Features & interviews from the magazine

April 2024 The Revd Cally Burch joins the Parish of Bridport this month as Pioneer Team Vicar. This is a new role for our parish; the job description aligns greatly with that of Team Vicar, but also involves seeking new ways to lead ministry and expand the reach of the church, primarily out in the…

April 2024 We last featured Bridport Food Bank in October 2020, reporting on how it had helped the town’s people during the early months of Covid. Here we are more than three years later – but if you think the return to ‘normality’ after the pandemic means food banks are less in demand now, you’re…

March 2024 Mary Caddick trained in art and design before taking a sideways step into psychotherapy and exploring the therapeutic benefits of creativity. She runs workshops in creative process and self-expression, the latest of which is planned for this month in central Bridport. We met Mary at her home to find out about her career…

March 2024 Living in a coastal community, we’re all familiar with the wonderful work of the RNLI and the Coast Rescue Teams. Many of us are involved with these valuable organisations, and some even serve as crew or rescue personnel. What you might not realise, however, is that there’s a third link in the chain…

February 2024 Nikki Northover runs Bridport Youth Dance (BYD), a dance school for young people aged 5 to 21. She studied dance and dance education in London and Surrey, and her career in the field has taken her across the world, but she has continued to work here in her home town alongside jobs elsewhere. …

February 2024 If you’ve ever been taken ill at a large event – maybe a music festival, county show or league football match – the chances are you’ve met someone from St John Ambulance (SJA). These trained volunteers provide first aid cover in all sorts of settings where large numbers of people are expected. From…

December 2023 / January 2024 The hullaballoo earlier this year over the felling of a sycamore along Hadrian’s Wall is a stark reminder of our relationship with trees. The Hadrian’s sycamore may not have been old enough to be remembered by a lonely second-century Roman guard, but it had stood for many generations and created…

December 2023 / January 2024 The Revd Neil Robinson is the Salisbury Diocese’s Chaplain to the Deaf Community. He was ordained deacon in 2016 and priest the following year. His job is to meet the spiritual and emotional needs of Deaf* and Deafblind people, and this includes conducting baptisms, weddings and funerals in British Sign…

December 2023 / January 2024 Artist Grace Crabtree – who painted this issue’s beautiful cover image – is looking forward to her first solo exhibition, which opens at Bridport Arts Centre (BAC) in January. We caught up with her to learn about her creative process and find out what inspires her… The Covid pandemic changed…

November 2023 The Bridport branch of the Burma Star Association (BSA) was founded by Les Rose in the 1980s, when he and his wife, Phyllis, moved here. Les had previously worked at the headquarters of the BSA in London, and soon set about setting up a branch in Bridport. He put a notice in the…