Marshwood+ Mid-Month Special July 2020

Marshwood+ July 2020 Mid-Month Special Issue

The best from West Dorset, South Somerset and East Devon

No. 256 - 2 July 2020

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UP FRONT After more than three months cooped up, there was something immensely satisfying about walking to a nearby village to buy milk today. I passed fields with maize, peas, potatoes and wheat.

Sheep and cows grazed and birds sang while people passed me on horseback, bicycle, jogging or just walking their dogs.

Who could believe there was anything so desperately wrong with the world? A few weeks earlier I had met a farmer in a nearby field who explained that little had changed for him. He still tended the land, fed and looked after his stock and wondered if the weather would work in his favour this year. There is a relative simplicity about life in the country that makes it easier to understand why the environment should be our key focus.

But right now, thousands of people are unemployed, dozens of large companies are shedding staff and some businesses are not planning on reopening at all. So not everyone is in a position to wish for a change in the way we live our lives and there are many whose living is inextricably tied to a growing economy, the production and use of fossil fuels and what could be seen as unnecessary manufacturing. So it will take big expansive decisions to find a way to focus on a better future. Jo Biden, running against Donald Trump to become president of the most powerful country in the world, just announced a new plan to spend $2 trillion linking economic revival with climate action. That may or may not happen, but it is the big thinking we need.

Fergus Byrne

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

THIS MONTH

8 12 14 15 18 20 24 26 28

Historic Grand Tour Notices from Local Groups Claire Harvey Tim Hurn St Catherine’s Chapel Beer Quarry Caves By Steve Rogers Michael Michaud Jacy Wall News & Views

34 34 38 42

House & Garden Talking to Apple Trees Vegetable Tips from Kew Gardens By Helena Dove Property Round Up By Helen Fisher

44 46

Food & Dining Vine leaves with sticky rice and sultanas

By Irina Georgescu

50 50 52

Arts & Entertainment Artist call Galleries

54

Health & Beauty

56

Services & Classified

“Always try to do things in chronological order; it’s less confusing that way.”

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Editorial Director Fergus Byrne

Deputy Editor Victoria Byrne

Design

Fergus Byrne

Advertising

Fergus Byrne info@marshwoodvale.com

Contributors John Culshaw Helena Dove Helen Fisher Irina Georgescu Richard Gahagan

Robin Mills Fiona Robinson Steve Rogers Kevin Taylor

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

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

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

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

Historic Grand Tour

MAPPERTON JOINS HOUSES OFFERING STATELY STAYS

H

ave you ever wanted to experience the splendour and opulence of living in a stately home? Next year—for the first time—some of England’s finest houses are opening their doors and bedrooms to guests who want to immerse themselves in English history and get a taste of life as a modern aristocrat.

Inspired by the Grand Tours of the 18th century, Grand Historic Tours will provide guests with privileged access to three houses for nine days, during which they will join the lives of their hosts

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and take part in the activities which support their estates in the 21st century.

The first tour—which is limited to 12 people— will begin at Mapperton House in Dorset, voted the Nation’s Finest Manor House by Country Life Magazine. Guests will be welcomed for three days

by Luke and Julie Montagu, otherwise known as Viscount and Viscountess Hinchingbrooke. Julie also hosts the Smithsonian Channel show An American Aristocrat’s Guide to Great Estates which features each of the houses on the tour.

At Mapperton, guests will enjoy a private tour of the house with Julie’s father-in-law the Earl of Sandwich, who will of course tell the story of the eponymous snack as well as his family’s wider contribution to Britain’s naval history.

From Mapperton guests will travel north to Eastnor Castle, where they will be warmly welcomed to the vast Grade 1 listed castle by James and Lucy Hervey-Bathurst. Guests will spend three days in some of England’s grandest accommodation, enjoying formal dinners, private tours and exclusive activities in the castle grounds. Adventurous guests may also choose to join the Land Rover experience, driving across 66 miles of off-road trails on the Eastnor estate.

From Eastnor the journey continues north to Newby Hall in Yorkshire, a Georgian masterpiece originally designed by Sir Christopher Wren and remodelled by Robert Adam. Rick and Lucinda Compton will ensure that their guests experience the very best of Newby, with private house and garden tours as well as a black tie farewell dinner in the Statue Gallery, containing one of the finest private collections of ancient Roman statuary.

Julie Montagu says: ‘It was such a privilege to get to know these houses and their wonderful owners during the filming of my series.

The houses and estates have really adapted for the modern world—so yes we have wifi and some bathrooms even have showers. We are really looking forward to making new friends and sharing these extraordinary places—it’s going to be a lot of fun and I promise that guests will leave with stories that will last a lifetime!’

Grand Historic Tours is a partnership between Julie Montagu, Mapperton Estate and Beyond Capricorn, a boutique provider of tailor-made holidays and tours. For more information and bookings please visit grandhistorictours.com.

Centres of Excellence for West Dorset DORSET’S engineering and construction industries continue to benefit from investment in state-of-the-art training facilities for students at Weymouth College.

A £1.36 million Local Growth Fund allocation from Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (Dorset LEP) will allow Weymouth College to launch two new Centres of Excellence, in Engineering and Construction.

Dorset LEP Chair, Jim Stewart, said: “We are committed to investing in Dorset’s young people.

These new Centres of Excellence will not only enable the college to meet identified skill gaps but will also help young people find suitable work in Dorset. Investing in training will ensure our county has the workforce ready to meet the needs of the economy. In turn, this will help grow the economy and bring a boost to local businesses.”

Firstly, £605,000 will be invested into the ‘Centre of Excellence for Engineering’. This new facility will improve the college’s advance engineering teaching capabilities, helping to provide a future workforce that can meet the needs of the local

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economy.

Secondly, £750,000 will be allocated to the ‘Centre of Excellence for Construction Skills’. The centre of excellence will increase teaching standards and the number of construction students and apprentices.

The project will provide extra capacity by fully re-modelling and upgrading accommodation to support up to 260 full-time and part-time construction students and up to 160 construction apprenticeships per year.

The college will be able to meet new apprenticeship standards and increase specialisms not currently delivered to meet the needs of Dorset’s construction industry. These include painting and decorating, plastering, construction maintenance, plumbing with solar/thermal pathways and an increased emphasis on environmentally sustainable construction.

Weymouth College Principal and Chief Executive, Nigel Evans said: “Our new Centres of Excellence will vastly improve our advanced engineering and construction teaching capabilities.”

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July

LOCAL EVENT NEWS

Axminster Heritage Centre Axminster Heritage Centre: We plan to reopen the centre to visitors from the 1st August. Our exhibition gallery has been reconfigured following government guidelines to ensure the safety of visitors and our volunteer staff who are eager to welcome you. Take a trip through time to learn what has made Axminster and the surrounding area what it is today. We tell ‘The Story of Axminster’ and bring local history to life for all the family. Located in the town centre just off Trinity Square, call 01297 639884 or visit our website for opening times and full details.

Shire Hall, Dorchester Shire Hall in Dorchester have announced that they will reopen at 11am on Monday the 3rd of August and that they are extending Annual Passes by 3 months. A spokesperson said: ‘We will have measures in place so that you can enjoy your visit to the museum, cafe, and shop safely. Please keep checking our social media and website to see what’s on and what to expect when you visit. More details will be announced in the coming weeks. We can’t wait to see you all soon!’ http:// shirehalldorset.org/ Beaminster Moviola Beaminster Moviola is not sustainable with distancing, so they will not be back until 2021.

Yeovil Chamber Choir Yeovil Chamber Choir is looking for a new Musical Director with previous experience of choral conducting to start in September 2020 or as soon as possible afterwards. A spokesperson for the choir said: ‘Clearly in these uncertain times it is going to be well nigh impossible to arrange auditions until at least the autumn, but we would like to hear from people who are interested and get the process underway.’ The Choir, which has about 20 singers from Somerset and Dorset, is an amateur mixed-voice choir with a good local reputation. It was founded in 1993 at Yeovil College and re-formed as a registered educational charity in 2000. Rehearsals observe the academic 12 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

calendar and members perform concerts at least three times a year as well as participating in other events, eg the annual Light Up a Life service for St Margaret’s Hospice. The repertoire is broad, including both accompanied and a cappella music. The Choir’s next public performance was planned for Wednesday 1 July 2020 at St Andrew’s Church, Preston Grove, Yeovil.

Anyone who is interested in finding out more about the position should go to Yeovil Chamber Choir’s website www.yeovilchamberchoir.org for details, or telephone the Chairman, Vee Cockerell, 01935 882 604, or the Secretary, Elizabeth Gowers, 01935 425 383. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed and auditioned in Yeovil in the autumn. Applications must be received by Monday 31 August 2020 in the first instance. The Choir is a member of Making Music (the National Federation of Music Societies).

Mondays in July Learn to play bowls for free. Severalls Jubilee Bowls Club in Crewkerne will be open for safe friendly coaching every Monday 10am - 12noon. If Mondays are not suitable for you then please suggest another day.

To book a free coaching lesson phone Geoff on 01308 867221 or email geoffkerr47@btinternet.com Calligraphy Courses.

Jenny Trotman plans to start a new Beginners’ Calligraphy course soon at her upstairs studio in Dorchester. 5 fortnightly lessons on Saturday mornings, 10 am – 12. Small groups, no more than 5 people £60.00. Tea and coffee as well! Phone: 01305 – 264568 for more details and to enrol.

Good Books Good Books in Bridport has re-opened, and looks forward to welcoming their regular and new customers.

Opening times have changed to Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 10am-1pm and from July they will also be open on a Wednesday. The shop stocks a range of Bibles, prayer books, gift and colouring books to uplift and encourage during these difficult times.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES A Look back at some of the people we have featured in the Marshwood Vale Magazine

July 2005

Claire Harvey, East Devon, photograph by Kevin Taylor

CLAIRE Harvey was born in South Brent on the edge of Dartmoor, but moved to East Devon at an early age. Here, her family run a dairy farm at Musbury near Axminster and Claire looks back fondly at her childhood years, growing up in this friendly community.

‘I especially remember my early years at Musbury Primary School in the early 1990s, and this has probably led to my choice of a career in childcare. After leaving Woodroffe School in Lyme Regis I spent some time travelling through France and Spain. I’m now 22 and have just completed a two-year National Diploma course in childcare, at Exeter College, with work placement. I hope to find employment in a local nursery; I’m quite creative and like to make things with the kids—we made a cardboard train this week.

Living in the countryside has heightened my concern over conservation issues and I’m keen to promote the safeguarding of natural resources, through recycling and the use of environmentally friendly materials.

I tend to use alternative rather than conventional therapies, especially herbal remedies. I’ve worked parttime in Ganesha, a local health shop, for about seven years.

I love animals; I’m passionate about cats. I enjoy reading and walking in the countryside, particularly in the area around Lyme Regis. I also have an interest in photography.’

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July 2005

Tim Hurn stokes up his wood fired kiln to a searing 1300 degrees

ON Sunday July 3rd this year, hundreds of garden lovers will descend on the rambling village of Bettiscombe in Dorset. While most will come to visit the gardens of residents such as Pennelope Hobhouse, many will take the opportunity to see and purchase some of the unique Bettiscombe Glaze ceramic work from local potter Tim Hurn.

Though a potter for 35 years, Tim has managed to avoid the temptation toward mass production, preferring instead to create unique, individual pieces or families of pieces, that have a character and style of their own.

“For me that’s the beauty of wood-firing”, says Tim. “Although you’ll make a whole family of relating pots, they’ll come out at the end, still relating in shape and form, but they’ll have their own individual glazes. It’s more interesting working, in that respect, with wood firing than gas and electricity. It’s that element of nature, which you can’t really be on top of. Those are the things that perhaps produce the most beautiful pots.”

The son of an art teacher, Tim knew early on that he wanted to be a potter. After a foundation course at Camberwell College of Arts he took a year out and built his own wood-fired kiln in his parents garden, in Chislehurst in Kent. “It wasn’t quite the right neighbourhood to build it” remembers Tim, “but I did it anyway and that started the fascination with wood-firing.” He went on to do his three year Ceramics degree, concentrating on—what was in those days the untrendy side of ceramics—making pots.

After obtaining his degree, Tim managed to secure an apprenticeship with the much respected John Leach of Muchelney on the Somerset Levels.

However, before taking up this opportunity, he travelled to join a workshop in Japan, an experience that was to have a powerful effect on his work.

“The Japanese approach is a much more Zen approach. It’s that realisation that ‘nature did that for you’. No matter how hard you try to control what comes out, it’s the nature element that gives it it’s uniqueness and that’s what keeps it interesting.”

After his two-year apprenticeship, where Tim learned more than he could ever have learned at Art College, an opportunity arose for him to move to Dorset. “I wasn’t looking to move, because we were very happy up there” says Tim, “but I just thought this was a real opportunity to create my own kiln and let my own work evolve.”

Although it took nearly two years to build, Tim’s kiln, and the results from his regular firings, have drawn potters and ceramics enthusiasts from all over the world. His style is the result of a range of influences, from his experimenting in a garden in Kent through his foundation course, to his exposure to ‘the Leach tradition’.

In the coming year he will exhibit at the National Pottery & Ceramics Festival in Hatfield in August, St Edwards School in Oxford in September and the Geffrye Museum of Interior Design in October. If you don’t get to Bettiscombe Open Gardens his studio is open by appointment. Tel. 01308 868171.

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Lawrences back with bumper sales LAWRENCES in Crewkerne are open again with a busy series of auctions coming up.

In addition to a General Sale of about 500 lots on July 29th, attention from collectors and dealers will focus upon a 2000-lot Fine Art sale to be sold across three days on July 21st, 23rd and 24th.

The auction of over 500 lots of silver and objects of vertu on Tuesday July 21st includes a fine Queen Anne chocolate pot, made by Andrew Raven in 1704. Chocolate pots are distinguished from coffee pots by the spout being at right angles to the handle and this elegant example is expected to make £5000-6000.

An excellent selection of 400 lots of jewellery and watches begins Thursday’s sale on July 23rd and the day continues with Decorative Arts and Ceramics in the afternoon. A modern Cotswold School display cabinet by Hugh Birkett is estimated at £1500-2000; a large Chinese millefleurs vase, 58cm high, is expected to make £500-1000; and a jade carving of a guardian lion, 7cm long and possibly 18th Century, is valued at £1200-1800.

On Friday, July 24th there will be over 200 lots of pictures and prints including a 1967 colour lithograph by Graham Sutherland, entitled Chauve Souris – Interior estimated at £500-700 and, by way of contrast, a 1909 oil on canvas by William Teulon Blandford Fletcher entitled After Labour, Refreshment! showing a fisherman enjoying his lunch (£1000-1500).

The auction will be open for public viewing from Monday July 13th. Social distancing restrictions apply and you are advised to check the website www. lawrences.co.uk.

All the sales can now be viewed online too. Bidding can be done online, by telephone bid, commission bid or limited access to the saleroom itself on the sale days.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES A Look back at some of the places we have featured in the Marshwood Vale Magazine

July 2005

St Catherine’s Chapel

by John Culshaw

S

t Catherine’s Chapel has stood on top of Chapel Hill, overlooking the village of Abbotsbury, for over six hundred years. A prominent landmark in the countryside, it can be seen when approaching Abbotsbury along the coast road.

The monks of Abbotsbury Abbey built the chapel from the local golden stone at the end of the fourteenth century. It is of massive construction with substantial stone buttresses and parapet walls. No timber was used in its building, presumably to avoid the risk of fire from a lightning strike in this exposed hill-top position.

Centuries of weathering by salt-laden winds have rounded all the sharp angles on the stonework.

The use of the building as a lookout tower and as a prominent seamark for mariners meant that it survived the demolition and stone robbing following the dissolution of Abbotsbury Abbey in 1539.

The chapel is a poignant reminder of Abbotsbury’s monastic past. It is dedicated to St Catherine, who is believed to have lived in the fourth century in Alexandria. Beautiful and welleducated, she was converted to Christianity by a monk. Maximinus, Caesar of Egypt and Syria, held pagan beliefs and ordered the local populace, in Alexandria, to attend a ritual sacrifice. Catherine persuaded others not to attend and ended up being imprisoned.

Curious to find out more about Catherine, Maximinus’s wife visited her in prison and ended up being converted to Christianity. Maximinus, on learning of this, ordered Catherine to be tortured on revolving wheels. These shattered during the torture and Maximinus had her beheaded.

According to legend the wound flowed with milk, not blood, and angels carried her body to a grave on Mount Sinai. Catherine was a popular Saint when the chapel was built and there are other examples of hilltop chapels being dedicated to 18 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

her. St Catherine has been adopted by unmarried young women as their patron saint and Dorset folklore has it that local women visit the Chapel to invoke St Catherine’s help in finding a husband: A husband, St Catherine, A handsome one, St Catherine, A rich one, St Catherine, A nice one, St Catherine, And soon, St Catherine.

A walk from Abbotsbury to the top of Chapel Hill is necessary for a detailed inspection of this impressive building. Any one making the ascent on a clear day will also be rewarded with magnificent views to the east over the Fleet to the Isle of Portland, and across Lyme Bay to Tor Bay in the west.

Entering through the north porch with its steeply pitched stone slab roof, you find yourself in the main part of the chapel. Despite the colossal construction of the building with its 4 ft thick walls, the interior is only some 42 ft long by 14 ft wide. The barrelvaulted ceiling is constructed of stone, split into eight main bays by moulded ribs. Each bay is further split into two ranges of three panels with cinquefoil heads. Between the panels there are carved bosses, the details of which have become indistinct with age. It is believed that the ceiling was originally painted and as such would have been indistinguishable from a conventional timber ceiling.

The east window in the chapel is the only one

to retain its stone tracery. The window is of 3 cinquefoil lights with vertical tracery in a twocentred head. On each side of this window are stone brackets, one of which must surely have held a statue of St Catherine.

On the north west corner of the chapel there is a distinctive octagonal tower which projects above the level of the parapet walls and provides access to the roof. There is also a small chapel at the top of the tower with windows looking out over the surrounding countryside. This tower may be one of the reasons for the siting of the chapel.

The area at the time was suffering from raids on the coast by the French, and a lookout point was

needed. The abbey also wished to reinforce its position in the community. So what better way than to build an imposing building looking down on the mediaeval lynchet field strips being cultivated by the abbey’s tenants on the slopes of Chapel Hill?

The chapel is in the care of English Heritage.

When visiting at reasonable times of the day I have always found it to be open—but to be sure, check on the English Heritage Web site (www. english-heritage.org.uk).

Sources: St Catherine’s Chapel at Abbotsbury and the legend of the saint - published by Abbotsbury Music; The 1952 Royal Commission Inventory of the Historic Monuments in Dorset (Volume 1 - West Dorset).

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Beer Quarry Caves The ‘Ford, Dagenham’ production line of the Stone Age

I

f you thought that Beer was just about smugglers long ago, and fishermen like me nowadays, think again. Once upon a time, and even if it was a very long time ago, the folks of Beer did more than fish, quarry limestone, and run contraband. Beer did flint, big, like it was once the Ford Dagenham production line of the stone age.

Well everyone knows there’s flint in Beer; it front faces many of our houses. It’s a beautiful material to look at and even more beautiful material to work with. Flint is dark and gleams. It is also the oldest tool known to mankind. The first traces of flint tools were found at Gona in Ethiopia and are dated to 2.6 million years ago. Prior to that the earliest flint tools known, dating back 1.7 million years, were found at Olduwa gorge in Kenya’s rift valley by the British palaeontologist Richard Leaky and his wife.

Its important to mention at this point that the toolmakers of Ethiopia and Kenya were not

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Homo sapiens, but ancestors of Homo sapiens.

The distinction is important here in Beer because as far as we can make out the stone age flint makers of Beer, who were here from around 11000 BC until the Romans arrived in 43 AD, were homo sapiens or modern human beings.

However, we should not forget the wonderful flint axe heads in the Royal Albert Museum in Exeter, which come from Broom in Axminster.

They are dated to 350,000 years ago and were made by the last Neanderthals in Britain. That species of humanity vanished from our island sometime between 350000 BC and 124000 BC. It was climate change that drove the Neanderthals out, and it was the end of the last great Ice age that brought modern humans back to Britain, and to Beer around 12000 BC to 11000 BC. Now, the best way to think of Beer and its flint workshops is to take a slightly wider view of East Devon in the Stone Age. There are three well

established settlements; Farway Castle, Blackbury Camp, And Sidbury Fort. The inhabitants of those three settlements left behind one of the largest Stone Age cemeteries in Britain, the Barrow graves and Tumuli graves at Putts Corner, opposite the Hare and Hounds pub.

There are about 160 graves identified, but most of the graves have never been fully investigated or researched because of cost. Ancient history, especially if you are digging it up, is very expensive. But the direct link to Beer is the barrow grave at Bovey Fir Cross, on Quarry lane.

The people burying their dead at Farway were also using the same burial schemes, almost in Beer village itself.

And this is how we get to flint in Beer and the mystery that surrounds it. Phil Clarke of Arrowhead Archaeology in Bridport did a survey off Quarry Lane for a new barn structure in early 2010. He discovered flint tool making all over the fields there. Here is what he wrote.

“Of greater significance for the present study, Beer Head is the most westerly outcrop of upper and middle chalk in Britain, with the densest source of high quality (black) flint in the entire southwest peninsula (Tingle, 1998). The chalk at Beer contains distinctive seams of high quality flint which has been exploited through much of the prehistoric period as a source of flint for tool manufacture. The occurrence of high quality flint as a raw material would undoubtedly have been of high importance to prehistoric populations; the low quality flint and greensand chert, a form of flint, otherwise available in west Dorset and east Devon west of the chalk on the Ridgeway is an inferior material for flint tool manufacture.

Although both occur as components in local assemblages (collections) (e.g. at Mare Lane, Beer.

Tingle 1998), the preference for high quality flint over chert is indicated in Tingle’s assemblage (collection) at Bovey Lane where only 18 pieces of chert in an assemblage of 4144 pieces of worked stone, the remainder being flint (Tingle,

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1992). An intensive exploitation of this raw material is to be expected, and this is reflected in the concentration of flint tools in the area (of Beer) from at least the Neolithic onwards; (especially at Bovey Lane)” What Clarke does is link the various parts of Beer in which flint tools were being produced.

He cites flint workings (assemblages) at Quarry Lane, Bovey Lane, Mare Lane and at Beer Head.

The entire prehistoric population of Beer would seem to have been engaged in the production and distribution of flint tools! Flint from Beer has been discovered at Carn Brae in Cornwall and may have been found at Stonehenge.

Clark also says why the study was necessary, further indicating the extraordinary extent of flint tool making in the area of Beer.

“The archaeological work was recommended on the basis of Historic England Records (HER) records of artefact scatters and tool working sites near the development area, (the field by Quarry Lane) reflecting activity in the prehistoric period “, Here is what Clarke found in just this one field at Quarry lane.

“An assemblage (collection) of sixty-nine pieces of worked flint was recovered from topsoil and an underlying deposit of colluvium (stones found at the bottom of a slope) occurring on the upper edge of the scarp forming the northern side of the valley floor”.

But what Clarke didn’t find was the Beer settlement, the place in Beer where the flint tool makers lived. There are two things we are looking for around Beer Quarry caves now. The first is the local source for the beautiful black flint on Quarry Lane, that was not coming from Beer Head. The second is the Beer stone age settlement itself, in Beer.

Steve Rodgers.

Curator and Manager. Beer Quarry Caves

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FROM THE ARCHIVES A Look back at some of the people we have featured in the Marshwood Vale Magazine

July 2010 Robin Mills went to West Bexington, Dorset, to meet Michael Michaud. This is his story.

“I was born in 1950 in Maine, USA, which is closer to the UK than it is to California. I always wanted to get away from Maine, but not too far away, which is maybe why I finished up here rather than California. My background, like so many Americans, is multicultural; my mother was Lebanese, and my father French Canadian. I was brought up literally in the backwoods of Maine, which is a paper-making state, so a lot of it’s very heavily wooded. My home town was called East Millinocket, which is really just a clearing in the woods, with a paper mill where much of the population of 2,500 worked. Most of my mates back then were from multicultural backgrounds too, they were Italians, Albanians, Czechs, French Canadians, Greeks, and many of them had at least one grandparent whose English they couldn’t understand. We were only the second generation born in the States, so we had strong cultural connections to the old country, and I think to an extent that fact defines me. I’m not only an immigrant to this country, but my family were immigrants back home.

That background really has shaped me I suppose, because one thing about immigrants is that they go to a new country to better themselves, to try to make a success of their lives. That’s true here 24 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

in England; they don’t come here to be poor, generally they come here to work and be successful.

My grandparents immigrated to improve their situation, and although they didn’t finish school, and their English was poor, my parents had a good education, and then many of my generation of the family went to university. So a bit of that upward mobility and aspiration has filtered through from my multicultural roots.

I did a Bachelors degree in agriculture, and then spent 2 years in Central America with the Peace Corps, which was hugely enjoyable; again, a cross cultural experience, and then I did a Masters degree at the University of Florida, followed by a PhD in Texas, both in agriculture. I suppose that’s quite odd really, because I have no agricultural background, and my parents were what you’d call blue collar, working class immigrants. Originally I was doing biology, but then I discovered agriculture, and soon realised it was just applied biology. I also thought I’d like to help save the world. Studying agriculture seemed to fit with that ambition because it would enable me to go to the third world and help them grow more food. So really I’ve been in agriculture, one way or another, since the 1970’s, and I’ve loved it. It’s been a good career for me; we’ve never got rich, but we’ve always been employed, and that’s been important to us. There’s something fundamental about growing things, and I know it’s a cliché, but I just love whatever it is about sowing seeds, knowing I’m going to harvest a crop a few months later, and I just don’t know why everybody doesn’t do it. It’s a great thrill that hasn’t waned over the 30-odd years I’ve been doing it, but there is a lot of work, which is hard, so we are now part-time producers because you can’t put in those kinds of hours all your life.

We came here, to West Bexington, about 20 years ago. Joy and I met when we were both working for PhD’s in agriculture; I was at university in Texas and she was at Aberystwyth. We met at a forage conference in Kentucky in 1980, conducted a transatlantic romance, and then got married and went to work in the Caribbean. We both worked at the

University of the Virgin Islands, where I was in forage research, and Joy was an agricultural advisor. We were there for 5 years, saved up quite a bit of money, and then bought the house and land here and moved back. Our son Ben was born while we were still in the Caribbean and daughter Martha was born when we moved back. Joy’s from West Bexington, her family’s here and this is the village she was brought up in.

One thing I’d always wanted to do, being a child of the sixties, was to grow my own food, to have my own place and be self-sufficient. Joy didn’t, having been brought up on a farm and market garden, and she knew exactly how much hard work was involved.

However, my idealism prevailed, and she indulged me: and I think that if I had the opportunity to do it all again I probably wouldn’t. We started out growing vegetables organically, just standard vegetables like cabbages and potatoes, but we found we couldn’t make it pay. We didn’t really have enough land, and it’s too wet. So after about 10 years we were going to give it up. I was doing inspections for the Soil Association to help with the income, and Joy was doing photography successfully at the time, and we thought let’s just give the vegetable growing up. Then we got together with an American friend in London who suggested we try growing chilli peppers and sell them by post. She was already importing dried peppers from the States, but was having trouble sourcing fresh peppers in this country. So we thought we’d give it one last try, and although our first couple of years didn’t work, after that it took off, and we’ve been doing it successfully for 12 years now. The crops are all in polytunnels and greenhouses, and with some help at weekends from school students, Joy and I have been able to keep our work input part-time. We also are involved with breeding new varieties and selling seeds, one of which is Dorset Naga, which currently ranks as one of the hottest chilli varieties in the world.

Living in Britain I began to realise how culturally diverse the population actually was, and although that’s perhaps not immediately apparent in West Dorset, with my background it really interested me.

I was lecturing at Bournemouth University, and doing the Soil Association inspections, so my work brought me into contact with people from all over the world. The Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell,

a midlands-based local authority, had commissioned the Soil Association and Bournemouth University as consultants to their local health trust to research urban food production, which they wanted to promote.

The idea was to encourage people to get out and take more exercise by growing their own vegetables, and of course improve their health by eating them. So they asked me to liaise between the local allotment holders and the consultants. Now Sandwell, at that time had, and probably still does, the largest per capita percentage of ethnic minorities in the population of anywhere in the UK, outside of London. I got up there, after living in West Dorset for 8 years, and I just couldn’t believe it. When I talked to the allotment holders, who were Jamaicans, Indians, Pakistanis, and Bangladeshis, it was like I was home again. It was so exciting, as though the multicultural side of me, lying dormant all those years, had risen again. We got the report finished, but my curiosity made me think I really had to pursue this some more. I managed to get a grant from the Jane Grigson Trust, and I went all over the UK photographing and interviewing immigrant vegetable growers, writing articles and giving talks about them. I visited some of the growers many times over several years, becoming good friends with them and their families. One man, a Punjabi, I had to revisit several times just to try and make sense of his English, a weird combination of Punjabi and Brummie. The point of it all to me, and in the articles I’ve written about the project, is that it’s ok, we are a multicultural community, and there’s nothing to be afraid of: I’m an immigrant too. I also learnt that all these different immigrant communities like their own type of chilli peppers, which you can find in their local shops and markets, and that’s helped us develop our own varieties to supply those markets.

There’s nowhere you can live that’s perfect, but coming back here to West Dorset to live has been close. Our kids Ben and Martha have been to the local schools, and are both now at Bristol University, so we’re really proud of them. As a local town, Bridport is great on so many levels, especially community projects, everybody chipping in to try and make it a better place to live. My Dad was very strong on that kind of thing, and I am too. It was love at first sight when I came here to live, and I still love it.”

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FROM THE ARCHIVES A Look back at some of the people we have featured in the Marshwood Vale Magazine

July 2010 VIRGINAL MORSELS Winner of the Marshwood Arts Awards, Jacy Wall is known for her woven and cut textile work. Fiona Robinson looks at some of their hidden secrets

THERE is an undeniable eroticism in Jacy Wall’s woven and cut textiles, they speak of concealment, hidden secrets and of a time when garments were not discarded when they became worn. They were patched and darned and repaired until there was almost more added than original left, and the fabric itself developed that wonderful patina of age through handling and wearing and being rubbed against a washing board by coarsened red raw fingers. She treasures her grandmother’s exquisite set of samplers of invisible mending. Virginal morsels of white lawn, linen, fine wool, cut into, ripped and then mended with impossibly tiny stitches using the finest of needles and the thinnest of cotton thread. Wall follows in the footsteps of this tradition of repetition, perceived in the past as ‘woman’s work’. It is slow and time-consuming, slave to the rigidity of the loom, the bobbin echoing the rhythms of darning and mending as it weaves in and out of rows of thread held in tension.

She has always taken risks. At the age of 26 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

twenty-two she gave up a safe job and set off for an Italian adventure working for the Society Portrait sculptor Fiore de Henriquez in Peralta.

She then had the courage, when she found herself making curtains, to admit that this was no longer exciting or an adventure, and returned to London. However one result of the Italian trip was an awakening interest in printmaking.

On a trip to Rome with Fiore she had been taken to see an Italian printmaker and was fascinated by the press realising she wanted to “do” things rather than be an observer. On her return, sidetracked by a weekend weaving course, she took a degree in Constructed Textiles at Middlesex Polytechnic, following which she made one off pieces, hangings and rugs to commission. In 1994 an Award by the Theo Moorman Trust enabled her to reassess her working processes, address the areas of work which she felt had got stale and spend more time in the studio. She visited exhibitions of contemporary textiles and painting, studied historical and ethnic pieces at

the Museum of Mankind in London and the Holburne Museum of Craft in Bath. She had expected to be drawn back into textile design but her researches led her once more towards weaving, “remembering that for me tapestries are perhaps about aspects of fabric and not about pictures”.

She began to realise that the key to moving on was to incorporate simplicity in both design and colour range into her work. The award culminated in a successful exhibition but it was the large piece that she made two years later, in 1996, that really revealed how far she had come in that year of research. The Wall, a huge woven tapestry in wool, linen and silk on cotton warp measures 183 x 244 centimetres and with its abstract design using deliberately unevenly hand-dyed threads it looks like a majestic watercolour with pours and drips of jewelled hues cascading downwards. Technically a masterpiece of improvisation in this medium she acknowledges that, “It was probably the most difficult thing I had ever made”.

In 2001, as a member of the Environmental Arts Group Genus Loci, she participated in a Year of the Artist project at Hestercombe Gardens in Somerset. Fifty metres of hand-dyed silk made a dramatic appearance both in the making and in the installation. During the process of dyeing she wandered into her garden and those few moments of inattention allowed fifty yards of raw silk to act as a siphon for the bubbling red dye, flooding the bathroom and seeping through the floorboards: “Red drips then appeared through the sitting room ceiling below, like some scene out of a horror film! Luckily my sofa at the time was blood red, and so drips didn’t show, and the slow seepage in fact produced fine red lines along the plasterboard joins, which looked rather beautiful”. Finally, the piece was installed in a rill designed by Edwin Lutyens at Hestercombe; a ribbon of red flowing gracefully along the landscaped waterway incised into the soil.

But through the years, the fascination with printmaking lurked in the back of her mind and whilst working on The Wall she had also been studying Printmaking, one day a week. This led into a Masters in Multidisciplinary Print at UWE in Bristol, which she completed in 2002.

The processes and time for research fed into her

weaving again. The techniques of printmaking, drawing and painting ran parallel to the construction process, feeding into it and imbuing her work with a unique originality. Holding Together, made in 2002, was another seminal piece. A rich creamy length of woven wool, slashed and ripped in places, punctuated with loose-knotted cotton threads, fistfuls of tangled wool and patches of false darning. Thread-thin slits revealed glimpses of scarlet dyed silk beneath the cool cream surface.

Recently, Wall’s dry point etchings and small painted drawings have taken a more central role.

The paintings retain a sense of the scale of the mended textiles to which many of them refer, giving them an inherent charm as objects of desire.

Pin-pricks pierce the paper in Pierced Field and in Seeds Sown, black untidy marks bleed, suggesting stitches and tears, drawing attention to the fragility of fabric. The increasing paleness of her palette adds a poignant vulnerability. There is a crossfertilisation of disciplines as one process spills over into the next. The works on paper, occasionally collaged with canvas or fabric, are in the nature of studies, experiments, as she negotiates her way around the impasse, which the rigidity of the weaving technique imposes on her. Using them as a form of sketchbook has allowed her to improvise on the loom, working on different sections of the weaving as the weft climbs upwards through the warp adding colour and marks which echo the freedom of a drawn mark. Combining different strands of colour from her own dyed threads in this free and easy way enables her to produce abstract compositions with swathes of subtle hues.

Tapestry has a long and honourable tradition but Jacy Wall is bent on subverting the process, picking it apart and creating a textile which is much freer in design and conception. William Morris was an early hero and she still “loves things that are handmade, useful, unpretentious”, but she balks at the label of weaver with its suggestion of craft and adherence to rules. I hesitate to say that she is a maverick but in terms of traditional tapestry weaving that is probably what she is. She constantly questions the technique, the process, the purpose and is dragging weaving into the 21st Century.

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News&Views

George Wright photographs on display at Dorset County Hospital

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new exhibition of contemporary photography has gone on display at Dorset County Hospital.

George Wright - Another Way of Life is a fabulous collection of work from a well-known Bridport-based freelance photographer. These images are the result of his personal journeys - many of which were made by motorbike - to Eastern Europe, riding the length of South America and travelling to Iran and back. The exhibition will be on display until the end of September 2020.

Melissa Robey at DCH was one of the first to view the exhibition. She said: “I was so impressed and moved by the photographs I had to enquire about them. The work is so uplifting and just takes you away to another place. It’s really interesting to see pictures of people from all over the world just living their lives, just like we are.”

Melissa works for the Pre-Assessment Unit and Surgical Admissions Lounge as a ward clerk. The

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team pre-assess patients prior to their surgery and the surgical admissions team look after patients when they come in for surgery until they are taken to theatre.

The current exhibition is part of an ongoing programme created by Arts in Hospital Advisor Suzy Rushbrook dedicated to creating a more welcoming and restorative environment for Dorset County Hospital. Proposals for future exhibitions are welcome from local artists wishing to show their work in the temporary display space along the main corridor of Dorset County Hospital’s North Wing.

Please note that current access to this exhibition and to Dorset County Hospital is limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All visitors are asked to follow existing guidelines when visiting Dorset County Hospital.

For further information about this exhibition or about exhibiting in Dorset County Hospital contact: suzy.rushbrook@dchft.nhs.uk

Westlands Reopens

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estlands Entertainment Venue has reopened to the public for film screenings in line with government guidance to reopen cinemas.

The venue, operated by South Somerset District Council has announced safety measures that will maintain social distancing. They will be operating with a reduced capacity and additional cleaning measures will be in place. Screenings will take place in the ballroom using a sofa configuration.

The venue have announced the initial three weeks of programming that will offer three screenings, seven days a week with a selection of great films and live theatre content. The new adaptation of Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’ that stars Bill Nighy will be shown on Thursday 16 and Saturday 18 July.

The venue will also launch a number of special genre specific screening strands. Thursday Night is Theatre Night, screening the best ‘live’ recordings from the National Theatre, this will begin with the hugely popular Fleabag, followed by the acclaimed production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and All My Sons starring Sally Field and Bill Pullman.

While live musicals cannot currently be staged, they will be bringing a Sunday Musical each week, kicking off with the Broadway production of ‘Kinky Boots’, the recent stage production of 42nd Street, Riverdance - 25th Anniversary Show and the London Palladium’s production of The King and I. Weekends will see fantastic Family Films with Disney/Pixar’s Onward, Harrison Ford in Call of the Wild, and Trolls World Tour.

Safety measures being put in place are following government guidelines and those released by the UK Cinema Association. For full details visit westlandsyeovil.co.uk or call 01935 422884.

Could you help other families in West Dorset?

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o you have parenting experience and 2-3 hours a week available to visit a local family in need? Home-Start West Dorset is looking for volunteers to offer practical and emotional support to families with children under five.

Families require help for many different reasons, including loneliness and isolation, multiple births, poor mental health, illness or disability, housing or financial stresses; or maybe they are just finding parenting a struggle. Covid 19 has also meant many families in Dorset have been finding life particularly hard for the last few months.

Home-Start West Dorset is a well-known local independent charity that has operated across West Dorset, Weymouth, Portland and Sherborne since 2009. All volunteers undertake a 26-hour training course, spread over multiple weeks, which gives them all skills and tools they’ll need. Once matched with a suitable family, our volunteers continue to be fully supported, including a personal supervision every six weeks.

During this time of social distancing the charity has successfully moved its support to on line; still giving weekly support through phone and video call, texts and post. Kelly Rolfe, one of the charity’s organisers says, “As lockdown guidelines have eased, many more families have been pushed towards a vulnerable status and we’re getting increasing amounts of referrals. We are aiming to organise a new volunteer training course as soon as it is safe to do so, and are looking for women and men with parenting experience, aged 18 and over, to apply now so that we can get going again as soon as possible.”

For more information or an application form please contact us on 01305 265072 or email office@ homestartwestdorset.co.uk

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Project calls for feedback on proposals

Flood lane diagram

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esidents and local businesses are being asked to give their views on the latest proposals for an innovative community development in the heart of Bridport.

Dorset Council is working with developers Shaw Healthcare and Morgan Sindall Later Living, and the registered housing provider East Boro Housing Trust to produce plans for the Bridport Gateway development.

The scheme is part of the council’s Building Better Lives programme which aims to deliver new, high quality accommodation and care services in Dorset for people who really need it.

If the proposals for Bridport Gateway get planning permission later this year, new care and housing facilities could be built on two sites off South Street, close to the town centre.

Architects employed by the developers have been working up designs. They want to know what local people think of them so they can build this feedback into the design process before a planning application is made later this year.

A leaflet about the scheme is being sent to households and businesses in the Bridport area and you can also take a look at the designs online at www.

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dorsetforyou.com/bridport-gateway The site at Flood Lane aims to provide: • Extra care housing, specifically designed to help people with support needs, problems getting about and increasing frailty to continue to live as independently as possible for as long as they want to. These homes should be available at affordable rent.

• A new care home to care for people with complex nursing and dementia needs.

• A respite care facility that will allow people to stay for short periods of time to help give family carers a break, help prevent admission to hospital, or help people get back on their feet after a stay in hospital.

• Community space with excellent facilities, allowing people living on the site and those in the wider community with disabilities to join and take part in activities and events run by local community groups • Public gardens and green space for the whole community to enjoy At the Fisherman’s Arms site the proposal calls for a mixture of affordable houses and apartments units, some of which will be targeted for workers in care

Fisherman’s Arms Diagram

and health jobs, and some of which will be for people with disabilities. These homes should be available at a mixture of social rent levels or affordable rents.

Cllr Laura Miller, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Health said: ‘The Building Better Lives programme is about developing new accommodation and services to tackle the increasing levels of demand on Adults Social Care and Health services in Dorset.

‘With the Bridport Gateway development we’re aiming to build places to live right in the heart of Bridport for adults with care and support needs, and for the key workers who deliver those health and care services too.

‘It’s a really significant project and we want to get it right. If you live or work in the local area I would urge you to take a look at what we’re proposing and let us know what you think – we’re open to comments on all aspects of the scheme.’

Cllr Graham Carr-Jones, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing and Community Safety said: ‘We know that where you live can really affect your health and wellbeing. The town centre location of this development is key to ensuring Bridport Gateway’s future residents have access to the town’s vibrant

community scene, which in turn, will increase footfall to local businesses.

‘We are keen to hear feedback and answer any questions or concerns people may have. We will listen and incorporate your views into the design process as we bring together the planning application later this year.’

Four phone-in sessions are being held in July and August so that people can ask us questions and make comments. The sessions will take place: Wednesday 29 July 2 – 5pm Friday 31 July 10am - 1pm Monday 3 August 6 – 8pm Thursday 6 August 10am -1pm To take part call them on 01305 225850.

You can also submit comments about the proposals via an online survey at https://wh1.snapsurveys. com/s.asp?k=159350741189 Alternatively you can email buildingbetterlives@ dorsetcc.gov.uk, or write to: Dorset Council Project Team, c/o Bridport Town Council, Mountfield, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 3JP. Please give your feedback by Friday 7 August.

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Socially distanced running to save cats TO celebrate Honiton Branch of Cats Protection opening up to start to re-home cats again, Bob Carter, who is Branch coordinator, decided to get active. Along with four other members of Axe Valley Runners Bob ran 5km, on a course shaped like a cat.

The runners took care to socially distance in households and all the ladies were sporting cats’ ears!

The Branch has started to advertise for homes for their cats in care. This will be undertaken following Cats Protection guidance, in accordance with Government guide-

lines, social distancing and to not put at risk volunteers or members of the public.

Bob said, “We are as yet unable to take in any cats other than extreme emergencies, but this is being constantly reviewed and we hope further announcements will be made in the near future. It will be great to get back to looking after all the local cats and kittens who need us.”

If you would like more information about cats looking for home right now or the work of the branch, contact Cats Protection’s Honiton Branch on 01404 45241.

Bob Carter and fellow cat enthusiasts run for Cats Protection’s Honiton branch

Virtual visit for patient’s 100th birthday NOBODY wants to spend their birthday in hospiotal but Weymouth patient Vera Carlyle was able to celebrate her 100th birthday with her family, despite COVID-19 restrictions, thanks to staff at Westhaven Hospital.

Her relatives could not visit the site for her special day, but Radipole Ward staff at the Dorset HealthCare-run hospital organised a ‘virtual visit’ instead.

The new video call service was set up by the Trust to unite patients with family and friends in the absence of face-to-face visits during the pandemic.

Vera said: “While it was difficult to not celebrate with my family in person, I felt very lucky that the hospital could organise a video call with them. They could still see me open my card from the Queen.”

All inpatients at Dorset’s community hospitals and mental health units can now video call loved ones and unite with family and friends, following the launch of this innovative service.

If your family member is a patient at one of the Trust’s community hospitals or mental health inpatient units, you can contact the site directly and request a virtual visiting video call. For contact details, visit www.dorsethealthcare.nhs.uk 32 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

Vera Carlyle with Radipole Ward Aspirant Nurse Katie-Louise Apsey during the virtual visiting call

Julia’s House NEEDS YOU

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o you like to keep busy?

Do you have a few hours to spare? Julia’s House, the Dorset and Wiltshire Children’s Hospice charity is seeking volunteers to help out at its friendly high street shops.

The charity’s twelve shops rely on volunteers throughout the week, and are looking for till operatives to serve customers and keep them informed about the charity’s work.

Volunteering has lots of benefits from building confidence to reducing stress and is a great way to make friends and have fun.

Liz Thompson, Volunteer Coordinator for Julia’s House, said.

“You don’t have to have experience to be a volunteer at Julia’s House as we provide all the training you will require. You just need to be friendly, reliable and have the confidence to talk to our customers and make them feel welcome. It’s a great feeling to be supporting your local community and will make all the difference to the children and families we care for locally. We would love to hear from anyone who has a few hours to spare.”

Julia’s House is a local charity dedicated to supporting the families of children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions. It relies on public donations, fundraising and legacies for 95 per cent of the money needed to run its vital service. The charity has two hospices – one in Devizes and one in Corfe Mullen, in Dorset.

Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Volunteer@ juliashouse.org or pop into their local shop for more information.

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House&Garden

Talking to

Apple Trees

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n March14th 2020 John and Sarah Whittick signed a Short-Term Agricultural Business Tenancy Agreement with the Ecological Land Cooperative to rent 2 acres in the middle of one of their fields within a 10-acre area known as Plot 1. As soon as temporary planning permission has been granted for their small-holding to be set up in the field on the edge of Sparkford, Somerset, they have applied to ‘rent to buy’ Plot 1 from the ELC. John & Sarah knew that winter/spring 2020 was going to be a busy time. Their 5-year-old full-standard apple trees are sold bareroot in the winter months when they are dormant. They were to sell all the ready stock from their old site, clear it, build a new site and plant their future stock. Luckily, in early March everything was planned and in place, much of the stock for sale (400+ cider trees and 70 dessert & cooking apple trees) had been pre-ordered, sold and delivered in the south-west. New posts, wires, gates and mulch-matting were booked, and 1500 root & tree stocks were reserved and on their way to them for the 20th.

John said, “We worked non-stop for the first 10 days, with the help of our 2 sons, Josh and Fred (20 &18 years old), my brother and his quad-bike, and 6 volunteering friends. They helped us establish a deer/rabbit-proof, 6-foot-high fence around the 2 acres, the stock arrived and lockdown came…”

“We planted out the 1500 new root and tree stock, mulching them all; established a mother orchard containing 85 heritage cider varieties; 50 ‘old favourite’ eating & cooking apple varieties; planted crab apple trees; espalier apple trees; an avenue of 20 of our own standard cider trees and 10 dessert apples around the plot. We could not believe it—in one month it was all done and we were starting to worry about the ground drying out and how we could water everything with our little pump and a new

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100 metre piece of pipe. Fun!” At the start of lockdown sales had eased off and the Whitticks rushed around fulfilling the remaining orders as ‘gateway deliveries’. “Its not quite the same: chatting at 2 metres, taking payments on line and not being able to shake hands when you meet and hand over much cared for, nurtured goods, but we have adapted to the new social distancing very well”, said Sarah.

Gradually many of the public in lockdown started thinking about their own gardens, food and drink production, food miles, grow-your-own, supporting local businesses etc. John & Sarah ended up being busier than ever and selling every tree from the old nursery, some of the new ones, and taking pre-orders for next winter too, as people started to think and plan ahead.

Sarah said, “Our lockdown has been spent predominantly in the middle of a 2-acre field, talking to apple trees. Lockdown and the glorious weather have given us extra time to plan—any initial doubts about deliveries and selling the last trees from the old nursery for this season were swept aside as a revived interest in food origins and thinking local ended in a sell-out—with future orders already coming in. Long may it continue—please buy local, buy heritage, buy traditional stock… Think, plan, savour and enjoy.”

The nursery is open to the public by appointment only. email office@ciderappletrees.co.uk website www.ciderappletrees.co.uk

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Vegetable tips from Kew Gardens

By Helena Dove

The Kew Gardener’s Guide to Growing Vegetables by Helena Dove published by Frances Lincoln (rrp £12.99) Illustrations © the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 38 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

Gardens open for crowd free strolling KNOLL Gardens Nursery, and garden, are now open to the public by appointment.

From Tuesday 7th July, the nursery and gardens opened once again, though strictly for pre-booked visitors only. A series of two hour time slots are available ensuring that visitors will have plenty of time to take a relaxing, crowd-free stroll through the gardens once they have made their prized purchases.

Pre-booked customers can access both the nursery and gardens, with time slots available on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings (10am-12 noon) or afternoons (2pm-4pm) or on Friday afternoons (2pm-4pm).

A £5 per person fee is payable for customers wishing to book a slot to visit the nursery and/or garden. This fee can be redeemed against any purchase from the nursery, or for garden admission (now £5 per person across all categories). Time slots can be booked online at www.knollgardens.co.uk.

With social distancing in mind, numbers will be strictly controlled and initially limited to just 10 people per session. So, now is the perfect time to

visit and immerse yourself in the whispering grasses at Knoll—witnessing the changing colours, shapes, and sounds of the season, having been granted a practically private audience with the plants and wildlife that have been positively thriving over the last few months.

And if you need some inspiration for a new maintenance free, environmentally-friendly garden project, come and see how Knoll’s dry meadow project is taking form—the gorgeous, tall pink flowers of Echinacea pallida certainly seem to be liking their new home.

For full details on opening times, and to book a visit, please go to www.knollgardens.co.uk

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Could you be an ‘insect champion’?

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recently published report Reversing the Decline of Insects shows how people in every part of society, wherever they live, can take action to bring back declining insects.

This publication follows the Insect declines and why they matter report launched last year, which examined mounting evidence of insect decline and concluded that “the consequences are clear; if insect declines are not halted, terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems will collapse, with profound consequences for human wellbeing.”

This new report cites examples of farmers, communities, councils and charities that are boosting insect populations and proving that it can be done.

For example, Dorset and Wiltshire Wildlife Trusts, together with the Riverfly Partnership, have trained volunteers to monitor freshwater invertebrates, track population trends and help identify pollution incidents. The Riverfly Partnership represents anglers, conservationists, entomologists, scientists, water course managers and relevant authorities, all working together to protect the water quality of our rivers. In 2019, 50 river sites

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in Dorset were monitored as part of this project.

The Wildlife Trusts Chief Executive, Craig Bennett, said, “In my lifetime 41% of wildlife species in UK have suffered strong or moderate decreases in their numbers and insects have suffered most.

This has had a huge effect on the rest of the natural world. The vital role that insects perform is undermined and everything that depends on them suffers, from hedgehogs to nightingales, wildflowers to wetlands. We want to see an ambitious pesticide reduction target and at least 30% of land being managed for nature so that insects can become abundant once more. We’re calling on everyone to take action for insects and become an insect champion.”

DWT’s Director of Conservation, Imogen Davenport said, “Insects need our help and this report shows how communities, famers and individuals can take action to reduce harmful impacts and create more places where insects can thrive.”

To read the new report and pledge to become an insect champion, visit www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org. uk/action-insects.

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PROPERTY ROUND-UP

A Gardener’s Paradise

By Helen Fisher

BRIDPORT £395,000

An attractive, tidy and presentable bungalow with 2 double bedrooms and modern bathroom. Contemporary conservatory with far-reaching countryside views. An exceptionally generous sized, fully enclosed garden with established shrubs and large lawn area. Single garage, ample parking and no onward chain.

Goadsby Tel: 01308 420000

WHITCHURCH CANONICORUM £900,000

A handsome house built in 1975 yet with a period feel. Recently completely updated and redecorated. Bespoke hand-made kitchen, stylish contemporary bathrooms and oak parquet flooring. Situated in the centre of a generous plot with formal gardens, lawn area, woodland and veg garden with greenhouse. Garaging and ample parking.

Symonds and Sampson Tel: 01308 422092

COLYTON £570,000

A detached, 3 bedroom home set along a quiet lane on the outskirts of the village and centrally placed within it’s own half acre plot. With formal lawns, flower beds and veg garden. Pretty stream and ornamental pond and stunning established Wisteria. Summer house with views to the sea and estuary. Garage and ample parking.

Gordon and Rumsby Tel: 01297 553768 42 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

BRIDPORT £435,000

A semi-detached Regency (not listed) house in the centre of town with 4 bedrooms. Updated and well presented featuring wooden flooring and an iron fireplace. Large, well tended rear garden with greenhouse and sunshine all day. Car port for 2 cars, set down a no-through lane.

View to Colmers Hill.

Kennedys Tel: 01308 427329

SYDLING ST NICHOLAS £750,000

A pretty period Grade II listed house, dating back to 1780 with many original features inc: inglenook fireplace, wood burning stove & window seat. Kitchen with Aga plus conservatory. Stunning, large mature gardens with summer house, specimen trees and ornamental pond. Outbuildings and off street parking.

Jackson-Stops Tel: 01308 423133

WEST BAY £320,000

A unique home, created from the wing of a former period house close to beach and town. Well presented throughout with 2 double bedrooms and light filled living spaces. Sole ownership of the unusually large rear garden. Greenhouse, raised beds, apple and pear trees, outbuildings and terrace. Ample private parking.

Stags Tel: 01308 428000

Life changing decisions being made after lockdown A new survey has revealed that the coronavirus pandemic has forced Brits to reconsider where they live.

The survey of over 2,000 UK adults conducted by Censuswide and commissioned by estate agency Yopa asked people about their relationships with their homes, families and communities, generating some interesting responses.

When asked whether the pandemic urged them to reconsider where in the country they live, 1 in 4 Brits said yes, with most people attributing this to a newfound desire to live closer to family members.

Brits seem to have a new appreciation for family in general, with the lockdown causing almost a third of those under the age of 34 to consider starting or growing their family. Perhaps related to this, 40% of buyers are now looking for a larger property. However, 27% of parents have been put off home-schooling as a long-term option..! 14% of dads are now more open to the idea, compared with just 7% of mums.

1 in 10 respondents are now considering asking their elderly parents to move in with them in the future.

A change in attitudes towards working from home has also left many people considering moving away from busy commuter towns and cities. Over 1 in 5 respondents

revealed that their employer has indicated that working from home will be commonplace in the future, and 36% of people said that, if given more flexibility to work from home, they would reconsider where in the country they live. This increased to 43% among Londoners, suggesting a London exodus might not be so unlikely.

1 in 5 people said they now feel less inclined to live near busy towns and cities, but for those who do choose to remain, they may find their commute pleasantly less busy, with 37% of people now more inclined to walk or cycle to work in the future.

The lockdown also had many people dreaming of greener pastures, with 1 in 4 people stating that they now feel more inclined to move somewhere with greater access to green spaces, and the same number of people wishing they had more garden space.

• • • • •

Survey of over 2,000 people reveals 1 in 4 now reconsidering where they live 1 in 5 now less keen on living in or near busy towns and cities 40% of buyers looking for larger properties Shift towards working from home causing many to reconsider their location Dads keener on home-schooling than mums

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 43

Food&Dining

Electric Expansion

Mark Banham, Caroline Morrish, Ian Drake and Jack Priestley

BRIDPORT’S Electric Pub Company have acquired Dorset Independent Wine Merchant, Morrish & Banham.

Established in 2019, the Electric Pub Company operates a number of pubs across Dorset including The Pymore Inn near Bridport, The Antelope Inn in Hazelbury Bryan and The Elm Tree Inn in Langton Herring. The company also manages the food and drink offering at the Bridport Electric Palace, the Electric Lounge and the Bridport Art Centre.

Morrish & Banham was founded in 2015 by Caroline Morrish & Mark Banham and has established a national reputation for the quality of their wine and service.

As part of the acquisition, Mark will join the Electric Pub Company as a Director to oversee the wine offering at the existing venues and to open a new seafood restaurant, bar and cafe in the Bridport Art Centre. He will also assist with the purchase and development of more venues across Dorset for the Electric Pub Company.

Mark Banham says “We are delighted to be joining the Electric Pub Company. They have a proven record in the purchase and development of pubs which offer great food and drink. We are pleased to be part of their expansion plans and look forward to using our skills and experience to create even better food and beverage experiences across Dorset.”

44 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

Cedrics gets a triple in Taste of the West

CEDRICS Cakes in Minsterton have been celebrating their big win at this year’s Taste of the West awards. The company took Gold awards for their Sparkling Marmalade Cider, their Hot sweet Pickle Relish and their Damson & Port Jam. A delighted Cedric Tuck said: ‘In these uncertain times it was fabulous to hear we had won 3 golds and a silver at Taste of The West especially as we didn’t know if the awards would be going a head or not. To have the winners announced was the boost we needed.’

Along with their exclusive range of awardwinning cakes, jams, chutney, marmalade, jellies and cider, they have expanded their range to cover more of the basics including fresh vegetable boxes, fresh fruit boxes, fresh salad boxes, local free range eggs, Somerset butter, local cheeses, organic yoghurt, Dorset cream, bread, bread flour, tea and coffee.

Cedrics award-winning products can only be bought from Cedrics in Misterton or purchased via mail order along with other quality gifts from the local area. Perfect for Birthdays etc. Cedrics are now operating a simple ‘No Contact’ drive through. Phone 01460 72592 - pay over the phone - collect with no contact - take home and enjoy!

For more details visit www.cedricscakes. co.uk or call 0146072592.

Hix to open in Lyme Mark Hix looks back to the future

M

ark Hix will open The Oyster & Fish House on 27th July on the site that was formerly HIX Oyster & Fish House.

HIX Oyster & Fish House ceased trading in April when the board of WSH Limited made the decision to put all of HIX restaurants into administration, a decision that was not made or supported by Hix himself who was a minor shareholder in the business.

Born and bred in nearby West Bay, chef, restaurateur and food writer Mark was keen to secure the former HIX property to open another restaurant once lockdown was lifted and diners were able to begin eating out again within the Government’s guidelines.

‘The Fish House has always been a very important restaurant to me and was the second restaurant I opened in 2008’ said Mark. ‘I was devastated by the decision made by WSH but sadly it was out of my hands. Now it’s time to look to the future and new beginnings. I am looking forward to opening a fish and seafood restaurant again, despite the challenges all restaurateurs are facing at the moment. I have been overwhelmed by the support of locals and previous HIX regulars, so I am looking forward to welcoming them all to the restaurant when I open the doors later this month.’

The restaurant will be very similar to its predecessor, serving seasonal local produce and fish and seafood caught in Lyme Bay and along the Dorset coast. The Oyster and Fish House will be open all day, 7 days a week and available for private hire and weddings, once regulations permit.

The menu will feature old HIX favourites such as Cobb-smoked salmon which is cured and smoked on the premises, Fish House pie, Dorset oysters and whole fish caught locally and served simply, on the bone.

Mark says “This restaurant means a lot to me. It’s like going back to the good old days—no investors, just me and my team.”

The Oyster & Fish House, Cobb Road, Lyme Regis, Dorset DT7 3JP T: 01297 446910

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 45

Guest Recipe

IRINA GEORGESCU Irina Georgescu is a food writer whose work draws on her Eastern European heritage. It is her love and commitment to talking about Romanian culinary traditions that made her pursue her dream and write about this heritage.

Her cooking is inspired by her mother and grandmother, by her life in the busy capital city Bucharest, and by her constant explorations into the history and food of her country.

VINE LEAVES WITH STICKY RICE AND SULTANAS Sărmăluţe în foi de viţă

INGREDIENTS 25–30 vine leaves, rinsed For the rice:

Carpathia: Food From the Heart of Romania by Irina Georgescu, published by Frances Lincoln, rrp £22 hardback.

• 1 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil • 1 onion, finely diced • 150g (5oz) arborio rice • 125ml (4fl oz) white wine • 225ml (7.fl oz) vegetable stock • 1 tsp salt • 100g (3.oz) sultanas

46 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

• Zest and juice of 1 lemon • 1 tsp ground fennel For the sauce: • • • • •

150ml (4fl oz) water 750ml (1. pints) passata 2 tbsp cider vinegar 1 tsp salt 2 medium tomatoes, chopped

Makes 25–30

This is a lighter, summery take on our celebratory stuffed cabbage dish. Even without meat this is still a gratifying dish, and its sweet-and-sour double act will almost certainly make you fall in love with it. We cook this in large pots, and share it from the centre of the table, sparking debates about tips and ideas on how to cook it best. My auntie Mariana makes the best sărmăluţe in our family, and she has that ‘magic touch’ that we all try to replicate.

DIRECTIONS 1. To prepare the rice, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and cook the onions for 8–10 minutes.

Add the rice, coating it with the oil, and cook for a further 3 minutes. Pour over the wine and stock, add the salt and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The rice filling needs to be sticky but not watery. Add the sultanas, lemon zest and juice and ground fennel and combine well. Set aside to cool.

2. To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients, except the chopped tomatoes, in a bowl.

Spread the chopped tomatoes and

1 tablespoon of the sauce onto the bottom of a deep oven-proof ceramic dish.

3. Preheat the oven to 170°C/335°F/ gas mark 3.. Spoon around 30g (1.oz) of the rice filling (the quantity will depend on the size of the leaf) into the centre of one of the vine leaves. Roll the leaf gently, tucking in the sides as you go. Place into the dish and repeat with the remaining leaves. Pour the remaining sauce over the leaves, cover with kitchen foil and bake for 25 minutes.

4. Serve immediately, or refrigerate overnight and reheat in batches.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 47

48 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

Win a BBQ Box from Coombe Farm Organic

Feel like some delicious and local organic flavour on your BBQ?

Enter our competition to win a prize from Coombe Farm Organic. This quote from our June online magazine is hidden in an image amongst the pages of this issue. Find the quote and email us or send a postcard (Lower Atrim, Bridport, Dorset DT6 5PX), with the name of the person who said it, to be in with a chance to win!

Terms & Conditions: Answers must be with us by July 20th. The winner will be drawn from those entering and contacted by email. There is no cash equivalent and no correspondence will be entered into.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 49

Arts&Entertainment

Call out to rejuvenate seafront

T

helma Hulbert Gallery (THG) is leading a call out to the Exmouth community to join a new project to rejuvenate a section of the Exmouth seafront, known as the Abode of Love.

The community including local artists and creatives is being asked to share how they see Exmouth and want to shape its creative journey.

A panel including local artist Anna Fitzgerald, designer Gary Cook, Councillor Joe Whibley, THG and local business owners will select 50 participants from the respondents who will be invited to ‘make their mark’ on the Abode of Love.

The Abode of Love is a flood defence in Exmouth, East Devon. It is 342 feet long, with 9 bays, intercepted by a flight of stairs leading up to the main road. It is a popular area with local residents and tourists who all use the bays in various different ways from picnics and music practice, to sheltering from the sun.

In 2019, East Devon District Council invited Thelma Hubert Gallery (THG) to develop an ambitious arts commission for the area complementing the new waterfront developments in 2020. It was part of a wider initiative celebrating Exmouth, placing culture and creativity at its heart.

Due to Covid-19, the project could no longer go ahead, however THG and artist Anna Fitzgerald are pledging their commitment to develop a creative response to Exmouth.

Anna Fitzgerald will now create ‘To be continued…’a site-specific commission at the Abode of Love. The community of Exmouth including artists and designers will collectively transform the walls of the Abode of Love.

This commission will pave the way towards a dynamic, participatory public art project planned for 2021 when partners and groups will come together to help shape and inform a new commission. They will include Exmouth Town Council, East Devon District Council, Exmouth Artists and young people from Exmouth schools and communities groups.

Councillor Joe Whibley, the district council’s Lead Member for Culture and a ward member for Exmouth Town where the project is taking place, said: “After a difficult few months, it’s great to see this project happening now. Cultural regeneration can play an important part in Exmouth’s recovery.

Ruth THG Curator explained, “We want to acknowledge the melting pot of creative voices in the area. The commission is an invitation to the creative community as we collectively reimagine a future together.

“We want to celebrate the incredible creativity in Exmouth by reaching out to and engaging with local residents for this project. The Abode will become a creative frame, celebrating diversity and engaging the communities of Exmouth.”

Anna Fitzgerald commented, “Exmouth has many brilliant artists and creatives and it is great to have this opportunity to work together building and strengthening our creative networks” To get involved in the Abode of Love project, please email info@thelmahulbert. com A survey will be sent, to be completed by 26th July. Successful applicants will notified by 3rd August.

OTTERY WRITERS launch Competition

OTTERY Writers’ Group is growing. It now attracts a wide circle of avid writers and several of the members have published books or have works for publishing in the pipeline.

The group held a successful literary evening just before lockdown and plans are in place to hold a Literary Weekend early next summer 2021. Of course, Monday evening gatherings have had to come to a grinding halt with the Covid 19 crisis. Currently, they keep in contact with short Zoom meetings.

As a forerunner to their proposed literary event next summer, and in an effort to maintain the activities of the group and encourage other local writers, they are holding a Creative Writing Competition. It will be open to all age groups; and judged in two categories, young writers (under 18) and adults.

Those interested in entering are asked to write a short story (500 words max), or a poem, based on the theme of ‘Memory’. It could be your thoughts about the lockdown, a fantastic day out or someone that you really miss. The possibilities are boundless.

The winning entries will be printed in the local press and the top prizes for each category will be £50. A list of rules and further info can be obtained from e-mail ottery-writer@gmx.com or https://otterywriters. wordpress.com.

You’ve got until the 15th September 2020 to send them your creations. So, get out that note pad.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 51

July

GALLERIES Until July 18. The Swan Gallery Spring/Summer Selling Exhibition Re-opening with the launch of a new exhibition of fine 19th and 20th century watercolours and oil paintings. Artists include Thorburn, Lamorna Birch, Hardy, Cox, Brabazon, Hilder, Edwin Harris, Terrick Williams and many others. Prices from £250 to £16,000 Viewing by appointment only: The Swan Gallery, 51, Cheap Street, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3AX from 10am (last viewing 4pm). www.swangallery.co.uk Until July 18. The Arts Stable Gary Cook High Ground. Based in Dorset, Gary Cook explores our complicated relationship with and often detrimental impact on nature. The combination of naturalistic painting and narrative script that characterise his watercolours are a direct result of his background in the newspaper industry where he was the senior artist and associate editor for The Sunday Times for 26 years.

He has exhibited with the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colour (RI), the RWA, the RBA, The Arborealists and is a member of the Society of Graphic Fine Arts.

He is also The Ecologist’s Arts Editor.

22 July – 13 Sept. Sladers Yard, West Bay David Inshaw Solo Show. David Inshaw, the consummate painter of the English landscape, peopled by dreamlike figures, birds and animals. Called ‘perhaps the greatest living proponent of the English Romantic tradition’ (Spectator), Inshaw invokes the powers of nature, the moon, trees, stars, birds, animals, men,

52 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

women, ancient landscapes and the sea to create his powerful intensely personal paintings. Sladers Yard Gallery and Café Sladers, West Bay Road, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset DT6 4EL. Gallery: Monday Saturday 10am - 4.30pm, Sundays 12 - 4.30pm. Café Sladers: Every day 10am - 4.30pm. https://sladersyard. wordpress.com. Telephone 01308 459511.

August 13 - 31. The Gallery, Symondsbury Natural Forms. Lyme Bay Arts CIC will be welcoming back visitors from 13-31 August to the Gallery in Symondsbury with its first post-lockdown exhibition entitled Natural Forms. This showcase will feature 2D and 3D artwork created by local and regional artists already associated with Lyme Bay Arts, as well as those who may not have exhibited at The Gallery before.

Artists interested in taking part should contact Phil Clayton on 07809 831760 or at phil@lymebayarts. co.uk. The Gallery has re-scheduled its postponed Contemporary Crafts exhibition to run from 3-21 September. The Gallery will be open Thurs-Mon from 10.30-4.30 (closed Tues/Wed) and will be complying with relevant social distancing. The Gallery, Symondsbury Estate, Symondsbury, Bridport DT6 6HG. www.lymebayarts.co.uk.

Until 30 August. The Tincleton Gallery Work by Ruth Ander and other gallery artists. A selection from all our gallery artists : Colin Moore, Philippa Headley, Kim Pragnell, Ruth Ander, Jazmin Velasco, Mary Gillett as well as two guest artists

AROUND

the Galleries & Studios

Imogen Bittner, and Diana Croft. Tincleton Gallery, The Old School House, Tincleton, Dorset, DT2 8QR. Normal gallery hours are 10am to 5pm on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday Until October 31. Thelma Hulbert Gallery Artist Rooms. Richard Long Being in the Moment. Thelma Hulbert Gallery (THG), Honiton plans to reopen its doors on the 11th July with the relaunch of its acclaimed exhibition: ARTIST ROOMS Richard Long Being in the Moment. This ambitious exhibition, which examines our relationship to the natural world is kick-starting East Devon District Council’s programme of cultural recovery. It will be accompanied by an inspiring new creative programme of art activities, projects and workshops coming soon to a neighbourhood near you. The gallery has reconfigured the visitor experience to ensure the safety of visitors and staff following government guidelines. The gallery’s new opening hours will be: Thursday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. Individuals and households of up to 4 people will be able to book a guided tour of the current exhibition (up to 45 minutes). 6 tours will take place each day. The tour will include the THG shop which is selling a new range of greetings cards, ceramics, jewellery, prints and more. The gallery continues to encourage everyone to enjoy their Wild Art garden for picnics, sketching or their general wellbeing. For those audiences who are staying at home, THG will shortly announce how it is taking nature and culture on tour in a ‘Recovery Roadshow’. From their new ‘Creative Cabin’ they hope to engage both rural and urban audiences with art activities, projects, talks, performances and workshops to support their health, wellbeing and the environment. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield House, Dowell St, Honiton EX14 1LX. www. thelmahulbert.com.

Detail from “Boats in Bristol Harbour”, monoprint on tissue,

by Ruth Ander at The Tincleton Gallery The Old School House, Tincleton, Dorset, DT2 8QR http://tincletongallery.com/

Richard Long South Bank Circle -1991. (c) Richard Long Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield House, Dowell St, Honiton EX14 1LX. www.thelmahulbert.com.

Figure in the Garden. David Inshaw’s new signed, limited edition (plus some open edition) giclée prints can be bought at Sladers Yard and over the phone (t: 01308 459511) or via email gallery@ sladersyard.co.uk.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 53

Health&Beauty

Free CST taster sessions at Age UK AGE UK North, South & West Dorset (NSWD) is now offering an online dementia therapy service and invites you to book two free sessions as a taster.

Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) is a popular and successful way to treat the symptoms of mild to moderate dementia, and is also very enjoyable CST is a programme of themed activities, carried out over several weeks in small groups, with each session covering a different topic, designed to improve the mental abilities and memory of someone with dementia.

Age UK NSWD Operations Manager, Sarah Frigot said: ‘Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) is an effective, and proven group activity, suitable for use with many people with early to mid-stage dementia or memory loss. Regular attendance can increase quality of life, enhance communication skills and help with low mood. This online version is an adaptation of our previous group meetings.

‘The sessions are person centred, focusing on the Individual rather than the dementia. We work in small, comfortable groups of 4-6 people. Each person is unique, with a lifetime of experiences that have shaped their personality and attitudes, leading to a variety of skills, interests, preferences and abilities.

‘By getting to know someone, we can work to their strengths in a respectful and inclusive style,

we ask people for their opinions rather than facts.’

Evidence suggests that CST can be as beneficial as drug treatments for the symptoms of dementia and: * Is the only non-drug treatment recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) * Is usually carried out over 14 sessions, each lasting around 45 minutes and containing structured discussions and group activities * Groups are small, consisting of only four to six people * Led by someone who has experience of working with people with dementia Sarah Frigot continued: ‘Using reminiscence, games and quizzes, with lots of pictures on screen, each session covers a different theme such as, childhood, numbers, family or pets and lasts up to an hour.

‘The emphasis is on group conversation and everyone has an opportunity to take part and have fun, it is really enjoyable, with lots of laughter.’

The online sessions take place online using Zoom every Wednesday morning at 10am. Age UK NSWD can also assist with technology if required.

If you, a friend or family member would like to take part please call Alice Davies on 01305 269444 or email at enquiries@ageuknswd.org.uk for more details.

Wills, Power of Attorney, Property and Finance advice with Age UK AGE UK North, South & West Dorset, in partnership with local solicitors, is holding a free over the phone service for anyone over 50 to ask an expert questions about wills, power of attorney, property and finances. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, these surgeries will go ahead on pre-planned dates by telephone and will be by appointment only.

Dates for the next surgeries in partnership with Nantes Solicitors are: Weymouth area – Wednesdays 5 August Bridport area – Wednesdays 19 August Dates for the next surgery in partnership with Blanchards Bailey Solicitors are: Dorchester area – 11 August Date for the next surgeries in partnership with Humphries Kirk Solicitors are: Wareham area – Thursdays 30 July & 27 August Dorchester area – Friday 3 July To book a telephone appointment, please ring Age UK North, South & West Dorset on 01305 269444 or email Lisa: lholmes@ageuknswd.org.uk.

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 55

Services&Classified RENTAL WANTED

WANTED TO RENT granny flat or small cottage.

Telephone 01297 33428 FOR SALE Cane Oval coffee table 29wx17dx19h inches very good condition £5 01404 850157

FOR RENT

FOR SALE

Beautiful three bedroom house attached, garden, private driveway, overlooking the sea at Eype for long term rent.

Special conditions re age, noise levels and maintenance, involved hence relatively low rent.

Looking for quiet self contained couple ideally, no families. Available next year. 07817586683

Massey Ferguson Hydraulic Lift (3 point Linkage) Original Trailer Hitch used with Tee Bar East lambrook. £160 01460 242071 Mob. 07834 550899 Finger cutter Bar Blades & Rivots 22 New (McConnel 7 BT/BS) 8 Used good cond.

Sofabed. Single. Grey leather. DFS, as new, 145 x 100 folded. £350 Photos available 07837452637

East lambrook. £15 01560 242071 Mob. 07834 550899 Jersey stamp booklets and prestige stamp books (1969-2010). All in mints condition, in album.

Real price approximately £380 - £285 Ono. Jersey definitive stamps (1969-2007) all in mint condition. Also jersey postage dues all in mint condition in album (1969-1982) to include all bulletins with inserts. Real price approximately £360 - £265 Ono

01305 820878 Coleman Ram X Gold Medalist16 Open Canadian Canoe 3 Paddles £320 ovno 0775 2857434 Collins & Hayes “Fergus” Dark Tan Hide Leather Sofa.

Large 2-seater 81” long.

Guardsman Treated. £225.00. Laura Ashley “Patricia” Overmantel Mirror in Soft Silver.

Large Size. £125.00.

Modern, Dark Wood Five Drawer Tall Chest of Drawers. Drawer needs attention. Two Drawer Matching Bedside Chests.

One needs attention. £30.00. All due to house move, buyer collects.

Telephone: 01305 264659

SITUATIONS VACANT

56 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

Denby casserole with lid: “Serenade” good condition. £10 Cerne Valley Forge firebasket £80 71 cm x 48 cms x 40 cm high. Cerne Valley Forge fireguard £30. Old Colonial china: Large cake plates x 2, tea plates, cups and saucers, eggcups x 2 sets. £25 total. Poole Pottery vases. 1950’s floral design. 23 cm height £25.

12 cm height £15. Box Brownie camera: Six 20 Model D £10. Sailing smock: 25th anniversary of S.T.S. Sir Winston Churchill. Navy blue with red embroidery. Large. £15. 01300 321396 or 07984 547980 CD Player. Marantz CD63 Mark II (KI

CHIMNEY SWEEP

WANTED Beehive national brood supers wanted. Tel. 07715 557556 Vinyl Records Wanted All types and styles considered. Excellent prices paid. Please Phone Roy 07429 102645 Clocktowermusic.co.uk Bridport

May 20

Wanted: AERO seed fiddle please contact richard.toft@btinternet. com, 01308 424103 or 07740 985906

TO LET Room to let. Own bathroom, non smoker quiet location, nr. Seaton.

Tel; 0790 959 5245

POSITION WANTED Experienced Mature lady with small dog seeks work with accommodation caring/ housework. Qualified HCA excellent refs Sara 07592396941 Experienced, passionate cook available Axminster area. Part-time week days, one off batch cooking or drop off.

Excellent references.

Please give me (Juliet) a call 07553055787

signature). Good condition. Can demonstrate. £75. 01395 576644 Briggs and Stratton 46SD 4 stroke engine for self drive mower in working order. £25. Tel 01460 64607 Qualcast lawnmower Classic 30 electric £35, Qualcast scarifier quickchange cassette for same mower £20. Both in full working order and good condition. 01404 871691 Kenwood Chef Major mixer KM250 - 600W motor, silver, vgc Large S/S bowl, glass 1.2L

Postage stamps. Private collector requires 19th and early 20th century British. Payment to you or donation to your nominated charity. 01460 240630.

Old sewing machines, typewriters, gramophones, phonographs, records, music boxes, radios.

0777 410 3139. www. thetalkingmachine.co.uk

May 20

Dave buys all types of tools 01935 428975 Jul 20

PROOFREADING Proofreading, editing, transcription, secretarial for writers and businesses.

Excellent references.

Penny Dunscombe Apr 20 07825339289.

RESTORATION Furniture restoration.

Antiques large and small carefully restored. City and Guilds qualified, ten years experience in local family firm. Phil Meadley 01297 560335

Wanted to buy - field, or part field and part woodland, any size, to about 5 acres. Not top grade grass. Private, local resident wants to ‘do their bit’ for the environment. Anything considered. Please help.

07508 106910 May 20 Vintage & antique textiles, linens, costume buttons etc. always sought by Caroline Bushell. Tel. 01404 45901.

Jun 20

Secondhand tools wanted. All trades. Users & Antiques. G & E C Dawson. 01297 23826. www.secondhandtools. co.uk.

Oct 20

CURTAINS Little Curtains.

Handmade Curtains, Blinds and Cushions.

Contact 07443 516141 or 01308 485325 Jun 21

Ladies Cotton Trader Maxi dress. Jersey shirt maroon colour £10 Four dress size 16 misty rose colour.

Student graduate Impulse buy - brand new looking for summer decorating work. Has 2+ was £30 will accept £10. liquidiser jug, whisk, K 01404 850157 years experience. beater, dough hook. £150. Exeternal & Internal Debenhams De’but black 01297 631307 Windows, walls, cielings, round neck lined lace dress wood work etc. Can Golf clubs for sale. with front beading with work within covid PPE Cobra driver. Benross cap lace sleeves. Size 18 regulations. Call for fairway woods 3, 5, & 7. impulse buy - brand new.

Taylormade fairway woods references.

Will accept £20. 01404 07557965887 - Freddy 1, 3, 5, 7 & 9 850157 Callaway Big Bertha irons Early 20th century - SW, PW, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5. dressing table. Some marks long curtains cream and Odyssey Crimson Putter on top surface. Excellent blue design. Good for Fazer Texas Wedge/ mirror. Needs new French doors £30 per Chipper handles. £10.00. Buyer Trolley bag. Illness causes pair. Green curtains £15. collects. Details 01308 Details and photos from sale. £90.00 the lot. Not 482882 to be sold individually. Tel. 07969372076 Bricks - Edenhall Qubo Elite bicycle 01460 30909 Howlite Grey facing trainer with road wheel.

Stripped pine antique bricks, 160 available. Size Roller pressure on tyre and 215x100x65mm. From Victorian fire surround. resistance adjust automatic. Crewkerne. Call 07497 £250 Antique bookcase Bluetooth compatible. three shelves.£75 Clarks 477817. £80 Cost over £200 Call 01305 Two seater, leather type, shoes worn once. Size 5 570508. £55.

Aug 20

DECORATING

cream coloured settee.

Good condition. £60.00.

Tel. 07495888794 (Nr. Bridport) Sofabed. Single.

Grey leather. DFS, as new,145x100 folded.£350 Photos available 07837452637 HSL Penrith Dual Riser/Recliner chair in wine boucle. New September 2019, hardly used. Cost £1700 new.

Will accept £990. Buyer to collect please. 01308 868717.

Cast iron bath in good condition for age(1954!) with ball and claw feet, painted outside. With shower mixer tap. £10.

Edwardian style wash basin and pedestal. Period taps. £25. Thorncombe. Photos.

07973 327 077 Vintage wooden ladders.

Ideal for intended use

Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 57

or display, various sizes.

From £20. Photos and measurements available.

01460 55105 Lovely book of Hampshire 1st edition 1909 coloured illustratios b Wilfred Ball RE. Described by Revered Telford Varley. £180.

01297 560707.

Shower-screen. New. Pivot 700 Merlin.

1900mmx670-720. £190. White washbasin/pedestal, 450mm.

New. £60. Can supply photo. Dorchester, 07398760637 Jersey stamp booklets and prestige stamp books (1969-2010). All in mints condition, in album.

Real price approximately £380 - £285 Ono, 01305 820878 Jersey definitive stamps (1969-2007) all in mint condition. Also jersey postage dues all in mint condition in album (1969-1982) to include all bulletins with inserts.

Real price approximately £360 - £265 Ono 01305

Monthly Quiz –

820878 Solid Teak wood nest of tables. 1.

22.5wx18dx18.5 inches.

2. 20wx18dx16h inches very good condition £10.

01404 850157 Cane Oval coffee table 29wx17dx19h inches very good condition £5 01404 850157 Portapuzzle board 32wx22d inches very good condition £5.

01404 850157 Panda picture jigsaw puzzle complete 1000 pieces £2. 01404 850157 Ideal wildlife pond, circular, fibreglass, 5 foot diameter, 2 foot deep with plant ledges. VGC. £125 (As new £300 plus).

01460 242254 Beko washing machine, very little used, no longer needed. Will accept £60. + 2 kitchen stalls, modern £12.50 the 2.

01308 861474.

Mira Advance electric shower, little use as new, £50. 01460 54104.

Portable typewriter & carry case. VGC £10. 3

tapestry kits with wool; 1 wool embroidery kit; 2 embroidery hoops some silks; 1 embroidery kit silks hoop. Reason for sale, eyesight not good enough. £20. 01305 266726.

KITT1637 Planer, thicknesser 12” x 8”, dust collect system, very little used. £575. 01305 785587.

Extending dark wood dining table and five chairs. £30ono. 01935 425181.

Nest 3 tables black gloss, largest h18” w 13” l.20”. £85. Husky Slimline 12 bottle wine cooler £70. 01297 552420.

Campingaz Camp ‘Bistro 2’ compact hob in plastic carry cae. Bought Nov 19. Unused. Also 8 Gaz cartridges. £15 the lot. 01305 250281.

Shooting stick seat alloy leather handles. £45. Beach caster fishing rod & bag & reel £40.

Cellotape dispenser c/w 3 inch reel £10.

Win a book from Little Toller Books

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

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

Last month’s answer was Chickerell. The winner was Mrs Smith from Yeovil.

58 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 Tel. 01308 423031

FREE ADS for items under £1,000 Classified advertising in The Marshwood Vale Magazine is normally 95 pence per word in a box.

This FREE ADS FORM is for articles for sale, where the sale price is under £1000 (Private advertisers only — no trade, motor, animals, firearms etc).

Just fill in the form and send it to the Marshwood Vale Magazine, Lower Atrim, Bridport, Dorset DT6 5PX. or email to info@marshwoodvale.com.

Unfortunately due to space constraints there is no guarantee of insertion of free advertising.

We reserve the right to withhold advertisements.

For guaranteed classified advertising please use ‘Classified Ads’ form

FOR SALE Canon typewriter word processer £50. 01297 680560.

David Shepherd signed print ‘Savuti Sands’ £60, Ladies ‘Hawkhead’ walking boots, size 4 £15. Men’s casual jacket,

size 40/42, rusty/red £25. Men’s sports jack size 40/42, Lovat green handwoven £25. 01460 68483.

ELECTRICAL

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Tel. 01308 423031 The Marshwood Vale Magazine July - 2 2020 59