Bridport: Review of 2009 (From Thisisdorset)

Bridport: Review of 2009

12:52pm Thursday 31st December 2009 in

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JANUARY They came from the East but not that far. Three Buddist monks travelled from their temple in Wimbledon to perform the annual blessing at Bridport’s Thai restaurant.

A Bridport pub were offering Britain’s cheapest pint. A pint of Brannoc real ale was available for a credit crunching 95p at the Beach and Barnicott.

Waitrose took over Somerfield supermarket, which led to a mixed response with fears higher prices might force shoppers to go out of town.

On the pagan Twelfth Night Bridport’s dream of a community orchard finally became a reality. Hundreds of people turned up in a bare field behind St Mary’s Church in South Street and transformed it into an apple orchard with the fruits of their labour.

A manager of Bridport Leisure Centre, Hermione Welch, saved the life of a 62-year-old man by using a defibrillator after he had suffered a heart attack while using the fitness suite.

Bridport Pantomime Players excelled themselves in their production of Sinbad the Sailor FEBRUARY Bridport’s pioneering farmers’ market celebrated its 10th anniversary. Stallholders were joined by celebrity chef Lesley Waters to mark the event.

It transformed the countryside into a winter wonderland or an icy hell, depending on your perspective.

But the worse snowstorms in 18 years caused severe disruption across Dorset with schools closed, roads blocked and businesses hit.

The snow was then followed by torrential rain and flooding. Temperatures plummeted to as low as minus 6 and treacherous black ice sent dozens of unwary motorists skidding off the roads.

Rising unemployment and mounting personal debt were forcing increasing numbers of people in West Dorset to choose between ‘heating or eating’. Advisors at Bridport Citizens’ Advice Bureau said the poor were going hungry as they struggled to survive the deepening recession.

Mountjoy’s chair of Governors launched a stinging rebuke on campaigners fighting to keep the special school in Bridport.

In an unprecedented attack on the group Ivan Kent accused them of causing ‘fear and panic’ among parents living locally.

Engineer Mat Follas catered for a dinner party special in MasterChef semi-final. As a result of his success he was hopeful that he had found a potential backer – which is just as well as his TV debut had been damaging to his IT career, he said.

Bridport Bees climbed to the summit of rugby’s Dorset and Wiltshire South One Division after beating Wimborne Seconds 93-0.

MARCH A Christian group disrupted a psychic gathering at the Electric Palace, denouncing it as ‘the Devil’s work’. Police had to be called after protesters’ behaviour became intimidating and obstructive.

Triplets, Joe, Chloe and Beth Tizzard from Shipton George celebrated their 18th birthdays.

A campaign to save community pubs across West Dorset was formally launched. The aim being to safeguard vulnerable ones from becoming victims of the deepening recession and prevent those that have already shut from being left empty to become eyesores.

Records took a battering at Powerstock School’s annual pancake races. The pupils turned in some impressive performances and notched up a first when they beat their teachers in the throwing contest.

MasterChef winner Mat Follas insisted that running his own restaurant was his goal – despite reports of a job offer from top restaurateur Raymond Blanc.

The White Lion pub in Broadwindsor started a new drink and drive initiative and invited customers to have a pint while racing their Scalextric cars.

At Stoke Abbot winter games, their 5.5 mile cross-county race, the Three Peaks Challenge, raised £530 for village hall funds and Ataxia UK. Paul Rose won for the second year running and the woman with the fastest time was Elaine Bowditch.

A thatched tree house that had been given three-year retrospective planning permission was branded an eyesore by angry neighbours who considered it an invasion of their privacy.

A haunted house stay spooked ghost hunters at the Old Black Dog in Uplyme, yet the demon dog of Haye Lane failed to make an appearance.

APRIL West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin accused the Highways agency of giving misleading figures to support the county council’s case for building the proposed waste site plant at Gore Cross. The former HMS Bridport’s new home is far away from English waters.

The Sandown class minehunter was refitted and heading for the Baltic, to join the Estonian fleet as ENS Ugandi.

Plans to regulate buskers in Bridport hit a sour note with opponents saying it would strike at the heart of the town’s economic prosperity.

Lidl was battling to keep supermarket plans alive after the arrival of Waitrose. District council planning officers withdrew support because there was no longer any need for the store.

A bush tucker trial at the George in Charmouth raised £920 for the Help For Heros charity.

On the menu were crickets, raw squid, pig’s testicles, cockroaches and cold sprouts!

Plans for a boat and caravan park in Bothenhampton was slated by villagers. Villagers were preparing for a new battle over land after proposals for a similar scheme were rejected.

Celebrity chef and MasterChef winner Mat Follas was offered a day’s work experience with top chef Raymond Blanc.

Beaminster man Douglas Gibbs, 81, was nominated as an honorary townsperson after raising money for charity for nearly half a century.

Beaminster Town Council said Mr Gibbs ‘failed to meet the criteria’ and refused to give him the title.

Bridport woman, Phillipa King, agreed to donate her brain for research into Parkinson’s disease after her death as part of a nationwide campaign, and encouraged others to do the same.

Stop me and buy one – ice-cream seller Steve Duke was told he couldn’t sell his ices at West Bay without a licence. He said that he was told he didn’t need any special permission and was concerned that his business was doomed after this U-turn.

Chideock parish councillors called an urgent meeting with transport chiefs after a runaway lorry caused a three-vehicle crash, blocking the A35.

A campaign to return Palmer’s Brewery’s disused premises back to community use received overwhelming support at a public meeting at Bridport’s Electric Palace.

MAY The Dorset Knob Throwing contest at Cattistock saw a record numbers of 5,000 trying their hand this year, the winner was Philip German-Ribon who threw his Knob 26.1 metres. The Sir John Colfox School in Bridport was redesignated a specialist language college for the third time in a row. The department for children, schools and families congratulated the school on the ‘significant achievement’ of retaining the status since 1999.

West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin apologised to his constituents after he became embroiled in the expenses claims row. He repaid £2,145 after making claims to mend a leaking pipe under his tennis court and to have his Aga cooker services regularly.

A drugs raid in the South West Quadrant and South Street in Bridport led to the arrest of four people on suspicion of possessing Class A and B drugs.

Noisy pub punters leaving The Lord Nelson and Tiger Inn were being offered lollipops in the battle to combat anti-social behaviour.

Archaeologists working on the National Trust’s Golden Cap Estate uncovered a rare find – a Neolithic settlement exposed by cliff erosion at Dog House Hill near Thorncombe Beacon.

Dedicated mother Rosemary Bishop, 64, completed a gruelling triathlon in memory of her daughter Victoria Mann and in aid of Julia’s House children’s hospice The Co-op in Bridport refused to sell alcohol to Michelle Nokes, 44, because she was with her 16-year-old daughter.

The guide leader hit out at the store for its ‘ludicrous and insulting policy’ but the Co-op defended its actions.

JUNE A campaign to clean up Bridport’s streets was launched because scavenging gulls and rats were leaving rubbish strewn across pavements after people put their rubbish out too early.

A total of 2,500 women took part in the Race for Life at Kingston Maurward. Among the Bridport runners were the Foote family – including Hannah who was recovering from her own battle with cancer.

The winners of the Bridport and Lyme Regis News Child of the Year 2009 portrait competition were announced and the overall winner was Courtney Pearce.

Celebrity chef Mark Hix and MasterChef’s Mat Follas both took part in Bridport’s sixth annual food festival at Asker Meadows, which celebrated Food for Life.

Plans to regenerate Bridport’s South West Quadrant were dealt another devastating blow when the South West Regional Development Agency said it would not fund the scheme.

Fourteen-year-old Beth Paull impressed judges at a selection event and was chosen as Bridport’s Carnival Princess 2009.

Excited pupils from Burton Bradstock Primary School shook hands with Prince Philip when he accompanied the Queen on a visit to the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

Bridport schoolboy and eco-enthusiast Luke Weyland, 14, was invited to join a new UK think-tank ‘Our Planet, Our Say’ set up to save the environment.

Beaminster teenager, Ashley Suleyman, was left terrified of walking the streets alone after he was attacked with a bottle in a racially motivated incident.

Bridport company, AmSafe, won a major order to provide a new vehicle armour system to protect frontline troops in Afghanistan.

Shipton Gorge became the regional winner in the business section of the Village of the Year contest sponsored by Calor.

JULY Veteran sailor, John Orme-Dawson, 61, who lost his life savings and all his possessions after being shipwrecked, was living on handouts of food and drink in West Bay.

The retired teacher launched a £8,000 fundraising campaign to restore his ship and make her available for community use.

Bridport father, Alan Lake, mounted a one-man campaign to get bonfires banned in the town.

He said the fires were causing an environmental and health hazard and they should be put out.

Thousands packed the Asker Meadows showground to enjoy a wide variety of culinary delights at another hugely successful Food Festival and the Round Table’s annual beer festival.

Parents were put on alert after a spate of swine flu scares at schools across the area. Beaminster Technology head teacher Mike Best issued advice for parents after a pupil was struck down with swine-flu-like symptoms.

Nemo the flying fish miraculously survived 15 minutes out of water after being picked up by Missie a partially blind Jack Russell and carried to her bed of after his leap for freedom went wrong.

Beaminster was awash with spectacle and noise as it hosted the Dorset town criers’ annual competition for the first time.

Police stepped up their campaign to put the brakes on West Bay’s boy racers and warned that they will continue to seize cars from persistent offenders.

Bridport faced an epidemic of substance abuse with the new drug of choice being the animal tranquilliser ketamine.

Bridport saw a huge percentage rise in crime in April, May and June compared to the same time the previous year, but Bridport police chief Alan Jenkins said that figures are higher in West Dorset because of police efficiency in the past.

The West Dorset community was in deep shock after the sudden death of much-loved vet Neal Shaw.

Mr Shaw had sold his veterinary practice Haydon Veterinary group at Gore Cross and was making plans to go to Australia.

AUGUST Bridport food producers tickled the tastebuds of judges from the Guild of Fine Foods in the Great Taste Awards 2009. Denhay bacon, Forest Products and Cherry Forest condiments were all given two-star gold award ratings.

Bridport’s woodland burial site was branded an ‘overgrown disgrace’ by angry relatives who said that the area was being left to run wild with most of the graves covered beneath a sea of grass and weeds.

Pirates invaded West Bay and plundered more than £4,000 for worthy causes. The buccaneers were raising funds for a number of charities at their Pirates Day.

Thousands packed the streets to see this year’s line-up of comic and colourful floats and walking entries at Bridport Carnival.

England’s soggy summer provided the inspiration for this year’s overall winner and best local entry – Groves Nurseries’ ‘BBQ Summer’.

Two families won their long-running battle to live the good life on their rural settlement.

West Dorset District Council planners voted to allow the farmers to remain on their small holding in Wootton Fitzpaine after they proved they could run a viable business.

Controversial plans to redevelop Bridport’s South West Quadrant were dealt another hammer blow when councillors rejected the scheme for a second time.

A knife-edge decision saw district planners throw out the revised outline application.

SEPTEMBER Fire bombers left a trail of destruction after destroying three cars and damaging two others. Worried residents were living in fear following the second spate of arson attacks within months.

St Swithun’s Playschool’s new storage shed – bought after a three-year fundraising campaign – was stolen just hours after it was delivered. The £800 self-assembly timber building was taken before members had seen it.

Bridport’s growing reputation as a leading food centre received another boost when it swept the board at the Taste of Dorset awards. The town was voted the country’s best for local food while a crop of individual producers also scooped top honours.

The first phase of a major scheme to improve pedestrian safety and ease traffic congestion in Bridport town centre was given the green light. Members of the county council’s roads and rights of way committee backed a £100,000 plan to remove two zebra crossings.

Celebrity Chef Keith Floyd died in Bridport after sharing a birthday meal at Hix’s Fish House in Lyme Regis with Celia Martin.

Celia said he had a wonderful last day after hearing good news about a bowel cancer diagnosis in June.

Seafood restaurants in Bridport and Lyme Regis made it into one of the country’s food bibles.

The Riverside at West Bay and Hix Oyster & Fish House in Lyme Regis were chosen to be listed in the Good Food Guide 2010.

It was announced that two Beaminster teenagers Jamie Isaacs and Sage Beckingham will star alongside Bond girl Gemma Arterton in Tamara Drewe, a Hollywood blockbuster being filmed in Dorset.

The shipwrecked sailor John Orme-Dawson, who spent two months living on handouts from people in West Bay, fled to France – leaving behind a trail of debts and disappointed helpers.

He was being hunted by marine police after he disappeared owing more than £1,000 to West Dorset District Council and £400 to a crane hire company.

A garden share scheme to get more people growing their own food failed to germinate in Bridport.

Magna Housing and Bridport Town Council embraced the idea but Bridport proved unfertile ground and Magna said they would try it in Dorchester instead.

OCTOBER Grieving parents Pam and Doug Rattenbury blasted the sentence and said there was no justice in the £100 fine and three penalty points imposed on the woman they blame for the death of their daughter Justine.

Lively ladies of Beaminster WI who enjoy singing choruses of Jerusalem and laughing over coffee and cakes at the Public Hall in Beaminster, were drowning out town council business taking place next door.

So much so, the councillors were having to consider moving their meetings to a different day.

Residents of the Tanyard off South Street were asking ‘do we live in the worst street in Bridport?’ Residents of the street complied a list which they claim was making their lives a misery, including, noise, rubbish, drug dealing, fights and anti-social behaviour.

Bridport school teacher Ann Lambert listed a catalogue of complaints that would have meant her 80-year-old mother leaving Dorset County Hospital in worse shape than when she went in.

Mrs Lambert demanded an apology and explanation.

The family of miracle baby Lorenzo Fulton who was blinded at birth launched a campaign to raise cash for pioneering surgery in China to give him the gift of sight.

Police stepped up their hunt for a firebomber in Bridport after five more cars were torched.

A head-on smash on the treacherous Bridport to Weymouth coast road brought renewed demands to reinstate the central white lines.

Bridport police officer Bob Fowler whose work in the community earned respect not only from his colleagues but also the criminals he collared, received a nationally recognised honour - a long service award from the county’s Criminal Justice Board recognising his ‘outstanding achievement and dedication’ in Bridport and Beaminster.

Beaminster was chosen as the new home of Mountjoy School 10 years after it was threatened with closure.

NOVEMBER It was announced that around 200 jobs are to be axed at Dorset County Hospital in the next 12 months.

A Bridport church was forced to install security cameras after a spate of thefts and vandalism. Six CCTV units were fitted in the ceiling and high on the walls in the historic building to provide round the clock surveillance.

A Bridport brass band struck a blue note when visitors to its website got directed to a page of porn. People logging on for details of Wessex Military Band’s performances were instead invited to view pictures of naked women.

Towns and villages across West Dorset turned out in force to remember and honour victims of war. Royal British Legion officials reported higher than usual turnouts as communities gathered to show the sacrifices being made by the nation’s fighting men and women in conflicts past and present would not be forgotten.

West Bay volunteer coastguards risked their lives in a two-day cliff top rescue to save a nine-year-old dog.

Doug Blair waded through rising flood-water at night to rescue his family and a pregnant woman stranded on top of their car where they had climbed to escape rising flood water near Whitchurch Canonicorum.

Entries for this year’s Bridport Prize were up by 40 per cent – lured by top judges and the ease of the internet, and former Dorset Echo reporter Joanna Quinn won the Dorset award for the second time in a row.

A second nurse at a Bridport care home was facing being struck off after being found guilty of misconduct. Ila Haskins wanted peace and quiet on night shifts at St James Nursing Home in Bradpole and was found guilty of a catalogue of offences.

Milk production increased at a Beaminster Dairy Farm after cattle were played songs by X Factor stars John and Edward.

Helen Choudray of the Taj Mahal Indian Restaurant in Bridport was helping Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall on his mission to highlight the delights of rabbit by turning the furry fellas into a tasty Tandoori curry.

DECEMBER Bridport nurse Karl Wallace blamed savage staff cuts for Dorset County Hospital’s failure to meet basic hygiene standards. He hit out after it was revealed that inspectors were confronted with filthy wards during a spot check.

The man responsible for keeping Bridport ‘on time’ for nearly two decades, Roger Snook, finally clocked off after 18 years as its custodian. Campaigners fighting plans to put Bridport’s waste transfer station at Gore Cross were celebrating after being thrown a lifeline by the Highways Agency. For 10 years the agency has been blamed for opposing sites off the A35 but in a dramatic U-turn they announced they had no objection in principle to a facility off the main county trunk road.

County councillor Karl Wallace threw down the gauntlet by challenging Top Gear presenter and The Stig to take a foggy night-time drive to Bridport on Weymouth coast road – and stay on track, backing his call for central white lines to be replaced along the highway.

Breast cancer sufferers presented a 5,700-strong signature petition calling for the retention of their treatment unit at Dorset County Hospital.

Palmers Brewery offered five years of free rent to help a campaign group open The Swan, a long-derelict pub in Toller Porcorum.

The Cattistock Hunt returned to town after 15 years. Their Boxing Day meet was in Beaminster.