The Prime Minister’s announcement that he has decided to ease back on some of the government’s climate change targets has been greeted with dismay by pretty much everyone who understands just how bad things already are. Speaking at a lectern somewhat misleadingly labelled “Long-term decisions for a brighter future” Rishi Sunak’s new approach to achieving Net Zero includes delaying the transition from gas boilers to heat pumps, as well as the phasing out of petrol and diesel vehicles. He also announced plans to scrap a range of other policies that were designed to help meet Net Zero targets, such as the obligation for homeowners and landlords to meet energy efficiency targets on home insulation. All this is in spite of the government’s own advisory body, the Climate Change Committee, having emphatically stated (again) that existing government policies are already totally insufficient to achieve Net Zero by 2050. And in spite of a year when the reality of climate change surely became undeniable, with the relentless breaking of weather records both here in the UK and across the world. Tragically several people were killed in the recent second autumn storm to hit the UK, and farmland flooding will result in significant crop losses and lead to shortages of some foods – and naturally an increase in prices. As I write this the Met Office are warning of yet another storm about to hit the UK, with very strong winds and a risk of further flooding because the heavy rain will fall on ground that is already saturated from the previous storms. We simply cannot afford to slow our efforts to wean ourselves off fossil fuels. Unless the government’s change of course is rapidly reversed there will be ever worsening consequences. Kicking the can down the road may make you popular with some voters, but in the long run it will inevitably cost us all a lot more, in lost lives as well as money. There are, however, glimmers of hope in the growing number of young people becoming active in environmental protests, and in reports that UK citizens over the age of 70 (a key cohort of Tory voters) are increasingly concerned about the environment.
The 2023 Stur half marathon start line, with 341 competitors
Now in its 33rd year, the Sturminster Newton Half Marathon is one of The Dorset Doddlers biggest – this year’s race attracted almost 350 runners from around Dorset and further afield. This year the Doddlers have been consistently promoting sustainability in all their race events – they now use paper cups rather than plastic for the water stations, and encourage runners to car share.
Green racing For 2023 race director Christine Willis came up with the idea of a ‘Seed’ medal rather than the more usual metal versions. Made of card, with seeds implanted within it, the medal can be planted in order to enjoy the flowers grown from it, reminding you of your race achievement (or it can of course just be kept, as you would a normal medal!). ‘Metal medals often come from countries such as China,’ explains Christine. ‘They are expensive, and there’s usually a long lead time, which means there is a tendency to over-order to ensure you have enough. That either means a load of waste, or that you’re stuck with the same medal for subsequent years.’ The new seed medal was designed by Christine and produced by Front Page Print, a local Sturminster Newton business. ‘It meant the order could be finalised just a few days before race day,’ says Christine. ‘So we kept waste to an absolute minimum. Everything about the medal, including the garden twine and the bag, was sustainably produced in the UK, and it’s all fully compostable.’ Christine’s ideas were picked up by England Athletics, who liked them so much they have included them on their website to help other running clubs and events get involved and think more sustainably.
The sustainable, compostable seed medals
As well as being environmentally friendly, the Stur Half team wanted to ensure that there were social benefits for the race participants too. ‘We want to encourage people to run and enjoy being out in the fresh air in a supportive and friendly environment,’ says Christine. ‘That’s what we hope our races create. We try to keep our race fees low so that the event is more affordable for people who want to give it a go. ‘We also want to ensure we are giving back to the local community, and a large proportion of the race profits is donated to local organisations such as the Sturminster Newton Expedition Group, the local Scouts, the High School, The Vale Pantry, The Exchange and the Blackmore Vale Lions. ‘The Dorset Doddlers are runners who are as passionate about the world we live in as we are about running.’
The Stur Half On what was an unseasonably hot day, the race was won by Lewis Clarke of Poole Runners in a time of 1;14;33. The fastest women’s time was from Vicki Ingham, also from Poole Runners, in 1:22:40. The first local runners were Rich White, in 1:19:19, and Romana Phillips in 2:00:19. There were 37 runners in the 5K race – the winner was Fraser Baird in 23 mins and one second!
• The Doddlers also organise The Stickler (a 10 mile race beginning with the infamous Stickle Path and covering 1,500ft of gruelling climbing up and over Okeford, Hod and Hambledon Hills) and the North Dorset Marathon, as well as supporting lots of other races in the area. To find out more see dorsetdoddlers.org
Hazelbury Bryan’s resident sculptor, Jamie Hart, is placing one of his larger-than-life-size sculptures on display for Remembrance weekend – it’s not comfortable viewing … but then it’s not designed to be. Made from a single piece of local Bulbarrow beech, the untitled piece stands over two metres tall; a tired WWI soldier morphing into a burned deathmask. Jamie deliberately selected the right piece of wood for the statue, and an accompanying plaque reads ‘In memory of all the men, women and children affected by the true horror of war, past present and future’.
‘I first showed it at the Great Dorset Steam Fair in the WWI commemoration area, near the highly acclaimed replica Western Front trench system, and it was received well.
‘Over time I have received lots of letters and emails from veterans telling me how much they like it, and that it conveys the right kind of message.
‘We often talk about remembering the war and the fallen, but it’s easy to gloss over the ugliness. And if we’re to learn lessons, and not repeat past mistakes, we need to look war full in the face and see it all.’
This year, Jamie was approached by the local Royal British Legion branch, and the sculpture has been installed in Hazelbury Bryan beside the war memorial for Remembrance weekend.
‘Everyone is welcome to come and see it,’ James says. ‘Perhaps to spend some time and reflect. And of course everyone is welcome to attend the village Remembrance Sunday service at 11am.
‘After the event I would like it to go somewhere that is relevant; perhaps one of the veteran arboretums. Sadly, instead of becoming less relevant, it’s even more poignant in the current climate, with war again in Europe. War is not a pretty thing … sometimes it’s good to be reminded of that.’
Follow Jamie on Instagram @Jamie_hart_sculpture – he is available for commissions as well as private sales.
Three years ago they bought a smallholding – now the Cooper family make their living selling their nationally award-winning meat products
The South Paddocks sausage rolls are bestsellers
It all started with a bacon roll at Stock Gaylard Oak Fair. The meat was quite simply among the best I have tasted, and I wanted to find out more about the people selling it – South Paddocks, a smallholding at Winterborne Houghton.
Katie Cooper, owner of South Paddocks, at the Sturminster Newton Country Market
The business was launched in 2020, and there is currently a waiting list for both its pork and goat meat. I met owner Katie Cooper at the weekly Country Market in Sturminster Newton (each Tuesday morning in The Exchange) to find out the back story of that bacon roll: ‘My husband Matthew is a builder and I’m a florist – we’re really not from a farming background! We also had a part-time catering business and were fed up with the poor quality of meat that we were seeing. Eventually we decided to rear our own animals. We bought our smallholding in April 2020 and started out with two pigs, two Boer goats and four alpacas. As always seems to happen, things escalated! Our pigs are rare breed Oxford Sandy and Blacks, and we have Huacaya alpacas. Our pigs are all pedigree and reared by us. We have won a Highly Commended in the Love Local Awards and then last month discovered we are one of just two finalists for The British Pig Association’s Pedigree Pork Producer Of The Year award. ‘We were absolutely speechless! ‘At the start we took our time to pick the right breed, before we got the first pair. We then took our very first lot of pork to the Great Dorset Steam Fair and it flew off the stall! I remember thinking to myself “This is going to be alright!” ‘News spread fast about the taste, just by word of mouth. Now I bake sausage rolls at home and sell them, and we also have fresh quiches made with our bacon. There’s a waiting list for our pork, which is a nice reassurance that things are working. We do sell from the farm gate but by pre booking only – we are a working farm, and our “team” is just us; me, Matthew and our three children! ‘Our Marmite and cheese sausage rolls are our best sellers. People also like the fresh quiches – and our goat meat. Generally we’re not used to eating goat in the UK, though some people might have had “something tough” on holiday. But the Boer goats produce excellent meat and we have a waiting list for that too. ‘We do a great range of sausages – smoky maple and chilli, pork and apple, old English, marmalade, red onion chutney and sweet chilli. We’re also doing a custom-made sausage for Christmas which is cranberry, chestnut and sage.’ The South Paddocks meat is currently processed within 15 miles of the smallholding – even so, the Coopers are planning to have their own butchery on site next year, bringing the lifecycle of their product even closer to home.
Petal with her six chunky piglets
The alpaca side Katie’s stall is also full of alpaca socks and woolly gifts including bird feeders. She works in collaboration with three other alpaca farms in Dorset to produce and sell the items as another offshoot of her business, both at local country markets and on Etsy (they’re great Christmas gift ideas). However, it has not all been easy going.
Boer goat Celeste with her twins
,Starting a new business is always a steep learning curve, Katie acknowledges. ‘Initially we fundamentally didn’t know the numbers of the breed, how many we should have – especially with the cost of feed. Now we know that there is a demand for our meat, we can build up the herd. It’s only really this year that we have had enough to sell. We don’t stock farm shops (even though we are asked) because we don’t have enough to be consistent suppliers – we have deliberately taken things very slowly. But we are proud that it has worked – and worked with our small numbers. ‘And we’re not farmers, we’re not from fourth generation farming families or anything like that. Yet we have been successful. ‘The simple fact that people come back to us after tasting our meat is wonderful. ‘I can look around proudly now and say “we reared that; we did that.” And we learned it all on the job. We learned fast that if you look after your animals, the meat looks after itself.’ Katie says that choosing a rare breed goes much deeper than picking a pretty animal: ‘People appreciate the rare breeds because of the flavour – our processes are much slower then is typical in modern farming but it’s completely worth it because the flavour is there. ‘We are just a family of five, and we do it all – from rearing our animals, to packing meat orders, baking the produce and selling it. It’s been a whirlwind, but we are living our dream.’
The challenges faced by same-sex couples in accessing IVF drive an urgent need for equitable healthcare and policy changes, says Sarah Dyke MP
I recently spoke in a debate in Parliament on the provision of IVF for same sex couples. In the UK, 90 per cent of the Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) require female same sex couples to self-fund six cycles of intrauterine insemination (IUI) before they are eligible for IVF, leaving them to face extreme and often inhibitive costs. One cycle of IUI costs £3,000 – and many couples will undergo six to 12 cycles of IUI, leaving them to pay between £19,600 and £25,000 before they are eligible for any NHS fertility services. Somerset ICB will fund nine cycles of IUI, but only one cycle of IVF to eligible women aged between 23 and 40 – well below the NICE guideline of three full cycles. Only four of the country’s 42 ICBs currently provide equal access to same sex couples and do not require self-funding.
It’s later than you think Same sex couples face a system that makes undergoing artificial insemination costly and arduous. I have been told by friends about the emotional impact that this has on them, when they feel like they are in a fight with a system that discriminates against them and does not understand them. There should of course be equal access for same sex couples across the nation’s health care providers and I hope to see this reflected in the next NICE Guidelines in 2024. The government’s Women’s Health Strategy has pledged to remove barriers faced by same sex couples, but has set a ten-year development goal. Having spoken to people involved in the industry they fear that this will be pushed back even further. This would mean that many more LGBTQ+ people who want to become parents will be left feeling disenfranchised under the current system as they are unable to afford the huge costs involved in fertility treatment. Every year that goes by has a real impact on the lives of LGBTQ+ people – more than 60 per cent of whom either want children, or already have them. It should be noted that women’s fertility rate peaks in the mid-20s and drops rapidly after 35. Many women now choose to have children later in life, with the average age of new mothers in 2021 being close to 31. A delay implementing the Women’s Health Strategy will have a real and significant impact on the LGBTQ+ community’s ability to have children, as they continue to navigate the difficulties embedded in the current “postcode lottery” system. While this discriminatory system exists, the LGBTQ+ community are being put at a significant financial disadvantage at the very start of their journey into parenthood. The current system can also drive same-sex couples towards potentially unsafe methods, such as seeking sperm donors who may not be known to them. Not only can this place women in danger, but if the woman is not married or in a civil partnership then the donor will be considered the legal parent of any children, giving him rights over, and responsibilities for, the child. We need a fair and equal IVF treatment programme that is equitable for all.
Tracie Beardsley meets Dorset craftsmen Chris and Ed, internationally recognised as two of the world’s best under-40 leatherworkers
Chris Holbrook (left) and Ed Waldron of Orris Leather All images: Courtenay Hitchcock
It’s a late Friday afternoon when I interview Chris Holbrook and Ed Waldron. Both men have already worked an extremely long week, Ed as a community nurse supporting elderly patients in care homes and Chris helping run his family’s successful shoe repair shop in Dorchester.
All images: Courtenay Hitchcock
Evenings all week have been busy too, designing and handmaking from scratch the beautiful leather products – handbags, bags, belts, wallets, dog leads and collars – in their tiny workroom. All weekend, and virtually every weekend between now and Christmas, these talented craftsmen will sell their luxury leather goods at craft and Christmas markets. Chris explains: ‘Every year our home becomes like Santa’s workshop. We spill out from the workroom into the dining room to keep up with commissions.’
Ed Waldron using a traditional saddler’s clam to clamp his leather in place -–stitching leather is a two-handed process
Both men are self-taught, and their business, Orris Leather, was born out of a hobby. Chris, whose stepfather and step-grandfather are cobblers, went on an introductory shoe-making course. Ed, who is a gifted embroiderer from a family devoted to arts and crafts, also decided to turn his hand to working with leather. Ed says: ‘It got to the stage where we had made so many wallets for ourselves and friends, it seemed a natural progression to start making belts. Then came dog collars, accessories and bags. We took the leap three years ago and launched our business.’
Chris Holbrook working in Orris Leather’s tiny workroom
And though both still have the security of “day jobs”, their business is booming. As well as making their own designs, they take commissions, do repairs and run workshops. Chris says: ‘We’ve just helped someone restore an antique sword case. It was such a privilege to work on it and share our knowledge with the owner.’ Their work has been recognised locally and internationally. They won the Perpetual Challenge Cup at Dorset County Show 2022 for best craft exhibit – a stunning suede-lined handbag. The same year, they were included in the prestigious 40 under 40, a scheme to find the forty best young leatherworkers in the world, organised by one of the UK’s most reputable leather producers, Abbey England in Cheshire. So how do the pair share the workload?
Orris Leather produce hand crafted belts, wallets, dog collars and bags
‘We make it as fair as possible,’ says Ed. ‘Some of our products are hand-dyed, which Chris is really good at it. I don’t have his patience, so I don’t get as consistent results – it is an art in itself. A slightly different part of leather yields slightly different colours, and Chris manages to get uniform results. I steer clear!’ Chris adds: ‘Ed is much braver than I am. He’ll give new techniques a go then teach me. We know each other’s strengths, which makes us a good team.’
An average-sized bag has between 800 and 1,500 hand-sewn stitches and takes about three days; more complex bags with lining will take six days to complete.
Are they critical of each other’s work? ‘Not of each other’s, but we’re overly critical of our own,’ admits Ed. ‘We’re dedicated to producing high quality products. Finish is so important to us. A lot of leatherwork out there is unfinished in terms of the hallmarks of quality. We won’t scrimp on those. ‘We spend time perfecting products rather than sending out anything substandard. Leather is forgiving – treat it well and it will treat you well in return.’ Steady concentration is key in leatherwork. An average-sized bag has between 800 and 1,500 hand-sewn stitches and takes about three days; more complex bags with lining will take six days to complete. Sewing machines are never used. Ed says: ‘Stitching is beautifully repetitive and relaxing. I think I could stitch in my sleep. We must have made millions of stitches in the past three years. ‘And calloused fingers are just part of the job!’
Books by your bedside? Ed: I’m a sucker for a 99p Kindle download so I couldn’t tell you what I’m reading as there’s no front cover image! Chris: I don’t get much time to read but the last book I read was ‘The Secret Life of Trees’ by Colin Tudge.
A-lister dinner party guests? (once the dining table is clear!) Ed: The Queen. She was such an interesting person, incredibly understated. I’d like to get below her surface. Also the charming Sean Connery and The Repair Shop’s Suzie Fletcher – we’ve been lucky enough to meet her and she’s so chilled. Chris: Patricia Routledge and Angela Lansbury! I love Murder She Wrote. Also, Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders – I’m a big Ab Fab fan, and they would be an absolute riot.
It’s a trio that could be the start of a bad joke: an armed forces charity, some motorbike riders and a funeral director … but instead of walking into a bar,m they’ll be riding to Dorset County Hospital with toys this Christmas. Dan Skinner, a Funeral Service Operative in Shaftesbury, is currently organising the toy run to Dorchester on Saturday 16th December. The idea began during a local gathering of the Royal British Legion Riders – and Dan has already secured £500 in donations from Southern Co-op, which operates his own Co-operative Funeralcare branch. The contributions will be presented to Kingfisher Ward, the children’s ward which offers 17 inpatient beds across various specialities. This year the ward will be brimming with Christmas gifts for all the young patients to enjoy. Dan says, ‘I am currently trying to bring together as many people as I can muster. The more involvement we have, the more donations we can gather, and the more the children will benefit. ‘The hospital staff have sent me a list of items they would be very grateful for, so this donation will make a great difference. We have approached other motorcycle groups as well; I hope we’ll have a good attendance.’ The primary mission of the Royal British Legion Riders is to support the poppy appeal, but they are always willing to lend a helping hand in the community when opportunities arise. ‘We also do a lot of funeral escorts’ says Dan. ‘At the request of families, mostly for veterans who have passed away.’
Anthony Taylor (Tony) Born in Mere 27/08/1936 Tony passed away on 1st November 2023 at Hays House aged 87 years. He will be sadly missed by his sisters Sylvia and Muriel, family and friends.
Funeral service at St Michael’s Church Mere on 22nd November 2023. at 2pm and afterwards meet with the family at Zeals Village Hall.
Family Flowers only. Donations if desired for Parkinson’s U.K.
