Really excited to announce our partnership with the Sherborne Business Awards for local independent traders and businesses.
We’re massive supporters of Nigel Reeve of Marketing West, who fiercely believes it’s time to get business moving again and to start focusing on the positives – of which there are many in our local area. Did you hear Sturminster Newton on Radio 4 last week? Such a brilliant tone of optimism right here in our local Dorset towns.
Local independent businesses were consulted for the Sherborne Busienss Awards before a range of categories drawn up – and the awards ceremony will be a celebration of local business, not an excuse for a party!
The awards will be free to enter; and simple to enter. The entry form will be available on-line, and will take no more than ten minutes to complete.
AWARD CATEGORIES
Best Community Support (seen to be supporting other businesses or people during the recent issues)
Best Customer Service
New Business of the Year
Independent Business of the Year
Retail Business of the Year
Service Provider of the Year
Cafe /Pub of the year
Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year
Rising Star of the Year (16-25 year old either starting out in business or working within a business)
Business Leader of the Year
Overall Winner
Entry forms and entry conditions will be available from 1st November 2020.
Could I first congratulate those who have worked so hard to make this ‘virtual’ BVM a reality. Rural North Dorset needs its local news and this new magazine will help to provide it. I wish it the very best of luck for its future. I was delighted when Laura, as editor, asked me to contribute a monthly column. Whether her readers are as delighted we shall wait and see!
We are all familiar with the phrase ‘every cloud has a silver lining’. Covid has certainly been, and is being, a cloud hanging over our communities. While we should be relieved that the rates of infection, hospitalisation and death have been extremely low across Dorset we must not let up our guard as Covid continues to hover. So, what is the silver lining in the Covid cloud? I would suggest that it is volunteering. We all know that there is a strong, ancient strand of self-sufficiency about rural living. Village and market town dwellers have a determination to get things done locally. We are inclined to roll up our sleeves and get on with things. Vulnerable, shielding and many elderly residents of our far flung villages and towns have, in very great part, survived because their local community put out a call for volunteers and they rallied to the colours in significant number. Often anchored and co- ordinated by the town and parish councils or by Dorset Council, food has been delivered, medicines collected, welfare checked upon and support given. In politics I often think that we should take note of the headlines that don’t have to appear – one such is ‘Mrs X left alone for weeks during Covid’ or worse ‘Mr Y died as a result of no help during Covid’. Of course, for many it has been a huge challenge and the impacts on physical and mental health are probably incalculable and yet to be fully felt. But, I think we can say that without volunteers the situation would have been a whole lot worse. For what it is worth, and from the bottom of my heart, I thank all of those who have given of their time and energies to support those of our neighbours most in need. As your MP I often hear from voluntary organisations that their cohort of volunteers is dwindling, often due to age or health issues. They worry as to whether their organisation will continue after they hang up their boots; that there is no one to pass the baton. There will be many people who have volunteered for the first time during Covid because it was an emergency and it was all hands to the pump. Just as a dog is not just for Christmas, so volunteering isn’t just for emergencies. I have spoken to many people who tell me they have found the experience extremely rewarding and a way of really integrating with their communities. So, my prayer is that those who have found volunteering for the first time have been bitten by the bug and look to continue playing their part. I would encourage local organisations to harness those new volunteers, welcome them, encourage them and get them involved. Our communities will be stronger and our local organisations will have new blood to carry them forward.
Joanne Dewberry is an Author, Sage Business Expert and multi award-winning, 30-something coffee lover who lives in rural Dorset with her long-suffering partner and three children. When she isn’t writing or networking she is partial to a bag of crisps and a crime drama. Check out Joanne’s new book “Networking A Successful Small Business” which can be purchased via Amazon.
Joanne Dewberry
Joanne will be sharing her expertise with us every month, offering simple, easy tips and advice aimed at small local businesses looking to grow in an ever- changing modern marketplace.
Yikes! Hasn’t 2020 been a bit unprecedented? Coronavirus and lockdown made us think about our small business in ways we probably haven’t EVER considered in the past when we are busy working in our business. We had to work out how to stay safe, whilst still delivering great services and products without being able to leave our house. Come September whilst things are easing with many industries trading face to face again there has been a huge shift within your target audience’s shopping and leisure habits. Your small business needs to follow and adapt to this change.
3 Easy Ways To Get Digital Today.
1. Networking:
The most important aspect for me during Coronavirus has been “networking” I even published a book about it! OK so going out to large group formal meetings are still few and far between but there are TONNES of other ways to keep connecting and building relationships with other business owners, potential customers/ clients and a larger audience. Make time weekly to chat online with others within your network, brainstorm and check-in. Utilise private Facebook groups, Twitter chats or forums. Pick up the phone, most of us will use our phones to do a vast majority of our business, but how often do you actually call someone and just catch up with a real person?
2. Facebook Live:
It’s not surprising that this feature has become a huge tool with just about everyone conducting their lives online. Dorset business, Made By Me Craft Parties started doing free craft-alongs using recycling from around the home aided by her two children. During lockdown, the popularity of these grew to over 24.4k views. Alexia was able to build trust and likeability, enabling her to then sell her products. Moving her business to an online shop not only opened up a new audience but stopped her from drowning in a pile-up of stock from cancelled parties and most important of all continued to generate an income.
3. Digital Advertising:
Fewer people are picking up traditional print publications, instead choosing to opt for digital magazines delivered straight to their inbox (*cough* – Ed), providing the reader with the best of the local community and the longevity of digital rather than being recycled by mistake. We have a programmed impulse to take action with digital communication, that you don’t get with print. When you read something online you are more compelled to share, engage or bookmark but also it’s always to hand right there on your phone. Small businesses are able to track conversions, traffic and convert leads easier and clearer than with print advertising.
If you’ve driven through Stalbridge recently, you’ve probably seen the ‘mess’ of the roadside verge. Local Caressence Roden explains what’s going on:
We are a group of local residents who just love wildflowers and all they bring with them. That includes helping pollinators survive, encouraging birds and wildlife and easing our carbon footprint.
It’s surely a win win situation as we are sowing in public spaces so that everyone can enjoy them. We have a couple of road verges in the town, a central green area and under two of the Stalbridge signs as you drive out of the town. We hope that as our beds become even more successful, we will extend into other verges but for now, we have enough on our plates!
The idea came to us about a year ago and our Town Council decided they liked the idea and gave us some funding to start out. Having never done anything like it before, we knew we would have to learn as we went along….and we have!
We had some real success with the seeds planted under the road signs and one of the verges and that was because they went into bare soil. The seeds that we sowed onto grass areas, even though we had mowed, scarified and raked, didn’t fair so well.
So as autumn is the perfect sowing season for wildflower seeds, we hired a turf cutter, got some strong Wild Helpers onboard and got to work.
We had 9 volunteers turn up on a sunny Saturday morning as once the turf had been cut, it had to be turned over and raked to get rid of the odd large stone and grass tuft. We sowed the seeds and now we hope for a damp autumn with an occasional frost to help them germinate.
The seeds we are using are UK seeds, authentically sourced, so that we can encourage and support the local wildlife. Seeds from abroad are often very pretty and cheaper but we are really trying to care for our own local environment, so UK seeds felt the right way to go.
We love to have other Stalbridge groups onboard with us and have Stalbridge Creative making knitted bees on stilts to hover amongst the wildflowers, The Gugg continues to help us in many ways and before lockdown we had planned to include our primary school in many of the activities. Even so, the children were able to pick up the ingredients needed to make seed bombs, so all wasn’t lost.
Please wish us well for next year….and look out for wildflowers as you drive around Stalbridge next year.
As the nights draw in and the weather starts to get a little cooler, there is nothing more comforting than a homemade plum crumble, with its soft, baked fruit topped with a crispy and sweet crumble topping. Our beautiful English plums are in season from August to November and you can currently find locally grown plums in your local farm shops and greengrocers.
Image: Heather Brown
If you are looking for something slightly different to serve with your crumble then maybe try Dorset Dairy Co’s Cultured Cream. Taking the cream from their own semi-skimmed milk, they take the milk through a natural fermentation process to produce a thick, spoonable and slightly tangy cream. A spoonful of this next to your warm plum crumble would be work well with the sweetness of the crumble and sharpness of the fruit and a tasty alternative to double cream or custard.
You can find Dorset Dairy Co products in stockists across Dorset. thedorsetdairyco.com
HB_Plum Crumble Recipe_2020
Serves 4. Ingredients:
100g soft butter
100g plain flour
100g oats
100g demerara sugar
1 large punnet of fresh plums
175g of maple syrup
1-2tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 heaped tsp corn flour
pinch of salt
Method: Pre-heat the oven to 180fan/gas 6.
Cut the plums in half and lay them into an overproof dish, skins down. In a measuring jug, mix together the maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, salt and corn flour until there are no lumps from the cornflour. Pour over the plums and make sure they are evenly coated, squashing them into the liquid slightly.
Image: Heather Brown
In a bowl, with your hands, rub together the butter, the flour and the oats until you get a soft, crumbly mix. Place this mixture over the fruit, leaving a boarder around the edge so the fruit bubbles up the sides in the oven. Then sprinkle over the sugar.
Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the top is a light brown and the fruit is bubbling.
The very first issue of The Blackmore Vale is now published!
You can now access it instantly below:
*exhausted excitement reigns*
We have filled the first three pages with all your COVID Thank You messages – they’re rather wonderful, do take the time to read them all.
Can we both just thank all of those who have expressed their support and encouragement – this seemed like such a great idea back in August, but it is honestly only the strength of enthusiasm and encouragement (and help) from total strangers that has ensured it has come to fruition.
BIGGEST thanks must go to Andy Palmer who was an 11th hour wingman of utter magnificence. Further cakes of gratitude must go to the lovely Roger Guttridge, the intimidatingly wonderful Fanny Charles & Gay Pirrie-Weir, and to late-night Andrew Diprose. Not to mention the last-minute whirlwind that was Brigit Strawbridge, or the utterly AMAZING award hatched with Alice Plunkett.
We hope we have kept the spirit of the best of a local newspaper, in this very modern format. Every link is clickable (including telephone numbers if you’re reading on your phone). Do pinch and zoom the pages, and you can flip back and forth as you wish.
We know, the Classifieds section is a little… bijou this month (don’t miss the car page) – but now you know we’re here we expect them to grow to what they once were.
Local Indie wine merchant Vineyards of Sherborne are celebrating this week – with just cause. The all-female team have not only been ranked in Harper’s Top 50 Indie Wine Merchants, but they’re also, in true Top of the Pops style, Highest New Entry at No.19!
Hannah Wilkins
Wine Merchant Sadie Wilkins explained ‘the indie Harper’s list is a huge deal – it’s an annual award where you are nominated by peers within the wine trade only. You cannot apply to be part of the nominations or pay a fee.
Which means that those ‘in the know’ have seen something in us that they feel we are doing right; it’s truly a confidence booster.
Hannah opened Vineyards of Sherborne in 2005 and now stocks over 1000 wines, including weird and wonderful grapes and rare, fine wines. You may also have heard of G (their own gin) dubbed ‘Sherborne Gin’ by locals
In usual non-Covid times, the vibrant ‘hybrid shop’ offers an extensive drink-in menu and themed pop-up foodie nights too.
To be recognised by Harper’s this year, during a pandemic, was “…quite frankly mind-blowing” Sadie exclaims. “the charm of a great indie wine merchant is the personal service and second-to-none knowledge of wine. As cheesy as it sounds, we see ourselves as ‘storytellers of wine’. We obsessively source every product we stock ourselves, and do so in a ‘blind tasting’ fashion in order to remove pre-conceived ideas. The difference between shopping with us and a large supermarket is the dialogue about the bottle and the interesting range that we have on our shelves. That’s what was rather terrifying about heading into lockdown as a business owner. How do we still ‘reach out’ and tell the story behind each bottle… Being an indie allowed us flexibility; we changed our business model to adapt.”
Harper’s were impressed with their ‘fierce social media campaigns’ and the live virtual tastings on Instagram.
Sadie explains “The live tastings took on a life of their own! We hosted winemakers from across the world (something that we wouldn’t be able to do in usual times so frequently) and we even made it into national newspapers. Our tastings reached up to 900 viewers.
“We also ran themed wine cases, & mystery selections to our newsletter subscribers, continuing to tell the stories from our shelves. This, combined with a new collection and nationwide delivery service meant that we could still be there for those who needed.
Harper’s said Vineyards of Sherborne are a ‘small business where you get a lot of bang for your buck.’
“We are absolutely delighted. And yes; before you ask, lots of fizz was consumed to celebrate!”
Celebrate those gorgeous Autumn days – and wow your family and friends – by turning out a super bake using this Nordic Ware Harvest Leaves specialist Bundt® pan!
Available from Harts of Stur, the Harvest Leaves pan is one of several seasonal shapes from Nordic Ware who have been producing specialist cast aluminium bakeware in the USA since 1946! We’re thrilled to have teamed up with Nordic Ware to give away a Harvest Leaves Bundt® pan worth £41.95!
To be in with a chance to win, just answer the first four questions in the widget box below. There are more chances to win by completing the other entry options if you so wish – they’re entirely up to you! The closing date for this competition is 7th October 2020 and only entries received on or before that date can be included. The prize will go to the first randomly chosen entry. Good luck!
