The Covid pandemic has resulted in very little rent for the hall since March, and we are in the midst of refurbishing the kitchen. We need to get this job done now, so that we are fully operational when things go back to some sort of normal. Please help us raise money for the Okeford Fitzpaine village hall.
We have published a competition in our local magazine the Fippenny News, but it would be great to widen this everyone!
There is a cash prize for two winners amounting to half of the money raised. So the more entries there are the bigger the prize.
You can enter via email and pay the entry fee of £5 by PayPal. sfinklaire@gmail.com
As one door closes and another opens, Roger Guttridge looks back on the Blackmore Vale Magazine’s early years
Sipping a pint in his local one evening, session singer Alan Chalcraft had no idea he was about to make a life-changing decision.
Alan and Ingrid Chalcraft with an early BVM
As they chatted in a Stalbridge pub, a fellow customer threw out a random offer.
‘Would you like to buy a magazine?’ he asked.
‘How much?’ said Alan.
‘£5,000,’ said the other man.
Alan promised to consult with his wife and return the next evening with a decision.
‘Offer him half,’ said Ingrid Chalcraft.
The £2,500 was accepted and the couple suddenly became owners of the Blackmore Vale Magazine.
The free distribution weekly was the humblest of outfits, launched six months earlier, printing just four pages a week and already on the point of collapse.
‘People said we were mad,’ Ingrid told me 15 years later. ‘We put out our first issue with no typing skills, no business experience, no knowledge of layout and having never written anything in our lives.’
Alan and Ingrid had previously made their living as session singers. Their voices can be heard on many hit songs and jingles from the ’60s and ’70s and they actually met while backing Engelbert Humperdink at London’s Talk of the Town.
They left London in 1976 for a quieter life in Dorset.
By 1978 they were almost broke – until that fateful pub meeting.
Despite having no publishing experience, they negotiated six weeks’ credit from the printer and set up an office under the stairs.
Issue number 11 featured Alan’sfront page lead about a Stalbridge cow giving birth – a story he described (with no lack of irony) as a ‘BVM scoop’
They used an electric typewriter to set the type and Letraset for headlines and display advertisements.
‘We had a telephone but it rang so infrequently that we did gardening between calls,’ said Alan.
But free newspapers were in the ascendant and interest steadily grew.
Then in 1979 came the break the Chalcrafts needed – a strike by the National Union of Journalists, which kept the Western Gazette off the streets for seven weeks.
Many advertisers transferred their business and the BVM jumped from 12 to 24 pages overnight.
By 1993, it boasted 112 pages and a reputation that attracted a £1m takeover bid from major newspaper group Trinity International.
When I dared, 27 years ago, to suggest to the Chalcrafts that they were about to become millionaires, they laughed off the suggestion, pointing out that they were only 70 per cent shareholders and that 40 per cent of what they received would go in tax.
That still left them with a few hundred grand, which seemed to me like a fair return on £2,500.
The monthly Sturminster Newton Car and Bike Enthusiasts meeting was held on 5th September. This event has gradually grown over the two years it has been running. It started with between 8 and 10 cars and bikes, but over 30 owners came to Sturminster Newton with their vehicles.
It’s a challenge running an event like this safely in the current COVID environment. We ran this event mostly on the main car park, given the growing numbers, with kind permission of Dorset Council. We were limited to 30 attendees in a cordoned area to meet government restrictions. Another 10 owners visited the town and parked in the rest of the car park. We strictly followed Social Distancing and had a track and trace process in place to minimise risk.
Not only was this Sturminster Newton Car and Bike meet one of the best events we’ve had so far; the variety of vehicles was the best so far too. The atmosphere was really friendly and enjoyable. As well as being interesting for the attendees, it met our objective to bring more people into the town to help our local businesses.
We had vehicles from the 1920s up to the latest. We had a wonderful completely renovated Imprezza, a rare 412 Ferrari, a very rare Citroen SM, Oxford, Laguna and beautiful Jaguars, Alvis and several MGs. There were too many stunning and interesting vehicles to mention here, but it was certainly a car and bike enthusiasts’s dream!!
The latest government laws regarding the size of outdoor gathering means we may not be able to run in October – it’s usually run on the first Saturday every month.
It’s been home to a pump, a horse trough, market stalls and parked cars, but now the roadside spot at Sturminster Newton’s Market Cross has begun a new incarnation.
It’s latest life as a street café began in June in response to the government’s lockdown call to encourage the takeaway food and drink trade.
From the Barry Cuff Collection
It now looks likely to stay that way providing the town council agrees to manage it.
In the old picture, dating from the early 1900s, a boy with a toy rifle stands to attention before the pump as a camera-shy dog looks the other way.
The location caught the eye of royal surgeon-cum-travel writer Sir Frederick Treves when he passed through Sturminster in 1906.
‘In the centre of the town,’ he wrote with his usual caustic humour, ‘is the semblance of a square to which all roads lead.
‘Here an officious gas standard carrying aloft the latest pattern of lamp, the stump of an ancient stone cross, and the town pump.
‘The latter is of wood, is small, black and vixenish. On it is a notice spitefully warning the passer-by that he will be prosecuted if he does it hurt and adding further that no children must use the exclusive structure.
‘There is a sourness in this, for all children delight to play with pumps.’
Treves failed to add that the steps of the cross have been warn down by generations of Sturminster bottoms, including mine.
Behind the stump, alone on its island, is Market House, then home to draper and costumier C S Draper and for much of the 20th century to fellow draper Alex J Hicks.
The White Hart to the left has changed little in a century and carries the date 1708, suggesting that it survived the fire that swept through the town centre in 1729.
A few years after Treves’ visit, the pump gave way to an ornamental drinking fountain and horse trough erected in memory of long-serving GP Dr John Comyns Leach, who died in 1907, and his surgeon son E Comyns Leach, who died in Sierra Leone aged 33 in 1902.
The trough later became a flower box until demolished when a motorist lost control in 2018.
Council staff salvaged the pieces and there are plans to re-erect it.
Whew – 2020 has been a year like no other, hasn’t it? And of course here in North Dorset we were lacking a local paper; not only to keep us abreast of the county’s serious news, but also just as importantly to share the good stuff. The heartwarming stories, the tales of the key workers, the small businesses who swiftly pivoted to help their local communities, the teams of volunteers who stepped up in every town and village across our region to ensure communities stayed connected and the vulnerable were looked after.
So in our first edition (next FRIDAY! Eeek!), we want to loudly and proudly acknowledge all of those people. And we need your help.
We need YOUR COVID19 thank you.
We’re sure each and every one of us knows a person, a business or an organisation that helped out when it mattered. One who made a real difference – to just one person, or to hundreds
So – use the form below to make your own nominations. We’ll print as many as we possibly can, and of course there’s an option to remain anonymous if you wish. The point is to give a public and heartfelt Thank You to all those who really deserve it, whether it’s your neighbour Jo for popping in with fresh milk, or the local pub who swiftly set up an online food delivery service. Do you want to thank the local supermarket staff for staying open and working in impossible circumstances, or maybe your Gran’s carer who still came in every day. Let’s give them the warmth they deserve, and a public stand up round of applause. (and make you’re subscribed so that you get a copy of the magazine next Friday!)
The long cherished Dorset Dream of pioneering conservation farmer Robin Page this month becomes reality as the Countryside Restoration Trust completes the most significant purchase in its 30 year history of wildlife friendly farming.
Bere Marsh Farm on the banks of the idyllic River Stour at Shillingstone is set to become a national showcase for its holistic fusion of sustainable, traditional farming methods, habitat restoration and a dedicated education programme focused around the importance of food provenance.
Its idyllic 92 acres of wetland, grassland and woodland, rich in butterflies, birds, wildflowers and rare mammals make it the perfect setting to commemorate the Trust’s co-founder and Dorset conservation icon, artist Gordon Beningfield.
‘It is the perfect place for us where we can bring together, everything we believe in, whilst remembering Gordon and his devotion to the countryside. It represents our vision and why he and I decided to found the Trust all those years ago.
We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us to shape it into the showcase for our work and our vision but it’s a challenge we have long wanted,’ said Robin Page, Executive Chairman of the Countryside Restoration Trust.
The cornerstone of the CRT’s philosophy is that both traditional and innovative farming methods can be made to work profitably and sustainably together in conjunction with the protection and restoration of wildlife habitats and precious eco-systems.
In all, it has 15 properties throughout the UK ranging from dairy and arable farms to sheep, rare breeds and woodland centres. Running in harmony with these sites is the curriculum based MOSAIC education programme for children at a network of nearby primary schools highlighting where food comes from, the value of its sustainable production alongside wild flora and fauna and how they can play their part in connecting with Nature and the wild world.
All these key elements of the CRT’s programme will be brought together at Bere Marsh Farm under the supervision and direction of Estate Manager, Elaine Spencer White, an agricultural consultant and specialist marketeer who is also a Trustee of the CRT.
‘Our long term intention is to turn the farm into an education and visitor centre – to re-attach visitors, as well as ourselves, to the land, to our native wildlife and where our food comes from. This will be where we demonstrate everything that he Trust stands for.’ Robin continues.
To this end the intention is to introduce a small herd of milking cows, free range hens, a small flock of sheep, an orchard and a nursery. It is even hoped to produce bread at the farm from wheat grown in the fields of other CRT farms as well as beer and cider from CRT barley and apples.
Her sons, John and Robert, are heartbroken to announce their mother’s death in her bungalow on 2nd September 2020.
Originally from South London, Penny & the late Fred moved to Templecombe in the mid 70s when Penny took a position as a primary school teacher at Stalbridge Primary School. Up until recently she was a regular Saturday morning shopper at Dikes, Stalbridge where she often ran into ex pupils of hers. Penny was a caring, compassionate person full of life and enthusiasm, always ready to help everyone. She will be missed so much by Robert & Gill, John & Helen, Justine, Ellen, June, Martin, Julie, Bernadette and all her friends who meant so much to her. The cremation will be held on Monday 21st September (restricted numbers). No flowers, donations to The Woodland Trust via Peter Jackson Funeral Services, Henstridge 01963 362570.
We’ve naturally been getting a lot of questions. So, here’s where we are: We’re the fresh, new, independent magazine for the Blackmore Vale. No financial backers, no ties, it’s just us – and in the greatest tradition and best spirit of Alan & Ingrid Chalcraft’s original BVM, we’re a husband and wife team! We’ve lived in the Vale for almost thirty years, and we’re raising our four children here.
With the death of the old paper version of the BVM, we saw an amazing opportunity for a new kind of Blackmore Vale magazine – of course we all still need and want a local news source. But instead of reviving the same old practices & methods, we have a real opportunity to enhance the local community in a modern, connected, environmentally friendly (and global-pandemic-proof!) way.
Why reboot the old, when we can upgrade the services that were previously ‘the norm’? We can improve on old practices, shake up the system, and we can make something new and exciting that can really work for a busy modern life.
UK national newspaper sales have slumped by two-thirds in 20 years – 90% of us consume news online now. So why would a geographically widespread rural community not make the most of the tech opportunity to do the same?
No need to go out and find your copy, wondering if it’s actually been delivered yet, or if the Post Office is still open or if the butcher’s will still have one. Our free digital magazine will arrive in EVERY subscriber’s inbox on the day of publication. You’ll read it on your tablet, smartphone, or computer; you’ll swish the pages just like a magazine, zooming in on the pictures, sharing articles with friends or family with a couple of taps, and you’ll have the ability to click right through to advertisers, order products or watch videos.
We’re the new Blackmore Vale news provider , with hyper local community news, events, businesses and more. Fully interactive and obviously always free to readers.
You’ve accepted an offer on your home and you’ve seen your dream property with your local estate agent. It’s all coming together with a second viewing booked for this Saturday! You’re already mentally picking out curtain material and paint colours.
However, there is a lot of work to be done before you visit your local decorating store to pick up tins of paint. Our role as your conveyancer is to make sure that you are fully informed in regards to the property and feel confident in signing the paperwork and handing over your deposit.
Once we have received your instructions, we will send out the land registry title plan for you to review and confirm that the boundaries are accurate. It is crucial that it details the full extent of the property you are intending to buy. We will then raise legal enquiries on the land registry title with the seller’s solicitors, for example, checking all of the relevant rights of access are included and that there are no onerous obligations you have to comply with.
We will also review the supplementary information provided by the seller raising any additional enquiries on the documents supplied, such as the energy performance certificate, the relevant planning permissions, septic tank or drainage, Japanese knotweed, tree preservation orders and even what, if any, items are included or not with the purchase! We also order searches on the property, including the local authority and water search.
If the property is leasehold there are additional forms and information to check, such as ground rent and service charge payments per year and the lease provisions.
We view the process as collaborative and report out to you on each step of the way so that any issues can be dealt with as they arise. Your role is key in feeding back to us from your practical inspections of the property together with updates on your mortgage application and providing a copy of your survey.
In regards to your sale, this largely mirrors the process from the other side of the fence in that we will be answering the buyer’s solicitor’s questions and supplying them with as much information as possible for their clients.
Not at that stage yet but considering it?
If you are thinking of putting your property on the market, it is really useful to call and have a chat with us at the initial stage as being prepared can ensure the process runs smoothly. We are happy to review the deeds you have and work through any potential concerns with you in advance so that when you do secure a buyer, all you will need to worry about is choosing the all-important paint colours!
