Yetminster

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

Another lockdown month has come and gone. However, I feel a glimmer of optimism on the horizon. The vaccination rate continues at pace, the R rate has dropped and a plan for a cautious exit of lockdown is being formulated. Once again, a huge thank you to the staff and volunteers of all our health centres and to those manning the Covid-19 centre at Morrison’s car park; a particular shout out goes to Dr Rob Childs and his very informative updates on Facebook.

Well done to the Scout Group who continue to assist Sherborne Food Bank by having a collection at the Scout Hut every Monday night between 5.00pm – 6.00pm.

More detail can be seen in Paul’s Scout/Cub section of the magazine on page 39.

Welcome on behalf of the Yetminster community to the new inhabitants of the Upbury Grange development. According to the website, over 30 houses have either been reserved or sold. We hope that you will be happy in your new homes. These are challenging times for new residents to fully integrate into what is a very vibrant local community.

We are so lucky with the amenities available in Yetminster, the SPAR shop with Debbie, Mark and the team; Carole and Jim in the pub; the health centre and the pharmacy; the railway station which has helped me get to work with its link to Castle Cary; Sarah and Kelly in the Gallery Cafe (our neighbour David Torrance and ourselves have takeaway lunch most weeks – food is brilliant, made special by the girls' attention to detail). We are planning that The Drawing Room (ex Flying Pig room) will be available when the hospitality restrictions lift.

By the time you read this article, Carole and Jim will have moved back into the White Hart and are looking forward to re-opening the pub as soon as they are allowed. They send their best wishes to the community and look forward to seeing us all again, with better times ahead and warmer weather. They have been tidying up the outside areas, doing some maintenance, which will entice many of us to use the outside space in the warmer weather. They have both had their jabs, they don’t look old enough to qualify yet, however, at my age everybody looks young.

Some good news for the residents living near the Meadens Open space as the Parish Council is proposing to replant the area in the South West Corner.

The residents of Brister End continue to have deer take up early morning residence on the lawns in their area. A few residents have become local David Attenboroughs as can be seen by the quality of the photograph by Nigel Rees, I only wish I could post his video. A story on the lines of Captain Tom, we have our own local heroines, in the form of Róisín Lafferty, and her little sister, Eimear.

Inspired by doing her Make Change badge at Rainbows (Róisín is a member of 1st Leigh Rainbows), they both decided to walk from Brister End to St. Andrew’s School and back six times on Sunday 14 February, walking 15km in total, and getting very wet in the process! They did this to coincide with Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week and chose to support Families of Ocean Ward and Heartline Families; both charities have supported their family since their baby brother was born with a congenital heart defect. If you would like to donate to this very worthy cause, the just giving page is: https:// www.justgiving.com/team/TeamLafferty

Finally, you will see in the thank you letter published by the Committee, the response to our plea for support has been tremendous. I even received

There is a full obituary for Terry Fellows later in this section and my sincere apologies for the misspelling of Terry’s surname name in last month’s issue.

a Valentine’s card, unsigned, with a picture of two monkeys preening each other enthusiastically, with the caption, “Who says romance is dead”. Michaela thought I might have a secret admirer until I reminded her, I have a face for radio and not TV!

Michaela and Graham Plaice

LOST

During a walk in Yetminster – a gold bracelet. Huge sentimental value. If found, please contact: ralph. bev@virgin.net/01935 873118

St. Andrews Church, Yetminster

March brings breezes loud and shrill and stirs the dancing daffodil.... At the time of writing in early February, it is hard to know where we will be in a month’s time. But one thing is certain – the days are getting longer and lighter and spring will soon be here.

All service details are in the weekly round robin, and our website at www. threevalleysteam.org. St. Andrews Church is open for personal prayer on Wednesdays and Sundays, and will soon be open for longer, when it is safe to do so.

Lent Course

From Ash Wednesday, 17 February to Maundy Thursday, 1 April at 7.30pm.

A Zoom based Lent Course produced by Dr Peter Walker, including videos from Palestine. This is an account of the Easter Story – Jesus’s life and crucifixion. The sessions are split into two, on Tuesdays and repeated on Thursdays at 7.30 pm. If you would like to take part, do please email 3valleysoffice@ gmail.com including your full name and whether you’ll be joining the Tuesday or Thursday sessions.

World Day of Prayer 2021 'Build on a Strong Foundation' Friday 5 March 2021. Anyone who is interested in taking part or simply joining us on the day please contact liz.kirlew@btinternet. com or phone Holwell Rectory on 01963 23570, and please keep an eye on the website www.threevalleysteam.org

Looking forward to Easter ... I’m ordering my egg from the Real Easter Egg Company. Of the 80 million chocolate Easter eggs sold each year, this is the only Fairtrade one with the Easter story in the box! Also Looking forward to Tower Teas in the summer and hopefully a car boot sale in the autumn. With my best wishes

Clare

churchwarden.yet@gmail.com

News from St. Andrew’s School

I have been working from home during the third lockdown and have gained an insight into the difficulties faced by ‘home workers’, which has enabled me to be more empathic to the issues. For me, the main challenge has been working alone all day when I am used to being in a busy and stimulating environment. 33

I miss the buzz of the school and the camaraderie of the staff – something I took for granted.

This situation has encouraged me to think about our children at home. I was well aware that they miss their friends and teachers but I hadn’t given enough thought to the loss of motivation and purpose they may feel at home. I know parents and carers are doing a fantastic job of supporting their children at home. However, like me, the children may find the absence of the classroom and the lack of encouragement from their peers, quite difficult to manage.

I am looking forward to the day when we can all return to school and be together again.

New Classroom

We have some exciting plans in store for the old changing rooms, located at the end of the school drive. After a long wait, work begins on 15 February to transform the building into a Science, Technology and Maths classroom. We have already been blessed with a donation of £10,000 from the Boyles Trust.

So, imagine my astonishment when I was contacted by Aubone and Judy Pyke with the news that they would like to donate £5,000 to ensure that the classroom is equipped with the latest technology and resources to provide a bespoke learning environment for our children. My sincere thanks to Aubone and Judy for this incredibly generous gift and I wish them every happiness in their new home.

We really want to encourage our children, particularly the girls, to learn about the career opportunities open to them as scientists, computer science technicians, designers and inventors and mathematicians. In this 21st century, there are so many careers still to be discovered.

The photos show the building in its present condition and I will keep you all updated as the improvements happen.

Remote learning

I wish publicly to thank the staff of St Andrew’s School for the determined way in which they have adapted to the demand of providing high quality learning for the children at home and in the classroom, developing new ideas and strategies to communicate with the children at home.

Who knew what a ‘bitmoji’ was until Ms Trew created her virtual classroom, complete with her own avatar! I had no idea that we could use justmote.me to provide audio feedback for the children. Teachers are delivering ‘live’, interactive lessons each week as well as teaching the children present in the classroom. I am in awe of the way they have stepped up and equipped themselves with the knowledge and skills required in such a short space of

Painting of Robert Boyle, which will be displayed in the new classroom.

time. As well as planning and preparing for the classroom lessons, they are planning and uploading remote learning activities for the children at home – moreover, they are researching the latest available technologies so that they can make the learning relevant and interesting for every child, even if they feel out of their comfort zone. Education is an ever changing world and we are fortunate to have open-minded and forward-thinking staff, in our school.

Our Christian value this half term has been ‘perseverance’. I have seen so many examples:

Parents and carers supporting their children at home and not giving up

Children persevering with the learning at home and in school, even when things seem difficult and endless

Everyone working behind the scenes to keep the school running efficiently

I do hope that all of you, in this Wriggle Valley community, are feeling hopeful and positive that we are witnessing a turn towards the light.

“Perseverance – secret of all triumphs”. Victor Hugo

Many Blessings Julie Simpson

Overhanging vegetation

A gentle reminder to any property owner who has a boundary alongside a public right of way e.g. footpath or highway, that the owners are responsible for preventing vegetation (shrubs, hedges and trees) from overhanging onto the highway or path that may cause injury to the public. This link to Dorset Council’s website has more information. https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/roadshighways-maintenance/maintenance/ verges-trees-and-hedges.aspx

Yetminster and Ryme Intrinseca Walking Group

Spring is beginning to spring into action, although we never know what the weather will throw at us next. This hasn’t stopped people walking as we can see the tracks across fields and the edges of lanes. Hopefully, the Walking Group will be able to start as soon as possible, to have a good chat while we are walking. If you were to join the Walking Group, where would you like to go? Suggestions – Yetminster, Mill Lane, Herbury Lane (2.5km) or maybe Yetminster, Ryme Intrinseca (3km)? See the Parish Council website for all walks so far. https://yetminsterparishes.gov.uk/ footpaths-and-bridleways/

The Walking Group organisers are trying to sort out the administration side of the Group, which is taking some time to finalise. We hope to have monthly walks on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning, what would you like? If walkers would also like a midweek walk, we may be able to do this in the future. Please contact The Walking Group on yetpaths@ gmail.com – this Group is for you, please give us your ideas.

Here are some photographs, do you know where they are?

Sara Greenwood

Yetminster and Ryme Intrinseca Parish Council

Chairman’s Notes – February Meeting It has been disappointing recently to receive several reports of dog fouling on pavements within the parish and at the sports field. We all need to work together to eradicate this antisocial behaviour – please report incidents of dog fouling to the Dog Warden on the Dorset for You website, so that we raise the awareness of this issue. It is now illegal for dogs to be off their lead on sports pitches or children’s play areas and for leads to be longer than two metres on a public highway. The lack of bins is one of the reasons given for not using poo bags so a map of all bins will soon be posted on the village noticeboards.

Dorset Highways has agreed to clear vegetation which is currently obscuring

road signs and to reinstate the 3-2-1 bar markings on the Thornford and Ryme Roads. We will ask that the Dorset Council Place Scrutiny Committee consider setting up a Task & Finish Group as part of their forward plan to review the Dorset Council’s current 20mph policy for village communities across the County. We will put ourselves forward as a pilot area for any subsequent 20mph trials and, once the current restrictions are lifted, will resume speedwatch patrols to gather the necessary evidence to justify a 20mph speed limit.

The Parish Council was pleased at the formation of Yetminster and Ryme Intrinseca Walking Group that will ensure our local rights of way are kept open, and report back on any issues. The group’s leader, Sara Greenwood, will act as the council’s representative and has already produced several circular routes, all of which are available on the parish website.

User statistics for the parish website indicate that it is still a valuable community resource used by about 500 people every month. We are grateful to the three volunteers who have come forward to help maintain the currency of the site. Please feel free to contact us with your thoughts on what should be included on the site.

The annual inspection of the children’s play area identified a broken fence that requires urgent attention and one piece of equipment that needs minor repair. The quality of the safety matting has deteriorated in the last year so that remedial work is now recommended. Rather than pressure wash and re-lay the existing matting, it was decided to obtain a quote for new mats. Although old, there are a few signs of rust that will not be improved by painting and plans are in place for this to happen as soon as the weather improves.

New noticeboards for Yetminster and Ryme Intrinseca have been ordered, replanting of the Brierley Hay hedge has taken place, the cost of replanting trees at the Meadens was approved but it was decided not to install a gate at the Pound.

Members of the pubic are welcome to attend our virtual meetings and can contact the Clerk for joining instructions. We are hopeful that we may return to face-to-face meetings in May.

Andy Perlejewski

Chairman of Yetminster and Ryme Intrinseca Parish Council

50/50 Club Result of the February 2021 Draw

1st Prize £50 No. 13 Mr. B. Crumpler 2nd Prize £30 No. 25 Mr. J. Farr 3rd Prize £20 No. 7 Mrs. S. Goldsworthy

Want to join? – forms available at http://yetminsterparishes.gov. uk/a-z/yetminster-fair-association

The Association raises money for local organisations and is nonprofit making and run entirely with voluntary support yetminsterfair@aol.com

1st Yetminster Scout Group

The Scout Group has been continuing with weekly Zoom meetings during January and February. The Beavers, Cubs and Scouts have had the opportunity to meet weekly and take part in different activities together.

Over the past month we have been making pizzas in mugs, cakes in mugs, and bird watching together with the Big Garden Bird Watch and the National Star Count.

The Beavers, Cubs and Scouts took part in a weekend of online activities in January with over 685 groups across the UK and over 47 countries. 1st Yetminster Scout Group members who took part in the challenges came in the top 100 of the 685 teams who entered, which was amazing and just shows how much effort they all made. The activities included camping outside in their gardens or indoors for the weekend, several cooking tasks, fire lighting, backwoods cooking, physical and mental challenges. It was a great weekend, and we all had a lot of fun.

As a Group we are planning for when we can open our doors again and looking for children to join our sections. If your child would like more information, please contact me at email below, you can find information on the Parish Council Website https://yetminsterparishes.gov. uk/scouts/

As a Group we are planning for when

we can open our doors again and looking for children to join our sections. If your child would like more information please contact me at email below, you can also find information on the Parish Council Website https:// yetminsterparishes.gov.uk/scouts/ We also have some adult volunteer roles – to find out more, please click on the link or contact me at email address below. https://www.dorsetscouts.org. uk/get-involved/adult-volunteers-18/1styetminster-scout-group-volunteervacancies

We continue to open the doors of the Scout Hut on Monday evenings between 5.00 – 6.00pm to act as a drop off point for food donations that we forward to Sherborne Food Bank. We would like to thank everyone who has donated so far for this very worthy charity.

Our best wishes and please stay safe.

Paul Hollick

Groups Scout Leader Gsl.1styetminster@gmail.com 07815 135602

Dennis Gilbey

We look forward to being able to use our wonderful Bristol to Weymouth service (via Yeovil) when lockdown ends. To encourage its use, we would like to ask for local help to plant spring flowers and bulbs on the platform, to make it the best flower display along the whole line.

We have some funds for some plants, but please bring as many pots and plants as you can. We are planning to install a water butt to feed the plants later in the year.

Looking forward to a new Spring and Easter 2021. Thank you.

Dennis Gilbey

YETMINSTER HISTORY SOCIETY

Zoom in on our local history

Because of lockdown restrictions we could not, of course, hold our scheduled meeting in the Jubilee Hall. However, technology to the rescue, our speaker delivered her presentation via Zoom. We all sat in the comfort of our own homes and listened and watched Jane Ferentzi-Sheppard tell us all about the Fox-Strangways/Ilchester family history and the Melbury Estate.

Many local people will have walked across the estate from Evershot to Melbury Osmond or vice versa and perhaps wondered where it all came from and who are these Ilchester people. Jane, local history specialist and one-time resident of Yetminster, has the answers which she shared with us through her talk.

The original Melbury House belonged to a William Browning. In 1500, Sir William Strangways married his widow and thus the property came into the Strangways family. His son, Sir Giles Strangways, a loyal supporter of Henry VIII, oversaw the Dissolution of the Monasteries in Dorset. He acquired several other properties in the county, most notably, in a local context, Abbotsbury. He rebuilt Melbury House, which was further extended by later generations of the family.

The house and estates stayed in the Strangways family until 1735 when the sole surviving heir, Elizabeth, married Stephen Fox. Stephen was made Earl of Ilchester in 1756 and two years later assumed the name Fox-Strangways and the Strangways coat of arms.

During the 19th Century via a series of marriages, in particular with the Digby family, the Fox-Strangways came to own one of the most palatial houses in London, Holland House. With it came Holland Park, notable green space in the capital. Sadly, the house was bombed during the war but fortunately a lot of the paintings and possessions had been transported to Dorset before its destruction. The title Earl of Ilchester ceased when Edward Fox-Strangways died in 1964 but the family has kept the estates.

There were lots of questions following Jane’s delivery of a quite complex family history. The technology was no inhibitor. Jane’s answers were enriched with her own recollections of Yetminster and visiting farms owned by Ilchester Estates.

Many thanks must go to Sarah Hedin for organising and managing a most successful Zoom meeting. Next Meeting: 10 March 2021. Dr Francis Burroughs will present, “Benjamin Ferry – the man who built Wessex”. Zoom joining details will be circulated in advance of the meeting. Don’t be afraid to join.

Stephen Fox

John Ferretter

Terry Fellows 1936 – 2021

Terry was born near Chichester and except for the time he spent in the RAF in National Service, he lived in the area until he retired. He joined BT when he left school and remained with them all his working life.

On retirement he and Barbara moved to Kingston, near Hazelbury Bryan, and then in 2000 to Yetminster, first to Sussex Farm Way and then to Chapel Meadow. Terry was a keen bowler and started the Yetminster Short Mat Bowling Club. He was also an enthusiastic gardener, rearranging his garden every time he moved to include a pond.

Terry always found time to help anyone, particularly with computer, internet or electrical problems, calling on his experience with BT. He was a friendly, outgoing person who lived a full life and will be missed by his family and his many friends in the village and beyond.

Terry leaves Barbara, his twin daughters Deborah and Caroline, and son Julian, who lives in Australia, whom he and Barbara visited many times before ill-health curtailed their travels.

A further two wonderful photos from Nigel Rees on the birdlife in his garden