Weep in this way over book (3

Leon shows he’s king of the singers

A 15-year-old boy who taught himself to play the guitar has performed on a public stage for the first time to an audience including the Mayor of Christchurch. Leon Lunn, 15, is a sixthform student at Portfield School in Christchurch. Portfield School is owned and operated by the charity Autism Unlimited and provides specialist teaching and care for students aged four to 19 who hold an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis (ASD). Leon, who is a fan of the singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, spent a year teaching himself to play the guitar using YouTube videos. He cannot read music, but says he is able to correctly guess the notes of songs if he listens to them on the radio. Leon’s teachers at Portfield School were so impressed by his playing and singing voice, they invited him to perform at the Autism Unlimited Christmas Concert at the Christchurch Priory last month. He said: “I’ve sung and played in front of people at school before, but never in public. “I chose to perform Perfect, which is one of Ed Sheeran’s biggest songs. I wasn’t really nervous, even through there were a lot of people there. “The mayor and deputy mayor and lots of other people said they really enjoyed it. “Now my sister has asked me to play at her wedding this year, so I am now practising for that.” Jemma Dudgeon, headteacher of Portfield School, said: “Leon is a talented performer and when he took to the stage at the Priory everyone was absolutely bowled over. “Autism means people might perceive the world and interact with others differently and Leon, like many of our students, sometimes overcomes huge obstacles to do things many of us take for granted. “He spent almost every day for a year taking online tutorials to learn how to play the guitar and it now goes everywhere with him. We feel privileged to be able to nurture and enjoy his talent.” Jemma continued: “Leon says he would like to become a professional performer and who knows? - he certainly has the determination to make this a reality.”

Anniversary production celebrates river

by Faith Eckersall

Wimborne Community Theatre is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a new production celebrating the River Stour and themes relating to a sense of place, memories and mythical stories. The production will see audiences taken on a short journey close to the river near Julian’s Bridge, following two young people setting out on a quest – both personal and mythical – to better understand recent losses in their lives. Along the way they meet characters and creatures who bring humour, advice and healing as they discover how ‘the river runs through us’. The production will be overseen by guest director Joe Hancock, of Devon theatre company, Burn the Curtain, and will involve large-scale puppets with three puppet-making workshops in May led by puppet makers from Burn the Curtain. The theatre is keen to welcome anyone who would like to join its River project, as an actor, musician, artist, or as part of the backstage team. To register interest or find out more about meetings and rehearsals contact gill. horitz@icloud.com For this year’s production, members have researched themes and ideas about Wimborne’s rivers Allen and Stour over the last two years. Stories and memories by local people have been collected and can be read at wimbornecommunity theatre.co.uk/rivermemories-local-people/

Enjoy tea with legendary poet

Celebrate the works of William Barnes with the Ridgeway Singers and Band. Dialect poet William Barnes relished the countrydances, folksongs and carols of Dorset, and often wrote about community celebrations, where music was a key part of the proceedings. This spring, the Ridgeway Singers and Band, led by Tim Laycock and Phil Humphries and supported by Artsreach, will celebrate the rich dialect of Dorset through music, song and poetry as they invite you to Tea With William Barnes. William Barnes was undoubtedly the greatest of the English dialect poets, but he was also, as Thomas Hardy wrote ‘probably the most interesting link between present and past forms of rural life that England possessed’. Born in Bagber, in the Blackmore Vale, in 1801, William Barnes attended school in Sturminster Newton. In later life he was an innovative schoolmaster, with a knowledge of more than 70 languages, the author of more than 30 books in prose, an artist, engraver, musician, folklorist, inventor and parish priest. Many of Barnes’s contemporaries regarded him as hopelessly old fashioned, with his love of old ways, old words, and old customs; but now we have cause to be thankful that he captured the sound of the Dorset speech in such an artistic and imaginative way. Led by Tim Laycock and Phil Humphries, the Ridgeway Singers and Band will be joined by guests from the William Barnes Society to celebrate the sounds and stories of old Dorset, performing traditional songs collected across the county, playing dance tunes from the repertoire of Blackmore Vale fiddler Benjamin Rose, and reciting some of the poems that keep alive the rich dialect of Dorset. Now a popular annual fixture in the Artsreach calendar, this years’ Barnes celebration takes place at the Exchange in Sturminster Newton at 3pm on Sunday, March 6. Tickets include a Dorset cream tea, and are available from the Exchange (01258 475137) or online at artsreach.co.uk Artsreach is also partnering with local film company Pageant Productions to support residential care homes in the area in accessing a live streamed version of the event.