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 squire@wessexmorrismen.co.uk ”
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.
As I am writing this, we are just about to come out of the second lockdown and are massively looking forward to welcoming customers back. Exciting things have been happening in the world of publishing and bookselling. Firstly, we have the long-awaited memoir from Barack Obama which will be an excellent gift choice for many loved ones, the reviews so far have been excellent praising his warmth, honesty and ability to write. This year’s Booker Prize Winner has just been announced and has gone to a deserving debut novelist Douglas Stewart, and for children JK Rowling has written a magical fairy tale ‘Ickabog’ which will delight many a child this Christmas. Wayne
In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil. “Barack Obama is as fine a writer as they come. It is not merely that this book avoids being ponderous, as might be expected, even forgiven, of a hefty memoir, but that it is nearly always pleasurable to read, sentence by sentence” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
1981. Glasgow. The city is dying. Poverty is on the rise. Agnes Bain had always dreamed of greater things: a house with its own front door. But she and her three children find themselves trapped in a mining town decimated by Thatcherism. As Agnes increasingly turns to alcohol, her children try their best to save her. It is her son Shuggie who holds out hope the longest. But despite all his efforts to pass as a ‘normal boy’, everyone has decided that Shuggie is ‘no right’. Agnes wants to support and protect her son, but her addiction has the power to eclipse even her beloved Shuggie. Laying bare the ruthlessness of poverty, the limits of love, and the hollowness of pride, Shuggie Bain is a blistering and heartbreaking debut.
Ickabog by J.K. Rowling £20, ages 7+
The Ickabog is coming… A mythical monster, a kingdom in peril, an adventure that will test two children’s bravery to the limit. Discover a brilliantly original fairy tale about the power of hope and friendship to triumph against all odds, from one of the world’s best storytellers. “this is zinging storytelling with bite and a twist”
JK Rowling asked children from around the country to submit drawings to illustrate this fabulous new book; Evelyn aged 9 from Bristol was one of the lucky winners.
Fanny Charles has given you a round up of two local Christmas shows which are still happening – and perfect family fun.
Oh yes, you will! So, it’s not panto as we know it, but both Salisbury Playhouse and Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre are serving up Christmas shows which are a total delight. Salisbury’s Little Robin Redbreast is very much aimed at a young (probably seven and under) audience, while Yeovil’s Nurse Nellie Saves Panto has a much wider age range, and hits the spot with everyone from tinies to grannies.
Little Robin Redbreast for younger children is at the Salisbury Playhouse | image by Helen Maybanks
Little Robin Redbreast, by Wiltshire Creative and Salisbury Playhouse artistic director Gareth Machin and composer Glyn Kerslake, is a reworking of a successful Christmas show in the theatre’s Salberg Studio a few years ago. It is a simple story of little Robin (Ryan Heenan) who can’t wait to be old enough to fly. The tale is told with just four performers, mother (Bernadette Bangura), father (Dan Smith) and Robin’s bossy, tap-dancing sister (Philippa Hogg), all playing multiple parts, with a connecting thread of an Advent calendar – as each day’s window opens, the action moves on. It is colourful, touching, charming and has just enough adventure to keep even the youngest children absorbed, without frightening a nervous toddler, perhaps having a first ever visit to the theatre.
The Playhouse team do a great job maintaining the Covid-19 restrictions, with timed entries, alternative rows of seats removed, refreshments served at little tables at your seats, and the whole show takes barely an hour. It is time very happily spent.
Yeovil’s Octagon panto is always one of the best in the West Country, and three of its regular leading performers – Gordon Cooper, Jack Glanville and Thom Ford – have been working together for several years. This is a great bonus for the Nurse Nellie Saves Panto show and for the audience, who are familiar with Gordon’s hilarious Dames, Jack’s brilliant (and sometimes wince-inducing) jokes and Thom’s increasingly villainous but always dashing baddies. He also does a mean Queen routine.
image by by Len Copland
This year the hero is the heroine, Jill (Evelyn Hoskins) who is determined that the wicked Prof von Badapple (Ford) will not steal the essence of pantomime. With her mother, Nurse Nellie (Cooper) and brother Billy (Glanville), and the magical assistance of southern belle Fairy Moonshot (Kathryn Nash), she must brave the terrors of the evil genius’s underground labour and giant robot.
image by by Len Copland
At just over an hour, Nurse Nellie Saves Panto is packed with jokes, great comedy routines, music, magic and mayhem, and runs to 3rd January. The Octagon is a big theatre, and with seating spaced and in alternate rows, it feels very safe.
If you’ve visited Damory Vets within the last few months you may have seen two new faces amongst the small animal vets. We (Annabelle and Alice) started working at Damory in July and August respectively and since then we’ve been settling into life as new graduate veterinary surgeons. Quite unintentionally, we seem to have made it a little difficult to tell us apart. If you were to request “the new young female vet with brown hair and whose name begins with “A”” you still wouldn’t have narrowed down the selection – our consults tops do have our names on them but presently they’re mostly obscured by the many layers of PPE associated with these unusual times.
Annabelle and Alice new graduate veterinary surgeons
Prior to graduating, we have studied for five or six years at university, covering all areas and species from bees right through to bulls. We undertake 38 weeks of work experience, usually arranged during our holiday periods, in areas of both animal husbandry and within veterinary practices. During this time, we’ve learnt how to tip sheep, milk cows, take blood samples, place intravenous catheters and much more. Although some of these skills we are unlikely to use again within the realm of small animal practice, all these experiences shape each vet’s perspective of animal care.
Even after completing all this training, there are many contrasts between the vet school and the “real world”, and so many aspects of veterinary life that can only truly be learned on the job. The cases we work through in lectures are now in front of our eyes, the results we interpret are now attached to real animals and the discussions we plan now involve real people. At university, we’re generally taught the active ingredient (or generic name) of medications – we then emerge into the real world only to discover that each drug had multiple different trade names of various strengths and presentations. Flea and worming products in particular seem to be an ever-shifting myriad of combinations, formulations and names.
Our final year and beginning of our working careers have, like everything else this year, been slightly different to what we had imagined. Examinations held online, virtual graduation ceremonies, and starting our first consults in the carpark was certainly not how we’d pictured this year going! While the weather in the summer was for the most part dry and warm, following the loss of our practice gazebo in a particularly violent storm we’re sure everyone is glad to be back in the warm during the darker colder months.
Vet school prepares you for day one, but it depends on your first job to build you up for the coming years. We’ve been lucky enough to join the small animal team at Damory, who have all been incredibly supportive and are always willing to provide encouragement, advice, or another perspective on any challenging cases. The transition from veterinary student to newly qualified vet can be a daunting and overwhelming time, but it has also proved incredibly rewarding.
We’d like to take a moment to thank everyone – owners, colleagues and animals – for welcoming us into this busy community. Your help and understanding have made the transition into veterinary practice so much easier, and we will strive to continue our life-long learning to help both you and all of your pets.
5yr old Lacey and her Mum live in Bryanston, and drive through Blandford every day; and every day Lacey noticed something was wrong. Crown Hotel Blandford has a beautiful Christmas tree – but she couldn’t understand why there was no star on top.
Lacey impatiently waits outside the Crown Hotel’s Alpine Bar as the fire crew ready themselves to get the star on the tree.
So at her Granny’s suggestion, she sat down and wrote a letter to Mr Woodhouse, asking him why he had no star on the top of his tree? She felt the tree was sad without a star, and if one could be put up it would make everyone smile. She even offered to help out on the ladder if Mr Woodhouse wanted?
Lacey’s letter
“It took me all night, it was HARD WORK” Lacey admitted “But writing is nicer to get than typing”.
Here is the letter Lacey wrote:
Dear Mr Woodhouse
I love the Christmas tree at the Crown, it makes me smile because I love Christmas. I wonder if you can please put a star on the tree? I think that the tree must be sad not to have a star.
My teacher said that a star is guiding people to Jesus and that is what Christmas is all about.
I can help you climb a ladder and even put it up top if you like?
I hope Santa brings you a nice present – I hope he puts me on the nice list if I help people because I would like harry Potter Lego, but I might not have been good enough yet.
Anyway, please can we put a star on the Crown tree to make everyone smile and to cheer people up? I really want to make people happy at Christmas.
Please let me know what you think and if we can put a star on.
Wishing you and your family a merry Christmas,
Love from Lacey Mae C, age five-and-a-half.
Lacey and her Mum with the Blandford fire crew, ready with the new star for the Crown Hotel Christmas tree
She drew a beautifully decorated tree on her letter, using all of her colouring pens, and her mum Jennifer, an NHS Social Prescriber, helped her pop it into the postbox.
She was very excited when Mr Woodhouse promptly wrote back, agreeing that the tree was only half-dressed without a star, and promising to fix it straight away.
Lacey and her Mum watch as the fire crew scale the tree to get the star right at the top.
“He drew me a tree too – though mine was a bit better. I don’t think he has many colouring pens on his desk” Lacey confided.
Dave, the Landlord of the Crown Hotel, assists Lacey in turning on the Christmas tree lights.
And tonight, with the help of DWFireRescue Blandford crew (it’s a VERY tall tree!), Lacey watched as a star was placed at the top of the Crown Hotel’s Christmas tree.She was then invited to turn on the lights by David Norton, landlord of the Crown, and see the tree shining with its star for the first time.
Lacey front and centre of the fire crew and the Hall & Woodhouse team who made it happen – Dave Norton the Landlord of the Crown Hotel is far right, and Anthony Woodhouse far left. And of course the Crown Hotel’s beautifully star-lit tree!
The Abbas gained back to back wins with a 10-3 victory over Bruton despite going behind before taking control of the match. Scorers for the Abbas were Justin Bingham [3], Conor Bryant [2], Chris Paull, Ollie Hilborne, Alec Knott, Tom Colley & Will Rumsey while Bruton’s goals came via Josh Terry, Lewis Blake & a David Clackson penalty.
TG bounced back from the County Cup exit last weekend with an impressive 7-3 victory over the Comets. Scorers for TG were Josh Farrant [3], Aron Wallis [2], Ben Hooper & Scott Bees while Comet’s goals came via Alfie Collings & Sam Smith.
Barbarians will be extremely disappointed after letting a 8-1 advantage dissipate over the last 25 minutes allowing Rovers to grab a dramatic 8-8 draw. Rover’s scorers were George Coleman [4], Kev Griffin, Billy Bright, Jay Danoris & Josh Guppy.
The league leaders Wincanton United continued they dominant performances with a 14-1 victory over the Hornets. The Hornet’s consolation came through Luke Burridge.
RESULTS, Sunday,
Kellaway BS Division 1: AFC Blandford United P TGR P, Bruton United Colts 3 Bradford Abbas 10, Donhead Barbarians 8 Sturminster Rovers 8, Team Gryphon 7 South Cheriton Comets 2, Hazelbury Hornets 1 Wincanton United 14.
FIXTURES, Sunday,
Kellaway BS Division 1: Bruton United Colts v Team Gryphon, Donhead Barbarians v AFC Blandford United, Hazelbury Hornets v South Cheriton Comets, TGR v Sturminster Rovers, Wincanton United v Bradford Abbas.
