Dorchester Time

I was reminded this week that I had not updated this blog for some time.  That reminder got me thinking about what my subject would be for a March blog post. It seems that February's has been missed, but as that is now in the past I would like only to focus on the present.

I have been taking part in a Mindfulness for Health course, which is aimed at helping people live with long term pain. The course is extremely beneficial,  and one of the things that it teaches you is to be present in the moment that you are in. So whatever time it is when you are read this blog post,  remember that you are reading it now.

I decided the subject would be 'Dorchester Time' and have photographed some of the clocks that I noticed when walking in the town yesterday. It did not take me long to find them. I wonder if you know where they all are:

And where can you go to buy a clock or a watch in Dorchester? What about Clockhouse Jewellers which has been trading in Dorchester since 1963?

The shop next door to them also had a clock in the window! 

There are some splendid looking wrist watches in Jordan's Jewellers in Princes Street.

My walk took me back towards my home in the direction Brewery Square, and past Avenue Interiors, who have clocks in their window,

and some very grand and larger clocks inside:

I am sure there are many more that I have missed, but that's ok as I can spend more time in Dorchester!

August in Dorchester

What can you do in Dorchester when it rains? It depends on your age and interests, but there is lots to do and see. This months blog post will help to give some ideas that perhaps you may not have considered.

Have you been to all of our museums? Purchase a Gold Saver Pass and you can visit five for the price of two. There is a wide variety of interests here. If these do not appeal to you then perhaps The Keep Military Museum , Dorset County Museum or the Shire Hall courtroom and cells might be more to your taste. 

If it is not raining and is just dull, like it has been for the past few days then why not have a go at either the Dorchester Supersleuth competition or try out one or more of the Dorset Dialect Trails.

The Supersleuth photo competition has two age groups, 10 and under, and 11 - 16 years. You will need to collect a sticker album from the Tourist Information Centre in Trinity Street, then your mission is to search the town for photo clues. When you find them you will be given a sticker to put on your album. There are prizes for this competition and it runs until the 14th September 2015. 

The Dorset Dialect Trails help you to immerse yourself in some of our local history. There are six trails which have different themes. Placed around Dorchester are ceramic clocks, your mission is to locate the clocks and to record the word that is written in the clock. The word may not make sense to you, as it is a word that has been taken from a 'Glossary of the Dorset Dialect' that was used by the local poet William Barnes. 

Translating the words is fun as some of them are rather amusing. If you are a smartphone user and download the Aestheticode App, you can use it to scan the clocks, as each one has an embedded code in the face, which enables you to link directly to the glossary. I have tried this and it does work through glass, so you don't necessarily have to go inside for it to work. 

A set of playing cards with all of the words on are available from the Tourist Information Centre for £7.99, but if you do all of the trails first then they are available for a reduced price of £4.99.

So in the words of William Barnes if you have any 'Sluggards' in your family then perhaps these activities may get them inspired! 

Sluggard definition - A Sluggard's manner, idle in nature. "Lwoth to goo to bed, an 'lwoth to rise"

(There is your first clue to get you started) 

Have fun! 

Spending time in Dorchester looking for clocks!

I have been looking for clocks today in Dorchester with my eldest daughter. Visitors will see these beautiful clocks in locations around the town. We picked up a leaflet from the Tourist Information Centre in Trinity Street.

The new Dorchester BID project is called 'Hidden Language, Hidden Trails' and 2 of the 6 trails are currently in place.

We started with the 'Food & Drink Trail' and a map on our leaflet showed us where to find the first clock.

The clocks all show a word that written in the Dorset Dialect, taken from the words written by William Barnes. These words can be translated by looking on the Dorchester BID web site, where there is a glossary.

We also investigated the digital 'app' that has been created for use on a smartphone. This worked well and we were able to scan the clocks and were linked directly to the glossary!

So my daughter and I are now learning another language! 

Link to Echo article about the trails