The Sherborne Podcast

Three months ago TSP visited Sherborne Castle to hear how they were preparing for a new season open to the public. A week later the castle closed their gates as the public were ordered to stay at home to combat COVID-19.

As the lockdown restrictions are eased, the castle gates will be opened again on Thursday and people will be allowed in to walk in the gardens and grounds although the castle, shop and tea room will remain shuttered.

You can find admission times, ticket prices and guidance on staying safe here.

Sherborne Castle was built by Sir Walter Raleigh in the 16th century and has been owned by the Wingfield Digby family since 1617. Maria Wingfield Digby talks to TSP in the gardens of the castle.

It's Mental Health Awareness Week. Dorset HealthCare says the aim of the week this year is to promotegood mental health by acts of kindness. Clare Hurley, the head of adult psychological services at the trust, talks about the campaign and the help Dorset HealthCare offers.

Alice is the mother of two toddlers who lives in Sherborne. She talks to TSP about how the Dorset mental health initiatives helped her with post-natal depression and then the tragic loss of her partner after a road accident. 

For help from the Dorset HealthCare mental health team go to www.steps2wellbeing.co.uk

Also in this episode, The Courtyard Salon in Long Street is unlikely to reopen before July at the earliest. Owner Becky Burns tells TSP how her landlord is helping her business survive, and how it may be a much different experience for her clients when the salon doors are unlocked again.

Estate agents are among the first businesses allowed to start up again. Luke Pender-Cudlip is head of the Knight Frank office in Sherborne. He says fears of a deep recession may not affect the housing market as badly as some are predicting.

The government wants some pupils to return to school before the end of the summer term. The Gryphon School is drawing up plans for some Year 10 students to be back in the classroom in limited numbers. Headteacher Nicki Edwards says there are significant challenges to be met before pupils and teachers can return. 

Also in this episode in our series on how Sherborne is coping with the coronavirus pandemic, the owner of The Pear Tree deli and cafe, Steve Taylor, tells TSP what eight weeks of lockdown has meant for his business. It will be late summer before there is any likelihood of cafes, pubs and restaurants reopening. 

The Sherborne Podcast is produced free for the community. If you'd like to get in touch with the producers, contact us via Facebook or Twitter, or leave a comment on our YouTube channel.

Don't expect any immediate re-opening of public open spaces and play areas even if the prime minister announces changes to the lockdown.

Dorset Council says people should continue stay at home this weekend.

Police in the county issued 377 fixed penalty notices in the last ten days to people they say were breaching the restrictions.

Financial help for dairy farmers has been announced by the government.

Dorset's recycling centres reopen on Monday but Sherborne tip will remain closed.
 

Millions of pounds have been paid out to local businesses to help them through the pandemic.

Dominic Raab confirms the prime minister will outline later this week the steps to lift the lockdown but warns phase 2 of the crisis won't be easy.

The number of new coronavirus infections continues to fall.

You can now make a virtual visit to patients at The Yeatman and other community hospitals in Dorset.

Dorset Council will hold its first virtual committee meeting tomorrow to consider a report on how the pandemic has affected the county.

More help for smaller businesses announced by the government.

Police in Dorset dealt with nearly 10,000 emergency calls in the last month despite the coronavirus keeping people at home.

Call to NHS111 jumped 62% in March.

Get the latest full episode of The Sherborne Podcast finding out how a hairdressers' in Sherborne, Castle Gardens and The Octagon Theatre in Yeovil are coping with COVID-19. 

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Hairdressers have been closed for nearly six weeks. How are you coping? 

TSP meets Charlotte Fairclough who owns the Pure Hair salon in Half Moon Street and asks whether we should get out the scissors and try a little D-I-Y.

It's rumoured garden centres could be among the first businesses to re-open when the coronavirus restrictions begin to be lifted. Behind the walls at Castle Gardens preparations are underway. 

TSP talks to Louise Burks who opened Castle Gardens with her husband Mike in 1987.

Theatres and entertainment venues have been dark since the start of the lockdown. Productions have been postponed or cancelled, and actors are working other jobs.

The Octagon Theatre's box office supervisor Charlotte Wood tells TSP how Yeovil's entertainment venues are coping during the crisis.

And if you've completed all the levels on your latest PS4 game, TSP has some tips for what to play next.

The pandemic is on the downward slope, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The government will lay out its plan next week to get children back to school and business re-opened.

Castle Gardens are making preparations for when they can re-open.

Look out for The Sherborne Podcast's "Coping with the Sixth Weekend Lockdown" special coming soon.

First Secretary Dominic Raab says the lockdown will be reviewed "in early May".

Crime in Dorset has fallen by 30% since the lockdown began.

In the latest full episode of The Sherborne Podcast the town's MP Chris Loder explains why strict rules on funerals during the pandemic must be lifted to help grieving families.

Chief Constable James Vaughan and Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill discuss how Dorset Police have been enforcing the emergency restrictions during the pandemic.

The majority of people fined for breaking the restrictions have been from outside the county.

Both men expect the way Dorset is policed in the future to change when the crisis is over.

Also in this episode, West Dorset MP Chris Loder explains why he is trying to persuade churches and crematoria to relax their strict rules on holding funerals during the emergency. He says grieving families should be allowed to attend services.

The Sherborne Podcast is provided free for the community. You can contact the producers at brookmoormedia@btinternet.com

The government announces more help for small businesses.

Dorset's chief constable says most people in the county continue to adhere to the lockdown restrictions despite the recent fine weather.

The government says the five tests it has set to enable the lockdown to be eased have not yet been met.

Sherborne Viral Kindness have raised more than £10,000 to fund the community kitchen providing meals for vulnerable residents.

Coming soon, the next full episode of The Sherborne Podcast: Coping with COVID-19.

Police urge people to stay at home during the weekend and reveal how many fines they've issued since the lockdown began.

People who need it are urged to seek medical treatment despite fears of coronavirus at doctors' surgeries and hospital A&E departments.

The latest full episode of The Sherborne Podcast 'Coping with COVID-19: On The Frontline' is available wherever you get your podcasts.

Dorset Council say the pandemic could cost themas extra £54million.

The number of people who have died with coronavirus in Dorset hospitals has risen to 107.

Download our full episode Coping with COVID-19: On The Frontline to hear how Sherborne's doctors' surgeries and The Yeatman are dealing with the pandemic.

Clap for the NHS tonight at 8pm. And then listen to The Sherborne Podcast episode Coping with Covid-19: On The Frontline to hear how our GP surgeries and the Yeatman Hospital are dealing with the pandemic.

What's life really like on the frontline in the battle against coronavirus in Sherborne? GP Dr. Elizabeth Long and the matron of The Yeatman Hospital Anne Hiscock talk to The Sherborne Podcast about how they are coping with COVID-19.

The Grove Medical Centre is now the 'hot site' for assessing patients with coronavirus symptoms in Sherborne and the surrounding area. 

The Yeatman is treating patients with the virus.

Do they have adequate supplies of personal protection equipment locally and are health staff getting the tests for the virus they need to be able to stay at work?

Also this week,  local author Chris Oswald, whose fourth book in his 'Dorset Chronicles' series is published next week, discusses how the pandemic may be viewed in the future.

Days away from human trials of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Motor insurer refunds cash for cars left idle.