LOCALvillages came together to commemorate the deaths of five US airmen on Mendip 80 years ago. Their Liberator bomber crashed at Hazel Manor, where a memorial stone now stands.
It was a wet and windy afternoon, but a lot of people were there to pay their respects. We have a page devoted to the service.
What do Wrington, Wanstrow, Wookey Hole and Street have in common? They all have new community cafes, to add to dozens of others operating across Mendip. We have details.
This month we’ve been hedging and pond dipping. We have photos from these and other events.
Cheddar is gearing up for its annual arts festival, while in Frome they’ve been busking on the streets and celebrating the reopening of their museum.
We preview the Royal Bath and West Show, with a packed What’s On guide, as usual.
With all of our regular contributors and features, let’s hope for lighter showers in April.
May 2024 deadline:
Friday, 12th April
Published: Tuesday 23rd April
Editorial:
Steve Egginton steve@mendiptimes.co.uk
Mark Adler mark@mendiptimes.co.uk
Advertising: advertising@mendiptimes.co.uk
Lisa Daniels lisa@mendiptimes.co.uk
What’s On listings:
Annie Egginton annie@mendiptimes.co.uk
Accounts: accounts@mendiptimes.co.uk
Publisher: Mendip Times Limited Coombe Lodge, Blagdon, Somerset BS40 7RG
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SOMERSET Wildlife Trust is one of 20 conservation organisations across the UK that are being supported by new government funding.
Their project, Bogs and Bitterns: Somerset wetland restoration, will support the restoration and expansion of 50 hectares of wetland habitat across the Somerset Levels.
Simon Clarke, Head of Nature Recovery at Somerset Wildlife Trust, said: “The natural environment is at a critical crossroads.
“It’s vital that we are able to strengthen the county’s nature recovery network by focussing on these key, and vulnerable ‘stepping stone’ sites in the Avalon Marshes and provide a range of resilient habitats that can continue to support a range of species and that can deliver the high functioning ecosystems that we know that will enable us to tackle climate change.”
The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust is receiving £800,000, which means hundreds of hectares of wetland habitat will be restored, or enhanced, across Steart Marshes and Bridgwater Bay reserve.
Site manager, Alys Laver, said: “This generous funding will help us to provide a huge boost for Somerset’s wildlife, enhancing 370 hectares of habitat that is home to more than 500 species of plants and animals.
“Making the landscape wetter again will protect the internationally significant numbers of waders roosting within the estuary over winter and further support wider nature recovery plans across Somerset.”
The projects are funded by the Government’s Species Survival Fund.
AS Mendip Times went to press, we heard that caving expert, Phil Hendy, had died while with the team of diggers at Templeton, near Priddy.
His popular caving column has been a feature of the magazine for many years. We felt he would have wanted us to go ahead with his final column, which is on page 53.
Phil, aged 73, from Evercreech, was one of the foremost experts on Mendip caves and the author of several publications about them. He was a member of the Wessex Cave Club and the club’s librarian.
He worked at Cheddar Caves until his retirement. We will miss him. There will be a full obituary and tributes in the May issue of the magazine.
MEMBERS of the Mid-Somerset Agricultural Society have welcomed cheese company head Richard Clothier as their president for 2024.
Richard, managing director of Wyke Farms at Bruton, succeeds Tony Guidi. Richard and his family are longstanding supporters of the society. Graham Walton returns as chairman.
This year’s Mid-Somerset Show takes place on Sunday, August 18th. Meanwhile, preparations are well underway for the society’s first equine event, The Somerset Horse Show, being held at the showground at Shepton Mallet on Sunday, May 26th.
VOLUNTEERSfrom Compton Dando and surrounding villages got together once again to collect litter from the lanes around the villages.
Organiser, Sarah Wilson, said: “We had a fabulous turnout for the annual Compton Dando litter-pick and we were joined
by around 20 people, from the very young to the not so young.
“We found the usual suspects, bottles, cans, poo bags (often left hanging in the hedgerow), wrappers, car parts and lots of hub caps!”
EASTHarptree Environment Group is working to restore ponds, which used to be a common feature of the Mendip countryside.
Last year it carried out a survey which showed some 90% of ponds present in the parish in 1885 have been lost, mainly through abandonment or infilling to aid agricultural management. Of the surviving ponds, several are overwhelmed by invading scrub and trees.
It says: “Ponds today offer many opportunities for tackling nature loss and climate change and EHEG is now focussing its effort on bringing some of these local ‘ghost ponds’ back to life.
“As well as supporting amphibians, like the rare great crested newt, and aquatic invertebrates and plants, ponds provide vital links in local habitat networks for pollinators, nesting birds, and mammals.
“They can also contribute to natural flood management by holding back surface water runoff on to adjacent roads and properties.”
On Thursday, April 11th it will host a talk by John Dickson, chair of The Reptile and Amphibian Group for Somerset (RAGS).
He is one of the leaders of the Mendip Ponds Project which has, since 2014, surveyed all the remaining ponds across a swathe of the Mendip Hills National Landscape (formerly the AONB).
The group has become expert in the practical aspects of pond restoration, creating a network that has reconnected disparate
populations of great crested newts and ensuring conservation of a fascinating feature of our agricultural heritage.
His talk will look at how the local community, landowners and managers can pool effort to restore historic and degraded ponds, manage existing ponds, and create new ones.
Details: east.harptree.eg@gmail.com
REPAIR and reuse in Somerset has been boosted by a new countywide Community Action Groups network launched in Shepton Mallet.
The launch was held at the Shepton Mallet Repair Café in the Art Bank Café which coincided with a skills session run by volunteers.
Managed by Resource Futures, the
CAG Somerset network is backed by Somerset Council and their waste contractor, SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK, and provides free support to the network of community action groups in Somerset. It is only the third CAG in the country and supports groups that promote reuse, repair, waste reduction, sharing surplus food or composting. CAG Somerset also aims to expand the types of group they support in the future.
Somerset councillor Oliver Patick, Associate Lead Member for Climate Change and Transport, told guests at the opening: “We have got to help more people to do their bit. Recycling is good, but reuse is better. We have to drive up the reuse culture in Somerset.”
Cordelia Unger-Hamilton, a Shepton Mallet Repair Café volunteer said: “It is very helpful to be part of a larger organisation that understands the needs of community groups and can help with solutions and suggestions. It will also become a good way for the many community groups to interact.
“So far, we have been allocated a grant which will pay for an item we couldn't have bought with our present funds and have received help with promotion so that more people hear about the repair café.” l CAG Somerset membership is free, and groups of all sizes are welcome to join the network. Support for members will be tailored to the group’s needs and aims. For details, visit: www.cagsomerset.org.uk
the project, and then listen out for the bittern’s foghorn-like “boom”, which is the sound male bitterns make in the spring to help them attract a mate.
The charity wants to find out more about Somerset’s bitterns and where in the county they can be found.
To take part, go to the Somerset Wildlife Trust website, join
By sharing what you hear on iNaturalist, it says the trust will be able to build up a more complete picture of Somerset’s bitterns.
Details: https://www.somersetwildlife.org/project-bittern
MOLES spend most of their lives (99%) in underground tunnels that they dig themselves. They are found at depths varying from immediately below the surface (for food) to 70 cms or more. Molehills are waste material which come from digging or repairing burrows and so are usually found where the animal is establishing new burrows, or where existing ones are damaged.
This may have been caused by the weight of grazing livestock or perhaps this autumn and winter the tunnels have been flooded. Although animals only the size of your hand, moles can burrow 100 metres in a single night!
The only reasons they may emerge is to find grass for nesting material or if young ones have been turned out to find their own home. They may search for food on the surface at night if it has been particularly dry.
I started to think of moles when walking along the verge from Greenhill Lane in Sandford towards the ski slope on the A368. Suddenly one day over 50 molehills had appeared, just the work of one mole!
Apparently, a mole can dig up to 15 feet each hour using its spadelike forepaws to effectively breaststroke its way through the soil. Every now and again, loose soil is pushed up to the surface, resulting in what we see as a molehill.
These molehills appeared in early February and that is the start of the breeding period, so one mole may have been trying to access a mate in a new area or was simply endeavouring to keep the tunnel in good repair. The young will be born between March and June – so quite soon now.
I expect that whilst most people have never seen a live mole, they would have no difficulty in recognising this rather beautiful and distinctive creature. Perhaps it is because as children we came across Mr. Mole of Mole End in Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.
Moles are very rarely seen. I have only ever seen one and that was caught by my cat, Zoe, when it came up to the surface. Unfortunately, I was unable to rescue it. They are stocky animals, with a wedgeshaped body and short tail. They use their spade-like paws to dig tunnels and hunt for their favourite meal of earthworms.
Mostly moles are solitary anti-social animals aggressive too towards any intruders unless it is mating time.
This photo shows just how well the mole's body is adapted to its work with their broad front feet and powerful shoulders and long, long nails for digging and foraging for their favourite food – earthworms. They are almost blind but have acute hearing. Their noses are special.
The mole's extraordinary bare, pink nose is ringed with 22 fingerlike tentacles, each measuring no more than 0.25 to 0.5 inches long, which encircle its nostrils and are constantly moving. The pea-sized organ is extremely sensitive, packed with over 25,000 sensory receptors – compared with 17,000 in the human hand.
The mole can identify anything it touches seven times faster than a person can blink. This makes it the most sensitive organ in the animal world.
No more than three to five moles live on each acre but two to three
is more common, though it looks far more, especially if he/she is living beneath a prized lawn. Surface tunnels connect with deeper runways that are located three to 12 inches below the surface but may be as deep as 40 inches.
Usually there is a larder of stored worms that the moles have killed by biting them at the back of the head. The record was 400 worms!
Deep runways are main passageways that are used daily as the mole travels to and from surface tunnels and its nest.
Young moles are taught how to explore the tunnels and to find food but at nine weeks they are evicted and have to come onto the surface in order to find a new home. Tough love!
Many people, especially farmers, golf course professionals and some gardeners, find it hard to live with moles and their hills and much time and frustration is lost trying to deal with them usually, unfortunately, now by using poisons.
It may be a thankless task, for new moles usually take over the ready-made home.
In the past mole catchers used the soft velvety coats to make moleskin jackets and trousers but now rodent officers tend to be responsible for mole destruction often using very cruel traps though now it is possible to buy more humane live capture traps. It is illegal to leave a mole longer than 24 hours in a trap.
My landlady was a mole catcher in the 1970s. At night she would go out to collect worms from her garden and then kill them in strychnine (banned in 2006) ready for the next day. She was always smartly dressed with a fancy hat and plenty of make-up. People would have been surprised to see what was in the car boot.
Are moles useful to gardeners and farmers?
Most definitely YES. They are the unsung and unseen heroes of the animal world and yet there are many websites explaining in great detail how to get rid of (kill) moles.
By digging up the earth, moles help make the soil healthier by aerating it. This allows more types of plants to grow, which in turn feed more insects and therefore more vertebrates. Not only this, their tunnels improve soil drainage, which helps stop flooding and huge puddles forming on the ground.
They also like to eat underground grubs such as leather jackets and wire worms that would usually feed off crops, so moles can help to control unwanted invertebrates. Lastly molehill soil is ideal for making compost and topdressing.
What does the saying making mountains out of molehills mean? It means exaggerating the importance of something trivial. Sir Frances Bacon first used the term mole in 1622 to describe the spies of King Henry VII.
Novelist John Le Carré resurrected the term in his 1974 novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy to describe a Soviet agent who had penetrated British intelligence from within.
It is a change to know that moles are still common and not on an endangered list. Perhaps they just keep out of the way of humans if they can.
DIANA REDFERN
Details: www.cagsomerset.org.uk
With NICK GREEN
THANKyou to those readers who pointed out my error in my March Mendip Times piece. My colloquial understanding of the Cheddar Pink being an orchid has been pointed out as being incorrect. The Cheddar Pink is a pink flower found on a much wider basis. It isn’t the rare pink orchid as I described.
Much as I was disappointed about providing factually incorrect information, one thing I was really pleased about was readers took the time and trouble to point my inaccuracy out. Thank you!
It would be hard to have missed reports that February 2024 was the second wettest on record. It followed relentless rain ever since October which means harvest prospects look poor. Crops normally sown in the autumn can be replaced with spring sown varieties in most years. Whilst not yielding quite as much per acre they provide a replacement. So far, this year is different. To date, it has been too wet to sow the spring varieties and time is running out. Fields remain waterlogged and the soil structure has been
damaged due to the continuous wet weather. If, and it is a big if, the ground dries out sufficiently to sow crops, they are likely to perform poorly with reduced yields and lower quality. It might be that farmers who aren’t able to sow their arable crops opt to let their affected fields stay fallowor they sow a non-food crop such as grass and wildflowers which is great for the environment but not so good for those customers who need crops to feed their livestock, or make biscuits and bread, or brew beer and so on.
April is the month many Mendip farmers greet the arrival of new-born lambs. It never ceases to amaze me how so soon after popping out into the big wide world, they shakily scramble to their feet find their mother’s milk and start drinking. Once they’ve had a tummy full of colostrum they are up and about and exploring with their mums fussing over them. Our neighbouring farmer lets his new-born lambs out into the field behind our house.
Whilst there is a delight in seeing gangly-legged lambs skipping around with their mothers, what I really like is when they are a bit more independent and adventurous. Gangs of lambs start charging around the field. There’s nothing like watching playful lambs for an evening’s entertainment. Much better than TV.
Nick Green is Farms Director for Alvis Bros Ltd based at Lye Cross Farm. As well as the business, he is involved with a number of local and national farming charities.
FERNHILL Farm at Compton Martin had a busy day hosting blade shearing, wool workshops, walks, talks and various demonstrations.
Gareth Owen from Wells in the blade shearing competition
Lunchtime discussion
ACROSS
1 A formation of starlings (11)
10 Side dish of cucumber and yoghurt served with curry (5)
11 Cheddar Gorge is formed from this rock (9)
12 Three-quarters of a shilling (9)
13 Fluid or melted (rhymes with honey) (5)
14 Motor museum at Sparkford (6)
16 Hereditary information for a species (4,4)
18 Sweet, charming and delightful (8)
20 Drenched in this odd encounter (6)
23 Ringing sound from plucking a musical instrument; opium in Australia (5)
24 On being done or said afterwards (9)
26 Colloquially, essentials of a matter (4,5)
27 Edit, correct or improve (5)
28 Birthplace of Jacob Rees-Mogg, MP for North East Somerset (11)
DOWN
2 ‘Unite’ the UK’s largest (5)
3 I met ape making a meal of it (4,3)
4 Forego a harsh intention (6)
5 Heated a metal to strengthen it (8)
6 Honour, execute or comply with (7)
7 Either one of the two airways carrying air from the windpipe to the lungs (9,4)
8 Architect who designed Royal Crescent, Bath (4,4)
9 Novel by R.L Stevenson about good and evil in the same man (6,3,4)
15 Formed in 1794, a voluntary cavalry force of the British army (8)
17 One of the elements, silver-white metal used in jewellery (8)
19 Branch of maths (7)
21 The usual way of bowling in cricket (7)
22 Hot spring turns grey around two quarters (6)
25 Without active chemical or physiological properties (5)
This month’s solution can be found on page 85
By greendandelion
Clues in italics are cryptic
OURlocal Wrington and Burrington Hedging Society recently organised its annual gathering, where 32 members participated in the North Somerset style hedge-laying competition.
The Mendip Hills National Landscape was delighted to be a sponsor alongside other local supporters. Preserving the art of hedge-laying is a top priority for us, not only due to its cultural significance but also for the diverse wildlife habitats that hedges provide, including those crucial for the endangered hazel dormouse.
Through our Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) scheme, we have planted over 4km of new hedgerows and restored an additional 3.5km using various methods like laying, coppicing, or replanting gaps, creating joined up corridors for wildlife to move through the landscape.
This year, our FiPL officer took first place in the beginners' category after undertaking a training course with the Wrington and Burrington Hedging Society during the winter season. If you would like to give hedge-laying a go we would highly recommend this course!
Moving forward, we remain dedicated to expanding our
efforts in hedgerow restoration and conservation, working towards creating a farmed landscape that provides homes for wildlife whilst continuing to produce food.
If you are interested in learning more about our FiPL programme please get in touch to learn about funding opportunities at mendip@mendiphillsaonb.org.uk, there’s only one year left to apply!
THEsociety’s annual match held at Hazel Manor, Compton Martin, attracted 29 competitors along the long main drive.
Chair, Tina Bath, thanked Yeo Valley Farms for the venue and Hunt Forest Group for the loan of a Gator so she could get around!
Judging the produce
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With KATY BEAUCHAMP
So, British Summer Time is upon us and let’s hope that we’ll soon be seeing more than just an occasional glimpse of the sun. I had a glut of cream cheese left over from a catering job, so all three recipes include this as an ingredient. But they’re far from heavy and stodgy and give a nod to warmer – and longer – days ahead.
These crostini work either as a starter or canapé
METHOD
Slice the bread into 12 pieces, about 5mm thick, and lay on a baking tray. Mix the mayo and garlic together and brush onto the bread. Bake in an oven at 180°C for 10 minutes. Leave to cool. Whip together the feta, cream cheese and milk until smooth and spread on the toasted rounds then place a pecan and sprig rosemary on each one. Gently heat the honey and chilli sauce until combined, drizzle over each crostini and serve.
INGREDIENTS
(makes 12)
A third of your favourite baguette (freeze the rest)
1tbs mayo
1tsp garlic fresh or granules
100g feta cheese
100g cream cheese
1tbs milk
1tbs honey
1tbs sweet chilli sauce or hot chilli sauce if you’re brave (unlike me!)
12 whole pecans
Rosemary sprigs
Samphire really lifts this dish – but use broccoli if you prefer
A zesty dish you can make in advance.
METHOD
Fry the onion gently for 10 minutes, then stir in the cheese, milk, lemon, mustard, dill, garlic, salt and pepper, sweetcorn, samphire or cooked broccoli and the juice of half the lemon.
When combined, take off the heat and add the prawns. Cook the macaroni according to the instructions on the packet, stir the pasta and sauce together and either serve immediately decorated with lemon wedges from the half lemon you have or put into an ovenproof dish to bake another time.
INGREDIENTS
(serves four)
200g macaroni
170g cooked prawns
250g cream cheese
1 medium diced onion
60g samphire or (cooked) broccoli
150g sweetcorn
10g chopped dill
1 lemon
100ml milk
1tbs mustard
Tsp garlic fresh or granules
Pancakes are easy to prepare and delicious to eat anytime.
METHOD
Whisk up the chocolate milk, eggs and flour into a batter and fry six to eight pancakes depending on size and thickness. Sprinkle some of the cocoa and sugar mix onto each one as they come out.
Beat together cheese, cream and jam until thick. Divide that mixture between each pancake and spread around. Scatter the chopped fruit over and roll up. Sprinkle the rest of the coca/sugar mix over, cut in half and serve.
INGREDIENTS
(make six to eight)
For the pancakes
250g chocolate flavoured milk shake
2 eggs
130g plain flour
Butter Filling
200g cream cheese
150g double cream
100g raspberry jam
200g mixed chopped red berries
2tsp cocoa powder mixed with 2tsp granulated sugar
ANYONE with a sweet tooth should head for the Tucker’s Grave Inn at Faulkland in April when the historic pub once again hosts a charity afternoon cream tea party.
Tables in The Parlour will be laden with cakes, biscuits, scones and many other home baked goodies being sold in aid of The Bowel Movement, a local charity founded by friends and family of Benj Millard, who died of cancer aged 32.
The tea party – complete with raffle – takes place on Saturday,
Take time for tea – and raise money for charity
April 27th from 2pm, with afternoon tea for two costing just £7.50 and individual cakes £2.
That same day sees live music in The Parlour in the evening with Elevation, a four-piece band playing everything from U2 to Oasis and Queen. And Queen will be the focus of a special –ticket-only event – on Saturday, April 13th with the tribute band The Good Old Fashioned Lover Boys performing some of the supergroup’s classics.
For details and to book tickets for the Queen tribute night, visit: www.tuckersgraveinn.co.uk
OPEN:
Noon-11pm (Mon-Sat) • Noon-10pm (Sun)
Tucker’s Grave Inn, Faulkland, Radstock, BA3 5XF.
T: 01225
With ADRIAN BOOTS
WINTERand spring are not normally great times of year for mushroom hunting. However, come the end of April, a really good edible mushroom appears. This mushroom is named after the patron saint of England and first shows itself on or around April 23rd with remarkable regularity –hence the name “Saint George’s mushroom”. They can be found a week or so before this date, but amusingly I always seem to find them in May.
St George’s mushroom (Calocybe gambosa) has a domed, sometimes cracked, convex cap, 6 to 12cm wide with in-rolled edges and is white to beige in colour. The stem is white and can be up to 6cm tall and 2cm wide with crowded gills, white to pale cream.
The flesh has a firm texture and smells strongly of fresh meal, a key identifying factor. It is commonly found in unimproved permanent pasture and old meadows. However, they can also occur in gardens, parks, lawns and even roadside verges.
The St George’s mushroom often grows in the “classic fairy ring” and prefers shorter grass but if the grass is longer they can be quite well hidden so do look for patches of darker grass in a rough circular shape.
Some may look a little past it, particularly the older ones in the long, wet grass, but one of the advantages of this springtime mushroom is that they tend to remain maggot free!
I always recommend cooking wild mushrooms, so enjoy gently fried in butter with finely chopped wild garlic (another wild seasonal favourite), add cream and then season with a pinch of sea salt and a twist of black pepper. A saintly dish of mushrooms if ever there was one.
Avoid poisonous plants and fungi or those causing allergic reactions; make sure you are 100% sure of your identification before eating any wild food; avoid busy roadsides, dog walking areas, or places where chemicals may have been used. It is illegal to uproot or destroy any wild plant without permission, but you can pick leaves, nuts, fruit and fungi from public rights of way.
Adrian Boots is a Landscape Ecologist and expert forager running wild food forays, events and activities. Please visit: www.hedgerowcottage.co.uk for more information or email him at: hello@hedgerowcottage.co.uk
With CHARLES DOWDING
WHATEVERthe weather, we now enjoy increasing strength of sunshine and day length. This makes April a very exciting month! Potentially busy, but with opportunities to catch up if you are behind, such as mulching beds with compost and paths with woody material. I'm often asked, is it too late to do such and such a job?
Almost every time the answer is “no” because the important thing is to keep going. Don’t worry if you've been told “it's too late” to do something. There's always a best moment and after that there are many good moments.
Leeks are at a top time for sowing, either in module trays up to four seeds per cell, or in rows in the ground. Since we now have Allium leaf-miner in much of Somerset, sowing under cover looks more worthwhile because the flies will probably not come into a greenhouse.
On that note, you may need to cover onions, salad and garlic to keep the leaf-miner flies out. New pests are extra difficult to deal with because we have to work out the lifecycle in our gardens and give protection accordingly. This one is still new to me.
Another great sowing this month is chard plus leaf beet, either direct or in trays to transplant. They will crop leaves through the summer and replace the spring harvests of spinach, which rises to flower by the end of May.
Looking at dates for tender plants, I sow cucumbers in mid-April, no earlier. They need much heat to grow successfully and therefore a later sowing often catches up an earlier one, with less time needed for plant care.
Around April 25th I find is the best time for sowing squash of all kinds including courgettes. Then you can transplant them after mid-May, when we know there should be no more frosts.
We have the chance now to make a lot of new compost, especially if you mow and collect grass. When adding it to a heap, make new layers only 5cm deep and then add some woody material in short pieces, or paper, or cardboard to achieve a nice carbon:nitrogen ratio and to hold air in the heap. You should find it heats within a day or two.
Charles Dowding has made no dig popular with millions of readers and viewers. Currently he grows vegetables in Somerset. He has written 14 books and gives talks plus courses at home and abroad.
TICKETShave gone on sale for the region’s biggest ever alcohol-free festival which takes place this summer.
The first ever Dryy Fest – organised by the team behind the free Dryy app – promises to put the fun into alcohol-free with a full day of family friendly activities planned.
The event takes place in Emborough on Saturday, June 22nd and is offering free tickets for kids aged under 15 and has a full line-up of activities including music, inspirational speakers, dancing, magic and kids’ entertainment.
For those who want a bit more relaxation, the event will also offer breathwork sessions, yoga, a chill-out area and a chance to simply relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
All activities are included in the ticket price. And of course, there will be plenty of food and alcohol-free drinks for all.
Dryy Fest is part of a series of events that take place around the UK through the Dryy app – a growing alcohol-free community – run by leading UK sobriety coaches Matt Pink and Andy Ramage and their team.
Organiser, Matt Pink, said: “We just can’t wait for Dryy Fest. It’s going to be the most wholesome and enjoyable day for everyone who comes along, full of fun, wellness, good food and a chance to spend time with family and friends.
“And of course, because it’s alcohol-free we’ll all be more present and enjoy it more than ever!
“The sober community is growing every day and it’s such a fantastic community to be part of. We’re so proud to be leading the way when it comes to enjoying life alcohol-free, and we’re just getting started!”
The Somerset festival is the team’s biggest event so far.
Opening
THEcharity, Avon Needs Trees, has exceeded its fundraising target to establish the Lower Chew Forest, the biggest woodland project in the South West.
It now plans to press ahead with the purchase of the 420-acre site around Compton Dando between Bristol and Bath.
It set a target of £100,000, but thanks to huge support it has raised £171,000. Chief executive, Dave Wood, said: “This woodland is on a scale like nothing we've ever done before; 420 acres, 100,000 trees, new wetland habitats, miles of hedgerow, and species-rich grassland.
“This is an enormous opportunity for climate action and nature recovery in our region and we are beyond excited to get started.”
THERed Brick Building in Glastonbury has been selected to participate in a prestigious project run by the National Heritage Open Days Festival.
“New Wave” focuses on involving young people in heritage, arts and history events and activities, providing funding and support for them to devise and produce a public event.
The event, which will be created collaboratively by the Young Producers, will be showcased at the Red Brick building between September 6th-15th.
This year, Red Brick Building is one of only 18 organisations nationwide to be chosen to participate.
This project follows on from the very successful industrial heritage project “Here Forever” undertaken last year by the Red Brick Building.
That project, funded by Historic England, explored and celebrated the experiences of people who worked in Morlands and Baily’s sheepskin factories in Glastonbury.
Indra Donfrancesco, chair of Red Brick Building, said: “We are really looking forward to collaborating with our young people and hope lots of people come forward to take part. It’s a fantastic opportunity for everyone!”
Details: heritage@redbrickbuilding.co.uk
www.redbrickbuilding.co.uk
A ONE-day conference about The Crusades is to be held in Glastonbury in April in memory of a lecturer in history at Strode College in Street, who died of cancer last year, aged 41.
James Arlett, a father-of-two, had been diagnosed with advanced melanoma just ten weeks earlier and had been receiving treatment at the Beacon Centre at Taunton’s Musgrove Park Hospital.
James’s widow, Katie said: “His work and his students meant so much to him, it was a vocation and a passion. His academic specialism, stemming from his postgraduate studies at Royal Holloway, was The Crusades.
“He felt it was important that more people study, research and add to the conversation around those conflicts, the repercussions of which are still felt today.
“He was proud to work on a BA course held outside of a major university site in the South West, as access is often difficult for those in more rural areas.”
The conference will be held at Glastonbury Town Hall on Friday, April 19th. A limited number of tickets – 150 – are now on sale with all profits going to Macmillan Cancer Support.
There will be six respected crusade scholars presenting papers and discussing a range of topics. They include Professor Jonathan Phillips, Professor of Crusading History at Royal Holloway and president of the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East, and Dr Susan Edgington, an honorary senior research fellow at Queen Mary University in London.
For details, visit: https://www.crusadecon.co.uk/ and
JustGiving: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ GlastonburyCrusadeCon24
HEAD gardener James Cross is celebrating his 20th anniversary in charge of the gardens at the Bishop’s Palace in Wells.
James’s move to the palace in February 2004 to take up the newly-created role supported the ambition of the then Bishop, Peter Price, to develop the gardens into a more professional, diverse and profitable destination for visitors to enjoy, using both historic and contemporary garden design ideas.
James said: “I remember my first big project was creating the romantic, English Garden Style-inspired Phelps Garden which is
still one of my favourite developments. When I arrived at the palace this area was a blank canvas; much like the rest of the gardens. I wanted to create something that related to the historic Victorian parterre that was originally in this part of the garden. “Bishop Peter was away when we ripped up the turf and his look of surprise when he returned was something I’ll never forget, although he was very happy with the outcome!”
James added: “I am very lucky to have my team Rob, Jo, Colin and Tracey who are fantastic and my volunteers are incredible.”
RESIDENTS in Street now have their own repair monthly repair café, taking place at the Quaker Meeting House in the High Street on the fourth Saturday of each month.
The opening café also saw a visit by the Fixy van team who specialise in reusing unwanted technology such as laptops and mobile phones under a “tech amnesty”. All donations are given to Donate IT, a local Community Interest Company which refurbishes the tech and distributes it to people, schools and groups who need them, helping to address digital poverty.
BBC antiques experts Lee Young and Richard Price were joined by broadcaster Sarah Beeny at a history day which coincided with the opening of Wincanton Museum.
Wincanton Museum & History Society hosted Wincanton History Day for local residents to connect with their past and discover more about the place in which they live. Activities included metal-detecting, a vibrant vintage transport parade and period costumes and the recreation of a World War One trench complete with soldiers in original uniform.
The public were also invited to bring in their treasures to be appraised by Richard and Lee who is also managing director of Frome-based auctioneers Dore & Rees.
MENDIPMale Voice Choir have announced the return of Kate Courage as their musical director starting in April.
Kate studied Music and English literature at Warwick University and has taught, directed, conducted, and composed for many choirs, groups, and schools, including twice conducting at the Royal Albert Hall Schools Proms with a massed choir of 500 children singing two of her songs.
She was education manager for Iford Opera and lectured at universities and colleges and was deputy head of the Bristol Arts and Music Service and assistant head of the Wiltshire Music Service.
Kate now works as a freelance
THE lovely small church of St Hugh’s at Charterhouse will be opening every Sunday afternoon during the summer, beginning on Easter Sunday, March 31st, 2-5pm.
The former vicar, the Rev Simon Lewis, said: “St Hugh’s is a small picturesque sacred space up in the Mendip Hills and many people go there as they walk this part of the Mendips, either as pilgrims or tourists.”
Volunteers from the nearby churches at Blagdon, Ubley and Compton Martin will be on hand to show off the church, as well as offer refreshments.
composer, conductor, accompanist, and teacher and was previously the MD of MMVC from 2003 until 2013 when she left to have her daughter.
She takes over from Jamie Knights who replaced her in 2013 and is leaving to spend more time with his family.
Choir chairman, Richard Luscombe, said: “We will be very sad to see Jamie leave after 11 enjoyable and successful years but feel sure that Kate will carry on guiding the musical direction and enjoyment of the choir.”
The choir’s next concert is on May 11th, 7.30pm at Downside School theatre with the Jenny Peplow Singers.
Weekly rehearsals restart on Monday,
Details: www.mendipmen.co.uk
April 15th, 7.30-9.30pm at St Mary’s School, Timsbury. New members are welcome.
1954 Austin-Healey 100/4. Estimate: £14,000 – £17,000
THE private collection of the late “Great” George Withers, offered on 21st, 22nd and 23rd February drew 4,500 bidders from around the globe, showing the deep interest from collectors chasing the sole opportunity to acquire items they had never seen before.
A packed saleroom at the start of the first day saw competitive bidding which continued through the duration of the 12-hour long auction days with five online bidding platforms active and all lots were successfully sold. Hundreds more lots from the George Withers Collection will be offered in the 26th March and 26th April Select Interiors, 20th May Fine Asian Art and 5th June Fine Silver auctions.
On 13th April, the Market Yard in Frome will host the Dore & Rees Classic Cars auction view, next to the Cheese & Grain. Head of Motoring, Nick Wells, has gathered a collection of classic and sports cars to showcase for collectors and fans alike. Leading the pack is a 1954 Austin-Healy 100/4, in the same family since the 1960s, off the road since the 1970s and now seeking a new home, estimate: £14,000 – £17,000.
Fine Asian Art on 20th May takes centre stage next month with viewing in London at Asia House 12th & 13th May and viewing in Frome 17th – 19th May.
An exciting programme of auctions is planned for 2024, 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 the Dore & Rees auction salerooms in Frome. Valuation Days are planned for 15th, 16th and 29th April. Contact the team on 01373 462 257 or by email enquiries@doreandrees.com to arrange an appointment.
A LARGE AND RARE UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND COPPER-RED 'STAR GOD & DEER' LANTERN VASE, YONGZHENG / QIANLONG PERIOD
ESTIMATE: £20,000 - £40,000
PROVENANCE: From the Private Collection of the Late George Withers (1946-2023)
MONDAY 20 MAY AT 10:30AM
VIEWING
LONDON: 12 - 13 MAY
FROME: 17 – 19 MAY
INVITING ENTRIES UNTIL MID APRIL
Contact:
Lee Young, Head of Asian Art
07825 426 555
www.doreandrees.com
enquiries@doreandrees.com
01373 462 257
Dore & Rees
Auction Salerooms
Vicarage Street
Frome BA11 1PU
Saturday 30th, Sunday 31st March and Monday 1st April 2pm to 5pm
Oriental Carpets, rugs, runners, Indian cotton nightwear, kaftans, silver and gold jewellery, carved wood furniture from the North-West Frontier.
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With CHRIS YEO
ONEof the things I love about antiques is the way they offer a tangible connection with the past and the people that have created them.
“Touched by the hand of history” is a phrase guaranteed to send a tingle down my spine. With this in mind, it might come as a surprise to learn that King Charles III has harboured a passion for painting for almost half a century and featured in this month's Spring Fine Art sale was an original watercolour by His Majesty.
The unsigned and incomplete study of Lochnagar gained prominence through its appearance in the 1993 BBC
production, “The Legend of Lochnagar”.
The backstory of this watercolour is just as intriguing as its royal connection. Initially offered as a souvenir to a member of the production team, it spent the next three decades hanging in a hall by the loo, before the decision was made to part with this unique, yet unsung treasure.
Estimated at £10,000 to £15,000 the watercolour attracted a great deal of attention and ultimately sold for £17,000, a testament to the enduring appeal of royal artistry.
The same auction featured an extensive collection of 18th century inspired, Spode “Stafford Flowers” dinner wares. Dating from the 1990s and adorned with decorative botanical
designs, the set fetched a remarkable £8,000. This leads me to conclude that, to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the death of the dining room may have been greatly exaggerated.
Also selling for £8,000 was an early 20th century Belle Époque diamond tiara. Of all jewellery, the tiara has to be the finest, and this reminds me of an amusing anecdote.
A century ago, two high society women, bound by marriage, but harbouring a deep mutual disdain, were obliged to kiss in public. On one such occasion, their tiaras entangled and they were hastily removed from the ballroom of Buckingham Palace, still locked in conflict, like a pair of rutting stags!
I do hope that its new owner avoids such an indignity.
Chris Yeo is a valuer at Clevedon Salerooms and regular expert on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow
Please visit the website www.clevedonsalerooms.com for more details
HEARTFELT tributes have been paid to the lifetime’s work in archaeology, caving, local history and the community by John Chapman, of Cheddar, who died aged 91 just a month after making a memorable contribution to a talk to the Friends of St John’s Hunting Lodge Museum.
The subject was finds 70 years ago during excavations at a Roman and medieval site at Winthill, Banwell.
He moved to Somerset with his parents after their business and home in South Wales was bombed during the Blitz in WW2. After completing his National Service, he was employed by the Naval department at the Ministry of Defence as an inspector on the Poseidon and Trident missile production line at the Bristol Aerojet factory at Banwell.
In 1950 he was a founder member of the former Axbridge Caving Group and Archaeological Society. Five years later he wrote the first report on the society’s dig at Winthill, and as an enthusiastic caver he wrote up cave discoveries in Cheddar.
Later, with Professor Mick Aston, of television’s Time Team fame, and other leading archaeologists, he contributed important reports on a number of sites at which he was involved, as well as the definitive work on the famous prehistoric bone caves at Banwell.
It was there that he also played a leading part in conservation work on remains both below and above ground.
For many years he led the Cheddar Army Cadet Force, and using his considerable engineering skills he made impressive models as a member of the Cheddar Modelling Group. In retirement he was an enthusiastic member of the Axbridge Archaeological and Local History Society and of the Friends of the Museum.
IAN TABRETT
FROME Museum has reopened with a brand new display about The Frome Hoard, the largest deposit of Roman coins ever found in a single container in the UK.
It was discovered by amateur metal detectorist David Crisp on April 11th, 2010, and contained a staggering 52,503 coins.
The urn was too thin ever to have been moved and it is believed it was filled over a fairly short period by people bringing large numbers of coins in their own containers.
The most important coins are the 850 that bear the head of the rogue Emperor Carausius, who in 286 CE rebelled against Rome, declaring himself Imperium Britanniarum –Emperor of Britain and Northern Gaul.
The Frome Museum display features an exact replica of the original urn, made by heritage potter Graham Taylor, along with replicas of a selection of the coins aged to reproduce how the hoard would have appeared when first excavated.
The display panel that accompanies it gives a comprehensive understanding of the hoard, accessible to visitors of all ages.
A CROWDgathered on a wet and windy afternoon at Hazel Manor, above Compton Martin, to commemorate the deaths of five American airmen killed three months before D-Day when their Liberator bomber crashed on to the Mendip Hills.
A memorial stone was unveiled to mark the 80th anniversary of the crash in a ceremony organised by Blagdon Local History Society and the landowner, Yeo Valley Farms.
The service was conducted by the Rev Katrina Dykes, Rector of Chew Valley South, and the memorial was unveiled by Lt Col Nathan Barnhart of the US Air Force.
Churchwarden, James Bragg read the lesson and the Last Post was played by three adult instructors from the Somerset Army Cadet Force.
Brian Durbin (pictured below), now 89, from Ubley, saw the
four-engined Liberator circle over Blagdon Lake before clipping trees just below the Mendip plateau and crashing into fields beyond.
The new plane was on its delivery flight to Europe. Five of the crew survived. The history society has made contact with the families of four of those who died and will send them a video of the service.
Guests were welcomed by Ken Parsons and thanked by Jacky Kerly from Blagdon Local History Society.
“Get in to Golf at Fosseway” –Introductory Membership
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Aimed at new and seasoned golfers. (T's & C's apply)
If a parent or grandparent are a full club golf member then they are eligible to sign up an under 18 child or grandchild as a member of the club for free.
Vana Health & Wellness has NO Membership Contracts. With a focus on personal service, our newly refurbished gym provides the latest top of the range equipment.
IF you want to give money away, but you are nervous about what the recipient will do with it, you should consider setting up a trust.
A trust allows you to give away money while retaining an element of control –you have flexibility over who benefits and when. For instance, if you want to give money to grandchildren but do not want them to access it until they are older.
You can also use a trust to retain control of how the money is spent and can specify that your signature is needed before any money is withdrawn. Trusts can also reduce a potential inheritance tax bill.
If you live at least seven years after giving away the money there will be no inheritance tax liability on the money held in the trust.
However, tax of 20pc may be charged when setting up a trust on values that exceed the inheritance tax nil-rate band (£325,000 per person or £650,000 for a married couple).
Another reason for setting up a trust is to cater for those who may not be able to otherwise manage their money, either because they are children, incapable, disabled or vulnerable individuals. Placing funds in trust can also help protect money in the case of potential bankruptcy or divorce.
Looking after the family Trusts can facilitate a number of
purposes such as providing an income, protecting wealth and creating a legacy for future generations on the death of an individual. For example, a trust can ensure a surviving spouse receives income through returns on the money held in the trust, but the children inherit the capital sum.
This is common if you have remarried and want to protect your children’s inheritance after your death. Trusts provide protection and peace of mind that funds will pass to your chosen beneficiaries, ensuring the right funds are in the right hands at the right time. Types of trust
The most popular types are discretionary and bare. A discretionary trust gives you flexibility over who benefits. For example, you may want to include more grandchildren in the future. Discretionary trusts are particularly useful in situations where there are children from more than one marriage or you have a vulnerable child who will need help managing their money after you die.
A bare trust is popular among grandparents looking to save money for their grandchildren beyond a Junior Isa. A bare trust allows withdrawals before the child turns 18, meaning the money could be used for costs such as school fees, extra tuition or music lessons.
Bare trusts can be opened and managed by grandparents directly, unlike a Junior Isa. This makes it a useful option for those who want to invest without having to do it all through parents, giving them greater oversight and control of what they are putting aside for their grandchild’s future.
Trusts are managed by trustees. It is sensible to pick at least two trustees, but have no more than three or four. All UK trusts must be registered with the Trust Registration Service, managed by HMRC.
EDWARD LYONS
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THE Mendip Gliding Club which operates out of Halesland Airfield near Cheddar, will be running a Women Go Gliding weekend on Saturday and Sunday, April 27th and 28th to introduce women and their families to the experience of soaring flight and aviation.
The weekend is part of an initiative by the British Gliding Association, which is committed to broadening the sport and bringing in fresh skills and experience.
Of almost 30,000 pilots in the UK, fewer than 5% are women. Youngsters can learn to fly from the age of 12 and can qualify as a solo pilot at 14. For most people, it is an exciting hobby, but gliding can also open up a career in aviation.
The club, a Community Amateur Sports Club, is offering introductory flights during the Go Gliding weekend for as little as £60.
Halesland has been an airfield since the early 1950s when it was an advanced Air Cadet site operated by 621VGS (Volunteer Gliding Squadron) based at RAF Locking.
Mendip Gliding Club started in Weston-super-Mare in 1978 and moved to Halesland in July 1988 and have developed the site ever since.
CHEDDARParish Council is inviting applications from local groups for community grants, with up to £1,000 available to help fund an event, activity or project that benefits the community.
The council is keen to support projects in the following priority areas: Environment, crime reduction, rural projects, community facilities and community activities.
Last year awards were given to five groups: CHAFF, Citizens Advice Bureau, Cheddar Valley Foodbank, Girlguiding Cheddar, The Space for Cheddar Youth Club and Cheddar Platoon for essential equipment and cadet training.
Derek Bradley-Balmer, chairman of the parish council said: “We are delighted to be able, once again, to launch our community grants. We’ve seen in previous years how important this funding is in supporting our local community groups with the amazing work they do in the parish.”
The closing date for applications is May 3rd.
InkJam will be offering free T-shirt lino printing at outdoor locations for anyone aged 13-21, with a whole rail of clothing waiting for them to customise.
They will have a large selection of hand-carved lino blocks with contemporary graphic designs loosely inspired by Cheddar’s folk history. Participants can develop these into patterns and exciting compositions for their T-shirts.
They will then be inviting everyone who attends opportunities to further develop their printmaking skills at collaborative lino printing workshops at their permanent studio at the Arts Quarter, Cheddar.
They said: “We aim to combine traditional, high quality lino printing with contemporary design, and encourage working together on individual and collective artworks and ideas.
“We are dedicated to making our art initiatives accessible to everyone and value the voices and the creativity of the young people in this rural community.”
Redcliffe Court, Redcliffe Street, Cheddar BS27 3ND
Email: cheddardistrictfunerals@outlook.com
Website: www.cheddardistrictfunerals.co.uk
WITHEaster the traditional start of the tourist season, Cheddar Gorge Visitor Information Centre will reopen with volunteers available to give advice.
As an accredited member of the nationwide network Walkers are Welcome, Cheddar provides walks in and around the gorge and the beautiful Mendip Hills to suit every type of walker.
Some 17 different walks have been devised by local voluntary group Cheddar Walking, with printed guides stocked by the centre or available to download from the group’s website cheddarwalking.org.uk. The walking guides are the biggest sellers in the centre, which also stocks a comprehensive selection of other guides, maps and information on attractions in Cheddar, including the caves and the surrounding area.
Details: cheddargorgevic@gamail.com
LOCATED at the heart of the village, Cheddar Arts Quarter CIC, also known as The Arts Quarter, embodies the spirit of creativity with its motto "Inspiring Creativity in the Community".
This vibrant initiative has become an essential part of our community, bringing us together through the magic of art.
When you step into The Arts Quarter, you're greeted by a showcase of local talent. The bustling shop proudly exhibits a diverse range of artworks created by our community's artisans, including paintings, sculptures, textiles, jewellery and gifts, each piece telling a unique story that contributes to their shared identity.
Central to The Arts Quarter are its Resident Artist Studios, where visitors can interact directly with the artists. These personal encounters spark conversations and connections, deepening appreciation for the artistic process among both creators and admirers.
More than just a shop, The Arts Quarter offers adaptable exhibition spaces that provide a platform for local talent to shine, fostering pride and camaraderie within their community. Through curated exhibitions and events, it celebrates their cultural heritage while embracing the diversity of contemporary artistic expression.
Beyond its cultural significance, The Arts Quarter is a lively hub for community engagement. Its inviting space serves as a haven for people to come together and celebrate creativity. Through a variety of workshops, it empowers individuals to explore their creative potential and connect with one another.
Whether you're an experienced artist looking for inspiration or a newcomer curious about art, The Arts Quarter welcomes you to explore, create, discover, and connect. So come, be inspired and let The Arts Quarter ignite your passion for art and community.
Details: www.theartsquarter.com
CHEDDAR Lawn Tennis Club celebrated its centenary with a formal dinner at the Isle of Wedmore Golf Club, also attended by past and present members and their guests.
First of the speakers was club president, Jennie Colton, who briefly recounted memories of the club over the 40 years since she had joined.
She remembered playing to an audience of sheep as the original courts were surrounded by fields and orchards, before the club moved to its current site at Sharpham Road playing fields.
She ended her speech by presenting a bouquet to Dae Sasitorn for designing all the commemorative items.
The guest of honour, Andy Fay, chairman of Somerset Lawn Tennis Association, then made a presentation to club member Chris Knight for being voted Somerset’s Official of the Year. He complimented the club on its achievements and being a shining example of a well-run and inclusive tennis club.
Club chairman Sarah Strawbridge closed the formal part of the evening by thanking Andy Fay and his wife Mary for joining in the celebration.
100,000
CHEDDAR Artists Fringe Festival, their annual walking trail around Cheddar, will be held on May 4th, 5th and 6th, 10.30am-4.30pm – and all are welcome.
This event has become very popular as it gives visitors the opportunity to experience and view the work of 28 local artists in venues around the village.
It will feature original artisan hand-made items, from the beautiful and distinctive to those more functional pieces, including paintings, jewellery, ceramics, photography and so much more - something for every pocket and taste!
Over the weekend there will be several workshops that people can attend, as well as refreshments, a second-hand bookstall and a plant sale in aid of charity.
The car park at the bottom of the gorge is convenient for the first venue, the Arts Quarter, where brochures are available.
Details: www.cheddarartists.com
SOMER Valley Rotary Club have donated £100 to St Mary’s Primary School PTA. The school is holding an Easter Egg hunt for their pupils at the end of the spring term and the money will enable the PTA to buy some yummy eggs for the children to find. Jackie Partridge handed over the cheque on behalf of the club.
A TEAM of students from Ansford Academy at Castle Cary has won a further accolade in the Rotary Club District 1200 Youth Speaks competition.
Liam, Thomas and Noah, representing the Rotary Club of Shepton Mallet in the intermediate category, took first place in the district finals held in Cheddar. Their subject was: “Home Education is a beneficial option.” Noah also won the best individual speaker award in the same category.
There was further success in the senior competition, held on the same day, with Jacob, from Wells Blue School – also representing the Shepton club – named best speaker in the senior category.
Rotary District 1200 represents clubs from as far afield as Chippenham, Weymouth, Minehead and Warminster.
l The cluster finals were due to be held in Cardiff as Mendip Times was going to press.
SOMERSET’S only free rural science festival returns to the Castle Cary area on Bank Holiday Monday, May 6th.
Somerscience will be offering more than 90 different activities from almost 70 different organisations, bringing STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths – to venues including Castle Cary Market House, Caryford Hall, Ansford Academy and the Haynes Motor Museum.
Exhibitors include universities and local, national and international companies and organisations. There will be space planetarium shows, chemistry magic shows, psychology and robotics workshops and the biozone returns.
There will also be talks and a debate with a panel of leading industrialists chaired by Sarah Dyke MP on whether Somerset can become the green technology hub of the UK. The festival is organised by The Somerscience Trust.
For details, visit: https://somerscience.co.uk
The show was held at St Paul’s School in Shepton Mallet
MOREthan 120 schoolchildren from across the east of Mendip took part in a performance inspired by their memories of their grandparents and great-grandparents.
Make the Sunshine, an arts-based community interest company based in Shepton Mallet, organised the event, called My Magic Memory and told the story of a young girl called Iris and her granny who is experiencing memory loss.
Schools who participated in the project included St Aldhelm's at Doulting, Bowlish Infant School, Croscombe and Stoke St Michael schools, St Paul's Junior School, The Mendip School, Shepton Mallet Infants School and Oakhill.
ANunexpected snowstorm made the 2024 Big Bath SleepOut, run by local homelessness charity Julian House, an even bigger challenge for the fundraisers who took part.
An emergency shelter, put in place every year in case of bad weather, was soon filling with people who were extremely wet and cold, with ten people quickly relocated when their shelters collapsed under the weight of the sudden snowfall.
Rachel Avent, event organiser for Julian House, said: “The snow really did catch us by surprise and had not been forecast.
“We quickly realised we had to wake up all 98 participants at around 4.30am to make sure they were aware of the change in weather and to let them know there was alternative shelter available for them.”
The fundraising total jumped overnight as people took to their social media with photos of the snow-covered park and makeshift shelters.
Details: www.julianhouse.org.uk
GREATWestern Air Ambulance has been chosen as the headline charity partner by Bristol Volksfest, the music and VW culture festival, which is celebrating its 31st year in Long Ashton.
It takes place at Birches Farm from June 7th-9th, with a great weekend filled with live music, entertainment, trade stalls and a dazzling display of Volkswagen vehicles.
Details: https://www.bristolvolksfest.co.uk/ https://greatwesternairambulance.com/
TO quote the band Thin Lizzy, there’s going to be a jailbreak this summer from Shepton Mallet Prison, but all in aid of charity.
Shepton-based SOS Africa will host a ground-breaking charity abseil event on June 15th and 16th. The event, set against the backdrop of the prison's 400-year history, offers people a unique opportunity to abseil from the roof of the prison's workshop building, raising funds for the children's charity which funds education opportunities in South Africa.
They say it’s an ideal challenge for both seasoned abseilers and first-timers. Previous SOS Africa abseil challenges have taken place at iconic venues such as the Glastonbury Festival Pyramid Stage, Wells Cathedral and King Alfred’s Tower.
Matt Crowcombe, founder of SOS Africa, said: "Returning to Shepton Mallet Prison for this special event is a thrill. Working alongside the prison team, we're set to offer an experience that not only challenges participants but also deeply connects them with the local heritage, all while supporting a noble cause."
Would-be abseilers must secure their spot with a £20 deposit and commit to a fundraising goal.
For details, visit https://www.sosafrica.com/sheptonmallet-prison-charity-abseil or contact event organiser
Matt Crowcombe at: matt@sosafrica.comTHE Walk of Life, organised by RUHX, the official NHS charity of the Royal United Hospitals in Bath, will reach a £1million milestone this year.
The sponsored walk along the Kennet and Avon Canal, started in 2006 thanks to Nic Noble from Warminster and her sister, Vanessa Kyte, known as Ness. Ness was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 and died in 2007, despite receiving treatment from a fantastic team at the RUH.
The sisters were aware that the hospital facilities were out of date and in desperate need of replacing and Ness made Nic promise to carry on their passion for fundraising to support it.
Nic has kept her promise by leading the Walk of Life every year since, helping it to grow into the celebration it is today, with hundreds of local people taking part.
Nic said: “I can’t believe after 20 years of fundraising we have reached a million. Please walk with me on the 11th May to celebrate every pound that has been donated to this wonderful charity.
“It’s very difficult to put into words how much this means to me and how much it would mean to my inspirational sister Ness.
“Let’s put our heart and ‘sole’ into it and walk for every pound donated that will make such a difference to so many lives.”
Details: https://ruhx.org.uk/events/walk-of-life/
GRANDFATHER-offour, Derek Smart, from Wells, has penned his first book, Charlie’s Date with Destiny, to raise money for Children’s Hospice South West.
The book tells the story of two red squirrels, Angus and Alistair, who set out to find an antidote to a pox virus brought into the UK by their American counterparts, the grey squirrel. They find it at Glastonbury Tor.
Retired businessman, Derek, said: “The book tells the story of reinforcing what we all have inside us. It looks at what truth, moral values, trust, kindness and self-worth really means.”
All profits from the sale of the book will go to Children’s Hospice South West, a charity that Derek and wife Linda have supported for many years.
Derek previously raised more than £2,000 for CHSW by selling his paintings at an exhibition at Wells and Mendip Museum.
He and his wife have also visited the charity’s Charlton Farm site, donating a trio of ornamental deer which stand in its grounds.
The book, costing £9.99 and aimed at children between seven and 11-years-old, has been published by White Magic Studios.
Details: dmse19@gmail.com
THE13th annual charity Walks and Runs organised by the Rotary Club of Nailsea and Backwell will take place on Sunday, June 9th.
The event is now a firmly established entry in the local diary and has raised more than £20,000 in each of the last 12 years.
There are three routes, a 5k “stroll” which is also suitable for disability vehicles and pushchairs/strollers, a 10k for those who prefer a slightly more challenging route and a 20k for the more experienced walker who is fit and enjoys even more of a challenge.
The event is based at the Scotch Horn Centre in Nailsea where all routes start and finish. You can also do your walk or run at any time until the end of July and maps etc will be available to you.
Details: https://bit.ly/NailseaWalks RotaryNailseaWalks@outlook.com
WELLSClassic Motorcycle Cub won the much sought after “Best Club Stand” award at the Bristol Classic Motorcycle Show. Members displayed 15 classic motorcycles ranging from 1929 through to the early 2000s.
They were complemented by a Wells Market Place theme which included “Three Wells Café and Bar”, which was fully stocked, complete with a Juke Box. They raised £1,647 for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.
The club also organises the very popular “Tortoise and Hare Motorcycle event” which raises funds both for the air ambulance and EVS Freewheelers (Blood Bikes).
This year’s event, which attracts entrants from far and wide, is to be held over the weekend July 19th-21st.
The club is an active one and new members are always very welcome to join regardless of age of machine or rider.
Details: www.wellsclassicmotorcycleclub.weebly.com
Lisa and Siobhan
LISAColes, formerly of Pensford and now of Keynsham, is doing a tandem skydive in May, to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. She said: “As most of you will know my daughter Siobhan Coles, who is an ambassador for the trust, lives and fights Cystic Fibrosis every day and has done for 25 years and counting.
“I am doing this amazing, slightly crazy fundraiser to raise valuable funds for the trust as they rely solely on public donations.”
Lisa will be doing the tandem skydive on Saturday, May 25th at Salisbury Sky Dive Centre.
Lisa Coles is fundraising for Cystic Fibrosis Trust (justgiving.com)
THE Walk of Life, organised by RUHX, the official NHS charity of the Royal United Hospitals in Bath, will reach a £1million milestone this year.
The sponsored walk along the Kennet and Avon Canal, started in 2006 thanks to Nic Noble from Warminster and her sister, Vanessa Kyte, known as Ness.
Ness was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 and died in 2007, despite receiving treatment from a fantastic team at the RUH.
The sisters were aware that the hospital facilities were out of date and in desperate need of replacing and Ness made Nic promise to carry on their passion for fundraising to support it.
Nic has kept her promise by leading the Walk of Life every year since, helping it to grow into the celebration it is today, with hundreds of local people taking part.
Nic said: “I can’t believe after 20 years of fundraising we have reached a million. Please walk with me on the 11th May to celebrate every pound that has been donated to this wonderful charity.
“It’s very difficult to put into words how much this means to me and how much it would mean to my inspirational sister Ness.
“Let’s put our heart and ‘sole’ into it and walk for every pound donated that will make such a difference to so many lives.”
Details: https://ruhx.org.uk/events/walk-of-life/
THE Glastonburybased charity Children’s World is bringing back its free Easter fun day following its massive success in 2023.
This year’s Easter Eggstravaganza will take place on April 10th, again at the Abbey House in Glastonbury, but will be divided into morning and afternoon sessions to cope with demand.
Each session will include fun with the Bubble Man – Steve Apelt – and his amazing bubble bike, along with performances from the charity’s own Youth Committee.
There will also be a free Easter Egg hunt, free Green Screen Filming, free Easter craft with Yeast Scrapstore and free goodies kindly donated by Burns The Bread, as well as other fun and games.
A spokesperson for Children’s World said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to Glastonbury Town Council and Glastonbury & Chilkwell Guy Fawkes Carnival Committee for generously supporting this event.”
Every child attending must have a ticket, unless under two years old. To book, visit: https://buytickets.at/childrensworld/1182004
WELLSu3a held a very successful afternoon quiz and cream tea at Wells Golf Club. They also held a raffle which made a considerable amount of money which they donated to The Lawrence Centre in Wells.
The centre provides day opportunities for older people, including those living with memory loss and health issues.
The cheque was presented at Wells u3a’s March monthly talk at Wells and Mendip Museum by Marion Harding (pictured right) to Maggie Charlesworth, the centre’s manager.
PAINTINGS by two established 19th and 20th Century artists –and a specially-commissioned work of Glastonbury Abbey by a former inmate of a female prison – are to be sold in Glastonbury in May in aid of charity.
The sale has been organised by Gail Cornish and husband Raymond, who live nearby, and the majority of the works – 31 –are by Gail’s late mother, Joan Wills.
Taking place at Glastonbury Town Hall on Saturday, May 11th, the auction will raise money for three charities: The Somersetbased charity PromiseWorks, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and The Michael Varah Memorial Fund, which supports projects aimed at the rehabilitation of prisoners, including an arts project at HMP Send women’s prison in Surrey. A former inmate at HMP Send, who is now on release, was commissioned to paint the picture of the abbey. It has a reserve price of £100.
Many of Jill’s work had been stored in Gail and Raymond’s attic, so they decided to ask auctioneer Rachael BoothroydWalker, from Cooper and Tanner Salerooms in Frome, for advice. Gail said: “This is an important auction of beautiful art raising money for three exceptionally worthy causes. May 11th should be a definite date in the diary for art lovers.”
The catalogued values of the oils range from £40-£60, the pastel and pencil sketches from £20-£50. A further 12 pictures, prints and woodcuts are also in
the sale; values range from £5-£15.
The most highly valued paintings in the auction are three watercolours of Burmese landscapes by Maung Saya Saung (1898-1952) with a catalogue value on the night of between £500£800. Similar watercolours sold at auction in 2022 for prices in excess of these amounts.
A member of the Artistes de Francais (Paris Salon), Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Vice President of the Society of Women Artists, Joan’s work on offer is mainly portraits of dogs of various breeds, still life and/or flowers, three portraits of musicians and one Scottish landscape – mostly painted in oils –along with some sketches in pastel or pencil.
Rachael said: “I am delighted to be able to assist in the sale of this collection for such wonderful charities. There are some lovely pieces up for sale and with a range of estimates to suit everyone’s budget. We have high hopes for the sale and hopefully we will make lots of money for the charities.”
Viewing of the paintings will begin at 5pm on Saturday, May 11th with the auction starting at 7pm
LILLY Spear, aged five, has raised £389 for the Little Princess Trust by having her long hair cut. Last year she raised £90 for charity by holding a raffle.
Lilly, who is a pupil at Cameley CEVC Primary School, said she wanted to donate her hair after seeing her mum Hannah, have 26 inches cut a year ago.
Lilly said: ''I want to help poorly children that had lost their hair and let them have nice hair again.”
She had her hair cut free of charge by Kath’s Cuts in Temple Cloud.
TRACTOR drivers turned out in force for a charity run which got underway from the Glastonbury Festival site at Worthy Farm in Pilton.
Around 100 vehicles, both vintage and modern, took part in the run organised by Wells and Glastonbury Young Farmers Club, raising more than £1,000 in aid of the Wells-based Heads Up mental health organisation.
After passing the iconic Pyramid Stage on a journey around the site, the tractors headed for Wells city centre and then Glastonbury High Street.
The event was organised by Molly Lockyer and Ben Kearle. Ben said: “I am glad the run went smoothly and what an amazing turnout; blew me away with how many there were!”
Molly added: “I’m grateful for how many people turned up to raise money for Heads Up and how smoothly the run went! And it blew me away with how many people came to support us and watch the tractors!”
Around 100 vintage and modern tractors took part in the run
Braving the rain
Making their way around part of the festival site
Onlookers gathered in Wells High Street to watch the procession
Tractors … as far as the eye can see
By CHRIS SPERRING MBE
APRIL is now upon us, and spring is in full swing. From February through March, we seem to get hints and teasers for what’s about to come, with many early wildflowers opening up like the common violet and amazing lesser celandine.
Those early flowers are incredibly important particularly if the weather, as it has been, remains mild. These above average temperatures will tempt insects to emerge and bees and for other plant feeding insects these early flowers then become life or death with their presence.
No greater example of this is the wildflower that always seems to grow in the wrong place, enter stage right “the dandelion”. For humans, every part of this plant can be consumed after preparation and for wildlife such as insects and birds this plant becomes so important that here and now, I will label it as a keystone species, only because so much is reliant on it. Sadly, for the dandelion and many others, it often grows where we don’t like it to grow, and therefore stops being labelled as a wildflower being relegated to the position of “weed”.
Let’s start a new campaign, how about “love your local dandelions”. Let me know what you think?
Many bird species will have started nesting with many others still to begin. Productivity during the short nesting period is vital. We have all heard and been bombarded with the facts about the decline of nature in the UK and there’s much talk about nature recovery programmes, but if we are serious about
this, then productivity of our wildlife is key to that recovery.
Take, for example, common species such as great and blue tit which are actually declining, but there are still enough of them that we don’t notice so much. If we say, for example, that both these species are not that long lived, let’s say one to four years, then they must reproduce, having sizable broods not only to replace themselves (as parents), but to just keep the population from free fall collapse.
Once they have started nesting and post-incubation, the young must be reared on a diet of insect material, so even though both blue and great tit will feed on your bird table, it’s the insects which they must have to successfully rear their young. It’s wellpublicised that overall, we are seeing insects in decline and there you have the whole issue in a nutshell. What is amazing is the link between the flowers, the insects and then just two of the many bird species reliant on the whole of this relationship working. There can be no point talking about nature recovery if we failed to grasp the basics; if we fail to understand the numbers game that nature so brilliantly plays, how many insects will fail this year because you don’t like dandelion or daisies in your lawn and what other failures does that one action lead to?
Make this April the turning point. Nature recovery can indeed begin in your own garden, or park or even a window box. You have the POWER!
l The Hawk and Owl Trust Somerset live barn owl webcam is switched on once again. The pair of barn owls are building up to egg laying. You can also watch action from the tawny owl webcam as well as the peregrine falcons. Visit: https://hawkandowltrust.org/live-cameras/barn-owl-cam-livesomerset
I have a number of bird song walks coming up this spring if you are interested, visit: www.facebook.com/ChrisSperringwildlife/
I HAVEwalked nearly all of these tracks before, but not necessarily in this order! So here is a wonderful, varied spring circle that takes in so much of what is special about Mendip – views, ancient droves, busy streams, tracks edged with wild garlic and bluebells, pretty hamlets, a country pub and the old Slaggers Path down in Rowberrow Bottom, plus some of the Mendip Way. Most of the time the going is on reasonably surfaced tracks so is pretty good underfoot. It could be an idea to have breakfast at the cafe at the start and then set off. Or come back in time for lunch. There are a few stiles to negotiate. En-route is a popular pub and the circle ends with a pleasant downhill section of nearly a mile along a quietish lane.
With Sue Gearing
PARK: At Lillypool café and farm shop, Shipham Road, to the south of Shipham on the way to Cheddar at the foot of Cuck Hill. The café serves breakfasts and lunches daily. See details at the end. The owners have kindly given permission to park in the car park to the left of the café (if facing the café); not in the upper car park used by most customers. Do go in and have refreshment as a thank you for giving us this splendid parking.
START: Turn right on the road, cross and almost immediately go left up Winterhead Hill (also known as Winscombe Drove).
This is one of many ancient routes across Mendip for “droving” animals to market. It climbs gently and then drops down and just before the foot, go right on a track.
1. WEST MENDIP WAY (WMW)
This is the West Mendip Way and leads along to Winterhead Hill Farm. Just before the farm, follow the WMW right into a field.
The stile which had lost its foot board when I came here is due to be replaced by a kissing gate, so fingers crossed! But meanwhile, you may find the gate next to it unlocked.
Go up across the field to a stone slab stile and continue on following the left hedge. Start to drop down and stay close to the left hedge. It can be rather muddy along here. Before the path drops down very steeply, go left through into a field
which is well marked. Follow the right hedge along and in the next field the track bears you down left, looking over the wooded valley below and across to Wales. In the bottom right corner, cross a stile onto a track following a stream.
Soon reach the remote and pretty hamlet of Winterhead. This was involved in calamine mining like its neighbours, Shipham and Rowberrow, with the boom in this mining on Mendip at the end of the 17th century, to supply the brass works at Bristol. The industry went into rapid decline during the 19th century as deposits became exhausted and cheap zinc was available from abroad. Mining centres here were hard hit causing great poverty.
Continue through, noticing the old red postbox on the right and ignoring a footpath right. Pass a pond in a garden and at a junction of tracks go right between laurel hedges following the track up to a T-junction at the top (ignoring a side path). Turn left and you come out onto Broadway, a lane in Shipham.
Turn right on Broadway soon reaching a junction with the main road in Shipham and the old Turnpike Cottage.
This Grade 2 listed building was erected by Wedmore Turnpike Trust in the 19th century.
To continue, cross the main road with care, turn left, and soon cross back and
take the footpath next to the village hall by the SLOW road sign. Go on past the hall (on your right). There were some pale yellow early wild daffodils along here, escaping from the track below which is known as Daffodil Valley. Come out onto the side of the recreation field. Maintain direction along the edge, going over a stile and on down.
Stay with the main path which is a little away from the left edge, passing close to a solitary holly bush. Drop down through bushes to a stone wall below passing the hollows caused by earlier mining. Below is the hamlet of Star and its pub. Turn right on a grassy track, parallel with the stone wall below, or the path alongside the wall. Near the end, go down left to the path by the wall and continue to a gate. Head up to the main road and cross onto the track opposite, Philfare Lane.
Follow this for 0.4 miles all the way into Rowberrow hamlet and the popular Swan, a 17th century pub run by Butcombe Brewery. Go down the road at the side, School Lane, passing the converted old school on the way and then drop down into Rowberrow Bottom. Here, go right joining the old Slaggers Path.
5.75 miles, about 3-4 hours walking. OS Explorer
141 Cheddar Gorge & Mendip Hills West, grid ref: 444 566, postcode BS251RQ, tel 01934 741244. What3words: shorthand.skim.scarcely
Slag is the waste material from mining. In the mid-1800s, the ‘Mendip Hills Mining Company’ established a large lead slagging works at Charterhouse to re-work and extract more lead from the old spoil heaps around the lead mines. This provided much-needed jobs for miners at Shipham, many of whom were out of work after zinc mine closures in the area. Each morning this path would have been followed by the men taking their working tools up to the old mines at Charterhouse for their day’s work. Rowberrow contains many old ruins of former miners’ cottages.
Pass a very modern house, which replaced a former cottage, and continue along the bottom ahead, with the stream on your left, for about 0.6 miles. Soon pass an old limekiln on the left. Pass the Rowberrow Warren sign.
On the way you can see evidence of how this stream is being controlled with a couple of small dams. There has been much tree clearance along by the stream in recent times so this should let in the
sunshine and encourage the undergrowth.
Stay on this side of the stream all the way to a junction with a Bristol Water enclosure ahead. Turn sharp right, going up and almost back on yourself on a good wide stony track. Follow this up past woodland.
Come out at a junction with a house ahead. Immediately turn left on a stone track, going through a large metal gate, alongside the house. Follow the track gently up. When it bends right, go straight ahead on a slightly rougher track, climbing a little more and then flattening out and going through a beautiful area above the wooded valley.
Then drop downhill all the way to Longbottom, passing the farm near the end and then joining the lane.
It’s an easy and pleasant end to the walk – going right downhill for just under a mile on this quietish lane in a valley, with Lillypool at the end on the main road.
Lillypool café: 01934 741244, open 8am-2pm daily. In their summer season it may stay open later. Last orders 30mins before closing. The Swan, Rowberrow, 01934 852371. Open daily from 8am.
APRILis on the way, famous for amongst other things its unpredictable showers…as if we haven’t had enough rain already. Derived from the Greek word for “opening”, this month is also known for the act of “April Fool” where some poor unsuspecting victim is sent on a pointless errand, or fed information that is totally fictitious … is this where we get the “Fool’s Errand” saying from?
The best I ever saw was pulled off by the BBC who had a news article about a “spaghetti” tree. It must have been back in the 1960s and I have to say it fooled lot of people! Maybe we don’t need such things in today’s serious world where people are trying to make fools of us all the time.
I’m looking for the arrival of the house martins, swallows and swifts. Each year there seems to be less of them to fill the evening sky with their piercing cries. Maybe spring will have sprung and the wild flowers will be lifting everyone’s spirit:
“When Daisies red and white and violets blue
And Ladies Smocks’ all silver white
And Cockoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight.”
So wrote Edith Holden at the bottom of page 36 of her Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady in 1906. How observant this woman was and how in tune she was with the natural surroundings.
When I read that this masterpiece of Edwardian Countryside literature was never meant for publication, I was amazed and thankful that it was discovered, but tragically not until after her death by drowning in the river Thames near Kew Gardens.
Her body was discovered in a backwater alongside the bank on March 16th, 1920. It was thought she was reaching out for some chestnut buds when she slipped and fell in . . . a sad end to a talented life!
How fast the year moves on and how slow am I in trying to keep up with it. The last of my pruning will be done by the end of March, but with tree grafting still to come. I recently joined an eager group of volunteers from Gabriel’s Orchard in Pilton to carry out a grafting course with them.
Sharp knives are essential to carry out this job that’s several thousand years old. Yes, there are machines available to do the job but not to the same standard. Still by far the best is a human using the Mark 1 eyeball, a sharp knife and a steady hand.
No doubt this will also be replaced by Artificial Intelligence in the future. Until then however groups such as those at Gabriel’s Orchard will continue to work in the surroundings they help to create and maintain.
Our association with the natural environment and our need to be in it goes back to the beginning of human evolution. In the modern world humans have evolved to become “in control” of the way we live and go about our lives. We cannot however control the forces of nature and we still need to be out there in the open air to maintain a healthy mental state.
The Covid crisis taught us that we need to get out for exercise and for our mental wellbeing. For those of us who are lucky enough to have access to the countryside the answer is simple, but for those in the built environment it’s a different story.
Parks and open spaces within the urban environment provide a lot of wellbeing, both mental and physical. Bristol is a city that provides its citizens with a lot of green space and relaxation. The old waterfront has become a pleasant place to relax and is far from the days when it was a working port.
The built environment is changing to provide a cleaner, greener place in which to live. In my September, 2023 column I made mention of the changes in London around the old Covent Garden area. Building fronts covered in greenery to provide more Co2 lock-up, oxygen production and an air “scrubbing” capability.
None of this is new, the Victorians did it with roads lined by trees that cleaned the air and are still doing that job today. Trees such as Maple derivatives of London Plane and Bristol Plane were planted because they could survive in the polluted city air long before my Land Rover was banned from entering Bristol and Bath!
Mendip Times is crammed with articles and local events that get people involved in the outdoors and the country way of life. Local groups, trusts and societies with their volunteers all contribute to the wellbeing and promotion of a “Mendip” way of life.
In this next paragraph I would like to pay tribute to a man who has stood head and shoulders above many in the promotion of his beloved countryside.
This year Jim King, from Chew Magna, a well-known “Mendiper”, stands down as secretary of the Mendip Ploughing Society. For 57 years he has arranged, organised and directed this successful society event into becoming the premier countryside day on Mendip. His knowledge and enthusiasm has over many years made him a well-loved character.
He is a man who enthuses others with his passion and has mentored many a society chairman, myself included. He will be succeeded by Judith Ogborne, a local farmer’s wife and long-time assistant to Jim in the secretaries’ role.
However, Jim, you can run, but you can’t hide! Your knowledge and experience will be used as a vice president of the society. I think that this was all summed up rather well by the new society chairman, Stuart Tibbs, when he said: “All that I can remember about 1967 (57 years back) was that I was 12 years old.”
“King Jim” will still be with us for many more years yet . . . thank you Jim!
This month’s photo shows the good folk of Gabriel’s Orchard in Pilton with all fingers still intact and no cuts after my grafting course with them recently.
THEwinter has been long and rainy, which has made many caves wetter than usual. This can make them more “sporting” and adds to the enjoyment of exploration. Caves which dry out in the summer can smell a bit musty and lose their character. No caves have been impossible to enter, at least not for long, but in any case there are plenty of caves where the risk of flooding is zero.
The long, wet spell has, however, curtailed digging in some underground sites, and some fill up with water right to the surface. Global warming experts predict wetter winters, but hot drier summers and no doubt our diggers will adapt accordingly.
The Higher Pitts dig merely becomes drippy, as surface water seeps underground. This simply makes working in such conditions unpleasant. Further down the hill, at Templeton, there is a chamber which was filled with mud when it was found.
This has now been excavated to a depth of more than two metres, the downside being that this pit now fills with water, which at times pours from the roof and down the walls in a cascade. There is also an active inlet. Fortunately, we have a good pumping system to drain this water into a side passage, but this still takes a couple of hours before work can commence.
We expected great things from the longterm dig at Longwood Valley Sink, where a breakthrough in November led to a wet 30 metre pitch, with another drop beyond. However, the size of the stream which enters the cave can make entry impossible and the thought of negotiating the deep pitch in a shower of cold spray is offputting.
It also appears that the current end of the cave is a narrow fissure in the rock, which will need a lot of explosives if further
progress is to be made. Other digs are more fortunate, even if a bit damp and muddy, although working on the surface recently in the face of cold wet winds is definitely “character-building”. There is always a warm club hut or pub in which to thaw out afterwards.
Plans are already being made for summer expeditions. Members of the Shepton Mallet Caving Club have already gone to Thailand, exploring caves there. The Wessex Cave Club, for example, will this year be returning to France, this time to the Pyrenees south-west of Toulouse, to explore the Reseau Felix Trombe.
This is a network of ten interconnected cave systems, totalling more than 30 kilometres in length and with a total depth of 900 metres. Not all of the passages will
be explored, of course, but one of the systems on the list will be the Gouffre de la Henne Morte, popularly known to British cavers as the Dead Hen.
There are plenty of pitches to be descended on single ropes, but also parts of the cave are superbly decorated. Visiting this type of system is not to be undertaken lightly and a certain degree of fitness is required, plus a fair amount of training, including in the Yorkshire potholes, which are always worth a visit in their own right.
As a way of getting cavers together, on January 20th Mendip Cave Rescue held a quiz night at the Hunters’ Lodge Inn (where else). Martin Grass, chairman of MCR and also quizmaster, set the questions. There was intense but friendly rivalry, but in the end the “Draycott Drunkards” won, with 53 out of a possible 67 points. Prizes of beer or cider were provided by the Hunters’ and Cheddar Ales.
As the weather improves, caving and digging, and of course training for those arduous foreign expeditions, will increase. Wet digs will become accessible and even walking to the more remote caves will become less of a chore. After the long, wet winter, some sunshine will certainly be appreciated.
With PHILIP HENDY
With MARY PAYNE MBE
ATleast they might have done had the roots of so many plants not been subjected to “soggy bottoms” all winter. Great for aquatic plants, but awful for those drought tolerant plants we were being encouraged to plant last year. You can help a bit by making sure your soil structure is in good condition. Adding organic matter not only helps sandy soils, which are naturally free draining, but can also make an enormous difference over time on a heavy clay soil.
As the organic matter breaks down further it encourages the fine clay particles to aggregate together. This creates air spaces between the peds (clusters of soil particles) through which excess rain can percolate.
Sadly, this is not going to happen overnight, but it is an excellent longterm strategy, believe me it works. Just put the organic matter, be it home made compost, mushroom compost, anaerobic digestate or well-rotted farmyard manure on the surface and let the worms do the work for you.
Be wary of composted green waste, it has a remarkably high alkaline content (pH) and has been known to be contaminated with hormone weedkillers.
A surface dressing of woodland mulch will have the same effect, but with the added bonus of preventing weed germination and preventing heavy rain from damaging the soil surface structure which leads to panning.
This in turn prevents air penetrating the soil, if and when the rain stops! Garden design will inevitably have to adapt to extreme rainfall events by using terracing instead of slopes to help prevent soil erosion.
In view of the cost of bags of potting compost and the move to peat free I am frequently asked “Can old compost be re-used?” and “What compost do you recommend?”
I often re-use old compost, provided I am sure there are no vine weevil larvae in it. You will need to add the recommended amount of a slow-release fertiliser, which contains not only nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash, but all the other nutrients required by plants.
Commercial growers are still permitted to use peat-reduced composts until we have a viable alternative. I would like to see all bags sold in garden centres labelled with what they actually contain.
I avoid those containing composted green waste for the reasons explained above. Many do contain it, but we are not told.
For seed sowing, I would strongly recommend a branded seed compost to avoid disease problems. Alternatively, sow larger seeds on damp kitchen paper, in a box with a lid, and pop each seed into a pot as soon as a tiny root emerges.
The daffodil season is over for another year and once again the rainy weather took its toll. Flower stems and leaves grew taller than normal, due to the low light levels from cloud cover. Then the rain weighed down the blooms, and finally the small black keel slugs had breakfast, lunch and supper on the flowers.
Pull off the developing seed heads, leaving the stalk, to encourage the regeneration of the bulb for next year. Leave the foliage (and old flower stem) for 6-8 weeks before tidying up the foliage.
This time span is a good compromise, once the foliage starts to look untidy. Clumps that did not flower well, perhaps because of too much shade, may need to be lifted and divided.
Whilst doing this cut a bulb in half vertically to check that the cause of reduced flowering is not an attack by the large narcissus fly. This pest is increasingly causing problems, as it eats out the developing flower bud.
Roses are coming into leaf rapidly, so it is time to carefully spray against black spot fungal disease. Some 40
years ago, this disease was practically unheard-of north of Birmingham, due to industrial atmospheric pollution.
As our atmosphere has become cleaner, the incidence of this disease increases, to such an extent that a report for the RHS suggested that in years to come we may not be growing roses. Already the David Austin rose company have “retired” an extensive list of varieties that they are ceasing to produce, as they are so prone to this disease.
If you do not wish to spray, then pick off any leaves showing signs of attack before it spreads. Pick up affected leaves that fall during the season and mulch after leaf fall in the autumn to prevent the disease spores being splashed back to start a new infection.
Rose varieties with dull pale green foliage appear to be much more prone to attack. When choosing a new rose look for those that have a shiny dark green foliage, as the shiny surface helps repel the germination of spores.
Needless to say, there are plenty of greenfly around on the new rose shoots due to the mild weather. These can easily be squashed between finger and thumb before they multiply.
Look out for greenfly that have been parasitised by a minute chalcid wasp. The wasp lays its eggs in the greenfly. The developing larvae eat out the centre, leaving a buff-coloured empty body, with a tiny hole where the new adult wasp has emerged.
These are excellent news, so avoid spraying, even with the so-called eco–friendly sprays, as you may well be killing the “goodie” wasps. Natural biological control is going on all around us, if we know what to look for and plant breeders are working hard to produce pest and disease resistant plants.
The garden visiting season is upon us so check out www.ngs.org.uk to find a garden. I can thoroughly recommend Stoneleigh Down in Tockington, Watcombe in Winscombe and so many others.
• Plant main crop potatoes. Early varieties may need earthing up to exclude the light from the tubers. Cover shoots with fleece to protect from frost damage.
• Sow more peas and broad beans. Support early sown varieties. Make a first sowing of French beans towards the end of the month. Sow runner beans in pots or ‘Rootrainers’ inside.
• Sow vegetable varieties that have inherent pest and disease resistance.
• Sow runner beans, French dwarf beans, mangetout peas and garden peas.
• Sow perpetual spinach, leeks, radish, turnips, lettuces, carrots, beetroot, Swiss chard and summer cauliflowers outside.
• Protect flowers on peaches, nectarines and apricots from frost. Use a soft brush to hand pollinate blooms and increase chances of a good crop.
• Plant out half hardy varieties of bedding plants such as Antirrhinum, Ten Week Stocks, Sweet Williams, pansies and violas.
• Plant out sweet peas and provide support for them to climb.
• Pinch out the shoot tips of straggly bedding and basket plants to encourage side shoots to grow.
NOW IN STOCK!
SUMMER FLOWERING BULBS LOTS TO CHOOSE FROM INCLUDING BEGONIA, CALLA, CANNA, DAHLIA, GLADIOLI, LILIES AND MANY MORE!
HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS, ROSES, SHRUBS, HEATHERS, HERBS, FERNS, ORNAMENTAL GRASSES & SOFT FRUIT
HANGING BASKET & PATIO POT PLANTS READY SOON!
THOMPSON & MORGAN, UNWINS & COUNTRY VALUE FLOWER & VEGETABLE SEEDS –GREAT CHOICE OF SCENTED, SWEET PEA & WILDLOWER SEEDS TO CHOOSE FROM!
COMPOST, GRO-BAGS, TOPSOIL, HORSE & FARMYARD MANURE, SOIL IMPROVER, DECORATIVE BARK, GRAVELS, GRITS & SAND
THEmainly Elizabethan manor (not open) mentioned in the 17th century for its “fair and pleasant” garden was redesigned by Harold Peto in 1902. Formal terraces with yew hedges and topiary have fine views over West Dorset.
Steps lead down between spring-fed ponds past mature and new plantings of magnolia, rhododendron, maples, cornus and, in season, spring bulbs, cyclamen and giant echium, with primula candelabra, arum lily and gunnera around lower ponds.
Address: Wayford, Crewkerne TA18 8QG.
Opening dates and time: Sunday April 28th, 2-5pm.
Admission: £6, children, £3. Cashless payment available.
TEL: 017 49 8 41014 FAX: 0 1749 84105 5 www.rockymountainnurseries.co.uk
OF FRUIT TREES, SHRUBS, GERANIUMS
Open Mon-Sat 9am-4pm (Sun 10am-4pm)
Serving breakfasts until 11.30am; lunch 12-2.30pm; afternoon teas Tel: 01749 841155
Over six acres of contemporary planting with quirky sculptures, serene silver birch wood, glorious meadow and posh vegetable patch. Great views and green ideas. Soil Association accredited. Partial wheelchair access: level to café but some grass and uneven bark and gravel paths around the garden.
Address: off the A368, Bath Road, to the east of Blagdon, BS40 7SQ.
Contact: Mr & Mrs Tim Mead, 01761 258155, visit@yeovalleyfarms.co.uk www.yeovalley.co.uk
Open for the NGS: Sunday April 7th 10am to 5pm. See website for other opening times.
Admission: Adults £7, child £2.
The quintessential English cottage garden. A plantsman’s paradise with contemporary and old-fashioned plants grown in an informal manner. Partial wheelchair access.
Address: Silver Street, East Lambrook, TA13 5HH.
Contact: Mike Werkmeister, 01460 240328, enquiries@eastlambrook.com www.eastlambrook.com
Dates open for the NGS: Sat April 27th, Sat May 25th 10am to 5pm.
Admission: £7, children free.
To
TIMSBURY’S 14th Seedy Saturday had plants and seeds galore on offer to keen gardeners at Timsbury’s Conygre Hall.
Organiser, Sam Ross, said: “It was a joy to catch up once again with return visitors and to welcome newcomers to our local event bringing seeds to swap for the first time.
“With more stallholders than ever before, there were also plenty of seeds, plants, local produce and amazing craft items to be purchased, plus three fantastic talks and expert advice.”
THE sounds of original compositions mixed with some wellknown classics filled the streets of Frome during the return of the annual Frome Busks event.
Frome Town Council hosted the event in association with Frome College, whose students performed on various stages in the heart of town along with young performers from Selwood Academy. Mayor Philip Campagna said the day was one of his “firm favourites”.
Any money raised by the busking on the day will go towards extra-curricular music performances and productions for Frome College students.
Josh Hampson, a music lecturer at the college, said: “The students are thrilled to be getting this opportunity to showcase their talents across the streets of Frome!”
The Bands Stage in the Westway Precinct attracted a healthy crowd throughout the day
Daisy, a singer, by the town’s famous Valentine’s Lamp
Layla, seen here on Stoney Street
Ena, singing outside the Cheese & Grain
Carnivores on the Bands Stage
GLASTONBURY in Bloom has been accepted as a finalist in the national RHS Britain in Bloom competition for 2024.
Glastonbury in Bloom will go up against Todmorden (Yorkshire), Upton (South), Ainsdale (North West) and Forres (Scotland) within the “town” category and will be judged on its “commitment to improving the local environment, community engagement and horticultural excellence”.
It follows its best ever year in 2023’s RHS South West in Bloom winning the
prestigious Preece Cup for its population category, the Abbiss Cup for best Horticultural Display on a municipal building (Glastonbury Town Hall) and the Sargent Trophy for outstanding effort and contribution from a main competition entry.
This year’s colour scheme reflects the town council crest to commemorate 50 years since the authority was created, and its entry will be in memory of the late Alan Gloak MBE who started Glastonbury in Bloom and died in December 2023.
A RECRUITMENT drive is underway to attract people to learn how to bellring as part of ambitious plans to restore and enhance the set of bells in Compton Dundon village church.
The £180,000 project has cleared an important hurdle with permission being granted for the work at St Andrew’s to go ahead, allowing fundraisers to apply for grants. The five bells have been hung dead – silenced for normal ringing – since 1935. As well as restoring the bells, there are plans to add a further bell and to remodel them to make them lighter and easier to ring.
Other planned works include building a ringing gallery and the installation of a chiming mechanism. So far, the village has raised around £80,000 and initial work could begin in September.
Compton Dundon once had its own bell foundry, run by a father and son team, who were both called Robert Austen. The foundry provided bells for Compton Dundon and many surrounding Somerset villages, including Aller, Beercrocombe, Castle Cary, Martock and Somerton. Two of the bells are marked with the dates 1630 and 1668 and the names of their founders Robert Austen, father and son.
Would-be bellringers – or anyone wanting to return to bellringing – will be taught in neighbouring churches as well as
the Diocese of Bath and Wells’ own training centre at Holy Trinity Church in Street, where the bells are muffled and sensors used to send the sounds to a simulator.
Future fundraising events include a sponsored walk around the four churches within the local benefice and a sponsored swim, “Come Dine with Me”-style dinner parties and the opportunity to sponsor specific parts of the bell mechanisms.
By DrPHIL HAMMOND
IT'S a fascinating question, and one I put to the members of Blagdon Women's Institute recently. The answer came back quick as a flash, from a woman in her 80s in the front row:
“Because we nag men to death.”
“Any other reasons?”
“Because men drink too much.”
“And why do you think they drink too much?”
“Because we nag them to death.”
These answers caused much hilarity, but there are other reasons too. Men only have one X chromosome, so there are certain genetic disorders that they are more prone to get.
Throughout childhood, boys are genetically conditioned to take more risks than girls and when you throw in different sex hormones, they are more likely to end up dying in accidents at all ages.
They are also more likely to seriously self-harm themselves, either slowly through alcohol and drugs, or suddenly through suicide. As another Blagdon WI member pointed out, if men thought and behaved more like women, the world would be a lot safer and we would live a lot longer and more peacefully.
When I speak to men, not all of them want to live forever and some of them enjoy riotous living. They'd rather have fun and take risks with their health and die in their 80s, rather than hang on until 100 when their brains have gone to pot and they’re stuck in the corner of a care home watching Cash In The Attic on a loop.
The most fascinating thing about women living longer than men is that it’s been the case in all countries in all periods of history for as long as we’ve kept records. For example, in Sweden in 1800, life expectancy at birth was 33 years for women and 31 years for men;
today it is 83.5 years and 79.5 years, respectively.
Women everywhere throughout time have lived about 5% longer than men. As one research article put it: “This remarkably consistent survival advantage of women compared with men in early life, in late life, and in total life is seen in every country in every year for which reliable birth and death records exist. There may be no more robust pattern in human biology.”
Some research suggests oestrogen may be protective against heart attacks and that women may have a more responsive immune system than men.
Men’s hormones can get them into all sorts of trouble and if you cut their testicles off, as they did to Korean eunuchs at the royal court in the 16th to 19th centuries, the eunuchs lived 15-20 years longer than “intact controls” – but it can’t have been much fun.
Women suffer a lot more pain than men, from childbirth to periods to bad backs, but that also means they have far more medical check-ups over a lifetime. In both high and low income countries, women have higher rates of diagnosed physical illness than men, have more disabilities and are more likely to report difficulties in walking, climbing stairs and dressing.
They are more likely to be hospitalised and take more medications than men. And yet they still live longer . . .
My theory, which went down well with Blagdon WI, is that women live longer because they’re much better at forming close friendships and health is far more relational than it is medicational.
Women will often share their struggles and get help, whereas men try to anaesthetise the pain with drink and drugs and pretend they’re coping. So, if you’re a bloke looking to live well in later life, get some good mates around you and talk about stuff that matters. And have a good laugh too . . .
APRILshowers are a bit of a pain. They mean I don’t get much rest. I’m falling to earth one minute then getting flashed back into the sky as soon as the sun shines.
It’s one of the joys and disadvantages of being a water droplet: raindrop one minute and a speck in an enormous white cloud the next.
But that isn’t always the case. While we are sitting in puddles on the ground, we can get picked up on muddy boots or paws.
Or simply go glug down a drain and end up in a ditch full of mud or worse. Like lots of things in life, it’s totally unpredictable.
Even when we get sucked up by evaporation, there’s no certainty about where we might end up. It only takes a passing seagull to catch us on its wing, and off we go.
But there’s one important job I’ve forgotten. An awful lot of us land on open ground and sink down into it, giving water to plants.
You wouldn’t believe what goes on down there. There’s not just worms, moles and slugs to think about.
It’s reckoned a single gram of soil can contain billions of bacteria, all of them a lot smaller than me even. One day they might take over the world.
Most are harmless. For example, millions live in you human beans to help digest food and other stuff.
But there are some dodgy ones, so if you have been playing outside always wash your hands before doing anything else.
And how do you wash your hands? Of course, you turn on the tap and my friends and I come tumbling out – and then get sent down a drain. It’s something we’ve come to live with.
I sat in a Roman drain once for a couple of hundred years. Fortunately, it was connected to the baths and not the loos.
But April showers are useful. You have a saying: Though April showers may come your way,
they bring the flowers that bloom in May.
I remember seeing it sung by a man called Al Jolson in 1921.
MENDIP GRANDAD
IT’s not just humans who enjoy being pampered in style at Montigo Resorts at Charlton House Hotel in Shepton Mallet –their pet cats and dogs can indulge in some luxury treatments also.
Kelly Davis, one of the country’s leading dog groomers, has joined forces with the team behind the hotel to open a pet spa.
KD Pet Spa is based in its own unit just yards from the hotel’s Asian-themed spa where people can receive treatments from highly trained wellness experts, therapists equipped with the skills and sensitivities to undertake Balinese, Thai, and Javanese spa therapies.
Kelly, who used to live in Shepton Mallet but is now based near Wincanton, was hailed by the BBC as “Britain’s Best Groomer” and is a qualified, multi-award-winning pet specialist and dermatologist with more than 23 years’ experience.
Montigo Resorts is the hospitality arm of the Singapore-based KOP Group, a private company that invests in real estate and real estate related companies.
For details, visit: www.somerset.montigoresorts.com
They contain everything needed to give first aid to someone who is losing blood. They are being added to defibrillator stations.
It’s partly in response to knife crime, but also to help in the case of serious injuries involving blood loss.
ALHAMPTON
ASHCOTT
AXBRIDGE
BALTONSBOROUGH
BACKWELL
BADGWORTH
BANWELL
BARROW GURNEY
BARTON ST. DAVID
BASON BRIDGE
BAWDRIP
BECKINGTON
BISHOP SUTTON
BLACKFORD
BLAGDON
BLEADON
BRENT KNOLL
BROCKLEY
BRUTON
BURCOTT BURNHAM-ON-SEA
BURRINGTON
BURTLE
BUTLEIGH
CAMERTON
CASTLE CARY
CATCOTT
CHARTERHOUSE CHEDDAR
CHELYNCH
CHEW MAGNA
CHEW STOKE
CHEWTON MENDIP
CHILCOMPTON
CHILTON POLDEN
CHURCHILL
CLAVERHAM
CLEEVE CLUTTON
COCKLAKE COLEFORD COMPTON DANDO
COMPTON DUNDON COMPTON MARTIN
CONGRESBURY COSSINGTON COXLEY CRANMORE CROSCOMBE CROSS DITCHEAT DRAYCOTT DUNBALL DUNDRY EAST HARPTREE EAST HUNTSPILL EASTON
EDINGTON EDITHMEAD EMBOROUGH
EVERCREECH FARMBOROUGH
FARRINGTON GURNEY FAULKLAND FELTON
FLAX BOURTON
FROME
GLASTONBURY
GREEN ORE GURNEY SLADE HALLATROW
HIGH LITTLETON
HINTON BLEWETT HIGHBRIDGE
HEWISH
HOLCOMBE HUNSTRETE
HUTTON
KEINTON MANDEVILLE
KILMERSDON KNOWLE
LANGFORD
LEIGH on MENDIP
LITTON
LOCKING
LONG ASHTON
LYDFORD ON FOSSE
LYMPSHAM MARK
MARKSBURY MASBURY
MELLS
MIDSOMER NORTON
NAILSEA
NETTLEBRIDGE
NORTH WOOTTON
NORTON MALREWARD
NORTON ST PHILIP
NUNNEY
OAKHILL PAULTON
PAWLETT PENSFORD
PILTON
POLSHAM
PRIDDY
PURITON
PYLLE
RADSTOCK
REDHILL
REGIL
RICKFORD RODE
RODNEY STOKE
ROOKSBRIDGE ROWBERROW
SANDFORD
SHEPTON MALLET
SHIPHAM
SOMERTON
STANDERWICK
STANTON DREW
STANTON WICK
STOKE ST MICHAEL
STONE ALLERTON
STRATTON ON THE FOSSE
STREET
TARNOCK
TEMPLE CLOUD
TICKENHAM
TIMSBURY
TRUDOXHILL TYTHERINGTON
UBLEY
UPHILL
VOBSTER
WALTON
WANSTROW
WATCHFIELD WEARE
WEDMORE WELLOW WELLS
WEST HARPTREE
WESTHAY
WESTONZOYLAND
WEST PENNARD
WESTBURY SUB MENDIP
WEST HUNTSPILL
WHITCHURCH
WINFORD
WINSCOMBE
WITHAM FRIARY
WOOKEY
WOOKEY HOLE
WOOLAVINGTON
WRINGTON
WRITHLINGTON
YATTON
Organised by the Lions Club of Glastonbury and Street, together with Barrie Baker, a close friend of Howard, the event featured around 30 layouts and other exhibits.
Howard was one of the leading figures in the Shepton and District Model Railway Society with a special interest in narrow gauge layouts which were the main features of the show in Compton Dundon Village Hall.
Barrie, also a society member, said: “We decided to go ahead with the show as a farewell to Howard.”
l The society’s 47th annual show, Mendip 2024, will take place on June 8th and 9th at the Shepton Mallet Scout Hall and adjoining club rooms. For details, find the society on Facebook.
VISITORS to Wanstrow’s new monthly Chat Café welcomed a fire prevention officer to talk about potential hazards in the home.
Simon Nicholls, from the Devon and Somerset Fire Service, offered practical advice and tips for everything from charging mobile phones whilst using them in bed to how to tell if hot water bottles are out-of-date.
Simon also said that, due to high demand, new requests for home visits had been paused for all but possible high-risk cases to cope with a backlog.
The café meets in Wanstrow Church on the second Tuesday of the month, from 10am-midday. All are welcome.
AXBRIDGEheld a successful music quiz night which raised £939 towards the cost of staging this autumn’s Blackberry Carnival.
The brainchild of resident Barry Walsh, the event featured the talents of Mark Feven as Piano Man who played all the music live on his electric piano.
Carnival committee member Di Owen said: “This goes a long way to ensuring that the Axbridge Blackberry Carnival can take place on Saturday, September 21st, in the afternoon.
THE success of the first community café in Wookey Hole has led to it becoming a monthly event.
Members of the Residents Forum asked villagers last year what sort of things they might like to see taking place and holding regular coffee mornings was a popular request. The mornings take place in the Wookey Hole Club on the first Saturday of the month.
In April, the club itself celebrates the 140th anniversary of its opening, with the next coffee morning on Saturday, April 6th followed by a Victorian-themed evening.
All are welcome at the café. For details, find Wookey Hole Community on Facebook
“None of this would be possible without the commitment and hard work of the committee, many of whom have joined us this year, and the generous Axbridge community.”
In the last couple of years carnivals across Somerset have seen the cost of road closures, insurance and other costs spiral threatening their continued operation.
In Axbridge a new committee has set about raising the £5,000 needed simply to stage the event.
THEMemorial Hall Community Hub in Wrington will resume on Thursday, April 18th, 12-2pm, after its successful launch last year.
Wrington memorial hall and recreation field committee and various village organisations have given support, so meetings are free, though donations are welcome.
Around 30 people enjoyed the chance to meet and enjoy some entertainment with soup and fresh bread, supplied by Cadbury House, thanks to Nick and Rachel Taplin.
Founder, Darren Dyer, said: “It gives people a bit of company in a warm environment. We are pleased it’s so popular.”
The hub will meet again on Thursday, May 16th and on the third Thursday of the month in September, October and November.
Organisers pictured (l to r) are Sam Glenn, Richard Savory, Darren Dyer, Mike Mildon and John Morgan.
Details: wringtonmemorialhall@outlook.com
BISHOPSutton and Stowey WI members started getting ready for Easter by making Easter Bonnets. The results were judged and the outstanding winner was Carol Gethin.
For Easter week the village green will again be decked with the group’s knitted Easter chicks and the letter box topped with a knitted post box topper.
The group will be holding its annual spring event on Saturday, April 27th, 2-4pm in Bishop Sutton village hall.
A PASTYand pudding lunch in Stanton Drew village hall raised £790 for St Mary the Virgin church in the village.
THEpopular soup and pudding lunch, held regularly in West Harptree, was enjoyed by many in the village’s Memorial Hall, and raised ££580 for St Mary's Church funds.
The church’s next event will be the annual pavement sale on June 1st, 10am-12noon, on the pavement outside the church.
Pictured (l to r) are Peggy King, Maggie Brain, Leslie Zurburg, Elaine Avery and the Rev Katrina Dykes.
THE Rotary Club of Mendip are collecting a variety of old or unused tools and machines on behalf of the UK charity Tools for Self Reliance.
Tools can be handed in at W. C. Maunders Builders Merchants, Cheddar BS27 3AY, or at Maw Agri, Lower Weare BS26 2JD. It says they are very grateful to these businesses for their enthusiastic support. Items collected are sorted and refurbished here in the UK and then shipped to several countries in Africa giving people the opportunity to learn new skills, make a living and potentially change lives.
Details: www.tfsr.org/give-tools or www.facebook.com/rotaryclubofmendip
THE Inner Wheel Club of Mendip welcomed Glyn Hayes from the Weston-super-Mare Branch of the Royal Nation Lifeboat Institution to its talk in March – the day after the charity celebrated its 200th anniversary with a service in Westminster Abbey.
To support the RNLI, the club is arranging a concert of popular music on Saturday, April 27th in St Andrew’s Church. Cheddar with the Cameo Orchestra Bristol and a number of soloists.
Inner Wheel celebrates its centenary in 2024 and to mark the occasion clubs around the country are giving donations of 100 items to various causes. The Mendip branch is donating pre-loved handbags, along with 100 toiletry items to a local refuge, where women and children find a safe place to stay.
The club welcomes new members. For details, contact Sue Acland on: 01934 732086
THISyear will be Yeo Valley Lions Club’s 12th year of running a charity golf day at Tall Pines Golf Club, near Backwell.
In that time, they have raised more than £50,000 for charity; this year’s chosen charity is the Alzheimer’s Society.
Last year's winners
The club also supports the society by organising Singing for the Brain sessions and regular coffee mornings.
The golf day is on Thursday, May 2nd, with teams of four, at £220 per team including refreshments.
Details: https://www.yeovalleylions.org.uk
Derek White 07973 640415 fscltd@aol.com
SINCEits formation, Axbridge District Rotary has been operating as a “satellite” club of Burnham-on-Sea Rotary Club, but on February 29th it was chartered to operate in its own right.
The club said it would like to thank the members of Burnham-on-Sea Rotary Club for their support and to their continued working together.
Their next “big” fundraiser is a Charity Quiz Night on May 11th at Shipham Village Hall. The club have held a number of these successful/enjoyable nights over the last couple of years with more than £5,000 being generated for local charities.
It meets on the first and third Thursdays of the month, 7.30pm, at The Lamb in Weare.
Pictured (l to r) are Lesley Watts, president, Axbridge District Rotary Club, Ric Canham, instigator of Axbridge District Rotary, Keith Gough, president, Burnham-on-Sea Rotary and Stuart Gilbert, district governor, Rotary District 1200.
NOMINATIONShave opened in Peasedown St John for the Peasedown Community Trust’s annual community awards.
The award highlights and applauds the outstanding voluntary service of an individual (or group of individuals) in the village.
Last year’s winner was Jennifer Calignano, a community activist who has been keeping the village clean for 20 years.
The winner will be announced at the village’s Party in the Park Festival on Saturday, June 8th.
CLAVERHAMLadies’ Guild raises around £1,000 for charity every year by holding sales tables and raffles as well as organising speakers for their monthly meetings. Not bad for a relatively small group of only 40 people!
This year the charities they chose to support were Yatton Food Bank (part of the Trussell Trust) and the RNLI, each of whom have been given £500.
The guild meets on the first Thursday afternoon each month with, of course, tea and cake after their talk, in Claverham village hall. Visitors are very welcome, £3. Chairperson Jean Watson is pictured presenting a cheque to Geoff Vian of Portishead lifeboat station, with other members of the guild committee.
STREET Parish Council is hosting another Discover Your Community event, on Saturday, April 20th, this time focusing on facilities and activities, specifically aimed at older people.
The event, at the Crispin Hall, will be promoting better physical and mental health. The council says it is dedicated to helping the community live well to improve/maintain health and wellbeing and the day will offer community-based organisations the opportunity to reach out to residents in the area to showcase what a difference they make to the community.
A spokesperson for the council said: “We are especially keen to ensure there are provisions and resources available for the seniors of Street on the day (as we have had feedback in the past that there were not as many options directed towards the elder generations of Street and the surrounding areas).”
The event takes place from 10am-2.30pm. Bookings for community groups are open until April 4th.
For details, visit: www.street-pc.gov.uk
MINIBUS services operated by the Midsomer Norton and Radstock Community Service Vehicle Trust have been preserved, thanks to a deal with other providers.
The trust had been in existence since 1967 but in the early part of 2023 had found it difficult to find new volunteers to replace those that had left following the pandemic. The committee thought it might have to suspend services altogether but, following local publicity and letters to many organisations, discussions began taking place with other local charity transport providers, Swan Transport, Bath Community Transport and Age UK B&NES.
A grant agreement was drawn up which gave the present minibus and £8,000 to AgeUK B&NES with the proviso that they would continue to serve the present users and any new users. The booking system would stay the same with Dianne Carter, coordinator, and all drivers becoming volunteers for AgeUK B&NES with no noticeable change for the users.
WRINGTONVale Rotary Club organised an evening of frog racing and raised £1,800 for local good causes.
Master of Ceremonies John Alvis and President Angie Biggs introduced the show and explained the format for the evening to some 70 punters and would-be jockeys gathered in St James Hall, Winscombe
Punters got into the mood with a sumptuous paella provided by Murrays Catering and beverages from Thatchers.
Auctioneer, John Thatcher, persuaded the punters to part with their money. The racing was in the form of five heats, with each heat winner going into the final. The jockey simply pulls the frog on a string. Not as easy as it looks on a polished floor!
The final, an even more noisy affair was won by Brian Pearce from the Winscombe Stables.
For details, email: streetrepaircafe@gmail.com or fixy@somerset.gov.uk
A PROJECT which takes museum artefacts and other materials into care homes and other locations for older adults in Mendip to inspire memories, conversations and new friendships has seen a busy start to 2024.
Museum To You, a Community Interest Company, was nominated for its work in the Shepton Innovator Awards, announced in March in the Arts Culture and Heritage category.
MTY successfully completed a pilot project delivering outreach in care locations for the Wells and Mendip Museum which the attraction could not provide without MTY support. Building on this success, MTY has delivered more mobile museum visits with themes including the Great Hall at The Bishops Palace, Wells, to more care homes, extra care housing, and community locations.
Research shows that loneliness and isolation increase upon entering residential care which can lead to a loss of confidence in older adults, even when surrounded by others. MTY’s mobile museum visits are a strengths-based, interactive and multi-sensory experience that offers everyone an opportunity to learn and connect to their communities by inspiring conversations and experiences with highly positive feedback from residents and staff.
At a time when financial and staffing pressures in social care are at their height – and museum and heritage locations may not have either the staff or volunteers to go into the community – MTY offers a unique shared experience which also involves interaction with staff.
Suzannah Cook, co-founder of MTY and one of its five directors, said: “Museums and community resources only come to life when there are people to enjoy them. Bringing the wonder of learning and community heritage to people who would otherwise never have the opportunity to enjoy what we take for granted is the focus of MTY. We see the delight and profound feelings of wonder and inclusion through our mobile museum visits every time to go into the community.”
Fellow MTY founder, Frances Webb, another director, said:
“Museum To You is a pleasure to deliver to residents of care homes. It is also an excellent opportunity for local organisations to engage with their community and highlight Somerset history and culture. The response from the care homes has been amazing and we have been asked to return to every venue we have visited.”
For details, email suzannah@museumtoyou.co.uk or find them on Instagram
SIR Michael Eavis was the guest of honour at the official opening of the new skatepark in Evercreech
Supported by individual donations, local businesses, the former Mendip District Council and Glastonbury Festivals –amongst others – young people in the area had a pivotal role to play in its design and also helped decorated the new layout at the Weston Town Sportsground.
CASTLE Cary Market House has hosted a two-week social history exhibition telling the stories of children born to black American GIs and white women in WW2.
Inspired by a book called Britain’s Brown Babies, the exhibition included memories of those born in Somerset; some were given up for adoption because of the stigma faced by their mothers – but also some had happy endings, including being reunited with their fathers and discovering they were part of an extended family.
As part of the exhibition, Castle Cary Methodist Church held an afternoon of listening – and dancing – to black dance music from the wartime era, such as swing, boogie-woogie, jump blues and rhythm and blues on original shellac ’78s and vinyl. Run by Dave Chapple and Paul Collis, the afternoon also highlighted how many white, British musicians were also inspired by hearing the music at the time, either on record or on the radio.
A Place Called Home was organised by the Bridgwater-based learning and education charity The Glade along with the Somerset African Caribbean Network, funded by a grant from the National Lottery Fund. The exhibition first toured Somerset several years ago but this was its first visit to Castle Cary.
Britain’s Brown Babies, by Lucy Gould, recounts a littleknown history of the estimated 2,000 babies born to black GIs and white British women in WW2. Black GIs, in this segregated army, were forbidden to marry their white girlfriends. Nearly half of the children were given up to children's homes, including at Holnicote House in West Somerset.
Susann Savidge, one of the organisers, said she hoped to work with Shepton Mallet Prison on developing the project in the future. The prison was used by American forces as a military jail during the war.
Susann said: “Often, black GIs were better received than their white counterparts because they were more polite, respectful and humble.”
RESIDENTS of a village near Somerton have been told to remove a series of specially-commissioned direction signs which they say are vital to help visitors find their way to community locations.
They decided to act on their own initiative after a series of incidents, including mourners going to the wrong church for a funeral, in and around Charlton Mackrell.
They enlisted the help of one resident
who has a machine normally used for crafting but which he discovered can also be used to create plastic signs. Phil Trevethan made a total of 17 brown signs which villagers put up at key points around the area, including showing the way to the two churches, the school, the village’s Reading Room and the Community Hall. They also put up a mirror at a sharp bend on busy Ilchester Road to help walkers cross the road from a public footpath.
Somerset Highways has told them they must take down the signs as they have been placed on highways furniture, such as speed limit signs and Openreach poles and on posts on highways-owned verges. The authority says all signs must comply
with Department for Transport legislation, but says it is seeking a compromise.
Rick Harrison, one of the villagers behind the signs, said: “We know Somerset Council has to save money and has other priorities and we know the parish council doesn’t have the funds, so we designed the signs ourselves at no cost to anyone other than Phil.
“We had an instance of people going to the wrong church for a funeral as there were no signs in place at the time and people didn’t know where the community hall was. Sat nav is no use around here as we all share the same postcode.”
A spokesperson for Somerset Council said: “We understand the local community has identified the need for signage and took the initiative by creating their own and putting them up on council and utilities signage and equipment.
“As the Highways Authority there is an obligation to ensure all signage complies with the DfT legislation, and unfortunately we do have to remove signage which does not comply with this, but we want to find an acceptable solution for everyone to ensure that correct signs are in place and we are working with the parish council to resolve this.”
WORK has begun to resurface 92,000m2 of highway across Bath and North East Somerset, the equivalent of 352 tennis courts.
The council has set out its annual highway resurfacing programme for 2024-25 which will see 36 planned schemes undertaken this year. The council has increased its investment into highway and footway maintenance this year, spending almost £9million in 2024-25, with £3.6million being spent on the annual resurfacing programme and the remaining funds going towards improvements to pedestrian footways, highway structures, street lighting, and drainage works.
The council will continue reactive repairs to the highway network throughout the year, particularly after periods of heavy rainfall and flooding which the region has recently experienced.
Last year’s resurfacing programme saw the council complete 32 schemes, with more than 15km of highway resurfaced including Frome Road in Radstock, High Street in Chew Magna and Chelwood Roundabout. Footways across Bath & North East Somerset were also improved with 17 schemes completed. l Issue with highways and footways can be reported online via FixMyStreet, with reports by residents helping the council repair hundreds of potholes each month, with 1,332 fixed in 2023.
PREDICTINGtrends in the property market can be a dangerous game, but over my many years as an estate agent I have learned there are some things you can rely on in the Chew Valley. And that’s when the weather gets warmer and the plants start to sprout, more and more buyers get out and about!
Back in January, I said there were promising signs ahead with a relaxation in the mortgage market making it more affordable to buy a house. In February I reminded you that whilst we sell houses all year round, I always say that the moment the clocks go forward is when the market really springs to life.
Those predictions have turned out to be a lot more
accurate than Mystic Meg’s efforts to guess the lottery numbers every Saturday night and the superb properties which have been prepared for the market over the last few months are attracting buyers like bees around a honey pot.
It’s sometimes necessary to advise vendors to wait and time their entry into the market at just the right moment for their property. Some houses cry out to be sold in the spring whilst they would not be quite so attractive in the winter. Who buys a convertible car in November? But put it on the forecourt in April and it will be a different story.
Using our unrivalled local knowledge, we’ve recently been advising clients on two essential elements for a
successful sale – timing and pricing. They spent time in the winter months tidying up their house and they listened to what we said about the right price to ask and the correct moment to go to market. It was no surprise to us that their property sold in little more than a week.
It’s interesting to see that buyers are coming from far afield. It is still true that some people want to move from one house to another and stay in the Valley and that a good number are continuing to come from Bristol. But overall there’s no set pattern and we are getting enquiries from all over the place.
The one thing that unites them all is they want to come to share the lifestyle in our
glorious Valley and this is the time of the year when it starts to look its best. The hedgerows are greening up, there are buds everywhere you look and a variety of flowers are starting to reveal themselves.
The Chew Valley is putting on a great show which will draw in buyers. So if you are considering selling your property, this is your moment to speak to us and benefit from our knowledge and experience. Why would you trust your most valuable asset to anyone else?
JOANNA TILEY
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CARPET whipping is a specialist skill that involves overlocking the edge of the carpet with yarn to stop the edges from fraying.
Now thanks to their new machine, Smiths Carpet and Flooring in Weston-super- Mare can make a runner or rug from any of the carpets that they have in the showroom.
They can also turn offcuts of carpets into professional looking stair runners, rugs or doormats thanks to their new whipping machine.
Call in to check it out!
HUNDREDSof people took part in a ten-mile sponsored walk in aid of Weston Hospicecare, from Weston’s Grand Pier to Sand Point and back again.
Formerly called the Men’s March, the Rugby Ramble also welcomed women and girls for the first time this year.
They were rewarded at the end with a pint of Thatchers –or a soft drink – a Pieminster pie and the chance to watch the Six Nations rugby.
THREE students from the Blue School in Wells will join as interns to help with mounting the 2024 Wells Art Contemporary exhibition.
Abbey Rolfey, Walker Cellan Jones and Imogen Smith all hope to pursue a career in the art world and WAC says this will offer them some extremely useful hands-on experience.
The WAC exhibition, which goes on show in Wells Cathedral during August, receives about 4000 entries from more than 30 countries. A selection of these is chosen for the final show.
Chair of Wells Art Contemporary, Paddy O’Hagan, said: “We are delighted to welcome our three interns to be part of WAC ’24. It is a wonderful opportunity for them to be part of an international art exhibition and to get to know what goes on behind the scenes to make it happen.”
For details, visit: www.Wellsartcontemporary.co.uk
MOTHERINGSunday was celebrated at St Andrew’s Church in Chew Stoke, with the service being led by the Rev Fran Smettem.
During the service Mini Melodies and Jubilee choirs sang and handed out Mother's Day posies to the congregation.
ANOTHERmonth of relentless rain has been very difficult for everyone. The ground is sodden, the spring grass and turnout is going to be late coming and we have all just about had enough. However, it is getting lighter. Surely once Easter comes things will improve . . . I am ever hopeful.
This month we heard that Gatcombe Horse Trials is not going to run this year. Usually, a highlight on the August calendar, Gatcombe draws a huge crowd from all over the country and beyond and has hosted the British Open Eventing Championships for many years.
In more recent years it has also hosted the Corinthian Cup and the Retraining of Racehorses competitions, alongside a full programme of exciting arena attractions for the whole family to enjoy, so it is a sad loss.
Peter Phillips, the main organiser, was so adamant last year that despite abandonment on the final day because of rain turning the place into a quagmire, they would be back in full force in 2024. Sadly now, he has said that running the event is not viable.
This is a real blow to eventing and it remains to be seen how many more venues might reach a similar conclusion and whether the competitions held at Gatcombe can be hosted at an
alternative venue. Probably this is unlikely now, given that the calendar is already settled for this year.
I for one will really miss Gatcombe and the wonderful picnics we enjoyed while watching the cross country in what is essentially the Princess Royal’s garden. Shame.
Equestrian competition has changed so much over the years. Many of the changes are concerned with safety, with everything having to be risk assessed. Progress into safety research has resulted in frequent rule changes, fence building changes and hat and body protector changes which are hard to keep up with and expensive to implement, but which are necessary to keep everyone as safe as possible.
Frangible pins on fences enabling them to collapse, body protectors that inflate to lessen the impact of falls . . . who’d have thought it years ago? I used to wear a hat that had belonged to my sister.
It fitted quite badly, so that every time I went over a jump it would plonk down over my eyes, preventing me from seeing where I was going. It had a faded brown cover with a wobbly peak, and I can’t ever remember a chin strap. Yikes!
Meanwhile our hairy monster, Alfie, now rising four, has come in from the wild to be schooled and turned into a proper horse, although I’m not sure if he quite realises that yet. Having been out in all weathers for five months in a small herd, he now has his own stable and two mates to share a barn with.
He seemed a bit unsure at first but is now well settled and loves coming in at night to be pampered and fed. Born and bred in Connemara, he came over last July, just broken in but very “green”.
Having had a long holiday, he now has to buckle down and start learning and so far he seems very amenable and has an easy going temperament. He started with some long reining, which is like riding from the ground. The horse is driven from behind and gets used to voice and rein aids.
Once established on the flat, hill and road work can be started, enabling the horse to stride out and get used to new sights. Alfie seems to be a fast learner and quite laid back so far, so we are pleased with his attitude.
He had to have a short break to have his wolf teeth removed, but that didn’t cause a problem and he has resumed his lessons. Not all horses have wolf teeth, but if they do, like wisdom teeth in humans, they can cause discomfort and in horses they can be irritated by the bit, so they are sometimes removed under a local anaesthetic.
Alfie was as good as gold having this done and now his gums are completely healed and he’s good to go. He is being lightly ridden now and getting in shape and appears to be enjoying all his new experiences. Here’s hoping by the end of the summer he will be out and about, joining in the fun.
As I write this, the Cheltenham Festival has just finished for this year, with the Irish at the top of their game, racking up the wins including the prestigious Gold Cup. Willie Mullins triumphed yet again with Gallopin des Champs taking the trophy for the second year running.
As a trainer he certainly manages to produce some amazing horses who did him and their owners proud this week. Paul Nicholls who heads Team Ditcheat had a nice win in the Pertemps Network Final Hurdle with Montmiral ridden by Harry Cobden, who is currently top of the leaderboard for Champion Jump Jockey.
The competition for the title runs from May1st, 2023 to April 27th, so Harry will be riding as many winners as possible in the time left. With a current strike rate 0f 23% he is well on target. To have a winner at the festival is every jockey’s dream, so I daresay there was some celebrating going on over the weekend both here and across the Irish Sea.
Some of the Mendip Farmers Pony Clubbers have been working hard over the winter, preparing for their efficiency tests. The first one right at the lower end of the range can be taken when the child is only four!
It is an optional test, some miss this one out altogether, but
DOB: 4.1.2008
Bay PRE stallion from the well-respected Francisco Santiago Ruiz stud in Spain. Primoroso is a grandson of Elite Graded Spanish stallion Educado X, champion of Spain. His sire is calificado stallion Judio X. Primoroso not only boasts strong breeding from Guardiola, Muira and Escalera lines, from the famous well-established studs of Spain, but he has a wonderful temperament and conformation to match the quality of his breeding.
Primoroso is a high school trained stallion imported from Spain, offering athletic ability with true Spanish looks and personality. With a smaller stature at 15.2 he is ideally suited to smaller PRE mares to create a lovely riding horse, or to cross with pony breeds to create a sporty capable smaller riding horse or pony. Graded in 2022 he will be standing this year 2024 at Coombe Cross Farm Stud, Horsington, Templecombe BA8 ODP.
it’s a great starting block and the child can be accompanied by an adult helper and can stay on the lead rein for the ridden part if they choose to.
The tests go up and up so that when the A test is taken at the minimum age of 17, the standard is exceptionally high. Anyone achieving the A test will be very accomplished in horsemanship, so it’s definitely something to aim for. Good luck Mendip members!
Games equipment
Jockeys, owners, trainers and spectators stood for a minute’s silence in honour of jockey Keagan Kirkby, killed whilst riding in a point-to-point race in Kent. Keagan was part of the team at Paul Nicholls’s yard at Ditcheat. Keagan’s funeral was held two days after the BSV meeting.
Paul’s daughter, Olive, won the Paul Barber Mixed Open Race on Shantou Flyer and had a walkover in the second race, renamed the Keagan Kirkby Memorial Members Race.
l The Mendip Farmers’ fixture at Ston Easton was called off due to the ground conditions.
I WASenjoying a pre-theatre meal at an Italian restaurant recently and every now and then I could feel a cold draught coming from a side door near the kitchen. It turned out that this was the collection point for meals to be picked up by delivery riders. Nowadays, the sight of cyclists transporting meals and groceries is fairly common, especially in larger towns and cities.
The bicycle is a good mode of transport able to go where motorised vehicles are not permitted or restricted. But rather surprisingly it is not such a modern phenomenon.
Before the internet and word processors, important documents had to be delivered the same day by couriers. But in the late 1980s, London’s roads had become so congested and slow for traffic that courier firms that had once despatched vans, motorbikes and scooters across the city, increasingly resorted to bike messengers.
They were nimble, fast, brightly dressed and much cheaper and quicker than petrol transport.
The couriers had charisma and style and would race each other along routes, but not always obeying the Highway Code. They even held the Cycle Messenger World Championships!
They were a trendy tribe with an air of charm about them. “Cycling has never held so much romance,” the Observer claimed on December 6th, 1987. “Stop to daydream on any street corner and a well-endowed messenger will cut across your path.”
But the “Lycra Lads” weren’t just there to look good; this new breed of
cycle couriers challenged the dominance of the traditional despatch trade. If they could avoid getting lost, then they could earn a decent amount of money. A courier from the time described it “the best of all the worst jobs in the world”.
In time though, the introduction of technology reduced the need for courier services. The fax machine meant documents no longer needed to be delivered by hand. Then the introduction of the internet and the acceptance of electronic filing more or less killed off the same day courier business.
That is until the present day where recent technology has turned the tide. The widespread ownership of smartphones and the development of food delivery apps has seen a massive resurgence in the demand for cycle couriers.
But unlike the Lycra Lads there is no romance or charm in these jobs. The purpose of food delivery apps is to get customers their food as fast as possible, which can lead to exploitation of workers. Additionally, delivery staff face dangers such as injuries in traffic, bicycle theft, and muggings.
The working life of a food delivery app rider is dictated by the tyranny of time. It starts with the time when the order is placed, most likely to be in the evening and at weekends. Then there is the time taken to make a delivery, the time waiting between deliveries and then how much time to take for a rest.
“Be your own boss,” say the adverts for these gig economy jobs. But that doesn’t mean you get to work when you want to. The customers ordering takeaway meals are driving the workflow and an algorithm that demands commitment determines what you can earn, but without offering any
guarantees. The only job requirement is to own a bicycle and a smartphone.
By being classified as “selfemployed” there are no workplace benefits such as holiday leave, sick pay, pension or parental leave. The delivery app companies are running as low cost an operation as possible and the only way to maintain that is by how they pay the rider.
The platforms tend to pay a flat-rate minimum a job, plus an additional fee based on distance; but these vary over time. Riders complain that it’s unclear how the algorithms work it out.
When they realised that their pay was being further squeezed, they organised a strike on Valentine’s Day this year. Most customers are unaware that the delivery fee does not go directly to the rider.
For such a model to be successful there must be such a high demand and a service that is so convenient, quick and cheap that the question as to how it can be possible doesn’t even arise. The answer is that the rider is paying for it.
Back at the Italian restaurant I see a delivery rider by the door waiting for his food order. He checks his watch, looks at his smartphone, checks that his bike is still there and checks his watch again. It’s all about time.
TWO teams of youngsters from Berkley School, near Frome, completed more than 200 widths of a swimming pool as part of a sponsored event organised by the Lions Club of Frome.
Their efforts raised more than £900 which will be split between the Lions’ charity Frome Youth Community Care Centre and the school’s own current fundraising project: new play equipment for the playground and school field.
THEannual Chew Valley football tournament saw 14 teams from seven schools playing at Chew Valley School. The event is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Chelwood Bridge.
The winning teams were: Division One (Boys) Bishop Sutton Primary School;
Rotarian, John Palmer, who presented the cups and medals, said: “The Rotary Club of Chelwood Bridge has sponsored this competition for a number of years
and is pleased that it is so enthusiastically contested to a high standard by so many schools.
“Thanks to Charlotte Foley and the students from Chew Valley School for their excellent work in organising this great event.”
Last year’s leading group
ENTRIEShave opened for this year’s Chew Valley 10k, which will be held on Sunday, June 9th from Bishop Sutton.
Regular runners return year in, year out, with many praising the Chew 10k’s organisation and atmosphere.
One runner wrote: “I’ve taken part in 10ks, 10 milers, half marathons and even my first marathon. This event has to be up in the top three for organisation, friendliness of the event and utter awesome marshalling! Will definitely be back!”
Sponsored by Winford Ford and Brock & Houlford Expert Eyecare, the race offers plenty for both first-timers and fast runners to enjoy, with up to 800 runners taking part.
The community-focused event raises lots of money for good causes – this year it is supporting NICU Support, Bishop Sutton Primary School Society, Chew Valley School Society and Black2Nature.
Details: chewvalley10k.co.uk
JENS Hullah from Shipham is aiming for the 2026 Winter Olympics after a successful winter with the GB Bobsleigh team.
The team, which trains at Bath University, had one of its most successful European tours, with Jens competing in both 2-man and 4-man bobsleighs, earning podium places.
He’s now competing in the World Cup in Lake Placid in the USA, the last race of the season. He was a member of GB Rowing before switching sports.
THE Runaway Train trail race returns to Shepton Mallet for a second year, on Sunday, May 5th – a tough running event celebrating the new Windsor Hill railway path, with an off-road race followed by a feast in Shepton Mallet market place.
The full eight-and-a-half mile route goes through Ham Woods, down to Croscombe and then all the way up to the top of Maesbury Castle. After crossing open fields, runners join the new multiuser path, crossing over Ham Wood viaduct, through Windsor Hill tunnel and back into Shepton Mallet. There is also an easier three-mile event and walkers may follow either route for free. Everyone gathers in the Market Place after the event to enjoy a feast of boxty and cider.
The start of last year’s trail race
An added feature of the event is surprise entertainment along the route, to encourage runners as they pass. Last year there was a string quartet in Croscombe, a drumming group in Windsor Hill tunnel and a lone bag-piper on top of Maesbury Castle. Organisers have not revealed the
For details, visit: https://runawaytrain.org.uk
performers lined up for this year but there are some surprises in store.
Entries have already passed last year's number and are expected to sell out before the event.
MEMBERSof Fosseway Golf Club enjoyed a great day when representatives of the main club joined together with the Seniors for a triples Texas Scramble event.
Some 40 players turned up for the competition which was held for the first time in 2023 and is likely to become an annual event.
The winning three with an excellent gross score of 59 (nett 52) were Ben Josham, Keith Doman and Paul Ellis. In second place came Dean Brook, Matt Rundle and Paul Trigg with a gross 62 (nett 52) with Steve Jones, Roger Franklin and John Bendle third with a gross 65 (nett 53).
Rotary District 1200 Young Musicians with District Governor Stuart Gilbert
THEdistrict stage of the Rotary Young Musician competition was held at Kings of Wessex Academy in Cheddar, featuring young people aged 14-17.
The winner in the vocal section was 14-year-old Ella from Churchill Academy who was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Wrington Vale. The runner-up was 14-year-old Cyanne from Kings of Wessex Academy sponsored by the Rotary Club of Mendip.
The winner in the instrumental section was 16-year-old cellist Betsy from Sherborne School sponsored by the Rotary Club of Taunton. The runner-up was 17-year-old pianist Theo from Kings of Wessex Academy sponsored by the Rotary Club of Mendip.
Ella and Betsy will go on to compete in the Rotary regional competition in Cardiff. The national final will be held in Manchester in April.
Competition organiser Roger Burdock congratulated all the entrants and expressed Rotary’s thanks to adjudicators Edward goater and David Hedges and to the governors and headteacher of Kings of Wessex Academy for their support for the event.
SIngIng postman, Timothy Dean, will celebrate “Somerset Day” on May 11th with a concert in Bridgwater to raise funds for the Somerset Crisis Fund, which aims to support the county’s residents who are hit by the costof-living crisis. His “Songs of Somerset” concert has already been a sell-out event at the Princess Theatre in Burnham-on-Sea. Tickets are £12.
Timothy is the local postman in the village of Brent Knoll, but spends his free time researching Somerset’s rich history of fact and legend to write and perform unique folk songs, accompanying himself with superb guitar skills.
He said: “My day-job as a postie enables me to see how the cost-of-living crisis is hurting so many people in Somerset.
“Somerset Day is the obvious moment to celebrate our county’s rich history of wonderful stories AnD raise funds to help our neighbours who are struggling with the challenges of heating and eating.”
01278
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VIRTUOSO piano playing – from Beethoven to boogiewoogie – combines with shadow puppetry and audience participation in the latest professional theatrical show to be hosted by Croscombe Frolics thanks to the support of Take Art, Somerset’s rural touring charity.
I Piano is perfect for families as the visuals captivate younger children while the story is deep enough to hold older children. It engages everyone including parents and grandparents and has earned five-star reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
There will be two performances of I Piano at Croscombe Village Hall on Sunday, April 21st, at 2pm and 5pm.
I Piano is coming to Croscombe in April
Tickets –£9 adults /£4 child or £26 family (2A+3C) – can be booked via: www.takeart.org/whats-on
CHEWValley based community choir
“Better than Chocolate” performed well at the Mid-Somerset Festival, competing in the Folk song, Sacred music and Female voice choirs’ classes.
They got a distinction mark in each class, even winning some silverware for the two folk songs sung. Alto, naomi Kent, is pictured holding the trophy.
YATTOn Music Society’s April concert will be by organist Richard Johnson at St Mary’s Church, Yatton on Saturday, April 20th.
Richard was an organ scholar at Oriel College and since 2004 he has been organist at Westbury-on-Trym Parish Church in Bristol. He is a member of Exultate Singers, and accompanist to the City of Bristol Choir.
Richard has played for services at many of the UK’s cathedrals, including St Paul’s, Salisbury, Wells and Winchester and has featured on BBC Radio 3. The concert will be enhanced with a video display of the organ during his performance, arranged by the Bristol & District Organist Association.
The concert starts 7.30pm, tickets £10, students £5, children free.
Details: www.yms.org.uk
TRInITYSingers are celebrating 25 years of making music in and around the north Somerset area. They will hold a celebration concert on Saturday, May 11th at All Saints’ Church, Westonsuper-Mare.
They will be performing an exciting programme of French and Czech sacred music of the 19th century, including works by Franck, Dvořák, Janáček, and Saint-Saëns (Messe de Requiem).
The choir will be supported by the excellent Lochrian Ensemble, plus David Bednall (organ), and Julia Hammersley (harp), and conducted by
their Musical Director Andrew Tyrrell. Trinity Singers rehearse at Churchill Primary School, Pudding Pie Lane, Langford, BS40 5EL from 7.30-9.30pm
every Tuesday and new singers, especially sopranos and tenors (male or female) would be most welcome.
Details: trinitysingers1999@gmail.com www.trinitysingers.org.uk
AN exhibition has opened at the Somerset Rural Life Museum in Glastonbury showcasing the work by renowned Somerset-based photographer, Matilda Temperley, during the devastating flooding on The Levels of a decade ago.
Called Under the Surface, the exhibition features photographs from her sold out publication “Under the Surface: Somerset Floods”, alongside previously unpublished colour photographs taken during that winter. Also on display are newly commissioned photographs, reflecting on changes to the Somerset landscape over the past decade.
Alongside the exhibition, a programme of events and activities will take place supported by the Somerset Rivers Authority. These include family activities during the Easter holidays, run in collaboration with the RSPCA and Somerset Wildlife Trust, where visitors can take part in climate-themed craft activities; a series of “Flood Cafes”, where flood-affected people can gather and discuss flooding issues in a friendly, relaxed environment; and talks from the SRA and its partners about Somerset water and wildlife, and the future of water in Somerset.
SRA chair, Councillor Mike Stanton said: “Somerset Rivers Authority came into existence because of the floods of 2013-14, and people involved with the SRA are still very strongly motivated by what happened then. Our main purpose is to reduce the risks and impacts of flooding across Somerset. We’re supporting this exhibition because the more people understand how Somerset is threatened by flooding, the more we can do together to protect ourselves and to adapt.”
Matilda Temperley said: “Ten years on from ‘Under the Surface’ climate change has meant flooding events around the globe are constantly in our news. This latest exhibition reflects on the impact of flooding on the Somerset Levels and successes and failures in flood management over the last decade.”
Exhibitions and Programme Manager Sarah Cox said: “This is the latest in a series of ambitious temporary exhibitions with a strong focus on communicating rural stories through art and photography. We are delighted to be collaborating with Matilda Temperley and the Somerset Rivers Authority to create an exhibition and events programme that will offer visitors a space to reflect on the important subject of flooding and its impact over the county.”
The exhibition runs until Sunday, May 19th.
For details, visit: www.srlm.org.uk
GLASTONBURY Abbey’s awardwinning events calendar kicks off on April 27th & 28th with the Glastonbury Abbey Medieval Fayre, followed by musical events Night at the Abbey and the Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza later in the summer plus a range of theatre, workshops and family activities throughout the year.
The abbey offers a great day out, where kids go free all year round. Simply purchase an Adult or Over-60 day ticket and you can bring along two children completely free of charge to explore the spectacular ruins and 36 acres of stunning grounds. This year the abbey has also introduced free child memberships.
Take a trip into the past on one of our free daily guided tours, explore the legendary ruins rumoured to be the earliest foundation of Christianity in Britain and the final resting place of King Arthur, enjoy the peaceful wildlife areas or grab a coffee from their seasonal café.
Glastonbury Abbey is open seven days a week, 10am-6pm (last entry 5.15pm). Save on the cost of admission by booking online in advance.
For details, visit: www.glastonburyabbey.com
A NEW monthly market in Shepton Mallet promises to showcase the best produce and makers the South West has to offer.
Shepton Mallet Sunday Market – the first one takes place on Sunday, April 28th – will be thoughtfully curated, bringing 60 handpicked stalls with an exciting and diverse mix of produce and makers. Expect a mix of vintage, designer-makers, food, antiques, home and gardens and art alongside live music and DJs, workshops and family activities, including Sing-a-Ling, a children’s music and singing workshop.
Shepton Mallet Sunday Market will be held from 10am-3pm on the last Sunday of the month. In 2024, the market will host three further events, on Sunday, July 28th, Sunday, September 29th and Sunday, November 24th. Pitches are free of charge for the first year. In 2025, market dates will expand to ten events, running on the last Sunday between March and November.
Shepton Mallet Sunday Market is being produced by Black Sheep Events CIC, a new team of local residents and business owners, who share the aim of working together to regenerate their town and are working to put Shepton back on the map as the thriving market town it once was.
Market Manager, Charlie Bolderow, played a considerable role in developing nearby Frome’s reputation as a hub for creative industries and man¬aged the Artisan Market (now The Frome Independent), the Griffin pub and Black Swan Arts and is now bringing this passion and expertise to the Shepton Mallet Sunday Market. She said: “50% of the new market’s traders are businesses from Shepton Mallet or within five miles of the town. This just proves what a vibrant and exciting part of the world we live in.”
Amber Smithwick, in charge of trader selection, moved to Shepton Mallet three years ago and opened a restaurant, Aurora Kusina, on the High Street a year after moving and soon met many like-minded individuals trying to make a positive impact. She said: “Shepton Mallet has an inclusiveness like nowhere I’ve experienced before.”
For details, visit: www.sheptonmalletsundaymarket.org.uk
We’re happy to list entries for non-profit community groups and charity fundraisers free of charge. Please send them written as a succinct single paragraph, in the format below, to annie@mendiptimes.co.uk
Entries sent in as posters or which take time to re-write may be charged for at the commercial rate, £25.
Until Thursday April 11th
Smashed in the Cellar exhibition, Wells & Mendip Museum, Tues to Sat, 10am-4pm. Details: www.wellsmuseum.org.uk
Good Friday March 29th
Save the Children Lunch 12.20pm Shipham village hall. £6 for soup, cheese and a hot cross bun. Come and join us!
Easter Bunny Tractor Run, Stanton Drew to Pensford in aid of Hidden Valley Bushcraft, Pensford.
Vintage Tractor Run for Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance. Landrovers & 4x4s welcome. Starts 11am Railway Inn, Meare BA6 9SX. £10/vehicle. Details: www.facebook.com/TheRailwayInn1
Saturday March 30th
Charity Quiz for Wells Foodbank & Furniture Store 7.30pm Wells Town Hall. Teams up to six, £5pp cash on the night. Bar. Please book: tickets@wellsstorehouse.co.uk or 07587 125228.
Saturday March 30th to Monday April 1st
Harriet Sandys Easter weekend open days, 2-5pm, items from Central Asia and India, The Barn at The Manor House, West Compton BA4 4PB. Details: 01749 890582.
Monday April 1st
Cheddar Valley Singers: Mondays 7pm-8.15
Cheddar Catholic Community Hall. Details: Facebook or cheddarvalleysingers@gmail.com
Tuesday April 2nd
The Arts Society Mendip: talk by Rosamund Bartlett about the culture of Ukraine. 11am Croscombe Village Hall. Guests welcome £10. Details: www.theartssocietymendip.org.uk
Backwell Sequence Dance Club: 7.15-9pm every Tuesday, Backwell WI Hall, BS48 3QW. Dancing couples welcome. Details: Paul 07710 460550 email backwellsequencedance@gmail.com
Yatton Local History Society: “The citizens of Bristol at war” by Clive Burlton 7.30pm Methodist Church BS49 4DW. Details: www.yattonlocalhistorysociety.co.uk
Joyful Voices: Fill your afternoon with song! Tuesdays 1.30pm-3pm. Cheddar Catholic Community Hall. Contact joyfulvoicesafternoon@gmail.com
Bath NATS talk by Helena Crouch “Ferns of Bath” (postponed from March) 7.30pm BRLI, 16 Queens Square, BA1 2HN. Visitors welcome £3.
Wednesday April 3rd
Sing2breathe for breathlessness –learn techniques for breathing control and improved posture. 1.45 to 3pm every Wed, Cheddar Catholic Community Hall. Details: Kate: vocalkate@gmail.com 07595 745884.
Backwell & Nailsea Support Group for Carers: talk by Ken Hunt “Wildlife in South Africa” 2-3.30pm, Backwell WI Hall.
Pensford Super Soup Lunch 12-2pm, Old School Room. All welcome. Details: Jane 07780 677253.
Thursday April 4th
Chew Valley Death Café meets 12-1.30pm
Community Library Bishop Sutton, first Thurs monthly. A safe space to talk about life, death and loss over tea and cake. All welcome. Please contact: bryonyhuntley2019@gmail.com
Irish Set Dancing 8pm-10 every Thurs Dinder Village Hall BA5 3PF. £3 incl refreshments. Fun, friendly, no need to book. Details 01458 210051 paulrharper@btopenworld.com
Wells Scottish Dancers Blue School Dance Studio BA5 2NR. Every Thurs 6.30–8.30pm. Beginners welcome. Tel 01934 740065 or ann.wellsdancers@gmail.com
Cheddar Valley u3a talk by author Damian Boyd, 2pm Cheddar Village Hall.
Congresbury Gardening Club: “Cultivation and use of unusual herbs” by Caroline Pakenham, Methodist Hall 7-30pm. Visitors welcome www.congresburygardeningclub.com
West Mendip Walkers moderate 11m circular walk starting 9.30am from Wincanton, BA9 8LD. Details: www.mendipramblers.co.uk
Claverham Ladies’ Guild AGM 2pm village hall BS49 4GG. Tea, coffee, cake and a charity sales table. Visitors welcome, £3. Details: 01934 838017.
Friday April 5th
Radstock Folk Dance Club every Friday 8pm10pm St Peter’s Church Hall, Westfield. Country dancing at a steady speed. Beginners welcome, partners not essential. £3 incl refreshments. Details: heather.m.leverton@gmail.com
Wells Natural History & Archaeological Society, “Don’t forget the animals” by Steve Tofts 7.30pm Wells Museum. Details 01458 851443.
Gabriel Moreno: poetry & Americana folk, 7.30pm Chew Magna Old School Rooms. Details: www.valley-arts.co.uk
Sunday April 7th
Mendip Story Circle: Free story-telling afternoon, outdoors near the new Great Avon Wood, Pensford. All ages welcome. Register for details and directions: Tales from the Landscape Tickets, Sun 7 Apr 2024 at 14:00
| Eventbrite
Monday April 8th
Nailsea & District Local History Society: “The Agriculture Revolution 1700-1850” by Jim Pimpernell 7.45pm Green Lecture Room, Nailsea School. Visitors welcome £3. Details: 01275 463479.
Congresbury Memorial Hall Club
Friendship evening with bingo, 8pm War Memorial Hall. Visitors welcome.
RAFA mid-Somerset meeting: “They bend ‘em, we mend ‘em!” by Paul Ashmore 11am, followed by optional lunch, Wells Golf Club, BA5 3DS. Email: Lunchrafa.midsomerset@gmail.com or 01458 224057.
Tuesday April 9th
Timsbury Gardening Club: entertainment from Martin Chalkley & Graham Nicholls plus plant sale 7.30pm Conygre Hall, BA2 0JQ. Visitors welcome £2. Details: www.timsbury.org.uk/activities/environment/gar
dening-club/
Fosseway Gardening Club “Gardening on the wild side of Dartmoor” by Hillary Little 7.30pm. Pylle Village Hall. Visitors £2. All welcome. Details: 07772 008594.
Shipham Rowberrow & Star History Society: “From Gutenberg to Gates: the history of communication” by Roy Ackrill, 7.30pm
Shipham Village Hall BS25 1SG. Refreshments. Guests welcome £4. Details: Jan 01934 260784.
Backwell Sequence Dance Club: 7.15pm-9pm every Tuesday, Backwell WI Hall, BS48 3QW. Dancing couples always welcome. Details: Paul 07710 460550 or email backwellsequencedance@gmail.com
Wednesday April 10th
Mendip Storytelling Circle: stories for a grown-up audience, 7.30 to 9.30pm Ston Easton Village Hall, BA3 4DA. Details: www.mendipstorycircle.com
Wells Folk & Barn Dance Club 7.30-9.30pm St Thomas’s Church Hall, BA5 2UZ. All welcome: 2nd, 3rd & 4th Wed every month. Details: 01749 674920.
Blagdon Local History Society talk by Mark Bullen “Wrington curiosities” 7.30pm Court Lodge BS40 7TQ. Visitors welcome. Details: www.blagdonlhs.com
Kilmersdon Gardeners talk by Katherine Kear “Tales from an Elizabethan Still Room” 7.30pm village hall, BA3 5TD. Visitors welcome £3. Free refreshments. Details: www.kilmersdongardeners.org
Thursday April 11th
Chew Valley Gardening Club: a talk about soft fruits by John Addison 8pm Stanton Drew Village Hall.
Bath Railway Society talk by Simon Foote “BR steam nostalgia covering 50 years” 7.30pm Museum of Bath at Work, Julian Rd, BA12RH. £5.
East Harptree Environment Group: “Ghost hunting – pond restoration for nature recovery” 7.30pm East Harptree Pavilion. Members free, non-members £3. Numbers limited so please book by email: east.harptree.eg@gmail.com
Chew Magna Jazz Jam: monthly open floor session 7.30pm The Pelican. Details: www.valley-arts.co.uk
Wells Garden Club: Brian Jaques presents “Exotics, part one” 7:30pm Wells Town Hall. Details: www.wellsgarden.club
West Mendip Walkers moderate 10m circular walk starting 9.30am from Horningsham, BA12 7LY. Details: www.mendipramblers.co.uk
Friday April 12th
Brain of Nempnett Quiz: 7pm Nempnett Thrubwell village hall, BS40 8YJ. Tickets £15, incl a drink and chilli supper, from 07884 187391.
Save the Children Lunch 12.20pm Shipham village hall. £5.50 for soup, bread & cheese. Keynsham AWT ‘How Peregrines exploit the modern landscape’ by Hamish Smith, 7.30pm Baptist Church Hall, Keynsham BS31 1DS. Visitors £4.50, incl a drink.
Glastonbury Cantilena Choir Bach & Handel,
7.30pm St Mary’s Church BA6 9EJ. Tickets (cash only) £12.50, U16s free. Details: 01458 830520 or cantachoir1@gmail.com
Saturday April 13th
Brent Knoll Bazaar, farmer’s market & café 10-12 Brent Knoll Parish Hall.
Wedmore Friends of Weston Hospicecare Fashion show 2.30pm Wedmore bowls club. Tickets £12.50, incl cream tea, from Wedmore paper shop & the Hidden Boutique Axbridge. Congresbury Book Sale 9am-1pm War Memorial Hall. Good quality books etc. Congresbury Singers “Celebration of Classical Music” 7.30pm St Andrew’s Church. Tickets £12, inc refreshments, from PO, Re-Store or on the door.
North Somerset Philharmonia performs Scheherazade, 7.30pm Nailsea School. Collection for Freewheelers. Details: www.nsphilharmonia.org.uk
Mendip Society Biochar making at Ubley. Details: www.themendipsociety.org.uk or 01275 874284.
Spring Coffee Morning 10am-12 St Bridget’s Church Chelvey, with plant and cake stalls.
Sunday April 14th
Daffodil Society West of England group show, Henton village hall.
Monday April 15th
Chew Valley U3A talk “Introducing the amazing honeybee” by Richard Rickitt, 10am Ubley Parish Hall BS40 6PN. All welcome. “A day in the life of a Polaris submarine”: talk by Mike Bravery for Winscombe District U3A, 2pm Community Centre, BS25 1HP. Visitors welcome.
Timsbury Nats talk by Naomi Johns “Biomagnification – are birds of prey exposing a chemical emergency?” Conygre Hall BA2 0JQ. Visitors welcome £3. Accompanied U16s free.
Tunley Quiz night Recreation Centre BA2 0DZ. £10pp inc food. Details: 07849 618221.
Tuesday April 16th
Open Mic Night 7.30pm The Pony, Chew Magna. Details: www.valley-arts.co.uk
Nempnett annual Parish meeting, 7pm village hall.
Cross & Compton Bishop Climate Action Group: “Biodiversity Net Gain” with senior ecologist Jenny Lackie, 7pm Cross Memorial Hall BS26 2EL. All welcome. Refreshments.
Wrington Local History Society: “Somerset turnpikes & tollhouses” by Steve Osman, 8pm Wrington URC Chapel, Roper’s Lane, BSD40 5NF. Visitors welcome, £2.50 incl tea/coffee. Details: osmansteve@yahoo.co.uk
Wednesday April 17th
Pensford Super Soup Lunch 12 to 2pm, Old School Room. All welcome. Details: Jane 07780 677253.
Friends of Weston Museum: “Follies & garden buildings” by Jonathan Holt 2.30pm Weston Museum, BS23 1PR. Visitors welcome £4. www.westonmuseum.org/events/list/page/4/ or David 01934 876670.
Baby Boppers with Rock the Tots interactive preschool music and fun! 11am Chew Magna Baptist Church. Details: www.valley-arts.co.uk
RSPB Bath: “Finding WH Hudson” by Connor Jameson 7.30pm St Andrew’s church, Hawthorn
Grove, BA2 5QA. Visitors welcome.
Thursday April 18th
Cheddar Valley u3a Coffee Morning 10am11.30 Cheddar Village Hall.
Yatton & District Horticultural Society “Cultivation and use of unusual herbs” by Carrie Pakenham, 8pm, Hangstones Pavilion BS49 4HS. Details:
www.yattonhorticulturalsociety.co.uk
Shipham & District Gardening Club: “A patch wilder” talk by Charlie Fayers, 7.30pm Shipham Village Hall BS25 1SG.
West Mendip Walkers moderate 12m circular walk starting 9.30am from Churchill, BS25 5PP. Details: www.mendipramblers.co.uk
Shepton Mallet Area History Group: Part 1 of Len Ware’s Shepton Town Walk of 1900s in photos, 7.30pm Salvation Army.
Mendip Society walk: Ebbor explore. About 6km, meet 10am Ebbor Gorge car park BS39 4EJ. (NOT Deer Leap cp). Non-members £2. Details: Jo 07932 728617.
Friday April 19th
North Somerset Quilters. Speaker Denise Hagan “Covid walks along the Saxon Path” 7.30pm Backwell WI Hall BS48 3QW. Visitors welcome, £7. Details: Karen 01275 463119.
Saturday April 20th to Monday May 6th
Frome Art Society Spring Exhibition 10am4pm Long Gallery, Black Swan Arts BA11 1BB. Details: www.fromeartsociety.co.uk
Saturday April 20th
Street: “Discover Your Community” Health & Wellbeing session, 10.30am-2pm Crispin Hall, BA16 0EZ.
Bleadon Village Market: 30+ stalls, 9.30-12 Coronation Halls, BS24 0PG. Details: 01934 812370.
Winscombe Car Boot Sale 9am-1pm Community Centre BS25 1SP. Stalls £10 for the RNLI –to book: tinascakes2020@gmail.com or 07788 318092.
Fundraising Social 10am Trinity Methodist Church Westfield, BA3 3XA. Stalls & food. For a surgical robot at the RUH. Details: sue.tandy@btinternet.com
Organ Concert by Richard Johnson 7.30pm St Mary’s, Yatton. Tickets £10 from: www.yms.org.uk
Claverham Market 10am-12pm Village Hall. Butcher, veg. crafts etc. 01934 830553. Wedmore YFC 90th spring show, The George, Wedmore.
Coffee Morning Stoke St Michael War Memorial Hall. Supporting Jack and Hayden through their leukaemia treatment by raising money for the RUH.
Sunday April 21st
“I Piano” professional theatre for young families at 2pm & 5pm Croscombe Village Hall, nr Wells. Adults £9, child £4, family (2A+3C) £26. Details: www.takeart.org
Monday April 22nd
Congresbury Memorial Hall Club Friendship evening with bingo, 8pm War Memorial Hall. Visitors welcome.
Tuesday April 23rd
Chilcompton Garden Club talk “Somerset a county of glorious gardens” by Abigail Ballinger 7.30pm Village Hall, BA3 4EX. All welcome.
Wednesday April 24th
Harptrees History Society: “Somerset Follies” Jonathan Holt, 7.30pm West Harptree Memorial Hall BS40 6EG. Booking essential. Visitors (£3) welcome to book from April 10th: info@harptreeshistorysociety.org Subject: “April 2024”.
Backwell & Nailsea Macular Support meeting 1.30pm Backwell WI Hall. Details: Sheila 01275 462107.
Thursday April 25th
West Mendip Walkers easy 8.5m circular walk starting 9.30am from Witham Friary, BA11 5HF. Details: www.mendipramblers.co.uk
Friday April 26th
Save the Children Lunch 12.20pm Shipham village hall. £5.50 for soup, bread & cheese. Come and join us!
Radstock Folk Dance Club meets every Friday 8pm-10pm St Peter’s Church Hall, Westfield. Country dancing at a steady speed. Beginners welcome, partners not essential. £3/night incl refreshments. Details: heather.m.leverton@gmail.com
Funny Mummy – comedienne Alyssa Kyria, 8pm Compton Martin Village Hall. Details: www.valley-arts.co.uk
Saturday April 27th
Timsbury Village Market 9.30-11.30am
Conygre field BA2 0JQ. Wide variety of locally produced food, plants, refreshments and more! Details on Facebook or www.growtimsbury.org.uk
Inner Wheel of Mendip concert with Cameo Orchestra Bristol in aid of the RNLI, 7.30pm St Andrew’s Church Cheddar. Tickets £10 from 01934 710573 or on door.
Karolos Quartet: 7.30pm All Saint’s Church, Wrington BS40 5LF Tickets: Champions of Churchill Music £15.50; others £19.50; U18’s £1 from: Ticketsource, holly@churchillmusic.org.uk or 07442 672805. Congresbury Book Sale 9am-1pm War Memorial Hall. Good quality books etc. The Mendip Society AGM 10.30am followed at 11.30 talk by Andy King: “The Mendip Hills as you’ve never seen them before” filmed by drones. Draycott Memorial Hall, BS27 3UE. Non-members welcome. Details 01275 874284 or secretary@themendipsociety.org.uk
Sunday April 28th
Tunley Coffee Morning, homemade cakes 1012 Rec Centre BA2 0DZ. Details: 07849 618221.
Monday April 29th
Cheddar Valley Singers: Mondays 7-8.15pm Cheddar Catholic Community Hall. Contact cheddarvalleysingers@gmail.com Facebook @cheddarvalleysingers
Tuesday April 30th
Joyful Voices: Fill your afternoon with song! Tuesdays 1.30-3pm. Cheddar Catholic Community Hall. Contact joyfulvoicesafternoon@gmail.com
Wednesday May 1st
Backwell & Nailsea Support Group for Carers: Yvonne Bell “Edwardian Occasions” WI Hall, Backwell 2 to 3.30pm.
WHEN summer returns so will the Royal Bath & West Show with three full days of farming and food, activities and entertainment, music and family fun – a grand celebration of rural life.
Running from Thursday, May 30th to Saturday, June 1st, the show is doubling its efforts to showcase the region’s farming and food heart. Head of Shows, Jess Chiplen, said: “Somerset has a rich – and delicious – food producing history.
“Take the 800-year-old tradition of cheesemaking; the county’s rich pastures are perfect for producing creamy milk from the dairy herds the land has nourished. And we have the age-old practice of cider making, with 156 apple varieties which have a connection to the county and its orchards.
“Farming and food have always been –
and will forever remain – at the heart of our annual show.”
An array of British, continental, and rare breed cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and heavy horse breeds will be exhibited and shown by stockmen and women competing for silverware and a spot in the Grand Parade.
Meanwhile, the family-friendly Lakeside Farm and Discover the Future area will help bring farming and science to life, with lots of fun and interactive activities for the whole family, whilst the Great British Kitchen will be serving up live demonstrations, with celebrity chefs whilst the regional food and drink marquee has been expanded.
No county show would be complete without a full programme of showjumping, scurry racing and pony club games. Horsepower and adrenaline will also be
One of last year’s champions
full-throttle in the main ring, with Jamie Squibb’s team of professional motorbike riders performing extreme tricks and jawdropping stunts.
And there will be lots of dogs with the launch of a new area, Bark & West, featuring dog-friendly stalls, dog shows and high-speed agility.
Sunday, March 31st & Monday, April 1stEaster running with Easter egg hunt and more
Buffet open 10.30 to 15.30 every Sunday in the season
Sunday, June 16th –Fathers’ Day Diesel Driver Tasters
Spring highlights:
* Sunday, May 5th – brake van rides behind our diesel shunter
* Saturday, May 11th – special event: Old Tyme Music evening
* Saturday, June 22nd – Steam Punk Day –Come along and enjoy the fun!
* Wickham Trolley rides every Wednesday during school holidays
Check out operating days, future events and booking at www.sdjr.co.uk
WITH the new running season now underway, there is much to look forward to at the Somerset & Dorset Railway at Midsomer South Station. Trains will be running on both Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, with Easter biscuits and eggs for young passengers.
Rides on the quirky and ever-popular Wickham Trolley will begin on April 3rd and then every Wednesday during school holidays and the line’s diesel multiple unit – known as the “green one” – will be running on April 14th and 28th. It is also reintroducing its popular brake van rides on May 5th and the Spring Bank Holiday will see normal running days.
There is a very special event on Saturday, May 11th (from 79pm) when the Bath Gilbert & Sullivan Society will be presenting an evening of Old Time Music Hall.
And looking ahead to June, keep an eye out for more details of the line’s Fathers’ Day driver experience event on June 16th and a Steam Punk event on June 22nd.
For details, visit: www.sdjr.co.uk
