Viewpoint Magazine

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

03/03/2025

Dinosaur to feature in church flower festival

✍️ Marilyn Barber

There can’t be many people in Wimborne who have a prehistoric monster in their house. Or any at all for that matter!

However, not only is there a 16-foot dinosaur in the dining room of the home of Anthony and Christine Oliver, but there are also various other creatures including some 100 sheep, badgers, hedgehogs, a fox, a squirrel, a deer, and mice – made out of a variety of materials.

All these creations, including a representation of Corfe Castle and models depicting Lyme Regis palaeontologist Mary Anning and Wimborne smuggler Isaac Gulliver, will be on view to the public at the Wimborne Minster Flower Festival which takes place in the church from Friday 26 to Monday 29 September.

Read more in Dorset View March magazine 👇

📢 Out now! 📢

Dorset View March 📰

Front cover: Amy Dowden and Carlos Gu are coming to Bournemouth © Steve Ullathorne

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:
💃 Strictly stars bring tour to Bournemouth
💷 Enterprise grants are empowering people to build their own businesses
🙅 Disappointment over Dorset devolution decision
🚌 Crime down at Poole Bus Station
👨‍🍳 Christchurch chef to sponsor Highcliffe Food and Arts Festival
🅿️ Council slams brakes on parking plan
🇬🇧 Meet Team GB athletes at charity lunch series
🍾 Railway Society to celebrate 50-year anniversary
🏰 Corfe Castle’s latest attraction lets you follow in the footsteps of royalty
🚗 Speed drops near Badbury Rings road
🔌 Wanted: more charging points for Dorset
📈 Council tax rises
🤽 BCP Council paddling pools to re-open
🦖 Dinosaur to feature in church flower festival
plus much more

09/01/2025

Dear Readers!

‘You visit often’ commented the app, which I thought was a bit harsh. I didn’t need my phone to tell me that I had visited this weather website frequently.

In December, Storm Darragh had been raging throughout the country, so I think I could have been forgiven for clicking on weather in Wimborne numerous times during the day.

However, I must admit researching the weather forecast has become a bit of an obsession.

As soon as I wake up, I reach for my phone to check on the forecast so I can plan what I am going to wear.

We’ve always been a nation who talks about the weather with strangers and friends – and anyone else who will listen – and now most of us click on apps to get an hour-by-hour forecast.

Before the internet, we relied on the accuracy of TV forecasts following news bulletins – and a few old wives’ tales.

My mother used to say: “It’s too cold to snow.” I was never sure how that worked.

Before we had meteorologists, ancient civilisations observed clouds, wind and animal behaviour to predict the weather.

The Babylonians used astrology and cloud patterns to predict the weather as early as 650 BC.

Weather patterns can even change history, as we were all reminded in 2024 with the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

The Allied invasion was due to take place on 5 June, and it was realised that adverse conditions could break the invasion of the northern French coast.

However, thanks to the work of the chief meteorologist at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, it was postponed to the following day.

So, obsession with the weather is no bad thing!

We wish you all a very happy New Year with blue skies and sunshine.

Marilyn Barber
News editor

06/12/2024

Dear Readers!

Every year, John Lennon’s song ‘Happy Xmas (War is Over)’ comes over the airwaves with the poignant words: “So this is Christmas, and what have you done? Another year over, and a new one just begun.”

And so what have we done at Viewpoint Magazine and Dorset View? Quite a lot.

In January, we featured a round-up of photos we’d taken at the end of December and in February covered the Wimborne Minster pancake race, which we also sponsored.

June saw us covering D-Day events, the Folk Festival, Fete on the Field, the Shake & Stir Festival and Hayeswood First School family fun day.

In July, we visited Witchampton Village Fete and Poole Goes Vintage Festival.

August saw us at Stompin’ on the Quomps and at Verwood Rustic Fayre. In September, we featured Wimborne Reading Group and The Creative Happiness Club in Ferndown and had a sneak preview of Bournemouth Hospital’s new BEACH building. We also covered the 25th anniversary of Wimborne Militia, Wimborne Food Festival and visited the Ferndown COPD support group.

In October, we popped along to the Tivoli for a special presentation to thank the volunteers, witnessed a Ferndown man tackling a chicken nugget challenge, and took photos at the launch of Poppy Appeals.

November saw us at the switching on of Christmas lights and this month we will be at Wimborne and Broadstone Christmas parades.

This just leaves us to wish all our readers and advertisers a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Marilyn Barber
News Editor

25/11/2024

Christmas in Wimborne 🎄

WIMBORNE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
Wimborne’s Christmas Lights Switch-On event on 30 November, starting at 1pm with the lights set to illuminate at 4.30pm.

CHRISTMAS PARADE TO LIGHT UP WIMBORNE
Colourful floats, festive decorations, and Santa Claus will bring holiday magic to Wimborne with the Save the Children Christmas parade on Saturday 14 December.

Find out more in December Dorset View 👇

📢 Dorset View December out now 📰

Front cover: Reindeer © Louis Pulford

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:
🎅 Christmas in Wimborne
🚌 Olympic and Paralympic athletes inspire people from BCP on heroes’ parade
🚒 Callouts escalate after Poole fire engine axed
💷 Pulford Publicity raises over £1,500 for its charity of the year
😲 3,500-year-old spade found near Poole
👩‍🚀 Britain’s first astronaut inspires students
🎄 What will you do with your Christmas tree?
😟 Dorset in top 10 most anxious areas of UK
🎆 Protect your pet through the fireworks season
🎭 Panto season
⛈️ Wet winter dangers
🚗 South West drivers among UK’s most reckless
🚓 Scheme catches 387 speeding motorists in Dorset
🌨️ Dorset gritters are ready for winter
🎁 Seasonal gifts and decorations
plus more

08/11/2024

Dear Readers!

We now live in a world where we are bombarded with information, particularly from social media, so it would be good if I could filter material on a ‘really need to know’ basis instead of filling my head with irrelevant ‘news’.

Obsession with the minutiae of life is harmless enough, provided you are receptive to important information.

English philosopher Francis Bacon said that “knowledge itself is power,” but sadly the information we often find ourselves absorbing only gives us the ability to have vacuous conversations with others of a similar inclination.

I am talking about the rabbit holes I often go down on social media.

For instance – and I don’t want to be too specific here or you could find yourself scrolling to find out details of yet another conspiracy theory – because I like the music of a certain now- deceased singer, I had clicked on a video clip only to be directed to another site which claimed the person faked his death and that many years later he is still performing in exclusive venues!

Mad, isn’t it?

I confess that instead of using reference books, a dictionary or a thesaurus, I Google items, and that is when I go off at a tangent instead of keeping my mind on finding the information required.

And when there are serious issues of the day to research, I’m not sure why I become curious about the goings-on of celebrities who have been getting up to mischief.

This leads me to once again re-iterate how important our magazines are in bringing information that you need, rather than that which just clogs up the grey matter.

In this edition, we have previews for Christmas events in Verwood, Fordingbridge, Ringwood, Christchurch and Wimborne, as well as an interview with Lee Redwood who is producing and starring in this year’s Tivoli panto.

Marilyn Barber
News Editor

25/10/2024

Dorset divers celebrate 70th anniversary

Report by Luke Graham

For the past 70 years, Bournemouth and Poole Diving Club has been available to make scuba diving more accessible and help residents of the county explore the waters of the South Coast.

The governing body of diving in the UK, the BSAC - British Sub-Aqua Club, was formed in 1953 and Bournemouth and Poole was the sixth branch to be formed a few months later, so the club has been celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.

This local diving club was originally spun off from a large and very active spear-fishing club, when several members realised that there were underwater alternatives to killing fish in the name of sport: within a few years, diving had almost completely eclipsed spear fishing as an activity.

Read more in Dorset View November 2024 ⤵️

📢 Dorset View November out now 📰

Front cover: Dorset Chamber’s Ian Girling skydived to raise funds for Lewis-Manning Hospice Care

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:
🚒 Fire engines axed across Dorset
🤿 Dorset divers celebrate 70th anniversary
🗓️ Your 2024 Christmas events diary
🥶 Ferndown Town Council opposes winter fuel cut
🧑‍🌾 Gardening tips ahead of winter
💷 Water companies to repay millions
♻️ Wimborne turns green for festival
🏫 Amphitheatre built to benefit pupils
🏥 Rehab equipment installed at Royal Bournemouth Hospital
🪂 Skydivers raise over £23k for hospice care
🏊 Take an icy dip for cancer
🏚️ Charity highlights poverty in East Dorset
🎭 Tivoli Theatre volunteers enjoy a special ‘thank you’
🎄 Christmas wishes at Kingston Lacy NT
🐶 Dog owners warned to leave conkers alone
🥟 Ferndown man tackles chicken nugget challenge
🪦 Remembrance 2024
🚗 Cut your motoring costs
plus much more