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FROM THE EDITOR
Unfortunately, I must start by saying farewell and thank you to Chris Kwantes as
editor of the on-
Correction!
I must also apologise for making a mistake in last month’s resumé of Langton PC’s minutes; of course, Mr M Sturgess of PDC is not drawing up plans for a car park and museum on Putlake Farm! I think LMPC have forgiven me but they have also recognised my ineptitude and agreed to supply me with a resumé of LMPC’s dealings each month... for which, I am very grateful; you might still have to suffer my interpretation this month though... sorry!
Angela Bell
STOP PRESS... the on-
LETTER FROM THE RECTORY
September 2009
Dear Friends
I am getting to the time of life, when I find I am repeating myself; my first draft of this letter began almost to a word as my letter of September last year but I make no apology for writing again about ‘Back to Church Sunday’, which has a regular slot in the church calendar, in September.
I remember very well how, for a number of years, when I was totally absorbed in starting work... getting married... and having babies in quick succession, going to church was something I did when I could fit it in and often that meant not going at all. It wasn’t that I stopped believing but that I had no sense of belonging anywhere in particular but I really wanted my children to experience being part of a faith community, learning and praying with people they knew and cared for. So we went back to church having, I might add, to travel some distance up and over the hills to one which was comfortable with our small boisterous children. The rest is a story for another day.
There must be some people whose lives to seem to develop in a straight line. There are some in our villages who will have lived in the same place, attended our churches for many years, Sunday by Sunday. But there are many more who leave because of life changes or a crisis, or sadly, an argument or who just drift off and then come back, sometimes more than once... serial returners, you might say.
Back to church Sunday is offered as a help, a prompt to begin again, but in our villages, it’s a back to church season with a family fun evening at Langton, family service at Kingston on 19 and 20 September; a Harvest festival evensong and supper at Worth, and Harvest at Langton on 4 October; though, of course, you don’t have to wait until then. Just come and you will be welcome.
Best wishes
Judith Malins
Priest in charge
Kingston, Langton Matravers, & Worth Matravers
WHAT IF ST. GEORGE’S CLOSES?
As reported in The Dubber last month Dorset County Council is set on adopting a two tier (primary/secondary) system in Purbeck. Dorset County Council’s report indicates that St George’s site is not adequate for a primary school in a two tier system and another document states that the preferred option of DCC is to merge St Mark’s School with St George’s on the site of the Middle School in Swanage.
What would it be like in the Langton and adjoining parishes if St George’s closed?
The school brings activity and life to the village providing a more rounded community,
balancing the on-
It supplies our Scout Hut with Rainbows, Brownies, Cubs, Scouts and Guides. The school children, and their families are a vital part of the life of our Church (from which the school takes its name) and we have seen a rise in congregation due largely to the relationship with the school.
All estate agents in the area list Langton Matravers as having a school (one that has excellent reports and Ofsted inspections) which helps in attracting families to the area.
The presence of the school in our village supports and brings trade to our businesses: Two pubs, Alfie’s Pet and Garden Centre and Putlake Farm; our one remaining shop plus Post Office relies on the school for a significant portion of trade throughout the year. At a time when small businesses are being hit from all sides, the fall in trade that would result from the school being moved out of the village is potentially disastrous. Experience in other nearby villages shows that if a village school closes, potentially an entire community can dwindle.
That is why we feel it necessary to repeat our plea for members of the community to voice their support for St George’s School.
POINTS TO INCLUDE
St George’s School:
- continues to be an oversubscribed, popular school
- is popular due to its unique village situation
- ensures a vibrant future for the communities of the Purbeck Hills
- helps to keep local facilities, groups and traditions thriving
- is supported by the villages and wider community
- is close to the Church which is essential in developing our very strong church ethos
DORSET COUNTY COUNCIL
Mr Angus Campbell -
Mrs Hilary Cox -
Col Geoffrey Brierley g.j.brierley@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Mr Andrew Cattaway a.r.cattaway@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Mrs Toni Coombs t.b.coombs@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Mr David Crowhurs d.crowhurst@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Mr Spencer Flower s.g.flower@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Mr Alan Havelock a.j.havelock@dorsetcc.gov.uk
COUNTY COUNCILLORS FOR PURBECK
Mr Bill Trite (Swanage) w.trite@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Mr David Budd (Wareham) d.a.budd@dorsetcc.gov.uk
Mr Mike Lovell (Purbeck Hills) m.w.lovell@dorsetcc.gov.uk
SALISBURY DIOCESE
Mr Chris Shepperd -
St George’s School Action Group’s next meeting is at the Scout Hut, Langton on 3 September at 7.30pm
ALL MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY ARE INVITED
GOVERNOR VACANCIES
There are currently two vacancies on the governing body of St George’s school. If you are interested in being a school governor, speak to Judith Malins or Sarah Painter.
RESCHEDULED CREAM TEA
Unfortunately, St George’s School has had to reschedule its Cream Tea Afternoon until late September. Please watch out for the new date in the next issue of The Dubber, or advertised at the Post Office. Many thanks.
St George’s PTA
ENGLISH TEA PARTY
The Old Stable is planning a Tea Party for migrant workers on Thursday, 24 September
2-
Alan Dominy
WHERE AM I IN PURBECK?
It may be fairly obvious where I am this month, but I also want to know why this monument was put up and why a bit of it is at the side?
Last month’s photo would have been easy for anyone who looked on the website the
previous month because there were many very good photographs there of Pam Bayley’s
‘Perch’ looking out to sea on East Man, Worth Matravers. It’s in a great spot -
Chris Meadows
KNITSON GARDEN OPEN
Rachel Helfer’s garden at Knitson Old Farmhouse will be open for the last time this season on 11, 12 & 13 September from 1 until 5pm. She anticipates a busy day, as hers is one of only five open that weekend out of the 3,000 gardens in the Yellow Book and it is featured on the back cover of Gardening Which? in September!
All the usual cakes, Cream Teas and good parking, and a rather wind-
Rachel very much enjoys helping people with gardening problems and is advising the Old Lags (Langton Allotment Group) with setting up their commendable enterprise.
Mark Helfer
STEEPLE QUIET MORNING
Despite unsettled weather, ten people came to the beautiful surroundings of St Michael’s Church, Steeple, for the Quiet morning led by Lesley Blythe. Julian Cotterell, the Churchwarden, welcomed everyone by playing a hymn on the ancient and fascinating Barrel Organ, and he explained that the first President of the USA, George Washington, had used the design of the standard of the local Lawrence family (with which the Washingtons were linked by marriage) as the design for the American flag, the Stars and Stripes.
All appreciated ‘time out’ from the busyness of life, and benefited from the morning. Further Quiet Mornings are planned at other venues, details will be announced.
John & Pat Bloomfield
NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL TRUST
There are two groups of earthwork circles on Studland Heath whose purpose and origin are unknown. The main group of over 70 circles are located on the Studland Peninsula with a smaller group at Greenlands. Some of these circles have been eroded or obscured by vegetation so more may be revealed with further field work.
The ‘Circles’ were first recorded by Rev. Austen in 1860. Excavations in the 1960s by the Royal Commission were inconclusive and various opinions as to their purpose have been put forward since. As part of their investigation into the local alum and copperas industry, which thrived in the 16th and 17th centuries, PHHP plan to run a small excavation during September and hopefully reveal evidence as to their use.
The Studland excavation is the final phase of the field work under the present project
which is being funded by English Heritage and sponsored by PHHP. This is a community-
Progress reports will appear on our web pages www.pooleharbourheritageproject.org or by contacting PHHP at 6 Western Road, Canford Cliffs, Poole BH13 7BN. Alternatively, you can email PHHP@live.co.uk. So keep a look out early on in the month for people on their knees among the earthworks known as the ‘Studland Circles’ to ask them more about it!
Alan Hawkins & Mandy Jarvis
SOGGY HARVEST BUT GOOD BEER
July and August are anxious times for farmers; all we need in the South is for the sun to come out in mid July and for it to stay that way until the end of August. July has not been thus, but there have been some good days in August.
There are technical and biological reasons as to why this is so important. Dry corn is great. There are less breakdowns of machinery because it is easy to cut, there are fewer costs in storing and drying the grain and fewer problems with the quality.
Corn will ripen come rain or shine. If the grain remains ripe and wet for too long, it will then start to germinate, this is its biological time bomb. The little grain is not to know that it is not planted in the ground, it ripens, gets wet and germinates. This is how it is programmed.
In this process, the grain transfers the protein it has stored in it into the shoot. This lowers the protein in the grain itself. At the same time as this the starch is mobilised, and turns into sugar. If this happens in the wheat plant the grain is only good for animal feed, because bread flour requires a high protein and low sugar content. It also requires the ability to make gluten in the proving process this is also compromised by germination. If this happens within a barley grain, then the barley cannot be used for beer making. The process by which the malt is created has happened in the field, and the barley is rejected before it even gets to the maltings. Again, this is only good for animal feed.
It is too soon to worry about the quality of the barley, because much of the barley
used in the brewing process is planted in the spring, and has yet to ripen. This
is good news for the Isle of Purbeck Brewery. Some people might not have noticed
that we have a superb micro-
Pubs such as the Bankes Arms at Studland and the Scott Arms at Kingston have both started to source some of the ingredients for their menus from local producers. This is great, even though the start to harvest might have been a trifle soggy at least there are two places in Purbeck were we can buy a beer and good local food.
Christopher Lees
PURBECK CHESS CLUB
The Club, which has been going for 5 years, has a new venue for the 2009/10 season. We will be meeting on Monday evenings from 7.15 at the Mortons House Hotel, Corfe Castle. We start on Monday, 14 September through to 19 April.
We are a friendly club offering both friendly chess and competitive chess, as we play in the Dorset Chess League. Beginners are welcome, and new members are invited free for the first four nights. For further details contact Secretary, Brian Beard.
ZIMBABWE NEWS
Thank you to those who supported the fund raising evening Bruno and I did for pensioners in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. I have sent a total of £955 to the English bank account which is used to get funds to Bulawayo.
This money will provide over 2,000 days of food for a pensioner – FANTASTIC! Thank you! Bruno and I will be driving through Bulawayo again this September as we head up into Zambia and it will fill me with pride to know that many of the elderly, destitute are benefiting from your generosity.
During our four weeks in Zimbabwe we will again be distributing t-
They have so little – the clothes they stand in with rarely any shoes but they don’t ask for anything and usually have beaming smiles; last year, I found it hard to not give them all our food – which would have been difficult for us as we had brought it all for three weeks from the UK as the shops in Zimbabwe were empty…. We will take most of our dry goods again this year but apparently it is possibly to buy some goods. Thank you again.
Becca & Bruno Charron
THREE PARISH HOEDOWN
Paul Loudoun roasts a hog or two
at the Three Parish Hoedown in
Worth in August
VICTIM SUPPORT IN DORSET
Victim Support is the independent national charity which helps people copes with
crime. Victim Support in Dorset is your local branch. We give free and confidential
help and support to victims of crime, their family, friends and anyone else affected.
Crimes range from burglary, theft, harassment, to assaults, rape and murder. We depend
on thousands of volunteers to deliver our services to victims and witnesses. These
volunteers need to be specially-
We recently ran a training course with nine new volunteers for the Victim Service. The volunteers proved to be a capable and empathic group and we are confident that they will be valued members of our Victim Service team. The Victim Service strives to bring emotional support, information and practical help to victims of crime in our community.
Everyone reacts differently to crime although some responses are more common than others. A lot of people feel angry, upset or afraid in the immediate aftermath. Physical effects are not uncommon, including difficulty sleeping or feeling shaky.
Whilst some people are able to get on with their lives immediately, others can take
weeks, months or years to begin to pick up the pieces, or talk about how the crime
has affected them. Dealing with these emotions can be difficult but most people find
that talking about it helps. That’s where our specially-
A volunteer can talk to you on the phone about what has happened or arrange a meeting with you at your home or at a mutually agreed location. . They can also offer practical support in conjunction with our staff, whether it’s help with filling in forms, dealing with the police, sorting out housing or medical problems, or making your home more secure.
If a victim is required to give evidence at court, our Witness Service is here to help. The Witness Service provides information and support to witnesses, victims, their families and friends, at all the Crown and Magistrates’ courts in Dorset. Going to court as a witness or victim of crime can be a worrying experience whether you are an adult, child or young person. Witnesses are often required to wait long periods before giving evidence, which can be very traumatic for them and their families.
Our Witness Service volunteers can explain court procedures, provide pre-
We are hoping to run a course for new Witness Service volunteers in the autumn and would be pleased to hear from anyone who might be interested. You can request a copy of our application pack by email on vsdorset@victimsupport.org.uk or by calling the office on 01202 606200.
Ellie Fox-
NEWS FROM LANGTON MATRAVERS
‘THE PRIDDLE’ ALLOTMENTS
The sun blazed for the Langton Matravers Allotment official opening in August and locals, visitors and our own band of muddy diggers turned out in force to celebrate the occasion. We were over the moon to see so many people and luckily we had enough homemade cake and refreshments... actually, we probably had enough cake to feed the entire village!
It was our opportunity to thank all the people who have been involved and supported this project; the National Trust, Langton Matravers Parish Councillors, the Community Aggregates fund, local residents, our own allotment holders and, of course, recognise the special involvement of one person, Norman Priddle.
Norman planted a ceremonial crab-
So, a very big thank you to everyone who turned out to join in the celebrations but also to our own allotment holders who worked hard to prepare the site, their plots and of course bake all those yummy cakes!
Kelly Fenech
WET BUT JOYFUL LANGTON CHURCH FÊTE
Sorry about the late report… where does time go in the summer? On the day, the Fête team had to test out the Wet weather option and it worked! Thanks to the Village Hall and spacious Church we could provide comfortable cover for most of the activities and those on the front lawn had canvas protection. Sadly we had to cancel St George’s School Maypole dancers and the Square and Compass. Swanage Town Band played beautifully and lunches, hot dogs, teas, Pimms and many and varied stalls and games entertained those who attended.
An occasion like this makes us realise how lucky we are with ‘community’ in the village. Last minute marquees magically appeared; games, tables, chairs and barbecue loaned to us; people helped carry and clear furniture from buildings and then as the last raffle ticket was called and the Fête closed an army of helpers young and old put everything back to order..
This generosity of so many who worked, donated, permitted access, played music, made food, washed up, ran stalls, counted money, parked cars, manned gates, did electrics, volunteered marquees and tents and cleared up resulted in a magnificent £6,000 (approx) towards the running costs of our village church. To all who helped and attended from all at St George’s Church... thank you.
St George’s Fête Committee: Becca Charron, Di Cook, Don & Pat Pratt and Bill & Moira Purver
BOWER COTTAGE COFFEE MORNING
The Coffee Morning in aid of Cancer Research held at Bower Cottage, Langton Matravers in August raised the splendid total of £1,870. We would like to thank all our family and friends who always help us and the kind donations which make our annual event so successful.
Beryl Varney
LANGTON MATRAVERS PARISH COUNCIL
Abstracted from LMPC July minutes
The July meeting opened with an open discussion about the DCC School Review which puts the future of St George’s, on its present site, at risk. Members of the Board of Governors of St George’s School and other interested parties emphasised that it was possible to provide ‘a good primary school on the present site’ and pointed out that St George’s was the ‘only school affected by the review which was oversubscribed’. They called on the PC to back their support for the school and the Council agreed to write to Dorset CC and the Diocese in support of the Board of Governors.
The Clerk read out a letter from DCC Highways, which again refused to reinstate a finger post at Worth Gate. The Clerk was instructed to write to Purbeck Heritage Committee and to Dorset AONB for support.
The Council is also to support Burngate Stone Centre’s application for Lottery funding for further development.
It was agreed that broken glass in the bus shelter on the High Street was criminal damage and the Clerk should have reported it to the police as well as DCC for repair.
The Council are pushing everyone concerned to get the Cemetery wall finished before the weather deteriorates in autumn. The Chairman announced that he intended to start a restoration fund to help refurbish the closed cemeteries, but it would not involve the Council.
August Planning Applications
- Mr D Fisher; Erect rear conservatory at 52a High St, Langton Matravers -
The Parish Council has no objection. - Raise ridge for conversion, insert dormer windows and roof light and rebuild garage
and porch at ‘April Cottage’, Tom’s Field Road, Langton Matravers -
The Parish Council has no objection. - Mr R Turner; Sever land and erect 3 bedroom detached bungalow with parking at 1 Durnford
Drove, Langton Matravers -
The Parish Council objects as it believes this is overdevelopment of a small site.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, 10 September at 7pm in the Village Hall.
LANGTON MATRAVERS HISTORY & PRESERVATION SOCIETY
The Society meets on Thursday, 17 September at 7.30pm in the Village Hall. Reg Saville
will give an illustrated talk on ‘The Pre-
Rosemary Stevens
WORTH AFTERNOON CLUB
A reminder to all members that the next meeting will be on Wednesday, 9 September at 2.30pm when Nick Viney will talk to us about Purbeck Products. This will be followed by our annual Bring and Buy sale. Visitors welcome.
Coming up in November we have a ‘hands on’ session making Christmas table decorations. We need to have an idea of numbers in advance so please could you let the treasurer know at this meeting if you are planning to attend. Many thanks.
Rachel Seaton
PIMMS & STRAWBERRIES
A fantastic £505 was raised for Julia’s House at the Pimms & Strawberries event organized by Joy Pearce in Worth in July. Most people in the village came along and those who couldn’t make it kindly sent donations. The lure of Pimms attracted lots of walkers and even a couple of overseas visitors who had never tasted such a cocktail of mint and cucumber before, but who happily went away with the recipe firmly committed to memory.
Julia’s House is Dorset’s only children’s hospice caring for 92 children with life-
Di (Julia’s House)
PURBECK STALLHOLDERS
Thank you to everybody who supported Purbeck Stallholders and Artists at Worth Village
Hall. Look out for us on 5-
Di Quinn
WORTH MATRAVERS PARISH COUNCIL -
The new Footpath Officer, Sandra Brown, attended the August meeting to introduce herself. Amongst the matters she raised was the future of the number 44 bus service, which she had heard was under threat. We have taken up these concerns with DCC and our MP, and urge everyone to use this service as much as possible. Use It! Or Lose It!
The management of the trees in Begbie Field has turned into a mammoth task. Our sincere thanks to Shiela Johnson who has done sterling work in clearing a path through the undergrowth, to identify and number all the trees. A total of 61 trees were planted by the Housing Association who built Begbie Cottages, as part of the planning permission. After a number of years, ownership passed to the Parish Council. Considerable work needs to be carried out on the trees, which will be expensive and will have to be prioritised. The two large sycamores next to the road, are the most urgent.
At the time of writing we are still waiting to hear whether our offer of a 20% increase in the annual rent for HX car park, has been accepted.
We have been notified that DCC will be carrying out resurfacing work on the B3069, Corfe to Kingston road, on September 9, 10 and 11. The road will be completely closed from 9am to the end of the working day, on each of these days.
We have still not had a satisfactory reply to our concerns about the overgrown verges throughout the parish. DCC cite budget restraints for less cutting taking place. We will continue to put pressure on them.
Planning applications this month
- Sunnybank, WM .Increase height of chimneys to create better draw -
The Parish Council objected to this application. - Oakleigh, Springbrook Close. HX. Single storey extension. Extension to existing bathroom.
Two dormers to roof -
The Parish Council had no objection to this application. NB. This application has since been withdrawn and a new application submitted, which will be discussed at the September meeting.
We need your help
Fly tippers have been active in HX car park on 19 & 20 August. Have you recently had a new fawn carpet laid, replacing a fawn carpet with a scroll pattern, a red carpet, pink carpet and carpets of various other colours? If so please phone me on 439245.
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, 1 September at 7.30pm in WM Village Hall.
Joyce Meates, Chairman
KINGSTON NEWS
Normally, we lead a quiet and tranquil life in Kingston, but on Saturday, 8 August that all changed. The wedding bells from the church competed with Shindig from the Scott Arms who had to compete with the music from a wedding reception down Kingston Hill. Well, it seems that there is life in the old village yet. Robin Stringer has written about Shindig. Kingston has odd acoustics and affects different houses differently.
It is good to see that the Scott Arms is doing well. Its success does attract many more people and this causes parking problems. It is difficult to find an answer, especially in a village which was built before the invention of the internal combustion engine. If anyone has any ideas, please write to the editor.
My completely unscientific weather forecast for the Fete proved correct. It did not rain. There was not a lot of sun, but that kept people off the beach and they came to Kingston. At the moment, the total takings stand at £4262. Of course there are further income and expenditure to be taken into account. The final figures with a breakdown will be put up on the notice board at the Church gate.
It is thought that 1000 people came and they seemed to enjoy themselves. There was a very happy atmosphere about the whole event. We must thank Peter Buckle and Sue Ireland for their hard work throughout the year and also our Treasurer, Joan Hustwitt who manages to remain cheerful in very difficult times.
This might be the moment to mention the church and charity. According to the last calculations the monthly cost of keeping the church open for worship was £1,100. This figure is made up of insurance, heating, lighting, church and churchyard maintenance and our contribution to the Diocese towards clergy expenses (pay, pensions and housing). Our monthly income was £650. This will have gone down as the expenses will have gone up.
The shortfall of £450 has to be met from fundraising and donations. This would appear to leave nothing for charity, but we do share the proceeds of the Open Garden Day with Cancare and we take part in the Lent Lunches at Langton which have raised money for Under Tree Schools.
This year we have to spend money on security to allow the church to be open every day and on the west end Rose window. We do appreciate the villagers who help and the handful of regular church goers.
We are working hard to make up the difference. The Kingston Calendar has done well
thanks to the efforts of Terry and Greta Hardy and Robin Stringer. There are still
a few left, so hurry, hurry, hurry! Call in at Badgers, South Street, or phone Greta
Hardy on 481197. There will be a concert in the church on Saturday, 29 August at
7.30pm to help with the repairs. It will be given by Zonda, a Wind Quintet of recent
graduates from the London Colleges. It should suit all tastes -
There will be a peal rung on Sunday, 20 September, 1.30-
George Pitman
THANKS...
Grateful thanks to all of the volunteers for setting up the Fete site, for helping on the day and for clearing up after the event. Thank you.
Peter
...AND MORE THANKS
A big thank you to absolutely everyone who helped in any way at Kingston Fete. There
are far too many to thank individually -
Sue
THE SHINDIG
It was quite an epic. Two and a half months in the planning, last month’s open-
Scores of families came to listen throughout a sunlit afternoon and evening and helped raise some £1,500 for Julia’s House, the children’s hospice in Corfe Mullen. Of the total, £500 came from a bucket collection and £1,000 from the bar takings, which was donated by Simon and Ian, new proprietors at the Scott Arms.
Overwhelmed by the generosity of the response, the event organiser Michael Joyce
wants to thank everyone involved, particularly Dave Brock and his assistants, Gary
and Andy, who provided the all-
At the same time he is concerned that some villagers were upset by the continuation of the Shindig until late at night although he wants to stress that everyone adhered strictly to the licensing restrictions which allow music outside only until 11pm and inside only until midnight.
Inevitably at such an event, there was noise and car parking issues, particularly as people made their way home at close of play and these loom large in a village that treasures the peace and quiet of its location.
There may also have been initial misunderstandings about the timing, duration and purpose of the Shindig, which could have been avoided had the village been more thoroughly forewarned, but fears that such events will become a frequent occurrence at the Scott Arms are far from the mark as far as Michael is concerned.
However, he would like to stage a similar event there next year in aid of Julia’s House and, for anyone who can’t wait until then, he is also staging another outdoor concert at the Royal Oak in Swanage on 19 September; this time for two good causes, Julia’s House and Hope Family Homes, a charity for needy children in Kenya.
Robin Stringer
MODEL RAILWAY CLUB
We will be holding a model railway exhibition from 11-
Twenty Five people came to our meeting on 7 August. The main layout was Evercreech in 00 gauge. Other layouts included Robert’s 00 gauge St Perran, Roger Bray’s Ankleton, Roger Denning’s Cinderford and my Market Town in N gauge.
Robin Brasher
HELP WANTED
A reminder for the Harmans Cross Fête on August 31, Bank Holiday Monday; Any offers of help on the day sandwich making and helping in the kitchen would still be much appreciated. Contact Mary if you can help. Thanks to everyone and continue enjoying the remainder of summer.
THE VILLAGE CLUB
Welcome back to all our members at our first meeting in the hall on 24 Sept. On 16 October, ‘The Rematch’, Call My Bluff evening between Worth Matravers and Harmans Cross will be held in Harmans Cross Village Hall. This is always a fun evening and this year the HX team will hope to win back the trophy! Tickets £5 include light refreshments. The bar will be open to purchase drinks the evening starts at 7:30pm. Call Mary on 480482. The 22 October meeting for the club will be a talk on, and possibly tasting of, Purbeck Ice Cream.
Looking ahead to November -
Jane Rogers
HARMANS CROSS RESIDENTS’ CLUB
In the first full year of operation since paying off the set-
Our next Club Quiz Night is on Friday, 9 October when the bar will be open as usual
from 7.30pm to 10.30pm, and from 8.30pm we are holding a free-
The next few Club Nights at the village hall on Friday’s from 7.30pm to 10.30pm are: 28 August; 4, 18 & 25 September and 9, 23 & 30 October. The last two are additional dates and members should add them the reverse of their membership cards.
If you’ve not been down to the hall recently, you’ll be amazed at the way the new
hall is taking shape -
Nigel Edmonds, Chairman
RED ARROWS FLY PAST FOR KAIROS
Blessed by a beautiful day, with stalls spread out on the Harmans Cross Playing Field, this year’s Ploughman’s Lunches & Cream Teas took place besides signs of building, foundations and stanchions of the New Village Hall.
Once again our local community gave brilliant support and over £850 was raised for K.O.U.K. a charity which supports families who have, or have had, a close friend or relative in prison. Many thanks to all who helped and supported.
The Red Arrows lent their support for the charity by agreeing to fly past at 4.36pm (on their way to Swanage Carnival) in formation, with their coloured trails turned on especially for us! A thrilling end to a happy day.
John & Pat Bloomfield
Why ‘somewhere’ you ask, This is a one-
I have been coming down here for my holidays for six decades so could not possibly call this place “nowhere”. There are lots of joys, one of them being the butterflies. I am old enough to remember the serious collectors with their big black nets in Winspit valley in the fifties when there were fewer trees and fences and literally clouds of butterflies there (or perhaps that is nostalgia). The range of species remains even if the volumes do not. It has been a delight to see the pretty Tortoiseshell return this summer after several years of collapse in their numbers.
Butterflies are solar-
The first surprise is that the British Isles has around 2500 moth species compared
with about 60 butterflies. Also they are far from small, dull and brown. Using a
special moth trap with a bright white light on one August evening in Worth this summer
I collected (and then released) 200 of them, around 40 species of great variety of
shape colour, pattern and size. Impossible to list them all here, but I will name
a few – Flame Shoulder (I counted 50 of them), Dingy Footman (like a melon seed),
Chinese Character (like a bird dropping), the Drinker (a large leaf), Common Carpet
(not like a carpet), Buff-
I am very grateful to the naturalists who gave the larger moths such attractive names
two centuries ago, as the names are just as much part of the pleasure of mothing
as the look of them. It would not be much fun to rush back to the family to say “I’ve
got a Euplagia quadripunctaria” rather than “a Jersey Tiger”. I wonder if this is
why the 900 species of micro-
So moth-
Penny Brooke
... fran’s courgette souffle
(Serves 4 or more as a starter... it’s delicious!)
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1½ tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
350 g courgettes chopped
125 ml milk
30 g butter
30 g plain flour
85 g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
3 spring onions finely chopped
4 eggs, separated
Brush 1.5 litre soufflé dish with the melted butter, then coat sides with breadcrumbs.
Cook courgettes in boiling water for 8 mins until tender. Drain, then put in a food
processor with milk and mix until smooth. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4).
Melt butter in a heavy-
If you have a recipe that you’d like to share, please send it to ed@thedubber.co.uk.
