The Purbeck Gazette - Issue 309

What’s

Ex-pilot’s 80th birthday wish come true

A RETIRED pilot who lives at a local care home had his birthday wish come true when he sat in the captain’s seat of an aeroplane.

David Turner was joined by his daughter, Kirsteen, and Sam Baker, activities lead for Dorset House care home in Hamworthy, for the special experience ahead of his 80th birthday later this year.

David got to sit in the cockpit of one of TUI’s Boeing 747s parked outside the terminal at Bournemouth Airport.

He said: “I had a fabulous day with fantastic people. I couldn't have had a better experience. It was wonderful to sit in the captain’s seat once again and have a look around all the controls and switches, which brought back many happy memories of my flying career.”

His proud daughter, Kirsteen, was thrilled to see her dad being able to re-live his dream of sitting up front in the pilot’s seat.

She said: “It was so emotional to see dad’s face light up when he stepped on the plane. He loved talking to the captain and using the abbreviations and terminology that only another pilot would understand.

“I am so pleased that the

Dorset House team could make dad’s 80th birthday wish come true. He loved every second of the experience.”

David chatted to TUI pilot, Captain Richard Griffin, about his career in aviation, which included 20 years in the RAF, 15 years as a captain for a commercial airline, and 19 years training the next generation of pilots, before retiring at 75.

Captain Griffin said: “It was a pleasure to meet David, who was beaming from ear to ear as he stepped on the plane.

“He had lots of interesting stories to tell me about his flying career, including his time

flying a Boeing 747, which is a lot larger than the plane we were in for this experience, but it has a lot of similarities, and his work taking him overseas.

“I'm pleased that I could play a part in his birthday wish.”

At the end of the special event, David was presented with a personalised cake shaped like a TUI plane to take back to enjoy with his friends at Dorset House care home.

Sam Baker, activities lead at

said: “David had a wonderful experience sitting in the cockpit of the plane, where he felt right at home.

“At Care South, we get to know the individual likes and dislikes of the residents in our care, and where possible, their dreams and wishes, so that we can help them to continue to lead rich and fulfilling lives –just like this.

“It was lovely to make this happen for David.”

Mother’s Day, Sunday Lunch

10 th March 2024

Celebrate Mother’s Day and say thank you for all that they do by treating them to a delicious meal with us. Check out our Mothers Day menu online & call our reception team to book your table.

Dorset House,

Dorset House David Turner pictured with his RAF crew and then pictured in more recent years

David Turner aged 24 pictured before his first solo flight

David Turner chats to Captain Richard Griffin

Hospital opens £14m outpatient department

DORSET County Hospital (DCH) has opened a new £14 million outpatient department.

The scheme to refurbish the Outpatient Assessment Centre, at South Walks House, in the town centre, saw two floors of the building converted into permanent clinical space.

Funding came from the NHS England Elective Recovery and Community Diagnostics Programme, and a 20-year lease was signed for the premises with Dorset Council.

DCH started running a pop-up Outpatient Assessment Centre on one floor of the building in November 2021 as a temporary measure to tackle NHS waiting lists.

Now, the funding has been used to expand and enhance the centre, with two floors of dedicated clinical space allowing staff to run more outpatient clinics and offer diagnostics appointments such as x-rays and scans, as well as

Down your way...

By Chris Slade

Retired Dorset

rights of way officer PARK near the church, which used to be the centre of the village before the Black Death but is now somewhat isolated.

The ancient church is Grade 1 listed and is worth a visit.

You might notice in the cemetery several graves of SBS members who had been killed in

day case local anaesthetic procedures and general health and wellbeing services.

Arts University Bournemouth students designed the internal artwork to create a welcoming space and help patients find their way around, and volunteers will also be on hand to offer support.

Chief operating officer at DCH, Anita Thomas, said: “We

are delighted that our new Outpatient Assessment Centre has opened at South Walks House.

“It will give us additional clinical space and facilities to reduce waiting times for outpatient and diagnostic appointments, and ensure patients receive the right care and treatment more quickly.

“Clinicians across different

Afghanistan.Walk up the footpath past the churchyard until you meet a road where you turn right and continue south eastwards, taking a right turn before the village.

This takes you south west, then south until you come to

specialties will work together to find the best treatment options for patients. People will be signposted to the services they need on the day, so they can see the healthcare professionals they need at the same appointment.

“Patients will also be able to access a wealth of health and wellbeing information and advice on-site which will support their treatment.”

The first clinics to be held at the new centre include orthopaedics, rheumatology, musculoskeletal physiotherapy, orthotics and phlebotomy, with many more set to run in the coming months.

and join a bridleway heading west.

This takes you across a road to join a footpath that takes you along the parish boundary, curving round to the right and passing briefly along a road into the next parish.At a bend in the

road, leave it to join a footpath heading east north east through a wood until you join another footpath leading south to meet a corner of a road which you join and head east to meet a road you’d come down earlier.

This takes you north east to join the road that takes you east south east through the village.At the end of the village join a bridleway that takes you south south east, Foxhills Lane, to a T-junction where you turn right, west, then to the next junction where you turn right again and head north back to the village where you turn left and head west back to your car.

You’ll have walked over seven miles and, if not a muggle, might have found up to a dozen geocaches.

X-rays and more can be offered at the refurbished site

The new facilities will help reduce waiting times for outpatient and diagnostic appointments, and ensure patients get the right care and treatment more quickly

The church in Lytchett Matravers PHOTO: Google

Women’s Day talk on pioneering pilot

TO celebrate International Women’s Day, a talk on the life of Bessie Coleman, the first African/American woman pilot, will be given by Jan AagaardFrandsen in Wimborne.

Bessie was born to a family of sharecroppers in Texas and worked in the cotton fields at a young age but developed an early interest in flying.

She saved and obtained sponsorships in Chicago to go to France for flight school, and

then became a high-profile pilot in notoriously dangerous air shows in the United States.

She was popularly known as Queen Bess and Brave Bessie, and died in a plane crash in 1926.

Jan is a descendant of Bessie and her talk is at East Dorset Heritage Trust in Hanham Road, on Friday, March 8, at 2pm.

Tickets are available by calling 01202 888992 or at info@edht.org.uk.

Gardeners reach out for spring show

NEARLY 40 members of Wimborne Gardening Club attended the February meeting when local photographer Mike Read showed slides on the work and workings of the New Forest National Park, writes Anthony Oliver.

Nicola Harper will talk about the importance of trees and planting around Wimborne at the next meeting on Monday, March 4, in the Allendale Centre at 7.30pm.

The spring show is on

Saturday, April 13, in the Allendale Centre, with doors open at noon. Admission is free but donations will be welcome.

The 33 classes include daffodils, other plants in season, cookery, floral art, photography and a miniature garden in a seed-tray.

The club wants to encourage people of all ages to enter, whether novice gardeners or seasoned experts. Entry forms are available at wimborne gardeningclub.co.uk.

PEARCE

David Charles

Passed away on the 15th February 2024, aged 90 years. He will be greatly missed by all his family and friends. A Service in Loving Memory of his life will be held at The Barn Ceremony Hall, Harbour View Crematorium. Please contact Tapper Funeral Service on 01202 673164 for details.

Family flowers only please. Donations, if desired, in memory of David for ‘RNLI’ & ‘Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance’ may be made via www.tapperfuneralservice.co.uk

The Italian Kitchen cream of business crop

A RESTAURANT and bakery chain scooped a number of titles at the Purbeck Business Awards.

The event, at The Mowlem Theatre, saw the best of Purbeck business gather to recognise achievements in a range of categories.

Mayor of Swanage, Cllr Tina Foster, and Mayor of Wareham, Cllr Carol Turner, joined sponsors – including the Purbeck Gazette – to hand out awards to successful companies.

Leading the way, with two wins and the overall Business of the Year prize, was restaurant The Italian Kitchen, at Wareham Quay.

The firm – which also runs The Italian Bakery in Swanage – won Restaurant of the Year

and head chef, Shannon Richards, was crowned Rising Star/Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Claire Burnet, from chocolate firm Chococo, who sponsored the Rising Star/Young Entrepreneur award, said: “Chococo are delighted to be sponsoring the Young Entrepreneur award at this year’s Purbeck Business Awards.

“As a business which is very proud of being founded in Swanage 21 years ago, we are thrilled to be involved in the awards that showcase and support young businesses being established in this very special corner of Dorset.”

Best Tourism Attraction was

won by Swanage Railway, New Business by art gallery/bespoke furniture makers Grange Gallery in Wareham, Best Place to Work by long established men’s outfitters AF Joy in Wareham, and Family Business by local garden centre Holme for Gardens.

Walking off with the best cafe award was Garden Gate Tea Room and Best B2B Business was won by Fresh Leaf Creative.

Other Swanage businesses to go home with an award included Andy Knill Art,

Jurassic Care and Corbens Estate Agents, which won Independent Business of the Year.

Paul Jones, Purbeck Gazette editor, added: “It’s fantastic to see the hard work of so many locally-based businesses recognised.

“We are proud to sponsor the New Business Award and will continue to do our bit to promote the efforts of Purbeck people.

“Congratulations to everyone who was nominated – keep up the good work.”

Purbeck Gazette editor Paul Jones with Wareham Mayor, Cllr Carol Turner, and Mayor of Swanage, Cllr Tina Foster

Quarrying tradition inspires folk tune

FOLK band The Longest Johns have recorded a song inspired by the history and traditions of quarrying around the Jurassic coast, with choirs from around Dorset, at the Mowlem Theatre in Swanage.

The band researched the county’s quarrying history and visited sites along the Jurassic coast before recording Drop the Hammer.

Song writer Robbie Satin was particularly inspired by archive footage of Portland quarrymen working to shanties using a ‘call and response’ technique.

The lyrics and music score for the song were shared with choirs from across Dorset, before they came together with The Longest Johns to record the

song at The Mowlem in January.

The final film features images reflecting the impact the stone industry has had on the Dorset Jurassic Coast and was premiered as part of The Longest Johns sell-out album launch concert in Swanage in February.

The Longest Johns are a

Bristol-based folk band who cover everything from maritime songs to experimental contemporary folk.

Jonathan Darley, Robbie Sattin and Andy Yates have gone from singing sea shanties in a kitchen to appearances at international folk festivals, worldwide tours and television

appearances in the space of a few years.

They have released eight albums, four EPs and nine singles, including the 2021 version of the 19th century anthem Wellerman, which sparked a sea shanty revival, reaching millions of new fans across the world.

The song was commissioned by Dorset’s rural arts charity Artsreach, with the support of Dorset National Landscape.

Robbie Satin said: “It’s been a joy to work with Artsreach and a very interesting opportunity to explore the history of the Dorset coastline. Huge thanks to the choirs that took part and thank you for bringing our song to life.”

Artsreach is encouraging other singers and choirs from across Dorset and beyond to learn Drop the Hammer, record themselves singing and share it on social media, tagging Artsreach and The Longest Johns and using #dropthehammer.

The Longest Johns record with choirs from around Dorset

Big names announced for jazz festival

HEADLINERS have been announced for the 2024 Swanage Jazz Festival.

Running from July 12 to 14, the 33rd festival – the largest since 2018 – features a host of

big names.

Meanwhile, a second marquee has been added on Sandpit Field, increasing capacity, while Arts Council funding has helped fund a new bands and new audiences programme.

Headline names in the 50-band programme include the Liane Carroll Trio, The Emma Rawicz Jazz Orchestra, Ian Shaw and Tony Kofi performing a tribute to Billy

Iles and Norma Winstone.

Paul Kelly, chair of Swanage Jazz Festival, said: “Following the success of our 2023 festival, we are delighted to be bringing an even bigger programme of top-quality artists to Swanage

Strayhorn, Zoe Rahman’s Colours of Sound Octet, Gary Crosby’s Mingus Moves Band, The Wonder of Stevie with Derek Nash and Noel McCalla, and The Printmakers with Nikki

The Emma Rawicz Jazz Orchestra (left) and Liane Carroll (right) will be performing at the Swanage Jazz Festival this summer

in 2024.

“We are grateful to Arts Council England and Dorset vCouncil for helping us build the festival capacity.

“We are probably the largest festival on the south coast of England programming just jazz and nothing else, and we are one of the largest jazz festivals in England with a unique and wonderful setting.

“We are so much looking forward to July and hearing such a wonderful and diverse array of sounds and styles.”

Other acts include legends such as Dave Newton and Alan Barnes, Norma Winstone, performing with The Printmakers, The Clark Tracey Quintet, Art Themen’s Organ Quintet, American alto saxist Greg Abate and the return of Henry Lowther’s Still Waters.

They are complemented by rising stars including Emma Rawicz, who performs with her quintet and her 20-piece

orchestra, trumpeter Henry Spencer and his band and singer Noemi Nuti and her quintet.

Swanage Jazz Festival has secured funding from Arts Council England and Dorset Council to attract new bands and new audiences in a programme titled ‘The Sound of Things to Come’.

This programme will mostly be housed in a 250-seat marquee on Swanage’s Sandpit Field, with more details to come.

Advance tickets for the festival are on sale for £140 for a weekend stroller, £43 for a Friday-only stroller and £82 for a Saturday or Sunday Stroller.

Stroller tickets give purchasers access to all ticketed venues, subject to capacity. Advance tickets are on sale until May 31, with prices set to rise from June 1.

For more details, and to purchase tickets, log on to www. swanagejazzfestival.co.uk/ tickets.

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Broadband firm in awards running

A DORSET internet firm has been nominated for a rural Oscar.

Wessex Internet, based near Blandford, has been revealed as a finalist in the Rural Enterprise category at the Countryside Alliance Awards.

The awards, known as the Rural Oscars, were set up 17 years ago to offer a voice and a platform to rural firms and aim to celebrate the countryside.

Hector Gibson Fleming, Wessex Internet chief executive, said: “We’re proud to have been

nominated for the Rural Enterprise category at the Countryside Alliance Awards.

“This nomination is recognition of our commitment to connecting the rural countryside to ultrafast full fibre broadband, for the last 14 years.”

The winner of the award will be chosen by public vote. Polls will close at midnight on Monday, April 1.

Winners will be announced in mid-April and all regional winners will be invited to the

Cloth Nappy Library offer

DORSET Council spends £600,000 dealing with seven million disposable nappies each year.

The council is encouraging parents to try renewables instead and as an incentive is offering parents a £30 saving when spending £45 with the Dorset Cloth Nappy Library.

The group also offers a free trial for up to four weeks.

To apply for the scheme, visit dorset-self.achieveservice. com/service/Reusable_nappies_scheme.

House of Lords reception on Tuesday, June 25, where the UK champions will be announced.

MEMBERS of Wimborne Minster WI can enjoy a demonstration of chair pilates at their meeting today (Monday, March 4).

The meeting is at the Catholic Church Hall, Lewens Lane, Wimborne at 10am. Visitors are welcome.

For more information call 01202 888194.

To vote for Wessex Internet, log on to https://bit. ly/3SMTixX.

THE Mayor of Wimborne is holding a charity fashion show on Friday, March 8, at 7.30pm at the Allendale Centre.

The event will showcase fashions from the 1960s and 70s, with each garment having a personal history.

Tickets are £7.50. More details from theallendale.org.

Hector Gibson Fleming, Wessex Internet chief executive

Lewis-Manning Hospice Care Lymphoedema team support patient to relive his love of sailing

WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBRnWlOs21g

Richard was first referred to Lewis-Manning’s Lymphoedema Service by his head and neck cancer Consultant at Poole hospital. We soon realised that his condition was not going to improve to a great degree because of the devastating surgery and radiotherapy he had had to undergo, however we were determined that we would offer any treatment available to us, to sustain his independence for as long as possible. We treated him with Light therapy and manual lymphatic drainage and taught Richard drainage techniques to help his swelling. He has been instrumental in keeping his swelling stable as much as possible…He is really conscientious with his drainage at home, even on his down days.

Richard was so determined – he continued working through this treatment. His face was so swollen in the mornings, he couldn’t see properly. His swelling made it so difficult for him to breathe, he couldn’t sleep properly. He was also fainting regularly due to lack of oxygen to his brain.

Around this time in his own words, Richard accepted the fact the medication had stopped working. He decided to stop his immunotherapy. The quality of his life was the most important thing for him and his family. During a therapy session Richard told us how disappointed he was, a friend had come up from Lymington to take him out on his boat, but his friend

and sister were very nervous to let him go because of his condition. The team spoke about this afterwards and thought how wonderful it would be to arrange a boat trip, accompanied by nurses because of his unpredictable condition. We had such a short window of opportunity while Richard was still well enough. The team rallied together to organise the trip with a kind local supporter of the charity who provided his boat and time without charge. On a sunny day in early October, Richard and two of our nurses took off across the water from Christchurch to the Isle of Wight and back. He treated Richard with kindness and respected his knowledge. It was so lovely to see him enjoying his trip. This meant a huge deal to Richard and gave him independence and some much needed man to man time. The service we provide never stops at the physical treatment, we think it’s crucial to treat every patient holistically, with respect and dignity, It’s all about giving our patients and their families

Up to £300,000 to excavate giant dinosaur’s body

MORE work is needed to excavate the giant dinosaur fossil that featured in a David Attenborough documentary.

The BBC’s Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster aired on new year’s day, and the giant pliosaur skull went on display at the Etches Collection in Kimmeridge shortly after.

The skull was discovered and donated by Philip Jacobs, a fabric designer who has spent over 40 years searching for fossils.

But more work is needed to safely excavate the pliosaur’s body, which remains firmly fixed in the ground.

The work will cost somewhere between £100,000 and £300,000 and the museum is calling for donations to “rescue the Sea Rex”.

Speaking to the Purbeck Gazette, Philip Jacobs described the difficult process of excavating an ichthyosaur.

He was struggling to access the skeleton when his friend Steve Etches arrived and said it was paramount for a discovery

of that size to dig a large trench into the rock and remove it one piece at a time.

But the sheer size presented a logistical problem.

“I thought the whole thing was going to fall to bits,” Philip said. “We just couldn’t shift it.”

But then, it came out.

The pair had planned to

carry the blocks to Philip’s car, but it was parked two miles away and they had been forced to sit down every 100 metres to rest.

Instead, they arranged for a small inflatable boat to ferry the ichthyosaur to safety.

Philip said: “It was the first time she’d had a swim in 153 million years.”

New 20mph limits coming into force

NEW 20mph speed limits are set to be introduced in five Dorset towns and villages.

Dorset Council has approved applications to introduce 20mph zones in Langton Matravers, Wimborne, Winfrith, Bridport and Pimperne.

Parish and town councils applied for permission to create the low-speed zones last year, with residents responding through a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) consultation.

Installation of new signs will

begin in April.

Meanwhile, further applications for Okeford Fitzpaine, Child Okeford, Milborne St Andrew, Winterborne Kingston, Cheselbourne and Wimborne –Allenview Road/Burts Hill– are

Handcrafted

now being assessed by Dorset Council.

Later this year, people will be able to give comments, support or objections to these applications through TRO consultation.

Town and parish councils have been able to apply for 20mph speed limits and zones since the introduction of Dorset Council’s 20mph policy in 2022.

Cllr Ray Bryan, Dorset Council portfolio holder for highways, travel and environment, said: “The policy has provided officers with a framework for dealing with community-led requests.

“We offer advice and support to local towns and parishes seeking to improve and promote road safety, whether through 20mph limits and zones, or other suitable approaches.

“This initiative is in response to community concerns about road safety and healthy areas in towns and villages.

“It seeks to ensure that 20mph schemes give the maximum benefit for the affected communities within urban areas and village streets that are primarily residential, to ensure greater safety for pedestrians and cyclists, and those using a mobility scooter, wheelchair or similar mobility aid.”

He said the process does not seek to set a 20mph limit as the default for all roads where people and vehicle traffic mix, but it takes a consistent approach to dealing with applications, with a policy that is: implementable by considering national guidance; affordable, placing minimum strain on council budgets; and enforceable by the Police.

Residents interested in the introduction of new 20mph speed limits in their area should contact their town or parish council or local Dorset councillor.

Philip Jacobs discovered the pliosaur (left) in April 2022.

PHOTO: Philip Jacobs

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These are among the issues Dorset’s digital champions can help with.

The patient volunteers are good at talking about computers and digital life

without using jargon, and can help online or in-person at libraries.

They can also teach individuals about home shopping, accessing digital NHS services and setting up Skype or Zoom to help them keep in contact with family and friends.

For more information, call the Dorset Digital Hotline on 01305 221048.

Rough sleepers taken in

MORE than 80 people who were sleeping rough in the BCP Council area were helped off the streets during January’s cold snap, the council reports.

Implementation of the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol resulted in 33 of them deciding to remain in

longer term accommodation.

It also resulted in one resident, known to the council since 2018, deciding to engage with services and move into permanent accommodation.

Portfolio holder Kieron Wilson thanked council workers and its charity partner, St Mungo’s.

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SPRING is here! And aren’t we happy about it?

With the excitement of our first blooms of daffodils, snowdrops and celandines, spring cannot come soon enough. We look forward to brighter days and the first emergent butterflies the warmer weather will bring. Make sure to listen out for birdsong returning such as the melodic, fluid notes of a skylark over the meadows. Among many nesting birds, we expect to see the duo of house sparrows back, usually nesting under the eaves of the Learning Centre. If you are lucky, you might spot some early migrant arrivals, such as sand martins, who fly over from warmer climes in Africa.

Early morning strolls are a great opportunity to soak in the views of the sunrise and its reflective rays on the sea.

Seabirds like fulmars, guillemots and herring gulls can be spotted from our observation points looking over the breeding ledges in the cliffs. A daytime stroll to Tilly Whim Caves on a warm, sunny day can offer a great variety of spring wildlife. The caves have remained closed since 1976, but the location offers incredible views of the coast, lighthouse and sea. Reptiles such as common lizard, slow worm and adder may be seen above the cave entrance basking in the sunshine.

In the Fine Foundation Gallery from Wednesday, March 6, to Tuesday, March 19, we will have Sea Change, a fantastic exhibition by artist Carrie Mason showcasing work that explores the transformational effect of the sea. Accompanying this, Carrie will be hosting a rust printing workshop on Saturday, March 9, that can be booked through the Durlston website. Then from Wednesday, March 27, Landing Among the Stars, an exhibition of night-time photography by Kevin Ferrioli will showcase Dorset’s dark skies and hidden beauties.

March really is the month for workshops, as we have plenty to try! Tuesday, March 5, is host to Mark Page’s Draw like a Pro workshop; on Saturday, March 16, artist and printmaker Robin Mackenzie will be hosting an Introduction

to Wood Engraving workshop; then on Saturday, March 30, we will have another Glass Engraving workshop. For more information on all events and workshops visit www.durlston. co.uk/events.

With the start of the Easter holidays, make sure to keep an eye on our fantastic events to keep the kids entertained. Kicking things off, why not hop up to the park for our Bonkers Bunnies activity trail, running daily from Thursday, March 28, to Monday, April 15.

We hope to see you here! All the best from the Durlston Rangers!

For more information on events and more visit our Durlston website, www. durlston.co.uk.

Visit the Seventhwave café website at www. seventhwaverestaurant.co.uk.

BSL tours at tank museum

THE Tank Museum at Bovington is running more British Sign Language tours this year following the success of the events in 2023.

The museum has improved accessibility for visitors by the introduction of BSL tours, subtitles on video content and

hearing loops on the new exhibitions.

Fans of military history can dig deeper into the story of armoured vehicles in a format that supports their needs.

Rosanna Dean, head of visitor experience, said: “Our BSL tours ensure all our visitors

can experience the stories of historically significant tanks, and their crews.

“Our award-winning accessibility programme means everyone has an equal opportunity to participate and engage with the museum.”

The hour-long tour takes place in the museum’s Tank Story Hall exhibition that features the 32 most important

tanks in the history of armoured warfare, from Little Willie, the first working prototype, to the current main battle tank, Challenger 2.

BSL tours are available on March 16 and October 19. Tours are free with every museum ticket and booking is essential.

For more information visit https://tankmuseum.org/ british-sign-language-tours.

Durlston Country Park has a lot going on this month

The Tank Museum’s flagship Tank Story Hall exhibition

Care home celebrates Chinese new year

STAFF and residents at Upton Bay care home in Hamworthy welcomed in the Chinese Year of the Dragon with a day of celebrations and activities.

Residents created a Chinese dragon during an arts and crafts session, which was paraded around the home, already decorated with hanging red lanterns.

They also learnt all about the traditions and superstitions of Chinese New Year.

Head chef Alain cooked up delicious Chinese biscuits and fortune cookies which were washed down with pots of Chinese tea.

Mevin Sohorye, general

manager, said: “We have had a brilliant day, the home looks absolutely wonderful decorated all in red, and we all had such fun finding out what animal we are, the associated traits and reading each other’s horoscopes.

“The residents loved watching videos of traditional lion and dragon dances, too.”

June, a resident at Upton Bay, said: “I loved the music, the vibrant costumes and learning about the Chinese Zodiac animal traits.

“A person born in the Year of the Dragon is said to be kind, confident and strong. I find it fascinating to learn all about different traditions.”

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Your Health Matters Dorset HealthCare’s monthly

round-up

Extra services coming to Blandford Hospital

REFURBISHMENT work is under way at Blandford Hospital to improve and increase the range of services available there.

The hospital, which is run by Dorset HealthCare, has been awarded £2.9 million by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care to upgrade facilities and relocate services currently based at the Blandford Clinic in nearby Salisbury Street.

Over the course of this year, building work will take place enabling the hospital to provide:

n Midwifery and health

visitors

n School nursing and school immunisations

n Paediatrics

n Podiatry

n Mental health services.

We’re delighted to be consolidating our services to one site in Blandford to create a modern community care hub for the area.

Throughout the refurbishment, existing hospital services and clinics will run as usual but there will be slight disruption on-site, including reduced car parking and redirection signs in place.

Anyone travelling by car to the hospital should allow more

time to find a parking space on-site or in nearby roads. And if you are unable to find where you need to be, please ask the friendly hospital reception team for help.

Work at the hospital will run until the end of the year. It will focus on improving patient experience by upgrading existing clinical areas, offices, reception areas, the public entrance and dedicated waiting areas.

New consultation rooms

will also be created, along with extra utility spaces and storerooms.

It’s an exciting time for the hospital, with NHS England committing to significant investment in the future of Blandford and surrounding area. This investment will bring huge benefits for patients and our staff.

For more information on Blandford Hospital visit www. dorsethealthcare.nhs.uk/ blandfordhospital

Thieves take charity’s van

THIEVES stole a charity's delivery van from an industrial estate in Dorset.

The theft occurred at the Granby Industrial Estate, in Weymouth, at 9.15pm on Sunday, February 11.

A Ford Transit Box Van is owned by the Weldmar Hospicecare charity, which runs homecare services across Dorset, as well as a hospice in Dorchester.

“We’re really saddened and disappointed that the individuals involved in this crime felt the need to target a local charity,” a spokesperson said.

“This is at a time when many charities, and especially hospices like us, are facing increasing financial pressures to deliver much needed services.”

Anyone who sees the van, or has information about the theft, should contact police on 101, quoting crime reference number 55240025363. They can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

M argaret Green Animal Rescue

Love is...animal rescue!

MAKING sure homeless and vulnerable animals have the help and care they need is why we exist, and we know that you care deeply about this, too.

That’s why we are delighted to give you the brand new opportunity to sponsor our dogs, cats or ‘farmies’ from £5 a month.

Becoming a sponsor is a fantastic way to make a direct impact to the rescue animals we help each year across our three centres in the region. You can even set this up as a gift for someone special!

Your monthly donation will help to fund the cost of food, bedding, veterinary care, training, rehabilitation and more, while we work to find the loving homes these animals truly deserve.

In return for your commitment, you will receive a letter and a yearly update about some of the gorgeous animals we have been caring

for and how your support has helped us to change their lives for the better. You will also be invited to one of our Gratitude Events with other animal-loving supporters, where you will spend time with the teams on the front line of our work, and meet some of our current

residents who are benefiting from your love.

To join us on this journey of animal rescue, please visit our website at www.mgar.org.uk/ sponsorship to sign up today.

With you by our side, we can give rescue animals, who have no voice to ask for help, the support and love they need.

Caring for animals since 1965 Rescue Care Rehome Support

Donate margaretgreenanimalrescue.org.uk/Donate

Registered Charity Number: 1167990

James flying high at gliding club

YOUNG James Hall, year 11 head boy at Budmouth Academy, Weymouth, has won a top award at Dorset Gliding Club.

He has been awarded the Dennis Neal Trophy for Most Improved Junior Pilot at the club, a nationally accredited Junior Gliding Centre.

He started gliding in October 2022 and has completed more than 90 flights, with a total flight time over 15 hours.

His initial goal is to achieve clearance for solo flight and the award of the British Gliding Association (BGA) Certificate, followed by development through the BGA gliding

badges and diplomas.

Longer term, he plans to obtain his private pilot’s licence and to join the armed forces as a pilot.

His inspiration is his grandfather, Geoffrey, an RAF bomber pilot (DFC & Bar) who subsequently became a senior airline captain on the Boeing 747 with BOAC, now BA.

James is also active in his local Air Cadets Squadron (1606 Weymouth) and has bcen on multiple camps and completed courses on radio, cyber, first aid and shooting.

The cadets have also given him the opportunity to fly both the RAF Tutor training aircraft and Viking glider, and as a passenger in the Chinook helicopter.

James also enjoys using a flight simulator at home and is looking to study Engineering. He is also working towards his Gold Dof E Award and enjoys Explorer Scouts, piano and football.

James Hall receives the Dennis Neal Trophy for Most Improved Junior Pilot from Nick Barnes, chief flying instructor at Dorset Gliding Club

100 years of the WI

By Lorraine Gibson

CORFE Mullen WI’s heritage is an intrinsic part of the history of the Dorset federation, and president Gail Pape has written Corfe Mullen Women’s Institute 1922-2022, a book about its history.

Using archives, photos from the Dorset federation, records from Dorset History Museum and research from the National federation, it is a journey back in time.

“Our archives languished in boxes in cupboards and garages unread, getting mouldy, damaged and lost from one generation to another,” said Gail.

“No one had access to them. We value our history and I’ve preserved it and made it accessible to all.”

The book, published last December, considers past chairs of the federation and activities they organised.

“People like Miss Gildea and Lady Benita Lees of Lytchett Manor, two of the first chairmen in the 1920s,” said Gail.

Early projects included Shakespeare competitions and the distribution of seeds, bulbs

and potato plants as part of the Dig for Victory campaign.

The book also looks at the village’s historical development.

“Members’ names are reflected in road names,” Gail said. “Mrs Diprose married to an earlier headteacher of Lockyers School, Mrs Pardy of Pardy’s bakery and Mrs Heckford.”

Corfe Mullen WI had more than 90 members at its height and supported women and

children throughout the district. Members also played a major part in the war, organising the homing of evacuee children, many of whom stayed with members.

“They sent knitted items and other necessities to British troops in the Far East, organised lunches for children and supported many fundraising appeals,” Gail said.

The WI seeks to educate,

inform and raise awareness of social issues and offers support for members, most over 65, and the chance to meet pals and share interests and concerns.

Gail describes Corfe Mullen WI as part of the essence of the village. She added: “Hopefully it will continue to be a place where villagers can meet, enjoy talks and outings, share information and be supported in a welcoming environment.”

Youngsters help gardens bloom

THE gardens at Weldmar Hospicecare’s Inpatient Unit in Dorchester are blooming thanks to a bulb planting event organised last autumn by Little Green Change.

Youngsters from three Dorset schools – Beaminster School, St Osmund’s C of E Middle School and Thomas Hardye School – went along with adult volunteers.

James O’Neill, marketing and communications lead for Weldmar Hospicecare, said: “The daffodils and snowdrops

enhance our beautiful, relaxing and calming garden environment for patients and their loved ones.

“There are hoverflies, bumblebees and other flying

insects buzzing around, in and out of the trumpets of the daffodils, so a great source of early nectar.”

Little Green Change is a non-profit environmental education social enterprise.

Founder and director Clare Matheson said: “Early flowering plants such as daffodils and snowdrops are so vital for a healthy ecosystem, and they also help to raise the spirits of so many people, adding colour to green spaces and signifying the coming of

the warmer, spring weather.

“It’s been wonderful working with Weldmar Hospicecare, who are an amazing charity that have such a huge impact on so many people.

“We are looking forward to doing further environmental activities with them in 2024.”

She added: “Thank you to our event sponsors, The Gardens Group and Taylors Bulbs, for generously donating the bulbs and gardening gloves required for our event.”

Gail Pape has written a book about Corfe Mullen WI over 100 years after it was founded. The group had more than 90 members at its height

Christmas tree recycling boosts charity coffers

A DORSET recycling company helped raise a record £57,000 for county charities over Christmas.

Eco Sustainable Solutions received Christmas trees after fundraising initiatives by Diverse Abilities, LewisManning Hospice Care and Julia’s House.

More than 4,400 trees were handed over, weighing in at a

Radio station will be missed

I WOULD like to say a big thank you to Michele, the radio manager, and the many volunteers who dedicated their time over the last four years to Purbeck Coast FM, an amazing community radio station.

Each volunteer presented in their own unique informative and entertaining way, and played great music.

I am saddened by the

whopping 27 tonnes, which were then recycled into around 36 cubic metres of woodland mulch – about 720 wheelbarrow loads.

The schemes raised £57,788 from Christmas tree recycling for the causes.

And fundraisers from the three charities had a chance to see how the trees had been turned into mulch when they

station’s closure, and it will be missed. I wish everyone all the best for the future.

Patricia Jones Swanage

Top marks to Nine eaterie

AT Christmas time my family took me for a special meal at No 9 West Street, Wareham.

There were six of us in the party, including two vegetarians and two with severe allergic reaction to certain foods.

Three

visited Eco’s Parley site.

Laura Maidment, public fundraising manager at Julia’s House, said: “We are extremely grateful to Eco for their generosity and support to Julia’s House.

“Eco not only helped us to ensure these trees were recycled but they also sponsored the project with The Fencing Centre.

“This meant that all the donations made went to helping provide vital care for some of the most seriously ill children locally.

“Thank you so much to the wonderful team at Eco Sustainable Solutions for your kindness.”

Tom Goodinge, fundraising director at Lewis-Manning

Hospice Care, said: “We are thrilled to have completed another successful year of tree collections and delighted to be able to continue this fantastic eco-friendly service to our local community.

“We’d like to offer huge thanks to Eco Sustainable Solutions for being a part of our recycling team and contributing to our successful campaign.

“Their generosity in supporting us is very much appreciated.”

And Helen Mortimer, head of fundraising at Diverse Abilities, added: “The funds raised will help to provide all sorts of activities for children and adults with physical and learning disabilities across the county and beyond, as well as providing practical and mental health support for their families.”

Justin Dampney, Eco’s managing director, said the schemes were a win-win for everyone involved.

“The charities raise a substantial amount of money while 4,463 Christmas trees are disposed of sustainably by being turned into woodland mulch,” he explained.

“The £57,788 raised is a fantastic sum and everyone involved, not least our team, should feel very proud.”

We all had a three-course meal and unsurprisingly each chose a different main course.

The entire meal for all our party was excellent and so greatly enjoyed – the service was charming, relaxed and attentive.

The menu itself had been well thought out and the cooking was superb and well presented.

Congratulations to No. 9 and my sincere thanks for a memorable and delightful celebration.

Joy Kingsbury Wareham

THE twin choirs concert, featuring the Bovington Military Wives Choir and the Dorset Police Male Voice Choir, is at St John’s Church, Wimborne, on Saturday, March 9, at 7pm and not as stated in the last issue of the Purbeck Gazette. Our apologies for the error.

good causes shared in £57,000 raised by the recycling initiative and their representatives visited Eco Sustainable Solutions where the trees were turned into mulch

Escape to the seaside for an adventure in the world of wood...

ESCAPE to the Country presenter Jules Hudson has taken a three-month sabbatical and enrolled on a furniture making course in Dorset.

Jules, 54, is studying at the Boat Building Academy and Furniture Making School (BBA) in Lyme Regis, after ‘falling in love’ with the place during an episode of the popular property show.

He said: “After filming at the Academy in 2012 it stuck in my mind, and I always wanted to return. But when you have a family and are working, life just moves on, and you go with it.

“Late last year, I realised I was quite burnt out and needed a creative and emotional reset.

“My wife said: ‘Why don’t you take some time out and go to the Boat Building Academy?’

“I thought about it, and it dawned on me – what am I waiting for? So, I investigated the courses here at the BBA, saw the 12-week furniture making course and took the jump and enrolled.”

He added: “Making has always been something I have always been able to lose myself in and it has been a hugely rewarding experience to immerse myself in learning and working with wood with world-class experts.

“I’m staying with a lovely family from Lyme during the course and as well as learning amazing new skills alongside my fellow students, I’ve found the BBA to be just so welcoming and inspiring.”

During the course Jules is tackling hand and power tool and machine use and several practical making projects.

‘Making has always been something I have always been able to lose myself in’ JULES HUDSON

Among many other topics, he’ll learn about steam-bending, technical drawing, finishing and design. With theory covering everything from timber types

makers!

“Lyme Regis is a simply stunning place, and the academy is full of people from all walks of life learning to create such wonderful furniture and boats from wood.

“Our tutor Poppy Booth is also phenomenally skilled, and we are all in complete awe of her.”

Jules is keeping his followers on social media regularly updated on his progress and is encouraging others to push their boundaries and enrich their mental health through making.

He said: “I’ve started using the hashtag #makingmakes mehappy and I’m loving hearing other people’s stories of how creating is improving their lives.

“You simply can’t put a price on the satisfaction you feel when you are creating something.

and technology to 3D-construction methods and fixings. The final piece of furniture will be made to his own design, and he will receive a level 3 qualification.

He said: “I am quite handy in terms of renovating and building, but even so, this is different level stuff! It’s sheer precision and artistry, and I am absolutely loving it.

“Of course, I miss my family and my wife is at home juggling everything. But it was a family discussion, and we are investing in our future. We are a family of

“The only thing that could improve the course for me would be having nine days in the week instead of seven! It’s certainly demanding, but in the best way possible – and I can’t wait to see what I can create by the end of it.”

Will Reed, director of the BBA, said: “Jules is an absolute pleasure to have around – so friendly and enthusiastic.

“Like many people who come to the BBA he is experiencing the hugely therapeutic benefits of working and creating with wood. He is also pushing himself through an intensive learning curve.

“I’m sure that by the time he leaves us he will have made some great friends and developed some new, lifelong skills.”

Jules Hudson with his Boat Building Academy furniture tutor Poppy Booth.

Escape to the Country presenter Jules Hudson has enrolled on a 12-week furniture making course at the Boat Building Academy

THE PURBECK MAGAZINE ISSUE 309 P 3 U 1 Z 10 Z 10 L 1 E 1 S 1 22 Purbeck Gazette, March 4, 2024

Arrow words Wordsearch

Words With Multiple Meanings

BILL BUCKLE FINE

FINISHED FIRST DEGREE

HANDICAP

OVERLOOK SANCTION SCREEN SEED SHOP SKINNED TEMPER TRIMMING Gangsters’ hat? Dug up Spoil Post Visual lacks of balance Individuality Opinion piece Russia was once part of it (inits) Beseech Lyric poem Desensitize Divest ‘I will return soon’ (inits) A lady, in France (abbr) Leave somewhere (2,3)

Fix at a particular level Flying nighttime animal Nasty person Implore Catches a fish Triumvirate Mug Tea dispenser Soft, French cheese Wither Diving seabird Obtain Secondlargest Scottish loch

1 5 10 11 12 13 15 17 19 20 23 24 25 26 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 14 16 18 21 22

Down

2 Loathes (5)

4 Key gas required for life (6)

5 Nuisance (4)

10 Entirely (7)

11 Prolonged pain (5)

12 Swiss grated potatoes dish (5)

13 Magical potion (6)

15 Additions (6)

17 From the top, in music (2,4)

19 Respectable (6)

20 Unmoving (5)

23 Coffee-shop order, perhaps (5)

24 Mutt (7)

25 Stair (4)

26 Australian currency (7)

Crossword Sudoku 9 8 1 6 3 5 2 1 5 7 3 5 6 1 9 9 8 9 3 7 4 5 1 2 7 9 7 8 6 5 7 2 1 5 10 11 12 13 15 17 19 20 23 24 25 26 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 14 16 18 21 22 Across 1 Soap for washing your hair (7) 5 Nuisance (4) 10 Entirely (7) 11 Prolonged pain (5) 12 Swiss grated potatoes dish (5) 13 Magical potion (6) 15 Additions (6) 17 From the top, in music (2,4) 19 Respectable (6) 20 Unmoving (5) 23 Coffee-shop order, perhaps (5) 24 Mutt (7) 25 Stair (4) 26 Australian currency (7)

Brain chain

3 With several parties (12)

6 Imported curios (7)

4 Key gas required for life (6)

7 Hamleys products (4)

6 Imported curios (7)

8 Deprives of food (7)

7 Hamleys products (4)

8 Deprives of food (7)

9 Relating to the movement of ships (12)

14 Human beings (7)

9 Relating to the movement of ships (12)

16 Sugar syrup (7)

14 Human beings (7)

16 Sugar syrup (7)

18 Back to the original speed, in music (1,5)

18 Back to the original speed, in music (1,5)

devils

(4)

21 Computer bug (5)

22 Small devils (4)

Jumbo sudoku

Cryptic crossword

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

Across

Killer sudoku

Across

Down

1 Good lecturer given award in round form (5)

1 Good lecturer given award in round form (5)

4 Article by artist and writer in popular language (6)

10 Obtain hint regarding new fit dog running loose (3,4,2)

11 Capture element in tennis? (3)

12 Discuss free entertainment (5)

4 Article by artist and writer in popular language (6)

2 Supple man under bed in Paris (5)

3 By the sound of it, send request for payment to monkey? It’s firmly fixed (5-2)

10 Obtain hint regarding new fit dog running loose (3,4,2)

5 Amuse oneself taking top off weapon (5)

11 Capture element in tennis? (3)

12 Discuss free entertainment (5)

6 Begin roughly penning a line in Asian language (7)

7 Name location for hearing (4)

13 Working journalist with a variable character at some indefinite time (3,3)

13 Working journalist with a variable character at some indefinite time (3,3)

14 A group supported by second joint to leave vessel (7,4)

14 A group supported by second joint to leave vessel (7,4)

8 Semiprecious stone in a narrow opening

9 Old reasoning contained in dream concerning set of beliefs? (11)

18 Sport restricted on island requires skimpy garment (6)

18 Sport restricted on island requires skimpy garment (6)

20 In part, bestow elegant requirement in bathroom? (5)

23 Eggs round Virginia (3)

15 Equipment kept among poor English group soldiers (7)

20 In part, bestow elegant requirement in bathroom? (5)

16 Supply fully if stay’s gone wrong (7)

23 Eggs round Virginia (3)

24 Young female in charge in California of fine pedigree (9)

24 Young female in charge in California of fine pedigree (9)

25 Pair of extras given farewell (3-3)

Across

1 Good lecturer given award in round form (5)

4 Article by artist and writer in popular language (6)

Killer Sudoku Place numbers 1 to 9 once each into every row, column and bold-lined 3x3 box. No didgit may be repeated in any dash-lined cage, and all the digits in any cage must add up to the value shown in that cage.

17 Heads off some louche youths loosely wanting substance in a cunning fashion

19 Husband in wild city affected with desire?

25 Pair of extras given farewell (3-3)

26 Accept, we’re told, service getting held back to a very great degree (2,3)

21 West Indies cricket club taken with a form witchcraft (5)

Down

26 Accept, we’re told, service getting held back to a very great degree (2,3)

10 Obtain hint regarding new fit dog running loose (3,4,2)

11 Capture element in tennis? (3)

12 Discuss free entertainment (5)

13 Working journalist with a variable character at some indefinite time (3,3)

14 A group supported by second joint to leave vessel (7,4)

18 Sport restricted on island requires skimpy garment (6)

20 In part, bestow elegant requirement in bathroom? (5)

23 Eggs round Virginia (3)

24 Young female in charge in California of fine pedigree (9)

25 Pair of extras given farewell (3-3)

26 Accept, we’re told, service getting held back to a very great degree (2,3)

22 Search thoroughly company initially marketing book (4)

2 Supple man under bed in Paris (5)

3 By the sound of it, send request for payment to monkey? It’s firmly fixed (5-2)

5 Amuse oneself taking top off weapon (5)

6 Begin roughly penning a line in Asian language (7)

7 Name location for hearing (4)

8 Semiprecious stone in a narrow opening (5)

9 Old reasoning contained in dream concerning set of beliefs? (11)

15 Equipment kept among poor English group of soldiers (7)

16 Supply fully if stay’s gone wrong (7)

17 Heads off some louche youths loosely wanting substance in a cunning fashion (5)

19 Husband in wild city affected with desire? (5)

21 West Indies cricket club taken with a form of witchcraft (5)

22 Search thoroughly company initially marketing book (4)

Yeovil have no reply to Swans

By Ron Butler

Swanage & Wareham 41 Yeovil 0

SWANAGE welcomed Yeovil to Bestwall in their latest Southern Counties League fixture and after a sticky start Swans had the bulk of the play and enjoyed a substantial victory.

The action started with a couple of penalties to each side, with both teams spinning the ball to the backs, but a couple of knock-ons restricted play.

However, the action was mainly in the Yeovil half with Swans’ defence restricting Yeovil’s attacking.

A scrum close to the Yeovil

RUGBY

line resulted in a penalty to Swans and fly-half Will Slack converted to put Swans three points up after 18 minutes.

Five minutes later a move along Swans’ three-quarters resulted in a scrum which Swans won, and wing forward Conor Moag picked the ball up and scored a try close to the posts. Will Slack added the extras (10 points-0).

Having won the scrum, Swans realised the Yeovil pack were struggling and from there on Swans dominated the packs.

On 35 minutes, the Swans backs saw the ball passed out to

winger Lewis Reeves who scored a try halfway out. Slack added the conversion (17 points-0) at half-time.

The second half started with Swans dominating the play and after 47 minutes a scrum to Yeovil saw Swans bulldozing the Yeovil pack backwards, pushing them over the try line for Swans’ number 8 Kirk Jones to claim the try (22 points-0).

Five minutes later a bizarre try was scored – from a penalty on half way, Will Slack sliced the ball high into the Yeovil 22, and brother George Slack, following up, caught the ball and raced through to score under the posts. Will Slack

added the extras (29 points-0).

Swans were on top and after 65 minutes a move along Swans backs’ had the ball moved to winger Lewis Reeves who touched down in the corner. Will Slack converted from the touchline (36 points-0).

Just before the end of the game, another drive by the Swans pack over the try line had wing forward Matt Roberts claiming the score.

Swans: M Spencer, L Reeves, E Dimecio, E Bainy, O Dillon, W Slack, O Peters, N Audley, C Foskett, A Crouch, G Slack, J Towers, M Roberts, C Moag, K Jones, Z Wyburgh, J Blackmore, G Climie

OTHER RESULT: Sherborne 2nd XV 5 Swanage & Wareham 2nd XV 7

DO YOU HAVE A SPORT STORY? Then email ed@purbeckgazette.co.uk

Fierce rivals put on a show in cup

By Ian Frizzle Puddletown

35

Dorchester 12

THE Villagers were entertaining their nearest and fiercest rivals in the Counties 3 (South) Cup semi-final, so it was always going to be a tense afternoon at Greenfields.

In the league each side had won their respective home fixture, so it was all to play for local bragging rights.

On an ideal afternoon for running rugby, a large crowd were treated to a spectacle, the home side coming out eventual winners and progressing through to the cup final on March 9 against Swanage & Wareham 2XV.

The game started with both sides testing out each other’s defences, but it was Puddletown who drew first blood with an Andy Edmunds' penalty after the county town side were

caught with their hands in the ruck.

The green and whites of Dorchester then had the better of the first half, scoring a converted pick and go try, followed by an unconverted try out wide.

Against the run of play, with the clock in the red before the half time break, Puddletown went the length of the pitch full back Tom Roy running the ball from his own 5-metre line. He offloaded to centre James Elwood, winger Harry Pomeroy then took the ball on and neatly passed back inside to centre Tom Yeatman who went over to score. Edmunds added the extras to make it 10-12 at half-time.

Bolstered by their last gasp try in the first half, the home side came out firing on all cylinders in the second half.

Taking a Dorchester scrum

against the head near the halfway line, Puddletown spun the ball out through the backs with Yeatman making the initial break and Elwood taking the ball on to score. Edmunds converted making it 17-12.

Elwood added a long-range penalty soon after to keep the score ticking over and put the home side more than a converted try in front.

Under constant pressure from the Villagers, Dorchester tried to clear their lines, but a poor clearance kick found

Puddletown winger Alex Cley. He ran the ball back at speed and assisted by fly-half Lucas Frizzle and Elwood the ball ended up with flanker Slade Collins going over down the right to score. Edmunds added the conversion to make it 27-12.

Dorchester were competing hard at the breakdowns, but once again were penalised at a ruck and Edmunds duly added another three points to his tally.

Puddletown continued to put the visitors under pressure with time running down and with the last play of the game replacement lock forward Jumbo Perrett powered over to score an unconverted try to make the final score 35-12.

Puddletown chair and coach, Tom Nixon, said: “That was a great result for the boys and we look forward to meeting Swans in the final.

“Credit must go to Dorchester, who made a good game of it, especially in the first half. It's given us plenty to work on over the next couple of weeks.

“We're back in league action next Saturday against Poole at home here at Greenfields, so that's our main focus now.”

Puddletown's man of the match was flanker Slade Collins.

Man of the match Puddletown’s Slade Collins

Telling It Like It Is

More questions for the PCC...

A FEW ideas which came from listeners to Lex McKee’s breakfast show when he had the Police and Crime Commissioner as his guest.

Sadly, not all questions could be answered, partly because not all were in Mr Sidwick’s sphere of responsibility and partly because time just didn’t permit.

So, I’ve summarised what came in – from Swanage and from Wareham – and we’ll use this as the foundation for our next public meeting, which will be in March, barring unforeseen circumstances.

Can we get detailed answers on what the stats are for Dorset for the following; Reported and convicted numbers for rape for the last three years? Reported and convicted numbers for shoplifting in the last three years? Convictions for knife possession and attacks in the last three years? How much extra will the police precept increase this year?

Well, the answers to these will be facts, not opinions, so when we set up the meeting, we will ask Mr Sidwick to have the answers for us. Numerically.

A listener comments: “We pay you a lot of money to serve our community but all we seem to get are broken promises. When will you police our town properly so that we can feel safe in our own homes and town?” Fact not opinion.

More general queries included: “What do you view as the most important day-to-day responsibilities towards the community you serve? Can you confirm how many hours and the shift pattern of our police officers? How many crimes have been reported at the police hub itself since it opened?”

The Hampshire & Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner, Donna Jones, has announced her plan to reopen 10 more police stations to the public, to drive up police visibility and make police accessible to the public once more, alongside the successful

by David Hollister

recruitment of 650 extra police officers.

The plan means a police station will be open to the public in every district across the two counties.

What is Dorset offering to do – and why then is Swanage Police Station still shut when the next nearest station is part-time opening at Wareham?

Donna has publicly said that the system introduced to centralise police resources and close police stations hasn’t worked, and that the police are committed to restoring police stations and officers back to rural areas where crime has increased since closures.

Please don’t say figures show otherwise, we all know the public doesn’t report incidents as nothing is done, giving very false numbers of recorded crimes. So, Mr Sidwick, what’s your proposal?

“How long is the current scheme? scheduled for and what are the criteria for a successful ‘pilot’ to keep it open long term?”

Now the tricky ones. Demanding promises rather than facts or opinions. You tell us, Mr Sidwick, and we will not only listen, we will hold you to your answers.

“There have been a lot of incidents in Swanage. Is the crime rate up? Are police patrols going to run in residential areas throughout the night to help prevent residential and vehicle burglaries? When are we likely to see a sustainable police presence in Swanage capable of providing a 24-hour service to the community?”

And facts please, not opinions: “At the public meeting last June, residents were assured by yourself and police officers present that Swanage would have more police officers by September.

they lost their way?”

“In the published Resources for 2022-23, you allotted £155.2m to the Chief Constable out of the total of £157.5m of your funding. Does this mean you kept £2.2m for the running of your office? If so, isn’t this an obscene amount of money in an office which in its conception was premiered as a low cost post to oversee police forces?”

And now the gritty ones. In May, elections will take place for the post of police and crime commissioners, as the public in general seem to be disillusioned by this expensive political post, isn’t it now time to scrap this and put it back to local police authority which worked well at a fraction of the cost?

“How often is the town’s extensive and expensive CCTV ever used? (Contributed to by Swanage Town Council, therefore the residents). And why some years ago when town councillors offered to assist manning it, was the offer not taken up?”

“There have been recent crime incidents in Swanage/ Harmans Cross whereby the perpetrators are coming in from as far away as Southampton and Bournemouth. General local consensus is we’re starting to be seen as a soft touch because we have incredibly limited policing. What’s your response to this?”

“I am fed up with the regular requests to raise the police precept, doing so and then we see no improvement. We had break-ins on the allotment and in spite of promises from Mr Sidwick, we never got a police visit. It is a rarity to see a policeman, unless to see them in a car entering or leaving Swanage. This leaves us vulnerable to the exploitation of criminals as they know they will not get caught. If we pay more, we should get more!”

“I am another resident who is not happy with the lack of visible policing. On the usual consultation seeking agreement to price hikes to improve the

impoverished policing budget I normally agree with the proviso that it should prioritise a visible police presence. A couple of days in the town hall annexe is just not good enough.”

“I was acquainted with a serving police officer some years ago whose retired father, also a career policeman, was proud of the small number of arrests he made. He was a well-known beat copper, eyes and ears everywhere. The number of potential criminal activities he nipped in the bud early on did him no favours with the hierarchy but was much more effective than swanning around in a car.”

A listener from Wareham said: “On the subject of police, Wareham Council had a presentation and talk from David Sidwick and all the councillors told him very firmly how things were in Wareham –no visible police presence, lots of drug use and anti-social behaviour, poor response times, difficulty in reporting crimes, lack of face-to-face contact and support. Mr Sidwick asked the clerk to write a report and it was sent to him. Subsequently Wareham Council received a reply and follow up. He has promised to keep us on his radar. It would be a good idea to ask Wareham to join us at our meeting.”

And I will close by mentioning really strong and emotive letters written by our readers Robin Brasher and Alexandra Gray, who I will invite to put their many issues to the PCC because there’s just too much to include here. Thank you both!

On the subject of which – keep watching this space, plans are afoot, and even as I write, for a Swanage-based radio station which will be online, lots of your favourite presenters.

So please all keep your fingers crossed that we can get through the hurdles and be on air by the summer!

Labour’s local election candidates

AS the May local government elections draw near, Swanage Labour has started campaigning. We are out leafletting – braving letter boxes snapping at fingers – “door knocking” and speaking to residents and visitors alike at street stalls.

As a Labour candidate for Dorset Council, I share the feelings of my fellow Swanage Labour candi-dates. We want to make a difference in our community. We are all of us excited and proud to be can-didates, but still, perhaps, a little daunted by the challenges that will face us as we campaign. Each of us has a campaign focus that reflects our life experiences and values.

Debby Monkhouse, up for re-election as a Swanage town councillor, and standing for Dorset Council, is a fearless champion for the NHS. Debby led the campaign saving the Swanage Ambulance Car. She is

fighting to restore valued local clinics removed without consultation. Debby has worked tirelessly on behalf of those for whom just getting by is a daily challenge. Debby’s background is in health and housing.

A former education professional with wide ranging experience, standing for Swanage Town Council, Cliff Sutton wants properly funded schools for our children. Cliff wants a level playing field for all our youngsters – none should be denied the opportunity to excel. Cliff is a trustee of the Swanage and Purbeck Development Trust.

Swanage Town Council, James will be a champion for hardpressed families.

Alice Rogers will be a voice on the council for the environment. It is vital to care for our planet and Purbeck. Alice wants to protect our beautiful environment for our children and grandchildren. She will champion the work of the Purbeck Energy Group. Alice has worked in higher education and has a love of the arts.

James Mercer is a governor of St George’s Primary School in Langton Matravers and former vicar of St George’s. James volunteers at the Mobile Larders set up by Food for Thought Purbeck. If elected to

Buying a home is a dream for far too many in Swanage and Purbeck. Swanage Town Council candi-date Sarah Vile wants to see genuinely affordable homes available for local people to buy or rent – especially key workers. Sarah is a trustee of Swanage Community Housing. She is a work psychologist and consultant trainer.

Community care for young and old is important for us all. We need our council to support good pro-vision for the elderly. Young mothers need to know that they can access quality child care when they need it. If elected to Swanage Town Council, former teacher Jules Dorrington, will champion decent care for everyone.

Finally, myself – as a retired secondary school headteacher, I have fought for the proper funding of hard-pressed Dorset Schools. I am chair of Food for Thought Purbeck, which supports food insecure households in Swanage and Purbeck. I have campaigned to defend the NHS locally and nationally. I want investment for Dorset’s future, a vibrant local economy and a safe community we can all contribute to.

CHRIS BRADEY Chair, Swanage & Rural Purbeck Labour Party

Recyling: How to help do even better

MY role at Dorset Council includes responsibility for our bins, rubbish and recycling services, including the household recycling centres –which most of us call the tip.

Every year the government publishes statistics on recycling rates for local councils. The national target for recycling is 65% of all waste to be recycled by 2035. Here in Dorset, we are already well on our way to that target – and data from 2023 shows that we are top of all unitary authorities for recycling. We recycle more than 59% of our household waste in Dorset, compared to the national average of 43%. This is great news for our area, and is thanks to people separating their rubbish appropriately for our teams to collect.

I have been out on the bins with the loaders and drivers –it is incredibly hard, physical work, and I want to pay tribute to all they do to help with these fantastic recycling rates.

One of the types of waste we collect is food waste in the small brown caddy. 20% of the rubbish in the black bins is still food waste, and we’d really like to reduce that. When you put food waste in your black bin, you harm the environment more, and it costs more for the council to treat.

and as it does so, it creates heat and electricity.

Food waste is collected weekly here in Dorset, and you can put all cooked and uncooked food in your caddy.

If you prefer, you could choose to compost your uncooked vegetable and fruit waste.

the council website https:// www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/-/ home-composting-offers.

If you put it in your brown caddy, we collect it - and then it is taken to an anaerobic digestion plant in Piddlehinton. There, it is broken done into soil improver for local farmers,

Next week is Compost Week UK, an initiative to encourage more people to compost their food and garden waste. Dorset Council is offering a limited number of black 220-litre compost converter bin for only £6. If you order a second one, it will be half price. There is a delivery charge of £6.99 per order on top of this. Find out more on

Once you have composted your leaves, grass cuttings and uncooked food waste, you will then have a free supply of compost for your plants. If you have a smaller garden, you could try a wormery – though I know that some people are not keen on worms!

Please do keep separating out your rubbish – it would be brilliant if Dorset could be one of the first councils to achieve the target of recycling 65% of our rubbish – particularly if we can do it 10 years early!

LAURA BEDDOW Councillor for West Purbeck & Dorset Council cabinet member for culture, communities

Chris Bradey

Laura Beddow

How do we make the NHS better?

SO much has changed in the way we live our lives since the Covid-19 pandemic, but one of the areas that seems to have changed most markedly is our relationships with GPs in our communities.

Throughout my lifetime, the role of the GP has changed, from family doctor who acted as a link between your family and the whole NHS, through to a cluster of local specialists serving a neighbourhood based in the heart of the community.

During lockdown it was reasonable to expect our relationship with doctors to change, and while some changes have modernised the system, in many places the pre-pandemic GP model has never returned.

Every day, families and pensioners tell me they are struggling to see their GP, leaving them in pain or anxious about not getting the care they

need. Added to the lengthy waiting lists for planned treatment and overburdened Accident and Emergency departments, it really feels like the NHS is at crisis point.

Research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats shows that funding for GP services in Dorset has been slashed by £7.4 million in real terms since 2019. The House of Commons Library analysis looks at funding for General Practices over the past four years once inflation is taken into account.

five GPs currently over 55 we have a retirement timebomb ticking in our communities.

Nationally, more than 8,000 GPs are due to retire in the next five years, and Lib Dems are calling on the Government to focus on retention of NHS doctors. While it was encouraging to see an extra 205 places made available at medical school this year, it takes at least 10 years to train as a GP, so the uplift in new doctors will not be seen until the mid-2030s.

government is out of touch with our community’s concerns. People around the country are worried about the NHS and the spiralling cost of living but Conservative MPs are staying silent on these crucial issues while they are fighting among themselves.

It shows that funding per patient across the local NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) area, including Mid Dorset and North Poole, has fallen by 7.4% since 2019. We have also seen new homes built without additional doctors’ surgeries being delivered, and with one in

We need to look after our GPs so they can look after us and the Lib Dems are calling for a legal right to be seen within seven days ¬– or within 24 hours when urgent – in a GP surgery alongside a freeing up of their time to focus on patients.

Rishi Sunak and his failing

The daily ‘will they-won’t they’ chatter about the date of the general election is increasing anxiety and risks the wellbeing of people waiting for treatment. Public services need long term funding so they can transform for the future and provide stability for their workforce and our communities.

It is time for the Prime Minister to put the country first and set the date for the election so we can all plan for a better future.

Reader’s Picture

Vikki Slade

Martyn Gough took this photo recently of a rainbow over Swanage Bay

VIKKI SLADE

Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate –Mid Dorset & North Poole

Witch hazel star of winter season

By Sally Gregson

PERHAPS one of the most desirable of winter-flowering shrubs is the witch hazel. It bears intricately twisted lemon-yellow or soft red-orange flowers that seem to relish the cold and frosty temperatures of true winter.

Hamamelis mollis is a native of the forests of central and eastern China. It is famed for its strong perfume and clusters of twisted petals along its bare branches. They are quite sensitive to lower temperatures – they screw up their faces tightly on cold nights, and unfurl when the morning sun warms them, thus protecting the open petals from damaging icy winds.

The broad, hazel-like leaves follow the flowers later in spring and turn a golden yellow in autumn. The whole shrub can

slowly reach 3m in height and spreads to about 2m in width after 10 years.

Over time witch hazels have been crossed and bred to produce flowers with a hint of red and orange. The best of them have been selected, named and commercially propagated.

One of the most interesting is named for Jelena, the late wife of Robert de Belder of Kalmthout Arboretum in Belgium. It has large, copperyorange flowers. The family was famous for raising very many beautiful cultivars and growing them in the Arboretum.

Witch hazels are easy to grow in the right conditions. They like deep, rich soil that is slightly acid in its pH, although contrary to popular assumption, a low pH is not essential. They do seem to tolerate a certain alkalinity, but they would not thrive in shallow soils over chalk. However, if your garden soil has a high pH, try planting a vigorous variety such as H. mollis ‘Pallida’ beneath an oak tree, or near conifers. Oak and conifer leaves can acidify the soil beneath and create a ‘woodsy’ texture. And collect plenty of leaves in autumn to condition the soil further. This makes an excellent mulch that has a fairly neutral pH. It will improve the structure of the soil, aiding drainage and yet increasing its moisture-holding capacity.

A newly planted witch hazel will benefit too from regular drenches of rainwater in a dry summer. Collect any that falls in a barrel and keep it for watering those special woodlanders, and they will repay you during the winter with clouds of perfumed golden flowers.

Time for a little lawn care

By Sally Gregson

AFTER a long, wet winter it can be dispiriting to look out on a ragged brown area of grass, fondly dubbed “the lawn”. But with spring around the corner, all is not lost. Late winter is a very good time to scarify the grass, pulling out the mat of dead leaves and eradicating any perennial weeds. It’s worth hiring a scarifier to help with what is a heavy job. And perhaps allowing a couple of days to do the work, especially on a larger lawn.

First prepare the area of grass to be treated by marking out strips as wide as the machine itself. This will help keep the rows straight and prevent passing over the same patch twice. Rake up the debris

and take it to the local tip. There will be quite a lot –maybe too much rubbish for your compost heap to handle. And your lawn will look terrible.

Then, on a still, dry day, rake over the bare soil in the patches to help sow new seed. It’s

It is important to reseed any bare patches with grassseed specific to the area and its use

but is quite delicate. You will need about 25 grams per square metre. So, an estimate of the number of patches, plus a bit extra should be enough.

important to re-seed any bare patches with grass-seed that is specific to the area and its use. There is seed suitable for heavy traffic that makes a lawn that will endure lots of children’s games and busy footfall, right up to very fine grass suitable for a bowls pitch that looks green

Using the kitchen scales, calculate the weight of each handful. And scatter them evenly, in two directions, on the patches. Cover the areas with pieces of netting to prevent the birds from having a picnic. If you insert sticks to hold old CDs, that should deter the birds from getting entangled in the nets.

The remainder of the grass will be ready for a spring ‘weed and feed’ dressing later on in March to help promote a healthy green sward. And by late April the lawn will be looking verdant again.

Hamamelis mollis is a native of the forests of central and eastern China

Property

11 weird and wonderful house facts

FROM selling haunted houses to where in Europe has the biggest homes, Armishaws removals has delved into some truly bizarre house facts.

1 Who ya gonna call?

HAUNTED houses have been recorded since at least 1AD. The politician/writer/lawyer Pliny the Younger wrote of spectral visits at his home from an old man with a long white beard.

2 No, really...call!

IN some US states it is illegal to sell a home you suspect is haunted without letting the buyer know. Failure to do so can result in the transaction being reversed.

And our American cousins takes their ghosts seriously, in a poll by Cinch Home Services one in 10 Americans admitted

to having ‘sold their home due to a paranormal experience’.

3 Taxman

TAXATION, it’s as old as houses. Land/property taxes have been traced back as far as 5,000BC in ancient Egypt.

4 A Bit Brit-culiar HOUSES in the UK are different to those of our continental cousins in many ways. Most UK power sockets have on/off switches, worldwide, most power sockets have no switch. Our windows open outwards. Across much of Europe, windows open inwards, this means shutters can remain closed for security, while air can circulate. It’s also easier to clean inward-opening windows.

5 How do UK homes measure up?

AVERAGE European home

sizes based on total floor area.*

Cyprus 141.4m

Belgium 124.3m2

Switzerland 117.1m2

Netherlands 106.7m2

Sweden 103.3m2

Spain 99.1m2

UK 95.0m2

Germany 94.3m2

France 93.7m2

Italy 93.6m2

Ireland 80.8m2

Poland 75.2m2

Romania 43.9m2

6 Home v forest UK housing covers nearly as much land as forests. Land use/coverage*

Agriculture, fishing and hunting

52%

Forestry 7.1%

Residential 5.1%

Commercial and community services 4.1% Heavy industry 3.5%

Mostly unused 26.4%

Buildings cover an estimated 2.4% of UK land.

7 Planted

NOT only can house plants help reduce humidity, plants like bromeliads, can remove over 80% of impurities from the air.

8 Tree-mendous

A STUDY by Lancaster University found mature trees

in gardens by busy roads can reduce air pollution by up to 50% and deaden road noise by 6-10 decibels. Trees have also been found to reduce stress, increase positivity and help speed recovery from illness.

9 Ultimate DIY

BETWEEN 1908 to 1940, the famous Sears mail-order catalogue in the US, sold around 75,000 kit-build homes. The homes would arrive in pieces and the owner construct their own house.

10 Minnie house

MEASURING just 182cm wide (5ft 9in), 304cm deep and 312cm (10ft 2in) high, the UK’s smallest house, which is still standing, was built in Conwy, Wales, in the 16th century. The little house’s last occupant was 6ft 3in fisherman Robert Jones.

11 Minnier house

BUT that’s huge compared to Warsaw’s Keret House. The world’s thinnest house, it varies between 92cm-152cm still manages to pack in a bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and dining area.

For more home information and moving tips, head to www. Armishaws.com/blog.

* Source; National House Building Council NHBCfoundation.org

In some states in the USA it is illegal to sell a home the vendor suspects is haunted without letting the buyer know

‘Too much fly-tipping,’ says farmers’ leader

THE NFU has hit out at the amount of fly-tipping, following the release of DEFRA’s latest statistics for England.

NFU vice-president David Exwood said the latest figure showing just over a million reported fly-tips was “way too high”.

He was also concerned about an overall upward trend over the past five years and felt the figure could be higher as it did not take into account reports from

private landowners.

Mr Exwood said: “Flytipping continues to be a huge problem and one that plagues the lives of so many of us living and working in the countryside.

“Items such as worn out tyres, battered old fridges and bags of rubble are commonplace.

“But more and more our farms are being strewn with kitchen appliances, sofas and, increasingly, industrial-scale

amounts of rubbish such as builder’s rubble and hazardous materials.

“This is affecting farmers’ efforts to produce food and care for the environment, but is also taking a huge toll emotionally and financially.”

He felt the Government was taking fly-tipping seriously and launching initiatives to combat the issue.

These included the maximum penalty for fly-tipping

increasing from £400 to £1,000 as part of the Government’s Antisocial Behaviour Plan; funding being provided for a new fly-tipping post in the National Rural Crime Unit; and the abolition of charges for DIY waste to be disposed of at recycling centres – although some charges still apply and booking systems can mean lengthy waits.

Mr Exwood added: “The NFU believes more can and should be done, including better promoting the household duty of care to ensure all householders are aware that their responsibility for waste disposal is maintained to its final disposal point.”

£10,000 machinery stolen from field

PLANT machinery worth more than £10,000 was stolen from a field in Christchurch.

The theft occurred in the Blackwater area at around 2am on Sunday, February 11, and saw a Yanmar SV15 digger with Nicholas Hire written on it and a Terex one-ton dumper (pictured) taken.

PC Sebastian Haggett, of the Rural Crime Team, said: “An investigation is underway into this incident, with the theft of the stolen items valued at over £10,000.

“I am appealing to anyone who may have seen suspicious activity in the Blackwater area around the relevant time, or have captured any footage to assist our enquiries, to please come forward.

“Also, I am issuing images of the stolen machinery and would ask anyone who has information about its whereabouts to get in touch.”

Anyone with information should contact Dorset Police via www.dorset.police.uk, or by calling 101, quoting incident number

55240021765. They can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously online at

Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling Freephone 0800 555 111.

Farmer out to beat Dutch elm disease

A SOUTH WEST farmer is fighting back against Dutch elm disease, which has killed almost all mature elms in Britain, estimated at between 60 and 100 million.

Peter Shallcross, 57, is leading the campaign to reintroduce resistant trees.

“I became interested in 2016, it just became my passion,” said the selfdescribed elm enthusiast.

“Most of what I do now is sell elms at cost – 700 to Hampshire County Council and some to Gillingham School for its one tree per child project.”

Dutch elm disease is caused by a microfungus infecting the tissue that transports water around the elm.

In an attempt to isolate the pathogen, the tree blocks its water vessels, causing wilting and eventual death.

It is spread by elm bark beetles, which breed inside infected trees and carry the disease to healthy plants.

Although named for the Dutch scientists who identified it in the 1920s, the disease has existed in Asia for thousands of years.

As a result, natural selection

has created species with a genetic resistance.

These can be bred with US and European varieties to create immune trees suitable for soil types outside of Asia.

For example, the Siberian elm has been reproduced with the Japanese elm.

Breeding a range of trees has proven beneficial. The Columella is intolerant to salt, so when 12 were planted on the Portsmouth coast, they all died.

But as an urban street tree, it has seen great success, whereas Fiorente struggles in cities and

is better suited to rural areas.

The immunity breakthroughs could even inspire the revival of more tree species.

“The science is specific to elms,” added Peter, who farms cattle just outside Tisbury in Wiltshire. “But there are similarities to Ash.”

The reintroduction has also brought back previously lost wildlife, such as the whiteletter hairstreak, which had declined by 90%.

For more information, or to place an order with Peter Shallcross, visit diseaseresistant-elms.org

The sweet smell of spring is in the air

By AJ Selby

“A dry March and a wet May; fill barns and bays with corn and hay.” Anon

ONCE again spring is almost upon us and although I never tire of the changing of the seasons, that first sniff of air, not musty and damp winter air, but a fresher, cleaner and optimistic air, the smell of spring is just wonderful.

And then there are the snowdrops and aconites carpeting the floor of some local gardens and in the hedge bottoms along the green lanes. Does any plant give more optimism for the coming seasons than the snowdrop? There are many cultivated variations but it’s a delight to walk in a damp wood and find a few clumps of naturalised blooms brightening up the forest floor.

Any walker will also notice that the birdsong has started to increase, from a few notes of a lone robin a month ago to a

mini-chorus now, which won’t be fulfilled until the summer migrants arrive. However, it’s a great time to get out and see how many birds you can identify before the influx and while there are few leaves on the trees and shrubs – the main players are the robin, wren, blackbird, song thrush, blue tit, great tit and dunnock. All of these can be picked out with the naked eye and have distinctive songs. The robin’s call is fairly weak and wistful, while the wren packs a huge punch for such a small bird – look for them low down in the undergrowth.

The blackbird and song thrush are often seen on higher, bare branches with the latter offering a delightful and captivating tune which increases in intensity, length and variation as we move towards summer. The blue tit has a busy song as he forages for insects, whereas the great tit will belt out his ‘tcher tcher’ from a high

with more foliage above them.

March is also the time when the first amphibians appear, and as a boy, finding frog-spawn was always a delight, some being carried home in a bucket to the garden pond. I also like to look for the grass snake on warm, still days as they come out to bask in the early rays. And, of course, there are the insects –the most underrated and undervalued group of wildlife on the planet. They keep man alive with their pollination and rubbish clearance, and, indeed, food for the higher orders. Early bees can be seen searching for plants in flower – there is a lovely mahonia not far from my house in full flower now in the second half of February and its scented yellow flowers are a joy and a magnet for early insects.

position. The dunnock – old English for dun-coloured bird – hunts around in hedges and then pops up for a burst of song before continuing with his day.

Alongside these easy to learn favourites are the chaffinch and goldfinch, who are not afraid to show themselves as they sing. Then overhead you will hear the quick ‘kark kark’ of the carrion crow or a similar tune but slower and more deliberate of the rook. The old country joke is that you can tell a rook apart from a carrion crow because rooks are social birds seen alone and carrion crows are solitary birds found in groups! Try and find a rookery as March is nesting time and it is quite a sight as dozens of birds circle round fighting for twigs and build their nests against a stiff spring breeze –another wellknown country saying is ‘when the rooks nest high, the summer will be dry’, the presumption being that they will nest lower if rain is foretold to keep drier

Then there are the butterflies – the usual species that shows itself early is the brimstone, the original butter-coloured-fly – where the word butterfly came from. You can’t miss its bright yellow wings fluttering over a hedge or along a tree line, and when you see one you know that spring is truly here. Add in my marker bird, the chiff-chaff, which always appears between March 9 and 22 – or has done for the last 55 years that I have been noting its song in my diary – and you can look forward to more and more activity as mammals come out of hibernation, insects appear out of chrysalis cases and the drip drip of more bird visitors from warmer climes become apparent.

Spring really is the most wonderful time of year – new life, new beginnings, new optimism and warmer days just over the horizon. Up until the end of April, the leaf cover in woodland is low or non-existent, so it’s a great time to learn your birds as by May the trees will be swallowed up in a blanket of beautiful greenery. Get the kids out to spot birds, to learn a few species and recognise song – I did just that many decades ago and it has given me a lifetime of pleasure and wonder that has never diminished.

Rooks will be nesting tnow and an old country saying is ‘when the rooks nest high, the summer will be dry’

Health & Wellbeing

A letter from India...

By Fiona Chapman

THE music and chanting started at 5am today. There are loud speakers all down the street and on the churches. The Hindu festival of Shiva is happening at the moment and chanting is pounded out of these speakers for miles. This is then rivalled with the Christian churches also blasting out.

The horns from endless cars, lorries and busses, tuk tuks, scooters and bikes, together with the yelling of the birds to make themselves heard over the human noise, is an assault to the senses, exciting and baffling.

The tolerance here is staggering, imagine having this in England when people complain if their neighbours

make a noise.

We are day seven into our Ayurvedic experience. On arrival we went to the Ayurvedic doctor who came up with a programme for us all. This consists of various medicated ghees – clarified butter and herbs – being drunk first thing in the morning in increasing amounts for five days, which travels around the body collecting the toxins and taking them to the intestines. It is followed by copious quantities of warm ginger water to keep the nausea away.

You then have an hour of being massaged to release all the knots and tensions in the body, before being patted and rubbed with a hot bag of herbs

which includes garlic, turmeric and lemon, as well as lots of different leaves. The heat brings the blood to the surface and herbs draw out and soak up the toxins released by the massage.

This has been followed by warm oil being poured over the forehead, which is deeply relaxing, although it is not so relaxing trying to get the oil out of our hair!

All this, for the ladies, is done stark naked, which had all our English proprieties squeaking a bit. For some reason the men get loin cloths.

Our diet during this time is lots of fruit and raw or lightly steamed vegetables. Yesterday we had our last day of ghee, which was 100mls, which had

TIME OUT

Fiona Chapman has been at an Ayurvedic centre in India. One relaxing treatment involves oil being poured over the forehead –although it’s not so relaxing washing it out of the hair!

to be knocked back in three gulps – it is better if you can’t taste it and don’t think about it. Today we eat as normal and tomorrow is “purge day”, where, we hope, we get rid of it all!

Needless to say, there has been much talk of bowel movements, in fact, it is our main topic of conversation!

There have been complaints that the massage is too vigorous with bolshy spells and refusals to do the treatments, dizzy spells and headaches, but secretly, once they all stopped fighting it, I think even the men are quite enjoying it.

n Fiona Chapman is a naturopathic herbalist; email Pellyfiona@gmail.com.

The ‘why’ makes it happen

By Alice Johnsen

I WAS listening to plans in a fundraising meeting recently. The conversation was focussed on the ‘hows’ rather than the ‘whys’ until someone remarked that it is always much easier to raise money for a specific aim rather than a charity as a whole.

We all agreed, and it shifted the pace of our discussion in a good way.

This specific focus can be applied to many other parts of our lives. If we want to be a person that does a specific thing, that is a wish, but it is not enough. If we want to run, it is good to have a specific reason or goal. If we want to study, it is good to want to study to achieve

X so we can apply for Y job. Sometimes free flow just doing something for the joy of doing that thing – reading a book, for example, is enough. But if we want to achieve specific progress, goals and reasons are a good way of ensuring we meet that progress.

The key thing about setting goals is they must be flexible. Your progress may be less or more than you had envisaged. Many external factors will affect how you learn, achieve or succeed. So, if the goals start being a hindrance rather than a support structure, they need adapting.

In the early years of a business, you cannot really

Menopause experts hold free health talk

THE menopause will be the subject of the first of a series of ‘Understanding Health’ talks at Bournemouth University.

Expert speakers from University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) and Bournemouth University (BU) have teamed up to hold a series of free Understanding Health talks with the first focusing on menopause.

The talk will cover lifestyle advice, tips, information and

know how hungry your market is, how smoothly your product will be created, how many unforeseen costs will accumulate, until you are in the thick of running your business. So, flexibility in targets and goals is essential.

Having a good reason to do something sounds so obvious and small but it is really what decides whether or not we succeed.

The Services are known for putting people through what on the face of it seem pointless training and repetitive drills, such as making and remaking beds, changing uniforms many

in-house and online audience.

Rosie said: “One in three women experience pelvic floor related problems, such as bladder leakage and pelvic organ prolapse, at predictable points in life, such as the menopause.

times a day or show parades where kit is inspected to a high degree. Superficially, a somewhat meaningless way to fill the hours of training but, of course, behind it is the essential process of building resilience, discipline, attention to detail and stamina. People say once they have grasped the reason for being treated thus, it makes it easier just to accept and get on with it.

If we know why something is happening, we can put a greater effort into achieving it.

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

university’s Bournemouth Gateway Building, Lansdowne (Room BG-110), on Wednesday, March 6, at 3pm and is open to everyone but booking is required to attend in person.

support to improve the experience of the menopause journey.

Rosie Harper, clinical specialist physiotherapist in pelvic health at University Hospitals Dorset, and Dr Emma Thurston, senior lecturer in physician associate studies at Bournemouth University and GP with a special interest in women’s sexual and reproductive health, will present and take questions from an

“While normalised, these symptoms are not normal, and there are many lifestyle tweaks you can make to prevent and treat these symptoms.”

Dr Emma Thurston added: “Sexual health is a biopsychosocial phenomenon. It is important we consider all aspects of this framework to provide holistic care when women experience sexual health challenges during the menopause transition and beyond.”

The free event is at the

All the information for the event, including the link to watch remotely, are available on Eventbrite at www. eventbrite.co.uk/e/ understanding-menopausetickets-778231109197. The talks will also be recorded.

Two further Understanding Health talks have been scheduled for later this year with Understanding Concussion in Sports and Practice on Thursday, May 2, and Understanding Pathology –Health under a Microscope on Tuesday, June 4.

Health & Wellbeing

Meditations in nature: Ode to Orion

by Susanna Curtin

IT is nearly midnight, but before I go to bed there is just time to take a stroll around my garden. I want to check out the wildlife in my pond, listen to the tawny owls and admire the night sky.

Carefully shining a torch into my pond, I uncover lots of activity. The newts are really busy tonight, hanging out in groups in the shallows or playing among the pondweed. There are palmates and smooth newts, and to my delight, a male and two female great crested newts – the male showing its beautiful, jagged dinosaur spine and its white tail stripe.

I am also surprised to see a female palmate already laying her eggs, testament to this very mild February. Each egg is laid singly and is folded into the leaf of a water plant in order to hide and protect it from predators

such as dragonfly nymphs. Although enthralled by their antics, I do not wish to disturb them too much. So eventually, I leave them to it and draw up my bench to just sit still for a while to enjoy the clear moonless night and my favourite constellation of Orion that is taking centre stage overhead. It is shining brightly 1,350 light years from Earth with each light year being the approximate equivalent of 6 trillion miles.

I am not sure why I love the Orion constellation so much. Perhaps it is because of its size and symmetry, and the sheer dominance of this mythological Greek hunter in our winter skies. It is one of the original 48 constellations defined by the Egyptian astronomer and mathematician, Ptolemy, in the 2nd century. In Greek mythology, Artemis, the Goddess of hunting and nature,

is said to have placed Orion in the stars after he was killed by a scorpion. Now looming silently over my garden, the hunter contains two of the 10 brightest stars in our galaxy – Betelgeuse, also known as Alpha Orionis, which is a red giant and one of the largest stars we know, and Rigel – Beta Orioni – which is a blue-white supergiant and is the seventh brightest star seen from Earth.

Orion’s belt is perhaps the most famous asterism in the night sky with its three equidistant-looking stars that make it so recognisable that it appears in myths and legends across the globe. In fact, they are many light years apart and not equidistant at all. Then, trailing down from Orion’s belt, is the hunter’s sword which is made of three fainter stars. The middle one of these ‘stars’ is not actually a star but the Orion nebula – known as M42 – a smudgy giant colourful cloud of dust and gas once thrown out by the explosion of a dying star.

Orion is located on the celestial equator making it visible in both Northern and Southern hemispheres. I remember being so surprised when I arrived in New Zealand that I could still see my favourite constellation, albeit

from an entirely different perspective. I was so taken aback that I booked a place in Auckland observatory one night to look through its huge telescope to see the Orion nebula – a sight that almost brought tears to my eyes given the colour, scale and complexity of what we can see in our universe.

Skychology is a new body of science that has found that when people look at the stars, it makes them feel calmer by helping to put life problems into a greater perspective. It also provokes a sense of awe and wonder at the beauty and vastness of our universe, and a sense of privilege to be here to behold it.

As a lifelong star gazer, I connect my fascination with the stars to memorable times with friends and family – the camping trips, expeditions in faraway places, socialising around a firepit and night hikes where stargazing has always played a part. But then again, I also love moments of solitude, like this, under the stars as a time to pause, reflect and ponder. It always helps me to fall into a deep and peaceful sleep.

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

Orion is shining brightly 1,350 light years from Earth with each light year the approximate equivalent of 6 trillion miles PHOTO: Neil Bundle

Spring is here –and watercress is back in season

SPRING heralds the start of the British watercress season. Across Dorset and Hampshire, the heartland for watercress growing, farmers are preparing to harvest this tasty peppery crop.

Grown uniquely in flowing spring water, the plant clings to the bed’s gravel base, absorbing the minerals and vitamins as the water rushes past. True watercress can only be grown in water.

In Victorian England watercress was known as ‘poor man’s bread’ and eaten from paper cones as the first street food. Its popularity waned in the last century but its versatility and health benefits, have meant watercress is back on the menu.

It even has its own festival – the Alresford Watercress Festival which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary on May 19.

Anecdotally, watercress has been revered since the time of Hippocrates, but modern science has proved that its health-giving properties aren’t just old wives’ tales.

Watercress was found to be a powerhouse of nutrition that supports the immune system and gut health, and to contain unusually high amounts of antioxidants – particularly PEITC which gives watercress its distinctive peppery taste –that help to lower blood pressure and prevent depression.

Watercress is packed with more than 50 vitamins and minerals, including high levels of vitamins C, E and A, folate and calcium.

It is also rich in iron – nearly twice as much as spinach – and because of the high levels of vitamin C and A it possesses, this iron is more easily absorbed than most other plant-based irons, making watercress a good

addition to any vegetarian or vegan diet.

Another little-known fact about watercress relates to amino acids – compounds that play many critical roles in the body, including regulating the immune function and building muscle.

The body needs 20 different amino acids to grow and function properly and although all 20 are important for health, only nine amino acids are classified as essential. Unlike non-essential amino acids, essential amino acids cannot be made by the body and must be obtained through diet.

The best sources of essential amino acids are animal proteins like meat, eggs and poultry but, unusually for a plant, watercress has a full complement of the nine essential amino acids.

Now, if that’s not something to celebrate this spring, what is?

To help, The Watercress Company, the UK’s biggest grower of watercress, has developed some delicious new salad recipes perfect for bright spring days stretching into summer, including the one below

Hot Honey Salmon & Watercress Salad

Serves 2

Prep time: 15mins

Cook time: 20mins

Ingredients

• 80g Watercress

• 2 Salmon Fillets

• 1 Lemon, quartered

• 1 Avocado, sliced

For the Hot Honey:

• 50ml Honey

• 2 Garlic Cloves, halved

• 1-2 tsp chilli flakes

For the quick pickled red onions:

• ½ red onion, thinly sliced

• 2tbsp vinegar – white wine or apple cider

• ½ tsp salt

• 1tsp sugar

Method

1 For the hot honey, warm the honey gently in a small pan. Add the garlic and chilli flakes and allow to infuse. Once fragrant and spicy, remove from the heat.

2 For the red onions, in a bowl or jar with a lid, add the sliced onion. Pour over the vinegar before sprinkling in the salt and sugar. Give it a mix, or shake, to

combine and let it sit while you prepare everything else.

3. Brush one side of the salmon with the hot honey. Lay it coated side down in a hot pan and cook for 5-6 minutes. Brush the topside with a little more of the honey, flip and repeat.

4. To assemble the salad, split the watercress between two plates. Add ½ the avocado to each plate. Top with the salmon fillets and a spoonful of the red onion. Drizzle everything with a little more of the hot honey.

5. Serve with the lemons, squeezing fresh lemon juice over everything.

On the up at law firm

A SWANAGE law firm has made a raft of promotions as it shapes the next generation of its leadership team.

Ellis Jones Solicitors has announced seven appointments across a range of departments, including two at its offices in the High Street in Swanage.

The firm – with more than 170 staff including 21 partners – rewarded the rising stars as it continues to develop talent from within for senior roles.

Tim McMahon, from Banking and Finance Litigation, and Conor Maher, from Dispute Resolution, have both been promoted to senior associate.

Rebecca Goudy, from the Employment team, and Florence Newton from Dispute

Resolution, have both been made associate.

Sophie Webster, George Patey and Luke Hunt, from the Residential Conveyancing department, have also been promoted to associate. Sophie and George work in the firm’s Swanage office.

Nigel Smith, managing partner, said: “These promotions are in recognition of the commitment, talent and exceptional client service demonstrated by our new senior associates and associates.

“We have an ethos of promoting from within, developing talent and rewarding excellence in clear career pathways to leadership positions, which allows us to

Apprentices set to take turn in the spotlight

TIME is getting short to enter the Dorset Apprenticeship Awards, which celebrate the achievements of rising stars in the workplace, with the deadline the middle of this month.

Business Support Organisation Dorset Chamber has joined forces with the Dorset and Somerset Training Provider Network for the third annual initiative with sponsorship from manufacturing firm Superior.

Awards will be presented in five categories at an awards ceremony with the Lord Lieutenant of Dorset on May 17.

The categories are: Level 2 (Intermediate) Apprentice of the Year; Level 3 (Advanced) Apprentice of the Year; Level 4 or 5 Higher Apprentice of the

Year; Degree Apprentice of the Year.

They are free to enter with entries invited from apprentices and their employers across the private, public and charitable sectors until March 15.

Ian Girling, chief executive of Dorset Chamber, said: “The [Apprenticeship Awards] recognise and celebrate the invaluable contribution that apprentices make to businesses and the economy in Dorset.

“Apprenticeships can transform lives and kickstart careers while supporting the growth and excellence of businesses.

“Apprentices are the future of our business community and I look forward to reading some truly inspirational entries.”

Entrants must be undertaking

shape the next generation at Ellis Jones.

“Warmest congratulations to all of our new senior associates and associates on their richly deserved promotions as they

enter the next phase of their careers.”

Ellis Jones has offices in Bournemouth, Canford Cliffs (Poole), Ringwood, Swanage, Wimborne and London.

a traineeship or apprenticeship programme, or have completed a programme within the last 12 months.

Tim Brown, managing director of Wimborne-based Superior, said: “We are delighted to support apprenticeships and trainee programmes across Dorset, to highlight the fantastic benefits that they bring to both the business and the apprentice as they develop their career path.”

The award ceremony will be held at Superior. Each winner will be profiled in the Dorset Business Focus magazine.

The Dorset Apprenticeship Awards are separate to the Dorset Business Awards, which are being held in October of this year as part the chamber’s Business Festival.

They tie in with the chamber’s mission of ‘enabling better lives through business’.

Last year’s winners were Nicky Sayers from Avon Magnetics = in Christchurch, Katie Smith from BBD Boom in Bournemouth and Florence Hudson from the Poole office of JPP.

Visit www.dorsetchamber. co.uk for more information and to enter.

Ellis Jones Solicitors has made seven promotions. The newly promoted staff are pictured with managing partner Nigel Smith. From left, are Conor Maher, Florence Newton, Luke Hunt, Nigel Smith, Tim McMahon, Sophie Webster, George Patey and Rebecca Goudy

In the picture last year, from left, Rod Davis, Dorset and Somerset Training Provider Network; Tim Brown, managing director, Superior; Caron Khan, president, Dorset Chamber: Nicky Sayers, Avon Magnetics; Katie Smith, BBD Boom; Ian Girling, chief executive, Dorset Chamber; Florence Hudson, JPP; Angus Campbell, HM LordLieutenant of Dorset

Brewer’s community chest keeps on giving

By editor@dorsetbiznews.

co.uk

HALL & Woodhouse handed out more than 20 grants totalling over £27,000 at its annual Community Chest Awards.

Among the successful recipients were organisations supporting people with disabilities, as well as groups offering guidance, training and career advice in the local area.

Mark Woodhouse, family director of the Dorset brewery, said: “At Hall & Woodhouse, we exist to make people’s day, and

I’m proud to see this purpose put into practice in any way we can.

“We never cease to be amazed by the tremendous good that organisations can do for their communities and are honoured to help continue their hard work.

“It’s all about providing access to funding for small, local, volunteer-led and trustworthy organisations that make a real difference.

“It’s always a privilege to meet the people behind the organisations which are making

Film director backs town theatre appeal

DORSET-BORN film director

Edgar Wright is backing an anniversary fundraising appeal at The Mowlem theatre in Swanage.

The Mowlem Institute, which operates the venue, wants to raise £160,000 to celebrate its 160-year history.

The Take Your Seat campaign offers audiences the chance to dedicate a seat in the auditorium to a family member, friend or themselves.

The charity has started the scheme by dedicating chair J13 (pictured) to its first patron, Edgar Wright, who grew up in the area.

The award-winning film director created Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Baby Driver, and was named the venue’s first patron last year.

first release with my parents and older brother Oscar, include the Ralph Bakshi-animated Lord Of The Rings, Watership Down, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Clash Of The Titans.

“I returned to Swanage for a break last summer and was thrilled to see that the Mowlem was still showing movies.

“Standing in the auditorium again was a very pleasant experience and I hope to be down there again very soon.

“I’m proud to be a Mowlem patron.

“I’m a film director now, but never stopped being a film-goer. Keep up the great work.

Donations will fund updates to the auditorium, including a new lighting desk and communication equipment.

such a positive change.

“Already, I very much look forward to launching the community chest again in the spring.”

One recipient was Weymouth Foodbank, which fed a total of 14,156 people across four Weymouth locations in 2023 –up 56% on the year before.

The team received £2,700 from Hall & Woodhouse to cover the purchase of milk, cheese and eggs for the next month.

Dorset-based charity

Countrymen UK received £1,000 towards running costs and activities for individuals experiencing isolation due to physical or mental deterioration.

And there was another £1,000 for Island Community Action (ICA) in Portland, which provides support services and arts and crafts workshops to some of Dorset’s most deprived areas where people are suffering from physical, financial and mental hardships.

The three charities join 900 other causes across the south which have received a combined total of £800,000 since the inception of the Hall & Woodhouse Community Chest in 2022.

On Instagram, he said: “I was born and raised in Dorset and lived in Swanage until I was seven.

“The Mowlem was one of the first cinemas I ever attended and it was partly responsible for a film fandom that continues to this day.

“Some movies I saw there

They will also contribute to day-to-day operations, helping to reduce the small deficit accrued during the pandemic.

In return for £200 a seat, the theatre will engrave a personal message of up to 40 characters, to remain for the next 10 years.

Edgar’s plaque reads ‘Edgar Wright, Film Director & Film Goer (1974-)’.

Car auction house in charity link-up

FAMILY-RUN vehicle auction house South Western Vehicle Auctions (SWVA) at Holton Heath has chosen the Dorset Cancer Care Foundation (DCCF) as its charity of the year.

The auction firm will be organising fundraising events and initiatives involving staff, customers and the wider community throughout the year.

The charity awards nonrepayable grants to help people with cancer meet expenses such as transport, domestic and household costs, and some minor modifications needed in the home.

SWVA’s business development manager, Jo Legg,

said: “SWVA wanted to support a charity that makes a positive impact in the community, and the Dorset Cancer Care Foundation perfectly aligns with this.

“DCCF is committed to fundraising to help Dorset people who are facing often extreme hardship because of a cancer diagnosis.

“Every one of the team at SWVA knows someone who has been affected by cancer. Some of us have lost loved ones to the disease.

“So, we are all very enthusiastic at the prospect of raising some good funds for DCCF’s work. We hope people

UNWANTED VEHICLES bought for cash ●Mot failures ●Nonrunners ●Unfinished projects ●end of life scrap vehicles ●minimum of £200 paid for complete vehicles. Call Ryan on 07474 737577

will get behind us in our fundraising efforts, so together we can really make a difference.”

The charity’s fundraising manager, Jannine Loveys, said: “We are a small but vital charity whose success is driven by the hard work and commitment of our dedicated volunteers, supporters, sponsors and patrons.

“We are thrilled that SWVA has joined our group of supporters and look forward to working with them on some

THANKS

A ‘LOT’: In the picture (from left) SWVA office administrator

Lyn Read, SWVA business development manager Jo Legg and SWVA transport manager Dave Lee, with Jannine Loveys, fundraising manager of the Dorset Cancer Care Foundation

exciting events in the coming year.”

Local football legends Harry Redknapp and Jeff Mostyn are both patrons of the DCCF and help to raise the profile of the charity’s valuable work.

SWVA has been operating since 1971 and recently moved into a one-hectare site, with a 12,000sq ft headquarters building, at Holton Heath.

For more information on the DCCF, to apply for a grant or to get involved in fundraising, visit www.dccf.co.uk.

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Bracelets –the must have jewellery accessory

By Amy Brenan, director of Heirlooms Jewellers,

21 South Street, Wareham BRACELETS and bangles have been worn since primitive times, made of wood, shells and stones, worn by both men and women. They have religious connotations for some faiths and are used in marriage ceremonies as a symbol of commitment.

During the 17th century bracelets became a must have piece of jewellery. Georgian designs featured gold with pearl edging and coral, as well as using gold mesh and silk ribbons.

The Victorians favoured the charm bracelet, as they loved the symbolism of the individual charms, which may have included hair or a photo of a loved one. They also enjoyed wearing acrostic pieces where the initial letters of the gemstones featured would spell something meaningful – like Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby, Diamond – REGARD!

Bracelets made from entwined wore or mesh were

popular in the 1950s and 1960s and tended to be more plain in design. In the 1970s, bracelets were more delicate and were often set with small baguettes.

The tennis bracelet style features an even line of diamonds or other gemstones threaded together by a gold or platinum chain. It is so named due to tennis player Chris Evert losing her bracelet during a match when it flew off, and then not resuming the game until it had been found! Previously it had also been known as an eternity bracelet.

Cuffs are very on trend in 2024 but have been worn by Greek and Roman soldiers as a symbol of protection. Coco Chanel brought them back into fashion in the 1930s by regularly wearing her favourite silver and enamel pair in photographs, sparking a trend.

The current fashion for stacking bracelets and bangles means that everyone can create their own look, and antique pieces can be worn very effectively with contemporary pieces.

Tudor manor’s contents up for auction

THE magnificent Sandford Orcas Manor, nestled at the divide of Dorset and Somerset, is the genesis of Duke’s next major auction.

Duke’s will rouse history from its sleep, breathing new life into the Tudor manor in a special auction of the contents on Wednesday, March 6.

The house and contents have been admired by antiquarians, historians and writers for over two centuries and upon entering through the oak-studded front door it is impossible not to be enchanted and bewitched – the stone floors are worn, the oak panelling and doors are deeply patinated and the air is laced with the aroma of old books and wood smoke.

Countless treasures adorn the chambers and halls of Sandford Orcas Manor, including a

masterwork oil painting by Philips Wouwerman (1619-68), called A Cavalry Skirmish.

Philips Wouwerman was one of the great artists to emerge through the ascendancy of the Dutch Golden Age and just one of many master craftsmen whose works are to be sold in the auction on March 6.

Get in touch to order a catalogue at sandfordorcas@ dukes-auctions.com or 01305 265080.

Philips Wouwerman’s A Cavalry Skirmish is on sale with Duke’s

Arts & Entertainment

Napoleonic Wars inspire new novel

AUTHOR and engineer Paul Weston, from Wareham, has released a new historical thriller.

Cape Corse – the title refers to the northern cape of Corsica – is the third book in his historical maritime and naval fiction series.

A complex novel with a compelling, fast-moving plot, it is set in the Napoleonic Wars, and inspired by Paul’s seafaring background.

Lieutenant Snowden goes to Bermuda to commission a fast cedar-built schooner, Oleander.

In the Mediterranean, the French have defeated the short-lived Corsican Republic, and Pasquale Paoli, the Republic’s leader, now an old man, is in exile in London.

Snowden and Oleander are sent to Corsica to support a delicate and dangerous operation which could be of considerable assistance in defeating Bonaparte.

Paul said: “Readers said they found Weymouth Bound and Not by Sea historically fascinating and exciting, and I

Kray twins up close and personal

THE life and times of notorious gangsters the Kray twins will be brought to life with their official biographer and television personality Fred Dinenage at the Regent in Christchurch this weekend.

Ronnie and Reggie Kray were kings of the London underworld in the swinging sixties, but their reign of terror came to an end in 1969 when a

hope the same will be said of Cape Corse, which I believe evokes the era of the Napoleonic Wars, set as they were against the background of scientific progress and the nascent Industrial Revolution.”

Paul was an engineer in the merchant navy for about 10 years before taking an engineering degree.

judge at the Old Bailey gave them life sentences.

Reggie went on to serve decades in prison, while Ronnie became a patient at the highsecurity psychiatric hospital Broadmoor. The twins chose Fred Dinenage to tell their official story and he became one of the few people allowed into their inner circle.

In Ronnie, Reggie and Me he reveals stories and situations that have not been told publicly before. The show is on Sunday, March 10, and tickets priced £27 are available at www. theregent.co.uk.

Yummy night out on menu

THE village hall at West Lulworth will be transformed into a restaurant for the evening with a performance of May Contain Food, May Contain You.

Members of the audience will be seated at specially decorated tables to watch, savour and digest a playful mix of dance, theatre and song that explores people’s curious relationship with food.

Audience members are encouraged to take along food that they have made, grown or bought to eat or share, or an item to be donated to a local foodbank.

The show is presented by the Protein company and features physical performance and humorous monologues with interludes including baking a cake and a raffle.

He now works as a mechanical engineer for Yunex Traffic – formerly Siemens –in Poole, where he designs traffic management equipment.

He has always been interested in sailing and boating, and since 2021 he an his wife Sally have owned a sailing yacht which they keep in the Mediterranean.

STORYTELLER

James Rowland is returning to Dorset with a new show about fathers, sons and the hope that makes life liveable.

He has been touring his storytelling theatre shows for half his adult life, but last year was different.

Returning home after his first stint away, he received a letter that exploded his life, and the tour became a search for the person who sent it, for a sense of home and to maybe save a life.

Piece of Work, a mix of

May Contain Food, May Contain You is staged with Dorset touring arts charity Artsreach at West Lulworth village hall on Wednesday, March 13, at 7.30pm.

It is also at Sturminster Newton Exchange on Thursday, March 14.

Tickets and further information are available online at www.artsreach. co.uk.

storytelling, comedy and music, follows James’ critically acclaimed run at the 2023 Edinburgh Festival.

The show, presented by Artsreach, Dorset’s touring arts charity, is at Yetminster Jubilee Hall on Friday, March 15, at 8pm; Drimpton village hall on Saturday, March 16, at 7.30pm; and Piddletrenthide memorial hall on Sunday, March 17, at 3pm. The show is suitable for those aged 14-plus and contains brief discussion of suicide and mental illness. Tickets are available at www.artsreach.co. uk and the venues.

Paul Weston and (inset) his new novel Cape Corse

Arts & Entertainment

Sound and vision

AN atmospheric double bill of film, live music and spoken word is coming to Langton Matravers village hall later this month.

Sound artist, nature beatboxer and composer Jason Singh will perform his live soundtrack to John Grierson’s silent documentary film Drifters.

And landscape writer Sarah Acton will present Seiners, a newly commissioned piece with Dorset artist Emily Burridge featuring spoken word, live music and film.

Drifters, made in 1929, follows herring trawlermen on the North Sea through their dramatic daily routines and reflects the industry’s struggles with tradition, modernity and nature.

Jason Singh’s critically acclaimed and unique solo score, originally commissioned by the British Film Institute, combines live vocal sound effects, beatboxing techniques and live sampling to create an exciting cinematic experience.

Seiners is a series of sketches that remembers the fishing communities and seine boats, and everyday life, along coast – and links to the mackerel, salmon and pilchards once fished in Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.

The productions are at Langton Matravers village hall on Sunday, March 17, Portland Royal Manor Theatre on Friday, March 15, and Hythe & Dibden parish hall on Saturday, March 16, all at 7.30pm.

Fiddlers back on the road

BBC Radio 2 presenter Mark Radcliffe dubbed them “Britain’s fiddling supergroup” – and now Feast of Fiddles are heading to the Tivoli Theatre in Wimborne on a tour of England.

The band were born in a village hall on Valentine’s Day 1994 and are now celebrating their 30th anniversary.

Over the years they have done 28 spring tours, played 26 festivals and made seven albums.

Feast of Fiddles typically features fiddlers Garry Blakeley (Band of Two), Ian Cutler (Bully Wee), Marion Fleetwood (Trad Arr, Sandy Denny Project), Peter Knight (Gigspanner, Steeleye Span), Tom Leary (Joe Brown) and Brian McNeill (Battlefield Band).

They bring a large range of fiddle playing styles to the rock back-line – all held together by drummer Dave Mattacks.

Feast of Fiddles are in Wimborne on Wednesday, April 17, at 7.30pm.

Tickets priced £26 are available on 01202 885566 or by visiting www. tivoliwimborne.co.uk.

Feast of Fiddles are performing at the Tivoli Theatre

PHOTO Neil King

Jason Singh will perform his live soundtrack to the silent documentary Drifters about North Sea trawlwermen

Elvis returns after 30 years

THE legendary Elvis Costello and Steve Nieve are to visit Poole as part of a 15-date tour of the UK and Ireland this autumn.

Together they will be playing selections from a songbook that is 50 years long and twice as deep.

It is the first time the duo have played the venue since

Treat for Trekkies

STAR Trek fans are in for a special treat with a charity screening of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (12A) at the Ocean Theatre in the Pavilion in Bournemouth.

The screening is presented by Filmaholics, who call themselves “film nuts, sci-fi fans and Star Trek ‘Trekkies’ through and through”, and profits will go to two local charities.

Julia’s House based in

Wimborne provides practical and emotional support for families caring for a child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition.

Dogs for Autism, based near Winchester, trains and provides assistance dogs, at no charge, to autistic people of any age who will benefit.

The screening is on Saturday, March 16, at 7.30pm – for tickets visit www.pdsw.org.uk/ whats-on

Holiday takes a murderous turn

A COMIC seaside mystery is in store when Hell’s Bells! comes to The Mowlem theatre in Swanage later this week.

As the body of a lighthouse keeper mysteriously washes ashore, covered in strange markings, Ferelith’s seaside holiday takes an unexpected turn.

Taking a break from the tedium of her holiday and unable to resist meddling in the police investigation, she soon finds herself amid a peculiar web of events.

But as things grow increasingly unusual, her legendary powers of intuition

begin to fail her.

Can her bumbling brother, Grubb, who always seems to be one step behind and heading in the wrong direction, rescue her from the brink of disaster?

Hell’s Bells is a murder mystery packed with larger than life characters, daft humour and spine-chilling suspense.

It is presented by Miracle Theatre with Dorset touring arts charity Artsreach at The Mowlem on Wednesday, March 6.

For more information and tickets, visit www.artsreach. co.uk.

1994 when it was included in Elvis Costello & the Attractions’ final tour in support of their album Brutal Youth.

Tickets for the show at Lighthouse on Wednesday, September 18, are available from 01202 280000 and www.lighthousepoole. co.uk.

Elvis Costello is playing Poole Lighthouse PHOTO: Mark Seliger

Hell’s Bells! is at The Mowlem in Swanage this week

Gypsy-jazz from The Smoke to The Sticks

LONDON-BASED gypsyjazz band Latchepen are heading back to Dorset for four dates next month, including in Studland, following a sell-out tour last year.

The quartet, born out of a collective admiration of

Django Reinhardt and anything that swings, perform jazz on strings, with influences ranging from Romani music to bebop.

The band is made up of Matt Holborn (violin), Kourosh Kanani (guitar), Dave Kelbie (guitar) and Simon Read (bass).

Edition 309

Together they play at venues in London such as Ronnie Scott’s, and tour all over the UK playing arts venues and village halls. Members have performed at festivals such as the Django Reinhardt festival, Turin Jazz Festival and March Manouche (UK).

Latchepen are visiting Dorset with the county’s

touring arts charity, Arstreach, and are at Sydling St Nicholas village hall on Thursday, March 7, Winterborne Stickland Pamela Hall on Friday, March 8, Powerstock Hut on Saturday, March 9, and Studland village hall on Sunday, March 10.

Further information and tickets are available online at www.artsreach.co.uk.

Puzzle solutions (from pages 22-23) Sudoko Jumbo sudoku Cryptic crossword

Latchepen are appearing at Studland village hall this weekend

Spotlight Diary

Diary entries are £6 plus VAT per entry, per month. The deadline for the March 18 issue is NOON on March 11. Call on 01963 400186 or email adverts@blackmorevale.net

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

MARCH 2024

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

FRIDAY

14:00 - 16:00 EVERY FRIDAY: BINGO Carey Hall, Mistover Road, Wareham BH20 4BY.

18:30 FRIDAY 22nd MARCH PARISH HALL, THE QUAY, WAREHAM.

FILM SHOW: GOD’S OUTLAW

Starring Roger Rees as William Tyndale, Keith Barron as Henry VIII and Oona Kirsch as Anne Boleyn.

Doors open for refreshments at 6.30 – film starts at 7pm (ends at 8.30). Admission: £5 including tea or coffee. All proceeds to parish funds.

Tickets may be booked in advance from A F Joy Menswear, 35 North Street, Wareham (01929 552 903) or Wareham Parish Office (01929 550 905) – or may be purchased, if available, on the door.

SATURDAY

14:30 SATURDAY 23rd MARCH PARISH HALL, THE QUAY, WAREHAM.

FILM SHOW: GOD’S OUTLAW

Starring Roger Rees as William Tyndale, Keith Barron as Henry VIII and Oona Kirsch as Anne Boleyn.

Doors open for refreshments at 2:30 – film starts at 3:00 (ends at 4:30). Admission: £5 including tea or coffee. All proceeds to parish funds.

Tickets may be booked in advance from A F Joy Menswear, 35 North Street, Wareham (01929 552 903) or Wareham Parish Office (01929 550 905) – or may be purchased, if available, on the door.

18:30 WHIST DRIVE AT ST MARY’S CHURCH, Rectory Classroom, Swanage. Every Saturday. Tea and coffee provided. Very friendly group. Contact Richard: 01929 553516

SATURDAY

23rd MARCH CAREY CRAFTERS, Spring Sale. Supporting Purbeck Young Carers. Carey Hall, Mistover Road, Wareham BH20 4BY