The BV Magazine, Dec 23

PROUD TO BE ONLY DIGITAL – WE LOVE TREES!

December ‘23

ISSN 2634-8810

The heart of the Blackmore Vale

The BV magazine - December ‘23

IN THIS ISSUE

One of the nation’s favourite experts, Paul Atterbury talks antiques, art, and Andy Pandy as he answers the Random 19| Page 36

Hunting humans – Senior Master Jeremy Whaley tells the story of the South Downs Bloodhounds | Page 4

Heather’s Christmas leftovers: save these pages, you’ll be wanting them on the 27th December ... | Page 95

Weird weather means the mares are still out, and the Glanvilles Stud team had to magic up a pop-up restaurant, says Lucy Procter| Page 112

Internationally renowned harpist Gwyneth Wentink chooses her Dorset island Discs | Page 40

Front cover: Christmas deer by Annette Gregory

Win a hamper for Christmas, packed with £400-worth of Dorset produce in our Local Flavours competition | Page 17

The BV magazine, December ‘23

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...

46

A Country Living

133

Announcements

82

Art - Kate Chidley

70

Book corner

53

Community News

17

Competition - win a hamper

40

Dorset Island Discs – Gwyneth Wentink

112

Equestrian

107

Farming

87

Food & Drink

129

Health

136

Jobs

60

Letters to the Editor

62

Local history

4

News

66

Night Sky

102

Out of doors

57

Puzzles

36

Random 19 – Paul Atterbury

122

Reader's photography

22

Rural Matters – CPRE

68

Take a hike

73

What's on

118

Wildlife

Contact The BV Team:

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Last Christmas I saw a Tweet by someone hunting for some specific items – and for whatever reason, it stayed with me. She wanted suggestions on where to find the perfect crumble dish, a soft blanket large enough for a 6’ man asleep on a sofa, and a specific set of pink vintage tumblers to match a jug. The list has lived on in my head ever since – it’s such a perfect, thoughtful, careful list of gifts.

Did her sister know that the list writer thought her crumble was the best, and worthy of a very special dish of its own? Did the man who nods off on the sofa appreciate the big-enough blanket? Did she ever find and replace the broken glassware?

I’ll never know. But I do know I try and create my own version of this list every time I buy a gift. What does my person truly love, want or need? Gifts are an offer of your love and respect. A ‘that’ll do’ present, bought in haste, is neither lovely to give or thrilling to receive. The very best thing about giving a gift is seeing the other person’s face light up, letting you know you got it just right.

As we all face another winter of climbing bills and narrowing bank accounts, it’s not a bad thing to focus on the small, thoughtful things that somehow always end up meaning the most. Think back – I’m willing to bet that your most treasured gifts weren’t the expensive ones. They were the thoughtful ones.

As you’d expect, there’s a lot about Christmas gift buying in this issue – and Do please click their links, visit their shops, have a browse. If we all do just a little, if each of us buys just one or two thoughtful items from local businesses, or even simply like and share their social media posts, together we really can make a lot of difference.

Lastly, it’s good to remember at this time of year that Christmas is a terrific amplifier – love gets lovelier, hurt gets hurtier, loss gets lossier, lonely gets lonelier and family gets crazier.

Thank you for a wonderful, frantic, ridiculous year – we’re off to light the fire, warm some wine, eat a mince pie or three, and enjoy having a full nest for the first time in a year as our biggest ones come home from America.

Have a wonderful, wonderful month.

01258 472572

Editor: Laura Hitchcock editor@BVmagazine.co.uk Advertising: Courtenay Hitchcock advertising@BVmagazine.co.uk Sub-editors: Gay Pirrie-Weir Fanny Charles Everything else: Try Courtenay, he’s the organised one...

PS don’t forget we’ll be out later in January - were taking Christmas off. We rather think we’ve earned it.

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

NEWS

by Laura Hitchcock All images © Sharon T Photography

Hunting humans for fun Lifelong kennelman Jeremy Whaley’s hunting narrative shifts from tradition to innovation, prioritising the hounds’ skill over the hunt’s end ‘I was deeply anti-hunting,’ says Jeremy Whaley – not the conversation opener expected from a lifelong huntsman and hunt master.

‘But as a child I loved my pony, and I really loved dogs. At the yard where I kept my pony there were children who hunted, and I’d see them come back muddy and tired – but they always had that look in their eye that said they’d had the best day.

‘Eventually they persuaded me to give it a try – and I was just fortunate that I was out with the huntsman Jim Bennett and the Old Berkeley pack. It was a spectacle! The horses, the chaps in their mustard coats … but most of all, I instantly recognised that one of these men had a magical – and I mean that literally – bond with all these dogs. They were all looking at the huntsman and listening to him, it was spellbinding. Then 4

The BV magazine, December ‘23

NEWS we moved off and I watched that man working all those dogs, off leads, running around barking ... and yet, they were still under full control. I was hooked.

‘I was an academic and sporting failure – horses and hunting became my mental life saver.

‘Jim was a professional huntsman, and I was lucky enough to hunt regularly with him throughout the rest of my childhood and my early adult years. He taught me and showed me that it was hound work, and the relationship with his hounds, that was important to him, not killing foxes.

‘Just as, for a farmer, raising animals is a passion and the killing of those animals is merely a necessity for feeding humans.

It was only ever about his love of hounds, never a passion to kill a fox. That was what set me on the path to 23 years hunting with foxhounds – like Jim, I loved the hounds, but I never enjoyed killing the fox. I was Master and Huntsman of The New Forest, then The Chiddingfold Leconfield and Cowdray, and then The Berwickshire Foxhounds in Scotland. Then the law changed and the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002 came into force which, due to loopholes in the legislation, allowed an unlimited number of dogs to ‘flush foxes to guns’.

Megan James with Halo

I’d not seen anything like it before, I couldn’t stomach it.

‘So I looked for alternatives. Drag, or trail, hunting is too artificial for me. There’s no challenge in what is effectively following a railway line of scent. Then I saw Nic Wheeler from Coakham Bloodhounds, one of the oldest bloodhound packs in the UK. I went out with them, loved it, and realised it was my answer.’

The hounds come too Hunting humans with bloodhounds is referred to as hunting the clean boot.

‘It’s not fox hunting by another name. They’re completely different sports. Just as someone who’s good at squash may not enjoy tennis, clean boot hunting with bloodhounds is a sport in its own right, with its own skills and challenges,’ says Jeremy.

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Jeremy Whalen leading the South Downs Bloodhounds, accompanied by amateur whipper-in Amanda Pole All images © Sharon T Photography

The BV magazine, December ‘23

NEWS ‘The point is, the hunting of most wild animals with hounds is illegal. It doesn’t matter if it was bad law - it is what it is, it is not going to change and, if we want hound sports to survive, we need to not only move on and hunt within the law, but do so in a way that seeks to impress and educate the average, tolerant, man, woman or any other of the myriad genders that currently exist on the Clapham omnibus.

‘I started the Borders Bloodhounds Hunt in 2002 – and the more I learned, the more I loved it.

Due to a change in circumstances I had to move back south, so I found a kennels to rent and brought the hounds with me.

I started the South Downs Bloodhounds (SDB) in 2004, on an absolute shoestring budget!

‘One day we had 126 riders turn up we realised we really needed to set up a booking system! We usually average about 30 riders a hunt now, and most simply pay a cap to attend for the day.

Tub hunting We start in August with tub hunting (because the quarries are a bit tubby that early in the season …), and we do four or five hunts of around a mile each in a day to get the quarry, the hounds and the horses fit. We have the formal opening meet in the middle of October, and by then we will have three or four longer hunts of two to three miles; up to five miles if I can manage it.

Quarries l-r: Liz Wheeler, Tom Hawthorne, Richard Taylor and Quarry Captain Nick Hudson

‘The routes are mapped in to make life difficult for the advance, and I try to always vary hounds. Just two quarries, and them, even if we’ve been to the let the hounds struggle a little. same place before. The hounds ‘We used to hunt a policeman, learn a route very quickly, so we he was really good. One time we always try and make each one came up into a really big stubble different. field and I knew the quarry ‘We’ll go anywhere – Hampshire, should have gone half way down Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset … before turning right. But the we’ve just been up to Fife in hounds flew along confidently, Scotland! In fact, the Fife and the shooting past where the quarry Lauderdale Hunts are should have both now converted to turned. We made a bloodhound hunt. it to the end of We used ‘Hunting human the field, and the to hunt a quarry with hounds checked. policeman – bloodhounds has all I watched them the vagaries of the casting about, and he caused us proper chase – you some brilliant started to wonder can see them working if the quarry had problems the trail out. It’s not got lost somehow. just a case of the Then, just one quarry running as individual hound, fast as they can along the route Subtle, started to move her way that’s given to them, it’s far more back up the line. I called the rest complex. of the pack, and they followed ‘Last week we had six quarry her – half way back across the out as a group, and really that’s field they roared off in the right too many. The hounds just flew direction. without checking. Obviously ‘I spoke to the policeman there were some who enjoyed a afterwards, and he said he’d fast ride, but for me it’s far better decided to cause us some

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SEASON’S

TO ALL OUR PUPILS, PARENTS, PARTNERS, SUPPLIERS AND FRIENDS

WRITER’S BLOCK OPEN! We’re delighted that The Writer’s Block, Clayesmore’s onsite cafe, will be open until 22 December. Join us for some festive cheer with a gingerbread latte or a pigs in blankets panini!

OPEN 9 - 3.30PM DAILY (EXCLUDES SUNDAY 17 DEC)

MerryChristmas

The BV magazine, December ‘23

NEWS

problems – he ran all the way to the end of the field, doubled back to re-trace his own steps up the line, and then cut left across the field as planned. Brilliant!’

A hound is a hound How big is the South Downs Bloodhounds pack?

‘I normally have 18 couple in kennels,’ says Jeremy. ‘And I take 12 to 13 couple to hunt.’

A pack of hounds is always counted in couples. Two hounds are a couple and one hound is one hound – unless he is with others, when he is, naturally, half a couple. It is traditional for a huntsman to take an odd number of hounds out for a day’s

hunting, so he might take 20½ couple – or 41 hounds.

‘Everyone is welcome to join the South Downs Bloodhounds.

Riders must book ahead via the website, but anyone is welcome to attend the meets on foot and follow, or to become quarry. The SDB hunt is renowned for being welcoming to newcomers and isn’t overly concerned about the ‘right’ hunting dress, or people understanding hunting terms.

There are always hunt members to buddy up with, whether you’re riding for the first time, or watching on foot. You do not need references to join the SDB. Details are all published on the website, and Jeremy encourages

anyone to come and experience it for themselves.

‘To be honest, we take the piss out of each other a lot. And that’s not accidental. We really want people who will come along, muck in and have fun. We’re not frightfully grand, and we’re not there to impress anyone. We’re just ordinary people who love our animals, enjoying our sport.’

• southdownsbloodhounds.com Jeremy is always looking for new places to hunt; if you would like to see these hounds hunting humans across your land, he’d be delighted to hear from you.

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

by Laura Hitchcock

NEWS

North Dorset MP gets an upgrade to the front benches Simon Hoare is the new Minister for Local Government: officially the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities ‘I’d not long arrived at my flat in London, and was just warming up some soup when the phone rang,’ he says. ‘I saw it was the Chief Whip, and obviously my first thought was “what have I done now?”

‘But he simply said “The PM would like to know if you want to join the front benches.” Obviously the correct second thought is then “Doing what?!”

‘He then offered me the position of Minister for Local Government, and I had a quick yes-or-no decision to make. Obviously I said yes – but then had to ask “so what happens now?” It’s a massive honour – of course it is – but it’s also new to me. I had no clue what the protocol is. No one prepares you for it!

‘I had two calls in fairly rapid succession – the first was from the Propriety and Ethics team who asked all manner of interesting questions about whether I had been a terrorist, or had ever been convicted of money laundering and the like. Having passed that one with flying colours – I’ve had a rather dull existence, apparently – I was called by the Permanent Secretary to confirm the appointment, and to let me know my Private Secretary would be waiting for me at the Houses of Parliament at 9.15 the following morning.

‘And sure enough, there he was, waiting in the foyer with my badge. He took me to my office which already had my name on the door, the computer was already set up for me, as was a diary already full of appointments. People talk about hitting the ground running, but I’m not sure I’d really done it at such speed before!

‘In theory I know that as I realised soon as the King approves the appointment, you’re I probably it, effectively. But when it ought to call actually happens, the sheer my wife! speed of it is astonishing. It wasn’t until two hours after the first phone call that I realised I probably ought to call my wife!

‘The whole thing takes some getting used to. I was in a meeting this week and was presented with three possible options for a course of action. I suggested that one was the right way to go, and a few notes were taken. I then asked how we might progress that, who it needed to be passed through or get approval from, and I was met with a slightly surprised face.

Turns out my decision had just allocated £190m.

That’s how it works.

‘I do have to say a word about the efficiency of the

civil servants, who have met me with overwhelming warmth, help and kindness at every step. And I have been touched by the number of colleagues from right across the House who have congratulated me – it’s such an encouragement when even the opposition say ‘it’s about time’ instead of ‘why on earth?’... I must be doing something right!’

Simon started his political career as a parish councillor, before becoming an elected local councillor for 12 years. He’s confident that with his experience of working in local government he has an excellent understanding of his brief.

‘It’s hugely, hugely exciting, and I’m keen for the challenge – I think we all as human beings enjoy being stretched. To be honest I still get a thrill just parking my buttocks on the back benches. Now I’ve a front row seat. And I have to admit, the House looks completely different from down there. Instead of looking down on it from up at the back, I’m inside it.

It’s much smaller and far more intimate.’

North Dorset first ‘But I cannot forget that I am only here to do this job because I was first elected by the people of North Dorset and my first duty of care always has been and always will be to them.

In France, a civil servant is placed into a constituency when an MP is promoted, to look after matters previously in his care. But we don’t do that in England, and rightly so. I think it is so important to stay anchored and connected with your base, it’s enormously important in everything we do.’

But what exactly is the Minister for Local Government actually responsible for? What will the new job entail?

‘It’s a vast remit – I’m now responsible to Parliament for local funding, special educational needs – in partnership with the DoE of course – adult social care, planning, alongside the planning minister, election law (ensuring systems are in place to guarantee public confidence in a democratic vote, preventing any “we was robbed/it was rigged” shenanigans in the UK!). I’m also the minister for the Covid inquiry and the Commons minister for faith, which means I’ll be taking through the Holocaust Memorial Bill.

Today I’m in a Westminster Hall debate on heritage pubs, and later have a meeting about local government funding on the Isle of Wight.

‘But I like to be busy! The devil makes work for idle hands and all that. I think we all like to be busy, don’t we? Just as long as we get tangible results.’

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

NEWS

The Dorset surgeon who rescued the Elephant Man and saved Edward VII Sir Frederick Treves, who died a century ago this month, was one of Dorset’s most famous men – Rachael Rowe reports On 15 February 1853, Frederick Treves was born at 8 Cornhill in Dorchester, the son of upholsterer William Treves. Young Frederick attended a local school run by Dorset dialect expert and poet William Barnes, who had a significant impact on Frederick’s writing in later years.

After his father died in 1867, his mother moved the family to London where Frederick attended Merchant Taylor’s School before enrolling at the London Hospital Medical College.

He became a general practitioner in Derbyshire before returning to London to continue his studies. In 1875 at the age of 22, he passed his membership exams for the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) and five years later became a Fellow of the RCS. In 1877, Treves married Ann Elizabeth, whose father, Alfred Samuel Mason, was a well-known Dorchester brewer. The couple had two daughters.

Sir Frederick Treves

parts of his body. Medical science has still not been able to identify the exact cause or nature of this condition. The only way he could earn money to survive was to The Elephant Man appear in freak shows and fairs.

Frederick Treves was a lecturer in When Treves saw Joseph Merrick, anatomy as well as a surgeon at he immediately had the exhibition the London Hospital. shut down and One day in offered to examine 1884, he heard a The operation him at the London commotion in the was performed Hospital. He building opposite described his first the hospital, and on the table encounter in his 1922 went to investigate. in the Music book, The Elephant There he met Joseph Man and Other Room at Merrick, commonly Reminiscences: known as the Buckingham ‘The whole of the Elephant Man, who Palace front of the shop, was being exhibited with the exception of as entertainment the door, was hidden

by Tom Norman, a by a hanging sheet of canvas on London-based showman. which was the announcement After birth, Merrick developed that the Elephant Man was to be a very rare medical condition, seen within and that the price causing deformities, lumps and of admission was two pence. thickening of skin on various

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Painted on the canvas in primitive colours was a life-size portrait of the Elephant Man. This very crude production depicted a frightful creature that could only have been possible in a nightmare. It was the figure of a man with the characteristics of an elephant.

The transfiguration was not far advanced. There was still more of the man than of the beast.’

Treves eventually provided quarters for Joseph Merrick at the London Hospital in order to oversee his long-term health problems. Merrick lived there for four years, even meeting Princess Alexandra when she visited in 1888. He died in 1890, after the weight of his head led to him suffocating overnight.

Saving the King In 1888 Frederick Treves performed the first appendectomy in England.

The BV magazine, December ‘23

NEWS He was appointed surgeon to Queen Victoria in 1900 and on her death in January 1901 continued as surgeon to Edward VII, becoming Honorary Serjeant Surgeon to the King, and knighted the same year.

In August 1902, just before his coronation, the King developed appendicitis, but he was deeply unwilling to have an operation because of the very high mortality rates of operations at that time.

Treves talked him into having the surgery, bluntly pointing out that if the king did not have the operation there would be a funeral instead of a coronation.

The operation was performed on the table in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace, where Treves was assisted by another famous surgeon, Sir Joseph Lister (Baron Lister of Lyme Regis). They made a small incision to drain an abscess around the appendix, preventing the development of lethal peritonitis and sepsis.

The next day, King Edward VII was sitting up in bed happily smoking a cigar. As a result of the King’s successful surgery for appendicitis, the technique was seen as being safe and was implemented across the country, saving many more lives. In 1902, Treves was granted the Freedom of the Borough of Dorchester. When Edward VII fell into a rabbit hole in 1905, Treves treated his achilles tendon.

A Dorset Writer Sir Frederick Treves never lost his love of Dorset. In 1904 he became the first President of the Society of Dorset Men. In 1906 he wrote Highways and Byways of Dorset, a delightful description of the towns and villages in the county.

Sturminster Newton is described as ‘No greate place,’ while he thought of Milton Abbas that ‘there is nothing like to it in any part of England.’

Treves travelled to all corners of Dorset on foot and bicycle in order

to write his book.

To read it is like stepping back in time to the days when Thomas Hardy and Treves would have wandered the countryside, observing people, nature, and the characters living in Dorset.

On 7th December 1923, Sir Frederick Treves died of peritonitis in Lausanne, Switzerland. His funeral was held at St Peter’s Church, Dorchester, on January 2nd 1924 and the King was represented by Lord Dawson.

Thomas Hardy was good friends with Frederick, and though 84 and very frail, he stood in the rain beside the open grave for the entire ceremony. He placed a poem in The Times, titled In the Evening, to mark the occasion: ‘In the evening, when the world knew he was dead, He lay amid the dust and hoar Of ages; and to a spirit attending said. “This chalky bed? — I surely seem to have been here before?”

© Bridgeman Images

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

Win a £400 hamper filled with Dorset’s Local Flavours!

The New Year will see the start of a new monthly column in the BV Magazine, celebrating the importance of local food production and the work of the organisations and businesses that promote it.

Local Flavours will feature news from the food and drink scene across the Blackmore Vale (and a little further), with interviews, the latest products, information on where to buy the best local and seasonal food and drink, updates on special or regular events, some tasty history from Dorset’s archives and kitchens – and the occasional recipe to stimulate you to try something new. And we’re thrilled to have persuaded Fanny Charles, long time editor of the original Blackmore Vale Magazine and author of the first Local Flavours column, to write it!

Fanny was one of the founders and organisers of popular Screen Bites Food Film Festival, co-founder of the Dorset Food and Arts Festival, was Dorset Food and Farming Hero 2017 and is still a judge and co-ordinator for the Guild of Fine Food’s Great Taste Awards.

Local Flavours What’s the story behind Dorset’s famous Blue Vinny Cheese? When and where is your nearest farmers market? What label tells you something’s genuinely been made in Dorset by a local producer? You’ve heard of black garlic – but what would you do with it? Who was Sir Kenelm Digby – and why is he important in food history?

From some of the world’s greatest cheeses (OK we’re prejudiced; we love farmhouse Cheddar – and Blue Vinny, of course) to award-winning gin, from organic farm products to the area’s best food festivals and fairs … Local Flavours will be serving up some interesting and appetising treats.

WIN A HAMPER! To celebrate the launch of the new column (and just because we wanted to), we’ve spoken to some of the myriad local artisan food producers

we have featured since launching the BV three years ago – and with their help we have put together a hamper filled to the brim with local produce, worth more than £400 for one BV reader to win just in time for Christmas!

We need to thank the following producers for their generosity and support with filling the hamper: • Tack Room Distillery – London dry gin • Chococo – Large festive chocolate collection • Rawston Farm – a family Christmas pudding • Stony Groves – Zesty Kampot Spice Blend and Spice Mill • Brace of Butchers – Joint of beef • Shroton Fair Gin – Zummit Dry • Felthams Farm – Four cheese coffer • Meggy Moos – selection of dairy • Ajar Of – selection of preserves and a Christmas Pudding • Wild and Game – Luxury pate gift set • Book & Bucket Cheese Company – Classic hamper • Weymouth 51 – selection of

• • • •

NEWS

sauces and preserves Little Waddon Vineyard – Three Summers 2018 Brut The Watercress Company – watercress plus vouchers Honeybuns – selection of cakes and biscuits Virginia Hayward – one very large wicker hamper!

How to enter To be in with a chance to win the Local Flavours Dorset Hamper, just click here (or on the picture!) to go to the website and enter using the widget at the bottom. As there’s gin and wine in the hamper we also have to check you’re over 18, sorry!

There are more chances to win by completing the other entry options if you so wish – they’re entirely up to you!

• The closing date for this competition is 14th December 2023 and only entries received on or before that date can be included.

The prize will go to the first randomly chosen entry, and we will arrange to deliver the hamper over the weekend of 16th-17th December 2023. Good luck!

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

NEWS

by Laura Hitchcock

Ringing the bell

Hazelbury Bryan primary school’s call to ‘make a noise’ against bullying was answered by a cathedral bellringer’s visit Tim Joiner is a previous Lord Mayor of Westminster and a bell ringer at Brecon Cathedral. When Hazelbury Bryan primary school settled on ‘make a noise’ as the theme for the school’s antibullying week, parent-governor Romana Phillips knew just who to call – she couldn’t think of anything more appropriate for ‘making a noise’ than bellringing.

Tim was happy to travel from Brecon, and he also contacted the Dorset County Association of Church Bellringers to see if they might put on something special just for the school.

St Mary and St James church doesn’t have its own band (the collective noun for group of bellringers), so a group of Dorset bellringers from different churches volunteered to join Tim to perform a quarter peal.

‘That’s ringing 1,250 times around the bells,’ explains Tim. ‘It takes 45 minutes to ring a quarter peal – every time we go round, it has to be a different permutation or combination, a different order of the bells. And you have to memorise it.’

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Tim Joiner (left) setting the bells with Robert Newton and Jane Pridmore

Tim holds up a small book with pages filled with rows of numbers – looking remarkably similar to the old logarithm books readers of a certain age will remember from school.

‘Methods for various numbers of bells are laid out across the columns of numbers. That’s bell ringing music. But you’re not allowed to use it, you have to learn it – you’re not allowed to use it during the ringing at all.

‘You end up with something called rope-sight, where you can see where all the bells are. And you instinctively know “I need to be second place …. third place … fourth …” and you don’t even worry about what the other bells are doing. You just need to know which one you’re going to follow.

And you do that by listening, and by looking ... and to an extent by how quickly your arms are going up and down!’

Robert Newton (far left) and Tim Joiner give some of the pupils a quick lesson in bell ringing All images: Laura Hitchcock

The band’s all here Tim was joined in Hazelbury

by Robert Newton from Hilton, John Close from Winterborne Whitchurch, Angie Jasper from Hampreston, and Jane and Nigel Pridmore. Nigel rings at Puddletown and Jane is the Dorset County Association Training Officer: ‘So I ring everywhere!’

All of the ringers gave up their afternoon to ring the quarter peal – John and Robert came direct from a morning spent ringing near Bridport.

The BV magazine, December ‘23

NEWS ‘On the first day, I talked to the children on school about size and pitch of bells, and showed them how chord changes work, so they got a basic idea,’ explains Tim. ‘It’s actually quite difficult, but they did it! Then on the second day, we played some simple tunes with the handbells. It was a lot of fun, and they did so well.’

Lucy Odhams, Kestrels class teacher, was in charge of the anti-bullying work in school.

‘Making a noise doesn’t mean a physical noise,’ she explains.

‘The children know it means they shouldn’t ignore bullying, and we’ve represented that through the bell ringing. All the children have been ringing bells themselves, and then we were really lucky to have the opportunity to make a really BIG noise in the bell tower.

‘It’s been a great activity, and really kept them focused on making that noise, being able to tell someone if they ever saw bullying happen.’

‘We talked a lot about how people might not always be poorly on the outside,‘ continues headteacher Mrs Waring. ‘We’ve got to consider people’s hearts and minds on the inside, too.

‘It’s also been lovely to see that some of our challenging children, those with special educational needs, have absolutely shone this week,. They’ve thoroughly enjoyed the bellringing. It’s been wonderful.’

The quarter peal under way in St Mary and St James church

The children were excited to pull the Sally (the colourful padded rope end) and ring a bell

Tim Joiner with some of the Hazelbury Bryan Primary School pupils in the bell tower

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

RURAL MATTERS An attractive vernacular estate at Old Dairy, Okeford Fitzpaine Images: Rupert Hardy

Housing in North Dorset – how to do it better With elections looming, North Dorset CPRE’s Rupert Hardy challenges unsustainable, unaffordable local housing strategies Sadly, we and others were unable to stop the North Dorset Area Planning Committee from approving a Wyatt Homes development to build 490 (perhaps unnecessary) homes between Blandford and Pimperne last month. Mindful that both local and general elections are expected next year, it is probably a good time to set out some of North Dorset CPRE’s thoughts on new housing in the region for the benefit of developers, councillors, wannabe candidates for Dorset Council (DC), planners and local residents.

with its new Local Plan – which has made little progress so far.

What type of housing?

It is right to criticise our national housebuilders, brands such as Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey, for creating estates with few redeeming features.

Many of our historic North Dorset towns, such as Shaftesbury, are now surrounded by them. They are effectively deserts of poor quality anodyne “Noddy boxes”, created without an architect in sight.

More importantly, they usually offer the wrong type How much new housing? of housing.

News came through in September that North Dorset Would-be Dorset homebuyers, already living in finally had more than a five-year housing supply, so the county, are desperate for genuinely affordable planning decisions should now follow the develophousing of two to three bedrooms, not the fourment plan – which still means the old bedroom executive homes mostly on North Dorset Local Plan (NDLP). PreviInfrastructure offer. The local need is for starter homes ously, there was a tilted balance with a and retirement flats – and of course should presumption in favour of sustainable social housing – but that is a scant not be an development. Housing targets for commodity given the government’s Blandford and its surrounding villages refusal to fund them. Community Land afterthought have now been exceeded, thanks to a Trusts should be encouraged, as they do massive building programme in recent provide genuinely affordable housing. years, so it was a pity the planning committee did not consider this to be important. Curiously there is Vernacular or modern? no planning committee member even representing The national housebuilders fail here too, as they Blandford. produce neither. Polls suggest that housing with Do remember that Dorset’s demographic is changvernacular features are popular. At least our local ing, with an increasingly ageing population, so housebuilders, such as CG Fry who created a lot housing demand is driven purely by incomers to the of Poundbury, do try to incorporate traditional county. Targets have now been exceeded in a lot of features such as thatched roofs and flint and brick North Dorset, but not all, and we have to allow for banding. Vernacular housing will blend into existing some more developments going forward. But they villages far more easily, and may well become should follow the NDLP until DC gets its act together indistinguishable in a few decades time. There are

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

RURAL MATTERS also many supporters of modern homes, of course.

Sustainability We are committed to Net Zero and we have badgered DC to force developers to make their homes Net Zero compliant, but it has been slow progress. Rooftop solar is a no-brainer, as is better insulation, while heat pumps are obvious solutions in new housing, even if they are not a perfect answer for many older dwellings.

The new Wyatt Homes’ development outside Blandford should be Net Zero compliant, but it did take three iterations to get there.

Sustainability also covers transport – and this is difficult, given the inadequacy of good local public transport in rural Dorset, so proximity to transport hubs is crucial. We must try to stop building cardependent estates. Do not be fooled by those developers’ glossy websites showing cyclists and walkers. Homeowners all too readily reach for their car keys to get anywhere!

It would also help if Dorset Highways had a realistic approach to assessing planning applications. They appear too ready to rubber stamp them, even if they are likely to cause severe traffic congestion as Wyatt Homes’s development in Blandford will surely do.

Density Not everyone will have heard of “gentle density” housing. Primarily it refers to three-to-seven storey housing, a common way to build to deliver housing in European towns. It is less normal here, although there are good examples in Dorset, such as Poundbury which was one of the first to pioneer mixed-use neighbourhoods, where the car is subservient to the pedestrian.

The low density, two to three storey “Brookside”

developments that are all too common here are bad news for housing supply, commuting distances and carbon emissions. Good agricultural land should be protected if possible.

Elements of gentle density housing have found their way into the new Levelling Up and Regeneration Act, which requires local authorities to have design codes in place for developments. These codes don’t fix architectural styles, but set the parameters for the “building envelope” that will be acceptable.

Infrastructure In North Dorset, town infrastructure is creaking at the seams with long queues for doctors and dentists’ surgeries. Please, no more houses without putting in more infrastructure at the same time.

It should not be an afterthought.

Protected landscapes We have some beautiful countryside in North Dorset, with a lot within AONBs (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) – which have recently been renamed as National Landscapes. These should be protected by planners and planning committees, not flouted.

Neighbourhood plans Volunteers in dozens of villages have put in hundreds of hours to create Neighbourhood Plans for their communities, suggesting preferred building sites to allow for organic growth. Their policies should not be ignored by DC. The approval of the Wyatt Homes development was a particularly sad day for Pimperne, which had created a very good plan, following government guidelines, and it felt a sad day too for local democracy.

Have I said enough?

The dull uniformity of many local developments

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

NEWS

A new William Barnes oak tree for Athelhampton House On a rainy Sunday at the end of November, a very special Barnes Oak sapling was planted on the gardens of Athelhampton House by members of the William Barnes Society.

William Barnes was a 19th century English polymath, writer, philologist, priest, mathematician, engraving artist and inventor. He was perhaps best known, however, as a poet, writing more than 800 poems in the Dorset dialect. He was also the cofounder of Dorset Museum.

He was born and spent his childhood in the hamlet of Bagber, just outside Sturminster Newton. Along the route he would have walked into town there still stands a large oak tree, which has been locally named the The Barnes Oak – this was the tree he wrote about in his poem The Girt Woak Tree That’s In the Dell.

Mark North, Dorset Museum’s marketing officer, explained how the saplings came about: ‘During covid I visited his birthplace, and also the Barnes Oak. The floor of the path was full of acorns that had fallen from the tree, and I decided to gather as

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Members of the William Barnes society with Giles Keaton, owner of Athelhampton (front, second left)

many as I could, take them home and grow trees from them. The idea of the project was to carry on the legacy of the girt woak tree and to plant them in other places that are associated with Barnes.’

The Athelhampton sapling was purchased especially for the gardens at Athelhampton at a fundraising auction earlier this year.

The BV magazine, December ‘23

by Gay Pirrie-Weir

It’s panto season (Oh yes it is!)

Poisoned apples, dashing princes, magic lamps or talking cats – which pantomime should YOU choose this Christmas?

ALL the major theatres in the area have their pantomimes ready for your cheering, booing and it’s-behind-you-ing, and now the choice is between distance, cost and which stars you most want to see. In the ten shows in (relatively easy) distance, audiences have a choice of three Snow Whites and 21 dwarfs, two Cinderellas, one Aladdin, one Dick Whittington, one Goldilocks, one Peter Pan and one Sleeping Beauty, so most of the big panto stories are covered!

The cost of living crisis has really hit most of us in recent months, and travel may feel even more difficult this year. But it’s still important to take your children to see live performances of these traditional stories in an atmosphere that can’t be captured on film.

It’s the only theatre where audience noise is actively encouraged, with lots of chances to hiss, boo, cheer and generally join in – and it’s also an opportunity to dress up in your finery. Kids at pantomimes often look as colourful and glittery as the fairy princesses on stage.

Most of us get our first experience of live theatre at the pantomime, and if it weaves its colourful magic effectively, it can set a path for the rest of your theatre-going life.

Cinderella The best loved pantomime of all is Cinderella, the story of a kind child whose mother has died and whose father has remarried, saddling her with a selfish stepmother and two ghastly and ugly sisters.

When she is invited to Prince Charming’s ball, the sisters tear up her invitation. Of course, being panto, it all comes out right in the end.

This year the ever-popular duo of Gordon Cooper and Jack Glanville lead the Evolution show’s move from the traditional Octagon setting to Westlands, while the town centre venue awaits its refit. The panto opens on 8th December and runs to 31st, with several matinees and morning shows as well as evening performances.

The other Cinders is at Wimborne Tivoli, where the show is on from 15th December to 1st January and

FRIDAY 8 - SUNDAY 31 DECEMBER 2023

westlandsyeovil.co.uk | Box Office: 01935 422884 26

The BV magazine, December ‘23

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

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the stars are Luke Atwood and Brandon Nicholson as the sisters, Lucia-Jade Barker as Cinderella, Courtney Jackson as the Fairy Godmother and Lee Redwood as Buttons.

Dick Whittington This is the earliest show – it started on 25th November and is running to 7th January at Salisbury Playhouse – and Will Carey takes the title role. While pantomime is often the first experience of live theatre for a child, sometimes it is the professional debut for young actors, too; that is the case for Olivia Hewitt-Jones who is playing the feisty heroine, Alice Fitzwarren. But while Dick Whittington will be her first pro panto, Olivia is no stranger to the traditional Christmas show – her father Brian was a pantomime producer for years and her mother, actress Amanda Bairstow, acted in them. Alongside Will and Olivia are Lindo Shinda as Cosmo the Cat, Will Jennings as King Percy Rat and David Rumelle as Sarah the Cook.

Snow White Another orphaned child pursued by a wicked stepmother, Snow White is saved by the efforts of seven dwarfs. It will be on stage at Bournemouth Pavilion (2nd to 31st December) and Weymouth Pavilion (13th to 31st December) and also at Southampton 28

Mayflower, probably the biggest and grandest theatre in the region, from 9th to 31st December, where the stars are Salisbury-born Christopher Biggins and Ashley Banjo and Diversity.

Bournemouth’s show has Su Pollard, Noel Brodie and Jamie Steen in the leading roles, and at Weymouth you can see George Sampson and Jamie Riding.

Aladdin Poole’s pantomime is Aladdin, starring the popular Chris Jarvis as Widow Twankey, with the eagerlyawaited return of Andrew Pollard and Alim Javardi, (who were named as the UK’s best pantomime duo for last year’s Nadine and Doris) and also Melinda Messenger as the Spirit of the Ring.

Bath and Bristol Neil McDermott joins the experienced duo of Jon Monie and Nick Wilton in Sleeping Beauty at Bath’s beautiful Theatre Royal from 7th December to 7th January. At another grand old Victorian theatre, Bristol Hippodrome, see David Suchet as Captain Hook in Peter Pan from 2nd to 31st December – it also stars Andy Ford and Faye Tozer.

Book your tickets and get your glad rags on and prepare to shout IT’S BEHIND YOU at the tops of your voices.

Please our ne support w this Ch Appeal ristma s

Emergency and Critical Care Appeal A £2.5M Capital Appeal funding major enhancements to the new Emergency Department and Critical Care Unit at Dorset County Hospital

Members of the Emergency Department Team at Dorset County Hospital

Make a donation or find out more about the Appeal here: Reg. Charity No. 1056479

www.dchcharity.org.uk

01305 253215

The BV magazine, December ‘23

ADVERTORIAL

Don’t miss Sherborne’s Festive Shopping Day on 3rd December Sherborne will once again light up with a free Festive Shopping Day, including entertainers, a street market and a parade to the lighting of the Christmas tree Sherborne will once again light up for Christmas with a free-entry Festive Shopping Day on Sunday 3rd December 2023 from 10am until 4pm.

The day will include: • Church services in The Abbey • Festive shops and stalls • Street entertainers • Sherborne Town Band • Other music and choirs.

• Santa’s Grotto • Children’s competition • Dorset’s Farmers Market • Christmas tree festival • Parade and lighting of the tree at 4pm Organised by volunteers from Sherborne’s Chamber of Trade

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and Commerce, the event offers a great family day out.

With stalls lining Cheap Street, Abbey Road, Half Moon Street and Digby Road, visitors can take the opportunity to browse more than 80 street market stalls of local makers, producers and traders, as well visiting the range of independent shops for which Sherborne is known. All of them will of course be offering some great ideas for Christmas gifts, treats and Christmas essentials, as well as countless places to enjoy something to eat or drink in the coffee shops, restaurants and pubs the town has to offer.

Cheap Street Church will have

its traditional Christmas Tree display, with local groups and organisations each decorating a tree – it’s always worth popping in to see. And don’t forget to make a trip to see the award-winning Christmas display at Castle Gardens too (just five minutes drive from the town centre) There will be free parking in the following car parks: Acreman Street, Coldharbour, Culverhayes (short stay and long stay), Culverhayes (commercial), Newland North, Old Market Yard and The Digby Hall.

The BV magazine, December ‘23

WHAT’S ON

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

NEWS There are more than 2,000 frames in the Mcleod’s workshop All images: Courtenay Hitchcock

If you can hang it on a wall, we can frame it!

As Douglas McLeod Period Frames enters its fifth decade in Salisbury, Gay Pirrie-Weir finds out the essentials of the perfect picture frame You might be the keenest fan of Fake or Fortune, but have you ever thought about the frames that are carefully removed and set aside before all that “provenance” is explored? Nor had I, until we were sent to “the only place” in Salisbury to get an engraving framed – Douglas McLeod Period Frames in Trinity Street. The shop is a treasure trove of wood, metal, composite, papier maché, plaster and even plastic with which to surround your precious wall hanging, priced from something in the £1 job lot box to a huge and magnificent gilded frame, currently on offer for £8,500.

If you have ever, anywhere, seen a frame that has caught your eye for its intricate detail, its carving, its colour, its unusual texture, its age or its subtly enhancing suitability, the chances are that the specialist business in the back streets of the city has something like it – and if they haven’t they can replicate it in the hidden workshop further out of the city centre.

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The business was started on 5th October 1982. At that time, the UK’s only specialist historic framing services were based in the capital, where the major auction houses still organised sales exclusively for frames and “runners” scoured provincial salerooms and fairs to snap up bargains and “run them past” the specialists, en route to potential

purchasers.

If you had a family heirloom portrait or landscape, the chances are it had a significant frame, and some were much more “significant” than others, dating back centuries, created by famous craftsmen and worth far more than the pictures they edged. And one of these treasures might just turn up on the parlour wall ... or

Douglas McLeod Period Frames on Trinity Street, Salisbury

The BV magazine, December ‘23

NEWS even in the attic.

Douglas McLeod continued with his international architectural work, but in his ‘spare time’ taught himself the historic skills of gilding and restoration, carving, moulding and all the arcane mysteries associated with the ancient craft.

Some of the formulae he uses originated in the 17th century and are still closely guarded secrets.

After a spell in Saudi Arabia designing houses for expatriates, Douglas shifted his focus towards the framing business. He had always loved old frames – he bought them from local auctions, and customers began to arrive in the shop with battered, but sometimes beautiful, frames they found at home and were reluctant to take to the tip. People who wanted frames came in, and came back again and again, always impressed by the range of frames they could see and buy and the experienced advice they received.

Douglas and his staff learned new skills, perfected those they had and acquired new tools, templates and other gizmos.

As the years went on, wife Susie and son Alexander, daughter Kate Robson and her husband Barry, and Andy Hollywood, (who, at 62, describes himself as the world’s oldest apprentice ... although he is also a plumber, bus driver and multi-skilled factotum), all joined the family business. There’s also the indispensable lurcher Grace, ready to greet shop customers.

‘You can always use a frame that is older than the picture’

After leaving London, the McLeods set up a gallery at Dunn’s House in Salisbury, moving on to a rented shop at 10 Trinity Street and eventually to the current shop, which they bought as a home and business in 2000.

Some are keepers Forty one years on, Susie is proud to say that the shop really does have something for everyone, from the granny wanting a plain

black frame for a football team picture to the owner of a noted painting with a damaged frame from a grand stately home.

The Trinity Street shop is an inspiration in itself – but there are more than 2,000 frames in the workshop, where Douglas and his assistants will restore them as closely as possible to the originals.

Some are so precious they will never be sold but will be cherished as examples of a particular style or The Salisbury framers has a £1 job lot box, and gilded frames worth thousands.

Whatever frame you’re looking for, it’s probably here

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

NEWS

Douglas McLeod in his Salisbury workshop process. Customers come not only from Salisbury and Wiltshire, but all over the UK and further afield.

Historically sand was used to enhance the texture of a frame – a technique Douglas thinks might have begun in ancient Egypt. A “sanded” frame was brought to the shop, three sides intact but the fourth beyond repair. A sand search was promptly instigated, and after forays to various local beaches, Douglas and Susie found that the sand at Hengistbury Head near Christchurch was the closest match. Even that wasn’t enough – Susie had to sieve the sand to isolate the correctly-sized grains.

‘That’s a labour of love,’ she says.

‘You can’t get rich doing that sort of work, but it’s worth it.’

Another favourite antique frame has little raised blobs of gilded something? - ‘Seeds,’ says Susie.

A chicken’s heart Some artists, Whistler and Watts among them, were very definite about the style and material used

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to frame their works, and the style of frame they designed now has their names. In the shop you can see examples of these as well as original, reproduction and modern frames with the very latest conservation techniques.

Douglas has various gilding processes to match original colours and to suit the woods and materials of the frames. He has

used gold leaf, but there is less call for it now that the price of gold has skyrocketed.

Susie and her staff have taken in many unusual items for framing, from the familiar oils, watercolours, etchings, engravings, drawings and photographs, to fabrics, treasured clothes, locks of hair and badges.

McLeod frames have been loaned

In the shop, stacked frames wait for new homes

The BV magazine, December ‘23

NEWS

to film and television companies and, more often, to college students as props.

‘One student came in with a chicken’s heart in formaldehyde for us to frame. It was LONG before Damien Hirst,’ says Susie.

The company has done work for the National Trust. Large and grand development projects often bring interior designers to the shop, in search of a number of frames to lend a theme to the required decor.

One of the oldest frames in the shop is a silver oval mirror dating from the 1680s. Douglas also has a frame from the mid-18th century which he is convinced originates

in a French royal residence – ‘But I can’t prove it,’ he says, regretfully.

While he and Susie nod to the passing of time, there’s absolutely no talk of retirement, and while new equipment is constantly being added in the workshop to ease the creation of more accurately matching framing materials, they know that there is no substitute for painstaking traditional skills.

‘One thing to remember is that you can always use a frame that is older than the picture. It’s often not so successful if you try to do it the other way ...

But if you can hang it on a wall, we can frame it,’ says Douglas.

• douglasmcleodperiodframes.co.uk

Susie McLeod with Grace, the best shop assistant

The workshop is the scene of constant experimentation

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

THE RANDOM 19 QUESTIONS

Interview by Laura Hitchcock

Paul Atterbury, Antiques Roadshow expert, answers the Random 19 From puppeteer’s son to TV authority: one of the nation’s favourite experts talks antiques, art, and Andy Pandy Paul Atterbury is a writer, lecturer, curator, historian and broadcaster. He’s also a familiar face to the nation simply as one of the Antiques Roadshow experts (specialising in 19th and 20th century Art and Design).

Now living in Weymouth, Paul and his wife Chrissie moved to Dorset, near Bridport, in the early 1990s – Paul was born in London.

His mother was puppeteer Audrey Atterbury, known for her work in the 1950s on the BBC’s Watch With Mother programmes such as Andy Pandy, Bill and Ben, the Flowerpot Men and The Woodentops.

‘I was the model for Andy Pandy,’ says Paul. ‘The craftsman who made the Andy Pandy puppet based it on five-year old me!’

Trained initially as a graphic Paul Atterbury designer, Paul later studied art history and then worked for Sotheby Publications, first as historical advisor for Royal Doulton and then as editor of Connoisseur magazine.

His television career started in the early 1980s on Thames TeleviRoadshow is an important and sion’s Afternoon Plus and TV-AM. enjoyable part of my life. It Ten years later he was invited to appeals to me because I like join the nations favourite team of meeting people and hearing their experts on BBC’s Antiques Roadstories. Even though the Roadshow show. He’s usually found in the days are long and tiring, they are miscellaneous section, which gives always exciting. Each item is a new him the opportunity to challenge and a explore the antiques voyage after the and collectables of ‘All other unknown. There the 19th and 20th will be a team of 20 flavours centuries, his personal of us on duty, and range from passion. He has taken collectively we’ll part in more than a disappointing see between 10,000 hundred Roadshows and 15,000 objects to disgusting’ and has also appeared in the course of regularly on the Great that day, of which Antiques Hunt, The Antiques Show 50 will be filmed.’ and on Hidden Treasures on BBC It is the story behind each item Radio Four. that keeps Paul excited and ‘Appearing on the Antiques interested through the long days,

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rather than the prospect of a highly valuable item: ‘One of my favourite encounters was quite a long time ago – we went to Belfast and I saw some photographs brought in by two ladies who were the direct descendants of the two girls who foxed the world with fairy photographs in 1917.

The ladies were the daughter and granddaughter of one of those girls – they had the camera that had been used and the photographs. It was a story I knew very well but to actually touch it was wonderful.’

Outside of his TV work, Paul has curated many exhibitions for museums and galleries, including several for the V&A in London. He has also written or edited more than 50 books on art, antiques,

The BV magazine, December ‘23

RANDOM 19 ceramics, silver, sculpture, canals, railways, travel and World War I. He has also recently published a couple of books on Eype and West Bay, as seen through old postcards. Paul gives more than 100 different lectures around the UK each year, specialising in 19thand 20th-century art and design.

In 2014, with author Janet Gleeson he started the Dorchester Literary Festival, which he still organises ‘with the aim of giving book lovers the opportunity to hear stimulating talks and discussions by leading authors.’

And so to the 19 random questions...

1. What’s your relationship with Dorset?

Dorset is where I live and where I always want to be. I am, of course, a blow-in – I came to the county from London in the late 1980s but my wife grew up here, so I think I can claim residency? I certainly have no real roots anywhere else.

2. The last film you watched?

Buster Keaton in Steamboat Bill.

I don’t watch much TV but one evening recently my wife found this, knowing it would keep me quiet for a bit. She was right!

For me, classic films are so much better than most things made today, despite all the technology.

The last film I actually saw in a cinema was 1917.

3. What would you like to tell 15 year-old you?

Just say yes – and just do it!

It will go wrong sometimes, but mostly it will be exciting and there will be lots of memories to enjoy later.

4. The best flavour of crisps?

Plain! Salt and black pepper are OK, and I’ll accept salt and vinegar if there is nothing else. All other flavours range from disappointing to disgusting.

5. What was the last song you sang out loud in the car?

I Saw Her Standing There.

My brain is filled with the lyrics

of 1960s songs – some in bits, some complete. This one has been complete since I had the Beatles first LP and saw them perform it live in 1963.

6. What book did you read last year that stayed with you? What made you love it?

Encounters with Artists by Richard Cork, the famous art critic. He describes his meetings with a number of great modern artists, from Picasso, Henry Moore, Francis Bacon through to Damien Hirst and co from the 1990s, via great Americans and Europeans. It is exciting and hard to put down.

7. The best biscuit for dunking?

I don’t eat biscuits, so I don’t dunk.

However ... I do like the Australian take on this. Get a Timtam biscuit (a sort of chocolate coated wafer thing) and dunk it in Baileys. The wafer melts and you suck up the Baileys through what becomes a chocolate straw.

And if you don’t like Baileys, other strong drinks also work!

8. Tell us about one of the best evenings you’ve had?

Watching the Rolling Stones at the Rod Laver stadium in Melbourne on 25th February 2003, celebrating my wife’s 50th.

9. Your favourite quote?

I haven’t really got one.

However, when I was a student in Italy I found a great one which roughly translated as: ‘He who lives in hope dies in the lavatory.’

10. It’s Friday night – you have the house to yourself, and no work is allowed. What are you going to do?

I’ll have a malt whisky, rummage up something to eat and listen to some 1920s and 1930s jazz – a passion since my teens.

11. What’s your most annoying trait?

I asked my wife but she couldn’t (or wouldn’t) tell me. I do have many passions and interests, so we have a lot of stuff, reflecting all

the enthusiasms I have – or have had. I’m glad it wont be me that has to clear the house!

12. Top three most visited websites?

• Google/Wikipedia – I am insatiably curious and always looking things up • The weather; I like to go walking • The FA Championship (so I can follow the very erratic progress of Norwich City).

13. Chip Shop Chips or Home Baked Cake?

Home baked cake – especially those made by my wife.

14. Cats or dogs?

We have had both, and are now happy with neither. If I had to choose, it would be a rescue dog.

15. What’s your secret superpower?

I am blessed with a very good memory. I can describe in detail things that happened both ages ago and last week. It’s an enormous asset for working on the Antiques Roadshow!

16. What in life is frankly a mystery to you?

Why does anyone pay hundreds of pounds for what is essentially a pair of gym shoes?

17. What is your comfort meal?

Curry. Almost any curry! I’d happily eat Indian and Asian food every night (but no Chinese thank you).

18. What shop can you not pass by without going in?

No surprise here - any antique or second hand shop. Even charity shops are hard to resist. I rarely buy anything new!

19. You have the power to pass one law, uncontested. What will you do with it?

I will impose an immediate and substantial tax on sugar, with health warnings on the packaging of all food and drink with a high or unnecessary sugar content.

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

NEWS

Unwrap Dorset: unique experiences to gift this Christmas From great bustard tours to dry stone walling – Rachael Rowe presents The BV’s guide to local gifts for the person who has everything We all have that one person for whom gift buying is increasingly tricky. Maybe they’re hard to please or perhaps they’re just someone who really doesn’t need or want anything. Christmas gifting can be challenging. There’s also a growing trend to not buy more things, but instead to enjoy experiences – you might give the promise of something to look forward to in 2024.

Although there are well-known national gift voucher schemes, The BV team prefers to support our local businesses, and we’ve found several ways to give family or friends an experience to remember, and one that also highlights the best of the Blackmore Vale and the surrounding area.

Meet the bustards Great Bustards were a common feature on Salisbury Plain and the wider English countryside – that is, until the Victorians shot them to near extinction. Thanks to the endeavours and diligence of the Great Bustard Group, there are now around 100 of these huge, magnificent birds in Wiltshire.

They are thought to be the heaviest flying birds on Meet a great bustard on Salisbury Plain

earth. The conservation group offers tours where visitors can learn about great bustards and view the birds from hides on Salisbury Plain. You’ll also help fund their valuable conservation work.

A two-hour tour is £25 • greatbustard.org Garden visits galore The Newt, between Castle Cary and Wincanton in Somerset, is based at the former Hadspen House estate. Here the South African entrepreneur Koos Bekker has created new gardens, a deer park, restaurants, shops and food and drink businesses.

There is an annual membership at The Newt which not only gives unlimited access to the Somerset attraction, but also some of the country’s most famous gardens including The Eden Project, Kew, Great Dixter, Wakehurst, Blenheim, Chatsworth, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and even Bekker’s South African estate, Babylonstoren. £85 per person • thenewtinsomerset.com Tour and taste local wine Dorset is full of award-winning vineyards with wonderful wines. Visiting a vineyard and learning about how the wine is produced is a great way to discover more about the local food industry.

Try the guided tour at Langham Wine – their English sparkling wine has beaten top Champagne brands in international competitions. The two-hour experience costing £25 per person and includes a tutored tasting of three of their wines.

• langhamwine.co.uk Or maybe visit the small, but perfectly formed, Little Waddon Vineyard (as featured in August’s BV here) for one of their two-hour Tour & Tast events, from £25 per person • littlewaddonvineyard.co.uk Learn to Make a lardy cake If you’re looking for a baking masterclass there’s nothing quite like the original bakehouse at Oxford’s Bakery in Alweston, with its century-old ovens still in daily use. Participants are taught baking skills by the one and only Steve Oxford, and will learn to create a range of fabulous baked goods, from lardy cakes to bread rolls (a huge amount of goodies are produced in the lesson

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

NEWS

Enjoy endless access to The Newt’s gardens

to take home and devour as well!). Choose from sourdough, traditional baking or lamination. £99 per person.

• oxfordsbakery.co.uk Drive a steam train For any railway enthusiast who ever dreamed of being a train driver, Swanage Railway has a range of exciting experiences that make excellent gifts.

There’s the chance to drive a steam train (under supervision, thankfully ...) along an 11-mile stretch of railway, learning how the engine works. And for those who just want a day out there are fish and chip journeys or a simple steam ride through the Purbeck countryside. Gift vouchers are available from the Swanage Railway website.

Steam train driving experiences are £295 – and they sell out very fast. swanagerailway.co.uk Create your own Dorset charcuterie Buffets and cold meats are popular all year round, but The Real Cure offers charcuterie workshops where participants get to make their very own chorizo or homemade bacon.

Participants will learn about cold smoking, different types of curing, preparing a gammon and making chorizo on a one-day course. It’s an excellent way of preparing for Christmas 2024 while learning something new. £180 per person therealcure.co.uk

Learn the art of dry stone walling If you know someone who loves a DIY project or who has a bit of garden landscaping to do, a weekend dry stone walling course makes an unusual but practical gift.

Dorset Dry Stone Walling Association is running beginner courses in 2024, where participants learn all the basics. It’s a wonderful way for someone to be able to say, ‘I did that’. £120 for a weekend course. dorsetdswa.org.uk A Dorset cream tea What could be nicer than a full Dorset cream tea landing on your doorstep? The Dorset Hand-Made Food Company sends beautifully packaged cream teas, including festive variations, all over the country, and you can select a delivery date 30 days in advance. Prices start from £33 for a cream tea for two people. thedorsethandmadefoodcompany.co.uk Learn to make your own salami with The Real Cure

Walk with alpacas Animal lovers will adore a walk in North Dorset with an alpaca. A 90-minute experience includes meeting the delightful creatures and learning how to handle an alpaca, followed by a leisurely walk around the fields near Shaftesbury. Gift vouchers start from £20 for an adult walking experience. alpacaadventure.co.uk 39

The BV magazine, December ‘23

DORSET ISLAND DISCS

Gwyneth Wentink at home in North Dorset

Gwyneth Wentink, internationally acclaimed harpist, selects her Dorset Island Discs She chose the harp over the recorder when she was five – Gwyneth talks about her life with her giant instrument as she chooses the discs she can’t live without Gwyneth Wentink is an internationally acclaimed harpist and arts advocate working across many genres and roles. As both a classical and experimental harpist, Gwyneth has performed on

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the world’s most prestigious stages – Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Opera House in London, and the Konzerthaus in Berlin, among others. Many of today’s

leading composer, including Theo Loevendie, Marius Flothuis and Terry Riley, have written works for Gwyneth.

She is solo harpist of both the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and the English Baroque Soloists under Sir John Eliot Gardiner.

Now aged 42, Gwyneth decided she would be a harpist when she was four.

‘My father is Dutch, and my mother is Hungarian – they met at a music festival in Hungary. The story goes that my mum saw my father when he stepped out of his car. And she thought: “That’s the man I’m going to marry.” Just like that. They had known each

The BV magazine, December ‘23

by Laura Hitchcock, interview by Jennie Devitt

other for about six weeks, when he proposed to her!

He had to go back to the Netherlands; they didn’t see each other for a while until he came back with his mother, and they promptly married.

My mother returned with him to Holland – she was a very talented piano player and my father was a trombone player and a conductor. I have two older brothers – and no, they’re not in music! They are very musical, and love music, but they decided not to go into the profession.

‘Funnily enough, we’re here talking about my favourite music and what I listen to, but relatively I listen to very little music. I would say my brothers listen to much more music than I do!’

Up close, Gwyneth’s beautiful harps are not only far larger than one expects, but also strikingly complex.

What had appealed to Gwyneth as a child, to make her want to start playing one?

‘It’s funny, because even now, when I look at them, how they’re standing there, I can remember clearly being four and seeing and hearing them above an orchestra for the very first time. And

DORSET ISLAND DISCS Gwyneth Wentink, aged 5, playing a Celtic harp

I just remember falling in no, no, the BIG instrument.” love, asking my mum, “I want They realised it was the harp to play that – and they instrument were a little bit ‘Yes, I want to that you hold disappointed! play music, but I ‘They waited for between your legs.” And she a while because really wanted to said: “Oh, great, they knew it’s play the harp’ the cello!” It was not easy to play, her second love, and finding a after the piano. But I said, “No, teacher could be hard, and if it’s successful, the traveling involved ... But when I was five, they took me to a music school, where the teacher said: “She can start with a recorder for two years. And then, if that’s going well, then she can choose to play the harp.”

‘No no no NO! I did not want to play different instruments!

And I really knew – yes, I want to play music, but I really wanted to play the harp. So my parents were really sweet; 41

The BV magazine, December ‘23

DORSET ISLAND DISCS

they got me a private tutor and we rented a little harp, a Celtic one. I loved it and things went really fast. I had my first TV performance when I was six – in a dress that my neighbour made! – and I just knew. This is what I want to do the rest of my life.’

Gwyneth lives on top of a rather wild and windy hill in North Dorset, surrounded by forest; it’s a very rural setting and a far cry from a busy Dutch city.

‘Silence is something I always long for. I really need my own time – before a concert, after a concert, or just in general – I need time to recharge. I used to travel in my teens and in my 20s, and I went a lot to India to go on a mountain to find the silence.

‘I think the nature is quite rough here in Dorset. I wake up always early, I get the dog first, I’ll go to the chickens … this morning there was quite a harsh wind, snow had started flying, and the elements are really in your face here. And I think that’s super creative.

‘It makes me also very grounded, when you really are confronted with the elements, and you really see the seasons change. I remember perhaps

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ten years ago, I was driving in Germany – it was almost winter, and I realised I had travelled so much I had completely missed autumn. I was so much in cities and so much traveling and not paying a lot of attention.

‘And now I’m in the opposite environment, I’m feeling really grateful for it.

‘I’m new to Dorset, and I absolutely love it. I feel very blessed to be here and proud to tell people when they ask where I live. I’ve been here for perhaps four years? But it feels a lifetime already! Maybe because of the COVID years.

‘I think especially it’s that element of the silence, the power of the nature here and the tradition that is still

here. And I would say the balance between how human life collaborates with nature is, I think, in such a beautiful balance here.’

A life in music And so to Gwyneth’s eight music choices, in no particular order, along with how and why they have stuck in her life: Canto Ostinato Simeon ten Holt My first choice is the piece I mentioned about the repetition that goes on.

And it’s a piece by a Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt, called Canto Ostinato. It is basically Holland’s most popular classical music piece.

It was written in the late 70s, and he was a surrealist composer at the time. But secretly, he was being inspired by the minimal musicians in the states – Philip Glass, Terry Riley. So he started working on this piece, which is very harmonic and very beautiful. And he felt that he couldn’t come out with it.

But eventually he brought it out. Originally it was for one to four pianos, with a certain element of freedom for players. It’s made out of

The BV magazine, December ‘23

little cells or bars. And as a performer, you can choose how many times you want to repeat that. It can take a couple of hours if you want to – or days if you really stretch it out! And when I heard this piece, I was just mesmerised; I thought “I absolutely have to transcribe this for harp!”

So I have made an arrangement for harp and electronics and visuals, and I have toured with that in the past, but I’ve always wanted a version for acoustic harp – and that one is coming out next May. I’m really excited about it! I recorded that in Forde Abbey in Dorset.

But this version I’m sharing is a beautiful recording for two pianos and a marimba.

It’s a piece that just plays an important role. I’ve played at the most funky occasions, you know – like underground techno festivals in Japan to weird places in Russia, and in India, and then went on a state visit with the king. It’s got a wide audience – young people, people who didn’t really know anything about classical music, and it’s kind of a ritual, this whole music. I’m always mesmerised with how the audience responds to it and how they embrace it.

L’Orfeo Claudio Monteverdi This is something that is important to me, that has an important part in my musical career. It’s the first opera written by Claudio Monteverdi, and I played it on the Baroque harp. It’s such a powerful piece, the human expressions were so poignantly brought out in music, and the way he writes

DORSET ISLAND DISCS

Gwyneth Wentink Image: Loulex

for harp … there is a moment about two thirds down the opera, where the harp has a solo of a couple of minutes where everything is silent, and this small, solo comes in. It’s such powerful music and a moment also in the opera. I’ve played that a couple of times, and it’s definitely one piece that I wanted to put in the list.

Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90: III. Poco allegretto Johannes Brahms This one means a lot to me.

It’s actually a piece when my partner and I got together –

Brahms Symphony Number three. It’s a piece that John Eliot was conducting, at the time when we got together.

I’ve known the piece for a long time, and I always thought it was such a moving and just utterly beautiful piece, but now it has extra meaning.

Raag Patdeep Hariprasad Chaurasia We’ve got some Indian things coming up! So this is a recording by an Indian bansuri flute player, Hariprasad Chaurasia, and he is an absolute legend on the 43

The BV magazine, December ‘23

DORSET ISLAND DISCS

Indian flute. At one point in my career, I got a scholarship from the Dutch government, and they said I should do anything I wanted, to explore anything I chose. And I said, “Well, I want to do something with Indian music.”

So they connected me to Chaurasia. We played a little bit together, and I had no idea what I was doing, this was classical Indian music!

He said, “Well, just play something in E!”.

And then he invited me to a concert in New York, which was just an incredible experience. And he is such a legend; even being in the presence of him playing was a life-changing experience. I have played with him a couple

Image: Loulex

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of times over the years, and he’s a huge musical inspiration and example to me.

To the Light Elements Trio This is linked to my previous recording of Chaurasia. At

that first performance with him in New York there was a saxophone player from California, George Brooks. He is a composer and saxophone player of jazz and Indian music – I didn’t know him at the time, but he has become a collaborator and good friend and we perform quite a lot together. We set up a trio with Kala Ramnath on the North Indian violin, George on saxophone and me on harp.

We’re kind of creating a new genre, with the influence of classical music, the improvised northern Indian world and then the jazz. It’s complex and challenging but it’s one of the most fruitful and meaningful things that I’ve done.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Staying in the Asian realm, it’s a recording of a qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan from Pakistan. I’ve travelled to India quite a lot since I was 19. Either just to travel – I love the country – or to meditate and stay there for a while. I was in Delhi, which was usually my base, and I would always go to qawwali, which is what they sing when the sun sets on a Friday. It’s a form of Sufi Islamic devotional

The BV magazine, December ‘23

DORSET ISLAND DISCS

singing. There is a shrine where the poet Kabir is buried and also Hazrat Inayat Khan, the musician who brought Sufism to the west, and who was a teacher of Debussy and Scriabin. At that shrine they have this qawwali and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is one of the most known Pakistani qawwali singers. And I’ve always listened to it. I find it supercharges the soul.

Harp Concerto Alberto Ginastera We go to South America now! This is my favourite – I wanted to have a harp piece in here, and this is the harp concerto. It’s a fantastic piece.

For me, it’s my favourite harp piece. I’ve done it through my career many times. It really showcases the harp, what it can do. It’s very melodic, it’s very expressive. It has quite wild moments. And the orchestra is really big, with a very big percussion on the back. Super exciting. And just a great piece.

Brothers in Arms Dire Straits This one’s slightly out of the norm of the other ones! I was thinking, what means

something to us when I was growing up. We used to go to Hungary a lot, and we had these long car journeys, and we would either listen to Pink Floyd or to Dire Straits. And I think if there is one band that I really grew up with, and listened to a lot with my brother, it’s Dire Straits, so I chose Brothers in Arms.

Book I’m such a reader, it was very difficult to make a choice!

I thought that it would be good to have something light and funny on my island, and I love, love, love David Sedaris as a writer.

Any of his books would be good, basically I think they’re all great, but maybe Naked. I think that’s a fantastic book.

Luxury Well, I thought this was easy – that’s going to be my harp, obviously! And then, okay, if I have to choose which harp, I would probably take my pedal harp. Although … I’m thinking now … the sand and the damp won’t be good for the mechanics … should I choose another? ... no, they will last for a while. Yes, it will be my pedal harp. It’s wood, it’ll float, I’ll use it as a boat!

• Click here to listen to Gwyneth’s playlist on YouTube

An evening with Gwyneth Wentink In her first recital in Dorset, Gwyneth will be performing at The Grosvenor in Shaftesbury this month, playing a selection of Baroque, classical and some suitably festive pieces.

21st December at 8pm.

Tickets £25.

More details and booking through The Grosvenor here.

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

A COUNTRY LIVING

by Tracie Beardsley

It’s a clean sweep

Mid-life career changes have led Martin and Jenna Lee to sweeping success – he’s a Master sweep and she is Dorset’s first female Guild-qualified sweep Legend has it that King William the Conqueror declared (not decreed() chimney sweeps to be a symbol of good luck after he was saved by a plucky sweep from a runaway carriage. Another legend says it was George III , and he was saved by a brave sweep after dogs spooked his horses.

My personal favourite is the tale of the chimney sweep who lost his footing and was left dangling precariously from a gutter. The woman in the house pulled him to safety and it was love at first sooty sight.

Since then, it’s been lucky to have a chimney sweep at weddings or to shake a sweep’s hand – Prince Philip reportedly dashed out of Kensington Palace to do just that before his wedding to the then Princess Elizabeth.

That good luck – along with a lot of hard work – seems to have followed Wimborne husbandand-wife Martin and Jenna Lee. They both made career changes, Martin six years ago and Jenna just this year, to start their own chimney sweeping businesses There are only 15 female Guild sweeps in the whole country and Jenna (43) is proud to be the first in Dorset to qualify with HETAS (Heating Equipment Testing and Approvals Scheme).

It’s not all Chim Chim Cher-ee There’s certainly a lot more to this profession than Bert from Mary Poppins would have you believe. An intense mix of classroom training,

Martin Lee, master chimney sweep

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Spot the classic chimney sweep bristle brush

practical sessions and shadowing master sweeps is demanded for sweeping inglenooks, wood burners, open fireplaces and even pizza ovens.

Martin explains a particular challenge: ‘Everyone in the industry knows that Aga Wenlock stoves are incredibly tricky to take part. At the training centre there’s one we strip and put back together against the clock. Some sweeps have even got one in their shed so they can practice. I’ll admit I’m a bit of sweep geek but even I wouldn’t go that far!’

The classic chimney sweep’s bristle brush is still in use – but now it works alongside hightech kit including CCTV equipment. There are the challenges of removing birds’ nests as well as occasional birds, bats and squirrels – dead and alive! Martin says rain is the bugbear of a professional sweep: ‘Fluffy dry soot is replaced by congealed soggy goo that clogs up equipment.’

Martin and Jenna are meticulous in their approach to work. ‘The secret of being a good sweep is all about the set-up,’ says Martin. ’You need to assess the property and gauge what rods and equipment you’ll need, to minimise trips in and out of the house. It’s not just about dirty boots, you might also be surrounded by valuable ornaments, so taking extreme care is very important.’

The BV magazine, December ‘23

A COUNTRY LIVING

A matching set for the master and lady sweeps

His expertise means he is also called on for renovation projects. ‘In one old house, the builders were opening the blocked-up fireplaces. I spent a fortnight clearing 17 chimneys. I cleared huge nests that had been there more than 50 years – in one grate I found a newspaper dated 1954. The old adverts for tobacco were wonderful!’

Enter the lady sweep The run-up to Christmas is the busiest time, with the couple each racking up 100-hour working weeks. Their customer base stretches across Dorset and into the New Forest, ranging from celebrity mansions with 14 chimneys to a small bungalow with just one.

Jenna says: ‘Martin was getting busier, so I started doing some of his paperwork. When I did the numbers I realised there was enough work for us both. I’d been working for an asphalt company for nineteen years, getting up before dawn, and it was taking its toll. As a couple, we were just passing each other in the evening. Martin would be ready to chill out and I’d be going to bed!’

Jenna cut her working hours so that she could help Martin – and then she was made redundant. For six months, Jenna spent two days a week shadowing Martin and in June this year she qualified and launched her own business, Dorset Lady Sweep, complete with a distinctive, pink-flashed van and

Jenna Lee is the first female Guild sweep in Dorset – and one of only 15 in the UK

Mary Poppins-style branding. She says: ‘Some customers are surprised to see a lady sweep but by the time I’m finished, they’re impressed. A lady in Swanage told me she’d never had any issues with male workmen but felt more relaxed with another woman working in the house. ‘It’s certainly not a way to make a living if you’re worried about breaking a nail, but I love it!’

And do the couple have a watershed, when talk of rods and flues is banned? ‘Not really. We’re a good team. The only time we fall out is over radio station choice and air-con temperature in the works van if we’re on a job together!’

• dorsetmastersweep.co.uk

Quick fire questions:

It’s a dirty job but someone has got to do it – more than four bags of soot came out of this chimney!

Dream dinner party guest?

Jenna: Family and friends and biker Marc Marquez – I’m a big MotoGP fan.

Martin: Metallica. It would be cool to have dinner and a few beers with the band.

Book by your bedside?

None. By the time we get home and have replied to emails and calls, we’re too tired to read! For us, it’s a soak in our hot tub.

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

by Gay Pirrie-Weir

THE BV’S DORSET

CHRISTMAS QUIZ Let's see how well you know Dorset!

1 – Is Dorset Blue Vinny a) Sparkling wine made with the water of the Blue Pool b) Traditional Dorset recipe for blueberry compote c) Veined cheese made from an ancient and secret recipe 2 – What is Wasabi? a) William Barnes’ question about the provenance of a dumbledore

b) Japanese horseradish, exclusively grown in the UK in Dorset c) The ancient Japanese art of folding the roots of plants 3 – What is a Poll Dorset? a) The county’s traditional version of a Maypole, originally made from wooden spars from the wrecked boats of the Spanish Armada (1588)

b) A native breed sheep c) The confusion that locally surrounds a General Election, where Dorset residents question why we vote for people whose bosses don’t care about the area outside the M25 4 – Who coined the phrase ‘The Vale of the Little Dairies’? a) Recent environment minister George Eustice b) Thomas Hardy c) The manufacturers of face coverings made from milk and calf hide

5 – Where is the Guild of Fine Food based? a) Gillingham in Dorset b) Jamie Oliver’s HQ c) Lyon in France 6 – What was the Roman name for Dorchester? a) Drome b) Wessixii c) Durnovaria 7 – What is a farmer’s market? a) A place where farmers go to find new staff b) A place to buy livestock c) A chance for local producers to meet potential customers and sell their wares 48

The BV magazine, December ‘23

QUIZ

8 – Where are Dorset Cereals made? a) At Poundbury b) In Poole c) In Poland 9 – What is a Dorset Naga? a) Dorset farmer’s wife when he comes in without taking his boots off. Again. b) Once the world’s hottest chilli pepper, developed in Dorset at 1.5 million Scovilles c) Famous racehorse bred in the Piddle Valley 10 – What are Dorset Knobs? a) The famously tough local rugby team b) Sari Smith on a day trip south c) Small round high-baked biscuits for eating with cheese 11 – Who were the Dorset Clubmen? a) The county’s first Mini appreciation society b) The original name for Dorset County Cricket Club c) Local civil war militia protecting the rural communities from both Cavaliers and Roundheads 12 – How is Black Cow Vodka sourced? a) By painstakingly following every black Dorset cow as it goes about its business b) From the left ears of Russian cattle of a dusky disposition c) From pure Dorset milk 13 – Where was that Hovis advert actually filmed? a) Haworth, Yorkshire b) Gold Hill, Shaftesbury c) Pinewood Studios, London 14 – What is Slack Ma Gurdle? a) An instruction from a wealthy Alabama heiress to her servant. b) A Dorset apple c) A dance step discovered

by Tim Laycock in a sheaf of

musical memorabilia, hidden under the stag on the roadside arch at the Charborough home of MP Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax.

15 – What is Ironed Maiden? a) The best domestic services company in Sherborne b) The best Iron Maiden tribute band in Europe, with lead guitar from Luke Rake, the principal of Kingston Maurward College. c) A Dorset witch, having undergone the local medieval method of hot torture.

16 – What is a baking bird? a) Upwey baker Lizzie Crow b) A ceramic blackbird used to stop soggy pastry descending into the depths of a pie. c) The Dorset version of a Stargazy Pie, in which murmurations of starlings are netted and baked to prevent

further disturbances in the pristine skies over Portland (in other areas, their place in the pie is taken by rabbits, often accompanied by a popular song from Flanagan and Allen).

17 – What is Hod Hill? a) Where Dorset bricklayers are said to go when they retire b) The largest hillfort in Dorset c) Victorian slang for the pile of coal when the coal man’s been.

18 – What was Durdle Door originally called? a) Duddledoor b) Durdle-rock Door c) Dirdale Door

Answers: 1C | 2B | 3B | 4B | 5A | 6C | 7C | 8C | 9B | 10 C | 11C | 12C | 13B | 14B | 15B | 16A | 17B | 18 all of the above!

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

ADVERTORIAL

Saturday 2nd December The Boutique is full of lovely clothes for Small Business Saturday Christmas – from fun Christmas jumpers to FREE PARKING ALL DAY some properly posh frocks for those special • Car & Bike Enthusiasts Station Rd occasions and Christmas parties.

If you’re hosting this year, you may need more 9am - 12noon glasses, plates, cutlery, kitchen necessities ...

• Meet the Trader at 1855 if so, The Emporium is the place to go. No Sturminster Newton 10am - 12noon matter what you need, you’re bound to find an appropriate solution somewhere inside.

• Christmas Market at The Exchange And if its an extra chair, bed or spare table 10am - 2pm you need, pop in to The Old Barclays Bank • Father Christmas at 1855 (booking and see if one of the items of furniture in necessary) 11am - 3pm there will work – after all, you can always recycle it after Christmas!

• Story time with Father Christmas at 1855 Sturminster Newton at 3pm • Late Night Shopping at 1855 • Los Pacaminos at The Exchange 5pm to 7pm at 8pm Sunday 3rd December • Advent Service at St. Mary’s Church 11am • Advent Carol Service at St Mary’s Church 6.30pm

Friday 8th December • SNADS Christmas Quiz at The Exchange 7pm start

Saturday 9th December FREE PARKING ALL DAY • Car & Bike Enthusiasts Station Rd Wednesday 6th December 9am - 12noon • Carols at Sturminster Mill at 6.30pm • Food Tasting at 1855 Sturminster Newton 10am - 12noon Thursday 7th December • Christmas Market at The Exchange • Vale Pantry Bingo at The Exchange 10am - 2pm 6.30pm 50

The BV magazine, December ‘23

ADVERTORIAL

• Vale Pantry Christmas Bazaar at The Exchange 10am - 2pm • Christmas Crafts at Sturminster Newton Library 10am - 12noon • Father Christmas at 1855 (booking necessary) 11am - 3pm • Story time with Father Christmas at 1855 Sturminster Newton at 3pm • Choral Society Concert at St Mary’s Church 7.30pm Sunday 10th December • Santa Stride at Trailway Entrance from 10am • 1855 open 10am to 4pm Monday 11th December • William Barnes School Carol service at St. Mary’s Church 2pm

Sunday 17th December • Carol Service at St Mary’s Church at 4pm • 1855 open 10am to 4pm Wednesday 20th December • Christmas Memories at The Exchange at 2pm Thursday 21st December • Carols by Candlelight at Sturminster Christian Fellowship 7pm - followed by mince pies.

FREE and open to all • Late Night Shopping at 1855 5pm to 7pm

Saturday 23rd December FREE PARKING ALL DAY Thursday 14th December • Christmas Market at The Exchange • Late Night Shopping at 1855 10am - 2pm 5pm to 7pm • Father Christmas at 1855 (booking necessary) 11am - 3pm Friday 15th December • One Night of SKA at The Exchange • Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra 7.30pm - Christmas Crackers at The Exchange at 7.30pm Sunday 24th December • Crib Service at St. Mary’s Church Saturday 16th December 4pm to 5pm FREE PARKING ALL DAY • Morning Service at Sturminster • Christmas Market at The Exchange Christian Fellowship 10.30am 10am - 2pm • 1855 open 10am to 1pm • Christmas Code Club at Sturminster Newton Library Monday 25th December 10am - 11am • A Christmas Morning Service at • Sturminster Newton Orchestra Sturminster Christian Fellowship Concert at The Exchange at 10.30am 10.45am • Christmas Day Holy Communion • Father Christmas at 1855 (booking Service at St Marys 11am necessary) 11am - 3pm • Story time with Father Christmas at Monday 1st January 1855 Sturminster Newton at 3pm • Vintage Car Rally Cars meet from • Bare Jams at The Exchange 9am, rally starts at 11am Doors open at 7.30pm 51

The BV magazine, December ‘23

COMMUNITY NEWS

£3k cheque for Dorset’s Ducks & Drakes Sturminster Newton Freemasons (Blackmore Vale Lodge No. 3625) have raised £1,372 for local charity Ducks and Drakes Cancer Trust. The Master donated funds raised at his 2022 Christmas function to the charity, which he believes is such a worthy cause.

The Provincial Charity Steward was made aware of the charity and asked for a donation from the Dorset Masonic Care who donated a further £1,000. The Masonic Care Foundation then used their matched funding scheme to add a further £1,000, making a grand total of £3,372 for the charity.

Ducks and Drakes Cancer Trust is based in Dorset, and was founded by Andrew Drake and his family following Andrew’s bowel cancer diagnosis at the age of 24. The Trust works to create awareness of bowel cancer in

Becky Cox (left) a trustee of Ducks and Drakes, Andy Conduit, Master of the Lodge, and Becky Howorth (right), trustee and founder of Ducks and Drakes.

young people aged 18 to 30 in Dorset and across the UK. It supports bowel cancer patients and their families through the provision of specialist equipment and financial aid, and fund

specialist nurses in Dorset County Hospital, specifically in the Colorectal Department. They also provide financial support for equipment and the new cancer unit at the hospital.

Alison’s happy for 35 years on shift The staff and 66 residents of Maiden Castle House, a not-forprofit care home in Dorchester, are proudly celebrating a significant milestone – Alison, one of the home’s housekeepers, has reached an impressive 35 years of service.

She’s become not only an essential member of the team but also a beloved part of the Maiden Castle House community.

Alison, centre, with members of the Maiden Castle Houseteam

Alison’s journey with Care South began in its early days when it was still part of social services. She has been a key witness to the home’s growth and transformation, including its move from Weymouth to Dorchester in 2007. Remarkably, Alison still works the same shift pattern she began 35 years ago!

Renowned for her infectious smile, Alison brings a daily dose

of cheer to everyone at the home. Her cleaning trolley, often accompanied by music, isn’t just a tool for housekeeping; it’s a beacon of positivity on wheels, spreading comfort and happiness to everyone around the home.

Alison said: ‘I am absolutely thrilled to be celebrating 35 years with Care South. It’s been an amazing journey – the support from my colleagues and the wonderful atmosphere at Maiden Castle House have made every day a joy.’

Ash Smith, home manager at Maiden Castle House, said: ‘Alison’s dedication and positive spirit have been a cornerstone of Maiden Castle House for more than three decades. We are proud to have her as part of the team and look forward to many more years of working together.’

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

COMMUNITY NEWS

Wincanton’s long-serving stars shine with 83 years at hospital Two colleagues at Wincanton Hospital are celebrating 83 years collective service at the hospital – both began their careers back in the 1980s!

Marian Britton has worked at the hospital since she qualified as an enrolled nurse in 1980, later converting to a registered nurse.

Michelle Chandler has been ‘part of Matron Tania Collin (left) with Marian Britton, and sister the furniture’ for 40 years, taking Jan Henville (2nd image left) with Michelle Chandler up a variety of roles. She started Both Marian and Michelle were presented in the housekeeping team, before with flowers by matron Tania Collin and sister becoming a healthcare assistant, and then more Jan Henville to recognise their unwavering recently she became hospital’s ward clerk ... with commitment and dedication over the years. some bank HCA shifts too!

An accordion for Papa Ever since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, tens of thousands of innocent people have fled their homes and country. Many have come to the UK – and one family in particular were kindly hosted by Sue and Nick Lilley of Lydlinch.

Ukrainian mum Luda, son Mykyta and daughter Dasha became part of theirs and the villager’s lives for the next 9 months.

It was very much a team effort, with many helping with transport to and from school, horse riding, chess, shopping trips, driving lessons and days on Weymouth beach to name but a few!

Luda found regular employment and recently the family have managed to acquire their own accommodation in Marnhull.

Unfortunately Luda’s husband, Sasha, was unwell; he had heart surgery in Ukraine and was unable to travel with them. But recently, along with grandfather Papa, they have been reunited!

Wanted: accordion Villager John Taylor heard that Papa had to leave his accordion 54

From left: Tracey InglisMcBeath, John Taylor, Susan Lilley and Papa

behind, it being too large and heavy to transport, and thought it was a sad situation.

He put out a ‘wanted’ request on Dorset Freecycle, on the off-chance that there might somewhere be an unwanted accordion gathering dust. He was immediately contacted by Tracey Inglis-McBeath from Kings Stag – her late father had a dance band, and his accordion featured in their repertoire.

Since his passing the delightful

Italian Mirandelli accordion has remained in its travelling case.

Sue Lilley arranged an evening gathering for Tracey to present the accordion to the unsuspecting Papa, and the whole evenings proceedings were excellently translated by 13 year-old Mykyta!

Papa was suitably surprised, but immediately strapped on the accordion and with very stiff fingers got to grips with its numerous keys and buttons.

The BV magazine, December ‘23

COMMUNITY NEWS Employ My Ability offers vocational training for students with learning disabilities and special educational needs and disabilities. One of their students, Maddie Walters, spent her work experience with us, and now writes a regular column - Ed

Get your craft on!

It’s December and that means Christmas is nearly here! This month I thought I’d talk a little bit about handmade gifts for Christmas.

It’s not just a time of giving – it’s all about spending time with friends and family. One thing that many people really like to do (and to receive) is to hand-make a few special gifts or decorations each Christmas. Another option is making Christmas cards to give to friends or relatives.

Gift in a jar One of the best and easiest handmade gifts is one of the many in-a-jar ideas – cookie mix in-a-jar or Hot Chocolate in-a-jar. These can usually be made from grocery store items very quickly and easily, and are

endlessly adaptable – there are some great in-a-jar gift ideas on craftaholicsanonymous.net to get you started!

Make some decorations There are a lot of handmade Christmas decor ideas online you can easily make. Here are a couple of my favourites: • simple paper snowflakes are not only a really fun craft for all ages – if you make a lot of them and hang them for the ceiling from cotton they can be really effective. Just think what Buddy does in Elf! • Christmas tree snow jar • Gold painted glass ornaments Wreaths Why not make a new wreath for your door this year? They also

make beautiful and personal gifts. There are lots of great ideas here or check your local garden centre to see if they have a wreath-making workshop you can take.

Handmade cards Making Christmas cards at home isn’t hard to do, and there is so much inspiration online for simple cards using simple supplies. You can get the kids involved as well!

There is a great list of ideas here for Christmas cards to make with kids. And try this Cosmo DIY card ideas round up for more sophisticated, but still uncomplicated card ideas.

I hope you enjoy looking at this article and wish you a Merry Christmas. Maddie

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

COMMUNITY NEWS

Rotakids are cleaning up the town RotaKids from Shaftesbury Primary joined the Abbey Primary RotaKids and the Hilltop Litter Pickers on the first litter pick of the school year on 15th November. More than 20 students headed for three locations around town, all armed with hi-viz vests, litter pickers, gloves and rubbish bags.

As well as offering a valuable community service, the litter pick was also good fun for everyone who took part – the students from the two schools also enjoyed working as a team.

Michelle Alford from Hilltop Litter Pickers spoke to the pupils about the importance of keeping Shaftesbury clean and tidy, and a fun question and answer session ended the trip.

RotaKids is a fun and exciting way for children aged seven to 12 get involved with important activities in the community, all

Shaftesbury RotaKids on litterpicking duties in the town

while having a great time and making friends in the process.

RotaKids was set up by the Rotary club, and they are based in schools, youth groups or community centres.

With the help and support from teachers, youth leaders and the local Rotary club, children can gain a valuable experience in helping others and learning

interesting, new things.

Children enjoy a boost to their confidence and self-esteem at a key age and develop an lifelong understanding of how their actions can impact on others.

If you want to know more or to get involved with Rotary, see rotarygbi.org or contact Peter Sale at Shaftesbury Rotary Club

Wimborne in Bloom Charities Fair raises £4k For the third year in a row, the sun shone on the Grand Charities Fair, organised by Wimborne in Bloom and held on Armistice Day, Saturday 11th November. The Allendale Community Centre in Wimborne was abuzz with visitors from the moment the fair was opened by the town mayor, Cllr Mrs Diann March, accompanied by the town crier, Chris Brown.

At the fair, 21 charities and organisations oversaw 32 tables, collectively raising more than £4,000 for various causes. The stalls included fundraising efforts for Save the Children, Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, Friends of Victoria Hospital, and Green Cottage Riding for the Disabled – one of the mayor’s chosen charities for her mayoral year.

Wimborne in Bloom itself hosted a successful stall featuring three hampers as prizes. Entry was free, courtesy of Wimborne in Bloom,

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but attendees still generously contributed over £170 at the door.

Richard Nunn, chairman of Wimborne in Bloom said, ‘The lovely weather helped encourage many to get out and wander around. The footfall in the Allendale was steady all day from opening to closing, and those taking part did well on the generosity of Wimborne folks!

Thank you all who made it such a wonderful success.’

Wimborne in Bloom will next

participate in the Save the Children Parade through the town on Saturday 9th December, followed by the Annual Wine and Wisdom Fun Quiz Evening on Leap Year’s Day, Thursday 29th February 2024, at the Allendale Centre. Teams of six will compete for the EcoComposting Shield.

Next year’s Charities Fair is already set for Saturday 9th November.

For more details on events, please visit their website wimborneinbloom.org.uk.

The BV magazine, December ‘23

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

month’s puzzle is a frosty sunset just outside Manston (many locals will Jigsaw This definitely know this as ‘the piglet field’). Just click to complete!

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

COMMUNITY NEWS

Gillingham Media Makers Big Show Lights, camera, action: Gillingham students unleash their creative potential and debut their new-found skills at a community showcase Over the last eight weeks Gillingham School students have been taking part in a Media Makers Club through the Gillingham Youth Collective.

Young people have worked hard in an after school club, developing media skills ranging from multi-camera shoots through to interviewing and live vision mixing. It culminated in the Big Show, where they showcasing their achievements at a real community event. Parents enjoyed the show alongside Gillingham mayor Barry Von Clements, Dorset councillors Byron Quayle and Val Pothecary, Jules Bond from Gillingham Community Church and Karen Johnson who was representing the Social Prescribing Team and Gillingham Youth Club.

The young people have been able to benefit from working alongside Rendezvous’ resident film-maker Marianne King, project leader Lou Donovan and tech specialist Julian Bishop. They have had access to professional equipment and undertaken a range of projects, including green screening, mobile journalism, graphics and post-production techniques.

They were supported by the head of Media Studies at Gillingham School, Dan Jones and former Top Gear presenter Nicky Fox. Mel Marshall, assistant head teacher at Gillingham School, said, ‘the collaboration with the Gillingham Youth Collective has been an amazing opportunity.

It has allowed our students to access professional training in media making, building both their skills and confidence.’ All the students involved have really enjoyed the experience, which is now in its second year. One said 58

‘I liked being able to use and do things that we wouldn’t normally, like vision mixing and using lots of proper equipment.’ Another enjoyed the team building element, saying they enjoyed ‘hanging around and working with the other members of the project, and getting to be myself.’

Parents have seen their children’s confidence grow throughout the project, with one saying ‘Media Makers has really inspired my son. So much so that he has applied for a TV Film Level 3 course at Wiltshire College.’

The whole project The Gillingham Youth Collective is a young people’s partnership project funded by the National Lottery Community Fund. Led

by Rendezvous and working with Gillingham Youth Club they believe that by working collaboratively they can achieve more for young people (11-19 year-olds) in the North Dorset area. Rendezvous said ‘We are very proud of the commitment and enthusiasm the Media

Makers have brought to the project, and we’re grateful for the support of all the team at Gillingham School. We know that both hard and soft skills are to be gained through the teamwork involved in film production, but it’s always great to see young people grow and gain confidence while having fun. We’re looking forward to running the next group but in the meantime we’re thrilled that some of our filmmakers will be going off into the community to produce a promotional film for a youth group running in Gillingham.’

The Gillingham Youth Collective project involves • a Media Makers film project run by the Rendezvous • a Young Leadership programme run by Gillingham Youth Club and • a range of activities run collaboratively and decided upon by young people themselves The project will run until 2026 and will involve activities and events for 11 to 19 year-olds.

The BV magazine, December ‘23

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

How to spot the scammers coming

Q

: ‘I like shopping online and I’m always on the lookout for a bargain, especially with Christmas coming up, but I’m worried about scammers. How can I avoid getting caught out? ’

A

: While scams can be tricky to recognise, there are steps you can take to stop yourself falling foul to an unscrupulous scammer.

Remember, if it seems too good to be true then it probably is.

If you’re buying from a site you haven’t used before, do some research before hitting buy: firstly find the company’s return and refund policies so you know your rights if something goes wrong. You should also look up the company’s address (normally found in the website’s ‘contact us’ section) which should include a street name, not

just a PO box. Also take some time to see what other people have said about the company. Look at different review websites – don’t just rely on reviews the company has put on its own website.

Scammers will often ask you to pay in unusual ways, or put you under pressure to buy, so do be wary of people contacting you out of the blue offering an item for a quick sale or with a special deal.

If you do fall victim to a scam, don’t feel ashamed. Scammers are clever and they regularly adapt their methods, making them harder to spot. And do report it, as this alerts authorities to scammers’ techniques and prevents others from being taken advantage of.

You can report a scam to Citizens Advice or to Action Fraud. If you’ve transferred money in the last 24

hours, contact the police via the non-emergency number 101 – but if you feel unsafe use 999. You should also contact your bank to let them know you’ve transferred money.

• You can find out more about your rights via the Citizens Advice consumer advice pages or by contacting our Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letters to the Editor

Want to reply? Read something you feel needs commenting on? Our postbag is open! Please send emails to letters@BVmagazine.co.uk.

When writing, please include your full name and address; we will not print this, but do require it.

On the Blandford/Pimperne planning decision Dorset Council should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. So much brownfield land available and housing stock unused. Given the state of the housing market I rather suspect however that it might be mothballed by the developer, as homes are struggling to get sold!

Bridgette Browne, Facebook Great news for all the local people who just can’t get on the housing ladder in Blandford as house prices are so over inflated in the area due to people living longer.

It’s £50-£70k cheaper to live in Shaftesbury/ Gillingham areas than it is in Blandford forcing those who have family and family links to Blandford outside of their town as they can’t afford or find somewhere to buy.

All this nonsense about destroying the AONB is just pure nimbyism by the very people who want to protect their over valued houses price.

While there is a lack of infrastructure within Blandford this isn’t a local issue, it’s a national issue that central government isn’t addressing.

However the lack of housing and affordable housing is critical in this area and these houses will go towards easing that pressure John Hart, Facebook I think there is a clear case for the application to be called in for review by the secretary of state.

It is clearly a breach of an adopted local plan, and even if the Dorset Council has not agreed their structure plan the previous plan is the agreed guidance. The perceived benefits are just smoke and mirrors.

I can only praise the Pimperne parish chairman for standing up for his Parish the AONB and against a clumsy planning decision.

Kevin Maitland-Gleed, Facebook Insulted of Gillingham For 80 years I’ve lived on this Earth Most of them filled with mirth, I’ve had a good life, a jolly good time And like to mark occasions with a rhyme.

And now I’m told I’ll be rewarded for living so long With an increase in pension – this must be wrong?

25p a week is the amount I will receive 60

Surely my eyes do deceive?!!

This sum hasn’t been significant since it was 5 bob Back in the 60’s when I first had a job.

For 45 years I’ve worked – often 12 hours a day Only to be insulted in such a way!!

Barb Dimmack, Gillingham Appalled in Blandford I’m just catching up on the October issue, and I wanted to send a note of horrified solidarity to editor Laura on the subject of The Cheese Incident (Letter From The Editor, Oct 23). Firstly – butter has no place on a cheese plate. What were they thinking? Of course you didn’t expect it, it had no right to be there!

Secondly – I suspect we’ve all done it ...

Mary White, Blandford (Thank you for your support at this difficult time, Mary. Needless to say it’s more than I received from C – Ed) The night sky I had no request to send Rob Nolan for his Christmas picture – I don’t know enough about space objects to ask for one by name. His images are always worth stopping to appreciate, but I wanted to thank him for his stargazing notes. I have developed a new bedtime routine of checking the clouds before I lock the back door, and if its clear I’ll pop out into the garden for a few minutes and look up. I make note of the special dates, confidently point out various planets and look for meteor showers with my grandchildren – they think I’m a wise old woman who understands the stars, but I’m just repeating what Rob says.

Thank you Rob! Pauline White, Sherborne

On the willow ships I’m just sending a thank you for your continued BV magazine and the BV podcasts. I found the recent article about willow coffins very interesting (mentioned in November’s BV, and then there was a fascinating follow-up interview with Cath on the Podcast here – Ed) , particularly the part about ashes departing on a Viking ship and being set alight at sea! My sister lives in Ipswich and has told me many times over the years about the Sutton Hoo treasures and the Viking ship discovered inside

The BV magazine, December ‘23

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR a burial mound there.

The idea of using a Willow shopping trolley amused me though – I’m old enough to remember little old ladies using them. It always used to make us laugh; I’d love to see a Uni student wheeling their books to lectures using one!

Sheila Lockyer, by email Gillingham Walking Festival needs you Once again, this event was very successful, with approximately 150 walkers taking part in September’s Gillingham Walking Festival. This year we had 15 walks, of varying lengths and difficulty, to various locations around Gillingham. Some involved public/minibus transport, some included a stop for refreshments, and some followed a route included in the new pack of eight circular walks from Gillingham Station, which was launched on the first day of the festival (free printed copies can be obtained from the Station, Gillingham Library, and other venues around the town., and a digital version is on the website here.

The festival was begun in 2014 as part of the Gillingham Walkers Are Welcome initiative. For the last few years, it has been run by a committee of helpers, each with their own role, and coordinated by Sheila Messer. Enormous thanks are due to Sheila for her enthusiasm in facilitating walking in Gillingham.

Now, however, Sheila has decided it is time for her to step down and to hand the reins to a new coordinator – provided one can be found. The current committee are happy to continue their work but are unable to take on the co-ordinator role.

Could you, or someone you know, step into this role to ensure the future of the festival? If you would like to find out more, please contact Sheila on 01747 821269 or email her on messersheila@hotmail.com.

Penny Peat, Festival committee member

Commercial & Private Law

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas.

From everyone at Porter Dodson Solicitors, we hope you have a happy and healthy festive season.

Our offices will be closed from Friday 22nd December until Tuesday 2nd January.

We look forward to seeing you then.

You can still contact us: info@porterdodson.co.uk

porterdodson.co.uk

This week, I learned about Dutch supermarkets introducing ‘chat checkout’ lanes, allowing for leisurely conversations between customers and cashiers. This popular initiative, now in 200 stores, is similar to the French Carrefour’s ‘Blablabla Caisses’.

While self-checkout is convenient for quick visits, I’ve noticed many, particularly older people, struggle with it. They seem to miss human interaction, a necessity often overlooked in our fast-paced society.

Introducing these conversation-friendly checkouts is a compassionate response to the human need for connection, particularly for the elderly. I hope UK supermarkets adopt this approach, a small but impactful change for improving life quality, especially for our older community members.

Daniel Forth, Wimborne 61

The BV magazine, December ‘23

POSTCARDS FROM A DORSET COLLECTION

A sprinkle of Dorset snow

This month Barry Cuff has chosen a couple of seasonal chilly postcards full of the white stuff. One’s a typically abrupt ‘Dad message’ from Evershot, and the other shows the senders house in Iwerne Minster.

This postcard was sent to a Master E Smith at 23 Elvaston Mews*, Queen’s Gate, South Kensington in 1909. It feels a rather typical ‘Dad’ message of just four sentences!

‘This is Evershot whilst the snow was about. It was alright for snowballing then. Hope all are well.

Love to all. Dad’ (*the mews still exist, and the same property last sold in 2015 for £5.2m)

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

POSTCARDS FROM A DORSET COLLECTION

This card of Iwerne Minster was taken in the same snowfall of winter 1908, seemingly taken from this point on the Blandford Road. It was posted in Iwerne Minster, and only sent as far as Rushay House in the hamlet of Bagber, just outside Sturminster Newton. It was sent to a Mrs E Duffett – and if anyone can enlighten us to what the illegible word says, we’d love to know!

‘Dear A, Happy New Year to you all. Thank you ever so much for your present, I am very pleased with it. I’m doing [...illegible]. This is our house, where you see the porch, taken with the snow on the ground. Hope you are better. Tell Ernie(?) not to worry about that. With love to all from EHJ’

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

THEN AND NOW Step back in time with our ‘Then and Now’ feature, where vintage postcards meet modern-day reality.

Explore the past and present on the same page, and see the evolution of familiar places.

Shillingstone

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

THEN AND NOW

The old Post Office is still entirely recognisable in Shillingstone today, though it is now a vintage homewares shop. The old postcard was sent to Pokesdown on 31st August 1907, with the message ‘I have sent you on two rabbits. All is well.’

(Facing page) The Old Ox Inn has undergone quite a transformation – though the bones of the building remain, all the windows have changed and the brick and flint exterior has been hidden by render. Beyond it, the old thatched cottages are also long gone. It appears to be doing a roaring trade in Nesbitt’s time, with plenty of carts and traps ‘parked’ outside!

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

NIGHT SKY

by Rob Nolan

What do you see?

Astrophotographer Rob Nolan captures a nebula’s chilling skullshaped visage and suggests we wrap up for winter’s finest stargazing As we rapidly approach Christmas and the further down, completing the shape of a giant temperatures have suddenly started to drop below question mark in space (hence my appropriate the double digits, it’s all too easy to stay indoors image title!). in the warm. But when the temperatures dip to It’s amazing what shapes we impose onto these near zero, that’s when we get some of our crispest, objects in space from our own world’s recognisable clearest skies – so wrap up warm patterns. NGC 7822 is a young star and get outside for some amazing forming complex emission nebula in stargazing this month! the constellation of Cepheus. Some It’s a violent, Last month I asked what BV readers chaotic, deep- 3,000 light years away, it’s a violent, would like to see in this month’s chaotic, deep-sky region where sky region image, but unfortunately I didn’t have young stars are still being born, where young enough time to acquire any data on the their powerful radiation ionising suggestions you sent. I will give them a stars are still the surrounding gas and causing it go soon, I promise! to glow. I only captured Hydrogen being born So, instead, I’ve chosen a region of Alpha data on this object, hence its space that I haven’t shared before predominant red glow. It’s an area of – the NGC 7822, otherwise aptly known as ‘the the sky I’d like to revisit to capture the full question question mark nebula’. It’s also known as the skull; mark object with full narrowband data. in this image you can clearly make out a quite • This image was taken in August this year. disconcerting shape of a skull, complete with teeth! It is approximately three hours of data, shot Had the image been a slightly wider field of view, in HaLRGB, with my smaller 70mm refractor a small dot shape nebula would have been visible telescope at 350mm focal length.

The night sky, December 2023 – Rob’s guide for your stargazing this month: This year, December certainly feels like the celestial advent calendar of Christmas presents bestowed upon our night skies ... providing we get some clear nights, of course! With a surprise second meteor shower appearing this month, it really could be Christmas come early for astronomers!

We kick the month off straight away on the night of 1st/2nd, and 2nd/3rd when we might be treated to a rare display and return to our skies of the Andromedids. We’ve not seen them with the naked eye for many decades, so this could be a real treat!

The meteors in this display originate from the nowobliterated Biela’s Comet, which broke up in 1846.

In early December we’ll cross paths with the debris that it shed in 1649!

We could see up to 200 meteors per hour, so this is definitely one to get outside and watch in the moonless hours. The meteors generally appear to originate in the constellation of Andromeda, as the name of the shower suggests, but due to its age and diffusion, meteors may appear to come from the neighbouring constellations, such as Pisces, Triangulum and Cassiopeia.

On 10th December, if you’re up before dawn, you’ll be treated to a view of the thinnest crescent Moon,

with Venus (the Morning Star) hanging above.

On the night of the 13th/14th, we’re treated to the second meteor shower of the month! The annual Geminids may prove to be the best annual show this year of these natural celestial fireworks.

They’ll be unspoilt by moonlight, so should hopefully produce a bright display. These meteors are actually caused by an asteroid called Phaethon, instead of the usual comets.

On the 17th, Saturn shines brightly above the Moon.

The Winter Solstice occurs on the 22nd at 03:37am, at which point the Sun reaches its southernmost point in our skies, making the shortest day and longest night in the northern hemisphere.

On the night of the 22nd, the brilliant shining star near to the Moon will be the gas giant Jupiter.

I’d like to take a moment to thank all the BV readers for their support and interest in the night sky articles I’ve written this year. I hope they have inspired you, at whatever age, to go outside and look up in wonder – or perhaps a little more knowledge. Maybe Father Christmas will be delivering your first telescope this year!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Until next time, clear skies!

Find Rob on Facebook as RPN Photography here

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

NEWS

Take a Hike:

A slow, beautiful, winter’s afternoon stroll on Cranborne Chase| 4.4 miles Forcing yourself out for some exercise each day is more essential than ever in the winter months, when it’s all too easy to choose to curl up in the warm instead of pulling your wellies on.

This particular walk is a regular favourite of ours – it’s much shorter than our usual hikes, and perfect for short midwinter days.

I took these photographs the first time we walked it – an unforgettable New Year’s Eve afternoon, and we took it oh-so-slow.

The light was glorious, the air was crisp, the ground frozen and the shadows long. We simply breathed in the dying embers of the year, making plans for better days ahead.

We’ve been asked for some shorter routes, and at just over four miles on wide easy tracks, this one’s for almost everybody. You will not be disappointed

– though we can’t guarantee you the spectacular frozen landscape or glorious sunset!

It starts at Cow Down Hill, on the Ox Drove near Bowerchalke, where there is always ample space to park under the trees. Then it’s a simple saunter along the drovers track, enjoying the views and the forest, until a right turn cuts diagonally across to the Roman road on Vernditch Chase (we always cut this corner during the winter as the Roman road gets horribly sloppy – in the summer do square the corner along the edge of Knighton Wood).

Then it’s a simple forest bridleway all the way back up to the lane, and a short uphill back to the car – and keep an eye out for the white deer.

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

All images © Laura Hitchcock

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We have always created and recently walked the BV routes (see all previously-published routes on the website here). You can also find every route we’ve walked (including many which are unpublished in The BV) on OutdoorActive here (just zoom in/out on the map) – all include a downloadable gpx file.

The BV magazine, December ‘23

TAKE A HIKE

CLICK THE MAP to see the interactive version and download a gpx file

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

BOOK CORNER What to do with those loved ones who, when asked what they would like for Christmas, say “Oh I am sure whatever you pick will be fine ...” ?

There are some fabulous book choices available this Christmas, and I hope they will relieve some of the gift anxiety. My hand-picked selection below represents just a small selection of what is available at Winstone’s – please drop by for a warm welcome and the full Monty! Have a good Christmas! Wayne.

PS - Just click the book covers to buy. And if you need more inspiration, you can see all my previous Book Corner recommendations on the BV website here a good read never goes out of date!

Shakespeare: The Man who Pays the Rent

by Judi Dench £25 Cavorting naked through the countryside painted green ... Acting opposite a child with a pumpkin on his head ... These are just a few of the things Dame Judi Dench has done in the name of Shakespeare. It’s like sitting across Judi’s kitchen table listening to her reflect on an amazing career.

My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand £35 Behind the sequins, beneath the wigs and through the glass of the recording studio, there’s just a woman who dreamed of being famous and made it happen, on her terms.

Politics on the Edge

by Rory Stewart £22 – An insider’s searing account of ten extraordinary years in Parliament from Rory Stewart, former Cabinet minister and co-presenter of breakout hit podcast The Rest Is Politics

Lawrence of Arabia by Ranulph Fiennes £25 The authoritative and illuminating biography of TE Lawrence - the man who inspired the iconic film Lawrence of Arabia from “the world’s greatest living explorer” Ranulph Fiennes.

The Princes in the Tower

by Philippa Langley £25 Has the 540-year-old mystery been solved?

The evidence revealed is astonishing. The Missing Princes Project redraws what we know about Richard III and Henry VII.

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French Braids by Anne Tyler £10 This gorgeous novel follows one family’s joys and heartbreaks, mistakes and secrets, from the 1950s right up to the present day.

The BV magazine, December ‘23

BOOK CORNER Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa £11 A tale of love, new beginnings ... and the comfort that can be found between the pages of a good book.

Trust by Hernan Diaz £10 A novel about power, greed, love and a search for the truth that begins in 1920s New York. Can one person change the course of history? A Wall Street tycoon takes a young woman as his wife. Together, they rise to the top in an age of excess and speculation.

Kay’s Incredible Inventions

by Adam Kay £15 (age 7+) A ridiculously funny read that will delight, gross out and educate all at the same time.

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell £15 (ages 8-12yrs) Christopher is stunned when he discovers a passage to the Archipelago: a cluster of magical islands where all the creatures of myth still live and breed and thrive in their thousands. There he meets Mal, a girl from the islands who is in possession of a flying coat and a baby griffin ... and who is being pursued by a killer.

How the Grinch Lost Christmas by Dr Seus £17 The Grinch’s newfound Christmas spirit is in jeopardy with the arrival of the Whoville’s Christmas tree competition, but can one special Who remind him of what’s really important? A sequel to the timeless classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Asterix and the White Iris £12 The latest adventure from our indomitable hero and his friends!

A strange new philosophy is gaining popularity among the Roman soldiers, spearheaded by the charismatic Isivertuus.

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

BOOK CORNER

By Fanny Charles

Recipes from Acorn House Bakery Helen’s original home baking is inspired by memories of her Guyana-born mother and infused with the rich colours and flavours of the Caribbean Be your own Bake Off star this Christmas with a choice of delicious recipes from Wincanton baker Helen Hermanstein Smith of the Acorn House Bakery. Helen, whose cakes are sold direct to customers and at Coles Yard, the Wincanton greengrocers and whole food shop, has lived in the town for many years and has built up an enviable reputation for her delicious cakes, some of which recall the Guyana heritage of her parents, who came to England in the late 1950s. Now she is sharing her baking creativity in her first book, The Acorn House Bakery Recipe Book.

A gorgeous-looking Caribbean Rum Fruit Cake is one of the recipes handed down to Helen from her mother, who made the cake every Christmas and for other celebrations.

A winding route to the kitchen Helen was born and brought up in south London, in a large household where she remembers her mother and grandmother baking bread and cakes. Work and marriage took her away from

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the kitchen, and she worked for a publishing company, spending three years in Hong Kong with her husband Derek while their two children were very young.

Back in London, she completed an MBA and worked in tech for several more years before changing direction and retraining in patisserie, bread baking, cake decorating and chocolate-making at Westminster Kingsway College and Le Cordon Bleu School in London, eventually going on to become a qualified baker.

Helen and Derek lived in London but had a country get-away in Wincanton. They eventually decided to move full time to Somerset, and this was the perfect opportunity for Helen to focus on her baking, particularly in making and decorating celebration cakes, cookies, chocolate and confectionery.

A few years ago, she began to make an organised collection of her tried and tested recipes, both from her childhood and from her professional training. Her mother’s influence has continued since her death a couple of years ago: ‘It was in baking that I sought solace, not only to help deal with my grief and loss, but also to bring back many happy memories of our times baking together.’

In 2021, she set up Acorn House Bakery at her home, specialising in luxury treat boxes filled with personalised artisanal cookies, chocolates and fudge. Two years on, the range has extended to include her own-recipe artisanal jams, marmalades and chutneys, using locally grown produce and fruit from her own garden.

Now collated into her first book, Helen’s recipes range from savoury to cakes to confectionery

and special treats such as a sophisticated gin and tonic lemon drizzle cake or locally inspired Somerset cider apple cake. The savoury recipes include the utterly moreish Parmesan shortbreads. One of the most inviting is the almond and apricot flan pictured on the book cover!

Baking has always been a family affair for Helen – and it still is.

She says: “Derek and our children Charlotte and Adam love baking and cooking too. Sadly, it’s a bit of a competition between us – but I’m the master baker!’

• The Acorn House Recipe Book, price £14.99, is available at Coles Yard and Paper Trees in Wincanton, at Stripy Duck bookshop in Bruton and Bailey Hill Bookshop in Castle Cary.

Contact Helen on the Acorn House Bakery website or find her on Facebook @AcornHouseBakerybyHelen

The BV magazine, December ‘23

Magical journeys at Shaftesbury THE characters in Shaftesbury Arts Centre youth theatre’s December double bill are all on journeys. In Magic Fairy in a Microwave by Dara Murphy, Sarah is on a chaotic journey into her own overactive imagination. In The Clearing (by Jennifer Reif) a group of teenagers find themselves on strange, moving paths into a mysterious wood.

The two one-act plays, Delightful Dramatic Diversions, are being staged at the arts centre on Saturday 9th December at 2.30pm and 6.30pm.

Magic Fairy in a Microwave won the Overall Best In Fringe award this year’s Shaftesbury Fringe 2023, and the same cast will be playing again. It’s the story of Sarah Williams and her overactive imagination – after a series of events, she eventually becomes trapped deep in her own mind ... or has she been trapped by the narrators?

It is a fast-paced physical extravaganza with guns, knives and blood. Kittens will be harmed, and we discover what happens should a fairy ever become locked in a microwave.

The second play, The Clearing, is a collection of ten vignettes. In early autumn a group of teenagers find themselves in a clearing in the woods. Some are searching, some are hiding, some are lost and

others found. Each vignette is witty, sweet and poignant – woven together they make for a magical and refreshingly good-natured play.

• For tickets and more information telephone 01747 854321 or visit shaftesburyartscentre.org.uk

Music and Readings for Christmas with the Sherborne School Chamber Choir Monday 4th December, 7.00pm Sherborne School Chapel

Including music by J S Bach,

Judith Weir, Rutter and others.

FREE ADMISSION ALL WELCOME Scan the QR code to book now or email: tickets@sherborne.org

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WHAT'S ON @ THE EXCHANGE NEWS

DOS AMIGOS SATURDAY 6TH JANUARY Founding members of Los Pacaminos JAMIE MOSES (Queen & Paul Rogers, SAS Band, Tom Jones, Paul Young, Mike and the Mechanics) and DREW BARFIELD (The Keys, Paul Young, Joe Jackson and Level 42) team up to perform Los Pacaminos favourites and a range of classics from the 60's to present day (£15)

SYD LAWRENCE ORCHESTRA SAT 27TH JANUARY Directed by Chris Dean, celebrating the music of Major Glenn Miller, with hits such as Moonlight Serenade, In The Mood, String of Pearls and many more of your Big Band favourites! (£23)

WE THREE KINGS SAT 20TH JANUARY Three Artists celebrate the music of three Icons of Rock n Roll - Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly & Elvis Presley. (£21/£20)

SAT 23RD DEC 74

The BV magazine, December ‘23

WHAT’S ON

Come raise the roof in a poignant farewell carol service for GMC All are welcome at Gillingham Methodist Church (GMC) for a very special Carols by Candlelight service at 7pm on Thursday 14th December. There will be the traditional Carols and Lessons, along with some lovely organ and piano music. Admission is free and the service will be followed by mince pies and refreshments.

It will be an especially poignant service, as it will be GMC’s last, says organiser Gordon Amery: ‘The building is being purchased by the local catholic church, so our wonderful Sweetland organ is safe, but Gillingham Methodist Church Society will be closing, as will Music at GMC. ‘Since it was formed in 2004 to fund the restoration of the organ, Music at GMC has held more than 200 concerts and these have greatly benefited numerous

charities as well as church funds.

Our concert last year in aid of the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal was probably the most ambitious, since it featured four famous organists, a concert pianist and a celebrity trumpeter – and we raised more than £5,500 for the appeal.’

A long-held dream ‘Over the years we have been honoured by visits from many famous faces in the organ world, including Ian Tracey (Liverpool Cathedral and City Organist), Thomas Trotter (Birmingham City Organist), Thomas Heywood and David Briggs (International Concert Organists) and of course not forgetting the late, great Carlo Curley.

‘Our recent hosting of a performance of Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius featuring David Briggs

taking the part of the orchestra was certainly a highlight for me personally – it was the realisation of a long-held dream.

‘We are hoping to make our last Carol Service particularly special and we invite everyone to please join us. It would be good to go out on a high, with a large congregation to raise the roof during the Carol singing!

‘It just remains for me to thank everyone for their loyal support of our Music at GMC concerts over the last 19 years. I have thoroughly enjoyed planning, organising and attending every single one of them and also ensuring that our amazing Sweetland organ has been heard around the world.’

• all GMC concerts are available on YouTube on the Music at GMC channel.

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WHAT’S ON

Chamber Choir to lead the St Peter’s carol service University Music Chamber Choir will be coming to Dorchester to lead the Advent Carol Service at St Peter’s Church on Saturday 2nd December at 4.30pm.

The choir is formed of students from Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth, all of whom continue to develop their musical skills to an incredibly high level while also completing their varied degree courses.

The service incorporates beautiful choral settings from composers including Judith Weir,

James MacMillan, John Tavener, Philip Stopford and Benjamin Britten alongside much-loved advent hymns.

It begins in candlelight as the readings, liturgy and music move from darkness to light.

This is the choir’s first visit to Dorchester and provides the local community with a wonderful opportunity to listen to and support this talented next generation of singers.

The Advent Carol Service is a free event, and everyone is very welcome to come along.

Hear the story of Clouds Hill Cottage The tiny Clouds Hill Cottage near Bovington is in the care of the National Trust and preserved as a memorial to T.E. Lawrence. It has been essentially ‘frozen in time’ in the mid-1930s.

Just like the BBC series A House Through Time, in this talk for the Dorset Archives Trust Martin Gething – a volunteer guide at Clouds Hill Cottage – will build up a picture of the families who all called Clouds

Hill home over a period of more than a century.

The story of the cottage draws extensively on the archives at the Dorset History Centre, in particular the Estate Papers of the Framptons of Moreton together with other historical sources.

Come at 6.45pm for a 7pm start and enjoy some nibbles and a glass of wine or a soft drink, tickets £12.

• dorsetarchivestrust.org

A feast of seasonal cheer to keep old Christmas up!

December is always a special time for The Ridgeway Singers & Band.

They’re inviting everyone to come along for a cosy evening filled with traditional Dorset carols, lively folksongs, music that’ll have your feet tapping, and charming local poems and stories to mark the arrival of winter.

The group, which was started by Artsreach a decade ago as a part of the South Dorset Ridgeway project, loves to perform the classic carols that Thomas Hardy made popular in his book ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’. Accompanied by nine musicians with their strings and wind instruments, their concerts are a throwback to the community-driven Christmases of old, full of joy, camaraderie, and

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homemade entertainment. They’re led by Phil Humphries, an expert serpent player (a historical wind instrument) and member of the Mellstock Band, and actor and folk musician Tim Laycock, who is also the artistic director of the New Hardy Players.

This year, they’re kicking things off at the parish church in Abbotsbury, where they had one of their very first concerts, on the 8th December. Then there’s an afternoon show in Wareham on the 10th of December. Their final performance will be at the Dorford Centre in Dorchester on Wednesday the 20th of December.

Tickets: £12 adults / £6 u18s, and are available online here or by calling 01305 262159.

The BV magazine, December ‘23

WHAT’S ON

Santa’s coming to Shillingstone Station!

Shillingstone Station will be welcoming Santa on his annual visit to the station on Sunday 17th December, between 11am and 3pm. Every year Santa stops by to catch up with his friends at the North Dorset Railway.

All children are welcome to come along and meet Santa, and receive a Christmas Gift but as Santa is so busy you will need to make a booking to see him, either by visiting the Station or by calling 01258 860696 – £4 per child.

You are also very welcome to look around the station, its rolling stock and museum, and visit the café and shop, where there are many railway-related products available to buy – perhaps that will take care of a couple of people on your present list?

• The Station is open as usual on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, 10am to 4pm.

All proceeds in aid of North Dorset Railway.

Kickstart Christmas with RSPB Arne’s Pull a Pine weekend This year’s Pull a Pine event will be held over two days on RSPB Arne; Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd December, 10am to 3pm (last entry 2pm).

The family friendly event is one of the biggest conservation events in the country. Visitors have the opportunity to get their wellies on, dig out their hats and scarves and join in a wonderful festive day in nature to pick their own sustainable, home-grown Christmas tree – and to help save one of Dorset’s rarest habitats at the same time.

The Pull a Pine event features an entire suite of entertainment, including live music from Quinns Quinney on Saturday 2nd and Sixteen String Jack on Sunday 3rd. There will be refreshments, hot tasty food, and mulled cider. There will also be Christmas crafting activities and in the Arne Café Garden a Christmas Fayre, featuring stalls for locally-made artisans and festive gifts, plus carol singing.

Most important is the opportunity to do your bit for nature. Pine trees from commercial forestry plantations, which now dominate areas of Dorset’s heathland, spread quickly onto rare lowland heath.

If left unchecked, they will out-compete important native heathland plants. Lesley Gorman, Visitor Lesley Gorman, operations manager at RSPB Arne, said: ‘Our visitors have a great day out and get to choose a lovely wonky Christmas tree with character.

And in return, it would take staff and volunteers

weeks, if not months, to achieve what’s done in a single weekend at Pull-a-Pine.

‘Last year’s event saw more than 15,000 small pine trees removed over a weekend – a huge effort which allows this special place to maintain a healthy mix of landscapes and wildlife.’

• Pre-booking is essential here: bit.ly/PullaPine23

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WHAT’S ON

Go ‘Christmas Crackers’ at Sturminster Newton Exchange After a series of sold-out shows throughout Dorset this autumn, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is wrapping up the current Artsreach season with a special Christmas concert in Sturminster Newton. This is part of their ‘BSO On Your Doorstep’ project, which brings the magic of live music right into the heart of local communities.

Lucy Warren, head of BSO Participate, says, ‘Our BSO on Your Doorstep concerts give audiences an opportunity to come and experience something new and different from their local orchestra, from the seasoned concert-goer to those who are completely new to classical music.

Programmes include well known music alongside lesser-known works from Bach and Adele, to Jessie Montgommery and William Grant Still. We want to give everyone the chance to experience something new; whether that’s hearing known favourites in

a new light through our arrangements, or a new piece of music entirely, all concerts are presented from the stage and give the audience that extra special chance to get to know more about the players and music of their local orchestra.’

Artsreach, Dorset’s very own travelling arts charity, invites you to join them for a special concert of festive favourites and magical winter music as ten musicians from the BSO perform a programme of ‘Christmas Crackers’, with classic carols, Christmas music, wintery tunes and seasonal songs there will be lots of familiar tunes to hum along to! Sink into the spirit of Christmas with a fun concert for all the family, introduced by a BSO presenter.

Join the festive celebration at The Exchange Sturminster Newton on Friday 15th December at 7:30pm. You can find more details and book tickets on 01258 475137 or artsreach.co.uk.

A painter, a print maker and a sculptor walk into a barn ...

Three artists are holding a joint exhibition at The Tithe Barn, Hinton St. Mary on 9th and 10th of December.

Amelia Hemmings is a printmaker who makes subtly coloured interiors and landscapes which accent a places spirit. These are often isolated spaces where the viewer fills Amelia’s pictorial spaces with their own ideas and imagination. Sometimes haunting and sometimes upbeat … see where your mood takes you.

George Irvine moves about the British Isles continuing to pursue the visceral moments which a shifting landscape can present. His work always starts on location where the contingency of the elements can be important in directing the painting’s outcome. In the studio George continues to work on the paintings where the emphasis is on formal questions. George’s paintings are figurative, yet he holds an attitude towards making which is excited by the abstract.

Arabella Brooke is a figurative sculptor who – like some of the greats in modern sculpture such as Giacometti,

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Moore and Hepworth – uses drawing as a form of enquiry into the three dimensional form. There is a wonderful balance between intense observation and a highly personal imagination. Her arrangements of the figures that interact with one another surprise and delight the viewer, and her sensitive handling of the modelling material can be painterly and playful – but these works are serious, and will move their audience.

• Viewings 11am to 4pm each day by appointment through info@foxpitteventing

The BV magazine, December ‘23

WHAT’S ON

SCULPTOR

PRINTMAKER

Arabella Brooke

PAINTER

Amelia Hemmings

George Irvine

Tithe Barn, Hinton St. Mary, DT10 1NA

“Three artists who invite us to think about places and spaces and our sense of ourselves as we stand both a part and apart.”

- Rachel Campbell-Johnston, Art Critic for The Times Exhibition open: Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 December, 11a.m to 4.00pm by appointment To see a catalogue & for appointments please email: victoria@georgeirvinefineart.co.uk Supporting the Eloise and Katie Memorial Trust @arabellabrookeart

@amelia_hemmings_art

Frink in Dorset Elisabeth Frink: A View from Within is a major exhibition at Dorset Museum in Dorchester, from 2nd December to 21st April. It coincides with the 30th anniversary of the artist’s death, and will be the first to focus on the work produced by Frink (1930-1993) at her Woolland studio between 1976 and 1993. It will include works that the museum acquired from the Elisabeth Frink Estate in 2020, and feature sculptures, prints, drawings, and personal possessions. Many of these items, including working plasters that formed the basis of Frink’s bronze sculptures, will be on public show for the first time.

Arranged thematically, the exhibition will comprise around 80 works, each offering a unique perspective on Frink’s life and art.

Pictured: Elisabeth Frink working on part of the Dorset Martyr group, 1985. The imposing group of sculptures was unveiled in 1986 on the site of the gallows where Catholic martyrs were hanged in the 16th and 17th centuries. © Anthony Marshall/Courtesy of Dorset History Centre.

Artist copyright in image approved by Tully and Bree Jammet.

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@george_irvine_fine_art

You are invited to my 30th Anniversary Christmas Open Workshops December 2nd - 3rd and 9th - 10th Open from 10am – 4pm

Jennie Gilbert – Pottery Celebrating 30 years 1993 - 2023 With very special guests from my previous workshops Paul Smith – Blacksmith from Pankhurst Farm, Surrey Elaine Peto – Sculptor from Lains Farm, Hampshire Relaxed Christmas shopping with Mulled wine and Mince Pies 4 St. Martin’s Workshops, Manor Farm, Fifield Bavant, Broad Chalke, Salisbury SP5 5HT 01722 780402 www.jenniegilbert.com

The BV magazine, December ‘23

ART

Maps and memories from The Old Chapel Kate Chidley didn’t want “a proper job” ... so she followed in the family tradition and became an artist. By Fanny Charles When you arrive at Kate Chidley’s Old Chapel studio in West Coker, the first thing that you notice is the big colourful “Egg box” by the red door. And the first thing you see inside, once you have taken in the height and scale of the

Artist Kate Chidley with this year’s Christmas card, featuring the West Front of Bath Abbey Image: Fanny Charles

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1839 former Wesleyan Methodist chapel, is the elegant mannequin stretching her legs from one of the high window sills.

There are other mannequins around the big space, which Kate describes as ‘chaos’ but which looks like the busy studio of a prolific artist, with piles of prints and paintings, books, sculptures and general ‘stuff’. She found some of the lifesize figures at a car-boot sale and she bought others on Facebook – a few were originally costume models from the V&A in London.

She bought The Old Chapel in 2015, and had a mezzanine constructed, which is reached by a metal spiral staircase that she found at an old blacksmiths at Frome.

Cows jumping over the moon Kate’s art fits comfortably into this eclectic setting – she has an eye for the quirky and the unusual, with hints of folklore and magic, country tales and curious characters, ancient sites and historic buildings, cows in fields or jumping over the moon ... In fact her farmer father encouraged her artistic inclinations, suggesting she would be better off painting cows than milking them.

Kate is Somerset and Dorset born and bred –

The BV magazine, December ‘23

ART Home Gallop

literally ... Higher Halstock, where the men in her family have farmed for generations, has farmland in Dorset and woods in Somerset. Her mother and grandmother were both artists and her great-grandmother, sculptor Maggie Mitchell Richardson, studied at the Royal Academy of Arts

– a rare woman student in the early 20th century.

‘I never wanted to have a proper job,’ Kate says.

Her mother supported her plan to do an art foundation course at Yeovil College followed by a degree in illustration at the University of the West of England at Bristol.

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ART

Moojitos by Kate Chidley

‘Mum was always supportive but she also insisted that I got a job. She said: “You have to know what work is.” So I worked as a cleaner for a year.’

Over the years, Kate has produced colourful In Kate’s former Wesleyan Methodist chapel, an elegant mannequin stretches her legs from a high window Image: Fanny Charles

pictures that range from rural scenes to cows jumping over the moon, but increasingly she has focussed on her unique maps, which range in theme from Glastonbury Festival to whole counties. She is currently working on Hampshire.

It all started when she made a map to show visitors where she was exhibiting and found she loved the process. She also made a map which was on the back cover of the Scotts of Merriott horticultural catalogue – her grandfather, Michael Wallis, owned the famous and historic nursery, which sadly closed in 2009.

She spends weeks researching each county, and asks for suggestions via social media and from anyone who has particular knowledge of her chosen area. Hampshire is full of amazing stories – from the murder of King William Rufus in the New Forest to Henry VIII’s Mary Rose and Nelson’s Victory at Portsmouth, to the glories of Winchester Cathedral or Highclere House (television’s Downton Abbey). The actual painting takes an intense three weeks – an amazingly short time when you look at the detail in the large and colourful maps.

Festival souvenirs One of Kate’s most popular designs is her annual map of Glastonbury Festival, where she has two stands every year. Over the last decade these

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ART

have developed from what was initially just a colourful guide to the sprawling site of the world’s greatest music festival into a unique festival souvenir. She loves to hear from people who have a particular connection with the festival – where a couple got engaged, for example – and will include a little image to record these special personal stories.

She also paints colourful little flags which represent people who have got in touch with her about the festival during the year. She loves the way they search for their own little picture or flag!

With the county maps, Kate begins with relatively conventional map-making – towns, villages, famous landmarks or historic buildings.

But she also includes more unusual items, folklore and little-known stories about places that are perhaps less known or visited. In her map of Wiltshire, for example, there is a small picture of an extraordinary stone building which is a unique sheep shelter.

Clients who buy a map can also ask to have their house or farm included, or some other detail to personalise it.

‘It’s often these little things that people love,’ she says. ‘I love to make someone happy. If people laugh or cry because they love my pictures, it makes me so

Kate Chidley’s map of Wiltshire

happy. I feel I am illustrating memories for people.’

Kate has a stall at the Bath Christmas Market, which runs daily to 10th December. She is in the Abbey Yard – appropriate as her Christmas card this year

depicts the beautiful West Front of Bath Abbey. You can see some of her work and read about her various projects on katechidley.com and you can visit her studio by appointment – contact her via the website.

Glastonbury 2014

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BOOK YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE COLLECTION Registered Charity No. 1120193

Collecting from BH1 – BH23 11th - 13th January

Visit lewis-manning.org.uk/trees Kindly sponsored by

The BV magazine, December ‘23

FOOD AND DRINK

by Rachael Rowe

Spice and all things nice at Stony Groves From Phnom Penh to Poundbury: George Norbert-Munns is bringing the delicate gourmet flair of Kampot pepper to the UK’s foodie scene With the festive season upon us, it’s time to start cooking with some gourmet ingredients and to pop a few celebratory corks.

But what about using the champagne of pepper?

New Zealander George NorbertMunns spent a decade living in Cambodia, where he discovered the flavours of the Kampot pepper. He now runs his spice business near Dorchester.

Kampot pepper cultivation dates back to the 14th century, and it is one of the finest ingredients in the world. Highly sought after by chefs (and therefore an ideal gift for foodies), it’s little wonder it was the inspiration for George to set up Stony Groves.

‘There is pepper ... and then, galaxies away, there is Kampot pepper! It can only be produced in one small and stunningly beautiful region of steamy southern Cambodia, which is known to have produced peppercorns for centuries.

‘It is farmed using traditional techniques and produced on a relatively small scale. Worldwide pepper production is measured

Working in a pepper field in Kampot, Cambodia

in hundreds of thousands of tons per annum, whereas only 100 tons of Kampot pepper is produced each year.’

Strictly controlled production ensures its quality, retaining its New Zealander George NorbertMunns spent a decade living in Cambodia before moving to Dorset and launching Stony Groves

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international reputation. Among chefs it is known as being the finest pepper in the world.

‘After almost ten years living in Cambodia, we knew that Kampot peppercorns were the finest around. In fact, Kampot pepper has been granted Protect Geographical Indicator (PGI) status, which formally recognises its quality and excellence and effectively makes it the champagne of the pepper world. So when I set up my own business, pepper seemed the right place to start. I began by offering black, red and white Kampot peppercorns alongside fragrant long pepper, which has a richer, almost Christmassy smell.

‘I launched Stony Groves at the Dorset Food and Arts Festival in Poundbury in 2021 and was immediately blown away by the positive reaction. Since then

The BV magazine, December ‘23

FOOD AND DRINK we’ve extended to food festivals – whether that was in people’s lovely towns, villages, beauty right across the UK and also offer kitchens or in restaurants or spots and food havens – there salts, smoked products, grinders cafes here in the UK.’ you have it, heaven!’ and spice blends.

However, it’s not just the food.

Most of us have probably been ‘The blends were George and his to food festivals and markets, inspired by my family love the bought a new ingredient, and ‘Plate with love of cookery.

Dorset countryside. then wondered what to do with parmesan, As a child, I loved ‘Living in the it. There shouldn’t be that issue parsley, pink nothing more countryside again with Kampot pepper, there is a Himalayan than being in reminds me of when lot of inspiration on the Stony the kitchen with I was little. My three Groves website (including an rock salt my mother in brothers and I used incredible-sounding mulled wine and throw Christchurch, New to drive around recipe, for those looking for a in at least a Zealand. In fact Castle Hill, deep in seasonal winter warmer ...). dozen Salted she loves pepper the Southern Alps George also has a top personal almost as much as of New Zealand, in recommendation: Fresh Kampot I do! I’m still very our father’s old Land ‘I’m a big fan of prawn linguine Peppercorns. much the cook at Rover ... sometimes with fresh Kampot peppercorns.

Job done’ home and I relish doing things we Start by melting some butter and experimenting probably shouldn’t. gently frying an onion. Get the with new flavours. And now I One day the gear-stick broke so linguini on, then add king prawns enjoy introducing them to my we drilled in a screwdriver and, to the onions. Once almost own children.’ voilà, we were back on track! cooked, add the garlic, white One of us steering, one of us wine and a little bit of Japanese Powerful pepper changing the gears, one of us on rice wine. Plate with olive oil, Since leaving Cambodia, George the pedals and one of us giving grated parmesan, parsley, and has made Dorset his home – and directions. We were a disaster our pink Himalayan rock salt. discovered the vibrant foodie waiting to happen, but what fun.

Finally, and most importantly, scene in the county.

‘Now I enjoy long Dorset walks throw in at least a dozen of ‘After many years as an owner/ with the dog, fishing the rivers our Stony Groves Salted Fresh operator of bars and restaurants and sea, and being located in Kampot Peppercorns. Job done.’ in Phnom Penh (Cambodia’s striking distance of so many • stonygroves.co.uk bustling capital), my wife and Pepper fields in Kampot Province of Cambodia I felt it was time to move on, start a family and enjoy a more relaxed pace of life. We chose Dorset to be near to her parents and because of the beautiful countryside. When I first moved to Cambodia in 2010, I’d originally looked into starting a pepper business, but life led me in a different direction. I revisited the idea during the long days of the Covid lockdowns – and Stony Groves was born.

‘I quickly found that south west England is a foodie paradise, with plenty of amazing markets and food festivals to explore.

But I also saw that there was a lack of awareness here about the powerful pepper that we’d long enjoyed in Asia. I felt the two could be a match made in heaven, and I also hoped to share my love of quality ingredients with a wider audience 90

The BV magazine, December ‘23

MEET YOUR LOCAL LO’s Coffee Shop and Bar in Pimperne

Pups, cups and cakes at LO’s It’s trailblazing treats and local eats at Pimperne, where visitors are enjoying the transformation of a cowshed into a bustling community hub There’s a buzz of activity around LO’s Coffee Shop and Bar in Pimperne. A new wooden floor is being laid, there’s a stream of customers picking up coffees and dog walkers stroll past. The magnificent views of the Dorset Downs from the car park are enough to tempt anyone.

‘This was the cowshed,’ laughs Laurie Griffin as she points out the indoor space she will get once the new floor is fitted. When I visit, the inside space isn’t quite finished (it’s now open), and LO’s is still Laurie Griffin image: Rachael Rowe

an outdoor-only coffee shop. We sit in the welcoming – and surprisingly warm – sheltered outdoor space, where plenty of blankets are available if they’re needed.

‘The name LO’s is my nickname. Everyone calls me 50 dogs took Lo. It’s stuck with me since I was small – actually low! their humans ‘We opened in May 2023 – for a walk, I was using the gym next and they all door, which has 1,200 members, and I could see ended up that something was really here! needed here for people to meet up. So I asked the owner, Alan Lukins, if I could start a cafe. The Lukins family was very supportive. I worked in Formula One for 15 years before moving to Dorset. I soon fell in love with the local produce and worked in the Dorset food and drink gift industry, running a successful hamper company for around seven years before I decided on a new challenge. The cafe has really brought people together – it is lovely to be able to make a difference to the community.’

A local pit stop Laurie ensures the cafe makes the most of the surrounding countryside and there are maps on its website with suggested routes for walkers and dog

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MEET YOUR LOCAL walking. All the trails naturally start and end at Lo’s Cafe, and there’s a walk for everyone, ranging from one to six miles. Many are suitable for mobility scooters too. Some trails lead to the Pimperne Long Barrow, others head towards Pimperne Woods.

Naturally, the dogs aren’t forgotten at the cafe, with canine treats too.

‘We had 50 dogs here from a dog walking club in Bournemouth last weekend. The dogs took their humans for a walk and they all ended up here!

When we first started, 300 cyclists came through – we were one of the pit stops on a 200-mile cycling route. Cycling clubs come here because they can park, order their lunches and then go off and do their cycling.

Laurie’s team has grown swiftly. ‘I was keen to create jobs for local people – in six months I’ve created 12 jobs. Some are from the village and some work on breaks from uni. I look for people who will contribute to a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. I also have young people who are in their first job, learning life skills. Some of them are really creative.

‘For example, one of the team created an iced coffee called the Ginny Whip (a coffee base with a creamy top). It’s really popular.

‘We have a simple menu which we concentrate on doing well. Our bestsellers are, unsurprisingly, the coffee and cake*. Our cakes are made locally in Bridport and Blandford Forum. Our coffee is coasted in Winterborne Whitechurch. The ice creams are from Baboo Gelato in Dorchester, and we also have ciders from Cranborne Chase Cider, which is just up the road.

‘Starting completely from scratch has been quite a challenge – I’ve given it everything, working seven days a week. However, the support from Alan and Rob Lukins here at the farm has been fantastic.

They really want to bring people together and create something for the community.

LO’s new indoor space is now open, and is filled with comfy sofas and eclectic seating

LO’s cakes are locally made in Bridport and Blandford Forum

People are amazed when they see me sweeping up or putting out the bins but I’ve always been a grafter. I’m not afraid of hard work.’

Doing what they want ‘But starting from scratch is also the thing I’m most proud of! The local people have been so supportive.

One of them helped design the walking map, and someone else is making me knitted cup holders for the winter. The members of the team who are in their first jobs say it’s lovely to work in such a friendly place. The village needs somewhere like this to come together.’

The business seems to have taken off magnificently in the last six months. So what’s next?

‘We’re currently developing the inside area of the cafe – we already have a 70th birthday party booking! We have a Christmas market. We’re raising money for Teddy20 with a father Christmas event, and we have some organised dog walks scheduled.

I’ve also been talking to the youngest members of the team because we’d like to do something for the 16 to 18 year olds here. Covid really affected that age group. They come to the gym but there’s nowhere else for them to go in the village. We’d like to work out what they would like – pizzas or live music maybe. Just see what we can do in the space.

It’s just such a lovely place, and everyone gets on with each other.’

• LosCoffeeShop.co.uk • Open seven days a week 9am to 4pm •See the website for details of all events.

•Find LO’s at R Lukins Fitness, Stud Farm, Pimperne, Blandford Forum DT11 8XA (*rest assured the cappuccino cake has been dutifully tested for readers of the BV Magazine.

Can confirm, it is delicious - RR) 93

The BV magazine, December ‘23

Heather’s Christmas leftovers

NEWS

Most of us stock up a little too much at Christmas – and if there’s one thing I hate it’s waste. So keep these recipes handy, and in those hazy post-Christmas days when the fridge is still groaning and you need to use up the odds and ends but can’t be bothered to actually cook, I’ll suddenly be your new best friend. Heather x PS - you can see all of my previous BV Christmas baking and side dish recipes here, including my foolproof Christmas Cake recipe (which reliably gives that delicious deep Christmassy flavour whether you make it two months or just two days before Christmas).

There are also make-ahead Christmas Day side dishes, my homemade mincemeat, the easiest sausage rolls to impress and the super-Christmassy star-topped jammy biscuits.

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FOOD AND DRINK

The ultimate Boxing Day toasted sandwich This is a perfect Boxing Day treat. The sandwich takes some of the key components of the Christmas dinner and adds a little bit of extra Christmas decadence – brie! I’ve given rough guidelines on the amount of ingredients here, but be led by what you have left over, what flavours you love most ... and just measure with your heart!

Ingredients • • • •

Thick cut granary bread 2tbsp butter Slices of turkey 2tbsp cranberry sauce

• • •

Stuffing Slow cooked red cabbage* Brie

Method 1. I have used a toasted sandwich maker/press but you can also make this sandwich in a frying pan.

2. Butter your bread evenly on both sides of the bread.

3. Layer the sandwich: turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, brie, red cabbage and then the bread. Trust me on the order – this combination ensures that the ingredients will not move around between layers 4. Place in the sandwich press, or on a hot dry frying pan. Cook until the outside is lovely and crispy and the brie has melted in the middle. If using a pan, cook on one side until the bottom has started to become crispy and then gently turn over. Press down with a spatula to make sure the heat reaches the centre.

5. Use a long, sharp knife to cut in half.

6. Play with your fillings according to what you have – I also enjoy a simpler version with just turkey, cranberry sauce and stuffing. This sandwich always works really well with some coleslaw on the side! * you can find Heather’s delicious slow cooked red cabbage recipe here 96

The BV magazine, December ‘23

Heather Brown is a special officer for the Guild of Food Writers, and has worked in the food industry for 20 years.

97 She is a food writer and photographer, offering one-to-one help to local businesses for content and websites.

The BV magazine, December ‘23

FOOD AND DRINK

Left-over turkey, pigs in blankets and leek pie

all images © Heather Brown

This is a wonderfully quick and easy way to use up some of the inevitable left-over turkey. For an easy life I use ready made and rolled puff pastry – also, although I have used ham stock, you can use chicken or vegetable stock too. The biggest issue with this delicious pie is whether there will actually be any pigs in blankets left over after Christmas Day!

Ingredients (serves 4) • • • • •

1 tbs butter 1 large leek, sliced thinly 350g left-over turkey 12 pigs in blankets 3 level tbs plain flour

• • • •

Black pepper 500ml stock Packet of ready-rolled puff pastry Egg for egg washing

Method 1. Preheat the oven to gas 5/180º fan.

2. In a large frying pan, melt the butter with a little oil (to stop the butter from burning). Add the leek to the melted butter and cook on a medium heat until the leeks begin to soften.

3. Add in the turkey by roughly breaking/shredding it into the pan.

4. Cut the pigs in blankets into pieces and add them to the mixture too. Make sure the meats are heated through thoroughly.

5. Sprinkle the flour over the pan and season with black pepper. Then give the mixture a really good stir so that the flour coats the mixture really well and begins to cook.

6. Pour in the stock and gently stir until it has all mixed together thoroughly. Bring this all back to a boil, and keep gently stirring as the mixture thickens. If you have some odd left-over pot ends of cream you can also add some at this point if you wish.

7. Once the mixture has thickened, take the pan off the heat and pour the mixture into an ovenproof pie dish.

8. Take the pastry out of the packet and lay it over the top of the pie dish. Brush the pastry with some of the beaten egg, and stab some small holes to give the steam somewhere to go.

9. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

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FOOD AND DRINK

Left-over ham and parmesan risotto Of all the festive meat left-overs, the one I always end up with is ham. This recipe makes the ham the star of the dish and if you’ve chosen a honey roast ham or one cooked in cola, then that sweetness will work really nicely here. Risottos are a little demanding to cook because they need constant stirring for 20 minutes, but the creamy savoury deliciousness makes a lovely cosy left-overs supper.

Ingredients (serves 4) • • • • •

75-100g of arborio/risotto rice per person.

250g of ham (or however much you have left!)

3 tbs butter 1 large onion, finely chopped 1 large glass of white wine

• • • •

Black pepper 1litre hot stock (I used ham stock, but vegetable is fine) 100g parmesan cheese A couple of rashers of streaky bacon or some bacon lardons.

Method 1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat.

2. Add the onion and soften gently. Add the ham pieces and mix, then add the rice and stir thoroughly, letting the rice soak up any butter.

3. Pour in the white wine and season with black pepper, mixing well. It should sizzle loudly in the pan as the white wine soaks into the rice.

4. Once the white wine has been absorbed, begin adding the stock, a ladle or cup at a time.

Each time you add stock, give the mixture a really vigorous stir, and then keep stirring gently as it cooks, so that the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom. Keep on adding stock until the rice is cooked (it takes about 20 minutes). If you run out of stock, use boiling water.

5. To test if the rice is cooked, taste some and see if the texture is soft all the way through.

6. Once the rice is cooked, grate in the parmesan and stir until the mixture becomes creamy.

7. Remove from the heat, dot an extra teaspoon of butter on the top and leave to stand for 10 minutes. While you wait, cook the streaky bacon or lardons in a small frying pan until they are crispy, breaking any bacon rashers into pieces.

8. After 10 minutes, give the risotto a really good stir. You will notice that anything stuck to the bottom of the pan will have loosened and the mixture will come together nicely, ready to serve. Sprinkle the bacon pieces over the bowls to finish.

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

FOOD AND DRINK Moonfleet manor All images: Courtenay Hitchcock

Dinner at Moonfleet It’s a lovely cross-country drive from north Dorset to Moonfleet Manor, on the Fleet lagoon between Abbotsbury and Weymouth – but is the hour-long journey worth it for dinner?

Fleet House was built more than 400 years ago, and the current Georgian structure was immortalised in J Meade Falkner’s classic smugglers tale Moonfleet.

It became a hotel after the Second World War, and in 1987 Luxury Family Hotels took over, restoring it, and renaming it in honour of the famous book. A multi-million transformation was completed last year.

The drive was glorious but we

The restaurant felt rather like being on a cruise ship

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arrived at the last minute – to a trout on sourdough with capers warm, unhurried welcome and and lemon. The prawns were we were invited to relax by the perfect – tender, flavourful and fire with a cocktail before dinner. not drowned by the garlic. C’s It would have been nice if my trout was beautifully smooth and Moonfleet French on the ‘local similarly delicately balanced. cocktails’ menu had contained We both had a glass of Dorset gin and wine, but it was Argentinian malbec (Don David El delicious Esteco), which was anyway. The excellent.

On the other hand For the main course, mocktail menu was I chose the Creedy – it turned out to excellent too be giddy-makingly Carver chicken – Courtenay’s schnitzel, served delicious. non-alcoholic with a Burford Moonfleet Brown fried egg, Sunset was as capers, anchovies tasty as it was pretty! and fries. This is not for the Eventually we dragged ourselves faint-hearted – the schnitzel was away from the comfy sofas and ENORMOUS. The chicken was moved into the restaurant – I’m beautifully cooked and incredibly sure there is a spectacular sea tasty, and the combination with view during the day, but in winter the capers and anchovies was it’s too dark to see. The long heavenly. The crumb was a little narrow restaurant with its big hefty for me, and sadly, as it windows feels rather like being cooled it inevitably became a on a cruise ship. little greasy. For presentation the schnitzel was served on a square Schneaky schnitzel of paper, which looked pretty but The evening menu was started to disintegrate under the reassuringly small, with just five chicken halfway through. or six seasonal choices for each However, I was eating slowly course. I opted to start with because the very good schnitzel the pan-seared prawns in garlic was so big – who’s complaining?! and herb butter on sourdough C chose the Huntsham Court from the specials menu , while Farm 8oz Longhorn sirloin with C picked cured chalk stream chips and a peppercorn sauce.

The BV magazine, December ‘23

FOOD AND DRINK Creedy Carver chicken schnitzel and Huntsham Court Farm 8oz Longhorn sirloin steak

The steak was very thick – but skilfully cooked to perfection, meltingly tender and so full of flavour he closed his eyes for the first mouthful.

Our brilliant waiter James, funny., attentive, but not too present, full of knowledge about the food on the menu and clearly a very bad influence, talked us into dessert.

C opted for the sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and ice cream, while I made the only error of the night.

I ordered the Paris-Brest.

It arrived … and I heaved a sigh of despair.

The luscious concoction of pastry

Cured chalk stream trout

and cream and almonds was gigantic.

On the other hand – it turned out to be giddy-makingly delicious.

The ring of choux pastry was filled to bursting with the lightest, most delicate praline crème mousseline. I couldn’t finish, and in the end had to bribe C into ‘sharing’ some of it – once he had slowly devoured ‘possibly the best sticky toffee pudding I’ve ever had.’

After we managed to find our feet and actually walk again, we wound our way back to the roaring fire in the lounge to enjoy coffee on the deep sofas.

The benefit of being a hotel restaurant is that there was no sense that staff were itching for us to finish up so that they could go home – there was no rush at all, and we relaxed gently and chatted until very late, genuinely reluctant to leave.

And as much as the delicious food, that’s the joy of Moonfleet.

The welcome was warm, the mood was relaxed and easy – we can’t wait to return.

• Dinner for two including cocktails and wine came to £149 • luxuryfamilyhotels.co.uk

That Paris-Brest, with the perfect sticky toffee pudding in the background

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

ADVERTORIAL

OUT OF DOORS

A sneaky peek into the building of Thorngrove’s Winter Woodland experience

A hub of Christmas fun!

A Winter Wonderland experience, seasonal workshops and children’s craft sessions ... create some memories with Christmas at Thorngrove There’s no putting it off any longer – the festive season is here and we are fully in the mood here at Thorngrove in Gillingham! Our small but hardworking team have been tinkering away behind the scenes to prep for the most magical time of year and we have so much going on over the next few weeks. We’d love you to come and make some memories with us! It’s been a difficult year for many of us, and at Thorngrove we’re always doing everything we can to offer experiences that are accessible to all, to find ways in which we can give back to the community.

This year we are raising money for Hipp!!Bones, a Gillingham-based youth club for young people with special needs, and we are once again converting one of our large polytunnels into a Winter Woodland experience! Decorated by staff, students, and day service users, taking influence from some of our favourite stories, this walkthrough will absolutely help get you in the mood for Christmas, so please do come and take a look, snap some family photos, and tell your friends! It is FREE ENTRY , though we do kindly ask for donations of any size if you can make them – all going to this wonderful local project which is also used by some of our own Employ My Ability students.

What’s on at Thorngrove At the time of reading, our Wreath Making workshops will have already kicked off, but we are hosting more on 3rd, 7th and 9th of December.

They are £30 per person, which includes all materials and your finished wreath (plus a hot 102

drink and a mince pie!). If you’re looking to come on a different day, please do get in touch and we’ll gladly find a way to accommodate you – we have discounts for group bookings too! Last year’s workshops were so much fun and we made more wreaths than ever before. No experience is necessary, just come and enjoy yourself and take home the perfect festive wreath (for yourself or even as a gift for someone else).

Christmas Crafts for Children returns for TWO DAYS ONLY on 18th Dec and 21st December.

Tracey and Georgina will be hosting morning and afternoon sessions, so bring the little ones along to get creative and make some seasonally themed decorations to take home. These are always busy sessions so booking in advance is advised. Tickets are available online here, or just get in touch by phone or email.

Our Breakfast with Santa event on Tuesday 19th December is almost sold out – just 10 tickets left at the time of writing!

Last but not least, we are hosting our Christmas Market where we will be joined by a diverse range of local businesses, so stop by for the last minute unique gift!

Plus of course we have real Christmas trees, decorations, wreaths and gardener’s gifts alongside all your garden essentials. And don’t forget it’s ‘buy one lunch get one lunch free’ in the Secret Garden Cafe every weekday. We can’t wait to see you all!

• Full details of everything mentioned above are on our website thorngrovegardencentre.co.uk

The BV magazine, November ‘23

The BV magazine, December ‘23

OUT OF DOORS

The Voice of the Allotment

Feeling the season turn This year’s supermarket Brussels sprouts might be on the small side – but the homegrown ones are doing just fine, says Barry Cuff A report on Radio 4’s Farming Today programme this month warned that British-grown Brussels sprouts would be smaller this year. This is due to the majority of the plants in the muddy fields leaning at an angle due to the very wet and windy weather experienced over the last few weeks – resulting in the lower larger buttons being splattered with soil – and unusable. This year, growers will have to harvest the smaller sprouts further up the stalk to compensate.

Having a large allotment we’re able to devote a large area to brassicas, including Brussels sprouts.

For us, the brassica plot is looking exceptionally well with some very tall plants, all of which were tied to stakes in the early autumn to avoid wind damage. The whole area is also netted against pigeons! We grow the complete range of brassicas with the exception of kale: Broccoli – we’ve grown two varieties this year.

Rudolph for December to February, and Cardinal ready from March onwards.

Brussels sprouts – we have grown the variety Brendan for a few years now and we picked our first buttons recently. The plants will continue cropping until the end of February, and we’ll have a good supply for Christmas!

Calabrese – we are still cutting small side heads from Ironman, a top-selling variety that has been given the RHS award of garden merit.

Cauliflower – This year we have grown four varieties of cauli: • Cheesy – all cut in September and October.

• Snow Prince – we cut the last two heads of these in mid-November.

• Cendis – a wonderful variety producing large, pure white heads. These will be ready in December and January.

• Medallion - still growing, will be ready to cut from February onwards.

Red cabbage – we grow Red Drumhead which produces tight heads with crisp hearts for stir fries and salads. They have been harvested from mid August and we are down to the last plant.

Romanesco – Natalino plants should be ready to harvest in December.

Savoy cabbage – Vertus is our favourite, and we planted on two different dates. One plant remains of the first sowing and more are coming on from the second. These will be ready in mid December.

Barry Cuff’s Sturminster Newton allotment getting its annual feed with 20 wheelbarrow-loads of compost

Elsewhere on the plot ...

During November we added 20 wheelbarrow-loads of homemade compost to one of our plots – the remaining plots will receive farmyard manure.

The delivery will be stacked in heaps, ready for spreading as areas become available after cropping throughout the winter.

Our Witloof chicory was lifted on the first of the month, topped and tailed and put in a large container of moist compost in the dark. We hope to cut chicons by the beginning of December.

Carrots, parsnips, leeks, celeriac, celery, radishes and autumn salad leaves are all still being harvested when required From our stores and freezer we have also been eating our own winter squash, potatoes, onions, peas, sweetcorn and broad beans.

As I write we have only experienced two slight frosts, but I will be keeping a close eye on the forecast over the coming weeks; if frost is predicted then the salad leaves will be protected with fleece.

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

OUT OF DOORS A Hori Hori knife is a Japanese digging, weeding, bulb planter and all round brilliant hand tool

Handpicked brilliant gifts for your gardener!

What CAN you buy for the gardener in your life? Don’t fret – local flower farmer Charlotte Tombs has the answer!

It’s my best Christmas gift guide for the gardener in your life – or maybe just a list of things to add to your own wish list!

These are all my personal, tried-and-trusted, most useful items, and I have no hesitation in recommending them to anyone.

Burgon and Ball’s FloraBrite range may not be pretty, but losing your tools in the foliage will be a thing of the past

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I’m often asked what my absolute favourite garden tool is and hands down, no hesitation or thought, it’s my Hori Hori knife!

A Hori Hori knife is a Japanese digging, weeding, bulb planter and all round brilliant hand tool.

I love mine and often give one as a present. I even use it to clean out the chickens. I bought mine from Niwaki, a Dorset-based company near Shaftesbury (they do have a great website for online ordering).

My other favourite tool is my gold spade – a Valentine’s present from my husband (listen, it actually IS romantic. He knows me well).

Never mind the fact that it’s gold, this brilliant little spade is small, super-sharp and incredibly lightweight. It makes digging tasks an absolute pleasure. Again it’s available from Niwaki and I can see they have added a shovel and a square spade to the gold range ... those have promptly been added to my own Christmas list.

Don’t cut corners Essential garden snips are next on my list – and Burgon and Ball sell a FloraBrite range – terrific snips with fluorescent coloured handles. No, of course they’re not a thing of beauty, but when you put them down you can find them again! Why do they insist on making them with green handles that just camouflage in?

Also by Burgon is a seedling widger – a long, scooped metal tool which is great for potting on

Charlotte offers workshops throughout the year - please see northcombe.co.uk for further details.

The BV magazine, December ‘23

OUT OF DOORS

seedlings. Yes, I know a butter knife does the same thing but the family is never terribly happy about the knives being used in the garden, for some reason.

Another perennially perfect gardener’s gift is a good penknife. Opinel knives are my favourite brand, and you could always get the blade or handle engraved so that it becomes a really lovely personal gift.

The other things Next on my list are my Carhartt overalls, or dungarees as we Brits call them. These are an absolute game changer; they keep the small of your back warm (apologies, I’m in danger of sounding like my grandmother), plus they have loads of pockets, so you get to do the great patyourself-down pocket dance!

(ETA – top insider tip. If you have a handy friend or relative in the US, have them buy for you there and bring/ship them to you. Even with shipping, Carhartt are a LOT cheaper in America! – Ed) Garden twine is another must-have that is always gratefully received by any gardener. Nutscene make great quality, ethical twine and it’s pretty too; they have some lovely sets which make a basically dull object into a great gift.

If your gardener sows a lot of seeds and space is tight for germination then a Ladbrooke’s soil blocker is a really useful gadget – you can get 40 seeds to one takeaway plastic tub, plus the lid makes a mini greenhouse.

A slightly less garden-y option, but wireless headphones have been an absolute lifesaver for me, enabling one to listen to audiobooks (*cough* or a favourite podcast such as The BV one) as I potter endlessly (*BV HQ can highly recommend these Sony ones).

A Bucket Barrow is on Charlotte’s wish list

Carhartt dungarees ‘absolute game changers’

A decent pair of gardening gloves is essential, of course, and I swear by Showa Floreo 370; they are washable, you can still feel and pick things up with them and they are surprisingly hard wearing.

Lastly, I don’t have one (yet!) but I do really want a bucket barrow (bucketbarrow.co.uk). It’s a frankly brilliant wheelbarrow with four integrated buckets – absolutely perfect for me on my rather awkward site.

Now with that lot you should be able to tackle anything! Here’s to dreaming of next year’s triumphs – the rule is that we can forget about the disasters this year. I’ve learned over the years that its only ever you who actually remembers them.

Nutscene’s twine isn’t only the best or the most ethical, it might also be the prettiest as a gift

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OUT OF DOORS

Time to brave the composting It’s December, but there’s always something to be done. And now’s the perfect time to finally work out composting, says gardener Pete Harcom This month we need to continue winter digging as we prepare the borders for next spring. To feed the soil and improve its structure, the best thing to use is garden compost, well rotted manure and leaf mould.

Do you make your own compost? Homemade compost saves money and resources, it will improve your soil structure and it can reduce your own impact on the environment.

There are lots of types of compost bins available at the garden centre or via your local council, but it’s also easy to make your own, using wooden pallets for example – there are many guides for making wooden compost bins online.

Dorset Council currently has a home composting offer – you can buy a 220 litre plastic compost bin for just £6 AND if you order two, the second one is half price! There will be a delivery charge (£7) and you may also need to buy a base for the bin, but it is still at a 106

reasonable cost (see this offer on the GetComposting website here). I have experience of these black plastic bins and they can work really well, providing good compost in just 12 months!

How to start composting 1. Find the right site – ideally site your bin in a reasonably sunny place on bare soil. Be sure to choose somewhere you can easily add ingredients to the bin – and get the compost out!

2. Gather the right ingredients – save everything from vegetable and fruit peelings to teabags, toilet roll tubes, cereal boxes and eggshells to go in your compost bin.

Never put cooked food, meat, fish or dog or cat mess in a compost bin – this will attract vermin. You can put in limited amounts of paper or thin cardboard, but no glossy printed paper.

3. Fill it up! Place all these items, along with all of your

garden waste into your compost bin. A 50/50 mix of greens (nitrogen rich) and browns (carbon rich) is the perfect recipe for good compost. You need to ensure the contents are cut into small pieces, and mixed well – a garden shredder will help with this – or try to cut up or break any woody twigs etc down by hand, as this will aid decomposition.

4. And now you wait ... It takes between nine and 12 months for your compost to become ready for use. Keep on adding greens and browns to top up your compost.

5. Once your compost has turned into a crumbly, dark material with just an earthy smell, it is ready. Use it to enrich borders and vegetable patches, plant up patio containers or feed the lawn.

Anyone with a smaller garden might want to consider setting up a wormery instead – check out theurbanworm.co.uk

FARM TALES

So long, Thérèse Andrew Livingston considers Thérèse Coffey’s exit – an end to a contentious stint, overshadowed by water pollution debates and strained farmer relations Oh Thérèse, how we ... hardly ’It was the poo wot dunnit knew you. Yes, after just one In fairness to Thérèse (here year, Thérèse Coffey resigned comes my Christmas goodwill), from her post as Secretary of since then she worked hard to State for the Department of try and repair her relationship Environment, Food and Rural with farmers. In September she Affairs (DEFRA). scrapped the deadline for the Her time as head of DEFRA won’t ceasing of culling badgers. In the go down as one of the greatest same month she also announced political appointments – but over that there was to be no ban on the past seven years I’m not sure the herbicide Glyphosate, which what really can. Nevertheless, some campaigners say is harmful I thought it might be an idea to to humans. look back on the memories she Despite the heroic efforts to leaves us with, and look forward reverse farmers’ opinions, to what is to come with the new Thérèse Coffey was always going appointee. to struggle to rebuild bridges In September 2022, after with the public after poo-gate; campaigning for Liz Truss to be her tenure has literally been Prime Minister, the 52-year-old littered with poo. was appointed Deputy Prime When she first took office in Minister and given the role of October 2022, she took massive Secretary of State criticism after she for Health and announced she would Social Care. Weeks not be prioritising ‘She was later, after the water pollution. This mini-Budget fiasco, was topped off in grumpy and she stood down rude and not February this year from her position when she claimed that very well and was entrusted bathing waters were with the leadership ‘much cleaner under briefed’ of DEFRA by new the Tory government’.

Prime Minister Rishi Her proud point was Sunak. rather diminished in She had a fairly abrasive first August at the World Triathlon NFU conference meeting which Championship Series in didn’t endear her to the farmers Sunderland, when 57 swimmers in attendance, one of whom was came down with sickness and The BV’s own George Hosford, diarrhoea after they swam in who said in the March edition waters with high levels of E. coli. that she was ’grumpy and Ultimately, it was her complacent rude, not very well briefed, and attitude to tackling the water completely failed to engage with companies responsible for the room. polluting our rivers and seas that

did for Thérèse.

There is massive public anger about the quality of our water, but, with Coffey gone, can someone finally come in and make the change?

Well ... at best it’s very unlikely, from what I can tell. Steve Barclay (who replaced Thérèse Coffey as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care) is once again set to replace her, this time at DEFRA. And why do I fear that Barclay will do nothing to finally take down the water companies?

Because his wife, Karen Barclay, is an executive of Anglian Water – a water company currently under investigation for illegally dumping raw sewage.

You couldn’t make it up!

Sadly, this is not a Christmas pantomime … this is just another example of 21st century politics.

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

FARMING

Autumn farming: happy slugs, pudding soil and sowing sagas

The problematic seedbed All images: George Hosford

From slug battles to seedbed dilemmas, George Hosford looks back at the trials of autumn sowing and the effects of heavy rains The rain rendered autumn sowing a little challenging this year. Holding off as long as we dare to reduce the risk of aphids infecting our crops with barley yellow dwarf virus (yes, it affects wheat too) then runs the risk of autumnal rain settling in and making good seedbed days hard to find.

Luckily, the drilling team threw in some long hours on the good days and we got the job wrapped up. It would have been a different story had we not been direct drilling. Previously cultivated seedbeds do not dry out anything like as quickly as those that have not been touched by machines. The worm holes and airways in the soil remain intact and it is amazing how quickly they drain down after rain.

The current downside of the direct drilling model, however, is the underlying slug burden – especially in fields that grew oilseed rape in the previous year.

Cultivation can disrupt The slugs will the slug lifestyle, damage continue to their eggs and reduce the paddle around, ability of the slimy devils to move through the soil. nibbling off Direct drilling does not, and newly emerged in a wet year like this we seedlings while are seeing a slugfest in the wheat following rape. we look on Slug pellets (now ferric helplessly phosphate based, the nasty ones have all been banned) are in short supply, and timing is difficult.

Based on the forecast, we took a punt and spread many hectares with a dose, hoping for a good kill overnight before the rain arrived and washed the uneaten pellets away. Waking up to the sound of rain already on the roof was annoying to say the least. Soggy pellets are not attractive to slugs and

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therefore useless as they wash into the soil. The slugs will continue to paddle around, nibbling off newly emerged seedlings while we look on helplessly.

We are assured by our regenerative friends that as soils get healthier, things will improve. Slug-predating ground beetle numbers will build as we disturb the soil less and apply fewer harmful chemicals, and our in-field wildflower strips should also act as reservoirs for other potential slug predators.

But when we can expect to go slug pellet free is currently anyone’s guess.

Clay cap pudding Above is an image of a good old fashioned seedbed from mid September when the weather was dry. It’s been over-worked and is consequently vulnerable to run-off and capping during heavy rain events – as I write, it’s like a soil pudding.

This is the second time we have tried to establish an AB15 mix on the headlands of a handful of fields.

This one is a two-year legume fallow – intended to help farmers get on top of troublesome grass weeds.

The rules state that we must mow off the foliage several times during the two years to prevent any re-seeding of weed grasses like blackgrass or brome, and also to ensure that we do not benefit some other area of our business by, for example, making hay out of it for our animals.

DEFRA are determined that in rewarding us for one thing, we should certainly not be able to benefit from it in any other way than that which was intended.

We overcooked the seedbed here because when we first tried to establish this mix of vetch and clovers in 2022, it did not emerge and grow at all well. Fear of being penalised at an inspection made us try again.

First time round we direct drilled it – which we now feel is not the best way to establish small-seeded

The BV magazine, December ‘23

FARMING crops like clover – and the second time we went to town. First we used the Sumo cultivator, which cultivates quite deep, then the discs to create a good tilth, followed by drilling with the old Vaderstad Rapide drill, which further breaks up the soil as well as firming the ground and placing the seeds.

Topped off with the ring rolls, the intention was to create good seed-to-soil contact to optimise the chances of a speedy and even germination. The result, however, reminds us why we now try to direct drill wherever we can!

This clay cap soil can run together when wet, and capping can prevent seedling emergence; not only that, it will turn to a pudding and dry out very slowly because all the cultivation has destroyed any worm holes and natural fissures between undisturbed soil particles. These are what allow water and air to percolate through the soil, keeping it aerated and free draining. Ploughing has the same effect of damaging soil structure, to a greater depth than simply cultivating – and it can take a whole season or more to recover from.

Small-seeded crops are much trickier to establish than larger ones like cereals and beans. Getting the conditions right and judging the right amount of cultivation to suit them is a big challenge. Even after all that work, sadly the germination of the clovers in the mix has not been particularly good.

Citizen science A popular Farmer Cluster meeting was held in late summer on the Tory family’s land by the Stour at Shapwick, led by Nicola Hopkins of Dorset FWAG (Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group). She had two of us wade into the river with waders and nets to see what we could find on the river bed. We then passed the nets ashore for emptying and sorting, before spending ages trying to identify what we had found!

There was a wonderful diversity of species; caddis fly larvae in their characteristic grit-covered duvets, there were damsel fly larvae and even a dragon fly larva, quite a few small fish, as well as snails, water boatmen and a number of what we’ll call ‘unidentifiable wrigglers’.

Main river samples (right) taken after a few days of rain, alongside a still-clear bottleful taken from the Iwerne Brook (far left)

Our Farmer Cluster doing some river dipping in the Stour with FWAG All images: George Hosford

After marvelling at what we had found, we were soon sobered up when Nicola told us what was missing. The river faces many challenges from sewage treatment outflows and leakage from farmland. There was at least a good exchange of ideas among the cluster on how to improve the health of the river.

This autumn, as the Stour burst its banks and rather murky brown water spread across our meadows, I was reminded of that delightful evening, and how important it is to prevent soil being carried into rivers. It buries the grits and gravels which are such important habitats for the creatures we found, and threatens their survival. Not only that, but phosphate is often attached to the soil, which can cause algal blooms and other problems in the water, further challenging aquatic ecosystems.

Our cluster group has been carrying out some citizen science over the summer: every couple of weeks a group of us take water samples from the river and some of its tributaries, and Claire our leader collects them up and sends them for testing. Suspended solids and other contents are quantified, and we look forward to seeing a whole year’s results, in the hopes we can learn from them.

Our own main river samples, taken following a few days of rain (image, left), looked pretty awful alongside a still clear bottleful taken from the Iwerne Brook, which flows down to the Stour from the Fontmell Magna and Iwerne minster direction.

Identifying where pollution enters the river is very tricky. In some cases the contributors can simply be impatient drivers in country lanes, squeezing past each other’s vehicles. Tyres rub soil off the bank and into the road, from where it will only wash one way – downhill, to the nearest river.

Our new pup needs to regard pet sheep as friends not quarry. Being half collie there are certain instincts in the blood which need to be controlled

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

FARMING

Find Your festive bird locally with NFU’s Turkey Finder

Embrace a locally-sourced Christmas with the NFU’s push for British turkeys, offering a sustainable and economical choice amidst the cost of living crisis As Christmas speeds towards us, we’re being turkey directly from the farm where it has been encouraged to ‘buy British, buy local, and buy produced, you will not only be backing British whole’ for the very best value when selecting your farming, but also helping a local business. festive turkey.

‘We know that everyone is being affected by The 17th of November heralded the NFU’s very first the cost of living crisis, which is why we are Buy My Turkey Day’, a day when turkey farmers encouraging shoppers to buy a whole bird as it across the UK showed off their farm fresh turkeys represents the best value for money. The versatility on social media. It was fun, but it was also a clarion of turkey meat means that once you’ve enjoyed call for consumers to consider the your Christmas dinner, there are plenty roots of their festive feast, urging of healthy, tasty dishes you can try with them to use the NFU’s online Turkey any leftovers to make sure there is no ‘Buy a whole Finder to purchase directly from the waste and that all the fantastic meat is bird as it UK’s turkey farmer. By sourcing a put to good use. represents turkey from your local producer, you’ll ‘Shoppers can use the NFU Turkey the best value Finder to quickly locate their nearest be getting a high-quality bird which has been raised to world-leading producer and buy a turkey direct for money’ standards, at the same time as cutting from the farm where it was reared. If your own food miles and supporting you’re buying a turkey from your local the rural economy. butcher, ask them if it’s British and Jonathan Smith, the chair of the NFU turkey group, which farm it’s been sourced from.’ says: ‘Turkey is a fantastic choice for Christmas We hope that a delicious British turkey will take dinner, providing a delicious and nutritious meal pride of place on your festive table this Christmas! to share with the whole family. By buying a British • Use the Turkey Finder here countrysideonline

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

FARMING

Just how much more can our British farmers take?

As the Red Tractor scheme stirs debate, Love Local Trust Local steps up to restore confidence in local, traceable British produce, says founder Barbara Cossins I write to you today with a deep sense of concern.

The Red Tractor food chain assurance scheme is the subject of much discussion at the moment. It recently faced major backlash from the farming community when it announced the Greener Farms Commitment, planned for launch in April 2024. Red Tractor has now said it will not proceed with the implementation of any new standards or additional modules until an independent NFU review, focusing on Red Tractor governance, is completed.

The review was ordered after Red Tractor was accused of acting outside its remit when it announced its Greener Farms Commitment – which required farmers to demonstrate the environmental credentials of the food they produce in order to boost retailers’ environmental aims. It was developed with retailers, but with no proper consultation with farmers.

A social media post showing a Red Tractor label and Union flag on produce from Italy.

The NFU is part of the ownership body of Red Tractor, and concerns were expressed about the independence of the governance review, after it was announced that Red Tractor’s board was intending to lead it. This week, The NFU has appointed consultants Campbell Tickell to undertake the independent review. Red Tractor chair, Christine Tacon, says: ‘The views of our members are very important, and we are sorry that we have been slow to understand them fully. The discussion that has been provoked is essential and offers a great opportunity for the farming sectors and supply chains to work together.’

There is an alternative In 2018, after Open Farm Sunday, I set up a not-forprofit self-funded food label, Love Local Trust Local, to stand up against the clear misuse of the Red Tractor labelling. Dorset’s very own produce label was created to help put consumer trust back into buying local, and to promote products with clear provenance and full traceability Over the last few years, I have been horrified at the misuse of food labelling by certain large supermarkets, with fake farm brands and the Red Tractor logo displayed on food imported from countries with very different farming standards from ours. As a farmer’s wife, I work relentlessly to support and showcase local farmers and producers with a label that the consumer can trust.

By using the county flag, the label signifies where the produce is grown, reared, produced, brewed, or caught – thus putting the trust back into buying local while helping to educate consumers about where and how their food is grown. The logo has been designed to be easily recognisable and is adaptable to any county – or nationally.

The silent opinion British farmers have no direct voice to consumers.

Our government seemingly isn’t doing anything to help. We must work together and get behind the Love Local Trust Local label. There is no better time to get involved. Our farming industry is fragile, and there is an ongoing concern about where our food will come from in the future.

The time is right for shoppers to buy produce from our own land, farmers, and producers.

Let’s celebrate everything Britain has to offer – before it is too late.

LoveLocalTrustLocalAwards.co.uk

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EQUESTRIAN Mud, foals, coats and dreams

Stable lunch

All images: Lucy Procter

Weird weather means the mares are still out, and the Glanvilles Stud team had to magic up a pop-up restaurant, says Lucy Procter The warm sunshine and heavy downpours that I wrote about in September continued in October and November. With night-time temperatures rarely dropping below ten degrees the soil remained relatively

warm and the grass continued to grow unseasonably late, with the result that many of our mares and youngstock are still living out, supplemented with hard feed but not yet requiring any hay to top up

What a difference a day makes – one day playing in the sunshine, and the next a dusting of snow on the ground. November looks to be going out with more seasonably chilly weather.

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their grazing. Our January and February foaling mares are already coming in at night, however, as we need to ensure they have extra hard feed during the last three months of their pregnancy.

The BV magazine, December ‘23

EQUESTRIAN

It was a frosty morning on the stud ...

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

EQUESTRIAN The foals next door were totally unfazed by the unusual goings on

The scene for the successful TGS pop-up restaurant – the Thoroughbred Breeders Association members lunch was held in the mares’ barn

The rest of the mares will be in from 1st December, so that we can have them ‘under lights’ to help shorten their gestation period and bring any barren mares into season earlier.

The Glanvilles Stud pop-up A few weeks ago I was struggling to erect a substantial marquee in the front paddock. With the help of three of the stable girls, it was girl power that got the marquee up in the end, two days ahead of the Thoroughbred Breeders Association (TBA) members visit, which included lunch

and an afternoon tour of the stud. With the unseasonably mild weather we had been having, lunch in a marquee in late October had seemed like a fantastic idea when we originally planned it.

However ... the night before the visit, one of this autumn’s many named storms arrived in Glanvilles Wootton.

On the morning of the visit, we woke to find the marquee flooded. Unless we were to ask our guests to eat lunch wearing their wellington boots, inches deep in water, there was no chance of food being served in there.

Triple Trade before winning at Cheltenham in November

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A plan B was needed – and fast! A brief panic was followed by frantic cobweb hoovering and picture hanging, and we started setting up the tables and chairs in the mares’ barn.

Thankfully, since the annual deep clean and disinfect of all the stables in the summer, those in the main barn had not yet been bedded up for the winter and quickly our Glanvilles Stud Pop-UpRestaurant took shape.

Once Rebecca Green Catering had arrived, and spotless white tablecloths, sparkling glasses and gleaming cutlery had been laid, all was ready for our guests – just minutes before they all descended!

We were the second stop on the members’ itinerary – they had spent the morning visiting champion trainer Paul Nicholls’ yard.

Wine flowed, a most delicious cottage pie was devoured, and the mares and foals that we had brought into the barns adjacent to the lunch barn calmly enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the visitors!

After lunch, our vet, Paul Legerton, demonstrated scanning a mare in foal and answered questions about his methods of scanning the mares in the lead-up to their being covered by a stallion.

With the stud as waterlogged

The BV magazine, December ‘23

EQUESTRIAN

as the marquee, we paraded foals in the barn, and in between showers paraded some of the mares and the racehorses we have in pretraining on the yard outside.

Despite the disastrous start, we had a lovely afternoon with the TBA members, with everyone commenting that it was one of the best stud visits and lunches they had been on and certainly memorable!

When he grows up, he plans to be a giraffe ...

Woolstone One’s colt foal – or Onion, as he is known at TGS. Readers may recall that this year our foals were named after salad-related ingredients (Onion’s field companions are currently Cress and Mayo).

Having sold our half share in Onion during the summer, Onion’s owner has renamed him Toulouges, a type of French Onion which originates from the town by the same name.

This may well remain as his registered racing name – so look out for a Toulouges on the racetrack in a few years time.

Triple Trade A November highlight was shouting home another TGS winner at Cheltenham, the Joe Tizzard-trained 7yo, Triple Trade, sired by Norse Dancer and out of Doubly Guest – a mare we have in foal this year to a stallion called Planteur.

After a promising second on seasonal reappearance at the Cheltenham October meeting, everything fell into place for Triple Trade’s firsttime owners Simon, John and Simon (SJS Racing), with a first Cheltenham win. He came out again eight days later to run in the £125,000 Hurst Park Handicap at Ascot, where he was a brave third.

Fingers crossed he will keep on improving for the rest of the season and perhaps we will see him in one of the handicaps at next year’s Cheltenham Festival.

With Doug at the mare sales in Newmarket (he’s looking for new owners as much as broodmares), some top quality racing and the small matter of Christmas, December will fly by.

Before we know it, we’ll be sitting up through the night in January, watching for those first foals.

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EQUESTRIAN

On the lorry off the lorry Donkeys have a strong Christmas connection, says Sally Cooper, but its their wicked personalities that make the donkey-keeping challenge worth it Donkeys seem inextricably linked with Christmas (well that’s my excuse for writing about them again for the month of December!). But why do we have that association?

Is it purely the religious image of one little donkey carrying Mary on a dusty road? Or are there other links? There do seem to be plenty of images of them dressing up for seasonal pictures. Dressing up ... well there’s a while new question.

Do they enjoy it? Or are we forcing them into human games for our own amusement? Our Rodney adores all new things – dressing up and pulling fabric items around? Well, that is just

FABULOUS! However, there are rules. Rodney says ‘no bells’ – this is apparently just a step too far. Mister Pebbles is less keen about the fancy dressing up. He’s possibly shy.

However, on last month’s longpromised castration day clothes played a big part.

The donkey on the lorry Nothing on this planet was going to get Mister Pebbles on that lorry to the vets. Rodney ran on and off, happily showing him the delights of the lorry ramp and the treats that await you at the top. Nope. No movement. Oddly enough, he’s as stubborn as a mule!

Mr Pebbles loves dressing up

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We rang the vet surgery to explain the situation, and to my amazement the response was ‘have you tried the jumper method?’. Well no, we hadn’t.

A jumper was found and duly placed over the donkey’s head from behind, with the arms over his ears. The lights went out and a suddenly floppybodied donkey relaxed.

Then we simply had to physically move each leg up the ramp – with a human operating each corner, naturally.

Miracle of miracles, the donkey was finally on the lorry!

The operation went well (no details required).

Then more lorry antics. The vet kindly donated a jacket for the ‘cover the head’ routine, and we made it onto the lorry without any drama. The problem for the return trip was at the home end – Mister Pebbles decided he was now not, not, not getting off the lorry.

Rodney encouraged and nudged and hid round the corner ... Nothing. The decision was finally made to leave him in there, with the ramp down, in the secure yard area.

We watched from the kitchen for a while, but there was no movement.

Two hours later, once we’d all stopped watching, he sneaked off and ate all my flowers and herbs. And yes, there was a definite ‘that will teach you’ smile on his face.

Donkeys may represent Christmas and Peace on earth, but they are also great fun and wicked friends.

Merry Christmas from us all!

The BV magazine, December ‘23

EQUESTRIAN

Mr Pebbles has high hopes for snow this year Images: Sally Cooper

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WILDLIFE Sprouting from the rotten wood of the gatepost were tiny cups on stalks, like miniature golf tees All images: Jane Adams

Nature’s tiny technicolour tapestry

Jane Adams delves into the peculiar world of lichen, revealing a vibrant, year-round splash of colour in the UK’s landscapes, even on the darkest days 118

The BV magazine, December ‘23

WILDLIFE This week, nature reminded me that even its tiniest wonders still have the capacity to surprise and amaze. I had been leaning on an old gate, watching a mother roe deer and her two youngsters.

Since June, her fawn’s coats have morphed from camouflaged caramel swirls to the soft beige that now matches her own.

Turning to leave, something caught my eye. Sprouting from the rotten wood of the gatepost were tiny cups on stalks, like miniature golf tees. For a while, I lost myself in this Lilliputian ecosystem raised four-feet above the ground, a place so intricate and delicate, yet completely beyond my comprehension – like peering into an alien world.

Back home, and having taken lots of photographs, I identified the stalks as apothecia, the reproductive hubs of lichens, ready to release their spores.

Lichens are weird These strange organisms aren’t plants. Instead they’re a mashup of fungus and alga and/or cyanobacterium. And with more than 1,800 recorded species in the UK – 710 of which grow in Dorset – it’s surprising we don’t notice lichens more. Not only do they grow on pretty much any undisturbed natural substance including stone, wood and bark, but they’ll also happily wander across metal, glass and even plastics. The fungus bit makes up roughly 95 per cent of the lichen

Some are like green coral growing on bark

Hornet on an ivy flower

and provides the structure, and the alga and/or cyanobacterium provide the nourishment, through photosynthesis.

Since then, of course, I’ve been noticing lichens everywhere.

White blotchy ones, like paint splatters on walls. Bright orange ones creeping over gravestones.

Some like green and yellow coral growing on bark, while other

species hang like verdant tinsel from twigs.

Our trees may have lost their autumn leaves, but lichens keep their glowing colours year round.

So if you’re looking for something a little bit different, something that glows on the bleakest of winter days, keep an eye out for lichens – and lose yourself in their other-worldly magic.

Lichen information • •

• Even nature’s tiniest wonders still have the capacity to surprise

The British Lichen Society britishlichensociety.org.uk Some fantastic photographs of Dorset lichens (and other local wildlife) on Jenny Seawright’s website dorsetnature.co.uk Mike Sutcliffe’s photos and help with identification of British Lichens: britishlichens.co.uk 119

The BV magazine, December ‘23

WILDLIFE Diver in the trench caused by a large ship anchoring in Weymouth Bay. © Simon Brown

Observing the other half of Dorset DWT’s Peter Tinsley explores the underwater terrain of Dorset’s coast, from the seabed’s physical features to mapping its elusive ecology The land area of Dorset is roughly equivalent to to Seasearch divers trained in the identification its adjoining sea area, which stretches 12 nautical of marine species and habitats and Shoresearch miles from the coast – an area you could call volunteers grabbing that short opportunity when Dorset’s territorial sea. But look at any map and the tide is out to search for intertidal species. you will see far fewer features (if any) marked in Other volunteers use snorkels and kayaks to the sea than on land. map out shallow water features, such as beds of The mappable features on the seabed are all snakelocks anemones in Kimmeridge Bay. physical – depth contours, reefs, sandbanks, Repeat surveys of the same site can detect longeven tidal currents are reliably predictable. term changes – in Kimmeridge Bay, volunteers have Some of these features are named on Admiralty noticed an increase in the number of furrowed charts – such as the Shambles Bank, crab among the ledges, compared with Adamant Shoal, Whitehouse Grounds. juvenile edible crabs, a trend which Others have local names – Lobster appears to hold across the south west.

Volunteer Rock, Blackers Bump. There is also a Another Kimmeridge Bay group is shoreline scattering of shipwrecks – many dating monitoring the population of peacock’s strollers back to the two world wars – and a few tail alga – a species which is one of the report man-made features such as maintained features of the Purbeck Coast Marine channels into Poole and Portland Conservation Zone anything harbours, and pipelines such as the use of photogrammetry from jellyfish The disused radio-active waste pipeline underwater in Dorset has provided to stranded running out from Arish Mell. detailed, scaled views of garden-sized patches of seabed – views that are whales Who sees the seashore? impossible in the real world, where The ecological features are harder to underwater visibility is just a few map. While land is conveniently divided into tidy metres. We have now established three monitoring packages by walls, fences or uses, the seabed is sites, one of which has been surveyed three mostly in the hands of one owner – the Crown – times over three years. The same technique has and there are no fences and very few seabed-uses been applied to monitor one of the scars left on that make an obvious mark. the seabed in Poole Bay by cruise ships during Gathering ecological information in the marine the lockdown – still very visible three years later. environment, therefore, poses challenges. Dorset Photogrammetry has proved to be an invaluable Wildlife Trust makes use of a mixture of digital way of documenting habitat change, be that technology and old-fashioned volunteering. The recovery or damage, natural or anthropogenic. latter ranges from shoreline strollers reporting It has enabled a much better appreciation and anything from jellyfish to stranded whales (this understanding of seabed biotopes and repeat year’s signings have included several seahorses, surveys provide an opportunity to monitor change one caught by a child ‘crabbing’ in Poole Harbour) in a way that has not been possible before.

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READER’S PHOTOGRAPHY

Shorty mellow yellow Ian Nelson

Swan Lake Andy Lake

Here be fairies Rob Hannam

The BV magazine, December ‘23

READER’S PHOTOGRAPHY Close to Wincanton Simon Lewis

We welcome photography submissions from readers the 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

Copy William Evans

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READER’S PHOTOGRAPHY

Happy squirrels Nicky Newman

Jumping in 1 ... 2 ....

Natalie Dunn

READER’S PHOTOGRAPHY Squirrel Nutkin Sharon Towning

Slugging it out Helen Moore

READER’S PHOTOGRAPHY

Laying Low Andrew Burge

Ready ...

Danny Howe

READER’S PHOTOGRAPHY

Frosty Kington Magna David Thompson

Into the mirror Mark Churchill

READER’S PHOTOGRAPHY

Lyme Rebecca Cooke

Robin Zoe Brooker

The BV magazine, December ‘23

HEALTH

Looking after your mental health during the festive period Dorset Mind volunteer Annabel Goddard suggests a pause for reflection and gratitude during the darkest months of the year As the year draws to a close, many of us look forward to those last few weeks of frenetic happy festivities before January arrives. However, the same time of year can be very difficult for others, for a variety of reasons.

The cost-of-living crisis and family/relationship struggles can have a massive impact on our mood around Christmas – not to mention the many people who don’t celebrate at this time, which can lead to them feeling marginalised. While the religious elements of the festive seasons are important to many who celebrate, all of us could use this time to reflect on the importance of community, regardless of religious beliefs.

Little things mean a lot Consider taking a moment this month to consider gratitude – being thankful for the people in our lives who care about us and to appreciate what is often taken for granted, such as food, warmth and connection with others.

It’s also helpful to remember that you should be able to enjoy the season no matter what your financial situation. Try to avoid feeling as if spending money on gifts is more important than simply spending time with family and friends. If money is tight, have a movie night in together or go for a winter walk. There are so many ways to celebrate, and it shouldn’t rely on how much money you spend. Even just checking in on someone who’s having a hard time and

letting them know you’re there for them can be a thoughtful and helpful gift at this time of year.

Find the daylight The shorter, colder days mean there is less time to spend outside after work, which can reduce the number of hobbies you’re able to do if you enjoy outdoor activities. If you’re able to, try and find a replacement indoor activity or class to help you regain your evenings. It’s easy to feel like doing nothing when the days get short but exercise and hobbies really do help to boost your mood throughout winter.

Above all, this time of year is a good opportunity to think about your own mental health and to take some time to reflect on the year. If you’ve been journalling your feelings it might help to read back, and ask yourself if you need more support.

It can all start from a casual conversation with a friend who cares about you - make sure you confide in someone if you need to.

Support for you: • Visit dorsetmind.uk for local mental health support and ways to keep mentally healthy • Call Samaritans on 116 123 for free 24/7 emotional support • Call Dorset’s mental health helpline Connection for support on NHS 111 • Call 999 if someone is in immediate danger 129

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HEALTH

by Karen Geary, Nutritional Therapist DipION, mBANT, CNHC at Amplify

Karen’s guide to fun festive feasting Expert Karen Geary has your essential guide to enjoying the party while staying healthy and happy during the holiday season Christmas brings joy, laughter and an abundance of delectable treats that tempt even the most dedicated health enthusiast.

It’s a time when staying healthy and avoiding weight gain might seem like an insurmountable challenge. But with a mindful approach and a few simple strategies, it’s entirely possible to revel in the festivities without compromising your well-being.

Embrace balance The cornerstone of a healthy holiday season is finding balance. Enjoy the traditional holiday dishes and treats, but do so in moderation.

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sensibly without over-indulging: • Portion control is key – three palmfuls of protein a day and one to two palmfuls of carbs. Fats are trickier.

I normally say a matchbox size of cheese ... but it’s Christmas! If you are a cheese addict, reduce the carbs to compensate.

• Limit the snacks. I know, easier said than done with all the Quality Street hanging around, but we all know once you start, one becomes six and then all good intentions go out of the window.

Try to give your system four to five hours break between meals. I eat my Quality Street

•

at the end of the meal with coffee – that way I can enjoy without eating too many.

Avoid the beige food at the buffet. Go for the crudités, maybe the smoked salmon, the salads and fruit … savoury over sweet!

Choose nutrient-dense foods Christmas dinner is one of the healthiest meals we have – all that veg and lean protein! Load up your plate with colourful vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains.

These foods are not only nutritious but also keep you full, reducing the temptation to overeat less healthy options.

The BV magazine, December ‘23

HEALTH

Mindful eating practices Practice mindful eating: slow yourself down, savour each bite and try to listen to your body’s hunger cues.

Stop eating before you are full.

Mindfulness allows you to appreciate the food you’re consuming and helps you recognise when you’re full, preventing mindless overeating.

Stay active Maintaining an exercise routine over Christmas might seem challenging, but you really will feel better. Find ways to incorporate some physical activity into your festive schedule. Take family walks, join holiday-themed exercise classes, or simply dance to your favourite tunes.

Exercise not only burns calories but also boosts your mood and energy levels.

Getting out for a walk is good for everyone in the family

Set realistic goals Rather than aiming for weight loss during the holidays, focus on weight maintenance. Set realistic goals to stay on track.

Celebrate small victories and remember that the holiday season is a time for enjoyment, not extreme dietary Make sure restrictions!

Plan ahead Before heading to a gettogether, consider eating a small, nutritious meal or snack.

Arriving hungry will inevitably lead to overeating. Additionally, contribute a healthy dish to the event, to ensure there’s something nutritious available.

everyone has Hydration is key Amid the festive a job, like ‘top Seek support cheer, don’t forget up drinks’, or Share your to hydrate. Opt for ‘washing up’ – health goals with water or herbal teas people like to your family and to stay hydrated and friends. Having a curb unnecessary help support system snacking. Sometimes can help you stay our bodies really accountable and do confuse thirst with hunger, motivated. Consider involving leading to unnecessary calorie loved ones in physical activities consumption. or cooking healthier versions Space out your alcoholic drinks of traditional dishes together. with a glass of water in between More people than ever are each one. health-conscious and are likely to welcome your initiatives.

Practise self-care Amid the hustle and bustle, prioritise some self-care. If you are the host, make sure everyone has a job to do; one tip I have picked up is to write all the tasks on small pieces of paper and let everyone draw one out of a hat – it might be ‘keep drinks topped up’, ‘washing up’ or ‘setting the table’, for example. People are always happy to help.

Try to get 15 minutes each day just for you. Adequate sleep is also crucial for overall health, so get some rest each night.

Christmas is a time for celebration, not a time for guilt or deprivation.

Enjoy it your way by making conscious choices that you know will nourish your body and mind.

I hope you have a very merry Christmas – and thank you for reading me this year!

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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JOBS

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JOBS

We’re recruiting!

Join our informal careers drop-ins at Hampshire and Somerset this December We’re recruiting for the following roles…

Rural Civils Operatives

Rural Civils Team Leaders

Cabling Engineers

Hampshire Drop-in

Somerset Drop-in

The Fighting Cocks pub, Godshill, SP6 2LL

The Cross Keys, Lydford Cross, TA11 7HA

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Tue 12 December 5:30 - 7:00PM

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Wed 13 December 5:30 - 7:00PM

Register your interest at wessexinternet.com/careers

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JOBS

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JOBS

Join the Sturfit Legacy: Shape the Future of Community Wellness in Sturminster Newton!

For over 15 remarkable years, the Sturminster Newton Leisure Centre, operated by the charity Sturfit, has stood as a testament to community spirit and collaboration.

At its core, Sturfit isn't just a leisure centre. It's a movement, a commitment, and a promise to champion the wellness and sports needs of Sturminster Newton and its neighbouring parishes.

Here's What We Believe in and Strive For:

✅ An all-accessible leisure centre, where the entire community finds its fit. ✅ Top-notch sports facilities, especially curated to aid our local schools and vibrant community groups. ✅ A proactive approach to holistic health, ensuring everyone,

irrespective of age or background, experiences the joys of fitness and well-being.

Are YOU Our Next Trustee?

As we stand on the brink of our next exciting chapter, we're on the lookout for two or three dynamic individuals who share our vision.

As a trustee, you'll not only partake in, but also actively shape the transformative journey of Sturfit. It's more than a position; it's an opportunity to sculpt a legacy, making lasting contributions that resonate with every home in our community.

Who's the Perfect Fit? No need to be a sports enthusiast or carry prior experience! What we treasure most is your unique life story, the diverse skills you bring, and an undying passion for community betterment.

Feeling the Call?

Think this could be your calling? Let’s chat. Drop a note to Courtenay@sturfit.org, telling us a bit about yourself. Join us and make a difference!

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

JOBS

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The BV magazine, December ‘23

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We’ll be back on the 12th January - but keep your ears open for the podcast, it’s a little snippet of The BV during December! :)

Winter Lanes in Dorset