Arts & Entertainments

INSPIRED: Former RAF jet pilot Ian Reilly will be auctioning some of his paintings to raise money for the NHS Ex-jet pilot’s portraits of Wessex go on show at gallery

A former RAF jet pilot and ocean yachtsman from Motcombe is showcasing his stunning oil paintings in an exhibition at The Gallery, Shaftesbury Art Centre between June 16 and 29. Ian Reilly was inspired by walking, camping and sketching the landscapes of Wessex and the exhibition will include a selection of his atmospheric oil paintings with all the proceeds donated to an NHS hospital. Art lovers will have free admission to see the aptly named Wessex Wanders exhibition, which is open every day between 10am and 4pm. He said: “The exhibition is a selection of oil landscapes of Wessex and its coastline. The Motcombe-based artist takes inspiration in walking, camping and sketching its many beauties rolling hills, ancient hill forts and stunning Jurassic coast. “As an ex-RAF fast jet pilot and ocean yachtsman – skies and weather feature prominently. But there is an additional work this year – a tribute to the NHS staff, which will be auctioned and the proceeds donated to an NHS Hospital.” n The Gallery, Shaftesbury Arts Centre, 11-13 Bell Street, Shaftesbury

Festival celebrates literary connections

Sturminster Newton Literary Festival is next week! This year the festival will be celebrating the three writers associated with Stur (Thomas Hardy, William Barnes, and Robert Young), writers with a Dorset connection, and aspiring Dorset writers. This year its programme is online and outdoors. All bookings are via Eventbrite and free. On Monday, June 14 at 7pm Lucy Clarke will be ‘in Conversation with Dorset Libraries’. Lucy writes psychological thrillers and will be talking about her writing and new book The Castaways. On Tuesday at 2.30pm there ‘Never a Word’ with Andy Christopher Miller. Andy will talk about how he has fused real events, psychological insights and a poetic style into a work of fiction set in Dorset. Also on Tuesday at 7pm, Rosanna Ley will be in conversation with Laura E James. Dorset author Rosanna Ley discusses her new book The Orange Grove set in Seville. On Wednesday at 1.30pm is Tess’s Marlott – a literary walk around Marnhull taking in the places associated with Tess of the D’Urbervilles. At 2.30pm that day there’s a talk on Thomas Hardy’s Women. Writer Peter Tait talks about his new book on the women in Hardy’s life and the heroines in his novels. Then at 7pm you can hear Andy Charman talk about his book Crow Court, which is set in Wimborne and uses Dorset dialect. On Thursday, June 17 at 7pm Libby Page will be in conversation with Dorset Libraries. Libby will be talking about her writing and new book The Island Home. And on Saturday at 10.30am there will be a literary walk around Sturminster Newton. Blue badge guide Val Atkinson will conduct a walk around the literary places in the town (1.5 hrs). During festival week a video of the area around Sturminster Newton celebrating its literary heritage created by local film maker Niko Forster and narrated by Roger Guttridge will be available, called Literary Sturminster Newton. All events can be booked at Eventbrite.co.uk – search for Sturminster Newton Literary Festival.

AUTHORS: Lucy Clarke, Rosanna Ley and Libby Page

Arts & Entertainment Illyria’s one, two, three at Gardens

Seafaring adventures, talking animals and Shakespearean comedy are all on their way to Sherborne this summer, as award-winning theatre company Illyria brings three new productions to Castle Gardens. Beginning with The Further Adventures of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting on Friday, July 9, William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing will then be staged on Friday, July 30 before the cast and crew return once more on Wednesday, August 25 with Gilbert & Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore. As the outdoor theatre company celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, all three shows will benefit from the full Illyria treatment, with fantastical sets, memorable performances and plenty of laughs along the way. Breathing new life into the Bard’s tale of love and deception, Gilbert & Sullivan’s cheerful mocking of British institutions and the Doctor’s adventures with Jip the Dog, Dab Dab the Duck, Gub Gub the Pig and Polynesia the Parrot, these shows will have something for everyone as children and grown-ups gather for some much-missed theatrical fun. All three of these reimagined classics will be staged beneath the summer sky, so audience members are encouraged to bring picnics, blankets, seating and warm clothes for an evening of fast and furious madcap comedy in the walled garden. Doors will open at 6.30pm each night, with performances starting at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from Castle Gardens, New Road, Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 5NR or illyria.co.uk priced at £15 per adult, £12.50 for concessions and £5 per child (0-16).

TRIPLE WHAMMY: Illyria stage three productions in Sherborne

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NOMADLAND (12a)

Wed 9th & Fri 11th June, 7.30pm Matinee Thur 10th June 2pm Tickets £8.00 Adult £7 Matinee £6 U16s

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) DAD’S ARMY

Thur 5th to Sat 7th August 7.30pm Tickets £16.00 Matinees Fri 6th & Sat 7th August, 2.30pm Tickets £16.00 1 in 10 tickets FREE! Via Box Office only

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) THE BOHEMIANS

Fri 13th August, 7.30pm Tickets £20.50

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) BARRY STEELE & FRIENDS

The Roy Orbison Story MONEY FOR NOTHING

20th Anniversary tour

Sat 14th August, 7.30pm Tickets £24.50

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) Thur 19th August, 7.30pm Tickets £20

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee)

CIRCUS OF HORRORS

OVER 16’S ONLY! Sat 21st August, 7.30pm Tickets £26 & £22

Concs (Students over 16 & Over 60s) £23 & £19

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) PETER PAN

Wed 25th to Sat 28th August, 2pm. Fri 27th & Sat 28th August, 6pm Tickets £17.50 adults

£14 under 16s 1 in 10 tickets FREE!

Via Box Office only (Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee) PURPLE ZEPPELIN

Saturday 4th September, 7.30pm Tickets £19.50

(Box Office bookings incur £1 booking fee per transaction) ALBERT LEE

The Tivoli favourite and double Grammy Award Winner returns!

Wednesday 15th September, 7.30pm. Tickets £26.50

(Box Office bookings over £20 incur £1 booking fee)

Arts & Entertainment Former army officer’s tales of the desert from the 1960s

Sherborne resident Shaun Leavey has penned the novel The Camel Killer which draws on his own experiences as a young officer in Aden and South Arabia. In his book, the central character is a young Arab officer serving alongside British troops in the 1960s. It draws on Shaun’s own time as a young officer and his subsequent visits back to the Yemen, and to Eritrea, as well as family connections in Northern Ireland. Shaun said: “The novel seeks to tell the troubled story of the British army’s latter years in Aden and South Arabia through the eyes of an Arab officer. It will come as little surprise to anyone who was a serviceman that the book includes some language that may make it unsuitable for say – anyone of less than teenage years. The novel has been privately printed. For every copy sold Shaun will be donating £5 to the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and UNICEF, relieving famine in the Yemen. The book is available at £12 including postage. Anyone wishing to order the book should email Shaun Leavey at s.leavey@ btinternet.com with their name and full address. Shaun will email BACS details to potential purchasers. For those wishing to pay by cheque he will send his postal address. Copies will be posted very promptly on receipt of payment.

SANDS OF TIME: Shaun Leavey during his time in the army and, right, his novel The Camel Killer

Reading the postcards from yesterday

By Karen Bate

newsdesk@blackmorevale.net The stories behind the people who penned postcards in the early 20th century have been brought to life by Sturminster Newton author Helen Baggott in her second book, Posted in the Past Second Delivery. Using genealogy, Helen has researched the postcards and in this captivating window on our social history, reveals the stories behind the people who sent and received them. Helen said: “I first began researching postcards 20 years ago, starting with a card sent to a soldier who was killed in the First World War. Gilbert Freeman was a young man who lived near Bath and then in Cornwall. I created his family tree and visited where he lived. Eventually that research led me to America when a brother’s granddaughter found an online article I’d written. Since then I’ve researched hundreds more cards and even discovered the Freeman family have links to Sherborne.” Helen has featured almost 100 cards, including the stories of the man who built the coffin for the Unknown Warrior, and Samuel Whitford who was the first secretary of Great Ormond Street Hospital and remained there for more than 30 years whilst continuing his work as a leading silversmith. But it’s not just about the famous names. Helen feels it is important to remember the children who, during the Victorian era, provided cheap labour, the families who tried to escape the polluted legacy of the Industrial Revolution by emigrating to Canada and America and the workers who could be our own ancestors. Helen added: “We know from watching Who Do You Think You Are? and A House Through Time how fascinating family trees can be. Even the ordinary folk have a story to share, although I’m also excited when I spot a famous name. In fact, one family lived in Guinea Street, Bristol where the most recent series of A House Through Time was based.” n Posted in the Past Second Delivery is available from bookshops and online.

WISH YOU WERE HERE: Helen Baggot and her book Posted in the Past Second Delivery

Here’s how to book online for Blake in The Deer Park

To book for the Blake concert at The Deer Park, Stock Gaylard, Kings Stag on July 24, go to blakeinthepark.co.uk. The web address was somehow cut off the original article last edition and we didn’t want to leave you guessing! Award-winning soprano Camilla Foster Mitchell, born and bred just outside Cheselbourne, and daughter of farmer Giles Foster Mitchell, will feature alongside lead singer of Blake Ollie Baines, whose godfather John Sunnucks lives in Child Okeford. The open air picnic concert will also feature the Piccadilly Strings – Dorset musicians who have played with many of the UK’s top orchestras and recording sessions – and the hugely popular Blackmore Vale Brass quintet.

Arts & Entertainment We’ve got those boogie woogie blues

By Steve Keenan

newsdesk@blackmorevale.net The Boogie Woogie Festival in Sturminster Newton has become the latest Blackmore Vale bigtime event to fall approaching the final hurdle. Organisers had been hoping for months that they might be able to stage the annual shindig over the weekend of July 3-5. A new website was planned but with the days passing, the plug had to be pulled when fears of the new covid variant began to spread. In common with many events, it is the second year the festival has had to be scrapped. “To be honest, we knew in April 2020 that we wouldn’t get international musicians because of Brexit and the problems of licences, paying people abroad and so on,” said Jo O’Connell, a festival committee member. “This year we had hoped we could get the UK guys to play. It is a very narrow genre but when you have 15 pianos scattered across a small town, you can go and watch each other and interact and it’s fantastic. “Having only a few people in a venue means it is so much work for a low-key event but with the latest news, the difficulties and measure of doubt with a third wave meant we couldn’t even consider staging just a smallscale event with UK musicians.” It is heartbreaking for organisers and fans of the event, as the 2019 programme had been the biggest to date, with international players crossing continents to play, sing, dance, teach and entertain. It’s not just live music but a boogie woogie love-in, with dance workshops, ad hoc sessions and masterclasses as well as a separate Swing Dance event and tuition. In 2019, events were staged at venues across town, from The Exchange and Stour View Centre to the magnificent setting of Sturminster Mill. Taverns and teahouse too, as well as church and café. Thousands of fans attended, many of whom had been coming since the first festival in 2005. In a statement, the committee added: “Be assured there is planning and many ideas in the making of how the festival can bring Boogie Woogie music to our countryside town of Sturminster Newton in new and diverse ways.” The first step is to reintroduce monthly club nights, which stopped in April 2020. The first is likely to on Monday September 6, then on the first Monday of each month. A different artist will join around 100 regulars at the Stour Connect Day Centre. “When we’re confident the club is going well, then this will undoubtedly inform how we move forward with festival plans for 2022. In the meantime we send great thanks to all for the continued support for The UK Boogie Woogie Festival and we look forward to bringing you news of upcoming events soon.

PLUG PULLED: Covid has stopped this year’s Boogie Woogie festival in Sturminster Newton

It’s going to be quite a thrill as Union Jill are top of the bill

St Peter’s Church in Shaftesbury will resound with music tonight, Friday, June 11, as folk duo Union Jill and supporting act, Blandford’s King of Americana, Rod Jenkins, take the stage at 8pm. Following the sell-out concert with Jez Lowe and Antoine and Owena, Wessex Acoustic are thrilled to be bringing more top notch folk music to Shaftesbury. Union Jill is the combined force of Helen Turner and Sharon Winfield. Both singer-songwriters bring together their distinct styles and voices to produce a rich and diverse sound –stunning harmonies, intelligent songs and banter you only get with two women sharing a stage! This is a return visit for Helen and Sharon to the club, although it has been a while. Doors open 7.30pm, Concert 8pm – 10.15pm. There is no interval. BYO refreshments please. Please Note: There is only one toilet at the church accessible down a staircase that may cause difficulties for anyone with mobility problems. Face coverings must be worn during the concert. To ensure adequate socially distanced seating, tickets must be booked or purchased prior to the event available at £15 from Kathy on 01202 732239 or at wessexacoustic.co.uk.

SOFA SO GOOD: Helen Turner and Sharon Winfield are Union Jill who are playing St Peter’s Church in Shaftesbury tonight