Community

FROGS, FRUIT AND FRIDGES

Steve Shield, Town Clerk, Sherborne Town Council

Iam pleased to report the new water features which form part of the wider enhancement project in Pageant Gardens have now been completed for everyone to enjoy. The existing pond areas have been transformed into a tranquil haven for the benefit of the local community in so many ways. This space now consists of four new water features which include stacked slate spheres, a spillway bowl and basin and a main waterfall with secret pond to support wildlife and underground rainwater storage reservoir.

At the centre of the water garden is a circular walkway with a curved hardwood bench. Oak seating cubes will also be placed nearby to some of the water features. Resin-bound gravel pathways lead off in various directions, passing through planted flower beds and an oak root stumpery; all within proximity of the water areas.

Natural Waterscapes, who are based in Sherborne, have delivered a fantastic project for the community and it is hoped that visitors to the gardens will see the transformation as a positive move forward, following such difficult times recently.

The Town Council is delighted to have received confirmation that 15 cherry trees will be donated to the Council as part of the Sakura Cherry Tree Project who are overseeing the planting of thousands of cherry trees across the UK.

Sakura Cherry Tree Project in the UK marks 150 years of Japan-UK friendship and the continued cooperation between our two nations. It was launched in the joint communique issued by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the then Prime Minister Theresa May when the two met in Japan in Autumn 2017. Because cherry blossom (sakura) is the national flower of Japan, over six thousand cherry trees will be planted throughout the UK in the coming years.

These cherry trees will bloom in time and the legacy of the warm friendship between our two nations and the stories behind this project will be remembered every spring for many years to come.

The trees will be planted in a number of places in the town, including both Pageant Gardens and Paddock Garden. It is also hoped that young people will assist with the planting scheme, as they will ultimately be the beneficiaries of the blossom in years to come and when the trees reach full maturity.

The Town Council has been working on the introduction of two community fridges, one in each of the East and West wards of the town. The community fridge idea was originally introduced by Hubbub which coordinates the world’s largest Community Fridge Network with over 150 community fridges running in the UK. It is a space where everyone can share surplus food, including donations from local food businesses, producers, households and gardens. The fridges differ from food banks in that they help to reduce food waste, offer fresh food and give the opportunity to possibly try something different.

The fridges themselves will be located, subject to any planning conditions, at St Paul’s Church and the West End Community Hall. The Council hope that once the fridges are in place, community volunteers will be forthcoming to assist with day-to-day running of this community resource. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Cllr Jane Carling on 07814 511294 or email jane.carling@sherborne-tc.gov.uk

THE GROVE SURGERY GARDEN PROJECT

Jules Bradburn, The Sherborne Market

And so it all began, on the first Sunday in July chirped on by a cheery robin, dodging showers and taming the wilderness that had overtaken the once loved gardens at the Grove Medical Centre.

Fourteen volunteers armed with gardening tools and masses of enthusiasm led by Vicky Morland started the transformation. The vision is a three stage project transforming the former gardens and land at the rear of the Grove Surgery to a tranquil garden space for use by staff and patient groups at the surgery.

The transformation is being funded by The Sherborne Market, the monthly Sunday market is a not-for-profit organisation returning surplus funds back to the Sherborne Community for projects that will benefit the local community. We are thrilled to be in a position to finance the Grove Surgery Garden Project, it is the first community project benefitting from our funding. Gardens and tranquil spaces are so beneficial to so many people and we are pleased to play a part in this valuable community project.

Alex Kimber, Practice Manager at the Grove highlighted the space at a recent team meeting and asked Vicky Morland, one of the team of social prescribers at the Sherborne Area Primary Care Network to form a team and see if the garden could be recreated and extended. Just a few social media posts later and a team of gardening volunteers had been formed.

‘The vision is a peaceful space for bees, wildlife and humans. For patients to be able to relax and most importantly the nurses to enjoy a beautiful garden on their short lunch breaks, to be able to take a breath and listen to nature,’ says Ali Harrington, Nurses’ Clerk at the Grove.

The first stage is to clear the brambles from the land at the rear of the surgery. There is a patio space and some planted bedding areas but they are overrun with brambles and ivy. There is a walled shady area with a plum tree which will make a fabulous seating area.

Once these areas are cleared then we will be able to see what we have to work with and be able to make new planting plans.

The second stage to set new accessible paths and paved areas so everyone can enjoy access and to have sufficient outdoor furniture and space for all who want to enjoy the garden areas. We need to decide on a perennial planting scheme and decide where new trees can be planted. We are hoping to plant a garden that will attract bees, insects and nature to the gardens.

The final stage will be the wild flower meadow which can be seen from the GP’s rooms. ‘We would also love to add a water feature, as water is tranquil and soothing but will also benefit nature in the garden,’ adds Ali Harrington.

The garden will need maintenance, but the team are hoping to make it a minimal maintenance garden. The huge roof at the surgery will help fill rainfall water butts and the team are hoping to run piping for the self-watering irrigation system which will hopefully include a mass of hanging baskets for the whole building next spring.

Gardener Patsy Jupp is helping to clear the garden and has volunteered her time as she feels it’s a really great way of thanking all the hard working surgery staff for all they have done for the community during the pandemic.

Dr Christine Foster was the original inspiration for the garden space, during her time at the practice she managed the hanging baskets and set out the planting around the patio. ‘We are keen to continue her vision and recreate a fabulous garden space,’ says Vicky Morland.

The Grove Surgery are looking for volunteers, water butts, good compost for soil improving, well-rotted manure, irrigation piping and a volunteer tree surgeon to help remove some stubborn tree roots. If you can help with the project in any way please contact Vicky Morland on vicky.morland@dorsetgp.nhs.uk

OUR MAN IN WESTMINSTER

Chris Loder MP, Member of Parliament for West Dorset

One of the most important parts of our history in Sherborne, of which we should be very proud, is that Alan Turing, the genius behind the enigma-solving computer during the Second World War, was educated here.

It is significant in so many ways. Last month, a bust of Alan Turing was unveiled at Sherborne School to mark what would have been his 109th birthday and we were also fortunate to have a display of the new £50 note which features Alan too. In being depicted on our bank notes, he joins the ranks of Churchill, Austen, Turner, Shakespeare, and other Britons instrumental in our common history.

Alan Turing was one of those people who pushed the boundaries, he was unconventional, he challenged theories and wrote his own. His many qualities were ultimately those that led him to crack the enigma code and enabled us to succeed in thwarting the enemy in World War II. Historians estimate that his work shortened the war by years, saving millions of lives in the process.

Less well known and arguably irrelevant in the light of his incredible achievements was his sexuality. As a homosexual Turing was prosecuted because, in those days, his choices were deemed a criminal offence. To avoid prison, he accepted the punishment of chemical castration with hormone therapy but the trauma led him to take his own life shortly afterwards. In my mind, it is a matter of national embarrassment that we could treat one of our war heroes in this way, but, as is so often the case, we as a nation come to right these injustices.

In 2013, Her Majesty the Queen gave a posthumous pardon to Alan. Only since then has his name become much more prominent, particularly after the 2014 film ‘The Imitation Game’ through which many people learned of Turing’s story.

The unveiling of Turning’s memorial also had relevance because June was ‘Pride Month’, the time during the year when, in my mind, we recognise all the things that we have in common – which unify us as a country – whilst at the same time, celebrating the many things that differentiate us and make us individual. Because regardless of to whom we are attracted or whom we love, we are part of one equal nation where everyone’s life matters.

Recognising these differences and respecting them has been an important part of reconciling wrongs and fixing injustices over time, such as those done to Alan Turing and thousands of other LBGT+ people in this country.

We must remember that there was, and is, real injustice in the world – racism leading to slavery, homophobia leading to punishment, misogyny leading to fewer rights, and many other wrongs that human beings have enacted on each other. We have come such a long way in righting these wrongs but, as we have got closer and closer to an equal society, the battles have narrowed and become smaller yet in

Image: Justin Glynn, courtesy of Sherborne School

many ways they are more vicious. Identity politics is the culmination of this.

We must be careful of this current considerable wave of identity politics. It is a dangerous thing and something for which I have disdain. It is the politics that focuses on difference rather than what we have in common. Identity politics is about exclusion, not inclusion. It is the politics of discrimination, busily trying to pitch one group against another. It is the politics of differentiating race, sex, sexuality, religion. It is the politics of diverging values and isolation. It does not result in harmony, or celebration of inclusion, or a more equal society. Instead, it threatens to define people based on immutable characteristics, creating an ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentality when in reality there is far more that unites us than divides us. It is a downward spiral and one we need to get out of – urgently – for it is an albatross around our necks generating too much friction, often by the desire of people to be ‘offended’ – and increasingly, being offended on behalf of others.

My partner and I were very proud to be part of the event to mark Alan Turing’s life at Sherborne School on 26th June. It was a powerful statement as to how the country has evolved. A statement of how we have recognised our failings, that we have fixed or are fixing the wrongs that need to be reconciled, that we continue to learn from our history, but more importantly, that we know what inclusion really means for the future.

Ours is a wonderful country, and while not perfect, beneath it all we are lucky to live on this great island together. That doesn’t mean we should stop trying – we have a long way to go. Nor should we let a few people bent on dividing us stop us from celebrating all that is great and different about the United Kingdom.