Community

THE SHERBORNE LITERARY SOCIETY

John Gaye

Over the years I have frequently received missives from people writing to the Sherborne Literacy (sic) Society. I can reassure them that our members are not only very capable of reading but actually enjoy it enough to attend literary events in order to hear about new books from the authors.

Indeed, during the last months of semi-isolation, for many of us reading has never been so important. That love of books seems to have survived despite dire predictions that ‘moving pictures’, then TV and then computer games would supersede the appeal of reading. In addition, although many bookshops have gone to the wall, Sherborne is blessed with its very own independent bookshop, Winstone’s, which has been so successful it has since opened up branches in both Frome and Sidmouth. Its owner, Wayne Winstone, has been a huge supporter of the Society from the start, not least in helping to source some of the very best authors in Britain, and many of the most promising new ones, to speak at our events.

Part of what makes Sherborne so very special for those who live in the town or surrounding villages are the many societies, covering a wide range of both the world of the arts and of science, that are run by volunteers for the benefit of all. They all contribute to making the town a unique place to live and often provide events worthy of London or other major cities. Not least among them is the Literary Society with its events covering many different genres and subjects.

The Society held its last formal 3-day festival in 2019. Since then it has switched to running major events on a regular basis throughout the year, thus ensuring that we are not limited to a specific time of year, usually aimed at the pre-Christmas publishing frenzy, which clashes with hundreds of other festivals which have since sprung up around the country in October or November.

We aim for true diversity; not just in the choice of author but to be more relevant to our audience, in the variety of subjects covered and in the genre of the literature, which may range from Pam Ayres’ wonderful poetry to Adam Nicolson on the natural history of our coastline to Andrew Lownie’s very revealing biography of King Edward VIII. We also hope to identify those authors who can make for an entertaining evening and provide an amusing or revealing commentary on their book while avoiding those who cannot, however well they may write.

In addition, we provide a regular forum whereby local authors can promote their books and at which members of the Society can enjoy a more informal evening over a glass of wine and some canapés.

For more details of membership (£10), its many advantages and for the full programme of events visit sherborneliterarysociety.com

GROUND WORK

SHERBORNE TOWN LADIES FOOTBALL CLUB Wesley Gullin, UEFA B-Licensed Coach

Sherborne Town Ladies Football Club was founded in 2018 and settled happily into its home at the Consol Stadium, Sherborne Terraces. A successful maiden campaign saw the club achieve Dorset Women’s League and Dorset County Cup titles – a fantastic first step towards the club’s ambition of providing a sustainable environment for talented female footballers. Just one year after its inception, Sherborne Town Ladies Football Club expanded in order to provide structured coaching for young girls in the area as part of ‘player pathway’ – something the club recognised as being in great demand in the local area. This began in 2019 with the creation of an Under 11 Girls team. Since then, the club has grown to include four teams, with several youth team players representing Dorset as part of the county’s Advanced Coaching Centre. This provides players with additional opportunities to be coached as part of the England Talent Pathway, and something the club is very proud to support should players wish to take their football to the next step.

The latest of these youth teams to form is the Under 9 group, started just last summer. Despite continuing concerns around Covid-19, the team quickly filled its quota of 14 players, and took its place in the Dorset Youth Football League, U9 Girls division. The league is non-competitive, with teams playing a series of sevena-side matches focussed around learning and having fun. The team began training on Friday evenings on the Terrace Playing Fields, with matches being played on Saturday mornings. A vast majority of the players have made their first steps into structured football, with

Image: Calli Dale

"The club has grown to include four teams, with several youth team players representing Dorset as part of the county’s Advanced Coaching Centre."

many never playing a game before, so there was a lot for the young recruits to learn! But learn they did, and with smiles on their faces the girls went into their first league match against Bridport Youth U9 Girls on Saturday 4th September 2021. In an exciting, evenly-matched encounter, the young zebras played brilliantly and scored five goals, with all five being scored by different players. Since their debut, the team have played a further 10 games and scored a whopping 26 times. One player who has certainly found a talent for scoring is Sherborne’s Pippa Stroger-George, with the speedy striker getting two goals in her last two games. Pippa’s great attitude to training and her keenness to help and encourage her teammates, are both characteristics which the club seeks to promote within its values. Goalkeeper Imogen Hann has also discovered a talent, wowing the supporters and coaches alike with her bravery and quick reactions!

The Under 9 girls still have half the season to play, but will also be entering a league plate competition in the new year. This will see the teams placed into small groups, with the winners of each group getting to play in a cup final at the end of the season! The team has had such fantastic support, particularly from parents and guardians, something I’m keen to praise. Rain or shine, you’ll find plenty of encouragement and cheering coming from the zebras’ supporters on a Saturday morning – a friendly group of people really have come together to get behind their team. Calli Dale, proud parent of Sherborne Town U9’s toughtackling Brooke Dale, has kindly taken the position of team photographer, capturing some fantastic moments as the girls embark on the start of their footballing journey together.

Sherborne Town Ladies Football Club has an ambition to be affordable and sustainable, in order to be inclusive to everyone in the community. Part of this commitment to keep costs low requires the club to do a substantial amount of fundraising, both through functions and events up at the Consol Stadium, and via sponsorship from local businesses and organisations. If anyone would like to support this project as it continues to grow, there are lots of ways to get involved; from attending an event, sponsoring an individual player, helping supply kit or equipment, all the way to sponsoring a whole team, so the Club would love to hear from anyone who might want to join us on this journey!

OUR MAN IN WESTMINSTER

Chris Loder MP

The tragic deaths in the English Channel last November have brought to the fore once again the stark realities we face with people trafficking and illegal immigration into the UK. It’s also vital that we approach discussions about immigration with compassion, pragmatism and firmness so we can try to prevent further deaths because, if we are honest with ourselves, this awful tragedy has been an accident waiting to happen.

Immigration has always been an important, but contentious issue in the UK, although in recent times, the debate has changed. Some like to bring a wilful confusion to the different situations of asylum seekers, refugees, economic migrants, illegal immigrants – by conflating these issues together under the same umbrella.

Over-generalising ‘immigration’ is harming our ability to have a constructive and respectful debate about the issue. I often get frustrated when I listen to the opposition suggesting we as a country are very opposed to giving safe refuge to those in need because of a very real concern about illegal immigration.

When immigration is spoken of as though all those entering the country are asylum seekers fleeing war and terror abroad, it sounds coarse on the part of those who speak out opposed to illegal immigration. The problem when you conflate asylum seekers and refugees with people circumventing our legal immigration system is not only that the debate is stalled, but the reality would be an uncontrolled application process, entirely overwhelmed and broken. Perhaps this would be the political objective for some?

To put this in perspective, in the year ending June 2021, the UK gave asylum to 10,725 people and 6,449 dependents. We have seen in the responses to China’s anti-democratic laws in Hong Kong and to the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan how the people of this country are ready to mobilise in support of people who need a safe place to live and flourish. And we have done that here in Dorset, as well as other parts of the country. In the same way, we have welcomed refugees from Syria too and it is absolutely right that we continue to do this. We have given safe refuge to more than 17,000 people from Afghanistan. The same for the 5.4 million Hong Kong residents to whom we have offered safe refuge should they choose.

I listened to ‘Thought for the Day’ by the Bishop of Leeds on 25th November on Radio 4. He complimented President Macron saying that he conveyed human solidarity so well when he offered his sympathies to the families of those who drowned in the English Channel. But I think President Macron’s warm words ahead of an election next year will not stop this from happening again. It is so awfully sad that scores of people have died in this way. And if those people who lost their lives were seeking asylum in the UK, we need to ask some difficult questions, i.e. why is there such an issue in France? Why do those

Image: Len Copland

people not want to stay there? Why do many fortunate British citizens have an interest in France, such as a holiday home or a retreat where they are welcomed, but yet as a country it’s seemingly so inhospitable to migrants – to the extent they risk their lives in small boats crossing the English Channel?

The criminal gangs who charge desperate people vast sums of money to make such a perilous sea crossing are criminal, cruel and inhumane. It sells a lie to people in need trying to get to the UK that it is better to come by boat than to apply for asylum. And when we see French Police looking on, allowing these boats, facilitated by traffickers, to leave those shores, there is something much darker to all of this that sits very uncomfortably with me, about how much is really known about the shady world of people trafficking in France. This is what makes me feel that, by default, although not explicit, the Bishop in his interview was inferring that either France is not a safe country for refuge or that it has become much more anti-immigration than maybe we realise. By default, if those who brave the Channel really are seeking refuge, we should ask ourselves, and our French neighbours why.

I have received a number of very strong views on both side of this argument, but the reality is that most people are aligned with the view that the UK should give safe haven to those in need of refuge, but illegal immigration needs to be stopped in its tracks.

But we also have to recognise that our own Government has much to do and our own inability historically to grasp this issue for some time has exacerbated the situation. The Nationality and Borders Bill is the Government’s legislative vehicle to get the powers from Parliament that it needs. We started this before Christmas and can expect new laws to address these issues in the spring.