Voluntary and community groups across Dorset are invited to apply for the latest round of the Community and Culture Project Fund. Managed by Dorset Council, this fund supports projects and events focused on community, arts, accredited museums, heritage, sport, youth, play and physical activity.
Grants of up to £5,000 are available for projects that aim to bring communities together. Over the past year, the fund has distributed more than £100,000 to a wide range of initiatives across the region.
Recently, 14 organisations received a total of £54,625 for projects including skateboarding programmes for low-income families and theatre experiences for individuals with profound learning difficulties. An additional 12 grants, totalling £39,879, supported projects like food banks, cookery classes and climate initiatives. The Dorset Community Foundation also awarded £6,300 to three applicants through the Dorset Performing Arts Fund.
Cllr Ryan Hope, Dorset Council Cabinet Member for Customer, Culture and Community Engagement, said: ‘The work of community groups and voluntary organisations help make Dorset a vibrant and supportive county. The grants have been a real success, and we have seen many exciting projects launched for the benefit of local communities.”
The fund provides grants between £1,000 and £5,000, covering up to 80 per cent of total project costs. Applicants must provide 20 per cent match funding from their own organisation.
Applications close at midnight on Monday 18th November.

For more details, visit dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/w/capital-leverage-fund.

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In a quiet corner of Dorset, Eric Jager, 68, embarked on his most challenging run ever – a self-organised 72-kilometre journey, passing 25 churches in what he calls the “Steeples Chase.” On 19 October 2024, before dawn, Jager began his one-day ultra-marathon, aiming to complete the challenge within 12 hours and raise funds for Christian Aid. The run, which began with a prayer at his front door, was set to finish at St Paul’s Church in Sherborne, by sunset.

‘The most important thing is not that I finished the 72 kilometres,’ Eric shared post-run, ‘but that so many wonderful people joined and supported the journey.’ Supporters included members of his running club, Sherborne’s SPFit, and his long-term friends, the Trailtrotters. Eric divided the run into six segments, each featuring a rotating cast of friends and family to see him through the most gruelling parts, running or cycling alongside, offering encouragement.
‘The number of people who came out with me were more than I’d expected,’ he says. ‘And many of them stayed with me longer than they’d planned. I feel very humbled by all 35 of them.’
Eric’s journey was far from straightforward: ‘We managed a very steep, slippery and muddy hill,’ he says. ‘All the fields were sodden, and a totally flooded area with a river current meant we had to wade knee-deep.
‘We finally finished 30 minutes behind schedule, but comfortably within the 12 hours cut-off time.’
Eric had scheduled five-minute whistle stops at five of the churches, but proved not nearly enough for a change of support crews, to re-fuel and also to care for his neuropathy-affected feet with five changes of socks and two changes of shoes. The constant support helped him not only with logistics but with morale. ‘As much by the fact that I could hear that they at least were having a good time when I was in front!’ he said.
At his final stop and home church of St Paul’s, Eric’s friends and family cheered and clapped his final steps, a fitting end to his long-distance running career. Eric particularly thanked his wife for her unending support, promising, ‘I want to learn the new skill of going out together for short and meandering walks, in those beautiful places in Dorset. You’ve been rather deprived of those.’
For all the difficulties en route Eric never considered quitting:
‘I would not have wanted to stop just because the going is a little tough. That’s not an option to the people Christian Aid support, whose lives are a constant and relentless battle to survive.’
Eric’s Steeples Chase has so far raised £4,640.75 – more than twice his initial target, and his donation page is open until the end of November here.

The churches visited on the 72km route were: Sherborne Abbey, Sherborne Cheap Street, Sherborne Castleton, Oborne, Poyntington, Corton Denham, Sandford Orcas, Trent, Nether Compton, Overcompton, Bradford Abbas, Thornford, Lillington, Beer Hackett, Yetminster, Ryme Intrinseca, Chetnole, Leigh, Hermitage, Glanvilles Wootton, Holwell, Bishops Caundle, Longburton, Folke and finally his home church of Sherborne St Paul’s.

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A garden mowing session on a warm summer’s day was interrupted by the ping of an email on my phone. Delighted for any interruption, I opened the message from Carole, the secretary for the Gillingham Singers: she was sharing a request from The Exchange in Sturminster Newton for a choir to support a professional duo that was coming to perform in October.
Would we like to put ourselves forward?
I slipped the phone back into my pocket, grateful to have some thoughts to keep me company as I finished mowing the lawn.
A bit later I contacted the rest of the committee to gauge thoughts. The choir hadn’t done anything like this before, and it would need a different approach to rehearsals to get it right.
Everyone thought it was too good an opportunity to miss, so I was tasked with making contact and expressing our desire to be considered.
A little while later my phone pinged again: “Please could I supply my number, one of the performers wanted to chat.”

What a sound
Within a few hours I found myself talking with Jem, one half of Tenors Unlimited, a duo that have toured the world, supported Sting and recently performed at the Royal Albert Hall.
No pressure then.
In fact there really wasn’t! Jem was a delight to chat to and he offered the Gillingham Singers the gig.
Over the following days we were given access to all the musical scores and rehearsal material we needed, and by the start of September we were set to go. The only pressure was time … just six weeks to get our part in the show ready.
Usually, when rehearsing a concert piece, the path you follow is clearly laid out. But with the role the choir needed to play in this particular concert, things were a bit more complex, and timings needed to be exact. The whole choir got on board, even members who were not able to make the concert joined in, and a great deal of work went into getting things right.
On the day of the concert the choir finally gathered for their sound check and a rehearsal with Jem and Paul. Under atmospheric lighting the choir burst into life during a run-through of You Raise Me Up.
Oh my word, what a sound!
The microphones helped the choir provide just the right amount of backing, and with confidence high, we continued with Barcelona, Nessun Dorma and ELO’s Mr Blue Sky. The choir also presented their own contribution, The Lamb by Sir John Tavener, who spent the last part of his life living and composing in Child Okeford.
The choir were buzzing after the rehearsal … but nothing prepared us for the wonderful concert itself, nor the positive reception to our part in proceedings later on.
It was an experience the The Gillingham Singers will remember for a very long time, and we are very grateful to Tenors Unlimited for the opportunity to perform with them. Also a big ‘thank you’ to Georgina and all the wonderful staff at The Exchange for looking after us so well.
The choir are now in full swing preparing for our concert on 14th December, 6:30pm at St Simon and St Jude’s church, Milton on Stour.
Richard Nye, musical director
gillinghamsingers.org

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At times I’ve had a difficult relationship with Dawes. The Californian alternative / Americana brothers started imperiously with a six-year run of albums which dished up a string of instant classics. Tracks such as When My Time Comes (North Hills, 2009), So Well (Nothing Is Wrong, 2011), Most People (Stories Don’t End, 2013) and Things Happen (All Your Favourite Bands, 2015) cemented the duo’s position as rightful heirs to Jason Isbell’s Americana throne.
But in a push to develop their sound, Dawes lost their way. The raw production and simple arrangements – which had provided necessary balance to the sometimes saccharine and always ‘pop’ nature of their compositions – were replaced with misplaced synth lines and gated snares. After a cursory listen to 2018’s Passwords, I gave up.
But I’m happy to report that with Oh Brother (their ninth Studio LP), Dawes have well and truly won me back. From first glance of the album sleeve, which features a portrait of brothers Taylor (guitar/vocals) and Griffin Goldsmith (drums/vocals), the signs are there that this is a welcome return to their Laurel Canyon-inspired roots.

Every single song here begins with a simple guitar and drums intro. Opening track Mister Los Angeles is a perky but pointed diatribe against LA. excesses. House Parties is a love letter to its subject. Celebrating local bands, spilled drinks and singalongs, it skips along nicely, propelled by a slide guitar part reminiscent of the Eagles lighter moments. But the highlight of the album is The Game, reinforcing how special Dawes can be when they keep it simple, and featuring an instantly memorable chorus (“the losers only think about the winners, the winners only think about the game”). Dawes are back, and oh brother, how I’ve missed them.

Matthew Ambrose presents Under The Radar on Tuesday evening at 7pm on Abbey104. Broadcasting on 104.7FM and online at abbey104.com.

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