The Purbeck Gazette 05/12/22

Sarah’s award for a decade helping Purbeck families

A DEDICATED volunteer who has been helping Purbeck families for a decade has been recognised with a special award.

Sarah Gardiner was recognised for 10 years of service as a volunteer supporting families in the local area through the Home-Start Wessex charity.

She received her award from CEO of the charity Peter Grigg during an afternoon tea awards ceremony this month.

“I have enjoyed all of the families I have worked with, and I have learnt such a lot,” Sarah said.

“It’s not just us giving, it’s us learning too.”

Meanwhile Nicki Gibbons, based near Wimborne, was given a two-year volunteering award.

Mr Grigg said: “There are so many pressures that families face. What Home-Starts can do is give time. Precious time to spend with families who really need it. That’s what makes a difference.”

Chris Thomas, chair of the Board of Trustees at Home-Start Wessex, said: “It’s amazing what’s been achieved over the last year, especially in the shadow of the pandemic. “I’ve had the privilege of seeing our staff and volunteers in action, and you all have such compassion, professionalism and great commitment to what you do.”

The event also celebrated the generous local businesses who came together to support the charity during their 25 for 25 campaign.

“When we launched into our 25th anniversary year, I came up with the idea of getting 25 businesses to all give us £800, so we could help 25 more families,” said Caroline Pope, community

and corporate engagement manager.

“Luckily, local businessmen Shan and Steve jumped straight on board and helped make it happen.”

Receiving a gift of thanks for his contribution, Shan Seewooruthun from Amirez Developments, said: “For us, it was an honour to support the campaign. We would like to say well done to all of you for putting your time and effort in, helping make local families’ lives easier.

“We know the money really does go to local children and is used in the best way.”

Caroline also thanked Kate Ware from The Bath Works, who not only supported the 25 for 25 campaigns but also went on to run a January sale, donating an additional £4,700 to the charity.

Since 1995, Home-Start Wessex has helped more than 3,500 families and supported more than 10,000 children in Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch, the Purbecks, Blandford and Cranborne and into the Wiltshire and Hampshire borders.

For more information, including on how to volunteer for the charity, log on to homestartwessex.org.uk.

Sarah Gardiner with her award on the day

Sarah with CEO of Home-Start, Peter Grigg

Book your tree collection Church to host concert

A POPULAR Christmas concert at Corfe Castle will return this week.

The event takes place at St Edward’s Church on Thursday, December 8.

Organisers have said the place of worship will be decorated with candles and a Christmas tree for the musical evening, which gets under way at 7pm.

“While there is no need to purchase a ticket or pay for admission, there will be a retiring collection in aid of Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal,” a spokesperson for organisers told the Gazette.

“In addition to the audience singing well-known Christmas carols, there will also be seasonal readings and music from Wareham Town Band, St Edward’s singers and singing from Corfe Castle Primary School.”

The concert will include an interval, during which refreshments will be available.

Use town’s Xmas post

WAREHAM Scouts and Guides will be organising their Wareham Christmas Post in the local area.

Their stamps will be available for sale from Horsey’s North St, Not just Sundaes South St, Carey Home and Garden and Wareham Scout and Guide HQ.

Post boxes will also be at the above locations and the very last day of posting – for guaranteed delivery before the big day – will be Saturday December 17.

A CHARITY Christmas tree collection and recycling service is returning this year – with backing from the ‘gaffer’, Harry Redknapp.

Lewis-Manning Hospice Care’s initiative, now in its fifth year, is back by popular demand and has been backed by patron Harry, who said he would be using the service for the family tree.

The scheme, supported by Katie Fox Estate Agents, sees residents able to register to have their real tree collected online - in return for a donation to the charity.

All Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch postcodes are covered, from BH1 to BH23, and collections will take place between Friday, January 6 and Saturday, January 7.

Harry said: “Sarn and I know what we’re doing with our Christmas tree this year, thanks to Lewis-Manning.

“I hope lots of other people in the local community also make a donation for their tree to be collected too. They’re such a worthy cause that help so many people in Dorset.

“It’s fantastic to know that after Boxing Day we don’t have to worry about what to do with the tree.”

Area fundraiser for LewisManning, Ruth Wright, said: “Not only is it a great service

and fundraiser, but we love the fact we’re doing our bit for the environment by recycling the trees.

“Registering your tree online is easy, simply make a donation to Lewis-Manning Hospice Care on our website, specifying where you will leave your tree outside on the day of collection and we will take care of the rest.”

People are being encouraged to book early as spaces go fast. Bookings close on Tuesday, January 3.

Katie Fox Estate Agents director, Katie Fox, said: “When we were first approached by Lewis-Manning in 2021 to support this fantastic campaign it was an immediate yes.

“Not only was it about raising money to aid this

wonderful charity but we loved that it was community based, which is whereas a business our hearts lie.

“Me and my team cannot wait to be part of it again this year and working alongside the amazing Lewis-Manning Hospice Care fundraising elves and the other fantastic businesses who volunteer their time to help the charity.”

Ruth added: “We are also very kindly supported by Eco Sustainable Solutions who will be recycling all the trees that we collect and many other local businesses who have offered their help and support again this year.”

For details and to register for a collection, visit lewismanning.org.uk/christmas-treecollection.

Road crash puts driver in hospital

POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a man was seriously injured in a crash in Christchurch.

The incident happened on the A35, Lyndhurst Road, at around 10.35pm on Friday, November 18. Police want any witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage to come forward.

The crash involved a white HGV, a blue Honda CRV and a black Mercedes convertible.

The driver of the Honda – a local man aged in his 30s – was taken to Southampton General

Hospital with serious injuries. Road closures were put in place as emergency services responded to the incident and were lifted shortly after 2.30am the following morning.

Police Constable Adam Carr, of the traffic unit, said: “We are carrying out inquiries into the circumstances of this collision and I am keen to speak to any witnesses who have not already had contact with police.

“I would also urge any motorists with dashcam who were travelling in the area to

please check their footage for anything of relevance. Finally, I would like to thank members of the public for their patience and understanding while the road closures were in place.”

Anyone with information should contact Dorset Police via www.dorset.police.uk/contact, by email to scit@dorset.pnn. police.uk or by calling 101, quoting incident number 55220187772. Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555111.

Harry Redknapp is among those who have booked a tree collection to help the Lewis-Manning Hospice Picture: Lewis-Manning

Cyclist attacked

A MAN in his 50s was knocked off his bike by a driver - angry after being told to get off his mobile phone.

Police are investigating after an incident in Poole on Tuesday, November 22, at around 5.20pm.

It was reported a cyclist was riding on Herbert Avenue, between Newlyn Way and Northmere Road, when he passed a row of parked cars stopped at traffic lights.

He saw one of the drivers, in a dark blue hatchback, appeared to be on his mobile phone and knocked on the window of the car to tell him to put it down.

The driver began shouting at the cyclist and followed him as traffic started moving again.

The vehicle continued to follow him as he turned into Northmere Road and into Sancreed Road before colliding with the rear of the cyclist.

The rider – a man in his 50s who was wearing a high visibility jacket and had flashing lights on the front and back of his bike – was knocked from his bicycle and sustained injuries that were not believed to be serious. The car reportedly made off from the scene.

Police Constable Matthew Batter, of Poole police, said: “This was a very distressing incident for the cyclist involved and we are carrying out a number of enquiries into this matter.

“I would urge anyone who witnessed what happened or may have captured anything of relevance on dashcam footage to please get in touch. I would also urge the driver involved to do the right thing and come forward so we can take your account.”

Contact Dorset Police on 101, incident 55220189695.

Bowled over by club

BUDDING bowlers are being urged to put their best feet forward and have a go at the sport.

A short mat bowls group meets at the Carey Hall, in Wareham, each Wednesday evening from 7pm - and is keen for new members to roll up.

“The mat runs the length of the hall and the skill is to roll the wood (bowl) around the bar in the centre of the mat to the other end aiming for the woods of your team to be closer to the jack ball than those of the opposition,” a spokesperson explained.

“At a Roll Up, players are allocated to teams at the beginning of the session.

“In Carey Hall there is enough space for two mats so newcomers can practise before joining a game.

“Players wear special shoes but slippers are fine initially, and woods can be borrowed.”

The cost for an evening of sociability, exercise and a little competitiveness is £3, with a £10 membership fee if you decide to join.

For more information, contact Jenny Craig on 01929 553145.

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Sancreed Road, Poole, where the alleged attack took place

Picture: Google

Former MP named as choir’s patron

A CHOIR celebrating its 75th anniversary has announced a former minister for culture, media and sport as its new patron.

The Wareham Choral Society (WCS), which has been the town’s choir since 1947, has revealed former Conservative MP David Mellor will take on the role.

A minister for 11 years, at the end of his political career Mr Mellor became a renowned broadcaster and after-dinner speaker.

Born in Wareham, he was educated at Swanage Grammar School and Christ’s College, Cambridge.

WCS is directed by professional musician Hazel Ricketts, rehearsing each Monday evening in Lady St Mary’s Church in Wareham, where it conducts most of its performances.

The group’s new chair, Teresa Rekowska, approached Mr Mellor in the summer to become their patron, particularly for his experience and knowledge as former Secretary of State for Culture and Media and for his love of music.

He has a weekly programme on Classic FM and is the opera critic for the Mail on Sunday.

He has a home in Corfe with his partner, Penelope Viscountess Cobham.

“I am delighted that David Mellor has agreed to become the patron of Wareham Choral Society,” Teresa said. “He has a deep understanding of the joy that music can bring into our lives.

“The choir and I are excited to celebrate our 75th anniversary by beginning this new partnership and look forward to collaborating in the future.”

The society has exciting plans for the future, she added, including a ‘Magnificat’

Christmas concert, on December 10 at Lady St Mary Church from 7pm.

Tickets can be purchased via www. warehamchoral.co.uk, or from Joys Menswear, in Wareham.

The choir will also be singing Christmas Carols on December 19 at the Wareham Day Centre for the elderly with dementia.

Meanwhile, WCS is looking forward to a busy programme in 2023, performing Mozart’s Coronation Mass on April 22 in preparation for King Charles’ Coronation and a remembrance concert on November 4; the beautiful Faure’s ‘Requiem’ and ‘The Armed Man; A Mass for Peace’ by Karl Jenkins.

WCS recently gained sponsorship from The Kings Arms Stoborough and would welcome further sponsors from local firms.

And after seeing a drop in membership numbers after the Covid pandemic, a recent recruitment campaign has encouraged several new singers to join - but the choir is still keen to hear from anyone interested in joining.

You can find out more at www. warehamchoral.co.uk or by email to warehamchoral@gmail.com.

David Mellor

Let’s run it again

By Sara Niven

THE organisers of a new charity running event say they hope to make it an annual affair after overwhelming positive feedback and such a demand for places that they had to set up a waiting list for would-be competitors.

The Old Harry Ultra Marathon – which ended up being five years in the planning thanks to Covid-19 –took place last month and raised more than £6,000 for local children’s hospice charity Julia’s House. More

than 160 took part in the event, which started at the Sandbanks Peninsula and finished 55km away at Studland’s Shell Bay car park.

Runners were given 11.5 hours to do the course, with the route taking in parts of Wareham Forest, Stoborough, Middlebere and Rempstone Heath.

Organisers Badger Trail Events thanked BCP council, Natural England, Forestry England, the National Trust and Rempstone Estate, among others.

Biker hurt in crash

A BIKER suffered serious injuries in a crash in Poole.

The incident occurred at the junction of Beechbank Avenue and Pinesprings Drive at just after 9am on Tuesday (November 22).

It involved a Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, driven by a 47-year-old woman from Poole, and a WK Scrambler motorcycle, ridden by a 40-year-old Poole woman.

The motorcyclist was taken by the ambulance service to hospital with serious injuries.

Police Constable Mark Palmer, of the traffic unit, said: “I am appealing for any witnesses to the collision, who have not yet spoken with officers, to please contact us.

“Any motorists, who have dashcam fitted and were driving in the area at the time, are urged

to please check whether they have any relevant footage that may assist our enquiries.”

Anyone with information should contact Dorset Police via www.dorset.police.uk/contact, by email to scit@dorset.pnn. police.uk or by calling 101, quoting incident number 55220189358.

Pictures: Dorsetbays Photography

Beechbank Avenue Pinesprings Drive, Poole

Photo: Google

Out Of The Blue

APPARENTLY one in three men wait until Christmas Eve to do their shopping.

Please don’t leave it so late when it comes to getting your priority surveys completed – if you can spare five minutes between shopping trips, use this link and have your say. https:// www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ PurbeckEmail. What you say enables us to target both our resources and patrols.

During the period October 4 to November 4 we dealt with a total of 404 incidents in Purbeck, of which 159 were recorded crimes resulting in 103 arrests.

As Christmas is fast approaching, we like to reiterate our crime reduction advice around burglaries both residential and shed/beech huts. Burglaries traditionally rise around Christmas with crooks on the lookout for those expensive items bought as presents or festive treats.

We would also strongly recommend those with heating oil tanks review their security as we tend to see this type of theft rise as people fill their tanks ready for winter.

As we draw nearer to the winter/festive period we will be and pushing this campaign on social media and during other events we hold. We always encourage people to

join Home Watch/ Neighbourhood Watch or even consider becoming a co-ordinator. Home Watch isn’t just about crime, it’s about looking after vulnerable neighbours, being involved in the community and perhaps being aware of those who are more likely to become a victim of crime than others.

On a lighter note, Dorset Police would like to wish you all a merry and safe Christmas.

If you need to contact Dorset Police please call our police enquiry centre on 101 or email 101@dorset.pnn. police.uk. Always call 999 in

an emergency – when there is a risk of harm or a crime in progress. Alternatively, call the free Crimestoppers line on 0800 555111. You can also use our website to report a number of issues, from full crime reports to lost property. Just go to dorset.police.uk/ do-it-online.

We are at Facebook.com/ Purbeck-police and on Twitter @PurbeckPolice. You can also see our latest priorities with up-andcoming events at dorset. police.uk/neighbourhoodpolicing/purbeck.

Finally, registering with Dorset Alert at dorsetalert. co.uk will give you free information on local crime and incidents where we believe sharing information with you will help to solve crimes and prevent further offences occurring,

NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING TEAM

PURBECK

Avlaki Olive Oils

IT IS that time of year when Durlston Castle closes for two whole days, those being Christmas Day and Boxing Day of course!

Before then, the run up to Christmas is in full swing with lots to get involved in at the park, from events to get you into the Christmas spirit to activities to help you burn off those extra Christmas treats and a little shopping.

With the weather we’ve been having in November, the Rangers will be asking Father Christmas for some waterproof trousers and some leak proof boots.

A walk around the clifftop can make for some picturesque views one day, and stormy seas, cold winds and waves crashing into the cliffs the next. Each day through

December can make for a different experience.

With the school’s Christmas holidays fast approaching, we’ll soon welcome back families and children to enjoy the fantastic events that will put everyone into the Christmas spirit. Our Crazy Christmas Trail will be

running daily from Tuesday December 13 until Tuesday January 3, taking kids on a fun-filled walk around the park to help Santa get Christmas ‘back on track’. Trail packs are just £3 per child with a prize once finished.

A very special event will be coming to Durlston on Tuesday December 27, that being The Snowman showing in the Gallery with a fantastic musical live score, in tribute to Raymond Briggs.

The event will give everyone the opportunity to experiment with sounds effects to live animation.

To book tickets for this fantastic Christmas experience visit thecabinetoflivingcinema. org.uk.

Christmas Eve will be host to a fancy-dress 5km park run,

so make sure to join us for a 9am start in your best festive outfit. The event is free but make sure to register through www.parkrun.org.uk.

Other activities include engraving your own glass Christmas card, a kid’s Christmas drawing workshop with artist Mark Page, a Christmas card and cracker craft drop-in activity and even a New Year bottle rocket launch!

For more information on any of these events, visit the Durlston website below.

Whatever your reason for visiting Durlston this December, we hope you enjoy your time with us here and have a wonderful Christmas!

DURLSTON RANGERS durlston.co.uk https:/7evnthwave.com

Sail with Santa

Santa has taken a break from his work in the North Pole to join us on our Sail with Santa cruises around Poole Harbour. Enjoy a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie with Christmas music. Each child will receive a soft drink and biscuit and of course a present from Santa!

Your ticket includes:

• 1 hour and 15 minute cruise

• Soft drink and biscuit for kids

• Glass of mulled wine and mince pie for adults

• Present for each child

Christmas Party Cruise

Enjoy a three hour cruise around Europe’s largest natural harbour as you dance the night away to festive music. With a two course festive menu to indulge in and a fully licensed bar on board, there is something for everyone.

Cruise days: 2nd, 9th, 10th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 22nd December 2022

Boards 15 mins before Departs 7:30pm

Boards 15 mins before Departs 11am, 1pm, 3pm

From Poole Quay

Your ticket includes:

• 3 hour cruise

• Welcome drink

• 2 course festive menu

• Disco & dancing

Cruise days: 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd & 24th Dec 2022 BOOK NOW: citycruisespoole.com

From Poole Quay

If you have a group of 20 or more, why not consider your very own boat hire?

Durlston Castle.

PHOTO: stevebelasco.net

Free parking boost for Xmas shoppers

A HOST of towns in Dorset have been offering free parking in a bid to boost the number of people visiting town centres for Christmas shopping.

Several council-run car parks including those in Wareham and Wimborne were free to use for driver-shoppers at the weekend, as part of Small Business Saturday on December 3.

More free parking will be offered by car parks managed by Dorset Council across the county on various other dates in the lead-up to Christmas.

Councillor Ray Bryan, portfolio holder for highways, travel and environment, said: “Shopping locally is a great way to cut down the mileage and support Dorset’s superb range of local businesses.

“For something different, why not take a look at what our

fabulous independent businesses have to offer and shop locally this year.”

Other car parking providers, such as town councils, may offer free parking, so drivers are encouraged to check.

On-street parking charges and private car park charges will still apply, however.

Some of the car parks offering free parking include: n Dorchester: December 15: Acland Road, Durngate Street, Fairfield, Old Market, Top O Town, Trinity Street (south), Wollaston Field; n Blandford: December 23: Church Lane, Eagle House Gardens, Langton Road, Marsh and Ham, Station Court; n Lyme Regis: December 21: Lower Sea Lane, Charmouth, Charmouth Road, Broad Street, Cobb Gate, Holmbush.

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• Full project management on all new build/ refurbishment projects

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• Plumbing & Heating Surveys/Technical Advice

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For more details on these and other services we provide Visit www. pinevale.co.uk Tel: 01202 795952 Pinevale Plumbing & Heating Limited. Reg 4678633 Upton, Poole BH16 5LE

It’s that most wonderful time of the year at the Purbeck Sports Centre. Throughout December save on a Gold Card membership. Sign up to a Direct Debit membership in December and you’ll pay no joining fee and no induction fee. Plus, you’ll receive your 4th months membership half price, once you have paid for your first 3 months. A Gold card membership gives you unlimited access to public swimming sessions, the fantastic gym facilities and exercise classes. Plus, half price Yoga and Pilates courses and free Sauna use. Stuck for a Christmas gift idea? Purbeck Sports Centre have you covered. Purchase vouchers fitness vouchers from reception for their activities and memberships and give them something far better than a pair of socks this year! For festive opening hours and timetables please visit the Purbeck Sports Centre website and check out their Facebook and Instagram for some fab festive giveaways. To find out more visit 01929 500 000 or visit purbecksportscentre/dorsetcouncil.gov.uk

Giving beavers a head start on dams

By Sara Niven

THE young and young at heart enjoyed beavering away, creating dams at two events held recently at Corfe Castle.

Leaks are usually not seen as ideal but were welcomed as part of the Stop the Flow project organised by the National Trust.

The two Saturday events followed on from sessions held in the spring where volunteers learned how to make dams to slow the flow of water for environmental reasons.

Core team co-ordinator Luke M Luke from Planet Purbeck said the sessions had been a resounding success, with participants aged from five to 75 joining in.

“The desire to get outside while protecting and enhancing our natural environment spans all age ranges and this was a great opportunity to meet new people, enjoy some fresh air and have fun, in addition to getting

out into some ‘lesser-spotted areas’ of Purbeck.”

He explained the main aim of Stop the Flow was preventing the eutrophication of Poole Harbour – a situation where excessive nutrients including nitrogen lead to the spread of algae, blocking sunlight and resulting in a deterioration of water quality.

Slowing the natural flow of the water also has benefits for the streams, allowing phosphates and silt to settle

How to protect your home from care costs

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Nobody likes to think about getting old, but it is certainly worth thinking about if you value your home. That is because your house could very well be sold by the local council to pay for your care fees.

As an example, let’s say you own a home jointly with your partner and you live there until one of you dies. The surviving partner continues to live in the house until they must go into a care home run by the local authority. At that point, the local authority will assess the surviving partner for care fees. If their capital and savings are worth more than £23,250, they will have to fund their own care.

Councils place a charge on the property, which is paid when the house is sold. Alternatively, you may be required to sell the house immediately to raise the cash. Money raised from the sale of the house will fund your care until your savings get down to £23,250. That won’t leave much of an inheritance for your family and loved ones.

There are two solutions to the problem available to you. One is a will trust which protects 50% of the value of your home from care costs. The second is a living trust which shields 100% of the property. Both are relatively inexpensive to put into place. Every trust is administered by trustees, the trustees can be the partners or surviving partner and children.

The situation won’t get better over time. The UK’s fastest-growing age group comprises those aged over 85. Councils will face even more pressure on budgets, leaving them with little choice but to continue to sell people’s homes.

To protect your home, contact Oakwood Wills on 07832 331594

The main thing to remember with trusts is that because you do not own the assets held in the trust in your own name, it is more difficult for those assets to be taken away from you or from the beneficiaries of the trust.

Chris Tennant, Oakwood Wills

longer there, which attracts more wildlife and increases biodiversity.

Clearing tree and foliage debris, also known as brash, from the streams allows additional light and oxygen in. The brash itself is then used to build the dams, creating a circular process.

“We are very hopeful that nature’s professionals – the beavers themselves – will be back in spring 2023 as part of the Purbeck Beaver Project

“It will take years for them to work their way throughout Purbeck though, so our efforts are aimed at giving them and the landscape a head start.”

The National Trust is currently mapping priority areas for the project, which include Studland and West Common in Corfe and will be monitoring the dams and recording their impact.

aimed at reintroducing beavers into the countryside,” adds Luke.

The team of volunteers with Luke, right

News from Wareham Town Council November

NO SOONER had the new deputy town clerk Gale Pettifer stepped into post than she was taking minutes at the council meeting.

Due to building regulations the corner of the Corn Exchange is unsuitable for a customer/visitor information office and the council is talking to Not Just Sundaes about having visitor information there permanently.

Dorset Council (DC) has just published its 20mph policy, which sets out the criteria for the speed limit which apply even if it is to be funded by a town or parish council. Councillor Ezzard called for volunteers to join a Speedwatch team.

The Bishop of Salisbury visited Wareham on November 9.

Citizens Advice in East Dorset and Purbeck is going to commission a bus to tour rural areas to give advice. A working party will look into the feasibility of a Wareham Christmas market in 2023. Work has started on refurbishing the play areas.

The planning and transport committee objected to a planning application by Swineham Farm which was considered to contravene the planning designation. Savers has applied for a licence to sell alcohol. A planning application by Wareham Riverboats instigated an investigation into the ownership of the public slipway.

The town clerk will find out what action can be taken against businesses displaying illuminated signs without planning consent.

DC car parks will be free on Small Business Saturday (December 3) only. Howards Lane car park will be free on all four December Saturdays before Christmas.

The Council is backing the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group in its opposition to the siting of a Lidl supermarket in Sandford on the grounds it would have a detrimental effect on the town centre shops.

The council has signed the national Civility and Respect pledge. Councillors marked Remembrance Sunday by taking part in the parade to the Priory Church of Lady St Mary for the special service.

The next meeting of the town council is on Tuesday December 13. The public is welcome to attend at 7pm in the town hall and further information is on the council’s website, www.wareham-tc.gov.uk, or from the office on 01929 553006.

JULIE BRADSHAW

Supported by

PHOTO: Bob Harvey

Welcome to The Old Rectory Care Home

Situated close to Swanage on the Jurassic Coast, our family-run home has light and airy rooms, many with grandstand views over the hills of the Isle of Purbeck. We offer short and long-term residential care and work closely with a community matron and other multidisciplinary services. We cater for those over 60 years of age and for those with health conditions including dementia and palliative care.

Memorial benches to ‘secret army’

MEMORIAL benches

honouring members of a secret wartime defence unit have been unveiled in Wareham.

A ceremony took place on November 14, when Councillor Barry Quinn officially unveiled the Binnegar Operational Base (OB) Memorial Benches, in Binnegar Lane.

The seats are a tribute to members of what is believed to have been an auxiliary unit based in the town during the Second World War.

Auxillary units were made up of volunteers and were trained to prepare for any potential Nazi invasion of the UK. Top-secret organisations, with members prohibited from speaking about their roles, little is known about the units.

However, it is known ‘patrols’ were set up in towns and villages across the country, featuring seven or eight people, each trained to avoid conflict

during the early stages of an invasion before mounting a resistance and ultimate counter attack. Each patrol also built an operational base (OB) to house munitions and men in an attack.

In 2017, the remains of an OB was discovered during quarry excavation by Raymond Brown Quarry Products.

Experts were called in from Historic England, the county archaeologist and Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team (CART) to excavate the site.

This OB is now believed to be that of the Wareham Patrol, as local knowledge and research has not found any link to the East Stoke Platoon of the Home Guard. Research and investigations conducted by CART volunteers have shown there were a number of auxiliary unit OBs in Purbeck, with at least four patrols.

Now, two memorial benches have been constructed from

Residents and volunteers at the unveiling of the benches

blocks and ventilation pipes salvaged from the OB, with wood from a nearby oak tree. They commemorate the men of the auxiliary unit who manned the OB but received no real recognition after the war.

Cllr Quinn said: “It has been a team effort involving volunteers from East Stoke and CART working with our sponsors Raymond Brown, Bindon Engineering and Holme Sawmill to deliver a community asset which both tells the

historical narrative and provides a place of rest for users of the bridleway to take in the view.”

He said a special thanks to Raymond Brown Quarry Products, Holme Sawmill, British Resistance Archive, East Stoke Parish Council and Bindon Engineering.

Rob Westell, from Raymond Brown, added: “We hope the benches and interpretation board serve as a reminder of those prepared to lay down their lives for our country.”

Picture: Raymond Brown

Plans for landmark hotel unveiled

A PLAN to completely redevelop a landmark Purbeck hotel has been submitted.

Kingfisher Resorts Studland Ltd has applied to revamp the two-hectare Knoll House Hotel site in Ferry Road, Studland, to create a ‘high quality resort, holiday villas and leisure facilities’.

Currently, the site features around 30 buildings, containing 106 guest bedrooms and 57 staff bedrooms, ancillary facilities, car parking and landscaping.

The application, created by AWW architects, said: “Many

of the existing buildings have reached the end of their life and this presents a unique opportunity for complete redevelopment of the site to provide a high-quality tourist destination within the Studland area with a landscape-led strategy to this unique site.”

The scheme would see the revamped site provide 30 hotel rooms, 22 apartments, 26 villas, a spa and outdoor pool, 79 parking spaces, 36 cycle spaces and a ‘public realm space’.

“The number of rooms proposed responds to its location and local demand for quality hotel accommodation close to amenities and transport links,” the application said.

“Together, the new

significant job growth.”

A previous application to redevelop the site was refused in February, with planners saying it would impact on the area of outstanding natural beauty and did not have ‘appropriate mitigation against potential impacts on the Dorset Heathlands European Designated Sites’.

The new application promises a design ‘that responds to the local context in terms of use, amount, layout, scale, appearance and landscape but that also functions

far-reaching views extending to the site,” it added. “The existing site levels, boundary conditions and building heights have been reviewed alongside the desire to create a high-quality, sustainable development and to respond to existing landscape.”

The application is now out to consultation before being considered by Dorset Council planners.

Telling It Like It Is

Just blame Russia for two decades of failure

By David Hollister

THE ferry’s off. Being dragged down the coast to wherever ferries go to get their annual service or fresh coat of paint.

It’s been closed to the public since December 1. The photo I have seen of it passing the Haven Hotel webcam suggests it didn’t leave Purbeck until November 11.

Unfortunately during the tow from Poole to Falmouth the ferry suffered severe damage to the southern end prow. The exact cause is currently under investigation and findings will be released when available.

The additional work to repair this damage will significantly delay the ferry’s return to service which now will not be until the New Year. The ferry firm will update their webpage and social media as soon as they have more information.

This news isn’t good for the town. It also affects small businesses including B&Bs, hotels, restaurants and pubs. It is devastating news. It’s also pretty poor for all those who depend on it to get to work. Or want or need to get to hospital.

With no service on the Sandbanks ferry due to the planned refit and the B3351 Studland to Corfe Castle road being closed at the same time, the prophets of doom were predicting massive delays on the main roads. Wessex Water planned this to cause minimal disruption. Right.

Well, it happened, didn’t it!

A manhole just outside Corfe needed urgent repair by Openreach so they put traffic lights up and virtually brought Purbeck to a standstill for a weekend. Wouldn’t be so bad if someone appeared to be working behind the lights but, as usual, no one was visible doing anything.

What’s the definition of ‘urgent’? Fixing this manhole cover on the main road out of Corfe should have been a PRIORITY ... and not just left with temporary traffic lights causing massive traffic jams all over a weekend.

So now – when the Upton bypass is virtually the only way out of Purbeck – they’re resurfacing it. Miles of cones. Miles of stationary traffic. I had to collect something from a client in Poole last week and ended up giving up and going home because I just couldn’t work out which ‘rat run’ to use. Everything was solid. There seems to be nobody planning any of it. In the game of Highway Top Trumps, does Openreach score more points than SGN, does SGN score more points than Wessex Water, does Wessex Water score more points than the county council?

What’s the point of asking the council for roads to be closed when apparently the utilities can close them as and when they please?

What we need is an

identifiable sign on every road excavation explaining to us who’s doing it and why, and a hotline number. Not difficult.

Have you noticed it is almost impossible getting through to a person on the phone any more? Either a succession of buttons to push, or advice to ‘do it online’, which is another method used by firms and authorities to conceal the fact they are totally understaffed and the morale of those remaining is so low after being constantly abused that actually they couldn’t care less about your problem.

‘One man and his dog’ doesn’t work. Especially when the man is taking the dog for a walk. But nobody is accountable to anyone these days. The police are too busy looking over their shoulders to make sure they don’t say or do anything that might get them sued. Everyone seems to ‘know their rights’, even if they’re wrong. And now we have ministers being accused of bullying! For ‘bullying’ read ‘told how to do the job for which they are being paid’.

Are civil servants really that thin-skinned? “Oh dear! My boss told me off!” Do police really have to be trained in gender equality rather than in catching criminals? In the game of judicial ‘top trumps’, racism or verbal racial abuse seems to trump robbery or violence. This is where 50 years of mollycoddling and lack of parental discipline has left us. Remember ‘back in the day’ where a child was screaming in a supermarket, or running riot around a restaurant? Those kids are parents themselves now.

Just occasionally, we win. The ambulance car appears to have had a reprieve. The toilets at Burlington Chine seem safe for a while. The cremators at Poole Crematorium are

allegedly going to be reopened, although I can’t for the life of me understand why it’s going to take eighteen months.

Congratulations to Swanage council for declaring the town’s car parks will be free up to Christmas. And the shopping in Purbeck is better anyway! I wonder if the county council will do the same?

I’m writing this over the weekend prior to the Chancellor’s big ‘budget announcement’ which has been trailed (leaked?) as bringing us ‘bad news’.

Let’s all blame the Russians. Despite the fact a lot of what’s wrong with the country has been going wrong since long before Ukraine.

So by the time you read this, you’ll know exactly why it’s the Russians’ fault – or Covid’s fault – that the country has ground to a halt, why there’s no money for roadworks, street cleaning, road sign painting, and the little things we used to take for granted like paying the ‘little people’ properly – nurses, street cleaners and people whose jobs really are essential.

But residents in the Dorset Council area are expected to continue forking out for one of the highest council tax rates in the country – until the government offers a better financial settlement.

“It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” – Acts 9:5. And Gary, you know exactly how hard it is!

Taken for granted is what we are because the government knows full well the good people of Dorset will not rise up in protest, and neither will we even consider changing our political persuasion.

Is there nothing we can do to show the ‘big people’ – the local authorities, the banks, the utilities, and all the others who have used electronic means to keep us at bay – we are actually not very happy with the state in which more than ten years of Tory rule, preceded by ten years of Labour rule, have left us?

Glad I’m not young any more.

£500k water main work ends early

A £500,000 project to secure and enhance water supplies on the Isle of Purbeck has been completed - three days ahead of schedule.

A scheme by Wessex Water to relocate and replace a degrading water main close to Corfe Castle was finalised this week, with a short section of the B3351 near Dorset Adventure Park just outside the village being reopened to through traffic following a five-week closure.

Engineers from the company said the new pipe will enhance water quality and improve reliability to cope with increasing demand after redesigning the project so the vast majority of more than 1,000 metres of new main was moved out of the road and on to adjacent land, minimising the impact of the work.

The road closure, agreed

Workers prepare to reopen the road after the work, inset, was finished

with Dorset Council, took place away from the busy summer holiday season and during a period in which the chain ferry that crosses the entrance to Poole Harbour between Sandbanks and Shell Bay, Studland, has been closed for maintenance, to minimise the effects of continued disruption on local communities.

Wessex Water project

A new fully illustrated up-to-date history of Swanage

SWANAGE SWANAGE

SWANAGE SWANAGE

An Illustrated History

manager, Louie Cosentino, said: “This was a major investment to repair a cast-iron water main that has burst regularly over the last decade and was no longer suitable for the demand being placed on it.

“The new main is a significant step to both boosting

the water quality and improving the reliability of supply for the future and moving the bulk of the pipe out of the road will hopefully reduce potential further disruption in the future.

“Along with the local authority, we worked hard to find a window for the project that would avoid disruption over a much longer period and we thank them, as well as all residents, businesses and the communities in the area for their co-operation, patience and understanding while this essential project was carried out.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and have written to both local residents, businesses and parish councils to inform them about the project’s completion.”

The B3351 is now fully reopened to through traffic at Corfe Castle, he added.

£15

New book on Swanage looks back through its history

For the 150th book about Dorset in its half century of local publishing the Dovecote Press has published a long overdue illustrated history of Swanage. Despite considerable recent changes, nothing new has been written about Swanage this century. The author, Jason Tomes, was born in the town and remains a regular visitor. The result is a fresh, occasionally controversial, and often surprising account of a town whose character mixes the unexpected with the classic ingredients of the bucket-and-spade holiday resort largely dependent on tourism.

For the 150th book about Dorset in its half century of local publishing the Dovecote Press has published a long overdue illustrated history of Swanage.

JASON TOMES

Copies signed by Jason Tomes are available from The Swanage Bookshop 35 Station Road (01929 424088)

Large format paperback with over 350 black and white photographs, drawings and maps, 50 of them in colour.

For the 150th book about Dorset in its half century of local publishing the Dovecote Press has published a long overdue illustrated history of Swanage. Despite considerable recent changes, nothing new has been written about Swanage this century. The author, Jason Tomes, was born in the town and remains a regular visitor. The result is a fresh, occasionally controversial, and often surprising account of a town whose character mixes the unexpected with the classic ingredients of the bucket-andspade holiday resort largely dependent on tourism.

Despite considerable recent changes, nothing new has been written about Swanage this century. The author, Jason Tomes, was born in the town and remains a regular visitor. The result is a fresh, occasionally controversial, and often surprising account of a town whose character mixes the unexpected with the classic ingredients of the bucket-and-spade holiday resort largely dependent on tourism.

Purbeck stone had been quarried locally since medieval times, and its various trades had long dominated the lives of most inhabitants of Swanage. Attempts to promote it a health resort had little success, but the arrival of the railway in 1885 put the town firmly on the map, hastening its transformation into a popular seaside resort.

Purbeck stone had been quarried locally since medieval times, and its various trades had long dominated the lives of most inhabitants of Swanage. Attempts to promote it a health resort had little success, but the arrival of the railway in 1885 put the town firmly on the map, hastening its transformation into a popular seaside resort.

Purbeck stone had been quarried locally since medieval times, and its various trades had long dominated the lives of most inhabitants of Swanage.

Attempts to promote it as a health resort had little success, but the arrival of the railway in 1885 put the town firmly on the map, hastening its transformation into a popular seaside resort.

If two men, John Mowlem and George Burt, can be said to have shaped Victorian Swanage, its more recent history has been determined by other concerns: two World Wars, employment, housing, its attractions for retirement, the loss of the railway. Despite the changes, Swanage retains a sense of community and feisty independence few other towns can match.

If two men, John Mowlem and George Burt, can be said to have shaped Victorian Swanage, its more recent history has been determined by other concerns: two World Wars, employment, housing, its attractions for retirement, the loss of the railway. Despite the changes, Swanage retains a sense of community and feisty independence few other towns can match.

If two men, John Mowlem and George Burt, can be said to have shaped Victorian Swanage, its more recent history has been determined by other concerns: two World Wars, employment, housing, its attractions for retirement, the loss of the railway.

Despite the changes, Swanage retains a sense of community and feisty independence few other towns can match.

Marshals wanted for town’s Xmas parade

ORGANISERS of Wareham’s Father Christmas parade on Sunday are looking to recruit marshals.

The December 11 event is run by a group of volunteers, Christmas in Wareham, which raises money all year round to pay for the town’s Christmas lights, tree and the parade.

“As with any event, we rely on the support of our wonderful community,” said Christmas in Wareham’s Fran Lewis. “The lights and tree are up and

looking fantastic and we hope will bring much joy over the next few weeks. We just hope the weather is kind to us.”

The timetable of events is as follows: 4pm, Lady St Mary hand bells; 4.15pm, Gugge band; 4.40pm, Top Notes; 5.10pm, tree blessing and countdown; 5.20pm, parade.

To volunteer call Ian Davey on 07727 129213 or email media@christmasinwareham. co.uk. For more details visit christmasinwareham.co.uk.

Cyclist fined over crash

A CYCLIST has been fined £2,500 for his role in a crash that killed a biker.

Garry Kopanycia-Reynolds, 59, appeared at Poole Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, November 24, where he was found guilty of riding a cycle on a road without reasonable consideration for others following a trial.

He received the maximum fine of £2,500 as well as being ordered to pay £450 costs and a

victim surcharge of £190.

The charge related to a collision that occurred at around 7.15am on December 21 last year on Ringwood Road, at the junction with Fernside Road.

The motorcyclist – 23-yearold Callum Clements – was involved in a collision with the defendant’s bicycle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Kopanycia-Reynolds, of Poole, also sustained serious injuries.

Santa waves to the crowd at a previous event

Carers recruited

A CHARITY for people with life-limiting illnesses has recruited two new healthcare assistants to help and support people, carers and their loved ones across Purbeck.

Jo Foster and Rebecca Thake, pictured, are the latest personnel additions to LewisManning Hospice Care, which provides care for those who are ill and support for their families.

Senior staff nurse for Purbeck Nicky Cherrett said: “It’s great to have Jo and Rebecca as part of our team.

“We have ambitious plans to continue our expansion of services as part of our ongoing strategy to bring hospice care ‘closer to home’.

“These wonderful women will play a pivotal part in this growth and enable us to help more people in the community.”

Ms Foster told the Gazette: “I’m really enjoying my new role at Lewis-Manning Hospice Care.

“I love being an integral part of the community and it’s so wonderful to know that we will be able to help more and more patients across East Dorset and Purbeck closer to their homes.

“I’m delighted to see and find out that Lewis-Manning’s incredible service is getting

better known in the Purbeck area. There are busy times ahead!”

Lewis-Manning Hospice

Care was established 30 years ago by Marjorie LewisManning. The charity offers a range of free hospice care services aimed at helping people to live well through their illness, and closer to home.

Services include: n Day hospices, virtual and in person; n Creative arts & wellbeing support; n Lymphoedema clinic; n Breathlessness clinic; n Bereavement and family support.

Every year the charity supports around 600 local people, developing new services based on patient need and identified gaps in the area.

To do this the charity needs to raise more than £2.3m every year in order to keep going. For more details about the charity visit lewis-manning.org.uk.

BOVINGTON Community Stores

BLANDFORD Tourist Information Centre

BEACON HILL Royal Heights coffee Shop

BERE REGIS Bartletts Stores Maces Stores

BRIANTSPUDDLE Briantspuddle Shop

CANFORD MAGNA Garden Centre

CORFE CASTLE

Corfe View Visitor Centre Railway Station Village Stores

CROSSWAYS

Co-op Post Office

HAMWORTHY Allways Fryday Co-op Hamworthy Central Convenience Kings Fish & Chips Shop Library Mayze Hairdressers Morrisons Post Office Premier Blandford Stores

HARMANS CROSS Foleys Garage St Michaels Garage/BP

HOLTON HEATH Clay Pipe Inn KINGSTON Scott Arms

LANGTON MATRAVERS Langton Village Stores

LYTCHETT MATRAVERS South Lytchett Manor Caravan Park The Bakers Arms

LULWORTH Lulworth Visitor Centre

NORDEN Farm Shop Train Station

PUDDLETOWN Community Library Spar

SANDFORD

Co-op Food & Petrol Station Sandford Premier

STUDLAND Studland Stores

SWANAGE

Ballard Stores

Budgens Supermarket Coastal Park Conservative Club Co-op Costcutters Durlston Castle Jenkins Newsagent MacCalls Newsagent

Nationwide Building Society Post Office Rudges Spar

Swanage News Tourist Information Centre

Traditional Barber Train Station Triangle Garage/Texaco WH Smiths

TINCLETON

Tincleton Church

TOLPUDDLE

Tolpuddle Creech Farm Shop

ULWELL Village Shop/Inn

UPTON Aldi Co-op

Lytchett & Upton Council Spar Upton Library Upton News & Wine

WAREHAM

Chipperies Fish & Chips Conservative Club Co-op Horseys Newsagent long John’s Fish & Chips One Stop Farwells

Premier Stores Purbeck Library Purbeck Mobility Centre Purbeck Sports Centre Sainsburys Train Station Wareham Laundrette

WEST HOLME West Holme Nurseries

WINFRITH NEWBURGH Post Office WINTERBORNE WHITECHURCH Lady Bailey Caravan Park - 73

WINTERBORNE KINGSTONE

Village Hall Phone Box WOOL Gillets Spar Shop The Hidden Deli

Update on glow of street lights...

I WOULD like to give your readers an update about the LED replacement street lights that have been installed in Swanage by Dorset Council.

When the stray light from these LEDs was being measured, the light meter was concealed from us and we were not told what the readings were, despite us asking for them at the time.

The next day we were informed via email the light levels were within acceptable limits.

We asked for an independent reading of the light trespass to be taken, but we received no response to this request from either the council or its contractor.

I therefore purchased an identical light meter to the one that had been used by the contractor, and repeated the readings myself.

The meter readings I obtained were double the values that were reported to us, and were considerably higher than the maximum spill light specified in the current guidance.

I wonder how Dorset Council can explain this discrepancy and what, if anything, they will do to correct the situation?

Dr Gavin Rider

A seasonal Brexit poem for all!

Happy Brexmas!...

Xmas will be Brexmas now we’re out of the EU; Decorations everywhere will be red,white and blue.

The tree will be an English oak, not Scandinavian pine;

And on the top a Rishi Sunak fairy doll will shine.

Turkey can get stuffed this year cos British beef is back; Brussels sprouts will never more our festive bots attack!

Instead the wind of change will blow to herald in the new; Presents will be scarce though, cos the pound is in the poo;

And sadly Santa won’t be here nor swaddled babe in straw;

Immigrants like Laplanders and Jews will come no more.

But Christmas will be white again, the snowflakes and the skin;

Brexiteers will warm their nuts and merrily they’ll sing.

“Forget about the world outside, we Brits will have a ball;

The Brexit future’s just begun, “God help us one and all!”

Hobdell Swanage

Cancer support at Christmas

THIS December, on top of the devastating reality of facing cancer at Christmas, families of children and young people going through treatment have increasing costs to get to hospital as well as a devastating rise in energy bills at home

when they need to keep their child warm.

For families supported by Young Lives vs Cancer, life is getting even harder with the pressures of the cost of living.

As the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people, we are seeing families we support in Dorset having to deal with uncontrollable costs.

Young Lives vs Cancer has launched a Crisis Fund appeal to offer families grants to help lessen the burden of bills this winter.

There are still families and young people out there who haven’t received the relief of a grant.

We can’t support them without your help.

Readers can visit younglivesvscancer.org.uk to donate today.

As well as donating, there are other ways the community in Dorset can support Young Lives vs Cancer’s vital work this Christmas.

You can also visit our online shop to buy Christmas cards and gifts at: younglivesvscancer. org.uk/join-our-fight/getshopping.

We also have a range of

festive pin badges with various designs available online and at JDWetherspoon for a suggested £1 donation.

Liz Blunt Young Lives vs Cancer

Joy at railway campaign story

I FELT compelled to write to your erstewhile organ after reading the recent edition featuring the story of Andrew Goltz and John Sloboda, who spearheaded the campaign to save the Swanage Railway after a visit to our part of the world in 1972.

What a lovely story of people deciding to make a difference – and then actually doing it.

The Isle of Purbeck – and Swanage in particular – owes these chaps a debt of gratitude.

Our area would be much the poorer without the railway, and all it brings.

They should be honoured for their efforts to restore what has become a major attraction.

I, for one, salute them and all the volunteers who keep up the good work.

John Archer

Readers’ letters on matters of local interest are welcomed. Email them to ed@purbeckgazette.co.uk along with your name and where you live. Please let us know if you are happy for your name and address to be printed. If permission is not obvious we may either use your initials or state ‘name and address supplied’.

This photograph, taken at sunrise in Acton Fields, near Langton Matravers, was taken by Chris Caruana. Send your Purbeck pictures to ed@purbeckgazette.co.uk.

Martin

Remember:

1) Up to two extra sacks of rubbish beside your bin will be collected on your first rubbish collection after Christmas Day.

2) No garden waste collections will take place from Christmas Eve until Monday 9 January.

3) Household recycling centres are open from 9am - 4pm daily, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

4) Extra recycling – including glass and food – will be collected on your recycling collection day, provided it has been separated correctly and placed in a suitable sturdy container (no bags) that can be easily lifted by one person.

5) Please help collection crews by putting your glass out for collection before Christmas. This ensures you have as much space as possible in your glass box going into the festive period, helping prevent overspilling containers.

Save

£50 this Christmas!

These tips can help you make savings on your Christmas food budget. It can save you time as well!

• Plan your meals over Christmas fortnight - make a shopping list and stick to it

• Check your food cupboards before shopping

• Use the portion calculator at lovefoodhatewaste.com/ portion-planner

• Use up foods in your freezer beforehand to make room for Christmas leftovers

• Store food correctly – check pack instructions

• Keep an eye on “use by” dates

• Use up leftovers in delicious recipes

• Freeze leftovers that can’t be eaten

Find more top tips and recipes at dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/lovefoodhatewaste

Bin collection days

Recycle more

This Christmas, don’t let all your waste go to landfill. If you live in Dorset*, you can recycle:

• All cooked and uncooked food waste

• Wrapping paper**, cardboard and Christmas cards (no glitter)

• Plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays

• Glass bottles and jars (Please keep glass separate)

We’ll

collect extra recycling in your own boxes. Thank you for recycling!

If you live in Dorset*, check for changes to your collection

* Doesn’t include Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole. Check your council website for details.

Opposite of alkaline (6)

Required by etiquette (2,7)

Klutz (3)

Classical language (5)

Kind of (2,1,3)

Inept person (11)

Least good (5)

Entirely natural (7)

Roughly (5)

Model landscape scene (7)

Bistro (4)

Short, pastoral poem (5)

Relating to the making of laws (11)

Apprehending; catching (7)

Probity (7)

Economical with words (5)

Tribal leader (5)

Run away (5)

Hawaiian skirt (4)

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 cross the thick black lines.

Across

Recall excess fat around English husband showing interest (6)

At home, cool time for young child (6)

Detect pimple (4)

Oscar, serving man wearing conspicuous jewellery, is courteous (8)

Right-wing clubs taking wrong step for ideas (8) 11 Needs first off for colonists (4)

A poet excited about minute in time (1,5)

Bird that’s pale following sun (4)

Down

2 Take advantage of feat (7)

3 High room belonging to the Greeks? (5)

4 Force doors so possibly holding front of precious kitchen accessory (4,9)

5 Deceptive appearances about Italian eatery pictures (13)

Across 1 Recall excess fat around English husband showing interest (6) 5 At home, cool time for young child (6) 8 Detect pimple (4) 9 Oscar, serving man wearing conspicuous jewellery, is courteous (8) 10 Right-wing clubs taking wrong step for ideas (8) 11 Needs first off for colonists (4) 12 A poet excited about minute in time (1,5)

6 Flog map possibly as aid for drivers (3,4)

Annul old record penned by engineers on a line (6)

Tips shown by Frenchman among former elders say (8)

Acclaim hospital before trouble (4)

Disadvantage composition

7 Disadvantage when fishing, say, for musical composition (5)

Annul old record penned by engineers on a line (6)

13 Underground worker on a lake gets ore (7)

Bird that’s pale following sun (4)

Tips shown by Frenchman among former elders say (8)

Energy very much about urge to get coffee (8)

15 Explosion of crime in two areas in Western country (7) 17 Use unprofitably part of a garment, we’re told (5)

Acclaim hospital before trouble (4)

19 Moral sense in Elizabeth I contemplated

Confined space by a river storage place? (6)

Energy very much about urge to get coffee (8)

Friendly in this way concerning people on reflection (6)

22 Confined space by a river storage place? (6)

23 Friendly in this way concerning people on reflection (6)

At home, cool time for young child (6)

Detect pimple (4)

Oscar, serving man wearing conspicuous jewellery, is courteous (8)

Right-wing clubs taking wrong step for ideas (8)

Needs first off for colonists (4)

A poet excited about minute in time (1,5)

Annul old record penned by engineers on a line (6)

Bird that’s pale following sun

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

County needs better representation

RECENT weeks have seen the merry-go-round in central government seemingly come to a halt, resulting in the recent Autumn Statement which – bar any significant change in ‘leadership’ – will determine how much worse off we will all be over the next few years.

Local government for Purbeck since 2019 means Dorset Council and we have the unenviable position in that the council tax bill we’ll all receive sometime in early March has historically been among the very highest in England.

There is debate as to where in the league table we stand, but all reasonable calculations put us certainly in the top five and usually in the top two or three.

Council tax is subject to a referendum limit on any increase and that is currently 2 per cent. Recent years have seen increases larger than that, as

central government has both relaxed the limit (to 3 per cent) and allowed the imposition of an ‘Adult Social Care Precept’ (ASCP). This latter element was originally seen as one-off ‘help’ but now appears to have silently morphed into a permanent levy, shifting social care funding to residents.

In all of this, it should be remembered council tax is cumulative so the next year builds on whatever the base was the previous year – think of it as analogous to compound interest on a loan you never pay off but increases all the time, or the credit card from hell.

The Autumn Statement announced local councils can increase council tax by 3 per cent and for those that have care responsibilities (and that includes Dorset Council), add

another 2 per cent for the ASCP. So 5 per cent in total. But it is widely acknowledged council tax has never been the solution to meeting the long-term pressures facing essential public services. This is particularly the case for highdemand national services like adult social care, child protection and homelessness prevention. It also raises different amounts of money in different parts of the country unrelated to need and falls short of the sustainable long-term funding needed. It is not the long-term solution to the financial challenges facing local government, particularly during a cost-of-living crisis, and council tax increases add an extra financial burden on already struggling households.

So, what does this mean for Dorset Council residents? It means Conservative-run Dorset Council will raise your council tax by, if not the maximum, very close to it – 4.99 per cent would be my guess.

They will argue they have no choice (and they would almost certainly raise it more if permitted). What they won’t mention is that central funding to councils has been cut to the bone during the past 12 years of Tory rule and that Dorset is always the poor relation when it comes to ‘winning’ levelling up funding, despite having a Conservative-led Unitary council and a full complement of Tory MPs who fail to adequately represent our needs. The Conservatives have failed to deliver and change is needed.

NICK IRELAND

On behalf of South Dorset Lib Dems

Nick Ireland

Politics is hard work but worth it

YEARS ago, I applied for and got a job at a local magazine selling and creating advertising.

Three guesses which one?! That’s why I am so chuffed to have been asked to write this column.

Now I work in politics, proving that anyone can (and should) stand for local or national government.

November 21st was Ask Her to Stand Day. This annual event marks the passing of the years since women won the right to vote and has become an important prompt to remind us that, 104 years on from that day, women still only make up 35 per cent of MPs and 41 per cent of councillors*.

Why is that? We know that women still carry much of the load of childcare and domestic responsibilities. Various high-profile news stories out of

Westminster tell us it’s still a male-dominated arena – and not for us.

I think it’s more than that. I think that ‘people like me’ tell themselves it’s not for them. I think it’s something you grow up with – politics is for ‘other people’. People more educated. People with more money. People of a different class –whatever that means these days.

It’s rubbish. I stood because I was on benefits following the death of my daughter from leukaemia.

Our landlord had sold our house and the council had no house to give us.

I stood because I wanted to change that. I knew too many local people priced out of the area, but I knew nothing about councils or government or politics at all really. I just

wanted to do something. I just wanted change. I had brilliant support from my party (and colleagues from other parties will tell you the same) and I got elected.

That was in 2015. Since then, I’ve been part of Purbeck District Council and now Dorset Council. I’ve sat in sooo many meetings and read sooo many reports, but I’ve also worked hard to make the council more easily accessible.

I’ve helped people with housing, benefits, roads, and social care.

I’ve been to conferences and I’ve trained as a bin loader.

I’ve joined a foraging walk on Portland and spoken in Westminster.

I’ve litter picked and been on telly arguing with PETA about Wool and whether we could rename the village Vegan Wool (yes, really!).

And anyone can do it. YOU

could do it. Pick your party and get involved.

Yes, you have to learn pretty blooming quickly. Yes, it takes over your life (if you do it properly!) and yes, it’s demanding work. People forget there’s a person behind the job sometimes and can be angry.

Delivering leaflets in the rain is … fun. You will have a favourite spatula (if you know, you know…). Your family will become very tolerant of your constant explanations of how council tax is spent. You’ll be tired, elated, frustrated, and privileged to represent where you live.

Is it worth it? Yes. Every single day.

* Women in Politics and Public Life - House of Commons Library (parliament.uk).

LAURA BEDDOW Conservative councillor and cabinet member at Dorset Council

We must stop underspending on health

IN 2010, an NHS surgeon saved my life.

I had been referred to Poole Hospital with suspected bowel cancer. Scans confirmed my GP’s diagnosis.

Using state-of-the-art keyhole surgery, Professor Tas Qureshi performed a procedure which minimised the length of my stay in hospital – and meant I can now see my grandsons go to school. His expertise, internationally recognised, was matched by the care and professionalism of the nurses who looked after me so well.

I have nothing but praise for our NHS. It grieves me, therefore, to consider the underfunding which since 2010 has left the NHS overstretched and understaffed. Prior to 2010, NHS Budgets rose on average 3.7 per cent yearly. Since then, NHS budgets have risen on average 1.4 per cent yearly.

Despite being the sixth largest economy, we are only

14th in the OECD table for spend per head on healthcare.

Jeremy Hunt has announced the NHS will receive an extra £3.3bn over the next two years, but this is below the rate of inflation – therefore a real-terms cut –and experts warn this is probably only half of what is needed to keep the NHS afloat.

Only last month Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, forecast a £7bn shortfall in funding next year, which it warned – despite the Mail on Sunday’s “Bonfire of the NHS Pen-Pushers” headline – could not be filled by “efficiency measures” alone.

In June this year there were 132,139 NHS posts vacant, including more than 46,000 nursing posts – a vacancy rate of almost 10 per cent.

Recently I met once more

with Tas Qureshi. I belong to Swanage and Isle of Purbeck Semi-Colons, a support group for people of all ages living with bowel cancer. We’d made a donation to support the wellbeing of the nurses at Poole. They had faced the demands of working through Covid, proving their quality on a daily basis.

Tas was thoughtful and quiet when I met him. The operation he had been ready to perform that morning had been cancelled at the last minute. A shortage of beds meant that the operation could not go ahead.

I recalled my own operation – lying awake the night before, half dreading, half welcoming the next morning.

I could only imagine what it would have been like – after all of that – to be told at the last moment all of my waiting and

hoping had been in vain.

A significant number of Poole Hospital beds are “blocked” as a result of the social care crisis.

Yet, as with the NHS, little seems to be in hand to provide the resources clearly required to ensure the adequate, dignified, care of the elderly and infirm.

Tas had already explained to me the UK has one of the lowest numbers of intensive care beds per head in Europe.

The UK has 7.3 critical care beds per 100,000 people, compared to Germany’s 33.8. NHS providers have warned the government to address this.

The NHS is a gem. We fail ourselves as a nation if we let it founder. We fail those nurses, those surgeons and those doctors who always go the extra mile to keep us well.

CHRIS BRADEY Chairman, Swanage and Rural Purbeck Labour Party

Chris Bradey

Laura Beddow

Championing the work talents of all

EFFORTS to help more young people with disabilities or special educational needs to find work in Dorset have taken a major step forward with the launch of a dedicated one-year programme.

Dorset Careers Hub has convened a range of businesses, education providers, local authority organisations and other partners on the Removing Barriers initiative.

Its aim is to raise the number of locally-based employers who are confident about taking on and supporting young people aged 16 to 19 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Around 150 employers registered in the Dorset and BCP council areas are already in the government’s Disability Confident scheme but only three are in the top ‘Leader’ tier and seen as making a truly positive difference to diversity and inclusivity.

Removing Barriers is designed to increase the number of Disability Confident ‘Leaders’ to at least ten, creating job opportunities for around 20 young people with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC), the national body for careers education, has awarded government funding to Dorset Careers Hub to lead and deliver Removing Barriers.

The Hub, jointly funded by Dorset LEP and CEC, has appointed Andrew Holland of consultancy sendme2work.com as project manager.

Andrew said: “We want to change mindsets and encourage more employers to come forward and take the lead to attract, recruit and champion disabled talent.

“We will be running a series of events to reach out to employers and will provide training, mentoring and coaching.

“Employers should know there are grants available from

the Department for Work and Pensions that can help when you take on and retain people with disabilities and special education needs.

“Help includes financial support from the Access to Work scheme to help with travel-to-work arrangements.”

Chelsey, an apprentice in business administration at the Bournemouth disability charity SAMEE – one of the three Disability Confident leader employers in Dorset - spoke of how the opportunity to start a supported internship two years ago had changed her life.

“It really helped me with my confidence,” she said. “Sometimes because of my autism, I get really anxious about new things and places, but everyone at SAMEE made me feel really safe and secure.

“My manager always gave me extra time with every job I had to do which meant that I wasn’t rushed, and they always made sure that the workplace was quiet and calm around me which made me feeI really relaxed.

“Everything they did for me meant I could concentrate on doing my best work, and I was really excited when they offered me my first ever paid job as their official Business Administration Apprentice.”

The launch of Removing Barriers comes at a time of acute skills shortages in many industry sectors.

And the scheme’s backers point to recent research by the Department for Work and Pensions showing that 73% of employers who make workrelated adjustments to accommodate disabled staff say it is easy to do so.

Rebecca Phillips, Strategic Lead at Dorset Careers Hub, said: “Removing Barriers is all about encouraging Dorset’s SMEs and larger companies to come on board and help level up opportunities so all young people can fulfil their potential.

“There are many national

employers operating in Dorset who are Disability Confident but we want to reach those firms actually based here who are keen to play their part too.

“The guidance offered through the programme should encourage companies to set aside any previous concerns and take the plunge, knowing there is someone by their side throughout.

“Our focus is on young people with an EHCP who want to work but need to address and overcome challenges to find a position.

“From the employer point of view, there is huge value in cultivating a diverse and inclusive workforce where everyone matters, yet nationally only 5.9 per cent of adults with a disability are in paid employment.

“More than six out of ten say they would like to work but there are too many challenges in

their way. As its name indicates, Removing Barriers aims to change this. Success means we will truly transform people’s lives.

“And employers should know that once they have taken the step, and the company culture has shifted, they will always be able to confidently hire from this cohort.”

To reach ‘Leader’ status on the Disability Confident rankings, employers are expected to act as champions of disability employment within their local and business communities and supply chain networks.

For more information and to register as an employer on Removing Barriers, email Andrew Holland at andrew@ sendme2work.com.

Further details about Dorset Careers Hub can be found at https://www.dorsetcareershub. co.uk/about-us.

A new programme co-ordinated by Dorset Careers Hub aims to raise the number of locally-based employers who are confident about taking on young people with special educational needs and disabilities

Autumn Budget Statement 2022

THE anticipated Autumn Statement has landed, with the Chancellor’s speech offering little surprise that taxes will increase for many.

The rationale given was one of “significant economic challenge for the UK and global economy”, the primary causes of which are the costs incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic alongside rising inflation, further exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.

Central banks are battling inflation by raising interest rates, which in turn have increased the cost of borrowing for families, businesses and governments. What does this mean for the taxes to be paid by individuals?

n Allowances previously frozen until 2026 have now been frozen until 2028. This fiscal drag will bring more people into the respective taxation brackets as earnings and asset values increase. The frozen allowances include income tax personal allowances, National Insurance thresholds and the inheritance tax nil rate band alongside residential nil rate band.

n The additional rate threshold will be reduced from £150,000 to £125,140

from April 6, 2023.

n Capital gains tax annual exemption is reduced from £12,300 to £6,000 in April 2023 and then down to £3,000 from April 2024. For a higher rate taxpayer there will be £1,860 additional tax to pay on a gain of £12,300 from April 2024 onwards.

n Dividend Allowances will also reduce from £2,000 to £1,000 in April 2023 and then to £500 from April 2024.

n Owners of electric cars, vans and motorcycles will all start to pay Vehicle Excise Duty from April 2025.

n From 1st April 2025, any new zero emission cars worth £40,000 on the list price will have to pay the Expensive Car Supplement for five years.

n Company car tax rates are also to increase across the board by 1 per cent per annum from 2025.

The Scottish government’s tax and spending plans for 2023/24 are due to be published on December 15.

I hope that this provides a useful summary and some food for thought. If you have investments, it is worth ensuring that they are as tax efficient as possible and potentially seeking professional help in order to ensure that this is the case.

Redmayne Bentley is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Members of the London Stock Exchange. The Redmayne Bentley

Phone: 01202 714450. Email: kate. spurling@redmayne.co.uk.

Follow us on Twitter @redmayne bentley and visit us on the web at www. redmayne.co.uk/bournemouth.

Gifts with Reservation

The majority of gifts made during a person’s life are not subject to tax at the time of the gift. These lifetime transfers are known as ‘potentially exempt transfers’ or ‘PETs’. These gifts or transfers achieve their potential of becoming exempt from Inheritance Tax if the taxpayer survives for more than seven years after making the gift. There is a tapered relief available if the donor dies between three and seven years after the gift is made.

The effective rates of tax on the excess over the nil rate band for PETs is:

• 0 to 3 years before death 40%

• 3 to 4 years before death 32%

• 4 to 5 years before death 24%

• 5 to 6 years before death 16%

• 6 to 7 years before death 8%

However, the rules are different if the person making the gift retains some ‘enjoyment’ of the gift made. This is usually the case where the donor does not want to give up control over the assets concerned and the gift is made with reservation of title. These gifts fall under the heading of ‘Gifts With Reservation of Benefits rules’ or ‘GWROBs’.

A common example is a person giving their house away to their children but continuing to live in it rent-free. Under these circumstances, the taxman would contend that the basic position of the donor remained unchanged and that this is a GWROB. In this is the case, HMRC will not accept that a true gift has been made and the ‘gift’ would remain subject to Inheritance Tax even if the taxpayer dies more than 7 years after the transfer.

A GWROB can usually be avoided in this type of situation if the donor pays full market rent for the use of the asset gifted.

Kate Spurling is investment manager at Redmayne Bentley. She lives in Swanage and is based at Redmayne Bentley’s Bournemouth and Poole office.

Bournemouth and Poole office is at 139 Commercial Road, Ashley Cross, Poole, Dorset, BH14 0JD.

Running blind in honour of friend

By Lorraine Gibson

RUNNERS wearing race bibs bearing the message ‘In memory of David Edwards’ took part in Wimborne’s annual 10-mile road race to raise money for their late friend’s favourite charity.

They joined more than 400 runners at Pamphill Green on Sunday, November 20, for what was the final event of the year in the Dorset Road Race League, where many were raising funds for various other charities including Julia’s House.

David Edwards lost his sight 30 years ago but despite his disability he was a veteran of more than 200 park runs, competing in events such as The Virtual London Marathon and Great South Run with his guides John Baker and Cliffe Tribe.

David was an avid campaigner for the charity Guide Dogs, so to honour him and carry his legacy forward Cliffe completed the race with a blindfold guided by his companion John – raising more than £3000 for the charity in the process.

In near perfect conditions, Harry Lauste of Tremlow Track Club won the race in a time of 52min 33sec followed by Christopher Peck (54min 18sec) and Jonathon Cooper (56min

56sec), both from Egdon Heath Harriers.

The first woman was Vicky Ingham, from Poole Runners, in a time of 59min 35sec followed by Georgina Povall (1hr 1min 40sec) from Egdon Heath Harriers and Helen O’Neile (1hr 3min 1sec) from Poole Runners.

Spencer kicks secure win for Swans

SWANAGE & Wareham

travelled to Combe Down, near Bath, for a Southern Counties league fixture, and in a lowscoring game Swans’ second half display secured the victory.

The first ten minutes of the game were even, but a series of penalties to Combe Down took them into Swans’ 22, where with a series of scrums they remained there for the next ten minutes.

However, a penalty to Swans cleared their lines. Swans moved upfield and on 24 minutes a penalty to Swans just

outside the hosts’ 22 had Swans winger Matt Spencer landing the score to give Swans a 3pts lead.

Combe Down responded well and put Swans under pressure. From a catch/drive move after 35 minutes they powered over the line out wide.

The conversion was missed, making the half-time score

Combe Down 5 Swans 3.

Swans started the second half on the attack, dominating the scrums and putting the hosts defence under pressure.

After 56 minutes Swans scored a push-over try by captain James Casey close to the posts.

Matt Spencer added the extras to put Swans 10-5 ahead.

Combe went on the offensive but a combination of good Swans tackling and their own mistakes restricted them.

Good runs by Swans wing forwards Matt Roberts and man

of the match Trevor Ford were stopped short of the line.

With ten minutes left another penalty by Matt Spencer put Swans up to 13 points.

It could have been more but a final penalty went just wide to leave the final score 5-13 in favour of the visitors.

Swans team: R Ferguson, M Spencer, T Munns, S Bowman, O Dillon, W Slack, T Ford, Z Wyburgh, C Foskett, N McMath, D Collins, M Seaton, B Dennett, M Roberts, J Casey, N Audley, H Hadd, L Spyers.

RON BUTLER

Cliffe Tribe runs with a blindfold guided by John Baker, above, in honour of their friend David Edwards. Race winner Harry Lauste of Tremlow Track club, below, and women’s race winner Vicky Ingham of Poole Runners, right

Drive-to-survive motorists ‘worst hit’

HIGH fuel prices are pushing UK drivers to their limit, as 76 per cent admit they are not able to continue working without a car.

This is according to new research released by used car buying service ChooseMyCar. com. The statistics are part of a larger study into how the spiralling cost of living, coupled with high fuel prices, is impacting the British public.

Worryingly, the data suggests despite the crippling costs faced by UK drivers, many must continue to drive or face losing their jobs.

ChooseMyCar.com’s study shows that the 18-34 year old age group are the most adversely affected, with a massive 84 per cent stating that they need their car to work.

The 35-55 year old age group was only slightly behind at 75 per cent, and even among the

over 55s some 65 per cent were reliant upon a car for work.

The research is particularly worrying since so many other bills have also been pushed higher – the fear is many UK drivers will be forced to go without food or heating in order to afford their car.

The study also revealed some interesting geographic variations:

n Glasgow is the city with the most people reliant on their cars for work, with 90 per cent stating they need to run their car for work;

n Sheffield was just behind, with 89 per cent, with Birmingham ranked third on 86% and Brighton, Edinburgh and Newcastle all with more than 80 per cent of respondents needing their car.

n

The least car-reliant city was Nottingham, with 59 per cent

needing their vehicle.

Founder of ChooseMyCar. com Nick Zapolski said the research suggested many people faced difficult decisions ahead.

He added: “Our study proves that many people in the UK do need to drive to survive.

“They don’t have the luxury

Pixabay

of deciding to leave their car off the road, so they’re forced to pay still too high fuel prices on top of everything else that’s going up in price.

“There are very concerning times ahead, and the working people of Britain will be the most affected.”

Photo:

Countdown to Christmas

Swanage Conservative Club

magic over the Tivoli as the magical Scheherazade and seasoned pantomime performer LEE REDWOOD will have the audience in stitches as the hilarious Wishee Washee!

Swanage Conservative Club is a friendly members social club set in the heart of town.

e show will feature INCREDIBLE special e ects from internationally-acclaimed illusionists e Twins FX – giving the biggest panto WOW factor in all of Dorset! Prepare to be amazed as Aladdin soars over the audience on his amazing Flying Carpet, with no strings attached!

With over 1500 members it’s a wonderful place to socialise and spend time with friends and family. We have many events going on during the course of every month, including quizzes, bingo, live entertainment, raffles and meat draws. We also have two snooker tables, a pool table, 6 darts boards and we show live sports coverage on BT Sport.

So hop on your magic carpet and join us this Christmas at the Tivoli for the best value, most spectacular pantomime in Dorset!

We always welcome new members, who can join for a small yearly fee. Please contact the club or pop in for details.

We have recently negotiated with our brewery and are pleased to be reducing the prices on many of our popular brands.

We look forward to seeing our current members renew and would love to see some new faces too.

Happy festive season from the Committee and staff.

Christmas at the Purbeck Mobility Centre

Now that the weather is colder, it’s feeling more like Christmas. We have a wide range of mobility aids in stock, so if you’re looking for a present for a loved one, do pop in. Many of our products can be VAT free if they help overcome a permanent disability or life limiting condition.

Christmas at the Purbeck Mobility Centre

Now that the weather is colder, it’s feeling more like Christmas. We a wide range of mobility aids in stock , so if you’re looking for a present for a loved one, do pop in Many of our products can be VAT free if help overcome a permanent disability or life limiting condition.

Best seller: Cosyfeet Slippers for Men and Women Designed to fit swollen feet, bunions or extra wide feet, we have a full range in store including the best selling, fur lined Snuggly slippers!

Best-seller: Cosyfeet Slippers for Men and Women Designed to fit swollen feet, bunions or extra wide feet, we have a full range in store including the best-selling, fur-lined Snuggly slippers!

Best seller: CosiChair Riser Recliners

If you want to keep cosy this Christmas, snuggle up with our exceptionally comfortable riser recliners. With pocket sprung seating, zippable cushions and dual control motors, these British made chairs offer unbeatable quality.

Best-seller: CosiChair Riser Recliners

If you want to keep cosy this Christmas, snuggle up with our exceptionally comfortable riser recliners. With pocket-sprung seating, zippable cushions and dual-control motors, these Britishmade chairs offer unbeatable quality.

We would like to thank our customers for their custom throughout the year and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas Blue, the dog, would also like to thank customers for their generous supply of tasty treats which were very much appreciated.

We would like to thank our customers for their custom throughout the year and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Blue, the dog, would also like to thank customers for their generous supply of tasty treats which were very much appreciated.

Wimborne Favourite TEGEN JONES will be weaving

Lorraine, Andy and Blue at the Purbeck Mobility Centre

Downstream Dorset, River Tales and Local History is a colourful journey of discovery along the many rivers and streams flowing through beautiful Dorset. Starting at the source of each river, Dorset author Mary van Coller, follows the waterway to its mouth, showing the derivation of place names and revealing fascinating information about people and events past and present. Together with her husband Ryan, they have travelled throughout Dorset searching for springs and mouths of rivers. They have verified facts, listened to stories and taken many beautiful photographs. Downstream Dorset will inspire readers to explore Dorset, chat with local people and enjoy nature. There are blank pages at the back of the book to record notes and your own memories. An ideal gift for all Dorset lovers! (20% of royalties is donated to the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. Information about their service is included near the front of the book).

Adopt a Primate at Monkey World

Support the UK’s largest ape and monkey sanctuary by joining the adoption scheme this Christmas!

Loss of habitat, poaching and use & abuse by humans has devastated wild populations of primates, bringing many species to the brink of extinction. Monkey World is working to save prosimians, monkeys and apes across the globe.

The Primate Adoption Scheme enables us to provide a safe haven for the many primates whose lives are still in danger and assist governments around the globe to stop smuggling, abuse & neglect.

By making a donation, leaving a legacy, or adopting a primate, like Gordon the orangutan at Monkey World you can help us to rescue and rehabilitate more primates who need our help.

at

dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/verwood-events

BE OUR GUEST FOR YOUR Christmas Party

Countdown to Christmas Christmas

Your adoption monies go into a 100% fund which is used solely for the rescue and rehabilitation of primates - no administration or other costs are removed.

Primate adoptions make a great gift! When you join our family, you’ll receive a photo of your adopted primate, a certificate, three newsletters a year and entry to the park for a year!

Support Monkey World by adopting a primate! Visit www.monkeyworld.org or call 01929 401012 to adopt today!

LEAVE THE

Thelma and Simon at play

Rieke relaxing in a hammock

Mum lost

Stone and found a new career!

Countdown to Christmas

Mum lost 3 Stone and found a new career!

I started my Slimming World journey because I was fed up with feeling frumpy and constantly tired. I have a gorgeous (both inside and out) bunch of friends and they love to take selfies when on a night out. Looking back on them the next day I felt like I always stood out as the Fat one!!

e show will feature INCREDIBLE special e ects from internationally-acclaimed illusionists e Twins FX – giving the biggest panto WOW factor in all of Dorset! Prepare to be amazed as Aladdin soars over the audience on his amazing Flying Carpet, with no strings attached!

didn’t lose the weight I needed and start to lead a healthier lifestyle. It was at this point my journey took a new route and one which has led me to become a Slimming World consultant and help other people to find ways to eat healthier and become their happy weight.

So hop on your magic carpet and join us this Christmas at the Tivoli for the best value, most spectacular pantomime in

Since then, I have continued my journey and have recently been rewarded with my 3 stone award and I could not have done this without the support of my group and my consultant.

TIVOLI THEATRE

Following the HUGE success of last year’s spellbinding pantomime Sleeping Beauty, Made to Measure Productions are delighted to be back at the Tivoli eatre this Christmas with an exciting new production of ALADDIN!

With being a Mum to two young children and having a fulltime and demanding job there have been times where I have found healthy eating hard, especially when it came to trying to find time to cook meals from scratch. This is where the Slimming World ready meals and planning really helped. During the week I intended to go for quick easy meals that I knew all the family would enjoy such as spaghetti bolognaise and chicken curry. At weekends when I had more time, I would be more experimental and have found new family favourites like tuna pasta bake and beef moussaka and on a Saturday morning I particularly enjoy a treat of potato cakes with smoked Salmon and a poached egg on the side.

The joy of Slimming World is that nothing is off the menu and all your favourite dishes can be food optimised.

Starring Britain’s Got Talent Star COURTNEY JACKSON as the hilarious Widow Twankey, with a wardrobe of outrageous costumes that must be seen to be believed! Wimborne Favourite TEGEN JONES will be weaving

When my Dad passed away very suddenly earlier this year, I started worrying about my own health and what could happen if I

I call them my “Slimming World family”. Without their understanding and encouragement, I would not have been able to achieve this amazing weight loss. I no longer worry about my health or being the fat friend in photos. My consultant is so warm and empathetic really understanding of peoples struggles and how life events can impact on your slimming world journey. Everyone’s journey is different.

am really looking forward to starting a Slimming World Group at The United Reformed Church on a Thursday evening (starting 29th December) and being the new Slimming World consultant for Swanage and helping others through their Slimming World

For more information or an informal chat please call me on 07486 454046. - Trudy

magic over the Tivoli as the magical Scheherazade and seasoned pantomime performer LEE REDWOOD will have the audience in stitches as the hilarious Wishee Washee!

Trudy x

Following the HUGE success of last year’s spellbinding pantomime Sleeping Beauty, Made to Measure Productions are delighted to be back at the Tivoli eatre this Christmas with an exciting new production of ALADDIN! Starring Britain’s Got Talent Star COURTNEY JACKSON as the hilarious Widow Twankey, with a wardrobe of outrageous costumes that must be seen to be believed! Wimborne Favourite TEGEN JONES will be weaving

Ulwell Village Pub at Christmas

The Village Inn the place to meet family and friends, in a great location just out of the town with good car parking or a gentle stroll of aprox. 2 miles through the lanes or along the Seafront. direct access to The Purbeck Hills for walking to Old Harry and Studland or Corfe Castle.

Open all day for coffee/tea etc. and cake maybe a mince pie and a warm by the log fire. Throughout December and January we will be serving our Christmas menus or usual menu and daily specials. The sheltered courtyard is an ideal place to stop with your dog, they are of course allowed inside if well behaved and 2 maximum per group.

The caravan park has a childrens play area adjacent to the pub, which you can use at your own risk.

Luxury caravans and touring pitches are available for family to come and visit!

Help for parents is at hand

PARENTS and carers of youngsters aged from five to 19 in Dorset can now access support via ParentLine, a confidential text messaging service.

Run by our school nursing team, the service supports people needing advice or guidance about children and young people.

Advice can be sought about a range of issues, including toileting, sleep, development,

behaviour, healthy eating, mental health, bullying, school refusal and exam stress.

Parents and carers simply need to text 07312 263131 and a member of the team will respond.

We want to encourage anyone who needs support to text us so we can help them and provide the right advice in an easy, accessible way.

Parents and carers can seek advice via the five to 19 ParentLine service from 9am-4pm, Monday to Friday (although excluding weekends, bank holidays and school holidays), with a member of the school nursing team responding to messages within

one working day. If you send a text outside these hours you will receive an automated message with advice on where to get help if you need it urgently.

ParentLine is not an emergency service – for urgent medical help, please contact a GP, NHS 111 or 999.

JULIET SINGLETON

Dorset HealthCare’s Children and Young People’s Service

Rachel Ciantar

Raising children, while rewarding and fun, presents all parents with difficult issues along the way. ParentLine offers confidential support from members of a dedicated NHS team

Impact of pandemic lockdowns leaves many with trauma issues

By Alice Johnsen

I AM seeing a recurrent theme with clients at the moment.

It’s about the recovery from lockdown. Not specifically the medical or logistical recovery, more the emotional one.

If you are finding it tough to re-establish yourself in this post-lockdown world and find yourself looking back on the good old days pre-Covid when we just got on with life and, looking back, it was pretty easy, you are not alone.

I’m not about to offer a great solution or even a quick fix. I don’t have one. But I wanted to share what I have been talking about with clients – the marathon that is the process of recovery we are now in.

During the lockdowns, while we faced unique challenges, loneliness, fear, frustration, there was also a feeling of ‘being in this together’ and a novelty. It was something we all had to adapt to together and we

believed, most of the time, this would be a short term situation which made it seem manageable.

But now, here we are in the long, slow and boring process of recovery. Furlough and home schooling have gone, working from home going. We’re back to how it was – although we’re not really. We’re left feeling we should just get on with life again but many people are not sure how to do that now.

Added to that, dynamics of relationships have changed in many partnerships because of the last few years.

The accumulation of causes of anxiety caused by recovery and ongoing uncertainty seeps into all parts of our lives and become draining and distracting.

Two clients just this week have told me they feel they have no plan. They feel unsettled and not sure where they should be heading.

We all have own limits and comparing ourselves to what we perceive to be other people’s success stories is not helpful.

I have written before about steps we can all take to manage stress and anxiety and in the next issue I will list the key ones for readers to refer back to over the coming months.

For now, please know if you

are feeling unsettled, not sure where you are going, distracted – you are definitely not alone and even if you are taking only tiny steps, you are moving forward and that is a good enough start.

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

Covid-19 lockdowns have caused psychological damage

Picture: Ri Butov, Pixabay

Photo by Romy, Pixabay

Festive plants beyond the tree

WHEN it comes to festive plants the Christmas tree is not the only option.

There are many indoor and outdoor plants available to decorate your home and garden.

Poinsettia is a festive favourite and are a widely grown Christmas houseplant.

Their flowers are leafy bracts and they come in a variety of colours and patterns although red is the most traditional.

Poinsettias are a tender, seasonal houseplant that naturally bloom from December to January.

They are to be positioned in a bright, warm, draught-free spot and out of the direct sunlight.

Poinsettias like humid

conditions and misting regularly will prolong the bract life.

Amaryllis is a flowering tropical plant that grows from a bulb. They have large trumpetshaped blooms and strappy leaves. The blooms are typically deep red, pink or white. They are to be placed in a bright spot and to be turned every few days to help the plant grow upright. The soil must remain moist, but never soggy.

Mistletoe is a popular

Christmas plant and decoration. It has oval evergreen leaves borne in pairs along a woody stem and clusters of small white berries.

Mistletoe grows on a variety of host plants including apple, lime, polar and ash. Sprigs of mistletoe are available over the Christmas period and are often brought indoors.

English Holly is a perennial evergreen shrub. Its bright red berries and glossy green thorny leaves have made it one of the most popular decorations to use over Christmas.

It is often the main component in festive wreaths,

garlands and table decorations.

In the garden, holly is an extremely low maintenance plant. They will grow in sun or partial shade and prefer well drained but moist soil.

Helleborus Niger, commonly called the Christmas rose, has white petals and dark green foliage. Despite the name and appearance, they are in fact part of the buttercup family. They thrive in a well-drained garden and in partial shade.

They flower from November to March and also make an excellent cut flower.

n Rudge’s Garden Centre has a wide range of Christmas plants available as well as many other Christmas decorations.

Poinsettia and mistletoe, above, and holly, inset below, are all great for Christmas decorations

Pictures: Jill Wellington , Peggychoucair and Mariya Muschard from Pixabay

Opulance of an opal

THE fire opal is a truly spectacular gemstone.

It is a very rare type of opal as it is completely translucent, which showcases its fabulously rich and vibrant colour.

It can be faceted to enhance the lustre whereas most opals are cut en cabochon – curved on the top.

No other gemstone displays this depth of colour, a really deep, lush orange-red.

Historically, there was quite a lot of superstition surrounding opals, which had an undeserved reputation for bringing the wearer bad luck.

However, thanks to a large discovery of opals in Australia in 1870, where most of the world’s supply is mined, they became more popular and began being used in all forms of jewellery design.

Queen Victoria led the way in wearing this beautiful gemstone. By Edwardian times, when the stunning piece you can see here was made, opals were extensively worn as fashion pieces.

Opal is the birthstone for October and is, unsurprisingly, Australia’s national gemstone. The reason they can be expensive stones is due to the cost of mining them.

The black opal is the most rare and valuable of these type of stones typically showing a strong lightening blue-black colour but, despite the name, come in a variety of wonderful intense and rich colours.

The stunning fire opal and diamond pendant, pictured above and currently for sale at Heirlooms jewellers, has a round brilliant cut diamond in a rubover collet setting with rose cut diamonds on the bale, all set in gold and platinum.

Amy Brenan, director at Heirlooms, said: “I bought it privately because it is a splendid example of how the Edwardians designed jewellery.”

AMY BRENAN Director of Heirlooms Jewellers, 21 South Street, Wareham

At last it’s Christmas

IT’S beginning to look a lot like Christmas here at @sixtyone.

The shop is now ready for the festive season and to celebrate we have reduced the price of several items.

So if you are looking for gift

inspiration or just fancy treating yourself to something special or unique, there are plenty of bargains to be had.

And don’t forget you can also shop on our website if it is difficult to visit in person.

Our sale is now on so pop in to pick up some fabulous gifts or if you are entertaining this festive season we have some gorgeous barware in stock.

Book explores complex identity of

By Sara Niven

FROM stone and spa to steam – and everything in between –the history and mixed fortunes of Swanage come under the spotlight in a new book, Swanage – An Illustrated History.

From theories about the origins of the town’s name, including suggestions of connections to a swannery or even a piggery – “swan” being a corruption of “swine” – to the concerns of modern-day residents, the book is the brainchild of an author who balances personal knowledge and affection for Swanage with a historian’s objectivity.

Jason Tomes was born in the town in 1966, attending Swanage primary and middle schools before being sent to the Purbeck School in Wareham – the only option available after Dorset County Council closed Swanage’s secondary schools in the mid-1970s.

Even at an early age he took an enthusiastic interest in town politics, encouraged by a neighbour and long-serving councillor he knew as Mrs Hammond.

“It may sound an unusual hobby for an 11-year-old, but Swanage politics were exceptionally lively and even militant in the 1970s, as the town reacted strongly against the loss of its

railway and secondary schools and the downgrading of its council from an urban district to a parish,” Jason recalls. “I remember a parish meeting at the Mowlem Theatre in October 1977 as the most turbulent public meeting that I have ever attended.”

In the 1980s, he enjoyed more cultural aspects of life in the town, such as the Isle of Purbeck Arts Club

Author James Tomes, who put the book together

seaside town with industrial roots

town was covered in county histories, especially those whose authors seemed to find it difficult to fit into their narratives or even downright dislikeable,” Jason explained.

He concedes that it could be seen as slightly crazy to select a small place with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants and give it the same kind of consideration in print more often bestowed on big cities.

However, as he puts it: “It does not follow that, because a place is small, its character and development must be simple.”

Players and Swanage Choral and Operatic Society.

Although he has not returned to live permanently in the town after leaving for university in 1985, his parents remained and he has been a regular visitor ever since. It was during a family visit that he started researching local history and the idea for a book was born.

“I realised how poorly the

n See our next History column for a look at how this book covers the tension between Swanage’s industrial origins and its place today as a British seaside town.

Swanage – An Illustrated History by Jason Tomes is available in bookshops throughout Dorset and directly from the publisher Dovecote Press at dovecotepress.com.

Super pairing for lovely winter slaw

By Rebecca Vincent

BOTH stars of this recipe hail from the nutritionally dense brassica family which includes broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and kale, but are a little bit different.

The brassica vegetables are wildly versatile and taste great steamed, stir-fried, roasted and even raw – kohlrabi and cavolo nero are no different. This recipe pairs them together with some bold flavours to create a lovely winter slaw.

Kohlrabi, despite looking closer to a potato than a traditional brassica, tastes like a slightly sweeter version of broccoli. It is a very rich source of vitamin C – boasting more

Pets

than oranges – and a good source of vitamin B6, folate, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, manganese and anti-oxidants including carotenoids. Kohlrabi

is also a good mix of soluble and insoluble fibre.

Cavolo nero, also known as Tuscan kale, black kale and black cabbage, is a very dark leafy vegetable similar to traditional kale. It is a great source of folic acid, vitamins A, C, K and B, calcium, iron, manganese, copper and antioxidants including lutein. Method: Peel the kohlrabi,

then take half of it and finely slice, and then cut the slices into matchsticks.

Cut the stems out of the cavolo nero and finely slice. Coarse grate the carrot.

Peel the onion, cut it in half through the root, then finely slice one half. If you have one you can use a mandolin to finely slice the kohlrabi and onion.

Mix together the extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper.

Place all the vegetables in a bowl and pour over the mustard dressing and mix until everything is coated well.

Lastly, finely slice the parsley and mix through. Lovely served with leftovers from a roast.

n Rebecca Vincent BSc (Hons) is a BANT registered nutritionist in Wincanton (07515 019430); www. rebeccavincentnutrition.co.uk.

M argaret Green Animal Rescue

Show our rescue pets they are loved

WOULD you like to make our rescue animals’ Christmas extra special this festive season?

We are delighted to be launching our brand new Wrapped Up With Love appeal.

By kindly donating a gift for our rescue dogs and cats, equines, farmies and small animals, you will be directly contributing towards their joy on Christmas Day.

The easiest way to do this is by ordering through our Amazon Wishlists, and your gift will be delivered straight to our door.

Each of our three centres in Dorset and Devon has their own wishlist, which contains a full range of items that our animals would love to receive. You could also consider

making a donation through our website, which will help us to look after the rescue animals in our care this Christmas and beyond.

If you’re feeling festively creative, you could fill a shoebox with a range of

goodies inspired by our animals’ wishlists, and drop it off at your nearest rehoming centre or charity shop. It would mean so much to them and help to spread the festive cheer this winter!

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who supports us and makes our work with rescue

animals possible. With your help, we can make their Christmas truly magical.

If you would like to find out more about Wrapped Up With Love and explore our animals’ individual wishlists, make sure you visit our website at: www. mgar.org.uk/news for further details.

Caring for animals since 1965 Rescue Care Rehome Support Donate

The ‘truth’ of Dickens’ Xmas fiction

By Lorraine Gibson

IT IS 1843, and with Christmas looming Mr Dickens is about to publish his latest instalment of the cautionary yuletide tale.

Meanwhile, Mr Scrooge is at his desk, working desperately to tell his side of the story.

This is the premise of The Scrooge Diaries, an innovative one-man show that aims to put the record straight on the truth behind A Christmas Carol.

In three exclusive performances, Ebeneezer Scrooge opens his diary to expose the awful truth about Tiny Tim, the Fezziwigs, Jacob Marley and the disgustingly jolly, gluttonous, consumerdriven Ghost of Christmas Present, as he calls out Dickens – the ‘vengeful, slanderous, upstart author’ of said novel.

At the suggestion that Marley was dead to begin with, Scrooge retorts: “Humbug, Mr.Dickens! Dead? As sure as the clothes

moths in my wardrobe have beshredded my best nightcap, Marley was not dead but rather sitting on some sun-soaked, offshore beach squandering all the hard-earned money that he had so fraudulently embezzled from my firm over the years!

“You know nothing Mr Dickens! You are a fraud sir –an embezzler of the truth! A

fake news-smith! A charlatan… Charlatan Dickens! Bah! …” And so it goes.

Actor Peter Macqueen of PMac Productions will perform The Scrooge Diaries – billed as a ‘fantastically festive and revelatory show’ – to three Dorset communities through Artsreach, the touring arts charity.

Performances are on Friday December 16 at Martinstown Village Hall, from 7.30pm (01305 889738), Saturday 17 at Hinton Martell Village Hall (01258 840066) and Sunday 18 from 4pm at Studland Village Hall (01929 450587).

For more details, video trailers and tickets visit www. artsreach.co.uk.

Charming role for

TYGER Drew-Honey – who became a household name as a childhood actor in classic sitcom Outnumbered – is making his panto debut this month in Poole.

The 26-year-old, who played Jake in the BBC show, is playing Prince Charming in Cinderella at the Lighthouse this Christmas – and he can’t wait.

“It’s just never come my way before and if I’d been offered a role sooner there’s no reason that I wouldn’t have taken it,” he said. “Looking back on the shows I was in, there was always a Christmas special to be filmed that meant I would have been busy when panto was in rehearsal, but this is a fantastic opportunity and I’m really looking forward to being part of it.”

Acting has been Tyger’s job since he was just 10 years old. As well as Outnumbered, he’s

fronted several BBC documentaries and appeared in shows including Citizen Khan, Death In Paradise and Midsomer Murders.

“It’s incredible really, I’m 26 now, where did the time go?” he says. “I’d say my childhood was slightly different, but I was lucky to fall into this business quite young – how many people are fortunate enough to fall into something they actually love?”

Tyger made his stage debut three years ago touring in Olivier Award-winning writer Laura Wade’s acclaimed comedy Posh, playing Alistair Ryle. He is keen to get back on stage in front of an audience and hone his skills as a live performer.

“I’ve seen lots of panto and have fond memories of throwing things on stage and shouting at the actors,” he added. “I know this is going to be an intense schedule being on

If

To all visual artists who live or work in Purbeck

Closing date for applications is January 31st 2023.

PAW

THE

stage and in that high adrenaline state, it’s no small feat. Knackering, but it will be fun.”

And he’s not worried about escaping the shadow of his TV past, far from it.

“I don’t really consider those long-running shows to be shadows,” he says. “My entire education in the screen side of this industry has come from those shows. It was like an extended period at film school in a sense. I’ll be using skills in the panto that I learned from Outnumbered.

“I think the TV work gave me a fantastic childhood and set me up in very good stead, but there is this period that every young actor has to go through where you go from a boy to a man. So, there is a mould to break but I think I’m in the process of breaking it.

“I feel like I’ve discovered something with acting that I can do – I don’t have 16 years’

experience in anything else – so although I think of myself as quite able and would probably be able to do okay at something else, this is what I want to do.

“I love the industry of it, the moments on stage, but it’s also about the things it allows me to do, the people it allows me to meet. I want to aim high. I want to do this thing and have a great life because of it.”

But what would success look like to him in, say, 10 years?

“Ultimately, if I was to be happy in 10 years’ time, both my parents would still be alive, I’d be with my current girlfriend Fluke and have earned enough money over those years to have afforded a good quality of life.

“I’m hoping to be living in Spain in two or three years’ time and if I could be doing enough work to say I was an actor and to have supported myself and my family doing only that, that would be good.”

star of TV sitcom Christmas cracker

ENJOY a festive night like no other as popular folk band The Churchfitters head to Dorset!

With a double bass made out of scrap metal, heart-wrenching vocals accompanied by a musical saw, and foot-stomping fiddle mixed with infectious funk-rock rhythms, The Churchfitters are a folk group like no other, and this December they play three festive concerts with touring arts charity Artsreach.

The three virtuoso musicians from England and France strut their stuff on a stage overflowing with instruments –adding flute, banjo, dulcimer, tin whistle, guitar, ukulele, stand up dustbin bass and a sackful of percussion to their ensemble.

Packed with a selection of favourites from their regular repertoire, interlaced with traditional and original festive songs and Christmas carols, The Churchfitters invite you to see

in Christmas with a bang and a paper hat-full of surprises, novelties and jokes in this festive feast of a ‘Christmas Cracker’.

Yvonne Gallimore, Artsreach assistant director said “These concerts are a fantastically festive and uplifting way to bring the season to a close.”

The Churchfitters visit Cranborne (07770 227095) at 8pm on Thursday December 15, Winfrith (01305 853783) at 7.30pm on Friday 16 (where tickets also include a festive supper) and Broadwindsor (07796 454203) on Saturday 17.

For full details and tickets visit www.artsreach.co.uk.

MOWLEM

Theatre, Cinema & Function Rooms

LIVE SHOWS & MUSIC:

• Snow Angel - Artsreach present a shamelessly festive cabaret show celebrating all that is Christmassy! Subversive, anarchic, and darkly hilarious, Snow Angel is a Christmas show that threatens to blow the cover off Elsa and Anna, The Snowman and a poor little drummer boy. Friday 9th December at 7.30pm

• Santa Saves Christmas - Join Jack, Dasher the Reindeer and Pompom the Penguin for this festive, musical, interactive adventure as they meet Father Christmas at his home at the North Pole and help Santa Save Christmas!

Friday 23rd December at 2.00pm

EVENTS IN THE SHOWBAR

(upstairs at The Mowlem): No events are planned for December, but our opening hours have changed.

• Monday to Thursday: 6 pm to 9 pm

• Friday and Saturday: 6 pm to 10 pm

• Sundays: Closed

MOWLEM VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITIONS

• ‘On Stage’. Pantomimes, plays, ballet and concerts; local groups and professional companies – Tony Kerins has been drawing at live performances in The Mowlem Theatre since 1986. Our third visual arts exhibition will showcase Tony’s work and be open to the public from Friday, 2nd December, through Tuesday, 17th January 2023

MOVIES:

• The Banshees of Inisherin (15) Saturday, 3rd through to Thursday, 8th December at 7.30 pm (excluding Sunday), Monday Matinée on 5th December at 2.30pm.

• Living (12A) Saturday, 10th through to Thursday, 15th December at 7.30 pm (excluding Sunday), Monday Matinée on 12th December at 2.30pm.

• The Bishop’s Wife (U) Friday, 16th December at 2.30pm, Wednesday 21st through to Friday 23rd December at 7.30pm.

• Matilda The Musical (PG) Saturday, 17th, Sunday 18th and Monday 19th December at 11.30am, Tuesday, 20th December at 2.30pm, Wednesday, 21st, Thursday 22nd and Saturday 24th December at 11.30am, Tuesday, 29th through to Friday 30th, December at 2.30pm, Saturday, 31st December at 11.30am.

• The Menu (15) Movie is subject to change - please check listings on www. themowlem.com

Saturday 17th through to Tuesday 20th December at 7.30pm (including Sunday).

CLUBS & SOCIETIES:

• The Making Memories Dementia Friendly cafe is 6th & 20th of November at 10.00am in The Showbar. On Tuesday 6th December there is a showing of ‘Holiday Inn’, the 1942 musical film starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.

• The Flower Club will meet on Thursday 1st December at 9am in the Community Room.

• Health Qigong Fitness with Penny meets every Wednesday at 2pm & 3.30pm in the Community Room.

• Baharah Dance Classes at 6.30pm on Thursday 1st, 8th and 15th November in the Community Room.

Book your tickets: www.themowlem.com www.themowlem.com

Spotlight Diary

Diary Entries are FREE if your event is FREE. If you charge, then it’s £6 plus VAT per entry, per month. The deadline for 19th December is NOON 12th December. Call Lizzie Wilmot on 01963 400186 or email lizzie@blackmorevale.net.

KEY: * = Start time not known or n/a; Ffi = for further information; Sw = Swanage; Wm = Wareham; VH = Village Hall, Telephone code 01929 unless otherwise stated.

DECEMBER 2022

Please call prior to attending events listed to ensure they are still on.

EVERY MONDAY

09.00 U3A Table Tennis Group meet at Harmans Cross VH.

09.30 Under 2.5 years old group. Till 11am. at Parish Hall, Wm.

09.30 Adult Modern line dance: Corfe Castle Village Hall: Free taster session: Call 01202 243803. Email purbeckdancestudio@gmail.com

09.45 Toddler Club URC, Swanage. Till 11.15.

10.00 Table Tennis Club Methodist Ch. hall, High Street, Swanage. Steve: 424591; Malcolm: 427695.

11.30 Adult beginners Latin American & Ballroom Line dance (you dance solo): Corfe Castle Village Hall: Free Taster Session: Call 01202 243803: Email purbeckdancestudio@gmail.com

13.00 Play and Learn at Wareham’s Children’s Centre, Streche Rd, Wm. Till 2.45pm

13.00 Under 1s and Tums at Chapel Lane, Swanage. Till 3pm.

13.45 Wareham Short Mat Bowls Club meets at Furzebrook village hall until 16.00. New members and visitors welcome. Free trial sessions and coaching. Call the secretary on 07597 782613.

14.00 Pins and Needles at Harmans Cross VH.

14.00 Swanage Digital Champions. Support people in the community to use the internet and gain basic online skills. Booking essential on 01929 423485.

14.00 Swanage Disabled Club meet until 4pm. Meeting place All Saints Church Hall, Ulwell, Swanage. Transport available. Call Mrs Daphne Saville on 01929 425241.

16.00 Colour Me Happy. Adult colouring session at Swanage Library. Drop in.

16.45 Soccer Skills Swanage FC First Sch children £1. Till 5.45. 425175.

18.00 Swanage Tennis Club at Beach Gardens, Swanage. Free cardio tennis taster. Till 7pm.

18.30 Wareham Youth Club years 8 to 9, Wareham Youth Centre.

19.00 Swanage Youth Club. School year 10 and upwards. Till 9.30pm.

19.00 Wareham Choral Society meet Lady St.Mary Church, Wm. Till 9.30. New singers always welcome. 01202 632678.

19.30 Purbeck Village Quire rehearse at Wm URC Church. New/visiting singers (no audition necessary). String & wind players also welcome. 288045 or 480737.

19.30 Wm Folk Dance Club Stoboro’ VH. All welcome. 07749 853815. Email: warehamfolkdance@gmail.com.

19.30 Swanage Air Cadets meet at Air Training Corps HQ, Court Road, Swanage. Cadets age 12+. Email: oc.2185@aircadets.mod.

19.30 Swanage Badminton Club meet at Swanage School, High Street, BH19 2PH, and play until 9pm. New members welcome.

20.00 DARTS at the RBL Club, Swanage.

EVERY TUESDAY

09.30 Isle of Purbeck Arts Club. Painting and sketching. At the Catholic Church Hall, Rempstone Rd, Swanage. Till 1pm. Outdoors in summer. Gina on 421689.

09.30 Well Baby Clinic at Chapel Lane, Swanage. Till 11.30am.

09.30 Kiddies Corner Mother & Toddler Group (term time only) No feedonations welcome. Purbeck Gateway Church. 551415.

09.30 Wareham Art Club Workshop at Wareham Parish Hall. 553718.

10.00 First Steps Parent & Toddlers’ Group. Swanage Methodist Church till 11.30am during term time. Sylvia Garrett 425420, office hours.

10.00 Wareham Croquet Club meet at the Recreation Ground until 5pm. New members and visitors welcome. Call Tony on 01929 550190 or Lesley on 01929 553927 or email warehamgolfcroquetclub@hotmail. com.

10.00 Sandford Toddlers at Sandford Community Hall, till 11.30am.

10.00 A Place Of Welcome at 103 High St. Swanage. Friendly drop-in for everyone, providing a free cup of tea or coffee, a listening ear, conversation and basic information. Everyone welcome, whatever the circumstances. Until 12 noon.

10.30 Employment Hub at Swanage Library. Until 12.30pm. Book via Skilla dn Learning on 01202 262300.

10.30 Swanage Walking for Health Group starter walks (15-30mins). Start from the Mowlem Shelter on Swanage Seafront. Get back into the Swanageing of things gently! 481000.

10.30 Wareham Walkers. Convivial health walks for mainly older people, of up to two hours in and around Wareham, ending with coffee at a local tea room or pub. www.wareham-walkers.org.uk or call 552933.

12.00 Nature Tots (0-4yrs) at Bovington Memorial Hall Garden. Until 2pm.

13.45 Wareham Short Mat Bowls Club meets at Furzebrook village hall until 16.00. New members and visitors welcome. Free trial sessions and coaching. Call the secretary on 07597 782613.

14.00 Swanage Walking for Health Group. Walks of 60-90mins, various locations. Walks are very social, for a range of abilities. Walks start from car parks at Studland, Corfe, Arne, Durlston, Langton, Acton, Worth and Kingston. 481000.

14.00 Swanage Town Walk. Local historian takes walks lasting 90 minutes. Meet outside the Museum in the ‘Square’. Contributions welcome.

17.30 Wareham Youth Club year 6, Wareham Youth Centre.

17.30 Wool Youth Club year 6, D’Urberville VH.

18.00 Swanage Youth Centre Girls’ Night (Yr 8+) Till 10pm.

18.15 Swanage Cricket Club Practice till 8.30pm.

18.30 Swanage Bridge Club Mowlem Community Room. 421840.

19.00 Wareham Youth Club year 7, Wareham Youth Centre.

17.30 Wool Youth Club year 7, D’Urberville VH.

19.00 Wareham Air Cadets meet at Air Training Corps HQ, St Martin’s Lane, Wm. Cadets age 12+. Email: oc.2185@aircadets.mod.

19.30 Belvedere Singers rehearsal at Emmanuel Baptist Church, Victoria Avenue, Swanage. BH19 1AZ. Till 9.30pm. All welcome! 425074.

EVERY WEDNESDAY

09.45 Corfe Wool Workshop Corfe VH, East St. Members £1.50; nonmembers £2.50. Till12.00. 427067.

10.00 Breast Feeding Group at Wareham’s Children Centre, Streche Rd. Peer support and breastfeeding counsellor advice. Till noon. 552864.

10.00 Adult Improvers Latin American & Ballroom dance class: St Edwards Church Hall, Swanage: Call 01202 243803: Email purbeckdancestudio@gmail.com.

10.30 Play and Learn at Kids of Wool (BH20 6DY) until 12 noon.

10.30 Books and More – Swanage Library. Reading & discussion group.

11.00 Adult Intermediate modern line dance: St Edwards Church Hall, Swanage: Call 01202 243803: Email purbeckdancestudio@gmail. com.

12.00 Adult Beginners Modern Line dance: St Edwards Church Hall, Swanage: Free taster session: Call 01202 243803. Email purbeckdancestudio@gmail.com.

13.00 Studland Toddler Group at Studland Village Hall until 2.30pm.

14.00 Herston Senior Citizens meet Herston Hall, Jubilee Rd, Swanage. All welcome.

14.00 Health Qigong: Fitness and relaxation. Till 3pm. With Penny at the Mowlem Community Room, Swanage. 07969 925502.

14.30 Local Historian walk around Swanage, lasting 1 1/2 hours. No need to book, just turn up in Swanage Museum, contributions welcome.

16.15 Swanage Football Club U-7s training til 5.15pm. £1. 426346.

17.15 Swanage Football Club U-9s training til 6.15pm. £1. 426346.

17.30 Corfe Castle Youth Club years 6 and 7, Corfe Castle VH.

18.00 Wareham Youth Club year 10 up, Wareham Youth Centre.

18.00 Planet Purbeck (aged 11 up), Wareham Youth Centre.

18.00 Wool Youth Club year 8, D’Urberville VH.

19.00 Corfe Castle Youth Club year 8 up, Corfe Castle VH.

18.00 Swanage Youth Club. School years 7 and 8. Till 8.30pm.

18.30 Swanage and Wareham Hockey Club Junior (6-14yrs) Training, Wm Sports Centre. Until 7.30pm. Email: Swanagewarehamhockey@ outlook.com.

19.00 Wm Bridge Club at the Library, South St. 552046.

19.00 Swanage & Wareham Depression Support group. Meets weekly

alternating between Swanage and Wareham. Please call Mary 01929 426896 or email Nick on nickviney@hotmail.come.

19.00 Swanage Town Band meet for our weekly practise in the Swanage Methodist Church. New musicians warmly welcomed. Please call David Cook (musical Director) for further informaiton on: 01929 422909.

19.00 Purbeck Runners meet at Beach Gardens Pavillion, Swanage.

19.30 Swanage Musical Theatre meet Swanage Bay View Complex Rehearsal Room. All welcome. 426161

20.00 Swanage Youth Centre Club Night (Yr 9+) Till 10pm.

20.15 Dorset Buttons Morris Practice. URC Hall, Wm. 423234/421130.

20.30 Wm Swanageimming Club Adults. All standards + stroke improvement. Till 10pm.

22.00 Swanage Youth Centre Club Night (16+) Till 11.59pm.

EVERY THURSDAY

09.00 Swanage Painting Club. Catholic Church Hall, Rempstone Rd, Swanage. Friendly group. New members including beginners welcome. Till 1pm. Jane on 01929 427078.

09.00 Carey Crafters meet every Thursday at Carey Hall, Mistover Road, until 12.30pm (come anytime between). No age or gender restriction. All crafts welcome – we have a wide variety!.Come along and share your craft or learn a new one! Contact Donna on 07870 993311 or Helen on 07368 352737 for further information.

09.30 Play and Learn at Chapel Lane, Swanage, till 11am.

09.30 Well Baby Clinic at Streche Road, Wareham, until 12 noon.

09.30 Swanage Tennis Club at Beach Gardens, Swanage. Free Matchplay taster session for prospective new members. First 3 sessions are free. Until 11am.

09.30 Sensory Play for under ones, at Bovington Centre until 10.30am

10.00 Wyvern Savings and Loan Credit Union opens until 12 noon at Not Just Sundaes, South Street, Wareham, opposite the Library. A secure place to save and loans available at fair rates. Call in for a cuppa and a chat, or call 01305 268444.

10.00 Wm Parent and Toddler Group During term Parish Hall, Quay Till 11.45am. 556806.

10.00 A Place Of Welcome at 103 High St. Swanage. Friendly drop-in for everyone, providing a free cup of tea or coffee, a listening ear, conversation and basic information. Everyone welcome, whatever the circumstances. Until 12 noon.

10.00 Tea, Coffee, Biscuits at Queensmead Hall, Swanage. Til 11am. Admission 50p.

10.00 Volunteer Centre Drop-In at Wareham Library till 12pm. Find our about volunteering to support community groups and charities.

10.00 Wareham Croquet Club meet at the Recreation Ground until 5pm. New members and visitors welcome. Call Tony on 01929 550190 or Lesley on 01929 553927 or email warehamgolfcroquetclub@hotmail. com.

10.30 Midweek Market Morning Service URC, Church St, Wm. Prayer requests to Revd. Simon Franklin 556976.

10.30 Woodworking with Bernard and Terry at the Purbeck Workshop in Wool. The Workshop provides craft activities free of charge to those touched by cancer - friends and family are welcome too. D’Urberville Centre, Collier’s Lane,Wool. www.purbeckworkshop.org 07757 776907. www.purbeckworkshop.org Phone: 07794 479208.

11.00 Sensory Play for 1-4yrs old at Bovington Centre, until 12 noon.

11.30 Home Producers Market. Wareham. Every Thursday from 7am to 11:30 in the United Reformed Church, Church Street, Wareham.

13.30 Under 1 year olds at Wareham’s Children’s Centre, Streche Rd, Wm. Anti-natal mums welcome. Till 3pm. 552864.

13.30 Toddler Group. All Saints’ Church, Swanage. 423937. Till 3pm (term times).

14.00 Swanage Town Walk. Local historian takes walks lasting 90 minutes. Meet outside the Museum in the ‘Square’. Contributions welcome.

14.00 Wareham Happy Cafe. Friendly conversation, talks, activities and some fun to put a spring in your step! Everyone welcome. Held at the Not Just Sundaes Cafe in South Street, Wareham. BH20 4LU. From 5th March 2020 onwards. FREE. Until 3.30pm.

14.15 Swanage Over-60s Meet in the Rectory Classroom, Swanage, Swanage. All Welcome.

17.45 Swanage Youth Club. Learning Difficulties and disability (age 11-25) night. Till 7.30pm.

18.00 Wool Youth Club year 9 up, D’Urberville VH.

18.15 Swanage Cricket Club Practice till 9pm.

19.00 Health Qigong: Fitness and relaxation. Till 8pm. With Penny at Furzebrook VH, Wm. 07969 925502.

19.00 Purbeck Arts Choir meet for rehearsals, with conductor David

Fawcett, at St Mary’s School, Northbrook Road, Swanage. Sept-May. All welcome. For more info call Liz Roberts 01929 481419.

19.15 Wm Town Band Brass & Woodwind players welcome. Ffi, call: 551478 or 01202 242147.

19.30 Swanage Youth Club Youth Action (year 7 - sixth form). Till 9.30pm. EVERY FRIDAY

08.45 Coffee @ 112 - Drop In For Coffee! Catch up with friends at 112 High Street (United Reformed Church) in Swanage. Cake and bacon butties. Fair trade stall. Donations for ‘Besom in Purbeck’ and church funds.

09.30 Health Qigong: Fitness and relaxation. Till 10.30am. With Penny at Furzebrook VH, Wm. 07969 925502.

09.30 Little Fishes Baby and Toddler Group. Catholic Church Hall, Rempstone Road, Swanage. Term time only. Until 11.30am. Alex on 07904 412067.

10.00 Table Tennis Club Methodist Ch. hall, High Street, Swanage. Steve: 424591, Malcolm: 427695.

10.30 Do you want to volunteer in Swanage? Meet the team at the Volunteer Bureau in Swanage Library! Until 12.30pm.

11.00 Swanage Library Rhyme Time, ages 0-4, until 11.30am.

11.00 Toddler Time For Under 5s And Carers. Wareham Library. Stories, songs and crafts. Every Friday, including school holidays. 01929 556146.

13.45 Wareham Short Mat Bowls Club meets at Furzebrook village hall until 16.00. New members and visitors welcome. Free trial sessions and coaching. Call the secretary on 07597 782613.

14.30 Younger4Longer exercise with daisy chain fitness. Chair-based exercise in Wm United Reformed Church. Julie 558139 or email jbrad@uwclub.net.

18.00 Purbeck War-Game & Model Club. Royal British Legion, Swanage. 426096.

18.00 Swanage Youth Centre Club 12-13 (Yr 7-9). Till 8pm.

18.00 Purbeck Youth Choir at the United Reformed Church Hall, Swanage. 8-18 years old. Till 7pm. Jay Buckle on: 07947 866945.

18.30 Swanage Bridge Club Mowlem Community Room. 421840.

19.00 Swanage Youth Centre Seniors Club Night (Yr 9+) Till 9.30pm.

19.30 Informal Lesbian Social Group meets each Friday for fun, laughter and to make new friends. Ffi, contact Karen by email at: outinpurbeck@gmail.com.

20.00 Swanage Youth Centre Live Bands (as advertised) Till 10pm.

20.00 New Adult Beginners Latin American & Ballroom dance class at The Swanage school (main hall): Call 01202 243803: Email purbeckdancestudio@gmail.com.

22.00 Swanage Youth Centre Late Session (Yr 9+) till 11.59pm (members free).

EVERY SATURDAY

08.00 Purbeck Runners meet at the Mowlem, Swanage. 4/5 mile run.

09.00 Swanage CC U11 - U15 Practice till 10.30

09.00 Swanage Self Defence FUNdamaentals for ages 4-12 years at Swanage Methodist Church, Swanage. For a FREE taster session, contact Ian on: 07888660225 or email: SwanageSMA@gmail.com and quote ‘Purbeck Gazette’.

09.30 Swanage CC U9 & U10 Practice & Kwik Cricket till 10.30am.

10.00 Tea, coffee and home-made cakes in the Parish Hall on Wareham Quay during the Community Market. Til 2pm. Bric-a-Brac stall weekly. Christian bookstall most weeks. All welcome.

11.00 Lego and Megablok Mayhem at Swanage Library, until 12 noon.

18.30 Whist. Come and join us at the Reading Room, Church Hill, Swanage. Call Richard on 01929 553516.

EVERY SUNDAY

09.00 Purbeck Runners meet at the Mowlem, Swanage. 8+-mile run.

10.00 Arts and Crafts Market at the Mowlem in Swanage. A wide range of local art for sale, including pottery, glass, cards, fabric and much more! To book a table, or for more info, call Tony on 01929 421321.

10.30 Stoborough Baptist Church – would love to welcome you for meeting. For details please call 01929 550309 or website www. stoboroughbaptistchurch.co.uk.

10.30 Dorset Button Rapper is teaching its traditional sword dance from the North East of England. Five men in a ring joined by double handled steel strips form intricate patterns! No experience necessary. Meeting at Sandford Scout Hut, Tyneham Road, BH20 7BQ.

ACORN LODGE ODDFELLOWS: Events all held at the Three Legged Cross Hall, Wimborne: Saturday, December 10, 1.30pm – Christmas buffet, £4. Contact social secretary Julia Taylor to book places.

Purbeck Gazette, December 5, 2022 55 purbeckgazette.co.uk

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