Ringwood & Fordingbridge Lions Club helping to package boxes at the NFFU warehouse in 2023
On Saturday 12th October, members of Ringwood & Fordingbridge Lions Club will be travelling to the New Forest For Ukraine (NFFU) Warehouse in Lymington to help package boxes of aid destined for war torn Ukraine. As winter fast approaches, families will be in need of warm clothing, hot water bottles, footwear, clean blankets, duvets and pillows, sleeping bags, portable gas cookers, toiletries, food, medical equipment and supplies. There is a comprehensive list that can be found on the NFFU website. If you are free on the morning of Saturday 12th October and would like to help out, or alternatively if you would like to donate items to send to Ukraine, then please contact Ringwood & Fordingbridge Lions Club via their website or by telephone on 0345 833 5819. Ringwood & Fordingbridge Lions Club President Alastair Ward says: ‘We are humbled at the amazing work of NFFU in maintaining a steady stream of humanitarian aid to those struggling in Ukraine. Our members are proud to help them prepare boxes of the much- needed aid for transit.’ NFFU accept a wide variety of donations, which will be shipped to aid centres and hospitals in Ukraine and Poland for families in need. There are collection points assembled all over the New Forest for anyone who would like to donate items needed for aid centres and hospitals in Ukraine. Anyone wishing to know more about either organisation or how they can help or volunteer can find out more at their respective websites: newforestforukraine.co.uk randflions.org.uk
Tracie Beardsley catches up with C&O’s Matthew Holland – in between him selling tractors, fighting fires, making honey and selling cider!
Matthew Holland has worked at Blandford’s C&O Tractors since 1978, when it was still Stanley Pond Ltd. All Images: Courtenay Hitchcock
When the excited 16-year-old Matthew Holland walked through the workshop doors of Stanley Pond Ltd in Blandford, it was his first step in making his childhood dream of becoming an agricultural engineer come true. Fast forward 46 years and Matthew is sales manager at the renamed C&O Tractors, the same family-run business dating back to 1753*, and now Massey Ferguson specialists. It’s one of the largest agricultural machinery suppliers in the south, with six depots, a hire fleet, parts and after-sales services.In his deep, delicious Dorset lilt, Matthew tells me: ‘My siblings went to university – I went to the university of Stanley Pond Ltd! But it’s given me 46 years of consecutive employment.’He can even remember the exact date he started: ‘July 3rd, 1978. I turned up on the moped I’d bought with money from summer bale stacking.’His hands-on apprenticeship was four intensive years. ‘I was essentially married to the senior engineer Ronnie all that time. I was a teenager: he was hard on me, but I needed it. Back then the workshop was buzzing. We had a blacksmith and a real character of a tinsmith – Burt Gale. Even my listening to Radio One didn’t drown out the backing track of Burt tapping out the tin.’
Matthew has been a part time fireman for 39 years, and was recently awarded the King’s Fire Service Medal
No more hammers A rural childhood in Tarrant Keyneston ignited Matthew’s love for tinkering about with farm machinery. He was always either under the bonnet of a tractor or behind the wheel. ‘I loved going with my dad, a farm manager, to fix machinery,’ he says. ‘I was mesmerised by the forge and all the tools.’ Matthew looks back on the changes in his industry. ‘It’s changed beyond all recognition. We used to actually repair things – hammering, welding, brazing … that’s a style of welding with a bronze rod that’s not done anymore. For today’s agricultural engineers it’s far more complicated. ‘Machinery’s become so complex – it’s all digital, satellite, state-of-the-art technology. We need product specialists just to keep us on track … especially me, computers are not my forte!’ Given the opportunity, Matthew will still roll up his sleeves and get his hands dirty, though: ‘I delivered a machine to my old form master recently and got my overalls on to get it ready for him. And I still tinker about in my spare time. I’ve got about eight acres, and I keep some vintage Ford tractors that I love to play around with.’
Matthew Holland has recently been awarded received the King’s Fire Service Medal: ‘I was going to bring it in to show you but thought it would be a bit ostentatious.’
A King’s Medal There’s not much of that spare time, however! A fire engine hurtles past the C&O office and Matthew wonders if it’s “one of his” – he’s been a part-time firefighter for Blandford station for the last 39 years. He modestly reveals he’s just received the Kings Coronation medal: ‘I was going to bring it in to show you but thought it would be a bit ostentatious.’ I ask him about this challenging – and brave – commitment taking up his spare time. ‘Who doesn’t want to drive a fire engine?’ he laughs. ‘I’m in the rare position that C&O will let me “turn out” to a shout. My former boss Mr Pond let me do it, and so does my present boss, Andrew Coles, for which I am very grateful.’ Many of the “shouts” take him to his C&O customers. The heatwave summer of 2022 saw the rural crew regularly battling dramatic field fires. ‘The adrenalin rush is incredible. It’s physically demanding, which I enjoy. I can also bring along my practical and engineering skills. And it’s very humbling. No matter how bad a day you’ve had, there’s someone else who’s had a much worse one! When things get demanding in the office, my leveller is my sense of humour. It helps to remind myself “no one’s died”.’ As if work and firefighting were not enough to squeeze into normal life, Matthew also keeps bees and produces quality craft cider and apple juice, aptly named Cider By Rosie. ‘I’m learning from an octogenarian cider maker. She’s the sorcerer and I’m the apprentice…again!’ There’s an agricultural saying about the secret to happiness: “tractors, fields and freedom”. Matthew certainly seems to have found all three. ‘Work is a joy,’ he says. ‘It’s a good habit. I enjoy everything I do, and it’s all been made possible by the support of my wife Charmian and my two children, Daniel and Michaela – and more recently my two fantastic granddaughters. ‘I’ve had opportunities to move on over the years. Is it loyalty or lack of ambition that I haven’t? ‘For me, it’s loyalty, a value instilled in me. The Pond family were good to me when I was a boy. As a man, the Coles family have been brilliant. I’ve had only two bosses in 46 years, and the chance to travel to Brazil, Zambia, Canada and Arizona for work. It’s a job that takes me across the stunning Blackmore Vale most days, and I go home to my own “little piece of England” at the end of my day. Not bad for a country bumpkin!’
C&O Tractors are Massey Ferguson specialists, and one of the largest agricultural machinery suppliers in the south
A-list dinner party guest? ‘Steve Fletcher, former centre forward for AFC Bournemouth when the club was going through a hard time. He was so loyal. And Eddie Howe, a top man who should have been knighted for Bournemouth FC’s fairytale transformation. Charmian, and also my first boss Timothy Pond, who I’m ever grateful to.’
Book by your bedside? ‘No books. Farmer’s Weekly Magazine. I go to bed dreaming of tractors!’
C&O Tractors, Construction and Garden Machinery candotractors.com *C&O Tractors was founded in 2000 – Stanley Pond Ltd, now owned by C&O, was founded in 1753.
Supporters hope it isn’t the end for the beloved Stalbridge arts centre and its legacy as a creative hub for the area – Rachael Rowe reports
People in Stalbridge and across North Dorset have a soft spot for Guggleton Arts Farm – known locally as the Gugg – which has been a centre of creativity for more than 25 years. So when it was recently announced that the Gugg’s farm buildings and premises were being sold, residents quickly took to social media to share their thoughts on its future, while acknowledging the reasons for its sale. ‘This place has brought a little bit of me out of myself this year, and I can’t thank them enough,’ said one message. Another called it ‘the lungs of Stalbridge,’ while others expressed that ‘it changed my life’ and described it as ‘such a special place,’ revealing the deep affection for The Gugg. Isabel de Pelet set up Guggleton Arts Farm in 1995, converting the buildings in Station Road, Stalbridge, into galleries and artists’ workshops. She is well-known for promoting local artists and championing the creative arts in Dorset. Many young people and artists have benefitted from her inspirational leadership at The Gugg and gone on to develop careers in the creative arts world. She received the Order of the British Empire Medal in 2015 in the New Year’s Honours list, for her services to artists in Dorset. Following her retirement, the premises are being sold. Deanne Tremlett manages The Gugg today and is currently considering options for the future of the arts centre.
Isabel de Pelet, right, presenting an award at The Gugg
Interest Company (CIC) in 2020: its guiding principle is to offer opportunities to everyone to explore their own creativity within its spaces. ‘I got involved because I needed a studio,’ Deanne says. ‘I attended the Slade School and then Wimbledon as a postgraduate. I fetched up in Stalbridge one day to see Isabel, as I remembered she had studios. She said: ‘Do you want the whole place eventually?’ We both saw eye to eye on artistic things and how the Gugg promotes well-being and a sense of community. ‘Isabel said to me: “Will you run the Gugg for me in exchange for a studio?” – I accepted, set up a CIC and a team of volunteers. ‘What’s special about the Gugg is that it’s a very non-judgemental place. We also look to collaborate with others, and we’re very experimental. We look at what can be done rather than try to fit everything into a box.’
The Gugg’s principal gallery was once a carthorse stable
Young artist programme If you have never visited the Gugg, or looked at its website, you might be surprised at the astonishing variety of events and exhibitions. There are ceramics workshops, open mic sessions, live music, children’s ‘Guggleheads’ art activities, mixed media art classes, coffee knit and natter, exhibitions, comedy nights, Christmas wreath workshops … and much more. There is literally something for everyone – even if that’s just a place to stop for a cup of coffee and a chat. Fanny Charles, who was the editor of the original Stalbridge-based Blackmore Vale Magazine for 23 years, remembers the early days of Guggleton Farm (as it was then): ‘I knew Isabel because of our mutual interest in visual arts. After she completed her degree in environmental arts at the University of the West of England, she talked to me about her plans for the farm, which she owned. At the time it was fairly run-down, with slightly dilapidated stone buildings and an old Dutch barn. But it had character – and real promise as an unusual venue. ‘It took a lot of work to get the yard and the buildings ready, but it was so exciting when Isabel was able to start organising exhibitions. She had an amazing eye for talent, and one of the most consistently exciting parts of her programme was the annual young artists show, in late autumn. She showed work by emerging artists and people who were barely out of art school – some of them have gone on to great success.’
The Young Artist exhibition is now in its 19th year, renamed the Isabel de Pelet Young Artist of the Year Competition.
Open mic night in the Dutch barn
‘The old stone building in the centre of the yard was the gallery from the start, but the project took a big step forward when Isabel was able to have the new floor put in to create a second space. ‘As well as Guggleton, Isabel was a leading figure in the visual arts scene in the region. She used to organise the hanging for the exhibition at the Royal Bath & West Show. One year, she asked me to help her and that was a real eye-opener. Hanging an exhibition is not an easy job. Hanging an exhibition with hundreds of pictures, from spectacular paintings by leading regional artists to little watercolours and family portraits, in a way that allows them all to look their best – that’s a real art. And Isabel was brilliant at it. I hope her legacy can continue and that the current team at the Gugg can find a way to keep going.’
Carers’ Day at the Gugg: carers are welcome to come and try out a craft or just watch others, sit, chat, make new friends, have a cuppa and a cake!
Deanne has lots of happy memories of the Gugg but there’s one that sticks out for her: ‘It was just after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We thought, what can we do? So we asked our artists to donate one item of art for an auction. Gordon Brockman from the Antiques Roadshow came and we raised £5,000 for the Disaster Emergency Committee. It was a fantastic night.’ While dealing with the sale of the premises, the team at the Gugg are very supportive of Isabel and her family. ‘We completely understand the need for Isabel’s family to sell the premises for her sake. Isabel has given so much to the community and now she needs the gift back.’
Dorset Chamber CEO Ian Girling talks about the need for celebrating success, and looks ahead to navigating uncertainty and fostering growth
I’d like to begin by saying a huge thank you to everyone that is participating in the 2024 Dorset Business Festival. With several events across Dorset, our aim is to unite Dorset businesses and celebrate the importance of business as a force for good – we kicked off festival fortnight with an insightful networking breakfast on Sandbanks, and this week have had a brilliant two day Business Expo. Now we look forward to next week’s Business as a Force for Good Conference (still some tickets available). I’d also like to offer our congratulations to all the finalists in the Dorset Business Awards, and I look forward to seeing them all at the sold out Gala Dinner on the 10th October. Business makes a hugely positive impact to society on so many levels and we should always remember and celebrate this.
Change may be coming 30th October will see the delivery of the Autumn Budget by Chancellor Rachel Reeves – we will of course be gauging the reaction of Dorset business to the budget. A couple of weeks ago, we ran a LinkedIn poll to see how business people were feeling about the impending budget, given the very gloomy messages coming from Government in the run up to it. Unsurprisingly, of the people that responded to the poll, 48 per cent said they were very concerned about the forthcoming budget, 42 per cent are somewhat concerned and only 10 per cent not concerned at all. It will be interesting to compare this to the days after the budget is delivered. Businesses have been through an incredibly challenging few years with Covid, Ukraine and the cost of living crisis with its high inflation and a significant increase in interest rates. Businesses need a period of stability, and an economic environment that supports business, encouraging growth, employment and investment. We will continue to push on this locally as well as at a national level through the British Chambers of Commerce. We’d welcome the views of Dorset business around the economic plans from the new Labour Government, as well as the new employment legislation which is significant for all businesses employing people. If there is anything we can help you with, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Barry Cuff takes a look back at his diary of what happened on the plot last month
‘The Early Nantes carrots are still cropping, we pull them as required’. All images: Barry Cuff
I have been out of action this month due to an injured leg. Val, my wife, stepped in for me. She carried out any essential work, such as the last seed sowings of the year and some weeding of later-planted crops. As well as harvesting and collecting the fallen nuts from our hazel bushes, she has needed to water thirsty vegetables during the middle of the month. Well over five inches of rain fell during the period, giving a flush of weed seedlings on any ground cleared of crops. Not a major problem at this time of year, as long as they do not flower and produce seeds – in fact they provide good green cover. Later in October, these areas will be sown with green manure for overwintering. The Kings Seeds catalogue has arrived – allotment association members get 40% discount!
Beetroot – Two varieties, Moulin Rouge and Cylindra, were pulled as required for salads and also for pickling. Broccoli – Plants looking well for harvesting from January to March. Brussels Sprouts – Good strong growth with buttons starting to show. We’ll harvest these from December onwards. Calabrese – (Ironman) Cutting nice heads from the later plants, and good side shoots from the earlier ones. Cabbage – The Red Drumhead are standing well, and we have cut heads as required: mainly for salads and stir fries. Cauliflower – We’re cutting average heads of the variety Cheesy. Cendis, a later variety, will be ready in November. Carrot – (Early Nantes) Still pulling as required Celeriac – Looking well due to rain and a regular liquid seaweed feed. Celery – (Golden Self Blanching) Lifting as required now. Good plants with some superficial woodlice damage. Chicory – (Witloof) looking well for lifting and blanching in November.
The pollinators enjoy the late-flowering echinops
Chinese Cabbage – Cut our first head on the 24th September Courgette – They never stop! Dwarf French bean – Both varieties Nautica and Safari keep on producing a mass of pods. Flowers (for the bees and for cutting) – Some late flowering echinops and also some orange and yellow-flowered tithonia. Hazel bushes – Another good harvest from the hazel. Leek – Looking well now Val has weeded them! Lettuce – (Little Gem) Currently cutting plants put out in August, and more were planted at the beginning of the month. Parsnip – (Palace) We dug our first root on 24th A little early, but just for a taster. Radicchio – The Rossa Di Treviso planted out from plugs at the end of August, and they have put on a lot of growth. Runner beans – The variety Moonlight has more or less finished, but we have a lot of flowers on the Scarlet Emperor plants.
Ironman calabrese: ‘Cutting nice heads from the later plants, and good side shoots from the earlier ones’
Squash – Now the foliage is dying back we can see good fruits of Crown Prince and Butterfly: they should be ready to harvest next month Sweetcorn – (Swift) The last cobs were harvested on 24th. Tally this year: 74 good cobs and 20 smaller cobs from 70 plants Sweet pepper and tomatoes (in the greenhouse) Everything is slowing down in the greenhouse, though we are still picking tomatoes every third or fourth day, and a few sweet pepper plants have new flowers. Winter salad – Val has made two sowings of oriental mustards, mixed salad leaves and Chinese radishes.
Pauline Batstone shares her monthly round up of what’s happening among the town’s collection of community enterprises and events
As I write the Vale Pantry folk are having fun organising some Halloween excitements for later this month … nothing too scary, I’m assured … Meanwhile we are approaching that time of year. whispers Christmas is just around the corner! We are getting ready – the Make Stur Sparkle leaflets will be out soon, so keep an eye open for one as it will tell you all that is going on in and around Stur from the beginning of November through to New Year’s Day. We’re excited to announce that we will be welcoming Paul Young and Los Pacaminos back to switch on the Christmas tree lights on Saturday 30th November: supervised, of course, by Father Christmas, who will be in 1855 to meet children each Saturday from then until the Saturday before Christmas. And the little Christmas angels will be flying into town from the beginning of December. The second Sturminster Newton Business Awards will be launched shortly – and everyone will have the chance to nominate their favourite businesses, and thank those who offer the best service.
The popular Sturminster Newton Wedding Fair will be back next year, taking place in the Exchange on 25th January – trade stand space is still available for professionals to book. St Mary’s Church will be once again be holding a display of wedding dresses (24th and 25th January) – it’s a wonderful exhibition, hopefully displaying the dress beside a wedding photo of it being worn – fashion history, social history and a romance story all in one. If your wedding dress would enjoy one more turn in the spotlight, the church would love to borrow it! Meanwhile the SturAction shops are working hard to please their customers while raising the money to pay for the Christmas events in the town.
Born and bred in the Yorkshire Dales, equestrian photographer Brian Stubbs grew up on a farm surrounded by horses: ‘Nothing flash, we couldn’t afford that,’ he says. ‘It was Dad’s hobby – or vice. He said he “didn’t drink, didn’t smoke, so horses were his vice”. I wouldn’t say I rode, exactly: I sat on them and travelled around … but I really wouldn’t call it riding! ‘I trained as a teacher, went to Cambridge for my postgrad, and then moved to Somerset in 1982 to join Sexey’s School for my first job … and I stayed there until I retired from teaching in 2018. ‘My daughter enjoyed riding, and eventually she got her own horse. I was taking pictures of them together, and my camera started to play up. So I invested in a pro-level camera and lenses as a bit of a treat, and I started taking the photography much more seriously.’ Wincanton Camera Club was contacted by Wincanton Racecourse with an invitation to members to come along and take some pictures. Brian took the opportunity, and submitted his photos for the racecourse team to look at: ‘I was contacted by their press officer, and it led to a booking from the Jockey Club to cover four or five of their big race days in Wincanton.’ His reputation quickly grew, and Brian soon had an Access All Areas pass for the racecourse, where he got to know the local racing community.
‘I also called a couple of livery yards, and several asked me to take photos of their horses … and it all started from there. I now go to the Tizzard’s racing yard in Milborne Port quite regularly on the mornings they’re riding out. It’s quite nice for the staff, they don’t tend to get photographed because race days are all about the professional jockeys. For the yard staff it’s an opportunity to have a photo on the horse that they’re spending their life looking after. Kayley Woollacott also invited me to her yard at Crewkerne to cover her Owners Day, and that’s become another annual fixture for me. ‘I’m still a member of Wincanton Camera Club – we’ve got a big day on Wednesday with Charlie Waite, the landscape photographer, visiting (see the BV’s recent interview with Charlie Waite here): we have more than 100 people coming. ‘The club itself has around 20 members – but it’s thriving. And we’ve done well in the Western Counties Photographic Federation – of all clubs in the South West, we’ve won the Small Clubs Award two years on the trot. The club is for all abilities – even if you’re just taking photos on your phone. We all have to start somewhere, and the learning never stops.’
A good tutor Brian’s enjoying his retirement – by not being at all retired: ‘The photography is growing, just by word of mouth. I primarily photograph horses and dogs: they are what I love, and I therefore have an understanding of them. Like if I photograph a rugby match, I played a lot of rugby, so I know what’s going to happen. If you know an animal, you understand how it is going to react? A horse can make or ruin a picture with a twitch of an ear! And owners know that – if the ears go back, it’s not a picture they would buy. I’m always looking to capture the relationship between the owner and the horse. They book me to take a horse portrait, but some of the best pictures are with the owner in the picture, focusing on their horse and totally ignoring the camera. They forget you’re there and you get to see that genuine relationship.
‘The biggest kick I get is being able to show them the photos afterwards, that’s what gives me a buzz. To know that you’ve given them something that is so personal, it’s very much theirs. ‘I genuinely love the challenge of capturing action photos – horse racing, jumping, Eventing … I have photographed some of the top stars at Nunney, but it’s also nice to see it from the grassroots, from tiddlers up. One thing I’ve got gnawing away in the back of my head is to recreate a Stubbs painting as a photograph. I’d love to do that. But I enjoy just improving my art.
‘The more you learn, the more you realise how much there is to learn. Everybody’s got a camera in their pocket these days. But to take a quality picture is something else. If you are paid to cover an event, you can’t afford for one in ten to be OK, you need to have ten out of ten. Even then, the one that’s got that extra bit of life in it, that’s the bit that makes it really special. Focus, lighting, understanding the right moment … it’s a hell of a discipline, and it’s a good tutor.’
Dr Michael Fernando’s life-saving training empowers Afghan medics to improve neonatal care through simple, cost-effective techniques
by Rachael Rowe
Dr Michael Fernando, consultant paediatrician and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust’s associate medical director at Yeovil Hospital
It’s often small changes that make a big difference. Dr Michael Fernando, a consultant paediatrician from Yeovil Hospital, has just returned from Afghanistan, where he implemented a project that will save the lives of thousands of babies.
Why Afghanistan? Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world, ravaged by war and civil unrest. In 2021, the Taliban took power in the country, and has significantly restricted the rights of women. International sanctions have been imposed on Afghanistan, and many aid agencies have withdrawn their support. Infant and child mortality is very high. It was with this in mind that Dr Fernando, who is also Somerset NHS Foundation Trust’s associate medical director at Yeovil Hospital, decided he wanted to find a way to help Afghanis to give their babies the best possible start in life. ‘I loved doing paediatrics at university. Children are amazing. They get sick really quickly, but they also get better quickly. It was one of my first jobs after qualifying. I started with paediatric surgery and then medicine. Then I became a consultant.’ Through Rotary International, Michael had previously led a programme in the Sindh province of Pakistan training the trainers in remote and rural areas how to resuscitate babies at birth. ‘It all started five years ago, when I attended a Helping Babies Breathe course in London where professionals came from around the world to learn how to train trainers in resource-limited settings,’ says Michael. ‘I met a doctor from Pakistan, which at the time had the highest neonatal mortality rate in the world, who asked me to introduce him to Rotary to help spread this training further.’ Michael went to Pakistan, leading the Helping Babies Breathe programme there. After running two ‘Master Trainer’ courses in Pakistan, the American Academy of Pediatrics asked Michael to work with UNICEF in Pakistan, as part of a year-long programme to run ‘telementoring’ in neonatal units there. This was part of a wider multinational project that went on to become a global quality improvement programme in neonatal care. Two years ago, Katerina Kotsali-Papadimitriou, Rotary International president’s special representative to Afghanistan, asked Michael to run the Helping Babies Breathe programme in the country, working with Rameen Javid from Rotary Kabul City and other Afghan Rotary Clubs. Michael says: ‘Data suggests that the number of babies who die per 1,000 births in Afghanistan has been reducing in recent years, down from 40 in 2019, to 35 in 2024, but this is still way too high –it’s about one in 30 births.’
Overcoming challenges Michael had several challenges to overcome in order to get to Afghanistan and set up training. ‘It’s surprisingly easy to get to Afghanistan – there are scheduled flights! The main challenge is getting visas, because the status of the Afghan Embassy in London is unclear. When I was asked to set up this programme I thought it would be difficult because men are not allowed to teach women in Afghanistan, and women are not allowed to treat men, so there’s an immediate block. However, we overcame this by providing a chaperone in the room and that satisfied the authorities. Then, with restrictions on education for girls and with us being an educational programme, I began to think this was impossible and we would never do it. But the people on the ground negotiated – after all, just about everyone wants their child to survive, so people saw the value in what we were trying to do. ‘Most of the doctors who look after babies in Afghanistan are female. It’s not that widely known, but there are women midwives and doctors there. It’s one of the exempt professions in the regulations set down by the government – through sheer pragmatism. Most of the challenges they face are actually a lack of resources in healthcare settings, especially in rural areas.’ Girls in Afghanistan are currently not allowed to study after primary school, which will clearly have an impact on future graduates. ‘That is the situation at the moment,’ says Michael. ‘It is seen as a block with international relations. Although the Taliban are in power, there are far more extreme groups in the country and lots of politics at play.’
Michael (centre, blue shirt) with trainers and trainees in Kabul
The Helping Babies Breathe programme The programme works by training trainers to spread the teaching methods and materials. ‘When a baby is born, there’s very little that needs to be done in the vast majority of cases, apart from babies needing to be dried, kept warm and given back to mum. Some need to be stimulated to breathe, and a smaller number need air to be pushed into their lungs. Fewer than one in 100 needs more advanced treatment such as chest compressions and medication, like adrenaline. ‘There’s a golden minute where a baby’s life can be saved, by ensuring that the baby breathes. ‘That first minute is the most important part we teach in our training sessions, and we deliberately kept things simple, such as teaching people how to position the head – that can be lifesaving in itself. ‘The programme is cheap, easy and works on a train-the-trainer basis. Master trainers then train others, who then spread the training themselves … It can work in every country in the world. You need very little equipment – a company called Laerdal provides the equipment at cost price. The Rotary Club also provided kits for teams in Kabul. ‘I got some volunteers to come and help with the training – most were people I had met five or six years ago in London, so we had a personal connection. We paid for our flights ourselves, and did this in our personal time. We were treated very well by our hosts and the facilities in the hospital were very good. ‘Some of the doctors in Kabul were telling me that when the Taliban took over they were quite hostile towards the hospital, because it was seen as part of the old regime. ‘However, when they discovered the work that was happening, their attitudes changed and relations softened. We had a number of female doctors on the programme who had come from more remote parts of Afghanistan: they were very keen to push the training out to these places, and the fact they travelled such long distances to get to Kabul for the programme was heart-warming.’ Already, trainers are beginning to spread the programme far and wide in Afghanistan, helping to save more babies’ lives with simple procedures following a birth. ‘The magic of this programme is that it’s self- supporting, says Michael. ‘There is very little cost involved. They can deliver the programme themselves – it’s independent now.’
Environmental disaster or essential work to avoid a tragedy? Dorset Council’s controversial plans for the road through Melbury Abbas
by Fanny Charles
Looking north through Dinah’s Hollow
Dinah’s Hollow is back in the news. Dorset Council proposes to spend £8 million on safety work – felling trees, clearing undergrowth, compulsory purchase orders on adjoining landowners and stabilising the slopes with soil nails. This week the council’s strategic and technical planning committee agreed the first step: a Tree Works Application to remove trees along the hollow currently covered by a woodland Tree Preservation Order (TPO). Objectors believe that the holloway is environmentally and culturally important, and home to rare and endangered creatures, including dormice, bats and several red and yellow-listed bird species. The approval for the tree works will last for five years, much longer than usual, because of the potential delays with the CPOs. It could be three years or more before the stabilisation actually happens (perhaps even longer if there has to be a public inquiry). The hollow, on the C13 road between Shaftesbury and Blandford, may be a remnant of the ancient forest which once covered this area of the Blackmore Vale: ‘It isn’t just any old holloway,’ says David Webber, chairman of Melbury Abbas and Cann Parish Council, whose family has lived in the area for at least 200 years. ‘And I find it ironic that Dorset Council has just declared a nature emergency.’ (see The BV Aug issue here) Local MP Simon Hoare supports the need to improve safety for road-users on the C13 and dismisses the argument that Dinah’s Hollow has any particular significance. He says: ‘Ultimately we are not short of pretty ancient lanes and beautiful trees in North Dorset – and in this particular case they are self-seeded, non-specific and rather unremarkable examples.’
You couldn’t make it up. After the Dorset Council committee meeting on 2nd September was declared null and void because official invitations were not sent to consultees, including the parish council, Cranborne Chase National Landscape and CPRE, the reconvened strategic planning committee meeting, on Monday 30th September, couldn’t start for nearly half an hour due to the fact it was not quorate. This means that not enough of the possible 15 members of the committee (as listed on the council website) were present for a legal meeting to be held. The situation was eventually resolved when a substitute was agreed and a quorum was duly established. After that it was relatively predictable – nobody really said anything, and the proposal, controversial as it is, was nodded through. Nobody even asked the question – raised in the report in The BV last month (see here) – raised by local resident Sara Jacson: ‘Why, if as alleged there is potential danger for a serious fall, are we still allowed to drive through the Hollow?’ A member of Dorset Council’s communications team told The BV: ‘The quorum for strategic and technical planning committee is six members, and we had six members in attendance on the committee, five committee members and one substitute. Other members in attendance but not on the committee were councillors Shane Bartlett, Jon Andrews, Simon Christopher, Scott Florek and Jane Somper.’
A deal to be had Parish council chairman David Webber told the councillors at Dorchester that the geology of the hollow was very different from that at the Beaminster site of a tragic double fatality following the collapse of a tunnel in 2012. The parish council has hired Devon-based Red Rock Geological Sciences Ltd, which has been working with the landowners on a hybrid scheme involving some soil nails and retention fencing. It would cost much less, involve a much shorter period of road closure and very few trees would need to be destroyed. The alternative A350, which runs parallel to the C13, is a primary route from Poole Harbour, where it is signposted for traffic heading to the motorway network. Between Blandford and Shaftesbury it is currently part of a voluntary one-way system for heavy vehicles – southbound on the C13 and northbound on the A350, through Iwerne Minster, Fontmell Magna and Compton Abbas, with the notorious Steepleton bends and steep Cann Hill near Shaftesbury. Mr Webber recognises the problems for the A350 villagers and the people in Melbury Abbas. He says once you get over the county boundary into Wiltshire, the standard of the road improves, ‘but Dorset has spent nothing on it,’ he says. He urged councillors to defer the decision: ‘Please sit down and listen and talk with the principal players. ‘Please do not talk AT them, but work WITH them. It will save a lot of time, money, trees, plants and wildlife. There is a deal to be had.’ Richard Burden, principal landscape officer at Cranborne Chase National Landscape (NL, previously known as an AONB), told the committee: ‘You have been told, correctly, that a TPO is created to sustain tree growth and amenity. How, therefore, does removing 80 trees sustain amenity? As you know, the National Planning Policy Framework guides you to give great weight to conserving and enhancing landscape and scenic beauty, and giving National Landscapes the highest level of protection. Your landscape officer is clear that there would be substantial adverse impacts arising from the tree felling. He then concludes that would not impact on the wider NL. That logic is fundamentally flawed: it would mean the NL could be eroded bit by bit. ‘The test for decision-makers relates to the nature and scale of changes at this specific part of the National Landscape, not locations miles away!’ Mr Burden told the meeting that if the committee did not refuse – or at least defer – the application until further actions to conserve and enhance natural beauty are included, the council would be failing to comply with its duties under the CRoW (Countryside and Rights of Way) Act 2000, which was recently amended. While it did not override the Highways Act 1980, said Mr Burden, the two had to be considered together. ‘That duty is not optional; and current governmental guidance puts Cranborne Chase NL as the initial assessor of compliance.’
Cross-section through Dinah’s Hollow. Image: Dorset Council
A sensible solution MP Simon Hoare said he had congratulated new Dorset Council leader Nick Ireland for keeping the previous administration’s pledge to keep the Dinah’s Hollow scheme in the capital budget for what he describes as a sensible solution: ‘NOT to do anything is absolutely not an option. The next landslip could easily result in a fatality – and quite aside the human devastation that would cause, the council would be entirely culpable if it hadn’t acted on those reports.’ The problem had been discussed and researched for so long, he said, ‘If there was any chance of a silver bullet, it would have been identified by now.’ He recognised the enormous disruption to residents and commercial operators when either road is closed. ‘But if we want there to be a vibrant, viable economy in North Dorset, our existing road network – imperfect though we all know it to be – must be made fit for purpose. ‘If it were possible, there is little doubt this action would not be the first choice. But over the last ten years the council has exhausted all options. The only actual solution is an entirely new road – but the economic benefits of a parallel road running to Poole Harbour from the A303 are simply not there. The planning implications cannot be justified, the topography makes it almost impossible and the land ownership tangles as it works through the various SSSIs, National Landscapes etc are unthinkable. On top of all that, the infill development that would be required to justify the spend from the public purse will make a vast swathe of our beloved county entirely unrecognisable.’ It’s gone on too long, says Mr Hoare: ‘We cannot keep twiddling our thumbs, waiting for the perfect solution to magically show up.’
Speed limit and public meeting Beacon ward councillor Jane Somper says Dinah’s Hollow has never been a party political issue for her: ‘The important point has always been about the local community voices being heard – and the safety of road users.’ She believes a public meeting is needed ‘to give everyone the opportunity to hear the details of what is planned and put their questions to senior council officers.’ While she accepts the need to stabilise the slopes, Cllr Somper says there is also a need for a full understanding of the wildlife present and the steps to mitigate harm to the wildlife and vegetation. Her other major concern is the impact of the works and the closure of Dinah’s Hollow. ‘My focus now will be on the roads that will be most negatively impacted, and the residents I represent, while the works are carried out. It could cause huge disruption and damage to our narrow rural roads, and I have requested that funding be put aside for the repair work that will no doubt be required, along with traffic calming to avoid HGVs meeting at various pinch points along the A350. I will also be requesting a temporary 20mph along a stretch in Fontmell Magna and at other pinch points along the route.’
One of two banners erected by objectors to the proposed Dinah’s Hollow works. This one is at the southern end, facing northbound traffic, the other faces south, before the traffic light-controlled section
No benefits North Dorset CPRE told The BV the villages of Melbury Abbas and Melbury Down ‘will be scarred for many generations. This scheme will come with no benefit to the village or to traffic management within the village, nor increase safety for residents, cyclists or numerous horse riders. The proposed works to the hollow, which is rich in flora and fauna, will neither benefit the biodiversity of the area or provide any environmental gain.’ The countryside campaigns group says that although Dorset Council voted to budget £8m for the Dinah’s Hollow scheme, ‘the actual cost is likely to be considerably higher. No cost benefit analysis has been published, even if one has been carried out. In a time of austerity and tight financial constraints facing councils, this enormous sum could be better spent on more urgent needs such as adult social services. This scheme will also mean an ongoing maintenance cost to the tax payer.’ One of the affected local residents is Mrs Sara Jacson of Grove Farmhouse, who says: ‘It seems that Dorset Council is prepared to spend £8 million pounds on Dinah’s Hollow felling trees and wrecking the undergrowth by aggressive nailing of metal sheeting. The Hollow has been worn by millennia of feet both human and animal: it is not artificially man made. The trees shelter wildlife and their root structure is dense and effective in retaining soil.’ She criticises the impact on trees and wildlife, following the council’s decision to declare a nature emergency. There are no representatives of North Dorset on the new Dorset Council cabinet, she says, so no voice can be raised at that level ‘in protest at this apparent vandalism over which there has been no public consultation.’
Who was Dinah? Dinah’s Hollow is a holloway – a landscape feature common in Dorset, Somerset and many other parts of Britain. A holloway – literally a hollow way or sunken lane – is defined as a road or track that is significantly lower than the land on either side, not formed by the (recent) engineering of a road cutting but possibly of much greater age. The term ‘holloway’ is thought to come from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘hola-weg’ which means ‘sunken road’; no-one knows how many of these tunnel-like lanes exist throughout Britain. Theories about how holloways were formed include erosion by water or traffic or digging double banks to mark the boundaries of estates. They are also found in France, Spain and the US, where these ancient routes are called “traces” – one of the best known is the Old Natchez Trace, an ancient corridor originally used by Native Americans, which starts in Mississippi and runs north-east for around 450 miles. They are typically found in regions with soft terrain, such as the chalk and sandstone areas of southern England, rather than rocky landscapes. Essentially, they are man-made, which is why they have cultural as well as environmental significance – writers and campaigners, including Robert Macfarlane and the environmental arts charity Common Ground, have highlighted their importance. These paths were slowly etched into the landscape through repeated human activity – the passage of countless footsteps and the movement of livestock, shaping these distinctive deep lanes over time. Shaftesbury, a major hilltop settlement, is surrounded by holloways, of which Dinah’s Hollow is the best known (partly because it has been subject to successive council plans to clear, widen or close it). Among Dorset’s other famous holloways are Shute’s Lane and Hell Lane at Symondsbury, near Bridport – if you’ve never visited it, see the BV’s spectacular walk through Hell Lane here. No-one knows where Dinah’s Hollow originally got its name (there are also references to Diney’s Hollow and Dinas Hollow). One explanation comes from the late Bob Breach, local historian, former teacher and parish councillor, in an interview on Shaftesbury’s radio station This is Alfred, on 24th May 2021. There are two suggestions, he says – that Dinah was a local whore, or that it is Dina from Dinas, a Celtic name for a road through somewhere (in Cornwall and Wales, dinas can also mean a fort). Whether the answer is a road or a whore, Bob Breach says: “I wouldn’t like to take a bet!”
