Internet and Crossword

Modern technology

AT the time of writing, the TV is full of stories of the life of Queen Elizabeth II. As we mourn her passing and celebrate her life, there were a few lovely stories.

One of my favourites was the story of Princess Anne helping her mum to come to grips with her new iPad. During the time of Covid, many had to get used to using new methods to keep in touch and the Queen was no exception.

With the help of the Princess Royal, she managed a meeting online. Although she couldn’t seem to get everyone on the screen at the same time, Princess Anne said that didn’t really matter, as her mum already knew what she looked like!

So whether you are a daughter or a friend, or just someone

Wells Town Crier Len Sweales in action at the royal proclamation who feels they can help – it doesn’t take much to get someone else started. Of course, we may not all end up inviting Paddington Bear to tea, but you never know! Watching the proclamation of the new King and all the very moving and touching ceremonies of the past few days made me think about how times have changed – we now see our relatives at any time and can watch state funerals etc live in the comfort of our own home.

Technology may sometimes be frustrating, but how lucky we are to live in this modern world.

Not so very long ago, you would only know when the town crier proclaimed it. Now the Government is launching an emergency alert system, where you will get instant notice of a danger to life nearby. We will cover this in our next article.

God Bless Queen Elizabeth and God Save The King.

Submitted for I.T. for the Terrified by Lynne Duckett. Although we have stopped our one-to-one tuition, we will continue with this column to keep the name alive. This article is for guidance only, and the opinion of the writer. I.T. for the Terrified - it4ttcvh@gmail.com

The Mendip Mindbender

ACROSS

1 Aid and abet (6) 4 The only village in

Somerset of 6 letters starting with Pu . . . (6) 8 At an average height of 5m the tallest animal in the world (7) 9 Designate for a particular purpose (7) 11 A little flat in town? (4-1-5) 12 A seat can always be found in works of art (4) 13 & 14 The man who started

Butcombe (5) 14 See 13 across (8) 16 Butcombe brewery is in this village (8) 18 This animal always sounds throaty (5) 20 See 23 across (4) 21 Capital city of Morocco? In

Arabian, ‘Dar al-Beída’ (10) 23 & 20 The county flower of

Somerset (7) 24 Staying power and determination (7) 25 A tool used for cutting crops (6) 26 Becomes habituated (6)

DOWN

1 Excuse, especially in court (5) 2 As a singer Mrs. Toad could be trained for this (7) 3 A trapeze artist’s insurance (6,3) 5 Consumption and utilisation (5) 6 Usually a large, one-off payment (4,3) 7 Human resources (9) 10 A platform at the masthead of a vessel (5,4) 13 Parts of a racetrack without bends or consecutively numbered playing cards (9) 15 Showing signs of human occupation (9) 17 How Lady Godiva rode through Coventry (7) 19 Chart to assist a motorist's navigation (4,3) 21 Collide with, go under (5) 22 Parts of a dollar sound perfumed (5)

By greendandelion

Clues in italics are cryptic

Spire repairs are complete

WORK to restore the storm-damaged spire on St Thomas’s Church in Wells has been completed with the installation of a refurbished weathervane.

Stonemasons from Sally Strachey Historic Conservation spent just under two weeks putting the top of the spire back in place stone-by-stone. Repairs were also carried out to the weathervane. A frame several metres deep inside the spire itself was installed to which the weathervane was bolted to keep it secure.

The Rev. Claire Towns, priest in charge at St Thomas’s, joined the team in the crane basket to bless the vane at the top of the spire. Earlier she showed off a piece of the original vane which broke away many years ago but was kept as a souvenir by the vicar at the time. A relative of the vicar saw footage on television of the spire collapsing during Storm Eunice and posted the section back to the church from Yorkshire with a note saying: “This might come in useful.”

The vane reaches the top of the spire The Rev. Claire Towns with the piece of the weathervane which fell from the spire many years ago James Preston (far right) checks the vane is turning properly

New village bench

Neighbours in Litton have turned a corner at the bottom of their lane into a rest area with a village bench, planters and a ramp to get to it.

John and Joyce Buxton made and donated the planters which were planted by Lisa Woodman, Bridget Hasell and Sue Court.

Kate Powell dug out the yuccas that had taken over the site; Dave Speed made and donated the handrail, while Neil Woodman and Pete Court prepared the area.

The bench was donated by First 4 Repairs, Shepton Mallet and has small memorial plaques to former residents.

It’s already proving popular with villagers.

Restorer Tessa Clogstoun applies gold leaf to the weathervane

Pictured (on bench) John and Joyce Buxton with (l to r) Pete Court, Dave Speed, Kate Powell and Neil Woodman

Beware of loan sharks

MOREthan 400 people went to Citizens Advice Mendip’s stall at the Mid-Somerset show attracted by the opportunity for their children to create their own shark using scrap materials. Behind the Sid the Shark creations, helped by local artist Jasmine Collings, was a serious message about the dangers of falling into the hands of loan sharks, particularly in the Sid the shark current cost of living crisis.

Ian Byworth, CEO of Citizens Advice Mendip, said: “We’re delighted to be working with the Illegal Moneylending Team to raise awareness of this problem locally. Loan sharks are unauthorised moneylenders, usually working from home, charging very high rates of interest.

“Often they threaten violence if people are unable to repay them. If you find yourself in financial difficulties, don’t be tempted.

“If you’ve been approached, you can help stop others falling into this trap by contacting in confidence the ‘Stop the Loan Sharks’ campaign on 0300 555 2222 or by visiting their website stoploansharks.co.uk.”

Don’t drink and drown

AFTERattending more than 110 waterrelated incidents so far this year, Avon Fire & Rescue Service have installed safety advice signs at popular waterside locations, such as Blagdon Lake. Firefighters from Blagdon have been out putting up these signs, with the hopes that they will encourage local people to remember the hidden dangers of water.

Watch manager at Blagdon, Stephen Mills, (pictured) said: “I’ve seen first-hand the sheer panic that takes over when someone gets into difficulty in the water, and it’s something that we as crews always worry about.”

Honour for legion stalwart

David Addis (left) receiving the award from foundation president Lord Lingfield

DAVID Addis from Long Ashton has been awarded an Order of Mercy Award by the League of Mercy Foundation, first set up to honour volunteers by Royal Charter from Queen Victoria.

He was nominated by the Royal British Legion Long Ashton branch for a lifetime's voluntary service. Since 1976, he has been extremely active in supporting the Legion's activities, including design and construction and care of the Polish aircrew Garden of Remembrance in the local churchyard.

He was the legion club honorary secretary for 13 years and is the local branch secretary. He is a dedicated local Poppy Appeal organiser and has raised over £60,000.

In 1985 he organised the fundraising and supervised the construction of the Long Ashton Girl Guides HQ.

Volunteering at Long Ashton Community Care Association, for 15 years he dismantled, repaired and installed disused chairlifts and other equipment for installation at veterans' and local GP registrants' houses. He still operates an equipment loan scheme as equipment becomes available.

In his garden is the local Men’s Shed workshop. His machine shop also disassembles donated prosthetic limbs for shipping to Africa, for the Legs 4 Africa Charity.

David served his time as an apprentice electrical and mechanical engineer with Strachan and Henshaw of Ashton, Bristol, and finished up as a project engineer on bulk material handling equipment.

He has been married to Marilyn since 1968 and they had two sons. Sadly, their youngest, Chris, a pilot in the Army Air Corps, was fatally injured when the drive shaft failed on the helicopter he was flying whilst posted to Bosnia in December 1998.

High Sheriff’s new role

THOMAS Sheppard, High Sheriff of Somerset last year, has been made a Deputy Lieutenant of Somerset by retiring Lord Lieutenant, Annie Maw.

He has been given the role after spending decades combining his day job as an experienced solicitor at Thrings with a host of charitable and not-for-profit roles.

Thomas said: “I was the 960th High Sheriff of Somerset and I had an absolute hoot doing it. However, it’s by no means usual that a High Sheriff goes on to be a Deputy Lieutenant, so I was honoured to be invited – like being chosen as High Sheriff, it’s not a role you can apply for.”

One of his continuing themes will be supporting people who have arrived in Somerset from Ukraine. He is chair and trustee of the newly formed charity Somerset Supports Ukraine which is helping the estimated 2-3,000 visitors from the war-torn country to find their feet. See page 66.

Bus protest

GLASTONBURYbus users held a “walking bus” protest to draw attention to the need for reliable and affordable bus services in Somerset, as part of a national Catch the Bus campaign. The demonstration set out from an information stall in St. Dunstan’s car park and then up the High Street.

The stall and the demonstration were organised by Glastonbury on the Bus, which has initially identified three main objectives: Tor Bus to run all year; direct bus from Glastonbury to Castle Cary and its station; Number 29 to Taunton to stop at Taunton Railway station and Musgrove Park hospital.

It says all who have an interest in the maintenance and development of bus services are welcome to attend its meetings. The next meeting is at 6.30pm on October 10th at Glastonbury Town Hall.

Wide and Slow Campaign

Riding protest

EQUESTRIANSfrom Chilcompton and surrounding villages and towns met to raise awareness of changes to the Highway Code since January 2022.

The group gathered on an emotional day following the death of Queen Elizabeeth. However, the ride became a tribute to her with a minute’s silence, black ribbons on the horses and armbands for riders. The group ranged from children to pensioners, walkers and cyclists. Other road users certainly seemed to get the message of Please Pass Wide and Slow –10mph speed max and two metre widths.

Organiser, Jane Richardson, said: “As our roads get busier it is important that we all realise that horse riders need care when passing. Under the new code riders can hack two abreast in certain situations when leading and training a young horse for instance.

“Drivers should avoid revving engines or sounding horns naturally. Many riders are now filming so footage of incidents will be used by the police to prosecute drivers.”

Aid for Pakistan

ROTARIANS are arranging to send up to 500 of their Water Survival Boxes to flood victims in Pakistan. Rotarians from Chelwood Bridge and Cam Valley are pictured packing the boxes.

The boxes’ primary purpose is to provide a means of making water safe for the benefit of families that survive natural or manmade disasters.

They also contain a range of essential survival items including cooking pots, bowls/plates, mugs, and utensils; health and hygiene items; basic shelter and simple tools. See page 83.