Letters

Seeing truth in print made me so happy

I write in order to offer my wholehearted support for Dr Colin Clark, and wish to thank you for printing the letter. What a refreshing change to hear such intelligence, humanity and common sense when this has been so disturbingly missing from both the government and mainstream media for so long. The facts, as portrayed by Downing Street and the BBC especially, haven’t been making any scientific or medical sense and it made me quite emotional to see straight facts actually being allowed in print. With regards to his comment about NHS staff being threatened into staying silent, there is an organisation set up to (among other things) legally support NHS whistleblowers; Covid 19 Assembly (covid19assembly.org). They have recently successfully supported Dr Sam White, after he was suspended by the General Medical Council, for speaking out about informed consent and safe, effective alternative treatments. The covid virus is now simply being used as an excuse to dismantle all that’s good about our society, and with it our mental health, education, economy and basic human rights are all being systematically damaged. Thank you again. R Thurgood

n Nearly all those dying from covid at this time are people who for some unfounded and irrational reason choose not to be vaccinated. Brainwashing children to believe in irrational and supernatural things from a very young age can lead to unfortunate consequences later in life. This is one of the many reasons I am against the religious indoctrination of young and defenceless children. Sadly in this country there are

Cartoon by Lyndon Wall justsocaricatures .co.uk

many who still believe promoting this ignorant drivel acceptable. David Woolacott

n Letter to Chris Loder (Yes, he did vote against ‘covid passports’ – see P5) Dear Chris, I am one of your constituents. Whenever I have cast a vote in an election in West Dorset, I have voted for the candidate of the Conservative Party (apart from your immediate predecessor). My reason being that, to date, the Tory candidate (along with the Party at large) has seemingly espoused moral virtue; free markets; sound money; human liberty and personal dignity. These are all of great importance to me, as I believe they are to Almighty God. My confidence that this Government continues to be unequivocally committed to these values has been eroding steadily over recent months and is now on the point of breaking. I thought I should let you know that unless you vote against the Government’s latest proposed covid measure (‘Plan-B; proof of vaccination etc.), I will not be supporting you at the next election and will sever my allegiance to the Conservative Party and actively campaign against you on behalf of the Reform Party. Sadly, given the Labour Party will be supporting the Government’s statist and liberty-eroding plans, there is little chance of them being defeated. But it is how YOU personally vote that I will be keenly watching. Thank you for all your efforts and positive work to date on behalf of your constituents –they are impressive and I am grateful to you for representing my interests in Parliament. But this matter is of such fundamental moral importance that no amount of ‘good works’ can justify voting for such a blatant erosion of liberty and human dignity. Malcolm Matson he quotes the Simpsons and refers to Peppa Pig in his keynote speeches, but we now have Mr Warburton following in his footsteps with the use of nursery rhymes. Mr Warburton tip-toed around his party’s ineptitude by giving us a history lesson about the Grand Old Duke of York to explain the self-inflicted debacle over the disgraceful behaviour of his ex-colleague Mr Paterson. If anything, he really ought to know that it is bad form to mention anything about a Duke of York at this time. At least Mr Fisher in his saccharine piece about gongs, royalty and empire had the good sense to steer clear and conveniently avoids mentioning the royal embarrassment altogether. Mr Warburton would do well to remember that Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Also, we had a treat from Mr Loder, surely Dorset’s weakest link, where he talks about keeping Dorset on the agenda for ‘levelling up’. Well done for getting the slogan in Chris and I’m sure that it will win you some praise from conservative central office, but the electorate would like to see a concrete example of what ‘levelling up’ means other than it being an empty slogan solely to serve short term electoral purposes. Perhaps next time he could write back better? Anyway, with the byelection in North Shropshire there’s an opportunity for the electorate to give some feedback to Westminster about the calamitous blundering of this government led by a narcissistic buffoon who seems to cut his own hair with a knife and fork. This country needs better leadership at this time. Charles Ellis, Blandford Forum

Let the spirit of Christmas be born

Down through the centuries, professional God-botherers like me have made a terrible mistake. We have put God in a box and said to everyone else: “He’s ours. You can only come to Him on our terms, and He can only come to you on our terms. Christmas is about being holy, obeying the rules and not enjoying yourselves too much. So there.” And the rest of the world has replied, “Suit yourself. Who cares? We’re going to party anyway – if the government allows! “Our big days are Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when we shop until we drop. So there.” And somewhere in between there is a great big void, a massive emptiness – a huge hole in the soul – because deep-down we all need the real message of Christmas, which is about the love of God which breaks out of every box in which religious people try to capture it, and insists on invading even the noisiest and most commercial secular ‘Xmas’ with a simple message of love, forgiveness and reconciliation – a message which in our hearts we long to hear. A black American Baptist minister, Howard Thurman, wrote beautifully about the need for Christ to be born in us. Born in 1899 and growingup in the strictly segregated South, he had to overcome every last obstacle of poverty and prejudice even to get a high school education, let alone the academic qualifications which propelled him into the top rank of American academics. He wrote beautifully, and no more so than when contemplating Christ’s coming into our world. As he looked out at a world of suffering and conflict, he could see that the world’s need is for Christmas to be ‘born’ in each one of us. He put it like this: ‘Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes; where little children age before their time, and life wears down the edges of the mind; where the old man sits with mind grown cold, while bones and sinew, blood and cell, go slowly down to death; where fear companions each day’s life, and Perfect Love seems long delayed – Christmas is waiting to be born: in you, in me, in all mankind.’ Christmas is upon us, but it is soon over, and will leave us untouched unless it is born in us. That can only happen when you welcome Christ into your heart and your life; when you let him engage with you and then let him change you. And then you will discover this Howard Thurman truth: ‘When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among the people, to make music in the heart.’ Have a very happy, and holy, Christmas.

What is a Lasting Power of Attorney, and do you need one?

If you need somebody to rely on in later years, perhaps to take over making decisions on your behalf, that person will need your formal written authority. This authority is given by creating a Lasting Power of Attorney. Lasting Powers of Attorney are documents that, when registered, mean you have given another person legal power to deal with financial decisions for you, or medical and welfare decisions. At Winterborne Legal Services we can help you to put suitable protection in place in your Lasting Power of Attorney, so that you can be comfortable giving power to your children. Making a Lasting Power of Attorney can be a big leap of faith for you, if you have any questions we are ready to help. Please call us on 07860 772274 or email

christine@winterbornelegal.co.uk

Will Writing & Legacy Planning

Protect Your Assets from Care Costs & Inheritance Tax

Will writing Lasting Power of Attorneys Asset Protection Trusts Property Protection Trusts Pre-paid funeral plans Inheritance Tax solutions & probate FREE home visits/Zoom meetings Protect your family & your assets FREE Consultations Fixed Prices on ALL products. No hidden extras or expensive hourly billing

Save on the expensive cost of High Street Solicitors Call us today on 07832 331594

We’re winning in a winter wonderland

Castle Gardens in Sherborne is shining bright after receiving first place in the national Christmas competition for its magical wonderland displays. And Brimsmore Gardens in Yeovil has come third in the Garden Centre category. Themes such as rainbows for the NHS, Mary Poppins and the natural world struck a chord with The Gardens Group, which also has taken people and planet into consideration scenery and props were constructed using repurposed and recycled materials, such as timber, fabric and cardboard. Many of the decorations have also been sourced from small scale makers and fair-trade businesses, with the hope that they last a lifetime and are passed down through the generations.

Appeal for witnessess after theft of tractor and rotavator

Rural crime officers investigating the theft of a tractor from a business near Sturminster Marshall are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward. The blue New Holland Compact tractor, with the registration HF12 HPN, was stolen between 5pm on Thursday, December 2 and 8am on Friday, December 3. It was stolen with an orange Howard rotavator on it. PC Sebastian Haggett, of Dorset Police’s Rural Crime Team, said: “We are carrying out a full investigation and I would appeal to anyone with information that might assist our enquiries, including anyone who has captured anything of relevance on CCTV or dashcam footage, to please come forward.” Farmers and rural business owners can arrange a crime prevention visit with the Rural Crime Team by emailing 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk. Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at dorset.police.uk, via email 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk or by calling 101 quoting occurrence number 55210194323. Alternatively, to stay 100 per cent anonymous, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or call Freephone 0800 555 111.

THEFT: The tractor and rotavator

By Miranda Robertson

newsdesk@blackmorevale.net A retired Royal Navy Wren is enjoying a new role helping people through interaction with her herd of alpacas. Four years ago Kim Williams, 63, realised the power of the super-fluffy creatures to heal people. She saw the pleasure on people’s faces as they visited her little herd, and decided she would open that experience up to anyone who needed it. Cary Alpacas was born, offering two-hour experiences including the chance to walk them. Today the non-profitmaking venture, based in Cary Fitzpaine, is host to adults with learning difficulties from Lufton College twice a week. Children taking some cleansing time out from radiation poisoning in Chernobyl enjoy taking care of the animals once a year, and there have been several ‘bucket list’ visits from people in their 30s and 40s. Kim said: “The adults with learning difficulties from Lufton do tasks around the farm. They are here about an hour and a half each day. They’re good to me and they get the pleasure of being here with the alpacas as well. “I’ve been involved for two years with Children of Chernobyl – their Sherborne branch raise money for 12 children to come to Somerset for three weeks to stay with local families and do various things around Somerset. They come here, and they go to my neighbour who has rescued donkeys and they visit pigs and chickens kept by other neighbours. They are such lovely children, so gentle with animals. It’s lovely to see.” One of the most emotional visits Kim hosts are those of terminally ill young people. She said: “I get choked because I think how lucky am I. These 30 and 40-yearolds – they’re so lively and smiling and laughing. “I’m here at 63, having had a wonderful life.” Kim also caters for autistic visitors and can arrange private visits. And she does special hour-long visits for physically disabled visitors – they don’t do the trek, but spend time with the animals. Kim spent her last two years in the Navy at Yeovilton as chief wren, radio supervisor. She was always a big animal lover, but couldn’t have animals due to her job. When she retired she was a consultant for seven years travelling round the UK to large businesses making redundancies, before becoming a PCSO in Yeovil, which she ‘absolutely loved’. After that she spent time as

THAT’S FUR ENOUGH: Kim Williams with some of her alpacas at Cary Alpacas

a prison officer in Shepton Mallet. Do you just really like uniform? I asked. “Oh, I love uniform,” she chuckled. “I even have uniform now – boots, leggings, sweatshirt and Tshirt…” When that prison closed and Kim transferred to Guys Marsh she learned of an alpaca farm near Shaftesbury, where prisoners were carrying out work experience and became intrigued. She did her research, visited the farm and soon after she acquitted her first five animals – three of whom were pregnant. She now has 21. “I got them as pets and for their fibre –it’s all about that luscious fibre,” she said. The fibre is used in duvets, which people can buy from the farm. Many baby alpacas, or ‘crias’ have been born since. The farm is open April to November, with two treks a day seven days a week. They usually take a break in winter, but Kim is opening till Christmas this year. She said: “It’s lovely to sit here and watch them. They have all got shelters but mainly sleep outside. “Only if it’s howling with wind and torrential rain do they come in. Even in snow and frost they sit out – with that coat on they don’t care. After all South America has extreme hot and cold temperatures.” Apparently, alpaca tastes like chicken. Not that Kim would know, as she hasn’t eaten lamb for 12 years since starting to keep a few sheep and the thought of eating alpaca fills her with horror. But she said: “Apparently it’s very good for cholesterol.” I guess you can’t eat animals you know have characters, right? Kim said: “Every one is different. They all have distinct personalities.” She added: “I love people’s reactions when they meet them. People say it totally chills them out. That’s why I wanted to do this in the first place.”

MASSIVE 70%UPTO OFF(Selected lines) GENUINE REDUCTIONS ALL DEPARTMENTS

SALE STARTSWednesday 22nd9am

SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE

BRAS 50% OFF

(Selected lines) NIGHTWEAR 50% OFF

(Selected lines) BOOTS