A spotlight on Dorset’s finest

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18 October 2024

We were thrilled to host some of Dorset’s finest producers at the 2024 Love Local Awards. Founded six years ago, the LLTL campaign promotes trust in local, British produce and food labelling, valuing quality, honesty, and proximity. Every entrant’s journey was inspiring, making judging tough.
This year’s winners:

Barbara’s Kitchen
Barbara’s Kitchen, based in Dorset, creates award-winning chilli preserves using home-grown chillies. Rupert, Barbara’s husband, grows a variety of chillies from seed, planted in January and harvested in autumn. Handmade in a traditional one-pan method, all preserves are vegan, gluten-free, and perfect for cheese or charcuterie boards
Honey by Ian
With hives in Ringwood, Alderholt and Ferndown, this family business produces smooth, local honey in limited quantities. Caring for honeybees and ensuring their safety is a priority, and knowing exactly where their honey comes from brings joy and motivates them to grow further.
Coastline Soaps
Living and working on Dorset’s stunning Jurassic coastline inspires every soap design. Each fragrance reflects the beauty of the area, from fresh herbs by the river to breezy beach days. With new scents and designs always in the works, there’s a soap for everyone!
The Book and Bucket Cheese Company
Founded by Peter Morgan, The Book and Bucket Cheese Company began with the aim of making small, high-quality cheese batches for local restaurants. Inspired by industry advice and “bucket science,” Peter launched the company in 2019. Now, his award-winning cheeses are available on Cunard liners as well as outlets across the South West.
The Wimborne Pig
The Wimborne Pig is a small, modern British restaurant with a big heart, focusing on locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. Menus change regularly to showcase Dorset’s fresh produce. With professional yet laid-back service, guests are welcomed and made to feel at home from the moment they arrive.
Farm Girl Sausages
Sophie, founder of Farm Girl Sausages, creates high-quality meat and vegan products in the Dorset village of Holt. With natural ingredients, gluten-free recipes, and eco-friendly packaging, the award-winning sausages and burgers are made without fillers. Supporting British farmers, they offer both meat and plant-based options for everyone to enjoy.
Purbeck Cider
Nestled in Dorset’s Purbeck hills, this cider maker crafts premium ciders using 100% single-pressed British apples, including those from their own orchards. Made traditionally without artificial flavours, additives, or concentrates, their ciders are naturally delicious and full of flavour, just as the apples intended.
Lizzie the Baking Bird
Passionate about Dorset’s produce and producers, this baker loves bartering bread for fruit and foraging for wild garlic and elderflower. Starting in the bakery at 3 or 4 am to bake fresh bread is all part of the joy – competing with deer for the best fruit each year is just a bonus!
Ellie’s Farm Shop
Ellie’s Farm Shop continues Kilnyard Farm’s legacy of locally sourced, farm-fresh produce. Inspired by the generations of family farming and her father’s dedication, Ellie established the shop to bring the best farm-to-fork goodness to customers, honouring the history and passion of Kilnyard Farm.
South Paddocks Ltd
A family-run smallholding in the Winterbourne valley, South Paddocks offers farm visits, alpaca experiences, and pedigree pork, goat meat, and eggs. With a “paddock to plate” ethos, all animals are reared and finished on the farm, maintaining high welfare standards and low food miles. Proudly representing Dorset’s finest produce.
Relenka Sweet Treats
Lewis bakes small batches of fudge using the best ingredients, locally sourced when possible. With heart and soul poured into every creation, his fudge often surprises even those who don’t usually like it – a testament to its exceptional taste and quality, as shared by delighted customers.
Shroton Fair Gin
After postgraduate study, Wilfrid returned to his Dorset village to perfect the taste of Zummit Dry®. After many trials, Shroton Fair Gin® was born. Every step—from crushing botanicals to distilling, labelling, and emailing—is done by Wilfrid himself in his workshop under Hod Hill.
Parkstone Fisheries
A team of four friends with over 100 years of combined experience, Parkstone Fisheries proudly offer the best quality fresh fish, shellfish, and smoked fish.
Supporting local fishermen and responsible sourcing, their shop guarantees exceptional quality and flavour. Even their smoking wood is sourced locally to enhance their products.
The Little House
This small Dorset business creates high-quality chocolates with a focus on supporting local. Run by a dedicated duo, they handle everything—from production to design and customer relations—bringing joy through sweet treats. Though not always easy, their passion for introducing exciting flavours and sharing Dorset’s best is truly rewarding.

A note from the seaside: POSTCARDS FROM A DORSET COLLECTION

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18 October 2024

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This month Barry Cuff has chosen two postcards more modern than usual, and scenes no doubt familiar to older locals. Both were sent by holidaymakers on the coast – Charmouth and West Bay.

Sent in May 1966 to Mrs B Newey of 80 Carless Avenue, in Birmingham. Gresham House was previously Sea House, but new owners from Gresham Street in London had changed it to a hotel at the turn of the century. In the 70s it became the Sea Horse Hotel, and was demolished in 1990, replaced by a block of apartments of the same name.
‘Gresham House Hotel, Charmouth, May 21st. Very many thanks for letter which I will answer when I get home. Tish (?) fetched me last Tues & we arrived in time for lunch, & Jill is going to take us back to-morrow morning. Feel a lot better for the rest & change & all the nice meals put in front of me. Mrs Mac is off work with nervous debility! Luckily Mrs Amor is OK, Mr & Mrs Davis (one of Mrs Barnard’s daughters) called yesterday. She has grown awfully like her mother! Do hope you are OK. I will write soon. much love Violetta’

The West Bay postcard was sent on 6th October 1970. In 1884 the Great Western Railway was extended from Bridport down to the harbour. The new station was initially called Bridport Harbour, but it was soon renamed Bridport West Bay by the GWR to attract day trippers and holidaymakers to the seaside by rail. Some older 19th century maps referred to the stretch of sea in the area as West Bay so this must have influenced the new name, although it was neither west of Bridport nor a bay! Soon the whole settlement was known as West Bay.

‘Tues. Thanks for letter. Crossed with mine. Shall be on my way from here on Thurs. Have loved being here. Guess you would like it too. Love to all. Hope for good news of G soon. Love Betty’

Head Housekeeper required | PLUMBER MANOR hotel Sturminster Newton

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18 October 2024

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PLUMBER MANOR hotel at Sturminster Newton requires a head housekeeper for 5 mornings a week (including some weekend work).

8am-12.30pm but hours are variable depending on occupancy.

Pleasant working conditions doing up to 16 bedrooms and bathrooms to a high standard. Previous experience would be helpful and references required as you would also be in contact with our guests.

Own transport essential and ability to work on your own and as part of a team.

Duties will include managing the rotas for your team, liasing with the laundry service and the office staff for supplies.

Please email [email protected] with your CV.

If you have any queries please ring 01258 472507.

The Year Clock returns to Dorset

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17 October 2024

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The Year Clock brings William Barnes, Dorset’s self-educated teacher and parson, to life through notes, anecdotes, newspaper reports, and personal letters either written by or about Barnes during his lifetime. Written in 2001 by Tim Laycock, the play explores the inner tensions of a highly educated man who chose to write in the rural dialect of Dorset, highlighting the contrast between the rapid industrialisation of Victorian England and the traditional way of life that was slowly disappearing – a theme with striking relevance today.
William Barnes was best known for his Dorset dialect poetry – most famously, Linden Lea, which was set to music by Ralph Vaughan Williams. However, Barnes himself regarded his work in philology – his study of more than sixty languages, and his search for the root of all speech – as his most significant achievement, particularly his Philological Grammar.
Thomas Hardy, Barnes’ contemporary and long-time friend, once described him as “the most interesting link between the past and present forms of rural life that England possessed.” Similarly, Francis Kilvert who visited Barnes at his rectory in Winterborne Came in 1874, called him “the great idyllic poet of England, half hermit, half enchanter.”
The poems and songs woven into The Year Clock were written between 1835 and 1870, with the exception of the final piece, The Geate a-Vallen To, which was dictated to his daughter shortly before his death in 1886.
Accompanied by Dorset folk music, performed on the violin and guitar by Colin Thompson, the performance is a vivid, fast-paced portrayal of Barnes’ world, offering a poignant reflection on the forces of change.
Directed by Sonia Ritter, The Year Clock is a revival that connects the past with the present – it has been performed more than 70 times to date, and could not have been written without access to the William Barnes Archive.

Tim Laycock reading one of William Barnes’ journals at the Dorset History Centre

A funding revival
The revival of The Year Clock are more than a tribute to William Barnes – it’s part of an ongoing effort to preserve his legacy through the ‘Barnes for All!’ fundraising campaign. When Barnes passed away, he left a rich archive of writings, including poems, sermons, posters, woodcuts, and engravings. This invaluable collection offers a glimpse into Victorian Dorset and Barnes’ creative and intellectual world.
Now owned by the Dorset Museum and Art Gallery and housed at the Dorset History Centre, the collection has been cared for by the William Barnes Society for many years. The ‘Barnes for All!’ project aims to make this collection more accessible by cataloguing each item to international standards and digitising key documents for online access.
Once completed, this digital archive will open up Barnes’ life and works to a global audience. Scholars, enthusiasts and anyone interested in Barnes’ contributions as a schoolmaster, priest, poet and philologist will be able to explore his world in detail – bringing Victorian England and rural Dorset to life.
The campaign’s goal is to raise £35,000, and every penny from events like The Year Clock performance will go towards making the archive available for future generations. This project not only honours the poet himself but also preserves the cultural heritage of rural England that Barnes cherished.
24th October, Dorchester, 7pm.
Tickets £20: DorsetMuseum
3rd November, Sturminster Newton, 3pm
Tickets £20: The Exchange
To learn more or make a donation, visit williambarnessociety.org.uk

Housing vision needs local consent

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Editorial team

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17 October 2024

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We must build many more affordable houses in this country. I lived in Stevenage until I was nine years old. My parents moved there from London to have a family, after leaving Northern Ireland a few years earlier to enjoy the swinging sixties. The new town of Stevenage was a triumph of central planning, but it took many years to become a vibrant, settled place.
The genesis for Stevenage was in the post-war years of reconstruction. The story of the Labour minister breaking the news to the townspeople in a small, crowded hall remains recognisable today. As the then Minister of town and country planning, Lewis Silkin, stood before the anxious residents, he announced a bold vision for Stevenage – the first of the new towns designed to solve the post-Second World War housing crisis and urban congestion. The initiative was part of the broader New Towns Act of 1946, which aimed to create self-contained communities with adequate housing, jobs and amenities, reflecting the utopian ideals of the era.
Silkin was lucky to get away from the meeting without injury. The angry residents let down his car tyres, hurled abuse at him and changed the signs on the town to “Silkingrad”. I have no doubt that Angela Raynor is just as robust, but times change and people are even less inclined to defer to authority today.
There is renewed talk of new towns. Not here in North Dorset, but Stevenage illustrates that bold visions do not become reality without top-down direction and overcoming objections. Labour proposes to rekindle that spirit and suppress NIMBYism. They say they are prepared to be unpopular.
That’s all fine … but I am confident that without the consent of affected communities, the targets will not be met and the outcome will be at risk.
That is why Liberal Democrats prefer to agree to support good development and oppose bad development. We want great homes for people and we adopted higher targets than Labour, because that is what younger people demanded and so clearly need. The difference between good and bad development depends on swift engagement, genuine exploration and transparent decisions between local and national government and communities.
Our planning system is rightly cited as a major blocker to development: but the question of what is in it for the affected community must be answered, and the consequences understood. I know that Nick Ireland and the Liberal Democrat controlling group at Dorset Council have set out a vision for future housing in Dorset, and we look forward to the community engagement that will secure more houses while retaining support.
We need to give more people the chance to enjoy our Dorset life and build their future here. We need to do that by urgently building community consent and backing the vision for good development.
Gary Jackson
North Dorset LibDems

Mixing it up with the seeds

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Editorial team

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16 October 2024

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From cover crops to clever seed mixing, George Hosford is balancing the harvest chaos with new technology and sustainable farming practices

When we move the sheep between paddocks, there’s always someone who insists on going the wrong way! Luckily, help was at hand from willing volunteers who just happened to be passing

It seems so long ago that we started harvest, way back in mid July – it turned out to be one of those long drawn out affairs, very much stop/start due to the weather. We started with cutting the plot of turnips destined for sowing again this year as seed in our cover crop mixes, swiftly followed by the crimson clover plot for the same purpose, and then the phacelia. Since they were all sown in autumn, they ripened much earlier than the buckwheat, vetch and camelina, which need to be sown in spring as they rarely survive the harsh winter cold.

Staying on the cover crop theme, we have ramped up our seed mixing system a good deal this year. We have purchased a selection of Tote Bins that each hold up to 1.5 tons of grain or seeds, and a brand new pan mixer (usually intended for mixing concrete!). These additions have revolutionised the set up. Formerly we were hand-blending purchased bags of seeds into a feed barrow, then bagging up 20kg at a time … all a bit tedious after the first 20 bags! Now we are mixing 600kg at a time, using mainly home-grown seeds which have been combined, dried if necessary, placed in a Tote Bin, then weighed directly into the mixer. The mixer sits on a pair of weigh bars, which are another essential ingredient for this new system. Once mixed, the blend – often containing up to drying, which I had hoped would shrivel them smaller and make them easier to remove, far too many remain. A cleaning charge will have to be faced, as running over a gravity separator off-farm may be the only way to clean them out.
Modern farmers will be yelling at the screen right now, asking why on earth did we not use more weedkiller to solve the cleaver problem? But the simple answer is, we couldn’t, because the contract we have with Wildfarmed for combination crops stipulates no weedkiller or fungicide, and only limited amounts of artificial fertiliser.

The bicrop seed was run over this old Rutherford cleaner to be separated

What are cover crops?
‘We plant cover crops, also known as “green manure”, in fields that will be left fallow over the winter before a spring crop is sown,’ says George. ‘These crops protect the soil from harsh weather and absorb any remaining nutrients from the previous crop, preventing them from leaching into watercourses.’

However, early gross margin calculations are showing that these two particular combinations have performed significantly better than any solo spring bean or linseed crop, and in fact compare favourably with our other crops, apart from the first wheats.
The winter wheat with beans blend, however, was awful: riddled with disease and very short on yield, despite having looked strong for much of the season.
The lateness of sowing the spring wheat/bean blend put the lid on our yield hopes, but we hoped it would be better than the winter blend. We were very pleased, then, to find the wheat met quality standards, and should get the full premium, leading to a useful margin compared with our other crops.
The millet looked fantastic throughout the summer, but knowing when to cut was a challenge, as the leaves were still very green when the seeds were beginning to turn.
As I write at the end of September, I am still drying that darn millet: it’s now had six runs through the drier. I think we cut it a bit early due to trying to beat forecast rain.

On school visit days, I always like to ask the children who they think is the more curious: the brightly coloured and rather noisy inhabitants of the trailer, or the waggle-eared, damp-nosed, tail-swishing munchers of herbage in the field?

Homemade pig porridge
Three very greedy young pigs were with us for the summer, enjoying an entirely home-grown diet for the first time. Our local mobile feed wagon called in to mill up some wheat, barley, peas and beans, to which I add 10 per cent protein-rich rape meal from which we have already squeezed the oil, and mixed the lot into a yummy porridge. They appear to approve the recipe, anyway, slurping it down in seconds. And they are certainly growing well on it – they look like they will perform at least as well as their predecessors who were fed on purchased weaner pellets (which no doubt contain imported soya from who knows where).

You may by now be thinking that I am a little obsessed with cover crop seeds and grain store activity. But that is the nature of harvest for the old man left in the farmyard while everyone else swans

around in super-cooled hi tech cabins with satnav doing all the steering …
Read 15 years of George’s monthly farm diary on
viewfromthehill.org.uk

The Conservatives must choose the right leader

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Editorial team

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16 October 2024

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The Conservative leadership contest is down to its final four candidates: Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick, James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat. The Tory MPs will decide who the final two candidates are – Simon please choose well if you’re reading this – and then the party membership will vote for their leader. I have no skin in the game here, but I do care about our country, and a strong country requires not only a strong government but also strong opposition. It’s vital the Tories break the habit of the past half-decade and choose the right leader this time.
Let’s review the past three leaders of the Conservatives. There was Boris Johnson, who had a moral compass akin to a real compass in a solar storm. Liz Truss who delivered ‘a true Tory Budget’ which wiped £30 billion of the UK economy … that’s £666m for every day of her premiership.
Finally, Rishi Sunak – who promised integrity, honesty and accountability on day one … and then several hours later reinstated Suella Bravermen as a minister, just days after she resigned due to breaking government rules.
Let’s leave these standards in the past. The country doesn’t need an opposition leader like Robert Jenrick, who oversaw the covering-up of children’s cartoon murals in UK asylum centres. How devoid of empathy must one be, to deny children a brief moment of relief during such a traumatic time?
I want the Conservative Party to return to a place where people like Rory Stewart or Anna Soubry are welcome – both were culled in 2019. While I might disagree with some of their ideas, I know they come from a place of rational thought and compassion. I don’t want the Conservatives’ gambit to be winning back voters from Farage’s Reform party by demonising immigration, or to withdraw from the ECHR – something which was conceptually endorsed by that little-known British Conservative Sir Winston Churchill.
I want the Conservatives to offer sensible policies: not those deemed likely to win a demographic of voter, but those which can be backed up by data, approved by experts and which are morally just. I have faith in Sir Keir Starmer’s government to deliver real change to the country and give us a platform where we can solve the issues brought about from 14 years of Tory government.
However, I believe the best version of government occurs when there is also the best version of opposition. Proper opposition will hold a government to account and offer fair scrutiny of its actions.
So, to anyone with a vote on who the next Conservative leader will be, please vote for the candidate that will return the Conservatives to sensible politics, and not the candidate who wants to appease the far right, or wants the UK to leave the ECHR, because that is the politics of division. As a reminder to you, we’re the United Kingdom.
Guy Perkins
North Dorset Labour

Brenton West (The Repair Shop) and Raj Bisram (Antiques Roadshow) to Host an Evening of Conversation and Fun at the Exchange in Sturminster Newton!

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Editorial team

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16 October 2024

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Stour Hall, The Exchange, Sturminster Newton – 2nd November 2024

Brenton West (left) and Raj Bisram (right). Credit: All-Electric Productions

Prepare for an unforgettable evening with much-loved TV personalities Brenton West and Raj Bisram, as they take to the stage at The Exchange on 2nd November at 19:30. Join them for a captivating night of personal stories, behind-the-scenes insights, and plenty of laughter!

This special event offers a rare opportunity to hear Brenton and Raj discuss their fascinating careers, share heartwarming tales from their childhoods, and reveal what life is really like in the public eye. Expect an intimate atmosphere as they talk candidly about their experiences, the challenges they’ve faced, and the defining moments of their television journeys.

Event Highlights:

Engaging storytelling about their early years and the influences that shaped their careers
Exclusive behind-the-scenes anecdotes from their time on popular TV shows
A meet and greet, where fans can ask their burning questions

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online from The Exchange. Don’t miss this chance to enjoy an evening of fun and conversation with two of the nation’s favourite TV stars!

Event Details:

Date: 2nd November 2024
Time: 19:30
Venue: Stour Hall, The Exchange, Old Market Hill, Sturminster Newton DT10 1FH

Bring your friends and family along for a night of laughter, nostalgia, and unforgettable moments. Book your tickets now and enjoy an evening in the company of Brenton West and Raj Bisram!

Tickets:
Available online at The Exchange – Purchase here

Wild Woodbury celebrates three years of rewilding success

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15 October 2024

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From free roaming cattle to thriving wetlands – rewilding efforts at Wild Woodbury are enhancing biodiversity and water quality

Wild Woodbury – Dorset Wildlife Trust’s community rewilding project at Bere Regis
Image: James Burland

Three years into Dorset Wildlife Trust’s rewilding project at Bere Regis, Wild Woodbury has become a beacon of environmental restoration and community involvement. The site is thriving thanks to its pioneering initiatives, including the introduction of free-roaming livestock, transformative river restoration and inspiring community efforts, the site is thriving.
One of the standout achievements has been the introduction of free-roaming livestock. In partnership with a local farmer, Wild Woodbury has welcomed Hereford cattle, Exmoor ponies and Mangalitsa x Berkshire pigs to the 170ha. They all play a key role in the natural management of the landscape. Their grazing, rootling and browsing creates a dynamic habitat, enhancing biodiversity and allowing a wide variety of plant species to thrive.

Common snipe taking advantage of the wetter landscape at Wild Woodbury. Image: Seb Haggett

Wild Woodbury has recorded an astonishing increase in wildlife, with more than 1,900 species now identified on-site – an uplift of 600 species since the project began – and small mammals like harvest mice and water shrews have flourished. The small mammal abundance has in turn benefitted reptiles and birds of prey, and we have now recorded four out of the UK’s six native reptiles on site: slow worm, grass snake, adder and common lizard.
The ambitious Stage Zero* river restoration work carried out in year two has allowed water to follow its natural course, creating new wetlands across Wild Woodbury that support species such as frogs, dragonflies and wetland birds like common snipe and lapwing.

This nightingale is just one of the 40 different species ringed at Wild Woodbury in 2024
Image: Seb Elwood

In fact, all birdlife at Wild Woodbury has thrived. Regular bird-ringing sessions revealed that 40 different species were ringed in the third year alone, including nightingales and pied flycatchers. Birds of prey such as red kites, sparrowhawks and peregrine falcons are now frequently spotted, drawn by the increase in small mammals.
The project has also improved the water quality. Regular water testing, conducted through taking monthly water samples across the site, has shown that levels of nitrogen, phosphorous and suspended solids have decreased across Wild Woodbury, helping to prevent these nutrients from entering the watercourse which feeds internationally-significant Poole Harbour.
It has been wonderful to witness the local community actively engaging with Wild Woodbury. A new car park and 13 hectares of open-access land have enhanced public accessibility, allowing more people to explore the site. Guided walks and educational tours about rewilding have proved hugely popular, helping visitors to connect with nature and understand the principles behind this ground breaking project.
Three years in, Wild Woodbury stands as a shining example of how rewilding, supported by community efforts, can restore landscapes and create rich, biodiverse ecosystems.

To learn more about Wild Woodbury, three years on, visit: dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk

A happy pair of Wild Woodbury’s free-roaming heritage breed Mangalitsa x Berkshire pigs. Pigs are widely used to improve the biodiversity of land where a few species have come to dominate. They can also help eradicate invasive species, without the environmentally damaging effects of heavy machinery and chemicals. Image: Rob Farrington

*Stage Zero restoration works to restore a waterway to its natural floodplain, stream processes and ecosystem, producing remarkable benefits to river health, heritage, wildlife, sustainability and resilience.