Martin Clunes brings a ray of sunshine to Julia’s House

Julia’s House Patron, Martin Clunes, is bringing a big dose of sunshine to the children’s hospice charity with the sale of sunflowers grown in his fields in Beaminster, West Dorset.

The sunflowers will be available from local florists and farmshops with the proceeds helping Julia’s House continue its life-changing care for seriously ill children and families in the local community.

Martin said: “The last two years have been so weird and difficult for everyone and every charity I know is struggling with so many of their usual fundraising activities limited or destroyed.

“It’s hard to imagine now the giant that Buckham Fair became – 16,000 people at the last one, along with their dogs and ponies.

“The fields are still up there with their beautiful views across Beaminster and out to sea, so this year I planted six acres of giant sunflowers to sell and raise some money for Julia’s House.

“We’ve never done anything like this before and had a tense wait to see how the crop would grow but now we have fields full of the most amazing flowers.

“I’ve been delivering them to local florists and shops to support the great work of the Julia’s House nurses and carers, who continue to provide their very special care every day for local children and families.”

Lindsey Kelly, Philanthropy Manager at Julia’s House, pictured left, said: “We are always so grateful to Martin for his amazing support for Julia’s House and shared with him the tense moments while we were all waiting to see if everything would come to bloom!

“We’re delighted the fields are now full of sunflowers and everyone has a chance to enjoy a little bit of sunshine in their home by buying the flowers, knowing they are also helping those most in need in their local community.”

The sunflowers will be available from shops including Rambling Rose florists in Beaminster and Washingpool Farm Shop & Cafe, Rise Bakery and Frampton’s Butchers in Bridport, with people encouraged to make a donation to support the vital work of Julia’s House nurses and carers.

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Hendy GO launched to meet demand for rental market

Hendy Group has launched a new short and long-term car rental service on the south coast with dealerships in Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire offering a wide range of vehicles to customers.

Hendy GO is powered by Karzoom and is aimed at anyone looking for short or long-term vehicle hire, offering access to hundreds of vehicles.

Mark Busby, Commercial Director, pictured left, said: “We have a dedicated website where customers can quickly and easily book their vehicle together with specialists at our Hendy GO locations who can help with all aspects of a booking.

“Our research suggests that customers like to deal with the familiar Hendy name and are looking for convenient drop off points, transparent pricing and a secure booking and payment system which are at the heart of our Hendy GO offering.”

Hendy GO is initially available from dealerships in Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Salisbury and Southampton but there are plans to expand the service in the future.

Mark said: “At Hendy Group we are always looking at ways to meet customer demand and provide the motoring services they want now, and in the future,.

“The investment in this new service reflects a trend from customers looking for flexible motoring solutions with car rental one area of growing demand.”

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Eight trainee solicitors qualify at Lester Aldridge

Eight trainee solicitors at Lester Aldridge have qualified after completing their training contract with the Bournemouth-based law firm.

The training contracts consist of four six-month seats in a variety of contentious and non-contentious teams working with high-profile commercial clients and private individuals.

The newly qualified solicitors, pictured clockwise from top left, are Alex Bickerstaff, Brodie Ross, Christopher Price, Emilie Chapman, Stacy Taylor, Nathan Garnham, Jonathan Dant and Emma Ritchie.

All are staying on and will be joining various teams across the firm.

Matthew Barrow, Managing Partner, who also completed his training contract with the firm, said: “I would like to congratulate all of our newly qualified solicitors and welcome them into their permanent roles at Lester Aldridge.

“We are proud of our trainee retention rates which are testament to the commitment we have in our training programme.”

More information about training contracts at Lester Aldridge can be found here, with the application period for training contracts starting in 2024 due to open between April 1 and June 30, 2022.

The firm also operates a work placement scheme for those interested in starting a career in law.