Love Local, Trust Local Awards founder Barabara Cossins shares her own bashful relationship with entering for awards – and explains why everyone should do it
Barabara’s Kitchen winner of the Jams, Chutneys & Honey Category – Love Local Trust Local Awards
Back in November 2013 I needed to embrace social media. I met Becky Walsh, a marketing consultant who had just moved into the village, and she badgered me to promote the pub and butchery online, to tell everyone about the great story of our local food and drinks. One of the things she kept on (and on …) about was entering awards. She made me enter competition after competition, and although I was reluctant I knew we had to do it. Previously I hadn’t wanted to put myself out there but if you want people to support you, then they have to know who you are, how good your business is and what it is you are doing that makes you different. These days I know only too well that the business needs a face – both for the owner and the full team behind them. After trading for 30 years we have probably won more than 20 awards and have another 20 runners up plaques. Every single one of those has made us feel proud of the effort we put in to get there. Awards justify our hard work and give the business and the team behind it, the recognition they deserve.
Turning the tables Now we’re the ones running the Love Local Trust Local (LLTL) Awards for local businesses here in Dorset,and it’s our turn to say “Well done, you are fabulous!” and for those businesses in turn to go out and make the most of this recognition. There are 15 categories to choose from in 2022 so if you’re a business that is growing, producing, rearing, brewing, crafting or cooking here in Dorset, and you source your ingredients within 30 miles of your home base then you should be entering. There are a few changes & tweaks from last year, all strongly supported by the Love Local Trust Local sponsorship team, and we are very pleased to have the brand new categories of Farm Shops and Hospitality on the categories list.
Enter now Awards are open now and FREE to enter. Remember, if you don’t tell other people about the amazing things you’re doing they won’t know. Put yourself out there! You can enter one product in each category, or multiple products into a single category, it’s totally up to you. Here’s what one of our fabulous Winners of the LLTL had to say about her award: “Being a micro producer, winning this award was a great achievement and has given me greater presence in the marketplace.” Barbara, Founder, Barbara’s Kitchen, 2020 LLTL Winner The LLTL awards are fast becoming the food & farming family to be part of. They recognise the hard work and dedication of the people behind the food on our plates as they work hard to put Dorset producers on the map. The Love Local Trust Local movement was created by farmers in 2018 in order to both recognise and celebrate the hard work of other farmers and also local producers & fishermen. The annual awards are a great way to help do just that. Love Local Trust Local is also tackling corruption in the food labelling industry, and helping to protect Britain’s world-leading food production standards.
As the pig crisis is ignored, the poultry crisis deepens and the supermarkets refuse to budge – Andrew Livingston fears a difficult future for farming
You don’t have to be a fortune teller, clairvoyant or medium to know that things aren’t looking good for the future of farmers. The signs have been pretty obvious over the last year that certain sectors in agriculture are on a downward spiral. Late last year (BV, Nov 21) I wrote of the serious issues in the pig industry that had led to farmers protesting about the lack of action from the government. Farms went out of business. It was a dire situation. Yet to this day, pigs are still sitting on farms waiting to be killed and butchered – the NFU stated in March that 40,000 pigs had to be culled and ‘thrown away’ because of a lack of butchers to process them. The additional seasonal workers sent over did little to save the situation. The meat processing industry says there is a shortage of about 10,000 butchers. The diverse nature of farming means that agricultural managers and farmers in other sectors can sit back and say, “Not my problem.” But it’s the wrong attitude. Sticking your head in the expensive grain isn’t helping.
A lesson in history Farmers can look to history for guidance – and surprisingly to Nazi Germany (stay with me on this). A famous poem from German Pastor Martin Niemöller explains why silence is as bad as being complicit:
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
40p a dozen As with the socialists, the crisis in the pig industry continues (without headlines), but it is the egg industry’s head that currently rests on the chopping block. Supermarkets are adamant that they will not pay more for the eggs on the shelves as they believe their consumers won’t either. The industry met at the annual Pig & Poultry Fair in Stoneleigh last month and the British Free Range Egg Producers Association invited representatives from eight of the major retailers for a crisis summit. Not only did none of the retailers attend, only Tescos and Morrisons even bothered to reply and engage in conversation. Free range farmers are asking for 40 pence a dozen extra – just to be able to survive. Supermarkets argue that shoppers won’t want to pay 40p extra for their eggs, while market research from the egg industry disputes this. But retailers will soon have to pay more than 40 pence extra. Farms ordering new pullets since the war in Ukraine are already downscaling, and some are simply not bothering to place birds at all due to the costs.
The shopper will pay As fewer birds are placed now, fewer eggs will be in the market in the future. Bird flu last winter wiped out hundreds of thousands of hens in the UK, meaning that egg numbers are already low. Eventually, the number of eggs in production will be so low that supermarkets could be embroiled in bidding wars for anything to sell on their shelves – and will naturally pass the additional cost to the consumers. I can’t see the future, but as an employee in poultry, I can see the worrying signs of what’s to come for the egg industry. Once we have all packed it in … you have to ask yourself who is next?
Some foraging is an easy win, says expert Carl Mintern, but remember not to ignore the weeds when you look for the strawberries and honey
As well as tasting delicious, honeysuckle is hugely valuable to wildlife, supporting several rare UK species. Butterflies such as the white admiral (which is in decline), rely specifically on honeysuckle, and it is also prized by bumblebees. Pollinating moths are attracted to the sweet scent of honeysuckle at night, when it is strongest; and birds, including thrushes, warblers and bullfinches, eat the berries when they ripen in late summer and autumn. Dormice rely on honeysuckle for both shelter and food – they use honeysuckle bark to build nests and eat the sweet, nectar-rich flowers.
June has arrived, with its long warm evenings and the most hours of daylight (is it too ambitious to say sunshine?) that we will see all year. If you have been waiting for an opportunity to do some evening hedgerow harvesting, then wait no longer.
Eat the weed! Let’s start by talking about ground elder (aegopodium podagraria ) which gets its name because its leaves resemble those of the elder tree (sambucus nigra). The tender leaves have been used in antiquity and throughout the Middle Ages as a spring vegetable, similar to spinach. It has many names which can tell us something of its traditional medicinal uses against rheumatism and gout (gout weed, goutwort) in the form of a poultice. Around the end of the first century, monks started to include it in their herb gardens so its presence around ecclesiastical buildings gave rise to other names – bishopweed and bishopwort. First introduced to the UK as a pot-herb by the Romans, it was cultivated as a valuable food plant. It soon spread, and the modern day gardener now spends fruitless hours attempting to get rid of it, considering it an invasive weed. With a similar flavour to parsley, you can eat the young leaves and shoots (before the leaves have unfolded) raw, or add to salads. Alternatively, you can cook young shoots the same way as you might spinach, by boiling, steaming or frying in butter. They can also be added to many dishes as you would parsley. Widespread and shade-loving, look for this plant under hedgerows, in woodlands – and in gardens! Look for oval, serrated leaves growing in threes, close to the ground on a stalk which is grooved.
Ground elder is a member of the carrot/parsley family (Umbelliferae), which also includes poisonous species such as hemlock, fool’s parsley, Satan’s parsley, giant hogweed, etc. In the UK, there is a very easy distinguishing test. Ground elder is the only one with a stem that is triangular in cross section.
Sweet honeysuckle Next I want to talk about honeysuckle (lonicera periclymenum). This beautifully scented plant can be found in woods and hedgerows throughout the summer. Just look along the tops of hedgerows while travelling through country lanes and you’ll often see the distinctive honeysuckle flowers. And it is these delicious blooms the forager seeks! These fragrant wildflowers can be used to infuse a sweet, honey flavour into a variety of drinks and foods. Only a few flowers are required to inject the taste of sunshine into water to make a refreshing drink, but they can also be used to enhance ice creams, jams and jellies. Or, like me, just eat them fresh in salads and as garnishes on any meal. Remember it’s the flowers we are looking to collect – the berries of some varieties can be quite toxic.
It takes dedicated picking to collect many tiny wild strawberries, but it is definitely worth the effort. They have an extremely intense, sweet flavour with a hint of vanilla, and the fruit is best eaten fresh on its own, perhaps served with Greek yoghurt, cream or ice cream. Preserve into jams, jellies and syrups or use in muesli and granola mixes.
Tiny wild strawberries Finally I wanted to mention wild strawberries (fragaria vesca) which can be found in woodlands and on shady ancient banks under hedgerows towards the end of spring and carry on throughout the summer. They are much smaller than the cultivated ones we see in the shops, but that makes the discovery of the miniature fruit all the more rewarding as they are often hiding in plain sight, using only their diminutive size and unassuming habit as cover. They frequently grow in small patches, and sprout tall-stemmed, small white flowers before they fruit with tiny, dense berries which burst with an intense flavour – they make up in taste what they lack in size. The fruits tend to start ripening from June onwards. So all that begs the question – what are you waiting for?
by Carl Mintern – See details and availability of Carl’s local foraging courses on his website SelfSufficientHub.com
Last month in the BV the North Dorset MP offered to answer an open postbag – and here he has answered all the letters that were sent.
Q. The UK government signed an international agreement in the Northern Ireland protocol. Are you happy that it would then break it – what would that say about the trustworthiness of the Johnson government? Christie Burton, Monkton Deverill
A. You may be aware that I chair the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee so I know this policy area pretty well. The UK’s reputation for upholding the Rule of Law is really important. I have made this clear in the Commons and directly to Ministers. We cannot and should not act unilaterally but through the dispute mechanisms of the Agreements. To do otherwise would send a devasting message to the rest of the world and would undermine our Rule of Law message to Putin.
Q. Why has Mr Hoare not publicly stated his confidence, or lack of, in the PM, and has he sent a letter to the 1922 committee? Chris (via Twitter) Blandford St Mary
A. I think my views are pretty well known on these matters. I expect more and better from the Government.
Q. I would like to ask Simon about the NHS dental services in this part of Dorset. When I moved to Dorset I waited a year on an NHS Dentist waiting list to get an appointment. My dentist is now retiring and I have to go back onto the list. With only three of 99 NHS dentists in Dorset taking patients, this is not going to happen soon. We now have a dental crisis in Dorset – this is nothing to do with Covid. ALL dentists say that the money they receive from the NHS makes it impossible to provide dental services in a financially viable way. The NHS has got to pay dentists sensible money – they have to be paid more and this has to happen now. In the meantime perhaps Simon can tell me what I am going to do? Alyson Parkes, Verwood
A. NHS dentistry is in national crisis I am afraid and I hear many such stories as Alyson’s in my inbox. Put simply we do not have enough trained dentists in the UK, so this puts pressure on the system both public and private. The Government is aware of the situation and trying to encourage more people to become dentists. It’s not so much about the money per se but rather a shortage of trained people.
Only three out of 99 dental practices in Dorset are accepting new adult NHS patients, a health watchdog reports. Healthwatch Dorset said its research, undertaken between September and November 2021, also found that only 12 were accepting new child NHS patients.
Q. With second-homing becoming such a major issue affecting not only house prices but also the social backbone of our village communities, can Mr Hoare share what steps can, should and will be taken to ensure more truly affordable housing in the countless new developments planned for Dorset – and also that this housing is kept for people who live and work locally? Our adult children are leaving, not by choice, but because there is simply nowhere for them to feasibly live. Angela Park, Blandford Forum
A. Angela raises an important point. Housebuilders want to build and deliver their product to market. There is a real issue of viability evaluation on development proposals, which I am discussing with the Housing Minister. Changes in viability can affect the per cent of affordable housing that is delivered. The housing list already has a local connection element to the assessment criteria, but this can always be strengthened. The key ambition, I would suggest, is to keep our villages and towns vital and viable.
Q. What is Mr Hoare going to do about illegal fox hunting, with the local hunts (Portman and Blackmore & Sparkford Vale) [potentially] endangering the public on footpaths, roads and railway lines? Lucas North, Buckhorn Weston
A. It is imperative that local hunts stay clearly within the law. It is imperative that we all stay within the law. As I always say when this issue is raised with me, if there are concerns or evidence of lawbreaking, inform the Police, record the evidence if you can and submit it.
Q. A fascinating addendum to Tales from the Vale in the May issue of the BV was a link to a House of Commons debate from March 1942, in which Major Lloyd George states: “we can call upon our people for any sacrifice, provided they have the knowledge that it is equitable”. It is a shame then that a fact which the Liberal Party understood 80 years ago is still not grasped by our current Conservative party. How does Mr Hoare justify the seeming culture of ‘one rule for them’ rife in Westminster, exemplified by Partygate? How does he explain this to those who missed their loved ones’ last days during Covid, and who were denied the comfort of a simple hug upon their death bed from similarly- grieving family, only to now see images of our political leaders thoroughly enjoying themselves at parties? Annabel Cores, Gillingham
A. Let me start by saying that my family and I, like countless others, took the Covid rules seriously. We stayed home. We saved lives. We protected the NHS. I called for Dominic Cummings to be sacked following his Durham ‘eye test’. I was ignored and the rest, as they say, is history. I cannot and will not defend the indefensible. Politics has been damaged by this shameful episode, compounding the feeling of ‘do as I say not as I do’. It is appalling. I am furious. There is no justification and I won’t use weasel words to mitigate that which cannot be mitigated against.
Q. Why does the Tory elite seem so set against home working? Proposals to expand flexible working were removed from last week’s Queen’s speech. Boris Johnson has decided that those who work from home are aimlessly drifting back and forth to the fridge. Rees-Mogg decided the best way to bully civil servants back into the office was to leave passive aggressive notes on their desks. It’s clear that flexible working is here to stay (the ONS predicts that 57 per cent of workers will work at least partly from home by this autumn, while two-thirds already work flexibly in some way), and those who resist are refusing to acknowledge the benefits and bound to be left behind. Just last month in the BV a local recruitment firm acknowledged flexible working was a must on an employer’s benefits list if they wished to recruit the best candidates. In a rural area like ours, the ability to work from home opens up opportunities previously unseen, and can drive real change in our local communities – what sucks the life from our area is young people moving away for better jobs. But would more choose to stay if remote working for at least part of the week let them tap into big-city opportunities without having to up sticks? More home working means less commuting (with its enormous knock-on environmental benefits), putting money back into hard-pressed pockets; it breathes life back into struggling local high streets too, drawing new people in. Brian Holmes, Shaftesbury
A. I agree with Brian. My party professes to believe in individual choice and discretion. If a boss and employee can come to a good working solution allowing flexible working, then let them get on with it. We have not rolled out broadband across the UK just to allow superfast gaming! It is also good for the environment, saving miles of car journeys, as well as being good for family life and the work/life balance. It also means we can employ good people who don’t live in the area but are happy to visit once a week or whatever. Home working is a dividend of the IT revolution. Let’s exploit it.
Jacob Rees-Mogg hit the headlines when he left this note for civil servants who weren’t at their desks
Q. It seems that the Conservatives have abandoned their pledge to reform the planning system, and I wonder if Mr Hoare can explain how they propose to improve the chance for young people to buy their own home? The last major house- building programme took place many decades ago and we just don’t have enough homes for everyone. I voted Conservative because they promised to rectify this. S Richards, Fifehead Neville
A. Another planning Bill was announced in the Queen’s Speech. Let’s see where that takes us. I agree with the question that, if we are to have sustainable communities allowing inter-generational living, then we must have a wide range of home ‘products’ of wvarying types, price points and purchasing schemes to get our young on the housing ladder.
Q. How do we regain trust in our government when their lack of proximity to the truth undermines trust in all MPs and by doing so undermines democracy? Without truth there’s no trust and without trust, democracy flounders. Simon Hoare is a decent MP tainted by dishonourable colleagues. As a supplement, I would be interested to know which of the seven Nolan Principles Mr Hoare believes (and is able to confirm) Johnson adheres to: • selflessness • integrity • objectivity • accountability • openness • honesty • leadership Wendy Darvitt Chalke Valley
A. It is for any Government to earn trust, secure it and retain it. It is not automatic from the people, nor should it be. No party has a right to be in government. It is a sacred trust vested by the people and it can be taken away. I think the key task at hand is to veer away from easy populism and deal with grown-up politics in a grown-up way. The Nolan Principles are pivotal to our public life and tinkering with the Ministerial Code is inept politics. All I can say is that in the 19 years that I have been elected to office – 12 as a parish, district and county councillor and seven as an MP – I have tried to maintain the highest levels of public service and uphold the Nolan Principles. I think they are important as they are, in essence, the heart of our UK political system.
The household support package is a mere plaster on the UK’s cost of living says Labour’s Pat Osborne
Labour Pat Osborne
While Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a £37bn package of household support for rocketing energy bills gave the Tories some respite from Partygate this week, for many of those worst affected by the cost of living crisis, its impact will barely be felt at all. October’s grant will do very little to offer respite from hardship for many on pre-paid meters, let alone replace the meals and hot showers they’ve already missed. For others the grant will offset arrears that have accumulated, effectively rechannelling cash from a windfall tax on obscene super-profits straight back into the pockets of the oil barons and energy moguls. Sunak is right to point to the role of a range of global factors, such as the war in Ukraine, in pushing energy prices up. But the cost of living crisis isn’t just about energy – it’s wilfully disingenuous of a man with his economic background to sidestep the plethora of homegrown factors that are contributing to it.
No answers The package does nothing to address low pay, nothing to address the housing crisis and rising rents, nothing to insulate homes (which is the most cost- effective way of both keeping energy bills down and tackling the climate crisis), and nothing to reverse the damage of 12 years of Tory austerity on our decaying public services. Most importantly, it does nothing to tackle privatisation and the lust for excess profits that are the root of inflation. The Chancellor’s long-awaited answer to the cost of living crisis has been to put a sticking plaster on a gunshot wound. Like the rest of Johnson’s Government, he shows himself to be without either the imagination or integrity to act in the best interests of the country.
It’s tricky speaking truth to power. How can citizens who are increasingly concerned about the looming environmental crisis persuade government and industry decision-makers to take the necessary actions to avert disaster? The challenge was highlighted at a protest outside Dorset Council’s offices on 12th May, seeking to raise awareness of the council’s failure to take adequate action since it had declared a climate and ecological emergency three years ago ago at its first AGM as a unitary authority. None of the protesters were there for personal gain. They were acting on behalf of all of us. To their credit, some councillors engaged with them as they arrived for the meeting. Notably only a couple of younger Conservatives did so. The protest was entirely peaceful, albeit theatrical and lively when a drum band struck up. There were various speeches, but they were not heard inside the building. A Conservative councillor in the meeting was reported to have described the protesters as a ‘rabble’ and said she was ‘disgusted’ by them. Decades of increasingly desperate warnings by scientists have failed to generate the required urgent action. Public protests have so far simply drawn increasingly harsh repressive measures by the Government. There is some hope, with polls indicating that most people are now increasingly concerned about the environment, and growing numbers within industry are too. A safety consultant recently left her job with Shell, sending an open letter to its executives and 1,400 employees saying the firm was knowingly causing extreme harm to planet and people. Attitudes to the environmental crisis are too often split between the so-called political Left and Right. This is disastrous. Global warming will impact us all, regardless of our political affiliation. We have to find a way to work together for the common good. Our common future depends on it.
Cerne Abbas village has been opening some of its private gardens since 1974 and this year they are delighted to return to their traditional June weekend when the roses should be at their best.
The village event will be on the weekend of the 18th and 19th June, and it is expected that more than 25 gardens will be open, all within easy walking distance of the free car park (open from 1pm-8pm). All garden hosts make a special point of being available to talk about their gardens and their homes. The proceeds will be split equally between two local charities, Cerne Valley Youth Trust, and Dorchester Youth Theatre. A few gardens can accommodate wheelchairs, and most gardens welcome well-behaved dogs on leads – these will be identified on the maps which may be downloaded from the website one week in advance of the date (www.cerneabbasopengardens.org.uk). Teas will be available in St Mary’s church, and the renowned plant stall will be back in the village square. The villagers very much look forward to you visiting.
Cerne Abbas Open Gardenms weekend is Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th June. Gardens are open from 2pm to 6pm. Entry to all gardens £7, (accompanied children free).
The world needs grown-up democracies more than ever, says North Dorset Lib Dems’ Mike Chapman – but ours is currently looked at with raised eyebrows
Mike Chapman Lib Dems
First and foremost, 70 years of duty delivered faultlessly by our Queen is the most potent message this nation can send to the rest of the world. The strong, integrating and positive voice of the Commonwealth, built during her reign, is the most extraordinary achievement, too. A heartfelt thank you to Her Majesty from here in the Vale. But why does the quality of the political leadership of this nation matter so much to us in the South West? Why should the probity of those at the top, elected and unelected alike, be so important? With the US schizophrenic about guns and equally divided about so much else, with Russia being taken to hell in a handcart and China continuing to demonstrate the viciousness of its regime, the steady voice of the more grown-up democracies needs to be heard. Thus, Partygate, the continuing spat with the EU about Northern Ireland and the rest of the Brexit mess are doubly disastrous: our nation is not focused on the more important issues and the rest of the world is dealing with us with raised eyebrows and the long spoon of distrust.
Fool all the people The electorate is increasingly savvy. Those one-liners from the 1950s on, from “you have never had it so good” to “take back control” no longer resonate the way they used to. Lincoln had it right about the limitations of trying to fool the people. We know we have been taken for a ride. The heart of this for the Vale is the notion of levelling up, currently being served up by those we have seen at the centre of the Partygate revelries. The haughtiness, the we-know-best approach of those in the various coteries at the centre can be seen in the pictures, read in the texts and felt in the denials and excuses. It is this centralised and centralising monoculture that needs fixing. Otherwise, we are no better than those tyrannies we seek to defeat. Through elections near at hand and in the longer term, we will find the way. Early May saw the start of change.
Post 1: Hours: 20 – 8.30am -12.30pm Monday – Friday, Term time plus 1 week for inset (training) days.
Post2: 16 hours – 11.15am – 3.15pm Monday – Thursday, Term time plus 1 week for inset (training) days.
This is an exciting opportunity to join the strong team at Milborne Port Primary School and shape the future of our early years provision.
The school governors are looking to appoint two qualified (Level 2 or 3) Pre-School Practitioners at The Beeches Pre-School from September 2022.
We are looking for individuals who are enthusiastic about early learning, committed to providing the best start for children in the early years, and who have a desire to continually learn and develop.
Please contact the School Business Manager Claire Brown on: [email protected] for an application form and job description.
Closing date: Friday 24th June 2022
Interviews: Tuesday 28th June at 9.30am
All completed applications should be returned to the school email address above.
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 and medical clearance.
