• No less than 13 artists contributed to an art exhibition supporting the charity Water Aid which recently took place at the Sutton Poyntz Waterworks Museum.

The idea for the exhibition arose when some of them visited the Sutton Poyntz Victorian Fayre last summer, and saw the good work being carried out by Water Aid.

Ed Jones, one of the group, told me that the 13 - David Rogers, Judy Carruthers, Jo Puskarz, Sophie Fodden, Laura Mulhern, Tangwen Sanderson, Sophie Fodden & Nathan Castle, Joe Stevens, Julie Hill, Michelle Davies, Nigel Slight - are all fine art graduates, many award winners, and have showcased their work in London, but they especially enjoy exhibiting in Dorset.

Ed himself is a past winner of the Dennis Mitchell Sculpture Award and one of his works on display was a hanging display entitled ‘Dave’s trowel’.

The range of media used was very wide and included digital drawings on paper with fabric veneer, textiles, hand made jewelry, paintings, photography, poetry and a thought provoking audio visual presentation.

Not only were the works themselves worthy of note, but the subtle use of the environs of the museum heightened the enjoyment of the pieces.

At an open evening hosted by the artists over 100 local residents visited the Museum for a private viewing, and one of the visitors told me that for him the theme of the exhibition was summed up in a poem by Laura Mulhern “When water is the new oil/How much to pay per litre/A commodity become the precious/ Our new blue gold”

  • The fencing around the children’s play area at Elm Close has been completely renewed, and the number of access gates has been reduced.

This will help to make the area safer for use by youngsters, as it will help keep them in and dogs out.

However, the area would benefit greatly from the installation of some new rides.

Over the years playground equipment has been removed and not all of the items have been replaced, as in the case of the reduced number of swings or the disappearing slide.

I am not sure whether this has been done for financial reasons or because of health and safety constraints, but it would be nice to see a bit more ‘fun’ put back into the area.

  • Mel Dive tells me that the children in class 4KHCC – that’s the Year 4 class of Mrs. Hick & Mrs. Crocker – conducted the January draw for the St Andrew’s School 200 Club.

Jonny Reed picked out the first prize winners, Mr. & Mrs. Howlett, who won £50.

Solomon Mathias drew the second prize winning ticket for Lorna Morrissey, who wins £30 and finally Holly Toman did the honours by selecting the £15 prize for Bruce Carter.

All the profits from the Club go towards helping the children at St Andrew’s School, so if you would like to help, for just £1 a month, give Melanie a ring on 832467.

She would be delighted to hear from you, and the children will benefit.