Retired Colonel Guy Deacon was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease in 2011. In 2019 he embarked on an epic solo journey from his home near Sherborne to the southern tip of Africa. In a revealing and personal interview, Terry talks to Guy about his journey: 'There's nobody handing out spare parts for a VW camper between Morocco and Namibia, so that wa…

One in three of us yearns to throw in the day job and set up on our own. In this month's Letter from the Editor, Laura mulls over the realities of running your own business – who on earth would actually do it, and why do they love it? The reader's letters are rather dominated by the reaction to the suspension of the Blackmore & Sparkford Vale Hunt …

Sam Peters, former rugby correspondent at the Mail On Sunday and The Sunday Times and author of Concussed, talks to Terry about the gathering debate around concussion in the sport: 'There was a seismic shift moving from the amateur rugby game in the mid-90s to the pro game in the mid 2000s. The game is completely different to how it looked 30 years…

Experience the unique camaraderie of cold water swimming in one of England's highest (and coldest!) towns, and unravel the mystery of polecats with wildlife expert Jane Adams. Editor Laura reflects on the little pieces of ourselves we unknowingly leave with other people, from helpful motivation quotes to the embarassing little stories we would actu…

Claire Allen’s Epic Walk: 'I’m surprised I’m still here!’ Terry briefly interrupts Claire's year-long journey walking Britain’s entire coastline to find out how she started, where she is - and how it's going MP Chris Loder confronts the Post Office’s leadership, offering unwavering commitment to the Horizon scandal victims He graduated from Cambrid…

In the first of 2024's BV podcast we have all the January letters and politics, and Jenny talks to Fanny Charles about the rights and wrongs of the planned creation of the new Bonham Forest near Stourhead. Editor Laura Hitchock is looking for reasons to be cheerful during the longest month of the year The Reader's Letters this month include some wo…

From Phnom Penh to Poundbury: in a fascinating interview, New Zealander George Norbert-Munns tells Terry how he came to bring the delicate gourmet flair of Kampot pepper to the UK’s foodie scene, taking a 'risk' on one small shipment – which he sold in his very first weekend! Gay Pirrie-Weir has been reviewing pantomime for longer than she cares to…

We start the month, as always, with the Letters to the Editor, before listening to a Brecon Cathedral bellringer at Hazelbury Bryan Primary School. Jane Adams chats to Jenny about the fascinating (no, really!) world of lichen, and lastly we hear from International harpist Gwyneth Wentink. In her letter this month, editor Laura is looking back to a …

In this episode Terry gets to grips with some of the biggest issues currently pressing Chris Loder MP, Cllr Spencer Flower gives us a peak into his personal life, Penny Nagle talks to Jenny about a new producers market and Terry discovers the fascinating men behind award-winning Orris Leather in Wimborne. Cllr Spencer Flower shares his life's journ…

We start the month, as always, with the Letters to the Editor, before moving on to a slice of seriousness – along with the usual political columns we have the first part of Terry’s interview with Chris Loder MP as he answers the open post bag from this month’s Q&A. Finally Jenny chats to BV columnist and Nutritional Therapist (and podcast favourite…

Tune into a candid conversation where soil meets soul, with Fifth-generation local farmer James Cossins. Delve into the trials and triumphs of this year's difficult harvest. Discover a world where the crunch of fresh produce and the rustle of golden fields meet business savvy and environmental stewardship. James opens up to Jenny about the delicate…

It's a mixed package for the first of the October podcasts. After the usual start with the letters, we delve straight into the politics columns. Then Jenny has a fascinating conversation with Dorchester Literary Festival's co-organiser Janet Gleeson, and Terry talks to Pauline Batstone who's currently in Bridport ... the one 11,000 miles away in Ta…

In the second of September's podcasts – still in the new longer format which has proved popular – Jennie talks to Jane Adams about how we welcome (or don't!) bindweed, dandelion and ivy. And don't miss Terry's brilliant interview with Alex Stevens of the NFU, shedding a lot of light on the modern dairy farming business. Resident wildlife columnist …

Get ready to experience the Sound of Love! Robert Feelgood is your host and guides you into a journey of joy and happiness. This radio show brings you the best of disco and house music every month. Sound of Love #13 01. Damier Soul - Just tell the the DJ (Luca DeBonaire remix) 02. Block&Crown - The truth 03. Sugar Hill Wasabi - It's on you (Ganzfel…

In the first of September 23's episodes of the BV podcast: Letters (from and to) the editor In politics, Chris Loder, MP for West Dorset, discusses the fact that the declining use of cash particularly affects the elderly and rural dwellers. Ken Huggins of the Greens agrees that he, too, hates wind turbines. But that that's not the point! And Mike C…

Get ready to experience the Sound of Love! Robert Feelgood is your host and guides you into a journey of joy and happiness. This radio show brings you the best of disco and house music every month. Sound of Love #12 1. Dean J Marriot - Got this feeling 2. Dimo - Just freak it 3. Colin Parker - Dark Sky Tonight (Grooveshifters Remix) 4. DJPP Vs GotS…

Get ready to experience the Sound of Love! Robert Feelgood is your host and guides you into a journey of joy and happiness. This radio show brings you the best of disco and house music every month. Sound of Love #11 1. Damier Soul & Robert Feelgood ft Robert Owens - Thank You! 2. Sidney Charles - Hurricane 3. Jay Mocio & Groovebox - Start Moving - …

Get ready to experience the Sound of Love! Robert Feelgood is your host and guides you into a journey of joy and happiness. This radio show brings you the best of disco and house music every month. Sound of Love #10 1. Robert Feelgood & Miss Sugaware - So many people 2. Robert Feelgood & Damier Soul - Nunca te olvides de Mi 3. Robert Feelgood - Bod…

In the second of August's podcasts – still in the new longer format which has proved popular – Jennie talks to both Jane Adams and owner of Little Waddon Vineyard Simon Priestman 'A weasel is weasily identifiable, whereas a stoat is stoatally different'. Jennie talks to widlife expert Jane Adamas about the stoat – its mesmerising effect, how to spo…

Get ready to experience the Sound of Love! Robert Feelgood is your host and guides you into a journey of joy and happiness. This radio show brings you the best of disco and house music every month. Sound of Love #9 1. Lars Van Dalen & Mike Moorish - Daydreaming 2. Grooveshifters - Broken Tears 3. Just Dennis - Do It Now 4. Bob Sinclar - Back Again …

Get ready to experience the Sound of Love! Robert Feelgood is your host and guides you into a journey of joy and happiness. This radio show brings you the best of disco and house music every month. Sound of Love #8 1. Robert Feelgood & Alaio&Gallo - I've got you by my side 2. Damier Soul - Jumpin & Pumpin 3. Andy Craig - Move it now - Hoxton Whores…

Get ready to experience the Sound of Love! Robert Feelgood is your host and guides you into a journey of joy and happiness. This radio show brings you the best of disco and house music every month. Sound of Love # 7 1. Robert Feelgood&Damier Soul - Nunca Te Olivedes Mi 2. Robert Feelgood - B Boys&Fly Girls 3. Darko De Jan&Greg Stainer ft. Marga Sol…

Get ready to experience the Sound of Love! Robert Feelgood is your host and guides you into a journey of joy and happiness. This radio show brings you the best of disco and house music every month. Sound of Love #6 1. Robert Feelgood & Damier Soul - Picklehead - Damier Soul Remix 2. Dos Santos. Electobios&B.O.N.G. - Twisting My Mind 3. Miss Sugawar…

As usual we start the month with the letter from the edfitor, as well as all the BV's reader's letters. The red kite is a popular conservation success story, and Jenny talks to Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Adam Woolcott about his love of the birds of prey, who – despite their rising population numbers – are still at risk from poisoning. Simon Hoare MP a…

Get ready to experience the Sound of Love! Robert Feelgood is your host and guides you into a journey of joy and happiness. This radio show brings you the best of disco and house music every month. Sound of Love #5 1. Green Velvet&Riva Star - Robots - Weiss Remix 2. Audiowhores&Stee Downes - Facts - Bise Remix 3. Mihai Popoviciu - Time 4. Stanny Ab…

Get ready to experience the Sound of Love! Robert Feelgood is your host and guides you into a journey of joy and happiness. This radio show brings you the best of disco and house music every month. Sound of Love #4 1. Simon Fonte - Grooving 2. Groovebox - Flawless 3. Stefano Mango& dj Vitto - Bar Funk 4. Filthygeeks ft. Roland Clark - We love our h…

Get ready to experience the Sound of Love! Robert Feelgood is your host and guides you into a journey of joy and happiness. This radio show brings you the best of disco and house music every month. Sound of Love #3 01. Collabor8 - Work This Out 02. Time Takers - Burning Up 03. Solartape - Devotion - Scott Diaz Onwards mix 04. Stonebridge - Put 'm H…

Admittedly a chimpanzee-studying lady in Africa may not have been everyone's childhood hero, but for editor Laura – an animal-obsessed girl growing up in a big Essex town – the life of her dreams was being lived by Jane Goodall, the renowned ethologist and inspiring conservationist. Even at 89 Dr Jane Goodall remains a powerhouse of action, and her…

You can never say the BV provides a predictable array of subjects! In the politics columns this month, Simon Hoare MP agrees that climate change is all around us – but he is confident that it is being acted on by the government. He also takes time to discuss vaping – our next public health crisis? In a mock exam for politicans, Mike Chapman of the …

Editor's Letter from Laura in which she muses on her optimism for the future, plus all the reader's letters from June Farmers can be prosecuted for damaging short stretches of river, but when will water companies be held accountable for their actions? Jenny talks to Dorset farmer and journalist Andrew Livingston. George Holtby of Holtby & Co in She…

Thanks to a nudge from a local villager, Rachael Rowe tried a trip under the new £2 bus fare cap. Terry finds out that she hasn't been on a bus since moving to Dorset, and has now discovered a new method of adventure! Environmentally and economically, opting for the bus is a great idea - and Rachael points out that there are a lot of routes include…

Jenny's interview with Kevan Hodges of the Ferne Animal Sanctuary looks back at the last 80 years, from the shocking (to modern minds) need for a sanctuary in wartime Britain (an estimated 3/4 million pets were euthanised at the start of the war), to reflecting on the fact that Ferne has saved around 40,000 animals. They have up to 200 dogs a year …

The June BV Podcasts begin, as every month, with this month’s letter from the editor and all the latest reader’s letters. Next historian Roger Guttridge talks to Jenny about Stalbridge's most famous resident, and Terry has a chat with local antiques dealer Craig Wharton about the time TV's Antiques Road Trip came to town. Letter from the Editor - L…

Wildlife writer Jane Adams grew up in the suburbs, and vividly recalls the first time she shared her morning tea with the waking birds "In the past, I didn’t understand why people got so excited about the dawn chorus. Wasn’t it just a bunch of birds singing ridiculously early in the morning?" Jane sat down with Jenny and they chatted about the earl…

You can’t interview Charlie North-Lewis without a steady stream of name-dropping; his long and winding career is a musical tour through 40 years of popular culture. Charlie was working at BAFTA in 2002 when he decided it was time to go back to his professional roots after long years managing band tours, and look for a theatre job. ‘I just happened …

The May BV Podcast begins, as it does every month, with this month’s letter from the editor and all the latest reader’s letters. Next we hear from our local political party representatives, and their timely commentary on the state of the world. Lastly we have an interview with Carole Jones, who gives us a peek behind the scenes of a social supermar…

In a BV exclusive, our own Jenny Devitt sat down with Natalie Wheen, one of the nation's favourite broadcasters, for a wide-ranging conversation around Natalie's Dorset Island Disc choices. Eavesdrop on their chat as Natalie shares the remarkable stories of how and why each piece of music has stuck in her life (you can find links to the specific pi…

In politics this month, Mike Chapman, for the North Dorset Lib Dems, is looking at the innate risks involved when one party stays in power too long. Pat Osborne, for North Dorset Labour, discusses the need for a clear roadmap for change on climate action. And Ken Huggins from the North Dorset Green Party is calling 'total greenwash tosh' on the gov…

The April BV Podcast begins, as we do every month, with this month’s Letter from the Editor and all the latest Reader’s Letters. This month we then move on to three interviews. Jenny Devitt chats to Giles Simpson, Chairman of the G&S Show ahead of this weekend's Spring Countryside Show. Next Terry spoke to journalist Andrew Livingston as he discuss…

With a growing need for food banks, what effect does food poverty have on a family’s youngest members, asks Dorset Mind’s Marie Glen. Based on the best-selling novel by Audrey Niffenegger, the musical adaptation of The Time Traveller’s Wife is scheduled for a West End run at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue this autumn. Joanna Woodward, who…

Three interviews for you this week - Jenny chatted local history with Roger, Terry discussed new housing developments and wildlife writer Jane Adams is back talking to Jenny! Roger Guttridge recalls three local legends: a minister who upset early women’s libbers, Marnhull’s bull-baiting habit and the legendary toad doctor of Pulham Planning permiss…

The March BV podcast begins, as always, with this month’s letter from the editor and all the latest reader’s letters. This month we move swiftly into politics, with the contributions from all four local party representatives. Then it's on to this month's Dorset Island Discs - our castaway this month is local shepherd and Gillingham & Shaftesbury Sh…

In this episode: Folk musician, singer, actor, storyteller, historian, Thomas Hardy expert ... Dorset’s Tim Laycock is a man of many talents, and Jenny has his answers to the Random 19 questions. Terry has been talking to Cllr Peter Wharf as he gets to grips with Dorset Council's additional council tax levy on second homes, and the pros and cons of…

Terry talks to Steve Tarrant, a north Dorset man who suffered life-changing injuries at Goodwood in 2000. He has recently has been awarded the highest honour in motorsport for his courage and commitment. Previous winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award have included Stirling Moss and Sir Jackie Stewart. SUCH an interesting conversation - I suspec…

The February BV podcast begins, as always, with this month's letter from the editor and all the reader's letters - moving on to two interviews; one with the principal of Kingston Maurward college, and the other with Henry 'Blowers' Blofeld. Letter from the editor, Laura Hitchcock Reader's letters Following a local outcry based on inaccurate informa…

Another exclusive interview just for podcast listeners this week - Terry has a fascinating conversation with Rupert Hardy from the CPRE about the 'rooftop vs. field' solar panels debate. Then in Roger Guttridge's column we hear the brilliant story behind the most haunted house in England (allegedly), Sandford Orcas manor. And to finish off we have …

We start the first podcast of 2023 with all the letters before we listen to what the local experts say about the Dorset property market this year (plus some fascinatingly honest tales of houseselling generally!), and the latest thoughts from all four of our local political representatives. Letter from the editor, Laura Hitchcock Reader's letters Pr…

Get ready to experience the Sound of Love! Robert Feelgood is your host and guides you into a journey of joy and happiness. This radio show brings you the best of feelgood & disco influenced house music every month. Sound of Love #002 Lars van Dalen – Prinsengracht 444 Lucas&Steve – Rock it now Alaia&Gallo – Beat the Drum Block&Crown & Robert Feelg…

Get ready to experience the Sound of Love! Robert Feelgood is your host and guides you into a journey of joy and happiness. This radio show brings you the best of feelgood and disco influenced house music every month. Sound of Love #001 Robert Feelgood - Jack the Preacher Robert Feelgood - Body Movement Robert Feelgood - Luanda Nick Fiorucci - Piga…

It’s a perfect half hour’s listening to start the new year – we catch up with the latest political thoughts before Roger shares the tale of the 18th century death that may not have have happened. We explore the winter woodland landscape with Dorset Wildlife Trust, and Jane Adams has some fascinating insight into our winter bees. Lastly, in yet anot…