Valley News June 2020 (Updated)

Editorial This continues to be a very strange time for everyone. Several people have said that, if we were able to avoid listening to the news or reading the papers, we could easily imagine that locally nothing was amiss! We are very fortunate that many of us have gardens to enjoy, and also some spectacular walks in our lovely countryside, and having the time to enjoy more walks and cycle rides than previously has meant that we have more time to 'stand and stare' and appreciate the wonderful springtime show. Have you noticed, for instance, that the line of trees between Clenston and Whatcombe has grown into a splendid addition to the roadside pleasures? It was a great piece of forward-thinking to plant them here, and leading into the short tree avenue at Whatcombe makes a very pleasant walk or ride - especially as there has been so little traffic on the roads.

Picture by Graham Case Realistically, we are not able to forget what is happening as it has impinged on every aspect of life. We thank all those who are helping others, in whatever capacity; the staff at our surgeries, the bin men, the posties, the delivery drivers‌ and of course all other key workers including NHS staff and care workers. Helping to keep as many things ticking over almost as usual has made a difference to what could have been a shocking lockdown and caused more hardship than ever. All we can hope is that the easing of restrictions to allow a return to a more normal life does not in turn cause a 'spike' in infection and a return to stringent measures. We can only imagine the heavy burden of the responsibility on government and hope that soon there will be a time to come that is Covid-19 'free', or at least more manageable than continuing lockdown.

There was an interesting perspective offered by a scientist pscychologist or psychiatrist? Not sure! - regarding the popularity of quizzes during this period especially. The explanation put forward was that participants were appreciative of the certainty that they provide, as there is only one right answer, thereby affording comfort during uncomfortable and uncertain times. Whatever the reasons, many people have been enjoying and appreciating the online quizzes that Graeme Gale has been running, and as well as providing some fun, they continue to raise money (ÂŁ475 so far) for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance Service. Thanks to all participants, and of course especially to Graeme for this on-going support to such a worthwhile service. You can join in the quizzes by going to: https://youtu.be/y1rq2q0BFL4 - the next one is scheduled for May 26th.

Stay safe, and remember to keep looking out for each other.

The Valley News Team

Winterborne Valley and Milton Abbas Benefice I'm sitting here, at the beginning of May, wondering how to write this message for the June edition of Valley News. It's a beautiful day today with the sun shining, but the forecast for this weekend is that we will need our winter woollies. I feel a little like that about these odd

times we are living through. Boris is due to talk to the nation on Sunday about the possible lightening of the stay indoors we have all been asked to adhere to. Everyone has high hopes, but who will "be released" first I wonder? How will the NHS cope if there is a second wave and what about those folks who will be afraid to go out again?

I'm so scientist or medic, but I guess this tiny virus reminds us of our human fragility. It has shown us how the unchangeable global economic structures can actually be made more humane if there is a will to do so.

We have watched the Homeless be housed and Benefits increased. But we have also seen our Church buildings closed at a time when so many needed them open, especially at times of bereavement and worry. The Church has been forced to work in new, creative ways using electronics that might have been resisted before. Yet we all miss the human contact of a kind word, a smile, or a hug.

Do you think this might be a game-changer, when things cannot go back to how they were before? Certainly, we are seeing and hearing the worst and the best of human nature. We are experiencing a Pandemic and seeing with fresh eyes the brilliance and the struggles around the world. We cannot remain the same.

Everything certainly prompts us to value the self-giving action of our wonderful NHS Staff, key workers and volunteers, cleaners, porters, carers, and funeral staff. We not only "bang our drums" on a Thursday evening in support and gratitude but hold them in our prayers. For there cannot be many families who do not have a family member or friend at risk among them.

Ordering from a food shop in Dorchester, they sent me this poem from an NHS worker, Chloe Kerwood. It highlights for us the burdens they are carrying on top of their medical work and the debt of gratitude we all owe them.

I'm sorry to the husband I spoke to on the phone. Frustrated as I tell him she's critical but stable, whilst you're forced to worry at home.

I'm sorry to the consultant I couldn't hug when in tears. After he said there is nothing more we could do, facing the biggest challenge of your career. I'm sorry to my fellow colleagues that all I could do is just smile.

Whilst knowing you are tired, upset, and scared, knowing this will haunt you for a while. I'm sorry to the patient that stirred and opened her eyes.

How frightened you must be feeling, I promise this masked stranger is trying to keep you alive. I'm sorry to all my friends and family that ask me "are you OK?" I just shrug and don't really reply, I can't find any words to say. My biggest sorry of all is to the ones who lost their fight.

You were not alone I promise, this stranger held your hand and sent you love whilst you drifted to the light. I'm sorry to the relatives, you weren't allowed with your mum, dad, husband, wife, daughter or son. But your unknown friend was there, holding their hand, telling them how much they were loved by everyone.

When I preside at Communion, I particularly love words from the Iona Community - "take us out to live as changed people, because we have shared the living bread and cannot remain the same."

Thank you, Dear Lord, for being with us and those we love in these strangest of times. Amen.

Stay safe and keep well my friends, and I will see you all again soon.

Rev Sue

Milton Abbas & Milborne St Andrew Surgery Social Prescribing: Kelly is our new Social Prescribing Lead at the surgery and works Wednesday morning, Thursday morning and Friday all day.

Social Prescribing is about connecting people with social, emotional or practical needs to local sources of help and support. Social Prescribing empowers people to take control of their own health and wellbeing.

This would particularly help patients who are dealing with long term health conditions, struggling with their mental health or those socially isolated.

We are here for everyone whatever your concern is - whether you need some ideas on how to improve your fitness, would like to know about local coffee groups, or would like to improve your literacy skills whatever your query we are here to help. If you would like any more information, please contact the surgery.

EConsult: Milton Abbas Surgery are now offering econsult which enables us to offer online consultations to our patients. It allows patients to submit their symptoms or requests to their own GP surgery

electronically, and offers around the clock NHS self-help information, signposting to services, and a symptom checker. eConsult is the most widely used digital triage tool in NHS primary care, built by NHS GPs for NHS patients, designed to enhance patient access, improve practice efficiencies and signpost patients to the right place at the right time for their care. If you submit a request via eConsult you will receive a response within two working days: this service is for non-urgent help or advice only and can be accessed via the homepage of our website: https://www.masurgery.co.uk/ As we are doing a lot of our work by telephone, please can you help our team by calling after 10.30am if you wish to order or enquire about collecting your medication. This will allow our phone lines to be available to deal with the urgent issues that arise with patients first thing each day. Thank you for your co-operation.

If you are asked by your GP to email photographs to the surgery, please make sure you add your full name and date of birth to your message so that they are attached to the correct patient record.

If you do need to come to the surgery, even if you are just collecting medicines, do not attend if you are showing any signs of Covid-19: please protect your surgery team.

One of the concerns during the Covid-19 pandemic is that patients are not contacting their surgery when in normal times they would have sought advice, particularly about symptoms that may be related to cancer. Your GP wants to know if you have any of these symptoms: Change in bowel/bladder function A mouth ulcer or skin problem which isn't healing Unexpected bleeding/discharge (eg bowel/vagina/nose) Thickness/lump in a breast/nipple/elsewhere Indigestion - severe & persistent/swallowing difficulty Ongoing cough/hoarseness Unusual appearance of a mole/wart Symptoms of unexplained weight loss/bloating/extreme fatigue/excessive night sweats/unexplained pain These symptoms may be harmless but can be caused by cancer or other conditions, so contact your GP to discuss them. Quick assessment means faster reassurance if all is well. If there is a problem, an earlier diagnosis means better chances of a full recovery.

this in reality as the fool's water cress grows rapidly by the day and the weed (ranunculus) thickens and blocks water flow. The aim is to keep a balance of these two elements without affecting the ecology of the river. Fool's watercress can grow to 6ft long or more (2 metres) by climbing to about knee high, falling over, rooting and growing up again.

In a healthy chalk stream the ranunculus expands width-wise and increases in length, some strands stretching up to 15ft (4 metres) before breaking off after flowering (which builds up downstream and causes damming and holding water flow back).

Roadside grass, nettles and other colourful plants are growing rapidly and line Water Lane: comfrey, cranes-bill, brooklime, white dead nettles, docks, sheep's sorrel, cow parsley, vetches, and a patch of meadowsweet nearer Houghton Springs. In previous years the verge has been cut by Highways maintenance around June / July removing the wealth of colour - always sad at the time but it has increased the amount of comfrey that self-seeds.

Of current interest are the cobwebs adorning the hedgerow opposite the river on Water Lane. Closer inspection reveals that these contain tiny caterpillars - those of the 'orchard ermine moth' (Yponomeuta padella). The moths hatch from June to August, and are small white nocturnal moths with black dots on their wings. The silky web offers protection from insect eating birds.

New Millennium Pond Bench

The replacement Millennium Pond bench was installed in Winterborne Houghton on Saturday 16th May. After 20 years the original had succumbed to the ravages of Dorset weather; it is hoped that villagers and visitors will be able to enjoy the new bench for many years to come.

Streamwatch The ducklings have been bringing joy to many - please remember these are wild birds and not like those encountered in parks eager for bread scraps. Enjoy from a distance, keep dogs on leads and avoid getting close.

As river water levels continue to fall with little in the way of further rain forecast, the river will move to its summer phase where water flow is narrowed to about 20 inches (0.5metres). It is very difficult to manage

Picture by Richard Marchant Owing to the abundance of stinging nettles and the difficulty of stepping out from the path of an ever increasing quantity of delivery vans, a number of pedestrian refuges have been cut along the lane at the narrowest points. Hopefully this will help provide a safe footing for walkers.

During lockdown there is an increase of litter being discarded, thrown into the river and stuffed into the hedgerow. Thanks to the good elves and pixies who have collected litter from Water Lane which has been noted with much gratitude. Thank you. Sadly dog owners have been throwing waste bags into the verges, hedgerow and river or encouraging their dogs to foul in the long grass and in the water - this is not pleasant for all who maintain the river and for those taking exercise.

A PLEA TO DOG OWNERS - please clean up after your dogs - it is an offence not to do so.

The Delcombe Wood Borehole level has dropped dramatically in the past two months and now stands at 127.92m (419ft), a drop of 10 metres in two months. Putting this into perspective, the current groundwater level lays somewhere between Turnworth (480ft) and Stickland (310ft), just about level with Houghton and St James' in Milton Abbas. An interesting concept - a domed lake within the chalk in the hills surrounding Stickland, Clenston, Whatcombe and Whitechurch.

Stickland River Management Group

Dorset Digital Hotline - Can we help you?

Telephone: 01305 221000 (Select Option 2).

Monday to Friday 10.00 am to 12 noon (except Bank Holidays) or leave a message.

Many people in your local community are likely to be relying on digital online services and applications more than ever before. For some

this will be a first and they need to learn from scratch and for others there are new digital hurdles to overcome almost on a daily basis just to get every day jobs done such as shopping or ordering prescriptions.

We wanted everyone in your local community to know that there is a new free telephone hotline set up in response to the COVID-19 lockdown, to provide support for people with IT and digital problems of all kinds. The hotline has received more than 50 calls in the first three weeks.

Here is a selection of some of the support the digital advisers can provide - no problem too small! o helping families with digital applications for home schooling o providing help to get online for home shopping o support for all digital NHS services and e-Consult o setting up video calls such as Skype and Facetime to keep in contact with friends and family o support to use all digital appliances and solve problems o using digital to exercise at home and keep fit An example of how the Dorset Digital Hotline can make a difference to people's lives is expressed by one of our digital advisers.

Andy Hargreaves, a digital adviser, said: "One lady I helped this week uses her iPad to keep in touch with her family via FaceTime. She told me that she couldn't hear her family speaking to her clearly on her calls because the sound on the iPad was distorted. I helped her to correct the problem over the phone and soon it was working properly.

She said to me that if she wasn't in isolation she would come over and give me a hug because the iPad was her lifeline now to the outside world."

The Dorset Digital Hotline is run by a group of volunteers mostly made up of retired IT professionals and some Dorset Council staff. The

team are extremely versatile and experienced and can offer a wide range of support to anyone including assistance to vulnerable people in your community.

From Heather What a sad year thus is turning out to be - with this dreadful virus - and for church members and friends and neighbours - we have recently lost Valerie Ashford and now Irene Allen. Three days after moving to Stickland in 1988 I slipped and badly sprained my ankle. Struggling to walk my two young boys to school I met Irene for the first time. "What a stupid thing to do! " was Irene's comment - and we've been friends ever since!! Irene has always been there for me - in good times and bad.

A stalwart member of the church but even she had her doubts at times about her faith. We would spend time sharing our thoughts about this and many other things. Her strength of character and faith were an inspiration to me over many years. How many of you remember Irene's lovely cream teas in her field above Stickland? Or making Christingles at Christmas time in her home? And running a family service in the church? Even in her last years in the Care Home in Chichester she remained strong in heart and faith. When our weekly chats on the phone became too difficult for her she loved me reading the bible to her and sharing prayers together. I shall always remember her with great fondness.

Heather Sims

Late Addition: Post Office at Pamela Hambro Hall From Monday 8th June, the Post Office will return to the Pamela Hambro Hall, West Street, Stickland.

Opening hours will be 2pm to 4pm, Mondays & Fridays.

Pictures by Graham Case

Valley News

JULY EDITION DEADLINES ADS: Wednesday 10th June ads@valley-news.co.uk

ARTICLES: Monday 15th June news@valley-news.co.uk