Fond happy memories of a brother, uncle and friend.
A lovely man with a great sense of humour; he will be sorely missed by his sisterJane Evans, nieces Libby Evans, and Philippa and Darrin Curtis. (NZ family)
We are recruiting a Medical Secretary with good secretarial skills, excellent typing and strong interpersonal skills to take on this very busy and varied post.
The successful applicant will become an integral part of an efficient team providing an excellent secretarial and administration support service.
Previous medical secretary experience preferred, however full training will be provided.
Must be able to drive and work across sites if required.
Much loved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully on 16 September at the age of 92. The funeral will take place at St Mary’s Church Sturminster Newton on 9 October at 11am.
Family flowers only thank you and donations, if desired, can be sent to Peter Jackson Funeral Director Henstridge, in aid of Sherborne Branch RNLI or Julia’s House.
I was hoping to spend two entire days at the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show but was forced to return to the House of Commons on the Wednesday for the debate on the Afghanistan crisis. Some may ask why a rural MP from Dorset feels it important to return to take part in such a debate.
The answer is that the rapid developments in Afghanistan concern all of us. The consequences of the situation are serious for us here at home as well as abroad.
Events moved faster than anticipated; But first I’ll recap the lightning events of recent past which may go some way to explain why we are where we are today. First, the President of the United States, on July 8th, was categoric that what has happened in Afghanistan at the point of transition of US withdrawing would not happen! That was wrong. Either there was a systemic breakdown of intelligence on the ground, or the President was advised that these events would not materialise. Not only does this cause us concern for the integrity of US intelligence, but it also raises questions for us to consider about the relationship between our two nations; and this in turn gives us concern for our foreign policy in the future.
Our Foreign Secretary. Many people have commented upon our Foreign Secretary being away when this first happened. I can assure you that Dominic Raab would not have been away if this was expected. But it further goes to question the integrity of US intelligence in Afghanistan and our reliance on it.
And we must remember that since April our Government recommended British citizens to leave Afghanistan because of the risks of western forces withdrawing from that country.
Animals v humans. You may have heard of man called Paul ‘Pen’ Farthing a former Royal Marine turned founder of the Nowzad dogs charity. I have valued his work, especially with my interests in animal welfare ,and I don’t criticise lightly. We have broad sympathy for his cause (animal welfare in Afghanistan) but I find it morally questionable that the Government bowed to his threatening behavior to officials to use airplane space for cats and dogs rather than vets and nurses – or the most vulnerable people needing to get out – who will likely be executed, as my colleague Tom Tugenhat MP said last week. I wholly agree with Tom and encourage you to refer to his powerful speech in the House of Commons on August 18. colleague Tom Tugenhat said last week. I wholly agree with him and encourage you to listen to his powerful speech in the House of Commons on 18th August (above).
Although long (unless you chop it in half), this is a really easy-going circular walk from Moreton Walled Gardens, mostly on broad well-marked trails. There are small sections on open heathland, but for most of the time you will be in the forests – probably mucky underfoot in winter, but cool and shady on a hot day, with a lovely ford to splash hot feet in when you’re done! Do stop at the Walled Gardens for tea and cake, too.
(The pinch point in the middle is an easy point to split the route in two – if you don’t want a 12 mile day hike, then there’s an obvious option to cut across from the Southover Heath Plantation to Pallington Clump via the Hardy Way, and you’ll end up with a nice 6ish miles instead.)
There is plenty of free parking at Moreton – but if you’re starting late, be aware that the overflow parking for the walled gardens closes at 8pm in summer months. The area does get busy in the holidays – the first couple of miles were busy with young families.
The terrain is relatively flat for Dorset. Footpaths through the forests have been subverted by the forestry tracks (our route was created from our footsteps on the actual paths available, not the public footpaths on the OS map)
Oh the ancient giants. This beauty was at least fifteen feet in diameter – I always ponder about the people who have walked beneath them over the centuries.
The ford over the river Frome at Moreton – this was taken early evening on our return leg. On the way out the water was busy with children playing and splashing.
Spending most of the day in deep forest means the odd breaks onto open heathland are welcoming windows.
Much of the day is on the wide easy-going paths which criss-cross this area of native Dorset heathland.