On 13th March 2023, died peacefully in hospital in Salisbury aged 91.
Beloved husband of the late Ann, much loved father of Peter and father-in-law of Gisela. Michael will be much missed by all his family and many friends.
A service will be held at 1.00 pm at the Grove Building, Church Street, Mere BA12 6DS followed by a private family burial at St Michael’s Church on Thursday 25 April.
Family flowers only please but donations, if desired to the RNLI on the day or via LC Hill & Son Funeral Directors, Mere, 01747 8603.
The 9th February finally arrived, and we were able to reveal all the winners, the runner-ups and highly commended, share the judges comments and just have a joyous get-together with all the lovely small independent businesses that make Dorset great. As I said in my speech, I know that entering awards is easy to put off. It is hard putting pen to paper and giving up time in your busy working days. Sadly, all too often I hear people say ‘I don’t think we’re good enough’ too. But it is important that businesses get recognition for what they are doing – no brand succeeds while they’re the ‘best kept secret’ in Dorset! The standard of all the 2022 Love Local Trust Local (LLTL) awards entries was outstanding. The innovation, diversification, conservation and business growth were some of the most inspiring stories in the most challenging times we have ever lived through. With little support from our government, we need to continue to work together and support each other.
What a party! More than 100 people came to the awards ceremony at Kingston Maurward and it was entirely due to them that the evening was so wonderful. The splendid surroundings really set the scene for the celebration of the LLTL 2022 Awards. Loose Moose Catering put on a terrific meal, followed by a wonderful cheese board supplied by the award-winning The Book and Bucket Cheese Company and Open Air Dairy, along with milk, butter and cream from Meggy Moo’s Dairy. The Kingston Maurward floristry department did the most beautiful flower displays; on the steps as you came into the great hall as well as on the tables in the dining area, they certainly set the scene. A big thank you to all the sponsors, too – nearly everyone was there to celebrate the achievements, give out the awards and say a few words about our worthy winners and runner-ups. Our sponsors don’t just support the awards financially – they give up their time to go and visit each entry, to learn all about their business and what they are achieving. It was a joy to see our Dorset businesses getting recognition and Love Local Trust Local will keep working tirelessly to spread their stories.
We are a not-for-profit organisation so if you would like to help us and get involved please contact us on 07831 184920. The next LLTL awards will open in March 2024.
The winners of the Love Local Trust Local Awards 2022!
Bakery Winner – The Little House Runner up – Dorset Artisan Macarons
Dairy Cheese – The Book And Bucket Cheese Company Dairy – Eweleaze Dairy
Dorset Drinks Winner – Little Waddon Vineyard Runner up – Dorsetshine Distillery
Honey Winner – Honey by Ian & Co. Runner up – Tarrant Valley Honey
Meat Winner – Dirtydogdorset Runner up – Enford farm shop
In 2022, almost 37,000 estates included a gift to charity. Gifting to charity is a well known strategy for minimising an Inheritance Tax bill, but recent case law shows the importance of getting your will professionally drawn up to ensure there are no nasty surprises for your loved ones.
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You may recently have read about Caroline Burke who thought that a will left by her aunt left money equally between charities and other beneficiaries. Unfortunately the will had not stated who should pay the inheritance tax. Silence on this point meant that the beneficiaries did not inherit equally – instead the inheritance tax came out of the shares which did not include the charities, meaning the charities received more than the others. Gifts to charities are exempt from inheritance tax, so when an estate is divided equally between charities and non-charities, the entire inheritance tax comes out of the non-charities’ shares, unless the will specifically states otherwise. Many people leave money to charity and it is a nice way of doing good while reducing the tax payable. However, without careful consideration it could result in the charities receiving more than intended. That is not to say don’t leave to charity; in some circumstances not only is the gift to charity inheritance tax free, but leaving some of your estate to charity can result in the tax on the rest of your estate being reduced from 40 per cent to 36 per cent. If you are considering leaving money to charity in your will, it is important take legal advice. Trethowans can help with this, please call us on 0800 2800 421 or get in touch here.
The BV first featured Barry Cuff’s collection in The Gardener with 10,000 postcards in April 2022. Each month the local postcard collector shares a selection of rarely-before seen images from his archive. This month Barry has picked local photographer Nesbitt from Blandford.
Salisbury Street, Blandford. Nesbitt’s studio is bottom left, where Symonds & Sampson are today. Posted to West Pennard (nr Glastonbury), August 1910Iwerne Minster – posted to Keynsham nr. Bristol in June 1906.The crossroads at Tarrant Keyneston, with the True Lovers Knot in the centre. This was posted to Exeter in August 1910Milton Abbas – posted to Barry Cuff’s grandfather at Winterborne Whitechurch, December 24th 1909
Tom Nesbitt is listed in the 1889 and 1911 Kelly’s Directories of Dorset. His shop and portrait studio were at 7 Market Place Blandford – where Symonds & Sampson are now, at the bottom of Salisbury Street. As well as publishing postcards of Blandford itself, Nesbitt covered most of the villages within a ten mile radius. Each of the cards shown have been sent through the post.
Contract type: Part time, 25 hours per week, term time plus inset days.
Start date: 21st April 2023
The governors wish to appoint a new School Office Administrator to start on 21st April 2023
We are looking for a skilled, efficient and highly organised person to join our friendly school team. The successful candidate will have responsibility for the management of pupil information, school meals and will carry out secretarial and administration procedures to ensure smooth running of the school.
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.
To obtain an application form, job description and person specification, please contact Mrs Claire Brown, School Business Manager via email on: [email protected].
All applications should be returned electronically to Mrs Brown
Visits to the school are warmly welcomed. Please telephone the school on: 01963 250366
Closing date: Noon on Friday 24th March
Interviews will be held on: Monday 27th March at 10am
Based on the best-selling novel by Audrey Niffenegger, the musical adaptation of The Time Traveller’s Wife is scheduled for a West End run at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue this autumn. Joanna Woodward, who grew up in Glastonbury, will play the female lead, Clare. She attended St Dunstan’s School and Bridgwater College before going to The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
Her West End career began ten years ago in Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, her list of theatre credits include playing Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman: The Musical (Piccadilly Theatre & Savoy Theatre) and Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Aldwych Theatre).
The Time Traveller’s Wife: The Musical has a heart-breaking and soaring original musical score by multi Grammy Award-winning composers Joss Stone and Dave Stewart, and is based on one of the best loved novels of the past 50 years. Henry and Clare’s love story is like no other and yet like all others; they meet, flirt, fight, love, marry … but all out of order. Henry is often and uncontrollably flung into time travel; he suffers from a rare condition where his genetic clock periodically resets, pulling him into his past or future, vanishing before one’s eyes, never knowing where or when he’s going next. Except he knows he’ll always come back to Clare – at some point in time.
And so to the questions …
1. What’s your relationship with Dorset?
I grew up in Glastonbury – what, 15 miles from the Dorset border? I loved it; the mix of people, the spirituality running through the place, the music and creativity … I was always going out to live gigs as a teenager, in between performing in the local amateur dramatics at Strode Theatre in Street.
2. The last film you watched?
‘Pieces of a Woman’ on Netflix. I would strongly recommend it – Vanessa Kirby is outstanding in all that she does. It’s a very difficult piece to watch, but it’s important.
3. It’s Friday night – you have the house to yourself, and no work is allowed. What are you going to do?
Most parents will agree, once you’ve got the kids in bed it’s usually just dinner and crashing out in front of the television! But I can be found cooking a delicious vegan meal, lighting some candles, having a bath and reading a book. Self-care is really important, especially as a working mum, so if I do manage some time alone, it’s all about re-filling my cup!
4. What was the last song you sang out loud in your car?
Definitely something Disney-related! I have two young girls and this is often our way of getting through long journeys. Possibly ‘Let It Go’ … or probably the current family favourite, ‘I’ve got a dream’ from Tangled.
5. What would you like to tell 15 year-old you?
Life seems really tough and scary, and it can be, but it also balances out with really beautiful things – if you’re open and willing to look for them. Never give up faith in yourself, you will get to where you want to be, as long as you stay true to your gut and have patience!
6. Tell us about a sound or a smell that makes you happy?
I can do both! For a smell – my husband’s aftershave. Cheesy, but true. And sound – my 16 month-old has just started saying ‘I love you’ in a very cute toddler way, so when the girls say it to each other, I completely melt into a puddle!
7. The best crisps flavour?
All of them! I am crisp mad and may have a problem.
Help.
8. What’s you’re secret superpower? I am highly sensitive. In the past I have been made to believe it’s a fault, but as I’ve got older I’ve realised that it’s not at all. It’s what allows me to be intuitive with others, and very in touch with my own emotions. So actually, it’s my superpower, and allows me to tell truthful stories as an actress.
9. What book did you read recently that stayed with you?
‘The Reason I Jump’ by Naoki Higashida. Such a beautiful, touching, incredible insight into the brain of an autistic child.
10. What would you like to be remembered for?
Being someone that followed my heart and the things I believe in. Being a great storyteller. Being a good mum.
11. What shop can you not pass by?
Oliver Bonus! They just have the perfect mix of leopard print and sparkles, it pulls me in like nectar to a bee!
12. Your favourite quote?
It’s quite long but Theodore Roosevelt’s ‘The man in the arena’ speech is something I live by daily. It’s about daring greatly, living a full life and not listening to the critics who are not the ones actually in the arena (see image, top right)
13. Tell us about one of the best evenings you’ve ever had?
Without a doubt, the night I got thrown on as Carole King in ‘Beautiful: the Carole King Musical’ in the West End. We were during previews with almost no rehearsals. It was terrifying and phenomenal and all my dreams coming true. When I got home I danced around the kitchen to ‘What a Feeling’.
14. Your most annoying trait?
Overthinking everything!
15. What was the last gift you either gave, or received?
I stayed at my best mate’s house recently and she left me a little make-up bag on the bed because she’s cute like that. She also left me a hot water bottle in the bed, which after a night of high heels and interviews was the best gift ever!
16. Your top three most-visited websites?
Whatsonstage for all the latest theatre news, Find what feels good for my yoga fix and Bookshop.org so that I can feed my book addiction while supporting local book shops.
17. What in life is frankly a mystery to you?
How on earth I created my daughters. I often look at them and wonder how that happened!
18. Cats or dogs?
I have both, but anybody who knows me knows that I turn gooey around dogs. ALL dogs. If you approach me with a dog, I won’t be saying hello to you first. Sorry.
19. You have the power to pass one law tomorrow, uncontested. What would you do?
Childcare support for new parents. It is so hard for women to go back to work after having children.
The news on the Windsor Framework this week as been a long awaited boost to the business community, says Dorset Chamber’s Ian Girling
Finally, there is light at the end of the Brexit tunnel. A deal over Northern Ireland has been a long time coming. Clearly, the Windsor Framework is a welcome breakthrough – although it will, of course, be subject to considerable scrutiny and debate. Yet it does offer hope that we can at last move on. Businesses in Dorset have shown admirable resilience during the economic turbulence of the past few years, whether that has been due to Brexit, the COVID pandemic or inflation and the energy costs crisis. However, it is undoubtable that international trade has suffered since Brexit. I hope this new deal will go some way towards stabilising and improving the current strained relations between the UK and the EU. If it succeeds, we have the opportunity to move to a new phase of co-operation on trade, regulation, climate, migration and supply chain issues. It could help cut costs, remove red tape and ease trade friction. The deal must also act a starting shot for the government to sign more trade deals worldwide, in order to give businesses the confidence to export. Do remember that Dorset Chamber is on hand to support all businesses on their international trade journey whether new, established or seeking to re-enter markets. Our team can help with documentation and certification, advice and training. There are many success stories of international trading in Dorset – most businesses see an increase in sales within 12 months of expanding into new markets. I hope the Windsor Framework paves the way for more ‘made in Dorset’ labels worldwide. It’s mind boggling to think that this June will mark the seventh anniversary of the Brexit referendum of 2016. There have been many obstacles and false starts along the way – let’s hope the light at the end of the tunnel is a bright new dawn for all of us.
Apprenticeship awards Don’t forget that the Dorset Apprenticeship Awards, working with the Dorset and Somerset Training Provider Network and sponsored by Superior Seals, are open for entry until 17th March. They are free to enter and open to all people in Dorset that are either on an apprenticeship programme now or have completed their apprenticeship in the last 12 months. The awards celebrate the hugely important contribution that apprentices well as the personal achievements of apprentices and the impact of the apprenticeship programme on lives. Each finalist, along with three guests, will be invited to an awards celebration lunch on 16th May at Superior Seals Training Academy and will be presented with their trophy by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Dorset on behalf of His Majesty. Each winner will also be profiled in the Dorset Business Focus magazine. Entry is via the Dorset Chamber website. If you are on or have completed an apprenticeship in the last 12 months or employ apprentices in your business, I’d really recommend entering these awards.
A local expert from Citizen’s Advice provides timely tips on consumer issues.
Q: “I’ve been offered, and accepted, a new job. The new company wants me to start as soon as possible but we’re really short-staffed where I am now and I don’t know how soon I’ll be allowed to leave. How should I bring all this up with my boss?”
A: It can feel awkward telling your employer you’re moving on but there are set processes in place and it is important to follow them. The time between telling your employer you’ve found a new position and you actually leaving is known as your notice period. If you’ve been in your current job for less than one month, you won’t have to give any notice period (unless your contract says otherwise). If it’s more than a month, you have to give at least one week’s notice. Check what your contract says to find out how much notice you’ll be expected to give. If you don’t have a contract, and your employer has no written record of you agreeing to a notice period but you have been employed for more than a month you have to give at least one week’s notice. If you have a long notice period (say, three months), you may wish to leave your job before your notice period is up: The only way to be free of the employment contract is to come to an agreement with your employer. It’s worth reassuring your employer that leaving early won’t cause them any problems – for example, agree to finish any urgent work. It can be worth reminding them that letting you leave early will mean they don’t have to pay you for as long. However, if your employer doesn’t agree, but you want to leave early anyway, think about whether this would cost them money. For example, if they’d need to get expensive agency staff to replace you at short notice, they could take you to court. It may also have an impact on any references you might want in future. Although it may be tempting to hand in your resignation as soon as possible, it’s worth waiting until your new employer has confirmed your new employment, for example by signing your contract or by giving you a start date. It’s then best to give your resignation in writing (email is fine), so that you have a record of the date you told your employer. You can find guidance on how to do this on the Citizens Advice website, where we have a page on handing in your notice.
Fixed term contract Fixed-term contracts are a bit different, as you won’t need to give notice if you intend to leave on the last day of your contract. Leaving before the end of a fixed-term contract usually means giving at least one week’s notice, but again check your contract to see if this is different.
Paid what you’re owed Don’t forget about your holiday days during your notice period. If you have any unused leave, speak to your employer about either taking these during the notice period or being paid back for them in your final paycheck. If you leave early, your employer still has to pay you for work you’ve done. If your employer refuses to pay, check what you’re owed and how to get it. Finally, sometimes people can change their mind about moving jobs or find their circumstances alter. If this happens to you, you should speak to your current employer to see what your options are and if you can stay in your current role. Everyone’s situation is different, but if you face any challenges with an existing or potential employer, contact Citizens Advice for advice: 0800 144 8848 or visit our website pages about what to do when you’re leaving a job.
