The Baker Arms is owned and run by husband and wife team James & Desi Hutchings who bought it in 2017.
How did you end up at The Baker Arms?
We have always worked in hospitality, notably at The Museum Inn in Farnham, The Cow in Poole, Westbeach in Bournemouth, Odette’s in Primrose Hill, The Pig & Butcher in Islington, and Smokehouse in Highbury & Islington to name a few!
It was at Smokehouse that we both worked & met, and then eventually moved back to Dorset. We had always thought of having our own place after 20+ years of working for other people. We randomly found the pub online (and on the market!), it ticked lots of boxes, so we went for it and we’ve now been here 3 years.
What’s your favourite local place to visit on an afternoon off?
We don’t afford ourselves much time off in normal circumstances, however we enjoy eating at The Fontmell when we can, or clambering up Hambledon hill with our dog Smokey. Tell us about your 2020… Lockdown 1 last spring was tough but it did enable us to make small improvements around the pub, with much of our attention focused on our beer garden, before what proved to be a busy summer – thankfully. The second lockdown & then Tier 2 proved much more challenging to come out of and we only re- opened in mid-December with a much reduced offering and limited hours. And now here we are again – closed except for a Takeaway Roast on a Sunday. What’s been your biggest challenge since taking over – apart from COVID, obviously! Our biggest challenge actually resulted from a Motorcycle accident that James was involved in, in May 2019. James’s left arm was shattered and he had to be air lifted to Southmead Hospital. Following 2 surgeries, the recovery is still ongoing. So, James learned to cook one handed! Its tough, but you learn to adapt and just get on with it. It has definitely added to Desi’s work load though.
What are you most proud of?
The fact that people keep coming back again and again, and in some cases from quite a distance, encourages us that we are really providing a great environment & service for our customers.
What part of the pub is your absolute favourite?
The pub is Grade II listed, however our favourite has to be our cosy little holiday letting cottage. ‘Daisy cottage’ is just behind the pub and is really popular with leisure guests who come to roam the countryside or guests visiting families & friends who live locally. The pub is beautiful, and we will always maintain its traditional charm & character. You can’t beat sitting in front of our wood burner on a winter’s evening… with a pint of course. We are led to believe that there is an old tunnel that leads under the pub to our neighbouring church…
Which dish is your most popular?
Ironically (and substantial jokes aside), our homemade Scotch egg is pretty popular, and will always remain on the menu! We always keep our menu very different to other pubs, with big, bold flavours and often classics with a twist. Our menu is always kept small, because its always evolving, freshly prepared & homemade with an emphasis on comfort. Our homemade ice creams are pretty popular too.
What’s next – do you have big plans on the horizon?
We put up a temporary marquee over the summer which proved popular. We have since replaced it with a strong permanent marquee with long tables, benches & heaters. This gives us a bit more capacity year round whatever the weather.
And right now?
Normally as we hit January our attention turns to our yearly charity event ‘Pheasant Fest’. This event has now been going for over 10 years, and is our focus in February. The event raises much needed funds for the Dorset & Somerset air ambulance, who we support year round. We have yet to decide upon a date for 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions. However, we still intend/hope to run the event, possibly in June 2021. Otherwise, we’re simply focused on being fully open, and driving the business forward without the Covid handbrake on?! The ability to plan beyond a few days in 2020 has been almost impossible with the Covid-19 restrictions.
Messums Tithe Barn Gallery and Arts Centre, Tisbury
Painting from nature is not copying the object; it is realizing one’s sensations. (Paul Cezanne)
The medieval Tithe Barn at Messums Gallery and Arts Centre in Tisbury is reputed to be the largest of its type in England. This impressive building is now open as an Arts Centre and cultural institution for the South West of England. Originally built as a storage barn for the Abbess of Shaftesbury and owned by Shaftesbury Abbey until the Dissolution, in recent years the barn, set in the beautiful landscape of Fonthill Estate, has been extensively restored to its former glory.
Incongruously, it was a dark, raid-sodden morning when I visited Richard Hoare’s exhibition entitled an ‘The Alchemy of Light’; but despite the dank weather outside, golden light emanated from his paintings. His main focus is the Fonthill landscape, with its central lake surrounded by a myriad of caves and bridged by a weir. The bewitching effects of light on these is beautifully captured by Richard at different times of day and year: the lime greens of Spring contrast with the rich browns and ochres of Autumn; tumultuous skies roll with huge, powerful grey clouds while tantalising glimpses of blue pierce through the trees. Other paintings in this exhibition include the hills and woody thickets of Berwick St John, Dinton Park, East Knoyle and Horse Hill – an Iron Age tumulus hill near Shaftesbury.
I started by asking Richard about the origins of the exhibition’s title ‘The Alchemy of Light’. He sees alchemy as the dance of matter and energy from one state into a higher form – a seemingly magical process of transformation. It is also an explanation for the mystery of how paint can be transformed in a light filled picture.
“The way I work is intuitive. All the work in the exhibition has been generated from a spark. When I see something I’m drawn to – usually it is trees, the lake, an island or mountain – an archetypal subject or perhaps just one tree in the landscape – I feel a tug at the heart and I respond to this through the ‘gesture’ of painting. My work is the response to that initial impact witnessed in and from nature.”
Richard went on to explain how he communes with nature to capture her essence by feeling a calmness in the presence of the beauty of the place. Rather than paint literally the appearance of the landscape, he tries to paint what he sees behind the surface, and that is something which cannot be described in words. “I’m painting the tree as it resonates with life in that moment, not what it just looks like. The painting comes from that moment of being as completely present as possible.”
“All good journeys contain some revelation about oneself, or the place one visits. A pilgrimage or journey from looking to seeing is a good allegory in my experience, for this life as a painter.” Richard’s two-year residency in Japan, his stay in Ireland and his walks along the pilgrim routes of England, France, Spain and Turkey have amplified his love of nature and his work is always moving forward and evolving to reflect this journey both inner and outer. “The constant behind everything is the Sun and the light it emits. The pursuit of this light has of course been the destination and inspiration for many painters”.
A book, The Way of the Watercourse by Alan Watts has been an inspiration too. Watts demonstrates how the ancient and timeless Chinese wisdom of Tao promotes the idea of following a life lived according to the natural world and goes against our goal-oriented ideas by allowing time to quiet our minds and observe the world rather than imposing ourselves on it.
Richard explained that his mentor at Canterbury College of Art, Dennis Creffield, was also hugely influential in his journey as an artist and those intense classes are experiences to which he still refers.
We carried on our conversation with a discussion about the inspiration Richard draws from nature.
“What is the heartbeat, where does the spark come from? My working life is guided on the law of three: time, energy and inspiration. Time is a fixed quantity. Then there is the energy we have…I’m energised through my work. The energy as a quantity is more elastic than time. I don’t believe that inspiration is just by chance. There is a way of creating and working where inspiration will be there and this third element is unlimited by any dimension. If I orchestrate the time and the energy elements correctly, inspiration always arrives. But at the same time this process must never be taken for granted. I am energised through my work and that has sustained me and made things possible. Over the years where things have been tough whenever I go back to my easel, nature rushes towards me with its generosity. This working relationship between the three parts is beyond understanding but it can be experienced. My work is born out of this experience and maintaining of the gaze on to the natural world. I have found that love, light and inspiration are interchangeable words for the same thing. The fulcrum of that is the experience of painting or the journey as a painter, as a pilgrim in the broadest sense.”
Richard constantly strives to reach the light through his painting. He moves with the work from the landscape and then back to his studio many times before the work is finished. He captures the mesmerising effects water at different times of day and season. “When you look at water on the surface you can look through all the layers to another reality that is as present as the subject reflected. This fascinates me. I love painting in winter because it is pregnant with all the colour of Summer. My experience of light is often its healing, curative quality.”
As for the future, Richard is planning to spend some days walking and drawing at Knepp Castle Estate, the pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex, where free-roaming grazing animals have created new habitats for wildlife and are documented in Isabella Tree’s fascinating book Wilding….. another Pilgrimage.
I saw my first snowdrops of the year today. Primroses and celandine are tentatively opening their buds too, though I suspect they’ll soon change their minds if the Beast from the East blows in again this month, as forecast. And who can blame them? It must be extremely confusing being a wild flower when you can no longer rely on the weather being the same this year as it was last year.
To help understand the effects climate change is having on the flowering times of native plants, the BSBI (Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland) run an annual ‘New Year Plant Hunt’. In its 10th year now, the ‘New Year Plant Hunt’ enlists the help of citizen scientist volunteers throughout Britain and Ireland, to note down, photograph, and record all the native wild plants they find blooming over a 4 day period at the beginning of January. But this is not the only project of its kind – other annual recording schemes take place throughout the year, including Butterfly Conservation’s ‘Butterfly Count’ and RSPB’s ‘Big Garden Birdwatch.
The Big Garden Birdwatch is one of the largest, and by far the most well known, of these annual surveys, and it takes place this year from 29th – 31st January. You don’t need to be an expert to join in; indeed when this survey was first set up back in 1979, it was intended only for children, but anyone and everyone can take part now. If you haven’t participated before, maybe this could be the year you sign up? Not only will you be helping the RSPB track declines and increases in bird numbers and species, but it is also a lot of fun… and a great way to give something back to to our beautiful garden visitors during lockdown.
Joining instructions, downloadable identification sheets, and tips on how you can attract more birds to your garden, can all be found in the link below, together with an option for these to be sent to you in the post, if you prefer:
Given the electoral events in the USA I hope you will forgive me if I provide, this week, a few thoughts and comments on them.
What a relief it is that Mr Trump has lost.
As I write he is still shouting the odds and seeming ever more erratic as a result. I was encouraged that 82% of UK Tory voters would have voted for President-Elect Biden if they could have. I would too.
Mr Trump was never suited to public office because he did not understand the key motivator to do so was public service.
It has always been about him and his clan – a political version of The Addams Family. So, the first thing I would say is: it’s nice to have a grown up coming into the White House.
Mr Biden has public service and duty written through him like a stick of Blackpool Rock. His pragmatism teaches him that it is good to build alliances and coalitions of the willing. His Presidency will see a return to that abstract ‘thing’ of the President being the Father of the Nation and recognising that there is a quiet dignity in the Oval Office and Office of the President. Trump had no such understanding: his was a perpetual campaign battle.
Mr Biden’s victory also delivers a hammer blow (fatal, hopefully) to the distasteful rise of populism (not to be confused with popularity). At this time, more than ever, America needs a Leader, not a baseline echo chamber. America has returned to Government by Grownups and her place, as Leader of the Free World, and a country to be respected, has been restored through the quiet majesty of the electoral process.
What will a Biden Presidency mean for us in the UK? One of his earliest acts will be to revoke the departure of the US from the Paris Climate Change work. In the UK we know how important this area of public policy is and the power and thought leadership that the US can bring will be immense. There is going to be a Green Revolution in America.
NATO, so often in the sights of Mr Trump can breathe easy. President Trump was right to criticise those NATO countries who too easily leant on US financial muscle and did not pay their own way (the UK was never among that number).
But he was wrong to question the underlying need for a strategic, geopolitical alliance. NATO needs reform but it also needs to exist and not have its status and efficacy undermined from within. I believe we will see a more robust White House when it comes to issues such as Russia, the Crimea and Ukraine just as I believe we will regarding Human Rights in China. We should expect to see the Iran Nuclear Deal dusted off and renewed. All of this I would welcome.
With my Chairman of the Northern Ireland Select Committee in the Commons hat on I know how close an interest Mr Biden takes in the affairs, both North and South, of the island of Ireland. He is, like me, a strong defender of the Good Friday Agreement. He understands that it is the bedrock and springboard for peace, reconciliation and a brighter future for the people of both the North and the Republic.
The Biden White House will be a good friend to Britain, as was evidenced by the fact that our PM received the first European call from Mr Biden. The Special Relationship ebbs and flows but it always endures. We share too much for it to be otherwise.
Bruton managed to grab their first point of the season with a topsy turvy affair against TG. Bruton stormed into a three goal lead before TG grabbed one back just before half time to give their second half some hope. Which it did as TG scored another three times to take the lead before a late equaliser give Bruton a reward for their efforts. Bruton’s goals were scored through Ollie Luck [2], Louis Greensmith & Rob Griffin while TG’s came through Dom Mason, Dan Costello, Josh Farrant & Aron Wallis.
A well fought match saw TGR edge it against Rovers with both teams having spells of dominance but it was TGR who managed to hang on until the end to take the three points. TGR’s goals were scored through Dan Prigg [2] & Haydn Warrington [2] while Rover’s came through Billy Bright, Warren Meadowcroft & Jay Danoris.
League leaders Wincanton United were pushed all the way after a dogged Abbas display caused a fright for the leaders. United started the match well & saw themselves two goals up within the first ten minutes but things quickly changed as the Abbas scored five without reply before another United scored another to take the score into half time at 5-3. The second half United continued to fight back & scored three on the trot to regain the lead but that only lasted for a minute as the Abbas equalised immediately. With the match in the balance, a winner came late on & it was the leaders, United who got it to continue their unbeaten run. United’s goals came through Kieran Davis [3], Nick Hewlett [2], Jake Gaylard & Iwan Walters while the Abbas’s came through Bartek Trojanowski [2], Ollie Hilborne [2], Alec Knott & Will Rumsey.
RESULTS, Sunday,
Kellaway BS Division 1: Donhead Barbarians P AFC Blandford United P, Hazelbury Hornets P South Cheriton Comets P, Team Gryphon 4 Bruton United Colts 4, TGR 4 Sturminster Rovers 3, Wincanton United 7 Bradford Abbas 6.
WESSEX Morris Men will not be dancing on Boxing Day in Cerne Abbas due to the COVID pandemic.
This is the first time the popular event – which features traditional English Morris dancing and a seasonable mumming play – has been called off.
But the resilient dancers from Dorset’s longest-running Morris side are determined to return, hopefully in the spring, to entertain in villages and towns across Dorset and further afield, while following official rules and regulations.
“We have been practising outdoors, strictly adhering to the Rule of Six, during lockdown, but we are looking forward to the day when our entire team can again dance to entertain people, when it is safe for everyone, said the team’s Squire David Pritchard.
“Unfortunately we have no option but to cancel our Christmas party and our Boxing Day performance in Cerne Abbas this year. We usually have a large audience for Boxing Day and we hope normal service can resume in 2021.
“It is pretty cold practicing outside at this time of year, so we are still looking for a covered outdoor venue where we can maintain social distancing. If anyone can help, please contact Mike Phelan via email [email protected] ”
Regional law firm, Porter Dodson, would normally host Christmas drinks for all their offices in December. Like many others they have been unable to celebrate Christmas in their usual way and instead have donated £6,000 to local charities.
Porter Dodson has chosen charities who have been hard hit this year, with their fundraising events being cancelled and for many, their services being needed more than ever.
This has been a difficult year for everyone and Ian Sankey, Head of the Sherborne office, was very happy to pledge money normally spent on Christmas entertainment to support Sherborne Primary School’s Christmas food drive. As a father, he believes no child should go hungry any day, let alone at Christmas, and being able to support this initiative on the firm’s doorstep was an obvious choice.
Richard Baker, Head of the Family Team and CSR Partner, said: “Being able to reach out into the community at these challenging times means a lot to the Firm and we are delighted to support those in need over the festive season. Putting others first is at the heart of what we do, and we want to make sure, as far as we are able, that no one goes without over Christmas. Everyone should have a roof over their head and food on their table every day and we know that this year has been very challenging for many people.”
Rob Fox, Managing Partner, added “By working together, we can help end poverty. Our office heads chose these charities because they are at the heart of the communities where we have offices. All but one provides food and shelter, with Julia’s House playing an invaluable role in the lives of families at a very difficult time, made even more difficult by COVID-19.”
To find out how you can donate, please visit each charity’s website.
I think we have all had a little more time at home than we expected to this year, but there is something about Christmas that inspires a little more home making in many people than at other times of the year. Whether that’s decorating a tree, making a Christmas card or baking a cake, there are lots of options to tempt us to roll up our sleeves and get a little creative.
If you like to explore the kitchen a little more at Christmas, then I have put together some festive recipes to get your home smelling lovely and Christmassy as well as filling some hungry tummies.
Christmas Mincemeat
The difference between homemade mincemeat and supermarket mincemeat is so significant that I would encourage everyone to have a go this Christmas (or to buy mincemeat from a small producer who will have handmade it in small batches at home for you). This recipe is not complicated, but it does take a little time. Fortunately most of that time is spent waiting for things to soak or cook slowly so you can get on with other things.
Mincemeat : Shutterstock
200g Bramley apples (peeled and grated) 1 heaped tsp of mixed ground spice 1/2 tsp of cinnamon 225g shredded suet (I use the vegetarian kind) 500g dried fruit (like raisins, sultanas and currants) 175g soft brown sugar
Zest and juice of 2 oranges (you can also add some brandy, sherry or spiced rum if you want to)
In a large ovenproof bowl or saucepan, mix together all of the ingredients really well. Then cover with some cling film or a beeswax wrap and leave for 12 hours (see, I told you there was lots of waiting). You can give this a stir every so often through the 12 hours if you wish.
After about 12 hours, preheat the oven to gas 1/4 (110 fan).
Remove the cling film, give the mixture a good stir and cover the bowl or pan loosely with a piece of tin foil.
Cook in the oven for 3 hours.
After that time, it will look runny, fatty and weird but give the mixture a good stir and leave it to cool down. Once cold, give the mixture another good stir and then you can pop it either into clean and sterilised jars or if you know you will use it this Christmas, then you can store it in a tupperware tub that seals well and place it in a cool, dark place until you are ready to use it.
Sausage Rolls
Sausage rolls are essentially just sausage meat encased in pastry. Simple. To make really delicious sausage rolls I would recommend using homemade pastry and then visiting your local butcher and buying their ready made and herbed sausage meat. It doesn’t seem like much of a change, but the flavour of local sausages is so much better.
Sausage Rolls : Image Heather Brown
1 packet of ready rolled puff pastry (or to make your own, then Delia Smith has a great recipe for quick flaky pastry which works brilliantly here). https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/ quick-and-easy-recipes/quick-flaky-pastry 6 sausages
A little beaten egg Preheat the oven to 180 fan (gas 6) and line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.
Simply roll out the pastry to a rectangle about half a cm thick.
Remove the skins from the sausages and squidge the meat into long sausages and lay on the pastry leaving space between each sausage so you can fold the pastry over the sausage meat.
Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the pasty into strips between each line of sausage meat.
Using a little beaten egg, dab some down one side of each of the strips of pastry and fold the pastry over the sausage meat. Secure the two edges together by pressing along the edge. Cut the sausage rolls into the size you desire and place them onto a tray.
Brush each sausage roll with more beaten egg. Cut two slits into the top of the pastry to give the steam somewhere to go when baking.
Bake for 20mins (if small) and 30+mins if large. The sausage rolls will be cooked when they are a deep, golden brown and the sausage meat in the centre reaches 73degrees and is no longer pink in the centre.
Mincemeat Swirls
Like the sausage roll recipe above, these are also super simple and require just three ingredients, mincemeat, puff pastry and icing sugar – they are my cheat Mince Pies.
Mincemeat Swirls – Image Heather Brwon
1 packet of ready rolled pastry 1 jar of mincemeat (preferably homemade) 5 (ish) tbsp of icing sugar.
Preheat the oven to 170fan (gas 5) and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
Roll out the puff pasty to a rectangle about half a cm thick. (This recipe works really well with shop bought, ready rolled puff pastry and if using, just unravel from the packet until it is flat on your work surface).
Spread the top of the pastry with a good, even layer of mincemeat. From the shortest edge, roll up the pastry so you have one large mincemeat swirl sausage.
Cut the swirls into approx 1 cm slices and lay them flat onto a lined baking tray. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until the pastry has gone slightly brown. Leave to cool.
Once cool, mix the icing sugar with a little water to make an icing and drizzle the icing across the swirls.
Christmas Cookies
These are simple to make and the combination of two different sugars leaves the cookies soft and chewy in the centre. They take just 20 minutes from ingredients to tummy to make the cookies and should you have a little extra time, I have also included a simple way to make them look a little festive too.
Christmas Cookies – Image Heather Brown
125g butter 125g caster sugar 100g soft brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract 1 egg 200g self raising flour 25g cocoa powder 200g dark chocolate (broken into chunks)
To decorate – 100g white chocolate and some red and green fondant.
Preheat the oven to 170 fan (gas 5) and line two baking trays with baking parchment. Beat together the butter, both sugars and the vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg.
Then add the flour and cocoa powder and stir through until well combined and the mixture is beginning to get firm. Add in the chocolate chunks and stir through.
Using your hands, separate the mixture into 12 evenly sized lumps of dough and place them on the two trays. Space them evenly across the trays, leaving room for them to spread out when cooking (you don’t need to flatten them).
Bake for 12-15 minutes. Its tricky to tell if they are cooked as the cocoa colour won’t change colour much, but they want to be quite cracked across the top and not be very runny/wobbly in the centre.
Leave them to cool. They will be quite soft when hot, but will firm up when cool.
When cold, melt the white chocolate in a bowl and dip one side of the cookie into the white chocolate so that it looks like a Christmas pudding. You can finish with a fondant holly sprig and berries if you wish.
Star topped jam filled biscuits
Who doesn’t love a buttercream and jam filled vanilla biscuit?! If you want to make something without chocolate or the usual Christmas spice, then baking vanilla biscuits and sandwiching them together with a little buttercream and raspberry jam can be just as festive if adorned with stars and a sprinkle of caster sugar ‘snow’.
Star topped jam filled biscuits – Image Heather Brown
Mix together the butter, caster sugar and vanilla until fluffy and pale. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then carefully mix in the flour and baking powder. The mixture should form a soft dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 170 fan (gas 5) and line 2 baking trays with baking parchment.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough so it is half a cm thick (the dough is delicate so be careful). Using a 5cm (approx) cutter, cut out 12-15 round discs and transfer them to a baking tray. Then cut out 12-15 more round discs and from the centre of each circle, cut a star shape. Transfer these to the other baking tray.
You may need to re-roll the pastry to cut out all your circles and the above numbers are estimates based on the cutter size (if you use a smaller cutter you may get more circles for example). Just keep re-rolling until all the dough has been used up.
Bake in the oven for 8-12 minutes until the biscuits are lightly golden in colour. When the biscuits have been removed from the oven, take a little more caster sugar and generously sprinkle the biscuits with the sugar. The heat from the biscuits will melt the sugar enough to stick it to the biscuit. Leave the biscuits to cool.
Whilst the biscuits are cooling, make some buttercream icing by beating together the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. You can add a little vanilla extract if you wish.
To finish the biscuits, smear some of the buttercream on the base of the circle without the hole, then spread some raspberry jam on the top. Top with a star biscuit so that the jam peaks through the hole.
