An early dawn drive captures the magic of mist, light and a sudden, spectacular dance of jackdaws for wildlife writer Jane Adams
I’m driving to Bath. The sun is just peeking above the horizon, highlighting the Dorset landscape one autumn-touched tree, one hedge, one field at a time. The road is empty. It’s as if I’m the only person alive, and mist, snug like an eiderdown, fills every valley contour. I keep snatching a look. Ahead of me, a track – black, and a few metres wide – crosses the road at tree height. I can’t work it out at first, but as I draw closer, what at first seemed solid reveals itself as four distinct wires, each one connected to poles on either side of the road. Perched on the wires are black birds: jackdaws. They have their backs to me, and though they are motionless, they look poised, as if waiting.
Jackdaw – Corvus monedula
To their right is a tree, a large yew. I expect it’s where they spent the previous night, it’s by far the largest tree around. Squat and wide rather than tall and poised like an oak or beech, its multitude of thickset branches provide safety from predators. Maybe my car startles them, or perhaps it was always their intention to leave at that precise second, but as I drive under the wires, every bird overhead takes flight. At first, they envelop the car and my world gets momentarily darker. Then they explode into a firework of cinders, scattering left and right, diving and soaring, each bird on its own fixed flight path, utterly haphazard yet perfectly choreographed in their chaos. I gasp. Laugh. Then I am suddenly overwhelmed at the raw, simple beauty, and I wipe away a tear. I want to stop, but there’s nowhere to pull in. I search for the birds in my rear-view mirror, but they have vanished. Did I imagine them? I could believe that I had, but for my racing heart.
Jackdaws In autumn and winter, jackdaws roost together in trees – sometimes a roost will contain several thousand birds – as protection against predators and also to conserve heat. It may be roosts which provide these intelligent birds with a place to learn, too. Noticing a neighbour that is well-fed, and sharing knowledge of good foraging grounds, may be an added benefit of roosts.
Did you know? A recent University of Exeter study found that roosting jackdaws wait for the roost’s squawks to reach peak volume before taking off together – they synchronise their flight by calling to one another, using safety in numbers as they take off.
Coughs, colds and costly outbreaks … Andrew Livingston asks if government delays and IT blunders are leaving farmers vulnerable
It’s that time of year, and the coughs and colds have begun, accompanied by the inevitable sore throats and runny noses. The weather is milder than usual, and the germs are having a free-for-all. For animals, it’s the same. Seasons bring viruses and illness, leading to the use of antibiotics and, in some cases, resulting in death. In August, Bluetongue – a disease that affects ruminants like cows and sheep, but not humans, and doesn’t pose a risk to public health or food safety – was detected in Norfolk, after infected midges blew over from mainland Europe. Cases have spread across the country, leading to the shut-down of annual countryside shows and restrictions on animal movements from infected areas. Cattle and sheep breeders have been hit hard, forced to keep animals beyond their sale age. Breeders are now incurring costs to feed and protect animals that should have been sold and moved on to their new pastures. What’s frustrating for the agricultural community is the fact that government vets from the Animal and Plant Health Association expected this to be the case … but failed to take action. The Bluetongue vaccine is only being distributed after an outbreak, which doesn’t stop animals from getting sick – it merely helps prevent death. A swift vaccine rollout across the east coast and south west could have saved animal lives and maintained the continuity of animal movements.
Computer says no The arrival of colder weather also means migrating birds, and with that, the now annual risk of returning Avian Influenza (AI). Last year was a quiet year for the disease after the record-breaking decimation of flocks during the winter of 2022/23. Preparing for the worst, DEFRA has called on every single bird owner in the country to register as keepers in their national database. If you even take your pet budgie for a walk outside at any point now, they need to know about it. Failure to do so can lead to a £2,500 fine. In true governmental fashion, however, small backyard flocks were threatened with fines from the 1st of October for non-compliance but, hilariously, no one has been able to sign up, due to IT issues with the registration process.
Let’s not mention the eggs As a final addendum in another bleak month of column writing, I ought to inform The BV’s readers of issues that may lay ahead. Shocker, I know, that the future picture isn’t rosy: certainly not for egg producers, at least. I’ve been hearing murmurs about Ireland struggling with egg production from an unknown virus. Most reports say birds haven’t been dying, but what’s scary is that the vets are completely unable to say what it is, or what’s causing it. I don’t believe in scaremongering – this is no bats-being-eaten-in-the-Wuhan-market story! Nevertheless, whatever it is, it’s spreading. A lot of farms around Wales are now reporting a drop in their egg production, resembling closely the tales from across the Irish Sea. Nationally, we can cope with mini dips in production. What we can’t have is a repeat of the AI season of two years ago, where large proportions of the nation’s bird population were wiped out in months. Thankfully, birds aren’t dying at the moment … but I can’t stress enough how smart, sophisticated and adaptable pathogens are. They’ve survived a lot longer than we have on this planet. Thinking about it, we can’t even create an online form that works … we haven’t got a hope in hell, have we?
It’s the final nail in the coffin of every family farm – a shocked Andrew Livingston responds to the Budget’s tax reforms
Is this the end? Is this when we finally say goodbye to the family-run farm? Does the new Labour government even really care? I certainly don’t think they get it. We’d been waiting on tenterhooks for it. The government that was essentially voted in purely because they weren’t the other bunch of buffoons appears to have ended farming as we know it. In August’s edition of the BV, I spoke of my worry and fear that the Government was going to cut subsidy funding for farmers. I was scared that withdrawing the cash was going to kill the smaller family-run farms. And, to Labour’s credit, in Rachel Reeves’ budget yesterday was an announcement that there was to be no decrease in the subsidy funding, and instead there would be a rise to cover the shortfall in spending that the last lot of Westminster busybodies failed to dish out. So far so good. What came next for the farming sector was shocking … genuinely shocking. The removal of the Agricultural Property Relief (APR). The APR is essentially a protection to ensure that when farm owners die they can pass the land on to their children without having to pay extortionate inheritance tax fees that would cripple the farm. The Labour government, in its wisdom, has announced that estates will now be protected only up to a value of £1m. I’m sorry… what? Have they looked at the market? An old farmhouse on its own is worth a million, and that’s without adding a garden, let alone enough land to work on! Of course, this wouldn’t be an issue if there was some money to be made in farming. Government ministers must just look to farmers and think, “They live in the countryside. They must be minted … let’s take a bit of their money!”
The wealth misconception According to DEFRA, the average farm income dropped from £20,000 to £17,800 in 2023. Farm incomes are consistently lower than the average for UK households, and this gap has been growing over the past decade. Farming incomes are now roughly half of what the typical UK household earns. A very quick search found a 225 acre farm outside Bridport, on the market right now for just shy of £4m. It has land and some agricultural buildings, but that price won’t include any farm machinery or equipment. Thanks to the Chancellor, if that farm was passed down to the next generation to keep it in the family there would be a £300,000 inheritance tax bill. Which works out at £1,333 per acre: last year, a crop of wheat made £75 an acre. How is that going to cover a £1,333 an acre tax bill? Well, it won’t. Obviously. In fact, it would take nearly 20 years to pay off – and by then you are dead from the stress of not being able to provide for your children … and the vicious cycle continues.
Up and up and up I haven’t even touched on the raising of the minimum wage. Of course it’s a great idea for the Government to give people more money. But the rise is three times more than inflation: I’m not an economist, but even I understand that all this is going to do is drive inflation! How are businesses going to cover the cost of those wages rising? Well, of course they’ll make everything more expensive. Everything in the shops is going to start to go up more in price … best start hoarding tins and start stockpiling for the apocalypse. You know what really made me scream into my clenched fist? The rich elites all laughing and cheering when Rachel Reeves announced she was going to reduce the draught beer tax by 1.7 per cent on pints in our pubs. To which Reeves happily said: “Which means a penny off a pint in the pub!” Which is just great. Farmers can’t afford to keep their farms after their parents have died … but hey, at least I can get a pint a penny cheaper. Well done. Well done. Someone stick a pitchfork in me. I’m DONE.
Blandford practice nurse Buffy Wareham talks about the changes she’s seen in 50 years of nursing, personal loss, and her enduring need to help
Buffy Wareham, who has just celebrated 50 years of nursing
For some people, she is the practice nurse who has repeatedly jabbed them over the last few decades. To others she has been a constant presence since their teenage years. Buffy Wareham has just celebrated 50 years working as a nurse – something few clinicians achieve today. She is one of the most familiar faces at the Blandford Group of Practices where she has worked for the past 27 years.
From Brixton to Blandford Buffy trained as a general nurse at the Middlesex Hospital in London in 1974. ’Sadly, that is no more, it became part of UCL. Then I worked on a medical ward before going to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford to train as a midwife. I returned to London and got a job in A&E at St Thomas’s Hospital. I became a sister when I was 24. ‘I worked on the short stay unit attached to A&E – I was on duty for the Brixton riots and also for the first London Marathon.’ At the end of her job in A&E there was an increase of violence-related cases such as gunshot wounds and stabbings. Buffy left to spend a year as a school nurse. ‘During my time in casualty I trained in family planning at Kings College Hospital. This was useful for working in sexual health clinics in SE London and Paddington area health authorities, as well as working as a school nurse in the community.’ Contraception and sexual health have been an important thread throughout her career especially growing her own family. ‘When I was training in family planning they were doing a lot of research into chlamydia and its links to infertility. Then when I joined this practice, some of the work I did involved improving detection rates in chlamydia. ‘Now, of course, swabs are done before fitting contraceptive devices.’
Personal heartache ‘I have had four boys,’ says Buffy. ‘My family is my life.’ But her eldest son, Edward, became very ill with a severe form of epilepsy which sadly disabled him. ‘We took him to specialists in London and Paris, but he remained a medical mystery. He unexpectedly died on our family holiday in August 1993 – he was almost nine.’ She had been considering retraining as a midwife, but Edward’s death made it impossible for her. ‘It was all too much.’ The family moved to Wimborne in 1997 and the boys settled into local schools. ’Then I saw a job advertised for a practice nurse in Blandford. It was quite tough initially – my husband was working in London and I was also studying for a practice nurse qualification. I specialised in women’s health. ‘In general practice, your own life experiences make a huge difference. I’m sure Edward dying, although it was a huge upheaval in my life, helped me to help other people. If someone is distressed about a child dying or is grieving, I might say something and they’ll often say – how did you know to say that? And he’s helped me do that. Edward taught us an awful lot, he probably made me who I am today. ‘I have also been privileged to look after my parents and aunt at the end of their lives. My mother died earlier this year, aged 100.’
Buffy was a sister in A&E at St Thomas’s Hospital in the early 1980s: she was on duty for the Brixton riots and also for the first London Marathon
Starched cuffs Naturally, with a career spanning 50 years, Buffy has seen a lot of change. ’Nurse training has changed. One of my sons has become an advanced clinical practitioner recently so I’ve seen it from the modern side. One of the biggest differences is that my training gave me a great sense of duty and commitment – sadly I don’t think that is always apparent today. The way that I work is to take a holistic approach to the patient, I don’t just look at the specific task. Genuine patient care for me is always very important. ‘I have loved my nursing career. I love helping people and making a difference. ‘We have seen a lot of recent change here in Blandford, with the merge of two practices and of course the pandemic in 2020. Unfortunately, I caught COVID the first time around, before we had vaccines. I was left with long COVID and had to reduce my hours. ‘Uniforms have also changed. I look at Call The Midwife and think: “Good Lord! That’s the uniform I trained in!” We all wore cuffs and hats and everything had to be pristine and starched. In October I had a 50th anniversary reunion with 30 of my set I trained with in London, which was lovely. I continue to wear my Middlesex Hospital badge on my uniform with pride. ‘I enjoy the nature of general practice. Each day is different. Helping and making a difference to someone gives me complete job satisfaction.’
Buffy as a student nurse at London’s Middlesex Hospital in the 70s
So much change Buffy has many interests outside work. ‘My family are everything to me. I have four grandchildren and love being a hands-on granny. I love tennis, always have done, and I play regularly. I love cooking and entertaining, and also photography and travelling. I’ve always had a great love of the arts, visiting galleries and going to the theatre.’ After 50 years, what keeps Buffy coming into work each day? ‘It’s probably a need to care for people. I love seeing familiar faces. The continuity and getting to know families is lovely. If someone wants to go into this job they will inevitably learn a huge amount. I think people believe general practice to be easy, but it’s not just about taking out a few sutures. You can develop your own interests and skills within practice nursing. I feel I have consolidated my training and previous experience over the years to enhance my role specialising in Women’s Health. It is important to keep your knowledge and skills updated in such a clinical role . ‘Being a good team player helps, but you have to be confident and capable to work autonomously when running your own clinics. ‘I have seen so much change. These days there is a huge wodge of administration in the NHS, with constant new initiatives that don’t make a difference and are usually a waste of time. ‘I wish they would just look after the workers, the doctors and nurses who do a lot of the valuable work. If they’re not nurtured and looked after, they will leave. And the name Buffy? – ‘Well, I’ve been called that since the year dot. My real name is Mary Rose – like the wreck!’
It’s been a long road for Shaftesbury, and though £880k in council funding has been awarded, some residents aren’t celebrating yet
Mampitts Green Shaftesbury Outlined in red
When the chance to create a new community centre arose in Shaftesbury, few could have predicted the lengthy negotiations that would follow before the project could finally get under way. Finally, in October, Dorset Council voted in favour of the Shaftesbury Town Council proposal for new community facilities at Mampitts Green. While it looks as though a solution has now been reached, the issues around Mampitts Green have certainly not disappeared. In a nutshell Section 106 funding is allocated to communities from building developers to provide infrastructure for new developments – it is often a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a significant change for small communities. When the previous Shaftesbury Town Council found itself with a significant sum of money to allocate to a community centre, a councillor was designated to led the project. However, there were strong differences in opinion and the people of Shaftesbury ended up in the unexpected position of having two proposals for what the town should do with the land on Mampitts Lane. One was submitted by the Mampitts Lane Community Interest Organisation (MLCIO), led by local councillor Peter Yeo. The other was from Shaftesbury Town Council, led by Councillor Piers Brown. In March, Dorset Council approved the planning permission application (P/FUL/2023/05314) for the MLCIO’s proposal.
Mampitts Lane Community Interest Organisation (MLCIO), led by Councillor Peter Yeo, planned a community hall and nature park
However, during its cabinet meeting on Tuesday 15th October, Dorset Council resolved to award Section 106 (S106) funding to Shaftesbury Town Council (STC) for its proposed development of the Mampitts Community HUB. At the meeting, Dorset Council leader Nick Ireland introduced it as “possibly the most controversial item on the agenda this evening.” A unanimous vote saw £880,000 of S106 monies awarded to Shaftesbury Town Council.
Shaftesbury town council’s approved plan for the new Mampitts community HUB
Community champions One of the critical aspects of the town council’s proposal was the community leadership and co-operative design. Piers Brown explains: ‘The town council recruited six volunteer community champions. They sat on advisory committees and we developed the proposal together. What they said was crucial. For example, they didn’t like their part of town referred to as “other”. They also wanted to see the community facilities used by the whole of Shaftesbury, not just The Maltings estate. ‘The entire town was consulted. Every household received a questionnaire, and we had 450 returned, which was fantastic. We also did some pop-up consultation events in Mampitts Green. And there were some key messages from the public. They wanted a social space, and they wanted an area where they could get back to nature. They also wanted us to get on with the project! Interestingly, what they weren’t so keen on was a play park, preferring an imaginary play area. So we listened to the feedback on the needs of people who actually live there – they differed from the perceived requirements when The Maltings development was first planned.’ Peter Yeo’s MLCIO project also involved the community, and included a petition with 720 signatories from the town. ‘I live at Mampitt’s Lane. We had a brilliant plan which included an area for the air ambulance to land. Dorset Council made us present our case to the town council in 2021, and tried to get us to work together. It didn’t work. Instead, the town council launched a rival bid! They turned up at Mampitts Lane with a gazebo … it was farcical.’ Peter says he is not alone, and is adamant that local residents don’t support the council’s plans for a community centre: ‘It’s an absolute farce,’ he says. ‘We got planning permission for our design, and Dorset Council gave them extra time to catch up. We also had detailed costings. ‘Now our village green is being built over and we’ll have uncontrollable parking.’
Illustrative layout of the new Mampitts community HUB building
Learning and next steps The Mampitts Green experience is a serious and lasting challenge for Shaftesbury. Peter is considering the options, which include complaining to the Planning Ombudsman and a possible judicial review. ‘The town’s next steps are to do a public tender and then to get on with the work,’ says Piers Brown. ‘We’ll be working with Pavilion in the Park from Poundbury, part of the Talk About Trust which works with young people. They also have further connections with other services that would benefit the town. ‘It’s always easier to take people with you and disappointing when people don’t want to work together. Compromise is key. No one has got 100 per cent of what they want from this project – but I hope everyone will be happy with what we do. Our starting point was what people want. ‘I hope that in five to ten years time these challenges will be a distant memory, and people will see it as a fantastic facility for Shaftesbury. When it opens – hopefully in the spring of 2026 – it will bring benefits for the entire town.’
Is a 650-home development west of Wincanton an unsustainable misuse of good farmland, or “an opportunity to deliver more than housing”
The red line is around the West Wincanton application site, and a yellow line around a site already approved for 80 houses
A major plan for 650 houses on farmland to the west of Wincanton has provoked considerable opposition, with angry residents at a public meeting shouting at the scheme’s designers and one person ejected for disruptive behaviour from the subsequent Wincanton Town Council meeting. The objectors, including many residents and organisations such as the countryside campaign group CPRE, are concerned that the development, which is called West Wincanton, could move the fulcrum west from the historic town centre. When completed, it is suggested that around 1,500 people would live in the new homes, increasing the population of Wincanton (6,740 in the 2021 census) by more than 20 per cent. Other concerns and objections include the loss of productive farmland at the site, known as Hook Valley Farm, at a time when food sovereignty and resilience are important, as well as the potential impact of flooding and serious surface water run-off from the 66 hectare (163 acre) hilly site between Lawrence Hill and West Hill, where many springs rise in the fields. Local people point to recent unprecedented floods in the Lawrence Hill area and are also worried about loss of wildlife habitat, increased traffic, lack of employment for so many new residents and additional pressures on existing and inadequate infrastructure.
Empty promises? There is also justifiable frustration in the community that brownfield sites in the town are left empty (or derelict) and that there are many empty houses and unoccupied flats above shops. Many people called for the development of these sites and making use of these potential homes before taking farmland outside the town. Many were also concerned that, despite the attractive illustrative plan and promise of community and social benefits via Section 106 conditions on the planning permission, all could be lost if the site is sold in phases for development. Subsequent developers could thus find ways round an expensive conditions that have been imposed. BUT … There is usually a but, and always a need to look past the immediate emotion. In this case, there are a number of factors that cannot be ignored, starting with the new government’s clearly stated intention to build more houses to meet demonstrable need. There is also the undeniable fact that local authorities like Somerset Council, under pressure to find sites for homes, have little or no spare cash to fight developers at public inquiries. And in the case of the West Wincanton plans, there are clearly aspects that most people would support – a new primary school, a nursery, a care home, a local centre, allotments, an orchard, a park, public open space (55 per cent of the total area is to be open space or “green infrastructure”) and 35 per cent of the 650 homes will be classed as affordable – 227 homes offered on the basis of shared ownership or social rent. Jonathan Orton, managing director of Origin3, the Bristol-based agents for planning, design and development responsible for overseeing the masterplan for this major development, told a public meeting in Wincanton’s Moor Lane sports centre: ‘A larger site like this provides an opportunity to deliver more than just housing.’ The applicants are LVA (Land Value Alliances), with offices in Sherborne and London – specialists in investment and planning project management in UK land and property. On their website they say: ‘We focus on forming responsible alliances with landowners and all other stakeholders’. LVA was founded by Robert Tizzard, who is executive chairman. James Tizzard, a partner in the business, was at the public meeting.
The application for Hook Valley Farm as submitted by LVA: Outline application (with all matters reserved except for access) for the demolition of agricultural buildings and the development of up to 650 dwellings; up to 3.1 ha of mixed use comprising employment use class B2/B8/E(g), local centre use class E/class F, and care home; provision of primary school; pre-school/nursery; accesses from West Hill and Lawrence Hill; mobility infrastructure; new pedestrian/cycle route to the south of Lawrence Hill; open space and all associated infrastructure. Among the objectors are a group of residents who say they are ‘concerned about the continual unsustainable development in Wincanton. We feel that we have reached a tipping point with a planning application [that would mean] the destruction of a working farm and the loss of our natural environment. We are not against development but feel that “brownfield” sites such as The Tythings are more suitable than destroying good agricultural land that is unconnected to the built environment of the town and outside any approved area of the Adopted Local Plan and the Wincanton Neighbourhood Plan.’
LVA’s illustrative plan of part of the proposed West Wincanton development
Town refusal At its meeting on Monday 16th September, Wincanton Town Council agreed to object to the application and asked that Somerset Council should ensure that it takes the local objectors’ views into account when determining the application. The town council stressed the importance of the Section 106 agreement ‘and seeks confirmation and reassurance from Somerset Council that any matters proposed within this legal agreement are properly delivered and … rigorously administered.’ The BV raised some of the residents’ concerns – particularly regarding the delivery of the community benefits under the Section 106 agreement – with Jonathan Orton, and received a full reply, extracts from which appear below (for the full response, please click here):
The planning conditions will ensure that the land use mix, proposed layout, the location of the green areas and the built areas … are implemented as set out on the parameter plans and in accordance with the mitigation proposed. … Subsequent applications for reserved matters consent will need to be consistent with the approved outline plans and conditions. Any material changes to the proposals will require a new planning application. … the developers will have a legal obligation to deliver the affordable housing, primary school, pre-school, the on-site public open space and green corridors (and its management and maintenance) and financial contributions towards enhancements at Wincanton Sports Ground and sustainable transport improvements. The Section 106 legally binds the land, rather than the individual or developer. … 35% of the 650 homes proposed are to be affordable. Hence, the Wincanton development will provide affordable shared ownership and social rent housing for 227 households and families. … LVA will not work with a developer that is not able to deliver the approved development as it will affect the future phases of the scheme that [LVA and the landowners] will still be involved in.
There is currently no date set for Somerset Council planners to discuss this planning application.
Ruby White from Stalbridge has just won tonight’s final in Colorado USA. Ruby becomes the first ever U19 World Boxing Champion, after defeating India’s Chanchal Chaudhary by disqualification.
’m not sorry to see October go – usually it’s one of my favourite months, but the mental load has been quite something. As I’ve put this issue together, it’s become clear it’s not just me feeling this way: strong opinions abound. I got a late-night message from farming journalist Andrew Livingston, insisting the Budget had to be addressed. You’ll find his fiery response on page 68. We’re also launching two new opinion columns. The first is by a Dorset parish councillor who has decided it is time to speak up. They’ll be known as The Dorset Insider, and no, we won’t be revealing their identity. The Grumbler is another anonymous column – this time, open to you. It began as an excellent reader’s letter, with the nervous writer wanting to stay unnamed. I wondered if offering an anonymous platform might reveal some intriguing opinions, so The Grumbler is yours to fill. I hope you’ll find both columns as interesting and thought-provoking as I did. For the last few weeks I’ve been lurching from look/don’t look paralysing fear over the national and international news. The Middle East, the catastrophic weather, the Budget, what happens next in America … When the problems are so vast, and I am so powerless, I always have a very mature urge to simply throw a duvet over my head. But when the weight of the news feels relentless, sometimes the wisest choice IS to step back. Take a breath, tune out the noise, and find the small things that keep you steady. So, if you need to retreat, know you’re not alone. A good book, a hot drink and a quiet hour are all we need to keep going. In other news, I lost my glasses last week (it really was a bad month!). They literally live on my face, on my desk or on the top of my head. I hadn’t left the house. But we turned the only three rooms I’d been in upside down and they were NOWHERE I tell you. Eventually I had to panic-buy a new pair on 24 hour delivery … naturally six hours after they arrived, C found my old ones. In the shoe box.
Laura x
On George Hosford I wanted to express my admiration for George Hosford’s compassionate approach to the unexpected barn owl chicks found in his combine’s auger tube, in last month’s article. (Help! There’s owls in the combine!,The BV, Oct 24 issue) It was heartening to see George take such care to safely relocate the chicks rather than pushing forward with his harvest. I have become a big fan of George’s though his columns in the BV – and these actions reflect his genuine commitment to wildlife and sustainable farming practices. It’s refreshing to have someone like him in our community, someone who not only writes thoughtfully about these issues but also practices what he preaches on the farm. Thanks, George, for showing how it’s done! Annie Potter, Verwood
I am not a farmer. I have absolutely no interest in seed. Nor, frankly, do I understand any kind of engineering machinery. Why then did I just sit and read the entirety of George Hosford’s farming column this month? I was swiftly and deeply invested in the wildflower seed mix. I was utterly fascinated and spent far to long poring over the diagram of the seed sorter contraption. I now know more than I ever knew I needed about seed mixes and cover crops, and I am very satisfied by this. Thank you George. And thank you BV for such an interesting peek into farming – I’ve lived in Dorset all my life, but I have only ever seen it from ‘the other side of the hedge’ – your farming columns are an absolute eye opener, and should be required reading. Nicky S, Wimborne
Okeford Fitzpaine memorial This year marks the 110th anniversary of the outbreak of World War One. To mark the occasion The Okeford Fitzpaine Local History Group have installed a memorial at the approach to the village on Castle Lane adjacent to the recreation ground. During WW1 the graves of the fallen were initially marked with white wooden crosses – later on, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission consolidated the cemeteries and erected Portland stone headstones. The display on Castle Lane (seen above) emulates those first crosses, with a cross to each man from the village who lost his life in the two world wars. A display on the village war dead is also shown in the Village Museum and St Andrew’s church has a stunning cascade of poppies falling from its tower. As chairman of the local history group, I researched the lives and deaths of each man in 2014, creating a book titled The Butterboys in Battle. The principal employer in the village at the time of the Great War was Hill View Dairies* and new employees would start their career as “Butterboys”. The name was taken up by Okeford United Football Club – they are still known by it today. What better place for a memorial to the fallen Butterboys than alongside the field where today’s Butterboys still play football? Each cross bears the name of the fallen serviceman together with a photograph to put a face to the name. Although there are photographs of most of the 19 men, I am hunting for pictures of Samuel Fox, Maurice Miller, Howard Ridout, John Warr, William Kendal Clarke and Charles Ricketts. If any BV reader has a photo of any of these men please get in touch at [email protected]. Andrew Vickers, Okeford Fitzpaine
Hill View Dairies was featured as a Then and Now article by the late Roger Guttridge in The BV, June 2021
A LitterLotto? I have recently seen Dorset Council once again advertising its LitterLotto campaign, this time encouraging children out Trick or Treating to pick up rubbish in return for prize draw entries on the app. It raises serious concerns. Clearly, promoting litter awareness, civic responsibility and clean streets is commendable – but relying on young people to do this work feels risky and unfair. Firstly, there’s the issue of safety. Litter often includes dangerous items like broken glass or needles. What if a child is injured? Will the council take responsibility? Beyond physical risks, there’s also concern for children’s security if unsupervised. Volunteer litter picks are always equipped with Hi-Viz gear for a reason! Moreover, the ethics are troubling. The council already employs workers to keep streets clean, so why shift the task onto children for the chance of a prize? This approach smacks of unpaid labour from our youth. Encouraging community spirit is one thing, but I’m sorry, this initiative crosses a line. The council should invest in its staff to handle these responsibilities without exploiting young people, and concentrate instead on simply teaching EVERYONE how to use a bin. Janet Green, Sherborne
On Cluckonomics Revisited: After reading last month’s Cluckonomics Revisited (The BV, Oct 24) by Andrew Livingston, I felt compelled to challenge the narrative slightly. I’ve recently cut down my meat consumption to just twice a week, driven by alarming insights into the environmental cost of livestock farming. It’s great to see some sustainable practices in poultry farming highlighted, but let’s not skirt around the fact that reducing meat consumption is a quicker, more impactful way to decrease our carbon footprint. I hope more readers realize the power of their dietary choices and push for broader adoption of sustainable farming methods. Anita V, by email
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Knowledgeable gardener sought for 3 acre garden near Maiden Bradley, approximately two days per week.
You must have the experience and ability to maintain and develop herbaceous borders, plus excellent knowledge of pruning, especially roses and fruit trees.
