The BV magazine, Aug 23

PROUD TO BE DIGITAL – WE LOVE TREES!

From the heart of the Blackmore Vale

The Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show – we’ve got a round up of what to see, and the show timetables too Page 36

Mick Percival went from wood-chopping hobbyist to invincible, record-breaking champion – now he gives spellbinding showground performances

Page 22

Henstridge is facing 182 new homes, despite local concerns about road safety, infrastructure and the impact on the village character

Page 8

Crumbs! It’s 50 years since that Hovis ad.

Roger Guttridge takes a stroll through the story of Dorset’s most famous street. Page 92

After 40 years in the TV industry, Simon and Karen Priestman bought a boutique vineyard – and promptly created an award-winning wine

Page 60

In farming, Andrew Livingston has climbed back on his milk crate to look at the unfair struggle between agriculture and supermarkets

Page 54

Front cover: It’s a Little Damp Out by Marilyn Peddle

INDEX

We know, it’s a HUGE magazine. So we make it easy for you: just like grabbing the sections you like best from the Sunday papers, just click the number below to jump straight to the section you want. Or just make yourself a coffee and start from the beginning...

We’ll barely have time to celebrate the fact that The BV turns three this month (THREE YEARS! How is that possible?) – we have a packed few weeks ahead. As I write we’re just ten days away from the second Clayesmore Classic & Supercar Sunday, which is swiftly followed by the Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show. If you’re going (and obviously you should if you can!) do come and say hello if you spot us around the showground. I promise we’re friendly and we’d love it if you did! Straight afterwards we’ll be looking ahead at the Dorset County Show, and of course rolling swiftly into our September issue before we can blink, as well as the Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival and squeezing in a trip to London for another awards ceremony ... and then we just might go find somewhere quiet for a very loo-o-onng nap. (and no we are NOT going to discuss the fact that I have seen two high street chains appear in my social media feed this week with Christmas trees up and decorations for sale in store). However, you’ll never find us complaining about a busy month (well, not often – I admit I’m not a total ray of sunshine when running on too little sleep and too much caffeine). Though we’ve lived here for more than 30 years, the last three spent running The BV has allowed us to see like never before the rich tapestry of Dorset. We’ve had the privilege of getting to know so many of you, and every issue reveals more of the resilience and character, the strength, the goodwill, and the sheer talent that defines our local businesses and communities. Contrary to popular perception, we locals know that Dorset is so much more than some beautiful beaches and a famous cobbled hill. It’s a beautiful hub of innovation, creativity, and determination. The awards we’ve won this year have been a welcome nod to our efforts over the last three years, of course, but the real reward lies in knowing that thousands of people appreciate what we do. We feel we’ve grown not just as a publication but as a part of the community. We’re committed to supporting local, sharing stories that matter, and being a voice for Dorset. Thanks for sticking with us.

Vale of the Solar Panels

At the end of July, Dorset Council approved the development of a 190-acre solar

There’s no doubt that global warming is already here. From crippling heatwaves and wildfires in Europe to the alarming disappearance of insects, the signs of a crisis are clear. At the same time, there is no end in sight to the war in Ukraine, affecting supplies and security of both food and fuel.

Councils and other statutory organisations are compelled to think and act differently in order to meet the challenges brought by climate change.

On 26th July, Dorset Council approved the development of a 190 acre solar farm in the Blackmore Vale, close to the conservation areas of Mappowder, Pulham and Hazelbury Bryan. The panels will produce 50 megawatts of renewable energy, powering 11,725 homes annually. With the broad views from Bulbarrow Hill and Rawlsbury Camp likely to include many fields of panels, will Thomas Hardy’s Vale of the Little Dairies be changed forever?

How much do we need?

A significant part of the UK’s strategy to reach net zero by 2050 is dependent on renewable energy. According to the National Grid, all electricity should come from renewable sources by 2035. Four main sources of renewable energy are used in the UK –wind, solar, hydroelectric and bioenergy. During 2020, 43 per cent of the UK’s electricity came from renewable sources. In May 2023, the UK’s trillionth killowat

hour of renewable electricity was produced. It has taken 50 years for this amount of electricity to come from renewable sources –the next trillion is expected to be produced within five years. It’s an insight into the pace of change on renewables.

Energy from the North Dairy Solar Farm (NDF) development will be used locally and also feed the National Grid. Much of the power at the Spetisbury solar farm currently powers buildings

farm in the Blackmore Vale. Rachael Rowe reports

This is a 35-acre solar farm in Wales – the one approved near Hazelbury Bryan covers 190 acres

The projected outline of the North Dairy Solar Farm at Hazelbury Bryan

in the City of London including the Guildhall and Tower Bridge.

The North Dairy solar farm Dorset Council received more than 200 letters of objection to the development of the NDF at Hazelbury Bryan. The site lies at the confluence of the River Lyddon and Wonston Brook, an area known for its tendency to flood. Not surprisingly, the concerns are mainly about flooding.

Anthony Cake’s family has farmed in the area for three generations; the farm is 400 years old and close to the solar farm. Anthony said: ‘My wife and I support renewable energy programmes. We know that we all have to change the way we live. However, at no time has anyone from the developers contacted us. It’s as though we don’t exist. We were left off the map as well, and that wasn’t down to scaling.

‘We won’t see the solar farm.

My concern is the risk of flooding. Between us, my family and I have 168 years of experience of flooding in this area. Where you have glass on clay, with time, channelling could occur, creating a rapid run-off. If

British Solar Renewables (BSR) or Dorset Council could look me in the eye and assure me 100 per cent that my home and livelihood won’t flood ... Perhaps they could underwrite the cost of my flooding insurance?’

Local people are all familiar with the flood risks.

Crawford May, chairman of Lydlinch and Kings Stag Parish Council, told the planning meeting: ‘I have lived and worked in the Kings Stag area for 67 years. I know which places flood. I know how deep it gets, and how fast it can flow.’

The planning application does contain mitigation plans for landscaping, flood management

and road access.

However there are still concerns about the impact of such a large development in rural Dorset, especially around the use of arable land.

Save Hardy’s Vale has been campaigning against the solar panel farm. Ian Bryan says: ‘It appears that the temptation of a newly re-enforced grid connection has blinded the applicants and the councillors to the very serious practical reasons why the NDF Site is so unsuitable for a solar development. Those who live downstream of the proposed development know clearly what serious flooding is like, and just how frightening –and life threatening – it can be. ‘Of course, we need to utilise solar, but as the government and Dorset Council policies say, put solar panels on brownfield sites,

‘It appears that the temptation of a newly re-enforced grid connection has blinded the applicants and the councillors’

This 20-acre solar farm is visible from Hambledon Hill

car parks and roofs etc. Dorset Council set out a host of good reasons in their Climate and Ecology Emergency Agenda to look after our valued, designated and food-productive landscape.’

We are where we are

When developments of this nature are proposed, significant work goes on behind the scenes to investigate the plans. North Dorset MP Simon Hoare says: ‘If we are serious about combating climate change to get to net zero, we need solar, hydro and wind. There is increasing demand for electricity and we need to get the power from somewhere. It’s a good idea – but not here.

‘My main concern is the site is too big. I have concerns the number of panels will take away soakaway land when it rains excessively. It is maximising energy security to the detriment of food security. We have seen with COVID the fragility of international supply chains.

‘However, I know the council took their time on this and have not rushed to a judgement. We are where we are and the applicants must still meet the requirements of the council report.

‘While I am disappointed, I am keen we maximise renewable energy and each one of us needs to play a part.’

Driving around the Blackmore Vale, there are a lot of new housing developments – with no solar panels in sight. Is this a missed opportunity for Dorset’s housing planners to mandate developers to use sustainable energy more effectively? With global warming causing significant changes to the planet, the North Dairy Solar Farm is not the only challenging decision that Dorset planners will face in the near future.

• British Solar Renewables and Dorset Council were approached for comment and had not responded at the time of going to press.

How much energy is renewable in the UK?

Electricity generated from fossil fuels contributes to greenhouse gas emission. Energy from renewable sources generates no, or very low, carbon emissions, and moving to renewable energy is a critical component in tackling climate change.

In the UK, the largest single source of electricity entering the National Grid is natural gas. But in 2020, for the first time, the majority of the UK’s electricity came from renewable sources – 43%. Collectively that’s more than natural gas (34.5%) and far more than coal (1.8%). Nuclear power constitutes 16% of all energy sources in the UK. Renewable energy in the UK is generated from four main sources:

• Wind power

28.6% of the UK’s electricity generation

• Biomass

5.6% of the national renewables

• Solar power

4.4% of the national renewables

• Hydropower

Making just 1.8% of the renewables.

Just 13 years ago, zero carbon power made up less than 20% of the UK’s electricity supply. In 2023, more than 50% of the UK’s electricity is from renewable sources.

• Source: National Grid

The frequently flooded road to Hazelbury Bryan, where residents are concerned that a huge solar farm can only increase flood risk

2 & 3 SEPT 2023

rural life in Dorset

MONSTER TRUCKS AXEMEN CRAFTER’S AVENUE FOOD & DRINK AREA HEAVY HORSE LOGGING SHETLAND PONY RACING WOOD CARVER NEW & SO MUCH MORE...

CATTLE SHOWJUMPING HORTICULTURE PIGS GOATS BEES & HONEY RABBITS SHEEP HORSES SHOPPING STEAM ENGINES HOMECRAFT FORGE FALCONRY SHOW GARDENS FARM MACHINERY

ADULT TICKETS:

CHILDREN GO FREE!

by Rachael Rowe

New houses threaten village character on narrow A357

Henstridge faces 182 new homes, despite strong concerns about road safety, infrastructure and the impact on the village character

When the Victorian and Edwardian houses lining what is now the A357 were built, people walked to work and most did not own a car. Today, a busy road winds through the village, which has expanded over the years. With further development anticipated, how much is too much for the infrastructure?

Safer roads before more houses

A development of 130 houses in Henstridge has been proposed since 2017, and was initially rejected by South Somerset District Council in 2018. However, the development has now been approved, subject to road safety improvements. The parish council is adamant that road safety is a priority that must be addressed before any development takes place. To add to villagers’ concerns, an application for a further 52 houses has been lodged, which can only lead to more traffic using the A357.

Henstridge councillor Dr Adrian Gaymer drove me around the village to demonstrate the various pressure points in the village and the sites of the proposed developments. The road is narrow and in some places traffic is governed by priority signs. There are significant stretches of the road where there is no pavement, with houses opening directly on to the street. Where will pedestrians go when more traffic arrives from new developments? More importantly, where is there room for critical improvements in such a restricted space?

Battlescarred houses frequently knocked by lorries

Adrian points to battle-scarred houses frequently knocked by lorries trying to pass on this narrow road.

‘This is where there’s one narrow point which will get even narrower with the suggested yellow box junction, and cars and lorries waiting to pass. One wall is constantly being bashed in and one house had its

roof damaged, although we are still unsure how.

‘Lorries come off the ferry in Poole and head up to the A357 to the A303 and on to the Mendips. And of course more lorries come from the Mendips and the A30, back the other way. We’re also concerned about traffic cutting through estates where children are playing or going to school.’

Inadequate infrastructure

In Somerset, there are currently 11,136 people on the housing register, of whom 2,368 are in South Somerset, and of these 301 are in the highest category of housing need.

There is clearly a demand for social and affordable housing. The demand for social and affordable housing is clearly there. The A357 runs through Henstridge, south to Stalbridge in Dorset, where four major housing developments have been approved and are under way. A fifth proposal, north of Station Road, is raising questions with councillors and residents over the volume of homes and

The A357 as it runs through the village of Henstridge Image: © Googlemaps

the pace of development. Any development in Stalbridge adds to the pressure on the A357 through Henstridge.

Henstridge and Stalbridge residents have to go to Milborne Port or Sturminster Newton for GP surgeries and further still for NHS dentistry.

Public transport is not the answer. Although the villages are served by a service to Blandford and Yeovil, it only runs on weekdays so is unsuitable for shift workers. A spokesperson from Somerset Council says: ‘As a planning authority, we work closely with and consult Dorset Council on issues such as local service infrastructure. We would expect education, highways and the NHS to pick up on any cross-boundary capacity issues, where communities in one administrative area are serviced by infrastructure from another.’

Time to draw a line

North Dorset MP Simon Hoare says: “Where you have major developments, is there enough robust cross-border working? There are two different local authorities, two different planning departments, and two highways departments. It is critical that both highways and planning are talking to each other. I think that if the scale of development actually requires

large scale highways change and developments then you have to review the capacity and what there is in the entirety of a situation and what can be sustained comfortably.

‘The developments are clearly felt by local people. Especially when the character of a settlement changes.

The Gladman development (in Stalbridge) very obviously starts to distort the character of the village. Stalbridge has taken its fair share of developments.

‘Now is the time to draw a line and let what has been consented to be built on, and then look at other opportunities.’

Cllr Adrian Gaymer also expressed concerned about the increase in the village population: ‘if this continues we will no longer be a small rural settlement but a rural centre like Martock, Bruton or Templecombe – and we’re not Bruton.’

Plans for the A357

A previous plan for traffic lights has been dismissed and there are now discussions about yellow box junctions. Somerset Council is aware of the issue, and a representative says:

’Somerset Council is working with the developer to resolve the outstanding matter(s).

Outline planning and reserved matters are approved for this development and we’re confident of an agreement shortly.

‘The developer and utilities are carrying out permitted preparation works in accordance with planning regulations.’ A spokesperson for Barratt David Wilson Homes

Exeter says: ‘As agreed with Somerset Council, and in accordance with our planning obligations, infrastructure upgrades are under way to improve the A357. These improvements will deliver a range of safety upgrades, including dropped kerbs and tactile paving at several junctions and enhancing road and traffic signage. The safety of the community and the wider road users remains our priority. ‘We are committed to continue engaging with the community and Henstridge Parish Council throughout the construction process. We are looking forward to commencing on site and delivering 130 much-needed and energy-efficient new homes to the area in the spring of 2024.’

Large lorries fill the road as it winds through the village, the A357 too narrow here to warrant a central white line

‘Stalbridge has taken its fair share of developments. Now is the time to draw a line.’

by Laura Hitchcock

The unchanged charm of the street fair Milton Abbas at 50 – or 250 or 1,089?

Marking the date of its ancient predecessor, 2023’s street fair bears more than a passing resemblance to the first modern one in 1973

In the heart of the Delcombe Valley in 934AD, the town of Middleton was founded –gathered around the Benedictine Abbey whose patron saint is St Sampson. King Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, granted the town a market and a fair, which took place on St Sampson’s Day.

Soon after buying the Milton Abbas estate in 1752, Joseph Damer (later Lord Milton and later still the Earl of Dorchester) took the first steps in an ambitious scheme of demolition, development and landscaping to transform the medieval village and the valley. Sir Frederick Treves says in Highways and Byways of Dorset (1906). ‘He [Damer] found the ancient village squatted indecently near to the spot where he intended to build his mansion … he ordered the offensive object to be removed. The old, untidy hamlet was entirely demolished as soon as the new Milton Abbas had been

erected, well out of sight of the great house.’

Two hundreds years later, the villagers re-created their traditional fair to celebrate this anniversary – on the last Saturday of July, nearest to the original St Sampson’s Day. Local man Chris Fookes says, ‘It all started as a way of fundraising for local causes.

‘In the 60s and 70s, if you had a village fete, you were lucky to make 50 quid. You know, you make 50 quid and think “well, you’ve done all right!” But our idea was to do the village fete thing, but to get it bigger. And we certainly did that with the street fair. In the end, we made about three or four thousand quid!’

The 1973 committee Chris was asked to open the special anniversary fair this year. His family have lived in the valley for more than 250 years.

‘We were yeoman farmers – you call them tenant farmers now –

on the big estate. We had Bagber Farm down at Milborne at one time, and the brewery here* … all sorts of things.’

He was on the committee that

The Milton Abbas Street Fair in 2023 All images: Courtenay Hitchcock

Original 1973 committee member Chris Fookes was asked to open 2023’s 50th anniversary fair

ran the very first new street fair and he remembers it clearly:

‘In 1973 we had a meeting with Milton Abbey School, and they came on side. They offered all the playing fields and any accommodation they could spare. They were really with us from day one. That first event was actually a ten-day festival. First, we had a Civil War battle, which was a King’s Army of the West against the Cavalry. But the cavalry were children on ponies! We had it in the valley between the Abbey and the school; King Eddie’s Drive it’s called, though it’s actually King Edward’s Drive. They made a special route down over the hill for him back at the turn of the century. The cavalry came down over the hill, and the king’s army at the bottom were all murdered! It went really well. The whole of the abbey drive was packed with people. It was as busy as the main street is now, maybe busier.

‘That was the first Saturday. We had a barbecue and a dance in the evening, and on the Sunday morning there was a service in the Abbey. There were various events the following week, and then the Saturday after was the first Street Fair. And that went really, really well. After that first year, the Street Fair became the principal event.’

Half a century

So how does today’s Street Fair compare to the first one?

‘It’s almost exactly the same! The man who ran it originally, Lieutenant Commander Dickie Dyer, was a brilliant organiser. He lived just above the almshouses, and he ran the whole thing. It ran like clockwork and it’s almost exactly the same now – it’s still run just the way he set it out.’

*Fookes Brothers the Milton Brewery was founded in 1775

• See more images from the 2023 Milton Abbas Street Fair on the BV Facebook page here

A career in the skies –life as a test pilot

Former Royal Navy officer Chris Taylor, an acclaimed civil certification test pilot, explains the unique skill set required for the job

When you jet off for your holiday in the sun, how often do you think about the work that went into making your flight safe?

Chris Taylor, who lives near Salisbury, has had a successful career as a Royal Navy officer, a test pilot, helicopter pilot and finally as an internationally-acclaimed civil certification test pilot. He has flown more than 400 different types of aircraft, and is arguably one of the best qualified and widely experienced test pilots working today, anywhere in the world.

With that kind of background, it is little wonder he has written three books about his career. When he came to the recent Sturminster Newton Literary Festival, the room was packed, and there were lots of questions from the audience!

How did Chris choose the career path that led him to becoming a test pilot?

‘I always wanted to be a pilot, ever since I watched lightning jet fighters over Anglesey on family holidays! In the mid 70s, Thames TV did a documentary about the test pilot school at Boscombe Down, and that was that. I got my PPL (private pilots licence) at 17 and I did engineering at university. When I graduated I joined the Royal Navy as a navigation officer before flying Lynx helicopters. I had a 20-year career in the navy.’

The best of the best

As a test pilot, Chris has flown many different types of aircraft, from ex-military jets to home-built aeroplanes. Is there one that stands out as the best aircraft to fly?

‘There is no perfect aeroplane. It’s like cars – there’s no one perfect car. But, if I could choose one aeroplane it would be the Sea Fury. With the Fleet Air Arm, the Sea Fury was the iconic fighter aircraft of the 1950s and it was the last of the big fighters.’ And what about career highlights?

‘Being a grandfather actually! I’ve had some good experiences. The most awesome flight I did was in a Variable Stability Harrier or VAAC at Boscombe Down. It was a modified Harrier from the 1980s. It was one of the research vehicles that eventually found itself in the F35 programme*.’

A special kind of pilot

There are lots of people who simply want to fly, but what skills are needed to become a test pilot?

‘First of all, you need to be an above-average pilot. You have to be very competent with your mental agility. You need to be analytical about what is happening around you. You must also be a good verbal communicator and be able to communicate with clarity and brevity.

‘At Boscombe Down we had many tools at our disposal, and would specifically fly an aircraft to determine the specifics. It’s not casual flight – you academically test things. For example if something is meant to fly at 90 miles an hour you ask why it isn’t reaching that speed.

‘Regular pilots will take six months to learn how to fly a single aircraft. A test pilot has to fly things

A Westland Lynx AH.5 - ZD559 - and the rolling platform at Boscombe Down

Chris Taylor about to test fly a Ryan PT22 aeroplane

to test them – it’s a bit like a rental car. When you rent a car, you sit there and look for the clutch, the brake and the basics, so you know how to drive it. Then you check for the specifics, including the computer programme these days. You look for what is different.’

‘I think some test pilots struggle to dial down their ability. They have to consider an average pilot in their first plane – would they be able to manage that? I look at the work that Winkle Brown did as a test pilot. He flew lots of aircraft, but wasn’t always able to dial down. Your job as a test pilot is to think “could a less experienced colleague do that?”

Testing protocol

When the news broke recently about the submersible that imploded while travelling to see the wreck of the Titanic, it was obviously horrifying. However, the initial investigation has brought the use of experimental vessels into discussion – and, of course, not listening to testing experts.

Chris says: ‘It wasn’t a wise thing to do. In aviation you have aircraft that are fully tested – that’s what we go on holiday in. They are all rigorously checked, the systems are tested and it’s safe. It’s probably more dangerous getting to the airport!

‘I get to test experimental aircraft, and I take no one with me who is not operational and on the job. Four flew with me recently and we got into some quite dangerous things. Afterwards, we reflected on whether we needed all those people on board. It would go against my principles to take farepaying passengers on something like that! ‘That submersible was not approved and was conducting research. Taking fare-paying passengers on board in a situation like that is disastrous. There will always be thrill-seekers out there, but I don’t

do that. I like to think it’s a wake up call for people who go out doing these things.’

Chris has written three books – a trilogy of his career. ‘My third book is on the computer right now!’ he says. ‘It’s the final version from the publisher. My most recent book is about the 20 years I spent in the Royal Navy as an operational Lynx and Wessex pilot. It’s a prequel to the prequel! The first book was about me the test pilot, and the second about my time as an experimental test pilot. I’ve documented my career so my grandchildren can read about what granddad did.’

• Chris Taylor’s books Test Pilot, Naval Aviator, and Experimental Test Pilot are published by Pen and Sword.

*The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a modern fighter jet – a single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth combat aircraft.

Chris Taylor with a Basset – The Beagle B.206, a 1960s British seven-seat twin-piston engined liaison and communication aircraft

In the studio with Rozanne Bell

The adopted daughter of English parents who had relocated to Zimbabwe, Rozanne Bell grew up in a strict, almost Victorian but happy, environment. But the rebellious nature that emerged during her teenage years eventually led to expulsion from school.

Recognising her daughter’s need for an outlet, Rozanne’s mother, an accomplished artist herself, encouraged her daughter to explore painting as a means of expression. It turned out to be a bit of smart parental thinking, as a natural flair swiftly emerged. Combining talent with hard work and dedication, 16-year-old Rozanne began to forge what became a successful career as an artist, resulting in exhibitions at home in South Africa and also sales in the USA.

Under Robert Mugabe’s premiership, the political situation in Zimbabwe grew

Fleeing political violence, Zimbabwean Rozanne Bell turned her rebellious energy into a successful painting career

In her studio, Rozanne Bell explains her process All images: Courtenay Hitchcock

by Edwina Baines

Rozanne at home with some of her art

increasingly violent and eventually, in 2002, it compelled Rozanne to flee the country, leaving behind all the family’s possessions – a daunting challenge for anyone, let alone a mother with five children.

Under such circumstances, a fresh start in a new country required immense strength and resilience, qualities Rozanne appears to possess in abundance. She recently described herself on social media as “storming into my studio like a supercharged Duracell battery.” – it’s an accurate depiction.

Her gregarious nature, her relentless energy and her enthusiasm for art all proved necessary when she set about forging a new reputation in the UK. The bright and quirky birds and animals she had been painting in South Africa were not well received here. She had to deveop a new style and find new sales outlets.

Each rejection just fired her up: ‘If you don’t fight, you don’t get anywhere.

‘You have to listen to what the people want. I just want to paint what people love.’

With limited resources, Rozanne sourced frames from local car boot sales. After a year in Dorset a local pub agreed to display her work.

Shortly afterward, a Bournemouth agent took her on and Rozanne began to paint the animal characters which found her an initial niche market. She continued to work hard, reacting to customers’ wishes.

‘If you don’t fight you don’t get anywhere’

Rozanne and the drying racks

‘I had to keep pushing. I had children to feed and bills to pay.’

Accessible art

Rozanne’s style and subject matter are constantly evolving. She has built a reputation, with her vivid colours and expressive brush-strokes, for her flamboyant, mixed media works. She still draws inspiration from her home country’s colours, flowers and animals, but adds her own contemporary, often humorous, touches, almost always working from her imagination but using a vast array of both fresh and silk flowers for reference.

Recent works reveal a love of the Dorset countryside and the coastal landscapes of Cornwall. Her trademark lush curtain of

flowers is nearly always present. Rozanne is not interested in producing limited editions or offering mass market prints, preferring established followers to own an original painting at an affordable price: ‘I dream of making happy paintings that people can afford,’ she says.

Thoughtfully, she produces some smaller, less expensive paintings for loyal followers – of which she has many, with more than 20,000 on Facebook alone. She works on multiple paintings simultaneously, allowing her to develop complexity of layers and to incorporate a variety of media into her creations.

‘I dream of making happy paintings that people can afford.’

Two harbour works-in-progress waiting for their resin coating

Rozanne incorporates her trademark lush curtain of flowers even on coastal landscapes

A distinctive aspect of Rozanne’s work is her use of resin finishes. By applying resin coatings to her paintings, she adds depth and vibrancy to the final pieces. It creates a glossy and transparent layer that enhances the colours and textures, creating a gutsy visual impact. It is a messy process – she showed me the dedicated room stacked with wooden racks of paintings in the process of receiving different layers. Finishing touches might include metallic paint splashes, or highlights for a daisy petal.

A fresh perspective

Rozanne is a dedicated and compulsive painter: she is in her studio near Sturminster Newton from early morning until the evening. She’s quick to point out that essential support comes from her daughter who ‘runs my life and my brain!’

As for every artist, the lockdown period in 2020 provided a different perspective and slower sales. Rozanne is beginning to re-evaluate her work and looking at taking a different direction. She wants to spend more time with her young grandson. The continuous evolution of an artist’s style and technique can lead to the refinement and enhancement of their unique artistic vision.

As Rozanne explores new techniques and subject matter, she brings a fresh perspective to her work while retaining the elements that make her art so recognisable and distinctive. As she says, ‘I was so lucky to have been born with an imagination.’

• See Rozanne’s work on her website rozanne-bell.com or find her on Facebook –Rozanne Bell Artist

Her nearest gallery is Framemakers in Salisbury.

A new work in Rozanne’s Moonlight series dries on a studio workbench

At the cutting edge

Mick Percival went from wood-chopping hobbyist to invincible, recordbreaking champion – now he gives spellbinding showground performances

Mick Percival is surrounded by what he loves – wood.

In the aptly-named village of Broad Oak stands his wood yard, where Mick lives in a self-built, timber-clad house, surrounded by hundreds of logs of all shapes and sizes. These all look the same to me but under Mick’s expert eye I’m educated on the grain, the rings, the texture and density and above all the potential for cutting … and cutting fast?

As well as a wood yard selling timber and firewood, this is the training ground for the acclaimed Dorset Axemen. This band of axewielding showmen was founded by Mick in 2014 and now they compete and exhibit at rural events and showgrounds up and

down the country, demonstrating wood-cutting skills that date back to the hard-working lumberjacks in America and to centuries before. Retired from competing, Mick – still a giant of a man at 67 – now comperes these crowdpulling events where axemen split huge logs at break-neck speed using lethal axes.

Champion in waiting

More than 40 years as a competitive axeman might have taken its toll on Mick’s back and knees, yet amazingly he has escaped any serious injuries. When you consider he has had a razor-sharp axe only a few inches from his feet, flying between his legs as he balances

on a block of wood, that’s either incredible luck or brilliant skill and concentration.

Mick says: ‘Timber demonstrations like undercutting and crosscutting are big in Australia and North America. I saw an Australian tour of woodchoppers and log axemen that came to the UK when I was young and it sowed the seed. I got my chance when I picked up my first axe when I was 23 – that same year I won my first novice competition in the UK.’

His competitive spirit was unleashed and he went to North America to compete in the world championships.

At the Devon County Show in 1996 he was crowned British Log

Mick Percival took the title of British Log Axing Champion in 1986, 89, 93, 96, 97 and 98. In 1996, he chopped through a 16-inch diameter log in 33.35 seconds, setting a then new championship record

All images: Courtenay Hitchcock

Axing Champion for the sixth time.

‘I was fanatical,’ recalls Mick. ‘I took to it like a duck to water. I’d work in the woods all day felling trees, using chainsaws, then come home and practise, practise, practise. It’s all about getting your eye in and mastering the technique.’

Mick became invincible so the championship had to introduce a handicap system: ’The more you win, the higher your handicap. My opponent would start chopping on the count of three and I would start 33 seconds late. I still managed to win most of the time.’ Mick smiles. His gleaming axes are shipped from New Zealand and Australia and his biggest regret is that he never went and lived down under. ‘I kick myself now. My uncle emigrated as a £10 Pom in the 1960s. I should have gone back with him when he visited.’ Mick’s first axe was bought by that very uncle – who simply popped into his local hardware shop. In Australia, among the

Mick Percival at home in his wood yard at Broad Oak.

The axes Mick uses are made by Tuatahi in New Zealand. They have a high carbon tool steel on the cutting edge, tempered through to soft metal at the back – this absorbs the shock and gives more penetration into the wood. They cost £600-£700 each

nuts and bolts of everyday DIY, you can buy competition axes. ‘He sawed the handle off, wrapped it up and sent it over. I made my own handle, grinding it out on a sandstone wheel.’ He may regret not emigrating, but Mick doesn’t regret starting the Dorset Axemen. ‘I knew I needed to train younger men so I spent the winter of 2013 taking seven of them, all in their late twenties, through their paces. In 2014, we exhibited at a few local shows and have never looked back. We’ve been to Northern Ireland and Scotland. This year we’ve already done seven shows.’

And how does an axeman unwind? ‘The adrenalin really pumps when you’re competing. I still love that buzz at the shows. I like to relax with a cider in the wooden bar I built at the back of my house – I call it the Notty Oak! I love to sit and watch all the wildlife. I’ve spent most of my life outdoors. I could never live in a town or city.’

dorsetaxemen.com

• See the Dorset Axemen in action in their first ever appearance at the Dorset County Show on 2nd and 3rd September.

Two-man saws were known to the ancient Romans, but first became common in Europe in the mid-15th century. Known colloquially as a Misery Whip, they are up to 16 feet long and designed to cut in both directions –careful tooth design is necessary to clear the sawdust during the cut.

Quick fire questions:

A-lister Notty Oak guests?

Jeremy Clarkson – I know he can have his moments, but can’t we all? – and the Duke of Edinburgh. I met him at The Royal Welsh Show. He seemed really interested in our display.

Book by your bedside? None! But when I’ve been hiding in my bar and people ask where I’ve been, I say I’ve been out the back with Mr Crabtree’s Book of Fishing!

Best and worst wood to cut?

Poplar is my favourite. It’s the most even and it’s the cheapest to buy! It’s a crisp wood, which you need for a clean cut.

Elm and spruce are my least favourite – the pin knots bend axes for a pastime!

All images by kind

Reynolds Stone: Dorset’s legendary engraver

Our local church in Winterborne Tomson boasts a plaque engraved by Reynolds Stone in memory of AR Powys – the architect who was responsible for saving it from ruin in the 1920s. The distinctive style of engraving always impressed me, but I

only paid more attention when my wife visited the house and garden at Litton Cheney where Stone lived for well over 20 years until his death. She spoke of its magical and ethereal qualities, and the beautiful unspoiled countryside of the Bride valley

surrounding the house that had clearly so inspired him. Named after his ancestor, the painter Sir Joshua Reynolds, Stone spent his childhood in Bridport, and was educated at Eton, where his father taught. He went on to Magdalene

The renowned artist and writer was known for his distinctive engravings – always inspired by nature, he left a lasting legacy of timeless beauty

permission of The Reynolds and Janet Stone Estate

College, Cambridge, where he read history. With no clear idea about a career, he drifted into a two-year apprenticeship at the Cambridge University Press, where he was taught to appreciate letter design. An accidental meeting with Eric Gill led him to wood engraving and, after a spell at another printing firm, he became a freelance wood engraver, astonishingly without formal training.

A hidden fame

He married photographer Janet Woods in 1938 and in WW2 worked as an aerial photographic interpreter for the RAF. In 1953 the couple moved to the Old Rectory at Litton Cheney in West Dorset. His work as an engraver and his expertise in lettering brought him many commissions – and considerable success – with a broad range of clients.

Reynolds’ designs were everywhere in post-war Britain: many have observed that you may not know his name, but you have certainly seen his designs. If you travel with a UK passport you would have seen his royal coat of arms. He engraved the Royal Arms for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 and the official coat of arms for Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.

If you read the Times before 2010 you would be familiar with

his masthead clock face design – and you might have paid for it with a £5 note in the 1960s that was designed by him too (below). The distinctive Dolcis shoe shop sign was created by him. He carved many remarkable

memorials in stone, including those to Winston Churchill and TS Eliot, and for Westminster Abbey to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

Reynolds Stone’s forte was white line lettering. Interestingly, unlike many of his contemporaries, the war did not change his approach to design.

He engraved dozens of bookplates (for Benjamin Britten and Hugh Trevor-Roper among others), most with the flowing Italianate swirls and flourishes that were distinctively his style. Engraving wood blocks is not easy, but Stone dismissed the difficulty, observing: ‘It’s rather like rowing. You have to put the oar in at the right angle.’ His work depicted the

The Waterfall is a boxwood engraving originally published in Tribute to Benjamin Britten on his Fiftieth Birthday (Faber & Faber 1963)

The five pound note designed by Reynolds Stone in 1963

countryside, with its woods, glades, churchyards and ruins. His daughter Emma said: ‘The [Dorset] landscape seemed to suit his vision – the soft rounded hills and secret valleys, the lush greens, and perhaps above all the trees which feature so prominently in his engravings’. Reynolds was partly inspired by Samuel Palmer, and was certainly no modernist. Among his best regarded work was his set of engravings, The Old Rectory, published in 1976. He illustrated many books, such as Herman Melville’s Omoo.

Sylvia Townsend Warner, another famous Dorset resident, wrote poems to complement a collection of his wood engravings called Boxwood. In his later years he illustrated A Year of Birds, a book of poetry by his friend Irish Murdoch. He also designed typefaces, including Minerva and one named after his wife, Janet. His skills were much in demand. Penguin’s head of typography Hans Schmoller said: ‘he might almost be described as the Engraver Royal’. His prodigious output included writing – he wrote regularly for the Times Literary Supplement and The Listener – and he was also an accomplished watercolourist.

An eclectic society

The Stones’ home attracted many distinguished literary and artistic figures. Kenneth Clark, John and Myfanwy Piper and John Bayley were special friends, and Benjamin Britten, Freya Stark and John Betjeman were regular visitors. A photograph taken at

Little Cheney of the Admiral of the Fleet Charles Lambe playing a duet with painter John Nash reflects the eclectic company the Stones kept.

His Dorset garden was a particular inspiration. His son Humphrey said in his 2019 memoir, Reynolds Stone, (Dovecote Press) that the ‘magical garden became his whole world. Here he could find the necessary solitude to pursue perfection in all he did.’

Reynolds had a protective passion for woods and wild things – never picking a wild flower and avoiding daisies when he mowed the lawn.

In her memorial address, Iris Murdoch said: ‘Good art shows us reality, which we too rarely see because it is veiled by our selfish cares, anxiety, vanity, pretension. Reynolds as artist, and as man, was a totally unpretentious being. His work, seemingly simple, gives us that shock of beauty which shows how close, how in a sense ordinary, are the marvels of the world”.

Reynolds Stone, who died in 1979, was awarded the CBE in 1953. His work survives in the timeless appeal of his designs.

Rupert Hardy North Dorset CPRE

Reynolds Stone in his garden at Little Cheney

The Times masthead Reynolds designed in the 60s

Growing up with a depressed parent – a complicated journey

An anonymous Dorset Mind writer describes how navigating life with a depressed parent has shaped her – and how she’s working to heal herself

TRIGGER WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS THEMES THAT COULD BE DISTRESSING, INCLUDING THOUGHTS OF SUICIDE. PLEASE SEEK SUPPORT VIA SIGNPOSTING AT THE END.

I don’t claim to have a ‘bad dad’, nor even a bad relationship with him. It’s just ... complicated ... And always has been. My dad suffers with a longterm health condition and also depression. He has done for the best part of my life, and I grew up accustomed to having a depressed parent, though not understanding the effect that had on my own personality.

I witnessed a lot of short fuses. I can still feel the fear that cemented me to the spot after I’d done something wrong. My dad never screamed at us – it was what he wouldn’t say that gripped me.

From a young age I tried to accommodate this uneasy presence in the house. I learned to tiptoe around, to stay far from trouble, keeping myself quiet and unnoticeable – a habit which has followed me into my adult life. I also had terrible anxiety as a teenager which will likely always haunt me.

Disquieting memories

I hold no resentment for the way I’ve turned out, but as an adult I’ve started to shake off some of the lasting effects of my dad’s temper. I realised I cared far too much about pleasing other people, and that I was struggling to stand up for myself.

When I look back on certain memories, I immediately have a sense of complete discomfort –which is how I’d describe a lot of my childhood.

Obviously, it wasn’t all bad memories, but that’s the problem with having a depressed parent: it affects everything. I’ve struggled with depression myself and I know it is extremely hard to see things clearly when you’re that low – my deeply depressed dad is excellent at pretending he isn’t. Now, with the benefit of maturity and distance, I can see as clear

as day which parts of me are a direct result of my dad’s mood swings. A lot of my teenage anxiety was caused by the lack of stability – as an already very nervous 12-year-old, I overheard him quietly threaten suicide to my mum.

At least he’s not ...

It’s become so important for me to recognise that compared with a lot of my peers, I did have a difficult upbringing. Everyone has different relationships with their parents, but I can’t help feeling sad when

I see my friends casually video call and chat with their dads – as though they are friends. But I am so grateful to my mum who has been the most incredible presence and wonderful force in my life. Somehow, there’s always the “at least he’s not ...” conversation. And I agree – it could have been so much worse. However, I owe it to both my child and adult self (who remains an adamant people pleaser) to see my family life for what it was. I never wanted to be a product of my dad’s mental illness and the first step to moving away from this learned behaviour was simply recognising it – when it happens, what sets it off and how it makes me feel.

Recognising my own reaction to my dad’s actions helped me to determine what I should do with the emotions I was absorbing from him. I found I took in a lot of his anger, often then passing it on to someone else. I have also learned how to stop being so complacent and agreeable in order to avoid confrontation, which was a huge part of growing up for me.

I was once told by a teacher in Year 7 that I “seemed to fade into the background.” I think about that comment every time I feel out of place in a conversation, or when I feel myself slipping back into the timid girl I was growing up. It’s sometimes exhausting, attempting to reverse an entire

part of my life. But for the most part, I’ve finally grown into my authentic self. I just wish I could go back in time and give myself a hug.

Support for you:

• Visit Dorset Mind for local mental health support and to discover ways to keep mentally healthy

• Young Minds have support for young people and parents.

• Call Samaritans for free 24/7 emotional support on 116 123

• Dorset’s mental health Connection is a 24/7 helpline open to all ages. Dorset residents or people visiting Dorset can call 0800 652 0190 or NHS 111

• Please call 999 if someone is in immediate danger.

‘... as an already very nervous 12-year-old I overheard him quietly threaten suicide to my mum.’

by Karen

The unseen culprit: silent reflux

It may be because my clients tend to be more senior, but I have recently had a flurry of cases of silent reflux in my clinic. Silent reflux has a number of annoying – and seemingly unrelated – symptoms, so I thought I should write more about it. I suspect it is more common than we think.

Silent reflux is the backward flow of stomach acid into the throat and larynx. Unlike typical acid reflux, silent reflux lacks the usual painful symptoms of heartburn or regurgitation. There are many factors that can contribute to it, and these factors may also interact with one another, – including obesity, diet, pregnancy, sleeping position, chronic stress, medications or an underlying medical condition. However, one often-overlooked factor is low stomach acid – I’ll return to this one.

In healthy individuals, there are four barriers between the gut and the throat and larynx, which together prevent reflux (gastric acid) from escaping upwards. Silent reflux occurs when one of those barriers weakens, meaning that stomach acid may escape the stomach and travel into the upper throat.

Persistent coughing, especially worse at night when lying down or after meals, is a common indication of silent reflux. Some may develop difficulty swallowing or experience a recurrent sore throat, hoarseness or chronic throat clearing. Unexplained asthma-like symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath or post-nasal drip may also be linked to silent reflux. You must consult a GP if you have a persistent cough, asthma, or shortness of breath to rule out

potentially more serious health issues. Occasionally silent reflux is missed due to the vagueness of symptoms. It is typically only when a client consults someone like me, often for something apparently unrelated, that the dots get joined.

What causes low acid?

So where does low stomach acid come in? It – and its related symptoms – is just one possible connection to silent reflux when we consider the digestive process and gut-related symptoms. When we have sufficient levels of stomach acid, it activates digestive enzymes, allowing the breakdown of food. However, in cases of low stomach acid, fewer enzymes are produced, impairing food breakdown. Several factors may contribute to low stomach acid. Ageing is a common cause – stomach acid levels tend to decrease with age. Chronic stress and a fast-paced lifestyle can also hinder acid production, as does a poor diet. Another factor is the use of certain medications like proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and antacids, which suppress

stomach acid production over time. Infections, such as Helicobacter pylori, can also disrupt acid levels. Over time, low stomach acid may fail to activate the proper closure of the lower oesophageal sphincter (LES), one of those four protective barriers, making it easier for stomach acid to reflux upward and leading to symptoms of irritation.

What can be done?

A personalised nutritional approach, together with carefully selected supplements, may support silent reflux, alongside a long-term approach to keeping the gut in optimum condition. Some self-help support includes:

• Reducing or eliminating caffeine and/or alcohol

• Eliminating carbonated drinks

• Losing weight

• Not eating large meals before bedtime

• Stopping smoking

• Reducing the amount of very fatty meals

Always consult a professional before taking any supplements.

References: https://www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/books/NBK519548/

Silent reflux is often missed, and could be more common than we think. But lifestyle changes may help, says expert Karen Geary

Friday Lunchtime Recitals

1.45pm Cheap Street Church (unless otherwise stated)

15th September Meet the Music Staff

22nd September Instrumental and Vocal Soloists I

29th September Woodwind I

6th October Strings

13th October Instrumental and Vocal Soloists II

3rd November Pianists

10th November Brass

17th November Instrumental and Vocal Soloists III

24th November Woodwind II

1st December ‘Mince Pies’ Chamber Music (Tindall Recital Hall)

CLAYESMORE SCHOOL DT11 8LL

HAVE YOUR HEAD TURNED

KIDS TAKE THE DRIVING SEAT

LIVE MUSIC

GREAT FOOD

Get your feet ready for stomping!

Fancy a night of festival style footstomping, dancing and singing? It’s going to be quite an evening when Old Time Sailors visit The Exchange in Sturminster Newton for the first time on Friday 8th September! You will be sailing back to the 19th century for an immersive experience –seafaring music performed in a way you have never seen before. The motley crew and their plethora of traditional and eclectic instruments will take you back to the time of clashing tankards and drunken debauchery – and you’ll wonder why we ever left!

The Old Time Sailors have recently taken Glastonbury and Bestival by storm, as well as headlining at festivals throughout the south west. Kicking off the Sturminster

Newton Cheese Festival weekend, guest real ales will be on sale, as well as the full bar, and as dancing is very much encouraged, only the raked seating will be out! There’ll be plenty of space to sing and dance like a drunken sailor as the band perform centuries-old folk and shanty songs.

Fancy dress is encouraged –pull out your best seafaring garments, me hearties, and come join the festivities!

• Tickets from Box Office: 01258 475137 or stur-exchange.co.uk. Usual price £18: SPECIAL OFFER PRICE £14 –just quote ‘BV Magazine’.

Here we go again – Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show is back!

The rural day out is a celebration of community, countryside and tradition – and it’s a feast for the eyes, ears, and taste buds!

While the livestock, pristine rows of tractors and huge farm machinery signal it is very much still an agricultural show, there’s something about the Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show that is a lot more – even for those who have never set a wellied foot in a farmyard.

It’s the sense of community and the passion for the countryside that make it an unmissable event in North Dorset’s August calendar.

An eclectic mix that works

The G&S Show spans the generations, from a weatherbeaten man giving a terse nod to a neighbour to an excited child leading a calf into the Main Ring for the first time.

Small children in long white coats carefully lead sheep around a ring, seemingly not bothered by the crowds. Others trot ponies through their paces or help parents feed and brush livestock. Over in the marquees, perfectlyshaped vegetables compete alongside glorious dahlias in a riot of colours as inspirational flower arrangements filled the

horticultural tent. Fresh eggs are presented on plates, once again sadly unaccompanied by their feathered producers, thanks to Avian Flu. Wander into the Wool Village to see sheep being shorn while you learn about the value of British wool.

Steam to ferrets

The adrenaline will be pumping this year with the headlining SquibbFreestyle Motocross Arena Stunt Show in the Gritchie Brewing Co Main Ring. And over in the Turnpike Ring, laughter always signals when the ferret racing starts – the furry creatures race down drainpipes, and it’s tails out first, not the nose, that wins!

The speed of the Shetland Pony Performance Display team is something to see as they hurtle around the Main Ring – hugely entertaining, it’s worth finding a seat to stop and watch them. And the Terrier Racing is unmissable – regulars aren’t there for the dogs so much as for Harold Galpin’s commentary. Over in the steam section there

always seems to be someone working on the engines, polishing and making sure the paintwork was gleaming. And what a joy it is to see them rumbling into the Main Ring for a circuit or two.

A Grand Parade

The relaxed atmosphere of the day is at times juxtaposed with the strictest formality. Bowler hats in the judging ring, elegantly dressed ladies driving carriages, and pristine white-coated families leading livestock. Some things at the G&S Show have never changed.

Last year the Grand Parade made an important and oh-so-welcome return after a 15 year absence, and it’s back to stay – we strongly suggest you don’t miss it, 3pm both days.

And eyes to the sky on Wednesday morning when the Lightning Bolts Army Parachute Display team will land in the

All the Food

It’s at places like the G&S Show that you realise just how much food and drink is produced in the towns and villages of Dorset. From local beers to the gin distillers’ botanicals there’s a drink for everyone. And you certainly won’t go home hungry – expect hog roasts and ice cream stalls, endless choices at the fudge stand, local sausages and world foods. Make a picnic from tasty salami, a mountain of regional cheeses and there’ll be plenty of local bread and cakes. The great thing about the G&S Show is that you never know who you might meet as you make your way round. You may bump into old friends and colleagues, and for generations of local farming families it’s a regular annual get together. And if you’ve never been before, be aware you’ll soon be marking the third Wednesday in August

Quick show tips:

• Advance ticket prices end on 15th August:

Family (2 Adults & 2 Children): £38

(Gate price £43)

Adult: £17

(Gate price £19)

Child (aged 5 to 15): £3

Under 5’s go FREE! BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE

• Gates open at 8.30am on both show days. They close at 8pm on Wednesday 16th, and at 6pm on Thursday 17th August.

• Be sure to download your ticket in advance – data signal on show days is always very limited!

• The free shuttle bus runs between both Gillingham and Shaftesbury and Turnpike Showground. Stops will be Lodbourne Roundabout and High Street (by the old Co op) in Gillingham and on Bell Street, Shaftesbury.

• Polite dogs are of course welcome – they must be on a short lead, and NO dogs are permitted within the livestock areas, or in any marquees.

• Bring a picnic! There are three designated areas for picnicking – we just ask that you don’t sit too close to marquees, so as to not block any emergency exits.

• Save on plastic – bring your water bottle to the Show! Drinking water points sponsored by Battens Solicitors will be available around the Showground, and will be marked on the map.

MAIN RING

TURNPIKE RING

EQUINE RING A

HORSE VILLAGE

EQUINE RING B

TURNPIKE RING

EQUINE RING A

EQUINE RING B

It’s gouda brie a good day

In 1999 Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival launched with only three cheesemakers. Now, there are more than 20, and so much more too

If you visited the first Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival in 1999 you would have found a couple of large Scout tents on the Recreation Ground. These were home to the food traders at the time – just three cheesemakers there. The cheese was mainly down at the Creamery, operated by Dairy Crest, situated in Station Road. But times move on – the Creamery might have closed but the Cheese Festival has continued to grow. Now there are two very large marquees housing over 20 cheese makers alongside a host of other local food and drinks traders, plus outside food catering. Whether your preference is for a sharp cheddar or a pungent blue there will be a cheese to tempt you.

Once you’re all cheesed out, how about an olive, Cornish pasty, slice of cake, piece of chocolate or a biscuit (or two)? You’ll find all those and more, plus Dorset gin and vodka, in the food marquees which hum with activity from the moment the gates open.

In the next marquee there are the crafters – offering everything from candles and leatherwork

to art and jewellery. Stop a while and watch the Dorset Lacemakers or the Dorset Coppice Group demonstrate their ancient skills. And the local groups and charities woud love it if you stopped to chat, lend them an ear and let them tell you about what they do.

For the young – and young at heart – there is Punch & Judy and the ever-popular Strawberry Jam. All kids shows are free for all to enjoy.

Add in the Real Ale & Cider Tent and some live music (including Nautical Graffiti, The Songsmiths and Ribble) and you have all the ingredients for a great day out –all that is needed is you!

Find the Cheese Festival! 9th and 10th September 10am to 5pm Recreation Ground, Sturminster Newton

Discounted Early Bird tickets are available until midnight 8th September.

For the first time there is a weekend ticket – these must be purchased in advance from the website and will not be available on the gate. Tickets and more information at cheesefestival.co.uk. Follow SturCheeseFestival on Fb SturminsterCheeseFest on IG for more news.

A Night of Romance and Scandal with Author Sophie Irwin

Sherborne’s Sunday Times bestselling author Sophie Irwin invites you to an evening of love, literature, and questionable conduct as she presents her latest novel, A Lady’s Guide to Scandal, at a launch event on Monday 4th September at Castle Gardens. The evening will feature an exclusive interview, conducted by fellow romance author Lulu Taylor, as Sophie shares the scandal surrounding her fictional character, Eliza the Countess of Somerset. Caught between two men, Eliza’s story is a passionate exploration of love and intrigue in a world filled with opulence and decadence.

The daughter of The Gardens Group’s owners, Mike and Louise Burks, Sophie’s passion for period research shines through the pages of this sequel to A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting; it’s another delightful, escapist Regency romance.

The event promises more than just a glimpse into the

world of Sophie’s characters; it’s an invitation to experience the allure of historical romance, accompanied by free refreshments provided by The Walled Garden Restaurant. Following the interview, attendees will have the

opportunity to have their books signed by Sophie.

Tickets are priced at only £2 and are available for purchase at Winstone’s Books on Cheap Street and at Castle Gardens in Sherborne.

Doors will open at 6:30pm

new home for Blandford Art Society’s Annual Open Exhibition

A

Formed in 1972, Blandford Art Society is delighted to announce its annual Open Exhibition, a must-visit event for local art enthusiasts. It will be held 14th to 19th August, from 10am to 5pm daily, giving visitors ample opportunity to explore and immerse themselves in the artistic offerings.

The venue for this year’s exhibition has changed to The Blandford School (DT11 7SQ). This fantastic new space not only allows for a broader display of artwork but also offers the added advantage of free parking.

The collection has been carefully curated to include pieces not only from the Society’s members but also from talented artists

around the county. The diverse styles, techniques, and themes promise to provide something for everyome to enjoy.

In a collaboration with The Blandford School, the Society will also showcase work from young, emerging artists from the school itself, with the aim of nurturing future talent. Each year, a bursary is awarded to the most promising pupil, giving them a tremendous opportunity to hang and sell their work, and reflecting the Society’s commitment to fostering the next generation of artists. Come and browse at your leisure – if a particular piece catches your eye, you may wish to purchase it and take a piece of the exhibition home with you.

Work by Society member Rachel Baynes

Refreshments will be available, allowing you to pause and reflect on the art while enjoying a delightful treat. Members of the Society will also be on hand to provide insights and background on the displayed works.

W H A T ' S O N @ T H E E X C H A N G E

CLOUDBUSTING - MUSIC OF KATE BUSH

OLD TIME SAILORS

FRI 8TH SEPT

An immersive evening of traditional seafaring music. Sing and dance along like a drunken sailor as the Old Time Sailors perform centuries old folk and shanty songs. (Standing with unreserved seating) (£18)

ABER VALLEY MALE VOICE CHOIR

SAT 12TH AUGUST 3PM

SAT 2ND SEPTEMBER SAT 23RD SEPT

The two-hour stage production with all the hits you would expect to hear – Wuthering Heights, Hounds Of Love, Running Up That Hill, Babooshka – all with breath-taking vocals, stunning backprojection, visuals and superb musicianship (£22)

The choir's repertoire ranges from West End and Broadway musicals, moving spiritual numbers and Welsh hymns, to popular songs, and timeless memories This is their landmark 40th concert in Dorset! (£15/£14)

MAD DOG MCREA

SAT 30TH SEPTEMBER

Blending a unique mixture of folk rock, pop, gypsy jazz, bluegrass and ‘shake your ass’ music. From self-penned songs of adventure, drinking, love and life, to traditional songs of gypsies, fairies, legless pirates and black flies – Mad Dog never fail to capture their audience with their infectious songs.. (£21)

Inside Out with premieres and giant puppets

Dorset’s outdoor arts festival is back with events stretching from Wimborne to Weymouth, from woodland soundscapes to street circus

Street performers, circus acts and artists from across the region and around the world will be coming to Dorset in September for Inside Out, the biennial outdoor arts festival, Activate Performing Arts in conjunction with the Inside Out team have created an exciting programme of performances, workshops, installations and parades in rural and urban venues including the Moors Valley woods in East Dorset and Woodbury near Bere Regis. The festival has run in alternate years since 2007; more than 28,000 people attended events in 2021. This year’s festival, which runs from 15th to 24th September, will include two world premieres and five UK premieres. Inside Out aims to remove the traditional barriers to the arts, while encouraging people to discover and appreciate some of the unique places across the county. Most events are free. The Dorset-based arts organisation works with Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the National Association for AONBs, along with European partners with complementary interests in the relationship between the landscape, artists, land stewards and the climate emergency.

Music in the canopy

Events at Moors Valley Country Park will see spectacular art, music and sound installations located across the 800-acre site. Two of the pieces have been created by the Frome-based composer and sound artist,

and founder of Artmusic, Helen Ottaway. Lachrymae and Saeflod will be located in the woodland canopy, creating an immersive experience. In 2014 Helen’s Lachrymae was commissioned by Inside Out Dorset and Dorset AONB to be presented on the South Dorset Ridgeway. Such was the success of the piece, she has been asked to present it again this year. Her inspirations include landscape, water and nature, and her style is predominantly minimalist with influences from folksong, English pastoral and church music traditions.

Working Boys Club

At Poole and Wimborne, Inside Out events will include Serving Sounds from The Working Boys Club, as well as international circus acts and multi-sensory sound installations.

The Working Boys Club is identical twins Jason and Adam Dupree, who make and create work by mixing the arts with their past lives as tradesmen.

Wild Woodbury at Bere Regis will have a wide-ranging programme,

including workshops, talks and local food vendors.

As well as an Iron Age hillfort, Woodbury was also a medieval religious site and the setting for the Woodbury Hill Fair. It is undergoing a process of rewilding and will provide a unique location for Inside Out Dorset to work alongside Dorset Wildlife Trust and Dorset AONB.

Giant dolls

The Inside Out finale weekend will see a spectacular parade of light and music weave through Weymouth led by Transe Express’ Poupées Géantes. Readers with long memories may recall Transe Express dazzling the crowds in Salisbury Market Square with an aerial drumming and acrobatic performance. For Inside Out, these French street performers will bring three giant dolls who will glide magically through the crowd, with the voices of three opera singers transforming the Weymouth streets into an outdoor opera house.

• insideoutdorset.co.uk

Idyllic Hatch House to Host Annual Open Garden

Hatch House, situated in the heart of the Wiltshire countryside just outside Shaftesbury, will once again hold its annual Open Garden next month, by the kind permission of Sir Henry and Lady Rumbold. This wonderful event for the entire family provides a rare opportunity to explore the 17th Century walled Dutch garden, offering breathtaking views over the Vale of Wardour.

This year, the event will be on Saturday 2nd September, and the garden will open slightly earlier, from 11am until 5pm. Compton McRae will be returning with their barbecue, following last year’s great success.

Visitors can enjoy traditional cream teas, ice cream, cake stalls, second hand books, plants, shoes, bags and hats – and the star of the event is always Lady Rumbold and Mrs Vernon’s renowned clothes stall, packed with extraordinary finds, and a true magnet for bargain hunters. This year the separate tents for ladies and gentlemen returns too.

As always, proceeds from the event will go to the Salisbury Hospice Charity – last year the event raised an incredible £20,000.

Lady Rumbold has stressed the importance of community involvement, stating:

‘We badly need the support of local volunteers for

Salisbury Hospice Charity, which caters for young and old alike. Younger blood is needed to continue the important work of supporting patients with terminal illnesses and their families – community service used to be part of school education!

‘The fund-raising events are enormous fun as well as charitable, and we implore the community to please assist us in recruiting dynamic folks from local schools, youth clubs, sports facilities, the churches and elsewhere to give some time helping the cause of Salisbury Hospice Care, which does crucial humanitarian work in support of the NHS.’

•Saturday 2nd September | 11am to 5pm

Adults £5, Children £1 | hatch-house.co.uk

Take a Hike: Beautiful North Dorset circular walk from Okeford Fitzpaine| 7.5 miles

If you’re looking to find the heart of North Dorset, the untouched heartland that feels unchanged for centuries, then this might be the walk you’re looking for. Following paths tucked into the rolling countryside, sitting below the more glamorous ridge walks, you’ll avoid any big climbs, and yet manage to enjoy almost constant stunning views. We took our own gentle strolling time with this walk, and it felt like a mini holiday. We didn’t see another person (other than a couple enjoying their own back garden as we passed with a wave), and felt like we were deep in real Dorset. The route follows old green lanes and winds through the thick centuries-old hedges that are bounding the numerous, small and oddly-shaped fields. A few narrow paths (and lot of stiles) were overgrown – we walked in early July, and a sturdy stick was soon collected to beat back the nettles and brambles at regular intervals. Stiles were also rarely sturdy and well-kept, but they did all exist and were entirely usable. The ones crossing streams were the most solid, thankfully! A couple of times we couldn’t actually see the exit to a field until we were right on top of it – trust the map, the stiles and bridges are there, they’re just buried in the hedgerows! Parking is easy in Okeford Fitzpaine – street parking is fine, please don’t use the village hall car park – and there’s a lovely village shop as well as a pub for a post-walk ice cream or a pint!

CLICK HERE for more images and an interactive map (plus a downloadable gpx file)

We have always created and recently walked the routes we feature (See all previouslypublished routes here), so you know you can trust them. You can see all our routes (including many which are unpublished in The BV) on Outdoor Active, and all include a downloadable gpx file.

All images © Laura Hitchcock

In the summer, be prepared – this overgrown nest of bramble is a bridleway!

Ibberton church squats quietly under the ridge of Bulbarrow

Meadows of hip-high grasses are a joy in the height of summer

The scavenging Milvus milvus

The red kite has become an emblem of conservation success in the United Kingdom. Once on the brink of extinction, these beautiful raptors and their impressive aerial displays have captivated the hearts of both conservationists and the public. The red kite (Milvus milvus) is a medium-sized bird of prey known for its striking reddishbrown plumage, distinctive forked tail ... and its impressive aerial acrobatics. In fact, it is that forked tail, combined with a wingspan of up to 195cm or more than six feet, which enables them to manoeuvre gracefully through the air, appearing to glide with exceptional agility. Red kites are found in a variety of habitats – farmland, woodland, grassland and even urban areas. Although considered opportunistic hunters, occasionally hunting small mammals such as rabbits, red kites are primarily scavengers, feeding on carrion. During April, females will lay a clutch of one to three eggs in a

nest built by both parents. The nest appears untidy – sometimes built on top of old crows’ nests, and lined with sheep’s wool and random scraps of paper, plastic and cloth.

Shakespeare referred to red kite nests in ‘The Winter’s Tale’: ‘When the kite builds, look to lesser linen.’

Red kites frequented the streets of Elizabethan London, feeding on scraps and stealing washing

Though now considered a rural bird, red kites frequented the streets of Elizabethan London, feeding on scraps and stealing hung out washing for their nests.

During the incubation period and in the first few weeks after hatching, the male provides food for the nest. Chicks usually fledge after 50 to 60 days, and the parents typically care for them for another two to three weeks once they have left the nest. Previously widespread throughout the UK, their

population declined dramatically in the early 20th century due to both habitat loss and persecution from landowners. Thanks to successful conservation efforts and re-introduction programs, red kite numbers have made a remarkable recovery – there are now an estimated 4,400 breeding pairs throughout the UK. However, this now-protected species still faces many challenges.

Still a problem

Relying heavily on scavenging, red kites are particularly vulnerable to illegal poisoning – as reported previously in the BV. Birds also often fall victim to poison baits intended for foxes or crows, as well as rodenticide poisoning due to feeding on the dead rats they scavenge. Simple actions by landowners, such as refraining from using harmful pesticides, disposing of waste responsibly and avoiding disturbance near nesting sites, are all essential for the survival of this species in the UK.

A good place to spot soaring red kites in North Dorset is on the hills of Fontmell Down nature reserve (also worth a visit just for the stunning views over the Blackmore Vale). Listen for the red kites‘ mewing calls and marvel at the aerobatic theatrics of this marvellous bird..

To find out more about the wonderful wildlife found on our nature reserves in Dorset, visit dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk.

The red kite is a popular conservation success story, says Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Jack Clarke, but the birds are still at risk from poisoning

Red kite images © Amy Lewis

A weasel is weasily identifiable, whereas a stoat is stoatally different

The stoat has a mesmerising effect on those who spot it and Dorset may be a perfect habitat. But they remain a mystery, says wildlife writer Jane Adams

I saw a stoat the other day. The heavens had just opened, and it appeared on the road just as I was sheltering under some trees at the side of a small wood. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Its sinewy body and short little legs seemed to flow up the road like a furry brown wave breaking again and again over the tarmac. Then it was gone.

Vital exuberance

Stoats are part of the mustelid family, a group of meat-eating mammals that include the weasel, polecat, pine marten, otter and badger. Weasels look very similar to stoats, but at roughly 20 rather than 30 centimetres long, weasels are much smaller, and their shorter tail also lacks the stoat’s distinctive black tip. It would be interesting to know how many stoats live in Dorset; with its rich mosaic of woodlands, heaths and farmland, it seems the perfect place for them to thrive. It’s also home to their favourite prey of voles, shrews and rabbits –despite the latter often being twice their size! Yet, the precise number – just like the mammal itself – remains a mystery.

Culturally, the snow-white

winter pelts of stoats with black-tipped tails, known as ermine, were not only favoured embellishments for royal ceremonial garments but also carried significant symbolism in ancient heraldry.

Stoat facts

• Stoats hunt along hedgerows, walls and ditches, avoiding wide open spaces.

• Females can delay embryo implantation (called embryonic diapause) for nine to ten months in order to give birth to up to 12 young (kits) during the most favourable environmental conditions.

• In August, kits born in the spring are starting to become more independent and hunt for themselves, so may be seen more often.

• Male stoats are called dogs, hobs or jacks. Females are known as jills. Their collective name is a gang or pack.

• As well as voles, shrews and rabbits, they will also eat amphibians, reptiles, birds, eggs, fruit and earthworms.

• They use the nests of their prey as dens, and are known to line them with rodent fur during cold weather.

Our local stoats stay brownfurred and white-bellied year round, as Dorset lacks the cold winter climate needed to trigger a colour change. Nevertheless, the UK permits gamekeepers and poultry farmers to trap and kill them under licence, and in some countries stoats are still farmed for their valuable fur. A few years ago, a friend phoned me, bubbling over with excitement about a family of stoats that had taken up residence in his garden log pile. They played, he told me, with such utter exuberance and vitality – bouncing, twisting and slithering between the logs. He swore it was the most joyful thing he had ever witnessed. So, please raise a glass to the remarkable stoat. Long may it remain a wild enigma ... and stoatally different.

‘the

stoat is bigger than the weasel, and can also be identified by the black tip to its tail’

A month of ups – and a bumpy down

Toots and Cor y Taran competing in July

All images: Luke Perrett Photography

Stepping up the levels has been an exciting move – though there was an unexpected dunking for Toots Bartlett at Freestyle R’s 4* debut

There has been a lot of training going on for team TB, with coaches Lisa White (for flatwork) and Robin Dumas (showjumping) helping both me and the horses step up levels.

Freestyle R had his first CCI4* at Aston Le Walls at the beginning of July. He did a fabulous dressage of 29 – inside the top ten in a section of more than 100 top athletes! He was jumping very

well, till his 4* debut ended with a sudden dunking in the water after misreading the fence in. Fortunately we were both fine –Freestyle cut free and I only suffered from cuts and bruises. Sadly, my fall meant I was unable to compete at Upton House –where Cor Y Taran was meant to be stepping up to his first Intermediate competition. I was able to re-route him to the next Aston Le Walls last weekend, however. The weather tried incredibly hard to spoil the day – it didn’t stop raining once! But Cor Y Taran moved into Intermediate in style. We got a top five dressage, followed by two fabulous jumping rounds, even in the bad conditions! Planned time penalties meant he missed out on a top ten placing, but I am incredibly excited by this lovely seven-year-old!

Positive thinking

Toots and Freestyle R

I am incredibly lucky that when things go wrong I am able to stay positive as a jockey. I

have confidence in my training program and in my horses, and know that any issues will be ironed out quickly. I feel that as long as I learn from the days that just don’t go to plan, then I won’t make that mistake again – and therefore it doesn’t seem to knock my confidence. Of course I know the risks that come when riding horses ... although it’s probably no worse then getting in a car. But a lot more exciting!

Finally team TB is looking forward to welcoming some new faces to the yard – one of my lovely Ragdoll x Maine Coon cats is pregnant; keep your eyes peeled, we’ll soon have kittens!

Let me know

I am currently available for teaching and freelance riding –are you in need of any help? In any discipline, no matter your ability or age. Or do you simply need some help with someone riding your horses? Please don’t hesitate to contact me on

tb@tootsbartletteventing.com

A Cry for fairness

Is farming at a crossroads? Andrew Livingston looks at the unfair struggle between agriculture and supermarkets

When I first started my column with the BV I presumed it was going to be me regaling funny stories from a life lived in agriculture. More and more I seem to be dusting off my milk crate instead, hopping up on it to shout about the many injustices that farmers face today. Strap in. I’m about to go off on one … again. News broke recently that The Dorset Dairy Co in Stalbridge was to sell its herd of milking cows. A dairy business without its cows – purely because the cost of producing the milk now outweighs the price they are paid for it.

Sadly, it’s not a rare story – it is symbolic of modern farming. Many egg producers have empty sheds, no longer housing birds ... thanks to the same fear of losing money each time.

Last year saw a spike in the milk price as the cost of all commodities rose after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But the price farmers have been paid for milk has rapidly dropped again, while costs obviously have not.

Of course, dairy farmers not being paid enough isn’t a new phenomenon. It seems every few years this row breaks out, farmers mobilise their tractors and block supermarket distribution centres. And no, the supermarkets can’t be blamed for the cost of electricity. And no, it isn’t the supermarkets’ fault that the cost of animal feed went through the roof. The issue I have with supermarkets is that when things get tight for producers and consumers, the supermarkets are always the winners.

Profits or profiteering?

As the pandemic struck, the big three supermarkets – who had all been struggling in previous years thanks to the rapid growth of Aldi and Lidl – all recorded massive profits. Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda in 2021/2022 made a profit of £3.2 billion –double the £1.6 billion they made in 2019. This year, amid a cost-of-living crisis, with food inflation at 19.1 per cent, Sainsbury’s has announced a further three per cent increase in profits. Tesco has announced a very slight dip of two per cent.

The most sickening news, however, is that Tesco and Sainsbury’s together are paying out a whopping £1.2 billion to their shareholders this year. Yet British farmers are expected to feed the country at a loss?

Call me crazy, but Marxism is starting to sound a bit more appealing!

Something has to change. The government must begin to control the strength and power the supermarkets have over the food chain.

A temporary solution

In a statement, The Dorset Dairy Co announced that they are instead going to concentrate on their cultured dairy products (Dorset strained yoghurt, kefir and cultured butter). This diversification to create more artisan foods with their produce is the obvious answer for most small family-run farms. However, it’s not a golden bullet – it has its own issues. Firstly, it takes an investment of cash to purchase the required equipment for diversification – cash that a small family-run farm may well not have.

Secondly, there can only be so many small Dorset cheese producers before it’s no longer niche and artisan. The gap in the market closes, competition rises ... and farms begin to sell their produce cheaper and cheaper.

I look forward to seeing The Dorset Dairy Co’s yoghurt and butter on the shelves – just please not on a supermarket’s.

It’s a dodgy sort of harvest

Eventually harvest started in the middle of July – and dodging the showers has been the name of the game! The weather has been the polar opposite to last year, when 19th July was the hottest day of the year in that astonishing heatwave. This year is totally different, with decisions having to be made about when to cut and how much are we prepared to dry. Fuel prices have dropped a little from the highs of last year but it is still expensive to dry grain and oilseeds. The yields of our malting barley have been variable, mainly dependent on soil type, but overall it’s been a satisfactory result. As I write, are about to start harvesting our oilseeds – which from a distance look fairly average so we will have to wait and see what ends up in the barn. Currently prices are volatile, seemingly dependent on what food exports Russia is allowing from Ukraine.

Take 5

Before harvest we hosted a Health and Safety meeting at Rawston, organised by the NFU. It was well attended by local farmers and their farm staff, and was a very informative

day. The NFU’s Farm Safety Week, from 17th to 21st July this year, highlighted health and safety issues on farms – 23 people were killed on farms in 12 months between 2021 and 2022. Agriculture has a poor record on the number of deaths on farms and the theme of the safety week was ’Take 5 to Stay Alive,’ encouraging farm workers to pause, to take the time to address the task in hand and to work out the safe procedures. Statistics show the main causes of death were falls from heights, machinery accidents, falling objects and livestock incidents. In the course of a day’s work on a farm we have to complete a wide range of tasks, each

weather

with their own individual risks. It is important to take time to consider the risks involved to prevent potential accidents, whether major or minor. We all went away from the course with food for thought – hopefully leading to a safe harvest.

It’s show time!

In Dorset we’re lucky to have three great show events each summer – the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show , the Melplash Show and finally the Dorset County Show in September. Hopefully the weather will look favourably on those days – and also on our harvesting. Some better weather would be very much appreciated!

Harvesting has finally started at Rawston Farm, but James Cossins admits it’s a stop/start affair this year, thanks to the

Harvesting in the 70s at Rawston Farm

Take 5 to Stay Alive ... This driver was unharmed, but 23 people were killed on farms in 12 months between 2021 and 2022

Urgent action needed to protect UK’s food supply

On 28th July, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee (EFRA) published its Food Security report. The report considers the current challenges facing UK food supply and the importance of food security. It especially considers the impact on households of high input prices – like energy and fertiliser – and consumer food prices. The government’s own UK Food Security Report was published in December 2021, but given recent global shocks such as the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the EFRA report argues that the 2021 report is already out of date.

NFU President Minette Batters gave evidence to the EFRA committee as part of the process back in November 2022. She took the opportunity to lay bare the current issues facing farmers, and expressed the need for action to protect the UK’s food security. She called for a joined-up approach across government and highlighted how unprecedented rising costs have had a huge impact in all sectors. As part of her evidence, Minette

detailed the results of the NFU’s 2022 farming intentions surveys, with responses demonstrating that farmer’s cropping plans showed contraction for 2023. She used specific examples of tomatoes and cucumbers, being at their lowest levels since records began in 1985.

The report response

In her response to the EFRA report’s publication, Minette said: ‘The NFU has been calling for Government to take our national food security seriously for several years. We echo the committee’s recommendation for strong leadership on the issue.

‘As part of this leadership, the need for all Government departments to have a co-ordinated approach towards food policy is vital. We welcome the recommendation of a Cabinet Office review into all aspects of food policy.

‘At such a tricky time for many UK households, the report addresses many of the inflationary pressures experienced by both families and farmers and growers. Everyone should have

access to affordable, good quality, sustainable food and British farmers and growers need the support of Government to have the confidence to continue producing. The report’s finding that only 54 per cent of the food eaten in the UK is being grown here is shocking – it is concerning that this figure could decrease further if British food and farming aren’t valued.

‘Food security matters. British farmers and growers are well placed to provide climatefriendly food for the nation, while protecting and enhancing our iconic countryside.

‘Last summer the Prime Minister committed to introducing a new self-sufficiency target and annual reporting. Clearly this needs to happen as a matter of urgency. With one of the best climates in the world for producing food, we should be aiming to produce more food here in the UK.

‘For this to continue to happen, we need to see the government act on the recommendations made by the committee to bolster Britain’s food security.’

New report highlights the urgent challenges in UK food supply, with global shocks and rising costs, says county advisor Gemma Harvey

Give Chardonnay a chance!

Chardonnay is often criticised, but modern winemakers are embracing new methods to highlight the grape’s natural qualities,

Often referred to as the ‘queen of white grapes,’ Chardonnay has been given a tough time over the past 20 years. Why? Mostly due to the misguided practices of some wine producers who prioritised quantity over quality. From oak and vanilla powder to over-extraction, it seemed to be a constant quest to over-oak and cut corners while doing so. But as with many things in life, you can’t let the bad behaviour of a few ruin it for the majority. Chardonnay is a versatile grape variety with a rich history and a vast potential for crafting exceptional wines across the globe. We’re here this month to sing from the rafters and pour (sorry) our hearts out in support of this luscious grape – a Chardonnay chorus, if you will.

Crimes of bad producers

Chardonnay was originally from the Burgundy region of France, where it has been cultivated for centuries. One of the best things about it is its ability to reflect its terroir (a combination of soil, climate, and geography). From the steely, mineral-

driven Chablis to the opulent, buttery styles of California, Chardonnay’s adaptability has won us over. Did you know that when you are drinking a Blanc de Blanc Champagne you have Chardonnay in your glass? Many winemakers now recognise the need to preserve Chardonnay’s purity and are taking steps to highlight its innate qualities rather than smother them in oak – and this is exactly where we recommend you start your new love affair with the grape – particularly if you have previously considered yourself to be an ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) wine drinker. We’re not saying you are wrong – there is no right or wrong in wine, you like what you like – but we’d love to help more folk give this wondrous grape a chance, and not put it on trial for the crimes of bad producers.

She’s a diva date

There are so many makers now employing minimal oak ageing, or even opting for stainless steel or concrete fermentation, letting the grape’s natural fruit flavours

says

expert Sadie Wilkins

and acidity shine through. They are creating wines of finesse and elegance – with true fruity appeal. Whether fermented and aged in oak barrels, concrete eggs or clay amphorae, it’s Chardonnay’s flexibility (we’ve always said wine drinking is an exercise!) that allows it to be crafted into a range of expressions.

To us, Chardonnay is more like the diva date of white wines –with her golden hues and rich, velvety texture, she’s the star of any gathering. Don’t be fooled by her high maintenance reputation – Chardonnay is a true crowdpleaser. She knows how to bring the party to life with her crisp acidity and refreshing finish, plus she’s versatile enough to pair with anything from grilled fish to creamy pasta dishes.

• Time to taste! Explore your palate and find new grapes to love at The Sherborne Wine & Spirit Fest – our big charity event where you can sample more than 200 products. Find out more HERE.

Little Waddon Vineyard

After four decades behind the cameras on some of the UK’s biggest TV drama and film productions – including Paddington, Dr Who, Call the Midwife, Poldark and Grand Designs – Simon Priestman and his wife Karen decided it was time for a change in lifestyle. ‘The kids left home and we were looking for a project,’ says Simon. ‘We loved growing things, so decided it had to be related to that. It was initially going to be a lavender farm, then we changed our minds and it became a vineyard. We looked at lots, including a vineyard in Italy,. Then one day, this place just happened to come up online. We said: “we’ll go down and have a look at it, but it’d be mad to get involved.” So we did … and look what happened!’

‘We walked around the corner as you go down into the vineyard and just … wow. The view opened up and we said: “Well, this is lovely!” – and that was it,’ says Karen. ’There’s so much potential in this place for other

things as well. So yes, that was it. We were hooked!’

Bold beginnings

As professional camera crew, how much experience or knowledge did the couple have in vineyards and vines? ‘None.’

In winemaking?

‘None!’

Simon is remarkably cheerful as he acknowledges this.

‘I applied to Plumpton College in June 2018 to see if I could do their week-long vineyard course. They were fully booked and didn’t have anything available –because of course you’re meant to book these things two years in

After 40 years in the TV industry, Simon and Karen Priestman bought a boutique vineyard – and promptly created an award-winning wine

All images: Courtenay Hitchcock

Karen and Simon Priestman, owners of Little Waddon Vineyard

advance. We were still working full time shooting at that point, and so by the time we made it through the inevitable delays, the lawyers had done their thing and all the paperwork was complete, we literally wrapped on a film in Liverpool and drove straight down.

‘We got here at some ghastly time in the morning, exhausted, to find the entire vineyard completely overgrown. The whole thing was just … oh my god, what have we done?’

‘We knew the vineyard was planted in 2004 with three varieties of grape – Phoenix, Seyval Blanc and Regent,’ says Karen. ‘They’re all cold climate grape varieties, so they’ll thrive in the UK, and they’re disease-resistant, so we were confident we had a good base. But it’s not your usual three varieties – English sparkling is traditionally made from the classics, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Combine that with our lack of knowledge and we could have met a bit of resistance in the industry before we even started!’

‘We parachuted into this,’ Simon continues. ‘It’s been a very steep learning curve, but a fantastic one. We don’t actually make the wine here – that’s a stage further, we’ve not taken that on yet. Daniel Ham is our winemaker – he was Langham’s head winemaker when we met

and has now left to set up on a bio-dynamic vineyard near Salisbury.’

Little Waddon was certified as Organic, but due to a recent hike in the cost of the certification process, it is no longer officially classed as organic bio-dynamic. However they stay true to those principles, and continue to produce their wine in a regenerative, environmentally-friendly manner

in the low intervention style. ‘We’re pesticide free,’ says Simon. ‘We don’t put any harmful chemicals on our land or on our vines. We don’t use commercial yeast for making the wine – it’s wild yeast ferments and no chemical or mechanical filtering, food colourants or added tannins and we don’t use sulphur at the start of the winemaking process or at bottling. We’re proud that it’s simply grape to glass.

‘In five years we’ve built a portfolio of seven wines. When we first spoke, Daniel asked what style of wine we would like, and Karen immediately said “definitely a sparkling wine!”. He asked if we realised that it’s a three-year process to make a Traditional Method sparkling wine (we didn’t) … So Karen said “Can’t you make us a Prosecco, or similar? That’s quite quick isn’t it? Just for the first couple of years while we wait for our

The vineyard is filled with beds of pollinator-friendly wild flowers

The Terrace at the vineyard is a delighful spot for the Tour & Tasting experiences. Image: Simon Priestman

English Sparkling wine?” He sort of gave us a look, and said “well, for a start Prosecco is DOC, so you can’t make it in this country. Also, you have to have pressurised tanks, which you know I don’t have!”

Cold Fondo

‘But then he said, “you know, there is this method that I know about – but I’ve never made before. It’s an ancestral method that goes back to the ninth century, called Col Fondo.”

‘I thought he said cold fondo, so I excitedly told Karen: “we can make cold fondo!” and went back to Dan with a “Yes, we’ll have the cold fondo, please!”

‘There was another sigh, and Dan said patiently ‘Noo-o-o, it’s from the Italian, Con il Fondo –it translates as with the lees, or with the bottom.” You make the base wine by letting that go through fermentation and then malo-lactic fermentation, then let it cold clear over winter.

In February of the following year you add 10 grams of organic sugar per litre and stir it up with the lees in the tank. Then you bottle it and simply beer cap it.

Around about May, as it starts to warm up, it re-ferments a

second time in the bottle. It’s two and a half bar pressure, as opposed to the five bar pressure of a Traditional Sparkling wine method. It does contain the lees, hence ‘with the bottom’ but it makes an extraordinary semisparkling wine.

‘The 2018 vintage was put forward for a competition and we won a bronze medal!’

‘Interestingly enough,’ adds Karen, ‘that year, we were only the second vineyard in the country to make it. But since we started, we’ve set a trend – everyone now is making Col Fondo! We went on to make a Col Fondo Rosa (rosé). Then last year we also made a Col Fondo Rosso (red) sparkling – very on trend, it looks completely crazy because the mousse is red.

‘The Blanca, the white, is still our

most popular, but the Red Col Fondo is great fun. It’s a great barbecue drink, perfect for surprising your friends!

‘We also do a Still White and a Still Red. And of course we now have our Traditional Method Sparkling too!

‘We do like to experiment and try different things – hence the Red Col Fondo.

‘We’re known for our Col Fondos, but if we do say so ourselves, our Traditional Method Sparkling is a little beauty.’

The Tasting Room

‘We sell our wine at some local shows and events’ say’s Simon.

‘But people really love our Tour & Tasting experiences.

‘I take everyone for a stroll around the vines and tell the

The Little Waddon col fondo range, including a rosa and a rosso.

The Fizz at the vineyard Tour & Taste experience includes fresh scones with jam and cream

story, then we arrive back at the Tasting Room. We sit on the terrace if the sun is being kind enough to allow us to enjoy the spectacular view, and Karen does an amazing plate of food while we all taste the wines.’

Little Waddon Vineyard produces small batches of low intervention crafted wine. Most people buy direct from the Vineyard via the online shop. Some of their Ruby Moon red goes to the Groucho club in Soho, and some Col Fondo can

be found at ‘Terroir Tapas’ and also ‘Parlourmentary Deli’ in Bournemouth. It’s a busy sort of choice for “retirement”, but Simon and Karen show no signs of slowing down any time soon. They also have The Hide, a shepherd’s hut, with a cabin and wood-fired hot-tub, in a quiet corner of the vineyard, which earns its keep as a luxury Airbnb rental. With its lush interior, stunning views to the coast and of course that wood-fired outdoor hot tub,

it’s no surprise that it’s already booked up for most of the year. With the ever-present pressure of rising energy costs, they are also moving the vineyard towards 100 per cent renewable energy already powering most of their needs.

• See the Little Waddon Vineyard website for Tour & Taste event details, to purchase wine direct or to find more details of The Hide.

The newly-refurbished Tasting Room

My summer holiday is on the horizon and for some reason, warm sunny weather makes me want to each fresh peaches. Peaches are in season through July and August so this recipe makes the most of their full and juicy flavour at this time of year (From Dorset with Love make a delicious peach jam which never fails to delight my family and friends when they come to stay).

I have used Stork baking margarine for this recipe as I find it helps with the structure of the cake, preventing the fresh peaches from sinking too deeply (this margarine also happens to be dairy free!) – you can absolutely change it for butter if you prefer.

Heather

Peach and pistachio traybake

Ingredients

• 10oz/285g Stork baking margarine

• 10oz/285g caster sugar

• 5 eggs

• 10oz/285g self raising flour

• 4 ripe peaches

• 3.5oz/100g pistachio nuts (shells removed)

Method

1. Preheat oven to Gas 6/200º/fan 180º.

2. Grease and line a 22cm x 33cm traybake pan which is 5cm deep.

3. Roughly chop your pistachio nuts and put to one side.

4. Take two peaches, cut in half and remove the stone. Slice them (top to bottom) so you have wedges of peach about 0.5cm thick at the widest edge. Peel and de-stone the other two peaches, and chop the flesh into small pieces.

5. Beat together the caster sugar and margarine. If you have peach syrup, you could add a drizzle here too. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

6. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure the mixture is well beaten between each egg. Add a spoonful of the flour if the mixture starts to separate.

7. Carefully stir in the flour and mix gently until well combined.

8. Tip in the chopped peaches and stir.

9. Pour the cake mix into the prepared pan and smooth out the mixture.

10. Arrange the peach slices on the top of the cake, roughly where you want to cut the cake (so there will be a peach slice on top of each piece). Then sprinkle liberally with the chopped pistachios.

11. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes (less if you know your oven runs hot) until the top is golden brown and the cake is springy to the touch.

12. Leave to cool, then cut into pieces and enjoy! Top tip – serve with a dollop of clotted cream!

Heather Brown is a food writer, photographer and stylist. A committee member of The Guild of Food Writers, Heather runs Dorset Foodie Feed, as well as working one-to-one with clients.

Images: Heather Brown

Reviving town centres: the heartbeat of community, even in the digital age

Does every town need a town centre? Despite changes in retail habits, town centres continue to play an essential role, argues MP Simon Hoare

Many years ago I attended a lecture given at the Royal Town Planning Institute. While it was not a sell-out affair (I doubt attendance at such an event is on anyone’s Bucket List) the topic was an interesting one: does every town need a town centre?

It was not a rhetorical question and the lecturer felt that the question was answerable in the negative. He felt that Internet shopping, coupled with increased access to personal modes of transport, meant that retail and local services could be focussed on one or two towns with quite a large geographical area.

I did not, and do not, agree. Every town is different. It has evolved over varying timespans and for various reasons. Notwithstanding this, the needs of a town’s inhabitants appear to be pretty universal. We need somewhere to meet and hold community events. We need food, so food retail is important. A pub or two and a few eateries provide space for socialising and entertainment. We need to be groomed and occasionally pampered. A post office or bank provides essential financial and other services. It is true that our retail habits have changed with the advent of the internet – supermarket home delivery means that increasingly the ‘big shop’ is undertaken online. The internet also plays an increasingly important role for banking, TV licence renewals etc, as it will increasingly do for health, too. So our town centres are necessarily evolving to meet the needs of today.

Old street, new look

Doubtless some current commercial properties will be converted, possibly re-converted, to residential use. This is to be welcomed, providing,

as it does, sustainable living space and a sense of community and activity in the centres long after the shops have shut. Trying to win the pricing competition is an uphill struggle for small local independent traders, and it is not one they should embark on. Instead, a resolute focus on product knowledge, local supply chain, short food miles and a personal level of service makes the local shopper feel valued and the experience a pleasant one.

Some current commercial units are likely to be converted to provide entertainment, leisure or – to use the real estate phrase ‘dwell time’ – facilities. Our town councils have an important role to play too – ensuring the streets are clean, planters attractive and that there’s the odd bench here and there to attract people to their area.

We are blessed in North Dorset. The principle towns of Blandford Forum, Sturminster Newton, Shaftesbury, Gillingham and Verwood all have unique character and charm. They also have stand-out town councils and councillors who play a key role.

The restrictions of COVID lockdowns (they seem a lifetime ago, don’t they?) forced people to use their towns – and they liked what they saw and found. As more people work from home, the opportunity to shop locally and on one’s doorstep presents itself, thereby maintaining footfall and supporting local business.

We all have a role to play. Central government needs to provide flexibility within the planning rules and continued support for Business Rates. Dorset Council needs to be fleet of foot on planning and harnessing the energies of local entrepreneurs, benefactors and others to deliver sustainable change, ensuring the longevity of our centres. But above all, if we are to answer the question my lecturer posed in the affirmative –we need to use them or lose them.

Every town is different, but the needs of a town’s inhabitants appear to be pretty universal

Time for change, time for the grown-ups

In Ukraine the people are fighting for their nation – for a future free from the disgusting influence of the criminal clique in Moscow. Thank you, Ukrainians, for showing us that democracy is worth fighting for. Dorset is doing its bit in support – more than 400 Ukrainian families have joined our West Country ranks and are starting to make their own contribution. Meanwhile, we had a great Lib Dem outcome in the Somerton and Frome by-election. What pleased me the most was the evident faith put in the strength and capability of our local candidate, Sarah Dyke. She is a genuine local – of our land and our rural ethos, and will make a difference “up in the Smoke”. More power to her elbow, I say. I spent the day “telling” outside a couple of polling stations, much of the time alongside my Conservative equivalent. It wasn’t long into the morning before we all knew what was happening, just from the various comments of people en passant. My oppo wasn’t surprised or downcast. There was, however, a fatalism about the situation and

a wish that the last 18 months in the Tory party hadn’t happened. Our discussions ranged from illegal migration (France’s fault) to climate change (China’s fault). These may be the popular sentiments but, of course, they lay the blame on the effect, not the cause. The real causes lie in complex geo-politics, and in the West’s combination of consumerism and postindustrial mindset. It is sad to hear of the likely rolling back of what Johnson labelled “Green crap” as a result of the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election. It is typical of our short-termist, keeppower-at-any-cost politics that the knee-jerk reaction from the governing party is to appeal to the pound in your pocket today and stick it to the next generation ... Tory to a tee! Time to move on from government for the populists, by

the populists, egged on by the populist press. On to something a bit more serious.

So, first up, how about proportional representation as a means to get the whole country engaged in the process of government?

Today’s winnertakes-all system results in the disengagement of about two-thirds of the population, because they are being governed by people they did not vote for.

“What about the virtues of Strong Government?” I hear you cry. What virtues? The stonking majority of 2019 has created a monster now controlled by its right wing. No wonder it just goes round in circles!

Next stop for us is MidBedfordshire – home to the dreadful Dorries, a powerful minister under Johnson and once with the future of the BBC in her gift. More than time for change: it is time for the grownups. Time for Sarah Dyke and her like.

Mike Chapman North Dorset LibDems

The ‘Rishi Sunak helicoptering in to announce a carbon-capture project hypocrisy’ is a fine dead cat of a story.

Cynically positioned alongside news of his first family holiday abroad in four years, it’s clear that many ordinary holidaymakers in the same position will feel some sympathy for him. But it’s pure distraction. The real story is Sunak’s decision

to grant 100 new North Sea oil and gas licences – demonstrating an ongoing investment by the government in irreversible damage to the planet. Firstly, 80 per cent of North Sea oil is exported. If we needed more, there’s clearly enough existing supply; simply redirect it to the domestic market. And as for the gas – this was not, as advertised, a move that

will ease household energy bills. Before the war in Ukraine, Russia provided just four per cent of the UK’s gas (most of it comes from Norway). Prices rose due to the war in Ukraine because they’re set by global traders. Will more gas from the North Sea mean cheaper domestic fuel bills? Unlikely. Rishi Sunak can’t force the licensees – many backed by multi-national companies –

There’s a dead cat, and it smells of carbon

‘... typical of our short-termist, keep-power-atany-cost politics’

to sell it at a discounted price in the UK. They trade at the international prices. In the face of this tidal wave of environmental vandalism, the announcement of the new carboncapture project in St Fergus, Aberdeenshire, is like offering an egg cup to bail out an already-sinking ship.

In the same week that the Met Office announced that last year’s 40º-plus UK heatwave will be considered on the cool side within a few

decades, and the UN declared July 2023 to be the hottest month in human history, the Tories are clearly not taking climate change seriously enough.

In light of this decision – and others like it – the UK’s Net Zero by 2050 target seems increasingly unachievable. Meanwhile the recently reinforced commitment to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 seems more and more likely to buckle

under pressure from the loony libertarian wing of the Tory Party that is really running the show. Sunak’s commitment to meet our net zero target in a “pragmatic and proportionate way” but without “unnecessarily adding costs and burdens to families” is also a nonsense.

Even his own party chairman has admitted that his current policy will not take a penny off household bills. And neither will a continued commitment to oil and gas do anything to mitigate our reliance on fossil fuel oligarchs and dictators who do not share our democratic values.

Pat Osborne North Dorset Labour

The good, the bad – and the downright ugly

The Uxbridge by-election had it all. It was good for the Conservatives, winning narrowly by focusing on the Labour mayor of London’s plans to penalise the ten per cent of most-polluting cars by charging them to drive in the area.

It was bad for Labour of course. And it was downright ugly for anyone wanting common sense to dominate in our battle to stop climate change. Both parties have started rowing back on their already inadequate plans to tackle global warming. As if Net Zero would just be nice to have, instead of an absolute necessity. Where was the grown-up conversation, for example, about the economic benefits of a fair transition to a cleaner world? Or the costly –massive – damage to lives and health from fossil fuel-driven air pollution?

Aside from clean air, there are two other absolutely essential requirements for survival: clean water and healthy food. And at the moment we’re doing our damnedest to deprive ourselves of those too.

Water has hit the headlines recently, with decades of failed privatisation having seen waterway sewage pollution increase. Water companies have been loaded with billions of pounds of debt, while billions of pounds have been paid out in dividends to shareholders – most of them based overseas. As for food, we urgently need to reform what we eat, how it is produced, and where it is grown. Targeted support for farmers is key. More than a quarter of all the

food we grow is never eaten. That’s 13 million tonnes wasted. Industrialised farming is a major cause of damage to our soils, and the pollution of our waterways with pesticides, fertilisers etc. Agriculture uses 71 per cent of land in England, with 85 per cent of that used for feeding and rearing livestock – growing plants for human consumption generates around 12 times more calories per hectare than using the land for meat production. We presently import 46 per cent of the fresh vegetables we eat, and 84 per cent of the fruit. Poor diet causes diabetes, cardiac disease and other obesity-related conditions. It is blighting the lives of millions, predominantly our poorer citizens, and is costing the NHS billions. Unsustainable. The Government knows all this, but isn’t taking the action needed. Time for change.

Ken Huggins North Dorset Green Party

More than a quarter of all the food we grow is never eaten.

Identity politics have shifted

MP Chris Loder warns the swing to divisively extreme ideologies is eroding the potential for important and meaningful debate

We don’t have a Pride event in the Blackmore Vale as such, but there are many Pride events taking place in the South West region over the summer. These events bring attention to the identity of members of society who often feel under-represented.

Since I was elected in 2019, we have seen a whirlwind of identity politics through the mainstream media – that is, the politics and profile of a specific characteristic of an individual or group. It is often about gender, sexuality, race, nationality, religion or something else. What the media report and what we see and feel here in the Blackmore Vale are often very different, but nationally, I think awareness is at an all-time high.

In times past, the causes and campaigns that have been associated with identity have mostly been those that have looked to achieve equity for all. Fairness, equality and justice –to ensure that everyone is treated as equal, regardless of their difference – not for preference but for parity.

Increasingly though, the politics of identity have become less about achieving fairness (often because fairness has already been achieved) and more about forcing a view onto others, or to show that one group of society is better than another. What’s worse is that if a particular view is not mutually held, it now seems to warrant a relentless, personal attack in order to shut them down or to bully them into submission.

Identity and youth

The increasing politicisation of gender and sexuality has deeply concerned me, especially considering its impact on young people. When I was growing up, I didn’t want to be recognised as better than everyone else, I just wanted to be equal. I didn’t want to stand out for my difference, I wanted to be an equal part of my community and society. That is why I often find it so difficult to reconcile with the extreme and unpleasant

campaigning which is now becoming the norm. This extreme politicisation in campaigning is eroding civilised debate about important matters. It is also permeating our schools – mostly about the ability of children to self-identify as a different gender. For some schools, selfidentity of children has become so prevalent that on a weekly basis, the school circulates a list of children who have self-identified as a different gender. It seems that every week there are national headlines about children selfidentifying their gender at school – without the knowledge of their parents or guardians. I think this raises fundamental questions around safeguarding, parental responsibility, and indeed the sources which are influencing the malleable minds of young people. Teachers now fear the consequences in this situation. That is not right, and I have made my petitions to the Education Minister for prompt action.

A destructive force

I once thought identity politics had a place for good, but it has now become so divisive that it is societally destructive. There is an increasing inability for rational and understanding debate. The race for one group of the population to be positioned in a better place than everyone else, which has permeated our online ecosystem, is now generating a dog-eat-dog type of society. While it may seem a distant reality to readers in a quiet corner of Dorset, campaigning in the extreme – not just in this subject area, but others too – is having a detrimental impact on our democracy. It places undue importance on one specific characteristic or cause in an effort to dominate the political agenda.

I sincerely hope that we can move forward in a way that means this divisiveness calms and that we can have meaningful conversations about difficult issues. If you have any thoughts or views on this issue, I would be very pleased to hear from you: hello@chrisloder.co.uk

I didn’t want to stand out for my difference; I just wanted to be an equal part of society

This month’s news from the unofficial capital of the Blackmore Vale...

Thriving Stur: free school uniforms, artisans and a family festival

Pauline Batstone shares her monthly round up of what’s happening among the town’s collection of community enterprises and events

Introducing the Artists...

1855, Stur’s artisans bank continues to flourish: there are now more than 70 traders taking a space to show their craft or produce. Why not come and enjoy a food tasting on the first Saturday of the month, between 10am and 12 noon? For the time being 1855 will not be open on Sundays, and the monthly late night shopping Friday has been paused.

FREE school uniform

Both The Emporium and The Vale Pantry are working together to provide a free school uniform

hub in the former Barclays Building to help children get ready to go back to school. Do you have any items that have been grown out of and are now lurking in a drawer? All donations gratefully received. And do come and see if there is anything which fits your children. Why buy new when you can recycle?

The Boutique always has free school uniforms alongside some great quality children’s clothes, most of which are just £2. It’s a great place for mums and grandmums to find a new outfit too: a constantly-changing range of lovely garments for the new season at knockdown prices!

Sofa art

While you’re strolling through town, don’t forget to pop in and explore the Art Gallery in The Emporium – it’s an actual Tardis above the shop, and every room is filled with art.

Down the road at the old Barclays bank the Furniture Store is similarly bulging with fascinating items to transform your home, whether your sofa

The art gallery above The Emporium

You never know what kind of glamour you can pull together in The Boutique

is actually on its last legs or you’re looking for an upcycling project. We are always ready to receive donations – and always ready to welcome new volunteers into our team.

Family festival

SturAction, Sturminster Newton’s own Community Benefit Society, is one of the supporters of the Riverside Family Festival which is back this year on Saturday 19th August on the Riverside Meadows down by the bridge. The Festival aims to give families a cheap, fun day out during the summer holidays while raising funds for local charities – this year The Vale Pantry, The Yellow Bus Community Project and Children’s Cancer UK wil all be benificiaries. The group of parents running the festival would welcome some extra help on the day (and tidying up the day after!) – if you have a couple of hours to spare you would be very welcome. Please contact riversidefamilyfest@outlook.com

Free parking on the first Saturday

There is always free parking – all day, both car parks – on the first Saturday of every month thanks to SturAction. By random chance *cough* it also happens to be the same day that the 200 or so car and bike enthusiasts have a friendly morning meet in the Rec.

Inside 1855 in Sturminster Newton, the town’s artisan bank with more than 70 traders

Letters to the Editor

Want to reply? Read something you feel needs commenting on? Our postbag is open! Please send emails to letters@theblackmorevale.co.uk. When writing, please include your full name and address; we will not print this, but do require it.

French housing plan

Now we seem to have got to the stage where houses can be built in a council’s area even when all the council and residents object. Perhaps we should take a lesson from some French towns. There, the council buy some appropriate land, put in the road and facilities and then grant individual permission to residents to build on the plots as and when the council see fit. Stops this wholesale development by big building firms just out to make a huge buck regardless of what the locals want.

Roger Tatler, Gillingham

Save the planet!

It is a phrase used everywhere we look. I am not an activist nor an eco-campaigner and I am not about to start superglueing myself to the M25 or London Waterloo express train. I do believe that we should all try and do our bit, relative to our means and circumstance. Maybe then we can save our grandchildren and great grandchildren from the perilous fate that looms ahead.

For our ‘bit’ we have swapped our diesel cars for electric ones since 2016. We have spent the last 11 years making our home more energy efficient, as time and resources allowed. Our house has moved from an EPC rating of D in 2012 to A in 2022 – for a 1980s built detached house, this is no mean feat!

We have insulated under the floors, added more loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, fitted A+ rated double glazing and doors. We had 4KW PV installed in 2012 and wherever possible replaced older inefficient appliances with A+++ rated new ones. For the last year we ran the whole house 24/7 from either solar power or off-peak electricity (pulled in overnight at a fifth of the price).

This year we have had an Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) installed, and added a second Powerwall to further support the running of the ASHP. We are adding to our solar system to try and reduce our pull on the grid some more.

This should mean that we were able to export a lot more green solar-generated electricity back to the grid, helping everyone else reduce their carbon footprint too. However, our energy distribution network operator SSEN have put a stop to that – we were granted permission to install the extra panels on condition that the installers block our ability to export any electricity to the grid from them!

The excess green electricity we generate from the new system will now be grounded to earth and lost, whilst somebody somewhere burns more oil, gas and coal to generate dirty electricity to keep up with demand. It is high time that pressure from the government was put on the likes of SSEN to up their game and upgrade the energy networks urgently so they are fit for the future that is fast approaching.

Ian Tattersall, Gillingham

On Simon Hoare

We are watching wildfires ravaging parts of Europe yet again, as well as unmanageable temperatures in the USA, China and the global south. Clearly ever-accelerating indicators show that the world is now on the cusp of a number of tipping points which will make runaway climate change inevitable. Recent research suggests the gulf stream may collapse as early as 2025 with catastrophic results. Professor Sir Robert Watson was clear on the Today Programme last week – he thinks 1.5 as a goal is becoming unreachable due to lack of political will, and states that in this country the measures to ensure we reach our commitments to the Paris agreement aren’t there in any shape or form. Lord Deben of the UKCCC (until recently) stated our government was setting ‘the worst kind of example to the rest of the world’ compared to other countries who are really moving on green solutions rather than empty pledges while actively supporting new oil and coal initiatives. This week, Rishi Sunak has clearly shown that, rather than creating opportunities for people across the UK to mitigate the seriousness of the situation we are facing, he prefers to fabricate an anti-green mantra to bolster an election campaign. I therefore find Simon Hoare’s statement (The

The Pet of the Month Facebook post was once again a happy parade of good pets. Would you like your pet to be featured? Share them on Facebook or send an email to photos@bvmagazine. co.uk.

Please be sure to include your pet’s name, age, and a couple of fun details about them.

BV, Jul 23)‘Confidence in the commitment of the government to achieve progress cannot be in serious question.’ extremely surprising. It is at complete odds with anything these eminent climate scientists are saying – and the actions of his government.

Karen Wimhurst, Shaftesbury

The solar farm

Dorset Council Strategic Planning Committee have approved plans for a 188 acre Solar development, stretching for 1 mile from north east to south west, on a site between Mappowder, Pulham, Kings Stag and Hazelbury Bryan.

Scant consideration was given to local residents’ very real concerns that existing high levels of flooding would be exacerbated by concentrated run off from panels creating runnels which would increase water levels quickly and cause flash floods. The area is already in a flood zone and the ground saturates for about six months of the year. The applicants have failed to provide adequate infiltration tests of the site or confirm the number of panels planned so it is currently impossible to calculate the risk. The Committee appeared to be more concerned with the relocation of crested newts or whether or not sheep would be grazed under the panels.

At one point debate surrounded the issue of potential fire in battery storage areas; objectors and observers were surprised that Planning and Flood Officers did not point out that there is in fact no battery storage planned in the application under consideration.

Landscape Officers’ and the AONB’s concerns that significant damage would be caused to views from the Bulbarrow ridge were brushed aside with the comment that the panels would have a non reflective coating.

Significantly neither the Landscape nor Heritage officers were present and the AONB was not represented.

Some will respond that the climate emergency means that renewable energy must trump every other consideration but is this acceptable when giant solar plants destroy cherished views, fence wildlife out of their usual habitat, take good farmland out of production at a time of food insecurity and risk lives and livelihoods due to exacerbated flooding?

National and Dorset Planning policy states clearly that environmental damage must not be disregarded during the move to low carbon energy generation but in this case, elements of policy have been ignored. My personal view is that if larger than about 60 acres, these plants should be located close to motorways or other semi industrial areas where the landscape, habitat and tranquillity is already blighted.

Subsidies should be offered to industry and agriculture to cover suitable roofs with solar panels. Taking into account their enthusiasm to cover unspoiled country with industrial panels, it is also surprising that Dorset Council do not insist on solar panels and water butts to be standard with every new dwelling and encourage farms and businesses to install panels on their buildings.

Catherine Langham, by email

Crossword Simply click to complete on your tablet, computer or phone - or there’s a download option if you prefer pen and paper.

Jigsaw

Just click to complete! Image taken in some rare evening sunshine during harvest on Okeford Hill. If you get stuck, an icon at the top of the screen reveals the completed picture for you.

A local expert from Citizen’s Advice provides timely tips on consumer issues. In the postbag this month:

When the package holiday goes wrong

Q:‘We’ve booked a package holiday to Spain. It’s our first time booking this sort of getaway, and a friend recently had a terrible experience on a similar trip. What sort of help is available if something does go wrong?’

A: If something goes wrong with your package holiday, the Consumer page of the Citizens Advice website has information about what to do and what compensation you may be eligible for. Firstly, tell the company or travel agent you booked with as soon as possible. If you don’t say anything until you get home, you might get less or no compensation at all.

Loss of value: If the holiday you went on turned out to be lower in value than the one you booked you can make a claim for ‘loss of value’. For example, if you paid for a deluxe room but only got a standard one? If it wasn’t sorted out at the time you can claim back the difference in value.

Out of pocket: You can also claim compensation for any extra money you have to spend while away, for example the hotel was a bus ride away from the beach rather than across the road as advertised. This is called claiming for ‘outof-pocket expenses’. If this happens, make sure you keep all your receipts.

Missed out: If big parts of the trip you booked didn’t happen

or services weren’t provided –for example a planned two-day excursion was cancelled and no alternative was organised –then you can make a claim for ‘loss of enjoyment’.

You can also make this claim if something happens that causes you distress or disappointment – that might include something such as the pool being closed for the whole trip.

There’s no strict guidance on how much you can claim for loss of enjoyment but any claim you make must be reasonable. You can’t get compensation if you simply ‘didn’t enjoy the holiday’ or if the problem was

out of the holiday company’s control, like bad weather.

Check the details

Check the information you received when you made the booking to see what you’re supposed to get. If you don’t get the service you’ve been promised, you may be entitled to compensation for breach of contract. You might also be able to claim from your travel insurance. If you’re still not sure what to do, call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline 0808 223 1133 or talk to an adviser online through the Citizens Advice website.

Peter Sale takes the helm: a Rotarian year of community engagement ahead

On Monday, 10th July, at a bustling meeting of the Shaftesbury Rotary Club, Peter Sale was installed as President for the year 2023/2024. David Britton, the outgoing President, handed over the chains of office before President Peter installed Paul Slimm as his President Elect for the coming year.

Following this, David Britton was honoured with a Paul Harris Fellow award, a prestigious recognition named after Rotary’s founder, Paul Harris. This tribute acknowledges a shared purpose with the humanitarian objectives of The Rotary Foundation. Britton joins a line of club members who have received this esteemed award.

Peter Sale brings a personal vision of working with volunteers to support local and international initiatives. ‘For me, Rotary is all about raising money for local charities and supporting initiatives in the local community,’ he says.

Key events under Sale’s leadership include the Gold Hill Festival – plans are already afoot for a revised and improved event next year.

The North Dorset Cycle Ride continues as another crucial event for the Ahaftesbury Rotarians, having raised thousands for Prostate Cancer

over the years. Education and youth engagement are central to Peter’s plans. The RotaKids initiative, having started a club at Abbey School, will be expanding to Shaftesbury CE Primary School. The Youth Speaks debating competition, entering its third year, will be looking to expand further, and the Young Chef competition, successfully launched this year at Shaftesbury School, showcases culinary talents like Charlie JohnSmith, who triumphed at the Area Final Senior Competition. Social connection is vital to the club’s vision, as well. Being twinned with a Rotary Club in Heerlen, Netherlands, has brought international camaraderie, with a reciprocal

visit scheduled from 6th-8th October. ‘Joining Rotary is a way of developing fellowship with like-minded people. We meet at social events and work on community projects,’ says Peter. With a blend of community support, charity, educational initiatives, and social activities, Peter Sale’s leadership promises an energetic and compassionate direction for the Shaftesbury Rotary Club in the coming year. Those interested in knowing more or getting involved with Rotary can reach out at hello@ shaftesburyrotaryclub.org. The club’s continued success is testament to its commitment to enriching the local community and beyond.

Last year Shaftesbury Rotary Club raised £5,000 for Prostate Cancer UK

Shaftesbury’s new Rotary Club president Peter Sale

The Shaftesbury RotaKids have completed a number of projects this year; including litter picking, running a bingo afternoon to raise money for children undergoing cancer treatment, and running a charity stall at the Gold Hill Festival.

3 days, 12 cyclists, 215 Miles ... and £11,000 for Teddy20!

In an extraordinary display of determination and solidarity, 12 adventurous cyclists took to the roads in June, covering 215 miles across France, Belgium, and Holland as they cycled from Dunkirk to Amsterdam. Their three-day journey was raising funds for Teddy20, the Blandford-based children’s cancer charity.

The feat was not only about physical endurance but also a shared commitment to an important cause.

The team of cyclists – Owen Newton, Alice Jewer, Matt Wilkey, Kevin Strafford, James Blackham, Lewis Fish, Robert Smith, Jonny Pyke, Simon Stranger, Gary Johnson, William Fyfe, and Andrew Rodden – include many with personal stories of the way in which Teddy20 has supported themselves or a loved one. They pedalled their way through picturesque landscapes and historic towns, and the team’s fundraising total currently stands at more than £11,000!

Making a difference

Teddy20 is committed to supporting young cancer patients and their families, ensuring they never face the battle alone. The funds raised by the cycling team will make a huge difference, providing essential support, financial help, and emotional care to those affected by childhood cancer.

Along the journey, the cyclists not only pushed their physical limits but forged unbreakable bonds, supporting each other through every challenge. Their camaraderie transformed a gruelling task into an

unforgettable shared triumph. They were backed up by a supportive crew, including Brian Wareham, Jill Budd, Adam Gonthier, and Sophie Ferry, and sponsored by various local businesses. Teddy20 has expressed profound gratitude to the cycle team, back-up crew, and sponsors.

The team’s fundraising page remains open until the end of August.

• If you’re interested in signing up for the next Teddy20 Charity Cycle Challenge contact sophieferry@teddy20.org to get your name on the list.

Motorbike riders - you’re invited to Ride Out for Docbike!

DocBike, a motorcycle injury prevention charity, is calling motorcyclists to join their annual Dorset ride out on Sunday 24th September. Last year’s event raised over £8,000, with more than 400 riders participating! This year, riders can choose between two scenic routes: a 30-mile ride from The Churchill Arms in Alderholt, and a 40-mile ride from West Bay Esplanade in Bridport – both ending at Henstridge Airfield. The finishing line will welcome riders with music, refreshments, stalls, and the chance to meet the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance crew.

DocBike works to get highly

trained trauma doctors or critical care paramedics on two wheels, to reduce deaths and serious injuries on our roads due to motorcycle collisions. Working alongside local emergency services, they provide life-saving roadside critical care.

Registration for the ride out starts at £10 and includes entry into the grand raffle.

Riders are encouraged to raise a minimum of £25 for the charity, which receives no direct government funding.

Dr Ian Mew, Co-Founder and Trustee of DocBike, emphasised the importance of this event in supporting the charity’s lifesaving work: ‘“This is our big event

for DocBike each year and the support of the local motorcycling community means so much. We’re dedicated to being there for anyone who needs emergency critical care.’

• To register for the event or for more information, visit DocBike.org.

The cyclists enjoy a well-earned beer at the finishing line in Amsterdam

Dr Ian Mew riding the Dorset DocBike

Your summer reading list

Just in time for the summer holidays, Wayne Winstone shares his top reads for you to tuck into a suitcase or settle down with in the shade

As August stretches out before us, hopefully with more than a smattering of long lazy days to be enjoyed, it’s the time when many of us turn to our To Be Read pile. Whether it’s for a long journey to far-flung places, or just sitting in your own garden on a lazy day, it’s time to find something new to dip into. Wayne shares his personal suggestions for your summer reading pleasure this year (just click the book covers to shop).

This beautifully written novel is the story of two rural outcasts, and the crop circles they create under cover of night over the course of the long, hot and very strange summer of 1989. The adventures of these two oddball characters are told with gentle humour and the book is full of the sense of the English countryside, the mood of the late 80s and – with echoes of TV’s The Detectorists – of their warm and surprising friendship.

Demon Copperhead –Barbara Kingsolver

Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, this is a modern David Copperfield-inspired story of a boy born to a single mother in a trailer, with little beyond his dead father’s good looks and his own copper-coloured hair, wit and innate talent for survival. Told in his unsparing and humorous voice, the story follows the boy as he braves the perils of the modern foster care system, child labour, athletic success, addiction ... and love. Here too is the author’s anger and compassion, and faith in the powers of a good story.

This best-selling modern fable is an unforgettable novel about friendship, love, sorrow and joy. Told with humour and tenderness, it starts with the day Isaac Addy walks into the woods – the worst day of his life – and finds something extraordinary there, taking it home with him. A grieving Isaac and his curious new friend are unlikely companions, but this single chance encounter will soon transform Isaac’s life in ways he cannot imagine.

The Escape Artist –Jonathan Freedland

In April 1944, Rudolf Vrba became the first Jew to break out of Auschwitz. He did it in order to tell the truth of the death camp to the world – and to warn what fate awaited others.

He and his fellow escapee, Fred Wetzler, climbed mountains, crossed rivers and narrowly avoided German bullets, bringing the first full account of Auschwitz to the world.

Their detailed report would eventually reach Franklin

The Lost Rainforests of Britain – Guy Shrubsole

This is the story of a unique British habitat – one so ravaged most people today don’t realise it still exists.

On a journey from the woods of the Western Highlands and the Lake District through the rainforests of Wales down to Devon and Cornwall, Shrubsole maps these ecosystems in exquisite detail – but underlines that without immediate political and public support, we risk losing them forever.

This is the extraordinary tale of one person’s quest to find Britain’s lost rainforests and to bring them back.

Marple: Twelve New Stories

A dozen original short stories, penned by 12 best-selling authors, will introduce Jane Marple to a whole new generation. Each author reimagines Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple through a unique perspective, but stays true to the traditional mystery story.

The Perfect Golden Circle –Benjamin Myers

Isaac and the Egg –Bobby Palmer

Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and the Pope.

Ithaca –

Claire North

Penelope of Ithaca was barely into womanhood when she was married to Odysseus. While he lived, her position was secure. But now, years on, speculation is mounting that her husband is dead – and suitors are beginning to knock at her door. No one man is strong enough to claim Odysseus’s empty throne – not yet. But as everyone waits for the balance of power to tip, Penelope knows that any choice she makes could plunge Ithaca into bloody civil war.

Shrines of Gaiety –

Kate Atkinson

This hugely enjoyable and immersive novel is set in Soho in the 1920s, where nightclub owner Nellie Coker has just been released from prison. Greeted by her adult children who have been running her empire during her six-month absence, Nellie knows that the business she built is now under threat from those who want to take over.

Full of interesting characters, including Gwendolyn, a war nurse turned librarian who becomes an invaluable assistant to Inspector Frobisher, and teenage runaway Freda.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow –

Gabrielle Zevin

In this exhilarating novel, two friends come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy ... and a kind of immortality. Spanning 30 years, from Massachusetts to California and everything in between, it’s a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play and our need to connect and to love.

Yes, it is a love story; but it is not one you have read before.

Wild Fell –Lee Schofield

An RSPB Warden tells the story of how he worked to create an economically-viable hill farm in the Lake District that allows space for nature. His passion for making a difference, his advocacy for wildflowers and his eternal hope for the planet are an education and an inspiration. It’s a call to recognise that the solutions for a richer world lie at our feet and, by focusing, we can rebuild landscapes.

The Satsuma Complex –Bob Mortimer

Gary, a legal assistant, agrees to meet colleague Brendan in the local pub for a drink. Shortly after, Brendan has to leave. Gary stays in the pub and gets talking to a girl who is reading a book called The Satsuma Complex. They get on really well, but she leaves without saying goodbye and he hasn’t got her name. So, she becomes Satsuma. The next day, he learns Brendon has gone missing and he tries to find Satsuma to see if she saw or heard anything. Missing people, murder, a love story, humour and plot twists make this a marvellously entertaining novel.

Darling –India Knight

It takes a brave person to attempt a contemporary reimagining of a beloved novel – but India Knight has managed it brilliantly.

Darling is a savagely funny, bracingly sad, dazzlingly clever take on Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love.

It’s a razor-sharp, laugh-outloud novel – imaginative and tremendously romantic, with sharp writing, perfect detailing and funny jokes.

Watch the Eagle soar

Well, what can we say about the British Summer holidays so far? Not a lot that’s good!

I had such high aspirations for warm nights of observations, with clear sunny skies for some solar imaging, too. Alas, neither has so far come to fruition. Hopefully the weather will improve as we move through the month.

As we wait for the longer nights, there’s a target that I last captured in 2021. It peeks above the horizon and is best seen during the month of July here in the UK. The Eagle Nebula in the Serpens constellation is famously home to the Pillars of Creation, that astounding image many of us recognise instantly which was taken by the Hubble space telescope back in 1995.

It’s a target I’ve shared before in this column, the use of my newer mono camera and scope means that I’ve been able to capture far more detail this time around, and also represent the different gases using what’s known as the ‘Hubble palette’, showing off the amazing emission nebulas in glorious golden reds, greens and blue

(representing sulphur, hydrogen and oxygen).

The Eagle Nebula itself is roughly 7,000 light years away from Earth and is known as a stellar nursery, due to the amount of newborn stars being created from the abundance of gases. Stretching roughly four to five light years, the Pillars of Creation are a fascinating but relatively small feature of the entire Eagle Nebula, which itself spans approximately 70 by 55 light years.

If you’re on a tablet or phone, rotate to see the image in landscape orientation – you’ll be able to easily make out the huge eagle shape of the nebula, including the head and wings. Personally though, with the detail we can now more readily reveal, I think I it looks much more like a dragon! It’s a target I’ll never get bored of imaging, and I just hope I can get some more time on it next year.

This month’s image was captured with my 1000mm Maksutov Newtonian Telescope and the ZWO ASI2600MM Pro Astro camera with Narrowband filters – it’s about 4.5 hours of data.

The night sky, August 2023 – Rob’s guide for your stargazing this month:

This month we’ll be treated to a festival of various celestial events – if the cloud will give way like stage curtains to reveal the grand show! There is so much to observe this month.

Starting with the Milky Way Arch itself, which begins to reveal itself beautifully as the darker nights return. You’ll easily be able to find three bright shining stars in our glowing galaxy band –Vega, Deneb and Altair. These stars mark out the verticals of what’s known as the Summer triangle.

Closer to home, we’ll be treated to two supermoons this month, the second of which is the brightest full moon of the year.

Saturn also reaches opposition this month, meaning it’s the best time to observe this beautiful planet and its rings as it’s the closest it will come to Earth this year.

Starting at the beginning of the month, the first supermoon was on the 1st of August – and we all missed it due to the British weather! But fear not, we get another chance on the 31st to witness a Blue Supermoon, the biggest supermoon of the year. Don’t miss it! You’ll need to set your alarm clock –

the Moon will peak at 2.35am.

Over the upcoming weekend of the 8th, look to the Moon to see Jupiter hanging to the right. On the 9th, The Pleiades will join the stage alongside the Moon and Jupiter to create a pleasing trio. The major event of the month is the night of the 12th/13th – we’ll witness the climax of the Perseid meteor shower. This year it’s due to be a great show for observing, so lets cross our fingers for good clear skies!

These prolific shooting stars (actually dust from comet SwiftTuttle) will be burning up high above our heads in what is usually the best annual meteor shower that we’re invited to.

Finally, on the 31st, that biggest Supermoon of the year. It’ll be 30 per cent brighter than the faintest Full Moon we observe, so it wont be a blinding ball of rock in the sky, but it will still be an impressive sight. While you’re there, you’ll see Saturn hanging out close to our shining Lunar beacon. Next month , we’ve got an exciting expedition returning to Earth from space, and also the Autumn Equinox. Until then, Clear Skies!

The BV’s astrophotographer Rob Nolan is back – and counting the days to those long winter nights

It wont be a blinding ball of rock in the sky

August photo prompt: Reflections

Christchurch Harbour Bryan Archer

Upton House: inside out or outside in? Helen Hanbury

The eyes have it

Julia Oldham

Landing gear down Wendy Morley

Linnet in the gorse

Louise Revill

Meadow grasshopper

James Threadingham

St Peter & St Paul and its wonky neighbours

Danny Howe

Spitfire at Compton Abbas

Nikki Yeatman

Hungry teenagers

We welcome photography submissions from readersthe only rule is that they must have been taken locally in the last month. Our cover shot is usually selected from our submissions pile. If you’d like to join in, please share it in The BV community Facebook Group or simply email it to us on photos@bvmagazine.co.uk

John Bishop

Purpletop vervain for lunch jeff laidler

Adonis blue

Paul Waterkeyn

Small tortoiseshell Warren Port

Common Blue

Tracy Whincup

A Dorset harvest in postcards

This month Barry Cuff has selected a few postcards with a suitably agricultural theme for the August harvest and the Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show.

This postcard of sheep being watered at Ashmore pond was sent to Chester in February 1907

This postcard of threshing at Chetnole was posted on the 14th October 1920 to Chiswick, London

This postcard of Lord Portman’s prize cattle at Bryanston was sent in 1911 to Birchington-on Sea in Kent

This scene of hay making at Buckhorn Weston was sent to Southampton in 1906

Crumbs! It’s 50 years since that Hovis ad

Exactly half a century after an iconic Hovis commercial hit our TV screens, Roger Guttridge takes a stroll through the story of Dorset’s most famous street

To paraphrase Sir Winston Churchill, never in the history of a Saxon hilltop town have so many owed so much to a humble loaf – and a load of old cobbles ...

Put another way, not even a lead role in the star-studded 1967 version of Far From the Madding Crowd managed to thrust Shaftesbury’s Gold Hill into the national consciousness quite like that Hovis commercial.

It was 1973 when an aspiring producer and director called Ridley Scott cut one of his filmmaking teeth on Gold Hill’s steeply sloping cobbles.

To the sound of Dvorak’s New World symphony and an old feller reminiscing in a northern accent, he filmed a flat-capped bread delivery boy pushing his bike to ‘Old Ma Peggotty’s’ at the top of Gold Hill –before freewheeling back down the cobbles, legs akimbo.

The 45-second commercial (opposite) won a string of awards – and in 2006 was voted Britain’s favourite TV advertisement of all time.

The bread boy was played by 13-year-old stage

Carl Barlow with his Hovis bike in 1973

school student Carl Barlow. He later recalled: ‘On that first day I must have gone up that hill with the bike 30 or 40 times. ‘And the same the second day going down – but that was more fun than pushing the bike up!’

Forty years later he returned to Shaftesbury to switch on the Christmas lights, and was again photographed on Gold Hill with his delivery bike. In 2017, the retired London firefighter was back again to film a video promoting cycling – this time with an electric bike.

Will he be back again for the 50th anniversary?

Not just a bread hill

In 1978 the Two Ronnies produced a take-off sketch of the ad, in which Ronnie Barker is seen trudging wearily up Gold Hill with a loaf of bread to the same Dvorak soundtrack. As he finally approaches the summit, he comments in a northern accent: ‘Grandad always used to say ’twer a bloody long way to go for a loaf of bread.’ You can see it on YouTube here – cycling tourists continue to recreate the scene to this day.

No stranger to the silver screen, six years before Hovis put jam on the bread and butter of Shaftesbury tourism, Gold Hill featured in several scenes in the film based on Thomas Hardy’s novel. Gabriel Oak, played by Alan Bates, is filmed walking up the hill while Sergeant Troy (Terence Stamp) precariously leads his red-coated cavalrymen down the cobbles. In a particularly moving scene, a ragclad Fanny Robin arrives, weak and exhausted, at the workhouse door, where a few hours later she dies in childbirth along with her baby, fathered by the same Sergeant Troy.

References to Gold Hill (or Goldhulle) date back

to 1350 and in ancient times, sheep and pigs were penned there on market days. Following the destruction of the Abbey in 1539, the hub of Shaftesbury life moved a few yards to the east to the area where Gold Hill meets the High Street and the Commons.

At the top of the hill were the town stocks and the ancient Gold Hill Cross, probably a preaching cross and one of at least six old crosses that were dotted around the town centre.

The Gold Hill Cross was removed in 1826 to make way for the present Town Hall.

The house top right of the pictures looking up Gold Hill was rebuilt around 1900 on the site of the old Lamb Inn and a forerunner of the workhouse. It also housed the Gold Hill Museum for a few years before the move to the present site a few yards away in 1957.

• All pictures from Shaftesbury Through Time, by Roger Guttridge (available from Gold Hill Museum and other local outlets).

The same scene in 2018.

Image: Roger Guttridge

Top sportsman, champion seducer

Village squire Henry Hastings was one of old Dorset’s greatest country sportsmen – but wild animals were not his only quarry, says Roger Guttridge

In one respect at least, country sportsman Henry Hastings was a generous man – but it was not in the hunting, shooting and fishing kind of sport that his ‘generosity’ truly excelled. Judging by the comments of his neighbour, Anthony Ashley-Cooper, first Earl of Shaftesbury, the squire of Woodlands, near Wimborne, merrily shared his DNA far and wide. And it’s pretty certain that many Dorset people carry Henry’s genes to this day – though few of us would know it.

According to Lord Shaftesbury, Dorset’s own ‘Hooray Henry’ spent almost all his time hunting, shooting, hawking and fishing ... except for the time during which he ‘borrowed his neighbours’ wives and daughters’.

He had a particular penchant for younger women, apparently preferring those of the ‘lower classes’ who were below the age of 40.

In Shaftesbury’s words, there was no young woman of the status of a yeoman farmer’s wife or lower ‘but it was her own fault if he was not intimately acquainted with her’.

One of Henry’s favourite tactics was to butter up the women’s fathers, husbands and brothers, inviting them to his house and serving them ‘beef, pudding and small beer in great plenty’. Given his standing in the community, it was hard for the menfolk to do anything except turn a blind eye.

Buck, badger, otter, hare

Henry – born in 1551 – was the second son of George Hastings, fourth Earl of Huntingdon. He became lord of the manor of Woodlands through his marriage to Dorothy Willoughby, the second daughter and co-heiress of one Sir Francis Willoughby, who was the builder of Wollaton Hall, Nottinghamshire.

Lord Shaftesbury, the squire of nearby Wimborne St Giles, described him as ‘low, very strong and very active, of a reddish flaxen hair’.

He continued: ‘His clothes were always green cloth and never worth, when new, £5.

‘His house was perfectly of the old fashion, in the midst of a large park well-stocked with deer; and near the house rabbits for his kitchen; many fishponds; great store of wood and timber.’

The scope of Henry’s sporting activities was as limitless as his philandering.

‘He kept all manner of sport hounds that ran buck, fox, hare, otter and badger, and hawks long- and short-winged.

‘He had all sorts of nets for fish. He had a walk in the New Forest and the manor of Christchurch supplied him with red deer, sea and river fish.’

Wanted: housekeeper

Champion seducer and great country sportsman Henry certainly was – but his housekeeping standards left something to be desired.

Henry Hastings

‘The great hall was strewed with marrow-bones, full of hawks’ perches, hounds, spaniels and terriers,’ said Shaftesbury. ‘The upper side of the hall hung with fox-skins of this and the last year’s killings; a pole-cat intermixed; guns and keepers’ and hunters’ poles in great abundance.’ More dogs could be found in the parlour, where most of the great chairs were usually occupied by litters of cats, who were not to be disturbed. Some of the cats attended their master at dinner and he kept a ‘little white stick that he might defend such meat that he had no mind to part with to them’.

The windows in the large parlour were littered with Hastings’ bows, arrows and other equipment, while the corners of the room were ‘full of the best-chosen hunting or hawking poles’.

A century of good times

At one end of the parlour was Henry’s oyster table; well used, as he ate Poole oysters twice a day. At the other end was a desk, on which sat the Bible and the Book of Martyrs, and two tables. On the tables were hawks’ hoods, bells and other paraphernalia and two or three old hats with the

crowns pushed in to hold 10 or 12 pheasant eggs. Nearby was a drinks closet stocked with wine and beer – although the booze was strictly rationed, as Hastings never permitted excessive drinking by himself or his guests.

Lord Shaftesbury added: ‘He was well-natured, but soon angry, calling his servants bastards and cuckoldy knaves, in one of which he often spoke truth, and sometimes in both.

‘He lived to be 100 and never lost his eyesight but always wrote and read without spectacles and got on horseback without help. Until past four score, he rode to the death of a stag as well as any.’

According to the Dictionary of National Biography, Henry just failed to make 100, dying aged 99 in 1650. His long-suffering first wife died in 1638, 12 years before her husband. Six months later, Hastings settled part of his estate on Anne Langton, of Woodlands, the unmarried daughter of William Langton. They subsequently married – but when Henry died, he was buried alongside Dorothy at the old Horton church.

Their son, Sir George Hastings, joined them there after his death in 1657. There is no mention of Anne in the epitaph.

He had a particular penchant for younger women, apparently preferring those of the ‘lower classes’ who were below the age of 40

The Hunter, by Adriaen Beeldemaker, painted in Henry Hastings’ time 1653. A returning hunter with his dogs and a dead hare tied to his rifle

Weeding, watching and watering

August is the month for monitoring – staying on top of this year’s flowers while you prep for next year, says gardener Pete Harcom

The weather we have been having lately seems to swing from one extreme to another, doesn’t it? The dry June followed by the wet July – thank goodness our gardens have escaped the heat of mainland Europe. Jobs for the garden this month:

• August is perhaps the month to simply try and maintain the show of flowering plants, and to clear up the borders and flowers to help the display to continue!

• Keep up the regular feeding and deadheading – especially roses, dahlias and perennials. It really does help to keep the displays going.

• Cut back delphiniums, geraniums and lavender after the first flush of flowers to encourage a second flowering period. Feed them after you cut them back.

• Divide clumps of bearded iris and take cuttings of your patio and container plants ready for next year.

• Thin out any thickly overgrown pond plants.

• Most perennial weeds are best dealt with in the summer when the weeds are in active growth. Sorry to say that digging them out is usually best if you are trying to avoid using weedkillers.

• Start collecting seed from plants you want to grow next year – especially foxgloves, aquilegia, calendula, poppy and love-in-a-mist.

• Sow biennials such as foxgloves, sweet William and wallflowers, honesty and forget-me-nots. They’ll be ready to plant out in the autumn and make a stunning display next spring.

August is a good month to divide clumps of bearded iris – it should be done every three to five years, and ideally happens six weeks after flowering, to give sufficient time for the plants to produce new growth for the following season

• If pot plants are pestered by nesting ants, try putting the pot in a large saucer with water in it – but have the pot resting on pot stands above the water level.

• Watering hasn’t been an issue lately (!), but on the offchance we should get a burst of hot weather, take extra care of container-grown plants and any in the border that are not yet established. It is always best to water plants in the cooler parts of the day and at the roots only.

• On hot days, water from a hosepipe can be trickled into the pond to help top up and aerate the water. Be sure to

also top up bird baths.

• Damping down the floor of the greenhouse regularly on hot days helps.

• Plan ahead if you are going on holiday – maybe a neighbour can help if hot weather is forecast, or at least thoroughly soak plants before you go. There are a number of watering devices available such as watering mats, microdrip watering systems with a timer, watering spikes and adjustable drip feeders.

• Also, if you are going away it’s a good idea to move hanging baskets and pots to a shady area (just place the hanging baskets on a large pot).

The Voice of the Allotment Bountiful rain-fuelled harvest

The

With more than four and a half inches of rain recorded for the month and temperatures around normal for July, growth of both crops and weeds has been phenomenal. Even the strong winds on two occasions did no damage.

We were harvesting young carrots (Early Nantes) by the second week. These had made a slow start from successional sowings, with the earlier sowings catching up with the later. It’s been the same story with the two varieties of beetroot (Moulin Rouge and Crimson King).

Runner beans and French beans had to be picked every third day to ensure the plants kept producing. This year our runner beans were sown with homesaved seed and we have both white and red coloured flowers, which means they had crosspollinated the previous year. Last year’s variety was Moonlight (white) and an allotment neighbour had Polestar (red). There was no discernible difference in either yield or taste!

Lettuce, spring onions and radishes have all made excellent growth and we were able to gather daily for salads.

Celery and celeriac also put on good growth, ready for the autumn – both of these were mulched with our own compost.

Our sweetcorn (Swift) started flowering mid-month with good pollen production.

The three varieties of courgettes – Black Beauty, Defender and Astia – produced fruits every other day, while the weather has meant our winter squashes have made more growth than I can remember in previous years!

The peas finished early due to the previous month’s dry weather, whereas our mangetout and snap performed better. We grow Carrouby De Maussane and Purple Magnolia – both are excellent for stir frys and salads.

During the drier periods we harvested Charlotte, Rooster, Jazzy and British Queen potatoes – all except Rooster did well. Our remaining varieties will be lifted in August so we’ll keep an eye on the plants for blight.

Both our potatoes and onion patches became very weedy, especially with fat hen, gallant soldiers (a plant that can produce 15,000 seeds ...) and manyseeded goosefoot – all are difficult to remove without pulling up the crop.

We also have a few unusual weeds on the plot. Weasel’s snout is now a quite scarce cornfield weed. Thorn apple has large white five-lobed trumpet-shaped flowers and green oval spiky fruits. The other we have is moth mullein, a biennial plant which we let bloom as it has very attractive flowers loved by bees.

All our fruit bushes have loved the rain and produced large currants, gooseberries and raspberries – most of these are swiftly made into jam and wine!

warm, wet month has meant a burst of growth on the allotment says Barry Cuff – sadly, for the weeds as well as the courgettes

Embrace the rain

It might be a damp squib of a summer, but Thorngrove’s Secret Garden might be just the treat you need, says Kelsi-Dean Buck

If you fell asleep in April and woke up last week, you might think not much time had passed. Summer is underway, but the showers have been plentiful and it certainly was a, shall we say, unsettled July?!

Followers of our social media will know that we keep the summer atmosphere strong though, and the courtyard here at Thorngrove continues to burst with colour (and between you and me, we don’t mind a bit of summer rain – it’s good for the plants!). Come join us on Facebook and Instagram for regular hits of summer vibrance, along with gardening tips and inspiration. Then come and visit us in person - we love chatting plants ‘n stuff!

In July we also launched our SUMMER SALE – many plants are available at a bargain price, still looking lovely, and with some TLC they’d make the perfect addition to your planters or garden space. This includes many from the hairy pot plant company, who grow a fabulous range of eco-friendly, sustainable, and ethically produced cottage garden

plants and herbs grown in hairy coir pots in a peat free compost. If you’re yet to discover them, we highly recommend. Stop by Thorngrove and have a look for yourself.

Summer menu

As it’s summer, we naturally now have our summer menu in the café – and we’ve had some incredible responses to it. We believe the Secret Garden Café is offering a unique range of dishes you don’t often find in similar settings, so to encourage more of you to try us out, we’ve launched our BUY ONE LUNCH, GET ONE LUNCH FREE offer!

Available every Tuesday and Thursday in the café, come along and catch up with friends. Indoor climate-controlled dining, or outdoor patio seating – for when the sun does show itself! – Ben and his team in the café are ready to welcome you. Don’t just take our word for it, read some of our reviews on Google, and the comments on social media. Our ‘secret’ café is not so secret anymore!

Plant of the month

Our plant of the month for August are the delightful hydrangeas. They’ve been showing off for a little while now, so we thought it’s only right to give them the spotlight for the month. These beautiful and versatile flowering shrubs can add charm and colour to your garden, and also work as impressive table centrepieces. Don’t let the rain dampen your summer spirits. All you need to do is pay us a visit and breathe in the lush seasonal plants on display … and let’s be honest, nobody wanted another drought did they? Embrace the damp – we look forward to seeing you this month!

Planters being made ready for Shaftesbury

Wessex Internet and Nokia partnership

Dorset’s own Wessex Internet is forging ahead with a fresh partnership with Nokia for innovative network technology. The collaboration involves the implementation of state-of-the-art Nokia technology to bolster the robustness and capacity of Wessex’s core network. This initiative aims to guarantee the provision of the swiftest possible broadband speeds to customers for years to come. Furthermore, by moving to this technology (called XGS-PON), Wessex Internet will need fewer fibres in the ground and fewer cabinets above ground. This approach means Wessex can not only speed up the local roll-out to waiting communities, but also minimise its equipment and energy needs, contributing to environmental sustainability.

Work’s already begun

The deployment of the advanced XGS-PON infrastructure has already commenced within Wessex’s network, and customers in Sunrise Business Park, Blandford are the first to enjoy the connection through this new technology.

Hector Gibson Fleming, Wessex Internet’s CEO, expressed his enthusiasm, stating:

‘Our partnership with Nokia is fantastic step forward for Wessex Internet which is already delivering improvements to the capacity and resilience of our network. More importantly, it gives us a clear technology roadmap which is futureproof. This ensures our network will deliver the speeds and reliability that our customers need for decades to come, ensuring that rural communities are not left behind as technology changes.’

Echoing this sentiment, Phil Siveter, UK&I CEO/CSO at Nokia, remarked:

‘We are proud to partner with Wessex Internet to help bring high-quality 10Gbs broadband services to their customers. As demand for Gigabit and symmetrical services grows, next-generation fibre technologies like XGS-PON play a critical role in delivering and supporting the ultra-broadband services customers require today and in the future.’

Wessex Internet’s network engineering foreman Wayne Turner with Grant Green of Blandford Tools, the first customer to connect to the XGS-PON technology

Harts of Stur triumphs – four wins at Housewares Awards 2023

Harts of Stur, the family-owned department store based in Sturminster Newton, has added four more awards to its trophy cabinet at the Housewares Awards 2023. Organised in partnership with Housewares magazine, the awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of the housewares industry, applauding innovation, dedication, and excellence among manufacturers and retailers. Harts impressed the judges with its robust online presence and also its excellent and diverse in-store offerings, such as the garden department and Harts Coffee Loft. The department store retained its title as Best Online Independent of the Year for the second year, receiving specific praise for its seamless e-commerce, fast page loading, the userfriendly navigation, mobile optimisation, and also for the clean website design.

It’s always a team award

It was Harts’ first time winning Independent Retailer of the Year, awarded for their expertise across the retail spectrum, including aspects like store design, product range, customer service, marketing, promotion, and innovation. Additionally, Harts’ recent store redevelopment and display creativity earned them the joint Best Retail Display of the Year award (alongside Woodbridge Kitchen Company). Sam Belcher completed the award quartet by winning Best Salesperson of the Year – recognising his adaptability, product

knowledge and sales skills.

Upon the announcement, David Conduit, purchasing director, said, ‘We are over the moon to receive these prestigious awards. Harts is and always has been a team effort, and these awards recognise the contribution all colleagues make to ensure we stay ahead. We never like to stand still – we’re already working on enhancements, both online and in-store, that will hopefully see us as award challengers again next year!’

Harts’ success doesn’t stop here – they are also finalists in the eCommerce awards, the results of which will be revealed in September.

• hartsofstur.com

Happy Harts. Some of the Harts team celebrating their recent awards success

Sam Belcher with his award for Salesperson of the Year.

Putting North Dorset On The Map

North Dorset Networking Event

Thursday 10th August 6-7pm

Gillingham Town Hall

The Mayor of Gillingham and the North Dorset Tourism Group invite you to attend the first North Dorset Networking Event. This free networking event is the first in a series aiming to create a community of like-minded businesses, increase tourism and support North Dorset business. We’ll be joined by the Visit Dorset team who have been working with us on an initiative to put North Dorset “Back on the map”. in partnership with

. . . A u g u s t s t r e t c h e d b e f o r e u s – l o n g a n d g o l d e n a n d r e a s s u r i n g ,

l i k e a n e n d l e s s p e r i o d o f d e l i c i o u s s l e e p .

G O T S O M E N E W S ?

G e t i n t o u c h w i t h L a u r a o n e d i t o r @ B V m a g a z i n e . c o . u k

T H I N K Y O U R B U S I N E S S W O U L D

M A K E A G O O D F E A T U R E ?

G O T A S U G G E S T I O N F O R A L O C A L

P E R S O N Y O U ' D L I K E T O S E E S H A R E

T H E I R D O R S E T I S L A N D D I S C S ?

S e n d a q u i c k e m a i l t o e d i t o r @ B V m a g a z i n e . c o . u k

W A N T T O A D V E R T I S E ?

G e t i n t o u c h w i t h C o u r t e n a y t o c h a t a b o u t w h a t y o u ' r e l o o k i n g f o r :

a d v e r t i s i n g @ B V m a g a z i n e . c o . u k

0 1 2 5 8 4 7 2 5 7 2

P R O D U C T I O N

S C H E D U L E :

N e x t P u b l i c a t i o n D a t e :

1 s t S e p t e m b e r ( d e a d l i n e 2 5 t h A u g u s t )

T h e n

6 t h O c t o b e r

3 r d N o v e m b e r

P u b l i c a t i o n a l w a y s f i r s t F r i d a y o f t h e

m o n t h , b o o k i n g d e a d l i n e a l w a y s t h e

F r i d a y p r i o r t o p u b l i s h i n g

– Lauren Oliver

Summer resting by Tracy Whincup