Last month I related the description by Chaucer of some of the pilgrims starting along the Canterbury road. Now I propose to look at the remaining pilgrims, the laity. They might possibly be described as ordinary people, from middle class Read more »
The Cirl Bunting is an attractive songbird once found throughout the southern half of the UK. Its numbers declined precipitously in the second half of the 20th century following changes in farming practice and, by the late 1980s, it was Read more »
Margery Hookings makes some musical connections when she discovers the raucous singing past of her local pub, The White Lion at Broadwindsor. When folksinger and folklorist Nick Dow visited West Dorset with his wife in the late 1980s, it Read more »
Do you listen to The Archers on Radio 4? (“An everyday story of country folk”). We used to listen regularly years ago but now only occasionally. One annual event portrayed by the Archers has been the Christmas pantomime or similar Read more »
Margery Hookings meets young Bridport man Luke Shirley who leads horse trekking tours of Mongolia Photograph © Steve Luck Photography (www.steveluckphotography.co.uk) A lust for life and a quest for adventure have led a young Dorset man to set up an Read more »
Blizzards, strong winds, drifting snow, bitter cold – that was the story in early March last year when the “Beast from the East” collided with storm Emma bringing extreme weather and disruption to life across large parts of the UK. Read more »
‘Oh I Do Like to be Beside the Seaside’ This was a popular song between the Wars in music halls. It went on to repeat “I do like to be beside the Sea” and then “I do like to stroll Read more »
Last November BBC4 showed a 90-minute programme reminiscing about Tomorrow’s World, a programme which ran from 1965 to 2003, describing possible future developments in science and technology. I remember it well and was a great fan. Presenters included Raymond Baxter, Read more »
The Plunkett Foundation’s Rural Community Ownership Awards are an annual celebration of the contribution community businesses make to creating resilient, thriving and inclusive rural communities. Broadwindsor Community Stores, which was nominated in the ‘Community Story of the Year’ category, is Read more »
Happy New Year to all. The Christmas festivities may be over, but there should be a pantomime somewhere nearby to soften the blows of the bills, etc. January is the first month of the New Year when by tradition we Read more »