So concludes a recent reflective blog entry by Samuel Cooper, a research student at the University of Sussex, who lectured in February on ‘The Situationist International and its British Fallout’ at Marsh Barn just outside Bridport.

Situationism at Marsh Barn, Bridport: "Is there a fault with reality?"

Mr Cooper was, in short, giving one of the Lectures About Everything organised by Horatio and Ioana Morpurgo.

You can see why a D Phil student obsessed with ‘a forgotten period of avant-garde activity’ (British Situationism since 1967) would regard Marsh Barn as a surprising place to encounter people who were not only enthused by his overview of such subjects as the Angry Brigade and Punk but had themselves been engaged in ‘proximate activity’ (a 68er, a workplace activist, a wobbly, a trade unionist,  a road protestor and others). But that’s  the appeal of this part of the world…

A ‘wobbly’, incidentally, is Mr Cooper’s term: I have got no idea what it means. If I’d been there, I would have asked him, but I wasn’t and I’m sorry I missed it.

In return for Mr Cooper explaining to me what on earth a ‘wobbly’ is, I could have told him that the ex-Special Branch man who cracked the Angry Brigade now lives in Bridport. As I was saying, it is that kind of place…    

Anyway, if you too missed the lecture, and you want to read Mr Cooper’s notes, you can click on this link here; or if you want read his reflections on his Marsh Barn experience, you can click on this link here.

*Situationism began in 1958 as a radical French philosophy heavily influenced by Dadaism and Surrealism. It sought a “REVOLUTION of everyday life”, most famously through the events of May 1968 in Paris, immortalised in graffiti such as: “Do not adjust your mind, there is a fault with reality” and “Be realistic. Demand the impossible”.

Brian, Elliott and Gloria Dodge, of The Market House, Bridport, with Palmers Head Brewer Darren Batten

DAVID Graham of On In Bridders – whose purpose is to support, develop, and promote Bridport’s social scene - has written a very thoughtful and observant account of his preview tour of The Market House in West Street.

“Very impressed,” is his overall verdict, although he notes there’s no Wi-Fi, a detail which actually serves to reinforce his overall theme of how people’s expectations of pubs have changed because of factors like the rise of Wetherspoons, and the smoking ban.

He also comments on the apparent removal of disco lighting. He’s got a sharp eye, Mr Graham! You can read all of what he has to say by clicking on this link here.

He’s also put up lots of photographs which you can see by clicking on this link here. 

The Market House opens on Wednesday, March 10, in West Street, Bridport.

From September, Loders will be the first school in Dorset to have co-heads.

Mike Kite, pictured right, who has been Loders’ head since 1984, will be joined in a job share arrangement by Shirley Gibbs, who is currently employed as an Early Years consultant with Dorset County Council.

“She has a vast array of strengths,” said Mr Kite, “particularly in the areas I’m not so strong in, so it’s a very complementary situation. It couldn’t have worked out better.”

Loders’ vice-chair of governors Samantha Hands, in a letter to parents, said: “Shirley has splendid skills, and a mass of experience. The panel felt that she and Mike will make a great pairing, and that she will only add to the Loders offering. It was a unanimous appointment by the panel. Shirley’s passion and love for our school shone through, and will make the foundations of a great Co-Head.

“I’m sure I speak for us all when I offer Mike and Shirley the best of luck in their intrepid adventure.”

Mr Kite had been thinking of retiring altogether, but everyone involved with the school was loath to let him go. Under his guidance, Loders has officially become one of the best primary schools in the country.

The hope is now that he’ll be able to pass on some of his magic to Ms Gibbs, who will at some point carry on as a more conventional solo head – allowing Mr Kite eventually to go.

About £2,000 must be raised this Friday night (March 12) to ensure that entrance to Bridport Museum in South Street collection remains free this year.

Star lots include the use of three holiday homes, one in Chamonix, one in Cornwall, and one in London.

Also on offer are two paintings by artist Philomena Harmsworth, a dolphin-watching session, and a table arrangement masterclass by florists Lavender Blue.

Curator Alice Martin said: “We’ve had an absolutely amazing response from everyone we asked.

“People have really understood how important the museum is to the cultural life of Bridport and have been very generous as a result.

Just what the doctor ordered: Bridport Museum curator Alice Martin with catalogue of promises and a model of historic Bridport apothecary Dr Roberts

“We now have to hope that enough people come along and get bidding so that we can raise the necessary money.

“We are already off to a great start after Denhay Farms gave us £300.

“But so many of the things that people have donated are the kind of items that normally money couldn’t buy.

“So it’s all up to our auctioneer Jim Rowe from estate agents Symonds and Sampson to make up the rest.

“If we can keep the museum free this year it’s hoped that we will be able to scrap admission charges for good.”

Bridport Museum saw visitor numbers double after it dropped its £2.50 admission charge last year.

Anyone unable to attend the auction on the night may still take part by contacting the museum office on 01308 458703 and leaving a maximum bid.

Catalogues ­- which are free – can be picked up from Bridport Arts Centre and Bridport Music.

And people will be able to follow the auction, which is being held at Bridport Arts Centre, South Street, live on Twitter from 7.30pm on Friday.

Doors open at 7pm and the auction commences at 7.30pm. Entry is £2.

The full list of lots:

 £100 voucher for Hix Oyster & Fish House

Leisure Centre induction and joining fee

Fishing trip for one on Ruby Jay

Week’s rental for four in Cornwall cottage

Mini-facial at Beauty and Beyond.

2 x Brace of pheasants.

Family history research.

2 x paintings by Philomena Harmsworth.

Family weekend bike hire from Revolutions.

Round of golf for four at Bridport and West Dorset Golf Club.

Guided walk along Jurassic Coast with Earth Science Manager Richard Edmunds.

Flight for one in a Ran6 airplane.

Jaxson’s Deli Hamper.

Dolphin watching with Marinelife.

Real Tennis lesson at The Hyde.

Pass to Mapperton House.

Computer doctor with Mark Beed.

Bottle of champagne.

Dinner for four at The Bull’s The Stable.

Pottery lesson with Miles Bell at Symondsbury Pottery.

Washingpool Hamper.

Clay pigeon shooting for two at Bridport Clay pigeon club.

£100 furniture restoration by English Home Antiques.

Knitted garment by Sandra Brown.

Personal or Business Security consultation by Bridport Police.

Family portrait by photographer George Wright.

Dinner for two at the Olive Tree.

A tour behind the scenes of the Museum.

One week holiday let for six in Chamonix.

A year’s subscription to Dorset Life.

2x Palmer’s Brewery tour.

Guided heritage walk of Bridport.

Forest Products hamper.

Handmade set of silver ammonite stud earrings by Goldfinger.

Paragliding taster session.

One hour boat trip on the Ruby Jay.

Three night’s use of central London flat.

Horwood’s Landscape Gardening spring clean.

Swimming membership at Highland’s End Leisure Club.

Year’s full membership of Dorset County Museum

The Leaker’s bread-making masterclass.

A Carlton Ware plate.

Peppers by Post seed selection.

Table arrangement masterclass by Lavender Blue.

2 x tickets for Hitler Moustache at the Electric Palace.

Child’s DVD postcard by Margie Barbour.

Haircut and restyle by Designers Edge Unisex salon.

The Market House, Bridport: "The sort of place that I would take my Mother for lunch."

PURELY in the interests of informing the readers of this site what-is-what, I managed to bluff my way through the security cordons and gain admittance to the new Market House pub in Bridport this morning.

I must have been in luck because I not only did I get in, but I managed to down a pint before the mounted police arrived. So, all-in-all a fairly successful outing around the town.

Now, whatever you might be expecting from the successor to the Royal Oak, you would be wrong: it is much better than I, or you, would have dreamed possible. In fact I shall go back, even when I can’t blag myself one on the house and that is saying something when it comes from the town’s premier soak, bore and general down-at-heel undesirable.

In fact it is the sort of place that I would take my Mother for lunch and that is saying something since the old girl usually forgets her teeth along with her cheque book, so I normally end up getting stumped for the whole lot.

The décor is attractive and yet strangely unobtrusive, I might say if I were writing for some poncey colour supplement, but I’m not, so I’ll just tell you that it looks pretty good on the inside. In fact it looks better in there than it does from the outside when you’ve got your nose pressed up against the windows trying to sneak a peep.

The prices are surprising as well: pretty much in line with what others charge - and a good deal less than a fair few – for the wallop, and the grub looks to be pretty much in-line with other nosh houses that don’t exactly stick their fodder in a trough and supply you with a sheet of newspaper to eat off.

It opens on Wednesday and I shall be stepping in there at some time for a drop of IPA, so don’t forget to greet me with the traditional line: “You are The Red Bladder, what are you having?”

Editor’s Note: The Red Bladder was attending an event organised for Palmers Brewery by Watershed PR, which company is run by the wife of the editor of this site. I have made some minor changes to punctuation, but otherwise the Red Bladder’s words and opinions are entirely his own (as they always are).

West Bay: On top of a pot sits a Nautilus float (British Made, it says on top of the float)

DAVE SALES, a shellfisherman for over fifty years, has worked the Dorset Coast from Poole to West Bay.

In the course of his long career, he has experienced many changes in the industry.

He has been a member of the Southern Sea Fisheries Committee for more than forty years and studied the fishing industry in the US and Canada as a Churchill Fellow.

He is an adviser to the British Government on inshore fisheries. His work for the conservation of fish stocks, especially the lobster, has contributed to the minimum catch size gradually being increased.

With the recent introduction of the no take rule for berried hen lobsters in our area, the future of stocks should be assured.

He will discuss the new Marine Protected Area in Lyme Bay and its proposed extension, as well as the impact of the Marine Bill on the fishing industry both locally and as a whole.

Editor’s Note: this talk by David Sales is one of a series of lectures organised by Mr Morpurgo and his wife Ioana. It’s at 8pm on Friday 12th March, at Marsh Barn, Burton Road, Bridport, ie, just off the main road between Bridport and Burton Bradstock. Entrance costs £6.

A new branch of Travis Perkins, costing £2.3 million, is being constructed. Up next is Lidl

WHAT USED to be a pleasant and uplifting walk along St Andrew’s Road is rapidly being destroyed by the Philistines who are building the new builders’ merchants depot and grocer’s shop alongside the Co-op.

They are completely obliterating the wonderful view of the upper half of Jessop Avenue and all of Happy Island Way. No more will we be able to gaze in wonder at these architectural gems as they seem to roll down the hill and fill us with warmth and gratitude to the far-sighted developers who gave us these vital ingredients of our local heritage.

Each time I see the vista before me I hear a Pete Seeger tune playing in my mind and give mental thanks to the planning department of the local council for granting us such a blessing.

I am sure that no other town in this land of ours would even dream of allowing a much-loved treasure to be completely hidden by a building constructed with sole purpose of foisting tins of baked beans, rolls of toilet paper and bottles of Egyptian Hock off on a gullible public.

Is it too late to prevent this monstrosity being completed? If so we must act and we must act swiftly and decisively. This view is far too valuable to be destroyed. If we allow this boil on the buttocks of Bridport to be completed future generations will curse us for our sheer vandalism. I would beg you to think of Happy Island Way and complain to your local councillor before it is too late.

The artist Richard Harris has been commissioned to produce a permanent work of art in response to the construction of the Dorchester to Weymouth Relief Road. The Earthscapes exhibition at Bridport Arts Centre shows some initial ideas - and this is one

Some notes on the Earthscapes exhibition at Bridport Arts Centre, curated by Sherborne House Arts

Part 1: The Project straightforwardly Described

A SCALE MODEL of a sculpture to be sited either side of the new Dorchester to Weymouth Relief Road has gone on show for the first time.

It’s on display at Bridport Arts Centre as part of Sherborne House Arts’ Earthscapes exhibition.

The work by sculptor Richard Harris shows some 28 boulders gradually rising on steel poles reaching to 3m (10ft) above the Southdown Ridge.

All the rocks ­- weighing between one and eight tonnes ­- are sourced from the 1.6m tonnes of material moved from the site where work on the road has been taking place.

If it gets the go-ahead, the sculpture will be on both sides of the road and will curve off up the slopes of the cutting following the natural geological strata.

Lines of stones are to be mounted on poles close to where they were dug up

An aerial view of the proposed public art work along the sides of the Dorchester to Weymouth relief road

The poles will curve up the sides of the cuttings

The excavated rocks are between 160 and 65 million years old and started being formed in what would have been a tropical lagoon. The concretions are formed around small matter such as a leaf or a fossil and steadily build up over millions of years solidifying by chemical processes.

Mr Harris said: “I was asked to consider the landscape, context of the whole road and having worked on several proposals for different sites ­ this is the idea that I feel is the strongest and most appropriate. Some of the geology has been exposed by the cutting but will eventually become less visible as the grass grows.

“This proposal puts the geology back where it was ­ but visible­ continuing up above the hill indicating where it would have been before it was weathered away.”

Mr Harris said he had been involved with the project since January last year making many visits to the site and consulting with geologists.

As if an invisible car was driving through in mucky weather and spraying up stones

He said: “This idea came in the late summer and only came about when the work had started and the stones had been revealed.

“The heavier stones will rise up from the ground and will get progressively smaller as they run through the air to the top of the slope.

Big stone...

... Small stone (fascinatingly coloured and shaped)

“What I am trying to do is give an inspiring image as people come into Weymouth and to reveal the geology in a dramatic way.”

 The idea of incorporating art in relation to the road was initially proposed in the Weymouth and Portland Commissioning Plan for 2012.

It stated that public art could be used to make the £87m road ­ which is due to open in Spring next year – more attractive for drivers.

The work is being supported by Arts Council England, South West and Dorset County Council.

Mr Harris is now working with Skanska, the contractors, Dorset County Council and his own engineers to develop the project. 

Part 2: ‘Earthscapes’ as an exhibition title

THERE AREN’T many better words in the English language than ‘scape’. It means so much and is so capable of forming suggestive associations. Brickscape, prisonscape, cityscape, mudscape, hedgescape, landscape, moonscape, earthscape… It’s a brilliant word for conjuring up an external scene or, indeed, an externalised one – as in moodscape or mindscape.

Then there is the word ‘scape’ taken by itself. It’s long been used as a shortened form of ‘escape’ –  ‘scape’ breaks away and soon ends up leading an outlawry of meanings: a ‘scape’ is a fart; a transgression due to thoughtlessness; an outrageous sin; a slip of the tongue; a clerical error.

Shafted / Scaped

‘Scape’ can also be used to describe the shaft of a column, or the long stalk of a flower  rising directly out of its root.

The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins used ‘scape’ to denote an impression or reflection of the individual quality of a thing or an action; its quiddity, its real nature or essence.

So you can start to see why an exhibition called Earthscapes is always going to be appealing, even before we get started on that titular coinage.

Why earthscapes and not landscapes? Perhaps because ‘land’ speaks too much of ownership and class, of power and authority – whereas ‘earth’ still escapes from some of those human forms? The earth, physically and mentally, is a space that none of us can ever truly hope to control – not forever – and space of course is an anagram of scape. At which point – at the mention of anagram – your mind can start to run away with possibilities (yes, to scape), because earth is also an anagram of heart.

So you can have earthscapes as ‘heartscapes’ or ‘heartspaces’ or ‘hearts paces’; pluck out the word art and you get ‘she art scape’, or ‘he art scapes’; and so on and on…

Part 3: The Relief Road Art Work as a Work of Art

You might regard everything written above as rather wild, but it is all relevant to the Dorchester to Weymouth relief road, and to Richard Harris’s initial models.

They’re fiendishly difficult designs to photograph, and if you’re interested you should go to see them for yourself, but I hope for now the pictures here show roughly what’s on display.

So, scapes: relevant how?

Firstly: in the crudest way, there will be people who regard what’s proposed as arty-farty nonsense – and, remember, ‘to let a scape’ does mean to break wind…

But let’s chuff on.

Secondly: look at the way the stones are upheld on shafts / columns / stalks – call them what you will – they are all ‘scapes’ and there are many different ways of viewing their form and layout. The stones for the real art work will come from excavations along the route. They will – you could argue – look like the severed heads on poles that used to be stood at the entrances to towns and cities (Dorchester once used to be gristled with the rotting heads of Catholic Martyrs who’d been hung, drawn and quartered). From that perspective, the two lines of scapes, moving down either side of the road, represent a triumphal assertion of power by Dorset County Council and its contractors.

Look what we have done! We have disembowelled the earth! We have built this road and routed our enemies!

Thirdly: and for what?

The stones curve like a sabre tooth, or perhaps a tongue

Or in these daubs like antennae or paw prints?

More still to follow: writer is thinking (when he gets chance)!  

There’s a most interesting story behind it.

In 1978 the artist Laurence Whistler gave this bound manuscript of a poem, some 80 pages long, to the Lyme Regis Philpot Museum, where it is on display. The author John Fowles had at this point just started his ten-year stewardship at the Philpot  as Honorary Curator. From the outset he regarded The Lymiad as one of the museum’s most precious possessions – for its verve, wit, and satirical humour; its vivid evocation of the manners and pastimes of a small Regency resort; and above all for its acute observations of the town, its people, and their preoccupations.

 Sadly, John Fowles died in 2005, so he never saw his dream of The Lymiad’s publication brought to fruition. Now the Museum’s Trustees have re-visited the project, in consultation with Mrs Sarah Fowles, his widow, and plan to launch a new edition of the manuscript; not a facsimile of the original, but designed as it might have appeared had it been published in 1819 – some 200 pages, soft-back, but with stitched pages and card covers marbled in the Regency manner.

The Lymiad will come out looking finer than this. At least, it'd better do!

 The edition will contain:

• An essay by John Fowles on “Lyme in the early 1800s’, published in 2003 from his original introduction
• A general introduction and textual note by John Constable
• A transcription of the text
• Editorial notes by John Fowles, John Constable and Jo Draper, the former curatorial consultant at the Museum.
• Illustrations from the Museum’s rich collection

The cost of the entire project is estimated at £4000. Some funds have already been raised, and it is hoped to raise the balance by 100 individual subscriptions of £20, the names of all those subscribing to be recorded in the publication.

For further information on this fascinating project contact Mary Godwin, the Museum’s Curator, on 01297-443370, or e-mail curator@lymeregismuseum.co.uk

*In 1997 the manuscript caught the attention of Dr John Constable, then Professor of English Literature at Kyoto University. Over the next few years he checked and studied the transcript and wrote the introduction.

In his words:  “The Lymiad emerges as a highly political and a thoroughly Whig poem, with some leanings towards the left of that party though stopping short of Radicalism itself.”

In view of Lyme’s political history, some may be surprised that “it stopped short of Radicalism itself”!

Should I stay or should I go? A speckled bush cricket in a wildlife-friendly Dorset garden. Dorset Wildlife Trust's webmaster Jane Adams, who took this picture, said: "It was a lucky photo. Just spotted it and took it. Within seconds it had moved on." Image copyright Jane V Adams. Reproduced here with kind permission of Dorset Wildlife Trust.

SIX per cent of households in West Dorset are members of Dorset Wildlife Trust. That’s double the average rate in other parts of the county.

So I was told when I went to give a talk at the Trust’s HQ at Forston between Dorchester and Cerne Abbas.

The Trust was discussing Living Landscapes, a new way of looking at relationships between wildlife, people and places. Part of the idea is that creatures should not just be corralled into core areas like nature reserves, they should be able to spread across Dorset, through bountiful spaces shared, enjoyed and valued by us all.

It’s a big project, still crystallising.

One element is a new contest competition to find the most wildlife friendly gardens in Dorset.

Hanging on! Another photo by Jane Adams: "This solitary bee, a Lasioglossum calceatum, looks very happy on the tiny flowers of my garden Heuchera. It's covered in bees for most of the day." Image copyright Jane Adams, reproduced with permission of DWT. More pictures from wildlife-friendly Dorset images can be seen on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/groups/wildlifegardensdorset

Joy Wallis, People and Wildlife Co-ordinator at Dorset Wildlife Trust, said: “The countryside and other urban open spaces are often unwelcoming and sterile, and they do not have the range of micro-habitats that many gardeners supply.

“We want to encourage gardeners across the county who are providing a haven for wildlife.

“The judges will be looking for gardens, however small, that welcome wildlife and so form a vital stepping stone between other suitable habitats.”

Gardens of all sizes are eligible and entries are welcome from individuals, groups of neighbours, whole streets, schools or communities. Judging will be in different size categories.

A nectar-rich garden border (Nicky Hoar, Dorset Wildlife Trust).

Gardens will need to provide a variety of sources of food such as nectar-rich flowers, seed and fruit planting with various sources of water, shelter and places to breed.

Entry to the competition is free. For more information and to download entry forms go to www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/wgc or www.thegardeneronline.co.uk,or visit Castle Gardens in Sherborne, Poundbury Gardens in Dorchester, or Dorset Wildlife Trust centres at Brooklands Farm, Lorton Meadows and the Urban Wildlife Centre. The closing date is 10 May. For more information, please contact Joy Wallis at Dorset Wildlife Trust on 01305 264620.

Prizes, which include a wildlife friendly collection of plants, gardening vouchers and books, will be presented by gardener Clive Farrell at a wildlife friendly gardening event at Castle Gardens, Sherborne, on 15 July. 

Wildlife Friendly garden features could include:

• Wildlife Pond Bog or permanently wet area
• Bird bath
• Bird Box
• Wild flower meadow
• Long grass area
• Nectar rich flower border and bushes
• Mixed Native Hedge
• Mature native tree
• Log pile and/or substantial decaying tree stump
• Compost heap
• No-go area
• Climbing plants/trellises suitable for nesting and feeding
• Slug pellet free