Part time (Mainly term-time with some work in the school holidays)
Working with the Bursar, the successful candidate will play a pivotal role in the day-to-day financial operation of Hanford School, Child Okeford.
Candidates must have well-developed financial skills, and be able to work both independently and as part of a team, providing a friendly and efficient service. Experience of working in an educational setting would be advantageous, although not essential.
In return we can offer flexible working (currently 2.5 days per week for 40 weeks per year), lunch on workdays during term time and a kind and supportive environment, all in a beautiful rural setting.
We’re really excited to celebrate the launch of the National Trust’s latest title – Wild Escapes by Sian Anna Lewis!
Wild Escapes: Incredible Places to Unwind and Explore is a captivating book that invites readers to embark on a journey through some of the most amazing wild escapes in the UK. Sian is the award-winning travel writer and creator of ‘The Girl Outdoors’ blog, and she offers a comprehensive guide to beautiful destinations where you can simply switch off for a while, including tips on local walks and watering holes on the doorstep. Through its pages you can journey to 40 unforgettable getaways in Britain’s wildest corners, from floating cabins to miniature castles, tree pods to moored boats. Lose yourself in cosy reading nooks after a day hillwalking in the Peak District, go foraging in Yorkshire’s woodlands, or warm up by the campfire after taking a dip in coastal Cornish waters. Stay in the heart of Wales’ myths and legends.. and yes there’s a Dorset option too (hint: you can pitch up at the birthplace of scouting). With spectacular photography on every page, just reading Wild Escapes is an escape in itself.
To celebrate the release of Wild Escapes on May 11th, we’re giving away bundles of all the National Trust’s brand new spring titles! Wild Escapes is top of the bundle, of course, but winners will also receive:
Nature’s Wonders by Jane Adams Yes, the BV’s very own wildlife writer (see what we thought of Nature’s Wonders here). With a mix of evocative writing, beautiful photographs and facts that are too good to keep to yourself, this book explores 50 magical moments that define our seasons. It’s an inspiring guide to connecting with the nature around you and seeing how it changes through the year. There’s butterflies, blossom and bluebells. There’s foxgloves, flying ants and fungi. There’s snow, seedheads and shadows. You’ll discover how many miles an hour spring moves, how spiders can heal us and how woodpeckers help to protect sensitive technology.
Grow by Robyn Booth This beautifully illustrated book is a modern, fresh take on gardening that shows how anyone can grow their own vegetables, create a mini wildflower meadow or learn how to make the most of their houseplants. And you don’t need your own garden to get started. Creating a thriving window box, choosing suitable plant pots for a desktop oasis or joining a local community garden are perfect ways to experience the joys of gardening.
Gardens of the National Trust by Stephen Lacey The definitive guide to hundreds of Britain’s most outstanding gardens, in the care of the National Trust. The text and pictures have been fully updated, several gardens have undergone major redevelopment since the previous edition, while others have expanded the acreage open to visitors. Extensive tree planting, including reinstating a lost eighteenth-century avenue at Dyrham Park and recreating the pear tree arch at Rudyard Kipling’s home, Bateman’s, are just a few of the new and exciting additions to this classic guide to Britain’s most outstanding gardens.
A Good Appetite by Jenny Chandler. Packed with brilliant bite-sized guides to everything from eating with the seasons, batch cooking and the best ways to use your freezer to foraging and growing some of your own food, this book is all the practical information and recipes you need for making the way you shop and cook more planet-friendly.
Nature Poems by Deborah Alma A carefully selected anthology about britain’s nature, there are celebrated poems by the greats – Keats, Yeats, Tennyson, Robert Browning, Christina Rossetti, Philip Larkin, Sylvia Plath, John Masefield, Robert Burns, Dylan Thomas – as well as contemporary poets whose work you will want to seek out and explore further, including Carol Anne Duffy, Simon Armitage and Jean Sprackland.
Positively Green by Sarah LaBrecque An informative and captivating guide to sustainable living, Positively Green provides advice on how to reduce your environmental impact, while easing climate anxiety and boosting mental wellbeing. From changing how you clean your home to putting food impacts into perspective, this book is the perfect resource for those wanting to limit their effect on the environment and reduce climate-based worries.
Together the book bundles are worth £100 – and we have THREE to give away! To be in with a chance to win one of the National Trust book bundles, just answer the first three questions in the widget box below. There are more chances to win by completing the other entry options if you so wish – they’re entirely up to you! The closing date for this competition is 1st June 2023 and only entries received on or before that date can be included. The prize will go to the first three randomly chosen entries. Good luck!
The Headteacher and Governors are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic and inspirational full time class teacher to work in our Reception class and to join our team from September 2023.
The successful candidates will:
• have high expectations of all pupils
• be passionate about teaching and learning
• have a thorough knowledge of the EYFS/Primary Curriculum and a wide range of teaching strategies
• be committed to collaborative working and ongoing professional development
In return we can offer a warm, friendly and growing school with hardworking and well-behaved children, dedicated and supportive staff and governors and opportunities for continual professional development.
Milborne Port Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share in this commitment. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.
Visits to the school are welcome. Please email Mrs Claire Brown, the School Business Manager to arrange a visit and/or obtain a copy of the recruitment pack: [email protected].
All applications should be completed electronically and returned to Mrs Brown.
In a BV exclusive, our own Jenny Devitt sat down with Natalie Wheen, one of the nation’s favourite broadcasters, for a wide-ranging conversation around Natalie’s Dorset Island Disc choices. Eavesdrop on their chat as Natalie shares the remarkable stories of how and why each piece of music has stuck in her life (you can find links to the specific pieces that Natalie chooses on the website here). Her choices are a fun, naughty, surprisingly moving and very personal wander through the memories of the greatest names in the world of classical music.
After a lifelong career presenting music to the nation, writer and radio presenter Natalie Wheen found it a challenge choosing just eight discs. For more than 30 years, she was an ever-present voice on our radios, with weekly shows ranging from presenting classical music on BBC Radio 3, and a broad selection of Radio 4 shows from the arts review Kaleidoscope to The Food Programme. Moving from the BBC to Classic FM in 1999, she was charged with ‘spicing up the repertoire’ – which she did for four hours a week for more than ten years.
Lastly, in the final item from April’s BV, Terry shares Rachael Rowe’s investigation into why there is such an enormous lack of NHS dentists in Dorset.
The BV podcast goes beyond the pages of the magazine, providing you with exclusive insights, behind-the-scenes stories, and in-depth conversations with our guests. If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to take a look at the April issue of the BV here or visit our website to explore the articles and stories featured.
Walk where Thomas Hardy, Robert Young and William Barnes would all have wandered, crossing a Grade II listed Victorian footbridge and following ancient tracks into the unchanged secret countryside that lies hidden behind Sturminster Newton. Gently wind your way towards Lydlinch and Bagber Common – where William Barnes was born – before turning back towards the town.
The route starts in the heart of Sturminster Newton – there is free parking to be found around the streets, but there is also a large paid-for car park which makes life very simple.
Follow a narrow winding back lane past some of the oldest buildings of the town, finding yourself swiftly on an old footpath to Colber Bridge, a Grade II listed cast iron footbridge over the stour that was designed and built by a Sturminster clockmaker, J Conway, in 1841.
From here it’s a short path across (wet!) watermeadows to join Stalbridge Lane, a beautiful track to walk which originally connected Stur with neighbouring Stalbridge, 4.5 miles away (it’s now 6.5 miles by road). Be aware before you start that if the Stour is in flood, sections of Stalbridge Lane (and other river-level sections of this walk) are likely to be impassable.
As soon as you leave the immediate environs of Sturminster Newton itself you slip back into a quieter time. We have lived locally for 30 years, and have never walked this route due to the fear that the busy A357 would be an irritant throughout the route. But astonishingly you never even notice it – the whole walk was a peaceful joy.
There is a length of road walking at the far end of Stalbridge Lane where the old track morphs into Chapel Road; it was a pleasant stroll between typical Dorset hedges with some beautiful views across the valley, and we didn’t see a single car while we were on the road.
Be aware as you approach Hargrove Lane at the back of Lydlinch that the footpath has moved – the original took you through the farmyard itself, and it has sensibly been shifted to join an access lane instead of winding awkwardly between barns.
The route is easy to follow and well signposted. Stiles and bridges are all well kept (except one small planked ditch bridge as you approach the back of Mullins Farm. Tread carefully on this one – one side is fine, the other very much not so! See image above).
Time it right, and you can finish your day at one of the many excellent coffee and cake spots in the town – we highly recommend both Oxford’s and Stur of the Moment!
A new ‘magic’ weight loss injection has been in the news – could it work for you? Nutritional therapist Karen Geary takes a look
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The notion of a silver bullet for weight loss is highly appealing. If you have a BMI of at least 30 and likely at least one other health concern such as diabetes or high blood pressure, under NICE guidelines you may soon be eligible to receive Semaglutide, the new ‘weight loss injection’. However, you need to go beyond the headlines to understand what it is, how it works, the risks and the alternatives from a nutritional therapy standpoint. Here is the low-down.
What is it? Glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) are hormones that are released naturally by the gut; jointly, they have an impact on the hormone insulin. GLP-1 and GIP agonists are drugs that work by mimicking the effects of these hormones. They started out as drugs to treat patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and act through simulating insulin release and inhibiting glucagon release. The net effect is a lowering of blood glucose/improved glycemic control, but in T2D patients, another effect was noted – weight loss. We still don’t really have a clear explanation as to WHY the hormone is also increasing satiety and reducing appetite, but it is highly effective – hence the excitement. One of the new drugs, Semaglutide, is pure GLP-1 and is licensed for use as an obesity drug. The newer Tirzepatide is a combination of both GLP-1 and GIP and is currently only licensed for T2D, but is reportedly even more effective than Semaglutide (so expect to hear more about it in the future as a potential option for obesity should it be approved for use). Semaglutide is administered weekly via an autoinjector pen requiring refrigeration and is known as Ozempic or Wegovy; the difference between the two is purely dose rates and branding. Tirzepatide is branded as Mounjaro and is administered in the same way.
Does it work? It is extremely effective; BUT it comes with a large caveat. In both the original trial and its extension, weight loss was significant in all participants and begins to slow, at around 60 weeks.
As soon as treatment stopped at 68 weeks, there was an average two thirds regain in weight in all participants. The amount of weight regained depended upon how much was lost originally. Those who lost 20 per cent or more of body weight regained some, but not all. However those who lost 15 per cent or less ended up weighing more than their start weight by the 120 week mark; hence its intended use for those who are genuinely obese.
Known side effects Anything that changes things in the gut is going to have side effects. In trials these are noted as nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation, headaches and dyspepsia. However, these are all noted as transient and can be managed well under medical supervision if the dose is slowly increased to minimise side effects. There were reports of thyroid tumours in rodents from a small trial of an earlier product, Liraglutide, which is why GLP-1 agonists are not recommended for any patient with certain thyroid conditions. Peter Attia MD, based in the US, has been using Semaglutide on patients for more than two years. His clinical observations are not part of trial data but you can read about what he has seen in a longer version of this article here.
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What are the alternatives? A good diet is about eating food which contains nutrients critical to satiety, but without over-eating in calories. If you are not getting enough nutrients, your body will naturally go in search of the vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and amino acids you may lack by eating more. Protein is the cornerstone of feeling full (many people on Semaglutide struggle to get adequate protein intake as they are just not hungry). Proteins are recognised as potent natural stimulators of GLP-1. A palm-sized portion at every meal should be the mainstay of any diet, whether that be animal or plant based. The high amount of amino acids in protein also help to fuel the feel-good ‘happy’ neurotransmitters. So, two eggs at breakfast or three tablespoons of chia seeds or a tub of natural yogurt. For lunch, why not try canned sardines or some pulses in a soup. For dinner enjoy a portion of meat, fish, lentils or pulses. Whey protein is often used in studies for the stimulatory effect on GLP-1 secretion, but make sure you get a good source. The second thing that makes you feel full is fibre, so load up on veg and a little fruit – at least half the plate. There are some natural GLP-1 boosters for blood sugar management and satiety; avocado, cinnamon, curcumin, eggs, green tea and rosemary. There are also certain supplements that have a similar action.
It has been called a ‘secret landscape’ – and not just because there doesn’t seem to be a sign anywhere directing you to ‘Cranborne Chase’. Or if there is, author and photographer Roger Lane hasn’t found it yet. ‘Perhaps it is the most appropriate description because it isn’t too well-known, even among longstanding residents,’ he says. ‘I have often been asked exactly where it is and what it is.’
Fifield Bavant was used for the 2005 Pride and Prejudice film – the location fee paid for the restoration of the church.
As with the Blackmore Vale, boundary definitions vary, but broadly Cranborne Chase is the chalk downland that spreads out on either side of the Blandford to Salisbury road, extending into three counties – Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire.
Famous Zig Zag Hill, just outside Shaftesbury
It is peppered with Neolithic and Bronze Age burial mounds, bisected by the six-mile Dorset Cursus and the Roman road known as Ackling Dyke, which runs from Old Sarum to Dorchester via Badbury Rings. As its name suggests, the Chase was once a royal hunting forest which naturally made it a battleground for poachers and gamekeepers and a refuge for smugglers and criminals.
In 1875 Berwick St John almost became the Paddington of Cranborne Chase
In Cranborne Chase: A Secret Landscape (Amberley), Roger Lane and his friend Roger Holman, who died before the book’s completion, take us on an A-Z tour of the villages and other locations, starting with Ackling Dyke and finishing with Win Green. The pair are well-known for their stunning landscape photographs and these, together with Roger Lane’s informative text, make this book a must-read for anyone with a love of the picturesque Cranborne Chase.
