April 2016 Forum Focus

FORUM FOCUS For Blandford and surrounding villages Issue No. 49

April 2016

The Railway Children join tributes to Blandford’s last train: Page 5

Now the development focus switches to the north of the town

Homes and new school beyond bypass?

PLANS for housing and a new school north of Blandford beyond the bypass on land previously allocated for sports field development between Sunrise Business Park and the Salisbury Road - were revealed in full as part of the developing Blandford+ Neighbourhood Plan.

The consultation into the plan's pre-submission document, being submitted to North Dorset District Council at a presentation in the Corn Exchange, focused heavily on the group's preferred location for new housing development.

Agents Savills attended to show plans for the site, which extends to the other side of the road east of Letton towards Black Lane.

The proposal, also presented to the inquiry into the now-approved North Dorset Local Plan which accepts the possibility of development north of the town, includes provision for a new primary school, making use of the yellow pedestrian bridge over the bypass which has lain unused since it was installed as part of the development of the Persimmon Badbury Heights estate.

Allotment holders at Lamperd's Field on the Salisbury Road, leased and redeveloped only 14 years ago by Blandford Town Council to replace the statutory allotments at Blandford Heights, are particularly concerned at being asked to relocate again so soon to facilitate the creation of a new access road for the development site.

The Neighbourhood Plan also covers Blandford St Mary and Bryanston, and has been approved by the town council and respective parish councils, but has yet to receive the blessing of North Dorset District Council.

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Raising a glass: North Dorset MP Simon Hoare (second from right), with Hall & Woodhouse brewery representatives (from left): John Meakin, Mark Woodhouse and Rob Easton.

MP’s toast to the brewing industry NORTH Dorset MP Simon Hoare hosted a British Beer and Pub Association reception at the House of Commons in support of the South West brewing industry.

The event was extremely well attended by MPs from across the region as well as those from the All Party Parliamentary Group for dairy, with representatives from the British Beer and Pub Association and local brewers from across the south-west, including Blandford's Hall & Woodhouse.

Mr Hoare said: "This is a hugely important sector, particularly in rural areas such as North Dorset.

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Hall and Woodhouse is the second largest employer in North Dorset and I was thrilled with the turnout.

"Unfortunately I was unable to participate myself, having given up alcohol for Lent, but the event was extremely successful with support shown from across the south-west and further afield."

He added: "Along with Parliamentary colleagues, I continue to press the Treasury for a further reduction of one penny on beer duty. This government has shown its commitment to the brewing industry and I hope to see further positive change as we approach the spring budget."

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April 2016

FORUM FOCUS CONTRIBUTING

CONTACTS

Forum Focus welcomes the submission of articles and reports from clubs and societies but asks that they are kept to a maximum of 200 words.

If you have pictures you would like to share with us, our readers and our website visitors, please send them, with brief descriptions, by email to editor@forumfocus.co.uk. Low resolution pictures cannot be printed in the paper.

Editorial: Nicci Brown T: 01258 459346 E: editor@forumfocus.co.uk Advertising: John Stayt T: 01258 454427 E: advertising@forumfocus.co.uk Distribution: Jackie Stayt T: 01258 456999 E: distribution@forumfocus.co.uk Design: David Eidlestein T: 01258 450989 E: de@deadlines.eclipse.co.uk

ON THE WEBSITE www.forumfocus.co.uk

Forum Focus is an independent, not-forprofit, community publication produced entirely by volunteers. We are always pleased to receive offers of help.

Where to find Forum Focus WE are still seeking volunteers willing to deliver on the Damory Down estate and in the Langton Road and Black Lane area.

To deliver in your street or area, or act as a drop point, email distribution@forumfocus.co.uk or call 01258 456999.

Other main drop points are: Blandford and Blandford St Mary: M&S Blandford, Langton Road; The Post Office, Library and Parish Centre in The Tabernacle, the Corn Exchange, the Spar shop in Market Place, Gorge Cafe in East Street, Blandford Museum in the Market Place, the Tourist Information Centre in West Street, James Newsagents in The Plocks, the Co-op in Salisbury Road, the 3Cs in Damory Street, the Damory Garage and One Stop in Salisbury Road, Cherry's hairdressers in Elizabeth Road, CLP stationery on Blandford Heights industrial estate, Blandford Leisure Centre in Milldown Road, the Central Shop in Heddington Drive, the Brewery Visitor Centre, and Tesco and Homebase at Stour Park.

In the villages: Charlton Marshall Church Rooms and Charlton pub, Woodpecker pub at Spetisbury, True Lovers Knot and St Richard Close bus stop in Tarrant Keyneston, Langton Arms in Tarrant Monkton, Pimperne shop, the White Horse Inn at Stourpaine, Iwerne Minster post office, Child Okeford Post Office, Shillingstone Garage, Londis Shop & Royal Oak at Milborne St Andrew, The Crown at Winterborne Stickland, Post Office and Surgery, Milton Abbas, and The Cricketers at Shroton.

Diary events are updated regularly on our website so it is always worth logging on to stay up to date with what’s happening in the area. The website also carries additional pictures of local events and background information on stories.

DEADLINES Adverts: Monday 11th April Editorial: Tuesday 12th April Deliveries from Monday 25th April View future deadlines on our website.

OUR ADVERTISERS Please support our advertisers who have given us their support. All material published in Forum Focus (either in the magazine or the website), including adverts, editorials, articles and all other content is published in good faith. However, Forum Focus accepts no liability for any errors or omissions and does not endorse any companies, products or services that appear in the publication or on the website.

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Public outcry forces U-turn over bus cuts FOLLOWING public concern at plans to withdraw the Blandford to Salisbury X12 bus service as part of the cost-saving measures proposed by Dorset County Council, it has been agreed that a new service 20 can be provided using buses from the council fleet.

Cllr Peter Finney, County Council Cabinet member for environment, said: "We have listened to the feedback from communities in the area north of Blandford about the possible withdrawal of subsidised bus services.

"To achieve the financial needs of the bus service review, in the current financial climate, the county council has removed the subsidy for the northern section of the X12.

"But in negotiation with the oper-

ator, Damory, we will run a new service Monday to Saturday, from Blandford to Salisbury. The buses on this new service will be from the council's existing fleet, using our drivers.

"The service will be timed to meet the needs of commuters, students and shoppers, offering better value for money for Dorset residents. We will continue to work with communities to develop a robust transport solution that responds to local needs.

"The change in services will take place in April."

DT11 Transport Action Group chairman Nic Nicol said: "We are all delighted that the X12 has been saved between Blandford

and Salisbury. But there was an immediate request from town councillors and others for the new service to call at Salisbury Railway Station.

"Lack of convenient connectivity between the bus station and the railway station is a long-standing source of aggravation and complaint by bus users."

County officers have responded that there is not room for the service to call at the station, but that passengers for the rail station can use service R1 to Bemerton Heath, departing from New Canal which stops under the Railway Bridge at the Station, and on its return picks up from Blue Boar Row.

Home town funeral for Katrina THE funeral of hairdresser Katrina O'Hara, 44, who died after being stabbed at her place of work at Jock's Barbers in East Street, Blandford on 7th January, was held in her home town of Bathgate, West Lothian, on 20th February.

A man charged with her murder is due to appear for a plea and case management hearing at Winchester Crown Court on 1st April.

Stuart Nicholas (also known as George) Thomas, 49, entered no plea when he appeared at a preliminary Crown Court hearing on 18th January and was remanded in custody. A trial date has been listed for 11th July.

LONG anticipated major structural work on Haywards Bridge, carrying the road between the A357 and Child Okeford over the river Stour, has been scheduled to take place between 4th April and 14th October, resulting in the road over the river being closed to traffic and pedestrians. Traffic will be diverted, with access only for private homes.

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April 2016 Sunrise Business Park

New school with vehicular access from Salisbury Road and pedestrian access from yellow bridge crossing

Employment accessed by fifth arm off Sunrise roundabout

Focus for new local facilities (existing allotments)

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Potential speed reduction at entrance to Blandford/Letton Park

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Main vehicular access to new housing from new roundabout on the bypass

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Bla Pedestrian bridge or crossing to Preetz Way

Development proposed for land beyond the bypass From Page 1 It includes 15 policies outlining potential development, design principles and community facilities which should be retained in the three parishes, together with tourism development, local green spaces and the green infrastructure.

The consultation was due to end on 31st March.

Meanwhile the proposal unveiled last month for 350 homes at St Mary's Hill off the A354 Dorchester road and A350 Bournemouth Road has prompted a number of responses (see letters pages 18-19). They raise concerns chiefly about access, poor facilities for crossing the bypass into the town, and lack of proposals for infrastructure, including education and health.

Danger road closed by another landslide THE C13 higher Blandford to Shaftesbury road was closed again on 9th March by a large landslide and was likely to remain closed for another lengthy period.

The collapse at Dinah's Hollow, where Dorset County Council has been seeking a solution to the unstable slopes since an earlier closure and has imposed traffic restrictions, closed the section between Compton Abbas Airfield and Cann Common, and motorists have been advised to use the lower A350 Blandford to Shaftesbury road instead.

A statement by North Dorset neighbourhood policing team posted on social media said: "It is likely that the road will be closed for a substantial period of time. Please can we ask that all motorists use the A350 to travel between Blandford and Shaftesbury. Alternative routes are unsuitable for large vehicles, especially HGVs."

Pedestrian and cycle links to Black Lane and town centre

A plan showing some of the main proposals.

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Bob Simpson and his family, with Josette Lebrat, French Honorary Vice Consul for the South West, after the presentation in the Hall & Woodhouse Brewery Visitor Centre, Blandford.

New Co-op stores opening A YEAR after announcing the closure of one of its Blandford supermarkets, The Co-operative has revealed plans to bring new convenience stores to Shillingstone and Sturminster Marshall among at least ten openings in Dorset and across the south-west, creating 250 new jobs.

Co-op Group CEO, Richard Pennycook, said: "We are delighted to be making such a significant investment. It's a positive sign that we are getting on with the job of rebuilding the Co-op for our members."

April 2016

Top French honour for war veteran Bob A 92-year-old World War Two veteran who helped found the Dorset branch of the Royal Signals Association has been presented with the Legion D'Honneur, France's top military honour, in recognition of his service and involvement in the liberation of France.

Called up in November 1942, Bob Simpson left the Local Defence Force, which he had joined as a teenager when war broke out, to join the Royal Signals.

Following training in Blackpool and Catterick he served with 79 Armoured Div (Hobart's Tommies) and landed in France on 8th August 1944. He fought through France and Belgium to the Rhine crossing and was mentioned in dispatches as a troop sergeant.

Discharged from the service on 31st December 1949 he reenlisted in Shrewsbury on the

same day to serve in 1 Commonwealth Div in Korea and was awarded the BEM following the crossing of the Imjim River in April 1951.

He finally left the Army on 30th December 1954, but continued to support veterans by helping to found the Dorset branch of the Royal Signals Association, which he served as chairman for a number of years.

Bob, who now lives in Weymouth, was accompanied by family and friends when he was presented with his award immediately after the 2016 annual general meeting of the Dorset branch held at the Hall & Woodhouse Brewery Visitor Centre in Blandford.

President Col (Retd) Cliff Walters introduced the French Honorary Vice Consul for the South West, Mme Josette Lebrat, who presented the medal on behalf of the French government.

Council tax set for a 5% increase BASIC council tax in North Dorset has risen by just over 5 per cent following North Dorset District Council's agreement to a £5 increase - nearly 4.5 per cent and the maximum increase allowed - to the Band D charge.

Local authorities continue to face significant reductions in the level of grants from central government.

Other precepting authorities have indicated increases of 6 per cent (Dorset County Council), nearly 2 per cent (Dorset Police), and nearly 4 per cent (Dorset Fire), making a total in North Dorset, before town and parish council precepts are added, of £1,640.75 a year.

The county council's share, which is now split between adult social care and other responsibilities, amounts to 77 per cent of the

total. The police bill accounts for 11.6 per cent, North Dorset just over 7 per cent, and the fire authority just over 4 per cent.

Town and parish precepts increase the total by up to £317 per annum in the case of Blandford Town, £157.91 in Blandford St Mary and £147.91 in Pimperne, £192.42 in Charlton Marshall and £150.46 in Spetisbury, £144.98 in Bryanston, £155.35 in Child Okeford, £170.70 in Shillingstone and between £122 and £137.58 in the Tarrant Valley and £116 and £175 in the Winterbornes and Milton Abbas.

Langton Long, Hanford, Turnworth, Fifehead Neville, Winterborne Clenston and Chettle, whose parishes make no precept, remain the lowest taxed in the district.

A 33-year-old man charged with assaulting a couple during an incident at the Royal British Legion Club in Blandford is due to appear for trial at Somerset Magistrates sitting at Yeovil on 29th April.

Christopher Taylor, of Gurkha Road, Blandford, was released on unconditional bail after pleading not guilty at an earlier hearing to charges that, on 8th November at Legion House in Church Lane, he assaulted Sarah Moore and her husband William Moore by beating.

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Left: the Railway Children with North Dorset MP Simon Hoare.

Above: true to the story, the children wave their handkerchiefs over the parapet.

Below: welcoming Mayor-elect Jackie Stayt and the civic party to the ‘Last train in Blandford’.

Memories revived of town’s last train BLANDFORD'S Deputy Mayor Jackie Stayt was welcomed by The Railway Children to the 'Last Train at Blandford' event staged at the former station site in Station Court on the 50th anniversary of the final passenger service of the Somerset & Dorset Railway on 5th March 1966.

Bobbie, Phyllis and Peter, played by members of the Blandford Performing Arts Theatre Academy, whose production in association with Forum Drama will be staged in the Corn Exchange later this month, provided a guard of honour as the civic party arrived for the commemoration, and waved handkerchiefs over the parapet of the Alexandra Street footbridge.

The Blandford Railway Arches Trust and Blandford Railway Club had prepared an exhibition of their work to preserve the memory and reality of the rail line closed under the Beeching axe, in the Blandford Camera Club premises, built on the site of the former station water tower at the entrance to what is now the North Dorset Trailway.

There were photographic displays, videos, audio recordings and poetry readings from Jan Wyld and Barry Tempest, together with tours of the former station area led by Railway Club chairman David Cash and to the Langton Meadow flood arches, currently under restoration, with Railway Arches Trust project officer Simon Coombs.

Mr Cash said: "Joint promotion of the special event created a great deal of interest and support and most certainly will have raised the profile of our special projects. We were pleased to see, hear and meet many of the visitors on a very successful day which will leave a lasting impression."

Arches Trust secretary Nicci Brown said: "We'd like to thank all those who took part and supported us, including the resident involvement team from Spectrum Housing whose homes are built on the station site."

There were also special events over the same weekend at Shillingstone Station, where two steam engines recently brought to the site by restoration group Project 62 were a highlight, and at the former Spetisbury Station site now being restored by the Spetisbury Station Project.

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April 2016

The Litter Pickers gather on the Marsh & Ham to Clean for the Queen.

A healthy turnout for blitz on litter AROUND 50 people turned out to help with Clean Up Blandford's 'Clean for the Queen' on 5th March.

Some 30 bags of rubbish were collected by the 30 land-based pickers and about 15 canoeists who scoured the river Stour, also retrieving a trolley, a pushchair

and an old iron water tank.

In addition they discovered an old mattress and furniture which will be dealt with by the Dorset Countryside Rangers.

Clean Up spokesman David Rose said: "Thank you to everyone who came along and particularly Jen and Jill from the Rangers for help-

ing - they are a fantastic community resource."

He invited anyone wanting to run a litter pick in their area to send him an email. He will also be running one in May, the week after the Georgian Fayre, when people are asked to meet at the blue Mortain bridge at 9.50am for a 10am start.

He also remarked on the large number of comments made about the state of the Blandford bypass,

and urged people to raise the issue with NDDC by using the link on their website to report litter.

"We want to encourage people to come into the town," he said.

The bypass litter has also been raised at successive town council meetings. County councillor Barrie Cooper reported that he had alerted the Dorset Waste Partnership to ask for a clearance, which as of 8th March had not been completed.

Mobile library cuts are announced MOBILE library services are being withdrawn from a number of stops in the DT11 area, but will continue to operate in 28 villages and locations.

They include Blandford Camp, Child Okeford, Durweston, Farnham, High Ansty, Hilton, Ibberton (parish notice board), Iwerne Minster (two stops), Milborne St Andrew (2 stops), Milton Abbas (church), Okeford Fitzpaine, Pimperne (2 stops), Shillingstone (3 stops), Shroton, Stourpaine, Tarrants Gunville, Hinton and Rushton, Winterbornes Houghton, Kingston, Stickland, and Whitechurch and Witchampton.

Those stops removed from the new schedule, due to start in May, include Blandford St Mary (Pigeon Close), Charlton Marshall (Maygrove and The Close), Ibberton (Cutler's Close), Lower Ansty (Paradise Row),

Milton Abbas (Catherine's Well), Spetisbury (Crawford Bridge), Tarrant Keynston (village hall), Turnworth (telephone box), Winterborne Whitechurch (bus stop) and Winterborne Zelston (T junction).

Dorset County Council last summer published proposed new schedules based on analysis of use, staff local knowledge and the agreed criteria, for consultation with mobile library users and local parish and town councils.

They included withdrawing the mobile library service from a number of locations due to low levels of use and finding alternative ways such as the Good Neighbour Scheme and Home Library service for users to continue to use the library service.

The new schedules have been drawn up after considering suggestions and comments in nearly 600 responses.

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April 2016

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April 2016

Valentine fundraiser at Beatons

Fiona Everitt and Louise Jones with members of Blandford Inner Wheel in their Dorset Tea Cosy Vintage Caravan Tea Room.

Ladies in a van keep the tea flowing WHEN the owners of the Pimperne village shop were told they couldn't have planning permission for an extension in which to operate a café, they came up with an innovative alternative.

A parish council survey found a number of residents would like to have somewhere to pop in for a cup of tea and a chat, so Fiona Everitt and Louise Jones decided to bring in a two-berth caravan.

The Dorset Tea Cosy Vintage Caravan Tea Room has now taken up residence on the forecourt of the village shop and is proving popular with villagers and visitors alike.

Earlier this year it hosted a social meeting of Blandford Inner Wheel, when more than half a dozen were comfortably seated in the specially repainted and decorated caravan, complete with vintage tea cups and china.

There is actually room for nine or ten people, after removing the usual facilities found in a caravan for washing, cooking and storage for everyday living, and further space outside for outdoor seating in the better weather.

The café is available 9am to 4 or 5pm, but bookings - phone 01258 452225 or at the village shop in Anvil Road - are essential for high tea.

A VALENTINE'S Day cream tea at Beatons Tearooms and Bookshop raised £108 for its 2016 'Community Cause', Dorset's only children's hospice, Julia's House.

Couples were greeted with a glass of Prosecco before being served with a cream tea and loose-leaf tea of their choice, while local music teacher Sam Ryall played show classics on his accordion.

Peter Duke from Julia's House gave a short talk about the work of the hospice and their ambitious project to build a children's hospice for Wiltshire.

The event marked a great start to Beatons' ongoing fundraising campaign for Julia's House, for which 50p from every sale of its Charlton Soda and Community Chai Latte go to the charity for the rest of the year.

Beatons have also launched a free parking promotion for shoppers by refunding the cost of an hour's parking ticket in the town to customers when they pay their Beatons bill.

"We hope it will bring more people in to Blandford and encourage the council's viewpoint on car park charges to change," said spokesperson Zoe Carter.

Beatons have now opened another franchise, the fourth outlet in their tearoom and bookshop group, at Crowthorne, not far from Sandhurst, Berkshire.

Like the others (Blandford home to the Signals, Tisbury near Salisbury Plain and Chester, home to the Cheshire Regiment) its location has a long military history.

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April 2016

Return of the road repairers FOLLOWING the outburst of public anger at the standard of the road resurfacing carried out in Blandford town centre last October, Dorset County Council persuaded the contractors to return overnight on 16th February to repeat the exercise, removing what had been laid in Salisbury Street and replacing it with tarmac over the whole road.

Resident Peter Newall, one of those to heavily criticise the original resurfacing, said: "We have just returned from a few weeks' holiday and I was very pleased to see the excellent work on the resurfacing of Salisbury Street.

"It makes such a difference and I am glad that we managed to resolve the situation in the end.

But next on my list is the state of the Market Place stone pavements and the filthy state of Blandford's streets."

Town councillors have also commented that, within days of the

NEWS in BRIEF REPLACEMENT of the town maps on display in car parks at the Marsh and Ham, Langton Road long-stay, Tesco and in the Shambles with an updated version carrying pictures and details of places of interest in the town have been recommended to the town council's town and general purposes committee. The committee was also recommended to purchase a fifth display board for the short-stay car park in Langton Road. resurfacing in Salisbury Street, notices appeared alerting drivers to the 'temporary road surface' in West Street.

Councillor Haydn White said that

the potholes in West Street were nothing compared with those at the top of Hunt Road. These were filled in at the beginning of March.

20 years for sex offender A BLANDFORD man has been jailed for a total of 20 years after being found guilty of sexual assault against five children.

Kevin Dunford, 44, was found guilty in a trial at Bournemouth Crown Court of 20 out of 21 counts of assault, including 14 of indecent assault, two of indecency with a child, two of rape and two of attempted rape between 1985 and 1997 on children then aged 13 and under.

He was placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely and handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

***** PIMPERNE Primary School pupils were due to welcome a royal visitor on Monday 21st March when The Princess Royal was to be guest of honour at the official opening of their new school. See pictures on our website forumfocus.co.uk. ***** PROPOSALS for the installation of recreational equipment on the Marsh and Ham have been abandoned by Blandford Town Council following objections to the idea from organisations using the area.

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April 2016

Story time for Sparks

CHILDREN at Bright Sparks pre-school, based in the grounds of Shillingstone Primary School, had a wonderful few weeks enjoying a variety of stories by Julia Donaldson.

They looked at the illustrations, joined in with key phrases in some of their favourites such as 'The Gruffalo' and 'Room on the Broom', and drew pictures to send to Julia herself.

They all took part in World Book Day on 3rd March when they dressed as book characters, and in The Big Write, writing a 'my first poem' which will be published in a book for them to keep.

The children love joining in with the 'Dough Disco', a new fun activity which gets their fingers ready to write and improves their physical development using dough to dance to music.

Anyone with toddlers and babies is welcome at their 'Stay and Play' sessions on Thursdays from 2.15 to 3.15pm.

History on the walls MURALS depicting historic Blandford could be commissioned for a number of locations in the town by Blandford Town Council, whose town and general purposes committee considered a number of potential locations.

They included Barnack Walk, Greyhound Passage, Bere's Yard, the Georgian Passage, adjacent to the Dolphin in East Street, Tabernacle Walk, the Anchor Gateway and Nightingale Court.

Councillors were told that each mural could cost up to ÂŁ1,000, and would be subject to planning approval and listed building consent as well as the permission of the owners of the buildings.

Follow us on Twitter World Book Day at Bright Sparks, Shillingstone.

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April 2016

Club extension set to get green light

Veronica loses her locks for charity A HEAD shave for the Blandford-based cancer charity Teddy20 raised over ÂŁ900 for the cause when Veronica Jenkins lost her locks at the hands of her cousins Hayley Bridge and Amanda Roberts, who she persuaded to wield the razor.

Amanda is herself a cancer survivor, and Veronica said: "Who better to help with the cut?"

Teddy20 was formed to support children undergoing cancer treatment in 2009 when the Newton family's son Ted, aged 10, was diagnosed with a rare

A shaven Veronica Jenkins with Kim, left, and Phoebe Newton, Ted Newton's mum and sister. form of bone cancer. Ted later died but that spurred the family on to raise money in his name.

Veronica said: "The Newton family are a true inspiration and I wanted to do something to support them. Losing my hair is nothing compared to losing your son. People who have cancer don't get to choose when they lose their hair, it just goes. I am lucky enough to have a choice."

She also thanked the Greyhound in Blandford for allowing the head shave to take place in the pub surroundings and for offering her so much support.

Takeaway allowed to open until 2am JERRY'S takeaway in West Street, Blandford, has been granted permission on appeal to extend its opening hours on Friday and Saturdays to 2am, but for 12 months only.

The hours will then have to revert to midnight Monday to Sunday inclusive, subject to review, after fully assessing the impact, by North Dorset District Council, which refused the application by Celal Soylemez for hours already approved by the licensing authority.

Mr Soylemez's appeal was supported by a petition with 196 signatures.

Planning inspector Jonathan Manning, in his decision report, said: "The area by its nature will already generate comings and goings, particularly late on a Friday and Saturday night. There are a number of public houses in close proximity to the appeal site. Weekend disturbance into the early hours of the morning is

not unusual and, to a large degree, characteristic of activities within many town centres."

He concluded that extending the hours on Friday and Saturday would not unacceptably harm the living conditions of neighbouring residents. He also noted a map provided by the appellant demonstrating that the Ottoman Kebab and Pizza King, which already benefited from late-night opening hours, were some way away from the cluster of pubs close to the appeal site.

Mr Manning said it was reasonable to assume that those using the pubs and in search of refreshment needed to walk through Market Place and along East Street to those premises, and that a late-night takeaway in closer proximity to the pubs was likely to reduce the number of movements and associated noise and disturbance which would be a material benefit of the proposal.

GUIDED tours of Bere Regis church are available on Tuesdays at 11am and Thursdays at 3pm throughout the months of April to October. They last about 45 minutes, and there is no fixed charge, but donations can be made towards vital work on the church's fabric.

Group visits are also welcome at other time and can be arranged by contacting Richard Smith on 01929 471339 (email bereheath@btinternet.com or John England 01929 471469 (email st.george@stanbarrow.f9.co.uk).

NORTH Dorset Council planners have said they are "minded to approve" an application to double the size of Colin's Community Club in Damory Street, Blandford, subject to conditions which will be brought back to the next meeting of the development management committee.

Colin Young applied to build a first-floor extension over the club which he established in his former video shop, and was initially refused permission.

A revised application which overcame the conservation officer's objections was considered by the committee in March and again recommended for refusal by officers on grounds of impact on neighbour amenity, but members were supportive of the scheme.

The closure of a number of pubs in Blandford has led to an increase in club membership. It was agreed its extension might be approved subject to planning conditions over and above any which might be imposed by the licensing committee.

Planning officers also were concerned at the impact the extension would have on Mr Young's own property and garden. There were also objections from neighbours who said the extension would be overbearing both for them and for the residents of Russell Court, immediately next door, but there there were also numerous letters of support.

Local ward member Councillor John Tanner said the revised design enhanced the conservation area, replacing a flat roof with a hipped roof, and noted that Russell Court, built for Spectrum Housing on the site of the former Liberal Club next door, impacted as much on Mr Young's property as his would on theirs. "This club is of increasing value to the community in providing significant facilities for socialising."

Committee member Jackie Stayt said that in 17 years living in Damory Street she had encountered no disturbance from the premises as either a car repair workshop, video shop or club.

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April 2016

Churchyard yew tree to be felled TOWN councillors reluctantly agreed that a large old yew tree in the precincts of Blandford Parish Church had to be felled after being advised they could be liable for any injury it caused.

The tree was found to be in poor health and damaging nearby retaining walls with roots which have also damaged graves in the closed churchyard which is managed by the council.

Members of the public raised concerns about the tree, on the corner next to Sheep Market Hill, late in 2015, and one complained to the council when twigs fell on his windscreen while he was parked on the DCC parking space beneath it.

Town councillors commissioned an inspection, but initially resisted the recommendation to fell, saying they believed further damage and deterioration of

the tree could be prevented if ivy was removed and it was cut back.

But removing the ivy only confirmed the arboricuturalist's view that it needed felling, leaving the council uninsured in the event of its causing further damage.

It was initially thought it could cost up to ÂŁ1,900 to fell the tree, but a lesser quote of ÂŁ800 was accepted subject to no-one being found who could remove and sell what is believed to be valuable wood for a lesser sum.

A replacement tree, should a suitable location be found which will not result in damage to grave spaces, the retaining wall or the church building, will need approval from the Church Commissioners, the owners of the site.

The yew tree on the corner of the parish churchyard next to Sheep Market Hill.

Town council given quality status award BLANDFORD Forum Town Council has become the first council in Dorset to achieve the prestigious Quality status in the Local Council Award scheme, recognising its good practice in governance, community engagement and council improvement.

It also recognises that the council goes above and beyond its legal obligations, leading its community and continuously seeking opportunities to improve and develop even further.

The Award Scheme report highlighted the council's particular areas of strength, com-

menting that much included in the application was excellent and that the council came across as very well organised and focused, with excellent administration and accountability to its residents. Its use of social media, a comprehensive range of well-prepared policies and the amount of information available on the website were all commended.

Town council chairman, Cllr Steve Hitchings, said he was delighted, congratulating Town Clerk, Linda Scott-Giles, and her team on working together with councillors to gain the

Quality status.

"It is a vast move forward and an upward level from the Foundation level previously held," he said. "The council is now reviewing ways in which it can keep on improving its service to the local community and welcomes input from local people and partners on this.�

Currently the council provides a range of services including recreation grounds, play areas, the cemetery, public conveniences and a skate park, with a new commitment to support youth services in the town.

April 2016

Corn Exchange rebranded as the community’s Forum A SMALL group of volunteers supporting the development of Blandford Corn Exchange has been rebranded under the banner of 'Friends of the Forum at Blandford' (FAB).

The new identity was unveiled at a gathering in the building on 10th March attended by the Lord Lieutenant of Dorset, Angus Campbell and the county's High Sheriff, Jennifer Coombs.

Mrs Coombs told the 150 invited guests from the wider Dorset community and beyond that plans had been agreed for the renovation of the building to create a multi-use community venue.

She also announced the endorsement of the Corn Exchange project by Lucy Bailey and Bill Dudley, who are to become patrons for the performing arts in the town.

Lucy is a theatre director who has directed productions at The Globe, The National Theatre and the RSC, Stratford, and Bill is a

set designer and holder of seven Olivier awards.

Lucy said: "We are very excited by the prospect of this community venue in Blandford. A strong local arts culture spills over into the whole community - everyone feels better for it."

The Friends, originally set up as the Corn Exchange Challenge (CEC) and tasked with raising

THE search is on for Dorset's best village with the launch of the 30th anniversary competition, sponsored for the sixth year running by Magna Housing with additional sponsorship from publishers and food producers, and organised by Dorset Community Action (DCA) for the past 29 years.

The deadline for entries in the best village category is 5pm on Monday 11th April and for other categories - the people's project, environmental champions, best village shop and new category neighbourliness - is 5pm on Monday 25th July.

the match funding for the project, are now planning to become a community interest organisation in a bid to raise their profile and grant funding capability.

The plan was approved by Blandford Forum Town Council, owners of the Corn Exchange, at a meeting in February. The aim is to recruit volunteers at every level, as members, event supporters, friends on social media and hosts and helpers at fundraising events.

The group told councillors they wanted not only to establish themselves on a more formal footing which was recognised by the local authorities and other agencies with which they worked, but also to establish an identity for themselves and the building, capitalising on the Forum in the town's name, its meaning as a meeting place, and the building at its centre.

Lucy Bailey said: "Other businesses have used the word Forum and recognised its potential. It clearly says who we are and what we are. Other towns have a Corn Exchange - we have something special here."

They have, with the town council's approval, adopted a new logo designed by Mary Armitage to reflect the town's many arches, and which will be used on all publicity material in various formats.

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Cupola lands a £1,000 cash award THE Cupola Project for Blandford Parish Church of St Peter & St Paul has been awarded £1,000 from the Persimmon Homes South Coast Community Champions scheme.

The national match-funding programme seeks to support groups and charities working to improve the quality of life or environment for local people.

Matt Paine, managing director of Persimmon Homes South Coast, said: "The Community Champions award will help fund the critical repair of the tower and cupola, allowing the church to be enjoyed by the local community for many years to come and we are pleased to be supporting their fundraising efforts."

To find out more about the funding scheme, see persimmonhomes.com.

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April 2016

A walk on the wild side

IT wasn't only the pavements of which Blandford Mayor Steve Hitchings had direct experience when he was invited by town Freeman Heather Bracewell to take a walk with a stroller in the town.

In addition to rocking paving stones, uneven surfaces and ruts in which the wheels of the stroller got stuck, he discovered how easy it is for traders to forget how difficult an apparently minor obstruction can make shopping for the disabled members of the community.

In Greyhound Yard a carelessly positioned bag of carrots made it impossible to reach other items on display, and in the Market Place a delivery trolley partly blocked an entrance.

Both were removed by shop staff when the problem was pointed out to them.

Councillor Hitchings said: "It was a real eye-opener to discover how much the smallest thing can make life easier, and how much more difficult an uneven pavement can be for people in wheelchairs and using walking frames, as well as those with pushchairs and mobility scooters."

Mrs Bracewell said: "More and more people are now having to use this sort of equipment to get around, and it's surprising how a little thought about where A-frames and shop displays are put can help."

The Royal Voluntary Service is seeking new volunteers who can spare a few hours a month helping to staff the Blandford Hospital Trolley.

The trolley team take snacks, drinks and other items to patients on the ward, with a smile and a friendly word. For more information contact the local co-ordinator Jenny on 07971 434137.

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April 2016

Companionable group THE Good Companions is a group seeking to raise its profile and membership by inviting newcomers to join their meetings on the second Wednesday of every month in the United Reformed Church Hall.

Club leader Dorothy Cooper said: "The group was started by Rev Plaskett when I was a girl of about ten to follow on from Young Wives, originally the Women's Guild which will be 90 next year.

"It has been running once a month for over 30 years, but as with many organisations, its members are growing older with it. We have very entertaining and interesting speakers, and in the summer have a few outings."

In February they enjoyed a craft evening hosted by Janet Winder.

Mrs Cooper is pictured with Celia Gilbert and Suzanne Boulton making papercraft flowers.

Job Club moves on BLANDFORD Job Club has relocated from its original base at Treads in Bere's Yard, Blandford, to the Adult Learning Centre in Black Lane, Blandford, next to Archbishop Wake Primary School.

Opening times remain the same on Fridays from 10am to 1pm, but the change of location will allow the volunteer-run organisation to access better facilities for all in a more comfortable environment, with opportunities to give greater support to all of those who come.

Co-ordinator Chris Ward-Jones said: "Our main aim is to identify each person's skills and abilities to give them the best possible

chances of getting work. We are a friendly club, welcoming everybody who is unemployed or due to be in the future.

"We also have contacts with employers and voluntary organisations, and are in close connection with Skills and Learning, Job Centre Plus and other support bodies in Blandford."

The Job Club is also seeking volunteers to help in a rewarding role for which full training will be available for those who have a few hours free on Fridays."

Anyone who needs or can offer help is invited to call in to see them.

New CO at Garrison A NEW commanding officer has succeeded Col Matt Fensom at the head of the Defence School for CIS and Blandford Garrison.

Col Andrew Edward Percival commissioned into the Royal Corps of Signals in December 1993.

A maths graduate from the Victoria University of Manchester, he gained his Masters in defence technology from Cranfield and is a chartered engineer.

He and his wife Claudia have two teenage children. He is a lifelong supporter of Manchester City FC and Northampton Saints Rugby and enjoys rambling in the countryside with his gundogs.

Follow us on Twitter @forumfocus

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April 2016

Left: Blandford Mayor Steve Hitchings visits Harold and June Wallis to present a bouquet to mark their diamond wedding anniversary. Above: The couple on their wedding day in 1956.

A date at the cinema set couple on the diamond trail A COUPLE who celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary on 11th February were thrilled to receive flowers and a visit from Blandford Mayor Steve Hitchings and a congratulatory card from the Queen.

June and Harold Wallis were married in Blandford Parish Church in 1956 and have lived in Dorset all their lives. Harold, originally from Tolpuddle, was with a friend when they met June and her sister Jean off the work bus in Blandford for their first date, going to the Palace cinema in the town. Soon June became a regular pillion passenger on Harold's Royal Enfield motorbike.

The couple started their married life in Hyde, Bere Regis, and then lived for a number of years in Winterborne Kingston before their move to Blandford.

Harold worked as a bread roundsman, travelling around the Dorset villages delivering bread and groceries for Mothers Pride. June worked as a dinner lady at the Blandford School.

They had four children - Gordon, Christine, Andrew and Mandy, who all still live locally and now have 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, with one more on the way.

Their advice for a successful marriage is to always work together to sort out problems and avoid arguments. Both have enjoyed socialising over the years with friends at the Royal British Legion in Blandford where June still attends to help organise charity bingo.

A lesson from A to bee THE Blandford and Sturminster Beekeepers Association host their annual open day on Saturday 9th April from 10am to 4pm.

There will be a series of talks, an exhibition of beekeeping equipment and beekeepers on hand to answer questions in the morning at Shillingstone Church Centre. After lunch each visitor is equipped with a bee suit and, accompanied by a beekeeper, gets a chance to open a hive and look at the wonderful world of the bees.

Blandford and Sturminster BKA run the foremost teaching apiary in Dorset, with two levels of courses for those who have no bees but want to learn skills before acquiring a colony, and for those with bees needing more help and guidance.

To book a place for the open day contact Terry Payne on 01848 811251 or email twpayne@btopenworld.com.

www.forumfocus.co.uk

April 2016

Arts festival goes on despite funding blow AN arts festival being planned for Blandford in the first week of June is in danger of having to be halved in content after a bid for Arts Council funding failed.

Kate Seeger, who organised a similar festival as part of the celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012, said: "There are a number of activities I may have to drop, including the street dancers, part of a mosaic project and a number of workshops."

She has launched an appeal for support through Crowdfunding (www.crowdfunder.co.uk/freeexpression-arts-festival) to plug the gap, and added: "Basically the more we can raise the more events I can put in."

Her aim in promoting the Free

Expression Arts Festival is to celebrate the arts and give employment and commissions to both established and emerging artists, as well as the opportunity for the public to watch, experience and take part in the festival.

The cost was originally over £10,000, but now she has cut the budget to just over £6,000.

Activities confirmed with the artists for which she is still seeking funding include a drum workshop and performance, a children's entertainer, a street dance event, a story teller and sculpture and model making workshops.

Contact her by email to freeexpressioncreative@gmail.com or for more information, see the website free-expression.com.

Cash for the community HALL & Woodhouse's Community Chest has re-opened for 2016 offering a total of £50,000 to be shared between local charities and community groups across its key trading areas across the south of England, including Dorset.

The company's funding scheme was launched in the newly refurbished Brewery Visitor Centre on 4th March to invited guests and civic representatives, and application forms, which have been published by media partners Blackmore Vale Media and The Breeze, are now also available on their website at hall-woodhouse.co.uk/giving-back-to-the-community.

Talk on Slade artists BLANDFORD Art Society were delighted to welcome Gwen Yarker, who gave a fascinating talk on the group of artists from The Slade, including John Everett and Augustus John, who worked in Dorset from 1880 to 1914.

Gwen was curator of art at the Royal Greenwich Maritime Museum before coming to Dorset where she is now the curator of

art at Dorchester Museum.

Her topic, 'Inquisitive Eyes Slade Painters in Edwardian Wessex', is the subject of her new book and an exhibition at The Royal West of England Academy, Bristol, which runs until 12th June.

Non-members are always welcome at the monthly meetings at Pimperne Village Hall - full details are on the Society's website.

Visit of touring theatre FOREST Forge, one of the UK's leading small-scale touring theatre companies, based in Hampshire, are coming to Child Okeford as part of their tour of a new play by Deborah Gearing.

'UpBeat' is a buoyant and poetic play set against the backdrop of the waterways of Wessex. It follows the lives of a brother and sister who, in their quest for different horizons, embark on separate journeys of discovery.

The play includes folk music and vibrant storytelling to deliver a heart-warming, tender and witty riverbank story that explores the impact of the waterways in all our lives.

'UpBeat' will be at the Village Hall on Friday 8th April at 7.30 pm.

Tickets, £9 adults (£7 under 18) may be purchased in advance from Child Okeford Cross Stores and will also be available at the Village Hall on the night.

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18

Readers’ letters

LETTERS Please write to Forum Focus if there is something you'd like to comment on or share with other readers.

Email your letter, which should be as brief as possible, to: editor@forumfocus.co.uk.

Alternatively, you can call 01258 459346 or deliver your letter to: Forum Focus, c/o Colin's

A colourful history FOLLOWING the article in the February issue of Forum Focus, readers may like to know more about Blandford Choral Society and its offshoots.

The Society was indeed founded in 1895 with Lord Portman as President and it performed Gilbert & Sullivan operas right through to HMS Pinafore in 1934.

However, it changed its name in 1900 to Blandford Operatic Society, and then subsequently to Blandford Operatic and Dramatic Society. The first play I have been able to find a record of was If Four Walls Told in 1926. The last musical performed was No No Nanette in 1936.

In 1937, the play Hawk Island was performed by Blandford Operatic Society (Dramatic Section) but after that, the operatic element of the society disappeared and the company became simply Blandford Dramatic Society.

By then, it had moved from the Corn Exchange to the Palace Cinema, which opened in 1934. It seems to have stayed

April 2016

there until the cinema closed in 1971, when the company moved to Bryanston Arts Centre.

In the 1980s and '90s, the society was called Blandford Players and then in 2010, as Blandford Amateur Dramatics, an attempt was made to resurrect the original musical heritage of the old operatic society with a production of Anything Goes.

When I took over as Artistic Director two years ago, we changed the society's name yet again to a more marketable Forum Drama and it is under this name that we continue to offer the best possible theatrical experiences for both our members and audiences.

Perhaps one day, we and the Choral Society will be able to come together in a joint production celebrating our shared heritage.

Terence Dear, Artistic Director Forum Drama - Blandford's Community Theatre.

Community Club, 49 Damory Street, Blandford DT11 7HD. Please mark your letter 'for publication' and remember to include your address, which will not be used in full. Forum Focus reserves the right to shorten or edit letters in the interests of clarity, brevity and style.

Precious countryside JUST been reading an article in Forum Focus regarding a development at Blandford outside of the town's bypass.

Whatever you do, people of Blandford, don't let anyone take any more of your precious countryside.

Do not let greedy developers take your land. You live in an area of outstanding natural beauty. Cherish it, fight for it. Dorset is a beautiful county - protect it with all your might.

Once development starts it will explode like a disease over your outstanding countryside, leaving you with just another concrete jungle.

Brian White, Address supplied.

Cocktails in crisis EVERYONE complains bitterly that there is no independent chemist in Blandford since a certain company has the monopoly but has anyone noticed that there is no off licence in this elegant town of ours from which to purchase Campari as none of the supermarkets stock it - not even M&S? It is a disgrace that one cannot indulge in a Negroni Cocktail let alone a Campari and soda. What's to be done?

Disgusted of Blandford (Name & address supplied).

April 2016

LETTERS

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LETTERS EXTRA It’s ok to be I’m so thankful for our NHS different ON a daily basis I hear young people use the word 'gay' in a negative sense and am only too aware of the impact that this has on young LGBTQ (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning) people, often leading to low self-esteem or more worryingly mental health problems. How often do you hear the term 'gay' used in a positive way?

So to combat this I am launching a 'Being gay is ok' campaign, starting with the sale of wristbands with that logo being gay is ok, which we are asking all members of the community to purchase and wear, so that any young person who might identify as LGBT or indeed be questioning their sexuality, would have a silent affirmation that it's ok.

I hope you feel able to bring this to the attention of your readers.

Paul Williams Equilibrium

I WAS experiencing a pain in my left groin so I rang my surgery - Eagle House surgery, Blandford Forum - at 9.15am to book an appointment to see my doctor.

At 10.40 the same morning I was examined

by Doctor D Burlton (retired). He said he would arrange a scan for me.

After a night of increased pain, I rang the surgery at 9.30am the next morning. I was examined by Dr Burlton at 10.50 and he rang the Dorchester surgery department for an urgent appointment. I was admitted to the Lulworth Ward. I was operated on at 2am that morning for a strangulated hernia.

The care I received in the A & E, being transported to the ward, and in the ward was absolutely fantastic.

Missing my holiday that I was due to take three days after the operation was a big disappointment but the care I received and being attended to so well made me very thankful of the NHS that we have. Thank you all very much.

Colin Young Damory Street, Blandford

Estate road safety must take priority ROAD safety must be the main concern with respect to the proposed access roads to the new housing estate at Blandford St Mary. The information as supplied to Forum Focus does not allow a proper assessment of the subject because it does not give details of proposed additional street lighting or new speed limits.

The T junction on the A354 will, I believe, become an accident blackspot, like the very similar junction of the A31 with Uddens Drive. This type of T junction will always have the problem of vehicles turning right, but not looking for oncoming vehicles, particularly motorcycles. Also note that no exit slip road is proposed in the Dorchester direction.

Essentially both the A354 and the A350 should be provided with new roundabouts, together with improved lighting and reduced speed limits.

It is noted that the developer maintains that there is nowhere to land a bridge on the Tesco (town) side of the A354; I don't believe this to be the case as I have an illustration in one of my structural steel (design and analysis) textbooks, which shows a 'double-ramped' footbridge which achieves just this with less available space.

Finally, the reference to public transport; this must be a joke given the current rolling reduction of bus services in Dorset.

Ed Hern, Address supplied.

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April 2016

VC award recognised ‘conspicuous bravery’

ON the Blandford WWI Memorial is the name of Alfred John Skew, youngest son of an agricultural labourer originally from Hampshire.

He had married Elsie May Orchard in Lymington in 1910, and the youngest of their four children, Eva F Skew, was born in Blandford in 1915.

His widow was recorded in the 1939 census as living at 42 Whitecliff Mill Street, Blandford, with her unmarried daughter Eva, who the following year married Joseph Alborn at Blandford.

Alfred John served as a private with the Wiltshire Regiment 'A' Coy 5th Battalion, and was wounded at Gallipoli in August 1915, and killed in action in Mesopotamia on April 19th, 1916. His name is recorded on the Basra Memorial.

Local victim killed on day of Irish surrender IN April 1916, an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week - the Easter Rising - was mounted by Irish Republicans to end British rule in Ireland and establish an independent Irish Republic while the United Kingdom was heavily engaged in World War One. It was the most significant uprising in Ireland since the rebellion of 1798.

Organised by members of the Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the Rising began on Easter Monday, April 24th, 1916, and lasted for six days.

Members of the Irish Volunteers led by schoolmaster and Irish language activist Patrick Pearse, joined by the smaller Irish Citizen Army of James Connolly, along with 200 members of Cumann na mBan seized key locations in Dublin and proclaimed an Irish Republic.

There were isolated actions in other parts of Ireland, with an attack on the Royal Irish Constabulary barracks at Ashbourne, County Meath, and abortive attacks on other barracks in County Galway and at Enniscorthy, County Wexford.

Arthur Elias Cobbold was killed on

the date of the surrender in Dublin, April 29th, while serving as a private with the Army Service Corps 615th MT Coy, and is buried in Grangegorman Military Cemetery in Ireland.

He was one of the 132 servicemen and police killed, reported by the British Army, along with 64 Irish rebels and 254 civilians killed and at least 2,600 wounded.

The majority of the casualties, both killed and wounded, were civilians killed by indirect fire from artillery, heavy machine guns and incendiary shells believed to come from the British, who were reported as "not unreasonably regarding everyone they saw as an enemy, and fire at anything that moved."

Arthur was the son of coachman Arthur Robert and Henrietta Cobbold, who had married in Maidstone, Kent, in 1891. Arthur was born in Alresford, Hampshire, in 1893, and the family moved to The Stables at Hanford House, Child Okeford, where his brother and two sisters were born between 1900 and 1905. In 1911 at the age of 18 he was a steward room boy at Bryanston House.

SIDNEY Ware (pictured right) was the second son of William Uriah and Maud Ware and was born on November 11th, 1892.

The family was then living in the village of Whatcombe.

He attended the Church of England boys' school in Winterborne Whitechurch and left school at the then standard school-leaving age of 13.

On November 29th, 1911, he enlisted into the Seaforth Highlanders, also known as the 78th or the Rosshire Buffs (Duke of Albany's) Regiment, (doubtless he was encouraged to join this regiment

by William Ware's employer, a member of the clan MacKenzie). At this time the 1st battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders was in cantonments at Agra as part of the Dehra Dun Brigade in the 7th (Meerut) Division (names immortalised by Kipling).

Sidney would have joined them as part of a draft of replacements.

At the outbreak of war in August 1914 the regiment was ordered to France and travelled as part of the Indian Brigade, landing in Marseilles on October 12th, 1914. The brigade was immediately in action and in December 1914 took part in the Battle of Givenchy.

Sydney was wounded and, after discharge from hospital and leave, rejoined his regiment. The regiment (1st battalion) was then moved to Mesapotamia (Iraq) and arrived there in November 1915.

On arrival in Basra, the 1st Seaforths formed part of the 7th Indian (Meerut) Division. In January he was again wounded and returned to duty "a few months later".

He was awarded his Victoria Cross on April 6th, 1916, to quote from the citation, "for most conspicuous bravery at Sanniyat Mesopotamia - when ordered to retreat to a communications trench he went forward to carry in the wounded whilst under heavy fire until he had brought in all the wounded and was completely exhausted". He was unharmed.

On April 10th he was seriously wounded whilst engaged in another action against the Turks at Sanniyat and he died of his wounds in the Rawalpindi Hospital in the Persian Gulf on April 16th, 1916, aged 23.

He is buried in Amara War Cemetery.

The award was gazetted in the London Gazette of September 26th, 1916, and repeated in The Times the next day with a further notification in the Western Gazette on October 5th. The medal was presented to his parents during February 1917.

The Victoria Cross medal is now owned by the Highlanders Museum in Fort George Ardesier and was on display with his other medals and memorabilia (2014).

His older brother Albert, serving with the Dorsetshires, was killed in action in July 1916, while his next younger brother, Archibald, (Wiltshire Regiment) was killed in 1915, neither having any known graves.

ANYONE who would like to share with our readers pictures and details of events relating to relatives who played a part in World War One is invited to contact Forum Focus by calling 01258 459346, emailing editor@forumfocus.co.uk or writing to 18 Tudor Gardens, Blandford DT11 7PL. Forum Focus would like to thank the Blandford 14-18 Group for their help in researching this material.

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April 2016

Tree care man honoured

An Easter message from the Rector of Blandford Forum and Langton Long, the Rev Jonathan Triffitt.

Hope is a feeling that sustains us H

OPE is such a wonderful word, full of so much potential. Hope carries dreams, visions, desires and future possibilities that enable us to see beyond the here and now.

Hope is life-giving and for some people it can also be lifesaving.

For Christians, hope is not some fanciful fantasy, rather hope is relational. Hope is rooted in the God of Hope who reveals himself in the person and work of Jesus Christ seen especially in His death and glorious resurrection that we remember and celebrate at Easter (27th March).

This doesn't mean that we should confuse hope with everything being OK, but it does mean that hope in Christ and through Christ is able to transform any sense of 'hopelessness' into a life shaped by hope.

That for me is why it is such a huge privilege to take a funeral, to stand with a family at their most vulnerable and into their despair offer glimmers of hope. I am able to offer hope, because of the hope that has grown in me through knowing Jesus Christ. For if Jesus can be raised from the dead, then for me He is someone who is worth pinning all my hope on.

'May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit' Romans 15v13

ARBORICULTURAL consultant Mark Hinsley (59) has been awarded a prestigious Fellowship by the Arboricultural Association.

Mark Hinsley Arboricultural Consultants was formed in 1994 and he is well-known to tree owners, architects, developers and local authorities across the region, as well as to members of the Blandford Museum Victorian Garden Club, where his wife Heather is plantswoman. In 2006 he gained an MSc in Arboriculture from Middlesex University.

Mark (pictured right) came to this area in 1987 to take up the post of tree officer for East Dorset District Council.

He said: "The Arboricultural Association is a wonderful organ-

isation that has been totally committed to raising the standards in all aspects of tree care for more than 50 years."

Dogs on display at fayre BLANDFORD Georgian Fayre will be introducing a dog agility display at next month's Bank Holiday Monday event, and people are invited to bring their dogs to try the course which will be set up on the Ham. There will also be a craft fair under cover in the Corn Exchange, and a railway exhibition in the Parish Centre in the Plocks. Other confirmed attractions include Jamie Jigsaw, the New Forest Yokels and Blandford's own ukulele band.

Chairman Colin Stevens said a suggestion that a re-enactment of a public hanging might form part of the Georgian Fayre again this year was not being pursued, but there will as usual be a number of reenactment societies taking part in the entertainment programme.

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SCHOOLS

Aha, me hearties - pirates on the prowl!

April 2016 SHIVER me timbers!

The start of Book Week at Spetisbury Primary School saw everyone dressed up as pirates.

They had a piratethemed assembly where they heard a pirate story, paraded around the hall in their costumes and even learnt to speak like a pirate.

Some children took part in solving a treasure hunt around the school grounds, and all week the children celebrated a love of reading and listening to stories told by different adults.

The school has been enhancing reading through its very successful phonic scheme and passionate teaching.

Knighton House School's successful In2Hockey team.

Hockey triumph for Knighton girls KNIGHTON House played and won three matches to get into the semi-finals of an In2Hockey tournament hosted by Gillingham School, where eight schools played to represent Dorset in the next round.

In2Hockey is a fun, exciting and dynamic game designed for 10- to 14year-olds to help them develop their hockey skills and techniques, and to provide a gradual progression into the 11-a-side version of the game.

The Durweston girls beat Bournemouth Collegiate School 7-0 (Olivia 3, Zara 2, Maddy, Ellie), Gillingham School 2-0 (Olivia, Maddy) and Sherborne Prep School 2-0 (Olivia, Ellie). They then played Leweston and won 2-0 (Zara, Olivia) to get to the final where they lost in a tight match against Castle Court 1-2 (Olivia).

Their success means that Knighton House is going through to the next round to represent Dorset at the West Tournament at Millfield School this month (April).

April 2016

Career tips for girls at Knighton House CAREERS guidance forms an important part of Knighton House's 'Floreat' programme, looking to the different areas of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils.

From an early age, pupils are encouraged to have high aspirations for their future, and parents who gave their careers talks at a careers morning were specifically asked to emphasise the idea that 'there are no limits' to what girls can achieve.

The event started with the girls completing the Buzz Test to measure their strengths and preferred learning style and discover their leadership style, suitable careers and preferred roles in a group, revealing that the school had many 'big cats'!

The girls then listened to a series of talks from professionals with varied career paths: a GP, a geologist, scriptwriter, barrister, chartered surveyor, accountant and a paediatric consultant who each gave insights and tips for the future.

The final part of the morning was a 'speed dating' style question time where groups of pupils had five minutes with each of the professionals to ask questions and gain further insight into their career.

Sarah Wicks, Headmistress, said: "We were all inspired by our guest speakers who sent the girls away with some clear messages: do something you enjoy and which suits your personality; accept no limits; and there is more than one path to where you want to go. We plan more such events focusing on, for example, STEM or arts careers."

SCHOOLS

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Competitors and judges in the Poetry by Heart recitation competition, with (far right) the winner Bethan Amey, of The Blandford School.

Win was poetic justice for Bethan YEAR 12 student Bethan Amey, of The Blandford School, won the county competition of Poetry By Heart, a poetry recitation contest for students in years 10 to 13, aimed at engaging young people with a wide range of poetry past and present.

Bethan's performance in January in the first competition organised

by Joanne Brown in the English department took her through to the county competition at Dorchester Council Chambers on 24th February.

Four judges, including Annie Freud and James Manlow (Bournemouth's poet laureate), watched recitals from students from five Dorset schools, and Bethan's performances of poems

by Richard Lovelace and Patience Agbabi clearly impressed the judges.

She now proceeds to the regional finals due to be held at Homerton College, Cambridge a well deserved reward for all her

hard work.

Commendations also go to students Lela Cordess and Hannah Smith, who both performed

superbly in the school round, as well as Simon Gillett and Lucy Bowerman-Ellis who judged the school competition.

24

The View from the Hill

by George Hosford More from George on viewfromthehill.org.uk

A

COUPLE of weeks of frost has done no end of good. It is a break from rain, kills off unwanted weeds in our spring crops, and slows down and can even kill off bugs and diseases in the crops.

The local flora hardly knows whether it is coming or going; I can't remember such a big overlap between the snowdrops and the daffodils. The snowdrops have been beautiful and have lasted for weeks. The first daffies appeared in the middle of January, which is frankly ridiculous, and we are just about at peak flowering now, in the second week of March, way earlier

FARMING April 2016 than normal. They seem to have ignored the frost and flower buds have continued to open daily regardless.

During half-term we took a trip to Northumberland to visit sheep farmer friends near the Scottish border. We found snow on the ground, cows calving in the barn, and our friends working as hard as ever to earn a living from the harsh hills, which are part of the Otterburn military ranges where pieces of expended military equipment can often be found.

On our last day we went with our friends to Hexham market, one A culled tup on his way to market in Northumberland. of the biggest in the country, which turned out to be a good and found a pair of feet sticking shipped across the Channel from day with plenty of buyers, and out of one. He decided to go and our southern ports, to the maltprices good. My picture shows have a bath in the hope that the sters and brewers of Belgium one of the Blackface cull tups our calf would have popped out by and Germany, where it will be friends were selling. Cull loosely the time he came out again, but turned into delicious European means 'retired', and for sale to sadly it was not to be. It took him beers. another farmer for breeding on a till nearly 3am to pull the little Markets for all grains are currentless harsh lowland farm, or to a devil out using ropes and a calvly depressed and it is unrewardbutcher. ing jack. He is HUGE. Another ing repeatedly selling for less Back in Dorset, our cows started bath was required before bed . . . than we were being paid a month calving a couple of weeks ago.

Gary has started preparing earlier. Prices have fallen steadiWe have now had 10 of them seedbeds and shortly we will be ly over the last two years by produce their bouncy little offsowing spring barley, this year a nearly 40 per cent, and are now spring. One of them decided to variety called Propino, which is lower than they have been for start calving just after midnight popular with many brewers, several years, due to several as my brother returned from a especially for lagers and light bitgood world harvests on the trot congenial evening with friends. ters. Much of the Propino grown leading to a glut of grains around He popped in to check the cows along the south coast will be the world.

25 years, who had died suddenly a few weeks earlier.

The annual ritual of 'heads and tails' was conducted by volunteer Des Curtis, with assistance from treasurer Celia McGovern and chairman Sally Cadec, and the event raised a total of ÂŁ2,100.

The Association is seeking to recruit a new divisional secretary.

For details contact Doc Addison by email to docandcaraaddison@gmail.com.

April 2016

Valentine’s Day lunch curries favour with charity MORE than 150 people sat down to a Valentine's Day curry lunch in the dining hall at Bryanston School in support of SSAFA. They included guest of honour Mark Newton, a disabled veteran who is travelling the country on his mobility scooter researching war memorials and fundraising on behalf of SSAFA, the RBL, RNLI and his own regiment's welfare organisation.

Mark recently visited the Blandford area as part of his Dorset research, and so was invited to join the party, where he was introduced by SAAFA county fundraising chairman Doc Addison of Blandford St Mary.

SSAFA county chairman Sally

Guest of honour Mark Newton, who is travelling the country fundraising for SSAFA and other military charities, with Anita and John Greenwood of Canford School at the Valentine's Day curry lunch held at Bryanston School.

Cadec thanked everyone, guests and volunteers, for supporting the valuable work of the organisation, the Armed Forces charity founded in 1885 to help military families.

"All our volunteers work very hard in their specific roles and we don't often get the chance to

thank them, so I am glad many are here today and thank them for what they do in the name of SSAFA and their commitment and time."

She also paid tribute to longserving member Arthur Mathews of Wimborne, the treasurer of the Friends of SSAFA for over 15

PATIENTS at Eagle House or the Whitecliff and Child Okeford Group GP surgeries are being invited to sign up to their Patient Participation Group (PPG) which meets regularly to support their surgeries.

Eagle House PPG has an annual general meeting at the surgery at 7pm on 7th April. For more information email eaglehouse.rec@dorset.nhs.uk or phone (01258) 453171.

To sign up to the Whitecliff PPG mailing list email Secretary@gpJ81019.nhs.uk or phone (01258) 452501.

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Friendly fashion show

April 2016

THE Friends of Blandford Hospital hold their very popular fashion show at the Exchange, Sturminster Newton, on Friday 15th April featuring high-quality, 'new to you' clothing at bargain prices.

A full range of ladies' and gents' clothing and accessories for every occasion, including prom dresses, wedding garments and some vintage items, will be available, and all clothing modelled in the show and much more will be on sale.

"By recycling our clothing we are not only saving money but doing our bit for the environment too," said spokesperson Emma Sisson.

Tickets are £5 each purchased in advance from the hospital charity shops in Barnack Walk, Blandford, and Innes Court, Sturminster Newton, from main reception at the hospital and from The Exchange in Sturminster Newton directly. A limited number of tickets may be available on the door.

The Friends are also keen to increase their membership to the 1,300 of some years ago by subscription of a minimum of £1. Further information and application forms are available from the office, shops, on the website at www.friendsblandford.org or by phoning 01258 451456.

Evening WI going strong THE Blandford Evening WI is now well and truly re-established in Blandford and members celebrated its third birthday after coming out of retirement with cake and Cava at their February meeting.

Another reason to celebrate was the launch of their website, blandfordeveningwi.com created for them by Rob MacDonald, giving all the information of the town's unique and interesting Institute in one easyto-access place with a diary of forthcoming meetings, talks, events, occasions, a photo album and details of committee members.

If you enjoy people talking on subjects way out of your experience, discovering what concerns women in other parts of the country, helping at community events, learning new skills or just having a good giggle, have a look at the website and go along to the next meeting, their AGM, in Woodhouse Gardens Pavilion on Friday 8th April at 7pm.

The Blandford Garrison Golfing Society presented a cheque for £250 to the Ashley Wood Golf Club Junior Section. Seen receiving the cheque from BGGS President M. Boyle is Georgina Wrixon, Junior captain. Also pictured are BGGS captain, G. Lewis, and Ashley Wood club captain Steve Pardy.

THE not-for-profit community group transport project Bus2Go, which helps reduce social isolation by organising bus trips to a variety of destinations in Dorset and beyond, is seeking a volunteer book-keeper to join its friendly team.

Duties will include data input from itemised record sheets on to a database, and full support will be given. For further information, contact Margo Kirk, Project Leader Bus2Go on 01258 837749 or 07917 298321.

SPORT

April 2016

Recognition for youth football helpers TRIBUTE has been paid by Rob Andre, the welfare officer and newly appointed vice-chairman of Blandford Youth Football, to all those who help the group provide sporting activity for many local youngsters.

Rob, manager of one of the under-10 teams, said: "I would like to try to get more young children out in the fresh air and get them fit by trying to entice them into football.

"I would also like to put a bit of spotlight on one of our helpers and sponsors, Leon Bennett. He owns Beechwood Service Centre and he sponsors my under-10 team.

“Not only that, but he gives a lot of his time at the weekends free of charge to referee all of our home matches for my under-10 team and where possible many of the other Blandford Youth

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The Beechwood-sponsored under-10s with their manager Rob Andre, left, and helper/sponsor Leon Bennett, of Beechwood Service Centre. teams, often spending all day on a Sunday dedicating his time to ensure games can be played.

"He trained and qualified as a

referee in order to help out and he puts a lot of his money into helping us with buying kits and other training aids. It is people

like him that make it possible to run our club and get more children playing the game they love."

A-team claims the first trophy ON a cold and windy Sunday afternoon, in a match which epitomised the friendly spirit and competitive nature of Ashley Wood, Hardy A and Hardy B met in a pre-season friendly.

The course, despite the recent weather, looked fantastic in the afternoon sunshine and is a credit to the green staff for its playability.

Hardy A fielded their big guns, a few returning fresh from their winter hibernation, with the new-look Hardy B team looking confident under Dave Steward.

Hardy A started strongly, only for Hardy B to fight back and take a slight lead. However, the Hardy A tail wagged and, after some determined performances from all concerned, managed to edge out the Hardy B boys 5.5 to 4.5 and claim the first trophy of the season.

The three captains: Hardy A’s Clem Woloszyn, Club Captain Steve Pardy; and Hardy B’s David Steward

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April 2016

Forum Focus - forthcoming meetings & events Friday 1 April: Blandford & District U3A open meeting, John Combes on ‘Dorset coast naturally: Christchurch to Swanage’, Durweston Village Hall, 2pm, details 01258 455081 Monday 4th April: Blandford & District Floral Group meets, URC Hall 2.15pm, workshop with Irene Hickson Wednesday 6th April: Blandford St Mary Parish Council meeting Thursday 7th April: Eagle House Surgery Patient Participation Group AGM, 7pm at the surgery Blandford Museum first Thursday talk, Michael Le Bas - 'Medieval Blandford', 7 for 7.30pm Friday 8th April: Blandford Evening WI meets at the Woodhouse Gardens, The Plocks, 7pm. See blandfordeveningwi.com Forest Forge Theatre Company present 'Up Beat', Child Okeford village hall, 7.30pm Friday 8th and Saturday 9th April: ‘Floral Fiesta’ Dorset and Guernsey Area of NAFAS Flower Show and Competition, Our Father's House, Christy's Lane, Shaftesbury SP7 8PH. 10am to 4.30pm daily. Enquiries 01747 825927 Forum Drama and the Performing Arts Theatre Academy present The Railway Children, Corn Exchange, Blandford, 7.30pm and Saturday 2.30pm matinee Saturday 9th April: Blandford and Sturminster Newton Beekeepers Association Open Day, Shillingstone Church Centre, 10am to 4pm, to book call 01747 811251 or email twpayne@btopenworld.com Sunday 10th April: The Blandford Run of the Dorset Section of the Vintage Motor Cycle Club meets at the Corn Exchange, Blandford from 10am for 11am departure Monday 11th April: Talk by Fred Worth on Canadian Railways at the Railway Club, Eagle House Gardens, DT11 7BT, 7.30pm, see newblandfordrailwayclub.co.uk Friday 15th April: Friends of Blandford Hospital Fashion Show, The Exchange, Sturminster Newton, details 01258 451456 Saturday 16th April: Cats Protection coffee morning, Woodhouse Gardens, Blandford 10am to 12.30pm Mayor of Blandford's Charity Race Night, Corn Exchange. 7 to 11pm, hog roast, raffle and bar, tickets from Town Clerk's Office, Chaffers Estate Agents in Salisbury Street

Entries in this diary are free of charge. If you have an event you would like included, send details to Nicci Brown, 01258 459346 or email s.n.b@btinternet.com. This page is available and regularly updated on our website at www.forumfocus.co.uk. Readers are advised to check with event organisers before attending.

Wartime courtroom drama THE first UK tour of a compelling and emotional World War One courtroom drama comes to Blandford Corn Exchange on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th April.

Written by BAFTA award-winning scriptwriter John Foster and performed by Doppelbanger Productions, directed by Kirstie Davis, the work is based on the story of two young men from the Dorsetshire Regiment on trial for cowardice, facing an outcome of a guilty verdict and execution by firing squad.

John Foster spent time studying the original transcripts from the trials, which were until recently restricted from public access. This material, combined with first-hand eyewitness letters, diaries and accounts, reveals how the two heroes were suffering from what we now know as post traumatic stress disorder, yet were condemned to death for their perceived disloyalty.

There will be a 'meet the Monday 18th April: Blandford Ladies Probus Club meets, Ashley Wood Golf Club, 12.30pm (and every third Monday in the month excluding August).

Speaker on the Blandford Fashion Museum, details 01258 453570 Blandford Town Assembly, Corn Exchange, Blandford, 6.30pm Child Okeford Centre for Care and Learning meeting, Harry Bucknall presents 'An Evening with the Dolphin', 7.30pm, tickets 01258 860767 Tuesday 19th April: Wedding flowers, Child Okeford Flower Arranging Club, Child Okeford village hall 2.15pm details: 01258 863775 Wednesday 20th April: 'Shot at Dawn' - meet the scriptwriter evening with author John Foster on the original source material, archives, diaries, letters and local context of WW1

scriptwriter' evening with John Foster at Blandford Museum on Wednesday 20th April, for which admission will be free for those who have bought a ticket for a performance in the Corn Exchange. Tickers are available from the TIC in West Street (01258 454770) or at lighthousepoole.co.uk.

Members of the cast will also be present at one of a series of tea dances with the FB Pocket Orchestra on Monday 25th April in the Corn Exchange between 2 and 4pm to which the public are invited to bring their local stories to add to the Living Histories Project 'Dorset during the Great War'. in Dorset, Blandford Museum 7.30pm 'River Stour Management and Control'. An illustrated talk by one of DWT's conservation officers.

Fontmell Magna Village Hall at 7.30pm. £2 to include refreshments Good Companions meet, Blandford United Reformed Church Hall, Blandford, details 01258 450420 Thursday 21st April: Blandford Art Society meets Pimperne Village Hall, 2pm, 'A practical with Wendy Gregory', new members welcome (£3), for details call 03330112174 Blandford Heart Forum meets 2pm in the Studio, Common Lane, Blandford (behind M & Co East St) All Welcome. Speaker Kathy MacNally on ‘Ian Fleming; The making of the man who made James Bond’, details blandfordheartforum.org.uk

Blandford Town Team Open Meeting, Council Chamber, Nordon (North Dorset District Council), Salisbury Road, Blandford, doors open 6.30pm for 7pm start Blandford Archaeological Group, Lilian Ladle on Druce Farm Roman Villa site, 7.30pm, Blandford Museum Beacon lighting events for the 90th birthday of the Queen Friday 22nd April: Quiz night for Julia's House, British Legion, Blandford, £5 per person to include buffet, teams of six. 7pm for 7.30 start. Details 01258 480589 Saturday 23rd April: St George's Day festivities, Child Okeford, from 12.15pm, St George's Day play, hog roast and live music Sunday 24th April: Visit of Duncan and Sara Kellard, Missionaries in the Philippines Service, 10.30am, Holy Rood, Shillingstone, followed by a Bring and Share lunch at the Shillingstone Church Centre Scouts St George's Day parade, Blandford Market Place, and service in Blandford Parish Church Wednesday 27th April: Open garden with stalls and café - refreshments and light lunches, 10am to 5pm, Springhead Trust, Fontmell Magna, SP7 0NU Blandford Forum Townswomen's Guild meets 2pm, Williams Opportunity Hall, Whitecliff Gardens, 'Laughter is the Best Medicine'; with Robin Miller, visitors welcome Thursday 28th April: Blandford Horticultural Society meeting, United Reformed Church Hall, Blandford, 7.30pm, speaker from Castle Gardens, ‘Container Gardens’ Thursday 28th and Friday 29th April: 'A man from the Sea', a play about St. Nicholas by Ewen Pinsent, performed by the local community at St. Nicholas' Church Child Okeford, 5.30pm.

Tickets from Child Okeford Stores or Tel. 01258 861391 Friday 29th April: Wessex Acoustic Folk, Blandford Royal British Legion, 8pm, Steve Tilston. support Andy Stone, details 01202 732239 or wessexacoustic.co.uk Friday 29th and Saturday 30th April: Shot at Dawn, Corn Exchange, Blandford Friday 29th April to Monday 2nd May: Teddy Rocks 2016, Stour Meadows, Blandford Monday 2nd May: Blandford Georgian Fayre, town centre closed to traffic