We’re shortlisted! Again! No pressure, but we are the reigning champions of Regional Publication of the Year … Is it possible to do the double? Who knows – but we’ll be brushing the biscuit crumbs off our posh frocks just in case.
This year, the shortlist has taken a personal twist. We’re up against the mighty Liverpool Echo (frankly bonkers), and – oddly – our childhood local paper, the Southend Echo. The announcement triggered a long-buried memory: aged eight, I apparently won a competition I had no recollection of entering. My parents had to take me to the prize presentation, and the Southend Echo captured the moment in full photographic glory: me, being handed a four-foot tall doll at the exact moment I realised how truly horrifying she was …
Elsewhere in this issue, equestrian fans might want to brace themselves. Not only do we have an extended profile on the president of the British Blacksmiths and Farriers Association, Dorset farrier Abby Bunyard (and yes, you may detect that Courtenay really struggled to enjoy photographing her…), but the glanvilles’ foals are back! Long-time readers will know our annual joy: whiskery noses, daft ears and those glorious, ridiculously long wobbly legs.
(if you’re an equestrian fan, don’t forget to sign up to The Tack Room, our new free equestrian newsletter here)
Also, the anonymous Grumbler – always a fun read – is a bit of a star turn this month
And finally, a note on this month’s farming columns. They are some of the most read in the magazine, and rightly so. Andrew Livingston is on a short break with a poorly child, but George Hosford writes this month with a barely-contained fury that’s impossible to ignore. His anger is real – and entirely justified.
The latest decision from government to pull the plug on the SFI has dealt a significant blow to the farming community – but the very real consequences will be felt far beyond the fields. Please read his column on page 38. It matters.
Laura x
On Dorset Insider
I just wanted to write and say how much I enjoy the Dorset Insider column – it has quietly become my favourite read in the magazine.
Last month’s piece (Build, Baby, Build) was another excellent example: clear-eyed, thoughtful, and obviously written by someone who actually understands how things work beyond the headlines and the social media noise.
It’s incredibly refreshing to hear a knowledgeable, experienced voice talking sense about local government and planning.
Whoever the anonymous councillor is, I hope they know their insight is appreciated. More of this sort of thing, please.
Catherine Ellis, by email
I don’t usually write in, but I’ve taken quite a shine to that Dorset Insider column – last month’s one on housing was spot on.
I’ve sat through enough parish meetings in my time to know when someone’s talking sense, and this writer clearly knows their stuff. No fluff, no politics, just proper knowledge from someone who’s actually been in the thick of it.
It’s become the first thing I turn to when the magazine lands. More of that, please – it’s about time we heard from people with real experience.
Geoff L, address supplied
On the White Hart Link
As a keen walker and proud North Dorset resident, I was genuinely excited to discover the White Hart Link – a long-distance trail celebrating our lovely patch. But having studied the route, I’m left scratching my head.
It’s billed as a ‘circular trail linking the five market towns’ and ‘encouraging tourism and engagement with local businesses’. So why does it avoid the centres of Stalbridge and Blandford? Stalbridge has some lovely independent shops, yet the route skirts the edge. Blandford’s Georgian heart is bypassed altogether, with walkers left to simply turn around when they reach the nothing-here-end of the trailway.
And where are the hill forts? North Dorset’s most impressive historic landmarks and walking views, and yet the route manages to swerve around them. We’ve ended up with a trail that seems determined to avoid the very best bits of the area it’s supposed to showcase.
While no route can please everyone, this one feels like a missed opportunity.
Judith K, Shillingstone
On the tofu tyranny
I read your Meat Tax & Tofu Tyranny piece with a mix of frustration and exhausted recognition.
As a young farmer, I’m more than used to being painted as some sort of villain every time someone wants to make a political point about climate change. But this constant pitting of livestock farming against the environment is lazy, divisive and – as your article rightly pointed out – utterly counterproductive.
We need genuine, nuanced conversations about sustainability, not headlines designed to stir outrage. British meat – especially from small mixed farms like the one I work on – is nothing like the intensive feedlot systems of the US. We’re part of the solution, not the problem.
Regenerative farming, pasture-fed livestock, soil health – we’re working on all of it. But that means support, not sweeping taxes and guilt campaigns. Demonising meat doesn’t help the planet. Supporting better farming does.
Name and address supplied
I found your Meat Tax & Tofu Tyranny article predictably defensive and disappointingly one-sided. No one is trying to take away your Sunday roast or force tofu into anyone’s shopping basket. But we do need to face facts: animal agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and biodiversity loss. Pretending otherwise because “British farming is different” doesn’t change the science.
Yes, industrial meat production is worse – but that doesn’t give smaller farms a free pass. A meat tax isn’t about punishing farmers, it’s about acknowledging the true environmental cost of our food choices and helping consumers make more sustainable ones.
Change is hard, but it’s coming. And if we’re serious about climate action, we can’t keep romanticising the past. The future of food must be plant-based – for the sake of animals, people and the planet.
Tamsin Reed, Bridport
On elderly drivers
I read Joanna Spencer’s letter with great sympathy – it struck a real chord. Having had the same difficult conversation with my father a few years ago, I know how painful it is to balance safety with independence.
But as your recent piece on rural transport showed (Stranded: Dorset is one of the worst in the country), we’re not just dealing with stubborn ageing drivers – we’re dealing with a system that gives them no safe alternative.
If you take the car keys away in much of Dorset, you take away the ability to shop, see friends, get to appointments … It’s no wonder so many of our parents keep driving longer than they should.
Until we address the gaping holes in our rural transport system, we’ll keep having these quiet crises on our country roads.
Margaret F, Milborne Port
Trailway website help needed
We are looking for a volunteer to help us with the North Dorset Trailway network website. We are a charity so pennies are tight. Is this something you could help us with? If you do and you have web experience in build and design – we need your help. This is a volunteer role.
Please call Rosie 07711 089403
Want to reply? Read something you feel needs commenting on? Our postbag is open! Please send emails to letters@BVmagazine.co.uk.
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