Seeing Beauty And Use In Other’s Discarded Junk

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14 September 2021

Steve Dimmer is a familiar face in North Dorset, having spent many years working for Harts of Stur in their garden centre department.

But his heart has always been in working wood; a couple of years ago he had the opportunity to buy a workshop, complete with the larger tools he’d always wanted – the lifestyle choice was made, and now Steve spends his days happily coated in sawdust and wood shavings.

*Steve Dimmer in his workshop at Spire Hill Business Park near Stalbridge*
*image: Courtenay Hitchcock*

“I was taught woodworking from around 8 years old; by 14 I was making my own fishing boxes. At 17 I was making timber frames for customising my car. I’ve been good with my hands for as long as I could hold a hammer. My dad let me help when I was tiny – and my sons watched me in the workshop. Both my boys and my stepson are as good as me. You learn from doing it!

“The first thing I ever made was a tea towel holder – the ones with marbles in the slots? I’m still making them!” He holds one up and waves it. “My hobby has become my living – and I’m happy.”

*A restored cast iron mangle base, topped with planks of the rescued London Plane, oiled and sitting in the sun to dry. This table was priced at £300, and sold instantly*
*image: Courtenay Hitchcock*

Steve creates bespoke statement pieces of furniture – desks, coffee tables plus a lot of garden benches over the summer. And he’s finding there’s a real market for his work, often selling items via social media as fast as he can make them.

Perhaps it’s the unique look of his materials – Steve prides himself on creating new purpose from the wood others reject;

“it’s the bits with character that I see potential in. I’m happier with the live edge (pieces with bark still on), with knots and interesting grain like pawprint oak.”

Steve refuses to waste anything – old doors and floorboards become mirrors and clocks. Long twisting branches can become cheese boards or hook racks. Even small offcuts can be made into stylish tealight holders.

*Vintage cast iron bench ends in Steve’s workshop waiting to be treated and restored.*
*image: Courtenay Hitchcock*

There is a pile of old, age-blackened wood sitting to the side of Steve’s yard – upon having it examined he found it is London Plane. The saw marks show that it was potentially cut around a hundred years ago – the marks match a traction engine saw blade of 24” diameter, and this method of belt-driven saws powered by tractors was replaced in the early 20th century timber yards by modern machinery with different blade types. This pile of wood was perhaps cut a century ago – and has not been used since.

It’s not just about the woodwork, however – Steve’s stylish furniture pieces carefully pair wood with vintage metal components which he restores. He has just completed a magnificent desk, constructed from a pre-1930’s mangle base topped with yew (in image below). Old unwanted cast iron parasol bases make terrific coffee tables. A recently finished garden bench was built with Victorian railway station bench ends, restored as they would have been when new on the platform.

*The small showroom at Steve’s workshop, with his clocks and mirrors on the walls, one of Steve’s completed benches, and just behind it the yew-topped mangle-based desk (£350).*
*image: Courtenay Hitchcock*

He scours the internet for useful items he can recycle – not just wood, but cast iron vintage objects which can find a new purpose, unwanted items simply in need of some traditional skills.

Steve takes on a lot of bespoke commissions – customers either come to him with a loose idea, or they have a very specific request, and he works with them to create a unique piece of furniture which they can be confident has the best environmentally-friendly credentials.

*Steve in his workshop – image: Courtenay Hitchcock*

When he’s not in his workshop, Steve can usually be found out fishing – he has plans for a busy eventual retirement, taking a small camper van with Elvie the Jack Russell on a long road trip to fish the best carp lakes in the British Isles.

Prices vary according to commission, but as a rough guide restored cast iron garden benches start at £250.

Find Steve as ‘@stevestuff_uk’ on Facebook and on Instagram. His workshop is at Spire Hill Business Park near Stalbridge, and Steve welcomes visitors by appointment.
Do call him on 07721530672 to discuss your own bespoke requirements.

By: Laura Hitchcock

Sky-Divers Jump for Sexual Trauma Charity

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Editorial team

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14 September 2021

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SKY DIVERS RAISE £12,860 FOR THE CHARITY, STARS DORSET

Eighteen sky divers took to the skies at Go Sky Dive in Salisbury on Friday 23^rd July and raised a whopping £12,860 for local charity Sexual Trauma and Recovery Services (STARS Dorset).

The brave group of sky divers, the most the charity has ever had supporting them, consisted of staff members, volunteers and supporters. Each sky diver completed the challenge, some taking on the tandem jump altitude of 15,000ft and some the 10,000ft, which means this brave group had almost a full minute of freefall time! Each jumper smashed their fundraising target and so together raised such an incredible amount which the charity is hugely grateful for.

Charlie Souter-Philips, the charity’s Volunteer Co-ordinator and one of the sky divers said” I wanted to take on a challenge that would push me out of my comfort zone. I was really scared at the thought of jumping out of a plane however it was a brilliant experience and I would advise anyone who is thinking of doing it to do it! We were very blessed to have beautiful sunshine on the day too. The fact that I enjoyed it so much and we raised over £12,000 for STARS Dorset made it even better.”

STARS Dorset organises a Sky Dive at Go Sky Dive in Salisbury each year for supporters of the charity to take part in to help raise vital funds for the charity’s work across the county. All the services that STARS Dorset offers such as its one to one Counselling Service, its Support Line and its Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) service are free and donations from the public help maintain their provision. Last year STARS Dorset supported more than 2000 people across the county.

If you would like to support STARS Dorset and either yourself or your business would like to take part in a Sky Dive for the charity please get in touch. Anyone who has been affected by sexual violence and would like confidential advice and support can call the STARS Dorset Support Line on 01202 308855 or visit www.starsdorset.org.

Wonderful (and unknown) wines from the Loire Valley

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Editorial team

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14 September 2021

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I think my fascination of wine started from a very early age. As a family, we would travel down to the Loire most school holidays. I would be allowed the occasional very weak white wine spritzer and allowed to have a whiff of the wine on any vineyard tours we booked. It’s probably the reason that I am such a Sauvignon Blanc fan – the lively, fuller aromas of a Sauvignon would simply jump out of the glass.

The enchanting Loire is a wine region in the centre of France, named after the river which meanders through the area – just over 1000kms in length and running from the Ardèche through to the Atlantic. Aside from Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, many wine devotees – even today – continue to overlook the region for some reason or another but, once discovered, it makes for a beguiling glass.

It’s the beautiful long river, which is littered with picturesque châteaux, that bookmarks the wine quarters of the Loire; Upper Loire is where you’ll mostly find my beloved Sauvignon Blanc; the mouth of the river is magnificently Muscadet dominant, and everything in between is wonderfully varied. In fact, many different still wines are made in the region plus a sprinkling of sparkling Crémants and some gorgeous, sweet wines too. Many names you may have heard of are Anjou, Saumur, Touraine, Vouvray, Coteaux du Giennois, Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé.

I’ve selected a handful of suggestions from our shelves that showcase the region well in this month’s column. As always, there’s always so much more to say than the word count allows, but pop along and see us to continue the conversation on one of our favourite regions.

Sample the Loire:

Domaine de la Noë Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie £10 – 100% Melon de Bourgogne grape, this is our ‘go to’ wine for any fish dish, flavoursome and refreshing but without acidity. I have yet to find a Muscadet better for under £10.

Domaine des Gauletteries Jasnieres Chenin Blanc £16 – 100% Chenin Blanc, Jasnieres is one of the smallest appellations in the Loire measuring just 128 hectares. This vineyard is situated directly between Tours and Le Mans. Dry, gentle pear notes rounded off with hints of fresh apple.

Domaine de Montbenoit Coteaux de Giennois £15 – 100% Sauvignon Blanc. Simply stunning, dry and crisp with the gentle acidity you would expect to find. Unlike the New Zealand Sauvignons this isn’t all just a ‘cut grass, gooseberry’ bomb. A lesser known wine that we love here at Vineyards, more elegant in the mouth and a great alternative to a Sancerre or Pouilly Fume.

By: Hannah Wilkins Vinyards of Sherborne

Gardener Wanted | Heale House

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Editorial team

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14 September 2021

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Experienced full time gardener required for large country garden open to the public.

Must be knowledgeable, enthusiastic and well organised.

Pruning techniques, vegetable production, managing herbaceous borders and propagation skills are essential and able to demonstrate evidence of suitable gardening experience.

Extensive experience with the use of garden machinery.

Spraying Pa1 and chainsaw CS30-31 desirable.

Please email CV’S to.

[email protected]

Sturminster Cheese Festival

By

Laura

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13 September 2021

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This weekend saw the return of the much-missed Sturminster Cheese Festival – and the crowds were out in force to celebrate, and of course eat all the cheeses!

Sturminster Cheese festival was started by a group of Sturminster Newton locals, sponsored by the then local creamery owners Dairy Crest, in 1999 simply as an event to promote local cheese – not just that of the creamery in the town itself but also by other cheese makers in the area, and other small scale food producers were invited.

Sturminster Cheese Festival 2021 — Sturminster Newton Cheese festival 2021. image: Courtenay Hitchcock

A committee was set up known as The Cheese Board, who worked with the local National Farmers Union. A programme of events over the second weekend of September was devised – local town establishments provided refreshments and a barbecue, the scout group provided a marquee tent on the recreation ground for stall holders and there was even a fashion show, live music and a quiz in the evening.

The weekend was such a success that a second event was planned for the following year… and the Sturminster Cheese Festival has this year celebrated its 22nd birthday!

Sturminster Cheese Festival stall 2021 — All the cheese from Westcombe Cheddar. Image: Courtenay Hitchcock

Though the event is far larger than was originally conceived, the spriit remains the same; the weekend is a wonderful showcase for local food and drink producers, mixed with entertainment and interesting stalls from local producers, craftspeople and charities it’s a popular day out for the whole family.

This weekend, Sturminster Newton was busy for the entire weekend as visitors came from miles to explore the marquees and stalls – of course there was cheese in abdundance from a host of local producers, but it wasn’t all ‘la fromage’. Other produce ranged from cured meats to savoury biscuits, chutneys to bread. Mixed with the food stalls were local drink producers (gin, cider and real ales abounded both in the producer tents and also outside as takeaways from the entertainment area), and a vast range of local craftespeople demonstrating their skills.

It wasn’t just the children who were enthralled by the shows from Strawberry Jam (not going to lie, I was completely gripped by the science show myself), the popular and well-chosen local food vans seemingly had perennial queues, while the schedule of live bands kept the whole ground entertained.

It was wonderful to have the Cheese Festival weekend back – here’s to next year!

Medical Notes/Records Summariser | The Blackmore Vale Partnership

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Editorial team

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13 September 2021

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Medical Notes/Records Summariser

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Medical Notes Summariser to join our friendly team on a permanent basis. The position is for a minimum of 16 hours a week

Our Medical Summariser, will review all paper notes sent to the surgery and ensure that the Patient Database is correct and up to date. This role is a key part of the surgeries administrative team.

For more information, full job description and application form, please click here – https://bit.ly/3ntoIeK

**Closing date 24.09.21**

Any further questions, please email: [email protected] Tel: 01258 474522

Notes from an Epicurean: What season is your cheese?

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Editorial team

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13 September 2021

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From now through to Autumn is the best time to enjoy the many artisan soft cheeses that are made in the UK, particularly in the South West. This is because the cows, sheep and goats have been out on the spring grass and so the milk will reflect the changed diet and consequently the flavour of the cheese.

These changes are more noticeable in the smaller scale Artisan cheeses found in your local specialist deli as the larger scale producers of cheeses more commonly found in the supermarket will try to maintain the same flavour profile all year round as that is what the buyer expects.

Softer cheeses can reach maturity after a few weeks, even days for the very fresh cheeses! Knowing the approximate maturing time helps to estimate when the time of year the milk was produced, from this one can have some fun spotting the changes in flavour through the year.

While the animals are shut in during the Winter months, they are fed preserved grass, hay or sileage, and concentrated feed in pellet form but once out on grass they have access to fresh grass which causes what is called the Spring flush, a rise in volume but a drop in fat content, the cheese maker must allow for this when making their product. Just to complicate things slightly, the stage in an animal’s lactation also effects the milk content, after giving birth, the milk is higher in fat, and this drops until towards the end of the cycle when the volume decreases, and the fat content rises as a result.

An award winning fresh local cheese is La Fresca Margarita produced near Templecombe at Feltham’s Farm www.felthamsfarm.com, Best British Cheese at this year’s virtual cheese awards, inspired by the Latin American and Spanish queso fresco cheeses, and partners beautifully with figs and honey. Their multi award winning cheese, Renegade Monk, a rind washed, soft blue cheese is mature after 4 weeks.

These cheeses are both great examples of how milk can become stunningly different cheeses in a matter of weeks!

Good hunting, enjoy experimenting, comparing, and contrasting.

By: Simon Vernon

GILB, Maureen Elizabeth

By

Laura

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13 September 2021

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Maureen Elizabeth Gilb

23th April 1942 – 19th September 2021

Passed away unexpectedly. Re-united with Husband Roy.

Much loved Mum to Jane and Lisa, Mother in Law to Brian and Michael and a loving Nanna to Eliza and Charlie.

A private family funeral has been held

Donations if desired to Pancreatic Cancer UK.

Weaning a Thoroughbred Foal

By

Editorial team

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10 September 2021

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It’s September, and the first lot of early foals born in February and March have turned five months and are weaned and roaming their thickly hedged and tree-lined paddock in a mischievous gang.

Weaning is a gradual process which starts at around three months, with the introduction of a special youngstock cube mixed with chaff, a selection of chopped up dried grasses and alpha, which helps stop them bolting their feed. With abundant, good grass, the mares only need a small quantity of a nutrient dense feed with minimum calories. So, to stop the mares eating more than they need, the feed for the foals is put inside a creep feeder, a low metal ring or portable fence with foal-sized openings, which the foals can fit under or through, but the mares cannot.

These foals are all young Thoroughbreds bred for jumps racing, who are aiming to first get to a racecourse in their four year old year. We supplement their natural summer grass to encourage them to grow that little bit taller and stronger so that the bloodstock agents will be more inclined to buy them at the sales – small horses can make perfectly good racehorses, but the buyers are mostly after tall, well matured youngsters with lots of winning racehorses in their extended families. To have any chance of making a profit when it comes to the sales, it’s all about size and pedigree.

Once a foal is five months, is eating well and is spending less and less time at its dam’s side, we catch the mare and lead her out of the field, to the other end of the farm, out of earshot. Within a very short time, most foals have settled back with their mates and all is calm. The mares will often pace the field they have been moved to for the first couple of days and this, combined with reduced grass for a week or two, helps dry up their milk. The field group sizes vary but six or eight mares with foals at foot in a group is ideal, with two or three mares being taken out at a time. The group is then left to properly settle again for a couple of weeks before the next mares are removed, with the aim of making the whole process as stress-free as possible.

This is also the time of year when we start looking towards the autumn sales and helping our clients analyse their broodmare bands. It’s the time to consider whether any mares have been underperforming with offspring either not making a profit at the sales or, ultimately, not winning races. Time to decide whether there are mares that should be sold or bought, always with an eye to improving the quality of the mares being bred from.

Ultimately, September is the month for the final tidying of both paddocks and buildings to get ready for the winter and, whilst we’d like to be picking blackberries and sloes, we spend most of the time praying for a long dry Autumn so the horses can stay out as long as possible.

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By: Lucy Procter

The Glanvilles Stud Ltd