An exhibition that explores the stories and contribution of black people in Dorset over the past 300 years runs every day during this year’s Dorchester Festival.

The exhibition includes a display of photographs, stories, writings, short film and audio recordings detailing the lives and histories of people of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage in Dorset.

Dorchester Arts Centre:   May 25-28:  11am-2pm:  Free

The 2007 Purbeck Aware Festival will take place from the 19th May to 17th June. The theme for this year’s festival is ‘Out and about in Purbeck’ and includes events such as guided walks, cycle tours and boat trips.

The Festival is a celebration of the unique natural heritage of Purbeck: over half of the district is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; its coastline is a World Heritage Site and over a quarter of the area is covered by Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Details of the Festival, which is organised by the Purbeck Heritage Committee and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, can be viewed at Purbeck Council’s website or you can pick up event guides from Wareham or Swanage Tourist Information Centres.

Jimmy Carr, free from presenting the seemingly never-ending ‘top 100′ list-type programmes for Channel 4, performs his stand-up ‘Gag Reflex’ show at the Lighthouse in July.

Catch the award-winning show before it comes to an end as the hard-working comic starts touring a new show “Repeat Offender” in the autumn.

Lighthouse:  £18.50

If you missed Keith James perform his ‘Songs Of Nick Drake’ set at the Square and Compass in Worth Matravers last month, then there is another chance to see him perform at Lulworth Castle on Monday night.

Described as ‘an absolute must’ by Radio 2’s Mark Radcliffe, Keith James and Rick Foot continue Lulworth Castle’s ‘Blues in the Courtyard’ season.

Lulworth Castle:  Tickets £9 adv, £10 on door 

Farmer Palmer’s, the Organford based farm visitor attraction, is the first Dorset business to pick up an award from the Green Tourism Business Scheme.

The Green Tourism Business Scheme, set up in 1997, champions sustainable tourism in the UK and sets out up to 120 environmentally sustainable measures businesses can take to gain an award.

Farmer Palmer’s was a struggling dairy farm before its owners (a brother and sister) turned it into a popular tourist attraction for children and their families in 1998. It now employs 50 staff and attracts up to 80,000 visitors a year and in 2006 it won the Farm Attraction of the Year Award.

Following the hospitalisation of an 11 year old boy who was bitten by an adder whilst playing in heathland on Shell Bay, Studland, the National Trust has said that there is no need to put up new warning signs.

They point out that the current car park and beach signs already warn about adders and weaver and jelly fish.

The Adder is Britain’s only venomous snake and is common in heathland areas in Dorset. They are usually non-aggressive and only bite if caught or trodden on. 

Adders are most commonly seen in Spring when they come out of hibernation. Their bite should not be life-threatening to a healthy adult but it is very painful and requires urgent medical attention.

The hit West End comedy ‘Pete and Dud Come Again’ comes to the Lighthouse later this month.

The play, written by Chris Bartlett and Nick Awde, tracks the rise and fall of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore from Beyond the Fringe through to Derek and Clive.

Lighthouse:  30 April-2 May:  £15.50

As part of the Bluesnights series, The Martin Harley Band play the Dorchester Arts Centre on Saturday night.

Wash away those blues with their fusion of folk, world music and funky roots.

Dorchester Arts Centre:  Tickets £9.50 Advance, £10.50 Door 

Plans to turn the cottage where the novelist Thomas Hardy was born into a holiday home have been scrapped

The National Trust, who own the house, had planned to rent it out as holiday accommodation but they have backed down after vociferous opposition.

The property is open to the public from April to October and attracts some 14,000 visitors a year. Hardy lived in the cottage until he was 34, and wrote Under the Greenwood Tree and Far from the Madding Crowd there.

The cottage - located in Higher Bockhampton - is very small and austere, in keeping with how it would have been in Hardy’s day, so it is difficult to see how it could be renovated into a comfortable holiday home without losing its charm and character.

Nevertheless, The National Trust say they might still use if for specialist retreats over the winter months.

Shakespeare’s comedies ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ and ‘Twelfth Night’ will be performed at The Lighthouse later this month.

The double bill, enacted by the all male ensemble, Propeller, promises ‘a ground breaking and highly visual perfomance…which will delight both the Shakespeare lover and novice’.

Lighthouse:  24-28 April:  Tickets £14.50 Eves, £9.50 Mats

A new cycling guide to Purbeck has just been published by The Purbeck Action for Cycling Team (PACT). The guide gives an overview of 7 cycle routes across the stunning Purbeck countryside.

You can purchase the guide for 40p from Swanage or Wareham Tourist Information Centres, or download it for free from the Purbeck District Council website.

After our report of Prince William’s fun and frolics at the Bournemouth nightclub, Elements, the writing was obviously on the wall for him and Kate Middleton, and they announced their split today.

According to the BBC’s Nicholas Witchell (’that horrible man’),  the move to racey Purbeck was the straw that broke the camel’s back:  ’the Prince’s move to Bovington Camp in Dorset had a lot to do with the final stages of the break-up’.  


Leading on from an earlier piece about the shooting of 15 goats by the National Trust after a failed grazing experiment, it has been reported that the 3 surviving goats are still very much alive and have so far evaded capture.

The National Trust is working with the Margaret Green Foundation Trust, a local animal sanctuary, to capture the goats and bring them to the safety of the sanctuary where they should live long and happy lives.


And finally, following a previous article about Ian McEwan’s new novel ’On Chesil Beach’, it has transpired that whilst researching for the book he purloined a few pebbles from the beach, thus committing a criminal offence and risking a £2000 fine.

We can all sleep easier at night knowing that the pebbles have now been safely returned - Mr McEwan was not present at their repatriation, but he sent some American friends and a film crew.  

Kings of Leon bring their brand of southern rock to Bournemouth in July.

The Pentecostalist brothers (and one cousin) are touring their third album - Because of the Times - and, according to their bassist, aim to celebrate American Independence Day with us in style: 

“Yeh, July 4, I read about Bournemouth on the coast - I swear to God I’m already cooking up a patriotic playlist!”

BIC:  4 July:  Tickets £22.50

The 19th Great Dorset Beach Clean takes place on Sunday and volunteers are needed to assist in clearing rubbish from beaches right across Dorset.

Last year’s event saw 500 bags of rubbish removed from 25 beaches by over 300 volunteers.

If you turn up on the day at the advertised times there will be a beach master on hand to provide you with protective gloves and bags.

For anyone who missed the Madchester phenomenon the first time round, or for those who just want to reminisce, the tribute band The Complete Stone Roses are playing at Mr Kyps in Poole on Saturday night.

I often find with tribute bands that all I need to do is remove my glasses and have a few drinks and it’s like the real thing all over again, so I’ll be hoping to be transported back in time to the Rose’s legendary Spike Island gig that I was fortunate enough to attend back in 1990.

Mr Kyps:  Doors open 8pm:   £10 adv, £12 door