Beer Hackett

REP: John Parker johnwincanton@gmail.com DISTRIBUTOR: Susan Ferdinand

To Bella

Beer Hackett would like to express our great sadness at the loss of Bella NeateClegg who will be sorely missed.

Over the last two years Bella went out of her way to encourage and enable us to raise the profile of our tiny hamlet, presenting an image of a small but vibrant community that’s more than a quirky name on the map.

John Parker

News from St. Michael’s Church

At last! Our churches were allowed to open for private prayer on 15 June.

St. Michael’s opened on 17 June between 10am and 4pm and will remain open on Wednesdays and Sundays between 10 and 4 until daily opening can be resumed.

You are most welcome to visit. Sunday services in our Three Valleys Benefice will be resuming on 12 July. Please follow www.threevalleysteam.org for updates.

Our popular annual Wine & Cheese Party was planned to take place on Friday 7 August. Whether it will be possible to hold the party safely in compliance with the then current guidelines will not be known until early August. Please remember the date and look out for local notices and on the Three Valleys website.

John Bingham

Beer Hackett hits the right note for guitar maker’s family

For Ben and I, the dream of buying our own home seemed like something we might achieve in our retirement. Ben, the owner of a small guitar building factory in Piddlehinton, (www.crimsonguitars.com) and myself, a full-time mother to our three energetic children.

Although the guitar factory grew into a well-subscribed Lutherie school, attracting students from across the globe, it was only when Ben’s hobby of buying and restoring vintage and antique tools took off into a business of its own, (www.vintagetoolshop.com), that the little extra income meant we were able to get a mortgage.

We viewed only three properties in the North Dorset area and this house in Beer Hackett was the first and the best. More than that, if you looked past all the work that needed to be done, it ticked all the boxes as my dream family home, fantastic countryside views, a quiet location, generous living space and a garden with bags of potential.

We set to work the minute we got the keys with a wallpaper ripping party with the kids. As anyone who has removed many years of wallpaper before will know, the problems had only just begun. Not content with the challenges inside, we didn’t hesitate to tackle the garden at the same time – rookie mistake as we set about terracing the garden. It’s hard to believe we are coming close to our first full year in the property, but the progress we have made gives us great pride and pleasure. The welcome we received in Beer Hackett confirmed that this really was the best place to raise a family. During lockdown, it has saddened me that I have not had the opportunity to become more acquainted with our neighbours, and I have sorely missed the usual fetes and get togethers we would have at this time of year. But, as I don’t plan on living anywhere else, there is hope for the future. Now our only problem is figuring out how to squeeze in an extra WC – with three growing children and only one bathroom I foresee a problem!

Tania Crowe