The World Becomes Welcoming and Good?

17 October 2021

I love walking in the Dorset countryside, especially on the hills and downland. I gain a sense of achievement climbing to the top, which promises wonderful and often surprising views of our beautiful landscape.

In North Dorset, Hambledon, Bulbarrow, Melbury Beacon and Hod Hill are all favourites. All the seasons have their moments, but spring is very special as hedgerows first come alive with blackthorn blossom, and then the trees begin to leaf. The limey translucent colour of early beech leaves is magical, especially in juxtaposition to the vivid cobalt of a bluebell wood. Birdsong is a real pleasure then as migrating males arrive at their nesting grounds first, to be followed soon after by the female. Autumn is wonderful too with leaves turning colour fromdeep butter yellow to russet and copper. We are lucky here with lots of long distance walking trails, such as the Wessex Ridgeway, the Jubilee Trail, the Stour Valley Way and the longest of them all, the Hardy Way, which runs for no less than 220 miles through Thomas Hardy’s Wessex. There is an especially lovely part of it going from Batcombe to Plush along the northern ridge of the downland. A detour from Plush to the Lyscombe Valley to the east, with its restored chapel and ruined farm buildings, is an unforgettable experience.

Far from the madding crowds.

We are also fortunate that most walks in North Dorset are rarely crowded, unlike our Jurassic coast. I have
to agree with Bill Bryson, our former CPRE President, in his book The Road to Little Dribbling: “What a joy walking is. All the cares of life, all the hopeless, inept f**kwits that God has strewn along the Bill Bryson Highway of Life suddenly seem far away and harmless, and the world becomes tranquil and welcoming and good.”

The Covid Lockdown may have encouraged most of us to walk more, but still not enough. It would be great to see walking displace more short car journeys, thus easily reducing our carbon footprint. A generation ago 70% of
British schoolchildren walked to school, now less than half do. It would be wonderful if local planning authorities and housing developers would invest in concepts like the 15-minute neighbourhood, where our workplaces and the services we regularly need can be reached in a short walk from our homes. The recent draft Dorset Council Local Plan was singularly deficient in new ideas here.

Keep walking!

Rupert Hardy, Chairman North Dorset CPRE

The health benefits from walking are legion, and it is not just burning calories:

• 5 minutes aids digestion

• 20 minutes improves heart

• 30 minutes is good for weight loss, blood pressure and reduces the risk of diabetes

• 40 minutes improves blood circulation and reduces stress

• 50 minutes will strengthen muscles and improve productivity

• 60 minutes relaxes your nerves and brain, increasing creativity.

A new way to help local food businesses

Editorial team

17 October 2021

After a tricky couple of years, the team at Love Local Trust Local are so proud to be one of a reduced pool of business-orientated awards fortunate enough to be running in Dorset 2021, particularly when it comes to the food and drink sector.

It means so much to the team that we have been able to continue to shine a light on the smaller local food and drink producers who have worked relentlessly and somehow survived – and in some cases thrived – in what has been a difficult time for businesses and the public alike. And of course, this is the time that these small businesses need the support the most.

No-one appreciates this challenge better than our fantastic sponsors, including the digital Blackmore Vale, who truly make these awards happen. Although the Love Local Trust Local Food and Drink Awards are free to enter, they are of course not free to run; which is where our sponsors have truly enabled these awards to continue.

The Award partners hail from a variety of industries, and each have a unique connection to the Love Local Trust Local concern. One thing who support our awards are, in some cases, winners or entrants of last years’ awards who really felt they benefitted from taking our fantastic sponsors all have in common, however, is their dedication
and commitment to supporting local food and drink producers, pioneering local shopping and eating, and championing smaller businesses for their ultimate success. So who are they and why should we care?

Fellow Foodies

The food and drink producers who support our awards are, in some cases, winners or entrants of last years’ awards who really felt they benefitted from taking part. They wanted to be associated with the awards again, to not only raise the profile of their own business, but to help guide and support other local producers.
Tracey at Dorset’s well-loved ‘A Jar Of’ and Shroton’s very own ‘Meggy Moo’s Dairy’ are both great examples of food producers who took part in our inaugural 2020 awards and wanted to continue helping the local food and drink community to thrive.
Add to that highly esteemed vinter, Langham Wine Estate, independent supermarket Dike & Son, Roberts Food Service and Caffe Delizia; a bevvy of successful Dorset food and drink businesses who know exactly what it takes to diversify and evolve to succeed in a competitive industry.

Professional Services

We really appreciate that the awards are also supported by a plethora of local and national professional services from insurance and trade body NFU Mutual Wessex, Damory Veterinary Clinic, Saffery Champness Chartered Accountants, Symonds & Sampson Estate Agents, Blanchards Bailey LLP, and Harbarn Developments. Each of these organisations are absolute champions of local produce, be it for business or personal reasons. This group of organisations are an absolute credit, not only when it comes to promoting the label and supporting the food and drink producers who come through our doors, but also in terms of the expertise they bring to the table – each organisation has worked with the farming and producing industry.

Farming Friends & Producers

Engaging fellow farmers in our plight is also critical to the success of both the awards and the Love Local Trust Local food label. Love Local Trust Local was in fact established in order to help better support the local farmers and producers, as well as educating the public on what they are really eating. Previously the industry has relied upon a limited small group of organisations who the team at Love Local Trust Local had learned were not all they were cracked up to be. Tarhinton Farms, home of the Great British Steam Fair, Chase Farming, Peggs Farm, Crib

House Farm, Hemsworth Farm, Baskets & Blooms, and our very own Rawston Farm have been working with Love Local Trust Local to get behind the farmer in a genuine and authentic way. We’ve even started to roll out the Love Local Trust Local plaques, which our farming community have proudly chosen to display at their farm gates in a bid to pass the message on. Giving farmers and food producers a sense of support and belonging is a worthy task. Farmers are too busy (quite literally putting food on your table) to get out there and do it themselves – there are more critical tasks at hand!

The Best of the Rest

To round up our remaining sponsors yet unmentioned, Minster Furniture and Conyers Home & Country are a credit to the organisation when it comes to advocating shopping local, sourcing local and eating local. Our support from Kingston Maurward College allows us to help educate the up-and- coming farming and producing community, to help them fully understand the challenge that lies ahead when it comes to British farming and producing.

Love Local Trust Local welcomes sponsors and supporters from all industries, as well as fans and friends.

How to support us

To support the Love Local Trust Local Food and Drink Awards 2021, you can follow along on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, for all the latest news and updates. You can also pop on over to the Rawston Farm Butchery & Shop to purchase your ‘support LLTL’ tea towel or car sticker!

Proudly sponsored by: Blanchards Bailey

Sherborne’s Independent businesses in with Fiver Fest

Editorial team

16 October 2021

Thousands of independent businesses are coming together this October to highlight their contribution to the Great British high Street.

To show the importance of supporting our high streets, Sherborne is joining with other independent High Streets across the UK to put on very special £5 offers across two weeks in October, in the ‘Totally Locally Fiver Fest 2021’.

Just Five Pounds

For Fiver Fest, Totally Locally is partnering with Visa, and together, they are calling on shoppers to divert just £5 of their weekly spend to support the small businesses in their communities.

Jane Wood of Sherborne Chamber of Commerce said “If every adult in Sherborne spent just £5 per week in their local independent shops and businesses, it would mean £1.9m per year going directly into our local economy. That leads to more jobs, a better high street, a stronger economy & a nicer place to live. Makes you think doesn’t it?!”

We’re shopping more locally

YouGov research has shown that 59% of shoppers have used more local shops to support them during lockdown. And they want to keep on supporting them; Fiver Fest makes that even easier.

During Fiver Fest, every participating business creates a £5 deal to support the ‘just £5’ message. Offers can be imaginative and varied; from £5 massages, to a £5 locally sourced meat packs, £5 best- selling book offers to £5 lunch deals, £5 walking tours and even £5 vintage bus seats! Many businesses find it to be their busiest time outside of Christmas.

Sherborne is joining with the National Fiver Fest 9th – 23rd October. Any independent Sherborne business wishing to participate, please contact Jane Wood on 07917 754757.

Nutrient bombs in your hedgerow

Editorial team

16 October 2021

There are some brilliant nutrient bombs, absolutely free, waiting for you to simply pick in the hedgerows right now. The golden rule with foraging is to always be 100% certain of what you are collecting and if in doubt, don’t. The internet and some clever plant recognition apps are a great source for checking fruits and berries to help you stay safe.

Elderberries

We are at the end of the elderberry season but the dark colour of these little black berries mean that there are
high levels of compounds call anthocyanins proanthocyanidins, and phenolic compounds, as well as being especially high in vitamin C. These compounds have the potential to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation. Elderberry is known for its antiviral properties, particularly flu and other upper respiratory infections. Studies indicate that they may have a beneficial effect on a healthy immune system. If your elderberries have already been taken by the birds, you can buy dried ones online. Always cook fresh and dried elderberries before consuming as they can be poisonous eaten raw.

My version of Elderberry Rob opposite is based on a version by medical herbalist Janine Gerhard, but I have significantly reduced the sugar content from the original recipe by reducing the syrup by 25%.

Rosehips

Now is the time to be picking rosehips. They have a wonderful fruity flavour and are tart due to their very high levels of vitamin C. If you can collect enough blackberries, rosehips, hawthorn berries, sloes, crab apples, elderberries or rowan berries, Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall has an amazing Hedgerow Jelly recipe (below).

Sloes

Famous for sloe gin, sloes are actually better if they are kept on the bush as long as possible, until the first frosts. But where I live people are picking them already. Freeze them first and then prick them with a pin before adding to your favourite sloe gin or vodka recipe. This is better when left to mature – I’m hoping that the sloes I picked last year will be good for this Christmas.

Elderberry Rob is an old traditional recipe, used as a warming treatment for coughs and colds. Simply take 1 tablespoon daily during colds and flu season. It can be taken alone, drizzled on yogurt, or diluted with hot water to make a tea.

Ingredients

• 8 cups of elderberries
• 8 cups of water
• 2 large slices fresh ginger • 3 cinnamon sticks
• 2 star anise
• 3 cloves
• 1 orange, sliced
• 500g sugar

Method

• Strip the berries from the twigs using a fork
• Add berries, water, spices and orange to a pan
• Simmer 30-40 minutes
• Strain, squeezing out all juice, return to pan adding sugar
• Simmer for a further 20 minutes, reducing the liquid by 25%
• Cool, and pour into a sterilised bottle. You can also add a small amount of alcohol to act as a preservative.

by: Karen Geary, a Registered Nutritional Therapist DipION, mBANT, CNHC at Amplify

The skills that make Russell a champion hedge-layer

Editorial team

16 October 2021

It’s an idyllic winter rural scene. Log fire roaring in his grate. Dogs sprawled at his feet. He sits with a sewing needle… methodically extracting vicious blackthorn spikes from his scratched arms. For Russell Woodham, this is just one of the hazards of being a hedge-layer.

Russell Woodham whilst competing in the Melplash Show Hedgelaying Competition in September, where he won the Cecil A Marsh Challenge Cup. Image: Tim Russ

As far as this multiple-champion hedger is concerned – unbeaten 11 times in local Melplash Agricultural Society show and three times winner at the National Championships – there is no better occupation. Come early September, this Dorchester-based 54 year-old is “twitching with anticipation”, keen to get back to his winter-only job. A former countryside warden on Lulworth range and part-time grass cutter at weekends, Russell’s work dried up in the winter. He explains: “I was watching River Cottage on TV and a feature about hedge-laying came on. The fact it could only be done in winter sparked my interest.”

The man demonstrating turned out to be a tutor at Kingston Maurward College. Russell enrolled in March 1999, leading to a mid-30’s career change he’s never regretted. His very first job was a 261 metre-long blackthorn beast. “I think it was a test to see if I was cut out for this occupation!” he recalls. The following year, he entered the novice class at the Melplash Agricultural Society, winning first in his first competition. Twenty-two years later he’s entered close to 50 competitions and been overall champion in many. He was the first Dorset Hedgelayer to be invited to Highgrove to meet HRH Prince Charles, Patron of The National Hedgelaying Society. He runs training days and is Committee member of the National Hedgelaying Society. Russell keeps meticulous records of every hedge makeover. Over 20 years, he’s regenerated 25,606 metres of hedgerows, the longest measuring a staggering 1,038 metres, and in one winter can expect to layer around 3,000 metres.

“I’m not sure if you’d call me passionate or sadly passionate about what I do, but I love it. On a sunny, winter’s day I have the best office in Dorset. On a cold, wet day withma bitter easterly and I’m on my third rain-soaked coat, I wish someone would fix my office’s leaking roof but I still wouldn’t swap this job.”

Russell works solo, with his aptly-named dogs Bay and Conker for companionship plus scurrying mice, voles and inquisitive birds of prey. He doesn’t “plug in”, enjoying silence and time to think. “I put the world to rights when I’m working. It comes so naturally to me now I often look back on a day’s work and think how did I get that far along the hedgerow?”

This ancient art for rejuvenating hedges still mainly involves hand-held tools – axe, chainsaw, billhook and, most importantly, a flask of tea. Resilient gloves are crucial; a generic workaday pair can be destroyed in a morning of tackling brambles and barbed wire. Russell’s motto is “Lay it, don’t flail it.” Annual flailing of hedges is an especially destructive part of modern hedgerow management, whereby a mechanical flail creates a uniform and species-poor hedgerow of little value to wildlife. Russell explains: “If you keep flailing a hedge, it will come to look like an upside down umbrella. It becomes gnarly and will eventually just rot away and the growth underneath will gradually disappear. “Pleaching[1] a hedge will tidy it up and will encourage it to thicken and rejuvenate. Ultimately it is better for the environment and for landowners.”

There’s also the bonus of a well-laid hedge gaining back land for the farmers: “The amount of land I’ve gained people back is extraordinary – I’m talking football pitches.” This champion of these natural highways will work anywhere in the UK or abroad, with commissions on huge estates, smallholdings and domestic gardens. “Hedges are back in vogue and their value is being recognised again as vital for nature.” And when our winter draws to an end, Russell is planning an alternative winter stint in Australia. “I have to make hay while the sun doesn’t shine.”

Contact Russell via his website www.dorset-hedgelayer.co.uk/

[1] – Pleaching is a traditional hedgelaying technique used to improve a hedge to form a thick, impenetrable barrier suitable for enclosing animals. It keeps the lower parts of a hedge dense, and was traditionally done every few years. The stems of hedging plants are slashed through to the centre or more, then bent over and interwoven. The plants rapidly regrow, forming a thick barrier along its entire length.

By: Tracie Beardsley

Shaftesbury has one of the best volunteer-led arts centres in the South West

Editorial team

16 October 2021

‘Shaftesbury Arts Centre aims to take the lead in seeking to optimise opportunities for the community of Shaftesbury and the surrounding area to experience and take part in the highest standard of the widest range of the creative arts.’

Established in 1957 in the old covered market in the centre of the medieval Dorset hilltop market town of Shaftesbury, Shaftesbury Arts Centre is now widely recognised as one of the best volunteer membership- led arts centres in South West England.

The regular, varied and lively year-round programme of amateur and professional plays, films, art, photography and craft exhibitions, workshops, and training courses draws people from surrounding counties. It is also increasingly taking the arts out into the community.

Fancy being a volunteer?

It’s a great way to meet people, be at the heart of something amazing, and to enjoy new experiences. The charity
relies solely on volunteers to manage every aspect of the Arts Centre, from set building to selling tickets, and from make-up to maintenance. If you’ve got a little time, would like to meet new people, and get involved in any way, pop into the Arts Centre and have a chat, or drop an email to: [email protected] They are always looking for people to help front of house, backstage and in the general running of the Arts Centre – so there’s something to suit everyone.

A returning schedule of events

Little by little, things at the Arts Centre are getting back to some sort of normality. The room hire is gradually picking up, rehearsals are underway for the October production of Bugsy Malone (tickets are selling well already) and plans are afoot for a pantomime in January.

The Friday films were back in September and the monthly Tuesday afternoon seniors’ matinees (for over 50s) have

returned. These are ticketed events, which can be bought on the day or in advance.
The Gallery continues to thrive with increased footfall and in the autumn, we hope to allow artists to resume holding private viewings, albeit with reduced numbers.

For more information, visit www.shaftesburyartscentre.org.uk

Sir Cliff Richard invites fans to be part of the most fabulous big screen party of the year.
On Saturday 20th November Shaftesbury Arts Centre will present a recorded Live Streaming event from the Royal Albert Hall. The Great 80 Tour features a selection of his greatest hits. Cliff Richard’s incredible energy and passion on stage will sweep you off your feet and be sure to have you swaying in the aisles.

Proudly sponsored by: Ward Goodman

Voice of the Books | October 2021

Editorial team

16 October 2021

Join us for a talk and signing with Elly Griffiths, the author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Novels on the 28th October. The multi-award winning crime novelist Elly Griffiths will be talking about her new book Midnight Hour which is a Brighton Mystery novel followed by a signing.

Brighton, 1965.

When theatrical impresario Bert Billington is found dead in his retirement home, no one suspects foul play. But when the postmortem reveals that he was poisoned, suspicion falls on his wife, eccentric ex-Music Hall star Verity Malone. Frustrated by the police response to Bert’s death and determined to prove her innocence, Verity calls in private detective duo Emma Holmes and Sam Collins. This is their first real case, but as luck would have it they have a friend on the inside: Max Mephisto is filming a remake of Dracula, starring Seth Bellington, Bert’s son. But when they question Max, they feel he isn’t telling them the whole story.

Emma and Sam must vie with the police to untangle the case and bring the killer to justice. They’re sure the answers must lie in Bert’s dark past and in the glamorous, occasionally deadly, days of Music Hall. But the closer they get to the truth, the more danger they find themselves in…

‘Elly Griffiths writes with a sharp, smart eye and great elegance’ – Peter James
‘Great on character and suspense’ – Val McDermid
‘Ruth Galloway is one of the most engaging characters in modern crime fiction’ – Kate Mosse

Sherborne’s independent bookshop 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 is one of the three judges for this year’s Costa Prize for Fiction. This year Wayne was selected as one of the top 100 people in the Book Trade’s Most Influential Figures listing.

In the Studio with Kim Pragnell

Editorial team

15 October 2021

Why are so many of us lured to the beauty and power of the ocean? As inhabitants of a small island, we are perhaps more connected to the sea than others. The soothing ebb and flow of the waves mimics our breath, and yet that same power can also evoke dread and fear.

*Inside Kim Pragnell’s studio in Iwerne Minster. image: Edwina Baines*

You can almost see, hear and smell the ocean when you see Kim Pragnell’s seascapes: “To be able to both understand and appreciate the majesty of the sea, to recreate the energy and excitement, and to play with the light, colour and texture is something every artist should experience,” he says. There is a strong family tradition
of painting in Kim’s family: a non-confirmed rumour relates him to the French painter Pierre Bonnard, who was a founding member of the Post- Impressionist group of avant- garde painters called ‘Les Nabis.’ However, he says his mother “spun some interesting yarns!” He has been a painter for over 40 years; his unique style, close to the Romantic traditions of British maritime art, has ensured a great following of collectors. He communicates through the use of line and tone, those essential elements that make being an artist a delight and privilege and with a firm Ruskin-type belief that drawing is the cornerstone of art, the ability to observe, investigate and draw has been the foundation of all his work.

It started with ten shillings.
Kim’s art experience has been largely influenced by the work of the late 19th, early 20th century painters such as Montague Dawson, Stanhope Forbes and also the St Ives School. The Victorian artists, Ruskin and Holman Hunt, were also influential. In fact, he started painting at the age of five; at the age of ten his first client was the Dame of Sark who paid him ten shillings, which at the time was one tenth of his father’s income! “I’m learning all the time. For example, I had come to collect a large unsold painting at the end of an exhibition and a lady was studying it closely. She told me it lacked focus and needed some seagulls rising above the waves. I borrowed some paints and put in the seagulls and the same lady purchased the painting! I have learnt from that experience.”

A farmer’s son at sea

Incongruously, as a farmer’s son and living miles away from the sea, at the age of 14 Kim was signed up for 12 years in the Royal Navy. Later on, he served on seagoing tugs, cable ships and in traditional boatyards. He later pursued a career as a Theatre Designer: his time as a scene painter influenced his use of colour and light. It also provided an authority and confidence in brushwork – Kim’s mark-making is full of energy and movement and drama.

*Kim with one of his new ‘romantic’ paintings – Wool on the wire image: Edwina Baines*

His overriding interest has always been the sea but now, miles away in Iwerne Minster, Kim has nurtured a charming cottage garden, where, in his delightfully sunny, self-built studio he is changing course and beginning to paint the local landscape. He is experiencing more excitement and emotional satisfaction – it is a return to his roots and is allowing for further experimentation, providing a more interesting palette. The seascape palette tended to be just five colours: white, Payne’s grey, raw sienna, indigo and black. He commented that it could be due to his resentment of the fact that he was sent to sea at such a young age that he has now turned his back on his dark and stormy maritime paintings. ““I’m having much more fun with these. … What drives me forward is trying to use paint to find light and depth in a painting. Painting is a bit like Bluebeard’s castle. Every door you go through brings you nearer to the truth. I’ve gone from the torment of the sea to the pastoral. To the beauty of Dorset.”

It is an interesting new venture for Kim: ‘Wool on the Wire’ is an example of his new direction: “Dorset is a
spiritual place”. The softer blending of the silver-blue-green palette and dreamy effect of the style is reminiscent of the work of the 19th century French landscape painter, Jean-Baptiste- Camille Corot who said: “Though I constantly seek to imitate reality, I don’t for one moment lose sight of the first impulse of emotion. Reality is part of art. Feeling completes it.”

*Kim’s ‘Down on the Stour’ shows his enjoyment in experimenting with a new and inetresting palette. Image Edwina Baines.*

These new paintings will be launched at a Shaftesbury Arts Centre exhibition from 13 -19th October. A further exhibition in 2022 is planned at the Slade Gallery in Gillingham, with a new group of artists named The Dorset Romantics. Their aim is to start a new movement of Romantic painting of the local landscape, recognising that Dorset is such a special place.

Kim’s work can be found on his website: https://kim-pragnell- theseascapepainter.co.uk and at the Tincleton Gallery, near Dorchester https:// tincletongallery.com

by Edwina Baines [email protected]

Gilbert’s on his way

Editorial team

15 October 2021

The Prout Bridge Project is a small youth and community charity that makes a big difference by delivering services for people of all ages in rural West Dorset.

The Prout Bridge Project exists to provide opportunities for people of all ages in West Dorset to come together socially, participate in our community, make friends and support each other. We provide:

Youth clubs and youth work (age 8-18)
Mental health support and a free counselling service (age 16+)
Sports, art, music and community activities for all ages
Access to information, support and other services including the Food Bank, Citizens Advice and the Space Youth Project (a safe space for Dorset’s LGBQT+ young people).

The arrival of Gilbert

Following a successful Crowdfunder campaign earlier in 2021, the Prout Bridge Project went mobile over the summer with the launch of a new outreach programme. Thanks to the generosity of all who gave money and rewards to the campaign, and to the time and support of many more, we were able to buy and kit out an outreach
vehicle. The van is affectionately known as Gilbert, named after the late founder of the charity Gil Streets. It means that vital youth and community work can take place in local villages and at the new Beaminster skatepark.
The campaign was backed by Dorset Council, Comic Relief, Sport England’s Return to Play, Power to Change Community Business and the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership. We’d also like to mention a special thanks to Mayfair, Multiform, the Ollerod and Tangerine, along with all our local community business partners and patrons. Their valued support and input into the charity has helped us get to where we are today.

Paula Tuff, Manager, said “We are all so grateful to everyone who has supported us. We feel as through we achieved the impossible, and can now take our services out and about to isolated areas.”

Beaminster Community Centre
The charity has also just reopened the Prout Bridge Youth and Community Centre in Beaminster, which has been closed because of Covid, and has launched a new Autumn programme of activities.

For further information or to support us please visit our website, facebook, Instagram, or call 07802 514171.”

Proudly sponsored by Ward Goodman

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