Wimborne is set to travel back in time with a spectacular reenactment of a 17th-century battle, highlighting the town’s historical significance during the English Civil War. From 25th to 27th May, the English Civil War Society (ECWS) will bring over 600 members to recreate ‘The Battle for Wimborne,’ featuring foot soldiers, cavalry, and a military camp at Julians Bridge. The event promises a Hollywood-like spectacle with elaborate costumes, artillery, and galloping horses, encapsulating the intense struggle that existed between Royalist Wimborne and Roundhead Poole. The reenactment will culminate in two large battles on the 26th and 27th, pitting the Roundheads against the Royalists in a dramatic clash for control. Alongside the battles, Minster Green will also be filled with action – experience the riot that broke out in Wimborne Minster church, causing the Earl of Shaftesbury to send in troops. The event aims to educate and entertain, bringing history alive through living history displays depicting life in the 17th century. Visitors can see basket making, weaving, dyeing, food preparation, music, printing, writing, needlework, embroidery, woodturning and paper making, get advice from an apothecary, discuss battle scars with a surgeon or bump into a busybody laundry woman! It’s an opportunity to interact with history, and to understand both the military and civilian aspects of the English Civil War. An exhibition at The Museum of East Dorset, From Revolt to Rebellion, will extend the historical journey, depicting Wimborne’s transformation from the Civil War through the Restoration to the Monmouth Rebellion. The free, not-for-profit event is a collaboration between the ECWS and the Museum of East Dorset, Wimborne Town Council, Dorset County Council, The Minster, local schools and Wimborne BID.
Under Jules Bradburn’s guidance, Shaftesbury’s first Feastival is set to be a packed community feast of food, culture and artisan market
When Shaftesbury Food & Drink Festival committee stepped down last year, the town council didn’t need to look far for a new organiser. Jules Bradburn has been running the popular monthly Shaftesbury Market for a year as part of her growing empire of Dorset artisan markets. A one day community festival was soon planned for 5th May, 10am to 5pm. ‘I was excited at the thought of a Shaftesbury Feastival,’ says Jules. ‘As soon as we started to talk about it, it grew and grew. It’s going to be such a special day – a literal feast of events and traders. ‘We’ve been lucky to be sponsored by Gritchie Brewing Co, who will be unveiling a new travelling bar at the event. ‘There will be amazing workshops with celebrity chefs all day in the Grosvenor Arms. Chef, writer and TV judge Philippa Davis will be cooking with local produce, and there be three Cookery Hands On with Lesley Waters and Steve James workshops, focused on using products from the artisan traders. Visitors can spend time with Torie True as she chats about Indian food and cooks recipes from her book Chilli & Mint. Local chef Sunny Sin will be sharing a Thai cooking demo, and Lucy Parr, the Friendly Baker, will be offering tasters and advice on allergy-friendly baking. Mat Follas is running a guided foraging walk, but that’s already fully booked!
‘Excitingly, we’ve been working with Shaftesbury Refugee Group, and we also have a Ukrainian fermentation workshop – the bread is amazing! And we are sponsoring two Syrian refugee families to have stalls at Feastival. Imad and his wife Bayan started Kababji Syrian Cuisine four years ago in Gillingham, and Ammar and Samar’s business, The Hammouds’ Kitchen, is based in Shaftesbury.’ See here for further talks and workshop details – Booking is advisable as spaces are limited. All events are FREE, but when you book Jules is asking for a donation (in lieu of a set ticket fee) to The Vale Pantry, North Dorset’s social supermarket. Outside, there will be more than 150 carefully selected artisan market traders on the High Street and Park Walk, says Jules: ‘There will be a choice of international hot food available, including Thai, Ukrainian and Indian, as well as street burgers, loaded fries, raclette and roundbelly rice. We’ve made sure there will be affordable options across the Feastival, so that there’s something for everybody. There will also be plenty of stalls with cheese, preserves, savoury foods, honey, cakes, baked goods, cider …’ Away from the main market, the historic Byzant Ceremony will process to the well at Enmore Green – an ancient custom unique to Shaftesbury, in which the hilltop town’s right to draw water required ceremonial payment. Shaftesbury Abbey will be hosting Tuzzy Muzzy workshops – a medieval term for a traditional nosegay of flowers – and will welcome the choral community choir. There will be more live music on Park Walk all day. A highlight of the event will of course be the famous Gold Hill Cheese Run. Unlike familiar cheese-rolling contests, in Shaftesbury competitors race up the incredibly steep, cobbled Gold Hill, carrying locally-made truckles of cheese. If you think you’re strong enough, registration is on the day outside the Guildhall, and heats begin at 1pm. All profits from book signings, talks and celebrity chef events will go to the Vale Pantry social supermarket. ‘The Feastival will be a brilliant day for coming together,’ says Jules. ‘Food is friendship. It’s chatting, sharing, caring, meeting and educating. Food is community.’
Dorset Mind volunteer Annabel Goddard is encouraging us all to be hopeful, and to start making plans for when the weather really does improve
Unless you were lucky enough to spend your winter somewhere else in warm sunshine, it’s likely to have been a long, damp few months. The recent sparse bursts of sun have been a glimmer of what will hopefully be a wonderfully bright new season. While we wait for the weather to cheer up, here’s how we can make the most of the change in seasons.
Spring cleaning Go beyond just scrubbing your bathroom – start refreshing your space. Having a clear out of your things can help you declutter mentally as well as physically. Even better, donate your cleared-out items to a charity shop near you: it’s a small deed that can do a lot of good for those who need it most. If you’ve been putting off repainting or cleaning something in your home, now is a great time to do it. It doesn’t have to be a major task – a new candle or a bunch of flowers will make you smile.
Refresh your tech Spring cleaning doesn’t have to begin and end in the home, either. Something that can go unnoticed is how much our tech get cluttered with useless notes, spam emails and screenshots. Set aside some time to go through your phone – deleting apps, redundant documents and photos which you don’t need anymore. This can give a sense of catharsis if you’ve held onto photos and notes which don’t bring you happiness – it could help to let go of these memories. It might seem an insignificant thing, but taking the time for some unsubscribing and deleting can help reduce the bombardment in your phone – start prioritising time unplugged from social media.
Make plans As the sun is (hopefully!)beginning to come out, use the time to start getting used to being outdoors again. Days are getting longer, and before we know it, summer will be here. If you’re struggling to wait until t-shirt weather returns, make yourself a ‘summer resolution’ – set yourself an activity you want to start doing in the warmer weather. It could be anything – painting outdoors, hiking, visiting new places … whatever you wish you’d done last summer. Start making an action plan now and you’ll be prepared for a new hobby by the time summer arrives.
Take the time If you’re like me, you’ve been praying for a bit of sunshine since November. It could benefit you to make a bit of time to spend outside, just to feel the sun on your face and remind yourself that longer days are coming. As the sun starts setting later in the day, try to incorporate an evening walk into your routine. The warmer days will follow, but we must remember to be grateful for what we have now.
Global meets local in Semley, uniting Dorset’s finest with international brands for a showcase of sustainability, craftsmanship, and enterprise
Businesses in Semley are set to open their doors again for the second iteration of the eagerly-anticipated Chaldicott Spring Fair. After launching last year to widespread acclaim, the Chaldicott Spring Fair will welcome visitors from across Dorset, Wiltshire, Somerset and beyond as resident businesses at the award-winning rural office and retail development showcase their wares. Among the 25 businesses present will be Africa Odyssey, a highly-regarded bespoke safari tour operator, who opened their second office in Semley last autumn to complement their London office. The event will also feature internationally renowned brands such as furniture makers Another Country and Japanese garden tool specialists, Niwaki. ‘The move to Chaldicott Barns was a big step for us as a business. We’d had 25 years with solely a London presence, but we are delighted with how things have gone so far and the reception we’ve had from local people and businesses,’ said Africa Odyssey managing director Ted Archdale, who moved to the local area with his young family in 2020. ‘A major reason for us opening a Dorset office was the concentration of fantastic businesses already here, and the audiences and customer base they naturally draw in.’ Sustainable furniture brand Another Country opened their showroom at Chaldicott Barns last year – owner Paul de Zwart, who lives nearby, is also delighted to have made the move out of the city. ‘Our London showroom has historically been where we have met our customers face to face. But we recognised a growing West Country audience, and felt Chaldicott Barns were the perfect place for us to physically locate ourselves in this beautiful part of England,’ he said.
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Books, baths and brands Natural bath and body care producer Bramley, founded by local entrepreneur and mum Chloe Luxton, was a winner of the 2024 beauty shortlist awards. they will be returning to the Spring Fair, having been in residence at Chaldicott Barns for the past three years. ‘Last year was a huge success for us and we’re hoping even more lovely visitors come to see us for what is set to be another wonderful local event,’ Chloe said. ‘We couldn’t be more excited.’ With food and delicious coffee provided onsite by Compton McRae Kitchen and Larder, specialists in a range of artisan-made products, visitors will be able to enjoy superb food and drink. Homeware brands, plant nurseries, fashion and books will also be on sale, with residents The Travel Bookshop sure to be in high demand from those planning an African adventure or beyond. Local author Sam Peters, whose book Concussed was recently shortlisted for the prestigious William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, will be among the exhibitors, alongside Pink House Mustique and Robert Kennett Garden Designer. Acclaimed local business, Planted – founded by another local entrepreneur Deborah Spencer – will host a small curated offering in the main courtyard featuring some of their favourite sustainable brands including Country Crib, The Sustainable Shop, Snow Shepperd, By:BW and Old Green. ‘Chaldicott Barns has become a real hive of business activity in recent years, with many of the lovely local brands sharing our love of high-quality sustainable design,’ said Deborah, one of the organisers of this year’s fair.
Chaldicott Barns Spring Fair, 10am to 4pm Saturday April 27 Admission free Semley chaldicott-barns.co.uk
Step back in time with our ‘Then and Now’ feature, where vintage postcards meet modern-day reality. Explore the past and present on the same page, and see the evolution of familiar local places.
There’s a chilling story about the seemingly-vicious and vindictive Lord Staunton. In 1557, the catholic lord of the manor ended a long-running dispute with his protestant neighbours, the Hartgills, with a double murder. He arranged a public meeting by saying he was ready to pay them the sums of money and return their cattle, as ordered, and to end all disputes between them – but instead took the opportunity to seize the Hartgills, hold them captive and then have them killed (full story here). The brutal crime lead to his imprisonment in the Tower of London, before he was hanged in Salisbury market place. His widow, Anne, was left with a crumbling ‘castle’ in Staunton Caundle. She pleaded with Queen Mary I, stressing her late husband’s loyalty and that her only home was in a “ruynous” and “corrupt” state – she was given ten days to raise the money to the value of the estate. Fast forward, and there’s hardly anything left of the castle today. The oldest map of the village from the 1500s shows it next to St. Peter’s Church, but by 1600, it was gone. Its stones likely ended up in other buildings around the village.
Sandwiches and Statesmanship: the North Dorset MP’s path from shy child to a voice for pragmatism and local community, via his favourite music
Simon Hoare MP
‘I was incredibly shy. I had quite bad speech defects as a child – I couldn’t say my R’s, my W’s, my th’s – that made me even shyer. It’s quite extraordinary that I now find myself doing a job which is mostly speaking, where an air of confidence is required!’ Simon Hoare MP proffers a sandwich before leaning back comfortably and sliding a sticky bun my way. ‘The cake is all yours, by the way. I’ve given them up for Lent.’ We have met in his Blandford office; Simon squeezing me in for a shared sandwich and a chat between appointments on his one day in Dorset this week. Elected as MP for North Dorset since May 2015, he has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government since November 2023. ‘As I fast approach my 55th birthday I look back to little Simon and don’t really recognise myself. People say you become more dogmatic the older you get. But my experience is completely the reverse. I remember having a huge row with my religion teacher – I went to a catholic state school in Cardiff – about the merits of the death penalty. I told her I was so sure of, so proud of the death penalty, I would be the one pulling the lever. Now of course I am totally, totally opposed to it. ‘I’ve gone the other way – I’m much more liberal than teenage me, and far more convinced of the merits of compromise and pragmatism. Politics isn’t black and white, it’s various shades of grey, trying to accommodate competing views. My wife comes from a very quiet family. When I took her home for the first time I remember her looking absolutely askance at all of us as we sat arguing over Sunday lunch. Not over, you know, whose turn it was to do the washing up –we would arguing vociferously over whatever the political issue of the day was. My father’s side of the family were originally Labour, my mother’s Liberal. When I was 15 or 16, I thought I was going to be a teacher – I loved (and love) history.’ A random selection of unconnected circumstances set Simon on a different path: ‘The school that I went to was very mixed. It was situated in a large, poor, post-war council estate, but also served some quite leafy, middle class suburbs of Cardiff. And I realised that there were life chances which were being missed by certain people. It was the early 80s, and the trade unions were on strike – I remember teaching a few lessons to some of the younger kids, and being accused of being a scab by one of my teachers. I said, “I can’t be a scab (I was very precocious) – I’m not a member of any union”. My grandmother had died during the winter of discontent, and we had a long wait for the gravediggers to come off strike in order to have her grave dug. It all helped to create some of my political attitudes. ‘Then one afternoon I got off the school bus, on a rather damp drizzly afternoon – Cardiff is damp and drizzly most afternoons – and saw this guy I thought I recognised. “I think you’re our MP”. He said yes, and then – and it’s either the best question I ever asked, or the worst – I said, “is there’s anything I can do to help?” ‘He gave me a bundle of increasingly soggy leaflets, and we leapfrogged down the road delivering them while having a conversation over fences and hedges and gates. By the end of it, he’d managed to find a dog-eared Tory party membership application form in his pocket, and I managed to find about £3.70 in change in a trouser pocket and handed that over as my membership fee. And I was in – and I was hooked.’ ‘Brideshead Revisited was on the telly at the time, and me being a humble, modest, mild-mannered sort of chap, I set my sights on going to Oxford. It was totally unexpected at home – I was the first of my family to even go to university. I had an incredibly horrible relationship with my French teacher – he loathed me, but not as much as I loathed him. I deliberately failed my French O level, just to put his stats out – I was terrible, when I look back. ‘One parents evening, he told my parents: “He’s quite bright, but not Oxford. He could maybe try for Aberystwyth.” ‘Instead of depressing me, it fired me up – come hell or high water, I was going to get ot Oxford. And I did! Once there, I got really involved in politics, and also made some good and long lasting friends. Friendships which have continued – many of which are in the House of Commons with me now, representing the full range of opinion, and across the parties. I would argue with Meg Hillier late into the evening – she’s now one of the Labour MPs for Hackney. We were both catholics, and she could never understand how you could be a catholic and Tory and I could never understand how you could be a catholic and a socialist. Everybody has this idea of Oxford being really elitist and snooty, but it’s like anything in life – it’s whatever you make of it, and I totally enjoyed it.’
A Dorset blow in Simon began a public relations career in the 1990s: he worked at global PR firm Ketchum and the PPS Group before becoming external affairs director at the Environmental Services Association. He than began his own public relations and lobbying company. He stood as a Tory candidate in Cardiff West in 1997 and again in Cardiff South and Penarth in 2010, after which he was a director at a major PR agency. ‘My wife was from Oxfordshire, so when we married in 2000 we moved there, coming to Dorset in 2015 when I stood for the North Dorset seat. ‘There’s not a drop of Dorset blood in my veins, but we had lived in a rural area not far from the Gloucestershire border. I was brought up on the outskirts of Cardiff – not in the countryside at all. But I feel more at home in the country than anywhere else. And there’s some sort of magnetic pull when I go to London. Much as I enjoy Westminster, when I see that ‘ Welcome to Dorset’ sign near Shaftesbury, I feel myself relaxing. It’s home – I’m back to family and friends, and to the people that I like and admire and respect and work alongside and try to emulate. ‘Most Dorset people are just trying to get on with their lives – they look to officialdom to just not get in the way. ‘They are kindly to a fault, and have common sense written through them like ‘Blackpool’ through a stick of rock. It’s a very rare commodity.’ As a ‘blow in’, Simon needed to work fast to understand his new county – but felt he was already well on the way thanks to his experience in Oxfordshire. ‘I had been a rural district county councillor, and a lot of the issues were very, very similar. Housing – the provision of, siting of and lack of. It was trying to get broadband to the rural areas. The importance of agriculture to the economy, the importance of our village schools, pubs, shops … those were all issues which came with me. And then the best thing to do is ask. When I wasn’t certain about an issue, I’d go and talk to a parish or district councillor, knock on a few doors and say, “Look, I’m hearing about this, can you tell me about it?” You just have to roll up your sleeves.
Getting out of bed ‘I’m naturally a nosy person. One of the great things about being an MP is that you can bowl into anywhere and ask all sorts of questions. When they would say bugger off to most people, they’ll tell you – how much they’re earning, how much something costs, what their profit margins are, what’s keeping them awake at night, how next door’s cat is digging up their begonias … Politics is very personal, it’s about people, and that’s what motivates me, what gets me out of bed in the morning. I admit I’m a slightly romantic Tory. There are some – in all parties – who will view their constituency as the launchpad to be a member of parliament. ‘But I think it’s a rather transactional relationship – you’ve got to invest. And you have to feel some heartstring relationship to the area, so that when you’re trying to do your best – and we all try to do our best – you’re doing it for a purpose. Because you should be, I think, romantically attached to your constituency, and emotionally attached to your constituents. ‘And I think if you have that, the days when it’s frustrating, when you’ve been hitting your head against a brick wall, if you can draw on that connection, it’s an extra push: “I haven’t been successful going that way, but I’m not going to give up. We’re going to go around, and try and find another way.” ‘You have to really care about your constituency. If I were to lose North Dorset, it would feel like a bereavement. It would feel like some sort of terrible amputation had taken place. Because this is home. These are not constituents. These are friends. There was a wonderful advert, I think it was a Croft Original sherry – yes, yes, other sherrys are available! – back in the 90s, which said “strangers are the friends you’ve never met before”. And that’s how I feel about my constituents. An elderly couple came to see me not long after I’d first been elected. They had no family, they were frail in health. And they told me they were contemplating suicide. They were terribly proud – they thought it was a total personal failure to ask for help. But they were finding life such a struggle. So I said “Look, can you give me a fortnight? Please?” ‘We made all sorts of calls, went to see so many people. When I spoke to them again, I told them “You’re going to have to lose the pride, you’re going to have to accept some help.” And we got Meals on Wheels, and somebody to come in and tidy up the house and somebody to come in and do the garden. They invited me back for a cup of tea a couple of months afterwards, and they were a transformed couple. You never know who’s going to come through the door, with what sort of problem, with what sort of life story – and sometimes in the most extreme desperation. If you can just do that little bit of something, to sometimes kick open the door – the potency of those two letters, of ‘MP’ after your name, to get officialdom to listen, instead of “your call is important to us” or “Fred will email when he’s back from lunch” … to me, that’s the best part of the job.
A life in music And so to Simon Hoare’s music choices, in no particular order, along with how and why they have stuck in his life:
Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer – Cwm Rhondda It’s a great Welsh hymn. I had it at my wedding, and we had it at the baptisms of our three daughters. It’s a sort of national hymn, if you will, speaking back to my Welsh roots, but it’s also very much a family hymn as well.
Rondeau from Abdelazer Henry Purcell This is an incredibly powerful piece of music. Actually, it’s another we had at our wedding – my wife came in to it and my brother, who is a musician, said he thought it very strange that you would start a wedding service in a minor key. I said don’t worry, the recessional is very much of a major key. So that was fine! It’s a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful piece of music. I like Baroque music, there’s a pulse and a beat to it. It is like a heartbeat, it feels like part of your life essence in a way.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang The Sherman Brothers We bought this on a CD when the girls were quite small, and we played it all summer, particularly when we were on holiday. I have the strongest memories of heading to the beach and dropping down this hill. We had all the windows open, and we had the song on full blast, singing it at the tops of our voices. It’s just this joyous memory of family time and seaside and fun and relaxation.
Torn Natalie Imbruglia I think we have to have a reasonably modern one in the list. Natalie Imbruglia was an actress in Neighbours, and I think she really only had this one hit. My wife always laughs at me, she says I have an eclectic taste in music. But I just like it. There’s a wonderful musicality to it. I think I’d enjoy it on my island.
Eternal Father Strong to Save William Whiting I think I have to have this for my late father, who had a very dry sense of humour. We used to holiday a lot in Pembrokeshire, and we’d always go over to Caldey Island on the boat. Every time he’d start singing Eternal Father Strong to Save – it’s the great Naval hymn. He’d never been in the Navy, he’d been in the army, but that didn’t matter. And I would sort of sit there: “Dad, please, don’t, it’s really embarrassing,” and all the rest of it. But I cannot hear that hymn without thinking of him in a boat. And if I ever take the girls out, even on a little boat, I must confess I do precisely the same thing in homage to him. And also because it amuses me to embarrass my children.
Umbrella Rhianna This came out during a particularly wet weather period so there was an ironic humour to it. My daughters and I play it in the car on the school run and sing along with some considerable verve. It’s become a sort of family anthem – a powerful melody. Given recent weather we’ve been playing it a lot!
Bach’s Goldberg Variations It’s a sublime piece of music which, oddly, was made even more sublime when it was used in one of the really violent scenes in Silence of the Lambs. The juxtaposition of musical heaven with human horror was a fantastic piece of cinematic inspiration. It’s a glorious piece of music and so typical of Bach’s wit and cleverness in composition. There is a timelessness to it.
Queen of the Night aria from The Magic Flute – Mozart This wonderful aria … again, it’s the musicality of Mozart. For the time this was as groundbreaking as punk was in the 70s. But I think his musicality is even bettered, if you will, by the range of the sopranos voice. There’s such a power to it, it is incredible. One of the joys of being a government minister is that occasionally you’ll get access to a car from the government car service. And if possible I get Archie, one of the department’s drivers. He’s a lovely, lovely man, he’s been driving government ministers around for 30 years. He’s a devotee of Classic FM, and we have a continuous game of Name That Tune. But whenever this aria comes on I make him turn the volume up to the absolute top. Obviously I try and sing along – not particularly well. We have a great time.
The Book I’m going to take Jude the Obscure with me. Obviously Hardy is one of our premier English writers, and a figurehead for Dorset – and I suppose that feels a bit of a cliché choice. But I think of all of Hardy’s writing – and I love all of his writing – I think it’s Jude that speaks most to the human condition. I usually end up crying at least four times. You’ve got this poor guy, with a perpetual desire to improve and do better. He was a classic meritocratic Tory in a way. He said “Look, it doesn’t really matter I’ve been born into poverty in a little village in Dorset. I’m going to achieve something.” He’s laughed at when he wants to go to university, and he makes his way there anyway. He gets duped into thinking he’s fathered a child, and then there’s that terrible scene when the kids hang themselves in that grotty little room because the eldest son has overheard the parents say they can’t afford to feed the children and he thinks he’s doing the best job of all by killing his siblings and then himself. It’s life. It’s hope. It’s despair. There’s aspiration, there’s frustration. I think it’s the most acute social commentary of the time, but it’s still so relevant today. I mean, I say it so often I end up boring myself about the importance of education. All the doors that I have been able to open in life, whether that was going to university, setting up a business, standing for parliament, serving in parliament, being a minister, chairing a select committee … whatever it may be, ALL of those doors were opened by the keys of education. You could write Jude the obscure today, and I don’t think it would feel an ancient novel.
Luxury I can’t take my family, can I? In that case, can I take some seeds? I’m a keen gardener, it’s something that ties me to my grandfather, my parents … and my children like gardening, whether they like it or not. DIY, as far as I’m concerned is ‘Don’t Involve Yourself’ – I couldn’t build myself a useful shack or a canoe to escape or anything. So I’m stuck on this island. But I can grow plants. I don’t really need to know what the plants are, just some for decoration and some to eat. But I would like it on record that you’re being very cruel not to let me take my wife and children with me.
And if you can only save one disc from a freak tidal wave? I think I’m going to take Guide Me, Oh Thou Great Redeemer. This hymn was at my wedding, the baptism of my three children, my father’s funeral … listening to it would pull all my emotional family threads together in one piece of music.
A lifelong love of animals, a natural gift for drawing and chronic fatigue syndrome have combined to help Lucy Kendall launch her art business
Lucy Kendall in her Pimperne home studio. All images: Courtenay Hitchcock
Many students leave college with good grades and plenty of ambition, but find it hard to get into their chosen field of work. Lucy Kendall is a rare exception – a teenager who has already launched her business and won an important local award. Lucy, who lives in Pimperne, has developed a range of beautiful animal prints, cards and giftware and she also undertakes commissions to draw people’s pets. Her business really started with a giraffe – and a koala has helped her through the dark days of a prolonged and debilitating health condition. From earliest childhood, Lucy loved drawing – and she was good at it. Turning 20 this year, Lucy still lives in the village where she was born, surrounded by animals – dogs, cats and horses. Her mother was a jockey who competed locally, including at point-to-points. ‘She’s also a cleaner and she used to take me to work with her when I was young, which meant I could interact with the animals, even on farms. I remember being taken up to feed the calves at Rawston Farm when I was really small, and I now have a Rawston Calf series!’ Lucy’s first pony, a tiny moorland called Thumbelina, lived at home, roaming around the garden and sometimes coming into the kitchen. She and her mother have two dogs and three cats – she has a close relationship with the dogs which keep her company on the studio sofa when she is drawing. The business, which Lucy started when she was just 16, grew from her love of animals and art. Her mother, who has always encouraged her, came up with a deal during her exams – the more As and Bs Lucy got, the more she could earn – but if she slipped below a C she had to pay her mother. The incentive worked, and Lucy passed all her exams with B or above, earning £850, which her mother paid over the course of a year.
Surveying The Savannah – the Dorset Art Prize winner 2021
With the onset of the pandemic and lockdown, Lucy started drawing animals in pencil and found that she was creating a perfect range for cards – she used the money she had earned from her exams to create a gift range featuring the pictures. ‘There was one drawing in particular that I fell in love with, my beloved Frankie the giraffe. I came up with names for all my drawings – and I went on to call my business Share a Little Frankie (before that it was just Lucy Kendall Fine Art.) ‘I focused my A level art practice on animal emotion,’ she says. She found that capturing the emotions and characters of her subjects helped to create a deeper connection with the viewer: ‘I wanted not only to display how beautiful these creatures are, but to convey their emotional power.’ She took an Art Foundation course at Ferndown Upper School, but with the onset of her illness and the diagnosis of ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome or CFS) she had to complete the course working from home. She still got to the final exhibition and received a Merit. Lucy considered going on to higher education – including the widely-respected course at Falmouth – but eventually decided that she would focus full-time on Share a Little Frankie.
Lucy welcomes commissions for pet portraits, but warns she is very busy – she is currently taking bookings from June to the end of the year
Lucy the entrepreneur Frankie is very special – an inquiring gentle giraffe, who seems to be looking right into your eyes. It isn’t surprising that he is Lucy’s most popular print. Another giraffe inspired Surveying the Savannah, one of the major pieces in her A level show. This beautiful drawing won the prestigious Dorset Art Prize in 2021. As she began to develop her business, Lucy gained experience at Down the Steps art shop (now Kit & Kaboodle) in Shaftesbury, and had work experience with local artist Alison Board, who explained to her that running her business would be an important part of her life. ‘She was right – I will always be an artist first, but I have had to become an entrepreneur second.’
The popular Share a Little Frankie UK-made travel mug, featuring Frankie the giraffe Image: Lucy Kendall
Her driving instructor also gave valuable advice about the need to ‘capitalise on everything.’ As a very shy person, she found this a challenge, ‘but I have just kept pushing and pushing. I think I now see myself his way. You do need to be incredibly resilient.’ Taking his advice has worked – her driving instructor has now commissioned two portraits. Such is the realism of her drawing that when you first look at one of Lucy’s portraits, you could be forgiven for thinking they are photographs. She is a self-confessed perfectionist – every hair, every marking, every bit of fur has been carefully placed there with her beloved graphite pencils. ‘I often get asked if they are photographs, but my artwork is not hyperrealism – it is conveying the personality, character and emotion of the subject. Photographs are great, but a drawing captures not only a moment but a memory and a feeling,’ she says. ‘I want my drawing to take the viewer back to the time when the original photo was taken.’
Lucy Kendall’s Carla the anxiety koala
Pet portraits and giftware As well as the prints, including a limited edition of 25 of the Dorset Art Prize drawing, Lucy produces a wide range of giftware – cards, bags, bone china mugs, giclee prints, stationery and tea towels. Some of her gift items are sold for charity – a Christmas card set raised money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, chosen because her father suffers from MS. She is very eco-conscious and also tries as far as possible to use local products. Her new range of slate coasters is being hand-made at a small business in Somerset, her paper goods are produced in Dorset, her prints are framed in Blandford and her giftware range is sold in a number of local shops, including 1855 in Sturminster Newton and the gift shop at Moors Valley. Lucy welcomes commissions for pet portraits, but warns she is very busy and has limited availability – she is currently taking bookings from June to the end of the year. Lucy is excited about the new British Countryside range, inspired by the Dorset wildlife she knows and loves, which is being launched shortly. Some of the originals have already been sold and further designs will be added during the year.
Lucy Kendall with her hardworking studio assistants
My anxiety koala If you were wondering about the koala in the headline, it has been an important companion throughout Lucy’s gradual but steady recovery from CFS. Lucy calls her ‘my anxiety koala, Carla.’ She made the exquisite drawing over the course of 18 months, starting during her A level exams: ‘to help me to relax and de-stress. I have dipped in and out of the drawing until I finished her recently.’ Lucy uses her intensive drawing method to ‘get lost in the detail and have a breather from the stresses of every day.’ Carla the koala is available in a limited edition of 25, but is also being sold as a giclee print, with 10 per cent of the proceeds going to the mental health charity Dorset Mind. Lucy has worked very hard to achieve so much while still in her teens, but she also has a sense of being very lucky. She says: ‘I’ve grown up watching my mum work so hard at a job she is good at, but which really doesn’t excite her. I adore my art and running my own business and I am prepared to make it a success – CFS or no CFS. I know I’m fortunate to have had so much support from my family, my friends and the local community.’ Developing her business – while recovering from such a debilitating health condition – has been difficult, ‘but it has given me so many skills I wouldn’t have had otherwise,’ she says. ‘And I have had so much fun.’
The second TEDx Shaftesbury Youth event on 9th March welcomed a new wave of young thinkers eager to present innovative ideas for our future. A diverse group of under-18 speakers from schools across Dorset and beyond – including one from Taiwan – shared their insights on topics like diversity in education, sign language importance, the creativity crisis, and entomology appreciation. Hosted by entrepreneur Fatimah Hussain, a two-time TEDx speaker and recipient of the Gold Presidential Service Award from President Biden, the event resonated with her own journey. Event organiser Alex More said, ‘Ideas are the currency of the present and will shape the future. Our TEDx event is a day for curiosity, inspiration, and action.’ The sold-out event captivated audiences with compelling talks, such as the need for Northern Ireland’s history in GCSE courses and cryptocurrency education. Tom Massey from The Gryphon School advocated for sign language in schools, noting, ‘TEDx is a special journey… even if you are small, you can make a big change.’ In addition, TEDx Shaftesbury introduced Lightning Talks, a format designed to engage young audiences with concise, impactful speeches. With speakers as young as 10, topics ranged from equality in girls’ football to tackling space junk. The event, streamed live globally, will be accessible on the TEDx website for future viewing.
The Angel Holistic team in Shaftesbury: (l-r) Darcie, Hazel (the one with the ears) , founder Angela and Olivia
Angel Holistic Care are a small,compassionate bespoke live-in care agency nestled in Shaftesbury, delivering dedicated, personalised one-to-one round-the-clock care and support to individuals within their own home. Angela, founder and registered manager, built up Angel Holistic Care in 2019, after working within different branches of adult care provision for over 20 years. Having worked within the NHS as a district nurse, Angela saw the true value of supporting individuals within their home where they can retain their independence and daily routines, while being surrounded by cherished memories and personal treasures. Angela’s dedication, values and committed beliefs have been deeply embedded within Angel Holistic Care, and she provides her clients with a truly personalised and tailored care experience. They stay within their own familiar walls with the comforts of home, and build long-lasting relationships with their specifically-chosen caregivers as well as the management team of Angel Holistic Care. Angela herself, a seasoned and compassionate nurse, ensures that she is at the forefront of each and every individual’s unique care delivery. ‘We make sure that clients have autonomy over daily routines and decisions,’ explains Angela. ‘It’s a simple thing, but preserves their dignity and sense of control. We create individual care plans, which put the needs and comforts of our clients first. That way we ensure a bespoke care experience that exceeds expectations.’
The team won ‘Home Healthcare Provider of the Year’
What does live-in care involve? Angel Holistic Care’s caregivers can assist with all aspects of care, from companionship, to housekeeping, food preparation, personal care support and so on. In addition, their caregivers are highly trained to provide all aspects of specialised care, including Dementia, Parkinson’s, Palliative, and other long term health conditions.
Angel Holistic Care is regulated by Care Quality Commission (CQC) and is a fully-managed live-in care service, meaning that family and friends can enjoy peace of mind that every aspect of their loved ones needs are being taken care. It was recognised by CQC as ‘Outstanding’ in Caring in October 2021, with an up-to-date review in February 2024 using CQC’s new framework. In addition, Angel Holistic Care has been rated an incredible 9.9/10 on Homecare.co.uk from those who use or have used their service. The team’s holistic approach has also been reflected in their awards and recognition, two esteemed awards in 2024: ‘Best Person-Centred Live-in & Dementia Care Specialists 2024 – Dorset’ (Global Health & Pharma), and ‘Home Healthcare Provider of the Year’ for the South West (England Prestige Awards). The recognitions are a testament to Angel Holistic Care’s unwavering dedication to exceptional live-in care across the South West. The company’s services cover Dorset, Wiltshire, Somerset, Hampshire and Devon – but Angela and her management team ensure they are always actively involved in coordinating and overseeing the well-being of those they serve, day in and day out. It’s a conscious business choice to remain local and small.
Are you seeking live-in care for yourself or a loved one? Do contact the team today on 01747 359017 for more information. angelhc.co.uk
