by Nicci Brown.

PAINTINGS by the late Michael Wells of Tarrant Rushton went on show in an exhibition at Tarrant Keyneston village hall.
Mike, who died in November last year, was a popular resident of the Tarrant Valley for most of his life, and a much-loved motorcycle enthusiast and member of the Bournemouth Norton Owners Club, which meets at the True Lovers Knot in Tarrant Keyneston, and Dorset Nomads.

A mechanic by trade, he worked for Flight Refuelling/Cobham in Wimborne and, when Parkinson’s Disease brought his paid employment to a close, since 2012 for the Disability Action Group (DAG) in Blandford.
During the pandemic, he began painting pictures for friends and family in aid of Parkinson’s UK, raising about £5,000 for the charity with more than 100 images of people, motorbikes and pets.

The pictures were taken along to the village hall by their owners in celebration of Mike’s life and talent.
A collection was made for Parkinson’s UK, DAG and the Odstock Hospice at Salisbury where he spent the last nine weeks of his life after being diagnosed with cancer.