LOCAL CARE HOME RESIDENTS TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Upton Bay care home in Poole were treated to an exciting live streaming tour and talk about Dartmoor Zoological Society, hosted by Education and Research Manager, Francesca Canale-Dow.

Created in the 1960’s as a private exotic animal collection, the Zoo fell into disrepair and was threatened with closure in 2006. Along came Benjamin Mee, who with his family bought the site and set about creating the Zoo as it is today.  In 2014, the Mee family kindly donated Dartmoor Zoological Park to Dartmoor Zoological Society (DZS).  The charity is responsible for the care of the animal collection as well as conservation, breeding and research projects.

Francesca’s tour explained about life at Dartmoor Zoo so residents could find out what it is like to work in such a demanding yet rewarding world.  The talk focused on the Zoo’s beautiful tigers, Dragan and Alisha.  Although not related, Dragan and Alisha were both born in 2014 and were hand reared together in Tierpark Zoo in Berlin, they came to Dartmoor Zoo in June 2016 at the age of 18 months.

Residents were able to see the tigers being trained and ask the trainers questions about how they go about looking after them, their daily routines and breeding programme, what they like to eat and do and what happens if they get ill and need care.

Francesca says: “We really enjoyed being able to show the Barchester residents some of the fantastic animals we have at Dartmoor Zoo, we are very proud of the work our brilliant teams do here.  We were just so happy to be able to share our passion for wildlife conservation and answer all the residents’ questions.”

Lucy Tomlinson, Resident Experience Manager for Barchester Healthcare, commented: “We have been using technology to keep our residents and patients connected with their loved ones as well as offer live streaming events, entertainment and activities throughout the pandemic.  We are excited to work with our amazing partners like Dartmoor Zoo to bring a wide range of different experiences into our homes for all to enjoy, particularly as this talk provided such a lovely opportunity to see the animals and learn all about them.

“Our varied life enrichment programme keeps residents active and socially connected, providing a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities,” Lucy added.

General Manager, Mevin Sohorye, said: “Our residents are fascinated by animals and so we were delighted to be able to watch the tigers being trained and to get to know their personalities.  It was brilliant to be able to ask Francesca and the team questions about their experiences of working with the animals.”

We’re making our homes as safe as possible and will ensure that all new residents and staff are vaccinated before moving in or working in our homes.  Please do give us a call on 01202 679529 if you are looking for care or need any further help.        

Upton Bay is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering high-quality care across its care homes and hospitals. Upton Bay provides residential care, respite care, and specialist Dementia care services.

Pulman's Wins Again!

 

Pulman's Weekly News has now been awarded Best Local News Publication –  West Country in the  2021 Global Business Awards hosted by Corp Today Magazine.

Pulman's Weekly News & Advertiser Series was put forward to Corp Today’s dedicated team of in-house researchers who have handpicked each of their 2021 award winners. This proven approach ensures that they award on merit, and not popularity, and recognise the very best in the business.

Michael Banks, MD of Pulman's Weekly News, said; “To be acknowledged as Best Local News Publication for the entire region is a further feather in the cap, especially in these uncertain times.  Our news coverage has now evolved to provide both video and online reporting, and I am delighted the team have won such a prestigious award in such a wide-reaching area. Included in this new area are neighbouring towns within Dorset, who benefit greatly from their own bespoke PR brands, such as Experience Lyme Regis.

“The effort put in by our team and in particular past developmental guidance from digital media entrepreneur Duncan Williams, drawing upon parallel success with Reach Plc and InYourArea projects, as well our own individual feature writers, contributors and staff, all represents a collective belief we all share in the future of hyperlocal media. I am proud that we have been awarded such a significant prize in difficult times which highlights the quality of our work on behalf of the West Country communities and small business advertisers we serve.”

Corp Today Magazine who claim readers consisting of 138,000 ‘C’ Level professional, VPs, Consultants, VCs, Managers and advisors, will announce the award winners in all categories shortly.

Destination Awards

Do you know a business in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area that you think deserves to win an award? 🤔🏆

Click the link below, fill out a quick nomination form and we can then get in touch with your nominee! We'll tell them the great things you've told us about them and encourage them to fill out one of our application forms.

Have your say in who should win a Destination Award and nominate today!

👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
https://www.destinationawards.co.uk/nominate

Destination Awards
Yellow Buses
Expectations Travel
Marsham Court Hotel Bournemouth
BCP Council
DBox Events
Poole Post - NewsGroup
Society for Poole
On the Hoof Coffee Company

VIEW NEWS Christmas message

Wishing all of our many West Country friends, businesses and communities a very happy Christmas.

Thank you for your support in 2018. We look forward to exciting times during the coming year... Where local media matters.

WEST COUNTRY MEDIA GROUP SUPPORTS LOCAL BUSINESS

PULMAN'S WEEKLY NEWS has a proud history of bringing local news to the people of the West Country in England.

In these days of unfiltered news and fake news, locals of West Country can rely on Pulman’s Weekly News.

This West Country media brand was founded by renowned Axminster-born publisher, George Philip Rigney Pulman, way back in 1857.

Pulman’s Weekly News was the first newspaper in Crewkerne, and print pioneer George set it up having served as editor of the Yeovil Times.

Retaining our heritage value is important, as is going with the times and becoming a digital media brand. We now utilise social media for community outreach, connecting towns and people in exactly the same way as in historic times, while meeting the needs of a new generation.


Quality News Needs Local Advertisers

With the advance of technology in recent years, the role of your local newspaper has changed dramatically. But while our news may be published through different online outlets today, Pulman's Weekly News still aims to share the voice and views of the community.

So, we needed to find different ways to do that… stay relevant and stay alive.

Local media needs local advertisers… but it is a two-way street. Our brand can showcase local small businesses and non-profits in credible ways, for affordable prices, and these enterprises benefit from the increased exposure across our audience.


Pulman’s Advertising and PR Campaigns

Keep your news outlet and local focus alive by supporting Pulman’s Weekly News with your advertising and editorial ideas.  We welcome all businesses and social impact enterprises in the local area to contact us.

Historic community newspaper titles such as ours add tremendous credibility to business editorials or marketing campaigns. We aim to give advertisers multi-platform options, encourage healthy social media interaction, and provide ways to assist local business and community leaders.


Local Media is Evolving Beyond Print

We asked the local community… what media forms are most used? Print is still important to rural neighbourhoods, but it no longer commands the dominance and large readerships it once had.

West Country advertisers now have a wider range of mediums to choose from.  Our independent media group offers excellent public relations, social media, and video marketing services.

Our journalists and editors read and listen to news everywhere and are up with the trends of today. Artificial Intelligence (AI) – e.g. voice interaction, image recognition, and real-time capturing – is breaking down barriers for people with sensory, physical and cognitive disabilities.


Supporting New Business Start-Ups

Bringing together community and business, our news outlet can help our West Country towns and villages survive and prosper.

A local news brand is important in supporting awareness of local business. If there is a problem in business or youth employment, we want to be in a position to help solve it.

New business start-ups are of vital importance to a healthy local economy.


Pulman's Weekly News: Community Grants

This regional bursary prize named after the historic newspaper group publisher George PR Pulman continues to offer sponsorship to good causes.

Duncan Williams, who is the community outreach editor of Pulman's Weekly News & Advertiser Series, says: “The Pulman’s Award and bursary continues to uphold the same values of George Pulman and is open for nominations throughout the year”.

The bursary prize has made donations during the past 12 months to the Bibic Football Fundraiser in Yeovil, the Dorset Blind Association, and enabled the production of ‘talking’ newspapers and books for the elderly and partially sighted.

Most recently, the Pulman’s Award has helped fund the publication of a series of skills training workbooks and specially tailored courses designed to help ex-offenders find work and rebuild purposeful lives back within the community.

Leaflets and booklets have also been distributed across the West Country to help enlighten young people about the dangers of drugs and addiction.


Our History

Many West Country communities know the name George Pulman well. Considered a Victorian media mogul, he founded Pulman’s Weekly News back in 1857.

His media brands continued to be a prolific news source for over 150 years throughout the prime agricultural counties of Devon, Dorset and Somerset.

Pulman's Weekly News was always renowned for its reliability and trustworthiness. This is because his journalists researched local stories so well.

George Pulman was also a lifelong Christian who worshipped regularly at his local church in Axminster, Devon.  To help rouse local attendance, George would enthusiastically play the church organ on a Sunday morning. There he met and married his young wife, who was also a regular member of the same Axminster congregation.

Throughout his life, George believed in the importance of building community: through Church, rural life and local news. He always upheld the values of truth and helped give voice to West Country causes and concerns that might otherwise have been forgotten.

Journalism was then considered as a serious and respected profession.

So in this era of fake news and political propaganda, perhaps it is time to remember the values of one of the news media’s earliest pioneers. A man of faith who built a regional media empire which lasted through multiple generations.

News publishing, in all its many forms, is still as relevant today as it was when George Pulman was alive.

Our British free press and local news media are invaluable communication tools that - when used correctly - can make our society a better place.


(George Philip Rigney Pulman: 1819 - 1880)

Crowdfunding bid launched to save axed weekly news series

A media and marketing director has launched a bid to revive a series of weekly newspapers which shut last week with the loss of around 20 jobs.

Duncan Williams, left, has started a crowdfunding campaign following the closure of the ‘View From’ series – which serve towns in Dorset, Devon and Somerset.

The series has ceased publication, resulting in around 20 redundancies, less than six months after the titles were bought by Truro City Football Club chairman Peter Masters in July last year.

The purchase followed his buyout of the Liskeard-based Sunday Independent earlier in 2017.

Duncan is a commercial development consultant with News Group Ltd, and runs Dorset-based marketing service the Poole Post.

He is aiming to raise £85,000 by 3 March to buy the ‘View From’ titles and take them into community ownership.

In a pitch to potential investors on his crowdfunding page, Duncan said: “This is very sad news indeed for Dorset and the south. Local newspapers are the voice of our communities. In this era of ‘fake news’, brands that have over a 100 years of reporting creditably should not be lost. We now have a whole county dominated by American owned media giant Newsquest.

“In addition to Dorset, View News faithfully covered stories in the counties of Somerset and Devon for many years. Highlighting local interest stories and helping to profile small businesses in these areas, View News and Pulman’s Weekly News are trusted and respected brands. Too good to lose.

“We are proposing new community ownership business model. And in doing so we aim to prove to the city banks, venture capitalists and advertising agencies that regional communities value their local media.

“It offers a chance for local people to have a real stake in and to share their views and voices as part of their own local media group.”

The newspapers affected by last week’s closures are the View From titles based in Beaminster, Bridport, Dorchester, Lyme Regis, Weymouth, Seaton, Honiton and South Somerset, and the Pulman’s Weekly News which is based in Axminster.

A spokesman for the Independent said last week: “Having acquired the titles out of administration in July of last year we agreed to continue publishing the loss-making titles for six months in a bid to give continued employment for the staff.

“But in the light of continued falling revenues, we have reluctantly decided that the titles are no longer sustainable.”

Report by David Sharman for Holdthefrontpage.co.uk

Women Wanted!

The Society of Poole Men name change hopes to attract many women members to join in the new year:

Says Society for Poole's press officer, Duncan Williams: "At our Dorset AGM held in 2017 nearly 90% of members attending voted to change the name of the Society to The Society for Poole."

The name has stayed for over 94 years and was established even before women had full voting rights in the country. Although the old name had a great history that we cherish, we needed to change the name so as to increase the appeal of the Society to both men and women.

Unfortunately the membership has not grown recently and from discussions in the community the name is a factor.

"We want to encourage a mixed and modern membership," explains Duncan, who works in the town's communications industry.

This brings us into the 21st century and better reflects us as a Society and the many women who are presently members.

Duncan adds that: "Women who do not live in Poole itself but who may have a strong connection or love of our town are also most welcome to join."

- Find out more about the Society for Poole.

Save Poole Park Railway

THE owner of Poole Park’s miniature railway, Chris Bullen, says he is “devastated” that the attraction will be closed while Poole council invites new operators to take over the business.

In less than two months’ time, the railway track will be dismantled in preparation for a tendering process for the contract to begin.

The current owner aims to be among those bidding for the railway, which will have to be rebuilt to current health and safety requirements when it re-opens.

An online petition has been set-up to save the Poole Park Railway at ;

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-poole-park-railway?bucket

Waggy Tails Rescue launches 2017 calendar thanks to Dolphin Shopping Centre

With support from Poole’s Dolphin Shopping Centre, local charity Waggy Tails Rescue has launched its first ever calendar.

The shopping centre nominated the Dorset and Hampshire animal rehoming organisation as its charity of the year for 2016 and donated the funds required to produce the calendar. The calendars, which include professional images of their rescues, are available to buy at Calendar Club and other outlets at the Dolphin Shopping Centre, as well as directly from the charity. 

The calendars are £5 each, with all profits going directly back to the charity.

John Grinnell, centre manager of the Dolphin Shopping Centre, adds: “We’ve enjoyed working with the team at Waggy Tails Rescue. We are really pleased that the calendar is now here for the public to enjoy, and visitors to the centre can also get involved with helping the charity by donating pet food and making donations at outlets throughout the centre.”

Waggy Tails fundraiser, Paul Chapman, says: “We’re delighted with the support that the Dolphin Shopping Centre has given Waggy Tails Rescue this year, and with the launch of the 2017 calendar we hope to continue to see further donations come in. We have always wanted to retail our own calendar, but with all our money going to towards the care of our rescues, it has not previously been possible.”

“Waggy Tails perform a crucial role in saving the lives of abandoned and unwanted dogs and fundraising is therefore critical to enable Waggy Tails Rescue to maintain its proud record.”

Volunteers from Waggy Tails will be joined by members of Wessex Entertainers to form a Choir which will be performing Christmas carols at the centre on the Thursday December 8 and Sunday December 18.

Inside Out Dorset festival

A spectacular celebration of the autumn equinox took place in rural Dorset. The event was part of Inside Out Dorset festival which takes spectacular performances to extraordinary outdoor locations across the county. The event was the culmination of Wayfaring which took place in the stunning ceremonial landscape of the South Dorset Ridgeway. Audiences were invited along pathways ancient and modern, to discover the unexpected and to make their own contributions to the growing installation. The performance included movement, sounds, smells and the transformative power of fire.

Don't miss out! Other events taking place:

 

Hengistbury Headlines

Hengistbury Head – Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 September 

Eight artists and companies are creating installations and performances along a trail through the nature reserve at Hengistbury Head, exploring the effects of climate change. Visitors will be able to immerse themselves in soundscapes, delve into the secret love life of plants, follow a digital quest and indulge in some cloud gazing.  Over the four days, visitors will be able to wander through the landscape of the nature reserve, including areas normally closed to the public, and discover these new artworks one by one.

 

The Soaring Sky – a coastal walk through a sung performance of birdsong created by local singers, responding to the calls of migratory and endangered birds on the site. 

By Arbonauts – Helen Galliano and Dimitri Launder

 

Remnant Ecologies is a series of sound installations playing fragments of British bird song, triggered by the wind and sun, and birds themselves.

By Jony Easterby and co-commissioned by the RSPB

 

Hides –  two animated bird hides alone on a cliff to explore themes of migration, refuge and the need of shelter. 

By Ferdinando Bradridge Byrne

 

Cloudscapes provides a place to cloud gaze and explore the parallel between the ever-changing sky and humanity’s future.

By Gobbledegook Theatre, director Lorna Rees

 

Overture is a sound installation outside the former coastguard hut. The building is re-imagined as a lookout post on the frontier of changing weather patterns, a place to scan the horizon for approaching storms. 

By Kate Paxman

 

Romantic Botanic is an eccentric promenade theatre piece for small groups. Poetry and science are used to delve into the secret love life of plants. 

By The Miraculous Theatre Company – Barnaby Gibbons, Paschale Straiton and Roger Hartley

 

You’re Getting Warmer is a digital treasure hunt-style adventure for 7 to 11-year-olds and their families. The children are cast as agents for change, hunting down clues, on a mission to save the Marsh Warbler.

By Pebble Gorge

 

Tree

Tree is a thought-provoking dance work set in woodland. Four dancers lead us from the comfort of our gardens to where the wilderness lies and ask, deep down, do we really need nature?

By Sweetshop Revolution, director Sally Marie

 

During Hengistbury Headlines, there will be a chance to take part in the
RSPB's Big Wild Sleepouts on the nights of 22, 23 and 24 September. There will be campfire cooking, nocturnal adventures and a memorable dawn experience as sounds of the harbour, sea and wind combine with the song of migrant birds.

 

 

Up in the Air

Harbourside Park, Poole – Saturday 24 September 

A feast of outdoor contemporary circus performance against a dramatic background of sea and sky.  Acrobatics, high wires, a boat with its own mobile storm and an illuminating finale.  

Co-presented with Lighthouse, Poole and the Borough of Poole.

 All Inside Out Dorset events are free (there is a charge for the RSPB's Big Wild Sleepout). For more information and to book, call 01305 260954 or visit www.insideoutdorset.co.uk.

Poole Blues Festival, 2016

Poole Blues Festival all is set to become a new yearly event, every September starting 2016. Supporting local live music from Dorset and surrounding areas.

"A perfect opportunity to enjoy quality live music in the beautiful surroundings of Poole Quayside." says the local music columnist @PoolePost

Scientology - Poole targeted by Tom Cruise's religious cult

A black van slinked quietly along the streets of Poole in Dorset.

Amidst the general merriment of the town's annual carnival, many locals were unaware that the balloon adorned vehicle was being used by members of one of the world's most controversial religious groups to hand out recruitment literature to children and their parents.

Throughout the summer many visitors and tourists were approached in Poole high street by Scientologists, offering literature, counselling and bizarre IQ tests.

Booklets entitled 'The Way To Happiness' were being doled out to tots only just old enough to read them.

Derided as a criminal organisation and a money grabbing cult by its many critics, the Church of Scientology was founded in the 1950s by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. It has since grown popular with Hollywood film stars such as John Travolta, Kirsty Alley and Tom Cruise.

The Top Gun actor has reportedly donated millions to help expand Scientology's growth and fulfill its founder's dream of creating a globally dominant church network.

It can be revealed that this network had always intended to target well known holiday destinations such as Bournemouth and Poole.

Hubbard himself made meticulous and detailed 'battle plans' and numerous briefing papers still exist on how to conquer the planet using Scientology Tech (an abbreviation for technology).

Scientology says it has one aim which is to make the world a saner and happier place. To achieve this requires a vast membership expansion and 'cult' bases, or missions, located strategically on every continent. And, of course, a great deal of YOUR money.

Today Scientology seems to resemble Ian Fleming's crime organisation SPECTRE much more than L. Ron Hubbard's utopian dream.

Hubbard, who passed away in 1986, had a life long passion for the sea and all things nautical, even creating an elite Scientology inner circle called the Sea Organisation. Members still wear a naval uniform and dress code; although critics are quick to point out that Hubbard originally only took to the seas to escape paying his taxes.

It is thought that with Poole's easy access to coastal locations, expanding Scientology membership within the region is highly prized by the sea faring religion. The church even has its own super yacht named the Freewinds which travels regularly on PR voyages around the globe. Could the Freewinds be destined to arrive in Poole harbour?

When L. Ron Hubbard died - following a stroke whilst secreted at his Arizona mobile caravan - back in England a limited company was quickly registered to his former adopted town of East Grinstead, West Sussex.

The church elders were frantic to ensure future funding for their faith. Astonishingly that company still exists. It has been named the Church of Scientology Mission Bournemouth Limited and was set up specifically to market membership and funnel revenue streams from within the Dorset region back to Scientology head quarters.

Hubbard's death bed instructions to expand his religion are still being followed to the letter by a band of his most loyal Dorset disciples.

In an attic room high above the Alcatraz restaurant on Poole High Street, local Scientology members meet regularly to ensure their departed leader's orders are being fulfilled exactly as per his instructions. Counselling services, books, DVDs and even group sauna treatments are available, at a cost, from this secretive Poole lair.

A slightly sinister bronze bust of Hubbard sits in a prominent position overseeing sales.

Scientology may seem more like a business or a shop than a bona fide church to most people, but its followers would not agree. Maybe they would not dare to.

Even when confronted with the suggestion that the information revealed in Scientology counselling is later used to blackmail critics, or those who might attempt to escape Scientology, they remain stoically tight lipped and uncritical.

International poster boy Tom Cruise has also begun to remain silent when the subject of Scientology is brought up. Journalists are now barred from asking direct questions about his faith.

The Scientology cross, which to any lay person is deceptively similar to the Christian religious symbol, has been cynically trademarked and copyrighted to the Scientology corporation.

All in all residents of Poole and Bournemouth may wish to keep their eyes wide open. When Scientology first infiltrated the oceanside town of Clearwater in Florida, none were concerned and were sure it was just a passing fad. Today the Clearwater community is a major base for the controversial religion, and the church has millions of dollars tied up in controlling local property, media and community businesses.

From beyond the grave could L. Ron Hubbard yet see his dream fulfilled in Dorset?

-----------------------------------------------

Latest report from London regarding Scientology grooming : 
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/education/revealed-how-thousands-of-london-children-are-exposed-to-scientology-group-in-schools-a3433041.html

Poole Quayside

BOOK NOW FOR THE ROC CONVERSATION - POOLE

A ROC Conversation is a community consultation with results. It aims to bring together members of the local community, including representatives from community groups, Police Service, Fire and Rescue, NHS, local authority, MPs, Housing Associations, churches and faith based groups, Universities, Colleges and schools and many other agencies.

We have developed a successful model with over 150 consultations already under taken and have the expertise to offer agencies who wish to engage with their local community.

Following the event each participant receives a detailed report and we agree an action plan to set up projects which meet social needs identified at the consultation.

WHEN:
Wednesday, 29 June 2016 from 16:00 to 18:00 (BST)

WHERE:
The Thistle Hotel - The Quay, Poole BH15 1HD, United Kingdom

BOOK HERE FOR FREE TICKET:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/roc-conversation-poole-tickets-22113451930

Newsquest faces criticism from Christian media

Sometimes the vibrant cut and thrust of the corporate media world, particularly regarding revenue focus, can seem cold and callous.

People often take second place to profits.

For many Christians working in the media, the daily search for profits can seem at odds with a need for a calm and reflective search for God.

Newsquest Plc has been in the trade press a great deal over the past 12 months, as it tries hard to streamline its regional publishing operations to combat competition from fellow giant Trinity Mirror. The latter recently absorbed Local World and this dominance could well threaten Newsquest's market growth in regional news.

Newsquest's business strategy seems to be one of making savage cuts of staff. Last year several longtime employees were shown the door, photographers were axed and journalists issued with camera phones and told to multi-task. News reporters were issued with strict quotas and ordered to deliver a targeted number of scoops per week. Not easy.

Even paperboys/girls were not immune from this profit streamlining, as their tiny wages were made monthly rather than weekly so as to cut payroll accounting costs.

While it may seem unfair to single out Newsquest as an example of corporate pruning (there are others wielding axes) the double standards of the current local press agenda does deserve highlighting.

On the one hard regional media makes great play of saying they are all about helping support, promote and enrich the locations their newsbrands cover. Yet at the same time they exploit and disregard their own staff, who are usually themselves local people.

The big decisions, of course, are often made far away, safely in boardrooms in other larger towns and cities.

In Newsquest's case, in other countries, as this UK regional publisher is, in fact, American owned, part of the US giant, Gannett Incorporated.

Boardrooms, or at least, good conscience exist for all of us. In one way or another, we are all answerable to boards or to other people. Good Orderly Direction (GOD consciousness) is a necessary fact of life.

Even a traditional church service is something like a shareholders meeting - no, vicar, I don't mean it's boring, although this sometimes could be the case!

A good sermon sets the agenda and we listen, evaluate and choose weather to invest, or not. We search ourselves and search for God, and His will for us.

As Christians working in media, it is this key Sunday meeting that can set the pace for the working week.

True streamlining is made by finding, then actually following a path God has mapped out. The result of a successful God-quest.

Regional media (and as far as a Goliath organisations such as the Gannett Corporation/Newsquest are concerned, the UK is just another of their many regions) offers lucrative rewards. Corporations know this well. Communities welcome their investment. But they won't if profits are ruthlessly placed before people.

The good news is that the vicar's weekly sermon repeatedly assures us that God is not lost.

Sadly, corporate media responsibility often is.

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Duncan Williams has a background in faith publishing and is a researcher and part-time lecturer church and media communications.

Poole Old Town