SEP TEMBER 2019 | FREE
A MONTHLY CELEBR ATION OF PEOPLE, PLACE AND PURVEYOR
WEAVING TALES with Malcolm Seal
bridporttimes.co.uk
WELCOME
I
f we keep it talking, hold its gaze, perhaps summer won’t notice the time. Up late, outside, salt-tangled hair and sand in our toes, we’re reluctant to wash it away. Children are moving up, on and out. With shorter hair and longer trousers they will trip, fall and triumph in a world of new ways. Have we kept the promises we made? To fill the days, feel the breeze? Ah well, there’s always next year. Always next year… And so to September. Colin Ward rallies the troops, David Willis recounts the rebellion, Kit Glaisyer gears up, Alice Chutter stays focussed and Gill Meller mans the barbecue. We meet Buddhist monk, Gelong Thubten, ahead of this month’s Wellbeing by the Lakes Festival and spend time in the company and tended land of basket-maker, gardener and smallholder Malcolm Seal. Have a great month. Glen Cheyne, Editor glen@homegrown-media.co.uk @bridporttimes
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
Simon Barber Evolver @SimonEvolver @evolvermagazine evolver.org.uk Catherine Boyd Family Counselling Trust familycounsellingtrust.org David Burnett The Dovecote Press dovecotepress.com Caroline Butler BSc (Hons) MNIMH herbalcaroline.co.uk Alice Chutter Yoga Space @yogaspacebridport yogaspacebridport.com
Print Pureprint
Kelvin Clayton @kelvinclaytongp greenthoughts.me philosophyinpubs.co.uk
Distribution Available throughout Bridport and surrounding villages. Please see bridporttimes.co.uk for stockists.
Alison Ferris Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre @CharmouthHCC charmouth.org/chcc/ Kit Glaisyer @kitglaisyer @kitglaisyer kitglaisyer.com
1 Bretts Yard Digby Road Sherborne Dorset DT9 3NL 01935 315556 @bridporttimes glen@homegrown-media.co.uk paul@homegrown-media.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk Bridport Times is printed on an FSCÂŽ and EU Ecolabel certified paper. It goes without saying that once thoroughly well read, this magazine is easily recycled and we actively encourage you to do so. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure that the data in this publication is accurate, neither Bridport Times nor its editorial contributors can accept, and hereby disclaim, any liability to any party to loss or damage caused by errors or omissions resulting from negligence, accident or any other cause. Bridport Times does not officially endorse any advertising material included within this publication. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise - without prior permission from Bridport Times.
4 | Bridport Times | September 2019
Charlie Groves Groves Nurseries @GrovesNurseries @grovesnurseries grovesnurseries.co.uk Nicola Hawkins Dorset AONB @DorsetAONB dorsetaonb.org.uk Little Toller Books @LittleToller @littletollerdorset littletoller.co.uk
Anne Morrison The Bookshop @bookshopbridprt @thebookshopbridport dorsetbooks.com Anna Powell Sladers Yard @SladersYard @sladersyard sladersyard.wordpress.com Heather Sheppard heatherc2128@gmail.com Ellen Simon Tamarisk Farm @ tamarisk_farm tamariskfarm.co.uk Charlie Soole The Club House West Bexington @TheClubHouse217 @theclubhouse2017 theclubhousewestbexington.co.uk Emma Tabor & Paul Newman @paulnewmanart @paulnewmanartist paulnewmanartist.com Cass Titcombe Brassica Restaurant @brassica_food @brassicarestaurant_mercantile brassicarestaurant.co.uk Chris Tripp Dorset Diggers Community Archaeology Group dorsetdiggers.btck.co.uk Colin Varndell Colin Varndell Natural History Photography colinvarndell.co.uk Colin Ward Save Bridport Music @SaveBridportMus savebridportmusic.website
Will Livingstone @willgrow willgrow.co.uk
Sally Welbourn Dorset Wildlife Trust @DorsetWildlife @dorsetwildlife dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk
Gill Meller @GillMeller @Gill.Meller gillmeller.com
David Willis Bridport Museum @BridportMuseum bridportmuseum.co.uk Malcolm Wyatt
58
SEPTEMBER 2019
6 What’s On
54 Archaeology
86 Gardening
16 Arts and Culture
58 MALCOLM SEAL
94 Philosophy
36 History
68 Food and Drink
95 Literature
40 Wild Dorset
76 Body and Mind
98 Crossword
50 Outdoors
bridporttimes.co.uk | 5
WHAT'S ON Listings
WI Hall, North St, DT6 3JQ.
Wednesdays or Thursdays
01308 423442
9.30am-12.30pm (term-time)
____________________________
Painting & Drawing Art Classes
October 11am-4pm
Tuesdays 10am-1pm
Exhibition: Down the Slipway
Art Class
Mangerton Mill Artist Studio.
West Bay Discovery Centre.
Town Mill Arts, Lyme Regis DT7 3PU.
westbaydiscoverycentre.org.uk
____________________________ Daily (except Mondays) until
Free. Donations welcome.
07505 268797
____________________________
07812 856823 trudiochiltree.co.uk
Wednesdays 2pm-4pm
____________________________
(term-time)
____________________________
Tuesdays 10am-11.30am
Maiden Newton Art Group
Mondays 10am-12pm
Bridport Summer Yoga
Watercolour Painting for
Ballroom, The Bull Hotel. £7. Mixed
Maiden Newton Village Hall, DT2 0AE.
Beginners LSi, East St. 07881 805510
ability. 01308 485544 corrievanrijn@aol.com
01300 321405
____________________________
____________________________
Wednesdays 7pm-10pm
marion@taylormade.demon.co.uk
Tuesdays & Thursdays 10.30am
Bridport Scottish Dancers
Walking the Way to Health in
Mondays (term-time)
Bridport
Church House, South St. 01308 538141
6.30pm-8pm
Starts from CAB 45 South St.
Bridport ASD & Social
bridportscottishdancers.org.uk
____________________________
01305 252222 sarahdavies@dorset.gov.uk
Every 4th Wednesday 7.30pm
____________________________
Philosophy in Pubs
Bridport Children's Centre.
Tuesdays 6pm-8pm
George Hotel, South St. Read Kelvin
____________________________
Westbay Watersports Centre,
Anxiety Support Group For teens, parents & carers
Heritage Coast Canoe Club
Mondays 7.30pm-9.30pm
Fisherman's Green. Age 12+.
Thursdays 6.30pm
Bridport Dance Club
Clayton’s monthly article on page 94
____________________________
01308 862055 westbaykayak.co.uk
Pop-up Restaurant -
____________________________
The Monmouth Table (fish tapas)
Folk dancing with recorded music.
Tuesdays 7.15pm
Soulshine Cafe, 76 South St. Bookings
____________________________
The Bottle Inn, Marshwood.
WI Hall, North St, DT6 3JQ. 01308 423442
Uplyme Morris Rehearsals
Mondays 7.30pm-9pm
07917 748087 Facebook: Uplyme Morris
Every 1st Thursday
____________________________
10.45am-11.45am
Women’s Coaching Group
Tuesdays 7.30pm-9pm
Free Community Coffee Morning
67 South St
Bridport Sangha
____________________________
editation Evenings
St. Swithun's Church Hall, Allington
Mondays 7.30pm-9.30pm
Quaker Meeting House, South St.
Thursdays 12th September - 17th
Bridport Campfire -
Bridport Choral Society
07425 969079 themonmouthtable.co.uk
____________________________
____________________________
07950 959572
October 1pm-2pm
____________________________
Therapeutic Writing Course:
____________________________
Every 2nd Tuesday 7pm-9pm
‘Writing with Music’
Mondays 9th & 23rd 7.15pm
Co-operation Bridport
Biodanza @ Othona
Free. 07974 888895
Bothenhampton Village Hall.
bridportchoral.wordpress.com/Facebook
Othona Community, Coast Road,
Burton Bradstock DT6 4RN. £8-10
cooperationbridport.eventbrite.co.uk
____________________________
6 weeks - £42. 07747 142088
george@georgegottscounselling.co.uk
____________________________
01308 897130 biodanza-bridport.co.uk
Every 2nd Tuesday 7.15pm
Every 3rd Friday 10.30am-3.30pm
____________________________
Bridport Sugarcraft Club
Bridport Embroiderers
Mondays 9th, 16th 23rd
Ivy House, Grove Nurseries,
St Swithun’s Church Hall, Allington.
____________________________
____________________________
& 30th 7.30pm-9.30pm Bridport Folk Dance Club 6 | Bridport Times | September 2019
West Bay Road, DT6 4AB
01308 456168
SEPTEMBER 2019 Saturdays 10am-12pm
Hat Festival Quiz
Shanty Shenanigans
Chess Club
The Ropemakers, 36 West St.
Bridport Town Hall, East St.
____________________________
bridportandwestbay.co.uk/tickets
LSi, 51 East St. Free/donation.
lsibridport.co.uk/chess-club-on-saturdays-2/
Hatty quiz & raffle
£8 Bridport TIC 07780 588007
____________________________
Tuesday 3rd
Until Sunday 27th October
Willow Workshop: Dragonfly
Thursday 5th 7.30pm
11am-4pm (excl. Mondays)
StudiOne, Broadwindsor Craft Centre
Talk: Building Britain
jojo.sadler@hotmail.co.uk
lsibridport.co.uk
Down the Slipway West Bay Discovery Centre,
DT6 4EN. Bringing the ship yard
____________________________
£65. Booking essential. 07531 417209
LSi, 51 East St. £12 07780 588007
____________________________
____________________________
back to life. Donations welcome.
Wednesday 4th 7.30pm-9.30pm
Thursday 5th 7.30pm
Scottish Country Taster Evening
Hat Auction
____________________________
Church House, South St. Free.
Bridport & West Dorset Club,
01308 427927 01308 538141
____________________________
westbaydiscoverycentre.org.uk
Wear soft shoes. Qualified instruction.
South St. With Jim Rowe.
bridportscottishdancers.org.uk
Friday 6th 9.30am-3pm
____________________________
Workshop - Nuno Felting
Wednesday 4th 6pm-7.30pm
The Durbeyfield, West Bay. All materials
People First Dorset: Speaking Up Skills Ropemakers, 36 West St. For those
& morning tea & coffee included, £40. 07973 769432 jurassiccoaststudio.com
____________________________
with learning disabilities to meet people,
Friday 6th 7pm
01305 257600 office@peoplefirstdorset.org.uk
‘Walking in Turner's Footsteps’
07968 959298 jeremy@lymefolk.com
Thursday 5th 10am-12pm
____________________________
Introduction to
poetry and prose. £5 from Bridport TIC
Monday 2nd 7.30pm
Nature Photography
Friday 6th 7pm
Bridport Choral Society
Groves Nurseries, West Bay Rd.
Spanish Tapas Feast
grovesnurseries.co.uk
EX13 8TU. £35 booking essential.
Saturday August 30th - Sunday 1st Lyme Folk Weekend
United Church Hall, East St. bridportchoral.wordpress.com
____________________________ Tuesday 3rd 8pm
get help & support, gain confidence
St.Gabriel's Players:
____________________________
Bridport United Church. Readings of
____________________________
£20. Booking essential. 01308 807053
Old Dairy Kitchen, Trill Farm, Musbury
____________________________
07999 932089 olddairykitchen.co.uk
Thursday 5th 7pm
____________________________
Thinking of letting your holiday home? We know that your holiday home is just that – a home. That’s why our local team is dedicated to managing your property with the same care and attention you would. With tailored services to suit your needs, you can be as involved as you like, so why not get in touch today?
01929 448 708 enquiries@dorsethideaways.co.uk dorsethideaways.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 7
WHAT'S ON Tasting Event Town Mill, Lyme Regis. Booking
Friday 13th 10am-12pm (6 weeks)
Eventbrite
Nutritional Therapy
____________________________
Cooking Course
Sunday 8th 6pm-8pm
Yellow Gorse, 25 East St, DT6 3JX.
‘Beside the Sea’ Bridport Hat Festival
____________________________
essential. Tickets: 07770 779646
Therapeutic Writing Workshop: Saturday 7th
electricpalace.org.uk patagonia.com/artifishal
Bothenhampton Village Hall.
£20 per class. 07704 093016 or book via eventbrite
____________________________
£15. 07747 142088
Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th
____________________________
Homes Open Days
dancing. 01308 250350 bridporthatfest.org
Sunday 8th 7pm
____________________________
Requiem for the Hatters
Showcasing sustainable buildings/lifestyle.
Saturday 7th 10am-1pm
Lyric Theatre. £12/£5.Tickets from
Various Bridport venues. Competitions, live music, food & drink, workshops &
Eype Guided Walk
george@georgegottscounselling.co.uk
West Dorset Greener
Free. bridport.greenopenhomes.net
____________________________
TIC & BearKat Café. 01308 424901
Saturday 14th 10am-1pm
bridportandwestbay.co.uk/tickets
Foraging Walk
____________________________
with Robin Harford
jurassicoast.org/shop
Tuesday 10th
____________________________
Willow Workshop: Chickens
Trill Farm, Musbury EX13 8TU. £65
Saturday 7th 11am
StudiOne, Broadwindsor Craft Centre.
Meet at Highlands End Holiday Park. £5. Members: £2.50 01308 807000
Coffee & Jazz
01279 631113 trillfarm.co.uk
____________________________
£65. Booking essential. 07531 417209
Saturday 14th 10am-3.30pm
____________________________
Forde Abbey House & Gardens. £85.
jojo.sadler@hotmail.co.uk
A Taste of Autumn Workshop
____________________________
Tuesday 10th 7pm
Saturday 7th -
Talk: Shakespeare’s
Includes lunch, tea/coffee & cake.
Sunday 15th 11am-9pm
Bitches & Bastards
Art Exhibition
LSi, 51 East St. Free/donation.
Saturday 14th 10am-4pm
St Swithun’s Church, North Allington, DT6 5DU
01460 220231 fordeabbey.co.uk
____________________________
07780 588007 lsibridport.co.uk
Alexander Technique
____________________________
Introductory Workshop
info@thedurbyfield.co.uk
Thursday 12th 6.30pm
____________________________
Triassic Cruise (from
Othona Community, Burton Bradstock,
Saturday 7th 7.30pm-11pm
Exmouth to Sidmouth & return)
Bridport Ceilidhs featuring
£10. Members £5. 01308 807000
The Durbyfield B&B, West Bay DT6 4EL. Free. 01308 423307
‘A Pair of Shears‘ Church House Hall, South St,
jurassiccoast.org
____________________________
DT6 4RN. £35 including lunch.
01297 489526 ingedyson@tiscali.co.uk
____________________________ Saturday 14th 10am-4pm Living Spirituality Event:
DT6 3NW. 01308 423442
‘Seeking the Peace Within’
____________________________
iona.lake@aol.co.uk
bridportceilidhs.wordpress.com
Quaker Meeting House, 95 South Street.
Sunday 8th 2pm-4.30pm
____________________________
DWT: Tamarisk Farm Walk Meet at the farm, DT2 9DE.
Saturday 14th 11am-4pm Dorset Architecture
Bookings: 01308 897781
Thursday 12th 7pm
Heritage Week Open Day
____________________________
Artifishal
Sunday 8th 4pm-6pm
Electric Palace, 35 South St.
West Bay Discovery Centre. Free.
Verging into Vegan 8 | Bridport Times | September 2019
Documentary & Q&A. 01308 424901
westbaydiscoverycentre.org.uk
____________________________
Speakers include:-
Tashi Lunpho Monks Yoga Meditation Sound Therapy Pilates Creative Spaces Evening music performances
Liz Earle MBE Gelong Thubten Mac Macartney Tiffany Francis Francis Trussell and many more... visit the website for the daily schedule
ALL INCLUDED IN THE TICKET PRICE
at
Sculpture by the Lakes 19th - 21st September Featuring wellbeing expert Liz Earle MBE and world renowned author and Buddhist Monk Gelong Thubten. Curate your own wellbeing experience from a 3 day programme of expert talks, guided mediations, yoga, movement & mindfulness sessions, art workshops, live performances and healing therapies, evening music concerts, candlelit paths around the lakes - it’s going to be magical! BOOK NOW - Advance tickets from £30.00 per day www.wellbeingbythelakes.co.uk office@sculpturebythelakes.co.uk +44 (0)7720 637808 Pallington Lakes, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 8QU
WHAT'S ON Saturday 14th 12pm-2pm Dinosaur Footprints
LSi, 51 East St. £65. 07780 588007
____________________________
lsibridport.co.uk
Sunday 22nd 11am
____________________________
Harvest Festival & Lunch
Meet at Square & Compass Inn,
Saturday 21st
St Swithun’s Church, North Allington,
01308 807000 jurassicoast.org/shop
Women Retreat Day
Sunday 15th 11am-4pm
eventbrite.co.uk/e/wellness-for-women-
(6 weeks)
Walk to Keates Quarry Worth Matravers. £6. Children free.
Wellness for
____________________________
Symondsbury Tithe Barn. Tickets/info:
Monday 23rd 2pm-3.30pm
retreat-tickets-67078133503
Art & Design History Course:
____________________________
Romanticism in Painting
DT6 5BJ. £85. 07425 163459
Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd
Chapel in the Garden, Bridport.
Bookbinding: Oriental style Ink & Page, 29a West Allington, inkandpage.co.uk
West Dorset Greener
____________________________
Homes Open Days
Wednesday 18th 9.30am-3.30pm
Showcasing sustainable buildings/
All-day Appliqué Workshop
DT6 5DU
____________________________
£60. 01300 321715
chris.pamsimpson@btinternet.com
____________________________
lifestyle. Free bridport.greenopenhomes.net
Tuesday 24th 9.30am-12.30pm
____________________________
(10 weeks)
3SA. £85 including materials & lunch.
Saturday 21st 10.30am-1pm
Creative Process & Self-
lucychant.co.uk boarsbarrow.com
Golden Cap Guided Walk
expression Course
____________________________ Thursday 19th 7pm-9pm
Meet at Golden Cap Holiday Park. £5. Members: £2.50. 01308 807000
Chapel-in-the-Garden, Bridport.
jurassicoast.org/shop
____________________________
Barn House Studio, Loders, DT6
Morrish & Banham Wine Tasting Seaside Boarding House, Burton
07557 275275 m.caddick@gmx.net
____________________________
Tuesday 24th 2pm
Bradstock, DT6 4RB. £20.
Saturday 21st 10.30am-3.30pm
U3A talk: 1951 Festival
____________________________
Architectural Heritage Week
of Britain (Matthew Denny)
Thursday 19th 7.30pm
Tours
Bridport & District Gardening
LSi, 51 East St. Free/donation. 07780
Bridport United Church Hall,
Club - Grasses in the Garden WI Hall, North St, Bridport. £2.
588007 lsibridport.co.uk
____________________________
East St. Free. Non-members: £2. u3asites.org.uk/bridport
____________________________
bridportgardeningclub.co.uk
Saturday 21st - Sunday 29th
Wednesday 25th 7.30pm
____________________________
Landscapes for Life Festival
Talk: The Living Jigsaw
Friday 20th 10am-11am
Walks, talks & activities across the
Explained (Val Bourne)
life-festival (see page 42)
ulrhs.wordpress.com
(for 5 weeks) German Language Course
10 | Bridport Times | September 2019
county. dorsetaonb.org.uk/landscapes-for-
Uplyme Village Hall. Free (£3 guests).
LO U I S X V
C A N E D PA I N T E D B E D
P R I C E M AT C H G U A R A N T E E D | I N T E R E S T F R E E C R E D I T | B I G G E S T S E L E C T I O N O N V I S P R I N G B E D S
andsotobed.co.uk | 01308 426 972 And So To Bed Bridport Pymore Mills, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 5PJ
WHAT'S ON ____________________________
Friday 27th - Sunday 29th
____________________________
Thursday 26th 9.30am-12.30pm
Run Jurassic Festival
2nd Saturday of the month
(10 weeks)
Freshwater Beach Holiday Park,
9am–1pm
half-marathon/3km/children’s race.
Bridport Arts Centre
____________________________
Saturdays 9am–12pm
Thursday 26th 10am
Saturday 28th 6.30pm-8pm
Country Market
Weather & Our Coastline:
Vegan Wine & Cheese
Stepping into Nature
Woodmead Hall, Lyme Regis.
WI Hall, North Street
Creative Process Course Level 2 Chapel-in-the-Garden, Bridport.
07557 275275 m.caddick@gmx.net
____________________________
West Bay Discovery Centre. Centre visit & walk around West Bay. Dementia
Burton Bradstock. Marathon/
Farmers’ Market
jurassiccoast.org/run-jurassic-2019
____________________________
____________________________
Booking essential. Tickets:
Last Saturday of every month
07770 779646 eventbrite.co.uk
10am-4pm
____________________________
Bridport Vintage Market
427288 westbaydiscoverycentre.org.uk
Sunday 29th 10.30am-12.30pm
____________________________
Restorative Yoga & Yoga Nidra
St Michael’s Trading Estate, DT6 3RR
Thursday 26th 10.40am
Litton Cheney Village Hall. £20.
Sundays 9am-3pm
yogawithynadiya.co.uk
Customs House, West Bay
____________________________
Monday 30th 10am-11.30am
Saturdays 7th, 14th & 21st 4pm-
Thursday 26th 2pm-3.30pm
Dorset Poetry Walks
8pm
(6 weeks)
Bridport Community Orchard.
West Bay Market & Craft Fair
or blackvenpress@gmail.com
West Bay. Indoor & outdoor stalls.
friendly. Booking required. 01308
Themed Walk: West Bay at War Meet at Discovery Centre. Free.
Donations welcome. 01308 427288
Art & Design History Course: Romanticism in Painting Lyme Regis Football Club. £60. 01300
____________________________
Booking essential. 07800 712998
Local Produce Market
____________________________
____________________________
Free but booking essential via Eventbrite
The Salt House & Fishermans Green,
____________________________
01308 424901
321715 chris.pamsimpson@btinternet.com
Monday 30th 7.30pm
____________________________
The Aurora – Northern Lights
Saturday 14th 9am-3pm
Thursday 26th 7pm
Bridport United Church Hall, East St.
Bridport Town Hall
01308 863577
DT6 3LF. Free entry, 01308 424901
Community Land Trusts & Provision of Affordable Housing St John Ambulance Hall, Rax Lane,
DT7 3JJ. £3. bridport.greenopenhomes.net
Talk for Golden Cap Assoc. £5.
Arts & Craft Fair
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
Planning ahead
Friday 27th 12pm-1pm (6 weeks)
____________________________
ARCHstory:
Tuesday 1st October
Art & Archaeology Course
Willow Workshop: Veg Trug
LSi, 51 East St. £60 for course.
StudiOne, Broadwindsor Craft Centre.
____________________________
jojo.sadler@hotmail.co.uk
07768 695162 tripp.chris60@gmail.com
____________________________
£55. Booking essential. 07531 417209
Saturday 28th Bridport Charter Fair Centre of Bridport Day of information
and demonstration to reflect Bridport's community. 01308 423767
facebook.com/BridportCharterFair
____________________________
____________________________
Fairs and markets
12 | Bridport Times | September 2019
To include your event in our FREE listings please email details – date/
____________________________
time/title/venue/description/price/
Wednesdays & Saturdays
contact (max 20 words) – by the
Weekly Market
1st of each preceding month to
South, West & East St
listings@homegrown-media.co.uk
RICHARD WILSON CERAMICS
EXHIBITION WORK FOR SEPTEMBER Also showing paintings Tuesday – Saturday 10 - 5pm
LOUISE BALAAM JILL BARTHORPE EMMA HAGGAS ELSA TAYLOR 14th September – 2nd October
GEORGE STREET, WEST BAY
01308 455656 | rwilsoncyp@gmail.com | rwilson-ceramics.co.uk Elsa Taylor
Still Life On Grey
13-15 September 2019 Talks, film, walks and children’s activities
Christina Lamb. Tim Pears. Isabel Bannerman. Kenny Reams. Anthony Wilson. Angela Gallop. Owen Matthews. Fiona Benson. David Jones. Jaz O’Hara. Nick Jubber. Programme and tickets:
www.shutefest.org.uk
Jill Barthorpe
Green Bowl
www.jerramgallery.com THE JERRAM GALLERY Half Moon Street, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3LN 01935 815261 info@jerramgallery.com Tuesday – Saturday bridporttimes.co.uk | 13
PREVIEW In association with
RUTH ANDER: OPEN STUDIO Artist and printmaker Ruth Ander will explore the light and movement in Dorset’s land and sea scape in an
exhibition of her work for one weekend only at her studio in Puddletown, near Dorchester this month. It will also
be a chance for visitors to see her demonstrate her unique, low-tech printing technique.
Inspired by the light and drama of the Dorset coastline
and landscape, Ruth creates unique and evocative prints on
cyanotypes - a 19th century photographic technique that allows for expression and an almost painterly feel.
This kind of event allows for direct contact with the artist, a
chance to talk about the work as it’s being made and an insight into how pieces are made in a spontaneous, playful way. evolver.org.uk
____________________________________________
fine tissue and Japanese paper. By applying very thin layers of
Friday 20th – Sunday 22nd September,
water and land and has the finished texture and translucency
Sunday 11am - 4pm)
ink, her work emulates the delicate, subtle play of light on the
(Friday 12pm - 5pm, Saturday 4.30pm - 6.30pm,
of an old Italian fresco or a Japanese woodblock print.
Ruth Ander: Open Studio
alongside demonstrations of how she makes her work. In
07816 766894 ruthander.co.uk
A selection of her ethereal one-off prints will be exhibited
addition she will be showing her drypoint etchings and 14 | Bridport Times | September 2019
The Studio, 2 The Square, Puddletown, nr Dorchester DT2 8SL. ____________________________________________
100 ARTISTS 56 VENUES
BRIDPORT & WEST DORSET OPEN STUDIOS 7-15 SEPTEMBER 2019
bridportopenstudios.co.uk
Celebrating 60 years of Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
66o o
F E S T I V A L 21-29 SEPTEMBER 2019
Join artists, story-tellers, wildlife experts,
of the Ridgeway, Autumn Nature
geologists, farmers and archaeologists
Watching, River Detectives, Fingerpost
for a packed programme of FREE walks,
Restoration and Forest Bathing.
talks and have-a-go sessions. There’s
And help us celebrate our ‘national
something for all interests, ages and
moment’ at a very special picnic
abilities including Myths & Legends
on Saturday 21 September.
For all events & booking: dorsetaonb.org.uk Enquiries 01305 228246
bridporttimes.co.uk | 15
Arts & Culture
THE CHESTERFIELDS RETURN
T
Malcolm Wyatt
hirty-five years after taking their first tentative steps into the world of indie pop fame, The Chesterfields are back for a string of UK dates. Founder member Simon Barber (bass, vocals) will be joined by former member Andy Strickland (guitar, vocals) and more recent additions Helen Stickland (guitar, vocals) and Rob Parry (drums), celebrating a band that enjoyed a string of alternative hits, including iconic 1987 debut LP, Kettle, only denied a UK indie chart No.1 by Sonic Youth. Simon formed the band with Dave Goldsworthy in Yeovil in 1984, various personnel changes following, signing to Bristol’s Subway Organisation and emerging alongside fellow West Country indie luminaries The Blue Aeroplanes and The Brilliant Corners. They achieved success with a volley of 7” singles, including Sweet Revenge, Completely & Utterly and Ask Johnny Dee, with each record designed by Simon and then girlfriend Amanda’s The Terrible Hildas brand, the graphic artist later setting up successful West Country 16 | Bridport Times | September 2019
bi-monthly arts magazine Evolver. The Chesterfields came to prominence as part of a happening underground scene spurning over-produced chart music in favour of back-to-basics pop, with support from BBC Radio 1’s Janice Long. Debut LP Kettle was followed swiftly by compilation Westward Ho! then 1988’s Crocodile Tears on their Household label, by which time Simon’s brother Mark Barber had joined the band, that spell including appearances on national Saturday morning television, several prestigious festivals - including Glastonbury and non-stop UK and European tours. Dave Goldsworthy left the band in 1988, and Simon and Mark put everything on hold in 1989. A later lineup again included Dave, 1994 LP Flood following, and a Japanese tour, while in 2005 there was a Cherry Red best of, Electric Guitars in their Hearts, sadly two years after Dave Goldsworthy was killed in a hit-and-run accident. Simon, who also features with Helen and Rob in Design, resisted offers to use The Chesterfields’ name
again but couldn’t turn down the offer to perform at NYC PopFest in 2016, describing that Brooklyn Knitting Factory show as ‘fantastic… singing Davey’s lyrics and our songs with friends in a place I never thought I’d go with the band, the audience seeming to know all the songs.’ Revived interest led to more dates, Simon happily sharing the limelight out front with Helen - who coruns West Country flower farm Black Shed between outings - and adding, ‘I found my other perfect side-kick after Davey, with whom I had that sweet’n’sour LennonMcCartney thing. I don’t want to be the front-man, even
when they’re my songs and I’m taking lead vocals.’ The band are also recording a new LP, due next year. But first there are seven dates, support acts including ex-member Rodney Allen, culminating in dates at Bridport’s Electric Palace (Saturday 21st September) and Bristol’s The Louisiana (Sunday 22nd September).
____________________________________________ Saturday 21st September 7.30pm The Chesterfields with Dai-Nichi & DJ Alan Flint The Electric Palace, 35 South Street, Bridport
Tickets £8.50 adv/£10 door electricpalace.org.uk
____________________________________________ bridporttimes.co.uk | 17
Arts & Culture
A CHORUS OF SUPPORT Colin Ward
B
ridport Music is one of many local independent shops that exemplify the vibrant and individual character of the community’s high street. Trading for over forty years, the current owners, Piers and Steph, have been at the centre of the music trade in the town. Hardly surprising then that when news of the shop closing in October spread there was a big response. Although the business has been on the market for two years, there has yet to be a firm offer made by an individual prospective owner. The announcement of the closure on social media sparked interest from a range of individuals with entrepreneurial and community spirit who really want to see Bridport Music continue beyond October. The plan to ‘Save Bridport Music’ was born. 18 | Bridport Times | September 2019
The Overture
A meeting was held on Monday 29th July at the Ropemakers, one of the many local pubs that brings musicians in from far and wide every week. An impressive gathering of thirty-two people attended, all showing their support in different ways. Billy Bragg even gave a shout-out on Twitter. In addition to those wanting to support in a voluntary capacity or offering to take on part-time roles running the shop, great interest was shown by those willing to make financial investments in a new community-run company. Many suggestions were made about how the business could be maintained and moved forward, building on the legacy it already holds. It took just a week for the pledges of investment to reach an astonishing £50,000. A core group met on
return year after year on their holidays, to enjoy the eclectic mixture of music, instruments and accessories, all sold with the personal touch that makes independent shops really special. Although it is possible to buy musical instruments online, having a shop where you can try instruments, ask questions and get advice from knowledgeable staff is an asset to a community. Bridport has a thriving music scene, enjoying festivals, gigs, events and so much more. Whether it’s late in the evening or lunchtime in Bucky Doo, musicians from near and far perform every week, and Bridport Music is a great place to keep up to date with what is going on. To lose this central hub would be a devastating blow and the outreach from local people has been testament to that. Composing the Score
Left to right: Colin Ward, June Jach, Janine Roper (standing in for Clayton Everett), Josef Davies-Coates, John Bowles, Simon Michell Image: Pete Millson
Monday 5th August to go through the more detailed aspects of setting up a Community Benefit Society, a legal structure specifically focused on the benefit of the community as opposed to the profit of a single buyer or small group of shareholders. The Scales of Challenge
The high street is constantly battling against megastores, powerful conglomerates and, of course, online trading. Additionally, the current political atmosphere makes it very hard to make confident financial predictions and plans. For shops such as Bridport Music, there’s always the challenge of meeting the demands of what local people want and need from the shop, and how it can perform alongside bigger companies. People travel from surrounding areas, and even
Enthusiasm for the project came thick and fast but more investment is needed to keep the momentum going. Every pledge matters, regardless of size. More detailed market research is underway to investigate what has made the business succeed for so long and where it could go into the future. The British economic climate is currently fraught with fear and uncertainty. Everyone is having to think more carefully about how they can continue to diversify in a way that will allow them to thrive rather than merely survive. The campaign to Save Bridport Music is all about community spirit. What Bridport has by way of local passion simply cannot be mimicked by any online trader. Quality of service is by far the greatest asset. The goal is to bring together people from all walks of musical life: musicians, community groups, teachers and tutors, and those with special and technical knowledge all have a part to play. If Bridport is the stage, the community is the orchestra. Each of the investors – of money, time or expertise – is a player. Recent events have shown that we do indeed all sing from the same hymn sheet and follow the same score, drawing in an audience from far and wide - an audience who has come back for more for over forty years. As Shakespeare said, ‘If music be the food of love, play on’. If you’d like to pledge your support to help Save Bridport Music please complete our online survey. You can also find more information and links to our social media profiles on our website. bit.ly/SaveBridportMusic savebridportmusic.website bridporttimes.co.uk | 19
As Kingfishers Catch Fire Paintings and sketches by artist and illustrator, Neil Gower
OPENING EVENT: FRIDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER
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BRIDPORT & WEST DORSET OPEN STUDIOS VENUE 51
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20 | Bridport Times | September 2019
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D I S C O V E R | E AT | S H O P | S T AY | C E L E B R AT E
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Arts & Culture
Image: Katharine Davies
MARZIA COLONNA
Anna Powell, Director, Sladers Yard Gallery and Café
T
his autumn the immense pleasure of exhibiting Marzia Colonna’s collages, drawings and sculpture lies ahead of us here at Sladers Yard. At heart and at root, Marzia is a sculptor who works in three-dimensional bronze and also in twodimensional paper. The remarkable bronzes in this show relate to the emerging young woman, unfolding like a butterfly in Chrysalis and rising from the sea in Young Venus. These two tender and sensitive pieces combine powerfully with the more strongly grounded, equally evocative pierced form entitled Mother Earth. Memory, experience and a deep sense of empathy all play a part in these emotive sculptures. Italian by birth, Marzia has lived for many years in Portesham, just down the coast from West Bay, and the subject matter for her collages varies from the beaches, hills and skies that we know and love so dearly here in West Dorset to the flowers she picks in her garden and the tools, natural objects and pieces of sculpture that catch her eye in her studio. Add to this two collages set in Bermuda and one of the countryside where she grew 22 | Bridport Times | September 2019
up entitled Snow near Fiesole and we have a wonderful, varied collection. The way Marzia presents this subject matter makes her collages stand out. Her fresh and joyful colours combine bold hues, whether yellow, blue, green, orange or red, with subtle, neutral and earthy tones. She has an ability to see the world in pattern and texture which works very well in collage but also plays a powerful part in sculptures such as Chrysalis where the young woman’s smooth, sensuous skin contrasts to the rigid patterning of the chrysalis itself. Marzia uses a disciplined technique for her collages. She says she looks intently for a long time at her subject matter then paints the abstract colours and patterns she will need. What follows, as she builds up a more or less figurative collage by cutting, ripping and sticking the paper she has painted beforehand is highspeed and intense. ‘When I work with collage I feel I am sculpting with paper and painting at the same time. It is fast and furious work; holding on to and trying to replicate the memory of the landscape that I have
Iris and Peonies
experienced, not only visually in its form and colour but also in the impact created in my mind by the wind, sun, rain, smells and sounds.’ The results have an exceptional sense of light and space. Marzia’s landscapes evoke place and time. As a gardener I am particularly drawn to her flowers which are beautifully observed and really give the sense of fresh flowers. ‘I try to become a part of my subjects, animate and inanimate, to get to the essence of what they are,’ she says. Born in Pisa in 1951, Marzia started art school when she was 12 and continued to study in Florence at the Accademia di Belle Arti. She met and married Robert
Montagu when she was 19 and came to England, eventually returning to Dorset where his family play a prominent part. While entertaining a wide circle of friends and running a large family of strong characters, she has always continued to work seriously as an artist. She had her first solo show in London in 1979 and has exhibited regularly since then. Her work is in numerous private and corporate collections in Europe, the US and Australasia. In Britain, her sculptures have been commissioned for the Jerwood Foundation, Newby Hall, Salisbury Cathedral, Sherborne Abbey, the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy and > bridporttimes.co.uk | 23
Two Ink Pens 24 | Bridport Times | September 2019
Chrysalis bridporttimes.co.uk | 25
Arts & Culture
Walking at West Bay
Fallen Tree 26 | Bridport Times | September 2019
Shining Through
Winchester City, as well as by private individuals. The journalist and eminent art biographer, Roger Berthoud, put it most eloquently, ‘Her sculpture is based on the human form, which she uses to express what we all share as human beings. It fascinates her that wherever we come from, whatever our race or religion, we feel the same basic needs and desires. She sees the body as the vessel of human emotion, touching in its combination of fragility and strength. Many of her bronzes, and indeed of her paper sculptures, reveal the tenderness with which
she views her fellow human beings.’ Do look at the work online and come to see it. sladersyard.co.uk
____________________________________________ Saturday 14th September - Sunday 10th November Marzia Colonna: Recent Collages, Drawings and Sculpture Sladers Yard Gallery, West Bay
____________________________________________ bridporttimes.co.uk | 27
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Arts & Culture
Sally Derrick
W
e’re all eagerly looking forward to 9 days of Bridport & West Dorset Open Studios from 7th-15th September, with over 100 artists in 56 venues taking part for our 21st anniversary year. Last month I discussed the artists taking part in Bridport, so this month I’ll introduce the artists in venues in the surrounding towns and villages. Starting in West Bay, you’ll find our Patron Fred Cuming RA at Sladers Yard gallery. Fred won the Grand Prix de l’Art Contemporaries in 1998 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the Arts at the University of Canterbury in 2004. He shows alongside Luke Elwes, Frances Hatch, Vanessa Gardiner, Janette Kerr RSA Hon, Alex Lowery, and, from 14th September, Marzia Colonna and Fiamma Colonna Montagu with furniture by Petter Southall. Just up the road, there’s a new venue with four artists at the Durbeyfield, including impressive batik works by Sue Barnes, subtle landscape paintings by Nicola Moeran, freehand embroidery by Debbie Tiltman 30 | Bridport Times | September 2019
and intuitive gestural abstracts by Ruta Skrinskiene. Then head to George Street where you’ll find Richard Wilson’s colourful ceramics in terracotta and white slip. Head back west along the A35 and turn off towards Eype, where Marion Taylor is showing her famous Colmers Hill paintings with the Artists of the Jurassic Coast at Eype Church. Then up towards Higher Eype where you’ll find expressive, experimental paintings by Veronica Hudson at her stunning venue near to Down House Café. Now head towards Symondsbury to the west of Bridport and take the turn up Duck Street and the first right to the Symondsbury Estate business park where you’ll find emerging artist Poppy Moores at the electricbackroom studio with her audio, videos and paintings. In Symondsbury itself, enjoy Peter Hitchin’s intriguing and inventive paintings in Symondsbury Manor. Just a bit further up the road, you’ll find wideranging works by Lyme Bay Artists, a collective >
Peter Hitchin
Ella Squirrell bridporttimes.co.uk | 31
Alex Lowery
Katherine Lloyd 32 | Bridport Times | September 2019
Richard Wilson
formerly based in Lyme Regis, now in their new gallery in Symondsbury Yard. Then, head west along the A35 to Chideock and turn right into North Street for painters Ros Hipkiss & Ann Walker. Ros paints the shape, colour and atmosphere of Dorset while Ann is inspired by both Dorset and the warmth of Greece. Head further up the road to Billie Willcocks in North Chideock; Billie paints Dorset land and seascapes with an emphasis on colour, texture and form. Continue heading west and turn off towards Charmouth but then head north over the A35 towards sculptor Greta Berlin in Fishponds. Over a long career, Greta has worked in stone, clay, bronze and steel. Keep heading north towards Marshwood and Leonard Hollands, a Celtic Orthodox priest, who creates striking paintings including abstracts, landscapes and life-like wildlife paintings. Head back towards Broadoak and New House Pottery, a collective of potters and printmakers including Miles Bell, Chris Reynolds and Fenella Stride who create traditional domestic earthenware and more experimental organic stoneware. Next door, Sophie Sharp at Lupin Designs has screen-printed
lampshades cushion covers, prints and paintings; then brothers Jon and Martin Hazel at ‘Made in the Vale’ work in local wood, with plates, bowls, spoons and baskets. You can also get to the Pottery by heading out of Bridport up North Allington for a couple of miles before taking a left at the Dottery crossroads. Heading north out of Bridport, you’ll find representational painter Nicola Leader in her converted hayloft in Waytown, then ceramicist Katkin Tremayne in Netherbury who pushes her stoneware firing to captivating results, and nearby Paul Moore makes electric paintings in natural charcoal, earth and chalk. Back on the road to Beaminster, take a right turn at Melplash to the studios of award-winning painter Gerry Dudgeon who evokes the shapes and rhythms of West Dorset. In Beaminster itself, New Zealander Chrissie Jenkins, brings a fresh, Middle Eastern flavour to her paintings, fabrics and ceramics. Head west to Broadwindsor to enjoy atmospheric paintings by Mandy Selhurst, or head north to Eeles Pottery in Mosterton, where there will be a daily workshop tour every hour. Then head east to the Red Barn collective of three painters at West Chelborough. They are Esther Jeanes, whose paintings are dominated > bridporttimes.co.uk | 33
Harland Viney
Tony Heaton
Malcom Giladjian 34 | Bridport Times | September 2019
Mike Jackson
Greta Berlin
by the sky, Malcolm Giladjian, an impressionist who studied in France and Claudia Dharamshi, who experiments with unconventional media, surface texture and layering. Head further east, past Evershot and into Holywell, next to the A37, where you can enjoy abstract paintings by Mike Jackson, inspired by the Dorset countryside and coastline. Back in Bridport, head north towards Beaminster, take the first right after the roundabout at Gore Cross and head east towards Mangerton Mill and large-scale oil paintings, photography and printmaking by Harland Viney. Just up the road, discover John Wolfe’s sculptures in bronze resin, plaster and stone in both interior and garden settings. Continue along the road towards West Milton and the studio of Sally Derrick with sculptures of familiar species from West Dorset and around the world. On the other side of West Milton, enjoy colourful, individually designed ceramics by Katherine Lloyd. Further on at Browns Farm in Nettlecombe, see Brendon Murless’s sculptures inspired by the complexity of the human form. Then head south to Nigel Dawes in Uploders; Nigel constructs sculptural objects from foraged plastic items and fragments collected from the coast, lanes and cities. Head further east, up over Eggardon Hill and on
Gerry Dugeon
towards Wynford Eagle, to Sue Jenkins who specialises in highly accomplished painted portraiture of the farm animals and wildlife surrounding her home. On the south side of the A35, head to Long Bredy in the Bride Valley and en plein air paintings by George Paul Sainsbury, followed by Suzy Moger in Swyre, whose paintings explore abstraction, coastal landscapes and the depths of the sea. Then, on towards Abbotsbury, where the Dansel Gallery are celebrating 40 years of promoting cutting-edge, hand-made British contemporary woodwork. Pick up your free guide from the Tourist Information Centre and start exploring! Also, please join BOS for the grand launch at the LSI on Wednesday 4th September from 6pm-9pm. bridportopenstudios.co.uk kitglaisyer.com
____________________________________________ Saturday 7th - Sunday 15th September Bridport and West Dorset Open Studios Showcasing the work and process of more than 100 artists in 56 venues across the region. Visit bridportopenstudios.co.uk for details ____________________________________________
bridporttimes.co.uk | 35
History
LOST DORSET
CHIDEOCK
W
illiam and Kate Foss in the doorway of their shop, Sweets Cottage, in the summer of 1911. The man holding the baby boy was a Mr Marshall, on holiday and staying in the cottage. Foss’s was a ‘Cycle Agent’ and tobacconist, and the first shop in the village to sell paraffin and petrol. It went on to become a garage and the post office, a role it still fills today. The Foss’s daughter, Kathleen Symes, was postmistress until 1995 and it is still run by the family. Note the postmen with their bicycles and the ‘good conduct’ stripe worn on the jacket of the one on the left. Lost Dorset: The Villages & Countryside 1880-1920, by David Burnett, is a large format paperback, price £12, and is widely available throughout Dorset or direct from the publishers. dovecotepress.com
36 | Bridport Times | September 2019
HUTS TO HUNKER DOWN IN plankbridge.com 01300 348414
bridporttimes.co.uk | 37
History
THE BATTLE OF BRIDPORT - 1685 David Willis, Bridport Museum Volunteer and Chief Ropemaker
B
RPMG 4288 in our collection is a rather macabre playing card which shows the Duke of Monmouth’s execution. It comes from a pack of commemorative cards issued in November 1685. The Monmouth Rebellion was the last English civil war and religion was at the root of it. Charles II, restored to the throne following the collapse of the Commonwealth, died in February 1685. He had no 38 | Bridport Times | September 2019
legitimate children but is believed to have had several illegitimate ones, his favourite being James Scott, to whom he gave the title The Duke of Monmouth. Charles had all but legally adopted his son but still specified that on his death his younger brother James should assume the throne, becoming James II, our first and only Catholic monarch since the Reformation. Parliament and the country at large had been firmly
Protestant since Henry VIII’s split from the Pope but the line of succession was clear. Catholics had been systematically persecuted for over 100 years under Henry, Elizabeth, James I and both Charles’s so this was an uncomfortable position for everyone. There was no precedent here and the country had to accept James II as King, despite his religion. The Duke of Monmouth was persuaded that to protect the ‘true’ religion he would have to take the throne by force and he invaded from Holland with a small band of supporters, landing at Lyme Regis on what is now called Monmouth beach on 11th June 1685. He knew that he had most support in the West Country and expected to raise a large army before processing triumphantly to London as the people flocked to his side. However, things didn’t go quite as planned. Over the next few months, he raised around 4000 amateur volunteer soldiers and marched them around Somerset until his defeat at the Battle of Sedgemoor on the Somerset levels. A Scottish revolt had been planned to happen at the same time but this came to very little and was easily put down, providing scarcely a diversion for the loyalist forces. The first skirmish of Monmouth’s uprising was at Bridport on 14th June 1685. The local militia in every town had been called up and at Bridport, expecting a raid from their neighbours at Lyme, had set up barricades on the three main roads into the town. The rebel attacking party (either 120 foot and 60 horse according to the official record or 400 foot and 40 horse according to rebel accounts) easily broke through the barricade at the bottom of West Street as the militia scattered. They secured their position in the centre of town and moved to attack the barricade at the bottom of East Street, coming under fire from an upstairs window in the Bull Hotel. They broke into the hotel, ‘in which unhappy encounter those two gentlemen Mr. Wadham Strangways and Mr. Edward Coker lost theyr lyves. The latter was killed by Coll. Venner after he had shott the Coll. into the belly; the other was slaine by a musquet as he was endeavouring to pistoll Capt. Francis Goodenough after as wee thought he had taken quarter’. There is a brass plate in Coker’s honour in St. Mary’s church and a cocktail bar in The Bull named after Venner. The defenders at the East Street barricade were more determined and the rebels suffered losses. Their commander, Lord Grey, had his horse shot from under him and they decided to give up and fall back to
Lyme, re-joining the main force before it left to attack Axminster. The official account states that the militia, ‘killed about seven of them and took 23 of them Prisoners, and made the rest to run’. On 6th July the two armies finally clashed at Sedgemoor, James’ professional army being victorious and about 1200 rebels being killed. The majority of the remainder were taken prisoner and tried by the infamous Judge Jeffreys. He sentenced 331 men to be hung, drawn and quartered, 850 to be sold as slaves to the King’s Caribbean colonies and 481 to be fined, whipped or imprisoned. Monmouth himself left the battle early but was captured and executed. Being of noble blood he was allowed the ‘privilege’ of being beheaded. Despite being well paid the executioner messed it up and, to the chagrin of the largely sympathetic crowd, took five attempts to sever his head. The Catholic king was not to last, however. After a couple of turbulent years, he was removed in 1688 in the bloodless Glorious Revolution and was replaced by his staunchly Protestant sister Mary and her Dutch husband William. Playing cards are believed to have originated in China about 1000 years ago and first arrived in Europe in the second half of the 14th century. Monmouth’s party loading the ship in Holland is shown as a 1 of Clubs. This is because the 1 was then the lowest card: at that time nothing was more important than the King! The French had a lot to do with the current design of the picture cards and, following the French Revolution, the 1 was promoted to Ace, higher than the King. The Monmouth cards are very rare and unfortunately only 48 of the pack have been found. These can be seen in full on the playing card makers website playingcardmakerscollection.co.uk/Cardhtml/W0450.html. Bridport Museum Trust is a registered charity, which runs an Accredited Museum and a Local History Centre in the centre of Bridport. 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 or to become a volunteer, visit their website. Much of their photographic and fine art archive is available online at flickr.com/photos/61486724@N00/ bridportmuseum.co.uk @bridportmuseum facebook.com/BridportMuseum bridporttimes.co.uk | 39
Wild Dorset
THE NURDLE NIGHTMARE Sally Welbourn, Dorset Wildlife Trust
T
he Great British Beach Clean is an annual autumnal event to clean beaches in the UK, removing unsightly litter which is harmful to both people and wildlife. The beaches in Dorset are amongst the best in the UK, so it’s important that we look after them. Marine litter comes in all shapes and sizes. Many people think of plastic bags and bottles, but it is the presence of tiny beads of plastic called ‘nurdles’ in our seas that is causing increasing concern. They have been found in their hundreds of thousands at Kimmeridge Bay in Dorset alone. Nurdles are small plastic pellets which, when melted together, are used by industry to make nearly all our plastic products. The lightweight nurdles can escape into the environment, spilling into rivers and oceans during transportation. It is thought that billions are lost in the UK each year. They pose a huge danger to wildlife as they can easily be mistaken for fish eggs and swallowed by seabirds, fish and even crabs and lobsters. They can also soak up the toxins from their surroundings which then accumulate in the tissues of the animals that eat them. Plastic is durable and will be around for a long time. In 2016, conservationists at Kimmeridge Bay found a lolly stick with a figurine on top which was made in 1978 – an example of just how durable and long-lasting plastic can be. So, what we do now, really does matter for 40 | Bridport Times | September 2019
future generations. It is hoped that more people than ever will take part in the Great British Beach Clean from 20th–23rd September this year. However, you don’t have to wait Dorset Litter Free Coast and Sea is asking everyone, at any time of the year, to do a ‘2-minute beach clean’ when they are visiting a beach in Dorset. There are 10 beach cleaning stations in Dorset including Chesil Beach (next to the Dorset Wildlife Trust Visitor Centre), Swanage and Studland which provide bags and litter-pickers. Find out where your nearest 2-minute beach clean station is at litterfreecoastandsea.co.uk.
FACTS • Nurdles are 3-5mm in diameter. • 415,000 nurdles have been collected from Kimmeridge Bay – we even have a ‘nurdle-o-meter’ on the wall of the Fine Foundation Wild Seas Centre. • Since 2012, 1,300+ volunteers have removed over 5,700kg of litter from the beaches at Kimmeridge and Worbarrow Bays. For more information on beach cleans in Dorset and the Great British Beach Clean visit dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/events
Fungi Foray
DORSET WILDLIFE TRUST
Join us at Kingcombe Meadows for a day exploring with expert, John Wright.
Sunday 29 September, day course £75 inc. lunch To book, visit: www.kingcombe.org
Photos © Bryan Edwards & Nick Tomlinson
Wild Dorset
LANDSCAPES FOR LIFE FESTIVAL 21st-29th September
T
Nicola Hawkins, Dorset AONB
he Landscapes for Life Festival, is celebrating Dorset’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’s very special milestone with a packed programme of 20 FREE walks, talks and have-a-go activities. Sixty years ago, a line was drawn around nearly half of Dorset’s landscape from the vales in the west, along the South Dorset Ridgeway, right across to Poole Harbour in the east. This line marked our Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), a designation which alongside our National Parks make up our finest countryside and landscapes protected in the national interest for future generations. Dorset’s AONB is the fifth largest in the country comprising a landscape of national and international significance for the quality of its natural and cultural heritage, shaped over time by geology, hydrology and millennia of human occupation. Yet these landscapes are much more than a view – they are landscapes for living. They are a place for nature – to conserve and enhance. They are a place for industry – they are the living, breathing factory floor of our British food industry. They are a place of tranquility, rootedness and wellbeing, treasured by generations of people seeking peace, exercise and leisure; truly our Natural Health Service. Throughout the Festival you can join artists, storytellers, wildlife experts, geologists, farmers, archaeologists to uncover what makes the landscape so outstanding… and find your own place to love along the way. Events will take place across Dorset offering something for all interests, ages and abilities including autumn wildlife, poetry walks, forest school, ancient archaeology, river detectives, dry stone walling, fingerpost restoration and much more. To give you a flavour of what’s in store out west, we’ve asked some very special local landscape lovers who live and work here to share why they love this landscape. Local professional storyteller, Martin Maudsley is leading an entertaining walk Myths and Legends; Land 42 | Bridport Times | September 2019
of Bone and Stone (Sunday 22 September) for all the family at Black Down, in the heart of the South Dorset Ridgeway, an area rich in history and folklore that provide vivid raw materials for magical myths and local legends. “I’ve become passionate about ‘re-storying the landscape’ - literally putting stories back into place. Sometimes this involves weaving together a tapestry of tales that have been left behind by past inhabitants. There is a richness of prehistoric monuments here, whose origins and purposes have always been a source of mystery and wonder; inspiration for re-imaging stories that makes new connections between people of place.” Nick Gray, local wildlife expert and conservationist will be leading two guided walks, Meadows of the Past (Tuesday 24th September) or Meadows of the Future (Wednesday 25th September) where he will weave together an inspiring insight on local wildlife, folklore and modern farming. “I relish West Dorset’s hills and vales with all the marvellous wildlife tucked away in the folds of the landscape or standing proud on the hilltops. Many of our iconic species rely on sympathetic farming and traditional woodland management to provide habitat.” Local artist Amanda Wallwork is joined by geologist Sam Scriven for Unseen Landscapes (Thursday 26th September), a guided walk from Abbotsbury, sharing their unique perspective on how what’s under our feet influences and dictates the landscape above. “My practice as an artist is all about landscape - but not the aesthetic. I take a deeper view wanting to really understand and convey the more hidden aspects. The range of archaeology and geological variety in this area is absolutely fascinating and a constant source of inspiration.” Full Event Programme and Bookings dorsetaonb.org.uk/landscapes-for-life-festival/ Events are FREE but most require bookings as limited places.
Hell Stone Sunset Š Tony Gill
Martin Maudsley with the Dorset Osser
Nick Gray
Amanda Wallwork (c) Matt Austin bridporttimes.co.uk | 43
Wild Dorset
CITIZEN SCIENCE A NEW GENERATION
Alison Ferris, Deputy Senior Warden, Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre
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his year the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre has introduced new, free Citizen Science events to get more local people and visitors involved with marine species identification on the beaches at Charmouth and Lyme Regis. Although a coastal centre, we have always been very focused on safe and sustainable fossil collecting along the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. The Lyme Bay reefs became the country’s largest protected marine reserve in 2008 and Plymouth University have been monitoring the recovery of the bay, which had previously been damaged by dredging. There are very rare sunset corals and pink sea fans in the bay, which have now recovered along with the scallop population. Although the recovery of Lyme Bay has been successful, coastal areas face new challenges from climate change, marine pollution and invasive species. We have for years run rockpool rambles in Lyme Regis and Charmouth but, in recent years, have noticed differences in the species we are finding around our coasts. The Heritage Centre therefore introduced free events to raise awareness. We started beach cleaning events in 2015 in co-ordination 44 | Bridport Times | September 2019
with Litter Free Coast and Sea: on our very first event we had over 70 attendees. Charmouth now has its own Plastic-free Charmouth Committee and many of the local businesses are making changes from single-use plastics. We also run nurdle hunts (nurdles are microplastics) and a local action group has been investigating the sources of these microplastics on our beach, including bio beads which come from sewage treatment plants. We have recently visited two sewage treatment plants to understand why we have bio beads washing up on our beaches and this work is ongoing. We participate in the Marine Conservation Society Great British Beach Clean every September and Charmouth Parish Council has recently supported the purchase of new equipment. We run beach cleaning and nurdle hunting events regularly and anyone can join in. We provide all the equipment. We had a successful Shark Egg Case Hunt in which we searched the strandline for egg cases, or mermaids’ purses as they are more commonly known, and identify them for the Sharks Trust. This helps the Sharks Trust understand which species lay eggs in our waters. There are 21 species of shark (including deep water species)
living in the UK, with 11 visiting species, 18 species of skates and rays and 8 species of chimaera. We collected over 100 cases in an hour; the type of cases differed from the same month last year as did the abundance. Even recording no egg cases can be significant. We have also run several Crab Watch and Seashore Surveys for the Marine Biological Association. Amazingly, a rare species of crab, The Montagues’ or Furrowed crab, was found on the same day in both Lyme Regis and Kimmeridge; both were reported to Crab Watch. The Furrowed crab is nocturnal so to find two in the same weekend during the day was a great discovery. We also reported a Pennants swimming crab, which is associated with sandy shore environments rather than our rocky shores. We have not yet reported any invasive crab species on our local beaches but we do have non-native wireweed growing in the rockpools around Lyme Regis. Wireweed is a large brown seaweed from the Pacific that arrived in the 1970s, having spread from France. It competes with our native seagrasses, which form an important habitat for many local species. One of our wardens has previously helped to try and clear the wireweed but it grows back
fast, maturing quickly and self-fertilising. Wireweed has now been reported as far north as Scotland, having spread from the south coast. Later in the year we are running a Citizen Science Seaweed Search for the Natural History Museum and will include reports of the wireweed. Citizen Science not only encourages you to reconnect with nature but also helps provide vital information to researchers who can maximise data collected on a project. You are making a valuable contribution to science while increasing your own knowledge. You don’t need specialist skills or experience of doing surveys; come along and learn all about it with us. Once you know how to do a survey, you can download all your own resources and upload your findings to the relevant researching institution. Through these free events we are aiming to train a new generation of Citizen Scientists to help monitor marine species around Lyme Bay and to help reduce plastic pollution. charmouth.org/chcc CharmouthHeritageCoastCentre @CharmouthHCC bridporttimes.co.uk | 45
Wild Dorset
SOCIAL WASPS Colin Varndell, Photographer
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asps are generally not popular insects with humans, no doubt because they are capable of inflicting pain on us, and repeatedly too! They buzz around us at summer barbeques, attracted by meat and sweet, fruity drinks. They annoy us by coming into our homes and frequently we hear of people being stung by wasps. To make matters worse, wasp stings are venomous and contain a pheromone, which acts as an alarm to other wasps nearby, causing them to join in. However, our own irritations set apart, social wasps are among some of the most attractive and interesting creatures of the invertebrate world. There are seven species of social wasp in the UK, with four regularly encountered in the Bridport area. These are the common wasp, German wasp, median wasp and hornet. They feed mainly on nectar and other sweet foods, and predate other invertebrates, especially caterpillars. Common wasps especially are particularly fond of windfall fruit in autumn. The natural history for social wasps is much the same for all species. Queen wasps emerge from hibernation in spring, to begin construction of their nests. The Queen forms a few cells and lays eggs in them; as the eggs hatch into larvae, she tends them lovingly. The larvae hatch into sterile female workers who take on the responsibilities of nest care while the queen is devoted solely to egg laying. Workers explore the environment, searching for nest building material and insect prey to bring back to the nest for the larvae. Their own nourishment needs are met with high-energy foods such as sweet fruits and nectar, and they are therefore important pollinators. Males appear in late summer and are seen mostly gorging on the nectar of flowers. Their sole purpose is to mate with emerging new queens. The abundance of wasps varies from year to year and, in plentiful years, fewer queens are produced, resulting in fewer wasp nests the following year. In very poor wasp years, the number of queens produced is higher than normal. Wasp nests are annual and colonies decline rapidly in autumn. By winter, all males and workers have perished 46 | Bridport Times | September 2019
and only the new queens are able to survive the colder months in hibernation. The following spring, the new fertile queens emerge to search for a nest site and to start the process all over again. As its name suggests, the common wasp, vespula vulgaris is the most frequently encountered. Large colonies of common wasps nest in holes in the ground or in banks. They also build nests in wall cavities, hollow trees, sheds and attics but never out in the open. Nests are constructed with chewed wood fibres mixed with their own saliva. They tend to prefer stripping wood at the early stages of decay rather than from sound timber. The common wasp worker is no more than two centimetres long, with an obvious waist between the thorax and abdomen. It may be distinguished from other wasp species by the black, anchor-shaped
Image: Colin Varndell
mark on its yellow face. Hundreds of female workers are reared throughout the summer and a nest may eventually contain several thousand insects. The median wasp, dolichovespula media, first arrived in southern counties of England during the 1980s. They are larger than common wasps and make their nest in the open, hanging from a tree or bush. Similar in appearance to the common wasp, the black bands on the abdomen tend to be more pronounced. Workers feed on nectar and hunt for insects to feed to the queen and larvae. This summer I have seen a median wasp nest in St. Andrews Road in Bridport. The largest of the social wasps found in West Dorset is the hornet, vespa crabro, and, although awesome in appearance, it is a most benign insect. I always think of hornets as the bumblebees of the wasp world. The hornet
has similar yellow markings to other wasps but the black is replaced with a chestnut brown colour. It is more of a predator than other species, as adults and larvae eat mainly insects, supplementing their diet with tree sap and windfall fruit. Hornets frequently seek out butterfly habitats by day and moths at night. New queens stock up on nectar before hibernating. Hornets fly by night as well as by day and can be seen from May until October when the males, workers and the old queen die. Colin will be presenting his talk ‘The Hedgehog Predicament: the decline of the species and what we can do as individuals to help them’, at St. Swithun’s Church Hall on Friday 20th September at 7.30pm. colinvarndell.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 47
Wild Dorset
SHADES OF GREEN Ellen Simon, Tamarisk Farm
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s my eyes rest from work they fall on the fields and hedges, and what is within them and around them. Sometimes this is without attention and I see not the things which are there but the patterns they form in the colours of the season. We are in September which, to me, is part of the dark green phase of the year. For now, green is ubiquitous. Green is the colour of life and growth. It is the domain of the Green Man and it defines England’s pleasant land. Soon the green will start to depart and in preparation for that is becoming muted. The backdrop to our farm is the wide expanse of sky over our long sea horizon, with their ever-shifting palette, so for us green never becomes overpowering. When we visit inland farms I can feel weighed down by the unrelenting green of the trees, the hedges and the grass without the relief of the blues and greys of the sea. By this time of year our grasslands are only classic 48 | Bridport Times | September 2019
grass-green if they were cut for hay back in June or July, or if animals grazed them around then. In uncropped fields, the seed heads of the grasses are now everywhere, a faded gold enhanced in some places by the last bright flowers of the fleabane and the hoary ragwort but mostly the glow is dulled by their brass and silver seedheads. The drifts of brilliant blue tufted vetch, dotted with red and black six-spot burnet moths a few weeks ago, are now light chestnut with dried stems and seed-pods, and the smaller drifts of bush vetch are black with empty pods, spiral twisted. If these fields are grazed now, even the rough-eating cattle will not manage to clear the old vegetation, choosing the fresher green which is hidden beneath it, so we will not see an emerald sward for a while. But the old culms of the grasses and brittle stems of the flowering plants will decay and contribute to the slow build of the soil. The sheep seem to try to colour-
match themselves to the sward, filling their fleece with the dark green burrs of the agrimony. Trees and shrubs are dark. Bramble shoots arc through the air or snake out along the ground to escape their hedge, dark green despite being new growth, or tinged with red. Blackthorn escapes underground and brings its dark green leaves into the field in a forest of suckers. In the arable ground, the quiet colours are following the green. The ripening cereals have now given way to the soft colour of the stubbles, dulled and greened by the many small, flowering plants growing in the wheat and barley. The bright, uniform colour of the cut stalks is diluted by the mixed colours of ephemeral plants growing beneath: there are little fluellens, grey-green leaves sneak round the stubble with purple and yellow miniature snap-dragon flowers, the sun-spurge, and dwarf spurge, cornsalad
and corn parsley. There is nit-grass, a rarity of which we have plenty, the shiny flower bright back in July but looking grey now the seeds have set and dispersed. There are as well the less welcome weeds of arable ground: the bent-grass, purple-green; couch; wild oats; the dock seed-heads, russet and threatening; and creeping thistle and bristly ox-tongue, both silver-grey. However, after combining, all you see of these - unless you get onto hands and knees to see the detail - is the grey-green, smudged with the dust of the soil. In the vegetable gardens too, the greens are muted. The outer leaves of the vegetables carry the quietness of late summer; the brilliant jewel greens and purples are now restricted to the centres of rosettes, tips of the taller plants and the new successional plantings. We know the fresh-coloured leaves are there and we pick them for you and for ourselves to eat but, as my eye casts about on the garden, it is to the outer leaves that it is drawn, with their dry, unsaturated colours, dark greens with hints of blue in some and ochre in others. If I look actively rather than let my eyes wander, I notice the origin of some softened colours: alliums may be deep orange with rust, there may be dull silver from spider-mite on a cucumber plant. The origanum flowers are fading to dusty-white and covered with honeybees. We look back to spring and early summer when whole plants show their brilliance; we look forward to autumn when the sea mists and the rain will refresh them but, in the meantime, we notice the sense of dogged persistence of the grasses and rough, tough herbs around the edges. We rejoice in the ripening of apples; we’ve been biting through the green skin of the early eaters to their white and pink flesh since July but now we are reaching the main crop, finding the dull brown-green of the Egremont Russet with a breakthrough flush of red or gold on some of them, the greens and dark unripe reds of the cookers, stripy on the Howgate Wonder, patchy on the Bramley and Annie Elizabeth. At another time of year I might focus on browns and reds of autumn, gold of harvest in July and August or the rainbow of early flowers and frothy white of the spring hedges and verges. But always there is green. The autumn bright green of fresh cereals germinating, the gold-green of the spring oak leaves and the red-green of the new blackthorn leaves are all brighter than the old green which surrounds us now in September. But not better for that, just different. Each belongs to its own time. tamariskfarm.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 49
Outdoors
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On Foot
PUNCKNOWLE, TULK’S HILL AND THE KNOLL Emma Tabor and Paul Newman
Distance: 3¾ miles Time: Approx. 2¼ hours Park: Outside The Crown Inn, Puncknowle Walk Features: This walk starts with a steady climb through rough pasture and The Drives before dropping to Look Wood and then climbing again towards Tulk’s Hill. From here, it’s an easy stroll west along the Ridgeway with fine views over the magnificent sweep of Lyme Bay. The route then heads back down towards Puncknowle along Clay Lane, with a short detour up towards the Old Coastguard lookout on The Knoll, before turning off down towards Knackers Hole and back to the start. Refreshments: The Crown Inn, Puncknowle >
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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 September we explore Puncknowle and its fine manor house and church. Puncknowle lies off the main Bridport to Abbotsbury coast road and is easy to overlook but is a delightful village with some interesting buildings, and a good base from which to explore the coast. There are expansive views of the ridge above Little Bredy and Litton Cheney and beyond towards Eggardon and Lewesdon Hills, as well as towards Portland and Start Point in Devon from The Ridgeway. The section above the coast is wonderfully airy and The Knoll provides a good spot to sit and ponder towards the end of the walk. Directions
Start: SY 535 886 1 Park safely on the street near the Crown Inn. Before setting out, it is worth looking around St Mary’s church, with its 12th century chancel arch, wall paintings and Norman font. Note some of the traces around the village of the Napier family, lords of the manor for three centuries. 2 With the pub on your left, walk up the road towards a playing field which you then pass on your left. At 52 | Bridport Times | September 2019
the postbox turn left, with a footpath sign to Look Farm and Green Leaze. Walk up the drive between houses and at the end, just before a double garage, turn left up a marked footpath. Cross a footbridge over a little brook and then head up to your right, over a stile, into a paddock. Go across the field, heading to your left, along a hedge, then through a gap in the hedge into an adjoining field. Go straight across this field to a stile. Good views now open up to your left. Over the stile, head diagonally right across this next field, keeping a hedge on your right. You can now see across the Bride Valley; notice the strip lynchets on the far side. Aim for a gap in the hedge about 20 yards down from the top right corner of the field. Go through this gap, which can be boggy and wet, with low branches. Turn right and head up to emerge onto a track after a few yards, then turn left. 3 With a hedge on your left, you soon pass through a gateway with a large metal gate. Keep straight ahead, now starting to head downhill towards woodland. There are good views from here ahead towards Tulk’s Hill and Abbotsbury Castle as well as some almost timeless views across the Bride Valley, with the feeling of being removed from modern life. (At one point during our walk we could hear nothing but the mew of a buzzard directly overhead and the sound of fiddle music at a fair, drifting across the valley).
4 After 200 yards you then meet a gateway with a broken footpath sign. Go through this, then turn immediately right through a large opening. Walk downhill, diagonally away from the barbed wire fence on your left; you’ll then see a large gateway down to your right in the valley bottom. This is a cattle handling area which you pass through via two tall stiles, the smaller one leading into the next field. 5 Now keep left and walk steeply uphill past a small hut to head for the open top of the field. After 300 yards you reach two metal gates and a stile. Cross over the stile and then immediately on your right go over another stile. Go to the left of a large hedge which seems to bisect this field then walk along the left field now keeping the hedge on your right. Keep going, passing a pheasant-rearing unit, until you come to a gap in the hedge and a concrete track. Turn left onto the track then immediately right to traverse the middle of a large field with a footpath sign directing you across. At the far side of this field, go through a disused gateway and walk around the left-hand side of this next field, keeping a coppice on your left. Keep on through another gap towards the main road. 6 Go over a stile in the left-hand corner of the field, then cross the road through a gate/stile, turning right to keep along The Ridgeway, with the road on
your right and the sea on your left. After a while the path drops down a little, heading towards a wooden gate in the far hedge. Go through this gate staying straight ahead, with views across West Bexington. The footpath drops further to an old limekiln. Keep on to another wooden stile. Go through this and then up into a lay-by next to the main road. Walk through the lay-by and then drop down on the other side to pick up the footpath again. Soon, you will meet the footpath which comes up from West Bexington. Turn right, and walk up to meet the road. 7 Cross the road and head along Clay Lane towards Puncknowle. After 300 yards there is a path to the left for a short detour to the Old Lookout on The Knoll. Returning to Clay Lane, either keep on the road back into Puncknowle or, in a few yards, turn left through a metal gate onto a track, with The Knoll to your left. You soon come to a metal gate and a stile; go over this and turn right, down towards Knacker’s Hole. There are some great views from here along the coast. Head down this footpath and at the bottom, pass through a kissing gate and right onto a track. You soon meet the road into Puncknowle; turn right and back to the pub and the start. bridporttimes.co.uk | 53
Archaeology
CULVERWELL
MESOLITHIC PORTLAND Chris Tripp BA (Hons) MA, Community and Field Archaeologist
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t the very tip of Portland, on gently sloping land, sits the Mesolithic site of Culverwell, named after the stream of Culver Well, 200m to the west. It was found by Susann Palmer after she noticed that large quantities of mollusc shell were dug up by ploughing in 1966. For the next thirty years she and a band of ever-changing volunteers excavated a remarkable early habitation. Using carbon dating from charcoal and mollusc samples, the site dated to around 8000 years ago. Such sites of this period are extremely rare. That is the science. What comes next is the interpretation according to the diggers of the site which, though always subjective, is based on their excavated evidence. A natural 3.5m-wide gully running north-south across the site was formed by the outflow from the retreating glaciers of the last Ice Age in northern England. Other similar gullies have been found on Portland with remains of woolly mammoth and reindeer. From these streams and the coast, people would have gathered food and thus the site is covered by a midden of limpets, top shells and winkles, as well as microlithic flint tools. On top of the central area of this midden is a flat ‘floor’ of limestone slabs; the porous nature of the shell debris would have drained rainwater down the hill, thus keeping the floor dry(ish). It was interpreted as having three stages of construction, with each phase marked by a larger than average stone. Under one of these stones a small, stone-lined hole had been dug into the midden. When excavated, a pierced scallop shell, a chert axe and an unusual, small, round pebble placed on its edge were found. Many pierced shells have been found on the site and may indicate that they could have been worn as lucky charms or just jewellery. This may also have been an 54 | Bridport Times | September 2019
offering; a ‘foundation’ deposit. On the eastern edge of this floor four hearths once sat in shallow depressions within the natural clay, away from the prevailing winds. Large numbers of chopping tools, pounders and ‘picks’ lay around them, along with the various small, typical flint tools used at this time. Eleven picks, long flint artefacts used possibly for grubbing out roots, were in various stages
Joyce Pitt/Shutterstock
of completion and are rare. Hearth and home go together, so was there a shelter on the site? With the huge quantity of settlement debris and the number of postholes on the site, there can be little doubt that Culverwell was a habitation site. The Culverwell people may have made huts of limestone slabs. Large numbers of these slabs were found lying round loose on the site and it is possible that
they represent the remains of hut walls, many having been moved away to allow ploughing to take place in subsequent eras. In that part of the floor which is preserved, a straight line of stones next to a square gap in the floor may mark the position of footings for the wall of a hut or other superstructure. dorsetdiggers.blogspot.com bridporttimes.co.uk | 55
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MALCOLM SEAL Words Jo Denbury Photography Katharine Davies
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fter the hot sunshine outside, the quiet darkness of Malcolm Seal’s workshop is a welcome relief. It holds a dusty peaceful quality, that, while enticing to the onlooker, in reality plays host to the ardour of enticing a living from the land. On the floor lies the basket-maker’s plank: with a seat resting against the wall, this angled plank allows the basket to be worked in the ‘lap’ of the maker. Elsewhere, willow leans in ‘bolts’ against the stone and finished baskets sit, waiting for unknown contents. Malcolm came to basket-making by way of Maidstone School of Art, where Tracey Emin was a fellow student. After three years of studying painting, Malcolm had become interested in structures. Much of his inspiration was drawn from a childhood spent mud-larking in estuaries and foraging for tattered ephemera found lodged at low tide. These aged and worn ‘fragments’ found their way into his work — ‘I liked rescuing old baskets,’ he explains — and into his heart, so much so that, by the time Malcolm left college, he had decided to study willow basket-making with Jack West. >
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Jack was one of the last journeyman basket-makers; he hailed from the West Country and after he was demobbed in 1945 went on to work at Cobbetts factory in Guildford. When the factory closed in 1971, Jack stayed on in the town and became self-employed, occasionally taking on apprentices. Malcolm was lucky enough to be one of them. After a while, gardening then began to draw Malcolm’s eye. Malcolm had lived close to Great Dixter, the house and gardens designed by Lutyens and owned by the gardener and writer Christopher Lloyd. Lloyd wrote about gardening for 50 years and was passionate about colour and structure. He was also an enthusiastic host and particularly favoured youth and new ideas. ‘Christopher nurtured creatives,’ recalls Malcolm, ‘and it’s where I caught the gardening bug.’ Malcolm became a regular visitor to Dixter and learned a lot as a gardener. Then, in 1991, John Hubbard, the artist who lived in nearby Chilcombe in West Dorset, invited Malcolm to come and work in his garden, so Malcolm and his wife, Anna, moved to Dorset, set up home at Chilcombe and then close to Nettlecombe. Anyone who has visited the garden at Chilcombe will know what an exciting garden it is. Hubbard (who died in 2017) was an early follower of the potager-style garden. The south-facing slope of one-and-a-half acres
is designed as a series of intimate colour-filled spaces, each one as if it were a room where one can sit in contemplation. It was the perfect project for Malcolm, for here he could combine his skill with willow structures and his natural sense of harmony. Plant supports were formed in bent hoops of willow and hazel. At the end of borders were woven willow supports and structures. There were no hard edges, only a feeling of sequestered wonderment — and all carbon neutral. Fifteen years ago, his success at Chilcombe and a chance conversation with Gill Mellor led to Malcolm being invited by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to build the kitchen gardens and become gardens director at River Cottage HQ. That led to other jobs and, to complement his willow work, he has developed a business which he says, ‘helps people edit existing gardens as well as construct new ones. The structural stuff.’ He explains further: ‘I’ve worked on projects that show up on Google Earth.’ That might sound a bit oblique but Malcolm’s forté lies in transforming spaces, for example turning 5,000m2 of redundant concrete farmyard into meadows, ponds, orchards and avenues, or, in his words, ‘Giving it back to nature.’ Malcolm clearly has a sense of place and works in harmony with nature. This and a touch of humour come into play at his own home. Malcolm’s house is > bridporttimes.co.uk | 61
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tucked away in the lee of a valley, five minutes from his workshop, with long-reaching views across to Shipton Hill and the sea beyond. It’s built on a hill and the garden ebbs away towards the fields below. ‘I planted the box and yew trees to prevent my son from rolling down the hill,’ says Malcolm. That was a good while ago; his eldest son is now 19 and living in Vancouver. Meanwhile the box and yew have given Malcolm a chance to keep his hand in with another passion of his: topiary. Here, a yew tree, grown from a seedling from Great Dixter and cut into the shape of a giant teapot, takes pride of place while elsewhere, well-tended hedges take other exciting forms. ‘Hedges are the bones of the garden,’ says Malcolm, ‘and I always urge people to get the bones in first — the hedges and trees are the structure of the garden. I love box, holly, myrtle and yew: all grown-up plants that can be lots of fun and quite visual.’ We move indoors where, over a cup of tea, we hunt for visual references to Chilcombe’s garden in its heyday. Around the house I notice neat balls of deep grey wool and beautiful, long-haired fleeces, fit for the most noble of Vikings. Before long, another of Malcolm’s projects
is revealed: Thunderbolt Farm. ‘I have been planning to have a farm since I was 12 years old,’ he says. Malcolm has recently acquired 14 acres and is in the early stages of setting up a smallholding. He has a flock of Gotland sheep whose lambs he will bring on for hogget meat that he sells direct to local customers. ‘They are an old-fashioned Swedish breed,’ he says. ‘Mine are entirely grass-fed and the breed is slow-maturing.’ Back outside, in the baking heat, the sheep have sensibly tucked themselves away into any available shade. We walk on through the cider orchard and to the newly planted withy bed that will provide the willow for his baskets. It all looks and sounds idyllic, but Malcolm is without pretense and conscious of this appearing affected. He’s a highly skilled man driven to work and live off the land, but while this might be small-scale, it’s not always easy. Willow might bend dutifully to the maker’s will, but nature at large will always have ideas of its own. Malcolm’s lifelong camaraderie with the land has taught him many things however and equipped him well for the ups and downs. malcolmseal.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 65
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Food & Drink
BARBECUED LITTLE GEMS WITH CUCUMBER, WHITE BEANS & TAHINI
I
Gill Meller, River Cottage
adore cooking lettuce. Sometimes, I like to wilt it with chicken stock and plenty of black pepper, parsley and lovage. Sometimes, I fry wedges of small lettuce in butter and olive oil, with salty anchovies and lots of garlic, until its sugars caramelise, then I serve it with heaps of grated Parmesan cheese. And soup, I make soup a lot with lettuce. But, with their close, tight leaves, little gem lettuces are also perfect for cooking on the barbecue or chargrilling. You want to get the embers good and hot, to give some real colour to the cut face of the lettuce. The contrast in this warm salad comes from the fresh, cool crunch of cucumber. It’s all brought together with a beautiful, ‘sort-of ’ dressing, made from white beans, yoghurt and tahini. Ingredients Serves 8 as a starter or 4 as a main
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated 1 x 400g (14oz) tin of white beans, such as cannellini or butter beans 2 tablespoons tahini 4 tablespoons plain natural yoghurt juice and zest of 1 lemon 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves 4 little gem lettuces, halved, washed and patted dry 1 medium or 2 small firm cucumbers, halved lengthways and cut into 1.5cm slices 1 small bunch of chives, finely chopped and a few left whole salt and black pepper 68 | Bridport Times | September 2019
Method
1 Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a mediumsized frying pan over a medium–high heat, then add the garlic. Fry for 25–30 seconds, until the garlic begins to soften, then add the white beans and lemon zest. Stir to combine and cook for 1–2 minutes more, until the white beans are warmed through. Now, stir in the tahini, yoghurt, lemon juice and parsley, along with 2–3 tablespoons of water. Cook for a further 1–2 minutes, until spoonable. If it’s too thick, add a little more water. Remove the pan from the heat.
Image: Andrew Montgomery
2 Light your barbecue. Season the little gem halves with salt and pepper, and drizzle them with 1 tablespoon of the oil. When the barbecue coals are glowing nice and hot, lay the little gem lettuce, cutsides down, onto the grill. Grill the lettuce for 5–10 minutes on each side – how long will depend upon the heat of the coals but aim for the lettuce halves to soften, take on some colour, and caramelise; a little charring improves the dish. (Alternatively, cook on a pre-heated chargrill pan.) When the lettuce halves are ready, place them cut-side up on a large serving platter.
3 Put the bean and tahini dressing back on the heat to warm through and give it a final stir. Spoon it over the lettuce, making sure it trickles through and around the layers of leaves. Scatter over the prepared cucumber, sprinkle with the chopped chives, strew over the long chives, then drizzle over the remaining olive oil and season everything with salt and pepper. Serve the salad straight away. From Gather by Gill Meller (Quadrille, ÂŁ25) rivercottage.net bridporttimes.co.uk | 69
Food & Drink
WOOD PIGEON WITH PICKLED GIROLLES, RUNNER BEANS AND ELDERBERRIES Charlie Soole, The Club House, West Bexington
T
his is a very simple dish that incorporates some lovely, earthy flavours with the sweet freshness of runner beans and the crisp tartness of the elderberries. Pigeon breasts, if you can find them, have a slightly gamey flavour. Girolles are a late-summer delicacy that have an amazing earthy and slightly nutty flavour. If you love to walk and enjoy a bit of foraging, you should have seen elderberries around in the late summer. If you collect a few too many you can freeze them for later use, such as enriching a gravy for a lateautumn Sunday roast. Always remember when you are eating game to watch out for shot. Ingredients Serves 4
8 wood pigeon breasts 300g runner beans, topped, tailed and sliced 100g girolles 50g elderberries Dressing 150ml extra-virgin rapeseed oil 30ml cider vinegar 2 crushed cloves of garlic juice of half a lemon pinch of salt small bunch of thyme Pickling liquor 500ml water 200ml cider vinegar 50g sugar 20g sea salt
Method
1 Make the dressing the day before by mixing all the ingredients together and let it steep overnight before straining. 2 To make the pickling liquor, put all the ingredients into a saucepan and bring up to a simmer. Take off the heat when the salt and sugar have dissolved. 3 Make sure that the girolles are clean of any debris and then place into the warm pickling liquor. The pickling should only take half an hour or so but you can do this beforehand and leave them in overnight if you prefer. 4 To cook the runner beans place them in a pan of boiling, salted water for a minute or so until they are just cooked and are still crisp. Then cool them down quickly in an ice bath or under cold, running water. 5 Season the pigeon breasts and place skin-side down in a hot frying pan with a little oil. Cook for a minute or two. Then turn over and cook for another minute or two. They should still be pink in the middle. Let them rest on a warm plate for a few minutes to relax. 6 While the pigeon breasts are relaxing, crush the elderberries in a bowl so some of their juice runs out. Add the dressing to this but don’t stir too vigorously - the dressing should be slightly split. 7 Drain the runner beans and the girolles and place in a mixing bowl. Drizzle over a little of the dressing and season with a little sea salt. Arrange them on your plates. Slice the pigeon breasts thinly, on an angle, and arrange on the plate. Spoon over the rest of the dressing with the elderberries. theclubhousewestbexington.co.uk
70 | Bridport Times | September 2019
bridporttimes.co.uk | 71
Food & Drink
72 | Bridport Times | September 2019
PORK MEATBALLS WITH SPAGHETTINI AND TOMATO
A
Cass Titcombe, Brassica Restaurant
t Brassica we always use free-range meat and it’s predominantly organic. We buy directly from small, independent organic farms and most of our meat arrives as whole carcasses. This allows us to use every single part of the animal to ensure absolutely nothing is wasted. The loins and legs are grilled or roasted and the bellies, ribs and shoulders are slow-cooked. The offal is made into faggots or meatballs, we cure the cheeks to make guanciale and mince any of the trimmings to make meatballs or a ragù. The fat is rendered or kept in the freezer to be added to any lean meats that we might be mincing such as veal or venison. As we all know, we need to be trying to reduce the amount of meat that we eat, hence it is far more beneficial to eat only organic and unprocessed meat produced on small local farms and also to use some of the cheaper cuts. Make sure you buy from a trusted butcher as supermarket mince is generally inferior and rather lean which will make for a dryer meatball. This recipe uses stale bread and the remains of a bottle of wine that might perhaps have been left over from a previous supper. When using tinned tomatoes it’s worth spending a little extra on some San Marzano DOP tomatoes, along with a good piece of Parmesan as this will elevate this rather simple dish. Ingredients
500g minced organic pork (10-15% fat) 100g stale bread 1 onion 1 stick celery Olive oil 4 cloves garlic 2 x 400g tins San Marzano tomatoes Olive oil Dried wild oregano Bay leaves Thyme Salt ½ teaspoon smoked paprika Black pepper
Method
1 Tear up stale bread crusts and soak in some warm water for a few hours to soften. Drain and squeeze out water then break crusts up further with your hands. 2 Finely chop the onion and celery; sweat in 50ml olive oil for roughly 10-15 minutes until soft and translucent. Add ½ glass of red wine and reduce, then add the tinned tomatoes that have been crushed with your hands. Put in 3 bay leaves and a few sprigs of thyme tied together with string. Bring to the boil and reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes stirring frequently. Season with salt and keep to one side. Heat oven to 220C. 3 Mix the minced pork with the bread, 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped, ½ teaspoon salt, smoked paprika, lots of ground black pepper, and rub some of the oregano into the mixture; combine well with your hands. Heat a small frying pan and fry off a small amount to taste and check seasoning. 4 Shape the balls into walnut size pieces and roll with slightly wet hands. Place in a deep ovenproof dish big enough to hold them snugly. 5 Put into the oven for 15 minutes until starting to brown; remove from oven and pour over sauce, shaking the tin gently to ensure the tomato covers the balls. Place a piece of baking parchment on top of meatballs so it is touching them. Reduce heat to 175C and cook for a further 40 minutes. Cool and refrigerate until required. 6 To serve, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook your spaghettini for 6-7 minutes. Toss with the cooked meatballs and the sauce, season with lots of black pepper and serve with grated Parmigiano Reggiano. The pasta, cheese and tomatoes are all available to buy in Brassica’s retail store in Beaminster along with other great Spanish and Italian staples, cured meats, cheeses and Brassica own-made products. @brassica_food @brassicarestaurant_mercantile bridporttimes.co.uk | 73
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74 | Bridport Times | September 2019
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bridporttimes.co.uk | 75
Body & Mind
GELONG THUBTEN THE PATH TO COMPASSION
G
Heather Sheppard
elong Thubten, monk and author, has taught Buddhist philosophy, meditation and mindfulness all over the world. He collaborated with comedy star Ruby Wax and Yale neuroscientist Ash Ranpura on the bestselling book How to be Human. Now his own book, A Monk’s Guide to Happiness, is sailing up the bestseller charts. All in all, he’s an impressive individual. So, it comes as a bit of surprise when the voice on the end of the phone is cheery and open. I don’t know what I’d been expecting. Something more solemn, weighted with learning, perhaps? The person I find myself talking to is friendly, kind and very human. Unexpected pleasantries over, I ask Thubten about how he came upon the path he now follows. I learn that Buddhism and mindfulness haven’t always played a prominent part in his life. Although he had Buddhist parents, their spirituality was unobtrusive. ‘It was there, in the background, but I never really did anything about it. I was not at all interested in Buddhism as a child or teenager.’ One childhood influence, however, did make its way into Thubten’s early adulthood. His mother, Indira Joshi, is a household name who has acted in Coronation Street, Eastenders, and The Kumars at No 42 to name but a few. After his time at Oxford University, Thubten moved to London and New York to become an actor. He was good at it – but it was not good for him. ‘I got very ill with stress,’ he says, ‘and had a major burnout, ending up very sick in bed for four or five months. During that time my mum gave me some books on meditation which really resonated with me. The idea of transforming the mind was compelling.’ Then he learned of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Scotland where people could become a monk for just one year. ‘That idea struck me. I was so unwell and so unhappy, and I needed to just put myself back together. A year felt like it was something I could manage.’ Manage it he did - and then he managed another 76 | Bridport Times | September 2019
year, and another. After a few years, he decided to take the vows for life. His training over the past 26 years has included spending 6 years in strict meditation retreats, the longest of which was 4 years long – on a remote Scottish island with no contact with the outside world and with an intensive programme of meditation sessions. After Thubten had spent some years deepening his understanding of Buddhist principles, the monastery asked him to start giving courses. Having experienced the profound benefits of meditation and mindfulness for himself, he felt inspired to help others. ‘I’ve been teaching out in the world for about twenty years now,’ he tells me. ‘I started to work in prisons, hospitals and schools, and then slowly began to spread out.’ He now teaches at Google, major universities and even for the United Nations. ‘I’m finding that there’s a massive increase in interest in mindfulness,’ he says, ‘and I think it’s because we’re more stressed as a culture. We’re crying out for solutions.’ As we’re speaking, I quickly Google his new book, A Monk’s Guide to Happiness. It’s averaging four stars on Goodreads – very impressive on a site notorious for harsh criticism. Reviews speak with enthusiasm of his warmth, honesty, humour, and pragmatism. Was this
Search for Enlightenment by Simon Gudgeon
book something he’d been building up to? ‘No, not at all! It’s not something I ever thought I’d do! I was coaxed into it after How to be Human became so successful!’ With A Monk’s Guide to Happiness, Thubten aims to break through misconceptions about mindfulness. ‘I wanted to demystify mindfulness and meditation, to show people that you can bring it into everyday life.’ The topic of happiness looms large throughout the book. ‘Our modern approach to happiness is more about searching for certain things than being a certain way. The more we search, the more dissatisfied we become. Whereas if we stop searching for outside things and turn within, we find that the true source of happiness is inside ourselves.’ Aside from greater proficiency at mindfulness, what are the main things that Thubten would like people to take away from his book? 'Compassion,’ he says, instantly. ‘Mindfulness can help people to connect with others and with themselves in a more compassionate way.’ Definitely something the modern world could benefit from. ‘Things have become very polarised. Everyone is
shouting at each other on social media,’ Thubten says, ‘and, to be fair, there is a lot to shout about. But maybe shouting isn’t the answer. Maybe taking a step back and learning to connect compassionately with others is what the world really needs.’ Gelong Thubten will be speaking and running guided meditation workshops at the Wellbeing by the Lakes Festival in Pallington, near Dorchester, Thursday 19th-Saturday 21st September. A Monk’s Guide to Happiness (Yellow Kite, Hodder & Stoughton) £12.99 is available now. Bridport Times Reader Offer price of £11.99 from The Bookshop, South St, Bridport. gelongthubten.com
____________________________________________ Thursday 19th - Saturday 21st Wellbeing by the Lakes Pallington, near Dorchester. A 3-day festival exploring what it means to be mindful and live well in this fast-paced modern
world. A curated blend of experts talks, meditation, movement sessions, art, live performance and healing therapies. Tickets from £25. wellbeingbythelakes.co.uk
____________________________________________ bridporttimes.co.uk | 77
Body & Mind
EXPLORING DRISHTI Alice Chutter
D
rishti is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘sight’ and is used within many forms of yoga to direct the vision/gaze of the student in a specific direction. In my yoga practise and teaching I translate the term as a ‘focus point’ for the eyes. Try now to look straight ahead into the distance and focus your gaze very softly, without straining, at a fixed point whilst at the same time sensing the vastness of your peripheral vision. It can be likened to clearly seeing a goal, destination or situation whilst having an overview of the whole picture and wider perspective. We can all use drishti to support our physical, spiritual and emotional wellbeing.
give an insight into our behaviour or internal thinking. In turn, learning to direct and train our drishti is a technique that we can use to empower ourselves to focus, balance and shift our perspective. Notice the different impact between Warrior 2 when your eyes gaze at the floor or flit around the room compared to the steady, proud fearlessness of looking straight ahead of your front arm. This subtle training of your gaze completely shifts the energy of the movement and nervous system. The benefits of drishti, like many yoga techniques, spans far wider than being able to make shapes whilst standing on a yoga mat. Practising drishti supports us to:
It’s all in the eyes…
• improve focus & concentration • strengthen the eye muscles • stimulate the nervous system • maintain balance
It’s widely acknowledged that maintaining eye contact with each other supports effective communication and that patterns of eye movements can be interpreted to 78 | Bridport Times | September 2019
to develop naturally over time. Drishti exercises to try at home:
1 Palming to refresh eyes This is particularly beneficial after sleep, relaxation or a period of time looking at a fixed point (e.g. computer screen, book). Close your eyes and rub the palms of your hands together long and quickly enough to create warmth between the palms then place your cupped palms over your eye sockets (eyes closed). Fingertips rest on the forehead, the palms over the eyes, and the heels of the hands resting on the cheeks. Breathe a full, deep inhale/exhale. Consciously relax all of the tiny muscles of your face and specifically the muscles and skin around your eyes. Slowly open both eyes into the darkness of your cupped palms. Start to spread your fingers apart and slowly release both hands away from your open eyes. Rest your hands in your lap, palms facing upwards as you gaze ahead, fixing your drishti at a small unmoving object in the distance without straining whilst also being aware of your peripheral vision.
PhotoJS/Shutterstock
When we gaze softly at one focal point, it helps calm the breath, nervous system, and heart rate. We become clearer, steadier and more focused. In yoga tradition, drishti is linked to two of the nine limbs of yoga; pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) as well as dharana (focused concentration). The overall purpose of this technique, as with all the limbs of yoga, is to lead us to samadhi, (bliss, enlightenment). Using drishti effectively is a practise that takes time to develop and it’s important to ease off if you feel like you are straining your eyes, brain or body. In many seated forward bends, for example, the gazing point may be the big toes. But many practitioners, at certain stages in their development, must take care not to create such an intense contraction of the back of the neck that this discomfort overwhelms all other awareness. Rather than forcing the gaze prematurely, you should allow it
2 Eye circles to strengthen eyes Sit upright with a long spine and relaxed breath. Soften your gaze by relaxing the muscles in your eyes and face. Without moving your head, direct your gaze up toward the ceiling. Then slowly circle your eyes in a clockwise direction, tracing as large a circle as possible. Gently focus on the objects in your periphery as you do this, and invite the movement to feel smooth and fluid. Repeat three times, then close the eyes and relax. When you’re ready, perform the same eye-rolling movement three times in a counter-clockwise direction. 3 Surya namaskara A drishti points For those with some yoga experience and familiarity of the sun salutations. Inhale, reach arms up, drishti = hands. Exhale, fold down, drishti = nose. Inhale, lift the chest, drishti = forward. Exhale, chaturanga, drishti = floor. Inhale upward facing dog, drishti = sky. Exhale, downward facing dog, drishti = naval, nose or back edge of mat. Alice Chutter is a vinyasa yoga teacher living and working in Bridport. On 21st September Alice will be collaborating with Loving Healthy (Nutrition) and Naturally Contented (Essential Oils) on ‘Wellness for Women’, a retreat day at Symondsbury Tithe Barn. Tickets & further information available on Eventbrite eventbrite.co.uk/e/wellness-forwomen-retreat-tickets-67078133503. bridporttimes.co.uk | 79
Body & Mind
Lunov Mykola/Shutterstock
80 | Bridport Times | September 2019
HERBAL POULTICES
T
Caroline Butler BSc (Hons) MNIMH, Medical Herbalist
hese days there are a few types of herbal medicine that are well known and widely available – Echinacea tincture for colds, turmeric capsules for inflammation, herbal sleep tablets from the chemist, an ever-expanding range of herbal teabags – and this is great. Accessible herbal medicine is medicine everyone can use easily and cheaply, and I’m all for it. There has been a resurgence of interest in herbal remedies and this is reflected in the wide range of products available for sale. However, these products are limited to preparations that have a long shelf life and an easily packaged form, which sadly cuts out a huge part of our herbal heritage. I find even in my clinic I use almost entirely those forms of herbal medicine that are most convenient - tinctures, teas and capsules - as most of the time this is the easiest and most effective way to administer herbs for the people I see. Sometimes, though, I really want to tell someone that what they need is a poultice. Poultices are very easy to make; at the most basic level it’s just crushing up a herb and putting it on the sore bit. They can be used for healing wounds, soothing burns, drawing out splinters and infection and also for relieving congestion and inflammation. The idea is to make a mash, or paste, which, when applied to the skin, acts either directly on the surface or allows herbal constituents to be absorbed through the skin to work on the underlying tissues. Fresh herb poultices are usually made from the leaves of the herb. Just chop these up then crush or grind in a pestle and mortar, if you have one, to make a wet mash that is moist but not runny, adding a little hot water if necessary. This can be put directly on the skin and covered with light cloth or gauze. You can then wrap a bandage or cling film over this, to seal everything in place and prevent it spreading over clothing or coming off. Poultices from dried herbs are made in much the same way, adding hot or cold water to make a mash and applying to the skin. Some dried herbs are best used as powder, for example slippery elm and marshmallow root. When mixed with water these make a mucilaginous paste which is great for drawing out splinters or infection; they can also be used as a base for adding other herbs to, either dried or as tinctures or essential oils. The benefits of poultices are the simplicity of the ingredients and preparation, and their effectiveness. The downsides are their messiness – applying green or brown sludge to areas of injury is not everyone’s idea of medicine – and the importance of proper plant identification when using fresh herbs. The leaves of comfrey, otherwise known as ‘knitbone’, make a fantastic poultice for broken bones, healing and reducing inflammation. I have used it for broken toes and ankle sprains with great success. However, there is a superficial similarity between the leaves of comfrey and foxglove, which is toxic, so you must never use any plant unless you are 100% sure you have correctly identified it. Other great herbs for poultices are: plantain, which I’ve mentioned before as a drawing herb and for insect bites and bruising; chickweed for inflamed, itchy skin; calendula flowers for cuts, grazes and burns; and cabbage leaves, which are very cooling and anti-inflammatory and don’t rely on specialist herb suppliers or botanical ID knowledge. A very simple poultice can be made by bashing a cabbage leaf with a rolling pin to get the juices to the surface, or lightly scoring it with a knife, and applying to hot, inflamed joints. I’ve also used cabbage leaves as the outer layer on a poultice of marshmallow root powder, chamomile flowers and Echinacea tincture for an infected cut – it adds its own benefit to the anti-infective mix as well as a waterproof protective layer. One of the great advantages of herbal medicine is its versatility. Poultices are a good homeherbalism tool and deserve a wider use. herbalcaroline.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 81
Body & Mind
BUILDING BRIDGES Catherine Boyd, Family Counselling Trust
A
nxiety, anger, family breakdown/tensions, abuse, and self-harming: all can have a devastating effect on the lives of children and their families. Fifteen years ago, the Family Counselling Trust (FCT) decided to help some of these children. To date, they have offered subsidised counselling to over 1,000 children and their families. Claire (not her real name) was a slight, timid eightyear-old girl who began having night terrors after a hospital admission. She would run out of her room and through the house, trembling and shaking her hands as if she had pins and needles, becoming extremely anxious 82 | Bridport Times | September 2019
and distraught if her parents tried to touch her. Claire was referred to FCT by a consultant paediatrician at the county hospital. In the first meeting Claire decided, with her parents’ and therapists’ help, ‘…to chase Big and Small out of my life.’ With the use of a special soft toy, the FCT therapists were able to get ‘feedback’ on how well Claire was managing ‘Big and Small’. Claire started to voice her fears through the soft toy and the therapists were able to build up a ‘diagram’ of how Claire was dealing with ‘Big and Small’ especially at night. The intervals between ‘Big and Small’ appearances started to lengthen and Claire managed to sleep longer through
Liderina/Shutterstock
"I feel their sessions have helped me understand and communicate with my own children better."
the night. Her parents reported a much happier girl and she became more settled in class. At the last session, Claire’s parents reported her teacher as saying that she was now ‘the one child he doesn’t have to worry about in class.’ Claire was much happier in herself and really enjoying school. Claire summed up the progress she had made to her therapists: ‘I have conquered fear.’ Claire’s parents said that, by the end of the FCT sessions, Claire had come to the realisation that in discussing ‘Big and Small’ nothing unpleasant actually occurred, and she could control her fear herself, rather than fear controlling her. The FCT believes that many children need help before their problems become so serious that they are referred to the NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). It is so much better to offer early help and prevent avoidable suffering. Research shows a significant improvement in children’s mental health which is maintained after the sessions have finished. Most referrals to FCT come from schools and GPs who welcome the speed with which counselling starts (usually within a matter of weeks). Families pay a contribution to the cost but the majority pay just £5 towards each session. As one of our parents said, ‘The FCT team went above and beyond to get my two boys to open up. I feel their sessions have helped me understand and communicate with my own children better. I have noticed that my youngest son is no longer lashing out and my oldest has learnt about de-escalating situations.’ FCT Dorset has never been more needed than it is now. 1 in 8 children have a diagnosable mental health disorder (NHS Digital 2018) – that’s roughly 3 children in every classroom. The South-West Ambulance Service saw the highest rise in emergency mental health callouts for young people in the UK, with numbers increasing by 400% from 2013 to 2017. A child who is self-harming or too frightened to go to school needs immediate help. A referring GP wrote, ‘The Family Counselling Trust is invaluable as it provides a service where there is a gap in NHS provision. For children and families that need counselling, there is very limited provision on the NHS. It is fantastic to be able to offer them help from the FCT. The fact that low-income families are subsidised is essential, as many cannot afford private counselling.’ Following on from its success in Dorset, FCT has now spread to Wiltshire, Somerset, Hampshire and Bath. For more information, including on how to support FCT, please visit familycounsellingtrust.org bridporttimes.co.uk | 83
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bridporttimes.co.uk | 85
Gardening
86 | Bridport Times | September 2019
SUMMER’S END Will Livingstone, WillGrow
S
eptember marks the end of the manic season for the vegetable grower. Although the produce is still coming thick and fast, the cooler nights and temperate days reduce the workload considerably. Watering and weeding slow down, giving one time to think about winding down into autumn. Early September is the time to sow some of the green manures as land becomes vacant. They soak up any nutrients which would otherwise be washed away in later-season rain. In fact, sowing a legume such as field beans will fix nitrogen from the air as well. They will also provide compost material and improve the soil structure; in addition, they suppress weed growth by crowding them out, saving a lot of time on your knees. I would recommend the following green manures: Buckwheat for improving soil structure and adding lots of organic matter; Alfalfa, which is rich in elements needed for good growth; and Crimson Clover, which attracts beneficial insects and will fix nitrogen as well. Hungarian grazing rye will give you good, quick coverage if sown now, Tares is a good one to build fertility but treat it as legume in rotation, and Mustards will give you thick coverage and plenty of bulky organic matter once dug in. Be sure to cut down and dig in before they set seed, as certain green manures self-seed and can create unnecessary weeding. Cabbage white butterflies continue to flit around the garden and, although it’s a lovely sight to the untrained eye, to a vegetable gardener it means decimated winter brassicas. Check the underside of leaves daily, removing the clusters of eggs and preventing caterpillar attacks. Companion planting with nasturtiums and calendula will help prevent butterflies laying on the brassica crop by luring them away from your cabbages. If you choose to net your brassicas, be sure to suspend your net above them rather than laying straight on top. The butterflies can continue to lay their eggs through the net and it will soon become a hindrance rather than a help (removing the net every time you want to weed is a pain). Now is the time to sow some winter salad. Winter
salad grown in the poly-tunnel is amongst the most interesting you can grow. Mizuna, Mibuna, Giant Red Mustard, Pak Choi and Winter Purslane (to name but a few) are sown direct into drills or multi-sown into module trays under cover, providing interesting salad throughout winter. They can be picked very young for a delicate salad or, if you leave them to grow on until big, they are delicious wilted down like spinach. Alternatively, you could sow some inside in early September and plant out in the coming weeks; they will be slower to grow outside but will survive light frosts. These salad crops last fantastically well through the winter and will keep you in salad for the rest of the winter. Spring onions can be sown now for overwintering. Alliums always seem to grow better in a group, so I like to sow 3 to 5 seeds per module. Be sure to pick a winter variety such as White Lisbon - it is the most widely available organically and produces a good crop in early spring. Chard is a fantastic vegetable to overwinter. It’s a good row cropper for larger scale because it is relatively pest- and disease-free, and easy and productive to harvest; in a smaller garden it adds colour and foliage through the winter. Try Five Colour or Bright Lights for the beautiful mixed colours. Any crops that are still in the ground will benefit from having any yellowing or dead material removed from them; these harbour and promote many of the diseases that thrive in the cooler, damp conditions of the coming autumn. It is also advisable to continue hoeing on drier days to keep the young weed seeds at bay. Be sure to remove any perennial weeds at this point too, as some varieties can still seed as late as October. The transition from summer to autumn is my favourite season change of the year. The harvest goes from late cropping tomatoes and treasured sweetcorn to the first of the squash, flavours become earthier and days cooler. It’s a good time to be a gardener and an even better time for eating. willgrow.co.uk
bridporttimes.co.uk | 87
Gardening
THE RELIEF OF AUTUMN Charlie Groves, Groves Nurseries
I
am a bit of a sun worshipper myself; I love the hot summer days and the warm summer evenings, and it has been a fantastic summer so far this year. I know as a gardener we should be wanting a bit more rain but this is what summer is all about, surely? As a family we eat as many of our meals as we can outdoors and try to make the most of every opportunity to be outside. It’s great to see the children playing in the garden right up until bedtime and then being able to sit outside ourselves and enjoy the evenings. That said, towards the end of August you always 88 | Bridport Times | September 2019
get the tell-tale signs that autumn is not far away. The mornings take on a certain autumnal smell and the evenings are no longer warm enough to sit outside. Despite my love of the summer days, as I get older I seem to find myself secretly enjoying the fact that autumn is closing in. There is something comforting and cosy about the thought of chillier days. Perhaps it’s the return to the old routine: the children are back at school, the rugby season kicks off (#coyc!) and I don’t have to feel guilty about sitting inside and watching TV in the evening!
Image: Katharine Davies
"I know I should have done the ‘Chelsea chop’ weeks ago but I didn’t have the heart to do it then and it’s too late now!"
It’s similar in the garden as well. Much as I love the first signs of spring and that fantastic first flush of growth, I always find managing the garden quite difficult as summer goes on. What do you do with those things that get a bit too leggy and a bit disease-ridden? Some plants have a few flowers on them but not enough for a good show. I know I should have done the ‘Chelsea chop’ weeks ago but I didn’t have the heart to do it then and it’s too late now! So, if I am totally honest, I do find autumn a bit of a relief from the pressure of needing to make the most of summer. It’s a great time to start to get the garden back under control again and to put back what has been used up during the summer months. Your lawn will have been put under an extreme amount of stress over the summer especially if children (or you) have been playing on it. It will need some TLC in the form of an autumn lawn treatment and maybe even aerating, top-dressing and over-seeding if bald patches have developed. Perhaps you have a lovely patch of wildflowers growing? Now (late summer/early autumn) is the time to cut these back once they have finished flowering. Allow ripened seed heads to fall and leave them on the ground for a week or two. They should then be removed and composted so that the soil stays poor and any grass is kept to a minimum. As the leaves start to fall make sure you clear these from the lawn. They can smother the grass, causing all sorts of problems. Fallen leaves are perfect for making leaf mould. Just rake them up and put them into black bin liners. If the leaves are dry, add a little water then poke a few holes in the liner. Leave them in a shady, hidden part of the garden where you can forget about them for a year, ideally two. Afterwards you will have a fantastic mulch to use in the autumn. Leave them even longer and it produces some lovely seed-sowing compost. Autumn is a great time for planting as well. The ground has more moisture than in the summer and has been warmed nicely for things to get a bit of growing done before the winter, meaning that they will be away like a shot next spring. This goes for any trees, shrubs and perennial herbaceous plants you might be thinking about for next year. Of course, the stars of the show in the autumn are the spring flowering bulbs. Narcissi, tulips, alliums and fritillarias can all start going in from now onwards, ready to put on a show for next year’s spring to start all over again. grovesnurseries.co.uk bridporttimes.co.uk | 89
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90 | Bridport Times | September 2019
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Philosophy
RESPONSIBILITY Kelvin Clayton, Philosophy in Pubs
W
hen it was suggested that our Philosophy in Pubs group discuss ‘responsibility’, my thoughts went straight to Jean-Paul Sartre. Not, I must confess, because I consider his understanding of the concept to be of particular value but because I have always considered myself to be an existentialist at heart and I knew that he had famously written about it in this context. In other words, I was guilty of some lazy thinking. Sartre explained that his brand of existentialism simply meant that, for humans at least, existence precedes essence. Whenever humans make something, they have an idea of what that thing’s purpose (its essence) will be before they bring it (its existence) about. However, as Sartre was an atheist, he argued that for humans it is the other way round; that we first of all exist and then we create a meaning and purpose for our existence. In other words, there is no divine guidance, no pre-ordained set of rules to help us decide what we should do in any situation. This, he reasoned, means that it becomes our responsibility, and ours alone, to decide how we should live and what we should do. The problem with Sartre’s reasoning, here, was brought into sharp focus whilst reading Will Storr’s excellent book, Selfie. ‘We are living in an age of heightened individualism’, the book’s rear jacket explains, ‘Success is a personal responsibility. Our culture tells us that to succeed is to be slim, rich, happy, extroverted, popular – flawless’. This emphasis on personal responsibility, a central tenet of our current economic model, epitomised by the modern phenomena of the ‘gig economy’ and the related ‘zero-hour contract’ (‘in which the responsibility of the employer is minimised and that of the individual maximised’), is leading to a wide range of emotional problems. Why? Because modern individuals are no longer up to the task? Because they have lost the ability to stand on their own two feet and shoulder the responsibilities of life? No. These problems result from a misunderstanding of human nature, from a line of reasoning that completely brackets out the social dimension to our being. Humans are, at their very core, social beings. Not only are our values and norms derived, to a large degree, from our interactions with our family, friends and the wider community but also we care for these other people. Their successes and failures, their suffering matters to us. So when deciding on a course of action, the responsibility we feel is not ours and ours alone. It is shared. I am not saying that we have no responsibility. Far from it. And I agree with Sartre when he says we cannot escape from a sense of profound responsibility, however this responsibility must include a social dimension. My decisions must take into account the expectations and needs of others. As John Dunne famously said, ‘No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main’. Philosophy in Pubs is a grass-roots community organisation promoting and practising community philosophy in the UK. Discussions take place regularly in venues around the country. Anyone can attend and anyone can propose a topic for discussion. The Bridport group meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month in The George Hotel, South Street at 7.30pm. Attending the discussion is free and there is no need for any background knowledge of philosophy. All that’s required is an open mind and a desire to examine issues more closely than usual. For further details, email Kelvin Clayton at kelvin.clayton@icloud.com
94 | Bridport Times | September 2019
Literature
LITERARY REVIEW Anne Morrison, The Bookshop
A Single Thread, by Tracy Chevalier (Harper Collins, 2019) £14.99 Bridport Times reader price of £12.99 at The Bookshop, South Street (Exclusive signed Independent Bookshop limited edition available while supplies last)
V
iolet Speedwell is looking to ‘start again’. Still grieving for the loss of a brother, a fiancé and the absence of 2 million men in the aftermath of World War I, she is attempting to create a new future for herself as a single woman. ‘It’s not easy being a woman on your own’, Violet explained. ‘No one expects it, though there are plenty of us. The ‘surplus’ women.’ Determined to escape from society’s expectation that she adopt the role of caregiver to her bereaved and painfully demanding mother, Violet moves away to Winchester in a determined act of resistance. Obliged to live frugally on a typist’s salary, in a boarding house for women, she considers how to make something of her life. Lonely and impoverished, Violet is drawn to the 900-year-old Cathedral, seeking spiritual nourishment and sustenance from the place itself. ‘It was more the reverence for the place itself, for the knowledge of the many thousands of people who had come there throughout its history, looking for a place in which to be free to consider the big questions about life and death rather than worrying about paying for the winter’s coal or needing a new coat.’ There, Violet first encounters the Cathedral Broderers. She is intrigued by their long-term project of embroidering kneelers and cushions for every chair and is attracted to the idea of creating her own, of making a contribution ‘…that she could look out for specially in the Cathedral Presbytery. One that might last long after she was dead’. Embroidery becomes a post-trauma-soothing activity for Violet, allowing
her to create with a renewed sense of continuity. The character of the lead Broderer, Louisa Pesel, and her embroidery projects designing and creating, amongst other things, kneelers and cushions is based in reality; a fact which Chevalier is keen to honour in spirit. The descriptions of the colour, originality of design and elements of subversion in the embroidery are lively and beautiful. Parallel to this narrative ‘thread’ is the character of Winchester Cathedral itself. The building is a hive of activity and industry with its army of volunteers and caretakers and the bells also acting as a symbol of continuity, comfort and resilience. Violet meets Arthur and, through the exploration of bell-ringing, its patterns, peals and its very Englishness, a quiet friendship grows. Like embroidery, bell ringing has its long history and traditions, containing acts of resistance, solace and celebratory events. Chevalier is skilled at taking a context or moment in history and building a fiction around it. The descriptive detail of the city of Winchester, the boarding house, the pub, the café and the workplace is vividly created with a rather grey, authentically post-war atmosphere pervading. To counter this, Chevalier evokes a growing sense of warm friendship and sisterhood amongst the women Broderers and, of course, Violet’s developing relationship with Arthur. The tale ends on an optimistic note and the reader feels the potential for a contented and fulfilling life finally emerging for Violet. dorsetbooks.com bridporttimes.co.uk | 95
Literature
EXTRACT
MEN AND THE FIELDS
T
By Adrian Bell, introduced by Ronald Blythe (Little Toller Books) £12
he way into the stackyard from the fields is harvest worn. Straws hang from the boughs of the elms and a few lie scattered on the track: the earth is pounded by hooves and worn almost to a shine by the iron of the wagon wheels. Even in the best of times there are always a few sheaves the binder misses tying, a few loose straws for the boughs to brush off. A sheaf spraddled by its fall from the load lies on the grass verge: a dozen sparrows fly off it as I come near. This lane is the main artery of the farm, private to it, a mile long. It passes between arable fields from the highway, then comes into a park-like pasture through a gate. In this the great old house stands: a driveway once branched from the farm road to it, but is now grown over: the garden gate opens on to meadow land. The farm road passes through to the arable fields again, with a cart path to the stackyard that is worn with harvest traffic. So it goes on, rising and revealing at back the whole valley, till it reaches at last an offhand farm with empty thatched house, and there ends. To sit on the bank and rest a minute opposite the pollard oak is to be in old England. The oak is small but aged, split so that it is no more than a thick curl of bark, and ending in little sprouting fists. It has a hairy growth of twigs all over the trunk. Beside it you can just see the ears of the wheat in the field beyond, stirring to and fro against the sky. The wind, so graceful among the wheat, whishes through the unyielding head of the oak. It has an old sound as though it might as well be winter as summer, to the tree. When it stood there, a sapling, this road was just the same, with the same sort of traffic, only more of it probably, and more voices of men. It was not then ‘miles from anywhere’: there was not that sense of the centre of things being elsewhere, where the wheels whirr, which is in the very air of rural England to-day. It has the contour of a horse-traffic road: it is lower in the middle than at the sides; that is where the horses’ hooves tread. Where the road goes uphill, as here, this depression deepens, becomes almost a ditch, because that is where the horses, generations of them, have ‘stuck their toes in’ and chipped up the surface with the edges of their shoes in the
96 | Bridport Times | September 2019
effort of getting the load up the hill. Particularly as they have been mostly Suffolk horses. See how a Suffolk horse faces an uphill pull, not like a Shire, lumbering on, but gathering himself and almost breaking into a trot. The surface of the middle is flints, pounded fine, and dust. All the stones came off the land: they were picked from the fields by women and children. A farthing a pail was the pay. On the edge of this middle groove a poppy flowers, and a plant of oats is in ear, both only a few inches high. Further down the road two apple trees cast their little red harvest apples into the ditch year after year: nobody picks them up. The way into the stackyard is lined with implements: a balance plough, a cultivator, a hen coop with a brood of chicks running in and out on to the roadway and pecking up the grains shaken from the passing wagons. The chicks run in as one of the loads goes by; the hen clucks; all is quiet. Then out pops her head, takes a look round, then first one head and another appears and out they all run again. These implements have almost a life of their own; one is so used to their movements, seeing the earth moving under them. They are resting there just as a man might rest, part of the living farm. The empty wagon by the stack, stout and straddling, looks like a faithful animal. Even corn stacked dry sweats a little: there is a smell of it in the stackyard. Not the rich toasting smell of hay, but just a nose to it as they say. It is a smell of ripeness: the kernel odour of harvest. I met the farmer coming through his yard, which was well posted with cats. He was off out to the fields to see about to-morrow’s carting. He had already been a fair distance that day: he had walked through the village and over the fields to a farm sale because he wanted a horse to replace a sick one. It was a small farm and there had been only one horse in the sale, but he knew something about it, and had bought it and ridden it home. ‘Perhaps I gave a little more than I ought,’ he said, ‘but that’s worth a little more now when it’s wanted: that’ll earn the money.’ Perhaps, too, the thought that it would mean a ride home made him spring another crown or two. The sun shone clear into the cart-lodge and seemed to scour it, reflecting up into the thatch and rafters of the roof with a clean, silvery light. An ash tree grew up over an old well, now no longer used, in an angle of brick buildings, and the shadows of its leaves played over the walls. All sorts of things hung there, sticks with thongs, a short-handled hoe for ‘chopping-in’ mangold seed, a rat-trap. The farmer’s wife was just off with her husband to the fields for the evening walk, giving a look to her hens on the way. She had got her churn mended at last. It was a churn with beaters, almost new, and just as the butter was coming one day, the beaters had broken to splinters. What a job! — and worse after. Churns are apparently so out of date that it took a fortnight to get the new parts. I remember seeing only one churn in the whole agricultural show this year. For two weeks they had made the butter in a deep bowl, stirring the cream briskly with a wooden spoon; first one had a go, then another, till the butter came. Whatever you talk about in farming leads you back in time; and at this point the farmer said he remembered a farm where they used to keep the cream in a deep narrow crock, and on churning day the wife just used to put in her bare arm to the elbow and stir it round and round till the butter came. I saw the horse he had bought, in the home pasture. He was almost dead black, glossy and in good order, with not too much hair on his heels: a powerful but not an ungainly sort of horse. He was strange to the place and restless. He cocked up his head, seeing me, and trotted half-way across. Then he stopped and stood, blowing his nostrils. Suddenly he broke into a gallop and charged down the field to where the three cows were feeding. They ran off out of the way, not far, and gave him a sharp look and went on feeding. The cows had no real fear of the strange horse. He came at them full gallop, but he was not thinking of them and they knew it. He stood at the gate, then suddenly with a snort galloped back. They just trotted aside again. littletoller.co.uk
Illustration: John Nash
bridporttimes.co.uk | 97
Puzzles
ACROSS 1. Young cow (4) 3. Opposition to war (8) 9. Upward slopes (7) 10. Personal attendant (5) 11. Support for a golf ball (3) 12. Water vapour (5) 13. Maladroit (5) 15. Departing (5) 17. The Norwegian language (5) 18. Exclamation of surprise (3) 19. Speed (5) 20. Traditional piano keys (7) 21. Flying an aircraft (8) 22. Extras (cricket) (4) DOWN 1. Artisanship (13) 2. Money (5) 4. Take as being true (6) 5. Detective (12) 6. Malady (7) 7. Process of transformation (of an insect) (13) 8. Action of breaking a law (12) 14. Sunshade (7) 16. Eg from New Delhi (6) 18. Friendship (5) AUGUST SOLUTIONS
98 | Bridport Times | September 2019
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