Going hammer and tongs with the Mayor of Casterbridge

摘要

Four times Mayor of Dorchester, Leslie Phillips, spent his 52 year career as a Farrier, and is solely responsible for reintroducing the craft to the annual Dorset County show held in the town. Mr Thomas, revered for his work in Dorchester (novelist Thomas Hardy's 'Casterbridge'), joined the Household Cavalry to study his Farrier apprenticeship in 1952, and was honorary Farrier at the Dorchester Show for 40 years.In 1957, Leslie made a miniature horseshoe 'for fun', receiving 10 shillings for it. This started a craze for thelittle shoes, and donations flooded in, the proceeds of which have been given to St John Ambulance eversince. In 1977, for the Queen's Silver Jubilee, Leslie crafted a miniature horseshoe in honour of the event,which in turn sparked a trend and he continued to make and send shoes to each and every royal wedding.The trend for miniature horseshoes continued, and when Leslie met Princess Diana in 1992Tie presented herwith a pair of miniature horseshoes for princes William and Harry.