Step back in time with our ‘Then and Now’ feature, where vintage postcards from the Barry Cuff Collection meet modern-day reality. Explore the past and present on the same page, and see the evolution of familiar local places. ‘Now’ images by Courtenay Hitchcock
The name of the village is Anglo-Saxon, meaning ‘the ancient earthwork frequented by the green woodpecker’ – from the Old English ‘speht’ or ‘speoht’ for woodpecker, and ‘burgh’ or ‘byrig’ for earthwork, referring to Spetisbury Rings (sometimes Crawford Castle), the Iron Age fort above the villageA fire at the village bakery demolished a row of thatched cottages in 1905. Before fire engines from Blandford and Wimborne could help, the neighbouring cottages and those across the road were also ablaze. The village still has a quirky house numbering system, thanks to its majority 19th century landowners, the Drax family, who only numbered the buildings owned by the estate
Both of the original postcards were posted in the 1940s. The Railway Inn on the right closed in 1986 – in its heyday it was a popular spot for local railway workers (the old railway line ran parallel to the road, behind and above the row of houses on the left of the image).
Dorset-based charity Birds of Poole Harbour has partnered with the Cameron Bespolka Trust to launch a Young Birders Club, offering free monthly events throughout 2025 to inspire teenagers with wildlife and conservation. From boat trips and bird ringing demonstrations to ID courses and conservation talks, the programme aims to showcase Poole Harbour’s vital role in nature recovery while building a community of young conservationists. Participants will have the chance to spot species such as White-tailed Eagles, Ospreys, Spoonbills, and Dartford Warblers. Fully funded by the Cameron Bespolka Trust, events are completely free, with binoculars, reference guides, and transport support available to ensure accessibility. Upcoming events include a Winter Birds Cruise (Jan), Bird ID Course (Feb), a rewilding reserve tour at Wild Woodbury (March), and an Osprey Project Tour (April). Open to 13–18-year-olds in Dorset, the initiative aims to provide opportunities for young people to engage with nature and develop conservation skills. Spaces are limited – sign up now at birdsofpooleharbourbookings.co.uk
This week, Shaftesbury-based BV Dairy celebrates a significant milestone—one year since joining farmer-owned dairy cooperative, First Milk.
First Milk member, Lucy Noad, BV Dairy Technical Information Officer, Hazel Warner, and Greg Jardine, First Milk CFO and BV Business Unit Director.
To mark the occasion, colleagues from BV Dairy and First Milk came together on Friday 14 February for a special tree-planting initiative at Woodhouse Farm in Trowbridge, home to First Milk member Lucy Noad. The team planted 365 trees—one for each day BV Dairy has been part of the First Milk family—demonstrating their shared commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship.
Over the past year, BV Dairy and First Milk have successfully integrated, combining their expertise and building on their strengths. This collaboration has reinforced BV Dairy’s strong reputation for quality and customer service in food manufacturing and food service, while also exploring new opportunities in emerging markets such as gut health.
Reflecting on the past year, Greg Jardine, First Milk CFO and BV Business Unit Director, said:
“Bringing BV Dairy into the First Milk family has been a fantastic step forward for our business. We have seen first-hand the dedication, expertise, and passion of the BV Dairy team, and it has been great to work together to further strengthen the business and drive sustainable growth over the last 12 months. We look forward to building on this strong foundation in the years to come and have some exciting plans in the short term.”
Jardine continued: “This tree-planting initiative reflects our ongoing commitment to sustainability and the environment. As a farmer-owned cooperative, we recognise the importance of working in harmony with nature, and this project is just one of many ways we are making a positive impact.”
With a successful first year behind them, BV Dairy and First Milk look ahead to a future of innovation, collaboration, and continued growth.
This week we had an important debate on the health of rural high streets. The wonderful towns across the breadth of West Dorset may be small, but they are mighty. The resilience of our local businesses cannot be overstated. The Liberal Democrat-run town councils have done a brilliant job of working with local business groups to help our high streets recover from the ravages of COVID. In our bigger towns of Bridport, Dorchester and Sherborne we have seen encouraging signs of recovery but there is still much work to be done. Amazingly, Bridport and West Bay enjoy 596,000 visits a year, and up to £49m in tourism spend – including £10m spent in the shops alone. That’s driven in no small part by a packed calendar of events in the town. Retail unoccupancy in the town is seven per cent – significantly below the national average of 14 per cent, but still higher than the pre-pandemic levels. In Dorchester, the town’s Sunday market has drawn more than 10,000 visitors, leading some businesses to extend their opening hours. Sherborne, too, has shown its ability to attract new businesses, with cultural events like abbey concerts, the literary festival, the film festival and the Sherborne Festive Shopping Day in December all helping to bring more people into the town. But there are challenges too. The last remaining bank in Sherborne is set to close soon, to be replaced by a banking hub. The transition highlights the ongoing struggle to maintain essential services in rural communities. Our high streets are not just places to shop: they are spaces where communities come together. These businesses need help, not just from all of us shopping locally – even just occasionally – but from government policies that recognise the unique challenges of rural high streets. That is why the Liberal Democrats are fighting so hard to convince the Government to reverse its decisions on National Insurance contributions and business rates. West Dorset is home to some of the most remarkable towns in the country. They are proving that with determination, innovation and the right support, high streets can thrive. Edward Morello MP for West Dorset
Dorchester has staged the greatest number of community plays of anywhere in the world, and now the efforts of all those involved are bearing fresh fruit. Several participants have been inspired by the stories that have been discovered, and by the experience of creating the plays. Now a new venture is taking shape, this time spreading its wings across Dorset and delving into women’s stories. Like every other project in the arts field, funding is tight, but the newly-formed collective Women of Dorset is taking the first research steps to create what is described as “a fierce new play about historical Dorset women.” On 10th March, the project will be launched at Dorchester Arts by playwright Stephanie Dale and director Penny Levick, who will be joined by Visible Women UK’s Anya Pearson (who championed the Mary Anning statue at Lyme Regis) to talk about the plans. Acappella singing group Bread and Roses will provide the music. A group of researchers will be working at the Dorset History Centre, learning how to make the best use of the collections to discover more about Dorset women through history. The launch will be followed by five workshops, at Dorchester (17th March), Bridport (18th), Poole (19th), Weymouth (20th) and at Shaftesbury Arts Centre on Friday 21st March. The workshops will explore previously untold stories of women, both historical and personal. Booking is essential. If you would like to take part, telephone 01305 261538 and leave a message.
A Shaftesbury bookshop has once again been recognised among the UK and Ireland’s best independent booksellers, making the shortlist for The British Book Awards for the second consecutive year.
Amber Harrison (right) and Karen Brazier, co-founders of FOLDE – Image Rachael Rowe
FOLDE Dorset, the nature-focused bookshop perched on Shaftesbury’s iconic Gold Hill, has been named a Regional and Country Finalist in the Independent Bookshop of the Year category—just a year after winning the South West regional title in 2024 (see the BV April 2024).
Affectionately known as the ‘Nibbies’, The British Book Awards, run by The Bookseller magazine, are judged by an esteemed panel of industry professionals, authors, journalists, and celebrities. The Independent Bookshop of the Year category “celebrates stores that reach beyond the literary landscape and bring books to the heart of local communities.”
With a record number of entries this year, 72 finalists across nine regions and nations were selected for their ingenuity and resilience in a challenging retail climate. Organisers praised how independent bookshops “continue to thrive with imagination and innovation boosting sales, amid rising challenges on the high street.” Among the ten South West finalists, FOLDE is the only Dorset-based bookshop to make the list.
“We are delighted to have made it to the South West Regional and Country finals for the second year in a row,” said Karen Brazier, co-founder of FOLDE. “It’s no less exciting than winning the regional prize last year and reflects that we are now established as a placemaker within our community, where we play an active part in the success of our high street and provide a welcoming space for all.”
FOLDE Dorset is in the running for Independent Bookshop of the Year for the second year in a row.
Co-founder Amber Harrison added, “For us, as a niche bookshop with a nature writing focus and the first bricks-and-mortar bookshop in Europe to be BCorp certified, the awards give us an opportunity to share our vision and purpose in celebrating and championing the natural world.”
Tom Tivnan, managing editor of The Bookseller, said: “I have been judging this award for a decade and a half and I have never seen such depth of quality and energy in the submissions, from the newcomers to most venerable stores. British and Irish indies continue to thrive, despite the overall climate, with entrepreneurship and creativity. These finalists are wonderfully unique and idiosyncratic, but there is a link in that all of them are not confined by the four walls of their shops – they are out in their communities organising festivals, visiting schools, bringing authors to town. Sure, they sell a lot of books but that is just the start: independent bookshops are Britain and Ireland’s local cultural linchpins.”
FOLDE Dorset will now compete to retain its title as South West regional winner and secure a place in the running for the national prize, which will be announced at The British Book Awards ceremony in London on 12 May 2025.
Howard Phipps, the distinguished wood engraver, who lives near Salisbury, is the featured artist in the 87th annual exhibition of the Society of Wood Engravers, at Bankside Gallery, on Thames Riverside, London, on until 23rd February. Much of Howard’s work is rooted in the downs of Wiltshire and Dorset, with their deep coombes and beech clumps, around the area where he lives. He works from drawings and watercolours made on location, using light to reveal the underlying sculptural form of the landscape. Ancient trackways and striking hill forms draw his eye – timeless places on which earlier generations have left their mark. His subsequent wood engravings are profoundly imbued with a sense of place. Pictured is Catherine’s Barn.
This month Barry Cuff has chosen two postcards sent from Fontmell Magna, by the same person and to the same person, sent just a few weeks apart in 1958
Sent on 1st September to Mrs Hobday in Four Marks, just outside Alton, Hampshire. The tone of these cards suggests this might be a young mother writing to her newly-moved-away best friend? With no names, and a now non-existent address (‘Whareora’ is a place in New Zealand, and there’s no record of it in Four Marks now), it’s hard to narrow these down further: ‘Mon. I hope you had a good trip back to Four Marks on Fri. Saw Stephen & party on Sunday. It was nice & warm yest. and so it is today, bet E busy working. Charles & Katie have not yet left Maresfield as the car is not yet ready. We miss you very much, esp. Pauly & me. Don’t go working too hard & eat! Time to go to ‘the shop’ – Aloha nui ake ake ake, L’
Note the presence of the Gossip Tree in Fontmell Magna in 1958 – the ancient elm was a victim to the 1970s Dutch Em Disease epidemic, and was replaced by the current lime tree in 1977 (see Roger Guttridge’s story of it in The BV, Aug 2021). The above card is instantly recognisable, even today, showing the familiar Crown Inn and the A350. It was sent on 3rd October, once again to Mrs Hobday: Tuesday Some nice ‘Bright Intervals’ today, very welcome. After a heavy shower last evening there was a good rainbow arching over this Fontmell Down. The children were thrilled to see it, even Pipi & Pauly too, who is growing fast & is very active indeed! No letters from anyone today. Have you heard from Sunnywood at all? How is Mr Pateman? And how are YOU? Aloha nui from us all, especially L
The Government has a problem – and it’s of its own making. It joined in with almost all the pundits in their minute-by-minute commentary on government borrowing costs along the path to the Truss regime’s downfall. Labour has no right, then, to expect different treatment when markets last month reacted similarly to its own approach. There is a significant difference though, between the Truss escapade and the current government’s issues. The former was clear about her mad plan – even though in carrying out the madness, our mortgages rose and the PM fell. Labour’s problem sits in the gap between what was said and what has been done, creating uncertainty for businesses and citizens alike. Different organisations demand different types of decision. Simple businesses need agility, taking decisions quickly on the hoof. Safety-critical organisations like nuclear energy decide slowly, with many checks and balances. Success depends on understanding the organisation you have and acting accordingly: but governments are pulled in both directions. Their survival depends on fleetness of foot and reacting well to events, while success rests on critical thinking, deliberation and determined action. The antidote to this conflict is a clear and consistent strategy for government that soars above the knocks and crises below. Unfortunately, we don’t have that clear or consistent strategy yet. Growth is just a slogan if you’re not creating the conditions for it. For example, NI contribution increases obviously do something different from what the Government says it wants. They are a drag on investment and employment across the land, costing more than £2,300 per year, per staff member. Challenging for every business, and for charities providing community services – like those being faced by Riversmeet Leisure Centre in Gillingham – these costs are calamitous. So many things depend on growth: a social care solution, investment in health and stronger defence in Trumpian times. Making it easier to build through planning reform is a good start, but choosing Heathrow expansion seems more like picking a fight than a serious economic move. Our trading position is crucial, and our relationship with the EU is back on the agenda for its importance to growth. Countries make trade deals to lower barriers and increase trade: we left the EU and raised barriers, reducing trade. Liberal Democrats want a UK customs union with the EU to increase our trade in goods, help farmers and encourage smaller businesses to re-start exports to the EU. There are trade-offs for this, such as on youth mobility and fishing, but it would not stop us from negotiating independent deals on services, which are among our main competitive advantages. Decisions like this are more strategic and would do more for us – but would need courage to lead. We need and expect the government to make more consistent and less contradictory decisions that will deliver much-needed growth. Really tough decisions include questions like relationships with the EU … and it’s time to get serious again. Gary Jackson North Dorset Liberal Democrats
