Bridport Times June 2018

J UNE 2018 | FREE

A MONTHLY CELEBR ATION OF PEOPLE, PLACE AND PURVEYOR

EYES AND EARS with The National Coastwatch

bridporttimes.co.uk

WELCOME

C

hildren return home from day-long adventures, bugs in hair, sand in shoes and small fists clutching perfect pebbles. The skies are a chattering tangle of hungry newcomers while contented plump pigeons purr on their nests. On the pavement below, bodies liberated from winter layers are draped in summer dresses and the air is sweet with the smell of suncream.

And so to June. Anna Powell discusses the striking work of artist Simon Quadrat ahead of his forthcoming Sladers Yard exhibition ‘Odd Man Out’, Angie Porter meets the acclaimed Bridport-based photographer George Wright, Paul Newman and Emma Tabor visit Kingcombe in search of orchids, Molly Bruce does a spot of wallpapering while our culinary dream team of Gill Meller, Cass Titcombe and Charlie Soole prepare dinner. I am also very pleased to welcome to our pages archeologist Chris Tripp. This month Chris takes us to Eggardon Hill and opens our eyes to 2,000 years of history. Jo and Katharine meanwhile head to the coast and meet the dedicated volunteers of the Hive Beach National Coastwatch. As we bask, frolic, fish and explore, this eagle-eyed team stay one step ahead, keeping us quietly out of harm's way.

Have a wonderful month.

Glen Cheyne, Editor glen@homegrown-media.co.uk @bridporttimes @bridport_times

CONTRIBUTORS Editorial and creative direction Glen Cheyne Design Andy Gerrard @round_studio Sub editors Jay Armstrong @jayarmstrong_ Elaine Taylor Photography Katharine Davies @Katharine_KDP Feature writer Jo Denbury @jo_denbury Editorial assistant Paul Newman @paulnewmanart Print Pureprint Distribution Available throughout Bridport and surrounding villages.

Please see bridporttimes.co.uk for stockists.

Contact 01935 315556 @bridporttimes editor@bridporttimes.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk

Homegrown Media Ltd 81 Cheap Street Sherborne Dorset DT9 3BA

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4 | Bridport Times | June 2018

Martin Ballam Xtreme Falconry xtremefalconry.co.uk Simon Barber Evolver @SimonEvolver @simonpaulbarber evolver.org.uk Alice Blogg @alice_blogg @alice_blogg aliceblogg.co.uk Molly Bruce @mollyellenbruce mollybruce.co.uk Caroline Butler BSc (Hons) MNIMH herbalcaroline.co.uk Fraser Christian Coastal Survival School @CoastalSurvival coastalsurvival.com Alice Chutter Yoga with Alice @bridportyogawithalice Neville Copperthwaite n.copperthwaite@gmail.com Megan Dunford @BridportArts @BridportArts bridport-arts.com Kit Glaisyer @kitglaisyer @kitglaisyer kitglaisyer.com

Nicola Kelly Bridport Museum @BridportMuseum bridportmuseum.co.uk Angie Porter The Front Room Workshop @angieporter @angi.porter thefrontroomworkshop.com Anna Powell Sladers Yard @SladersYard @sladersyard sladersyard.wordpress.com Adam & Ellen Simon Tamarisk Farm @ tamarisk_farm tamariskfarm.co.uk Charlie Soole The Club House West Bexington @theclubhouse2017 @TheClubHouse217 theclubhousewestbexington.co.uk Antonia Squire The Bookshop @bookshopbridprt @thebookshopbridport dorsetbooks.com Emma Tabor & Paul Newman @paulnewmanart @paulnewmanartist paulnewmanartist.com Cass Titcombe Brassica Restaurant @brassica_food @brassicarestaurant_mercantile brassicarestaurant.co.uk

Charlie Groves Groves Nurseries @GrovesNurseries @grovesnurseries grovesnurseries.co.uk

Chris Tripp Dorset Diggers Community Archaeology Group dorsetdiggers.btck.co.uk

Tamara Jones Loving Healthy @lovinghealthy_ @lovinghealthy_ lovinghealthy.co.uk

Sally Welbourne Dorset Wildlife Trust @DorsetWildlife @dorsetwildlife dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk

Gill Meller @GillMeller @Gill.Meller gillmeller.com

50 6

What’s On

12 Arts & Culture 26 History 30 Wild Dorset

JUNE 2018 36 Outdoors

70 Interiors

46 NATIONAL COASTWATCH INSTITUTION

76 Gardening

54 Food & Drink 62 Body & Mind

79 Literature 80 Crossword

bridporttimes.co.uk | 5

WHAT'S ON Listings

Company Rehearsals -

____________________________

‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’

Every Monday 7.30pm-9.30pm

Rax Lane door - Chapel in the Garden.

Thursday 7th - Sunday 24th

07840 316264

South Dorset Ridgeway

(live music on 25th). 01308 423442

Every third Friday 10.30am-3.30pm

____________________________

Bridport Embroiderers

experts & conservationists.

Every Tuesday & Thursday 10.30am

St Swithens Church hall. 01308 456168

Bridport Folk Dance Club WI Hall, North Street, DT6 3JQ. Folk dancing with recorded music

Walking the Way

boarsbarrow.com

____________________________

Rehearsing for performance in August.

Festival of Discovery –

____________________________

Series of free events by artists, southdorsetridgeway.org.uk

____________________________ Thursday 7th 7.30pm

to Health in Bridport

Saturday 26th May -

Living Spit - One Man & His Cow

Starts from CAB 45 South Street.

Until Sunday 10th June

Drimpton Village Hall, DT8 3RF

with trained health walk leaders. All

The open studio event continues at venues

sarahdavies@dorset.gov.uk

Visit dorsetartweeks.co.uk for details

Friday 8th (6pm-9pm) &

Every Tuesday 10am–1pm

Friday 1st 10am-12pm

Maiden Newton

Art Class

Wildflower Week Walk

Art & Craft Exhibition

Town Mill Arts, Lyme Regis DT7 3PU.

with Jim White

Village Hall. Friday is wine & nibbles,

07812 856823 trudiochiltree.co.uk

(grid ref. SY 975950). Booking is

Walks last approximately 30mins,

Dorset Art Weeks

welcome, free of charge. 01305 252222

throughout Bridport and across Dorset.

____________________________

£15 per session, first session half price.

Meet at DWT Reserve, Upton Heath

____________________________

necessary, 01929 481535. Suggested

Suitable 8+. Tickets £15, includes a pie

& drink. 01308 867442. livingspit.co.uk

____________________________ Saturday 9th (10am-4pm)

Saturday is an art & craft sale with refreshments

____________________________

donation £2 to Dorset Flora Group.

Saturday 9th 9am-5pm (Bridport

____________________________

United Church) & 10am-2pm

The Heritage Coast Canoe Club

Friday 1st 7.30pm

(Bucky Doo Square)

Watersports’ Centre, Fisherman’s Green,

Burton Bradstock Festival of

Sponsored Musicathon

West Bay. Equipment & waterproof

Music & Art Spring Concert

10th Anniversary

clothing provided. 12+ years. £10 per

taster session (max. 2). westbaykayak.co.uk

Village Hall, Burton Bradstock. Eluned

Coffee morning & lunches/teas from 12pm.

heritagecoast.cc@gmail.com

Pierce & David Juritz play harp &

violin. Tickets £10 from the Village Post

Saturday 9th 9.30am-4.30pm

burtonbradstockfestival.com

History Society Summer Special

Every Tuesday until September/ October 6.15pm-8.15pm

____________________________

Office or Gill Redford. 01308 897203,

Somerset & Dorset Family

____________________________

- Study Day ’20 Years On’

The Bottle Inn, Marshwood. No

Saturday 2nd 7.30pm-11pm

Loders Village Hall. Specialist talks,

Contact Uplyme Morris on Facebook

Church House Hall, South Street, DT6

____________________________

Sibby. bridportceilidhs.wordpress.com

____________________________ Every Tuesday 7.15pm Uplyme Morris Rehearsals experience required, give it a go!

Bridport Ceildhs

or The Squire on 07917 748087

3NW. With “Up & Running” plus caller

Every Wednesday 10am-12pm

____________________________

presentations & displays by members.

£8 (£5 members), tea, coffee & biscuits provided. 01308 425710 or email jferentzi@aol.com

____________________________

Art Class

Wednesday 6th 9.30am-12.30pm

Saturday 9th 10am-4pm

Unitarian Church, East St.

Lampshade Appliqué Workshop

“A Space for Living

£10 per session. 01308 424980

Spirituality” Event

____________________________

The Barn House Gifts & Crafts Studio,

Every Thursday 7.30pm

Loders, DT6 3SA. £45 includes all

instructions, materials & refreshments.

Bridport Meeting House. “Poetry &

Bookings: 07771 588999 or info@

Chants: Pathways to Inner Depths” led by

Janet Lake & Gilo. Info: iona.lake@aol.co.uk

Bridport Shakespeare 6 | Bridport Times | June 2018

THE DORSET OPERA

MMXVIII

The full Country House opera experience on your doorstep with internationally-renowned soloists, a full orchestra and a chorus of 70 Marquee bar | Individual Picnics | Formal Dining British Stage Première Jules Massenet

LE CID

24, 26 July at 19:00 | Matinée 28 July at 14:00 Sung in French with English surtitles

Giacomo Puccini

LA BOHÈME 25, 27, 28 July at 19:00 Sung in Italian with English surtitles

The Coade Theatre Bryanston Blandford Forum Box Office: 01202 499199 Book Online: dorsetopera.com

WHAT'S ON ____________________________

4JA. Free tours in conjunction with Bridport

Saturday 16th

____________________________

Askers Meadow, Bridport (nr

Food Festival. Book via Bridport TIC

Bridport Food Festival

St Mary’s Parish Church, South Street.

Thursday 14th 7pm (Trust)

Morrisons). Food & fun for all ages,

01308 422373

Bridport Millenium Green’s AGM

Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th 10am

DT6 3JP. 01308 425037

Saturday 9th 11am Coffee+JAZZ Mood Indigo Trio For the Dorset Historic Churches Trust,

or 7.30pm (the Friends)

____________________________

Mountfield, Rax Lane/Downes St,

West Dorset Vintage Tractor

£3.50 (or £3 in advance from Bridport TIC) & free to children 16 & under bridportfoodfestival.co.uk/

____________________________

Sunday 17th 2pm

& Stationary Engine Club Ltd

Friday 15th 6pm, talk 6.30pm

Free Guided Wildflower Walk

Annual Rally

A Year with The Yezidis

Melplash Showground, DT6 4EG.

Bridport Town Hall, DT6 3LF. Ginny

Cogden car park. tamariskfarm.co.uk

£2. 07918 961095, wdvtsec.com

talks about her year in Iraqi Kurdistan

Wednesday 20th

£15 from Bridport TIC. 01308 424901,

Bridport Arts Centre. With tutor Gail

____________________________

____________________________

Adults £8, OAP £5 & children (11-16) ____________________________ Sunday 10th 2.30pm Anna Pavord ‘Landscape and Tulips’

Dobson FCT Trauma Counsellor

Read Adam and Ellen’s article on page 34

____________________________

helping Yezidi women & girls. Tickets

Creative Writing Residency

bridportandwestbay.co.uk

Aldwin, gailaldwin@btinternet.com

Guildhall, Axminster. Tickets £10

Friday 15th (6.30pm-11pm) &

Friday 22nd - Sunday 24th

to include a Marie Curie ‘Blooming

Saturday 16th (11am-11pm)

Summer Solstice Song

Great Tea Party’ from Archway

Bridport Beer Festival

& Dance Camp

Bookshop or 01297 33655. In aid of Marie Curie nurses.

Askers Meadow, Bridport (nr Morrisons).

Broadoak Land Co-op Field, DT6 5NR.

____________________________

80+ real ales & ciders, live music & food. bridportroundtable.co.uk/bridport-beer-festival

& evening tickets available on the gate.

Sunday 10th 3pm

____________________________

Weekend £45, £50 at the gate. Daytime Children free. 07544 695789, christina. harmonydance@gmail.com

Allington Strings

Friday 15th 8pm

Summer Concert

Undercurrent Sessions presents:

St Mary’s Beaminster. Piano soloist

Derya Yildirim & Grup Simsek

Saturday 23rd 1.30pm-4.30pm

Jonathan Delbridge

Vanessa Bell & the ‘Omega

____________________________

WI Hall, Bridport. Tickets: £10

Workshops’ study day

Monday 11th - Friday 15th 11am daily

advance/£12 otd, kids £5, from

brownpapertickets.com/event/3425481 or Bearkat Cafe.

Unitarian Chapel, Bridport. Tutor: Pam

____________________________

Simpson MA, Art & Design Historian. £20, refreshments included.

Free Palmers Brewery Tours

Palmers Brewery, West Bay Road, DT6

8 | Bridport Times | June 2018

____________________________

Sat 23 June 5-9pm Street Party Sun 24 June 2.30pm The Winter’s Tale - Festival Players Sun 24 June 7.30pm Cathedral Brass in Concert - Wells Cathedral School Mon 25 June 11.30am Alexandra Lomeiko - Violin Recital Mon 25 June 2.30pm Daisy Goodwin - Living with Victoria Mon 25 June 6.00pm Choral Evensong - Exeter Cathedral Choir Mon 25 June 8.00pm Baron von Schmidt Singalong incl Supper Tues 26 June 11.30am Tedesco Trio - String Trio Tues 26 June 2.30pm Gordon Corera - Secret Pigeon Service Tues 26 June 7.30pm Martin James Bartlett - Piano Recital Wed 27 June 11.30am Gemma Summerfield - Song Recital Wed 27 June 2.30pm Tom Cox - 21st-Century Yokel Wed 27 June 7.30pm Scott Brothers Duo - Organ and Piano Thur 28 June 11.30am David Halls - Organ Recital Thur 28 June 7.00pm Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective - Piano Quintet Thur 28 June 9.30pm Late night concert inc. light supper Fri 29 June 11.30am Magnard Ensemble - Winds and Piano Fri 29 June 2.30pm Helen Rappaport - The Race to save the Romanovs Fri 29 June 7.30pm Lizzie Ball, Morgan Szymanski - Viva la Vida con Frida Sat 30 June 10.30am Revolting Rhymes and Marvellous Music Sat 30 June 8.00pm The Overtures - 60s Tribute Band Sun 1 July 11.00am Family Morning Service Sun 1 July 12-5pm Community Picnic - Bands, Entertainers Sun 1 July 7.30pm Choir of Clare College - President’s Concert Sun 15 July 2.30pm Twelfth Night - Castle Theatre Durham Sun 15 July 6.30pm Twelfth Night - Castle Theatre Durham Community Events include Sat 23 June to Sun 1 July Beaminster Museum exhibition - Hatch, Match and Dispatch Sat 23 June to Sat 30 June Beaminster School Art at the Yarn Barton Centre Sat 23 June to Sun 1 July Beaminster School Photography at the Museum Wed 27 June 9.30am Live Music Now workshop at Mountjoy Wed 27 June 2.00pm Beaminster Seniors - Songs and Scones Thur 28 June 10.45am Mountjoy School Handbell Team Art Exhibition and Art Workshops Sat 23 June to Sat 21 July Exhibition: Sheet Music For Summer Paintings Of Landscape, Dance And Music Making Tue 26 June Workshop: Frida Khalo Tree of Hope Paint with the tools and colours of your imagination Thur 28 June Workshop: En plein air - in the garden of, and by kind permission of John and Jenny Makepeace

june 23rd - july 1st

For full event listings and online tickets visit www.beaminsterfestival.com or call 01308 862943

WHAT'S ON Bridport Town Hall, DT6 3LF.

Bridport Arts Centre

01308 424901, bridportfolkfestival.com

Every Saturday, 9am–12pm

____________________________

Country Market

entertainment for all ages. Tickets

Saturday 30th 10.30am-3pm

WI Hall, North Street

____________________________ Saturday 23rd - Sunday 24th Axe Vale Show 2018 Just outside Axminster. Magnificent

Tickets £10.50 from Bridport TIC.

____________________________

axevaleshow.com

Wild Flower Meadow Walk

____________________________

in the Marshwood Vale

Every Sunday, 10am-5pm

Saturday 23rd – Wednesday

Park at Babers Farm, SY384988, (near)

Local Produce Market

____________________________

____________________________

18th July 10am-4pm (Tuesday Saturday) Bridport Undressed - Exhibition

____________________________

DT6 5PZ. Info: Nick Gray 07824 438974

Customs House, West Bay

Last Sunday of every month,

from Bridport Museum

Fairs and markets

Bridport Art Centre’s Allsop Gallery.

____________________________

Bridport Vintage Market

Series of special events & talks alongside

Every Wednesday & Saturday

the exhibition. Info: Bridport Museum

Weekly Market

St Michael’s Trading Estate, DT6 3RR

& Bridport Arts Centre

Saturday 30th 9am-3pm

____________________________

South, West & East Street

____________________________

Craft Fair

Friday 29th 7.15pm for an 8pm start

Second Saturday of the month

Bridport Folk Festival Fundraiser

9am–1pm

Bridport Town Hall. Free, 01308 424901

- Polly Morris Band

Farmers’ Market

Dorset Art Weeks | Venue 28 26 May- 10 June, Haydon Church Studio

10am-4pm

____________________________

bridportandwestbay.co.uk

____________________________

At the

Corn Exchange MUSIC BLACK WATER COUNTY Friday 8 June 8pm £12 / £10 members & concessions

"Their energetic, stout quaffing, banjo breaking, tin whistle-mangling live shows are the stuff of local legend" THEATRE / CIRCUS

DENMAN & GOULD + PAUL NEWMAN graphite, sculpture, photography, textiles

Haydon Church Studio, Haydon, near Sherborne, DT9 5JB www.denmangould.com | www.paulnewmanartist.com 10 | Bridport Times | June 2018

HE AIN’T HEAVY Sunday 24 June 7.30pm £13 / £11 members & concessions

"...You have to see Grania in action: she is a highly skilled circus performer, storyteller and connector, lighting up the entire stage" LucyLovesCircus

PREVIEW In association with

ONE MAN AND HIS COW Thursday 7th June Village Hall, Drimpton, DT8 3RF. 7.30pm. £15. 01308 867442 artsreach.co.uk A man. A cow. A shed load of trouble.

Trevor loves Judy. Judy loves Trevor. They’re best mates. Trouble is, Trevor’s family don’t

approve. They think that Trevor should leave his prize cow alone and get on with looking after his farm. And then Trevor gets some bad news…

Living Spit’s original animal rhyming play ‘One Man and his Cow’ is jam-packed with

farmyard frolics, agricultural clichés and rural wrong-doings that will mercilessly milk every funny bone in your body. Tickets include a pie and drink served at the beginning.

evolver.org.uk

bridporttimes.co.uk | 11

Arts & Culture

SIMON QUADRAT Anna Powell, Sladers Yard

B

rimful of humour, sorrow, colour and an edgy darkness, Simon Quadrat’s paintings speak of a rich inner life, not resolved or interpreted but eloquently and fascinatingly expressed.

Eighteen years ago, when Simon was in his fifties, he gave up a successful career as a barrister to paint full-time.

The response to his paintings, shown in exhibitions in London, Bath, Bristol and at Sladers Yard, has always been a kind of delight. Now it is our pleasure to fill the first floor of Sladers Yard with his recent paintings showing the multiple strands of his art, from sensitive still life via highly stylised 1950s seaside and street scenes to characterful figure paintings which evoke the full gamut of emotions.

All his life, wherever he went, he studied art, reading books about it and drawing. He taught himself to paint in his twenties, mainly by rushing over to the London art galleries and museums whenever he had a spare hour.

The design and astonishing humanity of early Sienese paintings echo throughout his work. However, it is the modern British and European paintings of the immediate pre- and post-war that resonate most clearly. His palette of colours, together with his technique of putting on paint and scraping it back, create a sense of history within the painting where figures may be half painted out and every area of colour has depth and energy to it.

Simon Quadrat’s parents separately fled pre-war Nazi Germany leaving everything behind. They met in London where Simon’s father drove a fire engine for a time during the blitz before going into the army. Simon was born in 1946. He remembers a truly cosmopolitan family life conducted in many languages, often all at the same time. His father settled into business after the war and they frequently visited Europe, even post-war Germany, to see family. His mother was a painter and a pianist and passed both those lifelong passions on to Simon. He describes himself as a scholarly child driven by the need to make his living.

He studied law at Bristol University and was called to the Bar as a criminal barrister in 1969. He married in 1975 and later moved to Bristol where he continued > 12 | Bridport Times | June 2018

Young Woman in Cafe 42 x 50 cm bridporttimes.co.uk | 13

Arts & Culture

Running for the Bus 46 x 56 cm 14 | Bridport Times | June 2018

The Contented Couple 73 x 100 cm

to practice on the Western Circuit, becoming Head of Chambers in the early 1990s. However, his first wife Suzi died in 1996, after which his thoughts turned more and more to his passion for painting. Three years later he married Jenny and, with her encouragement, gave up law to become a professional artist. He was elected to the Royal West of England Academy in 2004 and was President there from 2010 to 2012, when he and Jenny moved to Wiltshire. He has recently been elected a member of the New English Art Club.

He paints his memories of growing up in run-down 1950s London, memories he supplements or stimulates by gleaning images from the gritty photographs and documentaries made at the time, particularly by the GPO Film Unit and the Mass Observation project. All this metamorphoses in his imagination into objects, characters and situations that appear on his canvases and seem to take him by surprise. ‘I often feel so terribly sorry for the people in my paintings,’ he exclaims as we look at Young Woman in Café, a lovingly painted figure sitting anxiously all alone with her cup of tea.

The paintings in the current show are filled with childhood delights: kite-flying, caravanning, the circus, the Marionette theatre, Punch and Judy, the seaside, a

bright-coloured bird in a cage, all observed with eyes that see the pleasure without missing the undertones.

In The Contented Couple, the husband sits on his chair, relishing his pipe and tea, the boys are loving their kites, even the cat has a fish; only the wife sits on a rock empty handed.

It seems to me that these are paintings that come from the subconscious. Survivors of war carry on with the lives they find themselves living, just as we all do at any time in history. In At the Fair, an odd-looking man approaches from the left while the woman behind the counter could be one of the targets on her brightly lit stall. Diverse elements gather together, working to make this moment when a woman and a man look at each other and their hands don’t quite touch.

‘Odd Man Out: recent paintings by Simon Quadrat’ fills the first floor of Sladers Yard until Sunday 1st July, with furniture

by Petter Southall. The gallery is open 10am-4.30pm Monday - Saturday, 12pm-4.30pm Sundays & Bank Holidays. Vanessa Gardiner’s show runs at the same time on the ground floor.

Café Sladers is open every day serving lunch, drinks & cakes. sladersyard.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 15

Arts & Culture

BRIDPORT UNDRESSED

Megan Dunford, Exhibitions & Participations Officer, Bridport Arts Centre

T

his June Bridport Museum will quite literally bare all in an exhibition specially curated by volunteers, who know the collection better than anyone else. Bridport Undressed will feature some of the museum’s most prized and unusual textile items, including their infamous ‘haunted dress’. I spoke to Lindsey and Frances, two of the volunteers who look after the textile collection, and Emily, the museum’s Director, about what visitors can expect to see.

M – ‘Emily, thank you for inviting me in to see behind the scenes of the collection. These items are going to look very different in the Allsop gallery – I’m guessing you aren’t going to display all of them!’

E – ‘No, not everything can go on display at the same time. Bridport Museum cares for approximately 50,000 objects which, as you can imagine, poses many challenges!’

M– ‘What kind of challenges?’

E – ‘Firstly, is there enough space in the store rooms?

How do we stop them from being eaten by pests? How do we ensure we can maintain the right conditions to conserve them for the longer term?’

M – ‘Can we have a sneak peek at any special items that will be on display in the gallery?’

L – ‘Yes, we have a fabulous, hand-painted, silk Georgian gown which is stunning!’

M – ‘I can’t image that item is easy to store – how do you look after these more delicate items?’

16 | Bridport Times | June 2018

F – ‘With a lot of work! There are around 1500 items in the textile collection, and Lindsey has been looking after them as a volunteer since 1989, with only a brief break to have a baby. They have also been moved several times - from the Coach House to the Museum to the Council Offices in South Street to Mountfield and back to the Coach House.’

M – ‘That is indeed a lot of work. Do you think people will be surprised to see some of the items?’

F – ‘Yes and I think some people will wonder why on earth we have some of these things.’

L – ‘We have some Victorian children’s clothes that belonged to the niece and nephew of Mrs Beeton!’

M – ‘It must be a huge responsibility to look after these objects and pieces so kindly donated, mostly from local families. Museums each house very different collections – what do you want the collection in Bridport Museum to say about you?’

E – ‘I would hope that all the collections give a ‘sense of place’- the most interesting items to me are the ones that were worn by Bridport people. Costume is the collection that I think connects us most strongly to people and to their stories.’

Bridport Undressed is in Bridport Art Centre’s Allsop Gallery from Saturday 23rd June – Wednesday 18th July.

Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm. There will be a series of special events and talks alongside the exhibition. Pop into Bridport Museum and Bridport Arts Centre to find out more. bridport-arts.com

bridporttimes.co.uk | 17

EDITION FOUR

Contributors to the next edition of Elementum include Jackie Morris, Alex Preston, Neil Gower, Catherine Hyde, Helen Scales and Whitney Brown.

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18 | Bridport Times | June 2018

Arts & Culture

BUYING CONTEMPORARY ART Kit Glaisyer

Kit Glaisyer

D

orset Art Weeks (DAW) presents a wonderful opportunity to discover new artists, enjoy recent works by those you already know, see sketches and preparatory works, discuss commissions and to buy more experimental works direct from the studio. Whenever I go to an art exhibition or open event I always ask myself which piece, were I to buy one, would I choose. For while we may fondly remember the best exhibitions we’ve been to, it’s even more satisfying to invest in the art we love.

I’ve been buying art from artists I admire since I was at Art College and, because I’m also an artist, I appreciate that it’s unfair to ask for a large discount.

It’s better to find the best possible piece within (or just beyond) your budget and to pay what’s asked, knowing that you are getting something you’ll enjoy for many years whilst also helping to support a talented artist.

There’s really no excuse not to collect art, since you can buy original works from a few hundred pounds up into the thousands and beyond - depending on your budget. And there really is nothing that compares to living with great art. The pieces I’ve collected continue to bring me delight and inspiration every day because the best art continues to grow in our appreciation of it.

Another way to buy art is to commission an artist 20 | Bridport Times | June 2018

to create an original piece just for you. Each artist approaches commissions in their own way - though be aware that not all artists like to do them. I’ve been creating commissioned landscape paintings for many years and it’s something I really enjoy. For me, it’s all about finding out what the buyer most enjoys about my work and then creating a piece that we will both love.

There tends to be a cherished location the buyer has in mind, perhaps a view near where they live or somewhere they like to walk. I then visit the location and begin to look for a view that could become a painting. I walk the surrounding hills and explore the local lanes, noting where the sun rises and sets, and observe how the landscape changes throughout the day and over the seasons. I tend to work on a single commission for six to eight months, so it’s a very involved and timeconsuming process for me.

There’s a long list of artists I want to see during DAW, starting with the seventeen artists showing at our St Michael’s Studios (venue 253). I’ve found it helpful to make a map of several venues (double-checking their opening times) and do a tour of all the artists I want to see. So far, I’ve visited painters Rita Brown in Frampton (1) and Caroline Liddington in Shipton Gorge (244).

Abstract painter Rita Brown works on panel and

Caroline Liddington

“For me, it’s all about finding out what the buyer most enjoys about my work and then creating a piece that we will both love” paper, favouring a hard surface she can gouge and scrape to describe the ancient topography of Dorset, and incorporating field patterns as well as the light and weather effects on the landscape. She was born in Cambridge and grew up watching her engineer father make tools and optical instruments in his workshop at the bottom of the garden. She trained as an art teacher and embarked on a long career teaching art. After 22 years she bought a rucksack and a pair of sandals and went travelling for a year, taking a rudimentary watercolour kit to keep a visual diary of her adventures.

She was then appointed as Head of Art with the English Schools Foundation in Hong Kong, witnessing the handover to China, and studied at La Salle, at the Singapore International School. Every school holiday she explored the cultures of Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar, sketching the ancient temples. During home

Rita Brown

leave Rita always seemed to find herself coming to Dorset and she eventually settled in Frampton, drawn to the ancient landscape. She even incorporates the local soil into her paintings. ritabrown.co.uk Caroline Liddington creates paintings that are very colourful, often using a complementary or clashing palette. Her Cubist-influenced use of perspective shows distant vistas through doors and windows combined with unexpected places. She began life in bohemian Chelsea in the ‘50s, surrounded by artists and architects, and grew up on the edge of the Kings Road, inspired by the dynamic excitement of ‘60s London. Her mother was a part-time artists’ model and her father an artist-turned-architect. Caroline learnt to paint and draw under the instruction of her doting grandmother and started life-drawing at fourteen. She studied at Byam Shaw School of Art then worked as a technician and freelance illustrator, following this with years of teaching. She then began an MA in Falmouth and got a studio in Redruth as part of the inspiring Krowji creative hub. After six years she was drawn back to Dorset and now paints in her studio in Shipton Gorge. carolineliddingtonart.com kitglaisyer.com bridporttimes.co.uk | 21

Arts & Culture

BETWEEN THE TREES

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Alice Blogg

ll I dream of is a window I can gaze through with a view I could enter. At this time of year I crave to be in this view, whether it is the sea or the trees with shade from the luscious green leaves.

Summer is truly here now.

Dorset is an inspiring place. Stunning landscapes bordered by the sea, rich woodlands and fascinating people, all now connected by organisations dedicated to increasing our understanding of them. To work in the arts sector and have the rolling countryside and the sea on my doorstep, both for headspace and inspiration, is wondrous.

One such place is Kingcombe Nature Reserve, a public nature reserve run by the Dorset Wildlife Trust.

It is based on the belief that the natural world, our place within it, and our mental and physical wellbeing are intimately linked. By providing a thoughtful, encouraging and inspirational environment for exploring, connecting with and appreciating nature, it aims to support the visitor learning experience. Everyone, regardless of age, ability or knowledge, is encouraged to explore the natural world at 22 | Bridport Times | June 2018

their own pace and discover the incredible things that can be found all around. By re-establishing the connections that a hundred years ago everyone took for granted, the DWT believes we can build the support for the natural world that is needed if we are to safeguard it for future generations.

Common Ground is an arts and environmental charity based in Dorset which is helping to create a community of shared beliefs that work together. For the last thirty years it has worked both locally and nationally to create practical and philosophical ways of helping people build new relationships between culture and nature. It collaborates widely across the arts and with academics, teachers, architects, gardeners, farmers, poets, botanists, film-makers, foresters and storytellers, all of whom help to seek new, imaginative ways to engage people with their local environment and celebrate the intimate connections communities have with the landscape that surrounds them.

Located in a secluded dip in the forest is Hooke Park, the Architectural Association’s (AA) woodland

site near Beaminster in Dorset. The 150-hectare working forest is owned and operated by the AA and contains a growing educational facility for design, workshop, construction and landscape-focused activities. Underlying these activities is the opportunity to develop new rural architectures and an ethic of material self-sufficiency.

Today the campus presents a 30-year history of experimental timber construction and rural architecture.

Under the previous ownership of the Parnham Trust’s School for Woodland Industries, three remarkable demonstrations of round-wood construction were built, which offer a valuable legacy and point of reference for today’s students. Following the transition of ownership to the AA in 2002, the master plan for campus development was redrawn and continues, with new workshop and accommodation facilities designed and built by students of the AA’s Design + Make programme.

This summer Hooke Park is running phase two of the Kingcombe Visiting School, tying into ongoing research being carried out in partnership with Common Ground that aims to explore ways in which contemporary forms of rural architecture might emerge through an engagement with the landscape, culture and people of West Dorset. Through a two-phase project,

developed in collaboration with local artists, craftspeople and ecologists, the aim is to produce a built structure which tests both innovative design ideas and methods of construction. At the centre of the project is an interest in locally-sourced skills and materials, the accommodation of landscape and wildlife within architecture, community engagement, and interdisciplinary practice.

Phase One, a riverside pavilion and short section of boardwalk, was completed during the 2017 workshop.

This year’s project will focus on the completion of the boardwalk and the design of seating and spaces for play.

This is the first project fabricated at Hooke Park to be installed outside of the campus itself for an independent client, The Kingcombe Centre; as such it represents an exciting move towards local engagement.

Parts of the scheme will be designed in advance so that the wood can be felled and milled before the workshop; participants will work collaboratively on independent but related design projects. They will be working between Hooke Park (fabricating the structure and developing ideas for the participant-designed aspects of the scheme) and on site at Kingcombe. In this way, they will be working fluidly between workshop, site and drawing board – allowing what has been learnt from the making process to inform the design.

Clementine Blakemore is directing this summer school. A London-based architect with her own practice, Clementine Blakemore Architecture, she has an interest in the relationship between design, making and place. With a strong belief in collaboration and the process of learning through making, she regularly leads design/build workshops, and has taught on the Architectural Association’s Visiting School programme for the past six years.

Alongside Clementine, Alex Thomas will be tutoring the build. Alex is a trained architect and timber frame carpenter who co-directs Timber Workshop in Devon.

A passion for making crafted architecture has been a key driver through a varied career route. I am delighted to have been asked to be a tutor on such an exciting workshop within the local area.

On Saturday 14th July, Edmund Fowles from the awardwinning architecture studio Fielden Fowles, and Alice will be giving a talk about their practices. Everyone welcome.

A small number of places are still available on the Visiting School Programme - if you would like to apply, or find out more, please visit kingcombe.aaschool.ac.uk aliceblogg.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 23

Arts & Culture

THE WRIGHT WAY

THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF GEORGE WRIGHT

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Angie Porter

ooking at the photographic work of George Wright, one can see that it’s nothing less than extraordinary. For a moment I am overwhelmed at the size and scope of the world we live in. No longer am I sitting on my sofa in Bridport. I am in Irian Jaya, Rome, Russia, Yemen or New York. From Armenia to Zanzibar, each photograph tells me something of the people there, their lives and the uniqueness of their visual landscape. The longer I look, the more I see as layer after layer of detail is revealed. Clearly George has a fascination for his subject.

Wright’s subject is “people”. His photographs offer us sociological snapshots. Each one shows the unique details of a life unlike our own, and with a 24 | Bridport Times | June 2018

compassionate eye on the human condition which unites us. This perspective has taken George on journeys around the world using a mode of travel which he says, “allows you to be closer to the landscape and the people; also you don’t have to worry about parking so much, you can just pull up”. Hence the motorbike.

If you recently saw George filling up his motorbike tank at the local petrol station he might have been off to Iran. Some of us drive up the A35 to Dorchester but George keeps going - over 4000 miles to Iran via the Russian Caucasus. Packing a Leica Q Rangefinder with a fixed 28mm lens and a few belongings, he embodies adventurous travel.

Sitting at George’s kitchen table in Bridport we are

discussing his latest project for the newly opened LSI Bridport. The project involved casting a photographic eye over the current Rope and Net industry. The resulting photographs on the walls of the Alembic Canteen give an insight into the current vibrancy of an industry many relegate to the Bridport history books.

As with George’s portraits, the photographs are alive with details of a “behind the scenes” industry. This time though it’s close to home.

George’s next trip is planned. Nova Scotia to California across Trump heartland. I cannot wait to see the results. As I’m leaving George shows me the amazing photograph of Hiroshi Sugimoto and tells how it was shot. “The camera never lies,” he says ironically, and I try to think of some clever retort but I’m shuffling to the door, already late for the school run. All week I think about that photograph. It holds a truth about the society we live in. How lucky I am to live in Bridport where a true master of photography can adorn the walls of our local cafe. I will be returning to the LSI to see what truths about Bridport those photographs hold. I’m also thinking how to get back around to George’s to look at that Sugimoto.

George’s Top Ten Photographs

George Wright is a freelance photographer based in Bridport.

His work has appeared in books and magazines worldwide including the Observer, Independent, Telegraph, Sunday Times, Country Life and a number of books. He has pictures in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London and he has exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. georgewrightphotography.co.uk

1. Hiroshi Sugimoto. From his amazing series on old New York cinema interiors, lit by the duration of the film itself.

2. A portrait of a French farmer by John Miles of Loders.

John is one of the most truly original photographers I know.

(These are the only two photographs I have ever bought) 3. Notes for an Epilogue. The magical photographs of Romania by the Hungarian photographer Tamas Dezso.

4. ‘Them’ by Danny Treacy. Seriously disturbing self-portraits of the photographer in reconstructed ‘found’ items of clothing.

5. Finnish photographer Pentti Sammalahti’s pictures of life on the Arctic Circle.

6. Jimmy Forsythe’s affectionate portraits taken on the Scotswood Road in Newcastle in the 1950s.

7. Chris Killip’s series from his book In Flagrante, documenting the north east of England of the 1970s and ‘80s.

8. James Ravillious’s work on the farming communities of North Devon. A big inspiration for my own ‘Vanishing Dorset’ series.

9. Almost anything by Tony Ray Jones, an English photographer who brought the new wave of American street photography to my attention when I was a student in the early 1970s.

10. A current favourite, the recent ‘quiet’ work by Mark Power, one of the Magnum agency’s English contingent. Such as ‘The Sound of Two Songs’, his essay on Poland. bridporttimes.co.uk | 25

History OBJECT OF THE MONTH

THE OUTWORKERS’ LEDGER

WOMEN NET BRAIDERS IN WORLD WAR ONE Nicola Kelly, Bridport Museum Volunteer

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he first thing you notice about the ledger is its size and weight.

You stare at the bulky green leather covers and imagine an old church bible or a book from a distinguished library. It is, however, more precious and more ordinary than either of those tomes. This factory ledger lists the amount of twine given to outworkers and the incoming nets they have braided from that twine.

When you open it up, carefully resting the spine between two polystyrene blocks to support and protect it, you can smell a musty aroma endowed by inky and sweaty fingers. You see the thumb-worn corners and row on row of indecipherable numbers handwritten in faded sepia. Then you look more closely and try to interpret the contents of its pages: with detailed study all documents give up their secrets.

You discover each page is a working woman. She has a name, an address and a Braider’s insurance number.

You gently turn the fragile paper and stop at Mary Ann Dunn. Beneath her name is a date: December 1915. You become excited and, on examining the columns below that date, you realise Mary Ann has been braiding hay nets for war horses on the Western Front. Working from her home she has made between 4 and 6 dozen nets every week for most of the war.

You slowly turn a few more pages. Here is another woman named Annie Crespin. She has been braiding small and intricate nets called pockets. You know they are small because she takes home 3lbs of twine to make 26 dozen of them at a rate of 5d per dozen. It 26 | Bridport Times | June 2018

seems she is making billiard ball nets rather than nets for the war effort. As you read further you find outworkers who specialise in football, cricket or lawn tennis nets. There are cabbage, pea and potato nets listed alongside the expected hammocks and mess nets.

Soon you have more questions than answers. Who were these women? Did they earn a living wage? Did they have children at home needing to be fed? What was life like on the Home Front in Bridport? The research begins in earnest.

If this article has inspired you to find out more, come and see the ledger for yourself and visit the special exhibition on display at the Museum from June 2018.

Nicola Kelly and a group of volunteers are researching the impact of World War One on the local community.

Bridport Museum Trust is a registered charity, which runs an Accredited Museum and a Local History Centre in the centre of Bridport. The Museum recently underwent a major refurbishment and re-opened in May 2017. Entry to the Museum is free. The Local History Centre provides resources for local and family history research. To find out more about Bridport Museum’s collections, visit their website. Much of their photographic and fine art archive is gradually being made available online at flickr.com/photos/61486724@N00/ bridportmuseum.co.uk @bridportmuseum facebook.com/BridportMuseum

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David Metcalff

Antonia Phillips

Carla Taylor

David Cove

Sally Derrick

Fine Foundation Chesil Beach Centre

The Kingcombe Centre

The Villa, Brownsea Island

Fine Foundation Wild Seas Centre

Jake Winkle

Caroline Scott

Penny Brown

Wild Art This year, for the first time, four Dorset Wildlife Trust Visitor Centres are inviting you to enjoy art exhibitions, and our wild places as part of Dorset Art Weeks 26th May - 10th June Visit: www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk

DORSET WILDLIFE TRUST Photos © Dawn Blight, Cat Bolado, Ken Dolbear, MBE Julie Herring, Sarah Morrish, Carla Taylor & Paul Williams.

Wild Dorset

FLIGHT OF THE BUTTERFLY

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Sally Welbourne, Dorset Wildlife Trust

une heralds summer and our hopes for sunny days replete with wildflowers and butterflies, their wonderful colours and variety being the very essence of the season. It is a peak growth time for them, though one in which these beautiful insects can seem to have gone away. Many of the more common species that regaled us in spring such as the brimstone, small tortoiseshell and peacock, having amazingly survived the whole winter in their adult form, have finally succumbed. Having laid eggs, many are now the archetypal hungry caterpillars munching through nettles and other plants we’d rather they didn’t… these species are in their less visible forms. As with their moth cousins, this is the bountiful time in which they are key foodchain elements sustaining birds and other predators. June is an ideal time to expand your butterfly knowledge by learning to find these other lifecycle stages, and also to help them by leaving patches of nettles, tall grasses and other foodplants, and avoiding the use of pesticides and insecticides.

A different set of butterflies is now on the wing - those that wintered as eggs or caterpillars. These can seem less common as they are denizens of meadows and chalk downlands, the naturally flower-rich grasslands that are now in such short supply in so much of our countryside. The dingy skipper and common blue will be at home where there’s plenty of birds-foot trefoil. It’s also the flight time for some of our rarest and most threatened species such as the marsh fritillary, large blue and swallowtail. All are legally protected and can be very localised. Dorset’s best downlands are refuges for the marsh fritillary, while specially protected sites on Somerset’s Polden Hills are the only places in the country to enjoy the spectacle of large blues. Previously extinct in the 1970s, it was successfully reintroduced through a careful, researchbased conservation programme. Our British swallowtail is a distinct race from the widespread European one and is restricted to the Norfolk fens where Milk Parsley, its caterpillar’s food, abounds. It is the largest and most spectacular of our resident butterflies and the pilgrimage to see them is a worthwhile experience.

FACT FILE • The wingspan of the swallowtail can reach up to 90mm.

• The large blue was reintroduced from populations in Sweden.

• Marsh fritillary caterpillars overwinter in groups of over a hundred, tightly secured inside web nests.

dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk

30 | Bridport Times | June 2018

Marsh Fritillary (m) 'Euphydryas aurinia' © Ken Dolbear MBE bridporttimes.co.uk | 31

Wild Dorset

Image: Pete Millson

A NEW ANGLE

Neville Copperthwaite, Independent Marine Consultant Dead Man’s Bay. Bay of a Thousand Wrecks. Lyme Bay has acquired a number of descriptive titles over the years and not without good reason. In the days of sailpower, Lyme Bay was a place to be feared in a westerly gale. Many a good ship foundered while trying to beat to windward and avoid being driven into the infamous Portland Tidal Race to the east of the Bay or driven onto the lee shore. Some ships sank offshore, such as the 250 tonne Heroine, an emigrant ship bound from London to Port Phillip, Australia, which sank on Boxing Day in 1852. Those ships that were driven ashore include the Madelaine Tristan, a French schooner carrying 50 32 | Bridport Times | June 2018

tonnes of grain which came ashore on Chesil Beach in 1930. My father was 13 years old at the time and when I was young he would recount to me how he watched the ship being pitched broadside up on to the beach by a gigantic wave. By an amazing stroke of luck, the vessel landed intact and the tide receded leaving a confused French captain who was so fatigued from fighting the gale he thought he was on the north coast of France.

Locally he was called Captain Jack but his real name was Captain Vallon.

Captain Jack’s plan was to return to the ship on the next spring tide and drag it back into the sea on greased

"The romantic in me likes to think that the ghost of a disgruntled Captain Jack reclaimed the spyglass, however the reality is that it was probably stolen – for a second time."

boards using donkeys for pulling power. However, times were hard for local people and by the time he returned the ship had been stripped clean; all that remained was the bare hull. (My father had the ship’s clock and barometer and people had enough grain for their chickens for years!)

Interestingly, many years later, I became the landlord of the Cove House Inn on Chesil Beach and, through a chance conversation with a local fisherman, I found out that the captain’s brass spyglass had been hidden in a fisherman’s shed for many years. I purchased it for £100 and put it on display at the pub by bolting it to the wall. Soon after I left the pub the spyglass mysteriously disappeared. The romantic in me likes to think that the ghost of a disgruntled Captain Jack reclaimed it, however the reality is that it was probably stolen – for a second time.

Shipwrecks are a tragic affair but nature has a way of capitalising on catastrophe – shipwrecks make splendid artificial reefs. Marine life abounds on them, drawn by the safety of the structure. This in turn provides fertile fishing grounds for anglers and West Bay has thrived on recreational fishing for many years. Historically there have been many charter boats with names such as The Grey Goose, Lindy Lou, Saucy Sue, The Duchess and the Tia Maria. Today, moored in the harbour, you will see the new breed of charter boats kitted out with all mod-cons including toilets. These include Channel Warrior, Ruby Jane, Dawn Mist and The Jolly Dodger.

The Jolly Dodger is licensed to carry 12 passengers and has a stern door to enable people of all abilities to access the boat. Like most of the boats, it can be chartered for a 1-hour mackerel fishing trip or an allday, deep-water fishing trip. In June, conger, pollack and cod can be caught on the wrecks. In deep water there will be plenty of large pollack; they will have been chasing shoals of herring which are now being replaced by shoals of mackerel. The Jolly Dodger is operated by the West Bay Angling Centre. Steve and Tracey Marley started the business back in 1992 in George Street.

Steve sadly passed away 5 years ago and son Thomas has now taken over the reins; he skippers the boat and helps mum in the shop.

Back in 1995 they had outgrown their premises and needed larger ones, so they purchased the car showroom previously used by the Harbour Garage, now long gone.

The Angling Centre has gone from strength to strength and has grown into something of an institution, almost a social centre, with former customers becoming friends and returning year on year. In addition, the West Bay Sea Angling Club, together with its junior section, is facilitated here. Part of that facilitation also includes sponsorship of the annual Chesil fishing competition.

I asked Tracey what were the most striking changes that she had noticed in the angling world over the years and, without hesitation, she said it was the increasing number of women anglers - women probably account for 20% of anglers these days. Tracey supports one of her customers, a chap called Hoot, who organises fishing trips for ladies. He works with Fishing for Life, an organisation which provides fly fishing sessions for ladies who have been affected by breast cancer. The fly fishing techniques and exercises have proven to be very beneficial in building up tissue and muscle, and it also provides an opportunity for the ladies to give each other support. Many are invigorated by the experience and it has been shown to aid recuperation.

I was a little surprised that Tracey stocked freshwater fly fishing gear in a sea angling shop. Apparently, besides the fly fishing, there is also a brisk trade in gear for game fishing, course fishing and carp fishing.

The drive and enterprise of local people continually surprises me. This small family business in West Bay, quietly doing great things for the community as well as making a living, is a prime example of that enterprise. n.copperthwaite@gmail.com anglingcentrewestbay.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 33

Wild Dorset

RUMINATIONS ON GRAZING Adam & Ellen Simon, Tamarisk Farm

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here’s an old saying that “the best manure is the farmer’s boot”, meaning that careful and frequent observation of your fields and crops is the key to farming. Every day, come rain or shine, we visit our grazing animals spread around the farm to see them all and make sure they are well. We observe how many are relaxing and chewing the cud, whether they look well-fed and contented or whether they are noisily

34 | Bridport Times | June 2018

complaining to us that the grass looks greener in the field next door.

While we’re there, we are also looking at what the grazing is like and deciding which field to move the stock to next, and when. We make plans, but nature doesn’t work to timetables and we need to be ready to respond to the unexpected: fields can be too wet to graze, different plants grow at different speeds around

the farm, rare wild flowers bloom at different times, ground-nesting birds choose different places from year to year. Hence you have to take some time to watch what’s happening and make decisions as you go.

Whilst a walker through the farm might witness a serene scene of bucolic idyll, with cows calmly grazing or having a good scratch on a tree, to us the farmer it’s more like an orchestra in full swing playing Flight of the Bumblebee and we’re on the conductor’s rostrum except that nobody gave us a copy of the music for this year’s performance!

Since the beginning of pastoral agriculture this practice of balancing the needs of the livestock with the long-term well-being of the plants they graze and, as a side effect, benefiting all the other flowers, shrubs, birds and bugs that play their parts in the orchestra, has created the varied pattern of herb-rich pastures, scrub and hedgerows. It’s mostly a matter of judgement and timing, and mimics the movements of wild grazing animals, providing varied habitats by grazing unevenly, trampling some plants and opening up bits of soil with their hoof prints to allow long dormant seeds to germinate.

Native grasses and wildflowers thrive on unfertilised ground but most don’t compete well with the more vigorous agricultural grasses, so while ploughing and reseeding or adding fertiliser increases the amount of food for the animals, it also reduces the diversity of the sward. Our animals are able to choose for themselves from the variety available, able to self-medicate or just pick their favourite foods. They grow slower so have longer lives, and of course the meat from grass-fed stock is better for you than that of animals which are intensively reared.

When we started the conservation grazing endeavour at Cogden with the National Trust in 1995, we had the advantage of an open sward with little grazing following five years of rest after chemical intensive arable from the 1960s-1980s. There was a small area in the middle which we thought had been uncultivated since the war, a mosaic of habitats with a flora which justified designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (an area of national importance, in this case for nature conservation) when they were first created. This has acted as a seed bank and, with judicious use of our Ruby Red North Devon cattle and the native breeds of sheep, we have been able to build a flora and fauna over most of

the area which now rivals that in the original fragment and is very beautiful.

If it’s done properly, this work is an orchestra in harmony and very little else is required, but nobody is perfect and now and then some intervention might be required. This is generally to prevent certain weeds dominating or to control the prolific gorse and bramble to keep it palatable to the sheep and ensure there’s a patchwork chorus of shrubs, pasture and trees and not a monotone of grass. Then we need to fire up the tractor or enlist the National Trust’s volunteers.

Our flail mower can cope with scrubby species if the ground is not too steep. It’s surprising how precise and observant you can be from the tractor cab, bashing back blackthorn and gorse but lifting the mower over oak or hazel seedlings and recognising the difference between the golden yellow of the valued St. John’s wort and the golden yellow of the invasive fleabane. Of course the volunteers are able to choose very carefully what they remove by hand, shepherded well by the Rangers who are as keen and excited as we are about the flora and fauna. We’d prefer to manage it without these imposed techniques but we like to think that it’s not really our fault; if only mammoths and wisent (European bison) still roamed our landscape this would get taken care of automatically as they crashed through the undergrowth - but then again, that might cause other problems!

The reward for all this careful thought comes especially during summer when the fields are bursting with a whole host of now-rare flowers. Of particular note is the dyers-greenweed with its small spikes of intense yellow flowers like tongues of flame which, along with woad, was hugely important for the dye Lincoln Green. This has spread from a few patches to cover large areas in many fields. Marsh orchids and yellow flag make a stunning show behind the reedbed. Butterflies and skylarks abound. Look down to search for the adder’s tongue fern in the grass or up to catch a glimpse of the peregrine watching you. Stand quietly with the gentle Red Devon cows chewing their cud and thank them for their part in the symphony.

Join Adam & Ellen at Cogden car park at 2pm on 17th June for a free guided wildflower walk to share the “music”. tamariskfarm.co.uk

bridporttimes.co.uk | 35

Outdoors

BELOW THE TIDE Fraser Christian, Coastal Survival School

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elow the tide and often under the sea there is a wealth of wild food including both seaweed and shellfish that can easily be found by the coastal forager. During periods of spring tides - the really big tides that go in and out a long way and always on or around a full moon - there can be a vast carpet of superfood laid out before you, rich in nutrients, minerals and vitamins.

Seaweed, one of the most balanced superfoods of all and reputed to be the original building block of all life on earth, is often easily available, with several really good ones to eat all with different textures and flavours.

Alongside the seaweed and clinging to the rocks there is often an abundant array of shellfish, again easy to collect and requiring very little output given the reward gained.

As was the case with most food, seaweed is often seasonal with each individual species or variety taking advantage of a different time of the year to reproduce and flourish. So hopefully, whatever time of year it may be, we can find at least one or two different wild foods in their most nutritious of states, vibrant and just asking to be consumed. On the last full moon, I ventured along to one of my favourite beaches in search of some of my favourite seaweeds. Although the weather element is never certain, and in our modern climate seasons seem 36 | Bridport Times | June 2018

sporadic and chaotic at best, this simply adds to the wonder and excitement of never knowing what you may find to eat - that is the magic of foraging.

One of the questions I’m most often asked on my foraging courses is whether there are any poisonous seaweeds. Strictly speaking there aren’t but there are several growing at great depths whose ph structure would be detrimental to the digestive system if consumed.

Another popular question is how and where seaweed should be collected. The seaweed we collect should always look healthy, as should its local environment. We try to pick a part of the coast as far away from human habitation and pollution as possible. We only ever collect the seaweed attached to rocks and not off the beach unless it’s the first night after a storm and we’re sure the seaweed was attached to the rocks the day before. That way we avoid any that could have been growing at depth as mentioned above. As with all plant matter, once it has been picked or cut and is no longer growing it starts to decay and during decomposition pathogenic bacteria maybe become prevalent.

Sustainability is something we need to consider when harvesting any wild foods and it is no different with seaweeds. Depending on what type of seaweed it is, the new growth will either be at the tip or middle section of

Image: Kevin Byrne

the branch or leaf-like parts. If we only cut the end two thirds, leaving the first third attached to the rock, we can ensure continued growth. A pair of scissors is the perfect tool for harvesting sustainably, as tearing or pulling often results in breaking the holdfast (the bit that holds onto the rock). Transport your seaweed in a bucket or cloth bag, never in plastic as this causes the seaweed to sweat and decompose rapidly.

If you wish to store your seaweed fresh it should be kept unwashed in the fridge. Washing it will cause osmosis and the fresh water, which is not as dense as sea water, will simply wash all of the goodness out of your seaweed. Only wash it really quickly and pat dry with a clean cloth just before you wish to use it.

Alternatively, for longer-term storage, dehydration or drying is the perfect solution. This can be done in several ways, either via a standard food dehydrator, a tumble dryer, a washing line, in the airing cupboard or even in the greenhouse. Once dry it must be kept in an airtight container as the salts and minerals in the seaweed will easily absorb moisture from the air. For an instant culinary preserve, pickling some of the more structured seaweeds is an excellent solution and indeed a very tasty one.

Here are some of just a few seaweeds that will be

available to us over the coming seasons. I have included one from each main category, the categories being green, red and brown.

• Green. The one that is good to go at the moment is sea lettuce. As its name suggests it is a very delicate and almost salad-like vegetable which can be used raw or cooked. It makes a great sushi wrapper as an alternative to the dried sheets of nori (which are made with purple lava).

• Red. This is definitely my favourite and the most versatile of all the seaweeds in my opinion, its common name being ‘dulse’. Slightly more textured and crisp to the bite than the sea lettuce, this one takes a light pickling really well but I prefer it in quick-cook dishes such as stir-fries and risottos.

• Brown. The brown one is serrated wrack and is a lot more robust in texture than the red and green ones.

It definitely appreciates being cooked to soften its texture. It preserves well in a pickle or fermentation such as kimchi and makes a great broth or stock base.

Next time we will look at some of the easily available, and less familiar to some, shellfish. coastalsurvival.com bridporttimes.co.uk | 37

Outdoors

MOTHERLY LOVE

Mia the Golden Eagle - Part II

I

Martin Ballam, Xtreme Falconry

n the first edition of the Bridport Times I told the story of Mia, our female Golden Eagle. Here is an update on Mia’s progression from aggressive hunting eagle to foster parent… and what a journey it has been.

38 | Bridport Times | June 2018

At the beginning of the winter season it was hoped that, after Mia’s training, we could take her to Scotland to fly in her natural habitat. We achieved this, but we had to go earlier than the planned trip in January/February - and

there was a significant reason why.

As you may know we are very keen on, and actively involved in, captive breeding and conservation of birds of prey. Xtreme Falconry has a significant breeding programme but it is most definitely not all down to us; we work closely with other bird of prey experts, and recent events have proven how a close working partnership can give incredible results.

Our very good friends at Elite Falconry in Fife, Scotland have been instrumental in setting up breeding programmes with martial eagles, sea eagles and the magnificent ‘black’ or Verreaux’s eagle. The black eagle is one of the world’s most stunning eagles, basically a golden eagle painted jet black but with larger claws and talons. A beautiful white ‘V’ shows down its back while perched or roosting. These eagles take many years to mature, are rare in captivity and difficult to breed, however that is not the only problem. ‘Cainism’ is where the elder chick in a clutch kills the younger chick, and with this eagle the rate is 100%. The difference between hatch dates of black eagle chicks can be 2-4 days due to the unsynchronised incubation.

The size and strength difference between the chicks is vast and the big chick will win!

So back to Mia… could she be of help? Throughout the winter we have had continuous lengthy conversations with Elite Falconry as to whether Mia could become a foster mum to ‘chick number two’. There was a possibility this could succeed and it was down to Mia and me - because Mia is imprinted on me, I had to become the equivalent of her ‘eagle partner’. We finished flying Mia in January and set about nest building. This involved a brand-new aviary and continuous deliveries of twigs to build the nest together - large twigs of about 20-30 inches as the outer structure, gradually thinning and decreasing in length until we started to make the final bowl which involved much smaller twigs (silver birch) and nest lining. Scots pine is a must and laurel seems popular with these eagles also!

On 1st April 2018 Mia laid an egg. This was the start of a very exciting but enormously stressful period.

Barry at Elite Falconry confirmed that his black eagles had laid two eggs and both were fertile, which meant that chick number two would be killed by its sibling.

We needed Mia to remain broody as she was our only option for raising the second chick. black eagle chick number two hatched on 11th April when Mia had only been sitting on her own egg for 10 days. Incubation is 40-45 days so we needed to get more incubation time

under Mia; meanwhile, Barry needed to raise the black eagle chick. Finally, it was decision time. The eaglet was growing fast and it was crucial that it did not become imprinted on humans as it could become part of crucial breeding programmes when mature. So, the date was set - Monday 24th April. Barry and the eaglet left Scotland at 2am on their long journey, arriving at Xtreme Falconry at 12.15pm. It was time!

After many cups of coffee, we plucked up the courage; this was a big gamble. Although Mia would allow only me to enter the aviary, she has a very natural behaviour which encouraged us throughout. Basically, as I entered the aviary, she would leave the nest for a quick break. Mia was treating me as a true partner and this was the perfect way of swapping her egg with a 13-dayold black eagle chick. So that’s what we did, and the most beautiful thing happened.

Personally, I have never been so nervous in all my life.

I stood there, one hand squeezing Barry’s shoulder, as Mia returned to the nest to see this (rather large!) eaglet had suddenly ‘hatched’. She approached, curled up her giant claws so the talons could not hurt the baby and adjusted herself to brood the chick. Barry was cool as a cucumber but I was welling up!

Barry had to leave soon after so I then had to play ‘daddy eagle’. Mia naturally assumed the chick had just hatched so her food offering was small. I had to step in and give supplementary feeds to the baby over three days until Mia started to give bigger feeds. Mia would let me enter the aviary, feed the baby, remove leftover food and leave fresh food without any bother; she truly treats me as her partner, for which I feel so privileged.

As I finish writing this we are on day 10, and mum and baby are doing great. I deliver food to the nest but hide completely from the eaglet; this baby must continue thinking that it is an eagle and not a gingerhaired falconer!

Foster-rearing is neither new nor unknown, however, despite 33 years of being involved in raptor aviculture, this is a first for me and it will not be the last. The sight of pure, natural instinct from such a powerful creature is heart-warming and, in this case, crucial to the survival of a particular species as well as to ongoing projects we are involved in.

We have been updating the progress of the chick on our Facebook page so please do visit to see further photos. xtremefalconry.co.uk facebook.com/XtremeFalconry bridporttimes.co.uk | 39

Outdoors

EGGARDON HILL Chris Tripp BA (Hons) MA, Field and Community Archaeologist

A

s an Essex- and London-based archaeologist, having graduated from University College London twenty-eight years ago, I found monuments in the landscape were few and far between.

However, since moving to Dorset in 2006, I have found that one could not throw a stick out of a car window without hitting something ancient in the rolling hills and valleys of this beautiful county.

My favourite view is from one such monument, Eggardon hillfort. Situated on a ridge between the Frome and Brit river system, the chalk and greensand beds into which Iron Age people cut their massive ramparts overlook the Marshwood Vale and Askers Valley. Bridport is laid out below, with the sea beyond stretching to the horizon.

I have never before been able to take time to get to know a hillfort throughout the seasons such that I could experience what it was like to walk in the footsteps of a local Briton from over two thousand years ago. I walked through the massive east entrance gate into the D-shaped space, covering fourteen hectares, and was enclosed by the three sets of ramparts and ditches; these would have given an added sense of protection from being topped by wooden walls. Thanks to the excavations carried out by a Mr G. Rybot in the 1960s, I could see in my mind’s eye people living in the large roundhouses of the period, which have left circular depressed marks in the ground that can still be seen. Some would have been working on metal, smithing iron into tools and weapons, whilst others would have been shaping Kimmeridge shale into bracelets and other jewellery.

As I walked this ancient space I could see many other depressions that I knew were the remains of large pits used for storing grain. They would have been dug six- to nine-feet deep and lined and capped with clay so that air could not enter, thus keeping the grain from rotting or being eaten by rodents.

40 | Bridport Times | June 2018

Walking the ramparts facing the sea, a small mound came into view. This was one of two Bronze Age burial mounds within the hillfort, the other, to the north, now ploughed away. Mr Rybot had dug this mound in 1965 and found that it was made of flint and soil.

Six pottery vessels were found of three different types: Globular Urns, Collared Urns and Bucket Urns. Two contained cremations, one of an adult and one of a child. When the Britons built the hillfort they must have respected these ancient mounds and perhaps even revered them as places of the ancestors, for how else could they have survived the new construction? I could still see Mr Rybot’s trenches, cut into the mound like a giant hot cross bun.

After the Roman invasion in AD43 and the suppression of the Britons by General Vespasian and his Legio II Augusta, many of the hillforts would have been abandoned. But that was not the end for Eggardon. Some of the straight banks inside the hillfort are contemporary with its use but others are medieval, so someone was using the space for animals or growing crops then. Also, the earthwork called The Octagon was built by an Isaac Gulliver in the eighteenth century to protect a coppice and as a seamark for ships smuggling goods into the country! The Kite Festival was here until only recently.

Although it may seem that hillforts were used for defence, that would not be giving the whole

story. As I walked in all weathers around Eggardon I came to think that even on a good day it is not the best location to call home, being exposed, windy and waterless. The consensus amongst archaeologists is that these spaces were used occasionally for gatherings of the tribe, to bring surplus grain to be protected by the chief, and to be seen as a status symbol by him and his family.

Eggardon hillfort stands today as it has for millennia, a sentinel over Bridport and its 21st century inhabitants. Listen for the faint voices of the past as you take in the still magnificent view. dorsetdiggers.blogspot.com bridporttimes.co.uk | 41

Outdoors

42 | Bridport Times | June 2018

On Foot

ORCHID HUNT AT KINGCOMBE MEADOWS Emma Tabor and Paul Newman

Image: Debbie Billen

Distance: 1.5 miles Time: Approx ž hour Park: Plenty of parking at Kingcombe Meadows visitor centre. Open 9am-5pm.

Walk Features: Beautiful views over the Hooke Valley, a riverside ramble and an abundance of wildlife, with plenty of information in the visitor centre on what to see. Please wear stout footwear - the reserve can be quite boggy in places. Dogs need to be kept under control in certain areas.

Refreshments: Light refreshments available at Kingcombe Meadows visitor centre. The Fox Inn at Corscombe is also nearby. >

bridporttimes.co.uk | 43

E

ach month we devise a walk for you to try with your family and friends (including four-legged members) pointing out a few interesting things along the way, be it flora, fauna, architecture, history, the unusual, and sometimes the unfamiliar. For June, we take the longer of two marked trails around Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Kingcombe Meadows nature reserve and we invite you to explore with us, noting some of the wildlife supported by this rich and ancient patchwork of fields, unimproved meadow and woodland. The walk is also timed to coincide with the appearance of some of the reserve’s many varieties of orchid. Although it is a relatively short walk, it is best appreciated at a slow pace, allowing time to absorb the variety of wildlife as well as the special atmosphere of this secluded corner of Dorset.

Directions

Start: SY 555 999 The walk starts at Kingcombe Meadows visitor centre.

1 From the car park at the visitor centre, go out onto the road and turn right. Cross a small bridge over the River Hooke to follow the lane towards the left. After 300 yards, on a bend to the left, you will see a sign for Mary’s Well Lane and Lot’s Corner, along with a purple circular walk marker. Leave the road and head up the lane, which is quite stony and can also be wet underfoot. The lane is lined with some fine examples of hazel, oak and ash, forming a natural tunnel as you make your way uphill. You may see bees burrowing into the base of moss-clad trees here.

2 Just after 500 yards, look for a gate into a field on your left, marked ‘White Sands’. Go through this and then immediately left into Mitchels Ten Acres. Don’t be tempted to take the short cut across the field; keep to the route which follows the hedge on the right to go up a short, steep stretch into the corner of the field, with cowslips lining the way. This is a good spot to see bee orchids in early June. The views from the top here are well worth the short climb, looking back across to Toller Porcorum and part of May’s Walk.

Watch for passing ravens and buzzards wheeling lazily and listen for skylarks and blackcaps in the

44 | Bridport Times | June 2018

fields and hedgerows. Swallows skim across the fields here while swifts soar high above.

3 Turn left on the corner and, with the hedge still on your right, start to head diagonally across the field to a gate in the far hedge. Go through this into Long Mead and keep downhill through another gate into Lady’s Mead. The boggy area at the bottom of Long Mead is a good place to see southern marsh orchid from late May. Pass through another gate back onto the road you left earlier and cross this to enter Lord’s Mead. Look out for marbled white, meadow brown and ringlet butterflies.

4 Now head more towards your left to cross a particularly boggy stretch as you make your way down towards the River Hooke. Just before reaching the river go through a gate; the route then continues towards the left, skirting and then crossing through another boggy area with yellow flag iris. Head towards a bridge on your right. Upon reaching it, there are a few lovely alders as well as some decaying trunks riddled with holes, and hopefully a glimpse of a great spotted or green woodpecker. The river gently meanders in places and, if you are very lucky, you may catch sight of a dipper here too.

5 After crossing the bridge and walkway, emerge into a field - you have the option of turning right to extend your walk by joining the shorter route around the common ground to the south of the river. Along this route, there is the chance to see green winged orchids and lousewort. Alternatively, turn left and head back towards the visitor centre through a couple of small enclosures.

Also at Kingcombe: The site is nationally important for waxcap fungi and is home to great crested newts and dormice.

Kingcombe Centre runs various events and courses throughout the year and there is also accommodation including bed and breakfast. kingcombe.org dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk

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Your local holiday cottage specialist is currently looking for properties in the area to add to their ever-growing portfolio in Dorset.

Call us now to find out more information on holiday letting.

www.toadhallcottages.co.uk 01297 443550 44 Church Street, Lyme Regis, Dorset DT7 3DA

NATIONAL COASTWATCH INSTITUTION Words Jo Denbury Photography Katharine Davies

W

hen I arrive at Hive Beach near Burton Bradstock, the sea is still. There’s a quiet simplicity to this scene; the sea and the sky are much the same muted grey tone, save for a darker line on the horizon. But, as all locals know, this calm scene is deceiving and Chesil Bank has its own unpredictable ways. The coastline can often be wild and treacherous – there is the romance of the sea and then there is the reality.

On the west cliffs, between the Seaside Boarding House and Hive Beach Café and tucked beneath the lip of the cliff, is a newly-built wooden hut. It is manned during daylight hours by local volunteers of the National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) who have dedicated their time to being HM Coastguard’s eyes and ears.

Technology has improved safety but it can’t spot a distress flare, an overturned boat or sailor in trouble. The NCI ensures that every kayak that leaves Hive beach is logged and alerts either HM Coastguard or the inshore lifeboat at Lyme Regis to any vessel or person in distress. >

46 | Bridport Times | June 2018

bridporttimes.co.uk | 47

48 | Bridport Times | June 2018

‘To be honest, I joined up because I wanted to put something back into the community,’ says 72-year-old Trevor Follett. He’s a recent NCI recruit and not yet in uniform (which, incidentally, the volunteers buy for themselves) as he is yet to pass the exams. ‘The training is very good,’ he adds. ‘You need to attend six watches and then you’re asked if you’d like to continue. If you do, it’s on-going training for every probationer until you’re assessed and signed off. Then, if you pass, you can go on to the RYA VHF radio exam.’ Before he retired, Trevor worked in the building industry and has enjoyed learning chart work and how to take bearings and give positioning coordinates.

Trevor was also previously a lifeguard and has a healthy respect for water, although he’s keen to point out that the NCI don’t function as the RNLI. ‘You can go days without anything happening,’ he continues, ‘you might only see seals or dolphins. The other day there was an alert that ammunition boxes had come ashore.

Thankfully they were empty!’

Judi Gifford is the station manager and fundraising officer and she’s been with the NCI since 2012. ‘Our first look-out station was based at the top of the cliff,’ she tells me, ‘but on Valentine’s Day in 2014 a storm

blew it down. Luckily we had an anonymous donor and within a week we were operational at our new site here at the beach.’

‘I started as a trainee with no knowledge of the sea,’ she says. I suspect, though, that having worked for the US Army in Germany she is both methodical and well-organised. After 25 years in Berlin, and after the wall came down, she returned to the UK and worked at the Yeatman Hospital in Sherborne. While shopping in Bridport she stopped at an NCI stand and decided to join. ‘I’d recently retired and was looking for something to do,’ she explains. ‘I looked at the information and thought – “Yes, that’s it.” I signed up and now,’ she laughs, ‘it’s me standing in Morrisons, signing up new recruits.’

From a national membership of over two thousand, Judi is one of only five members invited to London this summer to meet their new Patron, HRH The Princess Royal. ‘I’ve no idea why I’ve been asked,’ she says, although it’s obvious when you meet Judi that she is passionately dedicated to keeping this important charity – excuse the pun – afloat.

‘It’s a lovely way to spend four hours – the length of any daytime shift – even in bad weather, knowing that you’re doing it for a good cause and as part of the Search > bridporttimes.co.uk | 49

50 | Bridport Times | June 2018

bridporttimes.co.uk | 51

52 | Bridport Times | June 2018

and Rescue community,’ she explains. ‘We report to the inshore RNLI lifeboat at West Bay or the Coastguard based in Fareham. With the search and rescue helicopter no longer operating from Portland there is increased pressure on the NCI and their need to respond quickly.’

‘We’re also here to raise awareness. Last summer I found a lad who had burrowed under the cliff, right up to his legs. When I asked him what he was doing he said he wanted to see what it was like under there. I warned him of the danger of the cliffs falling - he was very polite and quickly pulled himself out. At other times people will tell you where to go! Maybe it’s because we’re in uniform but the reality is we’re here because we want to help the community.’

Another important role of the NCI is to log all water-based activities and be available, by phone or on Marine Channel 65 (the NCI’s dedicated channel), with a weather report for sailors and fishermen. David Last, a former auxiliary Coastguard with 12 years’ experience, is in charge of training for radio communication and ensures that everyone can operate Marine Channel

65. He lives in Uploders, having moved to Dorset from Cornwall seven years ago. His greatest concern is people taking to the sea when ill-prepared. ‘Canoeists – whether they are wearing lifejackets or not – and divers are closely observed,’ David explains. ‘As are the bathers, walkers and climbers who use our shoreline.’ He pauses for a moment and considers the sea.

The tide is turning and the telling ruffle of the waves indicate the change of current. Slowly the sky is shedding its grey and a welcome patch of blue appears. The sea is beckoning, enticing us to dip a toe.

‘Personally, I’m not madly keen on the sea. I prefer several decks and engine rooms between myself and the water,’ laughs David.

Next time you’re at Hive Beach spare a thought for David, Judi and her team of NCI volunteers. There, from a small white hut, they watch over us, day in, day out, as we toy with the crumbling cliff face and wander beguiled into the ocean. nci.org.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 53

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FATHER’STH DAY SUNDAY 17

JUNE

TREAT DAD TO LUNCH AT THE CLUB HOUSE THIS FATHERʼS DAY

COMPLIMENTARY HIVE BEER, LAGER OR CIDER FOR DADS LUNCH SERVED 12 - 4 PM

BOOKINGS REQUIRED

bookings@theclubhousewestbexington.co.uk | 01308 898302

THE CLUB HOUSE | WEST BEXINGTON | DT2 9DG

bridporttimes.co.uk | 55

Food & Drink

TENDERLOIN WITH COURGETTES, DILL, MINT AND SPRING ONIONS Gill Meller, River Cottage

Image: Gavin Kingcome 56 | Bridport Times | June 2018

I

’m a big fan of courgettes and during the summer months I’ll use them in all manner of ways. When I’m working at River Cottage they come straight from the kitchen garden and never fail to impress, but when I’m at home I tend to get them from Millers Farm shop. Every year they’ll harvest kilos and kilos of this easy-to-grow vegetable from the fields right outside their shop. This means they are super fresh, and there’s no courgette better than a fresh courgette.

Many things as they get older become less sweet, and that’s certainly the case with courgettes. The natural sugars in the vegetable will start converting to starch almost as soon as they’re cut. This is why imported courgettes, available all year round (even at Christmas), taste so very dull; they’ve lost all their wonderful sweetness.

If I ask nicely, Malcolm, who runs the farm shop, will cut them to order, right then and there. That’s the best kind of fresh. If I go early the sun-yellow flowers atop each courgette will still be closed and I can have those too.

They’re wonderful stuffed, battered and deep fried or simply torn into salads and dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.

Finger-sized courgettes, if you can get hold of them (and I’ve just told you how!) can be eaten raw as crudités or sliced into textured salads. They have a light, pea-like flavour and, as mentioned above, are as sweet as you like.

As they get bigger, I tend to cook them. I love them roasted and served with fish, white beans, capers and lemon. I also love them barbequed with basil and garlic and served with labneh, a Greek strained yoghurt cheese, and flatbreads. When they get bigger still, I simply adore a freshly made, creamy courgette soup finished with dill and a young goats cheese.

In this month’s recipe I’m pairing courgettes with pork and summer herbs.

Pork tenderloin is a delicate and lean cut. I like its open, tender grain and the fact that it is so simple to cook. Sadly, in relation to the rest of the pig, the tenderloin is really quite small, so you must make the most of it when you come to cook it. This salad – which is full of vibrant, fresh herby flavours – does it justice. It’s also as quick to prepare as it is delicious to eat so, all in all, well worth a try!

A handful of dill, plus extra sprigs to serve A small bunch of spring onions, trimmed and sliced Juice of 1 lemon Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients Serves 2

Bridport Times reader offer: Get £10 off a Summer Lunch or £15 off Summer Nights when you quote BTDINE. Offer is valid on dates until 30/08/18.

For more details and to book see rivercottage.net or call Amy in our Events Team on 01297 630302.

1 pork tenderloin, about 300g 2 firm, medium courgettes 2–3 tbsp good olive oil, plus a trickle to serve 1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced A small bunch of mint, leaves only A small bunch of chives (with flowers if available)

Method

1 Preheat the grill to high. Trim the tenderloin of any sinew or membrane, using the tip of a sharp knife.

2 Slice the courgettes into rounds, a fraction thicker than a £1 coin. Put them into a bowl and add the olive oil, garlic and some salt and pepper. Tumble everything together, then lay out in a single layer over a large baking tray. Take the tenderloin and rub it around the bowl to gather up the seasoning and oil that has been left behind. Nestle this onto the tray with the courgettes.

3 Grill the courgettes and tenderloin for 6–10 minutes on each side until the courgettes are golden and tender and the meat is just cooked through. (The cooking time will depend on the efficiency of your grill and how close everything is to the element.)

4 Tip the cooked courgettes into a clean bowl and put the tenderloin on a board to rest. Chop the mint, chives and dill together and add to the courgettes with the sliced spring onion and lemon juice. Toss to combine.

5 Slice the tenderloin into 1cm thick pieces, on an angle. Turn the pork through the warm courgettes and season again with salt and pepper to taste.

Divide equally between two large plates. Finish with a few sprigs of fresh dill, some chive flowers if you have them, and an extra trickle of olive oil.

This recipe features in River Cottage Handbook No. 14, Pigs and Pork, written by Gill Meller, published

by Bloomsbury, and available from rivercottage.net.

Photography © Gavin Kingcome Why not try a “Summer Lunch” or “Summer Nights” dining experience at River Cottage? You’ll enjoy the freshest summer produce, freshly picked from the garden, and there will be plenty of time to take a stroll and explore the farm too.

rivercottage.net bridporttimes.co.uk | 57

Food & Drink

HAKE FILLET WITH CHICKPEAS, TOMATOES, BASIL & AIOLI Cass Titcombe, Brassica Restaurant

W

e love to cook hake at Brassica Restaurant and both my family and our customers love it too. This recipe is possibly one of our most popular dishes as the combination of hake, chickpeas and aioli is very indicative of my style of cooking – using the best local ingredients but with an Italian and Spanish influence. A firm fish like hake goes very well with shellfish and cured pork, and the combination with mussels and ‘nduja’ is another favourite.

Fresh fish is an integral part of our business and there is always a good choice of fish and seafood available. We

58 | Bridport Times | June 2018

work very closely with our local suppliers to ensure we get absolutely the freshest fish available; we aim to use as much local fish as possible but sometimes the weather prevents this! Hake is on the list of MSC-certified fish to eat, making it a good ethical choice and therefore very popular around Dorset. Being a good alternative to cod is often the reason for its popularity but in my opinion it’s much tastier. Hake is fairly ubiquitous in Spain where it is know as Merluzza, with the Spanish consumption per capita being the highest in Europe.

After what seemed like a very long and cold winter,

the season has finally started and we are surrounded by green growth with the beginning of all the spring varieties of fruit and vegetables - everything seems to be a few weeks behind what is normally expected at this time of year. The wild garlic is now in full flower and past its best but thankfully we managed to gather and pickle lots of the buds and stems for use later in the year.

We are now eagerly awaiting the elderflower blossom from which we make huge quantities of cordial to use in the restaurant, either as a refreshing soda with lemon or the more grown up ‘Twinkle’ (prosecco with elderflower and local favourite Black Cow vodka).

The West Bay cuttlefish season is in full swing and the few boats which are not targeting this underused cephalopod are landing some amazing Dover soles and skate wing. We use cuttlefish in many ways at the restaurant, including as a Bolognese to serve with polenta or pasta, or fried in exactly the same way as squid, simply tossed in seasoned flour and served with aioli.

Our local organic vegetable supplier has had to have a break for a few weeks while they furiously plant for the coming year. We are expecting more of their amazing produce very soon. Berkshire pork is a perennial favourite and we are continuing to get whole pigs in regularly.

The Beaminster Festival Street Party is on Saturday 23rd June, where we celebrate the opening of the week’s cultural events. We will be serving paella outside in the square from 6pm. Please also look out for other outside events including Open Farm Sunday at Lower Hewood Farm and our Supper Club in London in September.

Aioli

2 cloves garlic 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 organic egg 250ml olive oil big pinch sea salt lemon 1 Peel garlic cloves and chop, place in the bowl of a food processor with everything except the oil.

Add a splash of water and blend, then slowly pour in oil through top of processor until all the oil has emulsified. Check seasoning and add a squeeze of lemon. Store in the fridge until required.

Fish stock

Mixed fish bones with gills removed Parsley stalks

Spring onion trimmings 1 stick celery 1 small onion 2 bay leaves fennel leaves/tarragon stalks 1 small leek 1 glass white wine 6 white peppercorns 2 Chop vegetables and herb stalks, place in a pan with all other ingredients and enough cold water to just cover. Bring to the boil and then reduce heat to the lowest setting and simmer for 1 hour (skim any surface scum off with a ladle and discard). Pass through a fine sieve and discard bones then chill.

Hake and Chickpeas

4 x 200g portions hake (ask your fishmonger for the bones) 1 jar of large chickpeas 1 bunch spring onions 250g small vine tomatoes Basil Fish stock Olive oil Garlic Salt and pepper 3 Trim spring onions and wash; shred them as thinly as possible and separate the green and white parts.

4 Heat up a good glug of olive oil in a hot sauté pan and add the white parts of spring onions and garlic, cook for 2-3 minutes on a medium heat without browning.

5 Add roughly 200ml of fish stock and bring to a simmer, add chickpeas and keep warm on a low heat 6 Season hake pieces well on both sides and drizzle with olive oil. Place on tray skin side up. Place under a very hot pre-heated grill and cook for 4-5 minutes until skin is lightly coloured and fish is just cooked.

7 Dice the tomatoes and add to the chickpeas with the grated zest of a lemon, torn basil leaves, freshly ground black pepper, salt and another glug of olive oil. Place in a warmed serving dish and put the pieces of hake on top. Serve with the aioli in a separate bowl. brassicarestaurant.co.uk brassicamercantile.co.uk @brassicarestaurant_mercantile bridporttimes.co.uk | 59

Food & Drink

GRILLED MACKEREL WITH HERITAGE TOMATO GREMOLATA Charlie Soole, The Club House, West Bexington

M

ackerel is synonymous with the summer months. Almost every day Mark and I pop down to Chesil Beach to ask anyone who’s fishing there whether they have caught any mackerel. If the answer is yes then we know the summer has really arrived, and I know I won’t be seeing so much of Mark (who runs the Clubhouse kitchen with me) as he will be out trying to catch every last one.

If summer has truly arrived then you will surely be getting the barbecue out. Mackerel grills amazingly well on the barbecue. The rich oils from the fish and the smokiness from the fire combine so well. My love of barbecuing mackerel stems from the time when I spent a year on the Isle of Mull, on the west coast of Scotland.

Many of the local men would go out to sea on a day trip with their rods and a bottle of whisky. On returning with 60 | Bridport Times | June 2018

a full basket of mackerel and an empty bottle of whisky, they would soon realise that they had too many of one and not enough of the other! I would take some of the mackerel from them for a few free whiskies in the pub where I was working. We built a barbecue outside the front of the pub and people would come flocking for the freshest fish around, which had literally just been caught.

That was definitely a summer well spent.

Summer also brings one of the greatest ingredients: Heritage tomatoes. You might not be able to find them in your local supermarket but try some of the farm shops around, as I know a few of them definitely sell these colourful, juicy and sweet varieties. Isle of Wight tomatoes are amazing and come in a variety of colours with a variety of unusual names - green and red tigers, marmonde and kumato to name a few. If you are feeling

Image: Charlotte Green

up for it, why not try to grow your own? There is nothing more satisfying than growing your own vegetables. They always taste that little bit better.

I hope the summer months bring us an abundance of sunshine so we can spend plenty of time outside cooking over the coals, with the sizzle of some of the finest fish slowly cooking.

Ingredients Serves 4

4 very fresh mackerel 400g mixed heritage tomatoes, deseeded and diced 1/2 bunch of curly parsley leaves, finely chopped 1 lemon, juiced and zested 2 cloves of garlic, finely grated 200ml extra virgin rapeseed oil salt and pepper

Method

1 Slice 4 or 5 small cuts into the flesh on each side of the mackerel. This will help them cook more evenly and also let the gremolata penetrate into the fish. Lightly oil each fish and season with the salt and pepper. Place on the grill and turn after about 3-4 minutes. Repeat for the other side.

2 If you haven’t prepared the ingredients for the gremolata beforehand, you can prepare it while the fish is cooking. Just place all the ingredients in a bowl and stir together and season to taste.

3 When the fish is cooked, lay it on a plate and pour over the gremolata. Then sit back, relax and watch the fire. theclubhousewestbexington.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 61

Body & Mind

HEALTHY AGEING

Tamara Jones, Nutritional Therapist and Founder, Loving Healthy As you get older, good nutrition, staying active and reducing stress plays an important role in how well you age. Eating a diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits and fibre can help reduce agerelated risks of heart disease, osteoporosis and diabetes. Choosing foods that are packed with the vitamins and minerals your body needs will, over time, actively nourish your skin and dramatically boost its appearance. Try selecting the following anti-ageing friendly foods.

62 | Bridport Times | June 2018

Eat foods with antioxidants

Oily fish

Antioxidants are the best resources your body has to fight disease and ageing by reducing oxidative stress in the body. Some of the best sources of antioxidants include blueberries, pomegranates, acai berries, goji berries, dark chocolate (70% or higher cocoa content), green tea, nuts and seeds.

Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines and herring are a real superfood when it comes to skin health; their anti-inflammatory properties help to improve dry skin and relieve eczema and psoriasis.

Eat a rainbow

Free radicals form in our bodies and cause major damage to our cell structures. The different nutrient-rich foods we eat neutralise them. The colour of your food can tell you a lot about its nutritional value and eating a variety of colours is one method to get as many vitamins and minerals as possible. Choose vegetables that represent a rainbow of colours: sweet potatoes, tomatoes, beetroot, bell peppers. Especially increase your consumption of dark green, leafy vegetables such as broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts, as they have the most power to prevent premature ageing. Leafy greens are loaded with nutrients that can help to prevent free-radical attack. Studies have shown they can help prevent obesity, heart attacks and keep osteoporosis at bay.

Calcium

Getting enough calcium (and vitamin D, see below) can help prevent osteoporosis, a condition in which your bones become weak, fragile and more porous, leading to fractures. Good sources include the aforementioned dark green vegetables; nuts and seeds – especially tahini (ground sesame seeds); dairy foods; and small fish with edible bones (anchovies and sardines).

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is well known for its importance in skeletal health however studies also link vitamin D deficiency with many degenerative diseases of ageing. It is found in small amounts in mushrooms, liver, egg yolks, full-fat dairy and oily fish. However, the major cause of skin ageing is exposure to the sun; the older you are, the more ultraviolet light your skin will have been exposed to over the years. UV rays damage the collagen and elastin which keep skin smooth and supple. This doesn’t mean you should spend your life indoors. Studies show that you need at least 30 minutes of natural light every day so that you don’t become deficient in vitamin D. As with everything in life, expose your skin to the sun in moderation, and avoid burning.

Lifestyle recommendations

• Keep alcohol and caffeine to a minimum they are dehydrating.

• No smoking. Smokers’ skin ages faster than that of non-smokers because the toxins in the smoke actually stop the skin from producing as much collagen.

• Sleep well. To cope with the stresses and demands of life try and get eight hours of good quality sleep every night.

Try my beauty dip which is packed with antioxidants it’s my anti-ageing recipe for healthy glowing skin.

Beauty Detox Beetroot Dip Ingredients: 50g walnuts 1 tbsp cumin seeds 200g cooked beetroot (not pickled) – cooled and roughly chopped 1 tbsp tahini 1 large garlic clove 2 tsp red wine vinegar 2 tbsp chopped parsley A good pinch pink Himalayan salt A good pinch freshly ground black pepper 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil Method: 1 Dry-toast the walnuts in a saucepan for 4-5 minutes until fragrant (keep an eye on them and toss often to avoid burning them). Allow to cool.

2 Dry-fry cumin seeds for about 1 minute until they just start to darken and become fragrant.

Crush these seeds using a pestle & mortar or a seed grinder.

3 Once the walnuts are cool, blitz them in a food processor until fine.

4 Add the remaining ingredients and blend to a thick paste, adding more seasoning if required. lovinghealthy.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 63

Body & Mind

MIND-BODY CONNECTION YOGA AND BIRTH Alice Chutter

(Through yoga) “The mind becomes very strong! When the body and mind are strong this controls everything, it’s no problem.”

(Saraswathi Rangaswamy)

64 | Bridport Times | June 2018

T

he mind-body connection that people develop through the practice of yoga can support many transitions and challenges in life, whether male or female, young or old, in good health or ill-health.

Yoga is one method to help people access deep stores of emotional strength and confidence. I’m writing this while pregnant with my second child and I’m grateful that I can tap into those stores as I prepare for birth and the post-natal chapter. Having been through it once already I know I’ll have to dig deep! I practiced yoga throughout my first pregnancy and taught right up until the birth. Although I’m not a pregnancy yoga teacher, it has been a wonderful support for me through pregnancy, birth and beyond.

Yoga in pregnancy

Many try yoga for the first time while pregnant and get hooked for life. It certainly helped me to get in tune with the changes that were going on in my body and taught me how to adapt to ‘change’ in the widest sense.

Working with the hips and the pelvis is central to pregnancy yoga, as the pelvis supports the body and births the baby. I loved squatting positions (my students in my regular classes laughingly said that I looked like Buddha with a huge belly!) but squats don’t suit all, and there can be contra-indications such as piles and breach babies. Pelvic tilts and good posture help to optimise foetal positioning and certainly made my body more comfortable.

In pregnancy yoga classes I learnt how to modify my practice and which movements to avoid, for instance deep twists, which can compress the space and blood flow for the baby, poses that require lying on the front of the body or cause pressure in the abdomen and asymmetry in the pelvis, and deep back bends which can over-stretch the stomach muscles and which also put too much stress on the lower back. As with all styles of yoga, if it feels good do it, if it doesn’t, don’t! Listen to your body.

Other limbs of yoga took on a new-found relevance for me when I felt like a whale and didn’t have the energy to move my heavy and tired body. Pranayama (breath control) and Dhyana (meditation) helped me to build up the mental strength and resilience for birth and parenthood. Rest and relaxation is vital to a healthy pregnancy. I’m constantly discovering how less is more how to be a bit more patient, a little more still.

Yoga in birth

Many yoga postures can be used within labour itself and promote an active birth. During the birth of my daughter

I intuitively used my yoga practice: leaning into the wall and my partner to optimise the baby’s positioning and ride through the contractions; lunges to open the pelvis; and kneeling on all fours through the last stages of labour. The breath work I had been practicing was like a guiding light. Simply inhaling to the count of four and exhaling to the count of six helped me to move away from fear and cope better with the pain.

There is much research into the connection between the jaw and the pelvis in birth and it is widely recommended to relax the mouth and throat to support the opening of the cervix. Yogic practices such as chanting/singing in a deep pitch as well as using positive mantra can help this process and although I found this counterintuitive (everything wants to tense up when the pain ramps up) it was very beneficial through labour… and pretty noisy!

“If you feel like grinding your teeth or clenching your jaw catch yourself! Take a deep breath and exhale, relaxing your mouth and throat muscles. This effect is enhanced with an audible sigh when you exhale. Make a sound pitched low enough to vibrate your chest.” (Ina May Gaskin) Life and labour is ultimately unpredictable; the ability to stay focused and calm in the present is something that yoga can teach us whatever turns the process takes.

Practicing yoga during labour and birth isn’t meant to pressure women into winning a competition for pain endurance or a fight against medical complications that may arise. Instead it can support us to be more present with the experience, better able to cope with the stresses that the experience brings, and more trusting of our bodies. The tools and skills you learn will set you up for all the joyful, unpredictable and crazy challenges yet to come.

Further info/reading

Always seek out a qualified yoga teacher who is expert in pre- and/or post-natal teaching and find a specialised class.

In West Dorset we are lucky to have access to fantastic maternity services and a wealth of holistic therapists, many of whom are experts in pre- and post-natal health. Do your research and find the right fit for you.

I attended Pregnancy Yoga classes with Sharon Cox Button (dorchesteryoga.co.uk). Some books that I’d recommend taking a look at are: Yoga Sadhana for Mothers by Sharmila Desai & Anna Wise, Spiritual Midwifery and Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin, and Bump by Kate Evans.

Alice is a yoga teacher living and working in Bridport.

Her schedule can be found at alicechutter.com bridporttimes.co.uk | 65

Body & Mind

HERBAL MEDICINE WEEK 17th – 24th JUNE

T

Caroline Butler BSc(Hons) MNIMH, Medical Herbalist

he month of June is home to Herbal Medicine Week, started by the National Institute of Medical Herbalists to celebrate herbs and raise awareness of the benefit and scope of herbal medicine.

Around the country herbalists will be holding talks, workshops, tea tastings and herb walks so, to put it all into context, here is a brief account of herbal medicine and its modern-day practice.

Herbal medicine is the use of plants with medicinal properties to treat illness and injury, and is one of the oldest forms of medicine. Traces of medicinal herbs have been found in Neolithic burial mounds over 10,000 years old, and the earliest written records of herbal medicine go back to the ancient civilisations of Egypt, China and India, as early as 1600BC. In Ancient Greece, a physician named Hippocrates founded a medical school and a system of medicine which taught that disease was a product of environmental factors, diet and living habits. He believed in the healing power of nature and used herbs and dietary and lifestyle advice to treat patients, much as herbalists do today. Hippocrates is often called the Father of Medicine, and credited with creating the Hippocratic Oath, variations of which are still used by medical students today.

Over the centuries medicine has evolved away from simple herbal remedies to pharmaceutical drugs and, instead of being the main form of medicine, herbs are now classed as ‘complementary’ or ‘alternative’. Apart from a few herbalists operating within the NHS, professional herbal medicine is only available to those who can afford to pay for it, a complete about-turn from the relatively recent days when herbs were the folk medicine used by all except the wealthy who could afford doctors! However, herbal medicine and pharmaceutical medicine have more in common than you may think.

Many modern drugs have been developed from herbs.

Digoxin, used to treat heart failure, was first extracted from foxgloves after an 18th century doctor noticed that they were the common ingredient in several herbal remedies for ‘dropsy’. Willow bark and meadowsweet 66 | Bridport Times | June 2018

have been used since ancient times to relieve pain and fever and, in the 19th century, researchers investigating this phenomenon isolated the chemical which they developed into aspirin. The Chinese herb ephedra gave ephedrine, used in the treatment of asthma; milk thistle gave silimarin, used in the treatment of liver disease.

Herbs are still the main system of medicine in many parts of the world, and their contribution to disease treatment and prevention is huge.

Unlike their isolated constituents, herbs are chemically complex. They contain many different compounds with many different effects, and any plant is much more than the sum of its parts. This is well demonstrated by meadowsweet which, unlike aspirin, doesn’t irritate the stomach lining. Instead, as well as being used to relieve pain, fever and inflammation, meadowsweet is used to soothe and heal the digestive system. Using whole herbs rather than single chemicals extracted from them is a very important part of herbal medicine.

As each herb is so complex, it’s no surprise that many have more than one ‘action’, or effect on us, when we take them. One herb can be used for many different health problems and one health problem can be treated by many different herbs! The skill of the herbalist lies in picking the right combination of herbs for each person, rather than using one herb to treat a particular disease.

Many herbs can safely be used at home for simple things such as cuts and bruises or coughs and colds; it’s a real pleasure to go out and pick a plant, prepare it yourself and use it to make yourself or someone you care about feel better.

If you would like to find out more about herbal medicine and hear about upcoming events, visit Caroline’s website. Another local herbalist, Mary Tassell, has a monthly newsletter with information on her workshops which you can subscribe to by emailing her at mary@ tassell.net. Bridport U3A run a Herbal Medicine Group which meets on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, though it is presently full and there is a long waiting list to join! herbalcaroline.co.uk

bridporttimes.co.uk | 67

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Interiors

THE POWER OF PAPER Molly Bruce

W

illiam Morris, the renowned textile designer, recognised the importance of wallpaper, quoting: “Whatever you have in your rooms think first of the walls for they are that which makes your house and home, and if you do not make some sacrifices in their favour you will find your chambers have a kind of makeshift, lodging-house look about them.”

In my experience with design consultations, I find clients to be resolute that they either are or are not wallpaper people. Perhaps this polarisation harks back to the 16th century when wallpaper began to appear in homes as an alternative to the elaborate tapestries or hand-painted murals which only the élite could afford.

At the time, wallpaper could have been considered a bit middle class. Maybe a stigma lurks in the back of our minds, like so many old traditions that we neglect to question along the way. Wallpaper has continued to sway in and out of fashion over time but, whatever your opinions, history has shown that its appeal is resilient.

Today, wallpaper stands at the forefront of interior design brands in an abundance of different materials and styles, a culmination of centuries of creating and reworking historical designs. I challenge preconceived concepts of the medium - if you are adamant that wallpaper is not for you, consider that maybe you just haven’t met the right type of paper yet.

Personally, I am a fan of this ingenious invention. It can have a miraculous effect on interiors and will stand the test of time, or it can be changed regularly without spending a fortune. In the same way that a fresh coat of paint can breathe new life into a space, wallpaper can completely transform a room’s look and feel, transporting you to a different environment of your own choosing.

When it came to redecorating my own bedroom, I wanted to create a feeling of escape, a relaxing boudoir evocative of a sumptuous hotel room somewhere exotic and hinting towards a different era in time. Enter House of Hackney, a British design brand that takes wallpapers to a whole new level. They are known for recreating traditional designs for a new generation, including a reimagined collection of richly coloured William Morris designs. In addition, their wallpapers 70 | Bridport Times | June 2018

are made in the UK using PVC-free, eco-friendly materials and they promise minimal environmental impact at every stage of production.

I chose their floral design ‘Limerence’, a word evocative of a near-obsessive form of romantic love. In House of Hackney’s own words, “Limerence evokes the tropical climes and botanical vistas of Sri Lanka” and, by choosing a dark, cosy colourway to aid relaxation at the end of a busy day, the bedroom really has become a welcoming sanctuary. Even my mother, who was definitely not a wallpaper person until she set eyes on the finished design, has been converted.

When considering wallpaper, there is often the question whether to cover entire rooms or single walls.

This depends on the design you choose, the size and shape of the room, and the amount of natural light it gets during the day. If you want to cover every wall in a small space, perhaps consider a simple design. A more elaborate and intense theme may be too dominant on all walls but could be used more sparingly, for example around a fireplace, with similar or complementary colours on other walls. Even consider wallpapering your ceiling - you don’t have to be restricted by your surroundings; make them work for you.

Entertain the possibility of dressing your wallcovering up or down and don’t rule out pairing a lavish design alongside a feature such as an industrial brick wall. If anything, this juxtaposition will enhance the appearance of a space, especially if complemented with other items of similar style within the room.

I agree with William Morris: walls are important.

In the same way that we justify spending money on a painting, investing in a good quality paper that you will gaze upon for years to come should be a priority. I encourage you take the step and have fun adding a touch of class to your interiors by using the power of paper. mollybruce.co.uk @mollybruceinteriordesign Houseofhackney.com Images feature Limerence and Zeus wallpaper both by HoH.

bridporttimes.co.uk | 71

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Gardening

HERBS TO SPICE UP SUMMER Charlie Groves, Groves Nursery

76 | Bridport Times | June 2018

I

f you’ve driven past Groves in the last few weeks, I’m sure you can’t have missed – even if we do say so ourselves – our fantastic looking new restaurant, Ivy House. We’re so excited that after five or six years of planning it’s just opened; it’s a new adventure for us and one our customers seem to love already, enjoying much more room than our old café offered and lovely views over the pond. A lot is new, but the basics don’t change so we’ll continue to give the best experience we can but with an imaginative new menu and, as we’re still passionate about using local, seasonal and fresh ingredients, this will include lots of fresh herbs grown here in the nursery and our potager garden.

I’ve known for years that adding fresh herbs to meals brings a new dimension to even the most simple of dishes, such as adding a sprinkling of thyme to a plain grilled fish, a handful of basil to pasta dishes and delicious fresh mint to salsas and fruit salads.

However, my sister, Becky, our nursery manager and herb expert, really opened my eyes to other tasty uses when, a few years ago, she decided to display herbs so that customers could see what went well with chicken, oriental dishes and fish. She also suggested ideal herbs to make refreshing teas and ones to add more of a punch to summer cocktails (alcoholic and nonalcoholic) plus those that would add flavour and zingy freshness to salads.

As you can tell, I’m a total herb lover! As they’re so easy to grow, I’d encourage you to experiment with herbs - even if you don’t have a large garden they’ll do fine in pots on a patio or sunny windowsill and will give you a never-ending supply of flavour boost. I’d class herbs as being either woody like rosemary and thyme or soft like basil, coriander and parsley. The woody ones are tougher and mostly too strong to be eaten raw and are therefore better for cooking. Soft herbs aren’t usually as strong and are great sprinkled in salads, in salads dressings, cocktails, summer drinks, and scattered on cooked food.

As summer is just around the corner I’d like to share a few of my top herbs to add a touch of magic to your salads and boost those delicious summer cocktails.

Herbs to spice up your salads:

Chives and Garlic Chives Red-veined Sorrel Basil Heartsease Pineapple Sage

Salad Burnet Lovage Tarragon (salad dressing) Rosemary – great added to oils and vinegars.

Salad Rocket.

Simple creamy herb dressing

1/2 cup sour cream 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 cup chopped fresh herb leaves - basil, parsley, dill, marjoram, oregano or a mixture 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar Juice of a lemon 1 garlic clove chopped 1/2 onion or 2 shallots chopped finely Blend all the ingredients in a food processor for about a minute – this will also make a great dip.

Cocktails

A syrup infusion is the best way to incorporate your herbs in a cocktail. Simply take equal amounts of water and sugar (a cup of each will make enough for 8 cocktails) plus a large handful of herbs. Bring all the ingredients to the boil in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and let it stand for 25 minutes then strain the syrup into a bowl or jug and chill for at least 3 hours till you need it.

Great herbs for summer cocktails:

Mint - traditional Pimms or mint juleps, Daiquiris or Martinis.

Basil - great with gin, tequila and vodka-based cocktails such as a margarita or moscow mule.

Thyme – refreshing in a Limoncello and gin cocktail.

Borage – use in gin and elderflower liqueur cocktails.

Make a syrup from it and float the pretty blue flowers in the finished cocktail or in a Pimms.

Lavender – great in a vodka spritzer.

Lemon verbena – great combined with gin, lime and soda.

I hope you too will enjoy herby salads and cocktails this summer but don’t forget to keep a few handy for the barbecue and maybe even try making some lavender ice cream! grovesnurseries.co.uk

bridporttimes.co.uk | 77

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Literature

Children’s Book Review Antonia Squire, The Bookshop

Brightstorm by Vashti Hardy (2018, Scholastic Books) Paperback £6.99. Recommended for ages 8 and up.

Exclusive Bridport Times Reader Price of £5.99

T

wins Maudie and Arthur Brightstorm are the beloved children of daring adventurer Ernest Brightstorm. They miss him terribly while he is away on an Explorer Challenge to be the first person to reach the Southern Polaris on the mysterious Third Continent and are devastated to learn that he may well have perished on the journey.

Left in the care of their not-altogether-pleasant guardian, Mistress Poacher, they go to the Explorer headquarters to learn more about the fate of their father.

Things go from bad to worse as they learn that their father sabotaged another ship on the same mission and they realise they have not only lost a loving parent but also are now penniless orphans.

Mistress Poacher, rather than taking the bereaved twins into her care, sells them to a greedy and disagreeable couple from The Slumps, an area of town as unpleasant as it sounds. They work in horrible conditions for little or no food and sleep in a draughty room at the top of the house.

But Maudie and Arthur are not completely without

resources. To begin with they have their minds and their skills, learned at their father’s knee. Then they have Parthena, their father’s sentient bird who has returned to them from the Third Continent.

Now the twins know they have to escape from The Slumps and make their way to Southern Polaris to discover what really happened to Ernest Brightstorm.

As they join the crew of the inimitable Harriet Culpepper, along with the brilliant cook Felicity and the strange yet surprisingly adept Welby on the sky-ship Aurora, they must battle both the elements and other Explorers to reach Southern Polaris and restore their father’s reputation.

Chosen by Independent Bookshops from across the UK as the Indie Book of the Season, Brightstorm is an epic adventure of Sky-ships and Thought-Wolves, Kings and Villains, and mysteries to be solved as Arthur and Maudie discover the true meaning of family in “the vicious bite of the frozen south.” We at The Bookshop devoured it! dorsetbooks.com bridporttimes.co.uk | 79

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MAY SOLUTIONS

ACROSS 1. Unorthodox religion or sect (4) 3. Having a striking beauty (8) 9. Art of clipping shrubs decoratively (7) 10. Lift with effort (5) 11. Shrub; eye colour (5) 12. Took small bites out of (7) 13. Optical phenomenon (6) 15. State of matter (6) 17. Moves up and down repeatedly (7) 18. Special reward (5) 20. Covered with water (5) 21. Clique (7) 22. Discouraged from doing (8) 23. Mineral sources (4) 80 | Bridport Times | June 2018

DOWN 1. Reach the required standard (3,3,7) 2. City in Bolivia (2,3) 4. Putting down carefully (6) 5. Restore to good condition (12) 6. Prophets (7) 7. Loyalty in the face of trouble (13) 8. Someone skilled in penmanship (12) 14. Bring a law into effect again (2-5) 16. Soul; spirit (6) 19. Mistake (5)

The Joinery Works, Alweston Sherborne, Dorset DT9 5HS Tel: 01963 23219 Fax: 01963 23053 Email: info@fcuffandsons.co.uk

www.fcuffandsons.co.uk

DESIGNERS AND MAKERS OF BEAUTIFUL FINE BESPOKE JOINERY SINCE 1897

Hardwood Flooring Specialists Registered Farrow & Ball Stockist Bespoke In-Home Colour Consultancy Certified Bona Contractor

11 Dreadnought Trading Estate, Bridport DT6 5BU 01308 458443 www.bridporttimber.co.uk