April 2020 Forum Focus

Forum Focus The free monthly news magazine for the Blandford area

April 2020 Issue No. 97 Est: 2012

Besieged by coronavirus THE massive impact of the coronavirus pandemic has left Blandford reeling and transformed everyday life in this area and throughout the world.

Commercial and social life has ground to a virtual standstill, with long-planned events postponed or cancelled and businesses struggling amid economic turmoil and worrying predictions of what may lie ahead.

The sense of foreboding as the progress of the virus began to dominate the news agenda world-wide soared to new heights when the World Health Organisation officially declared it a global pandemic on March 11.

By mid-March, as Forum Focus went to press, there had been no confirmed cases in the immediate area and only one in Dorset, but people were anxious to try to minimise the spread of the disease.

In local shops, as elsewhere, there was a rush of sales of hand sanitiser and evidence of panic buying of toilet rolls, pasta, eggs, mes. of the ti paracetamol and Sign other items, and supermarkets faced early morning queues for new deliveries. Limits were imposed on the number of purchases per customer and there was an extremely high demand for home deliveries.

Pharmacies also experienced exceptional demand, often for items which they could not sup-

FORUM FOCUS

ply, and people were urged to use them only to collect prescriptions and medication for those unable to collect themselves.

The stricter restrictions advised for the over-70s and vulnerable resulted in some supermarkets announcing earlier opening times for elderly people, and other local shops, some of which experienced a noticeable reduction in footfall, offered home deliveries.

There were countless offers of help on social media to those self-isolating by people prepared to go shopping, post mail, walk the dog or just give them a friendly phone call.

The outbreak also impacted on many local charities and groups with elderly volunteers and members whose services, meetings and shops were restricted, cancelled or closed.

Holiday and business plans for many were called off. Flights were halted to and from many countries and there have been fears for relatives who might be trapped abroad.

Blandford Town Museum is closed until at least May 1.

Director Dr Sylvia Hixson Andrews said: "We want our volunteer staff to remain as healthy as possible and we are concerned about the pressure that will be put on the NHS if we continue 'business as usual'. We need to be practising social distancing as much as we can."

The Tourist Information Centre also closed from March 15.

Blandford library was due to be closed anyway from March 9 to 28 for internal refurbishment and there was doubt when it might reopen.

Debate continued nationally on

whether or not schools should close, and while many professional sports fixtures were cancelled, grass roots sport largely continued. Dorset Youth Football said they would continue to follow Dorset FA guidelines, adding that a major factor in maintaining their approach was that a significant majority of players were still attending school before and after their games.

All public worship was cancelled until further notice, Blandford Lions cancelled their Craft Fair, Salsa Amigos their charity dance and Blandford Rotary their 'Know Your BP Day' planned for April.

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This dramatic image of the recently rebuilt causeway and flood arches near Durweston bridge graphically illustrates the severity of the floods that struck the area in late February and March. The picture was taken by Forum Focus columnist and farmer George Hosford, using a drone camera. Turn to Page 15 for reports and more pictures of the storms and to Page 22 for George’s regular monthly ‘View from the Hill’ column.

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April 2020

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

CONTRIBUTING 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.

ON THE WEBSITE www.forumfocus.co.uk 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.

Where to find Forum Focus COPIES of Forum Focus can be picked up from any of our drop points below: Blandford and Blandford St Mary: Tesco and Homebase at Stour Park and the Brewery Visitor Centre, Lidl in Shaftesbury Lane; Morrisons, Greyhound Yard; M&S, Langton Road; the Corn Exchange, Spar Shop and Blandford Museum in the Market Place; the Tourist Information Centre and Crown Hotel in West Street; Chaffers in Salisbury Street; Whitecliff Surgery in Whitecliff Mill Street; James Newsagents in The Plocks; The Post Office, Library and Parish Centre in the Tabernacle; The 3Cs in Damory Street; The Coop, Dorset Council Hub, Damory Garage and One Stop in Salisbury Road; Cherry's hairdressers, Elizabeth Road, Blandford Leisure Centre and Blandford Hospital in Milldown Road; Blandford Connect Day Centre and the Central Shop in Heddington Drive.

In the villages: Bryanston - Bryanston Club; Charlton Marshall - Church Rooms and Charlton Pub; Child Okeford - The Cross Stores; Durweston - Village Hall and Enford Farm; Iwerne Minster - the Post Office; Langton Long - Abbott Garden Centre; Milborne St Andrew - Londis Shop and Royal Oak pub; Milton Abbas - Post Office and Surgery; Okeford Fitzpaine Village Shop; Pimperne - Village Hall, Anvil and Farquharson pubs; Shillingstone - Garage, Old Ox and Co-op; Shroton - Cricketers pub; Spetisbury - Village Hall and Clapcotts Farm; Stourpaine - The White Horse Inn; Sturminster Newton - The Exchange; Tarrant Keyneston True Lovers Knot and St Richard Close bus stop; Tarrant Monkton Langton Arms; Winterborne Stickland - Crown pub; and Winterborne Whitechurch - Milton Arms.

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DEADLINES Adverts: Thursday April 9 Editorial: Friday April 10 Deliveries from Monday April 27 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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Virus outbreak puts the area under siege • From Page 1 Teddy Rocks Festival director Tom Newton announced the postponement of the festival, scheduled for May 1 to 3, to September 18 to 20 (see page 8); Roger Carter, chairman of the Blandford Commemoration Group, announced the postponement of the VE75th exhibition in the Corn Exchange the same weekend; and the Georgian Fayre announced the cancellation of its event on May 8 (pages 28-29).

The Blandford Group Surgery urged patients to use their eConsult system for routine matters (see News from the Surgeries on page 24).

Neighbourhood Watch advised discussing with household members, relatives, friends and neighbours what their needs might be and suggested joining a local social media page to maintain contact, sharing phone numbers and email addresses and creat-

Under the heading of 'Love Thy Neighbour' on the NextDoor Blandford Forum social media site, Mark Taylor, chairman of Durweston Parish Council, wrote: "At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, we live in small communities and hopefully we'll know if our neighbour might need a bit of help in the coming weeks. I've heard of some lovely acts of kindness already - we are all in this stew." ing a contact list of those who might help and finding out the emergency operations plan at their child's school or childcare facility and their place of work.

For the latest information in Dorset, precautions to take and how to self-isolate, search online for Dorset Healthcare Coronavirus (dorsethealthcare.nhs.uk/aboutus/news-events/coronavirus).

Star turn for Dan CONGRATULATIONS to local musician Dan Baker, whose violin playing is featured on the soundtrack of 'Blithe Spirit', a new film adaptation based on Noel Coward's 1941 play of the same name, which is due to be released in cinemas on May 1.

Dan, who is well-known among the Blandford live music fraternity, has described it as "an indirect brushing shoulders with the stars." They include Dan Stevens, Isla Fisher, Judi Dench, Leslie Mann, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Emilia Fox, Dave Johns and James Fleet.

The British-American comedy film is directed by Edward Hall and has been adapted for the screen by Nick Moorcroft, Meg Leonard and Piers Ashworth, and will be released, coronavirus permitting,

by StudioCanal.

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April 2020

Max and Stanley take steps to help charity

Max, Stanley and friends on their sponsored walk for Stour Valley Dog Rescue.

Speed limits rules come under fire DURWESTON residents have welcomed the introduction of a 20mph restriction on various roads in the village, including Water Lane, Rapson Lane, Milton Lane, Church Road, St Nicholas Gardens and Haycombe.

The speed limits have long been campaigned for by Durweston Parish Council, which would also like to see speeds reduced on the main road through the village.

Chairman Mark Taylor said that unfortunately it was not considered a 'built-up' area where a 30mph zone would apply, but after years of effort, Highways had finally agreed that 20mph was appropriate near the school and on other side roads which until now have been subject only to the national speed limit of 60mph.

Meanwhile in Blandford, speed surveys in Edward Street and Black Lane have concluded that there are not enough speeding vehicles to justify a reduced limit.

A renewed call from town councillor Rosemary Holmes at the February town council meeting for 20mph limits in other roads in the town prompted town and county councillor Byron Quayle to remind fellow councillors that the aim was to move towards a 20mph limit throughout the town, but what was needed was a review of criteria to bring about a culture change.

"Changing to 20mph moves the goalposts and could change

things quite drastically, not necessarily by bringing speeds down that far but at least to under 30mph," he said.

Councillor Hugo Mieville said the criteria were a nonsense in the case of Edward Street, where residents had to step out of their homes into the road. The fact that 85 per cent of drivers stuck to the speed limit meant that 15 per cent did not.

Councillor Holmes also asked for enforcement of HGV restrictions which are being ignored, particularly in Salisbury Road coming off the bypass and in Holland Way, and for further restrictions on HGV deliveries in the town centre.

It was acknowledged that businesses, including the Co-op in Salisbury Road, Iceland, Spar in the Market Place and others, needed access. County highways officer Paul Starkey, who was in attendance at the meeting, said they would need to talk to businesses about what was delivered to them when.

Councillor Quayle agreed that evidence was needed from businesses so that a case could be drawn up for possible time restrictions, and Councillor Colin Stevens said it was something that could be looked at by the Market Place enhancement working group.

Members supported Councillor Holmes's request in principle but recognised the need to move forward with evidence.

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A 10-YEAR-OLD boy and his dog have helped to raise over £400 for a local dog shelter by appealing to their fanbase of Instagram followers.

Max Painter, who suffers from autism, hosted a sponsored walk near Badbury Rings with his miniature dachshund Stanley to raise £438 for the Stour Valley Dog Rescue in Shillingstone.

Max's mum Vicky said they had decided to get him a dog when he visited some and started crying that he had never been so happy.

They set up an Instagram page for the pair which attracted over 6,000 followers, and when they realised the dog rescue was a non-profit organisation decided to do something for it.

The Instagram followers were told

Max and Stanley were going to do a sponsored walk and were sent a link to the GoFundMe page on which he was supported by donations. But they were also funded in person by followers who came to join them - including a woman and her son from Sheffield with whom Max has forged a lasting friendship.

The rescue centre, which helps dogs locally but also brings over dogs from Romania and helps them live a better life, agreed that Max could decide where the money he has helped to raise can be used.

Sharon Maistre-Welsh, one of the founders, said they wanted to get him involved and his £438 would help pay for the transportation of two dogs to come over from Romania and a passport for one of them.

THE work of Giles Nicholson, Dorset Council's countryside and greenspace manager, who lives in Blandford, in applying centuriesold principles of haymaking to the management of verges, cul-desacs and urban grass patches, was highlighted in a feature in a national newspaper last month. The practice of cutting and collecting to allow wildflower meadows to grow is one which has now been adopted by other counties.

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The excavation in the Market Place.

Village shop changes AFTER 17 years at the Cross Stores in Child Okeford, Eileen Shaw and her family are moving on. They are handing over the reins to former Sunday morning worker Mimi and her father Andrew StevensonHamilton, who moved from Scotland to settle in Child Okeford four years ago.

Writing in the parish magazine, Andrew said: "We love the village and enjoy being a part of a very special community. It is therefore both exciting, and slightly daunting, to be taking on what is a key part of the village life, a great responsibility. We will do our best to continue the good work that Eileen and her family have done over the years."

April 2020

Explosion causes town power cuts A SERIES of power cuts in Blandford town centre impacted on homes, offices and businesses on Thursday and Friday February 29 and March 1.

Emergency services were first called to reports of an explosion and fire just before midday on Thursday at the electricity substation in Church Lane.

A safety cordon was put in place as firefighters from Blandford and Sturminster Newton attended, but no action was needed by them when it was confirmed that the smoke was caused by an electrical fault.

The fire service remained on hand until representatives from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) had arrived and isolated the power supply.

But around 147 customers, including the Blandford Town Council offices, Royal British

Legion, shops, businesses and residents in the area between Salisbury Street and the Market Place were left without power for several hours. More than a third of them had to wait until midnight to be reconnected.

The power was fully restored early on Friday morning but a further power cut that day also took out the other side of Salisbury Street.

Church Lane and its car park were open again in the afternoon and power was restored, but the SSEN engineers had identified a second fault on the cable requiring emergency repairs to avoid further power outages, and worked on Friday night, isolating supplies for safety reasons.

Work continued in Salisbury Street and in the Market Place until the second week of March.

New chemist shop ‘likely’ to be refused CONFIRMATION has been received that the approval of the application by Boots the Chemists to close their smaller Salisbury Street branch and merge it with the larger one on the opposite side of the road does not mean that the way is open to another pharmacy to open in the town.

Les Riggs, pharmacy and optometry contracts manager for NHS England and NHS Improvement South (Wessex), said: "Boots applied for the site to be closed through the consolidation application.

"The application was granted which means it is likely that any application for a new pharmacy would be refused.

"However, circumstances can

change over time and any such changes would be taken into account by Dorset Health and Wellbeing Board when it looks at local need and reviews its pharmaceutical needs assessment, which in turn informs NHS England & NHS Improvement's position."

Cllr Noc Lacey-Clarke, who in December told town councillors that Dorset HWB was minded to accept the merger provided the licence went on to the open market to allow a competitor to open in the town, told town councillors at their planning committee meeting in March that the local surgeries were of the opinion that Blandford did not need another dispensary.

Dazzling harp concert A RECENT concert at Springhead by Child Okeford-born Sarah Deere-Jones was described by fellow local harpist Jane Stokes as 'dazzling' and a rare treat and opportunity to hear someone of such high calibre.

Sarah went to school in Shaftesbury and was married at Springhead to Phil Williams, who accompanied her on guitar and concertina.

Jane, who has raised hundreds of pounds for the Multiple Sclerosis Society through the sale of her CD 'Mere Mortal', is setting up a Dorset Harp Group, and can be contacted for information by anyone interested who plays the harp by calling 07905 926268 or emailing janestokesuk2@live.co.uk.

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April 2020

Fresh moves in plans for Corn Exchange revamp NEW consultants have been appointed by Blandford Town Council to progress its longheld ambition of restoring and remodelling the Corn Exchange and Town Hall.

The council last October dispensed with the services of local company Western Design Architects (WDA) after delay in supplying promised plans and documentation.

WDA had been paid over ÂŁ24,000 for the initial part of their contract which was awarded in 2018 after the council agreed to abandon a major multi-million remodelling project, which it had been hoped could be financed through the Heritage Lottery.

Councillors agreed in February on the recommendation of the Morton Partnership, who were asked to carry out an historic conditions survey in November, to appoint Ingham Pinnock Associates to progress the project, using initially funds of ÂŁ5,600 from the Corn Exchange Regeneration Reserves.

They were told that when the project manager left, her salary was held back for the appointment of funding/specialist consultants instead of appointing someone else in her place, resulting in a total of over ÂŁ64,000 in the budget for the purpose.

They were also told that the Corn Exchange working group had met earlier in the month with

the Morton Partnership who had produced draft sketches which they felt retained as much of the history of the building as possible, were not intrusive, and would create more welcoming spaces in the staircase and lobby area.

The Partnership said it was essential that a strategic plan was formed, prior to engaging architects, incorporating how the space will be used, how services could be linked, how the project could be phased, how carbon emissions could be reduced, and what funding is available.

IPA in their quotation said: "We understand that the council has already undertaken a considerable amount of work to progress this project over the last 20 years, and alongside that incurred significant expense. We are therefore mindful that further delay and expenditure need to be kept to a minimum."

After undertaking a site visit and reviewing work undertaken to date, they will be providing a series of clear potential next steps, covering all of the work-streams necessary to progress the project such as design, fund-raising and communications.

They said: "The overarching aim of the report would be to re-set the project and provide a clear pathway for the council to progress as quickly and efficiently as possible."

New store boosts town shops mix THE expected opening of a new Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) store on March 26 at 48 East Street, the long vacant premises formerly occupied by Argos, has been widely welcomed.

The retailer, catering to the over-45s market, has more than 380 mainstream stores throughout the UK as well as an online store, and the EWM group now employs over 16,000 people.

Catherine Chapman, chairman of the Blandford Business Group, said: "It's brilliant having another high street branch coming into the town."

Its arrival, and the creation of nine jobs at the store, was due to be celebrated with some great giveaways, including an EWM goody bag presented by the staff to the first 20 customers.

The first 20 to find envelopes hidden around the store were also to be rewarded with a voucher to spend.

The store's area manager Teresa Harris said: "We are excited to welcome visitors to our new store. It's going to be a great addition to Blandford and to the local retail mix."

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Allison Falconer of Ragtags with Kate Lill of Milldown Primary and Brook MacCallum of Hope of Bethesda in Kate's garage with the boxes of uniforms being sent to the Bethesda Project.

April 2020

Milldown clothing makes a charity passage to India WHEN Milldown Primary School became part of the Salisbury Diocese Academy last academic year, there was a slight change of uniform to denote the transition to an academy.

To ensure the old uniforms did not go to waste, a campaign was launched to send them to the Bethesda Project, a school in Tamil Nadu in southern India with which schools in Blandford have been linked for a number of years through a former Blandford teacher who is now its principal.

The project is headed by Simon Devaraj and his wife Sarah, who grew up in Pimperne and was educated in Blandford. After studying and graduating, she worked in a Blandford primary school before meeting and marrying Simon.

There are a number of elements to its work, but it is centred on running a school to educate local village children from extremely poor backgrounds. It particularly aims to help girls increase their opportunities and aspirations by providing education from kindergarten up to the equivalent of Alevels for 750 pupils and then further education.

It is supported by a small charity called Hope of Bethesda which was set up last year by Brook MacCallum, former senior pastor at Blandford Evangelical Church and now chairman of the charity's trustees, who suggested the unneeded blazers and tops be sent to the school.

Parents of pupils kindly donated old items of uniform, and

Ragtags shop in Blandford donated all their stock of the nowredundant uniforms.

Kate Lill, former chairman of the Parents Focus Group, co-ordinated the collection of quite a pile of uniform clothing which was stored in her garage.

Kate said: "I was on the Parent Focus Group (PFG) for six years while my children attended the primary school. It was formed to be the parents' voice to raise matters both positive and negative with the school and to ensure good liaison and understanding between the school and the parents.

"It was my parting comment that all these school tops shouldn't go to waste. Unfortunately neither the PFG nor the Friends of the school were able to assist due to other commitments in the pipeline so I took it upon myself to try to sort it out."

She attempted some fundraising in order to get the clothing by courier to the Bethesda Project, and Autotechnics generously donated ÂŁ150 towards the cost of around ÂŁ350. The balance of transport costs is being underwritten by Hope of Bethesda who would like to attract additional sponsorship if they can.

For further information on the Bethesda Project, see its Facebook page, Bethesda Charity, or the website at bethesda-project.org Donations to the project can be made either via the project website or via JustGiving at justgiving.com/hopeofbethesda.

Heritage festival call REGISTRATION for buildings, homes, properties and venues wishing to take part in Dorset Architectural Heritage Week (DAHW) this September is now open.

Those who have previously taken part or asked to take part this year should already have received an invitation, but the DAHW Team are keen to hear of interesting new venues, speakers or tour guides with a story to tell about a particular area or building with architectural appeal.

To find out more, discuss what you can offer and how the team can help, contact the DAHW Booking Office on 01202 888992 or email dahwoffice@gmail.com.

Registration for the main programme which is promoted nationally closes on May 1, but Blandford & District Civic Society will be compiling a programme of DAHW and other local events during the week, which runs from Friday September 11 to Sunday September 20, under the banner of the Blandford Heritage Festival.

April 2020

Town rector honoured with additional role for diocese BLANDFORD Parish Church Rector, the Rev Canon Jonathan Triffitt, has started a six-month secondment as the Interim Director of Mission Ministry & Communication for the Diocese of Salisbury.

The secondment, which officially started at the beginning of March, means he is based in Salisbury for four days a week and in Blandford for only two, including Sundays, with reduced parochial responsibilities.

Until April 12, responsibility for the day-to-day running of the Benefice has been delegated to the curate, the Rev Neil Robertson, and the churchwardens, supported by Tina in the Church office.

But Mr Robertson is due to finish his curacy on Easter Sunday and move to train as a Navy Chaplain, so after Easter the primary responsibilities will fall on the church wardens and their team, with Mr Triffitt's continued support and leadership.

He said: "I am immensely grateful to Bishops Nicholas and Karen for the trust they are placing in me and giving me this unique opportunity to help influence and shape the future vision and direction of the diocese at a time of significant change and challenge.

"I am also aware that this wouldn't be possible without the support and affirmation of the churchwardens at Blandford

Parish Church and Langton Long, and acutely aware that there will be a degree of the unknown about the second half of the secondment."

He said he was also mindful of the multiple and varied relationships that he has with others in the parish, including schools, businesses and organisations, and that he would not be able to invest in the same way, but he was no less committed to them.

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Screen play BLANDFORD Youth and Community Centre was featured on BBC South Today in a news report highlighting Dorset Council's decision to set up an Executive Advisory Panel to consider the state of the county's youth service, following the closure of centres across the county by the former Dorset County Council.

The report showed one of the volunteers in the centre, next to the Leisure Centre in Milldown Road, which is now being used by a number of organisations in addition to the regular youth sessions.

New housing policy on the way A NEW social housing allocation policy is being drafted by Dorset Council to come into effect on April 1 next year, replacing the policies of Christchurch and East Dorset and Dorset Homechoice.

A consultation on the draft will be open until May 25 and is available online at 'consultations' at DorsetCouncil.co.uk or in paper copies from the local council office or library.

A cross-party elected member panel from all the former district council areas has drawn up a draft after looking at the current policies and best practice from across the country.

Cllr Graham Carr-Jones, portfolio holder for housing and community safety at Dorset Council, said they wanted to hear from as many people as possible to get a wide range of views, particularly from those on the housing register who could be affected by changes proposed.

The new Dorset Homechoice aims to make the best use of the housing stock in the county where the number waiting for social housing at the end of March last year was over five times the number of properties which had become available in the previous 12 months.

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April 2020

Gardens to grow community links

Catherine Simmonds in the kitchen gardens at Springhead.

Teenaged girl assaulted AN alleged assault on a 14-year-old girl at around 5pm on Sunday March 1 is being investigated by Dorset Police.

She was walking along The Close near the junction with Dorset Street in Blandford with a friend when she was approached by a group of teenagers, one of whom started verbally abusing her, then pulled her hair and hit her in the face, leaving her with bruising to her eye.

PC Alistair James said: "We are carrying out a full investigation to identify the offender of this unprovoked assault."

Anyone who saw what happened or with information about the person responsible is asked to contact Dorset Police at dorset.police.uk, via email 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55200032541.

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THANKS to a grant from the Postcode Community Trust, the Springhead Trust at Fontmell Magna has appointed a co-ordinator for its new productive gardens project.

Catherine Simmonds will be working with staff and volunteers from the local community, to make sure that vegetables from the kitchen gardens, fruit from the orchards and wild food from hedgerows is cooked in Springhead's kitchen for school groups and other visitors.

Children will be involved in planting, harvesting and cooking as well as eating.

She said: "Activities like cooking pizzas using fresh tomatoes they have picked in our greenhouse and onions from our kitchen garden will really help children understand where food comes from."

Many schools from Dorset and outside the county already come to Springhead for day and residential visits, and it is hoped that the project will enable more children to enjoy and learn from the 15-acre grounds, which include landscaped gardens, a lake and chalk stream, as well as the organic kitchen gardens and orchards.

Another aspect of Catherine's

role will be to develop links with the local community, for example through opportunities to volunteer with the scheme, and potentially the development of community growing areas and orchards.

"I would love to hear from anyone wanting to get involved as the project develops, from joining a jam or chutney making day to coming along to a productive gardens working party."

Meanwhile, she is busy planning where to put the new herb garden, how to restore Springhead's old orchards, and how to make the kitchen gardens welcoming for wildlife as well as people.

"With spring approaching, I'm very excited about making the kitchen gardens both useful and beautiful, for example by mixing leafy and flowering plants. We want our productive gardens to be welcoming as a space to enjoy, as well as offering good forage for pollinators and birds."

Edward Parker, Springhead's director, said: "The Springhead Trust is very grateful to players of People's Postcode Lottery and the Postcode Community Trust for its support of the project."

Anyone wishing to get involved can email info@springheadtrust.org.uk or call 01747 811853.

Virus forces Teddy festival date change CANCER charity fundraising Teddy Rocks Festival 2020 has been moved to September because of the coronavirus alert.

It will now be held over the weekend of September 18-20 instead of the first weekend in May as originally planned.

Director and founder Tom Newton said they wanted to keep everyone safe at the festival, which attracts thousands of people every year to Charisworth Farm, just outside Blandford, including children undergoing treatment for cancer.

"We feel it is very important to eliminate any risk to these children and vulnerable people that attend our event.

"The whole purpose of Teddy Rocks Festival is to support children fighting cancer. We are here for the vulnerable and it is paramount we keep them safe."

He said it had been a testing time, with conversations and meetings every day to decide the right thing to do given the current situation.

He appealed to their sponsors, volunteers and supporters to support them in their decision to keep the festival alive and promised that all tickets would remain valid for the new dates, so hoped they would be with them in September.

"We are working hard with all of our artists to do the best we can to keep our line up as it is, but naturally there may be some changes."

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April 2020

Town clean-up hits a snag after litter picker is pinched MEMBERS of the public can do their bit to clean up Blandford thanks to the Town Council, which has installed a litter pick board outside the Corn Exchange.

A couple of litter pickers and bag are provided which people can borrow to spare a couple of minutes helping to create a litterfree town centre.

Unfortunately the scheme, when it was first introduced, lasted only five days when the litter pickers were 'borrowed' but not returned. But the Clean Up Blandford group was approached and kindly agreed to supply a couple more.

A similar scheme has been suggested on social media by a Pimperne resident who was horrified while walking her dog on fields behind the church to see a 'gardening service' had fly tipped, and the waste had been shredded by a tractor cutting the hedges.

Sally Scott and her husband spent most of the day picking up a huge amount of shredded flowerpots, polystyrene, plastic bags and netting which was strewn over the field and in the hedgerows.

She said she would be happy to leave litter picking equipment near the church for anyone who wanted to use it.

Mayor of Blandford, Cllr Lynn Lindsay, with the litter pick board.

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Village homes scheme refused PLANS for six homes on land southeast of St Mary's Church in Bournemouth Road, Charlton Marshall, have been refused by Dorset Council under officer delegated powers.

The application by R N & M Lawton would have seen the creation of a new vehicle and pedestrian access, together with parking for the church, and was strongly opposed by local residents, Charlton Marshall Parish Council and Dorset Council's conservation officer.

The report of case officer Hannah Smith concluded that the benefit of another six dwellings to the housing shortfall was limited and failed to outweigh the harm to the setting of the Grade I listed church and character and appearance of the Conservation Area.

A decision is still awaited on an outline application by Hallam Land Manager for 70 homes with open space and landscaping on land opposite the church to the north of the Bournemouth Road, which has attracted nearly 150 objections, and on detailed plans for nine dwellings approved in outline next to The Charlton Inn.

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Shillingstone Artsreach promoter Sharon.

Artsreach delivers an economic boost THE Blandford Artsreach team secured its second success in a month at the Day Centre in Heddington Drive when the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Trio Cake Concert attracted another sell-out audience.

Residents of local care homes, those living with dementia and their carers enjoyed tea and cakes accompanied by the programme of familiar tunes performed on harp, flute and cello.

It came as the value of touring arts charity to Dorset as a whole was highlighted in its 30th year in a report showing not only how important the arts charity is to rural communities, but also its actual value to the economic life of the county.

The report, commissioned by Artsreach to help secure ongoing support from Dorset Council and other funders, including Arts Council England, calculates that every £1 of annual public funding for Artsreach's work generates a further 93p in benefits for the rural Dorset economy.

Each year more than 300 volunteers contribute the equivalent of more than £60,000 in support of the Dorset arts scene by putting on more than 150 professional events, mainly in village halls.

Profits from shows are retained by rural communities, supporting essential facilities such as village halls. Visiting audience members shop at the village store or go to the local pub.

Volunteers and audience members have also told the researchers how much they enjoy working with Artsreach, meeting interesting people and artists, providing something for their local community, and bringing high-quality entertainment to sometimes relatively isolated communities.

The full report can be found at artsreach.co.uk.

April 2020

Leisure centre may be brought in-house DORSET Council's Cabinet will be recommended this month to bring the operation of Blandford Leisure Centre back in-house on April 1 next year if the existing contract with Everyone Active cannot be extended.

But it could be a temporary arrangement until such time as the future of leisure centres across the county is decided.

The council appointed specialist leisure consultants Max Associates to develop an options appraisal to review the future delivery of leisure services across the county, overseen by a cross-party executive advisory panel, and their recommendation to contract out core services to a single third-party operator are favoured in the longer term to achieve an estimated saving to the council of over half a million pounds.

The executive advisory panel strongly supported the need for the leisure review to be considered alongside the council's wider review of buildings and assets, maintenance issues and the link to climate issues.

Blandford is considered one of

the core facilities, along with those at Dorchester, Ferndown, whose contracts end in 2025, and Wareham, Wimborne and Verwood, which are currently managed in-house.

The contract at Blandford Leisure Centre is due to end on March 31 next year, but members of the place scrutiny committee were told there was a possibility of its extension to 2024 or longer to bring it into line with those at Dorchester and Ferndown.

It was noted that there was a desire to continue to extend contracts where possible in order to minimise the impact on customers and staff.

Managing the centre alongside other in-house facilities will incur an additional cost of £19,154 per annum and has been fully supported by the executive advisory panel.

The committee, which was told there would also be one-off transitional costs which would be assessed and reported to Cabinet, agreed to recommend the move to in-house management if the contract could not be extended.

Entries are open for tourism awards THE 2020/21 Dorset Tourism Awards has opened for entry and businesses have been invited to submit their entries by the closing date of April 26.

Now in their eighth year, the freeto-enter awards, supported by many sponsors, cover the whole of Dorset, and offer businesses the chance to win not just in the county, but in the regional southwest awards and - for matching categories - the national Visit England awards.

Last year's entrants describe the benefits as increased bookings, generating PR, helping with staff morale, retention and recruitment, as well as getting free feedback on how their business could be improved.

Most winners came from West Dorset, but four local businesses were successful including The Yellow Bicycle Café in Salisbury

Street, Blandford, which won gold for Café & Tearoom of the Year; the Milborne St Andrew-based Jurassic Coast Guides, who shared first place with the Tank Museum for International Visitor Experience, and Mellulah Therapy & Yoga Retreats in Milton Abbas for Spa and Wellbeing Experience of the Year.

In 2018, Shillingstone-based Loose Reins went on to become a bronze award winner with Visit England.

Categories cover the full range of tourism-related businesses including pubs, cafes and restaurants as well as accommodation, attractions and events, with generic categories for 'unsung heroes', innovation, new businesses, dog friendly, accessibility and sustainability.

For full details see dorsettourismawards.org.uk.

www.forumfocus.co.uk

April 2020

Police lessons emerge from Katrina’s murder A PREVENTION of future deaths report has been made by Assistant Dorset Coroner Brendan Allen after the jury hearing the inquest into the death of Blandford hairdresser Katrina O'Hara concluded that she was unlawfully killed in January 2016.

The jury heard how Ms O'Hara was killed by Stuart Thomas at Jock's Barbers in Blandford, and that Thomas was later convicted of her murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 26 years.

They also heard how three days before he stabbed her to death, Ms O'Hara had reported her fears that Thomas might hurt her or himself, and how she and her daughter Morgan had thought Thomas would be re-arrested for unlawfully trying to make contact while he was on police bail by getting his own daughter to text Morgan asking her mother to drop an assault charge.

Mr Allen said he would raise con-

Katrina O’Hara cerns about the handling of 999 calls, providing victims with a replacement mobile phone while theirs is seized for evidence, police training for a widely used reporting system to flag and link incidents, and the risk to a victim being higher when their perpetrator is suicidal.

The inquest heard that Dorset Police had made improvements and changes in all these areas

since Ms O'Hara's death, but the Coroner said he wanted to ensure similar lessons could be learned by forces across the country.

Ms O'Hara's family issued a statement saying they were grateful to Mr Allen for issuing the report to the Minister for Policing Kit Malthouse and National Police Chiefs Council lead for domestic abuse, Deputy Chief Constable Louisa Rolfe, of West Midlands Police.

Ms O'Hara's daughter Morgan said their mother's case was not unique and they hoped her death would serve as a wake-up call to the government and police forces across the country to not brush domestic violence issues under the carpet, and urged anyone going through domestic abuse to speak out and seek help.

Mr Allen said Ms O'Hara's family had been dignified throughout the hearing and the way they had conducted themselves was a testament to themselves and Ms O'Hara.

11

Fundraisers saving lives THE total raised for the eight air ambulance charities being supported by Blandford brewers Hall & Woodhouse through their managed houses over the past two years has risen to £268,365.

The company's team members voted at the beginning of 2018 to make the Dorset and Somerset, Wiltshire, Devon, Great Western, Hampshire and Isle of Wight, Kent, Surrey and Sussex, London and Thames Valley air ambulances equal beneficiaries of the amount raised in a series of events, which have included two Blandford beer festivals, quiz nights, sponsored events, family fun days and challenge events.

Tracy Bartram, communications manager at Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, said: "It is extremely rare for eight air ambulance charities to have an opportunity to be the beneficiaries of one 'Charity of the Year' initiative. With the cost of an air ambulance mission being £3,000, this means the partnership has potentially funded 90 life-saving missions."

12

April 2020

Call to tighten rules on mobility scooters

The Commonwealth Flag flies between the Union and Blandford flags from the Corn Exchange.

Flying the flags AS part of the worldwide celebration of 'Fly the Flag for the Commonwealth' Day the Mayor, Councillor Lynn Lindsay, and fellow town councillors were joined

by Major Jason Budding, second-in-command of Blandford Garrison support unit, outside the Corn Exchange on March 9.

Also in attendance were representatives of Blandford Royal British Legion and The Blandford and Bryanston schools, and Blandford and Blandford St Mary primary schools to hear the Commonwealth Affirmation and statements in support of the Commonwealth from the Queen and the Commonwealth

Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland QC. The Commonwealth theme for this year is 'Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming', in line with the theme of the 2020 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Rwanda.

It expresses the connect between governments and people of the diverse family of 54 Commonwealth countries at many levels through friendship and goodwill.

In a fitting conclusion, Geordie Thomson played his own composition of the Blandford Fanfare.

VOLUNTEERS are needed to help Spetisbury Parish Council create a woodland children's play area alongside the North Dorset Trailway.

Proposals are at an early stage and will be subject to planning permission, but people will be needed with specialised equipment to move tree trunks, construct play equipment and carry out ground clearance during the summer months.

To volunteer or for more information call Neil Houghton on 01258 857260 or 07799 545278 or email houghtonneil@yahoo.co.uk.

THE increasing number of small electric vehicles on the roads and pavements has prompted a call for more training and licensing of their use.

Correspondent Nicholas Smith of Blandford said: "Throughout the UK we have unlicensed people, some who have never had a car driving licence, on the roads and pavements driving three- and four-wheeled mobility scooters without training or insurance of any kind.

"Some treat these scooters as cars and go on fast roads amongst the regular traffic. Some see them as an alternative to walking so speed along the pavement expecting pedestrians to get out of their way.

"These are soon to be joined by the electric two-wheeled scooters which are at the moment illegal to use on the roads, but enforcement of that law doesn't seem to happen."

He added: "There seems to be no legal requirement for any licensing or insurance for when permission is granted, yet users of mopeds, many no faster than these scooters, are required to have a licence and insurance.

"Users of these machines have died or suffered injuries in road traffic accidents for which they may have been the cause, having no high-visibility clothing and being almost invisible to drivers of lorries, buses and cars.

"The grief to the others involved in these accidents is considerable, so for all involved there must be some common sense used by the Department of Transport to regulate some form of licensing and training to use these small electric-powered vehicles."

Carolyn Carter, chairman of Disability Action Group in Blandford, said their many hirers of mobility scooters were instructed in how to use the equipment they were hiring and tested that they were capable before hiring.

"All our scooters and hirers are covered by insurance. The 4mph scooters are to be used on the pavement and not on the road unless there is no pavement to use. Larger 8mph scooters are for the road and have to be taxed but can be switched into 4mph for use on the pavement.

"Some other road users do not understand that they are very important to the disabled to give them some independence. Our Mayor was taken around town on one last year and said that he had not realised the dangers that the riders have to endure from other road users. Good manners may be a thing from the past, but it would be nice if all pavement and road users gave consideration to others."

Objections to homes plans TOWN councillors have maintained their objection to proposals for the first phase of redevelopment of the Blandford St Mary brewery site on the grounds of the lack of an equipped play area within the site for young children, and the poor access for disability vehicles.

Drew Smith Homes and Homes England had submitted revised detailed plans for 63 homes with garaging, parking and associated infrastructure in response to initial responses to the scheme.

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April 2020

Railway Club: a model for success IT is a place where childhood dreams come true; a hub of happy activity where young and old share their passion for all things connected with building amazing models and tracks and running their cherished little trains.

So how did Blandford Forum Railway Club come into existence? And what are they up to this year? I asked the chairman, Robert Stephenson.

He said: "The town of Blandford was served by a popular steam railway linking Bath and Bournemouth until closure in 1965. In the past there was also a railway link to the Army camp. To show how the area appeared, an enthusiastic group made a working model of Blandford station for the town museum which is still open to viewing.

"The original small group of modellers has now grown into the successful club which meets every week at the Scout Hut. Some members are former railway staff and others are from all walks of life but share an interest in rail-

ways and transport in general.

"Membership is almost full, with over 50 members, and the sociable programme includes weekly model-making sessions on Wednesday mornings from 9am to 12.30pm, talks, visits and appearances at model exhibitions.

"Last year the club joined in the World War 1 commemorations with a model front-line battlefield and an aerial bomb run shown at the Corn Exchange. On May 1 to 3 this year the display will be a seven-foot long model of the Bridge over the River Kwai in conjunction with the WW2 events, also at the Corn Exchange."

Members also showed working model railways at an event open to the public at Queen Elizabeth's School, Wimborne, in March, and will be at The Blandford School in Milldown Road on September 26 and 27. Later in the year the club have booked to take their new large model of Bailey Gate Station and cheese factory to Sturminster Marshall on October 10 and 11.

Treasurer Ron Pleck, member John Kingston and chairman Robert Stephenson of the Blandford Forum Railway Club in the Scout Hut in Eagle House Gardens.

To contact the Blandford Railway Club call 01258 455138 on a Wednesday morning, see their

website newblandfordrailwayclub.co.uk or visit them at a public exhibition.

Doro Russell

NEW three-tier planters are to be bought by Blandford Town Council to replace four which after 15 years have become unfit for purpose.

Town & general purposes committee members agreed to the purchase at a cost of ÂŁ2,216.12 after being told that the new planters had a self-watering system that distributes the water evenly to the plants and only requires the reservoir to be topped up twice-weekly during the summer. They also agreed to continue seeking sponsorship from local companies of the planters and flower troughs, for which around ÂŁ2,500 is needed for the summer bedding scheme.

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April 2020

New faces as town pub reopens THE King's Arms in Whitecliff Mill Street, Blandford, reopened under new ownership and new management early in March even before the decorators had moved out, and the new licensees quickly had the front bar back in operation.

Jamie Clark and his brother Matt are joined by Emily Nias and staff in their new venture. Matt, who also runs the White Hart in Sturminster Newton, said the success of that pub had allowed them to take on and invest in the Blandford premises.

"At the moment we have six real ales, but plan to increase that to ten, and will be supporting small local breweries and specialising in a selection of gins, rums and other artisan spirits," said Matt.

They also plan to make use of the first-floor kitchen to offer dining facilities in the lounge bar at the front, with public bar at the rear, and will be holding beer festivals every bank holiday - the first being for VE Day on May 8.

NEWS in BRIEF

Jamie (left) and Matt Clark with Emily Nias at the bar of the King's Arms.

They have already made one interesting discovery when Jamie went up into the loft to fix a tile which blew off the roof during one of the recent storms and

found a 'time capsule' of items left many years ago by former licensees, the Everetts, which were returned to them last month.

Buckets of support A BUCKET collection at Tesco Stour Park on February 27 for the Dorset Blind Association raised ÂŁ377.89.

Fundraising manager Gareth Jones said: "We were joined by our fabulous local volunteers Annie, Alan and Arthur, and we also went around town asking shops to take in a DBA collection tin on their premises.

The vast majority were only too keen, which is also a very lovely gesture. Support from the wider Dorset community means the world to us, and this was very much a case of that, so we'd just like to offer our thanks to the people of Blandford for taking us under their wing."

POLICE have appealed for information after a man threw plants and stones at a security guard after being asked to leave Tesco at Stour Park just before 2pm on Monday February 17.

He was seen acting suspiciously in the alcohol aisle and became aggressive when approached by a guard, reportedly throwing items at him and throwing a bottle from the shelf onto the floor. A window was also smashed.

Anyone with information is asked to call Dorset Police on 101 and quote reference number 555200025087. * * * Police investigating the theft of a bicycle in Stourpaine are appealing for information. The GT Avalanche bike with a black frame, green writing and blue stripes was stolen on Thursday February 20.

PC Neil Hawkes said: "I am appealing to anyone who may have seen the bike for sale in unusual circumstances to come forward, or from members of the community who saw any suspicious activity at the time."

Contact the Police at dorset.police.uk, via email 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk or call 101, reference number 55200024896.

15

April 2020

Storms bring floods and chaos BLANDFORD and district escaped lightly compared with some areas when Storm Ciara arrived between February 8 and 11, quickly followed by Storm Dennis from February 15 to 19 and finally by Storm Jorge at the end of the month.

Part of the South West Coast Path near Swanage was closed after it was blocked by a landslide, and nearby cliffs were deemed to be dangerously unstable.

There was also a major power cut affecting the Dorchester postcodes of DT1, DT2 and DT3 and impacting on the DorsetforYou Dorset Council website.

On February 15 the A31 was closed both ways by a fallen tree between the A350 and A349 roundabouts which pulled down power cables but miraculously was avoided by two Tesla cars with automatic brakes which came to a halt sparing their occupants from injury.

A tree also came down near the A350 roundabout on a brick wall, resulting in temporary lights while it was made safe.

A large tree came down by the junction of Riverside Road and Langton Road, effectively blocking entry and exit to the Westbury Way estate.

Mill Lane in Sturminster Marshall was reported to be impassable, and the A357 at Durweston was shut for several hours due to a fallen tree between Durweston and Shillingstone.

But the new causeway and culverts carrying the road over the flood meadows passed their first test with flying colours.

There were river flood warnings for the Iwerne, the Piddle, the middle Stour and its tributaries, with flooding of roads and farmland, and areas most at risk at Hammoon, where the road from Manston was closed,

Bere Marsh, Stourpaine, Durweston and Lower Blandford St Mary.

Residents were advised to prepare property resilience measures, to ensure that pumps where installed were working, and to be prepared to experience problems flushing toilets and have issues with septic tanks.

Middle Stour tributaries were still on a warning on the morning of February 18, with river levels high at the Hammoon river gauge because of the saturated ground, and groundwater flood warnings remained for the Iwerne, North Winterbourne, Tarrant Valley and Pimperne Brook through to the end of February.

More rain in early March, compounded by the arrival of contractors to start work on the Bellway Homes development next to the Tesco roundabout at Blandford St Mary, caused difficult conditions for motorists and pedestrians on the A350 and flooding of the road down to Lower Blandford St Mary.

The new Durweston causeway flood arches doing their job.

Flooding at Langton Meadows.

Flood water causes problems on the A350.

The old railway arches in Blandford’s Stour Meadows surrounded by floodwater.

16

Readers’ letters

Charity on the move AS from early April 2020, Age Concern Blandford office will be moving to a new venue.

You will find us at the Emmaus Room in the Parish Centre, opposite the Post Office, where we will still offer the same service to our clients The opening days are changing to Tuesdays and Fridays from 10am to 1pm We will still offer our usual help to the community of Blandford including help with benefits, help with care and living and general signposting.

We still hope to be able to offer home visits for anyone who is unable to get into the office due to illness or disability.

The email address remains ageconcernblandford@talk21.co m and our new phone number is

April 2020 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

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.

07305 166418.

Volunteers are always required so please contact us if you are interested.

Age Concern Blandford

A good use for Nordon?

Grass in the gutters

REGARDING the beautiful site that is Nordon, what a terrible thing to think such a beautiful building should be torn down.

As the two doctors' surgeries that are in town have merged, why not re-site them both together in Nordon?

There would be plenty of space for parking and could probably also be sufficient space to incorporate the clinic.

It would be just as accessible to the residents of Blandford as the surgeries (that have very limited parking) are now, and with onsite parking a great advantage.

Judith Shepherd

HAS anyone else been drenched

by Niagara Falls when walking along East Street?

Unless you walk on the outer edge of the pavement between the church and M & Co, you are in for a soaking.

Looking up, the gutters are full of grass growing, so the rain we have been having almost daily can only escape by coming over the edge of the gutter.

Can the owners please get them cleared out or is this asking too much?

H. Rawles Blandford St Mary

Saying it with flowers UPON returning to my car after my weekly shop at Tesco with a trolley loaded full of unnecessary items, I was overwhelmed to find a large bunch of beautiful narcissi placed under my windscreen wipers.

No note, no message just anonymously left. I would just like to say to whoever was responsible a simple thank you. You certainly brightened up a truly miserable day, made an old biddy feel really chuffed and my house is now filled with their delicious scent.

I was really so excited because when I first started work in London in April 1947 it was my

duty to always treat my mum by buying her something out of my weekly pay packet and narcissi were always the first flowers the street sellers of London had on their stalls. I can remember to this day how delighted my mum was to receive this simple gift.

So thank you, dear friend, whoever you are for taking me back down the street called 'memory lane'. Your kind act has truly meant so much.

Della Jones

Town photos are on sale I WAS most concerned to read Jean Watson's letter titled 'Postcard poverty' in the February Forum Focus.

While a volunteer with the Tourist Information Office, I photographed and had produced many views of Blandford. These are still for sale in the Tourist Information Centre.

I am surprised that the church has not replenished its supplies.

As far as I can recollect some were also held in the Fashion Museum.

Carole Fornachon Milborne St Andrew

FF on Twitter @forumfocus

17

April 2020

Julie joins growing law firm

The Dorset Young Enterprise 'Dragons' from left: Kevin Down, group chairman at Kingsley Composites Ltd; Shaun Everill, technical training support & apprentice manager at Babcock International Group, and Dixie Rowland, company commercial paralegal at Blanchards Bailey, with Mel Bissagar, Young Enterprise Dorset area manager.

Young businessmen and women face test of the ‘Dragons' DORSET youngsters with business aspirations have been put through their paces in a Dragon's Den-style exercise at The Blandford School as part of the county's Young Enterprise (YE) programme.

Among the panel of three Dragons from influential county businesses, which robustly quizzed four YE teams from west and rural Dorset, was Dixie Rowland, company commercial paralegal at award-winning law firm Blanchards Bailey.

Blandford-based Dixie said: "We were looking at their ideas, their presentations, how their companies were run and what investment they required.

"I was impressed with their attitude and resolve. Some made mistakes, of course, and will learn from them, just as in the real life business world."

Their ideas included a test to check if drinks had been spiked, canisters to contain used dog mess bags, clothes with printed logos and beeswax wrapping sheets.

Dixie, who participated in Young Enterprise herself while at school in Reading, added: "Anyone involved in a successful business in Dorset has a certain responsibility to give something back to the community - especially if that involves helping to shape the county's potential business stars of the future."

Following the event she wrote to all four school teams offering them in-depth analysis of their presentation technique and suggested possible tweaks to the products.

Young Enterprise is a charity which motivates and helps participants to develop key employability skills, practical knowledge and workplace competency, preparing them for a successful transition into further education or an employment environment.

Young Enterprise Dorset area manager Mel Bissagar said: "We are very grateful to the judges from the business community who give up their valuable time to help us deliver the programme.

"To have professionals evaluating our young people's companies from a business perspective not only lends huge credibility but is a fantastic experience for the students and enriches their learning.

"Although the Dragons' Den aspect of the process was noncompetitive, it gave our young people - mostly Year 12 but also Year 10 - exposure to a business setting and the opportunity for pitching and public speaking."

The all-day Dorset YE final is due to take place on May 6 at Poole Harbour Commissioners, and the winners will go to the regional final at Yeovilton in June, which will be followed by national and international finals.

Follow us @forumfocus

EXPANDING Dorset law firm Blanchards Bailey has appointed a new specialist in family law as business continues to grow.

Family law executive Julie Keogh, with a wealth of experience in family law matters such as divorce, finance and property, will work out of the firm's head office in Blandford, and has practised exclusively as a family lawyer in Dorset since 2006.

She regularly deals with children cases including private and public law proceedings, special guardianship, adoption, child abduction, injunctions and civil partnership.

She has extensive experience in helping clients resolve financial matters and disputes in respect of their children following all forms of relationship breakdown.

She said: "I have a particular interest in matters involving domestic abuse and have always gone above and beyond my role as a lawyer."

Birmingham-born Julie, who

Family law specialist Julie Keogh who has joined Blanchards Bailey. previously held family law positions at law firms in Weymouth and Poole, is married with two grown-up children and lives in Weymouth.

She joins Blanchards Bailey's family law team headed by associate Laura Martin, who said: "We are delighted to welcome Julie. She has 15 years' experience in the sector and her skills, empathy and intimate knowledge of the law dovetail perfectly with our existing team."

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April 2020

Nicki’s losers make charity a winner

Nicki and Alex Edwards present the cheque to Rod Slip (right), chairman of the Bournemouth MS Society Hub.

CUSTOMERS of Alex and Nicki Edwards - 'The Cambridge Lady' - who have been losing weight using the 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan, have raised £417 for the Bournemouth MS Society Hub. They embarked on a 30-day challenge to raise the money and collectively lost over 9.5 stone in weight.

Nicki said: "I am so proud of all our customers who took part in the challenge, both from the Blandford area where I work from my home in Spetisbury and from our weight loss centre in Huttons Hair and Beauty in Ferndown.

"Everyone who took part in the challenge did extremely well in both their weight loss and raising so much money for such a good cause."

Alex and Nicki presented the cheque to Rod Slip, chairman of the Bournemouth MS Society Hub in Church Lane, West Parley, who said: "We are very grateful for this donation which will go a long way to helping us to continue to support those with multiple sclerosis.

"The Hub provides a crucial meeting place for our members, with regular lunches, physiotherapy and indoor and outdoor activities, but we are entirely selffunded and rely totally on the support of our fantastic volunteers, fundraising events and donations such as this one."

Around 20 of Nicki's clients took part in the challenge and donated to the charity. The competition was closely fought but the eventual winner lost over eight per cent of her starting weight - that's nearly 15 pounds over the 30 days. Nicki and Alex are keen to point out, however, that everyone's weight loss journey is unique to them.

A BENCH commemorating the 75th anniversary of VE and VJ Day has been commissioned from a local graphic designer by Blandford Town Council, which has agreed to spend up to £1,200 on its production and installation.

Councillors considered a number of design submissions, but agreed to install only one bench.

D E L

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D E L

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April 2020

Eminent potter’s work goes on sale SOME of the final work of Durweston potter Richard Batterham is for sale in a varied exhibition of paintings, pots and furniture at Sladers Yard in West Bay, which is on display until Sunday, April 26.

Richard, acclaimed as the foremost living maker of domestic stoneware in the world, has work in numerous museums, including the Tate and the V&A, as well as in private collections. Sladers Yard has held major annual selling exhibitions since 2009.

Born in 1936, Richard became interested in pottery at Bryanston School, under the guidance of Donald Potter, a student of Eric Gill, who had also worked with Michael Cardew at Winchcombe.

After National Service, Richard worked for two years under Bernard Leach at the Leach Pottery in St Ives, Cornwall.

There he and his future wife, Dinah Dunn, met Atsuya Hamada, a son of Shoji Hamada, who taught them a

great deal about mingei and Japanese ways with clay.

In 1959 they left to set up their own pottery at Water Lane, Durweston. After a 60-year career, he is now no longer able to throw more pots, and the final firing of his kiln was managed last year with help of his son, potter Reuben Batterham.

Planning permission was granted last month for the conversion of his pottery to residential accommodation.

Again with Reuben's help, pots dating back as far as the 1960s and put aside in a private collection used by Richard for his own reference and as a record of his work have been released, together with some from the final firings of his kiln, for the exhibition, which also features paintings by Alex Lowery and furniture by Petter Southall.

It is open from Monday to Saturday 10am to 4.30pm, Sundays from 10am to 3pm. All work can be viewed and bought at sladersyard.co.uk.

Sue Henesey, director of the Pimperne pantomime Cinderella, presents the £2,000 proceeds to village hall chairman Peter Slocombe, watched by cast and crew members.

Cinderella pays out PIMPERNE's village panto Cinderella raised an amazing £2,000 for the village hall.

A cheque was presented at the monthly coffee morning to parish councillor and hall committee chairman Peter Slocombe by pantomime director Sue Henesey.

She was joined by members of the cast, crew and musicians taking part in the three performances staged in the hall to great acclaim on December 14 and 15.

They included her husband Ian who, with Joss Wood, played the ugly sisters Fanny and Anny, Dorset's Chief Constable James Vaughan, who played the Fairy Inspector, Mick Raine (Buttons), Michael Donne (Lord Chamberlain), John Beckford (Baron Hardup), Charlotte Boulton (Prince Charming) and Raya Kirwin in the title role.

Mr Slocombe thanked them for their very generous donation, saying it would be enormously helpful in maintaining the hall for the community.

The panto team are now looking forward to their 2020 production, which will be Snow White.

20

Blandford Evening WI members in the earth house at the Ancient Technology Centre.

Left to right: WI members Sheila Chapman, Jenny Wise and Simone WallsMacDonald with their cakes with seven candles.

April 2020

WI members enjoy a journey back in time MEMBERS of Blandford Evening WI were shown around the superbly crafted buildings of the Ancient Technology Centre at Cranborne.

The visit was a thank you for all the hard work undertaken by members making tunics for the centre, which schoolchildren wear when on residential stays experiencing the everyday life of children of the Dark Ages.

A brief introduction to the history and ethos of the centre was given by long-time volunteer Colin Allborough.

The ladies then progressed through the Mesolithic to the Roman water wheel, then on past the medieval garden to the original roundhouse, the Roman forge and the Dartmoor building to the newest construction on site, the sunken Saxon Gruben Haus alongside the teaching shelter of timber and thatch which is being built by the centre volunteers.

The visitors were in awe of the impressive earth house with its

80-ton earth roof held up by massive oak timbers and able to seat over 200 people.

President, Simone WallsMcDonald, a member of Forum Drama, was convinced that one of the Shakespeare Dramas should be staged there.

At the end of the tour, beverages were served in the full-size authentic Viking long house, which serves as overnight accommodation for the children who come to experience the centre throughout the school terms from April to October.

• The Institute recently celebrated its seventh birthday with cakes carrying seven candles and entertainment from seven singers from the accomplished Gravellers a capella group.

Steam rides net £17k TRAILER rides at the Great Dorset Steam Fair last year raised a massive £17,006.55 for Dorset Mind, the chosen beneficiary of the steam-engine towed tours of the heavy haulage arena which every year attract thousands of passengers.

A cheque was presented at the annual GDSF dinner dance by steam fair MD Michael Oliver to Anna Powney, children & young people service manager for the charity, who described some of its work in supporting local people with mental health challenges.

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21

April 2020

Handy tips to make the most of clothes IN the average UK household, nearly a third of clothes - worth over £1,000 per household, £30 billion in total - haven't been worn in the last year. It's estimated that the average item of clothing is worn only 10 times before it's thrown away.

However, there are some simple steps you can take to limit your impact on the environment, while also looking good and saving money. Picking up pre-loved clothes can also be a great way of getting a new look for less.

• Buying smarter means buying clothes that are better made and will last longer; • Just a little know-how about care and repair can make all the difference when it comes to

keeping your clothes looking great; • Altering, accessorising and combining clothes can revamp your wardrobe, giving you a unique style that nobody else can match.

If you do have unwanted clothes still good enough to wear, you could take them to a charity shop, sell them or use a clothing bank. Details of your nearest clothing bank can be found at dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/recyclingcentres.

Many people are now also swapping their clothes online, as well as at popular clothes swap events. For more useful tips about loving your clothes visit loveyourclothes.org.uk.

Landscape celebration CHASE & Chalke, the new Cranborne Chase & Chalke Valley Landscape Partnership funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, is inviting walkers, groups and individuals to get involved with a new walking festival to be launched in September.

Rachel Limb, the festival organiser, said: "We're really excited about our inaugural walking festival, which will showcase many of the area's outstanding landscapes, special history and the species-rich habitats of Cranborne Chase and the Chalke

Valley. We hope that many people will want to take part or help us devise the perfect routes."

The festival aims to encourage people to get out and about in the region's unique landscapes.

Volunteers with an interest in walking, archaeology, ecology or history who would like to work with the team to devise and check walking routes, or act as walk leaders, both during and after the festival, can contact Rachel on 01725 517417, or email rachellimb@cranbornechase.org.uk.

IF you are old enough to have been there, young enough to remember, or are fortunate enough to know, where were you or your family on VE Day in 1945? Share your memories and pictures with us for a special feature next month. If they arrive too late for our deadline on April 10, we'll share them with the Commemoration Group who hope to hold an exhibition later in the year commemorating the 75th anniversary of VE and VJ Day following the cancellation of that planned for May 1 to 3. Call 01258 459346, email editor@forumfocus.co.uk or write to Forum Focus at 18 Tudor Gardens, Blandford DT11 7PL.

Local artists Andy McIver, Judith Ryde and Peter Smart at their 'Art in the Museum' exhibition.

Maritime art on show THE March 'Art at the Museum' exhibition in Blandford Town Museum had a maritime theme with three local artists, Andy McIver, Judith Ryde and Peter Smart, showing work in a variety of media.

All three are members of Blandford Art Society, which holds regular monthly meetings on the third Thursday of the month at Pimperne village hall from 1 to 4pm, with workshops, talks and demonstrations costing non-members £5 and members £3.

Group painting sessions every Tuesday between 2.30 to 4.30pm, which used to be held at the Kings Arms in Blandford, are now held at The Brewery Tap in Blandford St Mary and are free of charge.

The society's annual open exhibition will be held in the Corn Exchange from August 10 to 15, and a members' exhibition will be in Blandford Town Museum in December.

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The View from the Hill

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

A

digestate and chicken manure on some of our drier fields destined for spring barley. Gary has spent a couple of days following them, incorporating the manure into the soil. Now it has rained again we are set back further. Freshly cultivated soil once re-wetted takes longer to dry out than if we hadn't moved it at all, but how long do we have to wait without doing anything, trying to second guess when the rain will finally stop for more than three days at a time?

The cows have been popping out calves at a pretty steady pace over the last month.

Safely indoors where they can't poach the soil, they are munching away on good-quality hay that we made last summer. That is when they can get at it - the calves have discovered it makes a very comfortable creche. This shows a disadvantage to hay feeding - they wouldn't have done this on damp silage.

NOTHER day another rain gauge measurement. 7.5mm today, to add to the 50 we've already had in March. In the six months since September 1, we have measured over 1100mm, which is more than an average year's entire rainfall. Interestingly this is so far only the third wettest September-Mar period since our records The rain gauge at began. The winters of Our new 'improved Traveller's Rest.

2000/01 and 2013/14 Welsh' sheep have conproduced 1150mm in each case. tinued to display their talents by producing a few more early To have sown no spring crops by lambs. They continue to graze mid-March is already cause for turnips but will soon be moved concern, but there are very many onto grass so we can press on farmers on more difficult soils with barley sowing (weather perthan ours who could sow no winmitting). ter crops at all last autumn, and will have been hoping that we might get a fair spring sowing The Durweston meadows were season, for whom it is now nothinundated in the middle of ing short of a disaster. Soils high February. Fortunately the water in clay content by their nature subsided quite quickly, even take much longer than our chalkthough the rain has continued; based soils to dry out. Last night's there remain a few damp patches, 7.5mm will prevent us doing any which attract attention from large more land work here for two or feathered friends. three days, but for clay soils, on Wellies were definitely not enough top of all that has fallen recently, for a trip along the footpath from measure that in weeks.

Durweston to Stourpaine near the weir at the Old Mill.

In the last few days we have seen George Mogridge's muckspreading team at work, spreading A course run in Sherborne by

April 2020 FWAG (the farming and wildlife advisory group) really lit up the debate around soils and how to improve them, and the subject of encouraging natural predator control of crop pests like the cabbage stem flea beetle.

The principle of encouraging integrated pest management is not new but is something we are re-learning rapidly as various agrichemicals are removed from the market. At times it has been too easy to reach for a can of pesticide when perhaps a longer The calves in their unofficial 'creche'. term and more carefully more than 90% water. Did the thought out strategy might be betwater in the food you just bought ter for a host of reasons. come from a region of the world As a consequence of this meetwhich is under high water stress? ing, we have joined the ASSIST Is it responsible to be importing project (Achieving Sustainable water (in the form of food - tomaAgricultural Systems), specifically toes, lettuce, cucumbers or raspa trial to evaluate the value of berries) from such countries as establishing in-field strips of wild Morocco, South Africa, Chile, flowers to provide habitat for benAlgeria, Egypt, Spain, Italy or eficials.

France, yes, even France? It is An early theory is that the insects quite shocking to see the areas of will not travel much more than 50 the world suffering water stress. metres into a crop in search of (See map on website). food, so we are going to sow strips of wild flowers in two of our largest fields, at 108-metre spacing (allowing 3 x 36m sprayer widths between each for applying fertiliser and sprays, not insecticide obviously), and investigate who moves in, and long term if we see any positive effects in crops. We have to believe there's a chance it will work and enjoy the flowers even if it doesn't.

Shopping is hard work at the best of times, but every purchasing decision we make passes a message up the production line that it's fine for retailers to continue selling whatever it was you just bought.

Most food contains water, in fact most fruit and vegetables contain

In March, you could still buy UKproduced apples, as well as apples from France and South Africa, most of which would have been picked in September. UK growers have invested heavily in storage facilities for apples and other fruit, to extend the season of availability, so why buy foreign water?

Our local Tesco stocks nothing but Spanish caulis, when Cornwall grows huge amounts of the winter-harvested crop grown with Cornish water. Cheaper foreign foods will almost always have a hidden cost - the environmental cost - attached. We should always read the label and think about the consequences of our purchases.

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April 2020

Princess launches Signals’ centenary THIS year marks the centenary of the formation of the Royal Corps of Signals, and there will be celebrations at Blandford Camp in June at the Royal Signals 100th anniversary Corps Weekend from June 26 to 28.

They will include a Freedom Parade through Blandford on the afternoon of Sunday June 28, the anniversary of the date on which a 'Corps of Signals' was given the Sovereign's approval in 1920, when Winston Churchill, as Secretary of State for War, signed the Royal Warrant.

Six weeks later in August, King George V conferred the title Royal Corps of Signals.

Centenary celebrations were launched at a ceremony and service in Salisbury Cathedral on February 29 attended by their Commander-in-Chief, the Princess Royal.

The service was led by the Dean of Salisbury, the Very Reverend

Nicholas Papadopulos, and the Army Chaplain General, the Venerable Clinton Langston.

The Princess flew in to join over 1,000 serving members, veterans and cadets of the Corps.

Accompanied by her husband, Admiral Tim Lawrence, Princess Anne was met by the Dean, Master of Signals, Lieut-Gen Sir Nick Pope, and the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire Sarah Troughton, and inspected a guard of honour provided by 3 (United Kingdom) Division Signals Regiment.

She took the salute as the parade marched past, led by the Royal Signals (Northern) Band from Darlington and including Chelsea Pensioners, 45 Royal Signals Association standards from across the country and a large contingent from Bulford-based 3rd (United Kingdom) Division Signal Regiment.

The Royal Signals Band and the Signals Association standards.

A call for singers SINGERS are being sought for a newly formed Dorset show choir, Coro Bonhomie, whose first production will be the premiere of a new musical, 'Mutiny on HMS Bounty' written by Winterborne Stickland resident Ron Dawson.

Ron is the author of the popular children's adventure stories of 'Scary Bones the Skeleton', and staged 'Lest We Forget', the National Children's WWI Remembrance Concert, at the NEC in Birmingham.

He has now turned his hand to creating this musical retelling of the world's most famous mutiny which took place on board HMS Bounty in 1791. The show will be

directed by Sonia Gibson with musical director Lee Redwood and premiered at the Canford School Layard Theatre on October 28.

All voices are sought and rehearsals will be held on Tuesday evenings in Broadstone, with some Sunday sessions as the show approaches.

Experience is not as important as a willingness to learn. Initial meetings of the choir begin in April with rehearsals and auditions for principal parts later in the month. For full details and to apply call 01202 732734 or email clunky489@gmail.com.

The Princess Royal and the Dean of Salisbury, the Very Reverend Nicholas Papadopulos.

Library leader needed KEEN readers will understand how important it is to carry on even if they can't get to the local library.

The Home Library Service in Blandford needs a local volunteer coordinator to join and lead its team of volunteers at Blandford Library who take books to the housebound.

A clean driving licence and use of a car are essential, but training and support will be given by the service manager and library staff, and expenses are paid.

For information or to volunteer contact Marian Jacobson, Royal Voluntary Service Manager, Dorset Home Library Service, on 01305 236666 or email maria.jacobson@royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk.

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April 2020

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

The Tea Clipper Tea Rooms

News from the Camera Club

News from the Surgeries

BLANDFORD Forum Camera Club has continued its programme of in-house and external guest speakers and remains active on the competition circuit.

WITH the uncertainty surrounding Coronavirus looking likely to continue for the near future, we are asking our patients to consider using our online consultation platform, eConsult.

This is a free service where you can submit a form online to receive help for new and ongoing non-urgent medical conditions and administrative help such as a sick note or a test result.

We know our phone lines can be busy in peak times. With eConsult, you can fill in and submit a form when it suits you.

You are guaranteed to have heard from the surgery by the end of the following working day. eConsult also has a comprehensive database of information on conditions to self-help and suggestions on over-the-counter medication.

In our most recent survey, 92% of users were satisfied with eConsult and would recommend it to their friends and family.

To submit an eConsult and to access the medical conditions database, please go to our website, theblandfordgrouppractice.co.uk and click on the eConsult tile on our homepage. The forms can be submitted from your phone and you can also submit them on behalf of your child if they under 18.

The monthly Points Cup Competition is now on Round 7, with each of the sections (monochrome print, colour print and projected images) being hotly contested. The visiting judges often comment on the range of style and subject matter within the entries and no one genre is leading.

TWO years ago Alastair and Kathy Beaven were looking for a property with holiday let potential when they found one of the 36 almost identical thatched cottages in Milton Abbas for sale.

It offered two apartments behind the cottage, ideal for holiday lets, and they discovered it also used to operate as a tea rooms and restaurant.

Recognising the potential, they spent significant time and money upgrading both the holiday lets and tea rooms, which opened in November 2018 and the Tea Clipper Tea Rooms are still going strong.

The inter-club SAPA competition against Fordingbridge Camera Club saw Blandford come out on top with 172 points vs 161 points.

A number of practical sessions have included print mounting and studio work, and in the coming weeks they hold their three set-subject competitions, with the themes this year of trees, transport and sport.

New for this season is a mobile phone photography evening.

They are keen to promote any type of photography and hope this will be popular and extend into a regular feature.

Planning for the annual exhibition, to be held in the Corn Exchange in Blandford in May, is well underway, and entries closed on March 31 for open (non-member) entries.

New members are always welcome to join this friendly and social port of call for any level of photographer, who can go along any Tuesday evening. For more information see bfcclub.co.uk.

Follow us: forumfocus.co.uk @forumfocus

Dog issues deadline IL

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PEOPLE have until Sunday April 19 to respond to Dorset Council's consultation on the dog-related public spaces order restricting how dogs should be controlled in public areas.

The survey can be found on the council's consultation section on the council's website, and the intention is to produce a single order replacing the various PSPOs introduced by the former district and borough councils to provide clarity for dog owners and non-owners about the controls in force.

Questions include how dog fouling should be removed by owners, the length of leads, whether authorised officers can direct people to put their dogs on leads. They also ask where within 30mph zones, cemeteries and graveyards, public parks, council-owned allotments and car parks and within 5 metres of sports pitches and individual beaches and seaside roads and pavements, from which beaches dogs should be excluded and when, and from which other areas dogs should be excluded, such as sports pitches and children's playgrounds.

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April 2020

OBITUARIES

Tributes to Robert Alner, racehorse trainer TRIBUTE has been paid to racehorse trainer Robert Alner, of Locketts Farm, Droop, who died on February 3, aged 76.

After a successful spell as an amateur jockey, he took out his training licence in 1993 and enjoyed a number of big-race winners, including the 1998 Cheltenham Gold Cup outsider

Cool Dawn, the 2005 Betfair Chase winner Kingscliff and The Listener, who represented his Dorset yard in the 2008 Irish Hennessy.

His career was cut short when he was paralysed in a car accident in 2007, which left him in intensive care for over 100 days. But he went on to continue training under

IN BRIEF Norman Moors of Blandford died on February 25 at Dorset County Hospital, aged 79, and a funeral service was held on March 16 at the Lesley Shand Chapel in Blandford. Donations were received for the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance. In 2016 Mr Moors, who had an allotment at Elizabeth Road and was known as 'Ferret Man', having run ferret racing events at various local shows, received a certificate of appreciation from Blandford Town Council for services to the Allotment Society, and tribute was paid on the society's social media page to his commitment to the allotment community.

Winifred (Win) Woolley, whose 100th birthday was celebrated at Castleman House last summer, died peacefully at the Blandford care home on December 8. A funeral service was held at Poole Crematorium on February 19 under the direction of Colin Close Funeral Service, Blandford.

Una Cox died at Castleman House Care Home on January 23, aged 90.

A memorial service was held at Child Okeford Parish Church on February 11 and donations were received by funeral directors Colin Close for the AAIR Charity (Asthma, Allergy and Inflammation Research c/o Southampton Hospital).

Albert Edward Cook of Blandford died suddenly on January 18, aged 81 years, and his funeral service was held at Poole Crematorium on February 21. Donations to the British Lung Foundation were received by funeral directors Co-operative Funeralcare of Sturminster Newton.

Eamonn McNamara, husband of the late Jackie, died on March 2 in Blandford Community Hospital, aged 87 years. A Requiem Mass with funeral service was held at Our Lady of Lourdes & St Cecelia's Church, Blandford, on March 18. Donations for CAFOD were received by the Colin J Close Funeral Service, Blandford.

George Amey of Charlton Marshall died on February 10, aged 84 years.

A funeral service was held at St Mary's Church, Tarrant Hinton, on March 10. Donations in his memory to the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance were received by Co-operative Funeralcare, Shaftesbury.

Valerie Ashford died peacefully at Blandford Hospital on February 6 after a short illness, aged 85 years. A funeral service was held at Winterborne Stickland Parish Church on February 27. Donations to Milton Abbas Surgery were received by Colin J. Close Funeral Service, Blandford.

a joint licence with his wife Sally until 2010, when the pair announced their retirement.

He is survived by Sally and their daughters Jennifer and Louise, who is married to trainer Robert Walford.

Mr Walford said: "One of our owners, John Millar, is a doctor and he said it was 250-1 for Robert to last five years after his accident and evens for him to last two years, so for Robert to live for 12 years after it just shows what an amazing man he was.

"He's been a boss, father-in-law and inspiration to me. He was a brilliant, top-class trainer who did so well with horses that were not expensive. He was tough and had plenty of courage."

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls paid tribute on Twitter, saying it was Mr Alner's "extraordinary toughness of spirit" after his car accident that left "an indelible impression on everyone who knew him".

Andrew Thornton, the jockey who rode Cool Dawn to victory and

Miko De Beauchene in the Welsh Grand National a month after the accident, said: "He'd been going to Salisbury Hospital every two months on and off for the last 12 years. The nurses knew him like part of the family. Even in the last week one of the nurses was reading him the Racing Post, even though he wasn't in a good way."

Six years after the crash, Mr Alner spoke of coming to terms with his injuries in an interview with a national newspaper. He said: "I was in a ward with teenagers in wheelchairs who were all paralysed. It broke my heart to watch these young lads, yet they never moaned and were so positive.

That definitely helped me. Their lives were all in front of them, while I came to realise I'd done everything I wanted to do, really. I feel lucky that I was fit enough to do it."

His funeral was held on March 2, and donations were for the Injured Jockeys Fund and Stars Appeal for Radnor ward at Salisbury Hospital.

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April 2020

27

April 2020

LIKELY TO BE CANCELLED

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April 2020

Crowds flock as the museum pays a visit MORE than 500 adults and children visited the Inflatable Museum which was brought to the Corn Exchange by the 'Tomorrow's Museum for Dorset on Tour' team from the Dorset County Museum while the museum itself is closed for major refurbishment.

Half-term wet weather outside helped to bring in the crowds to see the pop-up museum which has, in association with touring arts promoters Artsreach, been on tour to rural communities around Dorset, providing a great opportunity to bring the experience of visiting the museum to towns and

villages. It offered a free drop-in to learn about the museum's current redevelopment and brought engaging activities, and the opportunity to handle objects from the museum's collection including archaeology, natural history, social history and fossils, with children trails and 'make and create' workshops.

It also featured an exhibit on the evolution of writing from the Blandford Town Museum.

If you missed it in Blandford, it will be visiting Child Okeford village hall on Saturday April 25, when it will be open from 11am to 3pm, again with free admission.

County Museum volunteer Nick Heape with Beverley Sansom trying out a milkmaid's churns for size.

Keyboard skills from the days before computers came on the scene.

Taking a closer look: a young visitor with a magnifying glass.

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April 2020

Durweston celebrates its glowing report

Pupils at Durweston CE VA Primary celebrate the judgement that they have a 'good' school.

DURWESTON CE VA primary school has been judged as a good school, following a church school inspection before half-term.

The inspection covered academic outcomes and leadership as well as the character and spiritual development of the children, and the effectiveness of teaching in RE. In the feedback to staff, the inspector said that the children's knowledge was excellent and that the school is a place of care, compassion, joy and love.

The report stated: "Dedicated staff and governors ensure this is a nurturing Christian family com-

munity, enabling all adults and pupils to flourish. Pupils show resilience and courage and go on to the next stage of their lives with a love of learning.

"Reluctant readers delight in the joy of reading; pupils who may find learning difficult thrive. Pupils feel safe and secure and enjoy their time in school. They are genuinely caring."

Head teacher Nicola Brooke said: "Obviously we are delighted. We know that we are a good school, with great children and dedicated staff. It's just lovely when someone else recognises and acknowledges this."

A room full of book characters at Okeford Fitzpaine.

Books bound for Zambia THROUGH donations raised on World Book Day, Okeford Fitzpaine primary school has been able to send three boxes of books to the Simoonga Thandizani trust school in Zambia.

Okeford Fitzpaine's admin and finance officer Christina Spencer-Smith said: "Okeford Fitzpaine has been in a favourable position recently, being able to purchase new books for the school library. Children and staff agreed what better way of celebrating books and reading than sharing books, no longer needed, with a less fortunate school."

Rotarians helping out Books from Okeford Fitzpaine bound for Zambia.

Landmark year for Panda

BLANDFORD'S two Rotary Clubs and Blandford Lions, who in December clubbed together to support the Blandford Foodbank, have again pooled their resources to support Blandford St Mary primary school with a £600 donation to improve outdoor play facilities for the reception class.

Jim Atkins of Blandford Rotary and Graham Colls of Stour

Rotary visited the school to present the cheque to head teacher Rosaleen Beaver, who said it would be used to provide shelter so the children could enjoy outdoor learning, now seen as an important part of early years education.

• Jim (left) and Graham (right) are pictured with Mrs Beaver and some of the children who will benefit, Ezmé, Rocco and Luna.

PANDA Pre-school celebrated World Book Day with a pyjama day and bringing their favourite books to share with their friends.

It is a special year for Panda as they will be celebrating their 40th anniversary on June 13 at the pre-school from 11am to 5pm, and they would like as many past pupils, staff and committee members to come along for the celebration.

There will be lots to do including circus skills, magic show, barbecue, bar, photo booth and a chance to see photographs and share experiences of Panda.

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April 2020

Taking a book out

Pupils from local primary schools and regional prep schools at the Science Day at Bryanston School.

Record attendance for Science Day TALENTED pupils from junior schools in the Blandford Schools' Network and prep schools as far afield as Fareham and Chichester took part in the 2020 Science Day for aspiring young scientists, held at Bryanston School.

The annual event has continued to grow in popularity and was this year attended by a record number of Year 6 pupils.

Bryanston's head of science Nick Welford, who organised and hosted the event, said: "We're delighted with the success of the day and the wonderful responses from our young guests. Our aim is to enthuse all the pupils about the wonders of science and give them the opportunity to experience the 'art' of discovery for themselves."

Hands-on practical sessions were held in the school's physics, chemistry and biology departments and followed by presentations by six Bryanston biology teachers on their favourite organism, which culminated with a clapometer vote from pupils for their preferred choice.

A 'whodunnit' exercise then gave

pupils the opportunity to analyse and assess evidence from the scene of a crime to try and identify the culprit.

For the first time, the day also included a special in-service training exercise for teaching staff from the participating schools focusing on the potential use of data loggers, the teaching of science skills and managing pupil anxiety arising from the growing debate and concerns about climate change.

Sara Skellorn, head of science at Knighton House School in Durweston, said: "It was a thrilling and enthralling day for all of the pupils and a great opportunity for pupils to share the fascination of scientific discovery with children from so many other schools across the region. Every session captured the imagination and attention of young minds.

"The day provided an enlightening experience for pupils and certainly reinforced their interest in all areas of science, and the training sessions for teaching staff from the participating schools was a real bonus."

Milldown School president Tia cuts the ribbon to open the outdoor library.

THE children of Milldown CE Academy were excited to start using their outdoor library, which was officially opened by the school president, Tia from Year 6.

Funds for the library were raised by the Friends of Milldown and books were also kindly donated by parents.

The library will be used at different points during the school day, including break times and after school, to promote reading for pleasure.

The clean-up brigade THE message about the importance of keeping your hands clean has been spreading even to the youngest children at Durweston CE VA Primary School.

In Handy Paws pre-school, children have been assiduously scrubbing not their own hands, but blown-up latex gloves covered in pen 'germs'.

"The children kept at it for a good 25 minutes," said pre-school manager Lyndsay McKinley-Nichols, "and by the time they'd finished, everyone's hands were really clean. We hope this will instil good habits for life."

Beethoven concert beaten by the virus BRYANSTON School's spring concert at Christchurch Priory celebrating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth and scheduled for March 18, had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.

But local supporters of the school were able to experience the talent of some of the school's musical scholars when they were invited by headmaster Mark Mortimer to a special community evening at the school.

The event celebrated the success of collaborative initiatives such as the Blandford Schools

Network and the new loyalty card scheme for high street shops and businesses.

The three-course dinner was enjoyed by more than 100 people, including Blandford Mayor Cllr Lynn Lindsay and local councillors, heads of primary schools, representatives of retail outlets and Bryanston governors.

It featured musical interludes provided by a number of Bryanston's music scholars, including May P, Tenny T-B, Aurelia S, Ruihan B-S, Jung W and Luke S. Mr Mortimer said: "Everyone who attended is,

in effect, one of today's custodians of the local area with a responsibility to nurture and improve the spirit of our community.

"All of us at Bryanston cherish and value our own place in the community and we are very keen to strengthen our links. Our loyalty card scheme involving so many local retailers, and the Blandford Schools' Network which continues to be so beneficial for younger members of the community are just two examples of what can be achieved through effective collaboration and mutually beneficial partnerships."

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April 2020

Revamped cricket pavilion should be fit for new season BLANDFORD Cricket Club's newly extended pavilion is nearing completion on the Park Road recreation ground and it is hoped will be ready for the start of the cricket season this month, with an official opening planned for 5pm on Thursday April 30.

To help with anticipated additional expenditure and a seven per cent overspend of just over £13,000 after contractors identified a number of extra items needing attention, town councillors have agreed to pay for the overspend in addition to the £45,000 already allocated to the project.

They also agreed to issue a formal 25-year lease to the club to assist them in getting an interestfree loan from the English Cricket Board and in making grant applications, which if successful could mean the loan is not needed.

They hope to apply for a Dorset Cricket Board facilities grant for women's cricket for £10,000 which would give them the best women's facilities in Dorset.

A request for a ten-year £20,000 loan to the club was deferred for further information.

Grounds and property manager Jon Goodenough said all the extra works to date were justifiable in terms of future-proofing and reducing the carbon footprint of the original part of the pavilion, which is owned by the council, but had no money spent on it for some time leading up to the works starting.

The club has contributed £25,000

to date and obtained further funding, bringing their contribution to £32,000.

"I believe it was assumed by the town council that the renovation of the original pavilion would be part of the overall project and therefore budgeted for by the club. But the town council supported the other sports clubs with additional costs and officer support, which has not yet been required from the cricket club.

"For the football club project, unforeseen works were carried out to the borehole and the new five-bar gate, and office support was given for the footpath, stand, seating and funding claims.

"For the bowls club, additional works were carried out to the roof which increased the expenditure for the town council by £8,500."

Most councillors were fully supportive of giving the extra funding, but Councillor Steve Hitchings said he was a little prejudiced against it after the cricket club rejected proposals some years ago for a joint football/cricket/community pavilion to the south of the recreation ground in favour of a pavilion on the existing site to the north. "But I wouldn't want the project to be stopped," he said.

Both he and Councillor Haydn White said they thought it was going to be a completely new pavilion rather than refurbishment and extension, but they were reminded that plans for a new building were rejected because they would impact on a protected tree.

The cricket pavilion nearing completion on Park Road Recreation Ground.

New village home for croquet club A CROQUET club which has existed at Kingston Maurward for nearly 35 years has transferred to a new venue at Winterborne Stickland.

The Kingston Maurward Croquet Club has become the Winterborne Valley Croquet Club (WVCC) and moved on to the football pitch at the Winterborne Stickland Sports and Community Club.

Chairman Tim Dennis said: "When the college had some changes in 2019, we had to find a new site and we are delighted to have found a new home. We hope to launch the new season in mid-April."

Members have been working hard over the winter to prepare the grass to be suitable for croquet and moving the club, club-

house, mallets and hoops to the new site.

Some of their 30-plus members have played for England, and committee members Steve and Michelle Leonard have been chosen by the sport's UK national governing body, the Croquet Association, to join their Golf Croquet International Development Team.

The club, which is a member of the South West Federation of Croquet Clubs and has teams in three of its leagues, will be looking for new members with free taster sessions and then coaching for those who want to try the game.

There will be a club open day from 2 to 5pm on Sunday May 17. Further information can be found at wvcroquet.co.uk.

32 PLEASE NOTE: Many events had already been cancelled in response to the Covid 19 (coronavirus) pandemic at the time of going to press and have been removed from this list. Others are at risk of possible cancellation or postponement. We have given contact numbers, so please check with the venue or organiser before attending.

Saturday April 4: Langham's Wine Tasting, Bryanston Club, 7.30 to 8.30pm, tickets £15 from 01258 454423, Music from the 70s & 80s Sunday April 5: Annual Run of the Dorset Section of the Vintage Motor Cycle Club, bikes arriving from 10am for 11am start, Market Place, Blandford, details 01258 721356 Monday April 6: Start of school holidays to April 19 Friday to Sunday April 10 to 13: Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday Saturday April 11: Mini-Fest - live music, BBQ and entertainments, supporting Parkinsons Society and Macmillan - True Lovers Knot, Tarrant Keyneston, 01258 452209 Annual Fun Dog Show, East Farm, Tarrant Monkton, from 2pm Wednesday April 15: Easter Egg Hunt, Woodhouse Gardens, Blandford, 10am to noon, 01258 454500 Thursday April 16: Blandford Art Society Demonstration by Michael Parker, Pimperne Village Hall, 1.30pm, blandfordartsociety.weebly.com Saturday April 18: Cats' Protection League Coffee Morning, Woodhouse Gardens Pavilion, Blandford, 9.30am to 12.30pm, 01258 456860 Charity coffee morning, Tarrant Gunville village hall Bob's big quiz, Bryanston Club, 7.30pm, 01258 454423 Sunday April 19: Dorset Ramblers meet at The Greyhound Inn at Winterborne Kingston at 10.15am for 5-mile walk am and 2.5-mile walk pm through easy-walking, lightlywooded downland. Lunch at The Greyhound, contact jenny.newman@zen.co.uk Monday April 20: Strictly Come Tea Dancing with the Soggy Biscuit Dance Band, Corn Exchange, Blandford, 2.30 to 4.30pm, 01258 454500 Film Night 'Knives Out' (12A), Okeford Fitzpaine Village Hall, 7.30pm, 01258 861357

What’s on this month 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 events@forumfocus.co.uk. This page is available and regularly updated on our website at www.forumfocus.co.uk.

Miki and her mum Erika (left) and older sister Julia (right).

Miki’s music honours the ‘different’ children AN 11-year-old girl with Down's Syndrome and global development delay, Micaela (Miki), has released a charity single, 'Different', to raise awareness of her condition and fundraise for four local disability charities and her school, the Beaucroft Foundation at Wimborne.

Her mother Erika Petrie said: "I wrote the song while Miki was being treated in Salisbury District Hospital. It developed into what I thought my daughter might say if she had a voice, to honour all the other children who are 'different'. It is something that all families of children with learning difficulties or other 'differences' can relate to."

With musical arrangement, chords and harmonies by Julian Saxl, Bendik Engebretsen and Kay Caulkin-Jones, and recording production by Jamie King at Absolute Music, it can be found with a video, courtesy of Sam Harvell, by keying https://shadesofdifferent.com/ where the charities can be supported.

The Beaucroft Foundation School caters for children and young people aged between four and 19 with learning difficulties, including complex needs and Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

The two parent-run charities are 21 & Co and Downright Perfect, which offer children with Down's Syndrome and their families in the south services including speech classes, drama club, youth club, workshops, family events, monthly support groups and subsidised therapy to aid in early development.

The other two charities are Diverse Ability, Dorset's disability charity supporting more than 700 children across the county, and the Dorset Children's Foundation, which was set up in 2013 to improve the lives of local sick and differently abled children.

Wednesday April 22: Pimperne Annual Parish meeting, Pimperne Village Hall, 7.00pm Friday April 24: Royal Opera House screening of Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci, Coade Hall, Bryanston School, 7pm, bryanston.co.uk/livestreaming Film 'The Good Liar' (15) starring Helen Mirren & Ian McKellen, Child Okeford Village Hall, 01258

860113 Saturday and Sunday April 25 and 26: Sturminster Marshall Evening WI Cream Teas, The Old School Hall, Sturminster Marshall (next to The Red Lion) 2.30 to 5.30pm, 01258 858135 Saturday April 25: St George's Day celebration, Child Okeford A Band for All Seasons, The Stour Valley Band in concert,

April 2020 If you are shopping for friends, relatives or neighbours who are self-isolating, please remember you can pick up copies of Forum Focus for them from our drop points.

Corn Exchange, Blandford, 7pm, free entry. 01258 454500 Sunday April 26: Dorset Ramblers meet at The Old Ox Inn at Shillingstone at 10.15 am for 5.5-ml walk on North Dorset Trailway am and/or 4 mls pm through lanes and meadows. Lunch at The Old Ox, jenny.newman@zen.co.uk Pimperne Quiz Sunday, The Anvil, new time 7pm, for Pimperne Hedgehogs, Jackie 07879 003567 Monday April 27: Superfast Dorset Digital Champion session, Blandford Library, 4 to 6pm, 01258 452075 Wednesday April 29: Blandford Community Hospital Bingo, Royal British Legion, eyes down 7.30pm, 01258 451456 Thursday April 30: Official opening of Blandford Cricket Club's new pavilion, Park Road Recreation Ground, 5pm

Volunteers’ green work VOLUNTEERS from Blandford joined others from across Dorset to plant new lime trees alongside the main road into Swanage as part of a new project by the charity Trees for Dorset.

The initiative, called 'I'm backing a greener Britain', involved the Sustainable Swanage group and was supported by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and the Wool Flora and Fauna Group.

Planting, alongside Swanage's Victoria Avenue, was co-ordinated by Trees for Dorset consultant project officer Toby Branston.

A project spokesman said: "The idea is to work with community groups or individuals wishing to plant trees to counteract climate change, providing expertise and financial input."

'I'm backing a greener Britain' is also promoting signatories to its environmental charter, upholding green ethics such as promoting the use of hedges rather than fences and opposing any development that threatens ancient woodland, and the removal of healthy trees more than 200 years old to facilitate the execution of planning applications. Visit treesfordorset.co.uk for further information.