Tolpuddle

  • DESPITE the cold snowy weather, the Christmas coffee morning was well attended and did a brisk trade with its numerous attractions including a magnificent homemade food stall, a treasure hunt and raffle.

Father Christmas also came along to meet the children.

A profit of £550 was made for St John's church, and a cheque for a further £200 was presented to the church by the village show committee.

Puddletown

  • CHRIS LEONARD tells me that the play area at Puddletown recreation ground has a new safety surface thanks to Viridor Credits and the parish council.

The original bark chippings were difficult to keep tidy and in the right place so they have been replaced by resin-bonded shredded recycled rubber.

Chris added that the bark chippings were a natural way of giving children a safe landing if they fell over.

The trouble was that, being loose, the chippings got scuffed about and we could never be confident they were deep enough to provide the necessary cushioning where it was needed.

This new material is called Ecoscape and is made with shredded recycled rubber tyres, coloured to give a natural appearance.

The shreds look much like wood shavings, so they are a bit like the old bark chippings in appearance, but with a springy feel.

They were mixed with resin before being laid, to ensure they stay put.

The cost is being met by a grant of about £9,000 from Viridor Credits, through the Landfill Communities Fund, with the parish council making up the £1,000 balance.

The specialist contractor for the work was Allplay Services of Bedmond, Hertfordshire.

  • DORSET scrapstore is celebrating its tenth birthday, the last eight years of which have been at Three Lanes End.

It is an educational and environmental charity that encourages schools, community groups and families to recycle for craft activities clean materials from industry that would have otherwise been thrown into landfill.

If you like meeting and helping people, enjoy crafts and can spare a few hours each week to help in the scrapstore, or could possibly help at the workshops held all over the county, please contact the store on 01305 849444.

Affpuddle

  • YOUR Safer Neighbourhood Team would like to make you aware and ask for your vigilance at this time of year with an increase in poaching and theft of equestrian equipment.

We have also been asked by Trading Standards to warn you about the number of calls being received by the public allegedly coming from the local or county council.

The council does not cold call people on the telephone.

Do not give any details to the callers and simply put the telephone down.

I felt it appropriate for Home Watch members to receive this message also as some may have land away from the home.

We would like to ask for your assistance in • Reporting suspicious activity including vehicles or people.

• To safeguard any land or equipment you have.

• To make sure gates are adequately locked.

• Please make sure your equipment is packed and locked away out of sight.

We can arrange for your saddles to be post coded and offer other security advice to help you protect your property. Just get in contact with your local SNT. You can find your local team on the Dorset Police Website under local policing, or call 01202 222222.