A well-known teacher, musician and composer is holding the biggest event of his life in hopes of finally hearing his works performed by a professional group of musicians before his illness stops him in his tracks. Rick Birley, 68, who lives in Dorchester, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 15 years ago. The disease hasn’t stopped him […]
A metal detectorist from Dorchester has been helping reunite people with their lost jewellery. When he’s not unearthing ancient coins and artefacts in Dorset’s fields, Keith Brown has been stepping up to help people desperate to find their lost jewellery. Retired prison officer Keith recently helped a woman named Jenny from Cattistock find her Victorian […]
An extraordinary collection of rare and vintage equipment has been sourced to establish a fabulous recording studio just outside Dorchester – and it’s all fully accessible. Grace and Nick Capaldi started to establish Echo Town studios just before lockdown. While covid presented many challenges they battled through, fired up with passion for vintage sound. Nick, […]
For both good and ill, Weymouth’s connection to the sea has always been critical to its place in history. The Black Death famously entered the country through the town’s port in the 1300s while, centuries later, Allied forces would set out from that same port to liberate mainland Europe from the Nazis on D-Day. The […]
A young chef from Dorchester who now works at The Dorchester is going into battle with some of the finest cooks around in the BBC’s Masterchef: The Professionals. Charlie Jeffreys, 24, cut his teeth as a teenage apprentice at Yalbury Cottage Hotel in Lower Bockhampton before making the move to The Dorchester in London, where […]
“I am always getting asked for fork handles,” says Simon Larcombe, grinning. Larcombe’s of Beaminster is 20 years old this month, and it’s the type of shop that really does make you feel you’ve stepped into that scene from The Two Ronnies. Everything is here. Around 36,000 items, to be almost exact. And if it’s […]
This year’s Poundbury Christmas Market promises to be a celebration of the best local businesses as well as the festive season. Coinciding with Small Business Saturday, the seasonal market will return to Poundbury’s Crown Square on Saturday, December 3 from 10am until 4pm. There will be live music from the Rock Choir and the Durnovaria […]
A Christmas single recorded in Sherborne will raise money to help parents at the worst of times. Santa Leave Something For Me was written by Dorset’s Benjamin Francis after his son Oscar was born with his intestines on the outside of his body and had to be put into a coma to recover after lifesaving […]
A unique kite dreamed up by the High Sheriff of Dorset is flying out around the world after its innovative design captured people’s imaginations. Sibyl Fine King’s pterodactyl kite is now being sold all over the UK and in Europe, Australia and North America. Pterodactyls were a type of pterosaur, a flying reptile that flew […]
The first time I visited Redlands Yard in Broadwindsor, I was suitably impressed. I walked into a courtyard boasting a dizzying array of independent shops and celebrated restaurant The Stableyard, so popular that yes, you must book for lunch. What several decades ago used to be a farmyard has over the years grown into a […]