Before we could start harvesting this year, we had the small matter of owls in the combine spout to deal with. In May, a barn owl had been spotted entering and leaving the unloading tube of the combine parked up in the tractor shed. We were told it was likely to be a solitary male, and best left to find a new home. As is so often the case, things turned out rather differently. Several weeks later, as the days were getting longer and the yard was quieter at dusk, we had forgotten all about it … then some odd noises were heard coming from the combine. More advice was taken, and this time the conclusion was that perhaps there might be chicks in the auger tube. What kind of crazy bird would lay eggs down a cold metal tube filled with a twisty metal auger? It was also a bit of a problem. No one wants to disturb young chicks, but harvest was rapidly approaching, and we needed to run up the combine to check all was working. But we clearly couldn’t risk mangling up any chicks, so we eventually decided to slowly turn the auger manually, and see if we could persuade anyone in there to come out.
Sure enough, gradually coming into view were the pale brown feathers of a young barn owl, who we managed to catch and move into the owl box recently installed in the tractor shed. The number of turns on the pulley that drives the auger meant that the nest must have been at least a metre down the tube. Was there going to be another? We turned the auger a few more times, just in case, and hey presto, out came chick number two! When I say ‘chick’, I really mean beautiful, fully feathered young adult barn owls – they must have been on the cusp of fledging. Seeing as they couldn’t possibly have ever seen daylight, they coped remarkably well. How they would have found their way out of the auger tube, a metre or more from the open end, without our assistance, is a good question. And if we had not heard them, and had thrown the auger into gear a few days later, they would have been history. Fortunately, we managed to get them both into the owl box. The next morning they had managed to jump/fly out and were perching on the wall bars of the shed. After a day or two hanging around and doing some flying practice, they disappeared from the yard, but they have been seen locally on numerous occasions. We think their parents had kept them fed throughout, and will no doubt have taken them out for hunting lessons.
Tenors Unlimited, fondly known as the Rat Pack of Opera, will bring their new show, Great Songs Tour, to The Exchange in Sturminster Newton on Saturday, October 12th, at 7:30pm. The dynamic duo, Paul Martin and Jem Sharples, will be joined by local choir Gillingham Singers for an evening of musical entertainment that spans opera, musical theatre and pop. The duo redefined the modern tenor by merging opera, musical theatre and classical music. The UK’s original classical-crossover “man band” have performed alongside stars such as Sting, Lionel Richie, Katherine Jenkins, Beyoncé, Hayley Westenra, Simply Red and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to name a few, and at prestigious venues such as the Royal Albert Hall. For 20 years, Tenors Unlimited has been entertaining audiences world-wide, bringing their own blend of wit, humour, charm and vocal arrangements to their performances. Fresh from a UK and USA tour, captivating audiences on both sides of the Atlantic, Tenors Unlimited promises an evening filled with fabulous harmonies and fun repartee. Jem says, ‘There’s something for everyone in our new show – from Puccini’s Nessun Dorma to Freddie Mercury’s Barcelona, The Pearl Fishers’ Duet and songs from The Greatest Showman. We’ve also included some of our own compositions.’ Their entertaining blend of popular classics, crooner hits and original songs makes for a unique, memorable performance. In 2019, Tenors Unlimited won the Broadway World Best Touring Show Award in the USA, and their single Who is He? topped UK charts in aid of The Salvation Army. 12th October, 7:30pm, adults £24. For tickets, see stur-exchange.co.uk
Ringwood & Fordingbridge Lions Club helping to package boxes at the NFFU warehouse in 2023
On Saturday 12th October, members of Ringwood & Fordingbridge Lions Club will be travelling to the New Forest For Ukraine (NFFU) Warehouse in Lymington to help package boxes of aid destined for war torn Ukraine. As winter fast approaches, families will be in need of warm clothing, hot water bottles, footwear, clean blankets, duvets and pillows, sleeping bags, portable gas cookers, toiletries, food, medical equipment and supplies. There is a comprehensive list that can be found on the NFFU website. If you are free on the morning of Saturday 12th October and would like to help out, or alternatively if you would like to donate items to send to Ukraine, then please contact Ringwood & Fordingbridge Lions Club via their website or by telephone on 0345 833 5819. Ringwood & Fordingbridge Lions Club President Alastair Ward says: ‘We are humbled at the amazing work of NFFU in maintaining a steady stream of humanitarian aid to those struggling in Ukraine. Our members are proud to help them prepare boxes of the much- needed aid for transit.’ NFFU accept a wide variety of donations, which will be shipped to aid centres and hospitals in Ukraine and Poland for families in need. There are collection points assembled all over the New Forest for anyone who would like to donate items needed for aid centres and hospitals in Ukraine. Anyone wishing to know more about either organisation or how they can help or volunteer can find out more at their respective websites: newforestforukraine.co.uk randflions.org.uk
Tracie Beardsley catches up with C&O’s Matthew Holland – in between him selling tractors, fighting fires, making honey and selling cider!
Matthew Holland has worked at Blandford’s C&O Tractors since 1978, when it was still Stanley Pond Ltd. All Images: Courtenay Hitchcock
When the excited 16-year-old Matthew Holland walked through the workshop doors of Stanley Pond Ltd in Blandford, it was his first step in making his childhood dream of becoming an agricultural engineer come true. Fast forward 46 years and Matthew is sales manager at the renamed C&O Tractors, the same family-run business dating back to 1753*, and now Massey Ferguson specialists. It’s one of the largest agricultural machinery suppliers in the south, with six depots, a hire fleet, parts and after-sales services.In his deep, delicious Dorset lilt, Matthew tells me: ‘My siblings went to university – I went to the university of Stanley Pond Ltd! But it’s given me 46 years of consecutive employment.’He can even remember the exact date he started: ‘July 3rd, 1978. I turned up on the moped I’d bought with money from summer bale stacking.’His hands-on apprenticeship was four intensive years. ‘I was essentially married to the senior engineer Ronnie all that time. I was a teenager: he was hard on me, but I needed it. Back then the workshop was buzzing. We had a blacksmith and a real character of a tinsmith – Burt Gale. Even my listening to Radio One didn’t drown out the backing track of Burt tapping out the tin.’
Matthew has been a part time fireman for 39 years, and was recently awarded the King’s Fire Service Medal
No more hammers A rural childhood in Tarrant Keyneston ignited Matthew’s love for tinkering about with farm machinery. He was always either under the bonnet of a tractor or behind the wheel. ‘I loved going with my dad, a farm manager, to fix machinery,’ he says. ‘I was mesmerised by the forge and all the tools.’ Matthew looks back on the changes in his industry. ‘It’s changed beyond all recognition. We used to actually repair things – hammering, welding, brazing … that’s a style of welding with a bronze rod that’s not done anymore. For today’s agricultural engineers it’s far more complicated. ‘Machinery’s become so complex – it’s all digital, satellite, state-of-the-art technology. We need product specialists just to keep us on track … especially me, computers are not my forte!’ Given the opportunity, Matthew will still roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty, though: ‘I delivered a machine to my old form master recently and got my overalls on to get it ready for him. And I still tinker about in my spare time. I’ve got about eight acres, and I keep some vintage Ford tractors that I love to play around with.’
Matthew Holland has recently been awarded received the King’s Fire Service Medal: ‘I was going to bring it in to show you but thought it would be a bit ostentatious.’
A King’s Medal There’s not much of that spare time, however! A fire engine hurtles past the C&O office and Matthew wonders if it’s “one of his” – he’s been a part-time firefighter for Blandford station for the last 39 years. He modestly reveals he’s just received the Kings Coronation medal: ‘I was going to bring it in to show you but thought it would be a bit ostentatious.’ I ask him about this challenging – and brave – commitment taking up his spare time. ‘Who doesn’t want to drive a fire engine?’ he laughs. ‘I’m in the rare position that C&O will let me “turn out” to a shout. My former boss Mr Pond let me do it, and so does my present boss, Andrew Coles, for which I am very grateful.’ Many of the “shouts” take him to his C&O customers. The heatwave summer of 2022 saw the rural crew regularly battling dramatic field fires. ‘The adrenalin rush is incredible. It’s physically demanding, which I enjoy. I can also bring along my practical and engineering skills. And it’s very humbling. No matter how bad a day you’ve had, there’s someone else who’s had a much worse one! When things get demanding in the office, my leveller is my sense of humour. It helps to remind myself “no one’s died”.’ As if work and firefighting were not enough to squeeze into normal life, Matthew also keeps bees and produces quality craft cider and apple juice, aptly named Cider By Rosie. ‘I’m learning from an octogenarian cider maker. She’s the sorcerer and I’m the apprentice…again!’ There’s an agricultural saying about the secret to happiness: “tractors, fields and freedom”. Matthew certainly seems to have found all three. ‘Work is a joy,’ he says. ‘It’s a good habit. I enjoy everything I do, and it’s all been made possible by the support of my wife Charmian and my two children, Daniel and Michaela – and more recently my two fantastic granddaughters. ‘I’ve had opportunities to move on over the years. Is it loyalty or lack of ambition that I haven’t? ‘For me, it’s loyalty, a value instilled in me. The Pond family were good to me when I was a boy. As a man, the Coles family have been brilliant. I’ve had only two bosses in 46 years, and the chance to travel to Brazil, Zambia, Canada and Arizona for work. It’s a job that takes me across the stunning Blackmore Vale most days, and I go home to my own “little piece of England” at the end of my day. Not bad for a country bumpkin!’
C&O Tractors are Massey Ferguson specialists, and one of the largest agricultural machinery suppliers in the south
A-list dinner party guest? ‘Steve Fletcher, former centre forward for AFC Bournemouth when the club was going through a hard time. He was so loyal. And Eddie Howe, a top man who should have been knighted for Bournemouth FC’s fairytale transformation. Charmian, and also my first boss Timothy Pond, who I’m ever grateful to.’
Book by your bedside? ‘No books. Farmer’s Weekly Magazine. I go to bed dreaming of tractors!’
C&O Tractors, Construction and Garden Machinery candotractors.com *C&O Tractors was founded in 2000 – Stanley Pond Ltd, now owned by C&O, was founded in 1753.
Supporters hope it isn’t the end for the beloved Stalbridge arts centre and its legacy as a creative hub for the area – Rachael Rowe reports
People in Stalbridge and across North Dorset have a soft spot for Guggleton Arts Farm – known locally as the Gugg – which has been a centre of creativity for more than 25 years. So when it was recently announced that the Gugg’s farm buildings and premises were being sold, residents quickly took to social media to share their thoughts on its future, while acknowledging the reasons for its sale. ‘This place has brought a little bit of me out of myself this year, and I can’t thank them enough,’ said one message. Another called it ‘the lungs of Stalbridge,’ while others expressed that ‘it changed my life’ and described it as ‘such a special place,’ revealing the deep affection for The Gugg. Isabel de Pelet set up Guggleton Arts Farm in 1995, converting the buildings in Station Road, Stalbridge, into galleries and artists’ workshops. She is well-known for promoting local artists and championing the creative arts in Dorset. Many young people and artists have benefitted from her inspirational leadership at The Gugg and gone on to develop careers in the creative arts world. She received the Order of the British Empire Medal in 2015 in the New Year’s Honours list, for her services to artists in Dorset. Following her retirement, the premises are being sold. Deanne Tremlett manages The Gugg today and is currently considering options for the future of the arts centre.
Isabel de Pelet, right, presenting an award at The Gugg
Interest Company (CIC) in 2020: its guiding principle is to offer opportunities to everyone to explore their own creativity within its spaces. ‘I got involved because I needed a studio,’ Deanne says. ‘I attended the Slade School and then Wimbledon as a postgraduate. I fetched up in Stalbridge one day to see Isabel, as I remembered she had studios. She said: ‘Do you want the whole place eventually?’ We both saw eye to eye on artistic things and how the Gugg promotes well-being and a sense of community. ‘Isabel said to me: “Will you run the Gugg for me in exchange for a studio?” – I accepted, set up a CIC and a team of volunteers. ‘What’s special about the Gugg is that it’s a very non-judgemental place. We also look to collaborate with others, and we’re very experimental. We look at what can be done rather than try to fit everything into a box.’
The Gugg’s principal gallery was once a carthorse stable
Young artist programme If you have never visited the Gugg, or looked at its website, you might be surprised at the astonishing variety of events and exhibitions. There are ceramics workshops, open mic sessions, live music, children’s ‘Guggleheads’ art activities, mixed media art classes, coffee knit and natter, exhibitions, comedy nights, Christmas wreath workshops … and much more. There is literally something for everyone – even if that’s just a place to stop for a cup of coffee and a chat. Fanny Charles, who was the editor of the original Stalbridge-based Blackmore Vale Magazine for 23 years, remembers the early days of Guggleton Farm (as it was then): ‘I knew Isabel because of our mutual interest in visual arts. After she completed her degree in environmental arts at the University of the West of England, she talked to me about her plans for the farm, which she owned. At the time it was fairly run-down, with slightly dilapidated stone buildings and an old Dutch barn. But it had character – and real promise as an unusual venue. ‘It took a lot of work to get the yard and the buildings ready, but it was so exciting when Isabel was able to start organising exhibitions. She had an amazing eye for talent, and one of the most consistently exciting parts of her programme was the annual young artists show, in late autumn. She showed work by emerging artists and people who were barely out of art school – some of them have gone on to great success.’
The Young Artist exhibition is now in its 19th year, renamed the Isabel de Pelet Young Artist of the Year Competition.
Open mic night in the Dutch barn
‘The old stone building in the centre of the yard was the gallery from the start, but the project took a big step forward when Isabel was able to have the new floor put in to create a second space. ‘As well as Guggleton, Isabel was a leading figure in the visual arts scene in the region. She used to organise the hanging for the exhibition at the Royal Bath & West Show. One year, she asked me to help her and that was a real eye-opener. Hanging an exhibition is not an easy job. Hanging an exhibition with hundreds of pictures, from spectacular paintings by leading regional artists to little watercolours and family portraits, in a way that allows them all to look their best – that’s a real art. And Isabel was brilliant at it. I hope her legacy can continue and that the current team at the Gugg can find a way to keep going.’
Carers’ Day at the Gugg: carers are welcome to come and try out a craft or just watch others, sit, chat, make new friends, have a cuppa and a cake!
Deanne has lots of happy memories of the Gugg but there’s one that sticks out for her: ‘It was just after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We thought, what can we do? So we asked our artists to donate one item of art for an auction. Gordon Brockman from the Antiques Roadshow came and we raised £5,000 for the Disaster Emergency Committee. It was a fantastic night.’ While dealing with the sale of the premises, the team at the Gugg are very supportive of Isabel and her family. ‘We completely understand the need for Isabel’s family to sell the premises for her sake. Isabel has given so much to the community and now she needs the gift back.’
Dorset Chamber CEO Ian Girling talks about the need for celebrating success, and looks ahead to navigating uncertainty and fostering growth
I’d like to begin by saying a huge thank you to everyone that is participating in the 2024 Dorset Business Festival. With several events across Dorset, our aim is to unite Dorset businesses and celebrate the importance of business as a force for good – we kicked off festival fortnight with an insightful networking breakfast on Sandbanks, and this week have had a brilliant two day Business Expo. Now we look forward to next week’s Business as a Force for Good Conference (still some tickets available). I’d also like to offer our congratulations to all the finalists in the Dorset Business Awards, and I look forward to seeing them all at the sold out Gala Dinner on the 10th October. Business makes a hugely positive impact to society on so many levels and we should always remember and celebrate this.
Change may be coming 30th October will see the delivery of the Autumn Budget by Chancellor Rachel Reeves – we will of course be gauging the reaction of Dorset business to the budget. A couple of weeks ago, we ran a LinkedIn poll to see how business people were feeling about the impending budget, given the very gloomy messages coming from Government in the run up to it. Unsurprisingly, of the people that responded to the poll, 48 per cent said they were very concerned about the forthcoming budget, 42 per cent are somewhat concerned and only 10 per cent not concerned at all. It will be interesting to compare this to the days after the budget is delivered. Businesses have been through an incredibly challenging few years with Covid, Ukraine and the cost of living crisis with its high inflation and a significant increase in interest rates. Businesses need a period of stability, and an economic environment that supports business, encouraging growth, employment and investment. We will continue to push on this locally as well as at a national level through the British Chambers of Commerce. We’d welcome the views of Dorset business around the economic plans from the new Labour Government, as well as the new employment legislation which is significant for all businesses employing people. If there is anything we can help you with, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Barry Cuff takes a look back at his diary of what happened on the plot last month
‘The Early Nantes carrots are still cropping, we pull them as required’. All images: Barry Cuff
I have been out of action this month due to an injured leg. Val, my wife, stepped in for me. She carried out any essential work, such as the last seed sowings of the year and some weeding of later-planted crops. As well as harvesting and collecting the fallen nuts from our hazel bushes, she has needed to water thirsty vegetables during the middle of the month. Well over five inches of rain fell during the period, giving a flush of weed seedlings on any ground cleared of crops. Not a major problem at this time of year, as long as they do not flower and produce seeds – in fact they provide good green cover. Later in October, these areas will be sown with green manure for overwintering. The Kings Seeds catalogue has arrived – allotment association members get 40% discount!
Beetroot – Two varieties, Moulin Rouge and Cylindra, were pulled as required for salads and also for pickling. Broccoli – Plants looking well for harvesting from January to March. Brussels Sprouts – Good strong growth with buttons starting to show. We’ll harvest these from December onwards. Calabrese – (Ironman) Cutting nice heads from the later plants, and good side shoots from the earlier ones. Cabbage – The Red Drumhead are standing well, and we have cut heads as required: mainly for salads and stir fries. Cauliflower – We’re cutting average heads of the variety Cheesy. Cendis, a later variety, will be ready in November. Carrot – (Early Nantes) Still pulling as required Celeriac – Looking well due to rain and a regular liquid seaweed feed. Celery – (Golden Self Blanching) Lifting as required now. Good plants with some superficial woodlice damage. Chicory – (Witloof) looking well for lifting and blanching in November.
The pollinators enjoy the late-flowering echinops
Chinese Cabbage – Cut our first head on the 24th September Courgette – They never stop! Dwarf French bean – Both varieties Nautica and Safari keep on producing a mass of pods. Flowers (for the bees and for cutting) – Some late flowering echinops and also some orange and yellow-flowered tithonia. Hazel bushes – Another good harvest from the hazel. Leek – Looking well now Val has weeded them! Lettuce – (Little Gem) Currently cutting plants put out in August, and more were planted at the beginning of the month. Parsnip – (Palace) We dug our first root on 24th A little early, but just for a taster. Radicchio – The Rossa Di Treviso planted out from plugs at the end of August, and they have put on a lot of growth. Runner beans – The variety Moonlight has more or less finished, but we have a lot of flowers on the Scarlet Emperor plants.
Ironman calabrese: ‘Cutting nice heads from the later plants, and good side shoots from the earlier ones’
Squash – Now the foliage is dying back we can see good fruits of Crown Prince and Butterfly: they should be ready to harvest next month Sweetcorn – (Swift) The last cobs were harvested on 24th. Tally this year: 74 good cobs and 20 smaller cobs from 70 plants Sweet pepper and tomatoes (in the greenhouse) Everything is slowing down in the greenhouse, though we are still picking tomatoes every third or fourth day, and a few sweet pepper plants have new flowers. Winter salad – Val has made two sowings of oriental mustards, mixed salad leaves and Chinese radishes.
If you are interested in an allotment in Sturminster Newton, get in touch on [email protected]
Pauline Batstone shares her monthly round up of what’s happening among the town’s collection of community enterprises and events
As I write the Vale Pantry folk are having fun organising some Halloween excitements for later this month … nothing too scary, I’m assured … Meanwhile we are approaching that time of year. whispers Christmas is just around the corner! We are getting ready – the Make Stur Sparkle leaflets will be out soon, so keep an eye open for one as it will tell you all that is going on in and around Stur from the beginning of November through to New Year’s Day. We’re excited to announce that we will be welcoming Paul Young and Los Pacaminos back to switch on the Christmas tree lights on Saturday 30th November: supervised, of course, by Father Christmas, who will be in 1855 to meet children each Saturday from then until the Saturday before Christmas. And the little Christmas angels will be flying into town from the beginning of December. The second Sturminster Newton Business Awards will be launched shortly – and everyone will have the chance to nominate their favourite businesses, and thank those who offer the best service.
The popular Sturminster Newton Wedding Fair will be back next year, taking place in the Exchange on 25th January – trade stand space is still available for professionals to book. St Mary’s Church will be once again be holding a display of wedding dresses (24th and 25th January) – it’s a wonderful exhibition, hopefully displaying the dress beside a wedding photo of it being worn – fashion history, social history and a romance story all in one. If your wedding dress would enjoy one more turn in the spotlight, the church would love to borrow it! Meanwhile the SturAction shops are working hard to please their customers while raising the money to pay for the Christmas events in the town.
Born and bred in the Yorkshire Dales, equestrian photographer Brian Stubbs grew up on a farm surrounded by horses: ‘Nothing flash, we couldn’t afford that,’ he says. ‘It was Dad’s hobby – or vice. He said he “didn’t drink, didn’t smoke, so horses were his vice”. I wouldn’t say I rode, exactly: I sat on them and travelled around … but I really wouldn’t call it riding! ‘I trained as a teacher, went to Cambridge for my postgrad, and then moved to Somerset in 1982 to join Sexey’s School for my first job … and I stayed there until I retired from teaching in 2018. ‘My daughter enjoyed riding, and eventually she got her own horse. I was taking pictures of them together, and my camera started to play up. So I invested in a pro-level camera and lenses as a bit of a treat, and I started taking the photography much more seriously.’ Wincanton Camera Club was contacted by Wincanton Racecourse with an invitation to members to come along and take some pictures. Brian took the opportunity, and submitted his photos for the racecourse team to look at: ‘I was contacted by their press officer, and it led to a booking from the Jockey Club to cover four or five of their big race days in Wincanton.’ His reputation quickly grew, and Brian soon had an Access All Areas pass for the racecourse, where he got to know the local racing community.
‘I also called a couple of livery yards, and several asked me to take photos of their horses … and it all started from there. I now go to the Tizzard’s racing yard in Milborne Port quite regularly on the mornings they’re riding out. It’s quite nice for the staff, they don’t tend to get photographed because race days are all about the professional jockeys. For the yard staff it’s an opportunity to have a photo on the horse that they’re spending their life looking after. Kayley Woollacott also invited me to her yard at Crewkerne to cover her Owners Day, and that’s become another annual fixture for me. ‘I’m still a member of Wincanton Camera Club – we’ve got a big day on Wednesday with Charlie Waite, the landscape photographer, visiting (see the BV’s recent interview with Charlie Waite here): we have more than 100 people coming. ‘The club itself has around 20 members – but it’s thriving. And we’ve done well in the Western Counties Photographic Federation – of all clubs in the South West, we’ve won the Small Clubs Award two years on the trot. The club is for all abilities – even if you’re just taking photos on your phone. We all have to start somewhere, and the learning never stops.’
A good tutor Brian’s enjoying his retirement – by not being at all retired: ‘The photography is growing, just by word of mouth. I primarily photograph horses and dogs: they are what I love, and I therefore have an understanding of them. Like if I photograph a rugby match, I played a lot of rugby, so I know what’s going to happen. If you know an animal, you understand how it is going to react? A horse can make or ruin a picture with a twitch of an ear! And owners know that – if the ears go back, it’s not a picture they would buy. I’m always looking to capture the relationship between the owner and the horse. They book me to take a horse portrait, but some of the best pictures are with the owner in the picture, focusing on their horse and totally ignoring the camera. They forget you’re there and you get to see that genuine relationship.
‘The biggest kick I get is being able to show them the photos afterwards, that’s what gives me a buzz. To know that you’ve given them something that is so personal, it’s very much theirs. ‘I genuinely love the challenge of capturing action photos – horse racing, jumping, Eventing … I have photographed some of the top stars at Nunney, but it’s also nice to see it from the grassroots, from tiddlers up. One thing I’ve got gnawing away in the back of my head is to recreate a Stubbs painting as a photograph. I’d love to do that. But I enjoy just improving my art.
‘The more you learn, the more you realise how much there is to learn. Everybody’s got a camera in their pocket these days. But to take a quality picture is something else. If you are paid to cover an event, you can’t afford for one in ten to be OK, you need to have ten out of ten. Even then, the one that’s got that extra bit of life in it, that’s the bit that makes it really special. Focus, lighting, understanding the right moment … it’s a hell of a discipline, and it’s a good tutor.’
