For Blandford and surrounding villagesIssue No. 29 August 2014

Roadshow expert launchesAbbey appeal: Page 15

FORUMFOCUS

FORUM FOCUS: Your FREE monthly community newspaper www.forumfocus.co.uk

Crown Meadows reprievedopposition of local people, evidenced by thepetition signed by over 6,000 against the pro-posal.It recommended, and the panel agreed, a fur-ther round of public consultation into whetherthe site at St Mary's Hill in Blandford St Mary,for which proposals were submitted in April,should be included as an alternative to theCrown Meadows site.The recommendation was due to be consid-ered by the council's Cabinet on 21st July andagain by full council on 25th July.John Cook, chairman of Bryanston ParkPreservation Group, said: "All of us at BPPGare delighted that NDDC has at last agreed tolisten to the town. "We have consistently commented upon the

historic importance of the Meadows and ofthe iconic visual setting they give the town.Our arguments have now been supported byEnglish Heritage whose added weight hasproved decisive."The advice from English Heritage gavegreater weight to the conservation of historicassets and their setting, and the district coun-cil undertook new assessments of the poten-tial impacts, working closely with EnglishHeritage. The proposed local plan revision will includeconsideration of the potential CharltonMarshall bypass off the A354, the provision ofa safe route across the bypass as a continua-tion of the North Dorset Trailway, biodiversity

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Campaigners celebrate homes plan U-turn CAMPAIGNERS against development on theCrown Meadows and Bryanston Deer Parkwere last month celebrating a U-turn by NorthDorset District Council planners, who have rec-ommended the withdrawal of the proposal fromthe new Local Plan.The council's planning policy panel was told atits meeting on 10th July that English Heritagehad serious concerns about the impact devel-opment would have on the Blandford,Blandford St Mary and Bryanston ConservationArea, suggesting that development in this areawould be likely to result in 'substantial harm' tothe Conservation Area.English Heritage noted the number of otherdesignated and non-designated heritageassets that could be affected and urged thecouncil to also consider the 'scale of impact'development may have on these assets.The report to the panel also highlighted the

Poppies inbloom acentury onA YOUNG contributor toBlandford's poppy fieldsdisplays her handiwork. She was among hundredsof people who have helpedcreate fields of poppies inthe Corn Exchange as thetown commemorates the100th anniversary of theoutbreak of World WarOne.Forum Focus will be recog-nising the role of Blandfordand surrounding villageswith accounts of eventsmonth by month, startingwith a special four-pagefeature in this issue.For more pictures of thepoppy wall, visit our web-site at forumfocus.co.ukwhere a War RemembranceGallery is now open.See Page 8.

2 August 2014

FORUM FOCUSCONTACTS

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From Page 1enhancement and good design tomitigate the impact on the sur-rounding landscape and heritageassets, particularly in LowerBlandford St Mary.It will also mean increasing thetotal number of new homes to be

Planners’ U-turn over Crown Meadows homes built in the Blandford area over thenext ten years or more from 960to 1,110 because of the highercapacity of the alternative location,recognising its natural and historicenvironment, and safeguardingthe route of the Spetisbury -Charlton Marshall bypass.An environmental impact assess-ment has now been submitted for

fields next to the St Mary's Hilldevelopment site to become asolar park.Blandford St Mary Parish Councilhas declared its intention to opposeany firm proposals for developmentwest of the village settlement areaof 60 homes between DorchesterHill and Fairmile Road for which anenvironmental impact assessment

was submitted by Charles Churchin May.They raise issues of compatibilitywith the neighbouring BryanstonHills development, inadequatevehicular and pedestrian access,destruction of natural habitats andthe open-ended nature of the pro-posal which allows for furtherdevelopment to the west.

BLANDFORD'S specialist care home, PhoenixHouse in Heddington Drive, will close in a fewmonths' time despite a petition signed by over 1,000people against the Dorset County Council proposal.The council's cabinet on 2nd July accepted thatalternative arrangements should be made for thelimited number of people using the respite beds andlong-term care facility, which costs £1m a year torun, and which cost around £4m to build and equipfor its opening only two years ago.The petition with 1,177 signatures was presented tothe council's cabinet member for adult social care,

Jill Haynes, by care assistant Eleanor Parker on themorning of the cabinet meeting.But local councillor Barrie Cooper was one of only afew councillors to argue against the closure, stress-ing the value of Phoenix House to those using it.Councillor Haynes said they needed to separate abuilding that wasn't working from the good servicewhich would continue to be provided.Head of specialist adult services Glen Gocoul saidthat since the decision to build Phoenix House wasmade in 2009, the national and local approachtowards care provision had changed.

Phoenix House closure is confirmed

3August 2014

THE Blandford Beavers, youngest members of the scoutingmovement, were among the groups invited to the poppy paint-ing event in the Corn Exchange, and their visit included a tourof the Town Hall and Council Chamber.They also had a chance to view the town's silver maces andMayoral chains with the guidance of town mace bearer DavidJardine and the Mayor of Blandford Steve Hitchings, whoallowed them to sit in the Mayoral chair.

Beavers try the mayoral chair

A CHANCE of significant fundingfor a new sports and communitycentre has been lost becauseBlandford Cricket Club has pulledout of a project to share facilitieswith Blandford Football Club onPark Road recreation ground.The scheme costing around half amillion pounds involved a joint-use building next to the play area,but the cricket club say they wantto remain on the site of theirexisting pavilion at the far side ofthe ground, where it faces west,taking the sun in the evening, andlooking down on the pitch.Club secretary Tom Snape said:"Last year the cricket club com-mittee reluctantly agreed to dis-cuss the joint proposal for thecommunity club."However, as the footprint of theproposed new pavilion becameclear, the president and somevice-presidents became vocifer-ous in their opposition, as didmembers."In a meeting early this year, weagreed that we would like toreplace the current clubhouseand will pursue a three- to five-year plan to raise the moneywhich we estimate will be approx-imately £250,000."He said their proposal wouldinclude a brick building and patharound the boundary to providedisabled access.The recreation ground is man-aged by Blandford Town Councilon behalf of a trust, and the coun-cil agreed in May last year toappoint an architect to draw upplans on behalf of BlandfordUnited FC and the cricket club.

Councillors were told last monthof the cricket club's decision, andagreed instead to offer the£90,000 they were prepared toput into the joint scheme to beshared between the two clubs,provided they put forward sepa-rate plans by May next year.The committee was told the siteof the existing cricket club pavilionwas not suitable for the joint proj-ect because of the need to pro-vide disabled access and servic-ing all year round.Councillor Roger Carter under-stood the cricket club's point ofview, saying: "It is an iconic build-ing and part of Old England. Butthe club has got to move with thetimes. £45,000 is barely a stickingplaster and if they want to rebuildthey need to think of a joint ven-ture."John Wakefield of Blandford FCsaid the football club was happywith the shared use proposals,which would have provided facili-ties for both clubs, together withcommunity use.He said if the football club had togo it alone, once they had provid-ed the public toilets required bytheir league status and carriedout other necessary work, their£45,000 share of the town coun-cil's funding would be used up,and further funding would bemore difficult to attract simply forthe provision of changing rooms.Committee chairman LynnLindsay said: "We have alreadyspent £1,500 in architects' fees,and are very, very disappointedas a council that we cannot takethe project forward."

Sports cash lostas cricket clubopts to stay put

War drama auditions

Rings festival returns

AUDITIONS are being held this month for the forthcoming productionby Forum Drama, which is one of the series of events being co-ordi-nated by Blandford Town Council under the banner of 'BlandfordForum Commemorates'.'Dreams of Home', scheduled for three nights from 30th October, con-sists of three one-act plays about the First World War, with the com-mon theme being the letters exchanged by soldiers at the front andtheir loved ones back home.The first play is by Miles Malleson (1888-1969); the second play is byJ M Barrie, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan; and the finalplay has been written by one of Forum Drama's own members, PatHarrison, and is an 'Upstairs, Downstairs' story of a Lord and Lady,who have a son in the Army, as do their cook and her husband. Buttheir experiences could not be more different.Women and particularly younger men are invited to attend the audi-tions which will be held on Thursday 14th August and Tuesday 19thAugust in The Parish Centre, Blandford, starting 7pm.

THE Music and Merriment Festival returns to Spetisbury Ringsthis month in support of the Weldmar Hospicecare Trust.Everyone who performs at or works on the festival does so forfree, allowing every penny of support to go to the charity.It starts at 7pm on Friday 15th August with the tent-based launchparty, followed by the main event from midday until midnight onSaturday 16th August.The event first ran in 2009, organised by Tim Wood, who grew upnear Spetisbury Rings and realised his dream of holding a charityfestival there after his mother Teresa died from cancer in 2006.Twelve hours of music are promised, together with a kids' zone,real ale and cider bar, locally sourced food, hot air balloon dis-play and Edwardian tearooms. Tickets are available at musicandmerriment.co.uk and TheWoodpecker pub in Spetisbury.

4 August 2014

A BLANDFORD woman who has been recover-ing from the effect of two very painful bites fromthe Blandford Fly is astonished at the reportedwithdrawal of funding for treatment of the RiverStour to control its emergence in the spring.Claire Hossell, who was bitten while out runningthrough Bryanston woods, said: "When I wentdown to the doctor with two very sore bites, hetold me the funding for the treatment had ceased."I'm astounded that the funding is being with-drawn. The bites made me feel pretty poorly, a bitlike having the flu, and I'm a strong and healthyperson. If a child was bitten like this, or an elderlyperson, it could affect them pretty badly."North Dorset District Council, which has beenresponsible in recent years for carrying out thetreatment on behalf of other contributing authori-ties, was advised last October by the Health andSafety Executive that the licence for the treat-ment was being withdrawn.The manufacturers of the spray used, which hasbeen developed to impact only on the fly and noton other insects in the river, have applied for itsuse under new EU Biocidal ProductsRegulations, but in April this year could give nodate for when it would be given.Meanwhile the district council has indicated that it

can no longer afford to fund the treatment andsaid that the local health authority, which alsothreatened to withdraw its funding two years ago,should be responsible.The chair of the Dorset Clinical CommissioningGroup in March replied to a letter from the districtcouncil's spokesman on health, Councillor GaryJefferson, that the management of environmentrisks to human health sat with national agenciessuch as DEFRA and Public Health Englandrather than with the NHS.A report to the district's overview and scrutinycommittee meeting in July announced proposalsfor a full review of the issue, and a request to thedirector of the Public Health England WessexCentre to lead the process as the authority whichcould bring in other authorities with a key role.The Director of Public Health in Dorset, Dr DavidPhillips, has supported the idea that the best wayforward is to carry out a full review so that a newpolicy could be adopted by a group of authoritiesand agencies.That review would include costs and benefits ofcontrol measures to date, current evidence onhow the issue could be managed, impact on pub-lic health and local ecology, and costs and bene-fits of differing courses of future action.

Fly bite victim’s angerover cuts to funding

AN afternoon tea party at Castleman House in Fairfield Bungalowscelebrated national care home open day, and was organised to bringthe care home together with the community.Cakes made by local Rotarians and others were served, the StourValley Band played on the front terrace, and there was a grand raffle,with invited guests including the Mayor of Blandford Steve Hitchings,Dorset County Council representatives, GPs and nurses.Hats were the order of the day, and the staff dressed in mop caps andaprons to add to the atmosphere. More than £1,000 was raised, and organiser Tammy Andrews said:"Our special thanks go to the Stour Rotary Club for their donation ofcakes, to the Stour Valley Band for their amazing music, to the localshops and local community for all the sandwiches, scones and cakesand prizes and to Sue Leyland for photography."Manager Julie Thorne said: "We hope we can have more events likethis at which we can invite members of the community to join us andsee what a lovely home it is."

Hats off to care home fun

5August 2014

BLANDFORD Cemetery was again the target of vandalism over thefirst weekend in July when memorials were broken and laid flat, onlyweeks after the reopening of the cemetery chapel following an arsonattack last summer.At least ten graves were discovered by town council groundsmen tohave been damaged.Blandford Town Council vice-chairman Bob Brannigan, who wasMayor when the chapel was rededicated in May, said: "It is with greatsadness that the Town Council has to report yet more damage anddesecration in Blandford cemetery."Several graves had damage done to memorial headstones and theemotional effect on families is incalculable." Town Council staff are saddened by this vandalism as they pridethemselves on maintaining the cemetery to a very high standard befit-ting the reverence and importance of the place."He said various additional security measures had been implementedimmediately to deter further vandalism and crime at the cemetery."Police are treating this as a very serious incident and the town councilis offering a reward for any information leading to a conviction."The attack follows two occasions in recent weeks on which the ceme-tery wall has been knocked down by vehicles in Shaftesbury Lane. The flattened and broken memorials in Blandford Cemetery.

WORK to restore the cupola onBlandford's Grade I listed parishchurch of St Peter and St Paulwill take it back to how it looked265 years ago.When the landmark domed struc-ture was first installed on thetower in 1749 it was clad in stur-dy weatherboarding with elegantcurlicues on the corner vanesand decorative gilding on theweather-vane at the top.Successive repairs over theyears, some as recently as the1960s following a lightning strike,were mostly done with poormaterials. These included marineplywood, which specialists willreplace with solid oak and a coat-ing of paint that will only requirere-painting every 10 years.As the £3m Cupola Project, part-funded by the Heritage LotteryFund, for the restoration of theentire church moves ahead withthe submission of phase oneplans for approval by the dio-cese, a challenge has been laiddown to the people of Blandford.Chair of the project Sara Loch isasking for their support in raisingthe £5,000 needed for the rein-statement and re-gilding of theweather vane."It's a sum that we can worktogether towards raising," shesays, "and then we will all beable to see and appreciate theresults - on the top of the cupola,

visible for miles around."Miss Loch, 64, a town councillorand twice mayor of Blandford, isoffering to play a major part infund-raising for the entire project."I'll abseil from the top of thetower if I can be sure it will raise£3,000," she says. "The Bishopof Sherborne says he'll join me,and I'd like to get some of theyouth club involved, too."I know the youth club used toabseil as a fund-raiser until about20 years ago but the towerbecame too unsafe. By the time itis safe enough for us, next sum-mer, I'll be 65, so the prospect ofan abseiling pensioner shouldattract plenty of sponsors."Scaffolding is expected to go upnext spring for work to start onthe first phase of the restoration.The cupola and the tower onwhich it stands have priority asthey are the most at risk, and inthe same phase improvementswill be made beside the westdoor to give wheelchair access.All the plans and backgroundinformation will be displayed in aCupola Project exhibition in thechurch from Thursday 7th Augustuntil Sunday 17th August. Ideas for raising money towardsthe Cupola £5k will be welcomedby the project team at com-ments@cupolaproject.org.uk or viathe Cupola Project Facebook pageor to Sara Loch on 01258 450278.

Vandals desecrate cemetery memorials

Cupola restorationwill take it back toits glorious past

The cupola: aniconic landmarkon Blandford’sparish church.

August 20146

A 100-year-old sculpture whichhas stood in the hallway of whatis now Blandford ConstitutionalClub for 40 years has beenrevealed to be the work of a lead-ing 19th century Italian sculptorand sold for over £31,000.The 86-inch-high marble sculp-ture at the double-front GeorgianDale House in Salisbury Streetwas installed 40 years ago whenit was the home of the late W. H.Wilson, a solicitor and formerBlandford Town Clerk. The Wilson family gifted thehouse to the town when theymoved away and it became thehome of the Constitutional Club,where the sculpture, too big tomove, remained in the hallway.It was identified by Amy Brenan,valuer at Duke's Auctioneers inDorchester, when she was invit-ed to the house to look at somepaintings in need of restoration."I couldn't help but notice thiswonderful white marble sculptureof a girl and a lamb gracing theentrance," she said. "Consideringthe sculpture had not moved forover 40 years and was adjacentto the bar, it was in remarkablecondition."

On further inspection she found itwas signed by Professor AntonioBortone (1847-1938), whosemost famous sculpture FanfullaDa Lodi was widely celebrated atthe Paris Expo in 1887. "The Constitutional Club and theWilson family had no idea of theimportance of the sculpture. Veryfew sculptures by Bortone appearat auction so it was difficult toanticipate quite how well it woulddo but it was a great surprisewhen we were able to tell themhow much it was potentiallyworth," said Amy. The sculpture was estimated at£10,000 to £20,000 but aftermuch admiration prior to the auc-tion, it was clear that the highlevel of interest would translateinto good bidding on the day.

"We had several clients from Italybidding on the phone in additionto commission bids and severalclients who had travelled toDorchester in person just to bidon this piece," said Amy. "To findsuch an important work in a tinytown such as Blandford is fantas-tic."The piece was sold for £26,000(£31,720 including buyer's premi-um) to an anonymous UK bidder. Stuart Laws, chairman of theConstitutional Club, said: "Thestatue was always the property ofthe Wilson family, but we had toinsure it at our cost. The familygenerously offered to share someof the proceeds with us, and anymonies will be used in the clubas we do have an ongoing build-ing repair need."

Sculpture brings club a windfall

The Bortone sculpture which stood inthe hall of Blandford ConstitutionalClub.

THE end of an era came to the Friends of Blandford Hospital on21st June when a packed village hall in Child Okeford hosted the18th and final auction organised by Gordon Adam.Mr Adam has had to step down from this important fundraisingactivity for the charity for health reasons, but his final event wasagain a great success, raising over £7,000 through the sale of lotsdonated during the year to the hospital charity shops and makinga total of £100,000 over the years.Mr Adam has been a leading figure in all the Friends' fundraisingactivities which during his time have raised £2 million and startedthe first Blandford Hospital charity shop in the town in 1993. He is not retiring from his role with the fundraising team, and theFriends thanked him and his 'right-hand woman' Mary Clacy fromSturminster Newton and their team of volunteers for puttingtogether such a successful event.The Friends held their AGM on 6th July, when Steve Cole, a for-mer hospital manager who has filled many roles with a succes-sion of health authorities, was appointed chairman to succeedthe late Peter Fale.Work is nearing completion on the redevelopment of the groundfloor of the hospital to which the Friends have donated £750,000.For further information on the Friends' activities, please call theiroffice at the hospital on 01258 450095 or visit the website,friendsblandford.org.

Steve Cole (left), chairman elect of the Friends of Blandford Hospital, GordonAdam OBE (centre), organiser of 18 auctions, and Richard Kay from Lawrencesof Crewkerne who kindly gave his time as auctioneer.

End of era for Friends

August 2014 7

Judge Mary McDonald and steward Rachel Eveleigh inspect the sweet peas.

BLANDFORD & DistrictHorticultural Society celebratedone of the best seasons in recentyears at their annual sweet peaand rose show at the AnneBiddlecombe Hall, TarrantKeynston.Chairman Alan Newman said amild winter and lots of early rainin the spring followed by therecent sunshine had resulted inone of the best entries in manyyears.The quality and number of sweet-smelling petals and blooms whichpermeated the hall was recog-nised by judges Ben Bulstrode,Jim McDonald Broughton, MaryMcDonald and Ron Benfield, whoselected a trio of vases of ninestem and three cultivars fromPeter and Yo Beech as winnersof the sweet pea Blackmore ValeChampionship.One of the vases was judgedbest vase overall to win an MSPSMedal.Cyril Hovard won the Muriel

Davis Cup and Marcia Miles thePeter Early Shield, with othersweet pea classes won by DaveManston, Phil Williams and SylviaBannister.Tony Ashford of Downton waswinner for the second year run-ning of the Joyce Potter RoseBowl and also exhibited the best

vase in the rose classes, whereother winners were MandyEveleigh, Alan Newman, DaveEastment, Helen Sinnett andBarbara Hilton.Members remembered one oftheir stalwart supporters andexhibitors Chris Hill, who hadpassed away since the last show.

A vintageseason in the garden

BLANDFORD's DT11 Transport Action Group is continuing to keepup the pressure for improved bus services in the area, by calling fortimetable revisions to provide better connections to Wimborne andcampaigning to keep the early morning and late afternoonSturminster Newton link on the X8 route.The extension of the X8 to include Gurkha Road and the BlandfordHeights development has been welcomed, and transport championsare being sought in the villages to help promote existing servicesand research the need for new ones.

NEWS in BRIEFCOMMUNITY weekly 5km runs inBlandford for runners of all agesand abilities started on the 26thJuly.They are organised by volunteersled by Mark Way of Blandford withthe support of Active Dorset andBlandford Town Council.Starting from the Jubilee Waybridge over the North DorsetTrailway at 9am every Saturdaymorning, the 5km runs follow theTrailway towards Stourpaine andturn at France Oaks Coppice toreturn on the same route to the fin-ish and coffee at Blandford LeisureCentre.

* * * * *AN election will be held onThursday 2nd October to fill thevacancy on Blandford TownCouncil left by the death ofCouncillor Andrew Pemberton,who represented Old Town ward.

* * * * *POWER tools and £300 in cashwere stolen in a burglary frompremises at Glenmore BusinessPark off Shaftesbury Lane in theearly hours of Saturday 5th July.Police have appealed for witness-es who saw any suspicious activityin the area or are offered tools forsale to call Dorset Police on 101and quoting incident number 7:57.

August 20148

HUNDREDS of people, adults and children,have played their part in creating fields ofpoppies after being invited by Blandford's14-18 group to paint their own poppy as abackdrop to the town's commemoration ofthe 100th anniversary of the outbreak ofWorld War One.The flower became the symbol of the com-memoration movement after poppies grewon the disturbed soil of the trenches afterthe war, which was declared in August 1914and lasted, in Europe, until November 1918.Individuals, school classes and youthgroups visited the Corn Exchange to coverboards pre-painted with green fields with aplethora of poppies which will be displayedat the open-air civic service to be held onSunday 3rd August, starting at 3pm in theMarket Place.

The service is being held at the start ofBlandford's commemoration events, andcoincides with the official opening of anexhibition in Blandford Museum and anoth-er in the Parish Church.Both will be open from Saturday 2ndAugust, the one in the Museum open forthe season featuring World War One-relat-ed exhibits, and that in the church on dis-play for just one week showing the work ofthe BFPC Friday Quilt Club. There will alsobe flower arrangements made by thechurch flower group and on Saturday morn-ing an organ recital.The civic service is first in a series of eventsorganised by the 14-18 group, which is alsocarrying out extensive genealogicalresearch with the assistance of the descen-dants of those who fought in the war.

MORE details have emerged ofroad closures in connection withthe major arts production, TheBell, which will virtually pedestri-anise the Market Place for partsof two days in September.Partial road closures onWednesday 17th September willinclude the reversal of SheepMarket Hill from 3pm to 10.30pm,but Salisbury Street will remainopen.

There will be another partial clo-sure on Thursday 18thSeptember from 3pm to 7pm,and from 9.45pm to 10.30pm.The full closure for the perform-ance that day reverses SheepMarket Hill and also closesSalisbury Street but does notcome into effect until 7pm for justunder three hours.Pedestrians will still be able toaccess their properties and all

Poppies bloom on the Corn Exchange walls

Road closures when The Bell comes to townbusinesses in the Market Placeduring the road closures. At other times traffic will be ableto use the roads, although somecar parking spaces will be lost toaccommodate the work com-pound for the production. But preparations for the event aspart of the 'Blandford ForumCommemorates' series will takeup the whole Market Place carpark area which will be fencedoff, keeping the pavement aroundthe perimeter free for access.The market which normally takesplace on a Thursday is beingmoved to an alternative locationon this date.Inside Out are recruiting 15-20volunteer performers from the

Blandford community to take part.They will spend a day workingwith the professional performersPeriplum learning performanceskills, before rehearsing and per-forming in The Bell. They are also recruiting volunteerevent stewards who will alsowork directly with the companyas well as stewards and festivalassistants. Other opportunitiesare planned to include bannermaking and singing workshopswhose participants will contributeto the performance itself.For further information and fulldetails, see their website inside-outdorset.co.uk, emailjustine@activateperformingarts.org.uk or call 01305 260954.

A COLLECTION at Tesco in Blandford raised more than £1,000 forDiabetes UK Big Collection as part of a nationwide initiative across328 Tesco stores marking the end of Diabetes Week.Volunteers collected donations and helped raise awareness of dia-betes, a condition that affects one in seven people.Team leader Tony Ives said: "Tesco made the team of Lions andtheir supporters very welcome over the three days of the collection.I would like to thank the shoppers of Blandford for their continuedsupport and to all my team for giving up their time to help."

August 2014 9

Hidden gardens prove acrowd-pulling attractionA BEAUTIFUL day brought outrecord numbers of visitors andsold a record 291 tickets for theseventh Blandford HiddenGardens on Sunday 22nd June.Nearly two dozen gardens wereopen, including six which had notbeen opened before, ranging fromtiny courtyards to extensive lawnsand flowerbeds, some of whichrevealed surprising secrets and awealth of flora and sometimesfauna.More than £2,000 was raised for anumber of charities and localfundraising appeals. David Rose,on behalf of Blandford StourRotary which organised the event,thanked all those who had takenpart by preparing and openingtheir gardens, giving their time,selling tickets, plants and refresh-ments.

"Visitors from around Dorset sawwhat Blandford has to offer, rein-forcing the findings of the recentTown Team survey which foundthat 88 per cent of residents ratedthe town as a 'good to excellent'place to live," he said.Mr Rose also thanked the family ofthe late Andrew Pemberton, whodied two weeks before the event,for opening his garden in accor-dance with one of his last wishes."He and I discussed the initial ideafor this event in 2007 as a meansto raise awareness of the CleanUp Blandford Campaign, althoughRotary are now running it. He hadover the years re-planted the gar-den, knew every plant and spentmany happy hours there. He wasso proud of his roses."More pictures on our website atforumfocus.co.uk.

Stourpaine reveals its secretsTHE good gardeners of Stourpaine could hardly have wished forbetter weather for their two-day Secret Gardens weekend.A total of 21 gardens were open to the public, who flocked to thevillage to pay £5 each for the chance to look around some trulymagnificent gardens.From the largest and most elaborate to the more modest, everyone of them had plenty to enthral or fascinate visitors.And thanks to Stourpaine's location, almost every open gardenwas further embellished by a splendid backdrop of North Dorset'sfinest landscape.The event, which included a plant sale, was held in aid of the AirAmbulance charity.More pictures on our website forumfocus.co.uk.

Above: Luke Ballard, front centre, with visitors to his garden in Salisbury Roadduring Blandford Hidden Gardens. Below: One of the gardens open during the Stourpaine Secret Gardens eventheld over the same weekend.

BLANDFORD'stown crier JeanWells, who isnow in her 33rdyear in the roleafter first beingappointeddeputy to JimLangridge in1982, celebratedher 80th birthdayon Thursday10th July. She was withouther ceremonialdress but a mini-skirt, making acollection onbehalf of Age UKin whose MarketPlace shop shevolunteers on aregular basis.

Jean’sbig birthday

August 201410

THE funeral of Ernie Amey, described as "adevoted friend to the working man", washeld at Ham Down Woodland Burial Ground,Bere Marsh Farm, Shillingstone, on 2ndJuly.He died on 14th June at the age of 90, hav-ing spent the last few years of his life inCastleman House nursing home inBlandford after living in retirement in ShawClose.Born in Cashmoor, he left school at 14 towork full-time on a local farm and spent thewar years working on the land and as amember of the Home Guard training inRushmore Park. At 20 he joined the National Union ofAgricultural Workers, became secretary ofthe local branch, and by the time he was 50he was running 30 such branches acrossthree counties and fighting with insurancecompanies to win compensation claims onbehalf of his members injured at work. Hewas also for many years secretary of theBlandford and District Trades Council.A book, 'The Million Pound Man', telling hislife story and how he had secured more thanthat amount for his members, was publishedin 2011.Secretary of Unite Len McCluskey paid trib-ute, saying: "Ernie Amey was the embodi-ment of rural trade unionism in Britain. For

Farmworkers' hero Ernie Amey, (right) withLen McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, in2011 when his life story was published.

Death of the workers’ friendOBITUARY

years - no, generations - he was thebackbone of our union in Dorset. He wasa tireless activist. Thousands of peoplebenefited from his efforts to secure adecent and secure living for rural workers.We will all miss his energy, devotion tothe union and commitment to socialistprinciples."

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

BLANDFORD Food Bank has now been open for 18months, and we all - steering group, donors, volun-teers and manager - feel it a great privilege to betrusted with the means to help people who are in cri-sis. For the people who have received help, it is probablyfair to say that it is not just the practical help whichmeans so much to them, but the thought that peoplewho don't even know them personally care enoughto make gifts of food so that they and their familiesshould not go hungry. We do, however, have one concern. We see morepeople aged 49-59 than young families or pension-ers. It is possible that older workers are more at riskof redundancy and prolonged unemployment thanyounger workers. But we do wonder whether youngfamilies sometimes don't ask for help because theyare worried that their children's friends may find out,and tease them. In fact, all help is absolutely confi-dential and there will be nothing anywhere to showthat these families have received help.As the school holidays are approaching, and parentsface the extra costs of keeping children occupied,please let them know that there is no shame in ask-ing for help when it is needed. We would also like to say to pensioners that we arejust as willing to offer confidential help to them if andwhen they need it. If anyone wants to find out how itcould work for them, please ring 01258 456093between 10am and noon on Tuesdays andThursdays, or e-mail blandfordfoodbank@gmail.com.Jenny GaluschkaBlandford Food Bank Steering Group

Food bank can help

August 2014

Blandford remembersThis special feature is the first in a regular Forum Focus series markingthe centenary of the First World War and its impact locally

How the news of the outbreak of warwas broken: left, the East Dorset Heraldand right, the Dorset County Chronicle.

Accounts of life inBlandford nearly 100years ago researchedby members ofBlandford's 14-18group

FOR the people of Blandford, as with the rest of the country, thewar was utterly unexpected. It had been a hot summer and manywere still enjoying the usual country pursuits. But two days after that hot bank holiday weekend, Britaindeclared war on Germany. In the issue of the East Dorset Herald, dated August 6th 1914,the first editorial of that paper since the declaration of war onAugust 4th, was headed 'WAR!'. The editorial took up about seven inches. Beside it is a columnof about the same length devoted to condemning cruelty to dogsand a report of the public's susceptibility to alarm concerningcancer, and the Cancer Research Fund Committee's belief thatthere was nothing suggesting the disease was related to particularhouses or districts.For those who studied the news, the desperate negotiations head-ed by Britain's Foreign Secretary Edward Grey, to avoid conflict

between the leading nations of Europe andRussia over that last weekend, were set out inthe same day's issue of the Dorset CountryChronicle and Somersetshire Gazette. But the editorial was firm: Britain had done itsutmost to negotiate a peace, but the Kaiser and

his generals were determined to have a war ofconquest. Quoting from The Times, it said: "Andnow, we have but one duty before us. We muststrike with the full force of the Empire for thesmall nation (Belgium) which has asked for ourprotection, for the French friends who have beenassailed without a declaration of war."Not all the residents of Blandford reacted in thatspirit of patriotism. In the following week itwould appear that all the grocery shops inBlandford substantially increased the prices of allbasic foodstuffs. This had a very unfortunateeffect on the poor of Blandford, who could hardlyafford such prices.In that same week, Lord Portman announced thatto help the poor of Blandford, he had instructedhis gamekeepers to shoot, snare or ferret as manyrabbits as possible and sell them very cheaply tothe market at a price everyone could afford, andhe had urged his fellow landowners to do thesame. A very creditable effort, since rabbit meat islow in fat and of high quality. A N Harrocks

PEOPLE had to rely mostly on newspa-pers and hearsay for the news and eventwo days after the war was declaredthere was much confusion and uncer-tainty.That same issue of the Dorset CountyChronicle and Somerset Gazette ofAugust 6th 1914 reported: "The Dorsetpeople's peaceful state of mind hasbeen rudely disturbed this week bywars and rumours of war on the conti-nent. While there has been very littleactual alarm, a general feeling of unset-tlement and uncertainty has prevailed,mingled with no little excitement as thenews from the great centres of Europebecame more and more serious. Peoplehave not unnaturally exercised theirminds as to how the war would affectthem individually, and what measuresthey should take to provide against thetemporary straits in money and materi-als supplies which [war] mustinevitably bring."Once war was confirmed, though, thepeople of Blandford began to take pre-cautions. The news of the outbreak ofwar was met with 'calmness' among thepeople of Blandford, although suddenlypeople were interested in the news withnearly all other engagements cancelled.The Red Cross, anticipating manywounded from the early days of the warand like many other similar towns,made provisions for 300 hospital bedsin the town, in the Corn Exchange andthe Union Workhouse at the top of

Salisbury Road. As rumours of war and short-ages spread in early August 1914, localsbegan to hoard foodstuffs. While many localsin 1914 grew their own vegetables, and per-haps kept chickens, those on the lowestincomes were hit hardest. The cost of a wholerabbit in Dorchester market was between ashilling and one shilling and eight pence (theequivalent of £4.88 at today's prices).R. Carter

August 2014

Four Blandford brothers killed by Peter Reder

THE war memorial outside Blandford CornExchange names 11 pairs of brothers whofell in the Great War, but an even greatertragedy was borne by the Lane family, wholost four sons.The parents lived in 4 Lawrence Yard (with-in the site of what is now Ryan Court) inWhite Cliff Mill Street, and the father,Frederick, had died in 1898, leaving Annieto care for five sons of the marriage andanother son from a previous relationship,who eventually moved to Wales. Reginald was the youngest of the brothersand enlisted with the 5th Dorsets in August1914, exaggerating his age to "19 years and245 days". He was posted to the Balkans inJuly 1915, suffering gunshot wounds sixweeks later which required hospital treat-ment in the UK. He rejoined his battalion inFrance in September 1916, only to be killedon the Somme during the attack fromBeaucourt on 11th January 1917, aged 21.The eldest son, Henry, joined the 1stBattalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment,probably before the outbreak of the war, andwas posted to France in September 1914.He died of wounds sustained nearHapplincourt on the Somme on 31st August1918, just 10 weeks before the Armistice,aged 33. He had married May Smith in1917 and they lived at Brown's Yard, East

Street (now Kohima Court and previously attimes Albert House Yard or Albert Row).Their son, Eric, was only about threemonths old when Henry died.Frederick was the second eldest and alsojoined the 1st Dorsets. He was posted toFrance in May 1915 and survived a gunshotwound in March 1916. He was killed duringthe battalion's advance from Authuille Woodon the Somme on 1st July 1916 at the ageof 28. He had married Amy Dyer in 1911 inBlandford and they had two children,Gladys, born in December 1911 andFrederick, born in September 1913.The fourth son, Albert, was posted to Francein December 1915 with the 6th Dorsets. Hewas killed in action at Montauban on theSomme on the same day as Frederick at theage of 23. In September 1914, he had mar-ried Margaret Chown. Their first child,Frederick, was born about October 1914 butonly survived for a year; their second child,Albert, was given his dead father's namewhen he was born in about February 1917.The middle brother, William, enlisted withthe 3rd Dorsets in December 1915, transfer-ring to the Hampshire Regiment and thenthe Tank Corps. Although wounded inFrance, he survived the war, being demo-bilised in 1919. His service record containsa medical certificate dated 22nd July 1916 -three weeks after the deaths of Frederick

and Albert - summoning him home because his mother,Annie, was dangerously ill. It is doubtful whether this was a'Saving Private Ryan' gesture, because she died a year later,in August 1917.

Dr Peter Reder is a retired Consultant Child and AdolescentPsychiatrist. He lives in London and Tarrant Keyneston.

Harsh regime as Camp returns to a wartime roleIT was not until November of 1918 thatBlandford Camp, which had been largelyreturned to agriculture since the closure of thesignal station after the end of the Napoleonicwars and was used mainly as a training groundfor the Yeomanry, was brought back into serviceas home to the newly formed Royal NavalDivision.But it required a massive construction pro-gramme to house the thousands of servicemenwho arrived on the site where only bell tents hadprovided accommodation, as this photograph(right) taken in 1913 demonstrates.The editorial in the County Chronicle ofNovember 12th 1914 expressed concern aboutthe fall-off in recruiting for the Armed Forces,half a million having originally responded. Butthe second half million demanded by LordKitchener did not materialise.It was suggested that compulsory service (con-scription) may have to be introduced. "We can see the operation of the bad influenceswhich are keeping back recruits in our owncounty. No-one can go through one of the manycamps in Dorset without realising how patriotismis being stifled and national enthusiasm dampeddown in more senses than one in the unspeak-ably miserable conditions in which thousands ofyoung men from the north and midlands havespent the last few weeks." Then the editor attempts to be slightly conciliato-ry in tone. He continues: "The authorities on thespot have not been blind to the facts. They appre-ciate in full the mischief that has been done bythe deplorable lack of foresight and organisation

that have made several of thecamps centres of misery andrevolt." The lack of foresight was the bil-leting of thousands of keen youngmen in bell tents, well into whatturned out to be an exceptionallywet and cold autumn and winter. This lack of foresight extendedinto the time when the hastilyerected wooden huts replaced

those bell tents on the Blandfordcamp, late in November. The offi-cial allocation of bedding foreach man of the Royal NavalDivision that winter was just twoblankets. December in Blandford, turnedout to be both exceptionally wet(12.87 inches of rain fell thatmonth) and cold. The averagetemperature for December

throughout the 24-hour periodwas 38 degrees F. Accounts written at the time bymembers of the RND state thatthe other ranks largely slept fullyclothed in order to survive inthose under-heated huts. It is littlewonder that the rate of recruitinginto what was still an all-volun-teer army fell off drastically thatwinter.

Bell tents provided the accommodation prior to the outbreak of war.

August 2014

THE grave of a Blandford soldier who died during theFirst World War has been restored by theCommonwealth War Graves Commission at a cemeteryin Poland.Private Frederick William Foot, of the Royal LightInfantry, was among those who died in a German prison-er-of-war camp at Geuksberg in northern Poland, then apart of Germany.He was buried in the nearby Lidzbark WarminkiCemetery with other British and Russian prisoners whodied of malnutrition, overwork and diseases that sweptthrough the camp.The site deteriorated during the 1960s and the men werecommemorated at the Malbork Commonwealth WarCemetery 75 miles away. Lidzbark has now been rein-stated by the CWGC.Peter Francis of the CWGC said: "During the 1960s thecemetery deteriorated at Lidzbark and access to the site

became very difficult, so we took the decision to com-memorate the men at Malbork Commonwealth WarCemetery. In recent years, that situation has completelyturned around and so we have been able to get back intothe cemetery and we sent a team from our operations inBelgium to Poland. "It has not been possible to identify the individual gravelocations, but we know the area where they are buried.This has been levelled with 39 new headstones installedand something the CWGC calls a Duhallow Bock, giv-ing their families somewhere to go and pay theirrespects, which is very important."You can physically go and touch the past and pay yourrespects and honour those men and women who died ina conflict 100 years ago."The men were held alongside thousands of Russians atthe Heilsberg prisoner-of-war camp and died betweenAugust and December 1918.

Blandford soldier’s grave restored

Why werememberI HAVE a son who has justturned 24. He's a bright hand-some lad covered in tattoos, asthey all seem to be these days,and he can't get enough of lifeand adventure. He has awicked sense of humour, agreat twinkle in his eye andloves his family to bits.This description, I think, wouldfit almost every young manwho participated in the GreatWar. They were told that thewar would only last untilChristmas and that they couldall come home having had agreat adventure. Many of these young men hadnever left their village bound-aries so the temptation to travelto exciting new countriesknown only to them throughthe pages of print must havebeen enormous.It struck me that this couldhave been my son, or anyone'sson, tempted to leave all thatthey knew for adventures inFrance, Mesopotamia andother parts of the world butnever to return.I felt that it was a duty that weshould remember and honourthem for their sacrifice - theirsacrifice and ultimately those oftheir families whose sons neverreturned. Their sacrificeallowed our sons the freedom toroam the world, to meet thepeoples of the world in peaceand love.So to remember and to honourthose brave beautiful youngmen, we are holding an exhibi-tion to commemorate them inBlandford Forum ParishChurch. It is hoped that peoplewill take time to stop andremember, just for a momentor two, but to remember that'they gave up their tomorrowsso that we could have ourtodays'.Gail del PintoChurch WardenBlandford Forum ParishChurch

Steam fair tohonour theheroic PupTHE Great Dorset Steam Fair, open-ing at Tarrant Hinton on 27th Augustfor five days, is this year commemo-rating the centenary anniversary ofthe outbreak of the First World Warwith its own tribute display featur-ing a sample of steam and historicvehicles and ancillary equipmentwhich participated in the war years.Petrol and steam engines whichwere used in the trenches will befeatured, along with cavalry horsesand heavy horses, whose role washighlighted so powerfully inMichael Morpurgo's book WarHorse, transformed for stage andfilm, pulling cannon, water carts andgeneral service wagons.On the home front, engines wereused in the production of vital foodsupplies and in cutting sleepers for

railway lines.The special display will also includeas a static exhibit a genuine WWISopwith Pup biplane from theShuttleworth Collection inBedfordshire, which is an officialpartner of GDSF in the World WarOne commemorative display.The Pup design was one of classicsimplicity using a fabric-coveredwooden structure to achieve lightweight. It was considered to beunder-powered but, despite this,

proved highly manoeuvrable with anexcellent rate of climb at all levelsup to 15,000 feet. It also achieved the reputation ofhaving the most delightful flyingqualities, and it certainly command-ed respect from its enemies as afighting machine. It was used bothover the Western Front and later forhome defence duties. The RNASused it for pioneering sea trials andin 1917 one made the first ever land-ing on a ship at sea.

August 2014

The Dorset Yeomanry pictured outside Conyers in Blandford.

Dorset volunteer forces called to armsTHE Dorset Yeomanry was a mounted volunteer force,founded as the Dorset Regiment of Volunteer YeomanryCavalry in 1794 in response to the growing threat ofinvasion during the Napoleonic wars.It gained its first royal association in 1833 as ThePrincess Victoria's Regiment of Dorset YeomanryCavalry, and its second in 1843 as the Queen's OwnRegiment of Dorset Yeomanry Cavalry.Blandford was the headquarters of 'B' Squadron. After the call to arms for the reserve officers and men ofthe Dorset Yeomanry and mobilisation in August 1914, CSquadron - around 100 troops from Blandford andWimborne - was billeted in and around Blandford for six

days before moving off to Sherborne.Their destination 'was not communicated to the men'.The squadron was described as being at full strength,made up of old troopers and others who offered them-selves for enrolment. The commandant, Caswell Spooner,was said to have spared no effort to bring the companyup to a high state of efficiency.The 1/1st Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry was attached tothe 1st South Western Mounted Brigade, and inSeptember 1914 joined the 2nd South Midland MountedBrigade which served dismounted in the GallipoliCampaign before being remounted to serve in the Sinaiand Palestine Campaign.

Farm horses sent to the frontIN 1914, the horse was still the principal form of localtransport for most people, and the main work animalon farms, as evidence by the dozen saddlers, black-smiths, stables and saddlers listed in the business direc-tory of the day.The Dorset County Chronicle and Somerset Gazette ofAugust 6th 1914 reports: "Another sharp reminder ofthe exigencies of war was given to the agriculturalpopulation of Dorset . . . many farm horses wereseized unceremoniously by the military authorities,without regard to the need of harvesting. Some wereremoved from the carriers' carts."No 'respect of persons' was shown in making good theequine shortage, and the pick of the stables of manygentlemen had to be yielded to urgent military necessi-ty."

Members of The Dorset Yeomanry with a police consta-ble and heavy horse in Oakfield Street, Blandford.

THE casualties suffered in the First World Warwere of a scale never before experienced,exceeding a total of 500 a day. Great Britain and the Empire lost over1,000,000 combatants; France, 1,300,000;Russia, 1,700,000; and Germany and its allies,3,500,000. In the first cavalry action at Haelen, 400 horseswere lost, and in the first month of the warthere were a total of 17 major battles and

actions on the western and eastern fronts,including the first naval battle at HeligolandBight in the North Sea.Western Front (Belgium): August 5th: Battleof Lieges (to August 16th); August 12th: Battleof Haelen (first cavalry action); August 21st:Siege of Namur; August 23rd: Capture ofDinant; August 25th: Siege of Maubeuge;August 25th to 30th: Destruction of Louvain.Battles of the Frontiers (Lorraine): August

7th: Battle of Mulhouse; August 14th: Invasionof Lorraine; August 21st: Battle of theArdennes. Battle of Charleroi; August 23rd:Battle of Mons; August 26th: Battle of LeCateau; August 29th: Battle of Guise.Eastern Front: August 17th: Battle ofStalluponen; August 20th: Battle ofGumbinnen; August 26th: Battle of Tannenberg.Naval: August 26th: Battle of HeligolandBight.

News in briefCOUNCILLORS and members ofstaff joined a number of dignitariesat the North Dorset District Councilheadquarters in Blandford for thelaunch of Armed Forces Week on23rd June.Council chairman Sue Hunt raisedthe Armed Forces Day flag, assistedby Col Matt Fensom, GarrisonCommander of Blandford Camp,and the Rev David Shaw, who ledthe assembled company in prayer.A troop of service personnel fromBlandford Camp and a lone buglertook part in the ceremony leading upto Armed Forces Day on Saturday28th June, which raised publicawareness of the contribution madeto the country by those who serveand have served in the Armed Forces.

* * * * *AN exhibition of memorabilia fromWorld War One went on display atthe Age Concern Blandford office inNightingale Court on 26th July andwill remain for a week.

* * * * *

A POSTER displayed for the YoungWomen of London: Is your 'Best Boy' wearing khaki?If not don't YOU THINK heshould be?If he does not think that you andyour country are worth fightingfor, do you think he is WORTHYof you?Don't pity the girl who is alone -her young man is probably a sol-dier, fighting for her and hercountry - and for YOU.If your young man neglects hisduty to his King, and Country, thetime may come when he willNEGLECT YOU.Think it over - then ask him toJOIN THE ARMY TO-DAY.

And another, appealing for people totake out war loans:TURN YOUR SILVER INTOBULLETS AT THE POSTOFFICE.

August 2014 15

TWO exhibitions timed to coincidewith the launch of a fundraisingappeal for Milton Abbey, were offi-cially opened by AntiquesRoadshow expert Paul Atterburyon 9th July.The first features the life and workof architect, designer, artist andcritic Augustus Pugin, whodesigned the stained glass win-dow which has since the earlypart of the 19th century adornedthe 14th century south transept ofthe church, founded in the 11thcentury church.Mr Atterbury said it helped revivethe profile of a self-taught archi-tect who had pioneered the GothicRevival style which dominated hiswork in the design of a number ofchurches and cathedrals as wellas houses. Pugin, he said, who collaboratedwith Charles Barry on the designfor the Palace of Westminster, hadinspired many later English archi-tects and artists, including GeorgeGilbert Scott who restored MiltonAbbey in 1865, William Morris and

the Arts and Crafts movement.The second exhibition features thestory behind the 1,000 years ofhistory of the Abbey, founded bySaxon King Athelston, developedby Benedictine monks and subse-quently by a succession of privateowners following the Dissolutionof the Monasteries by King HenryVIII.Both exhibitions will be on displayuntil the end of August to highlightthe programme of urgent restora-tion launched alongside a projectto re-establish the master-plan forthe Abbey and estate designed byCapability Brown in the 18th cen-tury.Guests at the opening were wel-comed by the Archdeacon ofDorset, the Venerable StephenWayne, who described the impor-tant renovation programme neces-sary for the Abbey, which hasbeen declared a building at high-est level of risk by EnglishHeritage, and for which funding isbeing sought from the HeritageLottery.

Paul Atterbury with the stained glass window designed by Augustus Pugin.

Roadshow expertstarts Abbey appeal

THIS year's extended Wessex Festival opens on Thursday 14thAugust with a reception in St Martin's Church, Bryanston, before theevening concert, 'Ancient & Modern' featuring the Festival Singers,Excelsior, the Wessex Chamber Orchestra, leader Christine Scootand conductor David Everett, followed at 9.45pm by Compline.It continues on Friday 15th August with a concert at the Holy RoodChurch, Shillingstone, a Festival Walk in Shillingstone, and in theevening 'Beautiful Baroque' in St Martin's, BryanstonOn Saturday 16th August there is a morning tour of Bryanston's newMusic School followed by a young musicians' recital, and eveningclassical classics concert in St Martin's, and on Sunday 17th Augustthe Festival Eucharist at St John's Church, Spetisbury and FestivalEvensong at Holy Rood, Shillingstone.For full details, see wessexfestival.co.uk, email info@thewessexfesti-val.co.uk or call David Everett on 01202 528348.

August 201416

MORE than 100 'World Cup Widows' escaped the televisionscreens on Saturday 28th June with a night out in the Sealy Suiteof the Crown Hotel. They enjoyed the attentions of waiters 'in thebuff' Mike Coombes and Dave Cox, baring all but the absolutenecessities, and a series of pamper sessions with the assistanceof staff from the Blandford Health and Beauty Centre and nailtechnician Nikki Davis of Nikki's Nails.Pictured is Amy Harris, of Blandford Health and Beauty Centre,giving Lucy Hinks some beauty treatment.

A night out for the girls

A Tea on the Lawn fundraiser in sup-port of Bryanston's village newsletterand Julia's House children's hospicewas held on the green outside theformer Post Office and shop onSunday 29th June and raised £270.

Pyjama walkfor hospiceWELDMAR Hospicecare Trust iscalling on the women of Dorset towalk for their local hospice in theannual Pyjama Walk at BryanstonSchool on Friday 29th August.The event, now in its fourth yearafter raising over £20,000, willstart at 10pm and it is hoped tobe a record breaker in the yearWeldmar celebrates 30 years ofspecialist palliative care in thecommunity, and 20 years sincethe opening of the Joseph WeldHospice.To register online go to weld-hos-pice.org.uk/pyjamawalk, or con-tact Verity on 01305 261800 or byemail to verity.mclelland@weld-hospice.org.uk.

August 2014 17

Volunteers at the Blandford Camp Thrift Shop on the spiral stairs (from the bot-tom): Celine Latham, Carole Barry, Jean Peck, Janette Marshall and SimoneWalls-MacDonald.

TWO Blandford organisationshave been on the receiving end ofgifts from the Thrift Shop atBlandford Camp, run by a team ofvolunteers led by Simone Walls-MacDonald.A laptop was presented to CarolBunnagar of Age ConcernBlandford to be used in the officein Nightingale Court and at thehomes of clients applying for ben-efits.Funds to purchase admission tick-ets into Paultons Park forBlandford Youth Club memberswere presented to Mandy Ford.The Thrift Shop provides a venuefor Camp personnel and familiesto buy and sell their unwanteditems.

When an item has been sold theperson gets 80 per cent of theselling price and the Thrift Shopgets 20 per cent, allowing pro-ceeds to be used to buy suppliesto run the shop and help providesupport for events.Items not sold are distributed tolocal charity shops, clothes banks,the Trussell Trust, local schoolsfor their fetes, the Royal BritishLegion, Women's Institute and aNepalese orphanage.The shop is open four hours a dayon four days a week and for eighthours on Thursdays and mannedentirely by volunteers, with supportfrom welfare and from the graphicsdepartment, which recentlyrevamped the shop frontage.

Thrift Shop dispensegifts to good causes

AROUND a dozen Teddy 20 supporters took part in a Fright NightWalk on the North Dorset Trailway from Sturminster Newton toBlandford on Saturday 21st June, the shortest night of the year. Theycompleted the route in two hours and 50 minutes. Owen Newton, spokesman for the group, which supports childhoodcancer charities, said: "It was a lot nicer walking at night than duringthe day time. It was a bit overcast from Stur to Shillingstone, but aclear night from there into Blandford. We all kept pace with oneanother, and apart from a few blisters had no problems."

August 201418 SCHOOLS

YEAR 7 and 8 students from The Blandford School travelled toPortsmouth to visit HMS Victory and the new Mary Rose exhibition togain knowledge and understanding of British history. The students also attended a workshop based on the slave trade andhad the opportunity to discuss and handle artifacts from the 18th cen-tury. The trip helped the pupils' understanding of events at the Battle ofTrafalgar and Nelson's death, as well as the sinking of Henry theEighth's flagship.The students have now produced a collection of their photographs andinformation gained from the visit, which has been on display in theschool.

Students from The Blandford School salute HMS Victory.

Students’ visit to Victory

Schools form academiesA NEW education trust has been formed with the conversion ofthree primary schools in the Blandford network into academies.The governors and head teachers of Archbishop Wake, BlandfordSt Mary and Spetisbury Primary School decided last Septemberto apply to the Department of Education to form a Multi-AcademyTrust, the Blandford Education Trust, which will continue to workin partnership with Dorset County Council, the Diocese ofSalisbury and the Blandford Schools Network.The three schools, which have all been rated good by Ofstedunder the most recent framework, will be working closely togeth-er to ensure the highest standards of education now and in thefuture.

CLAYESMORE Senior students were delighted to welcome pro-fessional chef Rachel McCormack to the home economics depart-ment for a demonstration of her Catalan cuisine. BTEC hospitality students benefited from Rachel's gastronomicknowledge and Year 12 AS Spanish students were helped to pre-pare and taste some flavoursome fare, including fish baked insalt, griddled lamb chops with thyme and oven-baked chicken.Rachel, though originally from Scotland, caught the Catalan cook-ing bug while living in Spain and perfected her art by eating inrestaurants, chatting in Spanish markets and watching herfriends' mothers at work in their kitchens. She went on to set up a London-based business teaching Catalancooking with the aim of recreating an informal Catalan gatheringwhere everyone chips in with the food preparation.Rachel's expertise has led to her becoming a panellist on theRadio 4 show 'Kitchen Cabinet' and she has recently contributedto other radio programmes such as 'From our ownCorrespondent'.The students were delighted to welcome such an accomplishedchef and learn how to make her delicious hearty food.

Rachel’s tasty lessonin Catalan cookery

Chef Rachel McCormack helps a Clayesmore student with his food preparation.

IN the local heat of theNational Young Writer competi-tion, promoted and run byRotary International, LiamLester, a Year 8 student at TheBlandford School, won the 11-13 year-old category.Fellow year 8 students EleanorKeats and Charlie Kennettwere runner-up and highlycommended. The competition is one of fiveorganised by Rotary, includingYoung Chef, Young Musician,Young Photographer andYouth Speaks.

Liam winswriting heat

Follow us@forumfocus

August 2014 19SCHOOLS

YEAR 10 students at TheBlandford School worked offtimetable for a week in June andtook part in a wide variety ofactivities that informed themabout the world of work, and theskills and attributes that they willrequire in the modern work-place. It also gave them an insight intocareers that interest them andbroadened their horizons toother careers. Activities included talks, work-shops, employability skills,team-building, enterprise events,problem-solving sessions andtrips to local universities andbusinesses.Work Related Learning Week issupported by a variety of organi-sations, local, national and inter-national businesses, and some

Some Blandford Schoolstudents had the opportu-nity to spend the day withThe Royal Electrical andMechanical Engineers atBlandford Camp.

Learning the world of work

Kevin Penfold conducts the massed choir on stage at the start of the Blandford Schools Network concert.

MORE than 100 children and adults gath-ered on the stage of The Blandford Schoolhall as a massed choir for the start of theBlandford Schools Network concert 'A

Night at the West End' on 10th July.Their rousing chorus of Queen's version of'We Will Rock You' was a prelude to athree-part harmony in which the audience

Massed choir brings a night at the West Endwas invited to join, led by Anna Hayball, Jill Boughand Nickie Fidgin, and followed by the adult choirsof The Blandford Garrison Community andPlaysongs Mums' Choirs with 'I Know Him So Well'.The Blandford Schools Network orchestra, whichaccompanied the singers, then performed thetheme from 'Skyfall' and 'In Dreams', and a pro-gramme of items by everyone, the children alone,the adult choirs or soloists, ended with anotherrousing chorus of 'Thank You for the Music'.Schools taking part included Downlands, BlandfordSt Mary, Milldown, Pimperne, Archbishop Wake,Durweston and Spetisbury Primaries, together withThe Blandford School.Proceeds from a collection went to the Richard ElyMusic Trust and the Longmead Community Farm,attended by families from the Blandford area.

of the students' parentswho gave up their time totake part.

August 201420 SCHOOLS

Mary Hayball, aged eight, and her brother Charlie, aged five, meet Darth Vaderand the Stormtroopers at Milldown Primary School's summer fete.

SPECIAL guests Darth Vaderand two Stormtroopers from StarWars were invited to open theMilldown Primary School sum-mer fete on 14th June, andafterwards toured the school andsports field meeting the children.Nearly 20 stalls lined the bound-ary of the school playing fields,with more in the school hall, andat the entrance a Dorset Fireand Rescue fire appliance was apopular attraction.There was a programme ofentertainment including a TaeKwon Do display by IntegrityMartial Arts led by KimRobinson, an FA skills demon-stration led by John Scott, theJanet Knight School of Dancing,songs from Les Miserables from

students at The BlandfordSchool, the Signs Drama Groupand Studio B Dance.Games and activities featuredstalls, displays, pony rides,'Beat the goalie', 'Hook-a-Duck',apple bobbing, face paintingand children's tattoos, a buzzwire game, pottery, art, andSplat the Rat, together with agrand raffle, tombolas andrefreshments including vintagecream teas.Chairman of the Friends ofMilldown Primary School, SarahJohnstone, reported: "Our exactfinal figure is not known yet, butit looks like we have made aprofit of around £1,150, whichwill be put towards resourcesand equipment for the school."

Star Wars visitors jointhe fun at Milldown fete

Circus skills bring newangle to timetableCIRCUS Sensible entertained,coached and instructed the chil-dren of Durweston PrimarySchool in a workshop whichstarted with an amazing demon-stration for the whole school, fol-lowed by hands-on circus work-shops for the children, class byclass. The workshops included jugglingwith scarves, balls and clubs,plate spinning, diabolo, flower-stick, peacock feathers andmore. As well as being entertain-ing, the adults working with thechildren provided high-quality,lively performance skills andencouraged the children to strivefor excellence in a friendly andclear manner. The tasks were all challenging

but attainable and many childrenachieved far more than theythought possible. Recent research has shown thevalue of circus and other physi-cal skills in an educational envi-ronment. Skills used and devel-oped in learning and practisingsuch a challenging and creativeactivity can be carried over intothe more academic areas of edu-cation. The day of workshops certainlygave the children an opportunityto discover and develop skills ofconcentration, information reten-tion, concept visualisation, hand-eye co-ordination and self-awareness.The day was organised by theschool PTA.

PARENTS in Blandford were invited to have a look at therange of services on offer at their local children's centre on24th June and visit the nursery, Oscars After School Club, aswell as take part in activities and meet the parent supportgroup and Citizen's Advice service representatives.Centre manager Amanda Davis said: "Many people don'trealise just how much support is on offer at their local chil-dren's centre. We can help families in a number of ways andhope that, by holding these open days, we can show parentsthe fantastic range of services that are on offer."For more information about Blandford Children's Centre call01258 480147 or visitdorsetforyou.com/childrenscentres/blandford.

Parents get a chance tosee what’s on offer

August 2014 21

Larksmead Pre-School children and their play leaders and assistants look for-ward to a new start in September at new premises in the town.

A NEW home has been found inthe nick of time for LarksmeadPre-School, which was threat-ened with closure when it wasasked to vacate the sports pavil-ion on Larksmead RecreationGround which it had occupied forover 30 years.Two years ago pre-school lead-ers were warned by BlandfordForum Town Council, which man-ages the recreation ground andpavilion, that Blandford RugbyClub wanted to invest further indeveloping the largely unusedpitches and bring it back intosports use.Play leader Christine Coull, whoshares with fellow play leaderMaz Parsonson a total of around40 years' association with thepre-school as parents, assistantsand now leaders, said: "Therugby club were not prepared toshare the premises with us andfor a long time we were unable tofind suitable, affordable premises."With help from North Dorset MPBob Walter, who visited us andwrote to North Dorset DistrictCouncil explaining our dilemma,we now have premises, albeitpossibly temporary, that we canmove into for September."Their new home will be in the

lodge in the grounds of NorthDorset District Council's head-quarters at Nordon in SalisburyRoad, which has been vacatedby council staff following thereduction in staff numbers.Liz Goodall, chief executive ofNDDC, said: "I was asked if theDistrict Council could helpbecause the situation wasbecoming urgent and felt ourvacant building might be suitable.The head of the pre-school wentto see it and liked it, and councilofficers helped to make it happenvery quickly. The council believesstrongly in helping the communitywhere it is able to do so."Blandford Town Council recre-ation and amenities committeechairman Lynn Lindsay said shewas very disappointed at theinference in comments by repre-sentatives of the pre-school thatthe town council had beenunhelpful towards them."We have bent over backwards totry and help them after givingthem two years' notice that theaccommodation would be neededby the rugby club. Over the yearswe have put a lot of money intothe building on their behalf, aswell as paying the utility andcleaning bills and phone rental."

New home bringspre-school reprieve

A STAKEHOLDER meeting hosted by Home-Start North Dorset at thebeginning of July entitled 'Strengthening Vulnerable Families Together'was attended by delegates from 20 different organisations.They included the Blandford Food Bank, Medical Centres, EarlyIntervention Service and Dorset Youth Association. Discussion topicsincluded how working in partnership might help support the effective-ness of their work and support for vulnerable families living in NorthDorset, the various interventions and support available, and how tobuild better links.The meeting at The Exchange in Sturminster Newton was opened byRob Parkinson, Chief Executive of Home-Start UK who spoke of theneed to fully understand what's going on in our individual and uniquecommunities. The three workshops looked at issues around Rural Isolation, MentalHealth and Improving Budget Management and how each of theseimpacted upon families struggling to cope.

Support for families

Health networkingMORE than 30 organisations were represented at a health and wellbe-ing networking event hosted by the DT11 Forum community partner-ship, the NHS Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group and BlandfordRotary Satellite Group in the Sealy Suite of the Crown Hotel inBlandford.The evening provided an opportunity for representatives of each groupto discover the wide range of services offered by health and localauthorities and by volunteers in the community.It took the form of 90 minutes of 'speed dating' in which representa-tives shared five minutes of exchanging information, flyers and busi-ness cards before moving onto the next.It was a prelude to a health and wellbeing week being organised for aCommunity Health & Wellbeing event on Thursday 18th to Sunday21st September. Information from the networking session will be usedto produce a Local Services Directory to be distributed in September.

A TWO-hour Big Blandford Weed-Up was scheduled for Saturday26th July by the Clean-up Blandford Campaign, Blandford Town Teamand Blandford Stour Rotary.The event, starting 10am and focusing on the Market Place, Churchand Museum area but extending into East Street, Salisbury Street andThe Plocks, was in preparation for the outdoor Civic Service in theMarket Place to commemorate the Great War on Sunday 3rd August.

August 2014SPORT22

Ashley Wood member John Hayes, winner of theDorset County Seniors' Golf Championship.

Golf club offer ataste of sport tospecial youngstersFOR the past 12 years the Ashley Wood Golf Club has host-ed pupils from Montacute Special School in Poole to givesome of their post-16 students the opportunity to have a goat golf. The most recent visit took place on a glorious sunny day withthe course in prime condition and eight guests played fourholes before enjoying a lovely lunch.Montacute has 75 pupils between the ages of 2 and 19 withsevere, complex or profound and multiple learning difficulties.The visit gives them the chance to experience golf, and thefun and laughter on the day showed how much the youngpeople enjoyed themselves.A CLUB member who only joined in January has alreadymade a very big mark and at the recent Dorset CountySeniors' Championship, John Hayes won by a most convinc-ing seven-shot margin, having played two rounds of 73. The competition was held at his home Blandford club, withboth days being windy and the course playing tough whichmade his achievement even more remarkable.A previous member of Sherborne Golf Club, John spentsome years abroad before moving to the Blandford area.MATCHES for seniors at the club have come thick and fastrecently, and a game at Came Down was going well untilheavy rain flooded both greens and fairways, forcing theabandonment of the match.Better luck returned for the home encounter with RushmoreGolf Club which the Blandford team won convincingly 4.5 to1.5, with wins for Arthur Evans and Hedley Rodgers, PeteJohnson and Robin Morris, Les Rix and Ian Pinder as well asCliff Kitteringham and Kev Lugg who had the most convinc-ing victory of the day. Fortunes were reversed the followingday when Ashley Wood entertained Knighton Heath who ranout 4-2 winners.

THE Dorset Doddlers' stage theirannual road races on Sunday3rd August and are looking for-ward to receiving the support ofthe residents of SturminsterNewton and surrounding villages. The Stur Half, supported bymany local businesses, takesrunners, 17 years and over,through 13.1 miles of sceniccountryside. The race starts at10.30am in Station Road and fin-ishes on the High School playingfield.The 5.5k race also starts at10.30am from Station Road andoffers runners of all abilities (13years and over), a 'taster' of theStur Half. Entries can be taken by 10am onthe day at Race HQ inSturminster High School. Those not running in a race orsupporting along the routes canenjoy refreshments and fun activ-ities on the school playing field,which will include ice-cream, chil-dren's races, a beer tent andpre/post sports massage. For more information on bothraces and the whole event, visitsturhalf.co.uk or phone racedirector Craig Dixon on 07734204984.

Doddlersget set forthe big half

TWO young local sportsmen were remembered at memorial matchesheld at The Blandford School.The first was Danny Coker, who died in 2011 at 18 after being diag-nosed with a rare cancer the year before, and the second was for DanJones, killed in a motorcycle accident in May last year at the age of23.Danny was the school's first ever prime minister when The BlandfordSchool Parliament was introduced in 2008, and a keen and talentedsportsman who played football for the school, for Blandford Under-18sand for Okeford Fitzpaine.The match on 20th June between his friends, all former BlandfordSchool pupils, and members of staff, was organised by his 15-year-oldniece, Charlotte McIntosh, and raised £242 for the Teenage CancerTrust.The following week on Saturday 28th June the second match wasplayed in memory of Dan, a midfield player for AFC Blandford andkeen biker, in support of the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance Trust.

The teams who lined up for theDanny Coker Memorial match at TheBlandford School give a minute'sapplause for the young footballerwho died in 2011.

Sportsmen honoured

August 2014 23SPORT

IT was a red letter day for Blandford BowlingClub on 20th June when their new clubhouseat Milldown Road was officially opened by thePresident of Bowls England, Adie Lloyd. Bowls England were also represented by thesenior vice-president Marcia Pearce, whosemother, Murial Hodges, had been club presi-dent in 2005. The opening event was the culmination of aconsiderable amount of hard work over thewinter months as a £90,000 project providedan extension with new changing rooms, toi-lets and entrance hall, much of the work

being completed by club members under theguidance of Pete Cornick.The old clubhouse area has been completelyredesigned to provide a larger kitchen, barand public area facilities with funding provid-ed jointly by Blandford Town Council, BowlsEngland and the club itself. The event started on a sad note as aminute's silence was held in respect of vice-president and club stalwart Ann Dennis, whohad died recently.During the course of the afternoon six rinkswere contested in a friendly form which saw

the Blandford team defeated, by 86 to 80, bymembers representing Bowls England. Thevisiting dignitaries were also given a displayof bowling by the Junior Section, after whichthere was a fine buffet tea.Mr Lloyd complimented the club members ontheir fine achievement in moving the club for-ward with the new build at a time when manyclubs were in decline, and few clubs had aJunior Section of this standard. Finally, hepresented honorary life membership to PeterCornick for his devotion to the developmentproject.

Left: Adie Lloyd and Marcia Pearce of Bowls England, pictured with theBlandford Bowling Club Junior Section. Above: President of Bowls England,Adie Lloyd presents Peter Cornick with honorary life membership.

Bowling Club celebrates opening day

THE relocation of BlandfordRugby Club to LarksmeadRecreation Ground attracted avisit by two sporting heroes to thesite.Cricketer Phil Tufnell and rugbyplayer Matt Dawson, team lead-ers on BBC quiz show 'AQuestion of Sport', took part in a'Celebrity Deep Clean' of thepavilion before the start of theseason. The deep clean, the result oftown clerk Linda Scott-Giles win-ning a competition with leadingcleaning specialists Karcher UK,followed the vacation of the pavil-ion by the Larksmead Pre-School, but was accompanied bya range of activities to attract thecrowds in the first week of the

school holidays.A full report will appear in theSeptember issue of ForumFocus.The town council's recreation andamenities committee at its lastmeeting reached agreement onthe club's use of the pavilion andpitches, their maintenance, andthe terms of the lease costing£1,500 a year.The club has asked for a 25-yearlease to allow them to secure fur-ther grant funding, and the lengthof lease was agreed in principle,subject to review after one year.It was also agreed to allow exclu-sive use of the pitches and pavil-ion, with the exception of theneed to use the pavilion as apolling station and the ground for

Quiz show stars score with rugby clubcommunity events promoted bythe town council.The site has been levelled, re-grassed and re-fenced, funded inpart by a grant of nearly £85,000secured through contributionsfrom developers in the town toprovide local facilities.

THE Blandford Flyers swimming club is in urgent need of alevel 2 coach to allow them to continue.Although they have someone prepared to take on chairman-ship of the club committee, it is impossible for the club tooperate without a coach, and it will be forced to close nextterm if no-one can be found.Anyone who can offer their services is asked to contact Claireon 01258 453410.

Swimmers send an SOS

@forumfocus

AUGUSTFriday 1st August: Aussie BBQat the Cricketers, Shroton withlive entertainment from Jack anda Box and the Shroton UkuleleClubSaturday 2nd August: Official opening of BlandfordMuseum World War One exhibi-tion, 10.30am, Beres Yard,Blandford Market PlaceWorld War One exhibition, Bland-ford Parish Church (for one week)Sue Ryder Care Jumble sale in theWoodhouse Gardens 9am to 1pmTarrant Monkton & LauncestonFlower and Produce Show, doorsopen to the public 3pmSunday 3rd August: Sturminster Newton HalfMarathon and 5k run, from10.30amCivic Service to mark theCentenary of the start of the FirstWorld War. Market Place,Blandford, 3pmThursday 7th August: BlandfordMuseum talk, 'Blandford - astrategic strong point in 1940' byMichael Le Bas, Museum, BeresYard, Market Place, 7.30pm Thursday 7th to Sunday 17thAugust: Cupola Project exhibi-tion, Blandford Parish Church.Friday 8th August: Storytellingin the Corn Exchange with ChrisBennett, 10am to 4pmSaturday 9th August:RNLI Country Fayre, Classic CarRally and Companion Dog Show,vintage and classic vehicles, craftstalls, RNLI gifts, refreshments,Spetisbury Manor, Spetisbury,

11am to 5pm, enquiries 01258857449Tarrant Hinton Produce Show,Tarrant Hinton village hallWednesday 13th August:Guided walk of historic Blandfordled by members of Blandford andDistrict Civic Society from EagleHouse Gardens car park, 7pmThursday 14th August andTuesday 19th August: Auditionsfor "Dreams of Home", forthcom-ing production by Forum Drama,The Parish Centre, Blandford,starting 7pmThursday 14th to Sunday 17thAugust: The Wessex Festival2014, services and concerts atBryanston, Shillingstone andSpetisbury, see www.thewes-sexfestival.co.ukFriday 15th August: Music &Merriment Festival evening party,Spetisbury Rings, 7pmSaturday 16th August: Blandford & Sturminster NewtonCats Protection coffee morningand stalls, Woodhouse GardensPavilion, Blandford, 10am to12.30pm Child Okeford Gardeners' Clubannual show, 2:30pm to 4:00pmat the Village HallMusic & Merriment Festival,Spetisbury Rings, 12 noon tomidnightIwerne Minster PHA SummerShow, Parish Field

Sunday 17th August: 45thanniversary of WoodstockExtravaganza at the Parish Field,Iwerne MinsterGarden Party to raise funds forThe Chapel of Gussage St.Andrew, Chapel Farm, GussageSt. Andrew, 4 to 7pm, details andtickets 01725 552834Monday 18th August: BlandfordClub for Visually Impaired meetsat the Williams Opportunity Hall,Whitecliff Gardens, Blandford,2pm, activity to be confirmed,contact Margaret on 07786413616Wednesday 20th August:Gillingham & Shaftesbury Agri-cultural Show, 8.30am to 6.30pmThursday 21st August: Blandford Art Society AugustMeeting, Pimperne village hall, 2to 4pm, Whatever happened toReginald Pepper?Two Nations by Time & TideTheatre Co., Springhead Trust,Fontmell Magna, 7.30pmFriday 22nd to Monday 25thAugust: First World WarCentenary commemoration withfilm Friday, concert and war poet-ry Saturday and WWI FlandersFlower Festival for BLESMA,SAAFA & The British Legion, StJames' Church, Milton AbbasSaturday 23rd August:Sturminster Newton CarnivalSaturday 23rd and Sunday 24th

August: Stock Gaylard Oak FairSaturday 23rd to Monday 25thAugust: Craft and Garden Fair,Kingston LacySunday 24th August: CoombeCottage, Shillingstone, gardenopen for NGS, 2 to 6pmMonday 25th August:Shillingstone Sports and HillRace 2.15pmMonday 25th to Saturday 30thAugust: Blandford Art SocietyOpen Exhibition 2014 CornExchange, Blandford10am - 5pmdaily Saturday 10am-4pmWednesday 27th August:Probus meeting at Crown Hotel,Blandford (Sealy Suite),11am to2pmWednesday 27th August toSunday 31st August: GreatDorset Steam Fair, TarrantHintonFriday 29th August: Pyjama Walkfor the Weldmar HospicecareTrust, Bryanston School, 10pm,details 01305 261800Friday 29th August to Sunday31st August: End of the RoadFestival, Larmer Tree, TollardRoyalSaturday 30th and Sunday 31stAugust: Blandford & SturminsterNewton Cats Protection after-noon teas, The Old School Stur-minster Marshall, 2.30 to 5.30pmSunday 31st August: TwoNations by Time & Tide TheatreCompany, tells of the journey ofEveryman; Springhead Trust,Fontmell Magna, 7.30pm,refreshments on sale, limitedseats available, tickets 01747811201

Forum Focus - forthcoming meetings & events

August 201424

Entries in this diary are free of charge. If you have an event youwould like included, please send details to Nicci Brown, 01258

459346 or email s.n.b@btinternet.com. This page, and forthcom-ing events for the year, are available and regularly updated on our

website at www.forumfocus.co.uk

A WOMAN who has devoted25 years to volunteering withthe Milton Abbas Riding for theDisabled was presented with aSilver Jubilee award at thegroup's auction of promisesfundraising event.Barbara Thomson, who hascarried out a variety of rolesand is current treasurer andgroup instructor, was present-ed with the award by SusanJones, chairman of the DorsetRiding for the DisabledAssociation.The auction was held at theHall & Woodhouse VisitorCentre in Blandford St Marywhich was generously provid-ed free of charge by the brew-ery, and auctioneer Bill Allenfrom Bonhams gave his time

to steer the auction to a profitof £4,000. Lots ranged from a couple ofhours' gardening to a day'ssailing in Poole and included asigned 'Doc Martin' DVDdonated by Martin Clunes,which raised £80.MARDA provides disabled chil-dren from BeaucroftFoundation School, Wimborne,who often have communicationproblems or difficulty withmobility and balance, with anopportunity to learn to ride apony and so gain in confi-dence and physical strength.They ask anyone interested involunteering for two hours on aFriday morning or making adonation to contact Liz Plattenon 01258 881650.

Barbara’s silver service to RDA Little impact

Road death

NATIONWIDE industrial actionby members of a number oflocal government and teachingunions on 10th July had littleimpact in North Dorset, wheredistrict council services for themost part operated as normal. Arrangements were put in placeto minimise disruption, andschools and council officesremained open, although peo-ple phoning the council werewarned to experience longerwaiting times than normal.

A TEENAGER involved in a carcrash on the A30 SherborneCauseway on 30th June died inFrenchay Hospital in Bristolthree days later. Ellie Jackson(16) from Shaftesbury, was apassenger in a VolkswagenPolo driven by a 20-year-oldman from the Blandford area,who was not seriously hurt.