Local family brewer Hall & Woodhouse will be running the main bar at this year’s Dorset County Show – and has pledged to donate all profits from the event to charity. This will be Hall & Woodhouse’s first time at the county show, and all profits will be split between the show’s chosen charities, The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution and The Farmer’s Crisis Network (FCN) Dorset.
The Badger Beer Volkswagen will be offering free samples of Badger
The Badger Beer Volkswagen will also make an appearance at the show, offering free samples of Badger, as well as selling some bottled Badger and branded merchandise. There will also be free ‘Badger beer and cheese’ tasting sessions, hosted by Mark Woodhouse, Hall & Woodhouse’s family director. These will run at 1pm on Saturday 3rd and 12pm Sunday 4th, and encourage visitors to try new ways of enjoying everyone’s favourite food with Badger beer. Anthony Woodhouse, chairman of Hall & Woodhouse, said: ‘This event celebrates the best of local agriculture, farmers, and producers. As a Dorset business, it is so important that we give back to our community. ‘We are excited to be part of this year’s Dorset County Show and spend time with the visitors who are just as passionate as us about supporting our farmers and local producers.” Nicki Ralph, chair of Dorchester Agricultural Society, added: ‘We are thrilled to receive Hall & Woodhouse’s support for our chosen charities. We’re delighted the Dorset County Show is back with all the major attractions the show is known and loved for, such as cattle and livestock, sheep shearing, vintage tractors, show jumping, shopping, and plenty of food and drink. There’s live music, the fun fair, a local artisan’s tent, the Fabulous Food and Farming zone – it’s ideal family entertainment’ The show is on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th September at Dorchester Showground, Cokers Frome, 8.30am- 6pm both days. Tickets £23pp, under 16s free.
Boris Johnson’s levelling-up agenda comes to rural Dorset, bringing ‘lightning fast’ broadband and other benefits. Fanny Charles reports
A £6 million contract signed with North Dorset-based Wessex Internet will bring the government’s new Project Gigabit to 7,000 rural properties across the district over the next three years. Forget super-fast or even ultra-fast broadband – the £5 billion Project Gigabit aims to bring the fastest and most reliable internet connections to hard-to-reach rural areas, to enable families and businesses to take full advantage of technological advances in the coming decades. For North Dorset, the contract with Wessex Internet will result in vastly improved connectivity for businesses and individuals outside the market towns and larger villages. The first home will be connected by the end of 2022, with an expected completion date for all by 2025.
Wessex Internet was started by James Gibson-Fleming, now chairman and founding director. Initially it was a response to the problems of business people and individuals in the Iwerne valley who were struggling to get reliable broadband. Since then, the company has expanded to serve communities in Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset, and has provided fast broadband to most built-up areas of North Dorset. But it is very expensive to reach people in the remoter, scattered settlements and farms, and this is where the support funding from Project Gigabit comes in. It’s not just ‘lightning fast’ broadband, as Boris Johnson called it, when he came to North Dorset to sign the project’s first major contract, on one of his last prime ministerial visits. It will also have far-reaching benefits for local business and the community, providing employment opportunities and improved skills for local people. Hector Gibson-Fleming, chief executive of Wessex Internet, is justifiably excited about the contract and what it means for the area: ‘We care about our community and we are really proud as a business to be part of this.’ he says. ‘It will not only bring unlimited speed broadband to the hardest-to-reach areas, it will also create employment opportunities for businesses and is good news all round for the prosperity of the area.’
It’s not just good internet Wessex Internet currently employs 150 people, and the new contract will see that figure rise by around 100 over the next 18 months, says Hector, who urges local people to look at recruitment prospects offering skilled jobs across the company. These employment benefits will spread across the district, as the improved connectivity allows entrepreneurs, farmers and businesses to expand into old farm buildings and other potential workplaces. The new businesses will mean more and better employment and training for local people. ‘There will be opportunities for people to have high-skilled jobs in North Dorset,’ says Hector. ‘We are really proud of the difference we are making to our community.’ The government press release, announcing the visit by Boris Johnson and Nadine Dorries, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, says: ‘Gigabit broadband can provide speeds of more than 1,000 megabits per second, more than 30 times faster than copper-based superfast broadband, which is currently available to 97 per cent of UK premises. While superfast is fast enough for most people’s needs today, gigabit-capable connections will provide the speeds and reliability Britain needs for decades into the future.’ For more information on ‘proudly local and independent’ Wessex Internet, visit wessexinternet.com
The first full one-day show for the new G&S team was deemed a roaring success, report Laura Hitchcock and Rachael Rowe
It was a relief for everyone – organisers, volunteers, traders and visitors – to see such an enormous crowd back at the Turnpike Showground for the first proper one-day Gillingham & Shaftesbury agricultural show since 2019. The 2021 show had been planned through COVID lockdowns, and restrictions were only lifted the week before the show itself. It was, by necessity, a very different show from normal, held over two days.
Image: Courtenay Hitchcock
This year’s heatwave was a serious problem, causing last-minute changes as the hard ground threatened the safety of polo ponies and showjumpers. And then, in a swift change of fortunes, the rain became the problem instead, as the day before the show was washed out with torrential downpours and thunderstorms. But on the day, the weather gods were kind: the forecast thunderstorms never materialised, and in the end there couldn’t have been a more perfect setting. Right from the start, there was a vibrant buzz on the showground. Wherever you looked, there was something to see or an old friend to greet.
While the livestock and pristine rows of tractors and farm machinery signal it is very much still an agricultural show, there’s something about the Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show that is a lot more. It’s the sense of community and passion for the countryside that make it an unmissable event in North Dorset’s August calendar.
Image: Derrick Pannell
It’s the people
The G&S Show spans the generations, from a weather-beaten man giving a terse nod to a neighbour to an excited child leading a calf into the main ring for the first time. Small children in long white coats carefully led sheep around a ring, appearing overawed by the crowds and the rosettes. Others trotted ponies through their paces in the rings or helped parents feed animals.
Children (and adults) sat captivated by Signature, the Dorset and Wiltshire signing choir, who kicked off events in the music area with modern songs ‘sung’ in sign language.
Over in the marquees, perfectly-shaped vegetables competed alongside glorious dahlias in a riot of colours as inspirational flower arrangements filled the horticultural tent.
Image: Chris Robinson
Fresh eggs sat on plates, this year unaccompanied by their feathered producers, thanks to Avian Flu. The new Wool Village was busy with sheep being shorn by experts and the public learning about the value of British wool.
Steam to ferrets
There was laughter and curiosity at the ferret racing, where spectators were constantly warned about the perils of picking up an animal. The furry creatures raced down drainpipes – it’s tails out first, not the nose, that wins.
The speed at which the Shetland Pony Performance Display team hurtled around the main ring was quite a spectacle but highly entertaining.
The Terrier Racing was unmissable, with some spectators not there for the dogs so much as for Bill Galpin’s commentary.
Image: Chris Robinson
There seemed to be someone working continuously on the steam engines, polishing and making sure the paintwork was gleaming. But what joy when they all rumbled into the main ring for a circuit or two.
The Grand Parade
The relaxed atmosphere of the day was juxtaposed at times with the strictest formality. Bowler hats in the judging ring, elegantly dressed ladies driving carriages, and pristine white-coated families leading cattle in the main ring. Some things at the G&S Show have remained the same for years. The big news this year was that the Grand Parade made an important and oh-so-welcome reappearance, after a 15 year absence.
It was eyes to the sky when the Lightning Bolts Army Parachute Display team landed in the middle of the show – the Dorset crowd feeling special pride as they learned the jump master is from Gillingham.
So. Much. Food
It’s at places like the G&S Show that you realise just how much food is produced within the Blackmore Vale. The Gritchie Brewing Company Bar was popular, and there was a lot of interest in tasting the gin distillers’ botanicals. There were long queues at the hog roasts and ice cream stalls, selections from so many choices at the fudge stand, and the delicious aroma of curry. You could make a picnic from tasty salami, a mountain of regional cheeses, plus local bread and cakes.
Image: Derrick Pannell
The great thing about the G&S Show is that you never know who you might meet as you make your way round. You may bump into old friends and colleagues while for generations of farming families it’s a chance to get together.
For the first timer, there’s that affirmation that you’ll be marking the third Wednesday in August in the diary for next year’s show.
And the year after …
The BV produced the first ever official G&S Show magazine this year – crammed full of fascinating insider peeks into what goes on behind the show, and extraordinarily serious *cough* in-depth interviews with some of the organisers. If you’ve not read it yet, you can do so here!
A gorgeous walk near Bruton which includes glorious open south Somerset countryside, a free surprise art trail, a 16th century royal librarian’s arrow-straight trail and a short but mildly lung-busting climb through a native pine forest to a spectacular view from underneath Alfred’s Tower.
To follow this route using the Outdooractive App, please find the route here.
The route is pretty well signed nearly the entire way round. One important caveat – the route crosses through the Bruton Flood Storage Reservoir – at times of heavy rainfall it WILL flood and cut off a section of the route, so do consider what the weather has been like before you start!
Bruton Flood Storage Reservoir – the route follows the path, and you can see how this is a bowl which will flood during heavy weather. To the right is a train track – they come regualrly so if you have a nervous dog, do ensure it is on a lead here.
Keep an eye out for Jenny Holzer’s What Eyes sculpture which you pass lying in a seemingly-random field:
The Leland Trail section is a nice break from map-reading, it runs dead straight and is clearly marked for a long way, allowing a relaxed section of the walk just to enjoy the surroundings:
The start of the trail passes through Moorwood Art – a contemporary fine art gallery. Do appreciate the sculptures on display, but don’t stray from the public footpath. When we walked through we enjoyed some large steel fire sculptures by Aragorn Dick-Read.
The climb through the forest up Aaron’s Hill was possibly my favourite part of the walk – beautifully airy cathedral-high pines opened to allow glimpses of a stunning view.
There is a necessary small section of road as the public footpath which winds around the back across a property appears to be inaccesible. But the traffic was quiet and there is a verge you can escape to when necessary.
There is a small parking area in South Brewham by the cemetary – please park responsibly with consideration.
Friday lunchtime recitals are back at Sherborne school, it’s FREE admission and all are welcome. See the poster below for what’s on and the dates from September through until the begining of December 2022.
To celebrate the stellar line-up of the 8th Dorchester Literary Festival this October, we’re giving away 10 tickets (worth £100) to one lucky winner.
DLF are known for their eclectic and ambitious programming; this year audiences can delve into the lives of our Queen, the Marine Commandos, the celts, Constable, Ronnie Archer-Morgan and Mary Seacole. They’ll meet bushcraft and survival legend Ray Mears, Keith Brymer Jones of The Great Pottery Throw Down as well as Justine Picardie, whose novel Miss Dior brings together fashion and the French Resistance.
Minette Walters shares her Desert Island Books, and bestselling novelists including Robert Harris, Natasha Solomons, Elizabeth Lowry and Ben McIntyre will immerse us in their stories.
And thanks to Dorch LitFest, one lucky person will win a set of ten tickets to use at any of the events they choose! To be in with a chance to win, 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 25th September 2022 and only entries received on or before that date can be included. The prize will go to the first randomly chosen entry. Good luck!
We all feel better after a walk in the fresh air. Izzy Anwell of Dorset Mind explains how ecotherapy leads to good mental health
here are countless benefits attributed to connecting with nature and being outside. However, the lack of research makes it hard to know how effective the treatment is, from a clinical perspective. Ecotherapy is the name given to healthcare which draws on the benefits of nature-based activity to support people with mental health problems. Even just taken at face value, ecotherapy encourages socialising, exercise, sunlight exposure and learning and sharing emotions, all of which aid ‘good mental health’.
Good mental health Characterised by a person’s ability to fulfil several key functions and activities, the markers of good mental health include the ability to learn, to feel, to express and manage a range of positive and negative emotions and the ability to form and maintain good relationships with others. Ecotherapy supports all five stages of the ‘five ways to wellbeing’ as it encourages its participants to connect, to learn, to get active, to give back and to take notice.
Connect Ecotherapy encourages those who may have become isolated due to their health to socialise with others, to build connections and relationships and regain social skills. There is strong evidence that feeling close to, and valued by, other people can contribute to a person’s daily functioning and act as a buffer against mental ill health.
Garden As part of Dorset Mind’s ecotherapy project, users are taught how to tend to and maintain a garden or plot, supporting the concept of hands-on learning which provides the opportunity to safely make mistakes and learn through trial and error. It also ensures the participant really has to take notice of their surroundings.
Keep Active Ecotherapy actively encourages exercise and activity, which we all know helps to release those feel-good hormones like adrenaline and decreases the stress hormone cortisol. Interestingly, it has recently been suggested that the act of digging and disturbing soil releases a microbe called ‘mycobacterium vaccae’ which acts as a natural anti-depressant. The validity of this research has not yet been confirmed but most gardeners would emphatically agree. And what if it were true? Another benefit that comes from being active outside is that participants get regular sunlight exposure. This prompts the body to produce Vitamin D, vital for bone and muscle health but also a general mood-booster.
Give back As part of Dorset Mind’s Eco in Mind ecotherapy project, all the produce grown is harvested and donated to local food banks. Having this knowledge as a participant evokes a sense of pride and accomplishment. It’s National Allotment Week between 8th and 14th August. This gives us the perfect opportunity to get outside and connect ourselves with the earth around us, whether you have an actual allotment or just a small patch of garden. If you do make it outside, try and be mindful as you work, making yourself aware of your surroundings and how they make you feel.
If you are struggling to cope with your mental health in general, please talk to your GP. If you’re in a crisis, treat it as an emergency. Call 999 immediately or The Samaritans, FREE on 116 123. Dorset Mind offers group support that can also help with your wellbeing. The group offers peer support and helps to reduce stigma by normalizing conversations about mental health. You can also check out further support for stress and mental health here. You’ll find links for 1-2-1 and groups mental health support we offer here.
