Brad Scoops ‘Best Estate Agent’ in Shaftesbury

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21 August 2021

Meyers has been named as the ‘best estate agent’ in Shaftesbury by the British Property Awards.

The assessment for the award was a secret and detailed process of evaluation including a series of mystery shopping calls and correspondence designed to test responsiveness, customer service and professionalism – all arranged by the British Property Awards’ team.

Brad Hansford joined Meyers Estate Agents as a self-employed franchisee for Shaftesbury in September 2019. He now runs the successful Shaftesbury agency with his partner Tamsin Bell.

Brad began working in property at the age of 18, and is proud to already be an award-winning agency in only his second year of trading as Meyers’ in Shaftesbury.

“I am proud to be known for our reliability. We genuinenly care about our customers, and I believe it’s our attention to detail and quality service which sets us apart.

The past 18 months have been a challneging time for everyone, but the Estate Agency world has been turned on its head – from lockdowns stopping all business, to the ‘property goldrush’ creating unforseen workloads.

Brad agrees “to be named as a British Property Award winner in this of all years is something special.”

Brad Hansford has close connections with the local Shaftesbury community: In the past year, Brad has contributed £500 for the plants and flowers for a ‘outside garden area’ association with The Blackmore Vale Partnership (Local Doctor Surgery) supporting those with mental health problems, and he is also currently working with The Headstrong Project, a local group who support men’s mental health in addition to setting up a voucher scheme in support of local businesses in the area.

Mark Meyer, CEO, Meyers Estate Agents said “Over the past decade, Meyers’ unique business model has proved the need for an expensive high street presence is no longer necessary provided the systems are in place for agents to offer clients exceptional levels of service. All Meyers offices thrive on local connections, reputation and recommendations”.

By: Laura Hitchcock

A Cheesy trio of canapés.

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Editorial team

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20 August 2021

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We are all finally allowed to begin to meet together again and with in person events beginning to reappear, here are some easy to make canapés to wow your friends. 2 out of these 3 recipes don’t even require any cooking, just a layering of ingredients which together, taste incredible.

Cheese is pretty versatile in a canapé and with so much local cheese on offer, it would be shame not to make the most of it in these recipes. You can buy a soft goat’s cheese from just across the border in Salisbury from Rosary Goats Cheese. You can find soft cheese and blue cheese from The Book & Bucket Cheese Company as well as some blue cheese from Dorset Blue Vinny.

I would highly recommend getting hold of some local honey if you can, the more local to you the better. You can find local honey in most farm shops across the county, as well as delis and even in some local coffee shops too. It tastes like the countryside and helps to make these canapés really sing.

Dorset Cheese Canapés — Tomato & Goats cheese canape – ***Image Heather Brown***

Tomato & Goat’s Cheese Canapé

1 packet of ready rolled puff pastry* 1 small punnet of cherry tomatoes 1 packet of soft goat’s cheese
1 tube of tomato puree

a little honey
some egg or milk to glaze the pastry.

Preheat the oven to Gas 5/180 fan.
Grease and line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.

Whilst you are getting the ingredients ready, cut the cherry tomatoes in half and place onto one of the baking trays. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

Roll out the puff pastry and cut into 1-2 inch square pieces.
Place the pieces onto the baking trays and space out a little.
Spread a little of the tomato puree onto each square, leaving a little border of pastry around the edge. You can also add a tiny drizzle of honey here to mix into the tomato puree as you spread. Glaze the edges of the pastry with a little egg or milk so that they turn golden in the oven. Place a small piece of the goats cheese onto the pastry square, along with one of the roasted cherry tomato halves.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is cooked.

*This recipe also works well with homemade pastry if you have the time to make your own. You can also use gluten free puff pastry if required.

Grapefruit and cream cheese Canapé

1 grapefruit
100g soft cream cheese 1 packet melba thins
a little local honey
black pepper

Cut the grapefruit in half and then remove the segments of the fruit as whole as you can.
Lay out the melba thins out so you can easily top them. You can break them in half if you would like smaller canapés.
Top the melba thins with the cream cheese (using teaspoons or a piping bag).
Grind some black pepper over the cheese.
Top with a grapefruit segment.

Drizzle the whole canapé with some local honey.

Apricot and blue cheese Canapés.

Soft dried ‘ready to eat’ apricots. Some local blue cheese.
Some local honey.
Walnut halves.

Layer together the ingredients; starting with the apricots, then some blue cheese, a walnut half and topped with a generous drizzle of local honey.

This might sound ridiculously simple but the combination of these 4 flavours is incredible all together. I would recommend getting local blue cheese and local honey as they pack much more flavour than a supermarket brand.

**Apricot and blue cheese Canapé** – **Image Rebecca Smale**

By: Heather Brown

Garden Jobs for August

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Editorial team

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20 August 2021

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The unusually hot weather we had late July was a real test for some garden plants …( and gardeners)! To ensure your plants do well, keep on top of the watering especially in hot weather … water throughly.

Image: *shutterstock* – All plants do best if you water them deeply instead of giving them small amounts of water frequently. When you water deeply, the water reaches the entire length of the plant’s root system. This in turn encourages the roots to go even deeper and makes the plant more drought resistant, since there are more roots to soak up water. Shallow watering encourages a shallow root system that is closer to the surface and dries out quickly.

Plants absorb water through their roots – not the leaves – so try to get the water onto the soil.

The best time to water plants is early morning – as this allows the foliage to dry quickly which discourages fungal spores. If you have to water in the evening, it is best to water at the roots and not on the leaves, as this reduces any fungal problems when leaves are left wet overnight.

Plants in containers may well need watering twice a day – early morning AND evening!

Keep removing weeds.

Hydrangeas in containers need to be kept well watered. Rhododendrons and Camellias also need to be kept moist, especially now, as next year’s buds are developing.

Dahlias are especially thirsty plants – these need to be watched and watered carefully.

Keep feeding all container plants with liquid fertiliser – once a week if possible.

Prune all summer flowering shrubs after the flowers are finished.

Remove the long whip side shoots from Wisteria to approx 20cm from the main stem – (to 5 or 6 leaves). This will help control the growth and encourage flowing next year. Wisteria also needs pruning again in January or February next year.

Trim lavender plants after flowering to keep their shape.

Recycling tips:

Conserve water wherever possible. Use water butts as much as possible – old washing up water can be used (when cool).

Old carpet can be used by gardeners in lots of ways… to cover compost heaps, lining ponds to protect the liner from stones in the soil, and also use it as a weed suppressant on a veg plot.

Don’t throw away the water when you boil vegetables for meals. Pop outside and pour it over the weeds that are appearing on the patio. Scalding hot water is guaranteed to damage even the toughest of weeds!

Ice Lolly sticks can be re-used as plant labels ….

Enjoy the summer and sit back and plan for next year ….‘Now’s the Time’… to order next year’s Spring bulbs and perennials for this autumn planting.

By: Pete Harcom

Head Gardener

Sherton Abbas Gardening

07380 642 363

GELLAND, Ian

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Editorial team

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20 August 2021

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Ian Gelland

On the 15th August 2021, aged 79 years

Much loved husband of Carole, beloved father of Ellen and Clair.

Private family funera. Any donations to the Dorset Air Ambulance

The Sturminster Newton Chees Festival Returns on 11th & 12th September

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Editorial team

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20 August 2021

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Arrangements are well in hand and it’s all systems go for the team behind Sturminster Newton’s Cheese Festival.

Nineteen Cheese Producers are already booked to make it a very special (and cheesy) event – as usual it’s planned to have the traditional food and craft stalls, real ale and real cider tents.

Live music, Punch and Judy, Morris dancing, children’s entertainment and of course plenty of cheese making, cheese tasting, cookery demonstrations and cheese-related events.

Entry is £7 pp, children 15 and under go free.

Tickets need to be pre purchased on line, remember to add free tickets for children if required, at www.cheesefestival.co.uk

Just follow Eliza Mouse!

Talking Menopause – ‘Trailblazing’ Dorset Chamber Event features on BBC News.

By

Editorial team

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20 August 2021

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Labelled ‘the last taboo in the workplace’, a Dorset Chamber campaign about the menopause has sparked nationwide interest.

Women over 50 are the fastest growing demographic in the UK – currently there are around 4m women in the workplace of menopausal age. One in four women suffer debilitating symptoms because of it, and yet, two thirds of women report a lack of understanding in their workplace.

The ‘Let’s Talk about the Menopause’ launch event was held online, and more than 60 people tuned in to learn about the very real impact the menopause has on a woman’s working life.

Those present included British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) director general Shevaun Haviland, Labour shadow business minister Seema Malhotra and BCP Council leader Cllr Drew Mellor. An encouraging number of male delegates we spoke to admitted they were attending as they felt ignorant of the issue when the subject had been raised in the regular Dorset Chamber networking group.

“The menopause is one of the last taboos.” Said Ms Haviland “No-one has ever really talked about it in the workplace and it’s something that affects probably 50 per cent of our staff for 10 to 15 years of their careers.”

Dorset Chamber’s campaign was declaimed as ‘trailblazing’ by Ms Malhotra, and BBC South Today felt it so remarkable as a business event that they featured it on their evening broadcast.

A significant proportion of women step back from their careers or leave their jobs because of the negative impact of menopause and lack of support, warned keynote speaker Dr Sarah Hattam, a practising GP and expert on health and wellbeing in the workplace.

The event was certainly successful in raising awareness of the menopause – one male attendee who wished to remain anonymous told the digital Blackmore Vale “I’ll be honest, I thought it was just a woman’s periods stopping. I’m so glad I attended. I mean, it’s the 21st Century – why are there still ‘taboo topics’ when these are such big issues for a huge section of our population?”

Chief executive Ian Girling said: “Our poll during the event showed that nearly three quarters of women had been adversely affected by the menopause.

“It’s not about talking about embarrassing things, it’s about being able to say to a colleague or manager ‘it’s not a great day today, can you bear with me’. And it’s about helping men have more understanding.

“It was a fantastic and powerful event but it was just the start.”

For more details about support available visit https://dorsetchamber.co.uk/menopause-resources/.

Research from the independent Nuffield Health group found:

About 13 million women in the UK are either peri or post menopausal
Symptoms can last up to 15 years
Over 60% of women experience symptoms resulting in behaviour changes
One in four women will experience severe debilitating symptoms
Almost half of menopausal women say they feel depressed
A third of women say they suffer with anxiety
Approximately two-thirds of women say there is a general lack of support and understanding

The Voice of the Allotment

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Editorial team

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19 August 2021

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By mid July harvesting of crops was in full swing and our kitchen was filled with the scents of midsummer from bowls of large strawberries and vases of sweet peas. The rain of previous weeks had done wonders so that the growth of both vegetables and weeds was amazing.

We were able to pick peas from our four rows of Hurst Green Shaft every 3-4 days. Most of these went in the freezer. The Carouby De Maussane mangetout and Purple Magnolia Snap both grew to about 6 feet providing abundant pods for salads and stir fries over a period of four weeks.

Haulms were removed from Foremost, Charlotte and Elfe potatoes during the first week and then dug about ten days later. All three varieties gave good yields. On the 19th the first blighted leaves were seen on the remaining rows of maincrop varieties (Picasso and Rooster). Neither of these varieties have high scores for blight resistance. As rain and thunderstorms were forecast we decided to remove the haulms as conditions were perfect for the disease to spread rapidly. On surrounding plots most varieties had the beginnings of the disease while Cara and Carolus were quite free of blight.

With the exceptional growth experienced during the month we had to remove the net cloches from all the Brassicas as the rows had become very weedy. We were pleased that only two plants had succumbed to the dreaded Swede Midge (Contarinia nasturtii). These were destroyed and replaced with spare plants. Normally we lose more plants to this insect pest. Was it because the very weedy rows had made it difficult for the flying midge to detect the plants on which to lay its eggs ?

Our broad beans had all been harvested by the 11th and the plants removed. Two rows of Musselburgh leek were planted in their place. More leeks (Tadorna) were planted on the 25th on ground where the early potatoes had been lifted.

During the month we picked our first French beans and gherkins and lifted carrots and beetroot as required.

Our Moonlight runner beans are a mass of flowers and are setting well.

The first tassels have appeared on the sweetcorn and the squashes have a lot of flowers.

All our fruit bushes are giving good yields and go to making jam and wine.

By: Barry Cuff

Sponsored by Thorngrove Garden Centre

Join Our Cheese Team | Dorset Blue Vinny

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Editorial team

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19 August 2021

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We have a couple of different vacancies opening up to join our small friendly team making the award-winning Dorset Blue Vinny.

If you’re looking for something new and either have the following skills or would love to learn about making cheese, please get in touch either by popping in to see us or by sending your CV (nothing formal, just a bit of information about yourself and what you do!) to [email protected]

What we need from our Cheese Team:

Early mornings! You’ll start at 6am but finish around 2pm
Ability to work independently, as well as part of our team
It’s a very physical role – plenty of lifting and moving – so you’ll need to be strong and healthy
A good eye for detail
Be reliable
A positive attitude
Some knowledge of food hygiene would be beneficial, but not essential.
Some weekend work is involved – but we do work on a rota-basis

Salary Expectations Circa £20,000pa

Location – Woodbridge Farm, DT10 2BD.

Shaftesbury Fringe 2021

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Editorial team

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19 August 2021

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Shaftesbury Fringe 2021 is an open access performing arts festival that takes place every summer. It is a celebration of all things creative, and welcomes both new and established artists to perform and exhibit in one of over 30 unique venues within our town.

Founded in 2016 by Andy Tebbutt-Russell & Samantha, Shaftesbury Fringe is fast becoming one of the key Fringe festivals in the country.

Covid means the 2021 event will be a little smaller, and a bit later this year – but the organisers are delighted to have almost 100 performances taking place over four days of the August Bank Holiday weekend.

The aim is to have something for everyone – and between the music, comedy, dance, theatre (and everything in between) they’ve probably got you covered. It’s not just about the expected venues either – events are scattered throughout the town, ranging from historic churches to cosy cafes and encompassing hairdressing salons and a dentist’s surgery!

Take a look at the website and browse the 2021 Programme – maybe you’re looking for the ‘Singing Bowl Chill Out’? Lie down in Bell St United Church and listen to ‘a crystal and Tibetan bowl soundbath’. (£10)

Or head to the Grosvenor Hotel for ‘a tour de force of epic dimensions’ with The Bard of Windmill Hill (£5).

Saturday night at the Two Brewers is to the sound of popular covers from the 60’s onwards from Georgie Girl (free).

Sunday night at the Grosvenor is an evening of songs and silliness with Shaftesbury’s very own male a cappella group ‘The Spoonfeds’ (£Pay What It’s Worth)

Download the Shaftesbury Fringe App for the easiest way to plan your trip to the Fringe (Apple & Android). You’ll find full details of every performance together with a planner to save your favourite shows. There’s also a handy map to help you find the venues.

By: Laura Hitchcock