The Alfred Daily

On today’s Alfred Daily: Shaftesbury Fringe starts today | Freebies at Shaftesbury Police open day | Praise for Headstrong co-founder’s mental health film | Local places feature in Shaftesbury poet’s Fringe performances | Abbey talk will reveal the real King Alfred | East Knoyle’s rewilding success | Shaftesbury fitness expert Laura Langley | A common male green grasshopper on the Ox Drove

On today’s Alfred Daily: Motcombe Council oppose solar farm | Zig Zag Hill | Shaftesbury and Motcombe’s hedgehog-saving campaign | Planners reject A350 e-bike circuit | Shaftesbury what’s ons and jobs | Jackie and Jeanette on fashion | Long tailed tits in a hawthorn at Ox Drove

On today’s Alfred Daily: Celebrating North Dorset’s Royal Forest | Shaftesbury quizmaster Paul Merefield | Blackmore Vale Art Trail | Cann festival to fund mental health | Shaftesbury show sheep expert John Gay | Unexpected instruments with Nick Crump | Poetry from Rich Foreman | Snoring pigs at Twyford

On today’s Alfred Daily: Car park reopens for Fringe | New experts join Gold Hill Museum board | Digital reconstruction of Shaftesbury Abbey | Excitement at Shaftesbury FC’s FA Cup draw | Bell Street artist plans first sale | Singer-songwriter returns to Fringe | Dirty nails on trouble with tomatoes | Jackdaws roosting at Duncliffe

On today’s Alfred Daily: Motcombe Council considers speeding measures | Three car collision closes A350 on Sunday | Shaftesbury drag night proves popular | September tree festival plans | Shaftesbury what’s ons and jobs | Hallelujah! – Shaftesbury dementia singing group launches with rousing Handel chorus | Fringe performer will teach you poetry | Motherhood in the pandemic – Guys Marsh mum-of-five Katie Scammel | Soundscapes

On today’s Alfred Daily: Shaftesbury covid case rate hits new peak | Shaftesbury councillors correct to oppose solar farm | Shaftesbury what’s ons | Donhead St Andrew fete preview | Motcombe explorer John Blashford-Snell on toughest challenge | Fringe performers offering musical comedy | Kate and Karren chat ‘over the garden fence’ | Barkley Johnson’s short story | Soundscapes – a wood pigeon and a wren in Fontmell

On today’s Alfred Daily: MP to discuss Melbury road improvements with residents | Fontmell woman wing walks | Wiltshire elects new Police Commissioner | Jaw-dropping acrobatics at Fringe | Tom Perrett walks around Stourhead | Meet My Pet - Nick Andrew and Sox | Paul Merefield’s pub quiz | Shaftesbury chicken keeper Kate Scott | Shaftesbury what’s ons | Karen Cole reviews ‘The Dark’ by Emma Haughton | Soundscapes – a grey squirrel on Castle Hill

On today’s Alfred Daily: Shaftesbury councillors object to town centre housing plans | Plans for Motcombe’s red phone box | New Dorset Police chief’s plan | South Africa comes to Shaftesbury | Talented fiddle player to perform at Fringe | Wellness expert Laura Langley on buying local | Tawny owls on Castle Hill

On today’s Alfred Daily: Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show special

On today’s Alfred Daily: Motcombe ‘sits on fence’ over solar farm | Big attendance expected at Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show | Fontmell woman to run marathon with twin | Teddy is star at Shaftesbury allotments | Shaftesbury what’s ons | Wiltshire welcomes fleeing Afghans | ‘Solitary Hornbeam, Kingsettle Woods’ by Rich Foreman | Comedian Robyn Perkins at Shaftesbury Fringe | Starlings in a St James’s Street hedge