Good times at Thorngrove: join us for festive fun, Breakfast with Santa, craft sessions, and more! Making memories in our cosy community hub
By the time you read this, for most of us, there is just ONE pay day remaining before Christmas. This means here at Thorngrove we are shifting fully into festive mode! Decorations, gifts, real Christmas trees, and our festive events. It can be a little overwhelming from the retail perspective, but at the same time, Christmas is about making memories, spending time with loved ones, and having fun – and here at Thorngrove, we want to be part of that with you! In October we held our first children’s craft sessions for almost a year – we wanted to send a huge THANK YOU to everyone who attended. They went brilliantly and the creations by the small craftspeople have been shared proudly on our social media. We’re going to ensure we host these during as many school holidays possible as they’re always so much fun, and it’s great to meet so many members of the community.
The half term childrens craft workshops were a huge success!
What else is on at Thorngrove? Our Christmas event for children is Breakfast with Santa, taking place on Tuesday 19th December, with both morning and afternoon (ssshhhh, we can have a late breakfast!) sessions. Join us in The Secret Garden Café as Father Christmas himself will be handing out gifts to every child, and reading a Christmas story too. Tickets will be available vie Eventbrite and should be on sale by the time you read this. Booking by 1st December is essential! Our Christmas Wreath Making workshops are returning – at the time of writing we’re finalising the dates, so keep your eyes on our social media and website for details (or drop in and see us). Saturday 11th November we have a Decoupage workshop hosted by Laura Jackson of Summer Lane Handcrafted Gifts. There are a few spaces left so please get in touch if you’d like to book! You can also pre-order your real Christmas trees from us; visit our website or pop in and see us to ensure you get yours! FREE delivery to the local area around Gillingham too. Our amazing lunch offer in the café has been so popular that we’ve recently expanded it to every weekday – Buy one lunch, get one FREE! Ben and the team in the café are often making little changes, so there’s bound to be something new to try if you want to stop by again – it’s the perfect place for a catch-up with friends and to pick up a Christmas gift this November. We do hope you’ll visit us as the festive season arrives – our small team is working incredibly hard behind the scenes to be one of the best destinations in the area. Our calendar for next year is already filling up too; we can’t wait to share more details with you!
We have a treat in store for you in December – especially if you like dogs, know someone who likes dogs and needs a Christmas present, or if you’re just a fan of Clare Balding! We are lucky enough to be able to welcoming bestselling author, dog lover and official national treasure Clare Balding to Sherborne as she talks about her latest book Isle of Dogs – and shares her love for our favourite family pet in an adventure across Britain. National stories are often told through our politics or our monarchy – but this is a tale of how Britain is shaped by its dogs. Clare Balding has always been fascinated by the impact dogs have on our lives and the way they have shaped Britain across the centuries. She explores the characteristics of our favourite breeds, why we’re drawn to them and what they bring out in us, from how we work to how we live. In this journey across the nation, Clare looks at the many roles dogs fulfil and the history of how they became such an intrinsic part of our lives. From the mysteries of extinct breeds to the ancient dogs still thriving today, she journeys from Battersea to the Orkney Islands via Buckingham Palace, in a moving and humorous tale of loyalty and partnership. She discovers how people care for and train dogs that are as large as a pony or small enough to fit in a handbag, meets British businesses inspired by dogs, and considers why certain breeds have soared in popularity. She also explores our long canine history, rediscovering long-lost working breeds and investigating why it was that our relationship with dogs changed during Queen Victoria’s reign.
Join us to celebrate the launch of Clare Balding’s new book – Isle of Dogs: A canine adventure through Britain
Tuesday, 5th December 6.30pm for 7pm at Cheap St Church, Sherborne Tickets £5, available online here
While ordinary people suffer the impacts of a cost-of-living crisis, Rishi Sunak’s Tories appear to be busy preparing the ground for another one by lifting the cap on bankers’ bonuses. They were capped at 100 per cent of bankers’ salaries in 2014 as a part of efforts to avoid a financial crisis like the one in 2008. In some cases, bonuses of more than 100 per cent can be awarded to top performers and more senior investment banking roles. Finance bosses have long complained about the rules, however, saying that they have had the unintended consequences of pushing up bankers’ fixed pay, and giving them less wriggle room to vary pay due to material poor performance or misconduct. However, as an ex-banker himself, the prime minister will be fully aware of the behaviours that an uncapped reward scheme will drive. While the general idea of rewarding employees who have contributed significantly to an increase in profits for the part of the business they work in seems uncontentious, the sheer scale of the bonuses available in an uncapped system has proved to encourage the kind of excessive, greed-driven risk-taking in the financial services industry that led to the financial crash in 2008 – a crash that is still being paid for by the same ordinary working people who now find themselves in the grip of the cost-of-living crisis. Meanwhile, as Sunak and his Cabinet appear set to line the pockets of the bankers again, there are no proposals to stop banks from showering themselves with the profits from the interest rates rising; the same rates that are crippling workers and businesses alike. In whose interests does this government continue to act?
We start the month, as always, with the Letters to the Editor, before moving on to a slice of seriousness – along with the usual political columns we have the first part of Terry’s interview with Chris Loder MP as he answers the open post bag from this month’s Q&A. Finally Jenny chats to BV columnist and Nutritional Therapist (and podcast favourite) Karen Geary. Just hit play below …
In her letter this month, editor Laura ignores the state of the world, and instead talks about the 700 monthly submissions the BV receives for the reader’s photography pages – and just how much joy they bring to everyone. Following the letters to the editor, we move on to this month’s political columns:
Reflecting on the current seemingly intractable conflict on the Middle East, Simon Hoare MP offers his own route map to an enduring solution
Sarah Dyke MP is advocating for fairness in the treatment of same sex couples for IVF therapy
Ken HUggins of the Green Party bemoans the government’s can-kicking with regards to achieving Net Zero by 2050
Labour’s Pat Osborne says it’s profits for banks – but suffering for ordinary people
In the first part of Terry’s interview with Chris Loder, he talks in more depth around his answers to the reader’s questions sent in last month. Included in his comments are subjects as diverse as access to a local NHS dentist (he’s ‘not convinced the NHS is prioritising this enough’) and planning (‘communities need to assess if the time a Neighbourhood Plan takes to draw up is ultimately time well spent.’)
And finally, Jenny chats to Karen Geary, who has some great and timely tips on how to eat healthily on a tight budget and also how what we eat can help us to stay well in the winter months through flu season.
Step back in time with our ‘Then and Now’ feature, where vintage postcards meet modern-day reality. Explore the past and present on the same page, and see the evolution of familiar places.
Both the vintage cards were posted in September 1904. The postcard of four little girls photographed by WH Diffey, above, was sent to Llanelli in South Wales. (Facing page) The group of children in the centre of the village pre-dates the First World War and therefore the war memorial is not there. The card was sent to Stockbridge in Hampshire.
Celebrating British sustainability: from farm to plate, LLTL founder Barbara Cossins is passionate about locally-sourced food
Our British farmers and producers work continually through all four seasons to ensure that the food on our tables is truly sustainable whenever possible. Sustainability has become a buzz word – especially in the catering industry. The provenance of all we eat is important; and it needs to be locally-sourced and from a replenishable source in order to be truly sustainable. Education is key, particularly in catering and hospitality. It’s shocking how little many people understand about the food they are eating, where it comes from and how it was reared and produced before it arrived on their plates. We have to try and get everyone on the same page, across all types of business, so that as many people as possible have a good understanding of where their food has come from and what the ingredients are that they are eating.
We have it right here In my book, eating local is what’s best. If you can source and eat seasonal food from close by, then you are on to a winner. I am always sad to read about other countries’ fish and meat being bought and sold on our British menus, when we have exactly the same already here in the UK. We’re importing food that we don’t need, simply to foster reciprocal trade agreements with governments in other countries. This benefits neither the planet nor the public. We should be requesting British food in restaurants (and all catering establishments) whenever possible. It just makes sense. In Britain, we have a wonderful supply of fresh fish and we don’t eat and enjoy enough of it ourselves. Our farmers here in Britain have the most dictated and regulated agriculture system, and the best farming practices in the world. Why wouldn’t you want to eat British-farmed meat? It is guaranteed antibiotic and hormone-free – not many countries can say the same. While our standards are the best, we are at a disadvantage when competing to produce cheap food. But remember, those few pennies you might save on cheap imported food could make all the difference to our farmers if you choose to buy British.
The power of the market Britain is one of the few countries in the world where the supermarkets decide the prices paid to the farmers. It is an unfair system – enormous corporations have so much power over our food production industry. We all need to get behind our farmers, growers and producers in order to become a voice for the future – before it’s too late. Love Local Trust Local is a food label that was created by farmers in 2018, in order to educate the public on what is grown, caught, reared, brewed or crafted right here in Britain. Each Love Local Trust Local county can proudly have its own flag displayed to show where its food is grown; to explain soil types, to showcase vegetables, fruit, meats, cheese, beers and wines that have been produced in that county. What a wonderful thing to be showing off your own county to the rest of the UK and the world! There are so many things that we need to learn about food. For example, did you know that Silver Spoon sugar is produced in England from British sugar beet? It’s a great one to buy – and such a simply choice to make. Do stop to read labels in shops and on the food that you buy. Talk to your butcher, greengrocer and farm shop about the foods you choose – it can make such a big difference.
This month Barry Cuff has chosen a couple of postcards of Stalbridge – and as it was so popular last month, he’s showing us the backs again too.
This postcard was sent to Mr M Brice from Albert Road, Upper Parkstone in Aug 1909. It was published by J. Fezzard of The Ring in Stalbridge: ‘Dear M. Many thanks for your kind postcard. Longing to see you tomorrow, you had better leave Branksome at 5.52 arriving here at 7-6 then you won’t have to change. So I will meet you at 6 minutes past seven, don’t forget. Love to dear Martha & Sister. Yours Bertie – Ada is here today’
This was sent to Miss Warren at White Cross, Banwell in Somerset – which now appears to be Whitecrosss Lane. The card was posted on 25th July 1913 by the photographer, who we can apparently spot in the card! The 25th was a Friday, so this was sent just six days after the Sunday parade: ‘Dear Siss, so sorry I have not written as I promised but have had such a busy photography week, on Parade last Sunday and had a big order in whch made us a lot of work. Hope Mary & yourself are keeping well. Did I tell you Aunt & Uncle are settled down at Wuncanton, they spent last Sunday with us. You can see Aunt & me in the left-hand corner. Love from us both ’
Electrification will have a major impact on Britain’s landscape, with pylon implications for Dorset, says Rupert Hardy of North Dorset CPRE
The new T-pylons installed in Somerset for Hinkley Point are cheaper and shorter, but more visible on the landscape
Last year, residents in West Dorset celebrated the removal of 22 electricity pylons in the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – which was done at huge expense. Just 12 months later, a headline in the Daily Express read: “Pylon Hell to Descend on Britain” as the media realised the physical effect of the electrification of Britain in the pursuit of Net Zero. What does this mean for Dorset? In the 1920s and ‘30s CPRE was battling to protect the countryside from unsightly pylons as the National Grid was first rolled out. Once again CPRE faces a new invasion – but on a scale not seriously envisaged before, thanks partly to the development of renewable energy. This summer Nick Winser, the UK Electricity Networks Commissioner, laid out radical de-carbonisation plans – although the government has still to accept their conclusions, which are designed to speed up the roll-out of thousands of miles of high voltage cables to connect new wind and solar farms with users of electric vehicles, EV recharging points and heat pumps. Currently it can take up to 14 years to build new power lines, so planning needs to be streamlined and the grid massively restructured to achieve his proposed seven years. It looks very ambitious. Mr Winser and the National Grid have been coy about the number of new cables and pylons needed. Unfortunately, the introduction of intermittent and remotely-located renewable energy generators such as wind farms has resulted in the need for new grid lines. Their intermittency is a key issue; while the average power generated by solar farms is only 10 per cent of their peak capacity, the grid lines obviously need to accommodate peak power. The Express quoted Sarah Williams, Director of Regulation and Asset Strategy at Wales and West Utilities, saying the need was for 90,000 pylons, compared to the 22,000 now covering 4,300 miles of the UK. A senior source who worked at the old Department of Energy guessed it might be less than 70,000 pylons – but this is still a huge expansion and it will be expensive. It is easy to be sceptical over whether any government – and certainly not this one, seeking re-election soon, with Sunak backtracking on green measures – will push ahead given the enormous local opposition already being voiced.
Dorset will be less affected East Anglia is likely to be the worst affected area in the UK, with the need to connect offshore windpower to major power users such as London. Local protesters in East Anglia are arguing for burying the cables underground or offshore, but the cost is huge. Most estimates suggest an increased cost ratio of 10:1 for onshore burial or 4:1 for offshore, when compared with overground pylons. A cash-strapped government is unlikely to bury cables unless absolutely necessary across protected land. The National Grid has been extolling the virtues of a new generation of Danish-designed pylons, called the T-pylon, which are cheaper to install. They have been used in Somerset to connect the new power station at Hinkley Point, but feedback from residents has not been positive. Because the design is not only more solid than the familiar century-old design, but also white, they stand out in the landscape far more than the old taller lattice designs, despite being only 35m high. They are also criticised for interfering more with WiFi, and for being noisier. The new 112 mile high voltage transmission line proposed for East Anglia uses the old lattice design. Local campaigners and MPs in East Anglia have been vocal in their opposition. Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin, who is not a climate sceptic, said: ‘I have never known a single issue raise so much passion in my constituency … whether it is Gainsborough country or Constable country, we’re talking about despoiling really serious parts of our national heritage.’ The government is also looking at whether local residents could be compensated if such infrastructure was built close to their homes. However CPRE does not see a way to make this fair and we would prefer community benefits instead. Dorset will be less affected than East Anglia – we have no offshore windpower, and the huge capacity of the Chickerell terminal will reduce the need for more high voltage transmission lines. However, the development of solar farms across the county will still require the roll-out of lower voltage cables, with smaller, less obtrusive, 35-40m high pylons. Dorset’s relative isolation is currently a benefit! Half the county is likely to be spared from overground cabling too, given the size of the AONBs.
Other solutions We need to focus more on nuclear power to provide the steady baseload in order to offset the intermittency of renewable power – new nuclear power stations on old sites would need little additional cabling. More rooftop solar would reduce grid issues, as the power generation and its subsequent use would be in the same building, unlike greenfield sites. More major battery storage facilities will be needed – as long as they are located away from population centres. Dorset residents will have to accept many more pylons, but less unsightly ones than those for high voltage. Yet there will be battles over which proposed sites do less harm to our beautiful countryside and are more appropriate to build on. If you are moving home in Dorset and do not like pylons, may I suggest you buy within an AONB, and if not, install rooftop solar without delay.
