On the evening that Will Davison had his first stroke he put two potatoes into the oven to bake before a neighbour had convinced him to go to the doctor. On learning what was happening to him he packed a bag to take in the ambulance and for some reason got his neighbour to put the baked potatoes in foil, so he could take them with him. ‘Why did I need them?’ he asks in a book that he has since published. As it happened the hospital he was taken to didn’t have a room for him and he was given a temporary bed in a store room. He did eventually see a doctor but by the time he was brought to a ward he was starving and more than thankful for his two baked potatoes. He was to have a similar experience when he had his second stroke in France; the only place the hospital could put him was in the surgery ward. Thankfully he didn’t get wheeled in for surgery but he did get a French breakfast the next morning. This quirky coincidence is one of the stories related in a book that tells the experiences of eleven stroke victims aged from as young as twenty years old.

In So You’ve Had a Stroke: a survivors’ guide to life after Stroke, Will Davison and the other ten people interviewed talk intimately about their stroke experience and their road to recovery from this life threatening condition. And although their stories have as many questions as they have answers, it is an inspiring, heartening and most of all enlightening account of life after a stroke.

One repeating theme that runs through the stories is the need to ‘get back to normal’ as Jo Elliott, a Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages explained. She had her stroke aged forty-five and remembered the hardest thing was ‘being so out of control.’ She now lives to look on the positives of each new day rather than dwelling on what she calls the ‘little insignificant things’ that could be negative. ‘It’s a waste of energy asking “why me”’ she says.

Elizabeth Ashmore, who suffered her stroke at the age of twenty, remembered how she didn’t think she could ever be normal again but believes that if you ‘keep thinking positively and keep reminding yourself you’re still alive and with stroke, you can get better’.

Stroke experience isn’t one-dimensional. The outcome, especially paralysis, is very variable. Even a small amount of brain damage affects memory and thus confidence and some lose speech. It’s a devastating result that puts survivors outside a society which thrives on instant repartee and communication. Many feel locked out by their stroke situation, physically less strong and unable to continue with their old lives. But as Will Davison says, one thing he has learned from the interviews conducted for his book is that ‘everybody who has had a stroke has had to face the loss of their old self: the running, jumping version of themselves, and face up to a newly emerged reality. It can be painful but the new you is the real you. And you are alive. It is just so vital to make the most of the life you’ve got.’

According to the World Heart Federation, 15 million people a year worldwide suffer a stroke, and of those that survive five million are left permanently disabled. For anyone directly affected or close to someone who has had a stroke, Will Davison’s book offers an insight and therefore a better understanding of the life-changing consequences of a cruel and indiscriminate illness.

For more information or to order a copy of the book visit www.willdavison.info

Local Children’s Charity, Family Counselling Trust, has seen demand for its services double in the past year. Founder, Robert Montagu, explained some of the reasons for the increase to Fergus Byrne.

Whilst many households have seen an increase in family stress levels due to exam pressure recently, a Dorset based children’s mental health charity, that has seen demand for its services double in the past year, has highlighted many other reasons for an increase in the difficulties faced by young people. Robert Montagu, Chair and founder of Family Counselling Trust said that a rapidly increasing number of troubled children suffering from the pressures of modern life was one of the reasons for the unprecedented demand for their services.

The Trust now has up to 50 referrals a month from GPs, schools and social services to get help for problems including acute anxiety, depression, bereavement, family breakdown and self-harming behaviour. Robert also pointed out that mental health pressures on children are increasing rapidly and are now attacking them at primary school age as well as secondary school. He added that this is due to numerous factors including social media demands—many children are spending almost all their free time on mobiles, the internet, TV and computer games.

He also cited increased parental separation as a factor, explaining that this is ‘quoted in 70% of our referrals.’ Domestic violence and fears of many kinds are also a factor. For example, fear of break-ins, fires, road traffic accidents and heart trouble, all of which are amplified by constant news reports sitcoms and dramas according to Robert.

Another reason for the increase in demand for the Trust’s services is pressure on the NHS. ‘The NHS have been recommending more and more GPs and schools to come to our service rather than trying to enter theirs’ said Robert. ‘Thresholds have risen so much in recent years in the NHS Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) teams, that they are now only taking cases where there is a diagnosable mental health problem, eg personality disorder, severe eating disorders, life-threatening self-harming behaviour, etc’.

Family Counselling Trust is one of many small charities around the country that are pulling up the slack in government-backed services. They offer counselling assistance to children and young people at a time when they need it most. However, the increase in need has produced a huge strain on resources and with no government help, Robert is concerned that they will not be able to offer the help needed. ‘If demand continues at this rate the charity risks having to suspend services as funds are limited’ he explained. Without statutory authority funding of any kind at all Robert believes charities like his will not be able to help prevent further family stress and alleviate social pressure. In the current run-up to an election the subject of mental health is definitely on the agenda but with so may other issues to deal with it is likely to be left to organisations like Family Counselling Trust to step in and help. ‘The last conservative government was very much to blame for stopping the ring-fencing that protected children’s services’ said Robert. ‘According to a recent radio interview with a spokesman for the Royal College of Psychiatry, councils are now routinely raiding mental health services to repair holes in their physical health budgets, where they have a statutory obligation to provide service—whereas in mental health they haven’t. So much for what we care about our children nationwide compared to other countries where children’s services continue to be well provided for!’

Family Counselling Trust is determined not to let the children and young people of Dorset down by closing or restricting their service, yet as Robert says ‘we may have no choice if more funding and donations are not found. We currently receive no funding from Dorset County Council or Dorset NHS despite almost all out referrals coming from GPs, schools, and social workers.’

FCT has helped over 800 Dorset children, young people and their families since it began in 2006. It is now a vital and well-respected provider of help in the region and research has shown a definite improvement from their counselling in 95% of cases without the need for further help for the following year.

Anyone wishing to support their work can find details on how to donate at their website www.familycounsellingtrust.org  or may send donations to FCT-Dorset c/o Robert Montagu, Nethergrove House, Portesham, Dorset DT3 4ES.

The Rolling Stones considered it for a recording studio; the Liberal Party wanted it as a South West headquarters; the Goodies allowed a giant dog to burst through its walls and thousands came to tramp through its grounds during Open Days. But it is as a unique educational establishment that Parnham House will be remembered by many.  At this year’s Beaminster Festival John Makepeace will be talking about some of his memories of Parnham House. He talked to Fergus Byrne.

For anyone not already aware of recent events, an internet search on Parnham House will result in many pages of details and photographs about the recent fire that shocked so many local residents: it was a jolt that spread far beyond the local community. Parnham House meant many things to many people but beyond the impact and personal devastation for the family that called it home,  the house also provides a legacy for hundreds of people that stayed there throughout the late seventies, eighties and nineties: designers and furniture makers that are now spread across the globe.

April 2017 marked the anniversary of the launch of what was then called the School for Craftsmen in Wood, a school for furniture makers based at Parnham House. The project, initiated and run by John Makepeace, was announced by a full-page article in The Times written by Prudence Glyn, as well as a smaller feature in the Daily Telegraph. The publicity resulted in enquiries from enough potential students to fill the first year’s intake. Ironically, exactly forty years later to the month, the same newspapers carried a much sadder story about the fire; made even more poignant because it happened exactly a week after a reunion that had seen 120 past students of the furniture college gather together for the first time since they had left.

It is therefore fortunate that, through one of those quirky coincidences that history will thank us for, John and Jennie Makepeace had been working since the middle of last year on a book about the history of what eventually became Parnham College and it is to be published in July. It is a project that John has wanted to pursue for decades. Speaking from his home in Beaminster he explained: ‘I was always quite keen on a book because it’s never been recorded and books are really important in the history of things.’

Entitled Beyond Parnham, in the introduction Sir Christopher Frayling, who was rector of the Royal College of Art for thirteen years, defines the role of the college as ‘a place where the hand, the head and the heart could be brought together through the making and designing of craft furniture’. He also describes it as ‘an impossibly romantic setting—a sort of Manderley for makers.’

For John Makepeace the school itself was a result of his belief that there was a need for somewhere that furniture makers could learn, not just their craft, but also how to make a living from that craft. He explained: ‘I had concluded that there ought to be somewhere that people could go and learn to design, to make and to run a business.’  The idea had been triggered by his involvement with the Royal College and many of the craft organisations, as well as with the Oxford business school. As a designer and maker, he was already building a reputation for himself but felt that in the education system, ‘the disciplines of making, design and management were poles apart’. He believed that the three disciplines each considered their own sphere to be independent and ‘almost superior’. Feeling that these attitudes resulted in an anti-entrepreneurial approach, he set out to develop an educational environment that could offer students an all-round experience that would help them to, not only grow their talents, but also grow their businesses, or at least their understanding of commercial skills.

The School for Craftsmen in Wood offered a two-year course attracting people from a wide range of backgrounds. From Royal connections to the son of a coffin maker, the varied intake eventually created a diversity of output that saw past Parnham students going on to design for industry, retail, and manufacturing, as well as helping create luxury yachts, palatial homes and civic buildings… and of course, spectacular furniture.

Viscount Lindley, who began his course in September 1980 remembered the passion that drew such different people to the course: ‘Our group of students ranged from eighteen years old to second-careerists of a certain age, from diverse backgrounds but all drawn together determined to be master craftsmen.’ He remembered his time at Parnham with great affection saying: ‘I owe my subsequent career to the many people whom John Makepeace brought together to revitalise the modern Arts & Crafts movement.’

Juliane Trummer, who studied at Parnham in the eighties said that when she finished her course she felt ‘empowered and full of plans for the future.’ She went on to spend nine years as part of the multidisciplinary team who worked on the 787 Dreamliner interior design development. She was involved in early research, strategy definition, conceptualisation and implementation. ‘Working on the 787’ she said ‘felt like a “once in a designer’s lifetime” opportunity. My work experience also provided me with the co-ownership on eighteen US patents, one for IBM and seventeen for Boeing.’

Sarah Kay, who graduated in 1996 and now lives between London and the foothills of the French Pyrenees where she has a workshop, continues to offer consultancy to organisations like Heal’s and SCP whilst still working on bespoke design and making. She also recalled the beauty of the house that drew so many people together. ‘The first impression of Parnham College was of this beautiful Tudor manor house’ she said. ‘It was romantic and idyllic and helped make the whole experience totally immersive. The magic never wore off – there were bluebells in the spring, beautiful walks whatever the weather (especially across the fields to the Eight Bells in Beaminster), the Jurassic coast a short drive away … Sometimes I have wished that I’d gone to Parnham earlier, but to go back to college when you are thirty and KNOW what you want to do was the most liberating and exciting experience.’

Guy Martin, a Design Tutor at Parnham College was one of the sculpture winners of the Marshwood Arts Awards in 2013. He described Parnham as a ‘place of transition, even a rite of passage for some’. He recalled that the working budget enabled him to invite a diverse range of practicing professionals to contribute to each project, enriching the experience. The varied levels that were offered to help enrich that experience even included presentation as John Makepeace recalled: ‘One of the interesting things we put into the course was having a week with a couple of actors. It was to try to get people to express themselves and be able to tell their story, to help with confidence and the ability to sell themselves. It’s easy for people who make things to think that’s the end of it.’

John’s memories of first moving in include some of the trials that come with taking on such a huge challenge. ‘We had forty buckets in the attics collecting rain’ he recalled. The house was ‘leaking like a sieve’. The boilers were ‘ancient’ and ‘some of the early students told stories of how the water in their glass would freeze overnight’. But for John and also for the 210 students that went through the doors ‘it was part of an adventure.’

That adventure was re-lived when so many past students gathered the week before Parnham House burned down. ‘There was this fabulous celebration of people coming together’ said John ’with huge passion and friendship and delight for coming together. And the poignancy of that set against the horror of a fire a week later… There were thousands of people who loved Parnham. Not just the students but the public and everybody who was involved. Within days we had had messages from Australia, South Africa, America—friends and friend of friends, it was quite extraordinary.’

Remembering her time at Parnham House, Alice Robin, who now lives in Nelson, New Zealand, perhaps summed up what many others also felt when she described its effect on her:  ‘The course was a unique coming together of hand, eye, mind and heart—in a nourishing atmosphere of shared workshops, great friendships, passionate production and creativity that saw us raring to go in the workshops at 8am. … and still there at 10pm. It changed my life.’

There will be an inevitable element of poignancy to John Makepeace’s talk at this year’s Beaminster Festival on June 26th. However it will also be an opportunity to celebrate some of the huge achievements of those that passed through the college. The book, Beyond Parnham, described by arts writer Emma Crichton-Miller as ‘an appropriate tribute to a visionary enterprise’ and ‘indispensable for anyone with an interest in Britain’s creative past and future’ is available to pre-order now and pre-ordered copies will be distributed in July.