Sherborne’s housing dilemma: Ted Howells examines the proposed West Sherborne development and its implications for the town’s future
The red blocks show the proposed development land
In recent months, there’s been a lot of debate about the issue of housing in Sherborne. During the last decade, the affordability, demographics and supply of housing in the town has evolved. Since 2010, property prices have increased by 46 per cent, with an average price tag today of more than £360,000. In this same period, the town’s population has risen to over 10,300 people, and in 2021 the proportion of socially rented households had increased, while home ownership through mortgages or shared ownership had decreased. These societal shifts raise a fundamental question about Sherborne’s housing situation: but what’s the solution?
West Sherborne For Sherborne Town Council, the proposed West Sherborne development provides the answer. In April 2021, the town council agreed a collective response to the Dorset Local Plan consultation and ‘supported’ the West Sherborne development. It was widely expected that the Local Plan – which outlines the need for 30,000 new homes in Dorset by 2038 – would be adopted by late 2023, but it has since been delayed until 2026. The concept of West Sherborne was devised by Sherborne Castles Estate, which encompasses some 15,000 acres of land, in-hand and tenanted farms, and a range of agricultural, residential and commercial properties. It includes Sherborne Castle, the 1,200 acre ancestral home of the Wingfield Digby family, which has owned the property and gardens for over 400 years. It also includes the land to the north-west and western edges of Sherborne, earmarked for the proposed Sherborne West development. Working with Chesters Harcourt, NEW Masterplanning, and Andrew Cameron & Associates, the Estate has put forward a vision for the creation ‘of a new masterplanned neighbourhood in the west of Sherborne’ on this land. It’s envisaged that the development would extend from Marston Road, across the A30 and down to Lenthay Road. So what exactly is being proposed?
Looking north east across the planned development site towards Bradford Road
According to the town council’s response, any development – such as West Sherborne – should entail ‘new housing units comprising a mixture of small and larger homes rather than 1,200 homes of equal sizes’. It is proposed that the construction of 1,200 homes would be delivered in instalments, similar to the process of the Barton Farm development. The town council’s members also expressed their desire for 500 affordable homes to be introduced, which they claim ‘would mean the overall introduction of at least 1,500 homes’. Any such development would need to be delivered in co-ordination with Dorset Council to ensure ‘adequate local provision’.
Looking east from Lenthay Common
Location The western side of Sherborne is an area which the town council acknowledges is situated away from the town centre and which lacks adequate infrastructure, as ‘the services are to the middle and to the East’. In addition, the location of the proposed development – especially extending south from Bradford Road to Lenthay Common – is known for its ‘high-water table and likelihood of flooding’.
Infrastructure To accommodate such a proposal on this scale would need adequate infrastructure. It would require additional educational facilities, as the state-run Gryphon school and Sherborne Abbey Primary School ‘are nearing capacity and may need to be expanded’. It would also require the sufficient provision of healthcare and retail facilities to accommodate the increase in homes, along with a drainage system and good broadband.
Looking south from the A30, in the middle of the outlined development site, towards Lenthay Common
Transportation In their response, town council members conceded that such a development would be ‘creating stress on the already busy [road] junctions within the town.’; this is particularly so when it is estimated that 1,200 homes would result in around 2,400 extra cars. To this extent, council members ‘support the proposals for the ‘civilising’ of the A30, with the potential to bring it down to a single carriageway as it approaches Sherborne to slow it down and reduce the potential for speeding.’ Members also endorsed proposals to electrify the local train network and consider new bus routes. Sherborne Town Council has stated their support for ‘holistic development that ensures the future economic, social and environmental health of our community’.
‘I’m surprised I’m still here!’ The Dorset woman’s year-long journey walking Britain’s entire coastline is raising money for the homeless
North Dorset’s Claire Allen is walking round the coast of Britain
On a bitterly cold winter day, Claire Allen is striding out across Studland Beach towards Old Harry Rocks. It is one small stage in a massive challenge – to walk the entire length of Britain’s coastline in a year. However, right now there’s only one thought on her mind, especially with the biting cold. Where is she going to sleep tonight?
A mighty undertaking Claire lives in Bristol now, but her family are from Okeford Fitzpaine in Dorset. She set out from John o’ Groats in Northern Scotland on 8th August 2023 – she has completed about a third of her total distance so far. She’s walking for charity, aiming to raise £25,000 to split equally between two charities; Only A Pavement Away and Shelter. When Claire started she was just planning a year out from her job, wanting to ‘do something different’. The presence of rough sleepers and having to find somewhere to sleep each night focused her attention on homelessness. Claire says: ‘I’m lucky. I haven’t experienced anything like homelessness and I have a support network and a family. But after months on the road I can say the hardest part about it is finding somewhere to stay each night. In summer it’s easy because you can simply camp. At this time of year it’s dark at 4pm and right now it’s freezing. It really makes you think about those less fortunate.’
August 2023 – setting off! All images: Claire Allen
The kindness of strangers Before 45-year-old Claire set out on her long walk around Britain she worked in the charity sector in Bristol as a communications and fundraising professional. That exposed her to homelessness – but this walk has shown her a different perspective to living without a safe, secure base. ‘Walking down the east coast of Scotland, it was easier to find somewhere to rest because you can camp out anywhere. But when I got to England it was more of a challenge. I’ve had huge support from B&Bs, and even complete strangers who have a room free. ‘I’m more attuned to homelessness now. But what I have really valued is when people say hello. That small social interaction means a lot. So now, as I go on my way and see someone who is alone and looks homeless, I ask if they are OK. ‘Homelessness is a crisis that none of us can ignore. It’s visible in every town and city. Along the way, I’ve met people who are homeless and sleeping rough – and not one of them has chosen that life. Losing your home can be down to something as commonplace as a marriage break up, becoming unemployed or even falling out with your family.’
Life on the road Claire usually walks 15 miles a day. She didn’t have a formal training programme before she set off, but as someone who does trail running she wasn’t unfit before the challenge. ‘I have found that just through walking each day, I’m getting a lot fitter. Apart from finding somewhere to sleep, the only other challenge has been the weather. There are funny moments too. One memorable night a fox got into my tent! Somehow it managed to find my food and spread things everywhere. I was brushing my teeth at the time and came back to find a real mess. ‘When I’m walking, my rucksack becomes a talking point – sometimes I look like a bit of a freak show. People are taken aback that I’m doing this on my own and usually ask where I’m staying and what I’m doing. It’s lovely to talk to people. Some even give me £20 when they hear I’m raising money for charity. ‘I keep my energy levels up with food. I must be the only person who has walked the length of Britain and put ON weight! I’m always thinking about food and coffee. To maintain my energy levels, it’s important to get a good night’s sleep, to eat enough – and try not to be tempted by too many doughnuts’ Now she has walked down one side of Britain and two-thirds of the way across the ‘bottom’, what has surprised Claire the most? ‘That I’ve stuck at it! I didn’t know how I would manage or have any idea how it would go. I didn’t tell too many people before starting out because I didn’t know whether it would even work. I’m also surprised at how generous people have been with donations.’ Claire is currently on the 630 mile stretch of the South West Coastal Footpath. Her most recent Instagram post – from Weymouth – says: ‘I’m now five months into this great big walk and still want to run screaming to the nearest station and jump on the first train home when I think about how much further I’ve got to go. So for now, it’s just one day at a time.’
To donate to either Shelter or Only a Pavement Away, visit Claire’s JustGiving page: Claires-great-british-walk
As well as support from hotels and guesthouses, Claire has received support from outdoor clothing brand Inov-8, which has provided her with top-of-the-range walking boots (she’s currently on her third pair!) and the Alpkit Foundation which made a grant of £250 towards the cost of equipment.
There’s still work to be done in the winter, and gardener Pete Harcom suggests having an eye to the climate as you plan this year’s garden
Experts are predicting that a changing temperature cycle in the oceans will make 2024 the world’s hottest year. With that in mind, it might be an idea to consider creating a low-maintenance garden that looks good in the heat, thrives on very little water and still provides habitat for our wildlife. Here are a few ideas for plants that are drought tolerant:
Eryngium (amethyst sea holly) – this is a striking plant which is native to the Mediterranean. Most species are perennials, and they have showy, attractive thistle-like flower heads surrounded by spiny silvery-blue bracts. These sun-loving plants will attract plenty of butterflies and bees to your garden.
Lavender – this cottage garden favourite thrives in hot, dry conditions. It is heavily scented and loved by insects.
Verbena bonariensis (lollipop is a smaller-growing variety).
Cistus x pulverulentus sunset. (rock rose) – a low growing shrub which thrives in poor dry soils.
Pennisetum (fountain grass) – very low maintenance and it has striking seed heads.
Yucca filamentosa bright edge – a structural plant, some hybrids can be large, but other varieties can also be used as container plants.
Osteospermum (African daisies) – these have very showy flowers and are easy to grow.
Sedum ‘Sunsparkler’ – this is great in rockeries and very easy to grow once established.
Hibiscus flower tower ruby – be aware these can grow to 3m! But they’ll have masses of flowers once established.
Rosemary (salvia rosmarinus) – another Mediterranean favourite, the evergreen shrub has aromatic leaves and small blue, pink or white flowers.
This month’s jobs: It might be grey and damp out but even in January there are still plenty of jobs to do in the garden this month:
Clean up your pots, tools and greenhouse in preparation for spring.
Now is the time to order seeds and plants – from the comfort of your armchair!
Continue looking after the wildlife — put out wild bird food, and leave some areas of your garden uncut for shelter until the spring.
If your honeysuckle is very overgrown, now is the best time to cut it back hard to encourage healthy, new growth this spring.
Cut back ornamental grasses – clip back the old foliage before new growth begins, to within a few centimetres of the ground.
Check your climbers are securely attached to their supports with ties.
Shred your Christmas tree and add it to your compost bins. The stripped down branches also make great pea sticks.
Remove slimy patches from patios and paving by scrubbing with a broom or a blast with a pressure washer.
Plant some amaryllis bulbs indoors now for spectacular spring flowers.
It might be the depths of winter, but there’s still plenty of fresh produce on the allotment to enhance the summer’s harvest stores, says Barry Cuff
Barry Cuff’s colourful winter salad
headlines. In our area it was wet, with more than 43 inches of rain. The driest months of the year were February and June. During the main growing season, the wettest were March, April, July and August, but a mild and very wet autumn and early winter did at least maintain growth. On the whole it was a good year for most vegetables – only our shelling peas suffered and gave lower yields during the dry spell. We had a constant supply of fresh vegetables throughout December, including ones for our Christmas meals, together with those in store. Here’s what we harvested through the month:
Potatoes (sagitta) – a new variety to us. They roast well and are excellent for jackets. Planted on 5th Apr, they were dug and stored in paper sacks 4th Aug. Good size and yield.
Parsnips (Palace and Hollow Crown) – both roast well, and are sweet despite very few frosts. Sown direct 30th Apr, started digging mid Nov. We have a row left for next year.
Carrots (Early Nantes) – the only variety we grow. No thinning, so a mix of sizes. We sow successionally; those lifted in Dec were sown 6th Jun, later sowings will be dug as needed.
Brussels sprouts (Brendan) – a good variety that crops from Dec to Feb. Module-sown 6th Apr, and planted out 15th May (eight plants).
Broccoli (Rudolph) – produced some very early spears ready for Christmas. Module-sown 12th May, planted out 30th Jun (five plants)
Cauliflower (Cendis) – a reliable F1 variety producing excellent curds. Module-sown 11th May, planted out 25th Jun (15 plants)
Leek (Musselburgh) – the only variety we grow.Pot-sown 14th May, and planted out 30th Jul on ground where potatoes were harvested.
Winter squash (Butterfly) – an excellent tasting butternut, producing large fruits. Module-sown in greenhouse 1st May, planted out 4th Jun. Harvested and stored 15th Oct.
Winter salads There was a good selection of veg to go with our Christmas meals, tasting that much better as they were home grown and received no pesticides! To go with our cold meats we also had a good supply of fresh salad plants. With the exception of celeriac, they were sown/planted on the plot that had grown our potatoes, grown under fleece when there was a danger of frost:
Lettuce and spring onions – The last for this year, and grown under cloches. These survived because of the lack of frosts.
Witloof chicory – Forced blanched chicons. Sown on plot 6th Jun. Lifted, trimmed and planted in compost in the dark 26th Oct. These are cut-and-come-again.
Radicchio chicory – sown in modules 12th Jul, and planted out 27th Aug.
Various oriental mustards and leaves – all different tastes, shapes and textures. Sown on two dates, 13th and 27th Aug, these are also cut-and-come-again.
Autumn radishes – four Chinese varietie; Blue Moon, Red Moon, Daikon and Misato Rose. These make a very colourful addition to salads as well as a great taste. Two sowings, 13th and 27th Aug
If the idea of “wassail” conjures up shivery images of rain-swept orchards, mud under very cold feet, people with leaves in their hair, and a lot of increasingly merry joshing with flagons of cider, mead or ale and blanks being fired into the air … think again. Working with Bruton’s At The Chapel cafe and arts venue, Oliver Dowding and Jane O’Meara have arranged a wassail with a difference on Saturday 20th January, to celebrate Dowding’s Apple Juice and Cider and raise funds for the locally based Pitcombe Rock Falconry. Rather than the usual wassail in the chilly ambience of a January night, this event is intended to be an introduction to traditional wassail and a fun event to celebrate Somerset’s great cider heritage and enjoy some singing and dancing with one of the area’s newest Morris sides. There will be a talk by Oliver Dowding, whose award-winning ciders include gold at the British Cider Championships (at the Royal Bath & West Show) for the Dry Still Cider (2023 and 2021), Kingston Black apple juice (2023) and Wild Orchard apple juice (2022). The ciders and apple juices have also won silver and bronze at the championships, as well as Great Taste Award stars. Other speakers include Alan Wells of Pitcombe Rock Falconry and historian Andrew Pickering as well as Tracey Smythe of Castle Cary’s Maison Catelier, selling Wassail candles. Traditionally held on Twelfth Night, the wassail ceremony is intended to wake the apple trees from their winter slumber, chase away evil spirits and ensure a bountiful harvest. Jane describes this new-style indoor event as ‘a collaboration’ between local business and groups to support the Pitcombe Rock Falconry, which has recently located after being made homeless last year. She says: ‘The evening will have a wassail theme, encouraging local people to discover the many varied ways in which people can celebrate wassail in the South West. At its heart, wassail is a celebration of local distinctiveness, which means every wassail will be different.’ At the Chapel has provided the venue, with an outdoor terrace. The event starts at 5pm, and the party should go with a swing, with mulled cider, and the recently formed Wild Moon Morris, a new Border Morris groupt.
A local expert from Citizen’s Advice provides timely tips on consumer issues.
Q: ‘I got carried away in December, and now I’m worried about the debt I’ve built up spoiling my family this Christmas.’
A: If your spending ran out of control at Christmas, get advice as soon as you can from Citizens Advice or from another free confidential debt advisory service such as Stepchange or National Debtline.
Collect information about your debts – make a list of who you owe money to and how much you owe.
Check if you have to pay a debt – you’ll be responsible for a debt if it’s in your name and it’s something that the law says you have to pay, like council tax or water charges. You’ll also probably have to pay a debt if you’ve signed a contract to say you agree to give money to someone.
Work out which debts to deal with first. Priority debts are debts that can cause you serious problems – mortgage, rent and council tax arrears, unpaid tax bills, court fines, gas and electricity bills. You need to look at your list, work out which of your debts are priority debts and deal with them first.
Once you’ve got your priority debts under control, you should look at all your other debts. They’re ‘non-priority debts’ because the problems they cause are less serious. Include credit cards and mobile phone debts.
Check if you can increase your income. Are you being paid correctly? Are you eligible for any benefits?
Reduce your regular outgoings. You might be able to save money by:
getting a discount on your council tax
getting a water meter fitted
switching to a cheaper broadband, TV, or phone deal paying for your prescriptions in advance
Check your options for getting out of debt. You might be able to talk to your creditors and arrange a way to pay them, or make a formal agreement called a ‘debt solution’. You’ll need to decide what is the best solution for your situation – a debt adviser will be able to help you choose. It will depend on things like:
the type of debts you have
your total amount of debt
how much money you can pay towards your debt
Finally, learn from your mistakes. Start planning how you will do things differently next year.
He graduated from Cambridge and, to his father’s consternation, went straight into the family plumbing business – and he’s never looked back
Robert Cowley
Robert Cowley from Sturminster Newton received an MBE for his services to the community in 2010. He has spent more than 30 years as a local magistrate. ‘It’s a big responsibility. I started in the days when there were courtrooms all round Dorset. Now there’s just Weymouth and Poole, but I’ve sat in Blandford, Sherborne, Bridport, Dorchester, Wareham, Wimborne … local justice really was local! But it’s a quick way of learning about life, and quite a life changer as well, if you’re prepared to learn from it.’ But the Cambridge graduate is probably just as well known as a leading light in SNADS (the Sturminster Newton Amateur Dramatic Society), as a passionate and tireless driving force behind the development of The Exchange – and also as the latest generation in the family’s 125 year-old plumbing business. ‘I’m not only Dorset born and bred – I was born just three houses down the road! My mum came from London, looking for a rest after the war. She had married very young, was widowed shortly afterwards, and moved to Dorset for a new beginning. ‘Father was a self-employed plumber, working very, very hard. Life was typical for an agricultural town in the 50s – pretty quiet, a lot of hard work and not a huge amount of money around. ‘Mother soon got involved with SNADS, the local amateur dramatic society. From really very small I remember the annual pantomime. It was magical. But because my parents were involved with setting it up, for me it wasn’t just “going and seeing a show”. In those days we didn’t have a hall, just the British Legion hut. The stage was in pieces, stored above the coffin shop and the builder’s yard opposite. We would literally all head to Bath Road and the stage would be carried across the road and assembled! It was always second nature to know that there were the two sides of a play – back stage and on stage. ‘Everything changed when I was 11. My dad went to Blandford Grammar School, and hated it so much that he swore no child of his was ever going there. And we didn’t. I don’t know how he managed it, but we all went to Hardye’s in Dorchester. All three of us – my two brothers too – boarded in Dorchester during term time. I went from there to the University of Cambridge – I suddenly jumped into a completely different world. And I loved it, it was an amazing place to be. It was intellectually very stimulating and demanding, obviously. But I was equally fascinated really, by all the extras. Particularly because I was basically just a plumber’s son – I still used to come home and lend a hand in the business during holidays. ‘Theatre was still something that interested me, and it’s what I spent my spare time on – but it had suddenly moved into a different dimension. I did a three-week season at the Edinburgh Fringe, sleeping on a floor, doing three different plays and marching the streets in costume handing out flyers. We did a Greek tragedy in the open air in Cornwall … It was an amazing three years. Which I then wrapped up by coming home and joining the family firm – not actually my plan at all! ‘I didn’t have a very strong drive to do anything in particular – I was studying English, which is a pretty open-ended sort of subject. ‘My dad had always insisted that none of us would be going into the family business. In later years we discovered that he hadn’t been given the choice himself. He finished his school certificate, signed off school in the morning and started work for his father that afternoon. No choice at all. So he said that wasn’t going to happen to his children, and he set himself to educate all of us as far through the system as we could go. ‘It just happened that as I was finishing my final exams, he came to Cambridge to visit me and was taken very ill. He was told he wasn’t going to recover, and certainly couldn’t carry on working. He didn’t want to let his customers down, and wanted to shut his business down in an orderly manner. At the time I was effectively spare – I was planning to go on to do a Certificate of Education, but came back first to help close the business. ‘And within six months, I thought. “I can see a lot of pluses here. It was all to do with the community – we were a well-known, well-established business, it was a lovely place to live … and the attractions of being self employed were quite substantial. So that’s what I did. Three or four years later, my next brother effectively did the same thing – finished his degree, went to New Zealand for six months farming, and then came back and joined the business too. With the two of us working, father actually recovered quite a lot – we had a few years of the three of us working together, which was great. ‘Father was a master plumber, a high level of achievement, and it’s a very old business. I’m largely retired now, and my brother’s still working at the moment, with his son giving him a hand. The business started in 1896 – by the time I retired, it had been going 125 years and three generations. We’re now on to the fourth, but that’s not long-term – he’s just helping out for a while. (we’ve heard that somewhere before – Ed).
Robert and Linda in a SNADS production of ‘Bitter Sanctuary’ by Rosemary Ann Sissons, in April 1983, in Sturminster Hall
‘When I returned to Sturmisnter, I got heavily involved with SNADS again. I was married, had two daughters, was working exceptionally hard, and SNADS was my relaxation. But my marriage went to pieces, and I was working even harder trying to cope with two children on my own. And then I met Linda – strangely echoing my mother she had arrived in Sturminster from London. She’s a better actor than me, and also a good director. We met in a rehearsal room in 1983, fell in love on stage … and we’ve been together ever since. ‘Because of my association with the dramatic society, I got involved with the Sturminster Hall committee – by then we had a hall! It was opposite the police station – and ended up chairing the new hall sub-committee, around the time the cattle market closed. ‘And then there was this huge site left empty in the middle of town, and locals will remember it was a complicated story. I ended up moving from the hall committee to the new hall sub-committee, and then to the project group for the entire market site, which included what became The Exchange. From that point on, I was involved in the whole redevelopment concept – but it was a very, very big thing. The way the whole site was developed was a community led project – by the time we had consulted, planned and seen off some unwanted developers, we had The Exchange drawn into the whole concept. People thought it was completely mad – we were effectively replacing a one room hall with a big entertainment complex. ‘We then had to work through all sorts of dramatics, getting the actual planning permission that was necessary in order to unlock the money that was necessary to secure the site … but eventually we did it. Half the site’s depth was sold off for housing – but housing to the design that the community produced. And that left the near side of the site for the medical centre, the supermarket, offices and The Exchange, which sits on land given by the developer. But beyond that, the building was built not by the developer, not by the council – it was built by the community – ultimately we raised 2.6 million pounds. ‘There were contributions from the councils. We got some huge grants. We were very, very lucky – and we picked … full stop after grants, We were told at the time: ’This is the last gasp. There’s going to be no more money. We just hit the right spot, if we’d been a year later, I doubt we’d have done it. ‘So it was built and paid for, no debts, the bills were all paid. But that also meant there wasn’t any money left! ‘We had rather naively thought that we would be able to run it as the Sturminster Hall functioned – with a committee and just a caretaker. If you hired it, you got the key, and if people wanted to have a bar, they’d get a one-off licence, and then run a bar on a table with an ice cream tub for the money. Strangely, The Exchange didn’t really work like that! ‘We’d been so obsessed with getting there that we haven’t really given that much thought to what happened next. ‘We tried to run it with volunteers – couldn’t do it. We took on someone part time, but that didn’t work either … we needed a manager, and eventually had to take on somebody without really having the money to do it, trusting they would generate the income. It took us ten years to stabilise financially, and then we really started to build some reserves, getting the whole thing really solid and secure. ‘And then came the pandemic. ‘We had the reserves, and we got a Cultural Recovery Grant, which saw us through the initial lockdown. But then things started to go pear-shaped because of course, it wasn’t just the one lockdown. And we’ve created eight jobs – eight people we’re responsible for. As we came out of the lockdowns, the confidence in the community was at rock bottom and people just didn’t want to be inside, sitting with other people. The income dropped to almost nothing. Gradually, over a couple of years, that’s picked up. But now, as confidence has increased, so the cost of living problems have cut in. And finally, we’ve been hit by the fuel prices. That has created, for the first time in 16 years, a potential crisis. In the last few months we’ve had some sellout shows, so that is generating income. But most of our reserves have been used up just surviving since 2020. With limited reserves and depressed income, we now need to find £20,000 a year extra for electricity. ‘Somehow, we have to magic it up. So that’s where we are. Our priority over the next six months is finding money. We need to bring in money, we need our ‘village’, we need people’s goodwill. Because we have to fund this immediate crisis – we know we’ve got something that works, and we know, given time, we can adjust and adapt. But we need the funds now to allow that to happen.’
A life in music And so to Robert’s eight music choices, in no particular order, along with how and why they have stuck in his life:
Stranger on the Shore Acker Bilk This is going right back to my primary school days! It’s one of the most vivid memories I have of Sturminster Primary School. Two things stick in my mind – an open coal fire in the corner of the classroom, and this music, the melody coming through from the staff room next door. The headmaster, Fred Grinnell, played the clarinet. Stranger On The Shore was the thing in the early 60s. Maybe 25 years later, I saw Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band playing at Bryanston. He played this song, and the effect on me was extraordinary. It never occurred to me it could do that – I was straight back to my primary school classroom. That’s the magic in a live performance.
We’ve Got Tonight Elkie Brooks Well, this is simply Linda and me. When we were first together, as is often the case, there’s some piece of music or an artist that becomes ‘your song.’ – Elkie Brooks is ours. When The Exchange first opened Linda, in the absence of any staff, was one of the people trying to book performers. She discovered Elkie Brooks might be available, and managed to book her. We let her manager know that we had a personal reason to persuade her to come. As a result, we have a programme from that night, which Elkie signed with “Thank you so much for inviting us to play for you.” It’s just extra special.
Sit Down, You’re Rocking The Boat – National Theatre cast We’ve gone to the theatre all our lives together, and all over the place – we love all sorts of theatre, from a big King Lear to tiny local productions. Musical theatre, done well, is brilliant. A couple of particular ones have caught our imagination – Showboat was probably the first one, a brilliant production of that by the RSC and Opera North. But we saw Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre, and again when they brought it back. It could be any one of a zillion things because we’ve seen so many, but it just happens Guys and Dolls is the last show that we’ve seen. It’s at the Bridge Theatre, a wonderful new theatre in London, and it’s a wonderful, innovative production. It is amazing. The whole show is done on a huge floor in and among the audience. I simply had to choose one to represent our years of going to the theatre together.
It Started with a Kiss Hot Chocolate This is because we acted together a lot – we have played parts opposite each other for years. I wrote and directed many pantomimes over the years in Sturminster, but Linda’s directed plays. And there was a period when I was so, so busy with the preliminary work for The Exchange and so on and I couldn’t do very much. Linda directed a production of Lucky Sods by John Godber. She asked me to produce it, to help get it on stage. We did something a bit different in terms of staging, borrowing something we’d seen elsewhere. We just thought “Okay, we’ll introduce this to Sturminster, even if it takes them a bit by surprise!”. And the music we used during the scene changes and so on was Hot Chocolate. That particular track just lights up that production. For me, it reminds me of working together with Linda, to put something on the stage that wasn’t quite what was expected.
Swing Low Sweet Chariot China Black ft. Ladysmith Black Mambazo We’ve been fortunate to have visited Africa several times, so this is my Africa connection – though it is my slightly ‘easy’ African music. But this particular track has two lots of music going on at the same time. The backing vocal is of a crowd singing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot – and it features me with my brothers and a group of friends (and the other 75,000 people who were at Twickenham that day!). We have spent 30 years going to Twickenham together, to nearly every International, and on that particular day there was an announcement that they wanted to record the crowd. So this is also 30 years of rugby with a very, very tight band of friends and my brothers.
Sotto le Stelle del Jazz Paolo Conte: Concerti This could have been any one of a number of Paolo Conte tracks. We were in Venice, and spent two weeks trying to ‘live in Venice’ and not just be tourists. One night we went out for a meal, and wandered into an interesting- looking place. We spoke no Italian, the proprietor spoke no English, we were the only people there … it defies description, and it was one of the best evenings we’ve ever had. We got the full on Basil Fawlty treatment, full on The Godfather … and throughout the entire bizarre evening there was equally bizarre music filtering through the wall from the kitchen. By the time we left we were really quite chatty with the proprietor – even in the absence of any actual language – and we did manage to communicate with him that we wanted to know what this music was. He wrote it down for us, and one of our projects the next day was to find a CD shop (not easy in the middle of Venice!). We bought The Best Of album, and since then we have bought more and more and more Paolo Conte. We even managed to see him live in London. He’s very unusual, it’s very distinctive. And to us, it’s Venice – and happiness.
Shakey Ground Barrelhouse Blues Orchestra This is The Exchange, absolutely The Exchange. Paul Hart, who lived a couple of houses up the road, was an athlete, a musician and an artist. Most local people will know the mural he painted in the Co-op. He ran the Barrelhouse Blues Club as a sort of rotating club at different bases. He had a huge number of musical contacts, so he could get some quite big names to come and do guest performances. And when The Exchange opened, it was absolutely what he’d been waiting for, for all these years. He was the other person who was really responsible for booking some of the bigger live acts. He brought in Andy Fairweather Low very early on. Alongside all this, the Barrelhouse Blues Orchestra was a flexible group of around 25 local musicians, with Paul leading it and Johnny Mars his partner in crime. It’s quite difficult with that number of people to play together – you need a really big stage. So again, The Exchange was perfect. They recorded a CD and most of the tracks on it were played on Radio Two, where they had quite a bit of air time, because they were a rather unusual outfit.This particular track on the CD is a live performance from the Coade Hall at Bryanston. Paul died not so long after The Exchange opened, sadly, but the Barrelhouse Blues Orchestra came back several times after that to perform there. It’s just a wonderful example of local talent, local enthusiasm. And flippin’ good music.
The Boys of the National Defence Stavros Xarchakos ‘This is Greece for us. We’ve travelled a lot – only a few years after we got married, we had a serious road accident, I was very nearly killed. It was a long recovery time, and we decided after that life was for living. And although we were busy, and we had family – we have five children between us – we’ve always said we need to make time for ourselves to stay sane. After the accident, we decided that if we could do things, we would. So although we didn’t have that much time, we set about traveling when we could. The first holiday we had abroad was to Greece – though we knew nothing about Greece! We absolutely fell in love with the village that we went to, and we carried on going back. The last time we went was five, six years ago. We’ve had many, many years of magic there. And part of that has been that we’ve always arrived and left from Mytilene, the main town. It’s just an absolute wraparound memory of eating in the tavernas of Mytilene, with Greek music as it should be.
The save and the book There’s a tidal wave coming to your island, and you can only save one disc – which would it be? ‘I think I’d have to save the Paolo Conte. All the songs, you will have gathered, are there for the memories that go with them. I like music – I prefer it live, really, rather than sitting in a room listening to it, and there are other pieces of music that I might enjoy more for themselves. But everything on this list is just there for the memories. And Venice is a pretty good core memory for me. ‘Choosing a single book is very difficult … but I will have to go for Nicholas Nickleby. There are other writers, and though I love Dickens he’s probably not my top-top favourite. But I was lucky enough, back in the early 80s, to see a particular production of Nicholas Nickleby. Trevor Nunn set out to dramatise the whole book – not to do an extract or condensed version, but the whole thing. What they eventually came up with ran for eight-and-a-half hours. If you wanted to see the whole thing in one day, you could, and break for meals. And it was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen on the stage. I actually have a copy of Nicholas Nickleby with illustrations from that show, and that unlocks extraordinary theatrical memories. So again, it scores on two levels.’
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, 1982. Roger Rees played Nickleby (rt) and Smike was played by David Threlfall
Christopher Somerville’s 35-year journey as a walking writer, chronicling Britain’s footpaths for The Times and The Daily Telegraph by Steve Keenan
Christopher Somerville
Christopher Somerville has been walking for a living for 35 years. His walks have been published weekly in The Times for 15 of those years and, before then, in The Daily Telegraph. He has also written 40 books, the latest being Walking the Bones of Britain: A 3 Billion Year Journey from the Outer Hebrides to the Thames Estuary. It’s a lot of words about walking – but he regrets how parsimonious newspapers have become about space. ‘In the 1990s, when The Times was a broadsheet, I could write 1,500 words about a walk, with anecdotes and detailed transgressions. Now I only get space for 600 words.’ It’s not really a rant – Christopher is not by any definition a ranter. He was a teacher for 15 years before taking a different path and he speaks gently, with a permanent twinkle in the eye. He is now 74 and lives in Somerset. And he is a listener. It was a book by John Hillaby – Journey Through Britain (1968) – that first inspired him to write. He has, to date, filled 470 notebooks, all filed in chronological order on his bookshelves. When lockdown curtailed his walking, he used the time to rifle through these archives. In his recent talk at The Travel Book Company in Semley, he said: ‘The notebook pages are creased and stained with mud, blood, flattened insect corpses, beer glass rings, smears of plant juice and gallons of sweat. Everything I’ve written about walking the British countryside has had its origin in these little black-and-red books.’ And in conversation later (we detoured to The Benett Arms in Semley!), he told me: ‘I find myself interested in almost everything people tell me. View from the Hill is a compendium of a gazillion stories which I wrote down but which never got used in my articles. I thought: “I shall see if I can whip up a narrative of my last 40 years” and it became a book.’
Christopher’s original map for the Cerne Abbas walk on the following page – he starts with an OS map and then creates his own route
Neglected footpaths Each of his walks is designed from scratch, researched and put together with his wife, Jane. As Jane is a botanist, he says: ‘I’ve effectively got two pairs of eyes. We walk together but have different ways of looking at things. ‘We choose areas from all over the country, then turn to the OS maps and try to work out a circuit of, say, six miles. Then we try to find a place to park that won’t upset anyone! ‘My favourite walk? Upper Teesdale, between the Durham and Yorkshire Dales, from Appleby to Middleton on Teesdale. One of the best walks in the world. I’ve done it many many times but printed it only once. As for my favourite bit of Dorset to walk in… impossible to choose! The coast of the Isle of Purbeck (where I went to school) and the cliffs around Golden Cap are very special, but so are Bulbarrow, Blackmore Vale and the downs. Plonk me down anywhere thereabouts and I’d be as happy as a sandboy.’ (Christopher is guest editor of this month’s Dorset walk – see one of his favourite routes around the Cerne Giant here.) He says there are fewer people now taking this sort of walk, ‘to go on an adventure from a small footpath. One that is new, and a challenge. People are, for some reason, less confident about going out and forging a path. Now they’d rather do something like The South Downs Way or the Coastal Path – the big routes. ‘There are 140,000 miles of footpaths in the country but they are getting neglected. It is a bit sad. I see fewer walkers on my trails, and fewer walkers on local footpaths. Why? Farmers don’t maintain the paths and very few councils now have full time footpath officers.’ There is still, of course, an army of intrepid walkers inspired by Christopher who regularly leave comments and feedback on his articles. He tries to respond to everyone – he believes it is the polite thing to do. Has he ever had any criticsm? ‘Well, I have a left and right confusion. The newspaper subs usually pick up on any mistake but in one article, it did say turn left rather than right. I had a call from a person who said he was walking with 20 pensioners in completely the wrong direction. They were furious …”
Christopher is known for his immersive, atmospheric writing, and his ability to bring a reader along on his walks with him. Here he describes a familiar route around Plush, published in The Times in 2018:
Mist was rolling high on the Dorset downs as we came down a steep green valley into Plush. The little collection of houses lay under mossy thatch along their lane. A few cheerful drinkers at the Brace of Pheasants shook their heads at us over the weather. ‘Going out walking? You won’t see a thing!’ In the chalky holloway that lifted us to the heights of Church Hill grew primroses and violets, bluebells and pink campion. All had burst out together last week, at the first hint of spring warmth. Today the birds seemed subdued by the cold hand of the mist, but a blackcap suddenly produced a mellifluous solo among the oaks, short but sweet. As we reached the gaunt old barn at the top of the climb a roe deer went bounding away, leaping high over crops and fences. We followed the rutted course of the Wessex Ridgeway, an ancient drove road running east-west along the nape of the hills. The old cottage at Folly was once a drover’s inn, where the hardy drovers in their felt hats, stockinged feet soaped against blisters, would stop in for refreshment while their flocks cropped the wide verges of the Ridgeway. We passed through woods of oak and ash where bluebells made a hazy sky of the undergrowth, and dropped down a long flinty lane into Higher Melcombe. Lumps and bumps in the fields were all that remained of the medieval village deserted by its people after the Black Death deprived them of their feudal livings. But the handsome old manor house was still there, its chapel walls striped with flint. Blackbirds sang, and a tractor whined somewhere. We climbed away up a hedge towards a wood, invisible in the hill mist, roaring softly and mightily with a sea-like cadence. Primroses and cowslips spattered the banks of the hollow lane, and among them a hybrid of the two plants raised its dark yellow multiform head on a slender talk. We skirted the plunging slopes of Lyscombe Bottom, farmed with no pesticides or artificial fertilisers, and descended another deep-sunk old green road into Plush. ‘See anything?’ asked the same regulars in the Brace of Pheasants. ‘No, not a thing,’ we replied.
Winter wonders in the garden: Charlotte Tombs discovers Dorset’s resilient blooms that brighten the gloomiest months
Winter-flowering cherry, Prunus x subhirtella)
We are lucky in the south of England with our milder climate. As we enter the depths of winter, and gardeners elsewhere in the country resign themselves to a dormant bare garden, there is a hidden world of beauty waiting to be discovered in the form of winter blooms. These resilient plants brave the cold temperatures and shorter days, offering a burst of colour and fragrance to uplift our spirits. Below are some of the winter flowering plants that bring me pleasure at this time of year and thrive in our Dorset climate.
The snowdrops are already beginning to emerge. All images: Charlotte Tombs
Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) Snowdrops are usually the first arrival of spring. These delicate, bell-shaped flowers emerge from the often-frozen ground, their pristine white petals contrasting beautifully against the dark winter landscape. Snowdrops can be found in woodlands, gardens, and even naturalised in meadows. Their dainty blooms and subtle fragrance make them a true winter gem.
The distinctive petals of Witch Hazel are temperature sensitive; they become reflexed when cold and unfurl when warm.
Winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) Winter jasmine is a deciduous shrub that graces the winter garden with bright yellow flowers. Blooming from late December through to early spring, it adds a cheerful touch to any landscape. The arching branches create an elegant display, and the flowers provide an early source of nectar for bees and other pollinators.
Hellebores (Helleborus): Hellebores, also known as Christmas Roses, are a winter favourite in southern England. These evergreen perennials produce clusters of nodding flowers in shades of white, pink, purple, and green. Known for their ability to bloom in even the harshest winter conditions, they are a reliable choice for gardeners looking for winter colour.
Witch Hazel (Hamamelis) Witch Hazels are renowned for their vibrant, spidery blooms that appear on bare branches during the winter months. The fragrant flowers come in shades of yellow, orange and red, adding a burst of colour to the winter garden. Witch Hazels are also prized for their attractive autumn foliage, making them a year-round delight.
The mythological physician Melampus was said to have observed the cathartic effect of hellebore on goats who browsed on the plants. Melampus used the milk of these same goats to cure the daughters of the King of Argos of a divinely inflicted madness, and hellebore was sometimes called melampodium.
Winter-flowering cherry (Prunus x subhirtella) The winter-flowering cherry is a small deciduous tree that surprises with its delicate pink or white blossoms during the winter months. Blooming intermittently from November to March, this tree brings a touch of spring to a winter garden. Its flowers are a welcome sight on sunny winter days, attracting early pollinators. I’ve yet to own this tree but it’s on my own list of must-haves!
Winter-flowering Viburnums (Viburnum x bodnantense) Winter-flowering Viburnums are a group of shrubs that offer light, fragrant blooms during the dark cold winter months. Their clusters of pink or white flowers emerge from bare branches, filling the air with a heady, spicy, sweet scent. These hardy shrubs are a valuable addition to any garden, providing both visual interest and fragrance during the winter season.
Winter-flowering Viburnums
A winter garden These lovely, hardy plants remind us of the beauty and resilience of nature. So – bundle up, grab a warm drink and venture into your winter garden to discover the hidden treasures that await. Embrace the magic of winter blooms and let them inspire you during the colder months. PS Please don’t forget to keep your bird feeders topped up this month!
