Friday, April 12
A Friends of Beaminster Festival concert will be held at 3pm in Beaminster Church by the Amalthea Ensemble – musicians from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. The programme will include trios by Weber, Martinu and Alwyn and flute / cello duos by Beethoven and Bruch.
Tickets £15 from Yarn Barton Centre, Fleet Street, Beaminster or The Bookshop, 14 South Street, Bridport.
Tickets available on the door (cash or card).
Saturday, April 13
Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 8.5 mile walk from Lamberts Castle. 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/visitors welcome.
There’s prize bingo at Maiden Newton village hall, 2pm for a 2.30pm eyes down.
Three weeks of walks, talks, and workshops are being held in Cerne Abbas from April 13 to May 6.
The Cerne Giant Festival was born out of the village’s vibrant May Day tradition, when Morris Dancers and villagers gather at dawn on the Trendle, the original site of the village Maypole at the top of the Cerne Giant at sunrise.
The first event is Gathering the Herbs for the Beltane Brew on Saturday, April 13 at 10am at Lower Barton Farm.
Then there’s Starting off the Beltane Brew the same day at 1.30pm at Cerne Abbas Brewery.
On Wednesday, April 17 there’s What if the Swallows Didn’t Come Back? At 7.30pm at St Mary’s Church.
On Thursday, April 18 there’s Tales of the History of Godmanstone and The Giant in a Sacred Landscape? will be held on Saturday, April 20 at 7.30pm at the church.
Secrets of the Parish Church will be held on Monday, April 22 at 7.30pm in the church. Then there’s Nature on Your Doorstep– How to Welcome Wildlife on Thursday, April 25.
A ceilidh in the church with Tatterdemalion will be held on Friday, April 16.
Then you can learn how to cast a fly and enjoy a Riverflies Safari at Vicarage Meadow on Sunday, April 28 at 2pm.
A talk on Farming in the Cerne Valley will be held at the church on Monday, April 29.
Then Dating the Giant – It’s All in the Stars? Is on Thursday, May 2.
A Hands-on Workshop for Wildlife Gardening will be on Saturday, May 4 at 9.30am.
For more info and to book go to cernegiantfestival.org
Vet David Harding will lead a first aid for dogs course from 10am-12.30pm at Tolpuddle Village Hall, (DT2 7ES), price £10.
Would you know what to do if your dog had an accident or sudden illness? What are the signs that your dog is in danger?
All Aspects covered. CPR, drowning, burns, bites, traffic accident bleeding, heatstroke, fractures, vomiting & diarrhea, choking, bloat. Cash on door.
Bockhampton Horticultural Society will hold its spring show 9.30am-3.30pm in West Stafford Village Hall, open to all paid up members. Membership secretary Linda Kemp on 01305 753639 or lindakemp6251@hotmail.com
An evening of Big Band Music…sounds from the Glen Miller era at Weymouth Bay Methodist Church (DT4 7TH) at 7.30pm with the Moonlight Swing Band. Tickets £10 from Pete 01305 812637 or £12 on door.
St Mary’s Church, Charminster, (DT2 9RD) is holding an afternoon tea with Jon Cuthill, BBC South’s newscaster and reporter – a talk on his work followed by a cream tea at 4pm.
Tickets £10, call 07795 347408, 07818 508011 or 01305 213403.
Sunday, April 14
10.30am, St Peter’s Church, Dorchester. Choral Eucharist with music by Harris, Gabrielli and Samuel Wesley. Free.
Dorset Cottage Garden Society will enjoy a presentation 2pm for 2.30pm by The Plant Doctor Roger Hirons on Plants for Awkward Places at Puddletown Village Hall.
Monday, April 15
A course on Scottish Artists continues today at 2pm at United Church Hall, East Street, Bridport. Tutor is Pam Simpson MA, Art Historian.
£13 per lecture. This course runs on Fridays 2pm online, fee £60. chris.pamsimpson@ btinternet.com
Tuesday, April 16
Southill Gardening Club will hear a talk on My Seasonal Shopping Basket at the Southill Community at 7.30pm when the speaker will be from the Gardens Group (of which Poundbury Garden Centre is a part). Non-members welcome. Refreshments will be available. Further info Nigel Smith on 01305 788939.
Thursday, April 18
Bridport and District Gardening Club will hear from Mike Burke from the Gardens Group at 7.30pm at the WI Building on North St in Bridport.
Friday, April 19
Tom Brown’s Ukulele Gang are playing at Evershot Village Hall at 8pm (doors open at 7.30), as part of celebrations to mark 150 years of Stickland’s Primary School being on its current site. Tickets available via Eventbrite & on the door.
Sam Brown, who had a hit with Stop and appeared with Jools Holland and Pink Floyd, had to find a new way to earn a crust after losing her singing voice in 2007. Some friends wanted to learn the ukulele and so in 2010 she began teaching in her front room.
Interest ballooned and now, 14 years later, there are Fabulous Ukulele Clubs in Oxfordshire, Dorset, London, Australia and online.
Following a move to Dorset in 2015, Sam took over the magnificent Tom Brown’s Ukulele Gang.
Search for Tom Brown’s Gang on eventbrite.com or buy on the door.
Saturday, April 20
12.30pm-1pm, St Peter’s Church, Dorchester. Lunchtime concert of operatic arias performed by Stefan Oaks (baritone) and Peter Oakes (piano). Free.
Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 7 mile walk from Evershot. 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/visitors welcome.
Bridport Rotary Club invites you to an evening of music from the Bridport Big Band at the United Church, Bridport at 7pm for 7.30pm. Tickets £12 from the Bridport Tourist Information Centre at the rear of Bridport Town Hall or from members.
St Mary’s Church, Bridport is opening its bell tower from 10am, with refreshments and exhibition stands in the church and the tower, and a chance to see the ringing chamber and the clock. You can also ring the bells!
At 2.30pm there will be ringing by local ringers.
The Dorset Wrecks sea shanty group will be performing at St Nicholas Church, Broadwey (DT3 5DN) at 7.30pm. £10, cash preferable. Cash bar. To buy in advance contact Susana on 07944 617553 or susanamalik@yahoo.com
A rummage and nearly new clothes sale will be held at Sydling St Nicholas Village Hall, DT2 9NX 10am to 2pm. All sorts of lovely quality items, including shoes and bags. Tea and coffee available.
Sunset Cafe Stompers will perform a jazz concert entitled ’Something Borrowed, Something Blue’ at 7.30pm in St Mary’s Church, Beaminster. Tickets £12.50 from Yarn Barton or on door. Cash or card.
Coffee morning at All Saints church, Wyke Regis, 10am to midday. All are welcome to join us for coffee, tea, cakes, Fairtrade, books, music and, of course, chat.
Sunday, April 21
Garden open for the NGS, at Broomhill, Rampisham, DT2 0PT. 2pm-5pm.
Come and enjoy an afternoon in a spring garden, where blossom and bulbs should be at their best.
Entry £5, children free. Homemade teas, plants for sale. Ample parking.
Tel 07775 806 875
An open day will be held at the Sherborne Steam & Waterwheel Centre.
See the vintage waterwheel and steam engines in operation, plus many other exhibits.
Refreshments, picnic area and toilet. Free parking on adjacent Oborne Road DT9 3RX.
Site mostly accessible. Entry by donation. 11.30am to 3.30pm. sswc.co.uk
Tuesday, April 23
Dorchester Civic Society will hear from Jeremy Pope, ex-finance director of Eldridge Pope Brewery, on the transformation of Dorchester at the close of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries.
The Dorford Centre, Top o’ Town, Dorchester at 7.30pm
Free for DCS members. Non-members are encouraged to make a donation of £3.
Wednesday, April 24
The Uplyme and Lyme Regis Horticultural Society hosts a talk on hostas by Peter Savage of Bowden’s Nursery. Plants for sale. Competition for best spring flowering bulbs, corms or tubers (pot or vase). Uplyme Village Hall DT7 3UY. Members free, non-members £3. Doors open at 7pm for refreshments, talk starts 7.30pm. ulrhs.wordpress.com
The Dorchester Committee of the Children’s Society will welcome journalist Kate Adie to St George’s Hall, Fordington, to give a talk on ‘A correspondent’s view of TV’ at 7.30pm.
Tickets from Nicoll World Travel 23 High East Street, Dorchester, Jane Culliford 01305 264360 or Rita Kennett 01305 265432. Price £10. Wine, drinks and light refreshments will be available to purchase.
Nature on your doorstep – how to create wildlife friendly spaces is the subject of a talk at St Mary’s Church, Abbey Street, Cerne Abbas DT2 7JQ, 7pm for 7.30pm.
Mitch Perkins, an assistant wilder communities officer from the DWT, will describe and explain which of our wildlife neighbours we can help and how. Mitch will introduce you to some you may not have met! Find out about the creatures that can keep your garden healthy – from pollinators to predators, and how small actions can make a big difference.
£7 including refreshments.
The Gaggle of Geese in Buckland Newton, Dorchester DT2 7BS, is holding a monthly quiz. Teams of up to six. £2 per person or free if you dine first. Quiz starts 8.30pm.
Sherborne Science Café presents Wolfgang Grulke speaking on Beyond Extinction at 7.30pm at Digby Memorial Hall (DT9 3NL). £3 entry on the door, no membership required. Sherbornesciencecafe.com
Friday, April 26
Piddle Valley Twinning is presenting a talk by Richard Kay 7pm for 7.30 pm. An Auctioneer’s Ten Commandments …. light-hearted and informal saleroom reminiscences.
Piddletrenthide Memorial Hall DT2 7QF. Tickets £10 on 01300 348670. A warm welcome to all – and bar.
Saturday, April 27
Plant and gardening sale on Bridport Millennium Green (near Mountfield) from 9.30am. Tools, tubs, gardening books etc, in support of the green. If you have anything to donate please bring on the morning or to arrange collection please phone Sandra Brown on 01308 423078.
St George’s Day Fair, Fordington Green, Dorchester DT1 1LB, 1pm-4pm on the green and in the church and hall. Hot food, cake stall, beer tent, afternoon tea, Durnovaria Silver Band, One Voice Choir etc.
Bridport & West Dorset Rambling Club 7 mile walk from Cerne Abbas. For further information please ring 01308 898484 or 01308 863340. New members/visitors welcome.
Love to sing? Then join a one-day Come and Sing musical workshop at Thornford Village Hall near Sherborne, DT9 6QB followed by a concert, organised by the Friends of St Michael’s Church, Beer Hackett.
Featuring songs from the shows and music from the musicals under the direction of Alice Dicker, BMus(Hons) Dip ABRSM. £20, no audition required, just enthusiasm! Free parking.
Enrol with Sylvia on 01935 872564. Full details and registration form at friendsofst michaelschurchbeerhackett.org
Evening concert at 7pm, tickets £10 including prize draw entry.
4.30pm, St Peter’s Church, Dorchester. Choral Evensong commemorating 100 years since the death of Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. Free.
West Dorset Singers present Mozart’s Requiem, his choral masterpiece, in St Mary’s Church, Bridport at 7pm.
They will also sing Miserere by Czech composer Jan Zelenka who preceded Mozart by half a century.
The third work is much more recent. Dona nobis pacem (Give us peace), written in 1996 by Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks, explores the music of these three simple words in a gloriously Baltic manner.
The choir is accompanied by professional orchestra and a quartet of soloists, all recent choral scholars from The Choir of Royal Holloway, London. The concert starts at 7pm. Tickets (£15, u18s free) are available from Goadsby Estate Agents in Bridport and at westdorsetsingers.org
Quiz Night at Wyke Regis Memorial Hall, 7pm (doors open 6.30pm). Another evening of fun and general knowledge brain teasers! Entry £6 (includes £2 of raffle tickets) payable on the door. Bring your own refreshments. Team (max 6) and individual entrants welcome. Cash prize for the winning team. Reserve your place at parishofwyke regis.org.uk/events or contact Jeff Thomas on 07710 096174.
Sunday, April 28
Weymouth Big Beach Walkies will be held in aid of Margaret Green on Weymouth from 10.30am till 12pm, organized by Dog Friendly Weymouth and Portland Group.
They welcome people who may just enjoy a walk with dogs, a suggested donation of £2 collected at their gazebo near the dog area at the Pavilion end of the beach. The walk will take you to the Stone Groyne at Greenhill then either travelling on to the beach to Bowleaze Cove, or returning to the gazebo. Free poo bags and dog treats.
This will be the last Sunday families with dogs will be able to walk the full length of the beach before summer restrictions.
Lyme Bay Chorale celebrate a giant of choral music at their spring concert at 4pm in Lyme Regis Parish Church.
The concert marks 100 years since the death of Charles Villiers Stanford, the Anglo-Irish composer who is responsible for some of the best-loved works in the choral canon. Tickets are £13 in advance from Fortnam, Smith & Banwell in Lyme Regis, or choir members, and £15 on the door. Free entry for young people aged 18 and under.
A new monthly artisan market will be held in Brewery Square, Dorchester 10am until 3pm.
Already running markets in Sherborne and Shaftesbury, Dorset Artisan Markets will bring more than 200 artisan traders to from April to November.
Wednesday, May 1
The East Devon Ramblers are embarking on an 11-mile walk around Uffculme. Start at 10.30am. Ring 07922 651426 for details.
A charity art exhibition in aid of Weldmar Hospicecare is being held at 2, Rylands Way in Charminster between 2pm and 5pm today until May 8.
The Old Rectory, Litton Cheney DT2 9AH will open its gardens 11am-5pm for the NGS.
Steep paths lead to beguiling 4 acres of natural woodland with many springs, streams, 2 pools one a natural swimming pool planted with native plants. Formal front garden, designed by Arne Maynard, with a pleached crabtree border, topiary and soft planting including tulips, peonies, roses and verbascums. Walled garden with informal planting, kitchen garden, orchard and 350 rose bushes for a cut flower business. £7, children free. Home-made teas.
Wessex Morris Men will again be waving their hankies at the sunrise above the Cerne Giant for their epic May Day festivities. They will dance on the ‘trendle’ from 5.15am, accompanied by a barrel of ale from the village brewery, then it’s down into the village to parade around to the village square for more dancing from 6.30am, with breakfast served in the pubs.
Thursday, May 2
West Dorset Ramblers walk at Cadbury Hill Fort. Starts at
9.45am. 9 miles.Contact Chris 07715 760884.
Friday, May 3
The East Devon Ramblers are taking a leisurely walk of 5 miles at Upton Pine at 10am. Ring 01392 759332 for details.
Saturday, May 4
The Gaggle of Geese in Buckland Newton, DT2 7BS is holding a Birthday Celebration celebrating another year at the Gaggle (six years since they re-opened). Join them in the gardens with music from Aphrodite Duo.
The AGM of Friends of Weymouth Library (Fowl) will be held at the Bethany Hall at 2.30pm. Miranda Pender will entertain with her own songs. Refreshments available.
Blow Your Own Trumpet is holding its second open mic comedy show at The Convivial Rabbit micropub, Trinity Street, Dorchester. A hilarious evening of comedy, combined with a great selection of drinks in this cosy bar. Tickets just £5 in advance from jokepit.com or £7 at the venue on the night. Ticket only event. Doors open 7pm, show starts 7.45pm.
There’s a hands on workshop for wildlife gardening in the Vicarage Garden and Field, 4 Back Lane, Cerne Abbas, Dorchester DT2 7JW.
Chance to get up close and meet our wild neighbours! Come and experience some simple low budget ways of making wildlife more welcome. Get there early to see the surprising beauties in the live catch moth trap. Staff from the Dorset Wildlife Trust will be on hand to answer your questions and share top tips for creating a wildlife friendly space. £7 including refreshments
Monday, May 6
Alweston car boot sale, sellers 7am, buyers before 7.30am £5, then buyers entry by donation. 01963 23436.
Tuesday, May 7
Dorchester’s Bayeux Society will enjoy a French film night with The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, in French with English subtitles at Dorchester Corn Exchange. Doors/var open 6.45pm for 7.30pm screening. £6 cash on the door. Open to non-members.
Acclaimed wildlife photographer David Boag, author of 18 books, will talk to members of Blackmore Vale U3a Henstridge Village Hall BA8 0QB. Doors open at 2.15pm for refreshments.
West Dorset Ramblers walk at 10am, 8 miles. Symondsbury,
Colmer’s Hill & Thorncombe Contact Carol 07902 988549
Tuesday, May 7
Dorchester Civic Society talk: The Dorford Centre, Top o’ Town, 7.30pm. Peter Bowyer, chair of Dorset CPRE will speak on The Dorset Local Plan: How to Make it Sustainable?
Free for DCS members. Non-members are encouraged to make a donation of £3. info@ dorchestercivicsociety.org.uk
Wednesday, May 9
Sherborne & District Gardeners’ Association meets at the Main Digby Hall, Hound Street at 7.30pm for a talk by Barbara Elsmore – SDGA member, on all aspects of topiary. Admission Charge to non-members £3. For more information contact Richard Newcombe 01935 389375.
Friday, May 10
Weymouth’s thrice-yearly fortnight of fantastic food starts today.
FEAST24 offers a whole range of great deals on restaurants until May 24. Tables must be pre-booked, quoting FEAST24WDM. See pages 47-50 for details, plus an extra voucher for readers.
24 Carlton Road North, Weymouth DT4 7PY is opening its garden for the NGS from today till Monday, May 13 2pm-5pm. Long garden on several levels. Steps and narrow sloping paths lead to beds and borders filled with trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, many unusual varieties. Wildlife encouraged. £4, kids free. Home-made teas.