Mother’s Day is the 14th March this year – and we want to help you make it a little extra special.
But first – we know it’s a difficult day for some. If that’s you, head off now, this post isn’t for you. But before you go *gives your hand a squeeze* – I see you. Laura x
This year Mother’s Day is going to be a little bit different for us all – the latest in a long year of celebrations we can’t share with our loved ones. We won’t be able to take mum out for a special lunch, or all pop round to Granny with the family clutching bunches of daffodils for a big tea and cake morning.
Most of us won’t be able to even visit our mums on March 14.
So – we are asking you to send us your special messages to your mum, granny or step mum and we’ll publish them. All you have to do is fill in the form below and upload your message and even add a photograph if you like.
Deadline is midnight Tuesday 2nd, so be quick – use the form below to fill in your message. Go go go:
*form now closed. March issue is out on Friday the 5th*
Sad to report Great Dorset Steam Fair is cancelled for 2021 – see below for the reasons why (no guesses there… *looks hard at ‘Rona*), and what to do if you already have tickets that were carried forward from last year. Please do share:”
It has been confirmed that the 2021 Great Dorset Steam Fair scheduled to take place from Thursday 26th to Bank Holiday Monday 30th August has been cancelled.Steam Fair Managing Director Martin Oliver says: “We have continued to closely monitor the Coronavirus pandemic over the past few weeks and whilst the ongoing vaccination programme is progressing well and should be commended, it has nevertheless become increasingly evident (as in 2020) that it is unfeasible to run the GDSF event again this year. This has been a very difficult decision to make, however, as our pre-planning for the 2021 event has now reached a critical stage (with March being the key deadline for confirming major contractors), we have no other option than to make the decision now to not continue with the event this year and focus our efforts on the 2022 show.Despite the Prime Minister’s Speech last night and the Government’s roadmap to ease Covid-19 Restrictions, the ongoing problem the GDSF Board of Directors face is that of uncertainty as to what statutory Covid restrictions will still be in place in August for large scale, high-capacity mass gatherings like the GDSF. The Prime Minister also stressed that he is being driven by data and not dates and therefore the timeline of the roadmap is not guaranteed. Sadly, the risk is simply too great for us to run this year, it would be an enormous health & safety, operational and financial gamble which we cannot justify. Our priority therefore has to be to safeguard the viability of the event for future years and by not risking running in 2021, this will enable us to return in 2022. Ultimately, the safety and wellbeing of our visitors, exhibitors, traders, staff and contractors is always our primary concern, combined with the effect to the local area, towns, parishes and residents. We are also very conscious of the impact that the event would have on the NHS, Emergency Services, Local Authority and Partner Agencies, and we do not want to unnecessarily stretch their resources any further this year. We offer our sincere apologies to all involved and I can assure you that we at the GDSF are equally as disheartened and disappointed that for a second consecutive year there will be no show. However, not running the show again this year is the right and responsible thing to do on all counts”.All efforts will now turn to putting on a fabulous show in 2022, the dates of which are Thursday 25th August to Bank Holiday Monday 29th August. Tickets and camping bookings for 2022 will be on sale by Christmas this year. In the meantime, one bit of good news for 2021 – Steam Fair FM, the show’s own radio station, will once again be broadcasting nationwide online throughout the original 2021 show period (up to bank holiday Monday), with lots of news about the show, more archive recordings, big prize competitions, and dedications for supporters, friends and family. For visitors who previously booked advance tickets and camping for the (cancelled) 2020 event and have not hitherto requested refunds, these bookings will remain valid for the GDSF event in 2022, this will happen automatically. Alternatively, should a refund now be preferred for the 2020 show, please contact us at [email protected]. quoting the Order Number and this will be arranged this as soon as possible.”
Sylvia Spooner (née Blest) passed away peacefully in her 101st year on Sunday, January 31st in Blandford. The family thank the exceptional staff at Whitecliffe House Nursing and Residential Care Home for caring for Sylvia over the last two years and, in particular, the care and nursing professionals who kept her company last Sunday morning.
She was deeply loved by her husband, Arthur, and her two sons and her daughters-in-law, Charles, Edward, Jane Gall and Jane Hadsel. She will be deeply missed by her grandchildren Rosie, Amy, William and Katharine; wider family; and her many good friends especially in the Tarrant Valley and the Blandford area. Sylvia worked for Military Intelligence in WWII —she was one of the original ‘Blenheim Girls’, the secretarial and operational staff of internal intelligence (MI5). Part of ‘D’ section, responsible for gathering intelligence on attempts to disrupt transport.
‘My mother’s office was originally a prisoner’s cell in Wormwood Scrubs,’ says son Edward, ‘but during the Blitz was moved to Blenheim Palace. After the war she worked in Ghana, West Africa.
A private funeral service will be held at Salisbury Crematorium on Wednesday, February 24th. at 11:00 a.m. with a webcast available; please contact Lesley Shand Funeral Service, Blandford (01258 453425) for more details. Flowers can be sent directly or via Florabunda or Sweetpea to Lesley Shand to take to Salisbury.
A service in St. Mary’s, Tarrant Gunville and a Celebration of her Life will be held when possible.
“At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember her”.
“…Why is he here? Why is my dog lying at my feet in the shape of a croissant as I write this? How have I come to cherish his warm but lightly offensive pungency? How has his fish breath become a topic of humour when friends call round for dinner? Why do I shell out more than a thousand pounds each year to pay for his insurance? And why do I love him so much? Ludo is not a special dog. He’s just another Labrador retriever, one of approximately 500,000 in the UK (he’d be one in a million in the United States, the most popular breed in both countries). Ludo has a lot in common with all these dogs. He loves to play ball; obviously he’s an expert retriever. He could eat all the food in the universe and leave nothing for the other dogs. He is prone to hip dys- plasia. He looks particularly attractive on a plush bed in a centrally heated house very far from the Newfoundland home of his ancestors. But of course Ludo is a unique animal to me and the rest of his human family. He is now an elderly gentleman aged twelve and a half, and we would do almost anything to ensure his continued happiness. We willingly get drenched as he tries to detect every smell on Hampstead Heath. We schedule our days around his needs his meal times, his walks, the delivery of his life-saving medication (he has epilepsy, poor love). We spend a bizarrely large amount of our disposable income on him, and he never sends a card of thanks. (If you’re reading this at a point where you’re thinking of getting your first dog and consider a purchase price of £1,500 a little dear, then all I can say about the costs to come vets, food, dog-sitting, accoutrements both essential and superfluous is ha ha ha.) ” (excerpt from Dog’s Best Friend by Simon Garfield)
One of the most welcome changes to lockdown is being able to get out and discover the countryside on your doorstep, often accompanied by a dog. So I thought it would be interesting to discover how this relationship began. Simon Garfield has done just that. One of the first words we learn. Perhaps the best friend we’ll have. An animal so much part of our lives that we speak to it like a child and spend small fortunes on its wellbeing and wardrobe. DOG’S BEST FRIEND investigates this unique bond by revisiting some of the most important milestones in our shared journey. It begins with the earliest visual evidence on ancient rock art, and ends at the laboratory that sequenced the first dog genome. En route we encounter the first Labradoodle in Australia, a misguidedly loyal Akita in Japan, an ill-fated Poodle trainer in the United States, and a hilariously disobedient Romanian rescue dog named Kratu at the Birmingham NEC. We will also meet Corgis and Dorgis at the Palace, the weightless mutniks of the Soviet space programme, a Dalmatian who impersonates Hitler, and an owner who claims his Border Collie can remember the names of more than a thousand soft toys.
DOG’S BEST FRIEND is as entertaining as it is informative, as eccentric as it is erudite, and all told with Simon Garfield’s irrepressible gift for witty and insightful storytelling. Wayne
CLOSED FOR BROWSING, OPEN FOR BUSINESS We are temporarily closed for browsing but remain here for all your book-ish needs. Please contact us by phone, email or order online – the books can be picked up from kerbside (nearest car park) or posting at cost. Stay well, stay well-read.
England is in its third lockdown and people are spending more time at home and with their dog. It is important, therefore, to think about the dog’s perspective on lockdown and the implications it has, not just now but for when life does return to normal.
Being home all day with your dog should be a good thing right? Not necessarily. It’s important to keep in mind that any change in routine can be stressful for all animals, human and non-human. Dogs trust has found that owners are seeing at least one new problem behaviour during lockdown.(1)
So how can we help? Well routine is key. Although there has been a massive change to all of our routines, try to keep it as similar to your old routine as possible. For example, getting up at the same time, walking the dog/letting them out into the garden at the same time, feeding at the same time. The more predictable their day is the more secure they will feel after a change and the closer to your old routine the better as it will mean less of a change when lockdown rules are lifted or eased. Of course, you can still keep to your normal weekend routine.
Shutterstock
Alone time is a good thing, it gives dogs the time and space to relax, unwind and sleep. It is important for them to feel secure and happy without you. Prevention of problem behaviours such as separation anxiety will be a lot easier than treating them. Therefore, if your dog is used to being alone, be sure to still give them their alone time. They may seem like they are much happier with you around but keeping up their ability to cope without you will make both your and their life a lot happier when you are able to go back to work, or have evenings/days out without them.
Dogs can also become bored and frustrated when there is a decrease in the amount of exercise they are having, and there are plenty of interactive toys and games you can get or make at home to help with this.
There is plenty of information and help out there; the most important thing to remember is this is a very stressful time for us all, including our pets.
As this is my first contribution I will give a little introduction as who we are and what we do.
I am the fifth generation of the Cossins family to farm at Rawston farm, Tarrant Rawston. Our family came here in 1887 having moved from Somerset and took on the tenancy and in 1919 had the opportunity to purchase the farm. We are what is described as a mixed farm or some may call us traditional in that we have cattle and grow crops. We have milking cows , beef cattle and grow wheat ,barley , oilseeds and beans. We rotate the fields between grassland and crops using the manure from the to maintain soil health and the fertility of the land. I think in this modern era this might be what is called sustainable farming , but is difficult to get a definition of what exactly sustainable means.
Rawston Farm’s Waterwheel house on the river Tarrant. Built by James Cossins Grandfather in the 1930’s
In the current covid pandemic crisis the farm has thankfully not been affected too badly. Our milk and grain collections have continued as normal and there have been no issues obtaining dairy feed from local mills. The demand for beef seems largely unaffected with the farm continuing to supply our farm shop on a weekly basis. Our staff largely live in the quiet village here and at work can spend time working alone especially during the busy planting and harvesting periods using tractors. Let’s hope we can continue to stay safe. Unfortuneatly for my wife Barbara her hospitality business has had to close for the time being, with no indication as to when it will reopen.
As we move into February there is always some optimisom on the farm as the days get longer, the weather may improve and we can start preparing fields for spring sowing. The cattle also start looking over the gates from their winter accommodation hoping the grass will soon start growing so they can be back out grazing .
My family has always been very good at keeping a farm diary. Referring back to 1921 the farming events at the beginning of February included hedge laying , wheat thrashing ,and taking the wheat to Blandford and Webb in Blandford in sacks with a horse cart. Blandford and Webb were a local agricultural merchant who had a presence in our local town for many years.
This months picture shows our waterwheel house on the river Tarrant in the summer. This was built be my Grandfather in the 1930’s , where a water driven wheel drives a pump to draw up water from a borehole to the farms reservoir for cattle drinking. Early thinking of renewable energy ! .I think the picture was taken in the early 1940’s as in the back ground is the new road to the Tarrant Rushton Airfield built during the second world war.
Lets hope by the time I am writing next month spring will be with us and we can all look forward to better times!
The past year has seen us rely on our loved ones in ways we have never done before. So in honour of St Valentine, we’re celebrating them (because frankly we think we all need a big virtual tight squeezy hug right now, in the absence of the real ones).
So we offered a proper old-fashioned local Valentine’s message board – and you didn’t disappoint. Nearly a hundred messages came flooding in – the warmth and affection palpable in every single one.
So let’s feel the love for a change, and spread some smiles across the Vale for Valentine’s Day. We’ve loved every one of them. Feel free to add your message in the comments below, too – don’t miss this chance to say a public ‘thank you’, ‘love you’ or ‘miss you’ to those special people in your life.
It’s Dorset’s newest, and probably most unusual, wedding venue.
Couples can now walk down the aisle at The Tank Museum.
The Tank Museum
The county’s top tourist attraction has officially launched Tank Museum Weddings with the first booking already confirmed for September.
Rosanna Dean, Events Manager, said: “It might seem like a quirky place to get married, but we know there are lots of people looking for something a little different on their wedding day.
“Our unique surroundings have already attracted couples with a special connection to The Tank Museum, who want to celebrate their marriage with us.
The Tank Museum
“Some have links to the military, a keen interest in our subject and others have ties to the local area.
“The variety of settings and the expertise we have at the Museum mean we can offer a completely tailored experience for our couples.”
Whether it’s a 1940s rustic wedding with an intimate guestlist, or a classic contemporary white wedding design with up to 1,000 guests, The Tank Museum’s experienced events team says it can create a unique day.
Couples can even tie the knot in front of their favourite tank!
Guests to a wedding at The Tank Museum are also given the opportunity to explore the Museum itself.
Once married, The Tank Museum’s in-house catering team can provide a wedding breakfast for friends and family.
Finally, a photoshoot among the tanks will give a permanent reminder of a day with a real difference.
All profits from the weddings will go to support The Tank Museum charity, allowing a couple’s special day to help preserve history for generations to come.
The Tank Museum
Rosanna added: “We’ve had a number of requests for weddings over the years and we’re pleased to finally be able to offer people the chance to get married at The Tank Museum.”
Tank Museum Weddings is the latest addition to the Museum’s comprehensive venue hire offering.
Meetings, conferences and large-scale special events are regularly held at the Museum and overseen by the events team.
To find out more about holding a wedding at The Tank Museum click here and follow Tank Museum Weddings on Instagram here.
