The Friends of Blandford Hospital are absolutely delighted that their incredibly talented shop volunteer, Joan Capron has agreed to stage another of her Affordable Art Exhibitions this summer in their Blandford Charity Shop. Joan’s charity exhibitions are always held on the basis of 100% donation and this will be her 4th exhibition for the Friends but follows many previous exhibitions for other charities.
By Joan Capron
It has been a difficult year in which to prepare for an exhibition, particularly so for an artist instructed to Shield. Joan found herself shut away from many sources of inspiration and variety of art materials.
By Joan Capron
However, a very determined lady rose to the challenge and experimented by painting on anything that came to hand ……including slate, silk, stones, canvas, textured wallpaper and even cotton sheeting! She used pastels, inks, acrylic paints and powder, oils, pencil and collage and had great fun in doing so! To add to the variety of original art, other charity volunteers have offered to donate some examples of their work.
By Joan Capron
So lockdown not only affected the subject matter and style but also the costings. The exhibition has always been “affordable”, bringing art within everyone’s reach and of course prices will remain low. However, this year Joan has made it even more affordable by offering, alongside framed original paintings, many mounted and signed prints at a fraction of the cost of the original. There will also be a large range of greetings cards produced by Joan.
The exhibition will run from Friday 30th July to Saturday 7th August From 10am -4pm In the Hospital charity shop in Barnack Walk.
We are looking for a new trustee to chair the people subcommittee and to join our Board which is responsible for the overall direction, vision and oversight of Citizens Advice Central Dorset.
● Voluntary Position
● Covering the Dorchester, Gillingham, Sherborne and Weymouth and Portland Area
● Time requirement of 3 to 4 hours per month plus additional Sub Committee,Board and Executive Meetings
● Qualities: Enthusiasm, commitment to the aims of Citizens Advice and an interestin people, governance, social justice, training, policies and practises associatedwith staff, volunteers and trustees
● Closing Date: Tuesday 31st August 2021
Citizens Advice Central Dorset provides free and confidential independent advice services to people who live and work in the Dorchester, North Dorset, Sherborne and Weymouth and Portland communities. We are governed and managed locally but with the benefit of being part of the influential national organisation, Citizens Advice. We provide advice on for example Benefits, Employment, Debt, Housing and Consumer issues and have supporting projects such as Macmillan Benefits, NHS GP Surgeries, Energy Project, Multiple Sclerosis, and Mental Health.
The purpose of the subcommittee is to provide the appropriate support and help to the board of trustees, volunteers, paid staff, and others who may from time-to-time undertake work such as work experience, so that Citizens Advice is as welcoming, inclusive and effective as possible.The subcommittee oversees governance with the aim of ensuring all trustees, paid and volunteer staff and others are appropriately trained for their roles and have equal and fair opportunities for continuing education, support and, where appropriate, career and/or personal progression.
Your experience, enthusiasm and skills will make a significant contribution to the Board and give valuable support to the Chair of the Board and Chief Officer. This is a voluntary, unpaid appointment, although reasonable travel expenses will be paid. The role provides you with a great deal of experience and satisfaction, the opportunity to develop your skills and utilise your expertise and knowledge from which you will gain further experience and much satisfaction.
More details about us can be viewed on our website www.centraldorsetca.org.uk If you would like to discuss the trustee role further please contact Peter Green – [email protected]
We are looking for a motivated and reliable individual to assist during our busy autumn calving block, rearing calves from mid August until November in newly built facilities.
This position is based in Mappowder, North Dorset.
Experience in calf rearing is preferred but not essential.
The job role will be based on 6 hours per day, 5 days a week, although we can be flexible with both days and hours worked, with more or less hours available if needed.
Rates of pay will be above average and dependent on experience.
If you are interested in this role or would like to find out more, please email [email protected].
Much loved husband of Janet, father of Clara, John and Rory.
Thanksgiving service at St Michael’s Church, North Cadbury on Thursday 5th August at 2pm.
No flowers please but donations if desired to Cancer Research, St Margaret’s Hospice or RABI. C/O Harold F. Miles, South Cadbury, BA227ES, 01963 440367.
Last week, North Dorset MP Simon Hoare was named among the new Awkward Squad by the Spectator – a reference not only to the fact he has defied the Tory whip and voted against the move to cut the UK’s Foreign Aid budget down to 0.5 per cent of GDP, but also a reference to the ‘awkward squad’ of socialist trade unionists and rebel MPs in the early 2000s who were a thorn in the side of Blair’s Labour government.
Twenty-four Conservatives voted against the government including former Prime Minister Theresa May; former International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell; defense committee chairman Tobias Ellwood; ex-Cabinet minister Jeremy Hunt; and Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the foreign affairs committee.
Having previously discussed with Simon his policy of voting with his conscience, and his occasional need to defy the party line where he felt strongly, I wanted to know why he had decided at a time of enormous national debt that the £4bn reduction in aid was important enough to rebel on.
“Well, firstly I fail to see how voting to maintain the manifesto upon which we were elected makes me ‘awkward’!” said Simon
“for me, this is about many things. Firstly, this is not ‘charity’, it is helping fellow men and women. And for those quoting ‘charity begins at home’ at me, yes, of course we have terrible issues with poverty here in the UK too. But we also have a sophisticated raft of services to help. In other countries this aid is quite literally the difference between survival and death. And whilst there’s never a right time to do it, now is utterly the wrong time.
Simon Hoare on Foreign Aid
“The UK has a long and proud history of charitable greatness – look at Live Aid, Children in Need, any natural disaster… We’re a nation which has giving in its DNA. And I do not like the little tables of foreign aid rankings – just because X country does less, or X country does more should bear no relevance to our own actions. There’s no prize, there’s no meaning to the feelgood rankings – we simply need to do the right thing for the right thing’s sake.
“Globally, the UK are a leader in humanitarian and peacekeeping aid: our example is followed, and via soft diplomacy places like Japan and the Middle East become involved and engaged. At a time when we are banging the drum for Global Britain, this move feels utterly self-defeating politically.”
Meeting the 0.7% figure was made law in 2015, and it is an internationally recognised target; charities such as Oxfam and ActionAid have warned that projects are being called off as a result of the cuts.
The Conservative’s decision to lock the foreign aid budget to 0.7% of GDPR was seen by many as a forward-thinking, progressive move, welcomed across the political spectrum as the right thing to do. Simon is dismayed at the back-pedalling
“It’s easy to be generous when times are good, but far more meaningful to give during tough times. We are the only member of the G7 reducing our commitment: and it’s a nonsense that defies the maths. We haven’t committed a specific amount, we’ve committed a percentage of GDP. Which literally means we give less during lean years – it’s already built in to the equation.
“To declare we cannot afford this, or to increase nurses pay, and yet we can spend over £200 million on a new Royal Yacht that even the Royal Family don’t want, is simply wrong.
“The decision is simply easy politics – and not only is it the wrong thing morally, on a political level I feel it will come back and bite us on the arse.”
RiversMeet is a community owned leisure centre in the heart of North Dorset, whose aim is to help meet the needs of Gillingham and the wider area.
To do this we need to ensure our business is sustainable both financially and environmentally to ensure the future of the site for future generations. Wasting energy and natural resources has both a financial and environmental cost. We are now starting to realise the impact and drain on natural resources. Demand for natural resources and land for expansion is stripping the earth and increasing harmful pollutants in the atmosphere.
There is also huge impact on nature, with the destruction of habitats, illegal animal trade, and the general effects of pollution.As a business, every positive change we make, from turning off a light or implementing new energy saving technologies, helps reduce our energy consumption. As RiversMeet is a not-for-profit company, we can also invest money saved on energy back into new projects.
Working with a grant from Low Carbon Dorset, RiversMeet has implemented energy saving technologies that will save an estimated 195 tonnes of CO2 and £48,000 per year. Many of these changes can also be made in commercial and domestic environments – you can help improve the efficiency of your home/workplace too.
Our largest project is the patented air source heat pumps, supplied and installed by ESG. Heat Pumps work by using the ambient temperature in the air and compressing it to higher temperatures using a small amount of electricity. They heat the building and water around the building, but more importantly heating the air and water for the swimming pool, which costs approximately £96,000 per year and accounts for the majority of our energy expenditure.
ESG claim their heat pumps produce 82% less carbon than gas boiler heating. Other smaller changes we have made include changing many of our lights to LED fittings that use less than 50% of the previous electricity. Installing aerated showerheads from EcoCamel use less than 50% of the water that a typical showerhead uses.
From a business sense all of these changes mean cost-savings, and for Roversmeet more funds to re-invest into the business. There’s no solid reason why every single business wouldn’t be looking at their own energy consumption to see what financial savings can be made, and what environmental imapct can be reduced.
Low Carbon Dorset offer FREE technical support and grant funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.Funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Low Carbon Dorset helps businesses, community, and public sector organisations in Dorset
Tracy Chevalier FRSL is an author of 10 novels, perhaps best known for the international bestseller Girl with a Pearl Earring, a timeless modern classic that became an international bestseller with over five million copies soldaround the world.
Tracy Chevalier
Tracy is a Trustee of the Dorset Museum and the British Library, an Ambassador for the Woodland Trust, and a Patron of the Dorchester Literary Festival and the Lyme Regis Museum. Tracy and her husband divide their time between London and the Piddle Valley.
The Random 19
1. What’s your relationship with the Blackmore Vale (the area, not us!)?
We’ve had a cottage in the Piddle Valley since 2004. Since July 2020 we’ve lived here full time. It’s a better place to be in a pandemic.
2. What was the last song you sang out loud in your car?
American Pie by Don McLean; I was coming back from the supermarket in Sherborne.
3. Last movie you watched? Would you recommend it?
My Octopus Teacher, a documentary about a diver’s relationship with an octopus he sees every day. It’s very moving.
4. It’s Friday night – you have the house to yourself, and no work is allowed. What are you going to do?
A big G&T, tortilla chips and some trash telly!
5. If you were sent to an island for a year and could only bring three things, what would you bring (the island is already equipped with a magical power source, a phone and a laptop)?
A guitar – so that I can learn how to play.• A Good Pillow. Never unrestimate the power of a good pillow.• Moby Dick. Because it’s long, and I haven’t read it.
6. Who’s your celebrity crush?
Jodie Foster.
7. What would you like to tell 15yr old you?
You are going to be amazed’
8. What book did you read last year that stayed with you?
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim, about four women who go on holiday together in Italy without knowing one another, and find themselves. It was during lockdown and I was missing travel!
9. What’s your secret superpower?
I find four-leaf clovers easily.
10. What shop can you not pass without going in?
Pretty much any jewellery shop…
11. Favourite quote? Movie, book or inspirational – we won’t judge.
‘Less is more’
12. Write the review for the last thing you cooked (no cheating – the actual last thing!).
I made pasta with capers, avocado, basil and lemon zest. It is a wonderful, quick, no-fail recipe by Anna Jones. My guests loved it. I urge you to look it up – my tip is ‘use more avocado’ (or simply click here. You’re welcome – Ed)
13. A penguin just walked in the door wearing a panama hat. Why is he here?
He is looking for Paddington Bear.
14. Your top three most-visited favourite websites (excluding social media!)?
• BBC News
• Wolf & Badger (clothing)
• National Gallery.
15. Chip Shop Chips or Homebaked Cake?
Cake every time.
16. Favourite crisp flavour?
Just salt. Flavours are disgusting (That’s the American coming out in me).
17. The best biscuit for dunking?
Dunking is disgusting, says the American.
18. What in life is frankly a mystery to you?
That atoms are so small and the universe is so big. The scale always amazes and frightens me.
19. You have the power to pass one law tomorrow, uncontested. What would you do?
Everyone has to read a book a month set in a country that isn’t theirs, about people who are nothing like them
