THE ancient tradition of wassailing the apple trees is celebrated at the National Trust’s Barrington Court near Ilminster on Saturday 12th January. This age-old custom encourages a good harvest in the autumn: songs are sung to bless the trees and plenty of noise is made to shoo away bad spirits. The Barrington Court event will…
THE winter programme of Dorset Wildlife Trust events is inevitably smaller than the rest of the year, but there are some interesting talks coming up and boat trips round Poole Harbour and to Brownsea Island. For information on DWT activities, and volunteering projects, work parties, etc, visit www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk Wednesday 16th January – It shouldn’t happen…
SHE was one of the most controversial figures of the first half of the 20th century, reviled for her “revolutionary” views on birth control and the rights of women – but how much do you actually know about Marie Stopes? Discover the story of this remarkable woman at a talk at Shaftesbury’s Gold Hill Museum…
TESS of the d’Urbervilles is Thomas Hardy’s most famous novel, and considered by some also to be his best. But when it was published it provoked outrage among prudish and conventional readers, critics and even other writers. A new exhibition in the study at Max Gate, Hardy’s house at Dorchester, reveals some of the stories…
THE best antidote to winter blues is looking ahead to spring, and there are plenty of exciting and entertaining events at Yeovil’s Octagon Theatre and Westlands entertainments centre, including an evening with Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the Armonico Consort with a Valentines-themed programme, BalletBoyz, Seth Lakeman, and comedians Nish Kumar and Mark Steel. January highlights include…
A WAR memorial designed and made by Salisbury Cathedral stonemasons in collaboration with prisoners at HMP Erlestoke was officially dedicated by the Dean of Salisbury at the prison to mark the centenary of the First World War. The four-foot high pyramid-shaped memorial, which sits on a lawn within the visitors’ area of the prison, was…
A QUARTET of cheetah cubs has ventured outside for the first time at Longleat Safari Park. The litter, born to mum Wilma and dad Carl, is the largest number of cubs ever raised at Longleat, and one of the biggest litters successfully reared in the UK in recent years. The quartet, which were born in…
A LITTLE late, but here are the Dorset Wildlife Trust events for the rest of November – for more details and for volunteering opportunities, visit www.dorsetwildifetrust.org.uk Saturday 17th – Lino printmaking workshop, Kingcombe Centre, with Hugh Dunford-Wood, 9.45am-4pm, one-day practical, fun approach to lino printing, covering the fundamentals of lino printing, from drawing and carving…
FROME’s Rook Lane Arts Trust has been awarded Heritage Lottery funding to tell the story of the town’s famous art foundry, J.W. Singer & Sons. The project, Casting the World: The Story of J.W. Singer & Sons of Frome, will take place next year, marking the bicentenary of the birth of John Webb Singer in…
TWO West Country recipients of the Victoria Cross in the First World War, Private Stanley McDougall VC and Rifleman Kulbir Thapa VC are celebrated in a unique nationwide Armistice 100 event, co-ordinated by film-maker Danny Boyle, with sand portraits on the beaches at Lyme Regis and Weymouth. Read the full story on Private View.