New ‘Vine of the times’ award celebrates the minority makers in a biased industry

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19 May 2022

Hannah Wilkins of Vineyards in Sherborne is championing change in the wine industry, creating a ‘blanc slate’ with an exciting wine competition.

‘We’ll be tasting wine from female vinters, particularly the smaller under- represented growers,’ says Sadie Wilkins

Like many industries, being a wino can be tough when you’re sipping your way through the archaic stigmas attached to a privileged, white, male- dominated arena. Yes, we’ve come a long way, but there’s still a distance to go.
Proud as we are to be awarded Best in the South West and fifth in the UK (out of over 800 independent wine shops), we were the only gals featured in this year’s top 10 indie wine merchants by Harpers Wine – and in 2022, it just doesn’t feel right.

Under-represented makers
So, we’re introducing our very own and very shiny indie wine tasting: Vine of the Times.
An annual wine tasting where a group of industry winos sit together and raise a glass to inclusivity by hosting a blind tasting competition.
Our new event will unearth little drinking gems from underrepresented makers – this year belongs to women in wine. Our vision is to highlight a different group of ‘minority makers’ each year, not just women, and try to level out the diversity – one bottle at a time. But back to now, and it’s all about the Sip-sterhood!

Made by women
For the inaugural awards we’re gathering wine from female winemakers across the globe for the tasting,
and have recruited an eclectic, independent panel of female judges, each bringing a real mix of experience from the wine industry. On the day, the judges will be provided with the grape variety, region, and RRP only for each bottle we try, in a bid to remove any misconceptions.
All wines will be celebrated in an awards brochure after the event and shared within the wino community, and the winning wines from each grape category will receive a special feature. We’re not giving out glittery trophies, we’re creating a noise instead, which is what Vine of the Times is about.
Real change doesn’t happen from silence.

Time to drink equal
The response we have received from winemakers and prospective judges has been nothing short of overwhelming, including some heavy weights, who are well-respected in our trade, giving up their time and
expertise to be part of our event – in Sherborne, here in rural Dorset. It’s incredible.
If you want to follow our journey and gain a behind the scenes scoop on our exciting event, please do sign up to our mailing list and check out our social media accounts. Vine of the Times takes place on 23rd May –
it’s time to drink equal.

Your monthly wine tip
For those who look forward to a recommendation each month, here’s a wine from one of our favourite winemakers – who just so happens to be young and female (which coincidentally is how we hope she gets introduced in the future: simply as a winemaker, without the female adjective).
From the heart of Burgundy, making waves with her delicious winemaking, let us introduce you to Marinette
Garnier of Maison Jaffelin. Her Côte de Beaune Villages is a true gem – it’s voluptuous, soft, approachable and completely over-delivers for a £25 bottle of wine

by Sadie Wilkins, Indie Wine Merchant: Vineyards of Sherborne

Forget Me Not Day Nursery | Full Time Positions Available

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Editorial team

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19 May 2022

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Forget Me Not Day Nursery

We are looking for new dynamic team members to join our nursery family!

Do you have a happy and sunny disposition? Are you looking for job satisfaction?

Are you prepared to feel special by many young children and their families?

Full Time Positions available:

Nursery Apprentice level 2 & 3
Nursery Nurse

If you are interested please contact Eiron and Lou on 01935 810112, or, [email protected] to apply.

Application closing date 12th June 2022

Bristol Road, Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 4EQ

A clear start for Taran, and possibly the best FedEx parcel delivery ever?

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Editorial team

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19 May 2022

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Buying two horses unseen was a risk, but the results are absolutely wonderful, and the season has started well, says Toots Bartlett.

Equador, Toots’ favourite ever FedEx delivery, is settling in to life in the UK – and slowly acclimatising to the British weather!

April has been a very exciting month here at Toots Bartlett Eventing, with lots of eventing and a few new members joining the team.
The lovely Extasy SR Z (Gatsby) has been out twice this season, returning from a year off. He started with a 24 dressage and clear show jumping but withdrew cross country as it was only unaffiliated and we felt he wouldn’t have gained any education from the course.
He then went on to do a lovely double clear at Portman BE100, with a few time penalties cross country for a finishing place of 9th. He will now step back up to BE Novice level. Portman also marked the first event for
my fantastic groom, Joel Hart and his horse The Rag Lad, also competing in the BE100 section, just adding four faults from the show jumping to his dressage score of 34.

Cor Y Taran’s debut
My very exciting young horse Cor Y Taran (I introduced him last month – he’s the horse I bought unseen off Facebook) had his eventing debut with me. Throwing him into the deep end at one unaffiliated 100 at Aston-Le-Walls and then a BE100 at Bicton. He passed all my expectations with double clear at both! I am feeling just a little pleased with myself to have found this special boy.
Freestyle R was the last horse to have been out competing in April. He had two great runs at
Intermediate level, and is feeling absolutely amazing. We took on our first Advanced as a combination on the 1st May, before turning our attention to Houghton for the CCI3*L.

Toots and Cor Y Taran, the horse she bought unseen from Facebook, at his first event. He passed all Toots’ expectations with double clear.

A very special FedEx parcel
Finally, whilst pretty much every weekend has been full of eventing throughout April, we have also had the arrival of two very special horses.
My 4* horse C Why came back to me from Ivy Lodge Rehab Centre in Glos, where they have done a fabulous job and have given him the chance to return to his former glory!! It’s fantastic to have him home and I am excited about bringing him back to fitness.
On April the 21st a very special FedEx parcel arrived from the other side of the world. Back in March whilst on the search for a new horse we found an incredible ‘Black Beauty’ that my family and I fell in love with. The
only small problem was that he was in New Zealand!
We had no opportunity to be able to go try him because of Covid restrictions, so there were long conversations with my trainers and a lot of research before we decided to take an enormous risk and a deal was done! A long wait till the earliest plane from New Zealand to England, and a 38 hour plane journey for him, but Equador has finally safely arrived.
I have had many sleepless nights wondering if we made the right decision, but he is here, safe, sound and more beautiful than I can ever had imagined.
I can’t wait to start getting to know him and am so grateful, appreciative and still in a little bit of shock to have been giving this once in a lifetime opportunity.
Apparently it will take him six months to adjust to our British weather (my heart goes out to Equador on that one – Ed), so I will thoroughly enjoy sharing our journey with you. It has also been a very special month watching all the preparation for William Fox- Pitt’s two horses getting ready for Badminton. It has been
wonderfully insightful, and has made me even more determined to follow in his footsteps. He is a legend and what a privileged young rider I am to have access to all his expertise and knowledge.
Anyway such an exciting month, time to take a breath, catch up on a tiny bit more sleep and get ready to go and attack May!

Freestyle R had two great runs at Intermediate level in April

Three Day Eventing 101
Eventing is best described as an equestrian triathlon. Each horse and rider pair must complete three tests: dressage, cross-country and show jumping. The horse and rider pair with the fewest penalty points after all
three tests is the winner. The tests developed from training horses used in military combat; war horses were required to be fit, agile, obedient and brave. As their usefulness in combat diminished, these highly trained
horses became repurposed for competitions between nations during peaceful times, which became known as Horse Trials, and the sport known as Eventing.

How it works
Horse trials have varying degrees of difficulty, ranging from Beginner Novice through to Advanced in nationally recognized events, and CCI1* through CCI5* in internationally recognised competitions.
A simple guide to all levels can be seen here.

The three disciplines
Dressage – The first phase of a Horse Trial is always dressage, a series of suppling and strengthening exercises performed in a flat, enclosed arena.

Show jumping – The second phase in Eventing. Agility and precision at speed are the critical requirements of Stadium Jumping. A ‘clear’ round means no penalties.

Cross-country – The final phase tests the speed, endurance, boldness and jumping ability of the horse over varied terrain and solid obstacles; large fences, water, banks, ditches and drops. Cross-Country is ridden at a gallop with speed requirements dependent upon the level of difficulty of the division.

by Toots Bartlett

It’s all about the taste

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Editorial team

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18 May 2022

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Great Taste is the world’s largest, most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme – and its home is right here in Gillingham. Long time judge Fanny Charles takes us behind the scenes on testing for this year’s Great Taste Awards.

Steven Lamb, River Cottage and Lucas Hollweg, food writer and chef in the judging room
image © www.gff.co.uk

If you were lately walking near the Kingsmead Business Park at Gillingham, you might have heard peels of laughter. Go a little closer and the scene looked positively Mediterranean – a group of people sitting on
benches around a wooden table, enjoying lunch in the unseasonable sunshine. It probably didn’t look like work! But the 10 people around the table were having a short break from tasting and testing for this year’s
Great Taste Awards. As a long-standing judge and co- ordinator at the Great Taste Awards, I am used to the
amused head- shaking if I comment that we work hard.
Eating interesting food all day – how hard can that be?
The truth, of course, is that it is hard work, because it is a very responsible job and one which is carried out with real rigour.

Steve Horrell, Roth Bar & Grill in the judging room
image © www.gff.co.uk

Becoming a judge
I have been a Great Taste judge for many years, since the Guild of Fine Food, now based in Gillingham, was in Wincanton near where I live. At that time, I was editing the Blackmore Vale Magazine, and regularly writing about the activities of the Guild, including the Great Taste and World Cheese Awards. Bob Farrand, who founded the Guild and both award schemes – his son, John, is now managing director – repeatedly invited me to come and spend a day judging. I always pleaded the demands of work until one day I didn’t …
So I walked down the road, met some of the judges, listened to Bob’s introduction, spent the day tasting dozens of products – and was hooked. I have been a judge ever since, and for some years also a co ordinator (one of the people who record the comments and stars, where agreed, on the products).
Bob, a writer, cheese expert and author of the excellent Cheese Handbook (2000), always put new judges at their ease by explaining that we “all have the same number of taste buds.” Some people may have more knowledge of specific products – olive oil or espresso coffee, for example – but that doesn‘t mean that your
opinion on the taste isn’t just as valid.

Judges Val Stones, aka “the Cake Whisperer,” and award-winning Indian cook Bini Ludlow.

You’ve definitely seen them
If you are still with me, but wondering what the Great Taste Awards are, the best advice is to look around the next time you are in a supermarket, deli or farm shop. You will soon spot products with small black and gold Great Taste Award labels, with one, two or three stars. They might be preserves or cider, artisan cheese or handmade biscuits, sausages or ice-cream, sea salt or Greek mountain honey.
It’s a simple idea – establish a benchmark for quality and encourage producers and retailers to work together to promote great tasting food, prepared by dedicated makers using fresh, honest and where
possible local ingredients.
Launched in 1994, when fewer than 100 food and drink entries were blind-tasted by 12 experts across five classes, Great Taste is now arguably the world’s leading food awards scheme, attracting around 14,000 entries in 2021. Since 1994, more than 150,000 products have gone through the judging process. Each food
or drink item is blind-tasted by judges from a wide range of food- related backgrounds, including chefs, cooks, buyers, retailers, restaurateurs, food critics and writers.

Antipasto squid tyres
The judges look for truly great taste, regardless of branding or packaging. They take into account texture, appearance, aroma and of course the quality of the ingredients – but above all, doesthe product taste truly great?
On any given judging day, you may have some glorious experiences – a three star hazelnut gelato,
mouth-watering venison salami, oysters fresh from the pristine sea waters off the Irish coast – or some that are anything but …
My worst experience, bar none, still remembered with a shudder, was a dish of seafood, intended as antipasto. It included pieces of squid that could have patched shredded bike tyres, floating in a sea of rough vinegar. It was hard to imagine how this made it out of a test kitchen – let alone why anyone would put it forward for a Great Taste star!
But the horrors are rare – the majority of the products we taste and discuss, thoughtfully, professionally and constructively, are created and made with care, and many will qualify as Great Tastes.
In 2021, a total of 5,383 products were awarded one, two or three stars, of which 497 were from the West Country. This year’s Great Taste judging is now well under way. My most recent experience, typical of the cross-section of people you meet, was a fun and interesting morning with Val Stones, the “Cake Whisperer” and former Great British Bake-Off contestant, and Bini Ludlow, who makes Indian ready meals in Somerset.
The combined taste- buds of a great baker, an award-winning Indian cook and me produced some strong opinions – the pros and cons of a vegan chocolate cake, the level of spicing of a biryani – and stars for several products.
When people ask me why I love Great Taste judging, I have four reasons: I believe that what we do helps to support and promote the work of great artisan and small food and drink producers (and some bigger companies too); I believe we help consumers to discover fine foods they might not otherwise try; I always meet interesting people; and I always learn something new.

by Fanny Charles

M12K Road Race Raises £5,700 For St Greg’s Primary in Marnhull

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Editorial team

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18 May 2022

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On Sunday 3rd April St Greg’s Primary school were finally able to host the M12K road race. Having been deferred due to covid since 2020 it was a mighty relief to see runners gracing our undulating roads. The race was proudly part of the Dorset Road League fixtures for 2022 and so attracted a good field. The roads around Marnhull offer a decent challenge, with runners having to either run up or down most of the way.

250 runners started the race in perfect conditions – so perfect that the ladies course record was smashed by local runner and Dorset Doddler; Molly Rasch, with a blistering 46:09 Lee Dempster of Twemlow Track Club won the race in a terrific time of 41:21.
Tom Hawtree of Marnhull Stores was the honorary starter, having sponsored this year’s race. A Marnhull spokesman said ”We are very thankful for Tom’s continued support of the school. Our other sponsors and prize donors all deserve a mention as without them the race would not be the financial success it is:
Thomas Fudge’s, Hall & Woodhouse, The Dorset Dairy Company, Marnhull Festival, Dorset Doddlers, Dorset
Tech, Friars Moor Vets, Camelot Builders, Wyke Farms, Compton Smith Interiors, AJN Steel, Toyota Somerset County Cars, Cooks Garage, MG Maintenance & Building and Hook Electrical Contractors.

Storm clouds in the pantry, the iron man of Stur and remembering Philip

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Laura

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18 May 2022

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Well, THAT went well! We genuinely expected a quiet whimper of perhaps 30 downloads for our first episode last month. We did not expect over 375 inside the first week!

just press play above to dive in!

Nor did we expect the lovely comments – we expected to be popular with crafters and drivers (my own preference is a podcast in the kitchen while I’m baking). But Courtenay was even taken aside at a wedding by a lady to be told how the podcast had enthralled her blind mother in Stalbridge, who was overjoyed at sitting and listening to her dose of local news, read by local voices.
One of the comments we DID receive, however, was that it was far too long. Whilst you can of course dip in and out like an audio book, far nicer would be shorter episodes through the month. And we are nothing if not obedient (we’re not, actually, but we DO listen – Ed).
So this month has been divided into three parts – and part one is out now for your listening pleasure, 45 minutes read as always by Jenny Devitt and Terry Bennett (except for a small walk-on part by Laura….)

In this first of May’s episodes:

The Letter from the Editor
How ‘A Dorset Kitchen’ is so very much more than a recipe book A wonderful new country life focusing on home-grown produce and beautiful food could have been shattered by the death of a son. But the family have strained every sinew to wrestle good from the tragedy, says Rachael Rowe
Clamping down on rural crime Rural crimes can be violent, costly and yet are often misunderstood, requiring an entire community approach reports Andrew Livingston
Storm clouds are brewing on the horizon at the Vale Pantry A growing number of proud pensioners are in tears when seeking help to feed themselves – the Pantry’s Carole Jones spoke to Rachael Rowe
Philip Hart 1958 – 2022. ‘I’ll always remember his infectious laugh’ “We are sad to say ‘farewell’ to a community-minded employer, a stalwart of local business, and simply my friend” says Jon Dart
Dorset Chamber auction raises over £11,000 for Ukraine DEC Swift donations from Dorset businesses lead to a successful auction raising £11,242 for the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Appeal
The Iron Man of Sturminster! ‘Forging ahead to restore the past’ seems a good motto for Ian Ring, who owns Newton Forge, the Sturminster-based World Heritage business, and whose work is in demand across the UK. Tracie Beardsley reports in this month’s A Country Living
Covent Garden Dance Company Director Matt Brady takes on the Random 19 Matt Brady, Director of The Covent Garden Dance Company, who created Ballet Under the Stars at Hatch House, is celebrating the event’s return this summer, after a three year absence. On 22nd, 23rd and 24th July audiences in the beautiful 17th century walled Dutch garden venue just north of Shaftesbury can enjoy an incredible line-up of dancers – many of them Principal dancers from companies including the National Ballet of Ukraine, The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet and Staatsballett Berlin. Xander Parish returns to the Hatch theatre this year dancing with his wife, Anastasia Demidova.
“James Herriott has a lot to answer for” David Sidwick is about to celebrate his first anniversary as Dorset’s Police Crime Commissioner. He shares his top eight music choices with us as May’s Castaway on Dorset Island Discs

By the law of averages, not all foals are going to be problem free…

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Editorial team

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18 May 2022

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Life or death foals, DIY one-sided milking, windswept legs, film stardom and “Go Honeysuckle, go!” – it’s another average month at TGS with Lucy Procter.

Lucy & Doug Procter with 3yo Black Sam Bellamy x Seemarye image © Tattersalls

One such troublesome filly was foaled in early April. We were delighted with her during her first 24 hours, but by the second morning she had collapsed, and we couldn’t get her up to drink from her dam. Our vet attended quickly, and we stomach-tubed milk stripped from the mare into the foal, to help alleviate dehydration and further deterioration in her condition.
Despite various vet-administered drugs and even roping – a practice whereby one attempts to replicate the squeezing of the foal that would naturally occur during the foal’s passage through the birth canal, thought to help alleviate the symptoms of a ‘dummy’ foal, which can be caused by too swift a foaling – there was little
improvement in the foal’s condition, and it was decided that she needed intensive care that could only be provided by a specialist veterinary hospital.

Roping a foal: replicates the squeezing of the foal that would naturally occur during the foal’s
passage through the birth canal

Doug had already left for Cheltenham, as we had Last Royal (regular readers will remember him as
Honeysuckle’s frustrating little brother), making his handicap hurdle debut in the afternoon and, as the chosen vet hospital was en route, I swiftly changed into clean racing clothes and set off in the lorry to deliver the poorly foal and her dam to hospital, before going on racing, only to watch Last Royal fall at the last.
Definitely one of those not so good days at the office! Having been diagnosed with sepsis on the brain, we were delighted the following morning to receive the news that, with round-the-clock veterinary treatment, the foal’s condition was improving. Three days later, we collected the mare and foal from hospital and the foal has been thriving ever since. So, a happy outcome in the end!

Just from the left bar thanks
Another tricky foal was one that simply refused to drink from one side of his dam. With the dam producing more and more milk that wasn’t being drunk, we had to manually strip the milk out to help the mare feel
more comfortable. However, her bags quickly became so tight it was difficult to milk her out by hand. So I made a makeshift milk pump, by cutting off the nipple end of a syringe and reversing the plunger – by
drawing the plunger down, the milk easily flowed into the syringe and could be emptied into a jug and the process repeated. We were stripping the dam out several times a day like this, until eventually the foal
decided that he would drink from both sides after all.

Behind the scenes at the Tattersalls video shoot. Doug and Lucy are with Doubly Guest, dam of Glanvilles Guest who has featured in previous articles, and her Falco filly. Image Shirley Anderson-Jolag

A skiing foal
Some foals are born with crooked legs and, if left alone, many will self-correct over the first few months. However, to produce a top equine athlete, correct conformation is vital to help reduce injuries during a
racehorse’s career – and thus poor conformation will reduce a horse’s sale value. One foal last month had been born, what in the industry is called ‘windswept’, which means that their hind legs look a bit like a skier doing a hard, fast turn. With doing nothing more than putting supportive, resin extensions on the side of the
foal’s hind feet, six weeks later the hind legs are now perfectly straight and strong.

In other news…
On the racing front, our daughter Alice has had another point-to-point win, this time in the Ladies Open at the Cattistock Races at the end of April, and Freddie, who is in the States riding in timber races, has so far won five ‘sanctioned’ races and is second in the table for prize money won. He will remain in America until their Spring season finishes at the end of May and will hopefully return for their Autumn season, but more about this next month.

Our mares were wrapping their foals up warm this season! Image Lucy Procter (I double checked – Lucy swears the mares
cover the foals up themselves – Ed)

Our final racing news has to be all about Honeysuckle yet again, who remains unbeaten, having claimed her 16th win in a row since debut and her 12th Grade One victory, when she won the Punchestown Champion Hurdle on 29th April.
We were amused to hear from one local vet that her daughter’s young Pony Club friend, whose elderly pony is called Honey, is regularly to be heard happily shrieking “Go Honeysuckle, go!” as her pony takes off around the arena at pony club rallies.
Happy days!

Lucy Procter, co-owner of The Glanvilles Stud (TGS), shares her diary of life on a Thoroughbred stud.

Wells Cathedral School pupil Hetta Falzon wins Pilton Stage Competition!

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Editorial team

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17 May 2022

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Congratulations to Upper Sixth pupil Hetta Falzon who has won the Pilton Stage Competition 2022. The Pilton Stage is a contest that provides up and coming bands and solo artists the chance to win a performance slot at Glastonbury.

Competing against 600 artists, Hetta fought off tough competition in the heats and then triumphed in the final to secure her place at the world-renowned festival. At 17 she is the youngest person ever to win the competition, and Hetta will perform at Glastonbury Festival on the Field of Avalon stage every day during the festival. We wish Hetta the best of luck for her big performances!

Stur plans the first permanent indoor shopping area

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Editorial team

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17 May 2022

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This month’s news from the unofficial capital of the Blackmore Vale …

A move to re-open the NatWest bank building in Sturminster Newton will give local artisans their own ‘shop front’, and seeks to increase consumer footfall to benefit all local businesses.

The planned indoor shopping area in the old NatWest Bank is to be known as ‘1855’ – the year the building is believed to have opened as the National Provincial Bank

The NatWest Project for a new indoor shopping area – to be known as ‘1855’ – is coming together. The unusual name refers to the date the building is believed to have opened as the National Provincial Bank.
If you are interested in a customer-facing selling space for your artisan business, a presentation for potential hirers will be held on 11th May, for an informal gathering at 5pm with the presentation starting at 5.30pm.
To book a space and learn more about the scheme, please contact either Cheryl Basten on [email protected] or Jacqui Wragg on [email protected].
The target date for opening is the 20th July, exactly two years after the popular Emporium opened in the former Lloyds Bank.

Local photographer Adie Ray made use of the empty NatWest building to create a still life shoot © Adie Ray

Alongside established retailers
There will be varying areas of selling space available to hire, from two strong rooms and one small room, to separated spaces on the open floor, along with shelving and cabinets. A curator will in charge of sales.
The Community Benefit Society intends this to be a high quality destination to attract more shoppers to Stur.
“The commitment we have made is to avoid new retailers who compete with existing shops – we want our local shops to thrive, not to drive them out of business,” says Cllr Nick Dodson, Chairman of Sturminster Newton Community Benefit Society Limited (SturBen) who is leading the project.
“This is not ‘another charity shop’, this is a commercial enterprise. We hope this project will enable our Blackmore Vale entrepreneurs to grow, move on and employ staff, thereby creating more jobs in the area.”