Kicking off with the Letters to the Editor, we've then had some fascinating conversations with some well-known local personalities, including Sonnaz from the Repair Shop (who answers our 19 random questions), and Athelhampton's owner Giles Keating sharing his Dorset Island Discs:

• Letters to the Editor – listen to what others think (our postbag is always open – send emails to [email protected] )

As the first episode of the month, it's of course the front section this week – starting as always with Letter from the Editor, then the lead feature stories and this week we've added the current political thoughts (because the way things are, if we wait another week on those they'll be irrelevant!):

In her letter from the editor, Laura (like us all) is considering the ever-more-worrying cost of living, especially its impact on local independent businesses – and what the BV, as a community resource, is trying to do to help.

The Pocket Rocket is European Champion! Tiny teenage boxer Ruby Else-White from Stalbridge has won her first European title.

Do you have room for some girls? Haidy Mansfield talks about the current hen rescue situation in the UK – and she has a hen rehoming day this month.

For three consecutive years, the Supreme Champions at the Virtual Cheese Awards have come from within five miles of each other, between Templecombe and Wincanton!

Politics is not a soap opera. A serious sense of purpose and a united, dedicated application has returned, says Simon Hoare MP, who has just one simple word for his constituents.

It’s time to grab the opportunity and place the environmental agenda back on the top of the To Do list, says North Dorset Green Party’s Ken Huggins.

The ringmaster has changed, but it’s the same old Tory circus with a worrying downgrade of climate policies, says Labour’s Pat Osborne.

A general election could re-energise the tired parade of the same old faces and develop a national consensus, says North Dorset Lib Dems’ Mike Chapman.

The BV magazine is the monthly digital magazine from Dorset - you can read the entire latest issue here  and why not subscribe (it's FREE!) so that it drops into your inbox every month on publication day? Just click here! 

Dorset Archives Trust has begun fundraising to enable it to unlock the internationally significant, UNESCO-listed archive of author Thomas Hardy. At present the collection consists of more than 150 boxes of material including diaries, photographs, letters, books, architectural plans and poetry, and is only available to those searching the archive in person, and they hope to digitise the complete collection. Roger Guttridge examines Hardy's relationship with the north of the county,  looking at a moderately unknown – but vastly interesting – rough-and-ready sketch-map of ‘Tess’s Country’ that Hardy drew as he was preparing to write Tess of the d’Urbervilles.

A recent clean of William Bastard’s portrait in Blandford's Corn Exchange revealed an intriguing detail, says Rupert Hardy, chairman of North Dorset CPRE

John Stanley and Deanne Tremlett give Edwina Baines a tour of the enormous range of creative options available for the whole community at The Gugg in Stalbridge

As the summer crops hang on a little longer and the autumn season begins, October is the best month for foraging, says expert Carl Mintern 

PODCAST EXCLUSIVE - Autumn is the time to delay your daily walk until the light begins to fade, suggests wildlife writer Jane Adams. Podcast listeners can hear her interview with Jenny as she talks about the enrishment of a night walk.

In the second of October's episodes, we have A Country Living (thatching!), Meet your Local (CHEESE!), the politics section – which is still interesting, though it feels a little dated now. It's been a wild couple of weeks! – and local history with Roger Guttridge:

• Mike Howe’s ‘office’ this week is a stunning 16th century cottage in the heart of the beautiful village of Abbotsbury. Far from drawing life’s short straw, Master Thatcher Mike switched career and now teaches future generations an ancient skill

The BV magazine is the monthly digital magazine from Dorset - you can read the entire latest issue here  and why not subscribe (it's FREE!) so that it drops into your inbox every month on publication day? Just click here! 

As the first episode of the month, it's the front section this week – Ed's letter, the lead feature stories and the Random 19:

• In her letter from the editor, Laura is wondering where all the grown ups went (and she apologises for galloping through slightly – this was her fifth attempt at getting through the paragraph about Pog without needing to stop and gulp a little)

The BV magazine is the monthly digital magazine from Dorset - you can read the entire latest issue here  and why not subscribe (it's FREE!) so that it drops into your inbox every month on publication day? Just click here! 

In this episode, we have the equestrian, wildlife and farming sections, plus the Letters to the Editor:

Laura Wilson watched a therapist treat her horse – and gave up accounting to train as a McTimoney animal chiropractor

As weaning begins for this year’s foals, the stud begins to focus on sales, says Lucy Procter of The Glanvilles Stud

The August ground was so hard that Team Bartlett headed north in search of softer going for Equador MW and Cor y Taran, says Toots Bartlett

Autumn is the season of abundance, even after a summer drought, says foraging expert Carl Mintern as he enjoys the literal fruits of the season

Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Marine Awareness Officer Julie Hatcher shares the story of work to monitor the recently arrived furrowed crab.

We’ve lost a staggering 97 per cent of our species-rich grassland since the 1930s. Growing a wildflower meadow in your back garden isn’t quite as simple as you might think – but it’s important to try, says writer Jane Adams

Once a major business, English wool is now a wasted opportunity – the industry needs an urgent rethink, says Andrew Livingston

In the second of the September BV Podcast:

• 'The NHS has lost its way’ – Patricia Miller, CEO for Dorset’s Integrated Care Board, oversees complex health services and health improvement programmes. Her thoughts on Dorset's poverty and its inextricable link to the population's health are eye-opening as she shares her fascinating life's story through her Dorset Island Discs

Just a few days after the September issue of the BV magazine published, the nation mourned the death of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In recognition of this, Jenny Devitt leads this podcast with a statement from all of us at the BV, and with the words of Angus Campbell, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant for Dorset:  “Our loss is incalculable.”

In the first of The BV podcast's September epsiodes, 

Boris Johnson’s levelling-up agenda comes to rural Dorset, bringing ‘lightning fast’ broadband and other benefits. 

Wincanton Sports Ground could close by the end of September, warn the trustees, if no one comes forward. 

Baffled by the exam system and what those grades actually mean? Kingston Maurward’s Principal Luke Rake has an explanation for all us confused ones.

Author Minette Walters takes on the Random 19 questions

Charlotte Tombs’ successful flower farming business grew out of one packet of sweet pea seeds and some Instagram inspiration. 

In this week's episode we dip into the wildlife and farming sections, along with a fascinating article from the health section on why you're never too old to keep on moving - and a personal trainer isn't such a stupid idea even if you're in your 70s or 80s:

The latest Winterborne Kingston dig reveals the lifestyle and habits of our Dorset forebears more than 2,000 years ago, says Roger Guttridge

When she was young, wildlife writer Jane Adams was told ‘you can’t hear bats’ –  and believed it for 30 years ... But you can.

Trail cams have now captured sightings of the first beaver kits born in Dorset for more than 400 years says Hazel Ormrod from Dorset Wildlife Trust; for two weeks it was thought there was only one.

A favourite spring flower is a surprise forage in August, and expert Carl Mintern has the real reason for those pucker-up sour blackberries right next to the sweet ones

Understanding biennials has led to a nostalgic flower patch full of scent and colour, says flower farmer Charlotte Tombs

Ragwort is a menace to all animal owners, says Andrew Livingston – but he suspects his passion for picking the poisonous plant isn’t popular with conservation groups

Dry crops aren’t always a good thing, says fifth generation farmer James Cossins, as he explains late night combine harvesting and reducing the fire risk

Too old? Absolutely not, says expert Mel Mitchell, as she explains why you should never stop – and why it’s never to late too start

Great skin is rarely about what you put on it, says nutritional therapist Karen Geary – instead try looking  at what you’re eating

In this week's episode:

Laura Beddow is a Dorset councillor, a parrot rescuer, and dreams of an itinerant life playing her viola around a campfire with a cider in her hand. She shares the tracks of her years in Dorset Island Discs.

‘Don’t sell the sausage. Sell the sizzle.’ Sophie Baker is managing to do both –  brilliantly – with her award-winning sausage business, reports Tracie Beardsley in this month's A Country Living

This month Rachael Rowe met Jen Daly and Ken Peet – London expats who are the proud owners of the thriving Cerne Abbas Stores – in Meet Your Local

In this month’s Then and Now, Roger Guttridge visits Halstock to share the macabre story of how a pious Dorset girl came to lose her head