Last month Dorset Libraries asked for your nominations for your top fiction books of all time.
We know – It’s the sort of dilemma that fills any book lover with equal parts tingly excitement and existential dread. And yet – the challenge was accepted, in your droves Dorset Libraries received nominations for over 200 titles!
And while, yes, we’re all winners here *soothes the cover of the titles languishing at the back with just one vote each* there were, of course, some stand out favourites. The top 18 are listed opposite – how many have you read? I’m almost ashamed to admit there are three that I haven’t – The Goldfinch, Middlemarch and 1984. I know, I know… I’ll correct it soon, I promise! But I’m overjoyed that all of my own top favourites are in there To Kill A Mockingbird and Pride & Prejudice are probably my Desert Island books, closely followed by The Book Thief and Gone With The Wind (I’m nothing of not eclectic in my reading choices). It’s lovely to see some newer titles like All The Light We Cannot See holding its own against stalwart classics like Middlemarch too.
Dorset Libraries continue to offer rentals of e-books, audio books, e-magazines, newspapers & ancestry through lockdown. They are also running Virtual Reading Groups – expect lively conversation and thoughtful discussion. Details of all virtual events are here. On the last Thursday of each month there is a virtual live chat Reading Group (10-11am) – all welcome.
Here at Damory Vets one common query we get during the Winter is about fleas. Animals get fleas from other animals and from the external environment. Did you know that although fleas lay eggs on your pet the eggs only stay on the animal for a short period of time before they drop off into the environment? Within 3-5 days the eggs in the house can hatch into larvae that burrow into furnishings in the home. Because of this, a shocking 90-95% of fleas live in the environment and the visible fleas you see on your pet only make up 5-10% of the population in your home.
Shutterstock
Fleas survive best in warm, humid environments so, the autumn and winter are particularly prolific times for fleas as you start to turn on your heating, making the house the perfect temperature for fleas to thrive and breed. Another reason these seasons are perfect for fleas is that your pet’s coats change and become thicker, creating an ideal environment for fleas to survive in.
Controlling fleas at this time of year requires multiple approaches. It is important to treat your pets with flea products to stop them getting infested and bringing fleas into the home, your vets will sell a range of prescription products that will prevent and kill fleas on your pet. However, it is also equally important to control the fleas in the environment; in particular on the pet’s bedding, carpets, sofas and blankets. To get rid of the fleas in the environment it is important to wash your pet’s bedding regularly at over 50 degrees Celsius. Hoovering carpets regularly, including under the sofas and furniture, is important too. Additionally, there are household insecticides available that can be sprayed on furnishings to eliminate fleas.
We hope you and your pets enjoy a pest free Autumn from the Small Animal Team at Damory Vets.
Julie Roper
Practice Manager
Damory Veterinary Clinic Edward Street Blandford Forum Dorset DT11 7QT
Tributes to Ray Humphries – “one of Shaftesbury’s finest”
by Fanny Charles
The streets of Shaftesbury were packed with people who turned out to pay their respects to one of the town’s best-loved residents, “Mr Shaftesbury,” as many called him, Ray Humphries MBE, who died on 24th October.
Owing to Covid-19 restrictions, the funeral on 10th November was a private family service, but the cortege passed through the High Street, stopping at the Town Hall, where Shaftesbury Silver Band played a tribute to Ray, a long-standing member who played the side drum.
Over the last few months, there has been more than a little confusion locally around the existence of two ‘Blackmore Vale Magazines’ (what was once the beloved BVM). So we thought it would be a good time to clarify things – again.
We launched our digital magazine ‘The Blackmore Vale’ in August 2020 – going out monthly, we’re purely digital, and the only way to read our publication is online via our widely-shared links. We are NOT subscription only (you can read us anwyhere!), nor is it just a website – it is a shareable interactive publication, you can download it and read it at your leisure, and all previous issues can be read here (there’s a complete library underneath the latest issue).
The BV magazine (we started as simply the ‘Blackmore Vale’ but have chosen to rebrand as the BV to avoid this exact confusion) is owned and run by us, Laura & Courtenay, a couple from Sturminster Newton, living and raising our four children within the Vale, where we have lived and worked for almost thirty years.
In the month following our own launch, Lloyd and Ruth Armishaw – who also own Armishaw’s Removals in Wincanton – launched a free physical printed fortnightly newspaper ‘The New Blackmore Vale Magazine’.
Neither company has any connection with the original Blackmore Vale Magazine, for which all Intellectual Property, trade marks and copyright are still owned by Reach PLC (the exact reason why our magazine is as different as possible to the original!).
And neither company has anything to do with each other. We do not share content, we are very different publications, we are entirely separate enterprises.
If you were one of the many who wondering – we hope that clears things up. If you have any questions then please do feel free to contact us and we will of course be more than happy to discuss them with you.
Taking Will instructions from clients can, on occasion, be very straightforward. They know exactly what they want to do, their circumstances are genuinely uncomplicated and therefore their Wills are simple in form.
However, often the initial meeting with clients to take instructions turns into a friendly interrogation by the solicitor as they attempt to coax out all the important and necessary information thus allowing them to build up a fuller picture and establish the wider consequences of the Will being prepared. Clients are usually convinced at the outset that their Will is going to be really easy, and that their instructions will definitely not require a more complicated and costly Will. During the course of the initial meeting, expectations sometimes need a little revision.
Unfortunately, few clients really ever fall into that simple uncomplicated box. At the initial meeting, I will work through a series of questions to fact find what areas require more careful thought and more probing questions. It is often the follow-up question in response to the client’s answer that is most important. By the end of that initial meeting I should have all the necessary information to enable me to prepare draft Wills and the client(s) are seeing their instructions perhaps in a different light to those they had originally intended to give me.
Here’s a typical conversation that I will have with clients that often raises an eyebrow or two:
Me: “So Mr and Mrs Smith, is your property Primrose Cottage held jointly between the two of you?” Clients: “Yes, we both own it.” Me: “Now this may seem a silly question but I promise you it’s not, do you happen to know perhaps how you own the property jointly? Is it as joint tenants or as tenants in common?”
Clients: *confused faces* Me: *proceeds to draw diagram and then explain how the property can be held jointly in two different ways*
Now this simple line of questioning can have huge repercussions on how a Will later operates in dealing with the main asset, the family home, on the death of the first to die.
If a couple own their property as joint tenants then regardless of any Will, on the first death the beneficial share will pass automatically to the surviving joint owner so that they then hold the property in their sole name.
The alternative is to own the property as tenants in common which means that each joint owner is deemed to own a distinct share in the property, usually 50:50 but sometimes in unequal shares, and at the first death this beneficial entitlement passes under their Will and not automatically to the other joint owner. The Will then dictates where the half of the house passes and whether this should be outright or maybe only in trust for the survivor. Sometimes, especially if a marriage or relationship is breaking down, the Will is altered to direct their share of the house to other beneficiaries entirely.
Not appreciating this crucial point about how the property can be held and therefore not reacting to “sever the joint tenancy” can lead to some disastrous outcomes at the first death as the property passed to the wrong person or maybe to the right person but in the wrong way! This topic of conversation is especially relevant if clients are worried about potential care home scenarios for the survivor of them or if perhaps they have children from a previous relationship that they wish to benefit whilst also protecting the interests of the survivor. As such, more and more couples at the end of that initial meeting are now instructing me to prepare more complicated Wills to include something called a Life Interest Trust, to deal specifically with their share of the property.
For more information and advice, please contact Adam Hillier on 01935 846165 or email [email protected]
Whilst Artsreach aren’t able to welcome touring performers to community venues at present, many of them are working hard to keep in touch with us all, releasing lots of creative content online. Artsreach have created Digital Diary to include as many events as they can find taking place digitally over the coming days and weeks that you might like to connect with.
This was the moment when Blandford’s railway history reached the point of no return.
The arches at the eastern end of East Street had survived passenger trains by 12 years and goods traffic by nine.
But with their structural condition deteriorating and road traffic increasing, the arches were finally blown to bits on July 25, 1978.
It was a sad day for those who had used the Somerset & Dorset line, including myself, as I went travelled to Blandford Grammar School from Sturminster Newton and later Shillingstone from 1961 until Dr Beeching had his wicked way in 1966.
But it was presumably a powerful moment for the winner the local lottery that decided who got to press the detonation button.
On the right of the 1978 picture is English’s garage, where four-star and three-star petrol could be bought for 79p and 77p a gallon (about 17p a litre).
The filling station was also offering Green Shield trading stamps, which will bring back memories for those of us old enough to remember the days before plastic loyalty cards.
A 2020 view, taken from almost the same spot in Wimborne Road, shows the town houses that have replaced the garage and the open view into East Street.
Local Equestrian Community mourns the passing of Pat Burgess MBE
by Laura Hitchcock
Warmth and love radiates from the countless messages and memories being shared for renowned Wilton RDA teacher Pat Burgess, who sadly passed away peacefully on 4th November at home with her family by her side.
Born and raised in South Africa, she emigrated to England in 1964, and when injury forced a stop to her own show jumping career, Pat turned to teaching.
