Harvington Properties Ltd are looking for the following personnel:
Forklift driver
Brickie labourer
Bricklayers
Stonemasons
Paying excellent wages on a site in Stalbridge with views over the countryside. Friendly work atmosphere. No timewasters need apply. Work available throughout the Summer and into Autumn.
Brickie Labourer : £130-150 per day + extra for Forklift ticket
Brickie : £180-£220 per day based on experience
Stonemason : £200-£240 per day based on experience
Growing from seed always has an element of risk – Barry Cuff shares his challenges this month, along with the wide variety of veg he’s bringing on, and his weevil battle
May is always a busy month on the plot and one of the main sowing times. We always like the challenge of raising our vegetables from seed rather than buying plants from a garden centre. Raising from seed can be a challenge – but it is so much cheaper. Most seed packets contain enough seed for at least two years, and if stored correctly they do retain their viability. Our allotment association is a member of the South West Counties Allotment Association which enables us to buy flower and vegetable seed at a fifty per cent discount, with a choice of seeds from Suttons and Kings Seeds. We always sow more than we need to cover losses on the plot, and any surplus young plants are given to neighbouring plot holders. This is what allotmenteering is all about – sharing and swapping with friends. Vegetables raised in modules during the month include cauliflowers, broccoli, romanesco, courgettes, cucumbers, squash, gherkins, sweetcorn, French beans and runner beans. For the first time we only managed to raise 25 Swift sweetcorn plants from a packet of about 50 seeds. A second packet of the same variety was bought from a garden shop, and these were more successful; enough to complete a block of about 50 plants. During the month we planted out the first sown sweetcorn, Brussels sprouts, runner beans, French beans, gherkins and courgettes. Sowings were made of carrots, Beetroot, peas, mangetout and snap peas. We look forward to digging our first new potatoes early in June.
Weeds and pigeons Weevil has again been a problem with our peas, taking out many seedlings before emergence, but we have replacement seedlings to fill the gaps. Pigeons are becoming a major problem on the site, with all plot-holders having to erect nets over their young brassica plants. The council does not allow shooting on their land so it has to be netting or some type of silent scarer. With rain falling on about 12 days this month, plants, seedlings and weeds have made good growth. Weeding can be a back-breaking job, especially among young seedlings where the hoe will not go! In the small area for flowers both Californian poppy and bastard balm have kept the bees happy.
The glasshouses and polytunnels at Thorngrove are bursting with colour now, and Kelsi-Dean Buck is celebrating the start of rose season
Roses are one of the oldest flowers – archaeologists have discovered rose fossils that date back 35 million years. The oldest living rose is 1,000 years old, and grows on a wall on the Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany.
Isn’t it April that’s supposed to be full of showers? May was flip-flopping on us here in Gillingham with scorching sun one day, and torrential rain the next. The fun never stops when it comes to the weather in England. At least we have weather though, right? I’m not sure having the same climate all year round sounds all that interesting to be honest, and as far as our gardens are concerned, too many dry days and we’re out there doing a rain dance anyway! We’re welcoming June and the approaching summer, and it’s now the time of year when you should be thinking about increasing the watering of your plants. Even on the more overcast days, the warmth will see them being more thirsty.
Busy days June in Thorngrove is, in a word, cramped! But in the best way. There’s barely enough space to contain the range of plants we have in right now, and it seems as soon as some space is cleared in the glasshouses or polytunnels, new plants take their place ready to be nurtured. An almost endless list is coming into flower, meaning the courtyard and glasshouses are brighter than ever… plus, the first roses have officially bloomed! The first two weeks of June should see even more of them making themselves known and we cannot wait until they’re fully on display, as usual reaching for that spotlight. It really does take your breath away when they’re all flowering.
Gaillardias are brightening up gardens now
The roses are here Always one of our most popular plants, the roses are a major draw at this time of year. It’s always when they’re fully in bloom that customers tend to pick them up, so don’t miss out! That being said, we wanted to shine a bit of that proverbial spotlight on some of the other seasonal plants which may be overshadowed by the stunning rose season. There’s such a diverse range to fill your borders, beds, and planters with, including some stunning lilies, dianthus, clematis, geraniums, begonias, chrysanthemums, gaillardias, as well as a brilliant selection of lush Heucheras. And I’ve not started on the trees and shrubs to fill those corners of your gardens or line your walls. Honestly, we could do a four-page spread highlighting what’s looking good right now. Stop by Thorngrove in June and get your summer garden looking the best it can possibly be. We’re on hand for advice as always, and look forward to seeing you!
Hares don’t seem to become an issue, reflects Dorset NFU county chairman George Hosford, but beavers (and, surprisingly, Jeremy Clarkson) pose far tougher questions – and there don’t seem to be any easy answers
The brown hare is Britain’s fastest land mammal, clocking speeds of up to 40mph. The expression to ‘kiss the hare’s foot’, meaning ‘to be late’, alludes to the hare’s great speed and the notion that, if you hesitate, it will have gone and all that will be left is a footprint. Image: Alan Wicks
Seven or eight hares constitutes grazing pressure equivalent to how many sheep? When does the hare population shift from “I like to see a few of them about” to “I might have to consider doing something about them”? But when our friend Alan Wicks can produce photos like the above, I just want to celebrate. They look like a bunch of greyhounds racing hell-for-leather around a track, but what would the hares be chasing? A stuffed whippet on a piece of string? I think they are just doing it for the sheer fun. Alan tells me that he has seen them rough and tumbling in a heap sometimes. I know that some areas suffer from much larger numbers of hares than we do, and that action does indeed need to be taken, but here, hare numbers have been low to modest for as long as I can remember. What is the key factor that limits them? There is, after all, no shortage of food. Has it been due to the presence of too many predators of the leverets, like buzzards and crows? Or is it that we have been too successful in controlling small weeds in crops, which I have long understood are vital for the survival of young ground-nesting birds? Surely a young hare can graze on wheat from the day it’s born? As farmers it is very difficult to get the right balance between a few weeds sufficient for skylark and lapwing chicks, and a wipe-out of a crop due to runaway weed infestation. The chemicals we use are very efficient at their job, and if you use reduced rates you risk encouraging resistance to the sprays in the weeds.
Beavers be damned All too often when walking, biking or paddling along local rivers, one comes across weirs and sluice gates that are woefully neglected. How much of the flooding that so many tears are shed over – and millions of pounds spent clearing up after – could be saved if the rivers were better managed? Current river policy seems to revolve roughly around re-wilding. Oh, and let’s bung in a few beavers for good measure, there won’t be any flooding then. How long before a dislodged beaver dam gets washed down to a dodgy old bridge, turning it into a bigger dam, causing flooding upstream, or a tsunami downstream, following its collapse? I am sure those responsible for intelligent advanced planning have borne all this in mind before launching into the Great Beaver Release Gamble that is approaching; at least five such releases are planned for Dorset. No-one seems to operate the precautionary principle any more. There are numerous tales of beaver trouble from Scotland, where, as so often, they are ahead of us in this game, but has any notice been taken? Apologies for all the questions this month – but does anyone have any answers (oops, there’s another)? Luckily for me, I live on a hill.
Mother knows best The school visit season has now begun, and so far in pretty co-operative weather. Sometimes a group will bring a picnic, after which they will enjoy running or rolling down a nearby hill, before resuming their tour around the farm, asking plenty of questions along the way. Didn’t Mother always say you should let your lunch go down before such exertions?
The Eurasian beaver is native to Britain and used to be widespread in England, Wales and Scotland, but was never known in Ireland. They became extinct in the 16th century, mainly because of hunting for their fur, meat and castoreum, a secretion used in perfumes, food and medicine. There have been more than 200 formal beaver reintroduction projects (plus numerous unofficial releases) in more than 26 European countries and their ecology and management is well-studied.
Clarkson’s got a point Whatever you might have thought of Jeremy Clarkson in the past, since he began sharing with his huge audience the trials and tribulations of learning to farm, he has surely been a force of good for the industry. His first series from his farm Diddly Squat was highly entertaining, and brought tales so familiar to long-suffering farmers to the attention of the population at large. His piece in the Sunday Times today, 15th May, is worth looking up (read it here – the Times has a paywall, but there’s a month free trial and it is well worth a read – Ed) – he is publicising, in his usual entertaining style, what our NFU President has been trying so hard to ram home to our wise and wonderful (apparently clueless) leaders for months, since the war began in Ukraine, about the impending crisis in food prices and availability around the world. What he doesn’t get around to is pointing out all the micro-decisions we are making at farm level to control risk and to preserve our livelihoods, which are very likely to result in reductions in production. Speaking to many farmers it is easy to find those who have reduced their usage of fertiliser this year, accepting that output may fall. This year could be OK – many bought fertiliser at what now seems giveaway prices, and we can currently sell grain, milk and meat at prices well above where we were a year or two ago (with apologies to pig and chicken farmers). Ask about next year though and you get blank looks all round. How do we make sense of such a huge change in circumstances? Should we buy (very expensive) fertiliser for next season now, if we can get it, and back it up with cracking forward grain prices? Unfortunately that doesn’t work in the meat markets. Or do we wait and see? In terms of the environment and climate-damaging emissions, it couldn’t be a better time to rein back on fertiliser applications and test the result. With the ongoing war though, shortfalls in exports of grains from Russia and Ukraine are suggesting the opposite should be done. At farm level, I suspect we are likely to be cautious, with production likely to fall.
Even the UN recognises World Bee Day – Charlotte Tombs shares some beewitching bee facts and how you can make a difference.
Since 1900, the UK has lost 13 species of bee, and a further 35 are considered under threat of extinction. None are protected by law. Across Europe, nearly one in ten wild bee species face extinction.
World Bee Day is now a ‘thing’. These tiny little insects get to have their own day in order to raise awareness about the threats made to pollinators by human activities. It has the approval of the United Nations no less, and the first World Bee Day was celebrated on Sunday 20th May 2018. For me, one simple solution would be if we all aim to stop using pesticides in our gardens. By stopping the use of such harmful chemicals we could genuinely make a difference to our bee populations – and all those good insects which in time will come to our gardens and improve them, our environment and the world in general.
The bee’s knees Here are some mind-blowing facts about our humble honey bee for you:
In her (sorry chaps, but they only come in a ‘she’ variety) lifetime she will only make 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey. That’s the life’s work of 12 bees to sweeten your herbal tea!
She will fly 375 miles and visit 70,000 flowers for that 1/12th of a teaspoon.
Bees need a varied diet – there have been studies done and like us the more varieties of flowers they visit the better for them.
A bumblebee’s tongue can be as long as 20mm and they often fly with their tongue extended as they collect nectar (a bit like a dog with its head out of a car window, I imagine).
In the UK we have 270 bee species, and almost 250 of these are solitary. Only nine are types of honey bees, but they are all amazingly effective pollinators.
Image: Charlotte Tombs
There are lots of things we can do to help the bee population in our gardens and cut flower patches and in doing this we really can all make a difference.
Bee ladders Bees need to drink water, but can often drown in a bucket or plant pot or wherever water collects. Simply tie a bit of string to the side of your water butt, and the bees can climb up the ‘ladder’.
Bee hotels Provide or make bee/insect hotels – there is so much information online about this and it’s a great school holiday project for children.
Bee-friendly plants Try to avoid double-petal blooms as bees like an open-faced flower. Foxgloves are like top floor restaurants for bees, especially as the spotted throats of these flowers act as runway markers for the bees to land and they can come back again and again as each flower opens up the spire. Lavender and honeysuckle aren’t just human favourites, they are a favourite for bees as well. And please do let that ivy grow on your garden wall, the flowers are a great source of bee food when there is not a lot else flowering. If you visit your local garden centre they will have an area of pollinator-friendly plants to give you inspiration, along with lots of ideas on how you can help.
Let the wilderness in If, like me, you have an embarrassing corner of your garden where the nettles have taken hold why not admit defeat? Leave it for the butterfly caterpillars of Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady and Comma. By stopping the use of pesticides in your garden, over time it will benefit from more birds as they come to eat the bugs and the circle of life continues …
by Charlotte Tombs Charlotte offers workshops through the year – please see northcombe.co.uk for further details.
All completed applications should be returned to the school email address above.
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 and medical clearance.
“As it’s such a pleasure to share books at events both in the shop and out and about, I thought I’d bring a couple of books to your attention that have the authors visiting Sherborne in June” – Wayne
Since Highland cattle ransacked his grandmother’s vegetable patch when he was six, Roger has been fascinated by cows. So at the age of 61, with no farming experience, he signed on as a part-time labourer on a beef cattle farm to tell their side of the story. The result is this lyrical and evocative book. Cattle have existed alongside us, fed and shod us, quenched our thirst, and provided a thousand other tiny services, and yet most of us know little about them. We are also blissfully unaware of the de-natured lives we often ask them to lead. Part history, part adventure and part unsentimental manifesto for how we should treat cows in the 21st century, Taking Stock asks us to think carefully about what we eat, and to let nature back into food production.
Roger Morgan Grenville is speaking at a Sherborne Literary Society event on June 8th – see more details and book tickets here
Polly Morland was clearing her late mother’s house when she found a battered paperback fallen behind the family bookshelf. She was astonished to see inside an old photograph of the remote, wooded valley in which she lives. The book was A Fortunate Man, John Berger’s classic account of a country doctor working in the same valley more than half a century earlier. This chance discovery led Morland to the remarkable doctor who serves that valley community today, a woman whose own medical vocation was inspired by reading the very same book as a teenager. Interweaving the doctor’s story with those of her patients, reflecting on the relationship between landscape and community, and upon the wider role of medicine in society, a unique portrait of a 21st century family doctor emerges. Illustrated throughout with photographs by Richard Baker.
On June 30th Wayne invites you to join him for an evening with Polly Morland. Enjoy a glass of wine, a talk and a signing. Tickets just £2, redeemable against the book. More details here
In 2022 Winstone’s celebrates 10 years as Sherborne’s Independent Bookseller. Winstone’s has won the British Book Awards South West Bookseller of the Year four times and was winner of the Independent Bookseller of the Year national award in 2016. Owner Wayne Winstone was previously one of the three judges for the Costa Prize for Fiction, and in 2018 Wayne was selected as one of the top 100 people in the Bookseller’s Most Influential Figures listing.
Citizens Advice Volunteer Advisers come from different backgrounds, are different ages and have varied life experiences. They all have one thing in common: they want to help their local community
There has never been a more important time to volunteer. Many people in the community are facing hardship from the cost of living crisis – and they need urgent help. Citizens Advice has seen a sharp increase in those needing help. Many local people are struggling to pay the bills and are having to make a choice between paying for food or energy. Over the last three months Citizens Advice has seen a 28 per cent increase in utilities issues and a 26 per cent increase in debt issues. There is help out there through good advice and access to a range of grants and other support.
Citizens Advice needs additional volunteers to meet this demand. The only qualifications we ask for are that you are a good listener, IT literate and have a passion for wanting to help others. You may not think that you have transferable skills but you will be surprised!
We will provide all the training materials you need to get started and you will have a dedicated trainer who will help guide you through the whole process.Elaine Morley, Advice Services Manager for North Dorset Citizens Advice commented:
“We are an important part of our local community. Last year Citizens Advice Central Dorset helped 7,468 people with 22,518 issues. None of this would have been possible without our dedicated volunteers”.
If you feel that you want to do something positive for your community in the North Dorset and Sherborne area, and would like to know more, please email Elaine on [email protected] (North Dorset) or Diana [email protected] (Sherborne) or visit our website centraldorsetca.org.uk. Start making a difference today.
Sheelagh
Sheelagh’s story: “I started volunteering at my local Citizens Advice office almost seven years ago. I had enjoyed 20 years of headship at Kingdown School in Warminster and 5 more years as a consultant Head, but was not yet quite ready to retire fully from work, so wanted an opportunity to keep my brain active and give something back. When the training began, I spent several weeks (one half day in training sessions and some time doing homework) learning about the benefit system, managing debt, housing, consumer problems and lots of other information, much of which I knew nothing about. I was able to listen into the telephone advice line and sit in on client meetings with experienced advisers. Everyone in the office was kind and helpful and the supervisor and manager were wonderfully patient. Seven years on, I am still enjoying my time advising, and see clients face to face as well, at drop-in sessions and booked appointments. Come and join our friendly and hard-working team for a rewarding volunteer position!”
Climate change and pesticides mean wildlife in our gardens is disappearing – writer Jane Adams urges us to look for an oddly cute vegan who won’t dance
What’s bright green, spotty and loves a bramble bush? The speckled bush-cricket thrives in shrubs and grasses in hedgerows and woodland edges. Perched motionless during the day, look for speckled bush-crickets at dusk and in the evening on shrubs and in tall vegetation. You’ll need to search as they are excellently camouflaged. Image is the nymph stage of the speckled bush-cricket – Image: Jane Adams
As I stand in the middle of a flowerbed in my Dorset garden, I’m surrounded by insects. Worker bumblebees scurry in circles over flower heads, a small-white butterfly floats by like a paper plane, and an armoury of shieldbugs patrol the jungle of shrubs. It’s an idyllic June day. The sort you dream of in the depths of winter when you’re cold and tired. But there’s one insect that’s nowhere to be seen. The speckled bush-cricket. Eventually, long antennae dangling in mid-air give its position away. As I follow the looped tendrils, they lead me to its speckled body, camouflaged against the leaves of a Michaelmas daisy. It’s tiny. A nymph, less than a centimetre long. As it turns its Jiminy Cricket face towards me, I swear it’s going to break into a song and dance routine.
The nymph stage of the speckled bush-cricket, with the moulted skin below the leaf. Image: Jane Adams
Sadly, it doesn’t. Instead, as I move, its compound eyes follow me, and I’m left wondering just who is watching who. Most of the 23 cricket species we have in the UK are omnivores, but the speckled bush-cricket is strictly vegan. By gorging on young leaves, it will outgrow its skin and moult several times until it reaches the two to three centimetres of adulthood. If the one I have found is a male, it will eventually sing to find a mate by strumming the underside of its left forewing with its right forewing – but we won’t hear it.
The frequency of its clicking song, and its mates’ reply, are way beyond the limits of our human hearing. Crickets like the heat, so at the moment most species in Dorset don’t seem to be threatened by climate change. However, with so many insects disappearing from our gardens, there’s still a chance they could be next. So, it’s worth taking care of them – turn a blind eye to a bit of plant nibbling and steer clear of pesticides. Maybe then we’ll see this harmless and beguiling insect again next year.
