During April, Sherborne hosted the 48th General Meeting of Douzelage with 140 members from 24 partner towns gathering under the theme Wellbeing Through Nature and Music. The event featured a rich programme of music and nature excursions, providing attendees with a showcase of local talent, including musicians and dancers.
The event was started with a welcome reception at the Boys’ School Big School Room, where Mayor Cllr Margaret Crossman and other dignitaries, including local MP Chris Loder, greeted guests. Entertainment included performances by local pianist Andrew Priest, The Blackrock Dancers, and the Sherborne Town Band.
Friday’s general meeting was enjoyed by all – translation equipment helped with 24 different languages. Discussions covered the organisation’s operations, past and future projects, and culminated in the election of a new president. Mrs. Annigje Kruytbosch-Luns from the Netherlands, who had led Douzelage for eight years, ably assisted by three vice-presidents, Mette Sorensen from Denmark, Tibi Rotaru from Romania and Miha Ješe from Slovenia. Annigje’s husband Alexandre Luns has looked after the Douzelage.eu website and taken minutes at General Meetings. Together they travelled Europe planning and co-ordinating many events. Annigje was succeeded by Shane Smith from Ireland. The newly elected team also includes vice-presidents Maria Rocco from Rovingo, Croatia, Evelin Koev from Skofja Loka, Bulgaria, and Thorsten Wohleser from Judenberg, Austria.

Musical exchange
Following the general meeting a concert was held in Cheap Street Church, where students from Leweston School performed, followed by the prestigious Sherborne Chamber Choir.
A highlight of the event was the Ad Hoc Orchestra, under the direction of Dr Rachel Milestone, Director of Music at Leweston School. The DouzYouth students had been asked to bring their own instruments – they had just one rehearsal and performed five pieces on the last night, much to the delight of the audience. The event closed with performances by the Wessex Morris Men, who encouraged audience participation, providing a fitting end to the conference.
Founded in 1991 by Jeremy Barker, Andre Poirier, and Henri Haffray from Granville, and since that time many students and members have exchanged visits and shared cultures. Lasting friendships have been made, and
Douzelage continues to foster international cooperation and cultural exchange.

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Almost 150 runners participated in the first Easter Fun Run organised by Shaftesbury Rotary Club, raising The event raised more than £800.
With 5km and 10km versions of the race on offer, runners took part to raise funds for local charities, including the Stars Appeal at Salisbury Hospital.
The weather stayed dry ( a rare occurrence this spring!) and Virginia Edwyn-Jones, the Mayor of Shaftesbury, was helped to strat the races by Easter Bunny RotaKids – Marley from Abbey Primary and Charlotte from Shaftesbury Primary.
Local charity HOPE was on hand to supply refreshments, and runners from as far as Weymouth and Eastbourne joined the locals; some raced with friends, some with their parents/guardians and some just took their dogs on the circuit around the town.
RotaKids from Abbey Primary and Shaftesbury Primary provided water and Jelly Babies at the halfway point, and the Mayor and the RotaKid Easter Bunnies were on hand at the finish line at the top of Gold Hill to award runners with their medals. Shaftesbury Rotary Club strongly hopes that the run will become an annual event. If you want to know more or to get involved with Rotary, please contact: [email protected]

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Throughout Dorset people having been diving into an imaginative world of 1,000 years ago for The Shaftesbury Tales Short Story Writing Competition.
SISATA Director Charmaine K, who sat on the judging panel, said: ‘We were blown away by the high quality and amazing variety of stories submitted.’
The eight winners – all in equal first place! – are:
Under 11 years:
Ferocious F by Giulia Rose Ceccolini, and Kenrics Tale by Jacob Wall
11 to 16 years:
The Tale of the Doctors Daughter by Coco Bichard, and The Brothers Tale by Betsy Wragg
16 to 25 years:
The Peasants Tale by Lyra Spencer, and ‘The Daggers Tale by Juno-Blake Cree
Over 25s:
The Traitors Tale by Stuart Edwards, and Ælfthryth’s Tale by Anne Philpott
The winners will all enjoy a cash prize and also see their story published in our booklet-programme – and their Tale might get adapted for the stage!
Inspired by Chaucer, The Shaftesbury Tales is a collection of stories – both written and performed.

Travelling players in Dorset
Performers from Treehouse Theatre will be walking from Corfe Castle to Shaftesbury in July, travelling from village to village, teaming up with local theatre groups and school children to perform hilarious and interactive community shows along the way.
Treehouse Theatre will now be working with local theatre groups to adapt some of the winning and highly commended stories for performance. Sturminster Newton Amateur Dramatic Society (SNADS), Double Act Theatre Group from Corfe Castle, and Remix the Originals will all be creating scenes in the production. Director Ben Lindsey-Clark said: ‘If you’ve always thought about joining a local theatre group, now could be a good moment!’
For details on where to see the show in July, how to get involved in the project, and read the winning stories, see treehousetheatre.com

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Anyone walking past St Mary’s church, Motcombe on the evening of 13th April would have been treated to the sound of All In The April Evening drifting through the warm spring air as the Gillingham Singers began their Spring Concert.
Inside the church, the audience were treated to a wonderful mix of music from modern British composers, ranging from John Rutter’s The Sprig of Thyme and a collection of folk songs, through to Thomas Tallis’ If Ye Love Me from the mid-1500s. The concert concluding with This is Home by Sophia Efthimiou, which came to public attention during the Covid lock-down.
This is the first concert Gillingham Singers have sung with their new musical director, Richard Nye, with David Grierson providing the accompaniment.
The audience enjoyed other works including Taverner’s The Lamb, where the choir came out from their positions to surround the listeners with a true 360º sound, a selection of songs from Cecila McDowall’s A Fancy of Folksongs and Bob Chilcott’s The Lily and the Rose.
This is Home was then sung as an encore, giving the audience a chance to join in the emotive musical item with sign language, voice or both. A delightful evening for all who attended!
by Mike Turnbull
gillinghamsingers.org

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Communion Records

While on the surface, Lucy Rose sits comfortably in the English female folk singer category, her music has always had something extra.
From the first 20 seconds of Red Face (the shape-shifting opening track from her 2012 debut LP Like I Used To) the inventive dynamism which sets Rose apart from her contemporaries is clear.
Following a burst of creativity between 2012 and 2019, Rose took a lengthy hiatus for the birth of her first child (who features on the track Interlude II), and then to recover from resulting health issues so serious that she was unable to walk or breathe without severe pain (let alone sit at a piano) for many months.
It would therefore have been understandable if Rose’s return was a little on the sombre side – she has had plenty to reflect on, after all. But the album Rose and producer Kwes crafted following these momentous life events (and then recorded in a mere two days) is full of life, and Lucy’s boldest effort to date.
While those recent experiences have clearly shaped the work, they never weigh it down.
On Could You Help Me, Rose asks ‘Could you fit me in your busy day?’ before declaring ‘Now I’m learning how terribly lonely illness is’. But there is a lightness of touch, a deftness in the arrangement of the track, so that it practically skips through its sub-three minute arrangement.
While there is introspection and beauty to be found here, the most rewarding moments on the album are the regular forays into jazz, trip-hop and chamber pop. Rose has expanded her palette in such an organic manner that it feels like the most honest presentation of her true musical spirit to date.
By the time closing track The Racket has reached it’s free-form, heavy-grooving crescendo, it’s clear that Rose and her band of regular collaborators are now reaching the height of their powers. Long may they continue.

Matthew Ambrose presents Under The Radar on Tuesday evening at 7pm on Abbey104. Broadcasting on 104.7FM and online at abbey104.com.

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