You won’t step on this Jellyfish!

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4 June 2022

Well folks, we said farewell to astronomical darkness at the end of May, so it will soon be time to turn our attention to the planets in our solar system to explore through our telescopes.
Exciting update; I have now acquired some additional equipment including a planetary imaging camera so hopefully I might be able to start capturing some planetary, solar and close- up lunar surface images myself.
Watch this space (yes, that pun was unintentional)!
This month I was planning to share the M13 Globular Cluster, but unfortunately the image I tried to capture didn’t quite cut the mustard. So instead I’m going to share with you this rather impressive supernova
remnant captured a couple of months ago.
Last month I shared an image of a brand new supernova just starting to occur. However IC443, also known as the Jellyfish Nebula, shows what a supernova looks like after thousands of years, with this stunning blast
wave of gas and dust. IC443 is around 70 light years across and 5000 light years from Earth.
This image was captured using my bigger Sky-watcher Newtonian Reflector Telescope and Cooled Astro Camera.

The night sky, June 2022 – Rob’s guide for your stargazing this month:

Inevitably, this being the UK, those of us who got up super-early to try to watch the total lunar eclipse in May were thwarted. Mother Nature naturally decided to obscure our view with clouds and rain.
However in June we do at least have a chance to see the second supermoon of 2022, which is only one per
cent smaller than the biggest supermoon event coming up in July. A supermoon occurs when the moon’s orbit is closest (perigee) to Earth at the same time it is full.
On the 14th of June, the supermoon will hopefully reveal itself, so grab those binoculars or a telescope and
have an explore of the detailed lunar surface across the entire visible face of this full moon.

Summer solstice
The planets aren’t currently visible in the evening skies, but do wake up early to see a beautiful procession of the planets before dawn.
On the 21st June, the bright ‘star’ seen nearest to the Moon will be Jupiter. Also on the 21st of June at 10:13am we witness the Summer Solstice. The sun will reach its northerly-most point in the sky, marking the
Midsummer’s Day, with the longest period of daylight and shortest night. On the 22nd June, before dawn, look to the right of the Moon to see Jupiter, with Mars flanking from the left.
On the 23rd June, also before dawn, Mars will switch positions and be visible to the right of the Moon. On the 26th June, Venus alongside the crescent moon make a picture-perfect arrangement with the Pleiades
visible above if observing with binoculars. Mercury will also appear, completing the arrangement to the lower left. Wake up early again on the 27th June (it’s clearly a month of early starts) to reveal a very thin crescent Moon, with Venus visible to the right, and Mercury below.

Summer Solstice
The summer solstice, also known as estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth’s poles has its
maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For each hemisphere, the summer solstice is when the Sun reaches its highest position in the sky (for areas outside of the tropics) and is the day with the longest period of daylight. Within the Arctic circle (for the northern hemisphere) or Antarctic circle (for the southern hemisphere), there is continuous daylight around the summer solstice. Since prehistory, the summer solstice has been seen as a significant time of year in many cultures, and has been marked by festivals and rituals. Traditionally, in many temperate regions (especially Europe), the summer solstice is seen as the middle of summer and referred to as “midsummer”.

by Rob Nolan – Find RPN Photography on Facebook here

This month’s news from the team in Sturminster Newton

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Editorial team

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4 June 2022

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Sturminster Newton is ready to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years with four fantastic days of celebrations around the town

The Jubilee celebrations happen to coincide with Sturminster’s Big Weekend, which started on Thursday 2nd June with a Teddy Bear’s Picnic at the Mill, Evensong at the church culminating at 9.45pm with a Beacon lighting in the Railway Gardens. From today (Friday 3rd June) through to Sunday there is an Ale and Cider Festival taking place at The Exchange. Saturday in Sturminster is a big day for shoppers, with a Plant Sale being held by the Rotary Club in the Railway Gardens, the Anonymous Travelling Market is coming to town and there is also a Craft Fair being held in the Exchange.
On Saturday morning the monthly Car Enthusiasts meet-up is on, but thanks to its swiftly rising popularity it will now be held at the Rec. Over 100 vehicles of all eras from vintage to modern supercars came to the event last time. Anyone is welcome to wander round the vehicles and talk to the owners, who are only too happy to tell you about them.
On Sunday St Mary’s Church welcomes you to a Civic Service at 11am ,and then from 12pm – 3pm, the Rotary are holding the Jubilee Big Lunch in the Railway Gardens. The WI are also serving tea and cakes in the Bow room at the Exchange.

Open all weekend
The Emporium and The Boutique will be open throughout the Jubilee celebrations, so why not come in and look at what’s on offer – perfect for that regal outfit. Margaret Ann’s Art Gallery has many lovely, donated paintings and pictures which are displayed for sale in a dedicated space in the Emporium.

Local photographer Adie Ray made use of the empty NatWest building to create a still life shoot. Baxter is NOT for sale!
© Adie Ray

1855
Work continues to progress on the proposed 1855 shopping experience in the former Nat West building. If you are interested in a customer-faced selling space for your business let The Emporium staff know or email [email protected]

Library friends
And some good news – the Friends of the Library are finally back in business!
Sturminster Library Coffee Mornings are back on the first Thursday morning of each month (except 9th June), plus there will be children’s crafts and the Summer Reading Challenge is back. Volunteers are always welcome and much-needed to help with extra opening hours, or with the craft or other activities. Please contact [email protected] if you think you can help.

For full details of all the Jubilee activities on offer please see the poster opposite, and find out more on the Town Councils website and its Facebook page.

A greener goodbye

By

Editorial team

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4 June 2022

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In a remote barn in Dorset, with pigeons and podcasts for company, Sophia Campbell is quietly revolutionising funerals with her reusable coffins and environmentally-friendly farewells, Tracie Beardsley reports.

Sophia began weaving willow when she was nursing her dying mother. Her daughter’s birth coinciding with another family death caused a major re-think in her priorities, and Sophia set out to master willow coffin making.
Image: Courtenay Hitchcock

As we talk, Sophia is creating a beautiful willow coffin for a man whose photo is propped nearby – families send pictures of loved ones so she gets an idea of the character for whom she’s creating a coffin. ‘Cradle to grave’ has never felt more apt – the design is an adult Moses basket. Unlike the dread that fills me from a traditional coffin, I’m happy to run my hands over the smooth weave, finding it comforting to the touch. Rustic hemp ropes replace cold metallic handles. There’s understated cotton lining inside – no gaudy satin in sight! The weave is so tight you can’t see through the willow and these fragile-looking coffins will hold up to 23 stone. Sophia’s business was born out of bereavement. She’d begun weaving willow when she was
nursing her dying mother, who died when Sophia was 22. She continued weaving, finding ‘great bereavement therapy’ and began to sell baskets as a sideline.
Then life threw her joy and tragedy. Eight weeks after the birth of her first child, Ava, Sophia’s 26 year old
sister, Anna, was killed in action in Syria.
“I had this incredible experience of my life being thrown up into the air – becoming a mum and losing another family member. It took me a while to percolate my emotions, but I came away with a better awareness of the preciousness and the sheer transience of life, prompting me to reset my goals.”
With ten-month Ava in a sling on her back, Sophia mastered willow coffin making and launched Woven Farewell four years ago. Now her second child, one-year old son Idris, sits on her back as she works.

Unlike the dread that fills me from a traditional coffin, I’m happy to run my hands over the smooth weave, finding it comforting to the touch. Image: Courtenay Hitchcock

True sustainability
Sophia’s environmental ethos is impressive. This is no ‘greenwashing’ but a true commitment to a greener
footprint in an industry that is highly polluting. The willow is grown just down the road in Somerset, wood for the base slats comes from Bridport’s Eggardon Saw Mill and biodegradable plastic or organic cotton is used
for the lining. All coffins are biodegradable, releasing no harmful gases during cremation.
Sophia even donates five per cent of her business profits to the Woodland Trust. She says:
“I’m genuine in my sustainability policy. My philosophy is very much that life and death are simply part of the same coin.’’
Added to this is what Sophia describes as “a twin funnelling of a cost-of-living crisis and the climate crisis. Funerals are neither cheap nor ‘green’. “In America, rental coffins are a lot more mainstream. There’s a panel at the end of the coffin which folds down and the coffin liner slides in and out, so it’s very hygienic. The deceased doesn’t touch the sides of the rental coffin at all.
“We don’t have this culture in the UK. It requires a mind-shift on a taboo subject, as well as greater awareness of hygiene standards and how the aesthetics work – so people feel they can trust something new. “
Willow coffins are made with one continuous panel so can’t be reused … yet! Sophia is designing one with a collapsible willow foot panel that she aims to test with local funeral businesses – probably the first of its kind in the world. She’s also working on a willow canopy to go over a cardboard coffin so that it can be lifted off and reused many times.

In 2020, UK cremations generated more than 80,000 tomes of carbon emissions.Three million single-use plastic coffin handles are used every year. Image: Courtenay Hitchcock

A cathartic process
Sophia welcomes bereaved families to her workshop and they can even get involved in the making of the willow coffin. “Giving people the opportunity to see the coffin before the funeral and, if they wish, take part in making it, can be cathartic and an important part of the bereavement process. I’ve even had someone help me weave their own coffin.”

A willow coffin weaver needs to master a number of skills – it is tough, physical work. Each adult coffin can take up to 25 hours to weave Image: Courtenay Hitchcock

Sophia is already a national award-winner – silver in Best Businesswomen Awards 2021 – but she is modest about her achievements. “There is a definite mind-shift towards more sustainable, family-centric funerals. I feel like a very small peg in the loom of a bigger momentum. I’ve never had a livelihood like this – every order feels like an absolute honour.”

Shared by Sophia on social media was the story of one family gathering to help with weaving their father’s coffin. Sophia wrote:
“One of the most special parts of what I do is that I get to give folks the opportunity to not only help weave their loved one’s coffin, but to come together as family and friends over that process. We drank tea, ate cake, whacked willow, spoke and listened. All the simple things really.” The family commented: “It felt good to be part of this very intimate final process of saying goodbye to Dad.” Image: Courtenay Hitchcock

Quick-fire questions with Sophia:

A-list dinner party guests past or present?
My mum and sister.
Gandhi.
Books on your bedside?
A mixture of inspirational and factual – meditation, women’s sexual health and an autobiography of a cancer
survivor.
How do you relax?
I love gardening and flowers. I’m also one of those crazy cold water swimmers.

by Tracie Beardsley

Walks and card games in Durweston are helping one family settle in

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Editorial team

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4 June 2022

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Adrian and Marie Fisher in Durweston have welcomed three generations of one Ukrainian family. Adrian shares how they are settling into life in Dorset.

A spring walk near Tollard Royal with grandmother Liliia, Damir (aged 10) and his mother Iryna from Ukraine, and their English
host Marie Fisher.

This spring saw Ukrainian families begin to arrive in large numbers to the UK, fleeing from their war-torn country, and adding a new and unfolding chapter to the history of our county. A family of three – grandmother Liliia is 59, Iryna is 32 and her son Damir is 10 – have been living with us since April. Every day that passes sees new accomplishments, as they establish their lives here in North Dorset.
They are gaining increased mastery of English, making progress at Durweston School and weaving through the byzantine bureaucracy that was never designed with ease of use and swiftness of effective action in mind.
There is the shared support network of a dozen host families and their respective dozen Ukrainian families who manage get-togethers in the district every week. Somehow, nothing really matters compared with packing a bag at an hour’s notice with just three changes of clothes, leaving everything else in your life behind. In response to the Ukrainian crisis, so many people across our villages are stepping up to host
a family, simply because it’s the right thing to do.

An early visit to the White Horse pub in Stourpaine. Iryna and Liliia from Ukraine, with Becky Waker and Adrian Fisher, their hosts in Durweston.

Day-to-day practicalities
Some things have worked out well, such as playing cards together, and trips to Poole Quay, Weymouth and the Jurassic Coast. All are relaxing ways of simply getting to know each other.
Google Translate was brilliant at the start, though now we are encouraging them all to use it less and try to converse in spoken English more. English lessons are also helping so much.

Experiences of war
There are harsh realities in their experiences. Some mothers got out of Ukraine with their children on the day the invasion began, determined that their children should never see or experience atrocities which would scar them mentally for life. They were so wise. Weeks later, women now crossing into Romania are describing their single worst shared reality – the rape of mothers, daughters and even young sons.
They are so traumatised.

It’s no holiday
Our own Ukrainian family announced as soon as they arrived that they were not here for a holiday. They need to work, to earn money and send it back to Ukraine for Liliia’s husband and his brother. Her husband was a manager at a brick factory. The factory has been destroyed, the company ceased to exist, and his job,
income and prospects have vanished. Instead, his skills are put to use organising military logistics. Serving as volunteers, both men receive only €15 a month while the cost of food has doubled (that’s if it is available), and they are eating canned dog food to feed themselves.

Ukrainian families meet every Thursday morning at St Nick’s Cafe, which is held in St Nicholas’ Church, Durweston. Damir’s
10 year old Ukrainian classmates are spread out in five countries across Europe and they keep in touch by phone.

Every day that they manage to speak, they know their loved ones are still alive. Our Ukrainian family did not
wish to come to England under such circumstances. They are decent and hard-working people. Like them, we are living each day at a time. That’s all any of us can do.

A get-together on 20th May at The Hub, provided by the village of Stourpaine as a meeting place for Ukrainian families in the district. There have also been social occasions such as a barbecue at a host’s home in Stourpaine, where host families exchanged ideas and their Ukrainian families got to know each other.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
1. Support the Blandford Welcome Group (BWG), whose latest initiative is their “Fundraising with Art Event”. See the website: www.blandfordwelcome.group
2. Buy a raffle ticket in the Fundraising with Art Event, with a special exhibition in September when everyone gets to take a piece of art home. Contact Chrissie Anderson on [email protected], or Marie Fisher on [email protected]
3. As an artist, pledge to create a work of art for the Fundraising with Art Event. Then create it by 15 July 2022. Again, please contact Chrissie Anderson or Marie Fisher.
4. Offer to host a Ukrainian family. See the website: www.ukrainedorset.org
5. Order copies of “Blue and Yellow – Hope for Ukraine” colouring book; to sell through your organisation (minimum batch one carton), to enable free copies to be distributed to Ukrainian refugees in
Eastern Europe. Contact Adrian Fisher on [email protected]
6. Donations are always welcome, to provide more help for refugees.
7. Generosity in kind is also most effective – from a donated kid’s bike or unused computer to smart women’s clothes. Typically each refugee only arrived with one suitcase.

Please ask!

BV Magazine issue 21 May 22

By

Laura

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3 June 2022

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May issue out now! Grab a coffee and settle in for your favourite half hour of the month… https://bit.ly/TheBV

(that gorgeous front cover of ‘Bruiser the hare’ by Graham P Bannister Wildlife Photography)

Win dinner, bed and breakfast for two at The Castleman Hotel

By

Laura

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1 June 2022

17

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

The Castleman is a stunning original, sitting at the heart of a warm and visionary community that is reconnecting food, land and culture. This is no ordinary rural getaway.

Win dinner, bed and breakfast for two at The Castleman Hotel

To enter, simply scroll to the bottom

Dining and staying at The Castleman Hotel is like coming home to the warmth of family.

We offer guests homegrown and seasonal local produce, often picked from the walled garden and hedgerows, crafted into interesting dishes by talented chefs. As locally sourced as possible, the provenance of our meat, game and fish is a top priority, securing the tastiest cuts with sustainability in mind. Heritage grains and vegetables are often the stars of the show.

Our menu is often described as ‘fine dining enough to be a special meal, but not fussy and pretentious’. Simple, delicious and consistent, you will currently find dishes such as Hake ‘Kyiv’ with Sorrel Butter, Clarke’s Brisket Croquettes with Celeriac Remoulade and Vanilla Crème Brulée topped with Poached Rhubarb on the menu. Food at The Castleman is paired with a small, but well-chosen cocktail menu and an interesting and diverse wine list.

This big-hearted community is passionate about regenerating our English countryside. You may decide to head off round the estate, amble through the adjacent meadows and old woodlands up to ancient long barrows or viewpoints overlooking the Cranborne Chase AONB.

If you prefer to take it easy, find a seat in the dappled light beneath ancient trees in our spacious garden or stroll along its pear walk towards the delightful thatched village and pop into the famously quirky Chettle Village Store for a pie. There is also a charming play park for any smaller guests.

If there’s a chill in the air, you will find a plethora of comfy sofas and armchairs at The Castleman, surrounded by piles of interesting books to read. Or simply head upstairs to enjoy your beautifully curated en-suite room with roll top bath, glorious views over the garden and surrounding fields, comfy mattress and fluffy white towels.

Curious? You are warmly invited to come and enjoy the generous hospitality of this tiny community and find out more about its extraordinary history and plans for the future.

To be in with a chance to win a one night stay at The Castleman Hotel – including dinner, bed and breakfast for two – just answer the first three questions in the widget box below. There are more chances to win by completing the other entry options if you so wish – they’re entirely up to you! The closing date for this competition is 24th June 2022 and only entries received on or before that date can be included. The prize will go to the first randomly chosen entry. Good luck!
(competition opens when the May issue of the magazine publishes on the 3rd June)

Various Job Opportunities at Olives Et Al

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Editorial team

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31 May 2022

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Various roles available from the delicatessen to the production team at Olives Et Al, see below for full details.

Interested, then drop an email to [email protected] or call Giles on 01258 474300 for a chat.

Young, Catherine “ Kate”

By

Editorial team

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31 May 2022

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Passed away peacefully on 19^th May at the Ashwood Care Centre, Warminster aged 95 years

She’ll be sadly missed by all her family & friends.

The funeral service is at Yeovil Crematorium 2pm on Thursday 16th June followed by an informal gathering to celebrate Catherine’s life at her neighbours house “St. Andrews”, Hillclose, Wincanton BA9 9NF.

All are welcome Just wear bright clothes.

Family flowers only, online donations to World wildlife fund. catherine Young (wwf.org.uk)

Full Time Oil Tank Installer | Ford Fuels

By

Editorial team

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31 May 2022

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Full Time Oil Tank Installer

Location: Stalbridge – DT10 2RU

Monday – Friday (40 hours per week) plus overtime

Salary between £22,000 – £24,500 depending on experience and qualifications

An opportunity has arisen for a full-time Oil Tank Installer.

We are looking for an energetic, hard-working and friendly person with a full clean driving licence.

Ideally you will be an experienced groundworker and an OFTEC qualification would be an advantage but not essential.

The role will be a real mix between ground working and technical so it is ideal for someone who enjoys a physical job but is looking to progress and develop new knowledge and skills. You will be travelling to various sites around a 50-mile radius.

What we can offer you

28 days holiday (including bank holidays
Full training
Company pension
Cycle to work scheme
Employee assistance programme
Eyecare scheme
Retail discounts
Free onsite parking

For more information or to apply please contact us at [email protected].

Sturminster Newton is ready to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years with four fantastic days of celebrations around the town

In a remote barn in Dorset, with pigeons and podcasts for company, Sophia Campbell is quietly revolutionising funerals with her reusable coffins and environmentally-friendly farewells, Tracie Beardsley reports.

Adrian and Marie Fisher in Durweston have welcomed three generations of one Ukrainian family. Adrian shares how they are settling into life in Dorset.

*THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED*

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED