The New Blackmore Vale Magazine (20.01.23)

by Sally Gregson

VITA Sackville-West knew a thing or two about winter plants. Sissinghurst must have been a jewel box at this time of year, with sparkling cyclamen coum, winter iris and, of course, snowdrops.

Gardener, if you listen, listen well: Plant for your winter pleasure, when the months Dishearten; plant to find a fragile note Touched from the brittle violin of frost

The Garden, Vita Sackville-West

Little could she have imagined just how popular snowdrops in particular would become in the 21st century. Their subtle differences are lauded and admired by increasing numbers of galanthophiles.

We gardeners all sympathise. Those late autumn daisies, nerines and ‘Kaffir’ lilies have long been thrashed into pulp by the high winds and heavy frosts. We need life. And colour. And pleasure.

Many groups of enthusiasts band together and board coaches to follow their passion – named snowdrops in the gardens of collectors.

Up and down the country there are increasingly many displays of snowdrops. The markings on their petals subtle and precise.

Some species, such as Galanthus elwesii begin flowering well in advance of their peers. It has large, broad grey-green leaves to about 30cm and is native to the Taurus mountains of Turkey.

It is becoming endangered in the wild, due in part to overcollection, but it is possible to buy bulbs from a cultivated source.

Most snowdrops dislike drying out, but these in particular are more tolerant of summer droughts because of their naturally dry habitat.

Named cultivars of snowdrops, as is now commonly known, are much sought after. They exchange hands for the price of a case of fine wine, an antique vase, a small fortune. And the proud new owners take them home in triumph. They have bought a step in the march of time – a taste of a beautiful spring.

Greater snowdrops in the Woodland Garden at Kew

New activities at your local libraries

Get a date in your diary for events at Vale libraries this January and February

IT’S hobby season at Shaftesbury library, and every Saturday from 14 January, between 11am–12noon the library will be buzzing with a new programme of events. Each is free and inclusive of all ages… Vintage classic motorcycle enthusiasts will appreciate the fantastic and unique opportunity to see these beautiful machines inside and outside the library on 21 January, and on 28 January you can enjoy a free demonstration and talk by Anna McDowell on the heritage craft of button making, using contemporary materials and designs. Tony and Gareth from Cranborne Chase Astronomy Club will be at the library on 4 February to explain the joys of star gazing, while on 11 February Pip Johnsen will be guiding a gentle yoga session suitable for all ages and abilities. The early-year programme draws to a close with a willow-weaving session, in which you can make your own bird feeder to take home and marvel at the amazing samples on display (please call the library to book you place in advance).

To find out more call 01747 852256. Shaftesbury library is also the hub for a series of community policing surgeries, from 10–11am on 26 January, 23 February and 23 March. PCSO Leatt will be offering crime prevention advice and listening to local concerns.

And, if you or anyone you know is looking for regular children’s activities, come along to Shaftesbury library on Tuesdays at 2.15pm for Rhyme Time – half an hour of singing and rhymes for preschool children and babies. On Saturdays at

11am, Lego Time offers children the opportunity to get creative with Lego. There is no need to book to attend, just come and enjoy (children under eight must be accompanied by a carer).

Sturminster Newton library

On Thursday 16 February from 2.30–3.30pm, Sturminster Newton library will host ‘Pirate Stories and Activities’. Free and suitable for children aged three-plus. Booking is advised – visit Eventbrite online or call 01258472669.

Gilligham library

Gillingham library is already looking ahead to February half term with a range of free activities for children planned in. On Monday 13 February (10.30–11.30am) and Friday 17 February (3–4pm) pop in for Lego fun sessions, no booking required.

If nature’s more your thing, you’ll enjoy ‘Footprints and Poo’ on Tuesday 14 February (10am–12noon and 2–4pm). Especially suitable for 7–12 year olds, this activity involves looking for clues and matching evidence in nature.

For accompanied children under five years old , Rhyme Time on Thursday 16 February (10.15–10.45am) will be followed by Nature Craft Fun for families from 11am–12noon. The children will be making bird seed cones and planting sunflowers, followed by crafts including origami hedgehogs. Dress suitably for this messy activity.

And on Saturday 18 February from

A walk around… Durweston

Soak up the scenery as you walk with retired Dorset rights of way officer Chris Slade

PARK near the Church, which may be open now, then, a short way past it, join a bridleway on your right leading first south west then, after a zig zag, continues in that direction through a steep coombe full of anthills. The soil here has never been cultivated so, at the right time of year, it’ll be worth taking a flora with you that might help you identify rare species. At the top of the slope there are good views of the distant village.

Join a farm track that takes you through Websley Farm and continues south west for half a mile to join a road at the Travellers’ Rest. Turn right and head north west for a furlong then right again, north east, for half a mile until, at a bend, you join a footpath on

your left heading north north west which meets the Jubilee Trail at The Folly.

10.30–11am there will be a SENsational story and play for 0–5-year-olds and their parents/carers. This is a fun session of sensory play, stories, and rhymes.

Booking is advised for all free activities at Gillingham library – book via Eventbrite online or call 01747 822180.

Sherborne library

This February sees a packed calendar at Sherborne library. On Friday 10 February from 2.30–3.45pm, author Sarah Acton will present ‘Seining Along Chesil’. Hear about Sarah’s new book, which remembers and celebrates the seine fishing communities.

There’s a storytelling performance on Thursday 23 February from 7–9pm, with ‘The Gods Are All Here’. Weaving myth, song, folktales and legends of the African diaspora, the performance uncovers Phil Okwedy’s experiences of growing up as a child of dual heritage in Wales in the 1960s and 70s Wales. Suitable for ages 12+, tickets cost £10 and booking is essential (see below).

On Friday 24 February you can join Phil Okwedy for an interactive storytelling workshop from 11am–1pm. Join Phil and find and develop your skills. For adults, tickets cost £2 – booking is essential.

Entertain the children on Thursday 16 February from 3–4pm, with ‘Jungle Crafts’ – a free activity suitable for children aged 3-plus. Booking is advised for all free events. To book free events and buy tickets visit Eventbrite online or call 01935 812683.

This leads you eastwards, downhill, for a mile back to the village. Turn left and you’ll soon be at the main road, the A357, which you cross to join a bridleway to the old mill with hatches and a large pond. Continue as far as the bridge over the Stour, the parish boundary, then, having looked for minnows etc, turn back and join a footpath by the mill heading south east. This leads you to a short road which takes you back to the main road across which you will be in sight of your car. You’ll have walked about four miles.

Mike Faherty / geograph.org.uk

Shaftesbury’s Great Big Green Week needs you!

Climate change threatens our future, that of our children and will negatively affect our landscape and wildlife. Here’s what you can do to help halt its progress…

by Chris Harwood

I AM planting trees to fight climate change but I am not alone. Between us, my tree-planting group planted 500 saplings in a single day – in their lifetime those trees could sequester 500,000kg of carbon. It goes to show that when we work together as a community, we can be extremely powerful and make so much more difference than as individuals alone.

The fight against climate change and the associated biodiversity crisis is easier than you might think. To help galvanise volunteers, Great Big Green Week (GBGW), the UK’s celebration of community action to tackle climate change

and protect nature, provides a focus for activities and a way to join forces with groups both locally and around the country to really make a difference.

The people of Shaftesbury are already planning their activities for 2023, culminating in a GBGW from 10-18 June. A community hub in Shaftesbury will co-ordinate efforts in the town and surrounding areas.

If you’d like to contribute ideas for events and activities (you don’t have to run them!), the organisers in Shaftesbury would love to hear from you – email chris@greatbiggreenweekshaftesbury.org or find the group on Facebook. There’s a growing list of planned and proposed ideas, activities and events at www. greatbiggreenweekshaftesbury.org, and suggestions are always welcome. Visit the site to find out more about community action against climate change, and how you can get involved at a grass roots level.

The more people who are part of this

celebration of change, the stronger each of us will be. Let’s all send strong signals to the politicians that we want them to stop the burning of fossil fuels and make real efforts to combat climate change. Together our voices are louder.

Chris Harwood and his group of tree planters are busy reinstating trees to Shaftesbury’s surrounds

Sturminster mourns tragic death

Kind-hearted mum died in crash near Shaftesbury after stopping to help:

Inquest

A MUM died after being hit by a skidding vehicle after she stopped to help a motorist near Shaftesbury, an inquest has heard.

Natalie Cristina Mountford, of Sturminster Newton, stopped to help a motorist on the B3091, near the junction with Cole’s Lane, at around 12.40am on 18 December.

An inquest opened at Bournemouth Coroner’s Court said her blue Vauxhall Astra was struck by a red Vauxhall

Corsa at the scene, with the 45-year-old sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

Now, a GoFundMe campaign has been launched to support Natalie’s family.

Writing to launch the fundraising effort, Stephanie Alston said: “This news came as a devastating shock to us all and I think we’re all struggling to come to terms with this.

“Nat was such a beautiful selfless person who would literally do anything for anyone, which was made ever more apparent by the tragic way in which she passed.”

The fundraising page, which has reached a total of more than £8,000, paid tribute to Natalie.

Danielle Rice wrote: “Nat,

it’s still so hard to accept you’ve gone from this world. You were such a huge part of me and my family’s lives.

“You’ve done so much and your memory will be forever shared. I loved you so much and you were my best friend, even through everything we’ve been through, you’ve always been in my mind and heart. Love you forever hun.

“Your children will not be alone, there are loads of people who will help support them for you. Rest in heavenly peace, you’ve been reunited with nan.”

“You really were a kind and beautiful soul Nats,” wrote Louise White.

“Much love to your family. Heaven gained another angel.”

Sam and Darren Moody said: “Nat was always such a kind and caring person. She will be greatly missed and her children have lost a brilliant mum. They

will keep her kind-hearted spirit going forever.”

The driver of the Corsa – a local woman in her 20s –received treatment for injuries that were not believed to be serious, police added.

Road closures were put in place for an examination of the scene to take place.

Sergeant Mark Scammell, of the traffic unit, said: “Our thoughts are with the family of the woman who sadly died in this collision, and we are carrying out enquiries to establish the full circumstances of what happened.

“I would urge any witnesses, or anyone with relevant dashcam footage, who has not already spoken to police to please get in touch with us to assist our investigation.

“I would also like to thank the public for their understanding during the closures.”

Tributes to road crash victim

THE FAMILY of a young mum tragically killed in a crash this week has paid tribute to a woman ‘full of life and love’

Martine Hearn, from Bruton, sadly died following a two-vehicle collision on the A371 in Evercreech, near Shepton Mallet, at around 8am on Wednesday 4 January.

Now, the 24-year-old’s family has paid tribute to a ‘beloved daughter, granddaughter, sister, partner, and mother’.

“On Wednesday, our family was devastated at the loss of our beautiful Martine,” they said.

“She was 24 years old and full of life and love, and she leaves behind her four-year-old son.

“She will always be a beloved daughter, granddaughter, sister, partner, and mother.

“The world will be a darker place without the brightness of her smile.

“We would like to thank all of the emergency services and public who were at the scene and tried to help our beautiful Martine. We are incredibly grateful for your efforts.”

The family also thanked everyone for their thoughts and prayers but requested privacy while they grieve.

“Our thoughts remain with the family during this incredibly difficult time, and they are being supported by one of our specially trained family liaison officers,” said an Avon and Somerset Police spokesperson.

Officers are appealing for witnesses, or anyone with relevant dashcam footage, to contact 101 and quote reference 5223001826 to the call handler.

Daylight assault in Blandford

A couple were threatened with a knife and one of them assaulted as they walked through Blandford in broad daylight

POLICE are appealing for information after the incident, in Wimborne Road, at around 2pm on Friday 23 December.

The incident unfolded as a woman aged in her 30s and her partner were on the route, near to the junction with Langton Road and East Street, when they walked past a group of four male teenagers.

The group were verbally abusive before one of the boys reportedly assaulted the woman and another produced a small knife and made threats toward them. The group then made off from the scene.

The offenders are described as being aged around 17. One was wearing a black and white tracksuit and a black woolly hat. Another was wearing a blue jacket and jeans.

PC James Owen, of Dorset Police, said: “We are carrying out enquiries into this incident and I would ask anyone who saw what happened, or who has any information relating to those involved, to please contact us.

“I also understand there was likely to have been traffic in the area around the time of this incident and I would urge any motorists who were driving in the vicinity to please check their dashcam footage for anything that might assist our investigation.”

Anyone with information should contact Dorset Police via www.dorset.police.uk/contact or by calling 101, quoting incident number 55220206014. They can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Man due in court over fatal crash near Dorset village school

A man is due to appear in court in connection with a fatal crash in Hazelbury Bryan.

POLICE received a report at 3.29pm on Wednesday 20 October last year of a collision near Hazelbury Bryan Primary School, in Thickthorn Lane, involving an articulated lorry and a pedestrian.

The pedestrian, a man aged in his 70s, was

flown to Southampton General Hospital for treatment to serious injuries. Sadly, he died in hospital on Thursday 4 November.

A 64-year-old man from Bruton in Somerset was arrested in connection with the incident.

Now, following a detailed investigation by the traffic unit, he has been issued with a postal requisition to appear at Poole Magistrates’ Court on Friday, January 20, for an offence of causing death by careless driving.

Mere mortals

New year updates from St Michael the Archangel at Mere…

LIFE at St Michael the Archangel, Mere, is continuing, the lack of a vicar not stopping the congregation from worshipping, growing and putting on activities. Two new churchwardens, Elizabeth Howden and Richard Wilson, have been legally appointed.

A baby and toddler group has started in the Grove building on Tuesday, 9.30–11am. Toys have been acquired and coffee machines purchased, and everyone will receive a warm welcome.

Every two to three weeks a churchwarden and parishioners are visiting a local church to chat, share stories and be inspired by each other. Anyone who would like to can sign up. So far visits have included Queen Camel, Sturminster Newton, Wilton and Wells.

The church hosted the Great Mere Bake Off in the summer with the judges coming from the Lavender Blue Bakery in Gillingham and Angel Lane Tea Rooms in Mere. Ellie Portnell was Mere’s Star Baker with an Eton Mess inspired sponge.

A Quiet Day was held at the end of August at Hilfield Friary, near Dorchester. Members spent a peaceful day in the safe, quiet environment in thought and prayer alongside Brother Malcolm.

Townsfolk have been asked to donate blankets to help people who may struggle in cold homes this winter. Anyone who would like a blanket should phone Elizabeth on 863424.

The web page is in the process of being redesigned by parishioner David Bell, a professional web designer.

Anyone who would like to go along to the church on Sunday at 8am or 10.30am would be welcome. The services offer an opportunity to be with others, pray, sing and reflect, and enjoy a coffee and chat afterwards (10.30am service for refreshments).

Retro celebration for WI this Christmas

OVERALLS, trousers and turbans were the order of the day when members of Blandford WI embraced the 1940s theme of their Christmas party.

Singing duo the Landgirls sang songs from the era at the event at the Woodhouse Gardens Pavilion, where a grand time was had by all.

Picture perfect

A landmark, award-winning lifestyle shop in Blandford has been put up for sale

THE HAMBLEDON Gallery, in Salisbury Street, first opened its doors in 1962 and has been a popular retail destination for more than 60 years.

The venue first opened as an artists’ meeting place, before being converted into an art gallery run by the artist Katharine Church, known as Kitty West.

The upstairs of the building was dedicated to exhibitions of artwork by local and well-known artists, including Keith Vaughn, Mary Fedden, Elizabeth Frink and Richard Batterham. Downstairs focussed on women and children’s clothes and homeware.

Wendy Suffield joined Kitty in a successful partnership. “Exhibitions ended in the 1990s and the shop as it is today largely due to the vision of Wendy,” a spokesperson for the store said.

“The shop is a beautifully curated collection of women’s wear and accessories along with children’s clothes, books and toys as well as jewellery, perfume, homewares and toiletries.

“Despite the challenges of the last few years, The Hambledon Gallery saw an increase in turnover in 2022 and a very successful run up to Christmas.

“The current owners are eager to sell the building with the business as a going concern and they strongly believe the current turnover can be increased with improvements to their already successful online shop.”

The Hambledon Gallery is for sale through property agent, Goadsby.

The listing said it was a ‘spacious, beautifully-fitted destination store arranged over two floors’, with a ‘loyal, established clientele’ and ‘substantial business goodwill’.

A one-bedroom, self-contained flat is also included, currently let.

The business transfer is listed for sale at a price of £385,000. For more details, visit goadsby.com.

Recruitment drive at Stourhead

National Trust property Stourhead is looking for new volunteers and is holding two recruitment days later this month

THE EVENTS at Stourton Memorial Hall on the estate near Mere will showcase the diverse range of opportunities available.

Chantelle Margetts, senior volunteering and community officer at Stourhead, said: “There are a huge range of volunteer roles at Stourhead that are integral to looking after this wonderful place. It’s a chance to meet new people and become part of a welcoming and passionate team, whether you’re out in the fresh air, submerged in history or a friendly face to welcome visitors.

“At Stourhead, our volunteers bring so much value and importance to what we do. From inspiring everyone who walks through our doors, to the significant conservation work. Together, we continue to look after and uphold the legacy of Stourhead for future generations.”

“As a volunteer at Stourhead you would be part of a growing and evolving team. Our flexible volunteering offers across a variety of roles makes sure volunteering fits seamlessly into everyday life, with the opportunity to be involved with fantastic teams, build on existing knowledge and learn new skills.”

The volunteer recruitment days are on Wednesday 25 January and Saturday 28 January between 10am and 3.30pm, when visitors will be able to speak to speak current volunteers and managers and learn what roles are available.

Volunteer gardener Carly Williams said: “It feels wonderful to

know I am part of a fabulous team who are all dedicated to looking after a place with such a rich garden history, while having some fun and laughter along the way – including lots of tea and cake.

“It feels great to be able to explain to visitors about the work we do and answer their questions about the garden. During the week I work full time as a customer services manager, so being able to volunteer on a weekend is ideal.”

For more information call Chantelle Margetts on 01747 841152 or email chantelle.margetts@nationaltrust.org.uk.

Volunteers tend to plants in the glasshouse at Stourhead

“Your staff are exemplary in every way. They care for my every need, showing genuine kindness and always go above and beyond the call of duty. The excellent chef caters for my special diet - all cooked to perfection. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

National Trust Images/Trevor Ray Hart

Striding to success in aid of Dorset’s historic churches

Thousands of pounds have been raised for Dorset Historic Churches Trust in 2022’s annual Ride & Stride event

THE funds raised, which reflect the generosity of parishioners, sponsors and participants, will be used to pay for repairs to church buildings.

In the Melbury team benefice seven churches raised £3,572 with Corscombe parish church contributing £1,025, followed by Evershot with £835 and Melbury with £766. Sherborne Abbey raised £1,235.

Dorset Historic Churches Trust area

representative Shaun Leavey said: “These were great results in a challenging year, and many of the very rural churches like difficult-tofind East Chelborough managed to make a useful contribution.

“Ride & Stride raises funds to help

churches across Dorset with repairs to the fabric of their buildings.

“In many cases those funds from Dorset Historic Churches Trust make all the difference to whether or not a church can afford to carry out the repairs and as such keep the church open for services, weddings and funerals.

“It is a very good cause, and it is hoped in 2023 we will see even more parishes and participants supporting Ride & Stride.”

New divorce legislation was introduced in April of last year. But what has it meant in practice?

Battens’ Family Law Senior Associate Solicitor Lesley Powell reports.

Getting a divorce is now simpler but slower. Before the new legislation was brought in it had been possible to complete a divorce within 4 months if the issues were straightforward. Now the law requires a waiting period of 20 weeks minimum before the applicant can apply for the Conditional Order in the divorce. There is another 6 weeks to obtain the Final Order, so divorces now take a minimum of 6 months to complete, but this can be longer. The waiting periods are intended to give time for reflection and may be used to try and negotiate a final financial settlement or arrangements for children.

Same sex couples can use the new online court portal for dissolution proceedings. Prior to the new law the dissolution process was subject to the worst of the court delays. Most people negotiate and agree Financial Consent Orders. The last quarterly Family Court statistics released by gov.uk confirmed that 75% of Financial Remedy applications were uncontested.

A concern for specialist Family Law solicitors is that valuable financial benefits may be lost for those

divorcing without getting sound, clear, legal advice on getting a formal financial settlement. We are aware that research indicates that divorced women lag behind their married counterparts when it comes to pension and property wealth (Royal London issued 7/1/19). When the Final Order is made in divorce entitlements can be lost, including rights over the matrimonial home, pension rights and inheritance status changes. Especially after a long marriage, these can be very valuable assets and it is vital that specialist legal advice is sought regarding implications of divorce. Often it is essential to protect individuals that the making of the final divorce order is delayed until a financial settlement is agreed and approved in a Court consent order. It is sensible to obtain legal advice from a matrimonial solicitor who will take a constructive approach to assist both parties to be able to move on with their lives, by negotiation and a fair settlement.

Lesley Powell is a Family Law Solicitor.

Contact Lesley at Battens Solicitors

Tel 01935 846089 or email: Lesley.powell@battens.co.uk

Many of the participants with dogs were rewarded with a ‘well done’ rosette

Left: Corscombe parish church raised £1,025

Complete care solutions

Excellent care

From our excellent home cooking to individually decorated private rooms and above all real loving care... life is tailored to you.

Bramley Care offers residents person-centred residential care within exquisite surroundings. In each of our truly stunning homes we offer respite, short-stay and permanent care ensuring that residents feel relaxed and safe with the maximum amount of freedom and independence.

Each of our homes boast:

Respite and convalescence stays

Light and airy bedrooms bursting with charm and most with wet room en-suites

Beautifully appointed lounges, orangeries and dining rooms

Safe, secure and beautifully landscaped walled gardens

Delicious locally sourced home cooked food Activities Hostesses that ensure residents are kept active and engaged

An app that allows loved ones to follow the day- to-day care of residents

Plus our very own salons ensures that one can keep up appearances

Our residential care homes are each sensitively restored and tastefully converted from beautiful large former country residences ensuring that each home offers a real home from home environment with a feeling of grandeur and spaciousness. They have been carefully adapted to make them comfortable, luxurious and safe environments for older people. Visitors are welcome without restrictions any time of the day and are welcome to join loved ones for meals.

If you or a loved one would like more information about moving into care, speak to our experts.

Plan for nine new homes at former Wincanton Co-op

THE scheme, submitted to South Somerset District Council on behalf of Hopkins Estates Limited, would see five terraced houses and four apartments built, as well as the refurbishment of the former shop and the flat above.

The application says the site has been unoccupied for ‘many years’.

“Its last use was a Co-op store, but that now sits derelict in the High Street,” it said.

“The land also contains hardstanding which is used as a car park, and a small area of grassland.”

Although the property sits within the Wincanton Conservation Area, it is not subject to any further protective designations, the application says.

“The site does lie in close proximity to a number of listed buildings that fall along the high street,” it added.

“More specifically, the Dolphin Hotel that lies adjacent to the

Application would see the former Co-op store in Wincanton High Street redeveloped, with part of the rear of the building demolished to make way for the properties

The land at the rear of the shop was formerly used as parking connected to the Dolphin, the plan says, but there are no rights of way linked to the property.

Four two-bedroom and one three-bedroom terraced houses would be built under the plan, as well as three two-bed and two one-bed flats.

Access to the properties would be gained through a new route from the existing car park to the east, falling on Windmill Cotts.

A total of 23 parking spaces would be provided, as well as eight cycle spaces with secured covered parking.

For more information and to comment on the application, log on to southsomerset.gov.uk and search for application reference 22/03191/FUL.

Richmond Retreat offers sanctuary for dementia sufferers

A much-loved former resident has been honoured at a Sturminster Newton care home with a room for wellbeing

FORMER BBC camera operator Graham Richmond lived at Colton Care’s Newstone House for several years before his death in 2021.

Staff were saddened to lose the long-term resident, who was born and brought up in London and became well known in his later years as a classic car enthusiast, exhibiting regularly in his adopted Dorset town.

After his passing, Graham’s family made a donation to the home, prompting discussions about the idea of creating a ‘Richmond Retreat’ room.

Companionship Team leader Karlene Horswill said: “Graham’s family very kindly donated £5,000 with a hope that we would purchase something to benefit our residents at Newstone House.

“After a few meetings we all agreed we should use the money to not only benefit our residents but as a tribute to Graham as well.

“Many people, including our residents, have described him as a sociable, knowledgeable and very witty man who is sorely missed.”

The Richmond Retreat, a sensory-based room that promotes wellbeing and relaxation for residents living with dementia, was officially unveiled during a special ceremony complete with a toast and ribbon cutting.

“The family were very supportive with the decision, and we

added little touches of some of Graham’s favourite things such as being outdoors, bird song and his love of living in Sturminster Newton,” Karlene said.

The room includes mood lighting, pictures of waterfalls and plants, comfortable seating, bird music, a picture donated by artist Charlotte England and a large-scale, wallpaper photo of Sturminster Newton Mill.

Karlene added: “We are hoping the room will be enjoyed by our residents and we welcome their families to come and experience the space with their loved ones too.”

Resident Gillian Glennie said: “What a lovely space. I feel very relaxed, and the picture of the mill is very impressive.”

Opened in 2011, Newstone House is rated as outstanding by care sector regulator, the Care Quality Commission.

Family Law Advice

Family Law Advice

We realise talking about divorce or separation is very personal and so we are offering virtual appointments by Zoom. As an alternative, we offer a one off FREE telephone appointment for initial advice on Wednesdays 9am – 1pm

We realise talking about divorce or separation is very personal and so we are offering appointments at our offices. For new clients seeking initial advice a FREE appointment can be booked on Wednesdays 9am – 1pm.

To book an appointment please call us on 01747 852377 Offices in Shaftesbury – Sturminster Newton – Gillingham

To book an appointment please call us on 01747 852377

Newstone House resident Donald Skilling, photographed in front of the wallpaper featuring Sturminster Newton Mill

Bottoms up!

WALKERS from Mere collected a ‘New Year New Bottom’ badge after a near four-mile hike on a damp New Year’s Day.

About 36 walkers set off from the town clock in Mere to walk around Great Bottom, north of the town.

The Mere Footpath Group, which was awarded a grant last year by Wiltshire Council’s South West Wiltshire Area Board, organised

Bring On The Spring At Dorset’s Earliest Countryside Show

Get yourself through the post-Christmas blues with something to look forward to. How about a visit to Dorset’s first country show of the 2023 rural calendar?

The Spring Countryside Show is back for the second year and will take place on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 April 2023 at the Turnpike Showground in Motcombe. Tickets for this fabulous two-day event are on sale now with early bird prices of £10 a ticket for adults and children go free. A perfect gift for a loved one or why not treat yourself and get something in your 2023 diary now to look forward to.

The first show this year was a huge success with over 10,000 visitors throughout the weekend. The 2023 show, organised by the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Agricultural Society, promises even more rural activities and events.

Giles Simpson, Show Chairman said: “The Spring Countryside Show is all about bringing spring in the countryside to life. The focus it on it being familyfriendly with a chance to get closeup with a whole host of animals and learn more about rural ways of life. Being the earliest countryside show in Dorset, it’s also a great way of celebrating the arrival of spring, which we all look

forward to after a long, drab winter.”

The theme of this show is ‘Bring Spring to Life’ with an amazing showcase of rural crafts including wood carving, farrier, heavy-horse logging, gun dog displays and terrier racing plus a dedicated Farm Yard Area, full of animals to meet.

There promises to be ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ style sheep at The Sheep Show - would you give them a 10? In the Rural Ring, be prepared to be stunned by the star attraction - the famous Lloyds Bank black horse, Amadeus, in a breath-taking horseback falconry

Green-fingered fans will love the innovative show gardens, full of blooming good ideas you can try in your own green space.

From the garden to the kitchen, if you’re a keen cook, you won’t want to miss the Cookery Theatre with delicious demonstrations by local leading chefs. And it wouldn’t be spring without a bit of retail therapy - a shopping village with gifts, clothing, homeware and local produce awaits.

If that’s not enough to ‘bring on the spring’, there’s a fun fair with bouncy castles, working steam engines and the classic cars. And if you’ve still got energy left, a funky festival area with live music, food and a bar featuring local ales, gin and cider will be open until 10pm on the Saturday evening. The organisers are always on the lookout for more exhibitors so if you have a country craft or tradition you can demonstrate or want to try your luck at a Show Garden or floral display – there’s still plenty of time to get involved.

For details on how to exhibit or to buy your early bird ticket to visit the show, go to www.springcountrysideshow.co.uk or telephone 01747 823955.

Our loose Canon

Encountering the minute particulars of Christian love and sharing…

by Canon Eric Woods

WHEN I became Vicar of Sherborne, a colleague from another denomination came to see me. He had summoned up all his courage, because he wanted to give me advice that he knew I might not like. He realised that I was a large bloke with a fairly large personality (ego?), now leading the largest church in town. He came to warn me not to seek leadership of the ecumenical work in the town, because my personality (ego?) and the sheer size of the Abbey congregation would overwhelm all the other, smaller, congregations. And that would sabotage the ecumenical effort in Sherborne. I took his advice seriously. That is why, in my 27 years in Sherborne, I always refused a leadership role in Sherborne Churches Together. Sometimes that was misunderstood as a lack of interest. Nothing

could be further from the truth. I long for the day when all Christians in this country – and throughout the world – can be in full communion with one another; when the validity of the ministry offered by all our ordained priests and pastors will be mutually recognised, and when we can simply get on with the job of being the “plebs sancta Dei” – the holy common people of God.

The annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began on 18 January. But have you noticed how the big ecumenical conversations between the churches seem to have fizzled out? I think the reason is that the dialogues were between large institutions. Over 200 years ago, the poet William Blake wrote “He who would do good to another must do it in Minute Particulars: General Good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocrite and flatterer.” Those big conversations were concerned with the “General Good” of theology, ecclesiology and lots of other “ologies”. But what matters to most of us at grassroots level is encountering the “Minute Particulars” of Christian love and sharing. Let me give you two examples.

In 1975 I went back to university to read theology at Trinity College, Cambridge, and

to train for ordained ministry at Westcott House, the Anglican theological college. The plan was that, after a year, my fiancée Sandra would leave her job teaching biology in Brighton, and we would marry. But where to live? Westcott then was an all-male and rather monastic institution, and had very little married accommodation. It was the Methodist theological college, Wesley House, on the opposite side of the road, that came to the rescue, generously offering us a flat. Minute Particulars.

Then, earlier this month, I attended the annual Covenant Service at the Vale Methodist Church in Sturminster Newton. In her welcome the Deacon, Rebekah-Joy Spinks, apologised that there could be no celebration of the Holy Communion. The senior minister, or presbyter, was unwell, and Deacons are not authorised to consecrate the bread and wine. The service proceeded – but suddenly one of the readings spoke to Rebekah-Joy of God’s gifts to his people. Looking straight at me (in the back row, like all good Anglicans) she said “Today you are God’s gift to us. Will you break bread for us today?” I have seldom felt so honoured in my life. Minute Particulars. They are what Christian Unity is all about.

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Council tax rise on the cards – but it’s less than the maximum allowed

Council tax in Dorset is set to rise next year as county chiefs look to set a balanced budget

DORSET Council has published its initial proposals for the 2023-24 financial year, with a total net budget of £348 million.

The council says the proposals would see essential frontline council services, such as libraries and road maintenance, protected from cuts despite ‘extreme pressures’ of the current financial climate.

The council provides around 450 different services to just under 380,000 residents.

Under UK law, the council has to set a balanced budget, with its expenditure balanced by income without unsustainable use of one-off, or short-term sources of finance.

It said the 2023-24 budget is being set ‘against a national background of extreme pressures for councils’.

“These pressures include the high level of inflation which affects the cost of delivering council services, and also the continued growth in need for social care services as a result of the ageing population,” the council said.

As a result, the council proposes to increase council tax next year by just under 2 per cent – and to levy the adult social care precept of 2 per cent.

The 3.9974 per cent increase – less than the maximum 5 per cent allowed in the Government’s Spending Review of December 2022 – is the equivalent of an extra £1.41 in council tax per week for a Band D property.

However, the final bill received by households will also include precepts – funding requests – from other authorities, such as the police, fire and parish councils, so will be higher.

Cllr Gary Suttle, portfolio holder for finance, commercial and capital strategy, said: “We have carefully developed proposals to deliver a balanced budget, in a national context of significant financial challenge.

“Our overriding aim is to protect the essential frontline council services on which local residents and businesses rely.

“The proposals do include a council tax increase, however we have kept to it to the minimum possible, despite the current high level of inflation. We continue to provide financial support for those hardest hit.”

He said becoming a unitary authority in

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2019 – which saw the abolition of district councils across the county – had led to efficiency savings of £76 million, which has been reinvested to protect frontline services, including adult social care.

“Our prudent budget management has meant that Dorset has not faced the same cuts to essential services as many other areas,” Cllr Suttle added.

“However, we continue to lobby government for fairer funding for Dorset so that we can reduce the burden on local taxpayers in future.”

Writing in his report to councillors outlining the budget proposals, executive director of corporate development, Aidan Dunn, wrote: “The financial climate remains extremely challenging.

“Although the Spending Review will allow us to make progress in many key areas of transformation and service improvement, a single-year settlement for local government still hampers our ability to invest effectively in future service strategy.

“There are clearly still challenges ahead, meaning the council started planning for 2023/24 early to develop and implement robust plans to fit within our assumed budget envelope and to keep all members well informed around budget development and strategy. He added: “While I believe these budget estimates to be robust and that reserves are adequate, significant risk remains due to the global economic environment.”

The proposals will now be considered by the two scrutiny committees, then reviewed and submitted to the council’s Cabinet on 23 January, and then to Full Council in February for final approval.

The public meetings are being held in person as follows: 10am, 23 January: Cabinet 6.30pm, 14 February: Full Council

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Local explorer leads charitable Bolivian expedition

In November 2022, a 22-strong Anglo-Bolivian expedition led by local explorer Col John Blashford-Snell carried out a scientific recce

SUPPORTED by the Scientific Exploration Society and the Bolivian Navy, the Kota Mama 9 team refurbished the school at Tres Hermanos village and worked on its water supply. School books and furniture were also provided thanks to the generous support of the Simón I Patiño Foundation and other sponsors. Dentist Jo Rees carried out many extractions and Jennifer Ellenger of Jersey distributed reading glasses to this and other villages. Travelling over 1,000km in open boats, the team endured temperatures of over 38°C as well as plagues of insects. Numerous alligator-like caimans and capybara lined the riverbanks.

On the final day, the expedition was struck by an extremely violent storm that lasted up to 10 hours. Local resident Adelita Jordan (71) who was part of the team said, “I have never known such violence. The ground shook with the thunder, and lightning struck the beach around us. Torrential rain driven by gale force wind made me think it was the end of the world. It was like a biblical tempest, and I prayed harder that I can ever remember.”

Chilled and drenched to the skin the team took to their boats, and

bailing hard they faced submerged logs and sand banks. Later, driven sand and fog reduced the visibility to 30 metres, forcing crew men over the side to push their craft off sand banks. Large, potentially aggressive caiman were an added hazard!

Thankfully, the team reached the town of Rurrenabaque safely as darkness fell. “It was certainly a testing experience, but teamwork paid off’’ commented Col John Blashford-Snell, who led the group.

The team also visited Lake Titicaca to sail in the new reed-built catamaran constructed by the legendary boat builder Maximo Catari, who built the reed craft for the earlier Scientific Exploration Society Kota Mama expeditions.

The venture, which had been postponed for over two years due to the pandemic, was reckoned to have been a worthwhile success and received grateful thanks from the local communities.

Col John Blashford-Snell’s latest autobiography Utmost East to Utmost West: My life of exploration and adventure is out now, published by Bradt and priced £14.99. For a signed copy, please contact jenny@ses-explore.org.

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Postscript from Col John Blashford-Snell: “Very sadly, Jennifer Ellenger, an outstanding member of many of our expeditions, died unexpectedly on 6 January in Jersey. She was a most caring and selfless lady and the heart and soul of the Bolivian expedition”.

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and community aid tasks on the Beni and Madidi rivers in Bolivian Amazonas

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Digging up the past

by Lorraine Gibson

DO you want to know more about your local community’s past – or about your own family?

The Dorset Family History Society has just announced that the 1921 census is now available at its research centre. Up until last year, it was only available to pay-as-you-go subscribers to Find My Past. Now, however, the society is offering access via research sessions at its Treetops centre for £3 a visit, during which you can view as many 1921 entries as you like, access other research facilities and talk to volunteers.

Pre-booking is required through a form on its website or by calling 01202 785623 during opening hours (Monday, Wednesday and Saturday 10am–3pm).

Treetops is at Suite 5, Stanley House, 3 Fleets Lane, Poole BH15 3AJ.

YFC donates to farming mental health charity

MEMBERS of Wincanton Young Farmers’ Club have presented a cheque for £1,000 to We Are Farming Minds, their charity for 2021–22, after a busy year of fundraising.

The money was presented to Sam Stables from the mental health charity, which supports the wellbeing of farmers through a 24-hour helpline and counselling services.

Wincanton Young Farmers’ Club meets fortnightly and has more than 50 members, many of whom are aged 12-16.

Fun activities last year included a tractor

run, older members stewarding at the Glastonbury Festival, a quiz night, and Cava and Canapes evening. The club is also grateful to its many sponsors – without them it would not be able to support the charities to the level it does.

Members visit farms and take part in agriculture competitions, but many are not from farming families. They are now starting fundraising for this year’s charities, Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, and the Farming Community Network.

Game, set and match

Old worn-out nets from Wincanton Tennis Club are being used as camouflage nets by Ukrainian forces in their war with Russia

THE club donated the nets after being contacted by Warminster-based organisation

Cam Nets for Ukraine.

Volunteers make simple camouflage nets by knotting strips of cloth and canvas –scrim – into old sporting nets.

Clubs which have surplus nets can contact Peter Booth of Cam Nets for Ukraine who will arrange to have them collected – email camnetsukraine@gmail. com or phone 01985 845379.

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Wake up and smell the coffee

Wincanton residents are fuming over the strong aroma from a local coffee merchant

SOME Wincanton residents claim the fumes from a coffee merchant over the road are so bad they can ‘force them indoors’.

Coffee Sense, also home to the Coffee Pod, on the Bennetts Field Trading Estate, is applying to change the use of the building to allow for roast, grind, process and pack products.

Agent Paul Dance Limited says the application has been submitted as ‘a matter of goodwill’ after a complaint to South Somerset District Council over the issue.

“The application has arisen from a complaint to the council’s EHO (Environmental Health Officer) regarding roasting exhaust fumes,” it said. “The EHO has visited and details provided.”

The application gives details of a filter system in place, as well

as outlining concessions given to residents, including not roasting when the wind is from a south-south-east direction.

“It should be noted, as a matter of goodwill to the neighbours who are located some way away and across a busy main road, the applicants have fitted a cowl to the chimney to direct fumes away from the direction of the houses,” the plan said.

“Also, they do not roast when the wind is from a SSE direction. As such, we consider there is not an issue.”

However, residents commenting on the plan says the fumes are causing problems – and urged to council to look into any potential health implications.

“We object most strongly to this application,” one Hawkers Bridge resident wrote.

“The fumes and smoke generated is completely unacceptable, especially in summer months when you cannot keep windows open or sit comfortably in the garden because of the fumes.”

“We would like to see that a business operating in this way has all the correct safety and environment processes installed so that there is no health hazards to anyone in the local community.”

Another submission said: “As the nearest residential property to this business I object to the change of use… because of the smell, fumes and smoke.

“Often, in summer, when we are in the garden the smoke and fumes spoil the enjoyment, forcing us to go indoors.”

For more details, and to comment, log on to southsomerset.gov. uk and search for application reference 22/03426/COU.

Aldi’s on its way!

2022 ‘supermarket of the year’ is eyeing a string of sites in Dorset and South Somerset

The cut-price giant says it has ‘ambitious acquisition and development plans’ across the region and is seeking suitable sites for stores in a number of locations.

Blandford, Shaftesbury, Sherborne, Swanage, Wimborne and Wincanton are among towns on the list.

“Our sustained growth means we are continually expanding

our property portfolio to help achieve our ever-growing goals for 2022,” a spokesperson said.

“We have ambitious acquisition and development plans and prefer to purchase freehold, town centre or edge of centre sites suitable for property development in towns with a population of 15,000 or more.”

The full list of sites included on the Aldi list is: Blandford, Bridport, Christchurch, Dorchester, Ferndown, Poole, Ringwood, Salisbury, Shaftesbury, Sherborne, Sturminster Newton, Swanage, Wareham, Wimborne, Wincanton, Yeovil.

What a winner!

Renata Monk of Shaftesbury is the proud winner of our Christmas hamper from Virginia Hayward. She can’t wait to tuck in to the selection of delicious food, wine and prosecco, presented in a stylish apple catcher basket and put together by the luxury hamper company. “Thank you, the hamper is great!” said Renata. To find out more about Virginia Hayward’s range of deluxe food and drink hampers visit www.virginiahayward.com or call 01747 851515.

Outstanding care recognised at Yeatman Hospital

Wards at Sherborne Hospital have been praised for the care given to patients

STAFF at The Willows unit at Sherborne’s Yeatman Hospital have again been applauded for providing outstanding palliative and end-of-life care.

Two wards, Beech and Rowan, have been reaccredited by the Gold Standards Framework (GSF) – a national programme to help improve care for people in their final days.

Their efforts to maintain high standards during the pressures of managing Covid-19 earned them the GSF Platinum Award, collected by Beech ward sister Denise Willmetts and staff nurse Joanna Horsington at a ceremony in London.

Hospital matron, Ali Low, said: “The Willows originally achieved the GSF Quality Hallmark Award for end-of-life care in 2016 and was reaccredited in 2019, when it was also announced as the winner of the first-ever GSF Hospital Ward of the Year.

“It’s great news we have once again been reaccredited and awarded the GSF Platinum Award for delivering end-of-life care during the pandemic.

“I am very proud of the whole

team, which works tirelessly to provide excellent care to patients while also providing vital support to their loved ones at an incredibly difficult time.”

The Yeatman was one of 75 hospitals, care homes, hospices, GP practices, retirement villages and domiciliary care agencies that received the prestigious GSF quality hallmark across the country during the ceremony.

The Gold Standards Framework Centre provides expert training for frontline staff in health and social care, with the aim of ensuring a ‘gold standard’ of care for people nearing the end of life.

Julie Armstrong-Wilson, lead nurse for GSF, said: “The last two years have been an incredibly difficult time for all health and social care providers.

“Good quality end-of-life care has never been more important. Witnessing so many centres signing up to learn more and gain GSF accreditation, so they too can support people at the end of life, is fantastic to see.”

To find out more about the Yeatman Hospital, visit www. dorsethealthcare.nhs.uk

Beech ward sister Denise Willmetts and staff nurse Joanna Horsington of the Yeatman Hospital, Sherborne, with the GSF Platinum award

Healing in a higher state of consciousness

Shamanic healer Inga Lamb believes that her skills can help people suffering with mental health issues. NBVM met her to find out more by Angela Rivers

INSIDE an unassuming terrace in Bruton awaits a haven of peace and calm, where Shamanic healer Inga Lamb (pictured left) practices the art of cosmic restoration and relaxation. Originally from Orkney, Inga grew up steeped in the mythology of ancient indigenous cultures, but it wasn’t until later in life that she experienced the call to train as a Shaman.

A warm, open and enthusiastic communicator, Inga explains that Shamanic healing

combines the ancient and the modern to release deep, traumatic experiences and enable her clients to move on from that which is troubling them. “Einstein proposed that energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another,” she says, equally enthused about particle physics as she is about the functions of the various chakras. “The process of shamanic healing accesses this energy on a higher state of consciousness, unblocking the energetic flow

and enabling the client to rewire neural pathways and overcome trauma. Put simply, if you were bitten by a dog as a child, I can take you back to that moment. I will help your adult self heal that child and recover mentally and physically from that trauma.”

Shamanic tools

Arriving for a taste of what Shamanic healing entails, I am presented with a selection of tarot cards, crystals, feathers, incense and Shamanic tools –all selected at apparent random from Inga’s collection and there as a jumping-off point to start our conversation and open my mind to the signals around me. “There’s no right or wrong, simply the decision made or action taken in the moment,” Inga explains when I ask how she chose these items. Unusually, I love the incense she is burning today – and I’m incredibly sensitive to scents – so maybe there’s something in her method. I choose a tarot card to prompt today’s session because there’s nothing pressing that I want to work on right now. The card symbolises worry, quite aptly given the crises that are playing out in the country around me.

“My work as a Shaman is largely out of my control,” explains Inga. “I am merely the interpreter between worlds, until my clients develop the tools and experience to access their higher consciousness alone.” Indeed, the journey of Shamanic healing is one with an end-point, because the Shaman’s goal is to ultimately set free their clients, and take joy in their flight. This firm belief in her healing power has lead Inga to offer sessions on a ‘pay what you can afford’ basis, because she wants her skills to be available to anyone who might benefit from them.

Shamanic sessions are intended to be emotionally cleansing, and they require active participation from the clients. While I found the process incredibly relaxing, it’s not as passive as other energybased alternative therapies like

reiki and acupuncture, for instance. It’s definitely the case that you get out what you put in, but I never felt under pressure to commit or reveal more than I was comfortable to.

I began my journey snugly tucked under a blanket on Inga’s sofa. Closing my eyes, I joined Inga in some deep breathing, which worked to calm my busy brain and connect mind and body once again. As she began drumming and chanting, Inga asked me to visualise a staircase and, walking down it, to imagine I was travelling back through my life. I was to continue walking until I discovered a moment of worry – Inga assured me I would simply know when I had reached that point, and not to think too deeply!

Mindfulness meditation

The cocooning warmth, slow rhythmic drumming and Inga’s voice felt very much like a guided meditation. If you’re someone who struggles with mindfulness and wants to slow their pace a little, I can see how this experience would be incredibly beneficial. Inga holds your attention and is by your side throughout the experience, which helps to focus your concentration and moves you into a state of deep relaxation. For those hoping to work on deeply held trauma, Inga’s calming presence, in turn watched over by her own spirit guides, would I imagine create a feeling of safety.

The Shamanic element of the session provides a framework that brings together elements of the mental, physical and spiritual worlds and helps to transport your mind to a higher plane. This is a holistic approach to healing, and self-care tips such as smoothie recipes and gentle yoga exercises form part of the care Inga offers all her clients.

Her passion and compassion is clear from our brief meeting; Inga is a Shaman on a mission to restore the natural harmony between our bodies and minds.

Hedging our bets

Farmers would be keen to extend hedgerows in a bid to boost nature – if the right support was on offer, according to a new report

THE CAMPAIGN to Protect Rural England (CRPE), garnered more than 1,100 responses to its Farmers’ Hedgerows Report.

The results reveal a willingness of farmers to extend the UK’s hedgerow network, but that they are calling for more support from government to do so.

The results showed:

• Almost 90 per cent of farmers say hedgerows are important to them and their business, with the vast majority calling for more government support

• As the government finalises details of Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) funding, 70 per cent of farmers say they’d plant more hedgerows given the right incentives.

• Providing a vital nature corridor on farms was seen as the top benefit of hedgerows, followed by shelter for crops and livestock

• Eight in ten farmers support a target to increase hedgerows by 40 per cent by 2050 as a key climate and nature recovery goal

Tom Fyans, interim chief executive of CPRE, the countryside charity, said: “Farmers could not have been clearer about the value they place on hedgerows – they really care about supporting wildlife and nature on their land.

“The government needs to tap into their enthusiasm by using ELMs to provide simple, accessible schemes that support farmers to look after their hedgerows for everyone’s benefit.

“The hedgerow network, in its expanse, is our largest ‘nature reserve’. It provides forage, shelter and shade for animals; habitat for pollinators and pest predators; and absorbs carbon emissions while helping prevent both drought and flooding. That’s why CPRE is calling on the government to commit to the target of 40 per cent more hedgerows by 2050.”

The findings show farmers are keenly aware of the benefits of revitalising nature on their land.

Farmers surveyed revealed a lack of funding was by far the biggest obstacle to planting and maintaining hedgerows, despite wildlife and nature corridors being seen as the greatest benefit of hedgerows by almost nine in 10 farmers.

Other benefits include providing shelter or shade for crops or livestock, providing a home for pollinators and pest predators – and more than half of farmers simply recognising that hedgerows

Pixabay

enhance the beauty of the countryside.

CRPE says the popularity of hedgerows among farmers suggests they could become a torch-bearer of the government’s new Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs).

The new schemes promise public money for public goods but over the past few weeks ELMs has been under review.

Philip Henneman, Dorset CPRE topic lead on hedgerows, said: “This national survey shows just how truly our farmers are the worthy custodians of the English countryside.

“Government financial engagement with the aims of CPRE’s 40 by 50 campaign would enable an historic turn-around in fortunes for the humble hedge, its wildlife, the countryside, and the wider environment.”

John Calder owns farmland in West Dorset, is participating in the Sustainable Farming Incentive Pilot (the fundamental element of ELMs) and has been working directly with Defra (the Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs) on the Hedgerows Practitioners Work Group, a group looking for innovation in ELMs.

He is also the driver behind the ambitious Great Big Dorset Hedge survey, which has begun to chart the current status of hedgerows in Dorset which has been strongly supported by Dorset CPRE.

“Nobody should underestimate the enormity of the challenge DEFRA faces when catering for the wide variety of contradictory stakeholder inputs as they design the ELM scheme,” he said.

“Nor should they imagine that the DEFRA staff deployed to do this are lacking in diligence. However, much more work needs to be done to the Hedgerow component of ELMs for it to be fit for purpose.”

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2 pm. - James Taylor on British Humorous Postcards Durweston Village Hall For futher information, please phone 01258 628079

BEETLE DRIVE at Woodlands Methodist Church near Verwood just off the B3081. 7:30pm 27th January. Food orders taken, please phone Brian on 01202 822066

DORSET RAMBLERS (est.1948). Sunday 22nd January walk. 10am, 6 miles, Cranborne Chase. For details e mail: davebass54@hotmail.com

SIXPENNY HANDLEY COMMUNITY CINEMA

Top Gun: Maverick Village Hall, Common Road SP5 5NJ

Friday 20 January / 7.00 pm / £5 Bar / Snacks / Ice creams. Information: 6dhandleyhall@gmail.com

DORSET CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK

BURNS NIGHT CEILIDH

7PM FRIDAY 27 JANUARY DIGBY MEMORIAL HALL SHERBORNE TICKET SALES 07970 376640 or henrylovegrove@btinternet. com

parking,

and Shed. Non smokers, 2 months deposit. References required. Available to Rent from 1st March 2023 £920.00 per month. Contact Steve 07843 200844

MISCELLANEOUS

GALVANISED TOWER handy for small spaces

6 x 2 x 13 ft high. Complete £85. 01258 454689

SHAFTESBURY

LIBRARY HOBBIES SEASON

continues. Dorset Button Making 28th January, The Sky at Night 4th February. Free events 11-12 noon

BINGO

CHILD OKEFORD VILLAGE HALL

Friday 20th January Doors open 6-30 Eyes down 7-30pm

Fabric of dressmaking society Muddy Good Fun!

Famous in the dressmaking community, Stitch Fabrics by M Rosenberg & Son began in 1948 as a market stall. It was started by Maurice and his wife Freda (pictured right). As they dealt in fabrics, they learned to distinguish quality cloth, and thisknowledge became the basis oftheir rapidly-growing business. When son Geoff was born, they passed their experience on, and he took the business to the next level. From market stalls to exhibition halls, the company then started a Travelling Fabric Show across the country to bringthe season’s collections to thelocal population. They now travel the country and are renowned for arriving each season with theirlatest range of unique, quality,and designer fabrics.

They sellonline too - something that tookoff during the Pandemicsending parcels all across the world. Known online as Stitch Fabrics, it is now an international businessbut still operates close to its roots.

It is still family-run, with Geoff in the forefront, and is still based on the foundation of qualitymaterials, reasonable prices, vastfabric knowledge, and excellentcustomer service. Mention unusual or designer fabrics and their name will a;ways pop up.

Their last Dorset fabric sale of this year is at the Digby Hall in Sherborne, DT9 3AA on Thursday, November 3, from 3-7pm and Friday, November 4 from 10am-3pm. You won’t want to miss it! Stitchfabrics.co.uk.

The Dorset Mud Run is back for 2023! Sign up today and enjoy a special New Year offer - £30 per person with an extra 10% off for groups of 5 or more! Tackle over 15 challenging but fun obstacles on the 6km run, winding through beautiful oak woodland, wading through ponds and getting very muddy, all while enjoying stunning views across the Dorset countryside.

Held at the Stock Gaylard Estate near Sturminster Newton, the Dorset Mud Run is an experience full of laughter, fun and teamwork. Cheerful stewards will offer encouragement as you jump hurdles, swing over ditches, scramble up mud hills and crawl under cargo nets.

The final obstacle ‘Takeoff’, a giant water slide descending into a water trough, is a refreshing end to the course, and a chance to wash off all the mud! All participants receive a free beer and a Dorset Mud Run t-shirt as a welcome reward at the finishing line. The Dorset Mud Run is held on Saturday 20th May 2023 at Stock Gaylard Estate, Sturminster Newton.

Use offer code: NEW30 at the checkout. £30 pp. Offer ends 3rd February 2023. For more information and to book your place visit: www.thedorsetmudrun.com or call 01963 23511.

Church

• Lower Stour church services: Sunday 22 January: 9.30am Communion – Charlton Marshall; 9.30am Morning worship – Spetisbury; 11am Communion – Langton Long; 11am Communion(BCP) –Tarrant Rushton. Sunday 29 January: 10.45am Communion – Langton Long; 3pm The Well – Spetisbury; 5pm Choral evensong – Charlton Marshall. • • Church of the Sacred Heart & St Aldhelm, Westbury, Sherborne: Snowdrop Remembrance and Thanksgiving Service on Friday 3 February at 11am. An opportunity to remember loved ones and add a name to the Sherborne Book of Remembrance.

• Digby Memorial Church Hall: The Mothers’ Union will see in the new year with its annual meeting and a celebration of the Eucharist on Friday 27 January from 10am-noon in the Griffiths Room.

• St Leonard’s, Semley: Plough Sunday, 11am, 22 January. Time dedicated to the work of farmers, with traditional blessing of the plough and local speakers. Mulled cider and nibbles after the service.

• St Mary Magdalene, Castleton: 22 January – Matins, 11.15am; 29 January – BCP Holy Communion, 11.15am.

• St Mary's Stalbridge: 22 January – Holy Communion 9.30am; 26 January – Holy Communion 10am; 29 January – Holy Communion 9.30am; 5 February – Family Service 9.30am.

• St Mary’s, Donhead St Mary: Candlemas celebration, 11am, 29 January, lights, music and Communion.

• St Martin of Tours, Lillington: 22 January –Morning Service, 10am; 29 January – Morning Service, 10am.

• St James the Great, Longburton: 22 January – said Holy Communion, 10am; 29 January – Songs of Praise, 4pm.

• St Paul’s Church, Sherborne: 22 January –Morning Worship, 10.30am; 29 January – Morning Worship, 10.30am. Warm and welcoming space every Tuesday and Friday until April from 2-5pm. Refreshments will be offered.

• West Camel Independent Methodists: Meet at All Saints Church, BA22 7QB. Sunday service on 22 January 3pm; January 29 3pm – United Service. A warm welcome to all. Phone: 01935 850838.

• Anglican High Mass at Wimborne St Giles: First Sunday of each month at 11am. BH21 5LZ.

• Blandford Methodist Church: Sunday services at 10.45am followed by refreshments. Thursdays: coffee and chat with refreshments from 10am-noon. This is a ‘warm space’ for those wanting to reduce their energy bills for a morning. Fridays: Lunch club for over-55s from noon.

Phone Joyce Wild on 07817 505 543 to book a meal – price £5. Phone steward John Cornish on 07799 516735.

• Chalbury Church: Fourth Sunday of the month, 10.30am Holy Communion.

• Cheap Street Church, Sherborne, Taize Services: Half an hour of prayer, meditation and music, second Sunday of the month at 6.30pm. Everyone welcome. This informal, ecumenical service is

based on the Taize Community’s worship founded by Br Roger in the 1940s in Burgundy, France, and now attracts thousands of young people each summer. For more details email vicarlesley@ outlook.com

• Churches in The Donheads, Charlton, East Knoyle, Semley and Sedgehill: A team of friendly people are available to offer home visits. Contact Revd. Kate at rector@ benofbart.org.uk, 01747 830174.

• Community cafes: Every month in St Bartholomew’s Benefice 10.30am-noon, everyone welcome. First Tuesday – St Andrew’s, Donhead St Andrew; second Tuesday – St John’s, Charlton; fourth Tuesday – St Mary’s, East Knoyle.

• Gillingham Methodist Church: Sunday recitals 3pm (about one hour). Admission free, retiring collection. Superb two manual William Sweetland organ restored and enlarged in 2006/2009. Video screen. For details and updates visit the website at www.musicatgmc. org.uk or phone 07817 379006.

• Hinton Martell: Second Sunday of the month, 10.30am Holy Communion.

• Horton Church: First Sunday of the month, 10.30am Holy Communion.

• Horton & Chalbury village hall: Third Sunday of the month, 9am Breakfast Church.

• Kingston Lacy: Second Sunday of the month, 9.15am Holy Communion. Fourth Sunday of the month, 9.15am Family Service.

• Our Lady’s RC Church, Marnhull: Mass Sunday, 9.30am and 6pm.

Communion; The Lady Chapel. Wednesday, 10.30am Holy Communion with Homily; The Lady Chapel (alternates CW and BCP). Thursday, noon BCP Holy Communion; The Lady Chapel. Friday, 9am Ecumenical Holy Communion; The Lady Chapel. First Friday of the month, 9am Requiem Holy Communion; The Sepulchre Chapel. Third Friday of the month, 11am Remembering the Fallen. Saturday, 9am CW Holy Communion; The Sepulchre Chapel.

• St Bartholomew’s Benefice: A warm place and a warm welcome at community cafes held every month – first Tuesday – St Andrew’s, Donhead St Andrew; second Tuesday – St John’s, Charlton; fourth Tuesday – St Mary’s, East Knoyle. Everyone is welcome 10.30am-noon.

• St Benedict’s RC Church, Gillingham: Sunday, 11am.

• Sacred Heart, Tisbury, and All Saints’ Wardour Catholic Parish: Sunday Mass times –Sacred Heart, Tisbury 9am, coffee after Mass; All Saints’ Wardour 11am.

• St Mary’s, Sturminster Newton: First and third Sunday, 11am Holy Communion; 6pm BCP Evensong. Second and fourth Sunday, 9.30am Morning Prayer; 6pm BCP Evensong. Fifth Sunday, 11am Benefice Holy Communion. Wednesdays, 10am BCP Holy Communion.

• St Peter’s, Hinton St Mary: First, second and third Sundays, 9.30am Morning Prayer. Fourth Sunday, 9.30am Holy Communion.

ST blackmorevale.net

CHURCH MARNHULL, Every Sunday 8am and 10am, Sunday 29th January 10am Candlemas Christingle Family Service

GREGORY’S

CHURCH ORGANIST

St

• Shaftesbury Quakers (Society of Friends): Meets for one hour each Sunday from 10.30am at the Quaker Meeting House, Abbey Walk, Shaftesbury SP7 8BB.

• Sherborne Abbey: Monday to Saturday, 8.30am Morning Prayer; The Sepulchre Chapel. Mondays, 9am CW Holy Communion; The Lady Chapel. Tuesday, noon CW Holy

• St Thomas’, Lydlinch: Second and fourth Sunday, 11am Holy Communion. Third Sunday, 6pm Evensong.

• Shapwick: Third Sunday of the month, 9.15am Holy Communion.

• Sherborne Quakers: Meet Sundays 10.30am in the Griffiths Room, Digby Memorial Church Hall. Everyone welcome.

• Witchampton Church: Third Sunday of the month, 10.30am Holy Communion.

The PM is right to push on maths

I’M not sure whether it is physically possible for your spirits to soar while your blood runs cold?

If it is then it happened to me when I heard our Prime Minister announce that maths would become compulsory up to the age of 18.

My spirits soared because even a casual glance of the direction of professional employment tells you that mathematics is becoming ever more important. Digital, Artificial Intelligence, programming and the like are here to stay. We need a digital skills revolution and maths is at the heart of it.

Most commentators recognise that greater focus on STEM subjects – especially among girls – is the key to progressing UK productivity. The PM is right to focus on this and to be applauded for wanting to do something about it.

My blood ran cold because I

hate and hated maths. I wish I had paid more attention in school but it was as a foreign language to me. I still hear the whistle of the wood-backed blackboard duster coming towards me launched by my increasingly exasperated high

school maths teacher! Future generations will at least be better prepared than I was.

Just before Christmas I attended a CPRE reception in the House of Commons and signed up to become a hedgerow champion. In rural North Dorset we are lucky to have so many mature hedges and it is encouraging to travel around the constituency to see so many more being planted.

The initiative to plant a hedge across the whole of the county is symbolic and welcome. Hedges provide a source of protection and food for so many birds, small mammals and indeed reptiles. They are green corridors sustaining many many lives as well as helping the wider climate environment. If a dog is not just for Christmas then a hedge is not just for a farmer’s field.

Irrespective of the size of our gardens we all have fences or

walls marking out our properties. Any such boundary could also contain a hedge, even if only a few feet long. Any garden centre and many websites can give advice on which species to plant.

During the war we lost thousands of miles of hedging and it is slowly being restored. We can all play our part –children and grandchildren enjoy planting them and everyone can appreciate the home for wildlife that can be created. Bare root plants are relatively inexpensive. I really would encourage you to have a go.

I joined a countywide discussion regarding Dorset NHS provision. Everyone will be alert to the pressures being placed on the NHS. I was encouraged to hear of the collaborative planning being done by our local providers. It won’t make us perfect but it does add resilience.

It’s time for a rethink on dental care

I SPENT much of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day sorting through crates of papers in my new London office that had accumulated over a decade or so. One of the paradoxes of being promoted - appointed or reappointed to the front bench - is that you immediately lose the relatively spacious office enjoyed as a senior backbencher.

Your stuff is boxed up into crates and removed to a Stygian cupboard-like room on the lower ministerial corridor.

Trouble is this one is so small that there isn’t enough room for me and the papers and paraphernalia that had built up. A radical sort out was imperative. Bit of a sad way to start the New Year, but there it is.

Access to NHS dentistry in our area isn’t great. On Friday I visited a local dental practice to discuss the state of dentistry in

the UK.

In the old days dentists were paid for items of servicenumber of fillings etc - which government didn’t much like as it incentivised interventions such as drilling and filling and the costs were uncapped – no

pun intended. Indeed, my mouth is full of mercury because of an excess of dental enthusiasm half a century ago.

The Blair government came up with a method of paying NHS dentists called Units of Dental Activity. But UDAs always have been clumsy and clunky.

Once a dentist’s UDAs were used up that was it for the year. It also meant that a new patient coming in with a mouthful of work needing to be done was going to cost the practice a fortune as they were paid the same for six fillings as one.

This disincentivised dentists from taking on the most needy or indeed from taking on new patients at all, given the risk. You can’t blame dentists for refusing NHS work or for giving up early.

We need to go back to basics and either radically overhaul UDAs to make them fit for

purpose or scrap them altogether so that those in greatest dental need get seen far more easily.

We also need to enable other dental professionalshygienists, nurses, therapists - to be employed for routine dentist work just as the role of pharmacists is expanding and options around physician’s assistants are being explored in the UK.

So pleased Ukraine will be getting a dozen UK Challenger II tanks along with AS90 artillery. I hope other European countries and the US will follow our lead. The courage of Ukrainians and their resourcefulness are extraordinary but they need to have quality heavy weapons and armaments to make further progress against the invasion, put Putin back in his box and restore peace to our continent.

Slava Ukraini.

Conservative MP for North Dorset Simon Hoare

Conservative MP for South West Wiltshire

Dr Andrew Murrison

Politics

Tories seek poll gains from strikes bill

THE Grant Shapps anti-strikes bill published this week sets out to establish minimum service levels to be maintained during future strikes in the public sector.

It does nothing to soothe the current terrible industrial relations situation but totally inflames it, setting the Tory Government at war with the working people of the UK.

The Government hopes it will win over traditional Tory voters by portraying the current strike leaders, Messrs Whelan and Lynch, as the modern-day Scargill and McGahey.

They vainly hope doing so will bolster their currently low poll ratings.

In addition, it will hope the present sympathy for health workers and ambulance strikers, plus the reasonable degree of support for rail workers and drivers, will dissipate as the disputes become ever more

acute and entrenched.

However, if we look at the areas of economic activity to be included in the Bill we will see they are: health services, fire and rescue, education services, transport services, border

security and radioactive waste. These areas of activity will inevitably bring the Government into conflict with a host of outsourced service companies from the private sector over which it has no direct control.

While the unions will undoubtedly end up taking the Government to Court over the matter, the outcome is bound to be a long drawn-out and messy affair.

Witness the situation with the Government’s attempt to deport immigrants to Rwanda – a policy designed to provide dividing lines and traps for Labour, with little chance of implementation in a country that still has regard for human rights.

The anti-strike bill appears to me to be a deliberate policy of a greater clampdown on antigovernment protest, strikes and the freedom to protest generally.

And this administration is heading for a rough ride as the

deplorable economic situation gets ever worse with the cost of living tightening its grip on the population.

Not a problem for the plutocrats and fund-managers of the Tories who will continue to ride roughshod over us until they are it is hoped ousted at the next General Election.

Nor a problem for one of the recent disgraced Tory prime ministers, Boris Johnson.

In the last four months he has received more than two and half million pounds in earnings from speeches, hospitality, gifts and donations. He’s also benefiting from rent free accommodation in both a London town house and a village in the Cotswolds, courtesy of a wealthy Tory donor.

Maybe he should spend more time in his constituency, connecting with real people. A connection his party is sorely missing.

NHS too often politicians’ train set

AT the roadside, monitoring the traffic speed with a couple of local stalwarts, we fell to discussing this column. No question, the NHS and Social Care should be front and centre, they said.

Not to have a go at a government with 13 years under its belt nor to berate the six different people who have been Secretary of State since 2010. No, the discussion centred on solutions.

The Department for Health and Social Care has a policy, funding and oversight role in the end-to-end of all of this but it does not directly run either the NHS or Social Care.

In fact, it doesn’t directly manage anything much. It works through 28 partners –agencies and other public bodies. As Bishop Berkeley would have asked, how can we tell it is there at all?

The important point for the politicians, though, is that as the

largest enterprise in Western Europe, the NHS is the biggest and best train set with which they get to play. It has so many moving parts, so much scale, so much newsworthiness.

They only get to play with it for a couple of years or so on

average and therefore have to dive in early to make any career-supporting difference. They rarely get to see their changes come to fruition, properly embed, drive the newness they want because they time out. Hence, too, the intensification of the usual left/ right rhubarb as any kind of election approaches.

An organisation of more than a million people has its budget set externally and is subject to the ever-changing whims, fancies and priorities of politicians. Ouch. No wonder the system is challenged.

What would happen if we took the NHS out of the political realm? One could fantasise about how but conceptually all parties could come together and commit to durable aims and a long-term plan. Crikey…a PLAN.

Wow, an organisation that people want to work for, be motivated by, share in the

success of…and a spotlight on the carvers out of juicy bits for private gain, on the forgotten and unfashionable parts of the service such as child mental health and illumination of the true motivations of some of those manic street preachers in the Unions.

There are other areas, not least Environment, Energy and Food Security that could similarly benefit.

To get partisan politics out of the equation, though, the political system would need to deliver a striving for agreement not a continual push for difference.

A decent, honest and fair proportional electoral system would help a great deal. Time we faced up to how our factional, winner takes all, see-saw system is the root cause of many societal and economic problems and especially the besetting sin of short-termism. Time for change.

Alan Cross, on behalf of Dorset Labour

Mike Chapman on behalf of Liberal Democrats across the Blackmore Vale

Take five: Sunak’s priorities fall short

A BIT late perhaps to discuss New Year resolutions, but I thought we might anyway. The Prime Minister – Rishi Sunak as I write – has laid out his government’s resolutions for the coming year, listing five issues he says they’re determined to tackle, with ‘no tricks’ and ‘no ambiguity’.

The five ‘people’s priorities’ as he described them were: halving inflation, growing the economy, reducing debt, cutting NHS waiting lists and stopping small boat crossings to the UK.

Critics observe that these are all vague aspirations, somewhat light – putting it politely – on details such as ‘by how much’, and ‘by when’. They also involve events that are likely to happen anyway to some extent, with inflation, for example, already forecast to fall and the economy to grow.

Some suggest that Sunak’s choices are aimed in part at

pacifying the increasingly vocal hard right of the Tory party, in order to try and hold the party together and avoid a drift of voters to the Reform UK party. Remember UKIP spooking the Tories into the Brexit referendum? That went well, didn’t it.

Whether Sunak’s choice of priorities is appropriate, or

whether his speech was good or bad – our MP Simon Hoare thinks it was ‘really good’ –there were two glaring omissions. There was no mention of the part played by the last 12 years of Tory government in creating much of the sorry mess we are in. Neither was there any mention of the worsening environmental situation, with ever more extreme weather chaos around the globe plus a continuing decline of our already severely depleted natural world.

Recent surveys show that a clear majority of people are now concerned about climate change, but the Government’s own advisers say they are still not taking all the actions needed. They are failing us, disastrously.

Examples include failing to ensure the rapid decarbonisation our economy, failing to stop the ever-increasing pollution of our

waterways, failing to make older houses cheaper and warmer to live in, and failing to ensure that all new homes are fit for the future.

Instead they continue to do things like subsidising tree burning by Drax power station, encouraging more fossil fuel extraction and approving a new coal mine in Cumbria.

It’s not Resolutions we need, it’s Revolutions. Such as a revolution in the way we do politics – to be more inclusive and focussed longer term on the common good, rather than on short term narrow ideological imperatives that favour friends and allies.

And a revolution in the way our economic system works, so that our country’s wealth is shared equitably instead of relentlessly moving upwards to line the pockets of the already rich. That would be a Happy New Year indeed!

Bonfire of rules boost for business

THE new year has started with some very promising news. Firstly, the new £2 bus flat fare which will encourage more to use our local bus services, helping to further safeguard their futures within our local public transport network.

Secondly, The Gryphon School can look forward to a promising year after the announcement a few weeks ago that, following my campaign in Westminster to urge for the need to improve its dilapidated temporary classrooms, the school has been successful in a funding bid for the finance it needs to replace them.

Following on from this, in Westminster, The Procurement Bill came to Parliament for its Second Reading this week. This will overhaul the UK’s procurements legislation, streamlining and condensing four different sets of laws into one and removing 350 existing rules derived from European regulations.

This will enable businesses to drive down costs while boosting innovation. About 97 per cent of West Dorset businesses are classed as Small and Medium Enterprises. Add this to the fact that about 18 per cent of West Dorset businesses were lost through the Covid-19 pandemic, the much-needed boost to these small businesses couldn’t come soon enough, and this is why I have been strongly supporting this in Westminster.

This will mean that small and

medium-sized businesses based here in West Dorset or nearby will be able to access a greater pool of opportunities – to be able to bid for and win supply contracts with the public sector, such as schools, hospitals and transport networks. This will make it far easier for businesses based here to thrive, expand and provide more long-term employment.

You may have seen my intervention in the House of Commons in November during Prime Minister’s Questions which shone a spotlight on the unfair fuel pricing policies for local retailers like Morrisons in Bridport which charged at one point about 20 pence a litre more in its Bridport store than in neighbouring stores. Similar, too, for Tesco in Dorchester and Bland compared to Poole.

Since then, a Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation has been taking place to fully examine this situation nationwide. I met the

director of the CMA last month to make the case for Bridport and West Dorset to be the prime case in point for its investigation, and further underscore the importance of securing fairness for consumers.

Shortly after this, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Grant Shapps, wrote to fuel retailers across the UK to urge them to divulge details of their pricing policies to the CMA to further assist its investigation and help it make recommendations for the Government to ensure fairness prevails.

I was very pleased to see fuel prices at Morrisons Bridport falling rapidly in December and am working to achieve the same for those affected by other supermarket chains. While this remains higher than in some neighbouring towns, the gap is being narrowed and I will continue working towards fairness for West Dorset.

Ken Huggins on behalf of the Green Party in North Dorset

Conservative MP for West Dorset Chris Loder

The ins and outs of NHS dentistry

WHAT Chris Loder appears to have misunderstood is that there is no such thing as an NHS dentist – New Blackmore Vale, 9 December.

The only salaried dental surgeons are those working in hospitals, and those in the Community Dental Services (CDS).

Generally, the CDS was never regarded highly by the public, who called it the ‘school dentist’.

Nowadays it provides treatment for ‘Special Need Patients’ who would be difficult to treat in general dental practices due to the facilities and finance required.

All other dental surgeons are private and might or might not have contracts to treat a certain number of NHS patients at their own discretion.

The current General Dental Services allow for local authorities to pay for all or part of the necessary dental treatment for some patients.

Necessary dental treatment is defined as that treatment that is necessary to safeguard the patient’s general health.

A dental practice must apply to the local health authority to do a certain amount of dental treatment for NHS patients.

The authority agrees – or not, as the case might be – to pay towards a set number of Units of Dental Activity to the practice in the following financial year.

Once that ‘quota’ has been reached, no more NHS dental treatment can be done in that year by that practice.

If there is an accidental over provision, the practice can sometimes negotiate to allow part of any excess NHS treatment carried out in one year to be carried over to the next.

That means – if they can get the authority to carry over – that they will only be allowed to do a reduced amount of treatment for NHS patients the following year.

Some practices have all their NHS appointments booked up a year ahead.

Registration of NHS patients with dental practices was abolished on 31 March 2006.

Martin A. Rooke-Matthews Retired dental surgeon and orthodontist

I WOULD like to comment on the article on the ‘puddle’ floodng the B3145 – New Blackmore Vale 23 December.

I am one of only a handful of residents on Kings Mill Lane between Marnhull and Stalbridge who is often confronted by storm water inhibiting vehicle travel in several directions.

Kings Mill Bridge, Lower Road leading to Stalbridge, the end of Mowes Lane meeting the B3092 and the road through Bagber are all regularly flooded after pretty standard predictable winter rain.

The drainage does not cope – or it is blocked.

All of these roads carry substantial daily traffic and the water can in extreme patches be over 1ft deep.

The roads are all inarguably in Dorset and the council seems incapable/reluctant to do anything to remedy the problem.

I’ll bet any council response would be in the nature of: “We have done substantial work in the past/two rivers in the vicinity exacerbate the flooding etc,” but I may be wrong!

Words are of little help when I am needing to leave my property on a wet winter’s day.

Charles Kemp Stalbridge

I AM writing to relate an incident which took place on the footpath next to Langton Road play area in Blandford at about 3pm on New Year’s Day.

As I walked in the direction of the Stour Meadows, a couple with two Border collies, one on the lead and one off, were walking in the opposite

direction.

The Border collie which was off the lead suddenly ran towards me and jumped up leaving muddy paw prints down my jacket and trousers.

This was an unnerving experience as, not knowing the dog’s character, I did not know whether it was being friendly or attacking me. I pushed the dog off to one side.

The owner’s reaction was to point his finger aggressively at my face and vehemently spit out: “You touch my dog again like that and I’ll knock your head off”. When I suggested that the dog should be on a lead, he tersely retorted that he would put me on a lead.

I found this behaviour from this dog owner selfish and irresponsible, bordering on ignorant, and the experience left me shaken for some time

afterwards.

I do understand that the vast majority of dog owners act responsibly with regard to control over their dogs but a significant minority do not.

This significant minority is at risk of giving all dog owners a bad name.

Last year’s UK dog attack statistics, a large proportion of which were carried out against small children, were shockingly high in number.

So, I have a simple message – if your dog is likely to harass passing members of the public and you do not have control over it by command of voice, then keep it on a lead.

It is against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control anywhere, including in the owner’s home. The law applies to all dogs and you can report a dog that is out of

Cartoon by Lyndon Wall – justsocaricatures.co.uk

control.

Visit www.gov.uk/controldog-public

Name and address supplied

I WAS appalled to read Mrs Church’s letter – New Blackmore Vale January 6 –about Kingston Maurward cancelling apprenticeships and suggesting that the poor students go to Sparsholt instead with just about no notice.

Young people in Dorset are already challenged by transport logistics – just getting as far as Kingston Maurward can be an epic journey for many. Sparsholt may as well be on the moon!

I am astounded that the college can treat students in such a manner and it is a matter of grave concern.

As my children have grown up here, we have watched everything in our community close or dwindle – the youth club, library, police, adult learning centre, banks and buses.

The only thing on the up seems to be the county lines drug gangs.

We never got our new primary school. Young people in rural Dorset are still recovering from having education disrupted by Covid-19 and need help not cutbacks.

Young people here talk proudly about being at Kingston Maurward – it has been a beacon of hope for their futures and now it seems it will be just another slowly closing door for the youth of our area.

Pauline Metcalf Sturminster Newton

THE Gillingham Community Christmas Lunch Committee

2022 would like to thank the following businesses and organisations for their support: Asda, Gillingham; Bracher Brothers, Gillingham; Dorset Dairy Co, Stalbridge; Downer Farm Meats, Tisbury; Gillingham Lunch Club; Harts of Sturminster; Kings Court Masonic Lodge, Gillingham; Neal’s Yard Remedies,

Gillingham; One Stop, Broad Robin, Gillingham; Orchard Park; Stalbridge Linen; Tesco, Shaftesbury; ToFS, Gillingham; and Virginia Hayward, Shaftesbury.

We provided lunches for about 80 people in the local area in the form of a sit-down lunch with others and by delivering to those unable to come along in person.

This would not have been possible without the generosity of local businesses and organisations, and a team of amazing volunteers.

Serena, Vicky & Abi Gillingham Community Christmas Lunch Committee

SHERBORNE Churches

Together welcomed 105 guests to Christmas Day lunch.

We would like to thank the following for their kindness and generosity: Castle Gardens (Christmas trees), Digby Tap (donation), Hazlegrove Prep School (lanterns), Keith Williams (chef), Les Evans (Culverhayes) (all the vegetables), Sherborne Community Kitchen (kitchen facilities), Digby Memorial Church Hall, Sherborne Abbey Parish Office, Sherborne Abbey Social Committee, Sherborne School (serving equipment), Waitrose (food and drinks) and last, but by no means least, 41 amazing volunteers!

John

Carbuncle of confusion

RESIDENTS and visitors alike must be beyond dismayed, on approach to Sturminster Newton’s beautiful old bridge, at the utterly awful spectacle which greets them.

These ‘works’ have been in progress for so many years now and any more excuses about the lack of progress have worn more than thin.

good practice of only cutting hedges every two years, if not three, and to do it on rotation. This provides the beautiful white blossom from black thorn/hawthorn hedges and the hazel catkins/nuts which provide food and habit for birds and insects. If the hedge is trimmed back yearly there is no blossom.

The sight of these barriers, stretched in such disarray, destroys the first sight of our beautiful old town and its water meadows.

Surely, after all this time, a solution must be available to remedy this carbuncle of confusion. Someone please DO something.

Richard & Barbara Matthews Sturminster Newton

Conservationists point the decline of some populations of wildlife to the fact their habitat is too small and too far apart. Our hedges provide much needed shelter and food to get from one area to another, it's a wildlife motorway around the country.

Bradshaw via email

I'VE just come back from The Real Oxford Farming Conference. It’s always a joy to go to and I come back buzzing.

One point that always comes across is that from all levels, international, national, local and individual, there should be more joined up thinking and things to make our lives more pleasant, the planet cleaner and Dorset even more beautiful.

A good place to start is our hedges, farmers', councils' and gardeners'. Especially in Dorset, which is still a thriving livestock area full of grass areas surrounded by hedges. DEFRA has for years encouraged the

As I was cycling to Sturminster today, the long way round through Marnhull and Hinton St Mary, some hedges on one side of the road where shaved and on the other side had a year’s growth. I would like to think this is the start of new practice.

I realise close to the road it needs to be cut back, even I don't like a stray bramble hitting my face or not being able to see on a junction, but there are many areas where this doesn't apply. I also notice on my bike ride that the birds perch, sing and nest in the taller hedges not in the shaved ones. It has also been shown that the sequencing of carbon is locked up as efficiently in a mature, well manged hedge as in woodland.

A friend of mine always pointed out that people would only change their habits and become 'greener' if it hit their pockets. Think of all the fuel and manpower hours that could be saved if hedges are only trimmed back every two or three years. Maybe that manpower could be used to lay the hedges on a rotational basis instead.

Gardeners could do their bit and talk to their neighbours so hedges can join together through a village. Have a competition to see which village can nurture the longest hedge. We can all leave the odd bit of untidy Ivy and a patch of nettles, and the odd hole in the fence for the hedgehogs to get through.

Gold Hill Organic Farm Child Okeford

THE Warminster-based Athenaeum Singers were set to resume rehearsals this month under new director of music Thomas Mottershead.

Thomas, who will be starting his first full term with the choir, is an experienced singer and in recent months appeared on the ITV programme The Voice as part of Sir Tom Jones’ team.

He was also on television on Songs of Praise on Christmas Day in his role as a tenor in the Llandaff Cathedral choir.

Thomas started conducting at the age of 15 and after a degree in Music from Cardiff University, went on to study choral conducting at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and a teaching qualification at Cambridge University.

Since then, he has developed

his career as a singer and choral conductor.

n In the 23 December edition of the New Blackmore Vale, the wrong photo was used with a review of the Athenaeum Singers pre-Christmas concert headlined A Feast of Mozart and Schubert. The picture was from a light-hearted concert in June, conducted by Nigel Perrin, featuring the story of Noah.

Nativity with a difference a real winter warmer

BLOW away the winter blues with the feelgood and funny Nativity! The Musical at Shaftesbury Arts Centre.

Every child in every school has one Christmas wish – to star in a Nativity and at St Bernadette’s they’re attempting to mount a musical version.

The only trouble is, teacher Mr Maddens has promised that a Hollywood producer is coming to see the show to turn it into a film.

Join him, his teaching assistant the crazy Mr Poppy, hilarious children and a whole lot of sparkle and shine as

Jennifer Lore and Paul Maddens. in Nativity! The Musical they struggle to make everyone’s Christmas wish come true.

The Music and Drama Group is staging performances from 26-29 January and 1-4 February with matinees on 28 and 29 January and 4 February.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.shaftesburyarts centre.org.uk and from the box office on 01747 854321.

MUSICIANS from Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) will be performing a relaxed and friendly recital at Marnhull Village Hall next month.

The trio of flute, harp and cello will play a programme featuring Bizet’s Carmen Suite, Brahms’ Hungarian Dance and Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now, plus works by Elgar, Ibert and more.

The concert is part of the BSO’s On Your Doorstep project to take live music to rural communities. It is one of a programme of recitals planned across the county staged in partnership with Artsreach, Dorset’s touring arts charity.

The event in Marnhull is on Sunday 12 February at 3pm –for tickets phone the hall on 01258 820458 or visit www. artsreach.co.uk

Quire tackles shanties

A SOMERSET singing group will be all at sea next month when they learn songs and shanties.

On Monday, 6 February, The Stanchester Quire will be tackling songs and shanties that illustrate how the sea has affected the lives of the people of the South West of England through the years.

The group meets at The David Hall, in Roundwell Street, South Petherton, at 7.30pm. New members are welcome and get the first two weeks free, thereafter £3 a week.

For more details, email stanchesterquire1@gmail.com or phone Bonnie on 01935 822287.

The Athenaeum Singers were set to resume rehearsals this month under new director of music Thomas Mottershead (above)

Miller’s classic on screen

ARTHUR Miller’s classic play

The Crucible is set to be screened at Shaftesbury Arts Centre.

A witch hunt is beginning in the captivating parable of power with Erin Doherty (The Crown) and Brendan Cowell (Yerma).

Raised to be seen but not heard, a group of young

women in Salem suddenly find their words have an almighty power.

As a climate of fear, vendetta and accusation spreads through the community, no one is safe from trial.

Lyndsey Turner (Hamlet) directs this contemporary new staging, designed by Tony Award winner Es Devlin (The Lehman Trilogy).

The play was performed on the Olivier stage at the National Theatre and is screened on Sunday 5 February at 7pm.

Tickets are adults £10, children £7.50.

Casterbridge choir seeks new members

THE popular and longestablished Casterbridge Male Voice Choir is seeking new members.

The Dorchester-based choir was founded in the Second World War and has delighted audiences in and around the county town ever since.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic affected its ability to hold regular concerts and rehearsals, and charitable donations raised from its performances.

The friendly choir enjoys singing a wide range of music from songs from the shows to

traditional male voice choir songs and current popular pieces.

A spokesman for the group said: “Being part of a choir is an uplifting and beneficial experience that can be enjoyed by anyone who would like to make music with others.”

Casterbridge Male Voice Choir meets for rehearsals at St Mary’s church hall, Edward Road, Dorchester DT1 2HJ, every Wednesday at 7.15pm.

For more details visit www. casterbridgemalevoicechoir.org. uk and/or contact Jim Burt on 01305 784114.

Choir with the fun factor

LOOKING for something fun to do in the New Year? Well, ROKiT, which has choirs in Gillingham, Bradford and Wincanton, is offering local people the chance to find their voice.

The choirs sing modern music and join forces to appear at local events and concerts.

Choir owner Mark James said: “At ROKiT, I would say about 70 per cent of the people that come in on their first night say they cannot sing or have never done anything like it before.

“But once they have come along for a few weeks and their confidence grows, they start achieving things they didn’t think possible.”

He said choirs are a great way to challenge yourself, meet new people, work towards a goal and be part of something exciting.

“We like to be fun – it is more important than the music in most cases,” he added. “Yes, we like to get the songs right, but without the fun there is no point.

“Our favourite performances have been flash mobs where we just turn up in the

ROKiT has choirs in Gillingham, Bradford and Wincanton

middle of a crowded shop or local event unannounced and start singing.

“Our latest flash mob was in Wincanton at the Christmas Fair. All the choir left buzzing, and this also rubbed off on the audiences watching as they could really get into it, too.”

Mark also likes to support other choirs and music groups in the area. “We are just one style of choir out there – the good thing

is that there are many types of music and there are choirs and groups that will fit with what you want to do,” he said.

“Although we would welcome anyone to come along to ROKiT, we also encourage people to find the group that suits them best. Music is for everyone and once you find the place that you fit, you will never look back.”

For more information on ROKiT visit www.rokitchoir.com

Businesses in the spotlight at town awards

By Andrew Diprose dorsetbiznews.co.uk

SHERBORNE’S finest were honoured at the town’s annual business awards with organisers hailing a record number of entries.

Upwards of 60 local business leaders attended the lunchtime event at The Grange at Oborne. After a chance to network,

and a buffet lunch, the winners of the 14 categories and overall winner were revealed by Mayor of Sherborne, Cllr Juliet Pentolfe.

This year’s overall winner was Girlings Complete Hearing and Dan Girling collected the framed certificate.

It was the third year of the awards. organised by Marketing

West Events.

Headline sponsor was ActionCOACH and Dorset Biz News was the county-wide media partner.

Nigel Reeve, of Marketing West Events, said: “The awards are going from strength to strength with a record number of businesses entering.

“We were also pleased to announce several new additions to the award.

“They included the overall

winner now returning the following year to present the trophy to the next year’s winner.

“The overall winner also now wins a category sponsorship at the next awards with all the promotional value that gives their business.

“In addition, there will now be a winners’ and sponsors’ lunch, held shortly after the awards, to help the winners celebrate and meet their sponsors.”

pension plans on track? We’re here to

Are

Peter Harding Wealth Management is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/products. The ‘St. James’s Place Partnership’ and the titles ‘Partner’ and ‘Partner Practice’ are marketing terms used to describe St. James’s Place representatives.

Peter Harding Wealth Management is a trading name of Peter Harding Practice Ltd.

With more choice and flexibility surrounding retirement and with people, on average, living longer than before, it’s important to make sure your pension plans are on track. Utilising our experience, we can help you manage your income and savings, whilst guiding you through the complications of tax, so you can enjoy the lifestyle you desire.

The overall winner was Girlings Complete Hearing and Dan Girling is pictured collecting the framed certificate

Winners of this year’s Sherborne Business Awards celebrate their success. PHOTOS: Paul Collins/PC Visuals

Ups and downs in long history of Gillingham

GILLINGHAM Town FC, established in November 1879 at the Phoenix Hotel in Gillingham, are on the up.

The club flourished in the 1960s, winning the Dorset league four times in five years but the 1970s saw them flirt with relegation.

The good times returned in 2001-02 when they won the League Cup, beating Westlands Sports 2-1. The next season they came runners-up in the newly named Dorset Premier League.

Promotion to Division One of the Toolstation Western League followed in 2008 and the Dorset Senior Cup in

FOOTBALL

2009-10.

A third-place finish in Division One in 2011-12 took them into the Premier Division.

They played at Hardings Lane for many years without a secure tenure but the poor drainage and financial constraints meant the club had to look for a new home, and in 2016-17, having had to drop down back into the Dorset Premier League, they took residency at Woodwater.

The new home brought further challenges – no clubhouse, grandstand or

By Avril Lancaster

THE new year started for Shaftesbury Town with a trip to Sussex to face Pagham in the Wessex League after their scheduled match with Bemerton Heath Harlequins was postponed.

Oscar Johnston opened the scoring for Pagham in the 24th minute, curving the ball past Harrison Bruton to give the strugglers the lead. Pagham had hit the crossbar with a thunderous effort previously.

Ash Pope levelled with a free-kick in the 39th minute before Pagham scored twice in a three-minute spell past the hour. Aiden Davidson bundled the ball in the 61st minute before Johnston hit another fine effort into the top corner two minutes later.

The Rockies rallied in the last 20 minutes and had chances before Pope finished a fine move in the fourth minute of injury time.

Shaftesbury went out of the Dorset Senior Cup semi-final

Shaftesbuy’s Ash Pope presses the Pagham defence

putting up a good show against Poole Town the following Tuesday.

Ash Pope put Shaftesbury ahead and Tyler Forbes made it 2-0 before the break. Poole got one back through a Cam Beard own goal, before Tony Lee ‘s header and an injury time goal from Will Fletcher sent the Dolphins to the final to face Weymouth.

WINCANTON U16s football team, managed by Sean Corney for the past six years, are looking for sponsors.

It is hoped the players will form the backbone of a new U18s team, which will be the

floodlights, and once again drainage issues. But the club, thanks to the dedicated volunteers and committee, have worked tirelessly to provide a fantastic new clubhouse, the required floodlights, a new grandstand and a much-needed drainage system.

The team responded, with the new ground fully functional, gaining promotion back to Division One of the Toolstation Western league.

Next season will see huge changes to the league, as it will merge with the South Western League, covering all of the South-West down to Cornwall.

Division

W D L Pts

Compton C 8 5 0 3 168

Compton D 8 4 0 4 150

East Stour B 8 3 0 5 127 Stalbridge C 9 2 0 7 112 Stalbridge D 8 0 0 8 66

n TOURNAMENT results: Veterans over 40s – winner Chris Watkins (Stalbridge), runner-up James Robinson (Compton); Ladies Singles – winner Bridget Vallance (Stalbridge), runner-up Sue Boddington (East Stour); Mixed Doubles – winners Bridget Vallance (Stalbridge) and Steve Ible (East Stour), runners-up Sue and Peter Boddington (East Stour); Masters Over 60s – winner Andy Crouch (Child Okeford), runner-up Tony Hibben (Compton).

Ash Pope and Ryan Cluett defend at Pagham in the Wessex League.

first time in many years the club have run an under 18s squad.

The team are appealing for sponsors to help provide a home and away kit for the first time, plus a team tracksuit.

Equipment, insurance and running costs also need to be met for the team to continue to provide grassroots football locally.

Rockies go down against strugglers

blackmorevale.net

Pair heading Down Under for world championships

BOWLS

TWO members of Yeovil Bowls Club Visually Impaired section have been selected to play for England at the International Blind Bowlers Association World Championships in Australia next month.

Maurice Perry and Ron Homer will be competing at Tweed Heads, New South Wales, from 24 February to 18 March.

Ron plays in the B2 Sight category Singles and Mixed Pairs, and Maurice plays in the B4 Sight category and plays in the Singles and Mixed Pairs.

Ron is no stranger to the competition having won the gold medal for his sight group in the singles competition at the last championships in South Africa.

This year’s competition, in which 13 countries are taking part, is two years behind schedule because of Covid-19 travel restrictions and runs on a four-year cycle.

YOUTH FOOTBALL

Winners of the singles sight groups in the National competitions go on to the fourth year and take part in a play-off to for the chance to represent their country in the world championships.

Maurice, who was the runner-up in last year’s nationals, said: “This opportunity is a once in a lifetime chance for me to perform the sport I love on the world stage.

“After only bowling for six years, and to be doing it with

my great friend and someone who thought I had potential from day one is awesome.

“With Ron’s skill and knowledge he took me under his wing in the summer of 2015 and with the help and support of Yeovil Bowls Club, the YVIBC and helpers at the same time, it has culminated in my selection to the world championships in Australia.

“Not having a chance to do the Commonwealth Games was a hard enough blow, only allowing B2 and B3 sight category bowlers to compete, but the ‘worlds’ has smoothed over that disappointment.”

The Government and governing body Bowls England do not give the visually impaired section any financial help with their competitions, so funding is a major issue.

Anyone who would like to sponsor or donate towards Ron’s and Mo’s world championship trip can contact them through the club’s website, www.ybsc.co.uk

U14 Girls grab goals galore

By Bob Knott

ANGLING

Dave bags a super catch

By Simon Hebditch

FIFTEEN brave souls took part in the fifth round of Gillingham AA’s Winter Championship on an out of sorts River Stour from Highbridge to Rectory straight.

Match secretary Dave Sealey made the decision to fish, even though the river had come up overnight and was pushing hard, but it proved a good one.

He drew peg 18 at Highbridge and won the match fishing blockend maggot feeder and maggots or lobworms.

He caught five perch, two chub and roach to weigh an impressive 13-00, and had bites most of the day.

Runners-up were Jason Randall and Adie West, both with 7-14. Jason drew peg 13 at Highbridge and caught two bream, two perch and a big roach on a maggot feeder, while Adie drew peg 17 at Highbridge and caught two bream and roach on a groundbait feeder.

Other places: 4 Pete Edwards 3-02, 5 Clive Pettifer 2-14, 6 John Gatehouse 2-07.

The knockout final will be between Jason Randall and Dave Anders.

The next match is on January 22 – book in with Dave on 01747 823159.

TENNIS

SHERBORNE

Ladies U14s, sponsored by Morton New Estate Agents and Battens Solicitors, started their defence of the County Cup with a bang with a 26-goal win against Portland Poppies.

The match was postponed twice because of the cold snap before Christmas and was reversed to be played at Portland.

The girls wasted no time once the game got under way and were in a commanding lead by half-time and it was pretty much the same story in the second half.

Nine goals came from top scorer Cassie, who has now gone past 50 goals for the season, plus six from Lauren, five from Keira and other goals from Olivia, Emma and Pixie.

Player of the match was debutant centre back Lily who had a brilliant game in the heart of the defence

MARNHULL Tennis Club, one the most active and fastest growing clubs in the area, with lots going on for all ages and abilities, are holding their annual meeting on Tuesday March 7 at the village hall.

All members are welcome to attend and hear about plans for the club’s future and the coming season, and meet fellow members and the committee.

Non-members who would like to learn more about the club should visit www.

marnhulltennisclub.net for information on regular club sessions, membership, coaching and more.

Maurice Perry and Ron Homer

Place 1 to 9 once into every black-bordered 3x3 area as well as each of the 54 rows indicated by the coloured lines. Rows don’t

Cryptic crossword

Across 1 Frozen block? Reserve one, say (3,4)

Down

Couple feature in news bulletin (4)

2 Agree with sound of clock? (5)

Couple feature in news bulletin (4)

Mistake allowed for one of three? (7)

Examine minutely soft gown (5)

Fool dropped wee bacon sandwiches (5)

Provoke anger with someone ultimately? (6)

Type of gear regardless of time relating to a cell (6)

Mistake allowed for one of three? (7)

Examine minutely soft gown (5)

3 Star given allowance for festive treat? (11) 4 Intensely cold alcoholic drink (6)

Fool dropped wee bacon sandwiches (5)

Provoke anger with someone ultimately? (6)

6 Consideration still close to respect (7)

7 Humble writer on English king (4)

Type of gear regardless of time relating to a cell (6)

Fortified place the French set behind shed (6)

8 Act that’s orchestrated around Delaware one in college, say (7)

Fortified place the French set behind shed (6)

I show dishonesty in married university setting (6)

Drive that is engaging politician on left (5)

Deride society with hackneyed material (5)

Event of music and dance excited child touring Ireland (not half) (7)

Remainder in the back (4)

Across

Frozen block? Reserve one, say (3,4)

Act green and use two-wheeled transport again (7)

Couple feature in news bulletin (4)

Mistake allowed for one of three? (7)

Examine minutely soft gown (5)

Fool dropped wee bacon sandwiches (5)

Provoke anger with someone ultimately? (6)

Type of gear regardless of time relating to a cell (6)

Fortified place the French set behind shed (6)

I show dishonesty in married university setting (6)

that is

Place 1 to 9 once each into every row, column and boldlined 3x3 box. No digit maybe repeated in any dashed-lined cage, and each dash-lined cage must result in the given value when the stated operation is applied between all of the digits in that cage. For subtraction and division operations, start with the highest number in the cage and then subtract or divide by the other numbers in that cage

I show dishonesty in married university setting (6)

10 A top trilby I misrepresented as having characteristic of light headwear? (11)

Drive that is engaging politician on left (5)

Deride society with hackneyed material (5)

13 Sound chalet first off dismantled on sides highway (7)

Event of music and dance excited child touring Ireland (not half) (7)

Remainder in the back (4)

15 Academic institution with class that’s regular (7)

Act green and use two-wheeled transport again (7)

17 Strength in sea food, it’s said (6) 20 Small bottle? China imports hard one (5) 21 Government authority confused irritated expression (4)

Sound chalet first off dismantled on sides of highway (7)

Small bottle? China imports hard one (5)

Furniture period and modern Iconic bikes for sale in auction

CLARKE’S Auctions at Semley is finding itself very busy. The housing market is still buoyant and the porters have been out constantly since the start of the year collecting furniture and collectables for auctions.

Lots of period furniture will be offered in the 10-11 February sale including a 17th century oak court cupboard, refectory and dining tables, a matching pair of small-proportioned chest of drawers, a carved show-wood sofa and a feather-cushioned country house sofa.

A consignment of modern design furniture will include a stylish Julien Chichester shelving unit in leather and bronzed frame, a glass-topped coffee table, mirrored bedside tables and a chaise longue designed by Anthony Collett.

Anthony is the founding partner of Col-lett-Zarzycki, a

design practice that embraces architecture, interiors and landscaping. The firm has clients all over the world and its projects are known for the integrity of their craftsmanship and materials, bespoke fittings and commissioned artwork.

A colour catalogue will be available at the-saleroom.com and easyliveauction.com the week before the sale. Viewing is on Thursday 9 February from 9am-5pm and there will be live bidding in the room on sale days.

For entries into any of Clarke’s forthcoming sales, enquiries for consignment, probate or insurance valuations, part or full house clearances phone Richard Clarke or Karen Marshall on 01747 855109 at the main offices on Kingsettle Business Park, Station Road, Semley, Shaftesbury.

TWO iconic 1990s Honda RC45s are estimated to sell for towards £100,000 in the Charterhouse auction of classic and collector motorbikes in March.

George Beale, from the firm, said: “The market for bikes ancient and modern continues to be strong.

“In the upcoming auction we have a great selection of bikes from the 1920s onwards with British bikes including a Brough Superior SS100 from a client in Japan through to modern road and race bikes such as this brace of Hondas.”

The Hondas are a 1990s Honda RC45 race bike and a 1994 Honda RC45 road bike. They come from a private museum and are each estimated at £40,000-50,000.

The RC45 race bike was successfully ridden by David

This Honda RC45 is one of two for sale with Charterhouse

Jefferies, Brian Gardiner and Richard (Milky) Quale.

The RC45 road bike was last used in 2007 and has covered just under 19,000 miles.

Both bikes, along with more than 100 other motorcycles, are being sold by Charterhouse Auctioneers at Haynes International Motor Museum, Sparkford, on 30 March.

Charterhouse is accepting further entries for this specialist auction of classic, vintage and collector motorcycles.

Taxidermy and top, bowler and equestrian hats

THE second part of the hugely popular Single Owner Sporting Collection of 2022 is coming to auction at Duke’s next month.

The collection includes more than 100 lots of top, bowler and equestrian hats made by well-known vintage hatters such as Christys’ of London, Hebert Johnson of London, Dunn & Co of London and Scott & Co of London.

They date from the Victorian to Edwardian period but most are in excellent condition due to careful storage in original boxes.

The Richard Pratley collection of taxidermy is over 150 lots mostly by the

renowned taxidermists Hutchings of Aberystwyth 1860-1942.

Works include a golden eagle, two swans and even a Lemur. The collection also features a ram’s head and otter masks by the renowned P. Spicer & Sons, Leamington Spa.

The Christopher Bent Cockfighting collection contains a large number of 19th century goblet wine glasses depicting exquisitely etched fighting scenes.

Other collectable items include two quality sets of Victorian silver cock fighting spurs and a rare George II Irish cockfighting chair.

Three large and important private collections will feature in Duke’s 15 February Sporting and Natural History Auction

All three collections will feature in Duke’s Sporting and Natural History Auction on 15 February at 10.30am.

For more information on how to view and buy at auction visit www.dukes-auctions.com or phone 01305 265080.

Tel: 01305 265080 enquiries@dukes-auctions.com www.dukes-auctions.com

£3,500 estimate on Cartier watch

ACREMAN St. Auctioneers & Valuers Sherborne is holding its monthly auctions over two days in 2023, always the last Thursday and Friday of the month.

That starts on Thursday 26 January with the General Antiques, Paintings, Furniture & Collectors Auction, and Friday 27 January with Jewellery, Silver, Watches & Objet D'art.

Viewing is on Wednesday 25 January, 10am-5pm.

Lots include an R Lalique Victoire car mascot estimate £3,000-4,000; a Calibre De Cartier boxed men's stainless steel automatic wristwatch estimate £3,000-3,500; and a one-carat champagne diamond solitaire ring estimate £1,5002,000.

Catalogues are available to view on easyliveauction.com and Saleroom.com ten days before auction day.

Acreman is also holding specialist sales of Coins & Banknotes, Stamps, Ephemera, Postcards & Photographs,

Oriental, Militaria and on 24 March Textiles, Fashion & Apparel.

If you have anything you would like to consign, contact Gill Norman on 07908 333577 or 01935 50874.

Calibre de Cartier boxed stainless steel wristwatch

Winter pots and containers

By Sally Gregson

WHEN the frosts have all but destroyed the autumn-planted pots of pansies, and the cold weather has set in, it’s a good time to take a fresh look at winter displays.

These early, dark weeks can be enlivened with vibrant, young plants of heucheras, coloured sedges and Iris reticulata that are readily available in nurseries and garden centres locally.

Choose the sunniest spot outdoors that you can see from the warmth of the house, such as a garden table visible from inside, and arrange a grouping of brightly coloured pots.

Fill them with plants that contrast strongly and add pizzazz – the ‘black’ grass – Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’ – with one of the new apricot Heucheras. Or, in a blue-glazed container, combine a gold-and-green variegated

Carex oshimensis ‘Evergold’ with rich blue polyanthus for later in the month.

Bright red polyanthus varieties combine well with variegated Euonymus fortunei too, and pink-flowered wild Cyclamen coum with chalky leaves are happy on their own. Their leaves continue the display after the flowers have dropped.

Garden centres and nurseries often have little pots of bulbs for sale that were planted in the autumn and, for those of us who forgot to pot some up, they make excellent combinations with the heucheras, the coloured sedges, the Cyclamen coum. Keep them all deadheaded. They can be tipped out when they are over and planted in the garden.

Pots of Iris reticulata look charming nestling in old teacups. It’s worth scouring the charity shops for pre-loved teacups and saucers for this

purpose. Ensure the small plastic plant pots will fit in the teacups so just the neck of the pot is visible – water them, and place them in a cold greenhouse until they are ready for their starring roles. Then bring them

out in bud to sit on the garden table like a prop from Miss Haversham’s tea-party. Each flower only lasts a few glorious days but they signal the beginning of the end of winter and the coming of spring.

Iris reticulata and winter pots PHOTO: Olga Fil and Gernot /Pixabay

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Tel: 01747 850544 Mobile: 07921 637227 amralphlandscaping@gmail.com www.ralphlandscaping.co.uk

amralphlandscaping@gmail.com www.ralphlandscaping.co.uk

Tel: 01747 850544 Mobile: 07921 637227

Tel: 01747 850544 Mobile: 07921 637227

Lizzie Price Shading Solutions has been set up by husband and wife team Peter & Lizzie Price. Lizzie will be familiar to many as she has been involved with interiors, blinds and soft furnishings for over 28 years for a Wincanton based company, while Peter has over 40 years experience in the building and window industry.

Lizzie and Peter have a similar outlook on business with first class customer service paramount, and top quality products UK manufactured where possible combined with first class installation.

Lizzie has been a Silent Gliss specialist for over 15 years and is fully qualified to advise and measure for this premium product.

They offer a huge range of shading solutions for inside and outside the home including fabric roller, vertical and pleated blinds as well as venetians in aluminium and wood, either manual of motorised (an option that is becoming ever more popular and competitive says Lizzie).

With the onset of winter and increasing energy costs it is worth considering honeycomb pleated blinds with air trapping pockets to help retain heat within the room and during the summer they will help keep your rooms cool too.

Peter & Lizzie are delighted to have

sourced a British manufacturer of Plantation Shutters, avoiding the extended lead times and potential damage in transit with imports. These can be offered in any colour.

Lizzie Price Shading Solutions offer external roller blinds to reduce solar gain at source, awnings (manual or motorised) and to extend your outdoor living season they offer aluminium louvred roofed Pergolas, these are available in any RAL colour.

Lizzie and Peter offer home visits, with no obligation quotations, where they can show you a wide selection of samples

LANGTON NURSERIES (C W Abbott & Son) Seed potatoes, Bare root hedging, Bird food, Perennials & Shrubs. Stockists of Kings, Franchi and Fothergill Budget Seeds, Potting Compost. Large selection of pots. Open daily 10am– 3 pm. Langton Long Blandford Forum Dorset DT11 9HR. Telephone 01258 452513

Check the labels and buy British

By Barbara Cossins

IT is so difficult to have any predictions for 2023 – it is hard to see what is going to happen tomorrow!

Farmers, fisherman and all producers are at the mercy of the weather, as well as world events. Food security must become a top priority, and our Government needs to get behind British food and farming. Labelling is key for the public to know what is grown and produced here in the UK by our farmers and producers.

I want to share with you some interesting information about why we should support British farmers and what we grow.

Did you know that Silver Spoon sugar is grown and produced in England by our farmers from sugar beet?

Hundreds of British growers produce more than two million tonnes of sugar beet a year which on average travels no further than 28 miles from field to factory.

Other companies produce sugar from sugarcane which travels thousands of miles to reach us.

Did you know there is a wild deer population explosion on farms in England? Who would have thought that we have too many wild deer.

I’m a great fan of game on our tables, not only is it a healthy option – low fat and high protein – but the deer have had a great outdoor life and it is a shame for the meat to be wasted and not eaten and

enjoyed. Treat it and cook it like a piece of beef, and if you are lucky enough to have a good butcher nearby, he will have it fresh and local.

Please remember we have the best local fresh fish in the waters surrounding our Dorset coastline, more than 40 species, in fact.

However, we export 75 per cent of our fresh fish, while importing most of what we actually eat! Let’s celebrate Dorset fisherman and eat our local seafood instead of letting other countries enjoy what we’re producing here on our doorstep.

These are just some examples of why we need to be checking the labels of what we are buying. What is the point of flying products thousands of miles to us when we produce the same food right here in the UK.

A friend sent us a package of venison which appeared at first glance to be from Scotland but was actually from New Zealand. Very clever packaging and marketing.

The farmer’s percentage of profit is the smallest portion. Most of the profit ends up with the supermarkets. Please make 2023 the year we get behind British food for all the producers, farmers and fishermen.

n Barbara Cossins is founder of Love Local Trust Local; www.thelangtonarms.co.uk; www.rawstonfarmbutchery.

Enford Farm Shop

Durweston DT11 0QW

Half a lamb £70.

Home reared and locally produced meats, game, deli, fruit, veg, free range eggs and lots more.

Follow us on Facebook for all our latest meat pack deals and what’s in fresh that week.

Half a pig approx £120.

Chicken feeds etc available.

Open Wednesday to Saturday 8.30am-4pm.

Outside shop with self service for essentials open daily 8am-8pm

The packaging appeared to show these venison steaks were from Scotland when they were, in fact, from New Zealand.

Hundreds of British growers produce more than two million tonnes of sugar beet a year

Get the most out of your air fryer

These tiny convection ovens are the cost of living crisis’s hottest gadget, promising to save you cash while cooking up a storm

IT seems like everyone loves an air fryer right now – and if you’re interested in exactly how much money they can save versus your traditional oven, check out the 23 June 2022 episode of Sliced Bread on BBC Sounds. But as well as saving you cold hard cash, air fryers promise to pep up your culinary repertoire too. A little inspiration wouldn’t go amiss…

The consensus from evangelical air fryer converts is that when it comes to potatoes, they really can’t be bettered. Whole articles have been dedicated to the perfect air fryer chip but to summarise, the secret to success is to remove starch and liquid before cooking. To create crispy chips for four people, peel and chop 450g of Maris Piper (or another floury variety) potatoes. Soak in cold water for 5 minutes, drain and refill the pan with boiling water. Add a teaspoon of salt and bring back to the boil. Boil for 7 minutes, then drain and gently pat dry. Leave to cool for 10 minutes. Set the air fryer to 200°C, coat the raw chips with groundnut oil then transfer to the cooking basket. Cook for 20 minutes, checking after 10 minutes to give the basket a really good shake.

The standard potato’s more colourful cousin, sweet potatoes make delicious fries but are quite difficult to crisp up. Play around with coatings like fine polenta, liberally seasoned and added after you’ve coated your fries in oil. There’s no need to par boil them first, simply cook at 180°C for 15 minutes, giving them a gentle shake halfway through the cooking time.

Die-hard air fryer fans cook whole meals in theirs, layering up various carbs, protein and vegetables to cook efficiently with minimal washing up. Something like steak and chips will cook in under 20 minutes with minimal intervention. Oily fish is particularly suited to air fryer cooking – which cooks the outside of foodstuffs more quickly then the centre ensuring a seared fillet that stays tender and flaky. Their natural oil content keeps the fillets deliciously moist, all that they need is seasoning with salt and pepper and a light dusting of your favourite

Photo by Logan Weaver | @LGNWVR on Unsplash

Photo by Malidate Van: www.pexels.com

Health & Wellbeing

bustling with waders while starlings from the East arrive to give us their unique murmurations that colour the sky in black tidal waves.

By Susie Curtin

JANUARY is named after Janus, the Roman God with two heads – one looking towards the past and the other towards the future. Janus represents transition and a doorway into a new beginning.

With the midwinter festivities far behind us, January is a month of change and optimism – it’s the only time in the year when anything seems possible.

Although I have never believed in New Year resolutions, entering this first month is like pressing ‘reset’ for me.

Dark winter nights afford me time and space to consider and treasure what is important to my wellbeing and what is not, and to decipher the difference between

what I want and what I need – especially so in 2023 as I must cut my cloth a little smaller.

For many people I know, January is perceived as a depressing month – it is cold, dark and there are bills to pay.

Yet outside my door, I see only hope. In fact, it is one of my favourite months in the countryside calendar.

As I stride out towards the river, the bright blue sky illuminates a reawakening land. The oak and ash trees are in bud and chandeliers of catkins have magically appeared overnight to light up the hedgerow – purplemaroon for alders and silver birch, and golden green for hazel – all made up of individual flowers ripening for pollination by the winter winds.

Daylight is lasting two minutes longer each day

The orange fronds of the willow trees and the cardinal reds of the dogwoods bring splashes of colour amid the bleak architectural splendour of trees that line the curvature of the hills.

The air is cool and clean and there is a wispy light that grows more intense and lasts two minutes longer each day.

The wood pigeons are already pairing up and doing their comical bobbing mating rituals, male wrens begin their search for nest sites to satisfy their females and the chaffinches are shining with the onset of their breeding plumage.

In fact, January is resplendent with bird-life – the reed-beds are

Meditations in nature: The joys of January London Road Clinic

There are flocks of lapwing, chattering fieldfare, redwing and snipe that hunker down in the sodden marshes, plus groups of tiny, long-tailed tits who huddle together to fend off the cold.

Then, of course, there are the first snowdrops and spring bulbs that are slowly emerging from the cold earth – beacons of life that light the future spring.

Back home in my garden, I watch the brilliant red sunset and then the crepuscular descent into night – all the time listening to our greatest winter songsters, the little robins who forage in the gloom and sing to defend their lonely territories.

As their sweet, melancholy song rings out into the hollow darkness, a shiver tells me it is time to go in and light the fire, and hunker down for the evening.

n Dr Susie Curtin (email curtin. susanna@gmail.com)

At 56 London Road we offer the very best in health & beauty care, we are conveniently located on the A30 with free parking and disabled access, in the pretty village of Milborne Port, near Sherborne Dorset. Established in 2005 this integrated clinic offers various therapies, with five well equipped and beautifully furnished therapy rooms, you can relax and know you are in safe hands.

Our highly trained therapists really do offer the very best in their field: - Physiotherapy and Acupuncture, Integrative counselling, Trauma & Bereavement counselling, Advanced clinical Massage, luxurious Hot Stones treatment, Bowen, Scarwork , Sports & remedial Massage, Soft Tissue Therapy, Shiatsu Therapy for chronic pain relief and long term health, Microblading by MJC, Professional Foot Care, Solution-focused hypnotherapy, Beautician, we welcome Serina Galliers and all her customers, Serina has joined us from her own Salon in Sherborne where she has traded for over 7 years. For further information: www.56londonroad.co.uk or call 01963 251860.

We have a fantastic business opportunity for an Osteopath or / and Chiropractor to join our team, for further information please do get in touch.

blackmorevale.net

SMART PHYSIO

By Alice Johnsen

THE decorations have been packed away for another year and the children are back at school. Another Christmas slips into the past, with all its memories, excitements and challenges forming part of our stories. So now, back to the routine of normal life. Routines are at the heart of all our lives and it is their familiarity and structure that holds us.

Over Christmas, when so

By Fiona Chapman

THE excitement of Christmas and New Year are sadly over and, as I write, I have just taken down all the decorations.

The dark, cold, wet days of January loom ahead. I find myself in bed at 9pm as it feels like midnight and very reluctant to get out of bed until it is at least showing a bit of light.

It is so important to get out and to walk in these winter months. It is never as bad out in the weather as it is sitting looking at it. A good blast of fresh air, wind, sun and

many of us take a break from our regular routines, we can feel their absence. What is normal for us gets a bit shaken up, which can be both re-charging and discombobulating.

Did you notice a difference? And how do you feel now you are ‘back in your normal routine’?

What would your answer be if I were to ask you if your routine works for you? If the answer ranges from ‘it’s not working for me at all’ to ‘it’s

even rain are actually incredibly therapeutic and if the wind is up, it can be quite exciting and exhilarating.

I usually find myself walking up Hambledon Hill most days, and although an effort to get up there, I never, ever regret it. Dorset spread out below, wind whipping your breath away.

The negative aspect of this time of year – other than the incessant mud – is achy joints and feeling stiff. The damp, in particular, and the cold really get into your joints and can make you

Book online: blackmorevale.net

How small changes Place your classified advert today 01963 400186 Reiki Wellness Reiki is a Japanese energy healing modality that is natural and holistic. Reiki can help relieve stress, anxiety and depression. Book your appointment today at Reiki Wellness, helping you return to inner joy and peace.

Qualified since 2004. Member of the UK Reiki Federation. Milborne Port Tel: 07966720007

FOOT CARE AT HOME

Professional, friendly service since 2005. All common problems treated. Blandford, Sturminster Newton, Gillingham and Shaftesbury areas. Ring 01258 820203 www.bmvfootcare.co.uk

can make a big difference to your life

ok-ish’, don’t worry.

A routine in our lives should be ever changing, even if only slightly. And the good news is a few small changes or tweaks here and there ripple out to have a greater effect.

It’s like setting your alarm clock ten minutes earlier – not a great loss of sleep but potentially a totally different, less stressful way to start your day. Or eating your evening meal 20 minutes earlier. Taking ten minutes extra over your lunch break.

The small changes are the ones that are most sustainable and make us just feel better about our everyday lives.

It really doesn’t have to be more complicated than that. Often people will start their coaching conversations saying they want to change everything but they are not sure how or even why.

In ten years of coaching, changing everything has never, not once, been what was really needed or indeed wanted.

Unhappiness or dissatisfaction about one area of your life can make you feel the whole thing is wrong.

It can shake up your outlook on your life and make you feel everything is going wrong – or worse still, you are getting everything wrong.

When your life feels like that, try taking a mental step back and breaking your life up into different sections. You will find some sections are, in fact, going pretty well.

It’s just the feelings about the more challenging parts of your life affect your thoughts about your whole life.

Try looking again at the areas causing you more anxiety. Can they be overcome by any small tweaks?

Have faith in the small changes to your everyday life. They can make a difference to the whole picture.

n Alice Johnsen is a life coach based near Sherborne (07961 080513; alicejohnsen.co.uk)

or shine, it’s great to walk in winter

feel old and arthritic, which is not very conducive to getting out and walking, but on the whole, movement is extremely good for you and the stiffness will go.

I started to find little nodules on my thumb and finger joints as well, which is a bit horrifying. This suggests to me that I am not getting rid of my toxins very well or have an overload of toxins and

the body is depositing them in my joints. Funnily enough, since I have stopped drinking coffee, they seem to have vanished again.

Alcohol is another toxin that does not help, as is sugar and processed meat. Harpagophytum procumbens, or Devil’s Claw, is a herb that may help some sufferers. It is native to the Kalahari Desert and been used for

years as a medicinal herb for the Bushmen, Hottentots and Bantus.

In the West, we use it mainly for rheumatic and arthritic conditions, and muscle pain. It is quite easy to come by and can be found in capsule form. It is used as a bitter tonic for gastrointestinal complaints and a blood cleanser that can help to reduce

cholesterol. In Africa, they also use Devil’s Claw for diabetes, hardening of the arteries, menstrual problems, headaches, heartburn and gout. It is best taken between meals when your stomach acids are less active.

n Fiona Chapman is a Naturopathic Herbalist (Pellyfiona@gmail.com)

100bhp, petrol, 5 speed manual gearbox, heated front screen, air con, BT, hill start assist, Free tax, 65mpg, new cambelt kit just done by Ford, 54,700 miles ......................Available soon £6450

2018 (18) Ford C-Max 1.0 EcoBoost Titanium Navigation MPV 5dr. 125bhp, petrol, 6 speed manual gearbox, sat nav, Bluetooth, cruise, auto lights & wipers, hill start assist, park sensors, sign recognition, 21,500 miles .................£13250

2015 (65) Hyundai i30

VW POLO. 2007. Blue. 124K miles. Spares or repair. Tax to Feb 2023. MOT to August 2023. £500.00. No Offers. 07802 443714

SUZUKI SX4. Late 07. One previous owner. All service records. 12 months MOT. £1800 ono. 07470 931044/ 01963 371315.

STORAGE FOR CARAVANS, boats and cars at Enford Farm near Blandford. 01258 450050 / 07704 813025

2012 1.2 HYUNDAI

ACTIVE, MOT 27/10/23 £20 Tax, £2,450 01963 363698

MOTORBIKES WANTED

Non runners and Unwanted Phone Keith on 07966 213344

of £200 paid for complete vehicles. Call Ryan on 07474 2018 (68) MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE CROSS 1.5l Petrol, 5dr, automatic, 161 BHP, 1 owner, ONLY 13,000 miles, AWD, 360 degree camera, 18in alloys, Apple carplay, Android auto, cruise control, parking sensors

2.5 petrol automatic, black with black leather, massive service record, 140,000 miles, MOT 03/07/23, will be sold as spares or repairs only.............£1,595 RARE OPPORTUNITY 2002 MGTF (SPORT) Registration M3GTF only 70,000 miles, drives lovely, MOT 10/08/23 (no advisories) will be sold as spares or repairs only.............POA 2013 (62) BMW 118D, convertible Exclusive Edition Finished in White, with Black fully electric soft top 6 speed manual (Euro 5) 1 former owner, service history 103,000 miles great performance and economy. Excellent value at..............£5,995 2017 (17) TOYOTA AVENSIS ESTATE business edition D4 (diesel 6 speed manual) finished in white, 1 former keeper, full dealer history, 86,000 miles, big specification, sat nav, reverse camera etc, fully loaded, only £20 tax and ULEZ compliant, great performance and economy, great value at.... £9,595 blackmorevale.net

OLD, INTERESTING & CLASSIC CARS wanted pre 1990s Any condition including unfinished projects Cash/Transfer Please Phone Paul 07890 096907

2017 (17) TOYOTA YARIS DESIGN 1.3 dual UVTI Euro6 5dr red/black, Petrol, 2dr, ONLY 13,000 miles, manual, 98 BHP, 16in alloys, air con, Bluetooth, cruise control, reversing camera, multi-information display, full dealer service history x4. £30 road tax….........£10,695

WANTED all types of car trailers, cash paid 07736 871092 6 Month warranty (extension available) Full workshop inspection Full service to manufacturer recommendations

of 2015 (65) MERCEDES BENZ C CLASS SALON C200 BLUE TEC AMG LINE, 1.6 automatic diesel, 41,000 miles, silver blue metallic,black leather,all usual refinements sat nav etc, fantastic performance and economy, a real eyeful, only £30 road tax........£16,495 2004 (04) MERCEDES 220CDI CLASSIC SE AUTO, finished in gold metallic, just reached 100,000 miles with full service history, only 2 owners, all usual Mercedes enhancements………...….............….£2,195 2015 (65) MERCEDES BENZ E350 AMG LINE BLUE TEC DIESEL AUTO CONVERTIBLE, black with black hood, black leather, only 50,000 miles with service history, every conceivable extra, what an eyeful...£15,995

scrap vehicles 2012 (12) VAUXHALL INSIGNIA SRI NAV VX/LINE CDTi, 6-speed manual, finished in grey metallic, 2 owners, 95,000 miles, with full Vauxhall service history, fantastic spec…….....................................…..…£3,695

front & back, Full Mitsubishi history…............................£17,995 2009 (09) SSANGYONG REXTON 270 SPR AUTO, diesel in dark blue metallic, one owner from new, service history, useful 4x4 vehicle, many extras including full leather, factory sunroof, great value at.. £3,995 2018 (68) RANGE ROVER EVOQUE TD4 2l Diesel, 5dr, automatic, 178 BHP, 29,000 miles, 4x4, Bluetooth, InControl touch navigation, 18in alloys, front & back parking assist, Land Rover 8 speaker sound system, heated window washer jets, full service history..£24,995

THANK YOU

TRISH, LEIGH AND KERI would like to thank family, friends, neighbours and John’s work colleagues for letters and cards of condolence and support, and for attending John’s funeral. A special thank you to John’s brother, Dudley, as well as the funeral directors, Merefield & Henstridge, the Reverend Kate McFarlane, Mayflowers and The Grove Arms, Ludwell. Thank you also for your kind donations of £185. Please accept this as a personal message of thanks.

PUBLIC NOTICES

Goods Vehicle Operators Licence

Autoworx Recovery Ltd of Valley Road, Tarrant Gunville, Blandford Forum, Dorset, DT11 8JN is applying for a license to use, Milborne Business Centre, Blandford Hill, Milborne St Andrew, Blandford Forum, DT11 0HZ as an operating centre for 3x Goods vehicles and 3x Trailers. Owners or occupiers of land (including buildings) near the operating centre who believe that their use or enjoyment of that land would be affected, should make written representations to the Traffic Commissioner at Hillcrest House, 386 Harehills Lane, Leeds, LS9 6NF, stating their reasons, within 21 days of this notice. Representors must at the same time send a copy of their representations to the applicant at the address given at the top of this notice. A guide to making representations is available from the traffic commissioners office.

Goods Vehicle Operator’s Licence

David Cahill trading as Cahill Welding Services LTD of Unit 5 & 6, The Saw Mills, Middlemarsh, Nr Sherborne, DT9 5QW is applying to change an existing licence as follows: To keep an extra 2 trailers at the operating centre at: Unit 5 & 6, The Saw mills, Middlemarsh, Nr Sherborne, DT9 5QW and to add an operating centre to keep 4 vehicles and 8 trailers at: Cahill Welding, The Marsh, Henstridge Airfield, Templecombe, BA8 0TN. Owners or occupiers of land (including buildings) near the operating centre(s) who believe that their use or enjoyment of that land would be affected, should make written representations to the Traffic Commissioner at Hillcrest House, 386 Harehills Lane, Leeds, LS9 6NF, stating their reasons, within 21 days of this notice. Representors must at the same time send a copy of their representations to the applicant at the address given at the top of this notice. A guide to Making Representations is available from the Traffic Commissioner’s office.

Licensing Act 2003 Notice of application for the GRANT of a

PREMISES LICENCE

Proposed licensable activities: Sale and supply of alcohol

Name of applicant: Brew Bros Shop Ltd

Address of premises: Unit 5-6 The Sidings, Station Road, Stalbridge, Dorset. Post Code: DT10 2SS

Date by which Responsible Authorities and other persons may make representations: 11th February 2023 A record of the application made to the Licensing Authority will be kept on a register at the address given below and the register may be inspected during normal office hours. All representations regarding this application MUST BE IN WRITING and relate to the Prevention of Crime & Disorder, Protection of Children from Harm, Public Safety or Prevention of Public Nuisance and sent to: Dorset Council, Licensing Department, County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester DT1 1XJ.

It is an offence knowingly or recklessly to make a false statement in connection with an application. Copies of representations are given to the applicant as required by the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005.

DEATHS

BARRY HALL – Wake

The Phoenix 26th January 1pm

RSVP 07475 210446

JOHN HENRY WIGGS

Sadly, passed away on Wednesday 28th December 2022 at Dorset County Hospital. A loving Husband, Father and Grandad. Sleep peacefully. For more information, please contact Lesley Shand Funeral Service, Blandford – 01258 453425

MARTIN JOHN BRICE

On 8th January 2023 Martin aged 89 of Shaftesbury died at Salisbury District Hospital. Well beloved, valued by his family and many more. Funeral takes place at Salisbury Crematorium on Thursday 9th February at 12 noon. No flowers please but donations, if desired, for Medicins Sans Frontieres may be made online at www.mhfd.co.uk or a cheque made payable to the charity can be sent c/o Merefield & Henstridge F/D, Ridgemount, Pitts Lane, West Melbury, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 0BU, Tel: 01747 853532. Friends unable to attend the service are warmly invited to Father’s House from 2.30pm for light refreshments and to share memories.

DENNIS GEORGE FUDGE

Passed away, peacefully, on the 6th January 2023 at The Old Vicarage Care Home Leigh, aged 99 years. Husband to the late Grace and dearly loved father, grandfather and great grandfather. Funeral Service will take place on Friday 27th January at 12.30pm at St Andrew’s Church, Leigh. No flowers please. Donations, if desired, for Dorset Submariner’s Association or St Andrew’s Church Fabric Fund (church bell maintenance.) Enquiries to AJ Wakely and Sons, 16 Newland, Sherborne, DT9 3JQ. Tel. 01935 816817.

ANITA JANE MOODY née EMMETT

On 24th December 2022 peacefully in Salisbury District Hospital after a short illness aged 51 years, of Shaftesbury. A loving wife to David, much loved Mum to Samantha and Tanya and a loving Sister, Aunt and Nanny who will be sorely missed by all family and friends. Funeral service takes place at St Peter’s Church, Shaftesbury on Monday 23rd January at 11.00am followed by interment. No flowers please but donations for Cancer Research UK may be made online at www.mhfd.co.uk or send a cheque made payable to the charity c/o Merefield & Henstridge F/D, Ridgemount, Pitts Lane, West Melbury, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 0BU. Tel: 01747 853532

GISELA MAIDMENT (née Ahlers)

On the 24th December 2022 at Yeovil District Hospital. Gisela Sophie (Mrs M) aged 88 years of Stalbridge. Funeral service at Yeovil Crematorium on Friday, 3rd February at 2pm. Family flowers only please, donations if desired for the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance Trust. C/o Peter Jackson Funeral Services, Mons, High Street, Henstridge, BA8 0RB. Tel: 01963 362570

DEATHS

HAMBLIN FRANK CYRIL

on 1st January 2023, in hospital aged 95 years.

A much loved, dad, grandad and great grandad.

Funeral Service at St Mary’s Church Cerne Abbas on Wednesday 25th January 2023, at 2.30pm.

Family flowers only please. Donations for Alzheimer’s Society and Dementia UK may be sent by cheque payable to Woods Funeral Services c/o 11a Icen Way, Dorchester. DT1 1EW. Telephone 01305 250425.

CAROL MORLEY

On the 30th December 2022, Carol aged 78 years of Wincanton. Much loved Wife of the late Ted Morley. Dearly loved Mum, Gran and Great-Gran. Funeral service at St Peter & St Paul’s Church, Wincanton on Wednesday, 25th January at 11am. Family flowers only please, donations if desired for The Pituitary Foundation or Mind in Somerset. C/o Peter Jackson Funeral Services, Mons, High St, Henstridge, BA8 0RB. Tel: 01963 326570

EDITH MURIEL TULK

Passed away peacefully at Yeovil District Hospital on 31st December 2022 aged 99 years of Marnhull. Very much loved Mum. Loved and missed by all who knew her. Funeral service at Yeovil Crematorium on Monday, 23rd January at 3.20pm. Family flowers only, donations please to Dorothy House or Weldmar Hospicecare. C/o Peter Jackson Funeral Services, Mons, High St, Henstridge, BA8 0RB. Tel: 01963 362570

CAROLINE BRIDGET PARSONS

Passed away peacefully at home in Donhead St Mary, on 5th January 2023, aged 80 years, late of Stourhead.

A much loved wife of Ivan and loving mother to Nick and Andy, will be sadly missed but fondly remembered always. Funeral service to take place at Yeovil Crematorium on Thursday 2nd February at 12:40.

Family flowers only please. Donations if desired, by cheque made payable to North Dorset District Nurses may be sent to Bracher Brothers, Newbury, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 4QL

Beryl Fowler (Nee HORDER)

On 10th January 2023 aged 83 passed away peacefully at home after a long illness. Much loved wife to Bill, Loved mother to Rob and the late Jayne , Dearly loved Grannie and Great Grannie Ber. Will sadly be missed by all the family and friends. Funeral service at Poole Crematorium Tuesday 24th January at 2.30pm. Family flowers only, but Donations to Cystic Fibrosis Trust. C/o Colin J Close. Tel: 01258 453133 www.close-funeral.co.uk

TANSWELL Greta Margaret Amelia

Passed away on 20th December 2022 aged 85 years. She will be sadly missed by all her family and friends.

Her cremation service will take place at Salisbury Crematorium on Tuesday 17th January 2023 at 11am, followed by a service of Thanksgiving at St Johns Church in Tisbury, Wiltshire, at 1pm (all welcome to both). Flowers or donations welcome. Donations for the Asthma Clinic at Tisbury Surgery can be sent directly to them. The family wish to thank everyone for their cards, messages, and flowers. Thank you also to the Revd. Jo Naish, Revd. Juliette Hulme and Chris White Funerals for all their support and advice. Also, a special thanks to Albany House Nursing Home in Tisbury for the wonderful care given to Greta throughout her very happy years there. All enquiries c/o Chris White Funerals, 12 South Street Wilton, SP2 0JS. Tel 01722 744691.

PETER HERBERT VAUGHAN HUTCHINGS “Vaughan”

On 3rd January 2023 peacefully, with his family by his side, in Salisbury District Hospital aged 90 years of Shaftesbury. Beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, brother-in-law, father-in-law, uncle and friend to many. Funeral service takes place at Yeovil Crematorium on Monday 30th January at 12 noon. No flowers please but donations if desired for the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance or The Stars Appeal, SDH may be made online at www.mhfd.co.uk or send cheques made payable to either charity c/o Merefield & Henstridge F/D, Ridgemount, Pitts Lane, West Melbury, Shaftesbury, Dorset. SP7 0BU. Tel. 01747 853532

STANLEY ALAN SMITH (Stan)

Passed away peacefully in Dorset County Hospital aged 86 on Thursday 29th December. Much loved Husband to Nina, a fun-loving Uncle to many and brother-in-law to Maureen.

Funeral service to take place at Blandfor d Forum Parish Church on Thursday 26th January at 10am. Family flowers only but donations if desired for Guide Dogs for the Blind to Lesley Shand Funeral Service, 28 East Street, Blandford, DT11 7DR – Tel: 01258 453425

ANNE MARGARET HARDING (Harding’s Bookshop)

Beloved mother of Elizabeth, Nicholas, Anthony and Christopher.Grandmother to William, Zephyr, Jasmine and Eliana.

Died 26th December 2022 after a short illness. The funeral service was held at Winterborne Houghton Parish Church on Thursday 19th January 2023.

Donations, if desired for Hope and Homes for Children, cheques payable to the charity c/o Colin J Close Funeral Service, Peel Close, Salisbury Road, Blandford DT11 7JU. Tel: 01258 453133

WATT Rosemary Valda

Died at home on 13th December 2022. Much loved wife of the late A.S. (Tim) Watt, mother of Nicholas, Andrew and William, grandmother, aunt and friend.

Memorial service at St Leonard’s, Pitcombe, Somerset on 10th February 2023, at 2:00pm.

No flowers, please, but donations to the British Heart Foundation. All enquiries to Harold F. Miles, undertakers 01963 440 367

DEATHS

HAZEL MARGARET WATKIN

On 1st January 2023, passed away in Salisbury District Hospital aged 95 years, of Shaftesbury. Loved and sadly missed by all her family. Funeral service takes place at St James Church, Shaftesbury on Wednesday 25th January at 11.00am followed by interment. No flowers please but donations, if desired, for The Salvation Army and Cats Protection may be made online at www.mhfd.co.uk or a cheque, made payable to either charity, can be sent c/o Merefield & Henstridge F/D, Ridgemount, Pitts Lane, West Melbury, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 0BU. Tel: 01747 853532

LUKE TURNER

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Luke Humphrey Peter Turner on 11th December 2022, aged 38 years.

A much loved son, brother, father and uncle who will be truly missed. Funeral service has already taken place in Wimborne. Donations in memory of Luke to Autism Initiatives c/o Lesley Shand or www.funeraldirector.co.uk/luke-turner

STANLEY BARNICOAT

passed away peacefully at The Old Rectory, Stalbridge on 4th January aged 93 years.

Beloved husband of late Julia and father of Heather and Graham. Will be sadly missed by all who knew him.

Funeral Service will take place at Yeovil Crematorium on Wednesday 8th February at 12.00 noon. c/o Bracher Brothers, Newell, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4EZ Tel: 01935 813479

HEARN Martine Titania

Aged 24 years of Bruton. On 4th January 2023, tragically in a road accident. A much loved partner, mum, daughter, granddaughter, sister and friend. Funeral Service at St Mary’s Church, Bruton on Friday 3rd February at 12 noon, followed by a private interment in the Cemetery. Family flowers only please, donations in memory of Martine are being invited for the P.D.S.A, Bruton Primary School and Winston’s Wish. C/O Harold. F. Miles, Funeral Directors, South Cadbury, BA22 7ES. Telephone. (01963) 440367.

ROBINSON James (Jim)

Passed away peacefully on 7th January 2023, aged 72 in Yeovil District Hospital.

Loving husband to Wendy, father, grandfather and brother. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him.

Donations in memory of Jim for the R.N.L.I. and all enquiries to A. J. Wakely & Sons Ltd, The Old Police Station, Carrington Way, Wincanton, BA9 9JS. Tel: 01963 31310

THOMSON Jean Margaret

passed away peacefully on the 29th December, in her own home, aged 96. A beloved wife of the late Roy, a much-loved mother, grandmother and great grandmother. Funeral service was held at West Wiltshire Crematorium, Semington on Thursday 19th January at 3.30pm. Donations, if desired, to The Mothers’ Union (Mere Branch). L C Hill and Son Funeral Directors.

KEITH BASTABLE

Suddenly on the 11th January 2023 surrounded by his family. Keith aged 73 years of Henstridge. A much loved husband, dad, grandad & brother. Funeral service at St Nicholas Church, Henstridge on Tuesday, 31st January at 11am. Enquiries to Peter Jackson Funeral Services. Tel: 01963 362570

PAMELA MITCHELL

Passed peacefully at Salisbury Hospital on Thursday 5th January. Much loved wife to Doug for 62 years and a wonderful Mum and Granny. She will be sadly missed by us all. No flowers please, donations if desired to Salisbury Hospital Stars Appeal. Funeral to take place Wednesday 1st February 2023 at 12.00 at St Peters Church, Shepton Montague. Wake to follow at the Village Hall. All welcome.

PIERO MATTEI

Died peacefully in Salisbury Hospice on 27th December 2022. His funeral will take place on Friday 27th January at St Benedict’s Catholic Church, Gillingham, at 11:00am. Reception afterwards at Methodist Church Hall, Gillingham. No flowers please but any donations received will be sent to STARS APPEAL, Salisbury Hospital, nominating the haematology department in memory of Piero

DAVID MOORE

Passed away Friday 23rd December aged 84 in Yeovil District Hospital after a long illness. Loving husband to Liz. The cremation will be held at Yeovil Crematorium on Wednesday 25th January at 10.40am for people wishing to attend.

ALFRED THOMAS WHITE

Passed away peacefully in Salisbury Hospital on 24th December aged 100 from Fovant. A much loved father to Derek who will be sadly missed by family and friends.

Funeral Service to take place at Salisbury Crematorium 25/01/23 at 2pm. Family flowers only.

Donations for British Heart Foundation c/o Bracher Brothers Funeral Directors, Newbury, Gillingham SP8 5QL

BRENDA MARY DOBSON

Passed away peacefully on 2nd January aged 82 Much loved MUM to Andrew, Stephen Lisa and Lisa Grandma to Oliver.

Funeral service to be held at St Peters & St Pauls Blandford Forum Thursday 26th January 2PM

PETER JAMES BURR

On 28th December 2022, peacefully in The Cedars Nursing Home aged 85 years, of Shaftesbury. Husband to the late Isobelle, a much loved Dad to Alison, Brother and friend to many. Funeral service takes place at Salisbury Crematorium on Thursday 26th January at 1.00pm. No flowers please but donations for Macular Society or Dementia UK may be made online at www.mhfd.co.uk or a cheque, made payable to either charity, can be sent c/o Merefield & Henstridge F/D, Ridgemount, Pitts Lane, West Melbury, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 0BU. Tel: 01747 853532.

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REUBEN JAMES LAMONT

Passed away peacefully on January 2nd 2023 aged 78 years. A much-loved husband, devoted father and grandfather, sadly missed by family and friends. Funeral service at Witchampton Parish Church, BH21 5AP on Tuesday January 24th 2023 at 12 noon. Family flowers only please. Donations in aid of MS Society donate. mssociety.org.uk or contact Darren McDonald Funeral Directors, 26 Pennyfarthing Street, Salisbury, SP1 1HT. 01722 330598.

OSBORNE JOHN

Passed away peacefully at home in Charlton Horethorne on 4th January 2023. A much loved husband, dad, nandad, brother, uncle and friend. The Funeral Service will take place at noon on 27th January in St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Charlton Horethorne. Family flowers only, donations in memory of John are being invited for the M.S Society and the local Church.

C/O Harold F. Miles, Funeral Director, South Cadbury, BA22 7ES. Telephone (01963) 440367

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Recruitment

TRACTOR DRIVER/ GENERAL FARM WORKER required on Family Dairy Farm. No milking required, hours negotiable, Upton Noble. 07809 601341

LIVE IN CLEANER/ DOMESTIC HELP REQUIRED in Donhead St Mary. c.10 hours per week in lieu of rent with one bed cottage provided. General domestic duties, animal care, occasional driving etc.. Non-smoker only. Single or couple. Further work available in village if required. Contact: cslettengren@ hotmail.com

SITUATIONS WANTED

WORK WANTED Graduated from University of East London in Psychology 1-1 counselling or with a company on contract Sturminster Newton area. 07548 190783

15 YEARS EXPERIENCE LIVE-IN CARER for the elderly and dementia available. Excellent references, DBS certificate, covidvaccinated and boosterjabbed, driver with own car. Contact 07711 356062

SKILLED GROUNDS

MAINTENANCE/GARDENER REQUIRED

Due to additional regular contracts Hanard Contract Ser vices Ltd requires a grounds maintenance/gardener to join us for a variety of sites in the Dorset/Hampshire area.

Applicants must be:

• Competent in horticulture and have a good working knowledge of plants, shrubs and trees, or be prepared to learn.

• Competent and preferably trained in, the use of garden machiner y, strimmers, hedge cutters, lawn mowers, pole saws, and most importantly a brush!

• PA1/PA6 trained in the safe use of pesticide/herbicide spraying.

• Able to work alone, or, as part of a small team.

• Versatile, punctual, polite and respectful

• steps per day.

• B e familiar with Health & Safety regulations and paper work.

• Able to participate in, or already have a DBS check.

• Full clean UK Driving licence

• Available full or part time. skills are essential, both with customers and also bringing customers happiness and wellbeing To apply

EXPERIENCED FEMALE CARER available in the Wincanton area for all aspects of care ranging from companionship to more advanced. DBS, covid vaccinations. Call Sarah on 07530 631847

EXPERIENCED SELF EMPLOYED CARER

available Monday - Friday. Insured, DBS, references. Blandford Forum and surrounding areas. Call: 07342752273 Email: Personalcare121@hotmail. com

Administrative Assistant

20 hours per week - mornings Term Time

Leweston School is seeking an organised, efficient and friendly Administrative Assistant to support the Prep School during the busiest time of the day.

This post would suit someone who enjoys a fast-paced work environment where tasks will be varied and interesting. A kind and caring disposition is essential as is the ability to be cheerful organised and helpful. The successful candidate will have an excellent telephone manner and be thorough and conscientious.

Previous administrative experience is desirable.

For further information and to download an application form please visit our website: https://www.leweston.co.uk/information/work-with-us Closing date for Applications: 3rd February 2023

Recruitment

LOOKING FOR SEMIEXPERIENCED and willing Dairyman/general farm work. Apply to Factory Farm, Fifehead Magdalene, Gillingham, Dorset, SP8 5RS or 07792537839.

NO TEXTING

ASSISTANT HERDSPERSON

FULLTIME required 450 cows 60 point rotary must be reliable hard working and have sense humour to work in a 3 man team good stockman skills general farm work calf feeding good salary with good accomodation regular time off for right person contact Paul 07775431835 Near Castlecary

CHURCH ORGANIST St

Martin’s Church, Lillington, near Sherborne, seeks a new organist to play our recently restored organ for regular vibrant Sunday services. We have a wonderful vicar and very friendly congregation! Please phone Mark Church Warden 07817845775

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Kitchen

You’ll need to have at least two years previous experience of working in a professional kitchen, catering for specialist diets and providing meals for large groups of people. Ideally, you will also hold a Basic Food Hygiene Certificate and a Level 2 Diploma in Food Production and Cooking or equivalent but this is not essential. You’ll be confident in engaging with our residents to understand their individual needs and enjoy being part of the wider team in the home.

Serving tea, coffee and snacks, assisting with general food preparation and service and keeping the kitchen clean and tidy.

Kitchen experience, although desirable, is not a necessity as full training will be given. To apply and for more

St. Gregory’s Church Marnhull

Seek to appoint an experienced and enthusiastic organist and choir director to develop our strong church musical tradition and our small, enthusiastic and able SATB choir for today and for the next generation.

The focus is on church worship on Sundays and key festivals, together with opportunities for community -wide recitals.

Top RSCM rates are given. Post to start by Easter 2023.

For further information please contact the parish priest Revd Gaenor Hockey gaenor@protonmail.com 01258 821605.

Events Co-Ordinator

ensuring that all event organisation details are completed in a timely manner to protect revenue production and provide excellent coordination standards across all departments.

In addition to the co-ordination of events you will be responsible for ensuring that the School’s facilities are prepared and maintained appropriately for both internal and external events.

Ideally you will be an Events Management graduate with previous proven success in co-ordinating events in a busy environment.

For further information and to download an application form please visit our website: https://www.leweston.co.uk/information/work-with-us

Closing date for Applications: 31st January 2023

By Lynn Broom Longmead Veterinary Practice

REMOVAL of body parts for preventative or cosmetic reasons has long caused emotive responses between those in favour and those against the procedures. They are all considered mutilations.

Tail docking for cosmetic reasons has been illegal in the UK since 2006. It remains legal if the tail is docked by a veterinary surgeon before the puppy is five days old and where evidence is provided that the puppy is likely to be used for working purposes. The puppy must be individually identified using a microchip and appropriate documentation completed.

It is illegal to show a dog with a docked tail – born after 2007 – unless it is of a working breed and has documentation to support the reason for the docking. There is evidence to show that puppies feel pain during the docking procedure, and it can lead to chronic tail pain, but supporters of it report the benefits of reduced risk of

tail injuries as working adults.

Dew claws are the first digit on a dog’s foot and are the equivalent of our thumb. Many individuals are born without them, most have a single claw on both front legs and, less frequently, on the hindlimbs as well. Dew claws can be removed in puppies before their eyes open. Removing them after this age is an act of surgery and requires an anaesthetic.

Reasons for removal are less clear. Most dogs’ dew claws are at no higher risk of injury than other claws so long as the claw is kept clipped. Most dogs use their dew claws for gripping and during cornering when running. Amputating dew claws in an adult is the equivalent of removing any other digit with the associated pain and risks of bleeding and should not be done without good reason.

It is illegal to crop a dog’s ears for cosmetic reasons in the UK and much of Europe. Sadly, dogs with cropped ears are becoming more popular within certain parts of society and the British Veterinary Association (BVA) is campaigning for the

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Companions at Peace Pet Cremation

Independent family run business offering a very personal, caring pet cremation service to bereaved pet owners.

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law to be tightened in this regard. People with dogs with cropped ears will usually claim they were imported already cropped and the BVA is trying to get this loophole closed.

Ear cropping has no benefit to the dog and is an unnecessary mutilation carried out purely because some people like the look of a dog with cropped ears.

Declawing of cats is a fairly common procedure in the USA

but remains illegal in the UK and has no benefit to the cat. It is generally performed to prevent clawing damage to soft furnishings.

Understanding why a procedure is done and what its benefits – or disadvantages –are to the animal is important. Making decisions based purely on aesthetics is morally and ethically wrong and should be outlawed by today’s society.

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Old Market Car Park, Hound St, Sherborne, DT9 3AB 01935 812107

Declawing of cats is a fairly common procedure in the USA but illegal in the UK as it has no benefit to the animal

PHOTO: Josep Monter Martinez/ Pixabay

MID DORSET BRANCH CATS PROTECTION

Cats looking for new homes

BEHAVIOUR TIPS

Tip #32: Puppy series – adolescence

ADOLESCENCE in dogs always presents some challenges to owners, even if puppyhood went relatively smoothly! Adolescence can really test even the most dedicated owner – those who have put a lot of time and effort into training and socialising their puppy and preventing unwanted behaviours from being rehearsed.

This happens for two main reasons. Firstly, sex hormone levels in adolescence can fluctuate wildly and can, at times, be as much as seven times higher than levels found in mature adults. With this comes an increased interest in sex, behaviours designed to communicate with and attract members of the opposite sex or complete with members of the same sex.

For details, please call our helpline on 01258 858644 or visit our website, www.cats.org.uk/blandford

LOST CATS

If you have lost a cat, please contact us via our website, phone or Facebook. Please make sure we have a contact phone number so we can get in touch with you quickly if needed.

FOUND CATS

If you regularly see a cat in your garden or down your street that you don’t think has an owner, please give us a call – it might be a lost cat that could be reunited with its owner.

We are still offering neutering and micro-chipping for £5 in postcode areas DT10 and DT11, SP7 and SP8, and BH21. Phone: 01258 268695.

MID DORSET CATS PROTECTION

Loving homes needed for cats and kittens in our care.

For more details, please call our helpline 01258 858644 or visit our website: cats.org.uk/blandford

(Formerly Blandford & Sturminster)

Sponsored by Longmead Veterinary Practice Ltd

Secondly, the brains of adolescent dogs – and, in fact, all mammals – are not yet mature and this can affect behaviour in quite specific ways. Adolescent dogs – and humans – will struggle to cope with frustration, may experience a strong urge to move away from safety/parental figures and explore, and are likely to have a much reduced perception of risk. As this has nothing to do with fluctuating or elevated hormones, this is not prevented by early neutering.

Next time we look at how to get through your dog’s adolescence.

n Helen Taylor BSc(Hons) ADipCBM; certificated Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CCAB); ABTC register of Clinical Animal Behaviourists and Animal Training Instructors; full member APBC & APDT (881); phone: 07951 985193; help@helentaylordorset.co.uk; www. helentaylordorset.co.uk

Kevin, one. A very confident happy boy who needs to learn some boundaries

Bonnie, 14. Bonnie is a sweet chunky older lady who came to us through no fault of her own

Fudge, four. Looking for an understanding home to call his own

Trigger, two. Gorgeous chunky chap who was found as a stray

A DORSET gamekeeper has admitted being in possession of the remains of birds of prey, as well as keeping banned pesticides, and breaches of shotgun and firearms licences.

The remains of nine common buzzards – including six confirmed shot and one poisoned – were discovered after a search of the Wimborne St Giles home of Paul Allen, a former gamekeeper at a nearby estate.

Firearms being kept in breach of licences were also discovered.

Earlier this month, 54-yearold Allen, of Brockington Down, pleaded guilty to seven charges at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court.

They were two charges of possession of six dead common buzzards and remains of three more in March 2021; three charges of the keeping of banned pesticides in March

2021; and two charges of failing to comply with conditions of shotgun and firearms certificates in March 2021.

He will be sentenced on February 16.

After the hearing, the RSPB called the case ‘shocking’ and appealed for greater regulation of pheasant shoots to address the climate and nature crises, and reduce crimes against birds of prey.

The case against Allen began in November 2020 when a member of the public found a dead red kite lying close to a dead rat on a private pheasant shoot on the Shaftesbury Estate, near Wimborne St Giles.

Dorset Police began investigating and later, toxicology examinations confirmed the presence of the highly toxic pesticide bendiocarb in both species.

Bendiocarb, which in some forms has now been banned,

was persistently abused for the illegal poisoning of birds of prey and other animals, the RSPB said.

A multi-agency search of Allen’s home and surrounding land was undertaken in March 2021, led by Dorset Police and assisted by the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), Natural England and RSPB Investigations.

There, officers discovered six dead buzzards near the remains of a bonfire, including one that was suspected as having been shot within the preceding 24 hours.

Two more shot buzzards were found during the search.

An avian specialist at the Natural History Museum examined the remains of the fire, which was collected by investigators and confirmed the presence of at least three further buzzards.

A banned product containing the pesticide bendiocarb was found in Allen’s vehicle and in an insecure outbuilding, along with two bottles of strychnine – another deadly poison, banned in 2006.

Two full tins of Cymag – a lethal fumigant pesticide banned since 2004 – were also found outside under an upturned pond liner.

All birds of prey are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and killing them is against the law, punishable by an unlimited fine and/or jail.

RSPB investigations officer Thomas Grose said: “Finding so many illegally killed buzzards was truly shocking.

“This is yet another example of a gamekeeper being prosecuted in connection with raptor persecution offences on land managed for gamebird shooting.

“In addition to all the agencies involved in this case, we would particularly like to thank Claire Dinsdale, formerly of Dorset Police, and currently with the NWCU, an exemplary officer who has devoted her career to tackling wildlife crime.”

The RSPB’s Birdcrime report for 2021 found over two-thirds of confirmed raptor persecution incidents were in relation to land managed for gamebird shooting.

Dorset was named the county with the second-highest number of confirmed raptor persecution incidents in the UK that year.

Mark Thomas, UK head of investigations at the RSPB, added: “Tragically, only days into the new year, we already have yet another highly significant bird of prey persecution case before a court.

“This is a national problem which requires urgent government attention and solutions, as identified in their own report published in December 2021.

“In the time of a climate and nature emergency there can be no place for raptor persecution.

“We are therefore calling on Government to better enforce existing regulations relating to pheasant shoots, and to consider the introduction of new sanctions to act as a meaningful deterrent to such appalling crimes.”

Dorset Police and the RSPB were involved in the search of Allen’s home, where the remains and pesticides were found PHOTO: RSPB

bTB jabs stressful time for farmers

HAPPY new year to you all, let’s hope 2023 will deliver better news than last year – the loss of our Dear Queen Elizabeth, the invasion of Ukraine and the challenge of different weather patterns.

We can look forward to the King’s Coronation, and hopefully peace in Ukraine.

Here on the farm we had a routine bTB – bovine tuberculosis – test, which involves injecting an inoculant into the necks of the animal after clipping the hair of the area and measuring the thickness of the skin. Then, three days later, the reading of the results bringing tension and dread with it.

If an animal has a positive or even an inclusive reaction, it shuts the whole herd down from trading and puts an additional requirement for testing.

Firstly you have isolate the animal/animals as they await

their fate – taken away to be slaughtered. This is particularly difficult if a cow is pregnant. Then from the time they are taken the count starts to the next test 60 days later, then another 60 days for another test.

If all is well the herd is released from restrictions. If not, the procedure continues every 60 days. It takes two full days to test our cattle, about 630 animals! This involves drafting in extra help – Danj, our son-in-law helped as the Kitchen isn’t open on a Monday, the first day of the test, and Jen, our daughter-in-law, Tom’s wife, did the scribing –all measurements are recorded as the tester takes them.

Animals are brought to the race and sent through the cattle crush to have their ear tags read and the hair removed on the site for the two injections to be administered and the skin thickness recorded. The cattle

Farming podcast reaches the world

A PODCAST produced in Shaftesbury is reaching a global audience.

The ChewintheCud pod, primarily aimed at dairy farmers in the South-West, is thriving, less than ten episodes in.

The monthly show sees Andrew Jones, independent dairy and beef nutritionist, and genetic consultant Neil Greggor give their views on all subjects, although focussing on dairy, in a fun and informative way.

Using contacts they have in the industry in Dorset, and sometimes further afield, the pair discuss a different monthly topic with a guest with the aim of helping to make people think about what they are doing, without

preaching about what they should be doing.

With no commercial bias behind the podcast, and both having a lifetime of different roles and different experiences around the world in the industry, the pair aim to have fun highlighting different topics relevant to their listeners.

So far topics have included Grass Reseeding, It’s Showtime, On Farm Recycling, Foot Trimming, and On Farm Nitrogen Cracker. Their current podcast is ‘The Accidental Auctioneer’, featuring well-known local auctioneer Greg Ridout, from near Gillingham.

Not only have they had listeners from across the

are collected from their winter quarters or from the fields when they are out to pasture.

The mental stress for farmers at this time is horrid and for those caught up in a bTB breakdown is huge, and sadly many have lost their herds and/ or their businesses or even the farm, and some their lives, all due to the financial, physical or mental effects from bTB.

The test used to determine whether or not an animal has bTB hasn’t changed in years and doesn’t have the confidence of the farming community. Animals taken most often are found not to have any sign of the disease.

Human TB has become an increasing worry as vaccinations are not being routinely given anymore as part of the NHS vaccination programme. It was always given as a once in a lifetime protection in the form of the BCG vaccination on the

top part of the arm of teenagers. It still is given as a targeted vaccine to people coming from a country where human TB is a problem or when a close relative has had TB. It’s also offered to people who may be at a greater risk of infection –health care workers, veterinary and abattoir staff. People are travelling more and getting infections from abroad, bringing it home and sometimes spreading it before it’s been diagnosed.

Anyway, we can get on with our lives and put it to bed until the next test.

n Kimbers Farm Shop, The Kitchen at Kimbers, Somerset Trading Barn; Linley Farm, Charlton Musgrove BA9 8HD. Phone: 01963 33177; www. kimbersfarmshop.co.uk, info@ kimbersfarmshop.co.uk; opening times Tuesday–Friday 8.30am–5pm, Saturday 9.30am–4pm.

South-West, but also the whole of the UK, Europe, Australia, Asia and North America.

“While this is being done for a bit of fun, it’s also exciting to see the stats of where in the world people are listening to us, and we’ve already had a podcast in the top 25 per cent of all podcasts listened to in a month,” said Andrew.

Planned future topics include: Livestock: The Waste Feed Recycling Industry, Carbon Sequestration, Understanding Breeding Indexes, Reducing Protein

Usage on Farm, Using & Understanding Genomics, Reducing Johne’s on Farm, with many more planned with potential industry guests already offering to be part of future podcasts.

“We also want to hear some local farmers’ stories on particular subjects so already have a couple of them lined up for next year as well,” Andrew added.

The podcast is available from Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify and YouTube by simply

Andrew Jones

Neil Greggor

–

NFU welcomes more visas for foreign workers

DEFRA has announced that 45,000 visas for seasonal workers will be available for horticultural businesses next year, with the potential to increase by a further 10,000 if necessary.

Responding to the announcement, NFU deputy president Tom Bradshaw said: “This increase in visas is a positive step forward and will be a relief for many growers who are currently struggling to find the skilled workforce needed to continue producing the nation’s fruit, vegetables and ornamentals.

“For some growers, this announcement will have come too late with some already having made the difficult decision to reduce production in the coming season.

“Growers have faced a really tough year with soaring energy and fertiliser costs only adding to the pressure caused by significant workforce shortages, which resulted in £60 million of fruit and

GRAZING WANTED. 10 mile radius of Tisbury please call 0778 626 1967

vegetables being wasted in the first half of 2022 alone. And we expect the coming 2023 season to be equally challenging.

“We’ll be closely monitoring the situation this season and given the significant pressure growers are currently under, it’s important that any decision to release the further 10,000 visas is timely and made ahead of the peak season.

“Earlier this year, the Government’s food strategy reflected the sector’s ambitions to increase the amount of fruit and veg grown on home soil.

“To see this ambition realised, growers need longer term certainty.

“The NFU will continue to ask for a minimum of a five-year rolling SAW scheme to give growers the confidence to invest in their businesses, and boost Britain’s production of nutritious and affordable fruit and vegetables.”

Deadline to place your advert is the Friday before publication.

WANTED

STOCKMAN / GENERAL FARM WORKER required full time on modern dairy / arable farm near Shaftesbury. Phone 07711 281703

An Embdem Toulouse goose for a lonely gander called David who lost his wife to a fox. 07901 344603 / 01258 840016

Tough new measures to tackle illegal tree felling

ANYONE illegally felling trees could face an unlimited fine and even prison.

The punishments are among a package of new powers to be introduced as part of a crackdown on illegal tree felling in England, Defra and the Forestry Commission have announced.

Delivered as part of the Government's Environment Act, changes to the Forestry Act 1967 include:

• Felling trees without a felling licence, where one was required, will carry the penalty of an unlimited fine – up from the current limit of £2,500 or twice the value of the trees felled;

subsequent court-ordered Restocking Order – meaning any trees felled must be replanted – will put offenders at risk of imprisonment, in addition to an unlimited fine; • Restocking Notices and Enforcement Notices will be listed on the Local Land Charges Register, making them visible to prospective buyers of the land – potentially reducing the land’s value.

Landowners have been known to fell trees without a licence in place, in readiness to accept the fine if they are caught and penalised, to repurpose the previously wooded land for commercial reasons, Defra said.

The largest fine issued in recent years followed a report of illegal tree felling to the

Forestry Commission that took place in Hailsham, East Sussex, in January 2020.

Hastings Magistrates Court issued a fine of almost £15,000 for the felling of 12 oak trees, all about 150 years old.

Forestry Minister Trudy Harrison said: “Felling trees without a licence is illegal and can cause irreparable harmscarring landscapes, damaging habitats for wildlife and causing distress for local communities.

“These robust measures, implemented as part of our world-leading Environment Act, empower the Forestry Commission to tackle the issue head-on with unlimited fines and custodial sentences for the worst offenders.”

Forestry Commission chief executive Richard Stanford said: “I am very pleased to see these new powers written into law – as we expand the numbers of trees in England, we must end the blight of illegal tree felling.

“Legal tree felling is part of normal forest operations and

Conyers

essential to ensure a sustainable timber supply and these areas are restocked with new trees.

“The Forestry Commission will not hesitate to investigate allegations of illegal tree felling. Once reported, our top priority is to make sure the harm caused by the felling is put right by ensuring trees are replanted wherever possible. In cases which merit it, we will always seek prosecution.

“These new powers will hit people where it hurts – in their wallets. By guaranteeing that illegal felling is no longer a financially viable option for offenders, these measures are a significant step forward in the fight against this offence and will help in our endeavours to fight the climate emergency and nature crisis.”

Bringing greater transparency to the forestry enforcement process, these provisions will also clarify that when an Enforcement Notice is affected by a change in land ownership, the new land owner will inherit the responsibilities of an Enforcement Notice.

Furthermore, the new clauses will reclassify Restocking and Enforcement Notices as local land charges, which appear on the local land charge register. This register is routinely checked by conveyancers and will likely deter prospective buyers, removing some of the financial incentive to illegally fell trees.

Finally, the Forestry Commission will have powers to compel the landowner to provide information regarding who else has an interest in the land, including leaseholders and tenants.

While the owner will be listed on HM Land Registry, demonstrating who occupies a woodland can be more challenging – these measures will improve visibility in this regard and help to better target any appropriate enforcement action, Defra said.

Sedgemoor

The large selection of high yielding milkers and dispersal sale cattle (including Pedigree, Commercial and Crossbred) coupled with all types of dairy youngstock makes this one of our most comprehensive sales to date just when dispersals are starting to slow down across the country. Please note that Social Distancing will be in place and we ask that only one purchaser per farming business attend. Online Bidding Available on Marteye.

14th January 2023

NOVEMBER: Thurs 19th

SEDGEMOOR AUCTION CENTRE Dispersal Sale of milking and incalf heifer portion of the 9,160 kgs CIS recorded dairy herd being 200 Holstein Friesians for MB & LC Haskell (Removed from Beaulieu Wood Farm, Dorchester, Dorset for convenience of sale).

& CULL SOWS (12) to £170. BREEDING PIGS (2) to £86. WEANERS (55) to £38.

Others £96. Overall Ave £67.10. BREEDING EWES (204) to £143 (2x). FRIDAY 30TH BREEDING EWE SALE (459) to £122. GOATS (11) to £187. Overall ave £92.64. RAMS (12) to £225 (2x). Others £136. FRIDAY 30TH STOCK RAM SALE (72) to £610 for a powerful shearling. Others £470.

The West Country’s Gateway to National Abattoirs

The West Country’s Gateway to National Abattoirs Returns for Monday 2nd November 2020

Returns for Monday 16th December 2023

PRIME CATTLE (93) Steers UTM av 187.4ppk to 213.5ppk & £1,327.28. Others 209.5ppk, 209.0ppk, 208.0ppk & 206.5ppk. Others £1,293.63, £1,287.00, £1,283.12, £1,280.30 & £1,261.77. Heifers UTM av 180.7ppk to 214.5ppk (2x) and £1,310.50. Others 204.5ppk, 204.0ppk, 199.0ppk (2x) & 197.0ppk. Others £1,233.42, £1,205.05, £1,201.20, £1,168.50 & £1,138.32. BARREN COWS (56) Continental av 118.5ppk to 119.5ppk and £808.40. Others 117.5ppk. Native Beef av 103.6ppk to 126.5ppk and £906.75. Others 124.5ppk & 118.5ppk. Others £882.97 & £861.77. Dairy av 97.8ppk to 113.5ppk and £966.89. Others 112.5ppk & 109.5ppk. Others £945.73 & £914.63. FINISHED SHEEP (654) Lamb ave 202.94ppk to 231.0ppk and £115.00. Others 230.0ppk, 220.0ppk & 219.0ppk. Others £113.00, £108.00 (5x) & £106.50.

PRIME CATTLE (67) Steers UTM av 242.0ppk to 259.5ppk & £1,775.03. Others 258.5ppk, 256.5ppk & 243.5ppk. Others £1,704.92, £1,703.16 & £1,497.53. Heifers UTM av 237.3ppk to 264.5ppk and £1,646.58. Others 262.5ppk, 259.5ppk & 256.5ppk. Others £1,596.38, £1,526.18 & £1,525.62. BARREN COWS (48) Continental av 167.2ppk to 212.5ppk and £1,638.38. Native Beef av 165.0ppk to 201.5ppk and £1,633.28. Dairy av 168.8ppk to 185.5ppk and £1,691.87. FINISHED SHEEP Hoggs (511) ave 213.51ppk to 236.0ppk and £124.00. Others 233.0ppk, 232.0ppk & 229.0ppk. Others £120.00, £119.50 & £119.00.

North Petherton, Somerset, TA6 6DF (M5, Junction 24) Telephone: 01278 410278

TOTAL STOCK FOR THE WEEK 7143

Stock from across the West Country, sold to buyers from throughout the Nation

Returns for Saturday 31st October 2020

DAIRY CATTLE (66) Heifers to £2780. Others £2650. Cows to £1980. Others £1720. (900) STORE CATTLE & STIRKS - FORWARD STORES (606) Steers to £1890 (BRBX). Others £1750 (AA) £1670 (LIMX) & £1650 (2x) (S/HORN & SAL). Heifers to £1715 (CHX). Others £1600 (CHX) £1580 (LIMX) & £1460 (HEX). GRAZING COWS (21) to £1580 (BRBX). SUCKLERS (37) to £1360. STIRKS (294) Steers to £1170 (2x LIMX). Others £1100 (LIMX) £1050 (LIMX) & £990 (CHX). Heifers to £970 (CHX). Others £905 (CHX) £895 (LIMX) & £805 (BRBX). CALVES (355) - Beef Bulls to £280 (BRB). Others £278 (BRBX) £268 (BRBX) & £260 (2x) (BRBX & SIMX). Heifers to £270 (BRBX). Others £262 (BRBX) £260 (BRBX) & £250 (2x BRBX). Black & Whites to £150 (2x). (2747) SHEEP - STORE LAMBS (1286) to £101. Others £100 & £99. Overall Ave £74.25. CULL EWES & RAMS (1342) Ewes to £257. Others £218 & £80. Overall Ave £82.99. GOATS (61) to £155. COUPLES (13E+20L) to £230. Overall Ave £67.97/life. ORPHAN LAMBS (25) to £16. Overall Ave £9.64. (208) PIGS – STORE PIGS (127) to £152. CULL BOARS (4)

DAIRY CATTLE (73) Heifers to £2080. Others £2020. Cows to £1840. Others £1720. (1184) STORE CATTLE & STIRKS - FORWARD STORES (933) Steers to £1365 (FLE). Others £1300 (AA) £1295 (LIMX) & £1270 (LIMX). Heifers to £1265 (CHX). Others £1235 (CHX) £1200 (LIMX) £1155 (LIMX) & £1150 (HEX). GRAZING COWS (2) to £615 (LIMX). Others £580 (LIMX). SUCKLERS (4) Cows & Calves to £850 (4x). STIRKS (247) Steers to £880 (LIMX). Others £870 (3x LIMX & BRBX) £855 (BRBX) & £835 (LIMX). Heifers to £818 (LIMX). Others £720 (BRBX) & £700 (AA). CALVES (408) - Beef Bulls to £400 (CH). Others £398 (BRBX) £390 (BRBX) & £388 (BRBX). Heifers to £300 (2x BRBX & CHX). Others £285 (CHX) £278 (BRBX) & £275 (LIMX). Black & Whites to £182. Others £165. (4675) SHEEP Store Lambs (2720) to £100. Others £99, £96 & £95. Overall Ave £74.88. Cull Ewes & Rams (1197) Ewes to £137. Others £133. Rams to £166.

NOVEMBER: Sat 21st

SEDGEMOOR AUCTION CENTRE. The Collective Fodder Auction of Hay, Silage and Straw. Entries to be in by Monday 9th November 2020.

Slurry

Slurry Infrastructure Grant

Grant

Dairy, Beef and Pig farmers can now apply for grants to increase their slurry storage facilities. Grants of up to £250,000 are available to replace, built or expand existing stores to provide 6 months storage.

Dairy, Beef and Pig farmers can now apply for grants to increase their slurry storage facilities. Grants of up to £250,000 are available to replace, built or expand existing stores to provide 6 months storage.

Our Rural Agents can help you through every step of the new Slurry Infrastructure Grant including the eligibility checker, applying for planning permission, sourcing finance if required and submitting full applications on your behalf.

Our Rural Agents can help you through every step of the new Slurry Infrastructure Grant including the eligibility checker, applying for planning permission, sourcing finance if required and submitting full applications on your behalf.

Jack Denning-James

Jack Denning-James

01380 710535 Wiltshire & Hampshire

01380 710535 Wiltshire & Hampshire

Lucy Carnell 01935 423526 Somerset & Dorset George Whittaker 01305 236237 Dorset & Devon

Lucy Carnell 01935 423526 Somerset & Dorset

George Whittaker 01305 236237 Dorset & Devon

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