Winter on Our Dorset Farm & Campsite: Kittens, Christmas, and Community

FARM AND GARDEN

THE KITTENS

They are eating me out of house and home and skittering all over the place.  Robyn really enjoys climbing up curtains and doors but then is too petrified to come down. [6]  Eddie finds all sorts of places to discover including being locked in the cupboard under the stairs and checking out the fridge.  [7] Then came the time for their operations straight after Christmas when they were heavy enough to cope with the “cut”.  The “op” hardly made any difference to Eddie, but Robyn had to have 17 days in confinement to recover, as she kept escaping from the cage and “gallivanted” around the house with Eddie.  [8]  [9]  After that she had to be locked in the bathroom or the kitchen, in isolation!

FARM ANIMALS

The cows and calves were happy to come in for the winter to eat silage rather than grass, although silage is going to be in short supply this winter. [10]  Dylan, the calf arrived to much fan fare and is doing very well.  [11]  The geese were a better breed this year and made good weights for Christmas.  [12]   A new sow, Rusty, joined Gertrude and they get on very well together.  [13]

REPAIRS TO THE POLYTUNNEL

I think 15 years is about the lifespan of a polytunnel, but this one was put in with deep foundations and sturdy piping so has lasted over 35 years.  We have repaired small rips and tears over the years with tape, which needs doing again, but the doors have always been vulnerable.  After the high winds they were ripped to pieces so  were both repaired  [in two parts] so in the summer they can be totally rolled up to the top, [14] and at other times half up or totally down to keep the frost out.  [15]

FLOWERS AND SHRUBS

So many of them kept going right into November.  I was still selling dahlias during that month. [16]    The last gladioli peeped through but didn’t get as far as a proper bloom, [17] and roses in the front garden still looked beautiful.  [18]  This azalea must have flowered at least 3 times in the last year, [19] obviously confused by the warm weather, and this shrub went mad with flowers for months and months outside the cabin.  [20] The Mahonia, originally from the Himalayas, [21] is now firmly established in the front garden and growing even taller, and flowered until the end of January.  Snowdrops, in full bloom by January, were along the river banks and on the road side.  [22]

REMEMBRANCE EXHIBITION

This exhibition [23] was first put together in March 2018 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1 and shown several times during that year.  In November 2025 I displayed it again at Whitchurch church for 2 days over the Remembrance weekend, commemorating the lives of 18 WW1 Servicemen listed on the War Memorial, along with two remembered on the Commonwealth War Graves in the churchyard, and one commemorated on a plaque near the church’s altar.  A large chart had been devised to show the Rank, Name, Service/Regiment, Date killed, whether there was a photo, Service number, and local relatives connected to the servicemen. [24]

Many links had been found through the research to local families still living in the area, which included Barnes, Wood, Smith, Harris and Peach.  [25]  [26]

There were also boards showing 4 servicemen who were lucky enough to return to the Marshwood Vale after WW1, their names being Charles Knight, Fred Smith, Albert Smith and Charles Barnes, who was a training officer in England and drilled men to fight in Europe, but never left England himself.  [27]

There was no admission charge to see the exhibition, but visitors were generous with their donations. [28]

FIRST AID COURSE CERTIFICATION

[29] It is necessary to do a First Aid course every three years to keep the qualification up to date.  A group of us attended the course at Graston Farm, Burton Bradstock, last November and spent two evenings going through all the practicalities.  It was a very thorough, interesting and ’hands on’ course.

We had plenty of ‘dummies’ to practise on, learning, in this case, that if someone choking didn’t respond with back slapping, abdominal thrusts should be administered.  [30]

We were taught about CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation].  This is an emergency lifesaving procedure that maintains blood circulation and oxygen delivery to vital organs, when the heart or breathing stops.  Once the rescue breaths and chest compressions are administered,  999 needs to be called and the defibrillator put into operation.  [31]

In some exercises we practised on real people when dealing with someone who faints.  They should be laid out flat with the legs elevated to improve the blood flow to the brain. [32]  Practising the ‘recovery position’ needed a human body too. [33]

At some stage we had to put pressure on a wound, which could be a big cut or even a missile thrust into the body.  It was necessary to cover it with a sterile dressing and use an appropriate bandage. [34]  We also practised with slings, which was an amusing experience!

Two evenings very well spent!

CHRISTMAS IN WEST DORSET

As usual there were plenty of events going on in the run up to Christmas in West Dorset.  James Hargreaves Hall at Morcombelake was the first one I attended [with my books] which put me in the mood for Christmas.  I walked into a warm festive atmosphere [35] [36] with Luci enthusiastically advertising her meat to all. [37]

Next came the New House Farm Festive Open Studios. [38]  All sorts of items were on sale here including honey, [39] attractive plates, [40] Fenella with her pottery, [41] and me with my books.  Blake did a great job of keeping us fed and watered during our busy market time.  [42]

When it came to my Christmas geese collections from customers, pick ups were staggered over the week before Christmas, [43] with my dressing the last goose 30 minutes before the very last collection on Christmas Eve afternoon.  Phew!!  I had allowed myself to go to a 60th birthday party quite late in December [which took up valuable “dressing time”] hence the last minute scramble to finish the job on schedule. I had to send the cold storage unit back on Christmas Eve, so the ones for New Year’s Eve were already in the freezer ready to be collected at the end of the month.

Here are some photos of a few customers enjoying their Christmas bird; [44] [45] [46] [47}  [48]

On Christmas Day there was beautifully laid festive table ready for ten of us to sit down to enjoy a scrumptious meal, [49] followed by a really hard paper puzzle which I gave up on quite early, but some people kept at it to the bitter end and made perfect specimens!  [50]

THE RAINBOW EFFECT

My neighbour is very good at taking photos of rainbows around my farmhouse, but this is the best one yet  –  but I am still searching for the pot of gold!!  [51]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Carlos Rodriguez, Terry Sweeney,  Johnston-Hyde family,  Ines Cavill, Fran Swan, Lydia from Marshwood, Alisha Lambert and Sue Johnson.