Immediate Start!
Experienced Carer required to join fantastic team providing 1:1 personal care 24/7 to 96 yr old gentleman in Cranborne Chase area.
Must be comfortable with increasingly advanced dementia. Shifts available both week days and weekends.
Please contact 07866 044871
“As we move effortlessly into Autumn there are some excellent titles coming into paperback that didn’t get a fair shake due to the stop-start 18 months we have just had, so I thought I would bring them to your attention again. William Boyd is one our best loved novelists, and has written a fascinating book set in the sixties. James Rebanks (barrister-turned-farmer) continues to write about the challenges of balancing modern farming and sustainable husbandry in the wild and beautiful Yorkshire countryside.” – Wayne
Trio by William Boyd – £8.99
A producer. A novelist. An actress. It is summer in 1968, the year of the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. There are riots in Paris and the Vietnam War is out of control. While the world is reeling our three characters are involved in making a Swingin’ Sixties movie in sunny Brighton. All are leading secret lives. Elfrida is drowning her writer’s block in vodka; Talbot, coping with the daily dysfunction of making a film, is hiding something in a secret apartment; and the glamorous Anny is wondering why the CIA is suddenly so interested in her. But the show must go on and, as it does, the trio’s private worlds begin to take over their public ones. Pressures build inexorably – someone’s going to crack. Or maybe they all will.
English Pastoral An Inheritance by James Rebanks £9.99
As a boy, James Rebanks’s grandfather taught him to work the land the old way. Their family farm in the Lake District hills was part of an ancient agricultural landscape. And yet, by the time James inherited the farm, it was barely recognisable. The men and women had vanished from the fields; the old stone barns had crumbled; the skies had emptied of birds and their wind-blown song. English Pastoral tells of how rural landscapes around the world were brought close to collapse, and the age-old rhythms of work, weather, community and wild things were lost. And yet this elegy from the northern fells is also a song of hope. Of how, guided by the past, one farmer began to salvage a tiny corner of England that was now his, doing his best to restore the life that had vanished and to leave a legacy for the future.
Sherborne’s independent bookshop Winstone’s has won the ‘British Book Awards South West Bookseller of the Year’ four times and was winner of the ‘Independent Bookseller of the Year’ national award in 2016.
Owner Wayne Winstone is one of the three judges for this year’s Costa Prize for Fiction. This year Wayne was selected as one of the top 100 people in the Book Trade’s Most Influential Figures listing.
Senior, Part-Time, Self-Employed PA required for Company Chairman/Director of multiple businesses
I am looking for a part-time, self-employed PA to work approximately 15/20 hours a week, Monday to Friday, to start as soon as possible.
This is a varied role with a great deal of responsibility and good communication skills are essential. Ideally, this person will live relatively close to Sherborne/Dorchester as weekly one-to-one meetings are required.
Should you be interested in applying, please email Emma Elliott (my current PA) at [email protected] for the job specification and any further information.
Help needed with the B&SV hunt horses.
Yard management and for the right person occasional riding.
Approximately 25 hours a week (Monday – Saturday).
For more info please contact Stacy Hodges (07792 833297)
Help needed in an equestrian yard based near Hazelbury Bryan.
Circa 20 hours a week could be more if required. Essentially yard management required. Fun vibrant set up with friendly team.
Competitive hourly rate.
Please call 01258 817604 / 07771 518258.
House prices, and whether they will rise or fall from now on, is a very hot topic for general discussion across all sectors of society.
Rightmove statistical analysis says that the ‘upper end’ of the housing market is starting to cool down, whilst the first-time buyers and second-time movers market is still showing record highs in prices coming to market.
To be precise and to quote our Rightmove colleagues:
Buyer demand remains strong, suggesting an autumn bounce in prices and seller activity:
The above seems complex and is based on extensive Rightmove data. If you really want to know what is happening to the local market in general and work it out for yourself, here is a little insider tip from Meyers:
Get Figure A:
The above gives you the total amount of houses seen as available in that price range; make a note of the number.
Get Figure B:
This will give you the total number of houses that are still available ‘for sale’ within that price range and of that type. Make a note of this number too.
Finally:
For example if there are 91 houses on the market at a certain price range, and 22 are still available for sale (making the sum 22/91 x 100) then 24% of houses are still for sale.
0-35% availability = a sellers market
35%-65% availability = a flat market
65%-100% = a falling market
In other words, right now we are still in a ‘sellers market’. By having a play with the above across different house types you can see for yourself which market we are currently sitting in, regardless of whether or not house prices are beginning to re-adjust themselves on a weekly or monthly basis. You can use this calculation to see for yourself when might be a good time to try to sell your home.
Curious what your house is worth? Whether you’re ready to sell or just plain curious, the next step is to get a local estate agent to give you an accurate valuation.
Click the form to send your details:
Digging into Deepest Somerset
If you think of Somerset (and apparently a lot of people do these days), you probably picture delicious farmhouse Cheddar and cider (or better still, Somerset Cider Brandy), Lorna Doone’s Exmoor, birdlife on the Somerset Levels and donkeys on the beach at Weston-super-Mare … but there is so much more.
The media is currently preoccupied with Somerset as a Notting Hill-in-the-country rural idyll, where a South African billionaire has reinvented beautiful Hadspen House and its gardens as The Newt, close to uber-fashionable restaurants at Bruton and celebrities “living the dream” (until the cows walk down the lane or the cockerel crows at dawn).
Somerset is, and always has been, much more complicated and interesting. Deepest Somerset, the latest book by journalists Fanny Charles and Gay Pirrie-Weir, is a wide-ranging portrait of this county which is still often overlooked by those on the headlong dash to Devon and Cornwall. There is an introduction by His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, reflecting on the importance of the connection between people, farming, food and the landscape.
As well as the beaches oat Weston or Burnham-on-Sea, the coast is also the construction site of the massive nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point. The dramatic gorges and rocky hills of the Mendips bear the marks of 2,000 years of industry, from lead-mining through coal-mining and iron ore extraction to the continuing quarrying of stone.
Many people know and admire the, beautiful Perpendicular church towers of Mells, Evercreech, Isle Abbots, Huish Episcopi and more – but how many have also spotted the curious, ugly and utterly fascinating little hunky punk carvings around the church roofs?
A few years ago, apple orchards were being grubbed out and cider was a mass-produced shadow of the real thing. Now there are artisan and craft producers all over the county, led by Julian Temperley at Burrow Hill, the man who won the right to call his apple spirit Somerset Cider Brandy, a famous victory over the EU.
The best known cheeses are the traditional farmhouse Cheddars made by the Keens at Wincanton, Tom Calver at Westcombe, Montgomery’s at North Cadbury, Barbers at Ditcheat and the Trethowan brothers at Hewish. Newer delicious continental style cheeses from Marcus Fergussan of Feltham’s Farm, including Renegade Monk and Rebel Nun.
Fanny Charles spent a day learning about cheddaring at Keen’s, makers of one of the world’s greatest cheeses. Chef Philippa Davis, who lives at Shaftesbury, has not only created delicious new recipes for the book with Somerset ingredients, but also learned about cheese making at White Lake, producers of delicious and award-winning cow’s, goat’s and sheep’s milk cheeses.
Newer products, but all with an ancient heritage, include Porlock Oysters, Somerset Charcuterie and Somerset Membrillo. Ruth Kimber, from a well-known farming family near Wincanton, looks back on a long life as a dairy farmer.
Other contributors include Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Michael Eavis, the Lord Lieutenant of Somerset, Mrs Annie Maw, Costa Children’s Book Award-winner Jasbinder Bilan, conductor Charles Hazlewood, garden writer Abigail Ballinger, whose husband runs Bailey Hill Bookshop at Castle Cary, Mulberry founder and champion of spelt grain Roger Saul, National Hunt champion trainer Paul Nicholls, folk singer and historian Eddie Upton and the bird photographer Carl Bovis.
There are beautiful photographs by David Blake, Len Copland, Ian Sumner and Matilda Temperley, and archive pictures, including horrifying scenes from Ilchester Gaol at the time of the Monmouth Rebellion and the persecution of the Quakers.
From the fashion designers Alice Temperley and Terry Macey to traditional potters John Leach and Rob Ellis, from the horse hair factory at Castle Cary to a biotech project at Watchet, from hunky punks to Hinkley Point – dig into Deepest Somerset.
Deepest Dorset, Deepest Wiltshire and Deepest Somerset are all funded by a charitable foundation, with proceeds going to charities in the county. So far more than £65,000 has been raised with the Dorset and Wiltshire titles. Proceeds of Deepest Somerset will support the work of Somerset Community Foundation, the Children’s Hospice South West and the Farming Community Network.
For more information or to buy Deepest Somerset, visit www.deepestbooks.co.uk or telephone 01963 32525.
The August Bank Holiday weekend saw the 15th anniversary of the Oak Fair at Stock Gaylard. From the small acorn event of 15 years ago, the two day country event now hosts over 200 exhibitors.
It’s not all about wood (though there is a lot of that), but it IS all about skilled craftspeople and country living. You won’t find the array of non-eco friendly retail stalls typical at big shows at the Oak Fair. The emphasis is on renewable, skilled, independent eco-conscious businesses. And yes, there is admittedly a lot of wood.
Arranged over the beautiful Stock Gaylard parkland, the resident ancient giant oaks become part of the annual event.
The Oak Fair, laid out in Avenue, Lane and Row, has a unique atmosphere – here is not the bustle of typical county shows. Our unhurried pace was matched by the crowd at large, the stall holders and visitors seemed to chat more and the gentle atmosphere made for an enjoyable and peaceful day.
For many the fair has become a family tradition; kids disappear to throw axes, light fires and enjoy tractor rides, whilst adults watch the craftspeople work, or sit ringside to enjoy the displays in the Arena. Even our teen was happy to join the fun in the ring and be flown over by a Hawk!
Since the launch of its first programme in March 1990, Artsreach has been committed to working with volunteers across Dorset to overcome the barriers of rural isolation by providing communities with access to professional arts events.
Dorset’s touring arts charity Artsreach have brought professional live theatre, music, dance, circus, family shows and more to the heart of rural communities across the county – and this summer was no exception!
Despite the ever-present COVID difficulties, Artsreach presented a 2021 programme featuring outstanding theatre and circus in a variety of open-air locations, allowing audiences to return safely to events once more. Highlights included performances by Bec Applebee, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, Dave Mynne, Bash Street Theatre, Pirates of the Carabina and Simple Cypher. A programme of exciting creative workshops for children also ran throughout the school holidays.
Artsreach Co-Director, Yvonne Gallimore said “After such a difficult period it is a joy to see people coming together socially once more and enjoying live performances in the heart of their community – that is what Artsreach is all about!”
Artsreach also plays an important role in providing a source of income to the community venues in which it works, with all venues keeping a percentage of the box office and often making extra income from refreshments and raffles.
Passionate about connecting communities through professional arts experiences, Artsreach has now launched its new Autumn Programme, and audiences can expect more than 60 performances from over 20 exciting artists taking place in village halls, churches, pubs and other community spaces right across Dorset before Christmas.
Music lovers can enjoy a real medley of styles and genres from both national and international musicians set to visit the county, including Cornwall’s leading bluegrass band Flats and Sharps; award-winning jazz violinist Chris Garrick with guitarist John Etheridge; BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winners Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman and Senegalese kora player Amadou Diagne and guitarist Cory Seznec. Various ensembles of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra will also tour the County and the Ridgeway Singers and Band return with their heart-warming Christmas concerts of local song and poetry.
For theatre goers, Farnham Maltings return with ‘The Syrian Baker’, a new play about the world told with affection and irrepressible humour; Kuumba Nia Arts present ‘SOLD’, winner of Best Ensemble Music Theatre Award at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe and Dave Mynne invites you to celebrate the festive season with his adaptation of ‘A Christmas Carol’.
With storytelling from Emily Hennessey, cabaret from Bowjangles, children’s theatre during half term, internationally acclaimed dance and much more, there really is something for everyone!
Visit the Artsreach website today to book tickets, or sign up to receive a copy of the programme in the post.
Sponsored By Ward Goodman
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