WE celebrate Christmas with this issue, with pictures from dozens of festive events, held before the big day itself.
We aim to distribute all of our January magazines in the week before Christmas to support our advertisers and to give our readers more time to enjoy it over the holiday.
It also gives us some time off before we get into the wassail season!
This month we have news of new community cafes in Temple Cloud and at the village hall serving Ashwick and Oakhill, while Farmborough Shop and Café have won a top national award.
Nick Green argues that farmers are custodians of the countryside. Chris Sperring gives advice on bird flu. Phil Hendy reports on Mendip’s annual caving awards.
And if you want to walk off any festive flab, Sue Gearing’s walk will take you to the top of Cheddar Gorge.
Nigel Brown takes us back to the Big Freeze of 1962/3 with a new book. But looking forward to spring we preview the Shepton Snowdrop Festival.
With all of our regular contributors and features, may we wish you all the best for 2023.
SOMERSETCommunity Foundation (SCF) has raised £500,000 for local charities supporting communities just four months since it launched its Somerset Cost-of-Living Crisis Appeal.
With household essentials like food and energy bills rocketing, it says thousands of Somerset households are already starting to feel the pinch as, overall, the cost of housing and household services rose 11.7% in the 12 months to October 2022.
The Somerset Cost-of-Living Fund has now been launched to help community groups and local charities that are experiencing financial challenges, with grants up to £10,000 available.
Laura Blake, Philanthropy Director at SCF, said: “We are extremely concerned about people on very low incomes, and donations from the appeal will support crucial local charities such as debt advice services, food banks, mental health support and support for those experiencing homelessness.
“Our local charities will be vital in helping people in the coming months, but they themselves are facing a triple threat of increased demand, soaring costs and fewer donations from the public.
“We know that people in our communities on lower incomes will be hit harder by this cost-of-living crisis. Our small, local charities are vital to Somerset’s social fabric and we’ll need them more than ever to help tackle this disadvantage and keep our communities strong through these toughest of times.”
The foundation’s Surviving Winter appeal raised £100,000 in its first month.
BISHOP
Michael Beasley, newly installed as the 80th Bishop of Bath and Wells, is to become a patron of Somerset Day.
The bishop is already familiar with Somerset.
His wife Lizzie is from a farming family from the county and the two have joined in many aspects of Somerset life.
Bishop Michael said: “I’m thrilled to be here in Somerset and to be able to see and celebrate so many different aspects of our life together. Somerset Day is a brilliant way for us to give thanks for so much that’s good in our county. I’m very much looking forward to supporting its work.”
Bishop Michael joins existing Somerset Day patrons Annie Maw CVO, the Duke of Somerset DL, The Rt Revd Ruth Worsley, Bishop of Taunton, Michael Eavis CBE, Clinton Rogers DL and Edward Bayntun-Coward DL.
Nigel Muers-Raby, founder of Somerset Day, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Bishop Michael as a patron. He shares our passion in his desire to support Somerset’s communities, organisations and independent businesses. We are confident his passion for his wife’s home county will inspire others to celebrate all we have to offer in Somerset.”
LOCAL quarries and their suppliers have made a £30,000 donation to the Fair Frome charity.
Led by Wainwright Aggregates, at Stoke St Michael, the donation gave a vital boost to the charity’s work in the run-up to Christmas. Bob Ashford, chair of trustees at Fair Frome, said the donation would make “a huge difference”.
He added: “Fair Frome continues to see increasing demand for all our services as the winter comes on. Increasing fuel bills and the cost-of-living crisis combined with
high levels of inflation which hits those on lower incomes hardest has created a perfect storm for many families and individuals in Frome and the surrounding areas.”
Peter Barkwill, CEO of John Wainwright & Co Ltd, paid tribute to supporting suppliers including WCD Sleeman & Sons, Nynas Bitumen, Kelston Sparkes, JS Services, Sima Asphalt, Sleemans Q&C Ltd, DE Plant Thriplow Group, Frome Auto Electrical, Weeks Engineering, Morris & Perry, Puma Bitumen, Aggregate Industries and Ingevity.
PUPILS from St Dunstan’s School in Glastonbury have marked a significant step in eco-building by burying a time capsule on the site of their new Autism Spectrum Condition base, the first of its kind in Somerset.
The new ASC building on the school site is the first educational building in Somerset to be built to Passivhaus specifications. Passivhaus builds are known for their excellent energy efficiency which helps minimise future running costs, protect the environment and are designed to be Net Zero. The building was given the go-ahead by Somerset County Council in May 2022.
Staff, parents and students from the Park Road Support Centre in Frome, part of St Dunstan’s School, who are moving to the new base, gathered together to bury the time capsule and visit the new base during its construction. Pupils included information about themselves and where they saw their own future.
The ASC building is a project by Futures for Somerset, a partnership which includes Somerset County Council and BAM Construct. It will cost £1.53 million, is being built by contractors C G Fry and is scheduled to be completed by June 2023 ready for September and the start of the new academic year. It will provide school places for up to 16 pupils.
The construction features energy efficient and low environmental impact facilities, with high levels of insulation and triple glazing, low energy lighting, air source heat pumps and heat recycling through ventilation. The building only uses electrical energy, most of which is created by solar panels on the roof, feeding surplus electricity back into the electricity grid.
Councillor Tessa Munt, Somerset County Council Lead Executive Member for Children and Families, who attended the event, said “It’s tremendously exciting to see this new eco-build –a first for our school building programme in Somerset. Eco-builds like this will help enormously with Somerset County Council’s battle against the climate emergency.”
Sally Allen, headteacher of the new Park Road St Dunstan’s school base, said “Creating a time capsule is brilliant for children learning about the history of their local area. Current pupils will grow up knowing that future generations, possibly even their descendants, can discover what life was like for them.
“This amazing new building will also leave an impression on the future by creating its own energy and wasting as little in heat and light as possible, creating a cleaner environmental future”.
FARMBOROUGHShop & Café has won a prestigious Rural Community Business Award, recognising it as one of the UK’s most inspiring community-owned businesses.
Held annually by the Plunkett Foundation, the awards recognise those businesses that help to create thriving and inclusive rural towns and villages.
Chris Bullock and Sam Ross from Farmborough received their award from TV presenter and auctioneer Charlie Ross. They received both a trophy and £250.
Sam, company secretary to the shop and café said: “We are delighted to have been recognised by The Plunkett Foundation with this award for the actions that we have taken and continue to take in shaping a vital community business that also works hard to minimise its environmental impact.
“Many thanks go to our hard-working manager, Chris Bullock, our tireless team of dedicated volunteers, all our members and of course our loyal customers, without whom we would not have won this award. It is only with your help, support and input that we have got to where we are today.”
James Alcock, chief executive of Plunkett Foundation, said:
“Community businesses across the UK put their communities first, they help transform the lives of the vulnerable and provide a thriving future for many isolated rural towns and villages.
“These worthy winners have worked selflessly to improve the wellbeing of everyone in their local community and we are incredibly proud to recognise, and to have supported, their work.”
Details: https://plunkett.co.uk/awards-6/
A FOUR-year-long campaign to save a community space in Frome from possible development has ended in success after Mendip District Council agreed to sell the freehold to Frome Town Council for local use.
The move will see the council temporarily take control of the Broadway site to undertake ground clearance and access work. Once completed, the land will be transferred to a local community benefit society called Save Open Spaces Frome, securing the oneacre space for generations to come.
John Clarke, chair of the Broadway Allotment and Community Garden Association, said: “We are delighted that after four years of campaigning to save the land from development Mendip decided to sell the land to Frome Town Council. This would not have happened without the support of the community. “For the first year the town council will own the land and plan to improve the access. It will then be transferred to Save Open Spaces Frome which will mean it will be protected forever as a community green space.
“During the coming year we hope to talk with people across
Frome about what they would like to see on the site. We want to make a unique and special place where nature is protected and enhanced, people can enjoy the green space and nature and grow food. A place for the benefit of all.”
The transfer arrangements between Mendip and the town council are to begin in January. Mendip District Council chair, Councillor Helen Sprawson-White, who represents Oakfield Ward, said: “For those of us who have battled to protect this valuable community space, and its wildlife, I can tell you it’s absolutely wonderful to see the town safely retain yet another important green space for residents.”
Leader of Mendip District Council, Councillor Ros Wyke, said: "Frome residents have such ambition and enthusiasm for this asset. I understand there are potential plans for learning areas, growing projects and for outdoor activities there.
“Local people are clearly keen to make good use of this treasured community space – as will the wildlife that’s there. We are delighted to have helped facilitate this great result for Frome and its communities.”
FROME Town Council has been working with community groups and local volunteers to plant trees across the town’s green spaces.
Members of Frome’s Ukrainian community joined the council rangers at the Old Showfield to help extend the community orchard by planting a selection of apple, pear, cherry, plum and quince trees. In addition, the oak and cherry tree at the Blossom Circle that were vandalised earlier this year have been replaced with larger saplings.
For the first time ever in the park I saw a treecreeper this morning. The light was superb which helped greatly with my ham-fisted photography (See Wildlife, page 41).
Regards, Andrew Harrison, Keynsham
At Egford Park, thanks to support from the Critchhill Rangers and local volunteers, the team recently planted ten orchard trees and some small beech trees along the hedgerow.
THE owner of former farmland on the edge of Evercreech has joined forces with the Food Forest Project to create a new woodland space for people to gather wild food for free.
Susie Peeler inherited the 14-acre site from her father Wilf Ryall but decided to take a fresh look at the way it was farmed, preferring to plant hundreds of trees to create a wildlife corridor and then made contact with the free food project, based in Shepton Mallet.
A large part of the site has been planted with the first of several hundred fruit trees and shrubs such as blackberry and gooseberry. Volunteers the from Wilf’s Wood community group, set up by Susie to care for the site, joined the Food Forest Project organisers for a planting day.
Susie, who would welcome more volunteers at Wilf’s Wood, said: “I am concerned about the impact of climate change and the need to look at rewilding and to look for a new way to grow food sustainably, particularly given the current cost-of-living crisis.”
The Evercreech site, on Leighton Lane, is the fifth Food Forest Project with three in Shepton Mallet and a fourth at Wedmore. The project is also about to start work on a new allotment offering plots for free to residents of Shepton’s Hillmead Estate.
ITseems people are becoming more aware that farmers actually look after the countryside they manage. Over the last few years there has been a call to let the land around us rewild. Whilst the aspiration in many peoples’ minds is laudable, if things are left to run wild, the countryside rapidly runs to rack and ruin with a decreasing level of decent habitat and zero ability to produce food.
Burrington Combe is a great example. Over the last hundred years the combe has gone from a bare limestone gorge to a treelined route from the Wrington Vale to the top of the Mendips. I remember easy access to Burrington Ham 30 years ago.
Since then, it has become overgrown with scrub. Without the cattle and goats grazing, these two areas both would have become an impenetrable mass with no access for walkers, reduced habitat for the birds and mammals which use open vegetation and a significantly reduced ability for the area to sequester carbon due to the grass cover dying off.
There are other things of interest which require management to maintain their historic and up-to-date significance. The numerous dew ponds dotted around Mendip are a case in point. Without the owners maintaining them they become overgrown, fall into disrepair and are no use to the farmed animals and wildlife they are intended for.
Rather than rewilding, British farmers need to be encouraged and paid to farm with wildlife in mind. It’s not a lot different than what has been on offer through Countryside Stewardship, Entry Level and Higher Level Stewardship over the last 30 or so years.
What farmers shouldn’t be encouraged to do is abandon “proper” farming and let their farms revert to the wilderness of the Middle Ages when there was only three million people to feed. The dry stone walled uplands grazed by sheep and cattle producing beef and lamb need to remain.
The lowlands grazed by dairy cattle producing milk for the dairy products many of us enjoy need to remain. The wide plains being the bread basket of the UK need to remain as do the deep soils of the Fens producing our vegetables. It’s all about balance and that is exactly how farmers want to work.
FROME Livestock Market enjoyed another highly successful annual fatstock show with quality entries all round.
The Frome Fatstock Society also presented a cheque for £500 to the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance having donated £500 to Cancer Research UK earlier in the year.
Young farmer Percy Clatworthy took the Supreme Championship with his Limousin heifer selling at 415p/kg to Wayne Pullen Butchers. of Milborne Port. Archie Hill, of Shepton Mallet, saw his Champion Beltex lambs sell at £200/head. The champion pen of pigs sold at £310/head were shown by Miss H Loveless of Bridport.
Cattle auctioneer, Greg Ridout, said: “We can always do with more to satisfy demand driven principally by a number of butchers who regularly attend the market and are always looking to buy the very best.”
WILLKeel is celebrating the fifth anniversary of his business, WJ Keel Rural, which has continued to expand both in terms of equipment and the number of people it employs.
His original Robocut machine which he purchased just over five years ago, which operates remotely cutting grass, scrub and brambles on steep slopes and areas with restricted access, was replaced earlier this year as it had become worn out!
The company also has a range of other equipment for groundworks, spraying, fencing and other agricultural jobs.
Will said: “The expansion of the business has been largely through recommendation, the fact that in uncertain times people can be sure about the quality of the work we do.”
He was joined by Fraizer Kent almost two years ago and more recently by Rob Phippen, as well as his wife Hannah, who looks after administration.
Fraizer’s main role is on the groundworks and fencing side whereas Rob’s role is mainly operating the Robocut with Will helping out where needed.
He said: “As a small team we all need to be able to work with each other depending on the labour requirements of each job.”
He worked for various local agricultural businesses before investing in the Robocut and starting up on his own.
He said: “We’ve gradually increased the range of services we offer, particularly groundworks, although the Robocut is still busy. Our customers seem to like the fact that we are a smaller family-run business prepared to turn our hand to anything within reason.
“We would all like to wish everyone especially our existing customers a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”
Watch this space
WITHthe power of computer chips getting more powerful and them getting ever smaller the search for more uses of these miniature chips continues to expand. One of the first things to capture the interest of manufactures of personal devices was the wristwatch.
There are now many Smart watches on the market taking advantage of sensors that can be built in, allowing the watch to know where you are, how fast you are running, give you an indication of your sleep patterns and measure your blood pressure to mention but a few.
They have their own apps, may have GPS built in, or allow you to pay for goods at the check out. Prices for one range from around £25 to several hundred pounds depending on its features.
Connect it to a smart phone using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and it can receive information from there to give you reminders and notifications.
Some can even be used to make calls. Their faces are small screens and a few can be made to mimic the most expensive of watches or allow you to design your own face. Most can be customised from a range of downloadable apps to some degree.
There is a downside however; they are small devices so can only use small batteries. A full charge will power a basic one for about a week whereas a full featured type may need charging daily, but they all keep very good time!
To find one that meets your needs and interests needs a bit of research by trawling through the internet. Perhaps start by using Google or YouTube to find suggestions for the “Best Smart Watches of 2022”, make your choice, and then quickly add one to your Christmas list for Santa!
DOWN 1 The sack for postal workers (7)
2
Addictive drug, especially an illegal one (8)
Euphemistically a person’s lover (8)
Erstwhile, foregoing (6)
Sailing (8)
Use water typically for crop cultivation (8)
The Estate that owns 24 across (8)
Not at a convenient moment (3-5)
Lengths of wood fixed side by side to make a barrel (6)
Piece of iron acting as a keeper for a magnet (8)
Hotel in Cheddar being demolished to be used as a temporary car park (4,4)
With great interest or enthusiasm (6)
Factory that produces butter and cheese (8)
3
4
6
7
14
15
17
18
22
TECHNOLOGY continues to advance at a rapid pace, and while sometimes the old ways are the best ways, sometimes there is room for improvement.
Farmers can access funding to buy new technology and equipment to help their businesses operate more sustainably. The Farming Investment Fund can help with farming equipment and technology, the next round of which is open for applications until January 7th.
The Farming in Protected Landscapes programme is also able to support farmers in the Mendip Hills AONB to purchase some innovative technologies to make a farm more nature-friendly.
One farmer in St. Cuthbert Out parish was able to purchase a tractor-mounted bale unroller with a contribution from the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme.
This piece of kit allows a round bale to be unrolled and spread across a field. Spreading the hay also spreads out the wildflower seeds in the bale, which over time may encourage more species into the pasture.
The unroller has also been enormously successful at reducing soil damage, as it spreads out the cattle for feeding, instead of
congregating around a single feeder each day. The farm now has more flexibility over where they feed their animals, and the cows are like excited puppies following the unroller along.
The new kit makes life easier for the farmers, keeps the cattle safe and well fed, and protects the special limestone grasslands which support many wild species. This equipment will not be suitable for everyone, but for this farm it has been a success. Other farms will have other ways to maximise the sustainability of their businesses.
There are plenty of new technologies out there to give you greater control over your farm and create space for nature at the same time. For inspiration, you can see what’s on offer through the Farming Investment Fund, browse through a brochure for nearby machinery stockists, or head out to one of the Ag Shows over the summer.
For ideas for other projects, and to see the incredible variety of work going on on farms across the Mendip Hills, check out the case studies page on the AONB website.
You can also get in touch with the AONB team to find out more about the FiPL programme and arrange your own free advice visit.
The Mendip Hills AONB Service is offering funding towards accessing specialist support and advice for Farm Carbon Auditing –ask us today for a pre-filled application pack. Or speak to us about applying for funding for other projects on your land.
These may appear simple recipes, but they are packed with flavour and just seem to suit the mood of the month ahead when we are seeking warmth and comfort. If you’re planning a family wassail party – or even a bigger event – the stew and scones served in a bowl will warm the hands and heart!
Brown off your beef and then add all the other ingredients bar the gravy granules. Bring to the boil and then turn down low for three hours, stirring occasionally, or put it in a 150°C oven for three hours or in a slow cooker (according to instructions).
I used to make this often for my children. It’s quick to prepare, delicious and a great one for a slow cooker.
If you want the “gravy” to be thicker add gravy granules, then your scones/dumplings on top (see recipe) if using and cook for a further 20 minutes. You could also add some vegetables, but I like to serve mine separately as they keep their colour!
(Serves four)
500g stewing beef 1 can of French onion soup
1 can of tinned apricots in syrup (or peaches) Red wine (fill the empty soup can)
600g small potatoes (pricked with a fork) Gravy granules (as required)
These are lovely baked and eaten with butter. You can drop them in the beef stew recipe for some lovely light dumplings or serve – as I do –alongside a bowl of soup.
Mix all the ingredients together, adding the water last to form a dough. Roll or press out, cut scones in any shape you like. If you’re baking them, brush a little mayonnaise over the top instead of wasting an egg and bake them at
METHOD
Blitz the biscuits and butter together and divide between 15 cake cases set in a muffin tray. Put all the other ingredients into a saucepan and melt on a low heat, stirring until smooth. Pour over the biscuit bases and set in the fridge.
(Makes eight to ten)
200g self raising flour 30g dried stuffing mix 50g shredded suet 2tsp mixed herbs
75g grated cheddar 30mls olive oil 200ml water
180°C for 15 mins.
If you’re putting them in a stew, place them on top 20 minutes before your stew has finished cooking.
(Makes 15)
18 custard cream biscuits
50g melted butter 130g marshmallows
500ml custard (I used a carton)
Tsp vanilla essence
Pinch salt
WITH all the Christmas festivities under way, it’s time to consider the New Year so why not celebrate 2023 at Hartley’s Café Bistro New Year Day Jazz Brunch with Wells Jazzmen and a great menu!
At Hartley’s Café Bistro, now 14 years old and based at Rookery Farm at Binegar, you’ll find a fresh new menu to cheer up the dreary days of January and February: tasty homemade soups, great breakfasts, fine fish dishes like scampi in tartare tortillas, a slow-cooked Spanish lamb casserole, local free-range chicken with Pimms and pomegranate and a favourite Mac ‘n’ Cheese to mention but a few.
On Sunday, January 15th, Mike McLennan will be reading from his beautiful Somerset poetry book A Mendip Corner and signing copies with light jazz background music from 23pm.
Hartley’s are hosting their now famous Curry Night on Wednesday, January 18th. Paul and Lynda have been to India many times so expect a spectacular range of curries from mild to (ouch) hot!
Haggis, tatties and neeps –Scotland’s traditional specialities –will be served at lunchtime on Robbie Burns’s birthday, Wednesday, January 25th, a celebration not to be missed. What more could you want?
SEDGEMOOR District Council is reminding local food and drink businesses that there is a small grants scheme available which is still open for applications until Friday, January 6th.
Grants of up to £2,500 are available to small and microsized businesses, with up to
49 employees, to help support improvements or changes that demonstrate a clear impact on future growth and/or viability.
Examples of projects the grant could be used towards include replacement of equipment to drive efficiency, new product or service development, marketing, training and professional subscriptions or accreditations.
The grant scheme has been subsidised using EDF’s business support funding to mitigate the impact on communities affected by the development of Hinkley Point C.
WEhave become rather accustomed to mild autumns and winters. My grandmother used to say there were hard frosts in November and even snow in December, but I can’t remember any. If you consider the recent chilly weather we have been experiencing, you can well imagine the difficulty that people who rely on finding or growing food for themselves have had.
This resonates with the cost of living issues affecting so many today. It is difficult to see yet more people having to use food banks in our 21st century, first world country. This leads me on to considering responsibly sourced and affordable wild meats.
Why limit ourselves to conventional meats when we can enjoy venison, rabbit, pheasant, pigeon, and a whole host of other game?
Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) are common and widespread throughout the UK. A native species of Britain, this animal has been present in the UK since the last Ice Age. They became extinct in England by 1800 due to woodland clearance and overhunting but have been successfully reintroduced.
Since the Covid lockdowns, deer numbers have exploded and need to be managed, helping the sustainability of our wild areas such as ancient woodland and forests. There is a game season, fresh wild venison (Roe) is available until the end of February, but there are also companies that provide a steady supply outside of autumn and winter.
There are many ways to cook venison from hearty and warming one-pot wonders, roasting joints, to a grand venison wellington. It is very low in fat so be careful not to overcook. One way of preventing this is to wrap the venison in bacon which also adds a little fat and additional flavour.
Speaking of which, venison loves red wine, shallots, garlic, carrots, celery, mushrooms, rosemary, wild thyme and juniper berries. And seasoning of course. Speak to your local butcher or game supplier, or a quick internet search shows that there are some deals to be had and costs can be kept down with cheaper cuts.
This is a great way to put affordable, sustainable and extremely tasty food on the table and is a worthy alternative to a traditional seasonal lunch or dinner. If you want to help others this season with a meal that is protein rich, delicious and nutritious please go to the Country Food Trust charity website to find out more: www.thecountryfood trust.org
Here's wishing you all a happy and healthy Christmas and New Year!
Adrian Boots is a Landscape Ecologist, Wild Food Forager and Adventure Activity provider. You can visit his website: www.gowildactivities.co.uk to learn more about wild food foraging and activities you can do with him on the Mendip Hills.
THESEtwo plants, both in the daisy family, are grown similarly and yield similar long, thin roots, filled with a creamy white flesh that has a similar character to Jerusalem artichoke or celeriac. We started growing these for the first time in 2022 and they’ve been really trouble-free, rewarding us with a bumper crop in the autumn.
They prefer a light soil and it takes a bit of finesse to lift them without breaking the roots, but once lifted they can be stored in a root cellar or similar through until the spring.
Over-wintered plants also produce a crop of young shoots the following spring, which can be blanched by mounding up soil on them to produce a crunchy white salad leaf – we’ve left a few of our plants in the ground to try this and will report back on the results!
Both salsify and scorzonera blacken quickly once peeled, so the peeled batons should be submerged in cold water with a little lemon juice added to prevent this. They can then be boiled for 1520 minutes until tender and eaten in any number of ways – we particularly enjoy a puree of them with a little cream, lemon, salt and pepper, served with fish.
Alternatively, the roots can be boiled with the skin on and the skin removed after cooking – this avoids the sticky latex that can build up while peeling (apparently once used as chewing gum!). They are also great roasted, with a little butter added towards the end of cooking to brown them up.
Batons are especially good wrapped in rashers of bacon and roasted to make “salsify in blankets”. The roots can also be grated raw (just do it quickly to avoid browning), mixed with a little egg, salt, pepper and thyme and fried up into delicate tasting fritters.
All in all, a great pair of forgotten crops that are well overdue a revival – definitely one we’ll be planting again in 2023!
HAVING fun and helping to raise money for good causes are at the heart of the team behind the Tucker’s Grave Inn at Faulkland.
And whether it’s chatting with friends over a pint in the pub itself, enjoying the atmosphere of The Old Parlour or a party in the barn, there’s always plenty going on to satisfy both the “regulars” and the increasing number of campers, many of whom return time after time.
Not that long ago, food at Tucker’s usually consisted of crisps and a pickled eggs, but how that has changed. Prem’s authentic Friday night Nepalese curries are a big hit and now the inn has introduced Prem’s Pizzas – all hand made and cooked to order, to eat in or takeaway on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
In the run-up to Christmas, the Tucker’s hosted a charity craft sale and afternoon tea party in aid of the Bowel Movement charity, which took up both the Old Parlour and the skittle alley.
With money still coming in, the event has raised £1,400; organisers hope to boost that total with a bingo afternoon on Tuesday, December 27th (table reservations a must) to at least £2,000 – enough to cover one of the charity’s £2,000 hardship fund donations.
On Boxing Day itself, everyone is welcome to join the 15th annual charity walk from the pub in aid of Dorothy House hospice (10.30am start) with plenty of refreshments afterwards.
Although regular live music events are taking a break in January, there’ll be a party on New Year’s Eve and inn’s the now famous wassail will take place on Friday, January 20th from 7.30pm.
Dawn Chapman, who helps to organise the Bowel Movement events in memory of her nephew Benj who died from bowel cancer, said: “We’re always happy to try to accommodate charities who want to run an event here for free; it’s part of what we do.”
PEOPLE opposed to the planned closure of an acute mental health ward in Wells have staged their 15th demonstration.
The ward – on the Priory Health Park – provides care for adult patients from across Mendip who are experiencing an acute situation, but NHS Somerset says the 14 beds must move to a new unit in Yeovil.
The campaigners say public transport between Mendip and Yeovil is a concern and the town is too remote from places such as Wells and Glastonbury. Campaign leader Emma King said: "One of the main reasons given for closing the ward and moving it to Yeovil is because it is deemed to be too far from an Accident & Emergency Department.
“Moving this ward not only deprives us of a vital service, but it still leaves all of us in the Mendip area too far from an Accident & Emergency department, which leads me to ask why we are not being provided with an A&E rather than having more services removed?”
The next demonstration is due to take place on Thursday, January 12th outside the Crispin Centre in Street.
HISTORY was made by Eris Collins Diaz when she cut a sprig of Glastonbury Holy Thorn from the tree in St John’s churchyard to be sent to King Charles – rather than the late Queen Elizabeth – to decorate his Christmas table.
As the eldest pupil at St John’s Infants School, Eris, aged seven, had the honour of performing the ceremony in front of fellow pupils and VIPS.
Vicar, Predendary David MacGeoch, told Eris she would be mentioned in a thank you letter from the king in January.
The tradition of sending a cutting to the reigning monarch is said to date back to the reign of King Charles I.
CHEDDARWalking Football Club turned up to compete in a Somerset FA “friendly tournament” at Strode College – and ended up saving a man’s life.
During the course of the second round of games, a player from the Bridgwater team collapsed. Fortunately Cheddar players Paul Rodgers and Rob Salway have 70 years’ experience as first responders between them in the fire service and went to the rescue.
The club had also had the foresight to buy a defibrillator, which they take to games. The two Cheddar players worked with the paramedic in attendance to bring the player back to life, using the defib to great effect!
Cheddar instantly awarded the two the clubman of the year award, jointly. They have also been inducted into the club’s first ever Hall of Fame, with certificates presented by club president, former professional, Paul Randall.
Bridgwater players attended an event at Cheddar’s sponsors, the Cider Barn, to present Paul and Rob, with gifts of gratitude.
They also read out a letter from the injured player saying how he was feeling and expressing his extreme gratitude for saving his life.
The family-run business, based just outside of Wells, also creates and installs new memorials as well as bespoke house signs.
Andrew James said: “Someone didn’t believe that my ‘before’ and ‘after’ angel restoration photos were of the same headstone, but – having worked on it for hours (in the cold!) – I could assure them it most certainly was!
“A bit of ageing is lovely – I love walking around churchyards and feeling the history there with headstones dating back hundreds of years. You wouldn’t want them all to look brand new, but there are also lots of fairly recent ones that look more aged than they should.”
Andrew added: “We clean, re-level and repair the stones, making sure they meet modern industry safety regulations and repaint the letters using the latest durable paints – including one that looks like gold leaf but costs less and lasts longer! I’m always very proud to see my efforts make a ‘failed’ memorial look as good as new again. . .”
HEADSTONE restoration, re-lettering and repair are just some of the services offered by Andrew James Carved Stone Letters.Salerooms held their Winter Specialist Fine Art Sale on Thursday, November 24th.
Seasonal downpours outside did little to dampen the enthusiasm of bidders at the sale, resulting in strong prices and a sale total well over expectations.
As is so often the case, Chinese taste lay behind some of the day’s best performing lots, all of which attracted strong online and telephone competition. Leading the pack, a large 19th century Chinese flared footed vase, well painted with three kylin which measured in at an impressive 41cm high.
Although unmarked, it clearly struck a
chord and after some feverish bidding the hammer finally fell at £7,200. Also causing a good deal of excitement, a Chinese Canton porcelain Gu “Bajixiang” vase, delicately painted in the Famille Rose palette.
Bearing an "archaic seal" mark of the Emperor Jiaxing (1796-1820), despite some professional restoration, it left its estimate standing to sell for £5,200. From the same local deceased estate, and scoring high on decorative appeal, a large Chinese Republican (early 20th century) porcelain panel painted with a mountainous landscape, sold for a very respectable £3,200.
Amongst a strong showing of quality silver, once again it was China that led the way. A Chinese export white metal mug, the handle formed as a dragon,
surpassed all expectations to sell for £2,200.
Other highlights in the Asian section included an impressive, matched pair of 18th century Japanese Imari moulded vases and covers. Catalogued as “large”, at 66cm high they were perhaps better described as monumental and, despite significant repairs to one vase, their decorative appeal was clear to see.
The focus of fast-paced bidding, they quickly left their estimate in the shade to sell for £3,600.
With 2023 on the horizon, Clevedon Salerooms are gearing up for an exciting year of Fine Art and Interiors auctions, as well as their free valuation days at the saleroom, which will run every Monday (except Bank Holidays), and regular outside valuation events.
RECENT auctions continue to deliver strong results for vendors and provide collectors opportunities to source quality items.
In the November Fine Asian Art auction, an Imperial famille rose “Dragon” moon flask sold for £227,500. The flattened globular body, finely enamelled on each side and depicting two pink scaly confronted five claw dragons between lotus blossoms, was a rare example and attracted potential buyers from around the world.
Later in the auction, an exceptional pair of damascene bronze and silver vases by Kashima Ippu (1828-1900) led the Japanese works of art section of the auction. Finely crafted with intricate designed panels depicting carp, duck, fishing boats and mountain landscape views they sing of quality and sold for £75,400.
Classic car auctions continue to thrive with marquee viewings which are consistently well received both by buyers and local enthusiasts who revel in an opportunity to view the cars next to the Cheese & Grain in Frome.
The October auction was led by a 1962 Lancia Flamina Sport 3C 2.5 litre coupé which sold for £107,520. The car that grabbed everyone’s interest and imagination was the 1964 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 series 1, offered as a restoration project, selling for £81,760.
December’s Jewellery and Watches auctions drew strong interest. The top lot was a carved back opal warriors head by Wilhelm Schmidt, who was the most important opal cameo carver of the 19th century, and which sold for £9,100. A collection of peridot pieces all sold beyond expectation, led by a 19th century peridot and diamond set brooch selling for £7,800.
An exciting programme of auctions is planned for 2023, offering a variety of opportunities for sellers. The team at Dore & Rees can help you understand the value of items in your collection by arranging a valuation appointment at your home or at Dore and Rees auction salerooms in Frome. Contact the team on 01373 462 257 or by email enquiries@doreandrees.com to arrange an appointment.
*Sold prices include fees
Wednesday, January 25th Select Interiors
Saturday, March 11th Classic Cars
Wednesday, March 22nd Fine Jewellery and Watches
TBC May Fine Asian Art
THE team at the Mendip Auction Rooms have released their calendar of sales for 2023 and a busy year is in prospect.
The regular Fine Art and Antiques sales as well as Interiors & Collectables sales will be continuing with three sales being held each month. Throughout 2022, the silver and jewellery sales staged at the auction rooms continued to expand attracting interest from around the world and these will continue on a bi-monthly basis alongside specialist sections in Militaria and Modern Design.
The twice-yearly popular sales of Sporting items, Fine Wines and Spirits are continuing. A sale of Classic Cars, Motorcycles and Automobilia will take place in June.
Tom Killen said: “We are fortunate to have expertise within our team to be able to provide advice and conduct this full range of sales. We are supported by a large number of very experienced consultants who provide detailed knowledge on a vast range of items from jewellery to stamps to guns to oriental ceramics.
“The auction rooms provide a great venue where items can be displayed properly and collection and delivery is straight-forward. It is possible to bid online at all our sales and we continue to attract global interest at each sale.
“Many are nervous about attending an auction but there is
nothing to be nervous about. It is fun and we do all we can to make people feel welcome. It is a case of simply turning up and watching the action!”
Are you looking to sell items in our sales? Valuations can be undertaken on a drop-in basis at the auction rooms between 10am and 3pm each weekday and Killens have professional valuers and experts on hand to advise. Alternatively, valuers are able to conduct free home visits.
Keen steam railway enthusiast Nigel Brown – a volunteer member of the Permanent Way team at the Somerset and Dorset Heritage Railway at Midsomer Norton – recalls the start of the terrible winter of 1962/63 when a train was “lost” on Mendip for three days.
DURING the 1950s and 1960s, it was always the policy of Bath Green Park engine sheds to take a tank engine out of service for use as a snow plough engine in the early winter.
The wisdom of this idea became apparent 60 years ago during the severe winter of 1962-3 when the chosen engine was No 47496, a 0-6-0 tank locomotive known to Bath railwaymen as a Bagnall and to railway enthusiasts as a Jinty.
The buffers were removed, the snowplough bolted on and the engine kept hot for use at short notice.
On Boxing Day, 1962, it started to snow a little but on January 2nd, 1963, the snow became heavy and turned into a blizzard so, early the next day Driver Holden set out on 47496 to clear the way ahead of the 2.40am “down” mail train over the Somerset and Dorset Railway. 47496 then returned to Bath and was coupled to the mail and set off again for Evercreech.
It then became stuck in the deep cuttings at Cannard’s Grave. Meanwhile, the 3.30am train following the mail got stuck at Windsor Hill, just outside Shepton Mallet and was abandoned by the crew, the enginemen given shelter in a farmhouse. The down mail was eventually dug out and continued south the next day but the northern part of the S&D was blocked until the “lost” 3.30am train was recovered three days later on January 6th.
Limited traffic could resume but it took another week to clear the “up” line so northern working could restart.
7F 53809 stands just north of Binegar with the brake van and last four wagons of the previous Thursday’s stranded 3.30am “down” goods train. The rear section had earlier been recovered from Windsor Hill
It has to be said that, although the western region of British Railways had begun to wind down the S&D – and all the staff could see that closure of the line was coming soon – the dedication and sense of duty shown by the staff involved in the line clearance was typical of the spirit of the S&D. l You can read more about the impact of the snow on the S&D in the book The Somerset and Dorset in the Sixties, by Ivo Peters with a foreword by Mike Arlett. DVDs of Ivo’s film work can be found at: www.ivopeters.co.uk
All the while, snow continued to fall and there was much drifting. The train managed – just – to pass Shepton Mallet but It
Clearing the deep snow from Binegar station before the snowplough engine could reach the blocked “up” line towards Shepton Mallet
A CHRISTMAScraft and gift fair in Compton Martin village hall raised around £150 for Teenage Cancer Research.
Victoria
WHAT happens if your neighbour dies leaving a house in such disrepair it needs a virtual rebuild prior to it being sold and, worse, it has a house wall actually on your boundary and next to your garden. What protection do you have?
Firstly in certain circumstances, you can have rights over neighbouring property such as rights of support. If a retaining wall on your land is likely to collapse because your neighbour had not maintained their side of the boundary, then you might have a claim. Secondly if your neighbour’s building contractors cause damage to your property during the course of the work, then you might very well have a claim against them if you could show that they were negligent.
Although contractors should be insured against such claims, there are obvious difficulties in knowing who to claim against. You would really need to make your neighbour liable for the damage.
The answer may lie in a statute called
Party Walls, Etc, Act 1996. That says that if your neighbour is doing work on a party wall (a wall that divides your properties and half of which is owned by each of you) then he has to serve a notice under the Act. Unless you expressly consent to the works, you are deemed to “dissent”.
Then, each side would appoint a surveyor who would negotiate a party wall award. This would make a provision that your neighbour has to compensate you for any damage caused by the works.
Even if no work is being carried out on a party wall, a different notice sometimes has to be served under the same Act if work is being carried out within three metres or six metres of the boundary. This depends on whether work is being done to the foundations of your neighbour’s property.
As a practical measure, it would be sensible if you could track down the new owners of the house and find out what their intentions are. It is worth checking at the Land Registry to see if
the title to the property has been updated since the neighbour died.
If not, searches can be carried out to see if anyone has taken out a grant of probate on the estate and that will enable you to identify the executors. If you are in any doubt about your position, you would do well to seek legal advice.
GOATS of the Gorge has been named Start-Up of the Year in the South West Business Awards. Founder, Nick King, who started the company from his home in Felton, was joined by his sons Danny and Ricky, when he moved to Fairseat Workshops in Chew Stoke earlier this year.
Their natural skincare products are now reaching an international audience, as well as supplying three wholesalers and 150 retail outlets at home.
The judges said: “Your growth has been outstanding - up 250% on the previous year. We love your ethical and sustainable business. Very entrepreneurial – well done!”
Nick said: “Thank you to all of our customers and retailers. We wish you a happy New Year.”
GEOFF Wessell is putting a whole new spin on the idea of asking a policeman for directions. After a successful 30-year career in the police service, reaching the rank of Assistant Chief Constable, he’s now set up his own independent travel company.
It was on a five-month motor home “decompression” tour around the UK with his wife Jo after retiring in April 2021 that the idea first formed.
Their love of travel had taken them to fabulous far-flung places, and it was this experience along with his hard-earned police management skills which led him to set up Ginge Tours.
He said: “I found there to be a lot of similarities, particularly when compared to the senior rank I achieved. Customer service, risk assessment and logistical planning and care are at the heart of policing and senior mangement.
“All of these have a cross-over into providing travel services. Even more importantly is the ability to keep calm in a crisis!
“When a customer phones you at 1am in a bit of a panic due to their plane being cancelled due to the oncoming hurricane it is just like being on call in the police! Deep breath, keep calm and reassure, and then work out the solution!”
Ginge Tours was the nickname for trips he organised to rugby matches, so that seemed the obvious name for the company, though he’s no longer ginger!
He promises “Independent Travel Together”. Customers are travelling independently, not beholden to the timetables of pre-packaged tours, though he can provide these. He says he wants to provide local people with the travel they want – be it a trip of a lifetime or a few days in the sun with the family – but with
great personal customer service.
He said: “I put the hard graft into finding what you want, checking the prices and the timetabling, putting together a trip to suit your desires and budget.
“The ‘Together’ part is me – your personal travel consultant. I put the package together but one that is ‘independent’ or unique to you. All you have to do is pack and start travelling – as stress-free as possible.”
He has invested in becoming a member of Protected Trust Services, which provides the customer with all the consumer protection you normally get from a “major player”. Ginge Tours is not a franchisee of a bigger travel agency. His lower overheads equals lower prices.
His aim is to provide local people with great trips at great prices and hopes people will trust this former officer with their precious time off!
Christmas Fair raised nearly £1,000. Lynsey and Elsa Hatherill are pictured on their soft
Greetings from all of us in The Mendip Society and all good wishes for the very best we all hope for in the coming year. The folk of Mendip pulled out all the stops and supported the great array of events all over the area in the last year, run by a very big number of groups and organisations, large and small.
We knew we were going to be busy –and we were. From the talk in Wells on Cecil Sharp and his collected songs, which attracted nearly 60 enthusiasts, through the Mendip Rocks Festival days – to the Windrose “50 years and More of Mendip in Film and Music” at Shipham – the response has been superb.
And we now know it’s going to be a busy new year too. In chronological order – we start on Friday, January 6th and Sunday, January 15th (barring 3ft of snow!) with two separate hedge laying tuition days in our nature reserve, Tania’s Wood in Ubley.
A lot of our boundary hedges are the original mediaeval 1240 deer park boundaries and in much need of restoration. As such, these days are only for those who have done some previous training with us or another hedging society.
FRIDAY 27th JANUARY 2023
7pm for a 7.30pm prompt start
THE MENDIP SOCIETY
FUN QUIZ
Prizes for the Best Team
The Wellsway, Harptree Hill, West Harptree, Bristol BS40 6EJ
With a bar and good, free parking PRICE: £10 –to include quiz and a cold buffet supper
Please join us for this fun evening and make up a team of 4-6 people and give yourselves a name, or come as an individual EVERYONE WELCOME
Both our professional tutors will be there on both days and there are still some places (which must be booked) available on both days.
For more info and to book a place on either of the days please contact Sally, 07816 266531. sallydavis99@hotmail.com
All tools will be provided, although if you have any of your own which you are used to using please bring them. Timings and joining details will be sent at the New Year.
For many years we have held our own Society Wassail Ceremony and 2023 is no exception; however, it will not be on or near the traditional old Twelfth Night as usual, but on Friday, February 3rd due to the call on the time of our Master of Ceremonies, Les Davies, by other communities. However he will be leading us on February 3rd.
We have booked Burrington Village Hall from 6.30pm in which to assemble and choose the Wassail Queen by finding a bean hidden in a piece of apple cake. From there we process through the village to the orchard, where we will pick a venerable tree to receive our cider and blessings for the whole orchard.
Happily, we also have the company of our great friends, The Barley Rye Choir, who love wassails and their wassailing songs as much as we do. The evil spirits will be dispersed with our fearsome noises and the gun of the “spirit frightener” (with blanks of course, ’elth ’n safety!).
Then, it’s back to the hall for warming liquors and cake, cheese/biscuits/crusty
bread, (and this year we are venturing into the world of mulled cider!). There will be a donations box on the table for the Barley Rye choice of charity of 2023. Now, what to bring: warm clothing (hats are good) and good boots or shoes are a must.
For the noise making, a tin plate or can and a spoon are ideal. A torch is useful as Burrington is a no-lights village, plus the grass could be lumpy underfoot. Do join us for a great traditional evening event – so that we can mull and cook the right amount of everything we ask that you try and let us know how many to expect. How to do this is given in the box below.
So finally to the long-awaited famous fun QUIZ with questions researched and devised by Sue and Peter Gearing and Les Davies. Everyone is invited to come with friends as a team but individuals can join in a team on the night as well. Details below.
221995 email membership@themendipsociety.org.uk between December 15th-30th and Judith 01275 874284 secretary@themendipsociety.org.uk from January 1st-27th.
Please let us know before January 25th if possible, to help the Wellsway with the catering. Use the same contacts to book for the wassail.
www.themendipsociety.org.uk
offer them the opportunity to get through the harshest of winter weathers, a chance to survive to make it through to the next nesting season.
By CHRIS SPERRING MBEIT is so amazing when someone responds, having attempted one of my wildlife watching challenges, so a huge “well done” to Andrew Harrison, of Keynsham, who successfully completed the task I set to find treecreepers. He not only managed to find them, but took some excellent photos!
As we start the new year, birdlife is at the heart of this month’s article. If it’s cold enough, wildlife will be going through a sort of reboot; of course, if it’s mild then some species that we are more familiar with during spring and summer may well venture out as the conditions force them to wake and find food that won’t be available to them yet.
So, yes, a long cold snap may not be what we want, but for some species it can have a real positive effect in literally shutting them down or, dare I say, locking them down for a long period of time. For other species, such as small birds, then we really can become their saviour if conditions remain cold. When we feed the birds in our gardens, we
Let’s be honest, producing new birds in the spring is now more critical than ever as we witness many small bird species declining across the UK. Obviously, there is another side of the argument: by feeding the birds during harsh conditions are we just interfering with nature. Are we, for example, helping those to survive that just don’t make nature’s grade for success?
It’s a dilemma I often think about. Another aspect highlighted in a recent study is: are we favouring certain species by supplementary feeding that makes others more vulnerable because we make the aggressive species more dominant?
Of course, the risk of disease from dirty feeders has and continues to be a big issue. The latest issue associated with this is the well-publicised bird flu outbreak. There is little risk to humans from bird flu but it’s always best to avoid direct contact.
When you’re cleaning your feeders wear protective gloves and always wash your hands thoroughly. Here’s a great
link to the RSPB advice on cleaning safely cleaning bird feeders: https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/rspbnews/rspb-news-stories/keep-yourgarden-birds-healthy/
Don’t forget it’s really important that if you find a few dead birds in the same place please do not pick them up or touch them; instead contact the DEFRA Helpline on 03459 33 55 77 for further advice or assistance.
So, would you enjoy another wildlife challenge? During January, go out into your garden just after dark and listen out for the screams of foxes. This can be done in rural or urban areas. This is the time of year when foxes can become very vocal. They can also be heard barking, with a longer, drawn-out bark than the average dog’s. If you have a smartphone, try recording it and send it to me via text (small file please).
Happy New year to one and all. l The next free, monthly walk at the Hawk and Owl Trust’s Shapwick Moor nature reserve will be on Friday, January 13th starting at 10am. Please book via https://shapwick.hawkandowltrust.org Nighttime owl walks are on-going. Please contact me direct for more information.
WE are privileged to have here on Mendip one of the deepest and most beautiful gorges in the country at Cheddar, but I wonder how many of us actually go there very often. So, I decided to take you up there for this January circle so you can capture the amazing views in relative peace. It is a short walk, but quite a challenging one as the first half is steadily uphill on a path which is often rocky. But then, after we have reached the top of the Gorge, we head across open top Mendip, through two nature reserves and then downhill, picking up the West Mendip
Way. There are three stiles and mostly the tracks are dry.
PARK: In Cheddar up Lippiatt Lane in a £5 a day car park run. As you begin to approach the Gorge itself from Cheddar village, cross a bridge and turn right opposite the Tourist Info and Ticket Office. Stay left and go up the narrow Lippiatt. The parking area is on the left with a box by the entrance for payment. Or find somewhere else to park in the village and walk up the Lippiatt to the first turn left.
START: Turn right out of the car park and after a short stretch turn up the first lane on the right, Lynch Lane. If parking in Cheddar village go up the Lippiatt and take the first left, Lynch Lane. After a few yards turn steeply up left on a rocky path following the Gorge Walk. Go under two ancient yew trees and join a track by Pavey’s Tower, sometimes known as the Lookout Tower.
Built by the eccentric entrepeneur, Rowland Pavey, it opened in 1908 and was originally a wooden structure. Later it was completely restored and was built of steel as you see today. Pavey, a local mill owner, also owned nearby Jacobs Ladder,
too. The views from the Lookout’s 14metre height are spectacular – looking across the windswept plateau on the Gorge’s north side and far across the Levels to the south, even as far as Exmoor. Follow the track up and immediately pass the top of Jacob’s Ladder. Go through a gate ahead and now take this stony track uphill. Pass a first rocky outcrop on the left and a few boulders but continue a few more yards to Pulpit Rock a more significant outcrop.
It commands a prominent position on the edge of the cliffs.
You are on your way again, following the edge of this magnificent Gorge which will come into full view before too long. On the way up you’ll pass a number of information boards to help set the scene of this very special place. You may well see sure-footed grazing goats too that help to keep the vegetation under control. Take your time to stop and take in the views from the top of this 400ft deep gorge. There are different paths that follow the gorge, but take care if you go close to the edge.
Arrive near the top at the Pinnacles, a very dramatic rock formation crowning the
edge of the gorge. For the best view follow the path which goes round the edge to the Pinnacles itself.
There is a famous story concerning the young Saxon King, Edmund, who nearly lost his life on these precipitous cliffs and it could well have been here at the Pinnacles. Edmund had a palace in Cheddar – believed to be where the Kings of Wessex school now is. Edmund had given into jealous pressure to dismiss a priest called Dunstan from his court. Many in Edmund’s court were envious of how much notice the young king took of this priest. So it was that Dunstan was sent back to the abbey at Glastonbury. Whilst out hunting along the top of the cliffs one day, Edmund’s hounds pursued a stag to
the gorge edge, it tried to leap away but fell to its death rapidly followed by the pack of hounds. Edmund’s horse was likewise taken up by the chase and its reins broke so the young king had no way of stopping. He is said to have cried out in sorrow at the way he had treated Dunstan. At the very last moment the horse veered away from the sharp drop and the king’s life was saved. In gratitude he went straight to Glastonbury and restored Dunstan to life in the court.
Soon arrive at a wooden gate and stile, turn right away from the gorge edge. Reach a large metal gate which leads onto a stony track.
Follow this, going across the top of Mendip for about 0.6 miles. There is a gate on the way, and then, as you drop down, pass a fenced dewpond over right and almost immediately go through a gate ahead. Now change direction. Fork right across the grass and after a few yards meet a wide grassy track coming up between two small trees.
Turn right on this and follow it up to a Bristol Gate (a large field gate with a
smaller pedestrian gate built in). Once through, go down to the left and follow the edge round until you find a gate on the left. Head across the open limestone grassland to a wooden kissing gate. Then continue the same line across the next field, part of Middledown Nature Reserve, passing to the right of a small pond and building. Take the left of two gates on the far side. In this field go ahead – don’t go up – and continue across. Over left on the rocky side you can see a disused limekiln. Eventually reach the far hedge and carry on with the hedge on your left to a stile.
This leads you over into another nature reserve – Bubwith Acres.
Here in spring and summer you can enjoy a great variety of wild flowers. There are views again across the Levels and across Cheddar and the Reservoir.
The grassy track takes you gently on and down. Come to another Bubwith Acres information board and leave the reserve through a kissing gate.
You have joined the Mendip Way. Follow it all the way downhill for just over half a mile back to Lynch Lane. Reach the Lippiatt and return to where you started.
DREADit, love it or loathe it, you won’t stop the march of time and with it the New Year. Yes, 2023 is upon us and what does it hold in store over the next 12 months? Well, I can tell you a couple of things, but for the rest we are all just going to have to wait and see. January is named after the two-headed Roman God Janus being represented with two faces looking in opposite directions.
Quite apt as we look back and forwards at this time of year. Looking back, I shouldn’t have got so excited with my Christmas column. There was no room for the monthly picture and the editor had to “crop” my new profile picture… I’m trying harder this time.
Also looking back, I don’t want Covid again thank you! The University of Georgia USA have promised me it won’t be on the tour itinerary for next year.
At the time of writing there is talk of snow. Just how right that is will be discovered as you read the January edition of Mendip Times. So far the winter has been kind, although the damp foggy conditions are not to be desired.
Country sayings abound about this “the blackest month of all the year”.
“If grass do grow in Janinveer it grows worse for it all the year.”
Over the past years I can’t say I have seen it stop growing as global warming no doubt makes itself felt. Primroses will again blossom in the hedge bottom and bank as if totally unaware of cold frosty days still to come.
In my full-time orchard days, I would indeed dread the month that is said to “freeze the pot upon the fire” – day after day in the orchard pruning trees, the work of which only involved a little movement. Cold feet and hands from picking up cider apples by hand on cold frosty days.
My pruning these days still involves using a saw and lopping shears, but the exertion is less with the powered pole saw and if needs-be the pneumatic shears. Time now to invoke the good will of the natural world and carry out the wassails.
In less enlightened times our ancestors would take out a pagan insurance policy against things going wrong in their agricultural world. For us these days the wassail is part of our heritage and homage to those who have gone before.
My diary is pretty full through January and the first part of February as I strive to get the wassails and pruning courses in. Prepare for a good crop and tell people how to look after the trees as well. Keep your eyes open for a celebration near you.
Jumping a bit further ahead and looking to next Easter, Sue Gearing and myself are working on a new walks book with a difference for the AONB. Entitled Secrets Of The Hill it will be 12 relatively short walks discovering some of the History, Mystery and Myth of Mendip.
Amongst the walks of discovery will be such things as the
castle that was lost when a lesson from 1066 wasn’t learnt and the miracle that saved a Saxon King. There’s lots more to come, but I don’t want to excite you too much too soon.
From Sue and my perspective, we are having a great time preparing and researching the walks and stories that will go into this publication as we work closely with Dr Kelly Davies at the AONB.
For now, much of the countryside has gone to sleep and will hopefully wake up again next spring. Amongst those inhabitants are the hedgehogs and those who remember my uninvited house guest “Herbie” last year will no doubt be pleased to hear that he is still with me.
Not in the house, but tucked up in a grass-filled hibernation home at the bottom of my garden hedgerow. It appears he is not alone in this terrace of Victorian quarryman’s cottages where I live. Another “Herbie” was found in an outside shed and is being cared for by a local animal rescue centre as it was well under weight and would not have survived.
I still harbour the hope that it will return to its adopted home when strong enough in the spring. This story also gives me hope that with a little bit of care we can all make a difference to wildlife in our gardens.
It won’t always be so spectacular as a hedgehog, even a small bug hotel can make the difference. The story of “Herbie” is being remembered and a Christmas card was addressed to me by a neighbour as being “The Hedgehog Dad” and signed off inside with the words: “Sending lots of Hedge-hugs your way.” Brilliant!
Here’s hoping I have left enough room for this month’s picture. So just in case it does snow or has snowed here is a festive snowman and if it didn’t, well here’s a festive snowman anyway!
Let’s hope this will be a good year ahead. This last one saw the easing of Covid restrictions, although I doubt the virus is finished with us yet. We also saw the death of a Queen who we all thought would live forever.
God Save the King and a Happy New Year to you all.
SOONChristmas will have come and gone, the lights and decorations will be down and we will have two months of short gloomy days to look out at our gardens before spring’s abundance. For this reason, it is important to furnish our gardens to look good all through these months, with a variety of plants that come into their own in winter. Apart from giving us pleasure, a supply of nectar from plants in flower will please any bees or insects brave enough to face the weather.
Many of our winter flowering plants have the added attraction of a strong fragrance, to attract the pollinating insects. Position scented winter bloomers near the house, or a path, where the fragrance can be enjoyed by humans too.
Every garden should have at least one Christmas Box (Sarcococca confusa), which is studded with powerfully scented minimalist white flowers from December onwards . This small leaved evergreen shrub is ideal for a shady place. Cut a small piece to scent an entire room.
The sweet scent of the aptly named Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox) can be appreciated best by cutting and bringing indoors, but too much can be overpowering. Unfortunately, it is a large deciduous shrub that needs patience to settle and flower well in a sunny position.
Trained against a warm wall it can play host to a clematis for the summer months, as it has little to offer except its winter scent. Probably my favourite for scent is the upright Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’. Growing to two metres, even in a lightly shaded site, it will be covered in clusters of intensely fragrant pink flowers for weeks.
Christmas Roses (hellebores) have become something of a garden “must have” and many new forms have come into retail centres. However, the basic Helleborus hybridus planted in groups can be just as effective. Try hard not to be seduced by the dark flowered forms, as
they do not show up against dark earth when in flower.
Make sure you have cut off the old foliage in November or December, before the new flower stems emerge to prevent disease contamination. These plants are ideal for areas of your garden with dry shade, perhaps beneath deciduous trees, where little else will grow. Cut some flowers and float them in a bowl of water to enjoy them at close quarters.
A group of coloured dogwood stems always look good, contrasting with the overwintering seed heads of taller ornamental grasses, such as Miscanthus. Cornusalba ‘Westonbirt’ has the brightest red stems but can be hard to find; however ‘Baton Rouge’ is nearly as good.
The best colour comes on the new stems so regular hard pruning once established and feeding in the spring will give the best results. Contrast the red against the yellow/green stems of Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’ or ‘White Gold’. The latter has an interesting, variegated leaf for added summer value.
Not easy to find, but with even more to offer, is Cornus sericea ‘Cardinal’, striking salmon red stems follow on from good autumnal tinted foliage and, above all, it is “good doer”. Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’, a selection of our native hedgerow dogwood, is perhaps the best known and most readily available, but will eventually start to spread by suckering.
Be sure to position your coloured stems such that the sun is on them when viewed from your house. If the sun is behind them the colours will not show up. You may notice that the colours intensify as winter progresses.
Overwintering seed heads are another attraction, especially if we get a hoar frost, but also to attract birds, so don’t be tempted to “clear fell” everything in the autumn. My favourite is Phlomis russelliana.
Evergreen basal leaves form an excellent weed resisting ground cover. In summer, strong stems support whorls of yellow flowers. As the flowers fade the clusters of seed heads fade to brown, standing all winter, contrasting well with coloured
Daphne bholua 'Jacqueline Postill'
stems or grasses.
If you aim to have one third of the plants in your garden as ever-greens, ever-greys, ever-variegated or even ever-blues, then you can be assured of plenty of winter value.
Holly is an obvious choice at this time of year and the best of the yellow variegated forms is ‘Golden King’, which is actually a female, bearing excellent berries, as does the white variegated ‘Handsworth New Silver’. Both will require pollinating, so I suggest ‘J.C. van Thol’ a hermaphrodite plain green form with very few prickles.
Evergreen euonymus can be used in so many ways. Clip into a low hedge, use as ground cover (ideal for shade) or given the chance they will self-cling to any vertical surface. The golden variegated E. fortunei ‘Emerald ‘n’ Gold’ or white / green leaved ‘Emerald Gaeity’ can both be relied on.
There is a limited selection of winter flowering climbers. Almost too well known to mention is the scrambling winter jasmine. Sadly, it’s not scented like its summer flowering relatives. The yellow flowers appear on the previous season’s stems, so prune these hard back in the spring to prevent it becoming a tangled mess.
The golden leaved form J. nudiflorum ‘Aureum’ offers yellow foliage all summer and typical yellow flowers through winter. Clematis cirrhosa ‘Freckles’ flowers all winter, but you need to be close to appreciate the creamy, specked red flowers.
If you can keep the snails at bay the Algerian iris (Iris unguicularis) will reward you with a succession of flowers all winter, provided you planted it in its preferred site at the base of a sunny wall. Cutting the old leaves off in the autumn helps to reduce hiding places for snails, and also shows off the flowers well.
The snowdrops will soon be up and “hey presto” it will soon be spring again.
• Apply a general fertiliser to all borders.
• Gather up and burn diseased leaves from under roses and fruit. Applying a generous mulch helps to suppress the disease infection too.
• Check tree ties and stakes. Adjust those that are too tight and tighten those that are not!
• Plant when the weather is mild and when the soil is not wet, sticky or frozen hard. Improve the planting area with wellrotted compost or manure.
• Protect from deer and rabbits where damage is likely. Keep plants weed free and mulch well.
• Root hardwood cuttings this month. Always choose healthy shoots as cuttings. Easy ones to root include Forsythia, Escallonia, Ribes, Cornus and Salix.
• Inspect leylandii hedges closely for aphids. This is a newish pest and leads to dead patches if not controlled with a pesticide now.
• Buy pots of snowdrops that are now coming into flower. They establish much easier when transplanted in active growth. Winter aconites too.
• Established bulb shoots will be showing above ground now and are very tough so will not need protecting. Daffodils in thin-walled pots outside will suffer if the pot is not protected from wind driven frosts so move them to more shelter.
TEMPLECloud in Bloom volunteers have planted a local cider apple tree in memory of member Anne Thomason’s husband, Ken.
Organiser, Beccy Angell, said: "Ken was a very gentle man with a wealth of knowledge, skills and hobbies. The tree was toasted with some of his homemade apple juice and mulled cider."
The group’s next meeting is on Saturday, January 14th, 10am at Paulmont Rise in the village. New volunteers are welcome.
BANWELL WI delivered 50 knitted and crocheted hats to Somewhere to Stay Hats for the Homeless, after putting them on display at the village’s Christmas fair.
YEARsix students at Ubley Primary School welcomed local photographer, Josh Dury, into class. They have been learning about space in their science lessons.
Josh, a local photographer, specialises in photos of the night sky. He shared a selection of photographs with the children and talked about how his hobbies had enabled him to travel the world.
Following his visit, the class have been inspired to keep their own moon diaries and have been spotting planets in the night sky.
Details: https://www.joshduryphoto-media.com/ office@ubley.school
ST VIGORand St John Church School in Chilcompton, near Radstock, is celebrating a glowing Ofsted report which rated the school as good overall with outstanding features.
Pupils were said to be proud to attend a school where “leaders have created a culture of high expectation, respect and tolerance”.
Early years education at the school, which also has an on-site nursery, The Mill, run by school leaders, was judged to be outstanding, as was behaviour and attitudes while the school was rated good for quality of education, leadership and pupils’ personal development.
The two inspectors who visited the 212-pupil school, part of the Bath and Wells Multi Academy Trust, in October said the children contributed keenly to school life, charity and their community, took active leadership roles and were confident and eager to share their learning with visitors.
Ofsted said: “Leaders have high ambitions for all their pupils. Staff say they are ‘believed in’ and this gives them confidence the school will continue to improve.”
The inspectors also highlighted the forest school days, where children learn resilience and how to take risks, and pupils’ work in tending the school garden and feeding the chickens, as well as the school’s support for the local foodbank.
Headteacher Chris Chorley said: “We are delighted with this
report, which really captures the community spirit and passion for learning that is central to our school.
“The family atmosphere helps all children feel safe and creates a strong climate for learning. We are determined to continue developing our excellent provision so that all our learners can fulfil their potential.”
BWMAT CEO Nikki Edwards said: “This is a wonderful report about a wonderful school where qualities such as high aspirations and respect are to the forefront in equal measure. Chris and his team work so hard and this mix of Good and Outstanding in the inspection report is a testament to all the staff team’s efforts.”
THE13th annual JRat award was held at the Hunters’ Lodge Inn on November 19th. The prize, an engraved plaque, which can be seen in the pub, is awarded to the digging team which has found the most natural cave in the previous year, either on Mendip or in Scotland, the late Tony Jarrat’s main areas of interest. There was a good turn-out of Mendip cavers, though this year Scottish cavers did not submit an entry.
Rumours had been circulating for a while of a big discovery at Red Quar and sure enough, the prize went to a team of young diggers from the Shepton Mallet Caving Club for their discovery of 499 metres of passage in Home Close Hole.
This dig in dolomitic conglomerate was started in 2008 and entered the lower reaches of nearby Wigmore Swallet via Young Bloods Inlet in 2014. Several leads had been noted at the time, but not pushed, until the Shepton regained interest last year.
The southern part of the cave has three leads in wet and muddy gravel. Two were abandoned fairly early on, but the third was pushed for 60 metres via low crawls and small enlargements. This crawl led to a walking-size passage some 50 metres long.
Two avens were found; one was blind, but the other was ascended using a maypole (a ladder attached to lengths of scaffold pole) where more large passage ended in a boulder choke after 100 metres. Following a side passage, the explorers found another ascending void named Crown Aven after a large fossil found there.
Not content with that, the diggers then examined a hole in the roof near Slime Rift in the old cave. This had been noted, but never entered. A large but open boulder choke led to a vast but low chamber, some 30 metres long and 23 metres wide. There is digging potential here.
Trevor Hughes and his team, drawn largely from the Bristol Exploration Club, have continued to work at Stock Hill Mine Cave, on the edge of Stock Hill forest. A steep slope was pushed to Strike Dig, which led to a large passage and an aven. This was climbed until the diggers were only a few metres below the surface.
Below this, a six-metre dig broke through to a keyhole passage, where the top is a wide sloping bedding plane, with a deep rift below. This makes for an awkward traverse, although there are some jammed boulders giving respite.
The route rose to an aven, then down to around 40 metres of passage. The new discoveries, totalling 254 metres, head south and the end of the cave is near the road between the Hunters’ Lodge and Hillgrove. It is at a depth of 90 metres.
Further west on the road to Priddy, White Rabbit Hole (formerly Lower Pitts Farm Dig) has been reopened by a group of cavers from the Wessex Cave Club. They are at pains to point out that the dig is on private land and visits should only be made when the diggers are working, with their permission.
A Hymac was used to excavate a damp depression in 2015 and early work by the North Hill Association for Speleological Advancement (NHASA) showed that there was a boulder-filled cavity at the side of a buried cliff face. The dig was closed but reopened in November 2021.
The first five metres of the shaft has been stabilised with concrete pipes, and seven metres below this a small side chamber was entered. The way on was dug through a steeply descending bedding plane some ten metres wide.
Another side chamber was found; there is a draught here and some formations and this is where the dig is being continued. The passage is heading east, and the cave is currently 105 metres long.
Elsewhere on Mendip, Cutler’s Green Sinkholes are currently flooded, which has called a temporary halt to proceedings. In Longwood Valley Sink the boulders in
Tickle Choke have been removed to enter the draughting Tickle Rift. A lot of scaffold and engineering was required to reach this and the way on can be seen in a tight but clean rift.
The Cowshed Dig at Higher Pitts Farm is now more than 80 metres deep in conglomerate. Large unstable boulders lying against a solid wall are slowly being removed. There is a good draught and hopes are high.
At Templeton, technical problems are causing some concern and pushing at the end is on hold until a solution can be found.
Further west, Pete Glanvill and associates are working on several sites on the Quantock Hills. Cothelstone Cave and a nearby shelter are being excavated. An old name for the cave was Blackatops, after a recluse who lived there many years ago. Other sites are being dug.
The area is in fairly young Devonian reef limestone, so it is unlikely that any really large caves will be found. Also on the hills, an old copper mine which reputedly led to limestone caverns is being explored.
Shafts and adits are being reopened. Some of these are wet, but as work progresses they are slowly drying out. So far, the limestone caves have proved to be elusive.
We have not enjoyed a social event for cavers for some time, and it was good to remake old acquaintances. We were due to meet again on December 10th for the launch of Rob Taviner’s Somerset Underground Vol. 3 (Central and South Mendip).
In the meantime, we will follow J-Rat’s advice, and Keep on Diggin’!
Phil has been caving for more than 50 years and is a member of the Wessex Cave Club. He has been involved in producing several caving publications and until his retirement was a caving instructor at Cheddar. His main interest is digging for new caves
With PHILIP HENDY
In my own specialty, treating chronic fatigue syndrome in those under 18 years old, referrals have gone through the roof. Sadly, many elderly people are simply lonely, which can be as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
By DrPHIL HAMMOND
WEall love a bit of Shakespeare and you can’t beat his seven ages of man, from the infant, “mewling and puking in the nurse's arms”, to the eventual oblivion of “sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything”. The beauty of art is that it forces us to confront the reality of what lies ahead, whilst in politics we live in a constant state of denial so as not to frighten the voters.
But the NHS and social care system is facing its biggest challenge ever and if people at every level – from the frontline to Westminster – don’t grow up, get real and collaborate it will sink like a sad soufflé.
First the good news. When the NHS was founded in 1948, half of us died before the age of 65. Now, thanks to the stunning achievements of public health, economic growth, medical science and the health service, the average life expectancy is around 80 years, with more centenarians than ever before.
People are living longer and healthier lives than at any other time in history. And one in three children born today will live to 100.
The other great news is that we have the power in many cases to stay healthy. Some 80% of the things that can be done to prevent and control chronic diseases are down to our behaviour and lifestyle.
The NHS adds only a modest 20% and acts as a safety net for those who are extremely unlucky, very poor or hell bent on a course of selfdestruction. You can dramatically reduce your chance of disease today simply by changing what you do.
One in three born today will a get cancer, one in three will get diabetes and nearly all of us will get heart disease, whether we realise it or not. Obesity appears unstoppable. Liver disease, kidney disease, lung disease, depression and anxiety are all on the increase.
Mental illness currently costs the UK over £70 billion a year and one in three people over 65 will die with dementia. Many people with dementia live for many years, even if they haven't been properly diagnosed and treated. Dementia alone already costs the economy more than cancer and heart disease put together.
The NHS and social care system has for years been crucially dependent on unpaid carers and volunteers. The round-the-clock pressures and responsibilities they face are huge. If carers went on strike, the NHS would collapse overnight. Already the NHS is unable to provide safe staffing levels and care around the clock. Your ability to access care and the standard of care you get across the NHS is hugely variable as are the outcomes for just about every disease. Your chances of survival even depend on what day and time of the day you get sick.
So yes, we have a problem and we need to get our heads out of the sand to think and plan ahead. I’ve no idea how Shakespeare would have seen it, but I’ve come up with a very pale imitation, the 15 stages of healthcare, conveniently remembered by the phrase HAIRS DISCS DREAD.
In the HAIRS stage, the aim is to live well before you get permanently ill. In DISCS, you try to live as well as you can with chronic diseases. In DREAD you try to live as well as you can with disability. You also need to plan a good death at some stage, before it’s too late.
Life is about taking sensible risks. We will all get ill and have to self care, self manage and care for others. Most of us end up in shock at our mortality and on loads of drugs. Politicians are slowly learning that the economy matters, but without our health, nothing matters.
No one gets out of here alive, not even Matt Hancock. But we all deserve a gentle death.
I STARTEDthis year on the Isle of Skye, a beautiful, wild place off the coast of Scotland, courtesy of a massive white-tailed eagle.
She wouldn’t notice a tiny water droplet like me balanced on the back of her head. When she dived for fish though I had quite a job hanging on.
They celebrate New Year in style in Scotland – they call it Hogmanay and they drink a lot of scotch. I’ve mentioned before my adventures involving whisky barrels. I avoided those this time.
I’ve flown on lots of birds over the years, but the white-tailed eagle is one of the world’s biggest, with a wingspan well over two metres.
What’s interesting is that they were hunted to extinction in your country about a hundred years ago, but have since made a come-back after being reintroduced.
The same happened with red kites, another beautiful bird, which can now be seen over Mendip more often. White-tailed eagles also occasionally drop by on their travels.
Isn’t it wonderful to see how nature can recover with a little help? You can help nature in many ways, in your own gardens.
Let’s hope for more good news in 2023.
MENDIP GRANDAD
EAR wax removal specialist Sherri Gardener is in a lot of demand after opening her Clear 2 Hear clinic in Midsomer Norton town centre.
Clear 2 Hear specialises in ear wax removal/irrigation. Her clinic, on the first floor of the Holly Court Arcade, welcomed its first clients at the end of October. With level access from the free South Road car park, it’s in an ideal location. It complements her home visiting service to the Mendip and Bath and North East Somerset areas.
Sherrie is a fully trained and qualified specialist with more than ten years’ experience in treating ear conditions and is also an NHS registered nurse. She recommends that appointments to the clinic should be made online, but will try to fit in clients suffering acute problems.
THERE are two sides to every story and Kim Richard’s Balance Wellness company at Binegar is no different.
In one building on the Rookery Farm estate sits the Body Balance Clinic where Kim specialises in a range of classes and therapies as well as two massage rooms. Kim is a highly-qualified fitness professional and sports therapist but also takes a keen interest in a person’s overall wellness.
She has developed what she calls a One Woman Clinic for menopause management to promote health and happiness. There are also menopause management group sessions.
Starting in January is Kim’s Lift Lean eight-week fitness and eating plan to help people discover more about how their body works. Kim said: “It’s not a fitness regime but to help people understand more about their bodies and to increase muscle mass, burn fat more efficiently and increase bone density which can help to prevent osteoporosis in later life.”
Just across the way is the Balance Gym where the atmosphere is calm and friendly and not in any way competitive. Weights, for example, are limited to 37kg so no-one – male or
female
To that end, Kim has also launched a Confidence Package offering a six-week gym membership with full induction and four 1-1 sessions with a personal trainer. It’s aimed not just at people wanting to stay fit and healthy but for people recovering from illness, such as strokes.
Kim added: “I started Body Balance four years ago in the original building, but it felt more comfortable to separate the gym a year ago to create two individual – but complementary – spaces where people can feel relaxed and at ease.”
– need feel in any way intimidated by bodybuilders.
SHEPTON Mallet’s own literature festival – Literally Shepton –saw the official launch of a community-inspired book about the town’s battle to save its library from closure.
The Town that saved its Library – written and compiled by Helen and Rob Heaton – features paintings and drawings of the town by young people and charts the campaign to prevent the closure of the facility in the Market Place.
As a result, the Somerset County Council-owned library is operated by Seven Starlings CIC and has seen the building opened up for more community use.
The book was launched in the library, which also hosted talks by writers of both children’s and adult literature, whilst the Art Bank Café saw live music and comedy performances as well as a book swap.
All the paintings in the book are to be framed and will go on show at a Town that saved its Library event at the town’s SS Peter and Paul church on Friday, January 20th – Sunday, January 22nd where it is also hoped to auction the original watercolour by Rob used for the cover of the book.
Christmas Child.
Mel said: “Some 75% of the boxes are going to Ukrainian children in the surrounding countries and hopefully Ukrainian orphanages.”
THEfuture for Brent Knoll’s community shop has received three green lights to proceed. Having launched as an “emergency shop” in 2020, the volunteer-run venture has been operating from a Portakabin for the past year.
A plan to demolish the village’s public toilets and replace them with modern toilets and a permanent shop building has been backed by a public vote, the parish council and Sedgmoor’s planners.
The parish council will now pursue a loan application and prepare a pre-lease agreement, while the community shop team seeks a shopfitter to advise on the optimum internal layout for the new shop building.
Pictured (l to r) Sandra Blair, Steph Butler, Alice Prescott, Julie Shahin, Delia Jenkins and Jenny Coomber
THElast craft day in Compton Dando before Christmas attracted 15 people, with 13 staying for lunch. The next dates for this popular group will be Thursday, January 5th and Saturday, February 4th.
Mendip Ramblers supported Frome’s Walking Festival. Walkers gathered outside the Cheese & Grain where the Mendip Way meets the Saxon Kings Way for a riverside trail
AFTER an incredibly mild autumn walkers everywhere enjoyed easy walking in dry weather.
Mendip Ramblers almost forgot about the waterproofs and hats! Almost 50 members enjoyed lovely walking on the beautiful Llýn peninsula in North Wales.
But the New Year is here and with it, colder weather must be expected and those resolutions of sensible eating and exercise need to be acted upon. So, our Mendip Ramblers walking programme is planned across the whole Mendip area, ranging from long and speedy walks, more leisurely moderate walks, and some whose main purpose is to stroll slowly towards a teashop; something for almost everyone. As usual, our working party has been out checking stiles and bridges, improving routes for walkers and local communities alike.
Guide Mary Henderson points to a brown plaque on a house on North Parade which was once the Champneys Arms inn and London coach office, built in 1739
All walkers are welcome – you don’t need to be a Rambler to join in, so why not give us a try? Take a look at our website – www.mendipramblers.co.uk – and look out those jackets and boots!
Elaine Dadley for Mendip Ramblers
THEMidsomer Norton & Radstock Community Minibus is still operating, but its future is still in doubt.
Just two of their pre-pandemic members continue to use the minibus, Peasedown St John Methodist Lunch Club and Stanley Court Residents Club.
But Swan Transport, Swallow and Clutton Trefoil Guild have now all become regular users, enabling their members to enjoy time out at coffee and chat sessions, social evenings, football tournaments, garden centres and the like.
They say: “In order to sustain this important community service we do need to get more users on board and, if we can do that, we will then need more drivers.
“Without an increase in users, drivers and trustees it is unlikely that the community minibus, which has been serving our local community for the last 55 years, will survive for very much longer.”
CHEDDARVisitor Information Centre marked its first anniversary under the management of the local community by helping more than 15,000 visitors to the gorge. The former National Trust shop has been taken on by the Cheddar Community Partnership CIC and is being run entirely by local volunteers.
Most visitors came from this country, but around a fifth were from overseas, from all corners of the globe, reflecting the international attraction of Cheddar Gorge.
The centre is now closed until the February half term and organisers are hoping more locals will come forward to help cover opening times next season.
Details: cheddargorgevic@gmail.com
MEMBERS of the Inner Wheel Club of Shepton Mallet welcomed one of the organisers of the town’s annual snowdrop festival, Amanda Hirst, to their meeting.
Amanda talked about James Allen, known as the Victorian “Snowdrop King” for his work hybridising the plant. His work and his life in his home town of Shepton Mallet provided the inspiration for the festival, which takes place each February.
The club boasts a wide age range. Harriet, at 45, is the youngest, whilst the eldest is Doreen Bailey, aged 92 years. Doreen is lighting the candle of friendship
QUARTETCommunity Foundation awarded 888 grants last year worth £4,848,905 and is pledging to award at least £5million a year in future.
It marked its 35th anniversary by seeing its endowment fund reach £60million and is appealing for more support in the current economic crisis.
Its annual report says: “The spiralling cost of living crisis show no signs of slowing. Like the pandemic before it, we know that everyone is being affected, but not equally.”
It supports community groups and charities in Bristol, B&NES, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
Details: www.quartetcf.org.uk
A COMMUNITYcafé has opened in Temple Cloud, with tea, coffee and cake available for everyone who calls in. It runs every other Thursday, 9.30-11am in the village hall.
Organiser, Sara Box, said: “It was a suggestion by myself, with the support of the parish council, to try and bring the community of Temple Cloud together.
“At the moment it is just cake and refreshments and a chance to catch up with everyone. In the future we may look at inviting guests along as well to tell us about things they are involved in which would interest us as well.”
Details: 0772 3030842
VILLAGERS in Leigh-on-Mendip turned out in force to say thank you to stalwart Dave Mattick, who has stood down after ten years on the parish council.
The council laid on a celebration at The Bell Inn where Dave was presented with a wooden platter carved by artist Rich Blaker, who lives in the village.
Dave, a former nuclear submariner who specialised in electrical engineering, will remain on the parochial church council and as a member of the Friends of Leigh Church.
JANET Parsons from Stowey and her friends have been busy selling their homemade crafts at Christmas fairs throughout the Chew Valley and were able to send £1,000 to the charity “Safe Haven for Donkeys” which operates in Israel and Palestine.
THElongest established bridge club in the North Somerset area, Nailsea Bridge Club, is celebrating its 50th year and held a special event attended by more than 50 players, including many former members.
THE Rotary Club of Cam Valley has presented a cheque for £150 to the Temple Cloud Larder Group to help the Larder Ladies with the running costs of the village larder.
It began operations in early 2020 around the time of the first Covid lockdown, when people were reluctant to go to supermarkets.
Later this changed to include those furloughed from their jobs or made redundant, but by and large this group found work as the level of Covid infection dropped.
However, three years down the line, the need for the larder remains and is growing.
Organisers say: “The recent and very steep rise in the cost of electricity and gas along with the soaring cost of food has seen the return of many of the original larder uses as well as a large number of new users who would normally have been able to manage without any additional support.”
The larder group consists of half a dozen ladies who collect produce reaching its “best before” date from local supermarkets each day. This is perfectly good food that would otherwise have to be wasted by the store.
In addition, the larder group have also benefitted from the support of the village, with excess home-grown items, such as cooking apples, donated directly to the larder itself.
With Christmas approaching, the donation from the Rotary Club of Cam Valley will enable the team to purchase non-perishable items designed to allow the preparation of hearty meals for those living on their own as well as for families at what is often a particularly difficult time of the year.
Team member, Liz Brakspear, said: “A very big thank you is due to all the Cam Valley Rotarians for their continuing support to the Temple Cloud larder.”
They held two sessions of bridge, either side of a special afternoon tea, at their regular venue, Nailsea’s Mizzymead Recreation Centre.
The friendly club was founded in 1972 and participates fully in county events, with several notable successes over the years. Two of its original members, Barbara Parker and Marion Blackhall (pictured), still play regularly at the club’s weekly duplicate bridge sessions.
Marion won the first session with club chairman, Tom Gibbard, a Backwell resident, who helped organise the event. The club hopes that some of the occasional players enjoyed the day so much that they might play on a normal club evening.
Details: www.bridgewebs.com/nailsea/ Ann Bawdon 01275 853509
MIDSOMER
Norton and Radstock Inner Wheel club enjoyed an evening of poetry with Paul Evans from Wickwar, who sold educational publications to schools all over the west of England. From that he developed a love for all kinds of poetry and is now much in demand for talks on the subject.
DOZENS of people attended the official opening of Ashwick and Oakhill Village Hall’s new community café ahead of a Christmas craft fair.
Author Cate Ray, from Bath, cut the ribbon to open the space converted from disused changing rooms and storage areas in a project costing £85,000.
The idea of the café was first raised just 13 months ago and much of the money came from grants from organisations such as Somerset Community Foundation, Mendip District Council and from direct fundraising. Work has also started to improve access to the hall.
Longer term proposals include upgrading and extending the building for externally accessible changing rooms. The outside leisure facilities are also being reviewed with a view to upgrading the old BMX track and installing additional leisure and exercise equipment.
Hall committee chairman Andy North said: “The café will be run by volunteers
A FARMER’S wife who has been entertaining clubs, societies and other organisations for decades with her amusing “ditties” about life in the countryside has finally turned them into a book.
Margaret Adams, who grew up on a farm in North Wootton before becoming a nurse and then marrying a farmer herself, has called the book “Living with the Boss” her name for her husband Tony who, although officially retired, still keeps a few animals on their 100-acre farm at Dimmer on the edge of Castle Cary.
Margaret was very much hands-on with the farm, mostly milking the cows but also driving the tractor and mucking out.
Her humorous poems cover subjects ranging from growing up in wellington boots to moving heifers and make-up.
Margaret, who plans to resume giving her talks in the spring, said: “I used to write the ditties on the back of envelopes and stuff them in a drawer, but the family persuaded me to do something more with them. When I give talks I usually recite them from memory.”
Her daughter, Maureen Wincott, said: “They make for a
and we would love more people to get involved so that we can extend the opening times. It’s also an official Warm Space.”
humorous read, but they also capture a farming way of life which is disappearing.”
l Living with the Boss is on sale at the Bailey Hill Bookshop in Castle Cary, priced £5. Profits will go to the town’s Market House Project.
THEteams at Killens are conscious of the difficulties faced by many people and businesses during the downturn in the economy and are committed to helping clients through these difficult times and to achieve their objectives.
Killens are a family business with roots embedded in our local communities and their specialist teams offer a range of property services from their conveniently located offices across Somerset including the running of the popular and well known Mendip Auction Rooms.
In addition to estate agency, the firm offers a comprehensive range of services including professional valuations, landlord and tenant advice, planning applications, and compulsory purchase advice.
With a strong team, there is specialism in each property sector including residential,
If
country houses, commercial, equestrian and rural. During 2023, they will continue to expand their property auction service.
As a firm, Killens work to the highest standards being regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and have recently been invited to join the Guild of Property Professionals. In addition, they invest heavily in the local community supporting many good causes ranging from small charities to sports teams and larger events.
This coming year, they will also be doing more to support the environment as well as continuing to promote recycling through the running of the Mendip Auction Rooms!
Tom Killen, born and bred in the Mendip Hills and who established the business in 2008, says: “When we first launched, we promised to offer a new and fresh approach
to delivering property services and it is this approach combined with investment in technology that we are continuing. Our focus is on customer service and delivering honest advice that can be trusted.”
He adds: “We are grateful to our staff for their enthusiasm and commitment and to our clients, old and new, for their continued support. If we can assist in 2023 then simply get in touch.”
would like to speak to a member of the Killens team regarding any property matter, contact your nearest office or telephone 01761 241127 or office@killens.org.uk
I CAN’T quite believe that almost three years have gone by since my company first opened its doors and it’s no exaggeration to say it has been a rollercoaster ride that has flashed past.
Working through the tough times of the Covid pandemic was a challenge in the early days, but we came through it, built a strong reputation based on our three watchwords of Dedication, Imagination and Delivery and gradually expanded our team.
During the last 12 months we have seen a strong market with high demand from people who want to share the marvellous lifestyle in the Chew Valley. Our success was recognised in statistics from Rightmove which showed we have a success rate that is 30% higher than our competitors, usually above the asking price.
I put that down to a range of factors, from planning how best to present a
property, to producing quality photographs and then employing exceptional marketing, whilst using my long experience to advise on realistic pricing.
That experience will become even more important over the coming months as we respond to the changes in the market we are already starting to see.
It would have been all too easy to congratulate ourselves on our achievements and sit back on our laurels, but that is not our style. We constantly challenge ourselves to improve our service for both sellers and buyers and that has resulted in so many positive reviews from clients and a number of people who have come back to use our services when moving house again.
The icing on the cake came from an organisation called Estate Agents Masters which carries out a rigorous
independent assessment of branches across the country. They awarded us an “Excellent” rating, awarded only to the top 5%, after carefully assessing a wide range of factors.
But we are not only just about selling houses, we want to be a full part of the local community, so it has been lovely to be able to support events and be out and about meeting and chatting to lots of people, always encouraging them to support local businesses and do their bit to help the local economy.
So, it’s been a great year for us and we are already looking forward to another exciting year when we will be moving into new premises and launching a bespoke website with a range of interactive features – take a look at joannatiley.com and we will get you moving in 2023.
JOANNA TILEY
THE Valentino design team have been busy working on the development of new ranges for bedrooms and home offices. Many of their kitchen clients have highlighted problem areas in their home for which they have asked them to find solutions. Valentino say: “We love a challenge, so we got to work to create a range of home storage solutions.”
In the bedroom, clients were asking for storage to clear the decks and to create calm and minimalist spaces. They have listened and worked with their customers to design and fit bespoke wardrobes made to suit any bedroom size or shape. Their specialist teams install these with the same level of expertise as their kitchens.
Valentino explain: “People are now more settled in the home working routines and they are looking for a more aesthetically pleasing setup. Spare rooms need to have a dual purpose of home office and guest rooms.
“Even if you do not believe you have the space, we can try to help you find the perfect design solution. From a cosy small nook or hidden office hub to a dedicated office room, we can maximise space without skimping on style.
“Once we have agreed exactly how you plan to use your home office or bedroom, we can have fun with design elements. If you would like to start your new year with a fresh, organised home, get in touch with our designers today on info@valentinouk.com or 01761 220033.”
FROME’S newest charity is appealing for help this Christmas and winter to support vulnerable children and their families.
Purple Elephant Family Support has grown out of a community interest company founded in 2015 which ran a number of services aimed at children and young people and their families such as a toy library and the town’s annual children’s festival.
But its focus evolved from community events to direct family support which led to it gaining charitable status. With families facing a tough winter ahead, Purple Elephant Family Support is appealing for sponsorship and for people to donate to their Localgiving Families-in-Need Christmas campaign.
In a statement, it said: "We focus on supporting families who are facing any kind of disadvantage, whether through low income, poor mental health, additional needs or disabilities, substance addiction or social isolation. We strive to make their lives a little easier and to bring some fun to their day."
For details, visit: www.PurpleElephant.org.uk
BLAGDON’SWeston Hospicecare support group raised around £900 at their annual Christmas Fayre, held in the village club.
One of the organisers, Tina Smith, said: “It was a lovely sociable community event with lots of locals and families packing out the village club. The fact that we made a good sum for the hospice was a real bonus.”
BATH-based charity Julian House has launched its Christmas appeal saying homelessness doesn’t take a break, especially during the festive season, and that the prospects for next year look grim.
It says: “Perfect storm is an often over-used description but right now that is how the immediate future looks for Julian House and the individuals that they support.”
It cites: a chronic shortage of affordable move-on accommodation; rising rents; more people ending up on the streets; crippling rises in the cost of life’s most basic commodities (for their clients, their staff and the charity) and a squeeze on benefits, when beneficiaries need them most.
It wants their Christmas appeal to raise awareness that the people they support are often ordinary people who have fallen into difficult circumstances. These can include domestic abuse, mental health issues, family breakdown, childhood trauma and addiction.
Local company, Agency UK, have produced a short animation to help generate vital donations this year.
RUHX, the official NHS charity of Royal United Hospitals Bath, hosted its new event, the Polar Plunge, at the West Country Water Park. A total of 22 dippers took part, raising over £2,000 so far.
Ellie Wilkinson, Events and Community Officer, RUHX said: “We’d like to a say a huge thank you to everyone who took part for doing something different this Christmas and helping us to ensure the health, happiness and wellbeing for everyone in Bath and beyond.”
HENRYMatyjasik, from Backwell, was among several hundred bikers who rode in Father Christmas outfits to raise money for the Children’s Hospice South West at Wraxall.
This is the 17th year of this annual charity bike ride. He was joined by his eldest son, Lance, his 14-year-old daughter Charlotte riding pillion, and a friend Charlie Hallam. They have raised £900 so far.
Details: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lancehenry-charlotte-matyjasik
THEGreat Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) has launched an appeal to ensure they have the kit and equipment needed to save lives through winter.
The charity says it needs to raise vital funds to help its doctors and paramedics save more lives by giving them continued access to kit and equipment they need and use every day.
Details: https://greatwesternairambulance.com/savelives-this-winter/
WESTON Hospicecare has announced that its next Men’s March fundraising event will be on Saturday, March 18th in Weston-super-Mare.
After their ten-mile walk, participants will receive a warm Pieminister pie and a pint of Thatcher’s Cider before watching Six Nations rugby action on the big screen.
Events Manager Grace Dibden said: “Hundreds of men have come together to support Weston Hospicecare over the past five years and we can’t wait to see our incredible fundraising marchers in 2023.”
It costs £18.50 for adults and £12.50 for children to register to take part in the event. An early bird offer is currently available for both categories.
Details: westonhospicecare.org.uk/mensmarch
JOSEPHWeatherill, aged 15, from West Harptree, a Year 11 pupil at QEH, Bristol, raised £250 for Children’s Hospice South West by running the Bath Half Marathon.
He would welcome more donations.
Details: www.chsw.org.uk - Ref: JWQEH
AROUND 140 tractors took to the roads around Mendip in the latest fundraising venture by Frome Young Farmers Club.
The event raised £1,904 for a number of good causes: Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony, The Farming Community Network and Frome YFC itself. In November, the club were awarded “most active club of the year” at the AGM of Somerset Young Farmers Clubs.
Some braved the cold and damp conditions on cab-less tractors
THE two-day Somerset Vintage and Classic Tractor Show returns to the Royal Bath and West Showground at Shepton Mallet in January with this year’s main theme being the John Deere brand.
Organisers choose a different marque to be the central feature of the show each year –this year taking place on Saturday, January 28th and Sunday, January 29th. Saturday sees the auction which always attracts great interest.
As in previous years, the organisers are confident the weekend will raise thousands of pounds for several local charities. Tom Vailes, one of the members of the organising committee, said: “This is our second show as a group and we are aiming to build on the success of the 2022 event.
“The auction is always incredibly popular and the static show itself offers plenty for everyone to see and admire.”
THEyear has flown by with alarming speed. After the shortest day, we are heading slowly towards lighter times. What a relief for anyone who has to creep round in the dark to muck out, ride out, and turn out, all by torchlight or moonlight. We’ve all had quite enough of that by now and even though January and February can seem endless, cold and wet, we know that it won’t be long until spring shows itself again.
Competitions are still attracting fairly good numbers around the area in all the riding disciplines. From the Mendip Farmers minis to the top racing yards, the show jumping and dressage venues and the Point to Point meetings, folk are getting out having fun.
Team Ditcheat under champion trainer Paul Nicholls, is having a great season so far. Jockey Harry Cobden was voted Great British Racing’s Jockey of the Month for November, and Lorcan Williams scored a hat trick of winners for the yard at Chepstow.
Paul’s daughter Megan also had a win, riding Shantou Flyer at Larkhill Point to Point, coming joint first with Molly Landau in a dead heat. It looks like both young women are destined to follow in their famous dads’ successes.
Last but not least, Mendip Farmers Pony Club members William and Izzy came back from Stockland Lovell Manor with bags full of booty won at Taunton and District Riding Club’s Christmas show. Izzy won the 70cm show jumping, they both won the pairs, and William and little Coco who stands at 12.2 h.h. won the Accumulator, clearing 1 metre 10 cm. What a day, with thanks to Taunton club for their generous prizes.
Enjoying this cold snap we are having as I write, I am reminded of a Christmas a few years ago. I wasn’t on duty for the day job, so decided to get up with daughter number 2, ride and get all the stable jobs done so that we could have a nice few hours in the warm before
getting the four legged dears back in, then settle down with the rest of the family to a good Christmas dinner, a glass or two of wine, and a snooze by the fire.
It was one of those beautiful sunny, crisp mornings, frost on top of the gates, water buckets frozen…you can picture the scene. The dung heap which I kept really tidy in a neatly stacked “brick”, had got very tall, so I thought it was an ideal day to put a match to it and let it smoulder and reduce in size.
The match didn’t really do anything so (gasp . . . I know . . . silly idea), I poked in a very small fire lighter for good measure. Everything seemed fine as we set off on a hack, out through Loxton, up to Bennetts, over Hundred acres on the edge of Canada Coombe, and then back down the hill.
As we started to descend from the top, I could see smoke rising in the distance. My stomach churned as I noticed a little surge of what looked suspiciously like flames, similar to the blast a hot air balloon makes as it rises up in the sky with an audible “whoosh”.
Panic set in as it dawned on me that it was actually coming from the dung heap…so we trotted briskly most of the way back with me imagining we would be met with devastation and irate neighbours, not that were any very nearby, thankfully.
Fast forward a couple of hours and a jolly band of firefighters trundled off back to their fire station, (thank goodness for mobile phones). As is the way with these amazing, selfless
With JANE PATERSONemergency service workers, they smiled and said they’d enjoyed their little trip out, having hosed down the offending stack of smouldering and flaming muck, layering sand on the top and generally leaving it looking as if nothing had happened.
We crept sheepishly away from the scene, hardly believing that no-one at all seemed to have noticed what had happened. Lesson learnt. Do not try this at home, and a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!
Remember there’s plenty of excitement with hunting and racing on Boxing Day, weather permitting. Check local hunts for meet venues, Wincanton racecourse for their Boxing Day programme, or watch the King George VI Chase at Kempton, from the comfort of your armchair with glass in hand. What could be more perfect?
THE owners of an award-winning Mendip livery yard have taken dramatic action to prevent the risk of horses eating potentially fatal sycamore seeds and seedlings.
Julia and Rob Banwell, who run Mill Farm DIY Livery on the edge of Wedmore, called in a team of experts to fell a number of sycamore trees on their land.
Sycamore poisoning, or atypical myopathy, is a muscular disease and can cause the sudden death of a horse. The Blue Cross says younger horses can be more susceptible.
STAFFat the
HorseWorld in Whitchurch have been battling to save the lives of a cruelly neglected horse and her young foal who had been discarded like rubbish and left for dead in a field at Dundry.
The mare was so weak she could barely stand and was unable to provide for her fragile young foal.
Head of equine welfare, Sarah Hollister, said: “It was a miracle she had managed to give birth to a living foal when she was in such horrendous condition herself. Her skeletal body had nothing left to give her baby and they were both in imminent danger of dying.”
The mare, now named Blossom, and foal, Forest, are responding well to rehabilitation. A winter appeal has been launched to help care for them and others in the charity’s care.
Details: www.horseworld.org.uk/winter-appeal
Owners and landowners are urged to be on the lookout for any signs of seeds and seedlings all year round, but the disease is more common in the spring and autumn months. The “helicopter seeds” can be airborne spread.
Julia said: “It’s not 100% certain, but many equine vets believe the disease may be caused by the toxin in the sycamore seeds, so we didn’t want to take any chances.”
The yard won the 2022 title of livery yard of the year in the SEIB Yard of the Year Awards, in association with Horse & Hound magazine.
The felled trees – some believed to be up to 200 years old –will be replaced by silver birch supplied by Chew Valley Trees. Julia added: “We’ll be planting many more trees than we took down.”
For details, visit: www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/horse
SHOULDcycling, the most environmentally friendly form of transport, be sponsored by an oil giant? That is the question many cycle clubs and cyclists have been pondering ever since British Cycling announced an eight-year partnership deal with Shell UK. It does on the surface seem an ethically incompatible partnership. Shell have profited from the burning of fossil fuels and been responsible for damaging oil spills whereas British Cycling place a premium on a zero-emission form of transport!
The response from cycling organisations has been vociferous, labelling the deal as absurd. Several environmental organisations have also branded the deal by Shell as “sportswashing” i.e. using sport to improve their tarnished image.
Others have been more forthright. A statement from Friends of the Earth read: "Shell is continuing to invest billions in oil and gas projects, while using cynical PR initiatives like this partnership to attempt to greenwash its harmful activities.”
Besides the very vocal public opposition there are many who have remained silent and understand the hard-nosed pragmatism that the deal represents.
The issue has divided opinion within cycle clubs and some members have cancelled their membership with British Cycling in protest. That in turn, caused some local cycle events to be cancelled as organisers need to hold British Cycling membership.
Previous sponsorship deals have been successful, most notably the alliance with Sky that delivered eight cycling gold medals at the 2012 Olympics. During their eight-year stint as principal partner an estimated 1.7 million people were inspired to take up cycling and membership of British Cycling rocketed up from 30 to 125,000.
When Sky announced it was not to renew their sponsorship, HSBC were unveiled as the lead partner at the start of 2017. But in February 2020 HSBC decided to end its eight-year sponsorship four years early, exercising a break clause due to what it termed “a shift in UK marketing and partnership priorities”.
It also happened to follow a period of turmoil at the governing body of British Cycling. There were investigations into allegations of a culture of bullying and discrimination within the organisation and a UK anti-doping investigation into allegations of wrongdoing.
While none of those was cited as the reason for HSBC’s
decision to end its sponsorship early, it would be unsurprising if the succession of negative headlines did not play at least a part in it.
The lack of sponsorship and the impact of Covid meant British Cycling were now heading into a budgetary crisis. With fewer sponsors around, the organisation needed the money too much to say no.
In a desire to sustain the activities that had brought previous success a senior figure said, “there appeared only one route –shaking hands with the devil”.
The difficulty for British Cycling is that it does not get a large income from running the sport. Events are usually free to watch and do not make a large profit. Cycling comes nowhere near to the enormous income earned by football, rugby and tennis from huge sponsorship deals and the sale of televised rights.
Although they receive grant income making up 52% of their total revenue, they are reliant on external funding from sponsorship and self-generated income streams.
That is how British Cycling ended up in bed with Shell – a controversial deal that ultimately led to the resignation of its CEO. But that is not the only PR controversy to happen recently. They were forced into an embarrassing U-turn after initially advising that members should not cycle on the day of the Queen’s funeral.
So where does that leave British Cycling? Participation in cycling remains strong. On the competitive side GB Cycling Team are a success and will undoubtably continue to be. But all that glitters is not gold, participation in the sport and ethics are in the end much bigger than medals.
And finally, does what you do with the money matter more than where the money came from? It applies to all sports, and I think there will always be two different answers – depending on whether you play the sport or manage the sport.
THREE project teams have been formed to find ways to plan the future of Frome Town AFC’s ground at Badgers Hill.
The teams were set up following a public meeting in October to discuss the long-term future of the ground, amid concerns that it could close. Frome Town Council has been working alongside the club and the Football Supporters Association to establish a Community Benefit Society. This will not only provide a firm base for football at Badgers Hill into the future, but it will safeguard the ground for the people of Frome, for the club and ensure that the site is being managed and used in a way that the community values.
One of the project teams was tasked with forming a CBS; another to look at the facilities and funding and a third to investigate the opportunities for more community outreach work. These project groups will ensure that the CBS is built on solid foundations.
To make sure that the next steps reflect the views of the wider community of Frome, the team are now asking residents to complete a short survey which will help shape the future of the club and the ground.
Councillor Mel Usher said: “The ground has been saved for the people of Frome and now the real work starts to turn it into a proper community asset with all that entails.
“Are you a charity, a community group or a sports group that needs more space? If so, we really need to hear from you. Have you got a passion for football and wish to be more involved in the club? We want to know that too.
“Being a community asset doesn’t mean that football isn’t going to be front and centre, but the space does need to work for as many people as possible. The survey will help inform –right from the outset – what the town needs and what added value can be gained from the CBS model.”
Find the survey at: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FromeFootballClub
THERotary Club of Chelwood Bridge has been helping three Ukrainian teenagers get into rugby.
Rotary Club member, Colin Robinson, said: “The boys had never even heard of rugby before coming to the UK, but they were persuaded by some new classmates to watch them playing with the Chew Valley Rugby Club juniors.
“They soon became interested and keen to join, but money was a problem. We at Chelwood Bridge Rotary club stepped in, paid their subscriptions and also paid for some essential kit.
“Now they are all enthusiastic members and have embedded themselves into the club. Joining has given them a wider circle of friends, a new support network and trained mentors to provide good male role models in the absence of their fathers. Also they have the camaraderie and discipline associated with team sports.”
Chelwood Bridge Rotary Club's next fundraising event, will be a Race Night, on Saturday, January 7th, in Stanton Drew Parish Hall, supporting the club’s Ukrainian Appeal.
Tickets are £10, which includes a ploughman's supper, and there will be a cash bar.
Details: Rob 07983 720405 email robmert72@gmail.comFacebook
RORY Everett of Blagdon has boxed his way to be ABA Senior Middleweight National Champion. He trains at Paddy John’s Gym in Hanham.
Rory, a former pupil at Chew Valley School and local farrier, fought four hard fights across two weeks.
He thanked his trainers, Andy O’Kane and Joe Hughes, his family and his friends for all their support this year.
Rory said: “It takes a lot of determination and discipline to get into that ring, but this win just goes to show how far that persistence can take you, if you put in the graft and work hard for it!”
WINSCOMBEWarriors continue to dominate girls’ rugby in North Somerset and beyond. Sixty girls from the four age groups at Winscombe Rugby Club travelled across to Frome to play the Walcats.
Four fantastic matches were played, with all four teams winning their games: U-18 –57-10, U-16 –60-0, U-14 –28-7, U-12 –18-5.
Head coach for Winscombe Warriors, Gareth Waterfield, said: "It was the first time ever we had all four age groups together in one place. I had a lump in my throat.
They played so well; I am very proud of them all. Thank you to Walcats for their amazing hospitality."
The club says more and more girls are playing rugby especially after the success of England Roses in New Zealand. Some like Lucy Burgess have gone on to play premiership rugby for Bristol Bears.
Winscombe have won the vast majority of their games this year. Last year the older girls were South West region champions.
TIMSBURYCricket Club’s first XI will be led by probably the youngest skipper in its 150year history with the appointment of 25-yearold Jesse Bishop.
He will be replacing Jon Strand who has led the club with distinction but who felt it was now the right time to step down.
There is also a new vice-captain, Kevin Sibley, but no changes for the second and third teams with club chairman Ben Hosford continuing his dual role as second team captain with Dan Hill vice-captain and Laurie Jones remaining in charge of the third team with Neil Hulford as vice-captain.
CHEWStoke Am Dram’s Christmas show saw an updated version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol combined with a Covid story line and references to Macbeth and some wellknown fairy tales!
Martin Richards wrote the script and Caroline Baines arranged the music. The village hall was packed for the show, which raised funds for the Disasters Emergency Committee and the Wallace and Gromit appeal.
YATTON Music Society is planning a series of live quality music at St Mary’s Church in the village.
The programme will include brass ensemble, guitar duo, oboe, bassoon and piano trio, and the Kramer Durcan duo back by popular demand. The first concert will feature cellist Jonathan Rees accompanied by the conductor and pianist Mark Austin. Their concert is on January 21st, 7.30pm, tickets £10.
HUTTON Drama Group’s annual pantomime is Rapunzel, directed by Paula Barker and Georgie Boulton.
The club says: “We all need a bit of fun in our lives in these times and what better way than losing yourself in the crazy world of pantomime.”
It will be staged in Hutton village hall from Thursday January 26th-28th, 7.30pm, with matinees at 2.30pm on the Saturday and on Sunday January 29th.
Tickets cost adult £10, children £5, family £27.
Details: www.ticketsource.co.uk/hutton-drama-club 01934 519122 or Facebook
If you are looking for a New Year's boost, they invite you to join them.
Details: cheddarvalleysingers@gmail.com www.cheddarvalleysingers.co.uk
ORGANISERS of a fundraising campaign to restore the bells of St Andrew’s Church in Compton Dundon are holding their first major event in January – a music night with what has been described as the UK’s Number One jive and swing band.
The Jive Aces will be performing in the village’s Meadway Hall on Saturday, January 7th as part of the £150,000 appeal.
The church’s five bells – two of which were cast in Compton Dundon in the 17th Century – need urgent repairs. Organisers of the appeal also want to add a further bell to create a full ringing set and to carry out other work inside St Andrew’s.
A NEW book is to be launched in January based on secret defence documents from the WW2 found tucked away in the Wells and Mendip Museum.
Code Name Cromwell tells how the local Home Guard would have defended the city if there had been a successful invasion of Great Britain in 1940.
Wartime historian and writer Geoff Dickson, worked on the book with friend and Somerset Light Infantry expert Jeff Allen as well as Clare Blackmore, from the museum. Clare turned to Geoff for help after discovering the papers and a rare Wells War Map, which clearly shows how the Home Guard would defend the city and which houses would have been turned into fortified positions.
Geoff said: “We have the actual defence plans and how and where they would have been carried out once two code names had been issued: ‘Cromwell’ – invasion imminent, prepare planned defence positions – then ‘Oliver’ – the Germans have invaded, man your allocated positions!
“We list all the men and have many photos of the different Home Guard platoons and commanders.
“To make the book even more interesting we have gone for a couple of “now and then” scenarios showing the different areas in Wells resisting the German Blitzkrieg through the use of my illustrations based on the locations and weapons that would have been used at the time.”
The book will be launched on Saturday, January 28th at the museum.
CONGRATULATIONS to Lucy Gunningham, of Brislington, who is the winner of our Spot the Rabbit competition; she wins a hamper of cheese and wine courtesy of our competition partner Ford Farm Cheese, makers of Wookey Hole Cave Aged Cheddar.
The rabbits could be found in photos on pages 16, 46, 50 and 81, along with one on the advert for Ford Farm Cheese itself.
Covid is still causing problems so please check before travelling that events will take place. We’re happy to list entries for non-profit community groups and charity fundraisers free of charge, but please send them as a succinct single paragraph, in the format below, to annie@mendiptimes.co.uk Entries that take time to re-write may have to be charged for at the commercial rate, £25.
Black Swan Arts Young Open Competition: entries open now until Feb 3rd. All forms of art & craft welcome, for exhibition in March & April. See: www.blackswanarts.org.uk
Tuesday December 27th
Binegar’s Bonkers Barrow Race. Meet Horse & Jockey, BA3 4UH, 3pm start, fund-raising for Somer Valley Food Bank.
Sunday January 1st
Priston: duck race, mummers play & music to celebrate New Years’ Day. Details: colinemmett@gmail.com or 01275 332735.
Tuesday January 3rd
Yatton Local History Society “Here we go again” a brief history of pantomime by Ann Featherstone 7.30pm by Zoom & phone. Details: yattonlocalhistorysoc@gmail.com
Wednesday January 4th
Bereavement Support Keynsham drop-in first Wed every month, 5.30pm-7pm, Baptist Church Hall, High St. A safe place to meet others who are bereaved. Free, with refreshments. Details: 07776 493221 or bereavementkeynsham@gmail.com
Thursday January 5th
Chew Valley Library reopens, Bishop Sutton BS39 5UU. Coffee & cake 10.30-12 & 2pm-4.30. Car park behind building.
Cheddar Valley u3a, talk by Rachel Boothroyd 'A Brief History of Gemstones', 2pm village hall. Congresbury Gardening Club: How to encourage hedgehogs in your garden, talk by Laura Batt, 7.30pm Methodist Hall. Visitors welcome www.congresburygardeningclub.com
Saturday January 7th
Frome Society for Local Study 'Frome Tunnels' talk by Gary Kearley, 2.30pm Assembly Rooms BA11 1EB. Non-members welcome, £5. Details www.fsls.org.uk
Chelwood Bridge Rotary charity race night Stanton Drew. Ticket £10, incl ploughman’s, from 07983 720405. Cash bar.
Monday January 9th
Nailsea & District Local History Society talk: “The Bristol Terriers” 7.45pm Nailsea School. Details: www.ndlhs.org.uk
Folk Song Session 9pm–late Queen Victoria, Priddy BA5 3BA. Sing, play a tune or just sit and listen. Free admission, all welcome. Details: richardlm397@gmail.com
Mendip Folk Dance Club, 8pm-10, St James Church Centre Winscombe BS25 1AQ. No experience needed, Details 01934 742853.
Tuesday January 10th
Arts Society Mendip ‘Art & architecture: estranged bedfellows’ 11am Croscombe village hall & Zoom. Guests welcome £6. Details: www.theartssocietymendip.org.uk
Wednesday January 11th
Mendip Storytelling Circle, 7-30pm Ston Easton village hall, BA3 4DA. £5. Details: 01275 332735 or mendipstory@gmail.com
Kilmersdon Gardeners talk by Chris Sperring on British Owls, 7.30pm, village hall, BA3 5TD. Visitors welcome £3. Details: www.kilmersdongardeners.org Weston-s-Mare Family History Group: Tales of
Old Weston, with Brian Austin, 2.30pm-5pm, Lady of Lourdes Church Hall, Baytree Rd BS22 8HQ. Backwell & Nailsea Support Group for Carers, 2pm-3.30 WI Hall. Talk by Cyril Routley: “Signs of the Times”.
Thursday January 12th
Wells Garden Club Quiz 7.30pm Wells Town Hall. New members welcome. Details: www.wellsgarden.club
Friday January 13th
Avon Wildlife Trust Keynsham ‘Seabirds of the Outer Hebrides’ with Bob Medland 7.30pm Baptist Church Hall, High St. Members £3, visitors £4. Save the Children lunches 12.30pm Shipham Village Hall, 2nd & 4th Friday every month. £5pp. Come and join us!
Shapwick Moor walk with Chris Sperring. 10am. Book: www.shapwick.hawkandowltrust.org
Saturday January 14th
Come & Sing Handel’s Messiah: workshop with Congresbury Singers, 10.30am-4.30pm Memorial Hall. £20 inc music & refreshments. Details: congresburysingers@gmail.com
Chew Magna Jumble Sale for Avon Wildlife Trust, 10am Old Schoolroom. Donation 4-8pm previous evening, or call 01275 332482.
Parkinson’s NW Somerset Support Group meeting 10.30-12.15, St Francis Church, Nailsea. Coffee, chat and hear a group of local bellringers. Kilmersdon Wassail 3pm Community Orchard, Ames Lane BS3 5TB. Details: Martin Horler 01761 437372.
Sunday January 15th
Tunley Coffee Morning 10am-12 Recreation Centre, Tunley. Fundraising for village hall.
Monday January 16th
Timsbury Natural History Group talk by Dave Sage, Keynsham’s Freshwater Life. Conygre Hall, BA2 0JQ. Visitors welcome £3.
Congresbury Memorial Hall Club Friendship evening with bingo, 8pm War Memorial Hall. Visitors welcome
Chew Valley u3a 10am Ubley Parish Hall. Talk about the Clifton Observatory by Mary Coward. All welcome.
Thursday January 19th
Cheddar Valley u3a coffee morning, 10am village hall.
Saturday January 21st
Claverham Market 10am-12 village hall. Butcher, veg, preserves, books, jigsaws, crafts etc. 01934 830553.
Frome Society for Local Study ‘Bath Theatre Royal Story’ talk by Jane Tapley, 2.30pm Assembly Rooms BA11 1EB. Visitors welcome £5. Details www.fsls.org.uk
Yatton Music Society: Cello and piano 7.30pm, St Mary’s Church. Details: www.yms.org.uk
Sunday January 22nd
Bishop Sutton Wassail 3pm Bonhill Rd, BS39 5TS. Morris dancers, shotguns, a huge bonfire, food and drink. Tickets from village school or community library.
Monday January 23rd
Mendip Folk Dance Club, 8pm-10, St James Church
Centre, Winscombe BS25 1AQ. No experience needed. Details 01934 742853.
Bereavement Support Keynsham drop-in 2-4pm Baptist Church Hall, High St. A safe place to meet others who are bereaved. Free, with refreshments. Details: 07776 493221 or bereavementkeynsham@gmail.com
Wednesday January 25th
Harptrees History Society: “The Knights Templar” by archaeologist James Bond, 7.30pm, West Harptree Memorial Hall BS40 6EG. Visitors welcome £3.
Booking essential: info@harptreeshistorysociety.org
Burns’ Night Folk Song Session 8.45pm City Arms, Wells BA5 2AG. Sing, play a tune, or just sit and listen. Free admission, all welcome. Details: richardlm397@gmail.com
Thursday January 26th
Chew Valley Group AWT talk by Re-wild Chew: “Beyond the bees – what about the other insects?”
Chew Magna Old School Room, 7.45pm. £2.50 incl. refreshments.
Thursday January 26th to Sun Jan 29th
Hutton Drama Club’s Rapunzel 7.30pm village hall, with matinees 2.30pm Sat & Sun. Details: 01934 519122 or www.ticketsource.co.uk/hutton-drama-club
Friday January 27th
Mendip Society Fun Quiz 7pm for 7.30pm, The Wellsway, Harptree Hill. £10 incl. supper. See: www.themendipsociety.org.uk.
Saturday January 28th
Congresbury LIVE! The Model Folk, 7.30pm, War Memorial Hall, £7 on door.
Charity Quiz Night, 7.30pm Wells Town Hall. Teams up to six, £5pp. Booking essential: 01749 672342 or email terryricketts1948@gmail.com Raffle prizes welcomed.
Saturday January 28th and Sun Jan 29th
Somerset Vintage & Classic Tractor show, Bath & West Showground. See:P?? www.somersettractorshow.com
Monday January 30th
Congresbury Memorial Hall Club Friendship evening with bingo, 8pm, War Memorial Hall. Visitors welcome.
Wessex Stationary Engine Club meeting 8pm Old Down Inn, Emborough.
Mendip Folk Dance Club, 8pm-10, St James Church Centre, Winscombe BS25 1AQ. No experience needed. Details 01934 742853.
Tuesday January 31st
Wells & District Wildlife Group: Long Legged Beauties of the Somerset Levels, talk by Damon Bridge of the RSPB, 7.30pm, Wells Museum. Details: www.wdwg.org.uk
Tuesday January 31st to Thurs Feb 2nd
Keyford Local History Group ‘The Last Matron: A play about Frome’s Keyford Asylum’ 8pm Rook Lane Chapel, BA11 1DN. £8: www.dramakarma.co.uk/lastmatron
Wednesday February 1st
Bereavement Support Keynsham drop-in first Wed every month, 5.30pm-7pm, Baptist Church Hall, High St. A safe place to meet others who are bereaved. Free, with refreshments. Details: 07776 493221 or bereavementkeynsham@gmail.com
THE 2023 Shepton Snowdrop Festival is set to be the biggest and most extensive yet. The packed programme has something for everyone – plant enthusiasts, gardeners, creatives, families, children and visitors to Shepton Mallet!
The main festival takes place on Friday, February 17th and Saturday, February 18th with an extensive range of fringe events and activities in the week leading up to the festival and over the weekend.
Once again Yeo Valley Organic Garden is opening their winter garden to coincide with the festival. Father Leo, until recently the head gardener at Downside Abbey, is hoping to travel back from his new home at Buckfast Abbey to lead snowdrop walks in the Downside Abbey Gardens.
For the first time, Shepton Snowdrops is working with partner garden, The Bishop’s Palace in Wells, whose head gardener will lead walks in the palace gardens.
A very special privately-owned garden will open for the first time, just for the 2023 festival. Here, visitors will see a
magnificent display of Galanthus “Compton Court”, a large, tall and elegant snowdrop registered by Brian Duncan and named after the house for the couple who lived here. This early flowering snowdrop has flourished here for more than 40 years, spread by division of the clumps every year to fill nearly two acres of garden and woodland.
Alongside nurseries and plant specialists selling snowdrops and spring plants, some of the West Country’s finest makers will display and sell their beautifully crafted work. Artists and artisans will lead workshops featuring foraged flora and clay, willow, wire, spring flowers and weaving. Booking is already open for some of these.
Paula Carnell, international bee guru and head beekeeper at The Newt, Somerset, will give a talk, “Song of the Snowdrops – the connection between early spring flowers and bees”, as part of the festival fringe events.
Visitors to the Festival can enjoy a display of work by the finalists of the poetry and photography competitions and readings by the winning poets along with a heritage walk, ramble, art in the park, snowdrop tea party for the over 55’s, drama and storytelling for children and a food trail during the core days of the festival.
For details, visit: www.sheptonsnowdrops.org.uk
