Spotlight on Spain

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18 March 2023

This month, expert Hannah Wilkins is looking straight at you Rioja-lovers – and tackling the popular misconceptions that surround the iconic wine

This year, I firmly believe, will be a big year for Spanish wine. Both reds and whites are simply going to shine. Why? The wines from Spain are so versatile and they partner beautifully with food, so they are a great choice for get-togethers, but are equally enjoyable in front of the TV with a handful of nibbles.
Most people have tried a Rioja or two, but despite the fame and quality of wines from this iconic region, there are still so many common misconceptions. The first is that it is a designated wine-producing region in Northern Spain not a grape variety. Up second in the not-true race is the idea that Riojas are only red. Sometimes a customer will look at us in a strange way when they ask for a Rioja and we clarify whether they are looking for a red or white; white Rioja exists, and it brings a lot of flavour to the white wine drinking party.
The final most popular misconception we encounter, although there are certainly more, is that all Rioja is bursting with oak ageing notes of vanilla and winter spice – true, many do, but as with any wine, the winemaking techniques applied after harvest really do vary – and therefore so does the wine!
What’s rather cool about Rioja wine ageing is that there is a specific classification system, unique to this style of wine. It ranges from no oak ageing for ‘Joven’ Riojas to Gran Reservas that require a minimum of five years (with at least two in barrels and two in a bottle). Why is this great? Because it means there’s lots to explore beyond the grape variety! But there’s so much more to Spain than this one iconic region – as delicious as it may be!

Let them drink grapes
It’s perhaps best to take the approach of trying grapes over regions. So, let’s start with whites; there are so many native and borrowed grape varieties used in Spain, but the main ones are Viura, Malvasia, Verdejo, Airen (Spain’s most widely planted grape of any colour), Albarino, Godello, Chardonnay etc., which all bring a difference to the wine. For example, Albarinos are grown mostly in the Rias Baixas region in the Northwest, close to the Atlantic, so they take on a saltier/saline character – great with fish and seafood dishes or Greek salads that need something refreshing to cut through.
When it comes to red grapes, you have your indigenous grapes like Bobal, Garnacha (you may know it as Grenache), Mazuelo, Carinena (also known as Carignan), Mencia, Monastrell (sometimes Mourvedre or Mataro), Tempranillo etc. Depending on the grape chosen, the mouthfeel and weight in the glass can vary considerably. Bobal for example gives you a fuller style with lots of jammy fruit, whereas a Monastrell gives you a hedgerow fruit character with subtle spices.
As ever, there are many factors that contribute to a wine; the climate, the terroir, the aspect; the winemaking, the ever-changing conditions and decisions made by the winery – it’s what makes it exciting.
We’ve got some cracking examples of Spanish wine at Vineyards right now – pop in and we’ll help you start exploring.
Cheers! Hannah

Local children compete in Sherborne cross-country

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Editorial team

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18 March 2023

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In February more than a hundred children from seven local schools – Thornford, St Andrew’s Yetminster, Sherborne Primary, Sherborne Abbey Primary, Buckland Newton, All Saints, and Trent Young’s – competed in the Sherborne area cross-country competition.
Hosted by The Gryphon School, high school student sport leaders supported the primary pupils and ensured the highly competitive event ran smoothly.

The results were:
Girls Team:
1st: Sherborne Abbey Primary
2nd: Joint – Thornford Primary and All Saints Primary
3rd: Buckland Newton Primary
Girls Individual:
1st: Phoebe (Sherborne Abbey)
2nd: Lydia (Trent Young’s)
3rd: Tilly (Sherborne Primary)
Boys Team:
1st: Sherborne Primary
2nd: Trent Young’s
3rd: Thornford Primary
Boys Individual:
1st: Lenny (Thornford)
2nd: Archie (Buckland Newton)
3rd: William (Sherborne Primary)
Neela Brooking, Headteacher of Thornford Primary School, who organised the event said ‘Congratulations to all the children who took part and a big thank you to The Gryphon PE department and the student helpers for supporting the event. The children are already looking forward to the next competition!’

The cats, the rats and the greenfly

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Editorial team

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18 March 2023

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When the pests attack your cherished plants, it’s hard not to feel that it’s a personal vendetta, says flower farmer Charlotte Tombs

Pog, the menace of the garden.
Image: Laura Hitchcock

It feels as though there is always something out to get you when you enjoy growing flowers or vegetables. And I find it very hard not to take it personally.
Cats, as much as we love them, seem to be a very common culprits in so many gardens; they will insist on seeing a freshly-cleared, newly-mulched flower bed as one giant litter tray. I’ll admit it does niggle me slightly, especially as we dog owners are held accountable for what their pooches produce when out and about and we as a matter of course clear up after them.
If you do suffer from unwanted feline deposits, rose cuttings are your best secret weapon. Place them over your beds and it will hopefully help as a deterrent – holly leaves work well too.
The prickles method may also deter squirrels from digging up your bulbs in pots; if they’ve sabotaged your pots before, just put the sharp cuttings on top of the pots. It’s not a great thing of beauty but it will save your bulbs being raided, and is only temporary.

Rattus norvegicus
Recently my tulips have been under attack by rats. This is my first big crop of the year – I grow very different tulips from the ones that you can buy in the supermarkets. I choose varieties for their scent (yes, some tulips smell amazing), some for colour and some varieties can reach almost two foot tall, with heads larger than a can of coke. A vase of these is quite a statement!
Anyway, the rats have eaten at least a couple of hundred.
I asked on the Flowers From The Farm Facebook members page if other growers had experienced the same problem and how they deal with it. Apparently the answer is dried chillies. Rats hate chillies! (this did ring bells for me – I remember reading somewhere that you should put chilli flakes in with your chicken food. Chickens can’t taste them)
So, off I went to my local Asian supermarket and bought a large bag of red-hot dried chillis. I’ve sprinkled them all over my tulip beds and it does seem to have stopped the attacks for the time being. Fingers crossed. I have also read that mint tea bags make a good spray deterrent: brew a whole box, allow it to cool and put it in a spray bottle. Then just spray the area you want to protect. I haven’t tried this method yet but it’s worth a thought when I’m desperate.

Greenfly
These can be taken care of with a washing up liquid solution in a spray bottle, as the little bugs don’t like the sticky soap residue. Alternatively encourage ladybird larvae, they can eat up to 5,000 aphids in their life time!
Other well-known natural remedies include used coffee grounds, baked crushed egg shell or sharp sand placed round plants that are prone to slug attacks. Saucers of beer can help also in your plants survival, and don’t forget that once most plants are big enough, they tend to be OK.

More attackers
My plants also suffer from deer attacks – they love roses! High fencing solves this problem but can be unsightly. Rabbits are an ongoing issue; they always seem to find a way in and I’m forever trying to find how they did it. One year pigeons ate all my hesperis (sweet rocket) – it’s part of the mustard family which includes broccoli and cabbages, so I learned my lesson and now cover it until the plants are big enough.

Charlotte offers workshops throughout the year – please see northcombe.co.uk for further details.

Marching on to spring’s drum

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Editorial team

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17 March 2023

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It’s March, spring is in the air, and Caz Richards of Dorset Food & Drink is thinking about mums, chocolate … and leeks.

With a nod to the daffodil-loving William Wordsworth, the delights of a Dorset spring are on their way, with clumps of voluptuous daffodils and pretty primmies adorning the banks, gardens, and hedgerows. As the days get warmer, the scribble of winter trees take on a lush verdant hue as leaves and foliage start to pop into bud. It’s a feast for the eyes, but we’re all about making sure your taste buds are ready for a new crop of seasonal products and ingredients to enjoy!
From spring lamb and purple sprouting broccoli to leeks, beetroot, rhubarb, and tasty spring greens. Oysters, mussels, scallops, lobster and Haddock our producers, farmers, growers, and local fishing fleet won’t let you down.
Buy it fresh
If meat is up your street and you want yours produced sustainably and in harmony with nature, then the Jurassic Coast Farm Shop has some great offers and can deliver to your doorstep. Ditto The Dorset Meat Company who offer a combination of unbeatable grass-fed beef and lamb, outdoor-reared pork, and free-range chicken.
If fish or shellfish is your dish, however, buy direct from your fishmonger. They have the best knowledge and produce and will even tell you where it came from, how it was caught, and which boat landed it! If you’re worried about the preparation, you can always ask your fishmonger to do it for you.

Saints, pies, mothers and chocolate
With quite a few national days popping up in March, there are plenty of ways to use all that seasonal goodness, and with the Easter bunny fast approaching, there are even more sweet treats to look forward to.
Dorset vittles are a must at any time of the year, so if you’re planning to dine out, this little list might help you decide where.
If you celebrate St.David’s Day on the 1st of March try this vegetarian leek, pesto, and squash pie. Sticking with the pie theme, it’s British Pie Week on the 7th -13th March, and we’ve got a few tasty recipe ideas for you. And don’t forget to make Mothers’ day on the 19th of March with these Dorset gift ideas!

No spring brassicas, thanks to December

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Editorial team

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17 March 2023

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A record-breaking winter freeze ruined the spring greens, says Barry Cuff – but the stores are well-stocked and new veg is growing

Normally we have a good supply of brassicas to last us through February and March. Not so this year – we are only left with Brussels sprout (Brendan), and a few purple sprouting broccoli (Cardinal).
All our spring cauliflowers (Medallion), spring savoy cabbage (Vertus) – and most of the purple sprouting broccoli – plants were lost to the severe frosts in December. In more than 30 years I do not recall this happening before. It appears there were big losses right across England, from Dorset to Lancashire. One local Dorset commercial grower even lost cabbages and cauliflowers growing in his polytunnel. I believe in our case it was because the plants were exceptionally lush and almost certainly had some Boron deficiency.
However, our Palace parsnips taste even better now thanks to those same frosts during the three winter months, and we do still have a good supply of leeks – many of these are being used in soups! We still have a good selection of vegetables in our freezers and cold store, too. It is wonderful to be able to eat our own produce through the winter months. Our potatoes, squashes and onions kept well in the frost-free shed. Only the two large butternut squashes didn’t survive, whereas Crown Prince, Sweet Dumpling and Honey Boat look as good as they did when they were harvested in early September.
With much dry weather through February, all the potato ground has been dug, incorporating the horse manure which had been spread in December.

The broad beans are being planted out. Image: Barry Cuff

A new season
We have treated ourselves to three new strawberry varieties, 12 plants of each. These have been planted into a new bed.
Our garlic put on a little growth during the month and has been fed with liquid seaweed.
The first of the new year’s vegetables were planted out from trays on the 21st, about 60 plants in total. There is a double row of broad beans, two varieties – Witkiem Manita and Masterpiece Green Longpod.
In the greenhouse, we have sown Little Gem Lettuce, Golden Acre cabbage and Red Drumhead cabbage. On our bedroom windowsill the peppers sown in January are looking well and have their first set of true leaves.
During March we shall be sowing our onions, tomatoes and a second batch of lettuce.

The out of doors section is sponsored by Thorngrove Garden Centre

Support Worker Marnhull | Team Brain Injury support – Acuity Care Group

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Editorial team

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16 March 2023

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Pay rate: £14.00

Shift Pattern: Night and days available, 12 hour shifts, 7-7
Location: Marnhull

Team Brain Injury Support is one of the very few homecare providers working across the country who specialise in supporting children and adults with a brain injury and other neurological conditions. We are proud to say that our dedicated team members support people in their own homes to live their best quality of life and assist them in better accessing their community.

We are also committed to the continuing development of all our staff, so we can empower them to lead fulfilling careers in care.

Key Responsibilities

If you are resilient, reliable, empathetic and looking for a role that truly makes a difference to someone else’s life then we want to hear from you.

Support Workers cover all manners of support for others – from companionship and days out, to personal care and housekeeping. At Team Brain Injury Support, you’ll be working with someone living with complex care needs and receive fully paid, on the job training. So, whether you’re an experienced support worker or completely new to the sector, you’ll have the opportunity to build your skills in a safe and trusted environment.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Requirements: Female only, medical care

We are looking for dedicated personable support workers who are based in the Marnhull area.

You will be supporting a teenage lad who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy resulting in profound muscle weakness, overnight ventilation and gastrostomy fed. Your role is to meet their medical needs, personal care and day to day assistance.

Full training given prior to and starting your new role.

You’ll need to be:

Caring and approachable attitude
Patient and welcoming
Helpful and reliable

Benefits

Access to Westfield Rewards – an exclusive rewards website, with access to special offers on all your favourite goods and services from over 1,000 leading online and high street retailers, restaurants , travel companies and destinations
Access to the Blue Light Card discount scheme
Opportunity to obtain NVQ’s in Health and Social Care
Fully paid on the job training, with shadowing in place
Fully paid DBS
Progression opportunities within the organisation
Pension enrolment
Access to Westfield Health Cash Plan
24/7 management support
A great Refer a Friend scheme – receive up to £500 through our Care Friends rewards scheme when you refer a friend or family member.

About Team Brain Injury

Based in Southampton, Team Brain Injury was developed from a division of our sister company, Team Medical, to become our own company in 2007.

Since 2007 we have grown to a 20 person strong team in the office, including in-house training, recruitment, nurse lead assessments and care planning, and a robust 24/7 out of hours on-call service.

With over 150 Support workers across the south of England and southern Wales, we provide support to service users with varying degrees of Acquired Brain Injury.

Providing the necessary care and support to our service users is a demanding role, this is why we focus on the ongoing training and development of our support workers, ensuring our service users receive the level of support only high calibre staff can provide.

To Apply click the link – https://bit.ly/BVsupportworkerTBI

Listen for the Dartford warbler

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Editorial team

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16 March 2023

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The Dartford warbler may be an elusive Dorset resident, but they’re not as rare as some believe, says conservation officer Hamish Murray

The Dartford warbler is a small, dark bird with a fine bill and a long tail that is often cocked (shutterstock)

One of the pleasures of a walk across the Dorset heathland is hearing the hurried chatter of a Dartford warbler, usually coming from the depths of a gorse bush. Dartfords also have a churring alarm call, which to my ears sounds rather like a soft sneeze.
Although most vocal in the spring, Dartford warblers can be heard singing sporadically throughout the year.
Most warblers are migratory birds but Dartfords are resolutely sedentary, rarely moving more than a few miles from their native heath. They generally manage to survive the British winter on a diet consisting largely of spiders and small insects. However, Dartford warblers are susceptible if there are prolonged spells of cold weather and the population can be significantly reduced by a severe winter.
Dartford warblers are more often heard than seen, but given a reasonable view they are fairly easy birds to identify. The overall impression is of a small, dark bird with a fine bill and a long tail that is often cocked. Closer views will reveal the subtle grey and vinous tones of the plumage and the red eye-ring. The males tend to be more colourful than the females and have distinctive white spots on the throat.
In Britain, Dartford warblers are more or less confined to the heaths of southern England but, in the right habitat, they are certainly not as rare as some books suggest.
Just typical!
Seeing a Dartford warbler is still largely a matter of luck, however. I remember leading a guided walk for a birdwatching group a few years ago, with the main target of seeing a Dartford warbler. We trudged round most of the best-known habitats in Purbeck, and had not a sight or sound of our elusive quarry.
Eventually I had to admit defeat – I apologised and bade farewell to the group as they all piled back onto their coach. Naturally, just as they disappeared down the road, I heard a familiar sound behind me and turned to see a wonderful view of a male Dartford warbler, singing its heart out on top of a nearby gorse bush!

Blandford’s Crown Meadows plan – an act of philanthropy or a Trojan horse?

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Laura

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16 March 2023

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PLANS to site up to 40 caravans as temporary homes for Ukrainian refugees on land known locally as Crown Meadows on the western boundaries of Blandford Forum have divided public opinion in the town and will now go to appeal, after Dorset Council planners failed to decide the application. A date for a site visit by the inspector who will decide the scheme is yet to be announced. Gay Pirrie Weir reports.

The application was submitted by the Rothermere Foundation and Bryanston (RFE) Ltd (which is not connected to Bryanston School), and refers to land reached from Deer Park Lane, owned by the Foundation and overlooked by the school grounds. It is part of the Crown Estate land bought by the Foundation in 2015.

“The Crown Estate has agreed the sale of the Bryanston Estate in Dorset to a UK company held on behalf of the Viscount Rothermere and his son the Hon Vere Harmsworth for an undisclosed sum. The purchase is consistent with the family’s long-term strategy to diversify its investment holdings. The 4,700 acre Bryanston Estate, purchased in 1950 from the Portman family, lies to the north west of Bournemouth at Blandford Forum in Dorset. The largely agricultural estate is predominantly comprised of 14 farm tenancies and around 40 residential properties.
The Crown Estate June 2015

Blandford's Crown Meadows - the planned caravan site for Ukrainian refugees — The Crown Meadows site, where planing has been applied for the siting of *up to 40 caravans, together with the formation of ancillary bases, tracks, services communal amenity/green space, play areas, landscaping and bin store*

The land was transferred from Crown ownership to the Rothermeres three years after it had been at the centre of an impassioned campaign in the town. The Crown Estate applied for permission to build up to 200 new homes on the Deer Park Farm site, in accordance with the (then) North Dorset District Council’s new core strategy, which was under discussion in early 2013. Two petitions circulated in the town and surrounding area, and were signed by more than 6,000 objectors, most citing threats to wildlife and amenities, but primarily to dangers of flooding when the Stour bursts its banks. One petition said the scheme “failed to respect Blandford’s iconic setting.”

Crown Meadows has a contentious planning history in the town, and when the latest application, for temporary homes for Ukrainian refugees, was submitted, old worries quickly surfaced.

Aerial view of Blandford's Crown Meadows planned development scheme — The planned site is known locally as a water meadow, suffering from flooding whenever the Stour breaks its banks in the winter months

The current application, for “change of use of land for the stationing of up to 40 No. caravans to provide temporary accommodation for up to 5 years, together with the formation of ancillary bases, tracks, services communal amenity/green space, play areas, landscaping and bin stores. Provide low-level lighting to tracks and common areas. Convert redundant agricultural building to an amenity block and community area,” sat on planners’ desks for longer than the permitted period, and at the request of the applicants it has now been called in by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities – Michael Gove at the time of writing.

The call-in has been welcomed by North Dorset MP Simon Hoare, who opposes the scheme and accuses the Rothermere Foundation of riding in on a Trojan Horse in the guise of a philanthropic foal (read his full letter to the Inspectorate here).

Simon Hoare MP objects to the Crown Meadows planning application — In his letter of objection, North Dorset MP Simon Hoare calls the planned scheme “The creation of a linked-to-nowhere caravan ghetto” and the “planning version of Apartheid”

Mr Hoare told the BV: “The key thing is the inappropriateness of the provision at Crown Meadows. We simply do not ghetto-ise by nationality. Having 40 Ukrainians effectively plonked in a small, isolated settlement would be appalling. The lack of both integration and support are unacceptable – it’s the thin end of the terrifying wedge that is ‘certain people can live here, but not there’. As I said in my letter to the Inspectorate, it is the planning version of Apartheid.”

“I feel this is simply a chance-your-arm Trojan Horse – thinly covered by a veil of philanthropy.”

The MP continued: “In fairness, he (Lord Rothermere) is no doubt keen to help, but there are so many things he could do that would be faster and more effective. He could buy many actual homes that could house up to 40 families – a fantastic gesture, he’d retain ownership of the capital assets and it would be a swift solution.

Mr Hoare welcomed the site visit: “It’s excellent news. It’s hugely important in this case in order for the inspectorate to see and study the locality and the linkages. They can see in real time the parcel of land, and hopefully arrive at the same conclusions as my constituency – that help is great, but the site is wrong.

“The development is in the wrong place, but also sits wrongly in the broader refugee settlement policy. I do not use the words apartheid and ghetto lightly – but it is effectively ethnic grouping. We are saying ‘These people must live here, outside the community.’

Blandford's Crown Meadows Deer Park Farm plan — The outline Blandford’s Crown Meadows / Deer Park Farm plan

“As a side note, it would also be a freestanding magnet to any who oppose migrants and refugees – we have seen how this can play elsewhere in the country.”

Dorset council received a large number of letters from Blandford residents and those from surrounding areas, most of them objecting to the proposal at Crown Meadows.

The closing date for submission of letters for the appeal is 20th March, 2023.

A rare horse logger, and Lizzo to Quo via Busted with Bonnie

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Laura

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15 March 2023

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The March BV podcast begins, as always, with this month’s letter from the editor and all the latest reader’s letters. This month we move swiftly into politics, with the contributions from all four local party representatives.
Then it’s on to this month’s Dorset Island Discs – our castaway this month is local shepherd and Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show organiser Bonnie Cradock.
Lastly, Tracie Beardsley went down to the woods to meet Toby Hoad one of only 12 working horses loggers in the UK.

Never miss an episode – if you’re not already subscribed to the BV, you can sign up here and receive a notification of each new podcast (just three a month) straight to your inbox! Or you can catch up on all previous episodes right here.

In politics, The Windsor Framework isn’t just good news for businesses, says MP Simon Hoare. It shows a return to adult politics and better relationships.
Mike Chapman of the LibDems says it’s time to stop the hand wringing and resolve the energy crisis. Ken Huggins of the Greens takes a long hard look at ethical consumerism, and Pat Osborne is looking ahead to the 2024 election, comparing ‘the missions versus the pledges’ of the leading parties.
As event organiser at the Turnpike Showground, shepherd Bonnie Cradock is facing a doubly busy spring, thanks to one over-excited fun-loving ram. From Lizzo to Quo via Busted, her Dorset Island Discs are a suitably personal, eclectic mix.
It may be 10,000 years old, but Toby Hoad believes the ancient skill of horse logging is vital in shaping and saving our woodlands. One of only 12 full-time horse loggers in the country, Toby talked to Tracie Beardsley when she went to meet him and his three sturdy Comtois – Ettie, Celine and Fleur – French mountain draft horses known for their steady and sociable natures.