Each month local historian Barry Cuff shares a selection of rarely-before seen images from his unique archive (more on his collection here).
This month Barry has picked Chapman & Son of Dawlish.
‘Chapman & Son of Dawlish in Devon photographed and published cards of just three seemingly-random Dorset towns: Lyme Regis, Wimborne and Sturminster Newton. I have been collecting since 1974 and have never seen cards by them of any other Dorset location.’
What a great day we had at the Spring Countryside Show today – were you there? Are you going tomorrow? There’s so much to see, but here’s our own highlights from the first day:
The Sheep Show. Brilliantly entertaining whilst being oddly educational – seriously do NOT miss this show. Experience more fun and excitment than you’d expect from a man and his sheep.
Find it: Friars Moor Farm Yard, three shows daily
The Gun Dogs display. SO so interesting and fun. And it’s not just for gun dog owners, it’s for anyone who owns a dog; the tips and tricks on training are incredibly useful, and as a bonus you get to watch the controlled mayhem that is a bundle of adorably excited five-month-old cocker spaniel puppies being the BEST dogs.
Find it: Gritchie Brewing Company Rural Ring, two shows daily
The Falconry display. Witness the captivating Mere Down Falconry performance – it’s always an amazing show.
Find it: Gritchie Brewing Company Rural Ring, two shows daily
Jonathan Marshall’s Free Spirits Show. Obviously. Always popular, it’s impossible to ignore the beauty of Jonathan’s Amadeus (yes, he’s one of the Lloyds Bank black horse) and his magnificent falcons. If you haven’t seen it before, prepare for the unexpected (see our interview with Jonathan Marshall here).
Find it: Gritchie Brewing Company Rural Ring, two shows daily
Flyball. Absolute chaotic yelping energy. These dogs are living their BEST life. Not a single member of the audience around us had a clue who was winning, and not a single one cared! Everyone was having a great time just watching the teams of dogs taking turns to fly down the jumps, slam into the ramp to retrieve their ball and then race back again while their humans yelled encouragement from both ends. The task seemed to be to get the dogs as hyped up as possible and then let them RUN. It works.
Terrier Racing. It’s absolute chaos, but it’s a thing of joyous beauty to watch, and the commentary is hilarious! Think your dog has the speed? Enter them in the terrier racing (it’s not just for terriers, we saw all sorts having a go) – it was just perfectly brilliant. Bonkers.
Find it: Gritchie Brewing Company Rural Ring, two shows daily
The Farrier. Do circle back if Sam Wilkes isn’t working when you see his area – it’s such a great opportunity to see the farrier skills up close, and Sam is great at explaining as he goes (you can see him featured in January’s A Country Living here).
Find it: Garden Village, three demos through the day
The Farmyard. Don’t miss out on the chance to get close to the wonderful (and HUGE) rare breed pigs and piglets, the completely wonderful grey face sheep, the Boer goats and the mad chickens. Do stop and chat to the people who breed them, they’re keen to talk!
Find it: Friars Moor Farm Yard
ALL THE FOODS! We had a fabulous hog roast roll from local Stalbridge butcher’s Else’s, plus a slice of cake from Victoria O’Brien’s tent. We tried where we could, but we just couldn’t sample all of the cheese, gin, rum, burgers, curry, jams, chills, pancakes, doughnuts, sausage rolls, cakes, fudge, pasties… Go prepared.
All images © Courtenay Hitchcock, BV magazine
The April BV Podcast begins, as it does every month, with this month’s letter from the editor and all the latest reader’s letters. This month we then move on to three interviews. Jenny Devitt chats to Giles Simpson, Chairman of the G&S Show ahead of this weekend’s Spring Countryside Show.
Next Terry spoke to journalist Andrew Livingston as he discusses the current outcomes on the Poole Harbour oil spill. Lastly, we hear from local farmer Lillie Smith as she tells BV listeners about her rare breed pigs
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.
The Sturminster Newton Literary Festival returns for its fourth year from 5th to 10th June with an expanded programme that now includes non-fiction events and covers the wider Wessex region. The festival offers a diverse range of topics, from Michael Langridge’s sequel to Tess of the D’Urbervilles to Chris Taylor’s experiences as a helicopter test pilot, and Jon Woolcott’s insights into Dorset’s history.
Festival highlights include journalist Felice Hardy’s talk about her grandmother, an Austrian tennis champion who escaped the Nazis and played at Wimbledon, and West Dorset-based author Brian Jackman’s discussion of how the natural surroundings inspired him to write Wild About Dorset.
The festival also features local playwright Sue Ashby’s dramatic monologue From Sturminster Newton to The White House: the Fuller sisters in America, and local singers will be performing songs by the Fuller sisters.
In addition to talks, the festival offers walks and tours of notable locations, such as Robert Young’s Sturminster Newton and the Marnhull setting for Tess of the D’Urbervilles.
Festival committee chairman, Pauline Batstone says ‘I am delighted that we have such a full and wide ranging programme for our fourth year,’
Details of all events can be found on the Stur Litfest booking portal here
This role will include the maintenance and repair of small tools and equipment for curriculum and farm use. You will also work closely with academic staff to ensure student practical sessions provide a high-quality teaching experience for all learners.
You will assist with all duties necessary to ensure the smooth day to day running of the mixed farming enterprise on the college estate. A key feature of this post will be to take a pivotal role ensuring resources required for practical sessions for all teaching staff are supplied and planned.
Hours: Will vary seasonally, with other staff will cover the time from 6.30 am to 4.30 pm and be worked over Monday to Sunday with flexibility to meet business needs.
Status: Permanent
Salary: £26,057 – £27.273 per annum pro rata (dependent on experience)
To apply: https://www.kmc.ac.uk/college/quick-links/ work-for-us/vacancies/
For more information please call the Farm Manager (David Cotterell) on 01305 215019.
Nee Priddle Nee Smith
March 1946 – 16/04/2023
Formerly from Wincanton
It is with great sadness Diane’s family announce she passed away in Perth Australia on 16th April 2023 after a short illness.
The NFU once again used the Science Farm Live project to livestream British farming into primary schools, says county advisor Gemma Harvey
As part of British Science Week in March, the NFU’s education team gave students from more than ten per cent of primary schools across England and Wales the opportunity to step into farmers’ shoes in a series of live lessons..
With a record number of pupils getting involved in the 2023 Science Farm Live project (190,000 from 3,434 schools), the virtual lessons showcased how farming is intertwined with so many key science subjects.
Over three virtual lessons, the programme used British Science Week’s theme of ‘connections’ to look at some of the unusual connections that can be found between farming and other sectors; they took place over three virtual lessons.
The first focused on how tractors are connected to space, with NFU next generation forum chair Eveey Hunter exploring what materials a tractor is built from and how her tractors drive themselves using GPS.
Lesson number two was with Flavian Obiero and his pig dog Rex, with children learning how he keeps his pigs happy and healthy as well as how pigs are connected to jumbo jets.
The final lesson looked at the link between sheep and seaweed, with shepherd Susie Parish and members of the Sussex Seabed Restoration Project following the journey of wool from sheep to the seabed to help restore sea kelp populations.
The premise of the virtual lessons was to highlight how science is ingrained in almost every aspect of agriculture. By taking farming into classrooms across the country it really brought the subjects to life. The fact that the highest ever number of students and schools registered this year shows that teachers are increasingly recognising the value of teaching science through the lens of food and farming.
If you or your school would like to get involved, please take a look at the NFU education website for more information.
Sponsored by Trethowans – Law as it should be
Meet a Dorset woman working to preserve a British breed of pig which is rarer than the Giant Panda. Tracie Beardsley reports
Gloucester Old Spot pig, Cynthia lived on a farm where Lillie, a student at the time, had a weekend job mucking out horses.
‘I fell in love with her,’ recalls Lillie. ‘Pigs have such brilliant personalities. I was fascinated. I helped out when she was farrowing (giving birth) and weaning her piglets.’
Fast forward and Lillie, now 27, has a seven-acre smallholding in Shillingstone, appropriately called Ham Farm. Here she lives with farmer husband Morgan, their four children ranging in age from two to eleven and seven rare breed Oxford Sandy and Black (OSB for short) pigs. ‘I never planned to have so many children – or pigs!’ laughs Lillie.
The five sows Felicity, Chelsea, Gladys, Peaches and Claudia (I got the privilege of naming her!), plus the two burly boars, Albert and Jethro, live outdoors for most of the year, with wallowing holes and mud galore. They really are as happy as the proverbial pigs in muck and Lillie is about as busy as one person can be; it’s a long way from her number-crunching days working in accountancy.
Plum Puddings
‘I absolutely love this life,’ Lillie says. ‘There’s admittedly a lot of mud but it’s nothing a pair of overalls won’t protect you from. Though I do get through an enormous number of Wellington boots!’
Lillie’s porcine passion has led her to become one of only 136 registered breeders of Oxford Sandy and Blacks in the country – and she is a highly-respected breed rep for Dorset.
The Oxford Sandy and Black Pig, sometimes referred to as the Plum Pudding, is one of the oldest British pig breeds, existing for around 300 years. It’s become almost extinct twice.
‘OSBs, Tamworths and Saddleback breeds are all rarer than the Giant Panda. There’s only around 400 OSBs registered in the UK – and there’s about 2,000 pandas in the wild, plus more in captivity,’ says Lillie.
OSBs are on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watchlist. As an active member of the Oxford & Sandy Black Pig Group, championing preservation of this breed, Lillie is passionate about keeping the bloodline pure. ‘OSBs have 13 female blood lines and four male blood lines. I’m strict about focusing on good breed characteristics. Out of the nine litters we had last year, I kept only three pigs for breeding.’
There’s a lot more to consider than a snout and curly tail when you’re looking for a pedigree-perfect OSB. There should be a blaze on the front, a white tail tip, white feet, a good stature and even the teats need to be spaced properly. Lillie explains: ‘If they’re not evenly spaced, the piglets can’t get to them when the sow is on her side, so they won’t be able to feed properly.’
As well as protecting this rare breed, Lillie has 14 ‘growers’, which remain unnamed as they will be slaughtered. Working with a local abattoir and butcher, Ham Farm pork sausages, bacon, gammon, pork burgers, joints, half, and quarter pig boxes are all sold in local farm shops and butchers and Lillie also delivers direct to customers.
Quality not quantity
Oxford Sandy & Blacks have star quality. Five of a recent litter are now petting and pig-racing stars at Farmer Palmers children’s farm in Poole. Lillie also works closely with the Countryside Regeneration Trust at nearby Bere Marsh Farm and has just sold three of her pigs to them. Their natural foraging actions will turn over the land and help to increase biodiversity on the farm.
For the first time, Lillie and some of her rare breed pigs will be at the Spring Countryside Show at Motcombe this month. ‘I’m teaming up with Seb’s Saddlebacks, another rare pig breeder, and we’re hoping to educate the show visitors about these wonderful creatures, their history and their importance as a food source.
‘We value quality over quantity with our pigs. They take longer to mature than commercial pigs but they taste so much better for it. I’m with my pigs all the way – from breeding to butcher and finally to the public. I’m proud to be preserving this rare breed alongside producing sustainable food with local provenance. I know my pigs have a great life.’
Follow Ham Farm on Facebook
You can see Lillie and meet her Oxford Sandy and Black pigs at the Spring Countryside Show at Turnpike Showground on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd April 2023.
Quick fire questions:
A-list dinner party guests?
Jeremy Clarkson – I know he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but his Clarkson Farm Show has done more to publicise farming than any other in a long time. I’d be interested in his views now he has been through issues many of us farmers have experienced.
Books by your bedside?
Anne of Windy Poplars (part of the Anne of Green Gables series). I’ve been on it for a while – I don’t get much time to read!
Farmer James Cossins has used the slow, wet start to spring to assess new sustainable farming methods and asks if food production is really encouraged
As we move into April the weather has again been challenging for farmers and growers. In February we received virtually no rain and in March there has hardly been a day without it! Here at Rawston, this means that very limited field-work has taken place so far this year. In February we did manage, in dry but rather cold conditions, to sow most of our spring crops such as beans and barley.
As I write at the end of March, they are just beginning to emerge, which is encouraging. We should now be rolling silage fields and any winter crops that escaped the roller – but the conditions are just too wet.
We have also been unable to turn out our milking cows as the grass seems to be only growing slowly and conditions underfoot have simply been too wet. Feed stocks are consequently getting short and, because of the late spring, we are having to purchase maize silage from a nearby farm to see us out for the last of the winter.
The price of the foods that we produce largely seem to be in decline. Our milk price has dropped by 7p in the last few months and further reductions are on the way. The price of wheat and barley has dropped from the highs achieved last autumn by around £70 per ton. Oilseeds appear to have dropped even further. There is so much uncertainty in the markets – so much so that the effects of the Ukrainian War can make prices move dramatically on a daily basis. Fortunately, fertiliser prices have come down to slightly more sensible levels, but are still well above the levels they were before the war started.
The move to sustainability
I have attended a number of meetings, listening intently to discover what help DEFRA is offering to farmers and growers. It seems to be a complex mix based around how to farm in a sustainable way. However, food production hardly seems to get a mention. This has made me consider one of the options of planting a legume ley for two years, taking no production from it to improve the soil structure and saving any labour and machinery costs.
Unfortunately, this type of farming won’t feed anyone! Arla, our milk buyer, is also encouraging its suppliers down the sustainability route, with financial incentives dependent on milk production methods. It seems to be a logical approach: producing milk efficiently is one of the key goals. For example, not overfeeding protein in the diet and then wasting it through the manure produced.
We will also be disadvantaged financially if we purchase soya from sources where there has been deforestation.
The incentive starts in July, so we are still learning how we can become more sustainable.
Come on, Cherries!
In other, non-farming news, we AFC Bournemouth supporters had a season highlight last month with the 1-0 defeat of Liverpool. It was a very entertaining afternoon, with Liverpool missing a penalty and Bournemouth playing with great determination, showing their desire to remain in the Premier League despite being near the bottom of the league with our local rivals Southampton. Let’s hope the results go our way for the last couple of months of the season. Come on, you Cherries!
Sponsored by Trethowans – Law as it should be
© Bluebean Publishing Ltd
