 |  | |||||||||||||||||
 |  | | ||||||||||||||||
 | | |||||||||||||||||
 |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | | |||||||
 |  |  |  | | ||||||||||||||
 | | |||||||||||||||||
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | | ||||||||||
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Click here or toggle down for May 2009
FARM RADIO IS AT THE CROSSROADS!
If you enjoy your visits to this site or if your enterprise has been featured here with positive effects, please could you take a moment to tell us. We need to be able to demonstrate your support in order to attract the resources to take Farm Radio on to the next stages of development. Statistics are one thing but nothing is as good as personal testimonials.
Do you think that you may have something to contribute to the future of the site? We are planning to start up a steering group that will have a rôle in the development of this site and would welcome expressions of interest in this from our visitors.
Heart of the Vale, Soul of the Town, Part 9, Len and Cecil
It is now more than ten years since the livestock market at Sturminster Newton closed down, bringing to an end 700 years of tradition. We were involved in a project gathering views and ideas on video from the users of the market as part of the effort to keep it open. The realisation of what the closure meant to the people who used it was part of the inspiration behind the concept of "Farm Radio". So, therefore, it seems fitting to post some of the footage that we shot here.
I was thinking of calling this section "Where Are They Now?" but, given the age of some of the contributors and the passing of time, the answer to that would be all too obvious in so many cases. However, it would be great to hear from our listeners with any stories of the subsequent adventures of the folk featured here so we could follow up their stories. Perhaps we should call it "What Happened Next?" Video shot and edited by John Holman.
Click on the bale to view
(22/06/09)
Click for Part 1, Pat and Ted, Part 2, Ian and Paul, Part 3, The Auctioneers, Part 4, Ernie, Part 5, Clar, Part 6, Jenny and the Pigs, Part 7, The Drovers, Part 8, Stan Harris
STOP PRESS On Tuesday, June 23rd., there will be an open afternoon at Higher Ground Meadow, the natural burial site. Visitors will be very welcome to view this beautiful site and to ask any questions about the project. Click on picture to find out more.
To hear more about Higher Ground Meadow, click here.
(22/06/09)
Promotional company Beatwax (the people that brought Homer Simpson to visit the Cerne Abbas giant some time ago) are looking for a field, preferably viewable from a major route to the Glastonbury Festival site, for a John Deere promotional stunt. Anyone interested can get in touch with us or contact Chris at Beatwax directly.
Owen Yeatman's Anærobic Digester
You may have heard about these things on "The Archers" but how do they work out in the real world? John Holman went to Belchalwell in north Dorset where Owen Yeatman gave him a guided tour of the plant on his farm which went on stream last year.
Click on the bale to
listen(17/06/09)
Would you like to work with Farm Radio?
Are you considering an oral history or media based project for your community? The Farm Radio team has many years experience of all aspects of community media work, audio and video production and has a long record of involvement in such projects so, if we can help in any way, contact us. Also, we are always keen to find new volunteers to train and support as correspondents for Farm Radio.
Dorset NFU's Chairman, Andy Foot
Farm Radio's John Holman paid a visit to Andy Foote who is just at the beginning of his term of office as Chairman of the Dorset Branch of the National Farmers' Union. Sitting outside during the recent spell of fine weather, he discussed his vision of the role and issued a timely reminder to any farmers who have not taken action so far that the midges carrying Bluetongue are currently on the wing and suggests that stock should be vaccinated forthwith.
DEFRA's Bluetongue information
Click on the bale to
listen(09/06/09)
Would you like to see the name of your enterprise/business/organisation here . . . ? Contact us to find out what we can offer.
A New Face at Dorset Young Farmers' - Josie Sollis
There has been quite a long interregnum at Dorset Young Farmers', during which time there has not been a county administrator. County Chairman, Louise Trim, has been filling in admirably. She was recently recognised as the South West Young Farmer of the Year and awarded the Silver Sickle at the Bath and West Show. However, she has now been relieved by the appointment of a new administrator, Josie Sollis, and John Holman went to interview her at her base at the Stinsford Business Centre on the Kingston Maurward campus.
For more about the YFC/LANTRA survey and to download or complete the questionnaire on line, click here. Don't leave it too long as the questionnaire has to be completed before June 30th if you are to be included in the prize draw for £100 worth of vouchers.
Click on the bale to
listen(09/06/09)
The Wessex Ridgeway Trail, Part 2, Shillingstone to Dorset Gap
The Wessex Ridgeway Trail stretches 62 miles from Ashmore on the Dorset/Wiltshire Border in the east to Lyme Regis in the west. To mark the opening of this route for walkers, riders and cyclists, which is the culmination of much hard work by Demelza Hyde and her colleagues from Dorset Countryside (the countryside service of Dorset County Council), Farm Radio team members created an audio journey in five parts along its length, meeting the people who live and work there and celebrating the scenery, flora and fauna, history, archaeology and culture of the area.
This is the second part and takes us from the Somerset and Dorset Railway Station at Shillingstone to Dorset Gap.
Click for Part 1, Ashmore to Shillingstone
To find out more about this trail, click here
Click on the bale to
listen(02/06/09)
Poem by William Percy Withers - "Grandpapa's Days"
Somerset folk singer George Withers - the uncle of Farm Radio's Margery Hookings, reads "Grandpapa's Days", a poem by his late father William Percy Withers, 1894-1970. Percy fought with the North Somerset Yeomanry in World War I where he saw service in the Somme and lost many dear friends and comrades. When the war ended, Percy took up a farm tenancy in Barton St. David, Somerset, before moving to farm at Donyatt, near Ilminster, in 1920.
Click on the bale to listen
(27/05/09)
Further poems from William Percy Withers: "The Mendip Hills", "Memories", "Farewell to Pottery Farm", "The Things I Love", "Yet Another Spring Song", "Ode to an Onion"
Would you like to see the name of your enterprise/business/organisation here . . . ? Contact us to find out what we can offer.
Bringing the cinema to your village - "MOVIOLA"
The film "Morris: A Life with Bells On" played to packed audiences in village halls across Dorset. Due to the vagaries of the film industry, Moviola was the only organisation showing this quintessentially English comedy film in the UK. Farm Radio’s Margery Hookings went to Yetminster to talk to Moviola administrator Christina Walkley about the film and finds out more about Moviola and why it’s so popular.
Click on the bale to
listen(27/05/09)
Would you like to work with Farm Radio?
Are you considering an oral history or media based project for your community? The Farm Radio team has many years experience of all aspects of community media work, audio and video production and has a long record of involvement in such projects so, if we can help in any way, contact us. Also, we are always keen to find new volunteers to train and support as correspondents for Farm Radio.
Higher Ground Meadow - Natural Burial
Joanna and Peter Vassie have come up with an imaginative use for 12 acres of pasture on their farm in Corscombe. They are converting it to a natural burial site. John Holman went to talk to Jo about the idea.
Click on the bale to
listen(19/05/09)
Andrew Frampton at Buglers
Andrew Frampton went to the opening of Francis Bugler Ltd.'s new premises a while ago and in his inimitable style went digging for the story behind the story, starting with managing director, John Bugler . . .
Click on the bale to
listen(19/05/09)
ANNOUNCEMENT
Learn practical skills on organic farms
The Soil Association, supported by the Daylesford Foundation are launching 300 Organic Farm School courses over the next two years.
The Organic Farm School offers hands-on courses in growing your own food, rearing animals, cooking and rural crafts. Participants will learn practical skills direct from organic farmers, growers and producers with personal experience. Courses include bee-keeping, chicken keeping, vegetable growing, cider making, bread baking, willow weaving, hedge laying and many others.
The Soil Association hopes to reach over 3,000 individuals - from young families and gardening newbies, to allotmenteers and wannabe smallholders - encouraging a reconnection of urban and rural. The courses are not only a fun day out on an organic farm, they offer a chance to rediscover the precious knowledge of our grandparents.
Whether you want to skill up and make that step towards making your life more sustainable, learn how to live closer to the land, or get inspired and try something out as a possible career option, the Organic Farm School has the right course for you.For more information click here
For an article on the Daylesford Foundation click here
The Wessex Ridgeway Trail, Part 1, Ashmore to Shillingstone
The Wessex Ridgeway Trail stretches 62 miles from Ashmore on the Dorset/Wiltshire Border in the east to Lyme Regis in the west. To mark the opening of this route for walkers, riders and cyclists, which is the culmination of much hard work by Demelza Hyde and her colleagues from Dorset Countryside (the countryside service of Dorset County Council), Farm Radio team members created an audio journey in five parts along its length, meeting the people who live and work there and celebrating the scenery, flora and fauna, history, archaeology and culture of the area.
This is the first part and takes us from the village hall at Ashmore with its famous duck pond to the school at Shillingstone.
To find out more about this trail, click here
Click on the bale to
listen(11/05/09)
Are you considering an oral history or media based project for your community? The Farm Radio team has many years experience of all aspects of community media work, audio and video production and has a long record of involvement in such projects so, if we can help in any way, contact us. Also, we are always keen to find new volunteers to train and support as correspondents for Farm Radio.
Would you like to see the name of your enterprise/business/organisation here . . . ? Contact us to find out what we can offer.
Heart of the Vale, Soul of the Town, Part 8, Stan Harris
It is now more than ten years since the livestock market at Sturminster Newton closed down, bringing to an end 700 years of tradition. We were involved in a project gathering views and ideas on video from the users of the market as part of the effort to keep it open. The realisation of what the closure meant to the people who used it was part of the inspiration behind the concept of "Farm Radio". So, therefore, it seems fitting to post some of the footage that we shot here.
I was thinking of calling this section "Where Are They Now?" but, given the age of some of the contributors and the passing of time, the answer to that would be all too obvious in so many cases. However, it would be great to hear from our listeners with any stories of the subsequent adventures of the folk featured here so we could follow up their stories. Perhaps we should call it "What Happened Next?" Video shot and edited by John Holman.
Click on the bale to view
(11/05/09)
Click for Part 1, Pat and Ted, Part 2, Ian and Paul, Part 3, The Auctioneers, Part 4, Ernie, Part 5, Clar, Part 6, Jenny and the Pigs, Part 7, The Drovers
