The New Stour & Avon - Issue 76

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Cover: White Mill bridge, Sturminster Marshall

Forest festival More villages decide 20 is plenty

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, Bridport, Wimborne, Pimperne and Winfrith.

Parish and town council 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 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.”

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.

The New Forest National Park has planned a month of interesting things to help people learn more about the area and its wildlife and climate.

The Awakenings Festival runs throughout March, and includes wildlife walks and talks, free bike maintenance drop-ins, litter picks and composting masterclasses. People can find out more about the New Forest’s trees, enjoy a farm tour, and also learn more about sustainable woodland management.

More details here: newforestnpa .gov.uk/awakening.

Cold callers alert

Cold callers have been targeting Ferndown residents.

Dorset Police have received reports that cold callers have been persuading residents that they require drainage repairs.

People are advised not to engage with cold callers, use their door chain before opening, and be suspicious of people using terminology, such as ‘gas board’ or ‘water board’. Visit dorset. police.uk/advice/advice-andinformation/fa/fraud/personalfraud/door-to-door-courier-fraud.

Bereavement services review

Cash-strapped BCP Council is asking people in the ‘bereavement industry’ to give their views on the way its services can develop and expand as it looks to ‘external investment’ in the sector.

The council’s cabinet agreed to undertake a review of how it operates its bereavement services and ‘explore potential opportunities for external investment to help bring forward improvements and new initiatives, including the future of cremator provision across BCP.’ Cllr Millie Earl said: “An increasing number of people are opting for direct cremations, natural burials and simpler funeral services, whilst the industry is responding to the climate emergency by introducing innovative solutions to become greener and more energy efficient. “We want to deliver a service which reflects this changing landscape. Our financial situation restricts us, but we’re committed to removing barriers and bureaucracy to enable others to bring forward proposals for the benefit of residents.”

Blooming good quiz evening raises £1000

The 30th annual Wimborne in Bloom Wine and Wisdom quiz evening took place on the evening of Leap Year’s Day in the Allendale Centre, Wimborne Minster, writes Anthony Oliver. A totl of 28 teams pitted their wits against each other in an attempt to win the coveted Eco Composting Shield.

There were eight rounds of questions on a variety of subjects including Raining Cats And Dogs, Phobias, Dorset Knowledge and General Knowledge.

After a hard-fought battle there was a tie for first place between last year’s winners Phoenix Dorset and Wimborne Civic Society.

Phoenix Dorset answered the tie-break question first and so retained the trophy. Each member of the team also received a bottle of wine.

In third place was a team from the Minster called Does Grey Matter.

The funds raised will be well over £1,000 when all proceeds are accounted for.

Association now riding £750 higher

Chairman of Ringwood & District Tangent Club Gill Russell is pictured presenting a cheque for £750 to the Green Cottage Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) recently.

The Ringwood Tangent Club, with more than 60 members in Ringwood and surrounding areas organised a ‘posh frocks & hats’ lunch for 156 ladies from 52 Tangent Clubs across the South West. Many local food and drink businesses were very generous in donating prizes for the raffle held during the lunch, which made an astounding £1500.

The Tangent Club has shared this between the National President’s charity, Myeloma UK, and the local Green Cottage Riding for the Disabled Association.

Green Cottage RDA, based at Three-Legged Cross, provides riding lessons for children with a variety of special needs and disabilities such as cerebral palsy, downs syndrome, autism, ADHD, and many other

Dig this great day out for all the family!

Digging around for a great gardening day out? Look no further than this year’s Gillingham & Shaftesbury Spring Countryside Show. Taking place 20th and 21st April, horticulture is at the heart of this year’s new-look event. Enjoy a host of gardening talks and workshops from renowned garden experts. From advice on plastic-free gardening to great gardening ideas for kids, interactive sessions will get you going home armed with inspirational growing tips and no doubt new plants!

Keen crafters will love the Hands-On marquee where visitors can enjoy trying felting, willow weaving and many other age-old rural skills. With a focus on a great day out for all the family, there’s free tractor and trailer rides sponsored by Friars Moor Livestock in Sturminster Newton, hilarious pig racing and Keystone cop clown capers as the UK’s only Arena Comedy Car Act and Slapstick Stunt Show hurtles into the main show ring on the Saturday and Sunday.

There’re farmyard animals and the brilliant Lamb National.

Think Grand National but with sheep! Children up to age of sixteen go free and there’s brilliant savings to be had with early bird discounts for advance tickets. Visit www.springcountrysideshow.co.uk

complex learning and development disorders. Debbie Turner, RDA Group Coach, said that the cheque will do much to help Green Cottage RDA meet their running costs, which amount to approx. £8,000 every year.

Timely return to Tyneham

The last person born and raised in the now-deserted village of Tyneham has made a final visit to his family home.

When Peggy Read died before Christmas, it left her childhood pal Peter Wellman as the last living connection with the ‘village that died for England’.

Peter, 99, recently returned to the tiny settlement that was evacuated just before Christmas 1943 to enable the Army to extend its ranges.

Around 250 people from the area were forced out, but promised they could return after Hitler had been seen off. But they were never allowed back.

While still on MoD land, the ruins and the walk to the beach at Worbarrow Bay are open for 160 days of the year and remain a moment in time that was frozen.

Peter’s old school and the church have been restored, but the rest is decaying.

Peter, born in Tyneham in 1924, had attended the village’s annual memorial service until last year when he had a fall.

But his daughter Lynne and son Michael drove him back for a look around as the last villager.

Peter said: “I don’t suppose I’ll ever come back, which is a shame. After Peggy died I am the last person to have been born and raised here.

“We had no electricity, no mains gas and no running water.

“I remember going to the beach and fishing and we often had mackerel. We were happy until we got moved out.”

Peter, whose family connections to Tyneham go back many generations, attended the little single-room school.

He added: “Now I’m the only one left. They’ve all gone.”

Temporary car park closures

A string of New Forest car-parks will close in the next weeks as the breeding season for groundnesting birds gets under way.

The New Forest National Park Authority is setting up special quiet zones at the most sensitive breeding locations, with nearby car parks closed and signs in place to highlight the presence of ground-nesting birds and help avoid disturbance as they attempt to breed and raise chicks.

Car parks include: Clayhill, Crockford, Crockford Clump, Hincheslea, Hincheslea Moor, Ocknell Pond, Ogdens, Shatterford and Yew Tree Heath.

Free IT support

Free IT Support is available at Corfe Mullen Library with Digital Champion sessions on Mondays from 10:30am-1:00pm. They are one to one and 40 minutes long. To book, call the Dorset Digital Hotline on 01305 221048, Corfe Mullen Library on 01202 659755, or email corfe mullenlibrary@ dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.

Get your green thinking caps on for quiz

Planet Wimborne invites quiz groups and individuals to a quiz night on Thursday, April 25, to support the 2023 Planet Wimborne Green Festival. You can be sure of a fun and entertaining evening of questions

on green issues, including water, trees, politics, history and geography – ranging from easy to challenging. Individuals or teams of up to six can enjoy prizes, a raffle and a bar (bring your own snacks.)

Cost is £5 on the door (cash or card) at Colehill Sports & Social Club, Colehill, BH21 2QR).

Doors open: 7pm for 7.30pm

For further details and to book, contact Jeff Hart on jeffhart414@ gmail.com or on 01202 884201.

Capt David in left-hand seat again

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

For the special experience, ahead of his 80th birthday later this year, David Turner from Dorset House care home in Hamworthy, got to sit in the cockpit of one of TUI’s Boeing 747s at Bournemouth Airport.

He said: “I had a fabulous day. 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 able to re-live his dream of sitting in the pilot’s seat again.

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 pilots understand.”

David chatted to TUI pilot Capt David Griffin, pictured above, 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.

No plans to close recycling centres

The letter, ‘Time for townsfolk to stand for beliefs’, in the February 23 edition, included the text ‘strong rumours that the Brook Road council tip will shut’ This is incorrect – there are no current plans to close any of our 10 household recycling centres, and we have no announcements planned.

On a related note, we would also like to clarify that Dorset Council is handing back management of the Queen Elizabeth Leisure Centre (QELC) to its owners, Queen Elizabeth School, after a

two-year notice period, as you have previously reported. This move is not about ‘profit’ but simply due to the fact we cannot justify spending £500,000 - a third of our entire leisure budget for the whole of the DC area each year - on running one facility that is not ours, especially when there are seven alternative public leisure facilities within a 10-mile radius of QELC.

Cllr Laura Beddow

Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Culture and Communities

Gardening star at village hall

Come and hear famous gardener Derry Watkins from Special Plants in Bath!

She is speaking at Tarrant Keyneston Village Hall, near Blandford, on ‘Late Summer Colour’ on Wednesday, March 20, at 2.30pm.

Derry is author of two books on greenhouse gardening and has introduced many plants from her

plant collecting trips to South Africa and elsewhere.This will be a very special event with Derry bringing her plants to sell and there will be tea, homemade cakes and a raffle.

Tickets are bookable from Madeleine on 01258 480778 or on the door if available.

Madeleine Hemsley

Tarrant Keyneston

Plenty of roof space for panels

I was disappointed to read that regular Tory basher Alan Cross has offers no viable alternatives. He seems to feel it is perfectly acceptable to cover green fields with solar panels rather than place them on top of the buildings where the power would be used,

like supermarkets and factories. I’d have a lot more respect for a politician that actually came up with some good ideas for a change and doesn’t hide behind a Labour Party page that requires a payment to join.

Paul Hockey, Verwood

Exploring our Access Land

It’s currently in the news how much Access Land is inaccessible.

Dorset has hundreds (I haven’t counted them!) of Access Land sites but nearly 30 of them are inaccessible unless by permission or trespass as they can’t be reached by a public right of way. Access Land was created by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 and includes Common Land, mountain, moor, heath and down land.

Everybody has a right to roam and explore it but it gets very

Spring show open to all

Verwood Horticultural Open Spring Show will be held on Saturday, March 16.

The show is open to all members of the public, with trophies and £160 in garden vouchers available to win for best exhibits. Entry is free, and of the public are encouraged to check the handbook (available online, or from the show manager) for a list of categories to enter. Categories cover daffodils, seasonal blooms, jams and baked goods, and handicrafts.

There are also some fun categories for children who can also win a £20 toy shop voucher and a trophy! Why not give it a go?

The society offers a warm welcome to new members who can enjoy monthly meetings, social events, outings and RHS discounts.

For more information and entry forms, please visit verwoodhorticulturalsociety. co.uk or call Ollie on 07508 577114.

Oliver Greensmith

Verwood

A busy time for ‘bees’ club

Busy Bees Gardening Club enjoyed an illustrated talk by Mike Read about the wildlife of the Blashford Lakes. The Flower of the Month competition was won by a pink camelia from Valentina Bladen. The club’s annual plant sale is on Saturday, May 11, outside the Canford Heath Library. Our next meeting is at Canford Heath Library on Thursday,

March 14, at 7pm.

We will welcome Rita Powner from a local Bat Rescue. Busy Bees is a small, friendly club. We meet on the second Thursday of each month and welcome new faces, first visit is free.

Please call Fay on 01202 685595 or Angie on 07434 721811.

Marion Martin

Canford

Support our bathing campaign

little publicity so I doubt if most people know it exists!

If you want to discover and explore Access Land near you, visit the Dorset Explorer website and, by juggling your way through it, click on ‘Countryside’ and scroll down to Rights of Way.

Click on that and then on the various types of Access Land: Dedicated, Open, Common and Village Greens. Then get out and explore it!

Chris Slade

Maiden Newton

Fordingbridge Avon Bathers (FAB), a community group in Fordingbridge, has been campaigning since April 2023 for our section of river to be recognised as an official bathing water. Defra announced on February 26 that the site has been shortlisted to be considered as one of their newly designated inland bathing water sites, subject to the results for a two-week consultation period. The Avon at Fordingbridge Recreation Ground is a vital resource for the town, and is incredibly popular with swimmers and children

paddling and playing in the river.

The consultation runs until Sunday, March 10, and anyone can complete the consultation at consult.defra.gov.uk/water/ consultation-on-designation-of27-sites-as-bathing/.

Derek Ayling

Fordingbridge

Correct date for MS centre fair

I must apologise to readers of my letter in the New Stour & Avon.

The date of the MS Centre’s Spring Fair should have read Saturday, March 16, from

to 2.00pm at the MS Centre, Church Lane, West Parley, BH22 8TS. Please come along and support our centre.

Laura Webber

MS Centre

High-flier Mandy at fundraiser

Lewis-Manning Hospice Care hosted ‘An Audience With...’ fundraising event at Parkstone Yacht Club in Poole, with former Royal Air Force Jet Fighter Pilot Mandy Hickson.

This was the third in a programme of sell-out events that are being run by the local hospice charity.

Mandy has more than 30 years’ experience within aviation, having joined the RAF in 1994. She shared her incredible and inspirational journey to becoming a pioneering female fighter pilot and gave great insight, with much passion and humour, into the mindset of the world in which she moved.

Inspired by her grandfather who was a pilot in the Second World War, Mandy took the audience from her time as a schoolgirl with pipe dreams to fly, overcoming resistance to females flying in the RAF through her drive and tenacity, to the actual reality of achieving her ambitions, eventually flying the Tornado GR4, right, on the front line, battling in hostile environments, including patrolling the No Fly zone over Iraq. Her philosophy in life was clear ‘Dream it, Believe it, Do it!’

Mandy spoke about the camaraderie of the forces, the incredible culture and the cohesive spirit that serving in the military gives you. She shared advice and wisdom; “Control the controllables and if you can’t, let it go.”

Focus in on photo comp

It’s time for amateur photographers to click into action. For the first time, the Gillingham & Shaftesbury Spring Show, on Saturday and Sunday, April 20 and 21, is hosting a photographic exhibition.

The entries will be judged by award-winning North Dorset landscape photographer Charlie Waite.

Cat Harris, show organiser, said: “We’re so excited to launch this competition and it’s such an honour to have one of the world’s leading landscape photographers as judge.

“Whether you’re a budding photographer or have been capturing moments for years, we encourage you to join in. This is a fantastic opportunity for amateur photographers of all ages to showcase their talent!”

Charlie will be giving a free talk to share his top tips on landscape photography.

To compete, entry is £3 for each photograph. Entries close Friday, April 5.

To enter the competition, visit springcountryside show.co.uk.

Warren Munson from Evolve then took to the floor and expertly compered a stream of questions from the engaged audience.

n Mandy Hickson, centre, with Warren Munson and Lewis-Manning CEO, Clare Gallie

Bikes galore at Charterhouse

There are 150 motorbikes being sold by Charterhouse at the Haynes Motor Museum on Thursday, March 14.

“The market for motorcycles remains strong and we have bikes entered into the auction from across England,” said Richard Bromell of Charterhouse.

The machines date from a 1912 Humber through to modern sports bikes, including a 2004 Ducati 998 Matrix Reloaded. With estimates from £500 to £60,000, there is something for every enthusiast.

Viewing details, lot listings and live internet bidding is available on charterhouse-auction.com. Charterhouse are now accepting entries for their forthcoming specialist auctions of automobilia & enamel signs,

sporting items, pictures, watches and Asian art.

Dinky, Triang, Spot-On, Corgi, Subbuteo, Britains, Timpo plus plus plus

Contacted the Long Street Salerooms, Sherborne, 01935 812277 or rb@charterhouseauction.com.

Cooking... with Martha Legg

Food & Drink Tray Bake Cookies

Those who have been reading my column will know that my husband is quite anti-social! Because of this, most of our friends and families, give us a call to let us know they are popping in!

Being the hostess that I am, (joke!), I like to make sure that I can offer guests something to eat. I came across this recipe and decided to try it out before some of our friends came over.

Once the basic dough has been made, you can add anything to the mix, I guess it depends on what you have in your store cupboard!

The cookies are quick and easy to make in a mixer, and then just divide the dough up and add the flavouring.

I think I might let my grandchildren have a go next time they are over!

It could be a mistake as I am not sure what flavours they would come up with but it will be interesting!

Ingredients

BASIC COOKIE DOUGH

250g soft butter

115g light brown sugar

115g granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 medium egg

300g plain flour

½ tsp sea salt flakes

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

CHOCOLATE CHIP:

1 tsp cocoa powder

30g dark chocolate chips

30g milk chocolate chips

WHITE CHOCOLATE:

50g white chocolate chips

MIXED FRUIT:

50g mixed fruit

25g walnuts chopped

FOR GINGER:

Ginger powder to taste or some crysalised ginger

Method: Preheat the oven to 180C, fan 160C, gas 4,

and grease and line a 23 x 33cm baking tray. Beat the butter, sugars and vanilla together until pale and fluffy.

Beat in the egg, then add the flour, sea salt and bicarbonate of soda.

Mix until just combined.

Divide into four evenly-sized portions.

1st Portion: Add the cocoa powder and knead through the dough, add the chocolate chips. Put the dough in one corner of the prepared tray and press down until it fills roughly a quarter of the tray

2nd Portion: Add white chocolate chips, then press it into the tray beside the chocolate portion, pressing down until it fills another quarter o f the tray

3rd Portion: Add the mixed fruit and walnuts and knead through the dough before putting in the tray

4th Portion: finally the ginger, fold through the dough before pressing in the tray

Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until golden and set. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tray for 5 minutes, then score into 24 squares. Leave to cool completely before removing the cookies with a palette knife.

TO STORE

The cookies will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container.

Spring at Salamander

and chance to see some new Le Creuset products and some tips to make the most of these iconic products. We also have some very special offers and a Le Creuset Prize draw on the night too.

Food Walk Wednesday, April 24, 9.30am-noon

Salamander’s popular food walk returns when David will take you on a tasting tour of the town visiting at least five local artisan food shops and cafes. It will begin with a welcome tea or local coffee at Salamander.

Tickets are for each event are £10 per person or £15 for two. Call in or telephone to reserve your place.

STAYCATION

ALL ABOARD!

Heathside Travel is an award-winning, family-run coach company based in Ferndown, offering day excursions, UK & continental holidays, and private coach hire. There is an array of fantastic trips available for 2024, from short Lunch Club trips to local venues for a two course meal, to trips to the stunning bulbfields of Holland with a chance to see millions of spring bulbs at Keukenhof Gardens. Holidays are accompanied by a guide who will look after you during the whole trip, and quality hotels are selected to ensure a comfortable and relaxing stay. Pick up points are available in Ringwood, Verwood, West Moors, Ferndown and Wimborne (plus Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole for holidays) and luxurious, modern coaches ensure a comfortable journey.

Heathside Travel are also proud winners of the 2023 routeOne Award for Small Coach Operator of the Year – so you will be travelling with the best in the UK!

HIGH ST, CHRISTCHURCH (01202) 499199

www.theregent.co.uk

Sun 10 Mar: 19:30

The definitive insight into the real life of the Kray Twins, from their trusted official biographer Fred Dineage.

POOR THINGS (18)

Mon 11 Mar: 10:30 (Silver Screen) | Sat 16 Mar: 16:00 Nominated for 11 Oscars, including Best Picture.

BARBIE (12A)

Mon 11 Mar: 13:45 | Sat 16 Mar: 13:00 Nominated for 8 Oscars, including Best Picture.

THE HOLDOVERS (15)

Mon 11 Mar: 16:30 | Thu 14 Mar: 13:00 Nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture OPPENHEIMER (15)

Mon 11 Mar: 19:30 | Wed 12 Mar: 13:00 Nominated for 13 Oscars, including Best Picture

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (15)

Tue 12 Mar: 12:00 | Thu 14 Mar: 19:00 Nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture MAESTRO (15)

Tue 12 Mar: 16:15 Nominated for 7 Oscars, including Best Picture

HAMLET STARRING IAN MCKELLEN (12A)

Tue 12 Mar: 19:30

Shakespeare’s classic tragedy is reimagined for the modern day as a gripping psychological thriller.

REGENT COMEDY CLUB WITH RED RICHARDSON (LIVE)

Wed 13 Mar: 19:30

Red Richardson is one of the UK’s most exciting stand-up comedians. Plus full supporting line-up.

PAST LIVES (12A)

Thu 14 Mar: 16:15 Nominated for 2 Oscars, including Best Picture

ESSENTIALLY CHER (LIVE)

Fri 15 Mar: 19:30

Get ready to Turn back Time with the most authentic and exciting Cher experience!

OSCARS BEST PICTURE WINNER

Sat 16 Mar: 19:30

To round of our Awards Season of films, we’re hosting a special screening of whichever film wins Best Picture.

EXCITING SCIENCE (LIVE)

Sun 17 Mar: 11:30

Get ready to Turn back Time with the most authentic and exciting Cher experience!

More people are now discovering what an amazing country we live in, there are so many beautiful sights and activities to see and things to do right on the doorstep. Forgoing a holiday abroad means you can explore your local area a little more or stay in a place you’ve always wanted to visit in the UK. It’s a nation steeped in history and culture and regardless of the weather, you can have a truly amazing time.

Political round-up

Relief as Reef develoment plan bites the dust

It is a great relief to residents in St Leonards and St Ives to know that, after many years of uncertainty, the proposed surf reef development at Brocks Pine will not now proceed. The application process, however, has taken far too long and disrupted so many lives unnecessarily.

It began in 2021 with a memorandum of understanding signed by a senior council officer between the council and the planning applicant, W H White Ltd.

Despite having never been approved by any elected councillors, that memorandum operated as a brake upon the ability of the council to oppose the development despite it being an unwanted, unnecessary and inappropriate incursion into the Green Belt with serious implications for road safety, traffic congestion and nature conservation.

The planning officer who signed

Christchurch & East Dorset CHRIS CHOPE MP

the memorandum has now left the council’s employment as has the officer who was in charge of the council’s response to the application on planning grounds.

As the original application was not decided by the council in time, the applicant was able to appeal on the grounds of

non-determination.

That resulted in November’s public inquiry at which I and local residents gave evidence. Although the decision of the Inspector to allow the appeal was extraordinary in that she decided that the inappropriate development in the Green Belt was outweighed by other considerations, the council has at last made it clear that it will not sell or release the land which it owns at Avon Heath Country Park and which would be required by the developer to make the surf reef a reality. All’s well that ends well but never again should the interests of local residents be compromised by secret deals between council officers and developers.

My Private Member’s Bill to incentivise local councils to improve the quality of our roads and address the scourge of potholes has been published. It restricts the defences which

councils can use to prevent motorists claiming for damage and injury caused by the neglect of highway maintenance.

The Bill will encourage councils to pay greater attention to their legal obligation to maintain the public highway. My Bill coincides with the shocking revelation by the RAC that, according to official figures, BCP Council last year only carried out maintenance on 1.4% or 11 miles of the 790 miles of road for which it is responsible.

BCP failed to carry out any preservation work (surface dressing) on its A roads and only nine miles on its minor roads.

At a time when council taxes are at their highest ever, it is an outrage that BCP Council seems blind to the needs not only of motorists but also of pedestrians and cyclists who are equally vulnerable to pothole damage.

Housing in Dorset – looking forward to May

There is a housing emergency in Dorset caused by a failure of local and national housing policy over the last 14 years.

Dorset has around 4,500 households on the housing register, and more than 300 households in costly temporary accommodation.

Around 40% of Dorset wages are low wages.

In the Dorset Council and BCP Council (next door) areas, more than 5,000 homes are second homes, holiday lets, or just left empty.

The answer to this is not to turn the situation into a ‘cash cow’ for the council by simply introducing a council tax premium on second homes, but to find ways to discourage it. House prices are 10-12 times a typical salary for the area, meaning many people here can’t afford to buy their own home. Families and young people feel they have to move away from the communities they grew up in to find

somewhere they can afford to live.

So called ‘affordable housing’ is nothing of the sort because rent prices are tied to house prices and demand for rental home greatly outstrips supply.

The Government definition of ‘affordable’ is ‘80% of the market rent’, while the local housing allowance is set by averaging the lowest third of local rents.

This means that most actual rents are much higher than the housing allowance and tenants with low incomes must find the difference.

This pushes up homelessness and creates rough sleeping. Housing inequality is changing the population make-up of Dorset and damaging the viability of local services and businesses. At current rates we can expect well over half of the population to be over 65 within the next 10-20 years.

Those who are elected this coming May to be Labour

councillors will seek to ensure that Dorset Council:

l Recognises that good housing is a universal right and produces a new housing strategy within that context

l Works with the incoming Labour government to enable Dorset Council to build more council homes through a different funding process

l Significantly increases the proportion of new homes for social rent for local residents

l Supports community-led and co-operative housing programmes

l Works with the incoming Labour government to strengthen restraints and restrictions on second homes and Airbnb where local housing need has not been met

l Acknowledges that the private rented sector currently provides much of the non-owneroccupied housing in Dorset and work with the local branch of the National Residential Landlords Association towards raising and enforcing standards in the private rented sector

l Reviews the council’s homelessness policies, the homeless and the housing advice service to ensure that they provide fair, humane and supportive practices that includes the quality and location of temporary accommodation.

Dorset Labour GERALD DAVIES

Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher

We must listen to young people’s opinions

This week, a special event is taking place in Dorset. It is a community version of TED Talks (Technology, Entertainment, Design), and it is happening in Shaftesbury featuring Grace from Poole talking on youth engagement. Last week, I was delighted to listen to a sneak preview as she practiced.

TED began in 1984 and has since become an online phenomenon offering short, inspirational lectures on every topic imaginable.

In her talk, Grace explores the need to communicate differently and consider the world in a more collegiate way if we are going to inspire the next generation to take part in democracy. Young people have always been attracted by issue-based politics – for me it was animal testing and apartheid in South Africa –but today’s concerns feel more

formal politics is diminishing with every decade that passes. It is not that they are not interested - quite the opposite. I have found they want more information, in different formats and from trusted sources. And if they cannot get this, they will not take part, rather than make an illinformed decision - and for that I

want permission to share their views in ways that make sense to them, and they want people to listen - not dismiss them because of their age.

She put it so eloquently, describing a 2050 with an icefree summer in the arctic. Noting that it’s HER generation that must deal with the crisis, why shouldn’t we listen to them now?

These are the adults of the 2030s, our decisions will change their lives for decades.

If schools do not give children the skills to alter their job or whole career several times or to deal with AI and automation then we will all be the worse for it. If we do not adapt how communities function to reflect the changing ways we live, work and shop, sticking with an idealised view of the past, we will all lose out.

All voters – but especially younger voters – need to be

People are disillusioned. They tell us voting is pointless because nothing changes, but that is because we are at rock-bottom. We must choose change. We need fresh energy in Parliament, choosing MPs who have experience - of bringing up a family on tight budgets, of running businesses through recession, of nursing family members through illness, of fighting for people in crisis.

Voters need to know that the 650 MPs that occupy the green benches are representing them, as champion of their communities.

With them in charge, our country can rebuild for a fairer future. As we move towards an election, those of us who seek a place on those benches in Parliament need to listen to the electorate, but also to tomorrow’s electorate - and we must ensure that their concerns can be seen in the

Dorset Lib-Dems VIKKI SLADE

Quick Wins for Adding Value Before Selling

1 REDECORATE

Redecorating is the most popular home improvement and adding a lick of paint can be done at a relatively low cost. Neutral colours are most appealing to house buyers and can go a long way to giving your home a new lease of life, so do not be afraid to pick up the paintbrush.

2 FIX SUPERFICIAL DEFECTS

While unlikely to be the clinching factor in a house sale, small problems and defects can create an impression of a house being run down or not well cared for. Bigger issues (like damp) should not be covered up as they will show on a survey and come back to haunt you later on.

• Peeling paint

• Dirty walls, especially near door frames & light switches

• Dripping taps

• Mouldy sealant in kitchens or bathrooms

• Limescale build-up

• Broken lightbulbs

3 THE FRONT DOOR

First impressions count and the front door of your home can say a lot about the rest of the house to rst-time viewers. If you cannot a ord to replace the door, make sure it looks new by giving it a power wash or fresh coat of paint. Even a new doorknob, house number or name plaque can help. Try to make your front door look smarter than your neighbours’ to help your property stand out.

4 DECLUTTER

Never underestimate a tidy, clean room and pay special attention to high-impact rooms such as the kitchen and bathroom. You should also consider whether there’s too much furniture in each room as it can make the property feel smaller.

Photo: David Pisnoy on Unsplash

5

If you’re not at home, preset the heating to come on ahead of a

scheduled viewing. Potential buyers will want to know that your central heating works well and feel comfortable in your home if it’s cold outside. Good lighting will also be essential on a drab day so having lamps on in dark corners will help. It’s better for the viewing to take place in daylight but if a potential buyer is coming a er dark then turn any outside lights on.

6 GARDEN APPEAL

If you have a front garden, spend a little time sprucing it up. A few plant pots and a clear pathway can make the front of your house more appealing helping with the rst impressions.

Quick Wins

in association with

Out the back a well-designed garden can add a great deal of value, it should feel like an extra space for entertaining or relaxing, rather than an expanse of grass. It’s essential to trim borders, clear pathways and cut back any overgrown trees or bushes, particularly if they block direct sunlight into the property. An area of decking creates a sense of bigger usable living space and three per cent of homes sold in 2019 were even

Welcome to RFM Windows

personal and unpressurised, friendly approach. Combining this with the highest quality products, professional design and installation service. Since our start in March 2007, we’ve been committed to providing the New Forest area with exceptional products and service, steadily expanding our reach and reputation. From our Verwood showroom, we proudly showcase a innovations. As authorized suppliers of the esteemed Liniar Brand of UPVC windows and doors, we assure you of unmatched quality and reliability.

ensuring we cater to all your home improvement needs. Our experienced team is dedicated to delivering the highest standards of professionalism and expertise. Choosing RFM Windows means choosing value, style, and peace

that your investment will endure, providing years of style, warmth, and security for your home.

Whether you’re considering a minor upgrade or a complete renovation, showroom or reach out to us today, and let us help you elevate the look and feel of your home.

found to have a summerhouse in the garden, giving owners more space to relax and entertain in the brighter weather.

7 CREATE A DRIVEWAY OR OFF-ROAD PARKING

In some areas of the country, the ability to park close to your front door comes at a huge premium and therefore, if you have the room to add o -street parking, you are sure to increase value.

8 LOOK SMART AND BE ENERGY EFFICIENT

Smart home technologies are increasingly important to buyers - just advertising the could be enough to encourage buyers. Statement systems like multi-room music

Double glazing will also help retain heat (and keep noise out). Smart technology such as Hive, which gives mobile control over heating systems, is a feature worth considering. If a home improvement moves up a band it could add thousands to the sale price!

9 MAKEOVER THE KITCHEN

Photo: Vivint Solar on Unsplash

Photo: Spacejoy on Unsplash

Quick Wins

Economic, effective, environmentally friendly & sustainable heating for your home

Here at Holt Plumbing, Heating & Renewables we are experts in renewable energy, with over 20 years of experience installing systems throughout Dorset and Hampshire. Our services include Solar PV, battery storage, air source heat pumps as well as ground source heat pumps. We take care of your project every step of the way. We design the system that will be most suitable for your energy needs, we supply the products and materials at competitive prices to suit your budget, we then install the system with meticulous attention to detail and respect for your home or property. Incorporating heat pump technology into your home is one of the most economical, effective, and environmentally friendly ways to cover your heating and hot water needs. Heat pumps use sustainable energy to generate heating and hot water for your home. With low running costs your household energy bills are reduced, it also removes the need for fuel to be delivered and stored at home; a common problem for homes that are in off-gas areas and rely on alternative fuels. They operate using electricity (including from alternative sources such as solar power) and produce no emissions, making them much more environmentally friendly than traditional heating systems. Being MCS registered is a mark of quality. Using the Holt team as your certified installer ensures that equipment meets good standards of performance and that installers are technically safe and competent. This means you as a consumer can take advantage of the Government’s £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS).

Get in touch today for more information: 07340 259903 or visit holtplumbingandheating.co.uk

CUSTOM CREATIONS

At Custom Creations, by combining over 45 years’ experience and knowledge of bespoke furniture with modern techniques, our Verwood showroom has examples of our vast range of colours and designs to suit all homes and tastes and a warm welcome is extended to all our Customers who wish to visit. As a family run business, our Designers spend as much time as you require on developing your design and working with you from start to nish on your furniture projects. We o er storage solutions for all sizes and shapes of rooms. We o er a free, no-obligation design appointment with one of our Designers who will go through your requirements, whilst o ering advice and recommendations, ensuring you get the most out of your space. Your furniture will be made by our team of joiners at our Verwood workshop. Our professional in-house tters will then install your furniture with the utmost care and attention to detail. If you have any queries or would like to arrange a Design visit, you can call us on 01202 823231 or email us at o ce@customcreations.furniture.

Dad celebrates more than six-stone weight loss

Julian King is all smiles after having lost an impressive six and a half stone, resulting in him reversing his type 2 diabetes diagnosis, thanks to the 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan.

Julian, 47, said: “I’d reached 19st 7lb and my health was in such a bad way. I made it my New Year’s resolution to get my life back on track – not only for me, but also my wife and children. I signed up for the 1:1 Diet in January 2021 and haven’t looked back since.”

Julian started with the help of his local consultant alongside his wife, Maria, who also joined the plan.

“I found the 1:1 Diet so easy to follow and as soon as I started losing the weight, it gave me more motivation to continue towards my goals.

“I was able to consistently lose a stone a month for six months.

“After just three months on plan, I received some amazing news - I had managed to reverse the symptoms of all my previous diagnoses and I was absolutely over the moon.

“I couldn’t believe all the positive results that came from my weight loss.

“Not only had I lost weight and rectified my health, I also had increased energy levels, a better quality of sleep and I was so happy. “I had a new lust for life and I was so

excited to spend more time playing and looking after my kids. They’ve even commented how good it is to have me feeling good again.”

After losing such a large amount of weight, Julian decided to implement a fitness regime into his day-to-day life.

“I’ve taken up sports that I would never

have dreamed of doing, even extreme sports such as Spartan race and HYDROX. I train for around 12 hours a week – something I could never have done before starting on plan.

“Being on the 1:1 Diet has shown me just how unhealthy my life was before and how simple weight loss can be when following a low-calorie diet, with incredible support from a consultant.”

Inspired to start your own weight loss story?

l Contact Nicki Edwards - The Cambridge Lady - Based in Wimborne 07904 331589

What type of care do chiropractors do?

We’ve all heard the words ‘adjustment’ and ‘manipulation’ and have the classic Marmite response to the popping and clicking sounds that an adjustment makes. Some of us actively seek it out as we find it so satisfying, others find it scary or cringey. But did you know that’s only one small part of the many different types of treatment that chiropractors offer? Read more to find out what else we can do!

Acupuncture

That’s right! Most of our chiropractors are trained in medical acupuncture, also known as dry needling. Dry needling is an excellent form of gentle care and can treat a variety of muscular conditions such as tendinitis or muscle strains, as well as relieve the pain in more acute conditions such as a slipped disc or frozen shoulder.

Trigger point therapy

You know when you’re getting a sports massage and they hold those sore spots for several seconds? That is known as trigger point therapy. How trigger point therapy works is it helps to relax and ease muscle tension which both eases pain and will make the rest of the treatment more effective.

Activator Therapy

You know of this if you have seen or had it – but we also use a tool called an activator, a small, hand-sized tool which has a cushioned end that moves quickly with an impulse. We can adjust joints using this tool. It is gentler than our typical adjustments and doesn’t make a clicking or popping sound either.

Flexion distraction

This technique is a real fan favourite – and very effective for managing acute lower back pain.

We place parts of the bench up so your lower spine is open and flexed, then we use our hands to increase the stretch and lightly traction your lower back.

Traction

Another favourite of mine, traction is the technique where we lightly pull and open joints. We can do this on the neck, shoulders, lower back, hips, and ankles.

The pressure is light enough, so it doesn’t feel too stretchy, but strong enough to really feel and benefit from the release in pressure on the joints.

Mobilisation

Mobilisation is an extremely effective technique which we can use on almost every joint in the spine and the body. Chiropractors will specifically mobilise stiff joints in your spine which are very difficult to move yourself. This helps to loosen the joints and reduce pain and stiffness.

Diversified Adjustments

These adjustments are what we are known best for, and it is a technique where we use our hands to adjust specific joints in the body. By doing this we do several different things – such as reducing inflammation, increasing mobility, and reducing pain as mentioned above with the other techniques we offer. It is not the be all and end all, but if you are fit and healthy it is often a technique that will really benefit you!

We strive to give every patient the absolute best chiropractic and massage care , as well as providing outstanding customer service. We are a motivated team passionate about getting you better and enabling you to live a pain free life, getting you the best version for you

Conditions we can treat:

• Migraines

• Lower Back Pain

• Joint Pain

• Frozen Shoulder

• Tennis Elbow

• Neck Ache

•

Session Is £65

Attractions group announce hospice charity partnership

The Lemur Attractions Group, operators of Splashdown and Lemur Landings Play Centre, based at Tower Park in Poole, are thrilled to announce that they are supporting Forest Holme Hospice in 2024 as their charity partner of the year.

Forest Holme Hospice Charity, which is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary, was set up to ensure that everyone in the local community affected by lifelimiting illness or bereavement gets the care and support they need, either at home or in its dedicated hospice facility. Voted for by employees at both sites, the team are looking forward to raising awareness and additional funds for the hospice over the next calendar year. Forest Holme community &

corporate fundraiser, Kirsty Perks, said:

“We are absolutely delighted to be Lemur’s chosen charity for 2024. “We are really excited about this new partnership and look forward to working together to raise vital funds and help ensure our team can deliver the highest level of care, when and where it counts.”

Speaking on behalf Lemur, marketing director Jackie Richmond said: “We are so happy to be supporting Forest Holme with all the crucial work they do for residents in the local area. Knowing there is a charity delivering such support in the hospice and out in the community is such an asset to the area. “We look forward to fundraising and helping them in any way we can.”

Home & Garden

Hannah’s horticulture...

Welcome to the monthly Q&A session!

Just one question this time, as I thought this one deserved a more in-depth response!

I want to grow more houseplants, but I don’t know what plants will be best? I’ve seen so many amazing Instagram posts of indoor jungles, but I really don’t know where to start!

Interior landscaping is definitely having its moment, and the trend is not likely to end soon, especially as more and more of us either have no or limited outdoor space. Growing houseplants can be a delightful and rewarding hobby, and the benefits to indoor air quality, and your health and wellbeing is really quite marked! It has been proven that plants improve mental health and productivity, so are also great for your home office as well as home. If you’re just starting out, it’s a good idea to begin with plants that are relatively easy to care for and can thrive in typical indoor conditions. Here are some

n ‘This rather stunning cacti was captured at the New Forest Cacti Society show

beginner-friendly houseplants to consider:

Snake Plant (Sansevieria): Snake plants are incredibly resilient and can tolerate low light and infrequent watering. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes,

making them a versatile addition to any indoor space.

Cacti: Cacti are adapted to arid, sunny environments and store water in their thick stems. This means they can go for relatively long periods without watering, making them perfect for forgetful or busy plant owners. Cacti are incredibly resilient to dry conditions and can tolerate

Hannah Hobbs-Chell is a horticulturist and garden designer/consultant.

If you have a question for her, email:hannah.hobbschell@ outlook.com including a picture if relevant

neglect better than many other houseplants. They’re ideal for environments with low humidity and brighter light conditions, and come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes to suit all space situations. Beware if you have young children or pets though, their spines require caution!

Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum): Spider plants are popular for their air-purifying qualities and easy care. They produce ‘spiderettes’ or baby plants that dangle from long stems, making them visually interesting.

Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum): Peace lilies have elegant white

Return of our Easter Fayre

FCS Easter Fayre returns on Saturday, March 23, with some eggscellent fun to be had, all whilst raising vital funds to support our work in East Dorset.

Last year hundreds of you came to see the Easter Bunny, enjoy homemade teas, cakes and hot dogs, shop for unique and special wares from our talented local craftspeople, and of course take part in our rather infamous raffle and tombola to name just a few activities!

This year, we’ve gone a step better – Miss Honey’s rescue guinea pigs will be there to show you what delightful characters they are for any age, our childrens craft room will be full of Easter crafts for children to make and take home, facepainting and glitter tattoos will dazzle us all, and Sarah our local author will be delighting the crowd with her free storytelling sessions.

Traditional games such as hook a duck, splat the rat, and teddy tombola return, as does our adult-only water or wine game stall! Please do come along and enjoy what promises to be a fabulous event for all, and help raise vital money to support the work we do in East Dorset for those most vulnerable whether through poverty, isolation or ill health.

flowers and lush, dark green leaves. They prefer moderate to low light and can indicate when they need water by drooping slightly, making them easy to care for.

Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica): Rubber plants have large, glossy leaves and can grow quite tall over time. They prefer bright, indirect light and need infrequent watering.

Chinese Money Plant (Pilea peperomioides): This plant has become increasingly popular for its unique pancake-shaped leaves. It prefers bright, indirect light and regular watering.

When choosing plants for your indoor jungle, consider factors such as the amount of light your space receives, your schedule for watering and maintenance, and any preferences you have for particular plant features or aesthetics. Pots and staging make a difference too, and if you study some of the instagram posts you can break down the elements that make the ‘plantscaping’ so successful. Use pots in keeping with your colour scheme to blend in and co-ordinate, or opt for bright contrasting colours if you want a more jazzy feel. Unfortunately, indoor pots are not that cheap, but you can repurpose pots even if they are the wrong colour with spray paint. Of course you can also grow edibles indoors too, herbs, microgreens, salad leaves and shoots all work brilliantly indoors, and you get the added bonus of being able to munch on your hard work! Happy planting!

Wimborne B.I.D

Events in association with... www.wimborne.info

HIGH ST, CHRISTCHURCH (01202) 499199

Film festival break for theatre group

Millstream Theatre’s film

Searching For Echo has been selected to show at the Oska Bright Film Festival (of learning disabled artists) at the Brighton Dome on Tuesday, March 12. The film was made as part of a joint theatre project with Wimborne Community Theatre, Ways Of Seeing, which took place around the Museum of East Dorset (where Millstream Theatre is based) and focused on several of the museum’s key objects, including the fresco found in excavations at the Roman Villa at Tarrant Hinton in the late 1960s.

Searching For Echo is based on Ovid’s Greek Myth, Echo And Narcissus and devised by Millstream Theatre, with directors Tam Gilbert and Tony Horitz. The film explores what happens when people feel unheard and unaccepted by their community.

Millstream Theatre - a company

of adult performers with learning disabilities - is planning to go to the festival to see the premier of their film.

Funding has been received from Wimborne and Ferndown Lions Club and Corfe Mullen Carnival, however, more is needed to help with transport and accommodation for the whole

Although it is not currently a legal requirement, please consider wearing a face covering

“Hot-

www.theregent.co.uk

NAPOLEON (15)

Fri 12 Jan: 12:30, 16:00 | Mon 15 Jan: 19:30 | Tue 16 Jan: 12:30, 16:00 | Thu 18 Jan: 13:30, 19:30

Sir Ridley Scott directs Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix in this stunning historical epic that begs to be experienced on the big screen.

meet some really great people along the way” – said Josh, a Millstream member.

WHAT HAPPENS LATER (15)

Fri 12 Jan: 19:30 | Sun 14 Jan: 19:30 | Mon 15 Jan: 14:00 (S) | Tue 16 Jan: 19:30 | Thu 18 Jan: 17:00

“Please support our dream of seeing our very own feature film in its premier, a reality!

snowed in, in-transit, at an airport overnight. Starring Meg Ryan. WONKA (PG)

Sun 14 Jan: 13:30, 16:30 | Sun 21 Jan: 17:00

“We have a very exciting opportunity and we’re really hoping you can help us to achieve it,”added Shaine, another member

BOLAN’S SHOES (15)

Mon 15 Jan: 10:30 (Silver Screen)

FERRARI (15)

If you would like to help with fundraising, please read more about the project, here: gofund. me/987cc09f.

Sat 20 Jan: 14:00, 17:00 | Sun 21 Jan: 14:00, 20:00 | Mon 22 Jan: 20:00 | Tue 23 Jan:

KEN RUSSELL’S GOTHIC (18)

group and their support workers.

Sat 20 Jan: 20:30 [35mm]

“I think Millstream is important and worth funding because everything undertaken is of a professional standard and it gives people of a disadvantaged background in our community the opportunity to get involved with some exciting projects and you get the opportunity to

THE MIRACLE CLUB (12A)

Mon 22 Jan: 10:30 (Silver Screen)

ANYONE BUT YOU (15)

Mon 22 Jan: 14:30, 17:30 | Tue 23 Jan: 14:30, 17:30

HIGHCLIFFE CHARITY PLAYERS PRESENT: ROBIN HOOD (LIVE)

Fri 26 Jan: 19:30 Sat 27 Jan: 11:00, 14:00, 18:00 Sun 28 Jan: 14:00, 18:00

Searching For Echo was filmed and edited by Alastair Nisbet. Millstream is now working on its next project, In Harmony - A Cabaret, a multi-disciplinary production, set in a community café which explores the themes of belonging, friendships, and an acceptance of diversity. For more information about Millstream contact Tam Gilbert at tam@persuasionarts.co.uk.

THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER (12A)

BACK TO BACHARACH

PLEASE

Welcoming back the fabulous Korean soprano Elena Dee, Ukrainian soprano Alyona Kistenyova and Ukrainian mezzo-soprano’s Natalia Matveeva and Irina Sproglis†

With an exquisite Japanese Garden and spectacular costumes including antique wedding kimonos from Japan.

Sung in Italian with English surtitles.

Senbla presents Opera International’s award-winning Ellen Kent productions featuring the Ukrainian Opera & Ballet Theatre Kyiv, with international soloists, highly-praised chorus and full orchestra

Arts, entertainment, what’s

For the first time in the town, more than 600 members of the English Civil War Society (ECWS) will be re-enacting ‘The Battle for Wimborne’ from May 25 to 27.

The town will come alive with Royalist and Parliamentary foot soldiers and cavalry plus a military camp will be set up at Julians Bridge. Think Hollywood epic with spectacular costumes, artillery and horses galloping. Royalist Wimborne was locked in a struggle with Roundhead Poole with many skirmishes in the countryside between the two

towns. There will be two large reenactment battles on Sunday and Monday, May 26 and 27 when the Roundheads from Poole will once again march to clear Wimborne of its Royalist troops. But which side will you be routing for?

Wimborne B.I.D

in association with... www.wimborne.info

HIGH ST, CHRISTCHURCH (01202) 499199

www.theregent.co.uk

The Minster Green will also be a sight for action as the riot that broke out in Wimborne Minster church, causing the Earl of Shaftesbury to send in troops is brought to life once more along with drum workshops and many other exciting scenarios. Specialising in ‘Bringing History Alive’ with ‘Living History’ there will be interactive displays

depicting aspects of life in the 17th Century including basket making, weaving, dyeing, food preparation, music, printing, writing, needlework, embroidery, woodturning and paper making. You may even get advice from an ancient apothecary, discuss battle scars with a surgeon or bump into a busybody laundry woman! There will be an exhibition at The Museum of East Dorset ‘From Revolt to Rebellion’telling the story of Wimborne from the Civil War, through the

NAPOLEON (15)

Fri 12 Jan: 12:30, 16:00 | Mon 15 Jan: 19:30 | Tue 16 Jan: 12:30, 16:00 | Thu 18 Jan: 13:30, 19:30

Sir Ridley Scott directs Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix in this stunning historical epic that begs to be experienced on the big screen.

WHAT HAPPENS LATER (15)

Fri 12 Jan: 19:30 | Sun 14 Jan: 19:30 | Mon 15 Jan: 14:00 (S) | Tue 16 Jan: 19:30 | Thu 18 Jan: 17:00

snowed in, in-transit, at an airport overnight. Starring Meg Ryan. WONKA (PG)

Sun 14 Jan: 13:30, 16:30 | Sun 21 Jan: 17:00

BOLAN’S SHOES (15)

Mon 15 Jan: 10:30 (Silver Screen)

Restoration and finally the Monmouth Rebellion, ably portrayed by the town’s own Militia who will be celebrating their 25th anniversary with a special event in September. There will also be a historical talk at Allendale House on May 16 by Haydn Wheeler about Clubmen 1645, local people who rose up to protest about the devastation of their homes and livelihoods caused by the Civil War. Visit wimborne.info/business/ wimborne-bid.

FERRARI (15)

Sat 20 Jan: 14:00, 17:00 | Sun 21 Jan: 14:00, 20:00 | Mon 22 Jan: 20:00 | Tue 23 Jan: 20:00

KEN RUSSELL’S GOTHIC (18)

Sat 20 Jan: 20:30 [35mm]

THE MIRACLE CLUB (12A)

Mon 22 Jan: 10:30 (Silver Screen)

ANYONE BUT YOU (15)

Mon 22 Jan: 14:30, 17:30 | Tue 23 Jan: 14:30, 17:30

Learn about the landscape of Paul Nash

A lecture about the relationship between the surrealist painter, Paul Nash and the landscape of Dorset is taking place at Dorchester Museum later this spring.

Dorset exercised a powerful hold on Nash, fuelling his imagination and enriching his paintings, photographs, and writing. He thought of Dorset,

and the Island of Purbeck in particular, as an ancient and mythical landscape ‘overcast by a noble melancholy’, a place strewn with memorable motifs and deeply enriched by ‘the burden of its extraordinary inheritance.’

Although it is not currently a legal requirement, please consider wearing a face covering to protect yourself and others when visiting the Tivoli. RAVE

The illustrated lecture explores more than 80 artworks created from the

by Lorraine Gibson

Never mind Jack ‘the Hat’, it’s Fred ‘the News’ who wants to ‘ave a word wiv you about a couple of gangsters.

Treasured TV presenter, Fred Dinenage may look unassuming in his well-ironed shirt and natty tie, but he has some pretty juicy inside information on Britain’s most infamous crime duo, the Kray twins. Dinenage and deadly gangsters don’t seem like natural bedfellows, yet the telly stalwart –presenter of shows like How, Gambit and Meridian Tonight - was chosen by the terrible twosome to write their life story.

Saturday 13th January

Friday

ELO EXPERIENCE

An offer he couldn’t, or daren’t, refuse, the result was the Krays’ book, Our Story. During the process, Fred was one of the very few people allowed into the inner circle of the violent twins’, gaining unparalleled insight into the lives of the ‘kings of crime’.

Friday 19th January 7.30pm Tickets

As their trusted official biographer, the book’s a definitive delve into the lives of the notorious siblings, feared for decades and still regarded

HIGHCLIFFE CHARITY PLAYERS PRESENT: ROBIN HOOD (LIVE)

mid-1930s until Nash’s death in 1946.

BRILLIANT EVENTS TAKING PLACE IN WIMBORNE IN 2024

13th FEBRUARY

Wimborne Minster Pancake Race

APRIL

They range from ancient places such as Maiden Castle and Badbury Rings to the limestone promontories and fossilised forests on the Purbeck coast.

The lecture is at the Victorian Hall of Dorchester Museum on Thursday, May 16, at 7pm.

How Fred became dodgy duo’s confidante

Discover Wimborne

4th MAY

The First Ever Wimborne Plein Air

6th MAY

South of England Town Crier Competition

25th - 27th MAY

as the ultimate criminal gang lords of London’s underworld.

Their reign of terror crashed to an end, however when in 1969 both Ronnie and Reggie Kray received life sentences at the Old Bailey. Reggie served years in some of the country’s toughest prisons, while Ronnie became a patient at Broadmoor, his mental health issues controlled by ‘massive doses of drugs’.

SOLD OUT

Wednesday 17th January 7.30pm

Now Fred’s ready to spill the beans in a show where he reveals stories and situations never previously in the public domain. Join him as he reveals what it was like to visit some of Britain’s harshest institutions and meet the most foreboding twins in criminal history - a deadly duo other journalists couldn’t get close to.

Hear stories that take you into the gritty reality of this pitiless pair in the lawless underworld of the swinging ’60s - from the only man they trusted to tell them to.

Regent, Christchurch, Sunday, March 10, 7.30pm. www.theregent.co.uk.

£25

The Battle For WimborneA Festival By The English Civil War Society

6th JUNE

D-Day 80th Anniversary

7th - 9th JUNE

Wimborne Minster Folk Festival

Thursday 18th January 7.30pm Tickets £20.50

6th - 8th SEPTEMBER

25th Anniversary Celebration of Wimborne Militia

14th SEPTEMBER

Wimborne Food Festival

Keep checking https://wimborne.info/ upcoing-events/ for the latest Wimborne events Calendar.

Here’s what the Romans did for us...

Why did Roman soldiers come to Wimborne, and what was their life like?

Find out more, and see replicas of their equipment, at a talk by John Smith at Wimborne Library on Saturday, March 23, at 2pm.

Refreshments will be available from 1.30pm and the talk, organised by the Friends of Wimborne Library, is free and suitable for adults and schoolage children.

Space is limited so book a place through the library.

The Friends of the Library raise funds to support the library’s activities, liaise with Dorset Council on behalf of users, and organises social events for members and others.

For more information, contact the library or Rosalind Jensen (chairman of the Friends) at rjensen@btinternet.com.

Artists invited to take part in studios event

Look to the skies this Easter

If you have an interest in the stars, planets or astronomy why not take part in Cranborne Chase National Landscape’s family friendly ‘StarFest 2024’?

This three-day event will celebrate International Dark Sky Week through a range of activities, encouraging everyone to get involved in preserving our dark skies.

Taking place from Tuesday to Thursday, April 2 to 4, in the Allendale Centre, Wimborne, there is a range of sessions for everyone to enjoy:

HIGH ST, CHRISTCHURCH (01202) 499199 www.theregent.co.uk

Drop-in arts and craft activities

Drop-in dark sky advice sessions

NAPOLEON (15)

helping them to promote and benefit from our dark skies.

Fri 12 Jan: 12:30, 16:00 | Mon 15 Jan: 19:30 | Tue 16 Jan: 12:30, 16:00 | Thu 18 Jan: 13:30, 19:30

Sir Ridley Scott directs Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix in this stunning historical epic that begs to be experienced on the big screen.

WHAT HAPPENS LATER (15)

Fri 12 Jan: 19:30 | Sun 14 Jan: 19:30 | Mon 15 Jan: 14:00 (S) | Tue 16 Jan: 19:30 | Thu 18 Jan: 17:00

Presented remotely by astronomer Richard Darn, who will share his experience of working with businesses,

snowed in, in-transit, at an airport overnight. Starring Meg Ryan. WONKA (PG)

Sun 14 Jan: 13:30, 16:30 | Sun 21 Jan: 17:00

BOLAN’S SHOES (15)

Mon 15 Jan: 10:30 (Silver Screen)

FERRARI (15)

Cranborne Chase National Landscape’s Dark Sky Adviser Steve Tonkin will be on hand to demonstrate a range of equipment and the simple measures you can take to make your business more dark-sky friendly.

Sat 20 Jan: 14:00, 17:00 | Sun 21 Jan: 14:00, 20:00 | Mon 22 Jan: 20:00 | Tue 23 Jan: 20:00

KEN RUSSELL’S GOTHIC (18)

Sat 20 Jan: 20:30 [35mm]

Bookable family-friendly sessions in our Pop-Up Planetarium

Family-friendly Kamishibai storytelling with authors Ewen and Michaela Sedman

Storytelling with Lizzie Bryant

Art Workshop with Mary McIntyre

Stargazing Evening further afield in Damerham The event will round-off with an Astrotourism talk for local businesses on April 4 in Wimborne,

Although it is not currently a legal requirement, please consider wearing a face covering to protect yourself and others when visiting the Tivoli.

Artists and craftspeople can now apply to join the annual Hampshire Open Studios event, which takes place in the late summer.

Cranborne Chase was the first National Landscape (formerly AONB) in the country to be designated in its entirety as an International Dark Sky Reserve in 2019. The event has been organised by Cranborne Chase National Landscape and the Chase & Chalke Landscape Partnership, supported by the National Heritage Lottery Fund.

THE MIRACLE CLUB (12A)

Mon 22 Jan: 10:30 (Silver Screen)

ANYONE BUT YOU (15)

Mon 22 Jan: 14:30, 17:30 | Tue 23 Jan: 14:30, 17:30

All sessions are free, but booking is essential (excluding events highlighted as ‘drop-in’.) Find out more and book at eventbrite.com/cc/ starfest-2024-3093829.

HIGHCLIFFE CHARITY PLAYERS PRESENT: ROBIN HOOD (LIVE)

Fri 26 Jan: 19:30 Sat 27 Jan: 11:00, 14:00, 18:00 Sun 28 Jan: 14:00, 18:00

Discover more about Cranborne Chase National Landscape at cranbornechase.org.uk.

One-day conference to be a big one

Submissions and entry to HOS are open now, although you’ll have to be quick, as applications close at the end of March and entry has been open for several weeks. The annual event sees craftspeople opening their studios and workspaces to the public, who can browse and buy the art on sale.

Friday

Participating artists get their exhibition’s address and a description of their work put on the official HOS trail. More details on how to apply are available here: hampshireopenstudios.org. uk/images/document/info_ pack2024.pdf.

Friday

Dorset’s world-famous Cerne Abbas Giant is the subject of a one-day conference later this year, investigating the subject of hill figures. As the most recognised and talked-about hill figure in the UK, the giant will be centre state at the Dorchester conference, but other hill figures in the region will also feature. The conference will draw on new excavations and research by the National Trust, led by archaeologist Martin Papworth.

It will also see the launch of the new publication: ‘A Date With The Two Cerne Giants: Reinvestigating An Iconic British Hill Figure’.

The conference takes place on September 28, from 9.30am-5pm at the Victorian Hall in Dorchester Museum.

For more details and to book, visit: dorsetmuseum.org/event/cerne-giant-andother-wessex-hill-figures/.

ON I BANG THE GARY FLETCHER BAND

Celebrate spring at town museum

Celebrate the spring season and embrace the final days of a must-see exhibition at the award-winning Museum of East Dorset in Wimborne this Easter. The popular ‘Little Explorers’ programme returns with a special ‘Spring has Sprung!’ event on Tuesday, April 2, from 10am to 1pm.

Saturday

This craft morning, priced at just £3.50 per child, allows little ones to get creative and celebrate the vibrant colours and joys of spring.

While you’re at the museum,

SOLD OUT

don’t miss your last chance to see the ‘May the Toys Be With You’ exhibition.

Step back in time and relive the magic of a galaxy far, far away with this captivating collection of vintage Star Wars toys and original memorabilia which concludes its run on Saturday, April 20.

This spring, you can explore your creative spirit with engaging workshops including:

• Botanical Tile Creative Clay Workshop: Get hands-on and design your own beautiful

botanical tile on Thursday, April 25.

Thursday 18th January 7.30pm Tickets £20.50

• Needle Felt Workshop: Learn the art of needle felting and create a miniature landscape scene on Friday, May 3.

• Lino Cut Print Making Workshop: Unleash your inner artist and explore the world of lino printing on Tuesday, May 21.

For a unique evening experience, enjoy ‘O Flow’ry May: An Evening of Folk Music & Spoken Word’ on Saturday, April 27.

Events in association with...

HIGH ST, CHRISTCHURCH (01202) 499199

Cornwall’s premium rembetika punk trio!

Julian Gaskell’s Ragged Trousered Philanthropists are Cornwall’s premium post-ragtime, rembetika punk, swing polka klezmer blues trio, and this March they’re touring Dorset with Artsreach, presenting an anthology of some of the most melodramatic, gruesome and supernatural broadside ballads from the 17th to 19th centuries, covering everything from funeral arrangements to cat food and rural insurrection!

Printed and sung in the Georgian and Victorian eras, many of these tunes have lain unrecorded and largely unperformed for the last 100 years. Indeed, many of the tunes have been lost to time, and so the words have

been rearranged and re-fitted with newlycomposed music on piano, accordions, violin, drums, bouzouki, bass, banjo and guitar.

www.theregent.co.uk

Fri 12 Jan: 12:30, 16:00 | Mon 15 Jan: 19:30 | Tue 16 Jan: 12:30, 16:00 | Thu 18 Jan: 13:30, 19:30

Sir Ridley Scott directs Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix in this stunning historical epic that begs to be experienced on the big screen.

Expect a wild, haunting journey with Julian and his Ragged Trousered Philanthropists through a murky past to a dark future, guaranteed to enthral, educate and entertain! Performances are in Chetnole (01935 873555) on Friday 22 March: Cranborne (01725 517028) on Saturday, 23 March and Broadmayne (07443 659912) on Sunday, 24 March.

WHAT HAPPENS LATER (15)

Fri 12 Jan: 19:30 | Sun 14 Jan: 19:30 | Mon 15 Jan: 14:00 (S) | Tue 16 Jan: 19:30 | snowed in, in-transit, at an airport overnight. Starring Meg Ryan. Sun 14 Jan: 13:30, 16:30 | Sun 21 Jan: 17:00

Suitable for ages 12+, tickets and further information are available at artsreach.co.uk.

BOLAN’S SHOES (15)

Mon 15 Jan: 10:30 (Silver Screen)

FERRARI (15)

Sat 20 Jan: 14:00, 17:00 | Sun 21 Jan: 14:00, 20:00 | Mon 22 Jan: 20:00 | Tue 23 Jan:

KEN RUSSELL’S GOTHIC (18)

Sat 20 Jan: 20:30 [35mm]

THE MIRACLE CLUB (12A)

Mon 22 Jan: 10:30 (Silver Screen)

ANYONE BUT YOU (15)

Mon 22 Jan: 14:30, 17:30 | Tue 23 Jan: 14:30, 17:30

HIGHCLIFFE CHARITY PLAYERS PRESENT: ROBIN HOOD (LIVE)

Fri 26 Jan: 19:30 Sat 27 Jan: 11:00, 14:00, 18:00 Sun 28 Jan: 14:00, 18:00

Dinosaur talk to be a big jaw

Learn more about the terrifying pliosaurs that stalked Dorset’s Jurassic Coast millions of years ago, at a special lecture at Dorset Museum on March 14.

MILES JUPP: ON I BANG THE GARY FLETCHER BAND

Author and paleozoologist, Dr Darren Naish will be discussing the new findings surrounding the evolution, biology, behaviour and environment of these reptiles. The talk will answer questions about what Mesozoic sea reptiles – including ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs –were like as living animals and what we still hope to discover about them.

SOLD

Wednesday 17th January 0pm Tickets £25

The talk will also include entry to the museum’s Natural History Section where the Weymouth Bay Pliosaur – unveiled by Sir David Attenborough in 2011 – will be on display.

Thursday 18th January 7.30pm Tickets £20.50

SALTBURN (15) JIM DAVIDSON: SWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE!

Mon 22nd January 7.30pm Matinee 24th January 2pm Adult: £8.00 evening/ £7.00 matinee Child under 16: £6.00

More details at dorsetmuseum. org/event/the-news-on-ancientsea-reptiles/.

FLOAT TO LIVE FESTIVAL Events across Poole Town Centre, Saturday, March 9, raising money for Poole Lifeboat Station

Wed 24th January 7.30pm Tickets £27

A day at the farm with

Tiffany Fleming

Tiffany is a volunteer at High Mead Farm in Longham, Ferndown.

High Mead Farm is a working farm run to promote the benefits of engaging with animals, soil, and nature.

They ‘create purposeful roles for our cofarmers, young people and adults alike, to help bring about a sense of well-being and self-worth that many have never experienced before’.

Signs of spring are popping up everywhere, and High Mead is shedding its winter coat ready to welcome its first visitors of the year. Open Days at the Farm are much loved by all involved, as they offer us the chance to invite all those who have supported us throughout the toughest months of the year to see behind the scenes and share in all that has been achieved. Showcasing High Mead and its 130 animals requires a great amount of preparation and there is always a ‘to do list’ as long as your arm: Signs to be painted, food to prepare, and a huge effort to minimise the mud and muck that seems to have been a permanent fixture throughout February.

The horticulture team are super-busy. The greenhouse is in full swing and making great progress thanks to its heat mats and a light kindly donated by one of our CoFarmers. The light is giving the produce a head start by adding sunshine to the grey days and their low temperatures, and the heat mats are gently warming the soil, promoting faster germination and more even propagation which will result in strong, healthy seedlings.

Many won’t germinate at all if soil temperatures fall below 50F or above 95F. Consistency is key and whilst the weather has been unseasonably mild recently, damp soil is cooler than the air temperature, even in a warm room, so the seedlings are very much benefitting from the gentle, steady heat.

The team are currently harvesting winter salads and broccoli, and preparing for some of the Farm’s more unusual crops.

Most seeds germinate best in temperatures between 70F and 90F although some, such as pumpkins and other winter squash, are more likely to germinate in soil temperatures between 85F and 95F.

Following on from the success of their melons last year, they are trying three new types. The first, an early melon from Ukraine, promises to offer a sweet flavoursome flesh with a crisp texture. There is also an Heirloom, a pumpkin-shaped French melon from the early 1800s, which starts with a beautiful, green marbled skin that ripens with an orange blush and omits a strong sweet sent, noticeable from as much as a few feet away, when the fruit is ready for picking. The third is an early watermelon, a smaller fruit whose dark skin helps it absorb more heat from the sun.

We are always struggling a little with space at the Farm, so the team has had much fun maximising the growing space in the ‘poly’; the tunnel looks great, festooned with hanging strawberries cleverly planted in milk bottles, another perfect example of our creative problem-solving abilities!

2021 (21) Fiat 500X 1.3T Lounge Automatic SUV 5dr. 148bhp, petrol, 6 speed automatic gearbox, high seating, big boot, good ground clearance, cruise control, partial leather, parking sensors, hill start assist, automatic lights & wipers, 12,300 miles

£15650

2012 (62) Ford Fiesta 1.25 Edge 5dr. 82bhp, petrol, 5 speed manual gearbox, heated front screen, air con, parking sensors, cambelt kit has been replaced, 63,700 miles...£4850

1989 (G) Land Rover Defender

110 County 2.5TD Station Wagon. 5 speed manual gearbox, 4x4, diesel, 3 front seats, 3 central seats, 2 rear bench seats, windows all round, big wheels, MOT

2012 (12) Ford Fiesta 1.4 Zetec 5dr. 96bhp, petrol, 5 speed manual gearbox, heated front screen, air con, alloys, Bluetooth, USB, full history including cambelt kit replacement, 57,950 miles

£5450

2016 (66) Vauxhall Astra 1.4 Design 5dr. 100bhp, petrol, 5 speed manual gearbox, cruise control, auto lights, low mileage example with only 43,500 miles.......................£7850

2019 (19) Vauxhall Crossland X 1.2 Elite Estate MPV 5dr. 82bhp, petrol, 5 speed manual gearbox, high seating, parking sensors, cruise control, 51,900 miles ...............£9650

Recruitment

Part-Time Handyman required at Ferne Park, Berwick St John

1. Flexible hours

2. Anything from sweeping stable yard, moving hay bales, minor repairs, painting, paddock maintenance etc

3. Experience with horses/animals not a requirement, but may be helpful!

4. Good pay

Please get in touch with addison.road@dmgt.co.uk if you are interested!

TIMBER BUILDING ERECTOR

Required to lead a team of erectors.

Applicants must be confident in their ability to carry out all aspects of carpentry necessary to erect a timber building. Must have good communication skills and be able to work as part of a team.

Please call Nigel 07850 234441 or email nigel@sparkford.com

Recruitment

Full or part time Maintenance Manager/ Handyman/Assistant Gardener

Live-in position for a large property near Sixpenny Handley. Mechanical and IT competence of particular interest plus ideally basic electrics.

Occasional housekeeping/kitchen help also needed. Caretaking duties every other w/e. Charming secluded cottage included.

Phone 0777 186 1110

BRAMALL GARDENS

requires a new team member to join our established Landscape Company, initially with our grass cutting team.

Hard work and reliability are essential requirements, along with a clean driving licence To apply to join our hard working team in Marnhull Dorset, please ring 01258 820394

Recruitment

Yard Manager/ Concrete Batcher

Blandford Concrete are looking for a new Yard Manager and Concrete Batcher. The successful applicant would be responsible for:

• Serving customers onsite both face to face and by telephone.

• Ordering materials and dealing with suppliers.

• Running the concrete plant and managing the weighbridge.

Hours are: 7am-5pm – Mon-Fridays, plus some Saturday mornings, 7am-12pm. Good rates of pay.

It would be bene cial that applicants have previous managerial experience and some knowledge of the building trade. Telehandler ticket would be preferred but not essential as training will be provided.

Please apply either by email to: admin@farwellplanthire.co.uk or telephone: 01258 455219

Part time chef/cook required at Sherborne Golf Club. Hours will be variable from week to week.

Would suit semi-retired person or someone looking for a non-committed weekly schedule. Flexibility is our main aim due to the nature of the business.

Email your cv to bar@sherbornegolfclub .co.uk

Gardener/Grounds Maintenance Person

Required to help maintain commercial & private sites. Based near Wincanton

Some experience is preferred but training can be given. Driving licence essential

Contact Mike on 07738824952 or email greenmanservices@gmail.com

SELF EMPLOYED EXPERIENCED GROUNDWORKERS/PLANT OPERATORS

We are looking for an experienced Groundworker who can also operate a 360° Excavator for local interesting contracts, working as part of a team.

Applicants must be con dent in their ability to carry out all aspects of groundwork to a good standard with attention to detail.

We o er a safe working environment with good rates of pay. Local work and an opportunity of long-term employment with a friendly family run business.

If you are that exible, skilled groundworker who can also operate plant to a good standard please call, Martin on 01258 455219 or email admin@farwellplanthire.co.uk

Environment & Renewables Technician

Working as part of a team, this is a hands -on role that involves the servicing of gas engines, maintenance and day-to-day operations of our Hydrogen production facility, methane gas and leachate extraction system at the Canford energy facility.

Some mechanical aptitude is essential for this role, and the ability to drive mobile plant would be advantageous.

Full training and PPE will be provided.

Part of your role will include emergency call -out cover (one week in three) for which a daily allowance will be payable.

45 hours per week, £17-£19 ph depending on experience.

Canford Renewable Energy Ltd, Wimborne, Dorset

Tel: 01202 612504 ● Email: info@c-r-e.co.uk

EXPERIENCED STOCK PERSON /GENERAL FARM WORKER

Required for beef herd in North Dorset. Main duties will include feeding, bedding, and maintaininga high level of cleanliness. There will be seasonal work on the arable side. Must have excellent communication skills and demonstrate the correct attitude to animal welfare and health and safety on farm, be trustworthy, organised, and able to work alone as well as part of a team.

Full driving licence and tractor/loader experience essential. Salary and conditions are dependent on experience. Accommodation could be made available for the right candidate. Please send applications to churchfarmmarnhull@ icloud.com

Recruitment

We are seeking to recruit an inspirational and forward-thinking STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) Technician.

CHILD OKEFORD BLANDFORD DORSET DT11 8HN

Part Time/Job Share School Secretary/Head’s PA

A well organised, skilled professional and versatile team-player is required from April 2024 to run the School Office and to assist the Head. A good sense of humour and a can do, flexible attitude are vital. A willingness to take part in the wider life of our school is essential.

This is a part-time / job share, term time only role: 8.30am – 5pm two days a week plus Saturday mornings.

We are committed to recruiting the perfect fit to join our team; start date and numbers of days worked may be flexible for the right candidate.

Closing date for applications:

5pm Friday 8 March 2024

Interviews w/c 18 March 2024

To apply, or to discuss the role, please email office@hanfordschool.co.uk

www.hanfordschool.co.uk

Hanford is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share this commitment. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS disclosure. Registered charity number 00306828

GP Surgery looking for an Admin/ Trainee Dispenser. IT skills required but training will be given. Must be flexible to cover staff leave. Please contact: Georgia at Silton Surgery. 01747-840226 or email silton. surgery@nhs.net

Closing date for applications 15th March 2024.

Sport

Golfers donate a hefty wedge to MS Centre

Throughout 2023, golfers at Dudsbury Golf Club raised money in aid of the MS Centre Dorset and representatives of the club were delighted to present a cheque for £16,840. The sum was achieved through golfing competitions, fundraising events and raffles organised by club president Jeff Bowden, club captain John Morris, the Seniors’ Captain, Andy Carr, and Ladies Captain, Alison Sleat.

Based at West Parley, the MS Centre is a day and therapy centre for people and families in Dorset living with Multiple Sclerosis.

It provides a range of services which include social activities, neuro physiotherapists, yoga and personal care. Although run principally by volunteers, the charity needs funds to support the overheads of running the Centre and the provision of vital physiotherapy equipment to assist their clients with mobility.

Deborah Trickett, trustee, said: “This money will allow us to extend our physio equipment, giving more exercise opportunities to our members.’

To make a donation or fundraise for them visit mscentre-dorset.org.uk/donate.

Arrow words

Could

you give a child a foster home?

Crossword

Wordsearch

1 Washington

10 Black coffee (4,4)

11 Fight to settle an issue of honour (4)

12 Roof apartment (9)

16 Tiny, biting fly (4)

17 Selfless concern (8)

19 Nervous fear (6-7)

21 Declare (5)

22 Pupil (7)

Sudoku

Down

2 Waterproof jacket (6)

3 Utensil (9)

4 Mexican friend (5)

6 Twenty-third Greek letter (3)

7 Having difficulty breathing due to exertion (6)

8 Coiffure (6)

11 Interrupted (9)

13 Movement (6)

14 Come up with (6)

15 To the rear, on a ship (6)

18 Special reward (5)

20 Android, perhaps (3)

CLEAR DECONTAMINATE DISTIL EMPTY FILTER FLOSS FLUFF MUCK OUT RUB SANITIZE SCOUR SPRING CLEAN STERILIZE STRAIGHTEN VALET WASH S N F V L E A T N Y T P M E I I E S S M Z C D A R I U R L R A Z P U F O H E E U E I I G A I I R C I Z M C T A I T F A L R T I L B P S O I I S I L E H G I N E U M T N E I A E R I T L N G A R S R T D O R E S U F F A C R U T A A I R U C O G T L S L T L E I M A A O K I H F A Z E I I R G I F U C S S T L T E A N F I H N R U N A E S O Y A N F A L T A M A W L U B S T F U R E I E T N S A D C C S R L E T A Z N E E V M N T D A F E E A G E T D G T T P E M L 7 1 3 1 8 8 7 4 5 1 6 4 9 5 8 7 3 8 4 2 5 7 6 7 6 3 9 9 2 7 2 4 39 RESULT ×1/3 +28 -10 +30 -1

Jumbo 3D Sudoku

Could you give a child a foster home?

Cryptic crossword

Killer Sudoku Pro

Across

Across

7 Table for writing in administrative department (6)

7 Table for writing in administrative department (6)

8 Janitor at work, one overlooked as hard worker? (6)

8 Janitor at work, one overlooked as hard worker? (6)

9 Smell, it’s said, in European river (4)

9 Smell, it’s said, in European river (4)

10 Most tiny shopping area in south east street (8)

10 Most tiny shopping area in south east street (8)

11 Sort that’s not wanted ensured bail curiously (11)

11 Sort that’s not wanted ensured bail curiously (11)

14 Ingredient in baking items ruled spongy possibly (6,5)

14 Ingredient in baking items ruled spongy possibly (6,5)

18 Doctor around city gets English award in present time? (8)

19 Clan ready to accept power (4)

18 Doctor around city gets English award in present time? (8)

20 Maintain persistently organized sit-ins (6)

21 Lorry carrying carbon that’s very cold (6)

19 Clan ready to accept power (4)

20 Maintain persistently organized sit-ins (6)

21 Lorry carrying carbon that’s very cold (6)

Down

Down

1 Dreary Greek character with Northern European (7)

1 Dreary Greek character with Northern European (7)

2 Tolerate hair on face largely (4)

2 Tolerate hair on face largely (4)

3 Lime’s squeezed over front of unappetizing breakfast food (6)

Killer Sudoku Pro:

Brain chain (hard)

4 Layers manufactured at arts (6)

3 Lime’s squeezed over front of unappetizing breakfast food (6)

4 Layers manufactured at arts (6)

5 Vile drama showing dishonest dealing (4,4)

6 Light wood turning up a flat stone (5)

5 Vile drama showing dishonest dealing (4,4)

12 Cite rose that’s cultivated as mysterious (8)

13 One to blame pair on island in sect (7)

6 Light wood turning up a flat stone (5)

12 Cite rose that’s cultivated as mysterious

15 Consider European book in appointed time (6)

13 One to blame pair on island in sect (7)

16 Northern manor is renovated for one in royal house? (6)

15 Consider European book in appointed time

16 Northern manor is renovated for one in house? (6)

17 Writer nearly ignoring aristocrat? A small bit (5)

19 Dismiss bed (4)

17 Writer nearly ignoring aristocrat? A small bit (5)

19 Dismiss bed (4)

Place 1 to 9 once each into every row, column and bold-lined 3×3 box.

No digit may be repeated in any dashed-line cage, and all the digits in each cage must add up to the value shown in that cage.

District council site goes on the market

The former home of a Dorset council is up for sale - and could be a site for housing.

Furzehill, in Wimborne, was home to East Dorset District Council (EDDC) until the authority was abolished in 2019, when unitary Dorset Council was created.

Now, Dorset Council has instructed agents to market the vacant site.

Furzehill had been declared surplus to requirements by EDDC and Dorset Council inherited the empty office buildings.

In March 2023, following the new council cabinet’s approval of the capital programme, Furzehill was identified as a priority to sell to generate capital receipts - money councils can spend on funding other capital expenditure - such as land, buildings, and equipment, or for paying off debt.

They generally cannot be used to fund services.

The 2.73-hectare (6.76-acre) site, around 1.5 miles from Wimborne town centre, was allocated for residential development and other alternative uses

UK Removals

in the Christchurch and East Dorset Local Plan in 2014.

It includes several buildings, including the main 19th-century house known as Woodleaze, a former 19th-century stable building converted into office space, and two semi-detached residential dwellings.

There is garage/storage space and several modular buildings previously used for office accommodation.

The east of the site contains Woodleaze Copse, an area of ancient woodland. While it is not large enough to be

considered on any Ancient Woodland Register, it is not suitable for development, as confirmed in the Local Plan Allocation.

Vehicular access is provided from the main Furzehill road via a long driveway to the east, and there is ample parking onsite.

The site is for sale via informal tender, seeking best consideration. This is expected to be in the form of Subject to Planning bids, but unconditional bids will also be considered, the council said.

Storage

Moths hold up planning application process

Plans for more than 300 new homes, parking, bike routes and more have had to be modified - because of these bad boys.

Bloor Homes has submitted a bid to amend planning permission for the development on land west of Cranborne Road, Wimborne.

A tree due to feature at a ‘focal square’ of the development can no longer be delivered - due to the Oak Processionary Moth.

Oak Processionary Moth caterpillars cause heavy damage to oak trees, as they eat the leaves.

Their name comes from the fact they march between trees in search of food.

parts of the country in which the creature is found - and trees prevented from being transported to clear areas. This is the case with the tree planned for the development in Wimborne, according to the application.

A Quercus palustris ‘Green Pillar’ tree planned for the spot will be replaced with a Facus Sylvatica (common beech), if approved.

‘The tree cannot be delivered due to Oak Processionary Moth, and the site is within the buffer zone,’ the amedment states.

The 319-homes plan was approved in April 2021.

CHILD OKEFO RD BLANDFORD FORUM DORSET DT11 8HN

In order to control spread of the moth, management zones are installed in

www hanfordschool co uk

For more information log on to dorsetcouncil.gov.uk and search for application reference P/ NMA/2024/00342.

Come and join our staff body at our vibrant and happy prep school for girls (aged 7-13) set in the beautiful Dorset countryside:

HOUSEPARENT

The role of Houseparent at Hanford holds a uniquely important position of trust and influence in the Boarding House. The successful candidate will have the ability to lead, motivate, support and understand the pupils in their care and will have overall responsibility for the functioning and orderly running of the House. They will be the first point of contact for boarders’ parents and guardians and will have excellent communication skills.

The successful applicant will be required to work weekends and evenings as required and have significant overnight responsibility. Accommodation will be provided. To start in January 2024.

RESIDENT M ATRON

We are seeking a caring and empathetic resident Matron with strong inter-personal skills and a can-do attitude, who will be an excellent role model for our pupils. The successful candidate will make a significant contribution to the pastoral welfare of the pupils and will have the capacity to support and understand young people in all aspects of their development, especially their emotional, academic and pastoral needs. They will expect and embody high standards of behaviour, courtesy and care.

The successful applicant will be required to work weekends and evenings as required and have significant overnight responsibility. Accommodation will be provided. To start as soon as possible.

TEACHER O F FRENCH

We are seeking an exceptional candidate to teach French to our girls (aged 7 -13). Hanford School has an excellent academic record, and the girls sit common entrance and scholarships to top independent senior schools.

To start in April 2024 or sooner

CLE ANER

To work as part of our team, carrying out a variety of cleaning functions. A great opportunity for an enthusiastic and helpful person, training will be given. Core hours are approximately 25 hours per week (by arrangement) term time only, to include weekdays plus Saturday mornings.

To start January 2024.

To learn more about these opportunities please call the School Office on 01258 860219 or visit our website: www.hanfordschool.co.uk

Application deadline: Monday, 6 h November 2023 office@hanfordschool co uk

Hanford is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share this commitment.

These posts are all subject to enhanced DBS checks

Hanford School is part of Sherborne Girls’ School Charity Number 307427 & Company Number 00306828

Puzzle solutions

Arrow words

Cryptic crossword