Dorset Countryside Newsletter Nov-Dec 2022

Campsite News Christmas 2022

There have been several 28-day campers staying during the 2-month period, along with weekenders and one-nighters.

There are two units on-site at the moment. (1, 2) I have placed an advert on both my Facebook page and website that if people book for June, July and August this year, before 31^st March they will get a £2 reduction per night.

Farm And Garden Updates Nov & Dec 2022

Back in the early autumn, we discovered yet another apple tree in the new orchard “listing to starboard” which the rams were beginning to destroy. (3) With the help of the tractor, a chain and a stake we pulled it up to a vertical position in the hope that it will stay up. (4, 5)

During each winter our animals make a habit of losing ear tags by getting ears caught in the pig netting. So we decided to rectify the situation by putting up a smaller gauged fence. This meant sanding down areas of the fence (6) and welding the new fence to it. (7)

Alisha and Sam are keen on their various farming projects – keeping Suffolk sheep being one of them. The sheep were herded into a hurdled area (8) before being weighed ready for market or their next owner. They had been told it was better to sell them at 25 to 35 kilos to another farmer as they were making better prices than the lambs over 40 kilos. (9).

My geese had to be locked into their house from 6th November onwards, by law, because of the bird flu epidemic. (10) During December the epidemic had reached Dorchester only 22 miles away, where a farmer lost 2000 geese the day before they were to be processed.

It was amazing to still see so much colour in the garden in November, with the weather being so mild. The Azalea .flowered completely out of season, and the yucca and the Mahonia were still brilliant until the very late frosts came. (11, 12, 13) My chrysanthemums were some of the best I have ever had. (14, 15)

The Kittens And Their Antics

The kittens are growing fast, with Tabby overtaking Gingie in size. They are both very affectionate but Gingie is quite happy to take my computer chair at every opportunity! (16) Whereas Tabby is into everything: from trying to grab anything that comes out of the printer* (17) to getting stranded on the rafters in the cider cellar and being locked into the larder and in the cupboard under the stairs.

* I now have to take each piece of paper coming out of the printer immediately otherwise she will grab it, it then jams the printer and I have to try to retrieve what is left of the printout! I also have to hide the computer mouse otherwise it lands on the floor and gets hidden under something and I can’t find it for 10 minutes.

First Aid Course Dec 2022

I had the opportunity to do this at the beginning of November but got horribly lost finding the venue during the first session and arrived very late at a farm complex in Burton Bradstock. It was run by James Irvine from Chesil First Aid who was an excellent hands on tutor. He believed that everyone deserves to learn life saving skills, whether it is honing existing knowledge or diving into something new. His courses are varied and unique to fit all needs and skill levels. The course we did was “Emergency First Aid at Work” using the airway, breathing, circulation, disability and exposure (ABCDE) approach to assess and treat the patient. We all passed and James took a photo of us for the record. (first aid) chesilfirstaid@gmail.com

A Christmas Pudding Service At Blackdown 2022

This was a Christmas service with a difference. Members of the congregation actually made a Christmas pudding during the service, cooked it and we all had a piece to eat before we went home! As can be seen from the service sheet the ingredients and method of making the pudding had been woven into the text. (23, 24, 25) Many members of the congregation, and even the vicar, had a hand in mixing in the ingredients. (26, 27, 28) Once the mixture was ready it was put into a prepared basin (29) which was placed in a microwave.

The whole congregation then trouped outside to the Christmas tree, where the lights were lit (30) and we sang two carols. Once back inside the church we were served with the delicious pudding along with cream. (31, 32) What a night to remember!

Open Day At Brights Country Store Salwayash

This Country Store held an Open Day in early December. (33) I met Beth Cook, for a delicious glass of punch (34) and a raffle was available with lots of goodies from Brights itself. (35) The store was bright and Christmasy (36, 37) and I was amused to see that a mannequin had the face of one of their longest serving member of staff, Philip Page. (38) It really looked lifelike!

John Bright Fencing is really a great local success story. John started his working life as a butcher but his farming upbringing was never far away. A move in 1982 to a residential area in Broadwindsor, near Beaminster, was the start of fencing. A neighbour discovered that John was a very ‘hands on’ person and when help was required with broken fences, John was always ready to assist. In 1985 on moving to Dottery John started making gates in the garage and made the decision fencing was going to be his sole role. As his workload increased John Bright Fencing moved to Symondsbury and created a fencing yard, shop and workshop employing a carpenter.

Initially John was fencing with the help of Bridget, his wife, but after a while a fencing assistant was employed, which rose to six over time. John was kept busy out and about estimating for future work around Dorset, Devon and Somerset. Bridget left Lloyds Bank in 1980 to work full time, as the business was growing quite rapidly.

Paverlands Farm, Salwayash came on the market by tender in 1994 and sounded the ideal future for John Bright Fencing as it meant home and business could run side by side. The tender was accepted and the headaches began. Planning for a shop, workshop and an industrial site all had to be gained together with a new entrance after purchasing land from their neighbour to enable articulated lorries to come off the B3162 safely.

Eventually everything came together and more staff were required to run the separate parts of the business. They have always been very fortunate to employ very good local people. As the business expanded John was still the main person running the day to day fencing work which now included large industrial sites, new building sites, garden fencing and a large supply of various gates which had all been designed by John before entering the workshop.

Today there are 18 staff, including Beth Cook, John and Bridget’s daughter, who after college and gaining knowledge whilst working elsewhere joined in 2002. John recently celebrated his 70^th birthday and has no plans to slow down as yet and is very proud of the John Bright Fencing name.

Festive Open Studios At New House Farm, Broadoak

This annual event, which I try to pop into each year, was organised by Inez Cavill, who said “It was great to host The Festive Open Studios weekend again at New House Farm, the first proper one since 2019 and including work from the new studios now being used by fine artist William Bragg and JT Metal Creations’ garden sculptures, as well as the chance for Christmas shopping with the longstanding workshops used by New House Pottery and woodworkers Made In The Vale.

My mum Stella Sweetman also used the weekend to raise over £1000 from a clothes sale for “Doctors Without Borders” and gave Bridport artist Emily Browne access to her cottage to create a brilliant pop up shop of work by guest makers and artists.

In the Old Hay Barn we set up a cafe alongside a beautiful display of contemporary furniture by Dan Williams, stunning festive greenery from neighbour Charlie Ryrie, aka The Wild Gardener, and delicious produce from local smallholder Mary Durling.”

These are lovely photos of the interior of the Old Hay Barn which must date back to the 1700s. (39, 40) I was particularly interested in the rafters which were probably hewed from local Marshwood Vale trees. Simon was doing a great job as catering manager.

Krampus Event At The Shave Cross Inn

Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure in the Central and Eastern alpine folklore of Europe who, during the advent season, scares children who have misbehaved. Assisting Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus, the pair visit children on the night of 6 December, with St Nicholas rewarding the well-behaved children with modest gifts such as oranges, dried fruit, walnuts and chocolate, while the badly behaved ones only receive punishment from Krampus with birch rods.

The origin of the figure is unclear, some folklorists and anthropologists have postulated it as having pre-Christian origins. In traditional parades young men dressed as Krampus attempt to scare the audience with their antics. Such events occur annually in most Alpine towns.

Tom and Georgia at the Shave Cross Pub decided to dedicate their Christmas event to this Alpine tradition and invited stalls which included Chesil Craft and Magic Beings.(43, 44, 45, 46).

Pre-Christmas Meals

It has been a custom for many years for the West Dorset Group of Family Historians to have a Christmas meal on the last Saturday of November. This was quite well attended, although parking in Bridport on a Saturday is rather a nightmare. We decided to do the same this year for the Bridport History Group at the beginning of December which only attracted 7 people, most of us being on the committee! (47) Both meals were at the Bull Hotel, Bridport.

Christmas Day At Little Bluntshay Farm 2022

2022 was the first Christmas Day that I haven’t spent at my place since arriving back from Australia, many moons ago. It was such a pleasure to walk into Evelyne and Simon’s expertly renovated, warm and bright house. (Previously I used to be a carer for the previous owner, when the place was very dilapidated).

The dining table looked very inviting with lovely small red crab apples to add to the festive colours. (48) Jo, who helped with the meal, (49) greeted me as I arrived, and Wally was in charge of carving the meat. (50) One of my geese was part of the meal! Later on Jan did a wonderful job of putting a trifle together with a chocolate topping. (51) The day was completed with another guest doing a brilliant skit, and then presents were distributed. What a memorable day it was!

One of my goose customers sent me a photo of his goose (52) and another one of his head covered with a brown bag. I am not quite sure what this means! (53)

New Years Eve At The Five Bells

I must admit that visiting the Five Bells pub on my own wasn’t usually on my agenda, but nowadays I sometimes pop in for Sunday lunch, and decided to arrive at their New Years Eve event at 11.40 pm. I did know quite a lot of people and sat with friends from Christmas Day. The atmosphere was warm and friendly and the pub was full. (54) Some people decided on a Vicars and Tarts theme, (55, 56) with Evelyne appearing as a nun. (57) Perhaps someone can tell me who the last photo represents? (58)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Bridget Bright, Inez Cavill, Oscar McCarthy, Emma Clark, Terry Sweeney, Shave Cross Pub, Evelyne O’Hare, Jan Bowker and Alisha Lambert.

COMMENTS

Very good as always Sylvia! Glad to see that you had so much fun over Christmas. Did I misunderstand your reference to your mum? Is it too late to say happy new year?!
Liz

Hello Liz
The only time I think “mum” was mentioned was in the item about Festive Open Studios at New House. This related to Inez Cavill’s mother and was within quotation marks. Happy New Year to you.
Sylvia

Hi Sylvia,
I really enjoyed the whole issue but for a comment I’d like to say: I loved the article about the Christmas Pudding Service. What an awesome idea!!
Take care,
Maggie

Good newsletter again. Liked the farm things as usual, including the sobering-up of the drunken apple tree and the fencing work.
Also learned a bit about the Krampus, which I had never heard of before.
Keep up the good work. Will write soon when I get time.
Cheers, Sanford

Dear Sylvia.
Great to receive your latest news letter. Its lovely to see that you are doing well on the campsite and that’s a good discount for the specified months. I have shared it on my facebook page. I love the nautical term for your listing apple trees, hopefully it has now been rectified. Its so nice to see the variety of different animals being introduced to the farm, I’m sure they take a great deal of looking after.

Its such a shame the geese had to be kept inside, but I am sure that meant they put on more weight as a result. The garden looks beautiful as usual but I am sure it took a battering in the recent cold snap. Sounds like your cats are little monkeys. Perhaps you need to put up an electric fence round the office. Its nice to know you have now completed the first aid course, this will come in handy if any of your campers are taken ill, you will be able to administer the kiss of life haha.

Thank you for allowing Luci and I to attend the history society’s annual Christmas dinner, it was lovely to catch up with everyone. Shame you were unable to use the photo’s we took. I am glad to see you enjoyed various activities over Christmas and New year. We definitely enjoyed your company when you came to us in Yeovil for dinner on Boxing day, hopefully you did too. Hopefully it wont be too long before we can see you again.

Love Ray xx