An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Medical Notes Summariser to join our friendly team on a permanent basis. The position is for a minimum of 16 hours a week
Our Medical Summariser, will review all paper notes sent to the surgery and ensure that the Patient Database is correct and up to date. This role is a key part of the surgeries administrative team.
For more information, full job description and application form, please click here – https://bit.ly/3ntoIeK
**Closing date 24.09.21**
Any further questions, please email: [email protected] Tel: 01258 474522
From now through to Autumn is the best time to enjoy the many artisan soft cheeses that are made in the UK, particularly in the South West. This is because the cows, sheep and goats have been out on the spring grass and so the milk will reflect the changed diet and consequently the flavour of the cheese.
These changes are more noticeable in the smaller scale Artisan cheeses found in your local specialist deli as the larger scale producers of cheeses more commonly found in the supermarket will try to maintain the same flavour profile all year round as that is what the buyer expects.
Softer cheeses can reach maturity after a few weeks, even days for the very fresh cheeses! Knowing the approximate maturing time helps to estimate when the time of year the milk was produced, from this one can have some fun spotting the changes in flavour through the year.
While the animals are shut in during the Winter months, they are fed preserved grass, hay or sileage, and concentrated feed in pellet form but once out on grass they have access to fresh grass which causes what is called the Spring flush, a rise in volume but a drop in fat content, the cheese maker must allow for this when making their product. Just to complicate things slightly, the stage in an animal’s lactation also effects the milk content, after giving birth, the milk is higher in fat, and this drops until towards the end of the cycle when the volume decreases, and the fat content rises as a result.
An award winning fresh local cheese is La Fresca Margarita produced near Templecombe at Feltham’s Farm www.felthamsfarm.com, Best British Cheese at this year’s virtual cheese awards, inspired by the Latin American and Spanish queso fresco cheeses, and partners beautifully with figs and honey. Their multi award winning cheese, Renegade Monk, a rind washed, soft blue cheese is mature after 4 weeks.
These cheeses are both great examples of how milk can become stunningly different cheeses in a matter of weeks!
Good hunting, enjoy experimenting, comparing, and contrasting.
It’s September, and the first lot of early foals born in February and March have turned five months and are weaned and roaming their thickly hedged and tree-lined paddock in a mischievous gang.
Image by: Courtenay Hitchcock
Weaning is a gradual process which starts at around three months, with the introduction of a special youngstock cube mixed with chaff, a selection of chopped up dried grasses and alpha, which helps stop them bolting their feed. With abundant, good grass, the mares only need a small quantity of a nutrient dense feed with minimum calories. So, to stop the mares eating more than they need, the feed for the foals is put inside a creep feeder, a low metal ring or portable fence with foal-sized openings, which the foals can fit under or through, but the mares cannot.
Image by: Courtenay Hitchcock
These foals are all young Thoroughbreds bred for jumps racing, who are aiming to first get to a racecourse in their four year old year. We supplement their natural summer grass to encourage them to grow that little bit taller and stronger so that the bloodstock agents will be more inclined to buy them at the sales – small horses can make perfectly good racehorses, but the buyers are mostly after tall, well matured youngsters with lots of winning racehorses in their extended families. To have any chance of making a profit when it comes to the sales, it’s all about size and pedigree.
Image by: Courtenay Hitchcock
Once a foal is five months, is eating well and is spending less and less time at its dam’s side, we catch the mare and lead her out of the field, to the other end of the farm, out of earshot. Within a very short time, most foals have settled back with their mates and all is calm. The mares will often pace the field they have been moved to for the first couple of days and this, combined with reduced grass for a week or two, helps dry up their milk. The field group sizes vary but six or eight mares with foals at foot in a group is ideal, with two or three mares being taken out at a time. The group is then left to properly settle again for a couple of weeks before the next mares are removed, with the aim of making the whole process as stress-free as possible.
Image by: Courtenay Hitchcock
This is also the time of year when we start looking towards the autumn sales and helping our clients analyse their broodmare bands. It’s the time to consider whether any mares have been underperforming with offspring either not making a profit at the sales or, ultimately, not winning races. Time to decide whether there are mares that should be sold or bought, always with an eye to improving the quality of the mares being bred from.
Ultimately, September is the month for the final tidying of both paddocks and buildings to get ready for the winter and, whilst we’d like to be picking blackberries and sloes, we spend most of the time praying for a long dry Autumn so the horses can stay out as long as possible.
Unlike any other industry, everyone has a connection with farming. Why? Because the food you eat has been produced by farmers. The National Farmers Union (NFU) was set up in 1908 to represent the interests of farmers and that principle remains today as we are here to give our British farmers a voice. Our purpose is to champion British agriculture and horticulture, to campaign for a stable and sustainable future for British farmers and to support our members with advice and guidance.
Aerial view of summer country farming landscape and wheat field being harvested by combine harvester with trailer and grain in foreground
We feel that if UK farming is to continue to produce the food we eat and meet the challenges of climate change and food security, as well as rearing and producing our farmed animals to the high standards that the UK public expect, then farmers need a level playing field in which to work and trade. It is our role at the NFU to ensure the industry is granted this and it has never been a more important role than right now as trade deals are being negotiated; we work so that our sector is not undermined by allowing in food imports that fail to meet its high ideals.
The NFU prides ourselves on our local representation. Nationally we have a network of more than 300 local offices joint with the NFU Mutual. Here in Dorset, there are six local offices with two in the Blackmore Vale – Sturminster Newton and Sherborne. Jude Green and Justin Pinder lead the Sturminster Newton office and Shelley Goodfellow leads the Sherborne office. These NFU Group Secretaries can provide professional advice and help to NFU members, supported by the extensive network of over 200 NFU staff on a county, regional and national level. Between the local Group Secretary and the County Adviser, they play a crucial role maintaining grass root relationships with farmers and stakeholders in Dorset.
Coronavirus has impacted everyone’s lives, for farming one of the biggest impacts has been from the loss of the restaurant, pub and takeaway trade, what the industry refers to as the ‘out of home’ sector, through the lockdowns. This accounts for up to half the fresh produce that is sold in the UK – the proportions vary depending on what is being supplied, but it is a crucial market for meat, milk and vegetables. One thing is for sure, the NFU will continue to work tirelessly to support farmers through the problems we have and continue to face and make sure that after the coronavirus has passed, we re-build a more resilient and sustainable domestic food and farming supply chain.
Alongside this, our team scrutinise trade deals; address workforce shortages; lobby to grant more resource for rural crime; act as ambassadors for farm safety; bring farming alive in the classroom through our education work and deal with species re-introduction proposals. Our work is certainly varied!
Watch out for Back British Farming Day on Wednesday 15th September 2021, this is the NFU’s public-facing campaign, driving support for the British food and farming sector through simple actions like buying British produce or enjoying the countryside responsibly. More information can be found on our Countryside Website at Back British Farming | Countryside Online
There are many challenges facing the industry now, but farmers – who are nothing if not resilient and resourceful – are continuing to work hard to make sure we have the food we need alongside managing our great British countryside. There are also many opportunities, and our farming industry has scope to be able to provide the solutions to many of our challenges. Above all we must protect the high standards of food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection that the British public value so highly.
We look forward to contributing to the BV’s monthly magazine and we hope we will bring you along with us during this exciting and challenging time ahead for the farming industry. We look forward to discussing the farming issues of the day with you as well as introducing you to some of the farmers in our area and their businesses. It is also a chance for us to highlight some of the farming campaigns such as the #LoveLamb Week running now – 1st to 7th September – showcasing the delicious, nutritious, and climate-friendly British lamb.
According to the 2017 Global Burden of Disease Study(1), 3 in 10 people in the UK suffer some type of muscular skeletal disorder, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, low back pain and neck pain. Randomised control trial studies relating to diet and supplements are limited but there is some evidence that certain interventions may have positive effects.
There are varying types of arthritis, each requiring a differing approach:
Inflammatory arthritis includes auto-immune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis, and lupus or Sjogrens syndrome. Much of the research on inflammatory arthritis focuses on the gut-arthritis connection – yes the gut strikes again. With RA, there is chronic joint inflammation, severe pain and swelling, joint damage and disability.
Osteoarthritis and gout are often related to obesity, metabolic syndrome and diet. The inflammation in the body manifests itself in joint pain. Injury and repetitive stress increases risk as does ageing. The damage is caused by oxidative stress on the joints.
Finally there are more rare forms of arthritis often triggered by issues such as Lyme Disease, environmental toxins, viruses, and bacteria.
Supporting arthritis with nutrition and lifestyle
Supporting arthritis is about identifying and supporting the root cause. This could be through improved gastro-intestinal health, ensuring the right balance of nutrients in diet, weight loss, supporting stress and trauma, dealing with environmental exposure, eg heavy metals, pesticides, moulds, or identifying sources of infection.
Nutrition and lifestyle wise, there are three steps to approaching arthritis – a therapeutic phase, a food phase, and addressing underlying stress factors.
Therapeutic Phase. This phase relates to gut issues and amongst others, focuses on exposures that may exacerbate the condition. For example, it is not uncommon to find that certain foods may aggravate the inflammatory response. Whilst my approach with clients is generally to widen the diversity of foods, in arthritis (depending upon root cause), there is a case for identifying food-types that are inflammatory in nature. Eliminating these food-types in a systematic way helps to identify what may be aggravating the condition. Common inflammatories are gluten and gliadin (found in wheat and other grains), dairy, nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, aubergines, peppers) and lectins (found in beans, lentils and grains). Elimination diets are temporary, requiring a strict approach to elimination and managed re-introduction to assist in the identification of potential inflammatory mediators.
Food Phase. A good dietary strategy focuses on foods rich in antioxidants, are anti-inflammatory and support optimal gut health, since this is frequently where the stress and inflammation begins. Foods should support the liver in order to reduce build-up of oxidative stress, allowing the liver to function properly. A sensible weight loss plan is a key step for overweight osteoarthritis sufferers. Nutritional deficiency may need to be addressed. Below is not a complete list but is a healthy start.
Bone Building Nutrients. People with RA are at greater risk of osteoporosis due to bone erosion(2).
Calcium – yogurt, bones from tinned fish, green veg
Magnesium – cocoa and pumpkin or chia seeds
Potassium – fruits and vegetables
Vitamin C – fruits such as berries and kiwi
Anti Inflammatory Foods (fibre, antioxidants and omega 3)
Increasing fibre (especially from plants), fermented vegetables and cultured foods is a positive step for good gut function.
Foods high in polyphenols and anthocyanins, eg berries, plums, pomegranate, cherries, apples, oats, turmeric, black beans, as well as black and green tea, coffee, red wine, olive oil and dark chocolate are all your friends. Anthocyanins may help ease the swelling associated with gout (3).
Other antioxidants such as vitamin E, carotenoids and selenium may be supportive and are found in nuts, seeds and brightly coloured (orange) fruits.
Omega-3 fats found in oily fish may also support a reduction in inflammation and improve joint stiffness(4).
For rheumatoid arthritis, a 2020 Systematic Review of Randomised Control Trials(5)concluded that studies showed ‘moderate strength’ evidence for positive effects from a Mediterranean diet, spices (ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, saffron), antioxidants and probiotics. Other diets or supplements had either no effect or low to very low strength of evidence.
Supplements
There are supplements and probiotics on the market that may or may not support arthritis conditions. However many arthritis sufferers already take medications for their conditions and long-term use of arthritis medications may also lead to nutrient deficiencies. Don’t fall for the latest supplement being touted on the internet especially when taking medications. A qualified professional will always carefully check any interactions with your medications and supplements to ensure there are no contraindications and that you are receiving the best benefit. They will also be alert for nutritional deficiency, which can be confirmed with testing.
If you would like to try a free 7 day arthritis support meal plan and more detail on nutrients, you can find one on my website.
References
Findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. (2018). www.healthdata.org
Nelson, J., Sjöblom, H., Gjertsson, I., Ulven, S. M., Lindqvist, H. M., & Bärebring, L. (2020). Do Interventions with Diet or Dietary Supplements Reduce the Disease Activity Score in Rheumatoid Arthritis? A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials. Nutrients, 12(10), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.3390/NU12102991
Norling, L. V., & Perretti, M. (2013). The role of omega-3 derived resolvins in arthritis. Current Opinion in Pharmacology, 13(3), 476–481. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COPH.2013.02.003
Schett, G., & Gravallese, E. (2012). Bone erosion in rheumatoid arthritis: mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment. Nature Reviews Rheumatology 2012 8:11, 8(11), 656–664. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2012.153
Zhang, G., Chen, S., Zhou, W., Meng, J., Deng, K., Zhou, H., Hu, N., & Suo, Y. (2019). Anthocyanin composition of fruit extracts from Lycium ruthenicum and their protective effect for gouty arthritis. Industrial Crops and Products, 129, 414–423. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.INDCROP.2018.12.026
In the age of the selfie and our image-propelled social media era, some portrait painters may fear for the future of their art. As technology increasingly shapes how we see and share the world, this instantaneous method of capturing the portrait has become the defining visual genre of our time. We are surrounded by portraits, for we see representations of people everywhere. However, in contemporary art, portraits are much more than pure representation. Historically, portraitists primarily recorded the rich and powerful and created their work by commission, or by admiration and affection for their subject. However, today the skill of the portrait painter lies in the ability to define the essence of the sitter as well as a recognisable likeness.
Henrietta’s Studio and her portrait of husband John. George’s self portrait pencil drawing on the wall. Image: Edwina Baines
Henrietta Young is an artist with a worldwide reputation as a portrait painter. Drawing and painting prolifically, she was able to capture a likeness from an early age. She has travelled for sittings across the United Kingdom, as well as in Europe and America. We chatted in her peaceful Dorset studio with stunning views across the newly harvested cornfields. On the subject of the portrait genre, she felt “It’s not just painting, there must be a degree of intuition about it. You can be a brilliant painter and not be able to get a likeness or you can have an accurate rendition of someone’s nose and eyes for example and it won’t look like them… People tell me their innermost feelings. Sitting is like being in the Psychiatrist’s Chair! The trick is to get to know the person.”
Henrietta in her studio with recent commission. Image: Edwina Baines
Henrietta came from an artistic background: not only were her 19th Century relations painters, but her father was an excellent draftsman and her mother a good water-colourist who painted all her life. Henrietta’s son George is also a painter and print maker, living and working in London. There were four girls in Henrietta’s family including the artist Amanda Vesey; and Amanda’s twin sister Georgina’s son is Tom Hammick, also a prestigious artist. He was the winner of the V&A Prize at the 2016 International Print Biennale, the work having since been acquired into the V&A collections.
Nicholas Hely Hutchinson – By the Bridge at Bockhampton. (Pictures for the Beehive – The Splash Appeal)
A modest persona, Henrietta told me that “Painters have traditionally been people who don’t talk about themselves. People find out about you by seeing. If you see a piece of contemporary art and you need a full explanation of what it’s about then what’s the point? I’d rather the work spoke for itself.” She has firm beliefs in the importance of the basics in the teaching of children to draw – “You can’t progress until you have the correct tools to work with.” She is disciplined in the way she works, going to her studio every day with just a break for lunch: “I get bored if I don’t work hard”.
George Young – Morning Mother and Child. (Pictures for the Beehive – The Splash Appeal)
One glance through her website gallery (http://www.henriettayoung.com) will confirm her talent. She says: “A conversation tells you more about somebody than a photo ever can. Each sitting (a picture might need five or six) reveals something different. A good portrait is much more than a likeness – it expresses something essential. It’s a collaboration between the artist and the sitter; you both feel when you have got it right.”
However, there has naturally been a break with commissions during the pandemic so, as with many other artists I have talked to, the focus turned to the beauty and vivid colours of the countryside. Henrietta has spent daily local walks admiring and absorbing the scenery, now the subject of her new exhibition to be held at The Art Stable in Child Okeford from 16 October-13 November.
Another passionate project also uppermost in Henrietta’s mind at the moment is the Diverse Abilities’ Splash Appeal (www.thesplashappeal.org.uk). Diverse Abilities is Dorset’s disability charity supporting children and adults with profound physical and learning disabilities across the county. As Henrietta said “we don’t have any idea what it’s like to be powerless. Not just being not able to walk, but being powerless… So the ability to move and have fun in the water is so important.”
Artists’ drawing from The Beehive (Pictures for the Beehive – The Splash Appeal)
Raising funds for a hydrotherapy pool for people who attend The Beehive Centre in Poole and who have profound disabilities such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy and multiple learning disabilities, she will be helping to run and organise an Exhibition and Auction of Contemporary Art. Henrietta visited this Day Centre during her husband’s year as High Sheriff for Dorset in 2017/18 when, in comparison to those under the age of 18, she was struck by the lack of facilities for adults. At that time, she tells me, there were not even enough toilets: “It was like something out of Dickens”. The situation has greatly improved with funds from Diverse Abilities – but the Centre badly needs a hydrotherapy pool, essential to the treatment, wellbeing and enjoyment of the 50 or so adults who attend the Centre.
Henrietta Young – ‘Watching’ (recent image for the Art Stable exhibition. Copyright Henrietta Young)
Thus, Henrietta wrote to as many famous artists as she knew and asked if they could help. Most of them were willing and 28 artists have generously donated their work. Four of them – Catherine Goodman, Ursula Leach, Jemma Phipps and Sarah Pickstone have now attended The Beehive to talk and also draw those involved and get to know them. These drawings will also be on display at the Exhibition. Some of the other well-known Artists helping to raise the £1 million needed for the pool include Antony Gormley RA, Paula Rego RA, Maggi Hambling, Nicholas Hely Hutchinson and Ryan Gander. All of the work to be auctioned by Duke’s is displayed on the website (www.picturesforthebeehive.org.uk) with details and price guide; but bids can be placed before the event by contacting Tallulah Barnett at Duke’s (01305 265080). Online bidding will be available from 8th September.
The Pictures for the Beehive exhibition runs between 21st and 22nd September (with the Private View and Auction on 23rd) at St Giles House, Wimborne St Giles. This is the beautiful home of Nick Ashley-Cooper, the 12th Earl of Shaftesbury, who, following the deaths of his father and older brother, returned to England to renovate St. Giles House on the family’s 5,000-acre estate.
Hello and welcome to my September column. I hope you’ve had a great summer and life is at long last now returning to normality. I guess only a few may have taken summer holidays overseas but it’s certainly given us the opportunity to enjoy our beautiful country with the huge growth in staycations. And I have to say I was delighted to see Gold Hill in Shaftesbury featured on the front of a leading motorhome magazine this month!
As discussed in an earlier article, we are a not for profit businesses with the sole purpose of helping businesses in Dorset grow and success. We aren’t funded by councils or by the Government and operate as a membership organisation. On a very practical level I’d like to talk to you this month about some of the benefits we can offer businesses through membership of Dorset Chamber. Membership is extremely reasonably priced and offers businesses a huge return on investment in many areas. We offer range of membership packages starting at just £120 plus VAT. Whether you are seeking vital protection for your business, business services or looking to raise your profile and build your customer base, we can help. Essentially we talk about being able to protect, promote and connect businesses through membership
Just our basic membership at only £120 will offer any business within Dorset a range of benefits. Providing essential cover for any business, this includes up to £1 million of business legal expenses insurance with £100,000 per claim for a solicitor to represent a member business in defending a legal action. We also offer 24/7 access to a HR, tax and legal helpline with has proved invaluable to businesses that have used this. We also offer benefits that include free credit checks (essential to any business offering credit to a new customer) as well as the ability to publish press releases on our website, the leading Dorset business news platform.
One incredibly successful service we launched during the pandemic was our online networking events, Simply Networking, included in our membership. These virtual networking offer businesses across Dorset a fantastic opportunity to meet and connect with other businesses in a friendly, non-salesy environment – all from your office or home. These events attract a wide range of businesses (including our very own editor, Laura!) and are incredibly popular.
This is just an introduction to some of the benefits we offer – and there are many more. We are a friendly bunch and very keen to support businesses across Dorset. If you’d like to find out more about how you can join our active and friendly membership and get some great benefits for your business, please contact us on 01202 714800 or e-mail [email protected] or visit dorsetchamber.co.uk
There is nothing quite like the smell of freshly baked bread and this recipe is my adaptation of a brioche roll – still an enriched bread dough with added egg and a little butter, but they aren’t quite as buttery or as sweet as a traditional brioche might be, making them slightly easier to make and slightly more versatile. They work brilliantly with freshly cooked bacon or sausages as a breakfast roll, as well as with a burger or steak for dinner and can be made ahead of time, just refresh them with 10 minutes in a warm oven before serving.
Image by: Heather Brown
I can highly recommend trying to source local bacon or beef burgers for a really sensational roll and if you are looking for somewhere to find some locally farmed meat then do try your local butchers. There are butchers on almost every high street across the county and each one will have relationships with local farms and care deeply about the meat they source. As we head into game season this autumn, you should also start to find fresh wild fowl, pheasants and partridges too, if you are looking for something a little different!
Lightly whisk the warm milk, dried yeast and sugar together and leave for 5 or so minutes to start the yeast working (it will start to get foamy on the top of the mixture).
In a large bowl, add the flour and salt and then add in the melted butter, 2 eggs and the milk mixture. Stir together until it forms a dough and the tip out onto a well floured side and knead until smooth (about 10 minutes). If the dough is too dry, then just add a little more milk or water but you should have a fairly sticky dough. If you are kneading by hand, you can coat your hands with a little oil which helps stop it sticking as much. You can also do this stage in a stand mixer with a dough hook if you have one and it will take about 5-7 minutes on medium to high speed.
Image by: Heather Brown
Lightly oil a bowl and pop the dough into it and cover with a clean tea towel or cling film. Leave to rise for 1 hour (or until doubled in size). On cooler days, I leave the bowl gently resting next to or on top of a radiator to help the prove.
Whilst the dough is proving, prepare 2 baking trays by greasing and lining with baking parchment.
Once the dough has doubled in size, take out the dough and knead again to knock out the air. Cut the dough into 12 pieces and shape them into rolls. Place them onto the trays. Lightly cover with cling and leave to double in size again (45 minutes to 1 hour).
Preheat the oven to 180 fan or gas 5.
Once the dough has risen, you can give the dough a little egg wash if you want a nice shine to the finished rolls and then bake for 20 minutes or until the rolls are a lovely golden brown.
