We are recruiting a full-time Care Administrator to join our small team at Angel Holistic Care.
At Angel Holistic Care, we provide bespoke live-in care, and work in partnership with Care Commissioning Groups, Local Authorities, families and next of kin to provide excellent levels of care to our clients. We consistently achieve this through recruiting passionate and committed staff that share our values and understand the needs, concerns and expectations of clients and colleagues alike. We are proudly award winning in 2024, rated an extraordinary 9.9/10 on Homecare.co.uk, and have received ‘Outstanding’ in Caring, by Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The role of Care Administrator will involve playing a crucial role in the smooth operation of our live-in care services, by handling administrative tasks efficiently and effectively, as well as providing daily support visits to our clients. It is therefore important that candidates possess previous experience in an administrative role and hold a valid UK driving licence. Care experience is preferred, however not essential as full training will be provided in-house by the Registered Manager.
General responsibilities:
• Maintaining accurate and up-to-date records, for both clients and caregivers
• Provide daily support visits to our live-in clients in and around Shaftesbury, and devise and implement a comprehensive activities program that aligns with individual interests and enhances overall quality of life
• Serve as a primary point of contact for clients and caregivers, as well as families and healthcare providers to facilitate smooth communication and delivery of care
• Coordinating care services, both live-in care and daily breaks
• Collaborate with relevant healthcare professionals to develop and implement care plans tailored to each client’s needs
• Process applicants and caregiver registrations in accordance with the Company’s recruitment policies
• Manage the Company’s social accounts and produce marketing materials
• Ensuring compliance with regulations and Care Quality Commission
• Basic general office duties including responding to emails, answering the telephone etc.
A full job description can be provided on request.
This role is full time, Monday to Friday, 37.5 hours a week. Candidates will be expected to be on-call outside of working hours with the Deputy Manager through an alternate on-call roster. Within a working day, the Care Administrator will be required to complete administrative tasks in the office in morning, and provide remote support visits to clients in the afternoon.
To be successful in this role, we ask that you hold the following qualities and skills:
• Highly experienced in administrative roles, preferably in the healthcare sector
• Proficient using ICT systems and social media, including Microsoft Office, Facebook and LinkedIn
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Brilliant communication skills for effective collaboration with clients, families, and team members
• Strong organisational skills and interpersonal abilities
• A compassionate and patient demeanour, dedicated to promoting the well-being of those we serve
• A true commitment to providing the best quality of care, striving for ‘Outstanding’ day-in and day-out!
What can we offer you?
• A supportive and collaborative team environment
• A competitive salary
• 28 days holiday + bank holidays
• Paid mileage
• Paid DBS
• Mandatory care training
• Two-year Blue Light Card membership
• Opportunities for professional development and growth within the healthcare sector, including the opportunity to learn about more complex areas of care
• A companionship role within care
Please note: You must hold a valid UK driving licence and have access to your own car, as you will be required to visit our clients every afternoon.
If you would like to embark on a fulfilling career within the healthcare sector, and help to enable individuals to remain at home where they are their happiest and most comfortable, do not hesitate to apply today as Care Administrator. We can’t wait to hear from you!
Please contact us on 01747 359017, or email [email protected] to apply today.
In this episode we have three fascinating interviews behind some of this month’s stories – alone with Parkinson’s, Dorset girls dominating the boxing ring, and the ‘fine food’ that’s not at all posh.
Just press ‘play’ below 👇
Retired Colonel Guy Deacon was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease in 2011. In 2019 he embarked on an epic solo journey from his home near Sherborne to the southern tip of Africa. In a revealing and personal interview, Terry talks to Guy about his journey:
‘There’s nobody handing out spare parts for a VW camper between Morocco and Namibia, so that was a bit of a problem…’
Jenny talks to Shaun Weeks, who runs Sturminster Newton Amateur Boxing Club – in February the club’s female boxers brought home gold, silver and ‘Best Fight’ from the world’s largest female boxing tournament, The Golden Girl Championship in Borås, Sweden. Sturminster Newton ABC was also selected as Best Club.
‘It was totally unexpected. I got quite emotional about it. There were 400 contestants and maybe 60 or 70 clubs there from all over Europe. And we won the Best Club Award! I’m so proud of the whole team. Absolutely phenomenal!’
How a small business in North Dorset took over the food world. As the 2024 Great Taste judging starts, Terry talks to John Farrand of the Guild of Fine Food, who run the Great Taste Awards. The little black and gold badge is a familiar sight and a reassuring signal of good food, but the Guild – based in Gillingham in Dorset – does far more than the most popular and globally-recognised food award.
‘People think the task of a judge is rather a romantic one – but We have specially-written software and spreadsheets, and 90 judging days to blind taste a thousand products a week. That’s just a heck of a logistics task. ‘It’s not about posh food. We’re often judging pork pies. Well-made, good tasting food can be inexpensive – if you shop well you can buy better food which is more satisfying than cheap processed food.’
The March issue of the BV is out now, you can read it here: Inside this issue are good people, good dogs, good motorbikes, good books (and good booky people) … and a foal with the zoomies (he may or may not be good, it’s under review). Frankly, it’s so jam-packed with Dorset goodness, it’d be rude not to.
The BV is the ‘glossy’ monthly digital magazine from Dorset, shortlisted in 2024 for ‘Best Regional Publication in the UK’.
Loving husband to Marina. Beloved Dad, Grandad and Great Grandad.
Funeral to be held at Lesley Shand funeral home Corfe Mullen 10 April at 11.30 followed by a private burial. Family flowers only .Donations to be made to:Fortuneswell Trust via Lesley Shands website.
Fantastic opportunity for enthusiastic person with experience of trail-hunting, to join established top class trail-hunting yard in West Dorset with exceptional facilities & accommodation.
Requirements: • Confident with riding big, fit horses • Good stable management knowledge essential • Clip, plait & turnout to very high standard • Willing to learn • Driver essential (very rural location) • HGV qualification an advantage, but not essential
Accommodation: Spacious & very well equipped, two-bedroom, flat adjacent to the stable yard included/
Job benefits: Lovely yard with exceptional facilities; work alongside very experienced Head Groom & friendly team; rural countryside setting; training available for HGV & First Aid qualifications.
Please email your CV with full details of your experience & 2 referees to: Wendy Johnson – [email protected]
Contract type: Part time, flexible hours capped at 20 hours per month, 7 days a week.
Fixed Term 15th April 2024 – 31st October 2024
An exciting vacancy has arisen within our Swimming Pool Committee team at Milborne Port Primary School.
You will be responsible for maintaining our school swimming pool and playing a crucial role in the development of the pool for the benefit of our pupils, staff and local community.
You will implement and follow planned preventative maintenance, carry out chemical level control checks, stock management and advise on all technical management issues.
You will manage contractors and liaise with the School Leadership team with day-to-day challenges.
You will have a hands-on approach to guiding the Swimming Pool Committee team and volunteers to deliver the highest possible standards. Ensuring safe working practises by complying with current legislation, maximising opportunities to improve energy efficiency and the management of safety records and annual safety works. We’re looking for someone who has previous experience in a facilities environment and experience of working in and / or running a swimming pool plant room environment. You should have a good working knowledge of swimming pool technical policies and a Pool Plant Manager’s License is desirable but not essential.
Milborne Port Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share in this commitment. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.
To obtain an application form, job description and person specification, please contact Mrs Claire Brown, School Business Manager via email on: [email protected].
All applications should be returned electronically to Mrs Brown
Visits to the school are warmly welcomed. Please telephone the school on: 01963 250366
Closing date: Noon on Monday 15th April 2024
Interviews will be held on: Monday 22nd April at 1.30pm
The full shortlist from all categories contains the great and the good of British publishing, from the likes of the Guardian, Times, Telegraph, The Spectator, Country Living, Hello Magazine … and OBVIOUSLY The BV!
Our tiny team works so hard to inform with accuracy and integrity, but also to entertain, and to never lose that little bit of personality which makes us uniquely ‘Dorset’.
To be recognised among such talented and respected titles on a national scale is astonishing. And of course it’s never just a personal achievement – it can only be a reflection of the entire team’s efforts to deliver impactful and relevant stories and features.
The winner will be announced at a posh hotel ‘dinner do’ in May in London. We’ll keep you posted…
This is a significant year for Love Local Trust Local, building upon the momentum gained in 2023. As we have approached the 2024 Awards launch day, anticipation grows for the launch of our new website. Designed to offer enhanced functionality and easier navigation, it will serve as a central hub for all Love Local Trust Local updates and information. Today, 1st March, the 2024 Love Local Trust Local awards are open for entries. With 16 categories this year, including new ones recognising individual and business stories, we anticipate an exciting response. Entries will be open until early May, followed by judging – and tasting – through to June. The highlight of our calendar is always the awards ceremony, which will be on 3rd September and we’re excited it will be taking place in the Members Pavilion at the Dorset County Show, just outside Dorchester. The ceremony is being held during the build up to the County Show, and promises to amplify our message as well as celebrating our 2024 winners. We are also thrilled to be participating in the Dorset Spring Show on 27th and 28th April – stay tuned for more details on our involvement.
Exciting plans Looking ahead, we plan to launch a new directory for both sponsors and members, online and in print. Our goal is to facilitate connections and collaborations among individuals and businesses. We also aim to host workshops, fostering support and advice among our members and sponsors. We’ve also revamped our sponsor and membership packages to cater to businesses of all sizes. Detailed information is available on our website, where an easy online application process awaits. As a self-funded not-for-profit organisation, we deeply appreciate the support of our members and sponsors.
For further enquiries, to join us or simply to connect, visit lovelocaltrustlocal.co.uk or email us at [email protected] or find us on Facebook here.
Thirty years ago, publisher, author and cheese expert Bob Farrand was asked to put on a special feature at a wholesale food exhibition at Wembley. He decided on an event to recognise and reward outstanding food and drink products. There were about 200 entries, from the UK only, for that first event which would go on to become the Great Taste Awards. This year there are more than 13,500 entries, from across the world – from Australia to Yemen, from tiny countries that are barely a pin-track on the globe, such as the African island of Sao Tome, to some of the biggest – China and the USA. The respect in which the awards are now held is reflected in the diversity of products, from some of the world’s best loved cuisines to exciting new ingredients, from Korea to Panama, from Papua New Guinea to Fiji. The Great Taste Awards are now the world’s leading food accreditation scheme. They are run by the Guild of Fine Food, and based on a small industrial estate at Gillingham. The Guild, which also runs the World Cheese Awards, was founded by Bob Farrand and his wife Linda. It is still very much a family affair – Bob is now the chairman, his son, John, is managing director, and John’s wife Tortie is the special projects director. Tortie is head of Great Taste judge recruitment, as well as running the Dorset judging venue at Guild HQ (there is also a London judging venue at the Guild’s base in Southwark).
From left: Roland Barthelemy, Bob and Linda Farrand
Great is better Back in the mid-1990s, Bob was becoming seriously concerned at the impact that supermarkets’ own brands – particularly those claiming to be the “best” or the “finest” – would have on small and artisan producers in the UK and abroad, whose products were genuinely outstanding but who could not compete on price with the supermarkets: ‘They were persuading people that this was the finest food available – and I felt this was prejudicing people against the makers of fine food, which was more expensive.’ He talked to a friend, the legendary New Zealand-born chef, broadcaster and food writer Glynn Christian. ‘I said, I’m going to start this awards scheme – the Good Taste Awards. Glynn said: “Good is good. Great is better.”’ The name was, of course, perfect. Two years later, the new awards were run alongside the World Cheese Awards, which had started a few years earlier in 1987. That year there were about 400-500 Great Taste entries. All the entries were judged in a day, and that continued to be the pattern until entries hit more than 1,000 in 1999. It became clear that it was getting too big for a single day’s judging. Venues changed over these early years, including various locations of the Fine Food Fair, and at the Business Design Centre at Islington. Awareness of the new scheme increased with the occasional celebrity judge, including chef Antonio Carluccio and broadcasters Gregg Wallace and Anneka Rice. But nobody could have guessed how this project would grow. ‘You don’t even contemplate how big it can be,’ Bob recalls. ‘We didn’t have any idea it would become as big as it has.’ One significant step into the international food scene came with the involvement of Ireland’s Bord Bia, the state agency also founded in 1994, to promote sales of Irish food and horticulture. The country’s excellent dairy and meat, particularly, are still regular top Great Taste Award-winners. Around the year 2000, Bob and Linda moved to Gillingham, and a few years later they began to run the awards from a two-storey building near the old milk factory in Wincanton. For the first time they had an on-site kitchen, although storage continued to be a problem until 2015 when they moved to the current site on the Kingsmead business park, on the Shaftesbury side of Gillingham. Here the Guild has plenty of room for its offices, for the Great Taste judging sessions and for training (food and cheese training programmes are a big part of the Guild’s work). It also provides a warehouse with good access for food deliveries.
Open for entries Entries open early in the year. By mid-February this year there were more than 13,500, from most European countries and from dozens of places around the world. Judging starts in early March and runs, with breaks for Easter and bank holiday weeks, until June. The various awards (one, two and three stars) are reported in the summer, and the final category, regional and international winners are announced at the Golden Forks evening in September. Judging takes place in Gillingham and Southwark, with some judging, such as tea or espresso coffee, at specialist venues. On judging day there are usually six or seven tables, with three or four judges at each, one of whom has a laptop to record comments and any award. A number of ambient temperature products will be laid out on the table – bread, cheese, honeys, chutneys, jams, preserves, oils, vinegars, nibbles and sweets. Other products – hot from the oven (meat, pies, ready meals, soups), or frozen (including ice creams and gelati) – come out during the course of the judging day. Each product goes to at least two tables and to more if it is either suggested for two or three stars, or if there is a disagreement between tables. There are always experts in different foods in the room – on any given day, there will be one or more experienced cheese or honey or chilli judges, preserve makers, bakers, taste and spice experts and others. For a product to achieve three stars the judges in the room have to be virtually unanimous. It has to be outstanding – it’s not easy to quantify or define a three-star, but you know it when you taste it, and ‘Wow!’ does tend to be the common word. Of course, the report on the product has to include some proper description and explanation – what is it that makes this product special? Why does it taste so much better than another similar one? What is so good about it?
Tortie and John Farrand
A food producer’s view One of the unique features of the Great Taste Awards is that all products are judged blind – judges do not see any branding or packaging, or any names that might identify the producer. Country or place of origin may be included in the description, and is often helpful for judges in understanding territorial or regional distinctiveness. The value of the Great Taste Awards to producers is summed up by Amanda Streatfeild, who with her husband George ran Denhay, producing award-winning farmhouse cheese and bacon for many years. They were one of the producers to take part in the first ever Great Taste Awards. An experienced cheese judge herself, Amanda says: ‘The judging at the Great Taste Awards is the most rigorous I have ever come across, so achieving any kind of star gives a real boost to you and your team. Over the years, the awareness of those stars on products is increasing, and we are always proud to put ours on our bacon packs. It is a brand that supports small upcoming producers alongside established brands.’ Capreolus Fine Foods Ltd, the charcuterie business founded by David and Karen Richards at Rampisham, near Evershot, won many Great Taste stars, single, two and three, and top awards including, in 2019, the Charcuterie Product of the Year for guanciale, and last year their coppa was in the final 16 for the Great Taste Golden Forks supreme championship. David says: ‘Great Taste is the single most important competition for food producers in the world. It allows you to calibrate your product against others, and to see just how good you are. It gives you really good feedback, about what is good and what is not so good. If you take it on board, it gives you the opportunity to come back next year and maybe do better. It is vitally important for small producers – comparable consultation and feedback would cost thousands of pounds.’ Great Taste is important, he says, not only for food producers but for consumers. Even bus travellers in London can discover Great Taste with the distinctive gold stars and black labels on posters advertising food and drink products in the capital’s bus shelters.
The view from the room The role of a food and drink judge may sound rather romantic, but it is a serious and responsible task, says managing director John Farrand: ‘Every judging team and judging room is put together to give a balance of expertise and discipline within food and drink, and we attempt to balance age and gender too. All the products are blind-tasted with each entry going on a journey around the room to achieve an aggregated rating – no award, one-, two- or three-star. A minimum of six and a maximum of 24 judges will assess a product depending upon that journey.’ The co-ordinators, who report the feedback and awards (if any), include top food writers, broadcasters, journalists, people with specific expertise and some representing the influential body of social media food campaigners and commentators. One of the long-standing and most experienced co-ordinators is Sarah Newitt, a copywriter by profession, who has been a member of the judging team since the early 2000s. She recalls how she got involved at the White Lion Inn in her home village of Bourton: ‘A gang trooped past post-lunch, Great Taste Award badges pinned to their chests… The temptation to accost was irresistible. Talk of venison, pickles, bread, local cheese, the quality of the pub’s fish and chips, details of the lunch they’d just enjoyed and the fact they were down a judge the following week launched my “career” as a co-ordinator. Nearly 20 years on, I’m still co-ordinating and still loving every minute of it. ‘Back then, many of the judges were local WI members. What they didn’t know about the set of a jam or the fluffiness of a Victoria sponge wasn’t worth knowing. Now, judges are drawn from a broader church… the breadth of knowledge is astonishing and the generosity of spirit of those who happily give their time to judge the number of products that cross the accumulated palates of the GFF team is equally astonishing. ‘I’m there to taste, judge, listen and distill the opinions of all the judges on my table, turning them into constructive feedback for the producer. There is no right or wrong. If we’re flummoxed by a product, there is expert help somewhere in the room, but we are constantly reminded that these are the Great Taste Awards and must be judged as such. Every entry goes through the same process; sighs of delight (or sometimes not!), a flurry of chat, I write, read back the words and amend if necessary, then I press send and it’s on to the next product. Usually 40 or 50 a day… ‘What do I get out of it? The privilege of helping artisan producers improve their offerings; the camaraderie and joy of spending time with fellow foodies; the friendships that have evolved over the years and the sheer fun of the day.’
Food roots and routes Judging the Great Taste Awards is an eye-opener – even if you are experienced in other aspects of the food industry. It gives you an insight into where some of our most-loved and commonly used foods come from, and the food routes that bring great tastes – and Great Taste Awards – to our larders and tables. It also introduces you to ingredients you may have never previously encountered – wakame (Pacific kelp), kokum (a wild mangosteen, a tropical tree-fruit from south east Asia), timmur (a Nepalese pepper), camu camu (a rainforest berry that is rich in Vitamin C). Then there are the specialist terms that you learn along the way – syneresis, which is liquid oozing out of foods (as can happen with some soft or cream cheeses, jams or jellies), brusted or brusting, which means pulled (as in pork) or lyophilisation, a scientific term for freeze-drying. My personal favourite new word so far this year is merroir – like terroir, but from the sea. The sheer geographic scale of the entries is amazing – products come from nearly 110 countries, crossing land, language, cultural and economic barriers (not to mention the challenge of import regulations). Exciting products this year on the judges’ table may include desert honeys from Saudi Arabia and the Yemen, mountain forest honeys from Greece or Romania, vanilla from Sao Tome and French Polynesia, chilli from China, Fiji or the Philippines and black peppercorns from Panama. In previous years, judges have been wowed by three-star Kampot peppers from Cambodia and a soy sauce from Taiwan that won the Golden Fork Best of the Rest of the World award. Hungary produces some of the world’s finest paprikas, from sweet to mouth-tinglingly hot, the Czech Republic’s preserve makers create jams with unusual, flavourful plums, sesame seeds come from Sudan, the Lebanon contributes tahini and za’atar, and entries from the USA, home now to some first-class artisan cheeses, include a cheese that is washed in Atlantic sea-water. Nearer to home, there are farmhouse Cheddars and other fine examples of the dairy culture of the South West, jams and preserves from country kitchens on the Cotswolds and the beef, lamb, pork, bacon, venison and charcuterie the West Country is known for.
The Great Taste Awards team at the Golden Forks
Future trends The Great Taste judges learn to spot trends in the food industry. Over the years there has been a marked growth of vegetarian products, and now in the number of vegan foods – an estimated 12 percent increase in 2022 alone. Korea has firmly stamped its spicy, tasty cuisine on our palates, and ingredients or sauces such as gochujang, kimchi or kombucha are now regularly entered, often by English producers. Fermented products are big news, both for their lively taste and their benefits for our dietary health. Raw food is making some waves, as are raw spices rather than spice mixes, natural sea salts from around the world, and new or familiar ingredients used in innovative ways – chipotle peanut butter, chilli and yuzu marmalade – are all bringing excitement to the table. John Farrand sums up what Great Taste means in its 31st year: ‘Great Taste has contributed not only to the growth and recognition of thousands of small to medium-sized food and drink producers, but has also contributed to the growth of grocers, delicatessens and farm shops over the last 20 years. ‘This is not “fine food” in terms of caviar and smoked salmon. Great Taste celebrates a good sausage roll, a well-brewed bottled beer and an excellent jam – worthy, well-made food and drink with simple ingredients that, obviously, taste great.’ Wherever you travel across Britain and wherever you shop, from city supermarkets to farm shops in Dorset or Dumfriesshire, you can be sure to see that distinctive round black label with the gold lettering and stars – a promise of Great Taste.
The award-winning artist is continuing a century-old tradition at Dunshay Manor, the Purbeck home of the sculptor Mary Spencer-Watson
Toby Wiggins’ portrait of the late Mary Spencer Watson
Dorset painter Toby Wiggins was born just a few miles from the home and studio of the late sculptor, Mary Spencer Watson. The ancient landscape, with its quarries and Saxon farmsteads, eventually drew him back to Purbeck where he now has his studio in one of Spencer Watson’s old buildings. His earliest memories were formed by traditional farmwork, the sounds of the stonemasons, the wildlife, the cries of seabirds and an unusual relationship between the local landowner and the tenants. Toby won the prestigious 2023 Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture for a powerful and deeply moving study of a local master hedge-layer, Russell Woodham. When you visit Toby’s studio on Purbeck, the portrait dominates the large space. It draws you in. You are instantly attracted to the warmth, intelligence and wry humour on Russell’s face, to his obvious love for his cocker spaniel, Conker, who stands close to him, to the timeless beauty of a traditionally laid Dorset hedge. Elsewhere in the studio there are sketches and studies, a full-length portrait of Mary Spencer Watson (right), whose studio was once here, and a rather sombre study of a man in a suit, with a mountain behind him. This is a commissioned portrait for a board-room, and it is as different from the paintings of Russell and Mary as it is possible to imagine from the same artist’s brushes. These three paintings, set in the studio in old farm buildings at Dunshay Manor, between Harman’s Cross and Langton Matravers, give even the most casual visitor an insight into both the portrait painter’s skill and the nature or character of the sitter. The businessman gives nothing away, but his upright posture, with a snow-covered mountain in the background, suggests power and perhaps a rather uncompromising attitude. There are no objects or clues to hint at his interior life. Mary Spencer Watson (1913-2006) is also uncompromising – this was a woman whose sculpture was inspired by the geology around her family home at Dunshay, and by watching the masons cutting Purbeck stone in quarries where she would select stone for her carvings. Mary’s sculptures include the Four Evangelists, who stand outside the Chapter House at Wells Cathedral. Mary was born in London but in 1923 her family – her father was the artist George Spencer Watson and her mother, Hilda, was a dancer and mime artist – moved to the late 16th century Dunshay Manor. This was her home for the rest of her life. The family decorated the Manor in the Arts and Crafts style and used its outbuildings as studios and for dance and theatre productions. In Toby’s portrait, Mary looks strong and deeply intelligent. You can imagine from the physical solidity of her pose, the uncluttered background and her monochrome clothes that she was as “hefted” to Purbeck as the Herdwick sheep are to their native Lake District. Russell Woodham is similarly at one with the setting, resting for a few minutes beside the hazel hedge he is laying in the Dorset style, on an unidentified hillside in West Dorset. It is winter, because that is when you lay hedges. It is hard, physical work, and Russell has been doing it for decades (see the profile on Russell in The BV, Oct 21 here).
In the studio: Toby Wiggins in front of his award-winning portrait of the Dorset Hedgelayer, Russell Woodham
Finding his art Toby grew up in a tiny tenanted cottage on Afflington Farm, one of several ancient farmsteads around Dunshay. As a child, he saw hedge-laying and quarrying, and observed the unusual way that Mary Spencer-Watson managed her tenants – they were not charged rent, but instead did whatever jobs were needed around the property. He showed an early aptitude for painting and drawing, which was encouraged by teachers at school and at Bournemouth College of Art. Toby went on to study at Falmouth College, followed by three years postgraduate study at the Royal Academy Schools. He worked in London for some years, but was pulled back to Dorset in the early 2000s. He has always kept in mind advice that Mary was given by her father: ‘It’s a privilege to do this [make art]. Take it seriously. Work hard.’ Toby is self-deprecating – he says there are many people who have more natural talent than him, but are perhaps not prepared to put in the long hours of work, false starts and failed attempts that go with completing a satisfactory portrait. He worked hard at art college and received a rigorous training at the Royal Academy Schools, where the skills of drawing, sculpture and the various disciplines of painting were all taught. From the promise of Toby’s early artistic endeavours, Mary Spencer Watson had taken an interest in the talented youngster. Back in Dorset as a professional artist, Toby asked if he could paint her portrait, and in 2004, after the work was finished, she allowed him to use her studio: ‘She wanted someone to continue artistic practice at Dunshay. And of course I did some jobs for her!’ Following her death in 2006, there was a lengthy legal battle over the future of Dunshay, but eventually the Landmark Trust (to which Mary had bequeathed the house) gained ownership and began the lengthy project of repairing and restoring the ancient manor ready for Landmark guests. At this point, Toby moved into a second studio, where he continues to work. The Trust opened Dunshay Manor for groups to stay in 2019.
Dionis McNair – New Forest Verderer oil on gesso
Seeing things differently In 2006, Toby won the BP Travel Award, a competition run in conjunction with the National Portrait Gallery, which is aimed at encouraging artists to focus on and develop the theme of portraiture in their work. As someone who had done occasional farm work ‘to pay the rent,’ Toby’s proposal was to travel around Wessex and paint people working on farms and in the landscape. ‘I was interested in the farmed landscape,’ he says. ‘When you have worked on a farm you see things differently. I wanted to include people who made their living from traditional crafts such as blacksmithing, thatching, hedge-laying, coppicing, hurdle making, charcoal burning and hunting. I wanted to discover what was left of a working countryside that Thomas Hardy might recognise. I found it – a trace of it.’ The range of people he painted for the project is wide and fascinating – from the near-legendary Dionis McNair, one of the few women Verderers of the New Forest, to hurdle-maker Alan Brown of Wool and shepherd Larry Skeats, who effectively saved the ancient shepherds’ huts (now a mainstay of rural glamping), and for years was the much-loved landlord of The Trooper Inn at Stourton Candle. The BP Travel Award series was shown at the National Portrait Gallery in London and, with some additional studies, including a Purbeck quarryman, at Dorset County Museum in 2008.
Toby’s portrait of renowned Dorset shepherd Larry Skeats, who for years was the much-loved landlord of The Trooper Inn at Stourton Candle
In the Dorset style ‘But I didn’t get a hedgelayer,’ says Toby. Later, he noticed a sign saying “Dorset Hedgelayer” in a newly-laid hedge near Dunshay. ‘I messaged him on Instagram, and Russell said to come on over and meet him.’ They met on a sunken track leading to a derelict farmstead near Rampisham. The hazel hedge was ‘quite overstood’ – tall, leggy and losing the density of scrub at the base, affecting its value for wildlife as well as its ability to provide a good stock- proof barrier. Russell was laying it in the Dorset style. The process of painting his portrait was a lengthy one, spread over more than a year, says Toby. He made drawings and sketches, and in the summer Russell came to the studio to sit for him. It was important that the painting should include Conker, Russell’s constant companion. There are so many details to discover in the finished portrait – the more you look into it, the more you find. There is the age-old skill of the hedgelayer in the way the hazel is cut and bent to reshape the old hedge, there is the jacket hanging from a hazel spar like a coat-hook – ‘It’s quite a nice office,’ says Russell – and the tools, from the traditional billhook to the necessary 21st century chainsaw. The eye is drawn in different directions by the arcs of hazel branches, the shape of the hazel woven into the hedge, the swing of the axe, the rounded lines of the helmet and visor, and the relaxed position of the hedgelayer, leaning back against a half-finished section. Most of all, you come back to Russell’s face – weather-beaten, serious, intelligent, with a quizzical lift of the eyebrow and just the faintest hint of a smile. It is a man enjoying a brief rest from hard physical work that is utterly timeless.
Winter’s Work; Russell Woodham at rest while laying a hazel hedge in the Dorset Style
The portrait, which is called Winter’s Work; Russell Woodham at rest while laying a hazel hedge in the Dorset Style. The painting has gone to the National Portrait Gallery for the second round of judging for the Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award.
Where the work happens’ – inside Toby Wiggins studio at Dunshay
Artistic conversations Toby was elected a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 2006. He won the Prince of Wales Drawing Award in 2005 and 2013, the Changing Faces Prize in 2006 and the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize for figurative painting in 2009. He has exhibited widely, including at the Royal Academy of Arts, Royal West of England Academy in Bristol, the National Portrait Gallery, the Holburne Museum in Bath and the Jerwood Space. For more than ten years he taught at Arts University Bournemouth, but now fully focuses on his work as a painter – though he still teaches occasional local classes. Primarily a portraitist, he also draws and paints landscapes and still lifes. His next exhibition is with fellow portrait painters Anthony Connolly, who has his studio at Semley, and Kent-based Andrew James. Their work will be shown at the Highgate Gallery in London from 12th to 25th April. The Heart Has Its Reasons: Three painters in Conversation brings the artists together ‘in the spirit of artistic conversations which lead to the works and connections that emerge via three distinctive visual languages,’ says Toby.
Details of a work in the forthcoming show at Highgate Gallery‘Gilded Sleep’ oil on gesso panel. Part of The Heart Has Its Reasons Three Painters In Conversation from 12th to 25th April at Highgate Literary and Scientific Institute
While his portrait of Russell may finally live in London, the painting of Mary Spencer Watson will move just a few yards to its new permanent home. Originally bought by the revered Dorset Museum curator Roger Peers, who died in 2023, it was bought at the posthumous auction of Peers’ art works by the Landmark Trust and will soon be on display in Dunshay Manor. ‘We ought to have it here, for Mary’s sake,’ says Anna Keay, the architectural historian and director of the Landmark Trust.
