Dorset Day: 'I said I'll stay three months - I'm still here'
Dorset Day is being marked in celebration of the county's heritage and beauty, with events taking place throughout the day.The yellow and red county flag, known as the Dorset Cross or St Wite's Cross, and the county civic flag have been raised at County Hall in Dorchester.The Feast of St Wite, the county's patron saint, also falls on Sunday.The saint's origins are unknown but she is understood to have been a local woman from the west of the county who worked tirelessly for the local community.According to local tradition, she lived as a hermit on the cliffs near a sacred well and offered a light to ships at sea. It is believed that she was killed defending the local people against a Viking raid, said Dorset Council.To mark the day, BBC South has been finding out why people love living in Dorset.
'Lovely community, lovely people'
Vikki Mitchell, 34, has moved back in with her parents in West Stour, near Shaftesbury.Moving to Dorset with her family when she was 11, Ms Mitchell stayed until heading to Birmingham for university and then on to London for work."I lived in London for about seven years, which is where I met my ex-partner and then we decided to move up to Manchester," she said.After her relationship ended, she said she decided to move back to her parents' home in Dorset for "a bit of countryside" and the lovely greenery".She said: "I absolutely love it around here, it's so nice, lovely community, lovely people."I said I'll just stay three months, get my head sorted - a year and a half later, I'm still here."With her family all close by and her favourite spot, Durdle Door, just an hour away, she said it was hard for her to imagine leaving again just yet."We've got a WhatsApp group saying 'Vikki won't move out', so that says it all," she added.
'Not much has changed since 1948'
Janet Mowles, 77, has spent her entire life in the seaside town of Weymouth, apart from one brief summer living in France."My Mum was born in Dorchester, my dad was born in Sturminster Marshall, my brothers were born in Dorset. I was born in Weymouth in 1948, and I've lived here ever since," she said.Ms Mowles' brother owned The Prince Albert pub, now called Finns, where she lived and worked for many years."I was 15 when I first moved down [to the pub]," she said, explaining that she washed glasses in the bar."Someone said I was too young to be behind the bar so they moved me to the hall," she added."I started my family off here. I got married and came to work for my brother."My mum and dad would look after [my daughter and son] upstairs while I worked in the bar."Ms Mowles said not much had changed in the county in her lifetime, besides "some shops closing down", adding that she was proud of Dorset and the place she has called home for 77 years.You can hear more stories like this during a Dorset Day special on BBC Radio Solent on Sunday.
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