Valley News November 2020

E E FR Issue 163

November 2020

for Whitechurch, Whatcombe, Clenston, Stickland, Houghton, Turnworth & Milton Abbas

SUNSET OVER THE VALLEY Mark Steele

Helping to inform and unite the Community

Editorial

Milton Abbas Surgery

As this pandemic continues and seemingly gets closer to us in the valley (the number of cases in Bournemouth/Christchurch/Poole is reported to be rising currently) it seems important to take stock and to reflect on the months ahead. It could well be that we are in for a ‘long haul’ during the winter months. The outlook certainly isn’t made any less worrying with some behaviours reported regularly, but in all of this the most important concern remains our health. We all have a shared responsibility to manage our social contacts with care and thought for others; as winter approaches, we need to be even more mindful of those who may be in need of some extra support, whether it be shopping, or even just having a chat to check up on our neighbours. We often carry thanks in this magazine from people who recognise that this is a caring community where people do look out for each other; it’s now more important than ever that we continue to do so. And let’s not forget those who continue to work hard to provide the things we need, whether that be refuse collectors, shop workers, NHS staff, and so on.

November offers a focus on remembering and reflection, with an important focus on Remembrance Sunday itself. It seems perfectly possible that the arrangements for this time when the nation comes together may not be able to proceed as normal this year. There is much to reflect upon currently and it could well make it harder if we have to do this more isolated than usual; at a time when the future of the BBC is under such scrutiny it might be even more important that we can watch programmes such that it might help us feel more together at this time.

The next edition will be the ‘double’ edition for December and January combined, so do think ahead if you think there might be something to put in the magazine for January! It doesn’t seem quite right to start writing ‘2021’ yet, but we are aware that several voices are calling for us to begin Christmas shopping earlier this year so that we may help prevent the rush and crowded shops leading up to the festive holiday. It seems that we are in for a very different kind of festive period this year – how different we cannot yet predict! – but if such planning ahead can help stop the spread of the virus, it’s worth trying to do.

Stay safe.

The Valley News Team

We would like to remind patients to order their repeat medications via the phone or online rather than drop off repeat prescription slips at the surgery. This reduces the number of times that patients come up to the surgery which helps to keep you safe, and it helps to keep staff safe as they are not handling unnecessary paperwork. We thank you in advance for your continued cooperation in this matter.

Obviously, Christmas is around the corner (again!) but you don’t need to do anything different: Continue to order as normal when you have 7 days of medication left.

Check what you have at home BEFORE you order and only ask for what you need We can only issue 28 days of medication, so please do not ask for more.

We will be closed on: Friday 25th December 2020 Saturday 26th December 2020 Monday 28th December 2020 Friday 1st January 2021 This is our busiest time of year so please follow these guidelines to help us to help all of our patients.

We have been awaiting guidance from NHS England as to when the flu vaccinations will become available for patients who are aged 50-64 without a pre-existing condition or for those with family members who are shielding. This may still be the case as we head into November, so we ask that you please be patient with us. As soon as we have information then we shall pass this onto our patients.

As most of you will be aware, November is now often known as Movember – Men’s Health Awareness Month. The Movember Foundation https://prostatecanceruk.org/about-us/movember has done heaps to boost awareness of men’s health issues, bringing attention to potentially serious conditions like prostate and testicular cancer.

And finally, we would like to remind all our patients that we are still here for you, and to encourage you to call us to make an appointment with one of the doctors if you are concerned about anything or if something doesn’t feel right.

Churches in the Winterborne Valley & Milton Abbas In the Autumn we enter into a season of remembering. It begins with All Saints Day (1st November) when both well known saints are remembered, alongside the less well known. This is followed by All Souls Day (2nd November) when we remember those who have died and we see no longer. The following week sees Remembrance Sunday and Remembrance Day as we pause to reflect upon those who have died as a result of warfare and commit ourselves to be people of peace.

A favourite book of mine is called ‘Accidental Saints: Finding God In All The Wrong People.’

People like Tricia who would turn up at our house each and every Christmas Eve following the death of my dad. She’d arrive laden with a turkey for our family and presents for my brother and me. This Turkey grew each year in proportion to our growth and by our teenage years it had become so large that it didn’t fit into the oven without a bit of surgery performed by mum.

As a priest I am privileged to hear stories of all kinds of accidental saints. Those who some may never know about but are around and about our local communities. Those who would never claim to be saintly, and yet by their unassuming nature show me what it means to be a follower of Jesus (whether or not they profess to be people of faith).

What so often strikes me is that God is not interested in the categories or boxes that we create, but can be found in each and every act of love and compassion.

My prayer is that I will recognise those accidental saints who cross my path each day and be thankful for them. I wonder who those saints have been for you during your life, this week or even today?

With prayers for all who live in this area Rev’d Lewis Pearson https://wvmabenefice.uk/

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C.W. ABBOTT & SON

Perennials and Shrubs Bulbs Onion Sets and IOW Garlic Stockist of Kings and Franchi Seeds Potting Compost Large selection of Terracotta Pots Langton Long, Blandford Forum, Dorset DT11 9HR Telephone 01258 452513 Pat Butler

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Overseers of the Poor.

A huge thank you to all our transcribers. The documents we have been looking at recently include the household accounts of Lady Caroline Damer, the debts of George and Lioned Damer, the letters between Lord Milton and Edmund Mansell Pleydell, sanitary inspector's reports, the Ham Charity, sale catalogues, deeds of Bagber Farm, and the customary of Milton Abbey. If any of our readers have some time to spare and would like to help then please get in touch by calling Pamela or Bryan on 880385, or via the website. We look forward to hearing from you.

Blandford Group Practice [VN: We have been asked by the Blandford Group Practice to publish this article that will also appear in the Forum Focus. We have included it as it was presented to us] In the face of continued criticism but also praise of the Blandford Group Practice, the staff have admitted that they are working in ‘difficult and frightening circumstances’ in the face of unprecedented demand.

Practice manager Carol Tilley said: “Mistakes and delays will happen, and people will not get a gold standard service every time as we are spread so thinly trying to keep things going as best we can in these unusual times.

“Our phones are busy as lots of people are calling us. Delayed non urgent hospital referrals leave people needing more ongoing support and there has been an increase in mental health/anxiety due to the current situation, all generating more calls in what was already very busy surgery.”

Added complications to the thousands of calls made about flu jabs are a change in the way vaccinations are delivered imposed by the drugs company, a back log of patients needing annual reviews due to the Spring lockdown, and GPs doing the majority of consultations by phone.

But getting another phone line would mean getting another member of staff, social distancing did not permit more people in the building and the nature of the work did not permit home working.

“It is a great shame that the public’s patience and kindness is running out. Our staff are working long hours, often six days a week, to keep the service going in very difficult and frightening circumstances. The situation in Blandford is not unique.”

The bulletin from the Dorset Primary Care below demonstrates the ongoing activity across the county, and Graham Cobb, chairman of the Blandford Group Practice Patient Participation Group, said he had learnt at a meeting of the Blackmore Vale PPG that the Blackmore Vale Practice was experiencing exactly the same sort of problems.

“I would like to praise all our staff for their outstanding commitment and contribution through what can only be described as being an extremely very difficult time for all of them, and on the back of the merger too.

“Some of our patients may have legitimate concerns, but there is no doubt in my mind of the hard work that all the members of the team have put in to both evolve the practice into a Covid-safe environment to offer the very best medical service possible under extreme conditions, and to safeguard staff members. I would ask all our patients to please realise the difficulties that the practice is working under.”

The Valley Gardening Club Virtual Summer Show 2020 It was sad to have to cancel our Summer Show at the village hall this year, especially when everyone’s gardens had received some extra TLC and the growing season had been good.

A couple of members emailed me and asked whether a virtual show could take place. I did some searching on the internet and quickly discovered other clubs and societies were having shows online.

So after a few evenings of trying to work out how to do it all for free, our site was updated and a schedule published.

The big advantage of the virtual show was that it gave exhibitors a one month window for entries rather than having to prepare exhibits ready for show day. It also allowed people to enter who couldn’t normally make show day due to other commitments.

I was astounded as the entries started to flow in. Overall, we had over 180 exhibits from 23 exhibitors. 180 is a special number for me as I know that’s the number of entries to have a show that would fill the village hall! Luckily, the process I put in place worked well and the show opened online on time!

There was a public vote to decide the winner of each class. Again, the votes flowed in and the system used added up all the votes for me.

Even our main independent judge took the time to vote! The results were published on the website the following weekend.

The show was a great success and a big thank you goes to everyone who entered and voted.

Hopefully we can return to the village hall next March for our Spring Show. But if we can’t, we’ll be having our second online show! The show can still be viewed on our website: https://sites.google.com/view/valleygardeningclub STOP PRESS: We have cancelled our remaining events for 2020.

Bonfires and Hedgehogs Traditionally autumn is bonfire time, coinciding with dark nights and ultimately with Guy Fawkes’ celebrations. Many of us enjoy a bonfire, whether it is simply burning garden cuttings, or a more formal affair with friends and fireworks. It is tempting to build bonfires over time, especially the large public event ones, adding more to the pile each day as the weeks go by.

This is also the time of year when hedgehogs go into hibernation.

They do this mainly because their natural food supply of invertebrates disappears. Ready-made bonfires act as magnets to hedgehogs. Piles of brushwood, branches, leaves and garden cuttings provide the perfect place under which to build a winter nest. As the animal begins the task of nest building it is totally unaware of the impending incendiary motive of its cosy new home.

Hibernation is not sleep, but is a deep torpor. Body temperature drops from 35c to around 4/5c, heart rate slows from 200 beats per minute to just twelve and respiration slows to less than twelve breaths per minute. Slowing the bodily functions in this way enables the hedgehog to survive the winter by drawing on its extra fat reserves gained during late summer.

Scientific research has shown that it takes up to twelve hours for a hedgehog to arouse from hibernation. Therefore hedgehogs hibernating under bonfires have no chance of survival. It takes them too long to awaken and become active.

Every year, at this time, thousands of hedgehogs across the country are at risk of being burned alive. So, there are two simple rules for bonfires: either build it and burn it on the same day, or build the bonfire over time and then move it entirely to ignite it. These rules apply to all bonfires including large public bonfire events. Dorset Mammal Group

Milton Abbas Local History Group Despite the lack of meetings, we are still managing to keep the Milton Abbas Local History Group going, but we are at a crucial stage right now. This is the time of year when our AGM is due, and now we have had to do this by email. Also it is time for membership renewal, again we have had to do this remotely, and it will be interesting to see how far the membership remains loyal to us in these awful times for everybody. We are planning to pay for ZOOM meetings which will require funding, so it is most important for our long term survival that our numbers remain similar to last year. Thank you so much to those who have paid up. If you are not yet a member, please do think of joining us and supporting our research.

We are still planning to put on an exhibition next year, and the research for that is almost complete. Plenty of new information has come to light, and the story of Lord Milton's destruction and rebuilding of Milton Abbas can now be told. We have done more research on the Milton Abbas martyrs, and brought their story to the notice of the Shire Hall Justice Museum. We believe that this very important history for Dorset and beyond, and 'An Act to prevent Unlawful Combinations of Workmen' of 1799 have been very little studied, yet clearly had a huge impact on the lives of the agricultural workers here. This was a huge blow to English freedom in general, and all this thirty years before the Tolpuddle Martyrs.

Do follow our website, there is always new information to discover.

Recent blogs have included the Milton Abbas shoemaker's account book, Lord Milton's bank account showing large payments to two local builders, slavery and serfdom in Milton Abbas, snippets from the 4

Polly 'Bs'

The Winterborne Stickland Solar Fund Committee would like to remind residents of Winterborne Stickland that funding is available for community projects.

Local lady doing: Holistic Treatments, Massage, Reflexology, Indian Head Massage and Ear Candling.

Also Beauty Treatments Facials, Waxing, Eyebrow/Lash tinting.

Manicure and Pedicure Nail cutting and Hard Skin Removal.

Appointments available during the day and evenings.

Some treatments can be done in your home.

Applications for funding should be emailed to sticklandsolarfund@yahoo.com Decisions are made every 2 months.

The basic criteria are that ideas should have benefit to the community. A committee of volunteers select successful projects.

Ring Pauline on 01258 880084 / 07760 303332 Gift Vouchers available.

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operational COVID-19 safety requirements and costs to mitigate risks e.g. implementing social distancing, hygiene including toilets, catering etc. would be excessive regardless of the size of Fair and number of attendees.”

There are currently 3 Organising Committee vacancies for Secretary, Treasurer and Stalls Coordinator. Being part of this Committee is a great way to contribute to our village. Enjoy the fun and reward from organising an event that raises over £20k for organisations in Milton Abbas and adjacent villages. Anyone interested in joining the Organising Committee please ring Freddy on 881681 or email masftrust@gmail.com.

Keep safe and we look forward to a successful Street Fair in July 2022.

Nigel Hodder, Secretary, MASF Trust

Street Fair postponed until 2022 Normally in the November Bulletin a year before a Street Fair, the Trustees would be pleased to be announcing the provisional grants for local Beneficiaries. Sadly, we are living in unprecedented times and so the Trustees met recently to review a quite different dilemma.

Instead, the Trustees of Milton Abbas Street Fair Trust unanimously agreed to postpone the Street Fair from July 2021 to July 2022. This is due to the uncertainty caused by COVID-19 and the risk this poses for the Street Fair. It will hopefully now be re-arranged for Saturday 30th July 2022, although a full review of this decision will take place next April. It is also hoped that the 2021 Fair date can still be ‘celebrated’ by the village in some way or other too.

Following consultation exercises with Residents of The Street and Beneficiaries of the Fair, it became apparent that while over 70% of Residents would be happy to host a Fair in 2021, subject to Government approval, many of them felt it would be better to wait a year when hopefully a vaccine would be in place and the pandemic would be under control.

Beneficiaries did not feel that a postponement would result in hardship for their organisation – in reality, many of them are not incurring costs due to inactivity!

David French, Chair of the Trustees, said “the Trustees have taken this difficult decision having recognised that the predicted COVID-19 risk is too great and could impact on the health of villagers and visitors alike”.

Freddy Robinson, Chair, advised that the Organising Committee agreed with the decision taken by the Trustees and added “the

Hello from Corfe Mullen What a strange, sad year this has been! Not only has the virus been and is continuing to be an anxious time but for me, like many many others a very sad year - losing Valerie Ashford and Reenee Webb and Irene Allen. We have also had the sorrow of losing the last of our little family of Pomeranian dogs. Some of you may remember the noisy foursome rushing down to our gate whenever anyone came past!! Mum and Dad - Truffy and Pepe died some four or five years ago and last year their son Scampy died of heart failure and just recently we lost his sister Katie. All gone now and we feel so very sad. They were such fun and gave us such love and affection. We still have two other Pomeranians but neither is related to that very special family. Life continues on as usual - well as normal as it can be in this strange time here in Corfe Mullen - who knows what the future holds? God bless you all.

Heather Sims

A few of the winning entries from The Valley Gardening Club’s Virtual Summer Show

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