Marshwood+ November 21

Jenny Eclair does a big number Page 41

Brian Jackman’s travels Page 10

Sophy Layzell Past, Present & Future Page 12

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© Emily Hicks Photograph by Robin Mills

The best from West Dorset, South Somerset and East Devon No. 272 November 2021

COVER STORY Robin Mills met Emily Hicks in Bridport, West Dorset

© Emily Hicks Photograph by Robin Mills

’I

grew up a few miles outside Oxford, and was lucky being so close to the city with the ease of connections to the rest of the country.

When I was tiny, my Dad, Chris Hicks, managed Blackwells bookshop in Oxford, having worked in various departments of the shop since school. When I was quite young he took up bookbinding full time, developing what had originally been a hobby. We had a brickbuilt workshop in our garden. With hindsight, I realise how formative his job was for me when I was young; to have a father whose job was his absolute passion, and was deeply creative. His work fell into three main categories; the restoration work, binding small print-runs of special press books, and theses binding for the academia of Oxford. At a certain time of the summer, students would deliver their PhD theses very early in the morning, and he would bind them within a 24hr turn-around. There was also the fine binding of valuable books, which were effectively works of art, and it was this work which won him several awards and much respect in the craft.

Unsurprisingly, our house was full of books, and an unlimited supply of paper and craft materials which my parents encouraged me and my brother to use creatively. I was a bit of a swot at school, my mum being keen on academic achievement. She taught me to read before I started school, which gave me confidence, and mainly I found school easy and enjoyable. My secondary school was called Wheatley Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 3

Emily Hicks Park, which was on the site of an old manor house. There was an island surrounded by a moat, and the place had a romantic, historic atmosphere. There was no doubt in my mind I wanted to go to university, but had no fixed ideas about a career. So given my upbringing I chose to read English, already being well into the classics, especially Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy. I went to Royal Holloway in Egham, again studying in an historic old building. I loved uni so much I stayed on and did a Masters there, in Victorian Studies.

As a child I enjoyed visits to museums, my Dad taking me and my brother to the Natural History Museum and the Pitt-Rivers in Oxford. There was also an open-air farm museum near Oxford called Cogges Manor Farm, where my Dad would go and demonstrate bookbinding, and I would get roped in. I dressed as a Victorian kitchen maid and helped the cook make Welsh cakes on an old Aga. This experience, together with my family life and education, began to make me think about possibly looking for a museum job.

Finding a paid job in museums without any voluntary experience was a tall order, and these days it’s pretty much impossible. By a stroke of luck, I noticed an advert for an internship for the Wordsworth Trust, at Grasmere in the Lake District. As well as running Wordsworth’s house Dove Cottage, they own 90% of the poet’s manuscripts, and an incredible collection of British Romantic literature. I applied, and went to work there after my Masters degree. It was a bit like going back to uni again, the work being unpaid but with full training and accommodation provided. I was one of a group of interns there, and we had a great time and made friendships for life. We got a very good grounding of the whole spectrum of experiences the centre offered, such as guided tours, conservation cleaning, and teaching children. I did that for 18 months, and then the Education Officer left, so I applied for the job, was successful, and did a paid job for the next 18 months, running the schools programme. That was really the point at which I became focussed on museum work as a career.

Looking for more varied work experience, I became assistant curator at Farnham Museum in Surrey. There was a really friendly but small team there, so we all had to do a bit of everything. I seemed to be often dressing up as Victorian housekeeper (Mrs Muffins!), a Roman housewife, a Tudor housewife, and my acting as a Victorian schoolteacher fortunately only made a child cry once! The children’s reactions were sometimes quite funny; some thought that the past was all in black and white, because of the old photographs. Again, I was lucky to live in a beautiful part of the country and stayed there three years, but by then it felt time to look for another challenge.

Growing up, our family holidays were usually either in Totnes, where my Dad had a friend with a holiday cottage, or Dorset. I knew places like Lulworth and

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Milton Abbas, but had not actually heard of Bridport.

So after the three years in Farnham I saw the job here in Bridport advertised. I came for a recce initially, which was before the museum’s redevelopment, and saw immediately that there were definitely opportunities to create an amazing Museum. The interview was rather formal, in the council room at Mountfield, and despite feeling really ill, adrenaline kicked in and I got the job, which I started in November 2010. In 2012, we received a bequest called the Sanctuary Rope and Net Collection.

Anthony Sanctuary was a director of Bridport Gundry, and he and his wife Frances had created a private museum of net making at Uploders, We were also fortunate to attract a Lottery grant which enabled the redevelopment to go ahead, and we reopened in May 2017. It was an incredible team effort; I think projects like this only ever succeed with a truly collaborative approach.

I am still very proud of the result: we are constantly told that it is fun and accessible, our ropemaking demonstrations are hugely popular, and hopefully the whole place will always feel quite “Bridport” and a key part of our community.

We only have three paid staff, with around 80 volunteers. During Covid last year, the other 2 staff were furloughed, but I stayed working, focussing on grant applications, and caretaking the building and collections.

We ran digital campaigns such as ‘Bake Bridport’ and ‘Melplash Memories’, but when we reopened in October last year it was really powerful to be able to provide that ‘real’ physical experience again.

We are very lucky to be generously supported by Dorset Council and Bridport Town Council. But these are challenging times for everyone, so having been free entry since 2010, we introduced an entry charge last year of £5 per adult for a year’s entry, which we feel is amazing value and is now crucial for our survival. We also keep a close eye on what grants may be available, and have been lucky to recently receive £100,000 from the Esme Fairbairn Foundation to undertake a community engaged Collections Review Project. We are asking the community to have a say in what parts of our collections, 95% of which are in store, we should keep; what we don’t keep, where should it go, and what should we collect in the future. We really want the collections to reflect our communities.

I began piano lessons at the age of seven, often scraping my way through exams until eventually I made it to Grade 8 when I was 18. It was at times a painful process as I didn’t always practise thoroughly and I got really nervous for the exams! I was in the school orchestra, played clarinet and flute sometimes, but wasn’t really as passionate about playing as I was about singing.

At university I sang in the chapel choir, and became a choral scholar. Occasionally I sang solo at concerts or weddings. When I moved to Bridport I took lessons with a teacher near Blandford, and two years ago started lessons with Anna Gregory at Hawkchurch. Anna is a

© Emily Hicks Photograph by Robin Mills

professional opera singer and an incredible teacher who has really set my voice free and encouraged me with solo work. I have performed many times with the New Elizabeth Singers in Bridport, and am currently touring with local composer Matthew Coleridge, as the soprano soloist for his Requiem.

This is an amazingly exciting project, but we only

managed to perform at Portsmouth Cathedral before Covid hit and other dates were cancelled.

Now we are up and running again we have been recently to Dorchester-on-Thames and Romsey.

Warwick and Bristol are next on the list for me this year. They say that singing releases endorphins—it definitely makes me happy. It’s my favourite thing.

’

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Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 7

UP FRONT In an article prior to the launch of his new TV series, Universe, Professor Brian Cox said he would like to launch Boris Johnson into space. It was the sort of comment that would generally be pounced upon by journalists, at least until they saw the rest of the sentence: ‘…and return him safely to Earth.’

Professor Cox’s motivation for launching the Prime Minister into space turns out to be less due to frustration or anger with his track record as a politician, but rather more as a way to offer a lesson to the many world leaders that make decisions about the future of our planet. He was talking about the profound effect of seeing the earth from space and the comments he had heard from astronauts that had experienced it. The more people who experience it, he said, ‘the more we will come to value our planet and our fellow human beings, and our civilisation.’ He suggested making it compulsory for anyone who wants to run a country to go to space. Perhaps a bit like a world leader visiting the site of a disaster—but in this case an impending disaster. ‘Go up there, look at the planet that you are responsible for, look at it in the cosmic context, the context in which it sits, and then come back and make your choices.’ Many of those who saw artist Luke Jerram’s ‘Gaia’ installation at this year’s Inside Our Dorset Festival would probably get that point.

Sitting below an art installation showing how the earth looks from space was inspiring, to actually experience the real thing must have a huge impact.

However, at current rates, ($400,000 to $500,000 according to Professor Cox), it might be out of reach for most of us, but that doesn’t mean the sentiment isn’t still inspirational. When 90-year-old William Shatner of Star Trek fame returned from a Jeff Bezos-sponsored trip, he was overwhelmed. He hugged the Amazon boss and said: ‘What you have given me is the most profound experience I can imagine.’ His emotion was palpable. But a point he made many times afterward was just how thin the line is between earth and space and the fragility of our planet. He called it ‘this little tiny blue skin’ and said we all need a wake-up call to the importance of protecting it. Space tourism may not be popular with everybody, but Shatner’s reaction and his sentiment will have reached a lot of people.

Fergus Byrne

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

THIS MONTH

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Cover Story By Robin Mills West with the Light By Fergus Byrne Past Present and Future - Sophy Layzell Event News and Courses A Family Legacy By Christopher Roper News & Views Latterly Speaking By Humphrey Walwyn An early Dorset poet and writer By Cecil Amor Can Dorset become Britain’s first Sustainable Palm Oil county? By Fergus Byrne

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

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Food & Dining Butter Baked Apples By Lesley Waters Temperley Bramble Sour By Mark Hix

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Arts & Entertainment Bee Tiger By James Crowden Preview By Gay Pirrie Weir Screen Time By Nic Jeune Young Lit Fix By Antonia Squire Review By Colin Ward Galleries

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Health & Beauty Services & Classified “The greatest threat towards future is indifference.”

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Editorial Director Fergus Byrne

Contributors

Deputy Editor

Cecil Amor Seth Dellow Helen Fisher Richard Gahagan Mark Hix Nic Jeune Russell Jordan

Victoria Byrne

Design

People Magazines Ltd

Advertising

Fergus Byrne info@marshwoodvale.com

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Robin Mills Gay Pirrie Weir Christopher Roper Antonia Squire Humphrey Walwyn Colin Ward Lesley Waters Ashley Wheeler

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

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

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

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

West with the Light O

ne of the early memories that Brian Jackman relates in a recently published book about his life is complaining that he had been chased by a pet tortoise in his garden. It’s a story that caused much mirth amongst his family and no doubt a certain amount of embarrassment for him. Thankfully, for the rest of us, he managed to outrun the tortoise and go on to become one of Britain’s most distinguished wildlife travel writers.

His book West with the Light; My Life with Nature has been published by Bradt Guides.

Although he grew up in the Surrey suburbs, in the book Brian dimly recalls the ‘Edwardian London’ of his parents - ‘a gas-lit world of sulphurous fogs and reeking chimneys, of clanging trains and cobbled streets’. His childhood included spending hours with his ‘nose in a book’ and listening to Children’s Hour on the Bakelite radio. Being allowed to stay up late to listen to Monday Night at Eight was a treat and he remembers staring into the embers of the fire ‘imagining dragons and monsters in the glowing caves between the coals, while my father baked potatoes in the hot ashes under the grate’.

However, Brian’s early childhood, like that of so many children, was interrupted by the war. He remembers how bombings were ‘commonplace’ and how for a young child ‘there were treasures to be gleaned from the previous night’s raids in the form of shrapnel’. If you were lucky he recalls ‘you might pick up the brass nose of an anti-aircraft shell’ or ‘the shiny fins of an incendiary bomb.’ After two years of war he contracted scarlet fever and had to spend six weeks in quarantine, confined to bed for most of it.

After his recovery he recalls that although Nonsuch Park, the playground of his youth, was a good starting point for learning about bird’s nests, frogs and newts, it wasn’t until he first visited Cornwall that he really appreciated the countryside. Closing his eyes he can remember a ‘moorhen’s scarlet sealing-wax beak, the yellow irises, the bubbling stream’ and ‘the ever beaconing sea.’

Thanks to Hitler’s bombs Brian was eventually evacuated to Bude with a gas mask around his neck and a small suitcase containing all his belongings.

During those days living on a farm it was the senseless cruelty of a badger kill that he believes may have been the catalyst that set him on the road to becoming a conservationist. After his return home he realised that the nearly two years that he had spent there had awakened ‘a love of all things wild.’ He writes ‘It was, I suppose, an unhappy time for an eight year old, all alone and far from home, but its magic haunts me still.’

Back in January 2013 we featured Brian in this magazine in our cover story series where he talked about some of the highlights of his life; his dreams of being a professional footballer; his time in National Service and the Navy; playing in a skiffle group in the Royal Albert Hall and the start of his extraordinary career with The Sunday Times. Now West of the Light: My Life in Nature fills in the fascinating details along with much more of what we learned from that feature. His fascinating, engrossing and endearing story is filled with memories of larger than life people such as Joy and George Adamson, Kenneth Allsop and Sir Harry Evans ‘the greatest editor ever’ as well as many larger than life animals.

Brian Jackman’s West with the Light: My Life in Nature ISBN 9781784778361 is available from www.bradtguides.com and good bookshops.

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Illustrations from West with the Light: My Life in Nature.

Breakfast with a Giraffe.

Making friends with an orphaned cheetah.

Getting cosy with Abu the elephant.

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Past, Present and FUTURE Sophy Layzell talks to Seth Dellow

By Fergus Byrne

I

n March 2012 Jemima Layzell died of a brain aneurism at Bristol Children’s Hospital at just 13 years of age. The devastation and grief amongst friends and family were understandably profound. However the legacy Jemima left behind, through organ donation and a Charitable Trust set up in her name has ensured she has placed an indelible mark on the lives of many people who never knew her, as well as those who did. Her mother, the writer Sophy Layzell from Horton in Somerset spoke to Seth Dellow about the inspiration Jemima’s short life has bequeathed to those around her.

Finding Jemima’s diaries, with entries right up to the day before she was suddenly struck ill, Sophy decided to put them into a book and use it to help raise money for other children. ‘We felt that because of our experience at Bristol Children’s Hospital, that there were things that we could help with’ she told Seth. She was also driven by a need to use the income from the book responsibly. She and her family realised that there were a lot of children who needed special equipment and special treatment, so the Jemima Layzell Trust was formed to tell her story and spread a positive message about Jemima’s short life.

Just a week before her death, on hearing about the loss of a friend through an accident, Jemima expressed her desire to donate her organs if anything ever happened to her. ‘We also campaign for organ transplant awareness’ says Sophy. ‘Simply because Jemima herself donated all her

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Sophy Layzell, photograph by Seth Dellow Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 13

major organs and again, in children, it’s something that isn’t often talked about. And if Jemima herself hadn’t spoken to us about it, I doubt we’d have been able to be quite so positive in our response. Just because it’s your natural instinct to sort of want to protect your child’s body. But yes, because she’d had this conversation with us, we felt confident that we could agree to hers being transplants.’

In 2017 Jemima was recognised by NHS Blood and Transplant as the person who has helped more lives than any other organ donor in the health service’s history.

Sophy, who was adopted from an orphanage in Laos as a child grew up in Gloucestershire. She remembers how in the mid-seventies ‘it was quite unusual for a blonde white woman to have a little brown baby’. Although she never experienced any negative comments, the connection with her first child was a revelation to her. She recalls looking at her daughter and seeing ‘the same nose, the same skin colour. We had the same knees—and she wasn’t very happy about having my knees. So you know, that was really lovely, to look at someone and actually be able to make that connection with someone, that I never had before, and she was, she was very much a kind of mini-me.’

They were also interested in the same things and she describes Jemima as very conscientious; someone who ‘strived to be the best she could.’ Although they didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life, Jemima had confided to her diary that she didn’t think she would ever grow up. She wanted to become an author. ‘So I think the writing, which had been important, was something that she was thinking of seriously’ says Sophy.

However, her thoughts of never growing up were tragically prophetic. ‘At the time it was quite extraordinary for us because obviously, because of the shock of her death, you sort of wander round the house looking for sort of clues, which sounds a bit silly’ recalls Sophy. ‘You kind of look at everything and think; was there something that we should have seen or realised about before? So yes, going through her things, going through her diaries, yeah, that was quite extraordinary. It gave us an added connection to her that we didn’t have before. It meant that it felt like there was still a conversation going, even though she wasn’t there, and particularly for me, it gave me a real focus that year, so I wasn’t sort of dwelling on the past. I was able to use this material, her words, and give them a purpose and type up all the entries into this book.’

That focus and purpose, along with the help of her other daughter Amelia and husband Harvey allowed Sophy to embark on her own writing career. She cites Jemima and her diaries as part of her inspiration. Along with a friend she attended a drop-in creative writing course in Taunton and found she ‘absolutely loved it.’ She started off just doing exercises ‘and then as time went on I thought

actually, I’m just going to write a novel, and then just sat down and did. And that carried on to becoming another one, but it was all very much in snatched time.’ Lockdown changed the way she wrote. ‘I made a decision when I got my publishing deal for the first one, that I was going to do it properly and actually treat it like a job, so write every day even if I didn’t want to.’ In order to force herself to be disciplined, she began blogging; ‘because it forces you to be disciplined. You have to do something at your own set timetable, so I started doing it twice a month. And yeah, it doesn’t feel sort of enforced, it just feels just as though I’m lucky. I have more time rather than just having to cram it in, or do it in the car on the way or waiting while you’re having your tyres changed and all that kind of thing. I can now actually sit down and do it.’

The benefits of writing have been enormous. ‘It takes you away into a completely fictional, fantastic world, and obviously, my creativity has a particular focus of a channel.

So last year, I had to stop doing my drama workshops which I’ve done for over 10 years and it seemed a natural way to

‘it felt like there was still a conversation going, even though she wasn’t there’

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divert that energy. It’s also, and when I talk about energies, I think a lot of the love I had for Jemima has gone into my writing. They say that a lot of grief is about having lots of love but nowhere to kind of put it, because that person is gone. So this gives me a place to channel it and a lot of my experiences of having lost a child are part of this new woman’s fiction. So yeah, it’s been really cathartic.’

Sophy’s writing tackles emotions that she knows well but at the same time she doesn’t want to push her views at readers. ‘From the young adult trilogy,’ she says, ‘I’m hoping that they will start thinking for themselves about organ transplants. It’s a very important part of the plot and I try not to dictate my feelings. My characters have very divided feelings. So I hope it challenges them to think about that, also about the future of the world because it’s set in the future. I’d like them to think about the impact of rising water levels, water shortages, general famine, disease, how we can start changing our futures in that respect and for the new women’s fiction, Invisible Thread, that’s very different. I just hope people think

about their families, their relationships, maybe take a moment just to say “I love you” to children.’

The impact of the loss of a child is unfathomable for all parents, most especially for those that have experienced it. The support of her family and the focus of the Jemima Layzell Trust mean that Sophy can speak authoritatively on the life-saving benefits of organ donation. But she is keen to point out that she is not pushing people to donate. She just wants them to have the conversation. ‘We don’t like to say that you should definitely donate’ she says. ‘I don’t feel that anyone should be under that pressure. I would say, however, make sure you do as much research as you can.’

She simply asks that we ‘keep that conversation going, so your next of kin know exactly how you’re feeling at the time—so that if anything should happen, they’ll know how to represent your wishes.’

Seth Dellow’s full interview with Sophy Layzell is available to listen to on the Marshwood Vale Magazine website.

Visit www.marshwoodvale.com.

Jemima and Sophy Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 15

November

EVENTS AND COURSES 30 October

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 8 mile walk from Cogden. For information 01308 898484 or 01308 863340.

Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman On Reflection 8pm, Dorset Museum Ticket price: £18 / £16 members & concessions An introduction to Calligraphy one day workshop 10:30am – 1:30pm With tutor Ruth Sutherland (£30) Ilminster Arts Centre Box Office 01460 54973

31 October

Garden Open Just Lawsbrook, Brodham Way, Shillingstone. DT11 0TE 10-4pm.

Shute Festival Talking Walk with tree expert Jill Butler in Shute’s Deer Park 2-4:30 pm £15 Book via www.shutefest.org.uk Meet at Shute Gate House EX13 7QR Divine Union Soundbath 2pm-4pm Oborne Village Hall, Oborne, nr. Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4LA £15 Please book firmly in advance. 01935389655 ahiahel@live.com www. centreforpuresound.org

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1 November

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Evening of Scottish Dancing at Chardstock Village Hall. 7.30 - 10.00 pm. Tea and coffee provided and no partner required. Contact David on 01460 65981. Cost £1.50 www.chardscottishdancing.org Art History course ‘Romantic Moderns’ in art English landscape painting. 6 wk course. 2pm-3.30pm. United Chapel East St Bridport.

Fee £60. Tutor Pam Simpson MA. Pam is an Associate Lecturer at University of the Arts in London. Contact chris.pamsimpson@ btinternet.com or telephone 01300 321715 to book.

Bridport Folk Dance Club If you like music and dancing; enjoy gentle exercise; socialising and possibly learning something new, then come along to our dance sessions on Monday evenings from 7.30 -9.30 pm in the W.I Hall, North Street, Bridport. All welcome. Tel; 458165 or 459001 for information. Also Nov. 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th and Dec. 6th and 13th.

2 November

Scottish Country Dancing every Tuesday at Ashill Village hall TA19 9LX from 7.30 to 9.30 pm. Learn the steps, formations and

dances with a fully qualified teacher. Please bring your own drink.

It’s good fun, good company and great music. For more information contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com or just come along and bring a friend.

Beaminster Museum Winter Talk at 2.30. Pauline Thorne talks about the Poor and Poor Laws in Georgian Beaminster. Records provide us with a glimpse into the lives of people who often left no other traces of their existence (other than possibly their DNA).

We can follow the history of individuals over time in stories worthy of a Thomas Hardy novel. Entry £3. Reduced seating, first come first served. See website for further information www. beaminstermuseum.co.uk

3 November

East Devon Ramblers ​A strenuous 11 mile walk. Beer. Tel:01297625045 Eve’s Creation A curated programme of six short artist films by women from the South West, exploring themes including the body, adolescence, nature, the sea, community, and earth. The event includes a discussion hosted by art historian Katrina Millar and Dr Jo Millar. Bridport Arts Centre 7 pm. Tickets £8. Tel. 01308 427183.

Bridport Scottish Dancers Scottish Country Dancing is fun and the group is friendly. All welcome, you don’t need a partner, soft shoes appreciated. 7.15pm - 10.00pm.Salwayash village hall. £2.00/session, first one free Contact Malcolm 07790 323343 or see bridportscottishdancers.org.uk Art and Design History course ‘Late Medieval and Early Renaissance course’, 6wk course. This course looks across painting, architecture & the decorative arts. 6.30pm, on Zoom. On line course fee is £55. Tutor Pam Simpson MA. Pam is Associate Lecturer at University of the Arts in London. Contact: chris.pamsimpson@ btinternet.com or telephone 01300 321715 to book.

4 November

‘Studying the Threads of Life’ by Tracy Chevalier. Tracy will discuss her recent novel ‘A Single Thread’ Hosted by Friends of Lyme Regis Museum to celebrate 100 years of the Museum.

Woodmead Hall, Lyme Regis, DT7 3PG. Starting at 2.30pm.

Museum Friends £3, Visitors £5.

Happy Days are Here Again 2pm Celebrating the anniversary of VE Day. Join us for a patriotic fun-packed show full of nostalgic, merriment and song. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton. co.uk 01404 384050 Lyme Voices Community Choir 19.30 to 21.15. Sing for fun.

Learn tunes by ear. Everyone welcome. Baptist Church (pine hall round the back), Silver St., Lyme Regis, DT7 3NY. Phone 01297 445078 or email petelinnett2@hotmail.com. Please let us know if you are coming.

‘Dearly Beloved’ Charlie Bicknell and Louise Innes perform their new cabaret ‘Dearly Beloved’. Bridport Arts Centre, Thursday 4th November, 8pm. Tickets £17/15 01308 427183 Mike Stephens talk on ‘Have a wonderful Winter Garden’ at 2.30pm at the James Hargreve Hall Morcombelake. Free to members, £4 on the door for non-members.

Tatworth Flower club holding flower arranging demonstration, Alison Finch ‘Well Read’. At Tatworth Memorial hall, TA20 2QW. open 1.30pm all welcome,visitors £6. Further details Julie Kettle 01934 248536

EVENTS IN DECEMBER

Live or Online send your November event details to info@marshwoodvale.com by November 17th.

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November

EVENTS AND COURSES Bait (2019, UK, 15, 89 mins, Director: Mark Jenkin) 7:30 pm.

Clapton & Wayford Village Hall (TA18 8PS). Membership £22, guests £4 per film. Contact mickpwilson53@btinternet.com or ring Mick Wilson on 01460 74849 or Di Crawley on 01460 30508.

Sensible COVID-19 precautions are in place.

5 November

Firework Display at Broadwindsor Cricket Ground. Bar, BBQ, hot soup, and mulled wine from 5.30 pm. Fireworks at 7 pm.

Art History course ‘Romantic Moderns’ in art English landscape painting. 6 wk course. 2pm on Zoom. On line course fee £55. Tutor Pam Simpson MA. Pam is an Associate Lecturer at University of the Arts in London. Contact: chris.pamsimpson@ btinternet.com or telephone 01300 321715 to book.

6 November

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

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Craft Fair – A ‘Support The Hall’ Event 9:30 am - 12:30 pm Free Entry. The David Hall Roundwell Street, South Petherton, Somerset TA13 5AA. Tickets can be booked via the website www. thedavidhall.org.uk or by phone on 01460 240 340.

Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman 8:00 pm Tickets: £18.50. £17.50 concessions The David Hall Roundwell Street, South Petherton, Somerset TA13 5AA. Tickets can be booked via the website www.thedavidhall.org.uk or by phone on 01460 240 340.

7 November

‘Lyme in the 1920s’ by Ken Gollop This talk celebrates the 100th anniversary of Lyme Regis Museum. Hosted by Friends of Lyme Regis Museum. Woodmead Hall, Lyme Regis, DT7 3PG. Starting at 2.30pm. Arrive early for a seat! Admission £3.

Ninebarrow St Mary’s Church, Dorchester. Dt1 2LY 8pm £18 / £16 members and concessions. www.dorchesterarts.org.uk East Devon Ramblers​​​A leisurely 7 mile walk. Newton Pop. Tel: 07786-077-407 Ninebarrow 8pm, St Mary’s Church, Dorchester DT1 2LY www. dorchesterarts.org.uk/2021/08/19/sun-7-november-ninebarrow/ Ticket price: £18 / £16 members & concessions

8 November

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Evening of Scottish Dancing at Chardstock Village Hall. 7.30 - 10.00 pm.

Tea and coffee provided and no partner required.

Contact David on 01460 65981. Cost £1.50 www. chardscottishdancing.org All Is Mended 2pm. A repurposing of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Living Room Theatre. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050.

Hawkchurch Film Nights in association with Devon Moviola, proudly presents ‘Dream Horse’ (113mins, Cert.

PG - mild bad language, sex references) at Hawkchurch Village Hall, EX13 5XW.Doors open at 6.00pm for our new regular start time of 6.30pm. Tickets £5, either in advance from csma95@gmail.com or 01297 678176, or on the door. Refreshments available.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 19

November

EVENTS AND COURSES 9 November

Scottish Country Dancing every Tuesday at Ashill Village hall TA19 9LX from 7.30 to 9.30 pm. Learn the steps, formations and dances with a fully qualified teacher. Please bring your own drink. It’s good fun, good company and great music. For more information contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com or just come along and bring a friend.

10 November

East Devon Ramblers​​​A moderate 10 mile walk. Lamberts Castle.

Tel: 07870-804711.

Bridport Scottish Dancers Scottish Country Dancing is fun and the group is friendly. All welcome, you don’t need a partner, soft shoes appreciated. 7.15pm - 10.00pm. St Mary’s Church Hall, South Street. £2.00/session, first one free Contact Malcolm 07790 323343 or bridportscottishdancers.org.uk

10 & 11 November

Kilmington Community Cinema “The Last Bus” starring Timothy Spall & Phyllis Logan, at Kilmington Village Hall (EX13 7RF) Thursday 11th matinee. Pre-booking is advisable as there is limited seating (COVID spacing), doors open 6.45pm, film starts 7.15 on Wednesday. Thursday matinee doors open 2pm film starts 2.15. Cream Teas are served during the interval but MUST be booked when pre-booking seats. Tickets can be pre-booked by email: wattsjohn307@gmail.com, see www.kilmingtonvillage.com/ other-organisations.html for more information.

11 - 13 November

The History Hut at Low Ham will be open 11-4 pm. Free entry (donations welcome). Displays, books and information on local history. Karen Cook 01458 250661.

11 November

Lyme Voices Community Choir 19.30 to 21.15. Sing for fun.

Learn tunes by ear. Everyone welcome. Baptist Church (pine hall round the back), Silver St., Lyme Regis, DT7 3NY. Phone 01297 445078 or email petelinnett2@hotmail.com. Please let us know if you are coming.

Turn Lyme Green presents the film SEED the Untold Story.

94% of our seed diversity has disappeared. SEED follows passionate seed keepers protecting our 12,000 year-old legacy.

7.00pm for 7.30pm Baptist Church, top of Broad Street, Lyme Regis DT7 3HR. www.turnlymegreen.co.uk Crewkerne Gardening Club is pleased to welcome you to the A.G.M. where Ian Tribe will talk about “ Improving plant varieties”. This will be held in the Henhayes Centre at 7.30pm, all welcome!

12 November

Sound Of Metal (15) doors at 7, film at 7.30pm Tickets in advance from Eleos (correct cash only, please, in an envelope), Barron’s and the PO for £5 for adults or £2.50 for children; or on the night for 20 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

£6 and £3. Also available on ticketsource (cashless transaction).

Police Dog Hogan 8pm. An eclectic seven-piece -fiddle, trumpet, mandolin, drums and guitars with four-part harmonies in a fusing of country, pop, folk, and urban bluegrass. Guardian columnist Tim Dowling on banjo. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton. co.uk 01404 384050 East Devon Ramblers​​​A moderate 5 mile walk. Axminster.

Tel:01395-567450.

Dorset National Park proposal: talk to Lyme Regis u3a by Richard Brown 11 am. To join the talk, presented via zoom, log into www.lymeregisu3a.org and join up. At just £12 pa, membership represents a terrific deal, with two monthly talks and lots of group activities available to the current 500 members.

Rocketman at 7.30pm, at the Village Hall, The Causeway, Milborne St Andrew DT11 0JX. Doors and bar open 7.00. Tickets cost £5, which includes a drink or an icecream (Contactless payment preferred) Jonah Hitchens Band Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis. Tickets: www. ticketsource.co.uk/jazz-jurassica

13 November

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 6.5 mile walk from Came Wood. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340.

Martyn Joseph @ 8:00 pm Tickets: £19 Full. £18 Concessions.

The David Hall Roundwell Street, South Petherton, Somerset TA13 5AA. Tickets can be booked via the website www.thedavidhall.org. uk or by phone on 01460 240 340.

Beaminster Museum annual book sale 10.00am -1.00pm.

Large range of subjects as well as fiction. Shop also open with local cards and gifts. See website for further information www. beaminstermuseum.co.uk Wishbone Ash 7.30pm. With main man Andy Powell still at the helm they are undoubtedly one of the most celebrated bands in the history of rock. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050

14 November

St Michael’s Church Lyme Regis, 4.30pm. Lyme Bay Chorale sings Fauré’s Requiem to mark Remembrance Sunday. Conducted

by Nick Brown with Alex Davies on the organ. Free entry with a retiring collection.

East Devon Ramblers​​​A leisurely 5 mile walking treasure hunt.

Budleigh. Tel: 01395-266668 Rowan Rheingans tour “Dispatches on The Red Dress” visits Bridport Arts Centre, 9 South St. Bridport, DT6 3NR. Doors: 19:30 Tickets: £12.00 Box Office: 01309 424204

15 November

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Evening of Scottish Dancing at Chardstock Village Hall. 7.30 - 10.00 pm. Tea and coffee provided and no partner required. Contact David on 01460 65981 Cost £1.50 www.chardscottishdancing.org

Hawkchurch History Society Old Uncle Tom Cobley and All. The History of ‘Widdicombe Fair’. 7pm Village hall. After the recent publication of his book, Todd Gray returns to give us the curious history behind Devon’s famous ‘Anthem’ and the real story behind the song - of which he has some 50 variations. Covid-19: Seating will be separated to allow for social distancing, and the wearing of masks would be appreciated until people have taken their seats.

16 November

Scottish Country Dancing every Tuesday at Ashill Village hall TA19 9LX from 7.30 to 9.30 pm. Learn the steps, formations and dances with a fully qualified teacher. Please bring your own drink. It’s good fun, good company and great music. For more information contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com or just come along and bring a friend.

Beaminster Museum Winter talk Penny Ruddock talks about Bath and fashion in the eighteenth century. Penny retired as Bath’s Costume Museum Curator, and lived for some years in Beaminster.

2.30pm. Entry £3. Reduced seating, first come first served. See website for further information www.beaminstermuseum.co.uk

17 November

Sherborne Group of the Dorset Wildlife Trust meeting. Talk is ‘Otters and the Stour Valley Way’ by Ken Hutchinson. In the Digby Memorial Church Hall in Digby Road at 7.30pm. £3.00 per person.

Beehive Folk Café 7.30pm. Come along to sing or listen in the Beehive bar with our lovely folkie host, Sue King. Free entry. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050 Colyton & District Garden Society ‘Plant Conservation in the National Trust’, a talk by Chris Trimmer, National Trust Nursery Manager. Colyford Memorial Hall 7.30pm – members free, guests £3. All Covid precautions will be observed. For information: Sue Price 01297 552362.

Bridport Scottish Dancers Scottish Country Dancing is fun and the group is friendly. All welcome, you don’t need a partner, soft shoes appreciated.

7.15pm - 10.00pm. St Mary’s Church Hall, South Street. £2.00/session, first one free Contact Malcolm 07790 323343 or bridportscottishdancers.org.uk

for respectful listening, whatever your views. All are welcome, including young adults from 16 up. It’s not a therapy group, and it’s not a place for discussing or planning action, important as that is. Free of charge, no need to book. Please arrive promptly, get yourself a hot drink, maybe some cake, and join us. No regular commitment needed, leave any time you want! For any queries, contact Alan Heeks, 07976 602787.

Arts Society West Dorset: Letting William Morris of the Hook.

A new look at Arts and Crafts Architecture. Speaker Dr Julian Holder 2.30pm Bridport Town Hall. Visitors welcome-£7.50 For more info our website: taswestdorset.org.uk

19 November

East Devon Ramblers​​​A leisurely 5 mile walk. Colaton Raleigh.

Tel: 07706-078143.

Indian Story Telling and a Spice & Rice Curry at Wootton Fitzpaine Village Hall show at 7.45pm Doors open at 7pm for you to buy your meal from Spice & Rice outside the hall. Artsreach presents Emily Hennessey & Sheema Mukherjee in ‘Ganga – Tales of the River’ Contact 01297 560948 to book your tickets for your “bubble” and to give numbers buying a curry. Show Tickets are £10, U18 : £5, Family : £22 Closed Bottle Bar, Spice & Rice Thali plate £13 available to buy on the night Tickets also available online at www.artsreach.co.uk.

The Goat Roper Rodeo Band @ 8:00 pm Tickets: £17 Full. £16 Concessions The David Hall Roundwell Street, South Petherton, Somerset TA13 5AA. Tickets can be booked via the website www. thedavidhall.org.uk or by phone on 01460 240 340.

Trio Klein 11.30 am three award-winning and critically acclaimed musicians, Bridport Arts Centre – 11.30am. Box Office: 01308 424901 – Bridport Tourist Information Centre - All online ticket

18 November

Lyme Voices Community Choir 19.30 to 21.15.

Sing for fun. Learn tunes by ear. Everyone welcome.

Baptist Church (pine hall round the back), Silver St., Lyme Regis, DT7 3NY. Phone 01297 445078 or email petelinnett2@hotmail.com. Please let us know if you are coming.

Sara Colman Band Calling all Joni Mitchell fans! celebrate her music on 50th anniversary of iconic album, Blue. Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis. Tickets: www.ticketsource.co.uk/jazz-jurassica Arts Society West Dorset “Letting William Morris off the Hook”. A new look at Arts and Crafts Architecture. Speaker Dr Julian Holder. 2.30pm Bridport Town Hall. Visitors welcome £7.50.

Bridport Climate Café 2-4pm at Soulshine Café, South Street A climate café is an informal, supportive space where you can talk about your feelings on climate change. The group will be supported by trained volunteer facilitators: it’s a confidential space Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 21

November

EVENTS AND COURSES sales via the Bridport Arts Centre at www.bridport-arts.com .

Town parking & car parks, Disabled access.

Trio Klein 7.30 pm – St Pwtwr & Paul Church, Uplyme, Lyme Regis, Dorset , DT7 3DT - Doors open 6.45pm. Covid regulations: as required at the time. Box Office: Uplyme Stores, Lyme Rd, Uplyme, DT7 3UY - 01823 252658 – concertsinthewest@gmail.com Disabled access. Parking nearby.

19 & 20 November

Jazz with John Law “One of the UK’s most imaginative and versatile jazz pianists” (International Piano Magazine 2014) returns to Tincleton to present a broad spectrum of his solo piano compositions, from earlier to more recent works, with the emphasis on melody. Tincleton Gallery, The Old School House, Tincleton, nr Dorchester, DT2 8QR Opening / performance times: doors open 19:30; concert starts 20:00 Admission fee: £15.

01305 848 909. http://www.tincletongallery.com

19, 20 & 21 November

No Time To Die (12A) 7pm. Sunday screening with captions and socially distanced. The Beehive Honiton www.beehivehoniton. co.uk 01404 384050

20 November

Powerstock Artsreach at The Hut at 7.30pm: Emily Hennessey & Sheema Mukherjee in ‘Ganga – Tales of the River’ Adult: £10 : Under 18: £5 : Family: £22 Enq: 01308 485730 or 07817 429907 or www.artsreach.co.uk Trio Klein 7.30 pm The Dance House, Gouldsbrook View, North Street, Crewkerne, Somerset, TA18 7AL. Doors open - 6.45pm.

Covid regulations: as required at the time. Box office: email: concertsinthewest@gmail.com OR call 01823 252658 (BACS or cheques) (answerphone message if no one is available). OR the Tourist Information Centre in Crewkerne - 01460 75928.

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

Christmas Fayre at Misterton W.I. Hall from 10.30 to 2. Free entry. All proceeds to the upkeep of our Hall. Enq. Carol Walker, 01460 74808.

Jurassic Art and Craft Fayre 10.00 - 4.00 Gifts of wood, glass, pottery, stitched and felted items, cards, paintings, cakes, jams and refreshments set out among the fascinating displays of fossils at Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre, DT6 6LL. 01297 560772 Quiz Night – A ‘Support The David Hall’ Event 7:30 pm Tickets: £7 incl. supper. No concessions. Advanced booking only

by Wednesday 17 November. Maximum four team members. The David Hall Roundwell Street, South Petherton, Somerset TA13 5AA. Tickets can be booked via the website www.thedavidhall.org. uk or by phone on 01460 240 340.

Grand Christmas Fayre St Mary’s Church, Charminster DT2 9RD 11.00am to 4.00pm. Lots of lovely stalls to browse and buy from – Cakes, Gifts, Cards & Decorations, Preserves and Pickles,

22 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

Puzzles & Games, New and Nearly New, Bric-a-Brac, China and Glass, Tombola, ‘Kids Corner’ plus Mulled Wine and Mince Pies.

All welcome – Admission Free.

21 November

Singing Bowl Soundbath 2pm-4pm The Scout Hall, Redcotts Lane, Wimborne Minster, BH21 1JX, Dorset £15 Please book firmly in advance–no ‘on the spot’ admissions. 01935 389655 ahiahel@live.com ffi www.centreforpuresound.org/events Trio Klein 3pm – St Laurence Church, Upwey, Church Street, Nr Weymouth, DT3 5QE. Covid regulations: as required at the time. Box office: Broadway Stores - 01305 812019 OR concertsinthewest@gmail.com – 01823 252658 (BACS or cheques) (answerphone message if no one is available). Church and village parking. Disabled access. Interval refreshments.

Afternoon Concert given by The Occasional Singers at 3.00pm ‘To sleep, perchance to dream’ St Mary’s Church, Edward Road, Dorchester DT1 2HL

22 November

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Evening of Scottish Dancing at Chardstock Village Hall 7.30 - 10.00 pm. Tea and coffee provided and no partner required. Contact David on 01460 65981 Cost £1.50 www.chardscottishdancing.org

23 November

Scottish Country Dancing every Tuesday at Ashill Village hall TA19 9LX from 7.30 to 9.30 pm. Learn the steps, formations and dances with a fully qualified teacher. Please bring your own drink. It’s good fun, good company and great music. For more information contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com or just come along and bring a friend.

Bridport & District u3a presents a talk by Nicola Dunsford about the new areas of Cancer Research, in the Bridport United Church Hall at 2pm, followed by refreshments. Covid safety measures will be in place and pre-booking is essential as numbers will be limited. Visit www.bridportu3a.org.uk or email info@ bridportu3a.org.ok for further details.

24 November

East Devon Ramblers​​​A moderate 8 mile walk. Quantock Ridge.

Tel: 07737-182454.

Bridport Scottish Dancers Scottish Country Dancing is fun and the group is friendly. All welcome, you don’t need a partner, soft shoes appreciated. 7.15pm - 10.00pm. St Mary’s Church Hall, South Street. £2.00/session, first one free Contact Malcolm 07790 323343 or bridportscottishdancers.org.uk The Skimmity Hitchers Bridport’s iconic W I Hall. Doors open at 7 pm. Advance tickets are £10.00 (plus 60p booking fee) and available online or in person from Bridport Tourist Information Centre.

Coffee Morning 10:00 am Entry is Free. The David Hall Roundwell Street, South Petherton, Somerset TA13 5AA. Tickets

can be booked via the website www.thedavidhall.org.uk or by phone on 01460 240 340.

Looking for Agnes - A talk by Karen Hunt to celebrate a Bridport Pioneer in the fight for Women’s rights and commemorate Bridport’s first woman Town Councillor on the centenary of her election 2pm-4pm at Bridport WI Hall. Tickets £3 from Bridport TIC or online at www.bridportandwestbay.co.uk – to include a celebratory cup of tea and cake For more info call 01308 424901

25 November

Lyme Voices Community Choir 19.30 to 21.15. Sing for fun.

Learn tunes by ear. Everyone welcome. Baptist Church (pine hall round the back), Silver St., Lyme Regis, DT7 3NY. Phone 01297 445078 or email petelinnett2@hotmail.com. Please let us know if you are coming.

Illustrated talk on Birds of West Bexington & Cogden Bridport WI Hall, North Street, 2.30pm. Tea/biscuits. Raffle. £5; members £4. Raffle. In aid of Bridport Millennium Green.

Details Sandra Brown, 01308 423078.

Nostalgic Cinema: Funny Face (U) 2pm Dementia-friendly.

Gershwin musical starring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire.

A photo shoot at a bookshop brings about a new fashion model discovery in the shop clerk. The Beehive Honiton www. beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050 Skerryvore – A ‘Chance to Dance’ Event 8:00 pm Tickets: £23. No concessions The David Hall Roundwell Street, South Petherton, Somerset TA13 5AA. Tickets can be booked via the website www.thedavidhall.org.uk or by phone on 01460 240 340.

26 November

East Devon Ramblers​​​A leisurely 6 mile walk. Kilmington. Tel: 01392-873881.

Petherton Picture Show Presents: The Father (12A) (2020) 8:00 pm. Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Coleman, Mark Gatiss Tickets: £5 The David Hall Roundwell Street, South Petherton, Somerset TA13 5AA. Tickets can be booked via the website www. thedavidhall.org.uk or by phone on 01460 240 340.

Shylock 7.30pm Explore the tragic, funny and often unbelievable life of fiction’s most famous Jew in this acclaimed theatre production that has toured over 50 countries. Written/performed

by Gareth Armstrong. Age 15+. The Beehive Honiton www. beehivehoniton.co.uk 01404 384050

27 November

Lyme Morris Dancers Xmas Lights Lyme Regis 5 pm.

Chideock WI Christmas Cracker Chideock WI will be holding their annual Christmas Fayre on 27th November in Chideock Village Hall. Noon - 3.00pm. Join us for a light lunch and visit the stalls. For more details email chideockwi@gmail.com.

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

Christmas Craft Fayre at Musbury Village Hall - 10.00 am to 12.30 pm. Variety of local craft stalls including pottery, pyrography pictures, cards, jams and chutneys and Church cake stall, tombola and raffle. Refreshments including bacon buttys! Proceeds to St Michaels Church Musbury. Enquiries 01297 552440/552711 Christmas Market Stockland Victory Hall. 10am - 12 noon.

Festive Crafts, Local Produce, Refreshments & much more!

Bookings/ Information. Tel. 01404 881535. monica.parris@ btconnect.com.

Acoustic Night – 7:30pm On our performers’ night, The David Hall hands over its professional stage and outstanding acoustics to budding artists of all genres. If you would like to attend our Acoustic Night as a performer or audience member then please email Chris Watts at folk@chriswatts.org or call 07715501157. Please pre-book your performance slot or seat.

Do not walk-up on the night! Entry by suggested donations of £2 The David Hall Roundwell Street, South Petherton, Somerset TA13 5AA. Tickets can be booked via the website www.thedavidhall.org.uk or by phone on 01460 240 340.

“Strictly @The Speedwell” - Crewkerne A presentation by Rachael Harding on her dancing years at International Ballroom Dancing Competitions. Stories, pictures, dancing props, as well as demonstration of some key steps and encouragement for the audience to try them out for themselves. £10 per ticket, to include Cream Tea 2:30pm to 5:00pm. Tickets from Crewkerne Information Centre. www.the speedwell co.uk. Tel.01460 271767 Race Night is Back! * Licensed Bar * Spot cash prizes *£8.50 pp including Fish ‘n Chip or Burger Supper, South Perrott Village Hall – Doors 6.00 first race 6.30. Bookings – Mike Gardner 01935 891669

28 November

Bridport Chamber Orchestra Autumn Concert 3 pm.

Including Vivaldi’s violin concert ‘L’Amoroso’, soloist Alexandra Ennis and pieces by Holst, Greig, Elgar and Pamela Harrison, followed by teas. Tickets £10 on the door (students free entry). St Swithun’s Church, Bridport. 01935 824786 for further information.

East Devon Ramblers​​​A moderate 9.6 mile walk. Dalwood.

Tel: 01297-552313.

Pop-Up Vintage. A fabulous selection of clothes, toys, textiles, accessories, books and much, much more for a truly sustainable and memorable Christmas. Open every day until January 3rd. except for the 25th and the 26th December from 10.00am ’til 4.00pm. The Courtyard Gallery, Town Mill, Lyme Regis Contact: Town Mill, Lyme Regis.

Singing Bowl Soundbath 2-4PM Oborne Village Hall, Oborne, nr. Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4LA £15 Please book firmly in advance–no ‘on the spot’ admissions. 01935 389655 ahiahel@live.com ffi www.centreforpuresound.org/events

29 November

Talk by Steve Eches who has a scientifically important fossil museum in Kimmeridge – ‘Stories from Deep Time’. United Church Hall, East Street, Bridport at 2.30 pm. Golden Cap Association. Entry members- £2, non-members - £5. More information 01308 459855.

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Evening of Scottish Dancing at Chardstock Village Hall 7.30 - 10.00 pm. Tea and coffee provided and no partner required. Contact David on 01460 65981. Cost £1.50 www.chardscottishdancing.org

30 November

Scottish Country Dancing every Tuesday at Ashill Village hall TA19 9LX from 7.30 to 9.30 pm. Learn the steps, formations and dances with a fully qualified teacher. Please bring your own drink. It’s good fun, good company and great music. For more information contact Anita on 01460 929383 or email anitaandjim22@gmail.com or just come along and bring a friend.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 23

A FAMILY LEGACY In a tribute to his late brother Mark, Christopher Roper tells the story of the Roper family’s life at Forde Abbey.

M

y brother, Mark Roper, who died at home on 20th September, was a remarkable man, unlikely to rate an obituary in any national newspaper, but important to this corner of West Dorset where he lived all his life. He took over the management of Forde Abbey and its estate in 1959 on leaving University, and no one, since the monks were driven out in 1539, has looked after this nationally important building for longer. Together with the last abbot, Thomas Chard; Oliver Cromwell’s minister, Edmund Prideaux, who built on Chard’s foundations; and Francis Gwyn, who laid out the gardens in the early 18th Century; he could have claimed, though he never did, that the four of them had done more than all its other custodians to shape the Abbey as visitors see it today. Like Chard and Prideaux, he handed it over to his successors in much better physical shape than he found it.

Unlike them, he did not dramatically change the building, which looks today much as Prideaux left it in the middle of the 17th Century. Mark’s business philosophy was taken from the Italian novel, The Leopard, “If we want things to go on as they are, we have to change”. His first task was to build an economic base on which the estate could survive and thrive, no small task, as the middle decades of the last century were not kind to England’s rural estates unless there was a bank or a brewery in the background to sustain them; and in Forde Abbey’s case, there wasn’t a money tree. Small tenanted farms, all requiring modernisation, offering little in immediate payback to either tenant or landlord, were not the answer.

Our father, Geoffrey Roper, got by on a basis of extreme frugality, on a diet of home-grown fruit and vegetables, two or three cows, and largely home-killed meat. Income

24 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

from honey, apples, hen and duck eggs; together with coppiced products from the woods, and a modest harvest of Christmas trees, were never going to keep the Ropers at Forde Abbey into the 21st Century. His father had tried to keep the wolf from the door by trying to sell the priceless Mortlake tapestries to America. Luckily, he failed.

However, the 1960s saw the rise of a car-owning population that enjoyed visiting historic houses and Mark moved swiftly to open the house and gardens, which previously opened to the public only six times a year, several days a week. In this enterprise, he was greatly assisted by his wife, Lisa, who set about making the Abbey far more liveable and welcoming than it had ever been when we were children. Over the next 30 years, aided initially by the distinguished architect Richard Tyler, who had retired to live in Burstock, they began to tackle much needed repairs to the fabric of the Abbey.

“The great thing about Forde Abbey,” Richard liked to say, “is that for the past 300 years, none of its owners has been rich enough to seriously mess it up”. The expensive work of caring for the Abbey’s fabric continues, and part of Mark’s genius was to keep the money flowing by growing new businesses, often with local partners. The first was growing soft fruit, initially black currants, and then strawberries and raspberries, riding another 1960s trend, the Pick-Your-Own market. In this he found a knowledgeable partner in Arthur Davis, who had been operating on a much smaller scale, across the Axe in Tatworth. P-Y-O is not the business it was 50 years ago but is continued to this day by his son-in-law, Julian Kennard.

Mark never “owned” the Abbey as, with his support, Geoffrey Roper created a Trust, whose main objective was

the preservation of Forde Abbey and its unique grounds.

They both believed that although the National Trust had done sterling work in preserving buildings that might otherwise have been lost, the individual touch provided by family custodianship provided a unique ingredient to the management of the house and its grounds.

An example of this is the fountain, much enjoyed by visitors and, particularly their children, that throws a spout of water over 35 metres into the air from one of the ponds.

This is driven by a pump, first installed over 50 years ago to spray water over the budding blackcurrant bushes in late March or April when the temperature dropped close to freezing. The fountain was Mark’s idea and he believed it increased visitor numbers by 10% in its first year. Mark thoroughly enjoyed the process of opening the house and garden to paying visitors. “What’s the point of a garden on this scale if it isn’t shared with other people?” he once asked me. Our parents were less sure, but Geoffrey, in his old age, enjoyed running a plant stall in front of the house, the beginnings of the plant nursery that was subsequently established in the kitchen garden.

Another of his early businesses built on the small forest nursery established by our father. It was a time when tax arrangements made it extremely advantageous to plant forests of Sitka Spruce in Scotland. This was deplored by many environmentalists and lovers of heather-covered hills, but Mark argued that if we were to read newspapers, the newsprint had to be produced somewhere and surely it was right that some portion of our island should be set aside for that purpose. At any rate, he proved that he could produce young trees, ready for planting, in two years, as against three years in Scotland. This allowed him to become a major supplier to the forestry management companies that were booming north of the border.

His final enterprise, still flourishing, was a farming partnership with the Frost family of Childhay, to milk goats at Forde Grange, one of the largest such operations in the south of England. Will Frost manages the goats, milking over 2,000 animals a day, while Julian Kennard grows the wheat and maize that provide the bulk of their feed.

Richard Tyler’s son, Christian, who wrote the excellent history of Forde Abbey, (Forde Abbey, The Story Behind the Stones, Dovecote Press, 2017), asked Mark if he thought the farming and tourism business that he and his family had built up over the past 60 years was sustainable into the future, “Of course not”, came his reply. New challenges, he was sure, would be round the next corner. However, he told me a few weeks ago that he was leaving it in good hands.

Twelve years ago, he and Lisa moved out of the Abbey into the Home Farm; and his eldest daughter Alice with her husband, Julian, moved into the Abbey with their three children. During the Pandemic and all the uncertainties that brought to a tourist-based business, Alice took over the garden in a thoroughly hands-on fashion, becoming the fourth generation of her family to put their stamp on the garden.

It would be a great mistake to see Mark simply as a profitdriven entrepreneur. He took great pride in the way Forde Abbey became a magnet for musicians seeking to exploit the amazing acoustics of Thomas Chard’s great hall, and in the Concert Society, organised initially by his brother-inlaw, Eric Smith, who lived less than a mile away across the River Axe. When the BBC brought Beethoven’s piano to England, it was installed in the Hall to be played and filmed.

Mark Roper (1935-2021) photograph by George Wright

Forde was also the favourite location of the violinist Nigel Kennedy when he was recording.

As tenanted farms were taken in hand, and the number of people employed on the land reduced, the occupancy of houses changed, but his policy was always to let houses to residential tenants, who would live in them and form part of the local community, not to second-homers.

Initially, he hesitated to change anything in the garden which had evolved under the care of both his father and grandmother, from the bones of an eighteenth-century garden that had been largely neglected as the nineteenth century wore on. However, after Geoffrey’s death in 1982, his attention turned to the garden. He loved the bog garden and the blue Himalayan poppies and primulas that grew there, but again he was always ready to take advice, notably from Jack Drake, a famous alpine nurseryman from Scotland, who had retired to Crewkerne, and took on the job of reviving the Rock Garden with our sister, Charlotte.

He also took more structural advice from Alan Patterson, then curator of the Chelsea Physic Garden.

He was extremely pleased in 1992, when Forde Abbey was named the Historic Houses Association’s Garden of the Year. He was buried last month in the arboretum, planted

by Geoffrey after WW2 and shaped by Mark and Alice over the subsequent decades. He could appropriately share Christopher Wren’s epitaph: Si monumentum requiris circumspice.

(If you need a monument, look around).

Mark is survived by his wife, Lisa; three daughters, Alice, Victoria and Lucinda; and six grandchildren: Ben, Sam and Marcia Kennard; Ella Anins; and Mahony and Rex Knight.

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News&Views

SEATON What next for Visitor Centre

Should Seaton Jurassic Visitor Centre be redesigned, sold or used as another type of visitor attraction? These are the options being looked at East Devon District Council (EDDC) following the closure of the venue on September 17, 2021 after Devon Wildlife Trust left. The centre will now remain closed until a decision can be made on the future of the site by cabinet next year. The visitor attraction, which is made up of a gift shop, meeting rooms, café, office, exhibition rooms and gardens, was greatly affected by the pandemic with the number of visitors dropping substantially. The council are now investigating various options for what the centre could become.

BRIDPORT First Unitarian woman Minister

In October the Chapel in the Garden in Bridport celebrated the ordination of Elizabeth Harley. She had been the Lay Leader for the past eight years but following a threeyear course at the Unitarian College she has been welcomed at the Chapel as their Minister. ‘There have been Unitarians in Bridport for over 350 years’ said Lizzie ‘so it felt like a piece of history to be welcomed as the first Unitarian woman to be Minister at the chapel. Interestingly, there have been Unitarian women Ministers in the UK since 1904 but Bridport somehow missed out.’

SIDMOUTH New look TIC opens

Sidmouth Town Council has celebrated the reopening and refurbishment of its new look Tourist Information Centre. Simon Jupp, MP for East Devon performed the cake cutting to mark a new chapter in tourism promotion in the town whilst commenting ‘It is so heartening to see the town council and its tourism information centre project with such a collaborative spirit in wanting to work together for the good of our town.

I live here, I love our town, it’s a fantastic place. And now we have a very special brand to promote it—it is amazing.’ The new centre also has a new range of high quality and environmentally aware Visit Sidmouth merchandise for visitors to take home.

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DORSET Digital advice expansion

More people in Dorset can now access free technical advice thanks to the expansion of Dorset Council’s volunteer digital champion service. The volunteer champions will be available, at 13 centres across Dorset including Dorchester, Beaminster, Bridport and Weymouth. Dorset Council’s deputy leader, Cllr Peter Wharf, said: “The hotline is a fantastic service but you cannot beat face to face help and showing people in person how to get around their technical problems.’

The Digital Hotline phone service is open five mornings a week for anyone who would like help over the phone. All face to face sessions must be booked by contacting 01305 221048 ­Mon - Fri, 10am to 12 noon.

DORCHESTER Play cancelled

A much loved community event, Dorchester’s seventh community play, Spinning the Moon, has been postponed until spring 2023. The ongoing effects of Covid, as well as other logistical concerns, prompted the managing board of the Dorchester Community Plays Association to delay the production by another 12 months. Spinning the Moon was due to be performed over Easter 2020, but rehearsals were brought to an abrupt halt by the first lockdown. There were hopes that the cast of more than 120 performers would stage the play by spring 2022, but uncertainties still surrounding rising Covid numbers have put the play back another year.

Post Pandemic Presents for Christmas Laterally Speaking by Humphrey Walwyn

I

n the olden days, I used to be very organised about Christmas presents. I made numerous lists of friends and family and then made more lists of what sorts of presents they might deserve or be lucky to receive. I would then try and buy the listed items online only to find that half of them were now either unavailable or only able to be delivered (presumably by a very tired Amazon reindeer) by mid-January. Of course, the older you are, the more relatives and children of relatives there are to remember. And I could never recall their names anyway so I would inevitably address the packages to ‘John, Mary and the family’ (which is at least polite even if it’s obvious I’ve forgotten how many kids they have let alone their names) or sometimes even to ‘Peter, Susan and Splodge’ (which was supposed to make them laugh). Splodge was the name of Aunt Ethel’s flea-bitten old fox terrier, so at least I might have got one out of nine correct! Except after I sent it, I remembered that Splodge died four years ago… Oops…

My sister is so well organised that she buys all her presents by the previous Spring. By the end of May, she’s got Christmas completely organised and done up and gift wrapped and ready to go. By contrast, many other people wait until the last possible moment (roughly December 24th) before embarking on a 12-hour Olympic marathon only to discover that the shops have sold out of everything.

According to all accounts, that’s what may happen especially this year. There will be shortages of just about everything because of Brexit or Covid. Instead of Christmas Turkey, try Yuletide Bacon roll. Or Poached Egg In The Hole. I do have a three year old Christmas Pudding which might surface this December if I can’t find a fresh one. I will warn the local hospital about a possible outbreak of tummy trouble in our area. If all else fails, there’s always fish and chips. Sorry, chips may be off, and so is the fish.

Well, that’s Christmas Dinner almost not sorted, so let’s take another look at presents ‘cos time is getting short (only 23 shopping days to go by the end of November). Here are Humphrey’s Golden Rules about buying Christmas presents…

1) Never ever buy clothes unless they’re one-size accessories like scarves or ties. I can absolutely guarantee your shirt, dress or underwear will need to be sent back for a different size. And you’ll waste a lot of time after Christmas trying to find the shop receipt from Next or John Lewis which may be impossible.

2) Don’t buy anyone you love exercise equipment or keep fit items. You might think you were being thoughtful and considerate, but any female recipient will be highly annoyed as she’ll assume you’re trying to point out (in a not-so-subtle way) that she needs to lose a few pounds.

Lots of presents under the tree. I wonder if one of them is “Free £100 discount Off My new Gas Bill”

3) No bath or soap items please—they’re just so predictable. The more lurid the colour, the more revolting the scent. Shampoo is too personal and spray-on deodorant too obvious. Anyone would think that somebody is in desperate need of a bath! This will not lead to a restful Christmas and you’ll spend the whole holiday period apologising… “No, of course I don’t think you’re dirty!

Actually, you smell very nice!” etc. Not recommended.

4) Scented candles? No. Just don’t. They’re very tacky. If I received one as a present, I’d be upset you couldn’t have used a bit more imagination when thinking about me. Am I really that boring a person? Oh dear… And candles that smell of Lavender mixed with Loo water will not impress anyone.

5) Lastly, don’t give anyone Kleenex or masks or hand wash. Covid prevention stuff is SO ‘Last Year’, darling...

The buzz words of 2021 have included (in no particular order) ‘Climate Change’, ‘Greta Thunberg’ and ‘MeToo’.

Oh—also ‘Recycling’ of course. If you’re in a Christmas culde-sac and you’re getting short on time, you can always fall back on recycling. Remember that nasty green bubble bath that Uncle Mike gave you last Christmas? It’s still in its gift box at the bottom of your sock drawer and therefore can easily be recycled to Auntie Irene for this Christmas. I’m sure she’d just love it. And your distant cousin Martin who talks too much? He might love that rather cheap and sickly bottle of sherry you won at this summer’s garden fete! Particularly if he used it as a whisky mixer. That would shut him up for a bit. Or make him violently sick! Whatever you recycle, just make sure you don’t try and give last year’s present to the family member who gave it to you in the first place. You may not remember, but they will, I assure you. And your Christmas Dinner will be filled with awkward silences and accusatory looks…

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An early Dorset poet and writer

By Cecil Amor

W

e are used to thinking of William Barnes, (18011886) and Thomas Hardy, (1840-1928), as our Dorset poets and writers. However my son, Nigel, discovered an earlier Dorset man who fits the bill. He was William Holloway baptised in June 1761 in the parish of Winterborne Whitchurch, four miles from Blandford.

The Dorset Record Office, in Dorchester, advised that they have little in his file, except a few poetry books, but are aware of an article about William Holloway, the Dorset Poet on the internet. We found this, credited to “Dorset Ancestors”, April 10th 2010 (Biographies, Winterborne Whitchurch) and this has been my main source of information about Holloway.

William Holloway was the last child of Lawrence and Frances Holloway. Their great uncle, also William, was a churchwarden at his birth. Unfortunately, William was orphaned, as his father died before his son was 2 years old, and his mother died a few years later. William was apparently adopted by his grandmother. At school he is said to have studied some Greek and French and began to enjoy Milton, Gray, Shakespeare, etc. After school he moved to Weymouth and became apprenticed to a local printer. Holloway then became in charge of a printing shop attached to Weymouth Circulating and Municipal Library, owned by John Love.

Holloway married Christian Jackson at Melcombe Regis on 1st November 1787. They had four children, all daughters.

At age 37 Holloway completed his first work about the Halsewell shipwreck disaster in 1788 and a small book of verse The Cottager in 1789, both published by his employer, John Love. In 1790 and 1791 Holloway contributed five descriptive verses for 12 Weymouth Views, published by John Love, with engraver James Fittler.

By 1792 Halsewell and The Cottager had covered Holloway’s expenses. Love then published an historical ballad, The Fate of Glencoe. Holloway was interested in dramatic arts and theatrical life and composed a short epilogue for a play at Weymouth’s Theatre Royal and lyrics for a song to open a new theatre at Dartmouth.

In 1793 Love unexpectedly died and his business stock was advertised for sale. Holloway inherited the printing equipment and materials for a fee of 10 guineas per annum, which he was unable to afford and could not take up the offer. Holloway and family moved to London and he obtained a position with the East India Company, in their office in Leadenhall Street, and the family lived nearby. The job, as a clerk, was reasonably well paid, with free breakfast. The Steward family of Weymouth had associations with the East India Co., and Holloway dedicated two poems to Frances Steward, a former mayor of Weymouth. Perhaps a Steward had written Holloway a letter of introduction? Holloway worked for the East India Co. for over 30 years and most of his poetry was written during this period.

He seemed to be nostalgic for his native county, e.g. The Rustic Favoured - a fragment in Dorset Dialect, The Peasant’s Fate (reprinted 4 times, one dated 1801) and Scenes of Youth. Holloway’s poetry

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was quite prolific, other titles being Poems on Various Occasions in 1798, The Baron of Lauderbook of 1800, The Chimney Sweepers Complaint in 1806, The Minor Minstrel of 1808 and The Country Pastor in 1812.

He later partnered John Branch and they produced a small volume of Natural History.

Holloway retired from the East India Co. in 1821, aged 60, but he was not pensioned for 10 more years. The family moved to Hackney, three miles away which was then a village, and possibly less expensive than Leadenhall Street. So he did not move back to Dorset, despite his poetry showing his interest in rural life. His wife died in 1852 and Holloway himself began to decline, and his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, cared for him. The other three daughters married London men. William Holloway died at 93 years, in 1854 and is buried in Stoke Newington Cemetery, under a memorial stone. His obituary was published in the Times and acknowledged his work at the East India Co., but not his poetry.

Holloway inherited the printing equipment and materials for a fee of 10 guineas per annum, which he was unable to afford and could not take up the offer We have acquired a reproduction of The Peasants Fate, including several shorter poems, all by William Holloway. I am not a great follower of poetry, but have read this volume. We have no record of Holloway’s schooling, but this book includes many words which I needed to resort to the dictionary for their meanings, as they are not now in common use. The poem gives fine descriptions of the seasons and wild plants, and of walking to town for market and fairs and of the local people. His love of the countryside in Dorset is evident and it is surprising that he did not return here, on retirement. But his daughters had settled down in London. “Notes” at the end of the book show some evidence of his wide reading, e.g. Dr Johnson’s Dictionary.

We have another acquisition, A General Dictionary of Provincialisms—Written with a view to Rescue from Oblivion the fast fading relics of bygone days. This does not seem to have been noted by “Dorset Ancestors”. The book is dated 1839, printed by Sussex Press, Lewes and has around 200 pages. It discloses that Holloway had not travelled far from the South of England and much of his research into the dialect of the rest of the country is from other writers books, the earliest he read being dated 1775. He states that the British language has words from Ancient British, Roman, Danish, Saxon and Norman languages. Holloway believed that the early British

language is best preserved in Wales and less purely in Cornwall, but has not spent much time on the latter, as he had little acquaintance with it! He says that much of our official language is still based on Norman French, including the town criers call of “Oyez !”.

Surprisingly, Holloway does not include much Dorset dialect, referring it to be very like Somerset and Devonshire. He only says that S is Z in Dorset, but less strongly than in Somerset; Th is D; F is V and Him is un and Ago is agoo. Wiltshire differs little from Dorset, with old Saxon pronunciation retained as in the English Among being Amang, from the Saxon Oumang, and the English Along being Alang. He goes through the remaining counties in his Introduction, before proceeding with his “Dictionary of Provincialism”. I was surprised that some of the local dialect which I occasionally encounter is not included, however it has been interesting to learn how much work on language was carried out by this poet.

It has occurred to me that our present local language may be changing because of television.

The next meeting of Bridport History Society is still on Zoom only, on Tuesday November 9th at 2 for 2.30 pm. The speaker will be Member Lucy Goodison on “The Myth of the ‘Green Man’ and other ‘Fertility Fantasies’, including images in many churches. Contact Jane on 01308 425710 or email jferentzi@aol.com.

Cecil Amor, Hon President, Bridport History Society.

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Can DORSET become Britain's first Sustainable Palm Oil county?

An initiative to convince Dorset organisations to support the use of sustainable palm oil is gaining traction. Fergus Byrne has been talking to members of Efeca.

P

alm oil is versatile and efficient and used in up to 50% of products in an average UK supermarket. It can be found in foods, cosmetics, soaps, and cleaning products and it produces up to nine times more oil per unit area than other major oil crops, therefore having the potential for enormous environmental benefit—but not if its production causes deforestation.

Unsustainable production of palm oil has wiped out huge areas of rainforest in order to provide the ingredients for these products in the UK and around the world.

Almost 100 globally-renowned conservation organisations including WWF, Conservation International, Chester Zoo, Save the Rhino and The Jane Goodall Institute signed a statement in September 2021 committing to driving the palm oil industry in the right direction, and supporting a move to sustainable palm oil rather than a blanket boycott.

Efeca, a sustainability consultancy based in Dorchester and Bournemouth is hoping that businesses and organisations in Dorset will champion the use of only sustainably produced palm oil to make the county the first in the country to stand against the enormous

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environmental damage caused by deforestation for the production of palm oil. However, an outright boycott of palm oil is not the answer. In a recent statement, Efeca pointed out that a blanket boycott could lead to more deforestation and not less, as palm oil is such a highyielding crop. You would need up to nine times as much land to produce the same amount of a different vegetable oil, potentially worsening deforestation and other impacts.

A blanket boycott of palm oil could also drive the price down, which could increase demand, especially in markets that have less interest in sustainability. This reduces the incentive to produce environmentally sustainable palm oil.

Efeca points out that all agriculture has an impact: bananas, beef, cane sugar, chocolate, coconuts, coffee, pineapples, soybeans, tea, and vanilla are all produced in previously forested tropical areas. And with over 4.5 million people in Indonesia alone relying on the palm oil industry as their primary source of income, palm oil is here to stay. ‘What we need to do is ensure that it is cultivated in a sustainable way, that will have a positive impact on environment and local communities’, says Efeca Operations Director Lucy Cullinane. ‘Oil palms do not need to be grown at the expense of forests and other sensitive natural habitats.

Instead, we need to break the link between development and the degradation of natural ecosystems.’

In 2019, Chester Zoo started the Sustainable Palm Oil Communities initiative. Since then, five other towns, cities, and villages have joined the project: Saltash, Oxford, Plymouth, Newquay, and Mochdre in Wales—and in August 2021, Efeca added the first county, Dorset.

‘However, we need help to achieve the status of the world’s first sustainable palm oil county’ says Lucy. ‘We want Dorset schools, colleges, universities, council food outlets, hospitals, restaurants, hotels, fast food outlets, cafes, tourist attractions, leisure facilities, manufacturers, workplaces that offer staff catering services and retailers to get involved.’ Lucy is asking these organisations to sign up to the initiative, become a champion, and make a

Left: Palm oil trees planted on deforested land.

Below: Members of the team at Efeca.

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pledge to find out where they source their palm oil from, as well as make changes where possible to ensure that they only use certified sustainable palm oil. And then shout the message from the rooftops!

'What we need to do is ensure that it is cultivated in the least damaging way possible' Emily Fripp, Founding Director at Efeca, said: ‘Having worked with multinationals and governments on sustainable palm oil for many years, everyone at Efeca wanted to give something back to our local community.

We worked alongside Chester Zoo and Chester as they achieved their Sustainable Palm Oil City status, so we now want to help Dorset become the world’s first Sustainable Palm Oil county. We already have some champions on board and know that our community here on the sunny south coast will continue to grow over the next year.’

Organisations like Bournemouth University; Coconut and Cotton, a zero-waste shop in Shaftesbury; St Osmund’s Middle School in Dorchester; Fish n Fritz in Weymouth; Local Food Links in Bridport, Blandford and Weymouth; Warrior Agency, an ethical PR company in Bournemouth and Forerunner Personal Catering, a school food provider in Bournemouth have already committed to sourcing only sustainable palm oil.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a not-for-profit organisation that unites stakeholders from seven sectors of the palm oil industry has set up certification criteria. To be RSPO certified palm oil must be deforestation-free. It must also meet certain standards, which include assessing land for its conservation value before developing new plantations; including wildlife

corridors; improving working conditions for producers; prohibiting illegal and child labour; and gaining permission from communities beforehand.

Chester Zoo has compiled a shopping list of certified businesses which they make available on their website at: https://www.chesterzoo.org/schools/resources/ sustainable-palm-oil-shopping-list.

Lucy explained that although the hospitality industry will play a big role in increasing demand for sustainable palm oil, Efeca is also aiming to get representation from organisations in a variety of sectors across Dorset.

To reach their objective of becoming the world’s first Sustainable Palm Oil county means recruiting fifty ‘Champions’ before the end of 2021, which Lucy admits is a ‘big ask’—but in terms of benefit to the planet, it’s really not.

There are so many easily available options to switch to sustainable palm oil and Efeca believes they shouldn’t cost any more than businesses currently pay for food products and ingredients. ‘We also have free toolkits and resources to help at every stage of the switch’ said Lucy. ‘Even if you don’t have a canteen, you can switch your cleaning products so that they only have sustainable palm oil in them, or you can write a policy to say that you will check that the products or ingredients you do use only have SPO in them.’

‘But this initiative is not necessarily just about increasing the number of certified businesses in Dorset’ said Lucy.

‘It’s about getting people to ask for sustainable palm oil, creating that market demand and thus telling producers, traders, manufacturers and retailers that there is a demand and to turn away from conventional.’

If you’re interested to learn more about the Dorset Sustainable Palm Oil Community project and want to send a positive message to your customers, your employees, your students, and your community that you are doing something to reduce the impact of climate change email Efeca at dorsetsustainablecommunity@efeca.com.

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House&Garden

Vegetables in November

By Ashley Wheeler

A

utumn is well and truly upon us. We had a lovely beginning to October, with lots of sunny dry weather, and then the reality of autumn hit by the middle of the month, with wetter conditions.

November is a time when almost all of the planting is completed, with most of the polytunnel winter salads and herbs having been planted through October, and it is only really the garlic that can still be planted throughout the month of November, plus maybe some spring onions, broad beans and peas in polytunnels.

There are still some great vegetables to be harvested through the month, and the highlight for us is chicory. Those of you who know us will know that we are keen advocates of this beautiful vegetable (and perhaps even slightly obsessed).

To me, its diversity is as exciting as that of tomatoes or beans.

There are a huge range of varieties that have been bred for different conditions and to be harvested at different times through autumn and winter. It is particularly sensitive to temperature changes and shifts in daylength.

There are “precoce” (early) and “tardiva” (late) types of chicory which are treated quite differently. The tardiva varieties are initially grown in the same way as the precoce types, but they are then lifted in late autumn and forced in darkness, with their roots sitting in flowing water. There are some incredible tardiva varieties and this can be done by lifting them and putting them in a bucket of water and then the water changed every few days.

There are a few main types/shapes of the precoce varieties—Rosso di Chioggia, Rosso di Treviso, Verona, Variegata di Castelfranco, Variegata di Lusia, Rosa del Veneto and Pan di Zucchero (mostly named after the regions that they were bred in). Chioggia types are the typical solid round red varieties, Treviso types are the long, upright varieties and the Verona types are somewhere in the middle— round, but with a pointy top. The Variegata di Castelfranco types are a beautiful variegated, speckled variety known as “Tulip of the winter”. The Variegata di Lusia are similar to Castelfranco varieties in that they are a variegated light leaf with red speckles and the leaves are most like a lettuce, rather than the thicker Rosso di Chioggia thicker leaves and the Rosa del Veneto types are much like the Verona type but have beautiful pink leaves rather than the usual red of the Verona chicories. Finally the Pan di Zucchero types (Sugarloaf) are a tall, thin and crispy variety. I hope you have kept up with all of this!! The main thing to understand is that there are different types, and within these types there are lots of different varieties too...So, for example we grow Lucrezia and Fenice, which are both varieties of Variegata di Castelfranco. The different varieties are usually bred to mature after different lengths of time, and are also bred to either be particularly hardy, or not as hardy. So we select some varieties for growing early and maturing quickly - for example Lucrezia matures around 110 days after sowing, and

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Lucrezia, a beautiful Variegata di Castelfranco variety

Fenice matures around 90 days after sowing.

So, we grow around 20 different varieties of chicory through the autumn and winter, giving us a diversity of leaf shapes, colours and textures, and giving us varieties that will mature early (65 days from seed to harvest for Sirio and Spring varieties), and some that will be much more hardy (such as Lucrezia, TT706, Bottiglione) and can stay outside in the ground through the winter. Chicory get very few pest and disease problems and are a much more reliable leaf to grow through the autumn than lettuce which so often succumbs to mildew.

So, although it is too late to sow any chicory for this year, make sure you put some into your sowing plans for next year - bitter is better!!

WHAT TO SOW THIS MONTH: Not a lot! We have made all of our sowings by now, and will start tentatively with a few sowings again in January, but nothing else before then.

WHAT TO PLANT THIS MONTH: OUTSIDE: Garlic (if not planted already) INSIDE: peashoots, sugarsnap and early pea varieties, spring onions, broad beans, garlic (for extra early garlic) OTHER IMPORTANT TASKS THIS MONTH: If the weather dries, continue preparing beds for the winter if you need to plant them early in the spring (either mulch with compost, cover with straw or cover with black plastic). Don’t be tempted to tidy up too much, as old crops and flowers act as a habitat for many beneficial insects. Start going through your winter job list - whether its cleaning glasshouses or polytunnels, tidying up your propagating area, cleaning and oiling your tools or even looking through seed catalogues for a bit of inspiration for next year!

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November in the Garden

By Russell Jordan

N

ovember is not the sparkliest month in the garden.

There is a risk that a general browness and mushiness can get the upper hand if the balance between the dying down of herbaceous perennials and the more structural bones of the garden tips too far towards decay. Hopefully you will have had time to do a certain amount of judicious editing, of the earliest collapsing plants, and managed to trim evergreen hedges during September and October.

This month generally sees the majority of the deciduous trees and shrubs shedding their leaves, assuming it’s not been too wet and windy before now, so leaf collecting and composting is likely to be one of the key activities in most gardens—especially now that planting trees is a trendy thing to do once more.

Fallen leaves are largely made up of the, slower to decay, cellulose based structure of plants, with the faster composting nitrogenous compounds withdrawn before they are shed, and are therefore best composted in their own bins and not added to your general compost. I tend to make leaf composting bins out of chicken wire stapled to round posts driven into the ground. They are best placed in out of the way areas, they are not exactly decorative, preferably shaded and not too exposed to extremes of temperature. Collected leaves are placed in and wetted, if dry when raked up, with a compost accelerator added between every layer, a layer being four to six inches deep.

Commercial compost accelerators can be bought from garden centres but I generally just use good old ‘fish, blood and bone’ (see practically every other article I’ve ever written!) because it is the nitrogen content, lacking in brown leaves, which is required to feed the microbial activity at the heart of composting. If kept moist, under a covering old old carpet / sacking / a discarded duvet, the leaves should break down over the course of a year, longer for really large, tough, leaves, and produce the most wonderful leaf mould which is an excellent soil conditioner, once prized as a constituent of tailor made growing substrates for plants like orchids and ferns.

If you have no room for large, ugly, chicken wire bins full of decaying leaves then a system I’ve had some success with is the use of black bin liners to contain the fallen leaves. In this

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case I gather up the fallen leaves and wet them, while still on the ground, before sprinkling with ‘fish, blood and bone’ so that it sticks to the wet leaves. I then rake them into a large mound, attempting to mix them up a bit as I go, in readiness to stuff them, fairly densely, into the bin liners. Once stuffed full, tied at the neck, the bulging bags are stabbed with fork so that they are able to break down aerobically (in the presence of oxygen) rather than excluding air which is likely to ‘pickle’ your fallen leaves. When stabbing the bags I like to think of those army training films where a bunch of squaddies charge at straw stuffed sacking with bayonets attached—I think you get the picture. The stabbed bags should be tucked away, maybe you have a forgotten corner of the garden, where they can gently rot away unseen.

Talking about ‘rotting away unseen’, if you have left dubiously hardy plants, like dahlias, in the ground, until now, then they really should be lifted, all the top growth cut off, the tubers cleaned of wet soil and then stored, packed into wooden crates if you have them, somewhere frost-free (under the greenhouse benches is the traditional repository) until they come back into growth in the spring. It is possible to leave dahlias in the ground over winter, especially if they are mulched with a thick layer of compost, but it is a bit of a lottery as to whether the tubers will succumb to rotting, quite likely in a very wet winter, or be killed outright if we have a hard winter with extremely low temperatures. Leaving them in the ground also makes them very prone to being eaten, from the inside out, by ‘black keeled’ slugs, the same little blighters that ruin your potatoes if left in the ground for too long. Dahlias are really just potatoes for people on Instagram!

It’s practically a legal requirement, when writing about gardening in November, to mention that now is the best time to plant tulip bulbs, after all your other autumn planted bulbs have been planted, because they are left late for cultural reasons (reducing the risk of ‘tulip fire’). I remember reporting on trials, for ‘Gardening Which?’, where planting tulip bulbs was left really late, up to the end of December I think, and they still flowered successfully. For this reason it’s one of the few times that I might actually suggest that you look at for ‘bargain’ bulbs in supermarkets, garden centres and online with a good chance that they might actually still

be a viable proposition. As per usual, only plant bulbs which are still firm, intact, of a good size, not mouldy and not too far advanced into growth (a little green tip may be visible, with roots just appearing, but they mustn’t practically flowering).

Another ‘traditional’ thing to mention right now is that the shedding of leaves, from deciduous trees and shrubs, signals their descent into winter dormancy and therefore heralds the beginning of the ‘bare root planting season’. There is no particular hurry when it comes to obtaining larger trees and shrubs, for bare root planting, as they are more tolerant of being planted at any time up to spring bud break. However, if you are planning to establish herbaceous plants from bare root stock, as it is cheaper and easier to acquire them this way, then time is more pressing because they are more successful when planted into soil that still retains some summer warmth.

If you receive bare root plants and planting conditions are not ideal, too wet or cold, then it’s a good idea to pot them up into potting compost as a temporary measure, keeping them alive, until planting conditions improve. Large plants can be ‘heeled’ into a spare bit of land, often where something else has already been lifted, simply by digging a hole, or trench, deep enough to cover the bare roots and then shovel the soil back and firm it over the roots with your heel. This is not a permanent planting but just a quick way of keeping your precious plants in suspended animation until they are planted properly, with more care and attention, once you have time and the weather on your side.

Hopefully this month there will be plenty of days when both time and the weather coalesce to provide perfect gardening opportunities.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 37

PROPERTY ROUND-UP

What can I buy for £300,000

By Helen Fisher

BRIDPORT £295,000

A Grade II listed 3 bedroom Edwardian house, recently updated.

Originality and charm throughout inc: exposed wooden floors, cast iron bath, wood burning stove and free-standing vintage kitchen units.

A glorious, very long garden divided into sections with water feature, summerhouse and timber workshop.

Kennedys Tel: 01308 427329

BEAMINSTER £250,000

A 2 double bedroom Grade II listed cottage presented to a high standard throughout. A light filled sitting room with window seat and attractive fireplace and wood burning stove. Modern kitchen with pantry cupboard.

Family bathroom with large walk-in double shower. Low maintenance enclosed rear garden with decking area and brick built shed.

Parkers Tel: 01308 420111

COLYTON £300,000

MAIDEN NEWTON £300,000

A 3 bedroom, end of terrace house built approx 10 years ago and benefitting from good insulation, heating and glazing. With an attractive fitted kitchen and family bathroom with jacuzzi spa bath.

Lovely far-reaching countryside views. Rear patio garden with shed and large front parking area for 2 vehicles.

Gordon & Rumsby Tel: 01297 553768

Attractive Victorian family home, 4 bedrooms walking distance to village amenities & countryside. Beautifully presented throughout with many period features. Reception room with wood burning stove and original flagstones. Kitchen/diner with slate flooring, exposed brickwork and beams. Private, enclosed large rear garden to enjoy the evening sun.

Symonds and Sampson Dorchester Tel: 01305 261008

UPLYME £295,000

PORTLAND £269,000

A detached character cottage of about 200 years old - now requiring complete renovation. With 3 bedrooms, family bathroom and reception room with wood burning stove. Stone walled front garden with a variety of mature shrubs and trees. Plus summerhouse and outside storage space.

Martin Diplock Tel: 01297 445500

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A Grade II listed 2 bedroom cottage arranged over 3 floors with many original features. Inc: sash windows, wooden beams, Portland stone walls and fireplace. Light filled, modern kitchen with door to the rear walled garden. With a variety of shrub and tree borders, stone patio area and hot tub.

Symonds and Sampson Poundbury Tel: 01305 251154

Opportunities to unlock Dorset’s net zero potential

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new report mapping out options for Dorset to become net zero by 2050 has been published by Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). Set against a national net zero agenda, the Decarbonising Dorset report identifies an array of investment opportunities, including those bespoke to Dorset.

Dorset’s Local Industrial Strategy, developed by Dorset LEP with local stakeholders, agreed to tackle climate change head-on and develop a county which is energy resilient, utilising local renewable energy sources.

The report highlights that Dorset is a unique microcosm of future energy opportunities, boasting significant potential in all key low carbon energy sectors, from solar PV and offshore wind to hydrogen and energy storage, as well as having potential for onshore wind, marine energy, nuclear and bioresource. The historic onshore oil and gas production in the region, and salt caverns underlying Portland, offer opportunities for hydrogen, carbon and energy storage that are unique in the South of England.

Cecilia Bufton, Dorset LEP Chair, says: ‘This document is Dorset’s guide to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

It includes exciting opportunities to decarbonise Dorset and provide significant economic and social benefit for the county at the same time—low-carbon energy options ready for investment and immediate success.

‘Our strategic vision for Dorset aligns with the government’s goal of national net zero emissions by 2050.

We have shown how Dorset can do it, now we must work with local players to turn opportunities into action!’

Dorset’s demand for electricity is expected to more than double by 2050. To meet this demand, the Committee on Climate Change, the UK’s independent adviser on tackling climate change, has estimated that renewable energy generation capacity needs to quadruple.

According to this report from Dorset LEP, renewable energy solutions suitable for Dorset include solar, wind, hydrogen, bioenergy and nuclear. Solar presents a major opportunity for the county thanks to large areas of lower grade agricultural land. Meanwhile, hydrogen energy generation could benefit from storage within Dorset’s salt caverns, and marine-sourced heat pump projects can aid decarbonising heating.

As well as identifying clean energy opportunities, this report also highlights how improving the energy efficiency of buildings, moving to a low-carbon transport system, and exploring flexible energy network solutions, will all be key to achieving net zero. Electric vehicles, for example, make up just 0.3% of total cars registered in Dorset—developing infrastructure across the county to support these initiatives will be a crucial step forward.

Read the document online at www.dorsetlep.co.uk/ dorset-net-zero and stay up to date with all progress on Dorset’s net zero ambition on Twitter and LinkedIn using #DorsetNetZero.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 39

Food&Dining

BUTTER BAKED APPLES A perfect accompaniment to go with roast pork will be a dish of butter-baked apples. These are great prepared ahead and then popped into the oven for the last 30 minutes or so of your pork cooking time. Our local Charles Ross apples are firm and juicy; with a good texture for this dish, or Coxes makes a good alternative.

LESLEY WATERS

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

• 6 Charles Ross or Coxes apples • 55g / 2oz unsalted butter • 2 tablespoons finely chopped sage • 1 clove garlic, crushed • 2 tablespoons demerara sugar • 150 ml / ¼ pint dry cider • freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 220 C/ 425 F/ gas mark 5.

2. Core each apple and, using a sharp knife, score a ring around the centre of each.

Place in an ovenproof dish.

3. Beat together the butter, sage and garlic and season with freshly ground black pepper.

4. Spoon the sage butter into the cavity of each apple and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the sugar over the top of each apple.

5. Pour in the cider. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the apples are soft all the way through.

Serves 6

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Jenny Eclair is 60 COMEDIAN Jenny Eclair can’t believe it.

She has hit 60. But she can comfort herself with the knowledge that she is still a year younger than Madonna, as she tells audience on her new national tour, Jenny Eclair: Sixty! (FFS!), coming to Herrison Hall at Charlton Down, with Dorchester Arts, on Friday 5th November.

Jenny (aka “The Face of Vagisan”) confronts a new decade of decrepitude.

Now that it takes 20 minutes of scrolling down to find her date of birth when she’s filling in forms online, should she celebrate or crawl into a hole? What will her 60s hold for this 1960s babe and is it a legal requirement to buy Nordic walking poles?

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 41

TEMPERLEY BRAMBLE SOUR There’s still a few blackberries in the bramble bushes or you may well have frozen some for the winter months which are perfect for this autumnal or winter cocktail

MARK HIX

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

• 90ml Somerset 3yr cider brandy • 40-50ml Burrow Hill apple juice • 30ml Somerset Pomona • 25ml white sugar syrup • The juice of a small lemon • 1 egg white • A few blackberries crushed with the back of a spoon and a whole one to garnish.

1. Put all of the ingredients into a shaker, shake without ice briefly to combine all of ingredients.

2. Then fill the shaker with cubed ice and shake for roughly ten seconds to ensure sufficient chilling and dilution.

3. Strain into a Champagne coupe and garnish with a blackberry.

Serves 2

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Spinning the Moon postponed again

DORCHESTER’s seventh community play, Spinning the Moon, has been postponed until spring 2023. The ongoing effects of Covid, as well as other logistical concerns, prompted the managing board of the Dorchester Community Plays Association to delay the production by another 12 months.

Spinning the Moon was due to be performed over Easter 2020, but rehearsals were brought to an abrupt halt by the first lockdown.

There were hopes that the cast of more than 120 performers would be back rehearsing in time to stage the play by spring 2022, but uncertainties still surrounding rising Covid numbers have put the play back another year.

Rowan Seymour, the chairman of DCPA, says: ‘After an exhaustive risk assessment, the DCPA board has made the decision that there is not enough certainty to go ahead with our production of Spinning the Moon in April 2022.

‘Uncertainty about the Covid-19 situation over the coming winter months and other logistical factors have played their part in this thinking. The health and safety of the cast, crew and audience are our major priority.’

The play will be re-launched early in 2022, with a production date of April 2023. Rowan says: ‘Although this is extremely frustrating and disappointing, we will use this time and opportunity to make Spinning the Moon the incredible production I know it will be!’

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Arts&Entertainment

Bee Tiger Burton Bradstock based entomologist, Philip Howse, investigates the hawk-moth and it’s ability to use mimicry and deception to trick predators. James Crowden has been reading his latest book.

T

his is a remarkable book by a remarkable man.

Bee Tiger has nothing directly to do with tigers but in a very subtle way it does. Mimicry and deception are at the very core of this book. The Bee Tiger is a very clever moth and Professor Philip Howse has delved into its secrets. The subtitle of the book is, The Death’s Head Hawk-Moth through the looking glass. Already this phrase conjures up images of Alice in Wonderland. And that is not out of place.

The Bee Tiger moth is so named because of its yellow and black-striped abdomen and its silent entry into a hive of unwary bees to get their honey undetected. Which is quite a feat when we consider bees to be very clever, alert and hard working. All those sweet productive hives dripping with honey. So the moth is a bit of sponger. One of nature’s cads, a bit like the cuckoo. But you have to admire its gall.

The other name that it is known by ‘Death’s head hawk moth’ is more to do with our own fears and superstitions. We fear death and yet we perceive signs of death even in a moth which has sinister skull like markings on its upper thorax.

The Bee Tiger moth comes from Africa and is often found on mainland Europe, but is a visitor to our shores in the summer months. The moth’s elusive markings have evolved to deceive its predators which are in the main birds and bats. The moth is very brave to enter bee hives and steal honey, and to get away with it without being stung. So in a sense it is a double agent, and a very clever one at that.

In this short book Philip Howse explores not only the magical way in which this moth operates in the

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natural world, but he explores the role of mimicry and deception in survival, as well as our own superstitions linked to it. In Germany, for instance, the moth was used as a talisman in the late Middle Ages by farmers who nailed it to stable doors to keep away evil spirits.

But Philip is a fine entomologist and always wants to get to the bottom of things. Here we are dealing with evolution in a Darwinian sense, where every aspect of moth’s design and camouflage has a role to play. He quotes Miriam Rothschild and her proposition that birds who live off insects will find yellow and black markings intimidating, as they trigger fears of hornets and giant bees. Then again Philip quotes the work of Nikolas Tinbergen the Oxford ethologist who worked on animal senses and proved that birds have blinkered vision. They see the detail first and then run a mile without stopping to think that it is only a moth. Mimicry has worked.

The moth has survived.

Indeed, mimicry is also the essence of military camouflage. But it does not stop there. There is sound. The adults emit a squeak when alarmed, made by expelling air through its proboscis (tongue), which has a structure that vibrates like the reed of a wind instrument. The species is nocturnal.

Philip Howse takes us on an incredible journey into the meaning of skulls and art, potatoes and honey, superstition, bats, birds and mirrors. The doors of perception are flung wide open. Our own culture is intimately woven into this remarkable story. The book is a little gem and a fantastic read.

Images clockwise from above: Illustrations of the Death’s Head Hawk Moth from Réaumur’s ‘Mémoires pour servir a l’Histoire des Insects’ (1744).

Acherontia lachesis, the greater Death’s Head Hawk Moth photo © Thomas Schoch.

Attic vase from around 540 BC at the British Museum showing people collecting honey and defending themselves against bees.

Icons of the Fates and of the River Styx. Courtesy Jean Haxaire.

Bee Tiger published by Brambleby Books @ £13.99 ISBN 9781908241627

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November PREVIEW

Evita

AXMINSTER Evita was a legend in her own lifetime and since her death in 1952, the legends have increased. By the end of the twentieth century she had been immortalised on stage and screen and is now regarded as one of the strongest, most idolised female icons of the last century. Evita tells the real story of this enigmatic popular heroine, a village girl who rose to stardom first as an actress, then as the mistress of General Peron and finally as the world’s most powerful presidential wife.

Axminster Musical Theatre presents Evita, the worldfamous stage & film musical sensation from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Without doubt, one of their best known collaborations, it is pure entertainment from beginning to end, brimming with some of the musical world’s most memorable and well-loved songs, particularly the standout Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.

Evita is this year’s must-see Axminster Musical Theatre’s show, an irresistible and exciting production that should pack theatregoers into The Guildhall for its five night run, from Tuesday-Saturday, 16th to 20th November at 7 30 pm.

Tickets can be purchased on line from axmt.co.uk or from The Community Waffle House, Trinity Square, Axminster.

Opening hours 9am to 9pm Tuesday to Saturday (cash or cheque). For further information, ring Rose on 079672 05302.

An amdram prodigal returns

BROADOAK AND PIDDLETRENTHIDE HANNAH Maxwell’s family has a long heritage of amateur dramatics until Hannah broke the chain. And then she returned as she recounts in her one-woman show, I, AmDram, coming to Piddletrenthide and Broadoak village halls with Artsreach on 10th and 11th November.

The show, described as “a story of return, reconciliation and rehearsals with mum”, takes an embarrassing moment as its starting point: “My voice cracked on the high note. I saw my Nan wince. The blood rushed to my cheeks—and a century’s lineage lay shattered on the floor.”

This is a play about the hidden history of many a performance artist. From four generations of leading ladies comes one queer Londoner, sharing a story of return and reconciliation—with her hometown, cultural inheritance and secret love of musical theatre.

A former slave’s story

HALSTOCK MARY Prince was born a slave but she survived the brutality of a Bermuda plantation to become a powerful voice for the abolitionist movement. Her story is told in Sold, by awardwinning Kuumba Nia Arts, coming to Halstock village hall on Friday 26th November.

Sold won the Best Ensemble award at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019 and was named Show of the Week at VAULT 46 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

Award winning show ‘Sold’ at Halstock in November

Festival in 2020.

Born into slavery in 1788, Mary Prince told her story in an autobiography which had an electrifying effect on the abolition movement. With the abolitionist Thomas Pringle, who took her into his household, Mary told her story in The History of Mary Prince, the first account of the life of a black woman to be published in the United Kingdom. It was reprinted twice in its first year.

Through theatre, song, music, drumming and dance, Sold, an outstanding example of Black British theatre, is inspired by the storytelling traditions of the West African grit.

BBC 3 comedy star

LYME REGIS BBC 3 comedian Tez Ilyas, star of the multi-award-winning Man Like Mobeen, is coming to the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis on 13th November.

In 2015 Tez Ilyas achieved fame with his debut stand up hour TEZ Talks. A sell-out run at the Soho Theatre and his own Radio 4 series based on the show followed.

His other successes include The Tez O’Clock Show (Channel 4) and his debut novel The Secret Diary of a British Muslim Aged 13 3/4, a teenage memoir, was a bestseller.

Storytelling with sitar

VILLAGES STORYTELLER Emily Hennessey and sitar player Sheema Mukherjee get together for three dates with Artsreach, with their show, Ganga—Tales of the River, at Wootton Fitzpaine village hall on Friday 19th November at 7:45pm. Powerstock Hut on Saturday 20th at 7.30 and Shillingstone’s Portman Hall on Sunday 21st at 7.30.

When the River Goddess leaps from the skies, only Shiva’s hair can catch her wild torrents. But still she roars, surging

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from mountains to sea, leaving no stone—or ego—unturned as she washes illusion from the truth. In the heavens, bored brothers steal the holy cow and face a terrible punishment—a life on earth!

A king has more sons than space, but taking a fancy to the Sky God’s palace is never going to end well. A woman journeys deep into the kingdom of death to demand the impossible. And when a tiny fish flips out of the river, a young girl holds the end of one world and the beginning of the next in her hands.

Emily Hennessey and Sheema Mukherjee have been fusing storytelling and music for many years, specialising in Indian mythology, with music that draws on both Indian classical and contemporary traditions.

New play asks: Who cares?

BRIDPORT THE bell sounds, you take a breath, and then it starts ... Matt Woodhead’s play Who Cares, co-produced by LUNG theatre and the Lowry, brings the hidden stories of young carers to the stage at Bridport Arts Centre on Friday 12th November.

Sitting at the back of the bus, skipping the lunch queue and skiving lessons—three young people, Nicole, Jade and Connor, are just like everybody else at school. But when they get home, things are very different.

Nicole started caring for her mum when she was four.

Every morning Nicole helps her get washed, put on clothes and eat breakfast. Jade has always cared for her brother, but she never expected to look after dad as well—now she juggles two lots of appointments, two lots of prescriptions, two lots of assessment forms. Connor cares for his mum. But he doesn’t like to talk about it.

Adapted from real-life testimonies, the play examines the impact of austerity, our failing social care system and what happens when a child becomes the parent.

Winner of several awards at the Edinburgh Fringe, Who Cares was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2021.

Krump

WEYMOUTH JOSHUA Nash, one of the country’s leading Krump performers brings a double bill, Blacklist and Fig Leaf to Weymouth College’s Bay Theatre on Wednesday 10th November at 7:30pm.

Krump is a form of street dance characterised by free, expressive, exaggerated, and highly energetic movement.

It’s the heavy metal of the dance world, a way Joshua Nash brings street dance to Weymouth College of expressing difficult emotions, the ones that get you all twisted up inside.

Blacklist is an explosive piece asking how we cope with inner conflict? The piece delves into brotherhood, isolation and friendship explored through hip hop, krump and theatre.

Fig Leaf asks what does it mean to be a man? And when does masculinity become toxic? Swinging from love and support, to anger and aggression, the dancers fight the urge to compete with one another and instead attempt to create a support network, brotherhood and community bond.

Etheridge and Garrick on tour

VILLAGES TWO of Dorset’s favourite jazz musicians, guitarist John Etheridge and violinist Chris Garrick are coming for a short tour with Artsreach, on Friday 12th November at Broadmayne village hall, Saturday 13th at Winterborne Stickland’s Pamela Hambro Hall and Sunday 14th at Drimpton village hall, all starting at 7.30pm.

Etheridge and Garrick have performed together for many years. Back with a new show, this world class duo provides a feast of interplay, improvisation and eclectic repertoire, with music ranging from Peter Gabriel to Richard Rogers via Dollar Brand and Alison Goldfrapp.

Using looping and other effects, the two musicians create exotic tapestries of sound, switching seamlessly to a pure acoustic, with rollicking renditions of Hot Club swing, evoking the spirit of Reinhardt and Grappelli.

Old rockers and a new dream

HONITON VARIETY is definitely spicing the programme for November at Honiton’s Beehive centre, from patriotic nostalgia to a new take on Shakespeare’s Dream via some great bluegrass and a loud night with a classic rock band.

The month’s calendar kicks up its heels on Thursday 4th with Happy Days are Here Again, an afternoon show celebrating the anniversary of VE Day, full of nostalgic merriment and song.

All Is Mended, on Monday 8th, also at 2pm is described as a repurposing of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Living Room Theatre, turning the woodland fantasy of mistaken identity, forest fairies and star-crossed lovers into a poignant

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YOUNG LIT FIX IN NOVEMBER and witty tale of love and life in a care home. The everyday traumas, problem pets and mischievous squirrels that inhabit Tim Dowling’s Guardian column are replaced with a banjo as he heads to Devon with Police Dog Hogan, coming to the Beehive on Friday 12th November at 8pm. The eclectic sevenpiece band, playing-fiddle, trumpet, mandolin, drums and guitars with four-part harmonies, fuse country, pop, folk and urban bluegrass.

Wishbone Ash have been rocking around the country for more than 50 years, and they’re still on the road, hitting Honiton on Saturday 13th, showing that they deserve their reputation as one of the most celebrated bands in the history of rock.

Local performers get their night at the mic in the Beehive folk cafe on Wednesday 17th.

You can go along and sing or play or just listen, with folk cafe host Sue King.

The November diary ends on Friday 26th with a remarkable one-man show by Gareth Armstrong. Shylock explores the tragic, funny and often unbelievable life of fiction’s most famous Jew.

Syrian pianist & peace activist

TOURING THE Syrian-born pianist Riyad Nicolas, a dedicated campaigner for peace and awareness of the plight of his country, will give three concerts with Concerts in the West on 5th and 6th November.

Born in Aleppo in 1989, Riyad’s first appearance with an orchestra was in the city at the age of ten. He came to Britain in 2005 on a scholarship to study at the Purcell School of Music and later, the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music, receiving several prizes and distinctions.

He has performed in many countries including France, Spain, Germany, and the USA as a soloist with orchestras, as a recitalist and chamber music player at numerous festivals and music societies.

Works by Schubert, including two sonatas, form the core of his solo programme, plus Liszt transcriptions of two Schubert songs and an Étude by Scriabin. His Concerts in the West dates are Friday 5th, 11.30am at Bridport Arts Centre and 8pm that evening at Ilminster Arts Centre, followed by The Dance House at Crewkerne on Saturday 6th at 7.30pm.

Through music Riyad has been promoting peace and raising awareness for the plight of the Syrian people and performing for organisations including the UNHCR and the International Rescue Committee.

GPW

PICTURE BOOK There’s a Bear on My Chair and There’s a Mouse in My House

By Ross Collins Nosy Crow Publishing RRP £6.99 Recommended for Ages 3+ REVIEW BY Antonia Squire MAYHEM in rhyme abounds in these hilarious, rollicking stories of a mouse and a bear who simply don’t understand boundaries!

In There’s a Bear on My Chair, Mouse is driven to distraction as he finds Bear in his favourite chair. Trying everything to get him to shift, Bear simply will not move until finally Mouse storms out of his house in a bit of a huff.

There has to be somewhere else Mouse can find a comfy place to sit. Right???

Oh No! Mouse has found Bear’s house in the hilarious follow up There’s a Mouse in My House! Fully rested in Mouse’s favourite chair, Bear heads home to find his own house has been invaded by the pesky rodent. Causing chaos around the house, Mouse is getting his own back and Bear is desperately frustrated by the Mouse in his House. But what goes around does seem to come around.

Will Mouse and Bear ever be able to get back to normal and live in peace? There’s only one way to find out…

MIDDLE GRADE Nell and the Cave Bear Written and illustrated by Martin Brown, Piccadilly Press RRP £6.99 Recommended for readers aged 7+ REVIEW BY Nicky Mathewson NELL is an orphan (her mum got sick and her dad got frozen!) so her only real friend is Cave Bear who is also an orphan. She found him when he was a tiny cub and nursed him back to health. The two of them live with the rest of the Cave Clan as part of one big family. They are preparing for the annual trip to the hunting grounds and a rare visit from their seaside cousins; the Sea Clan.

It’s a big deal for everyone and the elders are worried that they won’t have enough gifts to offer their cousins. The suggestion is made that the small pet bear that Nell plays with would make an excellent offering

to the Sea Clan. On hearing this, Nell is horrified, Cave Bear isn’t any old pet, he’s her beloved friend and she would do anything to protect him.

She makes the decision to run away and follow the river flowing away from the cave, it too is running away. With Cave Bear by her side she encounters danger and many surprises on her journey further and further away from home.

Martin Brown is best known for illustrating the fabulous Horrible Histories series and I’m thrilled that he has now written and illustrated his own book for younger readers. Nell is bold, brave and caring and she makes a wonderful heroine in this delightful historical, and also humorous, adventure. Perfect for independent readers and also a lovely read aloud.

TEEN Hatchet

by Gary Paulsen Macmillan Children’s Books RRP £6.99 REVIEW BY Nicky Mathewson BRIAN has spent his whole life in Boston, Massachusetts, but when his parents divorce his dad moves to the wilds of Alaska to work for a logging company.

Staying in Boston with his mum, Brian is eagerly looking forward to the summer holidays when he can visit his dad.

As the only passenger on the cargo plane heading out to the logging area from Boston, Brian has his backpack and the hatchet his dad gave him before he left. Everything is fine until the pilot has a heart attack midflight and the plane crash lands in a lake in the middle of the Canadian wilderness.

Completely alone, with just the clothes on his back and his trusty hatchet, Brian has to figure out how to build shelter, make fire and find food. Unsure whether he will be rescued Brian has no one to rely on except himself and city boy against the elements are not odds he relishes.

First published in 1986 Hatchet has remained a staple of young adult adventure fiction for 35 years. Especially loved by boys who are ‘reluctant readers’ (many of them reading it over and over again) it is a brilliant book about resilience and resourcefulness. I’ve been handselling this title for years, but decided to shout about it again with the news in October about the death of Gary Paulsen. What an extraordinary legacy to leave behind, I cannot recommend it highly enough!

10% off RRP of these books for Marshwood Vale Readers at The Bookshop, 14 South Street, Bridport DT6 3NQ. Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 49

Screen Time with Nic Jeune

CINEMA

PLAZA CINEMA House of Gucci (2021) No reviews yet. The Book from which the film is adapted had as its by-line A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed. Even better the Observer headline of the review of the book ran as ‘How a Family Empire Went to Hell in a Handbag’.

This film is a class act. Ridley Scott has come a long way from being a trainee set designer on Z cars. At 83 he is still making films and has many more lined up in the future. Last month he released Last Duel also with Adam Driver. In House of Gucci he has a top cast with Jared Leto, Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons with Adam Driver and Lady Gaga in the two leading roles ODEON CINEMAS Dune (2021) Denise Villeneuve directed Blade Runner 2049 the follow up to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and here he follows on from David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel. “I’ll always love Lynch’s “Dune,” a severely compromised dream-work that (not surprising given Lynch’s own inclination) had little use for Herbert’s messaging. But Villeneuve’s movie IS “Dune.” Glen Kenny. Roger Ebert.com.

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BBC IPLAYER The Mother (2003) BBC has a tribute to director Roger Michel who died in September and directed a host of fine films (Notting Hill, Venus, Enduring Love). In The Mother Daniel Craig demonstrates his craft away from the Bond franchise and there is a wonderful performance by Anne Reid. “Every element of The Mother, directed by Roger Michell and written by Hanif Kureishi, fits together with perfection.” Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times NETFLIX Passing (2021) Passing is the directorial debut of the actor Rebecca Hall. An adaptation of the novella by Nella Larson it was a nominee for the grand jury Prize at this years Sundance Film Fesitval. “The muted elegance of Passing’s design proves to be a deft feint for a film full of passion and profound longing, highlighted by two controlled but devastating performances.” Tim Grierson Screen Daily.

Bruised (2020) Halle Berry not only direct this but also takes the lead. Originally Blake Lively was to lead on this with Nick Cassavettes directing then Halle Berry took over the role of director and shortly after the lead character of Jackie Justice. No reviews available so may be it is a question of whether a MMA fighting drama is what you wish on a night in.

Once Upon A Time in America (1984) “A film as epic and rich as Sergio Leone’s imagination, Once Upon a Time in America sits at the head table of gangster movies.”

BBC. In 2015, the film was ranked at number nine of Time Out’s list of 50 best gangster films of all time , while in 2021 The Guardian cited it as the fourth greatest mobster film ever made.

However, one film critic on its re-release in 2014 said “But to this day the misogyny remains indigestible.” Donald Clarke Irish Times.

Wainwright Prize winner James Rebanks at BridLit

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ward-winning nature writer James Rebanks is the final speaker at Bridport Literary Festival this year.

In an addition to the published programme, festival director Tanya Bruce-Lockhart managed to persuade him down from Cumbria just days after Rebanks won the prestigious Wainwright Prize for his book English Pastoral: An Inheritance.

The event at The Electric Palace, Bridport, at 7.30pm on Saturday 13 November looks set to be popular. He’ll be in conversation with Elizabeth Wainwright.

The story of Rebanks’s family farm in the Cumbrian Fells was praised by the Wainwright Prize judges as a ‘seminal work which will still be celebrated in 50 years.’ The award is named after writer and fell walker Alfred Wainwright. It goes to the book that ‘most successfully inspires readers to explore the outdoors and to nurture a respect for the natural world.’

The award comes at a time when interest in nature writing is at its highest. Natural history sales totalled £2.8 million July and August, according to Nielsen BookScan, up 21% on the same period last year and 31% on 2019.

A very personal book, English Pastoral should appeal to farmers and anyone who lives and works the land. It tells of how rural landscapes around the world were brought close to collapse, and the age-old rhythms of work, weather, community and wild things were lost.

Rebanks, who wrote the award winning The Shepherd’s Life, is doing his best to restore the life that had vanished, to leave a legacy for the future for our green and pleasant land. His book is one of hope, what it means to have love and pride in a place, and how, against all the odds, it may still be possible to build a new pastoral: not a utopia, but somewhere decent for us all.

TV doctor Hilary Jones launches historical epic

D

r Hilary Jones is probably Britain’s best known GP. His long career in television and radio has made him a household name.

His voice has that calm, reassuring bedside manner that reaches the parts other broadcasting doctors cannot reach.

And now Dr Hilary Jones has found his writing voice, launching his epic historical series which is set in the midst of a pandemic rather appropriately in the midst of a pandemic.

He’ll be at BridLit in conversation with Sally Laverack on Thursday 11 November at the Bull Ballroom at 10am.

They’ll be talking about Frontline, a sweeping sumptuous World War I medical drama set during the Spanish Flu pandemic, when only the strongest survived.

The pandemic killed an estimated 50 million people, with the mortality rate higher in the 20-40s age range and those below five and over 65.

Frontline is the first book in a series charting the rise of a prominent British medical family in the twentieth century.

From wars to a pandemic, the discovery of penicillin to the birth of the NHS, successive generations of the Burnett family are at the vanguard of life-saving developments in medicine.

Dr Hilary’s debut novel focuses on aristocrat’s daughter Grace, a nurse, and Will, a young soldier, who meet in a field hospital in France. Rumours of Armistice abound but hopes of peace are threatened by the deadly virus.

At BridLit, Dr Hilary will be discussing the challenges posed by writing romantic fiction and plotting the course of a family saga across the 20th century. Are there parallels with Covid 19, which has affected global well-being?

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 51

Review

Bridport Youth Dance

Bridport Youth Dance returned to the stage in September with a powerful and moving treat, reminding us what we’ve been missing for too long. And once again, they raised the bar. Opening the evening with their short film “Freedom/Connection” was a brilliant choice says Colin Ward.

Photographs by Maisie Hill

N

ikki Northover’s choreography and direction weaved perfectly through the natural surroundings. It went much further than a nice film location. Embracing the rolling motions of the cascading waves; standing high looking over the views; taking flight like a bird all formed the language of the movement.

Memorable motifs appeared to echo the focus and spirit of Tai Chi. I can’t say if that was the intention, but it was my feeling.

Gestures rolled like breaking waves, and gravity-defying leaps were reminiscent of fallen leaves in the wind.

Credit must also go to the stunning cinematography. In one moment we were treated to panoramic views; next, we’re enclosed in a tunnel, a shadow cast on the wall. It was composed of delicate poignancy and rugged industrialism. Film-maker Elliot Millson’s appreciation and experience of dance as BYD alumni was evident. Just as essential was the soulful and vibrant music of Andrew Dickson ( The Dance Weavers Emerging) and Elliot Millson ( The Dance Weavers – Freedom/ Connection) threading the projects together.

As the screen went up on stage the dancers hit the first downbeat with razor-sharp precision. The energetic atmosphere captured the relationship with the opening film was clear.

Drawing all three dimensions of the space in front of us, the fluidity of the dancers demonstrated a sincere connection with the music. One of the qualities of BYD that always excites me is how we always get so much more than marking the count of music. Lyricism and narrative flowed from scene to scene, building the narrative. The narrative scenes with voiceovers delivered sincerity and an occasional sprinkling of humour. It was human, truthful, and honest. Especially notable was the

52 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

dialogue on mental health, social media, and much more.

A fierce attitude in the street dance was punctuated by expertly held moments of pause. It takes great skill and confidence in any choreographer and dancer to know when stillness captures the moment. It’s the same as a musician knowing when silence speaks volumes.

The blistering attack of the tap was a pleasure to see and hear again. Speed and technical skill aside, the melodic and rhythmic quality was exhilarating. I am always left in awe of how they do it. That’s what true talent is: mystifying in appearance, hiding the evident amount of rehearsal it must take to prepare.

All three dimensions of the stage were filled throughout. As always, BYD managed the transitions with dexterity, keeping the pace up throughout.

I took away a strong message from this show. A powerful theme of the need to communicate and reconnect with each other – and of course, with nature. This has been the voice of our youth for the past couple of years. A yearning to be heard, to combat external oppression, and the internal pain of loneliness.

BYD achieves this every time. The company communicates universal themes without falling into preaching to the audience.

Essentially, they present us with dialogue through the language of movement.

We’ve all missed BYD’s productions over the past year or so. I recommend visiting their website to follow links to their film work.

We need to see more professional dance in Bridport, and we have a resident company that would be our perfect ambassadors.

The razor-sharp skill and discipline, and all the thirsty fluidity in the work is testament to Nikki Northover and the rest of the team. Long may it continue to engage and excite us all.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 53

November GALLERIES

3 - 26 November

Amy Albright Feature Exhibition Amy Albright has developed a visual language that alludes to the interconnecting natural forms and patterns that surround us. Open Wed - Sat 10-5pm Artwave West, Morcombelake, Dorset DT6 6DY www.artwavewest.com

6 - 19 November

Amanda Popham Annual Solo Show. 10am – 5.30pm. Steam Gallery at Beer Fore Street Beer Nr Seaton Devon, EX 12 3JB Phone: +44 (0) 1297 625144 Email: info@steamgallery.co.uk

6 November – 24 December Photo essay by Terry Jeavons at Thelma Hulbert Gallery from 6 November

1 - 27 November

Jackie Middleton exhibiting her colourful collection of artwork.

Water oils on canvas includes many subjects including landscapes, street scenes, gardens and much more. Come and have a look, viewing daily from 8.30 - 4pm at Unique Framecraft, Units 4 - 5 Millwey Rise Workshops, Second Avenue, Axminster. EX13 5HH. Telephone 01297 631614 or 07801 260259. Instagram :uniqueframecraft.

1 November - 24 December

All Wrapped Up: Festive Exhibition of Handmade Gifts: open daily 10:30-4:30 Get festive preparation done early with the opening of SSW Shop’s ‘All Wrapped Up’: a special selling exhibition featuring some of the best handmade decorations, tableware, greetings cards and gift inspiration our local artistic community has to offer. The gallery has chosen to work with over 50 of the most talented artists and designer-makers in the South West region and have sourced thoughtful, one-off, gift ideas that will be suitable for even the most difficult person to buy for!

54 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties - COP: a photo essay by Terry Jeavons. Photo essay capturing images from the COP conferences of Doha, Warsaw and Paris, showing the venue, formalities, routines, protests and intense final negotiations to move the climate change arguments forwards. Open Thursday – Saturday, 10-5. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Dowell Street, Honiton EX14 1LX, 01404 45006 www.thelmahulbert.com

Until 7 November

‘What are you looking at?’ Angela Charles. 11am - 5pm Thursday to Saturday. 11am - 3pm Sunday. OSR Projects, Church Street, West Coker, Somerset, BA22 9JR Ellen Watson New paintings at White Space Art, 72 Fore St, Totnes TQ9 5RU and online at whitespaceart.com Christine Allison: The Sky Is The Limit. Sou’-Sou’-West Arts Gallery & Shop, Symondsbury Estate. sousouwest.co.uk 01308 301326 lymebayarts.co.uk.

Until 10 November

Ann Armitage, Caroline Frood, Bryan Hanlon and Mhairi McGregor. Still Lifes and Landscapes. The Jerram Gallery, Half Moon Street, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3LN. 01935 815261 www. jerramgallery.com.

10 - 23 November

New and Recent work from DVA Salon Collective The Malthouse Gallery, The Town Mill, Mill Lane, Lyme Regis, DT7 3PU. 01297 444042. Open Daily 11am to 4pm http://www. townmill.org.uk/visitors-information/#howtofindus. For details of Private Viewing please email dva.salon.info@gmail.com

glass, wood, paper, textiles, prints, ceramics and jewellery. All work is for sale. Open Thursday – Saturday, 10-5. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Dowell Street, Honiton EX14 1LX, 01404 45006 www. thelmahulbert.com

17 - 23 November

Henrietta Young Repetitive Landscapes Alexander Massouras, The Invisible Land, Open Thursday - Friday, 10am - 3pm, or by appointment. Kelly Ross Fine Art, The Art Stable, Child Okeford, Blandford, Dorset DT11 8HB.

Creative South West Exhibition: ‘Staying home: Taking Flight’ The ‘Staying Home:Taking Flight’ Exhibition reflects individual textile artists’ responses to lockdown and our subsequent release. 10am-4.30pm daily Kennaway House, Coburg Road, Sidmouth, EX10 8NG. Carolyn Ballard, creativesouthwesttextiles@gmail.com.

13 - 28 November

20 November - 9 January

Until 13 November

Language of Colour: Patrick Jones and Nigel Moores open daily 10:30-4:30 The title for this exhibition by respected abstract painter Patrick Jones and Nigel Moores is very apt. It reflects both sides of the coin: ‘Colour’, which gives pleasure on the one hand, and ‘Language’ which refers to using abstraction as a reference point. Patrick will be in the gallery talking about abstraction, on 20th Nov. Sou’-Sou’-West Arts Gallery, Symondsbury

Until 14 November

Gaia: recent collages and sculpture. Marzia Colonna MRBS. Sladers Yard, West Bay Road, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset DT6 4EL. 01308 459511. gallery@sladersyard.co.uk.

16 November – 24 December

Present Makers 2021 Showcasing creative innovation across craft and design. The exhibited work in a range of materials includes:

Philip Sutton Colours through Life. Sladers Yard, West Bay Road, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset DT6 4EL. 01308 459511. gallery@sladersyard.co.uk.

Until 21 November

Breathe by Michelle Sank will be shown in Gallery 20 at RAMM alongside RAMM’s Covid-19 commission Biophilia: The Exeter Florilegium by Exeter artist Amy Shelton. Sank’s photographic series documents the first Covid-19 lockdown in the Wonford area of Exeter taken on her daily walks, and Shelton’s commission, The Exeter Florilegium (2021), includes a herbarium of pressed plant and wildflower specimens compiled on her daily lockdown walks around Exeter in spring and summer 2020. The Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (RAMM) https://www. rammuseum.org.uk

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 55

November GALLERIES

Until 5 December

Where the Mist Rises Abstract paintings by Annie Ward Based on Lyme Bay Artist Annie Ward’s research into satellite photographs and historic maps of the Dorset coastline, these abstract works explore the changeable spaces where the land meets the sea.

Rotunda Gallery, Lyme Regis Museum, Bridge Street, Lyme Regis DT7 3QA, open Tues-Sat 10am-5pm and 10am-4pm on Sundays, www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk

Until 12 December

Kate Wyatt one of the UK’s foremost wildlife artists returns to Dorset with a new exhibition of paintings at Gallery On The Square, Dorchester. The gallery is open every day from 9.30 to 5pm and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Gallery On The Square is at Queen Mother Square, Poundbury, Dorchester DT2 9XE.

Until 31 December

Together Again Gallery and guest artists at Tincleton Gallery, The Old School House, Tincleton DT2 8QR Tel. 01305 848909 www.tincletongallery.com.

Until 3 January 2022

Eduardo Chillida was one of the foremost Spanish sculptors of the twentieth century. Also Thomas J Price ‘Thoughts Useen’ Price’s multidisciplinary practice confronts preconceived public attitudes towards representation and identity. His inaugural exhibition with Hauser & Wirth presents two decades of conceptual enquiry spanning film, early sculpture, and the artist’s largest figurative bronze to date. Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Durslade Farm, Dropping Lane, Bruton, Somerset BA10 0NL.

Until 16 January 2022

Dame Elisabeth Frink RA (1930 – 1993) Man is an Animal the most extensive collection of large-scale sculptures by Dame Elisabeth Frink to be shown in this country since the artist’s death in April 1993. Messums Wiltshire. Place Farm, Court St, Tisbury, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP3 6LW. E: info@messumswiltshire.com T: 01747 445042.Square, Dorchester. The gallery is open every day from 9.30 to 5pm and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Gallery On The Square is at Queen Mother Square, Poundbury, Dorchester DT2 9XE.

GALLERIES IN DECEMBER Live or Online send your November gallery details to info@marshwoodvale.com

by November 17th.

56 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

A LIVELY EYE AND AN OPEN MIND Popular Bridport based artist Phillip Sutton RA is to feature in a major exhibition including new work at Sladers Yard in West Bay

A

t the age of 93, Philip Sutton RA still paints and draws every day as he has throughout his life. His work has always been full of colour, painted with a kind of abandon that is truly dazzling. As The Times critic John Russell Taylor wrote, ‘All you need to understand and appreciate Philip Sutton is a lively eye and open mind.

You do not have to make your way painfully towards him: his art will welcome you with open arms.’

Born in Poole on 20th October 1928, the youngest of four boys, Philip Sutton left school at 14 and worked for three years in a drawing office, waiting for the lunch break so that he could borrow a drawing board and draw. After national service in the RAF, during the Berlin airlift, a grant allowed him to study at the Slade from 1948 - 53. His contemporaries included Craigie Aitchison, Euan Uglow and Michael Andrews. Philip Sutton admired their work but was quite unlike any of them. He found his own style, struck by the mixture of playfulness and seriousness he found in a book about Henri Matisse, an artist largely ignored at the time.

His tutor, William Coldstream, recognised him as ‘a gifted, intuitive painter’ and introduced him to the dealers Roland, Browse and Delbanco who sold his first painting to Peter Pears and Benjamin Britain. They continued to exhibit his work in Cork Street for the next twenty-eight years after his first show in 1956. That same year he was invited to become a member of the London Group. At the Slade he met Heather Cooke. They were married in June 1953 and departed immediately to travel and live in Europe for over a year after he graduated funded by three scholarships including the Prix de Rome.

Back in London, he took a part-time job teaching etching and lithography at the Slade and in 1958 they were able to buy a small house in Battersea where they had their fourth child, Rebekah. Sutton painted nudes almost continuously in this period with pale colours and delicate lines. They had many visitors.

Pop Art and the American Expressionists caused turmoil in the art world in 1963 and Philip and Heather Sutton and the four young children headed out of London, to Australia and a year in Fiji, funded by the sales of his paintings. While he was away he became established as one of the British painters who epitomised the exuberant sixties.

He returned with a full exhibition of tropical paintings and a film Heather had made about him. Heather took an anthropology degree at London University.

In 1976 Hugh Casson invited Sutton to become an RA and his reputation began to move beyond the art market.

In 1988 Sutton gave up teaching at the Slade and later they moved to Manorbier in Wales where they lived until 2014, when they moved to Bridport. Heather very sadly died in 2017. Her funeral was held at Sladers Yard during Philip Sutton's second exhibition here. This is his third major solo show at Sladers Yard. Philip still paints every day expressing his appreciation of the world around him.

A major selling exhibition including new work and posters designed by Philip Sutton RA will run from Saturday 20 November 2021 - 9 January 2022. There will be an Evening with Philip Sutton on Friday 10 December at 6.30pm Details and tickets from Sladers Yard. Tel. 01308 459511.

Images above: The Clown from Manorbier 108 x 108cm and Miss Dazzling 105 x 100.5cm Below: Philip Sutton RA painting at Manorbier

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 57

Health&Environment

Climate Café aims to help climate responses ON Thursday November 18 and December 9, there will be a pilot Climate Café in Bridport, at Soulshine Café in South Street between 2-4pm.

The climate crisis brings many problems, but also positive opportunities. It can stir up painful emotions, such as fear, anger and others: one reason climate cafés are popular is that many people find it very supportive and empowering to be able to express their feelings and be heard by others. The upsides of the crisis can include recovering our connection with Nature and our sense of community: realising we are in this together, and can support each other in many ways.

A climate café is an informal, supportive space where visitors can talk about their feelings about climate change. It’s a confidential space for respectful listening regardless of views. It’s not a therapy group, and it’s not a place for discussing or planning action, vital as that is. No regular commitment is needed although everyone is asked to arrive promptly, so group agreements can be made such as confidentiality, but visitors can leave anytime. Rebecca Nestor who co-leads training about running climate cafés says: ‘The focus of discussion in a climate café is participants’ immediate thoughts and feelings about the climate crisis. There are no guest speakers and no talks—though there is always a facilitator, usually two. It is an advice-free zone, with no pressure to take action, join a group or change your mind on anything. For any queries, call Alan Heeks on 07976 602787.

58 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

School in a Bag appeal to help Afghan children in the UK THE Somerset-based charity, School in a Bag (SIAB), has launched an appeal to fund SchoolBags for 3,000 Afghan refugee children who have arrived in the UK. SIAB is a charity born out of the Piers Simon Appeal, set up at the beginning of 2005 in memory of tsunami victim Piers Simon from Chilthorne Domer, Yeovil, following his death on the Thai island of Koh Phi Phi on Boxing Day 2004 SIAB are working with their partners Afghanistan and Central Asia Association (ACAA) founded by Dr Nooralhaq Nasimi who himself, arrived in the UK in 2001 by lorry, stowed in the back of a refrigerator container having fled the atrocities taking place in his own country. Within two years of integrating his family in to a new life in the UK, Dr Nasimi set up the ACAA to provide community based, first-hand knowledge and information for families to help them overcome the challenges he faced during the resettlement process.

Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan this summer, the ACAA have become the first contact point for the government, media and the 8,000 newly-arrived Afghan people making them extremely busy with unprecedented levels of demand. For the last 20 days, 600 people, including unaccompanied minors, have met at their office everyday queuing from 5am to access clothes, translation services and immigration advice.

The ACAA have listed enrolling the children in to school as a priority to get them in the education system as quickly as possible to provide them with routine and a safe, stable environment to learn in.

Dr Nasimi explained: ‘Arriving in a new country and going to a new school with a different language is a daunting experience for any child.

It is vital that we make this process as easy as possible. This however, is a challenge when families have arrived in to the UK with only what they could carry. A SchoolBag for these children will be a huge asset to help them with their studies and normalise their integration into a new learning environment. A SchoolBag will also be a huge financial help to the families as this will be one less item that they need to provide for their children.’

He continues: ‘We are delighted to be partnering with School in a Bag and have identified a need for 3,000 SchoolBags! We know that this is a big request for their small team. We will, of course, work in collaboration with them and oversee getting the SchoolBags to each and every child.’

Luke Simon, Founder & CEO of School in a Bag, said: ‘We received a desperate email from Dr Nasimi explaining how overrun the ACAA had become with the influx of Afghan nationals and that they needed volunteers and funds. I explained that we were not in a position to fulfil their requests but could offer SchoolBags. My reply went on to say that if the need was for more than a few hundred, we would have to create an appeal. When the very prompt reply asked for 3,000 SchoolBags, we knew we had to spring in to action!’

He added: ‘This is a gigantic consignment for us so we have approached our suppliers to ask if they are able to help out. It is a crisis situation and we are striving to get SchoolBags to the refugee children as quickly as we can to help ease the burden on the families and help make their integration in to school as smooth as possible.’

All the money raised will go towards funding SchoolBags. Donors will be credited under the title ‘Afghan Refugee Appeal’ on the School in a Bag database, meaning that all the contributors will be able to claim stake to the collective total of SchoolBags funded.

To help us fund SchoolBags for the Afghan refugee children here in the UK, please donate at: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/siab-afghan-refugee-appeal

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 59

Services&Classified SITUATIONS VACANT

35 Tractor and Farming Heritage magazines in excellent condition.

2014,15,16 More similar magazines available please enquire. £20 01460 55105

Eckman Telescopic Hedge Trimmer: surplus to requirements - collect from Lyme Regis - Reasonable offer accepted. Phone 0794 7059486 Marin Stinson Comfort Hybrid Bike, very good condition, 24 gears, wheel size 27.5, lovely comfortable ride, includes mudguards and rack. £250 Charmouth.

Tel: 01297 561011 Chainsaw, McCulloch 14” CS 340. Barely used bargain. £85. 01460 30371 2 Bill Brown organic cotton striped roll up mattresses 210 x 160.

Clean. Hardly used. £30 each. Lyme Regis. Jo 07525 005430 Dimplex radiator towel rail. White / stainless steel.

BPH100M, 1000w. Electric plug-in. Lovely looking, modern, efficient. £45.

01297 599237 Pop riveter Powerfix GS 4 heads complete with rivets

FOR SALE

excellent condition £4 2 x Aubergine/Cream, excellent condition £8 the pair 1 x Aubergine Chenille Throw, size double 150cm x 212cm + tassels, excellent condition, £12. Tel: 01395 487554 Old Cantonese large ceramic Charger £200. Tel: 01395 487554 Old decorative large Turkish copper Ewer. £80.

Tel: 01395 487554 Nolte Horizon Wardrobes 3mtrs total length consisting freestanding 2 double wardrobe and 1 central double mirrored doors and triple draw unit finished in White Woodgrain effect.

3mtrs x H199cm x D63cm (photos available, on request) £300 Buyer to arrange collection Raymonds Hill nr boxed brand new £6.00 Axminster Tel: 01297 Trident thermostatic mono 639829 bath tap, chrome on brass Electric Bike. I zip EZgo. ex condition as new bought Folder 20”. Pedal assisted in error £8.00 07968 power. Battery. Charger.

053268/01460 63866 Bell. Stand. Rack. Blue.

Rotatrim slitter T950 Excellent condition. £350.

Technical 1320mm x Bridport. Tel. 07773 080729 354mm x 920mm cutting Dining table (round) in length 950mm 11.6 kgs. solid mahogany, 165cm GWO with Parts chart. Can diameter, and 6 dining send photo £95.00 ono chairs. All in very good 07968 053268/01460 63866 condition. £500. Please call Fabulous very large good 01308 86325 quality wall Mirror, size 47” Dog Buggy, unused, 3 x 54”, 9mm thick mirror large wheels, rain covers, plate, with a pine boarded suitable for a medium sized and jointed back and a plain dog, or 2 small, red. Single pine moulding surround. hand fold. Cost £120 will Vgc. Originally from the old accept £60. Colyton 01297Alexandra Palace, North 553064/07770 722 099 London. £220. Tel: 01395 Canon Ink Cartridges x 6 487554 Multipack PGI-550PGBK; Large Pet Carrier. Vgc CLI-551 C/M/Y/BK/GY £10. Tel: 01395 487554 New Sept 2021 cost £65.89, M&S solid pine trundle can provide invoice Accept (stowaway) bed & sprung £45 Lyme Regis (printer mattresses use as 2 singles since upgraded) 07866 or superking smoke & pet 427431 free home exc cond cost Weight training equipment £300+ when new bargain York Cast Iron standard £75.00 tel 01935 872217 weight discs 2x10kg, Next Cushions - 2 x 2x5kg £35.00. York cast duck egg blue/cream, iron standard dumbbells excellent condition, £8 the (4x2.5kg, 4x1,25kg, 4x0.5kg pair. 1 x Green/ Cream, discs, 2 x chrome spinlock

60 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

COTTAGE WANTED

Retired single man would like to rent small unfurnished cottage in 2022.Will pay one years rent in advance. m.hyman123@btinternet. com Dec 21

CLEANER WANTED

Gardener required to help manage large wildlife friendly garden near Winsham. Text or phone for further details 07961 486924

PEST CONTROL

CLAIRVOYANT

Three Counties Pest Control. Friendly, professional service for Devon, Dorset, Somerset.

07484 677457. www.3cpestcontrol.co.uk

Emma Howe Clairvoyant. Established 25 years, BBC recommended. Spiritual solutions to worldly problems. Spiritual Medium. Life Guidance.

Astrology/Tarot. 01458 830276 / 07881 088664Sept 21

SPANISH CLASSES Spanish classes & English language support from experienced, bi-lingual teacher.

Also, Spanish/Englishlanguage text checking/ correction. Mark mrf60@btinternet.com, 07891953685.

FOR SALE bars with collars). £25.00.

01308 420801.

Charnwood C4 woodburning stove 4.9Kw (16,700Btu/h) Used but in good condition Size : Height 560mm Depth:267mm Width :386mm Weight = 62Kg Collection Only Photos available contact 01297 552387 Price @ £325 ono Dining table (round) in solid mahogany, 165cm diameter and six dining chairs. All in very good condition. £500 Please call 01308 863256 Toyota Aygo team dynamic wheels nearly new £350.

01297 624165 Dark blue evening dress with multicoloured blue bead trim. After six by Ronald Joyce size 16 £75 ono. Perfect for cruise evening. Side zip and split in lower skirt. Photos. 01460 54578.

RESTORATION FURNITURE. Antique Restoration and Bespoke Furniture.

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

Experienced local family firm. Phil Meadley 01297 560335

Dec 21

SURFACE PREPARATION

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

House names, memorials, hand carved in local natural stone.

Call words in stone 07516 714901. www. wordsinstone.co.uk

ELECTRICAL

WANTED

CHIMNEY SWEEP

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

Oct 21

Secondhand tools wanted. All trades.

Users & Antiques.

G & E C Dawson.

01297 23826. www. secondhandtools.co.uk. sept 21

Dave buys all types of tools 01935 428975

FOR SALE

African Children by David Shepherd Limited Edition This copy 336 out of 1,800 Wanted: Old tractors size 3ft x 2ft £150 ono. and vehicles. Running, 01460 241942 non running. Good Flymo strimmer with price paid. 01308 battery and charger 482320 07971 866364 £50. Steam cleaner with Dec 21 accessory kit £20. Raleigh Pioneer bicycle with Coins wanted. Part crossbar £150. Cube hybrid or full collections bicycle vgc £300. Avon purchased for cash. inflatable with pump & accessories £100. Tel. 01308 Please phone John on 862367 01460 62109 Jan 22 Mower Lawnking 190ce 67S series self propelled FOR SALE 4-stroke used. Works well £85. BBQ 58cm kettle type Homebase Victorian green 3’/92cm tall Wheeled, bathroom sink 68cm x vent, temp guage Hinged lid 52cm £25. Clarks black £35. 01460 54578. leather boots 6½ 2” heel Hotter Serenity ivory £15. Fitflops mauve trainer multi ls size 7. Never worn shoes, 7 £10. Free child’s £75 new. Want £50 ovno bed base 5ft long. Free 3 Can email photo 01460 door glass bathroom cabinet 54578.

75cm x 60cm Tel. 01404 Wedgwood Charnwood 881675. lovely flowered pattern 24 Laura Ashley Adeline piece dinner set unused teapot for one floral design £250. Please ring 01297 boxed new. Ideal Xmas gift 24687 for details. Will £10 ono. Tel 01308 458533 deliver.

Bridport.

2 Black metal garden Royal Imperial 21 tower supports for plants. piece bone China tea set 5ft high. Good condition. blue flowers on white £10 each 01297 22371 background as new £12 ono 2 Travel cots, hardly used.

Tel Bridport 01308 458533. One £37 (Mamas & Papas) Spode vegetable dish in bag with basonet. One 29cm Christmas tree design £18 (John Lewis) in bag, boxed new an ideal Xmas pale blue. Willing to deliver gift £10 ono Tel 01308 near Lyme Regis. Bargains.

458533 Bridport.

0774 0088106.

Jan 22

Ladies Genuine Soft Leather Jacket Beige. Size 14 Lakeland. Excellent condition £45. Tel: 07484 689302 Five bar gate 9ft 4ins x 3ft 10ins. Good condition £50.00 01297 489885 Set of four Victorian mahogany balloon back chairs. vgc. photo available. £50. 01935 426197 Handy tent, Sunncamp, frame, window, green, floor space approx. 6’ x 6’, standing room. Use of camping gear. Toilet bikes, changing room etc. Very good condition £30. 07773 080729. Bridport Area.

Ford Fiesta roof rack, Ford genuine part. Fits 2008 on MK 5/6. Like new.

Used once. £45ono. 07730 376626.

As new AEG washing machine, 7000 Series KOMBI, 7kg, cost over £600, will accept £400ono.

Buyer to collect. 07817 920730.

Large quantity pre-loved baby, children’s clothes (mostly boys) birth - 4 years.

Also toys and equipment.

Tel. 01963 210528 for details.

2 Bike cycle rack fits on tow bar includes lights and number plate holder. £25.

01297 22371.

Kingsize all seasons feather duvet like new £20.

Tower Air Fryer, hardly

DISTRIBUTION

FOR SALE used, surplus to requirement £30 ono. 01460 66250 or 07840 803872 anytime.

Oak blanket box/ coffer very good condition now woodworm, good make around 100 years old, maybe more. £125ono. Call for more details. 01460 66250 or 07840 803872 Two pairs of Ladies satin pyjamas size 10/12 mis-buy, unworn £15ono. 6ft Fibre

optic silver Christmas tree, used once. £10. 01460 66250 or 07840 803872 anytime.

Modern three seater settee with matching armchair, oatmeal, good condition viewing anytime £100 ono.

01308 301377.

Real leather brown 2 seater sofa, free, good condition, Must be collected. 01935 428423.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 61

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

For guaranteed classified advertising please use ‘Classified Ads’ form

Name .............................................. Tel. ............................................

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

Town ................................................ County......................................

Postcode ..................................

Monthly Quiz –

Sewing cabinet 60 x 40 x 60 refurbished, 1960 model, castors, £35 pale green.

01860 929318.

Exercise bike, as new, £60ono. Must collect.

01308 424085.

Harris Tweed Jacket 44 chest, 32 length, very good £45. Plain hardwood fireplace bellows £25.

01305 266273.

Two Twin Lock V8 Multi ring binders in maroon.

Excellent condition. Cost new over £75 each. £50 for the tow or £30 each.

01308 427113.

Nissan Juke crossbar roof rack new £35ono.

Travel cot/mattress navy, Graco, folds into case plus cradle £25ono. Birth – 3years. 01297 489567.

Bush Digital 2035 DVD disc player complete with remote control leads and user guide, good working order £15. 01297 552131 Musbury.

Mountfield RS 100 lawn mower VGC £100, buyer collects. 01460 54104.

Mangar inflating bathing cushion, perfect, new condition, used twice, cost £570 asking £250. Tel. no.

01297 442772

Terracotta plant pots vintage and later selling in lots of between 5 - 12, from £10 per lot. Photos 01460 55105 Gents Scarpa walking boots, size 12.Goretex lined.Good condition.£35.

Panasonic webcam, wide HD with microphone, model TYCC20W, £25.

Scottish cobbles 1”- 3” diameter. 6x20kg bags £4 each.Sand coloured 16” round paving stones,£3 each.Ecomax plastic compost bins 330lt £9, 220lt £6. Tel.01308 423849 Invacre Leo classic 2 mobility scooter Red, 4 pneumatic wheels very little used From new, working order £500 Call 01297 32847 for details.

Harvest Maid home food dehydrator Excellent condition including instruction book £30 01308 422361 Rotatrim slitter T950 Technical 1320mm x 354mm x 920mm cutting length 950mm 11.6 kgs. GWO with Parts chart. Can send photo £95.00 ono 07968 053268/01460 63866.

Win a book from Little Toller Books

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

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

Last month’s answer was Halstock. The winner was Mrs Denslow from Chard Junction.

62 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 Tel. 01308 423031

BUSINESS NEWS Mentoring programme to help business grow

M

entoring through GetSet for Growth helped festival organiser Julie Sheppard to find clarity and see her business from a fresh perspective.

Julie, is the founder of Jazz Jurassica in Lyme Regis. This year’s event was the first music festival in front of a live audience to be put on in the UK following Covid. An incredible feat that Julie puts down to not having big financial investments to pay. Even as she had to cancel 2020’s festival, Julie was thinking about how to make 2021 socially distanced and Covid secure.

Julie worked with mentor Sarah Veakins from the GetSet for Growth East Dorset programme, which offers businesses looking to grow, 12 hours of free 1:1 mentoring and advice, as well as workshops and events.

The programme is part of the Dorset Growth Partnership and is funded by the European Regional Development Fund. Julie said: “I work on my own, and I work well on my own, but actually as the festival got bigger and with Covid to deal with I thought; ‘It is a lot of responsibility for one unpaid volunteer to take on—I could do with a bit of support.’ I think it’s important to have someone to bounce ideas off and provide perspective. Mentoring helped me see through the other end of the telescope—it gave me another perspective.”

This is just one example of over 22,500 businesses that have been assisted by YTKO’s services since 2006. According to an independent impact assessment commissioned in 2020, YTKO’s support has enabled the creation of 6,574 businesses, over 10,500 sustainable new jobs and an estimated £2.61bn in sales income. The businesses that have received support in that time, have also been proved to be fitter and better funded with over 76% of new firms surviving more than three years and having raised around £71.3m of growth finance.

For free help to grow your business, visit getsetforgrowth.com/east-dorset.

And for more information about Jazz Jurassica visit jazzjurassica.co.uk.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine November 2021 63