Yetminster

REP: Michaela and Graham Plaice: gplaice@gmail.com 872921

Upbury House, showing the old doorway shape and old long windows behind the dark shrub

A very warm welcome to David Morgan and his stepson Ellis, the new owners of the White Hart Pub. I am hoping that, by the time you receive this magazine, the pub will be open. David and Ellis had hoped to open much earlier but have been plagued by bank and VAT registration difficulties. Ellis will be the man in charge and, with his many years of trade experience, intends to return the White Hart to a true heart-of-the-village local; in other words, back to its former glory. They have created a lighter tone to the bar areas with refreshed and more colourful pictures and paintings. Three real ales are on offer and a fully stocked bar with a range of bar snacks.

David and Ellis are taking a softly, softly approach to the future of the pub, listening to the opinions and comments from as many people as possible before making any radical changes. David is very community minded and has proposed the possibility of opening the

pub one morning a week for a mother and toddler event. He has previously looked for community projects to support which has included funding to his local Scout/Cub/Guide groups for a specific project to be completed.

I implore the community to get behind the White Hart team, give them a generous Yetminster welcome and support this vital village asset. Once settled in, I hope David and Ellis could write an article about themselves and their vision for the White Hart for the magazine. Once again welcome David, Ellis and the White Hart team.

Remembrance events for 2021 started with the village ceremony on 11 November, which was attended by approximately 60 people, followed by the church service on Sunday 14 November, which drew a congregation of 95 people and raised £350 for the Royal British Legion. An outstanding achievement and we were delighted to support such a wonderful organisation who are celebrating their centenary.

Sarah at the Yetminster Gallery is thrilled that the Art for All classes have started again. In November, there were two events with local authors: Arminel Dare came to chat one morning with people about her book, Mayflower Marriage, and Toby Hartwell of Daredevil Books spoke one evening about one of their recent publications, Full Throttle. Sarah says the wood burner is now lit, decorations are up, and they wish all their customers and friends a very happy Christmas.

As we hurtle towards the festive season there is so much to look forward to – the Sherborne brass band event, the carol service, St. Andrew’s school event, the pub opening and much, much more. Keep reading the magazine for further details.

We have not beaten Covid-19, the number of cases is rising rapidly across the country and in our area, so now is not the time to throw caution to the wind. Be careful and enjoy the festive season.

All that remains is for Michaela and I to wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Michaela and Graham Plaice

St. Andrew’s Church

Advent, Christmas and Epiphany

This is one of the busiest seasons in the church year and we have lots of services, with our traditional Christmas Carols on Sunday 12 December, starting at 4.30pm. This year, the St. Andrew’s Singers will again be joined by the school choir, and we hope to start with tea and mince pies before the service. If you are new to the village, do please come along and join us!

SUNDAY 12th DECEMBER

4.30pm CAROL SERVICE

St Andrew’s Church Yetminster

Tea and Mince Pies

Everyone welcome, especially newcomers to the village!

There will also be the Millennium Hangings Christmas cards on sale in aid of the church, at the Christmas Coffee and Cake morning on Wednesday 1 December, from 10.00am-12noon. This is always very popular, so do come along and enjoy delicious home-made cakes and meet your neighbours. All other Christmas and New Year Services are in this magazine’s church schedules, on our website www. threevalleysteam. org and in your weekly Yetminster round robin, so do please keep an eye on them. If you would like to receive the round robin, please let me know on the email address below.

Carol Service

Yetminster Methodist Church Monday 6th December 7.00pm

Followed by mince pies

All members of the PCC wish you a very Happy Christmas, and prayers for a peaceful New Year, full of promise for the future. With my best wishes

Churchwarden Clare

Churchwarden.yet@gmail.com

Christmas Coffee and Cake morning is on Wednesday 1 December, 10.00am12noon. There will be a raffle – donations welcome on the day. We will also be collecting Christmas themed items for the Lords Larder, so please bring items on the day. We are hoping the school choir will be joining us to sing a few merry tunes to get in the festive spirit. We look forward to seeing everyone.

Angela and Grace

INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED TIM KLIPHUIS TRIO CLASSICAL, GYPSY, JAZZ AND FOLK MUSIC

Award-winning Dutch violinist with a guitarist and double bass player. Suitable for all ages JUBILEE HALL – YETMINSTER FRIDAY14 JANUARY 2022 7.30PM Tickets from the Artsreach website: www.artsreach.co.uk

Dorset Moviola in association with YETMINSTER FILMS NIGHTS

presents DREAM HORSE (PG)

Tuesday 7th December 7.30

We end the year with this feel-good film, a lovely story of the triumph of the underdog, guaranteed to send you home happy.

Jubilee Hall, Doors Open 7.00 pm Tickets £6 available from the Spar Shop, Yetminster Yetminster Fair Association 50/50 Club draw

OCTOBER WINNERS

1st prize of £50 No. 61 Mr & Mrs Crocker 2nd prize of £30 No. 11 Miss D Kemp 3rd prize of £20 No. 28 Mr D Donaldson

NOVEMBER WINNERS

1st prize of £50 No. 58 Mr K Horswell 2nd prize of £30 No. 53 Dr I Latham 3rd prize of £20 No. 31 Mrs S Goldsworthy

St. Andrew’s Primary School

November 2021

Looking back on the last month in school, I am amazed by how much we were able to pack in. We celebrated Black History Month by focusing on black women who have made a significant contribution to our world. Our children learned about Dr Shirley Thompson, Mae Jemison, Tessa Sanderson, Katherine Johnson and Simone Biles; maybe you could look them up and find out about their achievements.

The children of the Environmental Explorers Club have planted saplings,

which were kindly donated by the Woodland Trust. We are very hopeful that they will thrive and grow as a sign of our commitment to improving our school environment.

A huge thank you to Alfie and Maisie who laid wreaths at the war memorial in Yetminster to commemorate the sacrifices of our men and women in service to their country.

At the time of writing, we are beginning our preparation for the Christmas festivities. With only 28 school days until the end of term, there is much to be done!

The rising cases of positive Covid infections has impacted on our planned activities and we are quickly adjusting our plans to ensure a safe environment for everyone. Sadly, we have decided not to hold a Christmas Fair in school this year, but we will be selling raffle tickets and celebrating the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ as we lead up to the end of term.

We are preparing two Nativity performances for parents and carers to watch and our school choir will be joining with the St. Andrew’s Church Choir in their Carol Service on 12 December. It is a wonderful opportunity for children to sing with a four-part adult choir and promote a love of singing.

On 3 December, we are supporting a national fundraising project called ‘999Cenotaph’. Children and staff at St. Andrew’s School will be dressing in style on Friday to support the charity’s efforts to raise £3.2m towards the building of the UK’s first monument to honour everyone who has served, or is serving, in the NHS and emergency services, including volunteers. Kindhearted children and staff will pay £1 to wear red, blue, green, or orange clothing – the colours of the emergency services – to show their support. Almost two million people serve in the emergency services today, including 250,000 first responders – those who are at the front line when you dial 999.

If you would like to donate towards the building of the 999Cenotaph, please do bring your donations to the school by 3 December.

Many Blessings

Julie Simpson

Yetminster and Ryme Walking Group

What a wonderful autumn to be walking around the villages. This month we had something different – two History Walks around Yetminster. Paul Birbeck from Sherborne Walks came to give us a guided walk around the village. These were very popular and filled fast, hopefully another walk or two will be arranged for the spring. Watch out for advertising on Facebook and in the WVM.

We all walk around in our own little worlds, but did you know there used to be eight wells, six pubs, a bakery, a haberdashery and more. Have a look at the tiles on the roofs, the window lintels, doors.

What you can’t see from the street view are the old buildings and orchards behind the houses. Google maps gives you an idea and www.explorer. geowessex.com 1888 Historic Map.

We are looking forward to the next walk around Melbury Sampford (parking in Evershot), 10.30am on Wednesday 29 December. Meeting at the triangle. All are welcome.

Our January Walk is Saturday 29 January 10.30am at Minterne Magna, parking in the car park opposite the Church.

Calling all gardeners…

Vegetable plot available at Methodist Chapel, Yetminster Contact June on 01935 872974

Yetminster and Ryme Intrinseca Parish Council

Chairman’s Notes – November Meeting

It is pleasing to report that our request to Dorset Highways for an update on planned works has resulted in the repainting of the road markings in the vicinity of the school. Our next target is to get a date for the extension of the 30mph limit in Thornford Road.

The first serious rainfall of the winter brought the usual flooding problems and highlighted that phase 1 of the work carried out by Wessex Water at Brister End has not been successful. Councillor Hollick will continue to drive this project forward in the hope that the replacement of some of the surface drainage pipe between Chapel Lane and Beer Hackett will improve the situation. Although there was flooding at Bow Bridge, it was not as severe as in previous years, despite the water level being higher than it has been for some years, suggesting that the work carried out so far is starting to have an effect. We will be working with the Environment Agency to encourage landowners to undertake further works.

Due to Covid travel restrictions it has not been possible for the Dorset Payback Scheme to carry out the re-painting of the children’s play area so we will seek another contractor to carry out the work. Rather than undertake short-term work on the safety matting, it has been decided to carry out a full upgrade, and we are grateful to everyone who contributed to the crowd funding that will support this improvement.

Our call out for suggestions for projects which could be funded from the Community Infrastructure Levy grant attracted some very thoughtful ideas which have been discussed by the Working Party. There are strict criteria which need to be followed when selecting suitable projects and recommendations will be presented for approval at the next meeting.

There has been a disturbing increase in vandalism in the village with the destruction of planters at the station, a break-in to the shed on the sports field and damage to crops that were laid out on the table at the allotments. It is possible that these acts were committed by three youths, two boys and a girl; we believe they travel to the village on the train from either Yeovil or Dorchester. Please make us aware if you see them in the village.

It has been decided that meetings will now be held on the last Wednesday of the month rather than the first Wednesday as this will give more time for the monthly accounts to be presented. Therefore, the next meeting will be on the first Wednesday in December and the one after will be held on the last Wednesday in January 2022.

Andy Perlejewski

Chairman of Yetminster and Ryme Intrinseca Parish Council

Want some local information?

what’s going on what you should know where it is when it is

Go the Parish Website – the answer to all your queries!!! Yetminsterparishes.gov.uk

Yetminster & Ryme Intrinseca Neighbourhood Plan

Following the consultation on our submitted plan, the Planning Authority received a total of ten comments and these are to be considered by the independent examiner Andrew Mead.

One of the submissions argues that the Land North of Chapel Meadow should be reinstated as suitable for development (it was removed following concerns from Dorset’s Conservation Officer which were supported by our own AECOM Conservation Advisor) and another proposes two new sites adjacent to the Folly Farm development extending northwards towards Thornford.

The YRIPC NP group is satisfied that there is a sufficient supply of new housing without the inclusion of these sites and will be providing a response to the Examiner clarifying our reasons for this. All being well, the examiner expects to produce his draft report before Christmas.

Copies of the Examiner’s correspondence, together with the Neighbourhood Plan itself and the supporting documentation are available on the dedicated plan pages on the Parish Website – https:// yetminsterparishes.gov.uk YRIPC Neighbourhood Plan Group

YETMINSTER HISTORY SOCIETY

From Romans to Ronald Searle

From classical times to the present day, the combination of animals, people and musical instruments represent almost a set of secret codes. The unravelling of these codes was undertaken by our guest speaker, Jeremy Barlow. On stone monuments, in the margins of religious books, in paintings and cartoons of various eras the threads and themes were brilliantly laid bare for us by Jeremy.

These images could be used to mock, satirise, or create a smile with their incongruity. In the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral from 900 years ago we can see creatures playing the rebec (a sort of fiddle) and the shawm (an ancestor of the oboe). Pagan images appear in decorations of religious texts. In one

mediaeval psalter decorating the text is a woman playing the bellows with fire tongs and she has a distinctly lizard-y tail. In another, an angel points (giving the finger?) to a bells-playing devil.

The message here is clearer than with the bellows player: was she there to distract or warn? Interestingly, this same bellows-and-tongs imagery was picked up by the 19th century cartoonist, Cruickshank, accompanied with the truly awful pun of ‘a grate singer’!

Down the centuries the theme repeats. In the 14th century French satire, Roman de Fauvel, mocking the political corruption of the day, the ‘hero’ (a horse) gets above himself and marries Dame Vainglory. The locals object and protest with musical instruments such as pots and pans beaten with ladles and other kitchen implements; compare the Skimmington ride in Hardy’s novel. In Breugel’s paintings, the poorer people are playing mock instruments such as the knife and gridiron. In Italy from the Commedia dell’ Arte, Pulcinella, who evolves into our Mr Punch, plays the gridiron with tongs.

In 18th century England, Hogarth marks social differences at richer weddings where drummers and butchers’ boys compete, the latter playing marrow bones and cleavers. The 19th century cartoonists had a liking for mixing instruments, animals and people referencing nursery rhymes, or larded with terrible puns. The magazine Punch, which lasted well into the 20th century, famously contained many prime examples.

In the 20th century, the standout exponents of the art are possibly Gerard Hoffnung and Ronald Searle: Hoffnung mocking the musical trends of the time with his Vacuum Quartet in A Flat (The Hoover) and Searle with his satires on the middle classes, not to mentions his famous St. Trinian’s schoolgirls.

I have to say that I will now view artistry involving animals and musical instruments (of whatever sort!) in a totally new light.

John Ferretter