This week I heard a news story (OK, fine, I watched a TikTok. But I promptly checked it was true!) about a beaver colony in the Czech Republic which has put us all to shame. In just two days, without a single feasibility study, planning consultation or eye-watering quote from a contractor, the eight beavers built a dam that local authorities had been trying (and failing) to construct for seven years. Bureaucracy, it turns out, is no match for a determined rodent with an architectural vision.
The project – meant to restore a wetland area – had been tangled in red tape for so long that the beavers took matters into their own paws and built the thing, in exactly the right place, in two nights … and promptly saved the administration more than a million pounds. No paperwork, no planning disputes, no hearings, no requests for a budget extension. And after inspecting it, the head of the Czech Nature and Landscape Protection Agency admitted it was better than the one they’d spent seven years planning. Honestly, at this point, I think we should put beavers in charge of most things. Imagine the possibilities: public transport, NHS waiting lists, pothole repairs … government budgets …
It’s such a great story. There’s something deeply reassuring about the idea that, while the rest of us are watching world events unfold with a mix of horror and fatigue, somewhere out there, beavers are quietly (and efficiently) beavering away (badoom tish), making things better.
Speaking of fatigue … I’d like to request that, just for February, we can live in precedented times. Just once. For a few blissful weeks, could we have everything proceed exactly as expected? No surprises, no chaos, no new horrors. Just a nice, predictable, boring run of days where nothing major goes wrong, nobody has to ‘pivot,’ and no one uses the phrase ‘unprecedented challenges’ with a weary sigh. I’d like to spend just a few weeks knowing what’s coming next. Wouldn’t that be nice? Here’s to a boring February (but, you know, in a lovely way).
Laura x
What a top!
I’ve just returned from a short trip into Shaftesbury – made much longer than planned thanks to the mysterious knitter who has placed a new topper on the postbox outside the Town Hall.
It’s WONDERFUL!
The detail is astonishing – the snowdrop in Piglet’s hand, the basket of carrots (presumably a gift for Eeyore). I have no idea who created it (does anyone?), but I wanted to make sure they know just how marvellous it is and how many people stopped to admire it.
I particularly loved the message behind it. In this chapter of the book, Pooh and Piglet visit a gloomy and lonely Eeyore because they’re worried about him – it’s a perfect reminder on our high street to check in with friends during the bleakest month of the year. Fitting, too, that it was bringing people together, sparking smiles and conversation.
Whoever you are – thank you!
M Woods, Shaftesbury
Your anonymous correspondent (Letter to the editor, Jan 25 issue) is unhappy at the quality of the little Christmas trees in Stur over Christmas, and the lack of street decorations.
The important point to remember is that it is the businesses and the charity SturAction who pay for Making Stur Sparkle, not the Council Tax payer, apart from a £500 grant towards the big Christmas tree and the invaluable help of the Council Grounds Team – and thanks also to the Fire Service.
The little Christmas trees were even more of a battle this year because of the two major storms and also coping without our previous worker to put them up and keep them up. We use battery operated lights because for most buildings there is no source of mains electricity we can tap into – the rooms above are no longer occupied by the shop-keepers below. Having some sort of independent ring main just is not feasible. For next year we are investigating using artificial trees with integral lights as some other local towns do, but they would still be battery-operated as there is no alternative.
As far as other street decorations is concerned, the costs are beyond what SturAction could afford.
So you are just going to have to put up with me putting decorations on the bollards around the place at my own expense.
Councillor Pauline Batstone
What’s the Point of Gonkmas?
I was interested to read your article on the festive display in Sturminster and the controversial gonks. I have nothing against such characters, however using them in a manger scene was not being inclusive but being deliberately provocative to Christians. It is sad that the town Council could not display, alongside all the festive characters, the reason for the season in the first place. Perhaps in 2025 they could put Christ back into Christmas in a family friendly and less controversial way?
The Rt Revd Karen Gorham
Bishop of Sherborne
On violins
I enjoyed reading a number of the articles last month but I was particularly interested in the violin maker story. I thought Courtenay’s photos brought the article to life so realistically.
I am very familiar with the inside of violin workshops and this article brought it all back – I was a violinist in the BBC Concert Orchestra for nearly 40 years. I also played with numerous orchestras and in West End shows as a freelance musician.
I played a number of violins over the years, including an Italian instrument made in 1897 by Eugenio Degani – I had to sell that one for a deposit on our house. I then bought a violin made by W. E. Hill.
I bought an instrument made in 2000 (in 2000) by a British maker, Melvin Goldsmith, in order to support local makers: he is now famous worldwide.
I had many other instruments over the years, of course. Of all the many thousands of recordings and concerts, one of the most memorable was a trip to Milan in 1987, to play at La Scala with the National Philharmonic Orchestra for Rudolph Nureyev’s Nutcracker ballet. He also demonstrated a lot of the ballet moves. On a day off I was able to travel to Cremona to see the exhibition of many instruments made by Antonio Stradivari. These instruments had been brought together from all around the world to mark the occasion of 250 years of his death.
I managed to break my left wrist in my late 50s, and despite nearly a year on leave I wasn’t really able to reach the required standard.
I eventually had to retire, though I continued teaching for a couple of years. I don’t do any playing or teaching now: watching nature and taking photos has had to replace my violin playing.
Mike H, by email
James Cossins TB testing
I had the privilege of transporting a gorgeous massive bull, brought over from the Isle of Wight, to a holding pen in Dorset. He was a real character was Edward – he did not want to come out of his trailer under any circumstances! We tried sticks behind him (so every few inches he moved, the sticks were moved) … the crafty blighter knew what we were at, and just lifted his rear legs and smirked at us!
He was enjoying the game.
One week later he was SLAUGHTERED due to an inconclusive TB test. That was more than ten years ago! Something desperately needs sorting to stop this needless waste of animals.
Carol Willment, by email
No Wessex super council
The news that Wessex has this week been excluded from the Devolution Priority Programme raises more questions than answers. While the councils have expressed understandable disappointment at missing out on potential funding, I’m left wondering whether we’ve missed the boat … or dodged a bullet.
The Dorset Insider last month (I am a firm fan of this mystery parish councillor) rightly asked how local voices would have been safeguarded under a super-council. With such a vast region involved, would Dorset’s distinct rural challenges have been drowned out by urban priorities? Without clarity on checks and balances, it’s hard to see how strategic planning decisions wouldn’t have devolved into the very scenario your Insider feared – targets being shuffled around with little regard for local knowledge.
At the same time, this setback could mean Dorset loses access to much-needed funds for infrastructure, housing and economic growth. I hope there’s still a path forward that balances both funding opportunities and genuine local representation.
Catherine Sinclair, Dorchester
