Purbeck Gazette- November 2022

About the Purbeck Gazette

Main picture – A celebration marked the completion of a fouryear project to revamp Durlston Pleasure Grounds... Page 7

Inset – How Dorset fought the Great War at home, from caring for the wounded to fundraising for the war effort... Page 39

FAR AND WIDE

Pterodactyls

Kites around the world

DINOSAURS are soaring above the Jurassic Coast – and around the world!

But don’t be alarmed, these prehistoric creatures have not returned to rule the planet.

The sightings of flying dinosaur the pterodactyl are only kites, made in the county and now flying around the globe, just as their real-life ancestors would have done hundreds of millions of years ago.

The flyers are produced by Dorset-based Jurassic Kites, which is celebrating the fact its unique pterodactyl is now being sold all over the UK and in Europe, Australia and North America.

As part of the deal, codirector of Jurassic Kites Martin Cooke encouraged people to send in pictures of their kites in flight. He has received snaps from all around the world, including in the Seychelles, over the Washington Monument in the US and even above the Pyramids in Egypt.

They have also been spotted in Swanage and other parts of Dorset.

Pterodactyls were a type of pterosaur, a flying reptile that flew over the Jurassic Coast millions of years ago.

Famed Dorset fossil hunter Mary Anning discovered the

fossilised remains of the first British pterosaur early in the 19th century.

The realistic-looking kite was the idea of Sibyl Fine King of the Fine Family Foundation, a long-standing supporter of projects along the Jurassic Coast and also a co-director of the firm.

She thought it would be wonderful for pterodactyls to fly once more over the famous Dorset and Devon coastline and so worked with designers to create and patent the unique design. From this, Jurassic Kites was born.

To begin with the kites were only available from local stockists but moving to direct mail order soon meant that pterodactyls were flying all over the UK and then the world.

Sibyl said: “I’m thrilled to see pterodactyls flying so far and wide. It’s wonderful to hear from so many customers how much they enjoy our kite.

“One of my favourite comments is from a kite festival participant, who said ‘Pterry’ had stolen the show!

“With each kite we also include information about the history of the dinosaurs and the Jurassic Coast, which we hope will help promote our wonderful county across the globe.”

Martin added: “It is really great to see our kite being sold across the globe, from dinosaur museums in the outback of Queensland, Australia, to toy shops in cities across the United States.

“We want more people to

experience the fun of flying a kite. Our pterodactyl is educational and encourages the whole family to get outdoors together.”

For more details about the kites, log on to www. jurassickites.co.uk.

made by Dorset-based Jurassic Kites, flown in Swanage (main picture) and in Egypt (right) are for sale across the globe

PICTURES: Jurassic Kites

Litter group in call to motorists

DRIVERS in Dorset can now use dashcam footage to report rubbish thrown from vehicles – and prompt a possible £100 fine for the culprit.

Litter Free Dorset is calling on all drivers on county roads to report littering incidents to help keep roads and verges clear of litter.

Anyone can easily report rubbish thrown from a vehicle using the Dorset Council online reporting page. If you spot someone littering, you can report it online and upload dashcam footage as supporting evidence.

Reports can still be made without dashcam footage but it is the best form of evidence to support your report.

Jeremy Gallagher, enforcement team leader at Dorset Council, said: “We act on every single report we receive so we’re encouraging all drivers around Dorset to take action against litter thrown from vehicles by keeping an eye out and reporting incidents using the online form. Remember, if you see it, report it.”

Litter Free Dorset coordinator Emma Teasdale added: “We all know that cigarette butts contain harmful chemicals that can harm wildlife and pollute our seas and rivers, but did you know that cigarette butts are the most commonly littered item in the UK?

“Shockingly, over seven million UK drivers have admitted to dropping cigarette butts out of their cars.

“By encouraging all drivers to report incidents of litter thrown from vehicles, Litter Free Dorset is reminding Dorset drivers that it’s everyone’s responsibility to protect the natural environment we’re so lucky to live in.”

In May this year, Dorset Council removed 1.5 tonnes of litter and rubbish from just one Dorset road.

Swimmers coin in the cash for good cause

SWIMMERS have made a splash for charity – raising nearly £2,000 to help those who wish to spend the end of their lives at home.

The Allison Campbell Trust (ACT) has thanked participants in Wareham Lions Club’s Swim for Charity event, held at Purbeck Sports Centre on Sunday, October 16.

The Trust was founded in memory of Allison, who died at home cared for by district nurses and community support workers. ACT aims to provide care and support the NHS is struggling to give to those who wish to die at home.

It put in two teams of Allison’s family and friends for the swimathon, who notched up nearly 160 lengths between them, and thanks to sponsorship

raised nearly £2,000. Allison, who lived in Wareham for more than 20 years and loved the Purbeck area, was cared for at home by her husband during her final illness, with the care and support of local district nurses and community support workers.

She often spoke of the kindness and humanity with which they looked after her, said her husband, Dave.

He said: “Being at home made a great deal of difference to her quality of life in the last months, and we saw how important it was to give Alli not only professional care, but the less obvious things that made all the difference to her comfort and dignity.”

ACT can respond quickly to requests from professional

teams caring for end-of-life patients in the community, for example, to fund items such as shampoo caps that enable people who are confined to bed to wash their hair and feel refreshed, or aromatherapy and well-being sets, hand-held fans or soothing dental products for dry mouths, and much more besides.

Anyone who thinks they may benefit from help from the charity should let their district nurse or support worker know.

For more details on the charity, and how to get involved, log on to https:// allisoncampbelltrust.org.

“However you’d like to help, we would love to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch via the website,” a group spokesperson added.

Christmas quiz at the village hall

A CHRISTMAS quiz night is being held in Corfe Castle village hall on Saturday, December 3.

Teams will be of up to six people but if that is a problem teams can be made up on the night – quizzers can also have a smaller team.

Doors open at 6.30pm with the quiz starting

at 7pm. Bring your own drinks and glasses. Tickets priced £8 are available online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/friends-c-c-library, or by phone on 01929 480123 (Alison) or from Corfe Castle Village Stores.

Any queries should be sent to corfecastlelibrary@gmail.com.

Family and friends raised nearly £2,000 for end-of-life charity the Allison Campbell Trust in Wareham Lions Club’s Swim for Charity event, held at Purbeck Sports Centre

PHOTO: ACT

Saving money, cutting waste

A NEW initiative to help save customers’ money and reduce food waste has been welcomed by shoppers at Winfrith Village Stores.

The scheme, which involves selling produce that has gone past its best-before date or best before end (BBE), has been running since the start of October.

Owner of the Winfrith Newburgh store, Yasmeen Moore, said the move had been welcomed by regular customers and visitors, with great feedback on social media.

She added: “It appeals to people looking to cut costs as well as those keen to help reduce food waste.

“We came up with the idea when we were trying to think

about what lower-priced products we could offer customers to help them through the winter.

“After talking to our suppliers on how often out of date, but perfectly good stock is thrown away, it seemed like the solution to both issues.”

Displays in the store aim to ensure customers understand what BBE dates mean and how they differ from use-before dates in terms of an assurance that food is still safe to eat.

The village store joins a growing number of retailers, including supermarket giants like Tesco and Asda, which are rethinking best-before dates.

Last month, Waitrose became one of the latest supermarkets to scrap them.

Date for Xmas parade

WIMBORNE’S Save the Children Christmas Parade is set to take place on Saturday December 10 after making a successful return last year.

It is a poignant time as Margery Ryan, whose idea resulted in the first parade in 1989, died earlier this year.

Her idea has grown from a handful of floats, with children carrying collection buckets, to 40 to 50 entrants together with a mini-funfair and music in the Square.

The parade has become a heart-warming community event with bands, walking

groups, floats, scouts, guides, fire engines, schools, local organisations, vintage vehicles and the Militia, and will be joined by the mayor of Wimborne, a snow princess and Father Christmas.

Children will be able to whisper their Christmas wishes to Santa at East Dorset Museum and he will give them a small – free – early Christmas present.

Anyone who would like to take part in the parade or help in any way, including marshalling, should contact Alison Preston on 01202 889303 or Susie Gatrell on 01202 848897.

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Huntsman fined £6,000 over kill

A DORSET man has been fined £6,000 after being convicted of a hunting offence following an incident in the Bere Regis area.

Mark Pearson, of Child Okeford, near Blandford, was found guilty on October 18 of hunting a wild mammal with dogs, an offence under the Hunting Act 2004, following a trial at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court.

Pearson, 62, was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £190 and costs of £620.

The charge related to an incident on November 13 last

year, when Pearson was acting as the huntsman and master for the day for the South Dorset Hunt.

Dorset Police received reports from members of the public monitoring the hunt that hounds had killed two foxes.

Officers attended on the day and subsequently obtained footage from the hunt monitors, which was reviewed as part of a detailed investigation.

The evidence showed Pearson appeared to be encouraging the hounds and did not have full control of them

before they killed one of the foxes.

Sergeant Lee Turner, of Dorset Police’s Rural Crime Team, said: “We are fully committed to investigating all reports of illegal hunting and we have dedicated wildlife crime officers who receive specific training and guidance to assist in investigating these matters.

“Proving offences in these cases can often be challenging and I would like to thank all those who assisted our investigation by providing clear

evidence to demonstrate Mark Pearson’s offending.

“I would particularly like to thank those witnesses who gave evidence at court.

“We have strengthened our numbers in our Rural Crime Team and this will assist us as we continue to address the concerns of our rural communities and take positive action in response to any offences that have been committed.”

Anyone wishing to report a breach of the Hunting Act should contact police on 101.

awards

ORGANISERS of the Purbeck Business Awards, which launched in late September, say the number of entries and nominations has exceeded the level expected at this stage.

The grassroots businesses awards focus on promoting the

range and quality of local businesses. Entry is free and the entry form is simple, with firms being able to enter as many categories as they want.

Nigel Reeve, of organisers MW Events, said: “Until recently business awards

focused on larger-sized businesses and covered large geographical areas. These are different. The focus is on local businesses, working in conjunction with organisations like the local chambers of commerce and local BIDs.”

Entries close on Friday, December 23. The awards ceremony is at lunchtime on Thursday, February 23 at Kingston Country Courtyard, near Corfe. To enter visit the awards website at purbeckbusinessawards.co.uk.

Pleasure Grounds project complete

VOLUNTEERS, staff, funders and partners gathered to celebrate the completion of a four-year project to revamp the Durlston Pleasure Grounds.

The project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and other partners, has given the unique Grade II-listed historic garden a new lease of life.

The scheme aims to restore the site’s Victorian heritage as well as increasing its value for wildlife and the local community.

Working alongside the rangers throughout, volunteers donated an incredible 27,223 hours to the project, Dorset Council said.

At the celebration event, guests toured the Pleasure Grounds, where black pines and exotic plants have been replanted, paths improved, more than 1km of dry-stone walls rebuilt and the historic ‘Egyptian Seat’ restored, admiring views of Old Harry

Rocks and the Jurassic Coast.

They also tried the new ‘Wild Play Trail’ and learned about opportunities for accessible volunteering at the ‘Everyone Needs a Shed!’ project.

Ali Tuckey, project leader and Dorset Council countryside ranger, said: “Friends of Durlston, volunteers and the local community have done an incredible job giving this special landscape the love it deserves.

“We are so grateful to everyone who has supported this project and to the Heritage Fund and National Lottery players for making it possible.”

Councillor Ray Bryan, portfolio holder for highways, travel and environment, added: “Durlston is a place of national importance in terms of wildlife and heritage, and represents an amazing resource for Dorset Council to benefit our residents.”

Rotary club’s race night

BUDDING seafarers are being urged to take to the water at a charity race night.

Wareham Rotary is holding a Jolly Roger’s Race Night on Saturday, November 12, at Furzebrook village hall.

“Whether you sailed on HMS Victory or the Jolly Roger, join us in fancy dress, bring your own bottle and your ticket includes an excellent meal,”

said a spokesperson. “Last year we raised nearly £2,000 for local charities in our Great Gadsby Grand National.

“This year we are supporting CAB, Dementia Friendly Purbeck and other local charities.”

For more details contact John Fox on 07786 150702, or email him at foxy1presrwood@ail. com.

Staff and volunteers celebrating the end of the work

Remembrance Special

How Dorset coped in the Great War

November 11 is VE Day, the anniversary of Europe declaring victory in the First World War. This month, the world unites to remember those who fought and fell in the 1914-1918 conflict – and all others who lost their lives in military conflict.

Here, thanks to help from research from the Shaftesbury Remembers The Great War project, we tell stories of how the Dorset community rallied to do its bit to win the war...

BEFORE 1914, Dorset was a busy, largely agricultural community with an economy based primarily around the work of farmers. Bustling markets were held weekly in towns like Sherbourne, Gillingham and Shaftesbury, where goods such as butter and cheese, as well as animals, would be traded.

In Shaftesbury, cattle would be driven down the High Street to market each week, pigs in netted milk carts, creating a busy town centre packed with dozens of horsedrawn vehicles.

On August 4, 1914, everything would change. The United Kingdom declared war

on Germany. The routine and culture of agricultural life in Dorset would change for everyone, forever, over the next four years of conflict.

Those carts bringing cattle to town would be replaced by vehicles transporting troops from around the country – and from around the globe – who came to Dorset for training before heading to the frontline in mainland Europe.

Dorset was also a place of refuge for many, including evacuees from big cities, as well as providing care at Red Cross Hospitals in places like Mere, Gillingham and Bourton.

It was also home to a prisoner of war camp at Milldown, Blandford, which eventually housed some 270 internees, many of whom worked at a sawmill on the site.

The county of Dorset, like the rest of the world, would never be the same...

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

days: 3rd, 4th, 10th, 11th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd & 24th Dec 2022

Boards 15 mins before

Departs 11am, 1pm, 3pm From Poole Quay

The scene is set; you are attending a presentation for ‘The Greatest Timeshare in the World’ when one of the people in the room is murdered! The culprit must be apprehended and it is up to you to assist the local police to solve this dastardly crime.

Your ticket includes:

• Murder Mystery Experiences

• Barbecue Pulled Pork & Chocolate Éclairs

• 3 hour cruise

•

licenced Bar

Boards 15 mins before Departs 7:30pm From Poole Quay Return 10:30pm

A military vehicle in Dorset

Picture: Dorset Council

Find out more about Dorset during the conflict by visiting the Shaftesbury Remembers The Great War website at shaftesbury-remembers.goldhillmuseum.org.uk

THE COMMUNITY

THE war effort united Vale communities in support of those who had gone to fight.

Nearly 18,000 charities were founded across the country, many to supply ‘home comforts’, including books, to those fighting overseas.

But needs at home also had to be addressed. With so much of the male workforce now away, women and children stepped up to fill those roles.

Voluntary work was seen

CHILDREN AND SCHOOLS

AS MEN went to war and women took up new jobs in their absence, children too played their part in the war effort.

Schools played a big part in fundraising, for example in 1916 the girls’ high schools of Shaftesbury and Gillingham raised money for the British Red Cross during sales of homemade food, flowers, teas

as a duty, as was fundraising for the war effort and much besides.

From the start of the war, there is evidence of Vale communities coming together to raise money.

Communities held whist drives, fetes, rifle matches, concerts and more, giving proceeds to charities and funds backing the war effort.

When the war ended in 1918, fundraising efforts did not, with soldiers still serving and many in prisoner-of-war camps.

and more. Nearly £54 was raised – around £4,500 in today’s money.

Also in 1916, records show that Bourton’s Red Cross Hospital reported in April it was full up and appealed for donations of ‘anything and everything’ to help. Bourton School was among those who answered the call, providing vegetables.

The school later organised a

How to protect your home from care costs

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

WOMEN IN THE WAR

THOUGH not on the frontlines, women played a hugely important part in the war effort.

The call for volunteers became conscription in January 1916, leaving huge shortfalls in labour – and women answered the call.

A booklet issued by the War Office in September 1916 detailed roles being filled by women, including photographs. They showed women making false teeth, staffing a brewery, gauging shells at a munitions factory in a shipyard and more.

‘Pound Day’, when households were encouraged to donate pound weights (450 grams) of goods such as rice and sugar. Pupils were among those going door-to-door to collect donations.

One task the children completed fulfilled a purpose they were actually unaware of. In the summer months, youngsters were often absent from class in order to work,

“It aimed to demonstrate women had successfully taken on jobs formerly occupied by men, and thus encourage the release of additional male workers into the armed forces,” says the Dorset History Centre.

Women took on jobs traditionally filled by men

Picture: Dorset History Centre

with older children making up the shortfall in farm labour.

Entries in various school logbooks show occasions when pupils were taken out to pick horse chestnuts and blackberries. It turns out, unbeknownst to the children, the horse chestnuts were used to make cordite – a bomb-making ingredient – most likely at the Royal Navy Cordite Factory in Holton Heath.

Advertisement feature

Hats off to the hedgehog! Festival competition raises charity funds

HATS off to fundraisers in Swanage who have handed over much-needed funds for Ukraine.

Swanage Folk Festival’s Mad Hatters Competition, held during the September event, saw £200 raised for the Unicef fund to protect young people in the war-torn country.

Five local businesses – The Salt Pig, Country Corner, Chococo, Burt’s Bits and the Craft Shop – donated a number of prizes for the winners, with three going to adults, two to children and one to a beautifully-attired pooch.

Judged by Wareham Town Crier Jacquie Hall and Swanage Town Crier Andrew Fleming, a stunning hedgehog hat was the overall winner – with a dog judged to be a runner-up with his sunflower outfit.

Margaret Tyrer, chair of the

festival, said: “We raised £100 on the day and have matched it from festival funds.

“We would have liked more entries but it was still a fun event.

“Unfortunately, a medical emergency required the field to be cleared before we could get the names of the winners.

“But we are enormously grateful for their donations, enthusiasm and funky hats.”

Enjoy relaxed shopping for Christmas at The Dorset Brocante taking place on Friday & Saturday 11-12th November at the Larmer Tree Gardens, near Salisbury.

A beautiful winter market where you will find independent artisan makers, decorative antiques, French brocante, textiles, lifestyle products, sustainable independent brands, jewellery and slow living, all set within the delightful grounds of the Larmer Tree.

This is a ticketed event and all entry tickets should be bought in advance through our website – from £7.50, children under 14 free – no concessions. The gardens and halls are accessible with gravel paths, but please note that dogs are not allowed into

Contestants sporting their entries, above left, with the winning hat, left, and runner-up, above

PICTURES: Mori’arty

NOW Autumn is in full swing, the weather is beginning to change and a morning chill is in the air.

Although most summer visitors have left us, migration is still a key feature of Durlston’s birdlife: finches, buntings, larks, pipits and thrushes can be seen flying over the Downs on their way south.

Wildflowers are mostly over but now is a good time to see some fabulous fungi which bedeck the downland slopes including parasol mushrooms, colourful parrot waxcaps or weird dead man’s fingers. Some are poisonous, so if in any doubt leave well alone!

Despite November being a quieter month at the park we still have a varied program of

events on offer. In the Fine Foundation Gallery, from November 1 until November 20, will be The Miracle of Migration exhibition. Then for a week starting on November 23 we will be showing a collection of short films, Voices of Durlston, produced by The Enchanted Cinema to show an in-depth look at the

people behind Durlston Country Park.

November offers a brilliant opportunity to try something new at Durlston with a great selection of skilled workshops.

On Thursday November 10 there will be a willow-weaving taster session at the Durlston Shed then on Saturday November 12 there will be a glass engraving workshop for beginners and improvers.

On November 15, artist Mark Page will be hosting a draw-like-a-pro workshop, where all materials will be provided, and on Tuesday November 22 there will be a chance to unwind with a Mindfulness Walk hosted by Dorset Forest Bathing.

If a guided walk is more like what you are looking for

SWANAGE PIER TRUST are inviting Expressions of Interest

in a unique café/restaurant opportunity

With the concession for the highly successful 1859 Pier Café & Bistro at Swanage Pier finishing in 2023, the Swanage Pier Trust is looking for an experienced catering business to operate at the Pier. An opportunity also exists to discuss the purchase of the existing business identity, with the outgoing tenants.

To register initial interest and to obtain the catering brief please contact us on: 01929 425806 or email us at: accounts@swanagepiertrust.com Closing date:

swanagepiertrust.com

then look no further than the Durlston Pleasure Grounds guided walk exploring the park to learn about its wildlife and history, a ‘layers in the landscape’ walk looking at the geology of the rocks beneath us and a ‘park to pier’ walk that will lead you from the picturesque landscapes of the country park to Swanage Pier.

With the December hustle and bustle just around the corner, November is a great time to relax and enjoy the beauty of the park. The season brings a great chance of a ‘golden hour’ sunset and with that a great contrast to the cold crisp weather.

For information on events and more visit our website at durlston.co.uk.

DURLSTON RANGERS

Durlston Castle.

PHOTO: stevebelasco.net

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.

Police warning on WhatsApp scam

PEOPLE have been warned not to fall foul of a scam being reported by users of the WhatsApp messenger service.

Dorset Police is urging the public to remain vigilant following an increasing number of reports of the scam.

The unsuspecting WhatsApp user receives a message purporting to be from a family member in need of urgent help.

The message comes from an unknown number and states something similar to ‘their phone is broken’, ‘dropped down the loo’ or ‘microphone doesn’t work’ and they cannot access their online banking –they need to urgently transfer money to another bank account to pay a bill, fine or similar.

The victim transfers money to the bank account details, which have been provided by

the scammer. Then they receive another message requesting another bill is paid, then another. At this point the victim realises these requests are out of the ordinary and that they have been scammed.

If money has been paid then your bank should be contacted immediately, a Dorset Police spokesperson said.

This is a ‘push payment fraud’, where the victim has authorised the payment to another party. It is up to the bank whether the payment can be recovered.

Dorset Police investigations officer Martin Forder said: “We would like to make the public aware of this scam and encourage anyone who has been a victim of a similar incident to report it to Dorset Police and Action Fraud.

SWANAGE FIRE STATION

Heathland blaze

FIREFIGHTERS battled a blaze that broke out on around five acres of land on Povington Heath.

Two crews from Poole and a Land Rover pump from Swanage were sent to the Purbeck heathland at around 3.15pm on Wednesday, October 19.

A spokesperson for the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and

Rescue Service (DWFRS) said four hose reel jets and a hose reel from the Land Rover tank were among equipment used to tackle the blaze.

Later in the day, an additional off-road pump from Swanage and the Unimog appliance from Wareham were sent to ‘assist with damping down the surrounding area’, they added.

Firefighters tackling the blaze

Picture:

Telling It Like It Is

Rescuers risking their lives for the foolhardy

by David Hollister

THINGS to make you laugh... things to make you cry... things to make you cross... and things to make you think! That’s the whole point of both this fortnightly column and my afternoon radio show. It seems to work...

My comments about cliff climbers and the emergency services – September 2022 –really seem to have brought the knives out! Climbers, like cyclists, seem to be able to take offence at the slightest mention, even if it was not intended to be offensive. My suggestion that those being rescued should make a contribution to the cost of said rescue if they set out on their adventure with ‘inadequate or poorly prepared kit’ or if they were ‘people old enough to know better’ certainly ruffled some feathers.

But I stand by my comments and ask again why they feel it is okay for others to risk their lives in this way, and to suggest again that contributions should be made towards the expensive equipment used in rescues.

Two incidents recently came to mind: the lifeboat rescue featured on ‘Saving Lives At Sea’, which featured Becky and her brilliant crew helping a diver who had become unconscious at depth and who was only saved because the lifeboat crew were expert in their jobs; and the climber who left his unattended rope dangling from the cliffs, resulting in the cliff rescue team and the lifeboat being called out on what proved to be a fool’s errand – total waste of their time and resources.

Poole Crematorium made the news recently by announcing it was going to close its cremators and become what seems to me to be

a rather incongruous social centre. Fortunately the good people of Poole and beyond picked this up, started a petition on change.org, and as a result BCP was forced to give way. Despite every indication that BCP was reluctant to reinstate cremators at Poole, it came through in the end. We think.

At its cabinet meeting on September 28, BCP Council agreed officers should submit a report to the cabinet within six months on the way forward to reinstating cremation at Poole, and that at least one cremator should be installed within 18 months. It is also looking at the more environmentally friendly approach with electric cremators. Whether that is considered financially viable remains to be seen as this would mean a larger initial outlay.

We are hopeful this promise will be fulfilled but will be closely monitoring the progress. But really! Eighteen months without a cremator, necessitating the recently bereaved travel to Weymouth or Bournemouth? Who let that happen? How come the old cremators passed away unnoticed? Had BCP taken its eye off the ball while concentrating on the ridiculous ‘cycle lanes’ which have served to reduce traffic in Bournemouth to a virtual crawl in places?

There is a perfectly good cremation facility called Harbour View in Lytchett, but this is privately owned by Tappers and for those of us who would prefer to be despatched by James Smith of Swanage or Albert Marsh in Wareham, it comes as a shock to discover that this excellent facility is not available unless we use Tappers!

Whatever happens, the Poole Crematorium refurbishment programme is going to take a

long time. Watch this space. And exactly how long does it take for BCP to make a decision, pass it to its ‘cabinet’ and get the work started? Something not quite right here...

Ihave had an interesting dialogue regarding the proposed lighting scheme in Days Park. Part of me wonders how for more than 100 years we managed without all this street lighting and regrets the way in which our darkness is being gradually taken away by housing and the associated infrastructure.

But part of me accepts that if we need houses for people to live in, we have to accept the consequences. And regrettably in this day and age there are too many ne’er-do-wells roaming the streets. Where I grew up in Harmans Cross there were no streetlights until the late 1990s, when a certain person campaigned to have two lamps on the crossroads. A certain person who never went out after dark anyway. A different person who campaigned vociferously for the hated ‘30 limit’ on the main road and, having achieved his aim, left the country!

All I can say is, you came here because you didn’t like it there, and now you want to change here to be like there! You are welcome here, only don’t try to make here like there. If you want to make here like there, you shouldn’t have left there in the first place.

So good to see that the community awards in Swanage have been made to such deserving recipients.

I don’t know if Wareham has a similar scheme and look forward to receiving information about it, if it exists. I can’t mention them all, but will make an exception for Swanage and Purbeck

Development Trust, which has achieved so much in such a short time and continues to do so. To Bob, Kim, Mel, James, David and Deirdre – you’re the backbone of this community and an example to us all.

And, of course, the redoubtable Frank Roberts, without whose efforts we would be walking and driving through a sea of rubbish!

And in case you didn’t know... Eco Sustainable Solutions has published its 2021 Sustainability Report.

Eco has been providing BCP and Dorset with waste solutions for almost 30 years and the release of this report gives us an insight into how much we are throwing away and the amazing work it is doing to make waste more sustainable.

The headline points are that in 2021 it prevented 147,714 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, recycled more than 236,500 tonnes of waste and produced 4,200-plus homes worth of electricity by recycling in excess of 40,400 tonnes of food waste.

The first stage of the new Swanage Seafront masterplan will be discussed fairly soon.

The ‘masterplan’ will help the town council and partners to develop investment plans to improve the seafront, enhancing and protecting its heritage and the coastal environment.

It will also identify new commercial opportunities to meet visitor and resident needs. And no doubt be accompanied by legions of consultants with fees for this, that and the other before even a sod is turned.

Agricultural and horticultural experts. Bird and bat surveys.

It’s not their fees that concern me over much – it’s just the time all this takes. Look at BCP and the crematorium! Some of us probably won’t live to see it finished, but after all the plans and consultations we have had over the years, let’s hope this is the right one. And the last one!

George’s wheelchair rugby dreams

A PURBECK sportsperson has traded one theatre for another in the pursuit of Paralympic glory.

George Rogers is a steward at The Lighthouse theatre in Poole, helping people to their seats for performances.

But when not working, his attentions turn to an altogether more physical theatre – that of the wheelchair rugby pitch.

Recognised as one of the most physical para-sports, wheelchair rugby is fast, furious and full-on.

George, 24, is a member of GB Wheelchair Rugby’s talent pathway squad, just one step below the elite squad that won Olympic Gold in Tokyo.

And his sporting ambitions are a far cry from the polite audiences at The Lighthouse.

“It’s actually nowhere near as dangerous as it might look,” he said.

The sport was invented in the 1970s in Canada and was originally known, somewhat shockingly, as Murderball.

“You have offensive players whose job is to carry the ball and defensive players whose job is to create the space by blocking opposing players,” George said. “Their chairs are different to facilitate those roles. You have to think about how you score and when you score, how to evade your opponents, when to use time outs, and keep constantly adapting.

“It’s incredibly fast moving and there’s a lot to think about.”

George has been a parasports enthusiast from a young age, having completed the London Mini Marathon in a wheelchair at the age of eight as well as swimming competitively as a teenager.

Wheelchair rugby is played on a regulation basketball court using a volleyball, with men and women competing on the same teams. Contact between chairs is an integral part of the game, but physical contact between players is not allowed.

George started playing wheelchair rugby for Solent Sharks while studying Film Production at Solent University.

Having been selected for GB Wheelchair Rugby’s talent pathway, he now attends monthly training camps at Lilleshall as he works towards

joining the elite squad camps where he’ll play alongside the paralympic team.

“Seeing GB win gold in Tokyo was incredibly inspiring, but obviously nothing’s guaranteed so I keep working to be the best I can be, then we’ll see what happens,” he added.

“In the immediate future, my focus is on a trip to Alabama with GB Talent in November to play the US Development Team.

“We’ll be playing them several times over the course of a week. The USA are a superpower in the sport and it’s incredibly exciting to be heading out there to play internationally.”

To be eligible to play wheelchair rugby athletes must have impairments to their legs and arms. Many have spinal injuries, with full or partial paralysis, others with amputations, polio, muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy (like George) may also be eligible to play.

“Some of the guys I play with have had to make tremendous adjustments in their lives, which is a very different experience to mine,” he said.

The elite squad is made up of professional athletes and although funding is available for expenses including travel, accommodation, kit and a bespoke chair, George relies on his family, as well as his job at Lighthouse.

“I’ve worked at Lighthouse since I was 17 – it was my first job and I love it,” he said.

One thing is for sure. George has it all to play for.

George at The Lighthouse

F ire chiefs’ ‘save safely’ message

PEOPLE are being urged to take simple steps to protect themselves from accidental fires and carbon monoxide poisoning as the winter approaches.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) has made the appeal as households look to keep warm and cut energy use amid the cost-ofliving crisis.

The National Fire Chiefs Council has launched ‘Stay Fire Safe’ in response to concerns that people will turn to alternative ways of heating and lighting their homes in a bid to save money.

Alongside this, DWFRS has its own #SaveSafely campaign, which offers advice on where savings can be a false economy, and how to reduce the risks when doing things differently.

There is also signposting to financial support and a range of energy-saving tips.

Ian Hopkins, prevention delivery manager at DWFRS, said: “The most important thing that people can do this winter is make sure they have working smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms.

“We offer free safe-and-well

visits, which includes fitting these devices where they are needed, so there’s no cost to the individual.”

He added: “We know that the rising cost of living is a huge concern to so many people within our community, and we are doing all we can to support them with saving safely this winter.

“Please take a look at www. dwfire.org.uk/safety/save-safely and get in touch if you you need our help.”

For more information on the free safe-and-well advice, which can include a home visit and the provision of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, phone free on 0800 038 2323 or visit www.dwfire.org.uk/ safe-and-well-visits.

D-Day exercises saw six lives lost

by Nick Reed

AS we move into November, NCI St Alban’s Head and NCI Swanage are preparing to take part in Remembrance parades around the area.

It’s a privilege to walk beside colleagues from the Coastguard and the Lifeboat to remember those who lost their lives in conflicts around the world.

As a maritime organisation our thoughts will be, particularly, with those who have lost their lives at sea.

Last year I talked about the loss of the armed trawler Arfon, sunk off St Aldhelm’s Head, and this year I thought it would be pertinent to mention another wartime tragedy, this time in sight of our station at Peveril Point. Lying on the seabed in Poole Bay are the remains of seven top-secret amphibious tanks which sank in April 1944, sadly with the loss of six soldiers.

The tanks were lost during Exercise Smash, which went on for nearly three weeks and was the largest ‘live fire’ exercise in Britain before D-Day. It was designed to practise the different phases of an amphibious invasion.

Just over two months later many of the troops took part in the real thing, D-Day.

At dawn, on the morning of April 4, the coastguard lookout at Peveril Point, along with the soldiers manning the gun battery, would have seen a small invasion force appearing out of the gloom and heading towards Studland Beach. This was the start of Exercise Smash 1.

A key part of the exercise was to test, under battle conditions, the effectiveness of the top-secret duplex-drive amphibious tanks. The vehicles being used were Valentine tanks crewed by soldiers of the

4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards. Powered at sea by a propeller, and kept afloat by an inflatable canvas skirt, the tanks were designed to ‘swim’ ashore from landing craft and arrive on the beach at the same time as the troops.

Thirty-two tanks were launched from a position about 5km east of Studland Beach. As they left the safety of the landing craft, the weather changed and a heavy sea built up. Sadly, six of the tanks were swamped and sank quickly after being launched. A seventh was blown on to the Training Bank before slipping off and floating towards Bournemouth.

To preserve secrecy, naval gunfire sank this tank. Of the 22 crew members whose tanks sank, 16 were picked up by other vessels in the exercise. Six men were drowned and of these only one body was ever found.

This was Lt Gould, a 20-year-old subaltern, and he is buried at St Mark’s churchyard in Highcliffe. All of the soldiers are remembered on a memorial at Studland overlooking the scene of the disaster.

This was placed there on the 60th anniversary of the tragedy and plays an important role in commemoration services on the

anniversary of their sinking and on Armistice Day.

The wrecks lay, forgotten, on the seabed before being rediscovered by scuba divers in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In the 1990s, concerns were raised about the possible removal of live shells from the wrecks and to make them safe the Navy blew up five of them. Although heavily damaged, they are still recognisable as tanks and lie just to the east of the shipping channel.

Two largely intact tanks remain, and they are now a popular dive site for divers from all over the country. During the summer our station log regularly records the dive charter vessels, based on Swanage Pier, heading northeast towards the sunken WWII relics. As they lie on a flat, sandy seabed the two structures have become havens for wildlife. It is not uncommon to almost have to push the fish out of the way to see the tanks.

As well as large wrasse and pollack, sinuous conger eels lurk inside the turrets and in the twisted remains of the tracks and engine compartments. It is not hard to think of this colonisation as being another tribute to drowned soldiers. It’s

The grave of Lt Gould, a 20-yearold subaltern, at St Mark’s churchyard in Highcliffe. His was the only body found of the six soldiers who

as if ‘life comes out of death’.

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the sinking, the Isle of Purbeck Sub Aqua Club, based at Swanage Pier, carried out a survey of the remains and researched the history behind the exercises and the sinking of the tanks. During the course of the project, they found a survivor from the sinking and pictures of five out of the six men who drowned.

As a result of their work, and work carried out by Bournemouth University, the tanks were designated as scheduled ancient monuments, giving them the same protection as places such as Stonehenge and Hadrian’s Wall.

On November 11, at 11am, the watchkeepers on duty will observe the two minutes silence. Looking out to sea, both stations will be able to see the sites of wartime tragedies close to our coasts and it will be hard not to reflect on the sacrifice the soldiers and sailors made. In our heads will be four words that sum up the Remembrance events, ‘We will remember them’.

This is NCI St Alban’s Head and NCI Swanage listening on Channel 65. NCI out.

died. PHOTO: Nick Reed

One of the tanks that sank in the ‘live fire’ Exercise Smash.

PHOTO: Paul Pettit

BRITISH

BRITISH

2 Days – Sat 11th to Sun 12th March

2 Days – Sat 11th to Sun 12th March

The Freedom of London No ties – Go as you please

EUROPEAN

EUROPEAN

8 Days – Sat 18th to Sat 25th March

The Freedom of London No ties – Go as you please

4 days – Sun 23rd to Wed 26th April

Italy & Austria Collide

Unlike anywhere else in Europe

5 Days – Mon 10th to Fri 14th April

8 Days – Sat 18th to Sat 25th March Italy & Austria Collide Unlike anywhere else in Europe

National Memorial Arboretum

4 days – Sun 23rd to Wed 26th April

DUTCH WATERWAYS

5 Days – Mon 10th to Fri 14th April

Full board cruise in Holland

and The Cotswold Steam Railway

National Memorial Arboretum and The Cotswold Steam Railway

6 Days – Mon 3rd to Sat 8th April

Springtime in Cornwall

5 Days – Mon 17th to fri 21st April

DUTCH WATERWAYS Full board cruise in Holland

Country house hotel in St Agnes

5 Days – Sun 21st to Thur 25th May

6 Days – Mon 3rd to Sat 8th April Springtime in Cornwall Country house hotel in St Agnes

HOLLAND “Tulip Train”

5 Days – Mon 17th to fri 21st April

Steam train through Bulbfields

HOLLAND “Tulip Train” Steam train through Bulbfields

Yorkshire TV Themes Heartbeat, Emmerdale, All Creatures

5 Days – Mon 5th to Fri 9th June

5 Days – Sun 21st to Thur 25th May Yorkshire TV Themes Heartbeat, Emmerdale, All Creatures

Snowdonia – Rail & Sail Sightseeing by coach, boat and train

5 Days – Sun 28th to Thur 1st June

Dumfries & Galloway

Gar5dens of South-West Scotland

7 Days – Sun 14th to Sat 20th May

7 Days – Sun 14th to Sat 20th May

THE ISLE OF MAN

THE ISLE OF MAN

Less hurried, cleaner, safer…

Less hurried, cleaner, safer…

6 days – Sat 10th to Thur 15th June

5 Days – Mon 5th to Fri 9th June Snowdonia – Rail & Sail Sightseeing by coach, boat and train

6 days – Sat 10th to Thur 15th June

PEARL OF THE RHINE Boppard in Germany

PEARL OF THE RHINE Boppard in Germany

4 Days – Mon 14th to Thur 17th Aug

4 Days – Mon 14th to Thur 17th Aug

DISNEYLAND PARIS

4 Star Magic Circus Hotel off-site 4 8 Days – Tue 15th to Tue 22nd Aug

10 Days – 24th June to 3rd July

Scotland’s North- West Passage

5 Days – Sun 28th to Thur 1st June Dumfries & Galloway Gar5dens of South-West Scotland

The trip of a life-time! The ultimate Scottish road-trip.

DISNEYLAND PARIS 4 Star Magic Circus Hotel off-site

AUSTRIAN TYROL

Cables, Cogs and Cruising Amazing views

10 Days – 24th June to 3rd July Scotland’s North- West Passage

The trip of a life-time! The ultimate Scottish road-trip.

8 Days – Tue 15th to Tue 22nd Aug

AUSTRIAN TYROL Cables, Cogs and Cruising Amazing views and experiences

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.

Cryptic crossword

Across

Joint with futile bias overturned? That’s right (11) 9 Send message to artist with daughter I love (5) 10 Writer backed song for Roman god (7) 11 Most substantial lagers drunk with time (7)

Cricket side with ambition at a stretch (2,3) 13 Fare system alternative – it helps in making courses? (4,9) 16 Arrange again wild trees (5) 18 A sport held in Manchester suburb usually (2,1,4) 20 I tip man that’s played percussive instruments (7)

Across 1 Joint with futile bias overturned? That’s right (11) 9 Send message to artist with daughter I love (5) 10 Writer backed song for Roman god (7) 11 Most substantial lagers drunk with time (7) 12 Cricket side with ambition at a stretch (2,3) 13 Fare system alternative – it helps in making courses? (4,9)

Down

2 Suffer having deficient energy (7)

3 Figure of speech too much for the French English (5)

4 Party unsettling Italy showing purpose (13)

5 Endorse mobile accessory over breaks (7)

6 See exercise for worthless type (5)

Send message to artist with daughter I love (5) 6 10 9

A sport held in Manchester suburb usually (2,1,4) 26 15 6

9 10

I tip man that’s played percussive instruments (7) 16 13

Writer backed song for Roman god (7) 7 13 14

16 Arrange again wild trees (5) 18 A sport held in Manchester suburb usually (2,1,4)

7 Increase significantly airport fee formulated cover landing principally (11)

8 Armed police force angered emir after unrest (11)

I tip man that’s played percussive instruments (7)

14 Part of theatre to decline? It’s a hidden difficulty (7)

ME citizen with Irish – a leading question? (5)

Arrange again wild trees (5) 16 8

Cricket side with ambition at a stretch (2,3) 16 12

ME citizen with Irish – a leading question? (5) 10 20

Most substantial lagers drunk with time (7) 15 11 4

Fare system alternative – it helps in making courses? (4,9) 4 10

ME citizen with Irish – a leading question? (5)

Barrel yet was almost knocked over for cold drink (6,5)

Down 33 17

Barrel yet was almost knocked over for cold drink (6,5) 17

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

Party unsettling Italy showing purpose (13) Purbeck Gazette, November 7, 2022 21

Barrel yet was almost knocked over for cold drink (6,5)

15 South Africa custom for stuffed meat (7)

17 Exotic dance held in Assam ballroom (5) 19 A man I fancy showing spirit (5)

Suffer having deficient energy (7) 14

Endorse mobile accessory over breaks (7)

Increase significantly airport fee formulated to cover landing principally (11)

8

14

Armed police force angered emir after unrest (11)

Figure of speech too much for the French and English (5) 28 25

Part of theatre to decline? It’s a hidden difficulty (7)

South Africa custom for stuffed meat (7)

Exotic dance held in Assam ballroom (5)

A man I fancy showing spirit (5)

It’s

no

fun being left in the dark!

I READ in your publication of the October 10 that some residents are complaining about the new led bulbs installed in areas of Swanage.

I live in a Close in Poole and we have one streetlight in it, which stopped illuminating in mid-August.

My husband reported it and was given a reference number to say it had been passed to the company that is subcontracted to repair lights.

As the evenings have drawn in, you cannot see where you are walking or in my case cycling, so I decided to ring the council and ask them what was happening.

After hanging on for 15 minutes I did speak to someone, who told me it was due to not being able to get the part and it came from the Ukraine.

Still nothing has been done and neighbours and my husband have sent more emails, but are not getting the problem illuminated.

May I suggest to those moaning about being in the light – it’s better than being in the dark!

On a final note, can I say what a joy it was to use the public conveniences on Wareham Quay the other Sunday. They were open and clean.

Well done.

It’s nothing to do with Brexit

That businesses lack staff It’s nothing to do with Brexit When trade is cut in half.

It’s nothing to do with Brexit That carers can’t be found It’s nothing to do with Brexit That foodbanks now abound It’s nothing to do with Brexit When nurses feel the strain It’s nothing to do with Brexit When money’s short again.

people they are. Animal cruelty never seems to go away and we are so lucky to have people like them at the charity to help.

I wanted to write to let them know that so many of us are grateful for their amazing work rescuing animals like this from such desperate situations.

Thank you all – you are a credit to our town and Purbeck.

MR GORDON Wareham

I find it hard to believe that contributions would decrease so drastically, so quickly.

I can only assume that the new editorial team has no interest in the opinions of its readership.

If this is the case I would urge you to reconsider.

MRS J WELLSTEAD Wareham

JAN G Poole

It’s Nothing To Do With Brexit

HERE is a poem about a forgotten factor in our economic decline, “It’s nothing to do with Brexit”...

It’s nothing to do with Brexit When lorries block a port It’s nothing to do with Brexit When produce can’t be bought

It’s nothing to do with Brexit If Scotland takes its leave It’s nothing to do with Brexit When Irish Troubles heave It’s nothing to do with Brexit As gloom hits everyone -Okay, so it’s all to do with Brexit... But at least we got it done!

MARTIN HOBDELL Swanage

Animal rescuers are town heroes

I WRITE in response to your article in the October 24 edition of the Purbeck Gazette about the Margaret Green rescue of the poor puppies from Devon. What a bunch of heroic, kind

Write to the Purbeck Gazette

I HAVE been reading the Purbeck Gazette for many years and one of the highlights has always been the readers’ letters.

This section, under the editorship of Nico Johnson, was usually around four pages long, and contained letters on a wide variety of subjects.

I myself have contributed, and the exchange of views has always been stimulating.

Sadly, those days are gone, and the once extensive correspondence has been replaced by a paltry half page.

The October 24 issue had only two letters.

ED: Thanks for your letter Mrs Wellstead. We are certainly as keen as ever to receive letters from our readers and endeavour to publish as many as possible, so please do keep writing. Details below. Thank you.

Is it still too early for Christmas?

I MUST admit to feeling a bit of a grinch recently as I’ve browsed shops and eateries.

Christmas decorations and goods are everywhere!

As I write this it is not yet November, so it feels a touch early to be picking up baubles and tinsle.

Am I alone in thinking this?

THE GRINCH Swanage

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 stunning picture of Corfe Castle in the autumn snshine was captured by Gazette reader Robin Boultwood. Send your Purbeck pictures to ed@purbeckgazette.co.uk

Sugar: Journey into a shameful past

OCTOBER was Black History Month in Dorset, marked by music, poetry and theatre in many venues, including the Shire Hall and the Lighthouse in Poole.

An event organised by Dorset Stand Up to Racism made me reflect upon Dorset’s part in a shameful aspect of our past – the development of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the establishment of slavery in the Caribbean.

In Dorchester’s Shire Hall, in the courtroom where the Tolpuddle Martyrs faced their fate, award-winning artist Sophie Molins put sugar in the dock.

Sophie played both defendant and barrister for the prosecution. Wearing a lawyer’s gown, or sporting a fan as Miss Sugar Sugar, she explained how sugar had driven a trade which resulted in the deaths of millions of black slaves.

Sophie said that greed and sugar had gone hand in hand,

and that slavery had given birth to racism.

The ancestor of South Dorset MP Richard Drax, she explained, had set up one of the first slave plantations on the island of Barbados. It was this ancestor, James Drax, who introduced ‘chattel slavery’ to the Caribbean, through the Barbados Slave Code of 1662. Slaves, together with their descendants in perpetuity, were declared property by this code. They were to be considered not as human beings but as assets, to be worked to death if this resulted in profit.

Dorset Stand Up to Racism and Dorset journalist and academic Paul Lashmar have revealed how our MP still owns Drax Hall, his family’s plantation on Barbados. Sugar is still grown there.

Bradey

Channel 4 News last year sent a reporter to the island who spoke to poet laureate Esther Phillips about Drax Hall. When she was a child, Esther said, walking there, she had walked on the bones of her ancestors. Barbadian MPs and Ministers have asked Mr Drax to make reparation for the actions of his ancestors. The vice-chancellor of the University of the West Indies, Sir Hilary Beckles, has added his voice to the call for restitution.

In 2021, Dorset Stand Up to Racism held a March against slavery outside the gates of Mr Drax’s Dorset estate, Charborough Park. TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady called upon him to make reparation to the people of Barbados.

Prince Charles, visiting

Barbados when it became a republic, acknowledged the ‘atrocity of slavery’.

To date it seems Mr Drax has not engaged with requests for reparation. The Dorset Echo has reported him saying he cannot be held responsible for events that took place so long ago.

It is worth remembering the MP for Weymouth from 1818-37, Thomas FowellBuxton, was a fervent abolitionist. He took on the mantle of William Wilberforce when that great reformer died, working tirelessly for the ending of slavery. A statue commemorates Fowell-Buxton in Weymouth, along with one in Westminster Abbey.

One of his sayings still rings true: “One of the ill effects of cruelty is that it makes the bystanders cruel”.

CHRIS BRADEY Chairman, Swanage and Rural Purbeck Labour Party

Local plan studies to be published

STUDIES carried out to help formulate a plan governing development in Dorset for decades to come are set to be published.

Research carried out as part of the evidence for the Dorset Council Local Plan will be published on the authority’s website in the next few months, it has confirmed.

The studies, along with the responses from the consultation and other reports, will help shape the plan.

The reports to be published include: Dorset-wide Strategic Flood Risk Assessment Level 1, Gypsy & Traveller Needs Assessment, Viability Assessment to inform affordable housing policy and community infrastructure levy, Retail Needs Assessment, Employment Needs Assessment.

A Local Plan is a legal requirement for all councils

who have a planning role. It sets out how planning for areas including housing, industry, renewable power, mineral extraction will be managed to create economic growth while protecting the character of the area.

When Dorset Council was formed in April 2019, it inherited all the adopted planning policies from the former district and borough councils, and the county council.

Over time these need to be reviewed and updated.

The Dorset Council Local Plan is an important part of this review process and consultation on a draft took place in January 2021.

The revised plan will be informed by the evidence we’re about to publish, the results of the consultation and any changes to national policy that

occur over the coming months.

It will then undergo an examination in public before the council will be able to adopt it.

A Local Plan, formed using residents’ views, makes sure that the development needs of the area are met in the right locations and to avoid harm to Dorset’s environment. Without the protection of a Local Plan developers are more likely to be successful in an appeal against a

decision taken by the council.

Cllr David Walsh, Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for planning, said: “The plan is not just about housing, it is about creating communities for people to live, work and enjoy. There will be a mix of types of homes for a wide variety of households who live and work in Dorset generating economic growth and prosperity for the county.

“We have extended the time to complete our Local Plan which means we can consider new legislation (Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill) which is due to become law next year.

“I am also asking the rules on having five years of land supply be relaxed during the plan preparation period.

“This is to protect the county from developers challenging outdated policies so that they can build where there was no plan for housing previously.”

Chris

Cllr David Walsh

Grants give youngsters a chance

GRANTS of up to £2,000 to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds start their own business are available through Dorset Community Foundation’s South West Enterprise Fund.

The foundation has partnered with businessman Nick Robinson and Giles Smallwood to launch the fund, which offers entrepreneurs aged 18 to 30 the grants to help with buying stock or equipment or pay businessrelated rent or bills.

Applicants, who must live in Dorset and either be about to start a business within six months or have been trading for less than two years, have to present a business plan and answer questions about their ambitions at an interview.

Mr Robinson approached the community foundation with the idea after he realised that although there is a lot of support and advice for young people trying to launch their first

venture, there is virtually nowhere to get the cash injection they often need.

“We’ve both set up businesses and I set up a business when I was almost 30 and had saved up to prepare for that,” he said. “That gave us the confidence to start the business and enabled us to buy the kit we needed. We are not looking to support the next genius healthcare app, we just want to

support young people who are setting up straightforward businesses or to help them buy a piece of equipment.”

The fund has already supported several businesses, including artist Lucy Burns who received a grant to boost her sustainable ceramics business. The 24-year-old sells kitchen and homeware with a sustainable theme, which she sells at Bridport Market every

Saturday. “I like to promote ceramic sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics, such as coffee cups and keep bowls with silicone lids and loose-leaf tea strainers,” she said.

She set up her tiny studio, called The Pot Place, at Uplyme, near Lyme Regis, a year ago. Her first year of trading was encouraging but the rising price of raw materials put a cloud over the venture.

She heard about the Dorset Community Foundation grants from a friend and applied.

After submitting her business plan and having an interview with Mr Robinson and Mr Smallwood she was delighted to hear she had been awarded £1,500.

She is using the grant to buy a new stock of silicone lids and raw materials, and is investing in a new website so she can sell online.

She has also started selling her wares at festivals.

Ceramicist Lucy Burns, 24, hard at work at Bridport Market

Economic review of Q3, 2022

THE third quarter of 2022 has been one of change in the UK, with the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the installation of a new Prime Minister – Liz Truss – all in the same week in early September.

Financial markets continued their tumultuous year with yet another volatile quarter. Having rallied during a quiet early half of Q3, equity markets slipped back, erasing all gains to finish in negative territory at the end of September.

Fixed-income markets experienced a similar feat, with corporate credit selling off in the latter half of the quarter along with government bonds, the longest maturity of which experienced the sharpest falls.

Listed property vehicles suffered the sharpest declines, especially within the UK listed Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) sector, with many showing share price declines in excess of 30% year to date.

The UK stock market ended the third quarter very unsettled, following the mini-budget which was announced by the then chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng on September 23.

There was widespread condemnation of the plan to scrap the 45% tax rate for higher taxpayers, although this – along with some other measures – was quickly the subject of a U-turn after the chancellor was sacked.

The Energy Price Guarantee was announced in the same mini-budget, but this seemed to have been overshadowed by other unpopular measures and, in October, this was in any case dumbed down by the new chancellor, Jeremy Hunt.

If there is one thing that the stock market hates, it is uncertainty and the political and economic situation in the UK during September meant the UK stock market was volatile and

headed into the last quarter of 2022 in a very unsettled state.

A large increase in the longer-term debt load of the country was a key factor spooking markets, sending sterling to near parity against the dollar and bond yields higher. Spiking yields forced the Bank of England into open market activity, announcing a gilt purchase programme to calm markets and support pension funds.

The mortgage market also reacted, with nearly 1,000 products being withdrawn due to pricing difficulties. The current Bank of England base rate is 2.25% and this rose from 1.75% on August 22. The rate started at 0.25% at the beginning of the year and it is likely rates will rise again at the next Bank of England meeting on November 3.

According to the Halifax House Price Index, house prices decreased marginally in September by -0.1% (vs +0.3% in August 2022) and the annual rate of growth fell further to 9.9% from 11.4% in August. A typical UK property now costs £293,835 with average prices having risen about 23% – almost £55,000 –since the start of the pandemic.

Since the end of the third quarter, things have clearly been moving fast, with U-turns on many aspects of the mini-budget and resignations and sackings within the government, including the resignation of Liz Truss as prime minister.

By the time you read this article, we will have a new prime minister. Other cabinet ministers are likely to have been replaced and the chancellor may have presented the Fiscal Plan at the end of October.

One thing for certain at the moment is that things are uncertain and until stability is restored, the UK stock market and the country are likely to remain unsettled.

BH14 0JD.

Phone: 01202 714450. Email: kate. spurling@redmayne.co.uk. Follow us on Twitter @redmaynebent ley

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.

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

Bournemouth

RSPCA calls on government to push forward law to protect animals

THE RSPCA has urged new prime minister Rishi Sunak to stick by the Conservative party’s plans for animal welfare. The animal charity is urging the government to pursue the stalled Kept Animals Bill.

The law has been in limbo and “missing in action” since November 2021, the RSPCA says.

Calls have been backed by Henry Dimbleby, author of the independent National Food Strategy and the UK government’s food tsar, who has previously called for animal welfare not to be sacrificed in a “bonfire of red tape” but believes Sunak can offer “renewed hope” for animal welfare’s place on the policy agenda.

Amid claims PM Sunak is set to return to the contents of the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto for his policy agenda, the RSPCA hopes bringing the Bill back before Parliament will help ensure the UK government prioritises animal welfare and

meets its manifesto pledges.

Ahead of the 2019 General Election, the Conservative Party pledged to crack down on the illegal smuggling of dogs and puppies, end excessively long journeys for slaughter and fattening and ban the keeping of primates as pets.

The Kept Animals Bill commits to these pledges by banning the live transport of animals, placing restrictions on the keeping of primates as pets and ending the importation of puppies with cropped ears, as well as other pro-animal measures such as dealing with pet theft.

However, the Bill has seen no action since Committee stage in November 2021.

Emma Slawinski, RSPCA

director of policy, said: “As the new prime minister pledges to dust off the Conservative Party manifesto of 2019, we’d urge him to start by reviving the missing-in-action Kept Animals Bill, and avoid any risk of trampling on this country’s animal welfare legacy.”

Mr Dimbleby, a nonexecutive board member at Defra, delivered the inaugural RSPCA Wilberforce lecture last month.

He said: “This law has been in the making for literally decades.

“The cruel and unnecessary practice of live animal transport was rightly a manifesto commitment for this government and it is one they must not renege on.”

M argaret Green Animal Rescue

COULD you help us find a forever home for handsome Black Jack?

Black Jack is a lovely, four-year-old male ex-racing greyhound. He absolutely loves life and he is a very excitable and fun boy who also adore cuddles with his human companions.

He can be very bouncy and excited with his toys, so he is looking for an adult-only home, or a family with teenagers, but he would prefer not to live with small animals.

Black Jack would love to find a home where he can get lots of attention and his new owners will ideally have experience with sighthounds.

We would love nothing more than to find Black Jack the loving home he truly deserves. If you are interested in rehoming this wonderful

Former racing greyhoud Black Jack is looking for a new home

boy, please contact the team at Lincoln Farm, DT11 6BP: lincolnfarm@mgar.org.uk

To meet the other rescue animals in our care looking for new homes, please visit www. margaretgreenanimalrescue. org.uk.

Join us!

CAN you spare a day or two or even just a few hours a week?

We are desperately looking for volunteers to help in our charity shops across Dorset.

Whether you can support us with serving customers on the shop floor, sorting through donations or arranging our window displays, it will make

B oard your pets with us and save another Caring

a huge difference. Becoming a volunteer is a great opportunity to join a friendly, welcoming team and to help us raise the vital funds needed for our rescue animals.

If you would like to find out more about volunteering, please contact your nearest shop directly by visiting our website.

Henry Dimbleby

Make a pickle in double quick time

By Rebecca Vincent

IT’S only in recent years that I’ve come round to the idea of vinegar and anything that even remotely resembles a pickle, but I like the idea of quick pickles as they don’t require much effort and the house doesn’t end up smelling of vinegar for ages after making them. This recipe works with a myriad of different vegetables, herbs and spices, but this time I’ve chosen carrots and onions.

Carrots have been one of my favourite vegetables since I was a kid – I used to get told off for picking and eating them straight out of the garden, barely stopping to wash them! They contain high levels of beta-carotene which we can convert into vitamin A, along with vitamins C, B6, K, biotin, thiamine and potassium.

Onions are a member of the allium family, along with garlic and leek, and they are a great source of vitamins C, B6, B1, K, biotin and chromium. They are also considered a prebiotic which means the dietary fibres they

contain feed the beneficial bacteria within our gut, along with the wide array of phytochemicals they contain.

Carrot and onion quick pickle (Fills a 1 pint/16oz mason jar)

½ medium red onion

2 medium carrots

1 tsp sea salt 1 tsp sugar 1 garlic clove 1 cup of water

½ cup of apple cider vinegar

Few sprigs of coriander

Flavour options: ginger, turmeric, dill, chives, lemon zest

Finely slice the red onion. Slice the carrots in half lengthways then finely slice on the diagonal. If you have one, you can use a mandolin to do this. Finely slice the garlic clove, then cut each slice into matchsticks and roughly chop the coriander.

Layer the vegetables, garlic and coriander in the jar.

NICE ‘N’ EASY

Quick pickles don’t require much effort and the house doesn’t end up smelling of vinegar for ages after making them

Bring the water to the boil in a small pan, then add the salt and sugar, stirring until dissolved. Pour the water mix and vinegar over the vegetables. When cool enough to handle put the lid on the jar and pop in the fridge for one hour. Then enjoy!

n Rebecca Vincent BSc (Hons); BANT registered nutritionist; phone: 07515 019430; www.rebeccavincent nutrition.co.uk

Comfort food for those cold nights

by Rebecca Vincent SQUASH

season is in full swing! This family of veg are such versatile ingredients and work well in soups or stews, as well as being delicious steamed, stuffed, and/or roasted.

This time I’ve roasted and paired them with a flavourful walnut crumb, which adds a nice contrast of texture.

The components of the crumb can be adjusted to suit your taste, and even turned into a sweet version: pumpkin or butternut squash work well for this, simply omit the salt and pepper, use coconut oil instead of olive, and add cinnamon and nutmeg in with the walnuts instead of the savoury ingredients.

It’s great served with a big

spoonful of yoghurt and a little drizzle of maple syrup!

Squashes are excellent sources of carotenes – the more vibrant the colour, the greater their concentration. They’re also good sources of vitamins C, B1, B6, folic acid, pantothenic acid, niacin, potassium, and fibre.

Walnuts are very nutrientdense, and a great source of vitamin E, manganese, copper, phosphorus, magnesium and

omega-3 fatty acid alphalinolenic acid, as well as being rich sources of both protein and fibre.

Roasted squash with a crunchy walnut crumb (Serves 2-4)

½ medium squash (I used a crown prince, but most types would work)

10 whole walnuts (de-shelled)

2 garlic cloves

Leaves from a small bunch of thyme

Pinch of salt and pepper Extra virgin olive oil

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.

Cut the squash in half lengthways, scoop out the seeds, and cut into 2cm thick slices.

Lay on a tray, drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil,

sprinkle with salt and pepper, and gently toss to ensure evenly coated.

Pop in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, pop the walnuts, garlic, and thyme into a small blender/food processor and pulse until coarse but well mixed.

After 15 minutes turn the squash and scatter the walnut mix over the top of each slice. Pop back in the oven for about 10 minutes until the nuts are lightly toasted.

Lovely served with a nice roast, or as part of a warm salad medley!

n Rebecca Vincent BSc (Hons) BANT registered nutritionist; 07515 019430; www.rebecca vincentnutrition.co.uk.

Roasted squash with a crunchy walnut crumb is great served with yoghurt and a little maple syrup

Swanage go down to local rivals

Walcot 22 Swanage & Wareham 10 SWANAGE & WAREHAM had to travel away for their league game against Walcot in Bath.

The Swans did not make a good start as early in the first-half Walcot ran in a converted try.

Swans were playing well but after half an hour a penalty to Walcot added to the score.

However, a penalty goal by Steve Woolley for Swans made the half-time score Walcot 10 Swans 3.

Ten minutes into the second half Walcot scored another converted try.

Swans came back into the game with centre Tom Mumms, making his debut for Swans, going in close to the posts and

Woolley adding the extras.

But just before the final whistle Walcot scored out wide to make the final score Walcot

22 Swanage & Wareham 10

Swans: O.Dillon, L.Spyers, T. Mumms, E.Dimescio, R.Ferguson, S.Woolley, C.Tomes, Z.Wyburgh, J. Daniels, S.Waterman, D.Collins G. Climie, H.Sadd, C.Moag, P.Mercer, C.Foskett, S.Kitkatt, M.Spencer.

Swanage & Wareham 19 Dorchester 32

SWANS welcomed local rivals Dorchester to Bestwall, and after a competitive first half, the visitors took over in the second.

Dorchester started by kicking the ball over Swans’ defence but Swans repelled the onslaught and produced some exciting three-quarters moves.

But a couple of penalties to Swans took them into the

visitor’s 22 and from a scrum Swans took the lead with a try by number 8 James Casey. Steve Woolley converted.

But after 20 minutes, as Swans were attacking the Dorchester line, the visitors intercepted and the Dorchester centre ran the length of the pitch to score in the corner.

Dorchester bagged a couple of penalty goals but just before the break Swans scored again, close to the posts, through James Casey, and Woolley converted to leave Swans 14-13 ahead at half-time.

Early in the second half, Dorchester pushed Swans off the ball at a scrum and after 48 minutes scored a converted try to take the score to 14-20.

Swans continued to attack but again made a mistake – the

visitors intercepted and ran 50 or so metres to the line take Dorchester to 25 points after 60 minutes.

Swans replied immediately when from a series of phases on the Dorchester 22, wing forward Jonny Blackmore worked his way over the line.

The play was even towards the end of the game, with Dorchester dominating the scrums and Swans controlling the backs.

But with the last move of the game another interception on the Dorchester 22 led to the visitors adding to their score.

Swans: R.Ferguson, O.Dillon, E. Dimescio, L.Esera, H.Spyers, S. Woolley, W.Slack, Z.Wyburgh, J.Daniels, J.Jenner, D.Collins, M.Seaton, J.Blackmore, C.Moag, J.Casey, S.Waterman, J.Ginders, M.Spencer.

RON BUTLER

Joe helps GB squad to handball trophy

YOUNG Joe Trent from Corfe Mullen has just returned from a week in Kosovo with the under-20 GB handball squad.

They made history by taking their first ever tournament trophy, winning four out of four matches against Bulgaria, Kosovo, Malta and Andorra.

Joe, 20, started his handball journey at Lockyers Middle School, taking part in the after-school sessions run by Poole Phoenix Handball Club, before progressing into the regional academy and the

England youth team. He has trained hard to achieve his dream of playing for Great Britain and after taking A-levels at Corfe Hills spent a year developing his skills playing for Ikast under-19s in Denmark.

British handball’s win in Kosova will see them qualify for the Intercontinental Trophy in March next year.

Joe hopes more young players will be encouraged to take up this fast-paced and exciting game, one of the most popular team sports in Europe.

Joe Trent in action and (right) with the Great Britain squad

How to get your car ready for winter

ROAD safety and breakdown recovery organisation GEM Motoring Assist is offering basic tips for drivers to ensure a trouble-free winter.

Giving some attention now to batteries, tyres, anti-freeze, wipers, lights and other vehicle essentials is the best way of ensuring reliability in the months to come, it says.

GEM chief executive Neil Worth said: “Winter weather tends to catch us by surprise, with extra pressure on our breakdown recovery network to deal with flat batteries, starter motor malfunctions and tyre problems. The last thing anyone needs is to break down on a chilly morning. Prevention is always better than cure, so by paying some attention to a few winter maintenance needs, you will greatly reduce the risk of a breakdown.”

Here are GEM’s five simple

steps for reducing the chance of a breakdown or malfunction this winter:

n Get the battery and charging system checked to ensure best performance. A number of winter calls to GEM’s breakdown control centre relate to flat batteries. Cold weather puts a lot of strain on tired batteries, so consider changing it now to avoid the inconvenience of a breakdown.

If your battery seems to be turning over more slowly than usual, get it checked straight away. Similarly, if the red battery warning symbol illuminates on the dashboard, get the battery checked.

n Ensure your car’s cooling system has the correct levels of antifreeze, which is vital to prevent the water in your engine’s cooling system from freezing.

GEM recommends you

consult your local dealer or a qualified mechanic to ensure this is done correctly.

n Make sure all the lights on your car, inside and out, are working properly. Clean them regularly to ensure they are free of dirt so that you can see and others can see you.

n Check tyre tread depth and pressure weekly. Good tyres will ensure the safety systems on your car are as effective as possible.

GEM recommends a

minimum tread depth of 3mm – the legal minimum is 1.6mm – as this will disperse much more water from the road and will minimise your risk of skidding and losing control.

n Check your windscreen wipers, front and rear. Make sure they are working properly and top up your screenwash regularly using cold weather washer fluid.

Do not use the windscreen wipers to clear ice, as this will very quickly lead to damage.

Bringing Christmas Cheer: Could You Lend a Hand ?

Bringing

If you could peep inside some local houses, you might see a sight that will seem a bit premature -- well, soonish for early November at any rate. There are people getting Santa suits out of dusty boxes in the corners of their lofts or garden sheds. There are some digging out strings of Christmas lights (all tangled up, of course!) and checking that they still work. And there are others you might find in their kitchens, aproned up and giving a spicy stir to a trayful of Christmas puddings. But they haven’t got their weeks muddled up. In all likelihood, they’re members of Swanage and Purbeck Rotary, and they’ll be making preparations for their busy programme of Christmas events that, each December, we can all look forward to. There’s going to be a Christmas Market, in the town centre, on Saturday 3 December, with festive music, good food, and stalls where you can buy presents for someone special. You’ll be also able to use the Rotary Christmas Mail to post your cards to friends and neighbours in our area. And of course, in the first fortnight of December there will be

If you could peep inside some local houses, you might see a sight that will seem a bit premature -- well, soonish for early November at any rate. There are people getting Santa suits out of dusty boxes in the corners of their lofts or garden sheds. There are some digging out strings of Christmas lights (all tangled up, of course!) and checking that they still work. And there are others you might find in their kitchens, aproned up and giving a spicy stir to a trayful of Christmas puddings. But they haven’t got their weeks muddled up. In all likelihood, they’re members of Swanage and Purbeck Rotary, and they’ll be making preparations for their busy programme of Christmas events that, each December, we can all look forward to. There’s going to be a Christmas Market, in the town centre, on Saturday 3 December, with festive music, good food, and stalls where you can buy presents for someone special. You’ll be also able to use the Rotary Christmas Mail to post your cards to friends and neighbours in our area. And of course, in the first fortnight of December there will be

Cheer: Could You Lend a Hand ?

Countdown to Christmas Christmas

NORFOLK ROYALE HOTEL

NORFOLK ROYALE HOTEL

BE OUR GUEST FOR YOUR Christmas Party

Countdown to Christmas Christmas

Countdown to Christmas Christmas

the legendary Santa Sleigh, ho-ho-hoing the streets of Swanage and the surrounding villages with carols, sweets for the children, and a cheery smile and wave from Father Christmas. In the centre of town there will also be, it’s hoped, the much-loved Rotary Christmas Shop -- if suitable premises can be found in time.

the legendary Santa Sleigh, ho-ho-hoing the streets of Swanage and the surrounding villages with carols, sweets for the children, and a cheery smile and wave from Father Christmas. In the centre of town there will also be, it’s hoped, the much-loved Rotary Christmas Shop -- if suitable premises can be found in time.

BE OUR GUEST FOR YOUR Christmas Party

BE OUR GUEST FOR YOUR Christmas Party

LEAVE THE CAR AND Booze and Snooze

LEAVE THE CAR AND Booze and Snooze

LEAVE THE CAR AND Booze and Snooze

EASY WALK TO Bournemouth Town Centre

EASY WALK TO Bournemouth Town Centre

All of these happenings bring enjoyment and an opportunity for much-needed support to charities, locally and further afield. But bringing Christmas cheer on this scale calls for lots of helping hands, so if you think you could assist, please get in touch with Rotary as soon as possible (and preferably before the end of this month). You’ll find contact details in the display ad opposite. Check out the Rotary website, too, if you’re thinking of a running a stall at the Xmas Market. There’s an application form to download.

All of these happenings bring enjoyment and an opportunity for much-needed support to charities, locally and further afield. But bringing Christmas cheer on this scale calls for lots of helping hands, so if you think you could assist, please get in touch with Rotary as soon as possible (and preferably before the end of this month). You’ll find contact details in the display ad opposite. Check out the Rotary website, too, if you’re thinking of a running a stall at the Xmas Market. There’s an application form to download.

From £24.95 per person 17/10/2022 12:48

From £24.95 per person

From £24.95 per person 17/10/2022 12:48

Bournemouth

Bournemouth

Christmas

Bournemouth

NORFOLK ROYALE HOTEL

Countdown to Christmas

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!

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

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

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!

TIVOLI THEATRE

hair a helping hand

by Fiona Chapman

I MAY have studied to be a witch, but I don’t really need to look like one!

I have therefore booked to have my hair cut, something I detest. Every time I come out of the hairdresser I shy at myself in the mirror for days as I just do not look like me.

I have frizzy hair – let’s face it Fiona, your hair will always be frizzy said one hairdresser. I come back with it all straight and poofed and doing things I could never get it to do on my own!

After my last rather disastrous hair cut about eight months ago, I started to boil up a lovely tea, a cup of which I drank and then used the rest as a final rinse for my hair. I felt it made it grow incredibly fast and stronger.

Fresh nettle is the best. It is good for the colour, it helps to prevent hair loss and it thickens as well as softens and shines.

You need a large handful of nettles – picked with gloves and washed. Cover them with filtered water, bring them to the boil and then simmer for at least 20 minutes. Take them off the heat and leave them to steep overnight. Strain, warm it up, drink a cup and use the rest as a last rinse on the hair, massaging the rather muddy green-looking water into your scalp.

Do not rinse it off. It does not necessarily feel or smell great, like a conditioner does, but if you leave your hair to dry naturally, it will then start to feel wonderfully soft and healthy. It is probably the same with a hair dryer, but I don’t use one!

This basic recipe can be added to, depending on the condition of your hair and scalp. Equisetum arvense, the ancient horsetail plant, contains silicon and is used for thin, weak hair with split ends as well as for brittle nails. It can be used fresh – as long as the plant grows in the sun, not the shade – and it must be boiled. You can also add a pinch of capsicum into the mix to stimulate your scalp.

Lavender and/or rosemary

are good additions if you have a dry, itchy scalp without dandruff. They also make it smell nice! If you want extra shine, add chamomile.

All make a good, healthy, tasty tea. They can be bought as dried herbs if necessary and will help with hair growth from both inside the body and used directly on the scalp.

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

Fresh nettle tea used as a last rinse is good for colour, helps to prevent hair loss, thickens, softens and shines

PHOTO: Anastacia Cooper/Pixabay

Why ‘the space in between’ brings clarity and progress

by Alice Johnsen

NOW is a favourite time of the year for many of us.

It is the calm between the rush and demands of summer and the dark of the coming winter months. The autumn

what brings about clarity and progress. It is the pause around a conversation, a training session, a brainstorming session – that is where the magic happens.

We all need a lot of space. Space to think, to digest, to

subject itself. I think that is a useful way to think of space in relation to our own lives.

Likewise, our brains need at night to process the events, traumas, memories and newly acquired knowledge that day.

should be. While I’m on my phone soapbox, there is also scientific evidence telling us we should not reach for those screens as soon as we wake up – ideally we should be aiming for 20-30 minutes of phone-

autumn towards winter, I offer a

sleep

PHOTO: Firmbee/ Pixabay

Ways to help wildlife over winter months

AS THE autumn garden tidy up continues, especially with the leaves now falling, let’s not forget the wildlife.

Leave some seed heads of plants such as echinacea, sedum, allium and ornamental grasses as they not only provide food for the birds, but their stems can give a home to a huge variety of insects, larvae and eggs.

If you have mature ivy, resist if you can the temptation to cut all of it back as the flowers can provide a brilliant boost of nectar and pollen for later-flying insects. Its berries will feed the birds and its leaves offer shelter for many species.

Just piling logs, twigs and leaves together will create an idyllic space for many creatures over winter. It is best to find a spot where your log pile is unlikely to be disturbed. Start by partially burying logs to enable insects such as beetles to feed on the decaying wood. Any larger spaces can be

filled with dry leaves and twigs. Ensure some gaps are left throughout your pile for insects and small mammals to shelter.

A myriad of insects, especially bees, hibernate through winter. Their ideal space would be warm and dry where they can remain until spring. Old air bricks are great where you can fill the holes with twigs. Empty flowerpots laid on their side, again filled with suitable ‘bug bedding’ will also provide the perfect shelter over winter.

While the bottom of the pond is where the male frogs will head to over-winter, the young and the females will search for damp areas. Log piles will be a great habitat, but the creation of a hibernaculum is just as simple. Take an old grow bag and dig a shallow hole of the same size in a sheltered position. Place the bag inside and completely cover with grass

Birds can have difficulty finding food over winter – providing seeds, peanuts and fat balls can help a variety of species.

clippings and pack it all down.

Lastly, spread a layer of leaves and twigs over the top. The hibernaculum will provide a safe space for amphibians and reptiles to hibernate and should be left undisturbed until spring.

Many products can be purchased to complement these natural sources of food and shelter for the wildlife. Birds in particular can struggle to find food during the colder months,

so putting out feeders will help them get through winter.

Providing a range of bird feed such as seeds, peanuts and fat balls will ensure you cater for the variety of bird species. Pre-made bug hotels and bird boxes can also be bought if you are short of time to make your own.

n Rudge’s Garden Centre has a range of bird feed and accessories in stock.

‘The wildlife and its habitat cannot speak, so we must and we will.’

Theodore Roosevelt

PHOTO: InspiredImages/Pixabay

A mid-century modern gem

G Plan has been a benchmark for British design since 1953. It is a blend of beautifully balanced design with the perfect mix of style and function, creating high quality furniture still sought after

stunning original vintage dressing table with mirror, made by G Plan for its Brandon range in the 1950s.

It is finished in a light blonde oak veneered wood and each lower drawer opens with

more space, and the unit sits on solid splayed legs. It has a timeless elegance and would not look out of place in a modern day bedroom. Perfect for our retro furniture-loving customers here @sixtyone.

TV stand-ups set to headline comedy club

by Lorraine Gibson

THEY say laughter’s the best medicine, so if you’re in need of a bit of a boost, get yourself to Christchurch.

Aiming to put the town firmly on the comedy map, the Regent has a selection of top TV headliners ready to perform as part of its Regent Comedy Club 2022 programme.

Among them are leading circuit comedians John Robins and Suzi Ruffell, who will be joined on stage by a supporting line-up of two other acts and a guest host. That’s a pretty decent dose of gags for £17 a ticket.

Comedian, digital DJ, author, podcast host and all-round vibe-magnet John Robins is up on Thursday, November 10. The Edinburgh Comedy Award and Gold Aria Award winner has

appeared on lots of television shows including Mock The Week, Live At The Apollo, Stand-Up Central, Russell Howard’s Good News and Drunk History.

Robins has been described as ‘one of the most exciting and distinctive voices in comedy and on stage . . . in absolute command of what he’s doing, having a room hanging on his every word, and laughing at quite a lot of them.’

Next comes suited-andbooted Suzi Ruffell. She will take to the stage on Wednesday, December 7, with five sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival under her belt and having racked up critical acclaim from reviewers and audiences alike.

She is now touring with her show Dance Like Everyone’s

Watching, which saw her nominated for Best Stand Up Show in the National Comedy Awards 2021.

Ruffell is a screen veteran with appearances on the likes of Live At The Apollo, Mock The

Week, The Jonathan Ross Show, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled, The Last Leg, and There’s Something About Movies

Tickets are available at www. theregent.co.uk or on 01202 499199.

She’s football crazy, football mad!

THE link between football and national identity is explored in Eng-er-land, a play coming to Broadmayne, near Dorchester, to coincide with this year’s World Cup in Qatar.

It’s 1997. The year after England made it to the semifinals of Euro 96, Gina G came third in Eurovision and 13-yearold Lizzie went to her first in-person football game, Coventry v Manchester City.

Not the Man City of today, all oil and superstars, but the old Man City – a bit rubbish but with good fans.

Lizzie fell in love with the beautiful game that day, and she’s been obsessed ever since. But then something happens to make her question her place in the stands. Eng-er-land is an energetic play about who’s

really on your team…

Hannah Kumari is a performer, theatre maker and writer originally from the Midlands and now based in Frome. She has worked for BBC, Channel 4, Universal Spain, Little Angel Theatre and Horse & Bamboo, among others, and been featured on BBC Sportshour, Channel 5 News and Newsnight.

Combining storytelling, dance and music with 1990s nostalgia, Hannah’s Eng-er-land had its premiere in June 2021 with a sell-out run at Jermyn Street Theatre in London’s West End before touring to venues across the UK including the National Football Museum.

Hannah said: “There are things in the show that people of all ages and from all

backgrounds will identify with. It’s fun and refreshing, and you don’t need to like football!”

Eng-er-land is at Broadmayne village hall (07443

659912) at 8pm on Sunday, November 27. It is suitable for ages 13-plus. Full details and tickets can be found online at www.artsreach.co.uk.

Edinburgh Comedy Award winner John Robins

Hannah Kumari’s football drama Eng-er-land is coming to Broadmayne village hall later this month

PHOTO: Ali Wright

Isle of Purbeck prepares to honour the fallen on Remembrance Sunday

THE Isle of Purbeck will gather to remember the fallen during Remembrance Sunday services.

The day falls on November 13 this year, with events taking place across the area, and people are being urged to take part to pay their respects.

Most towns and villages gather at the war memorial at around 10.45am for wreaths to be laid before a moment of silence at 11am. A number of services will be held, including at: n Swanage: The Remembrance Parade will gather in Shore Road, near the Mowlam Theatre, at 2pm, before processing to St Mary’s for a service and wreath laying; n Corfe Castle: A service will be held at St Edward’s at 10.30am;

n Worth Matravers: A Remembrance service will be held at 10.50am;

n Kingston: A special service will be held at 10.50am;

n Langton Matravers: A church service will be held at 10.50am.

n Tyneham: A church service will take

place at 11.15am.

Purbeck Arts Choir to perform ‘a sure refuge’ by David Fawcett

The Purbeck Arts Choir’s November concert will be celebrating both the 150th anniversary of Ralph Vaughan Williams and the opportunity to present David Fawcett’s cantata ‘a sure refuge’ to a local audience.

With over 60 choir members, soloists, orchestra and organ plus the Purbeck Youth Choir and St Mary’s Junior Choir this is going to be a very special occasion. Refreshments will be available during the interval (for a small charge) and there will be a retiring collection for the Refugee Council.

The concert will take place at 6.30pm on Saturday 26 November at St Mary’s Church in Swanage Tickets are only £10 for adults, U18s free, and are available in advance from Corbens or Liz Roberts 01929 481419. www.purbeckartschoir.org.uk

Remembrance Sunday.

For more information on the RBL in Dorset, log on to https://counties. britishlegion.org.uk/counties/dorset.

Tickets: £10 in advance from Corbens or tel. 01929 481419

Saturday 26th November 2022 at 6.30pm St. Mary’s Church, Swanage

refuge

Meanwhile, the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal continues with poppies on sale throughout the weeks building up to

Bridging The Gap

RISING indie folk duo India Electric Co, fresh from a UK tour with Midge Ure, are coming to the Lighthouse Poole.

The pair, Cole Stacey and Joseph O’Keefe (pictured), blend traditional instruments, folk melodies and subtle electronic influences.

They have toured extensively throughout Europe, Australia and New Zealand, including UK shows at the London Palladium, Hammersmith Apollo and Glastonbury

festival. After live sessions with BBC Radio 2 and 6Music, and with the backing of BBC Music Introducing, they released their second album, The Gap, in 2020.

The album is built around the premise that folk songs have evolved from the blending of different cultural traditions.

India Electric Co are at the Lighthouse on Friday, November 18. For tickets and information phone 01202 280000 or visit www. lighthousepoole.co.uk.

Tickets on sale for mayor’s show

THE annual Mayor’s Christmas Concert will take place in Wareham later this month.

Tickets are now on sale for the event, at the town hall, on November 26.

Getting under way at 7.15pm, with doors open at 6.30pm, the festive show will feature carols and songs from the Poole and Parkstone Singers, pictured, seasonal

sweet treats and a glass of Prosecco provided by The Garden Gate Tearoom, as well as a raffle. The concert will raise funds for the Allison Campbell Trust – a Purbeck charity that helps and supports people who are terminally ill.

Tickets cost £15 and are on sale online or in person at AF Joys or Not Just Sundaes Community Cafe in Wareham.

Arts & Entertainment

Buffalo Gals go around the... Dorset countryside!

by Lorraine Gibson

THERE’S nothing like a rousing, old-time country music hoedown to cheer up a winter’s night, and there’s certainly nothing quite like a Buffalo Gals’ version of one.

Specialists in the original grass-roots, hard-life sounds of America, the six-piece’s visual and melodic antics combined with the joshing, joyful rapport they build with audiences has made them one of the UK’s most sought-after acts on the US roots-inspired circuit.

Now they are heading to Dorset to perform three concerts for rural communities through the Artsreach arts charity. Led by champion USA fiddler and funny-gal Kate Lissauer, they deliver string-band tradition

ballads, rags and work songs, and the spiritual numbers of Appalachia, bluegrass and early country.

Driven by fiddle, banjo, double-bass, ukulele, guitar and soaring harmonies, the Buffalo Gals style is punctuated by stunning, syncopated traditional Appalachian ‘step-dancer’, aka stomping and ‘body percussion’, to toe-tapping tunes in what is billed as ‘an irresistible and uplifting show’.

Buffalo Gals are at Stalbridge (01963 362978) on Thursday, December 1; Corfe Castle (07590 352219) on Friday, December 2; and Powerstock (01308 485730) on Saturday, December 3. Further information and tickets from www.artsreach.co.uk.

LIVE SHOWS & MUSIC:

• An Evening of Entertainment - Swanage Drama Company is back on stage with this concert featuring songs, comedy sketches, barrels of fun and laughter and all in aid of charity. • Saturday 5th November at 7.30pm

• The Decatonics (with Stacey Lou) A powerful 8-piece skaband from Dorset drawing on classic tunes from Ska, Rocksteady, 2Tone, Soul, and Reggae genres supported by Stacey Lou performing ‘Amy’, a tribute inspired by Amy Winehouse. Saturday 26th November at 7.30pm

EVENTS IN THE SHOWBAR

(upstairs at The Mowlem):

• Swanage Seafront Masterplan. This public drop-in event in The Showbar encourages interested community members to join James & Sara from the Dorset Coast Forum team to discuss their views on the seafront. They are also planning a photography exhibition exploring the seafront.

Thursday 17th November at 6.00pm

MOWLEM VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITIONS

• The Ties That Bind. Our second visual arts exhibition will showcase work from Helen Hardy and will open to the public from Friday, 21st October, through Tuesday, 29th November. More information to follow soon.

MOVIES:

• Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (PG)

Monday 31st October through to Thursday 3rd November at 7.30pm. Monday Matinée on 31st October at 2.30pm.

• Frida Kahlo (15)

Monday 7th November through to Wednesday 9th November at 7.30pm. Monday Matinée on 7th November at 2.30pm.

• Elvis (12A)

Friday 11th November at 7.30pm.

• Emily (15)

Saturday 12th November to Thursday 17th November at 7.30pm.

Monday Matinée on 14th November at 2.30pm.

• Amsterdam (15)

Friday 18th November to Thursday 24th November at 7.30pm.

Monday Matinée on 21st November at 2.30pm.

• The Lost King (12)

Friday 25th November to Wednesday 30th November at 7.30pm. Excluding Saturday, 26th November (see The Decatonics).

Monday Matinée on 28th November at 2.30pm.

CLUBS & SOCIETIES:

•

•

•

•

The

William

•

Old-time country string band Buffalo Gals are one of the most sought-after acts on the American roots-inspired UK music circuit.

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 21st November is NOON 14th November

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.

NOVEMBER 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. All ages/ abilities welcome. 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.

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.

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 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.

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 Wareham Depression Support group. Second and fourth Wednesday each month at Not Just Sundaes, South Street, Wareham. BH20, until 9pm. John: 01929 556315 or 07871 727278 or email: johnoneil905@yahoo.co.uk.

19.00 Swanage Town Band meet for our weekly practice 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.

14.00 Studland Chair-based Exercise in the Village Hall, Studland. Julie on 558139 or email: jbrad@uwclub.net.

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.

18.15 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. All ages/ abilities welcome. 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.

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, November 19, 10am – Christmas card – iris paper folding – making and coffee morning; Saturday, December 10, 1.30pm – Christmas buffet, £4. Contact social secretary Julia Taylor to book places.

Blackmore Vale Ltd continues to enjoy great success and we are looking for an experienced Account Manager You will be managing a regular client base as well as generating new business selling into various magazines. Previous sales experience is required and you should be hungry for success. The role is a hybrid of working from home/office and out and about within the Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire areas. You must own your own vehicle – a mileage allowance is paid.

Previous sales

experience

Hungry for success

Hours are Monday to Friday 9am – 5.30pm. Salary is dependent on experience.

part of

fantastic

to

Closing date for applications is Friday 30th November.