Viewpoint Magazine

26/09/2025

🐝 Buzzing community garden promotes the importance of bees

A community-based not-for-profit organic food garden is celebrating three years of hosting beehives on its land and supporting Dorset’s precious honeybees.

Nourish Community in West Parley is managed by twin brothers Nick and Rich Stone. The duo started growing produce after seeing how food supply was affected during Covid.

Rich said: “We witnessed first-hand how our food system came under major threat and how it was almost brought to its knees during the uncertain times of 2020.

“With all the fear and conflicting views going on around the world, we were both inspired and motivated to start growing our own food. Not just for us and our families, we also wanted to do what we could to support our friends and those that had come under hard times.”

Nourish Community was set up two summers later to help support the wider community and also to help establish, protect and grow a stronger, more resilient food system.

The brothers’ aim was to build and establish a self-sustaining and ethical business model that supported everyone involved; from the food growers and distributors through to the foodbanks, shops, restaurants, individuals, and families within the community that needed an extra helping hand.

Read more in Dorset View October ⤵️

📢 Out now! 📢

October issue of Dorset View 📰

Read 👀 online 👉 https://www.dorsetview.co.uk/dorset-view-magazine/

Printed copies available from one of over 70 community collection points including CO-OP Wimborne, Colehill, Corfe Mullen, TESCO Ferndown, SAINSBURYS Christchurch and Ferndown.

GPS tracked door-to-door distribution is underway.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
🪧 Summer of protests in Bournemouth
🚧 Major works planned for Christchurch Bypass
👜 First fashion show for Lewis-Manning Hospice Care
✅ Top marks for girl who missed five years of school
😟 Dorset Local Plan sparks concern from local organisations
🗳️ Lib Dems win BCP by-election
🐝 Buzzing community garden promotes the importance of bees
🍽️ The next step taken by Wimborne Community Garden
🏪 Green light for new Aldi, despite local opposition
🏥 Patient power in action as Martha’s Rule rolled out
🪩 Retro music festival gets Highcliffe hopping
🎙️ Discover the life and times of Dire Straits
🎸 Get up and dance at daytime disco
👻 Delve into Poole Old Town’s spooky history
🎙️ Your Voice Dorset Podcast with local businesswoman Emma Burke
🏠 Guide to moving and mortgages
plus much more

05/09/2025

Dear Readers!

Blackberries, Rowan berries, conkers — just some of the delights of September.

And go on, admit it, we have had a very good summer, although on some occasions it has been a little too hot, and rainfall has been lacking, resulting in brown lawns, and nightly garden watering.

Although it is always sad to say goodbye to summer, there is something rather comforting about the onset of autumn, with trees becoming adorned with a kaleidoscope of hues.

Autumn is not just about the end of summer; it is also about beginnings. And not just back to school — sorry children and teachers.

An American poet, William Cullen Bryant, said: “Autumn is the year’s last, loveliest smile.”

August this year was delightful, with families able to enjoy days at the beach and outings into the countryside, safe in the knowledge that they wouldn’t need rainwear, but it can be a disorientating time for some. With schools closed, parents and grandparents with childcare duties must alter their routines. Meanwhile, clubs and societies go on a hiatus, which can result in loneliness for some, with much loved schedules suspended.

September brings with it a return to the familiar. However, that is not to say that it isn’t a time to try something new to challenge you mentally and physically. Fresh activities can bring you more friends too.

And if you felt that summer activities in our area were impressive, just keep reading our magazines to find out the treats that await you in the coming months.

Marilyn Barber
News Editor

27/08/2025

Get up and dance 🪩

A daytime disco club event is coming to Bournemouth.

If you think clubbing is just for midnight ravers and 20-year-olds staying up until 3am, a new daytime disco event wants to change your mind.

‘Day Fever Uk ’ invites people to rediscover their clubbing days and party from 3pm to 8pm to a soundtrack of the greatest hits of the 20th century. Since June, it has been touring venues up and down the country and is coming to Bournemouth’s O2 Academy on 27 September and Southampton’s O2 Guildhall on 13 September and 11 October.

The affordable daytime event is the brainchild of TV actor Vicky McClure, best known for ‘Broadchurch’, ‘Line of Duty’, and ‘This is England’, who came up with the idea alongside her husband Jonny Owen and friends including Jon McClure of Reverend & The Makers.

It all started with a simple idea. “Jonny just said, ‘Have you ever seen those bars in town during the day? They’re rammed!’” said Jon. “We were like, come on then, let’s do it and it went nuts.”

According to Vicky: “The first one sold out in two seconds.

“We did Nottingham, then Sheffield, then Merthyr and Cardiff and it just flew from there.”

The parties have attracted people of all ages and backgrounds.

Read more in Dorset View September ⤵️

📢 Out now! 📢

September issue of Dorset View 📰

Read 👀 online 👉 https://www.dorsetview.co.uk/dorset-view-magazine/

Printed copies available from one of over 70 community collection points including CO-OP Wimborne, Colehill, Corfe Mullen, TESCO Ferndown, SAINSBURYS Christchurch and Ferndown.

GPS tracked door-to-door distribution is underway.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
💷 The Great Dorset Givaway
🔥 Heathland hellfire
✅ Dorset remains a safe place to live
👮 Mobile police stations coming to Dorset
🗳️ Wimborne BID prepares for pivotal ballot
🥇 Medal success for Mila
🏏 Wicket women
🏥 Tranquil garden for hospital patients
📚 Volunteer service brings the library to you
🎂 Former fighter pilot turns 100 years old
💉 Vaccine protecting babies in the South West
🎙️ Your Voice Dorset Podcast with panto dame Jamie Riding
🕺 Get up and dance at daytime disco
🦖 Dinosaur to star in Wimborne Minster flower festival
🅿️ BCP hikes parking fines for bad drivers
👭 New networking event for wellness businesses
🗳️ By-election for BCP Council
plus much more

08/08/2025

Dear Readers!

This is a scary thing to do, so you must brace yourself.

You can check how long you have spent on your smart phone each day.

On an Android phone, open settings, navigate to Digital Wellbeing and parental controls, and on an iPhone, you also go to settings and tap on App & Website activity.

A survey by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) discovered the stark detail that the average adult in Great Britain spends three hours and 21 minutes a day on their phone!

And I’m as guilty as anyone of going down digital ‘rabbit holes’.

The problem is that as soon as you click onto an amusing or supposedly educational clip, even more pop up. How many times do you need to view cute kittens, or clips from ‘Fawlty Towers’ or ‘Only Fools and Horses’?

The first smartphone was released for purchase in 1994; however, the phones that we are familiar with today didn’t appear until 2007.

They aid our lives in so many positive ways, but they are also a constant distraction.

Scrolling on your phone is isolating, and there is a better use of your time, as our article on page 26 detailing adult education opportunities illustrates. Taking a class or joining an activity is sociable and provides such a bonus for the many people who now work from home or those who are retired and miss the buzz and connections of the workplace.

Many activities close for August, but September presents so many interesting and exciting opportunities for readers, so make sure you always peruse our listings for opportunities near you.

Marilyn Barber
News editor

25/07/2025

📣 COME ON YOU REDS!

AFC Bournemouth prepare for the kick-off of the 2025/26 Premier League season

Up The Cherries! 🍒

Football is back this month, as the whistle is blown for the start of the new Premier League season on Friday 15 August.

AFC Bournemouth have the honour of playing the opening match of the new campaign, facing last year’s league champions Liverpool FC in Anfield.

It’s an ominous start for the local team. Bournemouth lost both of its matches against Liverpool in the last season, losing 2-0 in February 2025 and 3-0 in September 2024. In fact, out of 20 games between the two sides since 2014, Bournemouth has only won twice and drawn once against Liverpool. That last win was a 1-0 victory at home in March 2023.

How did Bournemouth do last season? The team achieved their best ever Premier League performance, once again breaking their Premier League points tally record with a total of 56 points, having won 15 out of 38 games. It was also the club’s best-ever defensive record in the Premier League, with the Cherries only conceding 46 goals.

They finished in 9th place, up from 12th in the 2023/24 season and 15th the year before that; this was the team’s highest finish in the Premier League since placing 9th in the 2016/17 season.

Read more in Dorset View August ⤵️

📢 Out now! 📢

August issue of Dorset View 📰

Read 👀 online 👉 https://www.dorsetview.co.uk/dorset-view-magazine/

Printed copies available from one of over 70 community collection points including CO-OP Wimborne, Colehill, Corfe Mullen, TESCO Ferndown, SAINSBURYS Christchurch and Ferndown.

GPS tracked door-to-door distribution is underway.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
⚽️ AFC Bournemouth prepare for the kick-off of the 2025/26 Premier League season
📉 BCP Council faces £171m financial black hole
🔥 Wildfire devastates Holton Heath
↩️ Council U-turns on tip plan
🪖 Ceremonies to mark VJ Day 80
🎨 Wimborne’s new mural unveiled
🧑‍🍳 Top chefs to attend Wimborne Food Festival
🩰 Harry Redknapp opens new Wimborne dance studios
🧜‍♀️ Farewell to the Great Tail Trail
🎉 Friends of Victoria Hospital celebrate 90th anniversary
🛩️ Air Festival has its wings clipped
⛵️ New summer event for Christchurch
🤡 Fun at Westival
💃 Shake & Stir sees Southbourne turn vintage
👩 Meet the woman behind the Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show
🅿️ BCP Council shifts gears to reverse parking plan
🪟 The value of a sea view
✈️ Pull a plane for charity
plus much more

14/07/2025

Dear Readers!

On a Sunday in the middle of a heatwave, it might have seemed a foolish decision to take a trip to Bournemouth beach.

I was the only person to get on the bus in Wimborne Square — with my friend joining me in Merley — and the only person to alight six hours later after a good day out. Of course, other passengers did join the bus en route.

We walked from Bournemouth Pier to Boscombe Pier and couldn’t believe the queue of motorists waiting for spaces on the undercliff. They would have been there for hours and might still not have been lucky enough to park.

Cars were clogging up roads on all approaches to the coast.

Subsequently we learned that over 1,000 fines were handed out over that weekend, as cars were parked on roundabouts, pavements and across driveways.

A friend who lives near Ringwood said that on the Saturday, cars were backed up from the town as people tried to reach the beaches — which one has to say are amongst the best in England.

Yes, we did feel smug as we had travelled by bus so avoided the stress of parking and paying high charges.

This magazine is always encouraging people to attend the many festivals and events in the area. Coming up this month is the Poole Harbour Festival and Christchurch Music Festival. The Rustic Fayre in Verwood is in August and Wimborne Minster Flower Festival, Wimborne Food Festival and Cliff Top Music Fest in Highcliffe are in September, to name just a few.

Poole is also hosting several events throughout the summer, including Bike Nights every Tuesday.

It makes so much sense to use public transport if you can, or to walk or cycle if you live in the vicinity.

Marilyn Barber
News Editor

30/05/2025

Preview: Your Voice Dorset View podcast

The talented opera singer Rod Kennedy joined Marilyn Barber in the studio for episode six of Your Voice | Dorset Podcast.

Rod is now the artistic director of the Dorset Opera Festival, having retired from an international singing career. Rod has appeared all over the world, with over 500 performances at the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden.

Born in Birmingham, Rod began singing with Birmingham Cathedral Choir aged just seven, before moving to Bournemouth and joining the school choir.

Later, his mother joined the Wessex opera company, and after seeing the first show she was in, Rod followed suit, joining the company and singing in the chorus. Rod got more involved with theatre, including Brownsea Open Air Theatre, where he helped with set design.

Read more in Dorset View June ⤵️

📢 Out now! 📢

June issue of Dorset View 📰

Read 👀 online 👉 https://www.dorsetview.co.uk/dorset-view-magazine/

Printed copies available from one of over 70 community collection points including CO-OP Wimborne, Colehill, Corfe Mullen, TESCO Ferndown, SAINSBURYS Christchurch and Ferndown.

GPS tracked door-to-door distribution is underway.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
🌶️ Massive chilli festival brings on the heat
🙏 Wimborne holds Civic Thanksgiving Service
🪦 Last resident of Dorset’s ghost village dies
💷 Ferndown Town Council shows support to local groups
🥫 Local lad helps food bank after theft
🎙️ Your Voice Dorset View podcast with Rod Kennedy
🚴 Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance marks 25th year with bike ride
🆘 Desperate call for volunteers in Christchurch
🧶 Forget-me-nots and teddies support dementia awareness
👩‍🍳 TV chef to visit community garden
🤹 Get ready for the Folk Festival
📅 Upcoming Summer events
🛠️ Craft market pops up in Poole
🏍️ See super stunts at summer show
👮 Police target bad drivers in road safety operation
🇬🇧 Dorset marks VE Day 80
plus more

16/05/2025

Dear Readers!

In the April edition of this magazine, I wrote about the benefits of walking rather than using the car, but I want to take that one step further.

Whilst it’s undoubtedly good for your health to notch up 10,000 steps a day, there is always the danger that you can fail to notice the wonders of nature in the countryside or the interesting buildings and plaques in the towns.

Sometimes it’s good to dawdle, as I have done on several recent occasions.

Next time you go to Poole, why not try the Cockle Trail. This walk around the Old Town takes approximately 90 minutes. The trail was opened in 1998 to celebrate the 750th anniversary of Poole’s first charter.

Walkers can follow the numbered brass plates set into the ground – I bet you’ve never noticed those. The start of the walk is at the Fish Shambles on Poole Quay.

In Christchurch, there is the Millennium Trail around the town centre, taking walkers to sites of historical interest from the Neolothic times to the 20th century.

In Ringwood, there is the Town Trail that loops around the old town centre, compiled by The Ringwood Society.

And in Wimborne, as well as the Town Trail, there is the Tree Trail, which offers a choice of walks and the chance to enjoy trees planted to celebrate the 2022 Jubilee of the Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

While walking, you could think about your holiday plans for the summer. We have a spread of inspirational travel ideas on pages 24 to 28.

There are so many exciting events happening in our circulation area in the coming months – the Wimborne Minster Folk Festival amongst them (see page 34) – so when you visit it’s worth taking the time to have a really close look at the attractions of the towns hosting them. You never know what you might spot.

Marilyn Barber
News editor

02/05/2025

Golden anniversary for Allendale Centre

✍️ Marilyn Barber

This year is a very special one for Wimborne’s Allendale Centre as it marks the 50th anniversary of its opening.

Built by the council, it opened its doors on 1 January 1975. The first play was performed by Wimborne Drama – now Wimborne Drama Productions – who presented ‘The Ghost Train’ running from Thursday 30 October to Saturday 1 November.

The cast consisted of John Anthony, Michael Waring, Elizabeth Knight, Christopher Hope-King, Janine Brockes, Elizabeth Anthony, Russ Guillaume, Jennifer Waring, Graham Brown, Arthur Brooks and Edmund Henbest and it was directed by Thelma Dryden.

To celebrate the golden anniversary, the Allendale’s seven trustees have decided to make the whole of 2025 a time of celebration with a full programme of events.

Brian Harries, chairman of the trustees, gave some background to the inception of this valuable asset to the town, which was built in the grounds of the adjacent Allendale House.

Read more in Dorset View May

⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

📢 Out now! 📢

May issue of Dorset View 📰

Read 👀 online 👉 https://www.dorsetview.co.uk/dorset-view-magazine/

Printed copies available from one of over 70 community collection points including CO-OP Wimborne, Colehill, Corfe Mullen, TESCO Ferndown, SAINSBURYS Christchurch and Ferndown.

GPS tracked door-to-door distribution is underway.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
🧜‍♀️ ‘Doc Martin’ visits The Great Tail Trail
☕️ Ferndown café to close
🏭 Permit likely for Canford Magna incinerator
🇬🇧 VE Day 80 commemorations
🍾 Golden anniversary for Allendale Centre
🐸 Watch out for toads on roads
👨‍🎤 Dorset musician, 82, releases new album
🍽️ Ferndown’s new dining hotspot
🚒 Fire station break-in
🧑‍🎓 Careers advice for Dorset youngsters
⛵️ Join the Christchurch River Pageant
🌞 Solar power for Dorset hospitals
🚙 Dorset View takes the Puma Gen-E out for a spin
🫰 Drivers risk fine for windscreen obstructions
🚗 20mph zone proposed for Bournemouth
🦋 Charity urges garden owners to let their grass grow
🏗️ Residents continue development fight
plus much more

14/04/2025

Dear Readers!

Without a car for a couple of weeks – don’t ask – I was nevertheless pleased to note that during that time my step count reached 15,000 on most days.

However, now I have wheels again I am determined to keep up the good work.

I had been guilty of driving the short distance to the gym in Stone Lane, Wimborne several times a week, which with having to negotiate heavy traffic took me 15 minutes.

I can walk it in that same amount of time, and the route is lovely as it takes me along the riverside path. It’s not only a good warm up in preparation for my workout, it also takes away the problem of finding a parking space.

March 2020, the start of the pandemic and lockdown restrictions, saw us all eager to take a daily walk as no other recreational options were available. How many people I wonder eschewed this habit when things started to open up and we could travel by cars again?

To make your walk really worthwhile, you could embark on a local challenge for charity. For instance you could take up the Jurassic Coast Challenge and raise funds for Dorset Mind.

Walking 10,000 steps a day offers numerous health benefits, including improved cardiovascular health, weight management, enhanced mood, better sleep and reduced risk of chronic diseases. What is there not to like?

With Easter this month, attractions are opening up offering more opportunities to get out in the fresh air, including visiting beautiful gardens open under the National Garden Scheme – see page 38.

And in May, we will all have the opportunity to walk to VE Day 80 events in our towns, avoiding the need to find that elusive parking space – see pages 12 and 13.

31/03/2025

Remembering Poole sailor Brian Cooke

✍️ Lilliput Sailing Club

2025 marks 50 years since the death of a sailor from Dorset who died trying to break an Atlantic speed record.

Brian Cooke was a long-distance sailor who, in 1975, died whilst attempting to break an Atlantic speed record of 4,000 miles in 20 days. His yacht was found overturned 450 miles off the Canary Islands, with no-one on board. His body was never found.

After serving in the merchant navy, Brian joined Westminster Bank in 1947 and was a founding member of Westminster Bank’s sailing club. He moved to Poole in the late 1950s and in 1961, Westminster Bank Sailing Club in Poole affiliated itself to the growing Lilliput Sailing Club.

Initially a dinghy sailor racing Merlin Rockets, Brian helped a friend build the 32-foot sloop Opus, in which he then completed the 1968 Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race from Plymouth, England to Newport, Rhode Island in the United States.

Read more in April's Dorset View magazine ⤵️

📢 Out now! 📢 Dorset View April 📰

Read 👀 online 👉 https://www.dorsetview.co.uk/dorset-view-magazine/

Printed copies available from one of over 70 community collection points including CO-OP Wimborne, Colehill, Corfe Mullen, TESCO Ferndown, SAINSBURYS Christchurch and Ferndown.

GPS tracked door-to-door distribution is underway.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
🥚 Easter in Wimborne
🎉 Millennium Tapestry celebrates silver anniversary
⛵️ Remembering Poole sailor Brian Cooke
🇺🇦 Trapped in darkness
💷 BCP Council reveals £24m spending plan
📣 Wimborne Minster named Town of Culture 2026
🥳 Ferndown social club celebrates first birthday
🥞 Huge turnout for Wimborne Minster Pancake Race
🪦 Sad farewell to Wimborne’s Reg Dunningham
🚼 New maternity unit now open
❤️‍🩹 Report claims health services failing community
🕺 Get ready to rock, Southbourne!
🌶️ PREVIEW Christchurch Cheese & Chilli Festival
🧑‍🎨 Art students host free exhibition
⛽️ Cut fuel costs
📈 Energy bill hike
plus much more

17/03/2025

Dear Readers!

Even if you’ve never watched the TV soap — and I haven’t — you probably have heard the theme tune which goes ‘Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours’.

And it is so very, very true.

In February, I was just about to go for a meal followed by a visit to the Tivoli when I heard a terrifying whooshing noise.

The next thing I knew, a torrent of water was rushing down the stairs from the bathroom, flooding the landing and dripping through the lounge, hall and kitchen ceiling.

I panicked and rang a neighbour to find out where the stopcock was — something I should have been aware of. She rushed round and we eventually located it, but it was too stiff to turn. We contacted another neighbour who used a wrench to turn it off.

It soon became clear that a pipe under the hand basin had split.

The first neighbour — and I won’t embarrass her by giving her name — located a plumber with a 24-hour service and searched cupboards to find suitable receptacles to catch the fast-flowing water. In no time at all, bowls of all descriptions plus a plastic cool bag she found in the understairs cupboard were in position as were towels, whilst I spent time on the phone to the plumber and then my insurance company.

She then stayed with me until the plumber had finished the work.

Another neighbour brought me a cup of tea and two Bakewell tarts.

I must admit that I went into serious panic mode and was very shaken when I realised that, if I had left the house five minutes earlier, I would have returned to find it was no longer habitable.

I’ve lived in my house for 22 years, and so I know my neighbours.

If you’ve recently moved into one of the new developments — and there are many in the area — make sure you look out for the people living on your road.

Marilyn Barber
News editor