, in these days of global warming, it is that weather events tend to be becoming more extreme. If we have thunderstorms and downpours during our English summer, then they can do a lot of damage now that plants are in full leaf with lots of soft growth.

To this end, the last time I went to ‘Groves’, in Bridport, they still had big bundles of pea sticks on sale and these are the perfect weapon in the war against plants collapsing in squally winds or sudden downpours. Ideally pea sticks, or other plant supports, are woven into the border while the plants are still pushing up and through but, however much you try to add supports earlier in the year, it’s still worth keeping some pea sticks, or bamboo canes and garden twine, on standby to repair any damage that inclement weather may cause.

Before the shift towards later summer perennials and non-flowering, structural, border plants, such as grasses, June was the peak month for the classic herbaceous border. Now it may only just be getting into its stride although some ‘late flowering perennials’ may begin flowering now; heleniums being chief amongst these. If you want to delay flowering, on heleniums or other herbaceous plants that flower after mid-summer, then chopping them back a bit, even as late a June, will cause them to become more bushy, less prone to collapsing, and delay their flowering a little.

Chopping things back, that have already finished their first flowering, is pretty standard maintenance, from now on, as spring flowering plants go over. Many herbaceous perennials will have a second blooming,

usually a little less impressive than the initial one, if the first flush of flowers are cut off before they can set seed. This is especially true of classic herbaceous border plants, such as delphiniums or lupins, which have very obvious flower spikes—to a height of over six feet in the case of many delphinium varieties.

It’s less obvious that the more mound forming, low and leafy, perennials, like herbaceous geraniums, might benefit from being chopped down after their initial flowering. One of the major reasons for tackling geraniums, especially the most vigorous varieties like ‘Johnson’s Blue’ or ‘Rozanne’, is that they can expand their foliage so far, by June or July, that they begin to swamp their border companions. Cutting them back will prevent them from squashing other plants and will rejuvenate them so that they bounce back with new foliage and flowers but on a slightly smaller scale. It’s a good idea to ‘tickle in’ some general fertiliser, the ubiquitous ‘blood, fish and bone’ remains my fertiliser of choice, once you’ve chopped anything back—you’ll need to water this in if the soil is dry and the weather set fair.

As ever, it would be nice to have a hot and dry summer but this does bring the need to water at least some areas of the garden. Old established plants are the last thing that should be watered but newly planted areas, or anything in pots and containers, will require regular watering if there is no rain forecast for a while. Containers need watering, adding a feed to the water at every other watering, whether it rains or not because rainfall alone is rarely enough to keep compost in containers wet when plants are in full leaf and flower.

If the compost dries out completely, and peat-free composts are especially quick to dry out, it’s very difficult to re-wet them. If the container is small

then the best way to saturate the compost again is to plunge the whole thing in a larger container, or even a pond, full of water. Containers that cannot be lifted will require the hosepipe to be left gently dribbling into them until the compost is thoroughly soaked—this could take some time.

As always, I’ll remind you that lawns should never be watered as this is simply a waste of this precious commodity. No matter how brown they may become they will always bounce back as soon as we get some rain. It’s most likely that lawns will be getting more than enough rain. in our temperate climate, and regular mowings are the order of the day. If there is a drought then raising the cutting height of the mower, or temporarily halting mowing, will reduce the stress on the lawn until it rains again. Now that grass is actively growing, drought conditions excepted, you may want to use a ‘feed and weed’ type product on the lawn. As mentioned last month, there is a move towards allowing the lawn to grow longer and let other plants colonise it, for more ‘diversity’, and if you are going down this route then you’ll need to use a lawn ‘feed’ that does not also ‘weed’ because the herbicide will kill anything that isn’t a grass (therefore negating your attempts to diversify the sward!).

Elsewhere in the garden it’s a case of carrying on with your vigilance to nip any emerging pest, or disease, in the bud as pest species will be multiplying exponentially wherever they are left unchecked. Hopefully, at this most ebullient time of year in the garden, it won’t be a chore to get out and about amongst your blooms where pests and diseases will be hugely outweighed by the number of plants that are putting on their best show right now.

Any spring flowering shrub that has finished flowering can be ‘edited’ by removing their spent flowering stems as this will help to keep them in good shape and will promote new growth which will maximise flowering next year. Younger specimens should only be gently cut back. until they have filled their allotted space, but older, more senescent, shrubs can be treated more brutally as it’s generally the lack of pruning that ruins them rather than too much.

Whatever your plan to do in your garden this month, I hope it stays fine for you!

PROPERTY ROUND-UP

June Jamboree - the must-see selection!

By Helen Fisher

BEAMINSTER £695,000

An attractive individual 1939 detached character house with 4 bedrooms and attached 1 bedroom annex with a balcony from the bedroom. Spacious accommodation throughout, recently upgraded. Kitchen/breakfast room with Aga. Well stocked, south-west facing rear garden with mature planting. Single garage and ample parking. Stags Tel: 01308 428000

WHITFORD

£525,000

ASKERSWELL £1,350,000

An 18th Century Grade II detached former watermill currently divided into 3 cottages with numerous outbuildings. The original house has pp to add a contemporary extension and the watermill and former cider barn are currently successful holiday lets. Many characterful features throughout. Orchard, summerhouse and paddocks. All set in 6.15 acres. Symonds and Sampson Tel: 01308 422092

A stunning ultra modern, detached house recently transformed in a bright, contemporary home with 3 double bedrooms and uPVC double glazed windows. Stylish living room with wood-burning stove and bi-fold doors opening onto the south-west facing landscaped garden. Centrally situated in a pretty village. Ample parking. Gordon & Rumsby Tel:01297 553768

BRIPORT £795,000

An individual, spacious, detached chalet-style bungalow with 4 bedrooms built in 2000 by a local builder. With many interesting design details and triple aspect rooms with far reaching views (& sea glimpses.) Sweeping driveway with ample parking and path leading to fruit growing area and greenhouse. Plus detached double garage with power and ladder to a loft space. Kennedys Tel: 01308 427329

WEYMOUTH £2,400,000

A large American sea ranch style family home with 8 bedrooms, built in 1929 and then extended. Completely refurbished 2 years ago. Kitchen/living room with sea views. A deep wraparound veranda on 2 sides with lovely elevated views to Chesil. Mature gardens, outbuildings, self-contained holiday accommodation, swimming pool and cinema room.

Knight Frank Tel: 01935 810064

WALDITCH £1,450,000

A superb Grade II* Dorset Longhouse, stylishly renovated to a high standard with an attached self-contained 1 bedroom annex. Plus a successful detached 2 bedroom holiday-let cottage with private playhouse! All beautifully presented throughout. Stunning gardens. All set in 2.8 acres with ample parking.

Jackson-Stops Tel: 01308 423133

This Month in the not so distant past

Taking a look back at historical moments that happened in June, John Davis highlights the Battle of Waterloo.

The morning of Sunday June 18th, 1815 was relatively clear though there had been heavy thunderstorms the previous day and overnight.

This had made the ground around Waterloo—a small village twelve kilometres south of the Belgian capital of Brussels—saturated with water. Infantry would find the going soft underfoot, cavalry would be restricted to a canter rather than a gallop and heavy guns would be much more difficult to manoeuvre.

Napoleon, re-instated as Emperor of France, had mustered over 70,000 troops since his return from exile—many of whom, including the elite Imperial Guard, were seasoned professionals.

The Allies, commanded by the head of the British Army, Sir Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, had slightly fewer numbers and were a coalition of British, Dutch, Belgian and German troops. To this number add on Gebhard Blucher’s 40,000 Prussians who were to play a vital role in securing final success.

As in previous encounters, the army’s commanders would play contrasting roles. On the Allied side, Wellington saw the battleground like a chessboard. He would methodically move units around, withdrawing at one moment, feigning an attack in another and then enticing the enemy into a trap. He favoured defence as much as attack, often using infantry in static square formations. Napoleon on the other hand was more prone to make bold, sweeping gestures with large groups of fighting men especially cavalry, spectacularly successful in some instances but occasionally disastrous on others.

Communications were a major problem in warfare during this period. Commanders on horseback viewed the action through telescope or dismounted to study maps spread on portable tables and then relied on riders to carry messages to various parts of the battlefield, which at Waterloo spread over several kilometres. Often, messengers lost their way as the action switched from one site to another or never made it all. Instructions sounded by bugle also played a part, but during periods of heavy gunfire, calls were drowned out.

Several days before Waterloo, Blucher’s troops, mauled by the French in skirmishes at Ligny and

Quatre Bras, had withdrawn to re-group, leaving Wellington to face Napoleon’s initial charge. The French Emperor had delayed this lunge until late in the morning because of the soft ground. Wellington, a master at choosing the right topography, had positioned himself on a ridge.

Much of the fighting then centred around the chateau at Hougoumont and a farm house named La Haye Sainte. Both were to change hands several times during the course of the action after much hand-tohand fighting. Several times Napoleon refused to send reinforcements to help his most able general, Marshal Ney, and, in the process, lost the advantage.

Just when the outcome hung in the balance, Napoleon’s crack regiment, the Imperial Guard, were drawn into the centre of the fighting to face Wellington’s infantry, guns and cavalry, while the Prussians, urged on by Blucher, aged 72 at the time, ploughed into the French flank causing mayhem. Sections of the Old Guard were given the option to surrender but chose to die instead. Indeed, the cost had been heavy on both sides with over 40,000 killed or wounded as well as over 10,000 horses.

Napoleon had to be manhandled into a carriage to escape from the scene while Wellington spent some time on his horse Copenhagen, reviewing his troops and surveying the carnage around him. He was forced to admit, “That was the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life” while in his more reflective moments commented, “Believe me nothing except a battle lost can be half so sad as a battle won.”

The Aftermath:

The conclusion of the battle brought to an end ‘the hundred days’ period that followed Napoleon’s return from his first exile on the island of Elba. For the two primary combatants there were to be contrasting fortunes.

After heading the army of occupation in France, Wellington returned to Britain in 1818. He was rewarded with a large cash payment, feted wherever he went and immediately re-immersed himself in politics as a member of the Tory Party. He held

several cabinet posts before becoming Prime Minister between 1828 and 1830 and again briefly in 1834. Perhaps his most notable achievement was the passing of the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 which essentially gave Catholics the rights of other citizens. He retired from active politics in 1849.

Wellington then held a number of honorary positions and spent his time split between his country house in Hampshire, his London residence, Apsley House, known by the postal address of 1 London and several castles on the south coast in his role as Warden of the Cinque Ports.

He died from a stroke at Walmer Castle, Kent in 1852 at the age of 83 and was buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral. Today’s Arthur Wellsley is currently the ninth Duke of Wellington.

Napoleon returned to France following Waterloo, abdicated and, as France reverted to a monarchy under Louis XVIII, was arrested. He may have made an unsuccessful attempt to escape to the United States of America but he was soon captured by the British. This time there was to be no Mediterranean idyll. The British put him aboard the warship HMS Bellerophon and transported him to the island of St.

Helena, over eight thousand kilometres away in the windswept South Atlantic Ocean.

Here he moved into small premises, Longwood House. He seldom went out and spent much of his time reading, writing and talking with friends. His health had never been good and after falling ill with gastric problems died in 1821 at the age of only 51. Initially he was buried on the island but in 1840 his remains were taken to France where they now rest in a place of honour at Les Invalides in Paris which also houses a museum and facilities for disabled service people. He still has some distant descendants living in France.

• Word note (OED): to meet one’s Waterloo; A decisive defeat or failure.

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

The Duke of Wellington receiving news that Prussian forces are coming to his aid at the Battle of Waterloo. Painted by Jan Willem Pieneman, 1824.

Food&Dining

CUTTLEFISH INK SPELT

This isn’t a risotto in the true sense of the word but more a sort of British version of Spanish Arroz Negro. You can use cuttlefish or squid for this dish and you will need to order the little sachets of ink from your fishmonger in advance.

I’ve recently been on a fishing trip to Belize and Cuba chasing Bonefish, Tarpon, and Permit and my travel companion Robin Hutson and I lost our luggage and fishing gear, as it didn’t leave Madrid. So we literally had what we were travelling with. Anyway I had brought some canned fish from Rockfish including Cuttlefish in ink. Our luggage arrived and I cooked a supper with Neil Borthwick and used the Cuttle to make a black risotto with a piece of the 7kg Trevally I caught on top.

INGREDIENTS

• 2tbsp rapeseed oil

• 60gy (8 sachets) squid ink (available to order from good fishmonger’s)

• 200g spelt, soaked in cold water for 3-4 hours

• 1 ltr fish stock

• 120g butter

• 150g cleaned squid, cut into small, rough 2-3cm squares

• 1tbsp chopped hedgerow or threecornered garlic or garlic chives 1tbsp chopped parsley

• 1tbsp chopped chervil

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the rapeseed oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the drained spelt and stir on a low heat for a minute or so, without allowing it to colour.

2. Add the squid ink, stir well, then slowly add the stock, a ladle or two at a time, ensuring that all the liquid has been absorbed before adding more, stirring constantly.

3. When the spelt is tender and cooked, stir in twothirds of the butter and a little more of the stock if the risotto seems a bit too dry; the consistency should be wet but not runny.

4. Meanwhile, heat a heavy frying pan with the rest of the butter and cook the squid on a high heat for a minute or so, then stir in the herbs.

5. To serve, spoon the spelt on to warmed serving plates and scatter the squid over.

MARK HIX

Fossils take centre stage at Lyme Regis Festival

Lyme Regis is playing host to the largest palaeontological event in the UK on June 8th and 9th as the Fossil Festival brings together experts and enthusiasts of all ages for a weekend of science, discovery and fun.

The Festival will provide a whole host of free and engaging family-friendly shows, exhibitions, talks and activities over the course of the weekend, across a number of sites along the seafront and in the town.

A feature film biopic, Mary Anning and the Dinosaur Hunters, starring Jenny Agutter will be screened at the Marine Theatre on Saturday 8th June at 6pm. The film follows the life of the pioneering palaeontologist, navigating her career and research in a patriarchal society, at a time when women’s research was unrecognised or plagiarised by male peers. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director Sharon Sheehan.

The Lyme Regis area is a key site on the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO world heritage site and was the place that Mary Anning, made many of her ground-breaking discoveries.

Entry to the Fossil Festival is free (a small number of events will require a ticket.) For full details of exhibitors and the 2024 programme, please visit the Fossil Festival website: www.fossilfestival.com.

New film Mary Anning and the Dinosaur Hunters

WILDLY IMPROBABLE Ideas

Sixty years since he moved to Stalbridge in Dorset where he wrote the Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, the late Douglas Adams still grips the imaginations of legions of fans. Kevin Jon Davies spoke to Fergus Byrne about his book 42: The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams.

David Learner as Marvin (1981 TV show)

Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox (1981 TV show)

Kevin Jon Davies, photograph Andy Hollingworth

Kevin Jon Davies, an illustrator and documentary maker, remembers the first time he met Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy’s writer Douglas Adams. It was a bit of a fluke. Adams had written an episode of the hugely popular Dr Who and a friend asked Kevin if he would like to come along to an interview with Adams. It was only afterwards that he realised he had been invited because he owned a fancy new tape recorder that turned out to be vital for the interview. That was in 1978. Little did Kevin know that he would one day be writing books and making TV shows about a man who created characters and stories that gripped the imaginations of legions of fans.

In June Kevin will be talking at the Sturminster Newton Literary Festival about 42, The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams, a lavishly illustrated coffee-table book which trawls through the personal papers, drafts, scripts, notebooks and diaries of the much-missed humorous author (and later tech guru) Douglas Adams, who died aged just 49, in 2001.

Although not a biography, the book covers his life, from cradle to grave, including his time living in Stalbridge, his years at Cambridge Footlights and at

Kevin still has the cassette tape of that early interview and has used it occasionally in documentaries. He describes himself as a ‘rubbernecker’ at the BBC studio in those days. He was trying to ‘worm’ his way onto Dr Who sets to see how it was made and to learn as much as he could about TV. He had decided at age 10 that television was his future and got his first job as an illustrator at the BBC. That was where his interest in the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy and Douglas Adams began to develop.

‘It was the philosophical kind of content behind the thinking and behind the jokes that I think grabbed a lot of people’ says Kevin ‘and that’s why it’s lasted so long, because it still has some depth to it.’

For the uninitiated, The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. It follows Arthur Dent, an ordinary human who is unwittingly brought on an intergalactic adventure moments before the Earth is destroyed. Guided by Ford Prefect, an alien and a researcher for the titular Guide, Arthur encounters a series of bizarre and humorous characters, including the

the BBC.

depressed robot Marvin and the eccentric two-headed President Zaphod Beeblebrox. The series is known for its wit, satirical commentary, and the iconic phrase, “Don’t Panic!”.

One of the more profound findings within the story is a search via a super computer for the ‘answer to life the Universe and everything’. The program set to eventually find the answer takes some time. In today’s computing world it would be a bit like mining for Bitcoin. The answer, however, (spoiler alert) turns out to be 42, a result that simply proves the folly of pursuing the question.

According to Kevin, Douglas Adams ‘agonized’ over the book. He found writing very difficult and when Kevin began to go through his archive of 67 boxes of Adams’ personal effects, mostly to do with his writing, he soon realized he was wading through a very personal record. ‘I remember thinking, Douglas wouldn’t want anyone looking through this stuff, let alone me.’ He described it as ‘so private and personal.’ When he was approached some time later and asked to produce a book based on the archive, the brief was not to write a biographical book about Douglas Adams, but to compile from the archives an insight that would give voice to what was going on in Adams’ mind.

A hefty book, 42, The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams introduces readers to the many musings

and ideas that often did not make it into his stories. Kevin says that when Adams did begin to grow a sizable following, he really enjoyed the book tours, signings and lectures as he travelled across America, Canada or Australia. Because he found writing ‘essentially a lonely, lonely business.’

A very early adopter of technology, Adams was also an early supporter of the environment and especially endangered animals. His stepfather, Ron Thrift, was a vet and at one point brought him along to watch the birth of a calf. Adams was enthralled by the process. His grandmother had been an RSPCA member and had a houseful of animals, ‘to the detriment of his sinuses’ says Kevin. In 1985 Adams was invited by The Observer to go to Madagascar to look for an endangered lemur called the Aye-aye. ‘And he wrote, very evocatively and movingly about meeting this creature’ says Kevin. Adams was gripped by how we come to be so separate from this creature living in the jungle.

The experience was such that Adams went on to co-write a radio documentary series and book about endangered animals Last Chance to See which, although a factual book, Kevin thinks is one of his funniest. ‘He certainly was passionate’ says Kevin, who thinks that if he hadn’t died so young he may have gone on to write more science books. ‘He wasn’t really a terribly political animal’ says Kevin of Adams’ interest in the

Kevin as a young animator working on the TV series in 1980

environment. ‘He was coming from the science and the factual point of view, and just the sheer common sense that we’ve got to do something about saving the planet and saving these animals.’

Kevin explains that although Adams was an early adopter of word processors, he had already written Hitch Hikers Guide ‘the hard way’ on old fashioned typewriters and using hand-written notes, many of which feature in Kevin’s book. He relates Adams’ brother’s memories of hearing what he described as ‘the fastest two-finger typist’ working away upstairs in Stalbridge. ‘They’d hear him banging away at the typewriter, and then long periods of silence and then screams and then playing music—the same tracks over and over and over again, like some kind of mesmeric talisman, getting the stuff to come out.’

Like the message in the song Tears of a Clown, the man who wrote some of the funniest passages of science fiction comedy was beset by his own challenges. ‘There’s a few pages in there’ says Kevin ‘particularly in the Hitch Hiker section, where he’s berating himself, over not delivering and not getting it done. He was a famous procrastinator and he got very low at times.’ Kevin thinks that went back to his childhood ‘Really, he was a troubled kid. I think he apparently didn’t speak for the first few years of his life. He was a very slow developer, but then boy did he take off eventually becoming such a wordsmith!’

Kevin has a wealth of knowledge about Douglas Adams’ life and will undoubtedly discuss some nuggets at the Festival. He says he’s going to include some unique items, such as the story of Adams winning the Sturminster Newton carnival fancy dress competition in 1968, and the fact that at one point Adams had a job as a bodyguard to an Qatari Royal Family, which he then passed on to Griff Rhys Jones after he tired of it.

But Kevin has one question that he hopes readers may be able to help with. Apparently Douglas Adams had an accident while driving a tractor and ended up spending three weeks in Yeovil hospital in the late 60s. Kevin wonders if there are people who worked at the hospital in those days that may be able to shed more light on the story.

The heartbreaking news that Douglas Adams had died of a heart attack, while in California trying to get The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy film made, was a blow to so many fans. Kevin remembers one of Adams’ last comments was ‘Hollywood is full of Vogons’. The film was eventually made in 2005. It was Directed by Garth Jennings and produced by Bridport-based Nick Goldsmith.

Kevin Jon Davies will be speaking about Douglas Adams at the Sturminster Newton Literary Festival on June 8th. To find out more visit: https://sturlitfest.com.

Douglas Adams wins at Sturminster Newton carnival

42 The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams

June

GALLERIES

1-30 June

Kit Glaisyer presents an evolving exhibition of his beautiful West Country landscape paintings, popular Cafe Royal series, and evocative Drip Figures on show in his gallery and studio, including original paintings, drawings, and prints on canvas. Open Saturdays 10am - 4pm or by appointment. Kit Glaisyer Fine Art, 11 Downes Street, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3JR. 07983 465789 www.kitglaisyery.com @kitglaisyer.

4 - 9 June

Fine Arts Film Week. Bridport Arts centre are hosting a week of fine arts films. Starting with Exhibition on Screen: My National Gallery on Tuesday 7th, 7:30pm – a selection from curator to security guard are asked their favourite piece in the famous London Gallery. Thursday 6th June, 7:30pm Anselm, the viewer is invited into Anselm Kiefer’s warehouse of art. Rounding off the week is the Fine Arts Film Festival on Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th. Saturday sees two selections of short films (5pm & 7pm) with the evening selection followed by a live talk with renowned artist, Hugo Grenville. Feauture History, Mystery, Odyssey completes the week of events, Sunday at 2pm. Bridport Arts Centre, South St. Bridport. 01308 341 528 www.bridport-arts.com.

Until 6 June

Lyme Regis Art Society Annual Exhibition The Society is excited once again to be holding our Annual Exhibition at the Malthouse Gallery at the Town Mill, where we will be showing work by many of our 80+ members. Malthouse Gallery, Town Mill, Mill Lane, Lyme Regis DT7 3PU. 10.30am to 4.30pm daily. Free admission. Contact: Hilary Buckley 01297 444111. Website: lymeregisartssociety.org. uk.

Until 7 June

Blackdown Edge Artists ‘A Fresh Look’ Six artists to

include multimedia painters and ceramics. Two members will also be holding workshops, in pastels & oils, during their exhibition: Local Landscapes in oils with Annie Musgrove, on May 10 - Annie was the Arts Centre’s overall winner of the 2023 Open. Pastels with Alexandra Lavizzari, on May 15 - Alex has been joint prize winner at a previous Open at the Arts Centre. Free Entry. Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Open Tuesday – Saturday. 9.30am - 3pm - on the final day the exhibition will close at 3pm. 01460 54973 www. ilminsterartscentre.com

Until 8 June

Exquisite Cords In Exquisite Cords, artist Lisa Moro has imagined a future world where our DNA not only shapes our physical traits but also influences our personalities, behaviours, and even our destinies. She challenges conventional notions of identity, free will, and the nature versus nurture debate. What role does genetics play in defining who we are? Can our DNA predict our future with uncanny accuracy, or are we ultimately masters of our own fate? We invite you to contemplate the profound implications of genetic determinism and the interconnectedness of all living things, and ultimately ask you, what kind of future do you want? The Allsop Gallery, Bridport Arts Centre, South St, Bridport. Open 10am-4pm Tuesday to Saturday. Entry Free.

8 - 19 June

Mirrors Fog Over when I Breathe, an exhibition featuring new works by Helen Barff, Katherine Perrins and Denise Webber. This show marks the first in a series of curated exhibitions in Bristol by CLOSE Gallery of Hatch Beauchamp. The exhibition brings together works that evoke a humanness and notions of what it is to be alive and physically present and in the moment. The title is taken from a poem by the American poet Leslie Harrison. Wed-Sun,

10am-5pm. Centrespace Gallery, 6 Leonard Ln, Bristol BS1 1EA. info@closeltd.com. +44 (0)1823 480 350.

Until 9 June

The Dorset Pavillion David Appleby, Chris Drury, Jane Fox, Andy Goldsworthy, Ed Hall, Henrietta Hoyer Millar, Sophie Molins, Ella Squirrel, Jacy Wall, Amanda Wallwork, Will White and Flora Wood. Open from 11am- 5.00pm Closed Monday 3rd June. Shown at the new studio and exhibition space Priority Sheds in Foundry Lane, St Michaels Bridport. DT6 3RW. 11 June - 5 July

2024 Annual Open Art Competition. A display of selected work from the Arts Centre’s annual judged art competition. Celebrating the work of established and emerging artists living and working in the South West. All pieces chosen by an invited judging panel with work from many different

GALLERIES June

art genres and media. Announcement of winners: Wednesday June 12 from 5pm. All welcome to attend. Free entry. Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Open Tuesday – Saturday. 9.30am - 3pm. 01460 54973 www. ilminsterartscentre.com

14 June - 3 July

Mark Coreth, The Jerram Gallery, Half Moon St, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3LN. +44 (0)1935 815261. info@jerramgallery.com. Tuesday to Saturday 9.30am to 5pm

21 - 30 June

Helios a creative celebration of sun, sea, sky. Alex Brooks furniture. Bronwen Gwillim jewellery. Daphne Roach textiles. Helen Eastham glass. Jonathan Mulvaney painting. Jane Staniland ceramics. Janine Partington leather and jewellery. Reworked lighting. Richard Jeffery ceramics. Robin Shelton pinhole photography. Silver & Slate textiles. Alison Shelton Brown sculpture Open daily 10am – 5pm. Malthouse Gallery, Town Mill, Mill Lane, Lyme Regis DT7 3PU

29 June - 12 July

Andrew Coates The Joy of Realism. For ‘The Joy of Realism’ Andrew has produced a set of paintings centred around the Otter Valley and surrounding woodland in East Devon, a favourite location of his. As a contrast to this he has also revisited his popular small urban landscapes as viewed from the air, which we have titled his “Metropolis” series. Marine House at Beer 01297 625257. info@marinehouseatbeer. co.uk.

Until 6 July

THG Open Winners’ exhibitions Sharon James #artistmother / Kyle Baker. Exhibition of new work by THG OPEN 2023 winner Sharon James featuring strongly figurative paintings presenting domestic family life. Lower Gallery – exhibition by photographer Kyle Baker, winner of Best Emerging Artist. Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Dowell St, Honiton EX14 1LX thelmahulbert.com. 01404 45006.

Until 7 July

Spring 2024 mixed exhibition; by gallery artists & guest artists. This mixed exhibition features over a dozen of gallery artists, plus four guest artists, including a range of sculptures, oils, and prints.

Devon-based Mary Gillett will be exhibiting a series of her collagraphs along with the corresponding plate for each work. Alongside these will be other prints from Dorset-based Colin Moore and Bristol based Ruth Ander. Many other artists will also be exhibiting their various sculptures, ceramics, and oils including Johannes von Stumm, Alison Wear, and Phillippa Headley. A new guest artist will be pieces by renowned sculptor Almuth Tebbenhoff. Tincleton Gallery, The Old School House, Tincleton, nr Dorchester, DT2 8QR. Opening / performance times: 10am – 4pm Saturday and Sunday or weekdays by appointment. 01305 848 909. www. tincletongallery.com.

‘Into the Unknown’ Local Somerset watercolour artist Moish Sokal will be back at East Lambrook Manor Gardens celebrating 30 years of showing his work in the gardens’ Malthouse Gallery. Following the sudden death of his wife last year Sokal travelled to his native Israel and then on to Australia, where he also lived for many years, to reflect on the past and find solace in painting familiar scenes. New work includes paintings of his favourite Somerset countryside and a new subject - flowers. “I never saw myself as a flower painter but I thought, it’s time.”

The Malthouse Gallery, East Lambrook Manor Gardens, East Lambrook, Somerset TA13 5HH Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 5pm, www.eastlambrook. com Entry free.

Until 12 July

Sea Cliffs Vanessa Gardner recent paintings and drawings. Yo Thom studio pottery and Petter Southall furniture. Clean lines, dynamic surfaces and thrilling coastal subject matter are defining features of all three of the artists in this exhibition. Contemporary Art & Craft Gallery West Bay Bridport Dorset DT6 4EL Open: Mon to Sat 10–4.30pm. All work can be viewed and bought on www.sladersyard.co.uk t: 01308 459511 e: gallery@sladersyard.co.uk.

Until 20 July

Abstracting Lyme’s Past In this exhibition the artists in the Lyme Regis Abstract Art Group take inspiration from the collections in the Lyme Regis Museum in order to produce an intriguing display of original work. Rotunda Gallery, Lyme Regis Museum, Bridge St, Lyme Regis DT7 3QA, Tues-Sat 10am5pm, Sun 10am-4pm, www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk.

Dorset Art collaboration

AS a precursor to The Dorset Pavillion at the 2024 Venice Biennale and in collaboration with Common Ground, the Priority Shed at Priory Lane in Bridport offers a fascinating exhibition that includes Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Union banners, including one specially commissioned to highlight the Bibby Stockholm “accommodation” barge in Portland.

Described as ‘a collection of art that is made locally but speaks transglobally’, the exhibition also includes work by Ellen Harvey who grew up in Dorset. For the Dorset Pavillion she painted the mausoleum from St Mary’s Holnest, built by J.S.W. Sawbridge Erle-Drax fifteen years before his death (including the Byzantine-style letter box through which he arranged to have The Times delivered daily). The mausoleum was demolished in 1935 and was replaced by a flat memorial stone.

As well as Sophie Molins’s glass work, based on Roman Artefacts found at Waddon Hill (AD49-60) behind her house, there will also be work from artists including Amanda Wallwork, Veronica Hudson, Henrietta Hoyer Millar, Jane Fox and Andy Goldsworthy.

Sophie Molins makes the point that the Venice Biennale is known for its National Pavillions and by positioning a regional Pavillion ‘it celebrates the parish-sized thinking that is both resurgent and under threat.’ The regional Pavillion shows that the art world doesn’t always have to gravitate towards the National and the Urban.

The Dorset Pavillion is number 72 on the Dorset Arts Weeks trail this year.

Edmund Hall with ‘Justice Knows No Borders’ banner

Sea Cliffs

at Slader’s Yard

Clean lines, dynamic surfaces and thrilling coastal subject matter are defining features of all three of the artists in this new Slader’s Yard exhibition at West Bay.

Vanessa Gardiner’s new paintings of Boscastle, Tintagel and Godrevy, subjects she has loved all her life and has painted often and brilliantly, are reinvigorated in this exhibition by the addition of Orkney. Daring dazzling paintings reveal the new energy this dramatic new location has brought to Vanessa’s work.

Yo Thom’s work draws on both Japanese and British pottery traditions and practices. She uses stoneware which is thrown, slabbed, coiled and pinched into delightful simple forms. She lives in and is inspired by Dorset’s beautiful rural landscape which she celebrates in her distinctive sgraffito technique reminiscent of patchwork-style recycled Japanese folk textiles called ‘Boro’.

Petter Southall’s recent work celebrates the trees whose exceptional wood he is using in simple beautiful forms that only a master-craftsman could create. Always original and surprising in his

understated and brilliantly judged detailing, Petter’s pieces take your breath away.

Vanessa Gardiner is a much-loved painter who has been working as a professional artist for many years. She grew up in Oxford, where her father was a philosophy don. She trained at Oxford Polytechnic and the Central School of Art and Design in London. Her work is in private collections around the world and in public collections including Exeter Hospital, Bournemouth University Collection, Dorset County Museum, Carlow Collection Ireland, the Archive of the Ballinglen Arts Foundation Co. Mayo, Cowley Manor, Huddersfield Art Gallery, Fidelity International, New Hall Cambridge, Magdalen College Oxford, Wolfson College Oxford, the British Academy London and the British School in Athens. She lives in Charmouth, Dorset, with the painter Alex Lowery. They have a daughter, Jessie.

Yo Thom was born in Tokyo. She completed an

Vanessa Gardiner, Sea Cliffs, acrylic-on-board, 50x66cm

Vanessa Gardiner White Coast (Orkney) acrylic on plywood, 60x122cm

Yo Thom, Large Tsubo 18x28cm

Petter Southall, Ship Shape

MA in Ceramics at the Kent Institute of Art and Design in 2000. Whilst studying, she also worked for Lisa Hammond MBE at Maze Hill Pottery in London, continuing her apprenticeship for a further two years after graduation. After five years in her own studio in London, Yo Thom moved to Shaftesbury, Dorset, in 2009 and has since had a family. She is an elected member of the Craft Potters Association and has exhibited widely throughout the UK.

Petter Southall has been making his distinctive furniture, and more recently architectural and sculptural pieces, in Dorset since 1989. He combines traditional Norwegian wooden boatbuilding with highly skilled cabinetmaking techniques to create work that looks simple and entirely original. A group of his exceptional pieces is on permanent display at Sladers Yard. To this he adds works he makes to explore new ideas. A recent workshop move to Denhay northwest of Bridport after 30 years at Chilcombe has opened a new chapter in his career and new thoughts about bringing wood into people’s lives in interesting, ethical and life-enhancing pieces of work.

Sladers Yard Contemporary Art & Craft Gallery West Bay Bridport Dorset DT6 4EL Open: Mon to Sat 10–4.30pm (During Dorset Art Weeks Café Sladers and Sladers Yard Gallery will be open until 5pm). All work can be viewed and bought on www.sladersyard.co.uk t: 01308 459511 e: gallery@sladersyard.co.uk

A wide range of talks and book signings to feature at this year’s Fossil Festival

Lyme Regis plays host to the largest palaeontological event in the UK on June 8th and 9th as the Fossil Festival brings together experts and enthusiasts of all ages for a weekend of science, discovery and fun.

The Festival will provide a whole host of free and engaging family-friendly shows, exhibitions, talks and activities over the course of the weekend, across a number of sites along the seafront and in the town.

In addition to the main two days of the Festival, there will also be an Education Day on the Friday (7th June) where the festival will be hosting 12 schools for a carousel of activities provided by key exhibitors including the Natural History Museum and The Etches Collection.

There will be a wide range of talks and book signings over the festival weekend. They will inlcude Dr Darren Naish talking about Ancient Sea Reptiles; Dr Tom Sharpe on The Fossil Woman; Dr Michael Taylor talking about Impossible Monsters and Joanne Burn discussing The Bone Hunters.

On 9 June, 11.30-12.30 Iain Dryden will be talking about and signing copies of The Wonder Coast.

Iain Dryden is a writer and artist who has written and illustrated several books in the past for education and the environment; he currently has titles concentrating on wellbeing and the environment which MIND has endorsed. His current work aims to inspire awe for the entirety of the Jurassic Coast, drawing together many aspects of this exciting, inspiring and stunning strip of sea kissed coast.

Having already written several books, one endorsed by MIND and another which inspired posters placed in London hospital staff-rooms during Covid, the coastline rippling between Poole Harbour and the mouth of the Exe River became his next project. Iain enjoyed sketching the topography and settlements, back home he wrote about this landscape whose time-span reveals much of life as we know it.

Fittingly, this is no guide nor geological book. The Wonder Coast’s aim is to relish this enchanted seascape in its entirety. The abundance of worldclass natural features have their backstories; history, both recent and very distant illuminate cosy wee nooks along the way. Surprising local detail, unexpected tales and remarkable characters enliven these illustrated pages.

Alongside the Festival’s programme of entertaining films and expert talks, visitors will be able to see incredible exhibitions including fossil collections from The Natural History Museum, The Etches Collection and Dinosaur Isle Museum. New for this year, there will be a programme of inspiring palaeoart workshops for all ages and there will be plenty of shopping opportunities for fossil enthusiasts as well as a variety of festival food on offer across the sites.

Entry to the Fossil Festival is free (a small number of events will require a ticket.) For full details of exhibitors and the 2024 programme, please visit the Fossil Festival website: www.fossilfestival.com

Reviews Historical Novels reviewed by John Davis

The Bookseller of Inverness by S.G. MacLean

IF you’ve ever wondered where the word skulker, meaning a person who hides and moves around secretly, originated from then this eighteenth whodunnit from the Scottish academic Shona McLean gives you plenty of opportunity to meet some.

The skulkers in question this time are Jacobites circulating in the highlands of Scotland—fervent supporters of the Old Pretender (James II) and the Young Pretender (usually referred to in folklore as Bonnie Prince Charlie—who believe Stuart royalty are the rightful rulers of a united England and Scotland.

The time is 1752, six years after the Pretenders’ army, despite some measure of early success in wresting back the throne, had finally been routed at the Battle of Culloden by the Duke of Cumberland in the last pitched battle to be fought on British soil.

Many Jacobites, who came through the battle, have been executed, imprisoned or transported, but some, still on the run, ‘skulk’ in the vast wildernesses of the Scottish moors and mountains and hope to go undetected by Cumberland’s Redcoats.

The bookseller of the title, Iain MacGillivray, a survivor of the battle, is happy to blend into the background until one morning he discovers a stranger dead in his shop. With the help of his swash-buckling father, Hector, not only must he find the killer but also help, as the body count mounts, to de-code The Book of Forbidden Names which contains the identities of those who have betrayed their Jacobite comrades for land and money.

Footnote: While some author’s notes are given, a little background reading about the Jacobite cause generally might flesh out some of the nuances in the text and with many switches in location a more detailed map of the area would have been useful.

Published by Quercus Books

All the Broken Places by John Boyne

FOR many years, readers begged Irish novelist John Boyne to write a follow-up to his massive best-seller The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas which to date has been translated into more than fifty languages.

We know the fate of young Bruno, one of the leading characters of the story, they opined, and assume the demise of his commandant father, but what became of Bruno’s mother and more particularly his older sister, Gretl.

Fast forward from subjugated Poland to London in 2022, where Gretl, now aged ninety-one, is living a quiet, comfortable life in a London apartment block still trying to erase from her memory all those terrible things that happened decades before.

Through flashbacks we find out about Gretl’s previous experiences of war-torn Poland, in Paris immediately post-war and then an attempt to start a new life in Australia during the 1950s where a chance encounter brings memories sharply back into focus.

Meanwhile in London however, the cosy suburban idyll is about to be shattered into pieces when new neighbours move into the flat downstairs, a pushy film producer, his down trodden wife and their young son Henry-a boy about the same age as Bruno had been in Gretl’s childhood back in Germany.

One of Boyne’s strengths has always been the adept way in which he can shine a light into even the darkest places. The ‘telling of the tale’ is never neglected in his search to deal sensitively with core ethical issues like shame, guilt, atonement and the pointlessness of continuing to deny the truth. Brace yourself for a startling ending to the story but truly life-affirming nevertheless.

Published by Doubleday, an imprint of Transworld Publishers

Sneak Peek

A peek at what’s coming up on stage and screen near you

Just click on an image to view a trailer

Zion Train - Live Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, Friday, 21 June, 8pm. Book at:. https://www.marinetheatre.com/whats-on/

Bernard Butler - Live Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, Friday, 28 June, 8.00pm. Book at: https://www.marinetheatre.com/whats-on/

Anselm - Film

Bridport Arts Centre, Thursday, 6 June, 7.30pm. https://www.bridport-arts.com/whats-on/

The Taste of Things - Film

The David Hall, South Petherton, Friday, 21 June 8.00pm. https://www.thedavidhall.com/whats-on/

Burnt out Wreck - Live

The Guildhall, Axminster, Friday, 14 June 7:30pm https://www.axminster-guildhall.co.uk/whats-on

Nani Vazana - Live

The Lighthouse, Poole, Thursday, 13 June, 8.00pm. Book at: https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/whats-on/

Toyah and Robert Fripp - Live

Bridport Electric Palace, Saturday, 29 June, 7.30pm. Book at: https://www.electricpalace.org.uk/whats-on/

Seasick Stevie - Live

The Phoenix, Exeter, Friday, 28 June, 7.30pm. https:// exeterphoenix.org.uk/events/

June PREVIEW

BBC Young Musician on tour CONCERTS IN THE WEST

PIANIST Lara Melda, winner of the 2010 BBC Young Musician competition, comes to Bridport Arts Centre at 11.30am and Ilminster Arts Centre at 7.30pm on Friday 21st June and the Dance House, Crewkerne, on Saturday 22nd at 7.30pm, with Concerts in the West.

The talented young pianist, on her debut with the music charity that promotes rising stars of the chamber music scene, made her BBC Proms and Royal Albert Hall debut in 2023, as one of the soloists performing with the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Andrew Gourlay, in an evening devoted to previous Young Musician winners.

She performs regularly in Turkey and made her debut at the International Music Festival in Istanbul in June 2011. Following the devastating earthquake

in Turkey and Syria, Lara has been working tirelessly on fundraising projects and events helping those affected.

In the summer of 2016 Lara graduated from the Royal College of Music with a first class honours degree. Most recently she curated a critically acclaimed multi-sensory Van Gogh immersive concert experience in collaboration with Exhibition Hub, where the audience and Lara’s playing become intertwined in a journey through Van Gogh’s life.

Her programme for the evening concerts is Liszt’s Étude in D flat major, Un Sospiro, and Sonata in B minor, Chopin’s Sonata No 3 and Nocturne No 3 and Beethoven’s Sonata No 17, The Tempest. She will play the Beethoven and the Liszt B minor sonata at Bridport.

Lara Melda is the soloist on the June series of Concerts in the West

From Newfoundland to Dorset DRIMPTON AND BROADMAYNE

DORSET has long historic connections with the Canadian island of Newfoundland, so there should be a warm local welcome for the eastern Canadian five-piece folk band, Rum Ragged, who have two June dates with Artsreach, on Thursday 6th at Drimpton village hall and Friday 7th at Broadmayne, both at 7.30pm.

Rum Ragged have performed at some of the world’s premier folk, Celtic and roots venues and festivals, and recorded five award-winning studio

albums. They combine a reverence for their roots with a creative, contemporary edge.

They have a reputation as the finest purveyors of their musical tradition, taking a bold approach to the distinctive folk music of their homeland. Playing bouzouki, fiddle, bodhran, banjo, guitar and button accordion, they delight audiences with their brand of Newfoundland folk, captivating storytelling and combination of striking vocal harmonies and staggering musicianship.

Artsreach director Kerry Bartlett says: “I was thrilled to discover this traditional folk group while in Newfoundland last September, and really enjoyed the way Rum Ragged celebrate their musical heritage. We’re looking forward to sharing their music with audiences in Dorset, which should have particular relevance given the rich history between our county and this Canadian island.”

I know a seaside theatre whereon ... LYME REGIS

THE 2024 Lyme Regis community play, A Midsummer Lyme’s Dream, at the Marine Theatre from 12th to 15th June, is an irreverent, modern-day blast through Shakespeare’s most enchanting comedy, interwoven with nuggets of Lyme’s history.

Newfoundland folk group Rum Ragged have a short Artsreach tour

June

PREVIEW

The magical charm of both the play and the town have been woven together by Andrew Rattenbury to produce another unmissable Lyme Regis event, a captivating new version of a much-loved classic, created by the community for the community.

Following previous award-winning and hugely successful community productions, Monmouth: A West Country Rebellion, Are you Going to the Marine? and Lyme and the Sea, Rattenbury, a Lyme Regis born-and-bred screenwriter, actor and Marine patron, has once again taken a compelling story, and woven in local tales and characters.

The play is directed by Tessa Morton who has been running weekly rehearsals to bring the show to life with musical director Declan Duffy, and a large team of singers, musicians, actors and back-stage crew.

Variations for piano and sitar BRIDPORT

BACH’s Goldberg Variations are among the composer’s best-known and most loved works, a musical challenge that has been undertaken by many of the greatest pianists of all time. Bridport Arts Centre hosts an extraordinary reworking of this masterpiece as part of a concert, Goldberg Romain: Variations, on Saturday 15th June, at 7.30pm

Originally recorded and produced by Andrew Goldberg at The Music Room and mastered by John Robertson at Little Winters Studios, these variations for piano and sitar and other works from their debut album will be performed by Goldberg and Ricky Romain. For the second part of the concert they will be joined by special guest John Robertson on guitar,

introducing new repertoire from their forthcoming next album.

Andrew Goldberg started studying the piano and harmony in Cologne at the age of eight in 1965, studying the works of JS Bach, Haydn, Beethoven and Chopin. Compositions by György Ligeti, Arvo Pärt, Terry Riley, Philip Glass and Steve Reich inspired his compositions for contemporary dance and visual arts. Further collaborations included classical Hindustani masters such as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (qawwali), Sayeeduddin Dagar (dhrupad) and Pakistani sarod virtuoso Asad Qizilbash.

Ricky, whose music is familiar to Bridport audiences, began studying the sitar and Indian classical music from 1972 to 1975 with Punita Gupta, a disciple of Ravi Shankar, and with Bengali sitar player Pandit Ganguly between 1975 and 1977.

A perfect recipe

UPTON COUNTRY PARK

BIG band tributes and big flavours are on the menu at the Upton House Food and Music Festival at Upton Country Park near Poole, on 14th to 16th June.

The popular three-day family-friendly festival features top UK tribute acts and some of the region’s finest food and drink in the beautiful setting with views over Poole Harbour.

“What better way to celebrate great food from around the world than with a soundtrack of music by some of the world’s greatest artists?” asks festival organiser Serena Wren. “It’s an amazing site—not too big, not too small—and we’ve got a brilliant line-up of top tributes with even more food and drink, including fabulous local producers. There’s entertainment for kids every day and we’ve kept the prices down. This has to be the best value festival out there!”

For foodies there are flavours and treats from around the world including traditional Asian cuisine with a western twist from The Bao Bao Beast, Greekery street food, Montien Thai and Mauritian street food from The Island Box. To wash it down, the choice includes Poole’s own Shanty seaweed botanical vodka cocktail, Zzinga Honey Cider and the organic Pothecary Gin.

The music lineup includes tributes to Oasis, Bon Jovi, The Killers, Queen, Stereophonics, Red Hot

Andrew Goldberg and Rickey Romain in Bridport

Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Any Winehouse and Madness. Among the local acts are ukulele-wielding Mother Ukers, The Transitions, rock radio stars SOS, Chris Payn and Jordan Watts, and breakthrough artist Charley Varley.

Adolf and Winston LYME REGIS

LIVING Spit, sadly without the late, great Howard Coggins, but still in the madcap and able hands of Stu Mcloughlin, are back on the road in June with a new production of one of the company’s ridiculous hits. Adolf and Winston, the story of two world leaders—and one black dog—told by two actors (Stu and Bristol-based Craig Edwards), is coming to the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis on Thursday 20th June.

Living Spit, who were described in the Daily Telegraph as “the Morecambe and Wise of Westonsuper-Mare” (actually its Clevedon, but you can’t expect national newspapers to get these things completely right), take a riotous, rebellious and ridiculously rib-tickling look at the history of the Second World War, asking the question: “Who thought this was a good idea?”

Characteristically unafraid to tackle colossal, morally questionable subjects in an essentially inconsequential way, Craig and Stu walk the tightrope of taste and decency with another slice of poorly-researched history. But will either of them escape from this war alive?…

Plymouth, Portland, Wight ... BRIDPORT

THE shipping forecast celebrates its centenary this year, and Charlie Connelly, author of the best-selling book, Attention All Shipping: A Journey Round the Shipping Forecast, performs his hilarious and fascinating history of this important maritime service at Bridport Arts Centre on Saturday 22nd June.

The BBC radio shipping forecast started out as (and remains) an essential service for mariners, but has acquired a unique place in our culture and hearts, and Connelly brings this peculiarly British phenomenon vividly to life.

How did a weather forecast for ships capture the hearts of a nation, from salty old sea dog to insomniac landlubber? How is it possible for ‘rain later’ to be ‘good’? And where the hell is North Utsire?

Delving into the history of the forecast and the extraordinary people who made it, Charlie Connelly explains what those

curious phrases really mean, celebrates its wide cultural impact, shares riproaring adventures from his own extraordinary journey through the 31 sea areas— the times he was accused by the media of trying to annex Rockall from the British government and sang sea shanties with Tom Hardy in a Manx hotel bar while Scary Spice pulled the pints—and presents his case for the shipping forecast being our finest achievement.

Inspired by his bestselling book, which has sold more than a quarter of a million copies worldwide, this pacy, moving and hilarious show takes you all the way from Viking to South-East Iceland to ensure the shipping forecast will never sound the same again.

Charlie Connelly celebrates the centenary of The Shipping Forecast

Richard isn’t playing ball BRIDPORT

COMEDIAN Richard Herring has a question for audiences on his current tour, which comes to the Electric Palace at Bridport on Friday 21st June at 8pm: “Can I have my ball back?”

In 2021 Richard went to his GP to find out why his right ball seemed to be growing bigger. It turned out that he had testicular cancer and one month later he was lying in hospital waiting to have his murderous gonad removed. Would he survive? (No spoilers!)

For a comedian who had done a whole show on male genitalia (Talking Cock) and written a book about toxic masculinity (The Problem With Men), this felt like some cruel trick of fate.

In his much-anticipated return to stand-up after six years, Richard talks bollocks and answers the question you didn’t know you wanted to ask: Is a severed gonad in a jar a fitting prize to bring in for Taskmaster?

Tolpuddle men DORCHESTER

DORSET’S New Hardy Players take a break from their familiar adaptations of Hardy stories this year, for an inventive and interesting retelling of a famous and true Dorset story, the Tolpuddle Martyrs, from 13th to 16th June.

Six Men of Dorset will be staged to start with in Dorchester Corn Exchange and will then move to the historic Courtroom in Shire Hall, where the Dorset farm-workers faced the trial which would become one of the major events in British industrial and social history.

In 1834, against a backdrop of extreme rural poverty and national turmoil, six lowly men found themselves facing the full wrath and power of the British establishment.

Commissioned by the TUC, 100 years after their arrest, this production of The Tolpuddle Play takes it back to its roots, with the first act at its original venue, Dorchester’s Corn Exchange, before processing up to Shire Hall Museum for the second act in the very courtroom where the Martyrs met their fate.

Under Tim Laycock and Emma Hill’s direction, this is guaranteed to be a spine-chilling, moving and immersive experience.

The Kanneh-Masons and friends

DORCHESTER-SHERBORNE

A REMARKABLE family of musicians, the KannehMasons, comes to Dorset for a Dorchester Arts concert at the Gransden Hall, at Sherborne Girls

School, on Monday 24th June, 7.30pm—it is one of only four UK concerts featuring this extraordinary line-up of musical talent.

The concert brings together pianist Isata, cellist Sheku and violinist Bramah Kanneh-Mason with viola player Edgar Francis and double bassist Toby Hughes for a programme which includes Schubert’s Trout Quintet, Mendelssohn’s Cello Sonata No 1, and Brahms’ Piano Trio No 2.

Locked in time

LYME REGIS

LOCKED in Time—Unearthing the Real-Life Behaviours of Prehistoric Animals is a fascinating event at the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, on Saturday 8th June at 12.30pm—a talk and book signing with Dr Dean Lomax, palaeontologist, author and TV presenter.

What would it be like to see prehistoric animals as they lived and breathed? Some exceptional fossils can record the life stories of creatures as fully alive as any today. Dr Lomax will outline the extraordinary direct evidence of prehistoric animal behaviour, describing how fossils are captured in the midst of everyday action.

Discover dinosaurs fighting to the death, elephantsized burrowing ground sloths and pregnant “sea dragons” in this talk which is based on Dr Lomax’s bestselling book, Locked in Time: Animal Behavior Unearthed in 50 Extraordinary Fossils. It offers an unprecedented glimpse of the real-life behaviour of prehistoric animals.

Bringing these fossils to life, the book (and the talk) includes reconstructions by renowned palaeoartist Bob Nicholls.

Bumper year for open-air TOWNS AND VILLAGES

THERE’S a record crop of touring theatre companies heading for castles, stately homes, parks, clifftops and other alfresco venues this summer, proving that the

The Kanneh-Mason siblings and friends come to Dorchester Arts

Sam Sweeney in his own music LYME REGIS

FORMER Bellowhead fiddler and one of this country’s leading traditional folk musicians, Sam Sweeney comes to the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis on Wednesday 5th June, playing songs from Escape That, his first album of original compositions.

Following the colossal success of supporting Bellowhead on their comeback tour in 2022, Sam is on the road to play this landmark album, Escape That, with his all-star band—Louis Campbell on electric guitar, Ben Nicholls on double bass and Archie Moss on acoustic guitar.

Escape That ties together all of Sam’s musical passions in an honest and fearless expression of himself, reflecting the way that Sam and his band are putting something into English music, pressing the reset button on how folk music should sound. Combining Sam’s love for traditional music with strong pop hooks and aesthetics, this music is unashamed in its wide pool of influences.

COVID doldrums are a thing of the past.

The 17 companies visiting venues in striking distance of the Marshwood Vale include a welcome return of South-West based Miracle, and new troupes Calf2Cow, Dukes Theatre Company, Immersion, Plandits and Sun and Moon Theatre. Old favourites bringing new shows are Festival, Folksy, Handlebards, Illyria, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, Pantaloons, Quantum, Rain or Shine and the Rude Mechanicals, with recent additions Three Inch Fools as well.

As always, the list of plays is headed by the works of Shakespeare and Wilde, with a few adaptations of childrens’ classic books and the odd murder mystery to add to the original works. Calf2Cow has chosen Sherlock and Watson: A Murder in the Garden, and there are performances at Maumbury Rings in Dorchester on 7th June and Finn Studios at Colyton on 21st June. The great detective also gets an airing in The Hound of the Baskervilles, performed by Illyria at Killerton House on 4th August, Castle Gardens at Sherborne on 6th August, The Garden House near Yelverton on 14th

September and at Cockington Court on the following day.

The Festival Players 2024 version of The Tempest comes to Abbotsbury Sub-Tropical Gardens on 24th June and to its “Dorset home”, Meerhay Manor in Beaminster, on 14th July, with another performance at Powderham Castle on 13th August. The new Dukes Theatre brings As You Like It to Kingston Maurward on 23rd August.

Folksy’s version of As You Like It is at Burrow Farm Gardens, Axminster on 24th and Thursday 25th July, Forde Abbey, on 30th July and the outdoor amphitheatre at the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis on 27th August.

Handlebards, who as you may remember cycle round the country with their props and costumes towed along behind, will perform A Comedy of Errors at Maumbury Rings and the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis on 26th and 27th June. The Shakespearean quarter of the 2024 Illyria tours is Romeo and Juliet, at Castle Gardens in Sherborne on 4th July, and

Screen Time

Top Six at the Flix

The Electric Palace, Bridport Wilding (PG) (2024)

Based on Isabella Tree’s best-selling book of the same name, Wilding tells the story of a young couple that bets on nature for the future of their failing, 400 year old estate.

The Electric Palace, Bridport

The Trust Fall: Julian Assange (2024)

“The jury is literally out on Assange – in that there’s little prospect of him receiving justice any time soon – and that’s really the problem (or, if you like, the plan). The film is admirable, if entirely one-sided, in its sincere commitment, but its persuasiveness will really depend on where you already stand on the issues.” Steve Rose, The Guardian.

Bridport Arts Centre

Anselm (PG)

“Wim Wenders continues to push the boundaries of 3D filmmaking with a visuallystriking documentary that pulls the audience into the artistic process of Anselm Kiefer, but keeps his biography at a distance.” Katie McCabe BFI.

Picture House, Exeter

The Matrix: 25th Anniversary (2024)

“On the 25th anniversary of The Matrix, the movie remains a cultural touchstone. Its mix of gravity-defying, phenomenal CGI enhanced stunts, martial arts choreography, awesome sunglasses, and Philip K. Dick-esque paranoia set a new standard for cool badass action movie myth-making.” Noah Berlatsky, Observer.com

The Plaza, Dorchester Inside Out 2 (PG) (2024)

The sequel introduces Anxiety, a Muppetlike emotion character with a huge, stretchy mouth and big, wobbly eyes. She’s joined by Ennui, who is represented as a lazy, drooping line, and Envy, a tiny mushroom-like blob of an emotion. And there’s also Embarrassment, a huge, hulking figure who hides his big face beneath a hoodie.

The Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis

The Longest Day (1962)

Commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the largest naval, air and land operation in history.

Pennsylvania Castle on Portland on 23rd July. Hamlet is the choice of the all-male Lord Chamberlain’s Men, on 19th July at Athelhampton House, and on 23rd at Killerton House. The Pantaloons bring The Merry Wives of Windsor to Montacute House on 26th July, and come back to Dorset, to Maumbury Rings in Dorchester, on 6th September. Another new company, Sun and Moon Theatre, makes its debut with The Winter’s Tale, locally visiting The Walronds at Cullompton on 30th June and Rougemont Gardens, Exeter, on 11th August.

Specially for the younger audiences, Folksy has two shows, Alice in Wonderland and Angelika Sprocket’s Pockets. The first is at Chard School on Sunday 2nd June at 2pm. Ms Sprocket will be revealing her pocketry secrets at Forde Abbey on 24th June, Lyme Regis Marine Theatre on 27th July and Burrow Farm near Axminster on 31st July. Illyria’s family show is The Adventures of Doctor Dolittle, which you can see at Castle Gardens, Sherborne on 21st June, Maumbury Rings in Dorchester on 9th August and Killerton House on 28th August. Immersion Theatre’s Peter Pan, always a popular story in the open air, is at Lapford Mill in Devon on 15th June, Hearn Field in Devon on 16th and Athelhampton House on 22nd June. The Plandits make their debut in The Secret Garden, which they will perform on 3rd August at Athelhampton House and on 10th at Lapford Mill near Crediton.

If cucumber sandwiches and handbags are your thing, there are two touring productions of Oscar Wilde’s comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, from The Pantaloons on Sunday 30th June at Barrington Court near Ilminster, and from the always appropriately named stalwarts Rain or Shine, on 9th June at Beaminster Manor, 6pm, 12th July at the Warehouse Theatre Ilminster, 25th July at Maumbury Rings and on 21st August at the Corn Barn, Cullompton.

The Charles Dickens classic, Great Expectations, has been chosen for adaptation by Quantum Theatre, and will be performed on 7th July at Cannington Walled Gardens and on 20th August at the Museum of Somerset in Taunton. The last of the four Illyria shows is Gilbert and

Calf2Cow bring Sherlock and Watson: A Murder in the Garden to Maumbury Rings and to Colyton

Sullivan’s famous Venetian romp The Gondoliers and you can see it on 7th July at Halscombe Farm near Exeter, 16th July at Castle Gardens in Sherborne, 18th July at Killerton House, and on 4th September at the Millennium Green in Bridport.

The three original plays come from the commedia del’arte troupe The Rude Mechanicals, whose 2024 show is The Dressing Book, and will be performed locally at the Square and Compass at Worth Matravers on 7th June, Abbotsbury Sub-Tropical Gardens on 8th and at the Tithe Barn at Bradford Abbas on 27th June. The second is Miracle’s Love Riot, described as “a fresh new take on an 18th century rom-com”, in the wonderful setting of Kimmeridge Bay on Friday 2nd August, and the following night at Halstock’s community field. Three Inch Fools, known for their multi-instrumentalist singing actors, have devised their own version of The Secret Diary of Henry VIII, to be performed at the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis on 20th September.

Visit all the company websites for more details. Times vary widely, so make sure you get there in time to bag a good place for your chair and your picnic. And pray for a warm, balmy night.

GPW

Festival Time BEAMINSTER

TICKETS are flying for the Beaminster Festival 17 - 30 June possibly due to the wide-ranging eclectic programme this year.

If easy listening is your style, then try the Treorchy Male Choir, sure to raise the roof, while the unusual combination of saxophone and harp, the Wiggin Wass Duo brings us favorites such as Girl with the Flaxen Hair and the Recuerdos de la Alhambra. The Tim Kliphuis Trio is always popular in Dorset with its own take on Mussorgsky’s Pictures of an Exhibition

Really high quality classical music is the backbone of the Festival and we are so lucky to welcome Guy Johnson, cello, joined by Lizzie Ball, violin and Morgan Szymanski, guitar, in a programme of wonderful, often well-known pieces. Brilliant pianist Mishka Rushdie Momen has a stunning programme including Schubert and Mendelssohn and in the Gala Concert Emma Johnson and Friends give a sparkling performance celebrating the music that has roots in Vienna, from Mozart to Lehar.

Unusually, brass instruments make three appearances. Ben Goldscheider, French horn, finalist in the 2016 BBC Young Musician, plays horn trios (with violin and piano) by Mozart, Fauré (transcribed) and Brahms. The brilliant young trombone quartet, Bone-afide will entertain with music from the William Tell Overture to Swan Lake via an injection of cool jazz. Lastly, we are thrilled to welcome top trumpet player Matilda Lloyd with Richard Gowers on both organ and piano who start their concert with the dramatic Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Bach.

The al fresco play this year is The Importance of Being Earnest. Be sure to come early and enjoy a picnic in the glorious grounds of Beaminster Manor and if you just want to relive your mis-spent youth come and dance to the Liverpool Beatles.

Literature encompasses The Illusionist, Rob Hutton; SOE to Dressing the Queen by Lynda Rowland; Taking Flight by Lev Parikian and The House of Broken Bricks by Bridport Prize winner Fiona Williams.

If you have never been before you are sure of a warm welcome to the charming, quaint but vibrant town of Beaminster. For more information visit www.beaminsterfestival.com or call 0333 666 3366.

The Young Lit Fix

Freya’s Gold by Fiona Longmuir Cover illustration by Carmi Grau

Published by Nosy Crow

Paperback £7.99

Reviewed by Nicky Mathewson

FREYA lives with her Granny Kate in a seaside town called Edge, where together they run a popular B&B on the old boardwalk which boasts the best breakfast in town. The B&B is also their home and during the summer months when the town is buzzing with activity, their home is crammed full with happy, sandy, sun kissed families.

It’s now February and the atmosphere on the boardwalk in Edge couldn’t be more different. Gone are the crowds of people and in their place are rain clouds and sea mist. The B&B is empty but for one strange customer. A woman called Ms Oleander has arrived, with her suitcase and fake smile. There’s something about her that puts Freya on edge, but Granny Kate is happy for a customer out of season. It’s a hard business to run when you only get guests for half of the year and this is a fact that Ms Oleander wants to take advantage of.

She is proposing to buy the boardwalk and turn it into a modern beachside attraction which may sound great on paper, but there’s no room for a cosy B&B in her plans.

Freya loves puzzles and looking for treasure with her friend Lin, but this problem is going to take a lot of puzzling to figure out and they need to find more than the odd coin on the beach to save their home. Can they outsmart Ms Oleander and are the rumours of hidden pirate treasure true? Can Freya battle her inner anxiety and find the courage to take on her adversary? Maybe with the help of friends, anything is possible.

Suitable for readers age 8+

10% off for Marshwood Vale readers

Bridport. 01308 422964 www.dorsetbooks.com

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Brand New, Boxed. “Neostar”. 2.2 L Electric Water-Heater/dispenser. £20. Jumbo Storage bags. Zipped. 60×60 cms approx. £2 each. Tel 07398760637. DT6 Bridport.

Selection of Dinky - Corgi boxes 1970s collectors items. Just boxes good condition, good investment £70.00 ono 07958 106961 01935 83828 Evershot.

CHIMNEY SWEEP WANTED

Stamps & Coins wanted by collector / investor. We are keen to purchase small or large collections at this time. Tel Rod 01308 863790 or 07802261339.

Coins wanted. Part or full collections purchased for cash. Please phone John on 01460 62109 or 07980 165047.

Dave buys all types of tools 01935 428975

Do you have a shed / garage full of old tools, car bits, unfinished projects etc? I buy job-lots of vintage items. Also enamel signs & slot machines & complete collections, 07875677897

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

Collectables, bygones, vintage, autojumble, Job-lots & collections a specialty. Good prices paid 07875677897

WANTED

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