Community

MARKET KNOWLEDGE

ZOE HOBSON, SOZO SILVER

Image: Robert Craig

Welcome to The Sherborne Market! What brings you here?

I was a regular trader at Bridport Market throughout 2021 and my fellow traders, who have become great friends, recommended Sherborne – Steve and Graham from the Compton Candle Company, Tim at Miggles and the team at Fruit Bodhi Organics.

Where have you travelled from?

I live in Honiton but the magic all happens in my container workshop I call the ‘Spooniverse’ in Bishops Court Gardens just outside of Exeter.

Tell us about what you’re selling?

A range of useable, reclaimed vintage cutlery that is hand-stamped with words and witty puns. Also, jewellery and accessories that have been upcycled from silverware and affirmation bands/rings with uplifting messages to inspire and empower.

Where and when did it all begin?

I began my creative journey when I was 9-years-old, selling my jewellery designs in my parent’s shop. I taught myself to hand-stamp whilst living and working in New Zealand in 2016. It was at this time my love affair with silverware began. Sozo was established from a bedroom start-up in 2019.

What do you enjoy most about selling at markets?

I love to meet my customers face-to-face. It makes me feel good when I catch them laughing and they leave with a smile on their face. To be around so many creative stallholders is also very uplifting.

If you get the chance, which fellow stallholders here at Sherborne would you like to visit?

Unfortunately, I don’t get to leave my stall but I have been lucky enough to be placed next to Colin, the Vintage Salvager, which is right up my street and he is already working on a commissioned ring display for my stand.

Where can people find you on market day?

On Half Moon Street, opposite the Plume of Feathers, under an unmissable orange gazebo.

sozoshop.com @sozosilverdesigns

SHERBORNE CRICKET CLUB

Daniel Baker ‘There can be no summer in this land without cricket.’ Neville Cardus

Dorset has many picturesque cricket grounds, none more so than our own town’s club, where the outfield is bordered by mature trees and well-kept hedges.

Sherborne Cricket Club has been a part of the community since its founding in 1837. As one of the oldest cricket clubs in Dorset, it can trace its roots back to the early days of playing in the grounds of Sherborne Castle, relocating in the early 20th century to our current home on The Terrace Playing Fields, found on the outskirts of town. Together with the rugby, football, and tennis clubs, the town band and dog walkers, the cricket club makes up part of a lively hub of activities for all the community in this beautiful green space just off Dancing Hill.

Throughout the cricket club’s history, we have striven to provide cricket for the people of Sherborne and the surrounding area to play and watch, with the occasional appearances from some surprising international stars over the years, most notably world cup winner Aravinda de Silva of Sri Lanka and South African opening batsman Gary Kirsten as a junior cricketer.

The 2022 season is set to be a particularly exciting season for the club as it promises to be the first full season of competitive cricket since 2019, following the challenges COVID 19 created for team sports. We have a total of 36 league fixtures, together with midweek games and friendlies across junior and adult teams this season which go on until early September.

The club currently competes in the Dorset Cricket League, fielding two men’s teams each Saturday during the season. The 1st XI plays in the top division of the Dorset league and were most recently champions in 2015. We are always on the lookout for new players and welcome anyone to club nets on a Wednesday evening at The Terraces at 6pm.

The Sherborne Silks is the club’s Women’s and Girl’s section. They play regular matches against local teams and compete in regular tournaments throughout the season. The Terraces has also played host to several of these competitions. They train regularly during the season and everyone is welcome to join the sessions at 7.30pm on Friday evenings at The Terraces.

Many of our current first and second-team players began as juniors, learning through regular practice sessions on Friday evenings and Kwik Cricket, then progressing on to matches against other clubs’ junior teams. Aside from the cricket, we formed great friendships which have continued well into our adult years. Today our youth section comprises under 9s, 11s and 13s teams, playing competitive cricket in the Dorset league and fostering a love of the game from an early age. They train on a Friday evening on The Terraces starting at 4.30pm. Boys and girls of all ages are welcome. The sessions are run to a high standard by ECB qualified coaches, with no more than 12 children per coach. In addition to the regular sessions, there are a

number of cricket camps run in the school holidays.

The club also runs two ECB coaching programmes: All-Stars for 5-8-year-olds and Dynamos for 8-11-year-olds. Details of these courses and online bookings can be made at ecb.co.uk

After the last two years, we are all excited to be back to playing cricket, maintaining the facilities and meeting together regularly and are eager to move onward in improving the club still further.

To secure the future of the club we urgently need to refurbish our practice facilities. Central to this is the construction of a new two-bay, fully enclosed practice net facility. The current artificial nets that many of us spent significant parts of our childhood using date back over 30 years and have reached the stage where they need to be replaced with modern nets.

Our goal is to increase the off-field coaching and practice facilities to ensure that we can deliver better and more diverse cricket for young people, schools and club members. Having access to these facilities is essential in order to maintain our adult teams and continue to develop and build on our youth cricket offering.

To enable these nets to be built we are launching a Crowdfunding page, going live in early June 2022. Our fundraising target is £13,500. If we are able to hit this target Sport England will offer us a further grant of up to 50% of the money raised. The £20,250 total, together with existing funds raised by the club will be sufficient to build good quality and hard-wearing facilities which will foster the next generation of cricketers.

In addition to the Crowdfunding which will be heavily publicised and going live early this month, we are organising a number of events including a charity golf day at Folke Golf Centre (the date is to be confirmed) and a beer and gin festival at The Terraces on 9th July 2022. There will be a large selection of beers, ciders, wines and gins on offer and live music. Tickets will go on sale in the weeks prior.

To discover more about this wonderful local club do come up to the playing fields to watch a game or join one of the training sessions for all ages.

sherborne.play-cricket.com

___________________________________________ Sherborne Cricket Club Training Sessions The Terrace Playing Fields

Men Wednesdays 6pm

Women and Girls Fridays 7.30pm

Boys and Girls Dynamos (aged 8-11) – Fridays 4.30pm Under 9s – Fridays 5.30pm Under 11s and 13s – Fridays 6.30pm ___________________________________________

LEIGH TALKS! PRESENTS FARMING, FOOD AND COMMUNITY

Cate Dixon

Valentin Valkov/Shutterstock

Farmers are central to our community and farming is key to the local economy here in Leigh and the surrounding area. Farmers, more than most, are faced with the very real challenges of climate change. Their methods and land-use features significantly in discussions on how to curb greenhouse gases and mitigate rising temperatures. Farmers are already making changes in response to these challenges and their voices must be heard.

On Thursday 16th June, a panel of local farmers will discuss these issues in the 2nd instalment of Leigh Talks! – a 10-month programme of community events, supported by the Lottery Community Fund, featuring a presentation by an expert or celebrity speaker on themes relevant to climate change and biodiversity. The talks are followed by a discussion and an opportunity for the audience to share positive ideas on how to reduce our impact on the climate and improve biodiversity.

The programme has been initiated by Leigh Climate Group and aided by the parish council following their successful National Lottery grant application.Over the coming 10 months Leigh Talks! will engage people on a wide range of topics and offer a rare opportunity to pose questions and suggestions to the experts.

Let’s consider how these issues relate to us all and find ways to reduce our carbon footprint. The talks won’t blind you with science but aim to be entertaining and present issues that everyone can respond to on an individual and community level.

Future events will be posted in the Sherborne Times, on the Leigh Village website and on both Leigh Climate Group and Leigh Life Facebook pages.

leighvillage.org.uk @LeighClimateGroup @LeighLifeDorset

Leigh Talks! is a Leigh Climate Group initiative, supported by Leigh Parish Council and The National Lottery Community Fund.

___________________________________________ Thursday 16th June 7.45pm (doors open 7.30pm) Leigh Talks! Presents: Farming, Food and Community Leigh Village Hall DT9 6HL. Free entry. Bar available. Please contact cate.m.dixon@gmail.com / 07971 061335 for further information.

TOWN COUNCIL NEWS

The Annual Parish Meeting took place in April and was a great opportunity for the Town Clerk to present the latest annual report, which is available on our website and summarises achievements made over the past twelve months.

The meeting was well attended by local organisations and the public. Sherborne Town Councillors and staff were present to answer any questions from the community.

Amongst other things, the Town Clerk spoke about the new benches around the bandstand in Pageant Gardens, the installed water features including a waterfall and secret pond, wood carvings and owl and insect boxes to help increase biodiversity in the town.

Highlights included the path and maze enhancements in Paddock Garden which used the

equivalent of 2,364,000 plastic straws within the subbase and continued path improvements at the Quarr, including the creation of a new bench and steps, along with the introduction of a new access gate.

The past year has seen plenty of tree planting across Sherborne with more on the way. The Town Council was awarded 15 cherry trees from the Sakura Cherry Tree Project as a symbol of friendship and cooperation between the UK and Japan. These trees have been planted in two locations in the town – at the new cemetery, as a place to reflect, and in Pageant Gardens with a view to eventually having a cherry blossom avenue of arching trees, as a space of contemplation.

In honour of the Queen’s Accession Day in February a Liquidambar tree was planted in the newly named Platinum Reserve, adjacent to the Westbridge Park allotments site, which has been extended to include newly sized and easier-tomanage plots.

Young trees have been planted at Lambsfield, through Granville Way to Albany Close. Saplings have also been planted in hedgerows at the Terrace Playing Fields. Many of these trees were awarded to the Town Council by the Woodland Trust, as part of the Woodland Trust Queen’s Canopy Project.

Prior to the Remembrance Day in 2021, the War Memorial was cleaned and shortly the Conduit will undergo a similar cleaning process.

The telephone kiosk located on Half Moon Street was recently adopted by the Town Council and will house various visitor information leaflets soon.

Cllr Anne Hall, also spoke about her mayoral year and said, ‘As Mayor of Sherborne I would like to say it’s been a privilege to represent the town in the various civic duties I have carried out on your behalf and the several volunteering activities I have undertaken with the accolade of being called the ‘People’s Mayor’ on several occasions. Cllr Anne Hall also presented a cheque at the meeting to The Rendezvous for £2,000, donated from her mayoral funds.

With the Platinum Jubilee extended weekend imminent, activities are now being finalised and will be publicised across various channels. The Town Council is planning to utilise Instagram to help promote the event as well as provide content for the newly published Visit Sherborne Microsite.

Activities include the lighting of the Sherborne Beacon, at 9.45pm on Thursday 2nd June with music played by the Sherborne Town Band beforehand. Those lighting beacons are also being encouraged to plant a circle of seven trees at an appropriate time, in a bid to assist with the sustainability of our planet. Each tree planted will represent a decade of the Queen’s seventy-year reign. Sherborne Town Council is working closely with Sherborne Area Schools Trust (SAST) to provide and plant each of the seven trees within the grounds of seven schools in and around Sherborne, forming a figurative circle with trees that will reach maturity within the school children’s lifetime and form part of a legacy for the area.

On Friday 3rd June there will be a Dorset Council Civic Service from 3pm at Sherborne Abbey.

From 10am-4pm on Saturday 4th June, Cheap Street will host market stalls, food and drink and street entertainment. A primary school children’s fancy dress parade along Cheap Street, commences at 3pm, with prizes for the winners.

From 2pm-10pm everything moves to Pageant Gardens where everyone is invited to have a family picnic in the gardens with a red, white and blue optional dress code. Food and drink will be for sale from some of Sherborne’s finest pubs, shops and cafes. Music during the afternoon and evening will include Sherborne Town Band, Wiggle Jazz Band, Livewire and a DJ. Merlin Cadogan, Escapologist and Entertainer, who made it through to the semi-final of Britain’s Got Talent will be in Pageant Gardens during the afternoon and evening hosting a series of afternoon shows and circus skills as well as fire and glow performances during the evening. Free parking will be available all day in the town on Saturday.

Sunday 5th June is the day for any planned resident street parties arranged with Dorset Council.

Having received funding from Dorset Council’s ‘Welcome Back Fund’, Sherborne Town Council purchased bunting and flags for Cheap Street, publicity banners, new planters and picnic benches which will be in place prior to the celebrations.

Sherborne Town Council has been working in partnership with the Sherborne Chamber of Trade and Commerce, Sherborne Indies and Abbey FM to put this programme of events together. We hope the town celebrates and enjoys this remarkable occasion.

sherborne-tc.gov.uk @SherborneTownCl

OUR MAN IN WESTMINSTER

Chris Loder MP, Member of Parliament for West Dorset

This June, we celebrate the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning British monarch in history. The amount the world has changed in every single aspect over the past 70 years is incredible to consider, and there are so many of us alive today who have never known life without her in it. Her Majesty is, without doubt, the most constant and reliable stalwart of our country.

When we celebrate the Queen, we are celebrating so much more than one person. Of her personally, we are remembering seventy years of sacrifice on our behalf, of doing what needed to be done and going where required with no complaints, of sacrificing much personal privacy and freedom for the sake of duty. We are also celebrating the magnificent progress of the United Kingdom during one of the most rapidly changing eras of human history. To celebrate the Queen, to my mind, is to celebrate Britain – and we have much to be proud of.

When she was born, the then Princess Elizabeth was never supposed to be Queen. The then Duke and Duchess of York were known to be a loving couple who adored their daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, and created a close-knit and generally private family life. When the abdication disrupted this and her father became King, Elizabeth was the heir-apparent to the

Alessia Pierdomenico/Shutterstock

throne. She took on this task aged just 25 and has continued ceaselessly ever since.

During that time she has visited West Dorset on a number of occasions, most often to visit Poundbury which is built on Duchy of Cornwall land and with which Prince Charles has had much involvement. She first came to Poundbury in May of 1998 when it was a new town to see the architecture designed by Léon Krier in the New Urbanist style and to support the Duke of Cornwall. Her Majesty returned in 2016 to unveil a statue of her mother, in what is now Queen Mother Square, opposite the Duchess of Cornwall pub.

The Queen opened Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester in 1998 and afterwards travelled up to Sherborne where she took part in the dedication of the Abbey’s new Great West Window.

Dorset has been a popular destination for members of the Royal Family since George III started going on holiday to Weymouth in the late 1700s. Since then, we have been honoured to host Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses, over the centuries.

I hope that the four days of the Jubilee bank holiday weekend will allow time for people to come together, especially after years of lockdown rules and restrictions, in appreciation for the life of service the Queen has given so far and her continuing commitment to our country. Many people close to the Royal Family have described their lives as like living in a gilded cage – and it seems understandable why. For every privilege – living in palaces, households of staff, not needing to worry about such normal things as the rent or mortgage, or doing the shopping – there are also numerous sacrifices. A monarch cannot make mistakes for in doing so they shame the country they represent. They cannot go anywhere alone, without protection and permission and planning. Some have said even that it is difficult to know which people are real friends, and who are looking for influence. They must always appear impeccably, not allowed to be seen to be tired or under the weather. The pressure must be considerable.

Imagine taking on that pressure at just 25 when, not too long before, you had been a minor royal with plenty of privacy.

It is widely believed that one thing which has helped Queen Elizabeth through any difficulties over the last 70 years has been her Christian faith. She is not only head of the Church of England, but she is also a committed member of the Church. This makes many people feel more connected with her, knowing that she hears the word of God as we do. Many consider that her sense of duty is closely connected with her faith, and over her reign, it certainly seems as though she has imbued her work with Christian values.

We owe a lot to Her Majesty and other members of the Royal Family. Even those among us who are of more republican views would rarely disagree that the Queen’s years of service make her one of the greatest Britons ever to live. I hope there are many more years of her reign to come. God Save the Queen.