Eggs, Anger and Artisan Chocolate

Shrinking Easter eggs, three buses and a chocolate artist in Wimborne It’s April, the Easter chocolate’s out (if you can still afford it), and Dorset Council has launched a ‘visionary’ transport plan that gives North Dorset… three Saturday buses. Hurrah?

From grumbles and glorious letters to chocolate-making wizardry, this first episode of the month is warm, witty and quietly furious in all the right places.

Editor’s Letter 

Editor Laura Hitchcock reflects on The BV’s national award shortlist nod, the return of the Glanville foals, and a must-read piece by George Hosford on the collapse of the SFI scheme. “George writes with a barely contained fury that’s impossible to ignore – and entirely justified.”

Letters to the Editor: From Walkers to Farmers

This month’s postbag takes in the White Hart Link, elderly drivers, and the ever-divisive meat tax debate. ✅ Readers heap praise on the Dorset Insider ✅ Farmers ask not to be demonised for raising livestock ✅ Environmentalists say it's time to face the facts ✅ A walker wonders why Blandford and Sturminster are skipped by a local trail ✅ Margaret F from Milborne Port concurs with last month's letter writer on the risk of elderly relatives driving longer than they should – but fears there's no easy solution: “Until we fix rural transport, we’ll keep having quiet crises on country roads.”

The Grumbler: Three Buses and a Vague Promise

This month's writer of our anonymous column isn’t buying the glossy headlines around Dorset Council’s new transport plan. “North Dorset gets the long-awaited return of three Saturday services. No weekday buses. No evening buses. No progress. Urban voters see improvements. Rural ones see spin.” This is rural Dorset's reality – a county divided by postcode and prioritisation.

Chocolate from Dorset

Dan Crossman and Anna Rakasa of The Little House artisan chocolatiers in Wimborne share the realities of running a luxury business in a time of cocoa chaos. “Three years ago, we paid £70 for 10kg of chocolate. Now it’s £170.” – Dan “We matched flavours and colours to women in history – a chocolate homage.” – Anna

From flavour alchemy to corporate commissions in bespoke colours, this duo are flying the flag for creative, sustainable Dorset chocolate – one beautiful Bon Bon at a time. “We pause production in summer – our workshop isn’t air conditioned, and chocolate is fussy.” thelittlehousedorset.com

These stories are all based on pieces from April’s BV, available to read online here. News, farming, art, food, politics, wildlife, letters, horses – and photography that’ll make you pause.

The BV: Best Regional Publication in the UK (ACE Awards) and Regional News Site of the Year (Press Gazette) 2024. Free to read, packed with Dorset, and impossible to put down.