Marshwood+ September 2024 by Marshwood Vale Ltd

Liam Fox and the Coming Storm Page 12

Time to find out about Harriet Quimby Page 64

Sequins and comedy with Kiri Page 66

Nigel Toon’s thinking on AI Page 50

© Sylvia Creed Castle Photograph by Robin Mills

COVER STORY

Iwas born just down the road from here at Peace Living Farm, a farm of 8 acres, where my mother kept 4 cows, and some hens and geese. My parents rented the farm; when the tenancy came up it finally prompted my father to marry my mother. He’d been courting her for 5 years, and the engagement had been another 5 years. He was a cautious man.

Such a small farm didn’t make them a living of course, but there was a little income from the cows and the eggs to add to what my father earned working on this farm, Crabbs Bluntshay, which has been in my family since 1914. The origin of the farm’s name comes from the local medieval manor; the “haeg”, a hundred (a land area measurement) belonging to a man with blond hair called “Blundel”. Later somebody called Crabb must have bought it. It would be interesting to know if it was associated with a nunnery or an abbey in the area, but so far I don’t know. And the further you go back in historical research the more time consuming it becomes.

My great grandfather was forward thinking. He had 8 sons, 7 of whom wanted to farm, so he managed to either find them tenanted farms or bought them a farm to give them a good start. This farm was one of those he bought, a result of the big estates being split up. The printing firm, Creeds, was run by John Creed, who recently died; he was my father’s first cousin.

© Sylvia Creed Castle Photograph by Robin Mills

Robin Mills met Sylvia Creed Castle at Crabbs Bluntshay Farm, Bridport

Sylvia Creed Castle

When the Marshwood Vale Young Farmers Club was founded and held their meetings in Broadoak Hall, as a teenager I was very involved in the new club, which had evolved from Whitchurch YFC. I much enjoyed helping organise events and the social life it provided and missed it dreadfully when I left the area to work elsewhere.

I worked in Bridport for a couple of years, cycling up and down the hills to work, but then had to decide either to work in a bank, or join the RAF. I decided on the bank and got a job in Swanage. And then, a friend from near here and I began to talk about Australia. Many of my contemporaries were getting engaged and married, which, in my teens, definitely wasn’t my plan, and I saw Australia as a ticket to freedom. I think many local people, and my father was one, didn’t understand why I, a farmer’s daughter my age didn’t want to marry a farmer and start a family immediately. They thought I was a bit strange, and possibly still do. My friend and I applied in April as £10 poms, and by June we were gone.

I found a job in the Australia and New Zealand Bank, for a year, living in various flats in Sydney with people I’d met. After a small farm in West Dorset, I loved the experience of my new life. My Dorset accent was a source of curiosity; I was often thought to be either Irish or American. Interesting, because there are words which are common to both old Dorset and the other languages. My parents, and folk of their generation, were a rich source of West Dorset words and dialect which has mostly been lost.

After Sydney I went to Queensland to look after children on a remote sheep station—as cook and nanny with experience of neither—then to Tasmania picking apples, and another bank job in Melbourne. I then got a letter from my mother with the terrible news that my sister only had a few months to live, so I dropped everything and came home. I stayed on in Dorset after her death for about a year, working in Axminster, and then taking a secretarial course in Weymouth, followed by a stint of temp work in London, but always felt I hadn’t finished with travelling. The next adventure involved a coach trip with 39 other people through Europe, Asia, and across the north of India to Nepal. It wasn’t part of the plan, but it was the time of the India/Pakistan war, in which millions of people died. By the time we reached Nepal all the borders were closed, so we were stuck. With hindsight I should have stayed there; I could have

taught English, the people were lovely, and it was cheap living. But I was on a mission to get to Australia, so as soon as the borders reopened, off I flew and completed my journey, back to Australia, and stayed “down under” for 2 ½ years. After which I travelled through the far east, Japan, Hawaii, the west coast of the USA, and Canada, and returned to the farm in Dorset.

I then went to London to train as a teacher, and taught primary education at multicultural schools in London, for 10 years. My last academic project at college was a geographical study of the parish of Whitchurch Canonicorum. With encouragement from local author and publisher Rodney Legg several years later, I turned the work into an historical account of the parish, and surrounding Marshwood Vale parishes, from 1880 to about 1985, and published it as a book called Dorset’s Western Vale. And through Little Toller Books I’ve just republished it. It includes a lot about agriculture during the period; I’ve included photographs which my mother took in her teens, everyday farm scenes which are of great rarity now, and which make me regret the photographs I didn’t take myself. And I have described the local crafts and trades which made most parishes self-sufficient, the history of St Candida and Holy Cross Church, Whitchurch School, notable buildings of the area, and some notable people. During all the research and interviews with many local people I became fascinated with the history of the people of my community, and I remain so; some people consider me the local historian for the Marshwood Vale, but I really don’t know everything.

I taught at Colfox School when I finally came back to Dorset after my father died. Finishing my book and publishing it helped

me readjust to life in West Dorset, but the countryside in those days was changing rapidly, in ways I found hard to accept. Hedgerows were being grubbed up, and the verges of the narrow lanes were being destroyed by ever larger tractor traffic, all part of the advances in agricultural technology and government grants to increase production that had been happening since the ‘60s. I was sending articles to the Bridport News about it, in particular observations about the road I took to work at Colfox School. The articles were unsigned, but most people knew who’d written them; as a farmer’s daughter I did get some strange looks as a result.

Since I’ve settled back in Dorset I’ve become very involved in local voluntary work. I’ve been on the Parish Council since 2001, latterly as organiser of the local amenities working party; I belong to the PCC, I’m treasurer of the local Family History Group since 1999, and treasurer of the Bridport History Society. (I’ve always loved figures!). I’m also the Char Valley Parish Council’s Liaison Officer for Ancient Monuments. Under this title I have put on three exhibitions in 2009, 2010 and 2018 at the Whitchurch Village Hall. I also write historical pieces in the Parish Council’s newsletter, and occasionally in the local church magazine, and hope my contributions are interesting to locals and newcomers alike. Crabbs Bluntshay Farm is 65 acres, not big enough to make a living. My niece and her family rent half of it and do the tractor work for me, including mowing the grass in the campsite and making silage for my suckler cows’ winter feed. I rear geese for the Christmas market and sell flowers. I run the campsite myself, although I do employ cleaners sometimes. There has been a farm campsite here for many years, in fact since my parents were operating a very basic site; it now has facilities for a number of touring caravans and camper vans, and an unlimited number of tents. I’ve got hard standings and electric hook-ups, and shower and toilet blocks. I love having all the campers around, some of whom come back year after year, and they love holidaying on a working farm in unspoilt West Dorset countryside. My website, Crabbs Bluntshay Farm Campsite, has been running since 2013 and I attempt to issue a newsletter once a month on aspects of the campsite, farm life, events in the Marshwood Vale, historical articles, musical interludes and anything else interesting which crops up.

© Sylvia Creed Castle Photograph by Robin Mills

Talking with Nigel Toon about his book How AI Thinks (p. 50) left me with that uncomfortable mix of elation and fear that is often hard to process. He reminded me that, although artificial intelligence (AI) has been around in different guises since 2012, the first major global demonstration of it was when Chat GBT was launched in 2022. That was when many of us became aware that this latest development in tech was likely to dramatically change our world. Nigel made the point that countries that don’t invest in AI development are likely to be left behind, certainly from an economic position but also from a security perspective. With regard to our awareness of AI, he pointed out that around the time when we were trying to grapple with the campaign on the Brexit vote in 2016, an estimated 240 million people watched a British Deep Mind machine, AlphaGo, beat the world Go champion in South Korea. Go is considered to be one of the most complex board games in the world, which made this such an extraordinary feat. While we were battling with memes and inaccurate statistics, China and other Asian countries were being exposed to the technology of the future, ironically because of what was once a British company. Most people involved in education will be aware that AI is already having an impact on how students learn. In his book Nigel points out that education is one of the many things that AI will help transform. He suggests shifting the system away from the 3 Rs (Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic) to include developing the 3 Cs of Curiosity, Critical thinking and Creativity. At the other end of the technology scale in this issue, Dr Sam Rose highlights the value of pigs and wild boar (p. 10) and quotes Rewilding Britain describing them as ‘the quintessential soil ecosystem engineer’. Amongst other benefits, their ability to break up ground in search of food allows the seeds of annual wildflowers, shrubs and trees to germinate as well as creating access to food for hungry birds during the leanest months. So far I think most pig farmers only tend to benefit from a different form of AI, but no doubt that will change too.

Fergus Byrne

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Contributors

The R-Word:

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Don’t be boaring, check out the stars of rewilding! says Dr Sam Rose

Last week I found myself on a characteristic British summer’s day of fog and mizzle, gingerly treading through the undergrowth of a rewilding area with a good friend, trying to find any of three Tamworth pigs we knew to inhabit the area. We tried the silent treatment (shhh, so they don’t run away) and the noisy alternative of claps, whoops and even snorts to see if they would come and investigate, neither of which worked!

Sad that they didn’t appear, yet happy that I wasn’t being filmed snorting in the mist, I showed my friend the evidence of their work, the rootled soil, the wallowing sites, and even the remains of a pig nest—yes, in the wild they make themselves nests! Being a town-dweller from up-country, he was initially confused at the ‘destruction’ but then amazed at the role that pigs can play in restoring nature to an impoverished landscape, so I thought that he is probably not alone, and it could be a good subject for an R-Word.

So, pigs. What are they? Well, an expert from the Natural History Museum says that domesticated pigs were introduced from the Near East into Europe about 8,000 years ago, where they met the European Wild Boar. It seems that the Boar were having none of these interlopers, so they set about doing some breeding dominance and by about 3,000 years ago the boar genes had been so successful that all domesticated pigs in Europe were effectively descended from them. From this impressive feat, and with some additional serious gene-meddling by people over the last 3,000 years, the breeds we know and love have emerged, like the Gloucester Old Spot, the British Saddleback, the Mangalitzas (from Hungary) and my elusive friends, the Tamworths.

Having established that most of our domestic breeds are majority Wild Boar, it is worth checking out what Rewilding Britain say so eloquently about these impressive beasties,:

“Wild boar is the quintessential soil ecosystem engineer. It ploughs up the soil in woodlands and grasslands in search of tasty bulbs, tubers, grubs and buried acorns. Breaking up the sward clears space for the seeds of annual wildflowers, shrubs and trees to germinate. Disturbed ground provides warm basking spots for grasshoppers and burrowing opportunities for myriad species of bees, wasps and beetles. By exposing buried seeds, boar provide access to food for hungry birds during the leanest months. Their droppings also spread mycorrhizal fungal spores, which in turn help trees to thrive.” (rewildingbritain.org.uk)

Basically, the Tamworths and the Mangalitzas (and others) are channelling their inner Wild Boar and doing all of this great work where allowed. They are promoting Diversity, supporting seed Dispersal and undertaking Disturbance—the three Ds of rewilding. They are most effective where the area they can roam is extensive, such as Purbeck Heaths (Mangalitzas), Wild Ken Hill (Tamworths), and on our doorstep, Mapperton (also Tamworths). They are normally also very much in the wild, in that within their large area they are not supplementary fed, they give birth naturally outdoors, and their main interactions with people are with any welfare issues and at end of life, because, without apex predators, and with a tendency to breed, numbers have to be managed through regular culls. This is again a recognition that without a fully natural system, you can’t ‘just leave it’, but it also makes for some very tasty wild bacon.

What these animals also bring is an exciting and very popular addition to the rewilding areas. People love these pseudo-Boars, and the animals themselves seem to like us and be partial to a scratch or two, which makes them excellent for tourism and education alike; just keep an eye on your lunch!

So what about actual Boar in the UK, and areas outside of the rewilding areas? Well, there are both wild and farmed Wild Boar in the UK, the Forest of Dean being a particular hot spot for the feral variety. But the presence of Boar in the wild is divisive and there are arguments on both sides. Nature lovers encourage them as a part of nature, which to be fair, they are, but to others they are destructive of crops and infrastructure. In Italy, they have been known to roam in packs destroying complete vegetable plots, as well as raiding garbage and invading gardens. The reasons for this are a combination of insufficient wild predators and complex management / government policy.

From my own perspective, once we in the UK have more of a balance in nature, more and larger connected wilder areas of wood pasture, woodland and scrub, and the re-establishment of an apex predator—starting with the Lynx—then yup, bring them on. Let’s explore how increased numbers of Boar can inhabit our landscape. For now, however, let’s not punish those that are successful at creating a population, it is hard for them, and they are doing good for nature, but also let’s not be afraid to be the apex predator when needed, and bring home that bacon.

Mangalitza in Purbeck photographs by Dr Sam Rose

Coming STORM

Water may well be ‘The Coming Storm’ according to Dr Sir Liam Fox. He talks to Fergus Byrne about the perils of ignoring a looming catastrophe.

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What have civil war in Syria; microplastic snow in the Antarctic and rampant migration got in common? They are all aspects of an impending global water crisis, according to Dr Sir Liam Fox.

In his new book, The Coming Storm—Why Water Will Write the 21st Century, he cites how disastrous water management in Syria contributed to the country plunging into civil war. He also says that nowhere on the planet is plastic free, and that microplastics have now been positively identified in Antarctic snow. Thirdly, he says that, although global migration is due to many factors, water scarcity and the mismatch between rapidly growing urban populations and their access to water - and thereby food supply—is a major contributor to migration, and that is likely to increase on a massive scale if we don’t address these issues at source.

The former Defense Secretary and one time Secretary of State for International Trade was an MP for over thirty years. Speaking from his home in Somerset, he admitted that prior to the recent election he had contemplated not standing so he could concentrate on a subject that has been concerning him for many years—the threat of impending global crisis that dwindling access to clean, fresh water presents.

The Coming Storm—Why Water Will Write the 21st Century is a deeply disturbing account of how one of our most valuable natural resources has far more potential for ‘conflict’ and ‘catastrophe’ than any of the energy resources that traditionally cause confrontation and upheaval.

‘By 2050 the weight of plastic in the oceans will outweigh the fish in the oceans’

Perhaps some of the statistics that he highlights might help put this into context.

Only 3% of the world’s water is freshwater, and with most of that locked up in glaciers, ice and the atmosphere, only 0.3 – 0.5% is actually available for our use. Combine that with a rising population; for example, since 1962 India’s population has grown from 450 million to 1.4 billion and China’s from 660 million to 1.4 billion. Nigeria’s population has grown from 45 million in 1962 to a staggering 229 million. Overall, the world’s population has risen by over 5 billion people since 1962, and by the time you read this it will have risen even more.

What’s most concerning is the fact that the water we consume, whether it is used in agriculture, industry or for day-to-day human consumption, is not being replenished at anything like the rate that is needed to keep up with global population growth.

Liam Fox points out that, with the total amount of water on the planet neither increasing nor decreasing, as the population rises, we will see an increased demand for food and water. To add to an already pressurised situation, it is thought that by 2054, demand will roughly double from where it is today.

The issues presented in Liam Fox’s book are manyfold. One striking point is the possibility of conflict due to access to river sources. For example, China’s control of Tibet means it has the ability to control the greatest store of freshwater outside the polar regions. China now controls the source of all Tibet’s major rivers. Like a shocking geography lesson Liam names the rivers: ‘The Brahmaputra, Mekong, Yellow and Yangtze, China controls the headwaters of all of them—all of them— and the potential for geopolitical conflict is enormous as a consequence, and that’s what we’re not factoring into our wider thinking.’ In the book he says, “those who believe that the Chinese obsession with Tibet is about identity, culture or the Dalai Lama should think again— this is largely about control of a single commodity: freshwater.”

Beyond China and Syria, Liam also discusses a range of potential flash points around the world from the Nile

to Iran, as well as the ‘maritime chokepoints’ used for transportation of goods around the world.

Pollution and its effect on world health is another massive problem that we are already familiar with even here in the UK—‘Surfers against Sewage’ claim that 75% of UK rivers pose a serious threat to human health. Liam talks about how a visit to a sewer in Calcutta was one of the early inspirations for his research on the book. It highlighted some of the problems faced by pollution but also gave him an insight into how easy it would be to improve life in some communities. ‘When I was a junior minister at the Foreign Office’ he says, ‘I opened a project there.’ He recalls it as being a ‘relatively simple project’ to install drains and pavement to cover up what was ‘effectively raw sewage’ running through the streets. ‘And you’d have thought we’d given everyone a million pounds who lived there, because they had a big party, and we were treated like heroes. Yet we were only giving that one community what we had taken for granted for hundreds of years.’ He recalls it as ‘a real object lesson to me in how some of the things we take for granted are hugely lacking in their distribution in other parts of the world.’

He presents another shocking statistic describing how a cruise on the Danube is lovely until you reach Serbia ‘and it becomes an open sewer’. He suggests that ‘60,000 Olympic swimming pools of untreated human sewage go into the Danube after Belgrade every single year, all the way out to the Black Sea, where it comes out. I mean, that is a crime against nature.’ Another motivating factor is of course our oceans. ‘The environmental debate’ he says, ‘seems to be blinding us to the fact that we’re treating our rivers and seas as giant rubbish dumps, and all that plastic that’s falling to the bottom of the oceans and will lie on the ocean floor. It so disgusts me.’ He says one of the things that ‘actually made me get around to writing the book’ was his ‘utter disgust at the fact that by 2050 the weight of plastic in the oceans will outweigh the fish in the oceans.’

As one of the early inspirations to highlight the role water might play in a global future, his Calcutta experience also set him on an understanding of the

complexities of dealing with water as a single issue. ‘I wanted to bring together a whole range of different things’ he says, ‘because we tend to think of security in one box, environment in another box, climate in another box and economics in another box.’ Having done his time as a doctor and having worked in the Foreign Office as well as security, defence and trade, he says he could see ‘how all the bits would fit together’ but ‘we are particularly poor in most Western countries at joining the dots, and so you get a very big issue like water, which has some feature in all of them, but never gets high enough up the agenda in any of them to become regarded as a major issue.’

One of the challenges in writing the book he says was to show why the natural history of water, the geopolitics, climate, medicine and sanitation are all actually part of the same thing.

He discusses the concept of ‘virtual water’, explaining that our behaviour and consumption are not just affecting our own communities. When we buy cotton clothing, for example, are we aware that it takes 10,000—20,000 litres of water to produce 1kg of cotton? Or are we aware that it takes 140 litres of water to produce coffee for one cup? Or that it takes 15,000 litres to produce 1 kg of beef, whereas it takes 300 litres to produce 1kg of vegetables? He points out that 62% of the UK’s total water footprint is accounted for by the use of water in other countries. So, our consumption can have a direct affect on access to water in other countries.

One solution to this problem, he suggests, is a global agreement that countries with less access to clean water do not grow crops or process products that require excessive water. ‘For me that makes a great deal of sense. Otherwise, the growing global population could actually have a much more adverse impact on water use than they would have.’

He hopes that by writing the book he might ‘open up these arguments to people’ so that they might go away and think about them, and maybe read a bit more about them and ‘maybe the political classes might want to apply a bit of pressure.’

He comes back to migration saying that it is a ‘global phenomenon’ that is currently ‘nothing to what will happen if you get wide scale displacement of people because of water shortage, geopolitical conflict or change in disease patterns as a consequence.’

Liam recounts the story of the possibility of Pakistan using a tactical nuclear weapon. ‘It was something that bothered me a great deal when I was Defence Secretary, because we knew that one of the criteria for Pakistan using a tactical nuclear weapon would be the damning or the diversion of the Indus river. Because it’s effectively their only source of fresh water.’ There was some dispute about whether that should appear in his book, but he says: ‘My view was, it’s actually better that other people know what these triggers are, because it avoids doing something with an unpredictable consequence.’ He believes ‘all these things have become more critical

Sir Liam Fox (Alamy)

‘It takes 140 litres of water to produce coffee for one cup’

since that, and we could have quite a lot of consequences. So, we need to think about how we handle it, what cross border cooperation looks like, what international law looks like in doing that, and how we start to be able to deal with water supply, including desalination, which we know how to do, and which has got much cheaper. But also, how we stop populations growing so quickly in areas where there is shortage.’

Like so many environmental, geopolitical and social questions in the world today, the bulk of the statistics that Liam Fox highlights in his book are indeed shocking, but the key questions are of course what can we do about them? Like the other global issue of food production, Liam’s first answer is ‘we much stop wasting it where we do have it.’ Using ‘smart thinking’ around ecological advantage and trade we can alter the virtual global water balance. He takes Spain as an example saying, ‘Spain is one of the most water challenged countries in the world, it’s in the top 20, and yet it spends all this time sprinkling water on golf courses for tourists.’ But that’s only one example ‘the list is endless’ he says.

We also need to use global treaties to reduce the dumping of plastics. ‘Four countries’ he says, ‘put more plastic into the oceans than the rest of the world

combined. China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.’ He believes they and other countries that are polluting the planet should clean up their acts if they are to be part of trade or other alliances. ‘They all want things in terms of global agreements, so make it a condition.’ He points out that we have the ability to change our behaviour. ‘We’ve got the technology. We know how to recycle. We know how to do things. It’s just that we’re not doing it, and a number of very, very bad global players are worsening the condition for everybody else on the planet to the point where we’ve got microplastics and snow, and the first microplastic snow in Antarctica. Well done us! Well done the human race! You’ve now managed to pollute the last pristine place on the planet.’

However, on the positive side he chooses a fascinating example of a country where the use of water is well controlled. Israel is the best ‘in terms of its ability to conserve water’ he says. They have ‘well over 80% reuse of water.’ They are well ahead of the second-place country which is at 20%. ‘So, there’s clearly a lot can be done. Again, Israel is the world’s top at desalination. It now produces more fresh water than it actually requires and is pumping fresh water into the Sea of Galilee at the present time.’ Liam points out how that could be hugely helpful

‘Israel is the world’s top at desalination. It now produces more fresh water than it actually requires and is pumping fresh water into the Sea of Galilee at the present time’

downstream. ‘Because the people of Gaza get water that’s downstream from Lake Galilee, the Sea of Galilee. And were they to be able to get access to either less salty water that could be more easily desalinated, or desalinated water itself, you can see the benefit.’

If there is a way to simplify the message from Liam’s book it is this: ‘We need to understand how dependent we are on water. Then we need to understand how relatively scarce fresh water is in the world, then we need to understand the effect that competition for that water may have.’

Liam believes we have a moral duty to ensure that everyone in the world has access to clean water. ‘I think we need to also accept that the right to clean water is the ultimate human right. You know, if necessary, you can survive without democracy. You can’t survive without clean water. You can’t get liberation for women and girls, for example, you can’t get gender equality if they are being forced to travel long distances every day and get no schooling and no economic activity for water These things are all related. We need to understand, number one, that they are related, number two, we need to understand that there are solutions, and number three, we need to force those who are refusing to implement the solutions to do so.

We are not passengers in our own destiny. We actually are in control of it.’

Without the pressures of being a Member of Parliament, Liam Fox now has the time and experience to promote his concerns about water and the potential for huge resource issues. But although his wife jokes with him that it has become an ‘all consuming passion’, he has strong reasons to push for understanding and change: ‘We just don’t have a big enough awareness of the problem’ he says ‘and if we don’t have an awareness of the problem, it will never rise far enough up the global agenda until it becomes virtually an unsolvable crisis.’

Liam Fox will be in conversation with John Dean at Bridport Literary Festival on Friday, November 8th at the Electric Palace, Bridport at 6pm. For tickets, contact TIC Bridport on 01308 424901. The Coming Storm – Why Water Will Write the 21st Century is published by Biteback Publishing ISBN: 9781785908590.

Sea of Galilee (Alamy)

EVENTS September

Friday, 30 August

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Gregory Steward - Tenor presents “An Evening of Light Classics and Songs from the Shows” St Mary’s Church, Charminster, DT2 9RD at 7.00 PM. Tickets £10.00 each available from tel. 01305 213403 or 07795 347408 (Children Free). Wine and nibbles included - Proceeds towards Church Funds. Having been a vocal scholar at Wells Cathedral School, Gregory graduated from the Welsh College of Music & Drama in 2022 with a First-Class Honours Degree and is now a classically trained Tenor. He has given many concerts in the South West and as well as popular opera classics his programme has included a range of work from musicals such as Carousel, South Pacific and Les Misérables.

Sunday, 1 September

Andre Rieu 2024 Maastricht Concert – ‘The Power of Love’ Screening - Gateway Theatre, Seaton – 3pm, doors 2.30pm, tickets Adults £15, Under 16s £8. Join us in André Rieu’s symphonic journey to feel and spread the Power of Love, with his new Maastricht Summer Concert! Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

Beaminster Museum exhibition A Stitch In Time, runs throughout September. It follows a thread through local sewing history, from cobblers to couture costumes and darning to drapers, via saddlers and seamstresses, to tailoring and tapestries. Artefacts and archive photographs from Beaminster and the surrounding villages bring the story to life. The museum is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Bank holidays 10.30am – 4.00pm, Sundays 2.00 –4.30pm. Free entry but donations very welcome. Beaminster Museum, Whitcombe Rd, Beaminster DT8 3NB www.beaminstermuseum.co.uk

Screening : Andre Rieu’s 2024 Maastric - 14:00 André Rieu is ready to blow you away with his brand new cinema concert ‘Power of Love’. From his picturesque hometown of Maastricht The King of the Waltz presents a must-see big screen spectacular. Accompanied by his world famous Johann Strauss Orchestra and a cast of hundreds this promises to be the music event of the summer by one of the world’s most prolific artists. Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street , DT6 3NY. Tickets £16 adv £17 door Book online -electricpalace.org.uk

Monday, 2 September

Winsham Art Club, 2pm at Jubilee Hall TA20 4HU. This will be a practical session for 2.5 hr. Small friendly group of mixed abilities. Members £5, non-members £7. Annual membership £15. All welcome. Contact: Email : suzyna48@ gmail.com for further details.

West Dorset Ramblers Group 9 mile walk around Beaminster Circular To book and for details please contact 07952 517764.

Hawkchurch Film Nights, in association with Moviola.org, proudly presents ‘Wicked Little Letters’ (100 mins, Cert. 15

- strong language, sex references). A genteel 1920s English coastal town is scandalised by a series of poison pen letters received by the upstanding Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) –with Jessie Buckley’s colourful Irish immigrant Rose Gooding the prime suspect. Comedy drama based on a true story. Doors open 6.30pm, film starts 7.00pm at Hawkchurch Village Hall, EX13 5XD. Ticket reservations £5.50 from csma95@gmail.com or leave a message on 01297 678176 (socially-distanced seating available if reserved in advance); tickets also available for £5.50 from Hawkchurch Community Shop or £6.00 on the door (cash only). Subtitles for the hard-of-hearing provided. Home-made cake, popcorn, teas, coffees, wine and other tasty refreshments available.

Tuesday, 3 September

Cognac & Armagnac Made Easy With Salvatore Damiano. Mercato Italiano, Unit 3B Dreadnought Trading Estate, Bridport, Dorset DT6 5BU. T: 01308 459274. Must be booked via website: https://mercatoitaliano.uk.

Thursday, 5 September

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

West Dorset Ramblers Group 8 mile walk around–Moreton and Culpepper’s Dish. To book and for details please contact 07798 732252.

Fly Me To The Moon (12a) - 14:00 Starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, Fly Me to the Moon is a sharp, stylish comedy-drama set against the high-stakes backdrop of NASA’s historic Apollo 11 moon landing. Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street , DT6 3NY. Tickets £7 Book online -electricpalace.org.uk

Scottish Country Dancing. St Michael’s Scottish Country Dancing Club, Davis Hall, West Camel BA22 7QX. 7.309.30pm. Always a fun evening - come along and give it a try – a warm welcome assured! For New Beginners a four-week course 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th September 7pm -7.30pm. Wear comfortable flat shoes and bring a mug......First two visits free, £2.00 per session, £1.50 for members. See website www.stmichaelsscdclub.org or contact Elspeth 07972125617. The Lost King (2021, UK, 12,108 mins, Director: Stephen Frears). In 2012, after having been lost for over 500 years, the remains of King Richard III were discovered beneath a carpark in Leicester. The search had been orchestrated by an amateur historian, Philippa Langley, whose unrelenting research had been met with incomprehension by her friends and family and with scepticism by experts and academics. The Lost King is the life-affirming true story of a woman who refused to be ignored and who took on the country’s most eminent historians, forcing them to think again about one of the most controversial kings in England’s history. Doors 7:00 pm, 7:30 pm start. Clapton & Wayford Village

Hall (TA18 8PS). Membership £25, guests £5 per film. For more details, contact mickpwilson53@btinternet.com or ring Mick Wilson on 01460 74849 or Kathy Everard on 01460 30646.

Dance Connection, for fun, health & wellbeing, 7:158:45pm, Bridport St Mary’s CHH, DT6 3NN, 07787752201, https://www.joysofdance.co.uk/dance-connection-bridport Thursday, 5 - 8 September

NGS Open Garden, 1 Pine Walk, Lyme Regis DT7 3LA. Unconventional ½ acre, multi level garden above Lyme Bay, adjoining NT’s Ware Cliffs. Abundantly planted with an exotic range of shrubs, cannas, gingers and magnificent ferns. Apart from a rose and hydrangea collection, planting reflects owner’s love of Southern Africa inc staggering succulents and late summer colour explosion featuring drifts of salvias, dahlias, asters, grasses and rudbeckia. Open: Thur 5, Sun 8 Sept (11-4.30). Adm £7.50, chd free. Home-made teas. Location: Pls park in Holmbush Car Park at top of Cobb Rd. b-side Festival in Portland Love new experiences, exploring rugged landscapes, breath-taking coastlines and contemporary art in unexpected places? Join b-side on an unforgettable journey exploring stories of migration – walks, talks, incredible artworks and experiences created by artists who bring a fresh outlook to how we see ourselves and each other. This year’s festival theme, “Who Do We Think You Are?” explores the intricate narratives of migration and identity, resonating deeply with the local community. The recent announcement of the impending closure of the Bibby Stockholm barge, a temporary home for male asylum seekers, underscores the timely relevance of these themes, enriching the festival’s dialogue on migration and belonging. For full details visit https://b-side.org.uk/ Friday, 6 September

Mosterton Art Group preview party from 6-8 on to meet the artists showing work in the annual exhibition which will open from 10 - 7 on Saturday 7th and 10 - 4 on Sunday 8th September. All are welcome to the preview! The exhbition will be at Beaminster town hall, Fleet street, Beaminster, DT8 3EF. Admission free.

Mela Guitar Quartet - Winners of the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America International Ensemble Competition 2023, the Mēla guitar quartet are known for imaginative, engaging programmes of their ingenious arrangements and celebrated original works. Promoted by Concerts in the West. Tickets: £18. 7.30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. 01460 54973 www.ilminsterartscentre.com

NGS Open Garden, Bennetts Water Gardens Putton Lane, Chickerell, Weymouth DT3 4AF. Bennetts Water Gardens is a main visitor attraction in Dorset. Set over 8 acres the gardens hold the National Plant Collection of Water Lilies with a Claude Monet style Japanese Bridge, Tropical House, Woodland Walks and Museum. Regret no dogs. Partial wheelchair access but during periods of sustained wet weather the gardens are closed to wheelchair users. Pls contact us for further advice. For NGS: Fri 6 Sept (10-4). Adm £10, chd £4. Light refreshments in Cafe Monet. Home-made lunches, cakes & cream teas. For other opening times and information, please phone, email or visit garden website. Location: 2m W of Weymouth Harbour on the B3157 to Bridport. Follow the brown signs for ‘Water Gardens’. From the A35 at Dorchester take the A354 S to Weymouth & Portland, then take the B3157 W towards Chickerell.

‘blur: To The End’ (15) Documentary Picnic Night

Screening - Gateway Theatre, Seaton, 7.30pm doors 6.30pm, tickets Adults £7.50, Under 16s £6.50. A new feature-length documentary depicting the extraordinary and emotional return of blur, captured during the year in which they made a surprise return with their first record in 8 years, the critically acclaimed #1 album ‘The Ballad of Darren’. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

Friday, 6 - 7 September

Véronique Joly and Rob Palmer; Bossa Nova jazz vocals/ acoustic guitar duo. Paris born jazz singer Véronique Joly started performing live at the age of 17 and paid her dues on the capital’s music scene before moving to London in 1992. In the 10 years she was in London, she studied classical vocal technique, formed an artists’ collective, wrote and performed several multimedia theatre pieces and sang at many of the capital’s music venues. She has been involved in many diverse projects including co-writing and recording a song for the BBC programme Rick Stein: French Odyssey. For these concerts she will be performing an evening of Bossa Nova jazz, paying tribute to the iconic Getz/Gilberto album and presenting some lesser known songs from the genre. Véronique will be singing in English, French and Portuguese. Guitarist Rob Palmer has worked with pianist John Law, saxophonists Jon Lloyd and Theo Travis, vibes player Roger Beaujolais and many others. He also co runs the SoundCellar jazz club in Poole. As usual drinks & nibbles will be served. All concerts start playing at 8pm. Please arrive after 7:30pm. Tickets £15 each. To order tickets please email info@tincletongallery.com or call Tincleton Gallery on 01305 848909.

Friday, 6 - 14 September

‘The Quilt WalkAbout’ has been taken from the Amish idea that they hold in the spring called The Airing of the Quilts. They spring clean & air their quilts by hanging them outside making a fabulous colour display around their towns. The WalkAbout is the Australian version! So weather pending Quilts will be hung around Bridport outside, or in / as well as shops, churches & cafes. There will also be workshops & demonstrations a competition as well as a big reveal of a super Quilt by the Arts Centre on the last day! 6 Sept 2024, 10:00 – 14 Sept 2024, 17:00 Bridport, Dorset.

Friday, 6 - 29 September

Artists of the Jurassic Coast Exhibition. A wonderful exhibition within the magnificent setting of Eype Centre for the Arts, Paintings, Ceramics, Pottery and Prints. Cards for sale. Open daily from 10.30 to 4.30. Free admission. Closed on Saturday 21st September only. Eype Centre for the Arts,Mount Lane, Eype, Bridport DT6 6AR. Contact 07443516141.

Saturday, 7 September

F.O.W.L. talk in Weymouth Library at 10-30 am entitled “Keep your Hair on” by Alan Jones. Straight, wavy, long or natural, we discover the secretive and lucrative international world of hair. Tickets can be obtained from the Library at £2 for F.O.W.L. members and £3 for non-members. Refreshments available, everyone welcome.

Dorset Independent Makers Artisan Market, St Mary’s Church House Hall, South Street Bridport 9.30am - 3.30pm. Free entry. Also 5 October, 2 November and 14 December.

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 6 mile walk from Musbury. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/visitors welcome. Harold and the Purple Crayon (PG) - 11:00am Inside of his book, adventurous Harold (Zachary Levi) can make anything come to life simply by drawing it. After he grows up and draws himself off the book’s pages and into the physical world, Harold finds he has a lot to learn about real life—and that his trusty purple crayon may set off more hilarious hijinks than he thought possible. When the power of unlimited imagination falls into the wrong hands, it will take all of Harold and his friends’ creativity to save both the real world and his own. Harold and the Purple Crayon is the first film adaptation of the beloved children’s classic that has captivated young readers for decades. Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £8 (Adult) £6 (U16)

Book online -electricpalace.org.uk

Sunday, 8 September

NGS Open Garden Sheepwash Barn, Symondsbury, Bridport DT6 6HH. Set in heavenly Dorset countryside, the half-acre garden is composed of an intricate web of gravel paths weaving between deep and colourful borders to create an intimate experience for the extensive collection of new and unusual plants, especially Itoh peonies and hydrangeas. At the heart of the garden is a Japanese styled koshi-kake ‘waiting room’, surrounded by dwarf pines, grasses and ferns. Open: Sun 8 Sept (1-5). Adm £5, chd free. Home-made teas. From A 35, head through Symondsbury past Shear Plot on R, down hill & the garden is on R, or from Bridport take Symondsbury Estate rd to Mill Lane & the garden is on L. Divine Union Soundbath 2-3.30 PM The David Hall, Roundwell St, South Petherton, Somerset TA13 5AA Lie down, relax, and allow the Pure Sounds of a crystal and Tibetan bowl soundbath plus sacred vocal overtoning give you a sonic deep-tissue massage, taking you into the deeper brainwave states of ‘the relaxation response’, while charging and balancing the aura and chakras of the subtle body, and detoxing the physical body. £16 01935 389655 ahiahel@live. com

Monday, 9 September

Dorchester Townswomen’s Guild meeting 2.00. After a short business meeting, Kevin Patience will be giving a talk ‘The man who never was’ about WW2 espionage. Dorchester Community Church, Liscombe Street, Poundbury, Dorchester, DT1 3DF. Visitors welcome £3. Tea and coffee available Enquiries 01305 832857. The Bridport Choral Society start rehearsals for their Christmas concert. We welcome everyone without auditions. So join us at the United Church Hall in East street at 7.30pm Check out our website at www.bridportchoral.wordpress.cm or find us on Facebook. Contact Bob on 02308425987 to let him know you’re coming. We look forward to meeting you! Dance Connection, for fun, health & wellbeing, 10:30am12, Unitarian Chapel, Bridport, DT6 3JX, 07787752201, https://www.joysofdance.co.uk/danceclass

Tuesday, 10 September

NGS Open Garden, The Newt in Somerset, Hadspen, Bruton, Somerset BA7 7NG. The gardens at The Newt have been shaped over the last 200 years by successive enthusiasts, including Margaret Hobhouse who elevated them to a Victorian ideal, introducing colour, a greenhouse and many trees of beech, oak, pine, walnut and cedar. Renowned

garden designer Penelope Hobhouse gave Margaret’s vision a new lease of life in the 1970s, followed by Nori and Sandra Pope, whose experiments with colour delighted and inspired thousands of visitors in the mid-1980s. The latest incarnation has been created by Italo-French architect Patrice Taravella, who believes a garden should be both beautiful and useful. Mixing ornamental and productive elements, the gardens are a feast for the eyes and stomach. At their core sits the Parabola, a walled garden concealing an apple tree maze; at their edges, diverse woodland providing a sheltered habitat for native wildlife. NGS Special Event Itinerary: A limited number of tickets have been made available for this special event, kindly hosted by The Newt on behalf of The National Garden Scheme. Opening for NGS: Tues 10th Sept: Morning Tour (10-1); Afternoon Tour (2-5) Adm £25.00. Pre booking essential – please visit www.ngs.org.uk for information & booking. Location: Located on the A359 between Bruton & Castle Cary, follow the brown tourist signs to the estate entrance. Upon entry, follow the ‘Gardens’ sign for the visitor car park.

West Dorset Ramblers Group 8 mile walk around Sydling and Bushes Barn, To book and for details please contact 07826 150114.

Divine Union Soundbath 9-10.30 PM Digby Memorial Hall, (Griffiths Room), Digby Rd, Sherborne DT9 3LN lie down, relax, and allow the Pure Sounds of a crystal and Tibetan bowl soundbath plus sacred vocal overtoning give you a sonic deep-tissue massage, taking you into the deeper brainwave states of ‘the relaxation response’, while charging and balancing the aura and chakras of the subtle body, and detoxing the physical body. £16 01935 389655 ahiahel@live. com

Wednesday, 11 September

West Dorset Community Orchestra rehearsals restart after the summer break. Rehearsals take place in the Christian Fellowship Hall ,East Street car park, Bridport each Wednesday during term time from 6-30p.m. to 7-45p.m. New members will be most welcome to join and the first four rehearsals will be free. For more information 01308 456297 or www.westdorsetmusic.org.uk.

Film “Swede Caroline (15)” The giant vegetable growing world is rocked by scandal when Caroline (Jo Hartley) has her prized marrow plants stolen. “Hilarious, it’s funny from start to finish.” Doors and bar open 6.45 film start 7.15 at Kilmington Village Hall EX13 7RF. Tickets @ £5, or £5.50 on the door, can be ordered by contacting: John at wattsjohn307@gmail.com or Tel: 01297 521681.

Thursday, 12 September

Friends of Lyme Regis Museum illustrated talk in the Woodmead Hall, Hill Road, Lyme Regis, DT7 3PG at 2.30 pm. ‘Jane Austen: Woman and Writer’ by Maureen Stiller. Maureen is the Hon. Secretary of the Jane Austen Society and a popular speaker in the UK and abroad. Entrance fee £2 for members and £5 for visitors; all welcome. Enquiries to David Cox, 01297 443156.

Chard History Group ‘Why is the Mona Lisa the world’s most famous Painting’ Popular Auctioneer and Art expert

Richard Kay examines this most enigmatic masterpiece. A talk that’s sure to make you smile. Doors open 7pm for 7.30pm. Chard Guild Hall upstairs Members £2.50 visitors most welcome £3.50. For further details 07984481634.

NTL LIVE : Prima Facie (15) - 19:00 Jodie Comer’s (Killing Eve) Olivier and Tony Award-winning performance in Suzie Miller’s gripping one-woman play returns to cinemas.Tessa is a young, brilliant barrister. She has worked her way up from working class origins to be at the top of her game ; defending; cross examining and winning. An unexpected event forces her to confront the lines where the patriarchal power of the law, burden of proof and morals diverge. ‘Includes sensitive subject matter including reference to sex, violence and rape’ There is more information about this on the Prima Facie website with links to further information and support: https://primafacieplay.

com/trigger-warning/ . Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street , DT6 3NY. Tickets £16 adv £17 door Book online -electricpalace.org.uk

Film “Swede Caroline (15)” (See 11th Sept). Matinee, doors open 1.45pm film starts 2pm, advance booking required for this matinee, cream-teas served during the interval but must be pre-booked with your seats @ £3.50. see above and www.kilmingtonvillage.com/otherorganisations.html for more information.

Dance Connection Block of 6, for fun, health & wellbeing, 7:15-8:45pm, Bridport St Mary’s CHH, DT6 3NN, 07787752201, https://www.joysofdance.co.uk/danceconnection-bridport Friday, 13 September

Nicola Farnon Trio Singer, bassist and songwriter Nicola Farnon is a distinguished name on the UK jazz scene, with a passionate and swinging style, and a charismatic stage presence to match. Her performances include timeless classics from the likes of Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra intertwined with her own soul-stirring originals. In her trio are sixteen times winner of the British Jazz Award for piano, David Newton, and Phil Johnson, who has played drums with Alan Barnes, John Etheridge, Barbara Thompson, and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. Immerse yourself in the world of Nicola Farnon and her top class trio, who will take you on a musical journey filled with passion, elegance and a profound love for the rich heritage of jazz. “She’s a remarkable performer on stage, a fine singer and an outstandingly swinging and propulsive bass player with an outgoing personality to match...a class act who should be on at every jazz festival in the land….a sure fire hit!” Humphrey Lyttelton. 8pm. Bridport Arts Centre, South Street, Bridport, DT6 3NR. Box Office 01308 424204 £14/12/5 www.bridport-arts.com Henry Normal & Nigel Planer – Live show - Gateway Theatre, Seaton, 8pm doors 7pm, tickets £17, Age recommendation 12+. Nigel Planer is a comedy legend, an actor, writer and more importantly for this show he’s a great poet. He joins Henry Normal, BBC Radio 4’s ‘poet in reticence’ to reunite a team that entertains, educates and informs (but mostly entertains it must be said). Expect poetry, stories, jokes, Q & A, fun, knitwear and a few surprises. Tickets from 01297 625699, www. thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am1pm.

Comedy Store - 19:30 With nearly 40 years’ experience in the business and as the premier name in comedy, The Comedy Store is renowned as a breeding ground for new comedy talent, and remains the place to see tomorrow’s stars today. The likes of Eddie Izzard, John Bishop, Jimmy Carr, Rhod Gilbert and Sarah Millican, have all cut their comedy teeth with us.We bring you “The Best In Stand Up” from around the globe, showcasing the brightest names in comedy today. Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street , DT6 3NY. Age restriction 18+ Tickets £18 Book online -electricpalace. org.uk

Jazz in the Theatre Nicola Farnon Trio Music

8pm. Singer, bassist and songwriter Nicola Farnon is a distinguished name on the UK jazz scene, with a passionate and swinging style, and a charismatic stage presence to match. In her trio are sixteen times winner of the British Jazz Award for piano, David Newton, and Phil Johnson, who has played drums with Alan Barnes, John Etheridge, Barbara Thompson, and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. Bridport Arts Centre, 9 South Street, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 3NR.

Johnny Mars + The Craig Milverton Quartet - Join us for an evening with legendary US blues harmonica player, Johnny Mars and The Craig Milverton Quartet, led by one of Britain’s finest Jazz Pianists. Tickets: Early bird: £18, Standard adult: £20. 7.30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. 01460 54973 www.ilminsterartscentre.com

Saturday, 14 September

Health and Wellbeing Festival in Bridport A oneday festival will take place in Bridport. A wide variety of professional holistic therapists will be available to offer help, advice and guidance to the public on aspects of improving their health. Entry to the festival is free. Members of Bridport Health and Well Being are hosting this event. Inspired by The People’s Health Alliance idea of encouraging and inspiring people lead healthier lives to reduce the load on the NHS, it was founded in 2023 by a group of enthusiastic therapists and volunteers. Some of the areas covered on the day will be nutrition, massage therapies, energy healing, homeopathy, herbal medicines, essential oils. 10am – 5pm at St Mary’s Church Hall, South Street, Bridport DT6 3NN. Entry Free. Bridport Health and Wellbeing can be found on Facebook.

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 8 mile walk from Bridport. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/visitors welcome. The South Country 7.30pm The Shute Festival presents The South Country with special guests. Join us at St Michael’s Church, Shute EX13 7QW for an evening of traditional music celebrating Dorset’s rich musical heritage. Using original source material from archival manuscripts and newly penned tunes, the ensemble weaves together an incredible variety of music in an array of exciting contemporary arrangements - from elegant minuets, lilting waltzes to driving jigs and reels. Tickets £12.50 on the door, under 16s free. For further information contact 07917 835781.

NGS Open Garden, The Potting Shed, Middlemarsh, Sherborne DT9 5QN. The Potting Shed opened its doors in April 2023. This new 2 acre Wellbeing Nursery, Therapy Garden has been created from scratch to enhance relaxation and tranquillity. The community garden has been planted

organically to encourage all forms of wildlife. There is an acre of wildflower meadow, plant nursery and tea garden to explore. It truly is a special place to relax, unwind and be inspired. Partial access, small area of gravel, remainder paved and hard paths plus grass. Open: Sat 14 Sept (10-4). Adm £4.50, chd free. Cream teas. Gluten free & vegan scones available, freshly picked herbal teas & home-made jams. Location: 7m S of Sherborne, 11m N of Dorchester on the A352 in Middlemarsh. 300 yrds S of The Hunters Moon pub.

Open Homes Event - Dorset Greener Homes. Over 30 homes across Dorset will be open for visitors to find out about heat pumps, wall insulation, solar panels and batteries, wildlife-friendly gardens or just how to save money on your heating bills. Talk to householders who have greened their home, to get the unbiased and unvarnished truth about making your home more sustainable. www.dorsetgreenerhomes.org for times and details. Also 15, 21 and 22 September.

‘It Ends With Us’ (12A) Picnic Night - Gateway Theatre, Seaton, 7.30pm doors 6.30pm, tickets Adults £7.50, Under 16s £6.50. The first Colleen Hoover novel adapted for the big screen, tells the compelling story of Lily Bloom (Blake Lively), a woman who overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life in Boston and chase a lifelong dream of opening her own business. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

Sunday, 15 September

NGS Open Garden, Dorset Dahlias, Befferlands Farm, Charmouth, Bridport DT6 6RD. Dorset Dahlias started 8 yrs ago at Befferlands Farm and has since overtaken the kitchen garden

and a large patch in one of the farm fields. Dahlias are grown in rows and organised by colour, with up to 80 different varieties grown, and around 600 plants, that bloom from late July until late Oct. There are multiple colours from whites & baby pinks through to bright corals, oranges & pinks. The Dahlias grown on the farm are mainly sold wholesale to florists in Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Wiltshire for weddings, parties and other events. Dorset Dahlias also welcomes private enquiries if they have a party or wedding to discuss. Regret no dogs. Open: Sun 15 Sept (1-5). Adm £5, chd free. Refreshments, squash & iced tea will be available in the Dahlia fields/garden. Location: Approach Berne Ln from the A35 by Charmouth. Approx ½m down Berne Ln, Befferlands Farm is on the L. Parking in workshops opp farmhouse. Yeovil Railway Centre, Yeovil Junction, Stoford BA22 9UU: Steam Train Day with Comic-Con. Find the Centre on Facebook, visit the website www.yeovilrailway.freeservers.com, or there is recorded information on 01935 410420.

Royal Ballet & Opera ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ (12A) Screening - Gateway Theatre, Seaton – 2pm, doors 1.30pm, tickets Adults £16, Under 16s £10. Figaro decides he must foil the Count’s attempt to seduce his wife-to-be and enlists the help of the Countess, Susanna and Cherubino – the latter disguising himself as a woman. A series of mistaken identities, misunderstandings and thwarted plans ensue. Tickets from 01297 625699, www. thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm. Opera Screening: The Marriage of Figaro - 14:00 Mozart’s comic opera is packed with plot twists, forbidden desires and unforgettable melodies, combining laugh-out-loud comedy with moments of breathtaking beauty. Bridport Electric Palace 35

South Street , DT6 3NY Tickets £16 adv £17 door Book online -electricpalace.org.uk

Dance Connection, Dance Day, 11am-4pm, Bridport St Mary’s CHH, DT6 3NN, 07787752201, https://www.joysofdance.co.uk/ workshops

Monday, 16 September

Art History 6 wk lecture course, 2pm-3.30pm. Venue United Hall, behind United church, East Street, Bridport. ‘Exploring Six Artists: Colour, Storytelling & Boldness’. Each of the six artists will be placed in context, Maggi Hambling, Howard Hodgkin, Gillian Ayres, Yinka Shonibare, later career David Hockney and Sonia Boyce. Fee: £65. ‘Drop in one off lectures’ £13. To book or enquire about the above course please email: chris.pamsimpson@ btinternet.com. Tutor is Pam Simpson MA, Art & Design Historian, Associate Lecturer at University of the Arts in London and who has had a 37 yr career in London art colleges. Winsham Art Club, 2pm at Jubilee Hall TA20 4HU. The theme this practical session is Loose Watercolour Landscapes. It is a 2.5 hr. session led by a visiting tutor. Small friendly group of mixed abilities. Members £5, non-members £7. Annual membership £15. All welcome. Contact: Email : suzyna48@gmail.com for further details.

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Evening of Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Village Hall EX13 7BH 7.30 - 10.00 p.m. Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own mug and wear soft soled shoes. No partner required. Cost £2.00. Contact David on 01460 65981 www.chardscottishdancingclub.co.uk

Tuesday, 17 September

‘Sunshine on Leith’ (PG) Nostalgic Cinema – Matinee screening

- Gateway Theatre, Seaton – 1.30pm, doors 1pm, tickets £3.50. Anyone who loves nostalgic films is very welcome to join us for an afternoon of fond memories and friendship. This month we are screening the Musical based on songs from The Proclaimers. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

Turn Lyme Green Film, Fashion Reimagined, A young designer’s journey to showcase an ethical & environmentally friendly fashion collection, exposing the practices of the fashion industry. 6.45 for 7.00pm, Driftwood Café, Baptist Church, Broad Street, Lyme Regis DT7 3NY. Free entry. Refreshments available. www. turnlymegreen.co.uk

West Dorset Ramblers Group 7.5 miles walk . Beaminster circular to Toller Whelme -taking in Mapperton, Toller Whelme and Beaminster and surrounding countryside –, No dogs . To book and for details please contact 07947 881635

Wednesday, 18 September

The New Arts Group “Charles I King and Collector” Speaker: Barbara Askew Cost: £10.00 Time: 2.00pm (tea/coffee from 1.30pm) Bridport Town Hall.

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

information 01308 456297 or www.westdorsetmusic.org.uk.

Bridlit Book Club: Victoria Hislop - 14:30 Victoria Hislop in conversation with Sally Laverack.In her irresistible new novel, Sunday Times No 1 bestselling author Victoria Hislop shines a light on the questionable acquisition of cultural treasures and the price people – and countries – will pay to cling on to them. Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street, DT6 3NY Tickets £15 Book online -electricpalace.org.uk

Colyton & District Garden Society ‘Perennial vegetables and permaculture’ by Mandy Barber of incrediblevegetables. co.uk. Colyford Memorial Hall, EX24 6QJ, start 7.30 pm. Parking in the hall car park. Members free, guests £3.00. Information : Sue Price 01297 552362.

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

Thursday, 19 September

Winsham Village Elements I Street Fair AGM. Report on the Earth, Air, Fire, Water event in the Summer that raised significant funds for two local causes: Axe Vale River Association’s work with Winsham Primary School and Winsham United Charities who provide educational grants to young people locally. All welcome. We are also looking for Volunteers to join our Team of 4 to fundraise and plan for our next Street Fair, The Elements II: Wood, Metal, Stone. The Jubilee Hall, Church Street, Winsham, TA20 4HU at 7pm.

Phillipa Langley : Princes in the Tower - 19:30 Philippa Langley is famed for discovering Richard III under a Leicester car park.Philippa now shares her discovery of groundbreaking evidence about history’s greatest cold case. She reveals new research showing that the Princes in the Tower were not murdered on the orders of their uncle Richard III in 1483 but did in fact survive. Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street , DT6 3NY Tickets £19.50 premium seating £16.50 standard seating Book online -electricpalace. org.uk

South Somerset RSPB Local Group Ham Wall RSPB Reserve – 30th Anniversary. An illustrated talk presented by Joe Hrastelj, Somerset reserves assistant warden, who will update us on how Ham Wall has evolved over the years, from old peat workings into the wonderful wetland reserve it is today, creating a paradise for birds, mammals and mini beasts. Note: talk preceded by our AGM at 7.30pm The Millennium Hall, Seavington St. Mary, Ilminster, TA19 0QH. Entry: Group members £4, non-group members £5, under 25’s Free. Tea/coffee & biscuits included – Wheelchair access. Further details from Denise Chamings on 01460240740 or www.rspb.org.uk/groups/southsomerset. Everyone welcome.

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

Friday, 20 September

On line Art History 6 wk course, 2pm. ‘Exploring Six Artists: Colour, Storytelling & Boldness’. Each of the six artists will be placed in context, Maggi Hambling, Howard Hodgkin, Gillian Ayres, Yinka Shonibare, later career David Hockney and Sonia Boyce. Fee: £60. ‘Drop in one off lectures’ £13. To book or enquire about the above course please email: chris.pamsimpson@btinternet.com. Tutor is Pam Simpson MA, Art & Design Historian, Associate Lecturer at University of the Arts in London and who has had a 37 yr career in London art colleges.

Our Star Theatre Company present ‘Deaths At Sea’ – Live theatre - Gateway Theatre, Seaton, 7.30pm doors 7pm, tickets Adults £14, Under 16s £12, Family £45 (2 adults + 2 children.) A small theatre company are performing their new murder-mystery play ‘Death at Sea’, but despite their best efforts everything goes wrong! In Death(s) At Sea props fail, the set falls down, actors get drunk and concussed, and conversations in the wings reveal too much. If they can only make it to the end of the play before one of them really kills someone! Tickets from 01297 625699, www. thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

Mike Denham’s SpeakEasy - Pianist Mike Denham’s intimate concert series in which he duets with musicians of the highest calibre from the world of jazz. This time Mike is accompanied by jazz clarinettist Trevor Whiting. Expect swing jazz in the Hot Club style! Tickets: £20. 7.30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. 01460 54973 www. ilminsterartscentre.com.

“Bulbs - Their Selection and Planting” a talk, organised by Winsham Horticultural Society at 7.30pm in Winsham’s Jubilee Hall, by Micky Little of Avon Bulbs. Avon Bulbs closed its doors in April 2024 after 37 years. Micky is a professional horticulturist, trained at Cannington and a former nurseryman at Kelways, former Assistant Head Gardener at Killerton, former Head Gardener at Castle Drogo, Hestercombe and Achamore and Nurseryman and propagator at Avon Bulbs for many years. His knowledge of snowdrops is particularly extensive and he has been involved in propagating new cultivars of Galanthus over the years. Avon bulbs, up until they took an indefinite break from Chelsea Flower Show in 2018, had won Gold Medals at every RHS Chelsea Flower Show over the previous 25 years with a tally of 30 Chelsea Gold Medals in total! Micky will cover subjects such as when to plant bulbs, how to plant them, planting in the green and how to store and care for your bulbs, and with all his many years of experience the talk should be extremely informative and the Q & A session very helpful. Micky will bring a January catalogue with lots of goodies within, including snowdrops, and he will possibly have some bulbs for sale. Prices on the door are £4 for members & £5.50 for non-members, and there will be a raffle and usual refreshments so do bring some extra spending money. We hope to see you there. For more detail please contact Debbie Murray-Snook on 07808 505357. Vintage & Preloved Fashion Fair Local traders curate the best of pre-loved fashion for you to re-love in Bridport. Hosted by Bridport Fashion Revolution. Free to attend. 10am - 4pm, Bridport Arts Centre, South Street, Bridport. West Dorset Ramblers Group 11 mile walk . Hooke Woods circular – via Loscombe, West Milton & Powerstock. Dogs by prior arrangement with the walk leader. To book and for

EVENTS IN OCTOBER

Live or Online send your event details to info@marshwoodvale.com BY SEPTEMBER 16th

details please contact 07587098079.

Dean Carter live: Wheel of the Year launch 8 PM. Dean’s 4th album in two years is a guitar instrumental suite themed around the Wheel of the Year with each track representing one of the ‘stations’ of the Wheel. Taking place at Mabon, the Autumn equinox, this may be the only time the entire suite will be performed in its entirety…not to be missed! Released on Spotify and other major streaming platforms the following day, Cds of this and Dean’s other critically acclaimed albums for sale at the event. £8. Digby Memorial Hall, Digby Rd, Sherborne DT9 3LN.

Saturday, 21 September

Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 7 mile walk from Little Bredy. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/visitors welcome.

The Barnstaple Male Voice Choir is an internationally touring choir that provides a wide variety of music across all genres. A concert not to be missed All Saints Church, Martock; TA12 6JN. 7:30 pm Tickets: £10.00 at Guardianstickets@gmail.com /07547 213992/Martock Gallery/ Martock Newsagent (Cash Only); £12.00 at door. Website:www.martockonline.co.uk/events; www.facebook. com/martockguardiansconcerts

Ultimate Coldplay – Live Music - Gateway Theatre, Seaton, 8pm doors 7.30pm, tickets £18, £20 on the door. Since launching in 2017 Ultimate Coldplay have been widely recognised as being the world’s most accurate Coldplay tribute. They are frequently described as the ‘next best thing’ to one of the UK’s most famous bands. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person TueThur 10am - 1pm.

The Signatures Northern Soul Live - 19:30. The UK’s premiere northern soul act. The Signatures performing their foot-stomping Northern Soul covers with Stefan Taylor on vocals, followed by a full set from Steve Ellis covering many soul classics, original material as well as some of those Love Affair classics. The Signatures are a ten-piece soul backing band. Playing rare soul associated with the 1970’s underground dance scene “Northern Soul”.Age restriction 14+ Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Tickets £25 Book online -electricpalace.org.uk Flying Folk - Jemima Farey presents a wonderful evening of folk music and will be accompanied by invited folk bands The Farey Family performing a mix of traditional folk and original songs. Tickets: £16. 7.30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. 01460 54973 www.ilminsterartscentre.com

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

Saturday, 21 -22 September

The Friends of St Mary’s Church Beaminster invite you to a Harvest Celebration. Saturday 21st September from 10am to 5pm. Sunday 22nd September - open for Harvest Festival Service at 9.30am and visiting from 11am to 5pm. Come and see the many and varied displays. All are welcome. St Mary’s Church, Beaminster. Free admission.

Sunday, 22 September

World Rivers Day walk 2pm - 4pm meet at Gosling Bridge, Lyme Regis [Accessible Path]. Walk along the beautiful River Lim to learn about the wildlife and sewage problems. Meet

local volunteers who are campaigning hard to get the river cleaned up. Monitoring demonstrations included. Free to attend/donations welcome. Gosling Bridge is at the junction of Coombe Street and Hill Road. See website for more details. 07847 280806 evafahleclouts.wordpress.com. ‘Miss Saigon 25th Anniversary Show’ (15) – Screening - Gateway Theatre, Seaton – 2pm, doors 1.30pm, tickets Adults £16, Under 16s £10. This spectacular, sell-out 25th Anniversary Gala Performance of the global stage sensation also features appearances by the original cast including Jonathan Pryce and Lea Salonga. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

Screening: Miss Saigon 25th Anniversary - 14:00. This spectacular, sell-out 25th Anniversary Gala Performance of the global stage sensation also features appearances by the original cast including Jonathan Pryce and Lea Salonga. This acclaimed production was described as “the most thrilling, soaring and emotionally stirring musical with magnificent performances” by the Daily Telegraph and “the greatest musical of all time” by the Daily Mail. Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Age restriction 15+ Tickets Adult £16 adv £17 door U16 £10 adv £11 door £45 Family ticket (2A & 2C / 1A & 3C) Book online -electricpalace.org.uk

Dalwood Jazz Club presents Mike Denham & The Sunset Cafe Stompers Mike Denham - piano, Steve Graham - trumpet/cornet, Trevor Whiting - clarinet/sax, Pete Middleton - trombone, Keith Hall - banjo, John Coaddrums at 3pm, Dalwood Village Hall, EX13 7EG (near Axminster) Bar for beer/wine/soft drinks and teas/coffees/ cake etc. Parking at the Village Hall £12.50p. If possible, please book in advance and pay (cash or card) at the door. t.mackenney111@btinternet.com.

Monday, 23 September

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Evening of Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Village Hall EX13 7BH 7.3010.00 p.m. Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own mug and wear soft soled shoes. No partner required. Cost £2.00. Contact David on 01460 65981 www. chardscottishdancingclub.co.uk.

Dance Connection, for fun, health & wellbeing, 10:30am12, Unitarian Chapel, Bridport, DT6 3JX, 07787752201, https://www.joysofdance.co.uk/danceclass

Tuesday, 24 September

Photographer Carlos Guarita gives a talk and slideshow about water in Africa. Access to clean water is the key to resolving many of the problems encountered by rural populations in Africa, which remains the most underdeveloped continent on our planet. Water is the fundamental and often rare resource which is essential for agriculture, health, sanitation and life itself. Most of Carlos’ working life was spent as a photojournalist covering current affairs worldwide. He will show photographs taken over a period of twenty years while on assignments to Angola, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda, Sudan and Burundi. The Malthouse Gallery The Town Mill, Mill Lane, Lyme Regis, Dorset DT7 3PU 6pm - 8pm. Admission free/donations welcome. 07847 280806 evafahleclouts.wordpress.com

Bridport U3A The next talk is at Bridport United Church Hall, East Street. DT6 3LJ. The speaker is Alex Leger, who will tell us about his illustrious career at the BBC in his talk

‘Life on the Licence Fee’. His time in production at the BBC included stints on Blue Peter, about which he wrote his book ‘Blue Peter - Behind the Badge’. Alex says his time at the BBC was an absolute joy, and he will share this with us.. The talk will start at 2pm and last for about an hour, followed by a Q&A then refreshments. Hope you can join us.

Bookbinding Beginners and beyond! Six-session course starts fortnightly on Tuesdays from 24th September, 10am - 4pm. All materials included, tools provided, £385. Small & friendly class. Dorset Craft Workshops, Durngate Street, Dorchester DT1 1JT. More details from nesta@leafwork. co.uk (07984001830) https://www.facebook.com/ DorsetCreativeArtClasses

Wednesday, 25 September

Thursday, 26 September

Dr Jenny Goodman: reading from her book ‘Getting Healthy in Toxic Times’ The Malthouse Gallery, Lyme Regis 6pm - 8pm. Renowned author Dr Jenny Goodman is a practitioner and teacher of Environmental Medicine and has appeared on the BBC and ITV. She is continually seeing the devastating effects of pollution upon people’s health and is excited to be able to use her knowledge of biochemistry to remove these environmental toxins from their bodies, make them better, and teach them how to avoid such contamination in the future. Dr Jenny Goodman will introduce her new book ‘Getting Healthy in Toxic Times: An Ecological Doctor’s Prescription for Healing Your Body and the Planet’ and read from the chapter about water, in connection with the exhibition ‘Water, Wasser, Aqua, l’Eau… H2O’. The Malthouse Gallery The Town Mill, Mill Lane, Lyme Regis, Dorset DT7 3PU 6pm - 8pm Admission free. 07847 280806 evafahleclouts.wordpress.com.

Friday, 27 September

Blackdown Acapella and Somer Singers - Ilminster Arts Centre is delighted to give a first-time welcome to two local singing groups, renowned for their glorious, unaccompanied vocal harmonies: Blackdown Acapella and Somer Singers. Tickets: £12. 7.30pm at Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. 01460 54973 www.ilminsterartscentre.com

Saturday, 28 September

Beaminster Area ECO Group (BAEG) is pleased to announce that the Big Green Day will take place again this year. It is a day of fun, activities and information sharing about sustainability and green living. There will be opportunities to learn about nature recovery and how we can all help with that process. It aims to give local organisations a chance to showcase what they are doing. Alongside that there will be local produce, refreshments, a raffle, music and children’s activities to make the day fun for the whole family. Entry is free. This year the Big Green Day will take place between 10:30am and 3:00pm at Beaminster School (DT8 3EP). Rosemary Rychnovsky, BAEG Chair comments: ‘We’re so pleased to be hosting the Big Green Day again for everyone in the area. We are trying to encourage everyone to talk and think about the issues that we face to restore our environment and live sustainably – and to have some happy family time whilst doing so. We’re hoping to build on the success of last year’s event which went down really well with the community’.Beaminster Area ECO Group works to raise awareness in the Beaminster Area of climate change, loss of wildlife and waste of the world’s resource. We focus on actions to care for our local environment.

“Water Music” The Malthouse Gallery, Lyme Regis 6pm - 8pm. Jenny Bliss on viola de gamba and Ron Phelan on double bass will be spontaneously composing a completely

new piece inspired by water; in connection with the exhibition ‘Water, Wasser, Aqua, l’Eau…H2O’. Jenny Bliss specialises in baroque and early music, playing with such talented artists as the Medieval Babes and the Academy of Ancient Music. Ron Phelan is one of the South West’s leading double bassists and improvisors, working with renowned jazz musicians such as the Schmoozenbergs, Simon Spillett and John Horler. The Malthouse Gallery The Town Mill, Mill Lane, Lyme Regis, Dorset DT7 3PU 6pm8pm Admission by donation. 07847 280806 evafahleclouts. wordpress.com

Scottish Dancing Party in Chardstock An evening of Scottish Dancing at Chardstock Village Hall 7.30 - 10.30 p.m. No partner required. Please bring your own mug and a plate of food to share. Tea and coffee provided. Cost £5.00. For more information contact David on 01460 65981 www. chardscottishdancingclub.co.uk.

Professor David Olusoga- 19:30. David Olusoga: The State of the British Union, Why Black History Matters Following his recent four part BBC documentary, ‘Union’ David Olusoga, British-Nigerian historian, author, presenter and BAFTA winning film-maker, examines why black history matters, the causes of the ‘history wars’ and asks where they might lead us. Includes book signing. Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street , DT6 3NY Age restriction 14+, Under 18s accompanied by an adult.Tickets £26.50 Book online -electricpalace.org.uk

The Big Bingo Show Drag Cabaret 7:30pm. Join hirsute hostess Timberlina and diminutive Dutch DJ Auntie Maureen for night of side-splitting, seamlessly shambolic bingo entertainment and dancing. The Big Bingo Show is a riotous, gloriously funny three act bingo show replete with bad sing-alongs, spontaneous dance routines and impromptu rants. Bridport Arts Centre, 9 South Street, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 3NR.

Al Lloyd & His Orchestra – Live Music - Gateway Theatre, Seaton, 8pm doors 7pm, tickets Adults £17.50, Under 16s £15. Al Lloyd & His Orchestra, a full powerhouse 16 piece Big Band comprising of some of the South West’s top jazz talent, alongside upcoming stars of the jazz scene, present music from jazz standards through to Motown and Soul classics, as well as original material taken from their recent recordings. Tickets from 01297 625699, www. thegatewayseaton.co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm. Saturday, 28 - 29 September

Winsham Art Group 2024 Exhibition. The Art Group is holding its Annual Exhibition of Work for Sale in The Jubilee Hall Winsham TA20 4HU. Open 10am – 5pm both days. Free admission. For further information contact suzyna48@gmail.com.

Angels of Sound Voice Playshop 10 am-5pm Learn to give yourself and other a sonic chakra-massage through toning and overtoning the vowels of the sacred phoenetic Sanskrit Alphabet, were each sound is itself to be ‘devata’, a divine being or Angel. Sunday session ends with our usual soundbath session, free to Module attendees. No previous experience or knowledge necessary: open to all. Oborne Village Hall, Dorset DT9 4LA. Full details www. centreforpuresound.org/home/AutumnAngels.

Sunday, 29 September

Alvorada Brazilian instrumental quintet Alvorada will be presenting their latest album Faz Tempo, a bold and rich

tapestry of artfully arranged original compositions. Faz Tempo explores Brazilian rhythms such as choro, samba, bossa nova and baião, with jazz and improvisation peppering their sound. Alvorada are an award-winning ensemble based in London who play music inspired by the choro tradition. From their original compositions to classics of the genre, Alvorada’s shows are filled with joyful and expressive melodies combined with infectious Brazilian grooves and playful interaction. Alvorada unites top musicians from the UK and Brazil, whose diverse backgrounds - including jazz, classical and Brazilian music - lend the group a unique edge. Alvorada have performed at festivals and venues across the UK and beyond, with recent sell-out shows at the Southbank Centre, London Jazz Festival, La Linea Festival, Pizza Express Soho and Paris International Choro Festival. Their debut album First Light, released in 2019, was received with much critical acclaim (5* in Songlines magazine), leading to appearances on BBC Radio 3 and JazzFM. Alvorada also won the LUKAS and Focus Brasil awards for ‘Best Brazilian Band’. Marine Theatre, Church St, Lyme Regis, Dorset DT7 3QB. £14 advance £16 on the door. Tickets available at www. marinetheatre.com. You can also purchase tickets from the Lyme Regis Bookshop and Bridport TIC (01308 424901).

Screening: Edward Scissorhands - 14:00. Matthew Bourne’s magical dance production of Edward Scissorhands has carved a place in the hearts of audiences worldwide since its premiere in 2005. Based on the classic Tim Burton movie and featuring the hauntingly beautiful music of Danny Elfman and Terry Davies, Bourne and his New Adventures Company return to this witty, bittersweet story of an

incomplete boy left alone in a strange new world. Filmed live in March 2024 at the Wales Millenium Centre. Bridport Electric Palace 35 South Street, DT6 3NY. Age restriction 12A Tickets Adult £16 adv £17 door U16 £10 adv £11 door £45 Family ticket (2A & 2C / 1A & 3C) Book online -electricpalace.org.uk

Edward Scissorhands: Matthew Bourne’s Dance Version of Tim Burton’s Classic (12A) – Screening - Gateway Theatre, Seaton – 2pm, doors 1.30pm, tickets Adults £16, Under 16s £10. Tickets from 01297 625699, www.thegatewayseaton. co.uk or in person Tue - Thur 10am - 1pm.

Divine Union Soundbath 2-4pm Oborne Village Hall, Dorset DT9 4LA Lie down, relax, and allow the Pure Sounds of a crystal and Tibetan bowl soundbath plus sacred vocal overtoning give you a sonic deep-tissue massage, taking you into the deeper brainwave states of ‘the relaxation response’, while charging and balancing the aura and chakras of the subtle body, and detoxing the physical body. £16. 01935 389655 ahiahel@live.com

Monday, 30 September

Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Evening of Scottish Dancing in Chardstock Village Hall EX13 7BH 7.30 - 10.00 p.m. Tea and coffee provided but please bring your own mug and wear soft soled shoes. No partner required. Cost £2.00 Contact David on 01460 65981 www. chardscottishdancingclub.co.uk.

West Dorset Ramblers Group 8 mile walk at Cerne Abbas for area and Minterne Parva and Wessex Ridgeway. To book and for details please contact 07974 756107.

Weeding, Walking and Wellbeing

Sitting by the river sipping a glass of our home-made rose petal wine recently, and looking at the greenery around, I reflected on how much I have learned about the bounty that surrounds us here in our magical corner of West Dorset. Where once I saw weeds, I now see God’s Medicine Chest. Bitten by an ant? Reach for some chickweed. Hay fever? Boil up some plantain for a tea. Broken a bone? Why not try a comfrey compress—its common name being ‘knit bone’ for a reason. We are constantly being told how our mainstream medical services are under pressure, so it makes sense for us to do whatever we can for ourselves to stay healthy and reduce the burden on the beleaguered NHS.

Instead of waiting to see a doctor for minor ailments would you like to learn more about how to help your body to heal itself, and to stay healthy: how to exercise, breathe properly, how to learn to ‘read’ your body and understand what it needs? Would you like to learn more about how food can help? How to eat healthily—and cheaply? How to preserve food for winter, or grow your own— even on a window sill or window box? How to sprout seeds , or ferment vegetables, to increase their nutritional value—and taste? How to make your own herbal medicines to prepare for winter’s coughs and colds? How about nasturtium vinegar? Or thyme tincture?

In short, would you like to take more responsibility for your own health?

Then go along to St Mary’s Church Hall on 14th September and meet the Bridport Health and Wellbeing Group—a group borne of a desire to help and encourage people to stay healthy. One of our founder members, Sue, had been inspired by the People’s Health Alliance so, together with her friend Lyn, who had worked in health care for decades, they gathered together a group of alternative healers, herbalists, therapists—indeed anyone interested in taking responsibility for their own health, and helping others to do the same.

I got involved because I love helping people learn more about food; but gaining new friends, and having fun together learning new things, has been a tonic in itself. Several of the members get together for Gardening Days, and the morning they spent clearing my garden enabled me to get on top of my veggie growing. In return all I had to do was prepare a Japanese lunch for them all.

In the two years since its inception the group has hosted an impressive array of events, including monthly talks by experts on reflexology, iridology, yoga, holistic healing, homeopathy, functional medicine, and herbal medicine, amongst others. The group includes three qualified herbalists, and herb walks are a regular feature (which is where I learned to make my own tinctures and herbal cures).

Last year the group had stalls at St Mary’s School, at the Henge Festival in Dorchester, and this year at the Bridport Food Festival. In addition they have a stall in Bucky Doo Square once a month in good weather, to help promote its key mission: to reach out to the ordinary person in the street. Aware that many of us have to watch our spending, they are also keen to emphasise that there are many ways you can help look after your health and body at low, or no, cost. Herbs are free; walking in the fresh sea air is free; exercise is free. Fermenting and sprouting are cheap and easy to do (and fun!). The humble cabbage (average price less than a pound) increases its Vitamin C content by twenty times when it is fermented into sauerkraut, using only salt—and time.

The one day festival was the idea of homeopathic practitioner Wendy who, inspired by what she saw in Totnes, felt that Bridport would embrace the idea of a ‘Mind Body and Spirit ‘Event. Here the group hopes to reach many who would not normally embrace complementary or ‘new age’ therapies; people who, perhaps defeated by the mainstream and unable to see a GP, will now look at alternatives.

There will be taster sessions of many different therapies on offer for people to try - such as massage and reflexology (where each part of the foot is related to an organ of the body); tapping, tingling therapy and many others; stalls on home fermenting; herbal medicine; gut health; meditation; psychic readings - in fact something for everyone, as well as products to buy. In future the group will also be raising funds to assist people who can’t afford to pay for alternative therapies. But happily many things don’t have to be expensive. And to my husband’s relief he no longer needs to worry about ‘weeding’—although I may now be pestering him NOT to cut things down!

By Shirley Booth Moore

News&Views

CHIDEOCK

Pub opens!

With the hospitality industry reporting that an average of 2.1 pubs close per day, the news that a pub is opening is something to celebrate. The Clock House Inn at Chideock, nearly destroyed by fire in 2015, rebuilt and reopened in 2016 only to close again, has been reopened by Alex and Matt Mawhood who hope to make it a ‘pillar of the community’ again.

HONITON

Admiral Nurse Funded

A £10,000 donation from East Devon Crematorium has helped secure the services of an Admiral Nurse for Dementia Friendly Honiton for another two years. Admiral nurses are specialist dementia nurses who give practical, clinical and emotional support to people living with dementia and their families. The money was raised through the recycling of metals which remain after cremation, thanks to the consent of bereaved families.

ILMINSTER

Special window being restored Ilminster Arts Centre’s beloved historic stained glass window, which has been a significant feature of the building venue since its installation in 1901, is set to undergo vital restoration work. The stained glass window, which commemorates William Blake, has withstood the elements for over a century. The restoration project will be conducted by expert craftsmen who specialize in stained glass conservation, ensuring that the window’s historical value is preserved.

BRIDPORT

Innivative nature trail

Fans of Asker Nature Reserve recently celebrated the official opening of an innovative Nature Trail by Bridport Mayor Anne Rickard. The trail was conceived by Nicola Dennis from the Asker Nature Reserve Project (ANRP). It highlight Asker Meadows as a place for nature and relaxation and shows the diverse species of wildlife that attentive visitors might see.

WEYMOUTH

Floral clock restored

Weymouth’s Greenhill Gardens, has had a Floral Clock since 1936. The timepiece has now undergone months of restoration and the Showcase Clockhouse incorporating the clock’s workings has been rebuilt. The Floral Clock is a rare and historic element having been designed in Edinburgh by Richie & Sons.

Photo Emma Joyce

A New Era at the George Albert Hotel

There’s a quiet revolution slowly getting underway at the George Albert Hotel in Wardon Hill near Frome St Quintin writes Fergus Byrne. New General Manager, Stephen Hatton, along with recently appointed head chef Tom are developing a vision that would make the George Albert a destination dining location. With Tom’s passion for locally sourced food and Stephen’s vast management experience— dating from an apprenticeship at the Savoy in London in its heyday, to working in top hotels around the world—they hope to gradually lift the George Albert to a new standard.

Tom is on a mission to redefine the dining experience in the restaurant, embracing the bounty of local produce while slowly developing its reputation as a destination for fine dining, without the normal price tag that comes with it.

Tom is on a mission to redefine the dining experience in the restaurant, embracing the bounty of local produce

‘I think food creates a bond between people’ says Tom as he shows me around the garden that he is renovating behind the hotel. He proudly points out the various herbs that he is growing to combine with the local fresh meat and vegetables that come from the hotel owner’s farm nearby. ‘The produce I’m getting is spectacular’ he adds.

It’s an ambitious journey, and Stephen is quick to point out that building on this new vision is a slow process. ‘The Gorge Albert Hotel & Spa is an independent establishment, which is locally owned’ he told me over coffee in the large airy bar and lounge just off the reception area. ‘There is no fancy head office in Singapore. Our style is relaxed, informal and professional. We will absolutely take care of you. This is what the South West is all about.’

Originally from Newport in South Wales, Stephen won a much sought after six-month internship at the Savoy Hotel in London, which gave him an insight into how things can be done at the highest level. He was offered a proper five-year apprenticeship, which he recalled ‘was a fantastic experience.’ He never looked back and has worked in some of the finest hotels in the world since.

Over a sumptuous dinner, with Deborah leading service, I was able to choose from the starter menu while Deborah offered details on each item. We sampled freshly baked bread and a trio of whipped butters; deep fried polenta cubes with sea salt; a delicious slow cooked pork with

a carrot sauce, and a freshly made Scotch egg with a homemade piccalilli sauce.

Stephen told me he has high hopes to reposition the hotel. Not only will it be a haven for fine dining and family gatherings, as well as for those coming to enjoy its spa facilities, but the hotel can also cater for conferences and events from ten to a 350 people, as well as providing a range of audio visual support.

As we tucked into perfectly cooked fillet and rump steak, served with a rocket salad and homemade dressing, alongside baked fresh tomatoes on mushrooms, it was obvious the team at the George Albert Hotel are well on their way to offering a very high standard of cuisine. A triple chocolate brownie with clotted cream and ice cream; homemade carrot cake with whipped cream cheese and candied carrot, topped off a stylish, quality meal that any restaurateur or chef would be proud of.

Built by local businessman Barry Crook in memory of his late father George Albert Crook, the George Albert Hotel is near Clay Pidgeon Carting where both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button raced as youngsters.

It is an ideal location for the traditional Christmas Day Lunch, and an amazing end of year party.

As I pulled out onto the A37, leaving members of the Porche Owner’s Club enjoying a gathering on the patio outside the hotel, it was easy to see why both Stephen and Tom and a fully focused team within The George Albert Hotel & Spa are excited for the future of this growing enterprise.

The hotel is a short run from Yeovil, Dorchester or Bridport. To learn more or book a table visit www.gahotel.co.uk or telephone 01935 483430.

Click Here for an Easy Read version of this article

INature Studies

By Michael McCarthy

n three years of looking at the landscapes and countryside of Dorset, I have seen everything in terms of nature, of the natural world and natural beauty, and I’ve been inspired by that. But maybe I’ve been missing something.

Certainly, nature here is resplendent enough to hold your attention for a lifetime, as Dorset is one of the most wildlife-rich counties in Britain. You can find hillsides covered in cowslips; you can find hillsides covered in orchids; you can find hillsides covered in butterflies. You can see all six British reptiles here. You can see ospreys and eagles. You can find heathlands so wild you might be in Russia. You can find chalkstreams whose water is as clear as gin. Yet there is something else, something extra, in this countryside which I have only just begun to pick up on properly, and that is what you might call the human factor.

I mean, how humans have left their mark on the land. On one level this is, of course, perfectly obvious: there are more than 1,000 scheduled ancient monuments in Dorset ranging from burial barrows to stone circles to hillforts, and indeed, our village sits below the most famous one of all. But I’m not just referring to monuments. I’m referring to something less tangible but more affecting: to presences, to the feelings of the peoples of the past which perhaps in some special places can still be felt today; and where I have experienced this is in the holloways.

These are the deep sunken lanes, which over hundreds if not thousands of years have been worn down into the soft sandstone of the west of the county by the combined effect of people, cattle, carts and rainwater. They can be spectacular: sometimes their floors are now twenty or thirty feet or even more below the level of the surrounding fields, and the branches of the trees at their top edges meet in the middle so they become virtual tunnels. They are not unique to Dorset—holloways can be found in many parts of southern England where the bedrock is soft enough to be worn down—yet Dorset seems to have more of them than any other county, largely in a wide arc of countryside around Bridport, and here they are often extraordinary in their nature.

Because once you step into a holloway, everything changes.

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

It’s like stepping into a church. The light fades dramatically. The temperature drops by several degrees. The sounds of the outside world are shut out and silence reigns. You are underneath: you are underneath the roots of trees, which take on fantastic shapes, you are underneath the wind, which is a distant, forgotten force. The steep cliff-walls which enclose you, which bear down on you on each side, are covered in plants, but not the cheerful wild flowers of the surrounding countryside: they are covered in ivy, and in shade-loving ferns, hart’s tongue fern and soft shield fern, so the predominant colour is dark green. The blue sky is worlds away.

Most of all, the hush in a holloway is pervaded by a sort of tenseness. For although they appear to be natural (if very unusual) features of the landscape, they are of course human artefacts, and it is as if something remains of the people who trod them and wore them down for century after century after century—as if there is something of their feelings still held in these tightly enclosed spaces which hasn’t been blown away by the winds of time, partly I suppose because the winds are up above, where the light is. Here down below there is just shade, and stillness, and a silence which is… not sinister . But unsettling, perhaps. Resonant, certainly.

I have started to realise that there is a whole mystical literature about the Dorset landscape. There are many books, there are a thousand stories of ley lines and natural energies and ghosts and mystical beasts and I’m not going to go down that route: I am too firmly wedded to nature, as the title of this column proclaims. But I think it is a good thing to be open-minded, and in exploring the age-old sunken tracks, I have begun to perceive that to understand Dorset deeply, perhaps a love of natural history on its own is not quite enough; you have to take account also of the human factor, of the peoples of the past, who lived in this landscape and loved it before us.

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

Shaded, silent and still: inside a holloway © Photograph by Robin Mills

Gardeners’ climate change insights sought as RHS adapts its own plant collections

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), University of Sheffield and University of Reading want to hear how climate change is affecting the plants in people’s gardens as they combine forces to help future proof them.

While warmer summers have meant gardens can accommodate a wider variety of flowering plants and some traditional favourites such as ornamental grasses, gladioli and irises are thriving, others, including hebes and Pittosporum, are being negatively affected by the increasing number of heavy rainfall events, extreme temperatures and unpredictable frosts.

Understanding what is growing well or struggling and gardeners’ maintenance habits will help the researchers to make recommendations for how to manage and protect plant diversity across the country. Information will also be used to identify what plants might thrive here in the future.

RHS Gardens are already adapting to changes in the weather. Heat loving banana and lotus have flowered at RHS Garden Harlow Carr in Yorkshire—something not thought to have been possible ten years ago—and Lagerstroemia originating from South East Asia has been trialled successfully at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey.

However, plants from the heather and Hepatica national collections also based at Wisley are being duplicated and grown across other sites because of vulnerability to drought and the potential for loss.

Vegetable trials replicated across all five gardens have also shown the difference in performance in the north, south and south west.

Tim Upson, Director of Gardens and Horticulture at the Royal Horticultural Society, said: ‘In a garden, plant

diversity is everything and our extensive collections provide some insight into what grows well from year to year and from place to place. Tapping into the observations of the UK’s 30 million gardeners, many of whom will have noticed longer-lasting blooms or waterlogged perennials, will help us in better understanding how our gardens need to evolve to ensure they continue to provide the environmental and health and wellbeing benefits we currently enjoy, ten, twenty and thirty years from now.’

Gardeners can contribute to the survey which runs until 15th October here: rhs.org.uk/climatechangesurvey

Since its formation in 1804, the RHS has grown into the UK’s leading gardening charity, touching the lives of millions of people. In the last decade alone the organisation has taken on the largest hands-on project the RHS has ever tackled by opening the new RHS Garden Bridgewater in Salford, Greater Manchester, and invested in the science that underpins all our work by building RHS Hilltop—The Home of Gardening Science.

They have committed to being net positive for nature and people by 2030 and are also committed to being truly inclusive and to reflect all the communities of the UK.

For more information visit www.rhs.org.uk.

The RHS published Gardening in a Changing Climate in 2017 in collaboration with the University of Reading and University of Sheffield. It highlights the importance of gardens in terms of their interaction with the natural environment and provides recommendations on how gardeners can adapt to climate change through plant choice and garden design.

Banana flower Musa basjoo, RHS Richard Walker

Vegetable Dilemma

KILMINGTON Community Cinema are showing the hilarious Swede Caroline mockumentary in September.

The giant vegetable growing world is rocked by scandal when Caroline (Jo Hartley) has her prized marrow plants stolen. With her life turned upside down and desperate for answers, she turns to two private detectives (Aisling Bea and Ray Fearon), who are then dramatically kidnapped. Are the events linked? No, of course not. But Caroline thinks they are and the hunt for her missing marrows takes her way beyond the allotments, plunging her into a national corruption scandal that goes all the way to the top!!

The film is showing at Kilmington Village Hall on Wednesday September 11th. Tickets @ £5, or £5.50 on the door, can be ordered by contacting: John at wattsjohn307@gmail.com or Tel: 01297 521681. There will also be a matinee showing on Thursday September 12th.

September in the Garden

By Russell Jordan

Although summer is officially over, it’s always nice when September manages to yield good weather, with a decent amount of sunshine, in which to enjoy the garden before it gets really autumnal. I often find that I’ve not managed to get all my evergreen hedges, especially the yew, cut in August so, during dry weather, this month I tend to get on with tackling them as a matter of urgency. It’s amazing how much smarter the garden looks when the shaggy extension growth is removed and the crisp shape of the hedge, or topiary specimen, is revealed again.

To a degree, the same ‘sharpening up’ process can be applied to beds and borders. Anything that is looking past its best can be chopped down or, at least, pruned back a bit so that the plants that are still holding their own can really shine. Plenty of the late perennials, especially those which had the ‘Chelsea chop’, such as heleniums, rudbeckias and echinacea, should still be blooming so cutting out competing foliage, from perennials which have gone over, gives them some space for their last hurrah.

If you have perennial grasses then these should be providing a lot of structure right now and, Miscanthus especially, they will have flower spikes of their own. These tend to be tasselled, or feathery, rather than the more exuberant, colourful, petals of traditional herbaceous perennials. The dark, almost mahogany, tassels of Miscanthus sinensis ‘Malepartus’ always come to mind when I think of big grasses which can be a really good backdrop in a large border.

Dahlias and cannas are not fully hardy but are often planted out in borders because they add exotic flowers

and foliage to the party. Cannas are predominantly grown for their foliage, often in really dramatic dark leaved forms, but have flower spikes at this time of year which are a bonus. Dahlias will have been flowering for a while now and will keep on getting bigger, although at a slower pace, right up until the first frosts as long as they are kept dead headed and you are able to control slugs and snails by whatever means.

Dahlia flowers have a certain freshness about them, at this late point in the growing season, and there are plenty of autumn flowering bulbs which bring a similar level of spring-like vitality to the garden. Autumn crocus and Colchicums are useful for naturalising under trees and in grass, although you need to allow for their large leaves which persist for many months after the flowers have gone.

Cyclamen hederifolium often starts flowering, fitfully, before the end of summer as soon as it detects moister soils and a drop in temperature. This cyclamen spreads easily and is especially welcome as it has dainty blooms, in shades from white, through pink to purple, followed by marbled foliage which looks vaguely ivy-like (hence its Latin name : hederifolium ).

Similarly, but on a march larger scale, a plant with a variety actually named ‘September Charm’, the Japanese Anemone, may also come into flower before September but has blooms with a certain freshness about them. Established plants can reach head height, in full flower, so are best planted somewhere where they can luxuriate without swamping neighbouring herbaceous perennials. The white form, Anemone x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’, is

especially good for lighting up semi-shaded areas of the garden at this time of year.

I find it a bit depressing to be writing off this year, by thinking about next year, but, in reality, spring bulb planting should take place as soon as you are able. The less time bulbs spend hanging around in warehouses, garden centres and your own home, before they get planted into the soil, the better chance they have of blooming successfully in the spring. At the very least you should be ordering spring bulbs now, via the internet or mail-order suppliers, even if you don’t get to plant them this month. It’s worth keeping an eye on garden centres too if you want to have the first pick when they come into stock. This is especially true if you are hoping to buy any of the autumn flowering bulbs, which are usually offered at the same time, as these really do need planting as soon as they become available.

Elsewhere in the garden the promise of autumn rain and cooler, but not yet cold, temperatures makes it a good time to give your lawns a bit of attention. They will still need mowing, albeit a little less often, but they should respond well to having the accumulated thatch and moss raked out by hand with a wire rake, or mechanically if you have a large lawn, and any bare patches resown with lawn seed while it’s still warm enough for this to germinate and establish before winter.

Just as lawn seed will germinate readily this month so

will seed of hardy annuals. If you can be sure that they will remain undisturbed then hardy annuals, such as Calendula (English Marigolds), Centaurea (Cornflowers) and Papaver (Poppies), can be sown directly where you want them to flower next year. The flip side of sowing seed in the autumn is that seed can also be collected from any plant that is still holding onto it and which you want to make more of. Annuals and biennials are chief amongst these but it’s also worth trying with anything in your garden which you can harvest seed from.

Experiment by sowing some straight away (remembering to label the pots or seed trays as it may take a long time for germination to take place) and saving some seed, collected when dry and then keeping the packets cool and dry while in storage, for sowing in the spring. Autumn sown seed may only germinate in the spring, once it has spent the winter outdoors, having been subjected to winter frosts which break its dormancy in a process known as ‘vernalisation’.

Hopefully there won’t be frosts as early as September but you should be making space in the greenhouse, or indoors, if you have tender perennials in pots which will need to be kept frost-free over the winter. I shall be keeping everything crossed for a balmy beginning of autumn and then a nice, gradual, descent into ‘proper’ cooler conditions with the inevitable leaf-fall which is just around the corner.

September Specials

SMALLRIDGE GUIDE PRICE

£565,000

An appealing four-bedroom detached period cottage with a large South facing garden set in an elevated position in this popular East Devon village. The garden and grounds extend to an estimated 0.4 acre enjoying a lovely sunny aspect and a high degree of privacy.

Greenslade Taylor Hunt Tel: 01460 238382

OFFWELL

£875,000

POWERSTOCK OFFERS OVER

£700,000

A charming, detached property located in the heart of the picturesque village of Powerstock. This delightful house boasts 2 reception rooms including a splendid kitchen/family room and 4 spacious double bedrooms, several of which have countryside views. Ample space for everyone to unwind.

Mayfair Town and Country: 01308 862606

Charming period house offering flexible accommodation. Set in walled gardens of around one third of an acre. Five bedrooms, two bathrooms, three reception rooms. Beautiful period features. Large barn. Gated parking. Delightful gardens. In the catchment area for the highly regarded Colyton Grammar School. Gordon & Rumsby Tel: 01297 553768

LYME REGIS GUIDE PRICE

£1,150,000

A striking and substantial 6 bedroomed detached Edwardian house close to the town centre enjoying panoramic views over Lyme Bay and the West Dorset coastline. There are many original features which are typical of the period, with modern amenities including a beautiful kitchen diner/living area and stylish en-suite to the main bedroom.

Martin Diplock Tel: 01297 445500

WHITCHURCH CANONICORUM

£725,000

Detached four-double-bedroom home tucked away in a village location. Three reception rooms with utility and conservatory. The mainly Southwest facing rear garden wraps around the majority of the house creating a great space that the whole family can enjoy. The house also benefits from a double garage and parking for multiple vehicles.

DOMVS: Tel: 01308 805500

CHIDEOCK GUIDE PRICE

£875,000

Offered for sale with no onward chain, this delightful four bedroom chocolate box cottage is positioned within a prime spot in Chideock, located just a short distance from the village pubs and shop, as well as the picturesque Seatown beach. The property boasts gated driveway parking for multiple vehicles leading to a double garage.

Goadsby: Tel: 01308 420000

This Month in the not so distant past

Looking back at historical moments that happened in September, John Davis highlights women winning the right to vote

Following the recent General Election two hundred and sixty-three female Members of Parliament won seats in the House of Commons-forty per cent of the total number of members who are eligible to sit in the chamber.

This is the highest amount ever elected to represent constituents in the United Kingdom’s senior legislative body but the journey to this point has not been without its struggles and has taken over one hundred years to achieve. Britain, compared with some other regions of the world, was slow to grant women the vote and, even then, it took years of militant persistence and sacrifice and a major world conflict to overturn the status quo.

To find the trailblazers in female emancipation you have to journey to the other side of the world, to the islands of New Zealand in fact, where laws were passed giving women the right to vote in elections as early as this month, September, in 1893.

In Britain, only about one in ten men were able to vote in 1832 and this was dependent on property ownership qualifications. A series of Reform Acts throughout the Victorian era extended the male franchise by degrees but by the start of the First World War all women were still ineligible.

The groundswell of feeling about obtaining votes for women had been growing especially since the founding in 1903 of Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU).

It all started with a meeting in the front room of a house in Manchester with members of the Pankhurst family, mother Emmeline and her daughters Christabel, Sylvia and Adela among the leading lights in the organisation.

A local journalist, taking his lead from the word suffrage (the right to vote in political elections), dubbed members of the new movement suffragettes and although the body’s leaders were not keen on the title at first, they warmed to it especially when they realised the word ‘get’ was a component part.

Starting from the premise of ‘Deeds Not Words’, the WSPU embarked on a hectic schedule of marches, leaflet distribution, displays, heckling at political meetings, civil disobedience and what these days might be termed as terrorism. In the first six months of 1913 alone, there were 250 recorded cases of arson and other acts of wanton destruction. Even the current Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, was the target of a bomb attack on his house though he was not there at the time.

Over a thousand women were imprisoned up to 1912 for non-payment of fines and their involvement in civil unrest

and, when they went on hunger strike because they were refused the right to be considered as political prisoners, the inhumane process of force feeding became a routine part of the cruel prison regime.

The movement was also to have its ‘martyr’ when fortyyear-old Emily Davison, a full-time worker with the WSPU, was killed after getting onto the course and colliding with the King’s horse Anmer during the running of the 1913 Derby at Epsom. There is still conjecture about whether she intended the act to be a fatal one but it certainly added tragic and poignant weight to the WSPU’s cause.

The outbreak of the First World War brought a suspension in the organisation’s activities with women replacing the absent men in the home industries and also serving abroad assisting with logistics and nursing in field hospitals.

It was this tireless and impressive contribution to the national war effort that, in many ways, now acted more persuasively than all the militant activities that had taken place before 1914.

A new Reform Act at the end of the war reaffirmed voting rights for men over 21 and ex-soldiers over 19 while women over 30 were added to the electorate but with some property-owning qualifications still in place for them.

The first woman actually elected to the British parliament was Constance Markievicz, a member of Sinn Fein. She had fought in the Easter Rising in 1916 when Irish Republicans attempted to end British rule. As is the custom still today, Sinn Fein members do not take their seats in the House of Commons, but Constance would not have been able to anyway as she was locked up in Holloway Prison at the time.

So, the honour, following a by-election in 1919, fell to Nancy (Countess or Lady) Astor who took over as M.P. for an area of Plymouth when the sitting member, her husband, succeeded to a peerage. Astor had in fact been born in America but had settled in England and went on to serve in the Commons until the end of the Second World War.

A fierce critic of Winston Churchill she once admonished him by saying: “Oh, if you were my husband I’d put poison in your tea”. Churchill is said to have retorted: “Madam, if I was your husband I would drink it with pleasure.”

It was not until 1928 that both men and women over 21 were fully enfranchised and this remained in place until Harold Wilson’s Labour government lowered the age threshold to eighteen in 1969.

The journey has been long but gradually women have been able to reach positions of political power either as prime minister (head of government) or President (head of state) in their own respective countries.

The first women to be democratically elected prime minister in a sovereign country was Sri Lanka’s Sirimavo Bandaranaike in 1960 and there have been other notables including Indira Ghandi (India), Golda Meir (Israel) and more recently the long serving Angela Merkel in Germany. Italy, Latvia and Uganda are among countries with female prime ministers currently.

In the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher broke the mould of male domination by holding the position of prime minister from 1979 to 1990 while adding words to the English language in Thatcherism and Thatcherite, to describe not just an ideology but also a systematic approach to governing. She has since been followed by Theresa May (2016-2019) and Liz Truss (2022).

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

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Above: women’s suffrage movement poster Below: Emily Davison by Andrew William Dron (1864-1935)

Food&Dining

SOMERSET BLACKBERRY AND APPLE SOUR

I decided to take August off and have a bit of time by the seaside in the sun, do a bit of fishing; of course it rained and was foggy most of the time. So I decided to knock up a cocktail. I have some crab apples (or they may even be old cider apples) that fall into my garden and the blackberries are everywhere. This is a take on the whiskey sour, one of my favourites. You can use good quality apple juice if you don’t want to make the fresh syrup.

DIRECTIONS INGREDIENTS

For the apple syrup

• 300g crab apples, washed

• 2tbsp caster sugar or more depending on the apples

• 4 or 8 good measures of Somerset cider brandy

• 20 or so blackberries

MARK HIX

• The juice of 2 lemons

• 1 egg white

• Ice cubes

Serves 4

1. Put the crab apples into a saucepan with the sugar and a cup of water, bring to the boil and cook on a medium heat for about 6-7 minutes, until the apples get soft.

2. Blend briefly in a liquidiser, then strain through a fine-meshed sieve. The syrup should be quite sweet but still taste of apple – if it needs more, just dissolve some more caster sugar in the syrup.

3. Reserve 8 plump blackberries and put the rest in a bowl with the cider brandy.

4. Whisk a few times to break the fruit up, then leave to infuse for 30 minutes; strain through a fine-meshed sieve.

5. To serve, put the cider brandy in a cocktail shaker with 4 tablespoons of the apple syrup, the lemon juice and the egg white, half fill it with ice cubes and shake well for a minute. Strain into glasses onto a few more ice cubes, or serve it straight with a couple of blackberries in the glass and a straw.

Seafood Festival makes welcome return

THE award-winning Dorset Seafood Festival, now in its 16th year, will be held on the Weymouth Peninsula on the weekend of 7th - 8th September. The event is recognised as one of the country’s landmark food and drink events, attracting upwards of 10,000 visitors to Weymouth, showcasing the town, the Dorset coast’s wonderful fish and shellfish and a whole host of amazing artisan Dorset businesses.

Over the years the festival has also raised more than £90,000 for the Fishermen’s Mission, becoming the charity’s largest annual event contributor.

Last year saw record crowds gather on the Peninsula over the festival weekend, enjoying the sunshine, an amazing choice of delicious, locally caught seafood, wonderful Dorset ales, fine English wines, great gifts and shopping, live music curated by The Leggomen, the chefs’ theatre stages and lots more family fun.

This year’s event promises even more of the same. Sean Cooper, owner of Weyfish, the town’s harbourside fishmonger, and amongst those taking on responsibility for the Festival, says ‘The Festival is a very special platform for our spectacular local seafood, as well as the many growers and producers that make Dorset such a fantastic food and drink lovers’ destination.’

For more information and to buy tickets visit https://www. dorsetseafood.co.uk.

Celebrating authentic Italian food and drink in Bridport

Crunchy Amaretti, San Marzano tomatoes, Gorgonzola Dolce, Prosciutto Toscano, aged Parmigiano Reggiano and freshly made Expresso— just some of the names that conjure up memories of days and nights in the rolling hills, the vineyards, the olive groves or the bustling streets of Italy.

But when you can’t make it to Italy, any hour of the day in Mercato Italiano on the edge of Bridport can be a particularly enjoyable alternative.

Mornings are for meeting with friends for coffee, in or outside the café. Nibbling on a sweet cannoli, chatting amiably with strangers (new friends!), while collecting provisions from the mouth-watering deli, and picking from the huge range of imported Italian delicacies from olives to orzo.

Have lunch or dinner in the pizzeria, where the aroma of hand-crafted, Neapolitan-style pizzas made with authentic imported Italian ingredients remind us of the joys of simplicity. A thin crust, with the slightly puffed, leopard-spotted edges, known as the cornicione, appear on wooden platters. The spots are formed by the high heat

of the pizza oven, which blisters and chars the dough, adding a delightful complexity to the flavour. Choose to add salad, extra toppings or sides, or simply enjoy a platter of antipasti, cured cold meats or cheeses, and enhance the experience with a small selection of delicious Italian wines.

And be aware, Mercato Italiano’s Gorgonzola Dolce is already legendary amongst the locals.

To top off the day, or even before settling around the table for dinner, slip upstairs to Mercato Nero to enjoy cocktails or a liqueur in the cosy, intimate cocktail bar. Enjoy simple sophistication in a rustic romantic setting. Presented in collaboration with artist Beverley Rouwen and Mercato Italiano, the cocktail bar is set on a mezzanine floor overlooking the restaurant below. It offers only the highest quality cocktails with absolute commitment to definitive Italian Aperitivo. A European influenced zinc bar, art deco appointments, formica tops, and atmospheric lighting offers an escape— a world within a world and somewhere to truly relax and enjoy company with family and friends the Italian way.

Mercato Italiano is a family-owned independent importer

Delicious cheeses, meats, wines and wonderful ingredients from Italy

Click Here for an Easy Read version of this article

of delicious cheeses, meats, wines and wonderful ingredients from Italy. Based in Bridport, the business has grown from the ground up over the past 10 years with their popular market stall developing friends and loyal customers in all weathers. The deli and cafe, pizzeria and pizza delivery have developed from a desire to offer more to their customers, as well as the opportunity to pop in and select their preferred Italian produce in person.

Ilaria Padovani describes the ethos that drove her and husband Rob to create such a unique venture in Bridport.

‘At the Mercato Italiano we pride ourselves in creating and presenting the best atmosphere, food and drinks. We want to offer a place for family and friends to enjoy each other’s company, along with the foods that we know and love, in unique and friendly surroundings.’

Mercato Italiano is at Unit 3B Dreadnought Trading Estate, Bridport, Dorset DT6 5BU. T: 01308 459274. E: retail@mercatoitaliano.uk Opening Times Deli/Cafe: Monday to Saturday 9am - 4pm, Closed Sunday. Pizzeria and upstairs Bar: Wednesday to Saturday 5pm10pm, Closed Sunday.

Ilaria’s Italian KITCHEN

ALREADY known for their popular market stall, Pizzeria and Café, focusing on quality, simplicity, family and friends, Mercato Italiano has now added a welcoming new cocktail bar.

Set on the mezzanine floor overlooking their restaurant at Unit 3B Dreadnaught Trading Estate in Bridport, ‘Mercato Nero’ is the ideal place to drop in for a cocktail or two after a day at the office. Enjoy company with family and friends the Italian way, and while you’re there, make sure to bring home something special from Ilaria’s Italian Kitchen.

This month Ilaria recommends: la Carmela–Tinned Peel Whole Plum Tomatoes. ‘No matter what the recipe is, or who is cooking it, there is one secret that every chef around the world agrees on—it’s the quality of the ingredients. La Carmela tomatoes are grown in the countryside, in Nocera Superiore, in Campania where the warm sun sweetens them before they are supplied to those who appreciate the value of adding something special to their food.

‘Add la Carmela tomatoes and passata to your ragu, aubergine parmigiana, steamed fresh cod, or any other dish where you would add tomatoes, and the difference will show. Then sit back and enjoy the compliments!’

Enjoy a special cocktail ‘2 Hours’ at Mercato Nero from 5 - 7pm Wednesday’s to Saturdays.

La Carmela – Tinned Peel Whole Plum Tomatoes from Mercato Italiano in Bridport

Who knows what you are thinking?

Our closest friends and family might not know what we are thinking, but a lot of machines probably do. Nigel Toon, author of How AI Thinks talks to Fergus Byrne about the future of AI and what we need to do about it.

As the co founder and CEO of one of the top companies making critical components to power the field of artificial intelligence (AI), you might expect Nigel Toon to promote the benefits of AI. And he does. But he also asks questions that rock the foundations of our tenuous hold on freedom of expression and privacy.

In his first book, How AI Thinks, he takes us on a fascinating journey from the early days of computing to a world where new technology companies, and the governments of countries all around the world, may need to go to war about who should control the content of our day-to-day communication. Like many great books it leaves us with many more questions than answers, but how to regulate an industry that, with the benefit of artificial intelligence, is becoming more powerful by the day, is one of those questions that he feels we urgently need to address.

After the recent spat between Elon Musk and—well just about anybody that he can pick a fight with—you might be forgiven for thinking that the war between tech businesses and governments has only just begun, but it has been brewing for some time, and preliminary skirmishes have already led to proposed regulation that many think threatens our personal freedom.

However, the question that must be answered is whether we want our personal information and our business communication to be read by and regulated by private companies or by governments. Neither of these sound like a good option. But the reality is that, as it stands, businesses that are not based in this country have enormous amounts

of power over data that can already be manipulated in shocking ways. And as AI develops, and countries that invest in its benefits grow more powerful, those of us that are not on the cutting edge of its development will fall behind. The fact is that right now we are already controlled by a foreign power, it just isn’t a government.

Nigel uses messaging apps as one example of something that need regulation to stop the spread of misinformation or disinformation. He says there are obvious things that should be illegal such as deep fakes, where people are currently allowed to take another person’s image or a video of them speaking and change the message. But other issues are knottier. He points to the messaging app owner’s argument that if they change their policy and go into our messages to see if we’re doing something bad, ‘according to the values or the law of the country in which that message is being passed’, then they’ve broken the trust that they have with their customers. ‘So is that right or is that wrong’ asks Nigel. ‘They would need to look at all of your messages and determine if what you’re saying—in somebody else’s mind—is bad. And then the issue becomes, do we want Elon Musk to be the person making that decision? Or should that be you and your representatives in government who are making that decision?’

As a businessman at the forefront of the technology that is driving AI forward, Nigel spends much of his time talking to companies and governments around the world and points out how different belief values drive the way regulation can be, and is being, implemented. In China, for

example, he says control over people’s use of technology and the internet is highly regulated. This control allows the government to keep crime, and of course dissent, suppressed. But ‘suppressed’ is the issue. We have grown up in an ‘Abrahamic environment’ with ‘Christian values’ says Nigel. ‘Everybody is equal, we should all be independent and free thinking etc. It’s a values judgement. But in China, people have grown up under a Confucius based system, where it is more authoritarian. They rely on the leaders to keep them safe. And so, the Chinese leaders would say, “we’re doing this because we want to keep everybody safe.”’

It works from the point of view of reduced crime, but as Nigel says it could pose a problem ‘when you become a person of interest because you’ve said something that goes against the state’. That is of course a worrying scenario, but what is more horrifying is that, whatever the transgression, with current technology that ‘transgression’ could have been planted and be a complete fake, and that might be very difficult to disprove.

Whilst Nigel points out that the benefits of AI are vast, including advances in education and environment, as well as healthcare in diagnostics and even drug discovery, the need for regulation and ethics-based thinking is vital. He suggests a framework for governments to use to assess and develop a structure to make the use of AI and technologybased initiatives safer. This includes ensuring that users are aware of what they are giving away. One suggestion is more clarity in the use of cookies and clearer warnings from social media companies, search engines and shopping sites

about the potential use of data on customer activities. He says we must learn about the many ways that privacy issues might manifest and work towards creating a framework for protecting individual and business privacy.

Nigel Toon’s own business, Graphcore Limited, is one of those companies that could hold the key to advances in the digital age, but in How AI Thinks he shows a valuable depth of understanding of the issues facing a future assisted by artificial intelligence. I say ‘assisted’ rather than ‘run’, especially because Nigel makes the point that AI is still run by humans and is a long way from coming close to replicating the complexities of consciousness and the human brain. But by explaining the history of how we got to where we are today, and how elaborate our brains are, he goes some way toward placating our fears of AI.

However, as is often said in the world of difficult situations—we’re making progress, but challenges remain.

Nigel Toon will be speaking about his book How AI Thinks at the Dorchester Literary Festival on Tuesday October 15th. For more information or to book tickets visit https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/

CEO of Graphcore Limited and author of ‘How AI Thinks’ Nigel Toon

GALLERIES September

6 - 15 September

Artbeat annual art exhibition by East Devon artists (Laura Boyd, Zan Nye, Susan Paradise, David Hughes, Di Briggs, Steph George, Bente Kumar, June Murrell, Jan Shaylor and Michelle Kennedy). Painting, printmaking, crafts, prints and cards. Subjects include landscape, portraits, still life and animals. Kennaway House Gallery Sidmouth EX10 8NG. 10am to 5pm daily Free admission.

6 - 25 September

John Maddison The Jerram Gallery, Half Moon Street, Sherborne Dorset DT9 3LN. 01935 815261, info@jerramgallery. com. Tuesday - Saturday

7 - 22 September

Umborne Bridge Studio are bringing demos, workshops and a wide array of arts and crafts to this year’s Devon Open Studios event; nature journaling and art, felting, watercolour and mixed media art, jewellery, prints, cards and gifts available. Free entry and parking, coffee shop next door, 10-4pm daily except Mondays. Umborne Bridge Studio, Unit 1, Dolphin St, Colyton, EX24 6LU http://umbornebridgestudio.co.uk Facebook: @ umbornebridgestudio 07828 859755

7 September - 5 October

George Young Recent Paintings. The sixth solo exhibition of new paintings and woodcuts by George Young, and the first since he moved to Somerset with his young family. The new surrounding landscape has worked its way into George’s new paintings with trees and animals appearing, and as in the last exhibition, the everyday life of a parent with young children. The Art Stable. The Art Stable Child Okeford Blandford Dorset DT11 8HB.

Kevil Davies Recent Work. A painter and printmaker, Kevil Davies has work in various public collections including The Arts Council, The Royal Academy and The Contemporary Arts Society, and has been selected for the John Moores painting competition. The Art Stable. The Art Stable Child Okeford Blandford Dorset DT11 8HB.

7 September - 12 October

Gerry Dudgeon 1952 – 2023: A Life in Painting. Exhibition Tues – Sat 10am – 4pm. A retrospective exhibition celebrating the life and work of renowned, Dorset-based artist Gerry Dudgeon who died in October 2023. Bridport Arts Centre, 9 South Street, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 3NR.

7 September - 5 January 25

Edge Of Land by gallery artists & guest artists featuring the strong theme of the shoreline from several artists. Philippa Headley writes of the series in oil that we are showing “Nature always unveils a myriad of surprises. Whatever time of day, the colours, textures and sensations of its beauty are available to experience and absorb. In this series I was particularly fascinated by the way in which the land and sea interacts with light and atmosphere.” Those sentiments deeply inform Kim Pragnell’s stormwracked Cornish rocks, or Mary Gillett’s pieces from her own county of Devon or from farflung Canadian lakes. Bristolbased Ruth Ander contributes her limpid nature-drenched monoprints. Many other gallery and guest artists will also be exhibiting their various sculptures, ceramics, and oils including Johannes von Stumm, Alison Wear, Almuth Tebbenhoff and Colin Moore. Tincleton Gallery, The Old School House, Tincleton, nr Dorchester, DT2 8QR. Opening / performance times: 10am –4pm Sat/Sun, or weekdays by appointment. Admission free. Tel. 01305 848 909. www.tincletongallery.com.

10 - 22 September

Art Unlimited Open Art Competition 2024 Shortlisted works exhibition comprising paintings, sculptures and digital art. Entry is free and all works are for sale. The Malthouse Gallery, Town Mill, Lyme Regis DT7 3PU. Open daily 9am – 5pm. Contact: 01308426593 www.art-unlimited.co.uk

Until 13 September

Mapping the Undercliffs Nature Reserve A refreshing new way for us to look at the Dorset and Devon coastal paths is offered in this fascinating collection of images and strip maps hand-drawn by nature journaling artist Alex Boon, who spent a year documenting Click Here for an Easy Read version of this article

the pathways, wildlife and landmarks of the Undercliffs Nature Reserve. Be inspired to replicate Alex’s journeys with your own coastal adventure. Rotunda Gallery, Lyme Regis Museum, Bridge St, Lyme Regis DT7 3QA, Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm, www. lymeregismuseum.co.uk

14 - 27 September

Solo show by Mike Bernard RI “Lasting Pleasures” Devon based Mike Bernard is one of Britain’s most celebrated landscape artists. This is his 14th solo show at Marine House in a relationship that spans over 20 highly successful years. Mike has a unique gift for capturing the mood and spirit of his chosen locations, many here in Devon but others include London and Venice. All works can be viewed on www. marinehouseatbeer.co.uk and a free colour catalogue is available. Paintings are for sale now. Marine House at Beer, Fore St, Beer, Seaton EX12 3EF.

14 September - 2 November

Philippa Lawrence: A Space Between. Anne Jackson: The Witchcraft Series (upstairs gallery) Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield House, Dowell Street Honiton, Devon EX14 1LX. Tel. 01404 45006.

Until 15 September

Slader’s Summer Print Show Aquatint, carborundum, deep etching, screenprint, linocut and woodcut prints by: Laura Boswell ARE, Martyn Brewster ARE, Merlyn Chesterman RE, Nick Jones, Anita Klein RE and Sally McLaren RE. Wooden sculpture by Roger Hardy. Furniture and sculpture by Petter Southall. Ceramics by leading studio potters and sculptors. Sladers Yard, West Bay Road, West Bay, Bridport Dorset DT6 4EL gallery@sladersyard.co.uk Tel. 01308 459511.

GALLERIES IN OCTOBER Live or Online send your gallery details to info@marshwoodvale.com BY SEPTEMBER 16th

17 September - 10 November

The Really Wild Show Local watercolour artist Trisha Hayman will be showing some of her recent still life work which she describes as “an observation on the fragility of nature within the natural world,” as these images focus on nature’s unconsidered, forgotten or expendable specimens. As she puts it, “some are beautiful, some are bland and some are just ignored!” Rotunda Gallery, Lyme Regis Museum, Bridge St, Lyme Regis DT7 3QA, Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm, www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk

Until 21 September

Connections Four friends getting together to show their new work which explores each artist’s connection to various landscapes translated into art from the wilds of Shetland to the calm of the Levels. Free entry. Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Open Tuesday – Saturday. 9.30am - 3pm. 01460 54973 www. ilminsterartscentre.com

21 September - 3 November

Sky Lines Alex Lowery recent paintings and drawings. Lise Herud Braten studio pottery. Petter Southall furniture. Sky Lines takes us out into the landscape, the rugged and the urban, the natural and the man-made. Alex Lowery’s stunning new paintings of Portland and Lyme Bay (with Orkney, Greece and Sicily) introduce bright new colours and an upbeat mood. Many of us have followed his work over the years and it is exciting to see him finding new ways of looking at our much-loved coastline. Showing for the first time at Sladers Yard is ceramicist Lise Herud Braten, a Norwegian rising star based in London, whose highly textured vessels and forms reflect a strong natural environment. She joins our resident Norwegian, Petter Southall, whose creations in wood

Body, alchemy and landscape

This autumn Close Gallery at Hatch Beauchamp in Somerset presents Infinite: Body, Alchemy, Landscape and the Cosmos by artist Carali McCall.

This will be the artists first solo exhibition with the gallery and will open with a preview on Saturday 7th September, 4-7pm, including a live performance by the artist at 5pm.

This show has evolved through McCall developing work and ideas following her residency at Close over the summer. Her investigations were concerned with the body, alchemy, the surrounding landscape and the cosmos, which are so present in the summer months in Somerset.

The show will coincide with the festival of Somerset Art Weeks 21st September to 7th October 2024 and McCall will be based at the gallery during the festival weekends to give viewers the opportunity to see some of her live performances. For more visit www.closeltd.com.

bring a Scandinavian design sense and world-class craftsmanship to magnificent, sustainably grown, Northern European trees. Sladers Yard, West Bay Road, West Bay, Bridport Dorset DT6 4EL gallery@sladersyard.co.uk Tel. 01308 459511.

23 September - 6 October

Water, Wasser, Aqua, l’Eau…H2O Exhibition of photographs, videos, sound collages, objects and texts, Eva Fahle-Clouts in collaboration with David Rogers will share her love of water and reflections on protecting this precious substance. The Malthouse Gallery The Town Mill, Mill Lane, Lyme Regis, Dorset DT7 3PU. 10.30am - 5pm daily. Admission free. (Plus special events 6pm8pm-see website for full details). 07847 280806, evafahleclouts. wordpress.com

24 September - 12 October

South West Textiles – Borderlines. Free entry. Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Open Tuesday – Saturday. 9.30am - 3pm. 01460 54973 www.ilminsterartscentre.com

Café: Annie Musgrove. Free entry. Ilminster Arts Centre, TA19 0AN. Open Tuesday – Saturday. 9.30am - 3pm. 01460 54973 www. ilminsterartscentre.com

Until 12 October

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

McCall, Running Parachute, photo by Daniel Hughes

Inspired by West Country Witchcraft

Anew exhibition opening in September explores the history of witch trials and the power of ‘the witch’ in our culture, both as metaphor for our fears, and as representation of social injustice towards women. The Witchcraft Series, a selection of unique tapestries produced by Anne Jackson opens in September at The Thelma Hulbert Gallery in Honiton.

The tapestries often depict the trials of specific historic “witches” from the West Country, especially Somerset and Devon, illustrating their tales with images of spells, witches’ familiars and magic symbols.

Anne Jackson uses historical texts and original illustrations, along with contemporary scientific and cultural references, to memorialise individual women, and comment on ways we try to exert control over our world and our own lives.

Her medium, a textile art form called knotted tapestry, uses cotton, linen and synthetic yarns to create vivid, intensely-coloured imagery.

One of the stories that inspired Anne is that of Elizabeth Styles who was accused of poisoning a child with an apple, and signing over her soul to the devil in exchange for twelve years of riches and magical powers. She

testified that she met with a group of other women in the woods, where they brought ‘pictures in wax’, or poppets, representing their enemies, to be baptised by the devil and stuck with thorns.

Styles was kept in Taunton jail, where she was “watched” to prevent her from sleeping. Those who watched her testified that a great fly, presumably the devil, flew out of her head during the night. She died in the jail, before she could be executed.

‘My work is concerned with breaking out of the convention which associates textiles and woven tapestry with a sense of cosiness and comfort, using elements of irony, and even humour.’ explains Anne. ‘My intention is to present an object which is visually arresting, and hopefully, thought-provoking.’

Anne Jackson was born in New York, and lived in Chicago, Scotland & London, before moving to Devon. She is a published author on tapestry and textiles and is a member of the European Tapestry Forum and the American Tapestry Alliance.

The Witchcraft Series, it at The Thelma Hulbert Gallery in Honiton from September 14th to November 2nd.

For moe information visit thelmahulbert.com.

The Witchcraft of Elizabeth Styles by Anne Jackson photograph Mei Lim.

Somerset Art Weeks Festival returns with artists responding to the theme of

Landscape: Flux and Flow

Each year in Autumn, the much-loved Somerset Art Weeks event comes along to brighten the county. From the 21st September to the 6th October the instantly recognisable yellow road signs of Somerset Art Weeks will point to shows around the area.

This year sees the return of the Somerset Art Weeks Festival, where collaborative group shows spring up across the region. For each annual event, a theme is chosen to help create a dialogue between artists and their audience. In light of the inescapable and ever-growing urgency of the climate crisis, the chosen theme this year is Landscape: Flux and Flow. Exhibiting artists in over 100 venues will be responding to this theme in a number of different ways within their work.

They will be joined by several sponsored artists who have been awarded bursaries as part of Somerset Art Works’ Artist Development programme. This year’s SAWsponsored commissions and projects include everything from immersive installations within the landscape to creative collaborations with a scientific laboratory.

This year, SAW helped support a major new Mendip Hills-based project by Lotte Scott, whose work with charcoal and other natural materials is intrinsically tied with the landscape. Together with the Mendip Hills National Landscape, and the Henry Moore Foundation, Lotte is taking on an ambitious project utilising an ash tree infected with dieback disease, and coated in limewash made from Mendip stone. The tree will be installed in a barn at Deer Leap near Priddy, before being turned into charcoal during the final weekend of the Festival.

She will also be joined by artist Louis Neale, who will be creating participatory work alongside Lotte, and will lead a charcoal-based workshop on the 5th and 6th of October.

For fans of ceramics, visitors can meet one of this year’s recipients of the SAW Creative Pathways bursary, Edie Evans, who has a site-specific residency at Dove Studios near Butleigh, where she will be delving into the local materials, particularly clay, and their potential to reveal insights into the landscape’s history.

Over in Minehead, another bursary recipient Zoe Snape is exhibiting a show in a laboratory called Singer Instruments.

SAW has also sponsored Sally Wetherall, an fascinating local artist who recently exhibited in Wells Cathedral as part of the Wells Art Contemporary. She is exhibiting her delicate ceramic, print and alternative photography work at Litton, in response to the rural landscape surrounding her.

At Keinton Mandeville, a SAW-sponsored artist, Anna Baker, is building a library of concertina landscapes alongside her local community. These pocket sized books are a celebration of our precious green spaces, habitats, experiences and memories.

And to get truly off-grid, for the first time this year’s Festival audiences can visit Tinkers Bubble, where fine art graduate Megan Willoughby—who has spent the last three years living at an off-grid, fossil fuel free, woodland community in Somerset—has been creating installations. You can find out all further details of how to visit the Somerset Art Weeks Festival this year by going to the SAW website at www.somersetartworks.org.uk or downloading the official Somerset Art Weeks 2024 App. Be sure to pick up a guide from your local library, cultural organisation or at tourist information centres across Somerset in September for all information about the venues.

Photographs: This page: Anna Baker, Lotte Scott, Louis Neale and Sally Wetherall. Opposite page: Edie Evans.

Books Mystery novel launching in Shire Hall Dorchester

The Bridge at Locri by Mark Allen tells the story of a group of young pacifists who, in 1963, join a workcamp in Locri, a small town on the Ionian coast of Calabria in southern Italy, to build a bridge across a valley. Their ideals are tested in arguments about collective good and the rights of the individual.

Then one of the volunteers, beautiful heiress, Isabella, from Rome, who has been having affairs with two members of the group, mysteriously disappears. Her magnetic presence affects everyone in the group for different reasons. Has she been murdered or kidnapped for money by Calabria’s notorious ‘Ndrangheta mafia?

Her disappearance remains a mystery for 60 years. In the meantime, the other main characters return to their own countries—England, East Germany, Australia, Bosnia and Colombia—and try to grapple not only with the reality of Isabella’s disappearance, but also in adjusting to fundamental happenings in their countries, as well their own lives.

The Bridge at Locri is, on one level, a fluctuating

Find Them Dead by

mystery novel but, on another, a social history which in chronological steps, from 1963 to 2023, charts 60 years of a changing world seen through the prism of the main characters. It is about building bridges, but then destroying them, a story perhaps of our times.

Mr Allen, who spent some of his formative years in Dorset, now lives in the next-door county of Wiltshire. His previous novel, Life Term, a psychological thriller, was published three years ago to critical acclaim with around 70 positive reviews on Amazon.

The Bridge at Locri will be available from 10th September 2024 at the special offer price of £9.75 (normal retail price £12.50) plus £4.79 postage and packing, a total of £14.54.

The book can be ordered online at https:// markallenauthor.com, where you can sample extracts from the book, or you can simply phone to purchase it on 01722 716997. The special offer expires at the end of September.

A launch party will take place at Shire Hall Museum, High West Street, Dorchester on Wednesday, 25th September 2024 from 6.00pm to 8.30pm when Mark Allen will be introduced by local author and poet Jim Potts. Please email Katina Toumba at katina.toumba@ markallengroup.com to confirm attendance.

Peter James

CALL me cynical, and I may be entirely wrong, but I have always been a little suspicious of fiction books in which the name of the author on the cover is in a much larger typeface than the title.

It’s seemed to me like the publishers’ persuasion to get you to buy and read a book is based more on the reputation of the author than the particular merits of the story.

Not an issue with Peter James though who is perhaps best known for his creation of Brighton’s Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. Several of these stories have been televised recently starring John Simm in the title role.

Grace has only a bit part in this novel which, because it is not so much to do with the traditional crime-investigation-arrest format, makes for much more of an enjoyable read.

Another plus point is that some of the narrative is devoted to a court case. You are right there on the jury benches listening to the cut and thrust of prosecution and defence barristers, the scholarly advice of the judge and the squirming of witnesses as they realise the number of times they have contradicted themselves.

Brief synopsis: Seemingly respectable solicitor and pillar of the community, Terence Gready, is in court on a drug smuggling charge, He can’t rely on chance so the only way to guarantee an acquittal is to ‘nobble’ the jury.

Selected as a juror to try the case, and later to become its spokesperson, is Meg Magellan, grieving from the death of her husband and son yet still public spirited enough to take on this important role.

Then the sinister late-night telephone calls begin to start. The message is crystal clear. A two-word verdict means life goes on as normal. A single word verdict puts Meg and her young daughter at very serious risk.

Review by John Davis

Published by Macmillan

Historical Novels reviewed by John Davis

The Bedlam Cadaver by Robert J. Lloyd

THE fact that ‘Bedlam’ was the popular name for the Bethlem Royal Hospital, the main centre for the treatment of mental illness in seventeenth century London, and that a cadaver is a corpse should not put you off for one moment.

While Restoration England has its famous names like Samuel Pepys, Christopher Wren and Isaac Newton, our heroes here are the scientist/inventor Robert Hooke and his assistant Harry Hunt.

Much is known about Hooke but Hunt is more of a blank canvas for Robert Lloyd to flesh out during the course of a story laced with political and religious intrigue and turmoil.

Both Hooke and Hunt are highly intelligent men who use their powers of reasoning and deduction to solve crimes while also utilising aspects of forensic science long before it was actually given that name.

Basically, Hunt is tasked by King Charles II to investigate the kidnapping and murder of one wealthy lady and the disappearance of another during the course of which he becomes ‘framed’ for the offences himself and is forced to go ‘underground’.

The story unfolds at a leisurely pace but I liked the way Lloyd immerses you fully in the times. You feel as if you are actually walking through the streets of seventeenth century London still recovering from the effects of The Great Fire. You experience the sights, sounds and atmosphere though fortunately not the smells.

Notable episodes I enjoyed are Hunt’s stab at domesticity in Rotherhithe, the way in which one of Hooke’s actual signalling inventions is cleverly welded into the plot and a vivid description of all the felons making their way from Newgate Prison to Tyburn Tree on a typical execution day.

Footnote: Although all three are stand-alone stories there is a trilogy of Hooke and Hunt novels. This adventure is preceded by The Bloodless Boy and The Poison Machine.

Published by Melville House

WHAT’S in a name? Well, quite a lot in this case. Erebus was the god of darkness in Greek mythology, it was a naval ship that explored the polar regions in the nineteenth century and now it’s the name of two mountains, one in Canada and the other an active volcano in Antarctica.

Michael Palin is well known these days as a traveller/raconteur par excellence. He has also written extensively and while this volume, like the television programmes, contains the usual mix of fascinating facts and meaningful interpretations it does lack those trademark telling comments and witty asides. Perhaps, to be fair, he thought the subject matter was too serious for much levity.

No spoiler alerts here, but Palin’s prologue opens with the discovery of the Erebus still partly intact beneath Arctic ice in 2014 and then backtracks to explore the career of the vessel in the Royal Navy following its construction in Pembroke Dock in 1826.

The first two thirds of the book is devoted to Erebus’ exploits in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica under James Clark Ross starting in 1839. Places where no ship had been before.

The remainder details the ill-fated expedition led by Sir John Franklin to the Arctic in search of the elusive north-west passage six years later. Some evidence has been gathered about what happened to the crews of the Erebus and his sister ship The Terror but much still remains shrouded in mystery.*

Overall, a stimulating read. Palin is strong on historical context and has well researched a range of primary documents though, through no fault of his own, these tend to be officer sources rather than those of ordinary seamen. Further colour has been added by Palin’s visits to a number of the key sites mentioned during his documentary series Pole to Pole.

Note*: The story of the two ships feature in The Terror: Series One available to stream on ITVX.

Published by Arrow Books

Erebus by Michael Palin

BridLit Celebrates Twentieth Year

Poetry Tribute to late Partner

Spinning a Yarn in Somerset

TICKETS are now available for this year’s Bridport Literary Festival from 3-9 November, which takes place at venues all across the town.

Among the star-studded line-up is dancer Wayne Sleep, gardener Carol Klein, war correspondent Lindsey Hilsum, bestselling author Andrew O’Hagan, nature writer John Lewis-Stempel, novelist and spy’s granddaughter Charlotte Philby and archaeologist Bettany Hughes.

Damian Lewis will be talking about his new biography of Paddy Mayne and the SAS, Daisy Goodwin will be in conversation about her novel, Diva, based on the life of Maria Callas, and politician Dr Liam Fox will discuss The Coming Storm: Why Water Will Write the 21st Century.

The festival, known affectionately as BridLit, is now in its 20th year. It features writers from many genres—fiction, children’s books and nonfiction—including politics, nature writing, history, art, poetry, memoir and the environment.

West Dorset law firm Kitson & Trotman is the festival’s main sponsor once again. Said BridLit director Tanya BruceLockhart: ‘BridLit is dependent upon the generosity of sponsors, donors and the Friends of the Bridport Literary Festival to sustain a high standard of programme of events while trying to keep ticket prices affordable.’

There is also a special event in September in advance of the festival.

Number one bestselling author Victoria Hislop, known for her historical fiction set in Greece, comes to Bridport Electric Palace on Wednesday 18 September at 2.30pm to talk about her latest novel, The Figurine

Tickets are available from Bridport Tourist Information Centre in Bucky Doo Square, either in person or by calling 01308 424901. There is more information on the website, bridlit.com.

‘LIFE expectancy has improved to levels beyond the dreams of even our fairly recent ancestors writes BruceHarris in an article in our online issue Marshwood+ (visit www.marshwoodvale.com to read the full article.) But some incurable conditions remain, and one of them is Huntington’s Disease.’

Bruce is publishing a new collection of poems as a tribute to his late civil partner Anthony who died of Huntington’s disease in September 2023.

The Growing Shadow is a collection of deeply personal yet open poems where Bruce observes the effect of Anthony’s disease on themselves and the world around them.

‘In deference to the feelings of his many friends and surviving family members, I have not attempted to describe in any graphic detail the effects of the illness’ says Bruce. ‘Suffice it to say that its legendary cruelty and savagery, both physical and mental, are only too real.’

It has been estimated that about 8,000 people in the U.K. suffer from it, and it has a presence in almost every country.

All proceeds from this books will be donated to the Huntington’s Disease Association. To buy a copy or to learn more visit https://bruceleonardharris.com.

AS PART of this year’s Somerset Art Weeks Festival Somerset Rural Life Museum will be celebrating one of the county’s most sustainable natural products. ‘Spinning a Yarn’ is a partnership project with Somerset Art Works to tell the story of wool in Somerset. Through art installations, an exhibition, workshops, talks and family activities visitors can discover more about the history and uses of this versatile material.

In the Museum’s 14th century Abbey Barn visitors will encounter a dramatic new installation by Nicola Turner. The striking artwork, created using hand-crafted woollen tendrils, will encompass the 8-metre height of the historic barn. A film by Trevor Pitt will also be playing in the barn. ‘Somerset Yarning’ captures the personal stories of sheep farmers and artists who work with their fleeces. Opening at daybreak in the Mendips and closing at dusk in the Quantocks, the film weaves a poetic journey that follows how the fleeces from Fernhill Farm are carded, spun, felted and woven by artists from across the county.

In the Mapstone Gallery contemporary makers will display works made with wool. These include kimonos and handbags by Liz Clay and wall hangings by Jade Ogden and naturally dyed and recycled wool pieces by Penny Wheeler. There will also be pieces by Gladys Paulus.To learn more visit https:// swheritage.org.uk/

Nicola Turner’s sculptures and installations use organic ‘dead’ materials to investigate interconnected ecosystems, both human and non-human

Will Hutton in conversation with Howard Davies

Giles Milton in conversation with Barney WhiteSpunner

John Lewis-Stempel an illustrated talk

Dame Harriet Walter in conversation with Sophy Roberts

Helen Molesworth an illustrated talk

Roland Philipps in conversation with John Dean

Andrew O’Hagan in conversation with Nic Jeune

Jo Willett an illustrated talk

Derek Gow in conversation with Sam Rose

Henry Hemming an illustrated talk

Charlotte Philby in conversation with Olivia Glazebrook

Rick Stroud in conversation with Rene Wyndham

Oliver Smith an illustrated talk

Sue Prideaux an illustrated talk

Christopher Stocks in conversation with Rachel James

Michael Sheridan in conversation with Paul Lashmar

Lucy Hughes-Hallett an illustrated talk

Rose Boyt in conversation with Annie Freud & Caroline Montagu

John Bowers KC in conversation with Paul Lashmar

Catherine Coldstream in conversation with Deirdre Coates

Daisy Dunn an illustrated talk

Harriet Baker in conversation with Olivia Glazebrook

Barnaby Rogerson in conversation with Jason Goodwin

Lavinia Greenlaw in conversation with Caroline Montagu

Damien Lewis

Carol Klein in conversation with Susannah Simons

Geoffrey Wheatcroft in conversation with Oliver Letwin

Lindsey Hilsum in conversation with Prue Keely

Liam Fox in conversation with John Dean

Andrew Pierce in conversation with Susannah Simons

Daisy Goodwin in conversation with Georgina Moore

Patrick Grant in conversation with Helen Stiles

Bettany Hughes an illustrated talk

Simon Russell Beale in conversation with Jo Willett

The Incurable Huntington’s Disease

Though the recent pandemic has shown us that we are still vulnerable, medical science has now eliminated many of the worst threats to our health and wellbeing. Life expectancy has improved to levels beyond the dreams of even our fairly recent ancestors.

But some incurable conditions remain, and one of them is Huntington’s Disease. It has been estimated that about 8000 people in the U.K. suffer from it, and it has a presence in almost every country in the world. In recent years, it has caused the illness and death of my civil partner Anthony.

Huntington’s Disease is a genetic condition, inherited from one parent having the faulty gene concerned. It doesn’t happen because of unhealthy habits; it only happens as a result of that inheritance. It isn’t an ‘old people’s illness’; it can strike at any age, and the younger the victims are, the worse it is likely to be.

Anthony and I had been together for 37 years by the time he died. He was diagnosed with HD in October 2016, but symptoms had started appearing at least three years before that. In November 2013, he was hospitalised after a heart attack, and in June 2017, he went to hospital again to have fluid drained from his lungs after pneumonia caused by an ‘inhalation’ of food. Eating difficulties are amongst the attacks of HD on the system.

Anthony died on September 3rd 2023. He died at home, in his sleep. Being able to remain at home was attributable to the Seaton Hospiscare nurses, whose professional help allows Seaton people with a terminal illness to die in their own home. For the final weeks of Anthony’s life, these amazing and dedicated people made everything as decent as it could be, given the ravages which the illness was by then perpetrating on my partner.

I began writing after early retirement in 2004, and the writing helped me through the worst years. When Anthony fell ill, we agreed that my takings from the published books would go to Huntington’s Disease charities, including the Huntington’s Disease Association, the Huntington’s

Disease Youth Organisation and the Huntington’s Disease Centre at University College London, the major U.K. HD research centre.

On September 3rd 2024, the first anniversary of Anthony’s death, my collection of poems in his memory, ‘The Growing Shadow’, was published, and all the takings from it will go to the HD Centre at UCL, to aid HD research and hopefully hasten the day when the disease will finally be beaten, perhaps in the meantime developing some recognised and effective forms of treatment. It is too late for Anthony, but it might save others from having to go through the kind of gradual and painful decline that he endured.

Bruce Harris www.bruceleonardharris.com

Huntington’s Disease Association https://www.hda.org.uk/ Huntington’s Disease Youth Organisation https://www.hdyo.org/ Huntington’s Disease Centre, University College London https:// www.ucl.ac.uk/ion/research/research-centres/huntingtons-diseasecentre

All proceeds from this books will be donated to the Huntington’s Disease Association. To buy a copy or to learn more visit https:// bruceleonardharris.com.

September PREVIEW

Click Here for an Easy Read version of this article

A

festival

of guitar music CONCERTS IN THE WEST

CONCERTS in the West, the charity which brings rising stars of the chamber music scene to the West Country, opens the autumn season with four recitals by the Mela guitar quartet, bringing a “festival of music” to Bridport Arts Centre on Friday 6th at 11.30am, for the shorter coffee concert, that evening at Ilminster Arts Centre at 7.30pm, Crewkerne Dance House on Saturday 7th at 7.30 and on Sunday 8th at the Church of St Loch at Pendomer near Yeovil at 3pm.

The quartet—Matthew Butten, Zahrah Hutton, Matthew Robinson and George Tarlton—will be playing a wideranging programme, including Saint-Saëns’ Bacchanale, Debussy’s Deux Arabesques, Ravel’s Pavane pour une Infante Defunte, Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmilla Overture, Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances and works by Holst, Snowden and Gismonti.

Winners of the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America International Ensemble Competition 2023, the Mēla guitar quartet is known for imaginative, engaging programmes and original works, and for enthusiastically adding to the guitar quartet repertoire through adventurous

arrangements of much-loved orchestral works and for commissions of new music.

The quartet formed in 2015 as graduates of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy of Music. They became International Guitar Festival Young Artists 2015/16, then Park Lane Group young artists 2018/19 and Royal Over-Seas League chamber music finalists 2019. Michael Butten and Zahrah Hutton joined founding members Matthew Robinson and George Tarlton in 2023.

Who do we think we are?

PORTLAND

THIS year’s b-side festival, based on Portland from Thursday 5th to Sunday 8th September, has the theme Who Do We Think We Are?—explored in many different art forms and media, including visual arts, film, poetry and music.

The theme encourages participants to explore the many stories that make up the lives of Portland’s residents and visitors. The magical place is no stranger to the topics of migration and identity, as the island has been home to the floating asylum containment site, the Bibby Stockholm,

Belinda Zhawi performs sound poetry at the b-side festival launch party

for almost a year. The barge has been docked on Portland since August 2023 and has been at the centre of many conversations around the topic of migration, home and belonging since its controversial arrival. (The new government, in one of its earliest announcements, said the Bibby Stockholm contract would not be renewed at the end of this year).

The 2024 b-side launch event at SALT, a bar on Portland Marina, on Thursday 5th September, will include a film premiere, live spoken word and DJ sets, offering a preview of the eclectic and thought-provoking works that attendees can expect over the weekend.

One of the highlights of the evening will be the premiere of This Is Us, a new short film by Hugh Dunford Wood in collaboration with Stephen Clarke of biggerhouse film. The film captures 209 portraits illuminated by the fleeting light of a single match, revealing the diverse faces of Portland’s community and emphasising our shared humanity.

This will be followed by a sound poetry performance by Belinda Zhawi—Viva Voce delves into themes of displacement and the essential role of water in the narratives of loss and home, weaving together reflections on two historically significant rivers tied by trade and migration.

Rocca Holly-Nambi, the b-side director, emphasises the festival’s significance: “Our themes of migration and identity resonate deeply with Portland’s residents. The launch event not only celebrates our diverse communities

but also highlights the festival’s role in securing the County of Culture title for 2025. We are proud to contribute to this cultural milestone through our commitment to bringing people and art together.”

Now in its tenth year, the festival is sponsored for the first time by Portland Marina, which will host a range of events and exhibits from both local residents and international artists. These include a mass kite-making workshop involving hundreds of participants, including local schoolchildren, who will fly their creations over the English Channel, and a unique opening day event on 5th September, highlighting Portland’s significance and the festival’s theme of unity.

This year’s installations include One Night, One Dream, Life in the Lighthouse, outdoor artworks inspired by Persian myths of migration, created by Mohammad Barrangi, an Iranian-born artist and former Paralympian, Liz Hingley’s SIM Project, tiny artworks with gigantic meaning in the form of SIM cards, and Face Value Portland, the transformation of £5 notes into portraits of festival-goers by Germanborn Harald Smykla.

b-side will take place across various sites on Portland, offering something for everyone, with many events being free to ensure the celebration is accessible to all. There is also a festival fringe, from Saturday 31st August to Sunday 8th September.

For more information, please visit the b-side website https://b-side.org.uk/

PREVIEW

Flying tonight HONITON

WHY haven’t you heard of Harriet Quimby? Maybe you have—but most likely you haven’t. So Middle-Weight Theatre Company’s new play tells a story you should hear. What’s Next?, at Dorchester Corn Exchange on 14th September at 8pm, is a solo show with actress Victoria Lucie, which brings overdue recognition for the life and achievements of Harriet Quimby (1875-1912), trail-blazing aviator, journalist and film screenwriter.

In 1911, she defied societal norms by becoming the first woman to earn a pilot’s license in the United States and in 1912 she was the first woman to fly across the English Channel. She died tragically young, at the age of 37, in a flying accident, but she strongly influenced the role of women in aviation.

The big question is: why haven’t you heard of her?

Fresh from the success of its critically acclaimed 2023 UK tour, ‘amendments: A Play On Words,’ Middle-Weight Theatre is on tour with What’s Next?, also at the Alma Tavern in Bristol on 19th and 20th September, and at the Barnfield Theatre in Exeter from 24th to 26th October.

Epic adventures on two wheels DORCHESTER

AFTER all the excitement in the Paris Olympics velodrome and the cycling road races, there is an opportunity to hear about some cycling adventures which are every bit as

remarkable, when the endurance cyclist and adventurer Emily Chappell comes to Dorchester Arts at the Corn Exchange on Thursday 12th September.

In her Epic Tales of Cycling Adventures, Emily shares stories from her travels and life. As a child, she was not at all sporty, but when she reached her mid-20s, she began to make up for lost time. First, she gave up her office job to become a London cycle courier. Then, in 2016, she cycled 4000km in 13 days, from Belgium to Turkey, to become the first woman home in the Transcontinental race. Her account of the experience, Where There’s a Will, parttravelogue, part-open-hearted memoir, was nominated at the 2020 Daily Telegraph Sports Books of the Year awards.

Her other long-distance cycling trips include Anchorage (Alaska) to Seattle in midwinter temperatures going down to minus 25, Wales to Japan, and across Iceland. She will be talking about her travels and adventures with former Procycling magazine writer, Duncan Steer. It promises to be an evening for adventurers, armchair adventurers and anyone interested in exactly how someone can so drastically change their path through life.

History’s greatest cold case BRIDPORT

PHILIPPA Langley, who came to national attention with her persistent—and ultimately successful—efforts to locate the remains of King Richard III (under a Leicester car park), comes to the Electric Palace at Bridport on Thursday 19th September with a talk about her latest historical investigations.

Her talk, The Princes in the Tower, which will be followed by a Q&A and book signing, follows the Channel 4 documentary she made with the judge and barrister-turnedbroadcaster Rob Rinder, investigating what has been called “history’s greatest cold case.” The Princes, whose supposed murder has for centuries been laid at Richard III’s door, were the deposed King Edward V of England and his younger brother Prince Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, heirs to the throne of King Edward IV. Their story is one of the blackest incidents in the bloody Wars of the Roses.

Continuing her interest in how history—and William Shakespeare—have portrayed Richard III, Langley reveals new research which she believes shows that the Princes were not murdered on the orders of their uncle (Richard) in 1483 but did in fact survive.

The talk covers her astonishing discoveries and the fascinating detective work she undertook to challenge 500 years of accepted views about the fate of the young Princes.

Middle-Weight Theatre tells the story of pioneering aviator Harriet Quimby at Honiton’s Beehive arts centre.

A global music month

LYME REGIS

FROM Somaliland to Brazil via Ireland and Yorkshire, September is a month of music from around the world at the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, starting on Sunday 8th at 8pm, with Sahra “Halgan”, an artist from who earned her nickname “the Fighter” in the 1980s when she was involved in a terrible war against the then dictatorship.

Somaliland, in the Horn of Africa, has been independent since 1991, but is as yet unrecognised by the international community. Sahra’s campaigning earned her respect and admiration, but it is her music that has made her an icon of her country’s spirit. Uplifting yet reverent, her music is filled with soul and courage and love, encapsulating the hope and strength of her community.

Exiled to France, she started her group in Lyon with Aymeric Krol, Maël Salètes and Régis Monte. The sounds they create are music to dance to, with nods to Afrobeat, Tuareg and Ethio(Ethopian)-jazz. Her third album, Hiddo Dhawr (Preserve Culture) is also the name of the cultural centre that Sahra founded in 2013 in Hargeisa, the capital of her homeland.

The music turns Celtic on Thursday 12th, when the multi-award-winning Irish folk singer Cara Dillon, and her husband, the acclaimed musician and producer Sam Lakeman (one of the three musical Lakeman brothers), bring their exquisite and enthralling live performance to Lyme Regis—every note and word is sung with a passion and confidence earned through a life of experience singing traditional songs.

A week later, on Thursday 19th, two members of one of English folk music’s greatest dynasties, Martin Carthy and Eliza Carthy, come to the Marine. Now in his 80s, Martin Carthy has been a major figure on the folk scene for more than 60 years, playing solo and with many of the leading folk musicians of the 20th and 21st century. His late wife Norma Waterson, was one of the uniquely talented

Waterson family of traditional folk singers. Their daughter, Eliza, an award-winning musician in her own right, has led her own bands and regularly plays with some of the most adventurous and genre-pushing folk musicians working today. Martin and Eliza will perform an eclectic range of songs and tunes from their vast family repertoire, drawing from the traditional canon as well as selections from a more contemporary songbook.

For the month’s last gig, on Sunday 29th, the focus at the Marine moves to South America, when Jazz by the Sea welcomes Alvorada. The Brazilian instrumental quintet will be presenting their latest album, Faz Tempo, a bold and rich tapestry of artfully arranged original compositions.

Faz Tempo explores Brazilian rhythms such as choro, samba, bossa nova and baião, with jazz and improvisation peppering their sound.

Jurassic goes global BRIDPORT

AS if being hundreds of millions of years old isn’t enough, Dorset’s famed Jurassic coast is going global this year, with a multi-cultural event at Bridport Arts Centre on Saturday 14th September, with activities all day and a film and dancing in the evening.

The theme of the event is “Small World – The world’s on your doorstep” promising “a day of fun celebrating the diverse cultures that make our community so vibrant.”

During the day, there will be activities for all ages at the Community Orchard, and delicious free food from around the world (just bring your picnic blanket, plate and cutlery), live performances, art, demonstrations and drumming workshops, as well as displays by Bridport and Dorsetbased community groups and businesses.

At the arts centre, there will be a food court where you can enjoy world foods, while making new friends, and opportunities to learn more about the town’s multicultural population.

Sahra Halgan brings her band and the music of Somaliland to Lyme Regis

Screen Time

with Nic Jeune

Top Six at the Flix

Plaza Cinema Dorchester

Lee (2023)

Lee is beautiful, daring, and elusive, as all great art should be. It’s a fitting tribute to a woman whose work exhibited the same qualities. Film Threat. Andy Howell.

Bridport Electric Palace

Fly me to the Moon. (2024)

‘Tatum and Johansson are the stars of the show, oftentimes conveying with a mere look what entire monologues couldn’t have accomplished. These are the two engines propelling the movie into the stratosphere, taking what could’ve been a disposable, forgettable effort and transforming it into an experience that’ll have you floating on air out of the theater ... likely as you hum a very apt Frank Sinatra tune to yourself.’ Slash Film. Jeremy Mathai.

BBC iPlayer

The Commitments (1991)

‘Alan Parker’s sexy, hilarious, exuberantly energetic new film, The Commitments, has so much rhythmic juice that it’s nearly impossible to stay in your seat.’ Washington Post. Hal Hinson.

The Queen of Versailles (2012)

‘A succulently entertaining movie that invites you to splash around in the dreams and follies of folks so rich they’re the 1 percent of the 1 percent. It’s like a champagne bath laced with arsenic.’ Entertainment Weekly. Owen Gleiberman.

Amazon

Musica (2024)

‘Música heralds the arrival of a filmmaker, an actor, and a musician worth paying attention to, while also delivering a winning and visually inventive musical comedy.’ Indiewire. Rafael Motomayor.

Netflix

His Three Daughters (2023)

‘The heartbreaking plunge into sisterhood and grief that is His Three Daughters is an intensely composed elegy about the devastating effect of saying goodbye to a parent.’ Screen Daily.

In the evening the arts centre will have a screening of the film Can I Live?, directed by and starring Fehinti Balogun, a member of the renowned theatre company Complicité. The film captures a musical performance that explores Balogun’s experience as a black man involved in environmental activism. Starting with his personal relationship with his mother, who can be indifferent to actions such as recycling, he investigates why some people of colour might feel disconnected to climate change activism and what can be done to make this a more inclusive and representative space. The film will be followed by dancing to Around the World in 80 Beats, an auditory global journey through music and its cultural influences.

Sequins and social commentary

DORCHESTER AND LYME REGIS

BEING a foster parent doesn’t sound like an obvious opening for comedy, but in the hands of the whip-smart and very funny Welsh comedian Kiri PritchardMclean it provides some unexpected laughs. Kiri, well-known from many radio and television comedy shows, is currently on a lengthy national tour with the show, Peacock, with local dates in September at Salisbury Arts Centre on 11th,

Welsh comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean brings her new show to the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis and Dorchester Arts

Dorchester Corn Exchange on 13th, the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis on 18th, Taunton Brewhouse on 19th, and Exeter Phoenix arts centre on 22nd.

As a star of 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Have I Got News For You and QI, Kiri Pritchard-McLean has had a busy few years. As well as hosting Live at the Apollo, fronting the Radio 4 panel show Best Medicine and starting a comedy school, she’s become a foster parent. Until now she hasn’t been able to talk about it on stage—she hasn’t even told the kids in her care that she’s a comedian. (And she uses a different name).

However, this year something changed and now she has made a show about becoming a foster carer—so, come and join “Louise” as she lifts the lid on social workers, first aid training and what not to do when a vicar searches for you on YouTube.

A regular on the radio, with her own weekly show on BBC Radio Wales, Kiri also regularly co-hosts Loose Ends, has guest hosted The News Quiz, and has now become the host of her own Radio 4 panel show, Best Medicine, which has recently been commissioned for a second series.

A reviewer for the legendary rock and popular culture magazine Rolling Stone said of her: “Expect sequins, social commentary and massive laughs from the renaissance woman of UK comedy.”

All at sea DORCHESTER

FANS of the clever Mischief Theatre productions (The Play That Goes Wrong, etc) should head to Dorchester Corn Exchange on Thursday 19th September, when Our Star Theatre will perform a new comedy murder mystery, Deaths At Sea, which is very much in the tradition of well-meaning-but-chaotic theatre productions.

A small theatre company is performing a new murder-mystery play Death at Sea—but despite their best efforts, everything goes wrong! The play is supposed to be a thrilling murder mystery set on a small ship carrying just five passengers and its captain. When one of the passengers is found dead, the remaining passengers speculate and turn on each other until the real murderer is caught ...

That’s the plan—but it’s not quite how things work out.

In Death(s) at Sea, props fail, the set falls down, actors get drunk and concussed ... and conversations in the wings reveal too much. Can they make it to the end of the play before one of them really kills someone? The performance begins at 7.30pm.

Quartet of comics LYME REGIS

A COMEDIAN who made his name as one of the youngest on the circuit headlines at Lyme Regis Comedy Club on Sunday 15th September. Matt Richardson—well-known for his appearances on Never Mind The Buzzcocks will be supported by rising star Andrew White, Bristol-based Jessie Nixon and compere Tom Glover.

Having made his debut as a stand-up in 2009 at 18 years old, Matt soon made it through to the finals of two national stand-up competitions—the prestigious So You Think You’re Funny and the Chortle Student Comedy Award. He was also runner up in the Reading Comedy Festival New Act of the Year and won the new act competitions at the Newbury and Bath Comedy Festivals— all while still in his teens.

He quickly established himself in the major UK comedy club chains and has appeared on many TV shows, including Comedy Game Night, Roast Battle & Drunk History (Comedy Central), Celebrity Juice, CelebAbility, The Stand Up Sketch Show series 2 and 3, Hey Tracey, The Chase: Celebrity Christmas Special, The Chris Ramsey Show, Top Gear: Extra Gear and pretty much any spin-off show you can name.

The Young Lit Fix

By Jamie Littler

Published by Puffin Books at Penguin Random House Paperback £7.99

Review by Nicky Mathewson

THE great city of Arkspire is made up of five districts led by five Arcanists: Invention district, home of The Maker Iris district, home of The Watcher Midnight district, home of The Shrouded Gateway district, home of The Enigma Radiant district, home of The Tempest

Since the evil Betrayers ruined the world with war and misery, the Arcanists’ ancestors created Arkspire as a place of peace and learning and a message to The Betrayers that they would stand strong against the curse they left behind.

The Arcanists are the only people in the world to possess magic and it is their job to protect the people of Arkspire from the constant danger of Shades: life sucking shadows which were left behind by The Betrayers.

As each Arcanist dies, their power must be passed to another to continue the line of magic and protection. Therefore, Arkspire’s five districts need willing candidates who are prepared to take on the role of Arcanist.

Juniper and Elodie are sisters who were once close, but life in the slums of Arkspire has dealt them a rough hand and pointed them in different directions. While Elodie is in training to become a Candidate for the Iris District, Juniper is a relic thief and a huge disappointment to her sister. One of the relics stolen by Juniper opens up a whole heap of trouble for her and her loyal friend Thea, by bringing a shadow creature through a hidden door. In a world of deadly Shades, the presence of such a creature would be disastrous.

Juniper gets caught up in a web of lies to cover up what she has done and has to pretend she is someone she is not, but in doing so she uncovers some dark secrets about the Arcanists which suggests they are definitely not what they seem.

This is a wonderful fantasy adventure by the author of Frostheart. Illustrated throughout with Jamie’s dynamic style, this is the start of an amazing series which is perfect for confident readers age 8+. Arkspire 2: The Order of Misfits, has just been published and I cannot wait to continue the adventure!

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

Arkspire

SITUATIONS VACANT

FOR SALE

Ex-display sheds, stables, fieldshelters, stables, garages, summerhouses, offices, beachhut, agricultural, workshops. 01935891195 Dec 24

Accordions for sale, private collection, 120bass, Italian, German, electric Roland, Call 07758134593

Hardly used blue good quality case, expandable size W44 cms D24 cms L99 cms. £25. Tel Pat 01297 489567 Chideock Small luggage rack case £15. 36W x 18D x 50L. Tel 07791 176632.

3 small child size almost new sleeping bags. Ideal for indoor extra use or summer camping £5 each or 3 for £14. Tel Pat Chideock 07791 176632.

Canon Printer ( new ) extra to requirements

Pixma TS3450 perfect. Phone 07791176632 or 01297489567. Offers in £30 region ask for Pat. Wheelchair, Angel mobility lightweight aluminium folding wheelchair. Good condition. £35. 01460 30760.

Ladies lightweight Falcon Adventurer bicycle £25.00. Crewkerne 07891 705598.

Rain water butt, 205 ltr / 45 gal. open to, sturdy MDPE plastic 2’ W, 3’ H, for sale £25. Similar 1000 ltr IBC £70. Both good condition from my allotment. Delivery possible. Rather deaf so text first on 07764 832 051 please. Pure linen men’s lightweight jacket, traditional 3 button, two vents size 42. Beige. Hardly used, like new. £25. 01300 341637 (Cerne Abbas). Motorcycle Trailer. Very strong galvanised steel

motorcycle trailer for sale. Can accommodate 3 bikes. Comes complete with ramp and registration/ light board. Sensible offers considered. 07974 441521 - (text only please).

Flymo XL 500. Two Honda gvc160 powered flymo’s for repair. One is in good condition, the other less so. Both are non starters. £100 for the pair. Located near Stockland. Call 07479 474392 and leave a message and I’ll return your call.

Evinrude outboards. Two vintage outboards from the 60’s, a 40hp and an 18hp. Both non runners, the 18 hp has some minor bits missing, but both are well worth restoring. Sensible offers for the pair. Located near Stockland. Call 07479 474392 and leave a message.

Ceiling fan/ light white with gold trim, Mississippi style, 3 speed, £15. Seaton. 07789 537011.

Digital Media

Are you a creative and tech-savvy individual with a passion for digital media? Do you have a knack for engaging audiences and driving brand awareness through various digital channels? If so, we want to hear from you!

We are seeking a freelance talented Digital Media Expert to manage our online presence and assist in creating content that resonates with our target audience. In the first instance please send your CV to info@marshwoodvale. com.

BOOKKEEPING

Music books (17) & sheet music (20+), Beatles, Film, Rogers & Hammerstein, Carols etc. £30 the lot of will separate. Seaton. 07789 537011.

Extractor fan, 4” diameter, bathroom/ kitchen silent loo environment, will demonstrate working order, photo on request. Sell £10. Seaton. 07789 537011.

Diecast models x 25 in wall presentation case, phone for photo/ model list, £170. Will separate. Seaton. 07789 537011. Trousers 36w 29i/l x 10. (x5 new) M&S, BHS, George, £10 each, black, fawn, others part used £5 each. Seaton. 07789 537011.

Ladies smart modern coat with big fur collar colour mustard/tan, size 22 with belt, worn once, cost £100. Bargain £40 ono. 07840 803872. Ebosser automatic

Experienced self employed bookkeeper seeks new client. One day per week, or for monthly/quarterly processing. Ilminster +20 miles. Call Alison on 07849 467667.

embosser & die cutter £80. Home pure cloth and fabric steamer, with attachments, £20. Les Shaper exerciser £30. 01297 631724. Free – serious cyclist ceasing after 60+ years. Quantity of clothing free to young novice cyclist. Dorchester 07719 535094. Beer making kit, 40 flip-top bottles, 40 pint fermenting tub, plus Hydrometer only £20. 01305 871089.

Settee, 3 seater burgundy red leather with inlaid wood features, faultless condition, photo on reuqst, sale £120 will deliver. 07789 537011.

Health&Environment

Sustainable Fashion in Bridport

Bridport Fashion Revolution encourages people to keep clothes in circulation for longer and experience the ‘fun’ of doing this through clothes swaps, vintage and preloved sales, mending workshops, street stitching events and inspirational talks.

There is an ever-growing network group for people who are interested in local, sustainable fashion and textiles. The latest project is community flax growing, where Bridport is joining the movement across the UK and Europe to restore the linen industry. There will also be a pre-loved and vintage fashion fair at Bridport Art’s Centre on Friday 20th September. Visit https://www. sustainablefashionweek.uk/dorset to learn more.

For articles for sale, where the sale price is under £1000 (Private advertisers only — no trade, motor, animals, firearms etc) simply email the details to info@marshwoodvale.com.

Unfortunately due to space constraints there is no guarantee of inclusion of all free ads. We reserve the right to withhold advertisements.

For guaranteed classified advertising please use ‘Classified Ads’ form.

WANTED

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

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

Dave buys all types of tools 01935 428975

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

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

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

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

RESTORATION

FURNITURE

Antique restoration and bespoke furniture. Furniture large and small carefully restored and new commissions undertaken. French polishing, chair repairs and modern hand finishes. Phil Meadley 01297 560335

TUITION

Piano, violin, theory tuition at your home. Highly qualified teacher. Adults and children welcome. Beginners to advanced. Dr Thomas Gold 07917 835781. Dec

Secure Storage/ Workshop To Rent in Marshwood Nr Bridport, Dorset. £600 PCM no VAT. For Secure Storage or possible light workshop use. Space with easy access across two levels Ground floor 5mx11m (16ft x 37ft First floor 5x6m (16ft x 19ft) First floor accessed via internal staircase. Good lighting, metered electric & Wi-Fi. Enquiries marshalseafarm@ outlook.com

Marshwood+ September 2024

COVER STORY

Sylvia Creed Castle

in your Marshwood Vale Magazine

Contributors

The R-Word:

Coming STORM

EVENTS September

EVENTS IN OCTOBER

Weeding, Walking and Wellbeing

News&Views

CHIDEOCK

HONITON

ILMINSTER

BRIDPORT

WEYMOUTH

A New Era at the George Albert Hotel

INature Studies

Gardeners’ climate change insights sought as RHS adapts its own plant collections

Vegetable Dilemma

September in the Garden

September Specials

This Month in the not so distant past

Food&Dining

SOMERSET BLACKBERRY AND APPLE SOUR

DIRECTIONS INGREDIENTS

Seafood Festival makes welcome return

Celebrating authentic Italian food and drink in Bridport

Ilaria’s Italian KITCHEN

Who knows what you are thinking?

GALLERIES September

Body, alchemy and landscape

Inspired by West Country Witchcraft

Landscape: Flux and Flow

Books Mystery novel launching in Shire Hall Dorchester

Find Them Dead by

Historical Novels reviewed by John Davis

BridLit Celebrates Twentieth Year

Poetry Tribute to late Partner

Spinning a Yarn in Somerset

The Incurable Huntington’s Disease

September PREVIEW

A

of guitar music CONCERTS IN THE WEST

PORTLAND

PREVIEW

Epic adventures on two wheels DORCHESTER

History’s greatest cold case BRIDPORT

A global music month

LYME REGIS

Jurassic goes global BRIDPORT

Screen Time

Top Six at the Flix

Sequins and social commentary

All at sea DORCHESTER

Quartet of comics LYME REGIS

The Young Lit Fix

SITUATIONS VACANT

FOR SALE

Digital Media

BOOKKEEPING

Health&Environment

Sustainable Fashion in Bridport

WANTED

RESTORATION

FURNITURE

TUITION

WANTED

DISTRIBUTION

Articles inside

Coming STORM

COVER STORY