This is our 60th edition – The BV is officially five years old.
We launched in the middle of a global pandemic (because why not?), during that surreal, sweltering summer of 2020.
The old Blackmore Vale Magazine had just closed for good. Courtenay and I were both newly jobless in the great pandemic clear-out, sitting on Rawlsbury Camp at midnight, wondering what on earth we were going to do.
Courtenay had the idea (it’s literally all his fault).
A new magazine. Digital-only. Fast, beautiful, interesting, full of brilliant local people and proper journalism. I nodded enthusiastically. I had years of experience in digital publishing. We both ran our own businesses. We had four teenagers and a lot of ideas. How hard could it be?
Reader, I knew nothing. NOTHING. About publishing.
And yet, somehow, here we are.
Five years on, and The BV reaches more than 350,000 people every month. We’ve grown far beyond our immediate North Dorset patch – we’re read across the rural heart of Dorset and beyond – and we’ve won some major national awards (not that we’re still beaming about being Regional Publication of the Year and Regional Website of the Year, obviously).
People do sometimes still confuse us with the printed paper which launched not long after us with a very similar name. For the record: we’re not them. Not connected in any way.
Though in a delicious twist, we do work with the legendary Fanny Charles – the long-time editor of the original BVM – who now sub-edits us alongside Gay Pirrie-Weir (let’s be honest, it’s like employing your own headmistresses. Great, but terrifying).
For all its award-winning polish, The BV is still built by just two of us at the sharp end – planning, writing, designing, photographing, publishing, wrangling inboxes and fixing typos at midnight (3am…) every month. But we’re never alone in it.
The whole team is what holds The BV above the ordinary – and what a team it is: many of whom have been with us since the very beginning. Along the way we’ve collected a gloriously oddball mix of brilliant strangers who’ve somehow become some of our favourite humans. Writers, photographers, farmers, my beloved sub-eds, digital whizzes, wildlife nerds, food nerds, history nerds, opinionated columnists … they’re the shouty-but-kind crowd in my WhatsApp and inbox every day. I’m genuinely honoured to work alongside them – and I think that affection and respect shines through in every single page. We care. About this county, and about telling its stories well.
We’ve got some properly exciting things coming, but really, I’m just here to say: Thank you.
To every person who’s read us, shared us, shouted about us (and at us) on Facebook, forwarded us to a friend, or hunted down a story they once saw in issue 27 but can’t quite remember the title of. To every reader who emails us with praise, corrections, opinions, complaints – or cat photos (especially the cat photos).
And finally, a massive thank you to the hundreds of photographers who submit images every month. Choosing which make the pages is our biggest joy – and our biggest monthly row. We’re so sorry we can’t fit you all in. Truly.
The BV started as a wild idea on a hill. Five years later, it’s louder, braver … and somehow still just as scrappy behind the scenes. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve built – and grateful to everyone who’s come along for the ride. Here’s to the next five years. And hopefully a bit more sleep.
Laura x
On ‘Eddy’s next chapter’
(The BV, July 25)
Reading about Eddy’s return to Ukraine was both inspiring and infuriating. Inspiring, because his compassion, courage and resolve are extraordinary. Infuriating, because it reminded me how quiet the world has gone on Ukraine.
We’re now awash with news on Gaza – rightly so, it’s horrific – but Ukraine hasn’t stopped suffering just because it’s no longer in the headlines. The war is still there. Civilians are still dying. People like Eddy are still out there trying to help.
How have we let it become background noise?
Sophie L, Gillingham
What an uplifting read Rachael Rowe’s interview with Eddy was. In a world where so many people complain about trivial things, he’s out there, choosing to help others in the most challenging conditions – and doing it all with warmth and positivity. Eddy’s outlook is a real credit to him. His ability to keep smiling and moving forward, despite everything, is deeply humbling. We could all do with a bit more of that spirit.
M Edwards, Sturminster Newton
Dorset Council is railroading residents over the decision to introduce a booking system for council tips. The scheme has now been dropped from most sites, yet Shaftesbury, Sherborne, Wimborne and Dorchester remain on track.
The reasons it’s unnecessary are obvious: there’s no congestion, tips already work well, and the system adds pointless bureaucracy, requires internet access, and assumes people have their own car. Even DC seems aware this is flawed – their reasoning keeps shifting. First, Cllr Andrews suggested it was because ‘other councils do it’ (ignoring that many have scrapped it). Then we were told it was about stopping people crossing county lines – as if we all live by border controls.
The announcement on 12th June sparked a storm of protest – petitions, hundreds of online objections, all against. It was enough for DCC to backtrack on most sites. Yet bizarrely, they still voted against holding a public consultation.
I live in Shaftesbury – why should we be penalised just for living near the edge of the county? And take a look at the time slots: most of us are in and out in three minutes, but now we’re all forced to run at the pace of the slowest driver.
It’s hard not to feel DC is deaf to its residents.
Penny S. Shaftesbury
I have noticed a lot of debate regarding the Shaftesbury refuse collection centre going to a booking system.
I live outside Shaftesbury on a small lane, and for the first time in the many years I have lived here we have had fly tipping, left overnight.
It is very upsetting to find some unbelievably selfish person has just dumped their LAWNMOWER and chair amongst other discarded detritus in the rural countryside – because they are too lazy to go to the tip! It’s not difficult.
Name and address suplied, Shaftesbury
Tradition isn’t a right
Various political parties have been promising to sort out the loop hole that is trail hunting, but we are still waiting for some common sense to prevail from our politicians. Every Dorset resident knows trail hunting is just a cover for actual hunting, usually with dogs.
Maybe once upon a time hunting was a respectable countryside tradition. Sadly, today the hunting industry is more like the drug industry: glamorous and exciting-looking on the outside, but behind the veneer, it is a dirty trail of illegal behaviour, paid thugs and violence.
Just because you call it ‘tradition’ doesn’t make it right. There are plenty of abhorrent traditions that we have thankfully stopped: it’s time to add hunting to this list.
Hazel C, by email
On the ‘Nine Stiles Trail’
(The BV, July 25)
What a terrific idea the ‘Trail of Nine Stiles’ is – exactly the sort of creative, community-rooted thinking that could do wonders for North Dorset.
In fact, I’d go so far as to say Visit Dorset should scrap their recent (and frankly pointless) north-of-the-county photo competition and get behind this instead. A collated map of a number of stile trails – with walkers encouraged to ‘collect’ or tick them off – could create a real sense of adventure.
It would give people a reason to explore our often-overlooked corner of the county, discover its small villages, support local businesses and pubs, and actually spend time in the place rather than just passing through.
And maybe, just maybe, if we manage to generate some proper tourism activity, Dorset Council might start to take notice of us up here. Because at the moment, it certainly doesn’t feel like they do.
AJ Brown, Child Okeford
On ‘No appetite for food security’
(Farming, The BV, July 25)
What a welcome voice Tim Gelfs is turning out to be – angry, informed and unafraid to say what so many in farming have been thinking for years.
His column on food security cut straight to the point. We’re constantly fed empty slogans about “supporting British farmers” while the government does the exact opposite – cutting payments, burying us in red tape, and opening the doors to cheap imports with no equivalent standards.
Tim’s frustration is spot on: food security should be a national priority, yet it’s being treated like a niche concern. The public deserves to know just how fragile our supply chain is becoming, and Tim has the credibility and experience to spell it out clearly.
More, please. We need his kind of honesty if there’s any hope of holding this government to account.
C. Harding, Dorset
On ‘Carbon offsets: a distant dad’s apology’
(Farming, The BV, July 25)
Brilliant article – finally, someone pointing out the farce for what it is.
Apparently, all it takes to wipe away a transatlantic flight is planting a few trees in a Dorset field. Meanwhile, that same field could have been growing food or supporting local biodiversity, but no – it’s now just a guilt sponge for a tech firm’s private jet habit. “Net zero” is fast becoming PR-speak for “we’ve paid someone else to care.”
Bob H, Marnhull
Of course we should be thinking seriously about where local carbon credits are going. Why on earth are Dorset farms selling their environmental goodwill to balance the emissions of a company jetting executives to Davos?
It’s not complicated: if we’re going to do offsetting, we should prioritise local emissions first. Keep it in the county. Use it to help our own businesses and council meet their targets.
It’s really not rocket science – it’s common sense. So why aren’t we doing it already?
Rachel D., nr Gillingham
